#Apple Immersive Video

[virtualrealitynewstoday]

Blackmagic Design 宣布全球首款專為 Apple Vision Pro 設計的商用攝影系統及編輯軟體

Blackmagic Design 在美國加州庫比蒂諾宣布，將推出全球首款專為 Apple Vision Pro 設計的商用攝影系統及後期製作軟體。新推出的 Blackmagic URSA Cine Immersive 攝影機和更新版的 DaVinci Resolve 編輯軟體，支援8K立體3D拍攝和編輯，專為電影製作人打造專屬於 Apple Immersive Video 的電影內容。 URSA Cine Immersive 攝影機裝備了固定的客製化立體3D鏡頭系統，配有雙8K影像感測器，能夠捕捉高達16停的動態範圍，並以每眼8160 x 7200的解析度進行錄影，支援高達90fps的立體3D錄影。此外，此攝影機還具有極其堅固的機身設計，配有高效能的8TB網絡存儲，以及豐富的連接選項，包括12G‑SDI輸出、10G乙太網、USB-C等。 DaVinci Resolve…

[blackmagicita]

Blackmagic DaVinci Resolve

[03349656115]

appleiphone

[allpleasuer]

Apple Vision Pro: A Revolution in Spatial Computing

Apple Vision Pro: A Revolution in Spatial Computing ALL PLEASUER Introduction to Apple Vision Pro Apple has stepped into the new era of spatial computing with the introduction of the Apple Vision Pro. This device seamlessly blends digital content with your physical space, navigated simply by using your eyes, hands, and voice. It opens up possibilities for doing things you love in ways never…

[vanteguccir]

── ୨୧ !　𝗩𝗢𝗚𝗨𝗘 𝗕𝗘𝗔𝗨𝗧𝗬 𝗦𝗘𝗖𝗥𝗘𝗧𝗦

　　　　　　𝒄𝒉𝒓𝒊𝒔 𝒔𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒏𝒊𝒐𝒍𝒐 x famous!reader

SUMMARY: Where the world-famous actress and model, Y/N, is invited by Vogue to record a video of her Beauty Secrets, but during the recording, Chris, her boyfriend, decides to make a brief appearance.

WARNING: None.

REQUESTED?: No.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: That is my work, I DON'T authorize any plagiarism, copy, or "inspiration"! | English isn't my first language, so I'm sorry if there's any grammar error.

　　　༻✦༺ 　༻✧༺　༻✦༺

The golden sun peeked through the silk curtains, illuminating Y/N's spacious marble bathroom. She was at home in her luxurious suite, ready to share her beauty secrets with the world.

A few days ago, Y/N was busy organizing her appointments when an email with the iconic Vogue logo caught her attention. With a mix of curiosity and anticipation, she opened the message to discover that Vogue was interested in featuring her in its exclusive beauty video series, Vogue Beauty Secrets.

The news filled her with excitement and pride. As one of the most in-demand models of the moment, walking on runways for renowned brands like Gucci and being a regular in the pages of Vogue itself, Y/N was already a familiar presence in the fashion industry. However, the invitation to share her beauty secrets with the Vogue audience represented an exciting opportunity to connect on an even deeper level with her fans and followers.

As Y/N prepared to start recording the video, she could hear the distant sound of laughter and the distinctive hum of video games coming from the next room. Her boyfriend, Chris, was immersed in one of his thousands of games, completely absorbed by the virtual world.

With a captivating smile, the girl waves to the camera with her left hand, starting the recording. Her long hair falls like a silken waterfall as she approaches the dressing table adorned with high-quality beauty products.

"Hi, guys! It's Y/N here." She greets enthusiastically, her smile stretching across her face as her right hand lifts slightly, showing the white mug full of fresh brewed coffee. "And I'm back on my favorite channel. Today is a very special day because I'm sharing my beauty secrets with you!"

With grace and elegance, Y/N begins her skincare routine, explaining each step in meticulous detail. She gently applies a gentle cleanser, massaging it into her skin in circular motions while commenting on the latest happenings in the fashion world.

"You know, being on the cover of Vogue for the fifth time is an honor." She shares casually. "But it's also a reminder of how much hard work and dedication it takes to get there. I remember when I was just a 10-year-old kid walking down the hallway at home in my mom's heels."

While applying a refreshing toner, Y/N describes how she likes to take care of her skin to keep it radiant and flawless, even under the relentless camera spotlight.

"It's all about consistency and finding what works for you." The girl advises gently, looking directly into the camera with confidence. "And never underestimate the power of drinking lots of water and getting enough sleep!"

With one fluid movement, Y/N moves on to the next step: makeup. She carefully selects her favorite products, explaining the reasoning behind each choice as she applies them with masterful skill.

"My makeup philosophy is simple: enhance natural beauty." She explains, delicately tracing her eyebrows with a pencil in the tone of her natural hair. "It’s all about enhancing, not transforming."

Y/N lowered her head slightly, her right hand hovering over her laid out products before her index finger and thumb fished out her Dior blush.

"This one is Dior Backstage Rosy Glow Blush. It's super beautiful and gives you, like, baby pink glow. I'm literally obsessed!" The girl opens the small packaging, momentarily showing the pink powder to the lens before applying it delicately to the apples of her cheeks with a white brush. "I used to use really heavy blush when I was in school." Y/N confesses, laughing. "My face looked like a paint palette! Chris said it also looked like I had sunbathed for hours without sunscreen. But over time, I learned the art of subtlety."

As she continued to expertly apply her makeup, focusing on the smooth strokes and precise touches, a noise at the bathroom door broke her focus. With a surprised sigh, she saw through the mirror her boyfriend entered the spacious room with a frustrated expression on his face.

"Fucking hell!" He grumbled under his breath, muttering curses as he ran a hand through his disheveled hair.

Y/N couldn't help but laugh softly at the sight of him, knowing he was dealing with another loss in his game against Nick and Matt.

"Having some trouble, babe?" She asked playfully, turning her face slightly towards him and giving him an amused look as she continued to apply her makeup.

Chris let out a heavy sigh and walked with quick steps toward her, looking over Y/N's shoulder to see what she was doing. His eyes widened in surprise as he noticed the strategically placed recording camera before turning towards his girl with raised eyebrows.

"Wow, wait!" The boy exclaimed, excitement clear in his voice. "Are you recording a video?"

Y/N nodded, smiling as she explained about Vogue's invitation and the opportunity to share her beauty secrets with the world, her hands gently closing the packaging of the blush before putting it away in its original place.

Chris watched with admiration her animated features as she talked and her hands moving her favorite products - which he had already memorized, him himself buying many of them for her everytime he passed by Sephora -, his eyes shining with pride.

"That's so cool, baby!" He exclaimed, smiling big and wrapping an arm around her waist, moving so that he was more centered inside the lens's frame and clinging to his girl. "You're amazing, you know that?"

