#Next-Level Audio Immersion

[billsmithsposts]

Razer BlackShark V2 X Gaming Headset: Elevating Gaming Audio to New Heights

In the realm of gaming peripherals, Razer has always stood out for its commitment to delivering top-notch quality and performance. The Razer BlackShark V2 X Gaming Headset is no exception, offering a comprehensive suite of features tailored to meet the demands of today’s avid gamers. Boasting 7.1 Surround Sound, 50mm Drivers, Memory Foam Cushioning, and compatibility with PC, Mac, PS4, PS5,…

[felassan]

New Dragon Age: The Veilguard Journal entry:

"Journal #9 Hans Zimmer & Lorne Balfe Co-Composers Dragon Age: The Veilguard’s Composers Announcement"

"Hey everyone! Today, we’re so happy to announce that two-time Oscar-winner Hans Zimmer and Grammy-winner Lorne Balfe have co-composed the Official Soundtrack (OST) for Dragon Age: The Veilguard, the new single-player fantasy RPG experience coming to PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S and PC via Steam, EA App, and Epic Games Store on October 31, 2024. The legendary composers have collaborated on dozens of projects throughout their careers and have worked closely with the development team at BioWare to create a score celebrating the world of Thedas and its heroes. Fans will be able to pre-order the Official Soundtrack album beginning October 18th on iTunes and Amazon Music, with the formal release to follow on November 1st via Lakeshore Records. Moreover, in celebration of the announcement, Dragon Age: The Veilguard Main Theme, has been released as the first single from the official soundtrack, and can be downloaded and streamed now on all major music services such as Spotify, iTunes, and more. “One of our goals with the music for Dragon Age: The Veilguard was to provide a strong anchor between the world of Thedas and the diverse characters that inhabit that world,” said Cody Behiel, Audio Director for Dragon Age: The Veilguard. “We wanted to ensure that throughout the game's story, whether at its most epic or its most intimate, players were able to feel their actions connect to the personal relationships they have been fostering. Working with Hans and Lorne took these ideas to greater emotional heights than we thought possible and I am so excited for players to experience it.” Oscar-winner Zimmer, one of the world’s most renowned composers, has won numerous awards and honors for his scores in such films as Dune, Dunkirk, Interstellar, Inception, and many more. With over 100 film scores to his credit, Dragon Age: The Veilguard is the first video game soundtrack composed by Zimmer in nearly 10 years. Speaking about his work on Dragon Age: The Veilguard, Hans Zimmer said, “Epic stories lend themselves to epic scores, and the narrative tapestry BioWare has woven in The Veilguard never left me wanting for inspiration, be it during the game’s moments of shining heroism or darkest emotional pitfalls. I’m proud to have shared the journey of creating the musical backdrop for the latest Dragon Age adventure with Lorne and the entire design team.” GRAMMY Award-winner Balfe has over 170 composer credits across movies, TV and games, including Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, Assassin's Creed III, Assassin's Creed: Revelations, and Beyond: Two Souls, all of which received nominations for Best Original Music from the BAFTA Games Awards. “The world of Dragon Age is an unprecedented immersive experience, and never more so than in Dragon Age: The Veilguard,” said Lorne Balfe. “Crafting this score alongside Hans Zimmer has allowed us to bring an epic new majesty to the realm of Thedas, bringing these characters and their stories to the next level. I cannot wait for people to play this game.” Players can pre-order Dragon Age: The Veilguard now on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S and PC. We still have a few more things to talk about before release, and we hope you enjoy our main theme in the meantime!             — The Dragon Age Team"

[source]

(emphasis mine)

[themostdearofspaghettis]

Hiya! Based on your tags you have listened to A Lot of audio drama and I'm always looking for some expertise to help with my decisions making process sooo- What's your Top 5? The MUST listen to list iyo? (and a bit of why if you're so inclined)

Boy I sure do listen to A Lot of audio drama. Here’s my top five!! (Ranked in overall composition terms, not necessarily on How Much I Love the Characters or Plot— let me know if you want plot description???? I’m mostly ranking from an overall level rn).

1. The Silt Verses. 5/5 stars. Beautifully written, excellently executed. The characters and plots are all immersive and all realistic. Sound design on point (especially later). It’s the only podcast that has a 5/5 rating for me. I’m a huge fan of both character building and lore, and these feature heavily in this story. Jon and Muna produce wonderful work, and I sincerely think that whatever their next project looks like, though it will be different from TSV and their previous project I am in Eskew, it will be no less thoughtful or well-executed.

2. Red Valley. 4.5/5 stars. Speaking of character-centric work, this podcast is hugely character focused. Atmospheric, dealing with many of the ethical qualms The Silt Verses does in a wildly different way. More humorous than horror, no less bleak at times.

3. Old Gods of Appalachia. 4.5/5 stars. Huge fan of the deep work Steve and Cam do here on creating a rich narrative that has a cavern of family history and lore. I really enjoy the folklore of this area, and I really enjoy the anthology aspect of this show that slowly weaves together to create a delicate web as the podcast goes on.

4. Midnight Burger. 4.5/5 stars. Funny, humorous on purpose, which makes it a standout on this list because most of them are more serious horror centric ones. Character focused, but also so so clever, Joe creates just a caring environment for his fans and for the characters. It celebrates the weird, celebrates the combination of fiction and physics and comedy and philosophy. Hopeful, human, lovely.

5. The only other 4.5s on my list that I have to make a combo of, I’m sorry I’m not sticking to the technical limit of five!

-Malevolent: Produced, written, and acted by one man, contains some of my favorite tropes and makes Lovecraft fun for me.

-The Magnus Archives (not Protocol): You can’t avoid TMA on tumblr audio drama spaces, so I’m sure its presence is unsurprising. At the time I listened, it was my first exposure to anthology work in an audio drama medium. If I listened to it now, who knows! But I had to stay true to my rankings.

-Ghost Wax: Hugely original concept written by passionate and creative creators. Anthology once again, with more complex lore and thoughtful composition.

-SCP: Find Us Alive: I think the character work draws me most strongly to this show.

Honorable mentions: Ethics Town and Camlann.

[l0vergirls]

your boyfriend jason who also plays video games, but prefers watching you play instead.

sure, jason plays video games, but he wouldn't say he was anywhere near as good as you. if he were stuck on a level, he'd ask for your help, handing you the controller to your shared console as you tease him on his awful aim.

"you've been on this part for how long now, jason?" you chirped.

"yeah, yeah," he playfully rolled his eyes at you, "c'mon babe, help me out, please."

your games were the ones he preferred anyway.

sometimes, he treats it like a movie and grabs a snack as a cutscene plays, occasionally feeding you whatever food he grabbed from the kitchen.

he came back from the kitchen with a bowl of various chips and settled back down next to you.

he wordlessly fed you a chip, his eyes still trained on the screen.

"mm, thanks babe,"

"you're welcome, doll."

he's also surprisingly up to date on the story of your current game, and can remember things even you would forget about.

"i don't remember going here?" you said, eyebrows furrowed. you'd thought you had already gone through all the doors in the area.

"no, you did. you even looted that place, i remember," he wagged a finger at you, "you just made a shortcut, i think,"

"ah, you're right."

he would let you lay on his chest, getting both of you comfortable if you decided to play a relaxing game that day. if you picked a game that required all your attention, then he'd simply sit next to you and watch, knowing better than to distract you from your objective.

his arm was loosely wrapped around your waist, his thumb circling your hip bone.

the both of you were silent while you played, watching the colourful pixelated characters move across the screen.

and if he wasn't paying attention to the game, jason would find his eyes wandering to you— just like they did now. it's the few times you weren't so vigilant, completely immersed in the story.

so he allows himself to take his time as he dragged his eyes down your face; your eyes were shining as it reflected your screen, and he found the glimmer of determination in them adorable. he admired the slope of your nose to the puff of your cheeks, while a small smile escaped him.

his attention was brought down to your lips, as your tongue peeked out in your concentration.

a quick glance to the monitor told him you were nearly done with a certain mission in your game— perhaps just a few more minutes.

as soon as he'd heard the familiar audio cue signalling the mission was over, he leaned over and pressed the pause button on the controller.

