Survival Of The Fittest

hello, here are the themes for my character in v7. I'm pretty sure we had similar threads in v6 and v5. Feel free to post your own character's themes if you feel like it.

Danny Chanbananas:
sex money feelings die by Lykke Li

Willow O'Neil:
kill by iamamiwhoami

Angie Cortez:
I'm Not Human At All by Sleep Party People (live)

Ophelia M-M:
Yeah Yeah Yeahs' Maps cover by Camp Cope

I always change my mind on these and will probably put some more up when I'm not on lunch but for right now let's give Juliette Sargent The Symphonies of Beethoven by Momus.

I have things! Song keys will be updated as the characters are.

Violet Schmidt: The Book of Lies

[+] Song Key

1. Burn The Witch - Radiohead: On a very surface level, it's just a song about witches by her favorite band. Digging a little deeper, you could say it represents partially her fears of being exposed and ostracized for her interest in Survival of the Fittest, being misconstrued in such a way that people take up social pitchforks and verbal torches to go on a witch-hunt

2. Some Girls Are Bigger Than Others - The Smiths: If you look at Violet's profile, you'll notice that the first nine or so bands that are featured are in the order that I listed some of her favorites in the paragraph where I talk about her interest in music. That's mostly coincidence, really. Violet is bigger than other girls, but not in the way that Morrisey was talking about in this song. Another contender for this slot was This Charming Man, but I couldn't find a way to shoehorn Violet's height into that.

3. Past Life - Tame Impala: This kind of self indulgent monologue is something Violet would find awkward and strange if she heard someone speaking this way in her real life, but since it's tangentially about reincarnation and that's something she believes in then it's all fine here. Violet believes that she was a soldier in a past life, based on recurring dreams she has.

4. Mr. Grieves - Pixies: Noisy, gritty, but almost sounding like the intro to a buddy comedy. "Starring: Violet Schmidt and Dana Schmidt as themselves!!!" Also about the end of the world, in a way.

5. Summertime Clothes - Animal Collective: I almost wanted to put the song Street Flash in here, but I'm unsure if that's one that Violet would know. The screaming in it might put her off, too, but I feel like she'd relate to the nervous energy. Summertime Clothes is, essentially, a happy song. Dreamy, but attainable, in some other world. Is she good at astral projection? No, but if she was, she'd hope to find a place that was like this song, in essence.

6. The Party - St. Vincent: Desire, but not being able to do anything about it, really. One of the commentators on Genius said that this song is like some kind of nightmare, but I disagree completely. If this playlist is the Book of Lies, then what lie is this? It's almost a stepford song, an "everything is fine, don't you worry" number, but is Violet being lied to or lying to others or lying to someone else? That's the real question.

7. John Wayne Gacy Jr. - Sufjan Stevens: I hope I don't have to explain this one.

8. Oh, Comely - Neutral Milk Hotel: The last bit of this song is technically a fragment of an unfinished song called Goldaline about lost conjoined twins who are about to be engulfed by a big something and are only able to speak to another. Despite never really being able to touch, Dana and Violet are conjoined, in a strange way, by fate.

9. Planet Caravan - Black Sabbath: She got Paranoid as a gag gift one birthday from Dana. This was her favorite song on it. I hope y'all realize that these playlists are fluid and movable, and won't stay the same way forever.

10. Anthems For A Seventeen Year Old Girl - Broken Social Scene: Lying to herself. Was she ever rotten? If she was, then is it a "was?" Am I making any sense? Any sense at all?

11. Butterfly - Weezer: I hope I don't have to explain this one either.

12. Lift - Radiohead: I love to end mixtapes with the same artist that I start them with. It's a real easy way of making the mixtape feel like it's really truly over, to come all the way back around to where you started, and also an excuse to put an artist on there twice, something I usually can't stand doing on its own. This song in particular is the opposite of Burn the Witch for Violet; if that song represents, in some sense, her fears, then this song is her happy place.

Int. MK 1 - Radiohead: Transitional song piece thingy from general songs to pregame thread themes.

13. Beast Monster Thing (Love isn't Love Enough) - Car Seat Headrest: The last couple of lines in this story paraphrase the story of Echo, from Ovid's Metamorphoses, which might be some kind of hint as to how I'm thinking Violet'll turn out, or something. I used this song title for Violet's opening memory one-shot. It's also just a good song.

14. Has Ended - Thom Yorke: Laid back witchy sounding theme thing for Violet's run in at the store with Kyle. She's trying to hide the fact that she's a witch and somehow succeeding even though it's painfully obvious. A striking balance between casual and spooky, which feels fitting.

15. Song Against Sex - Neutral Milk Hotel: Feels like a lot of sexy things happened on this bridge, but not for Violet. It's mostly because I called the thread Ferris Wheel on Fire which is a Neutral Milk Hotel compilation album. It's airy and breezy like you're jogging.

16. Planet Caravan - Black Sabbath: Violet namedrops this one in Prowler, as her favorite Black Sabbath song. It's lowkey and relaxing even though it's sort of dark and witchy too. Lots of witchy stuff. Maybe imagine browsing a record store with this faintly playing over the speaker in the background.

17. Pitter Patter Goes My Heart - Broken Social Scene: Reiteration of Anthems for a Seventeen Year-Old Girl here, played IC by Violet on her violin as a warm-up. Further consideration of her own internal/eternal rottenness.

18. Say Yes! To M!ch!gan - Sufjan Stevens: The thread name is a pun on this song, and it's a casual affair of slight insecurity like the conversation between Desiree and Violet here. If I ever meant to go away indeed. It's slightly festive, too, internal celebration at making some contact. Not really, because at the time this interaction was a failure for Violet. Can't catch a break, huh.