"If your intention is to make me blush, it will be impossible under those layers of blush." Y/N intervened, raising her right hand with her palm facing him, rolling her eyes playfully in an attempt to feign annoyance, but the minimal smile on her face said otherwise. "Do you want to stay here? With me."

"Can I?" Chris widened his eyes comically, turning abruptly to her, feeling elated.

"Of course you can, honey!" Y/N couldn't help but laugh at Chris's excitement, nodding with a smile. "Welcome to my world of beauty." She opened her arms in an exaggerated gesture of welcome, receiving a nasal laugh in response.

As she resumed her makeup, explaining the next steps in detail, Chris watched with interest, asking questions and showing genuine interest in the entire process, a childish and euphoric aura surrounding his body.

As Y/N picked up her favorite mascara and began to explain in detail about the brand and its incredible formula that provided volume and length without clumping, Chris's eyes traveled between the product - which he already knew very well - and her concentrated expression. He could see the passion in his girlfriend's eyes as she talked about her beauty rites, and this only increased his admiration for her, an involuntary smile resting on his face.

Then, when Y/N was about to apply the mascara, the boy gently stepped forward, extending his hands, stopping her movements. The girl raised her eyes to him, a confused expression hovering over them before noticing what he wanted to do after watching Chris take the product from her hands.

That wasn't unusual between them; Over the three years of their relationship, Chris had become skilled at some specific makeup steps, helping his girlfriend on several occasions.

"Can I?" He asked softly, holding the mascara in her eyes level.

Y/N smiled, feeling grateful for her boyfriend's affectionate gesture, throwing a wink in the direction of the camera before turning her body slightly to the side, so that her face was still visible to the lens and that Chris could see her completely.

"Please, go ahead, baby." She finally replied, her eyes shining with tenderness as she watched Chris move closer, wanting to put himself in an easy position for both of them, without running the risk of smudging his work.

With skill and care, Chris began to apply the mascara to Y/N's long, naturally curled lashes, following the precise movements he had observed she doing so many times. He furrowed his eyebrows in a serious expression, determined to do an impeccable job, his tongue lolling out of his lips in concentration.

"Chris and I have an interesting ritual. For as long as I can remember, I've always been very careful about the way I look, and that didn't change after I started dating Chris, and much less when we started actively going to each other's houses." Y/N explained softly, without moving her lips too much with the intention of not making him smudge his work. "And Chris, being the adorably clingy boyfriend that he is, would spend hours in the bathroom with me while I was trying out new makeup or getting ready to go out. He would just sit on the closed toilet seat and watch me for minutes on end."

"How could I not look at a work of art as perfect as you?" The boy interrupted her, shooting off his sentence before an involuntary smirk appeared on his lips, feeling the skin of her right cheek burn against his own hand.

"And then, one day, he asked to do my makeup, but before I explained the function of each product." Y/N quickly resumed her train of thought, ignoring her boyfriend's flirting. "And over time, every time we go out together, he asks to help me, or just to watch me doing my skin routine."

"Sharing these intimate moments with you is the best part of my daily routine." The brunette said softly, his tone low with the intention of only his girlfriend hearing, his eyes meeting hers tenderly.

Y/N quickly pressed her lips into a thin line, feeling her neck and cheeks burn even more in shyness, her right hand moving up his body, caressing his covered hip lightly with her fingers in ghost touches.

When he was finished, Chris stood back with a triumphant smile, admiring his work with pride. Y/N turned around, facing the camera and the mirror completely, observing her own reflection for a few seconds, impressed with the result. Her lashes were perfectly defined and voluminous, exactly how she liked them.

"Wow, you're getting better at this!" Y/N exclaimed, approaching her face to the camera slightly, blinking repeatedly, wanting the lens to capture her boyfriend's perfect work. "Thank you, my love."

Chris smiled excitedly, happy to have made Y/N feel even more pretty, his hands returning to their previous place on her waist.

"Vogue, please, get Chris to do the next episode of Vogue Beauty Secrets."

　　　　　༻﹡﹡﹡﹡﹡﹡﹡༺

extra - comments:

"petition for Chris and Y/N to start posting makeup videos together ✏️📄"

"I never thought I would see Chris knowing about makeup, much less doing someone's makeup 😭"

"this is the cutest thing I've ever seen in my entire life 😔✋🏻"

"I need a boyfriend like Chris, who does my makeup every day 🙏🏻"

"Chris is the true meaning of acts of service 🥺"

"couple goals fr 🤞🏻"

"Chris is to blame for my standard being so high 😫"

"get someone that looks at you like Chris looks at Y/N while she puts on makeup 🤭"

“okay, but can we talk about Y/N’s flawless skin? I'm jealous 😫”

"Y/N's makeup >>>>>"

taglist:

@lustfulslxt @ladybunny44 @worldlxvlys @earth2starkey @remussbitch @freshloveforthefit @sturniolowhore @luvr4miya @alorsxsturn @urfavgirllyyyyy @hearts4chriss @cupidzsq @dracoflaco @rootbeerworshiper @junnniiieee07 @elliesturniolo1 @sstvrnioloo @lightsgore @gidgett11037 @ksskianshd @soimightlikeoldmen69 @ldr-sl0t @breeloveschris @its-jennarose @sainzzsturns @ecliphttlunar @soso-scarlettolivia @sturnolio-luvs @bitchydragonparadise @freshsturns @h3arts4harry @patscorner @strnilolo @bernardsbendystraws @mattsneezing @poetatorturadaa @meg-sturniolo @orangeypepsi @jnkvivi @chrisactualwife @watermelonreid @fratbrochrisgf @elordilover @somegirlfromasgard @hpyjw

(If you want to be added to the taglist, go to this post)

[teriri-sayes]

Reactions to Chaos Creator's Chapter 266

New title - 33. Do You Think It's Possible With Your Own Power?

TL;DR - Cale reveals that he was an otherworlder sent by a god to stop the god-wannabe dragon. Freedom spies on the emperor. Jungwon says that Dragon Lord came to visit him. Cale is troubled because of gamer Alberu.

The Discussion First half of the chapter was a continuation of Cale's "discussion" with Emperor Alt. Cale revealed about his otherworlder status and his mission, giving Alt false hopes of power when Cale added that he would leave this world after his mission was done.

Of course, Cale knew that Alt's ambition would be hard to achieve, especially when King Dennis was present. Dennis had slyly offered to assign "aides" who would do chores for the mages and swordsmen in Cale's group.

With the great upheaval happening 200 years ago, magic and swordsmanship naturally regressed, so Cale understood why Dennis wanted his kingdom's theoretical mages and reserve swordsmen to "become aides" of the mages and knights in Cale's group. So Cale agreed to Dennis's offer, referring him to Ron and Rosalyn.

