#the first time he fuses is the lyric comic

[cyarsk5230]

Dirty rap

Sub-genre of hip-hop

"Sex rap" redirects here. For the song by Red Hot Chili Peppers, see Freaky Styley.

"Pornocore" redirects here. Not to be confused with pornogrind, which fuses grindcore and sexually explicit lyrics.

Dirty rap (also known as porno rap, porn rap, sex rap, booty rap, or pornocore) is a subgenre of hip hop music that contains lyrical content revolving mainly around sexually explicit subjects.

The lyrics are often overtly explicit and graphic, sometimes to the point of being comical or offensive. Historically, dirty rap often contained a distinctly bass-driven sound, which arose from the popular Miami bass rap scene. However, dirty rap has recently been heavily influenced by Baltimore club, ghetto house, and ghettotech. Many dirty rap songs have been used as soundtracks to pornographic movies since the 2000s, replacing the traditional porn groove.

Late 1980s and early 1990s dirty rap

Though the genre had been around since at least the late 1970s, with Blowfly's Rapp Dirty, it was not until the 1980s, when Oakland rapper Too Shortreleased the 1983 album Don't Stop Rappin'containing multiple dirty sex subjects, that sex became a central focus. Although the release did not see much attention outside of his hometown of Oakland, he would continue to use provocative and sexual lyrics throughout his career, gaining him six platinum albums and three gold. The controversial rap group 2 Live Crew brought "dirty rap" to the mainstream with their Miami bass debut 2 Live Crew Is What We Are. With the graphic sexual content of their X-rated party rhymes, 2 Live Crew garnered much negative publicity. However, it wasn't until their 1989 album, As Nasty as They Wanna Be, that dirty rap became a legitimate genre. After being attacked by conservative critics, censors, and attorneys, 2 Live Crew responded with the 1990 album Banned in the USA, a much more political and angry album.

2 Live Crew returned to their utterly pornographic roots with 1991's Sports Weekend: As Nasty as They Wanna Be, Pt. 2, which was lambasted by many critics as running the sexually deviant lyrics of As Nasty As They Wanna Be into the ground. From Sport's Weekend onward, the Crew continued to make dirty rap and party rap.

Various rappers followed with dirty rap in the wake of 2 Live Crew's popularity. The group Poison Clanbecame widely successful, as did the group Bytches With Problems. Salt-N-Pepa released several "dirty rap" songs in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Sir Mix-A-Lot's 1992 hit single "Baby Got Back" could arguably be considered within the dirty rap genre; however, the majority of Mix-A-Lot's work is not sexually explicit enough for him to be considered a true dirty rap artist. Similarly, the new jack swing hip hop group Wreckx-n-Effectscored a dirty rap hit with their 1992 single "Rump Shaker". The pimp rapper Too Short is also a notable contributor and beginner to dirty rap music since he began his first album in 1983, though his topics range from sex to the gangster lifestyle.

In the early 1990s, the Baltimore club scene first began gaining an identity separate from house music and mainstream hip hop. Baltimore club, or gutter music, often features sexually explicit lyrics, and has influenced many current dirty rappers. Both ghettotech and ghetto house (or "booty house") also evolved around the same time, and, to an even greater extent than Baltimore club, frequently contain pornographic and sexually explicit content, as exemplified by DJ Assault and DJ Funk, two artists who pioneered ghettotech and ghetto house, respectively.

[umbraastaff]

I Saw Seven Bounties: Chapter 9.5 - Fantasy Starbucks

A non-canon short chapter for ISSB (no, you don’t have to have read the rest of the fic to read this!)

--> if you’ve been following this blog the past week or two, you know Exactly What This Is.

--

“Give it up, Barry,” Kravitz calls down the alleyway.

Barry’s shake palm comes to rest on the wall behind him, fingertips grazing the hardened paste between bricks. He shouldn’t be feeling anything at all, but the spell Kravitz cast over the street stops him from passing through.

Kravitz advances. Barry knows he’s cornered. He could try teleporting, or any other amount of magical resistance, but anything that got through the nullification spell might create an explosive reaction with it. It’d hurt both of them.

“Don’t,” Barry says as Kravitz reaches him, his tone a warning. It transparently lacks any real leverage.

Kravitz raises his scythe, and Barry dives forward before he can swing. Kravitz’s chest feels ice cold. He’s suddenly so woozy, like his mind is being tucked under a fleece blanket and the static electricity whenever he moves is enough to make him numb--

And then he’s confused, glancing about the alleyway. Where’s Barry? Where’s… Kravitz? The plan was just for Barry to possess him briefly and then escape, nothing fancy.

“Are you possessing me?” He asks, but the only answer is his own echo. “Am I possessing you?”

“No,” he answers himself decisively. He’s alone. But that doesn’t make sense, because Barry didn’t escape, and Kravitz didn’t leave, he’s sure. So then…

He looks down at his hands. His viewpoint is too far from the ground, but he’s not floating. And his hands are… there are four of them. Okay.

“Ohh,” he says faintly, “Oh, the possession did work, I think? This doesn’t make any sense!” He begins to pace back and forth, agitated. He’s Barry, but he’s not. He’s Kravitz, but he’s not. Barry possessed Kravitz, or tried to, and then this happened. Whatever this is. Whatever he is.

“I’m both of us,” he says quietly to a dumpster, and it’s the first thing he’s said that feels right. But as soon as he voices the thought, everything feels terribly wrong.

He leaves the alley, keeping just enough presence of mind to cast Disguise Self. It hides his lower pair of arms and creates an opaque shadow in his hood, hiding his skull face. He gets some weird looks, but at least he looks like a suspicious goliath instead of a weird monster.

“The Raven Queen could fix this,” he mumbles to himself, arms crossed and back hunched as though trying to reattain a normal human height. “But then--no, I-I’d die. Or Barry would? But Barry’s a part of whatever I… we… are, right now, so that’s a big part of me that’d get killed.

“Seems bad to get so attached to my own existence w-when I shouldn’t exist,” he adds with a grim hint of a laugh. His pace speeds up, and people jump out of his way even as he does his best to maneuver around everyone he overtakes on the sidewalk.

He catches sight of a cafe across the street and decides to duck in. Good place to think, maybe.

He says, “I’d like to order a coffee,” and the barista says, “What kind,” and the next three minutes are an excruciatingly awkward standoff where he politely asks about every item on the menu before settling on a small black coffee.

“And what’s your name?” asks the barista with a pained smile, as though she expects him to struggle with this too.

Terrified of taking any longer than he already has, he lets the first sounds on his mind tumble out of his mouth. “Bar… itz.”

She puts a marker to the cup. “B-A-R-I-T...S?”

“Uh, Z.”

“Okay,” she says sweetly. “I’ll call your name when it’s ready, Baritz.”

“Thank you,” he says, extremely glad for the illusory shadow hiding his face. He squeezes himself into a seat in the corner, ignoring the many glances from other patrons in favor of staring down at the center of the square table he’s sitting at.

His lower pair of hands, still invisible, grip the edge of the table. He drums his fingers against the underside of the table and plants his upper hands on the sides of his face, elbows on the table. The wavy patterns in the wood take all his focus, as the least difficult thing to think about at the moment.

“Some upsides,” he whispers, carefully quiet enough to keep anyone else from overhearing, “This is… groundbreaking magic, absolutely unheard of. Could be revolutionary. An interplanar mashup of undead arcana--who could have guessed it would mix so perfectly into… well, me?”

He blinks and turns his gaze to the window. “Interplanar…?”

Something about the word hurts his head. Something he doesn’t want to think about, something he shouldn’t know. His hands clasp together and shake.

“Black coffee for Baritz,” says a voice that’s too nearby to still be behind the counter. He looks up the see the barista setting the cup directly down on his table. “You just seem like you’re having a… day. And it’s not too busy right now, so I figured I’d just make this easier for you.”

“Th-Thanks--Thank you,” he says unsteadily as she returns to the counter. He stares at the cup. Black coffee… he doesn’t want this. He doesn’t even like this.

He doesn’t like any of this. He shouldn’t be one person. He shouldn’t even… they shouldn’t…

“What if I succeeded?” The cup dents in his grip. “What would you do?”

As he stares at the cup, waiting for an answer he doesn’t have, the conversations of other patrons slowly filter into his hearing.

“That’s illegal, dude.”

“Seats are so easy to get, though.”

“That’s not the only--how are you even gonna get there?”

“What? There’s a train line that runs right through there. It’s a big station.”

“Yeah, and all the tickets are gonna be overpriced, with crowded trains. Tons of people go to Goldcliff, and they don’t exactly draw the most savory crowd…”

Baritz frowns. “Goldcliff…?”

Coffee leaks onto his hand from the top of the crushed cup, and the lid pops off the top. He can tell that the liquid is hot, but it doesn’t actually hurt his semi-corporeal hand.

He wipes it all up using napkins from the table’s dispenser, and then quickly stands up and walks out the door, dropping the still-mostly-full coffee cup and wad of wet napkins in the trash on his way out.

Goldcliff. He walks briskly down the street, paying slightly less attention to the people he’s nearly barrelling over. He shouldn’t go to Goldcliff. Barry had meant to go there, there’s something there, someone--no, no, no, he shouldn’t think about it, he can’t think about it.

His legs take him all the way out to the edge of town as his thoughts conflict with one another. He can’t go there; he doesn’t even know if his magic will work like normal, and trying to teleport would be dangerous. And he just--he shouldn’t. No matter how much he wants to know, how much he feels like the answers to all of his questions are just on the tip of his--

“I don’t want to fight!” he shouts into the open air. His disguise dissipates with it. He’s already walked far past the edge of town, beyond where anyone will notice him.

“Please,” he says, and knocks his head against a tree. Then he sits down against the trunk, lower arms crossed and upper hands clasped together. “Let’s just--I don’t want this any more than you.”

He shakes his head and stares at the sky. “How are we gonna get out of this one?” The clouds just drift lazily. He sighs. He has to stop being, so that Barry and Kravitz can keep going.

But what are they even going to do? The same thing as always? The same stupid, silly game. They both know it, and they both keep playing.

“It’s nothing against you personally,” he says. “I know you know that. I… I can’t apologize.” He leans back against the tree. “I have to do this, you know? It’s everything to me. I don’t think you’d understand.”

He closes his eyes. “Or maybe I do.”

Something feels nauseating, and he just shuts his eyes tighter. It feels like his heart dropping through his stomach, leaving an empty space in his chest, hollow and painful. He feels like so much less, now. Small, but not so small that the hole in his chest completely disappears.

His hands--just two-- drag their fingers through the grass and dirt. He opens his eyes.

Next to him, draped in a familiar bright red, a figure sits just shy of leaning on his shoulder, hands covering his face. Kravitz blanks. “Barry…?”

Barry lowers his hands, trembling. There are tears in his eyes when he turns to face Kravitz. “W-Well, that was…”

“Yeah.”

“F-Forget about everything I--We thought a-about,” Barry says, “T-Towards the end, th-there. Just s-some nonsense anxiety. D-Don’t worry about it.”

“I don’t have any bounties recently sighted near Goldcliff,” Kravitz shrugs. “Just get out of here before it’s been too long to justify not getting out my scythe.”

“R-Right, yeah,” Barry says quickly. He stands up and reaches behind his shoulder, snapping his fingers. A portal manifests behind him and he hesitates briefly. Then he gives Kravitz a tiny smile and says, “W-Well, nice to meet us.”

He steps back through the portal, and he’s gone.

#baritz #issb #the adventure zone #writes #my writing #this is an au to normal baritz canon #the first time he fuses is the lyric comic #but i thought itd be neat to see if they fused while they were still. uh. enemies #mine

[obae-me]

hmm mc singing Barbie girl (you know I never noticed when younger but its quite sexual lol) and their reaction? if you're not up for all maybe luci, Satan and belphie?? 👀

Word Count: 2635

Author’s Note: I never noticed how suggestive it was when I was younger either, and even now just reading through the lyrics I connected a few dots I hadn’t before. I’m sorry this took so long, and I hope it’s enjoyable to read! Thank you for your request, Anon! 

Lucifer

He had come to check on MC to see how their studies were doing. He respected that they insisted on doing their schoolwork on their own, but he still felt the need to check up on them, just in case. Too often did he find people slacking off.

He was just about to knock on their door when he heard MC’s voice reach his ears through the frame. “Make me walk, make me talk, do whatever you please, I can act like a Star, I can beg on my knees.”

It was a song he had never heard before, which wasn’t too surprising. He didn’t bother with anything...distasteful. He was a very picky listener. He gave himself a few moments to comprehend the lyrics. It sounded almost like a song Asmo would listen to.

He was taken aback, to be honest. The music itself was absolutely annoying, like some kind of glittery audio, but the lyrics coming out of MC’s mouth stirred something in him. He was a demon for sure, and he was no stranger to the more risque aspects of sin, but to hear such things coming out of their mouth drove him up the wall in more ways than one.

He opened the door without knocking, entering like a shadow. MC didn’t even have a pencil in their hand, dancing in their seat, their schoolwork the furthest thing from their mind.

“You can touch, you can play, if you say I’m always yours-”

MC felt a looming shadow behind them, their voice faltering as their heart fluttered. Lucifer’s hand reached around them, touching their D.D.D. to turn off the infernal melody with the taunting lyrics. MC looked up at him, the frame of his body blocking out the light in their room. He glared at them with red glinted eyes, a smirk tugging at the taut corners of his lips.

“That can easily be arranged.”

A dark shade of red covered MC’s cheeks as Lucifer shut their school book,his gloved hand tracing the spine of the book before doing the same thing to MC’s chin. They didn’t seem to be getting much studying done anyway, so further delaying them would do them no harm, besides, then he would have an excuse to be their strict tutor.

Lucifer is going to want to carry out those lyrics as punishment for MC saying such bold and tempting words in his presence.

Mammon

He had finally managed to get MC in his room to hang out, just the two of them. He had felt that his brothers were spending way too much time with them, and it was his turn to have his human. Lucifer had prevented both of them from going out since it was far too late and all of them had to get up far too early the next day.

To get around this conundrum, Mammon had a bottle of wine and demonus already chilled in his room. He’ll do his best to brush past the fact that he had stolen both of them from his older brother.

It didn’t take too long for both him and MC to get drunk, partying it up in his room much to his siblings annoyance. MC was pumping a bunch of human world music from his loudspeakers, and Mammon was secretly loving it. When Barbie Girl came on, he’ll admit he found it strange at first, his face burning as MC sang the lyrics to the song.

“Life in plastic, it’s fantastic, you can brush my hair, undress me anywhere.”

MC would look at him, glancing his body up and down to the words, almost like they were teasing him. His first reaction was to tell MC that they couldn’t just sing stuff like that. Someone would take it wrong, someone would...he didn’t want anyone else to hear those words but himself.

MC would convince him to sing the other part, begging and pleading with him. He eventually agreed, but only this once, and only because MC was the one who asked.

He’ll get surprisingly into it, and they’ll sing it again and again on repeat so much, they both would be capable of singing it in their sleep. MC would laugh anytime Mammon would purposefully lower his voice to a comical degree.

MC was almost torturing him, singing “If you say, I’m always yours”, dancing with their body moving way too close to his, their eyes painted with a sultry glow. He could only take it for so long before he turned the music off, causing MC to frown. Then he got in real close.

“Yes, you are mine.”

Levi

He had invited MC to a karaoke night, one of the few activities he’d do outside his room. It showed up in anime so often, and he would be able to sing his favorite songs as loud as he wanted without fear of bothering anyone. It was just him and MC, he didn’t want to risk the possibility that his brothers would ruin this already rare opportunity.

He sang some sort of anime opening, and he went hard, hitting notes that MC didn’t even know he could reach. It was beautiful. Levi thought nothing would be able to make this moment any better. Then MC retaliated with Barbie girl, and as soon as the first few lyrics left their lips, Levi went completely still. He was frozen, his concentration buffering.

“I’m a blonde bimbo girl in a fantasy world, dress me up, make it tight, I’m your dolly.”

They were purposefully teasing him, but he couldn’t do anything about it. MC had him completely red, his hands up to cover as much of his embarrassing face as he could. With his eyes still free to watch MC, of course. Sure he had probably heard and seen worse in anime, but he never said anything like that aloud, he had never...heard that aloud...by another person.

MC directed it all towards him, bouncing up and down on their feet as they sang, giving him flirtatious winks. If this were an anime, not only would he have had a severe nosebleed, but his soul might’ve just floated out from his body. Unfortunately for him, this wasn’t an anime. He was still frozen to his seat.

“You can touch, you can play.”

MC came on over to him and sat next to him, getting real close to him, tugging at the collar around his neck, playing with the stray hairs at the bottom of his head. He got so freaked out, he slipped out of his own seat and onto the floor, accidentally dragging MC along with him. MC almost couldn’t continue singing due to how much they wanted to laugh.

