#I relistened to the musical about three times back to back today so I have thoughts

[epicthemusicalstuff]

I still find it so funny that in Warrior the of Mind, Athena was probably looking to find an adult smart/wise person (tm) to claim, and to bring respect to wisdom with, and instead she got tiny enthusiast Odysseus, who instead tries to trick her right off the bat, and who I’m convinced has tried to prank her on more than one occasion-

#Epic the musical #athena #Warrior of the mind #I relistened to the musical about three times back to back today so I have thoughts #Odysseus #i think he was a pretty feral child

[7grandmel]

Todays rip: 28/01/2024

Me and the rest area of the melee here, singing, "Where'd you go​?​"

Season 7 Featured on: SiIvaGunner's Highest Quality Rips: Volume Ruby

Ripped by Kenji Furutani

Y'know, for having followed the channel since way back in 2016, it's kind of funny it took until just last year for me to see the term "rip-hop" be used, in the comments to Me and the rest area of the melee here, singing, "Where'd you go​?​". I've covered plenty of rap mashups here on the blog before, be it kirby will never have drip *spits out cereal*, Top of the Looping Steps, or Noonsummer Madness, and while the directions for all these mashups are obviously different based on the tracks used, the latter in particular - Noonsummer Madness - has really stuck with me since covering it. And I think it is specifically because it uses its two sources to specifically embrace a chill, laid-back vibe, one similar to rips like Sidelined Symphony and Yoshi's Cookie World. If we're to be technical, all rap mashups count as rip-hop, but its these emotional rips in particular that truly begin to define the term for me.

A lot of the appeal with video game music, beyond its sheer quality of composition, arrangement, and so forth, is the emotional, nostalgic ties that you form with it through the act of playing. Listening to music through albums necessitates that you form your own associations with them - either that you know about the artists behind them and what they represent, or that you're able to associate the music with important parts of your life, or simply that the music brings you back to younger times upon relistening years later. A big reason why, growing up, I always found VGM so much more appealing to listen to than what the radio suggested was because those connections were already made from playing the game - I'd associate boss music with the emotions I felt upon fighting said boss, RPG town music with the state of my party and game experience up to that point, menu music associated with just how many hours I'd sunk into the game in question - this last reason in particular is precisely why rips like Neon Wi-Fi click so well for me. Nostalgia's a very powerful tool to bring out emotions in the listener, yet the one it seems to be best at leveraging is that of sheer sentimentality: the smiles and tears we had along the way.

And that, to me, is the purest essence of Rip-Hop, and what rips like Me and the rest area of the melee here, singing, "Where'd you go​?​" truly mean to me. Relistening to video game music I'm already well acquainted with doesn't always strike me as "nostalgic" when I've been hearing it so frequently in videos or just through replaying the games, yet...there's a sort of further emotional impact that gets extracted from them through little more than the power of a good rap song mashed up with it. Where'd You Go by Fort Minor of Linkin Park fame is, like with Noonsummer Madness, not a song I hold much of any memories with - yet the simple addition of its vocals and thumping percussion contrast so beautifully with Melee's All-Star Rest Area theme.

There's a beauty to just how simple the Rest Area theme is, being driven by a sequence of only 20 notes played in bunches of three, yet coated in a heavenly backing of pianos and string. That pairing of simplicity in melody yet beautiful instrumentation sort of embodies why "rip-hop" as a rip category is able to work so beautifully - many times, you don't need to jump through the most complex hoops to bring out the most out of two songs through mashing them up. Althesame, the amount of small tweaks done to both songs to make Me and the rest area of the melee here, singing, "Where'd you go​?​" work so seamlessly are still both noticeable and very much appreciated. I haven't been aware of Kenji Furutani's contributions to the channel until just recently, but with rips like this and more under their belt, its clear to me just how much of an understanding he has of the true potential video game music holds.

#todays siivagunner #season 7 #siivagunner #siiva #Kenji Furutani #Youtube #Bandcamp #melee #super smash bros melee #ssbm #super smash bros #ssb melee #kirby #kirby music #hal laboratory #fort minor #linkin park

[being-worthy]

Songs that I discovered very late (and some I rediscovered)

I turned on the TV to have something in be background while I did some stuff on my laptop today. Technically, I could've also had some background music on my laptop but then, it'd have gone too slow and I wanted to finish it quickly. Anyhow, Deadpool 2 was playing and even though I saw it ages ago when it came out I never took the time to properly listening to the some of the songs it had in it and it had two that have blown me away. There are more pop songs than rock, so if this not your cup of tea, feel free to skip it. Nevertheless, there are masterpieces that aren't rock songs that deserve all the kudos in the world too!

During the scene where Wade Wilson dies and reunites with Vanessa in heaven the song Take On Me by a-ha comes on, but it was a complete different version! At first, I thought it was done by another band/singer, but nope, the same band made a new version back in 2017 of the original one, and I just discovered it 🤣! It's a slower version of the original, an unplugged version of it, and it hits completely different than the original one and it's even more beautiful. Here's the full song live!

The second one, was expressly done for the movie and Céline Dion was asked to sign/perform it and I'm very glad they choose her because it's a masterpiece that hits very close to home and I'll carry this song with me forever. The song is Ashes with an astonishing performance by Céline Dion. Just a small heads up, from 0:52 the video, gets very Deadpool style, especially the ending, and no, Ryan Reynolds wasn't the one dancing in the video.

Lyrics:

What's left to say? These prayers ain't working anymore Every word shot down in flames What's left to do with these broken pieces on the floor? I'm losing my voice calling on you

'Cause I've been shaking I've been bending backwards till I'm broke Watching all these dreams go up in smoke

Let beauty come out of ashes Let beauty come out of ashes And when I pray to God all I ask is Can beauty come out of ashes?

Can you use these tears to put out the fires in my soul? 'Cause I need you here, woah

'Cause I've been shaking I've been bending backwards till I'm broke Watching all these dreams go up in smoke

Let beauty come out of ashes Let beauty come out of ashes And when I pray to God all I ask is Can beauty come out of ashes? Can beauty come out of ashes?

After listening to this song like three dozen times, I relistened to old songs of hers and ended up listening to one with Andrea Bocelli, which is a wonderful Italian opera singer. The song is The Prayer and went on to the song Time To Say Goodbye with Andrea and Sarah Brightman, even though the title might sound sad the song is anything but sad! It's about two lovers embarking on a journey together as one (the song title in Italian is "I will leave with you"). They're saying goodbye to their loved ones as they begin a new life together as one.

Furthermore, I read about the illness she's currently battling and watched a video on her YouTube channel and I can't remember seeing an artist so open and emotional on a video while having to inform the world about their condition and cancel a whole tour because of it - you can find the video here if you're interested in watching it. I just wish her all the best and hope from the bottom of my heart that she can go back to doing what she loves the most - it's difficult and rare to find something you love only to have to stop doing it because you're sick. ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

#music #pop music #deadpool 2 #deadpool 2 soundtrack #a-ha #take on me #celine dion #ashes #andrea bocelli #sarah brightman

[alfvaen]

Okay, so I have literally never posted on tumblr before (well, one post on a different blog but it’s all abandoned now so whatever); I’ve been using it to read but I still never really got the hang of it so whatever.  But I am a sucker for certain types of memes, and what somebody called an Ask Box Game, seen chez @lianabrooks and unspecifically tagged.  So let me actually my personality a bit.

Favourite colour: Purple, I guess. It doesn’t define my identity that much, and it’s not like I can ever find clothes in this colour, but yeah, purple.

Last song / album: Ha. So I am nearly constantly listening to music and almost as constantly buying music, so it depends what you mean.  Last song I listened to was part of my chronological relisten (currently I am up to 1987), “Cool Love (Cooler Remix)” by Alta Moda.  Last full album I listened to was “Haven’t Got The Blues (Yet)” by Loudon Wainwright III (2014), which I just bought a few days ago.  But the most recent album I bought looks like it was “Cosmic Wheels” by Donovan off of eMusic, I haven’t processed it yet so it’s not in my library.

Last movie: “The Prestige”, which I watched on Disney+ on Sunday night (while my wife is out of town).  I’d never seen it before, but I knew a few things about it, including one of the major spoilers.  It was pretty good.

Currently Reading: Yesterday I finished a reread of “With A Tangled Skein” by Piers Anthony (I haven’t reread that series in, like, decades, and I’m not sure how it’s holding up now), also finished Alison Bechdel’s “The Essential Dykes To Watch Out For” (from the library; I’d only heard of the Bechdel Test, I had no idea she had a long-running comic.  As an allocishet guy I found it really interesting, though in the W Bush years it seemed to get a little strident--perfectly understandable but not as fun to read).  I’m also reading some comics on Marvel Unlimited, going past where I stopped in my teen years; I’m up to December 1991, just finished the original Infinity Gauntlet series.  And today I’ll be starting a read of “Wool” by Hugh Howey, which I downloaded as a free ebook at some point.  (ETA: Oh, yeah, and I had started Ed Yong’s “I Contain Multitudes”, a nonfiction book about bacteria, before I got library books a while ago, so now I’ll be getting back to it.)

Currently Watching: A few weeks ago my eldest son was craving a rewatch of the “Planet Earth” documentary series, so he got it from the library.  I was only really interested in a couple of the episodes, and last night I joined all three kids for the Deep Ocean episode.  (I am fascinated by ocean creatures though in general I find the ocean extremely disturbing and if I ever fell into it I would probably die.)  Meanwhile I have been cycling through a number of shows, a few episodes/one disc at a time, and am currently rewatching the first disc of Season Two of “Friends”.

Currently Craving: I’ve been playing a Europa Universalis IV game with the Extended Timeline mod (so you start back in like 48 AD instead of the 1400s), where, as my wont, I cheat to give myself free money and rapid technological advancement and see how it takes to colonize/conquer the world.  This time I started as the Visayan Empire in the Philippines and just entered the 9th century; I have conquered Asia up to about the middle of India, have discovered cannons, have pretty much explored the entirety of the world’s oceans and coastlines, and am just starting to colonize Africa; haven’t actually started on the Americas yet.  So what I am craving is: playing more of that.  Instead I have to work today.

Coffee or Tea: Tea.  I rarely bother to make it for myself, but I will drink it; I never drink coffee.

TAGGING: I don’t know that anyone who’s not a sexbot is following me, so if you see this consider yourself tagged.

#friends #ask box game #eu4 #alison bechdel #hugh howey #prestige #alta moda #loudon wainwright iii #planet earth

[icharchivist]

hello icha!! i finally got around to finishing the stranger haha,, by which i mean i just watched it today. was veryyyy excited for it as i really like the poster design for this one. anyways. this event starting w/ the sort of portrait format or whatever / that narration is like. god. threw me right back to autumn troupe. I kind of love that the storytelling format itself is so distinct for autumn! the moment I realized it was omi I started getting teary… like oh man oh man… omi…. And the connection with him taking photos! ahh!! now that I think about it… omi kind of seems a bit like early version tsumugi, huh? also I keep forgetting this man is a college student lol. suspension of disbelief I suppose. onto the play i think like. mankai should invest in a fainting courch for tsuzuru. i also went to watch the play and 1) im betting yuki had a hell of a time costume design wise like the vines on the body? such fun costuming wise and 2) the ethical implications of whatever this play has,,, fun fun. tsuzuru was clearly having some kind of thoughts. i love zeros design and am always up for a3 characters crossdressing bc 1) i think its fun and 2) the costume design. i also dearly wish this whole thing was animated bc I feel like it’d be o fun to see taichi act as zero. or at least I hope this event gets full voiced one day... moving on to the scene where omi adds soy sauce to the paella I know it’s just like haha homare funny so lets five him a lil bit but like everyone in autumn troupe making their comments on the paella and like homare just jumping in. homare autumn troupe besties. just thinking. also the way they just r like. no no no omi it’s fine if u made a mistake!! it’s ok! we like it (you) anyways <3 it’s got it’s own special taste. something something omi’s perfectly pleasant as he is now but even if he weren’t on his a-game and was dealing with all of the biker gang stuff they would love him just as hard. another thing that got me was omi telling banri that he’ll give him something sweet so juza will stop grinding his teeth in his sleep… guys… guys you’ll give him cavities…. mb omi is a college student after all lol.

anyways when i saw the actual costumes. appreciative of them, i like the lil circuit-esque detailing on banri’s outfit, and that sakyo and taichi (nine and zero) both share that like collar detail? its very symbolic and probably also literal but its a nice way to sort of signify their relation to each other visually! also sakyo just looks nice. seeing him without glasses is so great. whoever thought up the like two mole detail for him was doing gods work.

