#so performing alchemy is either INCREDIBLY hard

[sailingmakai]

(( Not me wanting to throw Seakira at ALL the different crossovers because putting this boy in Situations™ is always SO much fun~ Especially just. Thinking of fhis powers. How people might react to that.

Like FMA folks learning this guy can just casually give Equivalent Exchange the middle finger and. Come back from death. Granted there ARE rules, and stopping him from coming back is as easy as just keeping Kenzo away from his Area Of Death, but still. That's a hell of a power. Also him being able to summon pretty much any elemnt he wants - though for the time being he's only got the bog-standard Destiny elements, water, and a single Wind spell. I can see folks trying to maybe use him in human transmutation... Him being used as stone material in particular would probably get you one hell of a stone, all things considered. Between his magic, his ability to travel through dimensions, and his Light/ability to come back on death, he's probably MORE than equal to whatever you wanna do, even if only for a single usage, should you 'use' him while he's still alive.

Folks from Danmachi learning he can come back from death would probably be just as... energetic, a discovery. I can see more than one thing happening. Either almost all the gods IMMEDIATELY want this immortal mortal dead as fuck YESTERDAY, or they all trip over themselves to be the one to get him in their Familia, because he already has powers, so it'd be a HUGE leg up against the other gods to get this already overpowered kid under their control. He's got a wealth of mundane abilities too that I can see a bunch of the gods valuing as well. Unfortunately, Akira being Akira, I doubt he'd want to BE in a Familia, doubly so considering he's not really one to stick around one world forever.

But putting him in Hestia Familia could be interesting ngl. Not sure if I should, this kid is already approaching OP, but at the same time... it's not like I plan to write him fighting anyone... and he's my muse.

Either way, crossover thoughts are always fun~

[whiskeyswifty]

In your opinion are Taylor’s self-written songs usually better than the ones she wrote with co-writers?

I think it really depends. I joke a lot about how I want her to work with more no-men who will edit her work, but if I’m serious about it I think it’s more WHO she works with and under what circumstances. Other than folklore, I don’t actually know how much she balances that workload and creative contribution and collaboration with the people she works with. and on top of that, sometimes a writing combo produces absolute ass and other times it's one of my favorite songs she's ever written, so it's really hard to make a generalization like that. she actually doesn't write as many songs all by herself in a locked room or whatever as much as people think.

Let's take Lover for example because it's very interesting to me:

-of the 18 tracks, she is the sole songwriter for only 3 songs; Lover, cornelia st, and daylight. Right off the bat, i'm 2/3 for enjoyment, mayyyybe 3/3 if i'm feeling generous, but both daylight and lover are mid to me, cornelia st being the strongest of this trio imo.

-There are 3 main songwriting groups she works with on this album. Joel Little is Group A. Jack Antonoff and friends is group B. And, rather forgettable, Louis Bell and Adam Feeney are Group C. Lets break down the track listing by those subgroups + her solo work.

Group A: The Man, MAATHP, YNTCD, ME!

Group B: Cruel Summer, The Archer, I think He Knows, Paper rings, DBATC, London Boy, Soon You'll Get Better, False God.

Group C: IFTYE, Afterglow, INTHAF

Solo Written: Lover, Cornelia St, Daylight

This is a great example of how difficult it is to say who produces the best work and who produces the worst with her, and if she's better off with co-writers or not. lets get into it.

For group A, i think pretty widely we can agree she didn't work with Joel Little again after this for a reason, so that's perhaps the only simple answer which is that their creative collaboration, for whatever reason, was extremely unsuccessful. However, that's Mr. Pure Heroine producer himself so a good example of how it might not be HIS fault that the songs were bad. nor her fault either, but proof that she alone cannot carry a song to success despite a co-writer, and proof that a cowriter can't save a shit song. he's clearly capable of creating incredible work, and so is she. just only with the right creative alchemy and chemistry which he and taylor clearly did NOT have.

Group B, Mr. Antonoff a troubled figure in my eyes but here really shines. the only song's i don't like in this group are Paper Rings and London Boy, which are also not top tier songs for most swifties and the genpop. not as hated as i hate them, but certainly not top performers. that gives jackie boy a 6/8 hit ratio which is pretty good, AND some of those songs are some of my favorite taylor songs of all time. now the question begs why are these such smashes and creatively compelling songs, and other (ahem later) work so lackluster? i don't know of course, but this might be a good example of how the alchemy and chemistry might be there, but as I said before circumstances are also key. at this point, several things have happened. since their first collaboration on 1989, jack has branched out and produced several genres of music for other artists and has grown his toolset, experience, and his confidence. also, this is taylor and jack's 3rd record together, and their rapport and shorthand and creative energy has likely strengthened and electrified by now to a very goldilocks zone you could say. both of them not exactly on top of the world so they still have something to prove, and they're at a point where they likely understand each other and are energized by each other, but aren't comfortable and complacent. it's hard to say definitively if thats true, but that's certainly how it can be positioned and how the quality of the output can be explained. once again, circumstances and timing!

Group C is very interesting, as i only like one of the 3, INTHAF, however it's weighted so heavily because its, imo, one of the most beautiful, interesting production wise, and completely original works taylor has ever made. This is perhaps a good example of something else that i wish taylor would do more, which is take creative risks and work with people who encourage those risks. Afterglow is more run of the mill for her, so we'll throw that one out. but IFTYE and INTHAF are both very outside the box for her. IFTYE is sung in a predominantly spoken word way, verrrrrry conversational, often speaking off beat. and maybe the only song similar to it is TIWWCHNT, but even then, the cadence is way more freeform and reactionary on IFTYE. while i find that song unsuccessful, that same freeform songwriting structure works WONDERS for INTHAF. the song is more of a 3 part poem, with a repeating single phrase but no real chorus (which she talked about being challenging for her when writing this song), and for miss pop formula that's a bold move. the whole song was an exercise in distilling a song down to only what is most necessary, forcing her to be incredibly purposeful and thoughtful with every word. again, some words are also sung on the downbeats, but they flow seamlessly because the instrumental of this song is just stunning and perfectly paired. also EXTREMELY out of left field and experimental for her. it has steel fucking drums!!!! which you typically find in tropical/Caribbean music which could not be further from her sound. and a trumpet solo!! which comes off almost jazzy that pairs so well with how the lyrics are also that kind of meandering, unstructured jazzy freeform for her. but the real killer is how for once, she holds back lyrically when it comes to scene setting. she's very reserved in what she shares and then lets the instrumental tell the story too. she gives you some information that the song starts with the story of children, but the children's choir comes BEFORE the lyrics start to already lay that thematic groundwork. they carry through the song and at the end, the children's choir doubles as further scene setting for the church where the subjects of the song get married. but even then, before the lyric about church bells comes in YOU HEAR ONE RING IN THE SONG!!! she's purposely holding back lyrically and letting the instruments fill in the gaps of the story, which is a method of songwriting that is almost cinematic in how sound effects and sound scapes tell the story just as much as the lyrics do. it's a great challenge for her as a songwriter and really pushed her creativity, forced her to think differently about what a song can be, and imo it produced phenomenal and completely original (for her) results. Clearly Group C challenged her and pushed her in new directions. the downside of that is with taking creative risks comes a high chance of failure, and while the other 2 songs are not failures totally, they're much less successful. but that's important still!! pushing her is important and it's the only way we get to great creative work that is new and exciting and important, so to me, the failures of Group C are worth it for the delicious success of INTHAF.

As for her solo work, i will say i enjoy Cornelia St. a lot, and Lover and Daylight are ok, but imo they're like almost fully baked. there are aspects of all 3 of them that could be pushed juuuuust a little further towards greatness. clunkiness that could be cleaned up, metaphors and turns of phrased that could be polished just a bit more until they really shine. compared to all 3 groups, clearly her solo work is better than Group A, and some of Group C, but i think falls short of a lot of Group B.

idk. on the whole, i guess i can conclude that her solo work these days, while some of her best work, doesn't seem to quite reach the greatness of work she's collaborated on that truly shines. so to make a broad statement yes, i prefer when she works with someone even just a little bit. i think she has raw, incredible talent and a great mind, but i love even more when people bring out new sides of that mind and that talent and show how much she can do, or help her trim the fat and show us the most seasoned and delicious work she has to offer. but as evidenced by Lover, it's not as clear cut as just she needs to work with someone and those will be better songs always. who and under what circumstances are going to be important and unfortunately impossible to predict. i can only hope that she will take away from folklore's insane success, combined with how it was entirely collaborative in a way she hasn't been in a long time, that creative collaboration that pushes her is a good thing. and she'll try to do more of it because midnights is incredibly creatively stagnant and stale. maybe her partnership with jack is getting stale, too complacent and they know each other too well. comparatively, her work with Aaron on Midnights are the best songs on the album imo. someone new, fresh, from a different world and someone who has the chemistry and alchemy that are hard to find, but the newness of their relationship clearly challenges her again. maybe that too will grow stale and she'll need fresh blood, and so on and so forth. i don't think that's her burning through people or that means she can't write songs on her own, of course not. i just tend to see creative work as greater than the sum of it's parts. it's about all these factors, some intentional and some accidental and circumstantial, coalescing together to produce something truly amazing, and there's no other way to do it. unfortunately it can't be replicated or turned into a factory line. there's an elusive magic to it, lightning in a bottle is how a lot of songwriters refer to it when a great song comes together in the studio. and all i hope for is that no matter how big her ego grows or how comfortable and easy working with the same people over and over can be, she remembers how magical it feels like when she manages to catch it and she will never grow tired of chasing it.

[ultramagicalternate]

ULTRAMagic Alternate #5: ULTRAMagic

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Master Post - Patreon

We have previously established that Magic is the achievement of goals and desires through the manipulation of Reality/Prima Materia. This manipulation comes in the form of the eight types of magic (six official, two unofficial). Mages typically have the ability to learn two types of magic. One is their Aptitude (their “natural talent”) and the other is their Specialty (The type they are most likely to learn). Some mages are lucky and able to have three types. A rare few can have four magic types if they have an aberrant ability that is not their aptitude.

ULTRAMagic is the rare trait that allows a mage to have unlimited potential. This allows one to learn any magic technique they desire, even all of them if they so choose.There are two types of ULTRAMagic:

Natural ULTRAMagic: This is an incredibly rare group of people that are born with natural unlimited potential.

Standard ULTRAMagic: This indicates mages who have gained the ability to have unlimited potential that were not originally born with it.

Examples of mages that have natural ULTRAMagic include Hermes Trismegistus and Dragoslava Raynot. Naturally these two have been learning all the magic they can. Hermes discovered his ULTRAMagic back during his days when he was an Atlanean scholar, a bit after he had mastered Alchemy. Performing what research he could, he theorized that the trait could be attained by any mage. His favorite idea on how to do this was the exchange of Soul fragments through emotional bonds.

Standard ULTRAMagic is not as infrequent as natural ULTRAMagic, but is still pretty rare regardless. The most common way for standard ULTRAMagic to be attained is the aforementioned emotional bonds. When mages become close friends and/or family, fragments of their souls will imprint on others and vice-versa. These bonds are finalized when a mage is given a soul fragment by the ones they are close to. A mage forming 6 strong bonds plus having a strong soul will result in ULTRAMagic. Most that have this many bonds do not realize that they have achieved this, contributing to the trait’s rarity. 

The Soul fragments seem to impart knowledge of some kind to the mage, allowing them to comprehend more than just their aptitude and specialty. Hermes has speculated that the fragments provoke a curiosity in the Soul, prompting the mage to want to learn more. He has also speculated that standard ULTRAMagic could be achieved if the mage in question studied hard enough. This would require a great amount of fortitude and endurance, however. As to why seven fragments are required is unclear. The spiritual essence of a mage with ULTRAMagic manifests in the colors of the rainbow, so it may be a natural aspect of the Soul.

Speaking of Soul fragments, they are a very unique aspect of the Soul. A Soul is a special entity that allows humans to properly animate. It is derived from Pneuma, the breath of life given to everyone by God. Despite the Soul having strange biology beyond the scope of lower dimensional life, it still has its own natural processes. It grows, can become injured, heal, and develop. 

Fragments tend to break off when the soul becomes excited and/or experiences high levels of activity. Once broken off, fragments cannot do much on their own and tend to just float around. They seek to return to the soul they came from, but they cannot tell what Soul that was. They either end up amalgamated in a newborn human or bonding to another Soul. The latter is where their potential shines. Of note is that free roaming fragments can meet the conditions for ULTRAMagic. There are a handful of mages that have relied on these types of fragments rather than receiving them from others. These still count as bonds regardless.

Getting back to ULTRAMagic, it is not the end-all be-all to magic. A Necromancer cannot just create a Philosopher’s Stone and an Alchemist cannot just summon a high ranking demon. The mage still has to learn and study the magic they want to perform. On the brightside, the mage does gain enhanced physical traits. Their strength, agility, endurance, and ability to recover will be enhanced from where they were at prior. Despite this, they are nowhere near invincible. 

ULTRAMagic tends to strain both body and mind. Magic requires energy and the brain has to fire on all cylinders to perform the actions the mage does. Many mages report feeling very hungry after intense sessions of magic usage. ULTRAMagic can exacerbate this if not handled correctly. The new found magic potential can stress out the mind with all the brain activity required. Feelings of anxiety and inferiority can also pop up if the mage has emotional issues. It is very easy for the undisciplined to go mad or have severe mental breakdowns, which can lead to creation of ANTIMagic Mages.

Fortunately there is a guild of mages and warriors that deal with ULTRAMagic called “The ULTRAMagic Guild.” What exactly is the guild?

The rarity of ULTRAMagic can be observed in the ULTRAMagic guild. As stated above, they are a collection of mages and warriors who have the ULTRAMagic trait. It exists in the Unlight and features entities from all sorts of timelines, universes, realms, and dimensions. The guild was founded by multiple people. These people are ULTRAMagic Ultimatum, the ULTRAMagic Entity, Tiberius Skull, and Blood-Wraith Raynot. Ultimatum in particular was a 7th dimensional archangel from a seemingly unknown universe. He saw the Unlight as a realm that needed to be watched over, given the propensity of the Cosmos to spawn troublemakers on a consistent basis.

Ultimatum also met the ULTRAMagic Entity, a bizarre individual who was the embodiment of the eponymous ULTRAMagic. The entity gave Ultimatum the idea to form a guild of those who possessed the ULTRAMagic trait. And it was a good thing too as Ultimatum quickly discovered the ULTRAMagic rabbit hole, learning that practically anything could have the trait. It was going to be quite the task, but it seemed doable for a seventh dimensional archangel and an omni-dimensional entity.

The guild focuses on keeping an eye on the Unlight and training up and coming mages. If an issue pops up, the guild will address it. If they cannot handle it, they will escalate it to the Reality Walkers, the Multiverse Patrol, and even the Time Watchers if they have to. In regards to training, the guild welcomes all mages, ULTRAMagic or not. Any mage can achieve ULTRAMagic if they set their mind to it. Obviously ULTRAMagic mages are still of high priority to the guild.

Rarely has the guild had to escalate issues, but they definitely have had some close calls in the past. Regardless, they have a high success rate with their past missions and campaigns. Outside threats to the guild are unlikely. Any tribes, armies, or nations of the Unlight know not to trifle with the guild. Attacking them is a death wish as the guild will quickly unite against the threat. Plus the guild is there to protect, not conquer. Many residents of the Unlight openly welcome the guild, greatly appreciating their diligence and protectiveness.

ULTRAMagic Alternate Copyright 2022 William Ford II (ChaoticTempleKnight)

[d-criss-news]

20 Questions With Darren Criss: How Acting Has Helped Him Make New Music

While Darren Criss has graced our TV screens with a range of characters, from high schooler Blaine Anderson on Glee to serial killer Andrew Cunanan on The Assassination of Gianni Versace, he was last spotted just being himself, on our For You Page on TikTok. “I’m walking to rehearsal with a guitar on my back with a Trader Joe’s bag ... I did not bring an umbrella because I forgot that it was raining. I’m rocking that NYC musician life,” the Glee alum explained in the hilarious clip posted three days ago.