19. The Moon - The Microphones: Under the light of the moon Violet does the banishing ritual of the pentagram and accidentally invokes an angel of death, make of that what you will w/r/t Violet's internalized "I caused SOTF V7" thought process.

20. Volk - Thom Yorke: Dark ambient imposing theme for the ouija board summoning. This thread also works with Ode To Joy. Sync it so that when you open the spoiler with the infinity symbol in it the music swells into the you know the part the really big part. Do that with Volk too, but sync it to the drum hits.

21. In The Backseat - Arcade Fire: Thread title, named and played over the actual stereo. Violet's really sitting in the backseat here, yup. Totally only literal, nothing else at all. Alice was Violet's original name, which is a fun meta joke here. The point where I really decided where to go with this character, the death of Alice and the start of Violet.

22. I Want Wind To Blow - The Microphones: Violet attempting to effect winds of change on the president and whatever. It's mildly successful but that's not really my call to make. She invites something else on herself.

Int. Horns From "The Moon" - The Microphones: Transitional piece again again again!!! Welcome to the island.

23. Ful Stop - Radiohead: A sudden, dawning realization that the shit going on in front of you is personal, real, and that you have the ability to change and shape it to be more meaningfully cathartic and violent to you. Can't spell violent without spelling Violet + N as well. You Really Messed Up Everything indeed. The drop is when shit goes nuts. Beginning is the realization of what Tyrell actually says.

24. Through The Trees Pt. 2 - Mount Eerie: Violet literally walking through the trees to get to where she wants to go, but this song also embodies the sort of really tense karmic fate relationship that Violet discovers while she's walking through the woods that will get explained upon and expanded later.

25. Also Frightened - Animal Collective: Violet is overreacting to the way that she hit her head and is freaking out considerably, and so this question is probably right from Violet to the reader too. Are you frightened of my injury and my well-being? No? NO? She wants Kyle's help but doesn't know if she deserves it or should get it.

26. A Piece of the Sky - Swans: A discovery that changes everything and clouds previous understandings of karmic fate on a massive, cosmic scale.

27. Soto Wa Ame (Rain out of Window) - Hiroshi Yoshimura: This is the comedown from all of that. Violet has a brief reprieve, even as she is incredibly stressed out and having trouble recovering from what's she's just done, processing confirmation biasly with regards to her current plights and predicaments. Goes well if you turn on rainy mood for this song and the one before it, because they take place during the rain so it's only fair.

28. It's Alright - Jack Stauber: It's really not alright. Violet knows this. But she has a moment of mad laughter and then immediate bodily recoil against that, compare to the firework synths in this one. It's dramatic, moreso than the thread, but if you imagine her in physical space vomiting everywhere and not knowing herself and maybe her soul is rising just a centimeter from her body it makes sense.

29. The Rip - Portishead: Violet ripped out of a moment of calm literally alright just give me my fucking Man Booker.

30. The Black Crow - Songs Ohia: Here she becomes even more of a force of nature, disrupting as surely as a gust of hard wind. The foreboding sound of this song characterizes the confused emotions and conflicting purposes in this thread. Why would our bodies create proteins that just let us be infected?

31. Lullaby - Low: Because she still wants, after all of this. She still yearns indeed.

32. Terminal Paradise - Adrianne Lenker: Suddenly coming across an old happenstance, Violet is humbled, and maybe remembers something else in the process.

33. So You Wanna Be A Superhero - Carissa's Wierd: Softly eating her squirrel, Violet stares into the middle distance and hears this song playing in her head.

34. Dancing and Blood - Low: An encounter in the manor, in the ruins of a courtroom abandoned, the space where judgement is passed.

35. Sea Song - Robert Wyatt: Shoes on the beach. Whose shoes?

36. The Mysterious Vanishing of Electra - Anna Von Hausswolff: I already can't say much here.

37. Heavy Water/I'd Rather Be Sleeping - Grouper: An exit. An offramp. A bridge. Credits theme.

Lucas Diaz: Love Is Real Fake

[+] Song Key

1. When You Die - MGMT: GO FUCK YOURSELF! YOU HEARD ME RIGHT! DON'T CALL ME NICE! This is Lucas rebelling against what he thinks other people think of him. His senior year is him trying to reconfigure his ego into something palatable and fine, okay, satisfactory. Of course when he shows up on island this clashes with his actual ability to do those things.

2. Pale Blue Eyes - The Velvet Underground: Lovesick anthem. Hunched over a desk, unsure what to write down from all the feelings going round and round in his head. Every thread that Lucas is in will have a poem by him in his exit post.

3. 3 Gymnopedes: No. 1 - Composed by Erik Satie, performed by Pascal Roge: This was his classical theme, and a stark departure from really anything else on this list in terms of tone and mood nah JK this is just more sad shit. The song you get if you look up "sad classical" or something. Overused, overplayed, overdone, like how this guy feels about his life, living out all the "sad white-looking teenager" tropes. He hates himself, you know that? Nothing has changed.

4. Thoughts Of A Dying Atheist - Muse: Woah there sudden quality drop! Suicidal, afraid of dying; a place he was in before and might end up again soon.

5. I Love You - Woodkid: Unfairly beautiful song. His longings for others are not pure, or innocent, or anywhere near as aesthetically perfect as this song is, but sometimes he feels so rapt with emotion that it's hard not to feel this way about his dreams.

6. Touch - Daft Punk: A lot of these songs are songs I liked when I was a lot younger, in this mid section. I put this on a mixtape for a girl and received the rejection I deserved in return. This song kind of tells the arc of Lucas' failed attempt at a relationship with Yuko, in that sense, because that's because Lucas is 80% a self insert in comparison to the 40% that most kids get from me.

