#hence saving the title track for the end

[eurekq]

@scummiezzz EEK thank you for askinggggg :]

Lorigame (working title; hopefully will be replaced. Eventually) is a dating sim that I'm working on! I'm one of the main writers and the main artist. My friend joan @gullethead is our other main writer, seb @bastiantj is on coding, music and supplemental art, and fish @fish-mouth is our beautiful perfect project manager.

You play as Lorelei Kirch, a 21 year old engineering major at the University of Illinois, who happens to be the half-human daughter of a succubus. Lori is sweet, charming, bubbly, and both emotionally and academically intelligent. She's also attention obsessed and not shy of using underhanded means to get it. You start the game in a questionable poly relationship with your high-school boyfriend of five years, Julian, and your more recently acquired college fling, Mav.

Julian's half human, half demon, just like you, and a massive sweetheart and goofball; he's also incredibly busy, lacking impulse control, insecure about your relationship, quite frankly a bit cringe, and fucking hates Mav's guts.

Mav is a listless immortal, the daughter of a dryad and a succubus, who in lieu of finding a purpose has instead devoted herself to pure hedonism and skirt chasing over the past 600 ish years. She's laid back, fun, adventurous, and always knows how to make you laugh; shes's also a total mess, incapable of actual commitment, high 24/7, and fucking hates Julian's guts.

This tenuous state of affairs naturally comes crashing down within the first week of your senior year. During this time you also meet Urielle, the other woman in you and Mav's relationship, an actual archangel and, for some reason, a League of Legends fanatic, and Dante, a dryly sarcastic and seemingly normal human bartender who saves you and Julian's asses at the start of the game.

The game takes place over your full senior year, and all four romance options have at least one good and two bad endings, as well as three poly relationship options with their own sets of endings. We also wanted to focus on giving an incentive to still hang out with characters whose routes you aren't doing; unromanced LIs and other characters, like your roommates, will still be influenced to a degree by how you treat them.

Other miscellaneous things I figure make sense for a summary: Main theme of the game is growing up, in whatever form that takes depending on your route: for some routes that's mainly about your LI, for some it's you. We wanted to give the bad endings and nastier options in general a lot of room in the writing instead of just having them be afterthoughts, and also wanted to lean into the nice or obvious thing to say not always being the best for the character or your relationship. The supernatural elements are mostly played for comedy ala Monster Prom, but tie back into the themes of the game, especially in certain characters' routes.

Another important aspect is Lori herself; I wanted to stay away from my ultimate pet peeve of the blank slate dating sim protagonist and make a character who really shines in between player dialogue choices and has a real mind of her own, sometimes even saying things that you might not exactly want her to say. I think from what we have now she's quite charmingly terrible, and has a lot of wiggle room to push her in a better, or, if that's your thing, worse direction.

The game is heavily based on my time in school (specifically at UIUC, hence the very specific setting) and I really wanted to use that setting to its fullest potential instead as just a backdrop. As such the game focuses a lot on things like fraternities, UIUC bar culture, and the frenzied engineering academic/social experience that I had.

We have all of the writing prepared for a playable demo, several music tracks, and concrete plans for the UI, and I'm slowly chugging through sprites. Hopefully there'll be a demo sometime in the next few months!

[ilikelookingatthings]

Just finished watching trolls 3 and I have so many thoughts I must share into the tumblr void!

first. It's a great movie. Ten out of ten songs. The characters are wonderful I LOVE THE FAMILY THEMES! and all the boy band puns and references are wonderfully done cans getting to see where each troll landed in life.

Now for my thoughts. I see alot of the fans being tough on the eldest brother...after all he was tough and pushed everyone to be perfect and get into roles and him snapping at his brothers and shifting the blame a bit for the failure to hit the perfect Harmony wasn't cool. And it resulted in the band and the family breaking up...not to mention him being there for branch.

But I honestly think they should have focused a bit more of WHY he was so intense about the perfect Harmony. The movie points to how this time he clearly wants to do it to save Floyd. Something ALL the brothers are on bored with...and we also know his care for Floyd is genuine as he did immediately go when he heard he was in trouble.

The brothers act like he js all bossy and controlling for no reason..

Which on the surface could parallel the sister in the veneer spaghetti siblings(the nostalgia and joy when my sister remembered what those toys were called XD) on the surface. Which the movie pointed how you shouldn't let someone restrict or guide what you will do or act. Which helped inspire the brother to at least come clean at the end and how the brothers had se p erated due to being serious about that boundary....

But I honestly think the eldest brother was that harsh about the perfect Harmony the first time because he was trying to protect his brothers. Not Just the second time in trying to save Floyd.

Think about it. The Band was together while they were still in the home tree in Bergen town where yearly the Bergens would gather around to feast on the trolls. Yearly means the Bergens knew they had to control how much they took or there wouldn't be anymore trolls to snack on.

We also know that when trolls get too sad they turn Grey and not as tasty and that the happier the troll/most talented the tastier/more valuable they are. AND WE KNOW THE BERGENS kept track to know which were the happiest trolls...hence why Poppy in particular was chosen to be the first troll the prince would get to eat...the tastiest, sweetest. happiest troll.

So I actually think the reason they were a band was because the band could serve as a distraction from the impending yearly pruning of the trolls and keep the trolls happy. Which was good for troll moral...but also meant the Bergens might keep the band alive/not choose to eat them because it meant keeping just 5 trolls alive the more happier/tastier trolls/less risk of trolls turning grey that the bergens could choose from.

Not to mention if they were perfect/special with the perfect Harmony the bergans might Have to keep them alive since the long we the live they might create more tastier talented trolls. Like letting the tastier Brussel sprouts live to procreate instead of eating them immediately. Or selective breading if you will.

And if they were perfect and well loved enough as a band the bergens might put them on the not kill list because if they were eaten it might upset too many of the trolls/risk too many if them turning grey.

They hinted a bit by having the eldest brother bring up how he had been taking care of all the brothers and the pressure it put him under.

But I really wish they had spelled out that the reason he was so fixated on them being perfect was because it was literally him trying to protect them and guarentee they wouldn't be pruned.

Even the simple titles(the sensative one, the fun one, the heartthrob, the leader, the baby ect) makes more sense in the scenerio that he was trying to make them easy to identify so the Bergens would have a easier time recognizing to not eat that specific troll and easier for other trolls to identify with at least one of the brothers to cover their bases to them becoming so popular they couldn't be touched by the Bergens.

It would also create a VERY strong parallel between the eldest brother and Branch in the first movie because Branch was also bossy and judgy and telling everyone they were doing something wrong which was actually branches way of caring for everyone and their safty...but by pushing like that when trolls naturally want to be chill and happy and not bummed out resulted in the other trolls seeing branch as bossy and disregarding branches good points and reasons because they felt he was putting down/disregarding their right to party and be positive.

Which caused other trolls to not want to. be around 'party pooper branch' and branch as a result rejecting the other trolls more in return that him pushing so hard was to keep them safe. With branch getting to the point of pretending like he doesn't care/why he was so harsh to poppy and rejecting hug time even though deep diwn he still cared as we saw him keep and rebuild all the cards he had destroyed.

In this it leads me to believe the eldest brother was bossy/being the partypooper trying to get everyone perfect and lashing out due to stress and fear. Trying to shift his stress on his brothers like branch had done with poppy to cover up the real source of his stress. And like branch,who had been surprised and upset at the other trolls being unreasonable in not realizing branch was right to have fears/that they should be more cautious, the eldest brother struggled to see why his brothers thought his advice was unreasonable when the elder brothers knew his thoughts/motives were to keep them safe by sticking to the band plan.

And him being pessimistic about the harmony note not happening must be because he had fixated on the harmony being the thing that would save his brothers/make them indispensible.

And his bros wanting to quit and blaming him felt like it made him leave himself like how branch would loudly say he doesn't need anyone else and would be alone.

Also why did no kbe adress more that he literally thoight everyone died? He couldn't find them for years and he also couldn't risk being seen by the Bergens...and how all of his brothers were just still upset with him...which made sense since their feelings were valid and he didn't take into account how ge was stressing them out and wasn't seeing them properly....but it felt a bit unfair we didn't see them realize he was that tough because he was trying to protect them and how them disregarding he cared at a must have hurt.

I think if the movie had brought it up it might have been a dark moment...but it would also create a strong thematic parallel with Viva who wanted too afraid and wanted to keep poppy and clay with her where she was going to disregard what they wanted with how he seemed to disregard some of the issues due to thinking he was right fir the greater good. And how scared viva was to risk seeing poppy hurt on the outside/why viva had stayed behind despite her wanting poppy to stay with her and be safe.

