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twistedblud · 4 years ago

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FINE LINE SERIES

Part 1: Adore You

pairing: dom x female!reader

description: a couple who fell in love and got married — very young and now with a kid. always told they were young and naïve. where did they go wrong?

warning(s): a hint of fluff, the tiniest bit of angst? just a moment of vulnerability is all. nothing too big coming up until the third part!

a/n: my first series and i’m kindaaa nervous haha. but if you like it i’d appreciate if you left a comment, like, or reblog. it helps a lot. also, lyrics won’t be in exact order, just whenever they relate to the descriptions.

series masterlist & series playlist

“Y/N! He’s here! Up, let’s go!” Antonio called out. You huffed, only audible to yourself, at the words coming from your boss’ mouth and quickly got up from the seat at the vanity. You got your station prepped, making sure everything from the powder to the eyeliner were present. You couldn’t afford to be back and forth between the stock room looking for anything you may have missed.

A few more hours.

After this shoot you leave, Y/N.

It had been a busy Thursday afternoon with Antonio and the first shift staff at your work, throwing out demands on top of demands. Now it was just after one in the afternoon and you were over the day. Antonio’s assistant, Tia, somehow spilled a coffee all over your precious denim jacket, which resulted in you taking an early break, frantically trying to find something else to cover up with.

Thankfully, a new girl on the job happened to have a spare bomber jacket, not hesitating to lend it to you.

The day had went on and the team rushed around, making sure to prep the snacks for whichever artist they had coming in soon. Honestly, you hadn’t paid much attention at the meeting which discussed the artist and their vision for the project. You remember briefly hearing something about a Dominic, and him being from somewhere the UK.

You spent the minutes before the talent arrived on a conversation with your fellow co-workers, not being able to see your best friend at the job, as she always worked the shift after you.

Tia rushed over to your work space, closed off from the actual set, where photos were taken. “He’s here Y/N. Antonio says to make sure everything is ready please.” you nod, forming a fraudulent smile at the young girl before she walked away, but not before almost running into a group of men. You met the eyes of the guy in the middle of the group, being greeted with a warm smile. You returned it, not wanting to be completely rude but also wondering who he was.

I get so lost inside your eyes.

The mystery man stopped one of the staff members speeding past and whispered something. The staff member pointed directly at you before the man thanked her, and walked away. He made his way over to your station and paused directly in front of your figure. You took note of his dyed hair, the blue and pink streaks roaming freely throughout his head.

“I was directed over here...Y/N right? You’re doin’ my makeup?” the man spoke, a heavy accent rolling off of his tongue. You nod slowly, not breaking eye contact with the man. He shot you a comforting smile, stripping out of his leather jacket, dropping it in the arms of a person in the group he walked in with. “Hold this for me, yeah? N’don’t spill anything on it like last time. M’begging you Adam,” Dom asked the guy before him-now identified as Gavin.

“I’m Dominic but feel free to call me Dom. Actually, I’d prefer if you called me Dom,” He rambled out. You try not to laugh at his introduction as you watched his, only what you could presume team, walk away and find seats near the snack area.

You motion to the seat in front of the mirror, allowing Dom to take a seat, watching him get settled. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and unlocked it before beginning to type away on it. Already having the essentials laid out before you two your eyes land on the eyeliner, along with the eyeshadow palette. You took note of the earthy tones and tried to brainstorm. It was your job to envision a look. It was your job to execute the look.

And it was your job to satisfy not only your boss Antonio, but Dom and his team as well. You couldn’t afford to have any complaints against you, especially given this was your only source of income.

You grab the top and side of the chair Dom was sitting in, drumming your fingers along the chipped wood as you stared at him through the mirror. You studied his stoic eyes, his basically-average nose, and even down to his lips. His lips were his most prominent feature, his hair coming in a close second. You hear the sound of his phone locking and he set his phone down into his lap. Dom looks up into the mirror and made immediate eye contact with you. You blinked frantically, breathing out and breaking the eye contact.

“Can I ask what the staring match was for?,” Dom questioned you, and you look back at him in the mirror. “I like to visualize. Just mix and match the possible looks.” Dom nodded in understanding. You continued, “It may seem weird but it helps. I swear,” Dom reached forward to grab a stray piece of plastic off the surface in front of him and began fiddling with it.

“I understand Y/N. Forgot I work in the music industry myself?” Dom questioned you and you laughed. “Hey, I didn’t completely forget Dom. I just...suck at remembering things, especially here” you vent out to him.

“S’okay. We all forget things sometimes, yeah?”

You hum out a quick “mhm” and tilt your head to the side as the perfect concept for Dom’s look comes to mind. Realizing that you subconsciously leaned part of your weight on the chair where he sat during your conversation, you push yourself back up and move to the front of the station, moving to get everything opened.

Dom watched you intently as you opened the eyeliner, making sure it was good. “You don’t mind?,” Dom randomly asked, you looking up to meet his eyes in the mirror once again. “Sorry, meant the eyeliner. The eyeshadow. You don’t mind putting it on me?”

You turn to face Dom with the eyeliner in hand and used your left hand to slightly tilt his head back. You move that same hand to the side of his left cheek, holding it there, as you began to bring the eyeliner toward his waterline. “I don’t mind it all, actually,” you slightly frown, “Why do you ask?”

“It’s just...people? The close-minded ones. Always judging me for wearing certain products or clothes.” You watched his eyes move to look down at his lap, Dom beginning to pick at his jeans. “Mostly get weird looks from other stylists in the industry for my interest in this kinda stuff. Not to mention the trolls online. It makes me...”

“Well it’s sexy to me. Any guy who can rock eyeliner and eyeshadow? A win to me.” Dom’s eyes went slightly wide, a goofy smile forming on his face. You simply stroked your thumb along his cheek, in a friendly manner, before beginning to apply the eyeliner.

---

Dom noticed you packing the last of your stuff into your purse, pleading with his team for a few more minutes. His convincing finally worked, but when he turned to your station, you were gone. The next shift of staff members piled in, taking your place at the station you once occupied. Dom let out a huff, running a hand through his wild hair. He wondered how you left so quick. But more importantly where you were.

Your lipstick had managed to slip out your purse in the process of you shoving everything in there, your coffee-stained jacked peaking out from the top. Dom noticed it on the floor and immediately picked it up. He briefly read the label: NYX Matte Lipstick in the shade Strawberry Daiquiri. Dom connected the dots, it now making sense that when you two were interacting, he smelled a frequent aroma of strawberry overpowering vanilla.

Strawberry lipstick state of mind.

“You can try the sidewalk. Y/N usually waits for her Uber there.” A voice snuck up behind Dom. He turned around to see a girl before him. She was only a tad bit shorter than him and slim, her skin a reddish-brown. A septum piercing stood out through her fuller nose, along with a simple nose piercing on her left side of her nose.

