I'm looking for some more examples of this stuff to teach my drum students. I'm well aware of the more 'famous' examples of odd times/interesting rhythm ideas in pop songs and am looking for some more/new/obscure examples instead. Some of what I already know listed below:

- Odd Times = Take 5 / Mission Impossible / Illinoise / Solsbury Hill / Literally anything by King Gizzard & Tool
- Interesting Rhythm things = Videotape / Black Dog / Keep it Greasey

Show me whatcha got

Bye

I'm fairly ignorant when it comes to classical music. I know the general outlines of the history, the big names, how the eras divide up, etc. But being a non-musician I know next to nothing about music theory, and I've found that to be an impediment to seeking out new composers or fully appreciating certain pieces or developments.

But I have found that a lot of the classical music I enjoy has the common thread of being generally rhythmically complex. I'm a huge fan of Steve Reich, Michael Nyman, Louis Andriessen, Conlon Nancarrow, Hauschka, and Moondog, and have just recently discovered John Adams, Arnold Dreyblatt, and Lubomyr Melnyk, all of whom I'm enjoying immensely.

Obviously that's a really wide net, but I'm curious to hear what other composers in this vein people enjoy.

Demographics

• Gender: Female
• Race/Ethnicity: South Asian
• Residence: India (US Citizen)
• Type of School: Private and International (never sent a student to an ivy before to my knowledge)
• Hooks (Recruited Athlete, URM, First-Gen, Geographic, Legacy, etc.): None

Intended Major(s): Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, Human Rights, and Math

Academics

• GPA (UW/W): school number 1 (9th and 10th)- 94% UW (no AP or honors classes) school number 2 (S2 10th, 11th)- 3.98 UW, 4.40 W
• Rank (or percentile): N/A
• # of Honors/AP/IB/Dual Enrollment/etc.: 6 APs, 2 honors (only 3 offered), 5 dual enrollment classes
• Senior Year Course Load: AP Physics 1, AP literature and composition, US History (honors), Spanish 3, Comparative Goverment, Theology (compulsory), Multivariable calc (DE), Bio lab (DE)

Standardized Testing

List the highest scores earned and all scores that were reported.

• ACT: 34 (E: 32, M: 35, R: 35, S: 33)
• AP Lang: 5, AP calc BC and AB sub score: 5, AP Micro: 5, AP stats: 5
• SAT math 2: 800/800

Extracurriculars/Activities

1. Started a non profit/ small business using art to help provide medical healthcare in my community (20hrs, 48wks: 11, 12)
2. Math tutor (7hrs, 50wks: 9, 10, 11, 12)
3. Published a research paper on adoption in an international research journal. (10hrs, 10 weeks: 11, 12)
4. Dance; trained in jazz, contemporary etc. (6hrs, 45wks: 9, 10, 11, 12)
5. Harvard summer program: classes in gender studies and math (80hrs, 7wks: 11th)
6. Founded and led 3 clubs at my HS: math, social justice and calligraphy (6hrs, 24wks: 11th, 12th)
7. Team leader on a social justice project and app (intern) (20hrs, 12wks: 12)
8. Rhythmic Gymnastics, state level (club not varsity) (15hrs, 52wks: 9, 10)
9. Team leader at a mental health organisation (15hrs, 52wks: 9, 10)
10. Calligraphy (5hrs, 52wks: 9, 10, 11, 12)

Awards/Honors

List all awards and honors submitted on your application.

1. AP Scholar with honor (11)
2. Deans list (9, 10, 11)
3. Math school award+ 1st in school math competition (10)
4. Progress and Diligence school award (10)
5. School Awards in : Spanish (10), Ap micro (11) and Ap calc AB (11)

Letters of Recommendation

AP Calc AB and AP physics teacher (9/10): I enjoyed both classes a lot and spoke in class a lot so I guess it was good!

