#that sounds weird when I type it out but notes and sounds and different instruments have different shapes and textures. you know | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

bonefall · 1 year

Note

shit it's clanmew day already?? after last clanmew day i translated a buncha my OCs names, here are the ones i'm proud of (and one that makes me want to rip my hair out). also these are for fan clans who i decided give honor titles very liberally so like no one has the prefix they were born with LOL. also also all the translations are based on the notes i jotted down while translating and that was nearly a month ago so if some are bad.. y'know how it is.

hawkstar - yi'ishai or eeaoshai. "hawk" originally came from his honor title that he got for viciousness and cunning in battle, so within his clan he's called yi'ishai or sparrowhawk-star, but outside the clan he's known for his bloody battle tactic of attacking nurseries - thus red kite-star, since red kites are known for stealing kits.

mothwatcher - ffipkeslaou. i know there's a clanmew name for watch(er) but i went with divination cause it sounded cooler. her name was given because she deciphered an omen involving moths (haven't fleshed out what the omen was bc i suck at my job). also used the word for plume moth specifically because she's kind of weird lookin.

aspenfall - kossakanoch. least direct translation as "tree-broken in half" since her name was given when she retired due to an injury from a falling tree.

tawnyberry - pyowaworrpraw. used the word for poisonous berries for her, she changed which word for berry was used in her name as a symbol of her grief and desire for revenge after her apprentice was killed.

brokenfall - fewlkiseplur. "fall-interrupted" since her name was given after she caught a kit who had fallen off the top of the nursery.

snailstripe - hehhefshofi. "slithering-trail" since he was named for the trail of slime snails leave behind. just thought this one was cute tbh.

beaverstream - kenkagargerreboshush. when i tell you this name made me lose my mind know that i am telling the truth. i could not find the clanmew name for beaver so i went with "built barrier-stream" since her name was an honor title for her building skills.

Just in case your name changes in the future, I need to state for the scientific record that your avatar is Jerma with a lesbian flag and it's the second most based thing I've seen today. what will they think of next

FANTASTIC names! Excellent use of poetic meanings, I love Mothwatcher specifically, "Watcher" brings out the best in people doing translations for some reason!

Here's some snails 'n beavers for you!

SNAILS

Snails and slugs are considered a type of worm (Pusa), divided further into several more generic categories. I'll give you ALL the generics, and a few specific species of snail.

ALSO: Be prepared, ShadowClan has more vocabulary around snails than other Clans, because they are the only Clan that eats them regularly. I'll be making sure to note when and how their dialect differs.

Slug (Mostly gastropods... and mussels) = Ssloo Slimeworms are any worm that's ESPECIALLY slimy. They are defined by being the wettest worms. Leeches have an interesting relationship to the Slimeworm category-- ShadowClan considers them their own category under Pusa, probably because of their deep relationship with them, and define the different species. The other four lump them in with slugs, and call all three species ssufrru.

Snail (A slug with a shell) = Kewiha (Comes from cave, "Ken", baby-they "Wi", and bringing, "Hageesh." Ken-WiHageesh, "The little thing brings a cave," contracted.)

Arion (Snails that live in water) = Alof Marine snails and mussels. This word is usually referring to marine snails, but could mean any shell-producing animal regularly collected by RiverClan. Also used by other Clans to describe RiverClan's shell goods. Jingleshells (an instrument), shell necklaces, and also occasionally windchimes that contain no shells at all. The etymology of this term initially came from freshwater mussels alone and had origin in Parkmew, but after mussels died out in the River Chell, it came to describe anything in the water with shells.

And now, specific species of Snails, in both Kewiha broadly and Alof... and GET READY FOR SHADOWCLAN TO MAKE THINGS DIFFICULT

(NON-ShadowClan) A white-lipped OR a brown-lipped snail = Porsh Other Clans do not care about the difference between these two snails, owing to their natural diversity of shells. Both species are used in a type of divination, called Shai-een-Sek... EXCEPT in ShadowClan, where both species have unique names and uses.

(ShadowClan) Delicious Snail (White-Lipped, Cepaea hortensis) = Gapor THIS snail is eaten as a delicacy, and in LARGE amounts. Processing these snails makes for delicious treats in ShadowClan, especially for kittens who have fun figuring out how to get the meat out of the shell. Because they are eaten, their shells are a byproduct, and considered sacrilegious to use in divination.

(ShadowClan) Herald Snail (Brown-Lipped, Cepaea nemoralis) = Poen But you can't just use any Brown-Lipped snail in ShadowClan. StarClan only deserves the best snails, you must present them with something worth their time. They come in many colors and morphs, but a proper Holy Snail has a distinct white swirl on its brown shell, with a brown lip around the rim. You may not use the OTHER morphs.

(ShadowClan) Cosmic Dust Snail (Also Brown-Lipped, Cepaea nemoralis) = Porsh OR Keshof. Using the word "Porsh" in ShadowClan is referring to a Herald Snail with an off-color shell, also sometimes called Kewiha Sh'hoffes, or Keshof. ShadowClan believes that these snails are the byproduct of StarClan working upon the world, bearing the "cosmic dust" of their work upon their backs. It can be a bit derogatory in ShadowClan, like calling someone an accident, and they insist that the other four can't tell Porsh from Poen.

Garden Snail (Cornu aspersum) = Mokew The most common gastropod that Clan cats encounter. Also eaten by ShadowClan, but not considered quite as delicious as a gapor. Shells are occasionally used in decoration when the patterns are particularly bright or contrasting.

Kentish Snail (Monacha cantiana) = Meyloo The waste-snail. Mostly used by ShadowClan out of disappointment they taste bad, but will be eaten when starving, other Clans just lump them under Kewiha.

Pond Snail/Whelk (Lymnaea stagnalis) = Wook The marine snail that RiverClan is most familiar with. Though it's not actually a type of Whelk, I encourage using it as a translation just so it looks good in a name, and has a similar spiral-shaped shell.

Freshwater Pearl Mussel (Margaritafera Margaritafera) = Kofoo From Arion + Lake. An extremely rare creature back in the Forest Territory, mostly spoken about in legends. The water quality was just too poor for these animals to thrive there, and they died out in the River Chell around the same time as SkyClan's exile. Once the Clan cats came to the lake, they were able to see these creatures for the first time in generations. The word Alof (which originally meant mussels) was combined with the word for lake, creating Kofoo.

Here is a bonus; some group-words for the various categories!

Patch of mussels = K'kbw OR Kikibwa Important because RiverClan makes notes of these locations and makes sure they don't take too many. This word is made to be said underwater, between cats who are diving. It's two clicks and a bubble. Above water, spoken with air, it becomes Kikibwa.

Beautiful shell = Sek Contrast with Eksh (hard shell, of mussel, describes curled horns of rams) and Babaak (exoskeleton, shining shell of insects.) Sek are the shells of most snails, decorative things that can be strung on a necklace.

A type of divination using the shells of Porsh/Poen = Shai-een-Sek [Star-inside-Shell]

The Lake = Oorr Sangkoorr A word that means "Lake Lake Lake." When Daisy was asked the name of the Lake, she explained it was called "Sang Koorr," which is a corruption of the ENGLISH word for SANCtuary Lake, which became Sang in Seamew, combined with the OLD LAKEMEW word for lake, which was Koorr. Lake Lakelake.

BEAVERS

AND, LASTLY, before we close out, Clan cats DO have a word for beaver... and here is a little tidbit from BB;

European Beaver (Castor fiber) = Hyoog Also sometimes called the Ukum Kenkagarn in ShadowClan. The Construction Buddy. Dovewing had a great reputation in ShadowClan LONG before she joined it, it was her quick thinking and great hearing while on her quest with Tigerpaw and the Beaver Patrol that made her realize the strange creatures were defending kittens in their dam. Rather than just destroy a structure the beasts would surely rebuild later, the patrol clambered in and stole the kits, luring the family all the way back to the Lake. While Rippletail died in the process, his sacrifice wasn't in vain. ShadowClan is very fond of the creatures and their willingness to help with Blackstar's Bog Project, protecting them zealously.

Side note: This is actually what a beaver sounds like. In fact, I want you to imagine what you thought a beaver sounds like right now.

Play it in your head a few times.

Got it?

Listen to reality;

youtube

#Clanmew #gastropods #snails #beavers #Clanmew expansion pack

51 notes · View notes

celticbotanart · 1 year

Text

*Squid Squidward wide awake meme* ALRIGHT, hear me out - I've been saying for a while how much Witcher 3 reminds me of the Brazilian countriside (more specific Minas Gerais). And ever since I had this madlad dream of a Brazilian Witcher except we called them Bruxeiros (the X here is pronounced like "SH" not like the American "X" - its kind of a meme here, kind of a "literal" PT-BR translation, it's complicated), and they fight Brazilian folklore badass stuff like Boitatá (fucking giant fire snake), Iaras (river mermaids) and un-curse women that became Mula Sem Cabeça (literally headless mules running around with fire coming out their necks). These are all some of our most well-known folklore for real, lol (HIGHLY recommend season 1 of Brazilian Netflix show Invisible City if you wanna see more! It's REALLY good!)

ANYWAY. I was in my kitchen making toast at midnight, when it occured to me. I had A VisionTM. Brazilian Witcher battle music would be like. Floral Fury.

youtube

For those unfamiliar, this specific Cuphead theme is 200% oldschool Brazilian samba - yeah the "weird straw-against-plastic-lid" sound is an actual instrument, it's called cuíca lol "Nah, but this is too happy and cheerful", you say. Alright, you are correct, maybe it doesn't fit to be a battle theme for the Bruxeiros. HOW ABOUT SEPULTURA, THEN

youtube

SEPULTURA, THE BRAZILIAN METAL BAND, who performed this song as soundtrack for the BR movie "Lisbela e o Prisioneiro" (one of my fucking faves btw), and it the theme song for Frederico Evandro, a character who's ruthless hitman ("Matador").

BRO. IMAGINE. The peaceful and colorfully bucolic countryside of Minas Gerais and you are there fighting a Brazilian Werewolf (cause they are different from the European werewolf, we have several types btw), with THAT playing as battle theme.

Another good contender is Break of Reality's rendition of "As Bachianas n5" by Villa-Lobos (guy was a badass proeminend classical music composer who loved to mix in Brazilian folk elements with the classical music sttuff, pissing off a lot of purists in the process lol, good for him)

"As Bachianas n5" is probably Villas' most famous piece, it's originally a GORGEOUS aria, classically sung in Brazilian Portuguese.

SEVERAL people covered this song, including Sandy from sibling duo Sandy & Junior (they were EXTREMELY POPULAR with kids and teens back in the 90s/early 2000s); also people from all around the world covered it. You get it, it's pretty legit and famous AF.

THEN came Break of Reality a few years ago

with THIS badass cover:

youtube

LOOK.

THIS IS ONE OF MY FAVORITE VERSIONS OF THIS SONG. I STAN THIS COVER SO HIGH. I LOVE how it is sweet and emotional, but it brings a totally different, new, raw aspect to it that is so strangely fitting to this song (I can't explain, it just is). I can easily imagine this in the Bruxeiro!AU as battle music, even more cause a lot of the og Witcher 3 OST is full of slavic folk music that doesn't even reflect the Battling of Monsters thing - "...Steel For Humans" is like, a song sung by girls on wedding/harvest festivals, lol.

ON THAT NOTE, I think we could end this crazy ass post by including some of the folk / afro-Brazilian culture as well, which is only fair, and add this one, which I LOVE, "Caxangá / Escravos de Jó" by Milton Nascimento (my beloved <3) and folk singer Clementina de Jesus:

youtube

Milton is known to sing in high, ethereal vocalizations and extremely emotional lyrics. Guy is just A Fucking Legend fr. If there's a bard in my Bruxeiro!AU it's def Milton, I love his work so so so much! He's also known for mixing up influences from afro-brazilian culture, as you can see in here!

Stay tuned for more posts like this that can happen again at any moment or never again, lol

#music posts #Bruxeiro!AU #Youtube #witcher

14 notes · View notes

aprincessnotaqueen · 1 year

Text

PART 3.

A continuation of this snippet

The music room had not changed. Same hard, plastic chairs; same streaked whiteboard; same third-hand instruments. Courtney stood at the threshold, taking in the familiar site of her second home with butterflies in her stomach.

“It’s not the same, is it?” Came a voice behind her. She didn’t have to turn around to know who had snuck up on her moment.

“We’re not the same, you mean,” she replied, unable to face him.

His chuckled response was all the confirmation Courtney needed; Duncan felt it too, the shift between them and the room they had lived in their whole freshman year of high school.

Things had seemed so much simpler then; the inside jokes and stolen kisses. Music was their sole interest, before things got complicated. Before they got complicated.

Courtney knew better now. Business and pleasure do not mix, and she still could not meet Duncan’s eyes as she thought back to fond memories.

The first time she had sang piano in front of the boys they had stared at her in awe, unaware she was the missing piece to the band they were clinging to.

The first time she had played a piece of music that wasn’t classical, that was different to every recital she had practiced for, and how alive it had made her feel.

The first time Duncan had taught her to play his guitar, carefully showing her each note until she mastered it, until she was able to write music to it.

Finding her voice in her high school music room was the high Courtney had been chasing ever since, and so far nothing else had compared.

“I assume you’ve already planned our set list,” Duncan commented, taking a seat on the piano bench.

