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edmturnmeon · 2 years ago

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Pushing Kodak Vision3 500T Film - Shooting Handheld At Night

IvanYolo Here I go again with my second round of night film photography challenge by pushing Kodak Vision3 500T one-stop and shooting handheld at night. After the success of my first film photography at night, I decided to try something different giving more film speed by pushing Kodak Vision3 500T and using the diffusion filter.I was just wondering what my film photos will look like when pushing Kodak Vision3 500T, combined with one of my favourite FX filters for cinematic film look which is the Moment CineBloom diffusion filter. Previously I pushed the Ilford HP5 Plus 400 and got some excellent results, although it was grainy, it looks great. I can tell that when pushing the Kodak Vision3 500T, the film has high grain tolerance and still looks amazing.Most of the shots for this round are done with available artificial light and neon lights. Yes, I was hunting for neon lights while doing street photography in Kuala Lumpur at night. It was the weekend and the weather condition is good, compared to a few weeks ago it was raining almost every day. Whenever I wanted to go for a shoot, I always follow the photoshoot checklist so my shoot will go smooth.

Is It Fun To Do Night Photography on Film?

Contax G1 // Panggung KL, July 2022 Yes, I can say night photography on the film is fun because it is a big challenge at night to get sufficient light compared to daylight. This is where you get the idea of finding the brightest light at night. Low light photography on the film is not easy, as, with insufficient light, you will be using a low shutter speed and eventually if unlucky, you'll get shaky photos unless you use a tripod. But going for a photo walk, you want to go as light as possible. So a tripod is a no-go.I was photographing in Kuala Lumpur's major tourist areas, Chinatown and Kwai Chai Hong. After recovering from the epidemic, the nightlife in this city is somewhat lively. I had been 'camping' at the location for hours to acquire some photographs and had been circling the area on foot for approximately 4 hours.I was shooting wide aperture with the Contax G1 film camera with the Carl Zeiss Planar 45mm T* F2 lens, and I don't see any shaky images out of the 36 exposures although there were a few underexposed or ruined photos due to incorrect camera settings. I get out of the box, follow no photography rules and was shooting handheld without any tripod. But of course, if you want to get better and brighter photos with accurate exposure, it is recommended to shoot with a tripod because of the low shutter speed.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IJAx7wOVjcs

Pushing One Stop on Kodak Motion Picture Film

Contax G1 // Petaling Street, July 2022 Is it worth it by pushing Kodak Vision3 500T at night? For this test it was just a trial and error for me to find out what the photos will look like, after all, it is all up to our taste and mood. I love this series of photos I've captured at night. There is visible grain when zooming or cropping but still acceptable for me. It does look great when you share it on social media such as Instagram, you won't be able to see the grain not noticeable on a smaller screen. I like the saturated colour when pushing Kodak Vision3 500T one stop underexposed. The film speed for Kodak Vision3 500T is 500 ISO so I set the film camera ISO to 1000 ISO and developed one stop at the film lab. In this series, none of my shots is blurry or shaky throughout the 36 exposures which I was quite happy about.On the Contax G1, I tried to use the exposure compensation to shoot 1/3 stop overexposure (compensate with a lower shutter speed) but I end up not knowing which photos that were shot overexposed. Next time I could try to note it down on my mobile phone.

Does It Work If I Use Diffusion Filter on Film Camera?

Contax G1 // Kwai Chai Hong, July 2022 Previously I didn't get good results shooting using a diffusion filter with the Yashica film camera but I was quite surprised and never expected it to look great on the Contax G1 film camera. It worked and I did get the cinematic highlight bloom and glowing on film stock this time. I was shooting with the CineBloom filter with 20% density. I know some photographers shoot on digital with a diffusion filter but I haven't seen anyone trying to use the filter on film stocks if I'm not mistaken.Feel free to give it a try when you're shooting film stock at night, you'll be surprised!

Contax G1 // Kwai Chai Hong, July 2022

Contax G1 // Panggung KL, July 2022

Contax G1 // Da Bao Kuala Lumpur, July 2022

Contax G1 // Petaling Street, July 2022

Final Thoughts

What do you think? Pushing Kodak Vision3 500T or shooting at film speed at night looks better? Well, pushing film stock gives you more film speed but introduced more film grain and look saturated. I prefer shooting at film speed. I suggest when shooting film stock handheld at night to find the brightest area that is well lit with tungsten light or neon lights to avoid handshake or blurry photos.The best solution for night film photography- To shoot with a tripod, use a slower shutter speed and let more light into the lens - Suggested to shoot with a fresh film, non-expired roll - Hunt for the light source. Find well-lit areas with artificial lighting such as tungsten or neon lightsHere are some of the photos I took during my solo photo walk at night with the Contax G1 do check out the photo gallery for more shots. Happy shooting film and are you up for a night shoot challenge pushing Kodak Vision3 500T film? View Photo Gallery You Might Also Like Related Posts Read the full article

#CarlZeissLenses #Contax #ContaxFilmCamera #ContaxG1 #Eastman5219Film #KodakVision3500T #MotionPictureFilms #NightPhotography

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serzhantkris · 3 years ago

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Something Worth Fighting For- 16

Summary: You’ve just begun to settle into life as an Avenger when a mission gone awry divides the team in half, and a familiar face shows up just in time to make you second guess your every choice. Third installment of the Worth Fighting For Series.

Words: 1629

A/N: Gahhh. Hi. Watch for formatting, all done on mobile. I’ll fix it later. Probably.

Brooklyn. 1946.

The sky is a hazy shade of winter. The sun hides behind the gray that blankets the empty cemetery, long shadows of evening crawling across the snow. The feeling in your fingers and toes went out almost as soon as Howard left, the rattle of his engine disappearing with him. He left behind silence and a manilla envelope, the latter heavy in your hands.

Legs outstretched, the contents of said envelope flutter lazily in your lap. Your forearms hold the stack down, fingers numb as they slide along the edges of each page- some smeared with typewriter ink, others in graphite. The page on top is stamped, the red ink a barely legible smear over a grainy photograph in the top right corner: DECEASED.

The rest of the text is blurred, wet spots rubbing the ink onto your fingers. The back of your hand rubs raw against your frozen cheeks, trying to stop the few tears that you couldn’t hold back before they ruined the papers altogether.

Bucky’s name is neatly typed at the top of the form. Details that don’t matter punctuate the page beneath it. 72 inches tall. 172 lbs. Blue eyes. Not nearly enough to really describe the way he was- no detail about the sharpness in his cheeks, the lopsided grin or the way his breath felt against your face. At the bottom of the page, a signature that felt like a tattoo under your fingertips. His handwriting, scrawled too big over a sharp line.

The rest of the stack was a jumbled mess. Photographs taken at the camp, some during training. There was always a smile on his face, but black and white photos could never capture that sparkle in his eye.

Sniffling, your fingers traced the edge of the page, shuffling the intake forms to the back. A line of red appeared on your finger, a drop of blood escaping from the fresh wound and landing in the snow beside you. It didn’t hurt; the numbness held back any pain you could have felt from the outside world. You pause, staring at the thin mark. It didn’t last long. Your skin stitched back together with invisible thread, and the wound disappeared as though it hadn’t been there at all.

The last paper is almost yellow in color, worn in a grid pattern from being folded and unfolded over and over. It had lived in Howard’s pocket, most likely, for ages before it finally fell into your hands.

I read once that crows were responsible for carrying souls to the land of the dead. I think it was the Greeks- maybe the Celts. Sounds like something Steve would know, would carry around in that big head of his for a rainy day. I’ve been thinking about that a lot lately. Crows. Wondering if I’m going to die here, and if I do, are crows native to Bulgaria? I haven’t seen any, but they might be like ghosts.

She came with us. I didn’t know if she’d say yes- knowing what I know now, I shoulda left her in the states. It isn’t safe here and I don’t know that I can protect her. Not that she needs me anyway. But sometimes I wake up and she’s already up and gone and it takes me a second to stop panicking.

I think if I die here, that’ll be okay. She’ll have Steve and the two of them are determined to win this war all on their own. I don’t think a crow will come collect my soul- I don’t have anything to give it anymore. I already gave it to her.

Wakanda. Present.

There’s fire in the sky when he slips into unconsciousness. It burns, sweltering hot- the sun, coming up over the horizon, casting long shadows from the surrounding trees along the eastern wall of the otherwise pale building face.

Clenching your fingers, tightening around his as the two of you stalk down the long hallway towards the medical bay, your eyes flicker back and forth, from the sleek white tiles beneath your and Bucky’s boots, to the world beyond the glass-lined walls.

Bucky stops walking, your arm tugging at the sudden lack of motion. Looking back, his face is calm, and brilliant blue eyes stare through the glass to where an expanse of field stretches out on the other side of the building.

“Bucky?”

His tongue darts over his lips and he squeezes your hand before he starts moving again. Hair falls over his eyes as he watches his feet move over the tiles.

“Are-“ your throat feels dry, and you clear your throat. Bucky glances up at you. “Are you scared?”

His brow furrows, the corners of his mouth tug down. “No,” he says. “Not… Scared.”

Nodding, you move closer, your turn to tug on his arm. He pauses, closing the gap between your bodies. One hand reaches into your hair, holding the back of your head as you press your forehead to his collarbone. “It’s for the best,” you murmur, voice low. Bucky rests a cheek against the top of your head. “This isn’t like it was before. You’re not a prisoner here.”

“I know that.” Bucky heaves a sigh and pulls back from you, a crooked sort of smirk on his lips. “And when I’m back—“

“When you’re awake,” you correct, your fingertips brushing the palm of his hand. “You’re not leaving, Bucky. You’ll be here the whole time. And so will I.”

“That a promise, Mrs. Barnes?”

You grin up at him as he toys with the ring around your finger. “Cross my heart.”

The medical bay doors open soundlessly, sliding apart as you carefully guide Bucky over the threshold. His hand tightens in yours and then lets go completely as a technician, a smiling, warm young woman in a sheer white lab coat, handed him a stack of white clothing.

Shifting on your feet, hands tucked in your pockets, you wait. The sound of approaching footsteps is muffled by the heartbeat in your ears. A hand brushes your elbow, startling you, and you’re face-to-face with Steve, who smiles sadly at you.

“You okay?”

You don’t have to answer; no shake of the head or frown on your lips could accurately convey how unready you are. Steve knows this, and he gives your elbow a squeeze as the doors Bucky vanished through reopen and he emerges, clad in white from head to toe. His hair is brushed, smooth, tucked behind his ears. He looks like he’s lying down for a nap.

Bucky moves to your other side, a nod of acknowledgment in Steve’s direction.

“You’re sure about this?” Steve clears his throat, tucking his hands into his pockets. You reach over, sliding your hand into Bucky’s. He threads his fingers with yours, chewing on his lip for a moment.

“Yeah.” It’s a whisper on his lips, a no, but what choice do I have? that lingers in his mouth until he swallows it down.

Shuri is waiting, patient, quiet, her eyes flickering from you to Bucky to Steve to her tablet, fingers moving over what is probably Bejeweled, for no reason but to keep her eyes away from this private moment.

She looks up as Bucky approaches, nostrils flaring as he grips the sides of the translucent tube, and heaves a boot into it. He pauses, fractionally, before he pulls the other leg in and turns, his back against the soft cushioning.

There are no straps. The tube is clear, easily seen through, polished, white. All these things that make it different, but it doesn’t stop the panic hammering in his chest. He’s fighting it down, but his knuckles turn white, betraying the calm expression on his face.

Your shoulders sink and you move after him, into the space where the door would close. One hand presses against his chest, fingers splayed over the white shirt.

“It’ll be fast,” you assure him. He reaches up, wrapping a hand around yours. “I’ll be right here. Every day, I’ll come see you. I’ll tell you all the stupid shit Steve’s been up to and how my day is going and what I dreamed of— Every day, I’ll be by your side. I promise.”

Bucky’s other hand grabs your elbow, pulls you so close you almost fall on him, into the tube- if only- and wraps his arms around you. Pressing an ear to his chest, you listen to the hammering of his heart, enveloped in his warm embrace. You don’t move, even with his lips ghosting your cheek, the ends of his hair tickling your nose. The sounds of machinery, the hushed whispers from Shuri and Steve, are muffled by the heart pounding against your cheek. It starts to slow, gradually, as Bucky’s grasp reluctantly loosens. You peel away, your hand no longer pressed flat on his chest but gripping the white cotton over his chest, and Bucky takes a deep breath.

“To the end of the line, right?”

You nod as the glass closes between you. Bucky’s eyes close, slowly, and suddenly he’s Snow White— locked in a deep, dreamless slumber, in a coffin not made for the dead. Waiting to be saved.

A hand on your shoulder makes you suddenly aware of the tear sliding down the side of your nose, and you scrub at it, hoping Steve didn’t see. If he did, he says nothing. Neither of you move for a long time, and no one attempts to coerce you to. Steve is patient, the hand of comfort squeezing your shoulder just hard enough to keep you grounded. Minutes, hours, flicker by in a heartbeat, and you finally let Steve take your hand and guide you away, your footsteps echoing in the lab as you depart.

#swff #bucky x reader #bucky barnes #fanfic #worth fighting for

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beccs · 3 years ago

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oh man i don't like sending asks or asking these things but i have a little question!! how do u get your gifs to be so crisp and HD on the app?? I do everything in my power so they look good on both desktop and the app but it NEVER looks that good on the app, it's pretty frustrating.

if u don't wanna answer this it's fine! just thought i'd ask a talented gifmaker hehe

omg first of all, thank you so much for the compliment 🥺💖

i totally feel you on the quality of gifs on the app. they're never the same as what you'd see on desktop and definitely not even close to what they look like on the person's actual blog. i think the app tends to diminish most of the quality, so it'll never give you a good representation of what the gif actually looks like. and im so sure that the gifs you're making are BEAUTIFUL!!!!! it's just that the app isn't great in general. so many bugs and issues!!!

in terms of trying to make the quality match, imo, i think a lot of it has to do with the sharpening settings that you use! there's a really good method that you can find on this tutorial. i believe a lot of creators use the same settings found on there.

i also have a whole tag dedicated to photoshop questions that i've been asked, and i honestly don't know if my answers are helpful weihrojwiern but you can find the tag here.

i don't check to see if a gifset looks good on mobile before posting it, i just cross my fingers and hope for the best. sometimes they look so grainy and pixelated, and then other times they look okay! it might be the internet connection too that makes gifs look a little more funky.

obviously it's easier said than done, but try not to get too frustrated with how gifs look on mobile. yes, a lot of people use that instead of the desktop version, but you can only do so much for a 540x600 (or whatever size you're using) gif to look normal on a small phone.

#ask #anon #ps resource

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starr-fall-knight-rise · 5 years ago

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Earth is Space Australia “The Invasion Continues

You all seemed to really enjoy the burg invasion, so here is some more. I hope you like it and I hope you have a great Monday.

“This planet…. Is a death trap. All our men are dead or…. Or dying…. Please we cannot survive any longer.”

The transmission ended rather abruptly, and the newly instated burg commander slammed his fist into the control panel, “What is happening!”

Around the room his counterparts scurried to avoid his anger.

