#SP the great studio

[bimgtt]

SP never destroyed anything

so what they wanna proof that blushing sasuke loved sakura but in real sasuke blushing at that time means it's embarrassment nothing romantic, sp didn't do shit

what has changed it is till the same bloody

They did good by showing sakura isn't insensitive jerk to a injured person and giving him space but in manga she is a insensitive prick

when is sasuke blushing, it was shadow of his hair sasuke was actually smiling in anime, plus anime was in 2000s, that's why quality down, so they focus on important things, blushing was like something impossible to add at that for some reason

instead they add a hug so it's not even that important cz sakura forcefully squeezing sasuke's hand

funny angry expression cz he had a vision of his massacre self and angry and now wanna throw at someone bc of curse mark, it's same

what's their agenda with this, it proves nothing negative for sasuke

what's difference, both same expression of gratefulness for a comrade mixture with sad and frustration along with pain of curse mark

again what they wanna proof sasuke even not looking at sakura but drawn from different angle than manga that's why it's misunderstood sasuke is looking to none but towards empty point,

what it proves that sasuke love her, delusion looool

same expression in one sasuke looks more exhausted and nihilist and indifferent robotic face other one more angry,

doesn't proof anything positive for sakra stan to cherry picks

again when opening your mouth is surprised expression with no reaction dialogue, both have same expression with manga had open mouth, sakra stan cheery picks well

sugarcoating like sakra stan, sasuke's face is surprised in the anime too but you have to see very closely to understand that not from far away cz it was drawn in a very small way

studio can't cz the way draw sasuke was different then manga that's why they can't add blushing, it would be inconsistent,

also blushing doesn't mean she likes her but he was flustered for some reason, we know what is the reason but you can't sugarcoat panel without indicating concretely why sasuke felt flustered for sakura or something else or being centre of attention when he said about his goal

lol in manga sasuke even not laughing just looking at her with guilt face not love but in anime he is laughing like he is part of team 7 now,

funny this where guilt tripping of sasuke by team 7 started

at least anime tried to make it like consistent memory while manga proved it imagination of sarada with sasuke having both hand and fat

what does it even proof when it was stated sasuke had no contract with her for decade in your fanfic novel mentioned it so why does it matter if it was present or not cz people will read gaiden not only watch anime

this one is bad

instead they add sakura's badass fight not damsel in distress

in manga sasuke looked like depressed as hell but in anime they made him jolly, should be happy for your stan, sasuke didn't , he did cz sarada did

when novel became canon,

they are same as anime canon fillers,

so be grateful, they even adapted these fanfic which only for shippers

lol at least anime showed the canon sasuke not fanfic sasuke,

sasuke who didn't even care when his wife transported now jealous and didn't even hug her when she wanted lol??

anime did better to maintain consistency of sasuke, sasuke never gets jealous, didn't even care when she stabbed by madara never sent a letter in a decade now suddenly jealous

it was filler they can't add everything

like it' even a problem!!

lol sasuke's jealousy wasn't there when he was contract less with her for decade

they removed the creepy part of sakura

if he can count on her then why didn't he let her beat shin uchiha and sending letter to her, i mean he can count on her so sending letter wouldn't hurt his mission after all he can count on her

they want anime fillers to be treated as arc when SP had tight schedule at that time for boruto

he is having smiling face

the man who doesn't even care to send a letter once for a decade or mentioning his wife name before leaving with boruto

[milk-tea-sakura]

✧˚˖𓍢ִ໋🎧🤎☕˚˖𓍢ִ໋✧☁️˚ʚ🧸ɞ˚☁️✧˚˖𓍢ִ໋☕🤎🎧˚˖𓍢ִ໋✧

𝒞𝓌: 𝓕𝑒𝓂! 𝓡𝑒𝒶𝒹𝑒𝓇, 𝒻𝓁𝓊𝒻𝒻 𝓉𝑜 𝓈𝓂𝓊𝓉, 𝒞𝒽𝑒𝑒𝓈𝓎 𝒻𝓁𝓊𝒻𝒻 𝓉𝑜 𝓈𝓂𝓊𝓉, 𝒶𝒻𝓉𝑒𝓇𝒸𝒶𝓇𝑒, 𝒫𝑜𝓇𝓃 𝓌𝒾𝓉𝒽 𝓁𝒾𝓉𝓉𝓁𝑒 𝓅𝓁𝑜𝓉

𝒲𝑜𝓇𝒹 𝒸𝑜𝓊𝓃𝓉: 𝟣𝟩𝟦𝟢

𝓔𝓈𝓉𝒾𝓂𝒶𝓉𝑒𝒹 𝓇𝑒𝒶𝒹𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝓉𝒾𝓂𝑒: 𝟨 𝓂𝒾𝓃 𝟦𝟫 𝓈𝑒𝒸

✧˚˖𓍢ִ໋🎧🤎☕˚˖𓍢ִ໋✧☁️˚ʚ🧸ɞ˚☁️✧˚˖𓍢ִ໋☕🤎🎧˚˖𓍢ִ໋✧

Seonghwa entered the coffee shop, scanning the room for Y/n's familiar face. When he spotted her, a warm smile spread across his face as he made his way over to her.  