“If you say, I’m always yours.”

Right now it seemed as if MC had him as theirs instead of the other way around, with them on top of him on the floor, Levi feeling like he was literally melting. He wasn’t a huge fan of anything without some sort of connection to anime or video games, but he’d give this song a pass this one time.

Satan

While he can be a fan of some music, he typically likes silence, it makes things easier to read. But when MC asked if they could listen to some of their music while they studied together, he let them. He was curious about their tastes if anything. He took it as an opportunity to learn more about them, but he didn’t know that they were planning on testing his patience.

Their songs came up randomly, each one of them obnoxious noises. Satan knew immediately that the only reasoning to them was to see which one annoyed him most. MC tried hard to hide the smile on their face, but Satan’s expression left them highly amused.

He had just about had enough, ready to blow a fuse along with MC’s D.D.D. Then Barbie Girl came on. The breathy squeaky noises felt like they had taken a few centuries off his lifespan, but then MC started singing to it.

“You can brush my hair, undress me anywhere.”

He pressed his hand to his chest. This kind of song, these words, this behavior...was completely inappropriate. It’s what he wanted to say anyway, but anytime MC sang something else, he found himself speechless.

“Imagination, life is your creation.”

He ended up having to turn his head away from them, closing his eyes and doing his best to tune them out long enough to get his focus back, to get his logic back. He was ignoring the growing heat in his face.

He didn’t move until the song was done, and then he hastily took MC’s device from them, turning the music off and then insisting that they get stuff done. MC whined a little bit but obliged, having been mostly satisfied by his behavior.

The only thing was, now Satan was lost in his own mind and thoughts, unable to even comprehend what he was reading. MC would ask him a question, and he would find it difficult to even try to come up with a solid answer. He could only look into MC’s eyes and angrily shut all his books.

There would be no more studying tonight.

Asmo

Human world music or not, he knows this one by heart, and he loves it. It’s so playful and sexual, it’s exactly his thing. So, it was actually Asmo who had the song playing in the first place, much to MC’s surprise.

He had MC over for one of their self-care nights. He would do their nails, their hair, make sure their skin was nice and moisturized, and maybe they’d let him give them a deep massage. He had some of his music playing to set the mood. Some of his hype songs. When Barbie Girl came on, MC snapped their head up in surprise.

“You know this song?”

Asmo almost had to put down his polish, exasperated at the question. “Do I know this song?? Honey, I adore this song.”

He was the one who started singing, making his body sway and move as he gave MC flirtatious glances. MC shrugged, figuring the song was too catchy to not join in with. Asmo had never been so excited, he wanted to shout, maybe post it on Devilgram.

“Kiss me here, touch me there, hanky panky.”

He’s heard people talk dirty before, trust him, he’s just never heard MC talk like that before. Even if they were just singing goofy lyrics of a song, he had always wondered what it would be like for them to say such things. Only now, now that Asmo had finally had a little taste of what he wanted, he couldn’t handle it.

He had been doing his nails, but now his entire finger had nail polish over it. The air in his lungs was suddenly absent. He felt like breaking the bottle in his hands, so he quickly put it down.

“You can touch, you can play, if you say-”

MC had been interrupted by Asmo almost body slamming them against his bed. They stammered and sputtered for words as Asmo whined and almost cried for them to stop giving him false excitement, he wouldn’t be able to take it.

MC, maybe slightly influenced by the song, the mood the demon of Lust had set, and maybe some alcohol, told Asmo that maybe they wouldn’t mind if it were him.

Screw his nails, he had more important things to do right now.

Beel

MC swore the only reason why Beel even knew what flirting meant was because he had Asmo for a brother. He didn’t really take any steps himself to be promiscuous, and if he ended up doing something...spicy, he didn’t really mean to.

So when he came into the kitchen to check on MC while they were on cooking duty, he wasn’t sure how to feel. At first, he was just so happy to hear MC sing, if they were happy, it meant the food they were making would taste ten times better. Somehow he knew how someone was feeling based on the food they made.

Then his second reaction was towards the actual words they were singing. It made his stomach feel kind of full, even though he hadn’t eaten anything for a few minutes. MC was looking pretty tasty...

Then he shook his head to himself, shooing away those kinds of thoughts. It was just a song, nothing to get so worked up over for. He wasn’t like Asmo. Or his other brothers apparently.

MC will admit they were a bit disappointed when Beel started rummaging through the kitchen for a few pre-dinner snacks, ignoring the song. They expected a bit more of a response. MC loved trying to get a jolt out of the demon brothers, but Beel was Beel.

The demon of gluttony just kept them company while they cooked, none of the lyrics setting him off. He just happily munched on some crackers. Beel told MC they had a lovely voice, and while he wasn’t a huge fan of the song, he respected their taste in music.

He was almost too pure sometimes.

Belphie

He had been asleep for much too long, and in such a deep sleep, nothing seemed to be able to wake him up. Each of the brothers had tried and subsequently failed. They had given up on him, even Beel who went off in some search for food after his attempts left him starved. Only MC remained, and they tried the first thing that came to their mind.

For some reason their idea had been playing Barbie Girl and singing it to him in the most ridiculous way possible. They turned the song up on their D.D.D. at full volume and started dancing and singing on his bed while he remained fast asleep.

“Come on Barbie, let’s go party, ah ah ah yeah.”

With each little ‘ah’ and ‘oo’ that came out of their mouth, they poked Belphie��s body. Still nothing. If MC wasn’t able to see his chest moving and the air from his nose pushing the hair covering his face, they would’ve been convinced he was dead.

Except the fact was, he was awake, wide awake in fact, he was just pretending to be asleep. MC’s voice had both the power to snap him awake or lull him to sleep. Right now he was doing his best to stay still as they continued.

Yes, he kinda wanted to kill them for waking him up. Yes, the song was driving him absolutely crazy in the worst way. But also, MC kept touching him and saying things he had never heard them say before. The breath against his pillow was getting warmer, his nerves feeling jittery.

When they finished, MC was a bit disappointed to find Belphie still ‘asleep’, their plan had failed. They turned the music off and missed Belphie’s immense sigh of relief. They went to move off his bed, but he snapped to attention to grab their ankles. In a blur of movement, Belphie had them pinned down on his bed.

He had planned on just falling back asleep on top of them, but their expression...now he was awake, restless, and left with only one way he would be satisfied enough to sleep.

Bonus: Each and every one of the demon brothers has had this infernal song stuck in their head for literal days. A few of them don’t quite mind, and for the rest of them, they wonder if they’ve been subjected to some sort of torture. Lucifer has banned the song for eternity, and each of his siblings, with himself included, has some sort of demand for MC to fulfill as payment.

#obey me #obey me shall we date #obey me headcanons #obey me imagines #obey me lucifer #obey me mammon #obey me levi #obey me satan #obey me asmo #obey me beel #obey me belphie

[feeling-weirdy]

If you take requests related to songs: Wanda sometimes listens to music that Pietro used to like. Pietro loved 90s eurodance. (As he was a Easter European 90's kid) Vision walks in one time while one of those songs is playing and is somewhat bewildered.

The compound was rarely quiet and the moments where Vision found himself alone were few and far between.  He closed his eyes, simply enjoying the silence, knowing full well that it wouldn’t last long.  As much as he enjoyed getting to know his associates, there were fewer pleasures than the sweetness of nothingness and he knew he wouldn’t have long to enjoy it.

He felt himself relax, picking up the next book in the pile he created and began to read where he left off.

Only when he found himself becoming comfortable in his chair did he hear the loud base from the other side of the hallway.  It seemed he wasn’t as alone as he first thought.

Vision stood, placing his book quietly on the bed as he made his way toward the racket.  The loud beats and pops of the music were unlike anything he had ever heard of.  He had spent countless hours listening to the music humans deemed classical and any other music that was suggested to him by the rest of the team.  But this...was...different.  Following the sound to Wanda’s room, Vision knocked on the door.

“Wanda?”  When there was no answer, Vision phased through the door.  He found her lying flat on her back, her legs dangling over the end of the bed as she gripped onto a plastic case on her stomach, her hair sprawled out in disarray.  She sighed softly, unaware that he had even entered her room.  “Wanda.”  Vision spoke more firmly, moving closer to her to attempt to gain her attention.  She jumped slightly but kept herself fused in the same position.

“Sorry...was it too loud?”  Her slow, drawn out voice told him everything he needed to know about her current mental state.  With every day that passed, he could tell that she was starting to heal, but it had been a process.  Some days were easier to handle than others and this did not seem to be one of those times.

“No, no.  Of course not.  I just wasn’t aware you had returned home.”  Vision’s voice fell, watching her curiously.  The music was even more erratic up close than it had been down the hall.  He listened closely, hoping to discover the secrets of this particular genre.  “What exactly are you listening to?”

“I found one of Pietro’s favorite CDs.  I just felt like listening to it...I thought maybe it would help, but it’s not...really.”  Wanda sighed softly, rolling over slightly so that she could see him.  Even from this distance, Vision could see how red and irritated her eyes had become.  She rubbed at her face, hurriedly erasing the proof of her tears from her cheeks.

“Perhaps some company, then?” 

Wanda nodded, pushing herself up to a sitting position as he sat beside her.  The thought of their solemn moment with the backdrop of this particular music would be almost comical had she not been so upset.  Vision instead focused on the music, trying to make sense of the lyrics.

“I never understood why he liked this music,” Wanda said, breaking the silence.  “It was just so...loud.”  Running a hand along her arm in an attempt to soothe herself, Wanda’s eyes fell to the floor.

“And what type of music do you prefer?” 

Wanda thought for a moment, humming softly as she thought.  “I don’t really have a favorite.  Soft music helps with the pain.  Helps calm my nerves.” 

“Ah...” 

“But...this music is good too.”  A sad smile crossed her features as she lost herself in her thoughts, a soft chuckle escaped as she reminisced.  “He used to force me to dance with him when he really got into it.  Maybe he just wanted me to have fun, but I think he just knew it would drive me crazy.”

A silence fell among them as they listened to the rest of the song.  Wanda’s head randomly bobbing along to the beat as she tried to push away the thoughts that seemed to be plaguing her mind.  Dancing back and forth without ever leaving the bed, a smile appeared along her face.  Dancing had been one of the few things he was unable to grasp.  Everything else, he had been able to pick up with ease but as far as he could tell, dancing took some skill that he had been unable to obtain.  Even imagining the thought of Wanda and her brother dancing together was difficult to place.

“Have you...ever danced?”  Wanda asked, turning her attention back to him.  The question caught him off guard.  Clearly their thoughts had deviated in the same direction.

“No.  I have yet to figure out just how it’s done.”

“I can teach you...”  Wanda hopped up off the bed, forcing a wide smile on her face as she held out her hand.  “Come on.  I’ll help you.”

“I’m not sure that’s wise.”  Vision laughed nervously, feeling his chest tighten as he took her hand and stood before her. 

“Come on.  Just try it.  This music is perfect for learning how to dance.”  She grabbed hold of his hands, placing them on her waist as she put hers around his neck.  “Just like that.  Now you just...sway.”  Vision moved his hands along her waist, trying to find the perfect place to hold her as she pressed herself against him.  He had seen how people danced, so he was well aware of how close they had to be to perform such a thing, but that didn’t stop his nerves from getting the better of him.

They moved slowly, completely out of tune of the beat of the music.  He could feel her warm fingers running along the base of his neck as she held him there sending a chill throughout his body.

“Y-your brother danced with you like this?”  Vision chuckled nervously, desperately trying to keep himself grounded in what he was doing.

“Well...not quite, but I figured if you’re going to learn then you need to learn properly.”  She locked eyes with him as she moved against him, a small giggle escaping her.  Vision watched her, completely enraptured by the way that she moved.  Their slow rhythmic movements didn’t match up to the beat of the music and while that didn’t bother him, he was no longer sure if this was the proper method to teach him. Wanda’s fingers fell, playing with the edges of his collar with a sad smile. 

“My apologies.  I don’t seem to be very good at this.”  Brushing the hair out of her face, his demeanor changed to one of concern as they slowed to a stop.  The stood there quietly for several minutes before he continued.  “Are you alright?” 

“I’ll be fine.”  Wanda nodded, forcing a smile on her face.  “Thank you for dancing with me...”  She traced her fingers along his arms, lingering a bit too long once she reached his hand as she pulled away from him.  Vision could feel the warm sensation spread along the places where she touched, her sad appearance only causing him to want to try harder.

“With a little practice, perhaps we can try again.”  Vision’s voice remained hopeful despite the uncertainty that he could actually accomplish that task.  Dancing was so inherently human, and he was far from that.

“Any time.”  Walking over to the CD player, Wanda turned off the music.

Check out my other drabbles here or feel free to request some!

#scarletvision #wandavision #the vision #wanda maximoff #rini drabbles #AoU to CW

[joedanielburrows]

Gorilla Tactics Records - GTR001 Ramblin EP - Trafic MC & Bear Twists - Release Date 29th January 2021-

- Gorilla Tactics Records Presents - GTR001 - Ramblin EP - Traffic MC & Bear Twists 

- Release Date - 29.01.2021

- 4 Track Ep - 

A Bristolian link-up of epic proportions, this debut official release from Gorilla Tactics Records fuses the verbal trickery and vocal acrobatics of Trafic MC with the eclectic and funk-laden beat-smithery of Bear Twists for the Ramblin’ EP! 

Getting Bear Twists away from his usual electronic dance music and getting him in the studio alongside an MC for the first time on some UK Hip Hop, was a stroke of genius, as his funky breaks roots translate beautifully into the hip-hop sound and provide the ideal backdrop for the linguistic expertise, slick delivery and wry humour that Trafic has come to be known for!

‘Green Light’ gets us firing off the starting line with a wicked little introduction to our two key players and shows you exactly what to expect from the pair. A big brass intro paves the way for a playful and percussion heavy beat that’s strapped onto a super groovy little bassline! On this one Trafic is on top form, reminiscent of heavy hitters like Dr Syntax, effortlessly combining razor sharp delivery with subtle anecdotes full of comic energy and his unmistakable bravado. 

For number two, we’re treated to ‘Ego’s & Inhibitions’ a different beast entirely. It’s a wild ride through Trafic’s mind as he gears up as the ringmaster for this show, getting pensive and thoughtful while he deftly weaves life lessons with wicked writing and smart rhymes, all layered over a dark and morose instrumental that wouldn’t feel out of place on a Mobb Deep track. It’s dripping in atmosphere and rich with delicate strings and thick sub-bass, a fitting setting for the class Trafic has in session. 

Now it’s time for some deeper introspection, ‘Meditation’ is here and this one’s stripped back and thoughtful. It’s led by deep piano notes, some tasty little guitar sampling and some real, real smooth bass notes. Trafic MC darts around this one like a true master, waxing lyrical about his poetry and rhymes, delving deep into his thought process and the art of rapping. 

Last out the gate is ‘Ramblin’ and the title track really lets Bear Twists’ electro funk expertise shine through! The beat is massive! A rolling, twisting and evolving bassline, coupled with some tasty funk sampling and a hefty ol’ clap providing an enormous foundation which is torn right up by Trafic’s blistering lingual sprayout! This final number is both lyrically and rhythmically dense, chock full of quick-fire rhymes as Trafic unleashes a storm of bars, with every syllable rolling into the next. An absolute beast and a fitting demonstration of the synergy between these two masters of their craft.

Grab the Ramblin’ EP at the end of January 2021 and keep your ears peeled for more from these two!

-Label & Artist Links

https://www.facebook.com/gorillatacticsproductions

https://soundcloud.com/gorillatacticsproductions

https://www.instagram.com/gorillatacticscrew/?hl=en

https://gorillatactics23.bandcamp.com

https://www.facebook.com/Traficmc

https://soundcloud.com/traficmc

https://www.instagram.com/trafic_mc/?hl=en

https://www.facebook.com/beartwistsdj

https://soundcloud.com/bear-twists

TRACK NAMES

Track 1 - Green Light

Track 2 - Ego's And Inhibitions

Track 3 - Meditation

Track 4 - Ramblin

[sijjak]

GROOVL1N DAZED December 2019

RAVI

Do you like Manhwa (Korean comic) characters?

When I was young I really liked them. I don’t think there were a lot of big chances for me to hear about them.

Then what about the character on your t-shirt?

I’m the type of person that likes to wear pattern or character t-shirts casually. But when I wore this today, I think it suits me even better than I expected.

The character on the clothes you’re wearing today, Felix, means happiness in Latin. What moment are you most happy these days?

I’m the happiest when I’m on stage. Or when I’m working on an album and preparing to be on stage? And when I suddenly plan something and think I’m doing well for something I prepared, I’m happy then too.

There’s a Ravi song that talks about happiness, ‘Live’. The message you want to give with your music seems well defined here.

