#will include TLDR version of intro later

[p5x-theories]

I wonder what’s everyone thinking with Joker coming in with the 11th hour save.

Not sure if you mean "everyone" as in the characters or as in us with theories, but given the theme of this blog, I'll take a shot at the latter, haha!

Honestly, the most interesting thing to me about it is that this is the first time another P5X character has been present when Joker shows up. In that datamined intro (?) from the first beta, Wonder's the only one who appears with the original Phantom Thieves, and it's the same with that in-game menu that has just Wonder with the Phantom Thieves.

(This is the promo image released without the game UI over it, but if I recall correctly the betas it's the background for a menu for either an event or some kind of reward redemption? Either way.)

Even the very first time we saw Joker, in the original P5X first beta gameplay trailer at the very end, he's completely alone! Not to mention in a location that doesn't look like anywhere we've seen in P5X yet, unless it's maybe a modified version of Kamoshida's Palace, but even then that's notable.

Admittedly, it is entirely possible that they're just animating these extra little bits with Joker for the promos, and that's sort of what I assumed for the Joker appearance in the first beta gameplay trailer, but with this new bit where Cattle's also shown to be there for a second, I'm starting to wonder (pun, as always, intended).

It would be pretty cool if the original Phantom Thieves actually do show up later in the game's plot, after all! It's not impossible that their inclusion as Phantom Idols was just a cover for them already being implemented and playable in the game, which I think has been brought up on this blog before, but I'm thinking about it again. More than anything else, it'd explain Cattle's split-second presence in the promo as Joker appears if it's because that actually is part of an in-game cutscene. Not to say that Cattle can't be in a little thing they animate just for a promo video, but it just seems odd to go to the trouble of including him, and so briefly? It makes more sense to me that you'd show Cattle's also present for it, and his reaction to Joker going by, if it were part of a larger game event/cutscene, where Cattle was already established as being there with Wonder.

So I guess I'm suspicious again that maybe the Phantom Thieves will have more of a role in P5X than we've been led to believe so far, is the TLDR here, haha! Definitely nothing concrete, but it has my attention.

[i-rationality]

Hello! for the longest time I've thought that I'm just "not good" at math, and that I'm just a creative type or something, but for the past few years I've been trying to brute-force my way through math drills and stuff to improve because I want to go into a STEM field. I've found that it doesn't work. I have, however, gained a kind of Stockholm syndrome for math, and I find myself wanting to know *more*. I feel like I'm missing out on something way beyond myself but idk where to even find that. So here i am. Asking a blog on tumblr for the secret math knowledge. If you have any resources that i could read about math that isn't just "here's how to do this" i would really appreciate it!!!

First of all, complete props to you for giving something that doesn't initially appeal to you, in this case, maths, a chance. Mathematics can be frustrating and even annoying, being an oftentimes nit-picky field. You can quickly realize that these are also the traits that grant the satisfaction and euphoria of mathematics. So don't forget to be proud of yourself for not disregarding mathematics as a whole and actually giving it a go.

Second of all, creativity is very necessary for maths. It is a shame that the educational system doesn't do maths justice (A Mathematician's Lament by Paul Lockhart is exactly about this). Mathematics is presented as something mechanical, force-feeding formulas and having students repeat them to find adequate results. That is not a fair portrayal of mathematics.

Different people will have different conceptions of what the learning of mathematics is or should be - I mean, for god's sake, mathematics hasn't even been defined properly and one expects people to know what to do with it. I can only tell you what I conceptualize mathematics, and its learning, to be. For me, mathematics is the boring work of examining multiple results and cases of the same formulas, it is the finding of patterns and attempting generalizations, it's the excited scribbles of formulas and the necessity of looking at a particular scenario from multiple perspectives. Most likely, the generalizations won't come easily, a minus sign will be forgotten making the following calculations obsolete, an approach to a problem will prove fruitless, and laborious work will be done only to find out there was a specific theorem that would have shortened the whole process. Patience is required for maths, and hopefully, you can now see that creativity is too, there is no shortcut to knowing where to look or what technique to utilize. As is the case with most worthwhile pursuits, and as you know from experience, mathematics is endlessly frustrating, but that also means it is endlessly fun.

Now, I do not have any secret math knowledge (or do I), what I can do is present you with some things that fascinate me and have led me to love mathematics as much as I do, outside of the conventional mathematics curriculum. 

Maths really comes down to practice, practice, practice... as many other things. I heavily encourage you to start playing around with mathematics a little bit. Olympiad mathematics kind of do that, (I, very conveniently, have a lot of posts about that.) as do many other math competitions. Maybe try out some exercises from your national olympiad and, with no judgment, because this is just to have fun, play around a bit. Disregarding the conventional maths you know, test out your logic, laugh at mistakes and losses of time, and feel that happy rush when a conjecture you reach, or part of it, is correct.

In terms of the resources, I opted for a mix of funny math history moments and some actual mathematics, in no particular order. Prepare for confusion. ↓

0. How Mathematics is enjoyable

No better way to start than with the reasons mathematicians decided to dedicate a good portion of their lives to the subject, or why some people just enjoy mathematics. This is something that greatly interests me, I always love to see people’s passion for their interests, hence this post, where you’ll find many people’s reasons for enjoying mathematics. 