Spanish teacher and Theology teacher (9/10): I had him for Spanish all 3 years and enjoyed the classes and spoke a lot about social justice a lot in theo

Guardians

My mind stood still, choosing to neither fight nor flee, remaining in a state of perpetual attempted comprehension of the scene playing out in front of me as I remained motionless, petrified in place. It began to rise up, uncoiling its gigantic serpentine body as the writhing mass spread its gyre out from the podium. As I craned my neck back in abject awe, the sheer size of the thing was only overshadowed by the absolutely magnificent display of colour reflected from every inch of its surface, a display I instantly recognised from the immaculate carving still nestled in my bag. As my eyes adjusted and the luminous glow of the worms fully encapsulated the absolutely massive being, the brief realisation came full circle as its gigantic head came into view, opening its two massive, enchanting eyes, staring straight into my very soul.

It was beyond words, terrifying yet majestic, completely and utterly imposing yet genuinely serene. The gigantic serpent a spitting image of its statue, which itself was carved of the same brilliant, shimmering material that made up every undulating scale that covered the entire beasts elongated body.

For what felt like eternity it stared menacingly, emanating a low, reverberating growl, when my knees finally gave out. Falling backwards, my bag hit the ground first, the contents spilling out over the stone floor as I followed a moment later. The serpent swung its focus passed me to the now exposed carving, shining in all its rainbow glory, it looked straight back at me with a bizarre expression not even five meters away as I nervously glanced a look at the statue, my mind reeling. Turning back, I almost had a heart attack as it had silently moved in barely three feet from my face, its eyes narrowed, delving deeper into my being. In a moment of clarity I scampered back, reaching for the statue, I held it out in front of me, offering back its likeness in a vain attempt at a peace offering

The beast’s eyes widened slightly as it stared at me for a long moment as if reading my intentions, before, after for what felt like an eternity, it opened its eyes back up as the bizarre snarl ceased and it pulled its head back. Standing up tall on but a fraction of its length, reaching almost halfway to the ceiling, it suddenly jerked its head over to the left then back to me, I stood, dumbfounded as it repeated the action, seeming almost frustrated or impatient. When I finally snapped out of my trance, I shot a look back to th

I really love all the symphonies he's written and was sad when he passed away before he could write his 9th. Penderecki's reception by critics though was much more scathing since he moved away from the avant-guard in the 1970s and 80s towards neo-romanticism. But I still find his music in the later phase, like his symphonies (especially 2, 3, and 4), his horn concerto, Te Deum, and the like to be really enjoyable on their own despite being deemed "regressive" and "disappointing" by a lot of critics and even some of my fellow music enthusiasts. In fact, I'd say his 3rd Symphony is evidence that the symphonic form wasn't completely dead in the late 20th century.

Don't get me wrong, I do also love his avant-guard works very much. Threnody is a BOP. The dream of Jacob SLAPS. Polymorphia: a textural WONDERLAND.

But it's a lot to ask a guy to keep innovating to no end with new techniques and sound. After all, I understand he was a busy guy at the height of his career (and supposedly, this led him to take on a less radical style). He did take a very crucial step thatt many innovators don't want to take by combining the neoromanticism with the avant-guard, for example in his St. Luke Passion, which I'd like to see more of in contemporary composers.

I haven't come across a lot of composers who match his harmonic and rhythmic style in his neoromantic period. Penderecki's music in his later life seems to be a prolonged study on the minor-second and tritone, which in itself is quite interesting to listen to. To me, his neo-romantic music has a distinctive signature sound to it. Shostakovich's slow movements and Stravinsky's primitivist works do show the closest resemblance as far as I can tell

I guess the larger question is: if Penderecki is "regressive", where in musical history is he supposedly regressive to? And might he get greater recognition in the future for his neoromantic works? Or is his Third Symphony going to be forgotten forever in a century?

I don't want to step on anybody's toes here, but the amount of non-dad jokes here in this subreddit really annoys me. First of all, dad jokes CAN be NSFW, it clearly says so in the sub rules. Secondly, it doesn't automatically make it a dad joke if it's from a conversation between you and your child. Most importantly, the jokes that your CHILDREN tell YOU are not dad jokes. The point of a dad joke is that it's so cheesy only a dad who's trying to be funny would make such a joke. That's it. They are stupid plays on words, lame puns and so on. There has to be a clever pun or wordplay for it to be considered a dad joke.

