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satoshi-mochida · 4 years

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Tobyfox has provided a status update on the second chapter and beyond of Undertale sequel Deltarune in celebration of Undertale‘s fifth anniversary today.

First, here are the latest screenshots from Deltarune‘s second chapter:

Get the full update below.

Introduction

Hi everyone.

If you’re reading this, you must have been sticking around for about five years.*

I want to express my gratitude for everyone that has supported and encouraged me over this time.

Thank you.

I’ve said it many many times before, but I didn’t expect the simple game I made to receive so much attention. Because of that, many interesting things have happened, and now I can even spend my time making another game.

It seems both of us received a lot of happiness from this occurrence.

If it’s okay, I would like to keep striving to do things that make both of us happy.

Let me know what you think about that.

*Since the Undertale demo released in 2013, the game has really existed for 7 years. It’s already been more than 25% of my life…

Deltarune

I will make another.

I am making a game called “Deltarune.” It is the second game in the Undertale series.

The game will be released in many “Chapters,” the first of which I released two years ago on Halloween. Since that time, I’ve been working hard to figure out the rest of the game.

However, it’s a game that’s much harder to make than Undertale.

Graphics are more complicated and several times more involved.

Systems are more complicated.

Exposes the weak points of my creative and artistic ability.

Plot is much harder to tie together (more characters, more important locations).

Significantly more content than Undertale in one playthrough (especially cutscenes).

I have only made one game ever.

Unlike Undertale, this is the type of game that would normally have many designers working on each aspect of the game.

A story writer, a composer, an audio director, a map designer, a battle designer, a minigame designer, and an overall director. Instead, all of those roles end up handled by me.

The good news is that a few months ago, I completed a significant milestone regarding the game’s design. I completed readable outlines for every chapter in the game, including first-pass dialogue for almost all the cutscenes, examples of the music, etc.

Although certain details are still hazy, the flow of the game and all major events and battles that take place are now clear.

In summary, I largely spent the past two years writing, composing, designing, and drawing. However, that’s not the whole story.

We had actually attempted to develop the game since the time too. Development started around March 2019 and a 99% work was spent on investigating engines alternate to GameMaker, which I used for Chapter 1.

Without getting into the details, I decided a few months ago to go back to GameMaker after all. It still felt like the best fit for the project. So using Chapter 1 as a base, we’ve started creating Chapter 2 since May 2020.

A lot of progress has been made since that time. I believe we can complete this chapter, content-wise, before the end of the year (not accounting for translation, bugtesting, and porting).

I feel very confident. And the strange thing is, even though we ended up using the original engine, I don’t regret the lost time, either. Not only was I still busy designing the game, but during that long period, I was able to think of many ideas that make the game’s story and characters better.

I’m glad that I’m making the Deltarune that I have now and that we are making healthy progress.

Deltarune Status Estimate

■ Chapter 2 (04.15.20 – 08.13.20)

Phase 1: Design

Main Design: 100% (dialogue, etc.)

Initial Setup: 100% (stuff involved setting up people to make the game, adding debug tools, documentation, etc.)

Phase 2: Implementation (05.01.20 ~ 08.13.20)

Art: 90%

Cutscenes: 80% (90% are started, needs 2nd pass)

Bullet Patterns: 70% (enemies are mostly completed, bosses are about 40% done, needs 2nd pass)

Non-Bullet Battle Elements: 30% (Some ACTs are done and enemies are fightable, but interactive ACTs need to be completed and polished and the bosses aren’t programmed outside of bullet patterns)

Audio: 80%

Maps: ??% most are started or placeholder, most need 2nd pass. NPC interactions are completed in all spots where written.

Other: 65%

Phase 3: Finishing

Balancing: 0%

Bugfixing: 0%

Translation: 0%

Porting: 0%

(Honestly, a lot of stuff FEELS like 80% to me, but the truth is that what’s there is quite rough now. Polish ends up taking a lot of time, so the real actual time value may be around 50% done…? We’ll see what happens. It’ll be a lesson for everybody.)

■ Chapters 3 and Beyond

Phase 1: Design

Story and General Game Progression (first-pass): 100%

Cutscene Dialogue (first-pass, lacking cutscene instructions): 95%

Map Design (textual): 70% (varies per chapter, earlier chapters totally completed)

Map Design (drawn): 0% (this takes a lot of wrist energy so I don’t do it until we start programming)

Enemy Design (conceptual): 90% (all bosses are known)

Enemy Design (bullets / visual): 80% (varies per chapter, earlier chapters totally completed)

Music (concept): 95%

Music (completed): 50%

Visual Design:BG Concept (first-pass): 75%, Important Character, Bosses (first-pass): 100%

Phase 2

Sprite Art: 20%?

Other Content Creation: 0%

Phase 3

Release Readiness: 0%

(These numbers can be somewhat deceptive though. My true design style is to reach the moment where we have to make something, then suddenly think of something different at the last minute. This is always how it’s been with me and my work. It feels like no matter how much I plan, everything comes down to what I think of at the last second…)

Team and Disability

You may have noticed from my phrasing, but yes, there is a team helping me create the game. Other than me, there are about three active team members working day-to-day, with a few other people pitching in from time to time.

Their roles of the main members are overall content implementation and organization, bullet pattern implementation (part-time), and art (Temmie). Other than designing, I still have the role of system programmer.

I’m extremely grateful to have a team helping me carry out my design especially because of my disabilities, which have also made development more difficult.

Although I have long suffered from wrist and hand pain, about five months ago my wrist was the worst it’s ever been. I could not play the piano, use the mouse, and barely could use the keyboard. I navigated everything through voice to text.

Through weightlifting, exercise, and various equipment I have been able to somewhat increase the stamina of my wrist to an extent. Various solutions have included trackball mice for each hand, using voice to text whenever possible, using a foot pedal to click the mouse, etc.

Now I can use the mouse and keyboard for a certain amount each day provided I take frequent breaks. I wish I could work without stopping. Once the world situation improves I would really like to take physical therapy again and/or investigate surgery to repair my wrist.

Future Plans

Once we finish Chapter 2, I would like to use it as the base to create future chapters from. After gaining experience from this chapter, I think making future chapters will be easier.

Part of me wonders if we could make the game faster if we increased the size of the team and did something insane like create multiple chapters in parallel. However, another part of me understands that, adding more people doesn’t guarantee that the game will be created faster if it’s not done properly. I’m already just barely avoiding becoming a bottleneck on development even with a team of this size, due to my physical limitations.

To that end, I am interested in making a list of people that could potentially help me make the game. I’m not 100% sure if I’m going to ask anyone to help, but I think if I could find just 1 person that works well with me, it’s worth asking.

Chapter 2 is proceeding at a good pace, so if we do take anyone on, it will probably only be for Chapter 3 onward. So please understand that anything you send in may not have an immediate result.

People I Am Looking For

Feel free to send in your portfolio if you have the following qualifications:

Worked in the game industry before

Worked under NDA before

Have professional references

A degree of creativity while also being okay with just following directions

Fluent in English

People I Might Actually Use

Music Transcription / Basic Arrangement (Part-Time)

I usually start making songs by playing the piano and singing. An important step after this is to take this basic outline and transcribe it into melodies and chords. Though there are not too many remaining songs to transcribe, it would still help my wrist to have someone else start this process for me. Although I know many musicians, I’m sheepish to ask for help to them, because the main role is actually just to help me compose my own music…

Helpful qualities:

Good at transcription.

Can stand listening to me sing.

Optional: can use an old version of Fruity Loops.

Bullet Pattern Programming (Part-Time)

I’m looking for someone to help me program bullet patterns into the game. These people will work from text and visual designs to create fun battles that match the feeling of the game. I already have one person helping with this, but I think a second person would help a lot. You have to be able to use Gamemaker Studio 2 to manipulate objects on the screen / okay with using pre-existing scripts to accomplish this.

Helpful qualities:

Sense of fun and understanding of player perspective and gameplay balance. This aspect is [many times] more important than programming ability.

Reliable.

Able to make patterns based off of visual/text instructions.

Fine working with a poorly made battle system.

Able to sprite bullets.

Good visual / timing sense.

Minigame Programming (Part-Time)

There are a few minigames and small interactive events in the game, which appear in and outside of battles. These could take any kind of form… who knows what I’m thinking! Have you made a game before?

Helpful qualities:

Same sense of humor as me.

Some level of spriting ability is useful.

You have to have made a game that is fun.

Ability to work together with me.

Unlikely to Hire, But Send Me Your Information Just In Case

Cutscene Programming (Part-Time)

Besides the battles, the largest amount of content in the game is definitely the cut scenes. You will have to understand Gamemaker Studio 2, but the majority of the work is simply using a scripting system that I created to make characters move around the screen. The most important quality you can have here is not programming ability but the ability to efficiently use the system in order to create scenes with a good sense of humor, timing, and emotion.

I’d strongly prefer to hire someone I know to do this because it involves the story. So I most likely won’t hire anyone else.

Helpful qualities:

Can take text instructions and impart a proper sense of timing, humor, and weight to them.

Fine working with a custom scripting system (or smart enough to make something better that makes the game easier to make).