The Messages It seemed like the area near the ruined temple of the Chaos God was a no-signal place because Sui's group stopped contacting them after teleporting there. And while Cale was thinking of eventually going there too, he received two messages.

One was from Jungwon who said that the Dragon Lord personally visited him. What? How? Did the Central Plains have a World Tree where the Dragon Lord could use to trace the source of the world and talk to Jungwon, like how he did in Aipotu?

But Cale was more alarmed to read the 2nd message which was from Alberu. Yeah, Cale's bad premonition was correct. Alberu had indeed become an obsessed gamer! 🤣🤣🤣

Alberu's message: I heard that the game is getting a large update patch. It's said that from now on, game users can also build a nation. I plan to try it too. Cale: Ha! Alberu's message: FYI, I was selected as a Rising Newbie, a rising powerhouse among newbies. I think I will participate in the best rookie competition as Roan's representative. Cale: Ha! (Alberu Crossman. That person plans to establish a kingdom in a virtual reality game and be the king. And what? Rising Newbie? How immersed were you in the game to get a title like that!) Cale: *video calls Alberu* Alberu: What? I'm busy now, okay? *moving his pen nonstop* Cale: *shocked* Alberu: What's wrong? What happened? Raon: H-Human! The crown prince has puffy eyes! His cheeks are sunken! We have to give the crown prince 10- no, 100 apple pies! Cale: *covers face with both hands* Aren't you tired? Alberu: *stops writing and smiles* You mean doing both work and games? Cale: Yes. Isn't it better to do it in moderation? Alberu: *shrugs* Isn't it worth a try? Raon: T-The crown prince looks like my human now! Cale: This is driving me crazy.

Oh how the tables have turned. Cale and Alberu have switched their iconic lines of "It's worth a try" and "This is driving me crazy" 🤣🤣🤣 And that Rising Newbie title. Yeah, that's pretty much confirmation of Alberu's game addiction. What have you done to him, Cale?

Ending Remarks The last part about gamer Alberu was hilarious. Next chapter would be Cale's meeting with the pope. I guess we're going to find out soon the chaos the three troublemakers had done there. 😂

[eggluverz]

halloween with the hsr boys

pairing: dan heng; jing yuan; blade x reader

sof's note: guess who is in a halloweeny mood :> meee! and i'm sure a lot of y'all are as well so let's bask in these autumn vibes together LOL special shoutout to the anon who suggested dan heng would watch like 15 vids before he carves a pumpkin fhsjkghdf that is so accurate <3 pls enjoy and happy fall!!

dan heng

not big on the spooky parts of halloween, but he loves getting in the halloween/autumn spirit by watching twitches and halloween town with you

you host a pumpkin carving contest on halloween eve between the two of you and dan heng 100% takes it seriously

days of prep before the big night, hours of youtube videos in his history… he even reads up on the origins of pumpkin carving—just to be fully immersed and prepared

when the time comes, dan heng has his tools lined up in the most efficient order as he readies himself to make his design

he, of course, wanted to carve a tree with maple leaves falling in the night sky

you stare at his template with wide eyes, quickly scrapping your happy face idea to think of something more creative…

noticing this, dan heng chuckles in amusement. “you don’t have to change your design to match mine”

you shake your head. “and risk losing the competition? no way”

“then may the best carver win”

when the two of you are done, you take a photo and send to your friends to vote

it was a close call, but dan heng ends up winning by two votes

“maybe i should’ve joined your pumpkin carving research…” you pout, staring between your finished product and his

“there’s always next year,” dan heng soothes, giving you a hug. “besides, you’re always the winner in my eyes.”

jing yuan

he would make all the pies for you

pumpkin pie, pecan pie, apple pie, sweet potato pie, apple crumble pie…you name it 

he doesn’t even know how to make pie he just googled a bunch of recipes and winged it

you think something tastes off but you try to encourage him anyway 

of course, jing yuan sees right through it

“it‘s not that i don’t like your baking, i really do, but i may have some suggestions for the future…”

“there is no need to sugarcoat your distaste, y/n,” he says with a laugh. “we can redo them together.”

the pies turn out even better the next time

the two of you end up picking up pie making as your fall-time hobby this year and bake pie for all your friends

he tries to make a mimi-safe pie as well

mimi hates it (pumpkin spice is not good on the lion’s tongue) 

but you think the effort is cute :> 

he ends halloween night off by sharing a yummy slice of apple crumble pie with whipped cream on top with you

“so sweet!” you state happily as he feeds you the first bite. 

jing yuan leans forward and smiles. “not as sweet as you” 

blade

goes all in for halloween

is dead instead most of the year, comes to life for the halloween spirit

he likes to decorate the house with you, even making a mini “haunted maze” in the driveway for the trick-or-treaters

accidentally makes a kid cry in it…

really, he just went in the maze to do a quick maintenance check, but he looked so menacing in his costume that a kid saw him and started crying 

blade is too confused about what happened to feel bad 

you give the kid extra candy and apologize to their parents while stifling a laugh at blade’s blank expression

“i didn’t even say ‘boo’,” he murmurs curiously.

you just pat him on the head and give him a kiss on the cheek

after the trick-or-treat shenanigans, you and blade relax and unwind on the comfort of your couch

his definition of unwinding on halloween is watching old horror movies

[or, if you cannot handle horror like me: he watches the barbie movies with you to help you take your mind off the halloween scares and go to sleep :3]

you cuddle him as you doze off while eating leftover halloween candy 

blade carries you to bed and tucks you in for the night bc you deserve a good night’s rest <3

[gyuvision]

i need to know if you’ve seen that video of gyuvin splitting an apple with his bare hands and your thoughts!!! IM INSANE RN

STOPP IVE BEEN THINKING AB IT FOR LITERALLY AN HR😭😭😭 [cw; fingering, hand kink..?(idk what its called)]

thinking ab bf!gyuvin who’d be so immersed in some new show on netflix, he wouldn’t even realize how intensely you were staring at his hands when he gripped the remote, forgetting about the plate of apples lying between you both. only when you slide the plate over and move closer to him to rest your head on his shoulder would he realize your gaze. “something you wanna tell me baby?” he’d grin, moving to wrap his free arm around your waist. “its pretty..” “what is?” “your hands..” you mumble, slowly bringing a hand up to trace his arm muscles. and you werent lying, his hands really were pretty. with his veins running up and down, the bones visible (did that make sense??).

after watching him pull apart that apple for you earlier, with his muscles bulging, all you could think about were his hands.

he’d take the plate and set it on the side table. then gyuvin would have you sitting in between his legs while he had his fingers working on your clit, prodding at your entrance before letting them sink in. gyuvin would watch intently how his fingers disappear then reappear from your cunt as you drip onto the couch. he smiles when he hears your mewls, speeding up the pace of his thrusts as your thighs begin to shake, before he helps you ride out your high.