Again, to all the fellow dads, I apologise if I'm sounding too harsh. But I just needed to get it off my chest.

Howdy! Welcome to Day 22 of the r/indieheads Album of the Year 2021 Write-Up Series, our annual event where we showcase pieces from some of our favorite writers on the subreddit talking about their favorite records of the year! Today, we have u/LazyDayLullaby on L'Rain's Fatigue.

June 25th, 2021 - Mexican Summer

Listen:

Bandcamp

Apple Music

Spotify

Background by /u/LazyDayLullaby:

L’Rain is the name Brooklyn-based musician, vocalist, artist, art curator, multi-instrumentalist, and all-around multi-talented Taja Cheek records and performs under. She adopted this name in tribute to her mother — Lorraine becomes L’Rain — who passed away while her debut album was released. Her music defies categorization, with elements of soul, psychedelic pop, ambient, classical piano and much more all ebbing and flowing throughout her two albums, 2017’s L’Rain and 2021’s Fatigue (her Bandcamp entry lists the following tags: “experimental not jazz soulful Brooklyn”).

Review by /u/LazyDayLullaby:

As I imagine many people who enjoy writing or recording music do, I have amassed hundreds of fragments of words and melodies, spread across messy notebooks and messier Notepad.exe documents, along with brief recordings and unfinished ideas that, when taken as a whole, years later and after I have forgotten where these ideas even came from, end up transforming into a sort of dubious poetry. That L’Rain took things like this, these bits and pieces of recordings from the past, and created something that feels as singular, perfect and complete as “Find It” is nothing short of amazing to me. It sounds absolutely beautiful: a swirling mist of details that slowly becomes denser and more rhythmic, with L’Rain’s voice gorgeously gliding through, only to gradually evaporate once more, eventually giving way to a recording at the funeral of a family friend, with surging organ, crashing percussion and lifting, harmonized voices. It is an incredible, six minute journey, and to some extent, quite representative of the album as a whole, in the ways it soars and fades, breaks into more familiar song structures, and then subsides into

I went to a concert last night, my first since the start of the lockdown. The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center presented an evening of baroque concertos, starting with Albinoni, then Telemann, Locatelli, Tartini, Vivaldi and ending with a reconstruction of Bach's concerto for violin and oboe, better known by his transcription for two keyboard instruments.

A very interesting concert, because it drove home something I've often thought about: Johann Sebastian Bach is not just "better" than most of his contemporaries, he's also a very, very different composer. Albinoni gave us an achingly beautiful singing line in his oboe concerto, Telemann a creative and original combination of instruments, Tartini and especially Locatelli were all about instrumental virtuosity, and Vivaldi was his usual perky self, but when Bach entered the arena, it was a whole different world, an intense and unrelenting wave of counterpoint and rhythmic propulsion. No concession to instrumental virtuosity, no tasteful "background" accompaniment, no bird noises, no attempt at expressive dynamics, it was just his idea of what music should be, and it was both fabulous and authoritative.

Which brings me to the question: how did J.S.Bach become the "quintessential" baroque composer (along with Handel, of course)? Was it simply because the 19th Century had no one else to compare him to, and when we started digging up Locatelli and Vivaldi, they just became a subset of "Bach"? Last night's concert reminded me of the rich variety of baroque music; each of these guys had an individual voice, but compared to Bach, they were more alike to each other than to him. Bach is an outlier; even his greatest contemporaries, Handel, Zelenka and Rameau, are profoundly different from him, although in different ways. Of course, I'm talking about the "high" baroque, roughly 1685 and later, leaving out Monteverdi, Cavalli and many others.

Alot of great jokes get posted here! However just because you have a joke, doesn't mean it's a dad joke.