“There have been reports of animal attacks, poisonings and…. Industrial accidents…. It seems that the human planet is far more dangerous than we originally anticipated. The entire thing is a deathtrap.”

Crew members cowered back against their station as a pincer slammed into the console, “They are squishy flesh-bags you should have no trouble taking them out!”

“The humans are not the problem, it is their planet. It is covered in boiling water, poisonous plants, angry wildlife, and apparently non-military have banded into pack-hunting structures in order to kill us, and it is working very effectively. We assumed that their civilian population would be largely inferior to their military counterparts, but it turns out that the non military humans are just more creative.”

The burg commander’s carapace chattered with his anger, “Then if we cannot win this war, we will hit them where it hurts.”

“Your glory?”

“Bring me the GPS coordinates.”

“The ones that we took from the destroyed human ship.”

The burg rubbed two of his upper legs together, “Exactly those.”

The burg second in command looked very confused, “But, your glory. These….. Are just locations on the planet related to specific human soldiers. Why would we need these?”

The burg commander tapped his leg against the console,

“Cut off the head, and the body will die.”

***

“This morning both local and worldwide governments have reported isolated pockets of alien ivation from all over the world, Let’s head to Jeff who has been traveling the eastern seaboard this morning with details.”

“Thank you Tom, and yes worldwide and local governments have issued a state of emergency. UNSC forces are being deployed as we speak to all locations around the globe where the Burg have been sited. However, this is no independence day Steve, this is something entirely different. While there have been reports about burg sightings, teams of them up to five or six strong in some cases, so far no one has been killed or injured, at least not by a burg anyway.”

“What do you mean Jeff?”

“Well isolated reports have reached us from all across the world of people who have accidentally run into burg remains rather than live soldiers.. Evidence suggests that Crocodiles, bears, wolves, poison ivy, army ants, hippos, kangaroos, and poisonous snakes have all taken up the cause of mother earth, who doesn’t seem particularly pleased about being invaded. And when the burg have made their way into populated city centers, well things haven’t gotten much better. Groups of drunken football fans in eastern Europe and the British isles have been seen roaming the streets of Berlin, Paris, London, Dublin, and Rome in packs . Vatican security forces were even dispatching a number of burg troops in the early hours of the morning.”

The TV screen cut to a grainy video of a dark street which showed a pack of riotous humans with bats, clubs, and broken chairs racing down the street after alien forms shouting insults to the fleeing backs.

The video cut.

“Reports in from Chicago have the local gangs, police forces, and a high school chess club teaming up and beating the invasion back with gunfire, improvised explosives, dogs, and molotov cocktails of all things.”

“A truly shocking turn of events Jeff, but what are the UNSC saying about protecting us and our families during this time.”

“The UNSC is cautiously optimistic about the outcome of this event, Tom, but even so, they are advising that all Burg sightings be directed to the UNSC invasion hotline, with the number posted on screen right here, and available on all major mobile devices. Civilians are encouraged to avoid the burg if at all possible, though if those are not an option for either you or your family, the CDC has issued reports that human saliva can be fatal to the burg due to a certain enzyme which known to break down burg slime, and the potent cocktail of germs which follow. Your best weapon is to spit at them, barring that, than go right ahead and beat them to death with any available blunt object within reach, or sharp object. Shaolin warriors in china, Samurai enthusiasts in japan on Renaissance goers from america to europe are finding uses for swords and bladed weapons they have not been used for in the history of man. Attack dog saliva is just as useful as human saliva in this case so if Fido wants to get in on the action, your best bet is to let your pooch go ham and serve himself up a plate of space crab.”

“Thank you Jeff, and stay tuned where we will be receiving real time updates on the state of the invasion. But for now will your homeowners insurance cover alien invasions, what you need to know.” Martha, Jim, and Sunny sat on the couch staring at the TV.

Jim scratched his chin thoughtfully, “Better stay inside, Sunny. I’m sure after that there might be some people to gungho to notice you’re a bit too pretty to be a burg.”

“Alien invasion.” Martha muttered, “Do you think we should get the guns ready, just in case.”

The man shrugged, “Couldn’t hurt. Come on Sunny, you know how to use a gun don’t you.”

“I am Chief weapons specialist.”

“I’ll take that as a yes.”

Martha stood, “Grab my shotgun will you, dear, I’m going to go check on Adam.”

He nodded, letting her go. Sunny glanced over her shoulder catching a glimpse into the room through the door where Adam was lying out cold. She was pleased to see he was still asleep, and had slept through most of the night.

Hopefully this alien invasion thing would be over by the time he woke up.

***

Martha appeared at the top of the stairs into the basement, just as Jim and Sunny were coming up the stairs, a gun in each hand.

Martha took one from Sunny and walked into the kitchen, where the three of them sat at the table loading weapons. The doorbell going off nearly startled them out of their seats, but Jim went to go get it.

Sunny listened intently.

“Hey dad, did you see the news this morning?”

“Oh hey David, why don’t you come on inside, good morning to you Jordan, ah and my nephew.” Sunny lifted her head as David, Adam’s older brother, walked into the kitchen with his partner Jordan and their little boy bouncing happily in Jim’s arms.

Martha got up to hug her sun, and the other members of his family.

“Yes we heard about that.”

“Oh, hi sunny. Is Adam here?”

Martha had the group of them take their seats, “he’s resting. Apparently he went and saved the universe just recently, and we are trying to get him to rest. So don’t talk about the whole alien invasion thing too loudly.”

“Oh, sorry.”

It was just at that moment that the absolutely deafening sound of engines rocked the house rumbling through the floors and shaking the very foundation.

“What in blue blazes.”

Outside the front window a chain of bikers and rednecks doubled up on old rickety dirt bikes raced past the window screaming and brandishing guns. The line seemed to go on forever until they vanished down the road.

“What in the hell.”

A groggy voice just behind them, “What’s going on?”

They all turned to find Adam leaning against the hallway wall rubbing his eyes and looking rather bleery. He was still very pale.

“Just the neighbor kids being louds, now, Go back to bed!”

Adam appeared too groggy to be skeptical and just staggered back to his room.

The group of them looked at each other nervously.

“Sunny and I will stay here and guard the house, you three mind going outside and checking out what is going on.”

***

They had come to cut off the head. All remaining burg forces had been rerouted from the rest of earth, and were now making their way towards the GPS coordinates. They knew they could not overtake earth, but if they couldn’t do that then they had vowed to destroy the morale of humanity and take away it’s greatest nuisance.

Commander Adam vir would be dead before the sun sak below the horizon.

They entirely expected to show up in surprise, unannounced, but earth had different plans for them. In the space of ten minutes, two of their troops was hit by a minivan, and a third was attacked by a very angry small dog.

Walking along the fence line another burg ran into a very strange creature. It was very small, and sat atop a fence post, its golden eyes fixed on the burg as it lazily flicked it’s tail back and forth. Its ears were drawn back flat against it’s skull. He approached, and the creature hissed. He went to shoo it away with a hand.

And was immediately set upon by a very angry cat intent on ripping his eyes out of his face.

Their luck only worsened as engines rolled up the street, and a group of hungry looking bikers, teamed up with a very gleeful group of rednecks came charging down the street guns blazing. Motorcycles spun out, humans went flying.

Nearby, in the residential houses, families hid in their basements, while others made it to rooftops taking pot shots from their balconies, upper windows, or sometimes form the peak of their rooftops.

One young man had been very industrious, unbeknownst to his parents, and began chucking lit molotov cocktails out the window of his bedroom.

His older brother, also a chemistry geek upgraded that to homemade napalm.

From the other end of the street, the highschool girls softball team, and the girl scouts rolled up on hover boards and the backs of bicycles. The softball team had a mounted automated pitching machine on the back of a wagon, and each girl was equipped with a bat, and a bucket full of balls.

The girl scouts had apparently been preparing since last night, and had water guns full of spit, which was pretty gross but rather effective.

The softball captain took up a mounted position at the back of the wagon, and began pouring the balls into the machine which fired out at about ninety miles an hour give or take five. One burg had his face collapsed in an unlucky turn of events.

Their invitation to the high school baseball team had not gone un-headed, but they had brought with them the chemistry club, and the robotics team, who had downgraded to potato guns for the moment.

The police rocked up a few moments later to create a blockade down the next street and coordinate so now humans got caught in the crossfire .

An unsupervised cheerleader, had made herself rather industrious pulling up with a vest full of hair products, which people seemed skeptical about until she sprayed a burg right in the eyes, and turned another can into a flamethrower. A group of firemen showed up behind the police, blasting lines of Drev with high powered fire hose

I took the burg longer than it should have to determine that being lumped into a group wasn’t the best idea and so broke off into smaller units managing to sneak in through the mele and into the neighborhood.

Their luck didn’t get much better.

One of them was nailed in the head by a dirty diaper dropped from an upper window.

Another found himself hounded by the cross country team, who were gleefully using mankind's god-given talent of distance running to run their prey into the ground, hunting like pack humans should before beating them to death with tire irons and crowbars.

Someone’s dad stood on his front porch armed with a fire extinguisher and his tool belt, while another mom had packed her kids neatly into their car seats and was roaming the streets with ACDC blaring through her open windows, mowing over any unsuspecting burg that happened to end up in the street while her teenage daughter offered free ammunition and snacks from the back window.

The UNSC showed up late to the party rolling into scene in jeeps with proper military equipment and drones

By this time the invasion force was dwindling, and only a single group had managed to make it through to their target.

A little house in the center of the suburbs unsuspecting in the warm overhead sun.

They crept forward a few of them moving around back while the others inched around front.

One slid up to the front door, reached out a hand and opened inward.

They were met by the barrel of a shotgun and a very angry blond woman, and her face twisted into a snarl, was the last thing he ever saw.

***

Adam was woken a second time by gunshots. Bolting upright in bed and nearly passing out from the vertigo. He blinked blearily past his fuzzy vision and out the door as his mother backed into the hallway. There was another loud blast and blue icor painted the wall before her.

She backed down the hallway, and he could hear the repeated pump of the shotgun as she backed down the hall.

The burg chasing after.

He tried getting to his feet, but ended up on the floor gripping the bedside table for support.

His mother’s hair flew wildly about her head

“YOU STAY AWAY FROM MY SUN.” Another mob of them was rounding the corner.. It looked like she was going to be over-run.

But a sudden swirl of blue overtook them, and Sunny charged into them dispatching at least four less than as many seconds. A whimper came from the corner, and he turned his head to find Jordan, wide-eyed standing in the corner blocking his son shakily holding a rifle in one hand.

Martha backed up until she was kneeling right before Adam blocking him with her body.

Sunny was backing down the hall now too as the Burg followed.

Jordan took a deep breath and peered around the doorframe, taking one or two shots as sunny flattened herself against the wall, before he ducked back into cover.

It wasn’t looking good.

Not at least until Jim, and David came bursting in one through the front and one through the back mowing down the remaining burg.

Adam found himself flat on his stomach pinned to the floor as his mother through herself over him blocking his body with hers despite how much smaller she was.

And then the gunfire stopped.

“Martha! Martha!”

“We’re ok Jim.”

“Jordan.”

“Right here.” The two of them ran into the room David scooping up Jordan and his son, while Jim ran to make sure his wife was ok.

Outside, boots clattered on the porch, and a group of UNSC soldiers burst into the house sweeping their guns over the blood painted walls. They stopped when they saw Adam sitting at the foot of his bed very much alive,

“Delta to Alpha one the package is secure.”

Adam was thinking about asking his mother why no one had told him about the alien invasion.

But then he saw her cradling a shotgun covered in burg blood hair in a wild mess and decided that.

Maybe that was a topic for another time.

#earth is a deathworld #Earth is space Ausralia #humans are insane #humans are space orcs #HUMANS ARE WEIRD #humans are space oddities

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mymelodyheart · 4 years ago

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Starting Over Chapter 25 ~The Not So Wee Misunderstanding~

Geillis and Claire were sat in the waiting area of the A&E holding each other's hands. The doctor assured them, to their relief, that uncle Lamb had suffered only a severe case of indigestion, but they needed to do more test and find out why he'd collapsed outside his apartment. Claire surmised uncle Lamb must have thought he was having a heart attack and had decided to settle himself on the floor where he was more likely to be found. Uncle Lamb was clever and practical like that. Except of course for instances when he refused to have a mobile phone, and it frustrated the hell out of Claire whenever she couldn't reach him.

"Good ol' Lamby is going to be just fine," Geillis reassured her, squeezing her hand.

"Of course. Uncle Lamb is a tough cookie," Claire agreed, nodding. "I can almost see him fretting about all the fuss once he finds out he's only had indigestion. It's a good thing they're looking him over. He's far too stubborn to go and see a doctor or let me check him when something's not right. I worry sometimes."

"Aye, and not to mention, he gave us a hell of a scare!" Geillis added, clucking her tongue.

"That he did, indeed."

Geillis shook her head in amusement and checked her phone. "Still no answer from Joe. But dinnae fash lass ...he will see our message soon. He's usually always checking his Twitter account."

Meeting her eyes for the first time since they'd left the club, Claire gave her a small smile. "Thank you, Geillis."

She huffed. "For what?"

"For being such a great friend. For jumping into the taxi and coming with me without a second thought." Claire's eyes began to water, but she had a small grin on her face. "I'm sorry you're missing out on chatting up some cute guys in the club."

"Ach, ye would've done the same for me," Geillis remarked with a wave of a hand. "Jamie would be miffed though when he finds out ye're missing. But I'm pretty certain he'll understand. Lamby is yer family." Geillis gave her a dimpled smirk. "And save those tears for Jamie when he gives ye a hard time for running off just like that. He'll be out of his mind knowing ye're here at Frank's workplace."

Claire laughed nervously. "About that ...Jamie told me Frank is suspended from work and under investigation by the board. He even suggested I can probably come back and finish my residency program here." She sighed. "Jamie's lawyer is compiling a case against him so he wouldn't be able to hurt me in any way anymore. Frank will probably just end up going back to England to save face."

Geillis let out a huge breath. "I can so see Frank doing that. The board might be mostly his friends, but those hoity-toities wouldn't want to be dragged into his legal problems. Joe told me, Jamie's lawyer is a beast in court, and he'll pull all the stops to win. And ye have a solid case, and there's a picture of Frank attacking ye from those reporters who were lurking outside yer house. Frank's cronies will probably advise him to move to save himself from a full-blown scandal, especially now that they ken ye have the media's full attention because ye're with Jamie. Ye ken what Frank is like ... he's all about maintaining that clean image."

"Jesus, I wish it didn't have to come to this. I don't want Frank to lose his licence. He's too much of a brilliant doctor."

Geillis put an arm around her. "Dinnae feel sorry for him, hen. He made his own bed ...ye ken what they say. Just think of all those years Frank made ye miserable. Sometimes I wished it had been me who threw the vase at his smug face."

Claire laughed. "Enough of that talk," she gently chided. "Any news from the lads yet?"

Geillis had left Joe several messages earlier that explained where they were and what had happened and asked him to call back before charging into the hospital. It was Joe's night, and Claire didn't want them worrying or ending their celebration. Nor did she want Jamie to leave the party abruptly when there was nothing he could do at the hospital.

