#its like a video game intro so i kinda love it but also music is meant to be listened to over and over? | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

turntabless · 3 months

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🔮 la folie - the stranglers 🔮

welcome back to turntable takes, folks!!! hope everyone’s doing wonderfully <3 this week (said so very loosely. i underestimated how hard it would be to do them every week but that’s on ME!) we have a gem <3 i know 2 songs off of it and they constantly occupy my mind! so! if you’re checking this out, thank you!! and hope you enjoy <3 once again i am very musically illiterate and don’t know theory!! this is me going AWOOGA!!!

also i’m not including the bonus tracks off the reissue because i’m TIRED. SLEEPY EVEN. but they’re also really good!

genres: new wave, punk rock, baroque pop

non stop

okay immediately loving the lil tippy tappy drums with a little echo that fade in! cute lil organ lick that is so fun!! i’m also a big fan of talk-singing when done in a sexy way and this is that! GUITAR crunchy echoing bass coming in. OH those drums fuck. this is just so fun!!! very sarcastic singing its scratching my brain!! and the guitars are so cheeky. layered vocals crescendo in volume cute like harmonies??? ooooo stripping it back then speeding up going louder again is such a choice i love it here. CHANGING TEMPO let’s go!!!

everybody loves you when you’re dead

ohhhhhh god i love the keys intro here. bass is sexy and so clear and i’m in love. the odd pitches with the guitar is so nice ! yummy drums!!! synthy business! punky talk vocals with layering going on is so good and these lyrics kinda make me feel insane. god that keyboard part and odd wavering synth in the background is so nice. harsh cymbal type sounds YUM! PICK IT UP LETS GOOOO cute lil tempo change and then right back to it!! ohhhhh slow little breakdown descending in pitch

tramp

OHHHH. flat guitar really interesting here. WITH BUZZING KEYBOARD AND BASS ????? drums are really!!! OOOOOH an instrumental soundscape baby!!! i love these vocals he’s got a great voice very punky and when he pitches up it’s really pretty??? also love the return to the darker sounds during the chorus? BASSSSSSS AH GOD !!!!! love the speed and the experimental nature of the chorus !!! 80s video game synth yummy. there’s something so dancy about this and god the vibrato and INSANELY nice drums????

let me introduce you to the family

OH FAST DRUMS LETS GO!!! ooooo this bass? is it bass? descending thing is so intriguing! faaaast guitar playing a really fun ear catching riff that’s like. this really is so experimental here. okay there’s some freddie m rasp at some parts which are really interesting and then the harmonies and layering of the vocals in the chorus are crazy! that bass is so consistent and so clear and great!!! ohhhh switch up that RIFF babes!!! it’s all very like buzzy fuzzy yum! ohhh TURN up the volume on the vocals add another lil keyboard thing this is sooooooo intricate!! ECHO on the voice for the fade-out ending with a drum beat to end everything!

ain’t nothin’ to it

ohhhhh that guitar is yummy. drums go hard in this beginning. BASS I HEAR YOU BABY YOU SHINE!! these vocals are so fun and sassy!! oh that odd lil dissonance in parts of this song is so cool??? and the lil changes in riffs and pitches sound really cool <3 ohhhhh BREAKDOWN lets gooooooo!!!! fuck it up instrumental section!!! BASS AND DRUMS ONLY OH LETS GO!!! this is really cool i’m obsessed. ohhhhh????? ohhhhhhhhhhhhh guitar little staccato notes??? this repeating instrumental part is so intriguing colour feel taste wise??? it’s so dark and a little unsettling with the occasional flatness but it’s nice????

the man they love to hate

BUZZY KEYS LETS GO !!! god. goddddd. that bass goes so hard. ohhhh crunchy soar on that guitar is so nice. drums going HARD. echoing lil keys are fun!! talk vocals as always are so fun !!! PITCH UP LETS GO !!! uplift meeee !!! back to the really punchy instrumentals on top of those buzzy keys that add such an interesting texture!! some little sweeping synthy kind of cymbal effect? ohhhhh. this is so fun !!! also the little whispered backing vox are fuuuuucking scrumptious! oh jesus it’s getting darker babes…… in tone in lyrics and then right back to light???? what in the world how is this this way. GUITAR FUCK IT UP cute lil solo! ohhhhh PLAYING WITH SHADE AGAIN THIS IS SO…… those lowest instrumental notes are so deep and fat and intriguing.

pin up

fucking insane drums i love you. ohhh??? xylophone-esque twinkly keys? GUITAR THERE YOU ARE BABY! sounds crunchy and thin but in such an atmospheric way! the “oooohhh”s are really nice with the bit of reverb on it??? this is such a fun little song? those twinkly xylophone sounds are back i love!!! the instruments are so so good at melding together so that those lil keys are picked out of the fold so well???

it only takes two to tango

ohhhhhhhh this is such a fun little intro… i don’t know what the name of this stylistic choice is but it’s like someone swinging you around with the drums bass guitar and then you get layered talk vocals with a BEAUTIFUL ascending like… quartet harmony going on. this is so fun!!! warbling keys again they’re so good at atmospheric sounds here. also sorry those harmonies are needed inside my bloodstream stat! OH KEY CHANGE! uh ohhhhh bestie the dissonance is back in the vocals but not in the instrumental i kinda love the effect??? faaaaaaat guitar just swingin around <3 OH the warbling is so interesting looking slightly more haunting as it progresses! LITTLE DRUMMER BOY GOING OFF WITH A FUN LIL HIGHER PLUCKED GUITAR RIFF? this is so….

golden brown

THIS IS MY BABY ONE OF MY FAVOURITE SONGS !!!!!! HARPSICHORD WHAT THE FUCK!!!! also with a bassy keyboard behind it! god his vocals in this are so buttery so yummy with just a hint of nasality? also god this fuckin time signature is all fucked the harpsichord is playing in a completely different time. bass and drums come into the fold so carefully subtly it’s beautiful. everything is just a little heavier but it’s still so light and mysterious and plain cool??? guitarrrrrrrrrrrr oh the reverby echo???? this solo always gets me !!!! ohhhhhh vocalisation that’s so echoey and sooooooo otherworldly is insane. the deepness and the layering of it is Fucked. this is truly such a soundscape AGAIN! chu bee fair idk how they’re so in sync when the times are so different.

how to find love and happiness in the present day

ohhhhhh this is different. screechy little synthy things going on to more spoken vocals with an insane lil bass trying going on? so sectioned with the vocals and instruments it’s really cool!!! the layering of the guitar pitches are so nice. AH TWANGY GUITAR mixed with some bongo vibes!!!! nah this is so fun!!! ohhhh these lil drum things sound like trickling raindrops. not sure what exactly they are but it adds such a cool effect. god that high frequency synth solo what the fuck !!!!! so insane so sick!!! ohhhh it fluctuates so nicely and smoothly between notes. descending vocal line with fuzz and partially covered by the instrumentals TO A FADEOUT

la folie

Oh This Is Grand. this intro is so beautiful???? what sounds like strings (made with keyboard) with a high smooth guitar part with echoey reverb and bass. OH ITS A SPOKEN PART IN FRENCH. beautiful. these words are so lonely and beautiful too and that’s conveyed so well with the effects placed on the voice itself? drums………. god this is so twin peaks right now !!!! DEEP SUNG VOCALS WHISPERING. back to spoken word with the bass getting a deeper sweeping moment??? oh beautiful deep staccato notes. there’s such a cool effect put on his voice this is….. really cool. the stringy synths really paint the background of this with colour. OHHHH high synthy parts joining the mix in a fun little flourish!!!! that bass…….. is so genuinely yummy holy goooood. spoken word so cinematic and lovely. the “la folie” being sung so deeply and whispery is so nice and comforting….. i love this. beauty guitar part at the end so soft so nice so echoey. drums holding down the fort so well UGH.

thoughts: okay. okay. i was genuinely surprised at how varied and genuinely INTERESTING this album was? like the tempo variations the key changes the instruments used the shifting parts the vocals and the USE of all of it to set tone? the tone itself was also so insane and has to be mentioned because there was so much interplay with shadow and light in each song?????????? incredible. i know talk-singing isn’t for everyone but i think it’s cinematic and cheeky and fun so i loved it. l o v e d. genuinely surprised at this guys!!!

#la folie #the stranglers #spotify #album recs #album review #turntable takes <3

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aquateenpatrolsomethingshowshow · 5 months

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ok so i dont feel like doing a full on review of the new episode so im just gonna make bullet points of the high lights and things that stuck out to me lmao

((contents spoilers below))

• still love that intro its so fucking awesome

• still loving the upgraded animation its so fluent and beautiful but still maintains that classic “aqua teen” look

• ok but shake is kinda hot in that outfit ngl

• shake looks like literally every millennial in my town and especially the ones that go to the coffee shops in my area lol

• MEATWAD IN THE FUCKING HIGH CHAIR IM CRYING

• “its spelled with a g cuz disney owns it” 💀💀

• “hoverboard” and its the fucking roomba 💀

• this is literally clone high istg with the self aware roombas istg /j

• all the robots had little hands that kinda looked like shakes thats so cute

• his whole rant about drinking the cream had me dead

• “its an easy fix tanner” BFNFCFNGFVX bro has beef with tanner lmao

• “master shaken not stirred” ok but that cream work was fucking bad ass

• bro literally had robots write his movie for him thats literally what it felt like when i would be paired with ppl for school projects and i had to do all the work for them but they still take credit for it 😭💀🙄

• DAMN BRO chill out with the coffee

• “script title” thats so shake

• bro literally just called his characters “boy 1” and “boy 2” 😭😭

• “i dont drink coffee its makes me uhh..” IT MAKES YOU WHAT FRYLOCK?!?! • oh hi theres more robots

• MEATWAD HANGING OUT WITH THE ROBOTS THATS SO CUTE TWO OF MY FAV THINGS TOGETHER AND THE SIPPING AND SWIRLING THE COFFEE AROUND MOTIONS WERE SO CUTE TF

• “a relationship of a gummy bear and candy cane” 🥺🥺🥺🥺

• THE MICHAEL CAINE ROBOT IS SO CUTE I LOVE HIM HIS LITTLE GLASSES AND ACCENT I CANT

• “the movie” at carls 🙄🙄🙄

• MEATWAD COVERING HIS EYES CUZ HES NOT ALLOWED TO SEE THAT STUFF 🥺🥺🥺 ARE THEY TRYING TO MAKE ME GET EMOTIONAL OVER HIM?!?! /nm ((love the nod/continuity of meatwad not being able to see that type of stuff tho))

• MOVIE TIME

• WHY DOES THE MOVIE LOOK LIKE THOSE OLD QUIZNOS COMMERCIALS HELP YALL KNOW WHICH ONES I MEAN 💀💀💀

• LOOK AT MEATWAD HES SHIELDING HIS EYES AGAIN HES SO PRECIOUS I CANT

• “easy with the hands love” 💀💀💀 I LOVE THAT HE CALLS EVERYONE LOVE CUZ HES BRI’ISH

• WHERE DID FRYLOCK GET THE MONEY TO GET A LITERAL IPHONE FUCKING 15?! DAMN BRO

• NO WAY YALL THEY GOT A ROBOT OF THE GUY FROM THE WEAPON OF CHOICE MUSIC VIDEO 😱😱😱 ((/t ik its christopher walken lol))

• HOLY SHIT IS THAT MR FUCKING BUTLERTRON I CANT BELIEVE THEY PUT MR B FROM THE HIT SERIES CLONE HIGH IN ATHF 😱😱😱 /j

• “and michael richards” THE MICHAEL RICHARDS??? COSMO KRAMER MICHAEL RICHARDS?!?!

