I NEED More - Tumblr Posts

Headcanon that the bats are the only people in Gotham who don’t know about Joker Junior.

The only people who know JJ’s identity are Bruce, Barbara, Jim Gordon, Joker himself, and Harley Quinn. Tim made Bruce promise not to tell Dick, and that continued when Jason came back, with him not wanting to be one of the older man’s triggers. The trend followed with Duke, Cass, Steph, and Damian, with him being more and more certain that if he told them, they would hate him.

Nothing lasts forever, though, and the batkids soon notice how differently Gotham treats Red Robin.

Rogues like Riddler, Harley, and Poison Ivy refrain from hurting him too much. Seasoned thugs quickly take away any electrocution devices from the newer ones, stating that “we don’t electrocute Red Robin”. When it comes to RR, Gotham’s citizens can get very peeved with the Bat.

The kids also notice the odd closeness between Jim, Babs, and Tim. Hell, there are times where they invite the older man to dinner and he goes off to whisper with Tim. The one time someone tried to subtly follow them, Babs stopped them in their tracks.

Everything comes to ahead when Dick goes deep into the bat computer archives for a case he assumes is tied to another. And lo and behold, he finds something titled Junior. He assumes that this is about a child villain and is curious, as the date tells him this happened while he was off in Bludhaven so many years ago.

It’s not.

He calls in the other bats(Tim is somewhere else) and they read through the files and watch the videos. God, the videos.

Dick is angry. Him and his siblings are fuming. Everything comes together and makes so much sense.

How some Gotham citizens treat RR differently. How Jim Gordon always makes sure RR is okay. How Babs knows how to calm Tim down better than anyone else. How Bruce always looks so guilty when he looks at Tim, a scarily similar look as the one he gives to Jason.

Their brother had been keepinh this secret for years, probably because he didn’t want them to hate them(Jason shakes his head furiously. “Stupid kid”.)

When Tim comes home, lo and behold with Babs, he immediately clocks onto their thoughts and makes a break for it. Babs blocks the door for everyone else. She says nothing.

Thats as far as I got.

I... I made a sword

Oh my goodness 😵 thank you @sasusakupoland (czemu po angielsku xD tworzę zdania Kali jeść słoń 😂😨). I’m tagging: @potepiona. Okey let’s go!

Name: Klaudia

Nickname: I don’t have any

Gender: Female

Star sign: Cancer

Sexual Orientation: Hetero

Favorit colour: Red, Black and Dark colours

Current time: 01:35 a. m.

Hours of sleep: I don’t know. Sometimes it’s 3-4hours or sometimes it’s 8-10hours

Lucky number: 9 or 5

Last thing I googled : Oh my goodness (how to write it😲)

Favourite fictional characters: Aomine Daiki 😙(KnB)

Hinata Hyuga, Temari, Gaara, Kimimaro, Naruto, Sasuke Uchiha, Shikadai Nara (Naruto)

Erza Scarlet, Cana Alberona, Natsu Dragneel, Jellal Fernandes, Gajeel Redfox (Fairy tail)

Haru and Rin (Free!)

Clare, Teresa and others, without Raki (Claymore)

And more… But I can’t remember them.

Number of blankets I sleep under : Only one summer sheets

Favourite Band: I don’t have favourite band. I listen all of who I like or I want to listen. I really admire @studioaccantus from YouTube and I love Kuba Jurzyk 🙌

Favourite celebrities: I don’t know

Favourite books: Most of those, how I ever read xD. Tożsamość Anioła (trylogia), Skrzydła Laurel (4 books) The fault of our stars, All you need is kill,

What I’m wearing now: strange T-shirt and shorts.

Dream trip: Far away

Dream job: Vet, a veterinary doctor

When did you create this blog: 1,5year ago 😟 I Don’t remember

Number of followers: Only few

What do you post about: Reblog something I like (usually) and one me picture.

When did your blog reach it’s peak: Sorry What?

What made you decide to get a tumblr: I need some pictures for wallpaper xD

Why did you choose your URL: I don’t have any other idea, So Hinata (because I like her) and the year of my birth (write from behing)

I’m crazy 😝 I want more xD

get yourself a girl who will spontaneously ascend to godhood upon getting beat so she can turbo-nuke your ass in round 2 <3

OKAY BUT HEAR ME OUT. IVE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS MOMENT TO SHARE SOME OF MINE.

bokuto uses bar soap for everything. hand soap, shampoo, body wash, conditioner = bar soap. it probably makes his skin hella dry oof. he also uses kids' toothpaste and the fukurodani team always judges him during training camps. bokuto thinks it tastes better than minty toothpaste

kuroo uses 5-in-1 shampoo D:

daichi does not know how to properly open a bag of chips. he's the dude in class that always spills chips everywhere because he puts too much strength in his arms for no reason but he cannot for the life for him open a jar

ukai wears toe socks while takeda-sensei wears toe shoes. change my mind

asahi doesn't know how to use dry shampoo, so sometimes his hair is just white because he doesn't brush it out and it looks kinda nasty. shimizu had to teach him how to take care of his hair

