#andrius phase one who

[stormflyblue]

headcanon/theory that the four winds have the elements that causes the swirl reactions

hear me out. HEAR ME OUT ON THIS. (or don't, i don't really care-)

we all know that gamewise, swirl is caused by four elements. cryo, hydro, electro, and pyro, and anemo is the catalyst that causes that reaction.

what if, hear me out, the four winds of mondstat those elements? the four winds were entrusted to keep mondstat safe before baratos disappeared. we already know that andrius has cryo, what if dvalin had hydro? and the falcon of the west has pyro?

yes, dvalin only used anemo in his boss fight, but what if he had hydro before? he has command over the sky and wind, so why not minor command over weather? hydro is water after all, and rain is water that falls from the sky.

the falcon of the west is vennessa, after she assended to celestia and came back as a falcon that watches over mondstat. she was a muratan with fiery red hair. who is/was murata? the pyro archon !!! who else has flaming red hair and a pryo vision that is a mondstater? diluc.

the only odd one out is lion of the south, which is title that humans pass down through generations. acting grand master jean currently has this title, but it is more know as "dandelion knight" or "lionfang knight."

my take on this is the fact that jean is friends with lisa (electro vision holder. the lionfang knights coincidentally are either a) an electro vision holder or b) are close to an electro vision holder (think family or friends). OR it isn't a coincidence, and that it's FATE for the dandelion knights to be in close relation with an electro vision holder.

why do i think this?

well, barbatos is the anemo archon, so wouldn't it make sense for the winds under his "rule" (i don't know how to call it if he doesn't want to rule mondstat) to be the elements that make him stronger? after all, there have been many battles and events for freedom, so even if he didn't like fighting it would still be inevitable.

the three winds that we have encountered have had anemo too. (dvalin's wind orbs, andrius' second phase, jean's vision) so they would make battles "easier" with the elemental reactions!

so:

barbatos - god of mondstat: anemo

andrius - wolf of the north: cryo + anemo

dvalin - dragon of the east - hydro? + anemo

vennessa - falcon of the west - pyro? + anemo

jean - lion of the south - anemo + electro (lisa)

this was made right after i read a fanfic. please excuse the poor grammar and little evidence. i was very excited. please also don't slap me back onto the ground and say this isn't true i am very fragile (3/4's joke.) i don't know if this is a headcanon or a theory but i'm leaning more towards headcanon.

thank you for hearing me out.

[genshin-djinn]

“the frost will freeze your tongue off so you never lie again.”

This cute Snezhnayan kids’ rhyme... I think it has a bit more plot relevance than lore about Snezhnaya (just as a personal aside I would rather get frostbite and never talk again than swallow a thousand needles).

Childe definitely feels guilty about lying to Teucer, but the pinkie promise rhyme just exacerbates it and throws it into relief. Teucer has complete faith in his brother, just like he has faith in rhymes and pinkie promises. But people don’t always tell the truth, and they’ll swear to things while fully intending to break their word. And a perfect example of this is Teucer’s beloved brother.

Childe is the person who’s taught Teucer to see Ruin Guards as gentle and good. Childe is probably the one who taught Teucer the pinkie promise nursery rhyme. And yet Childe continuously lies to Teucer. These little lies— if people make a promise, they’ll keep it; if they make a mistake, they’ll apologize— have spiraled into lies that put Teucer directly into danger and have made him extremely naive.

And Childe knows this. Every time he repeats the rhyme he’s reminded of how highly Teucer values his onii-chan’s words— and how upset Teucer will be when he inevitably learns the truth. “The frost will freeze your tongue off so you never lie again.” So he keeps lying.

[lonely-vault-boy]

Genshin impact but all of the archons run competing daycares.

Yes, it's me, back at it again with my bullshjt.

- Venti only babysits part-time. The kids love him because he's so laid back. The parents...not so much. His business dropped significantly after he was seen giving a kid some wine. He only has a couple of recurring families he sits for, now that Dvalin and Andrius are older and had their rebellious phases. The Lawrence’s (the victims of the Wine Incident) no longer hire him, so he's left watching Jean + Barbara and Kaeya + Diluc

-Zhongli is very trusted by the community. The parents think that just having their kids around him makes them smarter. Unlike Venti, he's running an actual business. It's honestly more of a private preschool than anything else. It is very expensive, though most of the money seems to go towards facilities and textbooks since Mr. Zhongli always seems to be out of cash whenever he's spotted at the checkout line. Some of his most notable students include a chubby 4-year-old named Ganyu and a 2-year-old named Yanfei. Perhaps the most well-known student is a 3-year-old named Xiao, who Zhongli adopted after realizing he was being abused by his mother.