Dom realized he hadn’t replied back to the girl and shook his head, hoping she hadn’t noticed. Instead he cleared his throat, resting his hand on his hip, pushing back the jacket he had on. “How rude of me. Thank you!” Dom exclaimed, eyebrows furrowing as he looked around at the various exits, wondering which was quick to find you. The girl pointed to a door across from them. Dom thanked her again and headed toward the door but stopped in his tracks, turning around to the same girl who had been a help just moments before.

“Sick piercings by the way.”

----

Three more minutes.

You looked down at your phone screen, tracking your Uber driver and his navigation as he reached closer to you. You waited in anticipation, finally relieved that your workday had come to an end and soon, you’d finally be in the comfort of your own home. You smiled at the thought of curling up on your sofa with a glass of wine, watching the newest episode of Grey’s Anatomy, with your puppy curled up by your feet.

Until then you waited on the sidewalk, swaying back and forth on the heels of your feet. You contemplated opening up the app Candy Crush to kill time, but the thoughts were interrupted, when you heard footsteps approaching you rather quickly. You squinted, barely made out who the figure was.

Dom halted in front of you, nearly crashing into you. You grabbed the side of his arms to help prevent him from plowing you over. He was audibly out of breath, huffs coming from his mouth. “Y/N...you left your, uh, lip stuff on the floor?” He handed you your beloved NYX lipstick.

I'd walk through fire for you

You graciously thank him, “Holy shit, thank you Dom! Didn’t even realize I dropped it.” Your smile was small, yet still contagious, Dom fidgeting as you both hear the chime on your phone which signaled that your Uber was just around the corner.

You make out a quick goodbye, not realizing he had more to say. “Wait! If you’re not too busy, I was wondering if you maybe wanted to go out? Maybe this weekend? I know, shit, this is very weird and sudden but, I just wanted to ask-”

Just let me adore you

You giggled at his rambling and grabbed his hand, guiding him off of the sidewalk and near a random building, and away from you referred to it as, sidewalk rush hour.

Dom groaned in what you could only assume was embarrassment, slowly letting go of your hand, when you had finally worked up an answer to give him.

“I think I know what you’re trying to ask, and I’d love to, actually.”

Like it's the only thing I'll ever do.

Taglist: @wallows-spring

Part 2 will be linked here when it is published! And comment to be added to the taglist!

#dominic harrison #dominic harrison imagine #fine line series #fl!dom #yungblud x reader #yungblud

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lokis-lady-death · 6 years ago

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Bake-tastic One

Tom Hiddleston x Reader

Lady Death: I tagged anyone I thought might be interested! Just a simple two part story about a girl meeting a man and baking some cupcakes. I did this by request for a super awesome mutual’s birthday! @kcd15 I hope you enjoy it, I’m so sorry it’s late but you get two parts for being so patient <3 Hope you enjoy!

Bake-tastic

Step One: Introductions

“Don't Stop Believin’ by Journey,” you recognized immediately. “Good choice.” There was no hiding the delight on your face as you laid back in your chair, slipped on your sunglasses, and sang along to the tune.

You couldn't help but think this is how everyone should spend a day off, lounging on a balcony in California, dazing in and out of a mid-day nap to the sound of soulful tunes on the perfect playlist.

It was such a cliche spring morning, really. The sky was that bright shade of blue with sparse clouds, the breeze blew just enough that it kept the air at the right temperature. The city was even more peaceful than usual, with birds chirping, kids playing and hardly any cars passing by your condominium. The only real sound you heard was the music emanating from your neighbor's place above your head.

The main reason you enjoyed these days? Frankly, you needed the distraction. You were a full time barista at a local big bakery that catered to the cupcake-addicted southern L.A. day walkers and all you wanted was to unwind. Bake-tastic, despite its horrifically punny name, was actually an up and coming hangout spot that was making a name for itself among the baked goods industry.

The only problem?

You weren't baking.

Growing up in the south, you had loved everything about baking since you were a little girl in your grandmother’s kitchen, playing in her aprons and sneaking off with her cookbooks, but it wasn't until when you sister asked you to move to move to Cali that you decided to act on your passion.

But, as it turned out, if you want to bake here, you needed experience. Experience no one was willing to give you. All you had managed to do was make coffee and take orders for cakes and other treats you weren’t allowed to actually create.

That honor was left to the owner of the bakery, a man whom, in your months of working there, had never once come in during the day shift. You never met the mysterious baker, but couldn’t deny his talents the first time you tried his mixed berry tarte. Everything he created was a miniature masterpiece all their own. You wanted desperately tk meet him, or even more, bake with him, but that was a quickly squashed dream. He kept to himself, prefering to come after closing to bake everything throughout the night. The next morning, when you and your coworkers would arrive, all you would need to do was set out the new baked goods and make coffee. The others were fine with the remedial tasks, but you were not.

It wasn’t necessarily living the dream, but the music had a nice way of dulling out the disappointment.

If your sister had been out there she would be complaining about it, but truthfully you enjoyed your little free concerts. It required no work on your part and in today's world, you could use some mindless way to unwind. It wasn't long before you recognized a pattern in when the music played: usually in the afternoons of week days, stopping promptly at seven, Saturday morning and most of Sunday. Not particularly meaning to, you began to plan breaks outside around when the neighbor would have their music on. It had become a sort of ritual: weekdays when you got off work you would shower, throw on your bathrobe, and come lounge until seven. On weekends, you spent your mornings sipping coffee in your pajamas.

This Saturday was no different. Right at six in the morning, the neighbor's sliding door opened, releasing a symphony of classic rock music out into the world. Here you were, ready to soak it up as you sang out the stress of your week through lyrics of musical geniuses with a cup of coffee in one hand and a freshly made strawberry Danish in the other.

It was around thirty minutes later, as you were going along to Matchbox Twenty’s 3am that your tone began to carry. By the second verse you had gotten a bit carried away, singing along and dancing in your chair as the words you had known by heart for nearly two decades came pouring out. You had become some enamored by the words that you didn't even notice the music had been turned down.

When the next song began, you took in one last deep breath of spring air, stretching your arms up above your head until you heard that satisfying pop of your shoulders. You had been rejuvenated and were ready for whatever the rest of your Saturday brought.

But just when you turned to walk back into the apartment, you heard someone ask, “Oh, are you going in already?”

There was no stopping the loud curse word from escaping your lips as you tried to pull yourself back into your skin. Whipping around, you expected to see a man to go along with that sharp comment.

Yet you were alone, left only with the sound of a haughty laugh.

“I'm terribly sorry, I certainly didn't mean to frighten you.” You distinctly noticed the smart British accent as he went on, “It's just that I had been listening to you sing so I thought I ought to say something….”

Your face felt it had caught fire by embarrassment of someone, a stranger- a possibly handsome British stranger- had heard you singing. A hand slapped over your mouth to stifle a gasp.

You were so mortified you could scream, but there was also a part of you curious how much he had heard.

