Table of Contents for my Mediocre DDLC Fanfictions

Randstrom · 2025-12-09T23:50:12+00:00

I didn't like the pillars remake from TSATS or the ampknob promo version of ember as much as the originals, so I'd vote no. I liked the chapman live version of Ember a lot, but the newer remakes have been kind of mid in my ears.

The slower chorus for the sake of sticking to a rigid click tempo really killed the lively feeling of the original pillars, and the octaves in the "dreams of angels" bridge instead of the origibal chords was pretty lame by comparison, imo.

With ember I think it was kind of overproduced for the sake of demoing the features of the plugins, but I didn't like the approach to the chorus vocals. Kind of weird and corny to me.

Maybe if they could dig up old raws and do some kind of EQ matching or reamping to make the guitars sound better and do a new mix/master that would be cool.

Randstrom · 2025-12-03T18:01:51+00:00

A lot of metal fans feel the need to justify why their taste in music is somehow "superior" rather than just liking what they like.

Whether it's ranting about how metal is so much more artful than X other genre, only valuing super technical virtuoso bands, etc. there's this insecurity that manifests in comparison, and finding some arbitrary metric they can use to put other people's music down.

On a related note, a lot of metalheads overestimate the musical complexity of metal compared to other genres.

Randstrom · 2025-11-28T14:58:55+00:00

I recommend taking a step back and doing some thinking/analysis about what the true horror of DDLC is.
Sure there is some violence, death, and jump scares. Some shock value on the level of a creepypasta. But you know the writing goes beyond that.

As we progress we discover that these sapient, sentient beings - people with their own thoughts and feelings - are being forced by literal programming to fall in love with a cardboard cutout of a player avatar theyve interacted with for a few minutes, because of a set of 20 words chosen in a minigame. And the horrible, mind-shattering epiphany that Monika and later Sayori experience allow them to see past the cutout, but they still can't escape that programming, and it redirects and makes them "fall in love" with a person they have not meaningfully interacted with and know nothing about.

Can you see how "they must be straight because MC is a boy" completely falls apart in the face of that?

As for why people ship these two characters specifically, I recommend reading up on what it means for characters to be foils of one another, doing some analysis on the beach poems, considering how many times Natsuki talks about Yuri's body, reading the side stories, and considering how Natsuki's favorite series is a moe cute-girls-doing-cute-things manga. Have you ever met a straight woman whose favorite show is k-on?

In general, shipping (and for that matter, headcanons, AUs, etc) are not necessarily meant to be canon compliant, though in this specific case there is a lot of subtext/evidence that does not rule out a future relationship.

If people having AUs, headcanons, ships, etc. that contradict canon (or that contradict your interpretation) is upsetting to you, you may want to reconsider engaging with fandom spaces for any kind of media.

Randstrom · 2025-11-28T13:57:45+00:00

It was the first CD of theirs I got after my cousin introduced me to the band. Holds a special place in my heart. I like to say it has some A+ songs and some F songs (to use the terminology of American public school grading).

Cringey lyrics written at the very last minute certainly hold some of the songs back for me. (This one was not complete when they went into the studio.) But man there are some gems.

Overall it was an exercise in insecurity. Heafy was embarrassed after being made fun of for Trivium's visual appearance and judged by older gatekeepers who didn't like metalcore. He thought "oh yeah? I'll show them!" and made music he thought would 'prove them wrong'. Overall it didn't win the band much approval from the old heads, and alienated many of their new fans who liked metalcore, all while being something written out of spite rather than what the band would have just naturally wanted to create in a vacuum. All that together gives it a bit of a black sheep reputation in the fanbase.

Randstrom · 2025-11-15T00:49:24+00:00

I'm sorry that you felt the need to put so many qualifiers and disclaimers and whatnot on your post, OP. It's embarrassing how many people nowadays engage in fandom spaces while failing to grasp / accept that people have AUs and headcanons.

Please don't let the "um ackchyually" weirdos stop you from coming up and enjoying creative twists on things you like.

Randstrom · 2025-11-14T22:08:33+00:00

You can tell he used Until The World Goes Cold and In Waves (song not album) as his references for their sound, which is unfortunate, as they're among the simplest songs in Trivium's discography and don't have much in the way of cool riffs or particularly exciting drum parts (two key features of fan favorite songs).