when tendou showers, he sticks his stray hairs on the wall and makes "hair art" (like swirls or something) his mom always yelled at him to stop as a kid but he liked to be a menace

goshiki can't sleep with the fan on cause he thinks it'll fall on top of him during the night

kindaichi always pushes doors that are supposed to be pulled (vice versa) man doesn't look like he really reads signs tbh

kunimi takes a fist full of candy from the free candy bowls at restaurants with a straight face. sometimes he likes to look directly at the person at the front desk while he does so out of spite

koganegawa doesn't know the national anthem so he mumbles it every time it plays and hopes no one can hear him

iwaizumi has to do the L-technique with his hands on the wheel when he's driving because sometimes he forgets his left from his right in the moment

terushima doesn't know how to recycle

c’mon, can we bring into circulation the embarrassing and weird headcanons of the hq guys...? like they’re a bunch of dumb boys and I just KNOW there’s a treasure trove of material out there to share… for example:

hanamaki absolutely cannot dougie. for the life of him. he's watched the music video a million times and practices the dance in front of his bathroom mirror every night, but he has 0 control over his body when it's time to hit the dance floor and does this weird pathetic wiggle that has the girls around him dying of laughter

aran has a satchel he wears occasionally when going out and the twins call it his “man purse” loud enough so that other people on the street can hear them

osamu sprayed his mom’s perfume into his mouth when he was a kid to see if it tasted as good as it smelled (it didn't)

bokuto will put two volleyballs under his shirt when it’s break time to annoy konoha and call them his “volley-boobs”

kuroo accidentally called his homeroom teacher "mom" once when asking for help on a homework question and now goes red in the face whenever he has to talk to her

tendou used to have "ninja" as his dream job when he was in elementary school and well into middle school because of his obsession with naruto (and he still says dattebayo sometimes too...)

matsukawa will occasionally say "ruh-roh" like scooby under his breath when taking exams

futakuchi didn't know you had to wash your bath towels on a weekly basis because he thought that him being fresh out of the bath equated to both him and his drying towel being clean

ushijima didn't correctly connect his airpods to his phone for the first week he got them, so whenever he went on a run he would blast the music from his phone speaker while thinking his airpods were kind of weak on the sound...

terushima once put mentos into his mouth and drank a bottle of coke because he thought the coke would shoot out of his mouth like a fire hose, but instead he choked on the mentos and nearly died

hinata used to think that kony would kidnap him in the middle of the night in 2012 even though he lived in japan

oikawa once tried to rev his engine when waiting at an intersection to impress a cute girl who stopped next to him, but he forgot to shift his car into park and accidentally rear-ended the car in front of him

marine biologist/diver!ghost x selkie!soap au Thoughts

marine biologist ghost who, whenever he has spare time, will go diving with some colleagues to collect trash from the ocean—because maybe it doesn’t make a huge, immediate impact, but it still means something is being done.

then one day while diving, ghost is accompanied by a seal. at first it only observes, and ghost is plenty happy to admire from afar, but then the seal is cozying up to him. it latches onto his leg, nudges him with its snout—even directs ghost and his group to trash that’s otherwise pretty well hidden, wedged beneath coral and rocks and sand.

it saddens ghost, just a little, when the sky starts getting dark and they have to head back. he doesn’t want to abandon his new friend—it’s rare they have wildlife hang around for this long—but unfortunately it’s not safe to wait any longer before going home.

but then the next time they’re able to go diving, the seal is there again. it plays at the same routine, helping out and goofing around, sticking dutifully by ghost’s side even when there’s others along with him. and time after time, it’s the same thing. no matter where the group is, the seal somehow always finds him. they end up lending it the nickname soap, after the odd amount of empty bottles of cleaning products the seal seems to locate for them.

it’s maybe a few months later that soap doesn’t show up, and it’s an instant cause for concern; there’s no reason soap should be missing. they’re in a similar area that the seal likely frequents, there’s no reason for soap to have moved or be huddled away with other seals to have pups.

the group worries, but there’s nothing they can do but theorize and assume as they carry out their regular chore. it’s only a once-off, by this point. maybe soap just didn’t feel like coming out to play just this one time.

but it happens again and again. soap doesn’t appear once, and it has the group of scientists worried sick. but without a tracker, or even a real idea of where soap might frequent when he’s not helping the group, there’s nothing they can do.

they return to shore later than usual one night. it’s completely dark by the time they dock, and ghost waves everyone ahead to go home because they’re all tired, he can manage clean-up by himself.

ghost is just about finished packing up when he sees the figure at the end of the dock. the marina is like a ghost town otherwise, nothing but the sound of turning waves and boats gentle bumping up against the port. ghost approaches slowly, not knowing what other business one could possibly have at the water this late.

“you lost, mate?” ghost wonders cautiously.

the figure steps closer, silver moonlight revealing some of his features. the man looks about ghost’s age, maybe younger—only it’s hard to tell with the haggard look on his face, as he nervously wrings his fingers and avoids ghost’s gaze.