7. Level Up - Vienna Tang: "But Methodical Slacker!" I can already hear you shouting, "That doesn't add up to 100%!" You are the only one who cares about that. This is Milo's alarm clock song.

8. Yes [+Chinese Sleep Chant] - Coldplay: This is where his desires are now. High hopes, back on the ropes. The hidden track here is where the real interest comes through, though. Unintelligible lyrics, even by the one who wrote them. If there's a song on here that signifies the alcoholism, then it's this one.

9. Summer - Imagine Dragons: This song brings back memories. I was really excited for this album when it came out, and I still like a few songs from it as guilty pleasures. Maybe I would have gone farther in the song contest with this song, but I had to play the Fraqsea song instead. To Lucas' story, this is yet to come.

10. I Can't Believe You Actually Died - The Microphones: Lucas didn't see someone important to him for a while once and thought they died. They didn't but Lucas often wonders about what life would be like if they did. This is where he starts that.

11. Stoop Lights - Bedwetter: Reflecting on his past life choices with a drink in his hand when he should really be considering the present life choices that put the drink in his hand in the very first place if he wants to do what's best for him and not just what's best for the fact that he's a person.

12. Monkeyland - The Chameleons: Is there anyone out there hearing you tonight, Lucas? No. It's just a trick of the light. Nobody who thinks they understand you really does. Isn't it better when people don't even have the pretense of understanding and instead are upfront about not getting it? At least then you know how to respond to it all and what to think.

Int. MK 2 - Radiohead: Sick transition into the pregame portion.

13. Never Meant - American Football: Sadboi autumnal feelings of Lucas and his brother traversing Chattanooga in search of some good food and a place to sit and talk and eat and do whatever. Lucas and his brother get along pretty famously well, at least in one direction, from Milo to Lucas. Who knows if it runs the other way? Oh wait, I do. It does.

14. Casimir Pulaski Day - Sufjan Stevens: Though not at all cleanly. There's a lot of wrinkles in Lucas' adoration of his brother, chiefly that word, adoration. That'd be pretty crazy to get right. This is the song for the Lucas/Gyu-Ri thread. Sweet, lovey dovey, but with like, very foreboding lyrics that tell of past and future catastrophe. The Christensen's didn't go on the trip, so this is not from Lucas' perspective sung methinks.

15. Two Headed Boy - Neutral Milk Hotel: Lucas, very strange, on the bus, aching and tired and morning forlorn, deadly dead deadly. Ophelia, befriended. Lucas just as fucked up, of course.

16. The Fool - Neutral Milk Hotel: Seamless transition from the bus thread to the Morton's List thread. The Fool coming to mean the start of an adventure in the tarot card sense, or in the sense that one or every participant in this thread is a fool for thinking this concept could ever work given the logistical shortcomings of people having lives, or the characters in thread are all made fools of by the roll of a 13.

17. I'm So Tired - The Beatles: The Fugazi song with this same name would also work. Strangely prophetic title-wise to the subject of Lucas' insertions current struggles but that's neither here nor there. He was going off to run away again. Scared of the future, scared of the past, scared of his failure in front of Ophelia. He wished that he could kiss her. Comforting, like a dream.

18. To Be Alone With You - Sufjan Stevens: Tender moments in the knick knack dollar store. Lucas had a bit of a crush for a bit before he figured out Oph was gay. Then he wanted to be friends but a bit more. Now he just wants to be dead. Whateeeeverrr.

19. Bizarre Love Triangle - New Order: YEETs his way through this mess.

20. Evil - Interpol: You had to be evil to participate in this dick thread. I don't know how this song fits the thread but I'll keep it because it fits Lucas' aesthetic. Symbolic of his whole Fear And Loathing project I suppose.

Int. Drum and Bass - The Microphones: Transitional jam into the island threads.

21. Hold On - Spiritualized: A burst of rough emotion and shame symbolized by the explosion that opens this song as he discovers his weapon, then him standing at the edge of the waterfall, and finally him realizing that he just can't do it as the song swells again and more instruments/characters enter the thread and he decides to hell with it and leaves.

22. On The Beach - Neil Young: Get it? Because he's on the beach? The low-key vibe of this track fits the quiet despairing mood of this thread. Aural backdrop and mood-setter rather than lyrical descriptor.

23. On The Sea - Beach House: Get it? Because he's on the sea? This one is more actually descriptive of Lucas' internal thoughts and feelings and the awe-filled feelings he has upon seeing the yacht that quickly give way to self-hatred once he has the realization that Ophelia is out there still, likely watching him. Crescendo as he comes to an emotional watershed moment.

24. Shuggie - Foxygen: The split between the two different melodies in this could represent a lot of things. There's a lot of dualities in SOTF, especially in Lucas' narrative. In particular it's sort of like the split between the two halves of the group in this thread, but it's also the split between Lucas' self as he remembers being it from before being abducted and the state in which he currently finds himself. The part of him that is closer to his own personality wants to die. The part of him that is his own newfound island self, determined to make good on the promise he made to Ophelia, wants to live, and is more energetic. Sort of like this song. "Ah, my heart is breaking in two, and I don't know what to do."

25. Beachy Head - Throbbing Gristle: Erika Stieglitz, Erika Stieglitz, Erika Stieglitz, Erika Stieglitz.

26. It's Raining Today - Scott Walker: There's something peaceful about this scene, but there's also something really, really fucking off about it. Desiree is sort of a train window girl. Lucas only met her for a day and she only smiled at him a little and then she went on into the night. And maybe Lucas doesn't smoke but the sentiment is kind of similar. It's raining today.

27. Hunter - Have A Nice Life: The hunt continues. But who is the hunter, and who is the hunted? Canned Casio drums never sounded so good.