And a parallel with king peppy who hadn't reminded Peppy about her sister or the trolls who had been left behind due to his grief. But also meant poppy had a simple view of her dad and had disregarded his advice in the second movie and a bit in the first because she didn't have a full view of the situation and the complex feelings he might have.

Anyone anyone else find some of the pieces of the brothers fascinating...on one hand the fun brother has clearly been trying to over compensate and prove he isn't fun which isn't exactly healthy but does make me think of how branch enjoys some boring things as well as some darker stuff. Like a underground bunker. The safty exit parallel XD and branch not minding the sad country song with this guy being into sad book club and branch being into poetry. Nkt to mention him taking care of Viva and understanding some of her issues much like Branch had that dynamic with Poppy sometimes reversed with her being the one to be more positive and get him out of his paranoia with also him being the more practical guy providing the safty exits so to speak.

Branch and the eldest brother have survival aspects and skills and relying on that as a first resort(like branch and his whittled spears) and big brother with his weird shock starfish that didn't dissolve the Diamond and thinking of a diamond hammer. With the elder being more on the traveling side but still jumping in to help like branch did eventually with poppy. Or when he left to school when barbs letter arrived. But also both write now...branch having written lyrics or poems at least and the elder having written their past songs abd both getting a bit defense at times.

The heartthrob is clearly good at scheduals to some degree with running a restraunt and a romantic with his wife which we know branch has a heart throb romance side ;). And Branch did work out like bruce/spruce used to in the past.(which I like how comfortable the Dad was was in his body since he didn't need to work out anymore and was on a safe island after his solo career) and has his own considerate side that he knew he'd be inconviencing his wife. Not to mention both get goaded by their loved ones into the practice when both were reluctant at first.

And of course the sensative brother who is smart and more practical in knowing what would shatter the diamond and figuring out it was a trap and having that 'really?' Face when the big brother tried to save him by himself much like Branch with some of Poppy's aspects in not thinking through some of the plan and getting ahead of herself.

I'm just saying....mister leader feels to me like he has a slight missing component in tjat he was harsh to try to protect his brothers in the purge system they had going on and his brothers hadn't realized the details because he didn't explain it to them(using how he didn't jave a way with words and would touch a nerve with each brother pretty easily each time he tried to reconnect)...and it also makes the situation with poppy make even more sense because if it was prince grisle's first troll...the Bergens would break the rule of leaving the happiest most talented trolls alone so they could make even happier and tastier trolls because Poppy had a similar happy older sister.

Finding out the Bergens would take Poppy probably resulted in the trolls to come up with a desperate plan to save her(hence the tunnels) finally being thought up. And how everyone had to act natural to not Allert the Bergens.

Anyone one have any other thoughts to add about Trolls 3.

also....I found it interesting it didn't occur to John dory that his brothers would want him to stay which while kindof insensative(especially to not think of branches perspect). Make sense when he doesn't get any type of goid welcome from hjs bros and how branch had told him it was just the mission and done and had immediately shut him out at the start...but also felt like John relying on that to protect himself because his other brothers were upset with hjm again and blaming him entirely for the break up. Which deep down he probably did blame himself...but also it seems those trolls alive during that time seemed used to death...and it seemed he thought everyone died and we just kindof glossed over how that probably messed him up? And how we saw viva kindof try to pretend at times she was fine qhen she was clearly hurting real bad.

Also does anyone else think if branch had stayed on the bus then Floyd might not have almost died since they'd be taking all 4 of the other brother's talent and they could have broken out later? Hypothetical? Or no to that?

‐----------------‐-----------------------------

Though honestly it gets really interesting figuring out what each brother knows. The eldest returned and thought everyone was dead and had no way to track them down or assume they were okay after leaving for the mountain. But having no clue the survived until a month ago seeing that concert situation or at least hearing about it. And then of course how he had gone to try to save flyod and tried to find the other brother's while making it to branch...with the best guess a unmarked postcard from bruce/spruce.

Clay seemed separated during the attack or at least came across the survivors that escaped in the other tunnels and then got trapped in the golf course trying to make it safe and care for the traumatized survivors from the attack but he knew of the escape plan so at least assumed branch and grandma had gotten out...while viva didn't know if poppy or er dad was okay(specifically poppy).

Especially considering the no trolls left behind aspect might have led her to believe peppy was at strong risk of dying and how poppy had been a target...and how there was probably risk of being found in the earlier years since the cook was looking for them.

But it didn't seem to occur to him that rosiepuff might die and leave branch alone....maybe because he heard about the escape plan from viva.

Bruce/Spruce had his own family and a seemingly successful career and resteraunt so couldn't just up and leave but it seems unclear how much he knew? Like it didn't seem like he assumed they were all dead like the elder did. And he did at least send a post card to the eldest once...so maybe he also found out a way to contact or at least assume some pop trolls were alive after the second movie as more trolls stopped isolating and mixing more?

And of course we know alot of people dodn't know where to find the pop trolls in the forest anyway and how risky it can be to travel if you don't know what your doing. And how there was some common pop trolls bad/judged knowledge hovering happening previously with all the seperated troll sections.

Also..anyone else trying to piece together what thus all means for the king? Did he assume she was crushed or eaten? Or that she had escaped? Of course he couldn't leave the main group behind to go looking for personal reasons since he is a leader and tge bergen trauma was fresh and they needed to work on settling in a new place. Did the king just have the issue where he thought she died and he was shocked poppy didn't remember her but it was too painful to bring up due to his own grief? Which he couldn't linger on since he had to be the leader and didn't know how to adress it because Poppy had such a positive view of how he saved everyone since he literally went back and used the clothes off his back to save a while bunch of them. Like I have heard of the grief being so bad that some parents don't bring it up. Heck even in animation it happened in barbie with the Pegasus movie.

Anyway specifically any thoughts about

JOHN DORY

John Dory

But any others are also appreciated. Leave notes or reblog with your thoughts if your nervoous and need permission!

Also is it just me or were they using the hair less in this movie?

[quicksilver-clowns]

I wanna put some of my Deadpool and Wolverine thoughts out here before the film <3

Anything bolded is stuff I’ve thought out and think might be possible others are just thoughts :)

1. I think the reason all the xmen characters we see in the wasteland are bad guys is because Magneto tried to save from his xmen universe degrading by sending them to the wasteland

2. I think Storm will make an appearance

3. I think we’ll get an au of wolverine at some point

4. I think the feild with the rocks wolverine is in is the Feild Of Reeds from MoonKnight

5. The TVA is a secret branch that still honours the sacred timeline- and want him to take out marvel au’s like elektra and the fantastic 4 which he dies quickly. But when hes sent to kill wolverine he realizes that they’re bullshit. Which leads to both him and Logan getting sent to the wasteland and them having to team up with the people he pruned to get out

6. Cassandra wants them to escape so she can too

7. Taylor Swift Cameo or at least a joke (something like she appears as Dazzler only for her to immediately die and Wade will say something like “GUYS WHAT THE FUCK THAT WAS TAYLOR SWIFT DO YOU KNOW WHAT THE FANS ARE GONNA DO TO US???”)

8. America Chavez is opening the portal for them in the end

9. This movie will end with a lot of the multiverse characters escaping into our universe (main mcu) which will lead into Thunderbolts* (hence the asterisks on the title) which will deal with trying to track them down and then will lead into avengers 5

10. The portal is created by the new avengers looking for monica through the multiverse

[pocima]

My seasonal music highlights: winter 2024 🧣

Welcome to a new series of my silly music-blogging. Starting it because I want to regularly properly write about and describe the songs I enjoy, and to present my own candidates for the unofficial “song of the season” awards. I already started an annual fav list for albums/EPs and wanted something less major and more presentable as a little playlist, not really in particular order. Enjoy! Note that I kept the list one song per artist, most have incredible new releases outside of the ones focused on, these are just my picks for the season or my most played. And let me tell you, countless artists are dropping new music and projects left and right and I’m getting FED. This list alone is extremely abundant and we’re barely 2 full months into the year. The competition for this year’s personal favorite album spots and the highlights for the next seasons is about to be real tough. Can’t wait. (GIF source: MV for Cyberia by Meth Math.)