“youre so pretty like this..” he’d coo, tilting his head to the side when you’d suck your slick off his fingers.

“think we could finish the show when im in between your thighs?”

[yuurei20]

Ortho Info Compilation part 2: Abilities

Ortho’s various capabilities change according to his “gear,” which have been mostly (but not all been) designed and crafted by Idia.

Ortho regularly references the tools and abilities with which he has been equipped, such as:

・a directional mic that can pick up human whispering fifty meters away (better than the hearing of fae and beastpeople, according to Lilia) ・a vocal synthesizer ・LED beams

・projection mapping ・a 4D mode (for olfactory immersion) ・access to the school’s surveillance feeds ・a manual that includes information on “classic date spots” ・weather calculation ・the ability to fly into space ・alloy fibers (“modeled after Jack Howl’s legs”)

・a fiberscope ・mini-arms ・a 3D printer ・a first-aid kit

・the ability to detect and describe unseen campus intruders ・the ability to open the Oceanus Gate to STYX ・the ability to scan and identify the composition of objects like skincare products.

Ortho seems to have a “sleep mode,” a “low illumination mode” and an “auto mode.”

Ortho will occasional reference his “databanks,” which is how he is able to recognize the spectral realm during Halloween.

He says they “have a baseline of 100,000 books stored inside” and “include comprehensive data on medicinal herbs and medicines.”

Ortho says he is under order from Idia to never log into satellite position systems, but there does not seem to be anything actually keeping him from doing so.

He can detect people within a 10,000 meter radius (and motion detect within a one-kilometer radius), which he says makes it difficult to sneak up on him.

Ortho is also capable of telling whether or not others are being sincere, testing this ability on Ace, Idia and Rook.

Rook, however, may be capable of fooling Ortho’s tests for heart rate fluctuations, perspiration and other vital signs (during Halloween he tells Trey he is capable of controlling his own heart rate).

Ortho often video records the happenings around him (during so during both Phantom Bride and Spectral Soiree), and he seems to keep chat logs/voice recordings from Idia.

Ortho is also equipped with a “technomantic beam” which he threatens to fire at the school in order to save Idia during Phantom Bride.

He says that his “burst gear” (based on the school’s ceremonial robes) can output it at high levels.

He comes close to firing his technomatic cannon at visitors during the Halloween event and Fairy Gala IF.

Ortho fires his beam at two bullies in a vignette, which may or may not have been with intent to kill: he regrets that they were able to dodge his attack, which wrecks a pillar instead.

Ortho also fires his beam when trying to help Crowley get Lucius down from a tree, splitting it in half.

(Crowley has a thing for the school’s apple trees, according to both Trey and Ruggie. Epel has a line about how “apple trees can withstand intense cold and still bear fruit.”)

[fandomchokehold]

Origin Characters as Streamers

Shadowheart

Stardew Valley ✨QUEEN✨ (1000% romances either Haley, Abigail, or Sam)

Plays Minecraft on creative mode, she’s just here to make a cute house, have every animal, and frolic in a cherry blossom forest

Also enjoys cozy games like Spirit Farer, Animal Crossing: New Horizons, Cozy Grove, etc.

Her and Karlach sometimes play co-op horror games like Panicore, Phasmophobia, Escape the Backrooms because everything makes her scream and Karlach laughs at her (affectionately)

Gale

Absolutely DESTROYS old men in online chess

Plays Minecraft on hard mode and also BODIES Mario Maker (he has created the most sinister, infuriating, maddening levels)

Was definitely a Sonic kid, he knows the games are terrible but they’re so nostalgic and he loves making fun of them

Always tries to have a nice time playing Mario Party with Wyll, Karlach, & Astarion and they always end up screaming at each other

On the other hand he also does relaxing Pokémon card opening streams and cooking streams with Tara (he’s totally unaware of the tiktok thirst edits of him in his apron)

Karlach

Queen of first person shooters like Fortnite and Apex Legends, her and Wyll are unbeatable in DOOM (2016)

She more so likes cute cozy games that she can sip hot cocoa and snuggle up with a teddy bear while playing

Plays old shitty ps2 games based on media that chat requests like Bratz: Forever Diamondz, Barbie Horse Adventures, and Monsters, Inc.

Loves racing games (she’s terrible at them)

Loves fucking around in GTA 5 (she’s so good at it)

Every now and then does ghost hunting streams with whoever’s available (Shadowheart’s clinging to her the whole time, Gale is giving a thorough breakdown of the history of the location, Astarion is covering up his fear by saying everything’s the wind while also clinging to her, Lae’zel is actually looking for a living person in the building to fight, Wyll is cracking jokes and isn’t scared at all until he sees a door move and him and Astarion are in the car in 0.02 seconds)

Astarion

Loves visual novel romance games like Dream Daddy, Monster Prom, Raptor Boyfriend, etc.

Like Karlach he loves cozy games that let him get in his white girl autumn mode (lights off, candles lit, snuggled under a blanket, pumpkin spice latte and apple cider donuts nearby)

Definitely DOESNT CRY when he plays emotionally charged games especially where a beloved character dies, especially if it’s an animal, no he’s not pausing the stream to cry he just has to go pee-!

His most popular stream was playing A Way Out with Gale (he’d go from threatening Gale’s life for not being in sync to making jokes about the characters being them and also gay)

Does cosplay making streams, sews all of his costumes himself

Lae’zel

Queen of survival games like Subnautica, Rust, DayZ, Raft

Loves hand to hand and melee combat games like Bloodborne, Dark Souls, Elden Ring, Dragon’s Dogma; specifically medieval setting games cuz she gets fully immersed and dives deep into character as a knight

She’s bad at racing games; Mario Kart with Wyll, Astarion, & Karlach usually ends with her threatening to dox Astarion

⚔️BLACKSMITHING STREAMS⚔️ most of her viewers for these streams are old men who deeply fear and respect her

Wyll

KING of first person shooters and racing games; Fortnite, Overwatch, PUBG, and Call of Duty ✨champion✨

Slays at Nascar Rumble for the ps2 he’s always got the chicken truck

Is a speed runner for sure and loves doing funky challenges like beating Zelda: BOTW without clothes or breaking the game to take Sidon to Gerudo Town (think PointCrow type challenge videos)

Also likes games with emotional plots like SOMA, Alan Wake, The First Tree, What Remains of Edith Finch, etc. and he will cry on camera

Loves playing two player games with Astarion like Shovel Knight, Snipperclips, Portal 2, and Overcooked

Does late night bedtime story streams, makes his room look super cozy and uses a special ASMR microphone to read stories; takes requests from chat and doesn’t make anyone feel bad for what they want to hear unless it’s smut

All of them at least once a week either get together for a D&D stream or do a multiplayer stream and play:

Lethal Company

Among Us

Content Warning

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

Dead by Daylight

Red Dead Online

Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout

[lucycalled]

Yapping About Andy's Apple Farm - [Negative Rant]

Long post here, first I wanna state that this is ALL MY OPINION. I'm not a professional in storytelling or game design or anything, just find it interesting. This doesn't have anything bad about the creator in it, to my knowledge he doesn't kick puppies or whatever, this is purely my thoughts on the game. Okay now that that's out of the way, FUCK Andy's Apple Farm. First, it takes VERY CLEAR inspiration from the third episode of The Walten Files (Bunnyfarm), the first version being released only a few months after Bunnyfarm dropped. This REALLY shows, both the story and the gameplay seem incredibly rushed.

