#But I'm also like *opens a video on music theory* *opens a note to try and write down ideas to make a song* *picks up book about

[pianistbynight]

What are your top study strategies with piano? I'm a self-taught pianist that most started because of my love for your lie in April and how music moved people so I am always trying to improve!!!

hi! first of all, i'm sorry this took a while, i wanted to make sure i had as complete a list as possible without being too overwhelming! also not sure what level you're at, so i'm going to assume you're just starting out and you're looking to play classical music. 🙂 also this is more of a "do as i say, not as i do" bc i really struggle to do some of these consistently 🙈

try to learn some basic music theory as soon as you can. just enough to be able to read sheet music (how to read treble and bass clefs, accidentals, time signatures, basic rhythm, and key signatures) if you haven't already. that's something i regret not doing at the beginning bc the vast majority of music and all of classical music are written in sheet music and you get so much more info from it than you can from the best of synthesia videos. beyond that, knowing music theory -> pattern recognition, so it can help with sight reading and memorization. this is the youtube series i learned the basics from. it's pretty comprehensive although i find he's sometimes hard to hear and goes off on a tangent. at the very least, you can use it as a guide for what to type into the search box to get a more concise explanation as there are lots online!

familiarize yourself with the basic technical exercises (scales, arpeggios, triads, etc.) in every key bc those patterns and fingerings appear all the time in classical music.

practice sight reading. (yes, i know it hurts the brain, it hurts mine too, but it will really really speed up the learning process when learning new repertoire so we can focus on the more fun aspects of music! 😆😅)

practice every day! and not just moving your fingers, your mind needs to be present and your ears need to be listening (e.g. are you playing with the right dynamics? are you moving in a way that will get the right tone? how is your posture?). sometimes it's a lot to be thinking about as you're playing, so it helps to record yourself and listen back. once you feel yourself losing focus or making the same mistakes over and over again, maybe it's time to take a little break bc practice makes permanent and you don't wanna injure yourself 🙂

on that note, playing an instrument is kind of like playing a sport in that you need to make sure you use proper form so you don't injure yourself (using bigger muscle groups like your arm and gravity rather than forcing the sound through blocky fingers)! if you play on a digital, the keys will generally be lighter than on an acoustic (highly recommend trying to play on both to compare!), so making a conscious effort to play the way you would be forced to on an acoustic is all the more important.

i hope this helps! my ask box is always open if you have any more questions or just wanna talk music 🎶💗 i'm really excited for you! expressing yourself through music and sharing it with others is so fulfilling 😊

[shizucheese]

So fun fact I normally try to avoid Tumblr between Thursday and when I finally get to listen to the new Protocol episode because that seems easier than constantly blocking and unblocking the spoilers tags, but also this is my preferred social media site so it generally results in a vicious cycle of me hopping in Tumblr, and either VERY CAUTIOUSLY scrolling (or scrolling only through specific tags), or completely forgetting until I see even a HINT of something Protocol related (even if it's not spoilers) and figuratively running away screaming.

As always, you can find the full evolving red string board here. It's getting real long. I'm trying to decide if I want to start a fresh one for season 2 or if I want to see how long and unwieldy that puppy can really get. What do you guys think?

Today is Monday, 3/4/24. Episode 8 came out on 2/29/21.

“Talkers”

Norris (Voice: Martin?/ Alex)

Episode 1: “Reanimation (Partial) -/- Regret [Email]”. The Stranger? The End? The Dark? The Lonely? The Flesh? Arthur (Nolan?).

Episode 3: "Infection (full body" -/- Arboreal [Journal entry]". The Spiral? (Paranoia? Auditory, visual and olfactory hallucinations) The Lonely? The Corruption. The Flesh? (Callbacks to the Flesh Garden from S5)

Episode 8: "Architecture (liminal) -/- hunger [coursework]". The Spiral. The Lonely. (Statement giver has an ex-wife. Witnesses strange mist. Fog?) The Stranger? The Vast. The Flesh. The description of the space reminds me a bit of Mag 150: Cul-De-Sac. The description of the diners and the way they were speaking reminds me of Mag 48: Lost in the Crowd.

Common Themes: Hearing the voice of a dead/ missing loved one? Loneliness

Chester (Voice: John?/ Jonny)

Episode 1: “Transformation (eyes) -/- Tresspass [chat log]”. Magnus Institute, The Eye. (Involves a forum; the Web?).

Episode 5: "Disappearance (undetermined) -/- Invitation [Internet blog]". The Eye (Movies. Movie name: "Voyeur" "Must be seen to be believed"...). The Web? (Another website?). (Very reminiscent of Mag 110: Creature Feature.) The "poor old guy" at the theater is totally an Eye avatar, right? Kinda gives me "Simon Fairchild when he was first introduced" vibes.

Episode 7: "Agglomeration (miscellany) -/- congregation [email]". The Stranger. The Burried. The Desolation. Possibly all of them if my theory about the items the Volunteers brought in is correct...

Unsure if this is Eye related like the other statements were. This is also the first "Chester" statement where the source material wasn't from a website or blog, which don't have the same expectation of privacy that the sources of the other statements do. Email, though, so still internet related, and this seems to be an open letter rather than personal correspondence, so it still might align with the theme.

Agustus: (rare?)

Episode 4: “Collection (blood) -/- musical [letter]” The End. The Lonely? The Slaughter.

Letter writer thinks passing on his violin might allow a part of himself to live on in his nephew. Very Jonah Magnus of him.

Music teacher hears “faraway music”, then goes crazy and throws himself out of the carriage and dies. Reminiscent of Mag7 and the Piper? The merchant’s wares include dice (Mag 29?). Got the violin from him (took his blood?). Effect of the violin reminiscent to Grifter’s Bone (Mag 42).

(Oliver Bardwell lol very funny guys)

Non-Talkers (?)

Episode 2: "Transformation (full) -/- dysmorphic [video call]". The Spiral? The Flesh. The Stranger. Ink 5oul (avatar/ entity?)

Episode 6: "Injury (needles) -/- intimidation [999 call] "Corruption? The Spiral? The Flesh? The End?

"Needles" reminds me of Michael!Distortion.

Notes and Thoughts:

I think we've all been a bit off about the theme of the Norris statements. The common theme isn't I lost a loved one; I can almost hear their voice..." The common theme is loneliness. Like yeah, the statement giver mentions being divorced, but it doesn't seem to be a central driving factor for him the way it was with the other two Norris statements. I think it's just that those two were lonely because they lost a loved one and had isolated themselves in one way or another because of it, and this guy was lonely because he got trapped in a liminal space.

Alice sounds really tired. What's up with that? (Also, considering how much she continues to seem to enjoy messing with people, I'm still convinced she has some connection to the Web.)

GERRY?!!! (not a coincidence. The credits call him Gerry Keay. Also same VA, but I totally didn't recognize him at first because he sounds happy???) GG??? (Credits say Sue Sims as Gertrude Robinson!!!) "Grandson" you say? For realsies? Or did you adopt him (again kinda)? Or is it a cover like it was the last time. Gertrude's word choice of "good luck hunting" was weird, huh...? Is this actually something big or are they just cameos because Alex and Jonny like to mess with us. I trust nothing. Why did the Magnus Institute have a "gifted kids" program? And is Sam just saying that as a cover story or is it true and that's why he's been so interested the whole time? (Reminds me a bit of certain elements of the Storage Papers...)

Celia is doing "a favor for Georgie"?!!!

Is this OUR Georgie or the TMP world Georgie? How much of a connection is there between TMA Gerry, Gertrude and Georgie and TMP Gerry, Gertrude and Georgie?

I wonder if the episode coming out on 2/29, a date that only exists every 4 years, and the episode being about liminal spaces was on purpose or just a happy coincidence.

[scummy-writes]

How do you deal with writer's block? How do you execute ideas even with writer's block?

ohhh this is a good question. I may not have good answers.

It may depend on the type of writer's block you have, as I feel like there isn't just one singular over-encompassing type.

Sometimes, the writer's block is having all the inspiration, but nothing is coming out. This one plagues me the most because 90% of my fanfics and similar nowadays are just me daydreaming 24/7, and writing some of those daydreams down. Like a lil movie in the background. In theory I could write so much, but I struggle with actually putting pen to paper and considering the actual word choices used.

What I end up doing here is read or....write.... So the reading I try to find a published book that is different from my usual writing style and removed from fandomism, this is to personally help me distance myself from fanfic a little, to see how the pacing in a longer piece may be- which can help with learning to describe 'smaller' scenes and movements, or see how the writer handles scene transitions and similar. And, well, I read! And when I'm reading, I will usually pick the writing apart.

"I really like the way the writer described this movement, how could I describe that in my own words?" , "Wow, you can see how these last few paragraphs built up the foreshadowing for this turn of events, lets break down how they did that." , and... well... sometimes it does turn into "Yikes!! I really dislike that!!! If I were to rewrite that in my own way, how would that go...?"

And I've found that I often struggle to finish books, because I'll get that train of thought going so much that I'll have to put down the book to actually write.

Another thing I will do is that I will open up a wip, have it in a window taking up half my screen, then open a blank document to put on the other half, and rewrite everything word for word. This often helps me catch mistakes, odd sentences, and similar, and it's an easy way to simulate actually being able to write without having the 'blank document woes' where I'm too scared to defile a blank document. I find that once I get in the process of this with some good music, once I catch up to where my wip left off, I've rewritten a few sentences or added in more details I thought of with a fresh mind, and I'm able to go past where I initially left off.

(thats how I set up the screen)

If it's the type of writer's block where you have NO ideas, no will to write and only the vague *want* to write............ you may need some rest. A lot of people talk about social batteries, on how people need to recharge after a social function with some alone time or similar, and then their battery feels recharged! well... You need to do that for creative outlets as well!! You need to make sure you're taking care of your body, and also your mind. Recharge your creative mind by reading, watching, and listening to new or old and beloved things! Play a fun video game with a story that's interesting to you, read a cheesy romance novel, maybe even just clean some dishes and daydream as you do so. Once you remove 'gotta write gotta write gotta write gotta write' from the equation, and chilling out a bit, you end up getting inspired again after a while.

Typically with this one, I will end up writing notes that are very. bland.

So... if it's neither of those, or you have tried a lot of these things, then my next advice would be to try some basic writing exercises. Look up prompt lists, try to write the first thing that comes to mind when one catches your eye- i dont care if it's shakespeare or dahl, you just smack it down on paper. Much like drawing, you gotta do warm ups with writing! it helps a lot when you're stuck! If prompts don't work, move on to rewriting a classic story scene or story in general with your favorite characters, think about how they would act in the situation instead and rewrite it. If its fanfiction, look at some of the events in the game or routes, rewrite it with you or your mc, or how you wished the route/event went instead. write with friends! have friends send you prompts or detail a vague outline for you and try your hand at it!

If it stems from being too embarassed to read what you're writing.... turn the text itty bitty and just Type, to where you ignore what you're seeing and are managing to get words down. You can always make the text bigger when you feel less embarassed!