Geillis shook her head. "He's no' picking up. I left him five voicemails already. I'm sure he'll get back to me when he sees it."

So they settled down in their seats, grabbed a couple of magazines left lying about and browsed while they waited.

After two hours, uncle Lamb was wheeled out, ready to be taken home.

And after all this time, there was still no call from Jamie or Joe. So they decided to take uncle Lamb home and help him settle for the night.

..........

It was 2:00 AM, and uncle Lamb persistently refused to go to bed. After they all arrived at his apartment, much to Claire's mounting frustration, her uncle immediately went to his study to go through some paperwork. Resigned, she and Geillis sat in the kitchen drinking herbal teas, the alcohol from earlier already wearing off.

Claire's thoughts drifted to Jamie, getting more worried that Joe hadn't responded back. At first, she thought maybe Joe had lost his phone, but then Geillis had already left two messages on Jamie's number after she'd given it to her. Perhaps they're all too drunk and having too much of a great time to realise they're missing.

"Ye're staying here for the night?" Geillis asked in-between bites of shortbread cookies. "If ye are, ye willnae be able to charge yer phone."

"I'll stay here for the night, and I'll just have to do without a phone. You already sent a message to Jamie and Joe we're here with uncle Lamb. No need to chop and change and confuse them unnecessarily, especially if they had a lot to drink."

"Weel, then if ye're staying here, I better get going soon ..."

"It's late Geillis. You can stay. There's plenty of room. And I have a few clothes here you can borrow."

Geillis shook her head and smiled. "Thanks but no thanks. I like my own bed. I'll finish my tea, and then I'll go."

"Uncle Lamb makes a mean fry-up, and he's got proper coffee," Claire proffered, making a funny face at her friend.

Geillis laughed. "Aye, he does too. The breakfast is tempting, but I have a few gigs coming up for a back to back children's party, and I really need to organise that tomorrow."

"Fine, let's finish up and get you a taxi. I'm getting tired, myself."

They were just washing down their butter cookies with tea when the phone on the table began to vibrate non-stop. Thinking it could Joe or Jamie, Geillis quickly swiped the screen.

Claire apprehensively watched her friend's face changed from eagerness to read the message to utter shock. "What? What is it? Is it Joe?"

"Holy Mother of God! My friend just messaged me. Ye're never gonnae believe this," she muttered, furiously swiping the screen. "There's a photo of ye circulating in Twitter saying ye left the club hastily because Jamie was caught cheating on ye. Someone must have recognised ye at the club, took a picture and posted it ..."

"Oh, bloody hell!" Claire bristled, raising her hand in the air in frustration. "Turn that off, Geillis. Jamie was right. I shouldn't read what's written about him online. People will always translate a photo into something that's not. Let them speculate. By the time weekend is over, Jamie's fans will be onto something else."

"B-but ..." Geillis face had turned red.

"What?!?"

Geillis handed her the phone.

Claire glanced at the grainy photo of Jamie with Morag leaning close to his ears as if she was whispering something, and she enlarged it to get a better look. She shrugged and thought nothing of it as it had been evident from the start, blondie was openly throwing herself at her boyfriend. Then she read the comments, skimming through every hashtag about Jamie.

Jamie Fraser getting cosy with a blonde who is most definitely not his girlfriend.

Already trouble in paradise for new couple Fraser/Beauchamp.

Poor Beauchamp left the club crying.

We all know how the saying goes: "A leopard can't change its spots."

And then more photos began to emerge, and what she saw next, she definitely didn't like. "Jesus H. Roosevelt Christ ...I swear to God I'm going to cut off his balls and make Haggis out of it!!"

..........

"Hey, buddy, wake up!"

Joe?

Jamie tried to push through the haze and open his eyes, but the mounting pressure on his skull was like a balloon slowly being inflated under his cranium. Efforts to move, to breathe or to think, made the ache in his head ebb and flow like a cold tide and caused nausea to tumble in waves.

He felt deft fingers pressed the pulse on the side of his neck and heard the scuffling of shoes.

"I think we should get him to the hospital or call the emergency," an unfamiliar voice said.

"I'm a doctor. He'll be alright. Can you get him a bottle of water please?"

Joe's calm response soothed him. Knowing he was in good hands, Jamie began to relax and tried to slip back into the depths of unconsciousness where his head didn't hurt. Joe had been his former rugby team's doctor and had mended him countless of time during sporting injuries. Without question, Joe would take care of him.

He felt a light tap to the side of his face. "Jamie, I need you to wake up. Can you hear me?"

He forced his eyes open. "W-what? ..." he rasped, the brightness of the light above him hurting his brain.

"Alright, easy now, buddy," Joe hushed, helping him sit upright.

He squinted at Joe's worried face, and then slowly scanned his surroundings. He was half-lying on the club's sofa in the VIP room. Through the glass wall, he saw Willie and Rabbie talking to a distressed-looking Morag and the bouncer. The place was lit, the music low and all the clubbers were gone except for the staff who were busy clearing up. He jolted up, and the sudden movement brought a stabbing pain to his head.

He groaned out loud. Christ Almighty, how much did I have to drink?

Joe took the cold bottle of water from the bartender, opened it and gave it to him. "Here, drink this first."

Nodding gratefully, Jamie took the bottle, pressed it against his temple before drinking the whole thing to the last drop. He slumped back and grimaced. He felt like he had been run over by a truck. "Where's everyone else?"

"How do you feel?" Joe asked, ignoring his question and taking the empty bottle from his hand and placing it on the nearby table.

"I feel like shit," Jamie muttered. Then he looked up when Willie and Rabbie walked into the room. They didn't look any better than he did. "Where's Claire?"

"Listen," Joe cut in before Willie or Rabbie could say anything. "How about you go to the bathroom first and splash some cold water to your face? And then we'll talk."

Jamie frowned. "Joe," he said in a low voice. "I asked where Claire is."

There was a long silence as Jamie watched his brothers and Joe gave each other a knowing look. Why couldn't they just give me a straightforward answer for fuck sake? Jamie began to worry as his breath got caught in his chest and knew fear for Claire's safety was rapidly gaining in on him.

"Oh for crying out loud! I asked a simple question! Where is Claire?" Jamie pressed, hoping that their behaviour had to do with Claire having had too much to drink and wanted to hide it from him. "I swear to God if I..."

"She's with Geillis!" Rabbie finally said, throwing his hands in the air like he was annoyed or something.

The look Willie and Joe gave Rabbie didn't go unnoticed. Straightening himself up, Jamie gave them all a warning look. "And where are they?" he demanded, raising his voice a notch, even though it hurt his head to do so.

"Look before anything else," Joe began, "We have a bit of problem we need to address. I think your drink has been spiked. In fact, I'm a hundred per cent sure your drink was spiked."

What the fuck?

"What?!? What do ye mean spiked?" he shouted, shakily pushing himself up to his feet and ignoring the sharp pain that shot through his brain. He faced Willie, who seemed to be looking at him oddly. "Where is Claire? Why isn't she here? Please tell me I didn't do anything stupid," he said in a low voice to his brother. Please, please let Claire still be here! But Willie's face was already telling a totally different story.

"What was the last thing ye remember?" Willie asked calmly, searching his face.

Jamie cudgelled his brain, trying to think back, but something was off. Where there should have been recollections was a blank space, like a white wall bereft of photographs. What the hell was the last thing I remember? He remembered entering the private room with Claire and the rest of the group. He remembered Geillis coming to take Claire away and watching them head to the main bar. He hadn't liked the looks from men that followed them, but Claire seemed oblivious and so happy. He also remembered refusing the champagne given to them by the club, opting for a bottle of water instead. And then Morag came in with someone in tow. Fuck! That was it? That was all he remembered, and after that was nothing.

Jamie shook his head, hoping the action would clear some of the cobwebs in his addled brain. "I remember everything up to ye giving me grief for drinking water, and Joe ordering whisky and then Morag coming in with someone behind her. But that's it. The rest is blank."

"That's it?" Willie asked, running a hand through his hair.

"Aye. The rest I cannae remember."

"Sit down," Willie ordered.

Jamie hesitated at first but did as he was told. He plopped down on the sofa and massaged his temples, steeling himself for whatever was next.

"It was Forbes that came in with that blonde hostess," Willie explained.

Jamie's head shot up. "What? What was he doing here?"

"Shut up and listen, will ye," Willie barked. "When ye asked Forbes what he was doing here, he said he'd seen Claire and thought to go looking for ye. He apologised for his behaviour at the awards, and then ye both shook hands. And then Forbes insisted on ordering a round of drinks as a peace offering. When both of ye started to talk shop, we all got up and headed to the dance floor to meet some lassies, and Jen and Ian left." Willie looked at Joe. "Want to take it from here, mate?"

Joe nodded, taking the seat opposite Jamie and bracing his elbows on his knees and clasping his hands. "After a while out there at the main bar, I started to wonder where Geillis and Claire were. Rabbie and I looked everywhere, and we couldn't find them. We even checked the ladies' room. So I pulled out my phone and realised I had missed calls from Geillis. She left a voice message saying she and Claire had gone to the Royal Infirmary because Quentin was taken ill and that Claire's phone battery had died. Since it was an emergency and the club was crowded, they've decided not to waste time and took a taxi. They didn't know how serious the situation was, and Claire wanted to be by her uncle's side without further delay. Geillis instructed me to relay the message to you as soon as possible. Knowing you would want to know immediately, I came here at once and saw ..." He jerked a thumb towards the main bar outside and swallowed hard. "...blondie sat on your lap. It looked like you two were making out. Her hands were all over you."

"What?!?" Jamie's eyes widened in shock, and his heart began to pick up speed, hammering so hard he thought his chest would burst. He got up from the sofa and clenched and unclenched his hands, unsure what to do with them. He noticed the bartender from earlier had already slipped out of the room, and Rabbie unusually quiet, was sitting with his head bowed. "Are ye all messing with me? This better be a fucking joke!" he roared. When no one replied, he clasped his hands behind his head. "Oh, fuck, fuck, fuck! I wouldnae! I swear to God, I didnae. I wouldnae do that to Claire!" He picked up a whisky tumbler that was on the table and threw it at the glass wall, bleakly watching it smash into pieces. That's when he saw Morag being escorted out of the club by the bouncer.

"Jamie for fuck sake! We believe ye!" Rabbie finally spoke up, making Jamie spin around and look at his younger brother. "I was right behind Joe when we saw that lass in yer lap. Ye didnae look like you were doing anything except leaning back and looking daze. But she was all over ye and Forbes was gone. The look in yer face made Joe realised yer drink was spiked. Ye didnae look yersel', and ye were muttering, Sassenach. Even if ye werenae with Claire, ye wouldnae have made out at a place like this. I was about to punch the daylights out of ye, but Joe convinced me ye were acting weird. As soon as I asked the lass what the hell she was doing, she just jumped up from yer lap and left the room. Willie and I warned her already that if we found out she had something to do with spiking yer drink, she'll never work in Edinburgh again."

Jamie absorbed what his younger brother just said and let out a sigh of relief. He didn't know what he would have done if his own family and Claire's best friend accused him of cheating on his lass. "Have ye tried calling Geillis again?" he asked Joe, calmly this time, his breathing and heart rate somewhat back to normal.

Joe winced, and Jamie didn't like the look. "Yes we've tried several times, but there's no answer. And..." he added hastily as if afraid Jamie would explode all over again. "I tried Claire's phone too just in case she managed to charge it up. But no answer as well. They're at Quentin's apartment now. The last update I got, he suffered severe indigestion mistaking it for a heart attack. I'll keep calling, and maybe ...meanwhile, you can head ..."

"Tell him the rest of the story," Willie said in a solemn tone.

"What rest of the story?" Jamie glanced between the three of them.

Rabbie sucked in his breath and grimaced as Willie's face remained impassive.

Joe gave Willie and Rabbie a look of exasperation. "Fine, I'll tell him." Then he turned to Jamie. "A photo of you and blondie has already leaked out on Instagram and Twitter, and some moron with a fake account tagged you. It's only a matter of time before the news outlet gets hold of it and they ran the story of you cheating. We reckon it was Forbes who spiked your drink after catching on blondie having the hots for you and took the pictures. That man is a snake and is set to ruin you. We should have thrown him out when he came in here and ..."

Before Joe could finish his sentence, Jamie was already out the door. He needed to find Claire and sort this mess out. He didn't want to wait the following day because there was the possibility if he did, it would be too late.

...........

Jamie rang the doorbell of Claire's uncle's apartment. He figured Claire and Geillis would still be up after reading what's been going on the social media. To his surprise, he was immediately buzzed in. By the time he reached Quentin's floor, the apartment door was open, and Claire's uncle was in the hallway waiting for him.

"Quentin, ye're alright. Thank God." Jamie had been expecting resistance, anger and probably at the least, Quentin's disapproving look. But there was none of that. He'd come prepared already bracing himself for the retribution that he expected to come his way. But there was nothing.

"Yes, yes. Just indigestion. Must have been the curry takeaway I'd eaten," Quentin dismissed with a wave of his hand. "I suppose you're here for my niece."

Jamie swallowed hard. "Aye, is she still here?"

"She's asleep already. Come in, come in, I have the kettle on for tea."

Jamie warily followed the older man inside and closed the door behind him. "Ye're not by any chance making stock at this time of the morning are ye?" he asked.

Quentin laughed. "No, don't be daft," he replied, leading the way to the kitchen. "I'm just about to crush some walnuts, and while I'm at it, ye can tell me what the hell is going on."

Jamie winced at his reply the moment he saw a handful of walnuts in a ziplock bag on the kitchen counter, all ready to be crushed with a hammer.

#melodyheart #startingover #Claire Beauchamp/Jamie Fraser #outlanderfanfic

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filthysweetie · 5 years ago

Text

James Bond drabble

Prompt: “You’re seriously like a man-child.”

day niiiine. feel free to request if ya want :)

———————

The clacking of keys being pressed and murmured conversation was always something of a comfort for Q, it meant that everyone was working, keeping their operatives safe and making the new generation of tools that would help make them safer. It meant that no one was yelling for an agent to just keep breathing, the extraction team is so close—keep breathing or trying frantically to figure out where a cyber attack was coming from as the lights flashed red and everyone went deadly silent.

It was a comfort that was being rudely interrupted. Sure, 007 was quite as a church mouse, and he was far enough away, but it was like having a fox in the hen house and Q was the haggard farmhand.

Q took a sip of tea, trying in vain to block it out. For some reason, that just brought the man more into focus. Q felt his eyebrow twitch.

“Alright then 007,” Q turned and had to stop himself from putting his hands on his hips like a disapproving schoolmarm, “you’ve got my attention.”

Bond saunters over as if he’d just happened to be around and Q was the one demanding his attention instead of the other way around.

“Yes, Quartermaster?” Bond asks looking at Q with that patented half smirk. Q is not here to play that game, “What is it you want, Bond?”

“Is it not enough to want to admire the work of one of the best divisions in the Queen’s service?”

Q doesn’t both responding outside of a well timed snort.

Bond gives a little shrug, “Maybe I was bored.”

