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ultraericthered · 2 years

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Anime Update V2 16

Noragami Aragoto - Watched the second episode, where Kugaha begins scheming with Nora behind Bishamon’s back and the dude we were introduced to just last episode, who gives us some more backstory in this one, gets abruptly and insultingly killed off by a pack of phantom wolves. But the thing that wasn’t doing it for me here was the conflict introduced where Yukine is worried about the possibility of Hiyori forgetting all about him and Yato, which yeah, was in the manga but...this is literally coming off of the anime-exclusive Rabo arc of the first season, where a lot of the conflict was based in Hiyori losing her memory. Yet there’s no mention of it at all! I hate it when anime does this, adapting the manga’s story word for word even when it ends up not matching up with original anime-only content that was included earlier. Shame that Noragami couldn’t avoid that trap.

Hunter x Hunter - Not much to say since the episodes of both anime again covered the exact same ground as each other, but I will say that it’s impressive how the 2011 version had a cut to daybreak and played out its later events in broad daylight, thus stripping it of the spooky, suspenseful atmosphere that the 1999 version had...and yet Hisoka still manages to be so much scarier in the later adaptation compared to the first one! A big part of it is the animation on him, another is the voice Keith Silverstein does, but also helping is that he doesn’t at any point start acting like he’s gonna werewolf out on us for no discernable reason. Seriously, what was up with that part?

Fruits Basket - Like the above, both episodes of both series’ covered the exact same ground, but in this case they were done in somewhat different ways. In the 2001 series, the focus was kept on Tohru the entire time she was back with her family up until Yuki and Kyo came to take her back to Shigure’s house so she can rejoin her new found family, but in the 2019 series, we get Tohru’s POV first and then are shown how Yuki and Kyo struck out together to retrieve Tohru, leading to some great, classic interaction between the two. My preference here is slightly for the latter version, but one thing I think the first anime got better was Grandpa Honda - he lacked the weird senile quirk of calling Tohru by her mother’s name and was voiced by the late, great Brice Armstrong in the dub, which made his part in the story come off with a much stronger impact compared to the remake.

Rozen Maiden - Two episodes this week, the first one adding yet another new Rozen Maiden doll to the cast, Suiseiseki, and we took a trippy ass trip into the world inside Jun’s mind, in his dreams....and somehow even that wasn’t as trippy as the following episode, where the series suddenly became a Seiji Kishi anime where everything is wacky and cartoony, and the characters are having these over-the-top reactions while getting into crazy shennanigans! The latter episode is ultimately a filler episode, but a very fun one that also served to really solidify Suiseiseki’s characterization. Also, I’m now wondering if Megan Hollingshead is going to turn up in the dub at some point since we’ve got the old dub voices for Rena, Satoko, Takano, and Rika all here - might as well get the Sonozaki twins too!

Fate/Stay Night - While the break-in to Caster/Medea’s temple, redesigned with magic to even ressemble Ancient Greece, was cool and all, when it came time to save Sakura, the connection between her and Rin came right out of nowhere! Seriously, if there was any foreshadowing to this “long lost sisters” twist in this anime, I must’ve missed it. Which I suppose is a most notable flaw in this adaptation.

Revolutionary Girl Utena - Got back to the Black Rose Saga proper with Mikage and his badly voice acted boyfriend creating a toxin from the Black Rose that can expand their reach even beyond just the Student Council’s relations. In the meantime, they make Shiori, Juri’s ex-friend and romantic interest who still misunderstands the love triangle she was a part of, into their next duelist and oh boy, this might be the most fucked up character on the show to date. Turns out she’s always resented Juri, and when she finds out that Juri’s had feelings for her the whole time, she is as elated as she is startled, ‘cause this means she’s weighed on Juri’s mind all along, that she has a sort of power over her and can flaunt that in her face. Indeed even after she loses her duel to Utena, Shiori still wins simply by keeping herself unattainable to Juri and exploiting her feelings of rejection whenever she can. Man, do I really pity poor Juri now...

Sound! Euphonium S2 - Welp, that was the end of the series. At least until the third season comes out later on, but how they’ll make that work is anyone’s guess since they played this up as the end of the story so much, calling back to Episode 1 and contrasting it with how things are with Kumiko and Asuka now, which I guess makes Asuka the big Arc Character of this series, getting a title drop, and even displaying the word “END” before special end credits set to euphonium music. I know there’s another movie besides Liz & The Blue Bird and also some special shorts to still watch, but the series proper pretty definitively concluded here, and it was a really solid ending. I particularly liked how a large section of the episode was dedicated to just one final classroom band performance as memories from the show played - slow, steady, and poignant. Sort of describes the series as a whole; I still enjoy it the least out of any of the Jukki Hanada anime I’ve seen, but I do respect and appreciate it a great deal, so I’ll gladly accept more time with these kids and their music.

MAR - None this week. Will get back to Phantom’s big plan later.

AMC: Moriarty The Patriot - Got back to this with the “Scarlet Eyes” two-parter, which detail the origin story of William James Moriarty, as well as the backstory of his adoptive brother Albert, and the other brother Louis (though his deal is still sketchy). And I can best describe young William as “Kurapika if he had the scarlet eyes full-time and was a brilliant-minded demon child with a vision for being a Lelouch vi Britannia type revolutionary, waging war on Britain’s noble class in secret so that the nation may be “cleansed” and society rebuilt into one that is just, fair, and equitable for all people.” Like, HOLY SHIT does this character not fail to mesmerize and horrify with every new turn taken with him, and you sort of have to remind yourself that this is fucking Moriarty, soon to be the Napoleon of Crime for not just Britain but the entire world and the arch nemesis to the world’s greatest detective, Sherlock Holmes. So this makes for quite a compelling moral connundrum where you might agree with the Moriarty brothers intentions and root for them to take down the despicable scumbags of British aristocracy, but also feel that them doing so through CRIME makes them hypocrites of epic proportions, and sooner or later they may end up hurting far more people than they’re helping. And it didn’t have to be that way for Albert and Louis, but they got sucked into Liam’s black hole and he ain’t letting go!

The one misstep I can criticize here is how for some unfathomable reason, Part 1 had a post-credits scene that jumped right to the burning mansion, which totally spoiled the climax of Part 2 and neutered the big, anxiety-inducing suspenseful buildup to it ‘cause you now knew exactly what the brothers were going to end up doing! Like, what logic is there in showing us your hand early like that???

#Anime Update #Anime Update V2

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felassan · 3 years

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Article: ‘The Most Powerful Woman in Gaming Wants to Make EA Loved Again’

Laura Miele is helping direct the company toward a future where it’s more attuned with consumers.

One of the first things Laura Miele did when she became chief studios officer of Electronic Arts Inc. three years ago was to gather 19 video game influencers in a conference room. “What do you want me to hear? Lay it on me,” she recalls asking them. “One guy sitting at the corner of the table, he just said, ‘I don’t understand why you don’t give players what they’re asking for.’ ”

[rest of article under cut for length, pasted as Bloomberg has an article read limit]

It’s something many gamers have wondered about EA for years. The $40 billion company, one of the biggest in gaming, is responsible for Battlefield, Madden NFL, and other megahit franchises. But many gamers have long seen EA as a necessary evil, resenting the direction in which it took some games and bristling at its aggressive attempts to extract money by charging extra for digital items in games that cost as much as $70 upfront. This dissatisfaction was no secret in 2018: Gamers spent their days filling up Reddit and other message boards with free advice for EA—but many felt its decision-makers weren’t listening.

EA’s leadership knows it has to improve that relationship, and Miele is a key player in its efforts to do so. Her focus group asked for new content for Star Wars Battlefront II and requested new types of games. Miele quickly assigned 70 people to the Battlefront development project, which dramatically improved its net promoter score, a measure of how likely people are to recommend the game. She also prompted EA to create a skateboarding game and committed to reintroducing its college football franchise, the two genres at the top of the influencers’ list.

In a sense, the guy at the meeting became a stand-in for all of EA’s long-suffering customers in Miele’s eyes. “I wanted to do right by this player,” she says.

As chief studios officer, Miele manages 6,000 staffers and thousands of contractors globally. She oversees EA’s 24 studios, where she makes personnel decisions and sets strategy, and she’s reshaped how the company uses analytics to create and market its games.

In the process she may have become the most powerful woman in gaming. In a 2019 International Game Developers Association survey, fewer than 30% of the more than 1,100 respondents were women, and few if any hold a more central role at such an important company. “It’s a tough place for a woman,” says Peter Moore, who was Miele’s boss when he was EA’s chief operating officer. “It wasn’t always smooth sailing, but she battled her way through.”

Proving good intentions is more important for EA than ever, as the business model of gaming continues to shift in ways that have the potential to alienate customers. Like its rivals, the company is increasing its focus on free-to-play games, making money through sales of digital products such as outfits and weapons for characters.

There are signs it’s succeeding. Apex Legends, EA’s free-to-play hero shooter game, has posted more than $1 billion in sales since it was first published in 2019, and it continues to grow. “The way to succeed with free-to-play games like that is to listen to and engage your customer base and earn their loyalty through incremental purchases,” says Doug Clinton, managing partner of the venture capital firm Loup Ventures, who says Miele deserves much of the credit for Apex Legends. “It feels like a proof point for her that the company is adapting well beyond traditional disk sales.”

Miele, 51, was born in San Francisco but grew up on the north shore of Lake Tahoe. She got her start in games—the kind that require a board—during family nights, when she pitted herself against her brother in Monopoly, Clue, Yahtzee, and backgammon. While attending the University of Nevada at Las Vegas, she worked at architectural companies. By the time she dropped out she’d moved on from receptionist positions to more senior roles, while gaining a reputation for organizing lunch-hour card games with her co-workers.

Miele landed a job as a project manager at Westwood Studios, a video game developer best known for Command and Conquer, in 1996. She eventually took over all marketing for its parent company, Virgin Interactive.

It wasn’t always a hospitable atmosphere: Miele remembers her colleagues expecting her to take notes at meetings, then clean up afterward. “That is just not something I would do today,” she says. “I adapted a lot because I was so passionate about what I was doing. I found my voice along the way.”

When EA acquired Westwood in 1998, she stayed on. At the time, the company did revenue forecasting by looking at sales data once a month and putting together spreadsheets by hand. Miele was tasked with developing more advanced analytics. She hired a group of data analysts, nicknamed “the Jedi,” and had them build EA’s first statistical regression models to examine sales trends, seasonality, and preorders. It took almost two years to put the system in place, but it overhauled the company’s business processes, and executives were soon using it to determine how to invest in advertising and promotions. “I loved how data and analytics can inform your judgment and your gut instinct,” Miele says.

Miele also decided to make one major break with EA’s existing business practices. In 2011 about 80% of game advertising budgets were spent on TV ads. But she saw how much time gamers spent online and decided to spend the bulk of the ad budget for Battlefield 3 on digital, downplaying other types of ads and cutting the TV ad budget to only 30%.

Messing around with the plan for Battlefield 3 was a good way to make people nervous. Miele remembers two executives calling her in for a meeting and demanding to know why they weren’t seeing billboards for the game as they drove in to the office. “It was scary for me, too, and I don’t blame our executives questioning me on that,” she says. But the game ended up being EA’s fastest-selling, moving more than 5 million copies in its first week. From that point, Miele’s marketing strategy became the standard for the company.

When EA signed a 10-year deal with Walt Disney Co. in 2013, Miele became Star Wars general manager. In 2014 she took over publishing operations, marketing, and other key areas, first in the North American region, then globally in 2016. At the time, the game industry was moving from physical disks to digital downloads, transforming its relationship with retail partners such as Walmart Inc. and Best Buy Co.

Miele was in charge of smoothing things over, explaining that EA would start competing with them for customers even as the retailers accounted for the largest portion of the revenue. “I never said to them, ‘Hey, see you later, we are moving on,’ ” she says. “It was, ‘How can we move forward together?’ ” EA began making physical cards with digital credits that its retail partners could sell at their stores, allowing them to share in the revenue from digital sales.

EA’s studios are spread around the globe, and Covid-19 altered Miele’s routine radically. “It was a very difficult year, and I’m really proud about how our company showed up,” she says. “I considered myself a wartime leader last year. You had to get in a bunker with everybody.”

Days became an endless progression of Zoom calls. To keep up with gamers, Miele started spending evenings listening to Clubhouse chats while answering work emails. Because she hasn’t been on the road, she’s also had more time to dine at home and play board games or Apex Legends and The Sims with her 16-year-old twins. As the pandemic retreats in the U.S., her schedule might change, but she still envisions providing more flexibility to her employees to work from home and office. “I do think we’re going to have a different work environment as we go forward,” she says.

Miele is itching to get back to the studio visits. She’s helping steer EA further toward smartphones. The company plans to release mobile versions of Apex Legends globally this year and spent $2.1 billion in April for Glu Mobile Inc., a mobile game publisher, while also preparing the next releases in its existing franchises. “I think the next Battlefield and the mobile shooter games, along with how successful the M&As come out will be key litmus tests of her management this year,” says Matt Kanterman, an analyst with Bloomberg Intelligence. “Her scope is clearly rising.”

— With Dina Bass and Jason Schreier

[source]

#video games #interesting..#long post #longpost

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sanstropfremir · 3 years

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episode 9 baby!!! dear lord that was a lot!!

frankly, i'm still in shock that i full on manifested an opera stage, AND it was a rock opera stage at that! plus i got a jazz stage AND a taemin stage??? if they’re pulling out all my favourites now then what on earth are they gonna do in the finale??? this was a very overwhelming crop of stages, i thought i was going to be prepared, but oh no i was not prepared. i'm just going to get right into it because this one is gonna be long and i have many words. i'll discuss in airing order first, and then put my personal rankings for this round at the end.

btob

costume

changsub, you absolute king. spectacular. stunning. incredible. zoot suit riot playing in my brain on repeat. will i finally get the zoot suit revival of my fucking dreams instead of this current drab ill-fitting suit trend? for those who are wondering why in the fuck changsub is dressed like that and what on earth i’m talking about, the specific cut of suit that he’s wearing is called a zoot suit, which were popular in mexican, black and italian american communities in the 30s and 40s, until they were outlawed by the united states war production board as a fabric rationing method as part of the war effort in 1942. there was a huge amount of mob violence surrrounding the wearing of them (there were actual zoot suit riots) as they were direct counter culture fashion to the predominant drab trends of white americans at the time. i'm actually very impressed they got a proper (modernized) cut of zoot suit instead of just putting him in an oversized one; there are actually specific structural differences. the pegged trouser legs, large should pads, and knee length single breasted jacket are key features, and they were often in much more flashy fabrics than a pinstripe, but they get points for effort. i wish they had put all of them in zoot suits but he’s playing the ‘lead’ actor so i will begrudgingly forgive them.

eunkwang those are the stupidest sleeve garters ive ever seen i love them never take them off. they’re like someone decided to repurpose a suspender in the worst way. excellent. i do love that they’ve got three of them in oxford saddle shoes, another great touch.

love the three piece and the fedora* on peniel. it's also in a relatively close period cut; waistcoasts (vests) were generally cut much higher in the neck pre-war, we only start seeing the neckline slide down in the 60s (i think? i don’t remember when exactly). also love to see a proper sleeve and jacket length, it's good practice to have at least a finger’s width of sleeve cuff visible ahead of the jacket sleeve when hanging at rest. also looks like there’s french cuffs on everyone, which is also great.

minhyuk in his slutty lowneck shirt....thank you. in addition to the zoot suit revival i would also like a revival of those ultra low necklines on mens’ shirts from like 2010-2011. i don’t think those are the same boots from the backdoor stage but those are some beautifully cut boots. i also loved the little details of his crewmember look, especially the chunky watch and the string bracelets; those are super realistic, i know so many crew with them and i had several for many years. and who doesn’t love a visible button fly?

none of any of the other costumes are period in any way shape or form but i’m forgiving it because there’s several layers of meta in this stage, and they explicitly based it on la la land, even though we don’t respect la la land in this house. do i wish they had gone more strictly period with at least the jazz club ‘actors’ a little more? absolutely, but i'm not mad about it.

set

again we’ve got a good delineation of the two different ‘stages,’ there’s the club itself in the smaller stage and the soundstage set in the larger space. you can pretty clearly see all the ‘pieces’ of the set on the soundstage, especially the obvious set painting techniques on false prosc frame and the window facade from that first little scene. also the you can see the castors (wheels) on all the setpieces too, which is another nice little versimilitudinous** (triple word score!) touch, as old hollywood movies were made still using theatre stagecraft techniques.

i love how the visual shorthand for ‘this is a set wink wonk’ is just...leaving a ladder on stage. i see it all the time and it's so funny. it doesn’t always make sense because as soon as there’s actors on set the ladders are the first thing cleared because actors cannot be trusted, but yes there are always ladders, so. also psa ladder safety is no joke, please be careful on ladders.

nice streamline of the mnet deco into the club. i’m consistently surprised at how well the designers have been able to mask it or use it to their advantage, because in the normal kingdom stage lighting it is SO obvious and stylistic that it always sticks out.

i'm going to ignore the fact that they implied changsub and miyeon were drinking wine out of martini glasses.

lighting

no complaints, it does its job. everything is visible and super clear. love that the ‘scene’ changes are made through the lighting, it's a really simple and effective device to change atmosphere. purple/blue/amber are the most flattering colours on human skin and that’s why you see it so commonly in stage lighting. also blue/lavendar is the best way to show nighttime/moonlight.

really nice and subtle projection work, especially with the billboard bit and the blue moon sign in the club. despite being obviously meta/’world breaking’ it’s actually very seamless and fits well into the flow of the stage.

sound

i love love love the big band feel in the intro, combined with the piano lead. very duke ellington, as all things should be.

no complaints. i love big band. i love eunkwang’s voice. i have nothing else to say.

staging

i LOVE this movie within a movie within a performance meta nonsense! it's such a fun concept and it is exactly what i wanted ikon’s first round stage to be! i also love to see btob consistently coming up with concepts that are inventive and fun and allow them to showcase their technical performance skills without the aerobics the younger groups are putting themselves through. it provides a really lovely variety and it just goes to show that you can make impressive, dramatic stages without having to be serious or ‘dark.’

i do wish they had leaned into the band director/lead singer with eunkwang a bit more; this could have been a really excellent place for a tap number a la the nicholas brothers or an homage to cab calloway. i know i know this was meant to be la la land themed but la la land is a cheap and whitewashed version of jazz and look me right in the eyes and tell me this isn’t the greatest tap routine of all time. i know i’ve typed this out somewhere before but la la land is just a conglomeration of old hollywood tropes and so stylistically cheap that this would have such a better visual core if they had actually looked back at the real old hollywood musicals like stormy weather. even singing in the rain and an american in paris have such phenomenal visuals and are really beautiful examples of the scope you can pull off with a limited technical capacity and sticking to these old techniques.

now that i'm thinking about it, oh my GOD i would DIE for a lindy hop routine in kpop PLEASE. i know it would never happen because kpop doesn’t like partner dancing and not a single kpop boy has the chops but oh you think fourth gen has too many acrobatics?

this got off track but i think you see my point.

