#theories that have haunted me since may 2022

[chilly-lily]

hmmmmmmmmmmmmm.

[the-infinite-jukebox]

Muse - Will of the People (Album Review)

(Review #420, August 26th [2022]) Will of the People is the latest studio album from English rock band Muse. Despite comparisons to Radiohead early on in their career, the group have been largely pissing all over their fanbase and legacy since 2009's The Resistance. With Muse fans semi-universally agreeing that the band's last great album came in the form of the 2006 classic Black Holes & Revelations, things have been nothing but downhill. From dreadfully boring outings (Drones) to failed experiments (Simulation Theory), no one was expecting Will of the People to be even half-decent. Those people were right.

Will of the People's lyrical content is more of the faux-Orwellian songwriting that frontman and primary songwriter Matt Bellamy has been unnecessarily stuck on for years. Hearing about Bellamy's thoughts on major governments, big industries, and revolution feels more tired and worn out than ever. This has nothing to do with the actual concepts he utilizes. There have been plenty of great artists over the decades that have made use of politically radical songwriting styles. However, Bellamy's take on the topic lacks depth. Nearly every track on Will of the People feels like Muse's vocalist making theatrical talk about overthrowing the government without actually saying anything of substance regarding the political climate of the world. The past couple of years have been utterly terrifying as far as world politics go, with major wars sparking and people having their rights stripped away from them. Matt Bellamy had so much to work with on Will of the People, but he instead chose to repeat the same things he has been writing for years. Throwing in a couple of lines that relate to shady conspiracy theories certainly doesn't help his case. This all culminates in a record that had the potential to be something impactful in the current musical landscape, but feels like nothing more than Muse patting themselves on the back for weak aesthetics that have haunted them for over a decade. Will of the People's conception stems from Muse's record label, Warner, requesting the group put out a greatest hits compilation (something that would have been preferable). Rather than just release a collection of songs established as well-loved numbers in their catalogue, Muse decided to revisit the majority of the sounds they've taken over the years. If this sounds like a recipe for watered-down versions of previous Muse sounds to you, you'd be correct. Songs like "Won't Stand Down" fail to desperately cling onto the over-the-top hard rock numbers of albums like Supermassive Black Hole, while a cut like "Verona" is entirely based around the theatrical dramatics that have been prevalent throughout their entire career albeit in a lesser form than it would have been on a record like Absolution. Muse themselves described Will of the People as a "greatest hits compilation of new songs." If this is meant to be a musical career retrospective, then there was perhaps no worse way to represent the greatness that Muse once maintained. Not everything about Will of the People is bad. The record may be more than weak overall, but there's no denying that it does handle its electronic influences better than Simulation Theory ever did. While they may not be good songs in and of themselves, tracks like "You Make Me Feel Like It's Halloween" and "Compliance" at the very least understand themselves compositionally. The same cannot be said for Muse's previously mentioned forays into electronic sounds. This also doesn't imply that the electronic sounds work, either. The group still have an odd fascination with mildly outdated synthesizers and production styles that simply don't fit Muse as well as they could. Nonetheless, the band's willingness to make use of electronic sounds in a more focused manner than they have in quite some time is just about the only thing preventing Will of the People from being a total trainwreck. In conclusion, Will of the People was never going to be that great of an album. Even some of the most diehard Muse fans agree that the group's output in recent years has been questionable at best. Despite mild success in honing their electronic abilities, Will of the People feels like a limp rendition of every sound that once worked for Muse.

Essential Tracks: N/A

Final Rating: 2/5 (Bad)

[panmangalover14]

Thoughts and Theories on FF XVI

Now that I have watched the trailer for the millionth time I want to collect my thoughts, theories, and hopes for this game.

1. The development

I think the development for FF xvi isn't as far along as some think. The stuff in the trailer was on a pc which probably means their not far enough along to run it on the ps5. Also there was no release window announced. Also the producer himself said in an interview that the next major news won't be till probably next year. I do expect this game to release 2022 or 2023 at best. This would also explain why some scenes in the trailer don't look as polished graphically(like the scene introducing Joshua for example). Most likely those scenes are still works in progress, and not completely done. So yeah I don't think we're getting this next year, but it shouldn't be too many years unless the development goes horribly wrong, which it could. So I'm hoping for late 2022, but we'll see.