Andrew Wiles answers “What does it feel like to do maths?” - (video) - Andrew Wiles is a mathematician who proved the theorem which had been taunting mathematicians for centuries, famously known for being the subject of the third point of this same post, explains peoples’ distaste for maths and his own experience with the subject.

YouTube Stories: Learning Mathematics with Wootube by Eddie Woo - (video) - Eddie Woo is a wonderful mathematics educator as well, who videotapes his lessons (available on Youtube). This serves as an introduction to him and his channel.

Mathematics is the sense you never knew you had by Eddie Woo - (video) - In his TEDx Talk, Eddie starts by explaining his distaste for maths in his school years, mentioning his low scores and lack of interest, and how, despite this, he ended up as a maths teacher.

Reddit asks: “Why do you love maths?” - Another compilation of people’s explanations for their mathematical interest. Wholesome content ahead.

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1. Intro to a new perspective on mathematics

Taming, claiming and reframing the beast that is mathematics  by Vinay Kathotia - Small article related to the portrayal of mathematics by most and by mathematicians themselves.

On proof and progress in mathematics by William P. Thurston - Mentioned in the previous article, 17-page 

Anyone Can Be a Math Person Once They Know the Best Learning Techniques by Po-Shen Loh - (video)

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√2 . The Pythagorean Cult

I’m sure you’re aware of Pythagoras and his fetish for right triangles, but do you know about his weird cult? That’s right, Pythagoras was the founder of Pythagoreanism, a cult based on the teachings and beliefs held by him and his followers, the Pythagoreans. - very original naming ik.

Here’s and article about them. A really popular myth related them is the throwing of Hippasus into the sea as a punishment for “believing” (i guess) in irrational numbers.

The unreasonable man by Vinay Kathotia, further explores the irrationality of the square root of 2, allegedly identified by Hippasus, providing some proofs of it. 

Proof: √2 is irrational by Khan Academy (video) - Because Khan Academy rarely misses.

The Madness of Pythagoras by Kayla Mahoney - Did you know Pythagoras refused to eat fava beams,  because he claimed they contained the souls of the dead? Now you do, and there’s no going back >:).

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2. The base tools of mathematics

Introduction to Mathematical Thinking by Alexandru Buium - Pretty self-explanatory title, simplistic and general apprach to mathematics starting with the essential, logic.

The Five-fold Path to Mathematical Wisdom by Vinay Kathotia - Article about five different approaches to mathematical problems/representations.

How to think like a Mathematician by Kevin Houston - Really useful book, starts with certain study skills and develops to the logic involved in mathematical thinking, explains theorems, definitions and proofs! Highly reccomend.

How to Think Like a Mathematician by Eugenia Cheng - (video)

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3.  "I have a truly marvelous demonstration of this proposition that this margin is too narrow to contain."

Yup, this is about Fermat’s Last Theorem, which took 350 years to be proven.

I’m guessing you’ve come across some jokes about it, how could one not. Essentially, in the 1630′s, our man Pierre de Fermat jotted down the conjecture (fight me, no proof no theorem) that states that no three positive integers a, b, and c satisfy the equation a^n + b^n = c^n for any integer value of n greater than 2, along with the sentence "I have a truly marvelous demonstration of this proposition that this margin is too narrow to contain.". The paper which contained this was only found after his death, and, as far as we know, he never got around to actually writing the proof. Because of this, we call this statement Fermat’s Last Theorem.

Andrew Wiles was who ended up proving Fermat’s Last Theorem, in 1993, after six years of working secretly on the problem. (Imagine your dirty little secret being working on revolutionizing an entire field of study, what a guy honestly.)

Fermat's Last Theorem - The Theorem and Its Proof: An Exploration of Issues and Ideas [1993] - Documentary about the theorem and its proof, as told by Andrew Wiles himself.

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4. Functions

Honestly functions are just a very needed side of mathematics that can be applied to pretty much everything. You’ll find them in your average mathematics curriculum and in your everyday life, if you know where to look.

Introduction to functions 

Introduction to Mathematical Reasoning - Numbers, Sets and Functions by  Peter J. Eccles

Functions in the Real World - Education World

- This is definitely a more theoretical part of the list, I am sure you’ve encountered functions before and the resources you have musn’t be terrible. Look into these if you find the necessity, but again the “math secret” really is practice. They can be interesting reads though.

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5. Möbius strips and Klein bottles

The wondrous world of ✨one-sided objects✨.  Learn about these cool looking objects and the field they originated, topology.

The Mathematical Madness of Möbius Strips and Other One-Sided Objects by  David Gunderman and Richard Gunderman 

Intro to Topology by Alex Küronya - Decently advanced maths, I don’t know what level of maths you’re learning, but honestly only read this if you have a pretty thorough backgroung in maths and you’re enrolled/very interested in the field.

Möbius Strip - Cool graphics, cooler maths.

Klein Bottles on Numberphile - Because Numberphile never misses.

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6. The Chicken McNugget Theorem

Yes, you did read that right, No, this is by far not the only theorem with a weirdly funny name*. This theorem derives from a 1800′s math problem.

Explanation of the theorem by Xavier Lien

Chicken McNugget Theorem - Art of Problem Solving

Another explanation, if needed by Mike Beneschan

*Proof: Reddit asks: “ What's the funniest theorem name you know? ” - Literally a gold mine, read this. 

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7. Godël’s incompleteness

One of the essential works of Modern Logic. His theorems destroyed the search for a mathematical theory of everything, at the mere age of 25.