“i’m… sorry i haven’t been around,” he apologizes, and ghost frowns. “someone… someone took my coat.”

ghost’s brow furrows. “i don’t… your coat? i’m not sure i underst—“

“my coat,” the man affirms. “i need it to swim. which is why i haven’t been able to help lately.”

not certain how it’s possible, ghost grows even more confused. he doesn’t get it—a coat to swim? being able to help? nothing makes sense.

“you’ve lost me,” ghost says, shaking his head. “wish i could help, but—“

as ghost tries to push past, the man seizes his arm. he peers up at ghost pleadingly, and while ghost had wanted to conclude the man was drunk or high or something—he hesitates, seeing that look.

“have you ever heard of selkies?” the man asks, an edge of desperation in his voice.

ghost shrugs. “sure i have.” he’s hardly well-versed in mythical creatures, but he knows the gist.

the man doesn’t say anything—just continues to look at ghost with those sad eyes, a plea for understanding like an explanation couldn’t be spoken aloud. so ghost thinks on it a moment.

the coat, the inability to swim without it. not helping out and not being there starting to sound like a reference to soap. to the seal.

ghost’s eyebrows nearly raise to his hairline in disbelief.

“you’re not really saying you’re soap, are you?”

maybe-soap frowns. “who’s that?”

right. “i mean the seal that’s been following our diving trips,” ghost clarifies. “and you’re saying… because your coat is gone—“

“taken,” soap corrects, “i couldn’t go. i wanted to find you, but i didn’t know how, and… and…”

soap looks frazzled, like his brain has disconnected from his mouth and hands in empty gestures in words trying to convey what he’s thinking.

ghost tentatively sets his crate of gear on the wooden planks of the dock before placing his hands on either one of soap’s shoulders. maybe the story isn’t all there, and maybe there’s still doubt in ghost’s head about any of it being the truth—but ultimately, ghost believes the man. believes it’s soap.

slowly, ghost says, “calm down, and tell me how i can help. we’ll get your coat back, yeah?”

soap offers him a shy, watery smile—but a smile nonetheless. he nods and begins to tell ghost everything.

it doesn’t take long before they’re hatching a plan to win back soap’s freedom.

This is one of the most wonderful things I've seen this week holy shit-

CEO Jesus seems like a sweetheart omggg

Just as "Golden-Retriever"-ish as Jimbriel but like of a Dude-Bro and more of a Nice to Everyone, Silly, Emotionally Intelligent, Easy Going, Boy Next Door Type.

Look at that faaaace AFGHH absolutely torn up being reminded of one his dear friends betraying him and the Ineffables absolutely panicking cause, in all honesty, the were probably there to watch it all go down!

Oh tell me you write fanfiction-

Tell me there's more of this-

I didn't know I needed this until I saw it I beg of you tell me there's more of Ceo Jesus and Awkward and Divorce Ineffables

🎶 The Bentley got the wrong Radio Ga Ga 🎶

(CEO Jesus my beloved...)

“ Pretty when you smile ”

Pairing: Benjicot blackwood x Bracken!reader

“A settlement was made but they never said anything about the pretty bride and a smitten groom.”

Drinking, arranged marriage, fluffy fluff and smitten!Benjicot, slurred humour.

“ They never said about the pretty part.” you looked up, as lord of Riverdale stumbled, his face splitting around his huge grin, almost devilishly.

“ Look at you.” Ben slurred, despite knocking a goblet along with his contents down, he managed to slump next to you on the bed, with a low thud and sheepish laugh.

“ You're drunk.” you almost snarled before you bit back, “my lord.” you smiled, he wasn't actually offended, he smiled just the same, like a fool that nicked a coin.

“ I almost refused—” he hiccuped, “ but then I saw you and darling.” he propped on his elbow, reeking of whatever he was drunk on, perhaps a wine that was made on the northern aisles. His eyes widened more, like he was looking at you for the first time and it made you smile, it did back then too when he married you by the gods, taking your hand forever, smiling and it was inevitable not to, but you smiled anyway.

Brides never smiled, especially those who were traded for peace, it was duty.

But then again, who wouldn't ? Ben had that glint in his eyes that was funny but also, relaxing, like the sun rising and whispering, it's going to be alright or the moon basking and singing, you're safe child.

“ saw you...” he murmured against your jaw, tracing a fine line, his fingers sweaty and syrupy, until he stopped at the corner of your mouth, watching you intently.

“ M-my lord..” you weren't sure what to say and you never did, the words strangled on their way, wrecking before they ever made it out. Benjicot amused himself, his cheeks flushed but this rosey glow that devoured his way was new, perked only when you smiled, like you had done at the wedding few hours ago.

“ You are so beautiful.” he cried, like it was a chanting, a prayer. You could taste his skin on your tongue, as his thumb slowly dipped inside, swiping across your velvety mouth.

“ Thankyou my lord.” you wouldn't blink, his sweetness was too much, almost getting you intoxicated.

“ shhh.” his mouth curved in 'o', face reaching up close to you, eyes dazed but you could see your reflection back. “ call me Ben, or benny.” He giggled, it wasn't very odd to hear that rich melodious sound tingle your skin, so close to you, like waves crashing.

“ or benji.” he added after a chortling, you couldn't help the snort that escaped you, surprising you while Ben only grinned.

