#Stepwise

[paulftompkins]

SUNDAY MARCH 16th

7pm Pacific

Live at Lodge Room & Live to The World

Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day (Eve) with Varietopia! Seasonal music & comedy with an amazing house band and very special guests!

IN PERSON TIX

STREAMING TIX

[wordywarriorwrites]

Title: Stepwise Pairing: Din Djarin x Female Reader Rating: E, 18+ Word Count: 5.1k Warnings: explicit smut (fingering, blowjob, unprotected p-in-v, cum eating, cum play, mention of ass play), touch-starved Din, possessive Din, somewhat inexperienced Din, soft feelings, references to canon-typical violence Summary: Requests for both soft and smutty touch-starved head canons spiraled out of control and became this.

Din Djarin knows some touch.

He’s versed in violent touch, in touch made heavy by duty. He’s comfortable with the tangled chaos of hand-to-hand combat, the brutal embrace of wrestling a quarry to the ground, the dead weight of a body slung over his shoulder, the strange intimacy of towing someone by their bound wrists from the moment of capture all the way to the carbonite chamber.

Keep reading

[whats-in-a-sentence]

Provided that the values of pKa1 and pKa2 differ by several powers of 10, the neutralisation takes place stepwise and the resulting titration curve shows two sharp increases in pH as shown in figure 11.21.

"Chemistry" 2e - Blackman, A., Bottle, S., Schmid, S., Mocerino, M., Wille, U.

[drpedi07]

Step-by-Step Approach to Febrile Infants Calculator

The Step by Step Approach to Febrile Infants identifies low-risk febrile infants, perhaps better than the Rochester criteria.

[crimson-nail]

GIVE ME CONTROL OF S2 DONT BE SHY I DONT BITE PUT YOUR FINGERS IN MY ENCLOSURE I DONT BITE

[psalmonesermons]

Lessons from the Beatitudes Part 5

Summary of the Beatitudes Matthew 5:7-11

v.7 Blessed are the merciful for they shall obtain mercy; The Lord is our Shepherd, and He leads us on into the area of forgiveness. He showed us how it is done and now expects us to give it in the same way. We must show that same mercy to others especially the poor! In everyday terms this means dealing with offences, resentments, and even full-blown hate. Hurt produces anger and then resentment manifesting in grudges and thought and/or acts of hatred. Mercy costs us the sinful fleshly pleasure of revenge. The seeds of resentment will produce a bitter harvest in our lives. resentment is like an addictive drug...

We must sow mercy and forgiveness and then the world will see Christ in us because it knows the thrill of revenge.

v.8 Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God: We must lift clean hands to God flowing out from a pure heart. Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks! Create in me a clean heart O God. We must purify our hearts by washing with the Word of God, which is sharper than a two-edged sword' piercing even to the division of the soul and spirit, joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intentions of the heart (Hebrews 4:12.). We need to bring all our ugliness, prejudices, mental barriers and even our very motives to God having the removed and replaced by that which is truth. As our hearts are purified so the desire to see God grows. The Lord can only be revealed to those whose hearts are pure as only they have the correct motives and perspective to see Him. To see His hand, the finger of God moving, to see His MO [1] to see His motive and it is always agape Love.

As we allow our hearts to be purified our motives will become godly and will see God in others, in situations in our own lives and of course eventually we will see Him face to face.

v.9 Blessed are the peace makers for they shall be called the sons of God. The Son of God came to reconcile sinful man to a Holy God, He is the ultimate peace maker giving us peace with God and the peace of God. As we are purified so we become peaceable towards men and the desire to witness and evangelise grows i.e. to preach the gospel of peace. Like Father like Son, and hence like sons.

We must bring the peace of God to the unbelieving out of a pure heart, with correct motives and a lifestyle which is above reproach.

v.10 Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. All that live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution! I call it 'negative confirmation ' that you are in the will of God! It seems that every step of faith we take in God that there is a persecution raised by the enemy.

Remember Nehemiah, at first, they mocked and then progressed through various steps to threatening to murder him. (Nehemiah is a good study in which to see Satan's strategy of discouragement of believers).

