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magnetothehedgehog · 3 years

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Dimension’s Ridge Announcement!

Hi everyone, With all the rise in Sonic media and the great releases coming up, such as The New sonic game in 2022,the sonic movie 2, sonic prime, and literally anything Idw has been releasing including their new side series “Imposter syndrome”, I am challenged to up my game and release information on my long running project in the works. Especially Since sonic prime and Idw is literally gonna blow out all the spoilers before I do if I don't start releasing stuff first. Since its been happening constantly, I gotta be a step ahead.

So, without further ado, I introduce you to the World of Dimension's Ridge.

Dimensions Ridge is My personal Alternate Universe that seeks to combine all aspects of sonic media. In fact, its super similar to the upcoming Sonic prime, archie and Idw Comics in this regard, with it possibly being a bit more ambitious, or at least equally as ambitious as Idw.

The Series will follow a number of favorite canon and non canon characters alike, but will also their universal counterparts and alternate universe selves.

The Main overarching plot line is that a Existence level Threat is putting everything in jepoardy. This Creature Known as an Existence Eater spreads its influence to a planet by releasing its minions into it, then after enough time, it comes to absorb the planet, thus erasing it from existence entirely, as if it had never been there in the first place. This has been happening for quite a while, until a few people caught onto it. They began leaving messages and warnings to others in a attempt to save them.

Being an existence level threat, this will take the combined effort of every Version of Sonic,Tails,Sally, Eggman and everyone else if they want anything to be left in the multi-verse. This Story is about how they all come together to do just that.

However that is the main plot. The story follows many minor or sub plotlines and stories that all connect and weave into this ultimate narrative. For Stories featuring Sonic and friends, Stories start off in the classic area and work their way into the modern area as the characters develop and mature, so we get to see and live their journey alongside them. For older characters and parents, I wanted them to have a more staple involvement in the series, even if only at the beginning. Their Adventures as the World slowly slips into chaos can be read in War on Mobius.

While there are Prequels to the beginning of the story, such as the “Rift War.”, the main storylines that kicks off all the other starts is one of my current productions “War on Mobius.”This follows the economical and political collapse following the Recent End of The Rift War and begins the Egg Empire's rise to Power.I would like to mention that The Egg Empire Now consists of the collective versions of Eggman all working together as a family. Egg Fam for short. But we have Great additions such as boom eggman, Ova Eggman, Aosth Eggman, Satam Eggman, Russian Eggman,Eggette, and a few custom additions such as Omelette and Scramble.

Things That happen in War on Mobius will be seen effecting or influencing the states of things in my Classic Era Story “Classic adventures.” and others ones such as “The Freedom Fighters.”

Alongside canon appearances of less known or scrapped characters and designs, such as Tiara and Honey the Cat, Readers can expect appearances of my own characters, both as counterparts to main characters, and also as people who drive the story forward and show interesting and dynamic opinions of their changing world. A few Such ones would be “Tribal Ties” Focusing on the Tribes of Echidnas, Bayblonians and Pangolins Tribes, all of which play a part not only in Mobius history, but also will play a vital part in its future.

After Classic adventures, comes one of my long running claims to fame and a personal favorite of mine from my early script writing days. Zone Runners. This takes place after the Events of Classic adventures and as the world has been influenced by the political unrest in War on Mobius. It follows the Group of People on the East Side of the World as they try to fight back against the Egg Empire, Newly risen Oscillators Group, and The Very lack of Sonic and Freedom Fighter there. This series will also begin unraveling some of the mysteries behind the existence eater and the ultimate narrative. Originally this concept came from the Fleetway comics, and ever since I've been completely inspired to incorporate this into my own series. If anyone was ever on Sonic Amino, they might have seen me post things related to it back in the day.

I also wish to be a more character focused series as a whole, one who focuses on the people collectively as opposed to just Sonic himself. I want it to as if each character us actually a main character and can save the day, and that the day is only won because everyone has done their part, whether powerful or powerless.

To that End, I have many characters stories intertwine, or lead to one another. Some characters will have branching off stories, while others will be closely intertwined, and always interact with each other, regardless of who the story is currently focusing on.

A few I'd like to notable mention is, Shadow's Ark, Silvers Sanctuary, and Heir of Sol. Focusing on the characters Shadow, Silver, And Blaze Respectively.

While I have a lot of other Titles for the stories respectively, I'd just to touch on a few more before I close.

Worlds collide finally answers the question in sonic media about two planets and the dimensional connundrum of sonic rush and sonic 06. While also bringing together multiple characters who were on their own paths, for the collected purpose of setting up how everyone will be needed much later.