“ You are so pretty, especially when you smile. ” he said, joining his lips on yours in a constellation of stars, every thought bursting into sweet nothings, his mouth was sweet, fruity and toxicating, the glee you felt inside you was very similar to nicking a extra goblet of wine that was appropriate for a lady, like floating and feeling nothing could touch you, like almost a dream where everything could be true, like music and poetry, like everything beautiful, kissing him felt like kissing the sky, no, it felt bigger than the whole sky.

And they never said about the love part, but perhaps...

There were in fact not enough sibling bonding moments🥲

If season 4 of Umbrella Academy doesn't have more sibling bonding moments I will riot

God I love this so much Sailor J meme and all

Love Is Lifting These Queer Couples Higher In Incredible Trick Photo Series

They’ve been swept off their feet!

Ok sorry it’s Sunday we’re all trying to sleep but I need to add to the brain rot. Just… yeah. This. But other things.

queens of pride month, i don't make the rules

[19:24] - lee felix

requested? Y/N

genre: fluffly fluffy fluff, fiancée!felix, just a cute lil evening drive

content warnings: a lil self doubt from reader

wc: 1k

a/n: yes i am mildly obsessed with writing random fluff drabbles atm sue me 🤧 isn't this like my 5th day in a row now haha, wonder how long i can keep it going :') i am also obsessed with fiancée/husband felix and also night drives so here is whatever this is 👉🏻👈🏻 feedback is always very appreciated, i read literally everyone's tags and they've been making me feel RIDICULOUSLY soft recently so thank you all for that 💞💕💞💕💞💕

Wind weaved through your hair as you looked out at the blur of green passing beside you, chin resting cupped in your left hand. The sun was setting, a mere glint on the horizon behind masses of trees, the sky a stunning pastiche of soft pinks, bold oranges, and fluffy wisps of clouds outlined in sparkling gold. Your eyes took it all in as you inhaled deeply, a gentle smile pulling up the corners of your lips.

You were slightly startled from your daze as a hand came down to rest on your thigh. Slim fingers squeezed the flesh slightly, teasingly even, though your eyes and thoughts were immediately drawn to the simple yellow gold band sitting snugly on his ring finger, gleaming in the light. Your smile deepened as you set your hand atop his and looked over at your own ring on your other hand; slightly more elaborate, with your favourite gemstone sat amongst small crystals on an otherwise simple, narrow, white gold band. Eventually you allowed your gaze to move up to your fiancée, heart melting as you did. Golden hour suited him well, somehow both softening the strength of his face and accentuating his bold features. It highlighted the planes of them perfectly, and before you knew it, you were staring, wondering if you ever wouldn't be in total awe of the man you still couldn't believe had agreed to marry you.

"Is there something on my face? Oh you're practically drooling, doll," Felix smirked tauntingly, eyes glimmering with boyish mischief. He pulled off a roundabout and onto a long, empty road, allowing him to finally return your gaze properly, however shortly. He grinned as you blushed and looked back down at your hands, the cool breeze beginning to raise goosebumps on your skin. He noticed immediately, removing his hand from your leg to rummage around blindly in the back seat for a moment. The flesh tingled, still slightly weighty as if his hand had never left - as if he'd inexplicably marked you with its print forever. After a few seconds he produced a large hoodie; your favourite of his. He tossed it onto your lap, smile mellowing, and returned his hand to rest on your thigh, spreading a comfort and familiarity in your chest that almost brought you to tears. You could never have thought such security existed. "What are you thinking about, darling?" He asked quietly, voice almost carried away on the wind, his own hair playing at his neck and rippling around his forehead as he focused on the road. You pulled the homey material over your head and began playing with his fingers, twisting his ring around and holding his hand in different ways as you took in his scent and revelled in its warmth.

"I can't believe we're engaged," was all you could respond, hushed voice making it sound like your biggest secret. He shot you a grin, interlacing his fingers with yours and giving your hand a gentle squeeze.

"I can, everyone is grossed out every time they're in the same room as us," he pointed out with a chuckle, to which you rolled your eyes derisively.

"True, just…" You faltered, again turning your gaze to the scenery out of the window, admiring the small blue and red wildflowers that were beginning to bloom as time passed slowly further into spring. "I can't believe you're real sometimes. Someone so perfect has agreed to marry me of all people," He frowned, although you couldn't see it, and squeezed your hand again.

"Uh oh, looks like someone's taken too many 'chat absolute shit' pills," he hummed seriously, causing you to snort.

"What are you talking about?" you giggled, both of you tearing your eyes from the blurred road at the same time to share an amused look.

"I'm not perfect, and you know it. You've seen me at my lowest moments just as I have yours. You just see your own flaws more than mine because you're surrounded by them all the time," You hummed at his words, biting the inside of your cheek slightly.