While Criss’ acting work has earned him acclaim and stardom, he leaned into making music during the pandemic. On Aug. 20, he dropped a new EP, Masquerade, featuring five new tracks that Criss says were inspired by the different characters Criss has embraced throughout his career. After Criss wrote songs for his musical comedy web series Royalties and Apple TV+’s animated sitcom Central Park before the pandemic struck the United States, he then used those experiences as a precursor to his new EP. As Criss continues to promote his new music, he answered 20 of Billboard's questions – giving us a peek into how his new EP came together, and how growing up in San Fransisco shaped him as an actor, singer and all-around artist.

1. What inspired your latest project, Masquerade?

Although I would have preferred that it come at a far less grim cost, I finally had the time. Before the pandemic, I had written 10 new songs for my show Royalties -- along with an original song for Disney and another for Apple’s Central Park. These were all assignments in which I was writing for a certain scenario and character. Go figure. It was the most music I had ever written in a calendar year. This really emboldened me to rethink how I made my own music— to start putting a focus on “character creation” in my songs, rather than personal reflection. The latter was not proving to be as productive. The alchemy of having this time and having set a new intention with my own songwriting and producing made me put on a few of my favorite masques and throw myself a Masquerade.

2. How do you think your background as an actor complements your music?

They are one and the same to me. I treat acting roles like musical pieces— dialogue is like scoring a melody; there’s pace, dynamics, cadence, tone. Physical characterization is like producing -- zeroing in on the bass line, deciding on the kick pattern. Vocal characterization is like choosing the right sonic experience, choosing the most effective snare sound, and mixing the high end or low end. It goes without saying that it works in the complete opposite direction. Making each song is taking on a different role literally and employing the use of different masques to maximize the effectiveness of the particular story being told.

3. On Instagram  you wrote that “Masquerade is a small collection of the variety of musical masques that have always inspired me.” Which track do you identify with most in your real life?

Everybody absorbs songs differently. Some key into the lyrics, some into the melody, some the production, some into vocal performance. When I listen to songs, I consider all of their value on totally different scales. So it’s hard to say if there’s any track I “identify” with more than any others, since I -- by nature -- identify with all of them. I think I just identify with certain aspects more than others. If it helps for a more interesting answer, I will say I enjoy the slightly more classical, playful -- dare I say -- more Broadway-leaning wordplay of “Walk of Shame,” but that’s just talking about lyricism. I enjoy the attitude of “F*kn Around,” the batsh--t musicality of “I Can’t Dance,” the relentless grooves of “Let’s” and “For A Night Like This.” All have different ingredients I really enjoy having an excuse to dive into.

4. What’s the first piece of music that you bought for yourself, and what was the medium?

Beatles audio cassettes: “Help” and “Hard Day’s Night.” I just listened on repeat on a tape-playing Walkman until my brother and I got a stereo for our room with a CD player in it, which was  when I just bought the same two albums again, but this time as compact discs.

5. What was the first concert you saw?It’s hard to say, because my parents took us to a lot of classical concerts when we were small. But I guess this question usually refers to what was the first concert you went to on your own volition, and that my friend, was definitely Warped Tour ’01. My brother and I went on our own— two teenagers going to their first music festival, in the golden age of that particular genre and culture. It was f--king incredible.

6. What did your parents do for a living when you were a kid?

My dad was in private banking and advised really, really wealthy people on how to handle their money. My mom was, by choice, a stay-at-home mom, but in reality, she was my dad’s consigliere. They discussed absolutely everything together. They were a real team, and I saw that every single day in the house. They both had a background in finance (That’s how they met in the first place.) and were incredibly skilled at all the hardcore adulting things that I absolutely suck at. They were total finance wizards together. So of course, instead of becoming an accountant, I picked up playing the guitar and ran as far I could with it. Luckily, they were all about it.

7. What was your favorite homecooked meal growing up?

My dad was an incredible chef. For special occasions, I’d request his crab cakes. They were unreal. I’ve never had a crab cake anywhere in the world that was good as my dad’s.

8. Who made you realize you could be an artist full-time?

I don’t know if I’ve actually realized that yet.

9. What’s at the top of your professional bucket list?

The specifics change every day, but the core idea at the top is to continue being consistently inconsistent with my choices, and to keep getting audiences to constantly reconsider their consideration of me. But I mean, sure, what performer doesn’t want to play Coachella? What songwriter doesn’t want to have Adele sing one of their songs? What actor doesn’t want to be in a Wes Anderson film?

10.  How did your hometown/city shape who you are?

San Francisco. I mean, come on. I was really lucky. The older I get, the more grateful I am for just being born and raised there. It’s an incredibly diverse, culturally rich, colorful, inclusive, vibrant city. By the time I was born, it had served as a beacon for millions of creative, out-of-the-box thinkers to gather and thrive. I grew up around that. The combination of that with having parents, who were unbelievably supportive of the arts themselves, laid an incredibly fortunate foundation to consider the life of an artist as a legitimately viable option. It’s a foundation that I am supremely aware is not the case for millions of young artists around the world. I was absurdly lucky.

11.  What’s the last song you listened to?

I mean probably one of mine, but not by choice. I know, lame. But I’m promoting a new EP, what’d you expect? But if you wanna know what I’ve been listening to, as far as new s--t is concerned: a lot of Lizzy McAlpine, Remi Wolf, and Charlie Burg.

12.  If you could see any artist in concert, dead or alive, who would it be?

The Beatles is an obvious "yeah, duh." Sammy Davis, Mel Tormé, or of course, Nat King Cole. I would’ve loved to see Howard Ashman give a lecture on his creative process and his body of work.

13. What’s the wildest thing you’ve seen happen in the crowd of one of your sets?

I feel like just having a crowd at all, at any one of my sets, is pretty wild enough.

14. What’s your karaoke go-to?

The real answer to this I’ll write into a book one day, because I have a lot to say about karaoke etiquette. I have two options here: I can either name a song that I like to sing for me, for fun, or I can name a song that really gets the group going. The answer depends on what kind of karaoke night we’re dealing with here. So I will say, after I’ve selected a ton of songs that services a decent enough party vibe for everyone else, then I would do one for me, and that would be the Beatles’ “Oh! Darling.”

15. What’s one thing your most devoted fans don’t know about you?

What I have up my sleeve.

16. What TV show did you binge-watch over the past year?

Dave is a stroke of genius. There are episodes that I believe are bona fide masterpieces. Also, My Brilliant Friend is a masterclass in cinematic television.

17. What movie, or song, always makes you cry?

It’s A Wonderful Life.

18. What’s one piece of advice you would give to your younger self?

Get used to sharing everything about yourself and your life now, or more astutely, to the idea that you don’t necessarily get to control how your life is shared. I know it’s not really your thing, but you’re gonna have to get used to it, so start building up those calluses now. And don’t worry, all the stuff you love now will be cool again in your mid-thirties, so keep some of those clothes because you’ll be a full-blown fashion icon if you just keep wearing exactly what you’re wearing. Oh nd also, put money into Apple and Facebook.

19.  What new hobby did you take on in the last year?

I’ve always been a linguaphile. My idea of leisure time is getting to study or review other languages. This past year, I took the time to finally dive into learning how to read, write, and speak Japanese. Other than making music, it was one of the biggest components of my 2020-2021.

20. What do you hope to accomplish or experience by the end of 2021?

I hope I get to play live shows again.

[alonelysimp]

Genshin Band Au

Characters: Yanfei, Xinyan, Barbara, Y/N (reader)

WC: 1975

Warnings: No beta we die like hilichurls

Tags: No Archive Warnings Apply, No Ships, Headcanons, Bulleted

Spotify Playlist: Pov: you're in a band with Xinyan Yanfei and Barbara

《 𝓘𝓯 𝔂𝓸𝓾 𝓴𝓷𝓸𝔀 𝓱𝓸𝔀 𝓽𝓸 𝓻𝓸𝓬𝓴, 𝓽𝓱𝓮𝓷 𝓲𝓽𝓼 𝓮𝓪𝓼𝓲𝓮𝓻 𝓽𝓸 𝓻𝓸𝓵𝓵 》

Once when you were having lunch with Xinyan and Xiangling, Xinyan said something along the lines of “wouldn’t it be cool if i had a band?” and you, of course, jokingly said “if you started a band, then I wanna be the first member to join” and that’s basically how it started

You offered Xiangling if she'd like to join as well but she declined. As tempting as a life like that sounds, she’s set on her dream to be a chef. “I’d rather be your biggest fan!”

Not really knowing where to go at this point, you suggested posting a notice to the bulletin board beside the long-unused alchemy table and the one beside the adventurer’s guild typically reserved for commissions, but Katheryne gave you permission to put it up.

Xinyan had already begun to have the beginnings of a fanbase at this point, but it wasn’t really much of a surprise you hadn’t heard anything in a few days. You had even gone so far as to ask the traveler to keep an eye out.

Thankfully, the traveler was more successful than the both of you, bringing back a letter from both the top legal advisor in Liyue and the Idol and Deconess of Mondstadt. When you asked them how or why they put in so much effort, they just smiled and waved you off. The only payment they wanted were some small shiny rocks you had laying around as paperweights that you got from a hilichurl. Odd, but you insisted they accepted mora as well.

And so, on the agreed date mentioned in both of the letters, courtesy of the traveler setting up, you sat around a table at Wamin with a few assorted dishes of Jueyun Chili Chicken and Crab Roe Tofu. By the end, you were able to convince both of them to join. It was a bit.. really hard in the beginning, with Barbara and Yanfei having jobs. Barbara living in Mond didn’t help much either, but after some work it became manageable. You agree to meet every week at Pop’s Teas, one of the vendors at the stone gate. It would only take half an hour-ish each way.

“What should we call it?” You ask, languidly setting down your tea. Xinyan looks at you, still hunched over a few sheets of paper with her head propped up on her hand. “The band,” you clarify. Barbara hums from across the table, pressing a finger to her lip.

“I have a few ideas.” Xinyan pulls a blank sheet from the pile and scribbles BAND NAMES at the top. “Let’s brainstorm them while we’re all here.” One by one, you begin to throw out ideas.

Firelytical

Rockin Resistance

Wildfires

Illuminated Flames

Inferno

Sudden Freedom

She taps the pen to her lip, thinking of other names to suggest.

“These seem a bit.. fire-centric, even for a pyro-based band,” you comment. Yanfei nods, still deep in thought.

“Oh that’s a good idea, y/n.” You glance over, seeing Xinyan write down “Pyrocentric” on the list.

“Maybe it’d be best if we came up with ideas and shared them next week?” You nod at Barbara’s suggestion.

“I’ll keep a notepad with me in the office…” Xinyan tosses the pencil back on the table, watching Yanfei pull out what you assume to be the notebook and flip to a page, moving on to the next topic of discussion. “Costumes,” she says as her lips twist into a slight frown.

“Oh! I have some ideas for that,” you pull a sketchbook out of your bag, showing them your ideas. “I’m not very good at drawing but.. I wanted to keep some bits of your normal clothing too, I hope it’s not too much.”

“Y/n these look so amazing!” Barbara smiles, moving one to get a better look.

“Aw these are so awesome!” Xinyan slides over the one for her, grinning. Yanfei nods, looking over hers. “I could totally make these.” Her eyes sparkle with interest, radiating in the sunlight. “Oh,” she looks back up at you. “If you don’t mind, that is.” You wave her away, giggling under your breath.

“If Barbra and Yanfei don’t have any adjustments to make, I’d love to see my designs come to life!” You sip your tea, which has long gone cold by now. Barbara turns the paper around, pointing at the skirt on the page. “What if we add another one under it? If we make it a different colour, it’ll pop more.” You nod, pulling out a sheet and writing it down.

“Oh, oh y/n what if we added something here too?” Yanfei points to a slightly emptier spot on the hip. “Like an uhm…” she trails off.

“What if we put something like this from Xinyan’s?” You put your finger on a braided cord. “Like a belt, I guess?”

“Oh yeah yeah and I could put my vision on it–” she unconsciously reaches to touch the pyro vision at her side.

“Y/n?” Barbara sets aside her tea, as if she just found out the hard way that it’s cold. You hum, the pencil in your hand tapping against the page as you note details for Yanfei’s costume. “Thank you for working so hard on this!”

A few other names had come up during the week; BXY, Fiery Vale, and such, but you settled on Fervent Apricity. An odd name, but it’s meaning was able to win everyone over; the intense heat of the sun in the midst of winter. It fit the band well, you thought. Perhaps one day you should be able to live up to the name.

After a few months of dragging Yanfei away from her work to teach her the bass, which she picked up scarily fast (perhaps it's an illuminated beast thing?), you were able to arrange something with the millenith to not crash your debut concert. Yanfei suggested she just continued practicing for a while before she performed with it though.

You agreed that since there were only four of you, it wouldn’t be too much to have all of you as vocalists. Barabra lead vocals and choreography, Xinyan with lead guitar and harsh vocals, Yanfei rapping and eventually bass guitar, and you playing drums.

Tonight was the night. The night that Fervent Apricity would set foot on the stage for the first time. To be completely honest, you were a nervous wreck. Ignoring your worries didn’t make them go away, much to your annoyance.

Xiangling set up a food cart nearby, though she got distracted listening more than she cooked.

You sat in front of the drums, only moments left before you started. This was it. You’ve practiced so many times, it’ll be a breeze. Xinyan counted down, the strums from her guitar filling the summer night air as the concert began.

You would’ve felt bad being this loud so late at night, but by the time you had finished, you attracted not only a good portion of the residents in the harbor, but the wholehearted support of the largest fleet that docks in Liyue. The Crux and her crew! You recognize a lot of people from Xinyan’s previous concerts, loyal fans you assume she’s gained, and a good few handfuls of new faces. Travelers, probably.

You played into the night, without a care in the world for who may be listening. It lasted almost half an hour longer than one of Xinyan’s normal concerts. If you had to put the experience into one word, it was freeing. You were alive. The feeling was… incredible. But, as the adrenaline wore off, you came to realize how undeniably tired you were.

And so, that breathtaking performance marked the day that you would start your, Fervent Apricity’s, journey of becoming one of the most popular bands in Teyvat

For the week after, you had been working out the details of the next large concert. Xinyan carried on with her nightly performances, you caught word of Barbara still performing in Mond, although slightly less than usual, and you had been exchanging ideas with Yanfei. Despite her job and work schedule, she proves to be a great help, almost overwhelmingly so. After the second day, it felt more like her setting it up and running it by you instead of the other way around. Not that you could really complain, just a little less work for you.

After a few months of performing regularly in Liyue Harbor, Barbara suggested that you come to Mond. It’d be a new experience, since you had never really traveled outside of Liyue, but you were concerned it might affect Barbara’s reputation. She insisted. Playing with the band is something she’s proud of and the message your music brings is something she supports.

Was it running away? Finding a new audience that would love your music just as much as you did? No, just the opposite. It was finding a new audience, one that was just as foreign to it, and lighting it up one spark at a time.

You started working out the time with Yanfei and Barbara to fit their schedules and Xinyan started picking out songs she thought would be more… well accepted by the northern people and bouncing some ideas off you. The instruments weren’t much, so you were able to transport it easily. Barbara said to come to the plaza at the top of all the stairs a few days prior.

Xinyan had to tell the sentries you were here to perform with Barbara, to which they let you through with no further difficulties. People stared, and whether it was a good or bad thing, it was almost.. empowering? You met with Barbara and the other sisters, introducing yourselves as the other members of Fervent Apricity.

They were a bit weary of you, a ragtag group of musicians with a vaguely red and black colour scheme with Barbara, who had run off shortly after you arrived to change into her costume.

