#this is a very common one i just now noticed the textures had the typo too though

[toontownlibrary]

The estate item "Popcorn Cart" is erroneously spelled as "popcron" on the side.

In Corporate Clash, the textures for the item also call it popcronCart in reference to the typo. The model, however, is still spelled correctly as popcornCart.bam.

[thesevenumbrellas]

Hi. Just want to submit an opinion (well, analysis) about the wigs and styling in s2 since everyone is talking about it on your blog.

I've worked with wigs a lot for years now, both because of cosplay and because I often work as makeup artist and model, specifically in the alt and pin-up/retro scene. I've done a LOT of vintage pin-up modelling and live shows inspired in the 40s, 50s and 60s.

So, I can tell you the s2 wigs are actually really good in general, they just aren't always properly styled for the specific actors wearing them and in some cases they got a like too ambitious with characterization and choose something that wasn't feasible in the long run (*cough* Swedes*cough*) but hoped we wouldn't notice. Not everything was perfect but most people are looking at the wrong things.

The lacefronts the Swedes wore are particularly tricky and weren't properly glued to the hairline (which, fair, with fibers that pale it's very hard to hide the natural hair and look real at the same time without bleachin the actors' natural hairs). Axel's style choice in particular was a big faux pas, with something that pale you don't want the hair combed back like that. So yeah, we can nitpick at those but I honestly feel bad for the styling department when it comes to the Swedes.

Klaus's guru beard was sooooo sketchy, I've worked with beard prosthetics (on other people) for cosplay and that one did in fact tick me off (should have just covered his actual beard with a fake instead of trying extensions, ugh) but it didn't last long so I'm trying not think about it...

The extensions for Klaus's long hair are actually really good quality but in the first episodes there was a small failure in hair texture- Robert's hair has a natural curl that makes it bushier and coarser when straightened and the extensions, even teased, were too straight and flat to blend in naturally, they probably looked really good right off the styling chair but a few hours into filming the coarseness of his natural hair definitely started to stand-out, it was a bad stylistic choice, they should have stuck with curls all around. However, in later episodes they corrected this by just giving everything some messy curl and it worked better. It wasn't a case of bad wig, it's a case of lack of foresight.

Diego's hairstyle was pretty good for the time period but failed in the sense that he'd never be able to grow that much hair in three months, his specific s1 short hair would make him standout a lot in the 60s but they failed to have timing into account. I don't think this was a styling department fail though, I suspect Diego was supposed to arrive MUCH earlier in the original script and they must have changed it halfway through production and just didn't bother to change the hair because they probably had already started filming and just thought nobody would notice.

Also, we have to have time period in account- young Klaus had the perfect 2006 emo hair, sparrow!Ben is not actually wearing wig, that's his real hair just styled in a terrible mid-2000s look with too much hair wax...

But let me talk about my specialty as someone who works in the pin-up circuit:

Handler's wigs are perfectly coiffed for the 50s/60s looks that she's emulating, even that very obvious fake wig part/seam in her bleached hair with the purple military dress is typical of retro wigs and for her bleached looks it's a necessary evil (more realistic seams and scalp texture wouldn't be able to hide/mesh with her real hair and weren't used in that time period anyway), meanwhile her brunette wigs are actually flawless (and at least one of her brunette looks is not a wig at all). I don't think they were ever trying to pretend that Handler's wigs were her real hair, not with the constant styling changes, so as wigs go they are pretty great.

And finally- Allison. Allison's wigs on s2 are perfect BECAUSE they look exactly like 60s wigs, back then black women couldn't afford (both moneywise and because how damaging the techniques of the time were to their natural hair) to straighten their hair every day, it was too much trouble but the straight look (and the bangs and the beehive) were so in fashion that most black women just wore a specific style of wig on their daily lives, it was a common practice and I think Alison's hair is supposed to reflect that. It's not actually supposed to look like her real hair or a modern wig, if they wanted that they'd do one of the classic puffed up bobs see at Odessa's which took immense amounts of hairspray to keep them together but were still easier than straightening and more realistic to achieve in a wig, those wouldn't fit Allison's age or style though so I think the longer straight/wavy wigs with the bangs were a good choice.

So... That's my two cents, I don't know if it's useful to anyone and writing this whole very sleep deprived so pardon my typos.

[iamkatehardy]

A Keeper (Tommy Conlon x Reader)

Requests : @bsotstory “Hii!!! I lOVE your Tommy Colon fics!!!!!! Could you use the kiss prompts 44 and 9 for a first kiss between Tommy and the reader, maybe they have to share a bed in a hotel before one of tommy's fights? ❤❤ Thank you!” AND Anon: “Hello can i request a Tommy Conlon and virgin reader with 11 14 and 15 prompts. Like they were dating maybe 5 or 6 months and she want to have sex with him cause she loved him and trusts him soo much.”

Warnings: Mentions of alcohol/pills consumption, smut (cute smut, ok?)

A/N: Sorry for ending all of a sudden, but it was getting too long 😂❤  (Smut prompts are in bold) Sorry for possible typos too, it’s 3 am 😂 

Your feedback is really important ❤

 New city, new life; definitely better, but not always easier.

The lack of job vacancies for your profession was certainly an issue; looking for a job had been a tough mission, even with a college degree and a vast resume. Bills were accumulating and they didn’t pay themselves, so you had no other choice but to take a job as a barmaid in a little local bar. The working schedule bordered exploitation, but it was quite well paid and the owner was a kind old man whose helpfulness was only limited by his arthrosis.

The toughest tasks were invariably assigned to the rookie, meaning you, but changing the beer barrels was nothing compared to putting up with drunken folks.

“(Y/N)?”

“Yes, Mr. Barnes?” – Running back and forth, you huffed exhaustedly while pouring drinks. Despite all the weariness, you kept distributing smiles and thanks to all the costumers.

“Come here a second, will you, please?”