When you still didn't respond, the englishman went on, “She's gone and I'm here talking to myself, aren't I?”

“No,” you couldn't help but laugh nervously, “I'm still here.”

“Good. I'd look rather mad out here going on to an invisible woman, wouldn't I?”

The two of you shared a laugh, followed by an unfortunate silence before he added, “It seems we have a similar taste in music. You know just about every song I ever play.”

Again your cheeks went ablaze.

“I mean, it's not like I just come out here and listen to you, that would be absurd. It's just, you come out here nearly every time I turn on my ipod, surely you noticed?”

You realized it was the same neighbor who played the music every day. Biting down on your lip, you stopped from admitting you planned your free time at home around when he turned his tunes on. The two of you were starting to sound like either a cheap romance movie from Hallmark channel or a murder documentary off Investigative Discovery .

When you still hadn't spoken up, he rambled on. “That possibly came across a bit awkward, I didn't mean it as though I'm just out here listening to you…” he corrected. “I only meant I enjoyed what I've heard.”

At that you had to smile. His tone was sincere enough, even a tad cute as he tripped over himself, but with that accent alone he sent a flutter through your stomach.

‘Is that what I'm reduced to?’ you wondered, ‘Pining after men because of accents?’

“I haven't heard you leave, does that mean I didn't completely ruin this first impression?”

At that, you couldn't keep quiet. “Your first impression was actually Bruno Mars That's What I Like,” you teased, almost annoyed with how airy your voice came out.

Maybe it was because he wasn't in front of you or maybe it was because his voice just oosed with charm, but there was something else that just pulled at you.

“Well, was it a good impression?”

Your smile widened. “It's improved.”

He let out a roar of a laugh, even clapping his hands at the retort. “That's good," he paused," I don't suppose you'll be back out today?"

The question struck you, making you bite down on the inside of your cheek.

“We'll see,” you said finally. “It'll depend on what you play.”

“I suppose I'll have to make the playlist extra special then, won't I?” he returned, a touch of smugness etching into his tone.

You smiled again, opening the door to step back into your apartment as you tried to answer as nonchalantly as possible, “I suppose you will.”

As soon as you closed the door, you bolted to your sister's room to wake her up.

You threw her door open as you called out, “Steph? Hey, Steph, do you know the guy that lives in the upstairs apartment? Steph, wake up!”

She rubbed her eyes, letting out a deep yawn just before stretching out her back like a cat. “What guy? The loud one?”

Your eyes rolled back while you grunted, “Yes! Do you know what his name is?”

Her shoulders shrugged, her eyes lulled in a half sleep, half hungover state. “He is simply known as Loud British Jerk.”

Your brow creased, “How do you not know his name but you know he's British?”

“Because he talks, like, super loud and always has his doors open.”

Reasonable answer, but your sister was also one of the single most nosey women you had ever known. You leaned in, pressing on, “What else do you know about him?”

“Nothing? Jeeze, y/n, I don't eavesdrop on people anymore. What's gotten into you, did he play a song that got your panties all ruffled? You wanna go bake him granny's old apple turnover and tell him you like his butt? ”

“First off that's not even the phrase you think it is, second I think a simple yes or no would suffice.”

Going to stand up, sure that it was a waste of time to expect her help, Steph took your hand.

“Geeze, sorry, didn't realize you were so worked up. Come on, sit.” You sat down on the side of her bed while she scooted up on her pillow to better reach her cellphone. “Look, I'll text Lexi, she works down at the pool, she knows all the hot guys who live here.”

You couldn't help but scoff, “Thanks, I guess?”

“So you know what that means? If she doesn't know his name, he's not hot.”

She offered you her cheesiest, exaggerated wink she could muster, earning a short snort out of you before you shook your head. “I need to go take a shower, I guess let me know if she says anything.”

“Alright, and I'll see if I can pull him up on social media.”

You walked out to the pleasant sound of Steph texting her friend, knowing soon you might have a name to go with that voice you couldn't get out of your head.

*****

Tom had been outside listening to you for over thirty minutes before he had mustered up enough courage to actually say something to you.

It wasn't something he had particularly planned, though he had meant to speak to you sooner. The thing was, he wasn't from around there and there were certain normalities he didn't quite understand.

Certain ones were less socially involved, such as driving on the wrong side of the road, the use of American made cars verses the German models he bad grown up with.

But it was earlier that week when Chris, his Australian work friend, came by to go over a project they were collaborating on that he noticed his social cues might need some help.

They had just been discussing an upcoming book deal they were working on together when Tom suddenly quieted his friend before reaching for his Ipod to turn the music down.

“What are you-”

“Shhh,” Tom instructed with a finger pressed to his confused friend's lips. “Listen.” He held a hand to his ear, cut his eyes towards the open balcony doors and smiled. “Don't you hear it?”

Chris furrowed his brow but did what he was told, just a bit less enthusiastically. After a minute he finally answered, “Singing?”

“Yes, but more than that. What else?”

“Well she clearly doesn't know the words to Smells Like Teen Spirit.”

“No!” Tom corrected sharply. “Can't you hear it? You can practically feel her soul coming out in these words. It's just so real, so… Refreshing.” His back turned and he began filling his mother's old kettle with water, going on, “She does it every day, just goes outside and sings along to my music. It's the most peculiar thing.”

“I sing along to the radio all the time, you never say nice things to me about it?”

“Yes, but this is different. She's coming outside to sing to MY music.”

“And?”

“And? And?!” Tom three his hands into the air, going on, “And, he says.” There was a silence between the two of them as the song cut off and the singing stopped. Tom set the kettle on the stove and turned back to face the still creased-browsed Chris. “I don't know, it's just nice to me, I suppose.”

It was now time for Chris to speak and he really just didn't know where to begin. “So you interrupted me telling you how much money we are about to make on this cookbook deal because you were listening to your neighbor sing to herself?”

“When you say it like that it sounds ridiculous.”

“That's exactly what it is!”

“Oh no, it's not like that. She does it all the time, it's kind of like our thing.”

Chris pinched the bridge of his nose and Inhaled sharply. “Your thing, eh? And who is this lucky young lady that you eavesdrop on a daily basis?”

“Eavesdrop?” he laughed but wasn't smiling. “I'm, no, I'm not eavesdropping, I'm just simply appreciating someone else's ability to let go. It's no different than listening at a karaoke bar. ” His confidence lessened when he quietly remarked, “Also, I don't know her name.”

“Have you even spoken to her?”

“No, we haven't the chance…”

“You know she's outside every single day, what do you mean there wasn't a chance?”

Tom's mouth opened to oppose but no words ever materialized. Slowly he closed his mouth and swallowed a lump in his throat. “I should talk to her then?”

“In the very least introduce yourself, what harm would it do? You never talk to the hot girls I hire for you at the bakery, the least you can do is talk to one that for whatever reason you started stalking her. Talk about music.”