I want people to be able to grasp my intentions for making music, but I also hope that people can interpret it freely. When someone thinks about my songs, it’s fun to watch the reactions of that’s right and that’s not it. There are times where I’m like ‘it’s exactly that!’, but on the other hand, there are also times where I think ‘you can think about it like that too.’

Then what message does your new album <Limitless> have?

I feel that there are a lot of people who will try and lock someone inside the mold they made for themselves. I have confidence, but there are other people who make limits and a mold for me and try to lock me inside that. I don’t think there are limits for anyone. It’s a message I’m sending to people so that they don’t put limits on themselves, and a message I’m sending to the people who lock other people inside that mold.

Just this morning the new album’s track list was released.

This album is being announced in two parts. While the texture is similar, they’re a little different. There are five, six songs included respectively, and <Limitless Part 1>  is a little more exciting, and has strong music with a hip hop color.

You said you brought Coldbay and Xydo to GROOVL1N by directly DMing them. How did you end up together with Chillin Homie?

Coldbay and Xydo are rookie artists, and I thought it would be good if there was a friend that could fulfill a more intermediate role. At that time, I got a recommendation from the producer GXXD (Girlnexxtdoor), and so I immediately called him there and met him, and we were like-minded, so he ended up joining.

You’re the head of GROOVL1N, so isn’t a heavy weight on your shoulders?

I can definitely feel a sense of responsibility. I feel a sense of responsibility to the people who help me during my promotions, but this time it’s on a different level. There’s the people I gather, you know. There’s this responsibility that I have to do better, that it has to turn out better. There are times where I feel pressured too.

Is it the sense of responsibility that makes you move? You really filled up one entire year. You had nearly 10 albums come out and your face lit up a lot of entertainment programs as well.

I want the company to have more influence, and until I can get to that place, I’m going to show the most. TV programs are fun of course, but I also want to let people know about me and GROOVL1N. And I want to reach out even closer to my fans and my family.

Always in interviews, you say that it’s selfishness that’s your driving force to move. Is that still true?

At first, it was my personal selfishness, but now it’s a little different. Now, I want to contribute to the culture that I like and love. Dance, photography, design, etc., I’m planning a project called the ‘GROOVL1N Mob’ to gather artists of various fields. I hope that the GROOVL1N Mob culture and scene can have a good impact. Simply put, this is a good start, now I want to spread good things.

Don’t you want to rest a bit?

Umm, I want to rest, but when I think about resting, I don’t really want to rest like that (laughs). Already, resting has become unfamiliar.  Because I’m always moving, that is even more awkward. Even now, I have my new album release ahead of me, but I’m already preparing my next album.

There was a funny fan expression about Ravi who goes without any rest. “Is Kim Ravi three people, Kim, Ra, and Vi?” Even if you had three bodies, it seems like it wouldn’t be enough.

Waa, awesome. There was that sort of reaction? But actually, I want it to look like that. To make people think ‘How can he pull all these things off?’ Keep releasing music and at the same time showing my face on TV. If people become curious about me or start to like me, they’ll have more of an interest in GROOVL1N. If the good artists that are with me are to shine more, I have to shine. I have to work harder.

For <1 Night, 2 Days>, you have been set as a fixed member.

Since I was a child, it was a program that I watched and grew up with. It’s amazing that I became a member of the program. It’s really exciting.

Now for all of your songs you’ve traveled to all corners of the world. Is there a place you want to especially go to?

Actually, there’s more places and food I don’t know. I’m the type of person that only goes to places I’ve been and only eats what I’ve eaten before. Haha. If it’s a place with no bugs and good air, then anywhere is good. I’m scared of bugs. They have so many legs...In places with good air, I want to breathe without any irritation or asthma and breathe healthily.

In <1 Night, 2 Days>, there are individually made distinct characters. If you were the producer, what sort of character would you make Ravi into?

I think I would just make it comfortably. I’m not really the type of person that makes myself someone like that. I’m just the type to naturally enjoy the environment and my relationships with people.

Besides work, what’s something that you’re interested in these days?

I’m learning martial arts tumbling. I was wondering about what I could do to show more of myself on stage, so I ended up learning it.

But doesn’t that eventually end up being work?

I guess so (laughs). These days I don’t have a hobby, really. I can’t even see my dog a lot.

It’s going to be Christmas soon, what are you going to do?

On Christmas, there is a GROOVL1N show in Busan. In the new year, we’re doing a party in Daegu.

Have you imagined what you might be like in 2020?

In 2020, I think I’ll end up being busy doing stuff for myself and because of other people. Get a lot of results from albums or whatever work I plan. I hope there are more places like shows, advertisements, TV programs or wherever where people can see me and GROOVL1N. I want to fill up 2020.

This year is Felix’s 100th anniversary. If you live to be 100, what sort of image will you have?

If I’m here after 100 years, I’d want to still be on stage? I hope to be able to stand on stage with an okay condition and have an image that contributes and has a good influence on this culture. Not just me, but it’s the same for all the GROOVL1N friends. I want there to be more people who are happy because of us.

Cold Bay & Chillin Homie & Xydo

How was the Felix the Cat shooting today?

C: It was the first time I’ve done shooting with <Dazed>. It was fun. Before we came to the filming site, I worried a lot about whether I would match the concept well, but I did it enjoyably.

It looks like you guys all have good chemistry together.

X: Yes, all our personalities are different, but I think we fuse well. We have a lot of consideration for each other, and even though we’re young, we’re all mature. Cold Bay, despite his outward appearance is very warm, and Ravi is reliable and always works really hard. He always works without rest, and wants to show us a good image. As you know, he’s also a boss. So for us too, it’s an environment where we can follow suit and work hard.

Chillin Homie, you heavily participated in <Show Me the Money 8> and joined the GROOVL1N label in September.

H: It wasn’t a big participation, but even so I’ve worked harder than last year. I wanted to show a change from the image I show or my rap style, so I thought the most suitable place for me would be GROOVL1N. I joined GROOVL1N without any concerns.

Is there a special meaning to the label name, GROOVL1N?

C: It’s a combination of the words ‘groove’ and ‘goblin.’ As you know, the Eastern symbol for goblin is 도깨비 (Dokkaebi). The meaning it carries is ‘the cool group of the East.’ Our logo too is the representation of goblin horns.

In October, you released the digital single <Spotlight>. The lyrics are about your own story, correct?

X: Yeah. that’s right. It’s my story, but it’s also a song I want people who share the same conflicts and worries with me to hear. There were times that seemed to be endlessly difficult and that even if I kept trying, I couldn’t see in front of me. After I joined GROOVL1N, good things started happening. Of course, there is some luck too. There is the meaning that someday I’ll go towards my dreams and make positive things happen.

Cold Bay, you are an engineering student at Korea University. How did you end up getting Ravi’s offer?

C: I’m in the department of Chemical and Biological Engineering at Korea University. I participated in the Yonsei cypher diss track ‘Killitkomori’ at the Korea - Yonsei sports competition,* and it became something that people were talking about. At that time, I got a DM from Ravi and we communicated and I featured for him, and now I’m a member of GROOVL1N.

*T/N: Korea and Yonsei University have a famous rivalry, so every year they  have a big competition against each other. It’s a very well known event in Korea.

What are your plans going forward?

H: I want to show my various colors. Because of the image I showed on <Show Me the Money 8>, people know me as a Boom Bap* rapper, but that’s only one part of me. Going forward, the songs that will come out will definitely be good. You can anticipate it, because I’ll do well.

*T/N: Boom Bap refers to a type of rap genre that has drum sounds that are similar to the words ‘boom’ and ‘bap.’

C: Actually, my album came out yesterday. It seems like I’ve only been working towards now. For now, I’m going to take my time, and find some time just for me.

X: I’m preparing for my EP that will come out in January. And please listen a lot to the group song that will come out in December.

The last year of the 2010s, 2019, will be over in a month. How was 2019?

H: If I look back from when I first started rap to now, I didn’t have confidence. I’m thankful that people are able to know my name from such a short time. I think I'm still adjusting to that. I don’t think I’m a perfect artist yet. Right now I’m just adjusting to the process of slowly becoming complete. This year, I got settled with GROOVL1N, and overall 2019 was good.

C: I’m going to school and I entered a company, in 2019 my life changed a lot. It was stressful, but more than that, it was a year where I got a lot of good energy.

X: The beginning of this year was hard. I couldn’t see hope, and I was very worried that I would have to keep going through this. As one month and one month passed, there were a lot of good changes, and those changes keep continuing on. I only cared about speed, and I think this year was a time where I found my direction. I thoughtlessly felt this pressure that I had to do well and I senselessly only looked forward and ran, but now I found my direction, and now I have a view of where I can go.

Felix means ‘happiness’ and ‘good fortune’ in Latin. What is happiness and good fortune to GROOVL1N?

H: I like to drink with the guys. It’s not anything special, but to me that’s the recent greatest source of happiness (laughs). My colleagues in the company are older than me. When I think about being the youngest, it’s nice that I can lean on the guys who are older than me.

C: Umm, GROOVL1N’s happiness. It’s happy to think that, as much as all of our thoughts, people will get interested in us and approach us. We’re a very new company. This is the first happiness that we all think about and hope for. Also personally, the greatest happiness for me is doing things that are fun and I'm confident in.

X: Talking often with my usual friends. I think right now I have to be happy. I’m the type of person that pursues myself for my happiness in the far future. Today’s filming too was happy.

What will GROOVL1N be like in 2020?

X: GROOVL1N has to have an impact in 2020. As much as we can make an impact, perfectly. Until now, we’ve been warming up, 2020 is when we will have to run.  

#groovl1n #dazed interview #dazed december 2019

[entergamingxp]

Sakura Wars Gets More Goods, Collabs, Comments From Kohei Tanaka

July 7, 2020 3:34 PM EST

Everything from the latest Sakura Wars stream including a Chain Chronicle collab, new Nendoroids, more goods, and comments from composer Kohei Tanaka.

Sega held the 14th Sakura Taisen Imperial Communication Department’s Broadcast stream on June 19, focusing on Sakura Wars The Animation. We’ve summarized every past Sakura Taisen stream on DualShockers, though on a more timely manner. So while it’s been a few days now since the stream aired, here’s our full summary, as usual.

The stream featured as usual: MC Mami Yamashita (who thankfully recovered from Covid-19), Seijuro Kamiyama’s seiyuu Youhei Azakami, and Producer Tetsu Katano. Present as guests were Kenji Akabane, who is the seiyuu of Kaminski in Shin Sakura Taisen The Animation (Sakura Wars The Animation), and Sakura Taisen series composer Kohei Tanaka. The stream focused on Shin Sakura Taisen The Animation whose final episode aired the same day.

After the introductions, everyone present on the stream started chatting about the anime, and introducing its characters. Most notably Kaminski Valery, captain of the Moscow Combat Troupe appearing in the anime’s story, sequel to the game. The first hilarious moment on stream was how Kenji Akabane was supposed to launch the video introducing his character, but got preemptively cut since he took so long. You can catch that moment at the 14:00 time stamp below:

Following that, everyone on stream commented various excerpt from each Sakura Wars The Animation episodes. I’ve personally only skimmed through this part to avoid spoilers, as time didn’t permit me to watch the whole anime yet.  However, you should definitely check it out if you’re a fan with a grasp of Japanese. This sequence starts at the 23:00 mark and lasts around 20 minutes:

One particular anecdote Kohei Tanaka mentioned is how the cat often seen in the anime, is voiced by Ryoko Shiraishi, who also voices Komachi.

Following that, Kenji Akabane spoke about his history with the Sakura Taisen franchise. He first got into the series with Sakura Wars The Movie, released on December 22, 2001. Akabane explained he really loves Hidenori Matsubara’s designs in the Sakura anime adaptations and how they adapt perfectly the original design by Kousuke Fujishima. As a reminder, nowadays whenever new Sakura Wars artwork is released, it’s always Hidenori Matsubara drawing it, and I don’t think Kousuke Fujishima has drawn Sakura Taisen artwork for years now, which is a shame. Kenji Akabane greatly praised the movie and how it’s still incredibly great looking even now. He was also really into collecting stickers back then and particularly liked the ones included in some of the OST CDs releases.

Kohei Tanaka too spoke about Sakura Wars The Movie. He explained that back during the movie’s production, when he recorded the BGMs with an orchestra, they had an audience as well. It was a pretty emotional moment as some of the fans watching the stream mentioned in the comments they were there. Back then, they recorded the audience for cheers and applause used in the movie as well.

Following that, the discussion subject moved back to Shin Sakura Taisen The Animation. Kenji Akabane was really hyped to be in the anime because he met Sumire’s seiyuu Michie Tomizawa during the recording. There’s also a scene early on in the anime where Kaminski meets Sumire and praises her, and he was ultra hyped about voicing that one scene. As for Akabane’s initial impressions of Kaminski, he only saw his actual design just before recording, and didn’t see it at the audition, so he was surprised how much of a pretty boy he is. He asked a lot about his personality and goals to the anime staff before recording to be sure to get in the role and voice him accordingly.

At that point on Kohei Tanaka started focusing on the ending theme song, Sakura Yumemishi. It’s sung by the girls of the Imperial Combat Revue’s new Flower Division: Sakura Amamiya, Hatsuho, Azami, Anastasia, Claris, along with Shangai’s Huang Yui, London’s Lancelot, and Berlin’s Elise.

With Sakura Yumemishi, Kohei Tanaka wanted to make something symbolizing the nobleness and frantic feelings of the women fighting in the series. That’s why Ayane Sakura, singing as Sakura Amamiya, has particularly high notes in the song, to show that franticness. Kohei Tanaka really praised her singing and said she pretty much fused with Sakura Amamiya. He praised all the other seiyuu as well, and said they did a wonderful job. He also jokingly apologized for making so many hard to sing pieces Kenji Akabane added he’d definitely refuse he was asked to sing one of the songs because it’d be way too difficult. Kohei Tanaka mentioned it was particularly difficult for Hibiku Yamamura, because she had to stay in Azami’s voice and yet sing very high tones.

Following that, Kohei Tanaka explained the lyrics of Sakura Yumemishi. Nearly every single song in Sakura Wars has lyrics written by original author Hiroi Oji. However, he couldn’t do the lyrics of Sakura Yumemishi, so Shouko Fujibayashi handled it instead. In the Shin Sakura Taisen game, Shouko Fujibayashi also wrote the lyrics for the character songs of Lancelot (Knights of the Round), Elise (Schwarzer Stern), Itsuki (Ruriruran Ginza Roman) and the charasong shared by Sumire, Kaoru, and Komachi (A Star Is Born).

Kohei Tanaka explained he loves working with Hiroi Oji and wants to keep working with him for years to come, but having someone else do the lyrics is also a good change of pace, which can bring a new angle to Sakura Taisen music.

Shouko Fujibayashi wrote many songs for Nana Mizuki, Hiroshi Kitadani, and many other legendary singers in Japan. She also regularly works with Kohei Tanaka as she writes the lyrics of most of the songs he does for One Piece. She writes lyrics for pretty much every single popular kids franchise, Precure, Kamen Rider, One Piece, you name it.

As that segment of the stream ended, we got the see a clean, non-credit version of Shin Sakura Taisen The Animation‘s ending sequence, with Sakura Yumemishi playing. As far as I know it’s the only way to see this version for now. It’s at the 53:38 mark:

Mami Yamashita, Yohei Azakami and Kenji Akabane  all really like the ED animation, especially the Kamiyama shot and how cool he looks.

An OST CD for Sakura Wars PS4 launched June 24. This is the OST CD containing the game’s instrumentals BGMs only. The vocal songs were in the OST CD included in the Japanese Limited Edition, and were also released on a separate CD, seen on the right.

Kohei Tanaka said he’s never tired of making Sakura Taisen songs and wants to keep doing it forever. He said that when he recorded the BGMs for Sakura Wars PS4 with an orchestra, at the same time he also recorded the BGMs in the One Piece: Stampede movie, so it was really exhausting. But he’s glad he did it.

Kohei Tanaka also quickly mentioned the BGM used in the final battle of Sakura Wars PS4. He explained how the game’s saddest BGM uses the same base as the final battle’s BGM, to represent the sadness and pain of battle.

The Shin Sakura Taisen The Animation OST CD for ending theme Sakura Yumemishi is out since May 27. Kohei Tanaka said there will probably be another CD later on with the rest of the anime’s BGMs.

Volume 1 and 2 of the DVD and Bluray disc release of the anime are out. Cover illustrations are by character designer Masashi Kudo. One of the coolest things about these are the audio commentaries by the seiyuu. Yohei Azakami mentioned he’s in the audio commentary in Volume 3, and it was the first time he ever recorded one. Kenji Akabane is on Volume 4’s audio commentary. Volume 3 launches on July 15. Volume 4 on August 19.