“Sure, sure, sure!” – After serving all the tables around, you spun around one last time to check if everything was in order before walking to your boss. - “Is everything ok? Is there anything I can do for you?”

“Do you see that guy over there?” – Mr. Barnes discretely jerked his head in direction of a man sitting on the farthest table.

“I thought Benjamin had taken care of that row of tables, that’s why I didn’t go there. I’m sorry, it won’t happen again.” – Just as you were about to turn and leave, your boss softly grabbed your arm to get your attention.

“That’s not why I called you, (Y/N). That’s Paddy’s youngest son.”

“Oh.” – You smiled and nodded in acknowledgement.

Paddy Conlon was a regular costumer, although he never touched alcohol. He seemed a decent man, but also very lonely; it was nice that he actually had someone to give him a helping hand now, or so you thought.

“And the most troublesome too. Some nights ago he beat the hell out of some guys after the bar closed. Ben was just leaving, so he tried to stop him, he ended up taking a punch too, that’s why he’s not going there.”

In that moment you didn’t know exactly what to say to that.

“If it wasn’t for his father, I wouldn’t allow him to set foot in here again. I just wanted to warn you that he can snap, just like that.”

“Ok…” – Some nervousness appeared on your face and you swallowed hard. - “I’ve got this.” – You thought to yourself

His size was intimidating enough, let alone his cold stare, but you could find easily some charming features too.

“Good evening, what can I get for you?” – You smiled from ear to ear, ready to take his order.

He drummed his fingers on the table for a second, before he turned to face you.

“Are you new around here or something?”

“Do you think it’s that obvious?” – You wrinkled your nose and giggled. – “What gave me away?”

“ You’re still witty and friendly, that’s not common in people who have been here for a while. That’s what’s giving you away.” – Pausing for a moment, he casually shrugged, shaking his head as his gaze swept over you, intense yet somehow tender. - “ And I’ll have a Jack Daniels, neat.”

Ok, he wasn’t as bad as Mr. Barnes made it seem; if your boss hadn’t told you so, you wouldn’t say he was the aggressive type at all. Although he didn’t seem to be the most extrovert person on Earth, his eyes showed way more pain than wrath.

“Why don’t you try an Irish? I mean, I’m sorry for meddling…” – You rested your hands on the table and leaned slightly toward him, talking quieter.- “ Don’t let Mr. Barnes know I’m telling you this, he’s a hardcore American whiskey fan…  But Irish tastes way better, to be honest. Especially if you’re a fan of neat whiskey; it has a smoother, velvety texture.”

“I think I’ll take your word for that. Amaze me.” – Nodding in agreement, he gave you a cordial smile.

And so you did, for the next couple of weeks you managed to amaze him.

Tommy left his usual spot on the farthest table by the window and started sitting by the counter, where he could occasionally chat with you on the less crowded nights.

“You beat people up for a living?” – You slowly lowered your head and raised your eyebrows in surprise.

“Well, it sounds bad when you say it like that. But we all know what we’re getting into in advance.” – He snickered at the surprised look on your face. – “Think of is as a cathartic release, it’s a great stress reliever.”  

“Jesus, have you tried popping bubble wrap? That’s the definition of soothing stress reliever, at least for me.”

You won a rare broad smile from him; it was always a delightful treat after a long day of work.

“At least that way you don’t get hurt and I’m sure glad for it.” – He looked down, fingers playing with his glass.

“You know, despite being misunderstood, you’re an amazing being, Tommy. The person who catches your heart will doubtlessly be very fortunate.” – You couldn’t help a gentle smile as you smoothly laid your hand on his arm, fondling it, before going to serve the costumers that had arrived.

When it was time for him to leave, he searched for his wallet in his pockets, emptying them during the complicated process and laying his things on the counter.

“Here it is. Keep the change, sweet thing.” – He smile made your stomach flip-flop. He absentmindedly picked his things of the counter, giving you a lingering look before he left.

When you went to clean the counter, you noticed he forgot something and came outside, hoping he wouldn’t be far and you could give it back.

“Fuck. I’ll give it to him tomorrow.” –Curiosity beat you and you found yourself looking more closely at the vial, furrowing your forehead.

Painkillers. An ordinary thing when you do full-contact sports, but not so ordinary when you noticed he had taken half of the bottle within a week, according to the prescription date. Especially not if he had been drinking while taking them.

The next day, Tommy came at the usual time. You put the empty pill bottle right in front of him, leaning the closest you could.  

“Before you ask, they’re in the fucking dumpster, Tommy.” – You spoke quietly, your voice seeming to fade before you even finished the sentence. – “You can get it together, without that stuff. I know you can, you just have to want to.”

He didn’t say a word, just watched you pour him his usual drink and set it before him. You words and the slight hint of disappointment in your eyes weighted on his shoulders, more than he thought they could. Before he even finished the drink, he placed the money on the counter and left the bar, sitting on a staircase nearby. His mind churned out a stream of thoughts for a while; resting his face on his palm, seemingly unaware of the flow of time until much later.

At that time you almost never had costumers, it was nearly closing time. His steps toward the bar were quick and quiet.

“I’m sorry, but I’m going to have to ask to leave, Sir.” – You asked the last costumer, who was clearly reluctant to leave.

“Or what?” – The man with a cadaverous look got up, walking up to you.

All of a sudden you stepped back, feeling a threatening tone in his voice when he addressed you.

“This is fate, little doll. I won’t hurt you, unless you try to run away from me, of course.” – He pulled out a knife and leaned against the counter. – “The choice is yours.”

The wind chime on the door tinkled aloud when Tommy opened the door and came in. Clearly seeing the panic on your face, he came closer.

“We’re closed. I strongly suggest you leave, now.” – Tommy stated assertively.

The man turned around and faced Tommy with a knife in hand.

“Look. You really, really don’t want to do any stupid move. I’m a former…”

Before Tommy could finish, the man advanced upon him, attacking him savagely, managing to make a small cut on his face.