“And watching us watch computer screens is so invigorating.” Q looks at his watch. 002 isn’t set to start her stakeout for another two hours, and it is a low risk mission to begin with (not everyone is as…colorful as Bond).

“R, you have the conn.” Q says to his right hand woman and steps down from his post as R takes the mantle.

“Was that a Star Trek reference?” Bond asks, voice laced with amusement.

“Really 007,” Q grabs his windbreaker, his mobile, his second mobile, and his tablet, “we are a room full of computer geeks. Of course it’s a Star Trek reference.”

Q walks from the tunnels that make up Q-branches home. 007, of course follows. They go further into the bowels of the bunker, where the test chambers are. It’s always colder here; MI6 isn’t about to heat the whole of this unending maze. They arrived at the labs soon enough, as Q made his way through the rows, looking for a particular prototype, he was pleasantly surprised enough that Bond didn’t immediately start picking up weapons—especially as some of them weren’t altogether stable yet.

“Gun?” Q asks over his shoulder, “or throwing knives that go boom?” Bond’s head snapped away from the curves of metal he’d been admiring to Q’s face, his look of shock morphing into one of feral joy.

“The knives.”

“You are seriously like a man-child.” Q sighs, “One that unfortunately has approval to blow things up.” He grabs the set and gets them over to a proper testing room.

“You’re the one giving me that approval, dear Q.”

“And I pity the world for it.”

Q sets the knives down, gets through his speech on safety and testing prototype materials that Bond at least has the decency to nod through if not actually listen, and then he gets the hell over into the observation room.

Bond in action…well it’s definitely something to behold. His movements are always so fluid, the languid arch of his body as he throws the knife. It may or may not have Q a little distracted from watching the knives in action. Q watches him on grainy CCTV footage often enough, sometimes even on his own, much superior, visual equipment, but there’s nothing like seeing it in person.

The first knife lands in it’s target with a satisfying thud, but the promised boom is nonexistent.

Q pressed the little intercom button and repeats; “Press firmly on the handle a half inch from the blade as you’re pulling back to throw.” Reilly did refill the explosives, didn’t he? Q looks down at his notes and misses the next throw—and this one goes off without a hitch. It seems to cause a reaction in the already embedded knife that didn’t go off though…Q jots down the time to review on the footage later.

Bond throws a few more of the knives with relish, testing the weight of them, their trajectories. He also presses the button, then lets it go without throwing. Q’s not above admitting his heart jumped a little bit at that. Is the idiot trying to get himself killed? Everyone would certainly think Q did it! Not that they would be able to follow through with any kind of punishment (he could destroy them all), but still, the rumors. It would have Q-branch in a flurry for at least a week.

Q presses the button again; “Do try and be careful, Bond.”

007 gives a mock salute and throws without looking; the knife successfully hitting it’s target and explodes.

Q writes a few more notes, satisfied with the impromptu test, “Alright, go get them.”

Bond makes a face and Q can’t help but roll his eyes as he hits the intercom button again, “of course we made them reusable. Reduce, reuse and recycle and all that. They only have one charge each, in case whatever you hit tries to throw it back, but they’re still perfectly serviceable knives.”

Bond trots down to the other side of the test room and finds within the black aftermath of the explosion his 10 playthings, looking extremely pleased. Q won’t admit the little burst of pride that comes with knowing his invention has passed double-0 muster, but it’s there none the less.

When Bond exits the testing room, Q’s already waiting at the door.

“Alright, lets have it.” Q says and Bond goes off;

“The weight is a little top heavy, but that’s to be expected. The trigger is concealed well, and seems difficult to accidentally press—”

Q hums, “don’t think I forgot your stunt with that.”

“—And it’s not awkward to do mid throw when you know where to press. I’d suggest some minute differences in the color—the black blends in too well with the residue, which would make it harder to retrieve during a mission. How in the hell did you make them survive an explosion they make?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know.” Q mumbles more to himself than Bond, writing one more note before tapping the program closed and looking at the deadly agent in front of him, “Alright, I’ve given you your attention, are you feeling much better now?”

“How could I not?” Bond’s face falls back into that familiar half smirk, but his eyes are a bit brighter than before, “How can I ever repay you?”

Q resists the urge to roll his eyes now that the recipient can see him, “Don’t loom in Q branch.”

Bond leans against the wall like a regular old Casanova “But how else will you know I’m desperate for your attention?”

Q can play that game, “A normal person would just ask me to dinner.” It might even be fun.

Bond’s grin gains that predatory edge, “Well, my dear Quartermaster, may I take you to dinner?”

It will definitely be fun.

#00q #00q fanfiction #james bond #Q #is the fandoms just like called James Bond or do people tag with the movie or something??#honestly i don’t even remember the titles #oh wait adele #adele always has my back #skyfall #drabble on #i fancy myself a writer

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winters-uprise · 6 years ago

Text

Love is Blind

Paring: Arthur Morgan x Male! Reader

Warnings: Blind! Reader, mention of slight animal abuse, grand theft of Arthur's heart

Notes: There's a serious lack of self insert mlm, so here my sweet children. Let boys love boys. Also don't imagine Arthur trying to describe a tree. "Well think of it as a big stick with u-uh smaller sticks pokin out the side.

And you scoffing, "I know what a damn tree is ok."

Also someone teach me how to add the 'read more' thing on mobile before I kill one of u guys

------------

• "You need something you'll find it right here in this catalogue."

The catalogue thuds loudly against the grainy countertop. Arthur takes it from the shopkeeper and opens it, shaking off the dust. He absentmindedly scratches along the underside of his stubbled chin. He's gotta shave that soon, he thinks. "Alright, let's take a look."

The bell perched above the doorway rings and the manager instinctively turns to greet the arriving customer. He's pleasantly surprised with a familiar face, he smiles fondly. "Well Y/N. Finally came down to grace us with your presence have you?" He muses, his pen lightly taps against the clipboard in hand. "I got your things ready. Just need you to sign for 'em."

"Yes consider yourself blessed only for this week Louis," You huff at the old man, quickly writing off your signature anywhere. Arthur's attention is torn away from the heavy book at the sound of your gruff voice. And he jumps at the unexpected feel of warm wet huffing against his clothed leg. His brow quirks in amumsent, a slight tug on the edges of his lip. He promptly shuts the catalogue. His hand coming down to gently pat the furry beast.

"That's a real beautiful dog you got there." Arthur kneads those floppy ears, he loves 'em. It makes the dog whine, swiftly licking away at the corners of its mouth with a big slobbering tongue. You grab your bags, nodding in endearment to the stranger's comment. Your face only just peeking underneath the hat you adorned. The stranger he was curious, his voice had quite an alluring roughness to it. It was certainly- unique. You give a short tug to the leash wrapped securely around your wrist and utter a quick bashful thanks to the kind man on your way out.

"Take a look around before you go Y/N, might be something else in interest to you."

"Nah that's it for me today; pleasure doing business with ya."

• Louis gives the ticking clock yet another worrisome look, nostrils flaring as he sighs. Closing time was creeping and soon. Those residing in Valentine for as long as you have were kind folk and knew you well. Well enough to know you were a creature of habit. Yet there seemed to be no sign of you turning up today. The bell gives an alarming ding and his thoughts are interrupted; a feller. But his shoulders slump slightly in defeat, not you. There's a heavy clunk of boots as the mystery man steps in, eyes swiftly grazing along the shelves.

"Just need these 's all. Thought you'd be closed by now." A box of premium cigarettes are tossed upon the countertop by Arthur.

"I should soon," Louis starts, exasperatedly so, "But I fear somethings happened to a loyal customer of mine, blind fella. You seen him?"

Arthur shakes his head somberly, "No, sorry."

"How about this, your cigarettes are free. Just do me the courtesy of delivering these supplies to him." Louis yanks a loose sheet of paper from beneath the counter, hastily scribbling an address. He slides the torn note over to the Arthur. "You can take anything else you'd like as well."

Great.

• Shaking his head, Arthur gives an awkward knock upon the wooden door, his posture stiffening when he hears the shuffling of footsteps. It creaks as your face peeks behind the jarred doorway.

There's a very absent look to your E/C eyes he hadn't noticed before. He notes your fitted button downed shirt paired with slightly torn jeans, no hat this time 'round. His gaze might've lingered on the fine curve of your jaw far longer than they should've. The black bandanna he keeps on his neck is suddenly too tight. The man really is handsome.

"Got a delivery for you from the general store. Uh I-I know you ain't remember me but I brought you your things."

"'Course I remember you; I don't forget a voice like yours, my savior. Y'know I was down to my last bottle of Tequila? Who knows what would've happened if you hadn't shown when you did."

The name makes him chuckle, "Well shit, never been called that before. Maybe a son of a bitch at my best. But most peopel just settle for Arthur." fool, he thinks to himself.

"Y/N. Thank you Arthur."

Y/N, Arthur hums softly

• It's the next day, Arthur isn't quiet sure why he's back in Valentine -the place is plastered with mud- I guess the same way he isn't quiet sure why your name won't leave him alone.

His brows furrow at the sound of hysterical barking, it comes from behind the butcher's stall. A pang rumbles within his chest at recognizing the furry coat of your beloved pet. Pestering kids balling up what they could fit in their grubby hands, they pelted the yelping dog. His fists clench by his side. "Hey! You best leave that dog alone. Go on! Get!"

An urchin screams, stumbling his aimed throw "Shit, run! Run!" There's no need for a second warning.

"Come here you," Arthur whispers, coming to a crouch and giving his thighs a firm pat. He spares the dog some loose bread crumbs from his bag. "Shh, you're okay. I know you've been missed, come on now let's get you home."

• You sat on the cushioned loveseat, absolutely fuming. The little home was too silent for your liking and you cursed whomever took your seeing dog to damnation.

There's an unexpected knock. You open the door, cautiously, but it's yanked from your grasp as it's nudged open by the wet snout of your dog. You recognize her barking. "How?" Her paws dig firmly into your skin as she jumps at your front. You laugh and she almost topples you over. You stuff your nose into the fluff of her neck and breathe a sigh of relief. You had missed her dearly.

"Found him pretty far from home,"

Arthur

Arthur mutters, "You wanna go get a drink or something?"

• Arthur simply wants to enjoy the man’s company. It’s different being out here, away from the ruckus of camp, the constant nagging of Grimshaw. Together you strolled to a lush hill, overseeing a nearby river. Arthur takes off his hat and stretches his legs. He sighs, this is just real nice. You sat next to him, embracing the soft caress of the gentle breeze. Your heard tilts curiously to the side at the sound of rustling, Arthur digging further into his satchel.

"What you doing?"

Arthur pulls out his sketch book "doodlin." He’s free to watch you now. Arthur struggles a bit with the shifting shadows from the tree above, smudging too much of his pencil trying to get it just right. Not usually does he have the urge to draw people.

You kindly ask Arthur to describe what he sketches. It's the fierce flow of the river, its bank littered with milkweed shrubs and loose boulders, a stag lingers and drinks from it -Arthur feels a warmth spread throughout his chest, he had lost hope of feeling such a thing again. He doesn't mention him drawing you alongside the scenery.

Eventually he’s happy with what he’s drawn and Arthur tilts his head back, eyes to the clear sky. The sun was starting to set. He closes his journal and shoves it back in his bag.

Arthur's hand stays firmly squeezed around your bicep as he guides you home. You can hear the insistent sniffing from your dog along the trackside. You already know your way home from here, you dont say anything though. The same way you wont say anything about Arthur watching you. You happily play at being naive.

"I had a good time Y/N." Arthur quips, "Probably the first in a long while. Mind if we do something like this again?"

"So did I." you playfully pinch his scratchy cheek and lean further into him, smiling smugly against his ear "Just don't keep me waiting too long, cowboy."

#my writing #red dead redemption 2 #rdr2 #arthur morgan #arthur morgan x reader #mlm #i'm gifting this and a drawing of alexios to my bf just because i can #long post

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3rachad-archive · 6 years ago

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Could you do like a quick tutorial?

yes ofc (sorry i didnt understAND THE FIRST TIME LFMAMFOAIFWNAWI) itll be under a cut- which doesn’t work on mobile so u know :~~) sorry to my followers !!!

edit: THIS GOT KINDA VERY LONG- I KNOW YOU SAID QUICK BUT FOAIWNOAWINAWO ; ________ ; theres no quick way for me to explain this fjawefaoweifawnoe :~~( i didnt want to make you confused so i included pictures and i tried my best afhfhwoeiawo so it got Pretty Long and i APOLOGIZE HAHFHAOFWINAFOw

EDIT AGAIN: OK I FORGOT!!! I HAVE A WINDOWS COMP!!!! SO !!! MAKE SURE YOU KNOW THAT THE ‘ALTS’ AND STUFF ARE A LIL DIFF ON MAC (IDK WHAT THEY ARE BUT JFJAJFOAIW YEAH…….. i cant…. help u there…..)

EDIT AGAIN AGAIN: i proofread this once. and its. 3;30 am so … if i said smth dumb or didnt make sense pls pls telll meeee…!!!! and like. i apologize if i missed any spelling mistakes or anythign ajfjjjawfjowaei im just a Fool!!!!

oki dokey! its honestly p simple one u memorize the Steps! (if there’s anything you’re still ?? abt pls pls message me! im bad at typing out instructions so like jfjajfhgowigowa im scared i’ll leave u MORE confused mfmmgg) !!!

i’ll use my lil red riding chan gif to show you!!!

1) open up the video

open up whatever video you plan on giffing !! (”file” > “navigate” > open up whatever video it is you want to gif!)

2) cutting to the scene you want

using the snipping tool, you’ll cut the video where you want to start the gif. then you’ll let it play till where you want the gif to end! and hit the scissor icon again. now you’ll have the desired clip.

now you’ll have 3 ‘layers’ in the layers tab. you can go ahead and delete the top and bottom layers so you only have the middle layer (the one i have highlighted)!

(side note: if you’re trying to get it PRECISE and down to the frame, using the toggles that allow you to go from frame to frame is helpful!

this’ll let you get it down to precisely where you’d like!)

3) getting the frames

(make sure the layer is highlighted)

so you see the four lil lines? you click on those and you’ll get a drop down menu.

so as i’ve highlighted, you’ll click on “convert frames” and then “flatten frames into clips”

you will now have the frames from the video! ok, now you click on the “convert to frame animation” button! (the one i’ve circled)

now your timeline should look like this:

now going back to the four little lines from earlier:

you’re going to “make frames from layers”

your timeline should now be filled with all the frames from your video!

(side note: try to keep your gif less than 80 frames. the bigger your gif the bigger the file the more trouble you’ll have saving, uploading, etc. tumblr has a limit on size for gifs so ! be very wary ! )

4) timing

so every frame has a lil time code on it!

as you can see, the first one is 1.27 seconds, the second is 0 seconds- i can’t speak for every gifmaker, so i’ll just say what kind of speeds i personally use. i really prefer a little bit of a slower gif- to me it feels a little smoother and is easier on the eyes, and if you’re adding text to your gif, then the reader has a bit more time to read (if your subs change in the middle or smth)

so going back to our four lil lines

you click on “select all frames” (or you can click on the first frame, scroll to the end of the frames and while holding your ‘shift’ key, you click on the last frame; has the same result!) now, you go to the lil drop down arrow next to the time code on any of the frames, and input your time settings!

i use the setting of 0.07 seconds! its a little slower. some people do ‘0.05′ and some people will leave the gif at its original speed (which is ‘0′ second delay) !!!

and now you hit ‘ok’ and your times should all be the same! at this point, give the frames a once over and see if everything is running fine and you have all the frames you want, by clicking on the play button and seeing how it looks.

