#all sorts music ... video games ... vinyls ...

[kopivie]

oh boy, a sentimental vent from cinna? again? shut up already! (i will not.)

so, i met my stepfather when i was about four years old.

i absolutely hate referring to him as my stepfather, btw. he's my father, dammit.

the funniest thing to me is the fact that i have a very distinct memory of the time we went to a waterside park when i was young and he taught me how to skip rocks. well, he tried to teach me. i couldn't do it then, and i still can't do it now, but i remember thinking he was so cool. that memory is tucked away inside my head in the safest place. but the funny thing about that memory is that i always swore i had known my dad for at least a year when we went to that park. turns out that wasn't the case – according to my mom, that was actually the very first day i had met him.

i feel like that says a lot about how i saw him from the get-go. i was still my mother's only child at the time, so if her boyfriends didn't get along with me, then she wasn't going to keep them around. apparently i told my mom that we absolutely had to see him again, so she trusted him and... the rest is history. as for my dad, he told me that that was the day he fell in love with me; i was his daughter from that moment forward.

i'm over here getting misty-eyed. i love my dad so much, y'all don't understand. 🥹

anyway! after that day, i'd go over to his apartment and he introduced me to video games! this was ~2005-2006, so the wii wasn't really out yet, but the dreamcast, playstation 2, and xbox already were.

i get my love of video games from my dad. in order to warm me up to being around him in close quarters, he let me play so many games — games that i hold near and dear to my heart to this day. marvel vs. capcom 2 for the dreamcast, jak and daxter for the playstation 2, and a litany of xbox games are the earliest ones i can remember. (specifically jet set radio future, halo 2, prince of persia, and dead or alive 2 for the xbox.)

and then, when the wii came out, he practically gave me full ownership of the console. i wasn't a nintendo kid initially, but i certainly was after 2006. super mario galaxy 1 and 2, mario sports mix, mario super sluggers, mario strikers charged, mario and sonic at the olympic games...

i really like mario games, okay?

god, it was so much fun being a kid. when he introduced me to his other kids, we bonded over video games! his youngest son at the time and i played so much that to this day, we still recall being super competitive and crazy over those old games. cooking mama, the olympic games, sports games (including wii sports), mario kart, fighting games... hell, even little big planet was a competition.

my brother is older than me, but he never mocked me for playing poorly with him. he never judged me, never bragged... of course, losing and/or coming in second all the time didn't exactly feel good, but i never stopped trying to be good at games while my brother was away.

but he had video games too, so... i was never gonna beat him at anything. that doesn't make playing alongside him any less fun.

all in all, video games brought me closer to my dad and my brother. and even now, my younger siblings and i bond over video games; every now and again, my little sister will text me to play splatoon together. because of my experience with competitive splatoon, i used to give her advice on how to improve. i don't play comp anymore (not really), but she's definitely taken some of my advice to heart. i never berate her for messing up nor do i micromanage her play style. we play games together because we love each other, and that's all there is.

why say all this, cinna?

well, nintendo finally decided to release their own music app. it doesn't include songs from every title ever, but the super mario galaxy soundtrack is on there. super mario galaxy was the very first game that i challenged myself to complete in its entirety. the game holds up to this day, so much so that nintendo put the first game on the switch.

literally begging on my knees for them to put super mario galaxy 2 on the switch... and every mario wii game, actually. BEGGING.

the soundtrack is absolutely gorgeous. one thing about nintendo's most iconic games is that they will NEVER miss with the music. (same goes for sega.) so i'm about to do work with the music of my childhood playing in my ears and i'm just... feeling sentimental.

my dad and i had a falling out recently, but after we made up, we became closer than ever. (mind you, the falling out lasted no more than two or three hours. we made up before sundown.) so every time i'm reminded of these older games, i think if my dad and how much of a gamer i turned out to be because of him.

tldr: in the words of that one tiktok audio: i fuckin' love my dad.

[us-the-voices-and-more-voices-2]

My headcannons for what type of music the Batfam likes lol

Bruce: 40s love songs, mostly because Thomas and Martha are lovers of old music and art it’s a call back to Batman being such an old.. old character.

He also loves really, REALLY sad songs. Just straight depressing songs, like he knows all the lyrics to like the most downright suicidal songs ever.

Dick: he listens to very upbeat music, but like EDM and rap, he also loves circus music and really ridiculously old songs he knows all the words to “the flying trapeze” by heart ❤️

Jason: unironically his favourite album is Neil Cicirega's "mouth sounds" series of albums, he also would never admit it but he listens to Kikuo constantly. he's not a "fan" of vocaloid he just likes some songs. he also constantly listens to 80s and 70s hits as a call back to his character being popular in the 80s.

Tim: worst taste in music ever, he does NOT get the aux. it's all the most popular hits of the last 4 decades, for better or worse.

he also gets all the WE jingles stuck in his head, it's so bad.

it's mostly now video game OST's he got into FNAF lore at one point and actually solved it, and then got super into the music. he relates a bit too much, he calls Jason sometimes mike because they are both undead guys hellbent on keeping kids safe from the evils of this world, and Ra's afton because the bastard always comes back. he will BLARE "I hope you die in a fire" when working a Ra's case.

Damian: despite what he holds himself to he really likes the same fandom sorta music, video game lore was the only thing that Damien and Tim talk about, they have usually ZERO free time to watch or play games they just extrapolate wtf the game is about from their friends WITH free time. that being wally and bart.

so damien has a bunch of the living tombstones, classic Chinese and arabic music but mainly Pakistani, some 80s hits. 40s love songs because bruce is right they are really good, and some mislabeled cassette tapes\CD's Damien picks up on patrol that he likes.

Steph: she didn't really get a chance to listen to much music, since Cluemaster was a dick. but she did bond and learn to love Ballet music ever since Cassandra introduced it to her, she gets whole records and albums and buys one time releases on Ebay for herself and Cassandra. otherwise she just listens to audiobooks or podcasts when working.

Cassandra: TONS of ballet music along with classic Oprah music and theatre music, she goes to plays and pirates them, she listens to every single play or theatre music she can get her hands on. she listens to "rocky horror picture show" "the guy who didn't like musicals" "Coppélia" "Jesus Christ superstar" "The Mousetrap" any and everything. she adores it all, she and Steph are constantly looking for more records and plays to watch and pirate.

Barbara: weirdly enough 60s music, Jim rubbed off on her and she honestly just listens to all sorts of 60s sounding music, she had a Elvis phase where she just was constantly listening to Elvis, eventually she found out there was a TON of other 60s and 70s black artists who were ripped off by Elvis and started listening to them, she then eventually got into punk rock and rock and roll.

Harper: she is fully into the Gotham punk music scene, she literally is one of the biggest supporters of the Gotham punk scene. only random punk song CD's, videos she converted into CD's, old gothamite punk songs on vinyl, digital releases, she just has so much merch half she made herself and half she bought, she is the epitome of Gotham punk fan. she actually has a whole ass internet archive account dedicated to JUST Gotham punk.

Duke: weirdly he loves very ethereal and bright peppy music, only instrumentals though, listens to the weirdcore playlists on YouTube listens to corecore, he just has very strange music tastes.

sometimes he forgets his entire playlist is filled with weirdly ethereal music and the rest of the batfam get so confused, and think Jean-paul is blaring church music again.

Jean-Paul: only church music, he has the most bland music tastes, he sometimes listens to catholic metal or something when he's working but other than that he just blares organ music and mass and church music, everyone tries to tell him that he CAN LISTEN TO ANYTHING ELSE. PLEASE. but he just doesn't lol.

Thomas: he listens to 40s love songs and old Sicilian and Italian songs, he's a old fart, he loves old movie soundtracks.

William Cobb: circus music only circus music, late 1880s and 1950s circus music. it sounds like a clown house and it triggers the shit out of bruce.

Jarro: he's a baby, he has no actual opinions the batfam put on nursery rhymes andcoco melon

and the rest (carrie, Bernard, huntress and the other ones)

I have 0 idea I have not read enough comics to figure it out lol

[vivarium-waters]

Hi friend! We were wondering if you'd do a pack of Spotify's DJ X? Who's role is a caller? Idk if that's too vague for you. 😖

—🌌💥

Here you go, hope this helps! Sorry for the long wait, we were out for a bit. All other reqs will be filled ASAP!

ALSO double sorry because we got the wrong idea for a second when you said "caller", so if things are inconsistent let us know please!