Stupid move, indeed. Tommy managed to kick the knife of his hand the second after, before launching at him, kicking him in the ribs and guts, hitting him even after he was down.

“This is a friendly reminder to not mess with women ever again. Fucking coward. ” – He kneeled down and rear naked choked the man until he was out, before dumping him on the sidewalk.

You were shaking quite noticeably, dead pale.

“It’s alright now, (Y/N).” – His strong arms locked around you, holding you against his chest. Leaning down, he buried his face on your hair, kissing your temple. It felt more right than anything in his life had ever felt.

“You’re hurt.” – You looked up at him, gently cleaning the blood on his face with your fingers.

“Never mind. It’s not important. Are you hurt?” – He put your hair behind your ear, before cupping your face gently in his hands. He moved closer, staring into your eyes and slowly brushing his thumb on your cheek.

“Yes.” – Taking a deep breath, you closed your eyes for a second. You put your hand over his, bringing it to your mouth and giving it a kiss, as a silent thankful gesture.

“Come on, I’ll take you home.” – As he bent forwards, his face was only inches away from yours.

When you opened your eyes, he rested his forehead on yours; you could almost feel his lips on yours and you immediately felt a lump on your throat. With a fluttering heart, you just nodded almost imperceptibly. Your lips slowly parted in invitation, reacting to his proximity, his warmth, his care.

Intensely staring at your eyes, he fought himself to resist his urge to kiss you; at least until he had proven you that his intentions about you were absolutely serious and pure. The last thing he wanted was you to think that he would be the kind of man to take advantage of your fragility, by any means.

“Let’s go, babe.” – Squeezing your shoulders gently, he kissed the top of your head.

Over the next few weeks, he spent all of his free time on the bar, until there wasn’t any costumer left and walked you home after the closing. Altruist motive: he wanted you to be safe. Selfish motive: he wanted to be the one to make you safe, to have the chance to be around you as much time as possible.

“Hey, (Y/N)?” – He chewed his toothpick thoughtfully. – “Do you like to dance?”

“Doesn’t everybody?” – Across the counter, you gave him a dazzling smile.

Tommy didn’t. But if you did, he was willing to give it a try.

“Why don’t we go dance tonight?”

You looked him up and down, furrowing your eyebrows. He certainly didn’t strike you as a dancer, but you were curious to see the outcome, plus, it would be good to spend some time with him outside your working place.

“It’s a date, then.” – You giggled nervously again.

At those words, he sucked in a breath and felt a tingle inside.

Later that night, after hours and hours of overthinking and planning his speeches, he picked you up at home.

“God, you look perfect.” – He smiled to himself when he saw you and the heat of a blush rushed to your face.

“Thanks, you’re not so bad yourself.” – Smirking, you adjusted his collar. Ever so lightly, your fingers softly grazed his neck, sending shivers through his body and causing his muscles to tense up.

Playfully, you linked your arm on his, but instead of escaping from it, he drew you closer until you were nestling against him.

The second you arrived on the dance club, his face told everything; after some attempts of dancing you could noticeably see he hated that place, it made him uncomfortable. Without further explanations, you grabbed his hand and walked out the door.

“What’s wrong? I thought you’d enjoy this place.” – He looked at the building behind him and then stared at your connected hands.

“Yes, I do, but you clearly don’t. I don’t want it to be the worst night of your life.” – You nudged him, laughing innocently. – “I’d rather if it could be good for both of us, you know.” – You ran the fingers through his hair and then his face. – “ I appreciate the effort though, it was  really cute.”

“It was a disaster, wasn’t it?” – He scratched the back of his head with both hands. – “Yeah… Sounds just like me.”

“Tommy?”

“That’s the only thing I, Tommy Riordan Conlon, can do.”

“Tommy?”

“Typical.”

This triggered an involuntary eye roll; before you knew it, you were placing your hands around his face and leaning over to kiss him with a passion he happily returned. It was as if he forgot the whole world; everything disappeared for a moment. In that moment it was only you and him. Time seemed to stand still as long as your lips touched. He placed a hand on the small of your back, slowly bringing you closer. Your breaths, lips and tongues tangled together, perfectly. Both of you were nearly out of breath, but none of you broke the kiss you had been longing for so long.

“It was about damn time.” – You murmured between kisses.

“My bad.”  - You felt him smiling against your lips, just before he kissed you again, claiming you. The warmth of his body surrounded you, making you feel safe and sound. - “For a million reasons, the main one being the fact I am utterly, irrevocably, maybe madly in love with you… I really, really want you to be my girl.” – His eyes glistened and beamed with love as he met your gaze.

“I would really, really love to, baby.” – You trailed your finger over his lips, before you pulled him into another kiss.

The following months felt just like heaven; you quit the job as bartender and found a job on your professional area, Tommy never touched painkillers again and felt much more relaxed, plus your relationship was booming and neither of you had ever been so sure it was what you wanted.

“Babe?” – Snuggling comfortably on the couch, he pulled you closer and rubbed his nose on your hair.

“Yes?” – Smiling, you looked up at him, simultaneously taking his hand and intertwining your fingers with his.

“There’s this tournament coming up…”

You just sighed and took a moment to answer. Multiple times you had seen him fighting and you knew he was good at it, but you couldn’t help feeling tightness on your heart and your stomach every time it happened, wondering what could go wrong.

“As long as you make it in one piece and I can come with you.” – Holding his hand tighter, you gave him a worried smile.

“Now I’ve got a princess to take care of.  I’ll be a lion on that cage, to come back safe for you, I promise.”

“You better, Tommy. I swear, if anything happened to you, I don’t know what I’d do. I love you.”  - You hid into his chest, feeling safe, yet scared for him.

“I love you too, little one.” – He whispered, petting your hair. His eyes never shifted off you, watching your every feature, instead of whatever you were supposed to be watching.