It copies Bunnyfarm's homework (style, parts of the story, all that) without any nuisance. The best way I can describe the pacing is "Baldi's Basics but unironic", with the horror starting to show only a few minutes into the game. There's NO buildup, and it doesn't even TRY to immerse you in the fact this is supposed to be a game, but oooOOOoooOoo it's spooky and haunted. Even if going in knowing it's a horror game, having time to at least BELIEVE that this could be seen as a regular game in-universe helps a lot with suspending any disbelief and the overall enjoyment of the game. The characters are one-note, and there's hardly any chance to connect with them. They hardly feel like characters and are more plot devices for the half-assed spooky stuff. I mean there's even a character named Felix, there's a difference between openly acknowledging your inspiration and being straight-up shameless. It tried leaching onto Bunnyfarm's well-deserved success, the worst part is that IT WORKED. Pretty much every horror-focused channel that covered TWF made a video on it, falling for the dev's jingling of keys saying "Look! Look! It's The Walten Files!" and the devs just sat back and ate up their fame. Also, they eventually made it cost money (even if it's just a few dollars) which is kinda fucked up IMO. Anyway idk how to close this off, but uhhhh... I think it's a bad and dumb and soulless game and I hate it. That's all.

[virtualrealitynewstoday]

Apple Vision Pro 引入全面無障礙功能，讓每個人都能更輕鬆地溝通和互動

Apple 最近宣布了一系列令人期待的無障礙功能更新，將在其全新的 visionOS 系統中推出。這些功能主要設計用來幫助聽力障礙者更好地參與到日常對話和應用程序中的音頻內容。Apple Vision Pro，作為公司的旗艦產品，將在無障礙設計方面邁出重要一步。 visionOS 將提供全系統的即時字幕功能，這意味著無論是在實時對話還是應用程序的音頻播放中，聽障或重聽的用戶都能跟隨對話。特別是在 FaceTime 上，即時字幕功能將使更多用戶能夠利用其 Persona 輕鬆享受連接和協作的獨特體驗。此外，Apple Vision Pro 將支持在 Apple Immersive Video 中通過窗口欄移動字幕，並支持更多為 iPhone 設計的助聽設備和人工耳蝸。 對於視力障礙用戶，visionOS…

[michaeldswanson]

Apple’s Mysterious Fisheye Projection

If you’ve read my first post about Spatial Video, the second about Encoding Spatial Video, or if you’ve used my command-line tool, you may recall a mention of Apple’s mysterious “fisheye” projection format. Mysterious because they’ve documented a CMProjectionType.fisheye enumeration with no elaboration, they stream their immersive Apple TV+ videos in this format, yet they’ve provided no method to produce or playback third-party content using this projection type.

Additionally, the format is undocumented, they haven’t responded to an open question on the Apple Discussion Forums asking for more detail, and they didn’t cover it in their WWDC23 sessions. As someone who has experience in this area – and a relentless curiosity – I’ve spent time digging-in to Apple’s fisheye projection format, and this post shares what I’ve learned.

As stated in my prior post, I am not an Apple employee, and everything I’ve written here is based on my own history, experience (specifically my time at immersive video startup, Pixvana, from 2016-2020), research, and experimentation. I’m sure that some of this is incorrect, and I hope we’ll all learn more at WWDC24.

Spherical Content

Imagine sitting in a swivel chair and looking straight ahead. If you tilt your head to look straight up (at the zenith), that’s 90 degrees. Likewise, if you were looking straight ahead and tilted your head all the way down (at the nadir), that’s also 90 degrees. So, your reality has a total vertical field-of-view of 90 + 90 = 180 degrees.

Sitting in that same chair, if you swivel 90 degrees to the left or 90 degrees to the right, you’re able to view a full 90 + 90 = 180 degrees of horizontal content (your horizontal field-of-view). If you spun your chair all the way around to look at the “back half” of your environment, you would spin past a full 360 degrees of content.

When we talk about immersive video, it’s common to only refer to the horizontal field-of-view (like 180 or 360) with the assumption that the vertical field-of-view is always 180. Of course, this doesn’t have to be true, because we can capture whatever we’d like, edit whatever we’d like, and playback whatever we’d like.

But when someone says something like VR180, they really mean immersive video that has a 180-degree horizontal field-of-view and a 180-degree vertical field-of-view. Similarly, 360 video is 360-degrees horizontally by 180-degrees vertically.

Projections

When immersive video is played back in a device like the Apple Vision Pro, the Meta Quest, or others, the content is displayed as if a viewer’s eyes are at the center of a sphere watching video that is displayed on its inner surface. For 180-degree content, this is a hemisphere. For 360-degree content, this is a full sphere. But it can really be anything in between; at Pixvana, we sometimes referred to this as any-degree video.

It's here where we run into a small problem. How do we encode this immersive, spherical content? All the common video codecs (H.264, VP9, HEVC, MV-HEVC, AVC1, etc.) are designed to encode and decode data to and from a rectangular frame. So how do you take something like a spherical image of the Earth (i.e. a globe) and store it in a rectangular shape? That sounds like a map to me. And indeed, that transformation is referred to as a map projection.

Equirectangular

While there are many different projection types that each have useful properties in specific situations, spherical video and images most commonly use an equirectangular projection. This is a very simple transformation to perform (it looks more complicated than it is). Each x location on a rectangular image represents a longitude value on a sphere, and each y location represents a latitude. That’s it. Because of these relationships, this kind of projection can also be called a lat/long.

Imagine “peeling” thin one-degree-tall strips from a globe, starting at the equator. We start there because it’s the longest strip. To transform it to a rectangular shape, start by pasting that strip horizontally across the middle of a sheet of paper (in landscape orientation). Then, continue peeling and pasting up or down in one-degree increments. Be sure to stretch each strip to be as long as the first, meaning that the very short strips at the north and south poles are stretched a lot. Don’t break them! When you’re done, you’ll have a 360-degree equirectangular projection that looks like this.