Courtney fought the urge not to watch him, a battle she had lost many times before. But he sat in her space at the piano, looking so much bigger than the last time she had seen him do so.

The last few years had been kind to him; his muscled flexing under the long sleeves of his shirt as he reached for the keys. Stubble graced his face, carving out his jaw. He wore a well-worn gray beanie, but Courtney knew he still had his signature green Mohawk tucked away.

Courtney had spent a lengthy amount of time covering the bags under her eyes with make up that morning before pulling on her comfiest capris and sweater. She hoped she looked as put together as she wanted the boys to see.

“Chris had some suggestions,” Courtney told him. “We’ve been emailing.”

Duncan chuckled again, the sound giving Courtney a twitch.

She thought four years apart would make it easier, but here she was staring at him across the room like she was sixteen years old again. The sight of him turned her stomach like it always had, but Courtney was still yet to figure out if that was a good or bad sign.

“The boys are late,” Courtney said, turning to the clock above the door.

Duncan chucked for a third time and Courtney resisted the urge to throw her shoe at him.

“You never change,” he mused, turning his blue eyes towards her, catching the glint off the yellow classroom lights.

Courtney hid her shiver, choosing to frown at him instead.

Time for a quick authors note, I think!

These are just snippets, not a whole story, so there are time jumps. I have not written the whole story out, I am writing these snippets as scenes come to mind and posting them immediately, so should I ever actually write the full story there may be some tweaks as we go.

They are written in my notes app and uploaded from my phone so I apologise for any weird formatting!

The first snippet got a lot of love and I’m so grateful to everyone who reblogged and favourited and left comments.

But I wanna give a specific shoutout to @the-type-a @xwhatababex @lotsofloveish for your continued support in everything I post, I haven’t shared my love for you as much as I should but I am so so grateful to all of you 💕

#td courtney #td duncan #duncney #chloerhiannonx #band au #tdi #tda #tdwt

11 notes · View notes

beautifulpersonpeach · 2 years

Text

Ask on Listening to Other K-pop Artists Besides BTS (Repost)

Anonymous: I've seen tons of people say that BTS music is a lot different from the rest of kpop. I've only ever stuck to BTS and I'm not really interested enough in kpop to venture into the genre beyond BTS' music.

I think you also wrote in one of your posts that you've been listening to kpop for a decade (?) and that the music BTS has put out is also very different from the rest. Can you tell me why you/people might say this?

Thank you!

***

Hi anon,

Despite your first paragraph, I would encourage you to at some point listen to some other k-pop acts because no matter what I write, it’s generally better to experience for yourself.

I listen to a lot of k-pop and BTS’s music for me is just better. I don’t know how else to say it, but fundamentally, their music seems exactly tailored to my preferences. First of all, the vocalists.

No knock to k-pop vocalists, many of them are very good and are undeniably strong vocal performers, but I’ve found many of them sing in a particular way. I saw someone on Reddit point out that almost every vocalist in SM trains under the same 4 main vocal coaches, and most vocalists in the industry lean on a few vocal styles from the same coaches. Jimin, as far as we know, is the least trained in this way of singing, and despite his weaknesses his voice is exactly the type I prefer. All four vocalists in BTS sound nothing alike, their technique is different, their delivery is different, they’re as different as the four cardinal directions: North, West, East, and South.

All three rappers in BTS have been acknowledged by Black rappers from the East coast to the West, they too are very distinctive that there’s no way you can substitute one for the other. I’m convinced BTS’s secret weapon (which they probably discovered early on and really capitalized on from 2015 onwards) is that when you combine all seven personalities on a track, you end up with magic. But you need to know how to bring those personalities out, and their in-house producers who have intimately worked with them since debut, know exactly how to do this.

If you listen to a track like Cyper Pt 3, the adlibs alone on that track are godly. Ignoring Supreme Boi (he did a decent job but only that lol), that track is bloody and raw. Excuse the metaphors I’m using here but every guy I’ve played this track for re-listens to it again right away and bombards me with questions about the group right after.

When BTS put out IDOL in 2018, KOMCA noted a significant influx in requests from other k-pop agencies and music companies from all over Korea, for access to more instrument and sound samples. Think about that. SM is supposedly the forward thinker in 'experimental sound' but it was after BTS's IDOL in 2018 that many producers in the industry apparently saw the need to up their game with a wider variety of sounds and styles.

And this is before we get to the lyrics of their music - BTS sing about things that appeal to me. Again no offense, but if I want to hear about how much a guy likes a girl or a bad breakup or a girl stringing a guy along, I could just turn on the radio and hear people sing about that in English or French. Quite a few indie pop acts have similar composition structures to k-pop i.e. a fusion of different styles, weird switch up usually around the bridge, unusual rhythm patterns etc *and* they’re in English/French. BTS has two albums centered around Jungian psychology that’s prompted me to read up on it, learn interesting things I’ve applied to my own life, all while bopping along to the heavy trap and pitch distorted rococco piece that is Black Swan.

And this doesn't even cover half of it.

All this said, you can take the time to listen to some of the other stuff out there. I do have some tracks from other k-pop acts in my playlists but they’re not many. And that’s just my taste. Yours could be different.

Originally posted: January 22nd, 2022 3:29pm

#bts #kpop #music asks #repost #fandom behavior #army fandom #bts army #bts fandom

9 notes · View notes

thats-the-teen-spirit · 2 years

Text

Paramore - This Is Why in-depth album review

As for someone growing up in the emo scene, Paramore has always been the band that meant constant change for me. The band that could release any type of music tomorrow and I could bop my head to it. I enjoy pretty much everything they released so far in their career and I must say, when I heard the singles I didn’t know that this album would hold this many surprises.

1. This Is Why

Both the first single and the opening track of the album. The guitar is really funky, much like on the previous record After Laughter, the melodies are classic Paramore, just how everyone in the Parafamily likes it. I personally don’t know the writing process of the lyrics but it sounds like it was written during the quarantine times because it sounds like Hayley was actually a bit agoraphobic, and was actually scared to leave her house. I also adore the video of this song, it’s the weirdness and the quirkiness that I love this band for.

2. The News

Second single, second song on the record. The News is about being scared to watch or listen to any news outlet because all they do is bring the listener/watcher down. The parallels between the dark thoughts in someone’s head and the happenings that are actually out there are terrifying. The instrumental is a really dark but clean melody that with a little distortion could sound like an early Paramore song, even the pre-chorus reminded me of crushcrushcrush. This song is one of my favorites off the album.

3. Running Out of Time

This song is pretty straightforward, as the title suggests it’s about running out of time, always making excuses and being late. Around the bridge Hayley realizes that it’s best to accept that she’s never gonna be not out of time. Instrumentally the song follows similar song structure as This Is Why, the guitars are similar to that song too, barely any distortion or effect, weird time signature, it looks like that’s Paramore in 2023.

4. C’est Comme Ça

Undoubtedly the weirdest song on the album. Many of the fans didn’t like it after the first listen but honestly, for me the weirdness of this song is what makes it so good. C’est Comme Ça or in English ‘That’s The Way It Is” is about acceptance of failure when it comes to getting better. As someone going through hardships currently the line that say: ‘In a single year, I aged one hundred’ got instantly memorable for me. Hayley talks about healing and how her own self prevents being healed, self-sabotaging herself to the point of regression. She even admits: “getting better is boring”. Everyone has doubts about themselves getting better and this song shows Hayley is no exception.

5. Big Man, Little Dignity

For such an chill song this is one of the angriest lyrics I encountered in recent Paramore songs. Hayley sings about a man (or it can mean people like him in general), that are not held accountable for their actions. She says “she can’t look away” because they’re like “a movie that she loves to hate”. She’s waiting patiently for the demise of the previously mentioned men but when it doesn’t happen she gets disappointed. It looks like it’s the same old story over and over again and she’s really disappointed. She hopes for a different outcome too but that’s also not happening. Instumentally this song is nothing special, some chill guitar playing and slow tempo, but the lyrics are in the focus anyway so it doesn’t matter anyways.

6. You First

Not gonna lie, the first couple notes of this song were a little jarring to my ear. The drumbeat sounded also a little off. But when the verse kicked in it transformed this song to the best song on the album for me. The verses and the chrorus sound like they could be from the All We Know is Falling era. It’s like Hayley voice can’t get older from her 16 year old self. The song follows a similar theme as the previous one, she sings about revenge and that karma will reach us all. The best line on the album is in this song too: “Turns out I’m living in a horror film, where I’m both the killer and the final girl”. This song is pure emo excellence. I love it.

7. Figure 8

To my surprise You First wasn’t the only nostalgic sounding song on the album. This song is about endless pessimism, the fact that she can’t break away from these negative thoughts, these go on on forever. “spinning in an endless figure 8″. These lyrics are probably the most melancholic sounding ones so far. Eventually the song got a little boring for me. The chrorus undoubtedly screams early Paramore though which is one of the best things about it.

8. Liar

This song is about Hayley’s love to fellow band member Taylor York, and how admitting it to herself must be wrong. She says she got good at fighting it, Around the bridge she admits her love and says she’s not ashamed of it. This song is a sappy love song about being vulnerable with someone and how hard it is for everyone who feels that way. It’s a little too bland for me but it’s a really chill one for melancholic nights.

9. Crave

Probably the single most relatable song for me on the record. Crave follows a similar thought that After Laughter started back in 2017, but is about accepting the journey through mental illness instead of denying it. “I romanticize even the worst of times When all it took to make me cry was being alive” - these lyrics have to be relatable to everyone who have dealt with depression in the past, The chorus is a little repetitive but has a lot of power in it. Definitely the song that needs the most replays for me.

10. Thick Skull

This melancholic closing track features a mellow instrumental with drone sounds, shoegaze elements, weird drum patterns, the whole package. The song is about leaving the toxic managers and naysayers behind that caused Hayley and the rest of the band many insecurities in the past. As Hayley said in an interview: “This being the last album of this era of our career as part of the same contract I signed as a teen, I just want to leave all those fears and the bullshit here. I’m not taking it with me any further.” Good for her and for the whole band, It’s really an end of an era that is this song is the perfect closure for.

#paramore #this is why #album review #hayley williams #taylor york #zac farro

5 notes · View notes

2bstudioblog · 1 month

Text

When Music Gets Stolen

They say good composers borrow, but great composers steal. Yet, the real theft occurs when a music producer steals someone else's work and claims it as their own. Here’s my story.

The Vault

Imagine a vault, not just a physical one, but a psychological stronghold meant to protect the music I created under a previous employer. In my mind, that work was lost when the company dissolved. I knew, ethically, that if I ever wanted to revisit that music, I’d have to start from scratch—new arrangements, new sounds, the whole nine yards.

But then there are the "splicers." These folks can’t create from thin air. They don’t even touch a Musical Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI). Instead, they cobble together sounds from platforms like Splice and pass it off as music. This particular splicer stole files from our “off limits” vault—with all of my performances, edits, and all. He had no right to access them.

The Implications

Recently, I discovered that an album with this stolen work was released on iTunes under my ex co-producer's name. Listening to it was like hearing a reflection of myself—90% of the music was mine. His only contribution? Downloading samples and having me edit them. I recognized every song, every 808-bass line. His effort boiled down to typing things into a search prompt.

Anger and Realization

Initially, I thought the stolen tracks were recent projects. However, as I listened further, I realized they were older songs, created while I was on salary under different management. That’s when it hit me: this man has no shame. His partner left him because stealing is wrong, and now I understood why. My first thought was, "Where's my name? Where's my credit?" But then, I realized something crucial—if my name were attached, I’d be a co-conspirator in this mess.

So, I made the ultimate move: I refused to engage. He played a terrible game of chess, and now he’s facing the consequences. I distanced myself, and I’m better for it.

The Future

From here on out, I’m making myself unavailable to him. I’m not a ghostwriter, and my work isn’t here to build someone else's reputation. He even recorded one of my songs in L.A. without my knowledge, pretending he did it all by himself. That was the final straw. My time and talent are too valuable to be exploited. He might try to use his connections as leverage, but I’m not biting. If I were in the same room in L.A., everyone would see through his façade. They’d realize they had the wrong guy in the studio.

The Natural Problem

Let’s think three-dimensional chess. His buddies in the States will listen to this album, be blown away, and ask him for favors to produce more AAA-artists. Since he’s in Japan, they’ll think he’s got some magic touch. And he’ll ask me to do the work—probably for a rate far below what it’s worth. If it’s a high-ranking artist, I’ll charge more. It’s that simple. I’m done being kicked around like an empty can down the street. I’m going to be the hardest thing his foot hits, stopping him in his tracks. This has gone too far already.

And if I say I can’t do it because of time constraints? Well, that’s on him and his poor time-management skills. Wasting my time and bandwidth, all while calling himself a music producer? Give me a break.

Copium

How do I cope with this? It’s a fun word, but the reality is, he’ll dangle the chance to work with top directors in L.A., like F. Gary Gray, as a carrot. But I know better. I had the chance to score a Super Bowl commercial Directed by F. Gary Gray, starring LeBron James, and the director loved the music—though I’m sure he wasn’t told I wrote it. I was kept in the shadows while the "hack" and his partner took credit.

If F. Gary Gray ever reads this, he should know the truth. The Super Bowl commercial went with a Chicago Bulls chant in the end, but the original score was mine. I still have the alpha footage, pre-CGI. It’s weird, but it’s fun. F. Gary Gray, if you’re out there, let’s talk.