The date of the tournament came quickly and you both flew across the country, settling on a cozy hotel nearby the tournament’s location.

Although you and Tommy had been dating for quite a while, you had never slept together; this would be the first time. You never brought the subject up and he would never be the one to pressure you to do anything. When you found yourselves alone on the first night, you didn’t quite know what to do and you couldn’t help nervousness at the thought of what could happen.

Tommy smiled when you laid by his side, but he could tense from a mile away.

“What’s the matter?” – He asked with a hint of worry in his voice, looking into your eyes. – “Is it because of the fight? I’ll be ok.”

“No…I…”

He looked puzzled at you and sat upright on the bed.

“Fights have nothing to do with this.”

“Is it something that I did, love? Or said.” – He let out a low sigh.

“No. No. It’s me. I’ve just…” – You looked down, blushing deeply, while chewing your lower lip. -  “I’ve never been with a man before… And by being with a man, I mean…”

“Babe…”

“I know it’s stupid and I don’t want you to think I’m some kind of…”

“Babe.” – Smiling reassuringly, he cupped your face on his hands. – “It’s not stupid; it’s your body, your life, your decision. And it’s not because we’re here alone that it has to happen, ok?” – He placed a lingering peck on your lips. - “I don’t want you to be this terrified; I love you and I won’t ever force things, not on your first time or the hundredth or the billionth. Things will happen if you want them to happen, when you want them to happen.

After a little while, he felt you relaxing again.

“I’m sorry, Tommy.” – Laying your head on his chest, you closed your eyes, just listening to his heartbeat. – “And thank you, I didn’t know you were so sensitive.”

“There is absolutely nothing to apologize for, princess. Get some rest and don’t worry about a thing, ok? I don’t want this to be a torment for you, or you to feel some kind of obligation. I just want you enjoy our time together, day by day. It will happen when it happens.” – Whispering, he rubbed the tip on his nose on yours.

“Have I told you I love you?”

“No, not yet.” – He sneakily looked up.

“I’m pretty sure I did... In fact, I shall never tire of repeating: I love you.”  - Your mouth found his and you bit his lower lip gently.

That night you made a decision, you’d have your first time with Tommy. The following day, before he got to the hotel from the training, you prepared everything.

When Tommy got inside the room, it was dimly lit, with the moonlight shining through the window; it had pleasant scent of candles, mixed with your own scent that filled his head like a strong drink.  He put his things aside and sat on the edge of the bed.

You emerged from the bathroom, wearing black lace lingerie along with a silky robe that clung to your curves.

Tommy was slack-jacked, fascinated, perhaps stunned, for a minute.

As you came closer, he inhaled deeply and your scent flooded him. You laid him down and straddled him, placing several tentative kisses up his neck, each one longer and wetter than the last.

“(Y/N)…”

“Yes?” – You brushed your lips on his as you spoke, before you bit his lower lip and your hands roamed inside his shirt, wreaking havoc on his senses.

“Is this what you want?” – Breathing quicker, he slid his hand down your side, stopping at your thigh and grabbing it firmly, trying to keep it together.

“Yes.” – You pressed closer, whispering breathily in his ear.

“Are you sure? Once I start I might not be able to stop.” – It was hard, if not impossible, for him to control his body in that moment. He loved you and consequently desired you just as much, although he was willing to wait as long as needed.

“I have never felt so certain about anything in my life.” – Your lips reached his ear and you bit his earlobe gently.

He tightened the grip on your thigh and kissed you fervently, conveying his every feeling through his kiss and his warm touch.

Careful not to put too much weight on you, he rolled until he was on top and began shrugging out of his clothing, with your help. Once he was done with his clothes, he started undressing you, slowly, almost with reverence; he left a trail of kisses down your throat and stomach, until he met your sweet spot. His hand cupped your breast gently and you ached for more of his touch. He placed his lips on your sex and began giving it small wet kisses, before sucking your clit gently and teasing it with his tongue.

You gasped and grabbed his hair, moaning it pleasure as he flickered his tongue on your clit. The heat inside you begged for relief.

“Oh, Tommy…” – You ran your fingers through his hair, pushing your hips against him. – “Yes!”

He had heard you saying the word “yes” at least a hundred times in the last minutes, yet he wouldn’t get tired of hearing it. He could literally taste your arousal and it turned him on.

You quivered as he slid a finger inside you, keeping his mouth where it was. It must’ve been the last moment your brain actually functioned, before pleasure took over your body. As his finger slowly made small circles inside you and his tongue made the same motion on your clit, your breathing slowly became panting. Wetter and wetter, you started to ache for him, in ways you didn’t think you could.

His cock was throbbing and he needed relief, but not only he wanted to please you first, he also wanted you to be relaxed enough so he wouldn’t hurt you. Pursing his lips around your clit, he hummed slowly, sucking it into his mouth before teasing it with his tongue once again.

“Fuck.” – A heat started build up inside you, consuming you. Grabbing the sheet tightly, you let out a loud moan, wrapping your legs around him as you came on his mouth. – “Time to return the favor, I want you to feel as I feel…” – You pulled him up on you.

“No. I’m supposed to be making you feel good.” – He slid his tongue across your lower lip, his eyes blazing with desire.

“I want to feel you, Tommy. I need to feel you.” – You whispered against his lips and wrapped your arms around his neck.

He gently slid the tip of his cock inside you and you groaned lowly.

“Am I hurting you?”  - He laid his forehead on yours.

“Well, truth be told, it’s not that bad. I don’t care about pain right now; I just want to make love to you.” – You pecked his lips, moaning lowly when he slid it deeper, stretching you more.

“If you want me to stop, I will.” – He nuzzled his nose between your neck and jaw.

“I don’t…” – Your hands slid down his back, urging him to thrust deeper inside your moist core.

“I love you, baby.” – He kissed you passionately, his tongue dancing with yours, between moans.

“Me too.” – Suddenly your mouth fell agape as you gasped loudly and your nails dug on his back.