"Being at your lowest doesn't make you any less perfect, Lix,"

"Maybe to you," he smiled, letting the other half of his sentence hang stifling in the air for a moment as he made a right turn and checked the GPS. "But you're perfect to me no matter what too, so. Checkmate, or whatever." He grinned, tongue poking at his teeth, and you couldn't help but bring his hand to your lips to place an appreciative kiss on the back of it. You moved away from the door and snuggled your head into the crook of his neck the best the current situation would allow. His arm was still outstretched into your lap, leaving you wrapped around it like a koala. A blush burned at the tips of his ears, and you shut your eyes upon seeing it in silent satisfaction. Felix was just as awestruck as you were, and you hoped your mutual adoration would last long into the lives you'd now promised each other. "I love you just as you are, so even if you don't feel that way about yourself, don't put down the love of my life like that." You nodded against his shoulder as his deep voice sent vibrations through you, as ever thankful for the fact he always knew exactly what to say. You didn't fully understand it sometimes, but he was with you for a reason (or many, as he'd rather put it,) and you trusted him enough to believe in his sincerity.

Twilight began to blossom, purples and blues fighting through the muddle of warm tones and argent stars taking their places to twinkle amongst the glowing half moon that was already set high above you. As he pulled onto another desolate road he dared lower his face to plant a hurried kiss onto your forehead, to which you responded by pressing your lips to his jaw and nuzzling further into his shoulder. You weren't really headed anywhere in particular, just enjoying the evening together, and you hoped tonight he'd allow you to stretch this forming memory just a little longer after the sky became dark.

Going band for band but it’s writing (toxic?) doomed yuri and you’re up against THEM

Have you ever been knees-deep in a fandom and then found a perfectly good fanfiction on AO3 related to that fandom so you binge-read all the released chapters in one day, but then realize that now you have to wait for the next chapter to be released? 

I Have. 

This audio scratches all the right spots in my brain and my ears have been blessed. 🎧😌

To all you Death the Wolf simps who didn't know much about his voice actor ( like me ). He can sing!!!😍🥰💕💕💕💕

I was doing an rp with @a-blog-for-kat and- I need Despair Disease to be a DRDT motive because the potential it has is so good- especially with this cast because like- *gestures at them*

Part 2 — this time with a focus on the flashbacks

(Check out the first post for some background info that will be useful)

When we’re looking at the cinematography of any piece, once we’ve established what the norm is (which is the use of anamorphic lenses, as per the last post) we can then look to see where it diverges. As far as I can tell, the only part of Dead Boy Detectives that doesn’t use an anamorphic lens is Edwin’s flashback scene. 

Now this is particularly interesting since not only is it filmed with a spherical lens, but it also is the only scene with a different aspect ratio, and the only scene in black and white. Everything about this scene is glaringly different. The easy and obvious reason is that it sets this scene apart as something important to pay attention to, as well as emphasizing the difference in the time period. But I want to highlight how exactly it does this since it is quite clever. 

It also raises the question: Why not film Charles’ flashback scenes differently? 

Like last time, let’s start with a review of history and technical information. 

What is an aspect ratio?

This is just the ratio of the width to height of the frame. 1:1 is a square, whereas 2:1 is a rectangle twice as wide as it is high. In film, aspect ratios are usually listed as a ratio of x:1, so you get common formats like 1.85:1 and 2.39:1 (the second being a super-widescreen format, i.e. a long rectangle). Other common ratios are listed with different numbers, like 4:3 and 16:9. Any time I write an aspect ratio with other numbers, I’ll also list it at least once with the x:1 format so you can compare things easily.

What are some common aspect ratios and what have the standards been across the past 100+ years of film and television history?

Brief history of aspect ratios in Film 

The original silent films were mostly filmed in 4:3 (1.33:1). This aspect ratio persisted until the late 20s/early 30s when the Academy Ratio, 1.375:1, was introduced and somewhat standardized (at least in the USA) until the 50s. Then, widescreen became pretty popular and was used to draw audiences to the theaters. At this point, we get tons of variation in aspect ratios in films. But, for American theaters, common projections are 1.85:1 (which became super common) and 2.40:1 or 2.39:1, whereas in some European theaters, 1.66:1 is a more common ratio. 

Some other common ratios deal particularly with 70mm film:

Standard 70mm film is usually 2.2:1. However, using anamorphic lenses will create a higher aspect ratio, and unless using a specific format common in the 50s and 60s (Todd-AO), this wasn’t often the aspect ratio that viewers would see. (The Sound of Music was shot with Todd-AO in 2.2:1, but until recently, most people only saw the general release in 35mm, which had a different aspect ratio)

IMAX, which is 1.43:1 (if IMAX is shot on film and not digital, it uses 70mm film)

Brief history of aspect ratios in Television 

Pretty much all televisions until around the 1990s-2000s used 4:3, and broadcasters would show content in that aspect ratio. If a movie was broadcast over TV, sometimes there would be letterboxing (black bars), but pan-and-scan was common, where they would crop the movie to the 4:3 ratio, and pan around to wherever the action was happening. Starting in the 90s, widescreen televisions started to gain traction, and the 16:9 (1.77:1) format prevailed, and TV broadcasting had some more wiggle room for aspect ratio. 