That's what I can offer off the top of my head!! I think there are plenty of more tips than this that exist out there, absolutely, so maybe some folks reading this might be able to offer to explain what helps them!

[cowboymantis]

"The gate has opened.

A new history has written down.

Seven kings of the seven world gathered

and headed for a new kingdom.

All will be one, and the one will be all,

All come to mean the world.

King, draw your sword."

"He who holds the sword, bear the weight.

Carry onto a new era."

And that's how Kingdom starts off in a way, those texts are in the very first debut album of Kingdom and I absolutely loved their concept since the very beginning.

Now... It does sound very similar to King Ohger right?? I'm not going crazy because I obsess over two things and want to connect them no?? No! Because!! I already did this before King Ohger even started, just when it was barely announced. Sure there was a lot of hype anyway because it was the first Sentai season I was there for from the very beginning, and I absolutely love themes like that, but I was even more hyped because it just reminded me SO MUCH of Kingdom, which is one of my favourite bands. I own every album (versions) and have written a whole theory google doc combined with an introduction for my friend and made a whole personal archive of all their stuff ,,,

It was just perfect, the main characters are a bunch of kings of different kingdoms, all of which look completely different and are centered around one big theme.

And then I noticed how some were kind of overlapping with King Ohger, the more got announced about that show.

So I planned on doing this Kingdom X King Ohger thing a while back, but then I didn't really want to start it yet since King Ohger was just beginning, and looking back it was a smart move because a lot of things changed. For example, I probably would've put Ivan and Rita together because of snow, same with Mujin and Kaguragi because of the outfits and theme, just like Louis and Himeno, once again for that exact reason.

Sure, I could also just make one based off of aesthetics alone, but now I like to put a bit more lore into it! Because that's what it's all about, the LORE

So how am I doing this now? First, next thing I'm gonna do is share my notes on who I'm pairing up with who and why. Or at least, I try to explain why I think it fits. Then, I'll add some parts of the Kingdom member's "song" that I think also further prove my point...or something like that. And some photos I thought could have a similar vibe when I went through my albums and archives and stuff. (Also I love calling it archives that sounds so professional hdhdhddh)

I mean, at the end of the day it's just a little project I plan on doing for fun for two things I love so it doesn't have to make much sense right? Jdhdjd I doubt anyone that's gonna see this has both of these things as an interest anyway. Well maybe, who knows.

Anyway, one thing it all leads up to is me making some fanart and I'm thinking of drawing the Kingdom members and mix up their outfits with their "corresponding" King Ohger character. I'll think about later if I do a group pics, or do multiple for each character and whatnot. Maybe I'll even assign them differently just based on outfits alone, since a lot of them fit outfit/kingdom theme-wise but not really character-wise?

But now it's brainstorming and planning time!!

Arthur - Racules

(I'm not writing this name Rkules or whatever weird spelling they gave him-)

Arthur is not the leader, but the first one to be revealed as a king. The power of Excalibur is both what helps him and what leads to his downfall in a way, kind of like Racules' power lust is what makes everyone turn against him and makes his "downfall" for now happen. Idk man. Does that make sense? They're not TOO similar but similar enough? Plus, Arthur definetly feels like he's got the most smug Racules vibes in the music videos. Ivan is a close second, but for him it's way more of a Gira vibe.

Excalibur

"Destiny is in my hands

This fantasy will unfold

The master key will blow away

All the madness spiraled in chaos"

"Hold onto your wounds

Cut by pieces of glass deep inside

Your heart like sharp thorns

To the end of the world, I'm killin'

Bear the weight of the crown"

"History begins with us

The world must work properly

The colour becomes clearer, reject any fear

Kneel and pray in front of the closed castle gates"

Ivan - Gira

Ivan might rule over the Kingdom of Snow BUT he is really not like Rita at all. The kingdom fits well, but other than that... I don't know... But here too, Racules could be kind of fitting, but it's just different, y'know? It's more like a Gira VS Racules internal fight for Ivan if that makes sense?

He has to decide how to defend his kingdom and for that he uses the power of evil. Y'know. Like the... the evil king Gira? Also their facial expressions when they want to look "evil" are very similar and not very convincing because they just have babyfaces 😭

Black Crown

"With a bit of cruel

But beautiful dangerous power

Getting something

Means losing something

A paradox which I swallowed enchantedly"

"Accept it, just the way you are

Wake it

Don't forget who we are

Engrave it

Raise the holy grail above your head

Put on the black crown

Endure the pain of astonishing power

There's no limit"

"Rather than losing the world

I would become a monster

I choose suffering

Over the loneliness which overwhelms

The evil power of necessity given to me"

Louis - Jeramie

NOW, when King Ohger barely was out, I already had the idea of making this "crossover", especially because King Ohger started airing in the same month a new Kingdom album came out which was insane for me who's obsessed with Kingdom's universe and Toku so it was a win for me for sure.

But also, when King Ohger started, Jeramie technically didn't "exist" yet and I'd given Himeno the position here because of the whole Kingdom of Aesthetic deal. And the outfits, they are basically the exact same.

HOWEVER. Louis is insanely fitting for Jeramie, because both of them feel like outsiders and having lived through many more years than any human ever would.

Also, Louis is one I noticed the most often being bount/restrained in some kind of way. I've made some connections how it's often in an almost connection with Chiwoo and Mujin, but I mean that doesn't really have anything to do with the topic rn,,

But yeah,,

Long Live The King

"Time goes off

A lot of things were destroyed then go

But I always existed

I protected my kingdom"

"A child stuck in a time of loneliness

When will this chaos end

I'm on the eye of the storm"

"Lights out bright light, I'm alone under the lights

Dancing in my own

Shining upon me, the spotlight

I can feel it even with my eyes closed"

"Before that sun rises again

The moment I waited with bated breath

Even if everything changes, I shall stand here"

"Running out of time, nothing can stop me

With my own two hands, I'll write again the destiny

Long live the king

Long live the king, I'm a light that will never go out"

"Winding up the spring of endless memory

Unfamiliar masks are dancing in the hall

The moment the good and evil collide

The second hand stops as if it's laughing at me again

Even with the darkness cast inside me

What brightens is the small flame

To this soul that went against the world, what isn't granted is the finale"

Dann - Rita

I was debating on wether to give him Racules or Rita. I know, Racules again, but they are all very serious and strict in a way and the main characters are all way more silly? So yeah.

But after thinking a bit about it, I think Rita is quite fitting. Dann is quite... stoic? Serious? In the music videos, and often seems to be some kind of advisor to other's.Plus, he's got more of that cold vibe that Rita has? Also in general, his music video is just very fitting, the vibe is really perfect.

Ascension

"I'll leave behind the tears in agony

I'll just pass by

Willow leaves shaking precariously

As soon as the wind strikes

All the arrows with resentment are pointing at me"

"One beautiful day

The flower blooms splendidly

One sad night

The deep shadow troubled my heart"

"A glance in between the narrow bars

I see all the enemies coming

They are puring down at once, keep your ground"

"All the evil souls

Burn it all

I'll turn everything back to its original state"

"Spread the wings. Strike hard

Those who rebelled, you will drown in blood

I'll protect you, I miss you

Enchanting ascension over the horizon"

"Knife of condemnation

Don't forget my royal command"

Mujin - Himeno

Another one I really had to debate. In a way I think aesthetic-wise Kaguragi is the most fitting, Mujins theme being traditional Japanese and all, and Himeno would technically fit better in the Kingdom of Aesthetic, but just character-wise I feel like Himeno fits. Also, "Kingdom of Cherry Blossoms" does sound really fitting for Himeno too. And the whole self sacrifice, or rather doing everything for the wellbeing of your own kingdom-theme is also very in character. Also, not like Mujin as the lore character, but Mujin himself loves to be a bit silly just like Himeno :D

And also Dystopia overall is kind of similar to certain events that happened in the show I guess?? So like??

Dystopia

"Rewing the strings of fate and bloom with all your might

All delight swiftly crushed by the rise of rampant evil"

"The flower that blooms in deep darkness

The overwhelming sword of salvation

Sinking into the abyss

Like a dystopia"

"On the night when hatred opened its eyes

The darkness swallows the light

The power of the cherry blossoms suddenly dissapear

The song of monsters

Extinguish the embers of chaos

Just you watch I will definetly shatter it all"

"The flower petals are blooming again

The light of my soul is getting darker

Even if I cross the bounds and dissapear it does not matter"

Hwon - Yanma

This one's hard to properly explain so just believe me when I said it appeared to me in a dream or whatever. IDK at the same time they are quite different but the vibes are just kinda fitting, y'know? And Yanma is quite uh... stormy I guess I don't know man this is hard to justify with words,,

Overall, Hwon is the hardest to fit in because we know the least about him, since he's still quite new and hasn't gotten an album yet... but I mean I might come back to this all later and update it when both Jahan and Hwon have an album!!

Jahan - Kaguragi

So, Kaguragi was really hard to decide if he's more fitting for Mujin or Jahan. Guess in a way Kingdom of Sun is fitting, bees and harvest and all I guess. Anyway, I did a lot of Kingdom analysing and looking in detail through the music videos and lore and Jahan often seems a bit confusing, in a way it's never too obvious which side he's on? He can seem more mischievous, even when he's acting serious. If that makes sense.

And gah sadly no Jahan album yet either. BUT SOON. Hopefully. I mean his specific Kingdom logo was revealed so I guess it's in the works?? 😭

[relicsongmel]

Introduction

Welcome! My name is Mel and this is my place to shout into the void about things I'm way too obsessed with. I'm in my 20s, female, pan(demi)romantic asexual and also autistic/ADHD as hell. I post about a variety of things but here are the fandoms you're most likely to see (in no particular order):

Pokemon/Pokeani

Ace Attorney

Bleach

Inuyasha

Animal Crossing

Stardew Valley

Love Nikki

Undertale

Other things to know about me:

Personal posts will be tagged as [#mel's musings].

I have two tags [#little songbird] and [#forest for the tree] for my OCs Sylvia and Denise, respectively. They're my two pseudo self-inserts reflecting different aspects of my personality that I can throw into whatever fictional universe I'm hyperfixating on in the moment for my own enjoyment. If you're curious I have overviews for each of them in this post—I'm somewhat selective about sharing plot details for the various AUs I have but if you have questions about the characters themselves I'm more than happy to answer them! I love my girls <3

In addition to the fandoms listed above I am also EXTREMELY autistic about music—I have a background in piano/classical singing and have been in choirs all my life since 4th grade. I have been bestowed with the blessed (and sometimes cursed) combination of absolute pitch as well as pitch-color synesthesia. The former is the ability to identify pitches without a reference note and the latter is a phenomenon where my brain associates certain musical keys with certain colors, temperatures and scenery among other things. It is a HUGE special interest of mine—ask me questions about it and I will literally love you until the end of time I'm serious. Even if it's as simple as sending me a song and asking what color it is or asking me for thoughts on video game OSTs because I have a LOT

A follow-up to the above point: I love all things music theory and analysis and whatnot but in my excitement I have a tendency to get a bit TOO technical sometimes. I will do my best to make things as accessible as possible in my personal posts or when answering questions directed towards me (unless you specify it's not needed) but if that's not your niche any posts of this nature will be tagged as [#music nerd shit].