Art (Part-Time)

Sprite art—Temmie has already drawn a massive amount of art for the game, and continues to do so. And I actually already have a few other artists that have helped me that I’m more than happy to keep working with if things become more overwhelming. So currently I actually don’t need any more artists.

However, personally, I’d really like to build up a portfolio of available pixel artists and even concept artists. It’s not as if this is the only game I will make during my life. Anyone chosen for this game needs to be able to match the style of the game, but I’m interested in seeing people with different styles as well. Knowing that I have different options can open my mind up to different creative pathways.

Helpful qualities:

Can take bad looking sketches and turn them into art that looks good (magic).

Don’t mind if your work gets completely drawn over or thrown out.

Anyone that can draw cute or cool poses is good.

Uninterested in seeing people that have an art style outside of the scope of the game.

Write (Full-Time)

Someone needs to transform into a new wrist for me.

Helpful qualities:

Flexible.

Doesn’t hurt.

Musical sense.

That’s everyone I’m looking for. The only other kind of person I might hire would be a single jack-of-all-trades type that can do any sort of things such as cutscenes, bullets, or even system programming, with a good degree of visual flair. (But if you can do those sorts of things, aren’t you busy making your own game already!?)

Anyway, I’ll show you the e-mail now. Just make sure you read these rules first:

Don’t send in e-mails about anything else!

Don’t send to other team members, Fangamer, etc. about helping out!

Got it? Then please send your information to this e-mail address:

[email protected]

Since Fangamer will be sorting through the e-mails for me, we’ll stop taking e-mails at the end of September so they don’t get overwhelmed. Ultimately, I’m only looking for one or two people, and to make a list of the rest of the potentially helpful people in the world.

Undertale is available now for PlayStation 4, Switch, PS Vita, and PC via Steam and GOG. Deltarune Chapter 1 is availble for PlayStation 4, Switch, and PC via Deltarune.com.

#Deltarune Chapter 2 #Deltarune #Undertale #Tobyfox #RPG #Gematsu #long post

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spaceskam · 4 years

Text

our fainted thrill carries on (5/13)

next chapter of my season 2 fix it!

ao3

“I can’t believe you were being a goddamn Peeping Tom at 3 in the morning at Flint Manes of all people. He’s not, like, ugly, but you can definitely do better.”

Kyle shook his head as he entered the motel room Cam was staying at, already yanking his notebook out of his bag. He dropped onto her bed and flipped it open to the page where he’d drawn the symbol from Jesse Manes’ hip.

“I wasn’t peeping for fun, look at this,” Kyle said. Cam sat beside him. “This is the tattoo that both Jesse Manes and Flint Manes have. I didn’t have a chance to check, but I would put money on the fact that at least one of Alex’s other brothers has it too.”

“What does it mean?” she asked.

“That’s the thing, I don’t actually know,” he told her, “There’s just something about it that’s off to me. It’s a combination of the male symbol and the Neptune symbol, which is three, like the trident, so I’m thinking it’s three men, right? Well, when Alex was talking to his dad earlier, he mentioned something called M.V.C.”

“Which is…?”

“Again, I don’t know.”

“You’re coming here with a lot of missing information.”

“Yes, but,” Kyle said, “I have theories.”

She eyed him before leaning a bit closer to get a good look at the symbol. It was a long shot, but he figured another brain might help piece shit together more. Besides, she was smart and thought like Alex without all of the daddy issues.

“So, originally, I was thinking that maybe it was just three different guys, but now I’m thinking it’s three different generations. Like, the generations of Manes Men that are hunting aliens or whatever. And it’s more symbolic that three actual generations, it’s more of like ‘my father, me, my son’ type of deal. I have no way of seeing if Jesse Manes’ father had one, but the one on his hip looks aged enough that I wouldn’t be surprised if his father did it himself when he was, like, 15.”

“Jesus.”

“I mean, think about it, Jesse having a seriously controlling father would explain why he is the way he is,” Kyle said. He knew she didn’t know all the details about Alex’s relationship with his father, but she knew enough. “And the reason why Alex didn’t get roped in is because he showed early on that he was rebellious and it took more than intimidation to instill conformity.”

“Okay, nice theory, but I think that might be a stretch? Like, I think you’re trying to fit what you know about Cap and his dad into the box of what you think the tattoo means. What if it’s something completely different and you’re just veering really far off track?” Cam said. Kyle smiled at her and, if she wasn’t capable of killing him, he probably would’ve done something stupid like thank her for having a brain.

“Yes, absolutely! I am too wrapped up in this theory and I’m trying to prove it right rather than trying to find objective information,” Kyle said, “Which is where you come in.”

“I’m listening.”

“Thursday night, we’re having like a group dinner at Max’s, so I’ll know where everyone is and know that they’re safe. Do you think you can do some sleuthing in that time to see what you can find?” Kyle asked. Her face hardened and she leaned away from him.

“By sleuthing, do you mean seducing Flint Manes?” she asked cooly. Kyle immediately shook his head, though now that she mentioned it, it did sound like a good idea.

“I mean, not necessarily,” he said. Cam fixed him with a look.

“I’ll look into things, but I’m not sleeping with Cap’s brother,” she said. Kyle nodded easily.

“Absolutely, I just need fresh eyes and ideas," he told her. She nodded, reaching over to the nightstand and grabbing her phone. She took a picture of the symbol.

"I'll keep you updated. Now go home and go the fuck to sleep because you look like you haven't slept in 24 hours."

He didn't have the heart to correct her that it was 36.

"Michael fucking Guerin!"

Michael slowly smiled at the sound of Alex's voice as he climbed out of the shower. He wrapped a towel around his hips and grabbed another one to dry his hair, throwing the bathroom door open. He sauntered to the kitchen where Alex was doing laundry. The washing machine and dryer were really out of place there, but Alex had rigged them up all by himself and who was Michael to judge.

"You called?"

Alex whipped around, totally unphased by Michael's level of nudity. That felt more worthwhile than when he got flustered. This… this was fucking normal. How cool was that?

"What is this?" Alex demanded, shoving his jeans in Michael's direction, "Is that wood glue?"

Michael took it from him and gently scratched the rough, dull-colored patch on the fabric.

"Yeah, looks like it."

"You are a mechanic. What are you doing with wood glue? Why are you messing with wood glue when you're wearing my jeans? Stop ruining my jeans!"

“Relax,” Michael laughed, grabbing them out of his hands, “You got vinegar? That’ll usually get it out.”

Alex just continued to glare at him and Michael took a bold step forward, tilting his head in a slightly cocky manner. He licked his bottom lip and watched as Alex’s irritation slowly melted, his shoulders dropping. Not for the first time that week, he thought about kissing him, but he held off. That was a bad idea and they both knew it.

“Go put vinegar on it and then get dressed,” Alex told him, stepping to the side to go find a pair of not-stained jeans. Before Michael could catch himself, he grabbed his arm and leaned close. Alex couldn’t even hide his smile as he did so, still trying to force a glare. “What do you want?”

“Don’t be mad at me, please,” Michael said as softly as he could, pouting slightly and batting his eyelashes. Alex rolled his eyes and pulled out of his grasp.

“Dry off, you heathen,” Alex laughed. Michael watched as he headed to the bedroom and took a deep breath before he turned to put that section of his jeans in a bowl of vinegar.

It was weird to think that this was the most stable they’d ever been for the longest amount of time. Tonight would make it a full week of sleeping in the same bed, spending all their free time together, learning more about each other than they ever had. Michael didn’t realize just how much he didn’t know about Alex. Sure, maybe he still hadn’t mentioned that piece, but it was hard to be mad by that when Alex was right there and laughing through a story about a time in France where he accidentally walked in on his past CO getting off to a Lady Gaga music video and had been sworn to secrecy, but Michael was an exception.

Soon enough, they were in Michael’s truck, carpooling to Max’s house. He shouldn’t have felt so fucking giddy about going to his dead brother’s house for some pseudo-family dinner, but he was. It helped that Alex’s jeans hugged his thighs and Alex was right there, humming along to the radio.

“Oh, so, just a warning, Liz is probably going to ask you about what’s going on between us,” Michael warned, “Maybe Isobel too, but most likely Liz.”

“Why?” Alex asked slowly.

“Because she thinks I’m, like, leading you and Maria on or something. But I’m not, right? Like, you don’t think that’s what I’m doing, do you?” Michael clarified. Alex instantly shook his head.

“We’re literally trying to revive a dead alien and trying to track down whatever my dad’s bullshit is, who has time for maintaining a romantic relationship?” he said.

“Exactly!” Michael scoffed. Alex huffed a small little laugh that was so much cuter than it had any right being.

“She hasn’t talked to me about it,” Alex admitted, tapping against his leg to the rhythm of the song playing on the radio, “Actually, neither of them have really talked to me at all about anything.”

“Wait, for real?” Michael asked, “You’re giving Liz a space to do all of her experimentings and she doesn’t even talk to you?” Alex shrugged like it didn’t matter. But it did. Michael was the first to admit he was shit at maintaining friendships, but Liz and Maria always claimed Alex was their best friend. They took care of each other, he was one of theirs.

But did that only apply for when they needed something?

“It’s fine.”