Dimension Forces is, a reimagined Version of Sonic Forces, including a whole new team of villains to take on the heroes from our prior stories. I call them: Forever Force. The Main Three Hitters Being the Villains Infinite, Eternity, And Enigma. In this Story we'll get to see Whispers team in action, and also get to see new stories involving Gadget and His Brother Widget, and a host of other rising heroes soldiers and returning cast members.

I also had this Idea that the wisps were able to use their abilities on their own, except in smaller weaker versions then when they had a mobians help.Thus you could call in drill air strikes and other things to help you in battle, and the flew alongside you rather than in containers. I had these idea way long ago, but what do you know Idw beat me to the punch again in rise of the wisps. However I would just like to say before they do it too, that I had the idea of the wisps combining their powers, as if anyone played Sonic simulator, you would know you can actually combine wisp powers. If its the same type, its twice as strong with a bonus effect. If its different, you can combine the strengths of two different powers. Think how eggman used cube with laser in the boss nega wisp armor.

Speaking of Sonic Simulator! Thats another Story I have plans for. Following alongside the events of Sonic colors, Sonic simulator follows the group of hedgehogs abducted from Mobius and sent to eggman's interstellar amusement park as part of an organic experiment to take out sonic. Suggested by The Leader of the Oscillators, These hedgehogs will now have to work together to prove their worth to Eggman and as worthy adversaries of Sonic! But what of their past memories? What will happen if they remember? And if they do, can they escape? Find out! Also its follow up story leads to sonic lost world.

I'd also like to talk about the Idw Verse Mini series I have been working on! Getting Art from the Talented CatRage and getting to voice my Ideas to My Friends as well as My sister, I present my own Miniseries! Mimic's misadventures!

This story takes place between the events of Idw's Bad guys, and follows mimic's operations and struggles as he tries to complete his missions, and deal with people of similar caliber to himself. Will this mercenary manipulate his way easily out of another situation? Or has the Octopus finally met the one group who will send him back to the ocean? Find out!

Currently, this miniseries has 5 canon issues and one undecided.

1.Ghost Of The North.

2.Into the Spiders Nest

3.Hunt is on

4.Jaws of a Predator

5.Belly of the Beast

undecided: 6.Seaside Escapade.

Currently I am writing the script for Part 1 of Ghost of the North and hope to finish up the Audio drama reading for it soon.

So this is all the stuff I've had in production for the past few years! Along with my co writer Pinky heart.

Please, Please! Reblog or retweet this. It would mean the world to me. Also please! Ask as many questions as you'd like. I'll answer as many as I can, and would love to hear everyone's thoughts and opinions, as well as questions and inquires involving the series.

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ink-flavored · 5 years

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11/11/11 Tag Game

Tagged by the lovely @bookenders ! thanks!

Questions

1. Would you rather know every language on Earth except the one of the country you currently reside, or know every word and definition of every word in your native tongue?

2. You are now allowed to own any animal with the guarantee that you’ll be able to take care of it properly. Who’s your new best friend?

3. What’s the most ridiculous thing on your bucket list?

4. You have to be handcuffed to one of your characters for a week. Who do you pick?

5. What 3 famous people, living or dead, would you most like to chat with?

6. What’s the worst nickname you’ve ever gotten?

7. Do you believe in ghosts? Why/Why not?

8. What’s the best day of the week?

9. Best and worst things you’ve ever bought?

10. You can ask one question, and have it answered completely truthfully – no strings attached. What do you ask?

11. What’s a random piece of trivia you know?

Tagging (no pressure!): @royalbounties, @rainy-rose, @cataclysmic-writer, @isanyonetoknow, @frankenstienn, @rrrawrf-writes, @qelizhus, @tenacious-scripturient @surroundedbypearls, @farrradays, @blueinkblot, and anyone else who feels like it!

My answers below the cut!

1. What’s a writing tip or piece of advice you stand by 100%? What’s a piece of advice/tip you stand by 0%?

One tip I always stand by is to never let anyone dictate what you write. Criticism has its place, and sometimes that place is in the garbage. If you’re not happy making a change someone asks you to make – or tells you that you “should” make – then you have absolutely no reason to do it. Your vision is yours.

Really, I hate any “tip” that tells you to never do [x]. Only very, very rarely are they actually useful, and what most of them are trying to tell you is to not use [x] until you fully understand how to write without it.

Adverbs, for example. There’s a difference between using adverbs for something like “shouted loudly” and “smiled sadly.” The former is redundant, the second adds character to a scene. Adverbs aren’t evil – but if you don’t know how and where to use them, it makes your writing weaker.

2. What’s your primary concern when starting a new story?

The plot. I’m a terrible outliner, and a lot of my ideas come with only the most basic of arcs before fucking off and leaving me to world-build for the next 6 months and do nothing else.