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ateez

costume

these are really sharply cut suits. and the detail work on the beading??? so beautiful. i'm disappointed that they gave me a rock opera stage without the true ridiculousness of rock opera costuming, because they could have pushed this a lot farther if they really wanted. a tragic lack of gay little outfits, seonghwa’s lace choker is just not enough! two favourite suits: hongjoong’s and yunho’s.

that being said i do actually really like these. this stage is actually very modern opera with a kpop twist and i'm a little surprised by that? i continue to be impressed by the ateez team who are clearly doing their research.

i'm absolutely not going back through their stages to check all the choreography but i wonder if you can track all the ‘wound’ placements to places they’ve been ‘hit.’ i wouldn’t put it past them to have put that thought in but also i’m not expecting that much either.

who is this white grim reaper bdsm executioner chain arm man. where did he come from. i have no idea and i love it.

why is honjoong blindfolded. it was such a fast beat, if youre gonna blindfold someone give it a little longer and some more obvious narrative weight!

seonghwa does that quickchange, runs across that massive stage to the smaller set, and gets into places in like 45 seconds. it's not the hardest quickchange in the world but still, under a minute is fast for any quickchange, especially when there’s travel time involved. i think the fastest, most complex quickchange i ever did was in university which was a 50s cocktail dress into a flannel and culottes with a shoe, hair, and jewelry change in 35 seconds. and that took three dressers. quickchanges are always impressive. the added bonus of this review being later is that i can specifically reference that you can see him book it the fuck off stage in the full cam!

cute moment with the backup dancers dressed in costumes from the previous stages. i'm assuming this is a time travel reference? i'll get more into my thoughts on this in the staging section. regardless, love to see that iconic seonghwa moment again.

set

this is such a restricted space! they really pared down their dancing space with those staircases and ....arms? honestly i have NO clue what these are supposed to be. the only thing i can maybe think of is flying buttresses??? but why?? i mean, i'm 90% sure theyre just there for drama and i agree but i do still have questions.

there’s a lot of moving parts in this set? the buttresses, and the upstage centre staircase. i don’t think the staircase is totally automated because i spotted some dancers securing it in place, but it’s still a moving part. i do really like that we get that expanding upwards energy, because it's really tough to get functional level movement in this kind of a performance, mostly because of its length and because it moves so quickly. so seeing the downward vertical movement and then the upward movement was actually a really nice visual contrast that made use of how tall those fucking ceilings are, and the fact that they had less horizontal space. in sort of similar way to sf9’s jealousy stage, using long, narrow vertical lines really makes it feel like a castle space. the interiors of castles, especially the really old ones, are a lot smaller than you think they would be.

i’ve actually seen that type of small house/tent/thing several times in various types of performances before, but i think this is the first time i’ve seen it used as a time travel device (other than in the say my name mv). aesthetically it's a bit incongruent but i dont really mind because i'm used to watching rock operas that look a lot weirder than this.

lighting

there is so much happening. i have NO clue what the projections are doing. i dont hate it though, so that’s a plus? there’s a clear-ish colour arc even if it does get a bit funky in the middle, which is why the projections dont feel as insanely distracting as some of the other stages we’ve seen.

the climax is a perfect example of how to light a busy stage with primarily red but still maintain clarity on the performers. a little bit of red goes a long way; the spark stage from last week would have looked so much better if they had done what the ateez designers did here.

sound

i know it's only ode to joy, but answer already gets my motor running and then i get so gassed by the guitars and then by the time those vocals come in i'm inconsolable. i don’t know why i wasn’t expecting a rock opera stage but i'm so glad i got that surprise because i genuinely love rock operas so much. it's two of the most dramatic genres in music, what more could you possibly want?

staging

the choreo for answer is so goofy that I'm kinda glad this was mostly terrible mnet boom shots. i love it, but you can't deny that it's goofy. i spotted a couple of moves from their other choreos as well?

choreographing dance fights is just as difficult as choreographing real fights and i think they did a fairly good job here. i think it was a solid mix of dance and conflict that erred on the side of dramatic rather than accurate and i prefer that over trying to be ‘realistic.’ i’ve only ever seen one truly realistic fight scene on stage and that was for a deeply naturalist play (boring and a waste of the medium), but the best fight scene i’ve ever seen was in the prague national ballet’s adaptation of kafka’s the trial where three ballet dancers beat the absolute snot out of the main character with the most beautiful leg extensions. that whole show was probably one of the best pieces of dance i’ve ever seen, holy fuck it was so good.

despite how insane the music and the visuals were going, i actually really liked how sedate this was, on the part of ateez’s performance. there was a really sophisticated and resigned energy from them that is very different from what we’ve previously seen and i think that was a pretty admirable risk to take. reaching the top and then throwing away the crown? especially in a competition where every other stage has involved stealing crowns or royalty and there’s a group competing that got here through that very concept? that shows a real maturity, peace of mind, and foresight that i did not at all expect from a bunch of 22 year olds.

here we come to a very interesting comparison. both ateez and tbz are very heavily leaning on previously established group lore. we all know my thoughts on why it isn’t working for tbz, but here’s why i think it is working for ateez: it's because it doesn’t matter to the audience’s understanding of the stage. i had absolutely no fucking clue what was going on the first time i watched this, but that didn’t stop me from enjoying the music and all the weird shit they were doing. i totally believed that they understood what was going on. there’s a loose enough established conflict right at the beginning that draws us in, and really it doesn’t matter who they're fighting because they win in the end. the key here is that they’re so earnest. they believe 100% in every move they make on that stage. there’s no winks to camera, there’s not a drop of irony. they really deeply care about the ridiculousness of it all and that’s what makes it work. i sure as fuck dont know what’s going on, but i can see that they do, and i trust that. this is what i meant when i talked about convincing the audience you belong on stage in my stage presence post. i’ve never once believed that juyeon was anything other than an idol. he’s talented and very beautiful and he may occasionally stand on that stage like he owns it but it's always as juyeon. as an idol. but when hongjoong flaps around in that gigantic fur coat i 100% believe he’s a pirate captain. I believe he’s a punk rebel leader. i believe him a resigned king. there’s always a level of irony you have to fight as a performer because we all start from a place of disbelief. acting is not just lying to the audience, it's lying to yourself too. and if you succeed in convincing yourself? well, you’re already halfway to convincing us.

i checked it out because i wanted to see if they did the blindfold how i expected them to and was genuinely surprised by hongjoong’s fancam. the boy is EMOTING even when he knew the camera wasn’t on him; that’s a real dedication to craft.

ok i'm finished talking about this stage, this is over two pages in my document, there’s so many things i have not covered here but that’s fine, i'm quite sure any further thoughts will end up out there at some point.

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sf9

costume

let’s get it out of the way......crop top. crop top? crop top. crop top.

ok, besides the crop top, i think i might actually like the backup dancer outfits more...? i find mannequin adjacent looks really fascinating and i thought there was a lot more they could have done here in connecting the two thematically. i actually think a change of costume on the boys would have been very interesting, especially because there was a lot of inference and direct reference to changes of colour.

ALL the backup dancers are wearing the same wig and i LOVE that.

special mention zuho’s.....jacket? the right idea but it absolutely should have been one of those extreme french cut bodysuits, you COWARDS. don’t come at me with this ‘male version of venus’ if you don’t have your whole torso out! come on!

set

not sure if this is meant to be a department store, a factory, or a white cube gallery. honestly you could make the case that they’re all the same place anyways. more on this later.

i loved the movator and wish they had used it more! that sequence was so good and they could have done some more interesting repetition sequences to further highlight the ‘sameness’/the breaking of that sameness.

i feel like the set could have been used more as a whole? i would have loved to see some mannequin interactions with those boxes, because all they did was dump colour everywhere.

....why did they feel the need to include the rain bit? i know it's likely because it's in the mv and at the 2018 dream concert taemin does perform move in the rain, but with the standing still and the box walls with the words it just looks like a department store ad. which i...dont think is what they were intending?

lighting

nothing really to say here. it has a similar feel to the mayfly rap stage, which is fine because the lighting for that was good. i could tell what was going on all the time and that’s the most important part. notable standouts are the lips sequence, that's fun use of pop iconography and very effective, and the scanning lasers at the beginning.

the repeating sequence in the edm dance break is actually done pretty simply, it's just what happens when you point a camera that’s livestreaming to a monitor directly at that monitor. it's a very cool effect and it was neat to see it used intentionally, especially with the handheld leds.

actually i also really liked the lightbox tables, those were cool.

sound

the remix was fine for the most part, it was about what i expected it to sound like. i did however greatly dislike that unnecessary edm break in the middle. what was the point of that? it didn’t add anything to the overall sound or arc of the stage because it was SO out of place. there was no connective tissue around it.

oh i was also not a fan of the effect on zuho’s mic. no one else had a discernible vocal effect so it felt a little out of place. also for some reason his cadence and tone right at the end made me think of some of the voices that bo burnam uses for his vocal masque sketches/songs, especially repeat stuff, weirdly? took me right the fuck out of it. i listened to it again after i slept and i’m still getting it, so maybe i’m just going insane so best ignore this part.

staging

loved the mannequin tree, not a clue why it was there.

do actually think this is a successful cover because it does what i was hoping it would, which is take move completely out of the taemin context and put it into an entirely new one. however, i’m really struggling to figure out what exactly that new context is? and what theyre trying to say with it?

obviously they went for a ‘show your own colours/individuality’ vibe, like i said in the set section, where exactly is this supposed to be? from the start i get factory/mechanized environment, which is fine and grand because mannequins and making repetitive motions and products and all that, makes sense. but then there’s stacked shelving type units happening and curtains and that combined with the mannequins give me pretty big department store vibes, which is also fine, because that’s still a comment on commercialization and the mass production of product. but then we get to the movator and the repetitive movements of the dancers say pretty clearly factory, but the lighting and projections are very pop art referential, plus combining that with the white set, just makes me think of an art gallery. so now is this a comment on the commercialization and commidification of contemporary art? are they making a statement about being ‘real’ artists among the others who have lost the critical understanding of why pop art was even a thing in the first place? and then the rain bit at the end literally looks like a department store ad, so are they then making another statement that they still are that packaged product? maybe the episode has more clarity in it but i’m genuinely a bit baffled by what the underlying statement is here.

i suspect it is not as deep as i'm making it, but i did say that i was likely to be hyper critical of this stage AND i am a grad student, so here we are.

---

tbz

costume

ok of all the ‘fourth gen’ style costumes we’ve seen, i actually like these ones more than most. i'm not entirely clear on the theme but i'm assuming it's meant to be post apocalyptic, and i'll take that.

backup dancers in black!!! we’re beyond this!!!

this will be a running theme with this stage, but i’m disappointed these don’t have more depth.

set

compared to every other stage, the set here seems especially plain. there’s so little set dec that it's disappointing. i do like the movement of the pieces themselves combined with the blocking; that first slide underneath the arches was slick and i would have liked to have seen more of that.

yea ok the big snake was cool and also a fairly complex build, but the transitions around it were a bit awkward for my tastes. especially the turn around, why did they even show that at all? you have control over what the audience sees, you can totally not show scenic transitions. skz were super smart about hiding theirs in last week’s episode.

also if you have a bigass puppet like that, i wanna see some more movement from it! it doesn’t have to be complex, we literally just saw a kraken balloon arm wave around aimlessly, but at least there was movement! that snake had a long ass body, why didn’t they at least take a pseudo dragon dance movement with it, that would have been such fun to watch with the iridescent scales. there was a lot of opportunity here!

lighting

i don’t hate it but also.... not a lot to say about it on the whole.

there were two really smart ideas here, the first being the front projection section, which i was SO glad to see! i explained in a previous review, but the projections in kingdom are not actually projections per se, because they’re actually massive led screens. there are two common types of projections in performance, rear projection and front projection. rear projection is when the projector is behind the screen, and front projection is ‘normal’ projection. rear projection can produce a crisper image because you have full control of the light values, because the projector is in a separate room from the performance space. but the downsides are that the projector has to be in a separate room from the performance space. so if you’re short on real estate, it's not ideal. front projection is much more common, because the tech is a lot cheaper and easier to access, especially now, and it requires less real estate because you can ceiling mount about the audience (you can move a projector wherever, this is just the most common spot in commercial theatres). but! in order to get an actually crisp image, you have to be really careful with your light bounce. it’s exactly the same principle as how you kinda can't see a projected screen when you have all the lights turned on, but when you turn them off it's a lot clearer. front projection works best in pitch dark, so when you use it in a theatre you gotta be smart about it. i use front projection a lot in my personal art practice as a singular light source, and that’s what tbz did here in that traveling/snake intro sequence. it’s a really fun technique that they used as a good gimmick because it’s not something we’ve seen before, and you get some great shadow effects because the projector is throwing light directionally at the performers (they have it set up close to the floor, it’s probably on a wheeled cart of some kind). however i did not like the snake intro. a bit too cheesy and out of place, especially because the asset quality didn’t match the rest of landscapes that we have been seeing.

the second smart idea, which is partially also a set and blocking thing but whatever, was that final image of the eclipse within the circle architecture with all the members standing in front of it. it was a great shot and a great ending pose, but it felt like a concept photo. like someone had that image as the idea that they then built the stage around, instead of a narrative first and then imagery after.

sound

this remix had SO much promise! those first two minutes were SO GOOD. i love that dirty discordant strings bit, it's gross and right up my alley. but it really fell off in the back half and i'm sad about that.

staging

i'm sorry tbz but.....what did you actually do differently than exo here? with the exception of the continual game of thrones references? nothing here felt transcendentally different from the original monster. and especially coming RIGHT after sf9’s move, which did go beyond its original context. this feels more like an awards show stage cover than a stage at the level of the others we’ve seen just this episode.

again like with the skz stage, there’s no conflict here. no tension. yes they do a great job covering the dance but it just isn’t enough! this is obviously personal preference and i'm sure lots of people liked the fact that it was uncomplicated, but even just a hint of narrative tension could have pushed this into more engaging territory. and if they didn’t want to do that, i would have loved to see them make up for that with extra visual spectacle. this is the no limits round! ikon is putting a full jungle on stage and these are grey cubes!

i think this is a perfect example of what i talked about at the end of my tbz section in my episode four review; this is a good performance, there are good elements at play and good ideas at their genesis, but the core of the issue is that nothing about this is transformative. all of the ideas here are just exaggerations of the original song. fuck, the snake was even IN the mv! and they didn’t even include the best part which is the lip chains! ive said before and i'll say it again; being a good artist has two steps, the first is understanding the material and its context, and the second is elevating the material from that context and synthesizing something new. tbz are really good at the first step, but terrible at the second.

---

ranking

btob - the cleanest and the most fun of the round. everything i wanted.

sf9 - fun and a good cover, despite being conceptually baffling.

ateez - very extra dramatic nonsense with an unexpected dose of sincerity. and it’s rock opera, of course i love it.

skz - fun, with some good thematic devices but generally lacking in arc. also australian accents, that’s an automatic ding.

tbz - honestly the first two minutes of the remix and the costume are holding this above 6th. it just wasn’t fully formed.

ikon - aesthetically this is a great set design and although i do love the opening and closing moments, everything else scrapes me the wrong way. super personal preference here, i’m not expecting anyone else to agree with me.

i feel like my rankings were probably pretty easy to guess if you’ve been around reading the reviews for long enough. i do have very specific tastes after all. i know sf9 ranked first in the episode but i have no idea what the other slots are. i’ll find out when i watch the episode in a couple of days, but i think yea a first for sf9 is fair. i do think its mostly because it’s a taemin song and you have to do something horrendous in order to fuck up a taemin song, but there is a lot of thought and work that went into that stage.

ok i'm done now, sorry this was later than usual, but i was busier and there were four stages that i had to review. also technical difficulties because tumblr is a garbage platform and nothing works properly. comments/questions/opinions always welcome, i know i didn't expand on a couple of points that i could have so hopefully y'all have some thoughts too!

* the type of hat that ~society~ has told you is a fedora is actually a trilby. what peniel is wearing is a real fedora, i felt the need to correct this unjust hat malignment.

** meaning ‘the appearance of being true or real.’ you do sometimes hear it used by normal people, but it’s more commonly used as a descriptor in film and theatre. it’s also one of the five rules of neoclassical theatre, which are: versimilitude, purity of form, five act structure, decorum, and purpose. the most prominent playwrights from that era are moliere and racine if youre interested in what those look like in an actual text.

#kingdom #kingdom review #btob #ateez #stray kids #the boyz #sf9 #tumblr is so broken it would NOT let me save this as a draft #does my constant hyperlinking make you angry tumblr? too bad im gonna keep doing it #i played in a jazz band in school for seven years #which is another indicator as to why i am like this #one of the first songs i remember learning was zoot suit riot #i have very strong memories of yelling RIOT during performances #i will however forever question the logic of our band teacher making us learn a song written by 'the cherry poppin daddies'#christ on a bicycle this is TEN pages #and it took a full eight hours last night and then i did like two hours of editing after i woke up #maybe i should go back to bed #ah i forgot to tag ikon again lmao #ikon #kpop analysis #text #if there are any spelling errrors do not tell me im tired of reading this #im pretty sure this is my longest review so far i decided to hate myself and did a wordcount #its 5.2K you're welcome you better get a snack for this one #i hope this is an interesting read for people ive lost all objectivity at this point #pls enjoy my semi-comprehensible word vomit!

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closertotheheartofthesunrise · 3 years

Photo

happy alyx day!!!!

i seem to perpetually have a lot going on so no special art for today unfortunately. :( but here’s some renders I did in Maya the other day after I ripped her model - plus some smaller versions screencapped straight from the render viewport bc plain old “export render” didn’t export her hair materials as dark as they appeared. idk what’s up with that exactly...needs some more work.

Anyway.....LOTS of thoughts about bideo game under the cut

HI THANKS FOR CLICKING THROUGH??? TLDR I LIKE HALF LIFE A LOT AND I ALWAYS HAVE FOR SOME REASON. AND NOW IT’S BACK AND I STILL LIKE IT

It’s now one year to the day that I, watching a Discord channel full of Valve Index owners struggling to decompress their preloaded games, finally acknowledged that I was not going to be playing Half-Life Alyx on launch day. I was sitting at my little workstation at my family’s dining room table, steadfastly blocking out the homework I had to do, thinking unhappily of my Vive in its box on the floor in my school apartment. I had no computer with which to run a game as demanding as HLA, and no comfort but Kelly Bailey’s CSGO music pack, and a friend who was going to stream the game later. I deserved this, I thought. I deserved this more than any of you.

I have no way of knowing if I did or not. I was feeling pretty helpless at the time. My family’s kitchen table was not where I was supposed to be. It haunts me as I recall it – alone with my headphones and my laptop, sealed off, surrounded by a family struggling just as hard to adapt to a new kind of world. We were all packed in together, the specter of The Plague newly looming. I wanted so badly to escape – even a vacation to City 17 would have been a sweet relief. The Quarantine Zone – ha! Alyx didn’t know the half of it.

I joke that the reason I like Half-Life so much is because I played it too young and imprinted on it, like a baby bird. There’s truth at the bottom of that joke – I was deep enough in the Orange Box fanclub that I spent an entire year anxious for the release of Portal 2 after its announcement. In 2011 I was 12, so if memory serves, I had played Half Life 2 and its episodes before I was 11 years old. Too young? Maybe. I seem to have come out ok, but I wish I could play every game in the Orange Box for the first time with the experience and life context of who I am today. There are things you are less likely to understand or identify with when you’re a kid, and I’ll never get to experience Portal or Half Life 2 for the first time with that understanding.

That being said, I loved the games anyway. I directed the kind of fanaticism towards the games that only a child with unsupervised internet access, no responsibilities, and what likely should be an ADHD diagnosis can muster. I printed out a picture of GLaDOS and carried it around in my pocket, a budding artist’s reference photo. I vibrated in place every time I saw a crowbar. I drew lambdas on things. I had an ipod shuffle that I listened to in the car on the way to school – I loaded it with every Half-Life song, and Portal 2 music stems I ripped from the game with GCFscape. I had the general order of the playlist memorized, so that I knew if I skipped around and heard Vortal Combat, I was at the first song in the playlist, and I could click out of shuffle mode to go backwards to my newly added songs. The ipod had a button that spoke the names of songs out loud to you in a funny text-to-speech voice, because it didn’t have a screen. I can still hear it doing its best to handle those stems - “sp_a2_part2_coretransfer”, right?

But we’re here to talk about Half Life. For a period that may have lasted up to three years, it consumed me. I searched “half life 2 episode 3” and every possible variation up on google news a few times a week. I made my parents listen to the soundtrack. I have faint memories of trawling FF.N for fanfiction to occupy my little self, as well as a few forays onto Ao3. I spent most of my time on deviantart, although I couldn’t tell you what I was actually DOING on there, haha. I was digging through middle school notebooks a few days ago, and found a handful that were packed with Valve ephemera…unfinished and unfocused fanfiction, musings on how to mash Portal and Half Life canon together, fiction featuring actual Valve employees, unsteady drawings of hunters and Team Fortress 2 characters and how I thought Episode 3 was going to play out.