THIS IS NOT ABOUT NSFW, THIS IS ABOUT LONG JOKES, BLONDE JOKES, SEXUAL JOKES, KNOCK KNOCK JOKES, POLITICAL JOKES, ETC BEING POSTED IN A DAD JOKE SUB

Try telling these sexual jokes that get posted here, to your kid and see how your spouse likes it.. if that goes well, Try telling one of your friends kid about your sex life being like Coca cola, first it was normal, than light and now zero , and see if the parents are OK with you telling their kid the "dad joke"

I'm not even referencing the NSFW, I'm saying Dad jokes are corny, and sometimes painful, not sexual

So check out r/jokes for all types of jokes

r/unclejokes for dirty jokes

r/3amjokes for real weird and alot of OC

r/cleandadjokes If your really sick of seeing not dad jokes in r/dadjokes

Punchline !

Edit: this is not a post about NSFW , This is about jokes, knock knock jokes, blonde jokes, political jokes etc being posted in a dad joke sub

Edit 2: don't touch the thermostat

Do your worst!

They were cooked in Greece.

I'm surprised it hasn't decade.

On wikipedia

It was set to be sent to US rhythmic contemporary radio through XO and Republic Records on January 11, 2022 as the third single from the album, however its release was canceled, with Dawn FM**'s second single "Sacrifice" being sent instead.**

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Heard_You%27re_Married

Don't you know a good pun is its own reword?

Two muffins are in an oven, one muffin looks at the other and says "is it just me, or is it hot in here?"

Then the other muffin says "AHH, TALKING MUFFIN!!!"

Sources: Tony Barrow, Derek Taylor

ALBUMS:

Please Please Me:

Pop picking is a fast ‘n’ furious business these days whether you are on the recording studio side listening out, or on the disc-counter side listening in. as a record reviewer I find myself installed halfway in-between with an ear cocked in either direction. So far as Britain’s record collecting public is concerned, The Beatles broke into earshot in October, 1962. My natural hometown interest in the group prevented me from taking a totally unbiased view of their early success. Eighteen months before their first visit to the EMI studios in London, The Beatles had been voted Merseyside’s favourite outfit and it was inevitable that their first Parlophone record, LOVE ME DO, would go straight into the top of Liverpool’s local hit parade. The group’s chances of national chart entry seemed much more remote. No other team had joined the best-sellers via a debut disc. But The Beatles were history makers from the start and LOVE ME DO sold enough copies during its first 48 hours in the shops to send it soaring into the national charts. In all the busy years since pop singles first shrank from ten to seven inches I have never seen a British group leap to the forefront of the scene with such speed and energy. Within the six months which followed the Top Twenty appearance of LOVE ME DO, almost every leading deejay and musical journalist in the country began to shout the praises of The Beatles. Readers of the New Musical Express voted the boys into a surprisingly high place via the 1962/63 popularity poll…on the strength of just one record release. Pictures of the group spread themselves across the front ages of three national music papers. People inside and outside the record industry expressed tremendous interest in the new vocal and instrumental sound which The Beatles had introduced. Brian Matthew (who has since brought The Beatles to many millions of viewers and listeners in his “Thank Your Lucky Stars”, “Saturday Club” and “Easy Beat” programmes) describes the quartet as visually and musically the most exiting and accomplished group to emerge since The Shadows. Disc reviewing, like disc producing, teaches one to be wary about making long-term predictions. The hit parade isn’t always dominated by the most worthy performances of the day so it is no good assuming that versatility counts for everything. It was during the recording of a Radio Luxembourg programme in the EMI Friday Spectacular series th

For context I'm a Refuse Driver (Garbage man) & today I was on food waste. After I'd tipped I was checking the wagon for any defects when I spotted a lone pea balanced on the lifts.

I said "hey look, an escaPEA"

No one near me but it didn't half make me laugh for a good hour or so!

Edit: I can't believe how much this has blown up. Thank you everyone I've had a blast reading through the replies 😂

It really does, I swear!

And now I’m cannelloni

Because she wanted to see the task manager.

But that’s comparing apples to oranges

And boy are my arms legs.

Trigger warning: FASCISTS AND NPCs DO NOT READ, YOU WILL BE DAMAGED.

Living under fascism is an oppressive experience that the majority of people in the world are forced to endure. Living under fascism is stressful and resources scarce, and this takes its toll on the personality. The experience of being constantly under a latent legal and social threat and the heavy use of fear-based propaganda by governments influence even those most resistant to fascism.