BE WARY OF FOLLOWING IF:

You are weird about multishipping. I like many ships for many different reasons and there's a lot of overlap between characters (just as an example: for Ace Attorney I am primarily a Narumitsu/Wrightworth shipper but I also enjoy Krisnix, Feenris, Gumworth and Langworth and I will make posts about all of them). All ship posts are tagged as such but it's something to be mindful of

You dislike long tag ramblings. I tend to do that a lot, so if that's not something you can just Ignore than this blog may not be the place for you (side note: if my tags on a post ever don't make sense there's a decent chance I'm just having a conversation with one of my mutuals through tags because some of them Do That. Deal with it)

You are overly invested in pro/anti discourse. I have things that squick me out just like anyone else but if I see something I don't like I just block and move on. It is not my job to police the behavior of random strangers on the internet and I don't need any of you weirdos trying to convince me it is please for the love of god go outside

KEEP YOUR TERF/RADFEM BULLSHIT, EXCLUSIONISM OR BIGOTRY OF ANY KIND THE FUCK AWAY FROM ME. IF I SEE ANY OF THAT SHIT I WILL BLOCK ON SIGHT

If you follow me and need anything specific tagged (whether it be for spoilers or other reasons), shoot me a message and I'm more than happy to oblige.

My askbox is always open if you'd like to talk about anything at all whether it be fandom shit, music nerd shit or otherwise. If you'd prefer me to answer privately please specify as such when writing your ask.

I do not condone the use of generative AI or reuploading art without express permission from the original artist. If I accidentally reblog AI/stolen art please send me a message letting me know so I can delete it accordingly.

If we are mutuals and you'd like to get to know me more, feel free to message and ask for my Discord! I'm not a part of any servers at the moment because that sort of thing intimidates me, but I do enjoy talking to my friends there and you could be one of them. If you'd like. But you need to make that clear to me first so hmu if you're interested <3

And that's about it, really! Enjoy your time here and I hope something nice happens to you today <333

[yuuana]

Music Monday #227: EXO - Cream Soda release: July 2023 genre: Kpop

I had something else entirely planned for today, especially since I usually like to let new videos sit for a day or three (and several viewings by me) before I even think of doing a feature. Plus I am already so far behind (this is the third of the three MVs EXO has released in relation to EXIST and my new music playlist on YT is still well north of 200 entries), but ... it's EXO. So buckle in and let's go.

One of the things you notice pretty fast is the way Cream Soda continues the tradition of EXO title tracks being Hard Mode for karaoke with all that falsetto. Those high notes are mad high - there's not too many outside of EXO who could hit all those notes that cleanly while dancing any choreo, let alone that active a choreo - so I suspect this isn't going to be going onto very many boy group's list of covers they want to do. Maybe on aspirational lists, but yeah. Dance covers will no doubt abound because they always do (not for nothing EXO is called Korea's national boy group), but vocal covers not so much.

As for the lyrics themselves ... oh boy. It's funny, I was listening to a podcast ep from the start of the year where it came up that a lot of pop music is love songs, whether that's happy in love or melancholy for lost over or something else, in part because of this perception that we all know what love is. Whatever our specific thoughts about it, we have thoughts about love and can relate to some extent, making those songs more broadly accessible than, say, a song about working on a fishing boat. Many (most? nearly all?) of EXO's biggest hits fall into this very broad category, so no surprise this one does, too. The lyrics are written in a way to provide plausible deniability for how sexual, but you can only sell that so far when you're talking about cream like this song does.

Given the two pre-release MVs included Kai, I'm curious what happened that this one doesn't, outside of his name on a place card. I suppose even with knowing when he was going to be enlisting, there was only so much they could cram into his schedule, between EXO and his solo music and then his fashion label commitments. And so we start the long two years of Kai's service and not seeing him while he works in the civil service.

But that aside, the video is quite the collection of call backs to earlier MVs - Lotto is probably the most obvious, but I'm also seeing callbacks to Monster, Ko Ko Bop, and Obsession. There might be more, but doing a rewatch of all of EXO's previous MVs to check would take too long, so for now we'll leave it at that and note that this could have interesting implications for EXO's lore ... if weren't stuck at a crossroads of wondering what is even going on with the SMCU lore-verse. For various reasons, I'd already paused trying to speculate on SCMU lore because it wasn't clear it was even still a thing and to be honest, this far along, I was almost half hoping we might be getting a reboot on EXO's lore, which has been a steaming mess since 2015 (I love the guys and the lore they've had has its compelling parts, but as a writer, I'm fully aware that it's a mess that could take a couple novels worth of storytelling to fill out and put straight again). Coupled with the two pre-release MVs, best guess is that EXO is still working with the same lore and like with Don't Fight the Feeling, there's some sense that Cream Soda is also pre-Obsession, but other than that? I've got some thoughts, some theories, but nothing really that settled. Compared to some other groups with ongoing lore, EXO leaves a lot more open to interpretation, for better and for worse. I'm going to need a few more viewings before I feel any degree of confidence in trying to kitbash things together into a coherent whole.

All in all, Cream Soda manages to both surprise and be completely what one might expect from EXO, a balance not every group can manage. This one's definitely going into the playlists going forward. And maybe even one of its very own?

EXIST is out now for sale at all the usual suspects, both digital and physical, and for streaming on all major services. I look forward to EXO adding music show performances (and wins) and can't wait to see who all they net for dance challenge exchanges. SHINee seems the low-hanging fruit, but other than that there are many, many, many possibilities and the dancer in me wants to see them all. XD

Want to see Music Monday deep dives more often? Sponsor a song selection! For the low, low price of one (1) KoFi, I'll write up the song of your choice. ANY song of your choice. Yes, even that one that's been played to death. Yes, your obscure faves too. With sponsors, I can stop skipping weeks and falling further and further behind in the releases! Sponsor a current CB for the next open Music Monday slot or sponsor a throwback for a Thursday feature! But seriously, if you've been enjoying my selections and analyses, we (me and the foster kittens) would love a KoFi in thanks. DW | Twitter | Mastodon | Ko-fi | Patreon | Discord | Twitch

[imaginarybestie]

Daily Blessings & Ideas For Friends

Dear P,

Another thing I could share with my friends is daily blessings and ideas. So by blessings, what I mean is gratitude for good things, as well as just any good ideas, inspiration, quotes, images, videos, insights, any such things. Anything that feels light, uplifting, sustaining, healing, nourishing to the heart, soul, hope, joy, meaning, and all that stuff.

And also, little light bits of ideas that feel helpful and positive to me. Ideas, as in useful infomation, and practical, actionable concepts or theories. Not just feel-good inspiration which is what I was thinking of when I said "blessings". Ideas and info from books, videos, websites, pictures, projects, lists that are inspiring to me and that I thought they might also enjoy. Quotes, book passages, divination messages that I get. Photos that I take. Recipes. (I guess I think of those as practical concepts, weirdly, because it might inspire another person to do the same kind of creative thing as me. But I guess the line gets kind of blurry here, as for what's just inspiring and what's more of a practical, actionable idea).

Whatever, anything. Any real life actions that might inspire someone else to do similar real-life actions. Crafts. Art. Games. List games and word games that I make up and play. As long as it feels like some kind of useful and interesting and positive feeling idea. Music. Youtubes of favorite songs. Exercise videos. The sky's the limit with all this stuff.

But of course, the problem is that I don't know how much such things I'll really have that I'll feel like sharing. So it goes back to the thing of that I'm usually the kind of person who silently observes and takes in life rather than writing or speaking about it. Sometimes just trying to think of the words for such things seems to exhaust me.

When I do talk to people about such things, I also do so with a sense of trepidation and fear, because oftentimes it feels like I'm setting myself up for some expectation. I'm opening a whole can of worms that I might not want to go there. People tend to expect more and more of the same once you start out on a positive note, as if it's effortless and enjoyable and so why wouldn't you just have more and more light, positive stuff to say and be thrilled to do so? And maybe it's so for many but for me, it's often the opposite. I can only stomach so much light and bright and positive stuff. So while it's highly essential for me as a person, to have great huge gobs of positive and light and constructive stuff filled to the brim through my days of all my life, that doesn't mean that I can just share it with everyone very much.

I can only do so in small amounts, for a very limited amount of speaking at a time, and that's it, zip it, shut, I'm done for the day with any more positive talk. haha Not always, but often. I don't know that others would understand or accept this limitation in real life. I guess it's good that this is just writing to imaginary friends, since they don't have to actually understand. As that song goes, 'Imaginary lovers never let you down", and "Imaginary lovers always understand", I think it says, and stuff like that. (the song is 'Imaginary Lovers', by Atlanta Rhythm Section). Well, it's the same with imaginary friends, too, I guess. Lol

Anyway, thanks for listening again, P. It really feels good to write the imaginary you, here, today. I feel on a roll. It's already up to like 9 posts on my first day writing this blog, wow.

-C

[softestlittlepuffball]

That moment where you pick up the ukulele your mom bought you months ago after you expressed some interest in trying it out and suddenly it's two years later and you're overwhelmed because your special interest on music just keeps growing more and more and there's so many things you want to try and learn and do and it's all amazing and so interesting but it's also so much to the point that you don't know how to deal with it

[indouloureux]

how are u love? I dont know if you saw the pictures and videos of joseph and jamie in brazil (I just saw them and I'm SCREAMING) but could you write something based on that? like joseph x costar!reader?

ps: you're amazing and I LOVE that you write for Joseph sm and you do it SO WELL

HI IM GOOD YES i saw their pics from brazil and i went absolutely feral!!! tysm for reading my works ily !! 🫶 hope you enjoy this

side note: a couple of you guys sent in requests and im sorry if im unable to post it sooner. i promise i will get to them and i absolutely love your ideas!!! i also sincerely apologize if the fonts are small im writing the blurbs on my phone and ive yet to figure out how to put "read more".

brazil is really pretty, and so is the smile on his face.

his white dress shirt hangs perfectly around his frame, but his grey blazer is missing and is instead draped over your shoulders, an offer he'd done out of worry.

even so, joseph's got an arm around your waist, holding a drink in his hand that he so carelessly waves around as he talks to people though not spilling it on anyone else. his laugh is bright and a bit drunk, but it's still contagious nonetheless.

"hey," he murmurs in your ear. "i bet you twenty dollars i get at least more than fifteen questions about what my vecna song is, deal?"

you snort, gyrating your wrist to swirl your drink. "why? did the question reach brazil?"

"i can't tell you how many times i've said the words up and down by venga boys. it's a lot more than the amount of wrong theories i saw about volume two."

joseph beams at your smile, and as much as he wants to place a kiss on your temple, he's too shy to do so in a public place. "alright. and if it's not more than fifteen, i get the twenty dollars?"

"twenty dollars and a kiss," he offers. "only because i haven't kissed you since this morning and i've been taking it out on this glass."