Wrapping Up

On a positive note, Karma will have its day. I’ve been writing music for 35 years, and I’m not about to ghostwrite for anyone. I want to be a collaborative asset and earn my right to work with others. Unfortunately, some people only see dollar signs when they look at my talent. They don’t want me in control; they want me second-guessing myself. But here’s the thing—music theory is king, and I know it.

Finding out about this theft today has been eye-opening. I’m glad my name isn’t attached to this illegal project. Eventually, someone with a moral compass will speak up to the third party, and the real criminal will be revealed. It’s been an insightful day, even if it came during a typhoon. It gave me time to reflect.

Goodnight, everyone.

#F Gary Grey #Music #Film-score #Mountain Dew #LeBron James #Salsa King #Mr Muscle #Vin Diesel #Action Comedy #Hack #iTunes #illegal album

0 notes

vitaminwaterreviews · 10 months

Text

f(x) - Pink Tape

Speechless. Fuck the average of the songs, this now my favorite kpop album ever. 10.0. This has changed my view of music as a whole, and my life will never be the same.

(The song average is 8.3 if you’re curious).

Alright, so I feel like I do need to preemptively explain myself here. I don’t know very much f(x) at all. I’ve heard a couple of titles, I’ve checked out a few songs from Red Light, and … that’s literally it. So even though I do know a bit about this group and its history, I’m still quite fresh regarding their sound and what to expect. With that in mind:

Rum Pum Pum

Love the instrumentation in the opening

Set design feels very SNSD

Fun choreo

This bass/guitar line is so groovy

Pretty harmonies in what I assume is the pre chorus

Not impressed at all by the MV, but the choreo is fun, and it seems to be primarily focusing that

Love the verses, not convinced by the chorus yet

Fun rap section

Good use of silence

Okay, yeah, I think I buy that

8/10, my favorite of the f(x) titles I’ve heard so far. Groovy and fun

Shadow

Haha this feels so Red Velvet

Creepy chimes and synths

Groovy verse, low breathy voices, those chimes are still sticking around

Electric piano and bass beat

Okay this vibes. If I’m supposed to be picturing a shadow, it’s a playful shadow, like Peter Pan

Y’know what this reminds me of? Milk! It’s weird and quirky but super groovy

8/10

Pretty Girl

Hip hop?

The intro certainly is. That bass

But the guitar and verse feels way more … poppy?

Not sure what to make of the pre-chorus, everything got Loud all of a sudden

Same with the chorus. Wasn’t particularly catchy

Lol that rap

The ahhhs in the bridge are fun

Yeahhh I’m still not convinced by the chorus, but still a very fun song

7/10

Kick

And now we’re synthy

I like that all of these songs so far have had proper intros

An instrumental intro nonetheless!

I’m so confused what emotion this song is supposed to be conveying

Mix of vocal timbres and instrumental timbres feel disjointed

Oh okay, it’s like a hype song

I genuinely don’t know what to make of this song, same for the last one. But I sure enjoy listening to it more than the 1st gens

Lol wait why does this remind me of Itzy’s Ringo

This is Not something Red Velvet would do, but it’s kind of SNSD on LSD

Speaking of which what the hell is this bridge

7/10 but I would not be surprised if this song has a cult following, perhaps one day I’ll join them lmao

Signal

Disco, pretty strings and that Bass

Again, what’s the vibe of this supposed to be?

Dance Pop I guess

The ooohs are fun

This song is definitely more cohesive than the previous ones, like it clearly knows what it is. Not sure if it’s my style though

7/10

Step

Not too instrumental, very drum and vocal heavy, bit of saxophone, and I have no idea what that background instrument is, very muted

Okay, here’s the chorus, this is a jam

Kind of wish the saxophone was stronger

Pretty harmonies in the second verse, I like that a lot

8/10, probably the least “interesting” song so far but it was a vibe

Goodbye Summer

Wait, so they just didn’t put Victoria or Sulli on this song? That’s interesting, wonder why

And why feature D.O.? Maybe he fills their vocal roles?

Nice acoustic intro, electric piano

Verrrry pretty male vocals

Eyy eyy yeah

Maybe I do like slow jams when they’re acoustic guitar slow jams haha

This is the most “normal” song on the album so far. Like they’re playing this SUPER safe

Probably not to make D.O. look bad haha

I just listened to The Grace yesterday, and I must say, I prefer the vocal tone of whoever they had belting vs whoever’s doing the high notes here

Lalalala

8/10, I genuinely am a sucker for this type of music

Airplane

Alright, we gonna get weird again, or we gonna stay poppy?

This intro could go either way

So far we are quite poppy, but still different from what we’ve had so far. This is more like house/EDM timbres

Yeah holy shit you could have this song on Geometry Dash haha

Here it comessssss

Yeah, this is Good

“Come with me / Airplane / Love” lol I wonder who they paid to write those lyrics

Maybe I should check out the lyrics

Oh my god and pretty vocals over the beat

9/10, this is my type of music and they honestly did it really well

Toy

Here go, back to weird

Honestly I just love how aggressive this song is. I feel like modern kpop doesn’t do aggression as well, peak 2.5th gen

I haven’t commented on the timbres: we’ve got cute little bells in the background and everything else is just LOUD

“I’m transforming now” wtf

I’m reminded of Dance Dance Revolution which tbf informed a lot of my early music taste

THE BREAKDOWN HOLY SHIT

THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT THIS SONG NEEDED

I’m laughing so hard

Holy shit there are actually tears in my eyes

10/10. This song is the perfect version of itself holy shit. I’m going to relisten to this right now oh my god

I’m literally still laughing

Yeah, this is such a good song

This is literally perfect. This ENTIRE project was worth it just so I could come across this song

I don’t want to finish this album, I want to keep listening to this song

Do I have tooooooo

Okay fine

No More

I just want it known that I’m here begrudgingly and so that will probably affect this song’s score

Ooooh wop

Doo-wop? We haven’t had that yet

The bass here is groovy as hell, the vocals are super fun

I guess the only logical way to follow THAT song is a fun doo-wop song, that makes sense

I wonder what Wikipedia thinks this album’s genre is?

“Synth-pop, electro-pop, electronica” yeah fair enough but that’s more a failure of our definitions of genres

This bridge is pretty

Are those strings there in the bridge? Neat

Giggles and talking in the outro is fun

9/10, maybe I’m still high from Toy but oh my god

Snapshot

And we follow with Drama

In the style of musical theatre, it’s got the bass and the piano and the-

Oh never mind

We’re back to electro-pop

This mix of instrumentation is so good

Talk about an album ending strong. Those 7’s in the beginning worried me. But nope, this album is everything they said it would be

This chorus is fun, I’m dancing in my chair

All it’s missing is a true instrumental break

The outro is kind of that but I could’ve used more

9/10

Ending Page

Back to rock

This definitely feels like an ending song, acoustic guitar has that feel

The piano samples too

The “ayo ayo” part is really really fun

The verses feel So good to listen to, pure ear candy

Yeah, this chorus at 2:10, I’m really feeling this

I want a good strong ending, give me something here

Yes.

The vocalizations are exactly it.

9/10

#album #kpop #f(x)

1 note · View note

evergreensounds · 2 years

Note

its been a minute, hope youve been doing well

i honestly dont know too much about led zeppelin but ive been following the srs22 tag a little bit and i think youre the second person to answer that type of question with LZ lol. i did some research and yeah, i gotta agree with you. jimmys a shitty dude

thats a neat cover!! its so simple but yet so expressive. i always love covers that show you the actual artist behind the songs. its like getting a little glimpse into who they are

omg so do you have a playlist for weird songs?? i love fun, kind of humorous songs that tell a story so transfusion was a fun listen!

and yeahh i started getting odd vibes from hank when i listened to a song where he went on and on about sin and the devil and whatever else. i guess i didnt go deep enough to hear the misogynistic stuff but the normal songs were fun. but dont be sorry about any perceived negativity!! i think its important to be aware of both the good and the bad

also about the celebrating christmas thing, i can relate. i live with family so i go along with it, and even though theyre christian theyre not too weird about it thankfully. i just enjoy the festivities

-🦈 (i realized i totally forgot to sign off with this last time immediately after saying id use it. oops)

im not surpised people hate on Jimmy Page.

I do know a lot of weird songs but I looked into the lyrics of some of them and they were all just about being violent to women. I know it's not necessarily an expression of their desires or sometimes it even is to represent cruelty. I'm not feeling them right now.

Luckily the ones that are similar to Transfusion aren't like that mostly

There's trouble brewin by Jack Scott weirdd

Uranium Fever by Elton Britt

I also know a lot of music that is weird because it sounds very ethereal and or weird and out of time.

Some artists I recommend here are: Branko Mataja (not only his album covers are really good), Joe Meek (legendary producer but what discussion about him there is is rarely about his work but about his tragic and messy life), Charlie Megira, Link Wray and Mamman Sani. I feel like these guys get usually labeled outsider, a term I don't particularly like because it treats queer and mentally ill or just generally weird people like Zoo Exhibitions while not actually having any stylistic consistency.

However the four guys I mentioned above do have similarities like a focus on lo-fi instrumental music, use of electric equipment/sounds/instruments that haven't been done in the way they did (Charlie Megira technically doesn't use technology/sound in a way the others do, considering he was mostly active in the last 20 years, but he uses it in ways his predecessors did without giving it a commercialised sheen while also carving out some darker and noisier sounds)

My opinion on outsider music is definitely complicated because the art of people that are othered by our society is important, but a lot of audiences are very weird about it, and it does more bad than good to focus on arbitrary similarities in the lives/experiences of musicians while ignoring their waaaast differences. Like none of the five artists above ever met and except for Link Wray and Branko Mataja who lived in America weren't even living on the same continent meaning they definitely weren't a scene or something.

It's also worth noting that being mentally ill doesn't define somebody's art, meaning that poining at somebodys art and saying they could only have created it because they were mentally ill is dumb.

Not to mention that a lot of "outsider" artists were diagnosed and institutionalised at a point in time where mental illness was understood very differently and diagnosis was used as a way to other/label people who did not conform.

Thanks for letting me rant about a subject I am deeply interested in.

#Link Wray has some gross songs and Charlie Megira has some very mean-spirited ones #But a) I feel like I'd be doing music history a disservice if I left them out #b) finding an artist that doesn't have some morally objectionable songs is impossible and not a healthy way to consume art imo #c) they are dead and cant profit anymore

0 notes

asterlark · 3 years

Text

ok. samwell college of music au. i wrote all four years let's go babey

eric bittle is this lovely southern tenor (sounds kinda like mitch grassi or ben j pierce) who posts covers (& sometimes originals, but always with neutral or no pronouns because he can't post anything that says he or him ☹) on his youtube channel and has major stage fright but is very talented; he also plays ukulele

he got into samwell college of music on a voice scholarship and his dad doesn’t exactly approve but eric was never the 6′2″ masculine football player he wanted anyway so why not go for his dreams

he auditions for the very competitive samwell men’s contemporary chorus (there’s like 20 choirs; chamber choir, jazz choir, a cappella groups (lax bros do a cappella), combined choirs, etc- smcc does contemporary pop/rock music) and while he’s very very nervous and shaky as he auditions, directors hall & murray see a lot of potential in him (with major grumbling from student director jack)

(the rest of this ridiculously long au under the cut)

the group is small, for a chorus, because the point of the group is not a wall of sound but a focus on all of the very talented guys’ voices coming together in these gorgeous harmonies and basically they’re like one of the best choruses on campus and all the male singers want in

so there’s jack zimmermann, who of course eric knows because everyone knows who he is, he’s the son of bob and alicia zimmermann, both incredibly talented and famous musicians, and basically those genes were in his favor because he’s mega fucking talented

(jack was supposed to sign a recording contract to be in a band with his best friend kent parson when he was 17 but something happened between them and the pressure was too much and jack overdosed on something- there’s so many rumors no one knows what’s real- and kent signed solo in LA & went on to win grammys for his albums about a mysterious ex and jack disappeared for a few years to be a counselor at a music camp and reappears at samwell, knocking everyone’s socks off again like he’d never left, except with a renewed vigor and intenseness that freaks everyone out)

jack is a contemporary writing & production major, freaky talented and sings like a modern day frank sinatra, and he plays like 20 instruments and can read music like breathing air and writes songs like if he stopped he’d die; his music is folksy and mournful and he plays all the instruments on his tracks himself- guitar, piano, strings, drums- it sounds like a full band but nope. just jack. he’s intense

“we all get nicknames in this choir,” justin informs eric on his first day, “we’re those kinda guys.” so he’s bitty, which he finds vaguely offensive (bc he’s not that short!) but still cute, & the rest of the group is introduced to him:

“shitty” knight (voice like colyer) is a musical education major and an enigma of a singer with this awesome, earthy, raspy voice that’s really interesting to listen to and a very.... unique style & look; he writes cheesy but shockingly good raps about social justice topics and he will sing-lecture you if you’ve said something offensive (he also plays banjo)

justin “ransom” oluransi is a music business & management major with an angelic voice you can’t help but listen to; he’s sultry and has an incredible range and does runs like nobody’s business (with a voice like daniel caesar or leslie odom jr UGH)

adam “holster” birkholtz is a voice performance major, wants to be on broadway and it’s all he ever goddamn talks about basically, he’s a belter and has a lot of charisma and starpower and he’ll charm the pants off of you within one note; can also play piano and irritates everyone constantly because his regular volume is like a level 11 (voice like the frontman of my brothers and i combined w/ x ambassadors lead singer)

larissa “lardo” duan is at the local art institute because performing arts is not her jam and she’d much rather paint; she’s a barista at annie’s and supervises open mic nights and keeps the annoying choir dudes from driving away all her patrons