3. What’s your favorite literary device?

Ooh, tough one. I’m a huge fan of foreshadowing – writing and reading it – but symbolism is so cool too. And metaphors! Ugh! Too many cool ones, pass.

4. Who is your favorite artist? Have you ever written anything inspired by their art? What was it? If not, would you ever? What would it be?

A FAVORITE ARTIST??? YOU’VE GOTTA BE KIDDING ME RIGHT NOW, HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO ANSWER THAT?? ARG that’s so unfair. You’re evil.

Although, I will say my recent art trade with my (very cool) friend @/malikbishtar was EXTREMELY fun!! You can find [my half] here and [their half] here!! That particular trade was fanfic/fanart respectively, and I would 100% be down for doing that again or for an original trade with somebody else!

As for writing something out of the blue based on somebody’s art, no I’ve never done that. I’m very shy about posting my writing online (I always have been), especially unsolicited writing for other people. I’ve certainly been inspired by people’s art, but I’ve never “done” anything about it, if you feel me. Maybe someday!

5. Are there any tourist traps in the world of your WIP? What are they?

YES absolutely. Especially in The God-Dragon’s Wife. Because the population of Syo-Lang (most of it anyway) is so religious and devoted to the God-Dragons, there’s a huge market for touring sacred spaces, cities build elaborate temples in hopes of attracting locals and visitors alike, you’d swear there was a “who can hold the biggest parade in honor of Keungkai” contest when the new year comes around. It gets absolutely crazy.

6. What do you love about your writing style?

I really like my description. As much as I like to complain, I think it’s the strongest part of my prose writing.

7. What do you love about your own personal style?

Over the years, I’ve slowly leaned into the idea that the only person who has to like what I wear is me. So I’ve started wearing more jewelry and crop tops and in general a lot more stuff that shows skin because I feel comfortable in it. And it’s been awesome! I’m having the best time!!

8. In what kind of environment are you happiest?

One that’s quiet and lets me write whenever I want. Also a cat. It should also be raining.

9. How would you write a coffee shop AU of your WIP?

Oh this is the perfect question. The immediate two I have ideas for is TGDW and Dragon Raising, for wildly different reasons.

The God-Dragon’s Wife, obviously, it’s because ~romance~ and I love these two. Xinya is totally an important political person or whatever who comes to this one coffee shop because it’s like 2am because it’s the only place open and she needs a break from paperwork. There’s exactly one (1) other person in the shop that isn’t an employee, and it’s this woman (Yu-Qi) sitting on one of the tables – like on the table, not in a chair – and she says, “the moon told me we’re going to be married one day.” Because it’s 2am and Xinya really does not have the energy for this, she just goes “that’s nice” and continues about her business. Except she is not left to herself for long because moon-lady is insistent on striking up a conversation. Xinya indulges her politely and leaves very fast. But she keeps? Going back? To the coffee shop??? To talk to Yu-Qi???? And doesn’t really get it until it’s too late and she goes oh no. Anyway, someone needs to write that for me once the book is published sdfghjk

For Dragon Raising, I’m just imagining Hayden trying to run a coffee shop while also having to bring his pet dragons to work because he can’t leave them alone in his apartment and it turns out they’re very helpful in the kitchen. A slice-of-life, dragon café story. I’d read it.

10. Sweatpants or leggings? Why?

Depends! I live in Florida, so wearing sweatpants outside is usually a bad idea, but I wear them when I lounge around inside all the time. I prefer leggings when I go out, so I don’t die of heatstroke.

11. What feeds your creative energy?

C O N S U M I N G.

But for real, I get creativity by sucking in media and spitting back out my ideas. Whether that’s a show, a movie, a book, a comic, a game, literally whatever, I get so much inspiration and energy by seeing what others have done and incorporating it into my own works. Even if I dislike it, I can look at whatever made me go sour and think, “Okay, now I know what I won’t do in my next idea.”

#annika talks #ask game #11/11/11 #i like these! they are fun #coming up with questions is a pain tho lol

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uclaradio · 6 years

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Interview with City Girl

Interviewed by Jennifer Liaw

album art for Time Falls Like Moonlight, by vickisigh

City Girl is a rising LA-based lo-fi/chillhop producer that incorporates a lot of soft piano and guitar intertwined with electronic beats and vocals. Starting out on Bandcamp and Soundcloud only 10 months ago, they now have three albums out on Spotify, the latest being Time Falls Like Moonlight, released in April.

Tell us a bit about yourself. Where did you grow up? What was growing up in that city like?

I grew up in California close to LA. To be honest once I found music I never really went outside. Before that I was just playing video games and watching cartoons. I guess the internet was more of where I grew up, as opposed to any geographical place.

What music did you listen to a lot growing up? What were your favorite artists back in like middle school, for example?