something that confused me was ryo mistaking juza for nachi for a split second? like. does juza… look similar to nachi? or was it just that ryo only heard juzas voice and made that mistake. if it’s appearance wise too. kumon nachi confirmed. I’m joking lol bc I feel like I would’ve heard at least something abt it in one of the like small conversation comments, plus that doesnt seem like itd fit summer troupes style and kumon is for sure the wrong age… but still.

i really like how for this event, the roles for taichi and omi were kinda reversed. and taichis just so like. idk. smiley. rly lifts ur spirits. its kind of nice how this event contrasts to that cg where taichi is crying on omi. I also think like. idk. considering the story of the stranger. wolf gives zero a sense of purpose and life and I think that zero helps wolf lose his apathy. it’s about “the stranger” and the ending makes him like… not a stranger, right? because he’s got a companion. in the same way, taichi brings omi out of his emotional isolation. the picture taking! also the stickers coming back… thats such a good setup! the found family of it all!!

when he was trying to work out zeros character as soon as taichi mentioned a sharp speaking style I KNEW it was Yuki… yuki would never be as honest as zero is though lol… to me i imagine she’s got a sort of juza internal monologue feel? anyways. the taichi yuki dynamic intrigues me. havent yet decided how I feel abt it but when I do… yes. sorry that I make literally no sense. I think it’s very obvious that yuki is my fav chara kind of? I’m just. hmmm it makes me think! I’ve been monologuing to myself abt the yuki and juza dynamic lately which, to my a3 knowledge so far, doesn’t exist, but its ok bc I’ll make it exist! uhhh anyways this event was very good i liked the pacing. i think it didnt drag too hard and it really properly honed in on just omi and taichi, which was quite nice. they really did a lot for just an event!

time to listen to the event song,,, ok so. ah. i rly enjoyed just for myself it was very much to my taste so. out of curiousity i was like ok lemme look up the composer / producer AND IT WAS YUYOYUPPE....... that guy is like!!!! one of my FAV producers ever!!!!!! i know him from like. his vocaloid days and god leia is still one of my fav songs to this day...! this knowledge gives me so much joy omg!!! like wow!! wowwww!!! like i knew yuyoyuppe was out there doing other stuff (i know he worked on a lot of babymetal music which is cool) but like idk. to suddenly encounter it like this. heheh.... its so nice! made me soooo happy. going to relisten to leia now haha

WAIT ONE MORE THING. i was like "haha let me look at other songs i remember liking a lot" which. for me was rakuen oasis and don't cry. anyways. rakuen oasis is ALSO by yuyoyuppe???? oh my god!!! oh my god... sigh. feel like im in heaven.

OH HI FRIEND!! so good to see you with an a3 update!! :D

godd yeah The Stranger started so strongly and the idea to still incorporate portraits in his story was really something to make us cry!

And linking Omi and Tsumugi like this is pretty interesting :O <hat is your reasoning exactly? :O

For the fainting couch for Tsuzuru LMAO and i'm letting you know there's a webcomics that addresses it in Act 2 (hough there's no spoilers aside from the fact Chikage is here)

Im glad you liked the costume and the play!!! yeah i love the designs and it is always a blast to see them this into it, and yeaaah Tsuzuru has thoughts huh. It'll get voiced sooner than later hopefully and there we'll see more in details :3c but also that's what made the seiyuu live so fun bc they perform the songs in play cosplay and replay a bit of the play everytime and it's *chief kiss*

HOMARE AUTUMN TROUPE SOLIDARITY YES. LOVING IT.

And yeah the scene itself was so cute TwT they all want to reassure Omi and be there for him it's so sweet :( but yeah i love how you say it all, Omiimi TwT

and dLKFJDFLKJFDFD Giving Juza cavities is the price to pay for sleep i guess??

yeah agreed on the costume they all look so cool! and nice catch on how those three seem linked like that with their costumes, Yuki (and the designers) does such a good job! and god yeah for Sakyo.. yeah. He has sucha good design dLKJFDF

aND DLKFJD yeah no Juza is supposed to look like Nachi physically, but mostly his face? like i think Nachi was had green hair? we see a sprite of him in a future story, and yeah, everything is in the eyebrows. so Kumon should be safe? Omi mentions he sees a lot of Nachi in Juza, and while it is mostly due to their passions i think, the fact they're also rough looking guy with a heart of gold must play a part as well. but yeah, he does look like Nachi a bit.

and i love your deeper analysis of the event yeah!!

I feel like Taichi is really an emotional core of the troupe in the sense that is, he tends to catch on what others are feelings easily. And he uses it in the early chapters to ease off the tensions and stuff, but he was being held back by knowing he was deceiving them. So now that he's more free, he can be more of himself. but yeah i also love the contrast with how Omi was the one to help Taichi through his breakdown and guilt, and now it's the other way around, it's Taichi helping him through it. and the parallelism between the play and their dynamic is spot on imo! well said!!

and god yeah the sticker things made me cry sO HARD, and the pictures! and everything!! sobs it's such a sweet found family i'm going to cry :(

And! i love what you say about Yuki, Taichi and Juza on this one. I love that Taichi keeps bringing it back to "that childhood friend" and it's always like. so obvious who it is for us rip. But it can make you wonder if Yuki was more honest as a kiddo when Taichi knew him, though now he's clearly not. I love the mention of how Zero is more like Juza's internal speech (which, if anything is another argument about why you should let Juza wear a dress, cOWARD)

but also your mention of the Yuki and Juza thing, while i can't think of them having a dynamic per se yet, but i actually wrote a post during my reread about how i was baffled at the fact they treated Muku the same way?? like both of them tried to push Muku away because they were scared of how people would react if they say pure, sweet Muku was associated to them. And i find it fascinating because i guess those two are pretty aware of how the world see them, and it used to stop them from fully allowing them to be themselves.

I also find it relevant with the fact Yuki says in his personal song that while all of this way people judge him weight on him, he rather be himself, and "I want to love myself". Meanwhile we have Juza who's also aware of the way people judge him and it weight on him, and he wants to change himself from this person he hates, this self loathing - and in a way, he can grow in a way to be "someone" he may not hate, even on stage. I feel like those two have quite a bit in common in this way of being rejected by their peers in some sort of way.

I really want them to share some stuff at some point because there's really a groundwork on it all :(

But i'm really glad you liked that event!! agreed on the pacing and i do love what it brings to the characters! it really fleshes them out and have them move forward a little and it's pretty sweet.

AND OMG THAT'S SO COOL FOR THE SONG!! i'm so glad you liked it, but that's incredible it turned out to be from one of your fav producer!!! ahah sometimes life is like that where you end up finding the stuff you loved back into new stuff! and the fact Rakuen Oasis was from him as well... that's so cool!!! just, so so cool!

im pretty sure he has more songs going forward so i hope you'll enjoy the ride even more!!

thank you once again for sharing your thoughts about a3 :3c it always makes me so happy to see them!!!

Thank youu <3 have a good day :3c

#ichareply #ichafantalks a3 #sonnets of beauty #long post for ts

[levelstory]

Music Reflection II, Early 2000s' was a Trip

Well, it has been a hot minute since I wrote a music reflection post. Last time, I talked about various songs from my childhood from the likes of Britney Spears to Stevie Brock. Now I am back to tackle some more music from my most formative years that will make you question how my music taste ever escaped cringy pop music from the Top 40. Coincidentally, all of these tracks are from the early 2000s’ so no 90s’ music here today. Here we go…

Miracles Happen by Myra

This song is the anthem ofThe Princess Diaries. That movie was one of my most watched VHS tapes next to the first Harry Potter film. It is the movie that sparked my interest in film soundtracks, and one of the most recognizable and memorable songs from the album was easily Myra's Miracles Happen. 

It can be easy to forget how much work was once put into acquiring music in an age where most music is available instantaneously. As a kid, my ear was always turned toward the music in any given film and when I got to an age (around 9-10) when I realized these tracks were sold in one package known as the film soundtrack, I made a point to get my hands on a copy. The Princess Diaries is the first soundtrack I remember owning outside of soundtracks from Disney films. 

My most stark memories with this soundtrack are playing it in my bedroom at my old house. Toward the end of our time living there, my family painted my bedroom a light pink and I got a desk that had a CD rack built-in (this was a big feature at the time). My boombox sat on the large desktop against the wall and I can remember listening to The Princess Diaries soundtrack on repeat. There are a lot of great tracks on the album but Miracles Happen is the true star and the true representation of the movie. 

Before I talk about the track further, I just want to point out that this movie is great. We could talk about its problems, which it has many, but it remains funny, heartwarming, and a joy to watch from start to finish. This movie introduced me to Anne Hathaway and she just shines. Plus, Julie Andrews is in the movie and she steals the show! I know my opinion is partially influenced by nostalgia goggles but hey...just let me have this!

Back to Miracles Happen. What is easily the strongest aspect of the song is the chorus. It is so catchy and fun to listen to. The verses are enjoyable enough, but they feel a bit detached from what makes the song so good. The bridge is pretty lackluster. As discussed a bit in my first reflection, way too many songs struggle with their bridges. Look, I get it...but still. The only shining light is that the bridge at least transitions into a tune that sounds similar to the chorus which is pretty great. 

The lyrics are fairly generic which is par for the course. They say a bunch of random things like "we found the missing pieces" and "nothing should ever bring you down", lyrics that have little to no emotional attachment to anything beyond it is a thing people say in this context. But all things considered, it is still a really fun song to listen to.

It Happens Every Time by Dream Street

Dream Street is one of those boy bands that flew pretty far beneath the radar for most people. Their first album released in 2000 and I distinctly remember the marketing campaign on television playing over and over again so that they were drilled into our brains. I guess it worked because I really wanted this album as a ten-year-old.

My friends and I loved Dream Street. I had their poster hanging on my bedroom wall (their album booklet unfolded into the poster). We made up dance routines to their songs. We even blasted the music through my friend’s house and somehow her parents never became angry with us. My most shameful confession about Dream Street is that we used to try and find their phone numbers to call them. Unaware that phone books are limited to local numbers, we would call random numbers to see if Chris or Jesse were home to talk. They weren't, and people were annoyed by our calls. 

One thing people probably don't know is that Jesse McCartney's music career began with Dream Street. I'm proud to say that he was my favorite from the group at the time, and vocally he is the strongest of the group. His voice had not matured yet so it is always fun listening to his performance with his young voice!

It Happens Every Time was their big single and the song most used in TV adverts, accompanied by the music video. What got me thinking about the song and the group recently is due to some unfortunate events. I learned back in July that one of the members, Chris, died in June due to complications with COVID-19. He would have been 35 this year. Chris was often looked at as the Justin Timberlake of Dream Street. He had the fancy frost tipped hair and swagger to him that the other members couldn't compete with. After the group disbanded, he never found success in the same way he did with Dream Street. He died too young and too soon. After his death, I started relistening to Dream Street and it was this relisten that encouraged me to write another Music Reflection. 

As with Stevie Brock from the first installment of Music Reflections, Dream Street's songs mostly center on their lust for girls in a way that is pretty uncomfortable looking back. These boys range in age from 11-13 if I am not mistaken, and their songs deal with mature themes that predate their young years. Not to mention that society has young boys singing about these ideas that they can't help their actions when they lust for a girl or they can't control themselves because a girl has them wrapped around her finger. Our culture normalizes this idea that men are vulnerable to female woes and that they can't help themselves. It is always a bit gross hearing young boys sing about it, especially before they’ve even hit puberty (i.e. Justin Bieber).*

It Happens Every Time is a song about...a song. It follows a boy who hears a "silly little love song" every time he sees this girl or thinks of her. This plane of existence, a magic place where angels sing all around them, is known as Dream Street (name drop!). Admittedly, this song is probably the tamest when it comes to the themes I mentioned in the previous paragraph. 

Now I won't lie, this song is a bop. I'm still unsure if that is the nostalgia talking or not...I will have to dig deeper some other time. But damn I'd be lying if I said I don't enjoy this song. It is so catchy. The boys sing really well for their age. I am a sucker for listening to little Jesse McCartney belt his heart out. Jesse is the highlight of this song, getting a nice solo line toward the end of the second chorus followed by the entire bridge and some overlapping vocals in the final chorus before ending the song. He just sounds so good and I will admit to feeling a small sense of pride listening to him. I was there before his solo career and entry into Radio Disney hits and commercials all over ABC Family. Sometimes it feels like Dream Street is still so unknown that I can keep my memories of them all to myself. Though their time was short-lived, they stayed with me and so has this song.