His thrusts were controlled and slow, yet incredibly tentative, making you plead for more as you grabbed a fistful of his hair. Slowly, his pace grew faster and his cock swelled inside you, making you tighten reflexively around it. He greedily placed his lips on your necks, trying to stop himself from moaning loudly.

Throwing back your head, you wrapped your legs around him.  

“Harder, baby.” – Your eyes fell shut and your body jerked against him.

“Why don’t you set the pace you like? I don’t want to be too rough.” – Biting you lower lip, he grabbed your buttock.

You rolled until you were on top, taking him deep inside you and sliding your hips, keeping your movements for long minutes, until your juices began to pour across his manhood. Hearing you moaning his name, sped up the process of making him reach the climax as well.

You finally collapsed by his side and held his hand, giggling, happy and exhausted.

“Did you like it?” – Panting heavily, he turned to you and tucked your hair behind your ear.

“It was perfect.” – You snuggled to his chest. – “I don’t think there’s someone as careful and thoughtful as you.”

Feeling your hot breath against his chest, he felt a chill down his spine. Wrapping his muscular arm around you, he pulled you even tighter against his body.

“You know what? If you win the fight tomorrow…” – You held his hand, playing with it. – “I might empty half of my closet, to make room for your things. I want you to come to live with me.”

“And if I lose?”

“Well, if you lose you’re emptying the closet and you only get a third of it. But I obviously still want you to come. If not permanently, at least much more often. You’re a keeper.” – You rubbed your nose gently on his neck, taking in his scent.

“Wait, are you serious?” – His eyes shone with excitement.

“I don’t make jokes out of such serious matters, love.”

Tags: @carmen-kray , @titty-teetee , @iv-nyc , @but--dear-this-is-not-wonderland , @eap1935 , @ellar21 , @tiredoffeelinglost , @original-krays , @marvelgirl7 , @captstefanbrandt , @evilispretty-dead , @mollybegger-blog , @bignastyfan-nz , @scarrasco1325-deactivated201905 , @miidailyinspiration , @harleyquinns , @haroldpain , @marvelslut16 , @willowick13 , @outofbluecomesgreen , @elemeph , @my-little-lucky-scissors

[taww]

Show Report: AXPONA 2018 by MGD

I’m deeply honored to share this show report by my old friend and audio mentor Martin DeWulf. Marty, or MGD, founded Bound for Sound magazine back in 1989, and quickly became a major voice in the subjectivist high-end scene. More personally, he was hugely influential in my formative years as an audiophile. Back when I was a broke music student, he responded to my letter asking for affordable recommendations by sending me my first speakers, a pair of Tannoy bookshelves. Later he brought me on as a staff writer and taught me most everything I know about this crazy hobby. I’m forever grateful for his support and guidance over the years.

Marty had to stop publishing several years ago due to serious health issues, and after a long hiatus it was wonderful to hear from him again. He stopped by the AXPONA audio show in Chicago in April, and shared this thoughtful and touching account. Marty, it’s great to have you back.

It had been approximately 9 long, cold years since I had attended an audio show of any kind. There had been a time when audio and the trade shows were an indispensable part of my life…I went to at least one show a year for over 26 years. So, it was a decision of monumental proportions when I decided that I would go to AXPONA 2018. It would mean putting my cane away and driving to the Chicago area (Schaumberg). Worst of all, it would mean talking my wife, Laura, into going with me.  I couldn’t go it alone and she is not a fan of audio shows.

MBL, VAC, Walsh HHR

Unfortunately, the illness that has been so much a part of my life for the last 9 years could not be totally cast off for even a day, not entirely anyway. My wife knew how much being there meant to me, so I begged her indulgence and promised her the moon in return…how could she not bend to my persuasion? She agreed to go once I plied her with chocolate. Laura even agreed to drive. We found the hotel with ease and made our way inside after putting the handicap placard in the window of our car. Once in the front door it smelled like audiophiles wearing cheap cologne and Burkenstocks. I started seeing people that I hadn’t seen in almost a decade. Paul McGowan was first to go by, I recognized him, but I don’t think he remembered me … just a big guy looking lost and a bit out of breath. Turning my attention down the hallway I spotted Richard Vandersteen. Not that many years ago (the middle 1970s but it seems like yesterday to me), Richard made his way to his first CES with a pair of Model II speakers under his arm, after which, and for good reason, he became an almost overnight audio sensation. Again, I wasn’t recognized, but he did smile nicely at my wife.

The longer I was there, the more those old feelings of purpose and belonging started coming back. As some of the pain that kept me away for so long started to settle in my back and legs, I knew it was only a matter of time until someone that I knew would turn around and be glad to see me too.

THERE ARE A LOT OF WAYS TO WRITE A SHOW REPORT

Every year in Las Vegas while I was reviewing, there would be a flock of manufacturers in big, fancy rooms setting up systems costing hundreds of thousands of dollars. Sometimes the speakers alone would cost more than a years’ wages, maybe double that - $35,000 for an amplifier, $25,000 for a preamp and another $20,000 for a source component. Put it all in an enormous room, far larger than any real audiophile would want, get lousy sound and then tell everyone how wonderful everything was under the conditions. Conditions!? A system costing over $150,000 should be able to overcome anything you throw at it. I am therefore, out of a sense of fairness, going to put an emphasis on those rooms that were smaller than a basketball court and filled by names which might not be, for the ordinary audiophile, common household names.

WHEN THREE ARE ONE

There were three rooms, which, in my estimation, were ahead of all others for reasons notable and different. Now this is what an audio show is all about!

As a whole, I thought the aggregate sound to be far above anything I’d heard while attending the various CES from 1989 through 2009. I believe some of the praise for the overall sound had to do with the quality of the rooms at the Renaissance convention center…far better than anything I can recall from CES Chicago or Las Vegas. If there was a common failing demonstrated from room to room there, it had to be in the bass. There was plenty of bass, everyone had bass, but save for the very few (that I will mention), the lower the bass went, the more “one-note” it became. Fortunately, by the time the music hit one-note-land it was sufficiently deep that most people wouldn’t even notice the effect.