She looked up and smiled, her face lighting up the room. "Hey," she said, patting the seat next to her.  

Seonghwa slid into the seat and leaned in to give her a quick kiss. "Miss me?" he teased.

Y/n rolled her eyes playfully. "You know I always do," she replied.  

They sat together, talking and laughing, enjoying each other's company. Seonghwa couldn't help but feel a sense of contentment and peace when he was with her. They ordered their drinks and continued to chat about their day, Seonghwa sharing stories about ATEEZ's latest adventures.  

"How's the comeback coming along?" Y/n asked, genuinely interested.

"It's going great," Seonghwa said with a smile. "We've been working hard in the studio, putting everything into making this comeback our best one yet."  

He went on to tell her about the songs they'd been working on, the choreography they'd been practicing, and the excitement and anticipation he was feeling for the release. Y/n listened intently, asking questions and offering her support and encouragement.

As they sipped their coffee, Seonghwa couldn't help but notice a strand of hair that had fallen into Y/n's face. He reached out and tucked it behind her ear, letting his hand linger on her cheek for a moment.  

Y/n blushed, her heart fluttering at his gentle touch. "You're so sweet," she murmured, smiling up at him.

Seonghwa chuckled and pulled his hand away, not wanting to embarrass her any further. "It's not fair," he said with a mock pout. "You always make me lose my train of thought when you smile at me like that."

Y/n laughed and poked him in the arm. "You're just a big softie," she teased.  

Seonghwa feigned a hurt look. "Hey, I can be tough too," he protested.

Y/n rolled her eyes. "Uh huh, I've seen you when you see a puppy. You turn into a pile of mush instantly."

Seonghwa couldn't deny it. "Fine, you got me there," he admitted, grinning. "But I can't help it if puppies are just too damn cute."

Y/n shook her head, still smiling. "You're hopeless," she said affectionately. "But I love you for it."

Seonghwa felt his heart skip a beat at her words. He loved how comfortable they were with each other, how they could be silly one moment and heartfelt the next. "I love you too," he said quietly, taking her hand in his.

Y/n squeezed his hand, her heart swelling with happiness. They sat in comfortable silence for a few moments, just enjoying each other's presence.  

Finally, Seonghwa glanced at his watch. "I wish I could stay here with you all day," he said wistfully. "But I have to head back to the studio soon."

Y/n nodded, disappointment flitting across her face. "I know," she said. "But I'll see you tonight, right?"

"You bet," Seonghwa said firmly. "I wouldn't miss our time together for the world."  

He stood up and leaned down to kiss her forehead. "I'll call you later, okay?"

"Okay," Y/n said, reluctantly letting go of his hand. "Have a good practice."  

Seonghwa gave her one last smile before walking out of the coffee shop, already missing her presence.

As he made his way back to the studio, Seonghwa couldn't help but look forward to the end of the day, when he could see Y/n again. He knew that their lives were busy and chaotic, but as long as he had her, everything else faded into the background.

That night, Seonghwa arrived at Y/n's house, exhausted from a long day of rehearsals but still in a good mood. Y/n greeted him with a warm smile and a hug, and he felt all his stress melt away in her arms.  

They spent the evening curled up on the couch, watching a movie and sharing a bottle of wine. As the night progressed, they found themselves growing more and more comfortable in each other's presence, their hands wandering and their touches becoming more intimate.

"I've missed you," Seonghwa murmured, his lips brushing against Y/n's neck.  

She sighed, arching her neck to give him better access. "I've missed you too," she breathed, her hands roaming up his back under his shirt.

Seonghwa let out a low groan, the feel of her hands on his skin driving him wild. He shifted, pulling her onto his lap so she was straddling him. His hands moved down to her hips, holding her firmly in place as he pressed kisses along her collarbone.

Y/n gasped, her fingers tangling in his hair. She could feel the heat pooling between her legs, an aching desire building with every touch of his lips. She shifted against him, seeking friction, and Seonghwa let out another low growl.

"Gahddamn, you're driving me crazy," he muttered, pulling her closer. His hands moved to the hem of her shirt, slowly pulling it up. "I need to feel you skin-to-skin."

Y/n helped him pull off her shirt, shivering as he immediately began to press kisses along her bare skin. His hands explored the curves of her body, familiar territory that he never tired of exploring. She arched into his touch, her breath coming in ragged gasps as his mouth moved down her stomach.

Seonghwa pushed her backward until she was lying on the sofa, his body covering hers. He captured her lips in a deep, hungry kiss, his tongue delving into her mouth as his hands continued to roam. "I want you so badly," he murmured, his breath hot against her ear.

"I want you too," Y/n gasped, her body arching against his. She ran her hands down his back, feeling his muscles tense and relax under her touch. "Please, Seonghwa…"

Seonghwa didn't need any further encouragement. He quickly pushed her pants down her hips, his own clothes following soon after. He positioned himself between her legs, his eyes darkening as he took in the sight of her naked body. "You're so beautiful," he breathed, his voice ragged with desire.

Y/n felt a thrill of anticipation run through her at the raw need in his voice. She wrapped her legs around his hips, pulling him closer. "Don't make me wait any longer," she pleaded, her nails digging into his shoulders.