- Ei and Yae co-own a daycare. Yae loves reading to the kids almost as much as she loves tormenting Ei by giving the tots candy right before naptime. The energetic toddlers wouldn't be so bad if Yae weren't stealing the sweets from Ei’s personal stash. For the most part, the children are well behaved...although there was one time where Kokomi tried to get them to start a rebellion after Mrs. Ei confiscated her favorite stuffed animal. It was only after Ei started stealing back the stolen snacks that the other kids got involved. Except, of course Kujou Sara, the teachers pet. The daycare is much more casual than Zhongli’s preschool/daycare hybrid, though one kid, Itto, did get kicked out for picking fights with the other students.

-The Tsaritsa has an orphanage with a bunch of murder children. If it sounds familiar from Honkai, no it doesn’t. One of the kids is speculated to be another daycare owners run away son. Some of them are quiet, Pierro the teacher’s helper and Pantalone who sits in the corner counting his Monopoly money come to mind. Other however...there’s one kid from Mondstadt that’s almost 8 years old who claims to want to purge the world of corruption. There’s another one that’s also about 6 or 7 who’s basically Sid from toy story. He plays operation with his teddy bears. There is now one teddy bear made from the parts of 7. There’s also Tartaglia, who’s almost 4 and is the sweetest little kid...when he wants to be. He’s adorable if not for the fact that he flooded the building. Twice. But kids will be kids and he seems to be having fun, so she’ll let it slide.

[musicainextenso]

You didn’t ask for it, but you got it: more Genshin Impact music, during this week of chaos! 

I have a lot of favorite characters in Genshin, and despite his eternal douchebaggery, one of these is Tartaglia aka Childe, who (SPOILER!!) is revealed over the course of the story to be the 11th Fatui Harbinger. Like all of the (so far) three big bosses you can fight weekly in the game, he’s complicated as a villain. But while Dvalin (Stormterror) and Andrius (the Wolf of the North) are touchingly friendly foes, Tartaglia is an honest-to-goodness criminal—yet poignant in his own way. After having battled him in the Golden House, I was honestly shocked to discover that his later story quest—in which he attempts to hide his criminal persona from his little brother by pretending to be a toy salesman (give me Mr. Cyclops or give me death!), wounding himself badly in the process—made me tear up nearly as much as Venti’s had. He’s somehow both arrogant AND aware of his own ridiculousness. Among the more serious characters, he’s a breath of fresh air. I don’t have Tartaglia as a playable character (I wasn’t yet playing when his banner flew), but my spouse does, and I always enjoy his attitude in battle, whether I’m playing co-op alongside or simply watching. 

After all that, it’s no wonder that when Mihoyo released their recent collection of character OSTs, The Stellar Moments, Tartaglia’s theme, “From Snezhnaya With Boldness,” was an instant favorite. If you enjoy this short character piece by composer Yu-Peng Chen, you may also want to check out this track, which includes all phases of the Golden House battle, in which he transforms from his light-hearted self into his full-out harbinger form. And if you just want to see him in action, here’s the character demo that was released for English-speaking audiences (I play the game with the Chinese voices, but all the stuff I linked here is voiced by their American counterparts).

Again the soundtrack for this game is glorious, and I hope you’re enjoying my little obsession. If nobody stops me, there may be more to come! - Melinda Beasi

[the-sayuri-rin]

Part 3

Looking at the story that IS said by an abyss mage at least to contain some form of hidden plot, or rather  secret lie is

The Pale Princess and the Six Pygmies aka the story of  the Land of Night and the Moonlight Forest  which the beginning is obviously and  clearly describing Khaenri’ah after its fall.

The first paragraph talks about the “ Night Mother “ who is  “the source of all sins, and the Land of Night was the embodiment of her evilness.” In reality for Khaenri’ah that person is called “Gold”  or it might be Albedo’s mentor “ Rhinedottir is is known to be female. It is possible Gold and  Rhinedottir could be the same person .