As we step out into God's plan, we will consider ourselves as blessed (and not be discouraged) in that we have been considered worthy to be persecuted for Jesus’ sake.

v.11 Blessed are you when men cast insults at you and persecute you and say all manner of evil against you falsely on account of Me... Bible-bashers, Jesus freaks, God-squad, nutters and worse, if you have or are being called such, rejoice Jesus says you are blessed. Do you believe Him? We are called to make up or share in the sufferings of Christ, who for the joy that was set before Him endured death, even death on the cross. Not just insults but nails and death.

We must consider ourselves blessed as the inevitable persecutions come forth and be of the same mind as Christ.

Summary

Consider the stepwise order of the Beatitudes (using the example of the salvation process).

Only the admission of our poverty in spirit to God can enable Him to breathe His life into us.

When we reach the point of mourning over our sins God can do something with us.

God begins to work in us producing meekness and humility.

Meekness with humility removes paralysing fear from us and produces courage in us to go and possess the land, to begin to fulfil all our destiny in Christ.

We no longer try to do things in our own strength. Our tastes and likes to begin to change.

God begins to fill us with a hunger and thirst for His things. We begin to hunger for His Word and to thirst for God’s presence. We also begin to long for the things that God longs for.

As we allow our hearts to be purified our motives will become godlier and will begin to see God in others and in situations in our own lives.

Having received the peace of God, we must bring it to the unbelieving out of a pure heart, with correct motives and a lifestyle which is above reproach.

We must consider ourselves blessed as the inevitable persecutions come forth and be of the same mind as Christ and remember to rejoice and not be discouraged.

Amen

Further study

Consider the Beatitudes in the book of Nehemiah.

Consider the Beatitudes in an area of your life.

Convert the beatitudes into a prayer for your own and others growth in discipleship.

Prayer

Lord, we come to you in Jesus’ name, confessing our poverty and inability to do anything for you in your kingdom. We realise that we are weak and sinful people and are fed up with our powerlessness. Lord, as we mourn over our sins, forgive, and cleanse us and produce meekness and humility in our lives. Free us from paralysing fear and enable and empower us to possess the land and fulfil all our destiny in Christ. Take away the desire to do things in our own strength but rather fill us with a hunger and thirst for you and your things. Let us be a people like David, men, and women after your own heart. Purify our hearts, motives, and lives that we might begin to see you and bring the unbelievers to your wonderful salvation. Cause us to rejoice and consider ourselves blessed when the inevitable persecution and reviling comes. For Jesus’ sake. Amen.

Further revelation; could it be that the step wise progression of the beatitudes are mirrored in reverse with the wicked, so that they end up becoming the persecutors? Check it out!

[1] Modus operandi i.e. his way of doing things.

[transienturl]

ah, fun: the "spotlights" animation on the tumblr premium popup, run at 120fps, increases my M1's power draw by one order of magnitude if any pixels of the webpage are visible

[outfitsinspiration]

Who: Carol Morais (cazevedor),

What: Bryan Stepwise Shoho Biker Boots in Grey (136,00€). And HERE for 174,90€ Where: Instagram - September 26, 2024

Worn with: Carolina Herrera top, Valentina Karnoubi skirt, Millia bag, Jimmy Fairly sunglasses

[sgoelbearing]

A Step-by-Step Exploration. an approachable investigation into why bearings stop working properly. We'll break down each stage of failure, making it easier for anyone to grasp the reasons behind these mechanical breakdowns. click on this link to know more about it

[makernewmachine]

How to Upload Fonts to Cricut Design Space: Stepwise Guide

What’s up, crafters? I am sure you are thinking of something creative, am I right? Well, making crafts is nothing new to you, but there are multiple ways to upgrade yourself. Are you thinking about uploading a new font to your Design Space? Sure, you can do that and create your own font. The best part is that this process is going to be easy for you. So, follow me to learn how to upload fonts to Cricut software.

You don’t need to spend hours finding the right font in Cricut Design Space — rather, you can find it somewhere else, which is what I’m going to tell you about. Adding fonts to the Cricut app is an extremely easy process. So, let’s get started with that.

How to Find a Perfect Font to Upload?

Options for perfect fonts are never-ending. There are many places to find Cricut fonts, and some of my favorite ones are fonts.google.com and Creative Fabrica. On these websites, you will surely find some cool fonts. Apart from them, there are also some sources like

Creative Market and dafont.com are where you can get some high-quality fonts completely free.