Together, these forces produce a "fascist subject", a way of perceiving the world and making attributions about reality that are a response to fascism and an attempt to cope with fascism. However, the fascist subject is also an implicit collaborator and supporter of fascist tendencies in society.

In other words, Karen is also a victim. Karen is a fascist subject who has been terrorized so much that she has begun to terrorize others. Karen doesn't realize she is living in a fascist society, so when she feels the extreme fears someone living in a fascist society feels—in her sunny suburban neighborhood—she can't find the source and starts attributing her extreme negative feelings to people in her environment. However, the true source of Karen's fear and aggression is living under fascism without facing that fact directly. Facing it directly, she would be able to process the situation and perhaps stop misattributing the source of her unmanageable fear.

In The Orwell Scale, Towards a scale for measuring the level of fascism/totalitarianism/authoritarianism of a society, as experienced by its residents, I introduced a sociological scale for measuring the overall level of fascism in a society via survey as experienced by its residents. In this fundamentally less rigorous addendum, I thought it would be interesting to apply the Orwell Scale as the context for individual behavior. What does a "fascist subject" look like in an Orwell-1 society? What about someone living under O-4 fascism, what behaviors and personality traits do they tend to adopt in order to cope?

I want to be clear that the Orwell Scale proper is not intended to be applied to individuals. Just like standardized testing in schools, it would be improper to use the same test both to judge an individual and their society—and a self-report survey intended to judge how much of a fascist the survey-taker is has a number of ethical and

Heard they've been doing some shady business.

but then I remembered it was ground this morning.

Edit: Thank you guys for the awards, they're much nicer than the cardboard sleeve I've been using and reassures me that my jokes aren't stale

Edit 2: I have already been made aware that Men In Black 3 has told a version of this joke before. If the joke is not new to you, please enjoy any of the single origin puns in the comments

BamBOO!

They’re on standbi

A play on words.

• Tyra needs to go. I say this as the biggest ANTM fan. I’d love to see Erin or Tom back, but I know that’s not realistic. We need someone who KNOWS dance and who won’t detract from the performers. It’s so awkward hearing her say “they’re telling me we need to go to scores.” Stop that kind of stuff. It’s so sloppy and makes the show look so messy. She also never stops talking and it’s so awkward. Let the contestants and judges speak. Move it along when necessary but otherwise shut up. She’s as bad as the Migos with the unnecessary ad-libs and interruptions.

• On that note, I need more time for the judges to give real feedback. I don’t want a 5 second clip of “it was so great okay next person I loved it okay great!” It’s so rushed. I remember when we had time to show clips from the routine that just happened to help highlight moments they were referencing in the judges feedback, and I miss those days. I want to know what and how dance was really good or bad technically, not just a general “good job.”

• The theme nights have gotten out of control. I want us to go back to the themes where we actually got to know the contestants, like most memorable year. Just do an Icons night. That will cover boy bands, girl groups, Brittany, Queen, Janet Jackson, and any other big popstar that doesn’t need their own individual week dedicated to their music.

• The rest of the weekly themes should be more generalized. Latin night, ballroom night, Disney night, and Halloween are all staples. I feel like we should keep those for every season. Then throw in some fun ones like most memorable year, icons night, Broadway night, and other dance focused themes that aren’t so constricting. Broadway night would be way more fun than just “Grease” because you have so many different musicals to pick from. Let the pros have some creativity.

• I don’t want movie night theme where they basically just copy scenes from movies again and the dances because that is boring to me. Or if they’re going to do that, challenge the pros by using memorable music videos and having them insert an excerpt into the dance, like how they did the Mickey challenge. They did that on America’s best dance crew and it was really interesting to watch. I’d even be down for like a hip-hop or contemporary night just to showcase all the different styles of dance that the contestants are being put through. Hell, I’d even take a country night just for some variety.

• The song choices also need to be better. It’s v

My daughter, Chewbecca, not so much.