• “now i can make toast in another city” said no one ever AND BOI WHERE YOU GOING ANYWAY YOURE POOR

• HOW DARE YOU DENY THE BABEY BOY TOAST

• bro literally just killed all the robots 0s and 1s are like robot poison lol

• classic athf to just blow up the house lmao

• DAMN THAT LEAF TRANSITION WAS SO GOOD AND PRETTY

• “sticks and hicks” lmao

• it looks so peaceful up there kinda reminds me of that one og emma chamberlain video where her and her dad go to her grandparents house in the literal woods lmao

• “read some books, play some board games, make some s’mores” that sounds so cozy and im just picturing them all doing that and its so cute

• “no wifi? im going back to the robots” thats an honest to god mood

• IS THIS THE FUCKING TRANSFORMERS?! /j

AND SCENE

ngl the most recent episode wasnt the best out of the 3 so far tbh but it wasnt horrible probably give it like a 6 or 7 out of 10 i also like how they do the credits over the episode it gives them more of the episode to do but also ends in a way thats still very “aqua teen” if that makes sense

also wish they did more with them out in the country and like maybe doing something at a regular cabin instead of the robot in disguise ((which ik was the joke/point of how it ended)) but still that wouldve been really wholesome

#athf #aqua teen #aqua teen hunger force #master shake #meatwad #frylock #carl brutananadilewski #athf spoilers #spoilers #season 12

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pancitmousse · 1 year

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Thoughts on Holostars Tempus (New Members)

Gavis Bettel

First Impressions: honestly his design doesn’t really appeal to me. my friend said he looked like a TWST chara but honestly i can’t see it based off what I know about that game. also his name makes me think of betel nuts. that said i like the little skits he did for his pre-debut vids.

Debut: he has a very… “bro-ish” voice lol. also he’s talking really fast. idk if it’s bc of the nerves or not. pulling out the slide out of his hat was very creative ngl. betel nut man confirmed. idk what to make of his comedy, it’s good but not really to my taste. he’s really loud so i probably wont watch him much or my ears may explode. mascot is cute tho ig. purple likers based. also… this guy laughs at his own jokes? at least he loves himself so good ig? actually nvm he doesn’t RIP. fuck cockroaches tho. he plans to do drinking streams? oh god i can’t imagine how chaotic he’ll be on alcohol. also he can’t cook?! dear lord. omg that catwalk is pretty af. also his design has grown on me, bro jumped out of an otome LMAO.

Machina X Flayon

First Impressions: he looks like a tiny little apple 🍎. baby boy, baby (or is he? i didn’t follow these guys on twt so i wouldn’t know). but lmao at that edgy-ass name 🖤🥀⛓. then again one of my oshis also has a chuuni name (but its in japanese so my monolingual ass can ignore it kek) so i can’t really judge. it seems the name was chosen to fit with the design as it is more overt abt the sci-fi stuff than all the others. friend said he looked like an edgy und3rt4le oc and while i get the edgy oc part i don’t get the und3rt4le part. his skits were frankly amazing and i don’t think anyone can top them.

Debut: that intro screen is so cute oml. also the logo bounces around like a tv on standby thats really neat! music is cool too! omg he did a “behhh” i like him alr! his lore video was nice and funny too. if im not mistaken he’s the first tempus member to have a dedicated lore vid right? now that i’m hearing his natural voice it sounds really pleasant! must protecc. i may be shorter but im calling him short anyways for lols. he looks cute when he’s angry www. his layouts are pr creative i love this man. he screams loud but its okay he is babi. vegetable dislikers are based and no one can tell me otherwise. if this is him at low energy, how would he be at high energy? headpats tskr. outro is cool.

Banzoin Hakka

First Impressions: pretty boy. purple is my favorite color + most of my oshis are associated with blue so his indigo color just makes me mesmerized. and because of that it would be funny if his voice was deep as hell. my friend said he looked like a jenshin chara and while i do understand that bc jenshin is many people’s first exposure to this kind of fashion… okay yeah he kinda does look like a jenshin chara. instant roll lmao.

Debut: his intro is pretty dope, especially with the music. omg he can do metal screams?!? his voice isn’t deep as hell but its still not what i expected. weirdly enough it still fits. i really like his sense of humor the most so far. he talks at an average speed to me but ppl have said i talk fast so im probably not the best judge i retract my statement he actually does talk fast. OMG A VOCALOID FAN B A S E D. i think i can hear an accent, a pretty thick one at that. yknow what, shinri has competition when it comes to who’ll get demonetized first. my boy drawing with ms paint lmao. probably gonna become my oshi for this wave (?).

Josuji Shinri

First Impressions: the boing boings are on full display. pec nation has won. now we must prepare for the ultimate battle, the battle against demonetization. jokes aside his design is kinda generic imo but if it works it works. also he actually looks slightly older than everyone else so thats a plus. friend said he looked like a himbo and tbh i get that. but from what ik he doesn’t seem like one so far? he’s giving off more “father figure” vibes to me.

Debut: the intro bgm is chill which makes me hope he’ll be chill too. holy shit his voice is really deep, like probably the deepest out of the vtubers i’ve seen so far. i think his laugh is cute. so far the chillest of them all, which admittedly isn’t a hard bar to clear. i do appreciate the simpler debut this time, the other guys production values and ideas were good but this one will definitely age gracefully. daddy (platonic). mans has his priorities in order. the little JRPG section was neat, my friend called it when they said “jrpg vibes”. yet another league player, nobody is perfect. probably won’t watch him much if he goes ahead with the horror stuff bc its not my genre but i appreciate him carving out a little niche for himself.

OVERALL:

I like most of them, but I’m worried the group dynamic may be a bit unbalanced this time around. We got three loud guys and one chill dude, which will be an… interesting combo. These guys seem to have lots of cool ideas and potential, so I would be interested in seeing how they could improve. 8/10 stars, mostly enjoyed the relay.

#holopro #holostars en #holostars tempus #gavis bettel #machina x flayon #banzoin hakka #josuji shinri

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27-royal-teas · 11 months

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For the album ask game: Infinity On High!

ohoho ok so infinity on high is one of my top favorites thank u anon

favorite lyric

it's "signing off im alright in bed, but i'm better with a pen" if that isnt a fucking mood. idk its just a really great line to me. fame < infamy is such a good song. the entirety of golden is also jam packed with fantastic metaphors that are really fun, so that would probably be my favorite song lyrically.

favorite song

I think for this one i'll say takes over breaks over. i love this song so much, seriously. it gets even better with the music video, which shows how they are perceived through a media's lens and kinda makes me tear up, not gonna lie. Also, the intro is so tasty, it's like the definition of crunchy instrumentals.

song that makes me cry

probably thriller just because it sounds like the kind of song you would listen to while leaning against the window of a truck with tears streaming down your face as you sit in the passenger seat speeding down a country road on your way to the city, running away from your family and friends forever. it's a fucking good song though. or golden because it's a good song to cry to

song that's a fucking BOP

thnks fr th mmrs. certified party banger. it was a hit for a reason. also, all this ringing is really great i love it I honestly can’t choose one that’s more a bop than the others

song i dislike/least love

carpal tunnel of love specifically because I still have trauma from watching the mv when I was 11

#fob #fall out boy #toby speaks #toby’s asks #infinity on high

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dwn024 · 1 year

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hellooooo have you ever listened to the tf2 soundtrack? if not i highly recommend you do! <- guy who really likes tf2 and its soundtrack. the whole thing is a banger but some tracks i really like that id suggest you check out are intruder alert, medic!, it hates me so much, saxtons dilemma, & team fortress 2 (main theme) !!!!!!!! they may be different to the kind of music you tend to talk about but id love to hear your thoughts on any of them! big smilesiessss!

TF2 music is SOOOO GOOD i have incidentally heard so much just through being a casual TF2 enjoyer for so long but the soundtrack is just SO goddamn good at setting a tone for the kind of thing they’re going for especially with a lot of it being like, 1960s spy thriller jazz kinda shit with a military flavor in a lot of the rhythm it’s SO GOOD you literally are so right the whole soundtrack is a banger. literally some of the most well composed shit i have heard for a game that is not exaggeration you can clearly tell there is so much love and thought put into the composition and arrangement and instrumentation. also i am going to play the whole thing for my dad cuz this shit’s right up his alley

the way medic!’s intro goes from that angelic choir major chord straight into discordant off-putting minor chords is SUCH a good way of representing the medic as a character who’s like, supposed to be kind of your last hope on the battlefield as the only medical guy but he’s also fucked up and silly. and then the rest of the composition just fucking rules i don’t know what the term for that kinda rhythm that’s like Ba Ba BA BA ba ba Ba Ba is but it works soooo goddamn well i am always a sucker for it + the horns in the back that kinda sound like screaming i just think super suits him plus it rules i love sax IT’S SO SO WELL PUT TOGETHER AS A CHARACTER MOTIF THEME!!!!!!!!

the way it hates me so much transitions from mostly being really chill and upbeat and sounding like hanging out music or something for the whole thing and then suddenly dramatically shifts into those really stressful slow minor chords right at the end is just like a cherry on top especially cuz i think judging by the youtube comments that’s from the expiration date short isn’t it? it works SOOOO WELL for the tone of that thing even without actually watching the short yourself you can tell the tone they’re going for mwah chef’s kiss

the TF2 main theme is just undeniably one of the most iconic songs from Any video game it is so recognizable and the first thing i thought of when you said TF2 OST it’s just such a good motif and i Love that part right before the end where the instruments kind of start to peter out before that final repeat of the motif in a like, almost more triumphant key it’s more really really good characterizing soundtrack cuz it’s like it’s communicating “well the mercs are goin to combat and have a job to do but they are also as a team kinda held together with string. BUT THEY WORK WHEN IT COUNTS” or something like that it’s a really subtle thing in the composition but it’s SOOOOOOOO SO SO SO GODDAMN GOOD

i love when soundtracks both A) are designed to set a specific tone for the work and B) are Really good at characterization it is truly the awesomest shit ever thank you for giving me an opportunity for music autism

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mottemotte · 1 year

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Surveys I Stole!!!!!!!

mostly stolen from lyric mwa mwa

tag yourself: what ice cream flavor are you?

made by lady glamcat ⚜️

chocolate

() your name begins with c.