(side note: make sure that your looping times is set to ‘Forever’!!!)

if everything is fine then you can move on! if you think that you’d like to remove some frames then you can select those frames individually (or by the clicking and shift method from earlier) and using the lil trash icon. you can delete those frames! now you should have all the frames you want!

5) cropping + resizing

from your tools sidebar, you’ll pick the crop tool

in the bar along the top of the screen, you’ll see a lil drop down menu

okay, this is also another preference thing? so like, depending on the set you’re making, you might want like a different size!

in the first gif, i used ‘W x H x Resolution’ option, whereas the second gif i used the ‘4:5 (8:10)’ ratio! so like, its v dependent on what kind of gif you’re making. for 2x2 or 3x3 sets i tend to use 4:5 while single sets i use a free ratio so i can crop how i’d prefer the gif to look!

so with the red riding hood gif i used the ‘4:5′ ratio!

when you choose an option, you’ll get this sort of screen

if you click once, you’ll be given a grid and the ability to now resize!!!

when you’re happy with your selection, you can click the checkmark i circled in the first picture, and it’ll crop your image!

yay!! okay! now you have to resize the image! so you go to the top of the screen and you choose: ‘Image’

from here you’ll choose ‘Image Size’ or alternatively hit ‘ALT + CTRL + I’

you’ll get this dialogue box !!! where you can now imput your width (the height will automatically resize!)

alright so for sets, i’m not too sure about other ppl, but i resize my gifs following this usually!

500 pixels == 1 gif

245 pixels == 2 gifs side by side

160 pixels == 3 gifs side by side

those sizes usually look fine on tumblr and also work well with the image size limit!!!

(i resized this gif to 245px because i was putting 2 gifs side by side!)

after you’ve imputed the size, you can now hit okay! you’ll get this dialogue box:

go ahead and tick the ‘don’t show again’ and then click ‘Convert’

6) sharpening

okay, normally, you’d have to go through frame by frame and sharpen, but ; v ; your time gets eaten tf up so like… this is just the way i sharpen all the frames at the same time!!

so go ahead and select everything in your time line, either by the shift++click method or by going to the ‘select all frames’, and then go over to the layers panel and click on the bottom most frame, then scroll to the top and while holding shift, click on the top most frame.

everything should be selected like this!

go the four lines again and click on the convert to video timeline

your timeline should now look like this:

okay, now, going back to your top bar, you’ll pick ‘Filter’

and then click on ‘Convert for Smart Filters’

(side note: you’ll get another dialogue box i believe, so just tick the do not show and go ahead and continue)

clicking on filter again, you’ll go down to ‘Sharpen’ and then ‘Smart Sharpen’. you should get another dialogue box

these are the settings that i use! and once you put them in, you can go ahead and press okay, and your gif will be sharpened

(side note: there’s only SO much that sharpening can do to your gif. the best scenario: you have a video thats 1080p and the sharpening will add. but if your video quality isn’t the greatest then be understanding, ps can only do so much… also !!! some ppl sharpen twice, if you think it’ll look good you can go ahead and do that!!! i prefer to sharpen once, so that it doesn’t get too grainy!!!)

your gif is now sharpened!!!

7) colouring

uhh this one i can’t give you too many instructions for?? bc every gifmaker tends to have their own colouring style. it’ll really be up to your discretion and preference on how you colour things!!!

these are the tools when it comes to colouring!!! you can like… go to town and test different colourings! i shit you not… this is what takes me the LONGEST during giffing now.. like once i had the process down?? i was like ???? what should i make the colouring???

this is without colouring ^^

this is with my colouring ^^

this is what i had on this specific gif- every video will vary and you’ll soon figure out what colourings suit what videos or lightings or etc !!!

8) watermarking (optional)

this is optional but like………. in this day and age…………………….

so you select the text tool and you just type your url in whatever font you want???

these are the settings i use!!! and then i set the ‘Opacity’ at however much i think is suitable. (darker gifs, i might make the watermark a lil less visible, whereas brighter gifs i’ll make it a lil stronger!)

9) saving to the web

YAY! we’re done! you made the gif! pat your back!!!

mm okay now you have to save it !! so you can either do ‘CTRL++SHIFT++ALT++S’ or!!!

‘File > Export > Save for Web (Legacy)’

your gif will take a moment to render, but when it does you’ll get this screen!!!

these are the settings you should adjust to !!!

(side note: pay attention to the size !!

above certain mb your gif will be too big to upload !!! and tumblr will give you an error and tell you to try sizing down!!!)

also make sure:

that it says ‘Forever’ !!!!

and finally !! give your gif a play by clicking on the play button! make sure everything is fine and that your gif loops, and everything looks how you want it!!!

if you’re happy with how everything looks!

click save !!!

you can chose where you wanna save it and name it aptly !!!

10) BASK IN YOUR AWESOMENESS!!! (AKA: uploading your gif)

i wont explain this but now u get to upload your !! gif to tumblr!! eee :D

and there she is!! isnt she BEAUTIFUL??? :~~) hehe !!

anyway, i hope i helped explain this as CLEARLY as possibelf jfjfjaowiefnaweoia lmaooo this was ridiculously long so i apologize for that :~~( but i hope i helped you out! eee happy giffing angel!!!

#anon #answered #long post #gif tutorial #g.mine #oof.#OOF....#sorry this was so long dude #i ... i should've just made a video or smth #i aoifnwoifenawofi awoeifn awoei awe #RIPPPP #sorry :~~(#i tried to be as clear and concise as possible #ihope i made sense ahffjjagjoag

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juunshua · 6 years ago

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henlo! can u post a gif tutorial cause your gifs are so pretty and look amazing, even on mobile which messes up with everythjng 😆

ahh anon u flatter me!! thank you for your kind words!!! i honestly have ways to go, but it means a lot that u say this thank you

so for starters i have a mac + photoshop cs5 so a lot of this tutorial will be based on what you do for that, but i’m sure u could do the same thing on pcs (actually pcs have more programs available so i highly recommend, if u have a pc, finding a tutorial that is based around pcs) and other photoshop versions too! but i think the general process is still the same, a different tutorial might just be more nuanced^^

1. Finding/downloading your video~so for normal mp4 videos on youtube i use this website. it’s pretty useful it can download from actually a wide variety of sites like naver (up till 1080p!) ~for v app videos i use this site~ts files i find on kpopexciting or kpop24hrs (u need an account for kpop24hrs i think to download video but! signing up isnt difficult and its nothing fishy. i use it a lot esp for older ts files it has a good archive, kpopexciting tends to be faster though.)~the higher quality files you find the better! i find that it tends to go mp4~honestly finding the right high quality video is a HUGE part of making gifs look nice2. Extracting your video~there are many many many ways to extract your video but I highly recommend downloading avisynth! There are ways to download it for pc! avisynth is beautiful because it doesn’t really reduce the quality of your video to the extent that photoshop does, plus it can extract 60fps from ts files. some gifs ive made through avisynth ( x x x ) if you’re interested in avisynth further, tumblr user @/brandinator is a good place to start! if you want to know more regarding how to use it and a different tutorial through that, let me know! ~now i’m not sure if there is an avisynth tutorial for mac anymore, BUT theres another great program, vapoursynth, that mac users can look into. here’s a tutorial that i’ve found~Before I got avisynth I used VLC player for ts files but I had to basically screenshot each frame individually. Some gifs I’ve made through this method ( x x x ). these gifs are 60fps only bc i found a user who uploaded the ts file in 60fps. usually you cant get 60fps w/o avisynth. but this is also me saying that if you cant get avisynth or vapoursynth, there are still ways to work around it i think! one of my fav giffers for the longest time didnt use either!! and sharpening and coloring were always on point.~I think pcs can use kmplayer? id look into that if you have a pc~for normal mp4 videos I just use photoshops ‘import video frames to layers’ option (under file in the menubar)! you can use avisynth as well, but for me it takes forever to extract what i want in avisynth (minimum like a minute ish), whereas ps can get the part of the video i want to gif in a couple of seconds. I think it’s self explanatory but basically you find the video you want to extract, find where u want ur gif to start, and for photoshop cs5, you hit the ‘shift’ key and let the part u want giffed in the video play. when youre done u lift the shift key and hit ‘ok’ (idk if it differs for different versions of ps). i extract all!!! frames!! it makes it look smoother too :)

3. Coloring/Sharpening/Cropping/Etc~now this is the step that I can’t really give a tutorial on because honestly it varies for everyone! but i feel that this is the step that a lot of ppl need guidance with (me included) because it is the hardest step, probably because it is so ‘up in the air’ for lack of a better word? there is no one right way of doing it the possibilities are literally endless but here are some tips~Coloring: ~most important rule: don’t whitewash ur gifs!! ~other than that, the world is yours. ~honestly have fun with this part! coloring is something that i haven’t fully learned yet ~i tend to play around mainly with the curves, selective color, hue/saturation, and color balance layers ~you can also download psds other ppl have made (i dont do this myself) and use those! ~also i feel that a lot of the times, the right coloring can make ur gif seem higher quality. coloring can also play a role in reducing gif size if u do it correctly. ~honestly this part is just a lot of experimentation, over the course of a gifset and over the course of time in general. some people find their coloring style easily, but i was not one of those people. ive spent a lot of time trying to figure out how to adjust what layers to get the colors that i want and i think only as of this era ive been able to execute the coloring i had pictured in my mind. so patience is a virtue!!! ~Sharpening: ~ah yes my biggest enemy: sharpening ~first things first, i sharpen my gifs using smart sharpen + topaz ~settings for my smart sharpen are 500%; 0.4 ~check the box that says ‘more accurate’ and i personally remove ‘gaussian blur’ ~some people also use topaz denoise, and/or topaz clean ~ honestly topaz is a lifesaver for me bc it smoothes out a lot of grain that can be introduced via coloring! also!!! it can reduce gif size by a lot!!!!!!!!!!! ~on topaz denoise i hit the ‘light’ setting on the side and adjust the settings accordingly ~idk how to use topaz clean even though I have it, because it refuses to work ~to apply topaz you have to hit ‘flatten frames into layers’ ~some gifs i’ve made with just topaz and no avisynth ( x x x x) ~there are ways to make it look nice without topaz but i’ve forgotten how after i got it ~id duplicate the frame then use smart sharpen and ‘gaussian blur’ under ‘blur’ ~then adjust the opacity levels in some way. ~my settings for the opacity levels aren’t good so i’ll refrain from sharing ~some gifs ive made through this method ( x x ) ~last but not least i’ll bring up avisynth again. avisynth is nice at preserving video quality ~a lot of ppl i know say they don’t even sharpen gifs out of avisynth ~here are some gifs i have made with avisynth + topaz ( x x x x x x x ) ~honestly when it comes to sharpening, im still floundering with it. my sharpening needs a lot of work but, amongst the people who i consider good sharpners, most of them use avisynth, topaz denoise and/or clean, and smart sharpen! so all the resources are here !

~Cropping: ~it’s super important to follow tumblr dimensions otherwise gifs come out looking grainy! even when they’re not ! (case in point: x in which i used 168 instead of 178 for the dimensions)~Timing: ~Timing is so important!!! I almost forgot!! Always make sure u dont have duplicate frames for starters! for 60fps source videos i use .03, for mp4s i typically use .04 but sometimes the frame rate is kinda funky so you may have to go slower accordingly! and the important thing about timing is that if u use smart object, when u save ur gif, it’ll be in a different timing? like .04 gets changed to .07 but in order to fix that, u can simply just save ur gif in the wrong timing, and then reopen the gif in ps, simply change the timing to what u want on all ur frames, and then save it again!! idk if that made any sense but laskdjf this was the biggest mystery for me for so long omg4. Saving the gif~personally the save settings I use are “Selective/Adaptive” ; “Diffusive”; Dither: 100%; 256 colors. sometimes this makes the gif super grainy so i use “pattern” instead of “diffusive” in those instances5. Pray Perseverance ~a lot of the time when you’re giffing, gifs won’t come out the way you want it (i’m sure for every gifset i’ve uploaded on tumblr, there’s a gifset that i started making and never finished because it looked really bad). idk sometimes it feels like photoshop has its own will, sharpenings wont always work the same way each time, video quality won’t be the way you want it, i’m honestly still very experimental right now I don’t have ps figured out at all. so yeah…sometimes all u can do is that when u hit that save for web button (that ruins everything alskf), pray that ps doesnt mess it up too bad ahahaha but also that even when it does, its okay and you can try again! or try something new!

this is a super generic guide! let me know if you need more information!

#anon #replies

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bffhreprise · 6 years ago

Text

Entry 225

“Looks like we're all here. Jarod and Cosette, hop in the DB5 then. The rest of you in the limo, so you can ask any questions you might have after Alma apprises you of the situation.” ordered James, looking ready to rip someone's arm off.

Sis looked nervous, but I was sure things would be fine. Alma could handle about anything, and James was here. If the boss couldn't handle something, the city was in trouble. We sat in silence for a few after hauling into the vehicle, but Alma looked excited.

After the car was heading down the drive, she said, “What we’re about to do might well be dangerous for some of you.”

I wasn't entirely sure if she was being serious or not with how the twins smirked, but I was ready to rumble.

“The necromancer that has been plaguing this city has been discovered.” stated Alma, looking excited as she gazed at us all. “Mila, please show the footage from earlier.”

The television lit up, showing some old guy walking down a hallway. Was he in a hotel? He had a long coat over a large body. He seemed pretty friendly, but I didn't see the point of this clip.

“There. Did you see it?” inquired Alma as she looked around at us.

I was relieved to see that I wasn't the only one shaking my head. No one seemed to know what she was talking about.

Alma frowned, seeming unhappy about our lack of enthusiasm for this old guy. “Mila, please rewind and zoom in on the anomaly.”

I was really impressed with how much the camera zoomed without getting grainy. “Oh…” I muttered as I watched part of the man’s coat pass through a cart. How was I supposed to have caught that without knowing where to look?

“That, ladies and gentlemen, is quite obviously an illusion. Having noticed this, Mila increased her surveillance of this man and found this next clip.” explained Alma with a slight smile.

The next clip looked like it had been filmed on a potato in comparison. The old guy had a couple of friends strolling along with him. Did she think they were illusions as well? The guy looked plenty friendly to have a friend.

“Did you notice the odd gaits of the men who joined him?” asked Alma when the clip stopped.

As I shrugged, James quickly said, “They seemed a little stiff, but their movement wasn't that odd.”

“I'm with him, actually.” asserted one of the twins.

“Their walking wasn't that odd.” agreed the other.

Alma smiled and said, “Then watch them in this next clip.”

Another potato-quality video started playing. One of the old guys tripped and sprawled, but no one snickered. We all knew there was something here. My jaw dropped as I saw the man bend upward in the most freakish way before lurching after the other two.