❅ winter again - 4s4ki

What better way to start a songs of the winter list than with THE anthem of this winter season? With her ability to not only pull off but absolutely excel at the different genres she incorporates into her music, 4s4ki simply never disappoints. She went into the studio with a mission to give the famous Last Christmas by Wham! a true successor and the mission was wonderfully accomplished. In this mellow 80s pop influenced track, she channels her inner Cocteau Twins (word to that one YouTube comment in the lyric video) while longing for a loved one that didn’t seem to stay by her side not even to have some canned coffee and bento this holiday season. Now I’m gonna channel my inner platonic delulu and say that it was released just on time, when I was discovering and especially feeling Boy Harsher’s alternative 80s inspired music (collab when?). Ironic how a self-described reverse Christmas song ended up doubling my winter spirits. She never fails to give me exactly what I need. I love this woman. (Big ups to Magic sword but as I mentioned I’m keeping the list one song per artist.)

❅ 4eva - Shygirl feat. Empress Of

You know from my username that I’ve been loving what Shygirl has had to offer for quite a while now, and 4eva was my personal post-Nymph jam ever since I heard a snippet of it back in last September and neither the full studio version nor my intuition let me down. Shygirl’s rapping and Empress Of’s verse over the Kingdom-produced delicious wobbly synths indeed stay playing on my mind. Empress Of’s feature came as a tracklist surprise and I’m more grateful for it than I had expected. The jungle drums in the chorus, and honestly the structure of the song in general were unexpected to me as well, but nevertheless they took part in forming possibly my favorite dance track of 2024. Both the Club Shy EP and 4eva have secured firm spots in my favorites of the year.

❅ Deer Teeth - Sega Bodega

Father of music, first ever man in the music industry, smash hit sorcerer, my favorite producer of all time… However you may refer to Sega Bodega, you can always rely on him to create an entire universe in one record and take you there and back. With Deer Teeth, he tells a story of a sighting of a late mother laid to rest with her child in a swan’s wings along with 200 deer teeth (hence the song title), which brings with itself a tale of hope, sacrifice and eternity. With reversed and distorted vocals, the addition of Mayah Alkhateri’s siren-like voice and obviously Sega’s otherworldly production style, the tale transforms into a cinematic masterpiece in sound form. Extra note: perfect to fall asleep to in a road trip, tried and tested. Both Deer Teeth and his newer single Set Me Free, I’m an Animal are stunning masterpieces, and I know this will make my year-end album list real predictable but SB3 is the most solid candidate for the top spot as of right now. Save me Sega Bodega, save me…

❅ Ex-Girlfriend - Erika de Casier feat. Shygirl

New slow R&B earworms drawing on different nostalgic genres couldn’t be more perfect for the chilly season, especially when they’re delivered by the one and only Erika de Casier. She has this ability to mix the best musical aspects of the near past (namely the 90s/00s) with her very own sensuality, freshness and uniqueness. Her soft vocals over a down-tempo R&B beat to match come after an orchestral, arguably dramatic intro and the melancholic, yearning yet cocky-ish tone is set. Shygirl’s deep, almost raspy voice always shines with slow, gloomy instrumentals (also seen in Lapdance from Asia by Cosha) and this track was no exception, matter of fact it’s now certainly one of my favorite features of hers. I will be returning to this song not only on the colder days of March, but the whole year, or rather until it’s wiped off existence completely.

❅ Cyberia - Meth Math

Before the quirky experimental trio’s slightly overdue, highly anticipated debut album Chupetones (go give the best b-side Pócima a listen too), they released 4 singles and I was not at all aware beforehand of the release of the third one. Pressed play, was impressed, pressed the loop button and the rest (at least 80 plays within the first week) was history. The intro immediately catches your attention, and the descriptions of a sad-looking happily-dancing angel over toot sounds, ripping synths and bonking bass transition into happy hardcore perfection. The 3-second bit before the second chorus gets me the most, it’s like a minuscule break to slow down and reflect on the all the absurdity before resuming the alien dancefloor madness. This banger completes my Meth Math song holy trinity, which is now Tambaleo-Fantasía Final-Cyberia. Add Pócima into the mix if you wanna form the four horsemen. Whatever your personal favorite may be, we can all agree that Meth Math always come at us with excellence.

❅ dOpamine - OnlyOneOf

Hallelujah. We have finally reached an era where all lyOns can live in harmony and sleep in peace instead of fighting over title tracks and new lows for the group’s flaming hot garbage record label. Even their biggest haters (so-called “fans” with a strange superiority complex) were finally praising an OnlyOneOf title track, and with how good it really is I’d be admiring their dedication to hating their own faves if they didn’t. Anyway, dOpamine is one of their best, it really is. I’ve been hoping for them to get on the drum & bass train for quite a while now, and they did it with a bright, twinkling, breakbeat-incorporating twist. They don’t lazily dip their toes into dnb and breakcore and leave it at that though, the buildups and structure of the track stay fascinating and the bridge drifts (should I intend the pun?) into their gritty industrial side before the outro closing out the song on a vocally strong, passionate but never over-the-top note. While the whole mini is exquisite, the lead single ended up being my favorite. Simply put, OnlyOneOf never fail to deliver quality K-pop against all odds.

❅ Sorbet - Kelela (LSDXOXO Remix)

The pre-release singles off of the RAVE:N remix album were all incredible just like its album tracks, however this gem is particularly lingering on me and my February mood. This spin on Sorbet encapsulates the AM club aspect of the project in one re-envisioned tune. Kelela and LSDXOXO, who produced and remixed numerous of her songs, reunite as a power duo to turn the dulcet, sedate Sorbet into a Eurodance-coded amped-up slapper that will get anyone moving. You can tell the song is DJ set opener material from when the first beat kick. The chorus melody sticks to your mind and the late night-like sonic experience becomes unforgettable. The special encounter requiring dim lighting is now set in a flashy rave scene. Completely flipped scenario yet everything makes perfect sense. All in all, Kelela’s vision for her dance records is 20/20 and LSDXOXO’s execution never leaves you hanging either.

❅ Fuetazo - Isabella Lovestory feat. Villano Antillano

Born to embody camp, forced… no, also born to be a hit maker. Isabella is undebatably one of the freshest, most outstanding figures of neoperreo and neoreggaeton, and her eccentric flare still comes through in a single as a (hopefully) pre-album snack. Fuetazo was released early into the season and closed out Isabella’s activities for the year. While the playful chorus introduces a whip that comes and goes, Villano Antillano mentions vacations and 42-inch weaves with her tone that meshes with the cheekiness of the track, and their chopped up vocal bits go back-and-forth in the outro. With the Chicken, Kamixlo and Dinamarca producer trio, the instrumentals can’t go wrong. The hard-hitting dembow drums and the lighter synths and other aspects of the song create a contrast that feels like a breeze, maybe more of a summer one even but a confidence booster gots to stay on rotation regardless of weather or temperature.

❅ Messy Room - The Deep (+ mini EP review)

Had I postponed the release of my 2023 fave project list just a little, the Messy Room EP would have at least scored an honorable mention. For those who need a quick debrief: The Deep is an independent K-alternative artist whose discography radiates coziness and sweetness. Mayhaps I should say sugar, spice and everything nice. Taking part in the production of her music, creative direction and visual curation, she ticks all the boxes for the bedroom pop star that should’ve reached her target audience ages ago. While she’s taken inspiration from R&B and indie and still does, “resurfaced” genres such as UK garage, dnb and Jersey club are fairly newer additions to her range. I love all of these genres as you could tell and I adore the songs in which she uses them (got into her through the UKG bop Muah!), but surprisingly the track that glanced at her “roots” hooked me in the most. Maybe it’s because it contains the core “messy room” atmosphere of the EP, maybe it’s her soft vocals shining brightly, maybe it’s because she has the recipe to making a tune to unwind to. I hope this praise doesn’t sound like a jab at the rest of the EP because not a single skip is detected over there. In Brand New House and BAPPI, The Deep talks about deserving the luxuries and getting to the bag over garage and house beats. bow wow is about confidence despite troubles and annoyances, while 20’s is a self-reflection on the constant search for perfection and attempts to heal. The project is most definitely worth checking out if you want a bit of calm, refreshing new music, or if you’re looking for a multi-skilled artist to support.

One line section (music I loved but honestly don’t have as much to say about, so I fit my thoughts into one line/sentence)

❆ Gold On Me: Mother ABRA is back and I’m definitely checking out Groupthink after this, now it’s time for the album innit 🍽️ (should’ve definitely written about this in more detail but maybe another time soz)

❆ 4 noviosS: While everyone came to Club Shy to play, she entered with pen and paper and a goal.