Starting the 1:08:40 mark of the stream, we had the usual goods and new collabs segment, with Mami Yamashita and Yohei Azakami wearing glasses and acting all serious. This is one of the meta jokes of these streams as they always do that for this segment.

First off, we learned the Shin Sakura Taisen The Comic manga will end with volume 3, launching on July 17, 2020.

最終3巻7月17日（金）発売予定

本日発売のYJ30号に最終話が掲載！

玄庵葬徹を倒した華撃団！ 華麗なるフィナーレをご覧ください！ そしてまた、新たな幕が開くその時までーー…

コミックス2巻デジタル版はこちら→https://t.co/JpNtOL8Uxy pic.twitter.com/7gzwcxvOXn

— 野口こゆり公式【新サクラ大戦 the Comic】 (@kenkouki_) June 24, 2020

The final chapter of the manga was pre-published online in Tonari no Young Jump on June 25, 2020. It has a pretty cool shot of Sakura Amamiya.

The new Sakura Wars goods on sale in Japan since June 17.

As a reminder, each character has been getting goods for their birthdays. Each month, one character gets goods dedicated to them. Special messages from the other characters, wishing them happy birthday, are also published online on the Sakura Taisen Twitter account. The first wave of birthday goods was for Sakura Amamiya in March 2020.

List of Shin Sakura Taisen main characters birthdays, blood type and astrological sign (These were revealed during the 11th stream on January 2020):

Seijuro Kamiyama August 11, Leo, AB.

Sakura Amamiya: March 19, Pisces, A.

Hatsuho Shinonome: September 9, Virgo, B.

Azami Mochizuki: May 15, Taurus, O.

Anastasia Palma: October 6, Libra, B.

Claris: February 1, Aquarius, AB.

The next one in line is Seijuro Kamiyama, they’re selling a t-shirt based on his parka from the DLC costumes. Along with a bunch of other goods. The last one to get birthday goods should be Claris, in January-February 2021.

Sakura Amamiya Nendoroid from Good Smile. They hinted they might make more for the other characters if this one sells well.

The next HG 1/24 scale plamo scheduled to release is Anastasia’s Mugen, scheduled to launch October 2020. Seijuro and Sakura Amamiya’s Mugen plamo released on June 20. Azami’s Mugen plamo launches in July.

Yurakucho Marui shopping mall in Tokyo is also doing a Shin Sakura Taisen collab from June 19 to July 12, selling exclusive goods. Kohei Tanaka made a song for the shop too. Details are on the shop’s site. There’s also a collab café with Princess Café at Yurakucho Marui, and Shibuya Marui. Fans can get exclusive goods there too.

Shin Sakura Taisen collab event in Ekimemo!, the mobile game with train stations turned into cute girls by Mobile Factory.

Collab event with free to play mecha Sega game Border Break.

Collab event between Shin Sakura Taisen The Animation and Chain Chronicle 3, gacha game by Sega.

【コラボ】「#アニメ新サクラ大戦」×「チェインクロニクル３(#チェンクロ )」コラボが開催中

花組キャラクターたちが、SSRキャラクターとしてチェインクロニクルに登場！コラボ専用のオリジナルストーリーにも注目です！#新サクラ大戦 pic.twitter.com/1UYkfQH4nu

— サクラ大戦公式@SEGA (@Sakura_Taisen) June 19, 2020

It’s particularly funny because Sakura Amamiya and the “Heroine” of Chain Chronicle 3, Feena, are both voiced by Ayane Sakura. She voiced a commercial for the collab.

Following that, the stream moved on to its ending corner.

Seeing Shin Sakura Taisen The Animation is over, future Sakura Taisen streams will stop focusing on it. Kenji Akabane said Sakura Ayane didn’t appear yet on the streams, and how she was super jealous of him when she heard he would appear at some point when they recorded the anime volume 4’s audio commentary together.

Kenji Akabane said he was pretty happy to appear on stream, and hopes there’s a “Shin Sakura Taisen The Movie” happening one day. He jokingly said he’ll do anything to make it happen.

As the stream ended, unlike with most streams until now, they didn’t announce a date for the next stream. Though they stressed out there will be more streams coming. As we covered in a separate article, they also teased a Shin Sakura Taisen sequel could be coming. Shin Sakura Taisen The Stage, the stage play, was re-announced as well.

【6月19日(金)生放送終了】 皆様、ご視聴ありがとうございました！

TVアニメ『新サクラ大戦 The Animation』 本日最終回放送です！お見逃しなく！#新サクラ大戦 #アニメ新サクラ大戦 pic.twitter.com/xmli41IknA

— サクラ大戦公式@SEGA (@Sakura_Taisen) June 19, 2020

帝劇宣伝部通信をご覧くださった皆様、ありがとうございました！#アニメ新サクラ大戦 最終話直前ということで大いに語らせていただきました！僕らリアタイは厳しそうですが、皆様は是非、さくらたちの勇姿を見届けてください！神山隊長！間に合えー！！！#新サクラ大戦 pic.twitter.com/ADGyHDhm67

— 阿座上洋平 (@azakami_youhei) June 19, 2020

The usual end of stream photos with everyone present. Every Japanese stream has similar social distancing setups like these nowadays. Usually they sit much closer.

Be sure to check out our review of Sakura Wars, and why did the game was titled “Sakura Wars” in the west. You can also check out our summaries of all the previous streams so far. DualShockers also recently had the opportunity to interview the Sakura Wars development team, and the full interview is coming later this week.

Sakura Wars is currently a PS4 exclusive and can be bought on Amazon.

This post contains affiliate links where DualShockers gets a small commission on sales. Any and all support helps keep DualShockers as a standalone, independent platform for less-mainstream opinions and news coverage.

July 7, 2020 3:34 PM EST

from EnterGamingXP https://entergamingxp.com/2020/07/sakura-wars-gets-more-goods-collabs-comments-from-kohei-tanaka/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=sakura-wars-gets-more-goods-collabs-comments-from-kohei-tanaka

[kpopsource-entertainment]

Top 10 KPop Highlights of January 2020: KS Picks

January 2020 marks the beginning of a new decade and a new era for Kpop. With a few soft, wistful ballads remaining yet nothing too exciting to anticipate, January was a slower month for interesting releases. However, with some heavy digging, KS Press brings to you some of the most intriguing releases of the month. Horizon (ATEEZ)

Spotify / YouTube Starting the new decade with a bang, ATEEZ came back with their new mini-album Treasure Epilogue: Action to Answer. From this album, “Horizon” particularly stands out from the crowd for its unusual sound and distinct tone. With a distorted, repeating vocal sample in the background and hard-hitting chorus that drives the song, “Horizon” perfectly captures ATEEZ’s unique, raw sound which has caused them to grow in popularity so quickly. A particularly interesting addition is the enhanced synth to the chorus during the climax of the song as it reaches an impactful conclusion. ATEEZ always has at least one song on their albums worthy of fulfilling the position of title track: “Horizon” was this one. The song's dance theme is recurrent yet it hits differently each time, leaving the listener craving for more. —Tato Winter Flower (Younha feat. RM)

Spotify / YouTube Dabbling in bright, compelling EDM with a certain sense of security and reassurance, Younha's "Winter Flower" brings comfort in bleak periods. Off her Unstable Mindset EP, the track is an absolute emotional banger with emergent kickdrums and Younha's explosive voice soaring high on top of a motivational instrumental. The chords are right within Younha's wheelhouse, but her artistry has never been bolder. The rightful successor to her 2017 masterpiece "RescuE," "Winter Flower" features RM's magnetic voice chanting words of solace. The track is rightfully named "Winter Flower," as it is an artistic bloom for Younha along with hinting at a resilient flower that blooms in the harshest conditions. —Mortie All for You (Sechskies)

Spotify / Youtube This marks not only the first Sechskies comeback since 2017 but also as the first one as a four-member group. “All for You” is the title song of their first mini-album All For You and follows the softer side of the first-generation K-pop group.  This song is about someone who tries their all for their special someone despite making mistakes and not being perfect. Saying how they wish their lover would say yes and that they would do everything for them. It definitely is a song that can live up to Sechskies classics like Couple and Hunch.  — Jen

Spotify / Youtube Wish (DreamNote) DreamNote came back in January with a bang. “Wish” is a song with magical and ethereal undertones in the base of the melody. Dream Wish, the album that accompanies this title is in general following this trend set by the title. The song is all about themes like dreams, courage and feelings being expressed. It falls in line with what this girl group has been offering to fans since their debut. —Jen AnySong (Zico)

Spotify / Youtube Zico talks about the feeling of having no interest towards life and is pleading to play in his upbeat, relatable single “AnySong.” With a swinging, playful rhythm, Zico expresses how he finally wants to feel refreshed and excited. The song mixes in jazz and shakers during moments which creates an almost comical tone as well being muffled during points, mirroring Zico’s confusion. Similar to songs like Dean’s “Instagram,” “AnySong” talks about the feelings of this generation in a way that is understandable. It discusses this topic in a relatable way and in a fitting mood. — Jen & Tato

Spotify / Youtube Say My Name (ANS) With the arrival of two new members, J and Haena, "Say My Name" marks ANS' first comeback and their first release as 8 members. The powerful and fierce song showcases ANS' impressive stage presence and their angel-like vocals. The single is a pop-based EDM dance track that captivates listeners with a highly addictive chorus. "Say My Name" perfectly captures the group's charisma and confidence. —Dani My Tragedy (Taeyeon)

Spotify / Youtube With a striking melancholy accordion to begin the song, "My Tragedy" paints a pensive and somber picture. The song is filled to the brim with rich guitar riffs, strong drums, and compelling vocals. Perhaps reflecting herself, the song speaks of loneliness and separation as one falls mercilessly to their doom, highlighted by Taeyeon’s fragmented voice especially during the last chorus. The accordion makes a dramatic reappearance during the bridge and the finale, the circular structure emphasizing her trapped state as she repeats the same cycle over and over again leading to an ultimate downfall. Loaded with personal gems, Purpose is an album that speaks close to Taeyeon. With its repackage, she captivates listeners yet again with her enchanting voice and emotive songs. —Tato

Spotify / Youtube Paradise (Siyeon; Dreamcatcher) Siyeon has been getting well-deserved attention for her vocals since her cover of "Speechless." It was a smart decision to give her a solo right now, especially one that showcases her vocals. "Paradise" is not only carried by vocals but also the soaring instrumentation. Starting off with light fluttering piano, the song slowly fuses electropop elements to create a buildup for the synth-driven chorus. The instrumental is dense but not overpowering, in fact it further highlights the vocals. The instrumental fully numbs down till the last verse of the bridge as Siyeon's soulful voice shines in it. "You are always in my heart" complements the climactic chorus that follows. Overall, the song has a motivational feel, one similar to "Into the new world".— Skinnny Flat Dog (HYUKOH)

Spotify / Youtube “Flat Dog” is a song from the K-indie band HYUKOH’s latest album Through Love. The retro-rock piece gives off a loafing and careless vibe, like a sweet summer nap.   The instrumental is pretty consistent throughout with a trumpet and drums dominating along with the addition of an electric guitar which adds more soul to the song. The mischievous-whisper singing style is as playful as IU’s “23.” The song is easy on the ears and perfect for cafés and such public places. —Skinnny

Spotify / Youtube Go Away Go Away (Chanyeol, Punch) Chanyeol and Punch come back with another heartfelt ballad this January. Chanyeol's husky baritone voice against Punch's melodic soprano voice make for a gorgeous duet. Driven by an acoustic guitar with occasional twinkling synths, the track revels in one quality - nostalgia. The chords are burgeoningly nostalgic and paint a certain aural aesthetic that touches the hearts of listeners. With lyrics about loneliness and reassurance, the track is the perfect ballad addition to our list and deserving to be one of the highlights of January. — Mortie Honourary Mentions: OnlyOneOf - dOra Maar VeriVery - Photo Jun & Chan (A.C.E) - Where You Are Super Junior - Ticky Tock Read the full article

#albumreview #January #K-pop #kpop #music #review #Top10K-PopHighlights #top10highlights

[whileiamdying]

MOONSTRUCK

LUNAR VISION

Who'd have expected such a charming romantic comedy from Norman Jewison (A Soldier's Story, Agnes Of God)? Who'd have thought that a cast including Cher, Nicolas Cage, Vincent Gardenia, Olympia Dukakis and Danny Aiello— actors whose combined potential for mannerism and excess could blow every fuse in Manhattan — would be fashioned into such an engaging and compatible ensemble?”

— David Ansen, Newsweek, December 21, 1987.

Norman Jewison himself, that's who. Based on the strength of John Patrick Shanley's rich, appealing script, the celebrated director of Fiddler On The Roof and Jesus Christ Superstar assembled a cast and crew to deliver a simple yet enthralling film - one that David Ansen in that same review would call, “a delightful surprise... a very knowing piece of comic artifice...inventively written, wittily scored, seductively photographed...and enchanting.”

But the story of Moonstruck's production actually begins, not with a moon, but with a wolf. A script entitled “The Bride and the Wolf had been submitted to Jewison's office and thinking that it was a horror story, “I almost didn't read it” he says.'

When he did peruse John Patrick Shanley's script long enough to realize it was actually a charming romantic comedy, “it read to me almost like novel,” he says. Shanley had previously penned plays for off-Broadway theatre (“Danny and the Deep Blue Sea”) and had written the screenplay for Five Corners. But the “prose” he had written for Moonstruck inspired Jewison to nickname him “The Bard of the Bronx.”

“He writes in long arias,” says Jewison. “Maybe Cher is the lyric soprano and Nicolas Cage is the tenor. Danny Aiello is the baritone and Vinnie Gardenia is the bass and Rose, the mother (Olympia Dukakis) can be the contralto and you bring them in with a triumphant fugue ensemble performance at the end!”

The language certainly attracted me to the project, he continues, “and I was drawn to the people, who are so beautifully rounded. But what really interested me is the central idea of betrayal, which, now that I think of it, has figured in a lot of my films.”

The betrayal stems from the conflict felt by Loretta Castorini (Cher) after the untimely death of her first husband. He had wanted children, but she had wanted to wait — and the loss her father tells her was “unlucky” seems doubly so without a child to carry on her late husband's legacy. “She shares the dilemma of many women in their 30s today Shanley. “She wants to have children, but has little time left to do that. So does she marry someone for whom she feels no passion but who will fulfill that wish? Or does she hold out for the right man and perhaps risk not fulfilling that wish? Loretta decides not to wait — but just as she becomes engaged, along.”

This subject matter certainly could've made for a heavy-handed film but for Shanley's magnificent characterizations. Instead Moonstruck is a funny lighthearted ménage of a picture with a definite Italian flavor the right man comes Shanley, an Irishman who grew up in an Irish/Italian neighborhood, says that he found the Italian culture very appealing because Italians seem to be so connected to their physical mannerisms. “I used the Italian subculture as a metaphor. I wanted to deal with the conflicting feelings surrounding being able to directly express your emotions, but not having the world come to an end... a lot of their ways of dealing with the world were not in the lexicon of the Irish,” he laughed. “I really wanted to meld the two worlds together for myself.”

But if the periphery of the film is its Italian culture, the center of it is surely the family. “I've been writing about different forms of love relationships for a while,” says Shanley, “and this film is a culmination of one line of thinking. It's about how your family can be used as a tool to unlock your life when you find it in a very unproductive place.

Jewison, who was interested in getting that “family” feeling from his cast, decided to bring them in to rehearse the script much as they would have done for a play. “I took a studio on lower Broadway in New York and the whole cast worked together for about two weeks... If one of the actors in the film was also doing a play across town, then someone else would read their lines while they were gone. At one point, Cher might be reading the dialogue of her mother in the film while someone else would be reading Cher's lines. In time, everyone knew not only their lines, but the lines of everyone else,” he says. This created a family-like atmosphere, which was very important to the film. I wanted to get to the point where all of the members of the cast talked alike because that's the way families are in real life...I wanted it to look on screen like these people belonged together… As you watch the film, you can see the mother's character in Cher's character. I must say that it has been a long time since a family in a film of mine really felt like a family.”

Actor Vincent Gardenia found the familial atmosphere helpful in developing the character of Cosmo Castorini: “It's alright to jump in rehearsals if it's a picture about strangers meeting each other, but in Moonstruck the relationships already exist, he says. “It gave us a little history” agrees Olympia Dukakis (Rose Castorini) of the two- week rehearsal process, “and all families have histories.”

The Italian family feeling was especially evocative for one member of the cast. Cher, noting that her own family was of Armenian, French and Cherokee descent, says that “It kind of reminded me of Sonny [Bono's family. Everybody eating and talking and shouting, but you have such good times.”