**Side note: Computers are often at this ratio, so if you watch older TV shows on your laptop, you’ll probably see pillarboxing (black columns on the sides), whereas newer movies are often shot with higher aspect ratios so they have letterboxing (black bars on the top and bottom)**

A note on widescreen

Movies are usually considered widescreen if they’re any higher than 4:3 (or 1.33:1). However, because of the aspect ratio of modern TVs and computers, and the even higher aspect ratios of most smartphones in landscape mode, a lot of people (especially younger generations) won’t consider things “widescreen” until they’ve got a much higher aspect ratio.

Streaming and Aspect Ratios

A weird effect of streaming services, and in particular Netflix, was the rise of a new standard in aspect ratios, 2:1. It’s used in shows like Stranger Things. It’s widescreen enough that it feels cinematic but it displays well on lots of devices. There’s minimal letterboxing (or none) on your phone, and more letterboxing on your computer and TV, but not enough to seem like you’re watching a movie instead of a show. 

Netflix (and Amazon) really like this aspect ratio. In 2017, one of the production requirement documents from Netflix stated that any aspect ratio greater than 2:1 had to be subject to further approval (though now they state “Aspect ratio choices should be discussed with Netflix for approval”). It’s become increasingly common, and these companies have a pretty set standard for 1.9:1 and 2:1. If we see those ratios on a streaming show it isn’t always a creative choice, similar to the way older TV shows were required to be in 4:3. 

A brief reminder about lens types with some extra bits about the timeline.

That 2.39:1 aspect ratio that movies use? That’s the standard for anamorphic lenses (discussed in Part 1). Anamorphic technology was developed around 1915 (for military reasons), but wasn’t used for films until 1927, and didn’t become commonly used until the 50s. 

So, with that, let’s look at Dead Boy Detectives.

Aspect Ratio

The whole show is shot with anamorphic lenses, but instead of a 2.39:1 ratio, they use a 2.2:1 ratio. This is a really interesting choice since it is an uncommon ratio. It’s more widescreen than Netflix shows (they started shooting before being acquired by Netflix though so we can ignore any impact Netflix may have had on this decision) but not quite the widescreen that anamorphic lenses typically use. 

Movies and shows can use almost any aspect ratio today, but it is still common to stick to the standards. When they choose something else, it’s not because of technical limitations, but because of a creative choice.

The one caveat I have is that Doom Patrol used 2.2:1, so it’s possible that HBO and DC originally just chose this for continuity between the two, before the show was shifted over to Netflix and the Sandman universe. But for this post, I’m going to assume that they were sort of starting from scratch when choosing the look. 

If we consider what a 2.2:1 ratio has been used for, and what viewers have been “trained” to associate it with, we end up with Todd-AO 70mm prints and a few others from the 50s and 60s. It’s the kind of aspect ratio you don’t see often unless you’re lucky enough to live near a theater with a 70mm film projector. There are a few notable movies shot in this aspect ratio: Lawrence of Arabia and 2001: A Space Odyssey. Some more recent movies that used 2.2:1 include Dunkirk, Tomorrowland, Nope, and the non-IMAX parts of Oppenheimer. It’s also occasionally used in recent TV, but not a ton, and not with many popular shows. 

This is an aspect ratio used by large-format, high-budget movies. As mentioned in the previous post, anamorphic lenses are associated with a romanticized notion of “cinema” and this aspect ratio only serves to further that, associating Dead Boy Detectives with the limited pool of content made in this aspect ratio. It may be a TV show, but it’s being shot like a movie. 

Another really interesting point that follows up on the previous post is the idea of using cinematography to enhance the sense of the supernatural and separate the characters from the normalcy of the real world. The aspect ratio is a bit unnatural too, which serves to complement and augment this. 

Let’s briefly look at what the show would look like in different aspect ratios. As a baseline, this is the 2.2:1 aspect ratio that the show is in:

If they had gone for a 2.39:1, a very typical aspect ratio for the kind of lenses they’re using, it would look like this:

When we see things shot with anamorphic lenses, we’re used to seeing it in a frame like this one. Especially in shots like this with the dramatic lens flares, this is going to look and feel familiar to people who watch a lot of movies. It has more of that Star Trek (2009) look, and feels kind of glossy and polished. 

Next up, we have 2:1, the aspect ratio popularized by Netflix. It’s a reasonable possibility that if this show had been produced by Netflix from the very beginning, this is what it would look like.

Over the past few years, this has become the “streaming platform” aspect ratio. With the extra vertical height, it’s got some extra space to breathe. We would get less of the background and more of the characters, especially since Dead Boy Detectives favors centered shots of single characters over group shots like this one. 

Finally, I’ve got the scene in 1.85:1, a ubiquitous film aspect ratio, yet one that is not used often on TV.

This is considered to be standard widescreen and it’s a great aspect ratio. Given how many creative decisions in this show were made to emphasize the supernatural, this could have been another good option as an aspect ratio, since we’re not used to seeing TV shows like this. However, they’re using anamorphic lenses so this would have required a lot of cropping. Because of how the anamorphic lenses work, this would also necessitate a lot of additional attention during the shoot. If they had gone with 1.85:1, we likely would have gotten a show shot on sphericals instead. 

So what about Edwin’s flashback?

This section is shot in 4:3 (1.33:1). It’s the only part shot in a different aspect ratio. Sure, changing the aspect ratio forces us to acknowledge the difference in time period, but why exactly does it work so well?