By the time she had returned, the makeshift stage had already been set up and a crowd began to form. It appears Barbara was quite popular here. You could tell they were a bit cautious though. Perhaps it’s because it’s pretty clear that your music was different from what Barbara usually played. All the better to prove how amazing rock could be.

There was but a few minutes left before you were scheduled to start. All the fireproofing needed was complete; you were ready to light up the city of freedom.

It was just like one of your normal concerts, a handful of songs you had played many times before. The crowd was a bit taken aback by Xinyan’s screaming, you had to hold in a laugh. You made a note to after, bring it up to her to get the crowd more fired up before choosing one that… intense. No matter how many times you performed, it was always just as lively as the first time.

Having mentioned your thought to Xinyan after the show, Yanfei came up to the both of you. She said she wanted to play her instrument in the next concert. Xinyan replied that if she wanted to then that’s a-okay but she shouldn’t feel pressured into it before she was ready

You overheard the “Barbara fan club,” as Barbara had mentioned earlier, crowding her and asking so many questions, it made you want to kick their asses to Inazuma.

“Barbara-sama, are you joining them permanently?”

“Barbara-sama, will you still be performing on your own?”

“Barbara-sama, how long have you been with them?”

“Barbara-sama, is this why you don’t let me join you to the stone gate?”

After a bit of rescuing and creep-yelling-at, Xinyan made a final announcement, mentioning the band’s name and the upcoming concert dates in Liyue.

Oh, how quickly time passes

ohmygod THANK YOU SM FOR 200- SHAWTYS ILYSM- ugh I might actually take this blog seriously soon..

Fervent Apricity Masterlist [ X ]

[queenwitchrowena]

☽〇☾ — ROWENA MACLEOD

❝ she wore her scars as her best attire, a stunning dress made of hellfire.❞ ☽〇☾  —  AESTHETICS

BELIEFE IN PROPHECY AND MAGIC OLD AS TIME  — WINTER SOLSTICE ORGIES  — BACKLESS FLOOR LENGTH GOWNS AS CASUAL WEAR —  WINGED EYELINER SHARP ENOUGH TO CUT YOU  — FINDING REDEMPTION AND MEANING IN UNEXPECTED PLACES

☽〇☾  — CHARACTER INFORMATION

Name: Rowena MacLeod Nickname: Ro (To a few people.) Age: 378 appears mid to late 30’s  (spent an additional 190 years in Hell) D.O.B.:  1643 Place of birth: Isle of Skye, Scotland Gender: Cis Female Species: Human/Witch (Natural) Height: 5’2” / 157 cm Weight: 110lbs / 50kg Eye color: Green Hair color: Vivid red copper Relationship Status: It’s always complicated and often fake. Sexuality: Sexually Progressive Powers: Innate magic, learned spell work, ability to create spell work. Weaknesses: Overestimating herself, pride, volatile anger, recklessness Occupation: Witch / Con Artist / Hunter Consultant / Queen of Hell Weapons: Hex Bags, spells, natural magic, Voodoo dolls, crystals, potions, alchemy, manipulation. She is capable of using traditional weapons such as knives and guns when necessary.

Personality: Rowena is intelligent, ambitious, proud, manipulative, Machiavellian, petty, sarcastic, reckless, often self serving, hateful, seductive. She resents anyone who dares to have authority over her. She flirts like mad with people, often for fun, often for her own gain. When she is on someone’s side she can be sweet, calm, warm, and courteous. When she has labeled someone as completely useless, unfortunately in her way, or an enemy, she can be ruthlessly vicious and violent. People that cross her may find themselves in various precarious situations up to and including violent deaths.

Rowena is hard to get to know deeply, she builds walls to keep people from hurting her, not just physically, but emotionally. She is never quite able to be rid of the parts of her that fear and loathe her past. She has always been a dreamer. She is slowly learning to trust and value people and loyalty, even if she might deny it.

Likes: People who can do something for her, knowledge, power, money, magic, Winchesters and their pet angels (though she will not state that out loud), creating her own spells, her son (not that she wants to, she hates him because it’s easier for her), flirting, elegant states of dress, stability, freedom.

Dislikes: Authority over her, being used, baring her feelings, feelings, weakness, abandonment, her own desperation, her past, swallowing her pride, not controlling a situation, being underestimated, being undervalued, people denying their own abilities with magic, most hunters, most other witches, her son lol, most demons, anything that makes her appear unsophisticated, limits.

Appearance: Rowena is a slim petite woman. Pale skin that burns and freckles if she doesn’t stay out of the sun or apply some sort of charm. She keeps her fiery red hair long, with fringe, and alternates between letting it curl naturally or straightening it. She wears it both up and down.

Her clothing choices tend to learn towards the impractical and formal. Long sleeve floor length gowns, dresses, heels, and assorted jewelry. She wears bold winged eyeliner and often bright and shimmery eyeshadow looks, bold red and coral lipsticks. Rowena may occasionally wear something that makes her blend in a bit better, stylish slacks and blouses, sometimes a suit jacket. She never appears not put together if it’s within her control.

Rowena has a number of scars on her body made by the insertion of spell work in the form of hex bags. There is a scar on her outer right thigh, one on the left side above her breast, and one on her left hip above the bone. She also has very faint stretch marks on her belly from pregnancy.

☽〇☾  —  BACKSTORY

Rowena MacLeod was born the daughter of a Tanner in 17th century Scotland. She was one of several children born to her parents.

Her mother did not follow witchcraft, her father forbid it, he was a strict man. But she knew that she was born a witch and that magic ran innately through her. She was forced to not speak of it, though she couldn’t always control it. Even without training or knowing the right words, Rowena could speak things into happening given enough passion.

She was different from most of her siblings, the only other one who was capable of magic was an older brother, Fergus, though he too was made to tamp it down. He died when they were still young. A fever took three more of her siblings in childhood, and her mother was often absent or in her own head after that.

When Rowena was 15 she fell in love with a charming wealthy married man. He promised her that he’d take her away and that they would be together. When she was 16 she found herself unwed and pregnant. Her father threw her out in shame, and though her lover housed her in the village after, he did not visit nearly as often after. She knew later his promises were all lies.

He came to see her only once more, on the eve of their son’s birth. It was a long and hard birth and it was said that she wouldn’t make it. Her lover kissed her on the forehead and told her that he loved her. It was his last kindness. He left her there, dying, penniless, and went back to his wife and other children, expecting her death. Though Rowena managed to make it through, weak as she was, with a healthy son to show for it. She named him after the brother that she had been closest to.

Afterwards, baby Fergus’ father denied ever knowing Rowena at all. She was alone, with a child she couldn’t help but desperately love, cast out of her family for her sin of bearing a child outside of marriage, and labeled a whore by everyone else.

She sought to use her magic, thinking it would be what would save them. But what little she could do only earned her a worse reputation. Rowena was forced to take her baby and leave, she thought elsewhere she might be able to tell people that she had been widowed, but it hardly mattered. She had nothing and no one, and a baby to care for. Life was hard for them. Rowena was often unable to provide even the most basic things for her child. With her reputation she couldn’t find any reputable work. Instead, she sold her body to pay for what meager little she could to keep a roof over their heads. And she learned what she could of magic from wherever she could.

She did her best for her son, taught him what she could, and tried to shield him from what she was. Until he grew to look more and more like his father, the man who had broken her heart.

She could barely look at him, the boy she loved, that only served to remind her of what she hated about her life. She wasn’t a good enough mother, he was the reason she was forced to scrape to get by. She couldn’t help but tell herself those things. And she couldn’t help but tell him in fits of anger.

When he was 8 and devoid of all the pretty baby fat of youth, Rowena was caught and about to be tried for her crimes as a witch. Before that could happen, she left her son in the care of a workhouse, unable to keep him with her. She told herself she would be back, but she had nothing to offer him, and he was a painful thing to look at. The personification of a wound never closed. At a certain point she knew that she had been gone too long and made up every reason she could to justify it.

She found the opportunity to study under the great Milanese witch Leticia D’Albioni, and soon after that she finally joined the ranks of the Grand Coven. The Grand Coven were critical of Rowena having a child with a “non-magic”, but they were willing to overlook this because of the great talent she possessed. However, her immense raw skill and recklessness with extreme witchcraft made them wary of her. This eventually led to her being hexed by the coven with a binding spell that restrained her magic, as well as being banned from performing magic, taking on students, or forming her own coven.

Rowena didn’t stop using her then limited powers when possible, still stronger than many witches, but she did fear the Grand Coven and their worldwide reach for centuries. She stayed off their radar as much as possible, learning where she could, and managing to take care of herself in other ways when necessary. She’d dodge the occasional run in with other witches, demons, hunters, The British Men of Letters.

300 years later, Rowena resurfaced, recently run out of the UK by a member of the British men of Letters. And with a goal in mind, intending to reclaim her lost power and start a coven of her own to do so.

It wasn’t until she learned that her son, who should have long been gone and forgotten, was reborn as the demon Crowley and King of Hell, that she was set on a new vicious path.

She reinserted herself into Fergus’ life. (Refusing to call him by his newer chosen name, though she would never explain to him what the name meant to her.) Rowena attempted to use her son for his position of power to help her with the Grand Coven. Aware of her manipulations, her son assisted anyway and captured the head of the Grand Coven, Olivette, for her. Tortured by Rowena, Olivette revealed the Grand Coven was much-diminished in its power because of a concerted campaign against witches by the Men of Letters. After learning this Rowena sought again to put together her own coven, something far greater than what the Grand Coven was, though she was met with either disinterest or thwarted plans. Still, she remained by her sons side in hopes that his power would be useful to her.

This led to frequently recurring encounters with the Winchester brothers and those that surround them. Sometimes on opposite sides, sometimes as allies.

See here for further detailed information.

☽〇☾  —  POST SEASON 15 EPISODE 3

Rowena expected to die and have her body eventually deteriorate and release the souls that she carried with her, back to hell where they belonged. Instead she found herself dead, but with an incredible amount of power stored within her from the souls that she absorbed. As she arrived in Hell by her own choice, Rowena is able to take control of Hell’s throne through the use of her still in tact magical abilities, and fear.

She is a powerful soul inhabiting her own body, though technically still dead, and has never become a demon.

As ruler, she immediately shut down all demon deals and overhauled hell to work the way that she wanted it to. Her opinion is that humans do plenty of things to put themselves in Hell, no need to assist the process. People will end up where the ought to.

☽〇☾  —  CURRENT

Since her arrival in Lebanon, Kansas, and once again a member of the living, Rowena has returned to reside in the Men of Letters bunker with the Winchester brothers.

[earlgreytea68]

A Review of the Fall Out Boy Biography Inevitably Colored by Shippiness Oops But Really Mainly By My Love for Pete Wentz

I don’t even know who the audience is for this monstrosity of a review, nor do I know the audience for this biography, though, so, like, it’s fitting lololol: 

I am a new Fall Out Boy fan. I say that because, if anybody was in need of a Fall Out Boy biography, you would think it would be a new fan. AND YET. I’m not entirely sure who the market for this book is, because it isn’t really Fall Out Boy fans of any duration, because not only can everything in the book be easily located with the simplest of Google searches but also there’s so much he leaves out. And what he leaves out is just…so incredibly telling. It’s like, the facts he chooses to highlight are often pointless and random (although thanks for telling me that Pete Wentz’s jeans were so tight he had to perform without underwear, I’m going to think about that a lot now), whereas the facts he leaves out are the ones that lend both complexity and context. Like, this whole book could be Exhibit A in how malleable facts can be. Given the same set of facts, this man and I would tell two very different stories.

At least partly this is because he’s a music critic (I glean from the book) and I’m a creative writer. I believe he is a music critic because he takes care to dedicate a paragraph of musical analysis to every song on their earliest CDs (he loses interest in them over the hiatus, and more on that later). I appreciated this, because I know nothing about music, and I learned a lot about how talented Patrick Stump really is, like, not as a vocalist, because I knew that, or as a musician, because I also knew that, but as a smart, clever songwriter. I don’t know how to critique music, and I was happy this guy was full of praise for what Patrick does. He also pointed out musical hallmarks of theirs – like their tendency to drop the music suddenly for Patrick to sing an a cappella line – and that was the first time I’d ever really thought about them.

He was full of much less praise for Pete’s lyrics, though, and I think that’s because he’s a music person, not a word person. Not that he thought Pete’s lyrics were ever bad but he tended to stay very conventional about them: emo, confessional, dramatic, and ingeniously juxtaposed with Patrick’s clear-as-a-bell voice. He’s kind of obsessed with the contrast between Patrick’s voice and the lyrics he’s singing, whereas I’m much more obsessed with the contrast between Patrick himself in sweater-paws and glasses snarling, “I am your worst nightmare,” like, sweetheart, I doubt it. AND YET HE PULLS IT OFF. Like, that’s so interesting to me, how much Patrick can make himself embody Pete, that act of alchemy where he sings on his behalf, but this book talks less about that than I think it might, mostly because I don’t think this guy really wants to think too hard about how incredibly good Pete’s lyrics actually are. The thing about Pete’s lyrics – he does this, and it’s so clever, it’s killer clever – is you can read them so easily on one very obvious and expected layer, and then there’s always one or two additional meanings tucked underneath them, and you might never stop to think about them, especially if you’ve already written him off, but his lyrics reward careful study and a lot of thought, he specializes in triple entendres, a turn of phrase that spins out into so many meanings, that’s so hard to do and he makes it look so easy that it’s such a simple mistake to dismiss it, to not even see how dense his poetry is. The conventional story on Pete Wentz is he’s good at marketing – marketing the band, marketing himself – and so he spun in circles to keep the spotlight on him and away from Patrick, and that’s definitely one take, and another take would be to point out that the same whirligig sex-symbol tabloid-fodder act also had the side effect of undercutting any tendency to take Pete seriously from a literary point of view, like, so much easier to just say that, in keeping with his goth guyliner, he wept into his inkwell and scrawled messily over parchment. So anyway: criticism #1 of this book is that they should have complemented the music-critic-ness with an English major.

Criticism #2 is that I feel like people always get wrong what appeals to girls, to speak in the massive generalizations of this topic. Like, someone somewhere was like, “Hey, girls like this Fall Out Boy band, it must be because Pete Wentz is hot.” And they’re not wrong about that, exactly, but they always seem to miss how many entangled layers often come with attraction. Like, yeah, sometimes it’s just he’s got nice abs but often there’s a million other things happening there, and one thing I cannot forgive this guy for is not just his failure to engage with Pete’s lyrics on any real level, but how little he also truly examines Pete Wentz’s genuine marketing genius. He’s a music guy: His interest is clearly in Patrick, and also in Joe and Andy, because they’re musicians, and he can wax poetic about them. Pete gets his standard paragraphs: Oh, he chose the right management, the right record label, the right deal. He can pick out a good band, like Panic! or Gym Class Heroes. All of that is true, but none of it really grasps exactly how smart Pete really is. Like, the book hardly mentions at all how much Pete realized immediately the value of internet fandom. When I first fell for Pete Wentz – that first weekend I spent Googling him – what really was the death knell for me was stumbling upon the old FOB Q&As he used to run in the earliest days. And it wasn’t actually his constant leaning into the Peterick shipping with such dead-on unerring understanding of fandom that did it for me (although that was pretty charming, ngl). It was how often teenagers messaged Pete Wentz with their problems, and how patiently he took the time to respond. My boyfriend broke up with me. My grandma just died. I don’t feel like I fit in anywhere. Again and again and again, Pete Wentz took these messages and wrote out detailed, laborious responses. And I know he was a guy angling hard to be famous but not all guys angling hard to be famous realized how important something like this is, this very personal connection, like, above and beyond the bantering and the smirks, and even if you’re doing it entirely for ulterior motives, that’s a ton of emotional labor he was performing. I finished reading those Q&As and thought, God, Pete Wentz must have been exhausted.