28. Fine For Now - Grizzly Bear: Lucas in the come down, Lucas refocusing, Lucas as responsible for the lives of at least a few people, Lucas coming to terms with what his new role is. If it's all or nothing, then let me go.

29. Death to Everyone - Bonnie "Prince" Billy: Now surrounded by a new group of friends, Lucas has reaffirmed his own relationship with his mortality. He knows he is going to die in his quest, and that is the point. Death comes to everyone, but Lucas has decided to invite it in on his own terms this time.

30. You Will Miss Me When I Burn - Palace Brothers: But it still keeps him up at night, and he's up at night with someone that reflects himself right back at him. It hurts. He is not part of the only conversation spinning endlessly into the serpentine corridors of blackest midnight, but he is part of the only one with the potential to alter him in some unclear way.

31. The Wild Kindness - Silver Jews: The worst sandwich anyone has ever eaten.

32. King's Crossing - Elliott Smith: You knew this was coming.

33. Two Headed Boy Pt. 2 - Neutral Milk Hotel: Credits theme. I had to include both parts. So what if it doesn't really fit? Maybe it does! Maybe it does! Maybe it does!

Max Rudolph: First As Tragedy...

[+] Song Key

1. Undoing A Luciferian Towers - Godspeed You! Black Emperor: One only needs to look at the press release for the album that this song comes off of to know just how diametrically opposed Max would be to their philosophy, but at their core they share the same dissatisfaction with the world. Luciferian towers is a phrase that Max would likely use to describe skyscrapers. Unironically.

2. Candidate - Joy Division: Did you know that Ian Curtis forced his wife to vote for Margaret Thatcher? I guess you could link this to the baseball captain thing.

3. I Just Wasn't Made For These Times - The Beach Boys: Did you know that The Beach Boys have played at the National Republican Convention before? Max's internal ideological conflicts go along well to this theme.

4. What's The Ugliest Part Of Your Body - The Mothers of Invention: Did you know that Frank Zappa described himself as a "reasonable conservative" in an interview? Max thinks that beautiful minds surpass anything in the aesthetic world, and anything below that is ugly and misshapen and must be cared for in the sense of taken care of.

5. Spent The Day In Bed - Morissey: Did you know that Morissey is an asshole? Max probably wouldn't let himself become so passive but the message of being aware of where information comes from and the lenses that people bring into conversations is very Max. Because Max considers all angles that matter.

6. 1812 Overture - Composed by Pyotr Tchaikovsky, performed by the University of Minnesota Brass Band: Bombastic and you could argue that it's historically significant in quite a few ways too. Right up Max's alley, if he liked music. Lucas just isn't all that interested in it, but Max regards music as vain and indulgent. What a dick.

7. (Don't Fear) The Reaper - Blue Oyster Cult: [Insert factoid about Blue Oyster Cult being right-wing here].

8. Wilt Thou Unkind Thus Reave Me: bottom text

9. Hallelujah - Jeff Buckley: I had to include a remotely faith inspired song on here because I didn't want to leave this part of Max out, nor do I want to wind up undervaluing and under-exploring this facet of himself like I know deep down I will.

10. Moya - Godspeed You! Black Emperor: I almost made an exception here and just put the entire Slow Riot For Zero New Kanada E.P. at the end because it deserves it but I didn't really want to do that because by the same logic I'd have to put the entire Rite of Spring at the end of Violet's tape too. Logic dictates this.

Int. Instrumental 2 - The Microphones: Transition to the pregame section of Max's playlist.

11. Avril 14th - Aphex Twin: What happens to Max in the thanksgiving thread is pretty sad, I think. Like this song. All it needs is sad violin to go along with the ruin of Max's childhood innocence and his start of lightness.

12. Chaconne in D minor - Bach: This pool thread is pretty chaotic and strange. The violin is also sort of a symbol/signifier for Ivy, too, but also just the wild raucousness of the pool.

13. People Are Strange - The Doors: Max does feel a general estrangement from most people, and that comes through pretty well in this thread with Ariana being Ariana and Max being Max and Bert's sudden arrival and subsequent departure that leaves Max bereft of any understanding of the way humans work.

14. Cemetery Gates - The Smiths: "While Wilde is on mine."

15. Some Things Last A Long Time - Daniel Johnston: Subtle hints to the future mixed with genuine compassion and a realization in the back of his head that things will not last, probably. Vague sense of fatigue too.

16. A Real Hero - College & Electric Youth: Walks home in the dark, carrying shoes, this song in the background as the wild whipping wails of the world echo all around, an oasis of peace in the haze of the world.

17. Dawn Chorus - Thom Yorke: More synthy goodness as Misty draws Max up to her room. What happens between the two of them when the perspective falls away? What happens that we don't see? Did Max withdraw his vow at the start of his time on the island because it had already been broken? As of this writing we, the readers, because that's absolutely what I am here, do not know.

18. Try Not To Breathe - R.E.M.: Max and Parker talking about future governments. Don't breathe on the argument or it'll fucking fall apart because it sucks and is just Max fucking around.

Int. Untitled - Radiohead: Ascension in a transitional phrase to the island.

19. But What Ends When The Symbols Shatter - Death in June: Metaphorical symbol shattering of the old world crumbling beneath the weight of the death behind him, literally, and the death in front of him, yet to come. A struggle to attain meaning by creating new gods from broken glass.

20. Hey You - Pink Floyd: Max outreach campaign. Hey you join my cult yeah you please I won't man-catcher you, no your gun doesn't scare me because I know that when I die I'm going to heaven and you aren't.

21. The Numbers - Radiohead: Max, finding the large group, feels inspired, like he does when he sees Jonah. The swell at the end, the One Day At A Tiiiiiiime, comes with the realization that Beryl has been shot, as Max turns and runs for Darlene over the piano twinkles and string plucking that is the end of the song, abstraction as the camera slowly draws away from the woods in the aftermath of a sudden death.