Gödel’s Incompleteness Theorems -  Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy

The paradox at the heart of mathematics: Gödel's Incompleteness Theorem by Marcus du Sautoy @ Ted-Ed (video)

How Gödel’s Proof Works - Quanta Magazine

Gödel: His Tragic Life Story by Aimee Lamoureux - (TW: Sensitive themes)

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8. Mathematics is an art, actually

I’ve seen many people stray away from the sciences because they’re “creatives” or “arts people”. Hopefully you’ve gotten at least a glimpse of the creativity needed in mathematics - if you didn’t, that is totally on me and I’m sorry. 

I don’t doubt that you may be a “creative type”. We actually need creatives, more than anything, in this field. I thought the perspective of mathematics as an art mignt be a good ending note.

Why Math is an Art, Not a Science by Peter Flom

Why the history of maths is also the history of art by  Alex Bellos - He also wrote the book  “Alex’s Adventures in Numberland”, which I own and have read. It’s a pretty sweet book, it has my stamp of approval if you’re interested.

Math and Movies (Animation at Pixar) - Numberphile - On the mathematics behind the art of animation.

Art and Math: Aesthetics of Calculations by Rute Ferreira (DailyArt Magazine)

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Besides this I’m also leaving a list of youtubers/authors that are worth looking into. :) 

∞. General resources:

Math-related Youtube:

Numberphile - Have different concepts explained to you in a seemingly personal and almost always funny manner.

3Blue1Brown - Maths explanations paired with excellent visual representation of the concepts.

Reducible - As they put it “Reducing problems to their simplest form.”. Also paired with really good animations.

Websites:

Art of Problem Solving

Blogs/Articles:

Cantor’s Paradise - I’ve linked a few articles published there throghout this post. Essentially, different authors publish math articles in this online space, varied and generally well-written about topics.

Alex Bellos for The Guardian - Puzzles and mathematical articles.

Mathblr Blogs - Check the notes of this post to find a lot of them.

Games:

Nerdle - Math Wordle

(...) - Please reccomend more resources below, I’m not the most well-versed on these subjects.

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Hopefully, you now find maths a little sweeter, funnier, or comprehensible. As with most things, people lead math discovery, and there’s absolutely no reason you’d be unable to be part of that group. 

Mathematical problem-solving is something really frustrating but also immensely fun and rewarding. Please look into it, be it olympiads or general problems you find online, don’t take yourself too seriously and have fun with maths! Mathematics doesn’t judge, people do. I wish you well on your math journey! Hopefully, you’ll love it.

P.S: Feel free to add to this post with any math stuff you think is interesting. The more, the merrier!

[kordeliiius]

I was just given the excuse to go in-depth with my LN playlist and explain my reasoning behind the inclusion of each song because of an ask I got, so strap in bc this list is 100+ songs and contains a whole lot of thoughts and emotions :D

Some prominent musical trends include bass and synth, electric guitar, brass accents, moody yet hopeful lyrics, themes of closeness but also isolation and betrayal, and of course music boxes! so yeah a lot of Mothica But yeah, my playlists tend to very character-driven so don’t be surprised if an entry abandons the obvious trends in favor of its unique lyricism.

Playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL8SiwBkiFuDCms6_mvkkmY57j2J8KJg0I

Intro

NOCTURNAL – title track for what I think is THE album for LN (and CoM) enthusiasts; it’s full of energy and cryptic nightmare imagery

The Halfway Point

What It Becomes – the vibes in this song are iNSANEEEEE plus the distorted voice towards the end reminds me of the Ferryman

Nightmares – feels self-explanatory

Manipulate – this one was on a previous version of the playlist but i brought it back for Otto heehee

Nymphs Finding the Head of Orpheus – the water sickness.... with a touch of bitter resentment from later

Socioenvy – disassociate and not come back

See You Again – drift into these tideless waters.... I also like to imagine a song as an exchange between Noone and Six

Interlude 1

Gold Satin Dreamer – segway back into the main world

The Nest

Badthings – I just discovered Ellise and found an ok Pretender song :)

funhouse – like many songs on this list I struggled with where to put it; it was hard deciding whether to prioritize the themes of self-image (the Lady) or the a literal funhouse (like the Tower), but I put it in the Nest section because it’s arguably about both

Ameotome – meaning “rain maiden.” Total Pretender song

Water Me Down (Purfakt remix) – the retaliation against the idea of superficial friendships, this is what goes thru Rain’s mind as she learns the truth about the Nest and decides to book it out of there

Her – at one point I wanted to start including louder, grungier songs in this list, so this one I connected to the Pretender’s dark side, when she’s not being your fake friend (the screams toward the end were fitting too I thought)

The Little Doll’s Dream – I always thought the VLN soundtrack sounded reminiscent of the rpgmaker music library, so I snagged this old melody that was used as the game over song in Ib

Whispering Glades – This song is pERFECT FOR RAIN,, the combination of Nicole’s sweet voice and the lyrics surrounding death and desire sum up my idea of her narrative pretty well

Interlude 2 (mobile comics)

A Marvelous Persona – a song that I feel suits Mono wonderfully, but I put it high up to segway out of Rain’s story

They Feast Tonight – an actual LN fansong; I thought CG5 did a great job of setting the series’ tone

wired – speaks to Mono’s rebellious nature while still fitting the more subdued atmosphere of the forest