Ordinary Day by Vanessa Carlton

Earlier, I talked about how difficult it was to acquire music before the internet. In the case of a song in a movie, there was a good chance that the song you liked would be on the soundtrack, provided a soundtrack was even released. Songs on the radio were difficult because you had to buy an entire album when you just liked one song, or make sure you had a blank tape ready to record when the song came on. Then there were songs you heard while out and about with no context. Those were the worst because you had to try and memorize the song and hope you found it somewhere, someday. That was kind of what happened to me with Vanessa Carlton.

It was her song A Thousand Miles that really gripped me as a 12-year-old. I loved it so much and heard it everywhere I went but never knew who sang the song or where I could get a copy. Eventually, I heard the song on the radio and bought her album...and ended up only listening to the three tracks I liked. One of the tracks, and my favorite of those three, is Ordinary Day. 

If my memory is correct, this song was never as popular as A Thousand Miles on the radio, but it was super popular on the internet. This album came out around the time I first started using the internet and discovered movie montages. I don't mean montages used in movies but montages made by fans on Windows Movie Maker, cut together with a somewhat fitting song. If you were a teenager obsessing over Disney or Harry Potter or...something, you know the songs that people generally gravitated towards with these videos (the band Trading Yesterday were a staple of these montages). Ordinary Day was a movie montage song (every time I listen to this song it reminds me of an Aladdin montage it played over (which I sadly can't find)). 

I decided to watch the music video for this song as I was writing this and boy is it a product of the early 2000s. Can we all just agree that the early 2000s were equivalent to that awkward stage of everyone's lives that we try not to think about? This music video is so clumsy and confusing. There are so many close up shots on Carlton and strange shots of people making out. Who thought this was a good idea?

But back to the song. One thing I appreciate about this song is how it builds itself up. The beginning piano is very nice but then it builds up with orchestration and I love it. I'm sorry I can't talk about it more but I won't embarrass myself with lack of musical instrumental lingo and knowledge.

The lyrics of the song are...ehh? The song is basically about seeing more in the ordinary and how the narrator is shown from an "ordinary boy." It isn't terrible but like the music video, a product of the early 2000s. 

I unapologetically love this song. Yes it is corny and it isn't as musically sophisticated as I would like, but it always makes me smile when I listen to it. I can remember listening to the song on my headphones on long car rides and with friends. It is just a song that makes me feel happy and gives me no reason to feel otherwise. 

All I Can Do by Jump5

Well...I'm surprised it took me this long to arrive at Jump5. What is there to say about this Christian pop sensation? Quite a bit actually. I was only obsessed with them for a good chunk of my early teens. Reflecting on that time of my life is strange because in hindsight, it was such a short period but it always feels like it lasted much longer. 

Everyone has that one band that they really connect with as a teenager that basically shapes their entire life and...well, yeah, that band for me is Jump5. I'm not kidding, I could write an entire book about how this band shaped my entire life (and believe me, I am working on it!). As much as I'd like to talk about all of that, we only have a short amount of time so let's talk about this song. 

As with Ordinary Day, this song reeks of the early 2000s. However, unlike Ordinary Day, the music video is much more successful in its execution. I couldn't believe myself when rewatching it...it is actually pretty darn good as far as music videos tend to be. 

Choosing what Jump5 song to talk about was pretty difficult because there are so many in their arsenal that I can talk about for long periods of time and connect to life experiences. But All I Can Do seems to be a special one because I'm almost certain it was the first track I ever heard from the group. As with Dream Street, Jump5 had a big TV marketing campaign for their second album, All the Time in the World (in which All I Can Do is the first track). It was their TV advert that put them on the radar for me. I vividly remember seeing the commercial at Christmas time. It was the first Christmas spent at our new house and I can remember watching the TV with my gifts and snow falling outside. At this point, seeing pop bands advertised on TV was nothing new. There were always new groups trying to make it big as other pop acts had before them. But other than my memory of seeing this commercial, it otherwise didn't leave a big impact on me. I wouldn't start listening to Jump5 until a few months later after getting into Radio Disney. And even after I got into Jump5, All I Can Do was never one of their songs that I gravitated towards. 

I wanted to talk about this song because of how well it represents Jump5 as a group. All I Can Do is their quintessential track, packed with energy and fun lyrics. But the track is also a representation of the group's core aesthetic of disguising "Christian values" as a pop song about a crush. For anyone who grew up on a Christian media diet (as I did voluntarily as a teenager), this is nothing out of the ordinary for this type of entertainment. In fact, it is basically a meme at this point. All I Can Do may be the least overt example of this from Jump5's library, but it is still an example nonetheless.

“It's like I got nothing to do but think about you,” (you being God), "I've got all the time in the world," (implying that time does not matter because in God you have everlasting life), "if you look at my heart, you'll know from the start," (meaning God knows your true heart and He knows from the start). I could go on but I think you see my point. There isn't anything inherently bad about this example and it is fairly harmless, but this isn't always the case when it comes to Christian entertainment.

Another trend from the late 90s' and early 2000s' was a pop group being a mix of both guys and girls but the guys rarely sang (A*Teens is another example that might come to mind). This song is dominated by the girls who share most of the song equally. The guys are hardly ever heard at all except when Chris gets his time to shine echoing the song's title over and over. It is easy to forget about them but alas, they are there.

Jump5 were known for their dance routines that they performed alongside their songs. They would often do cartwheels, flips, and very technical dance routines that blew many other pop acts out of the water. They also performed these routines live on tour, not just in their music videos. This dance routine is a really memorable one, showing the group doing a train-like dance which I remember performing with a friend. It is a lot of fun and I won't let anyone tell me otherwise! It was a lot of fun revisiting this track.

Is It Saturday Yet? by Nick Carter

Well here we are, at the final song, and boy is this choice...let's go with interesting. Nick Carter, known for his Backstreet Boy fame, recorded his own solo album after the group disbanded. What we got was Now or Never which is only ever remembered by the song Help Me, and even that is pretty forgettable. All that said, I owned this album and listened to it quite a bit as a tween. My most specific memory with the album is listening to it on a long car ride to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Is It Saturday Yet? is the seventh track on the album and out of the five tracks I liked, this was probably at the bottom. 

So why talk about it if it was my least favorite track? Well friends, this track is so bizarre that I question its existence on a frequent basis. It is insane how often this song gets stuck in my head and won't leave. 

The song seems to be about a disengaged teenager being raised by Jerry Springer and video games (video games got a low blow for warping kids brains back in the day. They still get blamed today but it isn't to the same extent) who just can't wait for Saturday to come so he can be rid of his responsibilities. The lyrics are...dumb. They are clearly trying to make a point but the song is so ridiculous that it is white noise. And why is it that Nick and Aaron Carter always have to reference each other in their songs? It was cute at first when Aaron did it in his classic track Oh Aaron, but now it is just old. 

"Is it Saturday yet? Cause I wanna get up. Is it Saturday yet? It just feels like a Saturday. Maybe it's a Saturday." Those are the lyrics in the chorus. It is a song so devoid of meaning and so lazy to its very core. It contains lazy rhymes and brutal instrumentals. This song is the reason so many people describe pop music as empty trash. Like, don't get me wrong, a lot of music on the radio is pop trash and is clearly put together by big corporate higher-ups to make a quick buck on teenage stars locked in a contract. But some of that music is meaningful and deserves to be recognized. This song, however, deserves to die a painful death. It is just terrible. 

And yet, despite all of this, the song somehow still appeals to me. I still listen to it. I still find joy out of it even though it is just awful in every possible way. I think that speaks to the whole point of these reflections on the music I listened to when I was younger. 

Is It Saturday Yet? may be the worst of the bunch, but a lot of music cranked out back in the day was mindless entertainment. As much as it bothers me, I won't lie and say there is no place for music like this because there is. Sometimes when I am driving, I get so sick of the music I normally listen to ("good" music) and I just want music from my childhood that won't make me think but will just allow me to bake in nostalgic goodness. 

Revisiting these songs was fun, but I know there are more I want to talk about in the future! Stay tuned! What are some songs you listened to in the early 2000s’ that make you feel super nostalgic today? Let me know in the comments!

* It should also be noted that the band broke up because of a lawsuit in which the majority of the parents of the band alleged that the underage band members were "exposed to booze, women, and pornography."

#Jump5 #Vanessa Carlton #Dream Street #Chris Trousdale #Jesse McCartney #Myra #The Princess Diaires #Nick Carter

[ghosty-schnibibit]

one last amnesty liveblog :’)

i’m writing this literal seconds after it came out and i am hyped as all get out, let’s do this!!!!!

IT IS TWO AND A HALF HOURS LONG, NICE

they haven't announced more than that trav is dming and i'm hype for it

dang i wanna listen to those so bad

love ya griffin :')

... i don't remember there being distortion there???

WHY IS THE INTRO BREAKING DOWN

GRIFFIN WHAT THE FUCK I AM INSTANTLY TERRIFIED

... this isn't just old quotes, these are memories we haven't seen before now mixed in. i'm 90% sure that was just a memory from thacker's perspective of mama finally finding thacker possessed by the quell

was that little aubrey getting inspired to be a magician? sweet baby

aww aubrey :'(

and that was duck in class the day after minerva visited him

"wayne newton? that can't be real" pfff

DUCK MEETING AUBREY AWWW

who???

"this isn't how it happened" what the fuck is going on

THIS IS WHAT HAPPENED TO NED DURING THE SHIFTER ARC

... THAT'S NOT REALLY BEACON IS IT

YEP, YEP, YEP, THIS IS WHAT HAPPENED TO NED

it wasn't expecting him to grab beacon

... they're in the alien base aren’t they

this is terrifying holy shit

it's the rest of the pine gaurd

waAaAaynEeEeE

"we've a little bit of the griffin panic settin' in" mood

nice! first of those good good finale rolls this ep

oh thank god it didn't take dani again

WELL THAT'S NOT GREAT

at least sylvaine is okay then

i love beacon so fucking much

"i think we're pretty well fucked" bless duck

thacker is so good and i love him

SOMEONE HELP HER

never mind about those finale rolls holy shit

yeah aubrey's fucked for luck lol

what are you quoting

it is so fucking weird to hear people calling him wayne, and yet it works so well for him

griffin keeps pointedly calling him wayne to get him to react and justin's just not yes-anding him lmao

this is so fucking weird holy shit

aubrey no

bless you for still calling him duck aubrey

GOD DAMN TRAV

OH THAT IS EXTREMELY BAD, OH GOD

THE LATE THACKER ROLLED A FIVE

this is so weird holy shit

jesus i just looked at the timestamp and it's only been thirty minutes

this is more of what ned found with the shifter

NICE!

i love minerva so

it's barry

the sudden music scares an intrigues me

WHAT THE FUCK WHAT THE FUCK WHAT THE FUCK

it's making copies of their loved ones to scare them into not fighting

duck i love you so much

beacon is so horny for destruction and i love him

WAIT REALLY??? shit, we were all terrified for aubrey’s luck and forgot about duck’s completely

JESUS FUCKING CHRIST THEY ARE BEEFING IT

thank you for minmaxing so much trav

HOLY SHIT THACKER WHAT

"oooookay" griffin sounds so excited and i love it

NICE! GO THACKER :DDD

W H A M I E

... why do i have a feeling this is billy

oookay, that makes sense

direct and fair

reconciliation???

oh no, this is bad, this is very bad

PIZZA

"what that being represented" wtf

... they created a great filter. they created a great filter to keep themselves safe and killed off god knows how many worlds. holy fucking shit this makes so much make sense.

yes duck, it it aliens  -_-

not the most nuanced of takes there aubrey

i don't know if it's just me but i am having such a hard time mentally picturing this room

griffin loves his domes lmao

WELP, THAT'S NOT GREAT

this music griffin holy shit

bless griffin

oh fuck, very bad, this is very very bad

duck took a fuckin turn here at the end, damn

"FUCK YOU, C'MON" i love you duck holy shit

natural human chitin

oh fuck i forgot they were there holy shit

jesus we have more than an hour left

well that's not great!!!

HOLY FUCK, GO THACKER :DDDDD

i cry, ned ; _ ;

YEAH MAYBE DON'T LET THACKER DIE

nice nice nice

griffin i don't think you needed to specify that it wasn't literal whales

"duck, honey" mama ilu so

YEEEEEAH GO DUCK MY BOY

jesus fucking christ that's horrifying

what are you gonna do here trav

YES BRING BILLY BACK

OH NO, OH NO, OH NO

"you absolute ding dongs" griffin ilu

YEAAAAAH AUBREY

BILLY!!! MY BABY BOY IS BACK :D

god damn clint has been killing these rolls today

"you and your bunch of commodore 64's" thacker i love you

HOLY SHIT BILLY

what in the world did he do?????

ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME IS THIS A FINAL FANTASY REFERENCE? DID BILLY FUCKING SUMMON SEPHIROTH???