“I suspect those two that joined our target are zombies covered in elaborate illusion spells. Even when the one fell, the clothing moved rather naturally. Yes, the clothing could be real, but I doubt our necromancer would bother doing dry cleaning for his creations.” explained Alma, looking pleased.

“Is this all?” asked James. Seeing her nod, he said, “I would hardly call this definitive proof of his involvement with the zombies though.”

Continuing to nod, she told him “Quite right, but I consider this plenty to question him. There are more clips of the three. Unfortunately, nothing much stands out in them.”

“Sorry, master, but many of the shops don’t have digital surveillance systems, at least not networked ones. If they had, I’d have accessed them.” explained Mila, sounding apologetic.

“If my suspicions are correct, he might well attack us when confronted. Assuming he does, I would like all of you to be on alert for more of his zombies. Obviously, you don’t want them to bite you. Though I doubt this man’s found a way to make the spells sustaining them contagious, they probably do carry disease. Furthermore, they’ll likely be far stronger than an average human. This man’s capabilities in constructing zombies are impressive. I’ve never heard of his match in this. Considering the explosions at the park, destroying the things at range is preferable.” explained Alma.

Without missing a beat, James said, “Hopefully, none of you will have anything to do, but remember that we are in public. The limo sticks out enough in some neighborhoods, so try not to draw additional attention.”

“Master, the man has entered a cemetery. There are people present nearby.” stated Mila.

James sighed and told her “Great. He’s probably out looking for fresh corpses.” Looking to the rest of us, he then said, “In case this is a man who truly is just out visiting the deceased, I still feel we should talk with him. Try to protect everyone if things get out of control. Portentia, I really don’t know how you get around town dressed like that, but you probably should wait in the limo unless things get messy.”

“Mila, will you please take care of any mobiles in the area should someone attempt to record something they shouldn’t?” asked Alma, though she sounded more like she was issuing a command.

“Of course, Lady Pendreigh.” replied Mila.

At first, I was excited. I never had dreamed that I'd get to fight zombies in real life! This was the type of thing Jarod and I joked about doing, not something I actually expected to try. As the discussion continued, the reality of fighting a rotting corpse destroyed much of my enthusiasm. These things had once been actual people.

I was sure I'd manage as long as none of the zombies exploded next to me. I had ways to heal small wounds quickly. I didn't know how well I could protect Brenna. Yeah, she had magic and knew how to fight now, but she couldn't heal up if she was injured. Even I might be in trouble if I caught some serious disease from them. The gravity of the situation was starting to get to me.

“Mila, stop the cars.” ordered Alma.

“What's wrong?” inquired James as he looked around inhumanly fast. “Ai? Mai? What are you doing?”

As he spoke, the twins rushed out of the vehicle. I started getting up. I needed to leave as well. Then suddenly, I looked at my hands and wondered what I was doing. I plopped back into the seat. Was I really about to walk off!? My head felt a bit weird.

“Ugh… he got us.” stated one of the twins as she looked back in the limo.

The other nodded and said, “Sorry, Lady Pendreigh.”

“I didn’t expect this either, so don’t be. Get back inside. We’re parking farther back. Mila, are there still people ahead despite the time?” asked Alma after the twins were inside.

“Yes, Lady Pendreigh.” answered Mila.

Then Alma asked “Girls, what were you about to do when you got out of the car?”

“We were just…” started one, stopping and looking to her sister..

“We were about to go home.” finished the other.

Yeah… that felt right to me, like I suddenly knew I was needed back at the mansion.

“Well, that’s convenient. There’s apparently some sort of warding spell to keep people away. The ones up ahead are probably zombies. I put a spell on all of you to counter the effect, but I want to look around before any of you get too close.” explained Alma. Then she stepped outside as the vehicle stopped again.

James sighed as he watched her, looking as if he didn't really want to be here. Whatever he decided, I'd follow him. He was the boss.

#Best Friend For Hire Reprise #Best #Friend #For #Hire #Reprise #Jovial Times #Jovial #Times #Fantasy #Fiction #Story

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weeklyhumorist · 4 years ago

Text

The Son From ‘Cats in The Cradle’ Would Like To Correct The Narrative

“My child arrived just the other day

He came to the world in the usual way”

Actually, my birth story’s quite harrowing. Dad, like most mid-twentieth century men, wasn’t even in the room. Mom was in labor for fifteen brutal hours. Far from “usual,” I’d say.

But as you’ll see, cutting mom out of the family portrait is an ongoing issue.

“But there were planes to catch, and bills to pay

He learned to walk while I was away”

One doesn’t learn to walk in a day. Yes, dad was gone for the specific moment I took my first step, but it’s not like he missed my early mobility entirely. I have grainy home movies of me shaking diapered booty in every imaginable way. Dad’s very much there.

Also, what’s with him portraying himself as some sort of jetsetting Don Draper burning up the Pan-Am miles? My father was an insurance salesman. He went on maybe two planes a year, at most. Usually to visit aunt Clara, not to pay bills. But I digress.

“And he was talking ‘fore I knew it, and as he grew

He’d say ‘I’m gonna be like you, dad’

‘You know I’m gonna be like you’”

Others I was “gonna be like” at age three: Stretch Armstrong, Grimace, and Lassie. Toddlers’ expectations are famously untethered from reality and not in any way predictive.

“And the cat’s in the cradle and the silver spoon

Little boy blue and the man in the moon

‘When you coming home, dad?’ ‘I don’t know when’

But we’ll get together then

You know we’ll have a good time then”

Pop’s really hung up on this “when you coming home, dad?” conceit. To be fair, I did ask it a lot. Like when he went golfing. Or to the bank to deposit that bill-paying money. Or sometimes just to the backyard. It’s actually a really mundane thing for kids to ask. Dad makes its sound like I was in belabored agony longing for patriarchal security. In truth, I just wanted to know how long I had before he commandeered the TV with tedious Bonanza reruns.

“My son turned ten just the other day

He said, thanks for the ball, dad, come on let’s play

Can you teach me to throw, I said, not today

I got a lot to do, he said, that’s okay”

You know what I don’t remember, like at all? My tenth birthday. Nine is memorable because I had one of those sweet ass seventies McDonald’s parties with orange drink and Happy Meals and dangerous playgrounds. Eleven is family lore because I embarrassingly vomited all over my Carvel cake. But ten? Total blank. I trust I did get a ball, if dad says I did, but I’m 99% sure I knew how to throw said ball before reaching double digits. Isn’t that a kindergarten skill?

“And he walked away, but his smile never dimmed

It said, I’m gonna be like him, yeah

You know I’m gonna be like him”

Really, pops? My smile spoke to you? That’s a thing that happened? Guess you took fuller advantage of the seventies than I realized!

Honestly, this whole story makes me sound like a damn idiot. Here I am at ten, unable to throw a ball but apparently with a smile like a crystal ball. And then when pops steps away to clean the garage or perform some other man-chore, that’s the catalyst that leads me to attach my life’s aspirations to him? What? Why?

I am, however, happy to know that after this one, apparently hyper informative day, nothing happened during the next eight years to trigger dad’s guilt. I myself remember adolescence as a bit of a roller coaster, but for dad it seems to have been smooth sailing. He went through an early ‘80s yoga phase, so maybe that’s it.

Fast forward to college.

“Well, he came from college just the other day

So much like a man I just had to say

Son, I’m proud of you, can you sit for a while?”

Now this I do remember. School was hundreds of miles away, and I drove a really crappy VW with no air, no stereo, and only about half an engine. I walk up to my doorstep after this exhausting drive, massive bag of laundry in tow, and before I can even ring the bell, dad’s immediately—and I do mean immediately—all up in my face like, “hey son, whatdya know? Like our new furniture? Want to sit on it? Have some Tang?”

But I couldn’t do any of that because I had an errand at a store that closed in twenty minutes. Or as dad chooses to remember it:

“He shook his head, and he said with a smile

What I’d really like, dad, is to borrow the car keys

See you later, can I have them please?”

Yes, with my shitty car basically busted, I did ask to borrow the family wagoneer. And where was I going, you ask? That would be to the bakery to pick up an anniversary cake. Because ya see, dad had again forgotten my other parent, as he’s wont to do (but I guess that’s another song, eh dad?).

I was back in ten and spent the rest of this weekend at home. If anything, it was a little too much in the father/son bonding department.

Years then pass without incident, until one arbitrary phone call eventually re-triggers dad.

“I’ve long since retired and my son’s moved away

I called him up just the other day”

“I said, I’d like to see you if you don’t mind”

Note that he didn’t ask to see me. It’s all about him. He’d like to see me. I’ve been summoned.

Nevertheless, I’m polite.

“He said, I’d love to, dad, if I could find the time

You see, my new job’s a hassle, and the kids have the flu

But it’s sure nice talking to you, dad

It’s been sure nice talking to you”

Cue another self-centered pity party.

“And as I hung up the phone, it occurred to me

He’d grown up just like me

My boy was just like me”

My god, what a narcissist! I mean, I love him and I’m glad he’s taken up the retirement hobby of songwriting, as it keeps his mind sharp. But seriously, why the unrelenting solipsism?!

Sorry your grandkids had the flu, dad (they’re fine now, by the way). Sorry I had a hard deadline. Sorry I politely reminded you how nice it was to hear your voice. Sorry I didn’t realize my entire life was under a microscope built by your own guilt or that one lone phone call would serve as allegory for our relationship. Sorry I couldn’t call you back until the very next morning.

But mostly, dear father, I’m sorry you’re so hard on yourself. While you were a good dad who taught me much, the most important lesson you’ve given me is to not define either my parenting or my children by my own selective memories from a tiny handful of days.

Rest assured that I’m not gonna be like you, dad. You know I’m much more like mom.

The Son From ‘Cats in The Cradle’ Would Like To Correct The Narrative was originally published on Weekly Humorist

#Cats in The Cradle #dad #funny #humor #music #son #song

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asfeedin · 5 years ago

Text

Apple iPhone SE (2020) In-Depth Review: Buy This iPhone

“The new iPhone SE is the fastest phone you can buy for $400.”

Light, compact design

Class-leading performance

Loud, enjoyable audio

Great camera

iOS is excellent

Not a great display for $400

Battery life is just OK

Apple designs devices to last, and not just because it pleases customers. It also lets Apple polish up an old device with fresh specs and sell it as new. The iPhone SE is the latest example, but hardly the first. Apple took a similar approach to the iPhone 8, and still sells a MacBook Pro 13 with Touch Bar that’s essentially identical to the model launched in 2015.

It’s a polarizing strategy, and the new iPhone SE created a schism the moment it was announced, for all the usual reasons. Some see smart reuse of a great design that still has purpose. Others see lazy rebranding of an obsolete phone. People in both camps tend to have their opinion ready before ever laying hands on the phone in question.

Whatever your thoughts going in, one fact is indisputable: The iPhone SE ($400) is the least expensive iPhone, and that makes it important, no matter its design or hardware. Plenty of people will buy it because it’s the new default choice.

But is it a good phone?

Design

I’ll get an awkward admission out of the way. As a tech reviewer, you might expect me to upgrade my gear every year. I don’t. My everyday phone is an iPhone 7 Plus, which despite lacking many knockout features you’ll find on more modern devices, is still a nice phone.

The one thing I don’t like about it is a drawback it shares with the iPhone SE: Chunky bezels around the display. They’re massive compared to other modern phones. Every Android competitor in this space offers slim bezels that maximum screen size for a given footprint.

Can you live with them? Certainly. I have for years. Still, this is easily the biggest problem with the iPhone SE’s design. You’ll feel a tinge of jealously when a friend pulls out a Google Pixel 3a or Moto G Stylus. While the iPhone SE is replacing the iPhone 8, its design is rooted in the iPhone 6 — a phone that came out in 2014. It’s not unfair to say that the new iPhone SE looks like a six-year-old phone.

Thankfully, that’s where the bad news ends.

Matthew Smith / Digital Trends

Despite its bezels, the iPhone SE remains a slim, sleek, pocketable device. It’s 5.45 inches tall, 2.65 inches wide, .29 inches thick, and weighs only 5.22 ounces, making it the lightest of the current iPhones. The Google Pixel 3a, which is among the smaller mainstream Android Phones, is still a half-inch taller, more than a 10th of an inch wider, and a 10th of an inch thicker — though it does manage to weigh the same.

You’ll find more of a difference when comparing the iPhone SE to a beefy Android phone, like the Moto G Stylus. That phone, which packs a 6.4-inch display, is three-quarters of an inch taller, a quarter-inch wider, and far thicker. It’s also about 30 percent heavier. That’s a difference you’ll easily notice, and I complained that the G Stylus felt too heavy and thick in my review.

As a small phone, the iPhone SE answers the prayers of those preaching the path of one-handed smartphone use. I’m 6 feet, 1 inch, and never needed two hands to use it — in fact, placing two hands on it feels a bit silly.

Owners under 5-foot, 4 inches might find reaching the top edge a stretch, but the maneuver is still possible with a slight shimmy. In that sense, the new iPhone SE falls short of the supreme one-handed utility of its 4-inch predecessor. Still, it’s small enough that I don’t think most people will find this a problem.

All the usual buttons are here: Power, volume up and down, and a physical switch for turning vibration on or off. They’re all made of aluminum, like the chassis, and feel great to use.

The Touch ID sensor, which provides flawless fingerprint login, continues to serve double duty as a home button. This a subtle but significant design choice. Because it has a home button, the iPhone SE doesn’t use the new gesture navigation system found on other new iPhones. I like this. Gesture controls are clearly the new normal, but I like having the button, which I think is more intuitive.

As for ports, well, you get a Lightning connector – a proprietary dead horse that I don’t feel the need to dig up and flog. Just know that you’ll need either wireless audio or a Lightning-to-3.5mm audio adapter, which isn’t included in the box.

Display

The iPhone SE has a 4.7-inch IPS multi-touch display that serves up a 1,334 x 750 resolution (or 326 pixels per inch). It’s a True Tone screen (meaning it adapts to the light in your environment) with wide color support, haptic touch, and reaches a maximum brightness of 625 nits, per Apple.

Is a 4.7-inch screen too small for a smartphone sold in 2020? No … but it’s close.

This is an undeniably small screen next to what you might find elsewhere. Plenty of Android competitors offer 6.2-inch to 6.5-inch screens for the same price, and some might even be OLED. I won’t say those displays look more “realistic,” but they’ll please your eye in a way the iPhone SE’s 4.7-inch IPS screen can’t match. They’re bigger, of course, and often have a punchier, more vibrant look.

Matthew Smith / Digital Trends

Let me put it another way. The new iPhone SE’s screen is about 23 percent smaller than a Google Pixel 3a’s, and 40 percent smaller than that of a Moto G Stylus or Samsung Galaxy A51. It’s also 33 percent smaller than that of Apple’s iPhone 11. It’s a lot smaller than other phones you’ll be looking at in this price bracket.

I didn’t have a problem using it on a daily basis. In fact, normal day-to-day use is where the smaller size feels more comfortable.

