Lost In Loops Forevermore

Spin the wheel. This Greek mythological figure is trying to kill you

Spin the wheel again. This Greek mythological figure is trying to protect you

listen, if guitar can be used in a rock band, any string instrument can. in my experience, violin is often suited better to a role more similar to lead guitar, just because of the instrument’s range. but CELLO. i don’t even play cello, but man, that thing is versatile. (also the easiest to do vibrato on. yes, i’m jealous.) it’s got a wonderful range that can easily take on a higher pitched solo riff, or a constant rhythm backup part. (i know viola fits into this equation somewhere but i rarely see them featured in ensembles like this. sorry, violas.)

string instruments all have generally the same structure: strings (duh), a bridge (the place where they’re anchored), a nut and tuning pegs (to pull the strings taught so they produce a particular pitch), a neck (to hold the strings down to refine the pitch), and a body (for the sound to resonate through).

the biggest difference between “rock” instruments and “classical” instruments is just a few structural changes and the manner in which they are played.

guitar (and bass guitar) have frets, while a standard orchestral string instrument does not. the frets are those little metal things that go down the neck of the instrument. without them, you have to get A LOT more precise with your finger placement if you want the pitch to be right. it also means that the string is being held in place by a strip of metal, instead of flesh, so that changes the sound a bit.

electric instruments (including electric violins and cellos, which are AWESOME) have major changes to the body. since the sound is being amplified by Magic Computer Things That I Don’t Understand, the body doesn’t have to resonate the sound as much. it’s why electric guitars are so quiet without an amp.

plucking vs bowing. this, my friends, is where the magic happens. to make a string instrument make sound, you have to make the string vibrate somehow. guitars are usually plucked, picked, or strummed. (all pretty much the same thing - you pull the string to the side a little bit, and then release the tension.) but string instruments can also be bowed by pulling some sort of fiber (traditionally horse hair) across the string, and the friction produces sound. to produce enough friction without an inhuman amount of strength, you have to cover the bow hair with rosin. (it’s refined tree sap. please do not lick it, crush it up and snort it, or use the dust to draw pictures on your friend’s shirt. (yes, i’ve personally witnessed all of these.)) the reason you don’t typically see bows used on guitars is because the bridge is flat, instead of rounded, making it more difficult to get the right angle.

so basically, the reason that a cello seems weird in this context is because we’re just not used to seeing bowed instruments do this. bowing creates such a different sound, but the main structure of the instruments is so similar that it actually makes a lot of sense to me why we’re seeing more bands use classical string instruments.

and before anyone gets mad about guitars and violins clearly NOT being the same thing, let me explain it like this. (i swear it’s related just bear with me.) have you ever seen a photo of a dolphin embryo? or an elephant? a bat? a pig? compare it to a human embryo. we know that when all of those things grow up, they will be very different. but looking at them in such early stages of development, it’s much easier to see how they are evolutionarily related. pretty cool, right?

Like it's simultaneously eldritch n chaotic but it's got overtones of being supposed to be about ordering n systemyzing stuff, at least according to the lil pamphlet guide that came with the update. I know from Strange's memories that her original timeline's Roxy was a Dream player, and that apparently they've got some sort of thing about doing things perfect but not repeating them? Or maybe that's a Muse thing and not a Dreams thing, I dunno.

Oh Sylphs

Uh

So in 4.1.3 beta (that's you, I think, ye olde 12x12 classpect grid) the Sylph is like a maid but not? It's complicated because on paper one of them is meant to be the passive counterpart to the other but Maid is very Passive in their Active use of their aspect but the Sylph is very Active about their Passive use, if that makes sense? Both tend to put their Aspect back in its proper order though, or at least what they perceive as being in order.

In 6.1.2c Alpha build (that's me), Sylph is a champion class, decidedly active, and is for some reason heavily themed around wielding their aspect defensively? But like, as some sorta cheesy exemplar type?

there wa2 a poiint before II knew more about cla22pect2 that II thought doom and hope were iinver2e2

II actually! am the guy who tran2lated and compiiled our gamecode, iit2 where II learned the language that allow2 me two affect realiity -you're riight we've got the 12x12

Right so basically in 4.1.3 parlance the active vs passive divide was meant to stem from "do you use your aspect to directly do a thing, or do you get the aspect in a position where the thing you want happens without your direct intervention"

In 6.1.2c it's apparently based on the flags the game uses to track how well you've "matured as a person and grown into your role", and since the Page is meant to step up and go on their own adventures while Knight is meant to knuckle down and do what everyone else needs, I suppose there's an argument to be made that Knight is passive

And yes in 4.1.3 parlance Mage is the active counterpart to Seer, but in 6.1.2c parlance it's actually Witch's counterpart and their job is, I shit you not, Being The Designated Weird Expert Who Does Shit That's Hard To Explain With [Aspect], and they're considered Passive because they pluck their aspect into shape such that it does that shit on its own rather than directly shaping it like a Witch.