Name(s): DJ◞ Jay◞ Mix◞ Jasper◞ Kai◞ Jackson◞ Rex◞ Cooper◞ Zeke◞ Verity◞ Record◞ Beats◞ Vinyl

Nickname(s): Jasp◞ Jack◞ Ver◞ Cord◞ Vinnie◞ Nyl◞ Nix

Age: Ageless, appears 24-25

Gender: Nonbinary◞ Genderfluid◞ Demiboy◞ Machinagender◞ Noroboyic◞ Robohoarder◞ Agender

Pronouns: They/Them◞ He/Him◞ It/Its◞ Bit/Bits◞ Byte/Bytes◞ Click/Clicks◞ Song/Songs◞ Sing/Sings◞ 🎶/🎶s◞ 🎧/🎧s◞ Phone/Phones◞ Disc/Discs◞ Record/Records◞ Tune/Tunes

Sexuality: Pansexual◞ Asexual

Source: DJ X -- Spotify 

Role(s): Caller◞ Socializer

Front Triggers: Music◞ CDs/vinyls◞ large groups of people (whether inner or outer world)

Signoff(s): -🎧, -💿, -🎤

Personality: Chill and composed, Jay's almost always up for a good time. Usually, they hover somewhere around front to help get people if needed, or to socialize with people in or out of the inner world. It loves collecting merchandise of their favorite shows as well as listening to new and old music alike. 

Aesthetic/s: Grunge◞ Alt

Quote/s:

Likes: Music◞ instruments (esp drums)◞ talking to people◞ frogs◞ drawing◞ playing video games (esp visual novels)◞ records◞ CDs◞ older forms of media in general◞ dances◞ parties◞ large groups of people◞ older games (usually board games)◞ birds 

Dislikes: People being rude/bullies◞ having to pause their music◞ bugs◞ breaking/broken vinyls/cds◞ strange textures (food wise) 

Songs: Moving Up In The World (DaGames)◞ The Nights (Avicii)◞ Timber (Kesha)◞ Shut Up and Dance (WAK THE MOON)◞ the lobotomy song (Spellcasting)

URLS: /s0ulbeats◞ /rec0rdscr4tch 

Banners:

Quirks: Drums their fingers on any surface they can find, usually in tune with whatever they have stuck in their head.

Typing Example: (code) "Yo! DJ X here, ready to rock things up in Disney Channel!" 

Handwriting Example:

Voice Example:❤️

Faceclaim/s:

Other: When near front, songs can softly play in the background (sort of like music stuck in your head)

[felassan]

DRAGON AGE: SOUNDTRACK 4LP BOX SET - DISC 4 SIDE A (BONUS DLC TRACKS) 1. I AM THE ONE (DARK FANTASY VERSION) [DRAGON AGE: ORIGINS] (4:10) 2. MAIN THEME [DAI DESCENT DLC] (2:58) 3. AFTERMATH [DAI DESCENT DLC] (1:29) 4. DARK SOLAS THEME [DAI TRESPASSER DLC] (3:01) 5. QUNARI ATMOSPHERE [DAI TRESPASSER DLC] (2:41) 6. LOST ELF THEME [DAI TRESPASSER DLC] (3:58) 7. D'READ KODA (1:08) [HIDDEN TRACK]

I find the arrangement of the tracks on Disc 4 Side A "Bonus DLC Tracks" in the Dragon Age OST vinyl interesting. it's called "Bonus DLC Tracks" but the first track it features is "I Am The One (Dark Fantasy Version)", which isn't from DLC, it's from basegame DA:O, and ofc the last track is new. this disc is the only one of the discs to include songs from multiple games (and not even just two, but three: DA:O, DA:I and DA:D, assuming that "D'Read Koda" is from or tied to DA:D). and the order the Trespasser tracks are included in is different to the order they appear in on the Trespasser OST, at least going by the Trevor Morris album (on there it's Dark Solas Theme, Lost Elf Theme, Qunari Atmosphere). I wanna say that the way it was arranged was intentional, like the specific arrangement of the tracks on this disc is like hinting at telling a sort of a story or a tease. he's lost, and then things come to an end (his story and.. something else?). a passage of music that brings the music to a close (coda), that brings a piece or movement to an end. I think of when Flemythal said

Alas, so long as the music plays, we dance.

and when Solas said

 I walk the dinan'shiral. There is only death on this journey. [death is an end, and it can be a metaphor for the end of something too]

my eye is also drawn to:

I am the One (Dark fantasy version) [...] Dark Solas theme

especially since there's a different version of I Am The One ("High fantasy version") that could have gone in there instead (which as the second song on the DA:O OST, the high fantasy version is more of a 'where this all began' song).

the idea that "I Am The One" is about Solas/Fen'Harel and what happened in ancient Elvhenan (and what his intention is in the future) is a common fan theory, and not a new one. [link to English translation of the lyrics] the lyrics could be applied to a lot of things, or nothing at all, but back then there was a war (both within the Evanuris and one they fought before that), a divide between the gods, the sky was held back/there was great destruction when the Veil was raised (but despite that there was a flicker of hope in that the elves were freed from the Evanuris), the nature of time for the ancient elves was changed (elven immortality/mortality), he references the potential for the world now to burn in the raw chaos if he succeeds, In Your Heart Shall Burn/From The Ashes etc. he ended up being one of the only survivors who lived on from the event and fears dying alone, is one of the only elves in modern Thedas who remembers, he's asked for and turned to for guidance at various points (Lasa ghilan / Ma ghilana mir din'an / Ma ghilana, vhenan / Fen'Harel ma ghilana), he believes he's the only one who can fix it now in the modern day, etc.

listening again to D'Read Koda, the echo-y, pulsing aspect and how it rises to a crescendo reminds me of the music in the Dread Wolf Rises teaser (which is still such a banger). and the discordant notes remind me of the same here and here in the 2020 trailer music. the 'discordant note' hook is also present here in the in-game cinematic (also at the start and throughout it sort of underpinning it), and the general ominous atmosphere of the 'koda' also echoes that of the various bits of music we've heard in trailers and the in-game cinematic before.

anyways, since I don't have a vinyl player I made the tracks as a lil playlist for myself on Spotify and have been listening to that then playing one of the videos with the D'Read Koda audio in it (since ofc it isn't on Spotify rn) to have the same effect, and it's interesting.

[flowersandbirdsflyingfree]

The boomershooter / postal matchup thing… omg… im so embarrassed to participate in this but im gonna self indulge, i hope these arent getting annoying to you..! My focus is on postal but you can include whatever you want yes!

Idrk how I should do this, but im a enby femboy kinda critter if that makes sense? 20 y/o 5’5 slim and kinda awkward looking i think? Short messy brown w bangs hair that i bleach, brown eyes round face stuff like that. I like wearing anything from boxers and a comfy silly hoodie to jfashions like lolita and jirai. Am autistic, im not super social and of course dislike crowds and all that, am a neet. Paranoia and delusions yada yada very silly and whatnot. Special interests are niche music genres and artists as well as physical music media collecting, plus computers / retro gaming / internet history. Love collecting old tech and consoles, repairing them and the sort. Can be found browsing the internet archive for interesting software or music. Am an avid collector and preservationist, owning several collections of different things ranging from vinyl to vintage magical girl figures. I keep bugs like praying mantis, beetles and snails as pets, often just catching whatever bug i think looks cool!

When it comes to relationships (ive never been in one and wld probably cry if i got my hand held bc itd be so overwhelming and kinda awesome,,,) i prefer commitment and can get really attached super easily i fear. Would hope to find someone who doesnt mind my anxiousness and cringefail neet lifestyle. Id stay home and clean or cook for them when im not playing vidyagames in return, itd be nice methinks… would bite and chew on provided matchup as a stim so hopefully they are cool with that.!

sorry if this is too long i dont usually ever do asks or things like this, thank you…! I love your blog-!

Thank you so much!! I think we’ll give you a double whammy

Your Boomer Shooter Boyfriend:

Gordon Freeman

Gordon is selectively mute. When he does talk to you, it’s usually a two to three word sentence. Despite his silence, there is a loud confidence about his presence.

Be assured that if you ever get in an uncomfy situation that Gordon will lead you by the arm to breathe somewhere. As long as you are comfortable, Dr. Freeman best expresses himself with acts of service and quality time. I can see him holding your hand or pulling you in for a long hug if you need help to cool down from an overstimulating crowd.

Your preservation interest is really interesting! Science and history go hand in hand usually. You can share with him all about physical and digital media. He’s a great listener.

