#visual rip

[7grandmel]

Todays rip: 13/02/2024

NIGHTMARESCAPE 〜Unrestrained HyperCam 2〜 (Final Boss Phase 2)

Season 4 Episode 1 Featured on: FINAL BOUT ~ SiIvaGunner: King for Another Day Tournament Original Soundtrack VOL. 3

Ripped by Princess Sylvysprit Visuals by 813N

I covered KFAD just two posts ago with Unhealed, and a big point I wanted to drive home in that post was just how much effort each and every ripper and contributor put into the event, in a way that still feels unbelievably impressive to this day. It's no secret that the King for Another Day Tournament absolutely ballooned in scope from its initial proposal, with tons of things added and changed last-minute to keep raising the bar even higher. And that scope is, again, the main reason why I cover the event so prominently when discussing Season 4 Episode 1, as its unprecedented scale and quality throughout eclipsed anything the channel had done up until that point (and, arguably, since!). Yet for as troubled as production reportedly was, as unchecked as that ambition might have been, its incredible to think that...most all of it still managed to stick the landing? And there's no better example of this in action, I find, than NIGHTMARESCAPE 〜Unrestrained HyperCam 2〜 (Final Boss Phase 2).

I think it came as a surprise to most of us, especially those who had followed the original King for a Day tournament just a year earlier, that the second contest slowly began to grow itself a sort of storyline. It wasn't much, and it wasn't in the forefront - but ones who remembered to check the King for Another Day MOJO website would get to see in universe "interviews" with the event's contestants, small little side stories in their time between matches, and full-on emotional beats of character development. As I mentioned way back in mines.ogg (unused) (and of course in Unhealed), a contestant like MissingNo wound up actually becoming a fleshed-out, fully-rounded character, more than just a vague concept attached to a source list. I truly salute the team who worked on the MOJO writing, being able to effectively improvise such an effective narrative and writing wholly unique dynamics and developments based on the per-match outcomes of the tournament. All of this all-around development, this investment into the entire cast of the event, and the excitement for the final match, made the surprise reveal to come so much more exciting - the reveal that the King for Another Day Tournament had a final boss to defeat.

Winner of the prior year's King for a Day Tournament and the in-universe host of the entire second tournament, Unregistered Hypercam 2 fell victim to possession by the mysterious "crown", set to be awarded to the Tournament's winner. Controlled by a still-unexplained sentient life found within the crown's ruby, the final match between DJ Professor K and Mariya Takeuchi wound up suspended - as this new monstrous force threatened to keep the Tournament running forever, eternally suspended with no resolution, yet another timeloop right alongside the one the Christmas Comeback Crisis already presents in the channel's main story. The Tournament calls for the help of both finalists, every other contestant - and the power of us, the viewers, to use the "MF LIKE BUTTON" from all the way back in Season 1's lore - to fight against and destroy the concept of eternal safety, the concept of maintaining stagnation for the sake of not losing those temporary moments of joy.

...look, I could over-analyze and dissect this finale as much as I want, about how pitch-perfectly each storybeat fell into place to truly connect the King for Another Day Tournament to the theming and narrative that the prior three Seasons had been so rigorously following, but...we're here to cover the theme of the battle itself. But I felt that all this context did need to be conveyed in some way - becuase NIGHTMARESCAPE 〜Unrestrained HyperCam 2〜 (Final Boss Phase 2) reflects the tone and energy of the entire event so pitch-perfectly, it amazed me to learn just how last-minute its production truly was. Princess Sylvysprit employs her expertise and familiarity with the Touhou series to arrange Dreamscape, anthem of the old internet that Hypercam represents, into a rhythmic, hectic, exciting melody, with a sense of dread overlaid on top of it all from the heavy synth covering it (see, there WAS a point in covering Nostalgic Blood of the Gregg ~ Old Source right before this!). It becomes a full-on back and fourth, triumphant higher-key brass responding to the droning eternity of Hypercam's synth melody - made even clearer as the melody and instrumentation occasioally changes to reflect the two finalists' own sourcelists. The amount of layers present in this theme are absolutely incredible, from the choir adding a sense of dread to the track's Hypercam-led sections, to the lone piano sounding as if the original Hypercam is trying to break free from the eternal spell he's been cast under, to the incorporation of the King for Another Day Tournament's main theme for the chorus - we may not see the battle play out, yet the music all on its own conveys a battle in such an engrossing, layered way.