"eugh," you turn away from him. "gross,"

"it's true," joseph removes his arm from around your waist, only to step in front of you so you'd look at him. "when you were at the toilet i've been mouthing my drink."

"jesus, joseph."

"and mary," he smiles at you, comes back to his original position where he slots himself at your side with a hand around your back in a kind possessive manner. "no one has actually asked you what your vecna song is, though,"

"i'd rather not answer than when yours sounds like a kids bop music at a child's birthday party," you playfully clink your glass with his. joseph wrinkles his nose and opens his mouth in a silent gasp, feigning offense at your joke.

"my, how rude! i've never judged you for listening to doja cat for a whole week when she tweeted about me," joseph squints his eyes at you.

"it's my way of coping. a hot girl flirts with my boyfriend and then what?" you shake your head at him. joseph smiles, and he's really fighting the urge not to kiss you. "plus her music's good. you should try listening to it instead of dancing to venga boys every morning."

"never disrespect up and down like that," he scoffs. his hand reaches out to play with the sleeves of the blazer around your shoulder, and you find yourself tracing the curve of his chain.

"yeah yeah, whatever."

"oh, here comes another one," finally, he steals a quick peck on your temple, hand sinking deeper into your waist. "prepare to lose twenty dollars, darling."

would very much appreciate feedback and reblogs!! <3

[asterism343]

Ok so a while ago i promised a post about "strange time signatures in Duel Links character themes" and so here it is (after a while too long).

Ok so first of all, what even is a time signature? It isn't exactly common knowledge, so it's best that I explain now. I'll try my best, but if you're still confused, you can try looking it up (there are plenty of videos and articles that might explain it better). Oh and prepare for a wall of text, because I will try to be as clear as possible which for me usually involves way too much text. which might make things less clear? I'm trying my best ok

PART 1: If You Know This Already, You Can Skip It

A time signature is a term used in music theory. It basically defines how each "measure" is structured. It consists of two numbers, a top one and a bottom one. (or a first and second one in the limitations of a text post.) Oh and songs are divided into little chunks basically, that's what a measure is. And a part of a song (like a verse or chorus) will usually be a whole number of measures long.

Now, in a time signature, the first number states how many beats are in a measure, which is the most important. and the second number states what type of note counts as one beat. Since we aren't going to be looking at actual sheet music probably, you don't have to worry about the second number for most of this.

Now, the most common time signature is 4/4 time. It's so common that it's literally called "common time". If you were to pick any random song in your mixtape, there's an extremely high chance that it's in 4/4. Also just about every anime opening and ending is entirely in 4/4 (i only know one exception), i guess it's easier to animate to?

also common but less so are 3‎/‎4 (waltz time), 2/2 (cut time) and 6/8 (doesn't have a special name as far as i know)

there are also weird ones out there like 5/4 and 7/4 and 9/16 and 15/16 which are really cool but pretty uncommon. 7/4 coolest time signature don't @ me

also sometimes what the second number is can be unclear or debatable, and 3‎/‎4 and 6/8 can sometimes sound pretty similar. So if I say something is 6/8 but you found proof that it's actually 3‎/‎4 or 12/8 or something, well...easy mistake to make.

ok so here's some data about the relevant time signatures: 4/4: Basically considered the default in Western music. It has a very "regular" feeling about it. that might be the reason why probably at least 90% of the music you've ever heard is in 4/4 time. 3‎/‎4: Has a more "fancy" vibe to it, probably because of the ballroom dancing association. Sounds a bit uneven, but in a way that makes sense. 6/8: A lot like 3‎/‎4, but generally feels a lot faster, really the best way to tell is seeing if the measures have six beats. Sometimes feels less fancy because it'd be basically impossible to waltz to, unless you're really good at it I guess

One more thing! sometimes songs will switch time signatures in the middle. It's cool. For a Yu-Gi-Oh! relevant example, remember how earlier I said

Also just about every anime opening and ending is entirely in 4/4 (i only know one exception), i guess it's easier to animate to?

That one exception is Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS ED 5 ("Are You Ready"), which starts in 4/4 but switches to 6/8 halfway through. It's cool! You see it in rock music sometimes too, it's kinda rare but it's really fun when you find it. (most popular example is "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" by The Beatles, 3‎‎/‎‎4 verses and 4/4 choruses)

⁂

PART 2: The Actual Post I Promised

OKAY SO it is now time for the actual Duel Links stuff! like i promised!! sorry for the detour lol

So here's some statistics. If I've counted correctly, there are 74 unique character themes in Duel Links (counting Rio Kamishiro, who is not currently available, but i found her theme online). Out of those, only 5 have time signature shenanigans (i.e., are not entirely in 4/4 time). so that's a mere 6.75676%.

Alright so I'm gonna order these by Duel World, because that's the way that makes most sense. oh and i'll provide links to each song on youtube, timestamped to a good part to hear the time signature clearly imo

DM world...has none. Which I found pretty surprising, because it has more unique character themes than any other world yet. How strange. GX and 5D's also have none, at least none yet. I'll get into predictions later.

First up in DSoD world is...Aigami! His theme is in 3‎/‎4 time. I wasn't expecting it, but it makes sense in the song, i think. And our other one for DSoD is Sera! Her theme is is really interesting, because I had to listen to it a few times to figure it out. It starts in 6/8, and then makes an extremely smooth transition to 4/4 at around 0:36 (listen for what sounds like the song slowing down), and then switches back. It's cool!

Our first one for ZEXAL is the Arclight brothers, who all share the same theme. (Quinton aka Ⅴ aka Chris isn't in the game yet, but presumably this will be his theme too). Infuriatingly, this is not in 4/4 or 3‎/‎4 but is in fact 6/8. AAAGH i was SO FRUSTRATED when Ⅳ showed up and his theme WASN'T 4/4 like WHAAAAT?!? it's a banger tho so I'm not complaining...much.

but like COME ON what if Ⅳ had 4/4 (literally like, all the songs ever almost) and Ⅲ had 3‎/‎4 ('cause he's kinda fancy-lookin) and Ⅴ had 5/4 (strange vibes, but in a cool way) that would be AWESOME but noooooo it had to be 6/8 like seriously whyyyyyy

Next up for ZEXAL is Rio Kamishiro, who will be having her first unlock event pretty soon but showed up as a Roaming event a while ago. Her theme is 3‎/‎4 and was really the easiest to figure out like for some of them I was like "hmmm is this 3‎/‎4 or 6/8?" but this was mega obvious so thanks Rio

Next up is Sora Shiun'in, whose theme is the whole reason I decided to figure this all out in the first place. In fact, I think that out of all the themes in Duel Links Sora's theme represents his character the best, and the time signature switch from 3‎/‎4 to 4/4 makes it work. Like see, the 3‎/‎4 represents his innocent-seeming façade, and the switch to 4/4 is revealing his true motives, but then it stays in 4/4 but goes back to the happy-sounding theme because he's still a kid and ends up turning good. well that's my interpretation at least

oh and one more thing! if you're playing as an ARC-V character and you summon that character's ace monster, a special theme will play, and that's in 6/8 so it's like a bonus!

⁂

PART 3: Wild Guessing

Okay, now it's time for some predictions! Chances are most of these will be wrong, but I'm gonna say 'em anyways.

Sherry leBlanc (5D's): 3‎/‎4 It's that fancy French vibe, there's no way it could be anything else right? That's how I see it. Ray Shingetsu/Vector (ZEXAL): 4/4→6/8 or 3‎/‎4→4/4 this is a long shot, ok? but i think the "time signature switch = reveal of true intentions" theory I've got about Sora's theme is promising. and I think it would be cool. Yuuri (ARC-V): 6/8 He's kinda got that fancy vibe, right? But he's also super intense and scary. So I think 6/8 makes the most sense. Spectre (VRAINS): 3‎/‎4 Similar "fancy" vibes as Sherry. It's likely, but not certain. Ghost Girl/Emma Bessho (VRAINS): 5/4 or 7/4 okay this is straight-up wishful thinking, i admit it. but she's kind of an unusual person, so how about an unusual time signature? huh? i just want someone to have a cool time signature in their theme is that too much to ask

Please tell me what you think, and if you have any other predictions! I love talking about this stuff.

[mimisempai]

Missing you comes in waves and tonight I'm drowning

Summary:

After seeing Loki disappear before his eyes and confined to the TVA because of the failed mission, Mobius decides to still believe in Loki and search for him. He witnesses the discussion between Sylvie and Loki on the train

Notes:

My theories on the method used by Mobius to locate Loki is probably very far-fetched and lacks technical truth, but that's not the most important point here, so I hope you'll forgive me for my short cuts. (I miss them together!)

https://archiveofourown.org/works/32162878

2008 words - Rating G

"Loki! Wait!"

Loki looked at him for a moment before stepping through the portal.

By the time they got there, it was too late Loki and the portal was gone.

"I knew he would betray us as soon as he could!" said one of the hunters right next to Mobius.

"Shut up!" shouted Mobius at him before returning to the TVA.

As he walked toward Ravonna's office, the same thoughts swirled over and over in his head.

Had Loki betrayed him! What were his plans? But worst of all, was he in danger?

He tried to think rationally.

Loki always said he was one step ahead, but Mobius knew that wasn't true. Loki was improvising. Loki was adapting. So reason told Mobius that this is what he had done.

That's when Mobius decided to do something he'd never done in his life at the TVA, he was going to bet on chaos. On the fact that Loki had chosen to follow the variant not only for his own sake but also because it was his mission.

Because Mobius could not imagine that what they had shared was nothing in the eyes of the god.

"Mobius! In my office!"

Ravonna... he was already imagining her reprimands, "I warned you" "he can't be trusted"...

As soon as he entered her office, she showed him a screen and just said, "Look!"

A scene showing the variant fighting in a hallway with the guards and Loki in the locker room retrieving his daggers then arriving at the place where the guards were eliminated.

Next scene Loki and the variant fighting, Loki trying to convince her to team up, at this point, despite the faith he has in him, Mobius could not determine if this is a way to stop her or get what he wants.

Then Rovenna arrives and the variant uses Loki as a hostage.

Mobius could not prevent a gasp.

Still on the screen, seeing that Rovenna is not persuaded, Loki grabs an object that opens a portal above them and he and the Variant disappear.

Mobius tried not to show his relief, but he saw that Rovenna was not fooled.

"So you still trust him?"

Mobius looked at her defiantly, "As long as I don't have concrete, real proof that he betrayed us, yes I’ll trust him!"

"Always the idealistic dreamer huh?"

Mobius didn't answer, Rovenna continued, "You're grounded here until I tell you otherwise. You can get out."

Once out, Mobius sat in a chair, held his head in his hands, and began to think. He was grounded, but there was nothing to stop him from trying to figure out where Loki was.

He just had to figure out how to locate him.

The difference was that now, thanks to Loki, he knew to look in the apocalypses, what he had to find now was the equivalent of that candy, something out of the ordinary, something anachronistic.

He stood up suddenly, he had found it!

He went to the office, where the screen that displayed all the nexuses was located.

"Casey! Come here!"

The younger man got up and joined him. Mobius spoke more softly, "Will you help me with a secret project?"