Fast forward to the day he actually managed to speak to you. Now, after making a complete arse of himself, he didn't know if you would ever come outside again and what was worse he didn't even remember to tell you his name.

"Perhaps that's for the best," he reasoned, "I could still mend this first impression."

After he knew you had left, he bolted inside to find his phone. He texted Chris what happened and waited impatiently for him to respond with:

~Actually, about that neighbor girl, I got a REALLY interesting call from Lexi you may wanna know about~

Tom’s brow furrowed at the comment, curiously asking what he heard.

He called him and nearly fell out of his chair at the news.

*****

The steam of your shower had filled up your room by the time you came sashaying out. With a towel around your waist, you planted yourself down at your desk and opened up your laptop. Just as you opened the web browser, Steph can barging in.

“Y/N!”

Your hands went up instinctively to cover your chest, cursing out, “What the hell!”

“I got it!” she exclaimed, “And you are just gonna DIE!”

“His name, you got his name?” Your grin stretched from ear to ear as you pressed further, “Well? What is it?!”

“I can do one better,” she teased, holding her Tiffany blue phone out for you to see. “I found him on Facebook, and Look!”

You had to lean back for the up close image to fully resonate with your retinas, but when you got a good glimpse, you took the phone from her hand and stared.

It was his profile picture, a face to go along with that voice. The image only showed him from the waist up, dressed in jeans and a white button up, but to you it showed enough. His eyes stood out immediately, a striking seafoam blue that sparkled along with the toothy grin he offered the camera. His hair was a strawberry blonde that was neatly trimmed but still long enough to curl. High cheekbones, sun-kissed skin, along with the more than sunny backdrop of his photo painted a portrait of an outdoorsy, fun loving sort of guy. Looking at him while imaging that velvety English accent sent a shiver down your toes that you couldn't hide.

“A total babe, right?” your sister beamed. “And judging by his profile, he's single!”

You swallowed hard. “That, yeah, that's awesome.” It felt like he was staring back at you through the photo, and finally you made yourself scroll over to see his name. “Tom,” you said out loud with a smile.

Steph reached over and took her phone from you, offering you, “I haven't even told you the best BEST part. My friend is dating his friend and guess what?”

You stared at her, blank faced. “What?”

“He’s the guy who owns Bake-tastic! This is the guy you’ve been pining over since you moved here!”

You looked over at your laptop, thinking about how many times you wondered what the mysterious baker must look like, googling and yet failing to ever find any remnants of him. Judging by his way with sweets, you honestly expected a thicker, maybe older gentleman, not someone worthy of being a model.

But that’s not what you saw.

Looking him over, taking it all in, realizing it was his playlist you had been listening to all this time, his pastries you had been idolizing, you wondered if maybe this was a sign.

“You know what you gotta do right?” your sister asked with a playful grin.

“What?”

She scoffed as if the answer was obvious. “You gotta go bake with him!”

At that, you made a sour face, shaking your head at the very notion. “No, he doesn’t like teaching and he certainly wouldn’t want a novice messing up a days’ worth of work. No, I’m not doing that-”

“Oooo, that’s too bad,” Steph ached, her face not reflecting the sympathy her voice tried to persuade. “Because I definitely told my friend to ask about you helping out in the bakery.”

“You WHAT?”

As it turned out, Steph’s friend Lexi was dating Chris Hemsworth, a well known heir of the Hemsworth Lodging hotels. His image was the only one you could ever come across in your searches for Bake-tastic's ownership. He made donations to various organizations and raised money for charities, but what wasn't oublically as well known was his investments he made in his friends.

Tom just happened to be one of those friends, a baker in need of a bakery. So, Chris forked up the money and Tom got straight to work, building a name for himself in L.A. while Chris managed the business side of it. The only issue for Tom was he felt very out of place in such a large city, even as diverse at it was. Nothing about it ever quite felt like home, so rather than branch out into the world, he worked late hours and insisted on solitude.

It felt bizzare hearing the story from Steph, but it made you feel better when she assured you Chris and Tom didn’t know all the details about you.

“I just said my friend’s sister is an aspiring baker and would love to, like, shadow Mr. Hiddleston or whatever. I gave them your name, but only because you work at the bakery,” Lexi assured when you called to ask exactly what happened. “Chris was more than happy to ask Tom if he was willing to show you around his kitchen and he said for you to come tonight.”

“Tonight?” you exploded, realizing you hadn’t the mental preparation needed to meet the British bombshell of a baker after that awkward balcony encounter. “What if he knows it’s me?”

“He’s never met you, just listened to you sing a few lame songs. How would he know it’s you?”

*****

“Oh, it’s definitely her,” Chris repeated over the speaker phone to Tom. “See, here, I’ll forward you her info.”

Tom stared blankly at the Facebook page, gazing into your eyes as he matched it with the voice he had heard earlier that day. His phone dinged as he received a forwarded email from Chris containing your original job application to Bake-tastic as well as a copy of your driver's license.

“That is just too much of a coincidence, surely you’re pulling my leg?” Tom snipped, shaking his head. But looking down at your image, he hoped it wasn’t foolish to want it to be true. “And she wants to bake with me?”

“Lexi made it clear, she came to California to be a baker and she loves everything you make in the shop. And the best news? She already has a serious crush on you! I’m telling you, if you want to make a better first impression on this woman, you need to let her work with you tonight.” When he didn't immediately agree, Chris added, "I already told her to be there at six, all you have to do is show up and be charming."

Tom inhaled sharply, staring at the image a bit longer before finally conceding.

*****

You had gone through numerous outfits while you tried to figure out what you were going to wear. Jeans, skirts and leggings were all thrown around your room, shirts crumbled up on the floor, shoes spilled out of your closet as you tossed pair after pair aside.

Your sister had finally come and picked out something for you: a loose fitting blue t-shirt dress with gray closed toe wedges. "Not too dressed up to work in a kitchen, but nice enough to hopefully get a callback from your impromptu date," Stroh said, stepping back to admire her creation. "AND IT HAS POCKETS!"

"It's not a date, it's a baking lesson if anything," you corrected, though after you put your hands in the pockets and did a twirl, you had to admit your heart was fluttering at the idea of an all night cooking session with Tom.

However, when it was finally time for you to leave, you started choking up. "I can't," you started spatting off over and over." I can't, this is a bad idea, what if I mess up one of his recipes? What if I embarrass myself? What if I use salt instead of sugar?" your eyes widened, "What if he doesn't like me?"

"You'll be fine, just do what you always do!" When you still looked unsure, she went on, "You're great, y/n, and he'd be an idiot not to see it. A beautiful, British idiot. " Steph offered you a sincere smile, enough to spur you on. "And for the love of everything decent, please flirt!"

You swallowed hard, did one last look over in the mirror, then grabbed your purse and made the fifteen minute walk down the block to the bakery.

When you arrived, the main store front had the lights off, but from the kitchen door you could see a faint illumination.

Tom was just beyond that light.