(x) you have a serious sweet tooth.

() you’re a night owl.

() you like mystery/thriller movies.

(x) you have brown eyes.

() your hobbies include music or art.

total: 2/6

vanilla

() you enjoy taking baths.

(x) you read romance novels.

(x) you have stuffed animals.

(x) you don’t like drama.

(x) you think you’re boring.

(x) your bed sheets are white.

total: 5/6

neapolitan

(x) you’re terrible at making decisions.

(x) you love pop or emo music.

() you’re wearing three different colors.

() your favorite number is 3 or contains a 3.

() you played a sport in school.

() you mix soda flavors together.

total: 2/6

mint chocolate chip

(x) green is your favorite color.

() you have an unusual pet.

(x) you want an electric car.

(x) you often spend time outside.

(x) you brush your teeth 3 times a day.

(x) you enjoy cooking.

total: 5/6

rocky road

(x) you love rock music.

() you workout often.

() you watch reality shows.

() you collect rocks.

(x) you’re kind of messy.

(x) you like vintage things.

total: 3/6

result[s]: THE FACT THAT MINT AND VANILLA ARE MY FAVOURITE FLAVORS TOO. ICONIQUE

also im so torn. do ice baths count for vanilla? and what is an unusual pet. ive had turtles, birds, chinchillas, miniature horses, a near-immortal goldfish, hamsters. also tried to keep a bell cricket once but mom said no

random questions survey

made by jody marie ✿

what is your current ringtone?: if i knew how to set my own, itd be everywhere by fleetwood mac, or the intro of kids by mgmt, but alas im fucking stupid so its the generic "retro love" one my phone came with

what is your zodiac sign?: ur gonna have to try harder than that to get my birthday scrub

what are your preferred pizza toppings?: none :,) im like cheese

are you currently single, in a relationship, or married?: LOL ME? MARRIED? im single never dated. i shoot myself in the foot like its a party trick

do you have any pets? if so, how many? (you can include names if you want): 10+ i cant fucking count!!!!

what is your favorite season?: everytime a new season comes i fall in love with it. ah. the beauty of the spring. and the beauty of the coming summer. could you imagine if we were stuck in one forever. h e l l

how tall are you?: short, but i think im not short enough to be made fun of anymore? i had a mini growth spurt (SOMEHOW?? SO MANY YEARS LATER???? I HIT PUBERTY IN 4TH GRADE) and i learned how to walk in heels nya

what color are your eyes?: guess i kinda outed myself in the last one huh

if you eat salads, what is your preferred salad dressing?: R A N C H but one time i had this rasberry thing that was good but R A N C H

are you a morning person or night owl?: morning dove 🕊️ (i thought that they were morning doves and not mourning doves bc i always saw them when it was just me awake in the morning!!! :,) dude i was so cute)

do you have any tattoos? if so, how many? (you can include what they are of if you want): no and i think if i ever did it would go horribly bc 1. committment issues 2. i have skin issues.

do you have any piercings? if so, how many? (you can include what kind if you want): can you believe i used to be a pussy about pain!!!! i had my ears pierced as an infant (my bio family had a single visit with me and said fuck it, stab her) and i never wanted to get them pierced again UNTIL NOW and i have no idea where to get them done woooooooo

have you ever broken any bones? if so, what did you break?: never bitch!!!!!!

have you ever had any surgeries? if so, what kind?: ive had idek how many dental surgeries. yes im insecure about my teeth (I LITERALLY SAID I BRUSH 3X A DAY I WASNT JOKING)

do you play video games?: DUH i played the classics like loz and pokemon as a kid, nowadays... still loz (i got that limited edition tri-force 3ds when it came out!!!) and hades but mostly sky. i dont have as much time to play anymore :,)

what is the last thing you had to eat?: leftover pizza woooooo.........................

what is the last thing you had to drink?: ORANGE JUICE

what is the last tv show you watched?: intentionally? no idea. against my will? whatever fbi show my parents watch non-stop.

what is the last movie you watched?: i think the breakfast club? it was a while ago...

what is the last song you listened to?: Two Out of Three Ain't Bad

have you ever had braces?: dude my dentists can never agree - i had a retainer/spacer thing for a while, then new dentist said nonono u need braces, then new dentist said nonono u need this removed asap, now my new-new dentist says if i dont want braces at my age he understands but he recommends braces. CAN YALL JUST-

have you ever dyed your hair?: i have virign hair. 10000% untouched. never trimmed, never dyed, never permed or anything but im thinking abt a perm.... just maybe. but if youve ever seen a photo of a victorian woman w her hair down. my hair is genuinely that texture/appearance, just shorter (still long but not on the floor alas)

have you ever rode in an ambulance?: yes, i actually wanted to be a paramedic for a while and i did a ride-along and my car-sickness said FUCK NO (i almost threw up on so many old people you cant imagine)

chinese, mexican, or italian food? (pick one): ITALIAN ITALIAN ITALIAN ITALIAN ITALIAN ITALIAN

what are your plans for tonight?: im thinking abt watching league of their own? or but im a cheerleader. not sure

what are your plans for this weekend?: fuck-all (actually maybe cleaning. but. e w)

why did your last relationship end?: never dated lol. but part of the reason ive never dated is i live in the middle of nowhere, which u think means slim pickings, but what it really means is every time i see someone whos hot i think ayyyyy and then they talk to me and i find out they wear tinfoil hats in their spare time. (this is why my friendships end. yes i think finding out someone is diet racist is an ok reason to drop them)

have you ever been to any concerts?: i actually dont get the appeal of concerts at all? i hate people who sing over the music. like shut the hell up i didnt pay to hear you!!!!!!

what is the last thing you spent money on?: ice cream for my mom :)

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opalseedsy · 1 year

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pinned post time!! this is a generally overview of our boundaries, any info u may need to know, and a brief introduction of our headmates.

quick facts:

we are a traumagenic system

we are bodily 21 years old

we are afab but on average, non-binary

we use they/them irl

we have a very lovely partner :)

we are AuDHD

boundaries/ important info

we don't wish to get into system related (or really any sort of) discourse. if you hold strong beliefs about discourse and are unsure if this means you want to interact w us? feel free to just block us. that is 100% okay, we will not be mad at that.

we are new to understanding that we are a system! so we still have a lot to learn! please excuse any slip ups and feel free to correct us on things like cws/tws, terminology, etc.

we will try to tag anything potentially triggering! we value comfort zones very highly. we might not even post about most intensely triggering topics, as this is a comfort place for us, but everything will be tagged (if u want us to tag something, please shoot us an ask!! its no trouble, really!)

meet the crew! (basic headmate intros, in approximate order of most to least often fronting)

Cypress

They/it/she, adult

interested in spirituality, kinda witchy, the one that makes us exercise (lol), big on gentle self improvement

Protector

headspace home - garden in the back yard, spends the most amount of time outside.

Miki

she/it, adult? Age is not rlly a thing for her

trauma holder?/protector/ emotional regulator?

Head space home - giant aquarium

dorian

they/she, adult

protector??

loves nature and bright sunny places

headspace home - hangs out w cypress in the garden

cecil

they/it, adult

trauma holder, protector (kinda a WTNV introject but not exactly? They've expanded beyond that since developing

generally rlly cheerful and whimsical.

headspace home - not sure yet, mainly livingroom.

rylie

they/he/it, minor/middle

interested in video games, mainly terraria. more anxious and stimmy than the others (also masks much less)

likes grungy type of aesthetic, w goblincore undertones

big fan of bugs, 'trash' animals like raccoons and opossums, and other critters

headspace home - their room. it is dim, decorated w mainly green and dark blue decor, with a lot of trinkets.

icarus

they/he

kinda easily frustrated, a very emotionally responsive headmate. passion for dark academia type aesthetics and productivity, so he gets most of the schoolwork done.

headspace home - large library room, sleeps on top level, hangs out at bottom level reading most of the time.

charlie

he/they/she, adult

traumaholder

interested in crochet, knitting, other crafts. kinda childish, cheerful. our biggest fan of fashion and makeup as a form of self expression. close w owen, sees him as a tough older brother figure.

headspace home - not sure yet, mainly livingroom.

owen

he/they, adult

protector

kinda like if a borzoi was some guy. big fan of music, especially alternative and loud stuff. big sensory seeker so he loves weird food combos B). close w charlie, wants to protect them.

headspace home - not sure yet, mainly livingroom

Nico

They/he, adult

Artist, folky goblincore ish aesthetic.

Headspace home - livingroom? He has his own room but doesn't use it much

i will be editing this post as i figure out more about us as a system!

thank you so much for reading!! have a great day or night!!!

#all of us

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salt-up-to-your-ankles · 2 years

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fuck it im gonna list my favourite los campesinos songs because right now theyre my 2nd favourite band behind crywank and above franz ferdinand and i want to talk about them all the time LMAO and no these arent in a specific order or anything

• the sea is a good place to think of the future - this one isnt really a suprise since its what my usernames based off but i love the song and all the little details like the lyrics and how "perfect symmetry" is said in the exact middle of the song and its mmm i love depressing sad music and some of the themes really hit hard its the perfect mix of crywank-y lyrics but los camp! type songs

• alls well that ends in medias res - i love the original song too but this version specifically i love a bit more mostly because of the acousticness and the extra little lyrics its mgmmgm yeah

• we are beautiful we are doomed - this was one of the first lc! songs i listened to and its the song that got me into the band really and i love it so much dhhshs the intro bit kinda reminds me of video game soundtracks like undertale kinda and the lyrics are really good especially "i cannot emphasise enough that my body is a badly designed poorly put together vessel - i hope my heart goes first" and "you kiss my neck i whisper in your ear: this is my downfall" actually all the lyrics of this song are good

• avocado, baby - very good bassline(?) and the lyrics are great too and good to read into and i love the music video for it theres so much happening and the sound effects and the suit gareths wearing mfhdhshs and also A HEART OF STONE, RIND SO TOUGH ITS CRAZY, THATS WHY THEY CALL ME THE AVOCADO, BABY !!!!!