2. The Battle System

I'm excited for it. It looks fun and I like action RPGs as much as turned based ones. Since we don't have much on it, I don't have much to say. I heard that Square got someone who did the DMC combat possiblity working on this. Especially since they stole them from capcom like last year and had them working on a secret project and the fact that the battle style reminds me of dmc makes me think that they are definitely working on this. Anyways I also like the idea that the character may be using the Eikon(summons) in battle. We saw him use what looks like Phoenix's wings, some other summon's claws, and Titan's fists. If this is the case that's pretty cool. So it looks fun, but we'll to see if holds up in the end.

3. The Story

First I'm very interested by the story. It looks like summons are playing a big role and I love that. It also seems like we're getting a darker tone this time, which I'm down for. Seems like there's a war going on and possibly revenge to be had so color me intrigued.

4. Theories

This is probably going to be pretty much on the story.

Theory 1: So first I think the two men shown at the end of the trailer are the same person and there will be a time skip. I think either we will get an opening cutscene taking place in the present where the war is happening and the mc is older and has a tattoo. And then it will flashback to years before when he was younger and acting as a shield for Joshua. It also could just start when he was younger and act as an opening prologue to the game.

I believe that mc cares for Joshua, and that Joshua is a child of a noble. It's also shown he has some sort of powers and they want to keep him safe because his powers possiblity make him important. He is hinted to be connected to Phoenix, as we saw him possibly heal mc.

Now I think what happens is the imperials who mc's kingdom? country? are against, attack one night. This is where young mc is fighting a dragoon. Someone dies protecting Joshua who loses control of his powers.

Now here's the questions does Joshua summon Phoenix or Ifrit? Does he transform into the summons and if so which one? It's hard to tell in the trailer. My guess is that he transforms into a summon and loses control of himself. Now either he became Phoenix like some character thought he was. Quote: "The archduke's son, Phoenix." That is if he is the archduke's son which he could be. Another possibility is that they thought he was Phoenix but he was actually Ifrit. This also seems to be a possibility since in one scene where Ifrit is killing someone, you here a person screaming and begging Joshua to wake up. This could be implying that Joshua transformed into Ifrit and lost control and began killing people and someone was trying to get him to regain control of himself.

Another thought is that Joshua is Phoenix and mc might be Ifrit. Which is also possible.

Anyways after that incident where everything most likely hoes to hell, there is a timeskip. There mc is a grim person possible haunted by what happened that day. Maybe even regrets on not being able to protect Joshua as he should have. Now Joshua could still be alive or he died. I've also seen some theories that he turned evil. All are pretty possible in my book.

MC seems to be a soldier, being forced to fight against his own will, possibly enslaved by something. Quote: "Our kind do not question, we follow orders." The fact they showed mc touch his tattoo on that line makes me think that it marks as something, and those things are used and are not doing things of their own choices due to what was said.

Did he get captured and now being forced to fight for the imperials. Maybe because he's Ifrit or has some special power and the soldiers with the tattoos are special units made of people with powers that can kill those who use summons.

He seems to want revenge, due to the ending line of the trailer. Was it because of what happened that night years ago or something else.

Anyways that my basic theory for now. Who knows what's actually in store. Most likely I'm completely wrong, but it's fun to guess anyways.

5. Hopes

I hope that this game has a strong compelling story. Make it grand, make it emotional, and make it complex.

I quite like the idea of a revenge story so I hope it is one.

Have it be dark, but have some light there too. The trailer pretty dark, but who knows how much of the game will be that way. I like the dark tone, but I hope for some lighter moments to be there as well. Make me love and care for the characters by showing them being happy and then rip my heart out.

I hope that there will be a party. Now I believe most of the trailer is in the earlier parts of the game do I hope we get some sort of party. Some other characters to accompany the mc on his journey and not just him all alone.(though if it does make it only him I might not mind if he's an interesting character).

Let it be semi-open world. Where bits of the world open up along side the story. Not completely open from the get go, but not linear ether. Though I am fine with linear and open world. I just like semi open alot.

So that's it. I pretty excited. And maybe it will turn out to be a disappointment, but for now I'm hopeful. I like a lot of what I saw and I'm excited to see what is in store.