Repeating, "I can do this," to yourself, you walked through the front door, setting off the gentle ding of the bell that alerted staff of a customer arriving.

“Hello?” you called out, unsure if you had the right time. Looking down at your phone, you were only a couple of minutes early so rather than wait in the doorway, you went on in. Your mind began urging, begging, pleading for you to turn back. It’s not too late, it said, go ahead, high tail it out of here.

‘No. I have to do this,’ you pushed on. ‘I have to know what’s beyond that door.’

Mustering up the courage, feeling something in the pit of your soul tell you this was right, you called out again, “Hello? Mr. Hiddleston? I'm here to, uh, help for tomorrow's set up?"

A loud, disembodied voice came from the kitchen, “Yes, come into the back! And lock that door, won’t you? Don’t need anyone walking in off the street.”

You swallowed, feeling your heart begin to pound as you set the lock. Slipping your phone in the pocket of your dress, you tucked your purse under the cash register before walking back towards the kitchen.

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baphomet-media · 5 years ago

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Top 10 Games I Played in 2019

Another year has gone by just like that, and here we are with another year’s worth of games played! There were some good releases this year, and I’m excited to talk about them all. Before that, though, let’s touch briefly on the criteria for these lists:

Any game that I played for the first time in 2019 is eligible, regardless of initial release year. Games that I started late in the previous year but spent most of the time playing in the year in question also count.

Ports, remasters, remakes, etc. of games that I have played before do not count.

I have to spend a certain amount of time with a game or the game has to make some kind of significant impact on me to be considered.

Lastly, these are just my opinion out of a very limited pool of games that I was personally able to get to this year, so if a game you played this year doesn’t show up, chances are either I didn’t have a chance to play it, or it just wasn’t personally as impactful to me as some of the others on the list. Now, on to the list!

10. Fire Emblem: Three Houses (Switch)

Developer: Intelligent Systems / Koei Tecmo

Publisher: Nintendo

Genre: Strategy RPG

Release Date: July 26th 2019

Before Three Houses, the only Fire Emblem game I played was Awakening on the 3DS. I mostly enjoyed it, but I couldn’t get into the marriage aspect of the game, and I felt that many of the battles a bit too lacking in any sort of story context other than “There are bad guys here, let’s take them out!”

However, Three Houses really succeeded for me where Awakening failed. The academy was a really great home base and actually gave some meaningful context to most of the battles in the game. I really enjoyed micromanaging the different lessons in the game and tweaking each of my students into exactly the build I wanted for them, however I felt the drawback of this was that there weren’t really a whole lot of different classes to really explore. Most of the game’s character classes are just stronger variations of lower-level classes, and it definitely felt like some skill categories became woefully underutilized as the game went on, so there was no point in training people for them. I also liked recruiting other students to my house, but I felt like the other houses students didn’t really offer anything that my current house already had, so some students ended up feeling mechanically similar to others.

The battles were exactly what you’d expect from Fire Emblem, and gave me a bit of a tabletop RPG vibe, which I enjoyed, particularly when there were large monsters to fight that took up more grid space than standard units.

That being said, the story was really interesting, and I really liked watching everything unfold. I picked the Black Eagles house (because Edelgard is great), but I felt like that story didn’t really do a great job of explaining everything, and expected you to just side with Edelgard on some of her more bold decisions with no explanation as to why what she was doing was right, which felt kind of unfair. The game really wanted you to go through and play each one of the houses stories, but with around 80 hours poured into a single house, I didn’t really feel like there was much point at the end.

Overall, I think Three Houses is a great fit for the Switch and I’m excited to see what the future of Fire Emblem on Switch will look like.

9. Luigi’s Mansion 3 (Switch)

Developer: Next Level Games

Publisher: Nintendo

Genre: Adventure

Release Date: October 31st 2019

When it comes to Luigi’s Mansion, I enjoyed Dark Moon on 3DS back in 2013 while waiting for Animal Crossing: New Leaf to drop, but I never really had much of a reason to come back to it. Still, I really enjoyed the exploration aspect of the game and the attention to detail really impressed me with how nearly everything could be interacted with.

Luigi’s Mansion 3 on Switch is more of what you’d expect from the Luigi’s Mansion series. The game centers around Luigi exploring a haunted hotel to stop King Boo and rescue Mario and his friends. While Dark Moon focused more on a few isolated mansions with different themes, LM3 brings things back to a single gigantic building. This time, each floor of the mansion has a different spooky theme, from ancient Egypt, to classical music, to a floor overgrown with plants. Luigi has to defeat the boss of each floor to reclaim the elevator button for the next floor as he gradually works his way to the top.

Like with previous games in the series, you can expect loads of environmental interaction, such as all the items you can suck up and mess with using the Poltergust, but LM3 brings some new mechanics to the series, including a launchable plunger than you can then pull on to yank certain objects around, as well as the remote-control Gooigi, who is as fun to use as his name is cursed. Gooigi is basically a slime doppelganger for Luigi who can be deployed at any point to assist Luigi with different tasks, or split up for local co-op play. He also has the ability to squeeze through grates and pipes, allowing all sorts of hidden areas that only Gooigi can explore.

LM3 is a game that oozes with charm (no pun intended), though the combat does get a tad repetitive. Also, I was a bit disappointed that there was not more interplay between different floors of the hotel. They’re almost exclusively completely isolated levels, which definitely takes away from the feeling of having a huge building to explore.

8. Blasphemous (PC)

Developer: The Game Kitchen

Publisher: Team17

Genre: Adventure Platformer

Release Date: September 10th 2019

Blasphemous is a game I remember seeing teasers for earlier in 2019, but saw little to no hype for otherwise. However, the concept and the stunning hi-bit pixel art immediately drew me in. The game is a 2D adventure platformer set in a gothic fantasy world reminiscent of Dark Souls. In fact, quite a lot of this game is reminiscent of Dark Souls, with a lore thicker than gravy that’s brimming with little tidbits of information in every NPC dialogue, every item flavor text, and in the bosses you encounter. The world takes inspiration from Christianity, though not actually being about Christianity itself, instead a fictional religion with many similar aspects (an approach I wish more developers would take).

In Blasphemous, you play as The Penitent One as you explore a rotting gothic world and learn more about a strange quasi-religious curse called The Miracle and other fascinating bits of the world. You explore such locations as rotting cathedrals, a frozen mountain, the interior of a colossal bell set upside down into the ground, and more. Along the way, your eyes will feast on some of the most gorgeous pixel art in games this year.

The Penitent One is able to battle with their sword and certain special abilities picked up along the way. While the combat is fairly simple at first, it gets much more deep and nuanced as you go along, dodging enemy attacks, parrying and countering, using spells to buff yourself or shoot projectiles, and much more. Personally, the game feels a lot like Dark Souls meets Castlevania, particularly Symphony of the Night. It’s definitely a lot of fun, though it may not be everyone’s cup of tea due to tone and difficulty.