Remember the history part? 4:3 was used for most of the early silent films. If we are to consider the “historical accuracy” of shooting the different time periods in this show, anamorphic lenses and 2.2:1 make sense for the present-day parts and Charles’ flashback. 

But in 1916, widescreen cinema wasn’t a thing. If Edwin had ever been to see a movie while alive, it would have been in 4:3. The first time he would have ever gotten to see something in widescreen (if we assume he watches any movies at all) would be after he escaped Hell. 

Using this aspect ratio is not just a vague decision that a lower aspect ratio and black & white looks older. It is, like many other aspects of the show, historically informed. They could have used the academy ratio here, but they didn’t. They used 4:3. 

Not only does the aspect ratio switch for this scene, but also the height of the image changes.

This transition also sort of mimics the breathing effect of anamorphic lenses:

Something you may not know about how Netflix usually works is that regardless of the aspect ratio of the picture, the video file you see is part of a larger container, which is usually 16:9 (1.77:1). The black bars on top and bottom are part of the file, as shown in this screenshot of how it looks when you load up some screencaps in photoshop.

If you make gifs, edits, or are otherwise just used to having video files you are probably familiar with this. The Dead Boy Detectives files have letterboxing that is cropped out whenever people make fan content with it, whereas if you have a file for an independent movie, it usually does not have those black bars. Those black bars being part of the file make this transition possible.

We don’t usually realize that the container extends beyond the picture. For all we know, that’s the edge of the frame. But then it changes and forces us to reconsider what we previously thought to be true. Breaking out of what we think to be the image height is jarring, especially considering that this is the only time it happens (other than the brief flashbacks to the same footage later in the show). 

Here’s a mockup of what it would look like if they kept the same image height, and just moved from 2.2:1 to 4:3 without expanding vertically. I find that it doesn’t have quite the same effect.

This would look so cool if it was being shown at a movie theater on a huge widescreen, but we’re not watching this show in theaters. We’re watching it on screens where this would make it look small; what they do instead retains the feel of watching something big and cinematic. 

So back to the actual transition:

In breaking out of the perceived container, it’s as if it were breaking the fourth wall, an acknowledgment of the video’s format and its true container. This story is addressed to the audience in a way that the rest of the show is not, and it uses the aspect ratio to let us know that. 

Spherical Lens

(I would highly recommend you read pt 1 if you haven’t already)

Edwin’s flashback is not only the sole scene with its own aspect ratio, it’s also the only scene shot with a spherical lens. Like the aspect ratio, this is a historically informed choice. Anamorphic lenses technically existed during the last year or two of Edwin’s life, but movies were not being shot on them. 

How do we know that a spherical lens is being used, and how does this affect the show?

One of the quickest ways to identify the lens is to look at the shapes of the bokeh. There’s not much bokeh in the flashback, so I apologize for the intensity of my first example. But here, look behind Edwin’s head, where the lights from above reflect on the wet basement floor. They’re all circles, instead of the ovals that we get with the anamorphics.

The lens flares are also really different. Remember that the anamorphic lens flares are horizontal lines. Spherical lenses don’t do that, but they can produce lots of different kinds of lens flares. In this shot, the flashlight pointed at the lens lets off lines in lots of directions, kind of like sun rays.

This shot has another cool flare, in much more detail this time:

The next shot shows us more of the circular bokeh and another kind of lens flare. 

For the bokeh, look at the lights on the ceiling as well as the corners of the out-of-focus architectural details (the semi-arches). 

The lens flare here is the bouncing, blurry circle near the middle, as well as the brighter shape near the center bottom. 

We can then look at the things that are not different, but absent when using the spherical lens: barrel distortion and focus falloff. 

In this example, look at the windows in the background, as well as Edwin’s chair. An anamorphic lens would distort the vertical lines, bending them into a gentle fisheye. It would also make that chair and the lines of the window frames a bit blurry, as they’re close to the edges of the frame. Instead, the lines are straight and clear throughout the whole shot.

In this next example, not only do we get a great view of the lack of focus falloff, with clear lines throughout the shot, but we can see more of the difference in perspective and distortion of lines. 

You may notice that the windows and doors are not perfectly straight up and down. But is this barrel distortion? If there was barrel distortion, the walls would curve back towards the center of the frame at the top. 

Spherical lenses are often the ‘default’ lens. They’re wonderful and used in a lot of media because they are neutral. They distort less, thus representing the world closer to how it actually is. If we consider the anamorphic lenses in the rest of the show being used to enhance the sense of supernatural and story, changing to a spherical lens enhances the sharp reality. This is Edwin, alive.

The image breaks out of its perceived container, reaching out to the audience, and then changes the lens to be more ‘real.’ In these two changes, not only do we have a more historically accurate image, but it's as if the creators are issuing a warning to us. Maybe the demon isn’t real, but bullies are. Kids can be cruel. Classmates hurt their queer peers. This is not fantasy, and this is as true in 1916 as it is today. 

Using a spherical lens in this instance, juxtaposed to the rest of the show, is a dramatic shift to make, as it alters just about everything in the image. In using a less distorted picture, for this, we are reminded of reality and life and the mundane. 