“i’m not even in your dumbass choir,” she says when the group gave her her nickname. holster just told her that she was an honorary member and then started sing-shouting a song at her about how good she is

bitty’s first year is hard because he’s talented and he works hard but he shies away when anyone asks him to sing outside the group and like, he can sing to a camera by himself but being on a stage with everyone looking at you and the sole responsibility of the song on your shoulders is terrifying and no thanks

jack does not. understand this. he’s been performing practically since he came out of the womb and he doesn’t really get performance nerves (what he gets is anxiety about how he did after he gets off stage that follows him home and makes it so he can’t sleep) - so he bothers bitty about it constantly like “you just need practice, you just have to sing by yourself a lot and then you’ll get over it” which like.... that’s true but it’s also hella scary and bitty’s like “no thanks!!!!”

but jack’s annoying and intense so he makes bitty do open mic with him every saturday night and it’s going okay and bitty loves his choir and loves his school and these new friends he’s making and he finally feels comfortable enough to come out to them during his second term

then during their spring choral showcase at the end of his freshman year bitty has a solo and he’s worked really hard on it and he’s feeling good- okay he’s completely freaked out but he’s trying to feel good- but when he gets up on stage there’s so many people and the stage lights are so hot on his face and he flips out a little and maybe he passes out from anxiety and stress right on stage and it’s terrible and he’s so embarrassed and ashamed that he ruined their set at the showcase

of course jack blames himself because “we shouldn’t have given you a solo before you were ready, i misjudged it, i’m sorry” - and they all feel kinda bad bc holy fuck they didn’t know his stage fright was that bad like they didn’t know someone could pass out just by being anxious to sing

he practices all the time over the summer and goes to his local open mic at jack’s insistence and it actually helps a lot because instead of a sea of strangers judging him it’s a bunch of people he knows and they’re all smiling at him and when he finishes his song they cheer for him and it boosts his self-confidence a lot

his sophomore year they have three new members- chris ”chowder” chow (voice like ieuan), an excitable music education major with impressive rapping skills, derek "nursey" nurse (frank ocean or leon bridges type), a songwriting major who can also play violin and guitar, and will ”dex” poindexter (like tom west), a production & engineering major who tried out with chowder bc he needed moral support and didn't expect to get in but impressed the directors with his voice

the year’s going pretty good, bitty’s still pretty scared of singing alone but more confident now and the open mic nights with jack haven’t stopped, so he’s getting better. and one night they’re hanging out at annie’s after closing waiting for lardo to be done so they can walk her home, and bitty suggests that jack sing with him one of these nights, and jack says he doesn’t know any of bitty’s songs and bitty says they can write one together half jokingly but then jack is like “yes.” with that Intense Look

SO they get together a couple days later in jack’s room at the house they all live in together (bitty moved in at the beginning of the year after previous smcc member john johnson called him- how’d he get his number?- and told him he could take his room if he wanted), jack with his guitar and bitty with his ukulele, and it’s a little awkward until bitty says jack should play him one of his songs

and, okay, he doesn’t really know what to expect because the only music jack ever released to the public was that one single he did with kent parson when they were 17 so bitty doesn’t even know if he has anything to play him, but he does- he starts playing these soft, sad notes on the guitar and opens his mouth and sings about being lonely and scared and unsure, about false starts and shaky ground and not knowing where you stand with someone, about expectations and lying awake at night and wishing so hard you were someone else, and bitty watches him sing and just kind of... realizes he’s head over heels for this boy and internally Freaks Out a little

he tries to put that aside and they start to write this song, at first it’s weird because jack’s like “all your songs are love songs i can’t really relate to happy love songs” and bitty’s like “listen... i’ve never even had a boyfriend i just write a bunch of sappy love stuff because it’s not about me it’s about whoever’s listening to it, they’re gonna project their own experiences on my music anyway so it doesn’t matter if it’s my real life or not” and jack’s like “alright while fake af that’s smart and i respect you” (what bitty doesn't say is that he writes about what he really wants which is to fall in love & be in a happy relationship)

they say they’re just gonna write this kinda vague sad song but they both secretly write lines about their actual lives so it ends up being really personal and real and raw for the both of them

they sing the song at open mic that saturday and the crowd at annie’s is never that big but they’ve never got a standing ovation here before, and some girl shouts “MAKE AN ALBUM” (it may or may not be lardo) and they both blush furiously and bitty’s like “... that was really nice, jack” and jack’s like “... yeah it was good good job you’re really getting some confidence out there nice work” (bitty: “THAT’S NOT WHAT I MEANT AAAAH”)

around this time jack’s really thinking about what he’s gonna do when he’s done at samwell, talking with his parents and his agent and looking into different record companies and deciding if he wants to sign with anyone or possibly start his own company- the head of a small company called falcon records in rhode island has been talking to him a lot, and jack talks to bitty about how he thinks it’d be nice to start small, and the record exec georgia and the producer marty had both been really nice and welcoming, and bitty’s so happy for him but also just... sad that he won’t be around jack every day after he graduates

THEN at a haus party celebrating their win of a local choral competition, who shows up but none other than pop star kent parson to Ruin The Fun

bitty sees the way jack pales when kent walks in, notices them disappear upstairs together and feels a little sick worrying about jack but chalks it up to the highly alcoholic concoction shitty and lardo had cooked up but nonetheless decides he’s sick of the party and goes up to his room and hears.... a little too much

and YIKES he’s standing right there and kent parson, pop star, two-time grammy winner, is looking a little rumpled and staring right at him and he puts his hat on and clears his throat and snaps at jack- “hey. well. call me if you reconsider. but good luck with rhode island. ...i’m sure that’ll make your parents proud.” and jack’s shaking, and bitty doesn’t know what to do but jack goes back into his room and bitty’s just kind of standing there like What The Fuck

so.... he kind of stews over winter break but tries not to think about it too much and he and jack text a bit and jack tells him to practice and bitty’s like “oh, you” and jack’s like “im serious” and bitty’s like “>:( it’s christmas”

spring semester starts and they're doing well in competitions and they go to semifinals and then finals for a prestigious collegiate choir competition and the pressure is mounting but they all are so optimistic and really feel like they're on the same page and bitty’s confidence is better than ever and then.... they don't win

jack especially takes it very hard, but then he also has signing to worry about, which everyone helps him with and he decides to sign with falcon records and start work on an album after graduation

speaking of graduation, shitty and jack graduate and it's hard for them but harder for bitty who feels like he's losing jack in a way, he knows how intense jack gets when he's making music and it doesn't feel like he'll have any time for bitty anymore so when they say goodbye bitty goes back to the haus and listens to his and jack's song and just cries

but, like in canon, dadbob has words of wisdom to impart and jack has an "oh" moment and races across campus to kiss bitty

they get together and the next few months are spent with jack working nonstop on his album (which tbh, he'd had many of the songs written already so it's mostly recording and producing) and texting bitty constantly and coming to visit him and playing him demos of all the songs

jack also asks bitty if they can record the song they wrote together & have it as a bonus track on his album & bitty says of course, so when jack visits they set up an impromptu studio and record vocals in the guest bedroom and this deeply personal song they wrote before they were ever together means so much more to them now

and bitty is so happy but so scared and sad too because jack is playing him these songs telling him "they're all for you bits, & a lot of them are about you" and he just doesn't know how he's going to keep all this love inside even though it feels like jack's career is at stake

he tries to shove it down and stay strong though, especially since he's now an upperclassman and they're taking on new members- connor "whiskey" whisk (voice like finneas or the male singer in valley), a music business/ management major who seems to hate bitty's guts and tony "tango" tangredi (like chaz cardigan), a jazz composition major who astounds everybody with his endless questions but also his ridiculously impressive composition skills & naturally perfect pitch (he can also play saxophone??)

i want ford in this au so fuck it she is a composition major with dreams to write scores for musicals and she stars training as a barista at annie's (aka training to corral the smcc)

the pressure of it all proves to be a lot and bitty and jack have their hi, honey moment where bitty's like i can't be this deep in the closet!!! and so they tell the smcc and also jack's label that they're together and that eases things a bit

jack's album comes out to much critical acclaim and shouting in the groupchat ("#1 ON ITUNES BRAHHHHH!!!!!!!!") and several months later, when smcc has already been eliminated from choral competition in an earlier round, jack is nominated for SEVERAL grammys including best album, song of the year, and best new artist

when the time comes he takes his parents and bitty on the red carpet which, everyone keeps being like "who are you here with jack?" and he's like "my family and my good friend :)" and yes it is awkward

jack wins... all three awards. it's the comeback everyone is stoked to see and when his third win is announced, he and bitty are so elated that they kiss before he goes to accept the award

his speech is basically just "um... wow. thank you. i just kissed my boyfriend on live tv. this is amazing and i'm so humbled. i'd like to thank my boyfriend and georgia and marty and my parents and my friends and my boyfriend"

obviously the press has a FIELD DAY with this but bitty & jack are honestly vibing and so happy that it doesn't matter untiiiillll bitty's mom calls and he has to tell her "mama i'm gay and i'm going on tour with jack this summer okloveyoubye"

the last few months of bitty's junior year pass quickly and he's voted student director which is a huge honor considering how much he struggled with stage fright and confidence & how he'll now be stepping into ransom & holster's shoes

r&h and lardo all graduate (the smcc basically crashes the art school graduation and all scream when lardo gets her diploma lmao), which is a bittersweet occasion and they all do a bit of tearing up

that summer bitty goes on tour across the u.s. & canada with jack and his touring band (snowy is a bassist, tater is a drummer and poots does backing guitar, he also brings nursey to play violin on a few songs) as well as georgia who's there to manage logistics

and tour is so fun & chaotic with many bi and rainbow flags in the audience that end up thrown on stage and draped around jack's neck and they spend so many nights in the bus drinking and laughing and fooling around on the guitars and bitty's uke and exploring new cities bitty has never been to before and it's the freest bitty has felt in a long time

summer ends though, and jack leaves for the uk/europe leg of the tour, and with the new school year brings a few new members- river "bully" bullard (voice like gregory alan isakov), a music therapy major who draws his own cover art for his songs, lukas "louis" landmann (like jr jr), an electronic production and design major with a penchant for EDM, and johnathan "hops" hopper (like keiynan lonsdale), a film scoring major who wants to write music for movies and video games

bitty meets and befriends some of the other student directors- shruti, sd of the women’s contemporary chorus; sharon, sd of the chamber choir; and edgar, sd of jazz ensemble (even chad l., sd of the all-male a cappella group)

senior year passes similarly to the comic; coach visits and sees one of bitty’s competitions, jack comes to madison for christmas, smcc does well in competition and goes to regionals etc

however… bitty keeps putting off and putting off gathering the songs for his senior recital

he has a hard time doing that because he’s so focused on the group and making sure they’re performing well and as they advance in competition, everything else starts to fall away

eventually the rest of the smcc has to lock away his uke and change his youtube password and FORCE him to choose songs for it and start preparing because he cannot graduate without doing this recital and doing well on it

he chooses (of course) a beyonce song, a few of his own songs, an ellie goulding song, and an adele song

with all that his breath hitches and his hands shake before he goes on stage, he does really well and his voice instructor prof atley tears up a little in the audience as does his mom

meanwhile smcc goes to semifinals, then finals, of the national collegiate choral competition they participate in

and i imagine bitty faces somewhat less homophobia in this au because i mean, he’s in the performing arts, but i think it’s still there and he also faces a good amount of classism from richer students and performers who think they’re better because they had the resources and money to be performing professionally from a very young age, and he has been practicing via filming himself on a shitty camcorder and posting it to youtube

but they still get there! and the national finals are fucking HUGE and a big deal and a little overwhelming

bitty’s stage fright is Present because this is the biggest stage and the biggest stakes he's ever had and he has a big solo in one of their songs so if he fucks up, he fucks up a national championship for his whole group and school

luckily though, when he steps on the stage with his best friends and sees his boyfriend and family and smcc alums in the audience and they perform their first song, a high-energy pop medley that always gets the crowd going, everything seems to melt away and it's just him living in this moment and singing his heart out

when it gets to the next song and his solo, he forgets to be nervous and belts it out, getting screams of approval from the audience when he finishes

(dex and nursey do have a duet together that they had to practice for many long nights in the practice rooms alone but that's neither here nor there)

their time on stage seems to last both hours and no time at all and then they're done, the crowd gives them a standing ovation and it's at least 30% r&h & shitty's hooting and hollering and jack's enthusiastic clapping that makes bitty & the others beam with pride

then it's just waiting, giddy and nervous beyond belief in their green room, for the judging to be over

after what feels like forever they're back on stage, arms linked together waiting and hoping for their name to be called and it is, they win and it feels like years have built up to this moment, and bitty tears up because years ago when he was fainting from anxiety at having to perform in front of people he never could've imagined that he'd do this, that he'd be the student director that led them to a championship

they get the trophy and a ridiculous amount of flowers from their loved ones and they all are just in giddy disbelief that this is happening, they're national champs!!! they are the best choir boys in the nation!!