“Well, I mean, it’s just weird. Like, she acted like she’d talked to you about it like she was scared that you were gonna get hurt,” Michael explained, “Not that I’d ever hurt you on purpose like that again, by the way.” Alex snorted.

“Liz and I have never, and I mean never, talked about my love life. Which is fine, there’s not much to tell, but still, she’s never once acted like she was concerned about what the two of us are doing while cohabiting,” Alex said. Michael took his bottom lip between his teeth. Cohabiting. “And Maria and I used to talk about it, but that stopped once she found out it was you I had a history with. Then… after she came over, we haven’t really talked at all. Which is my fault too, I haven’t reached out.”

“I’m sorry I fucked things up between you two,” Michael said, glancing over at him. He had his head against the window, staring at the passing desert with interested eyes. It was just like he’d done when they were young and Michael didn’t know how to process that.

“No, we didn’t exactly try. One day I’ll talk to her. I sort of have to get up the courage because I feel bad about the way I acted,” Alex admitted. Michael huffed a laugh.

“Same,” he said, “I was probably worse.”

“I would say we could go apologize to her together, but I think she might get the wrong idea if we’re within 50 feet of each other,” Alex said, biting back a laugh, “I did corrupt your straight white boy ass, you know.”

Michael shook his head with a laugh. “Cute.”

“Well, that’s what she thinks. Or, a lot of people think,” Alex said, “What is your percentage anyway? Like, a lot of bi people have a percentage or something, not always 50/50.”

“Yeah, see, I don’t fucking know,” Michael admitted. Alex actually laughed this time and Michael just smiled. He really didn’t know. He thought he was pretty 50/50, but it was hard to really conceptualize that on a human level. He guessed he could make a list of everyone he’d slept with and base it off of that, but even that felt skewed because most of the time he’d had pretty limited options in Roswell. If he counted everyone he’d been attracted to, though, that felt like an even harder thing. Did famous people count? Cartoons? At the end of the day, who really held a candle to Jessica Rabbit? “I just act on how I feel in the moment. But you aren’t the only man I’ve hooked up with if that’s what you’re asking.”

“Oh yeah?” Alex asked, “Who else?”

“Okay, it was only one other guy and it was just, like, giving head in the bathroom of a club, but still. You didn’t make me queer, you just made me know it was okay,” Michael said. Alex was quiet and when Michael glanced over at him, he saw him staring at him with that look. The one with the half-lidded eyes and the parted lips and his head tilted back. It had his stomach doing flips. “What?”

“Nothing,” Alex hummed, leaning forward to turn the radio up. Misery Business by Paramore was playing, still in it’s first few chords as if Alex had just sensed it was on.

“You can’t just ignore me for Hayley Williams,” Michael laughed. Alex cranked it up louder, the speakers thudding as the instruments kicked in. “Really?”

“I’m in the business of misery, let’s take it from the top,” Alex sang, leaning in instead of answering. Michael just rolled his eyes and joined in until they were both headbanging and scream-singing at the windshield. It felt good. Everything else in the world paled in comparison to just that.

He was almost sad as they pulled up to Max’s house.

Alex was not at all surprised when Rosa flew out of the door and immediately latched onto him as they walked up.

“Oh, thank god, save me.”

He laughed easily, wrapping her in a hug. He’d promised to see her more often, but he hadn’t really been making good on that promise. It was a problem that he definitely was going to put more effort into fixing. She was one of the only ones he could even tolerate at this point.

“Is it that bad?” Michael asked with a smile. Rosa looked over at him with a slightly judgy look in her eye, but he didn’t seem to take offense to it. “I’ll take that as a yes.”

“Can I move in with you for, like, a week?” she begged, “If I have to be locked alone or with Liz or with Isobel for any more time, I am going to lose it. It’s only been, like, a month.” Alex looked over to Michael and raised an eyebrow in question. Michael held up his hands.

“Hey, it’s your house. If you want a guest, don’t let me stop you,” he said.

“Mm,” Alex hummed in response. Michael flashed him a warm smile and then let himself inside the door, leaving Rosa and Alex alone.

She waited until the door closed and they were, for the most part, out of earshot before pulling away. The look on her face was nothing short of intrigued and he was again filled with an old sense of belonging. Maybe he would let her stay for a while. Lately, Michael had been giving him that same welcome feeling, so why not add more to the mixture? It made him feel good.

“So, are you gonna tell me what’s going on or am I going to have to slowly pull it out of you?” she asked. A confused smile fond his face and he tilted his head.

“What do you mean?”

“Don’t play dumb, Alex,” she said, pouting her lips as she teased him, “Amor está en el aire.”

“Stop,” he warned despite her dramatic tone bringing a smile to his lips.

“Or should I say lust.”

“That would be even further away,” Alex laughed, looking up to double-check that no one was hanging outside the door and then casually scoping the rest of the perimeter that he could see, “We’re just friends.”

“Mhm,” Rosa hummed, crossing her arms and popping her hip out to the side as she judged him, “And there’s no residual feelings?”

“Okay, I didn’t say that,” Alex said, trying ignoring the way his cheeks started to burn, “But we’re just not in a place for that and, honestly, things are better right now than they’ve ever been between us. I’m not going to fuck with that especially when we’re still not done handling things with my dad.”

“When will you ever be done with your dad, though, Alex? Because even after he’s dead, he’s still going to haunt you and we all know it,” Rosa said bluntly. Alex’s smile dropped easily and he shifted his weight. “I don’t want you putting off your happiness for something that’ll never go away.”

“It’s not that,” he said, but he paused, “Well, it’s a little bit that. But mostly we’re just still in the thick of it, it’d be stupid.”

“Is that it or are you just scared to ask for what you want?” Rosa pressed. He scoffed.

“You’re just going in deep aren’t you?”

“That’s what I’m here for,” she grinned, “No, but, for real, can I stay with you?”

“Depends, are you going to mock me for sharing a bed with him?”

Rosa’s eyes went wide and she scoffed, her jaw-dropping dramatically.

“I swear, if I could go back and tell baby Alex that he’d be sharing a bed with the boy he’s in love with, he’d tell me I was a liar.”

“If you told baby Alex a lot of things that are going on right now, he’d tell you you were a liar,” he laughed, “Let’s go inside and I’ll think about it, okay?”

“Okay, you harlot.”

“There it is.”

Isobel gave him that look that told Michael that he was in trouble.

“Oh, what the hell did I do this time?” he asked.

She looked over to where Kyle and Liz were cooking before grabbing his arm, pulling him down the hall and sufficiently into Max’s bedroom. They both unintentionally upturned their noses at how much Liz and Rosa had just made it their own space. It was jarring no matter how much they understood that she had the full right to do so. Eventually, Isobel shifted her attention back to him.

“How are you?”

Michael blinked at her for a moment in confusion. “Huh?”

A small pout overcame her face and she sighed, “I’ve been spending a lot of time with Rosa and Liz and it’s come to my attention that I may have been a shitty sister. We used to act like them, or something, but now I feel like we’ve just drifted apart without Max. Which I have no excuse for because I can feel you a lot more now. You feel… better.”

Michael was hesitant to smile as he watched her. This felt like one of those conversations that was going to veer off into the other direction, but right now… Right now, she looked sincere. So sincere that he pulled her into a hug and she clung right back. He hadn’t realized how much he missed her.

“Catch me up, what have I missed,” she urged, grabbing his hands and sitting them both on the bed, “I’ll go first so you don’t think I’m hounding you. I donated a few grand of Noah’s money to a woman’s shelter, I have been really good at being nice to both Ortecho sisters, and I’ve been working with Arturo to make a name for the Crashdown online whenever I’m not working on my powers or, like, my actual job. Your turn.”

Michael very quickly realized he had nothing for show and tell. He simply went to work, helped them at the lab, checked on Max, and went home to Alex, repeat. What was brag-worthy about that?

“I don’t really have anything to update you on,” Michael said. Isobel rolled her eyes.

“You are significantly less stressed than you were even last week,” she said, “What changed since then?”

He didn’t know how to answer without sounding stupid. Open honesty with Alex had suddenly cured his soul? Well, it wasn’t that. He couldn’t even really articulate what exactly had caused him to feel like this.

“I don’t know,” he admitted, shrugging, “Alex just likes having me around and we talk about things. We never used to do that before, it feels good.” Isobel gave him a tiny smile, like she knew something he didn’t.

“You’re really happy with him?”

“We’re not, like, together or anything. I don’t want that right now, we’re just good like we are. But I… I can’t describe why it’s so good right now.”

“Because it’s unconditional,” Isobel said, voice soft and eyes glassy. She didn’t usually give him that look or speak to him like that. They were usually playful, but she looked serious. He wondered if it had anything to do with Max not being around. “You’re finally feeling unconditional love.”

Michael swallowed hard as she just said it out loud. It felt like a good descriptor, honestly. He felt wanted and needed, but in a way that meant he could also want and need right back and it wouldn’t result in failure. Because Alex trusted him enough to call him when he needed him even after all the bullshit, he didn’t kick him out when he ruined his jeans, he didn’t yell at him for not understanding, he only kept one secret. Alex had said open and he’d thrown himself all in.

But now that she said it out loud, it sounded terrifying.