Cry Baby – represents the child characters’ tendency to hide and shield themselves from the world instead of fighting back right away. an okay fit for the middle episodes

The Forest

found & lost – came across this song while going back through my anisongs playlist and I thought OMG MONO because it’s about never giving up despite being on the brink

HIGHLIGHTS – here for the tone mostly, but kinda suits Mono as a character

Take Me – my favorite track from a LN-inspired EP that I found during a tag crawl

Togetherness I – no-brainer :^)

Alligator Blood – the grotesque yet tragic tale of a poacher and his presumed child that I thought suited the beginning of the game

BEDTIME STORIES – Brand-new addition that I knew was gonna become part of this list since its teases; it suits the central friendship somewhat

wonderland – I already went into this one at length, but TLDR the song is about escaping to the woods with a friendly stranger so you’ll never be alone again, but there’s a dark twist somewhere along the journey

Will You Fight – I love the opening instrumentals and how the track gradually gets more intense, it reminded me so much of the Hunter’s motifs. I also think it reflects the general theme of “choosing to fight the inevitable or waiting to let it happen”

Pale City

Don’t Ask – something that reminds me of Mono and Six drifting over the lake in silence

Detention – I told myself I HAD to pick out a K-12 song to put in the school section and I eventually chose this one

Play Destroy – nu metal beats to fight your bullies too

Togetherness II – another no-brainer

Fangs – this one sells itself to me as a Six song; it’s kind of about wanting closeness despite knowing it’s bound to fall apart

True Colors – I think this OST is important

True Colors – the one by Studio Killers! I like this song for it’s ambient tone and message of hope, thought it was a good segway between levels

Casting Shadows – underrated fave OST

Medicine – because I needed something for the hospital

Ghost Town – I’ve heard people describe Mono as having a hero complex, that is what this song reminded me of

Don’t Go Outside – good overall fit for the LN2 environment, because of both its intensity and its calm; sounds like it’s ringing in the apocalypse while still offering some comfort

Déjà Vu – my personal favorite from the deleted OST. Judging by the musical motifs, I can guess that it was meant for this section.

Self-Destructive – reminds me of Mono’s lack of patience; I like how it oscillates between minimal and upbeat

Church – also seems rather characteristic of Mono, since it’s about having reckless or destructive tendencies, but I mainly included it for the instrumentals

Assassin – song about the feeling of being watched; put this here as buildup to the Thin Man breaking free

Blackout – I absolutely love how this song mashes up a cheery 50′s-esque instrumentals with heavy bass and dark lyrics; it’s also about addiction which makes it a good fit for the Viewers/apartment complex

The Man in the Hat – another fave; I think this is one of Lilja’s best and most creative tracks

HYPNOTIZED – many of AViVA’s songs fit LN so well, idk why y’all weren’t obsessed with her

VOID – more monocore lol

Crazy Bitch – Included this one for the mention of screens, creating a spectacle at one’s own expense, and the droning backup vocals at certain points. Plus the line “I would die just to be someone” is totally a Mono line to me

VICES – This one is on the same album as Blackout and it’s about the stage of rehab when someone admits to their bad habits. There’s actually two versions with wildly different moods and it was hard to decide which one to include, but I went with the more intense one for the Pale City.

Alive – an EPIC song that embodies the protags' determination

upside – claimed this as an LN song from the minute I heard it

crash – the last song in this section reflects Mono’s hesitation to confront his fears before he goes all-out.

The Signal Tower

All Eyes On Me – might seem like an odd choice but the deep synth hooked me immediately. The lyrics are about stage fright which kinda relates to the theme of television, as well as the intense pressure during the final battle and the literal eyes in the flesh walls.

Signal Interference – more OST; what can I say, it’s a banger

SLEEPWALK – a song about longing, loneliness, and dreams, plus it’s very period-appropriate

As Strange As It Seems – the vibe of this song is similar to other songs while remaining a unique addition. This one feels like Six noticing the flaws in her companionship, but also the torment and unfamiliarity of the tower.

R.E.M. – a look back at what Six has been through and what must’ve gone through her head as she attempts to befriend someone new despite it

Play Date – this one is a slightly more aggressive continuation of "As Strange” while interpreting Six’s imprisonment in a very literal sense

NOW – another one for Six, but I'm not sure where to put it because I can’t quite place who she’d be addressing

On My Own – this one’s very loose but I once listened to it on loop leading up to LN2′s release so the association is there whether we like it or not, plus it’s an okay Six song

LOVE & WAR – was literally written about the end of a friendship lol

Don’t – the conclusion of the Tower level WHERE the pair finally splits off

End of the Hall – More OST, I listen to this sad tune for enjoyment :)

The Pink Phantom – this is the last song I expected to give me LN feels but upon listening to it months after release, it reminded me of Mono sitting alone under that pink spotlight, waiting for a reunion that will never come.

As the Lights Go Out – the song is essentially one big curtain call with an emphasis on betrayal and descent into madness

Interlude 3

S.T.A.R. – this one could go in a number of places, the Nest, the hospital, the Black Tower, the end of the series, to name a few,, I simply can’t pick so in the middle it goes

River – out into the ocean.....

