#anyway I thought this sounded amazing

[vulcanette]

sound engineer & youtube reactor (matt) stripped back some of the parts of aqua regia to get a closer listen.

some isolated vocals, isolated drum and bass, isolated guitar.

reactor: the sound bus

[kitkatsgalore]

wake up! ⏰

[sleep version | awake version]

[bring-cringe-back]

Okay I might just be reading too much into this. But while I was watching the episode *cough cough* procrastinating *cough cough I realised that they don't show how the Doctor and Ruby got there.

And I know that it's probably just meant to be vaguely like 'they just went for fun'.

BUT this is the third episode in a row where we haven't seen them arrive. And for 73 yards it was clearly a doctor who episode when it started but it immediately gets rid of the doctor. ( I know that for 73 yards and for dot and bubble it was because Ncuti Gatwa was filming other stuff but let me cook) In Dot and Bubble you could effectively be forgiven for assuming that it was a random Black Mirror episode or something similar until the Doctor turns up, and tbh if you were just flicking through channels and haven't been watching Doctor Who you could probably basically not know for much longer. In Rogue they are just there, except for the title screen (the same for dot and bubble) you could basically watch it as a Bridgerton episode until the Chuldur turn up.

(And there's whole other rant about how the Chuldur fits into the theory about this basically being a TV show within a TV show, I don't know the name for this theory)

But anyway these episodes are increasingly separated from the Doctor and Ruby as plot points particularly in the beginning of episodes. They are more and more like an excuse to tell the story or explore the topic that the writers want to explore. Which isn't totally different from the occasional episode of previous series, but this is a lot more in my memory at least from previous series. So it feels a lot like they are skimming over the more sci-fi doctor who elements. Which fits in in my mind to the idea that the 'One who waits' is a representation of story telling. I've seen theories that it's Ruby but she doesn't know it which makes sense, I think it would also make sense for it to be her parent(s) who left her, or alternatively just it's own thing all together. But it feels very like that bit where Amy is living a life and starts to realise it's all fake.

The narrowing down of these episodes into not showing them arriving, and at least in Rogue - I can't remember in the others - not showing them leaving the story, feels very different.

It feels more and more like story telling. They have covered fairy tales, Period pieces/Romance, Dystopia, War/SciFi, Musicals, Political Drama. They are also showing the doctor playing his role, something that we see companions doing often enough but we seldom see the doctor doing it.

In Space Babies he is scared of a new creature. In the Devil's Code he sings a song that makes little sense in the story, he doesn't question the road making noise. In Boom he's more himself but it's also the closes to his 'normal' environment. In 73 Yards they just fully remove him from the story, which I realise was done for filming requirements but would have been so interesting to see the doctor in a Political drama. In Dot and Bubble he plays the role of the outsider bringing information to those living under a Dystopia, how is he UNABLE to access the inside, sure he plays a role that's fairly similar to himself but Doctor Who is really Dystopian.

In Rogue he is becoming more and more his role, he is playing the role of a sort of Elizabeth Bennet style character, a strong romantic interest for the brooding man. Which is great, he makes fun of the genre, but he is hyper aware of the genre and still ends up in its pitfalls. He trusts a man so quickly he ends up handing over his sonic, he gets proposed to and basically immediately accepts. Now I am really hoping that Rogue gets to stay around I really liked him as a character, regardless of which theory of his identity if any are true. But the Doctors reaction to him is still a little out of character, he is feeling what he is SUPPOSED to feel and he is acting how he is SUPPOSED to act.

It just feels to me like an increasing number of these episodes are more and more story like and more and more separated from the more Doctor Who elements. And the lack of an introduction of how they get there, and the lack of them leaving in the TARDIS is so unusual to me and stands out to my brain so much.

It feels like they are removing elements that don't fit the genre. Anyway not sure if that makes any sense but I'm vibing with it.

[jaynovz]

God forgive me but the marvel show is giving me toxic yuri and I am not immune

[multifariousmayhem]

chapter 11 is up!

also:

enhance:

more:

the curse takes hold

[stinkypeanutbutter]

Have some Taylor !! I love her aoosois much she’s such a cutie patootie :33

[donutdrawsthings]

As someone who likes to focus on character design in my art and frequents a lot of character creation spaces because of it, I feel I can say with confidence (Most of) the characters in The Amazing Digital Circus have commonly-used-online design traits and sources of inspiration, which make their designs feel not too exciting and maybe a bit uninspired.