THE AMNESTY THEME

I AM SO HYPE RIGHT NOW HOLY SHIT

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

HOLY SHIT THE FUCKING TIM CURRY ASS SWORD

...god damn, i need to take a moment to just... whoooo fuckin boy that was so good. that was so incredibly good. as soon as this is over i'm going back and doing an amnesty relisten because so much makes sense now, holy shit

yay billy can talk now :D

my god this is so good

i love how much billy is using y'all, you can tell he spent a lot of time with duck

fair lol

awww billy's gonna save everybody :')

... is anyone else remembering that stern is still in sylvain

i descended to your pairing??? oooh dissented, okay

prove em' wrong

... are we in the end game territory here

whomst clint???

a guest bivouac

i love thacker so freaking much guys, i love him so much

mama :'D

who is this person i am so confused

IT'S THE QUELL

aww thacker :')

this music is destroying me holy fuck

"hi honey!" jesus fuck they're so cute

god this is such pretty imagery

AWWWWW NED I CRY

i love these two girlfriends and their rabbit son

"i love the whimsy" janelle ilu

travis mcelroy you have murdered me

aww little mousies

aubrey my baby ilu so much

duck wtf my child

that hasn't happened yet technically tho? i’m pretty sure it's still 2017 i think in this canon but okay then? i might be wrong tho

i love these two so much 

MINERVA MY BABY

wait a god damn minute

DUCK x MINERVA HOLY SHIT, RIP INDRUCK LMAO

oooooh i am suddenly very much not looking forward to going into the tag later, oh boy. this right here is why i make a rule of not getting too invested in non-canon pairings.

minerva is a non-neurotypical mood

... god damn duck this is killing me right now

why are you quoting spiderman minerva

there are only ten minutes left holy shit

i have very limited comic knowledge here guys please help me here boys

justin i'm gonna cry here

oh good, stern made it back to kepler

griffin i weep

indruck may have been sunk but sternclay is sailing strong lol

I CRY GRIFFIN, I CRY

THEY MADE A NEW PORTAL :D

janelle fell off a pudding fruit tree lol

INDRID AND LEO WTF

THIS IS SO HAPPY AND GOOD I CRY

NED :')

I'M SOBBING

and that was it folks! there's the end of taz amnesty! it has been an amazing ride and, unlike balance, one i was actually here for from start to finish in real time. this finale more than lived up to my expectations as far as tying up loose ends and ending on a wonderfully happy note and i cannot wait to see all the art and fic that comes out of it. i love this amazing fandom that’s felt like a home to me these last three years, i can't wait to listen to the next amazing arc the mcelboys conjure up with all of you

see you all again when the ttazz comes out!

#taz #taz amnesty #taz spoilers #the adventure zone #ghosty liveblogs taz #:')

[drsallygrissom]

Why We Love ars PARADOXICA

Back in 2016, the fandom made a list of 43 reasons why we love ars PARADOXICA in honor of the 73rd anniversary of Dr. Sally Grissom’s first audio diary on October 29, 1943. When I learned that the podcast was going to end after its third season, I decided to pull together another list that was double the length of the first. 

However, the fandom was so passionate that we blew past our goal, and reached triple the length of the original list!

Without further ado, here are the 129 of the reasons why we love ars PARADOXICA:

Helen Partridge, my beautiful, beautiful wife

I just love Kristen’s laugh and it never fails to make me smile.

Mischa’s outros! “Brought to you by the internet:” 

The TimeSwimmers episode. That whole thing was a masterpiece

Sally and Nikhil's friendship

Petra, my sassy troubled daughter

The effort that went into making such a truly unique and ambitious take on time travel-based fiction

Sally, my favorite disaster ace

All of the characters are just so beautifully flawed in their own ways and are so well depicted it’s hard to pick a favorite

Every episode makes me feel SO MANY EMOTIONS

The sound effects are just so well done that I feel like I’m right there with the characters

The subtle yet mind blowing foreshadowing

The way it endlessly inspires me to create fan content

The decryption team, who I don't understand yet love to watch unravel codes

The ability to make us both love and hate a character at the same time as much as we do Esther Roberts.

Jack Wyatt

The sass, and in general wonderful interactions with the fan base on social media.

The schoolyard brawl!

Very obviously not being afraid to have fun with ads/sponsored content.

Actually making me want to listen to the version with ads even though I'm a patron

Buttsticks…

Plasticity

The outro music is simple but so, so good

Lemon drops and Limestone

My curiosity about what Esther wrote in the letter

Golden boi and his devils lettuce

With three episodes left it felt like there was so much story left to be told and such little time to tell it

The generosity to keep us entertained between seasons

The subtle symbolism of Esther's mind being represented with card games

The heart-wrenching ups and downs of Esther and Bridget's relationship

Esther and Sally’s lesbian/aroace solidarity

Bridget, my mom

Sally's #relatable ace anxieties and Nikhil's comforting response

The super cool theme song by Mischa "i do not play piano" Stanton which they apparently HEARD IN A DREAM?!

The found footage pieces between scenes

The amount of detail put into it, and being able to notice new things on each relisten

Easter eggs like QDAM

Seemingly infinite pop culture references

The commitment to posting a transcript for each episode

The GOLDEN BOY smokes the devil’s lettuce?!

The Super LUminal Recursive Processor

All of the machine code names really

Mischa’s wonderful sound design that makes me feel like I’m actually in the location the episode takes place at and made me realize how wonderful podcasts could truly be.

Sally Grissom. The wonderful disaster ace and the first ace rep I ever found.

The sound design of the show, especially the tapes adding to world building, all those clunky sounds.

Sally Grissom, ‘I wonder what would happen if I...’, Mad scientist.

This show has the most complex, humanistic portrayal of aromanticism I’ve ever experienced

I appreciate the aP creators’ dedication to nuanced portrayal of and discussion about violence

All of Curses, of fucking course

Keeping the humanity of people who do bad thing while not trying to justify them

Their commitment to “all killer, no filler”

Reminding me that science is cool, dammit!

Petra is a lovely and nuanced, complex character that I adore with my whole heart and soul.

[BLUE BLUE 09 13 18 15 26 08 04 12 20 24 05 18 14 09 17 04 05 12 01 05 The weather in Tulsa today is: Drought. At the tone, the time will be: 5400 hours]

The creators are so so fantastic and fun! I love that they interact with fans.

Sally is the disaster stoner physicist we all need in our lives. also she’s relatable as hell

The show is not afraid to tackle issues like race, gender, or sexuality and it doesn’t overstep its bounds.

The codes are so fun (even if I don’t understand all of them)!

I love how excited scientists get when they’ve discovered something-it feels like real scientists I know

How Bridget criticizes Sally for making puns under pressure even though she does exactly the same thing

The way characters interact with one another, and grow, and learn, and develop is so fascinating and beautiful.

Plasticity might have been the first podcast episode to make me cry.

I love Sally “I only know anecdotal biology and chemistry” Grissom and how her science knowledge actually makes sense??

As a huge huge physics nerd and aspiring computer scientist, I love love love the way Sally talks about science! It’s like Kristen DiMercurio is narrating my inner monologue!

The thrill of trying to keep up with the diverging timelines

☭S̶͜͞ ̀͜҉̀͢Í͠ ̸̸͟҉X̵͘͢ ̢T̷̶͞ ̢̨͟Y̧̛͘ ̨͟͢ ̴̨͜҉S̷̶͢ ̴͝Í͢͟ ҉̢̛͝X̕͝͝☭

The consideration and dedication shown in not only writing an aro-spec ace character, but addressing issues and worries often faced by people in that community.

The mind-boggling task of trying to piece together everything that’s happening when for all we know every scene could be from a different, rewritten version of the timeline.

Anthony Partridge, the most melodramatic math nerd to ever play Tetris in a bubble outside of time.

The optimism of the show and ultimate faith it shows in both science and humanity, despite all the characters’ failings.

Sally giggling over meeting her future self both times that it happens

Sally’s book (and her attempts at pronouncing NaNoWriMo).

Maggie Elbourne, because as much as I love all my the more morally ambiguous scientists it’s nice to see one who actually stood up to ODAR’s shenanigans almost as soon as she figured out what was up.

Everything about the road trip.

TimeSwimmers was already mentioned but specifically TIME DOLPHIN RYAN LOCHTE

Characters that grow and change and learn

The 77s getting name dropped in Plasticity, way before we knew who they were

Sally calling out the English language for being problematic (“oh, you mean like morally upstanding?”)

“The weather in Tulsa today is: uhh I dunno”.

It has been quite possibly the most human exploration of time travel I’ve ever seen/heard.

Reaching a happy ending I couldn't even imagine

The weather in Tulsa is: sppoookyyy

The ever changing ways the codes were presented in season 3. Giving the feeling that the anchorites were both on the run and broadcasting these messages from different points in time.

Sally’s ace representation is the best I’ve ever seen and it makes me feel so #valid.

The sound design and detail in the writing make me feel like I’m truly immersed in the story, and it feels so authentic. Are you sure you don’t secretly have a timepiece?

The characters are people I CARE about and wanted to cry over during work all the time because they’re all wonderful and I love them.

The integration of the different storylines into Sally’s, especially Petra’s, is amazing.

Petra’s characterization was really well done, and it made me really care about her, even as she was trying to more or less destroy the world.

Out-of-date pop culture references that fit seamlessly into the dialogue despite being from literally a different time period and most of the characters having no idea what it meant. They just added an extra level of hilarious.

You may not actually know a single thing about tachyon fields and gluon walls (are they even real?) but you could definitely convince me that you know exactly what you’re talking about (or at least that Sally Grissom does).

The enDING WAS JUST REALLY WELL DONE AND I LOVE A GOOD CIRCULAR ENDING AND IT MADE ME GENUINELY GO TO THE BATHROOM DURING WORK TO CRY BECAUSE IT WAS JUST BEAUTIFUL.

The fact that the whole show is wrapped up by the revelation that the entire show is actually Nikhil and Mateo curling up with board games and snacks trying to form a story out of these tapes, patching together timelines to make it all cohesive, it just feels very right.

This story fits the medium so well, and so the fact that we don’t learn that Whickman has an EYEPATCH is absolutely wild but also wonderful because as soon as I heard that I knew that that was how it belonged, like of course he has an eyepatch, that’s a very Chet thing to have.

The ending was so perfectly, painfully beautiful. It was the ending we needed but never would have imagined.

Petra’s and Sally’s relationship being so complex and real.

Nikhil and Mateo using the archive to create the framing device for the whole podcast.

The sound the timepiece makes.

The final destruction of the timepiece.

Putting time travel in a Cold War setting makes perfect sense, and they go together like peanut butter and chocolate.

Did anyone mention Helen Partridge as a character? How beautifully she was set up and the fact that she pursued her own her life, and also, how BEAUTIFULLY Susanna Kavee can sing? Because damn.

I just. Really love this show. And everyone involved. So much.

The child characters were really well done-both the actors and the writing felt real.

To me, the show feels a bit like one of those camp friendship bracelets everyone used to make, with all these colors and threads--all of the timelines, woven together, messy but beautiful.

TEETRIS

Grissom’s Gizmo Gals!

Mateo’s non-stop flirting, even in the worst of situations

Sally “It’s Dr Grissom”ed HERSELF.

The way both the story and the characters reflect a complex view on the world with people making horrible decisions and horrible things happening to them, and yet always maintaining a positive outlook, offering the possibility of change and improvement.

The top-notch voice acting from everyone involved, helping to create the wonderful characters we all love.

Sally finger-gunning her way out of a conversation with a pun about a friend almost killing her.

All the minisodes!!

Any time Bridget, Nikhil or Lou acts like they want to adopt Petra

The series ending with two characters who had been at odds coming together

The characterization of the different Petras, because they all seem like different people even though  in fact they are not (and Sylvia deciding she doesn't want to follow the legacy of Petras)

How Kristen can play 2 of the same character and make them sound different (how does she do that???)

Anthony’s will to save everyone, sacrificing himself, when the world didn't do anything good for him…

... and the constant struggle to save his friends (like when he was literally the only one aware of the Anchorites and the way their plan could have ended)

The way the show can go from time travel shenanigans to heartfelt character moments is a real testament to the talent of the writing team.

The Vegas episode, which I listened to after the finale and cried, because they were so happy and naive and everything wasn’t messy and bad and complicated.

The way gun violence is handled by the creators with respect and care

The way PTSD and mental health is handled (through Sally) is beautiful and respectful.

Partridge being named after a bird and living out his life in a cage. YOU GUYS ARE MEAN

Susanna Kavee’s absolutely amazing singing and Tau Zaman’s lyrics are an absolutely combination.

The ceaseless, unwavering commitment to puns

I love how important their friendships are to the characters (well, most of them anyways).