The Campfire (Titan comics)

Where the dark things are – representing the travel to the Maw, and the Lady’s looming presence

Burnout – attributed this one to the campfire kids in general. It describes how they’re anxious, hopeless, and don’t have the energy for much except fueling their little fire

Anywhere – a song ive associated with the first game since it came out; I thought the lyrics fit the Tale of the North Wind pretty well

nothing good happens after 2am – the inner struggle™

Nightmare (acoustic) – another song that reflects the campfire gang clinging to scraps of hope

Scared – same case as “Anywhere,” but reminds me more of the very brief stagnant period in Six’s journey

The Maw

BTSTU – this song is about a boat so it might seem on-the-nose but part of the chorus reminds me of Six

Dream No More – another fan song that ive had on my phone since the first game’s peak!

Siren – probably another self-explanatory title

Freak – Ok fit for the monsters and prison dwellers; I love REI’s hypnotic vocals in this

HUSHH – espooky

WILDCARD – while it more closely follows the musical trends of the LN2 section, I think the lyrics suit Six’s narrative better

VICES (stripped) – remember how I said earlier that I thought both versions would work but I couldn't decide which to keep? Well I decided to put the more somber version here for Six

Sick of the Sun – someone help this kid she’s exhausted

Soul Sucker pt. 2 – the third verse especially sells this as a Lady song (also marks the beginning of a subsection im really proud of, lovingly called “the infamous Lady stretch”)

March Of The Guests (Launch Trailer Version) – how did I sleep on this OST for the longest time?? It’s now one of my all-time favorites

I don’t want to get high – THE DRAMAAAA

Trust No One – still ramping up the aggression >:)

Tempest – works great for the Lady stretch but i might move it

BLOOD – I don’t think this one needs an explanation

The Lady’s Quarters

Lennon’s Ghost – for when Six first wanders into the Lady’s domain

CHANGGWI – cool modern waltz about spooky folktale creatures. i like this duet edit more than the original tbh

Snow of Carnage – the OST for the third act is probably my favorite thing about Sifu, and I think this boss theme delivers the same intensity as the Lady’s

The Lady Circles – more fav OST (and the end of the infamous Lady stretch)

Never Find My Place – I’m envisioning an exchange between Six and the Lady as I listen to this, not certain who’s talking to who, but maybe it could be both at the same time??

Blue Hour – while this song is about finding the willpower to overcome hardship, its ominous tone can make it sound less than uplifting. it honestly strikes me as a Six song, like she no longer feels obligated to anyone but herself. a good fit for the ending of LN1

Prison Toys – this track has honestly grown on me

The Depths

Sandman – out of all the songs in Ellise’s recent EP, I think this one fits the series the best :) especially befitting of the Maw’s prisoners

Hide and Seek – this song reminded me of SotM since the beginning, which is weird because it’s based on a completely different game! Always associated it with Flicker too

LEECHES – enuf said

Hungover – another one that’s mostly in here for the instrumentals, but theres a few lines here and there that I think suit the narrative

The Hideaway

Nothing But A Nome – another piece of OST that I happened to like and I think is underrated

Are You Tired? – the way it ramps up from a lullaby to full-on rock is really cool

Inferno – somewhat of an in-between for the Hideaway and the Residence

Inner Life – more OST

The Residence

My Darling True – this song sounds like it was literally engineered to be put in The Residence oh my god

Living Hell – another song for the Lady, plus the music box sweeping the whole track accompanied by moments of harshness are staples of the series

With You – similar to the previous song but with more of an intense metal edge

A Room With A View – another piece of OST that really grew on me and is just right for capping this section off

The Spiral

Siren Song – another bridge between the main story and the outside world. the POV it’s sung from plus lines like “beacons of the water and the sky” invoke the after-the-fact feeling of LN3 perfectly; presumably the titans of old have fallen

21st Century Kids (Reimagined) – two little ones in search of a better life

Hameln – while listening to the album this song is on again, i looked up the lyrics and it appears to be about a duo taking on hardships while braving the feeling of uncertainty, it really spoke to me

Tell Me That You’re Okay – “a tendency for codependency” sounds like a valid prediction of the main dynamic, who’s with me

Outro

Hypno – this unreleased LN2 track moved me to tears the first time I heard it unaltered, so yeah, good finale theme

forever fifteen (acoustic) – a song that I think suits various parts of LN because of the theme of having one’s innocence forcefully stripped away. while the subject matter is incredibly dark, it’s somewhat calming to listen to. and to me it’s the perfect bookend to this playlist

[awinger24]

My Issue With Disney Channel’s “Animation Cram Session”, Even the Promo

@mysteriesofmewni​ @cid331​ @jess-the-vampire​ @tangledbea​ @disneyschedules​ @dreamschedules​ @disneychannelforever99​

Disney Channel’s schedule is very inconsistent with little to no variety except for their live action sitcoms spamming the schedule. This post will be explaining how the channel treats their animated content, even summarized by just one promo.

Just look at one of the schedules courtesy of @disneyschedules​

I think this schedule is boring as what Cartoon Network and Nickelodeon are doing with their TV schedules.

Cartoon Network = Spamming Teen Titans Go! and Gumball while shows like Steven Universe, We Bare Bears, and OK KO! don’t get a lot of air time.

Nickelodeon = Spamming SpongeBob and Loud House, even Paw Patrol on it’s preschool block while it’s other shows get aired less and bumped to bad time slots (even some are on NickToons).

Disney Channel = Spamming Raven’s Home and Coop and Cami, also Sydney to the Max (even Bunk’d and Stuck in the Middle before they were removed). The issue is that they are focusing heavily on their sitcoms in terms of scheduling and advertising. 