they come home and the rest of the school year passes by so quickly that it's very suddenly graduation and bitty can't believe his college career at samwell is over 😢

(he and ollie and wicky take pictures together, o&w talk about how excited they are to devote full time attention to their band & wedding planning and bitty's just like wait you're gay??)

bitty got plenty of offers from record companies but he likes his freedom of creativity and he has a built in fanbase from doing youtube all these years so he decides to make an album independently (jack helps him produce & master it 🥰)

when bitty's album comes out about a year later, full of bops about being gay and in love and having struggled but come out the other side more confident than ever, it doesn't get any grammy nominations- and he didn't expect or need that.

what it does do is it resonates. it makes the rounds in youtube and queer internet circles; people his age reach out to him saying this is the music they wish they had as a kid and kids reach out to him saying he's a role model and they're so glad to have his music to listen to. his album is written about as an underrated gem that shines with queer brilliance and is sure to start a party when it comes on.

his parents may not fully understand the road he's chosen for himself but they're still so proud and promote the album as hard as any of his loyal fans (especially the one country-inspired song on the album that he wrote and dedicated to them).

and jack, jack who saw this album from its infancy to its release date, who took the film photo that ended up being the album cover, who worked with bitty to make sure his vision was realized exactly how he wanted it to be, is proud beyond words.

jack starts using his semi-abandoned twitter again to tweet "stream [album name]" every day and bitty retweets them sometimes, with just a "this boy. ❤"

and they're happy. they're good. they have come so far and they are reaping the rewards of all the hard work they put in to make the music that they truly love.

the end :)

#check please #omgcp #samwell college of music au #mine #my writing #eric bittle #jack zimmermann #omgcp fic #check please fic #zimbits #uhh idk what else to tag #this fucking thing is like 4.1k words i'm-#i hope you enjoy it (and reblog it!) bc i've been working on this for literal years #i know i'll never actually write it as a longform fic so here's a bullet pt fic instead #pls let me know your thoughts i have so many things to say about this au

249 notes · View notes

safespacespence · 3 years

Text

working the christmas shift

COUNTDOWN TO CHRISTMAS: 7 DAYS

[summary] working the christmas shift can be pretty quiet as a barista. so when charming spencer reid walks in the door, your interest is easily piqued. [pairing] spencer reid + barista gn!reader [warnings] none! [category] fluff ofc , romcom meet cute stuff [word count] 0.8k [a/n] i hate to say it but writing fluff constantly can get so tiring HAHAHAH i had fun with this dw, but i actually can't wait for ficmas to be over so i can write angst. tell me what you thought

the store was quiet. your coworker was zoning out, mopping the same patch of the floor repeatedly. the holiday instrumental music softly played over the store’s speakers, and there was something about the quietness of everything that was satisfying. the christmas shift at the coffee shop was always quiet, so getting extra pay was definitely worth it. you’d probably only have one or two customers, maybe a couple getting pastries last minute for their party, or a mother needing a caffeine fix for the long night ahead. you allowed yourself to be immersed in your book, annotating the margins with your questions and thoughts. the smell of the pastries wafted around, and you contemplated making yourself a cup of coffee to accompany a croissant.

the bell of the door jingled.

shooting your head upwards, you found a brunette walking towards you. his stance was hesitant, like he wasn’t sure if the store was open.

you switched to your customer service personality. “hi, yeah, we’re open!” you smiled, closing your book.

the man gave you a kind smile in return, opening his satchel to grab his wallet. you could see maybe four different paperbacks inside, spilling over one another.

he looked up at the menu blackboard, before looking back at you. he looked like the type of guy who knew exactly what he wanted, and had a usual order.

“what do you recommend?” he asked. you couldn’t help but note how he was dressed like a teacher’s assistant, with a tweed blazer and purple scarf thrown over. he looked like he was your age. with hair tousled everywhere, he had this laid back energy that made him look approachable.

“how are we feeling today, hot or cold?” you asked.

he perused for a minute, looking out at the snow-covered sidewalks. “um, hot would probably be better. and with coffee, please.”

“could i interest you in a dark chocolate and espresso mocha?” you offered.

his head perked up at your suggestion. “that would be perfect. by any chance, do you have peppermint chips, or something mint to go with it? a christmas mocha.” he pursed his lips.

“oh, good idea, yeah.” you added the peppermint chips onto the order and plugged in and printed his receipt. writing on his cup, you standardly asked for his name. “name?”

he laughed a little and took a look around the room. “do you really need my name, or is it just an excuse to get to know me?” he smirked.

you were speechless. “it’s just p-protocol, s-sorry.”

he gave a nervous chuckle. “i know! sorry. i don’t know where that came from. it’s uh, spencer, with a p—” he paused, realising how stupid that sounded.

you held your laugh in and played along. “where’s the p?”

he laughed a little. “s-p-e-n-c-e-r. got it?”

“right, thank you for clarifying.” you smiled, writing his name on the cup.

he was paying, and left a tip in the jar and smiled. you moved to make his order, and could hear him making conversation. “so, christmas shift, huh?”

you chuckled. “yeah, but it tends to be really quiet, so there’s not much stress. and you? what’s with the coffee at 4pm?”

you could hear him fumble with his satchel. “gonna do some work. for fun.” he realised how weird it might have sounded.

“well, you must like your job.” you said, pouring the espresso to melt the peppermint chips.

“yeah, i guess you could say that.” he said shyly.

you finished up his drink, and pulled out a cookie from the warmer. “cookie on the house. merry christmas, spencer.”

his eyes widened at the free cookie. “really? wow, thank you. i-um, never really celebrate christmas, so this is really nice of you. thank you so much.”

you grinned. “enjoy the drink!” you exclaimed, before pulling out your book again, ready to bask in the quiet of the store.

he started fidgeting with the buckle of his satchel. “actually, sorry, um, i don’t usually do this but—”

“i get off at eight.” you smiled, looking up from your book.

he held his smirk in. “i’ll see you at eight, then.”

your coworker bid you goodbye as you closed up the store, and you heard the bell jingle for the last time that evening.

“eight pm sharp!” a voice said. with the charm he left you that afternoon, you couldn’t not recognize his voice when you finally heard it.

you smiled and turned to see spencer. “you know, this is not how i expected to spend my christmas. speaking of, what exactly are we going to do?”

his smile was mischievous. “you’ll see.”

you watched as this complete stranger extended his arm out to you. “ready?”

you took a breath and linked your arms into his, relaxing at once. “yeah, ready.”

read the rest of the series: athena's twelve gifts of christmas

read more of my work read my favorite works send me prompts or suggestions navigation

join my taglist @sinnxagain @literaila @sheslostinbooks @reidsmilf @pretty-boys-book-club @writer-in-theory @simonsnowsblog @foxy-eva @reidsbookclub @spencerreidat3am @shooting-a-star-at-the-moon @belongwithreid @alexontheinternet @writingquillsandpainpills @lil-stark @fightingdragonswithreid

#athena's twelve gifts of christmas #spencer reid #spencer reid x y/n #spencer reid fanfiction #spencer reid x reader #spencer reid fluff #christmas #fluff #fluffy fluffy fluff fluff #athena has written #oneshot #fics #fic

85 notes · View notes

xcrystalzero · 3 years

Text

all the things i believed

pairing: xiao x reader

summary: you've only seen the boy who lives in the apartment one over from yours a few times, but you knew the look of someone who wanted to seem intimidating when you saw one. so, why was his music taste so adorable?

alternatively, xiao thinks that the apartment walls are a lot thicker than they actually are and accidentally exposes the fact that he's not nearly as angsty as he wants everyone to believe.

note: soft xiao makes me way too happy. also, here is xiao's playlist! i recommend listening while you read :) if you guys like it, i'll make playlists for my fics more often!

"I'll miss you!" Your roommate had her arms wound tightly around your torso and it didn't seem like she planned on letting go any time soon. She was also squeezing just a tad too hard and it was starting to hurt.

Gingerly, you patted her on the shoulder, subtly attempting to pry her off of you with your other hand. "I'll miss you too... But remember, it's only two weeks and then you're back!"

That only served to make her pout even more as she finally pulled away "Two weeks is so long though! How am I going to survive without you and your brownies?"

"Hah, so you're really only worried about not having brownies huh?"

"You know that's not what I meant!" she whined, causing you to giggle slightly. Honestly though, there was no way anyone watching could possibly think that she would only be gone for two weeks. Your roommate had decided that she needed three full suitcases and the world's largest carry-on purse for her little trip, and you were honestly a little worried about it.

"Ahem..." Your bonding moment was promptly interrupted by a soft but very present voice directly behind you. Whirling around, you came face to face with a vaguely familiar figure.

It was the golden eyes that caught your attention first. Even in the strange fluorescent light of the hallway, they almost seemed to have a light of their own, a hypnotizing sort of gleam that you couldn't bring yourself to look away from. Of course, the rest of him was no less than stunning either. Dressed head to toe in black with his angular features and lean build, he was striking.

His eyes widened slightly as you turned towards him though they settled fairly quickly back into what you could only assume was his trademark glare.

"Just... trying to get through." His voice was gruff, but much softer than you had anticipated. Perhaps even gentle?

Oh yeah, that was how you knew him! Your schedules must have been somewhat similar since you were sure you passed him at least a few times a week. You had never talked but you were pretty sure you had seen him going into the unit one over from yours quite a few times.

So this was your neighbor huh? He was cute, if a little intimidating.

"Oh sorry!" your roommate chimed in. "We were just leaving, we'll get out of your way!" She began to scoot her bags to the side and you quickly joined in, wheeling one of the suitcases to the side, though you couldn't seem to keep your eyes off of the guy. Every time you looked away, it was as though your gaze was drawn back towards him by some unnatural force.

It helped that he seemed just as awkward with the whole thing as you did, alternating glancing between the you and your roommate, the floor, and his phone. As soon as there was enough space for him to squeeze by, he did, mumbling a quick thanks as he made his way down the hall, unlocking his door and disappearing into his apartment in what felt like a second.

After a moment of silence, your roommate piped up again. "He's cute!"

"He can probably still hear you!" you whacked her across the shoulder, causing her to pout in your direction again, though the teasing look never left her eyes.

"He's kind of your type too isn't he?" she all-but waggled her eyebrows in your direction to which you rolled your eyes.

"Aren't you already late for your flight"

"Oh shit!"

~~~

The apartment felt so strange when you were alone. Usually around this time of night, your roommate would have come banging on your door to join her for her late night rom-com marathon or to help her chose an outfit or the party she was going to. Tonight however, everything was quiet.

With a sigh, you slumped over onto your bed, scrolling aimlessly through your phone in hopes of finding some sort of entertainment.

That was when you heard it. The soft sound of an instrumental through the wall, slowly building in volume as you assumed whoever lived in that room turned up the volume.

"40 days and 40 nights... I waited for a girl like you to come and save my life..."

Aww cute, love songs! Had you been busy or doing literally anything else, you might have been annoyed, or at least a little worried about exactly how loud they had to be playing their music for you to be able to hear it. As things stood though, it was a welcome distraction.

"You were out of my league, all the things I believed, you were just the right kind yeah you were more than just a dream..."

Oh yeah, you knew this song too! There was a sort of second timbre to the sound and you wondered if the person playing the music was singing along as well.

Wait, who was playing that music. Judging by the sound, it was likely the unit one to your left where their wall joined with yours. The unit one to your left...

Multi-colored hair and golden eyes... The cute guy? Pulling yourself immediately up into a sitting position, you pressed yourself to the wall before immediately realizing how crazy you were acting.

He was just playing music, that wasn't anything weird.

"Romeo take me, somewhere we can be alone..."

Taylor Swift. He was playing Taylor Swift. At that, you started laughing. Wow, appearances really could be deceiving huh? You sighed as you leaned with your back against the wall, letting the vibrations from the music soak into your very being.

You were sure that you'd heard music coming from that unit before but he wasn't usually loud at all. Maybe something was different today? Maybe you'd ask him when you next saw him. And maybe, he'd actually want to talk to you when you did.

Or maybe not.

So for now, you let your head rest against the wall, letting the music and soft singing lull you into relaxation.

~~~

That was it, you despised public transportation. All you wanted was to get out of your apartment for one day and take your work to a nearby cafe. So of course, when you ran outside to catch the bus that came once every hour, the bus driver looked you straight in the eye as he closed the door right in front of you and drove off. And then for good measure, it started raining.

You sighed, burying your face in the backpack on your lap. If the bus app was right, which it rarely was, there was another bus you could take arriving in the next few minutes, so maybe this wouldn't be as awful as you thought.

The sound of footsteps entering the little bus stop booth got your mind off of your moping as you raised your head just enough to peer over at who it was that had just joined you.

Oh. Standing there, hood pulled up over his multi-toned hair and seemingly permanent scowl fixed on his lips, was your hot neighbor. Your hot neighbor with very interesting music taste if last night told you anything.

Since nothing could go right for you, the moment that you looked at him, he looked at you, meaning the two of you got to share a few agonizing seconds of awkward eye contact before he pointedly turned away with a soft "tsk". That being said, you were sure that you weren't imagining the slight tinge of shock you had seen in his gaze for a moment.