And I’m not sure that’s something the bio ever really wrestled with, because it never really talked about that aspect of him. I don’t actually think the bio read anything Pete Wentz has ever posted online, like, not even those basic Q&As that are the easiest thing in the universe to Google, never mind the secret blogs he still has scattered all over the internet with nuggets of lyricism buried in there for Patrick to mine. It’s just so easy to buy into the Peter-Pan, devil-may-care Pete Wentz picture, and for all I know that’s the truest of the pictures, but it’s also undeniable fact that the other side to that was either really cunning and savvy or just a nice guy, and either way it’s another layer to Pete Wentz that gets short shrift in the bio. Which isn’t surprising because although the author clearly appreciates Fall Out Boy the band, the author clearly isn’t fannish at all, whereas it’s pretty abundantly clear Pete Wentz is fannish. He’s unapologetically fannish. He speaks fan language with a fluency that is hard to fake. And he’s astonishingly well-versed in tropes. He’s instinctively good at creating a good story, not just in his lyrics (although he, like Taylor Swift, is adept at tropey lyrics, so it’s no surprise they have a mutual admiration society), but in his life. In addition to the Q&As, that first weekend was full of me being like, …How is this the tropiest thing I’ve ever read??? It’s unsurprising that the bio doesn’t point out all the tropes in the Pete Wentz / Patrick Stump / Fall Out Boy story, because the author isn’t versed in tropes, but Pete Wentz definitely is. He knows how to use words, well. And you wouldn’t necessarily know it to listen to him – he babbles and uses tons of filler phrases and never, ever ask him what his lyrics are about, it’s like trying to have a conversation in Wonderland – but that’s all part of the aw-shucks-sometimes-I-scribble-some-stuff-down-Patrick’s-the-real-genius brand.