Casey, who had great respect for the man, nodded.

"Follow me."

They headed into the archive room. Mobius chose a table a little out of the way.

"You sit here. I'll be right back."

A few minutes later, he returned with a stack of files that he separated into two piles.

"In all these apocalypses, we need to find one where it mentions two Lokis variants and unusual magical acts."

"Got it!"

Mobius didn't know if his smoky theory would work out, but he didn't have much choice.

He couldn't help but think back to a similar scene a few days earlier, when Loki had fallen asleep. He had let his guard down in the presence of Mobius, so that meant something, didn't it?

He started to flip through the files.

"M-Mobius! I think I've got it!"

Casey was showing him a file, Lamentis-1 - 2077, a woman reports that two demons tried to attack her. One even allegedly posed as her deceased husband in order to get information.

Mobius could feel it in his bones. It was Loki and the Variant.

He was going to have to gamble on someone again.

"Casey. I need you to keep this a secret for a while longer. If Ravonna gets wind of this, I'm afraid she'll launch an assault and won't hesitate to eliminate Loki."

Casey nodded without taking time to think, "As long as you need Mobius."

Mobius was surprised that he didn't have to persuade Casey more than that.

After all, he seemed to be the good, loyal employee who never disobeyed.

Casey, seeing his reaction, added with a knowing smile, "You know, I like Loki too. He promised me he'd show me what a fish is and you know? The drink he took from me the other day, he bought me another one and apologized. A villain wouldn't take the time to do something like that right?"

Mobius's throat tightened. Casey was the first person other than himself to acknowledge that there was good in Loki.

"Thanks."

Casey nodded and returned to his desk.

Mobius headed straight for the video archive room. The advantage of being an agent of his rank was that he had unrestricted access to this section of the archives.

He searched through the shelves until he found the videos of Lamentis 1 in 2077.

He sat down in front of one of the small projectors provided for this purpose. He was going to start from the described scene that Casey had shown him.

After entering a few parameters, the screen lit up with Loki being blasted by an old woman.

The noise of the meteors that rained down around

Loki and the one who accompanied him, prevented Mobius from hearing what was being said.He pressed the fast-forward button until Loki and the girl, after some trouble to enter the train, found themselves in a box in the dining car.

He turned up the volume to hear their conversation.

He was amazed at how easily they seemed to converse, despite the jabs on both sides, and couldn't help a twinge of annoyance that he refused to recognize as jealousy.

The variant said to Loki, mockingly, "FYI, that wasn't even a plan."

"Oh, really?"

God how Mobius missed that cheeky attitude. Even when unmasked, Loki still had that irritating confidence.

The variant replied, "Plans have multiple steps. Dressing as a guard and getting on a train is just doing a thing."

She couldn't hold back a yawn.

Loki responded, "Oh, are you a bit tired? Feel free to, you know, get some rest."

One thing Mobius had realized and Casey had confirmed to him just before was that Loki cared more about others than he let on if you paid attention.

The variant grunted and replied, "I can't sleep in a place like this."

"You can't sleep on a train?"

The variant retorted, irritated, "No. I can't sleep around untrustworthy people."

Loki replied, still cheeky, "Oh, right. That's me?"

Fearing he might misinterpret what had been said, Mobius pressed rewind and let the scene play out before him.

The image of Loki nodding in agreement about not being able to sleep near people he couldn't trust was superimposed on the image of Loki sound asleep in his company.

He could not suppress the pang of his heart.

Loki trusted him, Loki considered him trustworthy.

While he was thinking, the video had continued and Loki was now talking about his mother.

Mobius had witnessed Loki's relationship with his mother and his devastation at the news of her death.

Loki's voice had become more hushed, with that hint of fragility he had whenever he spoke of her.

"She was, um... A Queen of Asgard. She was good. Purely decent."

Then the variant and Loki respectively provoked each other about the fact that they were adopted and Loki continued, "You know, when I was young, she'd do these little bits of magic for me. Like turn a flower into a frog or cast fireworks over the water. It all seemed impossible. But she told me that I'd be able to do it too because... Because I could do anything. You wanna see?"

Loki sets off tiny fireworks over his hand.

Mobius could not deny his feelings at that moment.

The sight of magic coming from Loki's hands, pure magic, was enchanting.

Loki continued, "She was the kinda person you'd want to believe in you."

Mobius could not help but whisper, "Loki, I believe in you."

For a few moments he didn't catch the conversation until it was audible again. Apparently they were talking about their love interests.

The variant asked Loki, "How about you? You're a prince. Must've been would-be-princesses or perhaps, another prince." She finished with a wink.

Loki, replied with a serious look, "A bit of both. I suspect the same as you. But, nothing ever..."

The variant finished his sentence, "real."

"Let me find you and I'll prove to you how real it is." Mobius didn't realize he was speaking aloud. He pushed fast-forward again.

The Variant had fallen asleep and Loki looked a little giddy.

Loki waved his hand and was back in his TVA agent costume.

He could wear the illusion of any outfit, and he chose this one. Why stay in these clothes?

Mobius really didn't want to be under any illusions, because how could he imagine that someone like Loki, a prince, a god, would want to claim a belonging to something like the TVA... to someone like Mobius?

Loki had started to dance and sing.

Mobius could not help but laugh. Then his laughter died down as Loki's song became more melancholic,

I stormsvarte fjell, jeg vandrer alene

Over isbreen tar jeg meg frem

I eplehagen står møyen den vene

og synger "når kommer du hjem?"

Men traner danser og fossene stanser

når hun synger, hun synger "kom hjem"

Then seeming to regain his spirits, Loki began to dance and sing happily again as if trying to prevent nostalgia from invading him.

When the music stopped, he joined the Variant and resumed his seat in front of him. Mobius managed to understand what they were saying to each other.

"What did you just sing to look so disturbed?"

Loki looked a little moved and answered him with the voice Mobius knew well, the one he used when he was serious, when he was sincere.

"It's Asgardian, it says:

In storm-black mountains, I wander alone

Over the glacier I make my way

In the apple garden stands the maiden fair and sings,

"When will you come home?"

Loki stopped, apparently moved, and the Variant simply said, "So there's a would-be-princess somewhere..."

Loki chuckled looking so sad before answering her, "I like metaphors you know, it's not a princess it's a prince, and I don't know if he's waiting for me or hoping to see me again, it's not even really my home, but..."

"But you'd like to believe that right?"

Loki nodded.

Mobius, didn't dare to believe that it was him that Loki was talking about, even though he couldn't stop the hope from rising up inside him.

The video continued, much more animated, after a wild fight, both jumped off the moving train and found themselves walking through a kind of desert towards the energy source they apparently needed to reactivate the tempad.

Mobius saw Loki suddenly stop, looking shocked. But Mobius was unable to hear what they were saying, the sound of the meteors again covering their voices.

Suddenly, Loki shouted louder, "But they don't know that!"

And they began to run.

Mobius could see that Loki was repeating something as he ran, an expression that Mobius had never seen on his face. Like he was worried. But he couldn't hear him. He zoomed in closer to try to read Loki's lips and finally succeeded.

Mobius.

_________

The whole serie here : The story of Loki and Mobius

Not beta'd I hope you enjoyed it 🥰

[to-read-is-to-breathe]

Songs of 2020

Alright y'all--I'm gonna do it. For one night and one night only, I'm bringing back the music posts. Because 2020 has been a shitty year for me (and a lot of the world, probably) and this brings me joy.

So buckle in pals. I present:

Wonder by Shawn Mendes

There is so much to talk about, and in an effort to form coherent thought, I’m going to take this one step at a time (also would recommend listening to the song while you read this, just for funsies): 

The Music: As you all know, I listen to music in layers. The first time I usually just focus on the music itself, so I’m going to start there. 

Guys. Holy Shit. I--

He. Did. That. 

The opening notes come from a chorus--and they are almost haunting in the best way possible. They echo in your heart and in your blood and strike against that spark of life inside you. It feels like the sun rising over a mountain, and is immediately backed by a synth that sprinkles in just enough fantasy for your soul to start to leave your body. And then everything drops to a simple drum that feels like a heartbeat until we get to the pre-chorus, where the magical sound comes back. It grows. It swells. It crests.

And then the sound just explodes. 

It is the rush, the tumble, the fall. It is flying forward with the wind ripping by you, pricking at your eyes just enough for tears to rise. It is a release--a scream that frees everything locked inside your heart. And the fact that music--that a melody--has a tangible feeling this way...

I am in genuine awe. 

And it just keeps building, over and over, until we reach the end; the final crescendo. And we’re left feeling like we’re standing on a cliff top, gasping for air and on the precipice of everything that comes next. It is like looking out at the horizon and realizing that there is endless possibility at your fingertips; that you are full of life and that it is overflowing before you.

The Lyrics: Only make the music better. Only enhance the experience on what, honestly, I would have considered an amazing instrumental track. It discusses Shawn’s outlook on life, toxic masculinity, love, friendship, and everything else that runs through your head when you’re contemplating your life. 

It’s almost stream of consciousness--it’s the musings you have in the quiet. And then it builds to one question: I wonder what it’s like to be loved by you? Because no matter what else is circling your mind, there are those monumental things in our lives that we just cannot let go of. That we will ponder about until we have an answer. 

And this is his. 

Then there’s this really genuine area where the lyrics and the music overlap: For most of the song, they are working in sync but playing off of one another. The music sets the mood and the lyrics tell a story. But then we get to the chorus, to the cry of “I wonder what it’s like to be loved by you?” and the music itself is the answer. It’s no longer setting the scene, it’s taking your hand and moving you forward. 

The Video: Is the kind of art that genuinely takes your breath away. And it’s inseparable from the song itself. Because it is an actual, visual representation of what the music--the lyrics--are trying to tell you; teach you. It is a fantasy, an escape, but also perfectly encapsulates the music. 

The train rushing over his head. Falling into the forest. Tumbling through the trees. And exploding onto the edge of a cliff, surrounded by waves and rain and the infinity of an endless horizon. The elation, the growth, the joy, is so clearly displayed. You can feel the weight lifting off of you as you listen, as you watch and follow this small but impeccably told journey. 

Because you’re asking all the right questions, and leaving everything heavy behind. 

So what does it all mean?: Isn’t that the eternal question? But I have three theories I’ll share, in no particular order: 

1. Taking into account the Wonder Intro he used to announce the single and album, it’s possible that this song is about being “Loved” by the world; by his fans. We live in a society where celebrities have to be otherworldly or the internet will turn on them. This song could be about feeling that pressure, knowing that you aren’t being genuine with the people who you owe your entire career to, and that the version of you they “love” isn’t really you. So maybe he’s decided to be honest--to show the world the truest version of himself that he can, and feel the real love of his supporters for the first time. And he asks, I wonder what it’s like to be loved by you? Truly loved, for the person that I am.

2. It’s a song about self-love. About sitting down, looking in the mirror, and confronting all of the terrible things inside you. All the shame, and the doubt, and the fear. And finally being able to reach a place where you can look yourself in the eyes and ask, “I wonder what it’s like to be loved by you?” 