And then…I got tired. I graduated from 8th grade and discovered Sherlock and Homestuck and Doctor Who and gleefully immersed myself in their work and fandoms. (You had to be there.) It was nice to lurk in a live community, and as I worked through high school, Steven Universe, Gravity Falls, and assorted animated things took over as tentpole media. I moved across the country. I graduated from high school and enrolled in an animation program at a local university. And I grew up.

One fateful day in November 2019, I was sitting in an art history class. I had my sketchbook open next to my notes, and I had a red pen I’d picked up at work that was a joy to doodle with. I was thinking about a set of character designs a classmate had shown a few hours ago, ones that had sparked thoughts I hadn’t had in at least seven years. As my professor showed slides of Northern Renaissance still lives, I drew a place I’d never been, yet seemed to remember as well as my old neighborhood.

(I’d like to note, just to flex, that I know you can’t see the Citadel from that angle. I was making a conscious choice to try to hit every landmark in one picture, and that’s the angle I started from.)

A few hours later, Valve announced Half-Life Alyx – the first Half-Life game in thirteen years. I watched the trailer on my phone on a bench at school. Then I watched it at work, a few minutes before my shift. Then I watched it again.

I didn’t know what to think. I’d read Epistle Three - I’d closed the book. I’d already mourned. It was like a dead friend returning from the grave.

Then it grew. I had to play this game.

I’d attended a VR demo through my school’s video game development club a year ago. It had been magical – I and my friend were the last ones to leave. I thought as I left that VR was truly something different and unique, impressed beyond belief by Space Pirate Trainer and Tilt Brush. This is what I try to impress on everyone I talk about VR with – there’s no substitute for being inside a headset. A stream is a pale facsimile of the experience. Now, here was a new Half Life game, and I finally had an excuse to purchase a VR system.

What I didn’t realize was that I needed a proper computer to run the used Vive I ended up buying in February, and as I was preparing to build my proper VR computer, everything went to shit. As the year passed I scrapped together a tower on the back of a broken system I got from a friend, and finally – finally – in February 2021, I had a computer that could run Half-Life Alyx. (I have learned a lot about computers in the last year! So much fun.)

And when I had everything set up, I was playing a new Half-Life game!! a NEW one! Even through a new medium, it felt like home in a way I really didn’t expect. I still don’t know how to express it. It’s nice to play a Half-Life game where I didn’t know what was coming next, where the maps and story weren’t burnt into my brain. Part of me imagined it felt good to be in the Source engine again. Maybe it just felt good to return to City 17. And it was soooo much fun, every minute of it.

The other thing was that…I got to experience the game as an adult, one with about 8/9ths of an animation degree. I know about the production pipeline now, and writing a good story, and directing the viewer’s eye, and setup and payoff cinematography and vistas and visual storytelling. Playing through HLA is playing through a work of art. I almost wished I didn’t know anything about Valve’s game design philosophy, because then I wouldn’t have noticed how the devs were playing me like a fiddle – but how much fun it was to be that fiddle.

I finished Half Life Alyx a few weeks ago, on March 12th – just one day after the anniversary of the last day of school. I thought my gaming habits had dropped off since 2013 because I had moved on to other interests, but I wonder now if it’s simply because I ran out of linear, single-player FPSes to play. (Or maybe none appealed to me.) I like to know that I’m always going in the right direction, and that my story is intentional and will come to a climax in a satisfying way. Do I owe my preference in game styles to my 2010-13 obsessions? Maybe. I don’t think it matters by now. What I DO know is that my childhood ambition of working at Valve now looms again...

And of course, 11-year-old me is completely blissed out. I can’t wait to see what they do next. It’s been so much fun to return to this world in the past year, to use the powers I’ve gained in the last decade to fulfil my childhood ambitions of expressing my love for the universe and characters. Thanks for coming back for us, Valve.

#oc #writing #half life #half life alyx #alyx vance #i'll try and upload a bunch of my half life doodles in celebration today too - I have a lot I've never posted and you know?#in a fandom this small it's nice to share #mine

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shadowetienne · 3 years

Text

Kpop/Cpop Obsessions Post, Ver 5.2

First Made: 2021/10/23 Edited: 2022/5/28 Edited: 2023/2/13

I’ve been long overdue making a new version of this post, and with some recent time with friends spent getting to know a bunch of new groups that I’d not been previously familiar with among 4th gen Kpop, it seems like a good time to finally make a new one.

EDIT 1 [2022/5/28]: I’ve not comeback to this for a while because I’ve been swamped in first year teaching, but I’m in a contemplative mood tonight, and it’s a long weekend, so I’m going through and adding/adjusting some things.

EDIT 2 [2023/2/13]: I’ve not come back to this for a while again (oops). Life sure is. I’m going to go through and add/adjust some things, and hopefully get this a little (a lot) more up to date.

The goal of this post is to go over which groups and solo artists I like a lot and will post about. Some of these artists go long stretches without doing much before cropping back up, so don’t be surprised if there’s not much from them on my blog for a while and then there is a sudden avalanche.

I’m going to try to add a favorite MV (and favorite song if my favorite song doesn’t have an MV) and bias(es) to show what makes me like the group a little more.

The rest is under a cut for length. (I am also always happy to chat about these groups, so feel free to shoot me an ask or a message about them!)

KPOP

I’m switching back to starting with Kpop for this iteration of the post because while it’s a newer love for me than Cpop, it’s also a much more accessible to me love than Cpop (despite speaking a reasonable amount of Mandarin and next to no Korean). I didn’t get into Kpop until around 2011 (in contrast to 1999 for Cpop), but man is it just a lot more present on things like YouTube and Spotify.

Boy Groups

This is going to be a mix of some old favorites and some new favorites, but I’ve been quite impressed with a lot of the 4th gen boy groups. I’m focusing on at least somewhat active groups in this post, but there are a lot of older groups that if they suddenly reemerged to activity I would be very excited for.

Seventeen:

My all time favorite group! Seventeen is on the short list of Kpop groups that I have seen in concert, and their Ode to You concert was my first Kpop concert. I also went to Be The Sun. I have liked every single song that they’ve ever released, and that is saying something. For me to put a group into the “I like them” category, I have to consistently like at least some of their songs. Even on some of my other favorite groups, there are songs here and there that I’m just kind of “eh?” about, but that’s not been the case for Seventeen. They just fall right into that sound that I like (basically, I’m beginning to suspect that my musical tastes are very very similar to Woozi’s). I love their performance aspect as well, their dances and choreography are amazing, and they are just a lot of fun to follow. I was a little bit concerned with the Pledis move to Hybe, but I think that Woozi’s distinctive sound that carries through the vast majority of their music is keeping them right in my tastes. Favorite Members: Junhui (Jun), Wonwoo, Jihoon (Woozi) Favorite MV/Song: “Shadow,” “Don’t Wanna Cry,” “Home,” “Rock With You” (but the list honestly goes on)

OnlyOneOf:

It’s been a while since I’ve fallen into a group as hard and as fast as I fell into liking OnlyOneOf, and in many ways they were a catalyst for me really starting to get into new groups again. I love that starting with “libidO” they have been telling queer stories in their music and MVs consistently and with commitment. I’ll be attending their concert in SF in April 2023, and we are going to be driving 15 hours each way for it (give or take). They’ve been through a lot as a group, and they have risen to even more amazing heights for me. I love love love their solo series, and just the way that they tell stories and their engagement and involvement in their own art. Favorite Members: Rie, Junji Favorite MV/Song: “libidO,” “cOy,” honestly a lot more

Enhypen:

This is a group that I have more than one weird connection to, and I’m really glad that I deeply enjoy their music because I would feel weird not loving them as a group. The weird connection that I’ll talk about publically is that I followed Sunghoon’s skating career. The first time that I watched him skate (granted via stream) was when he was still a novice level skater, and it’s weird in a good/I’m proud of him way to see him all grown up in his new career. If we talk, I might discuss the more important connection privately. I love their music and their concepts! Favorite Members: Jay, Sunoo, Jungwon Favorite Songs: “Blessed-Cursed,” “I Need The Light”

Oneus:

So this is a group that I’ve liked at least some since debut. It took me a little while to really really get into them, despite consistently liking a lot of their music. There was a member who rubbed me the wrong way (guess who with my incredible track record of who leaves groups), and I hadn’t quite been hooked. With “Luna” I got super super into them, and then when the Malus album came out, that was on repeat. I got pointed at Seoho/Leedo covers at some point around there too, and I kind of desperately want more of that combo. Favorite Members: Seoho, Leedo, Hwanwoong Favorite Songs: “Luna,” “Same Scent,” “Life Is Beautiful,” literally the entire Malus album

Onewe:

I feel like I have to talk about them alongside their brother group. I’ve liked them since they were MAS 0094, and they’ve grown and evolved as musicians. They are my one Kpop band that I absolutely love, though I am passingly fond of several others. I have a lot of feelings about their music. Favorite Members: Dongmyeong, Harin Favorite Songs: “Veronica,” “AuRoRa,” “Beginning of Spring,” basically their entire discography?

Ateez:

I thought that they were pretty good at debut, liked some of their songs, but never really got super into them until recently. I’ve now done a full discography listen, determined that I like a lot of their stuff, but am also kind of glad that I got into them during Deja Vu era. It’s been a good era. I love how well rounded they are as a group, and I love how dramatic and well executed a lot of their sound is. Their storyline usage is fascinating, and I will continue to look forward to its development. Favorite Members: Seonghwa, Yeosang Favorite MV/Song: “Eternal Sunshine,” “Wave,” “Turbulence”

Golden Child:

This is a group whose music I’ve been quite fond of since debut, and I only really started getting into properly around 2021. I honestly can’t entirely explain that one because I’ve liked a lot of their music for a long time! They are so consistently good, and I really love watching them perform, but it just finally clicked this era for some reason (maybe people to talk Kpop stuff with, that’s my best guess). The vocal depth in this group is incredible and they just live in a set of sounds that I love. Woolim’s music production value is, per usual, very much a thing that I appreciate. Favorite Members: Y, Seungmin, Bomin, Joochan Favorite MV/Song: “DDARA,” “Pump It Up,” “Singing in the Rain,” “Spell,” “Burn It,” like most of their songs honestly?

E’last:

I’ve adored them since debut, and I’m glad that they still seem to be going strong despite the past few years. Their vocal line is so deep, I love their symphonic huge sound that they use, and they’re charming and ridiculous and delightful. They’re incredible dancers too, and it’s really interesting to see how they use choreography in conjunction with their music. Favorite Members: Won Hyuk, Baekgyul, Choi In, Seungyeop (yes I know that’s half the group, no I won’t narrow it down) Favorite MV/Song: uhhh, yes? “Tears of Chaos” I guess, “Shelter”

Tempest:

I was so excited for their debut, and they are off to a running start with incredible music and a really lovely team dynamic. I’ve pretty much liked all of their songs so far, and I’m very excited to see what else they end up doing at this point! Favorite Members: Hyuk, LEW, Hyeongseop, Hanbin Favorite MV/Song: “Taste the Feeling,” honestly most of their songs?

Stray Kids:

I’m going to say right now, this snuck up on me and hit me upside the head basically. I actually didn’t like them at debut, and I still don’t like their pre-late 2019 releases for mostly synesthesia related reasons (I smell/taste sounds, voices are often a pretty prominent flavor, and flavor composition changed in my favor). I love their rhythmic elements, and I am 100% sure I know which 3racha member I share the most music tastes with based on the fact that I like pretty much all of the songs that are his songs (it’s Han, this is probably going to be obvious if you’ve noticed anything that I’ve posted about them). From a musical standpoint, I love what they do rhythmically, and manage to have a noisy sound that works for me. I’m excited to see where they go in the future! I will note, Stray Kids can be hit and miss for me. I didn’t like anything in the Maxident album particularly, but I still love them a lot as a group, and they are incredible performers. I have seen them in concert during the Maniac tour in Seattle (got to be there for Seungmin realizing he could get the audience to swear, and that was the tipping point of him being fully on my bias list). Favorite Members: Han, Lee Know, Seungmin Favorite MV/Song: “Phobia,” “Neverending Story,” “Placebo,” “Thunderous,” “Winter Falls”

Others:

There are a bunch more boy groups that I like. Here’s a decent list of other ones that you might see me post (biases in parentheses): TXT (Huening Kai, Soobin), A.C.E. (Jun, Wow), The Boyz (Ju Haknyeon, New), WEi (Donghan, Seokhwa), Cravity (Minhee, Jungmo), Drippin (Hyeop, Changuk), BtoB (Hyunsik, Minhyuk), Pentagon (Yanan, Hui), and a decent number of others at least in passing. This list grows and changes over time, and I am mostly not listing disbanded/inactive groups that I will forever love.

Girl Groups

I’ve had some recent losses of groups on the girl groups front, so if it seems like some of these are less fleshed out than they sometimes are, that’s why. I’m focusing on at least somewhat active groups in this post, but there are a lot of older groups that if they suddenly reemerged to activity I would be very excited for. This also means that if a group has disbanded, they won’t be on here even if I’m still fond of them.

Rocket Punch:

I love their upbeat, bouncy style, and the members are all really charming I’m really looking forward to seeing how they will just get better and better as a group over time. Favorite MV/Song: “Ring Ring” Favorite Members: Suyun, Yunkyeong

Everglow:

Again, this is a group where I really love their sound, and also really love their dance. I’m really curious to see where they go with their music as they get more established, but I enjoy their sort of style and concept a lot. Favorite MV/Song: “La Di Da” Favorite Members: Sihyeon, Yiren

Le Sserafim:

This is a group that I’ve been anticipating because I loved Yunjin on PD48, and I’ve been hoping to see her reach debut for a long time now. This was a spectacular debut for her, and I’m glad to see members of Iz*one get continuations to their careers. Favorite MV/Song: “Blue Flame” Favorite Members: Yunjin, Kazuha

Billlie:

As they’ve had a few comebacks, I’ve really fallen into adoring their music! I love the rock sound that they lean into, and I love their vocal depth as a team. Favorite MV/Song: “Ring Ma Bell” Favorite Members: Haram, Suhyeon

Dreamcatcher:

They’ve been on the verge of being on this list for a long time, but with me really starting to dig into their discography at last, and remembering just how consistently I like their sound, they belong here! Favorite MV/Song: “Maison,” “Vision” Favorite Members: Handong, Jiu

Others:

I also like a pretty wide array of girl groups. Some of the ones that spring to mind (biases in parentheses): WJSN (Dawon, Luda), (G)-idle (Yuqi), Mamamoo (Moonbyul), Lightsum (Chowon), and quite a few others including a lot of really strong recent (past year or so) debuts that I’m still forming full opinions of. Also, I’ve got to mention my favorite female soloists right now, Chungha and Lee Chaeyeon, and my favorite female duet Keembo (Kim Bohyung & Kim Boa).

CPOP

Cpop was my introduction to pop music properly with Jolin Tsai and Wang Leehom back in 1999 when they were just having their respective debuts. Both of them are artists that I still love. Cpop as an industry is much more rife with soloists than Kpop, so while I tend to actively prefer groups to soloists, there are a lot of soloists that I am really into in Cpop.

Some boy groups I love (biases in parentheses): Oner (Ling Chao), Nex7 (Zhengting), Uniq [technically also Kpop] (Wenhan), many of the ones that were connected to the various Idol Producer/Youth With You, Produce Camp seasons.

Some girl groups I love (biases in parentheses): There aren’t a lot of current girl groups I’m really invested in in Cpop, though I’d love to change that. I follow most of the groups connected to Youth With You or Produce 101/Produce Camp at some level.

Other soloists I love: Sunnee, Angela Hui, Li Yuchun, Liu Yuxin, a lot of the ones associated with the various IP/YWY, PD101/PC seasons.

Since I’ve mentioned it a fair amount, here’s my quick thoughts on the various PD101 China/Produce Camp & Idol Producer/Youth With You season final groups:

Nine Percent Overall, I was pretty happy with the line up of this group, and they had some great songs. I posted a lot about Idol Producer while it was happening, so you can dig through old posts if you look for that tag. Favorite Members: Zhu Zhengting, You Zhangjing, Lin Yanjun

Rocket Girls I had some disappointments with this line up, but I was also incredibly happy that a few of my favorites made it through, somewhat against my expectations after Korean iterations of this show. Again, I posted about this heavily while it was airing. Favorite Members: Sunnee, Lai Meiyun

UNINE This was line up wise probably my favorite boys season across the board of Cpop competition shows of this genre to date. I loved the line up, and had a lot of thoughts and feelings about the show as it aired. Favorite Members: Li Wenhan, Li Zhenning, Yao Bonan (then known as Yao Mingming)

R1SE In contrast, I wasn’t super into this season. A lot of my favorites were eliminated kind of early, though the one that made it through to the final episode also made it through to the final group. Favorite Members: Zhao Lei

Bonbon Girls I went into this season feeling kind of jaded towards Produce Camp and not expecting much. Turned out that some of my favorites did quite well, and there were some really good stages. A really vocally rich season. Favorite Members: Chen Zhouxuan, Curley Gao

THE9 I came into this season with strong feelings about some of the contestants and really wanting to see them succeed, but not sure that there was much chance, in the case of the one who was my most favorite, knowing that she’d had both prior success and prior negative responses. It turns out that this final group was really delightful as a line up for me. Favorite Members: Liu Yuxin, Xie Keyin, Kiki, Lu Keran

INTO1 The concept of this season as a global season was interesting, and I thought that there were ways that it paid off well, and also ways that it turned out a little disappointing. There were some members that I was really happy with, but my absolute favorite contestant, while he surprised me in getting to the final had no real chance of making it into the group (Xue Bayi). Favorite Members: Liu Yu, Bo Yuan, Rikimaru, Lin Mo

IXFORM This season went from one of my favorites in some ways to a mess that almost ended up with no debut, and I still feel bad for the kids involved in the mess. I do quite like a lot of the final line up, though there are a good chunk of my favorites that didn’t make it. Not sure if that’s a bad thing for them all things considered. Favorite Members: Sun Yinghao, Liu Jun, Duan Xingxing

[Cpop list definitely still needs a fair bit of updating. (Still true as of 2023/2/13)]

#kpop #cpop #long post #personal #kpop and cpop obsessions

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recentanimenews · 3 years

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FEATURE: How the 2011 Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami Influenced Anime Over the Past Decade

Image via Netflix

In a single moment, everything changed; after one great shake of the earth, the world was never the same again. Today marks the 10th anniversary of the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami, also known as 3.11 in Japan. At a magnitude of 9.0, it was the biggest earthquake to ever hit the island. The earthquake, and the subsequent tsunami that followed, also killed an estimated 15,899, injured 6,157, and was the most expensive natural disaster in history. The meltdown of the Fukushima Daini Nuclear Power Plant followed — rendering parts of Japan uninhabitable to this day — with many still unable to go back to their home even ten years on.

The shaking was felt all the way in Tokyo and beyond, leaving physical scars on the world’s biggest metropolitan area. This was nothing compared to the devastation seen in the prefectures of Miyagi, Fukushima, and Iwate. For those who lived through the event, whether that be in Tohoku or Tokyo, the feelings of that day have left psychological scars that have influenced their daily lives.

Image via Netflix

Aftershocks from the seismic event can still be felt even today: a magnitude 7.3 earthquake hit the region a little under a month ago, raising fears that another big quake could shake Japan at any time in the near future.

For creators living in Japan, these overwhelming emotions have manifested in their works. Creators such as Hayao Miyazaki, Masaaki Yuasa, Hideaki Anno, and Makoto Shinkai have internalized the events that transpired in their backyard and used 3.11 to help spread awareness, unravel some of the hanging threads, or even try and bring hope and happiness to fans.