HOWEVER, What makes these guys more unique lays in their personality, voice acting and animation, which perfectly fits the narrative of the story (imagine being stuck in VRchat). And It's literally perfectly fine to like the designs as they are. Their character designs have good colour contrasts which balance nicely over the design, a good weight distribution, strong shape language AND have an overarching style that ties them all together while also distinctly being based on different things and looking like they all come from a different genre of entertainment. For what these characters are, they are DESIGNED REALLY WELL.

I feel the character with the most unique and self-contained (for lack of a better word for "visually not directly inspired by something") design by far is Pomni. Literally chef's kiss. I love her expressions, love her strong colour scheme and I love how her jester's hat is stylised to be sometimes almost completely straight at the top. Her flat hat together mixed with the straight-cut strands of hair peeking out from under it are such a good and subtle contrast to her other round features that I'd dare to say they reflect her seriousness through the forced silly get-up put onto her by this digital prison. And her whole clown outfit is a really good contrast to the genuine dread and existential horror she's feeling in general. I can't get enough of it. Her design is perfect for her role in the story and also as introduction to the world we as the audience are new to.

That's why I'm honestly absolutely appalled by the amount of bad faith and horrible posts I've seen towards this project as a whole. It's one thing to not like it, but a totally whole other thing to actively make it (and the fans) out to be the worst most offensive creation to have ever touched the eyes of mortal men. It's not. And remember, people can be trolls to make a fandom look worse.

Online we have a fondness for kidcore and weirdcore aesthetics based on vague familiarity and nostalgia. It's OKAY to like a story/characters INSPIRED by these things. You are allowed to indulge on your own interests. Don't take these mean spirited posts to heart. If they don't respect your positive opinions of the show, you don't have to respect their negative opinions of it either.

[discoreptile]

As of yet unnamed game card art!

[noramoon]

i think hearing that version actually makes me like us better

[le-velo-pour-dru]

i would like you to know that i have had multiple. multiple dreams about dallon weekes. in the latest one he was fact checking a south park episode that claimed cinnamaldehyde cured cancer. i am still not especially sure who he is. is this something he would say. dru i need your opinion as an expert. did you implant this into my subconscious

AHAHAHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA MY INFLUENCE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! >:D 💖

Oh my god it makes me so happy that I talk about him enough that he SHOWED UP IN YOUR DREAMS MULTIPLE. TIMES. 🤭🩷 That's amazing omg X3 💖 As for if he would say that, under the right circumstances he might. I didn't even know cinnamaldehyde was a thing until just now, but if he did know about it, and if he just so happened to watch South Park, I feel like he might make a funny tweet saying that the episode was wrong X3 🩷

As for if I implanted this in your subconscious, yes, it was absolutely my doing >:3 Mwahahaha 💖

[red-dyed-sarumane]

i hope i am not only the aru sekai mutual to u but also a rabid rime defender

[deadtower]

u know what i get how travis mcelroy could watch potc 9 times in theatres because i just finished songbirds and snakes for the second time and i could definitely watch it seven more times, easy

[musicrunsthroughmysoul]

I just had an epiphany about "The Sailor" by Big Country - this song, more than any others (arguably) in BC's discography, is pointedly a critique of masculinity.

To be a little more in-depth (because hi, I am me), this song is actually about a deep desire to see a less hegemonic masculinity in society, and seeks a society free of toxic masculinity by way of the idea that 'Change starts with me'. It's no coincidence that sailors are first and foremost thought of (default, in other words) as men, which Stuart Adamson definitely took advantage of with this song.

"I will be here forever Till the river runs into the sea"

Now that is the lyric that's actually most pointed to me as being commentary on fatherhood (let alone how it connects to masculinity); specifically, toward absent fathers. Adamson is essentially saying with this line, 'Yes, absent fathers is a stereotype - one that shouldn't exist, because fathers should be present in their children's lives.' So he is defiantly and no comment, as it is not necessary here, as to whether this was hypocritical saying that the stereotype will end with him, and will do so for a consistently long time.

"I will always be silent And hold my head up And we will be sailors no more"

Given that mansplaining is a word in the English language now, the idea that men are loud and/or overtalk isn't unheard of to consider. So with the first line, again, he's suggesting that he will do essentially the opposite of what is expected of him as a man if it will free him of the societal expectations of masculinity and the realities of toxic masculinity (which also explains the very last line of the chorus). As for the second line, I think: What does it mean to be silent and proud? Is it possible to be (or even just appear) proud if you aren't verbally expressing your pride? I think that question applies to this line, and what I initially said at the beginning of this, too; he wants to see if it's possible, because maybe (hopefully) it is a better way of expressing masculinity than has otherwise typically been displayed before and currently. But, of course, he is still saying that he should be allowed to be a proud man (to be proud of being a man), but he is otherwise (in basically the rest of the song) questioning how it is possible to do so without his pride or his masculinity being toxic or overbearing or oppressive, because that kind of masculinity is not the kind that he seeks now and in/for the future.