22. The Saddest Song - Morphine: He's thinking about a lot of things right now. Who is he letting go? Misty? Who knows. It's him against the world. He's got some allies, sure, but internally he knows he's really alone. He's alone and there's no other way for him to be if he wants to win.

23. Snowy in F# Minor - Tindersticks: It's a similar mood to the last song but a lot more driven because here Max rediscovers his purpose and also gets hints at the path that he must walk in the future and the people that he must walk it with, regardless of his actions as an agent of change and free will.

24. Destinos - Have a Nice Life: The problem of hell.

25. I'd Have You Anytime - George Harrison: Max has found a serene calm following the uncovering of his memories. He's pretty well and calm right now in a pastoral sense, which is absolutely the vibe of this track.

26. Mladic - Godspeed You! Black Emperor: Rounding a corner.

27. Asleep - The Smiths: So tired. Ending credits.

Bert Wren: Granmere

[+] Song Key

1. Tonya Harding (In D major) - Sufjan Stevens: Right off the bat I give everyone ample ammunition to call me a bit of a shmuck when it comes to referencing her skating. Tonya Harding? Really?? Yes, really. It's a beautiful song, and I can imagine Bert stumbling upon the video for it on YouTube and becoming fascinated with it. Unlike Lucas and Max, Bert likes music but doesn't really know where to start with it. I imagine she'd maybe listen to a few more Sufjan songs and decide he's not her thing, but keep this one. Very elegant and theatrical.

2. Cross My Heart - Melody's Echo Chamber: Wow, even more cheese, right folks? This band is French, as in, from France, not from Quebec or any other spot in the francophone world, so how do they relate to Bert? Well, if you listen closely, you can hear this song samples Monokuma's theme from Danganronpa. In this essay I will—

3. 裸足の庭 - Ichiko Aoba: Because she's a weeb? No, because it's a relaxing, lowkey song, meant to show the space between parties and skating and social outings and the few times that Bert gets to relax and be alone in the world for just a few moments before that next text notification snaps her back to reality. She's a busy butterfly.

4. Diagonals - Stereolab: A very determined song, wouldn't you say? I can feel purpose pulsing within this one. Bert in focus, Bert alone, Bert with the clarity of mind to do things that actually matter.

5. River - Joni Mitchell: In which Bert has a complicated relationship with Christmas that I have yet to expound on and will tease at by inclusion of this song, thus assuaging fears that I only included it for the figure skating references which would be tantamount to DJ suicide.

6. In The Flowers - Animal Collective: She gets high sometimes. This seems like a song that she might enjoy getting high to.

7. Half Moon - Home: Another quiet moments song, but also ticks the 24/7 Lo-fi hip hop beats to study box without actually indulging all the way in that subgenre because I have standards. [update: i dont have standards]

8. Sexy Halation - Kiyotaka Sugiyama: I will go full City Pop, however.

9. Realiti - Grimes: Headcanon is that she has skated to this one several times, and just really enjoys the poppiness of it. If I had to pick a song from this playlist to be her theme, this would be it. She joins SC2!Kitty Gittschall in the CBPantheon of Gals with Grimes themes.

10. Digital Love - Daft Punk: Catchy as all heck. Another song that she has skated to, or at least an excerpt of it.

11. 人気の女の子が笛を取得 - Haircuts for Men: Roaming the city and socializing theme. Blending the downtempo of Half Moon with some of the glitz ad glam of Sexy Halation and Digital Love.

12. Tonya Harding (In Eb Major) - Sufjan Stevens: Bookending the playlist. I always thought this version of the song sounded kind of like a credits or game over screen, whereas the other side sounds like the title screen or opening cinematic kind of thing.

13. Clair de Lune - Claude Debussy: Bert in all her tragedy laid bare here for all peeping toms to see. She's a fizzled out gen-Z kid with little ambition and littler idea how to react properly to tragedy, and if she were around for the passing of her grandmother she wouldn't cry at the funeral.

Int. Instrumental - The Microphones: Transition to the world, wonderful, of pregame.

14. The Stars of Track and FIeld - Belle and Sebastien: Barring the reference to the title of this sadly quite abandoned thread, I can imagine Bert thinking this song is about her and her listening and maybe singing along as she walks to school in the early morning like the freakish morning person that she is.

15. Brakhage - Stereolab: Bert in the coffee shop as she gets drawn out of her internal focus and instead is given over to the functions of the group. She eventually withdraws herself from the situation. A very mall song.

16. Pickled! - Flying Lotus: Internal crashing and bubbling rage as she finds Max in the library and freaks out at him. A feeling she can't put into words. Perhaps represented in alien cultures with the symbol for the Spades suit of cards.

17. As We Go Up, We Go Down - Guided by Voices: Bert in her own low fidelity rendering of the circumstances around her, internally wooed by Camilla's own appearance in the swiftball house, totally distorted and removed from the actual reality of her propositioning a girl who doesn't understand what's going on for weed smoking together. They go upstairs, to get down.

18. WALKING IN THE RHYTHM - Fishmans: Bert showing the ropes of getting high as the party rambles on around her and someone reaches for the moon and loses. She feels totally in step with the party and things even though she can't smoke her own weed. It's walking in the rhythm if you can draw someone else into it too.

19. Meisai - Shiina Ringo: Bert gallivanting downstairs, seeing someone totally fucked out on the couch, throwing up, and stealing their weed brownies. On an instrumentation level, this is sort of Bert's villain song.

20. The Less I Know The Better - Tame Impala: The idea of just giving up on figuring out more about a person or situation is pretty parallel to how Bert came away from the whole Darlene expedition.