"jason?" you turned to him in surprise.

he only hummed in response, cradling your cheek in his hand and guided your lips to his.

you put the controller down in favour of snaking your hand around the back of his neck, and pulling him closer to you. your lips moved in harmony, having done this dance many times before.

jason eagerly pulled at the bottom of your shirt, and you knew you wouldn't get back to your game tonight.

for all the gamers out there i hope you like this one ｡⁠◕⁠‿⁠◕⁠｡

[mariacallous]

The Joke I tell that no one laughs at goes like this: I picked a pretty rough time to actually want to be alive; in retrospect, back when I wanted to die, things were not actually all that bad. In the office of my therapist, this formulation elicits a heavy sigh. Among friends, it prompts a look of concern. I can’t locate the punch line, even as I type it out. The joke is that I was once heartbroken enough to invent my own apocalypse. The joke is that I stayed alive long enough to witness a few real ones. The joke—and this is why I suspect no one laughs—acknowledges that we are perhaps coming to a collective understanding that there is a door closing, more quickly for some than for others, and that most of us are on the wrong side of it.

I am part of a support group made up of people who’ve gone through periods of wanting to die and who, like me, are constantly working through how to actively engage with a world that can feel relentlessly untenable, like a shoddy amusement-park ride accelerating into the sky and attempting to eject us all from our flimsy seats. The group is informal but long-running. It existed well before a beloved elder hauled me to a session eight years ago. It is a place where we laugh at one another’s jokes about death which are actually jokes about living but are also, of course, jokes about how everything around us is crumbling. It is a place where, among other things, we can luxuriate in sometimes being wrong. The group members occasionally call me out for hyper-cynicism, and, because it’s them, I am eager to be corrected. Some of them have survived their internal battles for almost as long as I’ve been alive.

Each group session has an appointed leader. The privilege of leading depends on where you are in your journey—once it’s been five years since your last attempt on your life, you are added to the queue. I led my first meeting this winter, around Christmas, over Zoom. At the start of it, I made a joke, which is a variation on the other Joke: I guess you all get me tonight, because I’m not dead. The audio crackled with sparks of laughter, the sounds colliding until they sounded like a delightful bit of radio static. We’re all alive—what a trip.

We open each meeting by asking a simple question: What is keeping you alive today? This allows us to revel in the sometimes small motions that get us to the Next Thing. Yes, I did not want to get out of bed this morning, but there was one single long shard of sunlight that stumbled in through a tear in my curtains, and the warmth of it hitting my arm got me to that first hour of living. There was my dog, who, on the mornings I do not want to get out of bed, will rest silently at my feet and wait for me to slowly emerge from under the covers, and seeing her reminds me that I do, in fact, have only one lifetime in which I can love this animal. As far as I know, we will love each other only here, for a while, and that is worth seeing what I can make out of a few hours, even when I’m wrecked with despair.

I say despair in lieu of any other word because I like the weight of it, the way it both sounds and feels. Depression and anxiety are clinical terms, the terms doctors see when they search charts to learn about my afflictions. But despair feels like something one can sink into, even comfortably, to a degree; I can be consumed by it while still engaging in my quotidian activities. I bring up my little group, my small Island of Misfit Survivors, because it is one of the rare places where I feel secure in an abandonment of hope. Hope is something I get asked about more than I would like to. During stops on my recent book tour, people asked me what I’m hopeful about, and what words I can offer as a salve for the feelings of anxiety and uncertainty that many people have lately been immersed in. In interviews, my interlocutors sometimes lean in and say, “But it isn’t all bad. . . . Is it?” And I laugh a little bit and shrug. I’ve realized that most people believe in this strange mythology, which I may have had access to once but am not interested in locating anymore. The propulsive moments that some might consider signs of hope I have renamed necessity. Hope means both everything and nothing at all, and yet it is always purported to be within reach. Hope is the fluorescent bird. The bird makes no sound. It is in a cage. No one can find the key, and no one has seen the key in a very long time, and they aren’t sure that they’d even free the bird if they found the key. And yet, collectively, people must keep asking for it.

I often consider the flexibility of language, in a very literal, unpoetic sense. Its uses are pleasureful, treacherous, devastating. For example: I am writing about the beauty of sunlight and the sight of my beloved dog’s face in the same language that a Department of Homeland Security head uses to call for more rapid and “efficient” deportations, an “Amazon Prime for Human Beings.” When it comes to horrors given shape through the functions of language, even this does not haunt me as much as a press conference held by children in Gaza in 2023, during which they pleaded in English for the world to protect them, despite the world’s prolonged and ongoing failure to answer that call. Language fails at the feet of an empire’s violence; language fails to scale the ever-growing wall between who is and isn’t deemed worthy of a life. Yet I am trying to use this same failing machinery to communicate how, for the sake of my own fragile heart, and sometimes fragile brain, I remain more committed to honesty than I do to optimism.

The Joke that I tell works, in my head, because in my late teens and early twenties I felt, selfishly, that the worst parts of the world existed only in the small radius of my various heartbreaks. And, to the credit of those heartbreaks, some of them were worthy of that lie. What I love about the heart is that it’s capable of breaking in infinite ways; may we never live long enough to experience all of them, but may we live long enough to experience the ways the heart can repair itself for subsequent breakings. The cycle of rupture and repair is a requirement of living, a cost of surviving, something that goes hand in hand with another reality of survival: that, throughout your life, you may not only lose people but also gain them.

Eight years ago, when I first joined my group, I couldn’t stop orbiting my own pain. After three weeks, I was pulled aside by the elder who had brought me into the fold in the first place, and he told me something that has defined a not-insignificant part of my living ever since. He said, “Your pain is unique, because it’s yours. And you get to have that. But, when pressed up against all of the pain in the whole wide world, it isn’t special. It can be unique, but it can’t always be special.” I had to age into seeing past my own desire for an exit, which was fuelled by a wish to, quite simply, not feel the way that I felt anymore. I don’t mean that I adopted a basic “it could always be worse” mind-set. I mean that, through an endless cycle of breakage and repair, I’ve built up a renewed depth of feeling, and my world view, cynical as it might be at times, is informed by that accrual. I have lived long enough to operate almost in reverse, starting with the broadest scope. I can say that I have seen the state of the world and that I am not optimistic any population can return from some of the lines people have collectively crossed, either willingly or owing to the complicity of, say, paying taxes to a violent state. I do not think that there’s a newer and better world that can be built with the knowledge of a genocidal campaign being carried out on a live stream for a year and a half and counting. The world at large is seemingly fine with what we are witnessing, and I think that suggests the irreversible unwellness of a people, of a society.

I most commonly hear despair framed as an end point, a feeling that affixes itself to exhaustion, or to a level of despondency that cannot be overcome. But it doesn’t have to be so. I have Black elders in my life whom I love dearly. I am not related to them, and we don’t maintain the façade of age-based hierarchy that can come with blood ties. We’re part of a community of equals. We play cards. I listen to the good gossip from the nursing home. If time has its way, and it always does, many of them won’t live to see the world become significantly worse than it is now. They may witness the groundwork being laid for its worsening, but not the most damaging results. These are people who firmly understand that they are counting time in units of a few years, or a good handful of months, and yet they worry about the world. They ache for it, they are displeased by what they see, and still they organize, in the small ways they can—by donating clothes, or by ordering a bus to take them to go and vote. I won’t claim to know exactly how they would define their range of feelings. But my heart is broken and repaired by them, in equal measure. They are aware of the limited time they have left, and aware that their time on earth may stop while the time of their grandchildren, or children, or anyone younger than them whom they love, will continue on—and what a shame to see a world growing more undeserving of their beloveds each day—and so they spend at least some of whatever time they have left stitching together small pieces that, eventually, might make something big enough to be meaningful.