Seonghwa didn't need to be begged. He captured her lips again in another passionate kiss, his tongue tangling with hers as he slowly began to press into her. He groaned at the tight, wet heat enveloping him, his hips starting to move in a steady rhythm.

Y/n gasped, her back arching as pleasure coursed through her body. She met his movements, her hips rising to meet his with each thrust. She clung to him, her nails digging into his back as she felt herself getting closer and closer to the edge. "Seonghwa," she panted, her voice ragged. "Don't stop, please don't stop."

Seonghwa could feel himself losing control, the sensations coursing through his body overwhelming him. He gritted his teeth, his movements growing more frantic as he drove them both towards release. "I won't," he grunted, his voice hoarse. "You feel too good."

Y/n's moans grew louder, her body clenching around his as her pleasure coiled tighter and tighter. Seonghwa's hands gripped her hips, his nails digging into her skin as he pistoned in and out of her. He could feel her on the edge, her breath coming in ragged gasps and she clutched at his shoulders. "I'm close," she gasped. "God, I'm so close, Seonghwa."

Seonghwa was too far gone to form coherent words. He buried his face in her neck, his hips moving desperately as he sought his own release. "Come for me," he panted, his voice ragged. "Come for me, baby, please."

Y/n's body convulsed as her climax hit her like a tidal wave. She cried out, her nails digging into his skin, and Seonghwa felt her clench around him. The sensation was too much, and he followed her over the edge, his body shuddering as he spilled himself inside her.

They collapsed against each other, breaths coming in ragged gasps as they rode out the aftershocks. Seonghwa buried his face in her hair, his heart pounding against her chest. "God, you're incredible," he murmured, his voice still hoarse.

After a few minutes of catching their breath, Seonghwa gently extricated himself from Y/n's embrace, wincing slightly at the separation. He kissed her forehead tenderly. "Wait here, baby," he murmured. "I'll be right back."  

He stood up and disappeared into the bathroom, returning moments later with a warm, damp cloth. He returned to the sofa where Y/n was still lying, her eyes half-lidded and her body still trembling faintly.

He sat down beside her and gently spread her legs, using the cloth to clean her tenderly. His touch was gentle and soothing, his eyes fixed on her face as he worked. "You okay?" he asked softly, his voice filled with concern.

Y/n mustered a small smile, her body still feeling boneless and relaxed from their earlier activities. "I'm great," she murmured. "Just… feeling a little boneless."

Seonghwa chuckled, setting the cloth aside once he was finished cleaning her up. He climbed back onto the sofa, pulling her into his arms and settling her against his chest. "That's a good thing," he teased, his fingers stroking her hair. "Means I did my job right."

Y/n snuggled closer, burrowing her head against his chest and inhaling deeply. She loved the feeling of being held in his arms, safe and cared for. "You always do your job well," she mumbled, her words slightly slurred with exhaustion.

Seonghwa smiled at the praise, his heart swelling with affection. He pressed a kiss to the top of her head, his fingers still running through her hair soothingly. "Get some sleep, love," he murmured. "You need to rest."

Y/n nodded, her eyelids already drooping with fatigue. "Mmm, okay," she mumbled, already drifting off to sleep. "Love you, Hwa."

Seonghwa's smile widened at her sleepy confession. He held her close, his heart full of love and contentment. "Love you too, Y/n," he whispered, pressing another kiss to her forehead. "Sweet dreams."

[plurpaws]

Today is Bandcamp Friday!! if you don't know what that means, it means that today artists selling their music on bandcamp will receive ALL profits without bandcamp taking a cut, which makes it a great time to support your favorite artists 🥳

Check out my stuff if you can — theres a lot of it, and consider supporting your other favorite artists on bandcamp if they have one!! You can get my whole discography for 15% off ^u^

[music-orthemisery]

Hi! While we somewhat on the subject of Patrick’s solo project, can we talk about the hidden track on SP? Like… your thoughts, feelings, theories? What do you see when you listen to it? What feelings are you experiencing when you’re listening to the sounds at the end of the track???

Of courseeee we can talk about Cryptozoology, anon! I’m assuming that’s what you’re referring to, at least.

First, I’ll punt over to this ask @earlgreytea68 answered about this song because I think both she and anon made some great points! I especially love EGT’s comment re: naming a hidden song “cryptozoology.” It’s just so clever!

In terms of my own thoughts, this song definitely presents a few layers to me. The most obvious being him speaking to the music industry and the public/fans in response to him being out on his own. In general, I think Patrick is generally lying out his ass when he says that SP is all metaphorical commentary on the industry/society/etc., but this is one place where I do think that’s accurate. Patrick was in a place where he was desperate to be seen as his own artist - someone who could work magic without Pete and no longer be limited by the confines of FOB.

In terms of the visuals (the cryptozoology of it all), in my head this is Patrick being self-deprecating in a tongue-in-cheek way. He spent years being the guy in Pete Wentz’s shadow, and the ways he’d be described were rarely kind. You’d see nerdy, fat, unattractive, shy, etc. - which would then be paired with commentary on how he’s the primary songwriter and how “despite his looks” he’s essentially the hit factory.