“Okay, you look like you’re going to throw up,” Isobel said, sniffling, “Sorry, I’m just, like, feeding off your emotions and you just… you feel really safe. I’ve never felt that from you before and I didn’t realize. I’m sorry I didn’t realize you’ve never felt safe, Michael.”

“It’s okay,” he said, still trying to process it for himself. Is this really what it was supposed to feel like all the time?

“No, it’s not. I’ve been a shitty sister.”

“I’ve been a shitty brother.”

Isobel just rolled her eyes and pulled him into another hug, one that lasted a little longer than the one before. He sighed easily against her shoulder, closing his eyes as he relaxed in her grasp. He missed her so much.

“So, are you guys back together?”

“What? No.”

The sweet moment ended when she slapped his shoulder.

“So, um, your dad,” Liz said, scraping her fork against the plate.

When Alex had suggested this whole thing so he could get a feel on how Liz was coping, he had stupidly thought that maybe, just maybe, it would feel normal. They were all friends, all of them close and reliant on each other. And yet it was fucking awkward.

“Right,” Alex said, clearing his throat and putting his fork down, “So, we’re pretty sure he’s up to something on a deeper level. There’s something called M.V.C. that I’ve been trying to look into, but I’m not finding anything yet. I don’t know if I’m just looking in the wrong places or what, but, that being said, I think we all need to be careful.”

“I’m already being careful,” Liz told him. Alex nodded once.

“I know, I’m saying we need to be extra cautious,” Alex went on, “My brothers are in town and it doesn’t take a genius to figure out that they’re tied up in this shit. With Max being gone and us focusing on that, it makes everyone a little more vulnerable.”

“Us?” Liz asked, tone still clipped, “No, it’s me and Isobel and Michael working on Max.”

Alex blinked and refused to show any emotion, trying to figure out what exactly was going on. He knew that Liz wasn’t exactly his biggest fan right now‒God knows why‒but he wasn’t sure why she was being rude. He’d given her a lab and they were supposed to be friends, and yet it seemed to stop there. They didn’t talk. They didn’t do anything. How much was that for friendship?

“Anyway,” Kyle jumped in, “Right now, Jenna is looking into Flint and Jesse to see if she can get any separate information that we aren’t getting.”

Alex took the moment of attention being taken off of him to look over for some strength to keep his mind on track. He didn’t want to let whatever Liz felt towards him distract him from why he was here. He locked eyes with Rosa who raised her eyebrows and tilted her head just enough to say you got this. He wasn’t sure she even knew what she was supporting him to do, but she did it anyway without any hesitation. He loved her for that.

“Wait, Jenna’s back in town?” Isobel asked.

“Yeah,” Kyle answered, “And she’s giving me updates, but so far Flint isn’t budging. Apparently, he’d been warned about her.”

“Back up, you told her about everything with Max?” Liz asked. Kyle eyed her and then gave Alex a look that said ‘see?’. Alex’s eyes drifted to Isobel and then Michael, both of them looking like they didn’t belong in the conversation, then to Rosa who was trying to hype him up to get on topic. “Because that is not your business to tell.”

“Liz, you know you can trust us, right?” Alex said, “Because it feels like you think you’re on you’re own.”

“Is that right? Because the only one helping me with Max is Michael and Isobel,” Liz argued, “You and Kyle aren’t helping.”

“Liz, I am helping, I’m just trying to also deal with Project Shepard stuff,” Kyle said softly. Liz shook her head, clearly irritated with him saying that. Alex furrowed his eyebrows.

“Liz, my father is an actual threat,” Alex told her, “We don’t even know if Max has a chance. His heart is shredded. Can he even be revived, Liz? Honestly, can he? Or is this just false hope to distract you from mourning him?”

Liz stared at him with a look that was so distinctly Rosa that it was jarring. She shoved her chair back and got to her feet, abandoning the table. They all sat quietly for a moment before Rosa pushed back her chair. Alex shook his head.

“I got it,” he said. Michael caught his eye, seeming a little too serious as he stared at him. That’d be the next thing he dealt with.

Alex followed Liz to the bedroom and found her standing there like she was preparing for a fight, face hardened and eyes set on him the moment he walked through the door. He took a moment to prepare himself as he shut the door behind him.

“You have no idea what you’re talking about, Alex,” she said as soon as the latch clicked in place.

“The science part? No, you’re right, I don’t. But I do know that you’re being more than a little irrational. What happens if it doesn’t work? Is Max even getting better at all?”

“Nothing exponential yet, but it’s something! It’s only been a month, Alex! We’re not going backward and that’s all I need to know that I can fix this!”

“Okay, and if you do fix it, then what happens? If you manage to resurrect him, then what? Because with the way you’re acting, I’m failing to see how you’re aren’t going to get some sort of power high from resurrecting someone.”

“The way I’m acting? Who are you, my dad? I’m just doing what’s right! He died to bring Rosa back, it’s my job to bring him back!”

“Is it, though? It’s not like you asked him to bring her back.”

“It doesn’t matter! I love him!” she yelled, tears brimming her eyes, “I love him and I hate him! He didn’t even ask me and he, he just left me as soon as I had something good! This can’t be the end of it!”

Things clicked in Alex’s head then and he took a step forward, holding his hands out so she could see them clearly.

“I know,” he said, “I know how it feels to lose someone just when it gets good.”

“Oh, screw you, Alex, you don’t know how I feel. You can’t compare your stupid little affair in high school to this,” Liz spat. He nodded even though it rubbed him the wrong way.

“You’re right, it’s not the same,” he agreed, “But pushing everyone away isn’t going to help, and being in denial isn’t going to help either. You need to mourn and you need your friends.” Liz shook her head and took a step away from him.

“No, what I need is Kyle and Michael to focus on helping me instead of being at your every beck and call,” she told him. Alex let his hands drop, his eyebrows furrowing. “They’re the only ones who can help me and you’re just capitalizing their time.”

“You’re… mad at me for having friends? You lost me,” Alex said. Liz groaned, throwing her head back and wiping her head.

“I’m not mad at you for having friends, I’m mad that,” Liz said, stopping herself as she gathered her thoughts, “I’m mad that…”

“That things aren’t going your way?” Alex filled in, “That things aren’t like they used to be? That I’m not just going to fold and back away and let you and Maria walk all over me and take everything?”

Liz scoffed, “We did not walk all over you.”

“Okay, maybe not, but you were definitely put first. Hell, you still are on some level. I know you don’t get it, but if I avoid my father, it won’t matter if you can bring Max back or not. We’re all fucked. We’re breaking rules to accommodate you and Michael and Kyle are doing all that they can to help you even if you don’t see it,” Alex explained, “And, look, I know you don’t like me anymore, but I do still care about you and it’s worrying me that you aren’t thinking clearly.”

“What?” Liz sighed, looking at him like he’d lost it, “What do you mean I don’t like you?”

“I’m not stupid, Liz. You call me your friend because we used to be, but actions speak louder than words.”

“Oh, but that doesn’t apply to you?”

“Excuse me?” Alex asked. She gave him a look like he should know what she meant, but he had no idea.

“You know that Michael has no idea what he wants and you’re still playing house with him,” she said, “I know you aren’t stupid, Alex, which is what I’m not getting. Why are you letting him in your house like that when you know he’s just trying to fuck you and Maria over? I like him, I do, and I know he’s charming, but he doesn’t care about anything but himself, Max, and Isobel at the end of the day. He is just like Max but even more destructive and all you’re doing is enabling him to hurt more people.”

Her words hit Alex like a blow to the stomach. He physically took a step back, trying to follow her ridiculous train of thought.

“Don’t talk about something you know nothing about,” Alex breathed, shaking his head. She gave him a truly pitiful look like he was the one who should feel bad.

“I know enough.”

“Do you?” Alex scoffed, “Do you know that I love him? That he loves me? That I have spent over a decade keeping him safe and I am not about to stop now? Maybe that makes me a fucking dumbass, but I know what I’m getting myself into with him. He’s not trying to fuck Maria over, he’s trying to learn how to take care of himself before he dives into something. He is doing better than I have ever seen him and I’m not going to take that away because you don’t understand. And he is not like Max. Just because your little alien is murderous and self-righteous, doesn’t mean mine is. And, for God’s sake, don’t act like this is about Michael when it’s about me.”

Liz stared at him, his words slowly but surely sinking in. He waited and stared without faltering. He realized a little bit more about the benefits of having Michael Guerin staying in his house. After this was over, he didn’t have to be alone. After this, he was going to go home and curl up against his chest and listen to him breathe and be held until he fell asleep. That would make up for this.

“You’re in love?” she asked. Alex rubbed his hands over his face.

“It doesn’t matter,” he said, “What matters is you think I’m sabotaging things by going after my dad and monopolizing Michael’s time. That isn’t what’s happening and I don’t know how to make you realize that.”

Liz stared at him, those frustrated tears coming right back.

“I don’t know who you are anymore, Alex,” she admitted, “Everyone’s changed since we were kids, but you’re a completely different person. I’m sorry, but I don’t know how to handle that on top of everything else.”

That stung, but Alex knew it was fair. He was still trying to see himself too.

“Okay,” Alex said, “Then I’ll make time to work closer with you.”

“What?”