But despite her radiant performance and obvious enjoyment of filming, Cher was not a quick-sell on the romanticism or the role of Loretta Castorini. “As much as I liked it, it wasn't like Mask which I felt I just bad to do. I was a little frightened because there seemed to be all kinds of possibilities and all kinds of risks here,” she says.

Once she accepted the role, Cher found that Loretta's “awakening to true love in the film gave her the opportunity to explore the character's release from her self-imposed conservatism. “It's always appealed to me to see people totally transformed in a movie,” she said. “But I much prefer playing her Before than After... The freedom is not interesting to me usually. Yet I don't think of her as being constrained, exactly. My idea was to play her more as bossy and controlled.”  

For their part, Jewison and Shanley were thrilled with her involvement and her performance. “Norman talked over his [casting] choices with me before any offers were made,” says Shanley. “Though I didn't have her in mind when I was writing the script, Cher couldn't be more perfect for the role of Loreta...he's a very game actress and has allowed herself to look dowdy for some of this film. The film will look great because the casting is right on the money.”

“She's wonderful at improvisation,” adds Jewison. “We were in a butcher shop on Ninth Avenue and all of a sudden, she started to improvise with people on the street and in the shop. People in New York are such natural actors that it was wonderful. You know, everyone's an actor in New York. These are the kinds of things that a city like this offers that you just can't get anywhere else.”

Although Moonstruck has a definite New York feel to it, most of the interior scenes were filmed not just in another city, but in another country. “I shot five weeks in New York and six weeks in Toronto,” said Jewison, noting that filming is less expensive and more convenient for him there. I'm a Canadian, and I live in Toronto and have my cutting rooms there, so it was advantageous for me personally.”

But for Jewison — and Production Designer Philip Rosenberg — there was no other place to shoot the exteriors but the Big Apple. “I think the film would have suffered if we had shot it all in Toronto,” says Rosenberg. “New York locations are hard to duplicate elsewhere, especially places like stores and food shops. The age and character of New York shops is just missing in other cities.

Filming in two different countries, however, presented many challenges especially in continuity. “You have to keep in mind that when shooting an old man walking through his back yard in Brooklyn one month, he'll be appearing through the door in his kitchen the next month in another country! said Rosenberg. Another challenge of the film was that even though it is a contemporary piece, it often had the feel of being period. We needed to infuse locations with the idea of tradition and family while making it obvious with small touches that we are still in today's world,” he added.

Other challenges in the production included getting the perfect performances despite the bone-chilling cold in both locations. For one outdoor scene, despite the New York winter, Cher and Cage were required to perform eight takes. “I constantly remind myself that if I'm not sure about a scene, to do it over again, otherwise I might be sorry” Jewison says. “That's the exciting thing about film. It's forever. So you have to get it right.”

The talent exuded by Jewison, the esteemed cast and the expert crew comes across brilliantly in Moonstruck. Critics raved over the rapturous performances, the compelling screenplay, the lavish cinematography and the brilliant direction. Audiences thronged to see the film, driving the box office tally to upwards of $100 million. And the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences honored Moonstruck with three 1987 Oscars®: Best Actress (Cher) Best Supporting Actress (Olympia Dukakis) and Best Screenplay written directly for the screen John Patrick Shanley). Shanley's incomparable vision of the trials of this one Italian family — translated impeccably by Jewison onto the screen remains “beguiling” (Time), “enchanting” (Newsweek) and “irresistible” (“The Today Show”)!  

MOONSTRUCK MEETS ITS BAKER

For filming the scenes in the Cammareri Bros. Bakery, filmmakers chose... the Cammareri Bros bakery! When Norman Jewison met members of the Cammareri family, who live above the tiny Brooklyn bakery, he quickly changed the name of the family in the film from Paolo. “They [the Cammareri family] are very proud of the bakery.” says Jewison, who chose the location for its ambience. “It has one of the few coal-fired ovens left in the city...heat and humidity are always there. And bread is always rising, and there is an incredible smell. It helps the actors to be in a real environment.  

The principal baker in the Cammareri Bros. bakery is Gilberto Godoy, who bought the business from the Cammareris in 1985 and considers them his adopted family. His busy schedule which begins at 10 p.m. and ends some 14 hours later-did not allow for the foolishness' of moviemaking. Despite being offered “thousands and thousands a day.” Godoy was initially unimpressed. “I said 'Listen, I have no time to make a movie.' They said, 'Norman Jewison is the director.' I said, 'Who is Norman Jewison? They said, 'He made F.I.S.T. with Sylvester Stallone.' I said, Who is Sylvester Stallone?”

When the “deal” was finally done, Godoy still refused to cease baking for the three days of shooting. Responsible for 5,000 loaves per day (served in cafes and restaurants throughout Manhattan and Brooklyn), the baker allowed the film crew to work beside him. “It was hysterical!” exclaims Jewison. “We had trucks, lights, cameras, Cher- and the poor guy was still baking! Well, baking and acting. Godoy also delivers the line: “Ronnie, someone's looking for you over here” in the film (see Scene Selection 10). “Whenever I can, I like to cast people who do the same job in real life,” Jewison said. “An actor baking bread is not the same as a baker baking bread.

An actor fetching bread, however, is a matter of a different sort. When a native New Yorker barged into the shop demanding his 'daily bread,' Jewison recounts, “I said 'We're trying to make a movie here and he says, I don't care what you're trying to make here! I came all the way from Wall Street and I want my bread!' I said alright,” Jewison continues, “Cher, get the man his bread. By the end of the shoot, Cher and the director had sold eight dollars worth of bread!

THE BACK SIDE OF THE MOON

Screenwriter John Patrick Shanley's script for Moonstruck remains basically unchanged since it landed on Jewison's desk as “The Bride And The Wolf.” According to Shanley, “when Jewison decided to do the film, he had to read through the entire script aloud so he could hear my interpretation of the characters. He wanted very few changes. We had to rewrite a scene to accommodate a location, and in one speech I did some paraphrasing for Cher, to make it more comfortable for her, but there was little else that we changed.”

Norman Jewison produced Moonstruck for only $10.7 million. “I don't think there's any equation between money and art,” he says. “If one has a lot of money, it doesn't necessarily mean that you're going to create something exciting. I think the writing is good, the acting is good and I was comfortable. We had an 11-week shoot November 24, 1986 through February 13, 1987). It's a matter of putting every dollar up on the screen and not wasting it.”  

The title star of Moonstruck — the great glowing lunar presence felt throughout the film — is often “portrayed” by an invention of Oscar winner David Watkin.' Consisting of 196 lights attached to a giant cherry picker, the construction was able to rise up to 150 feet in the air, light a great area evenly while casting only one shadow, be mobile quickly and exude enough light to make the crane behind it virtually disappear. It also enabled filmmakers to work without being dependent on a monthly cycle, like the actual moon would have. Invented by Watkin in 1976 for the film Hanover Street, the “moon” was once mistaken for a UFO by a young boy looking out of his bedroom window!

When Moonstruck was screened in early December, 1987 at the Motion Picture Academy, one audience member simply couldn't sit still for the showing. “I was too nervous” intimated Jewison, who snuck out after viewing only “the first part” of the film and “then walked up and down outside the vestibule there, looking at all the old posters. I get very nervous at things like this. I guess it's because you finally have to show it, and this is the town where one hangs one's hat. You're always nervous to show the baby to the family.

When Olympia Dukakis won the Best Supporting Actress Academy Award for her role as Rose, she was congratulated by her cousin, then Democratic presidential candidate Michael Dukakis. “You were ievable,” he crowed to her over the phone from Grande Ticino, a Greenwich Village restaurant which appears in the film (see Scene ctions 3 & 20). “You were radiant. You were fantastic. You were fabulous...'m so proud of you...Everybody in the cast was terrific. But my cousin was the best!

Dukakis' Oscar, however, was stolen May 19, 1989, from its spot in her kitchen. The burglar left only the nameplate  

SPECIAL FEATURES

Theatrical Trailer Audio Commentary

CAST

Loretta Castorini ☞ CHER Ronny Cammareri ☞ NICOLAS CAGE Cosmo Castorini ☞ VINCENT GARDENIA Rose Castorini ☞ OLYMPIA DUKAKIS Mr Johnny Cammareri ☞ DANNY AIELLO Rita Cappomaggi ☞ JULIE BOVASSO Perry ☞ JOHN MAHONEY Raymond Cappomaggi ☞ LOUIS GUSS Old Man ☞ FEODOR CHALIAPIN Mona ☞ ANITA GILLETTE Chrissy ☞ NADA DESPOTOVICH

DOLBY DIGITAL

This MGM DVD has been encoded with one or more Dolby Digital soundtracks Dolby Digital is the sound system featured in state-of-the-art movie theatres, and when used with a Dolby Digital receiver, is capable of delivering up to 5.1 separate channels of sound into the home environment, creating a theatre-like, fully enveloping sound experience.

#moonstruck #cher #nicholas cage #vincent gardenia #olympia dukakis #danny aiello #julie bovasso #john mahoney #louis guss #feodor chaliapin #anita gillette #nada despotovich #in english

[umbraastaff]

I’ve just been thinking--it’s about time I make a proper index for my TAZ fics, huh? Also contains: mini-series, ficlets, goof posts, and lyric comics.

(All of the fics are rated G, or T at most for McElroy-appropriate language.)

FICS

I Saw Seven Bounties | Canon Compliant, Enemies to Friends, Complete | Mostly lighthearted, episodic recounting of Kravitz and Barry’s rivalry throughout those first twelve years on Faerun. 24K. -->Extras: Lich Eyes, Fantasy Starbucks, Alt POV for Chapter 1 & Chapter 5, Sorry

They Say Fire Took Phandalin | Small-town supernatural/sorta-haunted-house AU |  Fresh out of grad school, Barry Bluejeans takes a job and a house in the rural nowhere-town of Phandalin. And it’s not like he thought fitting in would be a walk in the park, but the people there all act really weird, and it’s almost like they’re expecting something of him, too. 11K/~20K.

What Can’t Be Done Alone (Detective Squad) | Canon Divergent, Found Family, Fluff | AU where the voidfish works a little better, and Angus never finds the Bureau. Instead, he finds a strange lich in a cave, and he most certainly continues to work this case and not gradually get adopted instead. 18K/~22K. -->Extras: Drangus AU Oneshot

If I Wanted to be Funny I’d Name This Fic “The Time Belt” | Futuristic sci-fi AU feat. time travel | Taako meets the only people in years who recognize the Institute’s name. Known time criminal Barry Bluejeans continues to evade law enforcement. 2K/??.

Overgrowth / Undercurrent | Roleswap AU, Johnchurch, Pining, Twoshot, Happy ending optional | Overgrowth is a oneshot that follows John, the Starblaster’s chief diplomat, through a series of parleys with Merle, the center of the plane-consuming mass of plants that’s been chasing his crew. Undercurrent is a sequel about their post-canon reunion. 4K + 6K. --> Extras: PLAYLIST by @merle-casts-zone-of-truth

Davenport Remembers | Post-canon, Oneshot | Davenport meets with his crew members to try to reconcile his anger with Lucretia, or to decide whether he should. 1.5K.

MINI-SERIES

AU Where Taako is a Lich - Pretty much what it says on the tin here, folks!

Baritz (ask series) - A fusion of Barry and Kravitz, who took over my blog and answered asks for a while. (He originated in the Gallows/S&S lyric comic.)

Good Adventures (Good Omens crossover) - The Antichrist’s wishes summon the wrong boatful of aliens. Thankfully, it seems they’re apocalypse experts. [with plot-ideas help from @avijohann​.]

Omen Zone (Good Omens crossover 2) - Barry is a demon. Kravitz is an angel. Kravitz probably won’t ever admit that they’re friends.

Pokémon: Century Version (Pokémon crossover) - Stolen Century AU where they’re all pokémon trainers. Faerun spin-off: Double Trouble

Till Death, Don’t Let’s Start - Barry fucks up. Kravitz is present.

Very Normal Blog Posts (ask series) - In which Garfield is not at all dangerous, and I am perfectly fine. <alt: chronological link - desktop only>

COMICS & ART

Gallows/Steady and Stronger (Double lyric comic) - Canon-divergent AU where, as the world is ending, Barry gives up to Kravitz. [Image description version]

[Lyric Comics] - Other, shorter lyric comics based on single verses of songs.

Dear Scientist’s Log (series) - Illustrated ship logs from Barry J. Bluejeans.

Movie Madness (Comic) - Barry obsesses over the unforgivable.

Palette Prompts (Arts) - Art from art meme prompts.

Pregananant (goof comic) - You know the one.

REAPER (Comic) - Baritz fuses with Lup.

These Jeans? (Animatic) - Barry advertises jeans.

They’re Both Tessa Thompson (Comic) - Lucretia has a nightmare. Barry reassures her.

War (Goof comic) - prompt: "taakitz with CAT”

What’s bigger than this? - The Red Robe.

FICLETS

Back Soon - Kravitz leaves a note with unfortunate wording.

Bodyswap: Barry & Davenport - During Wonderland.

Casual - AU where the red robe talks like a normal person.

Command - Barry misuses his magic.

Davenport - There’s something unsettling about that butler.

Hangin’ Out - Lup and Magnus.

Harvest - Roleswap AU: Barry is the Hunger.

Healing Necromancy - Merle tries to teach Barry some tricks.

Hope - Barry knows she’s still out there.

How Long? - Taako is frustrated.

In Pieces - The staff.

Liches Forget Too - AU.

Lucretia Forgets - In which there was a mistake with the voidfish ichor.

Lup’s Robe - Gifts from Taako.

Mourning Glories - The flowers in Merle’s beard.

New Years - Celebrations and fears.

Parole - Barry and Kravitz bonding hours.

Phone a Friend - Baritz (the fusion from Gallows/S&S) meets Angus.

Raising the Dead - Barry has to use his crew members’ corpses. [sequel]

Robbie...? - Magnus breaks into the brig immediately after Petals to the Metal.

Second Apocalypse - Based on that one party liveshow. What was the rest of the crew doing, again?

3 Sentence Fics - Pairing + AU prompts.

Smartstone - Lup gets stuck in a Stone of Far Speech, instead.

Stir Crazy - Barry waiting for a new body to grow. Thoughts of Lucretia.

Writing Things Down - In case you forget (again).

You Remember - Taako remembers.

PROMINENT GOOFS

Barry’s Dead - But he’s fine! Calm down!

Character Development - Joke’s on you, DM!

Crystal Kingdom - An absolutely bonkers arc.

Dealer - Merle pun.

Decapitate Me - for making this post

Don’t Care - Taako during the finale. [bonus]

Epilogue - Bracer struggles. [bonus: 1, 2]

Explain the Hunger (Good Omens crossover) - Magnus explains the hunger to Aziraphale and Crowley. They react in varying ways. [with cursed art contributions from @avijohann and @mspainttaz]

Fifteen Dollars - Plus interest. [Bonus]

Fullmetal Kingdom - They’re the same, right?

Gender - And lack of roles.

Gnomes Don’t Exist - They’re all aliens, actually.

Hot Diggity Shit - Been a while.

Icon Confusion - The saga of people thinking my icon is a carrot. [chrono link - desktop only]

Incomprehensible Denim - Jeff Angel’s illegal pants.

In Case it Changes Anything - Taako, Kravitz, and lies.

Irresponsible Teens - Magnus and Lucretia get into trouble.

I Saw Seven Nerds - That’s the post.

Gogurt - Taako’s crimes.

Learning to Drive - i.e. Barry & Davenport Bonding(?) Hours.

Live Shows - The general mood.

Lucretia’s Efforts - A proper meme? On my TAZ blog?

Lup Said No Thanks - That time Magnus was in a tree.

Magnus’ Death - So many close calls.

Nearest Middle-Aged Woman - Clint’s characters’ friends.

Necromancy? - You must be mistaken!

Ned’s Aliases - The Truth.

Pirate Debt - Davenport during that one liveshow.

Punch Squad - SQUAD!

Reaper Cloak - Thoughts.

Relic Names - She probably changed them.

Responsible Necromancy - Good and bad ideas.

Resume - It’s not like they thought it would be relevant.

Schools of Magic - And the Sash was what, again?

Self Care - Respect the dead, please.

Server Shenaniganry (art) - TAAKO THE CAT, NO!

Soulmate AU - Where your soulmate’s greatest enemy is on your wrist. [alt]

Stern’s Truth - You Know.

Taako’s Last Name - Taako’s last name.

Team Composition - The post where everyone wants to argue with me about what qualifies as a wizard.

Third Option - Taako saves the day.

You’re Laughing - End of Suffering Game.

THEORIES/MECHANICS/THOUGHTS

Aloof - Holes Taako refuses to fill.

Barry’s Lucky Possessee - Graphic novel theory hopes & dreams.

Catpiling - Stolen Century thought.

Davenport’s Deaths - Sucks when you always wake up driving.