So, now we have this guy emerging from the shadows. This guy who, compared to Pete, was less known, kinda weird looking, and, therefore, more mysterious…what could he bring to the table by himself? Who is Patrick Stump without Pete Wentz? Them being apart practically makes him a Cryptid because it just didn’t exist untold then. It was always at least the two of them.

There’s also the lyrics, “They got the search party looking for the ghost of the child/But what if he grew up? He never died.” Which is….ugh…basically pariah before pariah. I think his perspective here was more defiant (compared to pariah’s defeat), though. Like, ok, I’m being told that the only good I’ve created is shit I created when I was 18, but fuck that. I grew up and I’m here whether you like it or not and I’m not going to keep trying to please you. I’m going to create what I want to create. I don’t need to prove myself to you!

And, yes, that second part is also being spoken to Pete IMO. EGT’s ask that I linked to above echos my general thoughts on that aspect so I won’t go into it much more here.

Of course I need to acknowledge some p2-ness of it, tough, so I’ll focus on the source of Patrick’s bitterness here.

First off, I do not think Patrick was jealous of Pete’s attention. There is not a single thing about Patrick Stump that points to him wanting to be on the same level of fame and attention as Pete was back then.

In fact, going back to my earlier point about him emerging from Pete’s shadow - I’d argue that he was totally fine being in Pete’s “shadow” before, because I don’t think that’s how he saw it. Maybe he didn’t have words for it yet, but it goes back to what they still do now, which is protect each other. He wasn’t in Pete’s shadow. He was the reason he was able to put it all out there musically. They were doing it TOGETHER.

So, in my eyes, Patrick’s bitterness toward Pete, stemmed primarily from abandonment. His creative (and general life, ofc) soulmate had been punted into a completely different reality. Gone were the days where the two of them would spend hours writing and bickering and creating. Even starting in IOH era, there was tension building between them due to Pete’s obligations were taking him away from the studio. They weren’t doing this thing together anymore. Patrick was having to forge on “alone.” Not literally, of course, but I think you get where I’m going with this.

Additionally, referring back to the beloved Zane Lowe interview, Pete’s lyrics give Patrick purpose. Their creative energy is what gets him up in the morning. So, in Patrick’s words, not only was he losing Pete, he was losing his purpose.

(In my delusion p2 brain, IOH is also when the tensions of “what the fuck are we?” And Pete having to live up to the “Hollywood hottie” persona began. That’s a whooooole other post in itself that I’ve talked about a few times before but just had to throw that in there of course.)

So, this is both processing his emergence as his own person to the media and public, but also to Pete. I don’t need to prove myself to you. I don’t need you. I can do this all on my own.

In terms of feelings I experience, what I see, etc…I admittedly tend to intellectualize those things rather than fully acknowledge and experience them, so honestly the above answer probably best captures that as well, haha. Oh, and no clue about the outro sounds. I’m sure someone smarter than me may have some thoughts on that, but in my head Patrick is just playing into the Cryptid/hidden element with some sounds 🤷‍♀️

Anyway, I could yap forever about this but I’ll leave it there. Great question, anon! Thank you! Definitely gave me something to ponder during work today, haha!

[felassan]

developer interview with game developers of upcoming action sci-fi RPG Exodus from Archetype Entertainment, Chad Robertson (executive producer; at BioWare worked on Anthem and The Old Republic) and James Ohlen (executive creative director; senior creative director of BioWare, where he worked for 22 years). (according to wikipedia, Archetype is notable for having drawn talent from BioWare.)

at one point [at timestamp 6 mins 18 secs approx], the interviewer asks them about they and their new studio's relationship with their publisher, Wizards of the Coast. they said that as a publisher WoTC are good and their relationship is good; that WoTC gave them the opportunity to create a whole new IP and a bunch of money to do this. they noted that they let them hire who they wanted to and make the kind of game that they wanted to (like a SP game), mentioning that WoTC are quite hands off and don't interfere:

James Ohlen: "They're great partners and it's been a different relationship with a publisher than any that I've ever been in. In a good way. I'm sure Ray [Muzyka, BioWare cofounder] and Greg [Zeschuk, BioWare cofounder] would be jealous at how little drama I have to deal with, 'cause they, they.. anyways, yeah." [source]

[narhinafan]

Sp is biased for trashkura and don't even care about series production downfall as the anime is on hiatus mainly bcs for animating that filler dinosaur crap and official arts artist are also biased as fck.

It's sad that a great series got ruined by the biased that studio staff.

True Retsuden had no right being in Boruto it had nothing to do with the new gen and was the biggest contributor to ending the anime like it did. They animated entire arc for a novel that tanked yet wouldn't animate Hinata's chapter during the family day arc a novel that did really well.

[perhaps-in-anotherdream]

Hello! Hope you have a great day♡

I want to ask you, i kinda forgot which ASMR of Victor when MC in the dance studio (with a lot of mirror around the room). And MC doing stretching herself with gymball (cmiiw) and Victor help her to do it. And then, MC teased him and ask Victor for reward--end up with Victor give MC alot of kisses and stuff 😳

I remember it was from your Translate ASMR on youtube but I can't find it--or am I wrong... Also, thank you for answer me♡♡

hello! 💕 it was from his ASMR that accompanied his top-up SP: ♡

—

[primnroses]

what are your thoughts after sasuke retsuden anime? did you enjoy it?