“That’s the problem, right? You’re struggling to trust me, but we’re both the ones discovering the most information about this shit. We should be working together,” Alex decided, “Then maybe you can re-get to know me.”

“Okay.”

“You need friends, Liz,” he told her, “Or you’re going to break.”

Liz took a deep breath and nodded, wiping away her tears.

“Okay.”

“I got the glue out of your jeans.”

“Thanks.”

Alex was already curled up in bed and rubbing his temples by the time Michael came into the bedroom. He was tired and hadn’t really talked to anyone since he argued with Liz. His skin felt too tight and he was irritable and he felt even worse when he realized Michael was feeding off his negativity. He’d been in a good mood before dinner.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered as Michael quietly checked the closet and behind the curtains for him before shutting off the lights.

“You’re okay,” Michael said. Alex shut his eyes as the bed shifted and he waited for Michael to reach for attention like he usually did. Except he didn’t. “Hey, uh… Do you really think we won’t be able to bring Max back?”

Alex curled in on himself a little more. Right.

“I don’t know. I just want you all to be prepared.”

“Yeah.”

Micahel was quiet for a few minutes, long enough that Alex started thinking he was angry at him. Alex almost apologized a handful of times, longing to be forgiven for something he wasn’t actually sorry for. He just didn’t want to push him away, he didn’t want to be annoying, he didn’t want to be a problem.

“Hey, Alex?” Michael said. Alex let out an unexpectedly heavy breath and he cursed himself for it. “Is there anything important you haven’t told me? Like, alien wise?”

Alex was instantly bombarded with documented torture he’d kept a secret, filmed dissections he’d hidden, videos of his mother trying to sweet talk guards that hit her or worse in response that he’d lied about, and that stupid piece of the ship that scared him more than anything. They were all stupid and small and out of Alex’s control in the grand scheme of things, but they were big and scary on their own. What if Michael stopped feeling safe? What if Michael left?

“No,” Alex said, “I’ve told you everything.”

Michael was silent again for a few seconds. Alex waited for him to call him out for being a liar, to call him out for being annoying and not the guy he actually loved. If Liz didn’t see him as himself, why should Michael?

Except then the mattress creaked as he shifted and slowly Michael’s arms encircled his torso. He exhaled in relief as Michael pressed up behind him, fitting against his form effortlessly. They fit together so well sometimes it hurt him. But he pressed his warm nose behind Alex’s ear and held him tight, using his body heat and willpower to shoo away all his bad feelings.

“You’re the strongest man I know, you know that, right?” Michael told him softly, “I trust you more than anyone in this entire galaxy.”

Alex didn’t know how to say he wasn’t worthy of that title. So he didn’t.

“It’s okay,” Michael added even softly, his voice hardly even making a sound at this point, “It’s okay to be sad. We all need a little help sometimes.” The words were Alex’s, but they fit in his mouth like they belonged there.

Alex’s body was flooded with emotion, that overwhelming feeling of everything coming for him and forcing tears to his eyes. None fell and he kept his eyes closed, but he knew more than ever that he loved him.

He loved him so much it hurt.

“Did you find anything?”

“Um, I think you should sit down.”

Kyle furrowed his eyebrows but did as Cam instructed and sat on her motel bed. He’d been spending a lot of time there the last few nights, usually after shifts so they could talk about theories. Right now, though, he was just drained from a very uncomfortable dinner.

“Did Flint tell you something?”

“No,” she said slowly, sitting beside him with a file in her hand. She kept it to her chest so he couldn’t see it until she wanted him too. “He was a dead-end and visiting hours with Jesse are over. He gets out of the hospital in a few days though, which you knew, and I plan to speak with him then. But I started thinking about it and I looked into something else.”

“And you found something?”

“Yeah,” Cam confirmed, eying him hesitantly, “I don’t think it’s three generations.”

“Oh?” Kyle said. Slowly, she pulled the file from her chest and held it in front of them, opening it to see the same tattoo on a brown-skinned hip. He grabbed onto the file.“Who is this?”

“Don’t freak out.”

He looked over to her in confusion. “Why would I freak out?”

“I was thinking about it and I was trying to think who was just as involved with aliens as Jesse Manes,” she said, “So I started searching through old military records and a lot of them had either pictures or descriptions of their tattoos, stuff to identify soldiers by if worse came to worst. We got lucky that the Valenti’s clearly have no problem with their bare ass being in a picture.”

Kyle’s eyes widened involuntarily as he realized what she was saying. And it definitely wasn’t generational. Instead, it was starting to look a lot more like a cult.

“So…”

“Yep,” she sighed, “Manes and Valenti. Two heads of Neptune’s trident.”

“Fuck.”

#malex fic #malex #michael guerin #alex manes #roswell new mexico #my fic #our fainted thrill carries on

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jackredfieldwasmyjacob · 5 years

Audio

(vía https://open.spotify.com/album/355bjCHzRJztCzaG5Za4gq?si=OcVSGlRsQzmaTaw8m24AJQ)

EL MAL QUERER - INTRODUCTION:

So, as the end of the year (and of the decade) is coming, I was thinking of making various posts of each of the tracks of what I think is the best and most-influential Spanish album from this decade, “El Mal Querer” by Rosalía. I’ve done the maths, so starting next week I’ll write two posts, one on saturday and one on sunday, because there are not enough weekends left in the year to fit them all only on sundays (also the last sunday of the year I wanted to make a post a song that talks about New Year).

This post is simply an introduction to Rosalía herself and El Mal Querer as a whole.

Before starting, please read last week’s post if you haven’t, as it talks about Flamenco, the roots of Rosalía’s music, and you’ll understand much better what I’m gonna talk about.

So, Rosalía. I don’t think I even have to talk about her, it is Spanish most international and successful artist in the moment. Her full name is Rosalía Vila Tobella, and she was born in the suburbs of Barcelona. She studied 6 years of Flamenco in the School of Music of Catalonia, and released her first album, “Los Ángeles”, in 2017, a really beautiful album, really lyrical and 100% flamenco, which made her beginnings a bit rough, as she wasn’t Andalusian but sang in Andalusian, and people started saying she was “appropriating” Flamenco culture. Thankfully, after “El Mal Querer” and 2 Latin Grammys they all have calmed down.

“El Mal Querer” ( “The Bad Loving”) started as her final project of her Flamenco studies, and it is inspired by a 13th century anonymous romance called “Flamenca” from Occitania, about a man who mistreats his wife. She transformed the story into a conceptual album that follows kinda the same storyline, with the woman being able to set herself free and thus becoming a really empowering album.

Most of the things I’m gonna say throughout theses posts are gonna come from two videos, so I’ll leave them here if you want to watch them, they are in Spanish but I think they have English subs:

youtube

The first one is this video by Jaime Altozano, a really amazing Spanish musician and youtuber that made an analysis of “El Mal Querer” (please subscribe to him, he is truly incredible).

youtube

Rosalía herself saw Jaime’s video, and was so impressed by it, that decided to do a series of Instagram Stories talking about said video and about each of the songs more in-depth.

So yeah, those are gonna be my main sources. For this post, I wanted to talk about the themes, the genres and the structure of the album.

THEMES

-The main theme is, of course, the story of suffering and then relief of the woman of the story, wanting to make a parallel with the situation of women nowadays setting the story in the modern times.

-It also has a lot of gypsy cultural elements, and it is implied the characters are all gypsies. As I said in last week’s post, Andalusian gypsies are intrinsically tied with flamenco.

-Finally, specially in her fashion and in some of her Music Videos, as well as some elements in her music, you can see the “polígono industrial” vibe, or “industrial park”. You’ll see it perfectly in Malamente’s music video next week, but Rosalía herself grew near one of these places, and they have a unique aesthetic, usually with truckers, hookers, and people usually called “choni” or “cani” because of their looks, some examples of these “industrial parks”:

GENRES:

-Flamenco as the base for all the album

-Urban touches that vary from song to song, creating a fusion between the traditional and the modern.

-Some songs get close to pop.

STRUCTURE:

Every song has two names, the name of the song, and the chapter of the story it represents. These chapters are:

-1: Augurio - > Premonition

-2: Boda -> Wedding

-3: Celos -> Jealousy

-4: Disputa -> Dispute

-5: Lamento -> Wail

-6: Clausura -> Closure

-7: Liturgia -> Liturgy

-8: Éxtasis -> Ecstasy

-9: Concepción -> Conception

-10: Cordura -> Sanity

-11: Poder -> Power

Also, every song has an image associated with it, which is what I’m gonna post. If it also has a Music Video I’ll post it as well, don’t worry.

So this was all, hope you like it and I could get you excited about “El Mal Querer” :)

#rosalia #el mal querer #spanishmaravillas

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teefa85 · 4 years

Text

Eh, so as I was writing another chapter of my own sequel fanfic (as I want to get to an important piece about another chapter or two down the road), I completely forgot to write up the song analysis of the day. A song I never heard on mainstream radio, but did hear in a Panera Bread a few months ago (and when I heard it again while out for my birthday at a Houlihans, I actually remembered to figure out what it was when I got home). It’s called “We’re Going Home” and is sung by Vance Joy.