Guardians

My mind stood still, choosing to neither fight nor flee, remaining in a state of perpetual attempted comprehension of the scene playing out in front of me as I remained motionless, petrified in place. It began to rise up, uncoiling its gigantic serpentine body as the writhing mass spread its gyre out from the podium. As I craned my neck back in abject awe, the sheer size of the thing was only overshadowed by the absolutely magnificent display of colour reflected from every inch of its surface, a display I instantly recognised from the immaculate carving still nestled in my bag. As my eyes adjusted and the luminous glow of the worms fully encapsulated the absolutely massive being, the brief realisation came full circle as its gigantic head came into view, opening its two massive, enchanting eyes, staring straight into my very soul.

It was beyond words, terrifying yet majestic, completely and utterly imposing yet genuinely serene. The gigantic serpent a spitting image of its statue, which itself was carved of the same brilliant, shimmering material that made up every undulating scale that covered the entire beasts elongated body.

For what felt like eternity it stared menacingly, emanating a low, reverberating growl, when my knees finally gave out. Falling backwards, my bag hit the ground first, the contents spilling out over the stone floor as I followed a moment later. The serpent swung its focus passed me to the now exposed carving, shining in all its rainbow glory, it looked straight back at me with a bizarre expression not even five meters away as I nervously glanced a look at the statue, my mind reeling. Turning back, I almost had a heart attack as it had silently moved in barely three feet from my face, its eyes narrowed, delving deeper into my being. In a moment of clarity I scampered back, reaching for the statue, I held it out in front of me, offering back its likeness in a vain attempt at a peace offering

The beast’s eyes widened slightly as it stared at me for a long moment as if reading my intentions, before, after for what felt like an eternity, it opened its eyes back up as the bizarre snarl ceased and it pulled its head back. Standing up tall on but a fraction of its length, reaching almost halfway to the ceiling, it suddenly jerked its head over to the left then back to me, I stood, dumbfounded as it repeated the action, seeming almost frustrated or impatient. When I finally snapped out of my trance, I shot a look back to th

Envoys

I sighed a strange sigh, one of acceptance laced with defeat, everything I thought I knew now overshadowed by an air of doubt, yet moved aside temporarily, leaving a blank slate with little bias in its place. I was open to accept almost anything at this point, having ones world view shattered leaves them in a fragile state. A new sense of open determination settled in my mind, as I turned back to the spacious room and started forward. Hollow and immense, my foot steps on the stone floor echoed throughout, keeping the torch down to avoid any obstacles yet I found none. Looking back up, I immediately stopped dead in my tracks, my feet sliding a few inches on the smooth stone, two giant, looming silhouettes, fifteen to twenty feet tall melded through the veil of darkness ahead of me, slowly stepping back, I flicked the torch up illuminating the source of my fight or flight trigger, only to relax with a weak laugh upon seeing the stone surface and vaguely human forms.

My self-deprecating amusement rapidly formed to a true sense of awe and wonder as I gawked up at these stone goliaths. As I approached I was able to make out the intricate details covering what I realised was the figures’ back, each slightly askew, facing inwards to a point. I held out my hand as I came within reach of left statue, sliding it over the surface I found it covered in a thick layer of dust, but beneath was as smooth as pearl, I shot a look straight up at the figures’ face to confirm that it was indeed of human form, dressed in a flowing garb of sorts. Returning my gaze down I suddenly spied more statues around me.

As I lumbered forward, transfixed on these new figures I suddenly realised, it was a ring, roughly fifty feet in diameter, all focused inward on a central point. I was so distracted I failed to notice a small step, stubbing my toe and almost falling flat on my face but barely catching myself before hitting the ground. Getting to my feet, It appeared to be a low, square platform, maybe ten feet wide and raised roughly a foot above the otherwise perfect plane. It was at the centre of this platform that the focus of all six statues met, a ceremonial alter I figured at the time, paying it little mind. From here I finally had a view of all six of the gargantuan effigies, slowly spinning around with my torch beam, taking in the distinguishing details of them for the first time, when it immediately struck me just how entirely unique each one was, baring little simila

