The Stuff of Nightmares /// Music Monday #61

OOOOoooooOOOOOOooooooOoOoOoOoOoOo . . . I'm a ghost! And I'm here with another spoopy song!

Our scary selection for today is none other than . . .

"Your Best Nightmare" from Undertale

Composed by Toby Fox

Unfortunately, this post is going to be short mainly for one reason: I can't talk much about the song within the context of the game. It's used for one of the final bosses, and to discuss the music in-depth or nerd out over how cool the actual fight is, with some of the lore it uses . . . well, that'd be venturing deep into spoiler territory. Sorry about that.

I will say this: Toby Fox is a remarkably clever composer. He took the character's theme--which is a very, very simplistic one, I might add--and used that tune and that tune alone to create this battle theme. It does have another part to it, for the last half of the battle, but I'll play that song a different time.

Everything about this track oozes darkness and evil. Well, save for those few breaks in-between, but I can't really discuss those segments either. As for the rest of the song . . . it's clear that you're fighting a monster here, a rampaging creature bent on destruction and bloodshed. You're standing between it and mass annihilation, so you have to give it your all and fight back. But you'll definitely be shivering with this song playing in the background. The laugh at the beginning just lets you know that you're dealing with true horrors here.

So yeah, I guess I'll have to stop there. Again, sorry that this is so brief, but I really don't want to spoil the game for you. I'm not doing the track or its source material justice, but what can you do?

What'd you think of the music, either within or without the game's context? Do you know who this song is for? If you don't, go buy Undertale right now, play it, then come back so we can be geeky together.

It's the Spookiest Time of the Year /// Music Monday #60

Would you look at the time? Halloween is but a few weeks away, which means it's time for some spooky songs again!

Our spine-chiller of the day is . . .

"Majora's Mask" from the album Children of Termina

Composed by Rozen

I have not played The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask (because I want to finish Ocarina of Time first and have yet to do that), but I do know that it is hailed as one of the darkest Zelda titles. Rozen, who normally makes Zelda albums by pulling tracks from a bunch of the games, created Children of Termina with music just from Majora's Mask. Thus, it's a bit of a darker album as well.

One of the creepiest songs is the one named after the mask itself. It's unnerving both in the instrumentation and the initial melody. It quiets down in the middle, but it gets more bombastic and intense by the end of it, throwing some haunting choral into the mix. This mask is not something to be trifled with . . .

Also, have I ever mentioned that I absolutely love it when songs use big bells, like the ones at churches or town halls or wherever? At the two-minute mark, some of those bells kick in, and I can't get enough of it. It just adds something really powerful to the track.

. . . My brain is not exactly cooperating with me tonight, because I dunno what else to add. Sorry that this one is really short. Feel free to throw in your own thoughts, opinions, and ideas down in the comments!

Have you played Majora's Mask, and if so, how does it rank among the darker Zelda games? What'd you think of the song? Does it make you wanna check out Rozen's other music? (You should. He makes some epic stuff.)

Monthly HapPENings: September

Do we seriously have just three months left in the year? 2019 apparently has no intention of slowing down any time soon.

So, life stuff that happened this past month: on the 7th, a few of my coworkers/friends went to a corn maze in the evening. We first went on the sunflower expo, which let you walk through the sunflower fields and take one for free. One of my friends thought it'd be funny if she took a flower as tall as her--she's on the shorter side--so she chose nearly a whole stalk. Mine was the complete opposite, as it was the smallest flower in the group. Then we did the maze itself, though we couldn't find the actual exit. Then most of us went for a super late supper. It was quite the fun evening!

My sisters and I celebrated my parents' anniversary by making them supper: some kind of Mexican chicken, potato cubes with Parmesan cheese and some spices, and a tossed salad. My mom and dad appreciated both the supper and the cards, so I think it was a successful night.

Lastly, on the 28th, two of my friends, one of them bringing her 12-year-old son, went to a light festival of sorts. That was tons of fun, walking around and seeing all the exhibits. We grabbed milkshakes partway through; that extra thick strawberry milkshake had to have been one of the best I've ever had. Once we were finished, it was pretty late, so we stopped by McDonald's for drinks and headed home. That was a hilarious car ride if I've ever experienced one. I had my friends laughing so hard they could barely breathe. All in all, it was an absolute blast!

Bookish HapPENings

I did not finish any books this month. I've been too occupied with other stuff and haven't made much time to read. On top of that, I've done more listening to music on my work breaks recently, so that's also cut back my reading. Hopefully I'll finish a couple by the end of October.

HapPENings on the Screen

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I've started watching My Hero Academia with my youngest two sisters, and I'm so glad I bought it on a whim! It's a really fun show so far, with one of the craziest character casts (say that three times fast) you'll ever see and enough heart to keep you emotionally attached to them. So far, the plot isn't too complex, but that isn't lessening my enjoyment in the slightest. I can't wait to see where everything goes! I just want so badly for Deku to see his dreams come true.

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I also bought Attack on Titan out of the blue, and what an epic show it is! The animation style is a feast for your eyes, the characters are all very interesting and well-voiced (in the English dub), the action sequences keep you on the edge of your seat . . . There's also tons of emotion throughout. I've already cried several times, even when rewatching episodes. I have no regrets starting to watch this.

I've watched my other shows too, but I felt too lazy to put up all the pictures when I'm writing just the tiniest blurbs for each. The Flash is still enjoyable, but I'm just waiting for the crossover to be done, partially because there's both a lesbian and a gay couple present. Once Upon a Time is nearing the halfway point, and I've got one final episode with the Snow Queen (yay!). I'm almost at the end of S1 of Avatar: The Last Airbender, and it's so amazing! I have a feeling the ending's gonna be intense. I just finished S7 of Ninjago, and even though it happened on October 1st . . . it's still close enough to September for me. It concluded quite differently from most Ninjago seasons, with a cliffhanger instead of wrapping things up. It did feel a little rushed, but not overly so. Finally, Trollhunters is half over, and things are shaping up to be even worse for the characters, even as they achieved an important victory.

Gaming HapPENings

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The Ace Attorney series is one that I'm not ashamed to admit I'm addicted to. I've been playing Justice For All so much for the last month; I clocked in just over 13 hours, and I still have the majority of the final case to do. It's as highly entertaining and thrilling as the first game was, which is great. I hate it when any kind of series has that middle slump, where it's not as great as the beginning or the end. Phoenix Wright's games definitely don't seem to suffer from this, which is a definite point in their favor . . . as if they needed any more.

Writerly HapPENings

I wrote just 1,081 words in September, which was when I was working on another Havok entry. I don't think it was as good as my first one, but I hope it's still intriguing enough. Guess we'll have to wait and find out . . .

And yet another month concludes! Did you do anything fun and exciting? Have you seen either MHA or AoT? (No spoilers if you have!) Do you love the Ace Attorney franchise as much as I do?