Now I am not qualified to write a Fall Out Boy biography and also I don’t know these people and also everything I do know comes from Google but that said, I feel like I do know for a fact some primary source materials that the writer just chose to leave out that really does display how malleable stories can be depending on what you highlight or not. Like, if he didn’t want to draw psychological conclusions based on the facts that’s fair enough. But he also pared back the narrative so drastically that it left off the true meat of it, like, if you read this book you would not necessarily think there was much interesting about these people, whereas if you really dig into everything they’ve got out there, well, you could start to think they’re super-interesting people. But I am a creative writer and this biographer was a music critic. He settles happily into the song analysis but I’m busy connecting dots into a narrative, and life is complicated, it is not a simple narrative, but that impulse underlies most biography, the idea that we can assemble the facts into something that has something to say about a human life. But that act really exists in how you assemble the facts.

 ~~~~~~~~TRIGGER WARNING: SUICIDE DISCUSSION~~~~~~~~~~~

A really good example of this is the way the biography deals with the Best Buy incident. Here are the bare facts: Pete Wentz, in a Best Buy parking lot listening to Jeff Buckley’s “Hallelujah,” took too many Ativan. In a phone call, his manager noticed he was slurring, called his parents, they rushed him to the hospital, he lived. These are the facts that the book gives you, and these are true facts.

If you want to expand slightly upon these bare facts, Pete has given many, many interviews about this incident because he is very open about mental health issues and his bipolar disorder and depressive episodes and anxiety. Pete has said that he’s not sure he was trying to kill himself so much as just make his head quiet for a little while. Pete has said he felt like he was too busy being Pete Wentz for everyone else and he just wanted to rest. These are also facts, although ones I don’t think the biographer truly believes. He does dutifully quote them but he also clearly has his own belief about how much Pete’s telling the truth. Because this is inevitable in any telling of the facts.  

If you want to expand slightly upon these facts, you could point out that Pete’s lyrics reflect how noisy his head is (“when this city goes silent, the ringing in my ears gets violent”), which might color how you understand him when he says he just wanted some peace and quiet. You might also point out that, as the bio has already said, Pete was the driving force behind the band’s strategy and it was about to culminate. You might remind the reader that Pete walked away from other possibly very successful careers to do this band (there is much made in the book of the theoretical ease with which Pete could have achieved a soccer career, which made me raise my eyebrows a bit but, you know, Patrick does say Pete’s really, really good at soccer). You might recall that Pete has these kids relying on him whose parents he literally had to persuade to trust him. You might say that so far everything had gone exactly as he planned and he just needed to stick the landing. You might mention the fact that they kept rewriting songs and rewriting songs and rewriting songs; that Pete was in such utter meltdown mode that he was sliding lyrics under Patrick’s door and then retreating, so that the rest of the band never even saw him; that they had scrapped half the album and were furiously writing new music right up until the deadline – all of which are facts not even mentioned. You might say all of those things, because they are indeed all true facts.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It is appropriate at this point to note that many of these things were simply not germane to the story this biographer was telling, which was a music-critic-focused story. But these things are all incredibly germane to the story *I* would tell, about these four people who found each other, lost each other, and found each other again, and the two people at the center whose creative alchemy was by turns either too dazzling or too explosive and in both incarnations needed to find a way to balance to keep the band afloat. This is the story I would tell, but, to be totally honest, Pete and Patrick’s creative partnership doesn’t really seem to interest the writer of this book. He mentions it vaguely, in passing, once or twice, fairly standard surface proclamations about Pete handling lyrics and Patrick handling music, and Pete drawing the spotlight away from Patrick who didn’t want it. Or he’ll say that the true secret to the band’s success is Patrick’s voice and Pete’s lyrics, like Patrick could be any pretty-enough voice, which I think just isn’t true, there’s so much more to the way they clicked together. I read this great New Yorker article once about how, through history, genius exists in pairs, that often two people need to find each other to push each other to be better than they would ever be apart.

It’s fine to not want to get into that too intensely, it’s just that that means that half the story of Folie goes away, if you’re not focused on how the band was creating. Like, there’s so much about the lead-up to Folie to talk about: Patrick’s control over the music to the exclusion of everyone else, Pete’s worsening prescription pill thing, and the way that their creative partnership seemed to disintegrate while simultaneously leaving no room for Joe or Andy in the band. The book mentions really none of this – nothing about the fact that at one point they had descended into physical altercations over chord progressions; nothing about the story the producer tells that Patrick would get so frustrated after phone calls with Pete that he’d throw things around the studio; nothing about the story that Patrick once told Pete, “I don’t care, I’m going to write a song and call it ‘I Don’t Care,’” such a telling little tale when later Patrick comes to hate the song “I Don’t Care” – so the hiatus feels like it descends out of nowhere, with a paragraph about the fans not liking the album. Which, again, is a true fact, but without the other true facts of the way the entire creative process was crumbling around them, around all of them, it sounds less compelling. The bio does get into Joe wanting to flex his creative muscles more but doesn’t connect it back to the Folie era of being shut-out. The hiatus becomes entirely about Patrick not liking being booed.

Even worse to me is the book devotes a lot of time to each of their music videos, which is awesome, because their videos are important and great, but it devotes exactly zero time to the video for “What a Catch, Donnie.” And I’m so bewildered by that, you can have a field day with the symbolism in that video, even if you want to just make a true factual statement about its plot: Patrick collects all of the detritus of Fall Out Boy and all of their friends come and party with him, while Pete goes down with a sinking ship all alone, to a medley of the words he’s leaving behind. Like. That is literally what happens in this video. And then the hiatus starts. To me this is one of the most ridiculously angsty things ever, that they would go out to their own triumphs echoing back at them and the literal death of captain!Pete Wentz. To the story I would tell, this is the most germane. It merits not a single mention in the bio (other than praising the song itself for being one of the strongest on the album, and talking about the Elvis Costello cameo).

Because he’s much more interested in them musically than as people or relationships, he seems to lose interest in them post-hiatus. He details each of their hiatus-era projects with his typical attention to the music criticism side. And then he spends, like, eight pages talking about the guy who wrote the article that triggered Patrick’s “We Liked You Better When You Were Fat” blog post. I’m not even exaggerating. It’s an entire chapter dedicated to the article and the guy who wrote it. Patrick’s response is described and quoted and even praised, but not in nearly as much as detail as the original article, and Pete’s reaction to Patrick’s blog post gets literally zero attention. Which is fascinating since, in some tellings of the story, that’s the entire reason the hiatus ended. Pete has said on multiple occasions that he read the blog post and was upset Patrick was so upset and called him up and asked him to try writing with him again. But if you’re not actually interested in that creative relationship as a relationship, then you don’t see a reason to explain the motivation behind trying again.

You also don’t really see a reason to tackle why they initially struggled to get back into it. Like, truly grappling with the Pete/Patrick relationship leads to more depth than the surface “Patrick doesn’t like the spotlight, so Pete takes it for him.” That’s too simplistic a formulation, as Pete himself has said. It also discounts Patrick’s obvious dedication to Pete, his complete willingness to step in and publicly defend him on many occasions, like, Patrick’s no shy, retiring wallflower when it comes to Pete, Patrick can let loose viciously on behalf of Pete. Their protectiveness is mutual, although the public narrative often glosses over that. (In one of those “why leave that out” details, the biographer notes that Hemingway was Pete and Ashlee’s ring bearer but not that Patrick was Pete’s best man, Idk.) At any rate, I point that out because the struggle they had to find their groove writing together after the hiatus mirrored their initial struggles, to find their way into trusting each other’s strengths, but the book is just kind of like, “The first session wasn’t successful but the next session was. They were out of practice.” They weren’t out of practice with songwriting, not really, especially not Patrick – they were out of practice with each other. And that wasn’t just a hiatus-era souvenir, that went back to Folie, but we didn’t get that part of Folie.  

The biographer also, annoyingly in my view, loses all interest in them at this point. He devotes almost no time to the post-hiatus era, which is fascinating to me, since their ability to launch a comeback as successfully and relevantly as they did is striking, and to do it not by relying on nostalgia but by generating genuinely new hits with a genuinely new audience, and he’s not interested in that at all. Even worse than not being interested in this is the fact that he fails to close the Folie loop, like, he devotes lots of time to Patrick coming to hate Folie because of how much the fans hated it. Then he makes a little note, like, “Maybe someday Patrick will come to love Folie again,” or something, and the thing is, I know the book was written a few years ago now, but there was definitely stuff available about how much Folie had become a fan favorite in the hiatus years. Patrick gave an interview somewhere where he talked about the reunion show and how he read fan reviews of it and the fans were like, “They should have played more songs from Folie!” I always think at that point And then Patrick looked into the camera like he’s on The Office. But, at any rate, Patrick got to see Folie become beloved and that loop could have been closed better and he just leaves it dangling. (I’m almost like, Did he really write most of this book while they were on hiatus and then when they came back he was like, …Goddamn it?)

He doesn’t at all get into the shock of the immediate level of success of their comeback, like, that’s another thing that’s documented, that they were unsure anyone would care and they were so startled by the response that they had to actually add larger venues onto their tour because they’d thought no one would want to come to their shows. He could have talked about how people waited hours outside in the Chicago cold to get into the comeback show, how they started the show with “Thriller” and Patrick says the response was electric and it must have been amazing and he’s just not really interested in it, you can tell that he’s bored. He doesn’t talk about how Patrick hadn’t really thought about having to perform the new songs live because he didn’t think anyone would really care about the new album, so they had to really think about how they were going to make it work, and how he almost permanently damaged his voice having to sing “Alone Together” live and that’s what finally finally drove him to pursue actual voice lessons, like, he mentions none of this, he’s just like, “They wrote Save Rock & Roll, and then they wrote American Beauty / American Pyscho.” He’s just clearly, at that point, bored. Whereas in the story I would tell, that is the most satisfying part, the happy ending beyond their wildest dreams.

Okay, omg, this is SO LONG, but here are some other random thoughts:

·       He never – not once – goes back to source Pete’s lyrics to their original blog entries, which can be very interesting. This is because he’s not interested in the lyrics really, but it’s very frustrating to me because, like, SOMEBODY TAKE THESE LYRICS SERIOUSLY, PLEASE, THEY’RE SO GOOD. It also means that he misses things like “Miss Missing You” and the way it echoes Pete’s poem with the line “I miss you missing me,” like, that’s just a fact ::shrug:: He also says “Hum Hallelujah” is about teenage romance, and that is the most straightforward, surface-level reading, like, “Oh, it says ‘teenage vow in a parking lot,’ that’s what it’s about.” This pains me only because “Hum Hallelujah” might be the most perfect lyrically constructed song Fall Out Boy has, every line is golden and stuffed with meaning and emotion, and he’s just like, “teenage romance,” so dismissively, and I wince, like, “I could write it better than you ever felt it” is a line that deserves more than that. Not to mention “I love you in the same way there’s a chapel in a hospital,” god, or “One day we’ll get nostalgic for disaster,” ugh, do not read this book for lyrical analysis. He also terms the best lyrical line on Cork Tree as “To the ‘love’ I left my conscience pressed / Between the pages of the Bible in the drawer” and, while there’s nothing wrong with that line, I don’t even think that’s the best line in XO (I mean, leaving off the follow-up of “What did it ever do for me? I say” undercuts those lines immediately, imo). (He does at least point out that “Keep quiet, nothing comes as easy as you / Can I lay in your bed all day?” is a devastatingly sexy couplet.)

·       Can I just say, the entire debacle with Hey Chris gets precious little time in this book, which in a way is fine but in a way is like, just by Googling I got way more information on what went down and the weird, weird words that were being flung back and forth (at one point the term “heterolifemates” is used which makes zero sense at all in this context), but this book does spend a lot of time with Chris and Pete pre-Patrick (fascinating, right???) and there’s this weird part where Chris says he hated Pete before he met him and is like, “He should wear pants that fit,” which is just…such an interesting reason to hate Pete Wentz, like, Idk, Chris, coupled with your heterolifemates thing and weird thing about “whose name do you say every night???” which is also weirdly sexual phrasing and also being like “no one knows how to break a heart like he does,” like, everything about this entire situation has so much queer subtext but the book doesn’t touch any of that, ever, in any circumstance, with a ten-foot pole.

·       EVERYONE, THE BORDERS WHERE JOE AND PATRICK MEET IS LOCATED IN EDEN PLAZA AND I AM SO UPSET I DIDN’T KNOW THAT WHEN I WROTE THE DEVIL FIC.

·       I did not know that the producer wanted them to change the “We’re falling apart to halftime” line in Dance, Dance because he thought it was too incomprehensible and I’m just like, That’s the lyric where you thought you were going to lose people??

·       From the bio, describing the Live in Phoenix performance: a strange moment where Wentz inexplicably gets changed onstage. A strange moment? Inexplicably? Okay, like, germane to my telling of the story is how much those dick pics affected Pete Wentz’s public persona, how much he knew exactly what he was there to sell and he sold it with gusto, and how much of a spiral that ultimately sent him on. Instead, this biographer finds it inexplicable that Pete Wentz would take his shirt off onstage, and his analysis of the music video for “This Ain’t a Scene” gives the dick pic storyline only an offhand reference, calling it “making light” of the scandal, instead of really digging into the obvious pain there, like, that’s not a joyful lark there. (Later, much later, years later, Brendon Urie will manage to actually make light of the dick pic saga, both in the Drunk History and also in the joke of the dick pic being the photo that comes up when Pete calls him, as seen in the promos for the tour they did together, and that feels much more genuine. But that bit in “Arms Race” is kind of heartbreaking.)

·       Pete says of their failed attempt to get the Guinness record of the first band to perform on all seven continents that it was the worst feeling he’d ever felt in Fall Out Boy, and the biographer is like, “Really, Pete? Really?” and I kind of want to shake him because Pete Wentz is obviously a dramatic person and he feels disappointments keenly and he made that statement literally just as they were finding out they wouldn’t be able to do it, like, of course it’s just hyperbole! The biographer is weird through that whole section of the book because he never once mentions that, as a consolation to Pete, Patrick stayed up all night with him so they could get the record of most interviews by a duo in a twenty-four-hour period, like, that’s what I would have said about that story instead of trying to get way more out of Pete’s off-the-cuff self-pity (which is just so Pete Wentz, it’s like this writer hasn’t just spend a hundred pages writing about him…).

·       Whenever I read about how many songs Patrick shows up with when it’s time to record an album, I always feel this little twinge of solidarity with him, like, sometimes that’s just how it is in your chosen creative medium, you’re just always endlessly writing.

·       I had never thought before about the fact that Pete says all the time that he was too selfish pre-hiatus, all the time, a lot, that’s how he describes his problem – and the fact that there’s an entire song on Truant Wave called “Love, Selfish Love” with the line “God bless the sad and selfish” and I’m just going to…sit here and think about who in Patrick’s life could be described as sad and selfish.

·       From the bio re: Soul Punk: It’s disarming to hear this garrulous boy-next-door sing so candidly about sex. Yeah, I don’t think you were paying attention to the way Patrick smirks at the camera in the music videos, buddy.

·       Detail I knew but had never really thought about before: that Pete got Patrick to really click into songwriting with him again by giving him a puzzle. Patrick says that sometimes Pete gives him homework assignments, “I want a song that sounds like x, y, and z,” and Patrick will be like, “That’s impossible,” but also so intrigued that he ends up sitting and writing the thing. The fact that Pete knew, after a few mediocre songs neither of them liked, like, “You know how I snag him? This way,” is adorable. Also, the fact that it was Pete who adored the song to come out of it, “Where Did the Party Go?,” and that it was his excitement over the song that made Patrick think, Okay, maybe we can do this, like, it was Pete’s joy that drove Patrick’s optimism, they’re so creatively linked, these two.

·       He does include the detail that Pete was worried he’d fallen behind during the hiatus because he didn’t spend much time playing music and so he committed himself to practicing and improving with metronome work, like, Pete Wentz ugh <3. In a very recent interview that I cannot blame the bio for not including, Pete said that Patrick helps him with the bass because he’s so musically talented and everything about that offhand statement just kills me.

·       I did not know that one of the leaks of their reunion was on a blog that wrote “You can stop refreshing for a journal update,” and I’m in love with that, sorry.  

·       Ugh, can I just say, the fact that Patrick sang all of his vocals for Pax AM Days live with the band is just so unbelievable, he kills me.

·       From the bio: “We were fireworks that went off too soon / And I miss you in the June gloom, too,” Stump sings here, and you can’t help but wonder if the words refer to his public but brief marriage. …I have indeed helped the wondering of that because I have never once thought that about this song lolololol

[ludomusoetme]

Blog posts for Introduction to digital music

Blog Posts:

Version 1.0

Greetings everyone, and welcome to the blog relating my adventures in writing music!

It’s been about 5 years since I’ve last composed something… so this should be interesting.

Pretty much all of my previous work has been paired with something, generally moving image or game. This is the first time  i’m writing something just for the point of listening, and especially in an electronic style. Almost everything I have written before has been for acoustic or live performance (and generally limited by my own performing prowess).

In order to get started I first needed to figure out what kind of style I wanted to write in. I had recently acquired a playstation VR and was very tempted to write a song in the style of “Beat Sabre”, which is a music game where you slide notes with lightsabers, very worthwhile if anyone has a VR device.

Whilst this was incredibly tempting as the music was generally electronic, fast paced and energetic, I decided to challenge myself and do something that ISN’T intended for a game/screen for once.

Because of this I decided to try writing in a style I have never done nor even attempted before: Chill/Lo-fi beat. The idea of a chill groove where the focus is not on melodic or emotional representation, but on the overall feel of the piece really gelled with me. I must admit I was inspired by the liturgy of Lo-fi Zelda beats I sometimes listen to for relaxation purposes…

Whilst I wasn’t so keen on making it super Lo-Fi as that would limit my mixing design, I still found this inspirational enough to get started and begin working on a project.

My goal for this was to have a chill groove that was laid back, yet still dance-like. I decided straight away I wasn’t going to go with a slow tempo. A lot of these songs have beats at around 90BPM but I found this too slow. I wanted something that was chill, yet made you want to bop your head along.

As such I settled on a 130BPM tempo, but was going to be focusing on a half-time groove the entire way through.

I started taking a look at different loops for in logic’s loop library to see if I could find anything I liked. (There are so many loops there… and so few that hit what I wanted!)

I decided to look at instead organising some plugins. Having never used plugins like this before, I did some research and received great acclaim for Spitfire audio’s LABS plugin. I grabbed it and enjoyed the soft and electric piano sounds.

Version 1.1

Trying to wrap my head around writing lo-fi beats with particularly hard for me, I ended up watching a lot of YouTube videos regarding drum patterns and mixing. For me drums are something I have never done before. Usually I have worked with either just a bass drum or percussion separately, sometimes timpani, but never electronic drum patterns usually. I find the idea of setting drums up very difficult.

After attempting to just cue up a Midi track and manually write in drum sounds, it really wasn’t working when I tried to write out the pattern and feel that I wanted.