Int. Hunting Bears - Radiohead: Transitional theme for the island section.

21. A Lot's Gonna Change - Weyes Blood: Bert considering the tragedy of the situation and how awestruck she is by everything. Decidedly not sad. The actual thread takes place not in this song. The part before the last few seconds and last two lines is just her dreams and thoughts as she sits up and wakes up before the entrance tag. Then, the ending is her following after a wounded Benedict. "Let me change my words/Show me where it hurts."

22. Little Red Riding Hood Hits The Road - Robert Wyatt: "How did I hurt you?/I didn't want to hurt you" represents pretty well Bert's lack of desire for responsibility and her avoidance of having any credit attached to her for not properly dressing and addressing the wound on Benedict's head. And then he dead. He fuckin dead.

23. 3 (Rhubarb) - Aphex Twin: After the rush of seeing Benedict die in the rice paddies and the rush of seeing him get clobbered in the woods and the ultimately prime rush of waking up on this shitty island in the first place, Bert has hit a lull in her journeys. It's the second day and things for her have calmed down somewhat, but they are still somewhat sorrowful. This ambiance hangs over the peaceful time she finds herself in like a shadow—and comes to the forefront once she realizes that she was, in a way, being used for someone else's goal while building the shelter.

24. Chamber of Reflection - Mac DeMarco: Maybe the lamest song to put in any playlist for any character ever this is. Who cares. Bert has a time of slow-mo in this thread where she just kind of meanders for a bit, or at least that's the plan as of this writing. If not then this soundtracks the messy aftermath of whatever happens.

25. Runwayaway - Thom Yorke: Bert's death song. It's the theme for her end credits. "This is when you'll know who your real friends are." I think that's a pretty apt summation of everything she went through. She kind of just guessed that she wouldn't get killed and, well, through no fault of her own, that was proven wrong. And now she's finally free.

Had two themes I associated with Ace for both Pre-Game and Game proper...

Varsity Blues - Wale
Sacrilegious - Schoolboy Q

I went ahead and made a little playlist for Darlene, but if you're gonna grab just one song then let's say Circle of Steel by Gordon Lightfoot.

I quoted song lyrics from vocaloid covers in my sig for both characters, might as well wear my weeb colours with pride and reveal the covers in question.

Meilin Zhou - Drop Pop Candy (original by Giga-P, cover by Lizz Robinett)

Camilla Bell - Rolling Girl (original by wowaka, cover by Nano)

I'll probably create short playlists for both of them later.

Playlist for Julien. Not comprehensive; meant as a general indication of his range of musical tastes.

That is all.

wew playlists

michael
val

Both encompass the general themes of their stories / characters. Note that some songs are spoilers but which ones specifically is 100% dependent on future events. Meant to be listened to on shuffle.

-out of date-

Someone mentioned this so I went back and did a few more.

A playlist for Sven (if you pick one song go with Missing In Action by The Comsat Angels).

And one for Misty (but if we're giving her a single track, let's pick Black Flowers Please by Current 93, which doesn't fit great in the sequence anywhere).

Alrighty here are protoype playlists for both my girls, probably gonna shuffle and stuff for better flow but here's the gist of it. Of course, these are not really finalized. But enjoy anyway!

warning: weeb songs

[+] Meilin Zhou - The Modern Fairy Tale

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5TBdc ... 6N09sNZsJM

1. Miracle - Caravan Place
"Every day is a miracle"

2. Drop Pop Candy - Reol
"The guy who was here yesterday isn't here, but that’s okay, that’s all okay"

3. Wonderland - Natalia Kills
"I don't need a knight, so baby take off all your armor"

4. Tell Your World - livetune, ft. Hatsune Miku
"Words I want to tell you, sounds I want to give you"

5. In Our Bones- Against the Current
"Bruises come and go, but our hearts beat louder than the thunder from the storm"

6. Falling for a Lullaby - FEMM
"Takin' a chance so take it here, we can get lost and disappear"

7. Fools - Lauren Aquilina
"What if we ruin it all, and love like fools? And all we have we lose?"

8. Young Blood - Bea Miller
"When the sun don't shine we lose our minds, but I swear, we can get there"

9. Perfume - Annella
"I thought you were mine, how could I be so dumb, dumb, dumb"

10. Battlefield - Svrcina
"I will be your sword and shield, your camouflage, and you will be mine"

11. Let The Flames Begin - Paramore
"I give it all my oxygen, to let the flames begin"

12. Part II - Paramore
"What a mess, what a mystery we've made, of love and other simple things"

[+] Camilla Bell - Gardenia Infernis

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0GoaO ... bJt1DR0uFQ

1. Rolling Girl - Lollia
"Just once more, just once more, I will roll again today I know for sure"

2. Bullet Train - Stephen Swartz, ft. Joni Fatora
"Darling don't you dare look down, 'cause everything you have is all gone now"

3. human - Christina Perri
"'I'm only human, and I crash and I break down"

4. Bring On The Wonder - Susan Enan
"I don't have the time for a drink from the cup, let's rest for a while til our souls catch us up"

5. Where The Lonely Ones Roam - Digital Daggers
"Just close your eyes and let me lead"

6. It's Only A Paper Moon - Ella Fitzgerald, The Delta Rhythm Boys
"But it wouldn't be make believe if you believed in me"

7. In The Woods Somewhere - Hozier
"I clutched my life and wished it kept, my dearest love, I'm not done yet"

8. Still Here - Digital Daggers
"I try to protect you, I can't let you fade"

9. Burning House - Cam
"I'll stay here with you, til this dream is gone"

10. The Devil Within - Digital Daggers
"Now I'm the heavy burden that you can't bear"

11. Summertime Sadness - Lana Del Rey
"Got my bad baby at my heavenly side, I know if I go, I'll die happy tonight"

12. Meltdown - Lollia
"I wanna melt away and all these useless memories and finally rest in peace tonight."

Edits: The Modern Fairy Tale's been overhauled. New structure goes like so- the first three songs are still the whole character-picture deal, going from core to persona to shadow. The next four songs are connected to pregame, and the last five songs after that are connected to the island- with the very last one being the death song.