Isn’t it great? However, not all fonts will be free on them, and to get some specific fonts, you may need to pay some money. So, if your purpose is to sell items you make, you can go for the paid fonts that often have a commercial use license.

How to Download a New Font to Cricut Design Space?

If you have finally selected your perfect font and you are all set to download it, go ahead with my simplest steps here.

Download your font from a site and check where it gets downloaded to your folder.

Then, unzip your font folder and then double-click on that file. Usually, you will get the font files in .ttf or .otf type. But, I will .otf file.

Now, continue with all the on-screen prompts on your desktop to get the font file.

When your font is installed, launch your the Cricut software.

After that, you need to create a new project.

Next, add the new text layer and choose the text box to add the text to Design Space.

That’s how you will add the font easily to your Design Space canvas. When you download fonts, your guesswork will become zero as you will know which font to use.

How to Upload Fonts to Cricut on a Windows PC?

Are you a Windows user? Perfect. Most of my work is PC-based, so I can tell you well how to upload fonts correctly to your Design Space. Look at the steps below.

In the first step, download your font file, move it to your Downloads folder, and get the downloaded file.

Then, right-click on the file if it’s compressed and choose Extract to get the files.

Now, your font will be added to your PC and the software.

You have understood the download procedure. You can move it to the Cricut Design app canvas by using the steps I have shared at the start.

How to Upload Fonts to Cricut on Your Mac Computer?

Well, if you are a Mac user, I have different steps for you. I don’t use Mac often, but for all of you, I tried adding a font to my friend’s Macbook. So, the steps are easy; let’s check them below.

Similarly, download a font file to your Mac.

After that, unzip your file if it is compressed in the .zip format.

Double-click on the font in your Finder window and let the font install.

You will get your fonts in just three simple steps. Now, you can do anything with your fonts and make great projects.

How to Upload Fonts to Cricut on Smartphones (Android/iPhone)?

If you prefer a mobile phone to use Cricut Design Space, don’t worry. You can also get the latest fonts on your device. Follow my steps below.

For Android

First of all, install an app to manage fonts. I prefer iFont.

Then, download your font and navigate to it under the Downloads folder.

Now, if your file is compressed into .zip format, get the file.

Launch your iFont app and then head to the My Font option.

Next, open that option to see the preview of your font and then install it on your device.

At last, hit the Set option to finish the installation.

These are the final steps for adding fonts to Cricut on an Android smartphone. Now, create your favorite designs with your unique fonts.

For iPhone

iPhone users don’t need to worry; I have a separate section for them. You will also need to install an app to manage fonts. iFont is a perfect app for you, too. Let’s look at the steps.

First of all, install the iFont app to manage your fonts.

Then, download your font and unzip it from the Downloads folder.

Now, launch your iFont and choose the Font Finder.

After that, choose the Open Files window and search for your font file to install.

Next, choose the Installer tab and hit the Install button with the font to allow the installation.

Then, hit the Continue button and then click the Allow option.

Next, launch your Settings app and close the iFont app.

Now, click on the Profile Downloaded option.

Finally, you will get the option to Install your favorite font.

Finally, the font is installed on our iPhone, and you are all set to use it. Now, you have learned the uploading process on almost all the devices.

Conclusion

If you are thinking about how to upload fonts to Cricut Design Space, this blog can be helpful to you. Fonts are so creative and can add spark to your lovely projects. Also, if you are someone who likes to sell your creative items, the addition of a great font will level up your projects and will make you grow as a crafter. I have shared all my favorite sources with you, like dafont.com and Creative Fabrica; if you have better sources than mine, go for it.

[reasonsforhope]

"A century of gradual reforestation across the American East and Southeast has kept the region cooler than it otherwise would have become, a new study shows.

The pioneering study of progress shows how the last 25 years of accelerated reforestation around the world might significantly pay off in the second half of the 21st century.

Using a variety of calculative methods and estimations based on satellite and temperature data from weather stations, the authors determined that forests in the eastern United States cool the land surface by 1.8 – 3.6°F annually compared to nearby grasslands and croplands, with the strongest effect seen in summer, when cooling amounts to 3.6 – 9°F.