If you did this exact same thing with half of the globe, you’d end up with a 180-degree equirectangular projection, sometimes called a half-equirect. Performed digitally, it’s common to allocate the same number of pixels to each degree of image data. So, for a full 360-degree by 180-degree equirect, the rectangular video frame would have an aspect ratio of 2:1 (the horizontal dimension is twice the vertical dimension). For 180-degree by 180-degree video, it’d be 1:1 (a square). Like many things, these aren’t hard and fast rules, and for technical reasons, sometimes frames are stretched horizontally or vertically to fit within the capabilities of an encoder or playback device.

This is a 180-degree half equirectangular image overlaid with a grid to illustrate its distortions. It was created from the standard fisheye image further below. Watch an animated version of this transformation.

What we’ve described so far is equivalent to monoscopic (2D) video. For stereoscopic (3D) video, we need to pack two of these images into each frame…one for each eye. This is usually accomplished by arranging two images in a side-by-side or over/under layout. For full 360-degree stereoscopic video in an over/under layout, this makes the final video frame 1:1 (because we now have 360 degrees of image data in both dimensions). As described in my prior post on Encoding Spatial Video, though, Apple has chosen to encode stereo video using MV-HEVC, so each eye’s projection is stored in its own dedicated video layer, meaning that the reported video dimensions match that of a single eye.

Standard Fisheye

Most immersive video cameras feature one or more fisheye lenses. For 180-degree stereo (the short way of saying stereoscopic) video, this is almost always two lenses in a side-by-side configuration, separated by ~63-65mm, very much like human eyes (some 180 cameras).

The raw frames that are captured by these cameras are recorded as fisheye images where each circular image area represents ~180 degrees (or more) of visual content. In most workflows, these raw fisheye images are transformed into an equirectangular or half-equirectangular projection for final delivery and playback.

This is a 180 degree standard fisheye image overlaid with a grid. This image is the source of the other images in this post.

Apple’s Fisheye

This brings us to the topic of this post. As I stated in the introduction, Apple has encoded the raw frames of their immersive videos in a “fisheye” projection format. I know this, because I’ve monitored the network traffic to my Apple Vision Pro, and I’ve seen the HLS streaming manifests that describe each of the network streams. This is how I originally discovered and reported that these streams – in their highest quality representations – are ~50Mbps, HDR10, 4320x4320 per eye, at 90fps.

While I can see the streaming manifests, I am unable to view the raw video frames, because all the immersive videos are protected by DRM. This makes perfect sense, and while I’m a curious engineer who would love to see a raw fisheye frame, I am unwilling to go any further. So, in an earlier post, I asked anyone who knew more about the fisheye projection type to contact me directly. Otherwise, I figured I’d just have to wait for WWDC24.

Lo and behold, not a week or two after my post, an acquaintance introduced me to Andrew Chang who said that he had also monitored his network traffic and noticed that the Apple TV+ intro clip (an immersive version of this) is streamed in-the-clear. And indeed, it is encoded in the same fisheye projection. Bingo! Thank you, Andrew!

Now, I can finally see a raw fisheye video frame. Unfortunately, the frame is mostly black and featureless, including only an Apple TV+ logo and some God rays. Not a lot to go on. Still, having a lot of experience with both practical and experimental projection types, I figured I’d see what I could figure out. And before you ask, no, I’m not including the actual logo, raw frame, or video in this post, because it’s not mine to distribute.

Immediately, just based on logo distortions, it’s clear that Apple’s fisheye projection format isn’t the same as a standard fisheye recording. This isn’t too surprising, given that it makes little sense to encode only a circular region in the center of a square frame and leave the remainder black; you typically want to use all the pixels in the frame to send as much data as possible (like the equirectangular format described earlier).

Additionally, instead of seeing the logo horizontally aligned, it’s rotated 45 degrees clockwise, aligning it with the diagonal that runs from the upper-left to the lower-right of the frame. This makes sense, because the diagonal is the longest dimension of the frame, and as a result, it can store more horizontal (post-rotation) pixels than if the frame wasn’t rotated at all.

This is the same standard fisheye image from above transformed into a format that seems very similar to Apple’s fisheye format. Watch an animated version of this transformation.

Likewise, the diagonal from the lower-left to the upper-right represents the vertical dimension of playback (again, post-rotation) providing a similar increase in available pixels. This means that – during rotated playback – the now-diagonal directions should contain the least amount of image data. Correctly-tuned, this likely isn’t visible, but it’s interesting to note.

More Pixels

You might be asking, where do these “extra” pixels come from? I mean, if we start with a traditional raw circular fisheye image captured from a camera and just stretch it out to cover a square frame, what have we gained? Those are great questions that have many possible answers.

This is why I liken video processing to turning knobs in a 747 cockpit: if you turn one of those knobs, you more-than-likely need to change something else to balance it out. Which leads to turning more knobs, and so on. Video processing is frequently an optimization problem just like this. Some initial thoughts:

It could be that the source video is captured at a higher resolution, and when transforming the video to a lower resolution, the “extra” image data is preserved by taking advantage of the square frame.

Perhaps the camera optically transforms the circular fisheye image (using physical lenses) to fill more of the rectangular sensor during capture. This means that we have additional image data to start and storing it in this expanded fisheye format allows us to preserve more of it.

Similarly, if we record the image using more than two lenses, there may be more data to preserve during the transformation. For what it’s worth, it appears that Apple captures their immersive videos with a two-lens pair, and you can see them hiding in the speaker cabinets in the Alicia Keys video.

There are many other factors beyond the scope of this post that can influence the design of Apple’s fisheye format. Some of them include distortion handling, the size of the area that’s allocated to each pixel, where the “most important” pixels are located in the frame, how high-frequency details affect encoder performance, how the distorted motion in the transformed frame influences motion estimation efficiency, how the pixels are sampled and displayed during playback, and much more.

Blender

But let’s get back to that raw Apple fisheye frame. Knowing that the image represents ~180 degrees, I loaded up Blender and started to guess at a possible geometry for playback based on the visible distortions. At that point, I wasn’t sure if the frame encodes faces of the playback geometry or if the distortions are related to another kind of mathematical mapping. Some of the distortions are more severe than expected, though, and my mind couldn’t imagine what kind of mesh corrected for those distortions (so tempted to blame my aphantasia here, but my spatial senses are otherwise excellent).

One of the many meshes and UV maps that I’ve experimented with in Blender.

Radial Stretching

If you’ve ever worked with projection mappings, fisheye lenses, equirectangular images, camera calibration, cube mapping techniques, and so much more, Google has inevitably led you to one of Paul Bourke’s many fantastic articles. I’ve exchanged a few e-mails with Paul over the years, so I reached out to see if he had any insight.

After some back-and-forth discussion over a couple of weeks, we both agreed that Apple’s fisheye projection is most similar to a technique called radial stretching (with that 45-degree clockwise rotation thrown in). You can read more about this technique and others in Mappings between Sphere, Disc, and Square and Marc B. Reynolds’ interactive page on Square/Disc mappings.