Instead I decided to start with the melodic/harmonic inspiration and then work on drums later.

To start my melodic process I had a look through logic’s loop library again to find some inspiration and get a base sample I wanted to build upon. I eventually found a series of midi samples called “House baby piano” which fit the mood I was going for.

After laying these out, I decided to work on getting the drum pattern in, mixing could come later, for now I needed to feel how my song is supposed to ‘feel’. 

I tried finding a drum pattern in the loop library, but couldn’t find anything I liked. Turns out its hard to find a “half-time, chill drum pattern”. Instead I decided to foray into writing drums using logic’s ultrabeat drum synthesiser. There was a preset called “lofi glitch” that had a decent starting palette, and from there I used the ultra beat to try and position notes until I found a pattern I liked. After this I still wanted some more manual control than what the Ultrabeat would offer me, so I penciled in just the bass and snare sounds. I would come back to adding more variety and interest once I had the core feel down.

Once I had figured out a style I liked using the Ultrabeats, I attempted to EQ the individual parts such as the bass drum, but couldn’t find a way to do so in the Ultrabeat under a single channel. Instead I decided to transcribe my beat into its component parts and then write them in midi all on seperate tracks so I could have more control over the specifics of the sound.

By transcribing the beat out, I also had more than 32 subdivisions to work with, and this allowed me to create more variety and interest from the ground up. It allows for less basic repetition and therefore more human feeling. I was also able to slightly shift certain notes if I wanted to.

I wanted to have a constant beat on the high hat when it was present, but found that it was filling up far too much of the higher register of my song. It also had a harsh sound because of this. What I did to counter this was apply a harsh rolloff on both the upper register and lower frequencies. This allowed me to get an accompaniment for my bass drum that still carries the tempo and fills some space in my drums along the time axis, without filling up too much across my overall frequency composition of the mix.

Whilst EQ-ing my snare, I actually found I much preferred the sound if I boosted it around the 3rd harmonic (around 1k), as it developed a nice crisp snap that was hidden before hand.

Once had I had the basis for my drum beat down. I began to play with my sample, the House baby piano. Whilst I liked the vibe, it could stand to be improved a bit, as such I added in/tweaked a lot of the sample to create some more interest. I found the velocity indications very useful for creating human sounding tracks. Sadly my electric piano broke when I moved house a month ago, so I had no midi controller to use to actually play in note velocity, as such I was setting most of them individually.

Version 1.2

After playing with the groove for a bit I decided to go back to basics, pull out the structure map, and see about making a song that captures the same trajectory as “Cataplexy” with a different style and feel. Instantly I encountered an issue… Up to this point, I don’t actually have a “melody” to work with. Currently my melodic interest is the baby house loop I used earlier, it carries a nice tune and fits the chill vibe I wanted. I don’t specifically want an overly catchy melody as that would detract from the overall vibe I am striving for. As such I am happy with something a bit more chordal, however there isn’t enough room to play between timbre and instruments if all the musical information in one instrument section.

Instead I decided to take the house baby sample and split it amongst a few different instruments to give me more room to alter the sound profile and create different “Melody” lines like Cataplexy. This way I can have a “spooky” sections and a “bells” section just by changing which instrument is playing.

I ended up doing a lot of transformation to find a sound I liked. Firstly I took the original instrument sound (Trem EP) and decided I liked it as the “Bells version”. For my “Reflective Version” I ended up using LABS (Electric piano). Finally my “Spooky Version” was taken by Alchemy’s (Mellow Chimes).

After sorting out the different melodic versions, it was time to create some interest. I wanted the “reflective version” to be at a higher pitch than the normal sample, but also wanted to add some interesting pan and echo effects. I ended up making 3 different LABS (Electric Piano) lines, each with a different echo effect, and was able to split the sample up between octaves and between these tracks to provide some interest.

I decided the top line would focus on the final notes in the sample that are leading notes back to the first beat of the next bar. This would have no tremolo or echo effects and instead focus on a re-centre-ing of the main sample.

The middle line was going to have a 1/4 note echo effect as well as heavy tremolo also set up to pulse on these echoes. As such the sound would move across the listeners perception of space as each note was played out. I only wanted the first, long notes, to fit in this category.

The bottom line contained the notes before the extended pause in the sample. So I could add some interest into this part, I added a 1/2 echo effect as well as the tremolo. This turned a simple sample into a varied and interested melodic/harmonic movement.

For a bass line, I isolated the bottom line of the “House Baby Piano” sample and moved into a (Smooth and Gentle) Retro synth. I doubled this line, panned hard L/R, and then set up a Phaser and stereo delay that were slightly out of synch to give some interesting musical effects. I didn’t want the bass to be overly prominent as then it would clash with the bass drum and the bottom of the piano line. I also transposed the notes down an octave to give it some free space.

Whilst EQing the bass I made sure it wasn’t clashing with the bass drum frequency too much. Thankfully the root note has a  fundamental that sits at 100hz with the first fundamental at 200hz, so there was very little interaction negatively. 

Version 1.3

After implementing feedback I finally managed to find a way to get the velocity of the kick drum to read properly. The ultra beat had a very tiny window between what it accepted as velocity for the softest and loudest note and it took a while to find which part of the software controlled that particular setting.

(Nice and easily laid out isn’t it….!?)

Version 1.4

Ahh bass drum, we meet again…

I found the bass drum to definitely require some humanising, as well as adding some harmonic distortion so it sounds less perfect and robotic. The Tube EQ plugin allowed me to add some low boost and drive to my drums in general with a bit more intensity to make them feel like they have well… drive, to the beat. It really added something that was missing in the overall mix by having this slightly bite-ier sound.

I also thought my B section was a bit simple. Whilst this was good I decided to add some extra flavour by playing with the Remix FX and adding some downsampling and subtle filter automation during the B section.

Version 1.5

Final release time! Did a last minute mix and decided to actually unplug my headphones and play it through my sound system (a Bose Soundbar). Whilst this is hardly the best mixing setup, it at least has a bass module attached so I could listen to the bass sounds appropriately. This also gives me a pretty good idea of what it would sound like when played on someone else’s sound system that isn’t a professional music/audiophile. What I found immediately was that when not on headphones, the bass drum sounds incredibly Boof-y and required some pretty hard readjustment of the TubeEQ. What sounds great on headphones blows out massively on a sub. As such I reduced the fundamental frequency in the EQ as well as dropping the low boost from above 5 to around 4. This ended up with still a good sound on headphones but MUCH better production sound when played through a sub.

[isthisyoursnack]

They realized, this is one of the most unstable parts of the world

And they wanted stability And they gave this building more stability than any other in the city

It was also the tallest Because it had the strongest foundation Dug many feet deep With hands

Our religion though isn’t Catholicism Our monks aren’t monks They’re businessmen They pray with firearms

That’s pretty dramatic! This connection between the landscape, the plants, and humans.

Single file so you don’t damage the roots of the plants! So you don’t puncture yourself

We are one of the cradles of agriculture in the world

Notice that we don’t have any sharp angles And we don’t have any curves either Always square corners We wanna do a Mexican garden We wanna do a distinctly Oaxacan garden The stepped frets And then there’s a hook It curls around  

Weaving imposes a grid on you This is the art of weaving This is the art of women This is gender equity. There have even been women military leaders Warriors.

These plants aren’t planted by people No one saves the seeds They seed themselves People don’t weed them There’s no word for them in English They are quelitas They are the reason people here have had a good diet in spite of the absence of large animals We are vegetarian by force They account for why people here do not suffer the nutritional diseases

Disculpe Lo siento

(Once the Europeans invade they bring of course pigs)

Mexico is the center of the best cosmos This is a dye plant The source of the best yellow Chia is the source of a high quality oil Not for for frying But for painting

Elfcorn This has been modified the most by people No crop had been as altered

What is maize for u Fuel for our bodies For our other machines For plastics and textile fibers U just drop It into the compost bin And u don’t feel guilty about it

People developed a wonderplant Genetically incredibly flexible Fast growing It is the most human plant The most humanized plant

What do you eat in secret What do you secrete so privately What tiny cancers are you spoon feeding into your mouth

We should not be threatening that diversity At the expense of human health For financial gain

They perform beautifully They start suffering if it rains too much

I also want to point out that we don’t have labels We don’t want you to read about the plants Labels are really difficult We want you to experience the plants

What language will you use and at what levels How much information And who will you address And why not Zapotec?

We started suffering biopiracy To propagate in a lab a very valuable cactus This is a genetic treasure of Mexico So why should someone benefit

What do you do with quicklime? You slake it!

450 years ago you made your own mortar We want to relate the landscaping and the selection of plants To what has happened here.

If you don’t go to the markets you won’t understand the people here You boil your hard dried maize kernels As much as your family needs In limestone pots To get full nutritional value An alkaline treatment to gain an amino acid and a vitamin Which otherwise you wouldn’t get

It’s crucial

It allowed civilization to develop

But how did they figure it out? THAT is the question.

It’s time It’s time It’s depth It’s alchemy

These plants only grow on limestone That plant is the source of the sleeping mats

Same holds true for the agave This has no English name It’s called vichitachi

We are well within the tropics. We are below the Tropic of Cancer The Spaniards were very good record keepers

Family by family Hamlet by hamlet Over 90 percent of the population died Because of the violence of the Europeans Because of the diseases Disease after disease The people in Americas were isolated They were unexposed They were defenseless

This is the biggest population loss in human history It changed history overnight If it hadn’t been for that, Mexico would have been a dramatically different country. The Americas would have been a dramatically different country

It set the stage for Europe’s storms For Europeans to flourish They wanted to restore the buildings to their original beauty But no body knew how to do it They had to recreate it from trial and error

The tallest tree is in alignment with the master line In this way there is a conversation going on Between building and garden We facilitate this dialogue This is a terrestrial bromeliad Don’t get next to it. It has stinging hairs It’s again a petit croon A protection against large animals It is loaded with toxins. Cycads

They will eat the new flush of leaves And it will not taste bad to the cow The cow will eat away It’s a slow acting poison It’s a nerve poison The cow starts walking funny It drags its limbs Days later The muscles that allow you to breathe No longer work And the cow dies of suffocation   The cattle ranchers are furious.

These are the plants or the season between the autumn equinox and the spring equinox That doesn’t have to do with Christianity That must have to do with indigenous beliefs In ceremony in ritual in dance

How clever are the indigenous people? How long and intensely they have interacted with indigenous plants.

They leech out the poison They use the starch in the tamales for day of the dead The quesillo happened in the late 1800, by accident.

A little girl was making cheese And she made a mistake And what she made was better than the original Nobody had the most remote notion that the Dominicans were doing this here Apparently there were no windows.

Majolica embodies the fourth cultural root of Latin America: The arabs.

The rainfed cistern  We’re going to see afterward.

Al heeba From Arabic To talk about water management, we rely on Arabic.

Azucar, Anil or indigo All from Arabic

I knew this because the trees were whispering in harsh beautiful throat tones Sbah el-hair

Good morning Good morning 7 sbah And I thought of Bouchra rolling her frog tongue Bred from thorny ancestors These are thornless cactus These are prickly pear

This is an insect It’s a parasite A pest This is wild cochineal This is called carmenic acid It’s blood red Unlike blood It will not turn brown It will not turn grape

Think about al the reds in nature Carrots, more Try to paint with beet juice It will turn black It will turn ugly

This explains what you see in Santa Domingo This is a stable molecule Despite the sun

The domesticated cochineal It requires people Like maize To care for it

Juan Cortez receives a letter From the emperor in Spain They had heard of a red dye It was second only to silver and gold

But oro and plata are nature’s process This is man made

Everybody wanted it It when to China It went to Europe They were mad for it Colored candy Rouge and lipsticks In painting

All the masters all the way to the impressionists Even though by the late 1800s they are had the synthetic reds But they preferred this Blacks and purples and reds

It gave unique depth Traditionally done with the tail of a deer Because it’s so soft To brush off the bugs

They hammered all these rocks into the ground so they wouldn’t move or shake. 

--- this has been a transcription of a poem I was told in April of 2018 during a tour of Oaxaca’s botanical garden, with slight editorial additions

[pandoraborn]

COPIED AND PASTED from my rp blog ABOUT MARVIN

TATTOOS

Marvin doesn’t have Jack’s tattoos. He never wanted them, so he chose not to have them branded on his arms like some others did. Ultimately, he’s not Jack, and never was. Marvin is his own person and wants to show that off to everyone; to the fans, to the other Septics, and even strangers on the street. Marvin instead has tattoos that relate to the fact that he’s a magician, first and foremost. On his right arm is a full-length sleeve. This is the one he chose to represent what the fans saw in him: the slight-of-hand, the pocket watch, the card tricks. All simple magic that he shows off for fun, for videos, and even when he’s bored. It’s what got him named in his debut video.

On his left arm, left fore-arm, Marvin wears a symbol of his deity of choice, Cernunnos. This particular tattoo holds some magical energies inside it, a little extra boost of magicka to keep him going when he’s exhausted other energies. Both tattoos are done in black ink, with only added hints of color in his sleeve. It’s just enough color to make it pop. The deity is strictly done with solid black lines, and the magic added to it gives it the tiniest shimmer, seen in direct sunlight.

On his forehead, is a small blue diamond. It’s not large, and it’s supposed to resemble a jewel one might wear. This is nothing more than a personal symbol to the world that Marvin is powerful, and he’s more than just a stage magician, he’s got real magic that he rarely shows off.

These tattoos might not seem much to the average person, but to Marvin and the other Septics, it means he is absolutely not one to be messed with.

DEITY

Marvin worships Cernunnos, the Celtic God of life, animals, wealth, underworld. This ties into his celtic pagan roots, as Marvin probably has a great respect for nature all around. It is not above his nature to keep a small garden of plants and herbs for alchemy, healing use, and witchcraft. But it’s also why Marvin doesn’t personally have any pets: he has a great respect for animals as a whole.  Animals are to be left alone, not toyed with or hunted for sport. Marvin probably also takes his worship up a notch by refraining from animal products, excepting the occasional indulgence.

Marvin doesn’t talk about his worship much, because he’s not sure anyone cares, but he performs a small, daily ritual in order to receive blessings. He does this in private, in his bedroom, long before anyone else wakes up for the day. He’s able to meditate and reflect on why he’s seeking this deity out, and reflecting upon how it’ll help him in his magic use. It’s an arrangement that makes him happy, and he sees no reason to change things up.

To add: Cernunnos was the deity his parents devoted their coven around. The deity is Gaul Celtic, rather than Irish Celtic (Gaul being tribes that aren’t in Ireland). Marvin’s parents would definitely have this in mind, tracing their bloodline back to ancient Belgian tribes. Naturally, Marvin would pick this tradition up as well, after also doing his research on his bloodline and ancestors.

KNOWLEDGE

I’ve said before in threads and various headcanons that Marvin has a thirst for more knowledge. I never specified what kind of knowledge, just that he’s always studying. What he reads into a lot, and even tries to apply it to daily life is the study and practice of Hermeticism. This is a religious and philosophical practice attributed to the writings of Hermes Trismegistus. This practice had people back in the middle ages turning to superstition and magic, because of the idea of controlling nature. Marvin doesn’t have access to any of these writings now, but he is looking into some way to find and translate them, more out of a curiosity for himself. He has also looked into the history and lore of Nigromancy, or the study of black magic. Of course Marvin is going to be tempted and lured by powerful arts, but he has his reasons for staying firmly neutral.

There is so much knowledge that Marvin is constantly seeking out. He has a desire to learn everything he can about his own abilities, when magic came to be, how it works, and how to use it. There’s an entire eternity of things to read about, and he feels like his time is running out.

Marvin would also not be fluent in very many languages. He’s familiar with Latin, and he knows Irish almost fluently. Marvin probably would have also studied German, French, and Dutch, even Arabic. He’s not fluent in many of those languages, though he does know enough to be able to pick up on pieces here and there. Marvin tends to use a translator for what he doesn’t understand to fill in the blanks.

He’s very familiar with, and owns a copy of Picatrix, an Arabic book written somewhere in the 11th century. It’s a 400 page document that mostly consists of magic and astrology, so it would have a very special place on Marvin’s bookshelf.

BACKSTORY

Marvin isn’t an anomaly. He doesn’t have magic just because. He can trace his family roots back to the 16th century, having roots in pagan worship and general practice. He doesn’t have much knowledge about his history, but he does know he comes from a long line of powerful magic users. His own parents were part of a coven, and due to an unpreventable tragedy during a ritual gone wrong, Marvin’s parents were trapped in a void, unable to come back or re-open the portal, and anyone else who could potentially help died. Marvin was only two years old when this happened, and ever since then, he’d been raised by his grandmother. She encouraged him to keep learning and keep practicing until he became stronger.

His life’s goal is to become as powerful as he possibly could, in order to open that very portal that holds his parents trapped, and to free them. He’s taken years to get to where he is now, and it’s going to take some time longer yet.

Marvin is also aware that one former coven member is still alive, still around, and probably has a lot of answers. Marvin wants to find him and get those answers, but he doesn’t know where to start looking. It hasn’t stopped him from trying anyway.

WHAT HE KNOWS NOW

Marvin is only dimly aware of the multiverse. He doesn’t have enough knowledge on it to make good use out of it, but he knows enough to know it exists, and that there are multiple realities. He’s run into the same problem: he can’t open the door to other timelines on his own, he’d need some sort of help. He could reach out beyond the veil and seek out another magic user if he really wanted, but Marvin’s got too much pride and is far too stubborn to admit defeat.

He’s also aware that he’s in a sideways universe to our reality. He’s aware he’s a character behind the screen, he’s aware that to us, he’s only an ego. But in his reality, Marvin is very real and very powerful. His powers allow him to see just enough to know he’s not the only one, but not enough to enter. Thus, he studies and practices, and works hard so he can get to that point. The copius amount of studying his own history helps him out a great deal. Without the knowledge of the middle ages and what kickstarted magic, Marvin wouldn’t be as far as he is now.

WHAT HE CALLS HIMSELF

He’s not a mage. He’s not a wizard. He’s not a warlock. He could arguably call himself a sorcerer, but Marvin feels that doesn’t fit either. He’s incredibly powerful, but not powerful enough, so he studies and educates himself. He practices magic religiously, several hours a day. When he’s not studying, he’s using magic in his every day career, as a stage magician. It’s only small shows put on at least once a week for cityfolk, and he tours around for more money. He owns his own theater, he answers to a manager. He doesn’t at all find it degrading; it’s something to do in between his own quest to become more powerful.

Thus, marvin calls himself a scholar. The education and history is important to him in order for him to understand the whys and hows, and it’s equally as important as the actual usage of magic. No other label or title suits him, and scholar fits quite nicely.

WHAT THIS MEANS FOR THE FUTURE

This doesn’t change his overall personality. Marvin is still an arrogant asshole who places himself first. He’s still distrustful of most people and would stop at nothing to protect the other Septics. He still has powerful enchantments on their home, designed to keep intruders and even lesser supernatural creatures out. He makes use of his magic to help people when they need it, be it healing an injury, a spell to help them rest, or even something to soften their mood if they need to be calmed.