Sally’s conversation with Nikhil in season 3 reflects a lot of common anxieties of aromantic people, and his understanding responses

The entirety of the trial episode, which just really sort of showed the full extent of how terrible the Red Scare was by putting Esther, a Jewish woman, through it, and just shows you how defamed people in that time were.

In so many of the fictional and non-fictional representations of history, marginalized people have diminished, distorted, and stereotypical roles-but not in ars PARADOXICA. Thank you for making so many people feel seen.

All the amazing writers who started it all. 💜

Here are the signatures of some of the fans who contributed: 

Signatures

Lindsay (ioniluna/drsallygrissom)

Khanan Abayev

SJ (your friendly neighborhood slauthor)

Dave (mondas-mania)

Noah (kindadisappointed)

Sana (i-am-delta-s)

Tina (espressonist)

Meaghan (lafgl)

Katherine (Rubywolfsbane)

Artimis (jp-blindperson/ap-blindperson)

Luke (martianboyy)

Ellie (joan-and-jane-and-esther-roberts/shewrites)

Bridge (cornerandchair)

Lem (aceparadoxica)

Esme (starsparadoxica)

Glory (mercutiglo)

Carly (guardianbob)

Emese (mse)

Ben (Q)

Special thanks to the ars PARADOXICA discord for being so helpful! From the time it was just a dozen people with a spork in a shoebox, this community was a shining star that helped me through tough times. Thank you for your silliness, cleverness, and support.

Brought to you by the internet: It’s weird! It’s fun! It loves you very, very much!

#ars paradoxica #aP creators #surprise!

[karaokeadvice]

Meaningless Time

It’s a...Tuesday? I think? In the summer? I do know that it’s August, because I moved back to the States on August 1st. So I’m also completely jet lagged and I don’t have any sense of the time of day. To add to my confusion/displacement, I’m staying in my childhood bedroom at my mom’s house which has remained relatively unchanged since the mid-90s. (Case in point, my sister and I still refer to one of the bathrooms as “the new bathroom” although it was renovated in 1995.) So every day I wake up at about 5am craving enchiladas, and unsure about what decade it is, and where I am in my life. But I don’t think this is a unique problem. I assume that most of you are feeling aimless, unsure of the day of the week, and perhaps craving enchiladas at whatever hour you awaken. All of the “normal” markers of life are gone. Seems like a good moment to do a deep (medium?) dive into songs about time. 

Time (Clock of the Heart) - Culture Club 

[This is Karen’s only entry because not only is time meaningless, but I can’t remember any songs I have ever heard at all over the last 44 years.] 

I go through periods every few years where all I want to do is listen to this song on repeat and start crying a little bit when actual chiming reminiscent of a beautiful yet merciless clock gently starts up during the chorus, and if that’s not something you can relate to, I guess you probably didn’t grow up waiting to just get to the part when you’re an older yet wiser divorcee in a peignoir with a high rise apartment featuring large windows to knowingly gaze out of over a twinkling cityscape as a saxophone solo wails in the background. 

Well, some of that has come true for me, but not most of it, but luckily there’s always SOPHISTI-POP to help me cut to that feeling. According to Wikipedia, this is a term applied retrospectively to music “that emerged during the mid-1980s in the UK which incorporated elements of jazz, soul, and pop.” To me it’s songs that came on Top 40 radio after my mid-1980s bedtime of 8:00 pm so I had to listen to them on my clock radio stashed under my pillow and fantasize as detailed above and also something about impatiently taking off a large clip-on earring to answer the phone. 

This feels like a love song but it’s actually a giant dis and a meditation on the sunk-cost fallacy of long-term relationships that are dead in the water. “Time won’t give me time / And time makes lovers feel / like they got something real / but you and me we know we got nothiiiiiiiiiiin’ but time.” At first it feels romantic--we’ve got nothing but time, baby, time to spend together in this beautiful partnership. But wait a minute. Time makes lovers feel like they have something real, but in this case the lovers have...nothing but time. That’s it. Time and nothing else is what’s keeping them together. The charming chiming is actually signalling the death knell of a relationship. “Time won’t give me time.” Isn’t that the truth? Also: an excellent saxophone solo.

Time Passages - Al Stewart

I always get Al Stewart and Dave Stewart of The Eurythmics mixed up. (I know, I know.) This song is actually pretty boring: a perfect fit for this period of ongoing malaise. The experience of listening to it is the equivalent of not listening to anything. It also seems to go on forever, clocking in at 6 minutes and 40 seconds. 

There’s a seemingly endless youtube video someone made which pairs the song with just pictures of sunsets and skies. It’s exhausting and somehow irritating to watch. I think it’s supposed to be relaxing? 

There’s also a weird screaming instrument (or person) at just about the halfway point. So, it turns out I hate this song. I didn’t know until I started this entry. I learned something new about myself today. If you want everyone to die of boredom, you could sing this at karaoke. Actually, that would be a great idea for a room full of drunk kickball players. Please someone take me up on this challenge when and if we can ever safely gather again.

Breathe (2 AM) - Anna Nalick

I don’t know where Anna Nalick came from or where she went after she wisely cautioned us all to “just breathe” at 2am when we are waking up in a cold sweat and calling her for advice. Actually, at 2am I haven’t gone to sleep yet. I’m likely doing one of the following: having a debate with myself in my head about whether or not I should just give up sleeping and start a movie; deciding if it actually matters if I brush my teeth; wondering what things are plugged in that shouldn’t be; and/or mentally cataloging every boy I ever kissed. Also if someone called me at 2am I would scream. I’m calling BS on Anna Nalick actually picking up. At any rate, she is a really good friend to even consider answering the phone at that hour. Also maybe put your phone on vibrate?

Chicago - Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?

This is truly the question for RIGHT NOW. It’s also a really really dumb song. It seems like a filler song, like truly stream-of-consciousness writing (no shade; I’m doing the same thing right now!). But I’m envisioning the producer of Chicago’s album saying kind of last minute, “guys, we need one more song on this record. Literally anything.” I mean, look at the lyrics:

As I was walking down the street one day / A man came up to me and asked me what the time was that was on my watch / And I said / Does anybody really know what time it is 

I mean, maybe I’m not giving the songwriter (Robert Lamm!) enough credit. I guess he’s having the same existential crisis that we all are? But I just find the whole thing so irritating. Who wants to listen to a play-by-play of his day and the people he encounters while on his ambling stroll? TL/dr: one guy wants to know what time it is, some lady feels the need to inform him that her watch has stopped, and then there’s a lot of pushing and shoving (?!) as people are going to and from work. But not our narrator! He’s just walking around, waiting to be approached, so he can NOT ANSWER the question he is asked, and instead ponder the meaning of life. It’s so annoying! And also completely confusing how this was a HIT SINGLE?!! The 70’s, man. (More about this soon.)

Time in a Bottle - Jim Croce

When I lived in England (the first time, as a kid) I had my first BEST best friend, Judith. (Hi Pudes, if you’re reading this.) Like the first person outside my family who actually totally *got* me. I guess we got each other? It was actually how I always imagined friendship to be, but it had never happened like that for me before. 

We hung out every day after school and spent most weekends together. We’d stay up late listening to music in her room and just talking, talking, talking deep into the night. It was just before either of us had discovered boys, so all the energy that would later be used for crushes and romance was channeled into this amazing friendship. 

When we moved back to the US, I was devastated. 

We wrote long, newsy letters to each other faithfully for years. We saw each other every summer. I think it was the first summer we were reunited (her family came to the US to visit) that we sunk a lot of hours listening to “Time in a Bottle” and feeling sad about our fleeting moments together. We took the unusual step of writing the lyrics out on belts (?!!) for each other, and that belt with her handwriting and Jim’s lyrics hung on my closet door for all of high school. 

But there never seems to be enough time / To do the things you want to do / Once you find them / I've looked around enough to know / That you're the one I want to go / Through time with.

The bitter irony here, of course, is I lived in England again until last Saturday, and there still wasn’t enough time to see her. Not that we were allowed to for much of the past several months, anyway. But regardless, we have families and busy lives of our own now, and that brief fleeting moment when friendship is your only responsibility has long passed. 

Time After Time - Cyndi Lauper

I get a Strong Emotional Reaction from the opening chords of this song; do you? Flashback, warm nights!

This is one of three CL songs that I mix up. I always wonder, is this the one that makes me sad and I also think might be good to sing at karaoke? So I start here. Then, I realize, no, the one I’m thinking of has a longer title and something to do with night.

Oh! It must be “I Drove All Night.” So I move on to that one but it’s too upbeat.

Finally, I realize I must be thinking about “All Through the Night” and get the gut-punch nostalgia hit I was seeking from the opening keyboard twinkle. (Twinkle?!)  Hope you enjoyed this tour of my brain.

Anyway, back to this song. Time after time, Cyndi helps me sift through the suitcase of memories, dreaming about my bright future as Mrs. Corey Feldman. Like Karen’s SOPHISTI-POP entry, this is another ten-year-old under-the-covers listening experience. With no baseline for actual relationships, I pictured this as a treatise on Adult Love. A series of gauzy-hued Missed Connections, punctuated by consent issues (you say, go slow).

Upon grown-up relistening, it is a strikingly accurate portrayal of Relationships. She’ll be waiting for her lover, time after time, no matter what; but also literally waiting--what with the clock ticking and the second hand unwinding. I’ll wait for you forever but also it’s 7:35 WHERE ARE YOU.

(I’ve Had) The Time of My Life - Bill Medley / Jennifer Warren

This is not the best song on the Dirty Dancing soundtrack. That honor OBVIOUSLY belongs to “Hungry Eyes” by Eric Carmen. I don’t think you need to hear any more details about my ten-year old fantasies though, so I will spare you. 

“(I’ve Had) The Time of My Life” made a recent reappearance in my life when it was played at a Halloween party. I had a drunken miscommunication with my friend Nelson where I stood at one end of the dance floor and ran towards him at full speed, thinking he would somehow instinctively do “the lift”. But instead I just crashed into him and almost broke his glasses and nose. So, this is really just a word of warning. 

Also, Patrick Swayze is SO MUCH OLDER then Jennifer Grey; how did we not notice/care? Just so busy stanning Baby and Johnny Castle. Better or worse than the glaring age gap between David Bowie and Jennifer Connolly in Labyrinth? EVERYTHING IS RUINED.

All My Life - K-Ci & JoJo

Luckily, the YouTube comments have written this entry for us. 

Y.N. 2 months ago

Who’s listening during quarantine?  😁

O.S. 3 weeks ago

If you are also randomly playing old music. Hit like

JO 1 month ago (edited) 0% Butt shaking  0% Drugs 0% Lambos 0% Strippers 0% Cursing 100% TALENT

J.C. 2 weeks ago (edited)

TIMELESS!!!

#time has no meaning

[ka-za-ri]

Metronome (Ignis x Reader)

Will I ever stop writing Ignis x reader? Apparently not. More experimental angst being thrown your way because all I can think about is heartbreak before and after the game. I also really REALLY love numbers and playing with them in writing. Expect that a lot. You’ve been warned. 

No beta for my experimental stuff, my bf should not be subjected to having to edit this. lmao.  Maybe now my muse will let me get back to my longer piece. 

Genre: Slice of Life/Angst Rating: SFW Pairing: Ignis x Reader Wordcount: ~ 1,500

Suggested Listening: Thinking Out Loud -- Ed Sheeran Cover by Sungha Jung

Tagging: @hypaalicious @thirsty-angst-lord @roses-and-oceans @louisvuittontrashbags @itshaejinju

Four beats to a measure makes for one hundredth of a page. A hundred pages later, and he find himself back at the beginning of his feelings for you.

The music he sent you was written with stardust and tasted of ashen lies. Each told a story of a blissful life without sorrow. Each song he sent you to listen made the tempo of your heart go faster until it became an unbearable and constant beating in your ears. He didn't have time for words, so he kept in you in mind with songs.

One. To gently wake you up for when he left for work before the sun rose. Three. For you to listen to as you got ready for the day. Five. For the commute to your workplace. Each song to be played again in backwards order as you returned home after a long work day. By the time your door is unlocked and you made your way back into his arms, the dulcet melodies he chose for you would have been long forgotten for the slow dance tune that was he heartbeat.

Each song he chose was perfectly timed to your routine and his life. Though it was difficult to see him gone so often, you could always find solace in relistening to Thursday or Monday on repeat until he came home. Oftentimes, he would find you asleep on the living room couch listening to the second to last song for a Wednesday when he came home too late to tell you good night.

One hundred days meant twenty-eight days you saw him. One hundred days into loving Ignis Scientia meant seventy-two days of music that reminded you of how much he thought of you. Six hundred and forty-eight unique ways to say "I love you" in melodies that never lasted more than five minutes and twenty seconds.