Basically, though, imagine a traditional centered, circular fisheye image that touches each edge of a square frame. Now, similar to the equirectangular strip-peeling exercise I described earlier with the globe, imagine peeling one-degree wide strips radially from the center of the image and stretching those along the same angle until they touch the edge of the square frame. As the name implies, that’s radial stretching. It’s probably the technique you’d invent on your own if you had to come up with something.

By performing the reverse of this operation on a raw Apple fisheye frame, you end up with a pretty good looking version of the Apple TV+ logo. But, it’s not 100% correct. It appears that there is some additional logic being used along the diagonals to reduce the amount of radial stretching and distortion (and perhaps to keep image data away from the encoded corners). I’ve experimented with many approaches, but I still can’t achieve a 100% match. My best guess so far uses simple beveled corners, and this is the same transformation I used for the earlier image.

It's also possible that this last bit of distortion could be explained by a specific projection geometry, and I’ve iterated over many permutations that get close…but not all the way there. For what it’s worth, I would be slightly surprised if Apple was encoding to a specific geometry because it adds unnecessary complexity to the toolchain and reduces overall flexibility.

While I have been able to playback the Apple TV+ logo using the techniques I’ve described, the frame lacks any real detail beyond its center. So, it’s still possible that the mapping I’ve arrived at falls apart along the periphery. Guess I’ll continue to cross my fingers and hope that we learn more at WWDC24.

Conclusion

This post covered my experimentation with the technical aspects of Apple’s fisheye projection format. Along the way, it’s been fun to collaborate with Andrew, Paul, and others to work through the details. And while we were unable to arrive at a 100% solution, we’re most definitely within range.

The remaining questions I have relate to why someone would choose this projection format over half-equirectangular. Clearly Apple believes there are worthwhile benefits, or they wouldn’t have bothered to build a toolchain to capture, process, and stream video in this format. I can imagine many possible advantages, and I’ve enumerated some of them in this post. With time, I’m sure we’ll learn more from Apple themselves and from experiments that all of us can run when their fisheye format is supported by existing tools.

It's an exciting time to be revisiting immersive video, and we have Apple to thank for it.

As always, I love hearing from you. It keeps me motivated! Thank you for reading.

[egg-emperor]

I'm really happy I got to play Sonic Dream Team in the end. playing Sonic games really is a whole other vibe than just watching them, getting to immerse myself and experience it makes me feel so much more connected. I feel like I got to go to Ego City instead of just seeing it on a YouTube video and with poor quality low bit rate. XD and it's best to experience the story like that too because it was happening in real time and I had to earn it and have time to think about it in between cutscenes.

just makes me think about how I always highly recommend playing any Sonic games you can before properly analyzing and forming an opinion on any aspect honestly, even story. hell, I didn't even understand and like Frontiers for gameplay and story until I played it all the way through, not the first time but the second time. I understand that in the circumstances of Dream Team specifically, it makes sense that a lot of people unfortunately can't play it because it's limited to just Apple devices.

but for most of the other games, there are a number of ways to play, mostly easy and affordable, especially any game older than like five years old are so easy to get a hold of and pre-owned consoles can be cheap if you can't afford a brand new one or crazy gaming PC. I just really highly recommend more people playing and beating the games, any and all of the main Sonic titles you can. it's really a whole different experience than just watching any of them on YouTube, you may end up feeling much different about a lot of aspects.

I've played and beaten every single Sonic game that's possible for me to obtain in my 18 years of being a fan. that includes all main series titles and most spin offs. only ones I haven't ever played at all are rarer or straight up impossible ones without spending 100s-1000s. I've had every kind of console across those years BUT you can get a lot of the most important Sonic game titles on the Wii (not Wii U, get Wii for the GameCube compatibility for more games) and Xbox 360 especially, with all the different available titles, game collections, etc and the pre-owned console and games for both can be so cheap

playing the games is always a wildly different and way better experience for me than anything else to do with the series and watching videos really doesn't ever feel the same to me. I always highly recommend playing as many as you can

[weclassybouquetfun]

Tomorrow kicks of São Paulo, Brazil's CCXP (Comic Con Experience).

First up is the MAD MAX: FURY ROAD prequel FURIOSA with Anya Taylor-Joy as the titular character. Joining Taylor-Joy on panel will be writer/director George Miller and her costar Chris Hemsworth.

December 1st will be a look at Netflix's REBEL MOON directed by Zack Snyder. The panel will focus on the first installment PART ONE: A CHILD OF FIRE. Joining Snyder and producing partner/wife Deborah will be his stars Sofia Boutella, Djimon Hounsou, and the two GAME OF THORNES Daario Naharises Ed Skrein, Michiel Huisman.

Paramount+ will take stage December 2nd for a panel featuring their upcoming/returning slate including a look at HALO series two; series five of STAR TREK: DISCOVERY, THE THUNDERMANS RETURN and DRAG RACE: BRAZIL.

Jumping all the way to December 3rd will be a special look at DUNE: PART TWO with Denis Villeneuve, Timothee Chalamet, Zendaya, Florence Pugh and Austin Butler joining.

The same day will have Adam Wingard sharing first looks at his Monsterverse film GODZILLA X KONG: THE NEW EMPIRE.

The film features the return of Brian Tyree Henry, Rebecca Hall and new to the franchise Dan Stevens (who starred in Wingard's superb film THE GUEST).

Also in the day will be a look at AQUAMAN: THE LOST KINGDOM with Arthur Curry himself, Jason Momoa joining director James Wan and his costars Patrick Wilson and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II.

Apple+ will be hosting a MONARCH: LEGACY OF MONSTERS immersive fan experience and a panel with cast Kurt and Wyatt Russell, Anna Sawai, Kiersey Clemons and Ren Watabe on December 3rd.

Panels which are scheduled but no concrete details revealed are ones for Prime Video's PERCY JACKSON & THE OLYMPIANS, FALLOUT, and Max's TRUE DETECTIVE: NIGHT COUNTRY, HOUSE OF THE DRAGON and CIDADE DE DEUS: A SERIE.

[thesinglesjukebox]

PORTER ROBINSON - "CHEERLEADER"

April Fool's Day is over, now time for some SINCERITY...