In return, maybe he can bring you to Black Mesa one day to see some of his work. Gordon has an interest with chemistry and physics that continues outside his job. He hopes you’d be interest to learn from him too

Your Postal Dude:

Brain Damaged Dude

He likes your insect friends. Picture you finish dressing up. You hear to the living room to be greeter by Dude sitting on the couch with snails running up his arm and a praying mantis dancing on his head. “Mornin’, honey.” They’re watching Mythbusters together

I headcanon that Brain Damaged takes place post-Paradise Lost from Postal 2. For a while, he just stays in his trailer to cool off from all the events of everything that fucking happened. Dude is fucking tired of everyone so it’s a miracle he met a cute femboy enby who he can just vibe with from the noise outside

He’s all for your special interests, especially when it comes to video games and internet archival stuff. The Dude has surprisingly deep knowledge for lost media too. I can see you blowing his mind with some of the stuff you have collected over the years. Oh and Dude has some serious munchies so it’s heavily appreciates that you can actually cook stuff! But he will steal your french fries in addition to him already having his own.

Dude has paranoid delusions too. Usually coming from his nightmares. But he’ll do his best to try and comfort you. While he lacks in expressing himself in words (that have niche references every 0.5 seconds), he can at least be by your side to provide a way to ride it out. Lean on him and let him be there to take good care of you.

Bonus mention bc I see this happening with the chewing stim

[wirewitchviolet]

Ever think about how weird it is that we've sort of collectively agreed games devalue over time?

This is one of those subjects where I just know people are going to start reading this and think I have some sort of weird vested interest in the price of some particular game or the profits of some publisher or whatever, so let me just get right out front here and say no, this really is me just waxing philosophic in a vacuum.

You like movies? You like actually owning copies of movies? Right now, taking a look around, it seems like if you want to buy a movie on bluray, that costs you about $25. Maybe more like $30 if it's some big fancy release with a lot of pack-in material, like the Criterion Collection stuff, but basically you're looking at $25. You like music, want to buy a new album? On CD, that's going to cost you $15. Or at the point we're currently at where there's this odd revival of vinyl records, you're looking at maybe double that? Little harder for me to work out the basic going rate since I think we're at a point where people are doing limited printings and stuff isn't going to stay at the sticker price long, but there's SOME pretty consistent price point everyone goes with, I'm pretty sure. Books? $20 hardcover, maybe half that for a paperback. You want to buy a video game that just came out though? Well, if it's new-new, and this is the first time it's ever been made available, that'll be about $60. If it's a rerelease though? You damn well better not ask for more than $5 for that or people are going to be furious. And that's super weird!

I've tried discussing with people just how weird this is, and it doesn't really seem to properly register with anyone. One big hangup is that (and this may be because the target audience for games skews really young and the industry has been really pushing to obliterate the concept of owning a game for like a decade or two) is that the people I'm talking to are completely conflating the concept of the work and the publication of a work. Like, yeah, if a store orders a stock of 50 copies of something, and it doesn't end up selling all that well, then yes they are eventually going to mark down the ones that don't sell or toss them into a bargain bin or whatever. That's true for everything, but that is also not at all what we are talking about here. This is specifically about the actual suggested retail price on the package when it leaves the manufacturer. When I'm saying "a movie on bluray costs $25" that's true for a movie that is only just being released on home video for the first time after premiering in theaters two months ago, but that is also true for a movie from like the 1980s that someone's only just now getting around to putting out on the format, or they just got the rights to distribute in a given country (and yeah yeah, super America-centric numbers I'm using here, I know), or it came out like 4 years ago but there's a sequel out soon so we want to make it available again. Doesn't matter how old it is. We're selling it now, we're selling it for $25. It does not work this way for video games. If I port some game from the mid-'80s to whatever hardware is current, and I try to charge the standard price of a game for it, people would be outraged. I can charge $5 or I can bundle it together with a dozen other games and MAYBE get away with that. But I better be throwing in some extras, or make it like 30 games or whatever.

The next thing I hear people say is "well no, see, because with games, budgets for graphics keep going way way up! And you know, hey, that's why the average price of a game keeps going up! Hell games on the PS5 are like, $70!" and... OK so nothing about this argument has any basis in reality, at all. Games for whatever weird reason have always been just kind of immune to inflation. Like, in the 80s a videogame would typically cost about $50, and $50 in 1980 is about $200 adjusted for inflation. That number basically has not budged. Didn't come down when actual production costs dropped to practically nothing, didn't shoot up when budgets kinda ballooned either. You do sometimes see people make "budget games" for maybe half the typical price, but that's kind of just a marketing decision when you're going to release something you know critics are immediately going to pounce on for "looking cheap" or being shallow or whatever. By and large, whether a game is churned out really quickly on the cheap or has some bloated budget in the hundreds of millions, it's getting sold for that same $60. Movies work the same way. The movie that cost $400,000,000 to shoot and the movie that cost $35,000 to shoot both cost you $25 to pick up a copy of at a store... and they also cost a bit under half of a what a game typically costs despite the fact that that they cost roughly twice as much to make (the math is kinda fuzzy, but that seems roughly true for the record-setters and the median, at least for big budget major studio stuff). Capitalism is weird like that, basically no connection between cost and price.

Those are honestly the two main points I see people toss out, at least out loud and in public. The next logical thing to assume though is that there have been profound qualitative gains in the field of video games across the board over the years. That they just keep getting better and better and better. And like, hell no to that. I will grant you that early on in the history of the medium, like, late 1970s to mid-80s, where we went from kinda basic arcade games where you've got maybe 2 minutes worth of game play and then you loop it at a higher speed, then this flurry of new technology and priorities and emerging concepts, and if you want to make a lesser value case against the former there, there's a case you could maybe argue. But you can't look me in the eye and sincerely tell me you'd rather play the worst game released this year than the best game from 30 years ago... actually holy crap there's a bunch of absolute gems turning 30 this year, look at this random wad of search results you know I didn't cherry pick because Earthworm Jim's in here:

Point is, yeah, video games are relatively young as an art form but not so much so that we don't have some immaculate classics older than half the people reading this. And again, hey, movies that predate any modern understanding of direction or editing, shot on cameras too old to record sound or color, and where all existing copies are pretty heavily degraded still get reissued at the same sticker price as anything else. Classic albums that were terribly mastered still sell for the same as stuff recorded on bleeding edge gear.

Oh and just to cover all my bases on this, I was tempted to bring up paintings and how with those the oldest works, especially anything where the artist is no longer with us, shoot way up in value, but that's not really fair to bring up since there we're talking about unique original one-off works, not mass-media. There was never a time when we could all go to the mall and pick up van Gogh's The Starry Night. Unless you just want a nice reproduction print. In which case that'll be like $20 (which when you think about it is an outrageous markup for a single frame of video).

Finally though, we have that argument I alluded to that I'm pretty sure IS a lot of people's logic on this which they probably aren't saying out loud, or maybe even consciously thinking to themselves- The older a game is, the easier it is to emulate. If I'm really jonesing to play the original Castlevania right this minute, it's gonna take me like 10 seconds to type a search query, grab a zip file that's all of 65k, unpack it, maybe spend another 10 or 20 seconds double checking what emulator people recommend these days, and I'm good. Maybe even less, I'm sure there's some site I could find quicker than that just emulating it with HTML4 or something right in my browser. But if I want to play like, Wild ARMs 3, I'm grabbing a bigger file, I don't know if there's any good PC emulation of the PS2 these days, I might need to get into the MiSTer scene, or work out how to make my actual PS2 read a burned DVD (in this weird hypothetical scenario where I don't have the actual game on a shelf in my eye-line and I don't have to dust off a computer old enough to still have a DVD-burner standard issue) anyway). And if I want to play, uh... what's current and doesn't have a PC release? And isn't on the Switch which has weirdly good emulation for a current system. That new Ratchet & Clank game? I assume I'd need to do some serious research, have a much fancier computer, seems like a huge game.

But you know, if even on a subconscious level, that means you inherently consider those earlier games to be less valuable (and hell, now that I think about it, I think I actually HAVE seen people openly make the argument that cartridge-based games have literally no intrinsic value because it's so easy to just emulate them), then... you're kind of a total piece of garbage and invalidating any sort of morally defensible stance you might have on piracy and emulation? Like you want to talk to me about preservation or ease of access or outright refusing to financially support whatever company would profit off a particular purchase, those are all pretty defensible positions, but you try and tell me art only has value when there is no easy way for you to personally enjoy it that doesn't involve cutting a check to someone, I think I might actually hate you and everything you represent? Or at the very least I'd like for you to really take a moment to reflect on your principles and reevaluate some things.

And again, that final little thought on this subject in particular strikes me as something people can take in a particularly inflammatory way, so let me just again reassure you I have no issue with anyone's habits regarding piracy or emulation or whatever. I'm coming at this whole subject purely as a sort of philosophical question/exploration of the commodification of art and artists/anticapitalist sort of thing.