Sidenote:

The Moonlight Forest was the only place free from the rule of the Night Mother. Only there could the people bask in the bright moonlight and enjoy the grace it brought to the living. Everyone in the Kingdom of the Moonlight Forest was born with fair skin, light-colored hair, and bright blue eyes. 

Perhaps the constant lack of sunlight and the nourishment of the moonlight was the reason for their beauty, giving them an appearance different from the abhorrent creatures lurking at the edge of the forest.

This seems to be why not everyone turned in to monsters also this seems to explain the “some went into hiding” part of Khaenri’ah’s description and this description of it’s people stands out for Kaeya, perhaps is half Khaenriean as his eyes are blue but not bight blue unlike Dains and also unlike Dains his skin is not fair and his hair is not light colored even Albedo fits this better than him and his eyes are more teal than blue? Anyway...

The rest of the Volume have not been given, but their descriptions are:

Vol 2: This installment tells of the meeting of the Pale Princess and the Light Prince.

Either the sibling met one of the royal family members or Dain’s is the “prince” so to speak as he is very prince like and princes can also be knights.

Vol 3:  . This installment tells of the Pale Princess and the Light Prince's decision to save the Moonlight Forest.

There was possibly already trouble when the sibling got to  Khaenri ‘ah, I doubt this was a quick and random thing but rather something that was building up to the fall of  Khaenri‘ah? and the sibling decided to help them.

Vol 4:  Installment four describes the meeting between the Pale Princess, the Light Prince, and the Six Pygmies.

Whoever “The Six Pygmies” represent, maybe Gold and whoever could possibly maybe have worked with him meet the sibling and who might be Dain?

Vol 5:  In this installment, the Six Pygmies' sinister scheme starts to unfold.

Possibly Gold and his maybe fraction started whatever plan he had to reach whatever his goal was  (possibly erudition)

Vol 6:  This installment tells of how the Six Pygmies managed to implement their nefarious plot.

Explains exactly what happened that led to the fall of the Eclipse dynasty and Khaenri’ah?

Vol 7: The final installment brings everything to a conclusion, and includes the Night Mother's prophecy.

The sibling mentions, their “war with destiny”,  and Dain quotes a “self-proclaimed prophet” maybe “the night mother” is this person?

The confluence between the past and future. The original calamity had been overturned, yet the island in the sky set the earth to burn. Chalk pursues gold, in this time inopportune, the eclipse is swallowed by the crimson moon. The future must atone for bygone mistakes, as the bond familiar falters and breaks— of the same blood, elders and the youth... Such is the cycle of the world, in truth. Dain, what is that strand of blonde hair to you? Someone you must kill? Or the object of your penitence?--- A self-proclaimed prophet

and the only calamity that occurred before  Khaenri’ah and is stated to have been “overturn” is what happened with the Seelies. 

going back to that story,  it speaks of  “a certain traveler” seems to have fallen in love with  one of the Seelies' ancestors. 

pause button:

Going to the “We will be Reunited trailer: The first thing Lumine states is “Outlanders do not belong in this world.” We don’t know why she said it or how she came to know this but she does.

Play button:

The way it’s phased in the Seelie story, the relationship between the Seelies ancestor and the “certain traveler” is what caused “their civilization came to an abrupt end...” adding on this after not long -30 days-  after their marriage  disaster befell the world. In the story it also suggested that it could have been a change among the three moons, but the thing about stories are that as time goes on, they can be changed. The couple tried to run, but “ The calamity caught up to them,...” not only that but, “they were punished with eternal separation and a curse that robbed them of their memories.”

again this is something I doubt and this is just a sloppy thought of mine, the woman in this story could also be the one who gave Andrius his powers for all we know so think nothing of it. Anyway do what you will with my random notes and thoughts I just wanted to get this out my head.

[khalilhumam]

Belarus in turmoil: the view from neighbouring Lithuania 

New Post has been published on http://khalilhumam.com/belarus-in-turmoil-the-view-from-neighbouring-lithuania/

Belarus in turmoil: the view from neighbouring Lithuania 

Belarusians’ activism has surprised even their familiar neighbours in Lithuania

Vilnius’ Cathedral Square, one of the most prominent landmarks of the capital of Lithuania. Photo by Filip Noubel, used with permission.