❆ Perdió Este Culo: I have to give flowers where they’re due, I wish the La Joia album had more quality of this level though. (However shoutout to Sexy, La Que No Se Mueva and Sin Carné.)

❆ TYOSTAR: Can’t tell if their music is aimed at dudebros (disgustingly irritating audience) or hyperpop girlies (slightly less irritating audience) but they scored a night ride hit either way, definitely one of Starkids’ finest to date.

Thankies for getting here, and shoutout to @chuuuvi for pretty much directly fueling my writing process and inspo and @a-moth-to-the-light for inspo as well 😁

[beastwars-transformers]

Stolen prompt: shuffle your likes or your favorite playlist and post the first ten tracks

I’m doing my on repeat playlist since I don’t trust my actual everything playlist…plus you gotta talk about the song and I can’t do that with the hundreds of random music I saved because I sort of liked it…

The Rain - Smash Into Pieces. One of the few vent songs I play when mommy issues flare up lol…also I always love songs that use the sun as a goal, to finally feel it after years of darkness and cold. It goes hard.

Dreams Without a Future - Sabled Sun. Beautiful piano but it’s the title that really punches me. I can’t articulate it. Just let it sink in. Dreams without a future, hopes with no hope, yearning for what is forever out of reach. Consider that the song is part of a project about a dying, overindustrilaized earth and…

The Blood is Art - Pastelle. This is one of my main ship songs uhhhh so to spare everyone…I really enjoy the singer’s voice, she nails the ethereal and angelic, and hearing it with such angry lyrics and sharp turns in notes is really interesting. And I adore the ending, just haunting vocalizations that are seeped in regret and sorrow…

Pottle - Bengalfuel. For once I cannot wax poetic about an ambient song. It’s just really calming and relaxing, 10/10 noises.

Love You (When You’re a Mess) - Jadudah. found this song during a really lull era where I wasn’t finding any new good music so I became so obsessed. The guitar riffs go crazy. Also I found this song when I was first getting into my stupid ship so 😅

Island - Bengalfuel. This is from the same album as 4 so…still applies. Nice noises, I like it a lot more for having reverb and longer notes.

Wicked Game - Chris Isaak. Quintessential post-hang out song. I use it mainly to relax but still want something more song-like than ambient. Again, I love guitar, and the strumming in this is really something.

Your Eyes Open - Keane. Another thing I really love is unconventional instruments together. So I really enjoy how the piano is used alongside drums and vocals. And again, I really enjoy long notes which the vocals easily supply.

(I skipped a song because it was another BENGALFUEL ALBUM ONE) Into The Unknown - Starset. I actually used to hate this song haha. But then it grew on me. Did you know there’s piano in this too? You can only hear it with good headphones, buried in the chorus. But, starset has my favorite hard rock/metal guitar riffs, hence why they’re like…my #1 band. I paid $140 to get my albums signed 🤨

Secret of Life - Lord Huron. The chorus would help me reach like 20mph on my bike it went so hard. Also reminds me of one of my favorite OCs…I should really go back to writing…oh well.

Tagging…..!!!!!! @umbralundertaker @nightfuryqueen @nightfuryqueen @prussianmemes @prophet60091 @stoplookingformee @imgoingtoputscorpionsinyourmouth and do it if you want even if you’re not tagged Teehee

[thesupernaturalhouse]

So, some facts about the mama witch au:

Shelby and False are elytrans, whilst Oli is a landa-enderman hybrid

Elytrans are an rare, endangered, form of end hybrid. Often trafficked into fighting rings or to have their wings, and tails, taken. Being left to bleed out and die in a forest or ocean or river

Elytrans have tails, liek a lions but with feathers instead of fur!

Enderman are often trafficked for their blood which can give the person the ability to teleport

End and nether hybrids are often discriminated against and assumed to be the more 'hostile' hybrids, hence why nothing was done about the horrors for a rather long time, leaving neither/end hybrids to be very rare

That being said;

Shelby is an elytran, one whose parents were killed and she was put through years of torment due to what she was bringing as. When they were 11 her wings were removed, and she was left to die in a forest, luckily an older women saved her.

Said woman was a black-cat hybrid, named Sandy. Who was a witch, and ended up raising Shelby, who then deemed her as grandma. Seeing how she was in her 50's and she didn't want to replace her parents.

Side note; witch is more of a title like, there ARE witch hybrids but anyone can be a witch as long as they have enough magical power

False is an elytran, hiding as an avian hybrid, before she was found out, taken away and narrowly escaped, with damaged wings of course

Side note: Elytrans and Avians are quite similar, except for magical abilities and tails. As well as avians have feathers behind their ears and elytrans have larger wing spans.

Oli is a panda hybrid who had been abandoned in the end, and so developed enderman-like traits, he ended up being found and then experimented on, infusing enderman DNA with his original DNA. Panicked, he used his newfound abilities to teleport somewhere afraid and safe

Side note; hybrids can be created, but it is extremely illegal, painful, and dangerous. They'd tried this with 7 other patients before Oli, all ending up dead

Katherine should've thought what saying she was a hunter meant, it deosnt just mean hunting hostile mobs after all no. They can mean much worse things tracking down missing "pets" hunting and killing certain hybrids

Also, side note: there are 3 types of hybrids. Animalistic ones, which are anthropomorphic animals. Partial, which re those with more Animalistic parts hindlegs, front paws, patches of fur, etc. And Humane, which are one who have key identifying things but no more, such as wings but not legs, tails but not fur patches.

[slimeclimbtime]

fractals and dominos' fan-selected soundtrack!

a long time ago you guys wanted me to drop the inspiration video game soundtracks that i associated with each district in fractals and dominos (like as if it were a video game), so here is the list and explanations as to why! heavy spoilers for the fic, so be warned!

DISTRICT ONE - NARDIS - OLYMPIA (CYTUS 2)

many of the OSTs are from Cytus 2 (specifically the Conner collection) and the elegance of this song, as well as the strong melody it has has a bit of a somber tone to it, kinda reflecting the struggles doha and mingyu are going through when possessed. it ends quietly too, like as if it were a quiet defeat when they got taken by mnet. overall a really strong start to the story!

DISTRICT TWO - LAUR - L 'ULTIMA CENA (CYTUS 2)

this fast-paced hard dance beat, quickly kicked off after the calm piano at the start, kinda reflects the double-sided-ness of daeul and junseo's abilities as well as their attempts to stick together that ended up getting them targeted by mnet in the first place. there are a couple moments of calm, indicating their struggle to break free, and a ticking watch, further pressing that the longer they're possessed, the worse they get. it shares that somberness of district one

DISTRICT THREE - SAKUZYO - IMPRINTING (CYTUS 2)

like district 2, it has a fast-paced hard dance beat as well, as well as a strong piano and violin line that gets quickly overtaken by the other electronic instruments in the background. considering seowon and woongki's attempts to stay in a delusional happiness, that overwhelming drown-out gets reflected here really well. also the title imprinting is really nice, a mark on how radically different their district is from the first two, as well as the way they try to rope zoom team into staying forever

DISTRICT FOUR - VILA - ABDUCTION (CYTUS 2)

with district 4 being the first district not in the city environment and down a member (hence the title of the ost), it's a great change to how dire the circumstances are and how dangerous things really are setting in. the menacing tone helps to add onto how strong and deadly jay is, and how desperate zoom team is to get ollie back.