And yeah, to just articulate that last point a bit more, while I totally think it's the weirdest thing that the public consensus is that games inherently plummet in value over time, I feel like we got here thanks to a series of very conscious decisions from scumbags in boardrooms. People want you to give them all your money and ideally avoid giving you anything in return. Their whole deal works best when they can convince you that whatever it is they have to sell you right this minute is the most valuable thing in the world and you need to have it right now, and whatever they sold you yesterday is actually total garbage with no value and you know you should really just toss it in a dumpster and make sure you have the room for today's new thing.

Hell, this is getting a bit out of scope, but marketing people are actually really working hard these days to build up an association between how much space a game takes up on your hard drive being a direct reflection of the game's value, and people are shipping games with intentional bloat like ultra-high-resolution assets and needlessly uncompressed files, because if you can only fit like 3 games on your drive, hey, buying this new game means tossing a ton of stuff out. Less stuff for you to play and be content with, less options for what game you're just going to log into every day and have people sell you DLC, and by the time they have a new game to sell, you're going to have to throw this one out to make room for that. No deep libraries, just the current thing.

So, yeah, on the one hand we have companies asking you to buy the same games now you already bought a while ago, and screw them for that, but they're also trying to convince you that nothing you own has value or deserves preserving to always keep you hungering for something new, and WOW screw that so much. Art has value, it retains that value, it's good to build up libraries and share them and keep stuff in circulation for new audiences to discover and people to revisit and re-examine. So quit letting anyone try to convince you old games (or old art of any other kind) has no value. And if you can be bothered, hey, do your best to support artists as much as you can and creeps trying to commodify art as disposable product as little as you can.

[toxicsquad]

Christmas special: Some gift ideas

Hello, Athe here!

I've been thinking a lot about some small gifts that I think would be perfect for the characters. Sort of like Christmas ideas for small budgets. I've tried to find some visual references and give some context for those who don't know the characters that well. It would be interesting to see what you guys would come up with, especially, for your own OCs… I'm going to leave a blank template below for anyone who wants to add some more or create their own OC version. We will reblog all your suggestions, you can also leave them in our ask which is always open. Happy holidays!

Arael

Protective console case or gaming case: You can't go wrong with anything related to video games, especially if it's something with a cute aesthetic. Arael can't resist that kind of thing.

Ice cream maker: No more endless queues in the canteen. Arael will be able to make his own personalised ice cream with one of these machines.

Kigurumi: A warm pyjama to spend their hours in front of the computer playing or in your company.

Zihel

Fire extinguisher: It goes without saying why it's a good idea for Zihel to have a fire extinguisher on hand.

Some new clothes: The truth is that his clothes are outdated and quite torn. You would do him a favour by buying him something even if he won't thank you directly. Besides, he will accept any style you want to put on him without putting up too much of a fuss.

Survival kit: Zihel has always been interested in everything related to hunting and survival. He'll surely appreciate a kit with everything he needs for an adventurous weekend (or another kind of weekend…).

Kyeran

Original teapot or tea set: Kyeran really enjoys drinking hot tea, so he would love a tea set. If you take the opportunity to give it a personalised touch in keeping with his style of decoration, you will make him very happy.

Portable hammock: You never know when you'll want to rest during a desert trek. A portable hammock can be ideal for him, but also for you to share a romantic moment.

Emotional support dolls: Anything you've made by hand will be highly valued, but these cute little dolls with motivational phrases will lift anyone's spirits.

Joe

Portable charger: Don't ever catch Joe without a charge on one of her many devices. Without them Joe could go crazy and you will probably be her target.

Pyjamas or satin pillowcase: Inexpensive options to recreate a luxurious experience. Either is a good choice. Joe loves to feel pampered.

Massage oil: It's likely that with this you can both participate.

Opal

Handmade candles: Since Opal discovered that he has a good sense of smell, he has also found that the smells of scented candles relax him a lot. It is easy for him to get stressed or irritable, but candles help him to calm his nerves.

Watchmaking tools: Opal has started a new trade and is comfortable repairing and making wind-up watches. But he often loses his tools or they break. A new kit is always welcome.

Work apron: Another thing he has recently discovered is that he enjoys working with the soil and could do with a work apron to keep all his gardening tools in.

Ariel

Poker cards with famous musicians: He likes to play card games, especially if gambling is involved. If you buy him some personalised cards like these, you can be sure he'll always have them with him.

Special edition vinyls: Any music fan would love something like this. You can't go wrong with an original edition of one of your favourite bands.

Skull-shaped ice bucket or whiskey set: There are quite a few objects in this shape in Ariel's house. We thought he might like something to do with alcohol.

Akane

Pizza oven: Akane is a ramen and pizza fanatic. This time, we thought it might be nice to have a mini oven so that her pizzas are always perfect.

Car bin: Everyone knows that Akane loves driving, but not so much tidiness and cleanliness. Help her to keep it all tidy with this mini-trash bin for the car.

Exercise dice: She loves sport. We suggest you give her something more original than a pair of trainers or a bottle of water with a dice to help him choose her daily exercises.

Hasiel

Ultrasonic cleaner: Anyone who owns glasses will understand Hasi's problems with keeping his glasses clean. You'd be doing him a big favour by buying him a little machine like this.

Writers' Socks: Although he wouldn't usually wear colourful, flashy clothes, socks are perfect for letting his imagination run wild. Especially if they are about a subject that interests you as much as books do.

Diorama bookmarks: Another Christmas classic are bookmarks, but I have found some that recreate mythical scenes from classic books. They are available for many works and can be a perfect complement to special editions of books.

Pin

Pencil holder: I couldn't resist making this little inside joke. A little reminder won't hurt either.

Snack advent calendar: Why ask for one gift when you can have 24? He would love any advent calendar, but a snack calendar seems appropriate for him.

Projector: With a small projector he can watch films and series in his sorority room or invite you to join him.

Maske

Fingerprint padlock: A secure padlock for a person who hides a lot of secrets. Maske loves tech gadgets and keeping their privacy safe.

Cup warmer: For someone who drinks a lot of coffee and has insomnia, this cup warmer will keep your cups at the perfect temperature.

Spice collection: It's no secret that Maske likes to cook, so they have a lot of utensils, so the smartest thing I could think of is to give them some kind of exotic spice kit so they can innovate in their kitchen and get out of their comfort zone a bit.

Aracne

Gothic picnic basket: A perfect basket for two to have a romantic meal in the forest with Opal.

Couples' keepsake wheel: Important dates and memories can be engraved on it. A romantic and personalised gift.

Sewing scissors: A nice pair of scissors is a must in the sewing basket of a seamstress.

Patreon | Twitter​ | Instagram​ | Itch  | Jolt Game | Discord | TikTok

🚧🚧🚧🚧🚧🚧🚧🚧🚧🚧🚧🚧🚧🚧🚧🚧

��Hola, aquí Athe!

He estado pensando mucho en algunos pequeños regalos que creo que serían perfectos para los personajes. Algo así como ideas de navidad para presupuestos pequeños. He intentado buscar algunas referencias visuales y darle algo de contexto para aquellos que no conozcan tan bien a los personajes. Sería interesante ver qué es lo que se os ocurriría a vosotros, especialmente, sobre vuestros propios OCs... Voy a dejar abajo una plantilla en blanco para aquel que le apetezca añadir alguno más o crear su versión OC. Rebloguearemos todas vuestras propuestas, también podéis dejarlas en nuestro ask que siempre está abierto. ¡Felices fiestas!

Arael

Carcasa protectora para consola o funda para juegos: No se puede fallar con cualquier cosa relacionada con videojuegos, especialmente, si es algo con una estética cuqui. Arael no se puede resistir a esa clase de cosas.

Heladera: Se acabaron las colas interminables en el comedor. Arael podrá hacer sus propios helados personalizados con una máquina de éstas.

Kigurumi: Un pijama calentito para pasar sus horas delante del ordenador jugando o en tu compañía.

Zihel

Extintor: Sobra decir por qué es buena idea que Zihel tenga un extintor a mano.

Algo de ropa nueva: Lo cierto es que su ropa está anticuada y bastante rota. Le harías un favor comprándole algo aunque no vaya agradecértelo directamente. Además, aceptará cualquier estilo que quieras ponerle sin poner demasiadas pegas.

Kit de supervivencia: A Zihel siempre le ha llamado la atención todo lo relacionado con la caza y la supervivencia. Seguro agradecerá un kit con todo lo necesario para un finde de aventuras (o un finde otro tipo...).

Kyeran

Tetera o juego de té original: Kyeran disfruta mucho de tomar un té calentito, así que un juego de té le encantaría. Si aprovechas para que tenga algún toque personalizado a su estilo de decoración le harás muy feliz.