7. Mario Maker 2 (Switch)

Developer: Nintendo Entertainment Planning & Development

Publisher: Nintendo

Genre: Action Platformer and Level Editor

Release Date: June 28th 2019

I was a big fan of the idea of the original Mario Maker on WiiU, so I was really excited when Mario Maker 2 was announced for Switch with a plethora of new parts, themes, mechanics, and features. I have a pretty big soft spot for classic Mario games, and level editors really get my gamedev side going, so this game pretty much checked all the boxes for me.

I was glad this time around to see an extensive singleplayer mode, where Mario has to play through Nintendo’s own pre-made levels to gain coins to rebuild Peach’s castle after the Undodog resets it all to nothing. It was a great introduction to the game, particularly showcasing what all you can do with the new parts. It was the perfect thing to get any creator’s brain tingling with ideas for their first level.

The editor itself is largely improved from the WiiU, though you’ll almost certainly need a capacitive stylus in order to really take advantage of the Switch’s touch screen, though it’s nice to finally have a Switch game with proper touch screen support, since it seemed like Nintendo had all but forgotten about this part of the device. There are tons of new improvements here, too, such as all modifiers for objects can be accessed by long-pressing on an object. One thing I wasn’t fond of though was the way the Select and Copy modes are accessed, needing to toggle through them and normal edit mode instead of just having a single button for each.

Unfortunately, the Amiibo costumes have not returned, which would have been a great use for Amiibo on Switch (anyone remember that the Switch is Amiibo compatible?), though with the recent release of the Link costume, it seems that Nintendo has plans in mind for these alternate forms.

Fortunately, if you’re not much of a creator, there’s still plenty to do in MM2, as there are tons of ways to play levels online, including an endless challenge mode with different difficulties, browsing top level lists, and a new speedrun mode where levels are available for a limited time and you can grind them to get your best time, playing against the ghosts of other players’ best times.

All in all, I’ve had fun with MM2, and I’m excited to see what Nintendo will bring to the game in future updates (please implement level playlists).

6. Baba Is You (PC)

Developer: Hempuli

Publisher: Hempuli

Genre: Puzzle

Release Date: March 13th 2019

Out of nowhere back in March came a little indie game known as Baba Is You. In this programming puzzle game, each level contains the rules of the level as physical objects that you can push around and recombine to manipulate how the game plays. Each rule statement can (usually) be broken down into three components: an object (such as Water), a verb (such as Is) and a property (such as Stop). Each one of these components can be pushed around at will, and if you line all three of them up you get the statement “Water Is Stop”, meaning that all water tiles in the level do not allow other objects to move over them. If you break this statement, the water loses this blocking property and you can walk over it. It doesn’t stop there, though, and there are tons of combinations and complicated scenarios that will leave your brain hurting after too long. While some of the puzzles are unfortunately rather obtuse in their intended solutions, and the game doesn’t always do a great job of teaching you the skills you’ll need to face harder puzzles, you at least have the option of completing multiple different levels, so it’s rare that you’ll be stuck on just one.

It also helps that the art for the game is a cute but simplistic hand-drawn style that makes it easy to distinguish all the various elements of each level. The only reason this game didn’t rank higher on my list is that I got stuck and I found most of the levels to be a bit too hard for me (shocking, I know).

5. Gato Roboto (PC)

Developer: doinksoft

Publisher: Devolver Digital

Genre: Adventure Platformer

Release Date: May 30th 2019

Gato Roboto is a cute Metroid-like adventure platformer that sees you taking the role of Kiki, a cat who has to explore an alien planet to rescue her master’s crashed ship. Fortunately, while Kiki is defenseless on her own, she is able to pilot a robotic mech suit to run, gun, and jump across different zones of the planet. While a Metroid-esque platformer is nothing new, it’s the charming 1bit graphics and the interesting interplay between power suit mechanics and suitless cat mechanics. Sometimes there are gaps that the suit can’t fit into or walls that you need cat claws to climb, so you’ll have to abandon your robot suit and proceed on foot for a bit. In true Metroid fashion, you’ll acquire many upgrades for your suit as you go along, including movement abilities and health upgrades.

The game is short, but very sweet, and the mechanics are super satisfying. You could maybe finish the game in a few hours, but the controls and speedrun potential will likely keep you coming back for more.

The only downside I have to the game is that there is at least one section where you have to explore extensively on foot, and since you die in a single hit while on foot, it makes for some frustrating moments when you just barely mistime a jump and graze an enemy. Also, at one point I managed to softlock the game by accidentally bypassing a barrier that the player isn’t meant to and getting stuck in a boss area when a required button doesn’t work after you defeat the boss. Fortunately, the developers managed to patch this, so I was able to continue playing after a while.

4. Hollow Knight (PC/Switch)

Developer: Team Cherry

Publisher: Team Cherry

Genre: Adventure Platformer

Release Date: February 24th 2017

I’ll admit, I was a bit late to the party on this one. Hollow Knight released back in 2017 on PC, and while I played it for a bit on there, I didn’t get far and just never had time to come back to it. However, when it was released on Switch in mid 2018, I ended up picking it up again some time later and gradually worked my way through it into 2019. Hollow Knight is a Metroid-esque adventure platformer with light Dark Souls elements set in a dark and dismal world of a fallen insect kingdom. You play as a lone knight who seeks to explore the Hallownest and learn its secrets. Armed only with your Nail, a rusted sword, you explore the caverns and abandoned civilization beneath the town of Dirtmouth.

The game has tons of exploration, and allows the player to explore Hallownest at their own pace with minimal signposting towards destinations. Additionally, the game has an interesting map mechanic where you start off completely without a map and have to rely on memory to navigate the tunnels, however very quickly you’ll be able to purchase a blank map where you can record rooms you’ve been to at each save point. However this map only works for the current area, so for each area you discover, you’ll have to start this process all over, finding a map so you can chart out the area. While this sounds like a pain at first (and definitely can take some adjusting), it’s actually really interesting as you feel like you’re really discovering a forgotten realm and charting out your own personal course through the world. There are also plenty of points for nonlinear progression, as many areas are often open to the player at once, so it’s up to them to choose where to go (or just stumble across new areas at random like me). Each area offers vastly different visuals, from a mushroom-filled series of tunnels, to an elegant garden, to dank sewers, to a city drenched with perpetual underground rain. In each area you’ll explore every nook and cranny to find upgrades and new abilities.

Along the way, you’ll find many badges that you can equip, a la Paper Mario, that give you various passive bonuses and abilities, however you are limited in the number you can have equipped at a time, so strategic planning of which badges to use is crucial.

One of the game’s main features is challenging boss battles. The further you get in the game, the more the balance shifts from exploration to combat, with the late game mostly revolving around hunting down multiple different bosses. Many bosses are optional, however, and some are even hidden, so many players might miss them entirely. Personally, while I found many bosses to be fun challenges, it got kind of tedious to constantly be fighting bosses at every turn, which led to me not completely finishing the game.