DuckTales and Big City Greens are being promoted regularly but they air at time slots where much of the channel’s demographic is at school. Right now, Big City Greens is seen at 2:30, 3, and 4:30, so it seems to be the only cartoon they care about (a lot like how they treat Phineas and Ferb).

All this but shows like Milo Murphy’s Law, Star vs. the Forces of Evil, Tangled: The Series, and Big Hero 6: The Series, are promoted less, even using a same generic promo without any special new ones to hype up audiences, and placed at an inconvenient time slots between 7-9 AM. Even worse is that viewers have to wake up very early even in the Central and Mountain Time Zones. 

For example, trying to get up at 5 AM in Colorado to watch Milo Murphy’s Law and Tangled might be difficult unless you set an alarm or go to sleep early. For Arizona, the issue is worse since there is no daylight savings time so, waking up at 4 AM just to watch it is a challenge.

With the four shows I mention, they only air a new episode once and they never rerun while they spam their schedule with the same sitcom repeats.

I have heard the senior vice president in charge of programming at Disney Channel, Paul DeBenedittis, was recently hired by Nickelodeon. Paul seems to be in charge of what we see on the channel. If he is gone, it’s unclear how things will change because Disney ABC Television has a team of executives still in control of the schedule, and we wonder who the new one is. But if Paul left before the spamming of Raven and Coop and Cami reruns, we have no idea if the new Senior VP is behind this.

TLDR: Disney Channel doesn’t schedule their animated content well and overshadows it while they only put so much focus on their Disney Channel sitcoms and stars (I mean Ruby Rose Turner, immediately had a song just after Coop and Cami aired).

Now, on to my next topic. I have some problems with this “Cram Session” promo.

Disney Channel has released a promo in September 2018 promoting audiences about it’s “Animation Cram Session” line up (which even includes Phineas and Ferb, before it was removed in January 2019 because they air it at 6 AM, not at 7.)

The promo still uses the same graphics that Disney Channel uses for it’s bumpers and commercials from 2017 up until February 2019.

https://miguelmonteagudo.com/disney-channel-2017-graphic-package

This was before the channel got a massive overhaul probably to reflect their new sitcom, Sydney to the Max. Appealing to the channel’s demographic of teenagers (mostly girls). Which if you were Walt Disney, this seems out of place from a company that had major successes in its movie divisions, theme parks, and merchandising.

The “Cram Session” promo was voiced over by none other than a man named Jim Pratt.

He has been doing Disney Channel promos/advertising since the 2010s alongside doing voice over for dozens a promos for other networks like TLC and Fox. In 2016, he has replaced the main Disney Channel voice over, Cam “Buzz” Brainard, and he ended up doing nearly every promo for the channel.

The way I describe his voice is “high energy” and “in your face” as a way to hype up people about a certain show or lineup.

http://www.jimprattvo.com/highenergy

Sure when I was very young, I have grown up with the voice overs of Mark Elliot, Brain Cummings, and even Beau Weaver but if I imagined them voicing over for the Disney Channel, they would’ve brought a new meaning of excitement while still keeping that trademark Disney magic.

It’s been updated a few times removing and adding clips from various shows.

- Version 1 (September 2018-October 2018), DuckTales, Big City Greens, Milo Murphy’s Law, Big Hero 6: The Series, Gravity Falls, Phineas and Ferb.

- Version 2 (October 2018-December 2018), DuckTales, Big City Greens, Milo Murphy’s Law, Gravity Falls, Phineas and Ferb.

- Version 3 (January 2019-February 24, 2019), DuckTales, Big City Greens, Milo Murphy’s Law, Star vs. the Forces of Evil

- Version 4 (February 25, 2019 - present), DuckTales, Big City Greens, Milo Murphy’s Law, Star vs. the Forces of Evil, Rapunzel’s Tangled Adventure

Because I have seen this a bunch of times, I can even almost identify some of the clips they use from some respective episodes.

DuckTales: The Other Bin of Scrooge McDuck!, The Last Crash of the Sunchaser!

Big City Greens: Parade Day, Welcome Home!, Gridlocked (even audio from it), Blue Tater, Family Legacy

Star vs. the Forces of Evil: The Season 3 intro, Marco and the King, Puddle Defender, King Ludo, and Toffee

Gravity Falls: Roadside Attraction

Now onto the promo along with the voice overs used.

(We show a sad face of Cricket from Parade Day, then we cut to Huey, Dewey, Louie, and Webby from Last Crash of Sunchaser as they all groan (clip is out of context).

VO #1: Sad not having school on weekends. 

Cricket: Aw, man. (Clip is from Blue Tater).

First off, this wouldn’t make sense if you were the channel’s main demographic of 6-14 (or even teenagers if you like some of these shows), because usually cartoons were a bit of a after-school (3-5 PM)/early morning before school (5-7 AM) thing because it was a way of entertaining children, sometimes even teens where their high schools start as early as 7 AM. Usually, children are happy there’s no school on weekends.

VO #2: You can still learn a thing or two with the Animation... Cram Session!

I sorta think think this is tedious and gives a mixed message. Usually real life cramming is a negative effect.

https://www.gavilan.edu/tutor/documents/DONTCRAM.pdf

This PDF page from Galivan College says,

“Cramming deposits information in your short term memory. Material reviewed in cramming sessions is not learned. Some students think they have learned the material and will be able to recall it for the midterm or final. Wrong! It’s gone! The information is generally unavailable to recall after one or two days. So, when students rely on cramming they cheat themselves out of a true education.