Hamaca portable: Nunca se sabe cuando vas a querer descansar durante una ruta por el desierto. Una hamaca portátil puede ser ideal para él, pero también para que compartáis un momento romántico.

Muñecos de soporte emocional: Cualquier cosa que hayas hecho a mano la valorará muchísimo, pero estos tiernos muñequitos con frases motivacionales levantan el ánimo a cualquiera.

Joe

Cargador portátil: Que nunca le pille a Joe sin carga en alguno de sus muchos dispositivos. Sin ellos Joe podría volverse loca y, seguramente, su diana seas tú.

Pijama o funda de almohada de satén: Opciones económicas para recrear una experiencia lujosa. Cualquiera de las dos es una buena opción. A Joe le encanta sentirse consentida.

Aceite para masajes: Es probable que con esto podáis participar los dos.

Opal

Velas hechas a mano: Desde que Opal descubrió que tiene buen olfato, también se ha dado cuenta que los olores de las velas aromáticas le relajan mucho. Es fácil que se estrese o esté irritado pero las velas le ayudan a calmar sus nervios.

Herramientas de relojería: Opal ha comenzado un nuevo oficio y se siente cómodo reparando y fabricando relojes de cuerda. Pero a menudo pierde sus herramientas o se rompen. Un nuevo kit siempre será bienvenido.

Delantal de trabajo: Otra cosa que ha descubierto recientemente, es que le agrada mucho trabajar con la tierra y no le vendría mal un delantal de trabajo donde guardar todas sus herramientas de jardinería.

Ariel

Cartas de póker con músicos famosos: Le gusta jugar a juegos de cartas, sobre todo, si hay apuestas de por medio. Si le compras unas cartas personalizadas como éstas, te aseguramos que siempre las llevará encima.

Vinilos de edición especial: Cualquier fanático de la música le gustaría algo así. No se puede fallar con una edición original de una de sus bandas favoritas.

Cubitera o set de whiskey en forma de calavera: No son pocos los objetos con esta forma en su casa. Hemos pensado que le podría agradar algo relacionado con el alcohol.

Akane

Horno de pizza: Akane es una fanática del ramen y las pizzas. Esta vez, se nos ha ocurrido que podría estar bien un mini horno para que sus pizzas queden siempre perfectas.

Basura para el coche: Todo el mundo sabe que Akane ama conducir, pero no tanto el orden, ni la limpieza. Ayúdala a que lo mantenga todo recogido con esta mini-papelera para el coche.

Dado de ejercicio: Le encanta el deporte. Te proponemos darle algo más original que unas zapatillas o una botella de agua con un dado que le ayude a elegir sus ejercicios diarios.

Hasiel

Limpiador ultrasónico: Todos los que tienen gafas comprenderán bien los problemas de Hasi para mantener sus gafas limpias. Le harías un gran favor comprándole una pequeña máquina como estas.

Calcetines de Escritores: Aunque por lo general no usaría prendas coloridas, ni muy llamativas, los calcetines son perfectos para dejarse llevar por la imaginación. Sobre todo, si son de un tema que le interesa tanto como lo son los libros.

Marcapáginas en forma de diorama: Otro clásico navideño son los marcapáginas, pero he encontrado unos que recrean escenas míticas de libros clásicos. Los hay de muchas obras y pueden ser un complemento perfecto para ediciones especiales de libros.

Pin

Portalápices: No me he podido resistir a hacer esta pequeña broma interna. Un pequeño recordatorio tampoco le vendrá mal.

Calendario de adviento de snacks: Para que pedir un regalo cuando puedes tener 24... Cualquier calendario de adviento le gustaría, pero uno de snaks parece apropiado para él.

Proyector: Con un pequeño proyector podrá ver películas y series en su cuarto de la hermandad o invitarte a acompañarle.

Maske

Candado con huella dactilar: Un candado seguro, para una persona que oculta muchos secretos. A Maske le encantan los gadget tecnológicos y tener su intimidad a buen recaudo.

Portavasos calentador: Para alguien que toma mucho café y tiene insomnio este calentador mantendrá sus tazas a la temperatura perfecta.

Colección de especias: No es ningún secreto que a Maske le gusta cocinar, por eso tiene gran cantidad de utensilios, por eso, lo más inteligente que se me ha ocurrido es regalarle algún tipo de kit de especias exóticas para que innove en su cocina y salga un poco de su zona de confort.

Aracne

Cesta de picnic gótica: Una cesta perfecta para dos, con la que poder tener una comida romántica en el bosque acompañada de Opal.

Rueda de recuerdos para parejas: Se pueden grabar fechas importantes y recuerdos en ella. Un regalo romántico y personalizado.

Tijeras de costura: Unas bonitas tijeras nunca sobran en el cesto de arreglos de una costurera.

Patreon | Twitter​ | Instagram​ | Itch  | Jolt Game | Discord | TikTok

[ig-fmp25]

18.03.2025 (Week three) - Day eight of working on my game (1/2)

Weekly Goals (From Timetable I wrote beforehand):

Keep 3D modelling the level and environment for the game and use feedback to alter and change if needed.

If all finished import to Unreal Engine and begin building level up, after finishing building it do play testing to see if it’s all sized correctly/working.

Start to slowly code into the game as well if there's time.

Daily goals:

Continue building my game level in Unreal Engine.

Start to build up my opening screen idea.

Start to experiment with using audio and adding music.

Continue model making within Maya.

AUDIO SIDE OF THE DAY:

With today I decided to finally just start making my music audio for my game as I was sort of getting bored of listening to absolutely nothing within my game.

With my game I wanted to include 1960's era music that'll be playing faintly over speakers throughout the level that I've slightly warped to make it sound more grainy, so I loaded up Adobe Audition to start.

I've never used this software at all before so it was sort of quite hard to originally navigate, but now I have a slightly better idea on how to use this for further sound effects on it.

I started out by making a Spotify playlist with all the songs that I could think of that were released around the 1960's so I could have a rough idea of what to use as I felt like that would be easier to do originally rather than scrambling to find songs later on.

For this I also used the Fallout games as a heavy inspiration as they use songs made in the 1960's and beforehand for songs in their games, so I also looked at a few Spotify playlists of songs included in their games too which I then added to mine.

With these in mind I then went onto YouTube to then grab samples of these songs to use to then turn into MP3's and edit down in Adobe Audition.

When choosing the songs I began by using only my playlist as a reference where I then chose to do Louis Armstrong's song 'What a Wonderful World'.

With the video below I then turned it into a MP3 and brought it into the editing software to begin chopping it up. At the start of the song he speaks a lot before actually singing so I cut that out, but I didn't know how to cut audio so I watched a tutorial on how to actually do that.

With the song now cut up where I wanted it to be, I then went back onto YouTube to look for a sort of grainy old sound effect to layer over the song already to add more of a eerie vibe to the song as it's meant to be played on a old speaker/vinyl anyways.

From this I found this video that has a perfect consistent grainy old static sound that loops perfectly over the music as I turned that into a MP3 too and then imported it to Adobe too.

I then made something called a 'mix' where I layered the audio and began to test it out. I decided to make the grainy noise louder than the actual song as it really makes it sound older.

I then found out how to add effects to my audio. I wanted to sort of distort the song in some way so I watched a tutorial on how to but then rather than following the tutorial another tab caught my attention; the delay and echo menu.

With knowing where to locate that I then went onto the song and chose a pre-set called "Spooky" which was actually really useful to have as I then used that for all my songs.

I then also went into the special tab where I added a distort effect to make it slightly more grainy when played back.

After that I then went onto making more songs with the same technique of adding distort and old effects to it with the grainy audio over it.

I also decided to make them loop better by adding a delay of just the grainy vinyl audio at the start so that they sync better as I personally didn't like the fact that it would otherwise just change song immediately.

As a reference I looked on YouTube for sort of retro vinyl playlists and this is the closest thing I could find to what I mean as each song has a mini couple seconds pause to it, but I want mine to be a bit longer as it then just leaves you listening to the grainy effect for a moment.

I then finished up all the songs I wanted to use for now as I didn't want to make tons and tons yet as I want to mostly focus on that over the easter holidays, but I wanted to just test audio out for the morning to see if my idea WOULD work.

The songs below are the ones I ended up using with the videos I used to turn into MP3 files,

After making these songs I then exported them and made sure they're stored safe in a specific folder so that I don't lose them.

[alexglower]

The Caretaker - An Empty Bliss Beyond This World (2011)

you see, back in my day...

Why do so many articles describe this album as "humorous?" Sure, authors typically use the words "dark comedy," but I'm having trouble hearing what's so funny about this.