The visual of the Unrestrained Hypercam 2's looming figure just adds the final touch upon it all, wielding the same spinning buzz-saw that was seen severing the thread of hope for all contestants way back in the "opening" to the tournament as a whole. The finality of the story was conveyed so expertly on every front, and the excitement back then was palpable - I still have my contribution to the MF LIKE BUTTON's power left on the video from all the way back in 2019, alongside 14 thousand other viewers (19 thousand on the video announcing the battle!). A duel with the Hypercam, and NIGHTMARESCAPE 〜Unrestrained HyperCam 2〜 (Final Boss Phase 2) by extension, may not have been part of the initial plan for the event - but I am so, so happy that it wound up happening. Because the sense of community and excitement that I, and so many others, felt at this very moment of the channel's life, is one I'll forever cherish.

[tokyo-fashion]

RIP REITA of the GazettE

A great Japanese musician and legendary Harajuku style icon has passed away. There was no band more popular with Harajuku visual kei fans of the 2005-2010 era. The famous Jingubashi bridge was full of REITA/GazettE cosplayers every weekend back then. RIP 🖤🖤🖤🖤

Official Announcement From The Band

[hinamie]

obligatory water tribe alt outfits so i am not held liable if they freeze

jjk atla!au with @philosophiums

[kalethemonster]

what neurotypical abled people cant seem to get into their heads is aids and medication dont stop people from being neurodivergent and/or disabled. hearing aids dont stop deaf or hard of hearing people from being deaf or hard of hearing, it just makes hearing easier mobility aids such as canes or crutches dont stop people with arthritis, chronic pain, or just general mobility issues from having arthritis, chronic pain, or just general mobility issues, it just makes getting around easier

pain medication doesnt stop people with chronic pain stop being in pain (specifically in the long term), it just makes pain management easier

fidget & stim toys and fidget & stim jewelry dont stop people with anxiety from having anxiety, adhd-ers from having fucked up exectutive function, and autistics not being able to automatically regulate emotions and sensory responses, it just makes dealing with them all easier

various adhd medications doesnt make people not have adhd anymore, it just makes it easier to regulate their executive function.

anxiety medication doesnt get rid of anxiety, it just makes it easier to deal with.

white canes and sight specific service animals dont stop blind people and people with sight impairments from being blind or having sight impairments, it just makes living with them easier.

trauma and emotional support specific service animals dont stop people from having trauma and emotional issues, it just makes dealing with them easier

anti-depressants dont stop people with clinical depression from being depressed, they just make it easier to deal with by stabilizing mood.

immune suppressants dont stop people with any autoimmune condition(s) (such as crohn's, psoriasis or psoratic arthritis, rhumitiod arthritis, myasthenia gravis, fibromyalgia, ect.) being affected in any way affected by their autoimmune condition(s), they just make living with the condition(s) easier.

medication and aids arent magic. they dont make the disabled and/or neurodiverse person not disabled and/or not neurodiverse, they dont entirely cancel out the thing they are used/pescribed for, they just make it easier to exist in a world where whats considered "normal" or "independant" or "a regular human being" doesnt automatically include them.

[zegalba]

atsushi sakurai

[breakbleheavens]

CRUEL SUMMER The Eras Tour — Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (Night 3) | November 20, 2023

[its-soomi]

🥀 Rest in peace Reita 🥀

安らかに眠ってください。

[vakiza]

…. Rest in peace Reita… you left too soon from this world.

I don’t know the reason for this sudden deafening departure, and for such sadness…. Regardless if I know the reason or not, you will be dearly missed. You were one of the most talented, spirited, and iconic Visual Kei/Rock Bassist and musician of an era. Thank you for bringing so much energy into my life since 2010, alongside your bandmates that you called your brothers.