Cramming is also more work. It takes longer to learn material when it is done under pressure. Cramming does not save time. Cramming also has its limits. If you haven’t cracked a book in any of your courses, have daydreamed through the classes, or haven’t attended, cramming will not help. Cramming for several courses also doesn’t work.”

To apply this with how Disney Channel schedules their cartoons, they of course only air their animated shows once within the early morning hours of 6-9 AM on Saturday and Sunday. With the fact they only air one new episode of a show once (Milo Murphy’s Law, Tangled, Big Hero 6, Star vs, the Forces of Evil), this makes it even worse for people who don’t have access to DVR, Direct TV/Dish/Premium Cable (Spectrum) with Disney XD, On Demand, and even DisneyNOW, but only get Disney Channel through basic cable. 

Once they see the episode once, they might try and remember it, but with different mindsets, it’s highly possible they will forget it and move on with their repetitive sitcom reruns or the next cartoon to cram in. They wouldn’t be able to recall anything from the show, unless it’s amazingly entertaining and appealing thanks to either bright and fast-paced animation, emotional moments, or even the funniest moments.

Also, it seems odd they attached two random clips from two shows and edited them together.

Webby (in The Other Bin of Scrooge McDuck): Diamond dagger cuts through anything.

Cricket (in Blue Tater): Wait. Come again?

Well, it does segue into the next voice over but it gets kinda boring once you’ve seen it again and again.

VO #3: Every Saturday and Sunday morning, Cram in... all the adventure!

VO #4: Cram in... all the action!

These two does seems like a generic way to promote a lineup but it is all “in your face”

Now it features clips from the DuckTales episode, Last Crash of Sunchaser.

Dewey: Nothing can’t stop us.

(The plane jerks as Huey, Dewey, Louie, and Webby jerk in a halt too.)

Cut to a later scene

Louie: WE GOTTA GO NOW!!

Launchpad: Now?

Dewey/Scrooge: No!

(Launchpad starts the Jeep)

The scene then cuts to a clip from Big City Greens’ “Blue Tater as the show’s main characters fly out of a shopping cart.

Note: These clips being edited together like that and seeing it over and over again when it comes on during commercials is just flat in some way. 

(Shows clips of characters laughing/having fun. One of them is from Gridlocked.)

VO #5: And cram in all the laughs in the Animation Cram Session!

VO #6: Weekend mornings starting at 7 on Disney Channel

Again, the issue with airing these shows once at 7-9 AM seems to be inaccessible for people who want to sleep in. Or don’t know it’s on because they live in the Central and Mountain Zone and it airs 1 and 2 hours early respectively.

Gramma Alice talks to Tilly

Gramma Alice: You kids are smarter than you look.

All set to generic high-energy music (pop/rock/electronic), this “Cram Session” promo just doesn’t make sense and with some of the shows just getting generic promos alongside it, and seeing it a bunch of times with the same clips reused, especially focusing more on DuckTales and Big City Greens, not giving as much spotlight on the other cartoons, makes this a questionable promo.

It all comes together the main issue with how Disney Channel is treating their cartoons. 

Bad time slots, little to no promotion, not even individual promotion with the exception of DuckTales and Big City Greens (which the channel favors more than their other cartoons). 

Plus this promo is basically saying to the channel’s demographic of 6-14 year olds that you should “Cram In All”. 

Sure this seems to be a Saturday Morning cartoon lineup thing but the fact that this is Disney Channel, they choose to put all their animated shows at an inconvenient air time while they spam their sitcoms. It’s more of a lose-lose situation. Milo Murphy’s Law, for example, suffers in low ratings.

Sadly but true, cable is decreasing (even prices are increasing) as Disney is launching its new streaming service, Disney+ very soon. Even DisneyNOW seems to be the current way of watching/streaming shows (with TV provider or Apple TV).

Still, I just don’t see why Disney Channel would spam their sitcoms (alongside Big City Greens which is a good exception), while their animated shows don’t meet up to the potential if the channel airs them at prime time.

To conclude, Disney Channel’s schedule isn’t full of variety, the “Cram Session” promo has some issues, and the future of our favorite shows and how we watch Disney’s TV animated cartoons is uncertain. Also, Disney Channel after Paul DeBenedittis’ departure leaves us in a mystery who is his replacement and how the schedule will change in the future.  Plus, I provided you some brief Disney Channel history.

P.S. I hope Amphibia, 101 Dalmatian Street and The Owl House have potential for great ratings if Disney Channel cares for their cartoons more.

[marysunshine23]

What truly takes forever in Magical Girl anime

Who hasn’t seen the mountains of complaints about magical girl transformations? Anyone who knows anything about anime has at least heard about the ever popular magical girl anime and the complaints about it. I can’t tell you how often I hear about why they suck. So, let’s quickly get stuff out of the way before I truly begin:

Why do people generally like Magical Girl anime?

Not sure for most people, but I like it because 1) it’s the first kind of anime I’ve ever seen, 2) growing up there weren’t a lot of female super hero’s outside of stuff directed at boys, 3) PRETTY COSTUMES OF POWER!!!

Why do people generally dislike Magical Girl anime?