There are going to be more mentions and subtle references to his new arc and lore. Marvin is going to have more knowledge about the veil keeping the timelines separate, he’ll make references to other ‘septics’ and even quite possible reference the multiverse in general. Marvin is going to be closed off when it comes to actually talking about his family history, because that’s a pain and anguish he’s not ready to share yet.

I might make changes to what powers and magic he currently has, but I’m not going to list everything, just the basics. ‘Everything’ would be a list longer than this post and I’m not really willing to spend that much time and effort into that particular bit of knowledge. We’ll just say Marvin knows a lot of spells, and leave it at that.

Anyway, this post got super long, so I’m going to leave it off here. If I think of anything else, I’ll make a new post to continue this one. Thanks for reading!

[zetalial]

My top 10 favourite FMA 03 episodes

Hey, I figured I’d make a list. Everyone likes lists, right?

This was going to be just the list but then I decided to add some thoughts and add pictures so now this is a long post… I’ll be counting down from my tenth favourite.

10. Episode 23: Fullmetal Heart/Heart of Steel (whichever title you prefer)

Odd choice, much? This is only a breather episode yet for some reason it’s one of my favourites. Maybe it’s because the characterisation of everyone is just great. You’ve got Edward, Maria Ross, Hughes, Winry and Alphonse all interacting and going through all the aftermath of Lab 5 and it’s just the kind of episode that appeals to me. It’s got some moments of humour as well as the angst. I’ve already made a separate post on this episode actually.

There’s a negative in that Al’s identity crisis is present here and that’s not my favourite arc. That actually gets more focus in the next episode though. I wouldn’t exactly call it an eventful episode either unless you love intense conversations like me. (Hughes is the best, by the way.)

9. Episode 8: The Philosopher’s Stone

Better known for being the Barry the Chopper episode. It also comes immediately after Nina so a lot of it deals with the aftermath of that. Of course, where Fullmetal Heart is a breather, this is the opposite. This is where the evil writers decide to twist the knife that was the Nina incident by putting our beloved 12 year old hero through even more emotional turmoil. As a lover of angst,  and exploring fallouts, I loved this episode. (I debated including the Nina episode, Night of the Chimera’s Cry, for this list but chose this one instead.) The encounter with Barry is always very striking, seeing how worked up Ed gets and how unnerved he is. Meanwhile you’ve got Al keeping a clearer head trying to move on while Ed’s not ready to yet. Meanwhile you’ve got other characters around but not able to provide comfort. Mustang, Riza, Winry, even Hughes.  Seeing human Barry adds to the lab 5 arc later on too.

Negatives might be that it’s too angsty, I can see it being a turn off. Villain is very blatantly evil. I personally don’t mind that sort of thing though. Also Winry is present but doesn’t do all that much.

8. Episode 17: House of the Waiting Family.

I swear this list isn’t all Breather episodes! But, yeah, this one deals with the fallout from the Scar battle some and does a bunch of other stuff. I’ve already made a separate post about this one too. It’s an episode of recovery, and family. Ed and Al embracing the past they’ve left behind once more. You’ve got Ed visiting his mother’s grave, Winry encouraging Ed and Al to come home again, Ed almost confessing his guilt about the transmutation to Al, Winry finding Ed’s watch and the message inside, Al having trouble remembering the past, Ed and AL reflecting on their home they lost. It’s a good reflective episode. Family is one of the central themes in FMA, and this episode certainly gives that feeling. It’s a pleasant episode with only a little angst and plenty of humour and heart.

7. Episode 31: Sin

I feel like this might be another odd choice? This is the moment where they reveal the origins of the homunculi and how they do it is absolutely enthralling. Izumi explaining how she tried to bring back her unborn child. Wrath letting himself be led to the island. Izumi attempting to strangle him, but unable to do it. Wrath strangling her. Ed and Al’s horror and instinctive denial as Wrath reveals what the story has been building up to. And there’s all the other stuff that’s going on to. Sloth and Envy fighting Greed. Kimblee and Archer meeting and agreeing to work together. Lust and Gluttony in a group of refugees, intending to cause trouble. This episode is so named to focus on the Homunculi and it very much does. The scene between Envy and Wrath is absolutely enthralling. These are the stories that FMA 03 thrives on, in my opinion.  It ends with Al of all people furiously attacking Wrath, so it’s hard to resist not going straight to the next episode.

6. Episode 47: Sealing the Homunculus

This one is right near the end of the series. I was sorely tempted to go with 48: Goodbye. These two are pretty equal in my mind really. This one is more exciting though. Lust is incredible, her fight with Wrath is one of my favourites, she can switch between being utterly ruthless and vulnerable in an instant. Her end completed her character arc in such a compelling way. She’s one of my favourite characters and you can see so much of it in this single episode. But she’s not alone! It’s also got Sloth and we finally get to understand her motivations and feelings while she also meets her demise. Ed and Al both go through more emotional turmoil even though it’s framed as a triumph for them. Wrath is being Wrath. And it leads so tantalisingly into the next episode.

Negatives might be how Al defending Sloth is a touch frustrating. Also Wrath is being Wrath. Yes that’s a positive and a negative.

5. Episode 13: Fullmetal vs Flame.

What’s that, a light-hearted humorous episode with only a small amount of angst? This episode is a gem. It pretty much ties up everything that came before and leads very naturally into everything that comes after. I’ve been thinking that if people wanted to watch 03 but have already seen BH, this one wouldn’t be a bad place to start if you don’t want to retread the beginning at a slower pace. (Though you do miss out on some nice episodes). Beyond that, this episode is loads of fun. The fight displays Mustang’s abilities well, shows off the relationship between him and Ed, Hughes is awesome as usual, Al has a cute cat and did I mention the scene where Mustang loves dogs? The little bit of angst mostly comes from Mustang and some trauma he has from Ishval, leading into the Scar battle next episode very well. He’s being built up great. This episode is simply awesome.

4. Episode 3: Mother

Ah, there’s the mix of darkness and family I love. I’m always mentioning this episode and I love how it explores Ed and Al’s past and shows their characters and how they decided to perform the human transmutation. At first it’s heartwarming and then it’s heartwrenching. Ed and Al have always been my favourite characters and seeing their backstory explored in such detail is wonderful. Have I mentioned the part where they walk away from their burning house while Bratja plays with Al narrating? How about Ed coldly standing at the grave swearing to bring their mother back while Alphonse is crying?

3. Episode 51: Laws and Promises

Right to the opposite end of the series. The last episode is so very striking to me. See Ed and Al sacrifice themselves for each other is spectacular. Dante’s plan so quickly unraveling and I’ve talked about how much I love Envy’s final scene before. The epilogue ties off the series fairly well while still leaving things open-ended. Mustang’s fight with Pride is awesome. His scenes with Riza are lovely. Ed’s scenes with his father are interesting. Dante’s demise. Wrath getting to live and getting automail Winry made for Ed. Izumi teaching Al more alchemy. That final speech that closes the series, where the title of this episode comes from. It’s strangely optimistic and hopeful. It’s nice.

2. Episode 28: All is One, One is All.

Another backstory episode. It features Ed and Al’s survival on Yok island with older Ed and Al reflecting on the past. I think this episode builds to its climactic point of Ed and Al coming to understand what Izumi wanted to teach them very well. I’ve made a post about this episode too. (I talk about episodes I like, okay?) The appearances of Wrath leading up to another nice cliffhanger ending are also nice. It’s another episode of reflection and I love it. Young Ed and Al are always great.

And finally:

1. Episode 22: Created Human

I loved the aftermath of Lab 5. I loved the origins of the homunculi. I love when Ed faces emotional turmoil. And I absolutely love this episode where the Lab 5 arc reaches its dreadful conclusion. Everything about it is great. The moral ambiguity, the homunculi’s goals, Ed getting pushed to the brink, physically and emotionally, just everything that Envy and Lust do, even the older Slicer brother advising Ed. Everything has been building to this moment and it’s executed brilliantly. It makes you start to feel sympathy with the homunculi when they compare themselves to Al’s own inhuman state. It makes you feel Ed’s desperation to save his brother. Al protesting but everyone ignoring him. Envy and Lust talking about equivalence. When they reveal that everyone the brother’s has been working for was leading them here. That moment at the end where the military steps in to save the brothers. Scar doing his own stuff and deciding to help them. There’s even the delightful moment where Mustang breaks the fourth wall at the beginning.

Yeah it’s my favourite.

[definitely-not-an-alb]

Magical Machines In RoL: A short Round-Up

Shortening because this is long.

There’s a surprising number of  magical or mysterious devices we keep encountering:

The Pin in one of the Cat-Girls temple in Moon Over Soho

The Cunning Device in A Rare Book of Cunning Device

Lesley’s Phone-Bomb in The Hanging Tree

“Mary Engine”, (Might be related to Ada Lovelace’s design, as per Peter’s observations, might be some type of early calculator?)

“Some Type of Device” Babbage (Who worked with Lovelace) was working on for the Folly, according to Nightingale

And then there’s Lady Helena’s insistence that her tradition’s Magic Salons go back to Caroline from Ansbach, who, Peter notes, also hung about with one Gottfried Willhelm Leibniz (Who was – hopefully – not a machine, though he did write like he was running out of time and was generally low-key bonkers)

First three are kind of ??? so let’s look at the last three (+) instead

Why the fuck is Leibniz relevant for us?

Now, I’m not one for Great-Man-Histroy, but even I have to admit that Leibniz was, again, kind of off-the-Weird-Genius-charts. If you, say, want a literary or historical counterweight to Isaac Newton in Allsasser-Excentric-Genuis-Bullshit, he’s the man. Literally. Anygays. There are five(ish) things that connect Leibniz to the rest of the RoL Universe;

He’s connected with Caroline from Ansbach, as stated above

He dabbled in alchemy (well, he dabbled in everything)

He got into an academic bitch fight with Isaac Newton (Because either on of them plagiarized the other or they just invented the same Important Math Thing at roughtly the same time – we will never know ~~~)

He either  invented the binary code*  (aka thing that makes Computers go be-bop) or greatly improved it/anticipated a bunch of logic-probelms with it, depending on who you ask

He revolutionized early calculators by inventing the Leibniz Wheel (aka, the things that made Calculators go shrrrrrrrrrr for 200 years before things got funky and analytical)

(All of this is somewhere between the late 1660s – 1716s) (* same problem of the )

Early Calculators and Leibniz Wheels

(Aka a long and rambly part that you can skip if you don’t want to learn about Fancy Early Tech)

Early Calculators where mostly stuff like fancy modefied Abaci, but in the 1640s this french dude Pascal build an Arithmetic Machine, which used interlockign wheels to do what it says on the tin crunch numbers. This machine was both very cool and very suck-tastic; it could do math for you (yay); But it was also super expensive, hard to transport, harder to build, even harder to opperate and therefore prone to human error (boo). It was also limited to addition an subtraction. It didn’t really catch on.

Along comes Leibniz and designes the Leibniz Wheel (which, unlike the A.M.’s wheels, which needed 10 rotations per single digit, only needed a single rotation for any operation involving a single-digit number and could, in conjunction with other Leibniz wheels, carry over into higher digits more easily. He used it to build the first really usable Calculator(s). This Stepped Reckoner (which is what you get when you badly translate Stufenrechner) was easier to operate and it could perform all four basic operations. You could actually use it. Or, as this book puts it:

“The demand for Leibniz’s machines was largely for it’s help in calculating tables of common mathematical functions. In the seventeenth century producing one of these tables might have been a lifes’s work.”

Just, in case you wanted to know how rad people thought this was.

Here’s a link to a video of an animated Leibniz Wheel in use.

Babbage’s Difference Engine and Analytical Engine

Babbage’s Difference Engine (1820s/30s) and Analytical Engine (1830s), genreally considered the ‘first computer’ if they’d actually build it, was basically the attempt to stack as many Leibniz Wheel-ish Wheels (they used a variation, btu it‘s afaik the same concept) as possible on top of each other and operate them all simultaneously by using the technology of Joseph Marie Jacquard’s “programmable” Loom (invented around 1800, uses Punchcards to weave different & complex patterns) to brute-force complex mathematical problems.

The Difference Engine was supposed to use this system to calculate and print mathematical tables. It was supposed to be able to calculate polynoms and use sinus and cosinus and such (!!! I know that sounds easy when we all have a graphical calculator lying around at home like a useless math brick, but this is so cool!)

The Analytical Engine was a step up from this, as it should have functioned without human intervention and was upposed to be fully programmable. It even had something like 10 kB memory space. It was a computer, is what it is.

Now, Ada Lovelace took one long look at that and went “well, clearly this isn’t cool enough yet” because she was born a Byron and Just That Extra. She was also apparently called the Enchantress of Numbers by Babbage ... just ... like ... maybe ... okay.

Anyways, Ada, while trying to explain what the fuck this thing was supposed to do to the general science public, casually invented the analytical computer program. As you do. As you fucking do.

(Still using this book as well as this book btw) 

To make this clear: Babbage is that one kid who’s always finished first in Math Class because he actually knows how to make tht Unloved Math Brick Of Ugh do what he wants; Ada is that kid who wrote her own game for her Math Brick, hasn’t payed attention since Grade 6 and is currently reading a college-level informatic book under the table. In the first row, Isaac and Gottfried are throwing chalk at each other. Well, you get what I mean.

The Mary Engine

The Mary Engine is produced in the 1840s and is small enough to fit into the store room’s shelves. It’s not a Differentiation or an Analytical Engine, and probably also not a Stepped Reckoner.

But. This thing is actually incredible. The Mary Engine is TINY.

Babbage never finished either Engine. They only build on around 1900 iirr. Second off, the Engines where fuck off huge. Things the size of the Mary Engine really only came around in the early 1900 or so. ‘Enigmas’ (aka Rotor-Crypto-Machines, which are way less complex then actual calculators), while ‘invented’ shortly after WWI all over the world, only became small enough to be moved comfortably on-person during WWII. How the fuck did they get the Mary Engine that small in the 1840s?

If there’s anything I’m missing (or that I’ve gotten horribly wrong, because I’m a computer noob in the end) hit me up so that I can amend this thing. I don’t really have a Grand Fandom Theory or anything. This is just a list (+ minor explanations) of Cool Stuff. A lot of people probably already know this stuff, but I had fun writing this and it might bring people who weren’t raised in Leibniz-Central up to speed somewhat.

Now, another thing, because someone pointed it out a while ago (and I can’t! Believe! I didn’t make that connection!); Linden-Limmer. I really should have seen that one: I fucking live here. So: Hannover, Germany is kind of a bonkers town.

[bheithann]

MARVIN HEADCANON ( plus some revamping/retcons ) (edit: more information has been added.)

TATTOOS

Marvin doesn’t have Jack’s tattoos. He never wanted them, so he chose not to have them branded on his arms like some others did. Ultimately, he’s not Jack, and never was. Marvin is his own person and wants to show that off to everyone; to the fans, to the other Septics, and even strangers on the street. Marvin instead has tattoos that relate to the fact that he’s a magician, first and foremost. On his right arm is a full-length sleeve.  This is the one he chose to represent what the fans saw in him: the slight-of-hand, the pocket watch, the card tricks. All simple magic that he shows off for fun, for videos, and even when he’s bored. It’s what got him named in his debut video. 

On his left arm, left fore-arm, Marvin wears a symbol of his deity of choice, Cernunnos. This particular tattoo holds some magical energies inside it, a little extra boost of magicka to keep him going when he’s exhausted other energies. Both tattoos are done in black ink, with only added hints of color in his sleeve. It’s just enough color to make it pop. The deity is strictly done with solid black lines, and the magic added to it gives it the tiniest shimmer, seen in direct sunlight.

On his forehead, is a small blue diamond. It’s not large, and it’s supposed to resemble a jewel one might wear. This is nothing more than a personal symbol to the world that Marvin is powerful, and he’s more than just a stage magician, he’s got real magic that he rarely shows off.

These tattoos might not seem much to the average person, but to Marvin and the other Septics, it means he is absolutely not one to be messed with.

DEITY

Marvin worships Cernunnos, the Celtic God of life, animals, wealth, underworld. This ties into his celtic pagan roots, as Marvin probably has a great respect for nature all around. It is not above his nature to keep a small garden of plants and herbs for alchemy, healing use, and witchcraft. But it’s also why Marvin doesn’t personally have any pets: he has a great respect for animals as a whole.  Animals are to be left alone, not toyed with or hunted for sport. Marvin probably also takes his worship up a notch by refraining from animal products, excepting the occasional indulgence.

Marvin doesn’t talk about his worship much, because he’s not sure anyone cares, but he performs a small, daily ritual in order to receive blessings. He does this in private, in his bedroom, long before anyone else wakes up for the day. He’s able to meditate and reflect on why he’s seeking this deity out, and reflecting upon how it’ll help him in his magic use. It’s an arrangement that makes him happy, and he sees no reason to change things up.

To add: Cernunnos was the deity his parents devoted their coven around. The deity is Gaul Celtic, rather than Irish Celtic (Gaul being tribes that aren’t in Ireland). Marvin’s parents would definitely have this in mind, tracing their bloodline back to ancient Belgian tribes. Naturally, Marvin would pick this tradition up as well, after also doing his research on his bloodline and ancestors.

KNOWLEDGE

I’ve said before in threads and various headcanons that Marvin has a thirst for more knowledge. I never specified what kind of knowledge, just that he’s always studying. What he reads into a lot, and even tries to apply it to daily life is the study and practice of Hermeticism. This is a religious and philosophical practice attributed to the writings of Hermes Trismegistus. This practice had people back in the middle ages turning to superstition and magic, because of the idea of controlling nature. Marvin doesn’t have access to any of these writings now, but he is looking into some way to find and translate them, more out of a curiosity for himself. He has also looked into the history and lore of Nigromancy, or the study of black magic. Of course Marvin is going to be tempted and lured by powerful arts, but he has his reasons for staying firmly neutral.

There is so much knowledge that Marvin is constantly seeking out. He has a desire to learn everything he can about his own abilities, when magic came to be, how it works, and how to use it. There’s an entire eternity of things to read about, and he feels like his time is running out.

Marvin would also not be fluent in very many languages. He’s familiar with Latin, and he knows Irish almost fluently. Marvin probably would have also studied German, French, and Dutch, even Arabic. He’s not fluent in many of those languages, though he does know enough to be able to pick up on pieces here and there. Marvin tends to use a translator for what he doesn’t understand to fill in the blanks.

He’s very familiar with, and owns a copy of Picatrix, an Arabic book written somewhere in the 11th century. It’s a 400 page document that mostly consists of magic and astrology, so it would have a very special place on Marvin’s bookshelf.

BACKSTORY

Marvin isn’t an anomaly. He doesn’t have magic, just because. He can trace his family roots back to the 16th century, having roots in pagan worship and general practice. He doesn’t have much knowledge about that, but he does know he comes from a long line of powerful magic users. His own parents were part of a coven, and due to an unpreventable tragedy during a ritual gone wrong, Marvin’s parents were trapped in a void, unable to come back or re-open the portal, and anyone else who could potentially help died. Marvin was only two years old when this happened, and ever since then, he’d been raised by his grandmother. She encouraged him to keep learning and keep practicing until he became stronger. 

His life’s goal is to become as powerful as he possibly could, in order to open that very portal that holds his parents trapped, and to free them. He’s taken years to get to where he is now, and it’s going to take some time longer yet.

Marvin is also aware that one former coven member is still alive, still around, and probably has a lot of answers. Marvin wants to find him and get those answers, but he doesn’t know where to start looking. It hasn’t stopped him from trying anyway. 

WHAT HE KNOWS NOW

Marvin is only dimly aware of the multiverse. He doesn’t have enough knowledge on it to make good use out of it, but he knows enough to know it exists, and that there are multiple realities. He’s run into the same problem: he can’t open the door to other timelines on his own, he’d need some sort of help. He could reach out beyond the veil and seek out another magic user if he really wanted, but Marvin’s got too much pride and is far too stubborn to admit defeat.

He’s also aware that he’s in a sideways universe to our reality. He’s aware he’s a character behind the screen, he’s aware that to us, he’s only an ego. But in his reality, Marvin is very real and very powerful. His powers allow him to see just enough to know he’s not the only one, but not enough to enter. Thus, he studies and practices, and works hard so he can get to that point. The copius amount of studying his own history helps him out a great deal. Without the knowledge of the middle ages and what kickstarted magic, Marvin wouldn’t be as far as he is now.