• miserabilia - oh my god the 2 different voices singing work so well and "shout at the world because the world doesnt love you, lower yourself because you know that youll have to" has to be one of my favourite lyrics ever, if i could learn and perform any song with my friends id definitely wanna do this one because its just so good, its one of my top songs

• my year in lists - funny horny lyrics 😁👍 im joking i love how upbeat the song is then the more calm parts at "i cherish the fondness the day (before) i met you" and also the 2 different singers again make it so good also also the repition of winters coat in this song and knee deep at atp is just hfhdusj 👍👍

• allez les blues - i havent listened to many songs from whole damn body yet but i love this song so much its just so happy and upbeat and the chorus is so catchy dhshss it would make such a good ringtone if i wasnt scared to have lyric songs as my ringtone fhshjss

• c is the heavenly option - okay i know this is a cover BUT i really like how for the "my boyfriend" parts theres a male singer and for the "my girlfriend" parts theres a female singer its really cool dhshshs also the "c c c c c c c is the heavenly option" part at the ends really nice with all the layers of vocals

• this is a flag. there is no wind - firstly the first line is amazing i mean who doesnt wanna start a song with CAN WE ALL PLEASE JUST CALM THE FUCK DOWN secondly the lyrics are really good and theyre good to overthink and read into thirdly the chorus is great fhjdjs

okay i could go on forever and in a lot more detail about more songs but ill end it here i hope you enjoyed LMAO

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dokidokitsuna · 2 years

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Kirby and the Forgotten Land: OST Review✨

I was gonna save this for later, but I’ve been doing a lot more writing than drawing lately...might as well post something in the meantime.

So, I love video game music. ^^ I spend a lot of time collecting it, listening to it, and thinking about it (and making it). And the other day I went through the Forgotten Land OST and started writing out some of my thoughts on the tracks...and before long I ended up with all of this.

Please keep in mind that these are MY opinions...as in, subjective observations from just one human being. You may agree with some of the things I say, and you may disagree with others. This is normal and human, and not cause for alarm. ^^

***I highly recommend playing the relevant tracks on the OST while reading (especially if you haven’t listened to them outside the game yet). ^^ I always do this when I read about people’s thoughts on music; I find it helps me to understand their observations.***

My Personal Favorites:

Through the Tunnel: Cute and upbeat; the first theme I fell in love with. Just hearing that little snare+woodwind intro automatically brings a smile to my face~

Pitch-Black Horror: So unique and entertaining; on a first listen you never really know what it’s gonna do next, which fits the ‘scary haunted house’ theme nicely. ^^ Its sister track, Pitch-Black Valley, is honestly just as good, just with more acoustic instrumentation, if that floats yer boat. I’m partial to electronic sounds myself, so only Horror really gives me the goosebumps~

Burning, Churning Power Plant: Just…EXTREMELY cool and good. ^^ I honestly don’t even care that it’s not another remix of the classic Factory Inspection; this is a fantastic successor theme in its own right. Let the next factory themes copy this one!

Wild Results: I always start to dance whenever this plays. Never get tired of it, despite hearing it in the game a hundred times. Excellent, top tier A++++1000%

Most Popular (i.e. the ones I see other people talking about most often. I feel like I should at least give my thoughts on them…even if I didn’t particularly like them):

Roar of Dedede: Okay, okay, okay; I will admit that it’s VERY energetic and hype; was probably a blast to compose; really makes you want to get on your feet and cheer (maybe they’ll use it during that livestream Kirby concert later…they should). But I dunno, I still feel kinda ‘meh’ about it. ^^; I think it was because all the background stuff took center stage; Dedede’s theme itself is played with the tiniest li’l instrument sounds, almost as if they don’t want it to get in the way of the imposing drums and guitar riffs and orchestra hits. And I like those imposing sounds, but…I mean…shouldn’t it be both? ^^; Shouldn’t we also be rocking to the melody behind all the bells and whistles? Why so subtle…?

Meta Knight, Sword of the Surviving Guardian: It’s…good, I guess… ╯︿╰ I mean, it’s definitely the most interesting of the MK themes we’ve gotten so far, and I like its urgency. But somehow it stops feeling like ‘his’ whenever the trumpets aren’t playing; I think the instrumentation is a little more generic than it needed to be (honestly, Morpho’s theme sounds more like an MK theme than his own…). I will say that the melody is…promising. It’s tight, it’s memorable; it sounds like something that could be ‘his’, even if it didn’t fully deliver this time. I hope HAL will use it to finally give MK some kind of solid sound identity, because I feel like they get a little lost when it comes to him. All his battle themes are so different and none of them really stand out…it would be nice, after 12 years (Epic Yarn), to finally have another MK theme that I actually like.

Two Planets Approach the Roche Limit: Stone me if you wish-- I feel like it was basically the same thing Void Termina had going on, but 75% less effective (and I never really liked V/T’s theme that much either, so…yeah). It’s just so…ambient! :[ If you told me it was actually just background music they used for a cutscene, I’d believe you…and that’s not what I look for in a final boss theme. I don’t want ‘ambient’ at the climax of the game; I want ‘intense’ or at least ‘stirring and memorable’. I do like the intro, but everything after those first 30 seconds is pretty forgettable. :/ If there’s any track I’ll probably associate with Fecto Elfilis going forward, it’s The Fate of Two Worlds-- despite being little more than a 30-second loop, I feel like it contains much more genuine emotion. My dream F/E theme would be THAT, but more and BETTER.

Welcome to the New World!: Believe it or not, I actually DO like this one. I didn’t really want to at first, but it’s so damn catchy. ^^ Plus, it’s got its melody inserted into a good third of the whole OST; you’re kind of trained to like it whether you want to or not. XD I’m curious about how it was produced, though…I want to think they just had the singer come in and sing gibberish (like for Splatoon music) but some of those syllables sound STRIKINGLY close to the Japanese words for the actual lyrics. And during some of the fast-tempo parts the vocals sound artificially cut together…it’s almost as if they used three different methods to make the song:

A: Have the singer sing gibberish

B: Have the singer sing slightly-garbled Japanese

C: Have the singer sing…something, then edit it into appropriate gibberish in post

But, like, why all three?? Why not just use one method?? Am I just hearing things??? This mystery is going to plague me for the rest of my life…>_<

Honorable Mentions:

HAL Room 2: This is a bit personal இ௰இ The Star Allies part was plenty nostalgic on its own, but then when it switches to the Kirby Fighters 2 theme இ௰இ இ௰இ I spent a lot of time listening to that while working on the DreamAll AU in my last semester of college இ௰இ இ௰இ இ௰இ and I just (;´༎ຶД༎ຶ`)

Morpho Knight: WAY better than the first one. ^^ It’s actually a lot of fun to listen to; I was very pleasantly surprised…and I hope this is how Morpho’s themes will be going forward: combinations of his own simple motif with the main theme of the game.

Abandoned Beach: Not only is this a great theme, I like how it’s placed early enough to teach you what the name of the game is for this OST: songs composed specifically to bring back memories of earlier songs. I think this is the most obvious one, being a clear rearrange of Float Islands-- most of the other themes that do this have much more subtle inspirations. A certain instrumentation, or a familiar motif or beat…if you’re a Kirby music buff, I encourage you to try to figure out what your favorite Forgotten Land soundtracks might have been based on. ;D

EVERY SINGLE WONDARIA THEME: They’re definitely ALL in my top 20 Forgotten Land themes. ^^ That whole area is so pleasant and fun and succeeds amazingly at making you feel nostalgic for a time and place you never lived in…and the music is a big part of that success. Years from now, I’m pretty certain these are going to be the tracks I remember most from this game.

All the Waddle Dee Town themes: Including the minigame themes! None of them are really stand-out favorites to me, but they’re still so cute, and they make you feel safe and warm. ^^ I love Waddle Dee Town! I want one in every game! I WANT ONE IN REAL LIFE TToTT

#kirby and the forgotten land #forgotten land spoilers #music #ost #vgm

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lucemferto · 3 years

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WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT PH1LZA (or Why Philza is a Victim of Narrative Circumstance)

Heyo! Per request I am posting the script to my video of the same name here on tumblr. I must warn you that just reading the script will probably not give you the full experience, so I would encourage you to watch the video (linked above).

There might also still be a lot of grammatical errors in the text, because I don’t proofread.

Intro

LAST TIME ON LUCEM FERTO

Okay, so! I don’t want this to turn into a reaction channel OR a Dream SMP channel for that matter! [echo]

Well, I lied.

[Intro to “Luc is pretentious about the funny blockmen. Episode 2”]

I swear, I’m working on other stuff. It’s just that my dumb lizard brain has only capacity for one interest at a time!

So, something you might not know about me, is that I am on tumblr – who am I kidding, most of you will know me from tumblr. Before starting this whole YouTube thing, I thought that website died years ago – but as per usual reality proves me wrong. I’m also on Twitter and Reddit, but I get the most engagement on tumblr – by far! – and I need those sweet, sweet numbers for the serotonin!

Anyways, one of my favourite past-times on tumblr is to razz Philza Hardcore Minecraft – that’s his full name – for being a frankly awful father [clicking away] – wait, wait, no! Philza fans, this isn’t a hit piece on him, I promise! Please come back!

This is video is meant to be a companion piece to my previous video about Technoblade and the Doomsday event – you can tell by the shared nomenclature – so you should probably watch that one before you proceed. Unless you don’t want to, which is also perfectly understandable.

DISCLAIMER: This video is mostly about the character Philza plays on the Dream SMP. Whenever I talk about the content creator Philza, I will say so properly. Also, Spoiler Warning for Dream SMP Season 2.

… What is that? You’re wondering what the Dream SMP is? Well, if you had just watched the other video like I told you to do, you would know, because I explained it pretty well there. But in case you don’t know, here’s the cliff notes.

Dream SMP is the hottest New Media Series on Twitch right now! It has it all: gaslighting, child soldiers, Machiavellian political intrigue, Hamilton roleplay, desecration of the dead, shounen protagonists, SO! MUCH! AMNESIA! Filicide, furries, a red egg that’s definitely homophobic and teenagers inventing nuclear warfare. And it’s all done in Minecraft – yes, the funny block game where the only way to emote is to crouch.