From my understanding it’s primarily because two minutes of a 10 minute show is spent on transformation sequences (people exaggerate and say half of the show, but it’s not quite that long), or else people say it’s very demeaning towards women (and I’m sitting in confusion because women in DnD fight in metal bikini’s and that’s okay...)

What caused this great dislike?

Probably the Sailor Moon fandom if I’m gonna be totally honest. While I’m a huge Sailor Moon fan, there’s... uh... a fair amount of fans who kind of ruined the image of magical girl anime... who will probably get kicked off tumblr because of the stuff going on right now. (But let’s save that for another post.)

In short a small amount of canon fanservice in the original anime turned into a lot of smutty fan art.

Is Magical Girl anime bad?

Not any worse than other kinds of anime, I suppose. It depends on your preference. There’s a fair amount of categories of anime, because anime is literally just cartoons from Japan. And as many categories of cartoons that there is in America, there’s the same amount or more in Japan. Magical Girl is just one of those. If it’s your cup of tea, great! If not, oh well.

So, now that I’ve answered stuff for people who don’t know much about Magical Girl anime (without having to define it because forget that), let’s just get to the point. EVERYONE has complained at least ONCE about transformation sequences. EVERYONE. Including me. But let’s get something straight:

They don’t take as long as the anime portrays.

Even without a mask, they can’t easily be recognized BECAUSE OF THE POWER OF MAGIC

No, they can’t be attacked while transforming.

Why? Oh, I dunno, BECAUSE THE TRANSFORMATION SEQUENCE IS LITERALLY FANSERVICE! That’s right. Several creators in which I am too lazy to quote right now have stated that when magical girls transform, 99% of the time it’s just a beam of light and BAM! Instantly transformed. The other 1% is Cardcaptor Sakura, and her friend makes her outfits for her so she literally has to change clothes. Go figure.

So why is it in there? Fan. Service. A lot of the magical girl anime is directed at young girls. (Not like, kindergarteners, but like, 10 year olds). And transformation sequences are pretty and have lots of glittery magical stuff that aren’t just attacks. It’s pointless, but amusing to a degree (like all the yelling in Dragon Ball Z, ‘cause let’s be real it’s about as useful). It’s basically just to fill time and to amuse the target audience. For adults it’s irritating because it fills time that could be used for PLOT. But we can get into that later.

What really would take up time would be the introductions that the characters give after transforming. Because I’m using Sailor Moon as my primary example, we’ll go with the main five (Japanese Sub):

“The Pretty Guardian in a Sailor Suit, Guardian of Love and Justice, Sailor Moon! In the name of the Moon, I’ll punish you!”

“Protected by Mercury, the Planet of Water, Guardian of Wisdom, Sailor Mercury! Douse yourself in water and repent!”

“Protected by Mars, the Planet of Fire, Guardian of War, Sailor Mars! In the name of Mars, I will chastise you!”

“Protected by Jupiter, the Planet of Thunder, Guardian of Protection, Sailor Jupiter! I’ll make you feel so much regret, it’ll leave you numb!”

“Protected by Venus, the Planet of Beauty, Guardian of Love, Sailor Venus! Allow me to punish you with love!”

All their introductions cause another minute to be spent in the transformation sequence (if we don’t include Mini Moon, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto, Star Fighter, Star Healer, or Star Maker, and they never do introductions all at once as a group, partially because either someone is usually absent or dead). And even if you disregard the actual transformation time, that’s still a minute that the villain would sit and wait. So why is it in there. Er... it’s actually Japanese etiquette... At least last I checked. Introducing yourself before a fight is just respectful. So that’s the primary reason. But as many people pointed out for the actual transformation, A VILLAIN ISN’T GOING TO WAIT FOR YOU TO DO YOUR ROUTINE! Outside of a magical girl anime. From Japan. Because we know how many American shows are finally jumping on that magical girl bandwagon.

So why is so much time put into all of this instead of plot? Well, for Sailor Moon in the manga the introductions happen most of the time before a battle, but the transformations don’t. And it’s shown in Sailor Moon Crystal that even with the transformation sequence included, each chapter is about an episode long. Where as the original anime had over 100 episodes, Sailor Moon Crystal has a little less than 40 and we’re already more than half way done. It’s filler. Plus after over 20 years of doing it, it’s just kind of expected.

And I’m talking about anime specifically. “Bee and Puppycat” and “Steven Universe” can be put into the “Magical Girl” category, and they don’t have transformation sequences or introductions (well, Steven Universe sometimes has intro’s, but that’s besides the point). Both of those shows are very very good, but they are specifically American made. American “Magical Girl” shows cut out a lot of stuff, including the fact that it’s specifically “Magical GIRL”. Steven Universe is a boy and he’s technically a magical girl. And not a side character.

But above all, you shouldn’t hate an entire genre of anime just for two minutes of the show. That’s like hating an entire genre because of the opening theme, which usually takes the same amount of time. Heck, I skip the opening theme even if I like it just because I lose the patience for it. And nothing stops people from doing the same in a magical girl anime with transformation sequences.

TLDR version: transformation sequences literally only take a second if you don’t include the introductions, introductions are probably when a person would be attacked, Americans are already taking care of the irritating parts by making their own stuff and cutting out the parts that bug them. And most importantly, MAGICAL GIRL ANIME WORTH SHOULD NOT BE DETERMINED BY TWO MINUTES OF THE ANIME.