And because this lyric analysis was supposed to be as basic as possible, I will add one more verse which supports what I said, but this is particularly about toxic masculinity:

"The only thing I wanted to be Was the perfect one who killed for free And I will try no more, I say I will try no more"

I used to always wonder what the FUCK he meant by "The only thing I wanted to be was the perfect one who killed for free", because I wondered, "Why would he be killing for free????? And who is he killing, much less for free???????????????" and it occurred to me, with this analysis, that it's commentary on the even more rigid expectations of masculinity - of navy personnel, who are also, of course, sailors, but who nonetheless conform and answer to their navy's government. He's saying that before the moment of clarity that he had in/through this song, he always wanted to be 'the perfect soldier/sailor', easily sacrificing his victims for the cause of the state (and for society, and for society's expectations of masculinity), and he is now emphatically declaring that he's not even going to try anymore.

Of course, it's easy to consider any of Stuart Adamson's songs about ships/sailors, etc. as commentary on masculinity because of his own, personal comments that he gave on his upbringing and growing up for at least half of his childhood without his father (who worked on ships) around, but that's for another, far less objective post/essay.

[eclipsesalign]

i wish i had a collaborator to work on my headworld with me or something

[red-dyed-sarumane]

kyuuyakus so good not only bc its like the only song heavy enough i can tolerate at loud volumes that can Almost drown out my coworker who never shuts up but ALSO for the points ive said 74times & will continue to,

aru sekai shoushitsu set us up for something super sci-fi, which. yes. the series very much is. but it was so technical and almost coldly indifferent. and then we're given the whole "old testament" in the title & the whole intro reading that isnt far from dantes inferno type content as my good friend emimin pointed out. we've got this new aspect added in and at the same time the lyrics let you know this character's still dealing with the complex technical stuff, from the terms down to the second kanji in ashita being incomplete as though because of a program error or interruption or some other similar reason.

and it feels even more different because theres just so much emotion in this one compared to shoushitsu. all the "bye-bye"s written in ways that express deep pain, the fact that the "see you tomorrow"s are cut off in the way they are the first time, and so drawn out the second time. the genre's not the spacey, distant trance type that shoushitsu is; its heavy, its intense, its got as much to it musically as there are details in the story. it's not just to sound cool, it's getting her state of mind across just as much as the spoken words. the world's being destroyed physically & metaphorically, everyone's suffered this over and over, they've parted ways so many times and its just never something they can get used to, especially not if they want to keep trying to end this whole loop, she's stressed past imagination trying to keep everything in check when its just not possible, & the intensity of the music just emphasizes all of that. there's less intense parts too, sort of like a forced focus on what she's doing that all too quickly builds to a panic. or the in the second part where everything gets so dire, the bell's tolling and she's running out of time, the piano over top of it giving such an uneasy feeling, and then right back to that heavy panic. theres so much emotional charge in it you know the long notes aren't just magu having fun with it; you just know they're meant as screams. i dont even think i can say screams for help, i think she knows shes past the point of help or at least that she's supposed to be everyone else's source of help that it's just stressed lamentation. she's doing everything she possibly can and its not working so all thats left is to cry out about it.

and then u have the rute furute wo a motif in here that's added in under the "fractal wa/kurikaeshita" parts that really hits harder now with kannagi for extra context. knowing that this is in the past & can't be changed and everyone else is using this as a point of reference. then u of course have the nami no ne wo motif, & the longest & clearest instance of it aside from maybe oumen mokushiroku so u know she's herself & gets to live, gets to keep doing this & watching other people die. (although i have absolutely no frame of reference for how long she lives given this is a past event & she doesn't seem to be present in the more current time songs. we dont really have that context yet) & then we're back to the rute motif on top of what still sounds like a jumble of nothing. but i also thought the rute line was nothing and here its a big deal so i cant wait to realize what this other jumble is, considering its also under the last ima kizanda parts.

theres just so so much to it, so many little intricacies that build such a full picture from whats otherwise one of the more simple series songs & i cant love it more.

[maagisterpavus]

I just have to say that pre-teen me being obsessed and in love with Carlisle Cullen and now almost-thirty me squealing and kicking my feet over Cullen Rutherford really feels like a full-circle experience