Hayao Miyazaki looking at the debris leftover from 3.11 in an NHK documentary

Image via NHK

Hayao Miyazaki isn’t one to mince words and always just gets on with the job. A few weeks after 3.11, the Studio Ghibli director introduced his son’s latest work at the time, From Up on Poppy Hill. While Miyazaki tried to keep the press focused on the film, inevitably the topic of the tragedy from two weeks ago arose. Responding to why he felt it was okay to hold a press conference after the earthquake, Miyazaki spoke about his local bakery, explaining that “the old man at the bakery where I always buy dumplings and sweets has continued to make bread. That's why I think we should keep making movies.”

At the time, Miyazaki dismissed the thought that 3.11 would affect how he made his next work. But in a 2013 interview with Jiji upon the release of his then “final work” The Wind Rises, the director said the film “has not been affected by the earthquake or the nuclear accident. [The idea] was there from the beginning. I think that the times have caught up with us and overtaken us.” The Wind Rises contains a very realistic – almost chilling – interpretation of the 1923 Great Kanto earthquake.

youtube

The earthquake scene from The Wind Rises

For Japan Sinks 2020, Masaaki Yuasa used some of his own experiences to highlight how characters would be feeling in the moment. In multiple scenes, the main characters are left worrying about what is going on without a clear line of communication – in fact, sometimes getting misinformation from sources not fully aware of the situation.

Yuasa himself explained in an interview in AnimeAnime that he felt like he didn’t know what was the “correct information” when he felt the quake in Tokyo in 2011. As he looked for information online, he heard rumors that Tokyo was in imminent danger. He was scared. Reflecting, Yuasa knew in his “heart” that he wasn’t as scared as those in the Tohoku region, but was “horrified” by what he saw on the news. Yuasa used a lot of those emotions he felt at the time to aid in telling the Japan Sinks 2020 story.

Image via Netflix

But it wasn’t just anime creators who were affected by 3.11. The 8th part of the JoJo's Bizarre Adventure manga series, JoJolion, debuted only a few months after the quake in 2011. Set in a town called Morioh (similar to the town in Diamond is Unbreakable), the location is based on manga creator Hirohiko Araki’s hometown of Sendai. The manga was being conceptualized when the earthquake occurred and Araki felt that he “couldn't avoid” touching on the subject in the series, he said in an Asashi Shimbun interview in 2014.

Araki’s family home, which had been around for 14 generations, was also swept away in the tsunami. He added that was shocked at the loss of his childhood home and felt that he should draw manga to bring entertainment to readers and fans.

Araki wasn’t the only manga creator to touch on the events of 3.11 in their long-running series. Tetsu Kariya’s long-running series Oshinbo touched on some controversial aspects of the aftermath of the tragedy, with one of the characters in the series suffering from a nosebleed after being in the town of Futaba – a town that is still not open to the public.

This caused an outcry with government officials on the national and prefectural level, with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe saying that “the government will make the best effort to take action against baseless rumors” in reference to the manga. These protests saw the collected volume version of the arc change some of the wording slightly as to “clarify the intention of what was said," and that "some of the characters' lines have been altered.” The series has been on hiatus after the arc ended two chapters later in May 2014.

Image via Netflix

The Japanese government was also at the forefront of Hideaki Anno’s 2016 film Shin Godzilla, with many reviewers noting the similarities between the government in the film and what had occurred in the aftermath of 3.11. As Godzilla walks the neighborhoods of Kanagawa, waters rise, boats come ashore, and people are fleeing en-masse, meanwhile, the government is claiming that everything will be okay.

This sharp social satire of the events may be skin deep as the film goes on, but exposes the fact that Japan has a recent event that is very real and emotive to reference. Shin Godzilla Producer Akihiro Yamauchi explained in a 2016 Nippon.com interview that 3.11 “changed Japan more than anything else in the past 12 years.” He went on to say that the film had the option of “escaping into fantasy...but Anno-san and I talked it over and we both agreed that an approach like that would be meaningless.”

Image via Netflix

Makoto Shinkai’s 2016 movie Your Name, was directly influenced by the 2011 earthquake and the change in the psyche of the Japanese people. Taki, the male protagonist, at one moment in the movie says “You will never know when Tokyo could become like this,” vocalizing the fear that festers away in many people living in Japan.

Genki Kawamura, a producer on both Your Name and Weathering with You, explained at a discussion at the Aoyama Shachu think tank in 2019 that “Your Name is aware of the Great East Japan earthquake.” Shinkai later explained in a 2017 interview with Huffington Post Japan that the disaster aspect of Your Name is only the underlying layer of the film, and the film had to end the way it did for it to feel complete to both him and the audience.

In a 2018 Makoto Shinkai Exhibition in Sendai, the first prototype sketch drawn of Your Name by Shinkai was shown to the public. It depicted the area of Yuriage in Natori City, Miyagi prefecture, which was completely wiped out in the tsunami. The population of the area only had 30 minutes to evacuate before waters overtook the town. There weren’t many survivors.

Image via Asahi Shimbun

Shinkai visited the area of Yuriage in July 2011 and drew the sketch shortly after, which later became the springboard for what then became Your Name. He said solemnly in a TBS program “This could have been my town.”

Shinkai explained in the Huffington Post interview that 3.11 changed the way people in Japan thought about the world. "Before they’d think that “somehow...Japanese society will continue as it is," he said. "But since 2011, I think that idea has collapsed. The town does not remain a town forever.”

Because of this, Shinkai decided to focus on the little things that made up life: A late train, cutting up food, texting. Shinkai thought it was “necessary to draw meaning from the monotony of daily life.” Nowadays these beautifully crafted moments from Shinkai’s works are shared online as some sort of social media anime ASMR.

In the end, Shinkai’s main driving factor for the film was to make the audience “happy.” And it struck a chord with a wide audience, as the film would later go on to become the third highest-grossing anime film of all time worldwide.

Image via Netflix

As we look back at how one event changed the world view of many, it’s good to know that despite the hardships faced in the unexpected, the desire to create and bring smiles to audiences perseveres. Many creators have used 3.11 as a chance to reflect, and it's only to be seen how the long tail of 3.11 continues to impact creators and their works.

The Tohoku region is still feeling the effects of the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami, with families torn apart and homes unable to be returned to. Japan NPO Center has a website set up with ways to donate to local charities and not-for-profit organizations within the Tohoku region that has been set up to serve affected communities.

Daryl Harding is a Japan Correspondent for Crunchyroll News. He also runs a YouTube channel about Japan stuff called TheDoctorDazza, tweets at @DoctorDazza, and posts photos of his travels on Instagram.

Do you love writing? Do you love anime? If you have an idea for a features story, pitch it to Crunchyroll Features.

By: Daryl Harding

#Anime #News #Latest in Anime News by Crunchyroll!

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natromanxoff · 3 years

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Queen live at Cumberland County Civic Centre in Portland ME, USA - November 11, 1977

Not only this was the only concert where Sleeping On The Sidewalk was played (although we still have no idea if it was sung by Brian or Freddie) but something else happened as an eyewitness says: "It was the very first time Freddie had the crowd singing to Love Of My Life. I KNOW the crowd I was in that night were singing it at he top of our lungs and I DO remember Freddie looking at us in amazement that we knew all the words and were VERY loud about it."

(x)

Queen have revamped their show quite a bit for this tour promoting their new album, News Of The World. This is the first tour for which they don't bring a support act - their show is longer, running at roughly two hours a night. Visually, they now have a scaled down version of the Earls Court crown as their lighting rig, which was built in Boston.

The album was a return to basics for Queen, as most of the tracks saw very few overdubs. As a result, most of the songs translated well to the stage, and very quickly. We Will Rock You, We Are The Champions, Sheer Heart Attack, Spread Your Wings, Get Down Make Love, and My Melancholy Blues are all heard on this tour, and are most likely performed for the first time tonight. I'm In Love With My Car and Love Of My Life from A Night At The Opera are also heard live for the first time at this show. Roger sings the former as he did on the album.

In a radio interview earlier in the year, he had this to say about singing lead in concert from behind the drums: "In the context of Queen it's not an easy thing to do. I sing a lot from the drums, but to sing lead on stage, the vocalist should be focal point in concert. For the drummer to sing, I think the whole thing loses a lot somehow." Still, they gave I'm In Love With My Car a try, and it would be played nearly every night through 1981. It would never be performed completely. After the "Cars don't talk back; they're just four-wheeled friends now" line, the band would slightly extend the instrumental section of the song before coming to an abrupt end.

Sleeping On The Sidewalk, however, wouldn't fare so well. They played Brian's bluesy News Of The World number early on the tour, with Freddie on the lead vocal, but it was soon dropped after only three performances.

On this tour the show would begin with a tape of the stomp-stomp-clap of the studio version of We Will Rock You being played. A spotlight would appear on Freddie on one side of the stage where he would sing only the first verse and a chorus (with vocals from the record also being heard), after which another spotlight would be on Brian for the climatic guitar solo. They would then leave the stage amidst dry ice to perform a faster, more straight-ahead rock version of the song. This fast version of the song would prove to be a very effective concert opener, and would be played at most shows from now through the end of 1982.

Death On Two Legs has been cut down, and segues into Killer Queen as part of a much longer medley. Good Old Fashioned Lover Boy follows, as it did earlier in the year.

Get Down Make Love would always be performed with the second verse and chorus omitted. The middle section would never be performed the same way twice, featuring Brian May on the E-bow along with a harmonizer pedal, and vocal gymnastics from Freddie, creating new sounds and treading new ground every night. The Millionaire Waltz and You're My Best Friend close the medley through May of next year.

Spread Your Wings would be performed on this tour with a much more aggressive beat by Roger (in double time) during the improv at the end of the song, like the BBC version recorded on October 28. This song, along with It's Late, would rotate in the setlist in autumn 1977, but they would be heard every night in 1978 and in much of 1979.

Love Of My Life would be performed very differently on stage than on the record, with Brian on guitar instead of Freddie on piano, performed a key and a half lower. Over the years it would develop into a number where audiences of all sizes would sing along, as heard on the various live albums and videos. Although few US audiences sang along with the song, a fan who attended this show fondly recalls Freddie's surprise when some audience members were singing along (thanks to Cameron Myers for confirming). By 1979, singalongs and vocal duels between Freddie and the audience became staples of Queen's live set.

Like the A Day At The Races tour, the segment of The Prophet's Song after White Man is a vocal solo by Freddie, but on this tour it leads into a guitar solo. Brian May's solo spots during this period were his most experimental, as he created many unique sounds every night. Unlike every other tour, he was tuned to drop-D (for the segment of The Prophet's Song to come), which was at least partially responsible for making room for that creativity.

On this tour Brian used his E-bow for the first segment of his solo spot. He recalled in 2004: "It was very useful for starting off my long solo at one point. I could make long Whale-like noises by gently moving the device up to a position over a low string. Along with use of the Tremolo to zoom the pitch way down, and the delays I was using at the time, it gave a lot of scope for building up weird textures. I really enjoyed it if the mood was developing well that night. Usually at some point after a couple of minutes I would lob the E-bow in Jobby's direction, and lay into the guitar with a pick instead, going into more rhythmic areas."

At the end of the opera section of Bohemian Rhapsody, Freddie now emerges from a trap door under the stage.

Tie Your Mother Down is now the final song of the set proper, where it would remain through 1982, with a few exceptions.

The punk element of the era made its way into Queen's show, via the high-energy of Sheer Heart Attack. The song's performance would evolve over time, and soon the band, particularly Freddie, would really ham it up. For now only a small portion of the song is performed, and with a giant snare fill from Roger it merges into Jailhouse Rock. Brian May recalled in 2003: "Strangely enough it was Roger who would wince when someone suggested Sheer Heart Attack as an extra encore â€“ it was totally draining for him to keep up that pattern, especially when we got into it and it got more and more extended in our enthusiasm."

We Will Rock You would be played once again near the end of the show on this tour, but this time the band would encourage audience participation - clapping and singing along to a song that would soon become an anthem for the band and rock music as a whole. Only the first verse would be played on the News Of The World tour. The second and third verses would be added for the Jazz tour and beyond.

John Deacon has switched back to his Fender Precision bass, which he'd use through to the end of Queen's touring days.

This is the first tour where Queen are well-off enough to afford their own private plane to travel between cities.

The first photo is from Shepperton Studios in London, where they spent the last week of October rehearsing (note that Freddie is holding the News Of The World inner sleeve, as he's still in the midst of memorizing the lyrics).

Footage of the band running through Good Old Fashioned Lover Boy and The Millionaire Waltz at Shepperton was seen at the "Stormtroopers in Stilettoes" exhibition in London in 2011. The footage, along with some of the dates on the ensuing tour, was filmed by Bob Harris and his Old Grey Whistle Test crew for a documentary intended to be aired in early 1978, but it took over 30 years for any of it to be seen. Other bits of the rehearsal footage were seen in the "American Dream" documentary on the News Of The World box set released in 2017.

The second row of photos are from a 1978 German magazine. This piece in Bravo primarily focused on the Portland show, so the photos may well be from this night.

#queen #queen band #roger taylor #freddie mercury #brian may #john deacon #queen concerts

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sheliesshattered · 3 years

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Those of you who have been following my personal posts know the first part of this week was really rough on the homefront. Probably the most difficult 48 hours I’ve ever had to go through, and even now that the hard part is over, the work and the stress and the worry of it is done, I’m still left with the grief, and I know that’s going to take awhile. Jack and I are working through it together, he’s really embraced my religious views on the whole thing as his own, and I think the combination of the two has been hugely, hugely helpful for both of us. But it’s a process, it always is, and it’s not one that can be rushed or wished away.

So for those two days, Monday and Tuesday this week, I really had to put my work on First Christmas on the back burner. It was a lovely comfort and a distraction when I was able to focus on it, but for those two days I only managed to do some editing -- significant editing that got the first ~4500 words into their ready-to-publish state, but still just editing -- so I think I was actually down about 10 words over all for those two days.

Yesterday I sat down to re-read what Jack and I had edited most recently, and while I still really want to get this story done in time for the holidays, I didn’t set very high expectations for myself for the day, given how fresh the entire homefront situation was. I figured I’d do a little editing, maybe try to get the 100 or so words written that were needed to connect up that first finished chunk with the next large section I had written.

Well, I did that, I got those lines written and those scenes woven together without any missing bits. And then I edited the next sequence to get it ready for Jack to look at. Then I added the few lines at the end of that section that were needed to wrap up the scene. Then I did the transition into the scene after that, and checked the episode transcript to see how much I wanted to keep and how much was superfluous to this version of the episode. And then I wrote that -- and then remembered there was a whole other thing I needed to weave in to set up something in the final act of the story, so I rewrote that whole scene until it hung together well. Then I pushed through to the end of that scene, and finally made myself take a break to go shower.

I thought up a few snippets of dialogue for the last portion of the story while I was in the shower, so once I had those jotted down, I finally thought to check my word count for the day--

And realized I’d just passed 2000 new words for the day, and the overall wordcount for all of For As Long As We Get had broken 50,000. O_o

Final tally for yesterday was 2011 words, nearly all of them in the portion that’s consecutive from the beginning. First Christmas is currently sitting at 10,913 words, with 9,313 words finished straight through from the beginning of the story. The portion Jack edited earlier this week was ~4500 words, so I’ve got about that much again, little more, ready for him to do his ready-to-publish final edit on soon. We found that Honeymoon was so long that it really was much easier to edit it in portions, so we’re doing that again with this story. Trying to get the next section ready for him to look at is a huge motivation for writing just a little more, just a little more, and clearly that worked wonders yesterday.

I need to read over all the stuff I wrote yesterday and give it a good edit to make sure it’s ready for Jack to look at. I think story-wise and word-count-wise we’re probably at the about 2/3rds finished mark. There’s still a chunk of plot to go, and then the denouement, so I can’t imagine First Christmas will end up being any less than 13,000 words at the very minimum. Honeymoon clocked in at about 14,400, and I think First Christmas will probably end up right around there, maybe even a touch longer, just depending on how long it takes to get through all the story bits I want to tell. And I’ve got two different sets of ending lines sketched in, so some words may end up getting cut once I get to that point and try to make the two scenes play well together.

Five days to go until my self-imposed deadline of December 21st, and a week until Christmas Eve. I would really prefer not to spend any of my late Christmas Eve or Christmas day writing or editing or posting, so exactly 7 days from right now is pretty much my must-have-it-done-by real deadline. But just as soon as it’s finished, I’ll post it, I won’t sit on this one once it’s done. If I can manage a few more days like this with word counts in the four digit range, I think I should be able to get it all finished and posted in time for Christmas.

Despite how much I’ve been focusing on the process of writing this, and the environment in which it’s being written, with everything going on at home, I am so excited for you guys to get to read it. There are a lot of little moments in this that I’ve been spinning up in some cases for months, and bits of the rewrite that I am really proud of. And I’ve never actually managed to write a holiday-themed story and get it posted at the holidays, so that’ll be a lot of fun for me, and hopefully for you guys as well.

Thank you to everyone who has been so supportive while I’ve been writing this, and to everyone who sent sweet messages about the homefront situation. You guys make being involved in this fandom such an absolute joy. ❤️

Hokay, editor cap on. Let’s see how much progress I can make today.

#process thoughts #this is my real life #my writing #First Christmas #For As Long As We Get #posting this without proofreading it bc I am revved up and ready to go edit the stuff I added to FC yesterday :D #let's do this

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george-mackay-macfine · 4 years

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Dear Diary prt. 6

A/N sorry I’m a idiot, who doesn’t post things properly, here is the second go at the next part of Dear Diary.

Requested:

Word Count: 6,000

September 29th, 2011

Dear Diary,

Sorry I haven’t had the chance to write much over the last few days, Classes have just started and things are crazy, but to quickly update you.

Living with two boys is easier than I thought it would be. They’re both respectful, and I haven’t seen any stray penis’ yet. Which is a good thing I suppose,

Harry is still seeing that girl, Elle. She’s actually really nice… Even if she is over far too much for my liking… Sometimes a girl just wants to come home from class, have a red wine and sit on her settee without having to engage in small talks with her roommate’s booty calls.

Henry and I have gotten to be good friends. We walk to class together nearly every morning. Talking mostly about boys… Mostly George, and how pathetic I am.

Well, mostly it’s me complaining about how pathetic I am, and Henry telling me to shut up.

Speaking of George, after lunch the other day I came home and had a solid cry before pretending my heart hadn’t been ripped out of my chest and trodden all over ONLY to go out into the living room to find George, Dean, Harry, Elle and Henry starting the first Harry Potter movie.

Let me tell you, sitting between a guy who you nearly… well, you remember, and a guy you want to kiss is not a comfortable experience.

It’s going to be a great year, I can tell already.

October 13th, 2011

Dear Diary,

So it’s been fourteen days since I last updated you. That is fourteen days since I had to sit between George and Harry for 159 whole minutes. Shoulders bumping against one and other as either of us shuffled.

Don’t even get me started on how uncomfortable it was to see Harry whisper in Elle’s ear as she hung over her lap when not even a week prior he and I were curled up with one and other about to make out on some random’s bed.

George and I are okay. As far as he know’s we’re just friends. I don’t have a crush on him.

Did you read that?

I do not have a crush on him.

School’s pretty good, going okay. A lot of course work, but what else should I have expected when I decided to study medicine?

Not sure if I really want to keep doing it, but for now. It’s all I’ve got going for me.

The big event that everyone is looking forward to this month is Halloween. That guy who threw the party, you know the one where ‘the incident’ happened is throwing another huge bash.

Harry, Dean, Henry, George, Elle, Jordan and I have decided to go as comic book characters, and right now I’m tossing up between Scarlett Witch, Black Widow, Poison Ivy or Batgirl. Still not sure though.

Do I be a villain or a hero?

October 18th, 2011

Dear Diary,

We finally decided on our costumes, or rather Elle did. She’s studying costuming at Uni and has decided she’ll make both mine and her costumes for the party.

I’ll be Poison Ivy, she’ll be Bat Girl, George is going to be the Joker, Harry is going as Batman, Henry is going as Robin, Dean is going as Superman and Jordan is going as the Riddler.