I think of those folks when I am working to shape my relationship with despair into something proactive. When I return to the Joke that no one laughs at, what I’m actually saying is, What a shit situation, that this is the world that I’ve got to try and stay alive in. The tonnage of our reality weighs on me now, but it doesn’t crush me entirely, and I believe that this is a question of my relationship to time. My past indifference to my own living has afforded me a kind of hard-earned inventiveness. I know how to get through a hard hour, a hard day, a hard week. I know how to pull myself from one minute to the next, in large part because I find that my depths of despair have afforded me a newfound curiosity. I am no longer wired to catalogue and sift through only my own internal horrors, and so, by the mercy of simply looking up and looking around, I can see that there are people willing to love me, and that I am willing to love them, and, yes, I cannot believe that this is the world we’ve got, but I am chasing the tail of the world’s end, imagining that if I catch it (by way of tidying up my own spirit, my own heart, and also my own material communities), there might be something better than the present.

I hold a monthly workshop for high-school writers, many of whom are preparing to go off to college. We have recently been talking about poems of joyful accumulation—poems that begin with some small affection, which leads to a sort of snowballing of pleasure, of happy revelation, even if the revelation begins with a slight ache, a memory of someone who is no longer here, or a place that is not what it once was. We are reading Ross Gay’s “To the Fig Tree on 9th and Christian,” which finds the poet strolling through Philadelphia. It is “a city, like most / which has murdered its own / people,” he writes, but the poem turns slightly when he describes grabbing some figs off a tree that has grown rich with the fruit. First, he grabs the fruit for himself, and then for others, who gather around to access the bounty. The process of accumulation is defined by the arrival of the people, with their own desires, and, finally, by those desires being met. We are also reading Aracelis Girmay’s “You Are Who I Love,” in which the speaker unfurls a list of people they love, people they want to see survive, people doing what those not committed to close and tender attention might call the daily tasks of living: a person stirring a pot of beans, a person selling roses out of a cart, a person crossing a border, a person carrying their brother home, a person singing Leonard Cohen to the snow. You, reader, do not personally know these people, but their motivations spark a familiar feeling—here is someone trying to survive in a world that can render a person unable to get out of bed. You, too, may love a person who cannot get out of bed, which is why you cherish the things that convey, I am trying to stitch together enough small moments to have a life for a little bit longer.

When my class read this poem aloud, I was relieved to realize that I was not the only person brought to tears—not because I harbor any self-consciousness about public weeping (lord knows, I am well versed) but because it helped me feel that we had achieved a collective understanding of a poem that says, My heart is connected to your hearts. I am reading poems of accumulating affections with brilliant young writers who are about to leave a city we all love, and go to various elsewheres, and I am doing so because I want them to consider the responsibilities of the heart, responsibilities that the world will attempt to detach them from in the name of individualism, or the ever-growing realities of isolationist attitudes and power’s contempt for community. I am asking them, as I am continually asking myself, to imagine a heart that feels a connection to the hearts of others, even others you do not know. I would like to think that this is what nudges me forward, more than some mythological concept of “hope.” In the silence of a room after the reading of a poem, when the only sounds are small gasps and sniffles, I can say to myself that we are all carrying a unique ache, or a unique memory, or a unique desire that the poem ignited. And I would like to know about it. I would like to know what few inches of the wretched world can be made into an adequate space for you to mourn, or to make a plate of food, or to dance in your living room, or to bury something you’ve finally decided to put down. ♦

If you are having thoughts of suicide, call or text 988 or chat at 988Lifeline.org.

[estellan0vella]

Sunshine's Guide To Murder│Lee Minho

Prologue SS: 5 (ignore time stamps and dates) Word Count: 1.25K Content Warnings: Discussion of murder, mention of suicide

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The cosy living room of their shared house feels lived-in, a comfortable chaos of half-empty snack bowls, open laptops, and scattered audio equipment spread across the floor and coffee table. The scent of buttery popcorn lingers in the air, mingling with the faint hum of Jeongin’s laptop as it processes the latest episode of Three Sunshines Guide to Murder.

Hayun is sprawled across the couch, one leg lazily draped over the armrest, her socked foot swinging slightly as she scrolls through her phone with the kind of casual disinterest that only comes from hours of mindless browsing.

On the floor, Felix sits cross-legged, a worn-out notebook open in his lap as he jots down notes with fierce concentration, his brow furrowed. Across from him, Jisung is stretched out on the opposite end of the couch, an arm thrown over his eyes as he pretends to nap, though the occasional twitch of his lips betrays his act.

Jeongin, as usual, is immersed in his work, leaning forward with his headphones half on, one ear uncovered as he meticulously edits the audio for their latest episode. Every now and then, he pauses, adjusting the volume levels or scrubbing through the track to erase unwanted noise.

“How’s it coming along, Jeongin?” Hayun asks, tossing a stray popcorn kernel into her mouth.

Jeongin doesn’t look up, his focus unwavering as he adjusts a knob on his software. “Almost done. Just cleaning up some audio. Felix kept slapping the fucking table every time he got excited.”

Felix’s head snaps up, eyes wide with mock offense. “Hey! I wasn’t that bad!”

Jeongin slides one ear of his headphones off, his deadpan expression making it clear he’s not having any of it. “You slapped the table twelve times in the first ten minutes.”

Hayun snorts from her side of the couch, barely stifling her laughter. “Sounds about right.”

“Come on,” Felix says, his voice half-whining, half-amused. “It’s called passion!”

Jisung suddenly sits up, stretching with a dramatic yawn that suggests he’s just woken from the most exhausting nap of his life. “I still can’t fucking believe this Lester Eubanks guy, though. Dude’s in prison for killing a little girl, and they just... take him on a shopping trip? And then he just slips out and has been on the run for half a century? What the actual fuck?”

Felix chuckles, shaking his head as he closes his notebook. “It’s wild. The FBI has been chasing this guy for fifty years, and it’s like he just vanished into thin air.”

Jeongin lets out a low hum of agreement, still not looking up from his laptop. “Disappeared like a ghost,” he mutters, clearly half-listening.

“Yeah, the fact that he's been evading the FBI for that long is mind-blowing," Hayun adds, her eyes still fixed on her phone, but she’s clearly engaged now. “But hey, it makes for great content.”

Jisung leans forward, a mischievous glint in his eyes, rubbing his hands together like he’s plotting some grand scheme. “Speaking of great content, you guys know our one-year anniversary for the podcast is coming up, right? We need to do something big.”

Felix looks up, eyebrows raised in surprise. “Wait, already? Damn. Time flies when you’re digging into the darkest corners of humanity.”

Hayun sits up a little now, resting her elbow on the back of the couch as she turns her attention to Jisung. “Okay, so what are you thinking?”

Jisung grins, the kind of grin that always means trouble. “Well, we’ve hit 400,000 listeners, too, so it’s gotta be something huge. Felix suggested covering Tupac and Biggie, but—”

“Overdone as hell,” Jeongin interjects smoothly, still focused on his screen.

Felix nods in agreement, scratching the back of his head. “Yeah, that’s true. Everyone and their grandma has covered Tupac and Biggie.”

Jisung leans back, crossing his arms over his chest, his grin widening. “Exactly. So, I was thinking... we cover the murder of Shin Yuna.”

The room falls silent, the air suddenly heavier. Even Jeongin stops typing, his fingers hovering over the keys as he glances up, brows furrowing. Felix straightens a little, his expression shifting from curiosity to concern.

Hayun’s brow furrows as well. “That was only, like... five years ago.”

“Yup,” Jisung replies, clearly relishing the tension his suggestion has created. “I mean, everyone says her girlfriend, Lee Chaeryeong, did it. But we all know that’s bullshit. The case was wrapped up way too quickly. Chaeryeong killed herself and left a confession and everyone took it as gospel. What if the police had it all wrong?”

Felix frowns, his posture stiffening. “I don’t know, Ji... that case is still really touchy. Especially since a lot of it went down around campus. People still remember.”

“Come on, Felix!” Jisung exclaims, throwing his hands in the air. “It’s been five years! And besides, we could make it a multi-episode thing. We could dig into the police reports, conduct interviews, see what we can find. Maybe even prove that Chaeryeong wasn’t the killer. We could solve it.”

Hayun’s face softens, but her voice remains cautious. “What about her brother? Minho, right? We’d need to talk to him first. Give him a heads-up before we start poking around. It’d be... sensitive.”