Most of the "new aspects" of the later version are just, complement/supplement pairs for the existing aspects. Death doesn't get one because between Time (Endings) and Doom (Destruction), it's pretty covered already.

Law, Light, Void, and Mist for example make a neat little quartet of mutual balancing, with Light's Luck and Relevance, Void's Nothing and Obscurity, Mist's Anything and Chaos, and Law's Misfortune and Order. They've got other counterparts of course but you get the idea.

There's also like, new classes and shit, but, eh, those are kinda annoying particularly with how some of them boil down to "we renamed an existing class to reuse this title for something else that arguably is less relevant to its literal interpretation"

2o the new a2pect2 are ju2t.. ver2iion2 of the old a2pect2 but liike 2eperated out and giiven theiir own liitle thiing2

me 2iitiing here knowiing II have the a2pect that mean2 II dont get two have a niice tiime but 2tiill poutiing that everythiing a22ociiated wiith iit ii2 negatiive (II under2tand that2 not what you mean by negatiive)

II

Like it's simultaneously eldritch n chaotic but it's got overtones of being supposed to be about ordering n systemyzing stuff, at least according to the lil pamphlet guide that came with the update. I know from Strange's memories that her original timeline's Roxy was a Dream player, and that apparently they've got some sort of thing about doing things perfect but not repeating them? Or maybe that's a Muse thing and not a Dreams thing, I dunno.

Oh Sylphs

Uh

So in 4.1.3 beta (that's you, I think, ye olde 12x12 classpect grid) the Sylph is like a maid but not? It's complicated because on paper one of them is meant to be the passive counterpart to the other but Maid is very Passive in their Active use of their aspect but the Sylph is very Active about their Passive use, if that makes sense? Both tend to put their Aspect back in its proper order though, or at least what they perceive as being in order.

In 6.1.2c Alpha build (that's me), Sylph is a champion class, decidedly active, and is for some reason heavily themed around wielding their aspect defensively? But like, as some sorta cheesy exemplar type?

Law on the other hand is primarily expressed by inflicting or canceling misfortune, though by playing with the literals you can also just (presuming you're a good enough rules lawyer and familiar with the ins and outs of your class) say no to gravity or other such nonsense.

Meanwhile I'm just here as the third wheel of this triune with the power of Flow. I uh. Engage in fighting game megacombo nonsense, sometimes, because, for lack of a better word, I can literally feel the currents of what I'm doing or what I'm supposed to do and just kinda.... go with the flow.

It's very vibes based and it annoys the shit out of me because I can't do it on demand :/

really way out2iide how ii under2tand tho2e part2 of my domaiin -whiich make2 2en2e when they're 2pun out iintwo theiir own domaiin2 II gue22

Flow huh??

at lea2t iit2 not Death II gue22

Most of the "new aspects" of the later version are just, complement/supplement pairs for the existing aspects. Death doesn't get one because between Time (Endings) and Doom (Destruction), it's pretty covered already.

Law, Light, Void, and Mist for example make a neat little quartet of mutual balancing, with Light's Luck and Relevance, Void's Nothing and Obscurity, Mist's Anything and Chaos, and Law's Misfortune and Order. They've got other counterparts of course but you get the idea.

There's also like, new classes and shit, but, eh, those are kinda annoying particularly with how some of them boil down to "we renamed an existing class to reuse this title for something else that arguably is less relevant to its literal interpretation"

Law is Negative Fortune, Restriction, and Limitation (I know those last two sound the same but trust me they're different).

Fate is Negative Choice, Predestination, and Prophecy (again, sound like they should be the same, very not-!)

Doom doe2nt have two be negatiive, II know iit2 a22ociiated wiith negatiive 2tuff but iit2 goiing two be po2iitiive iif II have two drag iit forward iintwo po2iitiiviity wiith my own claw2 and teeth

that2 pretty iintere2tiing though

oh yeah prede2tiinatiion ii2 more of a loop thiing, prophecy ii2 the mo2t po2iible po2iibiliity at the tiime and al2o!! an act of fortelliing and not liike, the thiing to whiich you are bound two do? a re2triictiion ii2 2omething you arent allowed two do and a liimiitatiion ii2 2omethiing you cant 2o liike

Law on the other hand is primarily expressed by inflicting or canceling misfortune, though by playing with the literals you can also just (presuming you're a good enough rules lawyer and familiar with the ins and outs of your class) say no to gravity or other such nonsense.

Meanwhile I'm just here as the third wheel of this triune with the power of Flow. I uh. Engage in fighting game megacombo nonsense, sometimes, because, for lack of a better word, I can literally feel the currents of what I'm doing or what I'm supposed to do and just kinda.... go with the flow.

It's very vibes based and it annoys the shit out of me because I can't do it on demand :/