PranaFidelity, HRT Stage VIII, YG Acoustics, Ayon Audio

There were three rooms that I felt to be well ahead of the others that I heard. Not having heard every room, please don’t view my opinions here as some Biblical truth on everything at the show – it’s not. Except for maybe these rooms:

GamuT: Until this day, I’d never really been a big Gamut fan…well, I am now. The Gamut amp, preamp and speakers (RS7 speakers, $39,000.00) disappeared in the room, but that isn’t what mesmerized me – no, it was the tone and organic texturing which hijacked my sonic expectations, expectations founded on years and years of listening and observing critically. I’m not referring to these things in the normal context of a reviewer writing for his readers. For, I have never, ever heard the human voice reproduced as naturally as it was in this room, and I expect, had you been in the room with me you would feel the same. For the “old audio soldier” who has quite literally “heard it all” and heard it all more than once, I had never before experienced the breathy sensation of life in front of a microphone being played back into a room like it had been that day. It was uncanny and, need I say?, lifelike. Extraordinarily, lifelike. Why? Pinning the “why?” on any one component is foolish and a sure way to be found wrong when the reason for this wonderful illusion is made manifest. But I should mention this, the components in this “living” room were all perched upon a product named Pneuance and the Pneupods. Feet that one inflates inside an industrial looking metal cup, and then places under the equipment (even the speakers, or so I’m told). Was it the Pneupods? I don’t know, and I suspect that even without the Pneupods the room would still have dropped my jaw multiple inches.

Prana Fidelity: Here we have a speaker that doesn’t cost more than a new Harley Davidson, though it may be just as exciting. Steve Norber is a wonderful human being, but now I suspect he might be an even better audio designer!!! Fed by a Luxman CD player, Steve designed the preamp (purna/ca $5,950.00), the power amp (purna/ma, 400 wpc, $8,950.00) and the loudspeakers (Bhava $4,950.00). The speakers heard that day were a relatively small three driver, two way affair mounted upon sturdy stands by Sound Anchor. Immutable are the laws of physics. A clear understanding of electrical engineering and speaker design might allow a designer to cheat a physical law here or there (something Bob Carver has been a genius at), but, from what I was hearing with these speakers, amp and preamp combo, there appeared to be a complete re-write of the laws of audiology in progress. How did Steve do it? The one note bass in other rooms was not present here. With speakers this size, bass response isn’t generally expected in prodigiously clean amounts, yet, bass from this compact speaker went wonderfully low, and scary loud without the faintest hint of distortion or fatigue inducing colorations. If looking for a speaker in the $5,000 range, I strongly suggest visiting Steve Norber at Prana.

HRT Stage VIII stacked speaker system from Elite AV Distribution: The speaker arrangement was indeed unusual being unique in my experience and very favorably priced. Supported by a distinguished group of backup components those speakers truly sang. Paired with a table that costs more than I’ll ever be able to afford, the beautiful Kuzma Stabi M ($19,225.00), with another $10,000.00 worth of arm and cartridge, feeding a Plinius phono stage, was a dynamo, even explosive at times, making some of the hottest vinyl of the ‘70s seem on fire. But the speakers were the attention getters in this room. A pair of HRT speakers will set you back $650.00. That’s not a typo. What Elite did, something most audiophiles would not think of doing, was stack multiple pairs of the HRT speakers one upon the other. I haven’t seen someone do that since the hot audiophile trick of stacking large Advent speakers one upon the other back in the 1970s. Was it 8 pairs here? I forget, but once tied together with some very effective Furutech wires and cabling, the system was capable of a stentorian assault on the human auditory system – oh, could it go loud! And yet on getting a simple whisper right, the system excelled. Good job Elite.

A WONDERFUL SECOND RANK

These are the show entrants which, for one reason or another, struck me as superb performers and fully deserving of mention:

The VAC Amplification Company is here, not for a single performance in any one room, but for the fact that VAC gear was sounding exceptional in any number of rooms. VAC, with speakers from Von Schweikert, Sonist and Gershman enhanced their presentations. I particularly liked the Posh speakers from Gershman with the VAC electronics. They gave a full room experience that was balanced and enjoyable.

I’ve known Bill Dudleston for a long time and was hoping to talk to him in his room … he wasn’t there (when I was, anyway). But his speakers were and acted like the world class performers they are. Taking up a small corner of a very large room, Legacy Audio demonstrated the AERIS, 4.5 way system ($21,450.00). They sounded articulate as well as potent, all packaged in a very attractive industrial motif.

Legacy Audio, Acapella Audio Arts, Clearaudio Innovation

Being an audiophile born in the 50s, but coming of age in the 70s, I have known of and wanted, at times desperately, a speaker based on the Ohm/Walsh driver. In Chicago was HHR Exotic Speakers and their top of the line product carried the moniker TLS-1 ($15,000.00). Low and behold, what I saw was a single 12” Walsh type driver with full 360 degree dispersion filling the room with seamless sound! No woofer, no midrange driver, no crossover, just the beautiful Walsh driver energizing a room of happy audiophiles. I believe that this speaker may have made the top rank were it not for the sensation I had that the driver wasn’t quite broken in. The exhibitor confirmed my suspicion when he said that the speaker had been built just for the show…and I was there on the first day.