Four beats to a measure to the sound of a heart. Thumping in the back of his skull is the dull headache of missing someone dear. Four beats to a measure and the pace hastens to match the sound of your excited heartbeat.

Weekends were the only time he didn't play music for you. Instead, those days were always filled with wordless songs as your head laid in his lap while he read papers and you played the melodica. Saturday and Sunday were the lazy days you loved the most as you hoarded the image of him when the sunlight beaming through the windows caught on the dust at the corners of his glasses.

It's less than half an hour until supper and he hasn't bothered to move from his seat. "It's too comfortable this way." He says, combing through your hair and tracing imaginary constellations on your face.

One thousand three hundred and fourteen seconds pass before you stop playing the melodica in favor of listening to him tell a story over a mug of Ebony and supper made for two half an hour behing schedule. Of the twenty-two years he had lived, he only allowed a fraction of the time to be spent relaxed. The fact that you were able to share those precious moments with him made your heart sing as loud as the sky was wide.  

Metronome time passes as the sun sets on another rain filled day. Four beats to a measure and still, he cannot play the piano with one hand.

Not while his other hand was holding yours at least.

You loved feeling the callouses on his hands. Tracing over the rough spots that gave way to smoother skin, the topography of his hands was like the mixed meter of the last song he sent you three weeks and four days ago. He took great care and pain to achieve perfection for everyone to perceive, but through his stern mask, you saw his youth and tenderness. The creases in his palms ran deeply as his love for you, as strong as the beat of a pasa doble as the sun set.

His hand intertwined with yours as the night settled and the stars sprawled themselves across the sky. Blinded by the city lights, you could only ever pick out the brightest stars for him to look at. He'd always laugh softly, commenting about how old the light you were looking at was. He'd remind you to live in the present and not in the dull sparkle of what was in the past. Times like those, you'd lay your head on his shoulder, reminding him that your present, your past and your future meant hearing the evenly timed beats of his heart against the constant chaos of the world outside on the daily.

He'd smile and kiss your temple, promising a world made of love songs and dreams.  

Three steps to a waltz. Your favorite dance no matter what the occasion was. A hundred steps later and once again, he's at the beginning of a number.

Eight hundred and eighty-eight hours worth of songs compiled themselves into thirty-seven days worth of songs to play on repeat until the recording broke and so did your patience.

Lonliness was a cruel mistress to you. As many songs were sent, as many promises were exchanged, the waltz between love and hate manifested itself eventually. The summer storms felt colder than they ever had been when heated quarrels made it hard to be in the same space together.

"You don't understand."

What is there to understand at all?

"This is my life. This is how it is."

"I know... I know... but it doesn't stop me from feeling this way."

"Please understand."

"I will. I'll try."

There's nothing to understand.

There was nothing to comprehend about the two mismatched beats, scrambling to clutch onto the happiness that was built on trust and forgotten folk songs.

"It hurts."

To perceive the pain as nothing more than a passing pulse would be a lie to the two of you. Determination and honesty persevered as his hand is back in yours, rubbing confident circles on the back of your palm, while you kissed at his brows until the worried lines melted. His soft smile and the barest traces of tears were all that remained of what animosity you had previously towards him.

Three steps to a waltz, two quick one slow. Matching the breathing of two people in love in one frantic life.

The bed you shared was an empty ballroom whenever he needed to leave in the middle of the night. Too often to count, you found yourself caressing slightly wrinkled sheets from where he once slept. The warmth he left just barely lingered longer than a rest in a measure of your life.

He'd leave notes scattered for you to pick up. One after another, evenly dosed to lull you back the shores of sleep and as you breathed in the scent of Ebony and orchids.

I love you.

I'm sorry.

I have to go for a little bit.

I'll be back.

Wait for me.

Good night.

The sun would rise and he would press soft kisses on your sleep drenched eyelids to remind you that no matter how far he went, he'd always come back to you.

Three steps to a waltz and there is no partner left to dance with.

Two half beats in a note turns into a skip in the rhythm.

Two thousand three hundred and forty-nine songs made up a working year of missing Ignis. You counted two hundred and sixty-one pages worth of days where he was gone. Out of those long days, five hundred and twenty minutes went to missing him while he was at work. Twenty-eight thousand eight hundred seconds went to holding him as he slept. The last moments to see and feel each other never lasted longer than a combination of Monday and Friday's playlists.

And then, he stopped recording.

As he marched off to the beating drum of duty, you did everything you could to match with half hearted tunes from an old, worn melodica.

Eighty seven thousand six hundred hours later, your fingers were calloused and the notes no longer played themselves as easily as they used to.

A forced tune is instead on repeat in your mind as time ticked mercilessly by.

Two half beats in a note towards the place where he would see you again.

Do you miss me?

Two half beats to the time of a sea made of stars where you first met.

"It's been a long time, Ignis."

"I know. I'm sorry I took so long to come home."

"It's okay. Welcome back. The sunrise is beautful today."

And you'd kiss his eyelids until he could feel every second you thought of him over the last ten years.

#Ignis x reader #ffxv imagine #ffxv headcanons #ignis scientia x reader #reader insert #my writing #might as well give into my muse and write in this style more #freeform as fuck #tagging ppl make me nervous #but really its bc i look up to their writing too??? idk how this works #what is tagging manners

[jafreitag]

31 Days of Dead 2019 | Introduction & Day 1: Ripple, Brokedown Palace, To Lay Me Down – New York, NY 9/20/70

[Ladies and Gentlemen, ECM…]

Hey now! I’m very excited to bring you another installment of 31 Days of Dead. In case you are unfamiliar with my project, here’s a description of what it’s all about.

The idea for the 31 Days of Dead was hatched in 2010 when dead.net started providing free mp3 tracks for download from the band’s vast archives each day during the month of November. I thought it would be fun to keep the music flowing for another month by selecting my own daily picks in December. Having been a tape trader back in the 1980s, the idea of sharing the music that I love and turning people on to versions that they never heard was very appealing to me. And since I have a competitive spirit and enjoy a good challenge, I thought it would be fun to bring you a project that is at least as good as dead.net’s, if not better. That inspired my battle cry:

“When they go high, we go higher”

I had no idea where this would go when I started my first project in December 2010, nor did I care. I did it for no reason other than my own personal enjoyment – I still do. In the beginning, I posted my daily selections on the Phantasy Tour Phish discussion forum, and I sent daily e-mail blasts to a small group of friends. Soon, the email distribution grew, as friends of friends asked to be added. Then, online spots like Glide Magazine and Liner Notes music blog started carrying my projects. In 2017, I launched an Instagram account, which to my amazement, has grown to 13,000+ followers!

This year marks the 10-year anniversary of 31 Days of Dead. Naturally, I felt compelled to do something special to celebrate the occasion. As with past years, the brainstorming sessions began in August. By the end of September, I was putting the final touches on my picks and getting ready to do the accompanying write-ups when the sad news broke about Robert Hunter’s passing. That changed everything. I had no choice but to start over and dedicate this year’s project to Hunter. And then panic set in as I contemplated the daunting task of adequately representing the work of one of the most prolific songwriters of our time.

The online memorials and memories that quickly surfaced after Hunter’s death confirmed just how daunting my job was. Mickey Hart told a story about when his son asked him, “Who is Robert Hunter?” Hart’s response: “Look around you — he’s everywhere. He spun the greatest stories and songs and images that could ever be.”

And then there was Trey Anastasio of Phish, who very eloquently captured the feelings from a fan’s perspective: “Some of the most beautiful memories of my youth are of standing at concerts listening to Jerry sing Robert Hunter’s lyrics. The combination of those lyrics, always from the point of view of the outsider, the broken, the confused, the outlaw, the dying, the man on the street, and Jerry’s aching vulnerable voice, full of pain and spirit, was indescribable.”

There is not too much that I can add to what has already been said about the great lyricist/poet, Robert Burns Hunter and his vital importance to the Grateful Dead. He was a reclusive man of very few words who eschewed the limelight and preferred to simply let his poetry speak for itself. In the same spirit, I will use this year’s project as a platform to speak through the music in which his lyrics were written.

Since the focus of this year’s project is on Robert Hunter, things will naturally be a little different from previous years. First, I packed this project with as many Hunter compositions as I could, but there is no possible way that I could include everything, so I apologize if I missed one of your favorites. Along those lines, you should expect my playlist to be heavy with Garcia tunes simply because Garcia collaborated with Hunter the most. My apologies to fans of Bobby, Brent, and Pigpen who might feel a little short-changed. Also, I provided a link to the “Greatest Stories Ever Told” from dead.net for each of my selections to help give texture to Hunter’s lyrics.

As I have done in the past, this year’s project recognizes important milestones and anniversaries such as the release of the albums Aoxomoxoa and Live Dead, the departure of the Godchaux, and the addition of Brent Mydland. For the first time ever, I included some repeats from previous years. I did this as a nod to the 10-year anniversary of the 31 Days of Dead. Think of them as the equivalent of my “greatest hits.”

I provide download links for all of my projects. Consequently, I do not pick any official releases to avoid copyright issues. Usually, I try to achieve a broad, cross-representation of years, styles, and eras. This has become very challenging because the available material has been severely depleted by all of the official releases since I began these projects. Box sets such as Europe ’72, May ’77, and Spring ’90 have removed entire tours from what I could use for my projects. That makes my job harder, but I embrace the challenge.

Finally, unlike the “Official 30 Days of Dead,” there is no contest here. Instead, the prize is the music, and the winner is the listener.

Special thanks go to Brian Levine for doing the awesome artwork over the past ten years, and to Jason Freitag for hosting my projects on his music blog, Liner Notes.

I hope you enjoy listening to this amazing music, as I had compiling it. Any questions, comments, recommendations, etc., please shoot me an email at [email protected].

R.I.P., Robert Burns Hunter

Peace,

Ed

============================================================================

[Hey, it’s JF. Quick editorial note. I’ve used ECM’s original text with only minor corrections, per the LN Style Manual (basically, commas rule). I’ve also used his original links. If you notice a problem with any of them, give a shout to [email protected], or comment below the line – I’ll fix whatever I can, as soon as I can. Finally, the formatting of these posts, link-wise, sorta shifts a few days into the project. At first, I liked my approach of putting hyperlinks on the word HERE, but then I decided that Ed’s approach of using headings and then listing links was just plenty fine – and a whole lot less work for me. For future reference: Behind The Lyrics links go to various sources, which discuss Hunter’s words; MediaFire links go to downloads of the day’s featured songs/segments; Relisten links go to streams of the day’s songs at Relisten.org; Live Music Archive links go to streams for the day’s entire show/shows at the LMA; and YouTube links go to streams of audio/video of various songs/shows. Anyway. Back to today’s stuff.]

============================================================================

December 1 One Afternoon Long Ago: The Magical Three

Ripple, Brokedown Palace, To Lay Me Down

9/20/70 – Fillmore East • New York, NY; Acoustic Set

Robert Hunter was notoriously prolific. Sometimes, songs would just pour out of him, like the day he wrote “Ripple,” “Brokedown Palace,” and “To Lay Me Down” in one session. Talk about inspiration (we will visit “Terrapin” later in this project), Hunter’s liner notes for the Garcia All Good Things box set elaborate a bit more on the circumstances of that magical afternoon:

“I found myself left alone in Alan Trists’s flat on Devonshire Terrace in West Kensington, with a supply of very nice thick linen paper, sun shining brightly through the window, a bottle of Greek Retsina wine at my elbow. The songs flowed like molten gold onto the page and stand as written.”

Hunter told Rolling Stone that his favorite line he ever wrote was in “Ripple” – “Let it be known there is a fountain that was not made by the hands of men.” Therefore, it only seems appropriate that we start this year’s project with that song. The lyrics and musical composition of all three of the songs written on that afternoon in London are among my very favorite in the entire Grateful Dead catalog.

The versions I selected to represent “The Magical Three” are from the Fillmore East on September 20, 1970, which is widely considered to be one of the finest acoustic sets the band ever played. The lovely three-part vocal harmonies along with the accompanying piano and mandolin make this a truly special treat to behold.

Read about Ripple HERE, Brokedown Palace HERE, and To Lay Me Down HERE. And HERE is the Annotated Ripple at David Dodd’s incredible website.

Download Ripple HERE, Brokedown Palace HERE, and To Lay Me Down HERE.

Relisten:

Ripple – https://relisten.net/grateful-dead/1970/09/20/gd70-09-20-s1-t06-ripple?source=102783

Brokedown Palace – https://relisten.net/grateful-dead/1970/09/20/gd70-09-20-s1-t12-brokedown-palace?source=102783

To Lay Me Down – https://relisten.net/grateful-dead/1970/09/20/gd70-09-20-s1-t07-to-lay-me-down?source=102783

Finally, transport to the entire show on the Live Music Archive HERE.