The younger the forest, the more this cooling effect was detected, with forest trees between 20 and 40 years old offering the coolest temperatures underneath.

“The reforestation has been remarkable and we have shown this has translated into the surrounding air temperature,” Mallory Barnes, an environmental scientist at Indiana University who led the research, told The Guardian.

“Moving forward, we need to think about tree planting not just as a way to absorb carbon dioxide but also the cooling effects in adapting for climate change, to help cities be resilient against these very hot temperatures.”

The cooling of the land surface affected the air near ground level as well, with a stepwise reduction in heat linked to reductions in near-surface air temps.

“Analyses of historical land cover and air temperature trends showed that the cooling benefits of reforestation extend across the landscape,” the authors write. “Locations surrounded by reforestation were up to 1.8°F cooler than neighboring locations that did not undergo land cover change, and areas dominated by regrowing forests were associated with cooling temperature trends in much of the Eastern United States.”

By the 1930s, forest cover loss in the eastern states like the Carolinas and Mississippi had stopped, as the descendants of European settlers moved in greater and greater numbers into cities and marginal agricultural land was abandoned.

The Civilian Conservation Corps undertook large replanting efforts of forests that had been cleared, and this is believed to be what is causing the lower average temperatures observed in the study data.

However, the authors note that other causes, like more sophisticated crop irrigation and increases in airborne pollutants that block incoming sunlight, may have also contributed to the lowering of temperatures over time. They also note that tree planting might not always produce this effect, such as in the boreal zone where increases in trees are linked with increases in humidity that way raise average temperatures."

-via Good News Network, February 20, 2024

[stepwiseimmigrations3]

Why RNIP In British Columbia Is The Best Pathway To Settle In Canada?

Are you thinking about settling in Canada and looking for the best way to achieve your dream? Look no further than the British Columbia Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot (RNIP). This exceptional program offers numerous benefits that make it an ideal choice for those who want to start a new life in Canada. Let’s find out why RNIP in British Columbia is the best way to settle in Canada.

1. Target scope British Columbia’s RNIP identifies specific communities and sectors that are in need of skilled workers This targeted approach ensures that immigrants have access to an abundance of work opportunities, increasing their chances of finding meaningful employment that matches their skills and aspirations.

2. Streamlined Path to Permanent Residency: One of the most significant benefits of the RNIP in British Columbia is the smooth path to permanent residency. The program offers a clear and efficient process, enabling eligible individuals to settle permanently in Canada and enjoy all the rights and benefits of being a resident of Canada.

Read More: https://stepwiseimmigrations.com

[librarycards]

I like your point about something being "pretentious," because I also think the term is used only to silence people who are bringing around important ideas.

I've seen you defend the complexity of academic writing in disability studies, which I also love and advocate for. I'm curious, however, about how you make space for people with intellectual disabilities, reading disorders, and other disabilities that make it a lot more difficult to parse overly academic writing. I remember this came up for me specifically when I was reading Jaspir Puar's "The Right to Maim." It's complex, necessarily so, but I found it deeply inaccessible.

I wonder, can disability studies truly be inclusive if it conforms to norms of academic complexity while sacrificing readability and engagement directed towards individuals with intellectual disabilities? I don't know if there's an answer, and I'd love to hear of any recommended reading you have on making space for people who exist outside of traditional modes of academic knowledge and research in a field as diverse as disability justice and Mad studies.

this is a common question, and i'll try my best to do it justice here -

first and foremost, it's important to remember that disability studies is not an activist project, nor is it one primarily concerned with providing social/academic support to individual disabled people per se. it's an academic discipline with roots in critical theory, queer theory, and literary/cultural studies, with its own intellectual genealogy, roster of normative terms, and citational background. when people -- puar, for instance -- write books like 'right to maim,' they're not writing for a general audience, disabled or non-. they're writing for colleagues and students interested in a particular set of arguments, drawing on a particular set of sources, and operating under the assumption that one has already done the (disability studies, ethnic studies, (post)colonial studies) readings - and, if you haven't, that you'll avail yourself of the lit review portion before engaging deeply with the book.