Gardenia Infernis has been updated. New structure- the first three songs are still the core-persona-shadow progression thing, the next three games are pregame stuff, the next three are island songs. The final three songs are three potential future paths. Also updated the lyrics- I showed the ones I felt were most relevant, as a way of explaining my song choice with less Words.

No playlists yet, but a few song associations, whose lyrics are already featured a bit in my signature.

UMI Says - Yasiin Bey: Sakurako's school persona being something she cultivated deliberately isn't subtext, it's text. She has a very odd relationship with the concept of sincerity, and this song makes me think of her because of her longing to express. She could almost be singing this herself.

Self Care - Mac Miller:

Let's go back to my crib and play some 45's
It's safer there, I know there's still a war outside

Sakurako and Survival of the Fittest, a mood.

mid but not quite song updates:

Angie: Boy Harsher — Pain (it sounds like from the club scene from blade)
Catherine: CRIM3S - Stay Ugly ( (i love my observer queen who cant fix anything but still tries her best)
Paloma: Pretty - Coco & Clair Clair (unironically would probably like that. also see latest thread.)
Willow: IDFKA and GLUE by COBRAH (needs to be listened in that order)

[MSMU] doesn't just stand for Methodical Slacker Meanwhile Universe, but the Methodical Slacker Musical Universe as well. That's right; it's time for some Meanwhile playlists! The old ones are still being constantly updated, by the way.

Colorless Saga: Link

[+] Song Key

Colorless

1. Where Is My Mind? - Pixies: We start with Marie in a scattered place, rattled after witnessing the death of her brother. She witnesses a whole cavalcade of tragedy in her town, rocked by this kidnapping, as even the nurse that treats her father's mental breakdown has been touched by this. The start of a life spent obsessed. A life that starts, as most obsessions do, with denial.

2. Real Death - Mount Eerie: Those tiny details about someone that's gone that just... get you. You get what I mean if you've read this post.

3. Buttercup - Jack Stauber: A flash-forward, of sorts, a series of dates that occupy that summer and somewhat into the future of what she winds up doing with the rest of her high school career and her time as a teenager.

4. Blood Promise - Swans: Spooooooooooooooky. A discovery that perplexes Marie and sort of just draws her too, too deep into the rabbit hole for her to ever, one day, get out. Also, the introduction of a character that I'm not sure what I'm doing with yet. Not even a version later do I know for sure what my final plan with this all us. I'm going somewhere, but I've got no clue where. Somewhere, that's for sure.

5. Swims - Mount Eerie: More sad death songs. Discovering a side of someone who's gone that you never knew that you think they ought to know, sort of.

6. No Surprises - Radiohead: The thing about writing that should come as a surprise to nobody is that sometimes it's fucking shit, such as when you're really young. We move now from grief to bittersweet acceptance. Marie gets over it a lot quicker than she should and also never gets over it. It's really the realization that he'll never be gone that makes her feel more okay with it.

7. The Long One (Comprising of You Never Give Me Your Money,' 'Sun King'/'Mean Mr. Mustard', 'Her Majesty', 'Polytheyne Pam'/'She Came In Through The Bathroom Window', 'Golden Slumbers'/'Carry That Weight', 'The End') - The Beatles: Yeah, it's sort of because I end this thread with a long post that's sort of a medley, like this song (yeah it's one song fucking fight me), of a bunch of different ideas. If you need to imagine which one of the Bernstein family is carrying that weight, just think of the brother that Marie interacts with at the end of the thread. Gosh, I can't wait till I get to be edgy as fuck with James during Colorless III. There will be a Colorless III. This is explicit confirmation.

— fin —

Interlude: Broken Heart Strings - Spiritualized: It's been a few years. The board has changed. Grown larger, and yet smaller still. The pieces are in different places. The players for this round are assembled and the first die is cast on a broken hearted world. Or something like that. Welcome back to Kingman.

Colorless II

1. Mother - John Lennon: But it's cut short. The sublime is dissapointingly elusive, to borrow a phrase. Charlie has not quite moved on. He has only moved back. Thematically this song does what it does literally and picks up, sort of, where we just left off with just one character of the four that make up the remainder of the family. One beset by grief. One who really just misses his Mom and is worried that his Dad is gone away from him. His father does leave him, sort of, at the start of the thread. Mom can't come back.

2. Southern Sky - (Sandy) Alex G: A sorrowful flashbackIt's interesting how Marie's songs only contain male vocals whereas Charlie's songs often feature women in vocal roles, I say as if I didn't literally make it that way on purpose.

3. Drunk II - Mannequin Pussy: The flashbackwards goes even deeper, overlapping the previous flashforwards and painting it in a far less glamorous light. It's more associated with what Marie goes through than what she actually thinks of it. It has more of the energy that Marie has now, which is important because the Writing The Enigma playlist doesn't really have that energy except in short bursts here and there because she's taking some cares to conceal it. Currently.

4. Falling Ashes - Slowdive: Man, this is really just a tragedy conga line for Charlie, huh? His life is in shambles. His sister is half a continent away, his aging father is spending time with his girlfriend who Charlie thinks really isn't good for him because the age difference freaks him out, his brother James is still in his life, all of his friends are gone, and he can't even bring himself to order from a lemonade stand without making something of a shitfuck out of it. He paid in quarters. Quarters!? Good to know Lili* lowered her price from last time, though.