I don’t usually think of audio when I hear the word Einstein. From Germany comes Einstein audio electronics. As I sat and listened, the more I was convinced that these guys with their tube and solid state designs knew the sound of music and saw to it that their equipment reflected that. I wish I had more facts to give you other than a few subjective findings; the sonic experience in the Einstein room was a worthy one. Which brings me to a new marque called Eikon. From Gayle Sanders of Martin Logan fame comes a new DSP intelligent loudspeaker that, if I understand this correctly, constantly adjusts its output to compensate for irregularities in the listening room. Ordinarily, I’d be supremely skeptical of such a system - too complicated - but it sounded good. I liked it a hair less than the Gamut (less refined, not as amazingly textured), but the potential to be better does seem to be there. Ayon tube electronics with Lumen White loudspeakers showed fast and full range at the same time. The Orthos mono amps with Spheris preamp retail for around $60,000.00 together. The Lumen White speakers had an unusual finish and retail for $49,900.00.

Help! I need something that costs less than thirty-fifty thousand dollars – quick! Whew, leave it to an Italian firm to come to the rescue. AudioThesis of Arlington, Texas is importing a sweet sounding, single-ended integrated tube amplifier from Mastersound with a retail price of $3,500.00. Now we’re talking! Appearing much more expensive than its price, the unit was refined yet dynamic sounding, while maintaining that certain organic sweetness so many audiophiles hunger for. If you are not an oil baron or social network owner, the Mastersound may be your musical ticket. And while on the enjoyable subject of equipment some would say is affordable, let me introduce Wells Audio. Showing with Anticables and Salk Sound, Wells featured the Commander preamplifier. Trying to get technical aspects of a product correct in a full blown review can be difficult, much less in a show report, but let me try. This preamplifier is a tube/transistor hybrid using a 12BH7A triode tube and phase splitter buffer stage . . . and it just gets more complex after that. But the gear sounds really good. Affordable? They have solid state power amps at $4,000.00, $6,000.00 and a coming amp at $1,699.00. I’m going to keep an eye on these guys because the power amplifiers look especially worthy of coverage.

A decade ago, I didn’t care for these speakers at all. Nor did I care much for the sound of their power amps and preamps. The company was mbl, my first exposure being to the Radialstrahler metal driver loudspeaker. You’ve seen them. They look like a metal football on top of a shiny base. When I first heard them so many years ago, they sounded metallic and hard: which they were, they being made of metal and being hard. They sounded better this year, a lot better, so much so, that I thoroughly enjoyed my 15 minutes or so in the mbl suite. The drivers kind of remind me of the Walsh driver, at least in principle, and that’s a good thing. Expensive? Don’t ask.

Pass Labs has it right. Pricey electronics, okay, I understand that. But the build quality, in my opinion, justifies the price. For $4,900.00 Pass has introduced a 25 wpc pure class A amplifier, and they have a new preamp in the affordable range too. The cool thing about Pass is that they may introduce a less expensive model every now and then, but they don’t sacrifice sonics to do so. In my estimation, the 25 wpc amp sounds as fine as the 30 wpc amp, which sounds as fine as the 60 wpc amp. They just have less power, but since they all run pure class A and are built to a similarly high quality – they all sound fantastic. I’d be as happy as a hound dog chasin’ a raccoon if I had a set of 160 wpc mono amps, but owning the 30 wpc Pass stereo amplifier has made me a happy audiophile for a long time.

With the rejuvenated interest in vinyl records, the invasion of the record cleaners was in full force – it had to happen. I’m not naming them, nor am I making any recommendations as to what works and what does not. Why don’t you buy one and then tell me.

Joseph Audio Pearl 3, GamuT RS7

HONORABLE MENTION

I didn’t feel that I could walk away from this assignment without first giving a nod to some of the attendees that came across extremely well without me being able to have an extended listen to the products themselves. Here are my impressions:

Joseph Audio: Fine drivers with Infinite Slope crossovers.

Pear Audio turntables: Made great sound in more than one room – made me want one.

Karan Acoustics: Beautiful electronics made to high standards.

NOLA loudspeakers: The Contender S3 for $6,900.00, high efficiency with purity of sound.

Dynaudio: I love their drivers…

Clearaudio turntables: Beauty with functionality (and I own one!).

VPI turntables: They were everywhere.

Magico: I’ve always loved the sound of these, if only they didn’t cost so much!!!

Daedalus speakers: Gorgeous build quality and sound. Made great advancements in sound.

ELAC: Old name, new promise with a nice sounding inexpensive speaker.

Rogue Audio: Every room they were in sounded good.

YG Acoustics: Didn’t care for this speaker a few years back, much better now.

Kronos: Beautiful turntables with counter rotating platters that I had a hard time taking my eyes off of.

Parasound: I got to their room just as I was starting to feel pretty poorly. As always, Richard Schram was amiable and a joy to talk to, but I wasn’t able to take him up on his offer of a tour. They were showing with Tekton loudspeakers, a brand I’ve been dying to hear, if only for the unique, some might say weird, tweeter arrangements. Sorry guys, I couldn’t stay.

And kudos to the two guys from Peoria, Illinois that not only remembered me but remembered my heart’s work, Bound for Sound.

-MGD                      

[xseedgames]

Ys SEVEN PC - Localization Blog #1

“Bring us Ys SEVEN on PC!”, the players said. “We want Ys SEVEN on PC!” The rallying cry echoed forth from all corners of the internet, and we knew it was only a matter of time before it echoed so loudly as to become almost deafening. Thus, we decided to silence the cries by giving the players what they wanted… and so Ys SEVEN PC came to pass, with its launch scheduled for August 30th (so soon!) on Steam, GOG, and the Humble Store by Humble Bundle.

But aside from a handful of screenshots and some emphatic assurances of quality, we’ve said and shown very little of this port, leaving you all to wonder, will it be any good?

Well, wonder no longer! I’m here to address all your concerns and assuage all your fears! So… let’s get right into it, shall we? We shall proceed in the tried-and-true form of the classic Q&A!

Q: Is this version of the game based on the Chinese PC port of Ys SEVEN from Joyoland?

A: No, it is not! This is a completely new port contracted by us. See my answer to the next question for more details.

Q: Is Durante porting this game?