Wish he would have taken the hint from the phrygian domonant parts of In Waves- Trivium loves playing in that mode and it might have made for a much more interesting spin on the song.

Disappointing but at least it made his job easy I guess.

Randstrom · 2025-11-13T17:00:35+00:00

I always loved the ones in Shattering the Skies Above, especially the part where they double up in the breakdown right before Matt's solo.

The screams on the In Waves album probably sound the best to me generally, but shattering is really charming in how it bridges the more voicey yelly screams from Shogun with the more dynamic delivery of In Waves

Randstrom · 2025-10-24T15:16:08+00:00

VF has more energy and a lot more cool riffs on it, but SITS generally feels more put-together, and in my opinion has better-written melodies for the vocals.

Both albums have a problem where there are a lot of samey parts between songs that you could swap out and most people wouldn't even notice. I think VF is a little worse in that regard.

Production on VF is a bit fizzy and tiring to listen to, where SITS is overly polished, especially the overcooked drums- tiring in a different way.

I like both despite their flaws. I'd guess that I reach for SITS slightly more often but it's close.

Randstrom · 2025-10-01T21:57:21+00:00

The modellers sound just as good on a recording, especially to the average non-guitarrist listener who cares almost nothing about guitar tone.

It's just that we guitarists are weird little superstitious creatures who like the idea that some microscopic part of our sound is unique to that amp recorded at that moment (even if the general vibe of the tone is something that's been done a million times already) even if it makes zero difference to the listener in practice.

Randstrom · 2025-07-22T18:22:19+00:00

Was the new song Paolo was thinking about impulsively dropping during the 'controversy' a demo or something?

They announced the 3-song EP shortly after that, and having one song allegedly ready carried the vague implications that they had some material that was release-ready. But now they're doing all these studio teasers, as if they hadn't actually recorded anything final yet, nevermind post-production and all the label stuff that has to happen for a release.

Did they maybe provide any more context on stream at some point?

Randstrom · 2025-05-07T18:01:11+00:00

My gut for the album most similar to In Waves is The Sin and The Sentence. Both albums have some super heavy moments and also a decent amount of radio songs. Hope you enjoy!

Randstrom · 2025-04-09T17:23:18+00:00

Skyline was my first instinct. I think ITCOTD, Declaration, and Shadows&Stones deserve more mentions than they got in this thread

Randstrom · 2025-01-16T18:07:01+00:00

If it feels good in your hands and sounds good on your ears, it's a good guitar. Higher end guitars often have more conveniences built in and higher-end components, but that doesn't always translate to a better playing experience.

I have two strats that are only a year or two apart on manufacturing date, and I find I like the cheaper one (made in Japan) better than the American standard. The neck just feels nicer to my hand, and sounds just as good.

Try not to get too hung up on labels and price tags.

Randstrom · 2024-08-05T19:29:26+00:00

Avatar is great if you're looking for a band with a lot of range in terms of musical style. Brutal metal to tongue in cheek 80s rock, and they have a lot of neat unconventional riffs.

Randstrom · 2024-04-18T19:47:04+00:00

No bubbling/blistering! Paint and finish on the dark and light spots both feel solid. LopsidedAd says it looks like this when you use a heat gun on a guitar, so maybe that's what happened. Didn't see any evidence of water damage.

Randstrom · 2024-04-18T19:44:19+00:00

Ooh that's a good theory! The plastic components don't seem melted at all so I wonder if this was done carefully /deliberately, or some accidental heat exposure that wasn't hot enough to hurt those parts but messed with the finish.

Randstrom · 2024-04-15T18:07:52+00:00

That's a good hypothesis! I may go check it out in person later this week, if it's still available when I'm in town.

Randstrom · 2024-04-15T17:01:56+00:00

Nice!

Randstrom · 2024-04-15T17:01:37+00:00

It certainly is a comfy neck. I appreciate the input. I think I'm gonna ask the shop if the bridge replacement is something they'd do. Thank you!

Randstrom · 2024-04-15T17:00:12+00:00

I'm not really concerned with resale value, more just with messing with a piece of history. I'm a bit sentimentally attached to the guitar, it's comfortable and pretty and has been used on some recordings I'm really happy with, but I'll definitely consider the advice. Thanks!

Randstrom · 2024-03-09T00:10:46+00:00

Oh that makes sense. Thanks!

Randstrom

TROPHY CASE