I enjoyed it. I had low expectations because seeing it was only gonna be 5 episodes and knowing it's SP adapting it I knew it wasn't gonna be perfect. Rushed and left with much to be desired in terms of content from the novel.

First of all, they cut out Sakura's sensing technique, her Fire Release (manga did too) and her barrier-type ninjutsu was so randomly animated that I had trouble discovering where it was coming from and who had done it. I will compile all of the jutsu that Sakura used in Sasuke Retsuden when the manga ends but you can see it here too. That was the worst thing they did in my opinion.

They prioritized sasusaku moments more than others in terms of animation and art quality, some of which included some original dialogue like the ring scene; but they also cut other sasusaku moments like "this doctor is my wife" and Sasuke caressing Sakura's face at the lake, among others, while others without sasusaku had really bad animation and art like Sasuke freeing Menou from the Edo-tensei.

Congratulations to the freelance animators, but this ain't it. Inconsistent animation and weird art style made some scenes look very goofy. They don't have enough money or what?

They revealed that Jiji was a bad guy as early as episode 3, which killed one of the best moments of the manga in my opinion. If they had animated Jiji stabbing Sakura just like the novel, it would have been the perfect plot twist.

The last episode had some major fighting scenes that were cut out and done terribly.

Lastly, the timeline. If they wanted to follow the novel suit, it should have been animated before the Kawaki arc and with the three novels included or animate it right after Kurama was killed and make it a disease product of Naruto not being a jinchūriki anymore. Being made a flashback of many years back but adding scenes of Sarada was wrong.

I appreciate the adaptation, I have great screenshots and people loved the ring scene and the lake scene. The great majority of the fandom didn't want the adaptation because we know what kind of studio SP is, so there was disappointment in some aspects I mentioned before.

Other than that, Sakura and Sasuke demonstrated to be the most powerful couple in the battlefield, not only in strength but they were also in sync. Sakura's intelligence at solving the mysteries and Sasuke's talent to find clues all around him was unmatched, they complement each other perfectly. They also show that despite the distance, they love and care for each other deeply and it was nice to see it animated for everyone to see.

[japanesedoramaandanimelover91]

In today's edition of the programme "Nino-San" broadcast every Sunday at 10.25 a.m on japanese time and 03.25 a.m on european time on "Nippon TV".

The duo "Nasunakanishi" is making a comeback.

Celebrating the return of Nasu-san SP 🎉.

Nasunaka for indifferent foodies.

Comedian's year-end consolations ㊙ Another game!

Amazing magic.

Everything was just too addictive.

The last project was a complete failure.

This is the best kind of family 😘.

Unforgettable burgers.

Here's a roundup of long-established gourmet restaurants that want to feed you.

Two dangerous duos on the move🤩 Not to be confused.

Nakanishi and Sato-chan, good friends… food fight incident 🤭.

Into the very brain! Great panic before the magic of Shinzi Keisatsu.

Anyway, the studio is lively.

Various curiosities. Alpacas too 🦙 looking out for you.🤭.

[haunted-plush]

Made Benny's sot outfit! Sp studio isn't perfect obviously so I'm gonna draw it myself soon, but here it is for the time being. He's the Wizard's Apprentice, and though it often takes him a lot of time before it understands a new skill, he's on the path to becoming a figure of great magical prowess, just like its mentor, whom he looks up to. He mostly uses transfiguration spells to turn into animals (specifically house cats), and he's mastered this magic completely. His mentor doesn't quite understand the fixation, but is fine with it as long as it still does what its told. He also has a fat crush on the princess, who gave it that heart locket after it saved her life. When out adventuring, his go-to companion and most faithful friend is Butters the Paladin, and the two make an inseparable duo. They've even cuddled up together when out on missions away from camp, during long, cold nights where the campfire wasn't enough to keep them warm...

(I also gave him a last name, Mason, for no particular reason other than I felt like he should have one and Mason sounds cute lol)

[joemuggs]

Albums of 2023 part 3

And - continued from part 2 - some more! This one does what it says on the tin. Levon Vincent knows the old chestnut "dancing about architecture" is accidentally profound: this is 11 pieces of holy four dimensional architecture exquisitely designed for your body to move through.

It's been a great year for old school BRAINDANCE, in no small part thanks to Mighty Force records releasing thick and fast, and this from Kams, straight out of Beckenham, is the best - just warm-hearted, melodic, acidic, danceable, classic electronica.

My old mucker Culshaw is a scholar, a gent, an adventurer, and on the sly a great musician. This comeback to the studio is MAGIC - global and spiritual and incidentally Balearic in a Jose Padilla sense - but its connections are based on highest common factors, never dully fusioneering.

Just fries my mind that Boris seem to get creatively hungrier and angrier with every passing year. This collab brings in all sorts - goth, thrash, synthwave - but what I really love is the unironic POWER METAL energy. Music to be struck by lightning to.