I just felt it fit Max’s traveling, and upon looking up the song’s meaning, I found he wrote it about stepping out on his own during a tour with Taylor Swift. Considering Max prepares to step out on his own, before Lufia comes to travel with him, my feelings were completely founded. So I worked it on as the beginning of their adventure...

~Under the surface you don't know what you'll find~ ~Mmm, until it's your time~ ~No second chances but all we can do is try~ ~Mmm, I made up my mind~ ~I can't see you, but I hear your call~ ~Baby, hold on now~ Max stepped out not knowing what he’d find in Sheran (as he only had vague rumors of monsters). However, he made up his mind to go and do the right thing, to help protect people. But even though he was on his own, the person he most wanted to protect would be there with him in spirit...

~We're going home~ ~If we make it or we don't, we won't be alone~ ~When I see your light shine, I know I'm home~ ~If you're waiting all your life, you won't ever go~ ~When I see your light shine, I know I'm home~ ~When I see your light shine, I know I'm home~ ~When I see your light shine~ Just that, wherever Lufia is feels like home to him. Which works at the point where they’re traveling together more than when he’s alone and yes I know this jumps forward in time for chorus and backwards in time for the actual verses. But you could say that this chorus is the conceptualization of feeling her there with him, and after the second verse she’s now with him...

~Some things are simple and hard to ignore, they say~ ~Mmm, the truth is like that~ ~We're getting colder, so far from the shore, I say~ ~Mmm, the world is like that~ ~I can't see you, but I hear your call~ ~Baby, hold on now~ Just some more general thoughts on travel as he realizes, with the lazy asses he has to deal with, he’s going to be away longer than planned.

~We're going home...~ As I said before, while the chorus is the same I see that, immediately after the last line in Verse 2, Lufia joins Max (like his hearing her voice is not his thoughts but her actually calling to him) and this chorus is set as they travel the caves together.

~There's a place that I wanna run with you~ ~Darling, there's a place that I wanna run with you~ Max wants to go along with Lufia so they might be together no matter what. Which I imagine is accompanied by the two holding hands, him gripping hers tightly to keep her close.

~We're going home~ ~If we make it or we don't, we won't be alone~ ~When I see your light shine, I know I'm home~ ~If you're waiting all your life, you won't ever go~ ~When I see your light shine, I know I'm home~ ~When I see your light shine, I know I'm home~ ~When I see your light shine, I know~ ~I'm home I'm home~ ~When I see your light shine~ Just the chorus again with some slight repeating going on. Nothing to see here, people. But they are traveling together alone for a good amount of time so repeating and reaffirming Max’s feelings makes sense.

Honestly, I just picture him singing this to her when they’re in the Inn one night. And Lufia just leans in on Max’s shoulder as he does so. Why is it that this album is full of less concrete analysis and a lot more stuff that makes me think of adorably shippy scenes?

And I apologize in advance for tomorrow...

#Lufia #reborn love #fan soundtrack

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joneswilliam72 · 5 years

Text

Meet Halt and Catch Fire composer & former member of Tangerine Dream, Paul Haslinger.

I caught up with Emmy-nominated composer, and former member of the classic German electronic band Tangerine Dream, Paul Haslinger, for a chat on composing challenges, his career, what makes a great score, what it was like composing for Netflix's much-lauded Mötley Crüe movie The Dirt, and more, as it relates to his latest project, "Halt and Catch Fire Volume 2 – Original Television Series Soundtrack", which can be ordered here courtesy of Lakeshore Records.

Paul Haslinger.

Tangerine Dream in Minneapolis, MN in 1986. Paul Haslinger is pictured in the middle with Edgar Froese. Source: welt.de

Haslinger is an LA-based, Austrian composer and electronic musician known for his involvement with legendary German group Tangerine Dream from 1986 till 1990, as well as his extensive work for film, television, and video game scores. During the 1990s, he also released a few solo albums (three under his own name and one as Coma Virus) that explored various ethnic influences as well as industrial, dark ambient, and triphop. He has collaborated with Nona Hendryx, Jon Hassell, Lustmord, Fennesz, and many others.

Haslinger began scoring short films in the late '90s, in addition to programming and arranging film scores by Graeme Revell, including The Siege, Pitch Black, and Lara Croft: Tomb Raider. Starting with 2000 HBO film Cheaters, Haslinger scored several films by director John Stockwell, including Crazy/Beautiful and Blue Crush.

He began scoring video games with 2005's Far Cry Instincts for Ubisoft Entertainment. Haslinger's music for the Showtime series Sleeper Cell was nominated for an Emmy Award in 2007. Other notable soundtracks Haslinger has composed include Shoot 'Em Up (2007), Death Race (2008), Underworld: Rise of the Lycans (2009), The Three Musketeers (2011), Underworld: Awakening (2012), Resident Evil: The Final Chapter (2016), The Dirt (2019) and Halt and Catch Fire.

Halt and Catch Fire—the AMC Studios series that ran for four seasons – captures the rise of the PC era in the early 1980s, focused on four main characters attempting to innovate against the changing backdrop of technology and Texas’ Silicon Prairie. The series was created and is executive produced by showrunners Christopher Cantwell and Christopher C. Rogers.

Catch "Halt and Catch Fire Volume 2 – Original Television Series Soundtrack" out now, courtesy of those most-excellent purveyors of always spectacular film music, Lakeshore Records; also enjoy the exclusive track – titled "Dreamers and Misfits" – that The 405 premiered from it embedded below the interview here.

youtube

HALT AND CATCH FIRE Season 1 trailer.

Hello Paul and welcome to The 405! To start things off, I was hoping we could get an idea of what your creative process as a composer looks like when you start a project.

I usually start by looking for creative sparks - could be a new sound, a conceptual idea, a script, some footage I see… or a combination thereof. Once there is a spark, there is usually fire and then you just need to make sure the wind does't blow it out.

Very true. On a somewhat related question, your approach. What are the main things that a great score needs to do?

Functionally speaking, score supports story. And a big part of that is to not get in the way of story. I find most projects over-scored. Music should have its moments to shine, but it should be content at other times to stay extremely simple and understated if that's what supports the picture the best.

I agree. The best is not distracting. It does not snap you out of suspending your disbelief with the movie itself. You still forget you're watching a movie – if it's a good one.

Pivoting just a bit, you have quite the variety of film genres under your "composed by" belt too. Do you consider one genre easier to score than another? Why or why not?

Not really. So far, I've found ways under any circumstances to have some musical fun – it doesn't really matter to me which particular country we're in, or where we're driving. One of the absolute perks of writing for film and TV is specifically the fact that you are not beholden to a particular style. You can try as many different things as you like. For someone who gets bored quickly, this is quite a gift. It also bears the risk of getting lost on occasion, a price I'm happy to pay.

That seems to be the consensus among many of the composers I've put that question to. I admire your adaptability there too Paul, I'd imagine it's key in helping keep things interesting.

Does your time in Tangerine Dream influence your approach as a composer? Why or why not?

It certainly was my start in film scoring and it laid the foundation for many things that came after.

Tangerine Dream at the time was understood as an alternative to traditional film scoring and it's a principle I kept applying in my work after leaving the band. On the other hand, Tangerine Dream was asked for the same type of alternate score over and over again. Leaving the band allowed me to cast my net wider, to keep exploring and discovering.

Interesting. Did your time in Tangerine Dream color your approach to Halt and Catch Fire with it being an '80s period series? What else initially attracted you to it?

At the start, it was obviously just a project that seemed like a good fit, a great chance to have some fun. Once I began working on the show, it became clear very quickly that this was not just an opportunity to revisit some '80s music, but that the writing, the cast, the whole crew, was one of those lucky coincidences where the right elements come together at the right time. One of the best teamwork experiences I ever had, it really fuelled everybody to work extra-hard and come up with something special.

That's fantastic. I remember really enjoying the series when it first came out. That kind of atmosphere really bleeds over into the final cut. What were the challenges like on scoring it?

There was great mutual respect between all creatives on the show, and the biggest challenges were typically the ones I set for myself, wanting my work to match the quality of the material I was scoring. The show's creators, Christ Cantwell and Chris Rogers, are both huge music fans, so we would regularly geek out on all aspects of sound, mix and general sonic architecture of the show. We definitely kept challenging each other, in the best and most creative ways.

Cool! A twist on a question I usually ask, what films, scores, composers and musicians would you say most molded you as a composer and musician?

If you're asking who inspired me, that's a ridiculously long list…

Yeah, it's a big question.

I am not sure if anybody "molded" me –

Substitute "influenced."

I see myself in a long chain of musicians and music history, where certain composers and events always influenced and inspired the next generation – it's a fluid structure with no hard delineations.

Absolutely.

Picking a few favorite composers of recent times (and with a spotlight on film), I would mention Bernard Herrmann, Ennio Morricone, Georges Delerue, Jerry Fielding, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Warren Ellis, Arvo Pärt, Edgard Varése.

Cast of HALT AND CATCH FIRE. Source:AMC

One title you scored that jumped out at me because I consider the film a bit of a guilty pleasure is 2007's Shoot ‘Em Up. The film is pretty brilliant, high-octane, action movie satire and the "bullet ballet" moniker for it was very fitting. I'm curious, what were the unique challenges with that as a project?