3. Dragon Quest XI S: Echoes of an Elusive Age - Definitive Edition (Switch)

Developer: Square Enix

Publisher: Square Enix

Genre: RPG

Release Date: September 27th 2019

I’ll admit I slept on Dragon Quest XI when it released for PC and PS4 back in 2017. It was constantly on my “maybe someday” list, but it wasn’t until the Definitive Edition released on Switch back in September that I decided to give it a go, and boy am I glad I did.

DQXI tells the story of a young man who finds out one day that he is the reincarnation of a legendary hero called The Luminary, who is said to defeat an evil known as The Dark One and bring peace to the world. However, he soon finds himself hunted by a corrupt kingdom that has branded him as The Darkspawn, claiming he is responsible for bringing The Dark One to the world and causing disaster. Thus, our hero travels the world, meeting friends along the way, and finding out what it means to be The Luminary.

The game’s plot may seem a bit generic, but that’s the thing. The whole conceit of DQXI is that it’s a classic JRPG at heart, but with a lot of modern touches to make it feel accessible today. So while there are plenty of turn-based battles, MP gauges, and a story that’s simplistic at the surface, there are loads of surprises throughout and lots of mechanical tweaks that drastically improve the quality of life of the game. For instance, as characters level up, they gain skill points that they can spend on a grid of skills to improve their abilities in different disciplines. Usually, each character has a sector of the grid for each weapon type they can use, as well as one section full of character-specific buffs and special abilities. By the end of the game, you’ll be able to unlock nearly every ability, so it becomes more of a matter of deciding which abilities to prioritize based on how you want to customize each character.

Speaking of characters, there’s a pretty full cast of characters to enjoy, and I found myself loving all of them, such as the spunky Veronica, the flamboyant Sylvando, or the warrior princess Jade. Each character has their own battle style, too, including casting spells, using strong weapons, buffing the party, and more.

The game will easily get you over 100 hours of playtime, with myself clocking in at around 120 hours so far. I’m not quite done yet, but I’m almost there. See, there’s a ton to do in DQXI aside from the main story, including crafting and improving items in a quick minigame at your Fun-Size Forge, gambling in the casino, horse racing, side questing, and exploring various parts of the world.

As for quality of life features, there are such things as the Horse Hailer, which allows you to immediately summon a horse on the overworld for quick travel, early access to the Zoom spell, which lets you teleport back to any town, important location, or campsite you’ve visited throughout the world for free, campsites being free healing, a speed-up option in combat, multiple auto-battle options, the ability to quick-heal in the menu, and more. It’s hard to really list everything, but there are tons of instances where you’ll think “Oh, that’s really handy”.

The visuals of the game are fantastic, with lots of that Akira Toriyama style that’s become synonymous with the Dragon Quest series. The characters are all really well designed and memorable, though some of the NPCs have a bit of a case of same-face, which is especially jarring considering that the game’s world is inspired by many diverse real-world cultures, making it odd that people from a Japanese-inspired area look exactly the same as people from an area based on northeast Europe. Still, I think the game otherwise does an excellent job at respecting world cultures, and even incorporates real-world languages into different regions. For example, the in-game city of Gondolia is based heavily on Venice, Italy, and the people of that city sprinkle bits of Italian into their dialogue. It’s a charming touch.

The music for the game sounds really great if you enable the orchestral version. Unfortunately, the game originally released with only a synthesized version of the soundtrack, which sounds terrible by comparison. Unfortunately, I felt that although each of the compositions were very memorable and pleasing, there sometimes didn’t feel like enough of them. The overworld, city, battle, boss battle, and dungeon themes are exactly the same wherever you go in the world, and I felt like that was a missed opportunity to really spice up the soundtrack with more unique themes to each area.

Overall, If you like JRPG’s, you’ll definitely like DQXI. My only complaints are that it can be a tad on the easy side, and that there are a few points of no return in the story that cause certain quests to be locked out without warning.

2. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (Switch)

Developer: Bandai Namco Studios / Sora Ltd.

Publisher: Nintendo

Genre: Fighting

Release Date: December 7th 2018

Was this really a surprise? A new Smash Bros. game releases the day before my birthday? Of course I’m gonna love it! I had been hyped up for Smash Ultimate for months preceding its release, going as far as watching any gameplay videos on YouTube I could find from various demo events and tournaments around the world. Even after the game’s release, there have been tons of content updates, new fighter DLC, and just so many reasons to come back to the game. It doesn’t hurt that one of the most accessible fighting games of all time is available on a handheld system (literally the only reason I played Smash 3DS). Smash Ultimate stands out in more than just its portability factor, though. While it largely recycles content from previous games, it can be seen as the “Ultimate” Smash Bros game, bringing back every single fighter from the series history, nearly every playable stage, and tons of familiar modes. Not only that, but new content is also present in terms of fighters, stages, and more. Long awaited characters include the Inklings from Splatoon, Ridley from the Metroid series, King K. Rool from Donkey Kong, and surprise guests, including Simon and Richter Belmont from Castlevania. On top of that, a plethora of DLC fighters and stages have been added, with the 5th DLC fighter still upcoming and shrouded in mystery.

Most prominent of the new additions is the game’s approach to a story mode. Unfortunately not as robust as the Subspace Emissary from Super Smash Bros. Brawl, The World of Light is still a welcome addition. In this mode, a strange angelic being called Galeem has turned all of the Smash fighters into evil controlled puppets, except, of course, for Kirby, who sets out to free each of the game’s 70+ fighters from Galeem’s control across a large board of levels, each connected by pathways. Each level features a battle against a copy of one of the game’s fighters possessed by a Spirit, essentially the essence of a video game character, and you have to free the Spirit and claim it by defeating the possessed fighter in a themed battle. This was a really nice way of including references to characters across not only Nintendo’s history, but the whole history of gaming as well, including some characters who do not otherwise appear in Smash, such as Shantae and Rayman. These Spirits, once collected, can be equipped to your character to not only improve your power level, but also offer different buffs, such as resistance to certain attacks, powering up your Smash attacks, starting you off each battle with an item, etc. I definitely enjoyed the World of Light mode, though I felt like it was a tad on the shallow side, and battles could get fairly repetitive after a while.

Fortunately, Smash really shines on its core mechanics, and the most fun I’ve had from the game is exploring all the different characters and finding which ones I like best. My current main is Ganondorf, though I still love playing as Ness and Lucas. Really, this is Smash at its best, and a number of much-needed mechanical tweaks, such as dodge fatigue, directional midair dodging, holding smash move charges, and an overall faster pace make this my favorite Smash game yet.

1. Persona 5 (PS4)

Developer: P-Studio

Publisher: Atlus

Genre: RPG

Release Date: April 4th 2017

Okay, wow. What a game. I’ve never played a Persona or Shin Megami Tensei game before, but buzz for Persona 5 was everywhere, and with the inclusion of P5’s Joker in Smash, I had to check it out. Even though I got to the game nearly two years late, I’m so glad I did.