#tolaymedown #ripple #brokedownpalace #acoustic #09201970 #gratefuldead #roberthunter #jerrygarcia #bobweir #phillesh #billkreutzmann #mickeyhart #pigpen #tomconstanten #keithgodchaux #donnagodchaux #brentmydland #brucehornsby #vincewelnick #31daysofdead #linernotesmusicblog

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[conner-grace]

The Detective and his Little Assistant (part 4)

(Part Index)

Chapter 3: The Plot Thickens

*Warning spoilers if you haven't gotten through 6/13 in the game*

A/N-Before the chapter starts, I want to explain a couple things. First, I chose to make Kaito a witch because I identify myself as a witch, and yes, I do mean witch, not warlock, because witch is, in fact, a gender-neutral term, also due to me being a witch, everything Kito does involved with witchcraft will be based off my own experiences, knowledge, religion and opinions, so please don't tell me I'm wrong unless you can cite a reliable source for your info. Second, for those reading this, who don't know Japanese culture very well, calling someone by their first name without an honorific (-san, -kun, -chan, ect.) unless you know them very well, or they've given you permission, is highly offensive. Please remember these for future chapters :) .

Now to the story.

~~~

Monday, June 13th, After School

*Akechi's P.O.V*

I was listening to the audio data from the pen I downloaded to my phone on the way from the station to work. I was quite happy to see that it hadn't been accidentally turned off throughout the day, despite the likelihood for it to have. I was actually skipping past a bit that seemed to be a personal conversation between her and her friends, though I seemed to be the topic of their talk. If it weren't for my current opinion of Yuno, I might've even blushed at the direction the discussion was going, however, I was disgusted and just trying to get past it.

"Finally." I sigh, getting past it, not surprised that it took up all of lunch. Listening as she head's to pe. "Hmm, who should I ask for help on my homework today?" She either wonders aloud or asks her friends, judging by the steps I heard around her. Her friends offered up names. I quickly realized all the names were all from the top 10 students in the first and second years, 'but most of those kids would never-oh, yeah, blackmail'  I think, my gritting my teeth. 'Wait, thinking about it, not even Kaito-kun would've taken this lying down, so what's she got on him that he doesn't want me to know?'  I knew it as a little self-centered to think I'm the only one who mattered, but it Kaito had in fact told me that my opinion was the only one that mattered to him, and the teachers would never believe any bad rumors about him since he was the star student of nearly every class he was in. He also never cared what any of the students around him thought of him, except, after we became friends, for me. In fact, a couple months after we became friends and before I knew he considered himself a witch by his religion, a kid that that seemed to a rather bad opinion of Kaito-kun and said something about my friend cursing him or something like that. Kaito-kun seemed to not have even heard him, but then froze quickly looked to me, fear flashing through his eye like lightning before he hid it. I realized later he’d been worried about my reaction and trying to hide it. I'd ended up asking if he'd cursed our fellow student, and he'd replied he never cursed anyone, I'd then asked why out of curiosity, and he'd told me it was because cause he was selfish, and since he believed in karma, he didn't want the negative energy of a curse coming back to bite him later.

I felt an earbud pulling me out of my ear, snapping me out of my small trip down memory lane. "Oh don't worry, I've got something special planned for-" I heard through the other earbud as I paused the recording, knowing I'd have to relisten to it later after, hearing an annoyed sigh next to me that I knew belonged to Sae-san.

"Oh, sorry Sae-san. I got lost in thought it seems." I say with a practiced sheepish smile, pulling out the other earbud.

"I hope you know you were so lost in thought you nearly walked into the door." She smirks teasingly. "Maybe you should keep the music for your work-outs only."

"Guess so." I chuckle, remembering the few hours of music Kaito-kun had given for my birthday as well, that I'd put on my phone and started listening to during my early morning runs, and noticing I’d been only a couple steps from walking into the door.

"Well, let's go in then, we've got cases to get to." She smiles.

"Indeed." I smile, opening the door for her.

"Always the gentleman, thank you." She sighs with a smile, walking in.

"Of course, you're welcome." I smile, following in after.

***

Deciding not to listen to the recording until I got to my apartment, considering how I nearly walked into a door the last time I listened to it on my way somewhere. I was heading back to my apartment in the evening light, hoping Kaito-kun had actually taken the advice of my pre-scheduled messages telling him to go to bed…. even if I wasn't following my own advice. I smile, remembering where my mind had wandered before Niijima-san, and how it had ended. My mind started to drift back down memory lane, remembering how after he'd explained why he didn't curse people, he told me he'd actually reported the student for harassing a female classmate. He ran off to the bathroom after telling me that and it took a little while, however, over the next three days the problem student kept having the worst luck. One of the biggest scenes that spread around the school like wildfire, was the when girl he'd been harassing, who was actually quite sweet and quiet for the most part, slapping him across the face before admitting he'd been harassing her, causing him to get suspended. When he came back, he ran towards Kaito-kun and I at lunch, nearly falling on his face in the process, and yelled about Kaito-kun cursing him again, my friend seemed completely surprised and a little lost. Though after he left a sly smirk pulled at Kaito-kun's lips.

"I don't curse people, but I can enhance one's karma." He smirked under his breath, causing me to look at him questioningly.

"So, you had something to do with this?" I asked, though not quite believing he could.

"I'd like to think so. I mean, I did use a spell to make all he's done come back to him three times three." He smirked, snapping his fingers while saying the last word, the problem student tripping over his own feet and falling at the same time, causing his smirk to grow. "I was gonna leave it at the report and try helping the girl, but...he just kept pushing." He sighs.

I learned two things that day; 1: don't piss off the witch; 2: Kaito-kun wasn't all rainbows and shy smiles like I'd seen till that point and I'd even started putting a little more stock in mysticism and such. "I could report you." I smirked, mostly curious to see how he'd react, though not quite sure how that'd go. His reaction surprised me, his face fell slightly, though he tried to hide it as he looked down to his food and started playing with it rather than actually eating it. I'd expected him to just laugh it off, as he did with most things.

"I'd like to see how that goes down, with your rep, it might actually go a bit differently than the 20 or so other accusations." He smirked, though his voice was a little harsh.

"I-I said could, not would." I quickly stated, trying to back peddle out of this point in the conversation.

He’d pinched the bridge of his nose with an annoyed sigh. "Sorry, I'm overreacting, but you wouldn't be the first to report if chose to." He murmured.

"That's a bit obvi-"

"I meant the first I considered a friend to do so." He specifies with a sigh, making me freeze, realizing what the statement meant, 'he's...used to being betrayed, so when the possibility of it happening comes up, he immediately goes on the defensive'

***

I went straight to my computer after locking my door, hooking my phone up to it so I could better analyze and actually edit the recording so I could only keep what was actually important and discard what wasn't, 'like the first disgusting 30 minutes' I think, deleting that time from the file. Starting back at the beginning of Yuno's talk with her friends. "Hmm, who should I ask for help on my homework today?" I knew whoever she asked for help, probably didn't have an actual choice They talked for a few minutes, before settling on a female student who was 2nd place to Kaito-kun in his class, however one of the other friends piped up. "What about Kaito?" I froze, my worries confirmed that he was a target. I could feel my jaw tighten at the insult of them using his first name, especially without an honorific. "Oh don't worry, I've got something special planned for Kaito today." Yuno giggles, the rest joining her. My hand starts curling into a fist 'what the hell did you do?!' I mentally growl before skipping past, and deleting most the silence of the pe class until I heard Yuno talking to the girl she chose for helping with her homework. Judging by the girl's voice, I was right in assuming her victims at least don't feel like they had a choice in helping her. While she was heading to her next her next class, she told her friends about taping notes to Kaito-kun's locker 'so that's why he seemed a little off after school' I think, feeling the leather strain around my fist. Skipping past and deleting her silent work, stopping when I heard them starting on the notes for his locker, saying what they wrote mostly stupid shit, that had me grinding my teeth and wanting to punch them like 'fag', 'looser', 'freak', then I barely stopped my fist from hitting the desk with the last one, "you're lucky we're not dealing with Salem trails stupid witch". Forcing my hand to relax as I buried my head in my hands, knowing if I hadn't been wearing my gloves, my fingernails would be digging into my scalp right now as they continued.

"If that bitch used my pen to write that." I hissed, ending with a growl that many might've described as murderous as I continued listening, not even wanting to think about what else they might’ve done to him.

"Why not just go ahead and tape a picture of a vase of flowers to his locker Yuno-chan?" One of the friends snickered. "I can't do that, Kaito might freeze long enough for Goro-kun to see, or he might actually tell." Yuno giggled.

*SLAM* my hand hits the desk hard enough I might have actually bruised it hearing that. "Do. Not. Use. My. First. Name." I growled, wishing she could hear venom dripping from every word, wishing I could throttle both of them for that considering doing something like that was a way of telling someone to kill themselves.

"Why didn't you use his pen?" One of the friends smirk, causing me to sigh in relief. "Cause if he manages to find out, he'll never forgive me." Yuno sighs.

'Oh-ho-ho, we're way past no forgiveness bitch' I think with a dark chuckle, getting the last bit of evidence and wishing I had a punching bag in my apartment, as I get up and head to the bath to try and calm myself down enough to go to sleep.

 *Akira's P.O.V*

I had just got back to Lablanc after talking with everyone at the dinner, Makoto-san, third-year, and the student council president had figured out who the phantom thieves were.

"You're back-whoa, you look tired. Long day?" Sojiro-san asks from behind the counter.

'You have no idea' I think with a sigh, nodding my head to my caretaker while I was on probation. "Your day any better?" I ask, deciding to strike up some conversation.

"If slow is better, then yes." He says with a slight smirk.

"Heh, well then, guess I'll head up." I say, not having much else I could say to him.

"Actually..." Sijiro perks up slightly. "Do any students from Aoyama use the station as you?"

"Uh, yeah, Akechi Goro, we actually talked a little this morning too." I say, though figuring that wasn't who he was wondering about.

"No one else?" He asks, trying to seem disinterested...and failing.

I thought for a moment, before remembering the smaller boy that ran over to Akechi-senpai. "Yeah, actually, a boy, around my age, but a bit shorter." I answer, I definitely had Sojiro-san's attention, even if he was trying to hide it. "Akechi-senpai introduced him...Sasaki, Sasaki..." I trailed off, trying to remember his first name.

"Sasaki Kaito, he's short and rather shy?" Sojiro-san offers.

[ghosty-schnibibit]

i  a m  d e s t r a u g h t

i legit did not even think this ep would come out today and i spent the last hour relistening to the last one to make up for the fact that i meant to relisten to the whole arc this week. oh well! time to be emotionally destroyed!

oooooh no, i am so worried about all the clips griffin chose for the previously one

don't die duck, please don't die my favorite boy

yes! minerva my love!!!

duck what are you doing

"follow the light" what the fuck duck newton

DUCK IT IS CHARGING AT YOU

spontaneous monster death

"i'm going to beef city!" ilu justin

YES IT DOES MATTER DON'T KILL MY FAVORITE BOY

oh damn that's not good

... so is minerva going to see him basically sacrifice beacon to get to leo? fuck, how is she going to take that???

please someone animate this, p l e a s e

nope, the jet pack is still ford angela-ing around in the woods

did leo bring the jet pack??? oh dang i guess leo brought the jet pack

"you don't know what else could be in there" that sounds like dm speak for there's some good shit in the truck

please let this not be a repeat of merle talking to john and getting five sevens in a row

oh nice! cool! back up weapon!

f l o r e s c e n t  g o r r o

"what's with these five's dog?" what did i just say

how many luck points is duck down to now? i'm assuming more than aubrey but i think less than ned