All eyes turn to her as she mentions Minho. The weight of their stares makes her shift uncomfortably. “What?” she asks, her voice defensive.

“You’re the one who should talk to him,” Jisung says casually, like it’s the most obvious thing in the world.

“Why me?” Hayun protests, her eyes narrowing. “I don’t even know the guy. Plus, don’t you have beef with his group?”

Jisung shrugs, a sly grin creeping across his face. “You’ve got that whole ‘nobody-can-ever-get-mad-at-you’ thing going on. If anyone can get him to talk, it’s you. And yeah, I’ve got beef with Changbin and Chan. The rest of them? They just have my disgust by association.”

Jeongin chimes in with a smirk. “Minho’s the one we need to talk to, out of respect. The police consider the case closed, even though they never found Yuna’s body. But if we want access to police reports or interviews, that’s going to be the easy part. Minho? That’s where we’ll need finesse.”

Hayun groans, dragging a hand down her face. “Fine, fine. I’ll message him later today. But if he doesn’t reply or isn’t interested, we’re dropping it and covering something else. Deal?”

Jisung, Felix, and Jeongin all nod, looking relieved. “Deal,” Jisung says with a triumphant grin. “But trust me, this is gonna be fucking huge.”

Felix leans back against the couch, his gaze settling on Hayun. “You sure about this, though? I mean, you’re gonna have to deal with Minho directly. He’s... kinda intimidating.”

Hayun chuckles, trying to brush off the nerves creeping up on her. “What’s the worst that could happen? It’s just a conversation. Plus, like you said, we think his sister might be innocent. He deserves to know that someone else thinks so, too.”

“Just go in with that angle,” Jisung advises, his tone more serious now. “He’ll have insight that we don’t. If we could actually solve this case? Fuck, man. It’d be legendary.”

Felix claps his hands together, a sudden burst of energy filling the room. “Alright! So it’s settled. We’re going for it. And Hayun, you’ve got the toughest job. Good luck.”

Hayun gives him a mock salute, her lips curling into a half-smile. “Thanks. I’ll need it.”

Taglist: @hityoulikebahng @drewsandsebastianswife @fackeraccount

[honeyhotteoks]

do you have any advice on like getting better with writing?

hey! i definitely do!! i’ve talked about this before but i have a lot of new readers, so ill start off by saying i’ve been writing for my entire life, and im 30 so thats a lot of years. if you’re a new writer, trust me i used to be there and good god if you guys could see the stuff i published in old fandoms 💀 really, really bad haha

i only say that because i by no means consider myself a great writer, there are fic writers in this space alone that i’m always so floored by and look up to…. but people have been very kind about my writing style and it’s something that took time to develop it’s not something i just “had”. outside of fic, i was a literature and creative writing major, and got very used to writing and workshopping pieces.

now! onto some actual advice —

1. read a lot and read more, but read stuff you actually like and not stuff you feel pressured to read. i love high brow litfic as much as the next pretentious english major, but i started writing a ton after reading a bunch of kindle unlimited romance because it was fun and it got me inspired

2. watch well written television for dialogue and pacing. people do not talk in proper english, they don’t say things eloquently, and there’s a lot of filler and fluff. that’s good! that’s real, so i love well written tv to show me how it’s done

3. get comfortable writing in weird ways. for years i used to sit down and be like “ah okay so chapter one” and then i was stuck, stalled out, and just felt bad about the process. when i started writing both aurora and tnt, i started in the middle. i had an image of a scene in my mind (for tnt it was actually the claim attempt) and i just wrote it out and then bounced around later

4. outlines are your friend! sometimes i’ll get a random line of dialogue in my head or an image but that doesn’t mean i’m ready to write it. i throw it in one big outline so i don’t lose it.

5. if you’re wanting to write really good smut i have two suggestions but please only do this to your personal comfort level. this is what works for me but do not make yourself uncomfortable— for good smut, i watch porn for reference and for good dirty talk, i listen to nsfw audio. i like to really write the visuals for smut and make it immersive but lol i haven’t experienced everything ive written about and logistics of the body are hard!! i usually find a video or an audio and let that help guide the imagery im writing.

6. be comfortable with the editing process. i know the temptation to post something the minute you finish it is there, but sleep on it. come back and edit it, read the dialogue out loud if you have to. i swear you’ll make the piece better just by leaving it and coming back.

7. don’t be afraid to post. most people are kind, and the worst thing that will happen is you don’t get a lot of notes. that’s okay, it’s a process.

8. research! as i’m writing anything, even a silly little oneshot, im doing research on something. i am hyper aware that im not korean and have never spoken korean or lived in korea, so for my fic i try my hardest to ground elements of that in reality. i truly cannot tell you how many hours ive spent reading like korean case law on revenge porn just for like 3 lines of dialogue. and you don’t have to go that crazy, i’m arguably too intense, but i do think some of that helps the story and the dialogue feel real.

9. describe something real- every place in my writing is based on something real. every apartment, hotel, cafe, venue, etc., they’re all either something i’ve found online or drawn from my life and use that to my advantage. i use apartment listings and save photographs, i do google map walks to see what neighborhoods look like, anything to get the feel of a place or an experience. for the christmas chapters of aurora, i watched hours of gwangju walking tour videos on youtube while i was writing just to understand how to describe their walk in the snow. it really helps me to have a visual that i can put words to.

10. find your weak points and see what other writers do differently. if you want to improve, you should find a small place to start. is it dialogue? overall plot? smut? etc. - i’ll never forget being on a creative writing retreat, and a very important writing professor said to me “everything you write is very pretty but you haven’t said anything. you have to decide to say something.” that feedback hurt, but sent me down a much better writing path when i realized where i was falling short and not challenging myself.

okay i hope some of this was helpful and if it’s a mess im sorry im on mobile. i really just love writing so deeply and will always talk about it, so i hope this was helpful 💗

[subliminal-beef]

Moo~! As the sun is now setting on the recent solar series of subliminals, it's time I move onto the next theme. VIDEO GAINS! 🥰

This will be a series of subliminals with results triggered by gaming or interacting with other media in general (podcasts, music, movies, books, etc.!)

My intention behind this particular subliminal is to help you passively erode and reduce doubts, hesitations and limiting beliefs you may have behind progress with your subliminal-related goals, while also having affirmations that cause a constant and passive boost to the power of other affirmations while gaming~ 💖

It is best recommended to have the non-music version of this looping on a lower volume in the background of your favourite games.

However, you can still add this to your already existing playlists! With enough listens, this subliminal is intended to continue having effects AFTER listening (I don't want the music to ruin your immersion, that would be ironic! 😅)

Getting 'victories' in your media (Such as completing levels, finishing a novel, that sort of thing!) will trigger a 200% boost to your other affirmations. This is intended to be able to stack exponentially, for those on winning streaks! 💪😏🔥

Correctly guessing plot twists or elements will trigger a boost to your thought clarity, as well as 1500% boost to results!

If you have any other quirky ideas I could work into other subs in this series, please let me know in the comments~! 💖

This specific subliminal is intended as a booster for other subs. It would be less effective (not to mention feeling lonely!) if used only by itself~!

Feel free to browse the other subliminals on my channel, and put together a little playlist of other effects that Overclocked can amplify~! 🐮✨

As you can probably guess, I'll be also creating my usual array of breast expansion, belly inflation, feedee/feeder, feederism, weight gain, butt/thigh/hip growth and other effects into different tracks for this series~

I might even revisit some older ideas, like growing taller/shorter!

What do you think...?

This should be able to be boosted by my other boosters, too~! Just like with any subliminal audio, this shouldn't be a substitute for professional care and consultation, and should be treated as for entertainment purposes only!

Please always remember to take care of yourself and make sure that the things you pursue in life are for YOUR happiness!

[newreflectionswomensshelter]

the videogame #NewReflectionsWomensShelterVideoGame #Playstation7

Here's a concept for an online MMORPG inspired by mystery, adventure, and role-playing, with an emphasis on solving mysteries and dynamic social interaction. This game builds on elements of a detective-driven genre while incorporating MMORPG mechanics for an expansive, immersive world.