It was a tricky project, for sure. They had tried a variety of music approaches and found that they wanted a more modern approach than the usual Hollywood orchestral score. The film had some edge and they wanted the music to reflect that.

Absolutely. That scene with Motörhead’s “Ace of Spades” absolutely embodied that edge, musically-speaking, as an example.

My approach was to go into a studio here in LA and to form a band for the project (Justin Meldal-Johnson of Beck and NIN fame was musical director).

Nice.

We recorded a lot of material, some of it to picture, other parts just as free track developments. I then pre-mixed and went on writing the score based on these recordings, adding new parts. It was the first time I worked in this open, modular style (cycles of writing - recording - arranging) and have stuck with it ever since. It combines my knowledge of working in studios producing records, with writing for the specific purposes of film.

Monica Bellucci and Clive Owen in 2007’s SHOOT ‘EM UP. Source:YouTube

Fascinating how a movie like Shoot 'Em Up would help you find and refine that new way of working.

You've also scored great movies like The Dirt. What were the challenges like on that when much of the main music is Mötley Crüe level legendary? Does that put an interesting kind of pressure on a composer?

The Dirt was a lot of fun, in part, again, because we had a great team working on it. Knowing there would be a lot of featured and on-camera MC music, it was clear the score would function as a supplement, or glue, if you will, tying the story together and keeping the energy going in moments that did not feature any songs. It was a lot of fun, despite some of the gory details.

Interesting. Yeah, it's getting a lot of very justified praise. Our last question Paul, what's next for you?

I am finishing a new album project with Peter Baumann (ex-Tangerine Dream, like myself) which we hope to release later this year.

Wonderful.

I am also starting to work on the film Monster Hunter, which will reunite me with [director and writer] Paul W.S. Anderson and Milla Jovovich. Monster Hunter is based on the computer game of the same name. Set for release in early 2020, it will be larger than life and a great opportunity to come up with more musical monster madness.

Follow Paul on Twitter and Instagram. Like his page on Facebook too!

youtube

”Dreamers and Misfits” from “HALT AND CATCH FIRE, Volume 2 – Original Television Series Soundtrack.

youtube

THE DIRT (2019) trailer.

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SHOOT ‘EM UP (2007) trailer.

from The 405 http://bit.ly/2I768VU

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natakova15-blog · 6 years

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IndieView with A.M.H. Johnson, author of Midnight Over Moores

However, the idea started two or so days before the drive at my mom's birthday party as my sister and I shared stories of our boarding school experiences, and my dad shared stories about being a teenager on the island we vacation at, and my mom commented that “Someone needs to write a book!”

A.M.H. Johnson – 20 September 2018

The Back Flap

Jenna Sheffield is an average girl from Savannah, Georgia. However, this year her life is about to change. She's starting at a new, all-girls boarding school in the middle of high school. She's having to learn how to deal with a roommate who seems more inclined to torture her than be friends. And on top of all that, she learns she has inherited her family's ability to communicate with the dead, when the ghost of Christine Wedge starts to haunt her. All Christine wants is her body to be found, but this mystery is shrouded by 60 years of local legends and feuds. Can Jenna crack this cold-case, or will Christine drive her insane, or worse, kill her chances at getting into a good college?

About the book

What is the book about?

Midnight Over Moores follows Jenna Sheffield, a young girl from Savannah who goes to Maine for boarding school and finds out she can talk to the dead after a prank gone too far. She starts being haunted by a local ghost, Christine Wedge, a victim who disappeared 60 years before, and has become a local legend on Moores Island.

When did you start writing the book?

Officially, I started writing it in early June 2011, coming back from a family vacation up in Maine driving back to Georgia. However, the idea started two or so days before the drive at my mom's birthday party as my sister and I shared stories of our boarding school experiences, and my dad shared stories about being a teenager on the island we vacation at, and my mom commented that “Someone needs to write a book!” I agreed then, but that 23 hour drive a few days later gave me enough time to hammer out the plot details and bounce ideas off my dad, and get the first two chapters written.

How long did it take you to write it?

Three years, but that was due to being in school at the time and not having a solid schedule and crazy homework. The summer I started writing it, I cranked half the book out in a month and a half once I returned to Maine later that Summer. Once I graduated, it took a me a few months to finish it.

Where did you get the idea from?

At my Mom's birthday party, after the whole group had a couple drinks, my dad, my sister and I got to talking about our teenage experiences. My sister and I were talking about going to our boarding school and all the shenanigans we'd get into. My dad, who was surrounded by many of his childhood friends at this party talking about their shared high school summers and all the shenanigans they got into. And by the end of it, we were all laughing so hard we were crying, and my mom said, “Someone needs to write a book!”

Were there any parts of the book where you struggled?

There were many places I struggled, but one of them has a funny story with it. My writing had started to go through an evolution at the time, because I'd started taking Creative Writing classes at my university, and some of the chapters I'd previously written when reread were very very rough. At the time, I was dating the man who would later become my husband, another English/Writing major who had already published a few short stories. I asked him to look at my roughest chapter. When he returned it, he had circled every “smiled” and “nodded” I'd written in, and it was truly too much. I promptly went home and rewrote it, and sent him a message once I did. His response was a gif of Jack Nicholson nodding and smiling like a madman “In memory of my unedited chapter.”

What came easily?

Most of the scenes in Limbo (at least that's what I call it. Purgatory and the Spirit World also works). The drama in those scenes are a lot more palpable, and most of them came out good the first time. And a good portion of the scenes with Jenna and Nate.

Are your characters entirely fictitious or have you borrowed from real world people you know?

They're kind of both. Jenna isn't anyone I know in particular, but some of her experiences are built off of experiences I've had and my family and friends have had, with a twist. Same with all of my characters, except maybe one or two side characters. Although, I did throw a character based off my high school self in. But I've even changed her from being 100% like me.

We all know how important it is for writers to read. Are there any particular authors that have influenced how you write and, if so, how have they influenced you?

J.K. Rowling and John Berendt are obvious influencers as they and their works are mentioned in the book. Rowling because Harry Potter was a big part of my teenage years as well as many of my friends, and everyone going to my boarding school noted striking similarities between our school and Hogwarts. We had four main dorms with the same colors as the houses (Yellow dorm and Green dorm were on the lowest level, Yellow closest to the kitchens. Red dorm and Blue dorm were upstairs, and even had loft dorm rooms, if you think I'm kidding). Even many of our teachers had direct parallels to the Hogwarts professors that many of the students agreed with (Yes, we had a Snape, and he was one of the best English teachers I ever took. We also had an annually changing faculty member, although I'm 98% certain a curse was not involved). The only big difference was Hogwarts was not All-Girls. So, to not even mildly reference it just wouldn't give my high school experience justice.

Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil was where I got the idea for my book's title. Doing research on Savannah (I also didn't live far from there at the time), I was told this book was required reading.

I'd also add Richelle Mead, Kelly Creagh, Edgar Allen Poe, and Stephen King (especially later in the series).

Do you have a target reader?

It's a solid Young Adult novel, but it's a book horror buffs and murder mystery readers will enjoy as well. It has modern Paranormal Romance written all over it, however its plot is steeped with Classical Gothic tropes and modern horror and mystery themes. It's a mystery surrounded by ghosts, demons, magic, and young love.

About Writing

Do you have a writing process? If so can you please describe it?

Not really. I always have fun writing, so when I can, I do.

Do you outline? If so, do you do so extensively or just chapter headings and a couple of sentences?

I used to only do a skeletal outline, like 2-3 pages noting the whole plot and background. I still do that now, but I've added preformatting each chapter and adding a chapter summary, so I know what goes where when I've written excerpts, which saves me a lot of time now.

Do you edit as you go or wait until you've finished?

Primarily, I edit as I go. Then once it's done, I do another final edit based on my own notes as well as my beta readers' notes.

Did you hire a professional editor?

I do not, but this is because I have almost 5-years-experience in editing in some capacity. For a year (and even now) I proofread/line-edit for the company I work for, and the last four years I was moved up to Document Specialist, which added formatting/copyediting to my proofreading duties.

That also doesn't mean I'm the only person with editing experience looking at my writing before publication. My husband, who took the same editing courses as I have for our degree, takes a look before it's sent out. My mother, who also had a job proofing/line-editing documents for a company for almost ten years, takes a look as well. Not to mention several others who may not have professional/educated experience like my husband and mom, but who I trust to give me sound advice on readability.

However, I would suggest to most authors to get an editor.

Do you listen to music while you write? If yes, what gets the fingers tapping?

Absolutely. If I'm not listening to music while writing, the music is definitely blaring when I'm conceptualizing each scene, so when I write it down later I've seen the scene over and over and over again.

As for my tastes … they're kind of all over the place. Usually some metal/modern rock is in there as well as classical (Beethoven is great!), pop, hip hop, early 2000's/'90s soft rock, classic rock, and even 2000s emo/punk rock (which was my jam then, not going to lie), to even Disney and Broadway soundtracks. I think the important thing for a song to help me write a scene is the message/emotion of the song has to fit in a place in my writing. So, I listen to different types of songs for different scenes. For example, if I'm writing a bombastic fight scene, 'O Fortuna' or The Hunchback of Notre Dame's 'Sanctuary' are both great. If the scene is more of a mellow internal struggle about love, I'm sifting through my early 2000's soft rock ballads.