Belarus and Lithuania share more than just a 600-km long border in the north of Central Europe. Although both countries have gone in very different ways since the collapse of the Soviet Union — Lithuania may be a NATO and EU member and Belarus part of the Russian-led CSTO military alliance — much in their common history unites them. While Belarusians are a small minority in Lithuania, representing less than two percent of the population, this minority plays an important role in Belarusian national historical narratives; from the 14th to the 17th century, Belarus and Lithuania were part of the same entity, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and many key Belarusian intellectuals lived, worked, and studied in Vilnius, its capital. Today the two neighbours share in the aftermath of the August 9 presidential elections in Belarus, which has seen Belarusians take to the streets in mass protests against an attempt by longtime President Alexander Lukashenka to secure a sixth consecutive term in office. Lukashenka came to power in 1994, and over his long rule more than a handful of Belarusian opposition activists have moved to Lithuania. Several Belarusian civil society organisations can be found in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius as well as the European Humanities University, which the Belarusian government forced out of the country in 2004. Lithuania remains a likely destination for opposition supporters if the political situation in Belarus deteriorates further. They would join opposition candidate Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, who fled to Lithuania on August 11 after receiving threats from the Belarusian authorities. In exile, she continues to call upon Belarus to hold free and fair elections and announces her readiness to lead a transitional government. For its part, the Lithuanian government has voiced strong support for the opposition protesters. For example, on August 12 the country opened its borders, which were shut due to the COVID-19 pandemic, to Belarusian citizens. Then on August 18, the Lithuanian parliament voted overwhelmingly in support of sanctions against Belarus, stressing that the results of the presidential election must not be recognised. What does the Lithuanian government seek to achieve with these moves? And what do Lithuanians make of the turmoil next door? GlobalVoices spoke to Lithuanian activists, politicians, and civil society figures to find out more.

Surprises and solidarity 

Despite this familiarity, Lithuanians were taken by surprise when Belarusians responded with such anger to the announcement of the election results, particularly their readiness to take to the streets in the face of incredible state violence and to go on strike. Lithuania's former prime minister and current member of the European Parliament for Lithuania Andrius Kubilius told GlobalVoices that he sees a generational dynamic at work in these protests:

What triggered this unexpected reaction is a systemic change, the end of what I call the totalitarian regime syndrome of former Soviet states. After 26 years in power, Lukashenka could not provide permanent growth of social conditions. During the last ten years, it actually went into the opposite direction in Belarus. It is also a generational change, Lukashenka always tried to convince people how bad it was before he took power in 1994, but young people did not witness that “before”. They travel and see different living conditions for themselves. Belarusian society has changed dramatically, but Lukashenka hasn't, and that became unacceptable.   From Belarusian experts, we hear that the final straw was the pandemic, during which Lukashenka seriously explained to his people that “one can simply cure and prevent COVID-19 with a visit to the sauna and vodka”. But people took it on themselves to help patients and doctors; they understood they can do quite a lot on their own, and this movement [of social activism] laid the groundwork for the election campaigns and protests. 

Given the proximity of Belarus, large parts of the Lithuanian population have shown great empathy, inspired by female Belarusian protesters who came onto the streets wearing white dresses and holding flowers in peaceful daytime demonstrations. Andrius Tapinas, a social activist and founder of internet TV channel Laisvės TV [Liberty TV] explained his own initiative, in which Lithuanians will channel their own struggle for independence into a statement of solidarity with Belarus:

On August 23, I am organising a human chain of people from Lithuania to Belarus. We call it The Freedom Way to Belarus; it is a copy of the Baltic Way of 1989 which has an amazingly deep symbolic value for us. We are going to build a living chain of people from Cathedral Square in central Vilnius, the starting point of original Baltic Way, all the way to the Belarusian border. We reckon it will take 25,000 people to achieve, but we have already registered interest from many more than that, so I expect a double chain of 45-50,000 people. We hope that the Belarusian people will extend the chain from the border into their country, all the way to Minsk. However after Lukashenka promised that he will break the chain by any means necessary, as of today it is unclear whether Belarusians will join.  