     Because at the end of the day, loving yourself is the hardest thing. 

3.It’s a song about Camila. I think you can listen to both Illuminate and SM3 and know that she has been a muse for him for a long time. He pined and yearned for so long, that in the middle of all the things he wondered about, he mostly wondered what it was like to be loved by her. 

And once again, the music itself is the answer to all of these questions. And it’s possible that all of these are right, or none of them are--but that’s the spectacular thing about this song. 

It is whatever you want it to be. Whatever you need it be. 

Whatever love is missing in your heart--whether it be from others or yourself--Wonder is about contemplating that feeling and question. And then finding out the answer.

This year has been hard, and this song relieves some of that weight. It lightens the burden. Brings a little joy. Takes your hand and offers a moment of peace. 

And I can’t wait to see what comes next. 

[whats-my-newest-obsession]

I NEED MY ANTI-LARRIES, LARRIES, HARRIES, LOUIES, AND EVERY OTHER GROUP INVOLVED WITH THIS GOD FORSAKEN SHIP TO PLEASE GATHER AROUND UNDER A FLAG OF TRUCE!

I ASK YOU TO PLEASE TAKE A FEW MOMENTS TO HEAR ME OUT, REMEMBER ASSUMPTIONS WILL BE KEPT OUT OF THIS DISCUSSION AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE!

So I'm sure you guys have looked at us Larry shippers like we are completely delusional. Even I have been blown away at the reaches some shippers will make. I can't really blame you for being skeptical, but I want you to understand why there is such a vast majority of us that doesn't think the idea of Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson secretly being in a relationship or have in the past is an all that crazy idea.

(Please take note I'm going to be as FACTUAL and as REALISTIC as possible using the GIVEN FACTS I already have.)

Why do you think Harry and Louis are together?

I'm keeping this portion extremely small as it can be annoying to look at, but I just want to show some weird things us fans have noticed between the two that caused all the research I'm about to show you. (THERE WON'T BE MORE THAN THREE LITTLE SNIPPETS I PROMISE, ALL THREE BEING COMPLETELY RESPECTFUL TO THE TWO OF THEM)!!!

Now this video does actually exist on the internet today (I'll leave a link) and it does arise some questions. It seems a little strange to answer yes to this question while looking completely serious, especially since the dating rumors were already in full blast at the time. All things considered, it really just doesn't make sense.

(X)

This tweet can definitely be explained. Louis could have gotten hacked that day. But the weird thing is, is that the tweet still exists on his Twitter account today and has picked up quite a bit of noise (being the 4th most retweeted tweet in history). Again, I'll leave a link so you can access it.

(X)

Harry deliberately turned his entire body to face Louis and sung a very romantic line, neither of them laughing or trying to make a joke of it. Some people claim they hear "I'm in love with Lou" and "All his little things" which is entirely based off of ear so I'll let you decide. Unexplainable at best. Link:

(X)

How realistic can a situation like this actually be?

The thought of two boys who are both gay/bi/other being put into the same band and just happen to want to be together is already a pretty crazy thought to have, now add the theory that their wealthy and incredibly professional management team wants to cover up any remnants of an ongoing relationship between the two of them who also happen to be in a worldwide successful music group entirely appealing to the female audience and the thought has basically become an unrealistic fantasy.

But it's happened before.

I'm sure you've heard of the Irish pop band Westlife, who also have very impressive record sales. 13 major releases, 11 of which are albums, over 1,000,000 subscribers on YouTube, have sold over 55 million records worldwide, and over 550,000,000 streams on Spotify. Their achievements range from Top Album Sales of the 2000s in the UK to holding the Guinness World Record for 'First to Achieve Seven Consecutive Number One singles in the UK'.

But the most important resemblance this band has to One Direction is that they were signed by Simon Cowell, and Louis Walsh became their manager. They were signed with a Sony BMG company, very similar to One Direction's.

Little known fact about one of the old Westlife members Mark Feehily who later left the band, is that he is gay. He got engaged to a male British Fashion Photographer without any public awareness. In fact, everyone seemed to believe he was straight, as he was 'dating' women at the time.

The band has come out and said that while being signed under Louis, they suffered mistreatment and relationship cover ups.

I would highly recommend reading the article, the band members talk a lot about being forced to keep a squeaky clean image for the ladies and they even warned One Direction that they had a storm coming being signed under Simon. (X)

I understand that Mark and his ex fiance's situation was different than Harry and Louis' but it proves that the entire corporation Simon Cowell and his team run is not afraid to cover things up if necessary.

So even if this conspiracy is true, how would Sony realistically cover something like this up?

For the record, you can't count on me to understand what goes on in celebrities lives' especially when it comes to image management. I tried my best to do as much research as possible and get reliable sources, but this is a tough one to answer.

One thing that's true is that Hollywood has been proven to use fake relationships to boost Public Relations and create drama within the celebrity gossip world. These are called 'PR stunts'. While there aren't many celebrities who have come out and told the public that the relationship they were in wasn't actually real, a Hollywood publicist Jack Ketsoyan has exposed PR stunting in all it's entirety:

Many fans have long suspected that relationships Louis and Harry have been in were actually just stunts to hide the fact the two of them were together, specifically Elounor (Louis and Eleanor Calder). While the reasons these fans believe this doesn't seem logical, they also directly correlate with what Jack says defines a PR stunt:

Link to the article: (X)

So PR stunting is nothing new in Hollywood apparently. Now if Larry Stylinson is true, this would be a really good way to cover it up.

Why would Harry and Louis agree to this?

Life is very different nowadays then it was ten years ago. Gay marriage in the United States wasn't even legal until after One Direction disbanded. Homophobia was still extremely rampant in 2010, it wouldn't have been a good idea to announce that two boys in an incredibly famous band were actually gay and with each other.

It wouldn't be just about record sales. The band had a reputation of being girl loving and constantly available. Statistics show that 80% of One Direction's fan base was female. This is not saying that every single fan was a teenage girl who lived and dreamed about being with a One Direction member, but it was enough of them to build a brand around.

Even now, actors and singer still shy away from coming out immediately. There are still a lot of people who don't support it, and that kind of hatred, especially to somebody young, can be detrimental to their mental health.

Conclusion:

This post was NOT made to make you a Larry shipper. This was post was also NOT made to start a debate in the comments or through reblogs on wether or not Harry and Louis have/had something more than friendship.

This post was however made by a TIRED Larry shipper who just wants you to know that we are not crazy, or delusional, or even stupid to believe that this situation can be entirely realistic based on the circumstances

If you've made it this far, let me know in the comments if I've changed your viewpoint on us shippers or if this post opened your eyes a little on the secret mistreatment of celebrities.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this, you are an absolute legend! TPWK!

-Andrea xx

[franken-fan]

wanna tell us more about steven? i know the basics and i'm trying to do researches in details about his story in every album he's part of but i can't seem to find much :/

If this isn’t what you were looking for let me know! I can talk endlessly about this character!

I looked back at my first Steven info-dump and I already kind of did an album to album analysis (though it was very brief), but I guess I’ll go into more specific detail for each album and do a character study of sorts.

In brief, Steven is a recurring character created by Alice Cooper who is featured across many albums, some comics, and a full stage show. He is the main character of the concept album Welcome to My Nightmare, which is Cooper’s first solo album. Steven is essentially a personification of everyone’s child-like curiosity and sense of fear, in the form of a seven year old boy.

This is quite…..long. So I’m going to throw it under the cut. I’ve covered every piece of media that I can think of that Steven appears in. Not many pictures this time, but I’ve provided links where appropriate.

It should first be noted that there isn’t a ton of official, specific lore written about Steven. Everything comes from the albums, and as is with music, very open to interpretation (so my opinions are definitely not to be taken as fact). Cooper is a big fan of Kurt Vonnegut, and is often quoted as saying that the inspiration for a fluid, recurring character came from Vonnegut’s Kilgore Trout, who is similarly featured or mentioned in several of Vonnegut’s novels. Here is a link to a video of Cooper’s own take on Steven.

Summary: Steven is a man who experiences violent night terrors, and due to traumatic childhood experiences, spends much of his life stuck in the mindset of a young boy (approximately 7 or 8 years old). Most of his story is told through his nightmares, which are written out over the course of 4 concept albums, in which he is usually seen fighting against the devil. In a single track on the Hey Stoopid album, it is confirmed that Steven is in some sort of psychiatric care facility, and has been there for a majority of his life. Along Came a Spider follows the story of a serial killer named Spider, where Steven is specifically named in the epilogue at the end of the last song. It is stated that he has been in this hospital for 28 years, which means that Spider is another nightmare album. Steven faces his death in Nightmare 2, and is “officially” killed off at the end of the album. Steven is depicted as a very innocent, naive person who has a very black and white sense of morality (much like a child), but is still quite mischievous. It is clear that his abusive past has haunted him through the course of his whole life. He is a very dynamic character, and Cooper has put a lot of effort into developing him throughout his career, Despite his “death” at the end of Nightmare 2, I don’t entirely believe that he is done with the character either.

Welcome to My Nightmare (Album, Tour, Movie): The original Nightmare album follows Steven on a guided tour through Hell. In the album, the character Alice Cooper serves as Steven’s guide, while Vincent Price is featured as the Devil himself. The first half of the album occurs in Hell, where songs like Welcome to My Nightmare and Devil’s Food set up the premise of the tour. The album continues to progress through various scenes in Hell, very similar to circles of Hell as seen in Dante’s Inferno. The album itself does not really feature Steven’s own reactions to these songs, but in the accompanying television special, “The Nightmare” (which has finally been remastered in ridiculous HD and released on DVD after literal decades of it being impossible to find), has some small quips of Steven dialog, especially in the Devil’s Food and Black Widow scenes; he is simultaneously very timid and also not afraid to mock the Devil to his face in his own home. He is curious about everything that he is seeing, but seems to immediately regret almost all of his decisions. It isn’t until Years Ago that the album takes a more real turn, in which it starts to be suggested that Steven might not actually be the little boy he is written out to be. The song suggests that Steven is grown man who is mentally stuck in his childhood for some reason or another (this reason isn’t even explored in this album), but who has very little control over which version of Steven he is at any given time. The transition into the song Steven is amazing (and can only be truly appreciated on vinyl), and once more brings out more of Steven’s true character. From this song (and I say this hesitantly), he appears to suffer from some sort of psychosis, and has a very lose grip on reality; this idea isn’t touched upon more until Hey Stoopid, and the “calling” that he hears in Steven is likely the voice of his wife trying to wake him up, as he hurts her in his sleep (because of the night terror he is experiencing, a realization that he has in The Awakening and then tries to run away from in Escape). There are two main ways in which you can view the progression of the first half of the album: as either each song representing some sin that Steven is witnessing in Hell, or as each song representing some repressed part of Steven is experiencing (in his sleep or in his past, that’s up to you). Cold Ethyl is, ehm, questionable….in it’s true meaning to the character. I personally take it in the alcoholism interpretation rather than the necrophilia one. Only Women Bleed is a commentary on abuse, where I see it more as Steven’s personal stance and understanding, but Along Came a Spider most definitely skews this.