"You've got good timing, there's one coming in like 5 minutes." You had no idea how you had managed to get the words out without stuttering or blushing the moment he turned back to look at you.

"That's good..." Yup, that was an expected response, and yet, you really just wanted him to keep talking. So this was the end of your story with the gorgeous emo boy next door. Relegated to exchanging conversation about public transportation and nothing more. It was really the wasted potential here that was killing you. So many cute interactions that would just never happen. Ah if only the bus would come so that you wouldn't have to wallow in your despair any longer.

"I... thought you were leaving yesterday?"

Oh? You whirled around way too quickly to face the man, causing his eyes to widen as he shifted away instinctually.

"Oh, I was just helping my roommate move all of her stuff," you managed to get out, summoning what you hoped was a non-nervous smile to your lips.

"Those were all her bags?" he seemed horrified, enough so that you couldn't hold back your laughter.

"I said the same thing! She's kind of insane sometimes but I love her..." Well, it was no or never. "I'm [name] by the way!" You smiled and extended a hand out towards the boy.

He regarded you for a moment with a look you couldn't put into words. After what felt like an eternity however, he gently took your hand in his own, holding it for barely a moment before pulling back again. "Xiao."

Xiao. There was a strange sense of relief that came with this new knowledge. Know that you knew his name, was it couth to ask him what his favorite Taylor Swift song was? Probably not. But there was a chance that you might literally never be able to talk to him again... Meh, it was as you were thinking before right? Now or never.

"Hi Xiao. I liked your playlist last night by the way." The words came out more effortlessly than you had thought they would, carefree and teasing.

You were a little bit surprised though when you glanced back over at Xiao, only to find him eyes blown wide as a deep red spread quickly across his cheeks. "Y-You!"

"Honestly a pretty good curation! If a little unexpected..." You had no idea what it was about this guy but he really brought the snarky, teasing part of you out. Maybe it was the fact that while he usually looked cold and intimidating, blushing, embarrassed Xiao was strangely adorable.

"I thought you left!" Xiao blurted out. "I mean... There were so many bags... And your roommate said that you guys were leaving..."

You stared blankly at him for a moment before immediately dissolving into peals of laughter. Xiao had the gall to pretend to be offended for a moment before he looked away with a soft huff. "What..."

"You know, I kind of thought you were scary at first," you managed between giggles. "I guess not though!"

"Ugh, you're insufferable." Xiao rolled his eyes though you were sure that you saw the slightest hint of a smile as he did. "Why were you listening through the walls anyway?"

"Xiao, it was literally so loud."

"It wasn't that bad!"

"And I think I heard some singing too! Say, you in a band? Do you guys usually just write love songs?"

"I was not singing!"