It's been an incredible year for electropop - and this album from producer turned singer songwriter Avalon Emerson is the *sweetest* of the crop, lighter than air, a gentle digital dream, but with surreptitious emotional heft. Reminds me a little bit of millennium era Morr Music, Tarwater etc? Must listen as a whole: it draws you in and in....

Even heavier than the Boris, and the record that made me fall in love with grindcore all over again - had to order the vinyl even given transatlantic premium. Nepalese band in New York Chepang TAKE. NO. PRISONERS. HUURUUUURURRGGHGHHH.

I was NOT expecting this from Anhoni - but I'm a sucker for Muscle Shoals style country-soul grooves, and though they risk getting "a bit Jools Holland", here they're delivered with total assurance plus the bleakness of the lyrics, fierceness of delivery and a few noises moments all adds some serious edge.

More electropop - this one from Jessy Lanza is not a million miles from the Avalon Emerson in its pristine futurist sound, but it's a bit spikier, eerier, like she is setting puzzles for you.

My most played record of the year. Like the Culshaw, a bit Cafe Del Mar in the most urbane possible sense - Sissoko & co's blend of jazz, classical, W African & European folk is done with unbelievable poise and emotion and is completely addictive.

This has been all-conquering this year and rightly so. It's not just the fearsome doom bits, it's the straightforward folk that's great: Lankum remind us of dreadful, beautiful paradoxes of being human that don't really change through the centuries.

Paul Simon says this was written in dreams, and it really sounds like it. Genuinely transporting, surreal, gorgeous and - I have to say it - roughly 10,000,000 times more interesting than anything Bob Dylan has done this century.

Completely UN-deconstructed trance... the way Romy taps into the melancholy of the most globe-conquering of 90s pop dance is something quite special and will serve as a real cynicism test... go on, let it twang your heartstrings!

I've kind of idly admired King Krule's music from a distance previously but that changed last year - he really is something special eh? Way more than the sum of influences, and a proper world-builder.

One of many where I missed the promo at the time (sorry PRs) but then discovered it via my sp****y recommends. Just beautiful post-classical, post-ambient musing music from Audrey Carmes that sounds like austere but lovely perfumes and crisp clean cotton.

Of course death is at the heart of Depeche Mode's music so how tragic but appropriate that it took Fletch's death to turbocharge them creatively. This is like a telescoping together of their whole history - but also still in love with new sounds...

More death, more darkness, with Amy Winehouse serving as a dark angel muse drawing together and crystallising the ambient, abstract and dream cabaret influences Kevin Martin has been incubating in his solo KRM albums since 2019. Crushingly sad and great.

Espec after seeing him rock it in the morning at We Out Here, I do feel like Joshua Idehen is in danger of becoming a late-blooming star, you know. Explicitly connecting David Byrne, Mike Skinner, Maxi Jazz and a finger-jabbing Nigerian preacher, he ROCKS.

Yes, Yussef Dayes really is all that and a packed of Pickled Onion Space Raiders. Brit jazz just seems to have been in a consistent triumphant state these last five years or so and there's no sign of it stopping being that way with albums like this still coming.

Ben Howard is an artist who'd completely passed me by despite being really quite big - but again the sp****y algorithm brought me this and it's really amazing, thought provoking, grown up pop. I *instantly* guessed it was Bullion on production too, no lie. ❤️

I've said for a long time that "mumble rap" has deep atavistic echoes of the blues and psychedelia - and here's the mumbler in chief Lil Yachty joining the dots back through the decades. Funkadelic, Hendrix, Beck, Outkast, BUTTHOLE SURFERS? Yeah it's all here. Not saying it's one those levels, but it's great and

Holy shit is Dot Allison on a roll or what? This is effectively 2021's Heart Shaped Scars growing in all directions: bigger, grander, more cosmic, even more beautiful. The partnership with Hannah Peel as arranger is front and centre and works incredibly.

Alright it's not as unique as Bad Bunny's 2022 masterpiece Un Verano Sin Ti - this is more trap, less overtly "Latin" - but it's really, really good. Sometimes not knowing the language can emphasise the emotion in the sound: the blues in the trap, the Spanish derived "tristeza"...

My fave Villalobos moments are often him working his wonky magic on "real" instruments and songs (see his Tony Allen / ECM reworks) so a whole album of him tweaking A Mountain Of One's Balearic soft rock is a real treat. Gets progressively "more Ricardo" as it goes on.

I love how Young Fathers have become such a beacon of what a "big festival band" CAN be when it broadens its influences out and grooves a bit. This album is such a big step up for them, and I really hope they keep this momentum because it's BIG FUN.

And talking of Scots "big festival bands" with diverse influences pushing the envelope and having fun with loading in more pop, dance, rap etc, The Djangos really went to town on this one and I was surprised not to see it getting more hype. A proper weird and wonderful party of an album.

Okayyyyyyyy last part is here, get stuck in!

[softyearsworld]

Not my work all credit goes to the artist.

All I have to say is that I was shocked when I saw this. I have never been a big Naruto fan but for years I knew Sp wasn't a great studio and knew they were doxing Sakura's character. But I thought it just ended at them making her seem flat chested (especially in filler that I did watch was super annoying) and ruining her clothes by making them more ill-fitting compared to others to lessen her appeal and keeping her a tsundere box.