Guardians

My mind stood still, choosing to neither fight nor flee, remaining in a state of perpetual attempted comprehension of the scene playing out in front of me as I remained motionless, petrified in place. It began to rise up, uncoiling its gigantic serpentine body as the writhing mass spread its gyre out from the podium. As I craned my neck back in abject awe, the sheer size of the thing was only overshadowed by the absolutely magnificent display of colour reflected from every inch of its surface, a display I instantly recognised from the immaculate carving still nestled in my bag. As my eyes adjusted and the luminous glow of the worms fully encapsulated the absolutely massive being, the brief realisation came full circle as its gigantic head came into view, opening its two massive, enchanting eyes, staring straight into my very soul.

It was beyond words, terrifying yet majestic, completely and utterly imposing yet genuinely serene. The gigantic serpent a spitting image of its statue, which itself was carved of the same brilliant, shimmering material that made up every undulating scale that covered the entire beasts elongated body.

For what felt like eternity it stared menacingly, emanating a low, reverberating growl, when my knees finally gave out. Falling backwards, my bag hit the ground first, the contents spilling out over the stone floor as I followed a moment later. The serpent swung its focus passed me to the now exposed carving, shining in all its rainbow glory, it looked straight back at me with a bizarre expression not even five meters away as I nervously glanced a look at the statue, my mind reeling. Turning back, I almost had a heart attack as it had silently moved in barely three feet from my face, its eyes narrowed, delving deeper into my being. In a moment of clarity I scampered back, reaching for the statue, I held it out in front of me, offering back its likeness in a vain attempt at a peace offering

The beast’s eyes widened slightly as it stared at me for a long moment as if reading my intentions, before, after for what felt like an eternity, it opened its eyes back up as the bizarre snarl ceased and it pulled its head back. Standing up tall on but a fraction of its length, reaching almost halfway to the ceiling, it suddenly jerked its head over to the left then back to me, I stood, dumbfounded as it repeated the action, seeming almost frustrated or impatient. When I finally snapped out of my trance, I shot a look back to th

Envoys

I sighed a strange sigh, one of acceptance laced with defeat, everything I thought I knew now overshadowed by an air of doubt, yet moved aside temporarily, leaving a blank slate with little bias in its place. I was open to accept almost anything at this point, having ones world view shattered leaves them in a fragile state. A new sense of open determination settled in my mind, as I turned back to the spacious room and started forward. Hollow and immense, my foot steps on the stone floor echoed throughout, keeping the torch down to avoid any obstacles yet I found none. Looking back up, I immediately stopped dead in my tracks, my feet sliding a few inches on the smooth stone, two giant, looming silhouettes, fifteen to twenty feet tall melded through the veil of darkness ahead of me, slowly stepping back, I flicked the torch up illuminating the source of my fight or flight trigger, only to relax with a weak laugh upon seeing the stone surface and vaguely human forms.

My self-deprecating amusement rapidly formed to a true sense of awe and wonder as I gawked up at these stone goliaths. As I approached I was able to make out the intricate details covering what I realised was the figures’ back, each slightly askew, facing inwards to a point. I held out my hand as I came within reach of left statue, sliding it over the surface I found it covered in a thick layer of dust, but beneath was as smooth as pearl, I shot a look straight up at the figures’ face to confirm that it was indeed of human form, dressed in a flowing garb of sorts. Returning my gaze down I suddenly spied more statues around me.

As I lumbered forward, transfixed on these new figures I suddenly realised, it was a ring, roughly fifty feet in diameter, all focused inward on a central point. I was so distracted I failed to notice a small step, stubbing my toe and almost falling flat on my face but barely catching myself before hitting the ground. Getting to my feet, It appeared to be a low, square platform, maybe ten feet wide and raised roughly a foot above the otherwise perfect plane. It was at the centre of this platform that the focus of all six statues met, a ceremonial alter I figured at the time, paying it little mind. From here I finally had a view of all six of the gargantuan effigies, slowly spinning around with my torch beam, taking in the distinguishing details of them for the first time, when it immediately struck me just how entirely unique each one was, baring little simila