Title: Shadowscape Online: The Infinite Mysteries

Genre: MMORPG / Mystery Adventure Platform: Cross-platform (PC, PlayStation, Nintendo, Xbox, and mobile).

Core Concept

Players become agents of the Order of the Shadowscape, a secret organization dedicated to uncovering hidden truths and solving world-altering mysteries. The game combines traditional MMORPG elements like exploration, combat, and crafting with unique mechanics like investigation, clue analysis, and social deduction.

Gameplay Features

Dynamic World

A vast open world with diverse biomes (urban cities, ancient ruins, haunted forests, underground labyrinths).

Day-night cycles, weather changes, and seasonal events impact the gameplay.

Investigation System

Players gather clues from the environment, NPCs, and interactions with other players.

Use tools like magnifying glasses, scanners, and enchanted artifacts to uncover hidden details.

Solve procedurally generated mysteries or world-changing story arcs with set narratives.

Class System Players choose from specialized detective archetypes:

The Investigator: Focuses on perception and deduction; excels in finding clues.

The Combatant: Combines brawling with solving action-heavy puzzles.

The Hacker: Expert at bypassing security and decoding digital information.

The Mystic: Uses magic to sense the unseen and interpret ancient lore.

The Socialite: Excels in persuasion, negotiation, and gathering intel from NPCs or other players.

Guilds and Factions

Players can join factions within the Order or rival groups, each with its own storyline and benefits.

Guilds allow players to team up and tackle large-scale mysteries, raids, or PvP scenarios.

Social Deduction and PvP

In competitive modes, players may need to identify traitors or uncover rival spies within their ranks.

Special PvP missions involve sabotage, infiltration, and defense.

Crafting and Customization

Craft detective tools, weapons, and gadgets from materials found in the world.

Customize avatars, from outfits to accessories like magnifying glasses and enchanted pendants.

Expansive Story Arcs

The game’s narrative evolves through major updates, with community decisions impacting the story.

Example: Solving a global mystery about a cursed artifact that’s destabilizing the world.

Unique Mechanics

Clueboard System

Players have a digital “Clueboard” to organize and analyze their findings.

Clues are categorized by type (e.g., physical evidence, testimonies, artifacts).

Use the Clueboard to form theories and unlock next steps in investigations.

Mind-Mapping Mini-Game

Solve puzzles by connecting events, characters, and clues in a visual interface.

Collaborative mind-mapping during team play for multiplayer investigations.

Procedural Mysteries

Infinite replayability with procedurally generated side mysteries and challenges.

AI-driven systems adapt mysteries to the players’ investigation style.

Dual Progression System

Traditional leveling for combat and skills.

Reputation ranking with factions and NPCs based on how well you solve mysteries.

Visual and Aesthetic Style

Graphics:

A blend of realistic environments with stylized characters and effects to create a timeless look.

Mystical overlays for clue-detecting moments (e.g., glowing trails, hidden texts).

User Interface:

A sleek interface with a dedicated "Detective Mode" that highlights clues and enables analysis tools.

Audio Design:

A dynamic soundtrack that shifts based on investigation phases (calm for clue gathering, tense for deductions).

Interactive sound cues for finding hidden objects or solving puzzles.

Multiplayer Modes

Team Investigations

Groups of up to six players collaborate on large-scale mysteries.

Divide roles for efficiency (e.g., someone interrogates NPCs while another examines crime scenes).

Guild Raids

Cooperative challenges against legendary enemies or unsolvable mysteries that require mass participation.

PvP Challenges

Compete in solving mysteries faster than rival teams.

Espionage missions where players sabotage or spy on other groups.

Roleplaying Servers

Create your own detective agency, invite friends, and design custom mysteries.

Potential Plot for Launch

Main Arc: The Shattered Veil

An ancient veil separating the mortal and mystical realms is breaking, causing chaos.

Players uncover a conspiracy within the Order that threatens the world’s stability.

Mysteries range from mundane crimes to supernatural enigmas.

Marketing Strategy

Pre-Launch Hype:

Interactive ARG (Alternate Reality Game) where fans solve real-world clues to unlock game lore.

Partner with streamers and mystery-based channels to generate excitement.

Post-Launch Events:

Seasonal updates featuring limited-time mysteries and rewards.

Collaborations with iconic mystery franchises like Sherlock Holmes or Nancy Drew.

Merchandise:

Branded detective tools and apparel.

A companion mystery journal for offline gameplay or planning.

Would you like a more detailed world map, storyline for the first expansion, or help drafting a pitch for potential backers?

Here’s a concept for a Nancy Drew-style detective video game series designed for the PlayStation 7 and Nintendo platforms, combining mystery, adventure, and modern gameplay mechanics with the support of Nintendo’s innovation and storytelling expertise.

Series Title: Mystery Reflections: Chronicles of the Reflection Crew

Genre: Detective Adventure / Puzzle-Solving Target Audience: Teens and young adults who enjoy mysteries, narrative-driven games, and clever puzzles.

Core Concept

Players step into the roles of a diverse group of amateur detectives solving mysteries around their community and beyond. Each mystery has unique challenges, requiring teamwork, critical thinking, and emotional intelligence.

Gameplay Mechanics

Detective Roleplay:

Players choose a character from the Reflection Crew, each with unique skills (e.g., hacking, forensic science, negotiation).

Characters' strengths impact how mysteries are solved and offer replayability.

Investigation Phases:

Explore: Investigate crime scenes, gather clues, and interact with NPCs.

Analyze: Use tools like fingerprint scanners, digital decoders, and chemistry kits.

Conclude: Assemble clues into theories using a visual "Mind Map" to solve the case.

Puzzle Challenges:

Code-breaking, lock-picking, deciphering cryptic messages, and environmental puzzles.

Time-sensitive challenges add urgency to certain mysteries.

Dialogue Choices:

Branching dialogue impacts the story and how NPCs respond.

Some choices unlock hidden clues or alternate endings.

Co-Op Mode:

Multiplayer mode where up to four players control different characters, solving mysteries collaboratively.

Unique puzzles that require teamwork.

Visual and Gameplay Style

Graphics:

Stylized realism with vibrant, detailed environments inspired by classic mystery locales (e.g., eerie mansions, bustling cities, desolate islands).

Nintendo’s colorful aesthetic blends with PS7’s cutting-edge performance for stunning visuals.

Camera Mechanics:

Dynamic, third-person perspective with zoom-in modes for close inspection of clues.

Dynamic Environments:

Day-night cycles and weather affect exploration and clue visibility.

Plot and Structure

Game 1: The Whispering Lighthouse

Setting: A coastal town with a mysterious lighthouse rumored to be haunted.

Plot: The Reflection Crew investigates the disappearance of a marine biologist, uncovering smuggling operations and hidden treasure.

Puzzles: Decode lighthouse signals, unlock a hidden passage, and match biological samples to solve the case.

Finale: A high-stakes chase in the lighthouse during a storm.

Game 2: Shadows of the Reflection Manor

Setting: A sprawling estate with hidden rooms, secret tunnels, and a cursed reputation.

Plot: A famous artifact disappears during a gala, and the crew is invited to solve the mystery.

Puzzles: Solve riddles to unlock rooms, analyze historical artifacts, and outwit the thief.

Game 3: The Phantom Express

Setting: A luxury train where a high-profile theft occurs during a cross-country trip.

Plot: The team must solve the crime before the train reaches its destination, preventing the thief’s escape.

Puzzles: Use characters' skills to eavesdrop, hack compartments, and decode the thief’s plans.

Key Characters

Amy (The Strategist)

Skills: Leadership, negotiation, financial analysis.

Role: Mediates group decisions and handles tricky social situations.

Here’s a concept for a Nancy Drew-style detective video game series designed for the PlayStation 7 and Nintendo platforms, combining mystery, adventure, and modern gameplay mechanics with the support of Nintendo’s innovation and storytelling expertise.

Series Title: Mystery Reflections: Chronicles of the Reflection Crew

Genre: Detective Adventure / Puzzle-Solving Target Audience: Teens and young adults who enjoy mysteries, narrative-driven games, and clever puzzles.