DISTRICT FIVE - TEAM GRIMOIRE - APHASIA (CYTUS 2)

district 5, while taking place in a castle, ironically has the least orchestral song so far, adding onto the dissonance between the original battlefield and the one on the rooftop. the chaotic talking in the background, hardstyle beat, nonstop drum and heavy dissonance all add onto the chaos of the fight, with a monster being put into play for the first time. jiwoong and jongwoo are both extremely strong fighters and this reflects that well; had they been in possession longer or had stronger issues for mnet to take advantage of they could've been even more deadly

DISTRICT SIX - MASANORI AKITA - GEKKOUKA (CYTUS 2)

while district 6 doesn't really count as district since yujin was an outlier/defect, the calmer tone of this piece helps to add onto the strange beach environment and how yujin is different from the rest in how he's supposed to be saved. it also helps that the start of this ost is similar to the start of district 3's, a foreshadow for god-shattering mania :)

DISTRICT SEVEN - JOHTO ELITE FOUR: WILL (POKEMON MASTERS EX)

finally breaking away from cytus 2 for the district that actually makes use of the city around it. this particular pokemon theme is pretty menacing, yet still hopeful since zoom team is so close to the end and the win conditions seem easy enough... barring shanbin and matthews telekinesis powers, ofc. also i feel like this beat being much faster paced compared to previous osts helps to sell the whole racing aspect of the district. its a very huge tonal change

DISTRICT EIGHT - POWERLESS - DEUS EX MACHINA (CYTUS 2)

jumping back into cytus 2 with this song, this was the particular ost that kinda inspired the whole track in general. the heavy violin helps to represent hao while the electronic bass helps represent gunwook's more pragmatic approach (that is, using a fucking rifle). the choir adds onto the stakes, with this being a fight that involves trying to save a hostage while also take out the two possessed contestants. considering how action-centric this district is, it really adds onto the whole "this is one of the most important fights" point of this

DISTRICT NINE - TEAM GRIMOIRE - XIORC (CYTUS 2)

out of all the districts, this has the fastest beat, almost breakbeat pace, because of how urgent it is and how high the stakes are at this point. its a very violent and overwhelming piece since it manages to take out four of the zoom team easily, even though anthonny and krystian get purposefully let go. also adds on to how dangerous this district is, attacking the members' insecurities and with phanbin being forced to tap into mnet's possession to help hyunbeen and wumuti take down the district (and fun fact! ollie, wumuti, hyunbeen, and phanbin were unaffected as they had little to no negative opinions from the bp fanbase during the show)

DISTRICT TEN - RAGE AWAKENED (KINGDOM HEARTS 2)

with hui being the last district, and with how depressing his is compared to everyone else's, the somber violin and quiet near drum and bass beat give this district some extra sadness, with how easily hui gives up and how the goal changes from trying to attack him to keeping him safe long enough for mnet to interfere. it feels like a struggle to get to the finish line

FINAL BOSS - DARK EVE (BAYONETTA 3)

(THERE'S A TEN VID LIMIT SO I CAN'T POST THE EMBED BUT THE LINK IS IN THE TITLE)

this theme is pretty elegant and almost sad-sounding, but in a way that shows mnet's overshadowing power over everything, how it was the puppeteer behind everyone's struggles, really depicting how much rage in set between the members of zoom team versus the thing that created them yet destroyed them at the same time. also, of course, obligatory final boss choir

overall fnd has a very orchestral track, with the violin and piano being common appearances. fnd's track is a lot more cohesive than the one i had for god shattering mania due to the nature of their premises. glad i could share this with yall and thanks for reading this far and entertaining my aus :)

[bryhaven]

Top 10 Films

Thank you for the tag, @onigiri-dorkk! I've been tagged in a number of challenge posts, and I will try to get to them soon ahah 😅

This was supposed to be a discussion of films but then again, I managed to find AOT/SNK and RivaMika parallels while going through this list 😂

This challenge has been fun and it was hard to pick only 10, let alone rank them! But for the sake of the game, I tried 😌

10. The King and I (1999)

A musical animated adaptation of a Siamese (now called Thai) King who hires an English schoolteacher to have his country learn western modern ways. It was very amusing and enjoyable that the villain and accomplice here are written as comedic. And the added young love story between the crown prince and the servant girl is endearing. And I'm actually fond of forbidden love tropes ahaha. Plus the musical scenes are fun and brilliant! A great family movie! 🥰

9. Troy (2004)

A story focusing on the Trojan war and the heroes in it. I've always enjoyed historical and legend-type movies as they give a glimpse of life in ancient times. I appreciate Achilles (Brad Pitt) and Hector (Eric Bana) in the movie so much that I included them in my AMV tribute to heroes and legends. The Iliad, which is the battle between Achilles and Hector, is one of my favorite legendary fights. Plus one of Achilles' last scenes and the line, "You gave me peace, in a lifetime of war." is so heartwarming. And now that I think of it, it's something that Levi could say to a certain special someone during post-war. 😏

8. Unknown (2011)

An action-thriller revolving around seeking the truth, hence the title. Liam Neeson always delivers when it comes to action and suspense-filled scenes (plus he is the namesake of my Ackerchild OC 😌). The story progression will keep you on the edge of your seat and leave you wondering until the plot twist turns into an answer with a shocking revelation. His character is also badass, brooding, and serious, while also suffering from injury and trauma. Reminds me too much of a certain someone in SnK. 😄 Plus the way that the two main characters develop from reluctantly working together to understanding and caring for each other is just *screams in RivaMika vibes*

7. Brother Bear (2003)

A story about literally walking in another's footsteps to learn a valuable lesson by seeing the other's point of view. It showcases brotherly and familial love in a lighthearted adventure. Watching the movie has a significant and special meaning to me for personal reasons. The plot twist is absolutely heart-wrenching and beautifully executed. Plus the original soundtracks gave me chills, were perfect for each and every exhilarating scene, and hold the rare honor of making me cry. 😭

6. Taken (2008)

Another one of Liam Neeson's action-packed movies. This revolves around the rescue of his character's daughter from human trafficking. As always, his character is badass, brooding, and serious. Some daddy issues, wherein his character struggles with fatherhood to a growing teenage girl. Fatherly love 💖 and gotta love the brilliance of how he tracks down his daughter and saves her. His style and strategies blew my mind, it's amazing! Plus that line in the GIF is iconic!

5. Entrapment (1999)

A story of two thieves, skillful in their own ways, working together to steal an ancient artifact. I love how they came up with brilliant spy-like strategies and synced together to accomplish the task. Recollecting this reminded me as well of @chaosisbeauty23's "Are you in?" two-shot spy story. It gave me similar vibes. Sean Connery's character trained Catherine Zeta-Jones' character, they had trust issues and conflicts, and they grew close through the duration of the preparation until they eventually got to trust each other enough to continue working together. Plus the age difference! Rings a bell? *screams again in RivaMika vibes*

4. Kiss of the Dragon (2001)

A story of a cop helping to crack a major drug ring and ending up having to save a prostitute and her daughter to ultimately resolve it. I guess I have always been fond of unexpectedly-working-together and damsel-in-distress tropes, and this movie has two of those tropes in it! 😂 Recollecting this reminded me of @nuri148's "Not a Pirate" where Mikasa has a child. I love the chemistry between Jet Li and Bridget Fonda here, you can feel the tension and awkwardness ahaha. Plus the height difference! *screams again and again in RivaMika vibes* ghad seriously why am I associating these films I watched years ago with the current RM fics I've read bahaha 😂😅

3. Con Air (1997)

A story of an ex-convict trying to get home to his family after he's been finally freed. I always go soft whenever strong, badass, brooding guys show tenderness and affection with regard to their families or the people they care for. Levi Ackerman as a father, anyone? 😌 This story hits with both the action and the feels. Plus the "How do I live without you?" performed by Trisha Yearwood is just *chef's kiss*

2. Brave (2012)

A story of a princess struggling with life as a royal and trying to find her own path. Merida is my favorite Disney princess and I find her relatable in ways. I enjoyed the adventurous-type songs here as well. I absolutely love her unconventional and strong character which deviates from the typical dainty and girly princesses. She's spirited, stubborn, and won't take any BS 😂 Plus she's great with a sword!

1. The One (2001)

And finally at the top 1 spot is coincidentally "The One" released in 2001 bahaha 😂 another one of Jet Li's action-packed movies which I love. And there are two Jet Lis in here ahaha. The story revolves around Yulaw (Jet Li) traveling across the multiverse hunting down and killing all his counterparts or other selves until only two of them are left. With each counterpart killed in every universe, the energy and power get divided between the remaining surviving counterparts resulting in them having increased strength, intelligence, and speed. I've mentioned this in a post before that this is similar to how Levi's and Mikasa's superhuman powers came to be.

I absolutely love the plot and story progression in this sci-fi setup, which makes you wonder, what if we actually have alternate personas in other universes (and we just don't know about it because there are people who make sure that we don't know in order to ensure peace and balance)? Plus Jason Statham's character as an ally here was unexpectedly funny!

I also appreciate the romance factor in the movie in the sense that, it is shown as trust, comfort, and care. Doesn't need to have all the kissy scenes or so to show genuine love. And one of Jet Li's character's lines about his love here is just 💖

Jet Li always delivers as well when it comes to action and suspense-filled scenes. Plus just look at the parallels below (The One vs AOT S3):

Using a dead person as a shield then obliterates everyone afterward.