Alice Cooper Goes to Hell: This album is a direct follow-up to the Nightmare, in which Steven is once again stuck in Hell/his dreams. There isn’t a terrible amount of character development in the album itself, the album focuses more on the character of Alice than Steven. The dust sleeve included with the original vinyl release (and I believe the re-release too, I’m not sure though as I have a pretty decent original and didn’t feel like upgrading) has a little story printed on either side as a beginning and end to the album, which implies that in this nightmare, Steven is sent back into the Hell of the first Nightmare in order to go save Alice from his place in Hell (this is also touched upon in the title track of Dragontown). The exact wording in the text is that Steven must “free” Alice, and essentially take his place in the nightmare. This would explain why Steven goes from being an innocent, child-like character to becoming so malicious in subsequent albums, because it isn’t really Steven, at least mentally (and the Alice character has always been written as a villain). Whether this is a truly paranormal event or a psychological one is up for debate, and truly depends on how you personally view the character. This wasn’t a hugely successful album either, and is by no means his strongest one. I Never Cry, Wish You Were Here, and I’m Always Chasing Rainbows are my personal favorite tracks, and are honestly the most Steven-y, along with Wake Me Gently, in which Steven is once again struggling to wake up. The title could be a throwback to The Awakening, where Steven can’t be snapped out of his nightmares quickly without negative results, but the lyrics themselves show that Steven is drifting away from himself and he can’t control it, which would confirm the theory that Alice is taking over.

Hey Stoopid: So the only song on this album that directly relates to Steven is (my personal favorite) Wind-Up Toy, which is the final track on the album. This is the first time Steven is mention in over 15 years (since Goes to Hell), and he comes back in one hell of a track. In the song, Steven is in a hospital, grown up but clearly still stuck in his childlike state. He’s been abandoned by his parents and it is suggested that he is at the full mercy of the hospital staff, which he seems to claim as being anything but helpful. It is also suggested that he ended up here after being caught from escaping at the end of Welcome to My Nightmare (so then Goes to Hell is likely also a product of whatever drugged up stupor he’s been in), as seen in the line, “Preacher crucifies me, Warden wants to fry me,” so he’s clearly been caught for something that would warrant a potential death sentence. The lines, “I was never young, never just a little boy,” also confirms that Steven, at least in the course of the time frame in which Alice writes him, was never as young as the first half of Nightmare would have us believe. Steven’s name is also explicitly stated in the last couple seconds of the song, albeit quietly. In live performances of this song, he brings real life to Steven, and I am eternally hoping that he will bring this song back to touring. If you really wanted to stretch, you could argue that the rest of, or at least a majority of, the album could also be about Steven in some capacity (namely Might as Well Be on Mars and Die for You), but again that’s a stretch and not really worth going into more detail with.  

The Last Temptation: This is another concept album, which was accompanied by a comic book of the same name written by Neil Gaiman. The general plot follows the story of a boy named Steven as he is tempted by a character named The Showman (who is depicted physically as Alice Cooper) to join his traveling show. It plays on the themes of dystopian America and the issues of morality. I do not personally see this album as a development of the Steven seen in the other albums, but more of a spin-off. It honestly isn’t too far off from the original Nightmare. Stolen Prayer is basically a Steven soliloquy about his moral dilemma in regards to joining The Showman, and realizing how twisted his show really is, which is very similar to Steven fighting with the Devil in the Nightmare albums. In Unholy War, Steven decides against The Showman’s offer. In this song you can start to tell that The Showman is another Devil character. Lullaby is a killer track, though. It’s a direct conversation between The Showman and Steven, and is the best link to the original Steven character out of the whole album. This entity (The Showman or Devil or what have you) is turning on Steven now that it has realized that he’s a lost cause, and Steven admits that up until this point he has truly been deceived by this being. The voice acting in this track is incredible, and I think is just as strong as the original Steven song. The last track, Cleansed by Fire, shows Steven casting out The Showman (and confirms him as a fallen angel/the Devil by referring to him as “a fallen star”), but there are also a couple hints that could potentially link it to Along Came a Spider. Steven still questions what happens to him if he falls into the trap, but explicitly declares his victory over The Showman. One of the things that The Showman offers Steven is eternal life, and later in the song there is the passage, “What about death? What about sin? What about that web you’re trying to spin?” Now, there is a 14 year gap between The Last Temptation and Along Came a Spider, but Steven’s uncertainty in his own future after encountering The Showman could mean that Steven wasn’t as successful in his moral battle, and would directly link this album to the rest. The comic follows the same plot as the album, and the artwork is really gorgeous.

Along Came a Spider: This album is one of my all time favorites, and I wish he’d ended up doing the sequel he planned (it was to be called The Night Shift and I’m still mad it was never made, and am forever hoping that he’ll one day release some demos off of it). Along Came a Spider is about a serial killer known as ‘Spider,’ who wraps his victims in silk after stealing one of their legs. He claims that he has to do this to build his own spider, and thus needs eight victims to complete the task. He is a stalker, using this method to learn everything he can about his victims before using this info to make a quick seduction and then kill (as told in I’m Hungry and (In Touch With) Your Feminine Side). There are some slight hints at potential cannibalism (in I’m Hungry, obviously, and Catch Me If You Can with, “She was not the first and she won’t be my last, my hunger and my thirst”), though I’ve always taken these references less in the literal sense and more in the “hunger” equals “strong/insatiable desire” sort of way. Through the course of Feminine Side and Killed By Love (and INCREDIBLE ballad by The Coop), Spider falls in love with his final victim and struggles to come to terms with the “fact” that he must kill her. He lets her go after much internal debate (The One That Got Away), and starts to come to terms, or more so realization, with all of the horrible things he’s done. I Am the Spider/Epilogue is Spider’s confession and he’s not humble about what he’s done. The plot twist comes in the epilogue portion, in which Spider says, “We’ve been in this cell for 28 years, Steven. We couldn’t have done all those horrible things” (a part that had me screaming the first time I listened to it). There are a couple of interpretations that I’ve come up with on this point. The first is that this whole Spider scenario is another one of Steven’s violent nightmares, and all of these events have occurred solely in his head. After all, if Steven really has been hospitalized since before Wind-Up Toy, then he really couldn’t have been out there doing these things. The second (that I don’t like as much, due to the extremely negative implications of it), is that Steven and Spider are in fact the same person, in which case Steven either escaped or was released from wherever he was is Wind-Up Toy, committed the crimes chronicled by the album, and was then arrested as Spider. The re-release of the album features two bonus tracks (three, if you count the “acoustic” version of Salvation) which flesh out Spider as a character a bit more. Shadow of Yourself is Spider admiring his creation, and is basically a love song to his murder plot. I’ll Still Be There is another stalker song, though the way it’s written makes it sound like a letter he’d send to the woman he let go. Both tracks are absolutely phenomenal, and I honestly wish they’d been released on the original album because they are very, very strong.

Welcome 2 My Nightmare: This album is a direct follow-up to the original Nightmare, it can be looked at as if none of the albums between Nightmare and Nightmare 2 exist, or as a continuation of the Steven developed in those albums. This is also the last canonical appearance of Steven in the albums (though I always hope that he will pop up in the next album). The album opens with another powerhouse of a ballad, I Am Made of You (don’t be turned off by the auto-tune, this is one of his best songs), though who it is about, we just don’t know. He’s obviously fallen in love with someone and grown as a person because of it, possibly even out of his seemingly permanent child-state as this song boasts of a much more mature Steven, mentally and emotionally. However, he’s beginning to spiral again, and viciously fighting sleep in Caffeine. He knows what’s coming for him if he sleeps (“Because I know inside, if I close my eyes, it’ll be the death of me.”), and the line, “I’m shaking in the ice cold shower, I’ve been here for about a week,” suggests that Steven has been released from (or escaped from) the hospital he’s been in for so many years. He loses his battle with sleep and is brought back into the original Nightmare with the throwback track The Nightmare Returns. Now, Steven travels back through his Hell, but with little to no fear. This is another Dante-esque album, where the tracks The Runaway Train through Ghouls Gone Wild are another tour of the different rooms of Hell (featuring Rob Zombie as “The Guide” in The Congregation and Kesha as another incarnation of the Devil in What Baby Wants). This album also gives us a look into the event that likely caused Steven’s psychological trauma with the song When Hell Comes Home, which is about Steven’s father and some serious, serious abuse (the specifics of the abuse are not stated, but it’s definitely physical in the very least). This is not so much part of the nightmare as it is a memory. The tone and lyrics of the song are incredibly dark, and while the song is about one night in particular, it not so subtly hints that this is not an isolated event. Steven’s mother is in denial of anything that is happening, both to herself and to Steven, and this is what gets her killed. After the solo, the father’s enraged voice can be heard bellowing Steven’s name while Steven quietly chants, “no.” Clearly Steven is aware of what is about to transpire, because he says that this time he’s ready for him, and that he plans on fighting back (if not also killing his father). In I Gotta Get Outta Here, Steven recaps his nightmare for the album, and then realizes that he doesn’t get to wake up from this one, though he doesn’t want to accept that yet. The song ends a a sort of cliffhanger, as the last track is just an orchestra medley of both Nightmares. There are many bonus track associated with this album (spread out over many different editions). The two most important are Under the Bed which is an old school, scaredy-cat Steven track about a monster under the bed, and Flatline. Flatline is three minutes of ambient noise and a heart rate monitor. The monitor flatlines at the 46 second mark and then holds the tone until the end of the track. 12 seconds to the end, a voice calls out Steven’s name (Someone trying to wake him up? Or someone calling to him in Hell?), This track confirms that Steven is dead. Flatline was only released on the vinyl version of the album, but thanks to the vinyl purists of the world, someone took the time to convert the track to digital, which can be heard here.

Other: I personally feel like Paranormal from the album Paranormal is a Steven track. It’s a song from the point of view of someone beyond the grave comforting a loved one. Steven dies at the end of Nightmare 2 and has two ballads (I Am Made of You and Something to Remember Me By) on that same album. There is clearly an unnamed love interest for the character which would count as “unfinished business” for his soul. He also led a very troubled existence, so it wouldn’t be too far of a jump to assume that even though he died, his ghost remained behind (going by the stereotypical explanation for ghosts). Also, in Goes to Hell, Steven is contacted by Alice during the night (as seen in the sleeve text), and is tasked with going to save Alice by taking his place, who’s to say that Steven didn’t have to die to do this? In which case, the paranormal events of the song would be Steven following in the footsteps of Alice.