in short, part of the issue many people have when it comes to disability studies and their frustrations with it is that they do not take it seriously as an academic discipline among other academic disciplines. being disabled doesn't make me a disability studies expert any more than being a human makes me an anthropologist. the inaccessibility, as it were, of disability studies is a result of its specialization. this specialization isn't a bad thing - it's what happens when a field has been built over generations, on the shoulders of earlier fields, and requires extensive background knowledge to engage with. there's really no way around that when it comes to niche scholarly disciplines about things deliberately obfuscated in "normal life." this doesn't mean that nothing can be done to support wider uptake of CDS ideas among activists beyond the academy, but it does mean that our collective liberation as disabled people cannot and should not rest on universal understanding of or agreement x y or z element of a specific scholarly text.

that brings me to the next question, which is mostly about bringing disability studies scholarship to disabled people outside the academy, especially those whose disabilities make it difficult to access higher education. i don't think there's a way around reading the difficult texts if you want to be well-read and familiar with disability studies - or any other field - simply because people don't use complex language and syntax for no reason. we need to make up words for things that never had words before. fortunately, however, there are ways to introduce difficult concepts stepwise and in community, namely, through coursework - because as much as these texts weren't meant to be read by non-experts, they were also not meant to be read alone.

in my own experience teaching disability studies to classes wherein many, if not most students, are disabled, the best way of introducing these concepts is with regular old pedagogical tools like scaffolding, introducing background reading, approaching topics socratically, and encouraging group discussion informed by outside reading and personal experience. it is often helpful to go sentence-by-sentence and break down a particularly salient paragraph, or return to a particular citation to understand where one author's points link up with another's. one might go from puar back to saïd, for example, and also forward/sideways to mel chen or nirmala erevelles. put simply, i think reading these works together - in classrooms, in groups, in pairs, or even alongside others who have analyzed them before you (there are tons of analytical essays about most of these books on academia.edu/google scholar for example!) is one of the most reliable ways to improve your comprehension, and is certainly the method i use to help students better understand what they're working with.

lastly, and i think most importantly, i want to stress that the way many undergrads are taught to engage with any theoretical discourse is really, really damaging. it's damaging to expect an eighteen-year-old to consume and instantly "get" ideas that take multiple lifetimes' of debate to get worked out, if ever. being confused, not-knowing, asking questions, getting frustrated, taking a break and coming back -- these are approaches which many disabled students in particular have been pathologized for, but are actually the best (and certainly most predictable) responses one can have to a challenging text. i did not understand a lot of puar the first time i read her. i have read right to maim several times now, and am still puzzling over new things. a great deal could be done to support inclusion in all of our fields if abled/sane/NT people would stop bluffing and admit that they get confused, too; what an opportunity for scholarly interdependence that would be.

anyways....that's a long answer about something i'm very passionate about, so thanks for reading if you did! my main advice is to keep chipping away at challenging texts, because the process of reading and comprehending, especially done in community, is worth it, and helps lay the groundwork / build the muscle for engaging more difficult texts in the future.

as far as more disabled/Mad scholars thinking about academic literacies/classroom accessibility, there's Mel Chen, whose recent monograph, Intoxicated, deals with research, brain fog, and cognitive disability; Margaret Price, OG Mad Studies powerhouse, has also written at length about both pedagogical and personal approaches to mental disability in the classroom, and recently published a book called "Crip Spacetime" that is functionally an exposé on academic inaccessibility of all sorts.

I would also like to strongly recommend my beloved friend and colleague Helen Rottier, who does disability studies scholarship and works at a university disability cultural center, typically with IDD students. We co-authored a paper on Mad pedagogy that should be coming out...someday? Publishing is slow. But definitely check her work and I'm sure she'd welcome questions from you if you wanted to reach out!

[the-golden-comet]

✨🎵Composition Analysis: Into The Desert Sands 🎵✨

Hello, everyone! 💛✨

I’m back with another music composition analysis from my Story Soundtracks, this time for Your Wish Is My Command. As always, use headphones for the best listening experience.

‼️Warning:‼️ “Into the Desert Sands” is about a chase through the desert. As such, you may experience anxiety when listening. Discretion is advised.

So what’s going on in the plot is that Ali is being chased by his god. This is before he meets Noah, and is the origin of his curse to the magic lamp. I wanted to give the feeling of frantically running, tripping, and struggling to keep up to avoid the impending storm. Frantic, sporadic, without a means of clear direction other than navigating out of the sandstorm and running away from Allah.