Jet Li's characters in movies are usually brooding, badass, serious, and aloof from people. Plus he is charmingly handsome and rather short in stature IRL too! Yep, Jet Li is a real-life Levi Ackerman 🤣😌

I swear I watched all of these way before I even encountered Attack on Titan. I didn't mean for this to be too long and to include much RivaMika and AOT, but it was fun recollecting the movies and then associating them with my brain rot 😂

Now that I have this list, I realize I tend to gravitate towards action movies and familial ones. Plus most of these movies have that one badass, brooding, serious guy who is insanely skilled and strong, and has a reputation but also soft for their loved ones. Geez I already have a type way before Levi Ackerman bahaha 😂🥰😌

None of these movies are focused on romance but the couple GIFs are intentional bahaha 😏

Tagging: No one, no pressure. 😅

[krysmcscience]

Seamless song splices, starring: Horton Hears A Who, and Prince of Egypt

Because if there's one thing I can't stand, it's random pops, clicks, and stutters between my music tracks, and after downloading and listening to at least five different releases of these albums to find that a whole entire none of them were actually seamless, I took it upon myself to do some quick(ish) audio editing. Here are the fruits of my labors!

I'll start with Horton Hears A Who, because John Powell is a musical superwizard and it is a Fucking Crime what they did to his work. (Seriously, look at this shit. That is the actual official soundtrack. Who approved this and where do I go to slap them?)

First, what I've titled as Opening Suite, which includes 'Fall From Tree', 'Cave of Destiny', and 'Jungle of Nool'. Because for some reason, as you can see from the soundtrack listing, whoever put the album together thought that splitting a two and a half minute song into three separate tiny chunks was a good idea. Now, I think we can all agree that they were abhorrently wrong, but rest assured that I have taken the time to correct that wrong.

Speaking of (far more horrific) wrongs, they also decided to chop this epic climactic masterpiece into four pieces! I have courteously rectified their music crimes, and titled the result as 'We Are Here!', given the whole story's theme and all (not to mention how those are the only words in the entire piece). This song includes 'Roping and Caging', 'We Are Here', 'Symphonophone', and 'Jojo Saves The Day'.

A similar wrong comes next, although it's at least somewhat more reasonable this time around. I've titled it A Big Ending, partially because it's the official title of the last of the three included songs, but also because...well, put all together, it is a really big ending. The first song is 'Hall of Mayors' (which briefly has How to Train Your Dragon vibes, in my opinion), while the middle and veritable bulk is taken up by 'Horton Suite' (i.e. the ending credits song - hence why it's so fucking long). 'Horton Suite' clocks in at nearly seven whole minutes, and is comprised of some very Suessical music that is worth every last second, and I don't care what anyone else says about that, I am Objectively Correct here.

With Horton Hears A Who out of the way, we come next to Prince of Egypt, which was similarly but at least less egregiously butchered. (Cuz I mean...at least 'Deliver Us' didn't get snipped up, right?)

First, Rally and The Plagues. I really only did this one because I wanted to listen to 'The Plagues', but hated how it didn't start cleanly. So, nothing much else to say about this one. Instead, I will take the time here to say that all four of the splices so far were easy-peasy - just a quick copy-paste and a cut of empty air between the waveforms of each file. The last one, though...

The last, and most important is When You Believe and The Red Sea, because 'When You Believe' just cuts off at the end, mid-note no less, which is clearly unacceptable to anyone with both ears and good taste. This splice...was significantly harder. It actively refused to splice clean in the same way as the prior works, up until I finally said 'fuck it', selected more than just empty air, made sure that the selection's ends were on the zero-crossing, and chopped away. BOOM. Clean splice, and - to my ear, at least - undetectable. I'm pretty pleased with it! If nothing else, I can finally listen to it without wincing at the very brief stutter between songs. (Granted, I'm not too jazzed about 'The Red Sea', but it does have some cool parts, and if nothing else, it ends nice and clean~)

Also, yes, I made those last two splices instead of sleeping, and then proceeded to make this post about all my audio editing nonsense instead of sleeping. Clearly, sharing the fruits of my labor is more important, both to me and hopefully to the other audiophiles out there who listened to these albums and also hated what was done to them. :)

(By the way, have a clean splice of 'The End.' and 'Dead!' by My Chemical Romance, too. Just for funzies.)

GOOD NIGHT!!!

[owlbearwrites]

WtW Ghost Gala - Day 9: Candy Corn

Tell us how you chose the title for your WIP

Okay, this is a fun one for me!

I have a contentious relationship with ideas of fate and destiny, and don't really gravitate to stories where predetermination rules supreme. I want characters to have agency. If they're fated to be together, I want them to earn it. If they're star-crossed, I want them to rewrite those stars. If they were dealt a good hand, I want to see it taken away and make them prove that they're worth it. If they were dealt a bad one, I want to see them play it anyway and WIN.

And so, in the story I'm writing, fate definitely plays a part in the main pair's journey, but fate alone never would've been enough to give them their happy ending.

Hence the title.

Fate is Just the Half of It is a story about how two people separated by an apocalypse found each other again, 200 years later. Needless to say, making possible even their joint survival, let alone their meeting, required flexing my authorial powers to engineer some unlikely coincidences.

However! The fact that Jack and Rowan find each other again, and get to be together again, is anything BUT coincidental. Yes, I twisted the cogs of fate to let them both survive the apocalypse (stretching the definition of survival in one of their cases, but close enough), and to place them both in the world at the same time. But that was it.

It wasn't fate that made Jack seek out information about what happened to Rowan 200 years ago. It wasn't fate that made Rowan go on a search for Jack based on nothing but half a clue, a gut feeling, and desperate hope: despite the fact that everyone he knew assured him it was a crazy quest that would end in heartbreak at best, death most likely. It wasn't fate that made Jack choose Rowan above all else once they were reunited, even if it meant putting himself in mortal danger at the hands of his employers, who had every power to destroy him. It wasn't fate that, after Jack's disappearance, made Rowan track him down a second time, even if it meant infiltrating a dangerous cult and going to the literal moon.

Even the fact that Rowan found Jack's diary from 200 years ago wasn't a gift from fate. Because the Jack from 200 years ago, fatally wounded and knowing his time was running out, chose a library of all places to spend his final few hours in. Not the ruined hospital nearby, where, with a little bit of luck, he would've found some medicine: not to save himself, but to make the inevitable end quick and painless. But a library, where the log of his decade of survival stood the best chance of being found one day.

Fate gave Jack and Rowan a fraction of a chance of finding each other again. They did the rest.

More about this WIP

[saratogaroadwrites]

Guardian Angel of Lucis

Guardian Angel of Lucis | saratogaroad rating: G wordcount:  577 characters: Noctis Lucis Caelum, Regis Lucis Caelum, Prompto Argentum relationships: n/a other tags: n/a warnings: None

When it happens, Noctis doesn't think about it. He sees the scaffolding collapse under the weight of the blocks and buckets, hears the workers call out a warning, and shoves.

-

[Prompt from the Kinkmeme; I staunchly believe in a Lucis that loves their King and Prince, hence no freakout. Noct is about 17/18 in this one.]

=

When it happens, Noctis doesn't think about it. He sees the scaffolding collapse under the weight of the blocks and buckets, hears the workers call out a warning, and stops in his tracks. Prompto runs into his back, but both turn to watch the chaos from a safe distance.

That's when Noctis sees the woman standing under the scaffolding, frozen in fear.

That's when he sees the baby she's holding to her chest as she manages to turn her back, trying to shield the child with her own body.

He runs before he's even had a chance to plan, to think, but he knows he won't make it across the street in time. Not on his own power. Prompto shouts to him, voice high in warning, in concern, but Noctis lets it slip away. He pulls on the power of the Kings who came before, pulls a sword from the Crystal to throw in one smooth motion, and then shoves his way through space. Asphalt and concrete blur beneath him as he slips out of the warp. With one arm he grabs the sword, tossing it halfway down the block, and with the other he grabs the woman and her baby. She doesn't have time to react, doesn't have time to turn, but he can see the baby's newborn blue eyes.

He slips into the warp again, pulling them with him just as concrete blocks crash to the sidewalk. The sound is muffled in the in-between place warps always take him, but the dust is still rising as he lands by his sword. Gladio would be proud that he manages to stick the landing, but Noctis is just glad he doesn't drop the poor woman. He sets her on her feet, one arm on her elbow.

"Miss," he says, somehow calm despite his racing heart as it begins to sink in what he just. pulled. off. "Are you alright?"

She stares at him, eyes wide and skin pale. Her chin trembles, but her grip on her child is strong.

"Yes--yes--I--" Her voice cracks. Noctis hesitates for a moment, but then jolts as she takes one arm and hugs him with all her might, holding her baby between them. "Thank you! Thank you so much!"