Not my choice to be Poison Ivy, but I really don’t have it in me to argue with them especially with how insane classes have been.

Talk to you soon.

October 23rd, 2011

Dear Diary,

This costume…. Christ on a bike…

I know the saying goes ‘don’t judge a book by its cover’ but I can’t not judge this. Elle is pretty much demanding I have either my boobs or my arse out. She’d rather both, I’d rather none. I’m not sure how exactly to say no without it sounding like ‘No, sorry Elle I have self-respect, even though Halloween is the time you’re not meant to,’ without her taking offence to it.

Speaking of Elle, she’s still being nice enough. She and Harry are still seeing one and other. They’ve toned their PDA down to a minimum, which is good because Dean and I have had to stop each other, and ourselves from throwing a bucket of cold water over them once or twice.

Harry’s started speaking to me again, which is good. We’re almost past that awkward, ‘We nearly made out, but we didn’t, but we would have if we’d had the chance’ stage, which is good.

We’ve got two days until the Halloween party, and that means two days until I need to wear this ridiculous costume.

Save me,

October 26th, 2011

Dear future Y/N,

Congratulations.

You’re a fucking idiot.

The biggest idiot, If all the idiots of the world, moved into a community together, created a nation. You’d be their fucking Queen…

Perhaps in your years of maturing, you’ve become less of an idiot, though with how we behaved last night I’d doubt it.

Let’s recap shall we?

October 25th, 2011

Its Halloween, and I’m sweating like a pig. Absolutely sweating,

I don’t know how else to put it.

The costume Elle had designed and made me fit like a glove. Perhaps too much like a glove. The green bodysuit was embellished with ivy leaves and gold glitter, a garland of flowers wrapped around my waist.

“Y/N? Are you ready?” Elle’s voice called through the door. “Do you need help with a hook or something?”

“No, I’m fine… I just… Can you send… Can you send Henry in? Just need to talk to him for a second.” I called still looking at myself in the mirror. My breath hitched again as I pictured myself walking out into the living room where everyone was waiting.

“You right babe?” Henry smiled as he peeked around the door. I looked away from the mirror, turning my head over my shoulder. “What’s the matter?” He stepped around the door, shutting it behind him.

“How do you know if you’re having an anxiety attack?” I moved my hands up and down, shaking my head. “Because I think I’m having one.”

“What?”

“God, I’m stupid.” I shook my head. “How stupid was I to think I could walk out those doors and pretend this was me? That I would ever be comfortable showing this much skin, I haven’t shown this much skin since I was born.” I leant forward, stomach suddenly turning “Everyone is going to laugh at me.”

“What was that?”

“I can’t do this Henry.” I motioned down to the costume. “I can’t go out there in this, I look horrible.”

“Are you mental?” He grabbed onto my shoulders and put me in front of the mirrors. “You look fantastic Y/N.”

“Are you mental?” I shot back at him. “How am I supposed to walk out there and face everyone? I’ve seen how Elle looks, how all you boys look… How am I supposed to stand next to her, next to any of you.” I whispered trying to keep my voice down.

“Firstly, you look ten times better than she does. Secondly, I don’t think anyone will be looking at any of us with you there.” He ran a hand comfortingly down my arm. “Come ere’.” He pulled me into his chest, arms wrapping around me. “You’re going to walk out of this room, and every set of eyes are going to be on you, no matter their sexual preference.” He pushed me back so he could look down at me. “You look amazing, I promise you Y/N.”

“Henry…”

“Just trust me Y/N.” He smiled. “You ready?”

“I think so,” I nodded my head. “Thanks.”

“We’ll do it together.” He pulled me towards the door. “You really do look fantastic Y/N.”

“You’re just saying that so we can leave.” He cracked a smile and shook his head.

“I bloody am not.”

“Let’s go in there, the parties started.” Jordan’s voice boomed through the door. “What are you guy’s doing in there, fucking?”

“Shut the fuck up Jordan.” I heard Dean yell. “Show some damn respect.”

“I’m ready,” I called back taking a deep breath through my nose watching as Henry pulled open the door. The fluorescent light from the kitchen hurt my eyes as I stepped out. “Sorry, I just needed him for a minute.” I looked over Dean and Jordan. “Nice costume boys.” I smiled at Jordan’s question mark suit and Dean’s fake muscles.

“Fuck me…Y/N,” Jordan shook his head.

“Is it too much?” I looked to Elle who was smiling her head off. “Elle said it was what she wore in the comics?”

“It is.” She piped up, her black cape swaying around her body. “It’s made off multiple illustrations I saw when I was researching.”

“Y/N,” I turned to George whose eyes were on my chest… “You look.” He cleared his throat shrugging off his velvet purple dress coat. “You might need this.” He stumbled over his words. “Cold out,” I stepped forward and took the jacket. “Do you need help.” He moved behind me and helped me slip the jacket on. “You look…” He started again, words cutting off.

“Let’s go, shall we? MacKay is officially lost for words.” I turned to Harry, his eyes were on my face. I couldn’t help myself but give him what I’m sure was a pathetic half-smile as George finished helping me with his jacket.

“You all look great.” I looked over the group. Elle looked gorgeous in her Bat Girl outfit standing beside Harry with his black batman costume. “I’m sure you guys will get all the girls tonight.” I smiled at Dean and Jordan in their Superman and Riddler outfits.

“What about me?” George whispered in my ear, I turned around and looked at him. Even in his own version of Heath Ledger’s Joker costume, he looked unbelievably hot.

“We got two cars this time,” Harry called again. “C’mon Elle,” I turned in time to see him pulling Elle towards the door as he spoke, nearly running down the hallway.

“Guess he can’t wait to get a drink.” Henry chuckled holding the door open for the rest of us as we filed out.

“Never seen him run so bloody fast,” Dean added. “Not even on the field,” He chuckled.

“We should hurry. The cabs are probably waiting.” I smiled at Henry linking our arms together. “Ride with me?” I looked up at him, waiting for his answer.

“I’ll ride with you Y/N,” Henry and I both turned to look at Jordan as he levelled up beside us. “You look hot tonight Y/N.”

“Don’t even try it, Jordan.” Dean’s hand grabbed onto his shoulder pulling him backwards. “For that comment, you’re with Harry and Elle.”

“Don’t do that to me, I don’t want to be with the PDA King and Queen.”

“Shouldn’t have been a prick then.” He chuckled throwing an arm around his shoulder. “Enjoy the kiss, kiss, kissing.” He chuckled pulling the shorter guy in closer.

“C’mon let’s go party,” I called sarcastically to the group as I pulled Henry even faster down the hallway, to what I’m sure was a night of pure misery and horrible mistakes.

Stale piss and old tennis shoes.

From the minute we walked in the door’s it’s all I could smell, and no matter how much this place was scrubbed from top to bottom, I was sure the scent was never going to leave. No matter how much bleach was poured on the floor, scrubbed over the surfaces it would forever smell like stale piss and sweaty tennis shoes.

At least to me, Maybe it doesn’t to other people. Maybe to others, it’s still a place of joy, and happiness no matter the smell, but to me, it was the same mundane, piss scented house I’d almost kissed Harry in. I know people come here to find love at the bottom of a whiskey filled glass, hoping for a night of meaningless passionless, lust-driven sex. Maybe sometimes they find it, maybe they don’t, but for me, this was not the place I wanted to spend my evening.

The living room had been stripped of all its furniture, people stood on the empty floor and danced their way to the current pop hits. Couples smashed up against the wall hooking up with each other as shitty Christmas lights created a ‘mood’ I could only describe as a third class strip club you saw in those b-grade movies.

“Come on Y/N, at least pretend to have fun.” Henry pulled at my hand, “This could be your promise land, any of these boys could be yours for the night.” He motioned around us as guys in costumes looked girls up and down as if they were some sort of meat on display at a butcher. “Maybe more, if you’re lucky.” He winked at me.

“I feel naked. This is not a promised land, where I can meet new and interesting people, hold intelligent conversations with people. All it is a place for twenty-something-year-olds to come in the chance of getting a quick lay.” I bit back stomping my hell on the toes of some passerby who decided to grab my ass. “I’m going to get a drink,” I yelled over the loud obnoxious music. “I need to be wasted to be here.”

“I’ll come,” George called over the music, grabbing onto my elbow as he began to lead me away.

“As long as it ends up with me drinking alcohol that’s fine with me,” I called to him, watching as a girl shamelessly looked George up and down as we passed by her. “You looking for a girl tonight?”

“Are you offering?” He smirked over his shoulder.

“Not me, the mouse back by the stairwell would be interested though, if you’re looking for someone I’m sure of it.” He stopped looking behind me to where the girl dressed as a mouse was pouting.

“Not for me,”

“No?”

“No,” He grabbed onto my hand and gave it a quick squeeze. “I’m with you all night.”

“I’ve heard that before,” I muttered pushing past George and into the kitchen. I stopped midway through and examined the safest, less intrusive way to get to the counter where all the drinks were set up.

“You playing the games tonight?” George called into my ear, his breath hitting my lower neck as his hands fell onto my waist.

“What are the games?”

“Usual ones I think.” He tapped his hand against my hip and used his strength to drive me forward towards where two guys were handing out bottles of drink. “Cider?”

“Please.”

“MacKay.” The guy smiled and clapped their hands together. “How ya doing man?” I began to fiddle with my costume, pulling at some of the garlands of ivy. “You two want a drink?”

“Cider.” George nodded. “This is Y/N.” George pulled me forward, under his arm. “Y/N, this is Dylan, and Kane they’re in a class with Harry and me.” He pulled me in tighter, like a proud mother showing off their golden child. “Y/N and I are from the same town.”

“Nice to meet you both.” I smiled awkwardly reaching out to take one of the offered bottles from Kane.

“Nice costume Y/N, big fan of Ivy.” Kane smiled, his face hidden behind half of a Jason mask, “You might just have the best costume in the bag.”

“Oh no, I don’t want that.” I shook my head. “Like, at all.”

“Really?” He raised his mask off his face, pushing it up to his head. “Most girls are looking to win.”

“Not this one,” I grimaced. “Literally the last thing I want.”

“Y/N, there you are.” Dean walked by and grabbed my shoulder pulling me to him “Need to borrow her for a second.” He looked at George. “Roommate stuff.”

“What’s wrong?” I grabbed his hand pulling him to a stop. “You okay?”

“You gotta come with me.” He shook his head trying to walk again. I waved at George, Kane and Jason as I let Dean pull me away.

“Where are we going, Dean?”

“You gotta see this.” He shook his head, pulling me towards the stairs. “Knew I didn’t like her for a reason.”

“Like who?”

“Elle,” He shouted stopping us at the bottom. He pointed upwards towards where people climbed up and down. “See the couple making out? Halfway up the stairs.” I squinted, trying to find who he was talking about. “Costume look familiar?” My eyes caught it, Elle’s batgirl costume, wrapped around someone who definitely wasn’t batman… Someone who definitely wasn’t Harry.

“No fucking way,”

“What are you two staring at?”

“No one,” I shouted. “I mean, nothing.” I grabbed onto Harry and pulled him into me, his back to the stairwell.

“Y/N, what are you doing?”

“I just need a hug.” I held Harry’s head to my chest, watching as Elle continues to make out with the stranger. “How you doing?” I asked pulling him tighter.

“Mefh hefd if in four fits.”

“Huh?”

“Mefh hefd if in four fits.”

“What?”

“He said, My head, is in your tits,” Dean cleared his throat. “I’m pretty sure.”

“Oh.” I pushed him away, head moving out of my cleavage. “Sorry.” I dropped my arms and held them behind my back.

“Everything okay?”

“Yeah, you know parties, aren’t really my thing.”

“Right.” He nodded his head, biting his lips. “You seen Elle?”

“No, not me… Dean, have you seen them?”

“Them?”

“Not them, her,” I shouted, correcting.

“You okay?” He raised his eyebrow.

“Peachy… Dean.”

“No, haven’t… Sorry mate.”

“Why don’t we swipe a bottle of vodka and go have a smoke,” I suggested looking up the stairs anxiously.

“You don’t smoke…” George popped up over my shoulder shaking a bottle of vodka.

“No better time to start.” I smiled at George picking the vodka out of his hand. “Oh look at that, I’m double parked.” I brought the bottle of Cider to my lips downing the contents quickly.

“You sure you’re okay?” I nodded as Harry looked into my eyes. Don’t crack Y/N, do not crack.

“Roof?” George suggested taking the vodka back from me.

“Yeah, maybe we’ll see Elle on the way.” Harry piped up.

“Last I saw her, she was at the bar talking to one of the girls from her class, Laura I think.” Dean rattled on as I peaked up the staircase to see Elle’s disappearing figure bounce up the top step.

“Maybe I should look for her.”

“No come on, let’s have a drink together… C’mon Harry you’ve been ignoring me for ages, surely I deserve some quality roommate time.” I pouted pulling on his cape.

“Are you sure you’re alright?”

“Just enjoying the party,” I grabbed his hand and dragged him towards the staircase if this were any other time I would have been caught up with how it feels holding onto Harry’s hand, but this was another time, and I was trying to stop him from being hurt. “Up we go.”

Sweat. Smoke. Alcohol. Body Odour.

That’s all that I could smell wherever I went, wherever I turned. Around me bodies moved pushing themselves up against any surface they could, grabbing onto other people as their bodies gyrated against another person. Even as we made our way up the stairs towards the roof. I could see the door it was so close.

“There she is.” Harry’s resistance pulled me to a sudden stop. “Elle,” He waved his arms above his head. “Roof.” He called to her pointing upwards. “Five minutes,” I watched as she nodded her head, smiling sweetly.

Smiling as if the bitch hadn’t just had her tongue down some other guys throat.

“What’s going on?” George whispered in my ear, hand resting on my hip.

“Elle and some guy,” I was cut off by Harry who drew back to me. “She coming?”

“Yeah,” He nodded his head, a ridiculous smile coming to his lips.

“Great,” I gifted my teeth grabbing the bottle of George, twisting the cap off. “Let’s go then.”

“Y/N, don’t drink all of it, you know what happens.” George chided as I pushed myself faster up the stairs, the bottle still to my lips as the liquid burnt my throat a little dribbled down my chin and down my chest.

“What happens?” Dean asked George as I stepped out onto the roof. I looked around to him as the three of them stepped out behind me. George smiled at me, heartwarming… No, Y/N that’s just the vodka talking.

“She tries to burn down settees.” George chuckled.

“Only floral ones who belong to mothers.” I corrected passing the bottle to Harry. “George, do you have any smokes?”

“Going all out tonight Y/N.” He raised an eyebrow, pulling his packet from the top pocket of his dress shirt, passing it to me.

“Call it self destruction,” I began to sway from side to side, feeling the vodka take over my body as my hips began to move to the loud Nelly song that played downstairs.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you dance Y/N.” Dean laughed as he drank from his beer bottle, taking the bottle of vodka Harry offered him as he lent against the side of the house.

“Dance with me?” I called out to him.

“Don’t dance.” He laughed shaking his head. “Unless I’m planning on sleeping with the girl.”

“No matter what I do, All I think about is you.” I began singing swaying my hips, playing with the ends of George’s jacket. “I haven’t heard this song in years.” I laughed at myself grabbing onto the jacket and pulling it off my shoulders. “Even when I’m with my boo all I think about is you.” I threw the jacket towards Dean and smiled over at Harry who’d taken the bottle back off Dean. “Sing it with me, Harry.”

“I’d rather enjoy the show.” He smiled looking me up and down as my hips continued to move.

“Spoilsport.” I pouted swaying my hips regardless. “George?”

“I don’t really dance, or sing.”

“I can teach you.” He beamed at me as he walked towards me before grabbing my hand pulling me to him.

“Didn’t know you liked Nelly?”

“I don’t usually.” I shrugged and started to sway side to side, “But I’m pretty much half-naked, so I may as well make more of a spectacle of myself than usual.“

“You look the best out of anyone here,” George whispered in my ear before grabbing my hands and started to pull them above my head and make me move more freely.

“Shake it, baby.” Dean catcalled to George and me.

“There you guy’s are.” George and I pulled apart looking over to Elle who burst out onto the roof, a guy, the guy she was making out with trailing behind her. “This is my friend Oliver.” Oliver was dressed as Al Capone, the complete opposite to sweet, sweet Harry.

“You right mate.” Harry reached out and shook his hand.

“Fucker,” I whispered, hands falling to George’s chest.

“What was that?” George chuckled.

“Huh,” I looked away from Oliver and up to George. “Oh, nothing. I’ll tell you later.”

“Or you could tell me now.” He whispered back.

“You two alright? Whispering like mothers over there.” Oliver laughed as he walked towards us he extended his hand out towards George. “Oliver,”

“George.” George grabbed his hand and shot up and down in quick succession before turning his head to me.

“I’m Y/N.”

“Nice to meet you Y/N.”

“I wish I could say the same.”

“Excuse me?” Olivers face shrivelled in confusion.

“Y/N.” George chastised me.

“I think what she meant was, it’s more than nice to meet you…” Dean pushed off the wall and walked over to us. “She’s always looking to make friends.” He wrapped an arm around my shoulders. “Isn’t that right, Y/N.” I pushed my lips together, holding my tongue between my teeth before nodding.

“Lovely to meet you even.” I managed to mutter out after an awkward beat passed between us. “You know what, I heard the games are starting soon, and dancing.” I looked across to George. “Should we dance? We should dance.” I nodded my head. “Dean?”

“Yeah, we should dance.”

“Thought you said you didn’t dance,” Harry called out to Dean.

“Gotta find a girl somehow, mate.”

“They’re having a competition actually,” Oliver started. “You get a number, whoever gets the same number as you, is your partner, and whoever is best wins like 200 quid or something like that.”

“Great, shall we.” Dean looked over at Elle and Harry. “You two love birds coming?”

“You want too?”

“Yeah,” Elle smiled wrapping a hand around Harry’s waist.

“You three go down, just need to talk to these two for a minute.” George blocked Dean and I. “Won’t be a tick.”

“No worries, make it quick yeah? Don’t want to miss the games.” Called Oliver as he opened the door for Harry and Elle. As soon as it shut George spun to us.

“What the fuck is going on?”

“Don’t worry mate, just leave it.”

“Y/N?”

“Don’t tell him Y/N, it’ll only make it worse.”

“Make what worse?”

“Y/N.” Dean spurned. “We can tell him another time.” I nodded my head.

“Another time, George.”

“Are you serious?” George’s jaw was pretty much hanging open. “Y/N, you can trust me.”

“I know, I know, but trust me when I saw this is for the greater good.” I grabbed onto his hand. “I promise, tomorrow we will tell you everything.” George was quiet for a second, I could tell he was deliberating between continuing the argument or succumbing to finding out the next day.

“Fine.” He cleared his throat, throwing the burnt-out cigarette on the ground. “Let’s go find a drink, then play this game.”

“Or we could just chug the rest of the vodka between us and then go find them?” Dean suggested.

And that is exactly how we ended up squished into the living room while a slightly overweight Darth Vader read out the rules of the dance competition.

“The name of the game is ‘Sex on the dance floor’ with that name in mind you and your partner must be touching at all times, but you are not permitted to have sex. You and your partner stop touching, you’re out.” He stopped reading and pointed around the room. “Anyone dressed in a Clone costume.” A guy in a white suit waved. “Is a judge, you get tapped, you leave. Simple.”

“So he says,” Dean whispered in between mine and George’s head. “He’s clearly never tried to dirty dance with a stiff before.”

“A stiff what?” I hissed back, eyes keeping on Vader.

“Y/N.” Dean chuckled. “You’re too cute.”

“When you all walked in, you were given a slip of paper, open them up.” Dean, George and I opened our papers. “Find your partner, we start in five.”

“Number fourteen.” I read aloud. Peaking over to Deans. “Number thirty-two… How many people are in this completion.”

“A lot.” He looked at George’s. “Number fifteen.” So close.

“There you guy’s are.” I looked up from my paper to see Harry, Oliver and Elle pushing their way through the crowd.

“What numbers did you get?” Elle held the crisp white paper in front of her. “Oliver and I got number six.”