In middle school it was John Frusciante, all day everyday. Something about his guitar playing really inspired me. It was soulful and beautiful and just felt perfect, like every note was exactly where it should be. In high school my music taste exploded, but John Frusciante was the majority of the first music I learned and played.

Tell us a little about how City Girl first got started.

I uploaded on the train somewhere between my apartment and you 10 months ago on Soundcloud and just emailed a bunch of Youtube channels that were taking submissions. Aurarian music accepted that first release and put it out on Youtube and got the ball rolling so City Girl could get some attention back when it was only 10-20 followers.

How did you come up with the name City Girl?

To be honest, its in honor of “City Girl” by Kevin Shields from the Lost In Translation soundtrack. I’m a huge My Bloody Valentine fan and that song of his is just so amazing.

When did you first start making music? How did you get into it, and how did you first learn how to produce a beat?

I got into guitar playing when I was 12 or so. I just played because my older brother had a guitar. I took it and just Googled how to play guitar and taught myself songs and chords. It was the most fun I’d ever had. It felt so special. I didn’t start producing for like another seven years though. I would just record onto a Tascam tape recorder and jam with friends in garages. I had friends who made lofi beats waay back when it was like CULP and Simo and Onra and john wayne and stuff, but I never got into it, I was more focused on improvising and expanding my musical repertoire in a more performance-focused way.

Are there any instruments that you would like to try out incorporating into your music that you haven't tried yet?

I want live drums but I live in an apartment. If I could record drums that would be so cool, since I play drums too and I miss it badly.

Where do you usually record your music? Describe your studio space to us.

It’s about five feet no joke from my bed haha. It’s a desk and a midi keyboard and some guitars and other little instruments like the melodica. I have speakers and an old mic. It’s super cozy, my bedroom at my apartment is just covered with vickisigh’s art, like everywhere you look it’s just cute sexy ladies in pastel colors, I love it.

vickisigh’s (Vicki Tsai) artwork, from her instagram

How would you describe the lo-fi/chillhop genre and subculture to someone who’s never been exposed to it?

It’s just a bunch of people who love making music on their computers, and to be honest only one percent is unique and actually worth your time, but the same goes for all genres, 99 percent of it is just not that good. I would be more specific but at this point lofi stands for so so much that you can’t really go much further than that.

What do you think of the lo-fi hip hop/chillhop genre in general? It's really popular right now what with the YouTube 24hr lo-fi hip hop studying beats stream and the Spotify lo-fi hip hop studying beats playlists as well... There's literally probably thousands of really similar chillhop producers on SoundCloud... does that ever make you feel swallowed up, in a sense? Or does it feel more like a really large community? How do you try to stand out as an artist among all these other producers?

It’s a tough question to answer, because you can go from quickly, quickly to in love with a ghost and still call it lofi if you want to. These artists share playlists together and Youtube mixes. Who’s to say quickly, quickly isn’t just jazz? Who’s to say in love with a ghost isn’t just electronic music? It’s not so much a genre as it is a movement of instrumental music becoming the focus itself rather than the singer/rapper. Staying unique seems simple to me as I grew up playing and learning music by ear, so I just follow my interests/inspiration and play whatever seems cool.

Which artists would you say are your biggest inspirations or that you're just blown away by and really admire within your genre? How about outside of your genre?

Well in love with a ghost stands out, like most peeps I found them on Youtube. All the tracks from Let’s Go and Healing by them are amazing. Just super cool textures and melodies, really lovely and creative music. Kupla is amazing too, he’s an amazing piano player, all of his music is great. Outside of my genre I’d say Sheena Ringo, especially her album Kalk Samen Kuri no Hana - it’s pretty much game over, this album does everything better in every regard imaginable than any other music I’ve heard. Don’t know if you can get access to it in US tho, the copyright lawyers are hard at work on this one.

What artist outside of the lo-fi hip hop genre would you really really love to collaborate with? Can you describe the kind of track you'd want to make with them?

With anyone, well shit Beyoncé right? I mean she’s the best vocalist alive next to Frank Ocean. I would just want to make something really beautiful, some In Rainbows type stuff.

Being an artist based out of Bandcamp/Soundcloud in this day means a lot of your career is kind of born out of the internet. What are your favorite and least favorite parts about the internet and spending so much time on the internet/interacting with people on the internet/sharing yourself through the internet?

I love the internet because I can share whatever I want when I want. I don’t feel a lot of pressure because I don’t have any personal accounts on social media and never have, I always just read a lot of books and listened to records and stuff. I’m sure some people think it’s mysterious or whatever that I never cared for social media, instead opting to just read Sartre or watch old movies, but nowadays all I do is make music and play Skyrim so it’s all good. The internet gives me access to all that goodness so I can find it offline.