Core Concept

Players step into the roles of a diverse group of amateur detectives solving mysteries around their community and beyond. Each mystery has unique challenges, requiring teamwork, critical thinking, and emotional intelligence.

Gameplay Mechanics

Detective Roleplay:

Players choose a character from the Reflection Crew, each with unique skills (e.g., hacking, forensic science, negotiation).

Characters' strengths impact how mysteries are solved and offer replayability.

Investigation Phases:

Explore: Investigate crime scenes, gather clues, and interact with NPCs.

Analyze: Use tools like fingerprint scanners, digital decoders, and chemistry kits.

Conclude: Assemble clues into theories using a visual "Mind Map" to solve the case.

Puzzle Challenges:

Code-breaking, lock-picking, deciphering cryptic messages, and environmental puzzles.

Time-sensitive challenges add urgency to certain mysteries.

Dialogue Choices:

Branching dialogue impacts the story and how NPCs respond.

Some choices unlock hidden clues or alternate endings.

Co-Op Mode:

Multiplayer mode where up to four players control different characters, solving mysteries collaboratively.

Unique puzzles that require teamwork.

Visual and Gameplay Style

Graphics:

Stylized realism with vibrant, detailed environments inspired by classic mystery locales (e.g., eerie mansions, bustling cities, desolate islands).

Nintendo’s colorful aesthetic blends with PS7’s cutting-edge performance for stunning visuals.

Camera Mechanics:

Dynamic, third-person perspective with zoom-in modes for close inspection of clues.

Dynamic Environments:

Day-night cycles and weather affect exploration and clue visibility.

Plot and Structure

Game 1: The Whispering Lighthouse

Setting: A coastal town with a mysterious lighthouse rumored to be haunted.

Plot: The Reflection Crew investigates the disappearance of a marine biologist, uncovering smuggling operations and hidden treasure.

Puzzles: Decode lighthouse signals, unlock a hidden passage, and match biological samples to solve the case.

Finale: A high-stakes chase in the lighthouse during a storm.

Game 2: Shadows of the Reflection Manor

Setting: A sprawling estate with hidden rooms, secret tunnels, and a cursed reputation.

Plot: A famous artifact disappears during a gala, and the crew is invited to solve the mystery.

Puzzles: Solve riddles to unlock rooms, analyze historical artifacts, and outwit the thief.

Game 3: The Phantom Express

Setting: A luxury train where a high-profile theft occurs during a cross-country trip.

Plot: The team must solve the crime before the train reaches its destination, preventing the thief’s escape.

Puzzles: Use characters' skills to eavesdrop, hack compartments, and decode the thief’s plans.

Key Characters

Amy (The Strategist)

Skills: Leadership, negotiation, financial analysis.

Role: Mediates group decisions and handles tricky social situations.

Elle (The Creative Problem-Solver)

Skills: Art interpretation, visual puzzles, and creative thinking.

Role: Solves artistic and symbolic mysteries.

Ayesha (The Tech Expert)

Skills: Hacking, coding, and surveillance.

Role: Handles electronic locks, computers, and digital evidence.

Matt (The Investigator)

Skills: Tracking, observation, and logic puzzles.

Role: Finds physical clues and connects details.

Zoey (The Muscle)

Skills: Physical tasks, map navigation, and athletic challenges.

Role: Handles physical puzzles, from moving objects to high-stakes chases.

Nintendo and PlayStation Features

Nintendo Switch:

Motion Controls: Use the Joy-Cons to examine clues, pick locks, or match puzzle pieces.

Portable Play: Seamless exploration on the go.

PlayStation 7:

Haptic Feedback: Experience realistic vibrations while opening safes or climbing surfaces.

4D Soundscapes: Immerse players with atmospheric sounds that signal hidden clues.

Marketing Strategy

Teasers and Trailers:

Cinematic trailers featuring gripping mystery scenes and team dynamics.

Interactive social media teasers that challenge fans to solve puzzles for exclusive content.

Collaborations:

Work with influencers in the gaming and mystery-solving communities.

Host live events where fans can solve real-life puzzles inspired by the game.

Merchandise:

Collectible action figures of the crew.

A companion Mystery Journal for players to track clues and theories.

Would you like a detailed storyline for one game, or assistance drafting a pitch for Nintendo and PlayStation?

[sirfrogsworth]

Thankfully this post was a joke. He is not going to put a power cable on a TV that costs less than the actual cable. But I had to look up the product page and see what kind of nonsense AudioQuest came up with for this one. I've already checked out their $12,000 power cable, so I'm curious how their "budget" $430 version works.

-----------------------------

Low-Distortion 3-Pole Power Cable

Perfect-Surface Copper (PSC) with Silver-Plated Drain Wires

Quiet Background and Minimal Active-Circuit Misbehavior Due to RF/ND-Tech (US Patent # 8,988,168) & Direction-Controlled Conductors and Shields

ZERO (No) Characteristic Impedance (Uncompressed Current Transfer)

THE CHALLENGE: No matter how perfect an AC power source, distortion is added within any AC cable. Even the most sophisticated filters and power supplies cannot eliminate this Transient Intermodulation Distortion (TIM) as the induced RF noise modulates the low-level audio/video signal.

THE SOLUTION: NRG-Z3 cables use direction-controlled Perfect-Surface Copper (PSC) strands in a 7-strand Semi-Solid Concentric conductor arrangement in which strands are packed more tightly and never change position within the bundle. This construction significantly reduces strand interaction distortion. The extremely pure and smooth-surface PSC conductors minimize distortion caused by grain boundaries which exist in any metal conductor.

NRG-Z3’s patented RF/ND-Tech and direction-controlled Silver-Plated shield conductors efficiently drain RF noise from the line and neutral shields to ground via the third “ground” pin. In addition. NRG-Z3’s common-mode phase-cancelling array provides additional differential linear filtering. The net result is powerful, dynamic and immersive!

--------------------

Okay, Star Trek needs to hire these people to write their technobabble. This is next level "reverse the polarity" nonsense.

Gotta get that PSC to control the TIM or else you'll be SOL trying to minimize that grain boundary distortion. The phase-cancelling array is really the star of this cable though. Whenever I hear differential linear filtering, I'm just like, "THIS IS NOT DYNAMIC AND IMMERSIVE ENOUGH!"

[rigelmejo]

Future Study Plan for Japanese Listening:

If I do try studying japanese with comprehensible input next, i can already tell i'm going to be frustrated. Hopefully like with chinese, i am a false beginner and i'll start off knowing enough words to deal with more complex content. But... but like optimisitically I'm N4/A2 in japanese. Without kanji/hanzi similarities to guess when reading, i can only handle beginner graded readers like Tadoku. At a stretch maybe im N3/high A2 low B1, if i'm reading, and "cheating" by guessing a lot of the kanji. So i can follow the main idea of jdrama with japanese subs, but ONLY the main idea. Compared to chinese where with subs i can understand 90% or more of every actual word. I feel like i'm an upper beginner in japanese. I crammed 5000 words in glossika this winter, and i still feel like an upper beginner (also i think glossika only had like 1000 truly new words to me and 4000 truly unique words) i feel like i know 1000-3000 words in listening, and only 1000 words WELL enough to read or hear them and confidently recognize them. When I take tests, 1000 is all I know lol.

1500 words is Level 3 in Dreaming Spanish, when students can start tackling intermediate videos, and its still a long time until they can handle cartoons for kids, or shows for adults. I have tried out some Comprehensible Input Japanese lessons and i do understand the intermediate lessons, so that's promising. I also can understand peppa pig in japanese. But that's probably where I'm at. I probably still need to assume I'm studying from Level 3 onward like others. Which for a doubled dreaming spanish roadmap for japanese, would be Level 3 (300 hours). So lets say I give myself the credit of 250 hours.

I'd hit Level 4 at 600 hours, Level 5 at 1200 hours. Cartoons aren't recommended until end of level 4, shows for adults aren't recommended until Level 5.