“Fourteen.”

“Fifteen.”

“Thirty-two.” George, Dean and I chorused. “Any match up?” He grabbed Harry’s. “Twenty-eight… Damn… Imagine if you have to grind and bump with a guy, who wasn’t me.”

“It’d break my heart,” Harry chuckled pulling Dean into a headlock.

“Sorry.” A guy pushed his torso into our group. “Did someone here say they had Fourteen?” I nodded my head. “My girlfriend is fourteen,”

“Oh. That’s cool.”

“Y/N, babe.” George laughed. “I think he wants to swap,”

“Oh, yeah. Shit of course.” I gave him the slip and took the one he held out in return. “Twenty-one.”

“How are we going to find these numbers?”

“NUMBER TWENTY-EIGHT.” Dean’s voiced boomed. “LOOKING FOR NUMBER TWENTY-EIGHT.”

And so it went, Dean played the matchmaker right until it was just George and I left.

“Still no one.”

“Sorry Y/N, at least you can be with George.” I saw a devilish smirk as he turned and dragged the blonde bombshell he was with away from us.

“What do you say?” George held out his hand as the music began. “Partner?”

“Sure, but first I need a drink, all the numbers ruined my buzz.” He shook his head, grabbing my hand and pulling me back to him.

“Shut up and dance.” George had my breath hitching with the way that he pressed against me. His hands came to a rest on my hips, fingertips ticking my lower back. I ran my hands over his chest, feeling his six-pack as they tensed under his tight shirt.

Turn around Y/N, don’t let him see what he’s doing to you.

I spun around, pressing my back to his front, smiling when his hands wrapped themselves tighter around me. With more alcohol than blood running through my veins, the things that came to mind were anything but G rated, even for a virgin.

“Didn’t know you could move like this Y/N,” George whispered in my ear. I ignored it and continued to swap my hips, George and I’s conjoined hand hanging over my shoulder.

“Neither did I.” It was true, I’d never danced like this before. The next song blurred into the last and we didn’t stop, George kept his arms wrapped firmly around my waist. My eyes closed as I leaned my head onto his shoulder. My free hand holding onto his forearm as we swayed together in time to the beat. George’s hands left my waist and ran up my ribs, pushing my hair off my neck, before running back down my ribs once more resting back on my hips. I felt his breath on my neck, heavy and warm. It made goosebumps rise in its wake, then when I felt his lips my legs shook a little.

“George, what are you doing?” I felt his tongue touching the skin on my neck. I pulled away turning to him. He chuckled, looking surprised.

“What?” My hands run up his chest again, touching his cheek. “Y/N,” He whispered, just loud enough to be heard over the music. He leaned in, my eyes closed automatically. I felt his hot breath on my lips and then felt his lips brush gently over mine.

“We can’t,” I whispered just as our lips were about to touch again. His forehead rested on mine. Eyes opening to meet mine. “I want to.”

“Then why not?”

“We’re friends, remember George.” His hand ran up to the back of my neck, holding onto it. “Let’s just be friends.”

“Friends kiss all the time, Y/N.” I spun around so my back was pressed to his front, “It’s just a kiss,”

“Is that all they are to you?” George spun me back around, his hands pulling my waist closer to him.

“What else should they be?” Don’t do this Y/N. It’s not worth it.

“You’re right,” I whispered, lips running along his jaw. “It’s just a kiss, nothing else.”

“Nothing else,” George nodded. “Just a kiss,” He leant his forehead against mine, “Cure my curiosity Y/N,”

I could do this, just a kiss. One perfect kiss with George…

Without thinking I lent forward and pressed my lips to his. They were soft, but hard from the pressure he used to countermine. I opened my lips to bite onto his bottom lip. George groaned and pulled my body closer, keeping us swaying to the music. One of his hands moved down and wrapped around my waist the other wound into my hair. I pulled away, my mind running on a high from him, from the kiss. George’s lips moved from my lips to my cheeks kissing everywhere they touched before they reached my neck, leaving a trail of kisses down my neck moving the trail of ivy vines from my costume aside, before coming back to my lips. If someone told me that one of the best first kisses I would ever have would be with George MacKay, a boy every girl in my home town wanted, I would have laughed in their face, but here I was on some dark, grimy dance floor, dressed in a costume I thought I’d never wear, with his hips pushing into mine, kissing him like it was my dying wish. My hands were pushing up George’s shirt, allowing me access to the skin underneath as I pulled his lips back to mine. He licked and nibbled on my bottom lip, begging for me to open my lips, when I didn’t he pulled away and kissed over to my ear.

“Ivy, Joker… You’re out.” Overweight Darth Vader screamed from the podium. George didn’t pull away, his hands pushing my hips towards the nearby wall, stepping us backwards until my back pushed into it, his lips going back to mine.

“Sorry we lost the contest,” I whispered, George, pulled away, his hands lingering on my chin,

“Fuck the contest.”

#george mackay #george mackay x reader #GeorgeMackay #George MacKay fanfic #George MacKay Imagine #Harry Styles #Harry Styles x Reader #HarryStyles #Harry Styles Imagine #Harry Styles Fanfic

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puppypaw-wc · 3 years

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okay it’s time for some rhythm ranting (i came up with that and i am so fucking proud of myself for it)-

so rhythm heaven megamix is the fourth rhythm heaven game, preceded by three other games (as you may guess): rhythm tengoku for the gameboy advance, released in 2006 in japan only, rhythm heaven for the ds, released in 2009, and rhythm heaven fever, released for the wii in 2011/2012 and for the wii u in 2016. as megamix’s name implies (esp it’s japanese/korean name, rhythm tengoku (in japan)/rhythm world (in korea) the best+), it’s a mix of lots of rhythm games from past games. not all of them, though, because the developers wanted to spite us by not putting bon odori in. /j oh and like people like dj school and shit and it’s not in it. people modded dj school in though, no i am not kidding, people literally modded in a full game and i don’t know how. i mean donk-donk and tambourine have also been modded in somewhat for remixes but anyways back to my point-

the rest of this’ll be under the cut tho-

so one of my main problems with megamix is some of the game choices. rhythm tengoku only had 25 unique, non-sequel rhythm games. out of those, nine were excluded. that’s almost half. for perspective, though, three of those games are bon odori, rap men, and toss boys, which basically need audio cues to be played. bon odori relies on it’s song, where you clap whenever they say “pan” and clap twice quickly when they say “panpa”, rap men relies on its audio and you do something different depending on three different kinds of cues, and for toss boys you need audio cues to know who it’s being tossed to. and logically, they’d likely want to translate the games, so given that they seemingly didn’t get that big of a budget for dubbing, they weren’t included... but quiz show was. what’s the problem with quiz show, you may ask? well rhythm heaven as a game is a rhythm game. quiz show literally doesn’t require rhythm. basically the host will press the button a certain number of times and in order to pass the game you just need to press it the same amount of times. that’s literally it. in megamix you get the game’s skill star if you press it to the same rhythm, but it’s still not required. it’s also dumb because you literally have to play it perfectly in order to pass it. all you need for a perfect is to press the button(s) the same amount of times. if you press a button the wrong number of times, the game ends once the number you were supposed to hit it is revealed. quiz show is literally pointless. the only times it’s used well are in remixes in tengoku. in remix 6, at least in silver, it uses the previously played game, the clappy trio, as a hint, with the host asking, “how many members are in the clappy trio?”, before hitting the buttons three times. in remix 4, the rhythm for both the quiz segments goes with the music. i mean on the last one he can add an extra press and it’s fucking bullshit but whatever. i’m not mad. but my point is that in megamix, they added a game that doesn’t require rhythm as opposed to a multitude of actually liked games from tengoku. there’s non-included games that don’t require audio cues, i should add. showtime, polyrhythm, tram and pauline, wizard’s waltz, and for fuck’s sake, thinking about it, the games that likely weren’t added because of audio cues wouldn’t HAVE to be dubbed. just do what the tengoku fan translation did and translate the on-screen subtitles but leave the audio in japanese. please just give us bon odori stop holding them hostage-

i talk about tengoku but i’m pretty sure rhds is the game with the most non-included minigames. ds was played sideways, almost purely using the touch screen with the exception of rockers 2 in the last set of games. it had a unique control scheme, with three types of controls: tapping, where you just tap the screen with the stylus or your finger; flicking, where you flick your stylus or finger like you’re making the end of a checkmark, according to “the secret of flicking” reading material thingie you can read when you unlock the cafe; and sliding, where you just. slide your finger. megamix only has tapping, and even then that’s only when you’re using simple tap mode and i don’t want to imagine how that handles games that use the b-button. as i mentioned, tengoku had almost half of its games missing. ds has twenty-five rhythm games if you include the credits game airboarder. ten of those weren’t included. that may not seem like a lot, but ds is most peoples’ favorite rhythm heaven game, and two of the most loved games in the fandom, dj school and love lab, are from rhds, and neither was included in megamix.

fever has the least cut games over all, with only five of its original rhythm games being cut. fever had twenty-nine original rhythm games, with one more (rhythm test) also appearing in its remix 10. the ones that didn’t make it in are tambourine, donk-donk, tap troupe, shrimp shuffle, and night walk. night walk’s exclusion was probably since gba night walk made it in and they didn’t know how to name them differently, bUT YOU DID IT WITH THE KARATE MAN GAMES??? DID WE REALLY NEED ALL OF THE KARATE MAN GAMES, A PREQUEL, AND A NEW GAME? THAT’S FIVE DIFFERENT KARATE MAN GAMES IN MEGAMIX. THAT’S TOO MANY TIMES TO PLAY THE SAME GAME. granted only three of those times are required to beat the game (prequel karate man, gba karate man/karate man returns!, and karate man senior), but my point still stands, they gave us literally every karate man game but not night walk or something. it’s especially dumb to me because they gave figure fighter both a prequel and its sequel because they looove figure fighter... instead of including shrimp shuffle, which really desperately needs to be included, please let me know what a frame-perfect input looks like so i don’t keep getting barelys that look fine because like all my inputs are barelys but they still break the perfect-

,,, onto another thing before i break something or kill someone.

so the dubbing for megamix is a little odd. as i said, the game likely didn’t have that big of a budget for dubbing, especially when compared to other games in the series. the prologues for games use the same three or four generic fonts despite the japanese version using the original fonts, the returning games that have lyrical songs just use the original version of the song with the exception of fan club 2, the two lyrical remixes weren’t dubbed (komeki no story, lush remix’s song, is simply instrumental with english audio, while in the japanese version it has lyrics. i’m a lady now, honeybee remix’s song, is in english regardless of audio), and lastly,,, the dubbing for the returning tengoku games where there’s vocals.

so in space dance, the whole game uses audio cues. there’s three of them in total: “turn right”, where you press the right d-pad button on “right”. note that when they say it it does not sound like they are saying turn right. at all. i’m not sure why, it’s not just the gba’s bad sound quality because well. bon odori exists. and also because it’s the same in megamix when you use the japanese audio. my immediate thought is accents but i don’t know if japanese accents are a thing. might just be because of the fact that japanese people tend to pronounce r’s as l’s? not sure though. “let’s sit down”, where you press the down d-pad button on “down”. it also doesn’t sound like they’re saying “let’s sit down”. and lastly, “pu-pu-pu-punch”, where you press the a-button on “punch”. in order to punch. because that’s a dance move. like seriously, space dance is fun but how is this a dance? um anyways, in the english version of megamix they changed it so it’s more clear what’s being said but the dubbing’s not the best. firstly, they changed “turn right” to “and pose” even though that is definitely not posing. it’s weird since. that’s the only one that was changed. i don’t know how to describe what they did to space dance and most of y’all probably don’t play rhythm heaven so you don’t understand, so here’s a perfect gameplay of space dance with japanese audio (it took time to find), and here’s one with english audio. ,,, okay so the english one’s of cosmic dance because i. forgot what exactly i was doing. and got distracted looking through the comments. so now i know that they still reused space gramps’ voice for cosmic girl in cosmic dance. which like. wut? you redubbed it but you. you still reused. you still reused space gramps’ voice for her? megamix dubbers are you okay? i’m kind of concerned.

the other game that has audio is purely japanese audio. marcher/marching orders. it’s a keep the beat game where you play as a squadmate following the sarge’s orders. the rhythm heaven wiki’s description for it is basically what i said but they’re better at describing things then me so.

“In this game, a rookie is undergoing marching training with her squadmates while following their Sarge's orders. The player controls the rookie at the end of the line. There are four commands that the Sarge will yell.

"Attention, March!"

"Attention, Halt!"

"Left-face, Turn!"

"Right-face, Turn!"

The player must perform these with proper timing along with the other squadmates. Just before the game ends, the squadmates will be moved offscreen, still marching as the game ends.”

in the japanese version, the commands he says are obviously different, though i. do not know what he is saying. so have my attempts at romanizing it.

“gento susume!” = “attention, march!”

“gento commoback!” = “attention, halt!”

“meski meek!” = one of them? i don’t really know which and it feels inconsistent, at least in marcher 2. i think it’s right-face turn but i’m not one hundred percent sure.

“meski peek!” = the other one. so i think left-face turn.

,,, yeah i don’t know japanese, sorry if this (as in literally any of this) is offensive to anyone that does. i’m just trying my best. the wiki doesn’t say what he says in the japanese version. unlike for other games.

now in the japanese version, the sarge has a somewhat deep voice. but in the english version... he doesn’t.

um here’s a perfect in tengoku and here’s one in megamix that i think has english audio since. it says it’s the english version in the description. but i’m not listening to it.

u h my last nitpick with megamix is the prequels. so prior to lush remix, almost all the games played are prequels, easier and shorter versions of the actual games. after lush remix is completed and the towers of lush woods are unlocked (i’m just taking this from the wiki, wtf is lush woods), all the games from then on are the original versions, with “2″ or something else stuck onto them for the games that had prequels. this makes it irritating to find certain games on the wiki because it’s just like “no i don’t want normal wii micro-row i want wii micro-row 2 rhythm heaven wiki please” or whatever. also the picks for games that have prequels are all over the place, and some of the prequels’ music doesn’t seem to fit and makes it feel like all the patterns in the prequels for games like rhythm tweezers and clappy trio are the exact same. is it the exact same? because if so then that’s cool (i suck at rhythm tweezers and clappy trio-) but also very boring. i get that they wanted to start people with something easy but some of the games that have prequels were already easy. karate man (gba) is literally the first game in tengoku but it still has a prequel. rhythm tweezers is the second game but it has a prequel. clappy trio’s the fifth and it has a prequel (granted it is kind of hard). fillbots is the third in ds and it has a prequel. air rally is relatively early on in fever. you get my point. and the weird thing is that in some cases at least, games that have prequels which remove stuff from the actual games don’t have practices for things in the actual version. for example, air rally’s prequel doesn’t have forthington (the cat) changing distances, except for the last one which he apparently always catches, but wii air rally obviously does. granted, the rhythm’s the exact same when he’s far away (for some reason? i don’t think that’s how it should work-), but it should still have practice. oh and in air rally they just completely removed the clouds that semi-block the visuals later in the game. yeah i don’t know either. that seems to be the only instance of that occurance, though.

another prequel nitpick: so i love rhythm rally. like it is the best game in ds imho. it’s fun, it’s not that hard (it is kind of hard but i still have fun), though i do play on emulator, god knows how hard it is when you’re like me and don’t know how to consistently flick dear god send help- but u m in megamix rhythm rally has a prequel. which may not seem bad or anything until you learn something. megamix rhythm rally is the shortest game in the series. showtime from tengoku is seven seconds longer while munchy monk from ds is twelve seconds longer. rhythm rally’s prequel is thirty seconds long. thirty seconds. t h i r t y s e c o n d s . d,,, don’t paddlers literally have to play ping-pong to not get like. really sick? i don’t think thirty seconds is a long enough ping-pong game to avoid that- y’all’s planet is literally named ping-pong but you only play for thirty seconds. on top of a flower. okay wtf is with the scenery on this planet, it has a resident rhythm heaven void that we should be concerned about why are there so many voids, s p a c e i t s e l f , a giant flower, and a giant cake. two concerning things and two things that are weird but not concerning. seriously though why are there so many voids in the rhythm heaven world? someone should look into this, i’m concerned.

u h anyways that’s all. have a good day.

#puppy rambles #rhythm heaven on main #rhythm heaven #rhythm heaven megamix #i already posted something like this on my dedicated rhythm heaven blog so :/#i just brought up that i nitpick about megamix and was like ''h m i should. do that''

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smash-64 · 3 years

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Ok so I typed up a super long review of Starlink: Battle for Atlas, and I spared nothing in what you might call a scathing review. It’s below the cut, but if you’d like the TL;DR part, I’d summarize it as follows:

The Starfox stuff is fun, but the rest isn’t. 5/10

Starlink Battle for Atlas review

Being a huge fan of Starfox, I’ve had my eye on this game for a very long time. However, the whole “toys as games” thing was a huge turnoff, coupled with the fact that apparently even getting the physical version meant you needed to devote 15GB of storage space to the game, which makes no sense to me.

Anyway, I watched the reception closely, and it was pretty lukewarm, at best. People generally had very little to say about the game, so I only ever occasionally looked into whether it was on sale or not. Luckily for me, I got my hands on a 400GB microSD card for my Switch at the same time that the digital version went on super sale at 70% off, so I decided the time was right to try it out.

The Good

The Starfox team is at their graphical best in this game, by far. They looked great in Starfox Zero, but they look exactly how I pictured they would in my most fantastical dreams from when I was little. They all move smoothly, have perfect fur and feathers, emotive expressions, and they just fit so well with all the other characters in Starlink. There is a wide variety of allies and NPCs in this game, and they all have just as wide a variety of races and species. One guy looks like he should be a grass type Pokemon. I really think the character design is fantastic in this game. The fact that the entire inclusion of Starfox was an afterthought, yet they all fit in so perfectly is really a huge victory for Starlink.

In addition to how they look, the Starfox team also sounds great. They got the original voice actors back for Fox and Slippy (and I do mean the originals from Nintendo 64!), and the rest of the squad, plus Wolf, came back from the 2011 remaster of Starfox 64 for the 3DS. That game was a great remaster, and the voice work was phenomenal. The characters and their personalities all shine through just as you expect them. They banter slightly less than on the N64, but part of that might just be because sound bytes were at a premium on that system, so they had to pick and choose what lines to include more carefully. So, I don’t think you can really count that against Starlink, which is a game that can include just about as many lines of dialogue as it wants. Fox, for one, has a TON of dialogue and I loved every bit of it. I kind of wish I lived in the Seattle area so I could hear Mike West’s radio show (and hear Fox’s voice all the time), which is how Nintendo discovered him for the original voice of Fox McCloud way back in 1997. Another great piece of work here.

In what very well might have been the source of the “Star Fox Grand Prix” fake leak a few years ago, there is a planet called the Crimson Moon where you can take part in what is essentially pod racing with your Arwing. Now, I really did not enjoy the pod race scene of Star Wars Episode I, and aside from Mario Kart 64, I really don’t find racing games very rewarding. However, these racing levels are actually pretty fun. There are hidden shortcuts you can take, plenty of obstacles, and the computer racers are actually fairly difficult. I honestly found myself getting really into these races. The only downside is, there aren’t very many of them. They’re also kind of long, which is no problem for a veteran of N64’s Rainbow Road, but I was a bit surprised at the length of some of the courses.

The Meh

The music, which I have come to believe might be the element of games that really determines whether I just like a game, or love it, is fairly generic. It sounds like your average Marvel movie soundtrack, except without any real bangers. The Corneria remix is too short and not often played, and the Star Wolf theme is the same deal. That’s just about it for Starfox music, and the rest of it is just so generic that I can’t even comment any further. A real letdown for me, although it doesn’t particularly take away from the game or produce any grating tracks.

The difficulty was a mixed bag as well. I played about 70% of the game on Hard mode because I’m very experienced with Ace Combat and Starfox games, so I thought I’d be fine with the air/space combat. But, the difficulty slider didn’t really make the game more difficult, it just made it take a lot longer. I guess that could be seen as a good thing for people who get upset about dying really quickly on harder difficulties, but it felt like a way to cheat at padding the game’s playtime. I ended up lowering the difficulty just so I could finish faster.