And you say the perfect brief doesn’t exist!

Now, you might be wondering, why do I want to talk about this? Well, it’s because Content Creator Philza is one of least controversial internet personalities that I can think of. That man exudes pure comfort. So, it’s just very, very amusing to me that his character became one of the most controversial figures on the SMP, only outshone by Tommy and Technoblade.

And it’s not just amusing, it’s also extremely interesting! I want to dig deep to uncover and discuss the dynamics behind why that is. How did it come to this point? How did a man who appears genuinely so pleasant create a character that inspires so much discourse!

Now, if you watched that Technoblade video – like I told you to twice now! – you might know, that I am the resident character analyses hater of fandom! And that impression is false and slanderous! Don’t tell other people that I hate character analyses! I love them!

It’s just that, in the Dream SMP in particular, there is an abundance of character analyses! Every streamer has at least two very good essays written about them, exploring every possible angle to view their characters and backgrounds and everything. All I’m saying is: I don’t have anything to add on that front.

So, instead I want to pursue a different approach – something, that I feel is a bit underrepresented in the fandom! And I’m not just talking narrative analysis – that’s right, this episode we’re going even more pretentious! – I’m talking Transtextual Analysis!

Now, what is Transtextuality? Well, unfortunately it has very little to do with actual Trans people – #transrights, just in case that wasn’t obvious – but instead describes a mode of analysis with which to put – to quote French literary theorist Gérard Genette – “the text in a relationship, whether obvious or concealed, with other texts”.

Basically, you know how the L’Manburg War of Independence heavily quotes and borrows from the hit musical Hamilton? That’s transtextuality! A lot of the analyses surrounding how Tommy mirrors the Greek hero Theseus, who was invoked by Technoblade multiple times in the series, are already doing transtextual analysis! So, it’s really not something that’s new to the Dream SMP fandom.

But how does this apply to Philza and how he is looked at and judged by his parental skills? Well, there are multiple forms of transtextuality, two of which we will discuss today.

But before we continue, I gotta do that annoying YouTuber thing. I know these videos don’t look like much, but I spend a really long time making them. I work fulltime and I try my best to keep up, but sometimes I can’t. So please, like, subscribe, comment to give me some algorithm juice – I really need it – and most importantly share it! Share it with your friends, share it with your family – I’m sure Grandma is very interested in what I have to say about Philza Minecraft.

And I’m trying to be better! If I sound at all different for this video, it’s because I finally bought a new pop filter, so I can hit my plosives without it sounding like there’s a thunderstorm in my room. I hope it makes a difference; it was a very cheap pop filter, so maybe it doesn’t. Maybe it sounds worse – that would be bad!

What was I talking about? Oh yeah, CHILD NEGLEGT!

Intertextuality: Why is Dadza?

You know what’s really interesting about the Dream SMP – aside from, you know, most things about it? Very few of the characters have concrete, fleshed-out backstories – and that’s pretty weird! In no other medium or genre could you get away with something like that – at least for long-form storytelling!

So, how does Dream SMP get away with this? Well, it’s because every character on the Dream SMP is basically a self-insert – and I don’t mean that in the “This character is based on me”-kinda way, but in the “This character, for all intents and purposes, is me!”-way. This, like many things that are fascinating about the Dream SMP, is owed to the fact that this series didn’t start off as a continuous drama – it started off as a Let’s Play.

And while we can talk about how someone’s on-camera/on-mic persona is in some ways a character, it’s still miles off of being an actual, fully-realized, separate character in a storyline.

This is where Intertextuality comes in.

Intertextuality is a subset of Transtextuality. It describes how the hypertext, which is the text, you’re currently engaged with, uses another text, the hypotext, to supplement itself. The interconnection the hypertext establishes with the hypotext, through stuff like allusion for example, uh-hum [Hamilton], can colour how an audience interprets the hypertext. Basically, Hamilton and Theseus are the hypotexts; the Dream SMP is the hypertext.

So, what does this have to do with backstory? Simple: The backstories of the characters in the Dream SMP consist basically of nothing but intertextual references. Through intertextuality their content effectively substitutes their character’s backstory.

You can see it everywhere. Wilbur’s and Schlatt’s relationship and rivalry is hugely enriched, if you are aware of their shared history like SMPLive, for example – I think anyway. I haven’t watched SMPLive, because … there’s only so many hours in the day and I cannot keep up with the Dream SMP and catch up on SMPLive and live a healthy life – which I already don’t do, so…

BadBoyHalo’s and Skeppy’s relationship, which has become the crux of the Crimson-Storyline of Seasons 2 and 3, is hugely supplemented if you know that they’re also very close as streamers and in real life.

Another great example of intertextuality is basically Technoblade’s entire deal. If you just look at him completely within the text of the Dream SMP and try to transplant his entrance to any other medium: It would be extremely weird! Like, he’s just this guy that comes in in the middle of a very climatic arc, no build-up, no explanation what his deal is, and he’s treated like he has always been there. In any other medium that just wouldn’t work – at least not without a flashback or some sort of exposition!

But because of stuff like Minecraft Mondays, the Potato Wars, his Duel against Dream and SMPEarth, we understand that he is a Big Deal!

Anyways, to bring all of this back to Philza Minecraft: What kind of hypotext informs how the audience sees his character? Well, this is where I will have to talk about SBI.

SBI is an acronym that stand for State Bank of India, the 43rd largest bank in the world and…

It also stands for Sleepy Bois Incorporated. Sleepy Bois Incorporated is a loose assembly of content creators, consisting of Philza, Wilbur Soot, TommyInnit and Technoblade. It is most well-known for its very endearing family dynamic – a dynamic that is frequently acknowledged and played up by the creators involved. Tommy is the youngest brother, Wilbur and Techno are the two older brothers and Philza is of course the dad. And when I say, it’s played up, I really mean it! Wilbur seems to be especially enamoured with the idea and leaves no opportunity untaken to bring it up – which we will come back to.

And I’m not saying that they’re faking this and this is somehow an act. While I know none of these people personally, it appears to me, that this is genuinely how they interact – if a little exaggerated for the streaming experience. Even when they’re not consciously playing into the family dynamic, their interactions still very much lend themselves to that interpretation by the viewers.

Philza especially just radiates Dad-Friend energy – so much so that it has become a huge part of his brand identity – yay, I can bring that back (check out my Christmas video if you want to hear me ramble about that). The nickname Dadza stuck even before SBI was a thing.

So, even if we completely disregard SBI – which we shouldn’t for reasons I’ll get back to – Philza has cultivated an image of strong paternal guidance. He is, in my opinion completely deservedly, regarded very positively. He is highly respected and in turn seen as a voice of reason.

All of this would eventually inform the hypotext of the character Philza within Dream SMP.

Interlude: Before Dadza & November 16th

Okay, so now we have established that a) Dream SMP heavily hinges on intertextual readings by the audience to supplement character backstory and b) that Philza’s entire deal is that he’s the dad-friend – more specifically that he’s the dad of SBI (not the bank). I think you know where this is going.

So, yeah, ever since it was on the table that Philza could join the Dream SMP, it was immediately assumed that he would take on the paternal guardian role all these traumatized people on that server so desperately needed – and with good reason! Like I said before, the audience at this point was trained to take intertextual interpretations as basically canon or at the very least canon-adjacent.

I want to emphasize that this is most likely not done deliberately. I’m sure content creators Wilbur and Philza didn’t sit there and said: “Yes! We will rely entirely on the audience’s inclination to interpret our characters intertextually to define character Philza!”. Like, obviously that did not happen.

But it’s also important to remember that unlike with traditional media and the fanbases cultivated there, the separation between the Dream SMP and its audience is almost non-existent – and purposely so. The story events are streamed live, Chats are acknowledged in canon and even outside of livestreams creators are extremely involved with the fandom. So, the weight of fan-expectations is equally amplified and will more likely be incorporated into the writing process. Case in point:

[Wilbur “I miss Philza”/Philza about Wilbur]

During Wilbur’s villain arc, even before his official involvement, Philza became a prevalent point of discussion. The hope that he would be the one to snap Wilbur out of his downward spiral was not only wish-fulfilment on behalf of the fans; it also very much played off of the intertextual reading of the SBI-dynamic in relation to the Dream SMP.

Of course, this still doesn’t make Philza and Wilbur canonically blood-related – but it definitely used the “paternal”-dynamic of SBI to build-up tension and drama.

And that ultimately brings us to November 16th. The Grand Finale of Season 1 and Philza’s first canonical appearance on the SMP.

Now, for this I want to pull back from the transtextual analysis and talk about simply narrative analysis: What is Philza’s narrative purpose on November 16th?

Philza serves as the last threshold on Wilbur’s Villain’s Journey – to appropriate Vogler’s version of the monomyth for a minute here – he is what Vogler calls the “Threshold Guardian”. He is the last enemy the Hero faces before completing his quest – in this particular case Wilbur’s quest is to blow up L’Manberg. Multiple people have at this point tried to dissuade him from this course of action: Tommy, Quackity, Niki and others. So how come this Philza moment is not redundant in terms of dynamics compared to these prior scenes?

Well, it’s through our intertextual understanding of Wilbur’s and Phil’s relationship. Because Philza does not just occupy the role of the Threshold Guardian – he is also implicitly the Mentor. Before Phil there was no character in the storyline that held a higher position of moral authority than Wilbur – Dream and Schlatt, while at points more powerful in terms of actual authority, were never positioned by the narrative as Wilbur’s superiors in the same way as Wilbur was to Tommy, Tubbo or even Niki.

Before November 16th all challenges Wilbur faced were from people narratively subordinated to him. But that trend is broken with Phil. That is why he is the Threshold Guardian, why this confrontation is at the climax of Wilbur’s arc. Because Phil is the last thing tethering Wilbur to whatever morality he held before his villain arc; Phil is the last, moral obstacle Wilbur has to discard before gaining his reward.

And, just a quick sidenote, because I’ve seen it around the fandom a bunch: When I’m referring to Wilbur denouncing his morality, I’m using that in terms of narrative analysis. I’m mentioning it, because Wilbur’s character can very easily be read as mentally ill or neurodivergent and some people have – rightly! – pointed out that the excessive vilifying when talking about his character is … problematic, to say the least.

So, I just want to make clear, this isn’t a character analysis, I’m being purposely broad when talking about Wilbur and Phil.