WHAT HE CALLS HIMSELF

He’s not a mage. He’s not a wizard. He’s not a warlock. He could arguably call himself a sorcerer, but Marvin feels that doesn’t fit either. He’s incredibly powerful, but not powerful enough, so he studies and educates himself. He practices magic religiously, several hours a day. When he’s not studying, he’s using magic in his every day career, as a stage magician. It’s only small shows put on at least once a week for cityfolk, and he tours around for more money. He owns his own theater, he answers to a manager. He doesn’t at all find it degrading; it’s something to do in between his own quest to become more powerful. 

Thus, marvin calls himself a scholar. The education and history is important to him in order for him to understand the whys and hows, and it’s equally as important as the actual usage of magic. No other label or title suits him, and scholar fits quite nicely.

WHAT THIS MEANS FOR THE FUTURE

This doesn’t change his overall personality. Marvin is still an arrogant asshole who places himself first. He’s still distrustful of most people and would stop at nothing to protect the other Septics. He still has powerful enchantments on their home, designed to keep intruders and even lesser supernatural creatures out. He makes use of his magic to help people when they need it, be it healing an injury, a spell to help them rest, or even something to soften their mood if they need to be calmed.

There are going to be more mentions and subtle references to his new arc and lore.. Marvin is going to have more knowledge about the veil keeping the timelines separate, he’ll make references to other ‘septics’ and even quite possible reference the multiverse in general. Marvin is going to be closed off when it comes to actually talking about his family history, because that’s a pain and anguish he’s not ready to share yet.

I might make changes to what powers and magic he currently has, but I’m not going to list everything, just the basics. ‘Everything’ would be a list longer than this post and I’m not really willing to spend that much time and effort into that particular bit of knowledge. We’ll just say Marvin knows a lot of spells, and leave it at that.

Anyway, this post got super long, so I’m going to leave it off here. If I think of anything else, I’ll make a new post to continue this one. Thanks for reading!

[4colorrebellion]

4cr Plays - SteamWorld Quest: Hand of Gilgamech

Swedish developers Image & Form have taken on a variety of genres with the versatile SteamWorld setting. SteamWorld Dig and Dig 2 were gorgeous, polished takes on the sidescrolling action-adventure. SteamWorld Heist presented an addictive take on the turn-based strategy game. SteamWorld Tower Defense was, well, a creative take on its namesake. 

Now, Image & Form are back with their most ambitious release yet. SteamWorld Quest: Hand of Gilgamech is the studio’s riff on the RPG genre, with an addictive card-based battle system.

Read on for my impressions.

SteamWorld Quest places you in the armor-plated shoes of Armilly - the grocer’s daughter, who dreams of living up to the legend of her hero, Gilgamech - Copernica - a college dropout who wants to bring alchemy to the people - and Galleo - a craftsman looking for a way out of his mother’s basement. Their little village is attacked by an army of mechanical monsters, and the professional adventurers prove to be completely useless. Suddenly, Armilly, Copernica, and Galleo find themselves in the spotlight, as the only ones who can repel the invaders and save the world. 

The plot of SteamWorld Quest is essentially the hero’s journey at the heart of many fantasy novels. It’s a fun ride, and the charming dialogue really carries the experience. I fell in love with the characters from almost the start - you can’t help but love Copernica’s sarcasm and Armilly’s sheer, puppy-like earnestness. The general tone of the game is perfect. It’s a little tongue-in-cheek, and throws a few fun winks at the player without getting obnoxious. I expected finely-tuned gameplay from Image & Form, but was genuinely surprised how much I enjoyed the writing too. 

SteamWorld Quest is presented as a series of chapters, each essentially a sidescrolling “level” to explore. Whether forest paths, a dungeon, or a damp cave, you move between a series of rooms full of enemies, characters to talk to, merchants, and obstacles. You can destroy items to collect gold, and search for chests full of items. Your map shows the rooms that you’ve explored, and indicates missed paths. Of course, there are also hidden rooms not indicated on the map, so there is incentive to explore each area as much as you can. 

If you get close to an enemy, combat begins. Battles are turn-based, alternating between groups - that is, your party takes a turn, then the enemy party takes a turn (rather than alternating between individual characters). Combat is card-based. Each of your three party members has a deck of eight cards, which are shuffled together to form your deck. You draw a hand of six cards at the start of the battle, and draw back up to six each turn. On a turn, you may perform up to three actions. You could play three cards, or use up to three items - like health-restoring potions - instead. 

The actions you can choose are determined by your SP - “steam points”. Each character has cards that represent basic actions, either simple attacks, stat modifiers, and such. Basic actions are weak, but they cost nothing to use and grant you one SP. More powerful cards - attacks, healing, powerful spells - cost one or more SP to play. SP is held in a shared pool for the party. When choosing skills, you need to decide whether to focus on one character’s cards, or whether to spread actions between party members. If all three cards belong to the same character, you get to execute a special fourth action for that character. However, some skills are more powerful if paired with another character’s abilities. Other times, it might make sense to pair one character’s mighty attack with another’s healing touch.

Using a card takes it from your hand to the discard pile, putting it out of play until the existing deck is used up. Fortunately, with a combined deck size of 24, it is never long until discarded cards come back into play. You can also freely discard two cards each turn and draw replacements immediately. This is a great touch, helping you get out of situations where you feel “stuck” and allowing you to gamble on a definite - but weak - turn versus a potentially great turn. Since you get cards back eventually, you have a lot of freedom to try to manipulate your hand.

Each character has their own specializations, strengths, and weaknesses. Armilly is your standard “knight”, excelling at physical attacks and defense. Copernica is the “wizard”, with elemental magic attacks. Galleo is your support character - your “priest” - with healing skills, the ability to inflict status ailments like poison on enemies, and stat manipulation abilities. This impacts the kind of skills they each bring to the table, and what you can expect out of them in combat.  

Each character has stats (the typical RPG ones, like strength, magic, constitution, etc.). Armilly is good at physical strikes, Copernica is not. However, Copernica makes up for a lack of strength with powerful element-based magic attacks. You also equip weapons and accessories to improve your stats, and attacks do damage based on these stats. For example, an ice attack that does 120% magic damage does 12 damage if your magic stat is 10. 

You can have three party members at one time, and eventually do meet more characters that join the adventure. Like Armilly, Copernica, and Galleo, each additional character brings their own unique twists to the combat formula, and it is worth experimenting with part composition to find the one that works for how you play the game. Unfortunately, only the active party members gain experience, so unused characters quickly fall behind. 

Each character has their own deck of cards. You find new cards throughout the world, and defeated monsters yield materials that can be used to craft new cards at the merchant. Very quickly, you end up with many more cards than can be used in your eight card deck, and choosing the right cards becomes an interesting optimization problem. You have to consider not just that character in isolation, but also the decks of the rest of the party. Galleo might not be the strongest attacker, but you still might want to include some of their attack cards to not end up in a situation where you only have healing cards. However, reasonably frequent save points and the ability to resurrect enemies give you a lot of freedom to explore different deck configurations. 

The battle system is incredible. I have had a blast experimenting with different party and deck configurations, and the element of random draws adds a lot of interesting little surprises and chances to plan out a series of actions. There is a huge amount of depth to each aspect of combat. Yet, at the same time, the system is easy to immediately understand. You never feel lost in a series of dense mechanics. It’s a wonderful case of “easy to understand, hard to master”. 

SteamWorld Quest is also a gorgeous game, especially on the Switch’s tablet screen. The art has a hand-drawn, painted quality to it. The blend of steampunk and fantasy is really appealing - mixing traditional concepts like wizards and knights with gears and bolts -  and I love the interesting little details in all of the character designs, like how the cards look like old-school punchcards. There is a nice variety of environments to explore, and the developers have made great use of color to present a richly detailed world. I have played almost entirely in portable mode, but the game looks wonderful both on the TV and on the go. 

SteamWorld Quest is one of the most enjoyable RPGs I’ve played recently, and it’s easy to get sucked into. Once again, Image & Form have put out a wonderfully polished, creative take on a well-known game genre, and I think they’ve outdone all of their past efforts. If you like card games or RPGs, you should definitely give this a go.

This review is based on a copy of the game provided by the developers.

Official Website

Nintendo eShop

[allthefilmsiveseenforfree]

A Star is Born

It’s hard to like a movie that’s on its third remake. By this point, if you think you’ve got something new to say, you’re either pretty arrogant or pretty stupid or both. Also, it’s even harder to like a movie you’ve been forced to see trailers for approximately 680 times. Especially when they forced you to watch 5 different trailers for it before one movie (side note to Bradley Cooper: the next time the studio pitches the idea to show a trailer for one of your movies 5 times before The Nun, I’m gonna need you to say “Um fuck no we’re not gonna do that” to save future audiences the pain that I have endured). 

That’s why it feels like a miracle that A Star is Born is not only likable, it’s actually a work of art that is pretty damn remarkable. How could such a thing be possible? Well... 

I’d like to introduce you to a woman named Ms. Gaga. Although, that may be overstating things - I think the true alchemy of this movie is that unspeakable magic that happens when the right chemistry between the right people with the right script comes together. Any one element can be good, and in this case I’d argue that they all are exceptionally good. But together they are more than the sum of their parts. Together they make gold. 

So the basic story goes like this. Boy with substance and alcohol abuse issues (Bradley Cooper) who’s also an Eddie Vedder-type angst-superstar meets girl. Girl (Lady Gaga) is a club singer/waitress who desperately wants to make it big in showbiz. Boy and girl fall in love; boy supports girl’s dreams and puts her in the spotlight; girl’s talent eclipses boy’s; the relationship goes through more ups and downs than a fly-by-night carnival ride put together by meth heads, and ends in as much tragedy as a fly-by-night carnival ride put together by meth heads.

Some thoughts:

Everyone is going to tell you that Lady Gaga is a revelation in this film. It’s not up for debate. But I will say this - when it comes to acting (NOT singing, just straight up acting), she’s doing a perfectly fine job. I’m gonna get heat for that, but it’s true. And honestly, there’s not that much time where she’s acting without singing, and that’s to the film’s credit - because when she sings, she’s channeling something otherworldly. The performance when she’s allowed to use all the tools in her talent toolbox is...I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything like it. 

Why is Andrew Dice Clay in this movie? Why is everyone ok with it? Like, that means that next year, someone will be able to introduce him as “starring in the Academy-Award nominated A Star Is Born” and I just?? ANDREW DICE CLAY??

Same question but with an entirely different tone of confusion re: Eddie Griffin and Dave Chappelle. Are they like...friends with Bradley Cooper? Did they owe him a favor of some kind? Is this a mouse removing a thorn from a lion’s paw situation? Dave Chappelle, I know you have better things to do than to be the Magical Negro helping Jackson Maine come down from a bender. 

Can we all agree that no other person should have a mustache besides Sam Elliott? He may not have invented them, but he sure as shit perfected them. Glorious. 

Here are things that honestly made me cringe: corny as fuck dialogue between Jackson and Ally the entire night they meet; a dick-measuring contest featuring “fuck” as every other word to the point where it becomes like, not a real word anymore and you’re just repeating it in your head and disassociating from reality; half the music, especially the awful pop songs that were, apparently, not meant to be awful; and some inauthentic character beats that defy suspension of disbelief. AND YET. I honestly think it’s one of the most interesting works of art I’ve encountered this year. HOW??

Honestly, I think 80% of it was the direction. Bradley Cooper is an actor’s director (natch) and he frames everything close and tight - so close and so tight, it’s a weird dizzying form of forced empathy that you as an audience member are forced to feel. From the very first opening number, we are one with Jackson Maine and with Ally, and it creates this very intense intimacy between us and them, which only reinforces the intimacy between the pair of them. And when we’re not framed right up tight on their faces, it’s for devastating reasons. I’ve never seen a long shot so emotionally affecting as a dog pacing back and forth outside a garage, made tiny by distance. The directing does a huge part of the heavy lifting here and creates a level of emotional connection that helps to forgive any cheesiness or cringy-ness, which is, frankly, a goddamn magic trick.

Nothing about this movie should work. It should be too earnest, too overdone, too corny. But through some actual sorcery of direction, performance, incredible music (half of it anyway), and real, raw emotional connection, this is a movie worth seeing just for the spectacle of it all. A movie like this this reminds you why we go to the movies in the first place - to be moved. 

[lovehaswonangelnumbers]

December 2018 Energy Report ~ Finishing What You Started

December 2018 Energy Report ~ Finishing What You Started,

FCGCT Commentary: We are moving from the mind, to the Heart… not the balancing of the two. The brain acts as a conduit while the heart processes. The mind conflicts with the Heart, and is the cause for imbalance, pain, fear, suffering and more. The mind… the ego, blocks the Heart, as it Edges God Out. Let go of the mind, and solely flow from the Heart, connected to the Unified Heart in Unity Consciousness.  Let go of wants and needs and move toward a paradigm grateful receiving.  We are moving into a paradigm of passion for co-creation in love everywhere present.  Desires are EGO traits, true passion is expanding love into creation with pure intent and creation of New Earth energy.  Passion must be in aligned intention of new earth = heart.  Change must be embraced, accepted, and allowed, as LOVE is the only frequency that will move forward.  Change is positive and with it comes expansion.  Allow change and embrace the energies pouring out from Mother of all Creation.

December 2018 Energy Report ~ Finishing What You Started

from Jennifer Hoffman

Can you believe it’s the final month of 2018? What a year it has been and this month is an energy wrap-up as we put the finishing touches on a year of spiritual initiation (an 11 year) and prepare for a year where creative energy, intention, and manifestation, all 5D energies, will dominate. Are you ready for 5D creation? If you aren’t sure what that means I’ll explain it in this article and just to get you started, it’s about being the CEO – that’s Chief Expansion Officer – of your energy, managing your energy container, setting good boundaries, and creating the energy path to fulfill your intention. To prepare for that the theme for December is efficiency and how we manage our use of our energy.

December opens in a completion cycle which is perfect for the final month of the year. Think of tying up loose ends, finishing what you started, taking care of your life’s business and re-organizing your priorities. Did you take on too much? Maybe it’s a good time to re-assess your commitments and let a few go. It’s OK to tell someone that you cannot meet a commitment and have to let it go. In fact, it’s far better to do that than to try to force yourself to honor a time or energy commitment you wish you had never said yes to and that you allow to drain your energy with regret, self judgment, and anger.

This is why I said the theme for December was efficiency because we need to learn how to be efficient in how we use our energy. Efficiency means to perform in the best possible way with the least amount of waste of time, energy, and effort. This month we can do an efficiency review of our energy and ask the following questions:

Is this situation the best use of my energy?

Am I doing things that I enjoy doing and being part of?

Have I over-committed my energy resources, am I giving and not receiving anything in return?

Is there another potential for my energy that I have not considered yet?

These questions don’t mean that you stop doing things for others, that you don’t exercise kindness and compassion, and that you pull your energy from everything. They do give you the opportunity to reconsider your own options before you give to others and to ensure that you are not over-committed, drained, tired, stretched to the limit, and unable to meet your own energy needs.

To explore the full potential of 2019’s creative options we will need to have full control of our energy so we have the energetic resources to expand into our new potentials and possibilities and not have energy leaks and drains sapping our resources. To do this we will have to learn to say no to people and situations that are not an efficient use of our energetic resources. That may be hard to do at first but remember that often the people you think you disappointment by rejecting their requests for assistance are merely inconvenienced because they have to ask someone else (see my article on Disappointed or Inconvenienced at this link).

So what does December have in store? First, the month opens with a Mercury retro which ends on December 6 and Mercury is at 29 Scorpio, recalling the long Saturn retro over this degree from June to September 2015. We also have 4 planets at 29 degrees of their sign. This is the degree of completion which contains all of the energy of that transit for us to reconsider, re-assess, and release before we take that next step. What an excellent message for December.

And we have a new moon on December 6 at 15 Sagittarius and a full moon on December 22, the Equinox, at 0 Cancer. Remember from the November Energy Report, from November through April 2019, all new moons are at 15 degrees, the degree of alchemy, and all full moons are at 0 degrees, the degree of absolute potential. 0 is no thing, where infinite potential exists because it is energy that has not yet taken form, which we do with our intention. It’s great support for our creative path in 2019. Every month we’ll have support for creation and transformation and unlimited potential.

One interesting astro point – Mars is in Pisces all month and moves into Aries on January 1. Mars rules Aries, the first sign of the zodiac so with its Pisces transit in December it is bringing us full circle, the Alpha becomes the Omega, the initiate completes their path and achieves mastery. I first wrote about this in the March 2015 energy report, which you can read at this link.

It is interesting that the new year will begin with Mars in its own sign of Aries, the sign of the pioneer, way-shower, and new beginnings, at the critical zero point, the very first degree of the zodiac. Another example of the alpha becoming the omega, coming full circle into energy congruence, becoming 360 within our Divine Trinity, and aligning our humanity with our divinity in a flow of congruent harmony. 

Do we need any more proof of the powerful creative potential that we are stepping into now?

The Solstice of  December 21 and is followed by a new moon at 0 Cancer representing home, family, the mother, and emotions. We have a lot of Chiron activity again this month, so look at the Martyred Healer paradigm you may be engaged in and start thinking about moving into your Empowered Mastery. Emotions impact our energy field, our health, our mental state, and every aspect of our lives. Pay attention to your emotional energy this month, and watch how your emotions either drain your energy or expand it.

November ended with a surprising announcement, the death of George HW Bush, a former US president. His death marks an important release of a significant amount of 3D density as he was a major cornerstone and embodiment of that paradigm of domination, power, greed, and control. There was a noticeable lifting of energy with his passing and we’re going to see more of the dismantling of this 3D power structure in  December and in 2019.  Jupiter’s entry into Sagittarius supports truth, justice, and higher thought and actions. Anything less than that will no longer be supported by the collective energy.

And finally December 2018 has a 5 energy, the number of transition from material to spiritual. Look at how 5 is written, it can become an 8 or a 6. The 6 is Virgo, representing detail, judgment, and service, and the 8 represents infinity, empowerment, and rebirth or destruction. Virgo is either in service as a servant or of servant as a Light Beacon or master.

The 8th sign of the zodiac is Scorpio, which has three representations – the phoenix which rises from the ashes of its destruction to be reborn, stronger and more powerful than before, the scorpion which stings itself with its own tail, or the eagle, which soars high in the sky with very clear sight that either focuses on minute details or sees far ahead into the horizon. These are key topics this month, they figure prominently in how we will use the creative energy of 2019 to expand into new and wonderful possibilities, and they are also described more in my upcoming book, which will be published this month.

It’s a powerful month so get complete and give yourself closure, learn to manage your energy resources, become your own Chief Expansion Officer (CEO) and start thinking about what you want to create in 2019.

~~~~~~~~~

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