But for years they've also ruined her face by elongating it and lessening her facial features. With sp's art she looks like a little kid vs the artist who makes her look like an actual teenager. It's like seeing night and day.

[pathfinderunlocked]

Ariel - CR 1/4 Fey

A wind fairy that guides people and purifies souls, based on Ancient Magus Bride.

Artwork is a screenshot from Ancient Magus Bride, by Kore Yamazaki and Wit Studio.

Ariels are doll-sized fairies that help to govern the winds.  They are playful and mischievous, are drawn in by storms, and have some small ability to affect them.  They have a wide variety of skin and hair colors, and although they have no physical sex, they do have genders.  Ariels are born from thunderstorms in the First World, and those that find portals the material plane often try to charm or trick humanoids into returning to the First World with them, a prank that rarely ends well for their targets.

An ariel’s naturally high stealth allows it to hide while studying a target’s auras with its occult skill unlocks.  Ariels are naturally good at reading people due to this, and place great value in the emotions and auras they perceive.  If an ariel comes across a group of people living or traveling together, and believes that one person in the group is a significantly better person than another, it tends to openly and honestly tell the better person everything it knows and encourage them to break up.  Those who don’t listen to an ariel’s relationship advice are much more likely to find themselves victims of pranks.

When casting piercing gust of wind, remember that decisions about a spell like its area don’t have to be made until the casting of the spell has completed.

Ariel - CR 1/4

A tiny winged creature with a humanoid figure and bird feet flitters in place, studying you carefully.

XP 100 CN Diminutive fey Init +3 Senses detect evil, detect good, low-light vision; Perception +4

DEFENSE

AC 17, touch 17, flat-footed 14 (+3 Dex, +4 size) hp 2 (1d6-1) Fort -1, Ref +5, Will +2 DR 2/cold iron

OFFENSE

Speed 5 ft., fly 20 ft. (good) Melee unarmed +0 (1 nonlethal) Space 1 ft.; Reach 0 ft.

Spell-Like Abilities (CL 3rd; concentration +5)     Constant—detect evil, detect good     At will—alter winds     1/day—charm person (DC 13), piercing gust of wind (DC 14, see text)     1/week—remove curse

STATISTICS

Str 3, Dex 17, Con 8, Int 5, Wis 11, Cha 15 Base Atk +0; CMB -1; CMD 5 Feats Occult Skill Unlocks Skills Fly +17, Perception +4, Sense Motive +4, Stealth +15 Languages Common, Sylvan SQ empath

SPECIAL ABILITIES

Empath (Su) An ariel can use the Read Aura occult skill unlock as a full-round action instead of spending 10 minutes, and if it succeeds at its check, it also determines whether that creature is currently affected by a fear or mind-affecting effect and the relative strength of that effect (minor, moderate, strong, as defined in detect magic).  The ariel doesn’t learn the nature of the effect or source of the effect.

Additionally, an ariel can use the Read Aura occult skill unlock multiple times per day, but can only do so once per minute, and takes a -4 penalty on its Will saves for 1 minute after doing so.

Piercing Gust of Wind (Sp) Once per day, an ariel can cast piercing gust of wind as a spell-like ability.  This functions as the gust of wind spell, except that its casting time is a 1-round action, and it deals an additional 1d4 piercing damage to targets that fail the Reflex save.

[audio-luddite]

Different? Better?

The adventure with the 1990s high end tube amp goes on.

There is good, and there is bad. Clearing away the bad issue is it will cost money to keep this beastie running. The good is it has the seductive sound of the vacuum to tempt and to tease me. Such a tease.

Last night I played 4 albums. The result was interesting.

The first one was my original copy of "I Robot" Alan Parson's Project. It sounded really good. AP was a recording engineer of great talent and is responsible for Dark Side of the Moon among many others. If you are familiar with that you can appreciate that the mixes are complex and deep and leave much to be untangled. If you are a detail geek as I am it is required listening. Lots of fun.

Next up was a "special" I found in my densely packed hoard of LPs. It is on the Wilson Audiophile label titled Center Stage.

It has an amazing back story and provenance. It was commissioned by Absolute Sound Magazine and the recording engineers, and mastering gurus are a who's who of the high end. Everything custom and tweaked. They even note the tape preservative used. Yes tape and pure analog full on. Should be great right?

I know TAS used it to evaluate equipment and crown the winners of that month's SOTA awards.

I may have mentioned that you can have great music recorded well or poorly. You can have great recordings of good or poor music. Bad recordings of bad music stay in the bin where they belong. Some things are doomed to be test records and this is one of those.

In the full golden ear style of reviewing I will note my equipment. The Phase Linear 8000 series 2 tangential tracking TT with an AT7V cartridge front end. Preamp is the ARC SP-14 with 50 pf load on the phono, and the Amp is the ARC Classic 60. Speakers are my own "invisible speakers" bass reflex in lovely birch plywood cabinets.

The music was movie and Broadway tunes played by horns and woodwinds with percussion. Basically a symphony orchestra without any strings. There was good space and I am a full on fan of how drums are portrayed. They are big deep and with amazing texture. Horns let you show off lots of audiophile type tricks. But the music was BORING. After two cuts I could not help but think if I hear another John Williams tune I will throw up. No FN imagination just quotes of everyone from Brahms to Stravinsky.