"I..." Slowly, awkwardly, he pats her back with one hand. People are gathering, staring, recording with their cellphones. Prompto is running across the street, bright blue eyes open wide. Noctis sighs quietly. "You're welcome."

----

That night, watching shaky cellphone footage play without sound on the television, Noctis sighs more heavily. While people were surprised, the news call him "The Guardian Angel of Lucis", powers granted by the kings of old to protect them all. Apparently, morale is going up already. It's a benefit, he knows, after the latest attack on the wall, but...

All he'd wanted to do was save that woman and her child. He didn't do it for a title.

"That was a brave thing you did, Noctis," His father is saying, voice slightly metallic across Noct's cellphone. "Reckless, but brave."

"Had to do something," Noctis says as he sits back on the couch. Ignis has gone home already, after a stern lecture with a warm smile to end it, nearly as proud of his friend as Regis is of his son, and their fond pride makes something warm uncoil in his stomach. "Isn't it our job to protect the people of Lucis?"

"Yes," Regis chuckles, "Yes it is."

[denimbex1986]

In the midst of the controversy surrounding a scene in Oppenheimer, where the titular character is depicted engaging in sexual activity while reciting verses from an ancient Sanskrit scripture, purportedly the Bhagavad Gita, Bollywood actor Kangana Ranaut has stepped forward to praise Christopher Nolan’s biographical thriller film.

Taking to social media on Monday, Kangana lauded the movie as “Christopher Nolan’s best work so far” and expressed her admiration for the part in the film referencing Bhagavad Gita and Lord Vishnu. “Most important film of our time… I am so excited I just didn’t want it to end… It has everything I deeply love, I am passionate about physics and politics… For me, this was like a cinematic orgasm… beyond wonderful,” she noted while sharing a selfie video.

“The theme of the film is that when your nationalism rises, it precedes your religion; but when your humanity rises, it precedes your nationalism and you become a problem for the system. And the system that built you, starts disintegrating you. My favourite part is the reference to Srimad Bhagavad Gita and Lord Vishnu when he channelises his inner Vishnu. Go watch it… it’s a lovely film,” the Queen actor said in the video.

J Robert Oppenheimer, regarded as ‘the father of the atom bomb’, had learnt Sanskrit and was said to be influenced by the Bhagavad Gita. In the film, Oppenheimer, played by Cillian Murphy, is shown having sex with psychologist Jean Tatler (Florence Pugh) as she asks him to read a verse from what appears to be a Sanskrit book, whose title or cover is not visible.

The scene involving Gita in Oppenheimer had irked a section of social media users, who demanded the removal of the sequence from Christopher Nolan’s latest film.

Uday Mahurkar, information commissioner, Government of India, wrote an open letter to Nolan, terming the scene a “disturbing attack on Hinduism” and appealed to the director to remove the scene worldwide.

“We urge, on behalf of billion Hindus and the timeless tradition of lives being transformed by revered Geeta, to do all that is needed to uphold the dignity of their revered book and remove this scene from your film across the world. Should you choose to ignore this appeal it would be deemed as a deliberate assault on Indian civilisation. Eagerly await needful action (sic)” Mahurkar, founder of Save Culture Save India Foundation, wrote.

Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur has sought an explanation from the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) on why it cleared the movie in its present form. According to sources, Thakur has demanded accountability from the CBFC, which functions under the aegis of the I&B Ministry, regarding clearing the movie with the controversial scene, which has hurt the sentiments of a section of the Hindu community.

The Dhaakad actor’s comments come a day after she locked horns with former Rajya Sabha MP Subramanian Swamy after the latter questioned her Y-plus security status. He tweeted, “The SPG knows, and has kept a register of her movements. I wonder why since it is no business of SPG to track Bollywood stars. In her case, on a special dispensation, she has a high level of security provided.”

Kangana replied, “I am not just a Bollywood star sir, I am also a very vocal and concerned citizen, I was the target of political malice in Maharashtra, at my expense nationalists could make a government here. I also spoke about tukde gang and strongly condemned Khalistani groups. I am also a filmmaker, writer and producer and my next production Emergency involves operation Bluestar… there is evident treat to my life hence I requested for extended security… Is there something wrong in this Sir?”'

[shaemefulanimation]

Death by Donald Revell

As we entered the second week of DT5 I began fleshing out the audio track that would form the basis of my animation. I recruited the help of my flatmates boyfriend, Will, to do the voice over, and I spent countless hours listening to endless piano tracks to find the one that spoke to me the most.

I eventually came to the decision to use Two Birds by Fredrik Lundberg as my backing track, and to only use the middle section of Death as I felt like I could create a really compelling narrative with that material - and also knew I only had a few weeks to achieve this project. Here is what I am using, and here is where you can read the full poem:

"Death," I said, "if your eyes were green I would eat them."

For what are days but the furnace of an eye? If I could strip a sunflower bare to its bare soul, I would rebuild it: Green inside of green, ringed round by green. There'd be nothing but new flowers anymore. Absolute Christmas.

"Death," I said, "I know someone, a woman, Who sank her teeth into the moon."

For what are space and time but the inventions Of sorrowing men? The soul goes faster than light. Eating the moon alive, it leaves space and time behind. The soul is forgiveness because it knows forgiveness. And the knowledge is whirligig. Whirligig taught me to live outwardly. Shoe shop. . . pizza parlor. . . surgical appliances. . . All left behind me with the hooey. My soul is my home. An old star hounded by old starlight.

"Death, I ask you, whose only story Is the end of the story, right from the start, How is it I remember everything That never happened and almost nothing that did? Was I ever born?"

Here is a few of the key saves from my audio editing process:

Here are some of my early scribbles for this narrative:

My writing is absolute chicken scratch, but key ideas that I have been floating include abstract moments on the "death" lines that include a mouth swallowing the moon, a representation of death moving closer on each "death" line, as well as more narrative features like an older figure reflecting back on their life.

In my research and brain storming I came to realise this poem uses imagery and metaphorical expressions that speak on transformation and renewal, and what better way to represent both death and transformation/renewal than through the feature of birds - hence why the bird song got added into the track.

I also felt this was a perfect metaphor to explore since the track I was using was titled "Two Birds".

Expanded ideas on birds:

Bird having a love story

Bird reflecting on a human love story/life cycle

Bird going through a life cycle

"Death" lines could include birds flying out from behind a character

"Death" lines could have character turning into bird/grow wings

Bird watching from a cage, revealed at end

I will include my current mood board in my next post as I breakdown different elements and aesthetics I am currently wanting to explore.

It also feels odd to continue on with this project without discussing something tragic that occurred over the weekend (Nov 3/4). One of my dear friends, Sahara, unfortunately passed away. I contemplated scrapping the idea entirely and starting again - and who knows, I still might - but decided that while this is a poem about death, it is actually a poem that celebrates life.

Craig Teicher writes, "the poem proposes a mighty act of communion, a gathering together of readers and writers, speakers and listeners, living and dead. This is a poem of deep empathy, of comforting and keeping company. Revell wants us to feel less alone and less afraid to die, whatever we believe. Revell’s poem can help us: so that when we think of death, we can remember we are blessed with life."

I feel so incredibly blessed I got the opportunity to meet Sahara and call her a friend, her death is a tragedy that will weigh heavy on the hearts of everyone that knew her. I dedicate the remainder of this project to the light she brought into every room, to the warmth she brought into everyone's lives. She will be so deeply missed.

[stateofsport211]

Bad Waltersdorf Ch F: Andrea Pellegrino def. Dennis Novak 1-6, 7-6(5), 6-3 Match Stats

📸 ATP Challenger Livestream (via website)

A. Pellegrino hung in there when Dennis dominated, but he successfully turned it around thanks to capitalizing on Dennis' erroneous follow-ups, where he could not stay in the moment after being broken over a double fault. This was the reason behind Dennis' 10 chances to break, but they were not enough to sustain the moment until A. Pellegrino had ideas (more from his forehand side from the baseline, cracking down Dennis' defenses) for his 18 break points, converting 33% of them over the course of the last two sets.

On the other hand, the momentum shift might have affected Dennis' service games in some ways. Although he fired 11 aces, his 4 double faults did not help anything except fading his second serves winning percentage 16% behind A. Pellegrino. Speaking of his first serves, Dennis ended up standing out with a 73% winning percentage, but it was not enough to counter A. Pellegrino's rallying in the last two sets. Despite appearing more clutch by saving 67% of the break points faced, Dennis' constant unforced errors under pressure afterward allowed A. Pellegrino to step in and create further chances, hence the turnaround and reverse card.