The Starlink characters are a really big missed opportunity. They all have very distinct personalities, but I was shocked at how little content actually featured them. They each have a backstory cutscene that highlights them, but those scenes are so short that it’s more of a 30 second elevator pitch than anything else. None of the characters have more than a sentence or two to comment about said cutscenes, and none of them ever show any growth. Even the “main” character of Mason is basically the same by the end of the game. Although, I do think their designs are excellent and their personalities stand out from one another well enough.

The Bad

Spoilers ahead for the next three paragraphs! The story itself is pretty crappy. I’m still not really sure what was going on or why the Equinox (the main ship) was where it was. In more than one of the character-specific backstory cutscenes I already mentioned, they talk about Earth. So, ok, we understand that almost everyone on the Equinox is human, that’s fine. But...how exactly did they get here and why do they want to recapture the solar system of Atlas? As you play, you essentially claim territory in the name of Atlas, but it’s not clear at all who that exactly is. Does that mean the Equinox is in charge? Is there a government somewhere? Military affiliations or alliances? Because plenty of territory seems to be independent, in addition to enemy-controlled territory. Maybe there was a single line of dialogue I missed somewhere.

But, ok, we just want to fly spaceships and shoot stuff, who cares about politics! Well, there are still issues with the story because I honestly could scarcely care less about any of the plot in this game, which makes it tough to get into any of the battles or things at stake. The entire Starlink team was so unimportant that I literally never used ANY of them even one time, and the game never encouraged me too, either. Maybe I’ve been spoiled by the unparalleled writing and character development of the Kiseki series of JRPGs, or maybe I just really don’t like the storytelling methods and style of western RPGs, but I feel like the story should make you WANT to learn more about characters. Instead, I was just constantly asking questions like “Why does any of this matter?”

Now, that would be a totally unimportant question if the game was all about space battles and explosions and pew pews, but it pretends to have this really deep, engrossing story with characters wracked over the (spoiler!) kidnapping and death of their leader and captain. We barely even get to know who this dude is before he’s kidnapped, and then the rest of the story is so bare-bones that most of what we’re “supposed” to be feeling has to be completely assumed under the guise of “Well, I guess he was the captain so we’re supposed to feel bad, right?” He did apparently act like a father figure for many of the Starlink pilots, but we are only briefly told that in those previously mentioned 30 second elevator pitches. We never actually see it.

Ok spoilers done, but I’m not. The enemies that you fight in this game are also horribly boring and repetitive. We get about 10 enemies in total throughout the entire game, and most of those only have very slight variations. They try to spice it up a bit by adding in “elements,” but about 70% of what I fought ended up always being the fire type anyway. Sure, we get five or so “boss” type enemies, but they’re not particularly special, either. Most of these enemies are copy-pasted all over the planets you visit to give the impression of a planet full of activity, but really it’s just the same things over and over.

The real issue here is how the Big Bad, a bird guy named Grax, is supposed to be really feared but we only get like two cutscenes about him. His army is completely faceless. It’s really shocking that we got significantly more development from the Star Wolf team almost 25 years ago on the Nintendo 64, and all of that was delivered in five second one-liners spread through only a couple levels!

All I’m going to say about the “toys as games” thing is that it’s stupid and clunky and should never be used, especially the way they make you mount the ship onto your controller. What an absolutely idiotic method. I can understand having a portal like they did with Skylanders. Still not a fan, but you can toss something onto it and it doesn’t weigh down your controller. If it was required to play, I would have never even tried this game.

Gameplay is supposed to be the real winning point here, with an honestly unbelievable amount of content available for each planet you visit. I think there were six or seven planets you could visit, so there was actually a ton to do. But I can’t imagine beating my head against the wall so many times on each planet to complete any of it. If you really enjoy grinding, monotonous, pointless gameplay, then by all means, try this game.

Conclusion

I mean, if you like Starfox, I think you’ll have at least some fun with it. The Starfox levels are fun, and it feels like legitimate Starfox content. It also shows that Starfox could branch out into something different, but I’m not sure I’d be a big fan of it going such a repetitive route with regards to gameplay. If a game like this were fully devoted to a Starfox story, and not just including Starfox as an afterthought, then I do think it could be a good game. But as it stands, Starlink: Battle for Atlas is an example of something that looks and sounds great, but revels in gameplay mediocrity and fails at story-telling. 5/10. If there was no Starfox content, it’s honestly a 3/10.

#i'm not even going to tag this with the game because it's pretty harsh

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hippriestess · 4 years

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Part 2: Cherry-picking

Cherry Red had been releasing The Fall's new music since 2011's “Ersatz GB” and we already knew that Smith had signed a further deal with them to look after what portion of the group's catalogue he owned. They had already made a start with the handsome seven disc “Singles 1978 - 2016” box set they had released late in 2017 (alongside a cut-down three disc “A Sides” collection). The set had originally been scheduled for release in 2016 but the production deadline for the all-important Christmas market was missed and the set was held back until after “New Facts Emerge” - from which no singles were taken - had been released. Following Smith's passing, the seven-disc edition sold out and was unavailable for a short time before Cherry Red did the decent thing and made a few more.

A reissue of 1997's “Levitate” had been in the works for a while; Smith had signed off the tracklisting and there had been a trailer of sorts with a Record Store Day-only 7” of “Masquerade” in 2017. Given that the album had been in contractual limbo for quite some time with original vinyl copies fetching 3 figures on the open market, Cherry Red's first posthumous release felt like a public service, doing the right thing both by Smith and by the fans. Released towards the end of May 2018, the new 2CD/3LP edition was justly well received and some kindly reviews appeared with mostly positive re-evaluations of one of their most awkward albums. Hindsight benefits the record; if it sounds like they were falling to bits, it's because they were and now that we know not just what happened next but how the whole story of The Fall continued for another 20 years, it has context. For the record (Portugal), yr present author is no more fond of the album than she was 7 or 8 years ago but “Ol' Gang” has clicked into focus and the second disc puts those great b-sides from the “Masquerade” CD singles back onto the shelves so it would have to be considered necessary.

Less impressive was “58 Golden Greats”, released at the end of 2018. A 3CD set in a clamshell box, this was, in essence, an extended version of the classic “50,000 Fall Fans Can't Be Wrong” collection from 2004, extending the tracklist to cover the remainder(er) of the group's career. It actually expands on the original in other ways, adding several songs from the era covered in the original version; the puzzling omission of “Big New Prinz” is corrected for one thing and other singles are added such as “Oh! Brother” and “Dead Beat Descendent”. Perhaps Beggars Banquet were more co-operative this time. Whilst one could always quibble with any attempt at a Fall “best of”, yr present author was not taken with this one and my purse remained closed. 58 was an unwieldy number (why not a round 60?), the cover artwork – a spoof of a different Elvis Presley sleeve – was far from appealing and the entry-point value of “50,000...” was lost, a 3 disc set at £17 being too big a serving at too high a price for the merely curious. However, it looks as if I'm just flat-out in the wrong. As we'll continually see, Cherry Red aren't just experienced, they are also smart and do not lack savvy. I'm sat here keyboard-griping while “58 Golden Greats” is sold out. Enough said.

In 2019, Cherry Red announced the beginning of the Fall Sound Archive, the title of which gave the air of a mission to preserve The Fall's work for future generations. Inevitably, they were starting with 40th Anniversary editions of “Live At The Witch Trials” and “Dragnet”. There was early disappointment. The 3CD edition of “Live At The Witch Trials” contained the exact same music as the 2CD edition from 2004 but spread over three discs. Any thoughts that the decision at least preserved the sanctity of the original 11 song album were hampered by the 3CD edition of “Dragnet” containing, as disc 1, the exact same running order – with single and outtakes – as the 2004 CD edition. The other two discs were 2 of the little-loved “Live From The Vaults” series (of which, more later, sort of..). The archive was perhaps, not so deep.

However, the plus points were the vinyl editions, which had been hatched with obvious care. Using the rare US edition of “LATWT” with an alternate sleeve and revised running order was a clever touch and one that acknowledged that the Fall's audience would need something more than just a nice colour of vinyl before they indulged the album yet again. Similarly, “Dragnet” came with a reproduction 7” of “Rowche Rumble”, a record which originally came with the thinnest paper sleeve in the history of music. That's not to say that we didn't get coloured vinyl, oh we did - “LATWT” came of red vinyl to match the US sleeve and “Dragnet” on black and white “splatter” vinyl. These both sold well, sold quickly and sold out, now being tricky to score except on the Discogs etc market. But perhaps more to the point, they suggested that Cherry Red's experience and nouse would, at minimum, keep things interesting.

Later in 2019, the Kamera catalogue came under Cherry Red's microscope and it was another mixed set of releases. For CD buyers, a 6 disc set called “(1982)” was developed. This contained “Hex Enduction Hour”, “Room To Live” “Fall In A Hole” various single and live tracks and the “Live To Air In Melbourne” album which had previously snuck out in the late 90's when MES was broke. There was no new music to be had here at all – everything had previously been released. As such £40 was too rich a price tag for many and the edition is still easily available. The new vinyl edition of “Hex” was well particularly well presented. For the first time, the 60 minute LP was cut onto 4 sides of vinyl – a long overdue move, this did the album real justice on the format and would have to be considered an essential for those who insist on twelve-inch slabs of wax for their music. A pleasing, sturdy fold-out sleeve showed that corners were not being cut, the vinyl again matched the colour scheme of the artwork and it also came with an excellent reproduction of the sterling “Look, Know/I'm Into C.B.” 45. What spoiled it a little bit was the inclusion of a third LP with Peel Session #5 on one side and some of the live tracks from the 2005 Sanctuary 2CD on the other. All this really did was drive up the price – a double LP with the 7” would have been perfect and would have been less heavy on the purse *NB – this didn't stop me buying it – that's my copy in the picture...). “Room To Live” was given a vinyl reissue too, this time as a double LP with sides 3 and 4 being the live tracks from the 2005 Sanctuary edition. Again, this didn't quite feel like the right choice – an alternative idea would have been a single LP with a 7”. Given that the classic “Lie Dream Of A Casino Soul/Fantastic Life” single had been added to the popular, widely owned German pressing, why not add a repro of that instead? It would have cost less and added more value to the package.

Despite these whinges “(1982)” would have to be considered an elegant, practical solution to a latter-day problem and demonstrates why Cherry Red remain a market leader in catalogue reissues. Can you really sell compact discs of these albums yet again? How else do you present the music in this format? The answer to parcel the whole lot together and present it as a “year-in-the-life” was a smart one that was only hampered by an optimistic £40 price tag (which translated to as much as £58 in stores) and the artwork being based on “Hex” which could have given a more casual customer the notion that the set was Hex and 5 discs of “other” material. The bottom line here is that there is nothing else in the cupboard; as with the IAKO ballet and the Hey! Luciani play, fantasies about things like the unedited “Winter” and the full 20+ minute “And This Day” ever appearing are exactly that – fantasies. Were they ever preserved, they're gone and anything that did turn up, almost 40 years hence would likely be in such a state of degeneration as to be unlistenable. From now on, all that can be done is to keep this material out there and try to present it with a fresh angle. That's precisely what Cherry Red have done here.

Come 2020, come the challenge of reselling what is not just one of the most widely-distributed but also one of the worst Fall albums: “Reformation Post TLC”. Cherry Red stuck to type with a double LP pressed into blue and red coloured vinyl, again matching the colour to the sleeve. Undoubtedly a handsome package, this version was snapped up with some enthusiasm although it does seem that sales were likely harmed by coinciding with the early, uncertain, often panic-stricken days of the Covid-19 pandemic reaching the UK. The 4CD edition was daunting: the whole album and 2 CDs worth of outtakes and rough mixes, followed by the “Last Night At The Palais” CD. The “Last Night At The Palais” DVD was not included. Time has passed, time has healed and it is clear that RPTLC is a terrific EP stretched out beyond the energy of the participants. There is even a strong 40 minute single LP to be had within its contents but, hey it was what it was. With almost all of the unreleased mixes having no vocals, interest wears off before we got to the excellent live disc but, on the other paw, Cherry Red have done exactly what we want; it is highly unlikely that there is anything left from the album sessions; this is the whole lot, every scrap. Up to us now what we do with them.

****************************

Now, if you're thinking I've skipped something, you're right but the story of The Fall's posthumous discography is difficult to tell in a linear fashion. So I invite you, friends, to join me in a diversion. Cast your minds back to Record Store Day 2019.

Cherry Red played a good hand by releasing a new vinyl edition of the superb “Imperial Wax Solvent” album. As with “Levitate”, vinyl copies were going for silly money, Universal having allegedly pressed a mere 500 for the world. It was a shame that Cherry Red therefore added only another 500 copies, this time pressed into yellow vinyl. These were almost entirely snapped up on the day and copies of this edition are routinely offered at £50-60. “IWS” had, of course, been out of print since 2008, having been deleted less than 6 months after its release. As such the RSD edition of “IWS” could be said to have undersold the record somewhat. Unless, of course, a properly “available” edition, maybe with that unreleased original mix of the album was to follow at some point...more on that later.

Sadly, we must also wade through the other Fall releases that were curled out for RSD 2019. That will take us into Part 3...

#the fall #mark e smith #hex enduction hour #dragnet #live at the witch trials #reformation post tlc #1982 #room to live #craig scanlon #steve hanley #paul hanley #marc riley #karl burns #imperial wax solvent

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felassan · 4 years

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Insights into DAI’s development from Blood, Sweat, and Pixels

The book is by game industry journalist Jason Schreier (it’s an interesting read and well-written, I recommend it). This is the cliff notes version of the DAI chapter. This info isn’t new as the book is from 2017 (I finally got around to buying it). Some insight into DAO, DA2 and cancelled DA projects is also given. Cut for length.

BW hoped that DA would become the LotR of video games. DAO’s development was “a hellish seven-year slog”

The DAI team are compared to a chaotic “pirate ship”, which is what they called themselves internally. “It’ll get where it needs to go, but it’s going to go all over the place. Sail over here. Drink some rum. Go over here. Do something else. That’s how Mark Darrah likes to run his team.” An alternative take from someone else who worked on the game: “It was compared to a pirate ship because it was chaotic and the loudest voice in the room usually set the direction. I think they smartly adopted the name and morphed it into something better.”

A game about the Inquisition and the large-scale political conflicts it solves across Thedas, where the PC was the Inquisitor, was originally the vision for ‘DA2′. Plans had to change when SW:TOR’s development kept stalling and slipping. Frustrated EA execs wanted a new product from BW to bolster quarterly sales targets, and decided that DA would have to fill the gap. BW agreed to deliver DA2 within 16 months. “Basically, DA2 exists to fill that hole. That was the inception. It was always intended to be a game made to fit in that”

BW wanted to call it DA: Exodus, but EA’s marketing execs insisted on DA2, no matter what that name implied

DAO’s scope (Origin stories, that amount of big areas, variables, reactivity) was just not doable in a year, even if everyone worked overtime. To solve this problem, BW shelved the Inquisition idea and made a risky call: DA2 would be set in one city over time, allowing locations to be recycled and months to be shaved off dev time. They also axed DAO features like customizing party members’ equipment. These were the best calls they were able to make on a tight line

Many at BW are still proud of DA2. Those that worked on it grew closer from all being in it together

In certain dark accounting corners of EA, despite fan response to DA2 and its lower sales compared to DAO, DA2 is considered a wild success

By summer 2011 BW decided to cancel DA2′s expansion Exalted March in favor of a totally new game. They needed to get away from the stigma of DA2, reboot the franchise and show they could make triple-A quality good games.

DAI was going to be the most ambitious game BW had ever made and had a lot to prove (that BW could return to form, that EA wasn’t crippling the studio, that BW could make an ‘open-world’ RPG with big environments). There was a bit of a tone around the industry that there were essentially 2 tiers of BW, the ME team and then everyone else, and the DA team had a scrappy desire to fight back against that

DAI was behind schedule early on due to unfamiliar new technology; the new engine Frostbite was very technically challenging and required more work than anyone had expected. Even before finishing DA2 BW were looking for a new engine for the next game. Eclipse was creaky, obsolete, not fully-featured, graphically lacking. The ME team used Unreal, which made inter-team collab difficult. “Our tech strategy was just a mess. Every time we’d start a new game, people would say, ‘Oh, we should just pick a new engine’.”

After meeting with an EA exec BW decided on Frostbite. Nobody had ever used it to make an RPG, but EA owned FB dev studio DICE, and the engine was powerful and had good graphic capabilities & visual effects. If BW started making all its games on FB, it could share tech with sister studios and borrow tools when they learned cool new tricks.

For a while they worked on a prototype called Blackfoot, to get a feel for FB and to make a free-to-play DA MP game. It fizzled as the team was too small, which doesn’t lend itself well to working with FB, and was cancelled

BW resurfaced the old Inquisition idea. What might a DA3 look like on FB? Their plan by 2012 was to make an open-world RPG heavily inspired by Skyrim that hit all the beats DA2 couldn’t. “My secret mission was to shock and awe the players with the massive amounts of content.” People complained there wasn’t enough in DA2. “At the end of DAI, I actually want people to go, ‘Oh god, not [another] level’.”

It was originally called Dragon Age 3: Inquisition

BW wanted to launch on next-gen consoles only but EA’s profit forecasters were caught up in the rise of iPad and iPhone gaming and were worried the next-gen consoles wouldn’t sell well. As a safeguard EA insist it also ship on current-gen. Most games at that time followed this strategy. Shipping on 5 platforms at once would be a first for BW

Ambitions were piling up. This was to be BW’s first 3D open-world game, and their first game on Frostbite, an engine that had never been used to make RPGs. It needed to be made in roughly two years, it needed to ship on 5 platforms, and, oh yeah, it needed to restore the reputation of a studio that had been beaten up pretty badly. “Basically we had to do new consoles, a new engine, new gameplay, build the hugest game that we’ve ever made, and build it to a higher standard than we ever did. With tools that don’t exist.”

FB didn’t have RPG stats, a visible PC, spells, save systems, a party of 4 people, the same kind of cutscenes etc and couldn’t create any of those things. BW had to create these on top of it. BW initially underestimated how much work this would be. BW were the FB guinea pigs. Early on in DAI’s development, even the most basic tasks were excruciating, and this impacted even fundamental aspects of game design and dev. When FB’s tools did function they were finicky and difficult. DICE’s team supported them but had limited resources and were 8 hours ahead. Since creating new content in FB was so difficult, trying to evaluate its quality became impossible. FB engine updates made things even more challenging. After every one, BW had to manually merge and test it; this was debilitating, and there were times when the build didn’t work for a month or was really unstable.

Meanwhile the art department were having a blast. FB was great for big beautiful environments. For months they made as much as possible, taking educated guesses when they didn’t know yet what the designers needed. “For a long time there was a joke on the project that we’d made a fantastic-looking screenshot generator, because you could walk around these levels with nothing to do. You could take great pictures.”

The concept of DAI as open-world was stymying the story/writers and gameplay/designers teams. What were players going to do in these big landscapes? How could BW ensure exploring remained fun after many hours? Their teams didn’t have time for system designers to envision, iterate and test a good “core gameplay loop” (quests, encounters, activities etc). FB wouldn’t allow it. Designers couldn’t test new ideas or answer questions because basic features were missing or didn’t exist yet.

EA’s CEO told BW they should have the ability to ride dragons and that this would make DAI sell 10 million copies. BW didn’t take this idea very seriously

BW had an abstract idea that the player would roam the world solving problems and building up power or influence they could use. But how would that look/work like in-game? This could have used refinement and testing but instead they decided to build some levels and hope they could figure it out as they went.

One day in late 2012, after a year of strained development on DAI, Mark Darrah asked Mike Laidlaw to go to lunch. “We’re walking out to his car,” Laidlaw said, “and I think he might have had a bit of a script in his head. [Darrah] said, ‘All right, I don’t actually know how to approach this, so I’m just going to say it. On a scale of one to apocalyptic... how upset would you be if I said [the player] could be, I dunno, a Qunari Inquisitor?’”