Envoys

I sighed a strange sigh, one of acceptance laced with defeat, everything I thought I knew now overshadowed by an air of doubt, yet moved aside temporarily, leaving a blank slate with little bias in its place. I was open to accept almost anything at this point, having ones world view shattered leaves them in a fragile state. A new sense of open determination settled in my mind, as I turned back to the spacious room and started forward. Hollow and immense, my foot steps on the stone floor echoed throughout, keeping the torch down to avoid any obstacles yet I found none. Looking back up, I immediately stopped dead in my tracks, my feet sliding a few inches on the smooth stone, two giant, looming silhouettes, fifteen to twenty feet tall melded through the veil of darkness ahead of me, slowly stepping back, I flicked the torch up illuminating the source of my fight or flight trigger, only to relax with a weak laugh upon seeing the stone surface and vaguely human forms.

My self-deprecating amusement rapidly formed to a true sense of awe and wonder as I gawked up at these stone goliaths. As I approached I was able to make out the intricate details covering what I realised was the figures’ back, each slightly askew, facing inwards to a point. I held out my hand as I came within reach of left statue, sliding it over the surface I found it covered in a thick layer of dust, but beneath was as smooth as pearl, I shot a look straight up at the figures’ face to confirm that it was indeed of human form, dressed in a flowing garb of sorts. Returning my gaze down I suddenly spied more statues around me.

As I lumbered forward, transfixed on these new figures I suddenly realised, it was a ring, roughly fifty feet in diameter, all focused inward on a central point. I was so distracted I failed to notice a small step, stubbing my toe and almost falling flat on my face but barely catching myself before hitting the ground. Getting to my feet, It appeared to be a low, square platform, maybe ten feet wide and raised roughly a foot above the otherwise perfect plane. It was at the centre of this platform that the focus of all six statues met, a ceremonial alter I figured at the time, paying it little mind. From here I finally had a view of all six of the gargantuan effigies, slowly spinning around with my torch beam, taking in the distinguishing details of them for the first time, when it immediately struck me just how entirely unique each one was, baring little simila

Envoys

I sighed a strange sigh, one of acceptance laced with defeat, everything I thought I knew now overshadowed by an air of doubt, yet moved aside temporarily, leaving a blank slate with little bias in its place. I was open to accept almost anything at this point, having ones world view shattered leaves them in a fragile state. A new sense of open determination settled in my mind, as I turned back to the spacious room and started forward. Hollow and immense, my foot steps on the stone floor echoed throughout, keeping the torch down to avoid any obstacles yet I found none. Looking back up, I immediately stopped dead in my tracks, my feet sliding a few inches on the smooth stone, two giant, looming silhouettes, fifteen to twenty feet tall melded through the veil of darkness ahead of me, slowly stepping back, I flicked the torch up illuminating the source of my fight or flight trigger, only to relax with a weak laugh upon seeing the stone surface and vaguely human forms.

My self-deprecating amusement rapidly formed to a true sense of awe and wonder as I gawked up at these stone goliaths. As I approached I was able to make out the intricate details covering what I realised was the figures’ back, each slightly askew, facing inwards to a point. I held out my hand as I came within reach of left statue, sliding it over the surface I found it covered in a thick layer of dust, but beneath was as smooth as pearl, I shot a look straight up at the figures’ face to confirm that it was indeed of human form, dressed in a flowing garb of sorts. Returning my gaze down I suddenly spied more statues around me.

As I lumbered forward, transfixed on these new figures I suddenly realised, it was a ring, roughly fifty feet in diameter, all focused inward on a central point. I was so distracted I failed to notice a small step, stubbing my toe and almost falling flat on my face but barely catching myself before hitting the ground. Getting to my feet, It appeared to be a low, square platform, maybe ten feet wide and raised roughly a foot above the otherwise perfect plane. It was at the centre of this platform that the focus of all six statues met, a ceremonial alter I figured at the time, paying it little mind. From here I finally had a view of all six of the gargantuan effigies, slowly spinning around with my torch beam, taking in the distinguishing details of them for the first time, when it immediately struck me just how entirely unique each one was, baring little simila