What are your top five favorite artists right now?

Tom Misch, Swell, quickly quickly, in love with a ghost, and Sam Gellaitry

What are your top five favorite female artists?

Sheena Ringo, Beyoncé, Aivi Tran, MISO (from club eskimo - a collective including Crush, Dean, offonoff, 2xxx!, millic, and more), and tiffi.

Do you have a favorite spot in LA that you wouldn't want to share with anyone else?

Wherever YAYAYI and JALENTUNA happen to be any given saturday night in k-town is a pretty special vibe that honestly can’t be shared even if I wanted it to be. God there was this $5 flat pho place on Western Ave. that was run by this old couple but it closed like 5 years ago, that was the best place ever and it straight up was ALWAYS empty, no one ate there. I think it was like Pho 36 haha one of those LA pho places that has a random number after it.

What are some things that you really enjoy doing for yourself? When you need to take a day for yourself, what are things that you'll usually do?

Skyrim is a go-to. It’s usually video games but a lot of times it’s just making music. You gotta understand music is like an addiction to me. I never stop thinking about sounds and I feel uneasy not making music.

So we know you like video games… what are some of your favorite video games of all time? Do you have any funny anecdotes from playing games online with strangers?

Favorite of all time is Psychonauts. Such a creative game and Scott Campbell’s art is the absolute bee’s knees. Right now my favorite is Skyrim as mentioned. I love RPG and adventure games, the immersion gets me good. I loved games growing up, played anything. I have a lot of anecdotes about gaming but I honestly can’t think of just one. Haha well when Xbox Live came out online gaming was brand new and I remember my dad getting on the headset asking people not to cuss (since I was just a kid) and THEY STOPPED. They were like “Oh sorry dude we didn’t know there were kids playing we will keep the cursing to a minimum.” Can you imagine that nowadays? It would never happen. That shit still blows my mind.

Do you play Fortnite? If so, what are your thoughts on it?

I played Fortnite with Chance, thrash, and Maru the other night and I hate it so much lol. The vibe is so terrible, the aesthetic makes me want to barf it’s so ugly. That was the only time I’ve really played it and it hasn’t been on my mind, the itch isn’t there so I guess no hype for me.

What are your favorite K-Pop bands or members?

SNSD was the OG. That old video of Sooyoung going “OP-EHHHH! OP-EH EH EH EH EH” lol that shit is so funny. I don’t follow it much anymore but MISO is the queen right now, she’s the best. I watched all of Jessica and Krystal when it came out too, that’s good stuff.

Ok I also saw on Twitter that you have a cat... tell us about your cat!

Ah yes, Seymour, the Russian Blue. He is a very handsome and beautiful man. He is a shadow in the night. Every part of him is gray except his lil tongue which is pink and his eyes which are green. He lives at my parents house so I don’t see him except at holidays, but he is my good soft boy. I think of him very often.

art from Snow Rose, by vickisigh

What would you say is your favorite track that you've produced?

“Anything Like Her” with tiffi is prob my fav. Tiffi is so cool and that song is really different sounding from other City Girl songs so I think it’s cool.

What is your favorite track off of Time Falls Like Moonlight?

“Sunset Lullaby” is probably my favorite. The second half with the acoustic and electric guitar just feels really special.

What was your inspiration for Time Falls Like Moonlight?

I make so much music, the inspiration doesn’t really ever make sense, I am inspired by everything in each moment, I am inspired by my own passion to make music. Not understanding what is going on is really important to how I work, it makes things exciting. I just want the music to make people feel loved and understood for who they are, that there is a purpose for them, a life they can live and be loved in.

When you make songs, are they ever about specific things, people, or events in your life?

Not really, it’s just all my emotions sort of bleeding into the computer. I don’t know if I could write about any particular thing, but I do enjoy imagining lots of people and situations to my music after I made it. Like oh this sounds like Moonlight Hill (from Kingdom Hearts) or this sounds like a tender look from someone or this sounds like a lonely plaza in the middle of some city. It’s all free and open to interpretation.

“Winter Fields” is one of my favorite tracks of yours... mostly because of the lovely violin part by mklachu. It's so dreamy and kind of reminds me of some of my favorite Ryuichi Sakamoto pieces, too. Can you tell us a little about this track?

It’s random but the track started as a like, flex? I was watching Joji’s Youtube aliases and god they are just awful I mean like him fucking with people and being super lewd and nasty I hate it but I was watching it anyway to like fry my brain and I thought it would be fun to make a nasty trap beat that would fit with his videos and I made “Winter Fields” (I know it doesn’t make sense at all). The song slowly got more romantic as I added piano layers the next day and then mklachu tweeted at me out of nowhere and I asked her to play over it and yeah it’s just what happens when you work on music all the time, everything going on makes it into the song.