Instrumentation: An Oud, A Riq, Violins section and Solo, Ney, and Hand Claps

Meter: 3+3+2/8. Beats are focused on the beginning of each group of notes (ONE-two-three, ONE-two-three, ONE-two)

Tempo: Presto, 190-200 bpm

Key signature: Bb minor, with Phrygian and Dorian melodies. The scale used is common in middle-eastern motifs.

Melody: Primarily given to the Ney and the Oud. Sporadic, falling 16th notes in the Ney to demonstrate tripping over one’s heels, mimicked in the Oud. Octave leaps help re-establish the stepwise melodies, which rise and fall like tides in the sand.

Really awesome cool part: The Strings become a high “crunch chord” and grow in intensity. These strings represent the blazing sun ☀️ , pulsing in and out of the song to demonstrate its heat waves beating down into the desert.

Motifs: Hear that half-pitch stagger on the JAWS theme? That’s to build anxiety. This is a variation on the JAWS motif, which “struggles” to keep up with the tempo.

That’s all for now! I hope you enjoyed the music, and if you haven’t already be sure to check out Your Wish Is My Command, Available for free on Archive Of Our Own!

Have a great week! 💫

✨👇 Tag List for Writing Snippets below. DM me if you’d like to be added 👇✨

Tag List for writing tidbits (lmk if you want + or -)

@autism-purgatory , @jev-urisk , @talesofsorrowandofruin , @castiels-favorite-hunter , @wyked-ao3 ,

@glasshouses-and-stones , @alinacapellabooks , @gioiaalbanoart , @tragedycoded , @deanwax ,

@dyrewrites , @honeybewrites , @drchenquill , @paeliae-occasionally , @lychhiker-writes ,

@thatuselesshuman , @kaylinalexanderbooks , @phynewrites , @zackprincebooks , @fantasy-things-and-such ,

@finickyfelix , @billybatsonmylove , @madi-konrad , @houseplantblank , @far-cry-from-finality ,

@froggy-pposto , @fractured-shield , @avaseofpeonies , @topazadine , @thecoolerlucky ,

@theaistired , @somethingclevermahogony , @noxxytocin , @the-inkwell-variable , @seastarblue ,

@leahnardo-da-veggie , @addicted2coke-theothercoke , @illarian-rambling , @mysticstarlightduck , @the-letterbox-archives ,

@ominous-feychild , @saturnine-saturneight , @words-after-midnight , @hemlocks-grove , @cowboybrunch ,

@yourpenpaldee , @moltenwrites , @pixies-love-envy , @davycoquette , @writeahurricane ,

@nczaversnick , @greenfinchwriter , @oliolioxenfreewrites , @lavender-gloom , @smellyrottentrees ,

@aintgonnatakethis , @thecomfywriter , @pluppsauthor , @michellekarnold , @flurrysahin ,

@authorcoledipalo , @jadeglas , @spookyceph , @astramachina , @48lexr ,

@inseasofgreen , @agirlandherquill , @saebasanart , @leatafandom , @justabigoldnerd ,

@pippinoftheshire , @just-emis-blog, @aalinaaaaa , @badscientist , @dearunreliablenarrator ,

@worlds-tallest-fairy , @rhikasa , @eccaiia , @theink-stainedfolk , @theverumproject ,

@theprissythumbelina , @riveriafalll , @revenancy , @inadequatecowboy , @amielbjacobs ,

@patternwelded-quill , @sugarchains , @garthcelyn , @vesanal , @leahpardo-pa-potato ,

@winvyre , @speaknowbuckley , @lamuradex , @wintherlywords , @sharkblizzardblogs ,

@dragoninatrenchcoat , @darekasama , @recklessgirl56 , @kokoass , @ziote ,

@paletteofseaglass , @basketcase1880 , @sableglass , @halfbakedspuds , @notwritinganyflufftoday ,

@twopercentboy , @mxtansy , @menaceofmemory , @unfilteredmoonchild , @blerdsong ,

@iamwhimsy , @beansmakesthings , @birdycage , @tiagems , @narkaholic ,

@irolynn , @petitprincess1 , @macinchiz , @owlsandwich , @stephtuckerauthor,

@sarandipitywrites , @mauvecatfic , @finchwrites , @aurumni-writes , @uiraya ,

@justanotherchangeling , @ahopelessnecromantic , @ryns-ramblings , @oleanderbailey , @365runesofthesystem ,

[sourpatchsquids]

I NEED TO TALK ABOUT IN STARS AND TIME FOR A SECOND

Okay i just finished watching my girlfriend play ISAT and I felt the urge to dig into the music a little bit and lost a whole day to it. So i think i have to post about it. General spoilers below, read at your own risk.