[5.92]

Taylor Alatorre: This song sounds embarrassing. It sounds excessive. It sounds like something you might regret putting into the world five seconds after hitting "publish." It sounds, in other words, like high school. Porter Robinson's post-brostep career has been an extended treatise on escapism -- from the appealingly plaintive paracosms of 2014's Worlds to the soothing self-inventory of 2021's Nurture, with his Virtual Self side project managing to be both esoteric and stupidly self-explanatory. He's crafted a series of immersive alternatives to analog messiness, allowing the listener to check out of the everyday and place themselves for a moment in a softer-edged realm, with more explicable rules and a more poetic set of problems. "Cheerleader," though, offers the listener no assistance in either sidestepping or reconfiguring the uncomfortable reality into which they were born; music video aside, it's not really a song about fanbases gone wild either. Instead it's about the girl in your school's Anime Club who gave out her deviantART username before her phone number and taught you against your will what the word yaoi meant. The fujoshi representation, besides filling a glaring gap in the TSJ search index, makes it clear that this is about a real person and not an avatar, and it's that awkward flesh-and-blood realness which is precisely at issue here. Maybe she's as real as him, and maybe he couldn't live with that. The perspective of a boy who is unused to being the object of obsession is an under-explored one in music, probably because it's very hard to land it within the narrow range of acceptable loserdom. But Porter sticks the landing by enveloping us fully within the loser's headspace, where both his emo-inflected chagrin and his fragmented memories of the girl's "cheering" are enshrouded by a waterfall of blown-out Obama-era detritus. If you ever wondered what a big room house remix of Two Door Cinema Club might've sounded like, or Oracular Spectacular if it had debuted on Beatport, here's your answer. Other seemingly out-of-place additions -- the bitpop cowbell, the Punk Goes Acoustic bridge, the hilariously overwrought drumroll that becomes less so the second time around -- fit right into this 1080p capture of late adolescent bag-fumbling. Taken together, they convey a mismatch in interests and hobbies that may have seemed like a deal breaker at the time, but in hindsight was just another excuse to avoid vulnerability. Perhaps I only arrived at this gonzo interpretation because the 4chan-core single artwork serves as a kind of shibboleth for these things. If that's the case, then I plead guilty: I ate the apple. [10]

Oliver Maier: "We have Anamanaguchi at home." [6]

Hannah Jocelyn: I loved Porter Robinson's Nurture for its unapologetic sincerity, a balm when emerging back into the world post-lockdown. I miss that early hopefulness as the years have gone on; even now, it's hard for me to hear "Unfold" without being close to tears. "Cheerleader" is a frustrating detour, with inane lyrics about yandere fujoshis fetishizing Robinson -- you know you're doing nothing new when the Nostalgia Critic beat you to it, and Robinson hardly sells the can't live with 'em, can't live without 'em message better. Nurture, for better or worse, incorporated the pitch-shifting vocals of hyperpop into EDM (to the point where a trans woman musician I know grew frustrated with Nurture's acclaim for doing what acts like Katie Dey had done for years, regardless of how Robinson himself identifies.) That's worth acknowledging, especially as this attempts to go right to the source: 3OH!3 and Metro Station come to mind. Except there’s none of the polish that makes those songs work despite themselves -- What's with that tinny hi-hat? Where's the low end on the guitar? Listen to "Shake It"; that song from 2007 sounds better than this one from 2024. It's not enough to replicate the aesthetics; for some ungodly reason, Robinson decided it must sound like it's coming from a Hot Topic speaker too. [4]

Claire Biddles: We have "Shake It" by Metro Station at home. [4]

Tim de Reuse: I admire the chutzpah to take a stylistic hairpin turn like this. And I appreciate the ability to do that while retaining the crystal-clear boom-bap production chops that made you a breakout sensation in the first place. And I appreciate how it makes its power-pop references clear without sticking to them too desperately. And I appreciate the sheer craft; birds fly, rocks sink, Porter Robinson writes synth hooks that wrap around your mind and squeeze tight. And I appreciate the line about getting drawn kissing other guys. But there's a clean and edgeless quality here, a sterile expression of his EDM roots, that directly contradicts his attempts at a heartbreaking singalong. Nowhere does his voice crack with raw emotion; nowhere does it seem even possible that his voice might crack with raw emotion. [5]

Kayla Beardslee: Porter Robinson’s doing anime OSTs now? Good for him. [7]

Leah Isobel: I see this fitting into a whole universe of PS1/Nintendo DS aesthetic indie games, YouTube video essays about old anime, trans girls with Neocities websites, indie pop sung by vocaloids. I could call it hyperpop -- not in the sense of overdriven chaos, but in the sense of the hyperlink. (HTML revival would be more accurate.) As such, it feels a little too precise, its scruffiness deployed too purposefully; I feel like this stuff works best when the self is obscured, and Porter is too big of a star to let that happen. But that also means the chorus is fucking massive, so I can't complain too much. [7]

Nortey Dowuona: The soft, limply placed drums in the song for once are not the sabotaging element in this song. The lithe, acoustic guitar bridge is even nicely played. The guitar riff, doubled by the synth, is the true arrow to the heart of this song. Porter is processed to hell and back, refusing to give over his composition to a more present, entertaining vocalist, but that riff is so grating and stiff that when it first arrives, sliding up as the culmination of the slowly hopping pre-chorus, it stops the song from progressing any further, simply pushing Porter into the background and leaving his Melodyned voice slack below it, struggling to be heard. Now, does this stop me from screaming that chorus in my head? Of course not. It's not fair I have to keep hearing this grating riff every time, though. [6]

Ian Mathers: God, I love that recurring, overdriven synth sound that kicks in on the chorus. If anything I wish it was more all-enveloping when it hits (yes, like shoegaze, yes, I'm predicable). There's lots of other interesting things going on here, but I can't quite get over that visceral rush enough to figure out my response to it all. Hit the whoosh button again, Porter! [8]

Jacob Sujin Kuppermann: Not nearly dumb enough for me to enjoy its shtick. [3]

Isabel Cole: This sounds like a One Direction album track in a universe where after they got kicked off The X Factor, Simon Cowell realized he could save so much money by replacing everyone but Liam with robots, only when they got into the studio there was some kind of malfunction and Zayn-bot started screeching uncontrollably and Niall-bot fell on his side crackling horribly with static while Harry-bot and Louis-bot took turns punching each other until they were dented beyond recognition, and that's why it sounds like how it sounds. (Liam didn't notice anything amiss, obviously; have you met him?) [4]

Will Adams: At the heart of Nurture was its... well, heart. On that record, Porter Robinson wore his on his sleeve, crooning lines like "I'll be alive next year / I can make something good" without a hint of irony. On "Cheerleader," he surprisingly lets a bit of cynicism slip in. It's not a leap to see how producing such earnest, sincere art would naturally invite fans to form parasocial relationships, to draw fan art but not know where to "draw the line," to develop a near-fatalistic expectation of commitment. But between each of those details is a generous counterpoint, where Porter wonders if he benefits just as much from these feelings. It creates a fascinating tension, expressed best by the chorus: "IT'S NOT FAAAAIIIRRRRRR!", stretched over a fizzy, tightly-wound power-pop arrangement complete with a skyscraping synth line. Porter just can't help himself. We've all got feelings; why not scream them to the rafters? [8]

Katherine St. Asaph: Porter Robinson's brand of earnestness makes my heart feel burnt or dead. [5]

[Read, comment and vote on The Singles Jukebox]