The new iPhone SE is a great device for thumbing out a quick text reply, snapping a couple photos, or popping up Yelp to see what food is nearby. It’s small, nimble, easy to reach, and displays just enough information to get the job done.

The longer I used the device, though, the more I felt constrained. This starts on the Home screen, where apps are icons sit noticeably closer together than on most iPhones. Text can be harder to read, since it’s smaller, and you’ll need to scroll more while navigating websites.

Then there’s video. Mobile video consumption is a big deal for many people, and it’s a place the iPhone SE must make a sacrifice. Viewing a video on the 4.7-inch display isn’t nearly as enjoyable as it is on a larger 6.4-inch or 6.5-inch screen. Even the 5.5-inch display on my iPhone 7 Plus is in another league.

Audio

While the iPhone SE’s display left me precisely as whelmed as I’d expected, its audio quality delivered a surprise. This little phone can rock.

The iPhone SE delivers stereo playback with enough volume to fill a living room with sound. There’s even a hint of bass, which opens the soundstage and reduces distortion during complex tracks.

Listening to lo-fi hip-hop beats, I noticed a depth of sound that I don’t often hear in a midrange smartphone. It sounds like an older Oontz speaker I frequently use, though the iPhone SE’s maximum volume is much lower.

Matthew Smith / Digital Trends

The clear mid-range helps in movies as well. Big explosions and deep bass soundtracks tend to wreck smartphone speakers, with smaller and less expensive phones suffering the worst of it. The iPhone SE isn’t free of muffled dialogue, particularly in action scenes where explosions and dialogue often occur simultaneously, but it does better than most.

And yes, it’s a huge upgrade for anyone still stuck on the original iPhone SE.

As mentioned, there’s no 3.5mm audio jack here, so you’ll need wireless audio or a Lightning-to-3.5mm audio adapter to use external audio devices.

Camera

Glance at the specs, and the iPhone SE’s camera doesn’t look impressive. It’s a single-lens system with a 12MP shooter. It has optical image stabilization, portrait mode, panorama mode, and Smart HDR, among other features, but none of that truly stands out.

Apple claims the secret sauce is its image pipeline, powered by the powerful A13 Bionic’s Neural Engine. And you know what? It’s good sauce. This is all the camera I’ll ever need on a phone.

Outdoor image quality

Matthew Smith / Digital Trends

The new SE takes pleasing outdoor photos. I wouldn’t call its look neutral, but the iPhone SE is less prone to dramatic, vibrant shots than most Android phones. That can leave the iPhone SE looking flat, but the iPhone largely avoids excessive color saturation. Photos look realistic and balanced.

I must praise the new SE’s ability to handle bright lighting. This is a place where midrange Android phones often fall short. It’s not perfect, but blue skies are less likely to overwhelm a photo’s background, and the new SE usually settles on the right white balance without the need for finicky adjustments.

Indoor image quality

Matthew Smith / Digital Trends

I was less inspired by the new SE’s indoor quality. The phone still settles on the right white balance. However, its tendency to take neutral, realistic shots can leave some photos looking flat.

This is a different problem from the noisy, grainy images you’ll see on a subpar smartphone camera. I think the photos look plenty sharp. They just lack the wow factor you might see from a flagship smartphone.

However, I still think the new SE performs well for its category, and you can take excellent indoor photos. I don’t like to stage test photos, and I did nothing to improve lighting. Simply turning on a lamp will significantly improve your results.

Low-light image quality

Matthew Smith / Digital Trends

I can’t fault the iPhone SE’s low-light performance. Color saturation and contrast remain wanting, to be sure, but I’m a little surprised by how clear and sharp these photos turned out. You can see grain in the photo, but it’s not so bad that the photo looks downright ugly – which is certainly true with some midrange phones.

Remember, however, that the iPhone SE has no Night Mode (or anything similar). If you try to take a photo outdoors at night, you’re going to see a whole lot of nothing.

Zoom image quality

Matthew Smith / Digital Trends

As a single-lens shooter, the iPhone SE lacks a zoom lens to help taking shots of far-off subjects. It only supports digital zoom up to 5x. Yet I’m not sure that’s much of a disadvantage.

Adding an optical zoom lens felt like a big deal when it first came to phones, but reception of the idea has cooled over time, particularly if the lens is merely a 2x, 3x, or 5x zoom. I’ve found them hard to use and have largely come to ignore them when I’m not testing their quality.

I think the new SE’s zoom performance is fine, even solid, for a midrange phone. Zooming all the way in certainly results in a quality hit, but the photo is still sharp enough to be usable. That’s better than some inexpensive phones I’ve tried.

Front-facing camera image quality

The iPhone SE has a 7MP front-facing camera, and it didn’t impress me. It struggles indoors, often delivering grainy, flat photos. Take it outdoors, and it struggles with white balance and contrast. It’s a functional shooter that can take good photos in ideal situations, but it’s not great for snapping quick selfies. The saving grace is the fact that all phones in this price range have similar issues.

Portrait image quality

3. Portrait mode on front facing camera

Portrait mode remains stunning.

Suddenly, photos from the front-facing camera are elevated from disappointing to not bad. The main camera, meanwhile, can take awesome portrait photos. Remember, I am not staging the accompanying photos. I’m not using any special lighting or even turning on a light in a room to make photos better. Despite that, I’d be happy sharing the photos I took in portrait mode with friends.

It’s not perfect. Portrait mode is handled entirely in software, and it can make mistakes. Look closely at my curly locks and you’ll see they’re sometimes blurred when they shouldn’t be, a common problem for single-lens phones that attempt depth of field.

On the plus side, you can manipulate the images after taking them in all sorts of ways. You can change lighting and aperture or omit the background entirely. It all happens with surprising speed and is a lot of fun to play with.

Photo quality: iPhone SE vs. Google Pixel 3a

The Google Pixel 3a is priced at $400, just like the iPhone SE, and is often considered the champion of mid range phone photography. Fortunately, I have a Google Pixel 3a XL, so I could compare them head-to-head.

iPhone SE (left) and Google Pixel 3a XL (right)

1. iPhone SE (2020)

2. Google Pixel 3a XL

3. iPhone SE (2020)

4. Google Pixel 3a XL

5. iPhone SE (2020)

6. Google Pixel 3a XL

7. iPhone SE (2020)

8. Google Pixel 3a XL

I prefer the new SE, but it’s not a blowout. I think Apple’s phone does a better job with white balance. This is most evident in the photo of the pizza logo against a partly cloudy sky. The iPhone does a much better job delivering an accurate photo, while the Pixel 3a XL’s color temperature ends up too cool.

The new SE also takes the lead in portrait mode. I think image quality is comparable – but look at my ‘fro! The Pixel 3a XL’s algorithm is clearly less aggressive. While the iPhone blurs some wayward locks, the Pixel 3a gives me an odd halo.

Apple doesn’t win every photo, though. I prefer the Pixel 3a XL’s photo of the lush garden sidewalk. It’s more vibrant, yet still looks natural. You can almost smell the crisp spring air. The iPhone SE’s photo is too flat and fails to capture my memory of the scene.

Photo quality: New iPhone SE vs. original iPhone SE

You might wonder what 4 years of progress will get you. What’s the answer after pitting the 2016 and 2020 versions of the iPhone SE against one another? A lot.

iPhone SE 2nd-gen (left) and iPhone SE 1st-gen (right)

1. iPhone SE (2020)

2. iPhone SE (2016)

3. iPhone SE (2020)

4. iPhone SE (2016)

5. iPhone SE (2020)

6. iPhone SE (2016)

7. iPhone SE (2020)

8. iPhone SE (2016)

9. iPhone SE (2020)

10. iPhone SE (2016)

The new SE’s huge improvement in white balance and color temperature stands out most. The original iPhone SE suffers in many outdoor situations. It can’t even handle a cloudy sky. This leads to overly bright images that lack color, contrast, depth, and any other trait you’d associate with a good photo.

The indoor photo of a hearty slice of coffee cake shows less difference in lighting and color, and you might confuse the photos from each SE briefly. Look closer, though, and it’s obvious the new iPhone SE’s photo is much sharper.

Portrait mode isn’t available on the original iPhone SE, of course, and that makes a big difference. Portraits from the new iPhone SE look sharper, with better contrast and far better focus on the subject.

iPhone SE camera quality summary

The new iPhone SE has a great smartphone camera. I think it beats the Google Pixel 3a, commonly considered the benchmark in this category, by a hair. It works well in most situations and can deliver some truly excellent shots.

I do somewhat miss the lack of any additional camera, such as an ultrawide, to improve versatility. You can find that on some competing phones. However, those phones won’t keep up with the iPhone SE’s main camera.

What the new SE lacks in versatility, it makes up for by snapping solid shots with little preparation.

Video quality

You can shoot 4K video up to 60 frames per second on the iPhone SE, or extended dynamic range video up to 30 fps. Optical image stabilization helps keep shots steady, and digital zoom works up to 3x. The phone also supports slo-mo 1080p video at up to 240 fps.

I don’t frequently shoot video on phones — or at all — so I’ll admit I’m not the best judge of quality. I think it looks great, particularly at 4K. I imagine most casual users will, too. Professionals and enthusiasts may have a different opinion.

What stood out most wasn’t quality, but speed. The new SE is a snappy performer, even when recording 4K 60 fps. There’s no lag to begin recording and no lag while recording. That’s definitely not true for midrange phones, some of which can’t shoot 4K at 60 fps.

Performance

Apple’s decision to buy P.A. Semi in 2008 easily ranks among the most important in the company’s history. Excellent performance is a key trait of Apple phones and tablets across all price points.

The iPhone SE is a testament to that. Though it starts at $400, and is considerably smaller than other recent iPhones, the SE has the same A13 Bionic processor you’ll find in the iPhone 11 and iPhone 11 Pro. That’s paired with 3GB of RAM.

Geekbench 5 Single-Core: 1,324

Geekbench 5 Multi-Core: 3,192

Antutu: 484,479

3DMark Sling Shot: 4,024

The iPhone SE might be a mid-range phone, but its performance is equivalent to a flagship. The new SE’s single-core Geekbench 5 score of 1,324 is nearly four times quicker than a Google Pixel 3a, and its multi-core score is nearly two-and-a-half times better. The iPhone SE’s CPU easily defeats the more expensive Google Pixel 4 XL. It goes toe-to-toe with the Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra and the OnePlus 8 Pro, winning in single-core and nearly tying in multi-core.

All this performance is thrown at a 4.7-inch screen with a resolution well below 1080p. The iPhone SE doesn’t merely fly. It shrieks through apps and games like a supersonic jet. Its performance is as close to perfect as I’ve ever witnessed. It’s not just great. It sets a new high bar for mid-range phones, one I doubt Android competitors will hit within the next few years.

The iPhone SE doesn’t merely fly. It shrieks through apps and games like a supersonic jet.

This is the part where I’d normally try to dig deeper and highlight a few nitpicks that detract from the experience. Not here. I have nothing to add. It’s perfect.

Storage

The basic $400 iPhone SE comes with 64GB of storage. You can upgrade to 128GB for $450, or you can choose 256GB of storage for $550. You’ll need to pick the right amount from the start because, as with other iPhones, you can’t add more storage later.

Unlike some past entry-level iPhones, the new SE’s base storage is adequate. My iPhone 7 Plus has 256GB of storage, but I only use half of that, and well more than half of what I use is old podcast episodes and unnecessary photos. I think a lot of people can get by with the 64GB model.

Matthew Smith / Digital Trends

That said, spending an extra $50 on the 128GB model is not a bad idea. Storage is something you won’t care much about until you run out, but once you do, it can be annoying. The 128GB model lets you rack up podcasts, photos, and apps without constantly deleting old files.

I don’t recommend the 256GB model. Anyone using that much storage is a serious smartphone enthusiast, and the iPhone SE’s small screen takes it out of consideration for most heavy users. I know there’s a handful of die-hard small phone enthusiasts who will want the 256GB model, but it’s overkill for most.

Wireless connectivity

The iPhone SE isn’t a 5G phone. Apple has been slow to embrace 5G, and the tech hasn’t filtered down to this price point yet. This makes little difference to me, and most buyers, because 5G availability is limited. As far as I know, I’d have to travel more than 250 miles to get a 5G signal.

This is a dual-SIM device, which can be useful for travelers, and is a bit surprising given the phone’s price. The iPhone SE supports Bluetooth 5.0 and the Wi-Fi 6 standard.

Battery life

A 1,821mAH battery powers the iPhone SE. Apple quotes up to 8 hours of battery life while streaming video, or 13 hours when playing video from the phone’s local storage. The phone supports fast charging with an 18-watt adapter (unfortunately not included) and supports wireless charging via Qi chargers.

Like all iPhones, the new SE sucks down very little juice on standby; I suspect it could last a week, though I haven’t had it for long enough to test that out.

As a PC geek at heart, I’m not a heavy smartphone user. My personal iPhone tells me I tend have the display on for between one hour and one-and-a-half hours each day. Its been years since I last tested a phone that can’t last me all day, and many can last me two. The iPhone SE is no exception.

Matthew Smith / Digital Trends

I suspect heavy users would have more trouble. A half-hour benchmarking the phone knocked 12 percent off a full charge, for example. If you like to play demanding 3D games, or you use the phone to watch streaming films, you might find it necessary to pick up a midday charge.

As I mentioned earlier, the iPhone SE doesn’t target those owners because its small display size isn’t ideal for either gaming or movies. If that’s what you want to do, buy a larger phone.

But let’s be real: Android phones can crush the iPhone SE’s battery life, just as the iPhone SE can crush Android’s performance. The Moto G Power, which I recently reviewed, has a 5,000mAh battery. It could last two to three days in my hands. The iPhone SE certainly can’t match that.

For me, however, battery life isn’t a problem. The iPhone SE can last all day in my hands, and I gain nothing from a phone that lasts longer.

Software

The iPhone SE, of course, runs iOS 13. It’s the phone’s killer feature. I’ve swapped back and forth between iOS and Android phones ever since I bought my first “real” smartphone, the HTC Thunderbolt, in 2011. I’ve always found iOS preferable.

Apple’s iOS is quicker, more secure, and more attractive. I despise the bloatware and barrage of pointless notifications that assail most Android phones. Yes, it’s possible to configure Android in a way that (mostly) fixes the problem, but I’d rather not have to.

I’m not going to cover every aspect of iOS 13 here, but there are a few important features you should note.

The iPhone SE of course runs iOS 13. It’s the phone’s killer feature.

Switching from another iPhone is an absolute breeze. Place the new and old phones beside each other, then snap a photo of a pattern shown on the old phone’s screen with the new phone. This starts the transfer, which can take minutes if you have an iCloud backup available. Your apps and files make the leap, and while you’ll have to log back into some accounts, this isn’t true in every instance. I had the iPhone SE ready to go, with all my previous data available, in 20 minutes flat.

Because it lacks Face ID, and has a Home button, the new SE doesn’t use the new touch-gesture navigation found on the iPhone X and later models. If you own an aging iPhone like me, you won’t mind. If you own a new model and want to downsize, however, beware. You’ll have to unlearn everything you learned about navigating new iPhone models. That could be a frustrating experience.