A: No, he’s not. Nor is this a port from our regular programming guru, Sara. Due to the recent increase in the volume of PC titles we’ve been releasing, we’ve been forced to branch out and find new sources of programming wizardry to work with – and just as we’re very careful when selecting localization contractors to work with, we try to be very selective about whom we entrust with our partners’ code.

Since the particular group we’re working with for Ys SEVEN hasn’t yet come out and spoken of their involvement, we’ll respect their privacy and not name any names (you’ll be able to find out who it was soon enough when the game releases), but we will say this: these guys are GOOD. It’s a Japanese company that’s done extensive work on PC and console games alike, and they take a lot of pride in what they do.

Having never worked with this company before, we were initially wary (as we always are when working with somebody new for the first time), but they almost immediately proved themselves a true force to be reckoned with. The very first build of the game they sent us was basically a 100% playable port of the Japanese game from PSP to PC, complete with upscaled HD visuals and a 60 fps framerate. It looked great, played great, and ran perfectly on every one of our PCs. Plus, it was delivered to us much, much sooner than we expected.

And this was just a quick and dirty proof-of-concept build!

So if you’re worried about how the game will run on your system, or whether the port will even be any good… don’t be. These guys (who are apparently pretty big fans of the Ys series to begin with) clearly know their stuff, and have been an absolute joy to work with. We hope to employ their services again on future PC projects, and we hope you guys enjoy the fruits of their labor come August 30th.

Q: Will the PC version of Ys SEVEN have all the same features Durante added to the PC version of The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel?

A: Sadly, no, because most of those simply wouldn’t apply to Ys SEVEN. Remember, this is a game that was developed for the PSP, whereas Trails of Cold Steel was developed for the PS3. As such, there are limits to the visual enhancements that can be applied – without completely remaking the game from scratch, there will always be restrictions present here that you wouldn’t find in a game designed for HD visuals from the start. The most noticeable of these are the game’s textures, many of which don’t exist in high-res form. We experimented with upscaling these textures, but the results looked… less than ideal, and wound up highlighting other flaws (such as introducing very obvious texture seams and mismatches which are otherwise virtually unnoticeable).

Now, don’t go thinking this means the game will just look like a PSP title blown up to fill an HD screen! Far from it. Even if the textures are still rather lo-res in spots, the 3D models are all sharp as can be, with characters faring particularly well. There’s a lot more detail present on the characters now than ever before, helping to highlight their impressively fluid animations – and those animations look *especially* fluid at 60 fps!

But we do worry that those of you who’ve played Trails of Cold Steel PC might be a bit spoiled for choice after bearing witness to the sheer breadth of options available in that game’s admittedly brilliant launcher, so consider this a bit of advance notice: the launcher options for Ys SEVEN are far more basic, but the end result is a game that’s just as lovingly ported, and just as big an improvement over the original version. We feel that if you go into it with this caveat in mind, you’ll find yourself equally impressed with the end result.

Q: What’s this I hear about the text being updated?

A: Yep! As long as we were working on this game anyway, we figured, why not make some improvements in the process?

See, Ys SEVEN was the very first editing project I ever worked on when I was hired as a Localization Specialist for XSEED Games over seven years ago… and I was hired near the end of the project’s production cycle, so I had precious little time to work on it. I had a lot of help from our esteemed former editor Jess (whom many of you may know as the sharer of blobfishes on our Twitter, among many other things), but the time constraints and my overall newness meant that my editing wasn’t all it could’ve been, and a lot of minor errors slipped through the cracks. In addition to typos and grammar errors here and there, there were even spots where I’d gotten the context of scenes wrong, as well as a general inconsistency in terminology and capitalization rules from one file to the next. It’s mostly stuff that wouldn’t be noticed by the average player, but I’m certain some of you language nerds like me who played Ys SEVEN on PSP must have cringed at least once or twice before its conclusion (and not just from my poor attempts at humorous interjections).

But all that changes now! …Or most of it, anyway. I’m sure we didn’t catch everything, and there are still plenty of issues with the text only filling up a small portion of the dialogue window in which it appears (this was tied to the text limits we were initially given when working on this game seven years ago, so it was a bit too universal to address across the board). But the fact is, we made changes to over a thousand lines of text – most just minor corrections to spelling, punctuation, or word order, but some consisting of complete rewrites for better clarity or more accuracy to the original Japanese – so we’re pretty confident in saying that any returning Ys fans who play this game should find themselves more immersed now from beginning to end than they were seven years ago, and new fans playing it for the first time will have the best possible experience doing so.

And I’ve gotta say, it feels good to have revisited this text and made some of the corrections I’ve been dying to make for the better part of a decade! It definitely adds a sense of closure to my beginnings at XSEED, and I hope you all are able to notice some of these differences and appreciate the hard work that the whole localization team put into them – because this wasn’t just me going back and fixing things, but all of us making a group effort to give this script a new lease on life. It’s like we all banded together for a common cause, and I couldn’t be prouder to have been a part of it. And even though the majority of our changes are so small that you may not even notice them, we believe that the subtle effect they’ll have on your ability to become engrossed in the game’s world will make all of our efforts totally worth it in the end!

Q: Can we expect more ports like this in the future?

A: You’ll just have to wait and see! If we haven’t announced it, we can’t say anything about it. But that doesn’t mean we don’t have things in the works behind the scenes!

* * *

So, did I miss anything? If you have any further questions, feel free to pose them on our Facebook or Twitter – or on our forums at www.xseedgames.com if you want to reach out to me directly, since the forums are my usual stomping grounds.

And come August 30th (my birthday!), I hope you all have an awesome time with Ys SEVEN. As of today, it’s been exactly seven years since our initial release of the game, and while we weren’t quite able to time the release of the PC version so it fell on the same day, we’re thrilled we can bring this wonderful game (one of my personal favorites in the whole series) to a wider audience, and we hope to hear nothing but good things from you guys as you sink your teeth into it in two weeks.

Please enjoy your time in the land of Altago, everyone!

-Tom