We will always be beside The GazettE and will support them so that your last wish before you left this world will be protected dearly.

Thank you for being a part of The GazettE, for creating powerful music that changed so many generations and gave us the confidence to be ourselves and express ourselves. Thank you for being part of my life for over 14 years.

Rest well, you worked hard. But most importantly, I hope that you were able to enjoy your 42 years of life with happiness and celebrations.

🕊️🕊️✨

[3ksensory]

🌰 unaccountably peckish (fallen london) ⅰ ⅱ ⅲ / ⅳ ⅴ ⅵ / ⅶ ⅷ ⅸ 🍴rb / credit to use gifs stimboard requested by @vampiiric

[im-totally-not-an-alien-2]

Tim gets deaged which usually wouldn't be too much of a problem considering he still has his adult mind in tact. No. The problem is that there was a child who was the same age as deaged Tim and who looks suspiciously just like him.

Oh. And they somehow got swapped.

Now Tim is stuck trying to figure out who and what Phantom is and what dimension his "lair" is in so he can escape. Tim briefly considered just talking to Phantom and explaining things (with some omissions obviously) but after seeing his eyes flash an eerily familiar green he had frozen. It didn't help that Phantom was doting and scarily overprotective of his children. Some robotic rogue with a flaming green mohawk had threatened to harm them while they were out in the stroller and Phantom took off his head with ruthless cruelty. Tim wasn't taking his chances with a bad reaction so he has more or less resigned himself to living life as a one year old along side his "twin" until he can escape.

Meanwhile Danny is getting more and more concerned that the personality of one of his kids has changed. He had been a happy and bubbly baby until he suddenly became quiet and withdrawn. Had his kid been traumatized somehow? He watches them sleep together in thier crib and wonders...

Meanwhile the bats are cooing over baby "Tim" and doing all sorts of baby activities appropriate for a one year old. The sheer amount of baby clothes everyone buys is ludicrous and I greater theres at least three Nightwing themed outfits in the pile. At least.

Damian becomes jealous of all the time people are spending with "Tim" (especially grayson) and bullys the baby for it all the while causing the baby to cry and Damian to be scolded, which only fuels his ire.

After a week of this the bats confront the person who made the device that deaged RR and found out that Tims mind should not have reverted back to a child, only his body. Damian feels victorious and claims his brother must have been faking the entire time and confront "Tim" about it...but "Tim" doesn't change his behavior. He still acts like a normal baby.

After a while of this they decide to run a dna test just to be sure. The DNA test comes back positive...on half. This shocks everyone. They run the test several more times and have to come to terms with the fact that not only is Tim out there somewhere in the body of a defenseless 1 year old baby, but they somehow got his (future?) son with them instead.

Damian has to come to terms with the fact his been bullying a litteral infant this entire time and the shame that comes with that. (It wasn't any better when you thought it was a baby Tim and Jason points that out) Damian does some self reflection and tries to make amends.

[drrav3nb]

THE CROW (1994) dir. Alex Proyas

People once believed that when someone dies, a crow carries their soul to the land of the dead. But sometimes, something so bad happens that a terrible sadness is carried with it and the soul can't rest. Then sometimes, just sometimes, the crow can bring that soul back to put the wrong things right.

[grothesqua]

RIP Atsushi Sakurai (1966-2023)

I'm deeply saddened by the news of his passing, as I can imagine a lot of people are. With his music he's inspired people for decades and we will never forget him for that. I'm deeply grateful to have lived at the same time as him, even though I never got to experience Buck-Tick live.

Now and forever, he will live on in our hearts and through his music.

We love you. Rest easy, legend. 🖤

[falling-camellias]

get ruffled king

@lakesbian

[iluvvkoo]

These photos blow me away.

[garadinervi]

Ruth Wolf-Rehfeldt (1932-2024)

♥

(image: Ruth Wolf-Rehfeldt, Limits Endlessness, (carbon copy of typewriting), 1975. ChertLüdde, Berlin. © Ruth Wolf-Rehfeldt)

[tojis-wife3]