There was a strange warmth in your chest as the two of you went back and forth. So things could go right for you after all?

~~~

Sadly, you and Xiao hadn't been going the same way, so when his bus came - before yours you might add - the two of you had parted ways. The sun had been going down when you made your way back home, satisfied with a productive day, though the memory of your conversation with Xiao was still taking up a lot more headspace than you would have liked.

So this is what it was like to simp for a guy? You weren't sure you liked it.

Setting down the takeout you had picked up on the counter, you crashed onto your living room couch with a low groan. Sleep would be nice right about now, but also, you had to eat and shower and clean...

"I wonder what Xiao's doing?" The thought appeared in your head suddenly and you almost smacked yourself right then and there. Why were you always thinking about him? You'd literally spoken to the guy once, and it wasn't anything special! Just some teasing and his little retorts... And his cute blush... And his little smile... And the way he pretended to be annoyed when he was clearly enjoying it... Wow, this was worse than you thought.

"CAN YOU FEEL MY HEART?"

You yelped, jumping up in your seat at the sudden noise, coming once again from the wall separating you and Xiao's units. You paused for a moment but before you could stop yourself, you were back up on your feet, making your way over and banging against the wall.

"You're not fooling anyone Xiao!" you yelled, not sure if he could even hear you. Apparently he could since the music stopped as quickly as it had started. There was a moment of silence as you pressed your ear to the wall, waiting for his next move. What you did not expect was to hear sound in the other direction. A knock on your door.

Confused, you made your way over, unlocking the door and pulling it open to reveal, Xiao? He was still wearing his giant black hoodie, though the glare was missing.

"Did you run out of sugar or something? Or fake angsty songs to play?" you questioned with a grin.

As expected, he let out a soft huff, turning his head away in fake exasperation. "You're a menace."

"So what I'm hearing is that you want me to send in a noise complaint!"

"You idiot... I'm just here to-" For whatever reason, he was blushing again.

"Here to?" you prompted, wondering if you should invite him in or offer him water or something. He was tugging at the collar of his hoodie too...

"J-Just here to say that if you're going to sit there listening through the walls, you might as well just come over..."

Did you hear that right? You stared at him for a moment longer, blinking slowly. This was probably a dream right? You were so tired when you got home that you fell asleep and now you were dreaming.

"I mean, you don't have to if you don't want to..." Or maybe not.

"You know, normal people just invite people over without pretending to be edgy right?"

"Shut it, are you coming or not?"

"Yeah yeah I'm coming. Oh yeah, I got takeout, I'll bring it. It's from that new place down the street, Wangshu Inn. Have you ever had Almond Tofu before?"

"... you're unbelievable."

note: i want a hot neighbor like xiao... i did have a hot neighbor who i did hit on, but then i found out that he had a girlfriend so i stopped... but xiao would be better.

#genshin impact #genshin impact fic #genshin impact au #genshin au #modern au #xiao #xiao genshin impact #xiao x reader #xiao genshin x reader #alatus

280 notes · View notes

five-rivers · 4 years

Note

So first, I just want to say that I love Mortified, especially the arcs involving Ereshkigal and Innana. The whole thing is absolutely incredible, and I'm always thrilled to see an update. Second, I was rather hoping to offer you a prompt I've had swirling about my head. What if there is some sort of research facility exploring "that which is unknown and previously thought to be impossible" (i.e. magic but they don't call it that because people don't really know about magic and ghosts in this AU) and Danny's class is invited to go on a field trip there. At first, everything is normal, but just after the class leaves the researchers realize that their instruments show that some sort of Eldritch Horror is nearby and they start freaking out, but it's just Danny. I don't know where else this would go though.

Mr. Lancer chewed on the end of his pen. It was a disgusting habit, he knew, but he could never quite get himself to kick it, especially when he had a problem to confront.

Said problem was, presently, that enough of his students had expressed an interest in careers in ectology and paranormal science that he really had to give them a relevant field trip. Unfortunately, there were very few reputable options for such a field trip. The Fentons were unsafe, Axion Labs refused to give tours, the GIW were essentially a government sponsored hate group. Most other ‘ghost hunting agencies’ were outright scams.

But there had to be something nearby. Or at least in the state. Maybe not something that explicitly or solely dealt with ghosts, but something.

Maybe...

Oh!

He shifted to sit straighter in his chair. That would work. He started typing an email.

“We got a what?” repeated Johannsson.

“A field trip request,” repeated Deer.

“Like... from a school?” asked Johannsson, cautiously.

“A high school,” confirmed Deer, sounding rather stunned.

“Do they... know what we do here?”

“Evidently,” said Deer.

“Like, they know we research magic and telepathy and stuff.”

“Yes.”

“And astral projection, higher-dimensional beings, alternate universes, that kind of thing? Fringe science?”

“He says the junior class is interested in the ‘paranormal sciences.’”

“Wow,” said Johannsson, finally bringing his coffee up to his mouth and sipping at it cautiously. “Where,” he started, “where are they from?”

“Um,” said Deer, peering at her computer screen. “Casper High. One sec.” She started typing. “It’s in Amity Park? Do you think it’s a joke?”

“Ah,” said Johannsson. “No, that tracks, actually, if it’s Amity Park. We’ve got some weird readings on file from there, if you look it up.”

“It’s close,” said Deer. “If we get readings, why don’t we have a presence there?”

“Another agency called dibs first,” said Johannsson. “We have enough trouble. No need to step on toes.”

Deer looked up at Johannsson incredulously. “We fight eldritch abominations from the edge of reality,” she said. “Is the boss really worried about stepping on toes?”

“Hey, that’s how we get funding,” said Johannsson, shrugging. “We don’t want to end up like MKUltra.”

“MKUltra was a scam, Steve. And also mostly illegal.”

“Yeah?”

Deer shrugged. “Anyway, should I send this on, or...?”

“Yeah, go ahead. The boss will probably get a kick out of it, if nothing else.”

“I would not have told the boss about this if I knew I’d be the one babysitting a bunch of teenagers,” said Deer through a clenched smile. She jerked on the hem of her blouse, not used to the more formal clothes she was wearing on this momentous occasion.

“Yeah,” said Johannsson, “but it isn’t like we get a lot of people coming into this profession for this profession. And they’re kids. So be nice.”

“I’m always nice,” grumbled Deer.

“Well, look like it,” said Johannsson, elbowing her. He caught sight of the yellow school bus. “Here they come now.”

They waited until most of the students had gotten off the bus to approach.

“Hi,” said Johannsson, “you must be Mr. Lancer.”

“That’s me,” said the rather frazzled-looking teacher. “Come on kids, let’s get settled down. Listen to our guides. Let them introduce themselves.”

“Yeah, hey,” said Johannsson, waving. “Welcome to the Edge Institute, where we study that which is unknown and often thought to be impossible.”

“Hi,” said Deer, frowning at one group of students in particular. Johannsson followed her eyes.

The trio in question didn’t seem particularly out of the ordinary. Except... Well, there was a reason Deer worked here.

“I’m Steve Johannsson,” he said, getting back on track. “This is Sylvia Deer. We mostly work in report processing and assessment, but that brings us into contact with all our other departments, so we’re more than suited to show you around.”

Sylvia put her thumbs up. “Yep,” she said.

“Most of what we work with isn’t terribly dangerous, however, there are exceptions to that rule, and we have some classified projects, so don’t wander off. Stay within view of us at all times.”

“What if we need to use the bathroom?” asked a student.

“Well, that’s different,” admitted Johannsson. “We’ve got a couple scheduled stops, so make sure you go at those times. Other than that, don’t go through any doors we don’t open for you and don’t touch anything without asking first. Got it?”

There was a soft murmur of assent.

“Come on, kids,” said Mr. Lancer, clapping, “he asked a question.”

The murmur became slightly more unanimous.

“Right,” said Deer. She jerked her head towards the building. “Let’s go.”

“Anyway,” said Johannsson, “this is reception, which is the only part of the building freely open to the general public. If you do need to go to the bathroom, they’re right there. We’re going to hang out here for a few minutes, get everyone taken care of.”

Most of the students made their way to the restrooms immediately, however, that one trio stayed put.

“Hey,” said the smallest of the group, “do you guys hear that?”

“Hear what?” asked Johannsson.

“Um,” said the boy, slightly rocking forward on the balls of his feet, “there’s, like, an alarm or a siren going off? It’s really faint, but is everything okay?”

“We’d get a text,” said Deer. “Not to mention an announcement on the PA system.”

“And the radios,” said Johannsson, tapping his.

“Right,” said Deer, nodding. “Maybe you have tinnitus or something?”

“Isn’t that recurrent, though?” asked Johannsson. “He’d know if he had it.”

“I do not have tinnitus,” said the boy, firmly. “I really think there’s an alarm going off. Or maybe someone has a mosquito ringtone. Gosh, I hate those...”

Johannsson glanced at Deer and noted that she, once again, was staring at the children rather intensely. Mostly at the boy, but that made sense since he was the one speaking.

“Danny has good hearing,” said the girl, who was decked out in an array of gothic and mystic symbols. One which, on closer inspection, would probably be fairly effective at passive protection.

Johannsson wondered if that was the result of research, intuition, or sheer luck.

Perhaps that was why Deer was looking at them like that?

“Maybe I’m just imagining it,” said Danny, shaking his head. “Let’s go to the bathrooms. There’s probably a line by now.”

Once the kids were gone, and Johannsson and Deer were more or less alone in the entry hall, Johannsson turned to Deer. “Think we should call Detection?”

“Yeah,” said Deer, pulling out her phone. “There’s something not right, here.”

“Maybe he’s a sensitive?” suggested Johannsson. “He could be picking up a project.”

“Or maybe he’s like you and he’ll break every piece of tech invented in the last twenty-five years as soon as he touches it. Or he was cursed by a goddess, like Vicky in Containment. Or maybe he just has tinnitus and is in denial. I still don’t like this.” She finished dialing Detection and brought the phone to her ear. “Hey, I-” She pulled the phone away, glared at it and cautiously brought it back. “What’s going on? An incursion? Then why aren’t we on lockdown?”

Johannsson’s blood ran cold. “An incursion? How big?”

Deer held up a hand. “That doesn’t- You know we can’t detect everything! It doesn’t matter if nothing else gets triggered, the protocol is lockdown until we can determine- If you had done your job, the kids would still be on the damn bus!”

At this point, Deer’s shouts had drawn the attention and worry of Mr. Lancer and several of the students who had emerged from the bathrooms.

“Is everything alright?” asked the man.

Johannsson glanced at Deer. “No,” he decided, just before the security shutters slammed down and the emergency lighting came on. “I’m really sorry,” he said, “but it seems like some of our colleagues were overly excited about your tour and didn’t, er, follow proper procedure following a, uh, event. So-”

The PA system stuttered into life. “Attention. A level seven entity has been detected. All nonessential personnel, please proceed to the nearest shelter. Repeat-”

“Seven?” echoed Johannsson, starting to sweat. “Seven?”

“It’s probably a false alarm,” said Deer, putting away her phone and smiling in the way only people who feel very ill do. “None of the other incursion detectors went off. No radiation associated with dimensional breaks or anything. We should still get everyone to a shelter. Maybe you can round up everyone from the bathrooms?”

“Right,” said Mr. Lancer, who was enviably calm.

“Is an entity like a ghost or something?” asked one of the kids, who clearly weren’t grasping the gravity of the situation. “How strong is a seven?”

Level seven entities couldn’t be described in terms of strength alone. They were eldritch, uncaring gods that tore at the fabric of reality with their very presence, creatures that had no business being on the material plane. They shed bright magic and dark science in their wake, leaving those unfortunate enough to see them grappling with madness that was not.

He really wanted to know what was happening in Amity Park (ghosts?) that made these people so blasé about the alarms, flashing lights, and security shutters.

Wait a second.

He unclipped his radio from his belt. “This is Johannsson, calling detection. Can you describe the signal to me? Over.”

The radio crackled. “Slowly rising over the last thirty minutes, peaking and plateauing in the last ten. Why? Do you have something? Over.”

The bus had arrived ten minutes ago. Johannsson closed his eyes. “Maybe. Will inform. Over and out.”

He looked over at the bathroom where Danny and his two friends were emerging. Danny had his hands pressed over his ears. Whenever the overhead lights flashed off, the boys eyes reflected green. Just for a second.

Yeah. Johannsson had something. The question was, what was he going to do about it?

#danny phantom #not quite your prompt but...#close?#ask #answer #prompt #prompt fill

499 notes · View notes

felassan · 4 years

Text

Mass Effect development insights and highlights from Bioware: Stories and Secrets from 25 Years of Game Development

This is the Mass Effect version of this post.

[In case you can’t read it the subtitle in the bottom left logo above is “Guardians of the Citadel”]

Note: Drug use is mentioned.

Cut for length.

Mass Effect 1

ME began its life in a vision document in fall 2003

Codenamed “SFX”

Conceived of by Casey Hudson and a core team from KotOR. Its genesis was the intention to create an epic sci-fi RPG in an original setting that BioWare owned (so they could have full creative control), and in a setting that was conceived of first and foremost as a video game

Initially players could control any squadmate, but they wanted it to be about Shep and for players to be focused on Shep being a battlefield commander, rather than on switching bodies

By the start of 2004 its story was shaping up. Initially humans landed on Mars in 2250 and discovered evidence of an ancient alien race and a powerful substance, Black Sand, which rapidly advanced tech to the point that FTL travel was possible. (My note: obviously now the Prothean artifacts on Mars & associated mass effect force tech enabled this in the final canon, but I wonder if aspects of the ‘Black Sand’ naming-type & powerful substance stuff was rolled into red sand from final canon) Humans were suddenly capable of travel to multiple star systems and made contact with a multitude of other species. At the start of the first game, these species together with humans had a fragile peace, with focus placed on the political center of the galaxy, a hub known as Star City, later renamed the Citadel

Multiplayer was a vision for the series as far back as 2003. The plan was for ME1, an Xbox exclusive at launch, to take advantage of the platform’s online components. Early designs saw players meeting in one of the central hubs to interact and trade items in their otherwise SP adventures

By 2006 it had the name ME and the story was more specific, with the theme of conflict between organic and synthetic lifeforms. The story’s scope now stretched across 3 games and included scope for full co-op MP

They tried to do MP in every game, discussing it from the get-go, but it always just fell by the wayside. “When you’re trying to build something that is a new IP, on a new platform, with a new engine, you’ve got to really focus on the core elements of the game.”

The conversation system prototype was made in Jade Empire, and some of ME’s earliest writing was done in an old JE build. At first there was no conversation wheel. Paragon was “Friendly” and Renegade “Hostile”. In the prototype Shep was a silent unnamed Spectre. Many conversations in the prototype about the player’s choice in smuggling a weapon through Noveria made it into the game

In said prototype a merchant referred to themselves as “this one”, though the word hanar never appeared. The PC in it also had the option to end a conversation with “I should go”. In the prototype also, Harkin was voiced by Mark Meer

An early version of the Mako got used as the krogan truck in ME2

Early concepts of the Citadel were drawn in pencil by CH. A piece of concept art of its final design was painted based on a photo of a sculpture near Aswan, Egypt

As with any new IP naming it was a struggle. They put out a call to all staff for ideas, did polls, made a name generator that combined words that they liked in random ways and made pretend logos of ones they liked in Photoshop to see if they could make themselves love the name or find visual potential in it. (Some of these names are in the pic at the top of this post.) CH liked “Unearthed” as it was a reference to Prothean ruins dug up on Mars and humanity’s ascendance going away from Earth. They knew the game would have a central space station featuring prominently so some of the ideas were based on that - “The Citadel”, “The Optigon”, “The Oculon”. “Element” was another one they had in mind due to the rare substance in the game

CH: “I was a big fan of John Harris’ book Mass, which had epic-scaled sci-fi ideas, so that was a word that came up often. Many of the names came from the idea that the IP featured a fifth fundamental physical force (in addition to the known four of gravitational, electromagnetic, strong nuclear and weak nuclear) so the word ‘effect’ came up pretty often.” Ultimately none of the ideas really felt right. One Monday morning they were going over the names and Greg Zeschuk said he had an idea on the weekend: “Mass Effect!” CH: “I said, ‘I don’t hate it’, which in the naming process is a high compliment. And it stuck!”

CH on Shep’s Prothean vision from the beacon: “It was hard to imagine how we would do this. CG was - and is - really expensive. Instead I wanted to try doing it through photography and video editing. So I went to a local grocery store and bought a few packages of the weirdest looking meat that I could find. Then I set up a little photoshoot in my basement, complete with some electronics parts and some red wine for juicyness.” He used these props to create a video sequence where the photos were rapidly cycled and blurred, along with production paintings, to create the scary vision an organic/machine experiment on the Protheans. These mashups were also used as inspiration for concept artists and level designers who were working on these themes

Tali used to be called Talsi

On the licensing side they often joke that they’re licensing N7 not “Mass Effect” due to N7′s popularity

There was a confidential internal guide to the IP in 2007 to help devs along and summarize/synthesize the vision etc. Some excerpts from it are shown in the book and this is the first time the public have ever seen them

Early versions of Asari had hair

Asari were designed as a nod to classic TV sci-fi (with human actors wearing obvious makeup and prosthetics to play aliens)

The turian design guideline was “we want them to be birds of prey”. They also wanted a range of alien types, some close to human like Asari, while others were to be a lot further away, like turians

BioWare patented the conversation wheel, which was a first for them. CH had been frustrated with reviews of Jade Empire that said that the actioncentric game was too wordy [with its list dialogue]. “I’m like, story is words. [...] What is it about our games that is making people feel like they’re wordy?” Then he thought “In a game you kind of need to feel like you’re continuing to play it. Maybe you should continue feeling like you’re playing it actively into the dialogue.” “[The wheel] kind of gave a new experience with dialogue when you did start to react based on emotion, and that’s ultimately what we’re trying to bring out in our games”

The original krogan concept was based on a bat “with a really wide squidgy face. We just used its face on top of this weird body and it kinda worked”

Geth musculature was based on fiber-optic cables, with flexible plates of armor attached

The vision for the IP was 80s sci-fi inspired space opera

The concept art of Saren lifting Shep by the throat inspired a similar scene in-game. The staging wasn’t planned til designers saw that art

A squadmate with Shepard on the way to meet Ash in an old storyboard was called Carter. Early name of Kaidan or Jenkins?

Bono from U2 was kinda instrumental in bringing us ME lol

Finding the right cover art for ME1 was notably tricky

Matt Rhodes got his start drawing helmets for ME1, including one which would become Shep’s “second face”. He estimates he drew between 250-270 different ones

Some of the sounds in-game were people smashing watermelons with sledgehammers and sticking fists into various goos

The audio team had fun trying to slip the iconic main theme into unexpected places throughout the MET. “We were very aware of how powerful that track was for the fans and it was tempting to overuse it for any moment we wanted to make really emotional”.