So that's... 450 more hours of study until I could feel okay using cartoons, and a whopping 950 hours until i felt okay watching jdramas. Maybe my reading skills could lower that number? If say i watched with japanese subtitles for a while, then dropped the subs? Because I can watch Miu404, Samurai Cat, or Criminologist Himura for the main idea right now if I use japanese subs. Maybe I could jump into harder materials earlier if I started with materials I already know the plot of - like final fantasy x and death note where I can already follow the audio in japanese, because i remember so many of the lines/scenes. I just...know I'll be frustrated to stick to learner made content (which i find so boring) for 950 hours ToT

With chinese... so far this listening experiment has gone great? Yes I see there's a gap in skills and I WILL need 200-400 hours to see the improvement I'm hoping for - I'll find out exactly how long it takes when I get there lol. But it took less than 50 hours to go from cartoons from toddlers to cartoons for 5-10 year olds, and it took 20 hours to get better with discussion podcasts and that keeps improving around every 20 hours, every 20-30 hours there's a noticeable improvement in the amount of words I can recognize in audio, and I'm already at a point I can follow the main idea of shows for adults (its NOT easy lol and i only understand 50% of the actual words said - but it's DOABLE). It's way easier as a false beginner, with all the reading skills I already had, I skipped through like 1000 hours worth of listening immersion improvement in 150 hours! That's so much smaller! Easier!

Maybe my strategy for listening to japanese will be:

Japanese Comprehensible Input youtube channel, all beginner and intermediate videos, start the advanced videos and see if I can handle them. Watch once with japanese subs, once without, and listen without looking, so I get to transfer any reading skills into listening skills possible, and get a visual memory, and practice listening to words repeatedly. Maybe 30 minutes to 1 hour per day, simce this will require looking. The whole channel is only 28 hours... even repeating everything 3 times that's only 84 hours. I assume there's a couple hundred more hours on their website, so I might have to go to their site and subscribe if I end up needing way more beginner content.

Supplement with Nihongo Con Teppei. Listen to the whole thing, it's long. Maybe read the japanese subs on these once, but I probably won't because I'm lazy. Repeat each episode 3 times. Do as much listening as I can. This podcast is like 75 hours, could get 150 hours of practice from this with relistens.

Supplement with Japanese with Shun, can relisten 2-3 times as desired, I understand his podcast episodes on the first listen already. 16 hours, and if I relisten then 32 hours.

Supplement with Final Fantasy X and Death Note condensed audio - fun for me, I enjoy them, and I know the plot enough to follow along. Repeat audio files 2-3 times. Basically use these like I'm using audiobooks in chinese. I can probably get 100 hours of practice out of this with relistens.

I can also supplement with the host of japanese resources i found from cijapanese.com's site. When I run out of Nihongo Con Teppei and Japanese with Shun. (Which adds up to like 1400+ hours and should be plenty to get me able to understand jdramas)

Supplement with japanese lets plays of games I've played before - I can already follow the main idea of these, turning subtitles on sometimes (to try and transfer reading skill to listening skill), sometimes watching (visual memory), sometimes just listening. Can easily get 50 hours a game listening study out of these.

[philipsindia]

Best Soundbar Dolby Atmos

Recognising Dolby Atmos

By increasing the number of height channels in conventional surround sound systems, the audio format Dolby Atmos provides you with a more realistic and immersive sound experience. It improves the entire listening and seeing experience by generating a three-dimensional audio environment that lets sounds travel above and around the listener.

Dolby Atmos is a ground-breaking audio technology that fills your living space with multidimensional sound. Dolby Atmos introduces a vertical dimension, just like traditional surround sound systems do, producing an immersive audio experience that also imitates real-life noises.

Dolby Atmos Soundbars Importance

It’s essential to comprehend how Dolby Atmos, a cutting-edge and distinctive technology, operates in order to fully enjoy its benefits. Dolby Atmos gives sound designers the ability to accurately arrange and move sounds in a three-dimensional area, resulting in a more realistic and immersive listening experience. This is achieved through the use of object-based audio.

When it comes to soundbars, Dolby Atmos is incredibly important since it can boost the audio quality and transform any living room into a home theatre or personal cinema. Customers may experience dramatic soundscapes that are very detailed and profound with a best soundbar with Dolby Atmos, all without the need for complicated speaker configurations that need large speakers and tangled wiring.

Some of the best Soundbars by Philips with dolby atmos

i. Soundbar 2.1 with wireless subwoofer TAB7305/94

ii. Soundbar speaker HTL8162/94

iii. 6000 series Soundbar speaker TAPB603/94

Understanding Soundbars with Dolby Atmos from Philips

One well-known electronics manufacturer with a reputation for quality and innovation is Philips India. There is no company that can match Philips India in offering customers the best soundbar with Dolby Atmos in terms of modern audio technology. The company has consistently pushed the boundaries in this regard.

The goal of Philips Dolby Atmos soundbars is to deliver an unparalleled audio experience by fusing cutting-edge technology with sophisticated design. With their many features, these soundbars will take your home entertainment to the next level.

i. Compatibility with Various Devices

ii. Immersive Sound Experience

iii. Sleek Design and Easy Installation

Compatibility with Various Devices

Whether you’re streaming from your smart TV, or gaming console, the Philips best soundbar with Dolby Atmos will definitely offers you the seamless connectivity options such as bluetooth, HDMI etc and with these Bluetooth, HDMI, and optical inputs connectivity options you can easily connect all your favorite devices and enjoy immersive sound without any problem.

Immersive Sound Experience

The Philips Soundbars with Dolby Atmos delivers you an immersive 3D audio which surrounds you from all the directions. Whether you’re watching movies, playing games, or listening to music, you’ll feel like you’re right in the heart of the action.

Sleek Design and Easy Installation

Philips Dolby Atmos Soundbars are crafted with modern designs style which helps in complementing any home decor. With hassle free installation setting up the best soundbar with dolby atmos is a breeze, and provides you the best premium audio quality within minutes.

Benefits of Using Philips Dolby Atmos Soundbars

Investing in a best soundbar with dolby atmos by Philips offers a multitude of benefits for your home entertainment setup such as:

i. Immersive Sound

ii. Wireless Connectivity

iii. HDMI ARC

iv. Adaptive Sound

v. Voice Control

Immersive Sound: Philips soundbar with dolby atmos comes with upward-firing speakers to deliver overhead sound effects.

Wireless Connectivity: Opt for models with Bluetooth or Wi-Fi connectivity for seamless streaming from your devices.

HDMI ARC: The dolby atmos soundbar by philips have compatibility with your TV and comes with HDMI ARC (Audio Return Channel) support.

Adaptive Sound: Philips dolby atmos soundbars have adaptive audio technology that optimize sound based on the content being played.

Voice Control: Philips soundbars with dolby atmos also supports the voice assistants like Alexa or Google Assistant for hands-free operation.

In conclusion

Philips Dolby Atmos Soundbars, which give conventional home entertainment systems a modern makeover, offer the best and most inventive audio experience. Philips soundbars with Dolby Atmos are the perfect addition to any home theatre setup since they provide a wealth of connectivity options, a sleek design, and immersive 3D sound. Whether you’re playing games, watching movies, or listening to music, Philips Dolby Atmos Soundbars will definitely elevate your audio experience to new levels by bringing every sound to life with realism and astounding clarity.

[hisingaporesg]

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[burgeoning-ambition]

Hi Vincent! Since you're studying Japanese & Korean, I was wondering if there are any major differences in the way you approach studying each language? Especially since you are laddering Japanese and Korean.

Any helpful hints you've picked up on the way would be great too! ありがとう！

Oohhhh... This is a good question...

I think in terms of grammar I approach them similarly, by memorizing grammar by its function rather than by how it's translated, but when I review grammar I try to review my Korean by comparing to equivalent Japanese grammar. They're a lot easier to compare than either one with English, so it's easier since the word order is often the same and stuff.

But with Korean I think I use a lot more learning apps? Although that's mostly because the Korean resources around me aren't as plentiful as Japanese ones, so I can't get my hands on as much native reading material and stuff to practice. (And I'm not huge on k-dramas, haha)

Oh, another thing with my experience with Korean is that my learning community for it is much smaller- I couldn't really click with a lot of my classmates in Korean the same way I could with my classmates in Japanese (and there was one person in my Korean class who was kind of... A creep so I sort of avoided socializing in there in general), so a lot of my Korean learning is more independent. I won't lie that specific person being so like, uncomfortable to be around kinda killed my motivation to study Korean for a little while, so I really had to improve my internal motivations for studying to make sure I didn't give up.