This is big loud music, and I was falling asleep droogs. I played both sides and yes the technical production is full on high end, but this goes back in the heap for a long time. Just not fun.

Since I was bored I decided to pull up "Year of the Cat" Mofi which I have talked about before. Wonderful recording of the most boring singer in history. Now this was interesting.

With the Franken-Amp this is broad and front row and deep with really really good clear sound. With the tuber it was almost muffled. Mr Stewart was pushed back a few yards and there was fog or smoke around him. ( not literally just an audible fuzziness thing ) I could still hear it clearly and all the parts were sharp and good. The guitar was very nice and metallic. The treble was really good. This is a Mofi after all. But the perspective of the mix was far different. I was in full on WTF mode. I bet it was mixed in a studio with all Solid State gear.

Very different, but not better.

OK one more then I have to shut it down. Emmylou Harris "Quarter moon...." I just got a Mofi used record from a cool shop a 5 hour drive away. There was some groove noise like dirt, they said they had ultrasonically cleaned it. Under the noise the recording was very nice. Actually a bit of discwasher brushing cleaned it up noticeably. I suppose the mix is simpler and cleaner so the sound was as I recall it before no big changes.

One thing and I will come back to it again. There is a background singer with a really cool tone to her voice. She is there, but not as easy to separate out as I recall. That may be the mix as Mofi does fiddle it's masters, or it may be the tuber. I have the original vanilla disk right in the milk crate there. I will check it.

[ Update: I did check it next day. The original disc was much clearer and the other singer was very easy to distinguish and understand. So did Mofi remix it and mess it up a bit? Interesting that the old copy sounded just as good as the mofi. Old master tape copy perhaps?]

In a related thing I ordered a set of the driver tubes. (EHX Russian). Far cheaper than a full set of 6550s and likely 30 years old. I want to pull the covers for a peak and will throw those in. It is a lot of bother to do so. I need some things to do in there aside from look. I will also check the bias of the output tubes. I will also scope some capacitors on the PC board that can go funny. There are 4 electrolytics there that are not power supply related and are known to be vulnerable. Just to risk my life you know. I gave up motorcycles decades ago.

The Amp does help warm the room and there was frost on the car this morning.

Cheers to all.

[seancamerons]

never in my life have I ever thought I would be hooked on friggin gilmore girls. in my daily experience, people speak so highly of this show. For a long time, I didn’t bother, seeing possibly finally giving it the old college try, and I wish I did it much earlier. i really really like it. I started thursday.

It's so darn adorable. I gushed to one of my friends after she suggested it, and that's her favorite comfort show. It took me by surprise. I literally have laughed out loud multiple times.

this is what I said: i love so many little things about it. the dialog, the relationship between loreili (sp?) and rory, the mysterious luke, the woman who owns the dance studio, sookie and staff at the b and b, music and overall aesthetic of stars hollow small town vibes. So far promising. I like took tj (my bf) along for the ride, and he also loved it.

the pilot was as close to perfect as it could get. Great introductions to characters and possible future plot points. A+

over the past four hours, i have been binging tf out of this show. I may be prior to this about 1-5 episodes out of

[narhinafan]

Naruto fans who think that Jin Kazama copied Sasuke's hair and personality should get their heads checked up. Tekken 3 came out in 1997 while the Naruto Manga came out in 1999, whichis 2 years after Tekken 3. In other words, Jin debuted first, not Sasuke. If their hairstyle and personalities are kinda similar, it's more likely a coincidence.

I feel bad for the Naruto fans who use their head, they get dragged down by those who talk first, think later.

P.S. - I know it's not Naruto but Kubo was asked in his Klub Outside if he's open to the idea of the original Bleach anime to be remade into the series that faithfully adapt the manga, he said if it was possible, yes. I understand him, any mangaka would like the anime adaptation to be faithful to it. I know one to one adaptation is impossible but if there are changes needed to be done, do it but don't stray to the story and character dynamics.

I know Kishi would have wanted a faithful Naruto adaptation. Too bad, when both Naruto and Bleach debuted, SP had people who disregard creators (*cough* Noriyuki Abe *cough*).

Well actually original one shot for Naruto was done in 1997, but it wasn't till 1998 when the Naruto manga we know to today was in development. So you are right about Jin having debuted first, Sasuke wasn't even planned till the editor suggested. Plus I feel both hair styles are based strongly on Vegeta from dragon ball like even the personalities have quite a bit in common. I kind of see that hair style as a stable for that character archtype.

Yeah honestly think there would be so much less chaos in the fandom if the studio wasn't causing shipping wars with filler. One of the things I couldn't accept in Naruto is how they changed the Pain fight like six tails Naruto protecting Hinata and avoiding her, even looking at her before chasing after Pain was a big ship moment. Then how Hinata blitzing Pain was removed though we did get a cool fight scene they wrote off her landing a hit on him due to Nagato coughing. Then you have Road to Ninja whose screenwriter was infamous NaruSaku fan it would have been a great away to explore NaruHina's relationship and how Hinata could have been if her clan didn't crush her confidence.