In the end, Wilbur takes that final step and gets his “reward”: As his final request his mentor takes his life and vanquishes the evil – the dragon of Wilbur’s story slays the dragon of L’Manburg. It’s very Shakespearean in its tragedy – but beyond the larger theatrics it’s not really used to further characterize Phil – at least in the context of Season 1. There’s not a lot of focus on his characters internal conflict during November 16th.

Phil, like Techno, is very utilitarian in how content creator Wilbur writes him: He serves as a moment of hype; an obstacle Wilbur has to face; a participant in the tragic climax of Wilbur’s character and ultimately takes on his implicit and expected role of mentor and guiding figure to the rest of L’Manburg.

I think not a lot of people talk about how Philza does not join Technoblade during November 16th. He takes the side of L’Manburg – he fights against the withers and he joins Tommy, Tubbo and the others at the L’Mantree, thus framing him as loyal to the L’Manburg administration – even though Season 2 would make his loyalty to Techno central to his character. But more on that later.

What’s also important about November 16th is that this is the day when the general intertextual interpretation became canonized text.

[You’re my son!]

Wilbur is made Phil’s canonical, biological son. The intertextual interpretation of SBI as it pertains to these two characters on the SMP was completely reinforced by the narrative. Or to put it in Fandom terms: The headcanon became actual canon. At least when it came to Wilbur … but what about Philza’s “other” children?

Well, that leads to our second form of transtextual analysis:

Paratextuality: Is Dadza?

These titles are just getting better and better.

The Paratext is defined as all those things in a published work that accompany the text. It comes in two forms: One of them is the Peritext, which are non-diegetic elements directly surrounding the text – like chapter titles, author’s notes, and stuff like that. Translated to the medium of the Dream SMP, it would be stuff like this:

[Examples]

And, trust me, I could make a whole separate video about how people on the SMP use their peritext as a tool for storytelling – I’m looking at you, Ranboo – but that’s not what we will talk about in the context of Dadza.

Instead, we will focus on the second form of Paratext, the Epitext, which consists of all authorial and editorial discussions taking place outside of the text. That’s stuff like interviews, private letters or J. K. Rowling’s Twitter Account – you know, before she decided to become a full-time asshole.

[Wilbur: Transrights]

After Season 1 ended, Wilbur indulged pretty heavily in providing epitext for the Dream SMP, something he had not done prior to November 16th. His paratextual additions ranged from the playful, like assigning DnD alignments to various SMP members, to the extremely impactful, like the whole three lives system!

You probably think, you know where this is going. Wilbur provided some epitext about how Tommy and Techno either are or are not biologically related to him … and I have to be honest I thought that too. But then I began looking into the impenetrable web that is the SBI-canon on the Dream SMP and found this!

[Ghostbur explains family]

So, it wasn’t paratext, it was just straight text. Said in character, in canon, without any implication that we the viewers should question this. The text of the SBI family dynamic was explicitly linked to Dream SMP-exclusive lore, namely Fundy being Wilbur’s and Sally the Salmon’s son. This is as clear as Philza’s anguished declaration on November 16th in establishing the intertext as text. And because Wilbur also had a very heavy hand in the discussion of paratext around that time, it gave his character’s words even more “canonical” weight. Metatextually speaking, this very much read like the author giving exposition through his character – exposition that we should understand as reliable.

And, by the way, before I continue, I need to give a huge, huge shoutout to kateis-cakeis on tumblr, I hope I pronounced that right, who was just so quick in providing me with these crucial clips. Without him I would have looked for days because these people don’t archive their shit! And the Dream SMP Wiki was NO help, by the way! I love what you guys do, but stuff like this belongs in the Trivia section on characters’ pages!

Anyways, basically during the entirety of early Season 2 the SBI family dynamic was basically canon to the SMP. Sometimes it was only alluded implicitly, again letting the intertext fill out the rest.

[Philza clips]

But just as often it was just explicitly talked about – both in the text and in the paratext.

[Fundy clip/Wilbur “Twins” clip/Tommy clip]

So, I know what you’re thinking: “Why is this part called paratext, if the entire family tree is just textual”. Well, that last clip might give you a hint, as to what I will talk about. Notice how Tommy, one of the people most directly impacted by the canonization of SBI lore, is both unaware of and seems generally unenthused about it, to put it nicely? Well, that would soon turn out to be a much bigger deal than anyone could have imagined as he wasn’t the only one.

[Technoblade decanonizes SBI]

Yeah …

This happened on 20th of December. Regular viewers of this channel will remember that I put out a 90-second joke video, where I complain about this very development. And while I was mostly kidding around, the core idea is still true. The paratext provided by Technoblade and established text were in direct contradiction with one another – and that brought a lot of confusion into the fandom. Confusion, that would soon be followed by frustration.

Because Techno only decanonized himself as part of the SBI family dynamic – but what about Tommy and Tubbo, the latter of which was incorporated into the dynamic exclusively within the lore of the Dream SMP. Was this still canon or wasn’t it?

What followed was a muddled mess of contradictions, intertextual implications, text and paratext in conflict with each another. It was for the most part inscrutable to figure out how Tommy and Philza related to one another. I’ll spare you every comment made about this – mostly because I want to spare myself from looking for all of them.

In the end, the current status is that their familial relationship is … unclear. Philza said, again in paratext, that it’s ultimately up to the writers to decide, whether or not Tommy is his son … which, I personally think he and Tommy should be the ones to establish that, but I’ll come back to that later.

But why is all of this important anyway? Why would this ambiguity create such an uproar, such controversy – especially when it comes to Tommy’s character? What makes Tommy’s and Philza’s relationship such a target for discussion in the fandom?

Well … this is where we will have to talk about the storyline of Season 2.

Interlude II: Tommy’s Exile and Dadza in Season 2

Okay, Season 2. This is where the spoilers are, so I will just sneakily drop this again. It took me five seconds to google this gif and I will milk it for every penny it’s worth!

At the beginning of Season 2, Philza’s narrative role has not changed much from where Season 1 ended. He is in L’Manburg dispensing earthly wisdom, being a paternal figure to Fundy, Ghostbur and Tubbo, helping with the nation’s rebuilding efforts; just generally occupying the role of the mentor.

[clips]

And then came … the Exile. The Exile Arc took place between December 3rd and December 15th during Season 2 of the Dream SMP. It revolves around TommyInnit getting exiled from L’Manburg and slowly getting psychologically tortured and broken down by Dream. It’s a really great arc, at least in my opinion, that explores and deepens a lot of Tommy’s character relationships, whether that be Tommy and Dream, Tommy and Tubbo or Tommy and Ranboo. One relationship, however, is noticeably missing.

So, yeah, Philza spends basically the entirety of the exile doing pretty much nothing of consequence. And that’s not a problem specific to him – One big criticism I would levy against the Exile Arc is that a lot of characters are left spinning their wheels. Which is why we get zany stuff like El Rapids, Drywaters, Eret’s Knights of the Roundtable, Boomerville – anyone remember Boomerville, that was a thing for 5 seconds, wasn’t it? – basically a lot of storylines are started and then unceremoniously dropped. Now, I will talk more about this, when I make a video about Season 2 of the Dream SMP … in ten years, look forward to it.

In the case of Philza, this inaction was especially damning, because at this point it was still a considered canon that he was Tommy’s dad. So, the fans were left with a situation, where just a few weeks prior Philza was occupying a paternal role for Fundy and Ghostbur … but now, that his youngest son was in a very concerning predicament – to put it lightly – he was nowhere to be found.

So why is that?

Well, the most obvious answer is that Dream and Tommy didn’t write him into the storyline. We’ve seen that Tommy wasn’t particularly interested in exploring a familial relationship to Philza, at least at the time. And it would just not fit in with what Dream and Tommy tried to do with the Exile Arc: they wanted to tell the story of Tommy being isolated, completely under Dream’s mercy, slowly worn down and manipulated. If Philza had been constant presence for Tommy during that time, it would have definitely shifted the narrative focus. That doesn’t mean that they couldn’t have done that, it’s just a matter of fact that they didn’t.

This also reveals another truth about content creator Philza’s character work, that I think is extremely crucial: He takes what the writers give him. Outside of a few choice moments, he doesn’t seem particularly interested in expanding or even solidifying his character on the SMP.

What I’m saying is that he is very go-with-the-flow: Wilbur wants to enact a Shakespearean tragedy? Philza’s up for it. Fundy wants him as a parental figure and mentor? Philza’s here for him. Tommy, conversely, doesn’t want him as a paternal presence, even though it would make sense for Philza’s character, as it was established so far, to be there? Philza will oblige.

The reason I’m mentioning this is because, while Tommy and Dream were unwilling to utilise Philza in their storyline, someone else was more than happy to. Which leads us back, like it always does, to everyone’s favourite Porky Pig-kinnie in a crown: Technoblade.

Technoblade and Philza, from everything I’ve seen of them, seem to be very good friends – and they share a lot of history even outside SBI. So, it’s commendable that they would collaborate on a storyline together.

A consequence of that, however, is that Philza’s narrative purpose shifts completely with very little transition. His entire character changes from being the Mentor-figure of L’Manberg to being pretty much exclusively defined as Technoblade’s ally; his man on the inside. It is a very sharp turn from the end of Season 1. Their relationship is once again informed via intertext – this time the Antarctic Empire on SMPEarth serves as the hypotext – but there isn’t a huge effort made to smoothly integrate that aspect of Philza’s character into the larger narrative framing around him.

How much the narrative utilisation of Philza has shifted can be very easily observed through the Butcher Army event on December 16th, a story event that I like less and less the more I think about. Here Philza is used to show just how corrupt and violent Tubbo’s administration has becomes. He is no longer the respected mentor, he is now the stand-in for the oppressed populace, similar to Niki’s role in Season 1. On a narrative level, he is here to prove a point.

If you’ve seen my Technoblade video, you know how I feel about … just that entire storyline, so I will not reiterate too much on it. I just want to make clear that I’m not principally against this development – if they wanted to truly explore Tubbo going down a dark path and getting corrupted by power, so much so that he would even treat the person who effectively raised him like a prisoner, I would be extremely here for it, I cannot stress that enough.

The problem I have is that it’s just so sloppily done. It is not coherent with how these characters behaved and, more importantly, how they were narratively framed prior to the Butcher Army event. Fundy gets one token line about Phil being his Grandfather – a far cry from the very emotionally complex relationship they had established at the beginning of Season 2 – and Phil then callously disowns him.

