Hyperfocus
Flash Fiction - "Forum" Horror
Welcome, Talebones Readers!
Here’s another entry for fans of a small, specific universe blooming in my flash fiction. This one is for folks who enjoy modern urban legends, creepypasta, Reddit, tech-based horror, and more experimental forms of short-storytelling.
(And if you enjoy this type of story, you can find links to a few similar tales in this growing “universe” at the bottom of the page!)
Please enjoy!
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r/IndieMusicClubhouse
post from jetleg87 May 19, 2025 3:33am
Hello everyone! I have been working very hard on my latest song, called Hyperfocus. Could you please give it a listen and share any and all feedback with me? If you like it, you can preorder my upcoming album here.
Thank you very much!
DOWNLOAD: hyperfocusfinal.mp3 (5 MB)
***
REPLIES:
mysterywagon: dude this is sick well done
hellion6: yeah it’s got a good beat, very nice! gonna order the album now!
rule_the_mall: Am I the only one…? Anyone else?
15pens: no it’s not just you
hellion6: what
rule_the_mall: Smells like AI to me.
15pens: yeah its not obviously bad but something about it feels so fake
lauratheexplorer: no stars OP! do better! some people here actually give a shit about their music. take your ai junk somewhere else.
rule_the_mall: Gonna do some digging and see if I can confirm that it’s AI guys, one sec.
r/IndieMusicClubhouse
post from rule_the_mall May 19, 2025 2:46pm
*SCAM ALERT: “Hyperfocus” song!*
(sorry this took me so long, I had to at least pretend I’m doing actual work today lol)
Okay so it’s official guys: Hyperfocus is AI-generated. I put it through my audio analysis program (amateur engineer here, don’t mind me) and there’s a telltale watermark. It’s outside the range of human hearing so you can’t hear it when you listen to the song, but it’s hidden in the sound waves. I was able to lower the frequency and it’s this weird breathy whistling sound. Watermarks like this are something AI companies are starting to include in their generated music (although i;ve never heard whistling as a watermark before, but whatevs) It was absolutely put there on purpose. The more you know, right?
Also, I checked the metadata and the field for artist name just says LOOK CLOSER…which is the catchphrase of NuMystic, that scammy generative AI app. Is anyone surprised to find those freaks are involved? Because I’m not.
Worst still, the OP who posted it doesn’t appear to be real either and the u/jetleg87 account is gone. So if you clicked the link and pre-ordered the album now would be the time to dispute the charge with your bank and get your cash back. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news guys.
***
REPLIES:
hellion6: UGH I FEEL SO DUMB
lauratheexplorer: you should
hellion6: such a shame it was actually kind of a bop. thanks OP for checking up on it.
tummyrumbles: srsly how is numystic still in business after all this bullshit i haven’t heard a single good thing about them
15pens: i’m convinced there’s something shady going on with them, like corporate espionage or blackmail or something, otherwise it fdoesn’t make sense that they haven’t been sued into oblivion
rule_the_mall: Lesson learned for people on the forum I hope.
mysterywagon: Idon’t ebn care the song is a vibe tho
***
r/IndieMusicClubhouse
post from rule_the_mall May 20, 2025 10:21am
Hey guys, me again…I know this sounds paranoid, but if you saved Hyperfocus to any playlists or downloaded it to your devices I really think you should delete it asap.
That whistling sound I told you about has started infecting the other songs on my compuiter.
I was messing with some of my own music files last night and I noticed some weird anomalies in the sound waves, and sure enough: it’s that damn whistling. I checked the metadata on other songs I’ve downloaded and the whistling is visible in the wave-lengths of the files themselves all of a sudden. And this is on all my songs, even stuff I downloaded ages ago that’s absolutely not AI. It really feels like it’s spreading somehow.
Bottom line: it’s not worth keeping the song, even if you don’t care about the AI ethics. Delete it now.
***
REPLIES:
lauratheexplorer: this can’t be real unless it’s some kind of virus?
hellion6: OH NO I LOVE THE SONG IT’S ON MY RUNNING PLAYLIST NOOOOO
tummyrumbles: OP i hope you’re not messing with us because that’s scary as hell
rule_the_mall: I’m not. I wish I was. And in the few hours since I first posted this, I’m starting to HEAR the actual whistle when I listen to music, which makes no sense at all. I swear it sounds just like a man whistling, this weird low breathy sound, and in headphones it’s the creepiest thing ever, like it’s coming from somewhere in my house. I think I might need to completely wipe my music files. ALL OF THEM. Years and years of playlists ruined by that stupid song.
lauratheexplorer: wtf dude that sucks
mysterywagon: Hyperfocs still a bop tho
***
r/IndieMusicClubhouse
post from rule_the_mall May 21, 2025 7:17am
You guys it’s getting closer.
The whistling is getting closer. I don’t know what to do.
I can hear it even without the headphones now. Even without music, even in the silences. Like it’s right behind me. I feel like I’m going to turn around and see something. but there’s never anything there.
I don’t know what to do. What do I do?
***
REPLIES:
15pens: okay so op is messing with us, cool. i’m officially freaked out.
hellion6: we get it, the song is bad and evil and made with ai and we should delete it. we heard you the first time, geez. i miss when this was a music forum instead of a r/nosleep ripoff
lauratheexplorer: right?
mysterywagon: GOOD NEWS i got my personal trainer to put hyperfocus on the gym’s music playlist and it’s PERFECT such a vibe this is my shit
***
r/IndieMusicClubhouse
post from rule_the_mall May 21, 2025 3:33am
Hello everyone! I have been working very hard on my latest song, called Hyperfocus. Could you please give it a listen and share any and all feedback with me? If you like it, you can preorder my upcoming album here.
Thank you very much!
DOWNLOAD: hyperfocusfinal.mp3 (5 MB)
[user no longer found]
[thread locked]
END
Hello everyone! I have been working very hard on my latest story, called Hyperfocus. Could you please give it a read and share any and all feedback with me? If you like it, you can preorder my upcoming anthology here.
Thank you very much!
Wait... first it was visuals and now audio?
*it's evolving*
IT'S LEARNING
OH MY GOD