Laidlaw was baffled. They’d decided that the player could be only a human in DAI. Adding other playable races like Darrah was asking for would mean they’d need to quadruple their budget for animation, voice acting, and scripting.

“I went, ‘I think we could make that work’,” Laidlaw said, asking Darrah if he could have more budget for dialogue.

Darrah answered that if Laidlaw could make playable races happen, he couldn’t just have more dialogue. He could have an entire year of production.

Laidlaw was thrilled. “Fuck yeah, OK,” he recalled saying.

MD had actually already realized at this point it’d be impossible to finish DAI in 2013. They needed at least a year’s delay and adding the other playable races was part of a plan/planned pitch to secure this. He was in the process of putting together a pitch to EA: let BW delay the game, and in exchange it’d be bigger and better that anyone at EA had envisioned. These new marketing points included playable races, mounts and a new tactical camera. If EA wouldn’t let them delay, they would have had to cut things. Going into that BW were confident but nervous, especially in the wake of EA’s recent turmoil where they’d just parted ways with their CEO and had recruited a new board member while they hunted for a new one. They didn’t know how the new board member would react, and the delay would affect EA’s projections for that fiscal year. Maybe it was the convincing pitch, or the exec turmoil, or the specter of DA2, or maybe EA didn’t like being called “The Worst Company in America”. Winning that award 2 years in a row had had a tangible impact on the execs and led to feisty internal meetings on how to repair EA’s image. Whatever the reasons, EA greenlit the delay.

The PAX Crestwood demo was beautiful but almost entirely fake. By fall 2013, BW had implemented many of FB’s ‘parts’, but still didn’t know what kind of ‘car’ they were making. ML and team scripted the PAX demo by hand, entirely based on what BW thought would be in the game. The level & art assets were real but the gameplay wasn’t. “Part of what we had to do is go out early and try to be transparent because of DA2. And just say, ‘Look, here, it’s the game, it’s running live, it’s at PAX.’ Because we wanted to make that statement that we’re here for fans.”

DA2 hung on the team like a shadow. There was insecurity, uncertainty, they had trouble sticking to one vision. Which DA2 things were due to the short dev time and which were bad calls? What stuff should they reinvent? There were debates over combat (DAO-style vs DA2-style) and arguments over how to populate the wilderness.

In the months after that demo, BW cut much of what they’d shown in it. Even small features went through many permutations. DAI had no proper preproduction phase (important for testing and discarding things), so leads were stretched thin and had to make impulsive decisions.

By the end of 2013, DAI had 200+ people working on it, and dozens of additional outsourced artists in Russia and China. Coordinating all the work across various departments was challenging and a full-time job for several people. At this sheer scale of game dev, there are many complexities and inter-dependencies. Work finally became significantly less tedious and more doable when BW and DICE added more features to FB. Time was running out though, and another delay was a no.

The team spent many hours in November and December piecing together a “narrative playable” version of the game to be the holiday period’s game build for BW staff to test that year. Feedback on the demo was bad. There were big complaints on story, that it didn’t make sense and was illogical. Originally the PC became Inquisitor and sealed the breach in the prologue, which removed a sense of urgency. In response the writers embarked on Operation Sledgehammer (breaking a bone to set it right), radically revising the entire first act.

The other big piece of negative feedback was that battles weren’t fun. Daniel Kading, who had recently joined BW and brought with him a rigorous new method for testing combat in games, went to BW leadership with a proposal: give him authority to open his own little lab with the other designers and call up the entire team for mandatory play sessions for test purposes. They agreed and he used this experiment to get test feedback and specifically pinpoint where problems were. Morale took a turn for the better that week, DK’s team made several tweaks, and through these sessions feedback ratings went from 1.2 to 8.8 four weeks later.

Many on the team wished they didn’t have to ship for old consoles (clunky, less powerful). BW leadership decided not to add features to the next-gen versions that wouldn’t be possible on the older ones, so that both versions of the game played the same. This limited things and meant the team had to find creative solutions. “I probably should’ve tried harder to kill [the last-gen] version of the game”, said Aaryn Flynn. In the end the next-gen consoles sold very well and only 10% of DAI sales were on last-gen.

“A lot of what we do is well-intentioned fakery,” said Patrick Weekes, pointing to a late quest called “Here Lies The Abyss”. “When you assault the fortress, you have a big cut scene that has a lot of Inquisition soldiers and a lot of Grey Wardens on the walls. And then anyone paying attention or looking for it as you’re fighting through the fortress will go, ‘Wow, I’m only actually fighting three to four guys at a time.’ Because in order for that to work [on old gen], you couldn’t have too many different character types on screen.”

Parts of DAI were still way behind schedule because it was so big and complex, and because some tools hadn’t started functioning until late on. Some basic features weren’t able to be implemented til the last minute (they were 8 months from ship before they could get all party members in the squad. At one point PW was playtesting to check if Iron Bull’s banter was firing, and realized there was no way to even recruit IB) and some flaws couldn’t be identified til the last few months. Trying to determine flow and pacing was rough.

They couldn’t disappoint fans again. They needed to take the time to revise and polish every aspect of DAI. “I think DAI is a direct response to DA2,” said Cameron Lee. “DAI was bigger than it needed to be. It had everything but the kitchen sink in it, to the point that we went too far... I think that having to deal with DA2 and the negative feedback we got on some parts of that was driving the team to want to put everything in and try to address every little problem or perceived problem.”

At this point they had 2 options: settle for an incomplete game, which would disappoint fans especially post-DA2, or crunch. They opted to crunch. It was the worst period of extended overtime in DAI’s development yet and was really rough: late nights, weekends, lost family time, 12-14 hour days, stress, mental health impacts.

During 2014′s crunch, they finally finished off features they wished they’d nailed down in year 1. They completed the Power (influence) system and added side quests, hidden treasures and puzzles. Things that weren’t working like destructible environments were promptly removed. The writers rewrote the prologue at least 6 times, but didn’t have enough time to pay such attention to the ending. Just a few months before launch pivotal features like jumping were added.

By summer BW had bumped back release by another 6 weeks for polish. DAI had about 99,000 bugs in it (qualitative and quantitative; things like “I was bored here” are a bug). “The number of bugs on an open-world game, I’ve never seen anything like it. But they’re all so easy to fix, so keep filing these bugs and we’ll keep fixing them.” For BW it was harder to discover them, and the QA team had to do creative experimentation and spend endless late nights testing things. PW would take builds home to let their 9 year old son play around. Their son was obsessed with mounting and dismounting the horse and accidentally discovered a bug where if you dismounted in the wrong place, all your companions’ gear would vanish. “It was because my son liked the horse so much more than anyone else ever had or will ever like the horse.”

MD had a knack for prioritizing which bugs should be fixed, like the one where you could get to inaccessible areas by jumping on Varric’s head. “Muscle memory is incredibly influential at this point. Through the hellfire which is game development, we’re forged into a unit, in that we know what everyone’s thinking and we understand everyone’s expectations.”

At launch they still didn’t have all their tools working, they only had their tools working enough.

DAI became the best-selling DA game, beating EA’s sales expectations in just a few weeks. If you look closely you can see the lingering remnants of its chaotic development, like the “garbage quests” in the Hinterlands. Some players didn’t realize they could leave the area and others got caught in a “weird, compulsive gratification loop”. Internet commentators rushed to blame “those damn lazy devs” but really, these were the natural consequences of DAI’s struggles. Maybe things would have been different if they’d miraculously received another year of dev time, or if they’d had years before starting development to build FB’s tools first.

“The challenge of the Hinterlands and what it represented to the opening 10 hours of DAI is exactly the struggle of learning to build open-world gameplay and mechanisms when you are a linear narrative story studio,” said Aaryn Flynn.

“DA2 was the product of a remarkable time-line challenge,” said Mike Laidlaw, “DAI was the product of a remarkable technical challenge. But it had enough time to cook, and as a result it was a much better game.”

Read the chapter for full details of course!

#dragon age #bioware #video games #SW:TOR #mass effect #I've seen plenty of this info discussed in articles/thinkpieces and on online communities over the years #but it's nice to read it first hand #some very insightful stuff here #these behind the scenes looks are very valuble #a lot of DAI's elements make sense given the context and what was going on in the background and the tech challenges they faced etc #be kind and respectful to devs folks they're human beings #also in general this book is really interesting and easy to read #funny in places too #it has lots of other chapters on lots of other games including Stardew Valley #I def recc buying it #anyway hope this post is useful/interesting to someone!#oh and as always support good treatment of game devs #crunch culture in the industry is harmful and exploitative

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lovemesomesurveys · 3 years

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Did 2015 just fly by to you? I probably did feel that way. I usually do when looking back on each year. The only things I really remember about 2015 is graduating UC and hanging out with Ty.

Do you like platform shoes? No. I couldn’t wear them anyway.

How much black is in your wardrobe? Most of my wardrobe is black.

Are you supposed to be doing something else? Nah, this is what I like doing at this time of night as part of my nighttime routine.

If you were with your favorite person right now, what would you be doing? I’d like finish watching this show my mom and I have been watching and check out the first two episodes of the new season of another show.

Did you have a good holiday season? I did.

Anything special planned for today? Nope.

Who do you really trust in your life? My family.

What do you think about Justin Bieber? I like some of his music.

Do you wish you could change the past? Not entirely, but there’s a lot I wish I could change.

What is your hot drink of choice? Coffeeee.

Do you own a gun? No.

Have you ever cracked your cell phone screen? Not my current phone, but in the past I have. I haven’t had that happen in years, though.

Have your pants ever fallen down in public? No.

If you had to delete one year of your life, which year would it be? I wouldn’t want to delete an entire year. I’d like to change things that happened in various years, though.

What is your favorite article of clothing you own? All of them, which is why I have them.

How late do you usually stay up? Until like 7 or 8AM. :X

What is your favorite Christmas song? I love all the classics.

What all have you had to eat today? It’s only 4AM and so far I’ve just had ramen.

If your entire life was a movie, what would it be called? I don’t know.

Blue or green? I like various shades of both.

What's your current least favorite song? *shrug* I haven’t been listening to music lately.

Do you know how to play chess? Nope.

What is something the world needs less and more of in your opinion? We need more unity and less stupidity and hatred.

Do you know someone who is just so breathtakingly attractive? Alexander Skarsgard.

How hard is it for you to open up to others? I have a really hard time with that. Even with people I am close to.

What is something that has really impacted your life? My physical disability for sure as well as health issues.

Quick! Chinese or Mexican? Hm. It honestly depends what food I’m in the mood for. I do have Mexican more often. I enjoyed both a lot more when I could eat spicy stuff, but I can’t anymore. :(

How many significant others have you had in your WHOLE life? I’ve only had one, technically. We had the relationship title, anyway. It didn’t feel like one, though. What I had with Joseph felt closer to one in a lot of ways, but we never officially dated.

I have to ask: What does the last text you received say? My dad asked me to do something.

How about the last text you sent? I asked my mom if she could grab me something while she was at the store.

Have you shared any kisses today? No.

Did the last person you kissed have soft lips, or were they kind of crusty? They were soft.

Do you think your life will be any different a year from now? For the past few years nothing seems to change each passing year, but that’s largely my own doing. Not in a good way, anyway. There have been bad changes.

What is in your wallet? Credit cards.

Have you ever been in a fist fight? Nope.

When was the last time you went to the doctor? This past Tuesday.

Are you going out of town anytime soon? Nope.

Do you hate your ex? No.

When are you going to get a haircut? I have no idea.

Can you fit your hand around your wrist? Yes.

Have you ever hurt yourself on purpose? Yes.

When was the last time you applied chapstick? I don’t remember.

Are you a coffee person or a tea person? Coffee all the way.

Do you have a weird laugh? *shrug*

Do you have videos on YouTube? I do, but they’re all private and will never see the light of day again.

When’s the last time you had a phone conversation for more than ten minutes? I don’t remember. I rarely talk on the phone and when I do they’re very brief conversations.

Do you laugh at inappropriate times? No.

What’s your fast food restaurant of choice? The ones I go to are Chick-fil-A, Carl’s Jr, Jack in the Box, and McDonald’s. I haven’t been eating fast food much lately, though.

All the people you’ve kissed, what did their names start with? D, G, and J.

Are you in any kind of pain right now? Yes.

Are you the jealous type? I can be, but I haven’t felt that way in years.

What did you and your ex fight about most? Our issue was definitely lack of/poor communication.

Do you have a foot phobia? I’m not afraid of feet, but I hate them lol. No one should even think about trying to put their feet on me or near me. I hate mine, too.

Well, are you a germaphobe? I don’t share drinks or eat off someone’s food or utensil or anything like that or want them to do that to mine. I’ll gladly cut off a piece and share or pour some out for ya.

Don’t you love long hugs? From certain people.

And long kisses? Yes.

Have you ever purchased condoms? No.

Do you have a dirty mind? Sometimes.

What’s your favorite soda? I don’t drink soda anymore, but Coke and Dr. Pepper were my favorites.

Do you check the mail everyday, or somebody else? I personally don’t, but someone in my family does.

Did you think braces were cool when you were little? No.

Do you ever go without makeup or doing your hair? I haven’t worn makeup in almost 4 years and I just throw my hair up in a messy bun all the time. I also admittedly don’t brush it everyday.

Put your iTunes on shuffle RIGHT NOW and tell me the first song it plays. I don’t use iTunes and I don’t feel like opening Spotify right now.

What was the last song you added to your iTunes library? I forget the last song I added to my Spotify.

Are you embarrassed by any of the songs in your iTunes? I’m not embarrassed by any of the songs on my Spotify.

When was the last time you were sick? Back in October.

Did you get anybody else sick? No, it wasn’t contagious.

What brand is your camera? I just use my phone, which is an iPhone 12 Pro Max.

Do you like raisins? Yeah. Chocolate covered raisins, especially. ha. Who was your Valentine this year? I won’t have one.

When did you first kiss the last person you kissed? March 2011.

And when did you last kiss the last person you kissed? Sometime in 2013.

Did you borrow that shirt from somebody? Nope, it’s mine.

What was the last thing you put in your mouth? My medicine.

Do you like to swim? No.

How many vacations have you been on in the past year? My last vacay was last February a month before COVID hit and everything shut down. It’s crazy how fast everything changed and everything that has happened since then. We had no idea what was coming. I’m glad we happened to take a nice vacation when we did cause who knows when the next one will be.

Have you ever gone on vacation with your boyfriend/girlfriend? I’m single, but no I never have in the past.

Are you supposed to be doing homework, young man/lady? Nopeee, I’m done with school.

Do you have to wake up early tomorrow? Nope.

Do you have any prescriptions currently? Yes.

Are you upset about anything? Bleh.

Where was the last place you went that you hadn't been to before? The OC.

Who was the last member of the opposite sex to make you smile? My brother.

Who was the last attractive person you saw? I see Alexander Skarsgard on my dash all the time.

Do you have a friend whose name begins with "C"?

Is there anything happening in the next week that you're looking forward to? New episodes of some shows I’m watching to come out.

How many people have you kissed whose name starts with "R"? Zero.

When was the last time you ate a bar of chocolate? It’s been a few years.

When was the last time you were invited to go somewhere and you declined? The other day my mom asked me if I wanted to tag along for the ride with her while she ran some errands, but I declined.

The last time you saw your best friend, what were they wearing? She was wearing a black shirt with Maleficent on it that I got her for Christmas.

How did you meet the person you're currently interested in? I’m not interested in anyone romantically right now.

What was the last gift you received and who gave it to you? Various Christmas presents from my family.

When was the last time you drank alcohol and what was the occasion? My birthday back in 2013.

You've got an unread message on Facebook; who do you want it to be from? There isn’t anyone in particular.

What if the person you miss walked into the room right now? The people I miss have passed away, so...

Are you still with the person you fell the hardest for and if not, do you still speak to them? Nope.

What was the last song that made you cry and what does the song talk about? I don’t remember.

If you're in a relationship, how long have you been together? I’m single.

If you're single, are you looking for a relationship? No.

Look around the room; what's the closest blue object? My back pillow.

Are you attracted to the last person you Facebook messaged? No.

How old were your parents when they met? They were in their early and mid 20s.

Who was the last person you added to your phone's contacts? I don’t recall.

What's a song that reminds you of someone you miss? Everlong (the acoustic version) by Foo Fighters.

What's the most expensive item you've bought recently? It was an accumulation of things when I was doing my Christmas shopping.

Who're the last three people you hugged? My mom, dad, and doggo.

What's the third song on your iTunes "most played" list?

What exactly is on your mind at this moment? I’m tired.

What is it that makes you awesome? Nothing.

What is today’s date? January 16, 2021.

What time is it? 4:55AM.

At this moment in time, is there anything worrying you, that no one else knows about? Yes.

Have you ever cried in front of the last person you texted? Countless times.

What was the last thing you watched on YouTube? I’m watching an ASMR video.

Have you ever voluntarily read the Bible? Yes. I read and study the Bible. I participate in Bible studies. Have you ever thought that your life was so bad you wanted to give up? I’ve felt that way a lot.

How old are you? 31.

When do you start school? I’m done with school.

Do thunder and storms scare you? I love ‘em. We have had a thunderstorm here in so long it feels like.

How often would you say you take naps? Not that often since I usually sleep in until like 5PM. And not to say I couldn’t still take a nap cause I could (I’m always tired), but I wouldn’t want to so late in the day.

How many times in your life have you held a baby? Many times. I have a younger brother and I also have held several of my cousins when they were babies.

Do you like country music? Yeah.

What were you doing at 7:45 this morning? It’s only 5AM, but I’ll most likely be asleep or attempting to.

When you looked at yourself in the mirror today, what was the first thing you thought? I haven’t done so yet today, but I’m always like “ew.” I avoid looking in the mirror as much as possible.

Do you look decent when you wake up? No. Or ever.

Do you like to cuddle? I don’t have much cuddling experience to be honest, but sure.

Were you single on your last birthday? Yes.

Do you have any candles in your room? I do. I never light candles, so I’m not really sure why I have one any, but *shrug*

How long does it take you in the shower? Like 30-45 minutes.

Relationship between you and the last person you texted? She’s my mom.

When was the last time you felt unbearably guilty? I feel guilty about a few things.

Are you currently looking forward to anything? Just new episodes of some of the shows I watch like I mentioned before and new shows in general. There’s a lot coming out this year.

What are two foods you think only taste good with whipped cream? Uhh. I can’t think of any that I think only taste good with whipped cream.

If you eat it, what is your favorite way to eat beef? When it’s in the form of meatballs (mixed with sausage, garlic, onion, and herbs).

What foods go good with radishes? Don’t they commonly go in salads?

Are you insecure about your height? What made you think this way? No. I do wish I was taller, though.

Did your last significant other have a huge temper? No.

Do you usually close the door with your feet or with your hands? My hands.

Are you a fussy eater? I am a picky eater and due to appetite and other issues I’m very particular about what I eat and how it’s prepared and all that. I honestly only eat the same few foods.

Do you enjoy visiting your grandparents? Yes.

Is your hair hard to manage? For me it is. I don’t have the energy or motivation for it.

Have you ever shopped online? I do a lot of online shopping, especially the past few years. Even more so this past year alone due to COVID.

Do you prefer gold or silver? I like both.

What about diamonds or pearls? Both.

Have you ever had surgery? I’ve had several.

Have you ever eaten at Chik-fil-a? Yeah, many times.

Do you spray tan? Nope.

How many hours of sleep would you say you got last night? About 5ish.

How many aunts and uncles do you have? 3 aunts, 8 uncles.

Would you say your life is hard? It is for me.

Are your fingernails, and toenails painted, if so, what color? Nope, neither of them are.

Would you ever think about doing porn? No.

What did your last text message you received on your cell say? My dad asked me to do something.

What is something you need to go shopping for? Nothing at the moment.

#personal #text #survey #surveys #long survey

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