Vilija Navickaite, a pro-democracy activist and a creative learning practitioner, says that she is eager to take part in Tapinas’ living chain to the Belarusian border. She explained her motivations for supporting the protesters in Belarus:

In my bubble almost everyone has changed their photos in FB with white-red-white Belarusian flags in support for our neighbours and I know people that are closely following the events in Belarus. All this might be a bit similar to 2014 when Lithuanians felt so close to Ukrainians… We were part of the same country with Belarusians for a long time and have similar words in our languages, very similar customs, and the same heroes from the period of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. It seems that for a while, Belarusians were a bit like our forgotten brothers and sisters. I am happy that's changing. 

Looming fears

However, some Lithuanians have markedly frostier attitudes towards their southern neighbour. Lukashenka has pushed for the final construction phase of a nuclear power plant at Astravets, located not too far away from the suburbs of the Lithuanian capital. It is a sore point; Lithuanians remember the April 1986 nuclear catastrophe at Chernobyl all too well. Kubilius shares these same concerns:

Lithuania has passed into law a ban on buying energy from Astravets, which was built initially to sell energy to the Baltics and Eastern Europe. People voted in a referendum in Lithuania against a Japanese-based technology plan after Fukushima to replace our own former Soviet nuclear plant in Ignalina. It is hard to predict the view of the new Belarusian government, but there is also a lot of opposition within Belarus to Astravets, so we might have better opportunities in the future for Lithuania. 

Many Lithuanians also looking warily towards Moscow, which is bound to play a key role in the ongoing political crisis. Foreign Minister Linas Linkevičius went as far as to say that Vilnius does not discount an intervention by Russian troops in Belarus, which the government fears. According to Kubilius:

For Putin, Belarus is a real trap: he cannot support the revolution as it could serve as an example to Khabarovsk [a city in Eastern Russia hosting anti-government demonstrations] from Moscow, but if he associates too much with Lukashenka, he will repeat the same errors as in Ukraine, with [former President Viktor] Yanukovich, ousted in 2014. In the end Putin united all Ukraine against Russia. So he would be more happy to remove Lukashenka to avoid strong emotions that could inflame people in Russia, instead opting to install a new leader who is less against the Kremlin. If there are new elections in Belarus, he could get his way. The only hope today lies with the European Union's response: in the European Parliament we have now great support through Euronext to launch an investigation into what happened in Belarus. The biggest challenge to a new democratic government will be the economic situation: just as the EU provided help to Ukraine after the Euromaidan protests, about 14 billion Euros, so should we now provide 3.5 to 4 billion Euros for Belarus, whose population is about four times smaller than that of Ukraine. 

That approach is shared by other EU member states bordering Belarus. On August 14, Poland's Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki announced a five point plan to help Belarusians, including support for independent media and civil society initiatives and support for political emigres. Some 11.4 million Euros have been allotted to these goals. Poland has a long history of political support for its immediate neighbours to the East, which was once articulated as a diplomatic strategy known as the Giedroyc Doctrine. However, in recent years critics of the country's ruling right-wing populist Law and Justice (PiS) party argue that the government's attacks on political pluralism and the rule of law at home undermine Poland's credibility in promoting transparency and good governance abroad — including to Belarus. For example, an op-ed published in the major liberal newspaper Gazeta Wyborcza on August 13 argued that Poland's role in that regard had been taken over by Lithuania. Jörg Forbrig, Director for Central and Eastern Europe at the German Marshall Fund of the United States, has directed a programme in support of civil society in Belarus for the last 15 years. He stressed that it did not necessarily make sense to contrast EU states’ perceived levels of commitment to Belarus in this manner, given that the effort towards reform is an all-European one. However, he praised Lithuania's outsized role in engaging with Belarusian civil society, stating that this gave Vilnius extra credibility with other EU states on the issue:

Lithuania is not [merely] fully in line with EU policy, it even spearheaded quite a lot of the direct support for Belarusian democrats. It hosts a free Belarusian university, numerous NGOs working on democratic change in Belarus, and has now proposed, together with others, a dialogue to resolve the current situation in Belarus. In short, Lithuania has been just as committed, and often even more so, to a democratic and free Belarus [as any other EU member state].

However the situation in Belarus develops, it is likely that Vilnius will be the first port of call for many of its young opposition activists — either as representatives of a new order or as exiles from another fateful attempt against the old.