I was introduced to The Caretaker a little before he went viral on TikTok for his "creepy" music, though that later virality was what made me pay closer attention to his work. Even if his six-part series Everywhere at the End of Time wasn't billed as the most disturbing thing ever by a bunch of teenagers online, it still would've creeped me out.

That series was released after An Empty Bliss Beyond This World, but it still has the same "theme" of representing dementia through music. Both works feature old ballroom recordings clouded by swarms of vinyl crackle and static. Both works sound ghostly, like their samples are rising from out of their graves. There was a period of time when I couldn't get past Everwhere's opening track because I felt like spectral hands were reaching out toward me, belonging to some long-dead soul trapped in a looping record. That's pretty embarrassing to admit, but I was young! I also was pretty depressed, so any "downer" work of art hit me with 100x effectiveness (another example was the video game Omori).

In a way, An Empty Bliss is sort of like Everywhere-lite---while it lacks the latter's overarching structure (slowly becoming less and less recognizable as "music" over the course of many hours), it endeavors to represent the same feeling in microcosm, as if representing a day in the life of someone with dementia, as opposed to several years. It's actually a pretty breezy listen! If you ignore the notions typically associated with old, slowed-down, reverbed music, it's pleasant and catchy. I could imagine this soundtracking a study session. Perhaps such a utilitarian use would seem sacrilegious, but I think it's pretty apt considering how this album is meant to simulate a wandering subconscious.

One may consider the minimally edited samples of An Empty Bliss to be a form of sound collage, but I hear more similarities to field recordings. Sound collage is the art of making something new out of many different sources, whereas field recordings usually try to invoke a singular thing as it "really is." Of course, the vinyl samples here aren't of "fields" (i.e. complete representations of spaces), but they're treated as if they are, as if the music holds some vital aspect of its original time and location. The staticy sounds that define these recordings are, apparently, not overdubbed---they're from the vinyls themselves, preserved as they are. Some tracks are barely legible beneath the crackling. If you strain your ear to hear, you might catch what sounds like the shuffling of people amidst the muffled sounds of music.

What's telling is what is edited. Most obvious are the time-based effects, like delay and reverb. Both of these effects serve to situate a sound in space (mimicking echoes, for instance), but in this case they also put the samples at a temporal distance. When a sound echoes, it feels like it's shucking off parts of itself, like the very act of being played is making it even murkier (a process that was done in a literal way on The Disintegration Loops).

Tracks also tend to stop and start at odd moments, so that you never know where you are relative to a song's beginning and end. Sometimes sections loop, sometimes they trail off in the middle of a phrase. The static and reverb make these samples feel like far-off memories; the structural shift-ups make the memories feel half-forgotten.

So with all that said, I can certainly see the "dark" in this album, but the "comedy" is harder to figure out. Maybe it has something to do with the catchiness of the recordings? How they are, ironically, relatively upbeat? Honestly, I can hardly hear these ballroom tracks as anything other than depressing, but maybe that's because of my pre-existing notions of "oldies" music. If you're someone who wasn't raised on tropey horror movies playing old songs for a scare, perhaps the irony is more apparent. For me, all I hear is darkness.

And it's great! An Empty Bliss taps into an unease that's relatively rare, one that's as comforting as it is disquieting. It feels like being smothered by a warm hug, like going to sleep for the last time.

Good album :D Listen if you want to feel cold wind blow over your grave, whilst beneath the soil your skeletal hand reaches out for a lover buried miles away.

[atin-talks]

Things I like, inspired by idkman's video

Music, all sorts. Maybe that's another post music I like.

I like the moon

I like cold mornings when the blankets are chilly and crisp

I like hot soup

I like smoking Djarum Blacks

I like playing ttrpg with my friends

I like talking with my friends

Gaming with my friends

I like having my blanket that I was wrapped in when I was born, and using it to soothe myself

I like watching stars

I like my job

I like driving in my car

I like looking out airplane windows

I like painting my little miniatures

I like writing back stories for OC's as short stories

I like making playlists

I like wearing my Poppy I Disagree jacket

I like home cooked meals from my mom

I like sitting in front of a wood stove

I like collecting vinyls and playing them

I like laughing

I like feeling happy

I like being

I like existing

I like Skittles and sour Skittles

I like cheeseburgers

I like citrus fruits

I like juice

I like my wubby

I like drinking from my canteen cup

I like being silly with my friends

I like making them laugh

I like thinking of tattoos I want to get

I like.

[chorusfm]

Blink-182 Share Two New Songs

Blink-182 have released a video for “One More Time.” They’ve also dropped “More Than You Know.” After a whirlwind week of announcements and trailers that has kept fans on their toes and in tears, blink-182 treat fans to their album title track and new single “ONE MORE TIME” alongside an official video - watch HERE. Directed by Carlos Lopez Estrada, the video finds the group’s iconic lineup back together for the first time in 12 years with setups, moments and milestones from the band's storied career.   In true blink-182 style, the group has surprised fans with another new track, “MORE THAN YOU KNOW” – listen to the bundle HERE. Out on October 20 via Columbia Records, ONE MORE TIME… marks the first album to feature the group’s iconic lineup, Mark Hoppus [bass, vocals], Tom DeLonge [guitar, vocals], and Travis Barker [drums], since 2011.   Launching the album news earlier this week, the band shared a sentimental trailer for ONE MORE TIME… - watch HERE. Featuring strikingly candid interview footage pulled from the band’s forthcoming extensive interview with Apple Music’s Zane Lowe as well as current and archival clips, the trailer finds Mark, Tom and Travis baring it all as they discuss topics they have never shared before. The full Zane Lowe interview will be available to watch exclusively on Apple Music soon.   The trio recorded ONE MORE TIME... in the midst of their blockbuster reunion tour, which sold out arenas, amphitheaters, and stadiums across the world. The album, produced by Travis Barker, features 17 new songs that capture the band at the top of their game, layering in themes of tragedy, triumph, and most importantly, brotherhood.   The brand-new album comes both digitally and physically on CD, standard black vinyl, and multiple limited edition physical vinyl variants including purple ooze D2C exclusive LP, red and clear marble colored D2C exclusive LP, and egg splatter colored D2C exclusive LP. Additional offerings on vinyl include the coke bottle clear colored indie exclusive LP, opaque white colored Amazon exclusive LP and electric smoke colored Spotify Fans First exclusive LP. The artist store will have a limited-edition cassette available.    blink-182 jump started this season back in April with a surprise last-minute headline set at Coachella. You could say a blink-aissance of sorts has ensued since then! Variety raved, “blink-182 brings rock back to Coachella in a big way.” Meanwhile, the 2022 reunion single “EDGING” has amassed over 70 million Spotify streams and counting. --- Please consider becoming a member so we can keep bringing you stories like this one. ◎ https://chorus.fm/news/blink-182-share-two-new-songs/

[oh-cramity-its-amity]

OMG OKAY!! i didnt do this sooner cause i fell asleep but here is my rambling :))))!!!

so something i dont get to talk abt/dont talk abt much with people is my love for physical media and collecting physical media- especially music!! i have a stereo that ive had since i was in 8th grade and not to sidetrack the convo much but my dad and i found it way back when in the high school that id go to's football field dumpster. the speakers had come unhooked so they had thrown them out, i guess? anyway we brought it home and while ive gone through a different receiver and many different disk changers, i love this sm.

well the problem is, most of the music i own is from when i was an early teen and not that i dont like that music- i feel like my taste has changed a bunch!! so im slowly trying to get more albums i love now. my taste tho is kinda not mainstream so its not super simple tho 💀.

ANYWAY!!! YESTERDAY I BOUGHT 6 CDS!!! AND IM SUPER EXCITED ABT THEM CAUSE NEW MUSIC!!

phantom planet - self titled

clancy - tøp

coldplay - parachutes

a skylit drive - adelphia

phantom planet - raise the dead

phantom planet - phantom planet is missing

now ur asking probably why im so ecstatic abt them??? (maybe??)

well i had gotten clancy on a whim cause i didnt own it yet and had been meaning to get it. i have all of tøp's albums on cd apart from their earlier albums (self titled and rab) at walmart. it was an album i really loved jst cause it was just- REALLY GOOD. billie's album had dropped the week before and literally may 2024 i was eating SOOOO good with album releases 😭.

anyway this is where i named my cat from lol. this band is important to me and my life.