Death Leaves a Mark - Stolen Century AU concept.

Everyone Else - Some people didn’t get perfect endings.

Fantasy Nonsense - lore about the word “fantasy,” as in “Jesus Fantasy Christ.”

Fragments - Magnus’ memory.

Forgiveness - Old post about the crew’s thoughts on Lucretia’s actions.

Forgot to Erase - Lucretia’s errors.

FULL TIMELINE POST - the Balance timeline.

Gauntlet - (disproven!) Theory about the final relic, from before it was confirmed in the show.

Gnome Nicknames - Thoughts on Cap’nport.

High School AU - Some old headcanons.

Home World Names - The pattern in surnames (or lack thereof) on the IPRE’s homeworld.

Hour - This isn’t a thought so much as an Actual Thing That Magnus Said before the time loops had started, which is absurd.

Idiots in Love - The IPRE’s collective braincell was lost for all of Legato. [2]

Liches, Alone - Being stuck as raw emotion for an awfully long time.

Losing Julia - And subsequent developments.

Love - What was remembered and forgotten.

Love Without Fear - Thoughts on bonds during the Stolen Century.

Memory - Barry actually shouldn’t have remembered anything.

Nickname - Memory of Lup.

Paladin Barry Theory - Converging evidence on Barry’s multiclassing.

Paradox AU - blueprint for 8th, 9th, 10th, etc. Bird AU of your choice(s). (Extra)

Phylactery Mechanics - How liches differ.

Produce Flame - Mechanics of John killing Merle.

Recklessness - THB’s actions recontextualized.

Relic Schools of Magic - They don’t have them!!!

Relicswap AU - Where all the birds get swapped out.

Seven Birds as Gods - Ask-prompt thoughts.

Staring at the Sun - The birds and their light sensitivity.

Story, Song, & Sorcery - Effects on the young population.

Sword Tornado - Magnus Mechanics. [bonus: Time Warlock]

The Good Place AU - A series of crossover thoughts.

Tree Climbing - Davenport shenanigans.

Unique Magic Types - [and combo styles]

What Killed Maureen - hint: it wasn’t Fisher.

#the adventure zone #taz balance #mine #index #there were a fair few in here that id forgotten about too! #god i hope i didnt mess up any of these links

[sillyfudgemonkeys]

How I want PQ2 to go down.

(note hade to retype this cause it got deleted in the middle of publishing somehow so yeah round two! 8U)

Ok so this is going to be part of a series of connecting posts on how I think certain games should go down. Things to note with this game is I’m thinking it’ll be P3PxP5, so yeah I know you’re probably thinking “*gasp* Spoilers?!” And no I will try to make this post as spoiler free as possible, I might allude to something but it’ll be really vague so that only people who played the game know what’s up. So yeah you’re ok if you haven’t played P5. Also I will do a separate post that is like a Q and A and it’ll explain my reasons as to why in more depth, but it’ll also be a very spoilery P5 post so yeah if you want spoilers for P5 stay tuned for a separate post. With that lets get started

Note before reading: I will be referring to FeMC as Hamuko, P3 Male MC as Minato, and P5MC as Akira (his manga name) in this, you can still name them later just for typing purposes I’m doing this. Also you should note that while I did type a main plot for this, and tbh I think it came out fairly well considering I’m not well versed in one of the mythos and I did that after 2 hours of research, it’s not the thing I’m really concerned about beyond it setting the stage for P3PxP5 to meet. So if you don’t like the main plot and think you have a better one I’d love to hear it!

Name of the game: PQ2: Oasis in the Abyss as @kazusakai​ came up with it (and i love it cause it fits so well! ;w;). It fits since P3P had Vision Quest/Desert of Doors, and P5 has a desert dungeon and a song called River in the Desert (DON’T LOOK UP THAT SONG’S LYRICS THO AS IT CONTAINS MASSIVE SPOILERS).

Themes: We know P3’s themes, death yada yada. P5’s being fighting corruption and justice yada yada. There’s also going to be a big theme with deserts and things associated with that as well as oasis/rivers (hence the name). (note this is to keep in mind that I tried really hard to make the plot revolve around these specific themes so yeah)

Setting: Just like PQ2 it involves the whole ripping out of your timeline stuff from PQ, tho in this case it involves an alternate universe as it’s Hamuko instead of Minato (from what we can tell by the easter eggs in P5, P5 seems to be in the same universe as P3/4 but later in the timeline like 2016). Like with P3 in PQ it’s right around the time of their cancelled school festival that they get pulled out. With P5 it happens around their school festival too (maybe actually a little later as this way all characters are officially on your team, like Haru). The world they get pulled into might actually take the setting of P5’s school, with the dungeon portion actually being part of the Desert of Doors.

Main Plot: Ok so like PQ, there’s a mysterious duo. They have no memories (except for the vaguest of vague), can’t summon a Persona, look foreign (like Zen does, aka they have darker skin), look somewhere around the age of a 3rd year in high school or a 1st/2nd year in college (they don’t wear school uniforms so that’s why it’s hard to tell), and have to fight as a duo. The boy’s name is Seto (世登, means the world) and the girl’s name is Nori (義 means Righteousness/justice). The boy’s appearance: white hair (Seto means white in Javanese, not the mythos I’m using but still neat), red t shirt with a weird dog on it (note following the link will spoil my surprise 8U), his weapon is a book or staff that casts healing magic (he’s very similar to Rei’s role). His personality is very easy going and happy go lucky, fulfilling Rei’s role in that regard as well. Nori has long brownish hair, with a blue t shirt with a falcon like bird on it, she uses bows and arrows and uses offensive magic (similar to Zen). Her personality is more serious, but not to the same point as Zen, as she can still take a joke and goof around. There will be ship feels with Seto/Nori just like with Zen and Rei, tho it should be noted that Seto has a tendency to flirt with Haru, not that he understands why, but it makes Nori jealous (note she’s upset with Seto not Haru, she likes Haru) and Seto comically has to apologize every time he does it (don’t worry there’s a good reason I’m having this kind of trope or else I wouldn’t have in here in the first place).

Ok so Seto and Nori have amnesia, but they do seem to remember just a little bit more than Zen and Rei, that being they know they came there themselves and have something to do there but just can’t remember what (Zen and Rei don’t have that memory back till their first dungeon I think). They also know that they’ve known each other for a long time and they think they remember that Seto and Nori are their names but yeah. Seto and Nori are really close, Nori likes to brag about how she’s always by Seto’s side and how she wants him to lean on her. Seto is shown to be upset that he always leans on her and wish she would lean on him once and awhile. Also like PQ, they start off pretty happy only to then get darker and more serious as it goes on.

(now to power though the story portion) Ok so we get through the 1st dungeon and we find out that the reason why they’re here is because they’re looking for someone. We get to the 2nd dungeon and we find out that it’s connected to Seto’s brother they are looking for, they can’t remember why still and theorize maybe he ran away and are trying to get him back. 3rd dungeon is where they find out that Seto’s brother was murdered (paralleling the doctor in PQ, also Death theme), and they realize that they might be there to find the killer and to avenge his brother (justice theme for P5). 4th dungeon we are confronted by a Shadow/Cognitive Existence (this is a term from P5 and while this concept has been used in past Persona games without having a name to it, it’s basically a Shadow or something that looks like a Shadow Self but isn’t and that’s your spoiler free explanation) find out that it was Seto who killed his brother (or so it seems). They fight a boss called “Osiris” (some of you might be connecting the dots now). The 5th dungeon revolves around Seto’s judgement and fight the goddess (c’mon there’s always a god) Isis (*gasp* Yukari control your Persona 8U Jk).

“Oh ok so it’s Egyptian myth” Ahaha nope not exactly, I want to make it more complicated than that (because spoiler reasons I can only say complicated). Like I could just go with only the Egyptian myth, but I feel the need to mix it in with another mythos (think Jun’s Chronos/Cronos from P2). Again sorry if it’s not mixed very well, I didn’t put more than an hour’s thought into it so there could be a neat way for them to do it. Ok so like, if you connected the dots or followed that link above, you’d find out that Seto is actual Seth/Set (spelled Seto in Japanese) the Egyptian god of storms, desert, chaos, violence and war (this also explains why he hits on Haru, if you still don’t get it stay tuned for a spoiler post). This guy is the one who killed his brother Osiris. BUT he’s also Seth from Gnostic/Christian mythos, who is the brother who “replaced” Abel after his death by Cain (hence why Seto wanted to seek vengeance). It turns out that in like a bonus boss fight (like with Zeus in PQ) that you fight Cain and thus connecting the two Mythos. As for Nori, while her name I derived from Seth’s wife in Gnostic lore, Norea (so I guess Norei would’ve been more accurate but alksfdklanf;a leave me alone ;w; 義 was too good to pass up), though in other lore his wife’s name is Azura (which reminds me of azul which means blue and that’s why her shirt is blue lafndsl;fna word play 8U). As for who she represents in Egyptian lore it’s Nephthys, Seth’s wife there too.

As for why they had their memories confused, it could be the fact that they fused together or the shock or whatever. Again I’m not too concerned with the main plot as long as I get P3PxP5 feels and it helps with their character I’m fine. Ok phew that’s over. I think I got everything from when I originally typed it. (I do go into some more detail on this in the endings later, and maybe splitting the two mythos into two routes could work). 

Cast Make up: Ok before I get to B plot I should talk about how the cast will be made up cause it’s important to me. I think we should have a game where we only have the whole P5 cast and Hamuko (aka not the rest of the P3(P) cast except Velvet Room people). Ok like maybe I’ll have Aigis and/or Pharos there too (reasons stated later), but I’m mostly focused on Hamuko herself in relation with P5 kids. I have reasons, one is that we don’t’ get possible rehash of PQ’s plot. I say possible because unlike Minato, Hamuko SLs with her whole team and is in turn closer to them. So like P3’s side B plot could possibly not take place because of this, or it could but…yeah. As for the revenge B plot on the P4 side, while I’d LOVE to see how the P5 kids would talk it over I don’t want a rehash of the plot tbh.

The other thing this’ll fix is screen time and writing. Ok, PQ was a pretty great game but the way the characters were written was a little wonky (same with Ultimax but that poor thing got shafted so hard and let’s just focus on PQ). Like everyone was mean (dunno why they were, but the characters didn’t seem to offended by each other’s comments…still confused why this happened) and reduced to quirks (the main point). With just having Hamuko, Theo, Liz, and Margret (and again, maybe Pharos and/or Aigis) with the P5 cast it’ll make it easier than having to balance aaaallll the characters in from SEES and IT.  

But I also think this make sense in a meta sense too. Like, PQ was part of what I dub the Labrynth Trilogy (PQ/Arena/Ultimax), PQ was made to explain how the P3/4 kids could trust each other so easily and work so well together, and that’s because they subconsciously remembered each other form that time. Now for P5? Say in Arena 3 the P5 kids meet the P3 team, but the problem is that it’s not the same P3 team (different universe with P3P remember?), P5 kids might feel the need to help P3 team but P3 team wouldn’t trust them (cause they don’t subconsciously remember them, only the P5 kids do), and then the P4 team def doesn’t know the P5 team and vice versa and alkdsfnkl;af it’d just be a real mess. I mean I can see them making it work but why make it so hard? But what if it’s just one person the P5 kids care about? What if the P5 kids do get in a tussle with the P3/4 kids over said person? That person being Hamuko. She’d be the Hamuko from the P3/4/5 timeline, she wouldn’t know the P5 kids, she wouldn’t know SEES, she’s not the same Hamuko from the P3P timeline (probably has a different name too), so she’s a different person, but it would be interesting to see P5 kids trying to help her because they knew another her from another universe (Oh hey P2 people am I getting you attention? 8U). It’s also easier to juggle only one person like that instead of a group of people. That’s my little preview for Arena 3 and/or 4, back to PQ2.

B Plot: Ok so like I said above I didn’t want a rehash of the plot, but if they did change it a bit…..it would be similar but different. Like, ok, so Hamuko is technically closer to her team than Minato. Instead of Yukari saying stuff like “we’re not that close”, Hamuko would muse to the P5 kids saying “Man looking at you guys I can see you’re all are really close as a group….makes me realize just how close my team might actually not be as I originally thought. Up until now I thought we all kind of got along, I thought we were close… But maybe it was only me that they’re close to….” She’ll later talk about how she might’ve instinctively known it all along, and so that’s why she tried so hard to get everyone to be closer to her. She realizes she’s the glue that holds everyone together and is afraid that if something happens to her they’ll all fall apart. She’ll then worry that maybe she’s actually not that close to everyone as she thinks she is, those reasons are: Yukari goes behind everyone’s back to ask Fuuka to get info for her, Fuuka doesn’t treat Hamuko the same way as she treats Natsuki aka her best friend, Mitsuru and Aigis can’t be SL at that time yet (tho Mitsuru does praise Hamuko and Aigis is always by her side so it’s like they’re strangers), Junpei/Akihiko/Ken all have a roadblock at some point so you can’t become closer to them, Shinjiro is fairly reluctant to SL with you even during ranks in the beginning, Koro is a dog (and also doesn’t want you to replace his owner) (so basically they’re all closer to her than Minato, but yet there’s still a barrier for her that she can’t seem to get over). And maybe the last B plot being that she hates how she has to be perky and a stepford smiler, as it puts a lot of pressure on her and she’s actually really stressed out. And also maybe how she feels like she’s usually stuck in the middle of everyone’s drama (ie Yukari vs Mitsuru cause she gets pulled along during the beach scene, Ken vs Shinjiro via SLing with them)

On the P5 side they could have their ideologies throw into question, maybe they start to second guess themselves on how they’re “heroes” considering they’re going about it shonen like and are peacocks about it, while Hamuko and SEES kind of have no choice in the matter (on top of not being recognized either). Or the ethical question on how they actually change the heart of their bad guys, did they really reform the person or did they force them? And other stuff relating to that.

Edit: Also how maybe hinting that if Hamuko hadn’t gone to Gekkou she would’ve been worse off than if she had gone (aka her living without the events of P3P is worse than her dying at the end of P3P, aka hint hint I might be foreshadowing another one of my “How I want Persona ___ to go” 8U)

Mechanics: Ok so it’ll basically be like PQ, fool arcana gets split up so everyone can use a secondary persona yada yada. The only difference is that I think there should be spell fusions (I have a very good reason for this, I won’t list it here but it’s a very good reason). Now how they go about the fusions depends, is it going to be like P2’s (or maybe like P3’s but with two people instead of one) and you can manually do it? Or will it be like P4G’s and it happens randomly. I kind of want the former but the latter would work fine (as long as they have a lot more combos, like everyone can have a different fusion spell with everybody).

Also Justine and Caroline will be in charge of the fusions (Igor isn’t there again btw), I think Caroline will do the fusions while Justine does whatever Marie’s job was (street passes). Theo and Liz have the same jobs as back in PQ. Margaret is here again, but she’s not the same as the one in PQ (she’s her P3P self), so the interactions between her, Theo and Liz will be different. Also the siblings interactions between the twins will be…..interesting. XD

Endings/story structure: Ok so this why I think we might need to have Aigis (and/or Pharos, but really Aigis). We could probably have 2 routes even if its’ only with fewer people on the P3P side, but we need some characters to bounce convos off of so that’s where Aigis comes in (other than her and Pharos having a special connection to Hamuko, Hamuko would need to be by herself for her to be pulled away, that place is probably her room, and Aigis and Pharos are the only two who would probably be in her room at that time…..cause Pharos does what he wants and Aigis would be taking care of you at that time. So yeah that’s why they’re the ones that would be there). Anyways we could have that. But I’m thinking more along the lines of having both MCs speak but having dialogue options that are similar to the ones Arena got (And P4D I think, anyways Yu had them and I know Kanji, Chie, and Yukiko had them as a way to get the gag endings, you chose and they just spoke the lines). And so because your choices matter maybe that leads to different endings, heck maybe we get two routes of the story (one being the Gnostic side and the other being the Egyptian side, depending on your choices up to that point), and then we get a true ending (where they’re mixed together) if you clear both story sides.  8U Or you still have the Gnostic/Egyptian routes, but it’s more connected to which MC you choose (like you play as Hamuko then you get the Egyptian route, you play as Akira you get the Gnostic route, you clear both then the true route is open to whichever MC you choose to play as only a few lines will be changed between playing as one or the other in the true route).

Dungeon: I’m thinking of having more dungeons in this game. Either be it more story dungeons (I know I did the 5 dungeon story structure up top but yeah) or just a lot of bonus dungeons. I think we should bring back Vision Quest (cause P3P is involved of course we should), be able to refight bosses but stronger, be able to fight PQ bosses but stronger. I think we should get the Group Date Café back as at least a mini dungeon (c’mon it was THE BEST part of PQ, and I know shippers are hungry for it).