Another one of my favorites is “Chateau Fountain.” I love the slow buildup, and then the talking portion that kind of just emerges and goes into like an acoustic drop... ahhhh.. I was wondering where that talking portion is from actually. The guy is like, "Take the flowers," and the girl is like "I’m all right!" and it sounds like an uncomfortable struggle...a common pattern in society where... men force women to do things regardless of their autonomy or feelings (ha ha). Does it have any significance to the meaning behind the track? What were your reasons for choosing to put that particular snippet in this track? It's interesting because for me, I think I'm more sensitive than the average person to these kind of power dynamics or like...oppression against women in all aspects of daily interactions or media that I consume, so when I listen to this track it's like a soft buildup to this point of conflict that is kind of grating, but then evolves back into a calming acoustic melody. That's personal, of course, but it's interesting.

DUDE YOU HAVEN’T SEEN ATONEMENT? Omg that movie is so incredible. It’s James McAvoy talking to Kiera Knightley and they have all this tension because they love each other but they can’t be together and ooooooooooooooooooh it’s so good. Their love is so beautiful and honest but it’s injected with all this tension and conflict from society and politics. I felt that snippet fit so perfectly into the emotions of the song, it’s one of the few few times I’ve used movie snippets because I felt it actually added to the track in a creative way.

How do you think you've evolved from the first songs you put out on Bandcamp/Soundcloud, and your first album Loveless Shadows, to now?

I know a lot more about mixing, especially with bass and drums. I try to make more upbeat stuff now, but honestly I still end up making a lot of downtempo stuff. I know a lot more jazz piano than I did before so that’s nice too.

What are some artists that you think are really underrated that you'd like to give a shoutout to and encourage people to check out?

frenesi is criminally underrated.

What are your goals for City Girl for the next few years?

Just put out an incredible amount of music and keep building the world of City Girl. I want people to feel relaxed and loved and understood when they listen to City Girl. Honestly I just want to expand the harmonic and melodic depth of City Girl, I want people to head bump and cry in the same track, I want to find that fusion of beautiful and funky that all great music has for me.

I know you just released an album, but besides that, do you have any upcoming events or projects your fans should be looking forward to?

I have another album finished already, but with the way vickisigh (I won’t put out something without her art on it) works it won’t be out until probably another two-three months. So by the time that comes out I’ll have another album done and so on the process repeats. So just look forward to a new album every two-three months for as long as I’m rockin in the free world.

art from Loveless Shadows, by vickisigh

Check out City Girl’s latest album, Time Falls Like Moonlight, out on Spotify, Soundcloud, and Bandcamp! They also have two other albums, Snow Rose from December, and Loveless Shadows from August that are equally as beautiful. Follow them on Soundcloud for all their music updates and on Twitter for all their promo updates!

#vickisigh #city girl #time falls like moonlight #city girl interview #loveless shadows #snow rose #ucla radio #uclaradio.com #ucla #college radio #ArtistInterview

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gzw1689 · 7 years

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For that anime ask thing you posted a week or so ago, if I can ask multiple simultaneously, then #4, #7, #9, #23, #29, #30, #37, #38, and #40. If I can only ask one, then I guess #4.

This ask is in response to these questions.

I’ve gotta admit, I found some of these questions kind of tricky, but I suppose all of them have an answer that’s hopefully satisfying.

This goes against my usual way of doing things, but I also decided to use a lot of Western names (with a few exceptions) when talking about the anime. I don’t really know why, I guess I just felt like it.

I put it under a “Read more”, since it ended up getting pretty long. Here goes.

4: If you could make a spin-off of any anime, what would it be?

The way I understand the question is this: what if I could make a spin-off myself?

Hmm… I don’t know. To me, that almost sounds like writing fan fiction, and I’m not sure if I’d really want to do something like that. Even though I like fiction writing, I don’t really feel the desire to extend the universe of any of the series that I like with my own contributions. At any rate, I think I’d really need to improve as a writer before I’d even be confident enough to do such a thing.

If I had to choose one though… This is probably going to sound kind of odd, but Welcome to the NHK. I have a story idea in my head that I kind of liken to a Canadian take on that series’ premise (though I think it still has a lot of developing to do; like, years even), so if that idea could be taken as a spin-off of the series, then sure, maybe. I think the series kind of fits with my current writing style too, so I suppose that works.

7: Have you ever watched an entire anime in one sitting?

I’m not sure if it was one sitting, but I distinctly recall watching Puella Magi Madoka Magica for the first time until like 4:00 or 5:00 in the morning. I might have taken breaks during the earlier episodes, but by the time I got near the end, I was really hooked and had to know what was going to happen next.