[catboyebooks]

okay. so hinata inputs down five times, which causes the title screen to change (it takes on a dark red tint and the text "truth edition" appears below the title) and the game music to speed up / glitch out slightly. again, this has video game creepypasta energy and i'm a big fan.

this time when pressing start we get an opening text crawl type of thing, which i'll briefly summarize. most of this we already know or could infer from days 2 and 4: a high school girl was murdered at this (still unspecified) academy, and police thought it to be the work of some pervert who snuck onto campus, but the five girls who first discovered the body decided to hide their involvement rather than go to the police about it. one of the five (E-ko) was murdered shortly thereafter. the game promises that the 1st and 3rd days hold the key to that mystery and challenges the player to figure it out. so here we go, let's figure it out.

this time the game starts where you'd expect. day 1. E-ko isn't here, but the other four are. i think it's even more obvious who's who from the interactions this time, in case you didn't already get that this is (in order by their letters) tsumiki, saionji, ibuki, and koizumi. anyway, these four are waiting on E-ko, who said she had to double back to look for her school swimsuit. B-ko suggests that maybe it was stolen by a pervert and starts telling A-ko about how there's a pervert on the loose and A-ko would be the perfect target and she'd better watch out (given this is saionji bullying tsumiki, i don't know if there is truth to this or if she's just making things up to scare her classmate).

suddenly there's a loud noise that sounds like breaking glass, which the girls surmise is coming from the second floor, so they run to investigate (you control A-ko here, as during day 2). they judge the sound to have come from inside the music room, and when they get there E-ko is standing outside. she says she was just passing by and heard the noise too, but she can't get into the room, it's locked. D-ko volunteers to go "borrow" the key from the teachers' lounge (it's after school, there's no faculty present) and when she comes back, they unlock the room and enter (A-ko is pressured into going first).

inside they find a window broken and a girl's body slumped against the wall. they freak out, realizing there's been a murder, and look around the scene trying to figure out what they can. their basic theory is that the killer locked the room from the inside, murdered the victim, then broke the window to escape. some things don't quite add up — the windows in this room could have just been opened, there was no need to break one, and there doesn't appear to be any sign of the murder weapon. there's also a broken fish tank in the room, which E-ko suggests the killer knocked over by accident while fleeing the scene. i should note it's E-ko who does a lot of the theorizing here, including suggesting that the killer is the pervert mentioned earlier and telling them that this pervert also stole her swimsuit. E-ko then says they should leave asap so as to not get involved; when A-ko asks if they shouldn't report the murder, E-ko says they'll wind up as suspects if they do and so they shouldn't risk it. most of the girls, including A-ko, leave at this point. D-ko hangs back. this is presumably when she takes the pictures we learned about on day 2.

we then skip to day 3. D-ko has asked E-ko to meet with her; the others aren't present. they're outside the school. when E-ko asks what's up, D-ko shows her a photo she took showing a broken vase, discovered in a classroom near the murder scene. she suggests that the sound they heard on day 1 was actually the vase breaking, not the window. E-ko gets agitated and denies knowing anything, but of course at this point it's pretty clear she's involved, and D-ko seems to have caught on. however, D-ko tries to reassure E-ko by saying she disposed of the vase and just wants to know the truth.

here's where we start to get some sense of what really went down. first, i should say that there is implied romantic tension between D-ko and E-ko. E-ko makes a joke when they first meet about D-ko confessing her love to her, and it does seem pretty obvious that koizumi Likes Girls, so this tracks — especially since D-ko is trying to help E-ko cover up the crime, and we know koizumi has a pretty strong moral compass normally. secondly, the killing appears to have been for D-ko's sake. the dead girl was apparently bullying D-ko something nasty, and they have a history going back to middle school, when they were in the same photography club. E-ko winds up confessing to D-ko that she's the murderer, but it wasn't intentional. she wanted to just talk and hash it out, but the argument got nasty and the dead girl (whose family we learn has some sort of power/influence) started making threats. E-ko wound up strangling her unconscious in a rage, then decided to kill her to settle the issue. D-ko seems upset but not completely surprised or repulsed by this; it's E-ko who gets really upset at being made to confess this, and she runs off. along the way, she discards the photo D-ko took of the broken vase.

a boy (designated F) shows up then. this guy is obviously kuzuryuu, and, in case it wasn't clear, the dead girl was his little sister. he finds the discarded photo and starts putting the evidence together, realizing E-ko is his sister's killer. he says — this is is red text — that he'll never forgive her.

so to sum the whole thing up, here's the key facts of the case:

kuzuryuu's little sister bullied koizumi for years, eventually leading to a confrontation between her and koizumi's best (girl)friend, during which she was killed by said friend

tsumiki, saionji, ibuki, and koizumi discovered the body first but said nothing

koizumi figured out that the killing was for her sake and still decided to protect her girl bestie rather than report what she knew to the police

kuzuryuu found out who had killed his sister and took revenge by murdering the killer with a baseball bat

and with that, we've beaten twilight syndrome murder mystery!

[fadeintocase]

i'm not fucking around anymore 6-2-18

this is not gonna be an every day thing i imagine. that's fine. i'll let it find its rhythm.

i'm gonna talk more about about the wave and rhythm philosophy and how it lets you get a better grip on overall habits.

Basically this is going to be the start of a lot of whimsical musical analogies for self improvement.

so, personal upkeep. I’m back to eating one meal a day, though i cheat and have snacks a little to early or a little too late sometimes. Smoothing that wrinkle out. 

I’ve tried bulletproof coffee a few times, recently on a day I ate nothing else. I felt physically very good and energized, much lighter, but just a bit too caffienated for my liking. I might swap coffee out for black tea and see how that tastes with butter and coconut oil instead.

The short “Sun Salutations” yoga thing from that app Fabulous actually opens up more of what I need to in a much shorter amount of time, so I think i’m going to stick to that nightly, and do a longer class like once a week.

Same with their morning workout. It’s doing well for me so far. Lets hope I can keep this momentum up.

Of course dishes piled up a few times while i was working on a track for patreon, but I knocked those out on my first free day and that felt incredibly satisfying. There’s nothing that resets your head quite like a clean apartment.

Intervals and Harmony

This has to start with some music theory talk. These are bare basics, don't worry.

So. A sound is made up of waves. A Tone is a wave with a sustained frequency. Meaning, there's a relatively fixed number of waves per second for the duration of the tone.

an A in western music is turned to 440Hz. That's 440 waves a second.

Music is made by combining tones in a scale. Intervals in a scale, that is, amount of tones up the scale from the root, have different qualities and roles in the melody. They combine with the root in different ways to form chords.

They find their origin in overtones. When you play a note, there are implied tones that are generated with it. Think of a circle of people singing. A few people singing one note will produce the sound of other harmonic tones within the mix of their voices. Someone joining could easily find the tone of the harmonic and fill that gap with a voice. This is what happens mathematically.

The most absolute combination of intervals, the 2nd harmonic, is the octave. It's the same tone but with double the waves. A 2:1 ratio of wavelengths. Brighter.

The second, most perfect actual harmonic interval, the 3rd harmonic, is the perfect fifth. This is a ratio of 3:2. It sounds perfect. Solid. But also open. Clear. It's known as the "power chord" and for good reason. Amplifying a fifth gives a sense of authority, it draws a lower undertone an octave below the root tone as well. But that's getting into the weeds a little too much.

The 4th harmonic is another octave. The 5th harmonic is the major third, a 5:4 ratio.

A happy and pleasant interval. Balanced.

Combining a tone with the 3rd and 5th harmonics give you a major chord. And that's neat.

Polyrhythms

Lets zoom out a little more. So we measure oscillations in a second as waves. There's another kind of frequent oscillation in music. Rhythm. Rhythm is just a steady impulse with a fixed amount of time between repetitions over a duration of the rhythm.

When you combine different patterns of pulses over each other, you can get a groove going.

If the rhythm is relatively based on sets of regular pulses, this is called a polyrhythm.

So there's simple math behind what harmonies sound good to us. Is there also simple math for what polyrhythms sound good to us? Turns out. It's the same.

Oh. So what feels good to us as humans are pulses along these mathematical ratios, no matter how far the space is between them.

Of course, you can find a lot of this stuff in my music. Like Sleep's strumming pattern and the stacatto tail the violin does are based on a 5:4 polyrhythm. (Which fits along the theme of there being an inverted open G5 thru most of the chords, when the key is E minor, to create a hollow expectation of major that only resolves through the other chords moving through it. That and the polyrhythm are asking for a major chord which never lasts more than a bar.)

Now you may understand that harmony extends beyond just audible notes.

Cosmic Cycles

Lets zoom out a little more. Oscilations over a period of time is a wave. Mathematical interplay between these oscilations is an interval. You know, the solar system is all cycles and oscillations too.

This site here does a thing where they take the orbit or rotational periods of celestial bodies and double their frequencies over and over until they get an octave of the tone audible to humans. Keep in mind, same tone, just an octave of it.

I'm not really interested in using these for like meditative healing or whatever, but what i'm interested in is the interplay between some of these.

For instance, the Earth year and the Synodic moon form an interval just wider than a fifth. Moving the result they come up with down 2 whole hz gives you damn near a perfect fifth. An approximation of a 3rd harmonic. Since the perfect fifth's quality is that it's perfect, you can't expect nature to get all the way there.

Consider seasons. That's just 2 octaves up from the earth year. That's the 4th harmonic.

If you add in the platonic year, the procession of the equinox, which is the result of the push and pull of the sun and moon on the earth's tilt, you get a major third from the earth year. The 5th harmonic.

Well would you look at that. So it turns out, when these oscillations interplay around earth, the overtones they generate are the harmonic series. And guess what came out of that pleasant major chord? Us.

The first cycles life had to work with were the rising and setting of the sun, the tides, and the seasons.

Human Cyclical Examples

Since you're part of this cosmic song and anything you do expresses within the context of that cosmic song, you can zoom out and consider your physical presence to be an instrument. And instrument that you are playing, taking cues from the universe to make sure you're in tune.

So, if you ever do something once a week, you're approximating a 4th Harmonic from the lunar cycle. If you ever do something once a month, you're approximating a perfect fifth (12th harmonic) from the year.

There's about 3 months a season, too, giving us a 1:3 harmonic with the seasons, an octave-stretched perfect fifth.

We wound up with a 7 day week. A 7:4 ratio happens to be a harmonic 7th. A leading tone. This is the note that makes the dominant 7th chord. The Jazz/Blues chord. It makes sense to add to a major chord, but introduces a subtle tension that wants to pull it to something else. This is the eternal feeling of the day to day grind. It's there in the waves. As you grow up you can either feel lightly tense at things not being perfectly resolved all the time, or you can learn to like jazz. I'm not too into jazz yet.

Habits & Cycles

This is the philosophy i stick to when i want to build habits. It allows me to visualize my life in a way that takes the intricacies of day to day interaction and makes them a song you recite and perform. It allows you to live from your ideal self and to map your physical self's activity to try to reach it.

You do things weekly to keep yourself grounded. Usually rituals like church or shit you meet up with your friends and do.

Things you do daily keep yourself moving forward, it projects a leading tone for you.

At least that's what i've been working with. Remembering the simple beauty of the harmony of the universe is invigorating to me. It makes me want to sing along with the cosmos.

Anyway, sometimes you need that feeling of something higher and more pure to keep yourself driven. It's why AA meetings tell people to find a higher power. Most people envision their god as a benevelent creator. In the context of our physical universe, my god is a major chord.

Anyway, I’m off to the farmers market.

Keep Climbing!

bonus batshit video