"extremely, exquisitely dead" jesus griffin

♪♫♬ i can show you the world ♪♫♬

god i love you justin mcelroy

n o r t h

oh fuck, that ain't good

what are you doing minerva???

she's making a connection back to her home planet!!!

at least we don't have to worry about a shot-the-fake-ned scenario anymore lmao

jake my baby boy ilu so much

aubrey sounds so worried

oh now i'm worried griffin

oh no, oh no, this is very very bad

aubrey don't you sacrifice yourself, i can feel that’s the direction this is going, don’t you do it

NICE! GO AUBREY :D

and we're worried about every one of them trav

okay sweet, less worried about aubrey dying now

well this is extremely, extremely bad, holy fuck

aww eugine :(

OH YEAH, AGENT STERN

oh no, oh pigeon :(((

i am... extremely terrified

god i fucking love you aubrey

damn trav go off

DO! NOT! BURN! THAT! LUCK!

i figured that's how that would go, yikes

having never seen twin peaks i don't know that dynamic :|

"y'know what, no?" ilu aubrey

... oh shit, is stern going to be on their side???

never mind, goddamn this ep is breaking so bad, holy shit

mama ilu so much

oh shit i forgot about that!!!

YES DO THAT AUBREY, AT LEAST TELL VINCENT

god bless ilu

"oh shit, ned may have been right" that's terrifying in its own right lol

god damn the music is so good this ep

that's some cool imagery

it was a number of episodes lol

i think ned has grown on me a lot more as episodes have gone on, i really want him to succeed in a way i didn't in previous episodes

that's a great mental image

NED WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING?????

CLINT WHAT THE FLYING FUCK WHAT IS YOUR STRATEGY HERE

"HERE'S THE THING-" I SURE HOPE THERE’S A THING NED

it was you larry

NED THIS IS NOT GOING TO WORK

bless you clint holy shit

okay, at least they got the hornets on their side

eugine no D:

ilu barclay

okay at least mama is being somewhat sensible about this

"I'M A STEALIN' GUY, OKAY!?" ilu ned

oh no not the abomination music

OH GOD WHAT THE FLYING FUCK

YOU CAN'T JUST CLIFF HANGER IT THERE GRIFFIN

i don't even like ritz crackers griffin

holy shit there's still more than an hour left to this episode, fuck

i just took a minute during the ad read to read the description and... oh fucking boy am i worried about every single character but especially ned. i'm pretty sure the deadly risk for aubrey was pulling the wood out of her leg but i'm worried that it might not be, and “confession” sounds a little too much like last rites for my comfort :(((((

MINERVA :D

"tone and definition are important duck newton!" bless

i love you so much minerva

justin is just absolutely fucked this episode, holy shit

oh poor duck :(

aww minerva :')

"TIME TO CLIMB IDIOT" ilu duck

YES! YES! GO DUCK! :DDDDD

i'm gonna google that, oh hell yeah that's sweet as hell

god i fucking love minerva so much

"i have missed your tutelage" bless you duck my sweet boy

oh the beat is picking up this is so good

THIS IS SUCH A GOOD SCENE DUCK

YES! YES!!! YEEEEES!!!!!

THIS MUSIC IS SO BANGING I LOVE THIS SO MUCH

YEEEEEEEEEEAH!!!!!!!!!!

"well that's the thing-" oh no

jesus griffin you did not need to put that much malice into the word “squeezes”

NICE! he's got some of his chosen mojo back! :D

i am so worried for duck holy shit

THIS WAS THE LIGHT FROM HIS VISION

THIS MUSIC IS SO FUCKING GOOD

AND THEN SHE LEAPS, AND SHE'S HERE

MINERVA!!!!!!!!!!

... that's the quell isn't it

oh this is extremely not good, oh christ they're all going to get massacred

oh no were they... is this a mass exodus from sylvain??? oh my god no

AUBREY PLEASE ASK WHAT'S GOING ON

i'm legit listening to this while there's a thunderstorm in the background, nice ambiance

why are they vanishing??? what mission?????

OH NO I AM SO WORRIED I KNOW WHAT SHE'S GOING TO TRY

did he say weeks early? oh my god this is even worse than i thought

yes!!! go vincent!!!!!

"alright" GRIFFIN I AM WORRIED

YES YES YES YES YES, THANK GOD FOR THOSE GOOD GOOD TRAVIS MCELROY ROLLS

I CALLED IT, WE ALL CALLED IT, IT'S A PART OF THE CRYSTAL

... oh no does she not have magic anymore

AUBREY I FUCKING LOVE YOU SO MUCH

dang, that's not great

... oh no, this has to do with the book doesn't it

YES YOU SHOULD VINCENT

this music is so gorgeous oh my god

"i do???" mood clint

alright, fair enough roll

"what ever's inside this thing is also in danger" it's dani isn't it

NED NO, NED YOU DIPSHIT

"are you threatening this sarcophagus?" ilu griffin

alright, not a bad move

ned's going to shoot it, ned's going to kill it and it's going to be dani, this is so very very bad oh my god

IT'S FUCKING DANI!!!!! WE ALL CALLED IT IT'S DANI!!!!!!!!!!

...oh no. oh no oh no oh no. they're going to kill her aren't they

"what do you do?" griffin i am so scared and this music isn't helping

MAYBE BURN A LUCK HERE NED

oh my god this music is killing me griffin

oh my god is... is ned dead???

oh ned :'(

i'm trying so hard not to cry right now and failing so hard

clint you are destroying me here

with love, edmund kelly chicane

oh my god pigeon killed him, oh god

i... i do not know how to feel. i feel heartbroken, on a level i can't describe. i always... in the back of my mind, i always hoped all the pcs would make it to the end, even though i didn't always like everything they did. i always thought they would pull through. but this... it was heartbreaking. and it was beautiful. and it was redemptive. and it fit into the narrative arc of ned's character and his life so well. ned was my least favorite of the core three, but now... he's a fictional character and i feel bad for not appreciating him while he was here. and its a testament to the power of clint's acting, and griffin's writing, and the entire mcelroy family's ability to suck me so deep into a narrative that i feel like i'll be grieving ned chicane for the next week or two at least. there's still about 23 minutes left and i don't know how i'm going to make it though any of them.

... oh god that's why the sarcophagus fell apart isn't it

the level of jocularity implies to me that they filmed this long before clint's scene and i'm still so upset, duck and aubrey still don't know yet

what is this place? oh my god what is this???

god this music is so pretty

is this... the quell???

what on earth is this, i have no idea what is happening

OH NO THE MUSIC IS WARPING THIS IS SO BAD

oh thank god leo didn't die at least

that is not in any way comforting minerva

we are at 15 minutes left and i am... so terrified

oh my god, oh my god, oh my god

aubrey my baby ; _ ;

oh god the gate is going to open isn't it

what's happening???

this music is so beautiful and i am so afraid of it

OH MY GOD WHAT

JANELLE

god damn this is so powerful god damn

arms outstreached

OH NO, THIS IS SO BAD, OH NO

I WAS NOT EXPECTING JANELLE TO HAVE A LUCRETIA-ESQUE SORT-OF HEEL TURN THIS IS NOT GREAT

OH NO THIS IS HORRIBLE HOLY SHIT, OH NO, OH NO, OH NO

travis you're being a bit nonchalant about this don't you think

oh my god no please tell me aubrey isn't going to die too

YOU CANNOT END IT THERE GRIFFIN MCELROY

... see you all june 13th, holy fucking shit

#taz #taz amnesty #taz spoilers #the adventure zone #ghosty liveblogs taz #i have... so many emotions #so many #and no where to put them #except in these liveblogs #now on to the tags to suffer with the rest of the fandom

[ghosty-schnibibit]

actually managing to put out a liveblog the day the new ep dropped ^u^

just got back from seeing frozen 2 (which was really good btw) and am jumping straight into this, i’m so excited!!!

i will never get over how good the intro music is

aww, snippy and the campus kitties are friends! 0u0

travis giving the "i don't care how elves can dream" crowd rights lol

oh gross, clint why

everyone made fun of argo for the lime munching and now there's a tragic backstory involved, dang clint

lima-peas

... so he's having a night terror essentially

well that's better, that’s not scary at least

aww firblog :'(

"SNIPPERS ATTACK" f i t z r o y

aww, rainier sent him a letter :)

"thank you son" oh my god i love this

ilu griffin

yes there are actually clint

i would die for snippers

siiiiiiiirrrrrr

aww yay!

is the crab... writing? nope lol

i can already tell they're all getting to be better friends, i am all about this developing dynamic

i love you firbolg holy shit

oh no, baby :(

"i fashioned a cone for myself" i'm dying oh my god

that's a fun yet grisly mental image

clint please figure out what you're doing with argo’s voice, you're sliding back to into merle’s again

is it a crepe?

you dumb dumb just open the thingy

fitzroy my sweet dumb baby child i will protect you with my life

"ping-ponging around the stages of grief" g r i f f i n

griffin that is a burger joint what do you mean

... is he not really a knight at all? did he get conned? is this a nigerian prince situation?

i'm caught in this moment between feeling horrible for fitzroy getting conned and feeling happy that firbolg trusts argo enough to ask about things when he's confused

travis you make my heart hurt with how wholesome this is

"telling a pompous guy that he's been an ass, that's really right in my wheelhouse" oh the theories i am developing about argo’s backstory

griffin you've killed me

oh no, you dumb dumb boy, oh no

rainier is trying so hard to be gentle with him i'm dying

i legit thought why does he have detention? before remembering that he did nearly electrocute three teachers

have we met rhodes before? they seem nice, i like them so far

i'm starting to think addressing people as "friend ____" is a clint thing and not just a ned thing

oh fun! skeleton buddy! :D

smart advice honestly

they're looking for gundren lmao

nice folley there trav

this is gonna be so much fun holy shit! travis has put so much thought into this set-up and i love it

this music is reminding me of undertale and i don't know why

firbolg no, no buddy no

"ooooh" my thoughts exactly argo

does fitzroy just have loose broaches in his bag???

NICE! go argo :D

yeah that is definitely the cop

argo my sweet baby boy i love you so

this is a very good grift lol

... not terrible but not great either

i like that trav isn't going up and down failure with the checks, it's more of a finessing

NICE! GO ARGO :D

oh i know this is going to go wrong, holy shit

oh nooo firbolg baby, oh this is so sad

this voice is murdering me travis

argo is being so patient with him and it makes me so happy

"i am trying" you got this buddy, i love you

BUDDY YOU GOT THIS

oh no, honey, leave it be, you already won honey

i love this professor so far

so argo got the invite to the castle, and firbolg found the fence... so it's up to fitzroy to find the dude with the map

"so i need you to play along, okay?" oh this is going to go so badly

what is this voice fitzroy are you trying to sound like an npc

the accent was bad enough to

what is this voice fitzroy

FITZROY W H Y

just give him the broach, he isn't real you'll probably get it back

"i am a kind and benevolent dm" ilu travis

poor fitz lmao

yeah basically argo was the only competent one

i love that justin's characters have progressed from “fairly decent liar” to “tries but is horrible at lying” to “culturally forbidden to lie”

... i did not even think of most of these match-ups until now, dang

"fitz you were so adequate" argo

... are we at the money zone or is this just a fun lil music break? oop, nm,  there it is

i need to get in on this, i'm gonna be brainstorming for a bit

i guess we have met rhodes, i need to relisten to the first to eps

good for argo my sweet boy

justin is so battle hungry

was rolandis the malfoy-esque one? oh yep, he's the asshole

"fancy lad" a n g u s

HIS BROACH GAME IS WHACK

go skeleton buddies!

next up is the nearly dead argo lol

he has a sling? oh right i think that’s a thing in one of the standard dnd equipment packs

not bad at all! go argo!

NICE! go fitz!

hell yeah! all the boys are doing a good job today

hey fitzroy? maybe don't??? tease the prof into making things harder on you?????

OH THAT'S A NOISE

thank you for taking away the moral issues trav

susan has her own personal voidfish lol

JESUS TRAVIS, that startled the shit out of me

yes please get the bear away from fitzroy please

NICE! first time seeing a rage from fitz :D

he doesn't warp-spasm, he just goes fluffs out lol

WHY WOULD YOU THROW THE CRAB BUDDY

THE CRAB IS A 6+ WEAPON???

ew :(

oh cool, so he's a paladin

JESUS ARGO

aww snippers :'(

i think it's like 300 something- wait 206? dang okay

oh cool! they went up two entire levels :D

are they going out into the world next ep? ooo so excited for that!

holy shit the literal principle showed up

argo you little shit i love you so much

fiztory my sweet boy i have been there before

argo that was so sketch what the fuck

...is that the end of the ep then? i guess so lol

oh shit, nm, this is why i always listen til the max fun jingle

i am suddenly so scared what the fuck

i hate the voice so much, i don't know why it gives me... is negative asmr a thing? like it makes literally shivers go down my spine

?????obtain what?????

what the fuck is going on travis

another amazing episode! i cannot wait to see the boys interact with the world outside of the school, and it sounds like that’s where we’ll be heading in the next few eps! also extremely curious about what’s going on with argo, i love firbolg and fitz dearly but he’s quickly becoming my favorite pc 

see you guys next right thursday! ^u^

#taz #the adventure zone #taz spoilers #taz graduation #ghosty liveblogs taz #i still need to listen to hootenanny and dadlands but i'm debating whether or not i want to do liveblogs for them #bc i didn't for the experimental arcs #i think i'm just gonna enjoy them in my own time