 And so yeah that’s basically all I have. I’m open to ideas. I hope Atlus does make this game (like legit just P3FeMC with P5 crossover is all I ask for). XD

Also here’s the spoiler Q and A post, feel free to ask questions I’ll answer them there.

#persona 5 #p5 #persona 3 #p3 #persona q #pq #persona 3 portable #p3p

[muggycuphead]

TH!FPA_VB – Lord of Lies and Deceiving

Yo, been a while since I posted something on this account, but here we are, back at it again with a casual VB drawing like in good ol’ 2020

…Though, this time things got built on a different road of events as you can see, not to mention this is a spoiler to what’s to come for VB (but tbh I stopped caring at this point so yea)

First and for most however, there are quite a few questions surrounding this fic’s development I have to answer for our sake (mostly mine since I feel like mold spaghetti for not keeping up on things oml-)

Yes, I once said VB was on the way of getting completed and all that, I know

Problem is, the changes I want to do to the ‘lore’ (if you want to call it that way idk) are also retroactive to the events in the present timeline (aka past events that are mentioned but not entirely shown because ugh-), some characters that have some relevancy on the story but only come up at the very end chapters on VB itself, etc. etc. which are things that I personally find bothersome as its writer and the reason why I’d rather not make the ‘sequel-prequel’ of it where things get explained and all that

Instead, I’ll fuse both VB and TAF (the sequel-prequel’s name acronym standing for ‘The ‘ANOMALY’ files’ fyi) so it can focus on one party alone and I don’t waste any more time than what I already have done so (haha funny cuz me late to party amiriteeeimsorry-)

…And about the format for it, I’ve decided I’ll ‘upgrade’ it to a comic instead since y’know, I do art and it’ll also make my writing simpler so yea

Still tho, I’m kinda paranoic on if I should get going with the prologue by the time I finish its script or not since I don’t wanna make the plot a mess or leave things (important* things) unfolded by accident, but we’ll see how it goes (and hopefully I’ll make it out alive-)

Also, keep in mind that by the moment I’m writing this, I’m stuck in the Friday Night Fuc- I mean Funkin’ fandom, and y’all know what happens when the fandom switching happens…

My concept-creation-obssessive-self starts grinding gears like cuckoo -doesn’t mean I’ll abandon everyone else tho, it’s just that my focus splits on multiple parts and all that balloney

So, now that I did my little defense statement up there, let’s get rolling to the mainpoint down here

First, who’s this spider guy?

Well, he’s a ‘side’ antagonist, more specifically the person DPM is after (but doesn’t realize he is until very later)

His name is Q-Ross Sid, a ‘camel spider’ that lives in the Spider Kingdom as the royal executioner and prison head-guard/-caretaker

He’s what I’d consider to be an ‘anomaly’, since he’s a genetic fusion of graphite (20%), chalk (10%) and correcting fluid (70%), with the graphite being his ‘stabilizer’ component (osseous structure and skin/muscular tissue mostly) and the chalk his ‘cooler’ component (mostly on his defense and assimilation mechanism), not to mention he can only consume either correcting fluid matter derivatives…and/or ink matter derivatives, including living beings (mostly as an energy source and which his body somehow can partially convert into graphite)

…And by that fact alone you can tell that yes, he killed Isea -also known as Dizzy/Izzy Pants Girl (YESss I fINALLY GAVE HER A NICK ASDFGH-) in VB mostly due to her ‘special ability’ and stuff- by Queen Aris’ command. And yes, he can shapeshift, which explains why he got DPM to blame FPM for what happened, this that (but I think you might have figure it out already by the drawing alone so yea-)

However, although at first I thought his ability would be limited to mimick FPM’s appearance only, I now decided to amplify it a little, and instead he can shapeshift into any sketch/graphite-alike/related being, with FPM being his ‘link’ to them most of the time (stalkey tatics are not okey dokey my man but you do you I guess)

Though he can only shapeshift into stickfigs since he doesn’t have that much of ‘color filling’ for a human drawing itself (yeah ik they’re humanized in the story but things will make sense sooner or later I promise, for now just bear with me as we go on on this plz), and he cannot shapeshift into ink/liquid-alike/related beings because they’re not compatible and it’ll only lead him to corrupt his physical form –not meaning he can’t recover from it tho

But he can’t replicate them entirely, as his eyes and the ring are the two main red flags to spot him (but with some contact lenses and a little pocket, it can be fixed y’know-)

As for his robotic arm, it was after a fight that I’ll rather not explain due to not being that relevant; and even thought doctors refused to give him a prosthesis at first since he could simply let it rebuild naturally (yes he can regen too, but in a slower phase bc reasons), he got it anyways due to the fact limbs regen take way longer than physic injuries and/or internal damage (some even assumed that they probably wouldn’t actually regen anyway), which can be a bother on his job most of the time…and maybe out of spite too –he wanna look tough, yo-

Fun fact, during the hype I got from making this bad boi, I ended up attaching him to grandson’s song called ‘Blood/Water’ due to the lyrics kinda resembling his defamatory actions towards FPM (and also his wild and sometimes desperate hunger towards ink beings, yikes)

Second, what’s VB’s main plotline now and why did I expand it?

To resume it in the ‘signature phrase’ I made for the new version (which was also inspired on MARETU’s ‘Magical Doctor’ song –mandoilovethisvocaloidsongcomposerasdfgh)

**THIS WASN’T MEANT TO HAPPEN**

Venomous Bittersweet (which I’ll rename in the future due to the fusion with TAF) started off with a simple plot -FPM going on a mission for himself to get cured from a spider bite he got all of a sudden, but failing in the process (bc plot convenience idk) and CPG is the one who goes to his rescue instead while showing off the things she learned from him, this that, wholesome ending blah blah blah- you know the drill if you read it to end.

But by the moment I began making those little ‘inside stories’ –specially DPM’s backstory explaining why he became so reckless and outgoing- I started to extent myself on how things worked on this AU, even how drawings come to life (ik it’s weird but that’s how I though it to be so ff-), and by such I felt the urge to give almost everything a background story, such as Aris’ reason to kidnap and take control over FPM’s body and mind (and maybe his soul too oops-), the Spider Kingdom’s origin and even the portals and ‘reality deterioration’ in SFPA, passing by DPM’s origins and stuff.

And even if I felt like hitting walls and taking things a little too in-depth most times, I think it did bring some good things for the new plotline I’m going for now

So, in the new story, all the weird, whacky (and disturbing) things that happen after SFPA and during OG VB plotline came by what I’d express as some sort of ‘time-space anomaly’ that made everything slightly unstable on the ‘other side’ of the studio (I won’t explain too much my brain is about to boil rn so take that as you will for now tysm), having a passive (but not unnoticeable) effect on the sketchbooks.

I can’t give much context why, how or where did the anomaly came to be exactly (you can make theories if you like, I’d love to read them 4real <3), but it’s main purpose is to take control over all existing worlds just to corrupt them to its will, to the point there is basically nothing left but despair and desolation to which all entities will be forced to endure and all that edgy jazz.

…And by that, the ‘anomaly’ will create incompatible matter amalgams –ink and graphite being the most coming-to-mind example in the story so far- in order to conquer all the sketchbooks, but as a consequence of this ‘anomaly’s’ arise, new worlds came to be fully developed (in other words, they finally exist as a whole), and with that, new ‘heroes’ are brought into the situation, each representing a type of artistic material alone –watercolor, oil paint, etc-, heroes with which FPM will encounter and interact with, as he’ll also help them in how to use their abilities to fight the baddies and stuff.

And because we need conflict to make things interesting, Q-Ross and DPM indirectly (but kinda) ‘team up’ to fabricate fake evidence and such in order to mess with FPM’s reputation towards the heroes by incriminating him and/or even mislead his actions (confusing wrong by right and vice versa, etc.) (because ink man is salty and corrector ass is a dick by nature –ofc), and even ocassionally with Q-Ross starting the job, just to get DPM to finish it; and sometimes they get the aforesaid characters to hold grudges –if it comes to succeed, or instead making them get more on his side by the same feeling of doubt –if they mess up on something, no matter the size.

As about his sickness, well, it also got a little twist.

We know that new worlds and material compositions come with new squiggle types, and even if ‘dust-related’ types don’t affect him for too long –chalk being the closest example I can bring up-, liquid or clayish matters, such as oil and crayon squiggles respectively, are toxic towards him, so in the way the more he interacts with incompatible squiggles, the more harmed his health condition gets, to the point it grips into the weakest part of his body –his core (I’ll later explain this just…let me get this out first plz), which limits him on doing most things he’s used to do normally.

…And well, the spider bite (which is also an abnormal matter amalgam times two, though I’ll keep it secret for now) was the last nail in the coffin on fucking him up entirely to a new level of corruption (damn is that a stretch I’m seeing-)

Long story short, this was also because I wanted ArPM to have a backstory that’s more than just ‘I’m evil nao bc me get poisond and mindcontrold by spoders out of spite hahahaha-’

Third (and lastly), who’s Ahetzo exactly and what’s his main purpose on the story?

This is a short one

In case you didn’t see my tweet on my Twitter account (here a linkie), this is a side character I made that’s supposed to be some kind of ‘spirit’ or something alike who’s the one in charge of the studio while ya dev boi is gone

In other words, he’s basically like Brad’s subconscious self (IK YIKES- YOU CAN HIT ME WITH THE CHAIR NOW I WON’T MIND-)

…and even though he tried to keep the anomaly thing contained as long as he could while figuring out how to disarm it or at least neutralize it (yes it was there way before, like during fpaw3 events or before so because AU logic lol), the more he tried to condense it, the more it multiplied itself until, well, y’know, shit blew up and everything just sdfghjk’d

And yes, he was the one who released the new worlds to keep the crazy stuff at range, this that

Oml my brain-

And before I finish here, I’d like to make a little ‘self-critic’ regarding my artwork here…and I gotta say, I’m really proud of it on most parts

As I began to retake on digital art lately –mostly due to my slight entering onto the FNF/partially NG communities and other things, I’ve been testing out new techniques and stuffs on GIMP 2 with the ‘routes’ tool and all that (that’s also why it looks almost symmetrical, but don’t fool urself it did took its time-), I even corrected some of the lines to make them sharp and fancy (haha funi joek im so quirkee-)

In here, I wanted to try mixing both solid and blurry shadows as well as replicating a ‘crystalish’ effect –as seen on Q-Ross’ eyes- and some line effects with the ink tool such as the liquid dripping out of Q’s mouth (yes that correcting fluid saliva now stfu-) and the graphite/correctfluid webs coming out of his clawtips/fingertips

And though I haven’t made an official palette for him, I think the colors I picked here suit him well enough in my own idea of such

Overall, I had fun making this, and I love how it came out

Still though, any criticism, opinion and commentary is welcome, both about my art piece and my little showcase over here

That’s all I got for now, see you all later on

K bai-

#The Fancy Pants Adventures franchise (C) belongs to Brad Borne (DrNeroCF) on NewGrounds #FPAVB + Q-Ross Sid| Artwork (C) belong to me

[edwina333-blog]

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[newyorktheater]

  Check out:

Favorite stage performances in 2019.

Top 10 Lists of Top 10 Theater in 2019.

Best Broadway Cast Recording of 2019.

Top 10 Theater of the Decade.

Worst Theater of the Decade.

  People who engaged with the arts frequently had a 31 percent lower risk of dying, according to a new study from the British Medical Journal. This was independent of demographic, socioeconomic, health related, behavioral, and social factors. Even those who were infrequent consumers of culture had 14 percent lower risk of dying than shoe who never engaged.

The Journal’s editors observe:”The data show that the very people who have the most to gain from participating in cultural activities are least likely to do so. More than 40% of patients with lung disease, depression, or loneliness reported never engaging with the arts despite robust evidence of the potential benefits. Over 40% of participants in the least wealthy group also reported that they never accessed cultural activities. Work must now be done to ensure that the health benefits of these activities are accessible to those who would benefit most.”

The Week in NY Theater Previews and Reviews

The Sorceress The Sorceress (Di Kishefmakherin), the first work of Yiddish theatre ever presented in America, is back on stage in New York 136 years after its U.S. premiere. In my article for TDF Stages, Yiddish Culture Is Alive and Well and Playing in New York, I talk to Motl and Mikhl, the director of the play and the star, who portrays the wicked witch, Bobe Yakhne, in drag. Though Babe is the villain, she is the title character.

The Sorceress, by the same company that put together the acclaimed “Fiddler on the Roof” in Yiddish, is just one of three events this month that demonstrate a resurgence in interest in Yiddish language and culture.

Luke Kirby as stationmaster Thomas Hudetz in “Judgment Day” at the Park Avenue Armory

Judgment Day with Luke Kirby Luke Kirby, who portrayed a movie star hired to play “Hamlet” in the cult TV comedy “Slings & Arrows” 16 years ago, is now on stage for real, as Thomas Hudetz, a murderer in Ödön von Horváth’s 1937 drama “Judgement Day” at the Park Avenue Armory.

Kirby has lived in New York for some two decades now, but has only appeared in a handful of plays, spending most of his time in television — currently as the real-life comic Lenny Bruce in Amazon’s “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” for which he won an Emmy earlier this year, and as closeted civil servant Gene Goldman on HBO’s “The Deuce.” Why so few stage roles…and why this one now?

Those are the questions I put to him in an interview for TDF Stages.

Ian McKellen as Gus the Theatre Cat in “Cats,” co-written and directed by Tom Hooper.

Cats the movie – pics and reviews Cats” isn’t for everyone – much of it is a cheesy, B-grade affair seemingly crafted solely to take over midnight-movie slots from “The Rocky Horror Picture Show,’ Those with an open mind, though, as well as little kids and the T-Swift posse, might find it somewhat pawesome.” Brian Truitt writes in USA Today, in the most positive review I could find. He’s enchanted by Taylor Swift, but turned off by the “nightmare fuel…when human faces are put on tiny mice and Rockette-esque cockroaches.”

More typical is Manohla Dargis in the New York Times: “It is tough to pinpoint when the kitschapalooza called “Cats” reaches its zenith or its nadir, which are one and the same. The choices are legion…

Sing Street

“Sing Street” is a stage musical based on the sweet, funny “happy-sad” 2016 Irish movie by writer/director John Carney about a teenager named Conor growing up in Dublin during the economically depressed but musically vibrant 1980s, who forms a band to impress a girl name Raphina. The musical has its pleasures, especially for those nostalgic for the era of made-for-MTV, New Wave synthesized tunes. A talented group of young adult actor-musicians, ages 16 to 25, perform mostly original pastiche songs by Carney and Scottish singer-songwriter Gary Clark, who was part of the 80s scene and continues his hit-making now. But “Sing Street” the stage musical is likely to disappoint anybody who has seen “Sing Street” the movie (which is currently available for viewing online, through IMDB TV, for free.)

  The Week in New York Theater News

The opening of West Side Story has been pushed from from February 6 to February 20 due to a knee injury that left the show’s star Isaac Powell unable to perform. The show began preview peformancs on December 10

.@mockingbirdbway will be the first-ever Broadway show to perform at @TheGarden on February 26, 2020, in front of some 18,000 New York City public school students. Here’s playwright Aaron Sorkin and the new cast posing at the arena. pic.twitter.com/txrecILSJm

— New York Theater (@NewYorkTheater) December 18, 2019

..@TheCrownNetflix stars Claire Foy and Matt Smith will perform in @SleeveNotes‘ “Lungs” at @BAM_Brooklyn March 25-April 19 2020. The play is about a couple wrestling with the morality of having kids in an overpopulated planet. pic.twitter.com/96r9elP5hB

— New York Theater (@NewYorkTheater) December 18, 2019

View of the Shed from The Highline

The Shed’s Second Season

Claudia Rankine, “Help”

Arinzé Kene, “Misty”

Tomas Saraceno, “Particular Matter (s)”

Meet at the Shed, January 11,2020

A free, daylong, building-wide takeover with exhibitions, performances, food

  Help March 10 – April 5,2020

An inquiry into white male privilege by Claudia Rankine

Tomás Saraceno: Particular Matter(s) May 6 – August 9, 2020;

A visual art installation that is intended to be neither seen nor heard, but felt.

Misty September 24 – October 24

Fusing live music, spoken word, and absurdist comedy, Misty is a journey through the dark alleyways of a city in flux and a genre-defying excavation of the pressures and expectations that come with being an artist in our time

Live Nation CEO Michael Rapino

Live Nation Entertainment Inc.reached an agreement with the Justice Department to resolve government concerns that the company violated a 2010 antitrust settlement that allowed it to merge with Ticketmaster, according to the Wall Street Journal. Under the original agreement, known as a consent decree, the companies were allowed to combine but had to agree to conditions designed to help preserve competition in the live-events industry.