This comeback victory secured A. Pellegrino's first Challenger title of the season, his first since the middle of last year and the third in general, putting him back on track by ranking 190 live after the title. On the other hand, this reverse card might have made Dennis stayed 4 lines away behind A. Pellegrino, expanding the race to the Australian Open (2024) qualification rounds a little bit tighter with the indoor hard-court season in sight (Orleans Challenger for him next week).

[rilshock]

The Velvet Underground and Nico - The Velvet Underground, Nico(1967 Review)

What can I say about the Velvet Underground and Nico that hasn't been said already? Despite not selling well initially, this album overtime became a main influence for various styles of music to follow; there's an old saying that "Whoever bought their album went out and start a band" and for good reason. The Velvet Underground was doing stuff that was unheard of in the music world at the time in the 1967. How experimental is this album you ask? Well diving into the album and it's song it becomes much clearer.

The album starts off strong with two songs, Sunday Morning and I'm Waiting For The Man; how different those tracks are may throw the listener off guard. Listeners in 1967 might've been surprised at the brash experimentation of I'm Waiting For my Man, and modern listeners probably won't get how this band is experimental right off the bat. Why it was like this is because Tom Wilson, who was one of the producers of this album, wanted another potential successful single off the album with Nico providing lead vocals, but Nico ended up providing backup instead and Lou Reed took up the lead duties. This song about paranoia is also the only song on the album that has more professional sounding production than the rest of the album. If this never happened then the album would've jumped right into I'm Waiting for the Man: a proto-punk song also fronted by Lou Reed that tells the story of his Heroin purchasing from a certain drug dealer. Keep Heroin in mind as we continue. The lyrics of the song also hint at Reed's homosexuality with lines in the Second Verse Such as, "Hey White Boy, you chasing' our women around? Oh, pardon me, sir, it's furthest from my mind.", which in itself can also mean that Reed's objective is to buy smack, which can cause Men to have a lack of sexual interest when high. The next track is Femme Fatale, the first Nico fronted song on the album that has a more laid back pop sound in the same vain as, but not as lush and dreamy, as Sunday Morning. The Lyrics tell the story of Edie Sedgwick, an infamous Warhol Star who had an enchanting allure to her seductive nature, which was only climaxed by her death of a drug overdose at 28 years old.

Track 4, Venus in Furs, is a droning song that could almost be proto-gothic rock. The Droning nature of the song comes from what's called Ostrich Tunning, where Lou Reed tuned all of his strings to E. The Lyrics however, get much darker and deeper. This song and the title is based on 1870 novella of the same name by author Leopold von Sacher-Masoch. Both the Song and Novella talk about topics relating to sexual masochism, the song especially celebrating it out in the open, which was a bold move and thus challenged conventions at the time about songwriting. Track 5, Run Run Run, is an electric folk song that tells a tale about how four characters are seeking or engaging in acts of drug use. Teenage Mary sells her soul to try and be saved but still gets invested in drug use anyway. Margret Passion experiences a series of withdrawals as a drug addict stops using their drugs for a longer period of time. Seasick Sarah cocaine dealt and overdosed, and Beardless Harry is a trans male(hence his name),who's life ends after he couldn't get a single hit. Track 6, All Tomorrow's Parties, a 7 minute droning song that's the second song on this album that's fronted by Nico. This song tells about a nursery rhyme character named Thursday's Child, from the story Monday's Child. They are described as having "far to go", meaning she is a lost soul and before being happy she has much to encounter. This also ends Side 1.

Side 2 begins with Track 7, another proto-punk tune, once again about Heroin, Lou Reed describes the effects of the titular drug, with each verse getting more energetic as they progress, culminating to the end when the energy builds up so much it's the equivalent of an overdose. Track 8, There She Goes Again, is one of the more typical 60s Garage Rock sounding songs of the album, with the song describing a prostitute who is steadfast in her profession. Track 9, I'll Be Your Mirror, is the third and final track Nico appears on; it's also the shortest track on the album at just above two minutes long. This song is about a person who sees the beauty possessed by a loved one and wishes to share that beauty with them. Fun Fact this song was not written for Nico originally, Lou Reed wrote it before they even met, but Warhol requested Nico to sing it on the record and Lou Reed reluctantly allowed her.

Track 10, The Black Angel's Death, is the only track on the album where I don't think is perfect, but it almost is. This is a song that has more meaning in the context of other songs on the album, as this is another song that signifies that Lou Reed presents topics such as Drugs and Prostitution in a matter of fact way. One thing about this song that's upfront is the viola shrills done by John Cale, especially in the song's outro. The band would often play this song live much MUCH longer then what we hear on the record, however it wasn't a favorite at clubs. One time, when the band was told by a manager to not play the song again, they responded by playing it anyway with a "furious vengeance", the band were sacked anyway- I guess it was worth it. And the final track, track 11, European Son, really puts the Avant-Garde into the Avant-Garde of this album. This song is dedicated to Delmore Schwartz, who was Reed's teacher at Syracuse University. Apparently Delmore despised songs with words, especially rock and roll lyrics, so this big instrumental closer was dedicated to him. The sounds of this musique concrete composition were meticulously rehearsed, paying close attention to detail, with sounds ranging from Lou Reed scrapping a chair across the floor to John Cale smashing a pile of aluminum dishes. Ending the album

To say this album changed everything would be an understatement. This album is pretty much the ground zero for any alternative, experimental or indie genre to come after. Punk, dream pop, jangle, noise rock, post punk, the list goes on. The musician ship on this album as well as the lyrics and song topics on this album were unheard of in 1967. Basically put, if this album or band never happened, what would modern music be like today? 10

Listen to the album here

[wealthelite]

How to choose the best Mutual Fund Software in India?

AMFI conducted strong awareness campaigns “Mutual funds Sahi hai”, that advocate mutual funds as the ‘right choice’ for investment. As a result, there is a steep rise in the volume of direct investors in the market. The latest updates by AMFI reports that the AUM of the industry contributed by retail investors have increased from ₹8.5 trillion to ₹21.6 trillion since the launch of the campaign in March 2017. It is a rise of ~2.5x with an increase in the share of retail investors out of total AUM from 45.9 % to 55.4 %. Still, the Indian mutual fund industry is way smaller than many developed countries. Black Rock Funds is single-headedly managing assets worth US$ 10 trillion, which is much larger than the overall AUM of the Indian MF industry.

It is also noticeable that, there are not more than 60,000 mutual fund distributors in India despite substantial growth in the industry. The segment of Mutual fund distribution in India is outrageously under-penetrated where only one MFD is available over 17,000 potential investors.

Such data and statistics signals greater opportunity for Indian Mutual Fund Distributors. They just have to make themselves competent enough by making potential connection with the technology.

The incorporation of technology in the business should gradually optimise the back-end infrastructure for wealth management. And it will help in reducing the overall time of service delivery or circulation of financial advisory. Mutual fund software should reduce the time that an MFD might do over a few days. The time in terms of onboarding clients, understanding their goals and requirements, reviewing their existing portfolios, segmenting them, and finally making recommendations should be reduced to minutes using a good mutual fund software.

Now, comes the primary question as suggested by the title also as “how to choose the best Mutual Fund Software in India”. So while purchasing MF software, an MFD must consider the following features:

Time Saver

The basic purpose of a machine or software is to reduce manual efforts and save time. In 21st century time is money and if an MFD waste its precious time in making manual reports, conducting calculations and analyzing portfolios using excel, then it will always lie behind. Therefore, an MFD should not only adopt good technology, but adopt proficient software that can manage, maintain and automate a large chunk of the day to day business of MFDs. Use this time on more productive task and make quality interactions with your clients.

Goal Tracker

There are large number of DIY people who try to do everything themselves using a six-inch screen and make mistakes, we generally call them direct retail investors. They lacks with appropriate goal, discipline, education and knowledge. Therefore, an MFD is required to understand the future goals of investors and make them invest in a disciplined way. On the basis of the investor’s goals and future requirements, the software should be able to project the overall required corpus for the goal and the money that should be periodically (monthly) invested in the most visually pleasant way. Goal tracking through software will allow you to visualize your progress and your contribution towards your goals. Also, since goals changes with time, hence the software must be flexible enough to make changes accordingly.

Multiple ARN Handler

Good MF software must be able to manage multiple ARNs simultaneously. A growing MFD or wealth manager must be managing various branches and working with multiple Sub- brokers. Therefore, the software should work as the Handling Manager that can provide an appropriate and proper and absolute structure of the business hierarchy.