The major problem simply is that we don’t see how Philza changes from Mentor-figure to embittered, oppressed citizen. And there was enough time to build to that. During the entirety of Tommy’s exile Tubbo was pretty much spinning his wheels and Quackity and Fundy were opening up plot cul-de-sacs that didn’t end up going anywhere. This is time they could have spent on developing their relationship to Philza and the dark path they were going down – but again, Season 2 video.

There is not much to say on Philza’s narrative purpose and framing beyond the Butcher Army event. He remains pretty much exclusively Techno’s consigliere with his role as Mentor to L’Manburg a distant memory. He has some cute character moments with Ranboo, because content creator Philza is just big dad-energy whether he wants to or not, and whenever he and Ghostbur share a scene suddenly the narrative remembers that there are people other than Technoblade that should exist in Philza’s inner world. But aside from that, Philza’s storyline in Season 2 remains … pretty definitive is the nicest way I can put it.

Most importantly his relationship with Tommy continues to be completely unexplored – whether by chance or choice – and that combined with ever vaguer paratext leaves “Dadza” in a very peculiar situation.

Conclusion: Is Dadza a Good Dadza?

So, the question to end all questions. The big, obnoxious text, that I will probably have put in the thumbnail – I haven’t made it yet, but I know myself. The honest answer is: I couldn’t tell you.

I have, in the past, been expounding the virtues of narrative analysis. That is because I feel that Narrative Analysis and Textual Analysis, like in this video, can provide certain tools that Character Analysis lacks. Often times I see people trying to get at a writing problem or query and getting frustrated because they’re not using the toolset, they need to figure out what they want to figure out.

But I’d be a hypocrite if I pretended like everything could be solved through the modes of analysis I prefer. And I think the Dadza-issue is exactly such a case.

I set out to explore why the Philza-Tommy-“Dadza”-relationship has become so controversial. It’s a combination of expectations build up through intertextual readings, that were partly canonized – something that is very common for the Dream SMP – conflicting pieces of paratext, which only serve to muddle the issue further and a text that is not only completely uninterested in actually exploring Tommy’s and Philza’s relationship – as it stands right now they might as well be strangers, narratively speaking – but also completely changes Philza’s narrative purpose as it relates to characters like Fundy or Tubbo about half-way through with little to no transition.

That is why I say, that Philza’s character is a victim of narrative circumstance. Because unwittingly, through all of these factors and decisions, there is not coherent reading of Philza that frames his parental skills in a particularly kind light.

The question of how we can judge Phil as a paternal figure ultimately falls within the purview of the character analysis – and that’s a very multifaceted issue, highly dependent on which POV you focus on and how you interpret the other characters in that POV’s periphery.

To put my cards on the table, I think that Philza is a very flawed father/father-figure – and I find that absolutely okay. Flaws are the spice of character building. He is not Cinderella’s Evil Stepmother – but he’s also definitely not Mufasa. If we were to read Philza as a paternal figure, then he would have made a lot of mistakes and decisions to the detriment of his “children” – least of all everything that happened on Doomsday.

But I also have sympathies for Philza fans who are tired of the Dad-Debate and would like to have his character judged independent from his relationship to Ghostbur, Fundy, Tubbo and Tommy.

Ultimately, to bring it all to a point, I’d like to end with saying, that I think that Philza, out of all the characters on the SMP, has the potential to be on of the most intriguing, multifaceted ones. There are all of these different patches of story, character moments and narrative and transtextual implications, that, if brought together, could create a beautiful tapestry of the character Philza.

You have his relationship with Techno, which holds the potential for so much emotional conflict and vulnerabilities, you have his time as mentor of L’Manburg, which is just criminally underused; the complex relationship between him and Ghostbur/Wilbur; and – for me, personally – most intriguingly this weird, almost uncomfortably distant non-relationship with Tommy. That last one is intriguing to me, because it contrasts just so much with our intertextual understanding of the characters and streaming personas – and it just holds the potential for so much conflict, so much drama, so much angst. Which I live for!

And, yes, I do believe that most of this is narrative happenstance, that this was largely not intended by Philza or really any of the writers. It’s just what happens when hybrid-roleplay-improv a long-running, livestreamed storyline in Minecraft.

But I want them to realize the potential they have on their hands, because it could – with barely any adjustments – turn Philza from a victim of narrative circumstance to a champion of it!

Outro

Thank you so much for watching this video. Usually, I don’t record outros this standard, but after this beast of a video I felt it necessary. I hope that whether you’re a Philza fan or a Philza critical or just completely uninvolved in the whole thing, there is at least a little entertainment you could get from this.

I want to take this opportunity to say that my next few videos will probably not be Dream SMP related – a sentence which undoubtedly lost me a bunch of subs – simply because I don’t want to burn out on it. I genuinely enjoy watching the SMP and being exhausted by it would be something I wouldn’t want to force on myself.

But who knows what will happen? The Karl Jacobs video was something I did spur of the moment because the idea just came to me – so I can’t guarantee that the next video won’t be a three-minute joke about Purpled or whatever.

Anyway, my concrete plans for future Dream SMP videos are essays on Season 1 and Season 2 as well as one for Tales from the SMP.

Before that I have a longer video in the works, which I’ve already teased a bunch, so I hope it will finally be finished sometime. And I also may be working on something … eboys-related? Maybe. I’m not making any promises!

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silverducks · 3 years

Text

Game of Thrones - Jaime Lannister

A rambling character study of Jaime Lannister from Game of Thrones.

Introduction

Ok, so nearly a month since I finished watching Game of Thrones, and I’m still not over how it ended. Like some things I can reconcile myself too, some things just annoy me when I overthink what happened and some things - ok one thing in particular - is just not letting me go.

And that is the way the show ended for Jaime Lannister.

I know I’m like 2 years too late on the GoT bandwagon and no one cares anymore. But I’m writing all these posts because I still care, having recently experienced what you all went through 2 years ago. And I know what I’ll be posting will have all been posted countless times before and discussed in the fandom years ago. But I kinda need to still get my own thoughts written down and outta my head.

Before I go on though, I just want to add in here that I do still love this show and, even right to the very end, think the acting, crew, music, sets/scenery, costumes, basically everything was pretty much amazing. That is except the writing, which, went downhill after series 4. Before then it was pretty much amazing too (not always perfect (is anything?), but so darn good!)

Now, turns out when I came to write down my thoughts on Jaime’s ending, I had even more than I realised. Basically it’s turned into me writing one massive analysis of Jaime’s character based on the show. So I’ve split it into separate posts, with this first one more of an intro, a summary of my thoughts and overall opinion on Jaime and a bit of context on my own experience with Game of Thrones.

Now, spoilers for Game of Thrones ending

I’ve read/watched a lot on the internet since I saw those episodes (series 8, episode 4 and 5 in case you weren’t sure) and I know a lot of people don’t like how they ended Jaime’s story in the show either. But I’ve also read a lot of comments where people did like it, or at least thought it made sense. The reasons they give make no sense to me, but it’s made me think and overthink and analyse way too much about how they did end his story.

So, in order to try and get them out of my head, I’m putting them down here. It’s a long, pretty rambling read, split up into a few parts because it got so long. Across the posts I’m going to go through my own understanding and perception of Jaime’s character and his arc and why I think they completely ruined it in episodes 8.04 and 8.05. I’ll then focus on some of the main reasons I’ve seen why people think it did make sense, and why (even though I maintain everyone is entitled to their own opinion) I completely disagree. Jaime’s character arc was annihilated in the show even more than Kings Landing. And that is more than a bit frustrating.

Now, just a bit of background to add some context to my thoughts; I basically only got around to watching the show a few months ago (I’ve not read the books yet). I basically binged watched the entire show and am now just a little bit reeling from it all! LOL! Also, as I did binge watch it, it meant I didn’t spend time between episodes/series really analysing/theorising etc. I had a few ideas and thoughts, but not to the depth it would have been had I needed to wait impatiently for each new episode. This means I think my viewpoint is of the show as an overall whole, rather than each separate series, because it kinda all rolled into one. This may, or may not, have affected my opinion and so this analysis of Jaime Lannister and my disappointment in his ending. It also means, having only watched the show once, I’ve probably forgotten or missed bits. However, since I finished the show, I’ve watched a lot of YouTube videos and read a lot of stuff on the net about it, including in comparison to the books. (And I maybe rewatched some of my favourite scenes just a few times…) And now I am analysing and theorising and thinking about this show way too much! LOL!

So I guess my viewpoint isn’t one of ignorance, but it might not be quite the same as someone who’s been invested in the show from the start.

Like most viewers, I pretty much thought Jaime = evil villain for most of the earlier series. He had the odd moment, but it wasn’t until he did that speech with Catelyn about the conflict of all those oaths he’d taken that I even started to take note of his character. And then series 3 happens, where he has his road trip with Brienne, loses his hand, saves her from a bear and basically starts his wonderful path of character development. And basically manages to go from a guy I pretty much do not like at all at the start, to one of my all time favourite characters ever.

Also, I’m definitely a Brienne/Jaime shipper and did wish them to have a happy ending. However, I pretty much never thought the show would actually even go there, let alone make it happy. In fact, I actually did my best to NOT ship them for such a long time because, being Game of Thrones, I knew it was very unlikely to end well. But, then yeah, their intense staring contests kept on happening and darn it, the way that Jaime’s voice breaks when he says Lady Brienne and him giving her a priceless sword, and what the sword represents and…

Ok, well, yeah, I could gush about them all day, but anyway, I ended up not being able to fight the ship any more after series 6 and THAT tent scene. But, even then, I still didn’t think the show would make it canon, like it would just leave it all open ended/make up your own mind kinda thing.

And then we get to series 8. Like we have a whole episode (that is actually named for their very storyline) with Jaime just staring at Brienne, being all dorky around Brienne and then, if that wasn’t enough, he even KNIGHTS Brienne! I mean, this is epic for this ship! And I would have been ok (not happy, but satisfied) as a Brienne and Jaime shipper if that had been it.

But then no, then he barely leaves her side in the fight against the dead in the next episode – they fight side by side with their two halves of one whole swords, each risking their own life for the other multiple times. And then in the next episode (where I don’t think there’s barely any scene where they’re NOT right next to each other) the show DID make it canon. Like it actually did go there, they slept together (in an adorably awkward scene I love). Heck, Jaime then even chooses to stay in the North and be with Brienne, even though he hates the North. Like this was just epicness of all proportions and I got so excited and all those shippy feels I was trying to hold back just came rushing out and then... and then...