5. It's Coming It's Real - Swans: Charlie gets caught in a weird spot and is rightfully a little freaked out, but also concerned. I mean, he'll probably stay out of this one, right? Right?

6. I Am Shit - Crywank: Charlie thinks of where he was when Survival of the Fittest happened the last few times relative to where he is now, and how much of a shit he is/was, totally fucking bereft of something to do. Boredom is dangerous.

7. Isolation - John Lennon: Incredibly, incredibly dangerous.

8. Your Guts Are Like Mine - Set Fire to Flames:

Writing the Enigma: Link

[+] Song Key

1. Less Than Human - The Chameleons: Randy Rudolph was fucked from the word "push."

2. Take The Long Way Home - Supertramp: Rise and shine, fuckeroo. You've got the world on your plate and guests at your door and you don't have time to decide which shirt has the least stains on it you just gotta let them into your home. Randy does think very lowly and very highly of himself simultaneously.

3. Kick In The Eye - Bauhaus: Here she is. Rated R for Randy, Rated M for Marie. Rated J for James? Never. No. This is not his story. That would be Colorless III, which I again shall confirm for V8 Meanwhile because of course I'm already planning that far ahead what are you talking about it's stupid of me to do that I'm Methodical Slacker nothing is too stupid for me to do.

4. Hyperballad - Bjork: Once again from Marie's perspective. The interpretation of this one relative to Marie's position in this story is up for interpretation. We end this one with some strings.

5. Jesus, Etc. - Wilco: We start this one with some strings. This is because it's basically just part two of the last post. Randy is shooketh by this, and he realizes the start of something strange going on. A weird partnership that he is somewhat unable to refuse, or even properly address without kind of crumbling a little bit.

6. Do You Realize?? - The Flaming Lips: A bunch of questions that should have been asked in this long Q&A at some point and just sort of never was because that's just how it be on this bitch of an earth.

7. Psycho Killer - Talking Heads: James has an overactive imagination, and thus he gets this very literally fitting accompaniment to his walking in on something absolutely innocuous and meaningless. Does James like the Talking Heads? This is confirmation that he does, at least a little bit. I'm calling it here. It's canon.

8. Last Flowers - Radiohead: A bit of a character moment for James where the world that he built up in his head comes crashing down, just a bit, and he has to sift through the wreckage. But it's only really wreckage that he can see, and Marie and Randy are just sort of looking at him like what the fuck is wrong with you. It's meaningful to him, though, and that's all that matters to him, I guess, that's all that needs to matter to him, it's his mental break.

9. The Day The Whole World Went Away - Nine Inch Nails: It's go time. Stream on, note-taking, ready for the end. Marie and Randy forever. A team. Well, until the whole claw throat thing.

10. Musette & Drums - Cocteau Twins: Then it's Marie's turn to do some real reporting. To uncover some clues.

Years of Pilgrimage: Link.

[+] Song Key

1. Everyone Alive Wants Answers - Colleen:

2. Pretending - SOPHIE: Terry and Dana have a relationship that is, by many metrics, sort of strained. It's sort of tearing apart at the seams. It's sort of dying. It's sort of losing the skin on the edges. It's sort of bleeding all over the place. It's sort of. It's sort. It's sorts of. It's out of sorts. Sort of. Of sorts, out of its. Sorts sorts sorts. Fingernail clippings its out of sorts bury me alive. It's sort of strained. By many metrics. Terry and Dana.

3. Lost In A Dream - 2814:

4. Volcano - Swans: a hot mess man that's what i'm telling you i had to carry her out of there in my arms she was so messy no she couldn't walk all she could do was stare off into space and mutter something every now and then what what no we didn't have any fun what are you talking about she was fucking drunk i needed to get her out of there Terry wasn't taking care of her i needed to do something about it she was hypnotized it was bright in there with strobes and shit she needed out i said out she needed out of there

5. Dungeoneering - Tim Hecker:

6. ミュージシャン - きのこ帝国 [Kinoko Teikoku]: It's Dana's profile. It's Dana's profile. It's Dana's profile. It's Dana's profile. It's Dana's profile. It's Dana's profile. This is music she likes. This is music she likes. This is music she likes. This is music she likes. This is music she likes. This is music she likes. It sounds sort of dreamy. It sounds sort of dreamy. It sounds sort of dreamy. It sounds sort of dreamy. It sounds sort of dreamy. It sounds sort of dreamy. Very sorrowful too. Very sorrowful too. Very sorrowful too. Very sorrowful too. Very sorrowful too. Very sorrowful too. Don't understand the words. Don't understand the words. Don't understand the words. Don't understand the words. Don't understand the words. Don't understand the words. Neither does she I think. Neither does she I think. Neither does she I think. Neither does she I think. Neither does she I think. Neither does she I think.

7. Sleep Maps - Set Fire to Flames:

8. Lavender Girl - Jarboe: Sometimes, you need someone else to tell you how you are. How you look. How you sound. How you feel. How you smell. How you taste. How you should be. How you should. How. You?

9. Beachy Head - Throbbing Gristle:

10. When I First Get To Phoenix - Set Fire to Flames: Incursions. Intruders. Excursions. Excavation.

11. I'm Not Human At All - Sleep Party People:

12. Just For Loving You I Pay The Price - Cindy Lee: Excavation. Entrances. Immersion. Inabilities.

13. Hyphae - Laurel Halo:

14. I'm Transmitting Tonight - Tim Hecker: Epistolary. Intravenous. Entertainment. Injury.

15. Bracer - Katie Gately:

Did some pretty big updates to my characters' playlists, especially Mei's considering her story's done.