Written by Filip Noubel, Maxim Edwards · comments (0) Donate · Share this: twitter facebook reddit

[house-for-musicians-blog]

RAW HOUSE #7: Hell Mask - Hypnogogic Chambers

“Raw House” is a series of interviews exploring, discovering and presenting new and unknown artist on the Bandcamp platform. Each interview is an insight and deep-dive into one particular artist chosen randomly though the selection of members of the House for /Mu/sicians Facebook group. Consider joining if you’re an artist yourself! Enjoy this interview!

Dungeon Synth is one of those genres that popped up to me quite recently. However the aesthetic immediately caught my attention as something more than just a mix of occult and cheesy sounding synths. It struck me as something much, much deeper - the presence of everlasting chaos, darkness and heavy stone walls surrounding you from all sides. From such place far from time comes a tiny, yet quickly expanding DS act Hell Mask. On today’s Raw House - Hell Mask and I talk about Dungeon Synth community, things occult and why California is not a good place for DS music because of too much sun.

Listen while reading to the Hell Mask’s newest release entitled “The Beauty of Being Nobody”

The Beauty of Being Nobody by Hell Mask

I. ASTRAL PLANE PROJECTION

RAW HOUSE: I want to start with your newest release „The Beauty of Being Nobody”. Quite an extraordinary album title. One thing to mention in an instance of this release is the fact of putting on this record elements not only of Dungeon Synth but also other stylistics. Why have you decided to change Hell Mask a little bit?

HELL MASK: I chose to change up the formula a bit because I was exploring other genres while making TBOBN. It originally was going to be strictly Dungeon Synth but i honestly was losing steam and felt that what I was making at the time was really stale. So that’s why I added a different sound to the album.

RAW HOUSE: I want to explore that subject a bit deeper. I have rarely heard of going outside as a DS act. Do you feel that difference in the music provided made the newest release more varied? Has it made you more aware of that genre's faults?

HELL MASK: I think so, it gave me more options, also it gave me a break from focusing too much on writing a Dungeon Synth album. At the time i was stuck with where i wanted the album to go. So I'm happy that I did move out of the genre a bit.

RAW HOUSE: To me the Dungeon Synth community was really far away from my eye. I just got more aware of it's existence maybe half a year ago when some of those releases started popping out here and there. How did you got into that community of people?

HELL MASK: Actually DS has been booming lately. I'm positive that majority of people discovered Dungeon Synth through the DS General threads on /mu/. That's how i discovered the genre.

RAW HOUSE: And are you satisfied with the people you have met over that time?

HELL MASK: I've met a some pretty awesome people. Like Einhorn, Nebulosa and Chaucerian Myth. I think those guys are pumping in a fresh sound into the community.

RAW HOUSE: It seems like DS community is really quite sterile.

HELL MASK: There's a lot of hate when it comes to experimentation. I was in a group where they literally talked shit on newbie artists. Einhorn got a lot of hate because he added a Harsh noise element to the Dungeon Synth formula. I think his stuff is amazing. its brings new life to an already stale genre.

RAW HOUSE: What made you most fascinated about Dungeon Synth? How did it come to the decision that you want to make that kind of music?

HELL MASK: Dungeon Synth is a beautiful genre. Every time I listen to it I get sent into this headspace where I can pretend I'm a knight riding off to war or a wizard leading his party into the dark depths of a dungeon. I decided to start making DS because I connected with the music. My goal is to make people experience what I experienced when I first listened to DS.

RAW HOUSE: „The Beauty of Being Nobody”, in my eyes, has a beautiful dissonance. Not only in the terms of the genre switching but also the length of the tracks. At the very beginning the first few tracks doesn't extend to two minutes in length but „Cosmic Sleep” is an extremely long track in comparison. How did you decided on making these tracks a reality? Are you concerned with the length of your music?

HELL MASK: No, I'm not concerned with the length of a track. When I write and record I do it until I’m satisfied with what I hear. be it short or long. "Cosmic Sleep" was just something I got carried away with. I had an image of a wizard astral projecting himself into the astral plane. While recording I tried to translate that mental image into music.

RAW HOUSE: Are these sort of vivid imaginations the key point of reference when it comes to making your music?

HELL MASK: Definitely! When I start a new project I usually sit in silence in front my of my computer and wait until some weird thought or image bobs up from my subconscious mind. Then i take that idea and let it dictate where the album goes.