BUT PHANTOM PLANET'S SELF TITLED ALBUM!!!! THATS THE REASON IM FREAKING OUT OVER IT

i didnt even expect to find it!!! my dad had let me go to my favorite video game store thats got like- games, vinyl, cds, all sorts of collectables and card games and ttrpgs. i truly LOVEE this store, okay?? ive been going here since i was uhhh- a young kid.

anyway they dont always have the best selection of cds jst cause my taste isnt what they have so i rarely pick up anything AND I WASNT GONNA GET ANYTHING EITHER!!! i originally was gonna get resident evil 4 for the wii cause i havent gotten or played that yet and their ps4 selection was trash that day :(. BUT i decided "hey, might as well??" so i got to work scanning everything... and when i got to the p's OH my eyes couldnt believe it!!!

because THAT ALBUM??? I ACTUALLY HAVE BEEN TALKING ABT THAT ALBUM FOR A FEW WEEKS NOW AND I LOVE IT??? i have this list on my phone jst cause i consume a lot of different albums to take note on what albums i wouldnt mind owning physically and this one was one of them!!!! i didnt expect to find it either????

originally id found it through dallon weeks- whom was in panic! for a short while way back when and then split off to do his idkhow stuff- as most people have seen me yap abt how much i loveeee idkhow on here- this is no suprise.

i follow the idkhow tag on here just bc why not?? and a while back someone had posted a video about dallon where he actually had filled or played bass for phantom planet- i forget which. but it was for the song "big brat" - which is on this album!! and i heard the bit of it and though "hey! this sounds... very influential on dallon's work?? its actually good??" so i opened my spotify and added the album for myself.

little side tangent but if i see an album or an artist that even seems remotely interesting ill just add the album for later. i have a whole backlog of music i still have yet to get to but i felt like i should give this one a chance- ALSO THE COVER??? the cover looks so cool. GOOD ALBUM ART. anyway i added the album just because i loved big brat.

and i was playing kh1 a while back- i remember, before id gotten clancy- so like i believe it was june-ish?? i decided "hey. why not?" so i put the self titled album on and played through kh a bit and realized... HEY THE ALBUM IS ACTUALLY REALLY MF GOOD TOO???? so i liked the album lol. BUT THATS NOT WHERE THE STORY ENDS EITHERRRR. bc at work sometimes i blast music on my bluetooth speaker (its not being rude cause its a loud warehouse) and i decided to put this album on like last week- LITERALLY LAST MF WEEK.

AND MY COWORKER CAME UP TO ME AND ASKED ME ABT IT CAUSE SHE LIKED IT AND WAS INTERESTED AND WE HAD A FULL CONVO ABT PHANTOM PLANET AND MUSIC IN GENERAL AND I WAS SO EXCITED TO YAP ABT IT CAUSE LITERALLY NO ONE EVER ASKS IRL LIKE THAT 😭. I FELT SO EXCITED ABOUT GETTING TO SHOW HER THE MUSIC I FOUND.

WHICH- is why i was so excited for finding this!!! bc its literally an album i wanted and had on my list that i wanted to get!!!

and they had two of their other albums there??? id never heard them but i decided ill probably like them too and wanted to take a chance on them.

coldplay was bc they have a buy 3 get the 4th free and ykw i think parachutes is underlooked bc its actually a nice sounding album. i don't listen to coldplay much but this and x & y are good albums. and i figured why not?? itd be nice to just throw on.

a skylit drive- i found at goodwill. ive heard of them but haven't listened to their stuff but it seems promising of a metal album. i didn't even except to FIND a good cd at goodwill either lmao. i had found some the black eyed peas but i put them back cause i didn't need them tbh even though i think their music is chill at times.

uhh- but??? i haven't heard this album yet but it seemed neat so i decided why not. i did pull it up on my phone before i bought it just to see what it sounded like and it wasn't bad!! im gonna have to give it a listen later omg.

but i really really want to get balance and composure's albums rn and deja entendu by brand new. later thooooo.

anyway im v excited abt finding that phantom planet's self titled album????

oh!! i got clairo's charm through my work but it hasnt shown up yet along w my headphone extension cable for my stereo so i can listen to my stereo on my couchhhh. i was gonna order more cds soon w them cause free lol but also i just want to get more music and use my stereo againnnnn

also @sapphosdickandballs , i saw ur ask but heres me rambling :)

hey!!!! i bought some cds today!!!! does anyone want to see or hear me talk about them??? i bought one album id been looking for!!!! completely by surprise i found it!!! rly happy abt it omg cause it was on my list of albums i wanted to own physically!!!! :]

[junosmindpalace]

it’s practically routine for you and tsukishima to go on errand dates, each one a little adventure for the two of you. 

it’s something you’ve been doing since high school, really, when you couldn’t stand the thought of doing some boring chores your parents sent you out on, and so you begged and pleaded over the phone for tsukishima to join you. he begrudgingly caved in, and from there it became habit to constantly invite one another out on errands. he needed to run some errands for his mom, too, he used to tell you. he may as well just tag along. though it wasn’t often untrue, it was a common excuse he used to disguise just how often he accompanied you.

even as adults with an apartment you share rent for and two years of officially dating he still tended to make excuses. but you knew each other well, and tsukishima wasn’t as shy to admitting that he simply wanted to come along just because. sometimes he didn’t mind being your chauffeur, driving you and your shopping bags to each of your destinations-- with the exception that he got to choose the music in the car. 

he was pretty helpful to have around, too. always helping you get the best price for the things you needed, always giving you his logical based opinion on whether or not you should get something, face scrunching up in annoyance when you’d disregard it and opt for the latter of whatever he suggested. 

you took turns pushing the cart or holding the shopping crate, and he stayed close to your side unless something caught his eye. it was quite a cliché sight when tsukishima would be flipping through one of the pocket books near the stationary aisle, only to turn up at the sound of struggling and clattering and find his partner carrying whatever sort of junk (in his words) caught your eye, debating whether or not you should get it (and to your great dismay, he always said no). 

he’d read off the joint shopping list the two of you wrote as you went through each aisle, leaning over your shoulder to check the quality and price of each item. he was a smart shopper, which is why it was nice to have him around while you did your errands. 

he’d pass you items to bag at the checkout, and then would reach for the lighter ones, telling you that you’d have to heave the heavier ones. yet the moment you reached for them, he wordlessly handed over his own and stepped in front of you to carry the heavier ones. you’d grumble at him, saying you could’ve done so yourself, filled with a sudden determination to prove yourself even though hauling the heavier bags to the car wasn’t all that pleasant a thought, while he’d scoff with a smile. “sure you can.” 

often times this also led to a ton of recreational shopping, picking through rows of vinyls in crates in an old music store, or browsing the different video games and merchandise at the nearest game store. he’d smile at your deflated expression when he’d tell you that it would be best to wait until an item you wanted went on sale, ruffling your hair and even promising that he’d be the one to pay when the time came. but really it was just an excuse for him to buy it himself and surprise you with it later. 

and after your fruitful shopping trip, you treated yourselves to a fulfilling meal from a restaurant tsukishima found in the area, talking face to face either about an aspect of your trip or day under yellow-tinted table lights. 

and though you used to dread running errands because of how boring they could be, having tsukishima with you made you actually look forward to the quality time and all the new stores the two of you could visit together.

[thatgayb1tchwhosimps4her]

As an autistic person, I can't stop thinking about autistic!van x autistic!reader and helping each other with struggles and all that.

What do you think?

Hi there, also as an autistic person I absolutely adore the concept of autistic!Van x autistic!reader, so I'm gonna write these out as head-cannons, since I have many thoughts on it.

Also I am gonna elaborate more on some of these in the Van x Reader fic I have lined up, so yeah, look out for that if you're interested.

Quick disclaimer: I've only been diagnosed recently (but have pretty much known I am for the last year, I just needed stuff filled out etc, so I could finally have a proper diagnosis), so I'm pretty new at understanding my autistic traits, and if they are to do with my autism or are just me in general, so this is gonna be based off my own experiences and what I've seen about autistic traits.

Also I may have accidently integrated dating head-cannons or general Van head-cannons, since I couldn't really tell the difference, so enjoy those as well if there are any.

@zhivaxo @kyleeservopoulos

*****

🧡Autistic!Adult!Van Head-Cannons🧡

*****

Food:

Safe/Comfort Foods: PB and J's, Donuts, Cinnamon Rolls (any pastries really), Pretzels, Pop Tarts (doesn't really have a favourite flavour but absolutely hates the strawberry ones, although that could just be me deflecting), Chocolate Chip cookies, Twizzlers.

That sort of stuff.

-----

When you went through a baking/cooking hyper-fixation (or bake/cook in general), you made sure all the recipes catered to both of your food preference's.

This includes the time you made huge batches of different types cookies, (chocolate chip, which Van loved the most, was the main favourite) and you now make them for her when she gets sad to cheer her up.

