#zstrap

[ofmdlovelyletters]

this one goes out to the lovely people who reblog all the art, gifs, fics, and cheer on in the tags to keep artists motivated ❤️ thank you @zstraps @spirker @soupbtch @chestnutwind @vikulee and all the others!

Hello @zstraps @spirker @soupbtch @chestnutwind @vikulee and so many others in the OFMD fandom! This lovely letter is for all of you. 💌

[bizarrelittlemew]

oooo for gif requests: olu being adorable on board the red flag (im thinking specifically about him tossing the scroll and his little kicky feets when he and zheng are kissing, but he is a literal angel so there are probably more)

thank you for the request 💗 angel Olu is here!

and here's a bonus:

[blakbonnet]

💌👉👈

Hey JP hey ❤️ The number one thing I hear from friends who are fic writers is when you've left them a comment. I kid you not, they squeal and sob. it's a joyous occasion in general when writers hear from their favourite readers (which, to all my friends, is YOU), but they genuinely lose their mind 😭 (and I'm not active in discord servers so this is based off of first hand accounts ❤️)

And OHMYGOD the effort you put in into letting artists know how much you love them is just so so earnest and heartfelt. The quiet attention to detail, picking up on things we put there and kinda knew no one would notice but you do! Because you just care so so much and it's impossible to not feel that even through the screen, even oceans apart. It takes a truly special kind of person to make artists lose their goddamn mind and I feel like you're 100% the ride or die for art guy.

Fandom, any fandom, is generally a difficult space to navigate through when you are making stuff all the time or going through a slump. I think you make it easier, better somehow, by paying attention and knowing what the author/artist meant when they shared something, and articulating and understanding. I think you see artists through their work but also in their work, and beyond it 🥹 and that is just so irreplaceable.

Anytime I think of you, I go "yeah that's the person who keeps the fandom alive". I hope you never get bored of this show because I genuinely do not know what we would do without your presence 🥹

[xoxoemynn]

i just noticed your (new?) blog title and i am going to CRY 😭😭😭

Awwww. Come hang out with me in the blanket fort, friend!!

And yeah, I made it my blog title the day DJenks made his announcement. It was the first quote that came to mind, at least once the initial devastation passed. Max may have tried to kill us, but we still have SO much life left in us. This is just the dawn of a new era for us, and I know there's still plenty of greatness in store.

Long may we roam. 💕

[dickfuckk]

i saw your tag about “now i want a google docs au” and felt compelled to ask if you have seen the actual google docs au bc i love it so so so much https://archiveofourown.org/works/43640463/chapters/109733997

Scream i dont think i have!! @unhingedpirates mentioned it and went looking for it so i will definitely check it out after my exams are over bless you ✌️

[gentlebeard]

You wrote me a lovely letter

For you, the fandom 💕✨ Show: Our Flag Means Death - Season 1 & 2 Music: Je te laisserai des mots by Patrick Watson YouTube

Whether we’ve been mutuals for a long time or just for a few days, whether we’re talking to each other regularly or just casually chatting sometimes or we’ve never interacted besides screaming in the tags and reblogging each others posts: Thank you for being in the fandom, on my dash, and in my life in 2023. You made this year memorable and I'm very grateful. This is for you. ❤️

@sherlockig @blakbonnet @saltpepperbeard @stedebonnets @stedesearring @edsbacktattoo @bizarrelittlemew @darkinerry @wearfinethingsalltoowell @dickfuckk @mermaid-stede @snake-snack-stede @rainbowcrowley @forpiratereasons @serious-goose @captain-flint @xoxoemynn @llokilaufeyson @ninallthatjazz @mxmollusca @peppermintack @awkward-fallen-angel @stedesbonnets @aha-my-villainous-thoughts @jellybeanium124 @youshouldseemeinadeerstalker @queeraspirates @turtles-on-turts @xray-vex @sylvies-chen @poisonintopositivity @zstraps @fettboba @chocolatepot @kiwistede @roseinmyhand @red-sky-in-mourning @endevouring-to-surprise @merryfinches @agaywithcoffee @crypticry @chestnutwind @asneakyfox @ofmd-ann and everyone else who’s here.

[marbledwings]

Fanfic Friday!

A collection of one shot wonders ✨

Front of House - Jodalyn/ @saltpepperbeard

Words: 8,886, rating: E

Innkeeper era meets Captain Voice in the HOTTEST possible way. They are so into each other (and SO in love). So. Frickin. Good.

because i want it all - CartoonMayor / @zombee

Words: 6,461, rating: E

Ed is wearing a cock cage for Locktober and has lost the keys - guess who finds them? Made me laugh so much. Another super hot fic, with a beautiful helping of earnest feelings 💗

Stede Bonnet is acing this. Probably. - jellyslushy / @harrylovesspaezle

Words: 4,644, rating: T

A gorgeous little fic which sees Stede looking for community and discovering that he's far from alone after all ❤️

5:18pm - @zstraps

Words: 951, rating: T

Domestic kink! A beautifully intimate glimpse into Stede and Ed's lives together focusing on their evening routine.

Find the Light - @appleteeth

Words: 1,178, rating: M

Written for Stede Whump Week, this fic follows the prompts: restraints, non-verbal, and fuckery gone wrong. Looove me a bit of whump.

Garden Hoes - jodalyn/ @saltpepperbeard

Words: 8,987, rating: E

I started with a Jodi fic and I'm ending with a Jodi fic. This time it's Ed getting hot and bothered watching Stede tend their garden. And I mean, REALLY hot and bothered 🔥🔥🔥

[nordarknessdimsthesky]

@zstraps tagged me to share my On Repeat playlist from spotify (though feel free to modify the prompt based on where you listen to music)! current musical hyperfixations:

spotify playlist here! youtube playlist here!