The theme was creatively repurposed in ME3: slowed down and reworked as the ambient sound for the SR-2. “If you listen to it for a really long time, just stand in the Normandy and listen, you’ll actually hear the notes change slowly. It doesn’t sound like music, it sounds like a background ambiance, but it’s there.” (My note: Well no wonder the Normandy feels so much like home?? 😭 sneaky..)

Bug report: “Mako Tornado”. There wasn’t enough friction between the tires and the ground, causing testers to lose control of the vehicle and send it spinning into the air like a tornado. “As it turns, the front end comes up, and then it starts spinning and spinning and spinning and spinning faster and faster and faster until it just flies up in the sky” (My note: Sounds like a regular day in the Mako to me)

Cerberus originally had a bigger role in this game. It was cut but they had a whole explorable outpost. “I called it Misery,” says Mac Walters, “It was this planet with a little outpost that said ‘Welcome to Misery’”. Everything on the outpost was shit - dirty worn stuff, no windows, no kitchen, the vehicle bay was open to the elements etc

The Reaper sound is literal garbage. Some audio designers went on a recording trip to a national park. One of them got fixated on a garbage can, “a metal bear-proof receptacle with a heavy lid that creaked horribly when opened”. “It was like, ominous, spooky, tonal and almost musical. I decided to throw a mic into the garbage and record it moving. I didn’t know what it was going to be until later”

They were making lots of noises to record like throwing logs and rocks around. An old couple peered at them through the window of their camper van in the woods and must have called the cops because then the cops showed up, pulled them over and told them to stop. The cops towed their car (the driver’s plates were Cali plates and expired), drove them to Edmonton outskirts and then the audio producer Shauna got a call and had to go pick them up “like three little boys”. “We got a stern talking to”. Once back they were playing around with the garbage sound, editing it etc. Casey heard it and proclaimed “That’s the sound of the Reapers”

Preston Watamaniuk: “There are things I could have done to Mass 1 to make it an infinitely better game with better UIs” and some simple cuts and changes. “But when you’re living with it, it’s very hard to see those things”

BioWare Labs

As social media and smartphone games exploded, BioWare dedicated a small team dedicated to exploring opportunities here - BioWare Labs

Mass Effect: Galaxy used a unique graphic art style and static visual presentation common in visual novels. It has the distinction of being the only iOS game BW have made during their first 25 years

Scrapped ideas were a 3rd person space shooter called Mass Effect: Corsair and 2 DA titles - a strategy game and a top-down dungeon crawler starring young Wynne. (My note: Maybe the corsairs stuff was rolled into Jacob’s backstory in 2, the Alliance Corsairs)

Corsair was a very short-lived project that never got its feet under it. It was a spin-off on Nintendo DS featuring a behind-the-ship perspective and branching dialogue. At one point it had MP. The idea behind it was basically “ME: Freelancer” - fly your ship around, do missions, get credits. It had a limited branching story but was a gameplay-centered experience intended to fill the gap between ME1 and 2. That gap ended up being filled by Galaxy

Galaxy and Corsair’s smaller screen allowed concept artists to use bold colors and a simplistic character design style to help those games stand out from Shep’s story

Nick Thornborrow did some art for Corsair but was worried his art style didn’t fit ME. He moved to DA where he feels his art style fits better

Lots of BioWare VAs and even a lead writer and the VO director are drawn from Edmonton’s local community theater scene, which is vibrant. Think this is how Mark Meer got involved

Mass Effect 2

Player choices carrying over was a first for BW

Dirty Dozen-inspired plot

Its plot is a web of conditionals (see Suicide Mission)

Was more of a shooter than anything BW had made since Shattered Steel

There was 2 camps on the team, those who wanted to push combat and systems forward and redefine the ME experience and those who wanted to make a true sequel, with the same gameplay and systems but a new story. Karin Weekes: “I think it ended up being a good push-pull. It felt like a pretty healthy creative conflict”

“ME2 was a game you could hold up to someone who argues that games aren’t a serious medium and go ‘Oh yeah, then why is Martin Sheen in this?’” Sheen was their first pick for TIM

The idea for TIM came from a mash-up of concepts CH had collected over the years. The name “Illusive” originally came from his pitch for naming DAO’s Eclipse engine, a word inspired by Obi-Wan’s line “It’s not about the mission, Master. It’s something... elsewhere. Elusive”. “I thought, what if we called our next engine 'Elusive', but used an ‘I’, and then it’s like ‘Illusion’. [...] I still really like the word with an ‘I’ and what it conjures”

When ME1 DLC was in production, CH had been watching a lot of CNN, specifically Anderson Cooper. “How is one guy travelling to all these places and never looking tired and always being able to speak with clarity?” CH says it seemed almost superhuman. “What if there was someone who is the absolute maximum of the things you would aspire to be, but also the worst of humanity?” Cooper, though not evil, became an inspiration for TIM down to the gray hair and piercing blue eyes

Inspiration for TIM’s behind-the-scenes role pulling political strings came from Jack Bauer’s brother Graem in 24. Graem “can call up the president and tell him what to do and hang up, because he’s so connected and so influential”. Sheen had played a president and his performance brought gravitas and wisdom to the role. He had quit smoking, but the character smokes. He didn’t want to fake it, but he also didn’t want to smoke, “so he actually asked for a cigarette” to hold so he could stop his words to take drags with natural cadence

Writing was still pushing to write and revise lines hours before VO started. A series of problems like injury and some writers leaving for other opportunities left it so that Karin, Lukas Kristjanson and editor Cookie Everman hand to land the story safely, with PW helping where they could. Lukas: “We took over the writing bug and task list, and I can’t stress enough how much [Karin and Cookie] did to get ME2 out the door. There’s no part of that thing we didn’t touch”. Karin: “That was the most dramatic 2 weeks of my life”

Initial fan reaction when they started promo-ing ME2 was very negative because people didn’t want to know about new chars like Jack and Mordin. “[fans were like] ‘Get them out of here. We want our characters from the first game’. But then when they played them, those became some of the most popular chars [of the series]”

Concept art of Thane has an idea annotation saying “Face can shapeshift?”

At one point when designing Thane concept artists sent multiple variations of him to the team asking them to vote on which was the most attractive

Most of the Normandy crew was written by lead level designer Dusty Everman. Lukas gave him advice in the evenings between bugs

BioWare Montreal made ME2 and 3 cinematics

CC for Shep was based on tools used by char designers to create in-game chars. Under the hood similar tools existed to create aliens

Aliens were much easier to animate than humans. When something is human it’s very difficult to make it look realistic and you can see all the mistakes and everything

Over the holiday period in 2007 CH worked out a diagram on a single piece of paper that would define the entire scope and structure of the game. The diagram is included in the book

Bug report: “I shot a krogan so hard that his textures fell off”. At one point shotgun blast damage was applied to each of the pellets fired, and shot enemies ended up with just the default checkerboard Unreal texture on them after their textures got blown off

Blasto was meant to be 1 step above an Easter egg but his fan popularity prompted them to bring him back in ME3

They rewrote chunks of Jack 2 days before she went to VO. She was the only one they could change because all the other NPCs were recorded. They redesigned her mission by juggling locked NPC lines and changing Shep’s reactions by rewriting text paraphrases to change the context of the already-recorded VO

Lukas snuck obscure nods ito ME2′s distress calls. In the general distress call for the Hugo Gernsback, there’s BW’s initial’s and Edmonton’s phone number backwards. In a fault in a beacon protocol there’s the initials and backward phone number from Tommy Tutone’s “Jenny”. In 2 other general distress calls there’s initials and numbers from Glenn Miller Orchestra’s “Pennsylvania 6-5000″ and initials and numbers from Geddy Lee and Rush’s “2112″ respectively

Mass Effect 3

“The end of an era marks the beginning of another”

ME3 “marked the end of Shep’s story”

Saying bye to Shep was as difficult for devs as it was for players

JHale’s final VO session included Anderson’s death and romanced Garrus’ goodbye. “We were in the session and we both just started crying”, Caroline says. “I couldn’t come on the line to give her notes because I was crying, and she was crying. And so there was just this minute-long pause of like, nothing, nothing, nothing - just silence through the airwaves. And then I came on and just told her that I was crying and she said ‘I’m crying!’” They talked about these anecdotes also here on the N7 Day reunion panel

The Microsoft Kinect voice support required devs to teach Kinect hundreds of commands in a variety of accents across multiple languages. The result was useful but made for some awkward moments. Numerous players accidentally said “geth” or “quarian” while making a particular decision and accidentally killed Tali

MP chars were voiced by cops and military people

The helmet on one of the MP chars was originally designed for cancelled project Revolver

The payload device at the end needed to attach to the Citadel while essentially serving as a giant trigger. “It ended up becoming quite the engineering feet just to visualize how this thing would move and connect to the Citadel”

Concept artists explored creating an anti-team, where Kai Leng was almost an anti-Shepard essentially, with an elite squad to counteract your team. This idea never went beyond concept phase

ME3 Special Edition was released on Nintendo Wii U exclusively. This exclusive version of the game includes Genesis 2 (a sequel to the original Genesis comic) and unique gameplay features that took advantage of the touchscreen GamePad. For years Sonic Chronicles: Dark Brotherhood had had the honor of being BW’s only game made for a Nintendo console

FemShep regrettably didn’t feature in major ME marketing til ME3. Later releases like DAI, MEA and Anthem have taken increasing care not to gender their protagonists in cover art

To capture combat sounds they took a trip to CFB Wainwright, a military base southeast of Edmonton. They got a big tour of it and were allowed to record anything they could find. The tour ended with them getting to drive and shoot tanks (real shells). The force of doing that sent waves through Joel Green, he felt his whole chest compress when it went off; the perfect sound for the Black Widow! After the trip the soldiers let him keep the shell he fired and it’s been passed on like a torch to various devs since

Kakliosaurs began life as a joke in the writers’ room after John Dombrow placed a Grunt figure on a t-rex toy he had on his desk. Lore was brainstormed to justify the mash-up before someone asked, “Why don’t we put this in the game?” They loved it so much Karin had custom coffee mugs made

Bug report: For a while Tali’s final romance scene would fire when she was supposed to be dead

“Balancing combat: how designers in ME3 entered an ‘arms race’” - the solution to players feeling OP vs players feeling frustrated by really strong enemies is to find a good middle ground, but for designers Corey Gaspur and Brenon Holmes, it was war. Brenon designed enemies, Corey designed guns. Corey “was obsessed with bigger, heavier guns. We had this sort of informal competition where he’d make this crazy overturned gun that would just murder all the enemies, and then I tuned some stuff up to compensate”

Brenon had to invent new ways to “stop Corey” and this led to the Phantoms. Corey had in turn designed consumable rockets that could wipe out entire waves of enemies. He must’ve figured this would make short work of Brenon’s space ninjas, but Brenon had other plans: “I had just added the ability for her to cut rockets [when Corey was playing MP and he was watching]. She cut the rocket in half... Corey just turns and looks at me and is like: ‘Really dude? I just shot a rocket at this Phantom and she’s fine? Not even damaged? Zero damage?’”

This friendly rivalry helped elevate ME3′s gameplay. Corey had a knack for making a gun feel so good to fire it had his fellow designers scrambling to keep up. It was his version of balancing. Before Corey sadly passed away he mentored Boldwin Li in all things weapon design and the arms race continued

Corey designed the Arc Pistol. It was causing problems for enemies because it was too powerful. It seemed hell bent on staying that way, Boldwin would tune down all its stats and it was still doing 3x the damage it should have been doing. “I was like ‘What the hell?’, and then I looked closer. It secretly fired 3 bullets for every pull of the trigger! Corey, you sneaky jerk”

The day it launched there were midnight launch parties across North America including one near the BW building. Numerous devs sat at long tables greeting fans and signing autographs as the fans picked up preorders. When midnight struck the line was long enough that it took several hours for some fans to get their game. One particular fan is remembered: “It was 3am. Some guy drove up from Calgary with his friends. He was like one of the last people in line. I think he was sort of tired-drunk. He threw himself across the tables, pulled up his shirt and shouted ‘Guys, sign my abs!’ And like I did, because he waited so long. It felt impolite not to. So I hope he enjoyed his copy of ME3″

For designing Protheans concept artists had free reign to design something that read as ancient

Before the concept art team had the story of the game to work toward, they explored wild ideas of their own including an image of the crew stealing back the Normandy to go after the Reapers

Jen Cheverie was testing scenes and was initially excited to be testing Mordin scenes, til she saw she was testing the Renegade version of his death. “This is even before like all of the audio and everything was in, so you didn’t even have the sad music. I remember sitting at my desk and my hands just went to my face when I saw that the gun Shep pulls on Mordin is the gun he gives Shep in ME2. I burst into tears and was crying for the rest of the day. People are waving to me as they walk by and I’m like, ‘It’s ok, I’m just killing my best friend’”

There’s a segment called “Shepard’s story ends”. Casey on the ending: “There’s a whole bunch of things that come together to make it incredibly tense and emotional for players. I think the biggest one was the sense of finality, that whatever it was that happened in that very last moment... was it.”

Wrapping up the story was a massive feat. In a way all of ME3 is an ending. Its final moments were the players’ last with a char they’d been with all the way from Eden Prime

“And while the critical reception of the game was extremely positive, many fans were unsatisfied with the ending, which became one of the most controversial in the history of games.” CH: “We were, on one hand, at the end of a marathon trying to finish the game and the series. But as devs we also knew that there would be more. We knew that we would continue to tell the story. In retrospect, we didn’t fully appreciate the tremendous sense of finality that it would have for people”. He envisioned an ending that posed new questions, something in the tradition of high sci-fi that left players dreaming about what that particular galaxy’s future could hold. “Frankly, there’s a lot more that we could have and should have done to honor the work players put in, to give them a stronger sense of reward and closure”

AAA games are massive undertakings with a million moving parts. Somehow they come together but even the best-planned projects don’t turn out quite like devs hope. From start to end video game production is a series of compromises. It’s rare if not impossible for devs to ship a game they’re entirely happy with. “I think that people imagine that when you finish a game, it’s exactly the way you wanted it to be. But whether people end up loving or hating the final result, we work hard to finish it the best we can, knowing that there’s a lot we would have wanted to do better. I think that’s true of any creative work”

As the dust settled after the initial reaction to the ending and later its epilogue, meant to show the wide-reaching ripple effects of Shep’s final choice, “players emerged mostly asking for one thing”. CH: “Now, most of what we hear, after both ME3 and MEA, is ‘Hey, just go make more Mass Effect’. And that to me is the most important thing. Knowing that players want to return to the ME universe is what inspires us to press on and imagine what comes next”

Mass Effect: Andromeda

By creating a new ME in a new galaxy the team was challenged to put their own visual stamp on the game while keeping it true to the franchise

Being the first ME game on a new gen of consoles meant for more detail

“Massive transport ships called arks populated with salarians, turians, humans, asari and quarians” made the risky jump to the Cluster

MEA was the first time BW had truly codeveloped across 3 studios: Edmonton, Montreal and Austin. The bulk of the work especially early on was done in Montreal, which was composed of a handful of Edmonton expats and heaps of experienced devs who joined from elsewhere specifically to bring a new ME experience to life. Series vets in Edmonton then came on to contribute writing, cinematics, design and QA, along with leadership from creative director Mac Walters and the core Production team. Austin writers and level designers also joined the fray

“It took a new team to take ME beyond the Milky Way”

Mac: “A lot of people in Montreal joined BW as fans of the franchise, so they just had this passion, and it felt like it was more like the days of Jade Empire, where a smaller younger team gets to do something for the first time. Even though it wasn’t necessarily a new IP for me, it felt fresh and new because of that. The team was just super excited to be working on it”

Early plans had the player exploring hundreds of worlds, procedurally generated, allowing for a nearly infinite variety of experiences. But as development wore on, it became clear that the game narrative required more specific, hand-touched level design on each world to keep the story focused and the experience engaging. “The plan was to give players numerous uncharted worlds to explore. Designers worked hard to come up with procedural elements that would make such planets special. Eventually the team made the difficult decision to abandon procedural planets in favor of more memorable hand-touched alien worlds, each with a specific story to tell”

One challenge was defining what ME meant without Shep. Care was given to include many of the MET’s key species. “Ryder recruited turian, asari, krogan and salarian followers”. Like Shep Ryder represents humanity’s hope for a peaceful coexistence among aliens who had long operated without human contact

Beginning with MEA the team decided that with few exceptions vehicles in ME have 6 wheels. Early Nomad concepts were bulkier. Later ones focused on its ability to move over its ability to protect itself from hostile fire, underlining the themes of exploration

German concept designer and auto-motive futurist Daniel Simon was contracted to create the Nomad and Tempest. The Tempest’s final design took inspo from the Concorde

Concepts for angaran fighter ships have the following notes: “Two doors swing open, wings rotate down to function as landing struts, the landing struts split open. It has a spinning turbine engine

Despite being set a galaxy away and some 600 years after Mordin’s death, there was a time when he had a cameo. It wasn’t cut due to running out of time however, it was cut due to drug references. John Dombrow explains: “One day I had to write a small quest for Kadara. I thought it’d be amusing if these 2 guys living way out on the fringes in a shack were growing plants for uh, medicinal purposes, and needed Ryder’s help with it. It occurred to me, wouldn’t it be amusing if Ryder had the option of actually trying ‘the medicine’ to see what would happen? And I thought, what if it turned into some hallucination that somehow involved SAM - like maybe SAM would sing? But why? How could I motivate that? Then it hit me. Who else in the ME game sings unexpectedly? MORDIN. As a nod to him I wrote SAM singing Modern Major-General. It got even better when our cine designer John Ebenger wanted to take it even further. Bless him, he came in on a Saturday to do a special hallucination showing Mordin himself. It was great. Til the fateful day we were told MEA had already been submitted to the ratings board. That’s when you declare things like drug references in your game. Mordin fell under that category which meant it was a no-go. We were too late”

Ryder’s white AI armor contrasts Shep’s iconic dark armor (intentional design)

Concept art for Ryder involved experiments with cloth (cloaks, ponchos, capes - “Pull here to release cloak”) and asymmetrical design elements

For alien design, there’s a few exceptions but humanoid figures are the ME standard and this persisted into MEA

Kett and angara concepts explored striking lines and textures

– From Bioware: Stories and Secrets from 25 Years of Game Development

415 notes · View notes