-----

She also carries a pouch of sour gummy bears wherever she goes (as a grounding technic I guess), in case she gets anxious or overwhelmed when she's not at home (which I do and it works every time, in case people wanna do that and know how well that works).

-----

Media:

Watches video tapes of her favourite shows/movies from the 90's to help comfort her when she goes non-verbal and when she occasionally has meltdowns over different things (usually things that upset or stress her out).

-----

She loved horror movies pre-crash (she still does a bit, but prefers not to since she's already kind of lived through one), and would watch them religiously (Halloween, Nightmare on Elm Street, Friday the 13th, Hellraiser, Evil Dead, The Shining, etc).

She also watched Scream 1 and 2 once everyone got rescued, to catch up in a way, but realised that horror movies didn't feel the same as before.

-----

Definitely listens to vinyl records and cassette tapes of bands/singers she listened to pre-crash (I imagine her listening to ABBA, The Clash, Queen, Blondie, The Cure, Nirvana maybe, that sort of music), and that helped her cope after everyone was rescued and help her in general when she's under or overwhelmed.

-----

I also think she'd be a bit of a secret Swiftie (only you and maybe a couple others knowing that she is), more of a Fearless, Speak Now and Folklore Swiftie compared to her other albums, but still doesn't mind them.

-----

Plays retro games she grew up with/genuinely finds interesting (Pac-Man, Super Mario, Tetris, Sonic the Hedgehog etc) to reset her mindset when she's overwhelmed (also maybe as a little bit of a regression).

-----

General Autistic Traits/Head-Cannons:

She hates the noises of fireworks and thunder/lightning (since they remind her of the crash and almost being turned into a human marshmallow, twice), so she has to wear noise-cancelling headphones during firework displays and storms, but loves lying in bed watching the actual sparks of them.

-----

This girl is prone to bumps and scrapes, so an extensive, assorted collection of plasters/band-aids (whatever you call them) is necessary.

Animal ones, flower ones, food ones, cartoon ones, even plain white ones that she loves letting you doodle on.

You name it, she's got them.

-----

She always used to make sure, before she opens the store and after she closes for the day, that the video tapes she has in her store are stacked right alphabetical and genre.

You even made signs saying "Please put back where you found them" that you put up around the tape displays, to help out with it so Van doesn't stress or overthink about it too much.

-----

Sunday's in the store are usually very quite, so she dedicates that day for restocking whatever needs restocking (I don't really know how that stuff works, so imagine what you will), which tends to be stressful. So you always make sure you have her favourite snacks, drinks, music and movies (maybe even a cold case of beer if she needs it), are on hand at the end of the day, just in case she needs them at the end of the day to cool off.

-----

As seen in the show (which I also do), she uses film/tv show quotes during conversations, and mixes them up when she gets upset or overwhelmed.

-----

Definitely has a pack of sticky notes and several pens in her back pocket at all times as a communication system in case she goes non-verbal.

She even uses them to write small notes with love hearts on around the house, sometimes even in your bag, which she insists is necessary (for reasons she changes or adds on to each time you talk about it).

*****

This took a lot longer then I thought it would, but I hope you enjoyed reading and I'll see you in the next one.

-Harlow

[killemwithkawaii]

'Strange Nightmares' pre-kickstarter stream lore drops, game and kickstarter info 🎲

[Note: Contains Sally Face video game spoilers. Questions are from stream chat and quotes are (mostly) answers from Steve. Quotes and questions are paraphrased and may be minimally reworded. Feel free to let me know if I missed any key details!]

Watch the stream here

Subscribe to the kickstarter here

Subscribe to the Maestro Media page pre-launch to get an exclusive Gizmo standee

Kickstarter and board game info:

-'Strange Nightmares' is currently a 2-4 player game, but developers at Maestro Media are working on possibly making a single player route

- Base pledge for the kickstarter is $40 (those who subscribe within the first 48 hours will receive a free 2" dark glitter pony figure)

-Game is still in development. There may be expansions to the game which add additional stories and game aspects, depending on how successful the kickstarter is.

- 3 stories in the game at launch, each with multiple endings. Steve has written about 30 storylines, and they are currently working on implementing story number 4.

- The digital version of the board game will be available

- Game takes 45 minutes to an hour to play

-About a 60/40 win to loss ratio, stories get progressively more difficult.

- Game and merch will feature both art from the original video game and fanart

- There will be social media challenges following the kickstarter launch 'please don't break the law doing these challenges... (or don't get caught!)'

- Travis is not in the board game (but he may get a vinyl figure, which will be available through the kickstarter)

-'Strange Boxes' are SF themed loot crates/ puzzles that will be sent out quarterly. They will contain t-shirts and other merch featuring art from various artists, as well as mystery puzzles to solve. You can purchase single boxes, subscribe to receive them as they're released, or purchase all of them and receive them all at once after they've all been released.

- Will there be sheet music in the Strange Boxes? 'No... I never learned music theory... I don't write anything down, its all in my head. I just play what feels good.'

-There will be Kenneth merch

Misc. SF lore and questions for Steve:

- Will Sal return in physical form (in SF2)? 'Depends on your definition of 'physical'.'

- Is Larry a hot dog or hamburger guy? 'He likes both, he just smooshes them together and eats them at the same time.'

- If the characters had voices, is there anyone who you can name? '...I have a particular voice in my head for Sal, I cant think of anyone who sounds like him... Ash sounds like Michelle Trachtenberg or Sarah Michelle Gellar... Larrys voice is like Keaneu Reeves from Bill and Ted but a little less doofy.'

- Steve has not watched the (Featherfall Studios) fan dub, but will watch it eventually

- What happened to Bob (Todds fish)? 'No comment... hes fine, don't worry'

- Are Sal and Larry devious enough to run from the police? 'Probably, it depends on what they did.'

- ' The friends tried to start a band together but it didn't go far... Sal plays guitar, Todd plays keyboard, Ash sings and plays base, Larry plays drums... they didn't play well but they loved it. Played 90s vibe grungy rock. Larry would have definitely been screaming. I didn't come up with a band name... they probably had a big list and kept switching the name.'

- 'Janice's favorite color is yellow.'

- Philip was not one of the people being sacrificed my the cult in ch 5

- Did Sal recognize pastor Phelps as the same person who shot his mom? 'Sort of. He thought it might be the same person, but he wasn't sure.'

- Did Travis ever end up hanging out with Sal? 'Sal tried... They didn't end up hanging out... Travis' feelings were conflicted on becoming friends... he is so stubborn. '

- Have you read any SF fanfiction? 'I haven't... I didn't want it to influence any story decisions.'

- Sal and Travis or Sal and Ash? 'No comments on ships.'

- Why was SF set in the 90s? 'That's when I grew up... a main inspiration was 90s cartoons, so it's set in that time.'

- Was Travis made in a test tube or does he have a mom? 'He has a mom.... I don't wanna give too much away.'

- Do you watch SF cosplay tiktoks? 'Sometimes. If people tag me in stuff I usually watch them... sometimes I search the tags.'

- Are Lisa and Janice friends? 'Of course they're friends!'

- Did Sal ever introduce Soda to Megan? 'No. He wouldn't want to freak Soda out... especially because Chug is freaked out by her. He wouldn't want to go against Chugs wishes. If Soda would have gotten older, maybe he would have.'

- What happened to the art book? 'We had a publisher, but we lost it. We have a new one that's interested... still trying to get it published.'

[tauforged]

honestly i feel like sigs music taste is just all fucking over the place i think he’s genuinely one of those people who listens to anything and everything. he’s sitting in his lab doing his equations with headphones on but whatever’s going on in there ranges from classical to harsh noise to generic radio pop to breakcore to whatever gazelle twin has going on to one VERY specific amateur live recording of one VERY specific lucio show to soundtracks from video games he’s never played and knows nothing about to bird sounds and white noise. he doesn’t care. his metric is “if i like the way it sounds i listen to it”. i think him and lucio could just genuinely talk about music for hours on end i think they would have such fun conversations about so many things but that specifically tickles me so much i think it’s neat. i’ve joked before about him finding a majority of his belongings like tucked away in a storage unit and in the chaos there’s a fuckin limited release machine girl vinyl or something and he’s like oh damn i haven’t listened to this album in DECADES… really takes me back :’) and everyone else who came with him to help him sort through it all is just sorta staring at him bewildered because this is the same man who gets such bad sensory overload he has to leave the room when there’s more than one conversation happening at a time. but here he is reminiscing about being in the pit at a gecs concert or something. reaching a point where my eyes will NOT stay open no matter what i do so whatever i hope you understand my vision