Dear Evan Hansen

Kerry Butler (Mrs. George), Erika Henningsen (Cady Heron)

Scene from Harry Potter and the Cursed Child at the Palace Theater in London.

Isabelle McCalla and Caitlin Kinnunen as high school girlfriends in The Prom

(l-r) Nicholas L. Ashe, Jonathan Burke, J. Quinton Johnson, Jeremy Pope, Caleb Eberhardt, John Clay III, Gerald Caesar

The problem with teen musicals on Broadway by critic Christian Lewis in American Theatre Magazine.

When it comes to teenagers and Broadway, 2016’s Dear Evan Hansen changed the game. The Tony-winning Pasek and Paul musical was certainly not the first Broadway show about—or beloved by—teens. That credit might go to Spring Awakening (2006) or 13 (2008) or Runaways (1978), or much further back to Babes in Arms (1937), considered the first musical with an entire cast of teenage characters. In the wake of Dear Evan Hansen’s success, Broadway quickly saw a sweep of major productions with teenage protagonists: Mean Girls (2018), Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (2018), The Prom (2018), Choir Boy (2019), Be More Chill (2019), and the latest installation, The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical (2019).

….The genre deserves a larger critique, but not the one critics are making. Yes, Young Adult Theatre can seem angsty, the pop score/lyrics can feel basic and the plots contrived. But the central problem with Dear Evan Hansen, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Be More Chill, and The Lightning Thief is that they’re all about straight, white, cisgender teenage boys. The supporting casts are often diverse, but the main characters don’t deviate from this norm. Not only are these protagonists about as privileged as they come; worse, each of these pieces is about its hero’s search for his identity. Compared to a person of color, a queer person, a transgender person (let alone any intersection of these), how much do Evan, Harry, Jeremy, or Percy have to figure out about themselves?….We need more shows like The Prom or Choir Boy:

The movie is a wreck, the musical is a joke. Why, then, will we always have ‘Cats’?

By Charles McNulty (who doesn’t really answer the question posed in the headline)

“Cats,” Andrew Lloyd Webber’s blockbuster spun from the light verse of T.S. Eliot’s “Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats,” is a paradox and a puzzle illustrating the disconnect between theatrical success and respect. The fourth-longest-running show in Broadway history, it is the consummate tourist musical. (“Broadway’s first show for the tired Japanese businessman,” according to Ken Bloom and Frank Vlastnik’s indispensable “Broadway Musicals: The 101 Greatest Shows of All Time.”)

Theater people resent “Cats” not just because it made Broadway uncool until “Hamilton” finally rescued it from the pop cultural stocks. What really infuriates buffs is that “Cats” ushered in an era of grandiose spectacle, the vacuous parade of shows from the 1980s and early ’90s that made it seem as if a musical had to have a helicopter or a crashing chandelier to be worth the rapidly rising ticket price.

Ed Harris and Kyle Scatliffe, center, in “To Kill A Mockingbird”

Q and A about To Kill A Mockingbird with Aaron Sorkin and Ed Harris, its new Atticus

Aaron Sorkin: How did Harper Lee get away with having a protagonist who doesn’t change? Because Atticus isn’t the protagonist in the book or the movie; Scout is—her flaw is that she’s young, and the change is that she loses some of her innocence. While I wanted to explore Scout, I absolutely wanted Atticus to be a traditional protagonist, so he needed to change and have a flaw … It turned out that Harper Lee had [already] given him one; it’s just that when we all learned the book, it was taught as a virtue. It’s that Atticus believes that goodness can be found in everyone….

Ed Harris: I love the film. I think Peck’s portrayal in terms of that story and that script is just indelible. There are little things that happen on the stage even now, just a head move or something, that feels like Gregory Peck! But the inner life of this man I’m playing is so different [from Peck’s character]. He’s trying to hold on to a belief that’s being eroded slowly but surely. It’s really interesting to play.

The Trojan Women’s Project at La MaMa: The artists discuss

I got asked for an end-of-the-decade quote on “emerging trends” and the editors rejected it, so here it is so that it doesn’t go to waste. Happy holidays! pic.twitter.com/b5YBglbJBL

— Young Jean Lee (@YoungJean_Lee) December 24, 2019

Best and Worst Theater of The Decade, and of 2019. See a show, live longer. #Stageworthy News of the Week Check out: Favorite stage performances in 2019. Top 10 Lists of Top 10 Theater in 2019.

[music2liveby]

DAY 211: Chug-A-Lug by Roger Miller

Album: Roger and Out Release: May 1964 Genre: Country

I’ve gone on record several times on this blog that country is by far my least listened to genre. It’s not that I don’t like it necessarily, but its transformation into the modern age seems more akin to top 40 radio than a hearkening back to the deep roots of country music. Gone are the days of country legends like George Strait, Hank Williams, and Johnny Cash where country music had a sinister edge that implied negligence of the law and a cowboy lifestyle on the fringe of society. Today, that image seems to be more of just that: an attempt to embody an image. And it’s a pretty lackluster attempt, if you ask me. Most of my country lexicon resides in that golden age I am so fond of. The songs have a vintage charm that come off as much more candid and soul bearing in their songwriting, and I have yet to find a modern country artist that nails this standard. If I’m missing out, please point me in the right direction! But until then, I will choose to share one of my favorite old-time country acts: Roger Miller. Classic country artists always seemed to value simplicity first and foremost, from their name to their appearance. Historically, the country genre has been pretty whitewashed due to its origins in the south, so the image of the clean cut, well-dressed white man was common if not expected of country stars. Roger Miller doesn’t tote the same accolades as legends that came after, but without a foundation, the house can’t be built. Miller helped pave the way for 60′s country to gain momentum and light the fuse for the massive country explosion in the 70′s. His songs were generally short ditties that were more novelty than anything else, a characteristic that was developed early on in his period of musical discovery. Roger Miller was an introverted child, relying on music to be his expression. Born to a poor farm family, Roger resorted to stealing his first guitar at 17 since he could not afford his own, but turned himself in the next day. In order to avoid jail time, Roger enlisted in the military and spent time serving in the Korean War, where he would further develop his musical talent in a group of Army musicians called the Circle A Ranglers. On the recommendation of one of his sergeants, Roger traveled to Nashville after his service in pursuit of his dream. The experience was humbling for the budding musician, who was rejected from line-ups and denied contracts on numerous occasions. However, executive for Starday Records George Jones was impressed by his playing and Roger shortly after relocated to Amarillo, Texas. Here, he would eventually sign to Dacca Records and release two singles that would launch Miller’s career into the limelight. The first, Dang Me, spent 25 weeks on the Billboard charts and topped out at number one. The second, today’s featured track Chug-A-Lug, didn’t see as much success as Dang Me, but it is the song that resonates closest to my heart from Roger Miller. The subject matter of Miller’s music was often a personal account of childhood memories, and Chug-A-Lug revisits the days of carefree underage drinking that was ever popular in an age that lacked supervision. No song ever takes itself too seriously, in fact most songs by Roger Miller are whimsical and comical in tone. The bubbly chord progression that changes key signatures twice between verses serves as perfect setting for the story driven lyrics that increasingly become more daring in their attempt to covet some delicious homemade liquor. Chug-A-Lug elicits childhood memories of getting into things you’re not supposed to combined with the payoff of getting away with it. Simplicity speaks volumes, in which case Roger Miller turns it up to 11!

#Chug-A-Lug #Roger Miller #Roger and Out #Country #365songs

[entergamingxp]

Tetsuya Nomura Reveals New Details on Final Fantasy VII Remake

March 4, 2020 6:50 PM EST

Tetsuya Nomura revealed new details on Final Fantasy VII Remake including its story changes, theme song, character designs, and battle system.

As we’re getting closer to the launch of Final Fantasy VII Remake, Square Enix finally unleashed the game’s demo on the PlayStation Store. Japanese outlets Famitsu and 4Gamer each published interviews with Tetsuya Nomura as well, revealing an Avalanche of brand new details. We most notably heard more about Cloud’s crossdressing event, the lack of characters from Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, and how the game went gold. Here are all the other interesting tidbits from the latest Final Fantasy VII Remake interviews with Tetsuya Nomura, translated below.

First are details on Hollow, Final Fantasy VII Remake‘s theme song:

Tetsuya Nomura: “Hollow uses a male lyricist and is rock-themed in order to reflect Cloud’s feelings. The song is supposed to evoke rain, and I wanted to avoid changes in the song’s image depending on the language, so we only recorded an English version. The lyrics were written by Nobuo Uematsu and Kazushige Nojima, who was really into it. When Nojima wrote the lyrics in Japanese, he titled the song “Empty Sky”, and when translating the lyrics, the official title became Hollow.”

Next on the list is the character design. Back in June 2019 during the E3 period, Tetsuya Nomura lengthily spoke about Tifa and Aerith’s designs in another interview we translated. Nomura now mentioned how the very first character redesigned for the Remake was Barret.

Tetsuya Nomura: “The amount of realism added to Barret’s design compared to his original design served as a guideline on how much realism to add for remaking the other characters’ designs. As for Red XIII, his original design surprisingly already looked quite realistic, so we simply recreated it with more details, and he didn’t change much. In the past though, he equipped a hair ornament as a weapon, but this time, we changed it to being his collar so it’s more visible. The three Turks members were redesigned by Roberto Ferrari. Since they all wear simple suits, we added more details to better express their personalities.”

Coming up next are new comments regarding the Japanese cast. Nomura explained how Red XIII had very few lines in Advent Children, so he was voiced by Masachika Ichimura making a special appearance. Ichimura is more of an actor than a seiyuu, and the only major character he voices is Pokemon‘s Mewtwo. Since Red XIII has many lines in the Remake, the development team decided to recast the role. Red XIII is now voiced by Kappei Yamaguchi, a veteran seiyuu known for many anime and game roles including Ranma.

Tetsuya Nomura: “Red XIII is a character who needs a voice who can handle a wide variety of tones, and I thought Kappei Yamaguchi was perfect for that, so we picked him.”

Nomura also spoke about Cloud and Tifa’s voices during the flashbacks of their childhood:

Tetsuya Nomura: “We had a lot of trouble finding someone who fitted Young Cloud’s voice. In the end, we decided on a child living in a rural area. They came to Tokyo with their parents to record. I’m happy we were so meticulous and patient with the casting because their voice was perfect. It matches the delicateness, cuteness, the husky feeling, and the shadowy voice Cloud had at that age. Tifa, voiced by Ayumi Ito, has a cute but husky-like voice, but we managed to find someone who fitted that for Young Tifa right away.”

Nomura also highly praised Masahiro Kobayashi, the actor who voices Barret:

Tetsuya Nomura: “Barret is someone so badass he decided to replace his lost arm with a weapon. The extreme way of voicing him that Masahiro Kobayashi did fits perfectly. He really got into the character, without the need for directions, and most of the lines were one takes. Barret is really charismatic and interesting in the Remake. I tend to like old guys characters like him, and he’s my favorite”.

Lastly, we have Cloud:

Tetsuya Nomura: “Cloud in Final Fantasy VII Remake is weird. There are many times when he tries to act cool but fails or acts awkwardly. He gets nervous where most people wouldn’t. This might surprise you, as the Cloud in Advent Children was cool. But that’s because it was post-FFVII Cloud, plus we were limited, so we focused on emphasizing his cool side. However, in the original game, Cloud had many comical or lame moments, and this is what we went for with the Remake. I asked Takahiro Sakurai, who voices Cloud, to reflect that in his acting. I hope you’ll enjoy it.”

We recently translated an interview with Takahiro Sakurai chatting about voicing Cloud in FF7R.

Next, Tetsuya Nomura spoke about the new characters found in Final Fantasy VII Remake. One of the new characters, Soldier Third Class Roche, was designed by Roberto Ferrari.

Tetsuya Nomura: “I didn’t give any particular instructions for Roche’s design, and Ferrari had already done the first version, so we only changed it a bit before finalizing it. His first design was a bit too sharp and serious-looking compared to his easygoing personality. There are many other new characters besides Roche, but they mostly appear in sidestories rather than in the main story.”

Next, Tetsuya Nomura spoke about Final Fantasy VII Remake‘s graphic style:

Tetsuya Nomura: “It’s close to a photorealistic style, but it’s also different. Many iconic elements of the original were in the deformed style, so the Remake uses “realisticness in the range of the original’s deformed style”. ”

We also have comments on the battle system of FFVIIR:

Tetsuya Nomura: “I already mentioned this in the past, but since development began, we redid the battle system many times. Real-time and ATB are inherently opposed, so fusing both necessitated a lot of trial and error. I can’t thank enough the staff who persevered and shaped the battle system into what it is now, overcoming this challenge and managing to find the right balance.”

Nomura also mentioned how they included many different battle situations and enemy patterns, including flying enemies and a 3D element. This way, controlling Cloud at all times isn’t the most efficient way do handle things, and it’ll make players experiment with the other characters. He also mentioned the Remake has a lot of mini-bosses to let us fully enjoy the battle system. He also spoke about how the battles are incredibly vivid, be it the various effects when using magic or all the battle dialogue:

Tetsuya Nomura: “We heavily focused on the game’s atmosphere and immersion during battles. Maybe we overdid it when it comes to dialogue during battles (laughs). Recording everything was pretty difficult. At peak period we had up to 9 recording sessions a week, dividing them between two or three different studios. It might be the game with the most voiced lines I’ve worked on. Overall, in over 20 years of game development, Final Fantasy VII Remake was probably the most grueling project I worked on (laughs)”

Having the characters speak so much during battles was an idea from Motomu Toriyama, the co-director of Final Fantasy VII Remake.

The overall reception at events and from the debug team was very positive, and Nomura is confident in the game. He pointed out how the Remake‘s objective is to both satisfy the old fans and make players who never experience the original get why it’s so great.  Next, Tetsuya Nomura shared details regarding the scale of Final Fantasy VII Remake, story changes, and new events:

Tetsuya Nomura: “I know many are worried since the Remake project is in multiple games, and the first game only depicts Midgar. Don’t worry. It’s a highly dense game, and it doesn’t end after a few hours like the Midgar part in the original. There are many new events in the main story. Like a scene where you end up visiting Jessie’s parents, eating dinner. Each member of Avalanche is much more detailed compared to the original game, with new events to boot. By the time players leave Midgar, I’m sure they’ll be satisfied.”

Some content also didn’t make it into the final game, and yet it’s still on 2 Blu-ray discs. Nomura explained the development team prioritized quality over quantity:

Tetsuya Nomura: “We made the sidequest content to be as big as the main story. At the beginning, the development team readied even more content, but we wouldn’t have been able to do everything without cutting corners, so we prioritized quality. We wouldn’t have been able to finish the game otherwise. Despite that, the game is quite big, there are many places you can visit, and you can even move around using vehicles at some points.”

We also heard about another iconic scene, the Shinra HQ building infiltration scene, and how its stairs climbing part was recreated in the Remake:

Tetsuya Nomura: “Each character climbs the stairs at a different speed, and the dialogues changes depending on what you do as well, so you should try and experiment.”

Lastly, here is Tetsuya Nomura’s message for the fans and everyone looking forward to Final Fantasy VII Remake:

Tetsuya Nomura: “The Remake will be releasing soon, but it’s not like it’s overwriting the original FFVII. The original game is the source of everything, and thanks to it, we were able to make a new, unique experience. Fans of the original game will have a different, new experience compared to when they played the original. And I hope those who discover everything with the Remake will enjoy it too. This is the first part of the Remake, but it’s still a full-fledged game, and you’ll be satisfied after playing it. Once you try out the game, you’ll definitely have a hard time putting it down. Please look forward to it.”

That’s all regarding Tetsuya Nomura’s comments on Final Fantasy VII Remake. It’s highly likely such lengthy Japanese interviews with actual new details won’t be happening until the game’s launch. Famitsu will definitely have a huge feature on the game the week of its release, so look forward to our future coverage as well.

You can check out the latest Final Fantasy VII Remake trailer, the opening cutscene, and the latest screenshots. Be sure to take a look at our gameplay preview, our other preview, and the results of the Final Fantasy series fan poll organized by NHK.

Final Fantasy VII Remake launches on PS4 on April 10. It was born through the efforts of a cosmopolitan team and is one of the most anticipated games in years. The game will be a PS4 exclusive until April 2021. If you enjoy our coverage, translations, and wish to support DuaShockers, you can do so by preordering FF7R on Amazon.

This post contains affiliate links where DualShockers gets a small commission on sales. Any and all support helps keep DualShockers as a standalone, independent platform for less-mainstream opinions and news coverage.

March 4, 2020 6:50 PM EST

from EnterGamingXP https://entergamingxp.com/2020/03/tetsuya-nomura-reveals-new-details-on-final-fantasy-vii-remake/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=tetsuya-nomura-reveals-new-details-on-final-fantasy-vii-remake