About Publishing

Did you submit your work to Agents?

Yes. I can't even remember how many, but after the first several “We're too busy at the moment,” rejections, I started really looking into self-publishing.

What made you decide to go Indie, whether self-publishing or with an indie publisher? Was it a particular event or a gradual process?

It was gradual, but I always had an idea I might go that way anyway. I'm a little too controlling of my book, and how it was supposed to look, cover design, everything. As far as waiting for an agent to pick it up, I'm just not a patient person. Starting out, I figured I could go ahead and self-publish, then be taken on by a major publisher, but I found that doesn't usually happen. So unwittingly, I plunged head first into Indie communities, and the people there gave me invaluable information that led me to want to set up my own indie publisher, which is what Midnight Over Moores is now being published under.

Did you get your book cover professionally done or did you do it yourself?

Yes, for both the old cover when I first self-published and the new. But again, it was because I'm very controlling of how my book is to look. Each design detail I made had a specific reason behind it. I changed from the old cover, because I realized with it being a series the first cover I designed wouldn't work for branding reasons. The second book's cover in no way was going to look like the original cover, which is crucial with series works. So, I redesigned it with the rest of the series covers in mind.

Do you have a marketing plan for the book or are you just winging it?

The first time I published it, I just winged it, which after a month of selling 30 copies I realized was a big no no. I just unleashed it on the world, told my friends and family, some of who bought it and shared it. After a few months of putting those Amazon sales on it, and getting a few reviews, all of which were positive, but not seeing anything in return, I started asking myself, “What am I missing?” One of which was editorial reviews, which is obvious, but at the same time trying to find editorial reviewers that didn't cost an arm and a leg was difficult. Amazon suggests Kirkus, which is too expensive for people paying out of pocket. Eventually I did find some that were budget friendly, and that my book applied for, but by then it was too late.

So, what am I doing different now? I've submitted it to a couple book awards, which so far it's doing pretty well, but it's still early. One of the big things is I've switched my main distributor to Ingram, which opens up a lot more doors. I've submitted for reviews and have already begun using those in my marketing. I've posted about my book on more than just Facebook, since I now have an author twitter, Instagram, Foodreads, Facebook, Linkedin … you name it, I've posted about my book's re-release on there.

Any advice that you would like to give to other newbies considering becoming Indie authors?

Give yourself ample time and budget to market your book. I've learned over the last couple years marketing is an investment that more often than not pays in some way.

Another thing a successful indie author told me was to write and publish as much as you can. It builds your name, which builds your brand.

About You

Where did you grow up?

I'm from all over the East Coast. Born in Newburyport, Mass., mostly grew up in the foothills of the Appalachians in Virginia just outside of DC, and went to school in Pennsylvania in the middle of Amish country. But Acadia National Park in Maine is probably the most constant location in my life.

Where do you live now?

I live just outside of Atlanta, Ga. with my husband, daughter, and two dogs (both rescues).

End of Interview:

For more from Ms Johnson, visit her website, follow her on Twitter and like her Facebook page.

Get your copy of Midnight Over Moores from Amazon US or Amazon UK.

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ukhupacha · 7 years

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All along the watchtower

There are some novels, some trilogies, in fact, with less actual content that Bob Dylan’s All along the watchtower. It is really astonishing what Dylan achieves in twelve lines, 130 words and 2 and a half minutes. I don’t think I can explain the song definitely, I don’t think anyone could do that with Dylan, because there is a lot here to explore.

The first thing to know is exactly when and where All along the watchtower fits in Dylan’s career. The song is the 4th on his 1967′s album John Wesley Harding, coming after two of his most famous and most celebrated records, Highway 61 revisited and Blonde on Blonde. Dylan had already gone electric, already repudiated all the political significance he had in his first years and alienated all of his folk music in the process. His lyrics in those albums were lyrics about a man possessed, shut thew with some magic spirits, singing gorgeously beautiful epics in a stream of illusions and vignettes. For this reason, John Wesley Harding can only come as a shock, its totally spare instrumentation, mostly guitar base and drums under vocals and harmonica, largely a two-three minutes song, a bold contrasts not only to his previous albums but to the maximalist psychedelic feeling of 1967, the same year that The Beatles released Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club band which Dylan called “Very indulgent.”

Despite everything, Dylan’s eight album was generally praised. and rightly so, it is among the tightest work he has ever released in both conceptually in the themes found in the twelve song cycle and lyrically. “There’s no line you can stick your finger through. There’s no hole in any of the stanzas. There’s no blank filler. Each line has something.”

In All along the watchtower, there are exactly twelve lines, a parable frame as a conversation between two archetypes, a Joker and a Thief. The Joker speaks first “There must be some way out of here,” though we don’t quite know where here is, then complaining about “Businessmen, they drink my wine, plowmen dig my earth” while neither of them know what those things are worth “None of them along the line know what any of it is worth.”

"There must be some way out of here" Said the joker to the thief "There's too much confusion I can't get no relief Businessmen, they drink my wine Plowmen dig my earth None of them along the line Know what any of it is worth"

The Thief responds that there is “No reason to get excited,” those people may feel that like is a joke but we know better because we’ve been through that already.

"No reason to get excited" The thief, he kindly spoke "There are many here among us Who feel that life is but a joke But you and I, we've been through that And this is not our fate So let us not talk falsely, now The hour is getting late"

The story then pulls back to a watchtower, where there is some kind of commotion as watchmen notice two riders approaching.in the cold distance.

All along the watchtower Princes kept the view While all the women came and went Barefoot servants, too Outside, in the distance A wildcat did growl Two riders were approaching The wind began to howl

The final quatrain is a little bit weird, almost as if it is misplaced in time, It has been suggested than the last lines are actually, chronologically, the first in the story. By doing this, Dylan gives the song a kind of endless, circular feel. The story always wrapping around to the start again emphasizing how futile the Joker’s first commend is “There must be some way out of here.”

Of course, it is unclear if the two riders spotted from the watchtower are the Joker and the Thief or whether the Joker and the Thief spotted them or any other configuration. For that matter is worth questioning who those figures are. Some think that the Joker is Dylan while the Thief is Elvis who stole african american musci for pop culture. Other see two figures as two sides of Dylan’s own personality, before and after horrible motorcycle accident. Others see the Joker as Jesus in a conversation with one of the thieves that was crucified alongside him. Making biblical connection isn’t that far fetched, there are 60 biblical allusions in Wesley Harding and those close to Dylan remember consulting a Bible.

Several people have noted the similarity between this song and the passage of Isaiah, Chapter 21 to be exact.

5Prepare the table, watch in the watchtower, eat, drink: arise, ye princes, and anoint the shield.

6For thus hath the Lord said unto me, Go, set a watchman, let him declare what he seeth.

7And he saw a chariot with a couple of horsemen, a chariot of asses, and a chariot of camels; and he hearkened diligently with much heed:

8And he cried, A lion: My lord, I stand continually upon the watchtower in the daytime, and I am set in my ward whole nights:

9And, behold, here cometh a chariot of men, with a couple of horsemen. And he answered and said, Babylon is fallen, is fallen; and all the graven images of her gods he hath broken unto the ground.

It is a passage that prophecies the fall of Babylon and the Jews return from exile to Jerusalem, Dylan spent much of his early carer fighting up the labor of profit. It is a responsibility he felt was trusted on him illegitimately but here he seems to accept the role. Laying down an apprehensive, apocalyptic scenario, as if to say, you want prophecy? I’ll give you prophecy but it will come with a cost. The price is mystery and entrapment, a prophecy the meaning of which is forever out of reach. He cast himself on the role of Joker, Thief, Narrator, Jesus and Prophet while simultaneously removing any the anchoring personal presence that you may find in any of his previous work. By the end, the audience is left in as much fearful anticipation of what’s to come as the reader of Yeats’ The Second Coming as a great beast impossible to battle.

The sonnet quality of Dylan’s original fits perfectly with his narrative, at the heart of song is a driving guitar and base cord progression which once it is repeated a few dozen times, locks you into a hypnotic momentum. Onto this is added Dylan’s cold and response lyrics with each line comprising two parts that swing back and forth in his singing never varying outside of a narrow lane of pitch, more overtones of being trapped. The high pitch relentlessness of the harmonica dilutes the nerves added to the sense of apprehension that the song is trying to evoke.

Dylan is conversing here with two of his favorite music genres, the song is technically a folk ballad, is a story told as a conversation that aims to convey a message but the fingerprints of the blues are everywhere on this song. Namely one of Dylan’s hero, Robert Johnson who, the legend has it, sold his sold for musical genius.

All along the watchtower delivers its prophecy and impending doom onto a steady and unfaltering foundation, something that points backward to both his roots in folk and to the black roots of rock and roll, it was Bod Dylan’s great gift that he could take something that orients itself toward the past and pushed himself and his music forward. It is the music that makes itself All along the watchtower a cryptic prophecy that you can’t escape, something that teases you in and always at the end begins, maybe that is the reason why he got the Nobel Prize....

https://open.spotify.com/track/0Fnb2pfBfu0ka33d6Yki17

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