(no pressure) tagging @mxmollusca @flamingostalker @epersonae @triflesandparsnips @oatmilktruther -- y'all have stellar taste

[mxmollusca]

@zstraps I love you ✨🔴〰️🔴✨

MONSTERLOVERS UNITE

[zombee]

@zstraps my beloved

[tulipseason]

I am so behind on this!!!!!

I was tagged by @as-a-creww and @snake-snack-stede and @harrylovesspaezle !!! Thanks y'all!

Using only song titles from one band/artist, cleverly answer the questions and tag people.

Artist: Mitski, bitches

Gender: Your Best American Girl

How you feel: First Love/Late Spring (it’s tulip season 😉🌷)

If you could go anywhere, where: Texas Reznikoff

Fav mode of transportation: Carry Me Out

If my life were a tv show: Jobless Monday

Relationship status: Nobody (1 good movie kiss???)

Your fear: Last Words of a Shooting Star 💫

My 100% no pressure tags are: @teeny-tiny-revenge @uncertain-delights @crayolasaurus @insteading @the-pirate-duck @jennifriend @xxprincess1x @zstraps @romcomtelecom @sleepystede @spirker @edscuntyeyeshadow @merryfinches @soupbtch

I’m sure some of you have already been tagged, so if that’s the case then just take this as a giant kiss on the forehead from me instead

[ofmdlovelyletters]

This lovely letter is for zstraps, who is SO kind and loving and talented. They just posted their first art and it blew me away with how beautiful it was! We are so extremely lucky to have them in this fandom. 💟

Hi @zstraps! You've received a lovely letter. 💌

[bizarrelittlemew]

IDA do you have any advice or pointers for gif-making? yours are always so high quality with such great colors! i just started trying to make gifs and i feel like I'm constantly struggling with the export settings trying to make it look decent without being a gigantic file 😭

hiii and thank you so much 💗💗💗

I'm not really sure what to say since I've mostly learned by trial and error, so I guess the biggest piece of advice would be practice!!

I'm sure there are loads of gif tutorials out there and I may make my own one day but here are some tips I can give related to quality (I use Photoshop so these are probably specific to that):

The higher quality video you have to begin with, the easier it will be to make the gifs look great. I go for 1080p or higher (if possible)

When you import video frames to layers, be aware of duplicate frames as they will make the gif look choppy, it's a framerate issue - I use a very simple video editing software to cut out the scenes I want to gif, but if you have a more advanced one, you should be able to adjust the framerate so PS won't create duplicate frames. idk I'm not an expert on this exact thing I just delete the duplicates manually

For tumblr posts, the full width is 540px, half is 268px, go for these to avoid tumblr compressing the gifs

I usually set the frame time delay between 0.06-0.09 seconds since always prefer them a bit slower, which allows for seeing more detail. I check the speed by going into File -> Export -> Save for Web (Legacy) and clicking the Preview, because just playing the gif in PS will usually have lag

After wrangling frames, cropping and resizing etc., I convert to video timeline and convert all the frames to one Smart Object before sharpening and coloring. I use Smart Sharpen and Gaussian Blur filters with different settings, making copies of the smart layer and playing around with the opacity settings (I have this process recorded/automated as an action, but often have to adjust afterwards based on the clip). There are many different ways to do this and probably some tutorials too.

As for coloring, I don't use any automated processes, but just play around with adjustment and color fill layers. A gif with my usual sharpening and relatively simple coloring may have layers looking like this:

I think this is where the practice mostly comes in, because you'll discover new things with every gif you make. it's also the most fun part for me :) again, there are a lot of tutorials out there, and some scenes require more adjustments than others (especially dark scenes). really, Selective Color and Curves may be the most important adjustment layers (to me at least lmao)

As for file size, these are my usual export settings:

reducing the number of colors will always reduce the file size, but I'd usually rather trim the length (or split it into two gifs) or the image size (cropping a bit more off the height). Going for 40-80 frames is usually reasonable, and you can do more for very static gifs or smaller image sizes!

I hope some of this is useful, good luck and happy giffing 💗��💗

[blakbonnet]

i know you are hitting the limit on moot boards but can i put in a request for one when tumblr lets you 🥺🫶

Mutuals send me 🫶 to get a moodboard

[xoxoemynn]

I was tagged by @blakbonnet and @stedesearring to do this really cute "what is your superpower" quiz and the results are... not surprising. 💕

No pressure tags for @bizarrelittlemew, @jaskierx, @merryfinches, @spirker, @zstraps, and @as-a-creww. 💕

[dickfuckk]

Hi what are your favourite tumblr blogs? I need more people to follow! <3

Oh okay fun! I’m assuming you want more ofmd blogs to follow in which case these are some of my favorites for ofmd:

@blakbonnet @bizarrelittlemew @youshouldseemeinadeerstalker @not-nervous-jester @abigailpents @ella-doe @skysofrey @napneeders @treesofgreen @red-sky-in-mourning @queeraspirates @obscurelocalstranger @ed-in-lingerie @captainsjm @57flagsofdeath @ofmd-dailyquests @snake-snack-stede @terikanae @jaskierx @darkinerry @wearfinethingsalltoowell @poorcitrusmanagement @emoteach @xray-vex @sherlockig @saltpepperbeard @boytwentyten @the-orange-in-red-silk @zstraps @xoxoemynn @z-aliada @stedebonnit @stedesparasol @cliopadra @chestnutwind @luciusspriggss @follovver @laceratedlamiaceae @ceo-revenge

Also shameless self promo you should obviously follow @ourflagmeansbts 😎