The iPhone SE also lacks Face ID. I love facial login when it’s fast and secure, as is true on the iPhone, but it’s pure luxury. Touch ID is fast, fluid, and secure. And again, the iPhone SE is targeting people who own older phones. If you’ve never used Face ID, you won’t miss it.

Warranty

Apple ships the iPhone SE with a one-year limited warranty. That’s the industry standard.

You can purchase added protection through AppleCare+, which extends the warranty and covers some accidents. AppleCare+ is $80 for 24 months of coverage, or you can pay month-to-month for $4. AppleCare+ with theft protection is $150, or $8 monthly.

I don’t recommend AppleCare for this phone. This is an inexpensive phone, and a small phone that (in theory) you’re less likely to drop. Just slap a case on it and call it good. Breaking a phone sucks, but it’s not likely in this case, so you probably won’t have need for AppleCare service.

It’s worth remembering that Apple, unlike most brands, has a large network of physical stores that can provide service. I’ve had better luck solving issues with a visit to an Apple store than through the phone support provided by other brands.

Our Take

Matthew Smith / Digital Trends

The iPhone SE is a good phone, and well worth $400. It’s not for everyone, but it’s great for many, and I’d seriously consider it if I had to buy a new phone right now.

Is there a better alternative?

Google’s Pixel 3a is the clear competitor. It’s a great Android phone at a low price. The iPhone SE is faster and has a better camera, but the Pixel 3a has a larger display, and you can opt for the Pixel 3a XL for a slightly bigger one. Right now, the Pixel 3a XL is just $420 on Amazon. I prefer iOS, so I would buy the iPhone SE, but you might go with the Pixel 3a if you’re a fan of Android.

The wild card is Google’s Pixel 4a, which is anticipated but not yet announced. It’ll likely bring camera improvements and an even better display. It will still lag in performance, however, because nobody’s silicon can outgun Apple’s A13 Bionic right now.

You might also consider the Samsung Galaxy A51 or the Moto G Stylus. These midrange Android phones throw more features at you, some of which are nice to have. The Galaxy A51 has a lovely OLED display and the Moto G Stylus has, well, a stylus. They’re larger phones with big screens that cater to heavy users despite budget pricing. They’re solid phones, but the iPhone SE offers a more cohesive, intuitive device, with a processor that runs circles around both.

Some shoppers will consider the iPhone 11. It’s significantly more expensive, but has a much larger screen and an ultrawide camera. Make no mistake, the iPhone 11 is a better phone. The $300 gap between the iPhone SE and the iPhone 11 is sizable, though, and not everyone will find the bigger phone’s advantages worth the bump in price.

How long will it last?

The iPhone SE is a five-year phone. Its performance is excellent and Apple, unlike most Android brands, delivers OS updates for years after a phone is released. The only issue to note is battery life. It’s merely OK and, after five years of wear and tear, you’ll probably have to deal with midday recharging.

Should you buy it?

Yes. The iPhone SE is a solid entry-level iPhone. You can buy a better device, but you don’t need a better device. If you, like me, consider a smartphone to be just one of many gadgets you could spend money on, opting for the $400 SE can make a lot of sense.

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buckywintersoldierbarnes2017 · 8 years ago

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Always and Forever.

Request from @melconnor2007: I was thinking something like the reader and Seb had been together for ages, and he was shooting a new film that had a sex scene the reader thought they actually had sex in the scene and didn't know how it worked, she got upset and wouldn't speak to seb, and ignored his calls, so he files back home to her, and reassures her and it's really fluffy at the end, if that makes any sense

Note: Okay so this is the first bit of writing I have done for Sebastian Stan rather than one of his characters so I hope it is alright. I may have got a little carried away with it :)

Sebastian Stan x Reader

Words: 2,869

Disclaimer: I do not know Sebastian Stan in real life so, of course, I don’t know how he would react to ANY situation. This is just my take for a request I was given. Also none of the GIFs used are mine so all credit goes to their creators <3

A ray of sun broke through the crack in you closed bedroom curtains and immediately it dragged you out of your restful sleep. You had never been a morning person but your distaste at having to crawl out of bed was even worse today. It was a day you had been dreading for two weeks now.

A day that had come by far quicker than you would have liked it to.

“Good morning beautiful.”

You were pulled out of your thoughts as an arm wrapped itself around your waist and pulled you closer to the warm body that had been sleeping next to you. The male whose lips were now so close to yours always did have a way of bringing you out of any negativity you felt. You swore even to this day, three years down the line, that he had some kind of special ability.

No one else had ever made you feel as good as he did...and most important of all he had never misled, hurt, or cheated on you during your time together. He was the epitome of a perfect boyfriend. But then you wouldn’t expect anything less from Sebastian Stan – Hollywood actor.

Millions of girls around the world would kill to have him in their life and yet it was you who had managed to steal his heart.

“Morning. I was thinking we could go for breakfast before you have to leave.”

He was about to head off for a film shoot on the West Coast which meant that he was going to be away for a few months in the very least. You should have been over the moon for him, celebrating that yet again he had managed to gain a lead role in a film, should have been used to him having to go away for periods of time, but you weren’t. You were far from it, you just wanted to spend each day with him.

But you would never allow him to see such a feeling from you. This was his dream and you didn’t want to be the one to stop him from living that.

He removed his arm from around you but only so he could reach over to his phone to see what time it was. When you noticed his face fall you knew you weren’t going to get the response you wanted.

“I’m sorry. My flight leaves in 3 hours...I won’t have time to.”

There it was; the very answer you had been expecting after seeing his face and yet it still hurt like hell. As he looked over at you with an apologetic look on his face you gave him the most genuine smile you could manage to force onto your face before climbing out of the bed completely.

“Well in that case I will just have to settle with having a coffee with you as you finish packing your things.”

“Thank you for understanding [y/n], I know that this can’t be easy on yo-“

“Hey.” Before you had even left the bedroom you swiftly turned on the balls of your feet and made your way back over to the bed so that you could place a single finger onto his lips to stop his words. “This isn’t about me. It’s about you living your dream okay? You don’t need to worry about me. My writing will keep me busy while you are away.”

That very act alone made you wonder whether you should have picked the acting profession as your career too.....you seemed to be getting pretty damn good at putting on a performance in front of him.

“Now....I am going to make that coffee before it gets too late.”

You removed your finger from his lip so that you were able to press your lips gently against his. Even just a simple kiss was enough to set off those butterflies inside your stomach. Every other relationship you had been in the butterflies soon disappeared but with him they were there with every kiss, every touch he placed on you, not once did that feeling ever become dull for you.

Smiling softly you left the room and made your way into the kitchen.

* * * * * * * * * *

It had been a few weeks since he had left for the West Coast and although your job as a writer kept you busy most of the day it was on a night where you felt his absence the most; the bed was only ever warm enough to fall asleep quickly when his body was there for you to nestle yourself into so without it you would spend a good couple of hours tossing and turning before you would eventually settle enough to get some kind of sleep. Yes you had the joys of FaceTime so you could still speak to and see him but it was nowhere close to actually having him there with you.

It was the same every time Sebastian was away but he would normally be back home by now…this was the longest he had been away so it wasn’t going to get better anytime soon.

Going into the fifteenth night of his absence your usual tossing and turning was more intense then it usually would be and after what felt like an eternity of doing it your patience wore down to the point where you forced yourself out of bed; if you were going to be awake most of the night you might as well do something more productive then kicking about underneath the bed sheets.

As you lifted up the screen of your laptop the light from it seemed to illuminate the entire room around you casting a display of shadows on the walls that made the fact that you were currently alone slightly more intimidating.

Your initial intention had been to continue with the novel you had started months ago now but when a notification popped up onto your screen informing you of some new entertainment news you couldn’t resist having a look – although he spoke to you often about what had happened on set there were some things he couldn’t so when the media managed to get hold of such information you were hardly going to avoid looking at it.

Your curiosity ruled over your mind quite a bit.

‘Sexy Sebastian’s Steamy Affair’ Written by Joshua Jones

It didn’t take long for the nausea to kick in once the bold headline lit up on the screen before you. You could see the beginnings of a picture too underneath the sickening words and although you were internally screaming at yourself not to do it your fingers seemed to have a mind of their own and they were scrolling down the page before you could stop them….

….and there it was, it was a grainy image but it was still clear enough to make out the form of the man you loved getting intimate with a female. A rather attractive one at that too. An uncomfortable lump formed inside your throat and with the way it was beginning to become hard to breathe you were convinced it was going to cut off your airway completely. How could he do this to you?

The words of your friends who you once thought were just jealous of the relationship you had with him began to echo through your mind on an endless loop that seemed intent on taunting you.

“He’s a celebrity [y/n], they’re all the same….”

“…he will break your heart.”

“All those girls throwing themselves at him. He won’t be able to resist.”

Each and every word they said was ignored and some of the friends that continued to try and drill this into your head soon found themselves disappearing from your life….but they had been right the whole time; your head had been so far up in the clouds that you hadn’t been able to see him for what he really was.

A player. A man that wasn’t happy with what he already had.

The tears that you were so desperately trying to keep inside your eyes were beginning to sting; obviously as far as they were concerned you weren’t feeling enough pain from the bombshell that had just been thrown at you. You couldn’t stop looking at the picture even though it was tearing you apart with each second that passed, it was calling out to you wanting to torture you, you should be closing your laptop to rid yourself of the heart-breaking view but you couldn’t move to be able to do so.

Your phone ringing out was the only thing that managed to snap you back to reality and when your eyes drifted down to the screen any part of your heart that wasn’t already broken shattered there and then.

He was FaceTiming you.

Usually you would waste no time in accepting his call, a smile lighting up your whole face when you saw his handsome features, but right now you couldn’t handle seeing him. Everything he had said to you was a lie…even the smile on his face would feel like a betrayal. Last thing you wanted was to see him smiling after he had shared something so intimate with another person.

* * * * * * * * * *

A frustrated growl escaped Sebastian as he threw his mobile phone onto the sofa in his trailer. His co-star, Scarlett, furrowed her brows as she looked away from the script she had been practising from with him.

“Is she still not answering?”

“No. That’s the fifth time I have tried calling her over the space of two days and nothing! Not even a message back to say she is busy or something.” He combed a hand through his dark locks before shaking his head. “This isn’t like her at all.”

“I’m sure there is a reasonable explanation. I know I haven’t met [y/n] but she seems like a reasonable person.”

He didn’t respond, his frustration still very much evident in both his facial expression and his body language. Didn’t look like they would be going over their lines anytime soon and so she sat herself down onto the sofa where his phone still lay and stretched her legs out as she started to scroll through her own phone.

“I know that the travelling I do is hard on her, no matter how much she tries to hide the fact, but it’s not easy on me either. These calls are what-“

“Seb.”

“-get me through the long shoots.” He hadn’t heard the blonde calling out to him and continued to speak out the anxious thoughts racing through his mind. “For her to be igno-“

“SEB!”

Her loud voice echoed throughout the whole trailer and this time he really did hear her – practically jumping right out of his skin as he paced from one end of room to the other. His brows furrowed in a mixture of both confusion and annoyance that she had been so loud.

“What is it? I’m not really up for running through lines right now Scarlett.”

“Does [y/n] look at any entertainment news sites at all?”

“Well….I guess so, she always has been the curious type.”

“Well you might want to have a look at this then.”

There was a deadpan expression on her face as she handed over her phone for him to see the very article that you had read just a couple of days beforehand. Immediately a look of horror swept over his face as he saw both the headline and the picture.

“Shit. This is why the security should be better in this damn place! It was a sex scene for a movie not an affair!” His usual handsome features contorted themselves into a twisted angry look as it started to click into place what must have happened. “She thinks I cheated on her….I need to go Scarlett I’m sorry.”

His apology was genuine enough but once it had been vocalised all he cared about was getting home to you. If he left this any longer then there was every possibility you wouldn’t be at home when he returned. As far as he was concerned they could film the scenes where they didn’t need him until he came back. However much he loved his career you were the most important thing to him. Losing the life of an actor would be bearable….losing you would kill him.

* * * * * * * * * *

Until your eyes fell upon the few boxes you had packed you never realised just how little you had moved into this apartment with – but then you had never been one to hoard things. These were the things that meant the most to you and yet at this moment in time they are the very things taunting you about the mistake that you had made.

You needed to get out of here.

Stacking up the few boxes that you had you prepared yourself to juggle them down to the ground floor of the apartment block when the door flew open so hard and fast it looked like it almost fell right off its hinges.

“Don’t go [y/n].”

“Wow. You must really be worried about your reputation if you pulled yourself away from such an attractive woman just to come here and get me to stay.”

Your tone was cold and flat and your eyes never once looked at him. How could they? You had once looked into those crystal blue eyes of his and saw your entire future playing out….a future that was now destroyed because of him and his urges.

“There’s a sex scene in the movie, that’s what the picture is of, I would never ever do such a thing to you. You are the best thing to have ever happened to me.” He knew that you were trying to avoid his gaze and so he quickly closed the gap between the two of you, letting the door shut behind him as his hand left the handle, and took both of your hands inside of his. “You have helped me make a home [y/n], one my heart will always belong to, and more than anything you have made me see a future outside of a career.”

You didn’t attempt to remove your hands, actually rather enjoying the tingling sensation his fingertips sent through your skin, but your facial expression remained cold towards him.

“Please look at me. I need to see those beautiful eyes.”

“Sebastian don’t. I’ve made my mind up. I can’t…..I can’t look at you when all I can see is that image in my mind. I need to leave.”

His hands dropped from yours as he collapsed down onto his knees on the floor. Sheer exhaustion and the fear of losing you finally taking its toll on him. It was then that you allowed your gaze to fall onto his broken form; despite the pain and heartache you had felt over the past couple of days it hurt you even more to see him in such a state.

He was always the strong one, the arms that would carry you when you were down, and yet right now there were tears flowing down his stubbled cheeks that you never thought you’d see. His chest was heaving with the sobs he was trying so hard to keep inside of him. You couldn’t leave him when he was like this. He needed you.

A soft sigh rolled from your lips as you sat yourself down on the floor opposite him and you cupped his chin with your hand to make him look at you. The second your eyes connected with another’s he threw his arms around you and pulled you into his body in a grip that proved he wasn’t going to let you go anytime soon. He nuzzled his face into the crook of your neck, attempting to calm himself down enough to speak to you.

“You are my world [y/n]. No one could ever compare to the excitement you make me feel each and every day. Please…..don’t leave me.”

If he truly didn’t care for you then you knew, deep down, that he wouldn’t have risked his career to come back to you and he certainly wouldn’t be showing you such a vulnerable side. Your arms joined in with the embrace, wrapping around his broad body, your lips placing gentle kissers onto the top of his head.

“I’m not going to leave you. I should never have even thought that you would do such a thing to me and I’m sorry. I love you Sebastian Stan…..always and forever.”

You could feel his smile against your skin before he moved his head to look at you straight on, a hand raising to caress your cheek. His eyes were red raw from the onslaught of tears but his smile held so much love in it.

“I love you too [y/n]…..always, forever, and beyond.”

His lips crashed up against yours as he bestowed upon you the kiss he had been so desperate to give you for days. Swearing to himself to never put you through such a painful thing again.

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