THEN that scene happens. He leaves her. Like WTH…

Anyway, more on that in another post. I guess what I’m trying to say is that as much as I ship them, my issues with Jaime’s ending is less about his relationship with Brienne, and more just his complete 180 on character development. Jaime’s arc has been heavily influenced by Brienne, but it is still amazing in its own right. As I didn’t expect Brienne/Jaime to ever happen (so when it did and then got taken away in the very same episode, it’s incredibly frustrating and gives even less credence to what does happen), it’s not why I’m so annoyed and disappointed with what happened to Jaime.

I’m annoyed because they took all this amazing character growth over 7 series and then screwed it all over in less than two episodes. No, that’s not enough. It was a complete and utter character assassination that completely undermines and destroys 7 series worth of investment and development, completely nullifying everything Jaime went through as a character.

So, yeah, I’m a bit annoyed, but that’s because it makes no sense and it’s bugging me enough to write this whole series of posts. Because I can’t let it go. And having read people justify, even like it online, it’s made my inner analysis thought train go into override. And I’m sorry if these posts are like I’m preaching to the choir, or writing such obvious stuff and repeating myself, I’m just trying to get it all out my head as coherently as I can. Hopefully allowing me to move on a bit.

#Urgh #I need to sit in a corner and try to cheer myself up again before I can write anymore #Maybe watching some Brienne and Jaime fan videos will help cheer me up #And also simultaneously depress me even more.

#Game of Thrones #Jaime Lannister #Brienne x Jaime

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deathbydarkelves · 3 years

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I decided to make playlists for Cathala and Tarinne plus explanations for why I chose each song because I entered one of those ADHD fugue states and if I didn't finish this task I would die

Anyway here are the two links (they're youtube playlists because I don't have spotify. I would obviously recommend using an adblocker if you're just gonna watch on youtube) and the explanations for each song are below the cut :) Each playlist is about an hour long.

For Tarinne’s:

1. Foggy Nights: I consider this her theme so putting it first as a sort of intro only makes sense.

2. Here’s a Health to the Company: I think this works as an example of her general disposition. She’s a people person, and always a fan of singing these sorts of songs in taverns, on ships, or what have you. It also kind of feels like a sendoff to soldiers, which I imagine symbolizes her joining the Sentinel Army and quickly thereafter fighting in the Third War.

3. Wartime Prayers: Somewhat self-explanatory, this is symbolizing her seeing war for the first time, but I also included it because the last line transitions SO WELL into the next song.

4. The Hollow: This song is an intro to an album I've never heard so I don't know the context, but I really love it because it sounds like someone praying to their deity and like I mean c'mon. Elune. Tarinne's praying to Elune to guide her through the war. Do I need to elabo-

5. Wave Walker: KILL DEATH MAIM AHAHAHAHA

6. Isil Elun’falo: Just a super rad fan-made night elf song that's basically "wow we sure do love Elune" said in twenty different ways for four and a half minutes. But it ROCKS and I LOVE it.

7. Chewing Cotton Wool: This song is about losing a loved one (I did have to check but yeah that's what it is) and I use it to symbolize Tarinne losing her mom during the war. The last line, which includes the song's title, I especially like. It's referring to how morticians (apparently) put cotton gauze in a corpse's throat and mouth to keep body fluids in and make the face look more natural. So there's a fun fact for you.

8. See U Soon (Song for Dad): Just a short lofi piece to rest a bit, and it was also chosen because the title's in reference to Tarinne growing closer to her dad after losing her mom. She still visits him at his leathers and furs shop in Stormwind fairly often, especially after dangerous adventures. She just wants to make sure he knows she's alright ;-;

9. No Lullaby: Right back into it with a song that I use to represent Tarinne's general feeling of not being able to go home because it's not there anymore. She's felt like this since the end of the Third War, but it's especially strong since the whole Teldrassil thing. But I like the ending, "who said you're on your own," because it contrasts the repeating of "alone" in the rest of the song. And it's kinda like "hey, listen, you're not the only one who feels like she can't go home." I mean that's probably how basically every single night elf feels right now skxnks

10. The Moss: This song juxtaposes classic fairy tales with scientific facts about the world and I love it to BITS. I'm using it here to represent both Tarinne's love for storytelling but also her sort of... part-time historian/archaeologist/conservator career.

11. Rasputin: I just associate this song with her for some reason and this was the best place to put it.

12. Electric Feel: Moving on to focus more on Tarinne's relationship with Cathala now. This is an extremely great and somewhat 😏 song that I also included because the electricity theme is appropriate because Cathala has lightning powers and y'know it's from Tarinne's perspective or whatever.

13. Bedroom Hymns: You know why this is here.

14. Movement: I can't talk about love songs without talking about Hozier, okay. This is just a nice, slower song to relax a bit with.

15. Never Let Me Go: I have an entire goddamn music video in my head with Cathala and Tarinne for this song and it’s very dramatic and emotional and I had to include this song or I’d die. Basically just listen to near the end of this song when she's repeating the title over and over, and imagine the two of them seeing each other at opposite ends of a battlefield after the dust settles and they rush towards each other and fall to their knees holding on as tightly as they can because they got separated early on and each thought the other was dead. Then you'll know how I feel when I listen to this song.

16. Nothing That Has Happened So Far Has Been Anything We Could Control: First of all I love the title, and second of all there's a big section in the middle (1:49 to 2:47) that I like to interpret as the two of them grappling with the fact that they're not really quite sure who or what they're fighting for anymore. Their people, yeah, but there's so many alliances and semi-permanent enemies and only-on-every-other-thursday-enemies all intertwined and the world is just so very confusing and they're trying to make the best of it. Elf school didn’t include international, interracial politics in its curriculum. It did however include how to properly plant trees, and AP calculus (this is a joke).

17. In Dreams: I like to imagine this song is something the two of them would say to each other, as a way of saying “even when everything we know is gone, even when the world ends, I will still be by your side. And if I’m not, don’t fear, for I will find you.” It makes a nice note to end on :)

For Cathala’s:

1. muse: Just a nice lofi intro to get us into things :) I don't see this song as her theme, like I do with Tarinne and the first song in her playlist, but I like it quite a bit. I don't actually really have a theme for Cathala yet, I'm currently going with a version of Way of the Monk from WoW's OST but I'm still looking for something better.

2. Frogs Singing: I included this because it's about just appreciating nature, which works because night elf and also mindfulness and meditation is a whole thing.

3. Tongues: This is a song about feeling distant from your peers which is like Cathala's whole existence! She's this weird mix of two cultures and ultimately she feels out of place regardless of where she is or who she's with. Also the theme with not understanding what people are saying works because the poor woman had to learn Pandaren from scratch and that shit ain't easy. I think blizz said somewhere probably that Common is just a language that EVERYONE knows inherently because Video Game but that's bullshit in my opinion. I'll allow spells that let you understand foreign languages to an extent (Comprehend Languages from D&D lets you understand the LITERAL meaning only, which I like), but every culture and species in the universe knowing Common is silly if you think about it for more than two seconds.

4. Kung Fu Fighting: I'm legally required to include this song. Also I prefer the Kung Fu Panda version, I'm sorry.

5. Harder Better Faster Stronger: I vicariously experience having a great work ethic through Cathala and that's why this song is here because she has 999 Determination and does Too Many push-ups every day or something idk. I was gonna say "every morning" but I have a headcanon that elves only need to sleep every couple of days (sort of a nod to "elves don't need to sleep at all" from D&D, and to explain why NIGHT elves are active at all hours of the day) so that doesn't work.

6. What's Up Danger: This song is Cathala's whole Vibe. Almost zero threat assessment skills in this woman's brain. If it can be punched, she will punch it.

7. Eye for an Eye: Fairly self-explanatory, it's a song about wanting revenge so... yeah. Checked that box. It was this or The Vengeful One by Disturbed but ultimately The Vengeful One's religious symbolism probably makes it fit better as a Tyrande theme lol ("I'm the hand of god, I'm the dark messiah." Did you mean: the Night Warrior)

8. Survivor: Cathala's survived a lot of shit and this could kinda be her making fun of herself for it because "Gods, man! Don't I deserve a break!"

9. Ashes: Really the reason I include this song is the last chunk (2:42 to the end) because holy shit. Listen, if I was gonna include a song with fire motifs, it was gonna be a somber one like this.

10. Into the West: This can kinda represent Cathala just trying to fucking breathe and recover from Teldrassil. Also works because I dunno it has stuff to do with the elves in LotR, I haven't seen those movies in a while. It sounds nice and is melancholy so I included it.

11. Like Real People Do: Cathala loves Tarinne a lot you guys have I ever menti-

12. Into the Wild: Tarinne changed Cathala's world for the better and she's super fucking grateful she has her by her side. Kinda goes without saying but you know.

13. Chasing the Moon: I have a vague music video in my head for this of them falling in love and it's very cute so there's that. Also it's in this specific spot because hey she may be deeply traumatized but she's still got a fair number of things/people in her life that make her happy so :)

14. Follow My Girl: I've got a theme going in my head that while Tarinne is fairly certain of her place in the world, Cathala is still trying to find hers. She outlived all her connections on Pandaria because Elf Lifespans(tm) and the only members of her family still alive are distant relatives she never knew very well.

15. Wish That You Were Here: This works both to represent Cathala on Pandaria feeling super homesick, and for more recently after Teldrassil. Either way, it's a message to her parents and sister.

16. Mr. Fear: She does her damnedest to hide it but she's absolutely terrified something like Teldrassil's gonna happen again! That fear drives her to do everything in her power to protect who and what she can. As long as they're not Forsaken, cause she's still got her biases, that compassion even extends across faction lines. She never really got the whole Alliance/Horde thing anyway. Innocent people shouldn't have to die, regardless of who or what they are.

17. Ordinary Day: Not to get super out there but I think this song works as symbolizing Cathala really trying to hold on to her faith in Elune, but ultimately feeling pretty abandoned. I mean she can clearly see Elune's influence everywhere. But Elune sure ain't doing Cathala any favors as far as she can tell! It also ends the whole playlist on maybe a bit of an uncertain/open-ended note, because this "losing faith" aspect is a new thing with her and will definitely be something she continues to struggle with for a while. On a related note, I should say Tarinne is still very much devout but she gets what Cathala's feeling and doesn't force anything on her, and vice versa. And Cathala wouldn't become atheist, the night elves aren't monotheistic and she still worships all the other deities, it's just specifically Elune she's a little :/ on.

#cathala #tarinne #oc playlist

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