I think I’ve probably done this with other series too (especially when I was first getting into anime; these days, I usually feel like I need a few breaks in between), but that one is probably my most vivid memory of doing something like that.

9: Name an anime character you absolutely hate

I thought this question would be difficult, but it turns out it’s not. These next few paragraphs may seem a little out of character for me, because I don’t think I usually get so fired up about something like this.

Sora from No Game No Life. Almost four years of watching anime (and three years since I’ve watched that series), and for me, he has always been the definitive answer to questions like these.

I think it was about the second episode when he started to get on my nerves for how smug he is about how much of “genius gamer” he is (quotation emphasis mine). Then I think it was around the fifth episode when it really went into hate territory, where–if I remember correctly–he starts harassing and intentionally humiliating Stephanie (who was the character I probably felt most inclined to identify with at the time) for his amusement (and I’m pretty sure we’re supposed to find it funny too).

Every time I see that smug smile of his, I want to punch him in the face. I’m sorry. But I’ve never found any other character that pisses me off as much as him.

23: What is the most times you’ve re-watched an anime?

If we’re only talking series, according to my AniList profile, I’ve re-watched Madoka Magica twice (which, now that I think of it, maybe isn’t all that much).

If we’re counting movies too, I’ve seen Kimi no Na wa, the 1995 Ghost in the Shell movie, and a few of the Kara no Kyoukai movies that many times as well.

29: Has an anime’s fanbase ever made you hesitant to watch an anime?

This was a bit tricky. Usually, I don’t think I really look into the fanbase of an anime much before I watch it. When something like this happens, I think it’s usually due to something having a massive amount of positive hype surrounding it, and fearing that I’ll be disappointed. In cases like these, I like to wait until the hype dies down a significant amount (or I’m just less surrounded by it) before I start to get into it.

For a non-anime example, I can think of The Dark Knight. My peers were calling it things like a masterpiece or the greatest movie of all time, and the sheer excessiveness of the praise sometimes made me think that I’d be disappointed if I set my expectations too high. When I eventually watched it though, it did end up becoming one of my favourite movies.

Here’s the thing. When I go into any piece of media, I like to do so with as few expectations as possible. I don’t even really expect it to be “good”, whatever that means. I just want to be able to meet the thing on its own terms, no baggage or preconceptions about it. That said though, I realize my experience of it will be influenced by my own past, values, opinions, and so on; so based on that (rather than preconceptions about the work itself), I’ll decide how I feel about the experience. Of course, this can be hard to do with some works, but in cases like those, I try not to let any preconceptions influence me too much.

Sometimes I do think something is really artistically well put together, and I really like it. Sometimes I might find something kind of silly, yet still find it entertaining in its own way, and that’s fine. Sometimes I might even find something that I think is “good”, but that I just find boring or that I don’t really care about. That’s always an interesting experience, because I think people tend to think that we all naturally like “good” things, but I find that’s not always the case.

Anyway, I digress.

To finally answer the question, when I try to think of it in this way, Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann is probably the closest candidate. Before I got into anime or even learned what the series was, I could see some of my peers quoting it on Facebook. When I found out what it was, I saw so many of its fans talk so passionately about it and how much it means to them. I think one or two of my friends who watch anime were really into it, too. I had to give it a few weeks for my expectations to settle down, but I finally watched it at one point.

As for what I thought about it… I don’t know exactly what it was, but I didn’t really care for it. I think a lot of it had to do with the style. I found the hot-bloodedness of it all exhausting rather than energizing, and I didn’t really like how the characters yelled so much of their dialogue (I felt the same way about Kill la Kill). I guess I just couldn’t really get past that on my first (and, so far, only) viewing.

I think there were other things that I didn’t like about it substance-wise, but it’s been so long, so I don’t think I can really go into any detail about it.

30: How many anime episodes is ‘ideal’ for you?

Hmm, this question could be answered in a number of ways.

In terms of storytelling, probably however many episodes it takes to effectively tell the story. Some work with just 12 episodes (eg. the aforementioned Madoka), and some work with more (maybe something like Welcome to the NHK, which is based on a novel, and whose adaptation could probably have been very different if the episode count was different).

On the other hand, there’s some that maybe feel rushed with only 12 episodes (like Tokyo Ghoul’s second season), and some might feel padded and stretched out when they’re given more (arguably, Your Lie in April).

In terms of myself (as in, what would I prefer to watch?)… Usually anything that goes above 26 episodes feels like too much for me. For example, I’ve still been kind of holding off on watching both Fullmetal Alchemist series, even though I have them on Blu-ray, haha. I think anything under maybe 70 or 80 episodes is something I could possibly get into though; I’d just need to gather the motivation to get through some of the longer ones.

