ALTERNATE UNIVERSE is an album I wrote in early 2024 in response to the way men have treated me as a receptacle throughout my life. That experience is at its core, but the album also explores lust from two conflicting perspectives: one that rejects hookup culture and one that constantly craves it - imagining myself in both roles, in an alternate universe. A piece that embodies this contrast is Interdimensional Urges, which reflects on the decline of domesticity in a relationship from both sides.
The title, ALTERNATE UNIVERSE, comes from the piece of the same name, which was inspired by a short-lived, fling-like relationship I wished had evolved into something more. That longing, that desire for an alternate outcome, shaped the album’s concept: taking real situations from my own experience and playing them out through different characters - sometimes hinting at change, sometimes rewriting the ending entirely.
This album was pre-poetic Rebel, but still written during a phase of poetic curiosity. The pieces are more song-like than poem-like, making them more accessible while still serving the album’s purpose - something deeply personal yet open for others to find meaning in, even if its themes are niche. These include catfishing (God You Want), body dysmorphia (Signature Move), and coming out guidance (Best Advice).
Ultimately, ALTERNATE UNIVERSE was the first album I wrote with a clear concept in mind, and it will be the only album I share that predates FIEFDOM FALL. I hope you enjoy shifting perspectives through these pieces, all centered around the age-old question: what if? Writing this challenged me to see things from different angles - I hope it challenges you too.
After triumphing over the trials of his past, Kyrie finds himself in a new universe, ready to face challenges beyond his imagination. As he navigates this uncharted realm, he reunites with familiar faces and forges bonds with new allies, all while seeking the truth behind his existence. Among them is Ziekary, the story's female lead, whose strength and spirit will test the limits of their camaraderie.
Together, they will confront powerful foes and unravel the mysteries of their intertwined destinies. Will Kyrie rise to the occasion and embrace his new path, or will the shadows of his past threaten to consume him once more?
Everyone has a story to tell, made from the moments in the lives we share. Consequently, every person has their own perspective, their own subjective experiences, and thereby, their own subjective realities. Even if the exact same story is told by two people, the details from one will differ in the other.
Reed and Lumina share their lives together, but each of them came from different backgrounds; each of them went through their own unique experiences. Reed is a human being like everyone else on Earth. Lumina is an Altiri, like every one in Genosis. Both are aliens to their own world, and both have seen their own source of immense darkness in their time.
The other side of the same story might sound similar at a quick glance, but in the depths of every personal reality, very little is ever the same. Welcome to the far side of the universe, in a safe corner of the world you've probably heard nothing about. Welcome ~ to Genosis. Welcome ~ to The Other Side.
Set in medieval Germany, a young woman is attacked and forced to seek refuge in a small village in the deep, Dark Forest. But the more she sees of the village, and the more she speaks with its inhabitants, the more she realizes that something is terribly wrong; strange technology, cryptic warnings, and what is that strange humming noise? If she doesn't escape soon, she may never make it out the same person, or alive at all.