On Charles’ Flashback (and an experiment)

Edwin’s flashback got the Cinematography Treatment™ but what about Charles’ flashback? It’s shot with the same aspect ratio and lens as the rest of the show. From the perspective of historical accuracy, this is fine. It’s a scene that could have been shot in 1989, cinematographically speaking. The reason I suspect that it wasn’t given any stand-out look is because, unlike Edwin’s flashback, Charles’ flashback scenes are closely tied to the present-day plot. They aren’t just scenes of Charles remembering things, they are a direct result of the Night Nurse’s “memory magic.” 

Maybe changing something here would separate us too much from the plot. Both flashbacks (in episodes 4 and 7) are induced for a specific purpose related to other present-day characters. It wouldn’t make as much sense to have them be standalones. 

However, if I were simultaneously the showrunner, screenwriter, and cinematographer, I would give Charles a standalone flashback scene. In that flashback scene, here’s how I would shoot it:

There would be a much deeper depth of field/smaller aperture than the rest of the show, so the background would be more in focus.

There would be harder, less-diffused lighting. This would also impact the coloring, and I’d maybe add some more saturated lights.

I’d try to make an argument to shoot that scene on film (and then argue to do Edwin’s on film too).

There would be a different aspect ratio; 2.2:1 isn’t out of the realm of possibility for the 80s, but it wasn’t common, and it wouldn’t have the kind of impact I’m searching for if it didn’t change.

There are three different aspect ratios I would choose between, and the lens would change depending on my pick. 

I’ve made some mock-ups for how these would look, though I cannot adjust things like bokeh and depth of focus, and I can only do so much with the lighting.

2.39:1 with anamorphic lenses (specifically Panavision lenses) This is a super standard widescreen, with a popular lens from the time. We don’t have lens info for the rest of the show, but I think they’re using Panavision anamorphics anyway so the lens may not be a change. Big, blockbuster action movies from the 80s would often be shot in this (perhaps most relevantly, Ghostbusters), and it’s a style that kind of faded in popularity in the 90s and 2000s, so it can have more of a retro look, especially if shot on film. One downside to this would be the aspect ratio change would not be as dramatic.

Movies from the 80s shot with this combo: Raiders of the Lost Ark (and other Indiana Jones movies), Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (as well as Episode 4, which came out in the 70s. Episode 6 used the same ratio and did use anamorphic lenses, but not Panavision), Ghostbusters

1.85:1 and spherical lenses. This is also ‘widescreen,’ but the advantage of using this aspect ratio is that we could get another dramatic breaking of the image container, just like in Edwin’s flashback. It’s an incredibly common setup, so it’s not really unique, but it would look different from the rest of the show. Given how pervasive ultra-widescreen still is today, I think a lower aspect ratio would also ramp up the ‘nostalgia’ factor a bit. Using a spherical lens we’d end up with the same sense of stark reality that we get for Edwin’s flashback as well (the warning that kids are cruel, but this time to people of color), and I like the idea of that as a parallel.

Movies from the 80s shot with this combo: Back to the Future, Dirty Dancing, The Princess Bride, An American Werewolf in London, Clue, Another Country

1.66:1 and spherical lenses. This is a ratio that was used widely across Europe, but has never been a common ratio in the USA. However, by the 80s, filmmakers were going for a more widescreen look so it was fading from popularity everywhere. The 80s liked widescreen, so it’s maybe not the best pick for making a scene look “80s”. However, my main motivation for this ratio is that my personal picks for the most Edwin-coded and most Charles-coded queer films are both 80s films shot with a 1.66:1 ratio. We would also get the same benefits from using the spherical lens as I mentioned in the 1.85:1 section.

Movies from the 80s shot with this combo: Maurice, My Beautiful Laundrette, Law of Desire (La ley del deseo), and an honorable mention to Chungking Express, a 90s film that really exemplifies the kind of look I'm going for here

Giving Charles’ flashback a special treatment would probably do a lot to more firmly establish his character as a co-protagonist rather than a deuteragonist, which is definitely not the case but does seem to be how some people view him.

With the impact of the spherical lens and aspect ratio in Edwin’s flashback, the final two options for Charles flashback would be the closest in terms of echoing Edwin’s flashback, and would probably provide the most gravity and sense of crushing reality to the scene. 

Setting a single scene (or two scenes) aside like this, with a unique aspect ratio, lens, and color grading (which I didn’t explore much for the Charles flashback), makes us consider a scene more independently from the rest of the show. Edwin’s flashback is a striking moment with a very different look, and that’s deeply memorable. It comes together to push how tragic and unjust Edwin’s story is. 

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This concludes the planned portion of my cinematography analysis. I had a ton of fun researching and writing this (and making all the graphics) and I hope you all find this interesting/helpful/informative :) 

Finally, I want to give another name drop to the cinematographers, Marc Laliberté, Craig Powell, and Pierre Gill. They’ve really nailed it from the very first episode to the last, and there’s so much intention and thought given to every aspect of how they shoot this.

more pics of me!!!!

how do I stop this inevitable boredom and want for more