On the other hand, anything above 100 episodes is probably off the table for me. For example, I would probably never start something like One Piece or Naruto just due to the sheer amount of episodes there are.

Something like the Monogatari series might be an exception to this, in a way. That also has a lot of episodes, but I think their separation into distinct seasons (and, perhaps, the fact that I got into it early in my anime-watching “career”) makes it easier to digest.

37: Name a popular anime you love

To be honest, I don’t really know what counts as “popular” when it comes to anime. I get the impression that some of the anime based on long-running shounen manga like One Piece and Naruto are considered the mainstream stuff (maybe because their localizations saw very wide distribution? I dunno), but I don’t think I really know many people who like those ones.

And going to an anime club, anime conventions, and seeing what people talk about online, I find it kind of hard to tell what’s considered most popular.

Based on what I can tell though, Madoka is probably the prime candidate for something like this, but maybe that’s just because I hung around quite a few people who are really into it. I’ve talked about that one so much already though, so I want to pick something else.

Maybe Love Live! Sunshine!! could count. Whenever I go to something anime-related, Love Live! culture is pretty visible and audible, whether it’s in the clothing and accessories people wear, the visuals they use in general anime presentations, or music playing at an event.

I’m not sure if I’ve talked about it on this blog much, but while I wasn’t really that into the original Love Live! anime, I really liked Love Live! Sunshine!!. I think it was because, especially in the latter half of the first season, the themes it incorporated–the worries about being a creative person in a world where there’s so much competition, the issues that can occur due to lack of clear communication–really resonated with me on a personal level. I don’t know if it can really be considered a “good” series (for example, I’ve been seeing quite a bit of negative criticism about it–particularly when it comes to how they handle the characters–some of which I find understandable), but I love it nonetheless.

38: Name a popular anime you hate

The only one I can think of is No Game No Life. I can tell it’s at least somewhat popular, since I still see people walking around with “I❤人類” shirts at anime events every now and then. I’m not exactly sure if I “hate” it per se, but I can say for certain that I disliked it.

Other than what I’ve already said about Sora earlier, I wasn’t really into how the series mostly revolved around Sora and Shiro basically winning everything, and how the series presented it as so easy for them. From what I remember, quite a bit of their winning involved a lot of loophole abuse (ie. “the rules never said anything about this, so we’re allowed to do it”). In quite a few cases, the way the world responded to this felt kind of implausible to me. On top of that, it made them come across as kind of underhanded, unethical, and condescending (not sure if that’s the right word; but from what I remember, they seemed to like making their opponents feel stupid for not thinking about the same things they did), which was really irritating to me.

There’s also this quotation I found on TVTropes when I looked up the page for “Loophole Abuse”:

“In No Game No Life, one of the Ten Pledges everyone in Disboard is bound to states, ‘Being caught cheating during a game is grounds for an instant loss’. Sora quickly realizes this means that if the other person can’t prove that you’re cheating, you can cheat all you like and get away with it. Of course, he’s not the only one who realizes this.”

The show seemed to go out of its way to make Sora and Shiro look cool for doing things like this, so I’m pretty sure we’re supposed to be rooting for them. I’m sorry, but I just couldn’t do it.

40: Thoughts on live-action adaptations?

As a whole (including Japanese-made ones), I guess I’m kind of indifferent toward them, and I’m generally not really that interested in watching them. I am a little bit curious about the new American Ghost in the Shell and Death Note ones though, just to see what the filmmakers did with them.

As far as American/western live-action adaptations go, I honestly don’t really expect them to be that faithful to the source material, especially if they’re adapting to an American setting for an American audience. I actually think it could potentially be interesting to see how taking the same premise and putting it into a different setting (like America) could change things.

From a lot of peoples’ responses to these adaptations though, it sounds like they don’t turn out very well to say the least (though I wonder if that has more to do with the execution of a lot of these adaptations, rather than the very idea of setting them in or adapting them for America), but I have yet to see and judge for myself.

Of course, I suppose I’d probably feel very differently if it was an adaption of something that I really care about. Like for example, if someone adapted Fate/Stay Night for an American audience and significantly changed the very substance of it, I think it’s possible I’d be really upset about that. I probably wouldn’t be able to watch it without constantly comparing it to the source material, likely unfavourably. And if such an adaptation becomes a major part of the mainstream cultural consciousness, and the more niche consciousness surrounding the Fate series (and, consequently, likely confusing people even more), I’d probably get really annoyed by that, haha.

So in the end, I guess it’s just a matter of me not really being affected very much by the whole thing.

Well, I guess that’s it. Thanks for asking, this was fun to write! I might just end up doing the other questions too, like you said. :P

#b1689q answers #sejinpk

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