In terms of tips and tricks I have, one thing I've made a habit of doing is writing down the equivalent Japanese grammar point next to each Korean grammar point in my textbooks! I'll write down conjugations with the same meanings, particles with the same meanings, and sometimes also phrases or vocab terms in Japanese next to the Korean headings and try to memorize based on that. It's usually pretty easy to do, honestly, since the English language textbooks I use for both languages describe things very similarly!

Also, I try to cut out English as much as possible when I learn new words in Korean! Like, I have the Learn Korean With BTS book, and in that the new vocab is only written in Korean, and then if I can't guess the word's meaning from the illustration they put with it, I'll listen to the audio translation in Japanese. I only use English if I'm totally lost because I don't know the word in either language and the illustration is confusing.

Hmm... Another tip I think is important is to not beat yourself up if you aren't "fully laddering" or something like that. If you sometimes have to go back to your native language to double check something, that's fine! It doesn't cancel out all the laddering if you have to go back sometimes to make sure you're actually understanding.

You can also usually find what textbooks Japanese universities use for their Korean language classes! I know Waseda puts all of their textbooks up on their class search and that's publicly available to look at, so you can go find whatever level of Korean textbook written in Japanese with Japanese explanations if you're advanced enough in Japanese!

I feel like laddering is pretty similar to immersion study in the sense that they can both feel pretty difficult and high-intensity even when you're just doing something basic. Completely getting rid of your native language makes things a lot more stressful, I think, so it can be harder. Even if you know that for you personally laddering will be a better way to learn it or more efficient or whatever, it can still feel kinda overwhelming to suddenly be trying to avoid your native language when you study, and I think it's important to remember that! Because sometimes it'll feel discouraging to be overwhelmed by "super basic stuff", but the way you're studying is more intense than studying using native language textbooks! So feeling overwhelmed by stuff you'd find "easy" in your native language is fine! Because it isn't your native language!

I dunno, I don't have many life hacks for it yet... But I hope this blurb helps somehow anyway!

[inthecarpets]

Fawx & Stallion is a great fun audio drama!

Before starting it i wasn't sure if i want to get into it because Sherlock Holmes related stories aren't that much of my thing. However something in the line of "The Mcs are some guys who also want to be the detectives but they are bad at it and jealous of Holmes" sticked to me as i thought that might be fun. (and i wasn't mistaken on that part!)

Weirdly, i immediately fell fo the story, which actually never really happens for me. I always need a Looong time to get used to listening to an audio story before i feel fully immersed, and yet somehow i could immediately feel it with this one.

Writing is good. The ending didn't go in ways i personally expected/hoped it to go, however that's alright with me. It was great fun and i hope the next season will be even greater!

Audio wise i could cry because the audio was perfectly mixed for the story. Idk why, but sometimes when i try out an audio drama the sound levels are just.. very uneven and i have to suffer while holding onto my sound lvl button. This time though it was Perfect!! Audio levels for ads were a bit wonky, sure, but for the story? Perfect.

[murdereddoubt]

Sleep Token: A Mesmerizing Discography of Harmony and Depth

In an era where musical cohesion and thematic storytelling within albums seem to have taken a backseat, Sleep Token emerges as a breath of fresh air. Their discography, consisting of "One," "Two," "Sundowning," "This Place Will Be Your Tomb," and "Take Me Back to Eden," stands as a testament to the band's unwavering commitment to crafting aural experiences that transcend the ordinary.

The journey through Sleep Token's discography is akin to embarking on a profound spiritual odyssey. From the hauntingly ethereal "One" to the enigmatic "Two," the groundwork for their sonic universe is laid. However, it's in the final trilogy – the awe-inspiring progression from "Sundowning" to "This Place Will Be Your Tomb" and culminating in "Take Me Back to Eden" – that the band's genius truly shines.

It's an experience like no other to listen to this trilogy in succession. The albums are woven with a meticulous thread, each song seamlessly transitioning into the next, creating a coherent narrative that's both immersive and captivating. It's a rarity in today's music landscape to find albums that not only possess individual standouts but also present a holistic journey where each track complements the others, all working together to amplify the overarching theme.

At the heart of Sleep Token's captivating allure lies the extraordinary songwriting prowess of their enigmatic lead singer, Vessel. With an uncanny ability to delve deep into the recesses of human emotion, Vessel crafts lyrics that resonate on a profoundly personal level. His songwriting transcends conventional boundaries, exploring themes of spirituality, vulnerability, and the human experience with a poetic eloquence that leaves an indelible mark. The lyrical tapestries he weaves evoke a sense of introspection, drawing listeners into a world of intricate narratives and haunting melodies. Vessel's gift for storytelling, coupled with his literal emotive delivery, results in songs that not only captivate the ear but also touch the soul, leaving a lasting imprint that lingers long after the music fades.

An integral facet that elevates Sleep Token's discography to unparalleled heights is the impeccable music production and audio engineering work contributed by the talents of Carl Brown from Treehouse Studios and George Lever of G1 Productions. Their collaborative efforts have played a pivotal role in bringing the band's vision to life, with every note and nuance meticulously crafted. The albums bear testament to their skilful touch, as each instrument resonates with clarity, and every whisper of Vessel's vocals is imbued with raw emotion. Brown and Lever's expertise acts as the invisible hand that guides the listener through the intricacies of Sleep Token's ethereal soundscapes, making the auditory journey as enchanting as it is immersive.

When it comes to translating their studio brilliance into live performances, Sleep Token is nothing short of exceptional. The band's stage presence is mesmerizing, drawing the audience into their spellbinding world. Perhaps even more astonishing is the fact that Vessel's vocals remain untouched by the heavy hand of autotune or vocal correction software. His voice, heard live, is a mirror image of what you've come to adore from their recordings, showcasing the band's authenticity and musicianship.

A noteworthy aspect of Sleep Token's artistry is their visual identity, thoughtfully brought to life recently by Alex Tillbrook Design. The graphics for their albums and merchandise resonate harmoniously with their musical essence. The attention to detail is evident, reflecting the band's commitment to a holistic experience that extends beyond just the auditory realm.

In a musical landscape dominated by singles and fleeting trends, Sleep Token's discography stands as a masterpiece of cohesion, depth, and unadulterated passion. Their commitment to crafting albums that weave a seamless tapestry of themes and emotions harks back to a time when the 90s music scene was known for its dedication to storytelling through albums.

I am deeply enamoured by the captivating allure of Sleep Token's enigmatic anonymity, a sentiment beautifully encapsulated in their profound statement, "Our identities are unimportant. Music is marketed on who is or isn't in a band; it's pushed, prodded, and molded into something it isn't. Vessel endeavours to keep the focus on His offerings." Within the realm of Sleep Token's music, the conventional fixation on individual personas is gracefully set aside, allowing the divine essence of their artistry to take center stage.

This intentional detachment from personal identities enables a pure connection with their music, permitting listeners like yourself and myself to be swept away by the ethereal melodies without the distractions of the mundane world. As I immerse myself in the mystique of Sleep Token, I find solace in the idea that their music is an offering, a sacred creation meant to transcend the limitations of the known, inviting us to experience a profound and unifying journey guided solely by the resonating notes and unspoken emotions.

As a dedicated listener, I can't help but yearn for the day when I can witness Sleep Token's magic on stage in person. The anticipation of their live performance is enough to send shivers down the spine. And as the music world eagerly awaits their future creations, there's a sense of excitement and curiosity about where their artistic journey will lead. Here's to hoping for a chance to witness Sleep Token's live magic and to eagerly awaiting the next chapter in their evolving musical saga 🥂.

(All images taken from their facebook page and, my guess, by their touring photographer Adam Rossi)

If you made it this far, thank you for reading. Hope I can produce an album of this magnitude some day. - worship - Murdered Doubt