Ok so Im gonna talk about the title theme and one other song here, which is a secret for later. (This part took like 2 hours to cobble together ill post the other one tomorrow)

In the first statement of the melody, we have a very bog standard i -> III -> IV -> Cadential 6/4 moti-- wait a second.

With where these lines intersect, the A in the middle voice actually dips below the bass voice for the statement of this chord, which means that the chord lands in a second inversion. You wouldn't normally put a i6/4 just after a cadential 6/4 unless you were actively trying to make the resolution feel weaker for some reason. As if you intentionally wanted the listener to not feel a strong sense of returning to the tonic.

When the strings come in we are treated to lush root position 7th and 9th chords to really feel magical and detached from ourselves. Just as well, that cadential 6/4 turns into an entire tonicization for A major! I adore the way the strings milked the motion down from D to C# to C, its a perfect suspension of the old tonic into the tonicized dominant :>. The themes of not feeling at home continue from here. We get the briefest glimpse of a happy A major chord in measure 8 before we lose any sight of an A that feels at home in the harmony. Measure 10's A in the melody is completely unsupported by the G major chord underneath, and the only A's to play in measure 11 are in the bass and the frenetic synth line bouncing between left and right panning, as the upper string descend to a G and the melody completely skips over the A in otherwise stepwise line. I wonder why home is so hard to latch onto in this piece? You're only ever able to grab onto it for a little bit at a time, when you even know what you're listening for.

As we approach the end of the phrase, we finally get a reasonable resolution to the tonic! We made it! However, it is nowhere near as harmonically pleasing as it should sound. Even with the faster pulse flipping back and forth between the ears and the actual stepwise enclosure of the tonic, when a tonic chord finally rings it quickly darts back, and what we get is empty. The 3rd of the tonic is played for the length of a eighth note and is quickly kicked out of our aural memory by the staccato E in the same instrument. And then all previous accompaniment leaves, save for the strings, as the piano enters to play one last statement of the B theme. The title theme makes very clear, we are allowed to approach home, but we are not allowed to linger. As quickly as a taste of it comes about, we realize how much it tastes like nothing.

Finally, we are rewarded with another cluster of A's and E's to leave us feeling empty and full of ennui. Truly we are meant to interpret this piece as Siffrin feeling lost and alone, no home to return to, nowhere to truly rest. That about wraps up my analysi-- hey wait a fucking second.

HEY WHAT THE FUCK.

If you listen at the very end, the strings jump back up to a D chord at the very end of the piece. D, the key we originally thought we were in. This single chord completely recontextualizes the entire piece and im not kidding in the slightest. If everything that happened while we thought A was the home key was actually just elaborating the dominant, then what does it actually mean? And more importantly, why is it so quiet? What is the purpose of the final D chord, the actual end chord of the piece, when it is so removed from what feels like the real ending of the piece. It's as though it's being intentionally kept at bay, as if we as listeners are actively pushing it away. It's like song itself doesn't want to really end.

Oh.

Studio Thumpy Puppy, if any of you ever read this, please know that I am in absolute awe of your ability to bake in the themes of the story into 42 seconds of music.

Not only does the title theme convey Siffrin's emotional pain from not being able to remember his home country, it manages to tell the listener the crux of the plot before a single line of exposition hits the screen. Siffrin doesn't want his party to leave him alone, he doesn't want their journey to end. He is so desperate to prevent his party from returning home without him that he breaks the structure of the piece, hides the final chord, from his own god damn opening theme. To stop the journey from ending.

If you've gotten this far, please support the artists behind this amazing game. If you haven't bought and played ISAT yet, go do it, and while you're here, also buy the soundtrack. Give these people money!! They're really good at what they do!

Next up: We're With You! Look forward to it, it's also amazing.