RAW HOUSE: What I have heard in Hell Mask was always a form of a story hidden behind that very dense stylistic which always made me wonder – is presenting a story important for you? And if yes – what kind of a story? Because, for example, in „In The Shadow of Morgoth” I can clearly hear very heavy high fantasy vibe while on your newest – a mix of future and distant past.

HELL MASK:  ITSOM was the only album inspired from an outside source, I was reading some Lord of the Rings and got inspired to make a Tolkien themed album, but albums like “Walls of Night” and “Pestis Cruento” have was entirely mood driven. i wanted to create an atmosphere for the listener. Hopefully the listener can create their own fantasy story while listening to my music. TBOBN had a theme/feeling of transitioning to a new place.

RAW HOUSE: One of the most common misconceptions about the Dungeon Synth music is that, and I quote because I truly find this amazing in a way, „DS is a genre made especially for those old 80s RPGs”. Now do you agree with that notion or are you trying to distance yourself from that tendency? Why?

HELL MASK: I wasn't born in 80's but I've played really good 90's Dungeon Crawler RPG's like Wizardry and Eye of The Beholder. The music had a special, mystical quality. i try to keep that charm in my music but i do want to try to push away from that image.

RAW HOUSE: Many of the people who I have encountered within the DS community seems to mix their personal life and that mystical persona quite well on their project. How big of an importance for you is presenting yourself as this sort of dark monk like on the pictures you have send me? Is is all an act or is there something from that persona that directly influences your life?

HELL MASK:  When I first started out with this project I never wanted to show my face, but now I want to create an alter ego and finally put a face to the music, er, well a mask [laughs]. It's definitely not an act. I would like to build up an image for my project.

RAW HOUSE: I also have to mention the cover art. Especially on your latest release which is quite easily one of the weirder cover arts I have seen from the Bandcamp people. How images for your covers are developed? What inspired you in terms of making the latest cover art?

HELL MASK:  My good friend Andrius Šatas created the album covers for "Walls of Night" and "In The Shadow of Morgoth". The latest album was just me fooling around in GIMP and trying to see if i can come up with cool looking art. I think it fits the mood of the album quiet well in my opinion.

II. CULTS AND GRIMOIRES

RAW HOUSE: You are pretty consistent when it comes to releasing music. It seems you get out something once per each month. How do you manage to keep up making music? What helps you?

HELL MASK:  It’s just the urge to put something out there for someone to discover. If someone likes my work they can have albums to sort through and enjoy. It's like the internet is a dungeon and hopefully someone will stumble upon my treasures.

RAW HOUSE: Has it been hard for you to start your music project? Why? Why not?

HELL MASK: No it wasn't that hard. For years I never set a goal for my musical endeavors but when I started Hell Mask I wanted to make damn sure I followed through with what I created.  And so far I am really happy with how things turned out.

RAW HOUSE: You originate from Corona, California. It's a very weird place for a music like appear in such a strange place. Is there a scene for people like you to explore?

HELL MASK:  No there's no Dungeon Synth scene here in Southern California. The music scene here is mainly indie/garage rock.

RAW HOUSE: Has California been good for you as a musician? Do you think there is a place for such type of music in there?

HELL MASK: Well usually DS is associated with cold winds and cold places. California is warm and sunny [laughs]. I know most people here wouldn't dig the music I make.

RAW HOUSE: What are you listening to right now? What would you personally recommend?

HELL MASK:  I'm going through a Swans/Boards of Canada phase right now. For Swans I'd recommend “The Glowing Man” album, I think its pretty accessible. For Boards of Canada I'd recommend “The Campfire Headphase”, it's an easy listening experience and its very comfy.

RAW HOUSE: What's your stance on the things occult? Do you find them interesting when they are visible in real life i.e. cults? If so – which of these are most interesting to you?

HELL MASK:  I'm always browsing /x/ Paranormal. I love all things hidden and obscure. I love reading about cults and grimoires. It's interesting.

RAW HOUSE: Since you’ve started your project a few months ago – what do you feel you need to improve from your output? What are the things that you feel would make your releases even more enjoyable?

HELL MASK: I should start making physicals like cassettes and CD's. I've had a few people say they'd love a physical copy of my albums.

RAW HOUSE: Finally - what’s in store for Hell Mask in the not too distant future?

HELL MASK: Expect a concept album!

Interview conducted on 21st of April, 2017 For more Hell Mask’s music go to: https://cruduxcruo.bandcamp.com/