Persona 5 is an RPG where you take on the role of a high school boy (he doesn’t really have a default name, but the most common name for him is Ren, so that’s what we’ll use) who has gotten tangled up in some legal trouble after intervening in a drunken assault on a woman he witnessed on the street. Turns out, this guy was something of a bigshot, and Ren soon finds himself placed under a form of rehabilitation where he is forced to transfer to the illustrious Shujin Academy in Tokyo. While at Shujin, Ren must live under the guardianship of a man named Shojiro who runs a coffee shop. Ren must stay out of trouble at school and live honestly.

However, trouble almost immediately finds Ren again as he discovers a lecherous teacher is mistreating many of the school’s students, and while investigating, accidentally slips into a strange dimension called the Metaverse, where the twisted perceptions of corrupted people are manifested into reality, and a sprawling Palace exists for the evil teacher. There, Ren meets a strange talking cat named Morgana who offers to help Ren if he will help Morgana find the Treasure at the heart of the Palace. Turns out, the Treasure is the manifestation of what caused the person’s desires to become corrupted, and stealing it causes them to lose their distorted emotions and confess.

Thus, Ren becomes a Phantom Thief, infiltrating Palaces and stealing Treasures by night and masquerading as a humble high school student by day. The Palaces are effectively the game’s dungeons, and this is where combat and exploration take place. Along the way, he’ll discover the power of his Persona, effectively an avatar of the user’s personality that enable them to unleash their true power inside the Metaverse, as well as use special abilities. And of course, you’ll recruit many friends to the Phantom Thieves, all of whom have their own motives and Personae. However, Ren has a special power. Instead of just being limited to one Persona, he has the ability to capture many Persona from the Metaverse by recruiting the game’s enemies or fusing Personae he already has to make more powerful ones. Thus the game has a light monster-collecting aspect to it, as each Persona can be leveled up to unlock new abilities, fused with others, and much more. What’s cool is that each Persona must be persuaded to join you by knocking it down in battle and then speaking to it in whatever way you think it wants to hear.

Outside of Palaces, you’ll investigate your targets, infiltrate a mega-palace called Mementos, as well as managing your free time. You see, Persona 5 allows you a limited amount of time to do everything you want to do, and it’s crucial that you manage your student life as well. This means spending time studying for exams, reading books to improve stats, working part-time jobs for money, playing minigames, and most importantly, hanging out with different NPCs, your teammates and supporters, to boost their friendship levels. As you get higher in friendship with each NPC, you’ll unlock new abilities, some of which are truly game-changing. I really enjoyed this aspect, as it felt like a puzzle trying to figure out how best to use my time. Almost nothing felt wasted, but I knew I wouldn’t have enough time to do everything, so I was always thinking about how best to optimize my time. Unfortunately, you can’t do everything in a single playthrough, but fortunately you can carry a lot of your progress over into New Game+. Some features are actually restricted to NG+, so it makes it feel like that second playthrough is really necessary if you want to see everything.

While the dungeons and the battles are mechanically fairly straightforward JRPG faire, the battles are interesting in that each enemy species has its own strengths and weaknesses, and exploiting weaknesses can knock down the enemy and allow you to take an extra turn, which can lead into strong combos. Furthermore, once all enemies are knocked down, you can perform a powerful All-Out Attack for massive damage. It honestly doesn’t get too much more complicated than that, but there is enough depth to the system to keep you engaged until the end of the game.

Each of the game’s characters are extremely well-designed, and I loved pretty much all of my party members, though Yusuke didn’t click with me as well as some of the others, despite being voiced by the amazing Matt Mercer. My favorite, of course, was the imperious Makoto, who appears little more than a bossy student council president in reality, but explodes into flurries of righteous blows in the Metaverse, alongside her robot motorcycle Persona.

Of course it’s impossible to talk about Persona 5 without mentioning the absolute masterpiece that is this game’s presentation. If you know anything about the game, you’ve likely seen the striking art style used in all of this game’s art and UI. It’s honestly every bit as eye-catching and jaw-dropping as it seems. The music is an utter masterpiece as well, with all manner of swingy jazz tunes, somber piano pieces, heart-pounding rock tracks, all of which come together with the visual style to give you something unlike anything you’ve ever played before and to truly make you feel like a suave Phantom Thief.

I managed to not only get through the main game, but get all the way through a NG+ playthrough back-to-back to get that platinum trophy and not once did I feel bored doing so. I clocked in at around 200 hours in total and it was one of the best gaming experiences of my life. If you like RPGs, time management games, good anime-style stories, or just good games, do NOT pass this one up, especially the upcoming Royal version that’s releasing in March.

#gaming #top 10 #top 10 games of 2019 #article

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putschki1969 · 5 years ago

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Favourite and least favourite kalafina songs?

Oh boy! Questions like this are always so hard for me. I have no trouble listing my faves but when it comes to my “least favourite songs” it’s a real struggle for me.Those who have known me for a while are probably aware that I am not the hating type. Haters are usually quick to provide a list of all the songs they consider to be “garbage”. But it’s not that easy for me. There might be songs I dislike but there is not a single piece of music by Kalafina that I outright “hate”. I don’t have it within myself to hate or bash something that Wakana, Keiko and Hikaru hold dear to their heart.

Having said that, there are a few pieces that I tend to skip whenever I listen to an album or watch a live performances. So I guess those will be the songs that make up my “least favourite list”. Typically what bothers me will be their “singing-style” (too high, too screechy, too thin/too breathy). Then there are songs that just lack a certain harmony, they sound disjointed to my ears. I don’t know what it is but it keeps me from fully enjoying the music. Last but not least there are songs that have just never managed to touch me on an emotional level. Maybe it’s because I haven’t listened to them often enough, not sure…

Please keep in mind that I do have a weird taste and more often than not my opinions do not align with the overall consensus in the fandom so some of my picks might come as a surprise to you. Without further ado, let’s get started 〈(•ˇ‿ˇ•)-→

youtube

Top 10 least favourite Kalafina songs (in chronological order)

Love Come Down (aside from not really liking the general sound of the song, I am not a fan of Hikaru’s singing style. Not very flattering and a tad too squeeky…Keiko’s cutesy singing doesn’t help)

in your eyes (in your eyes suffers from the same problem as Love Come Down but at least here I don’t mind the chorus and of course I appreciate the nature of the lyrics. If it weren’t for those lyrics we wouldn’t get all those sexy interactions on stage. But yeah, generally speaking, I don’t go out of my way to listen to this song)

to the beginning (this was probably their first “mainstream” anisong and incidentally it is among my least favourite. There are few Kalafina songs that get the audience as hyped as this one so I know I am pretty much alone with my opinion but yeah, this song doesn’t do much for me unfortunately…I never watched the anime so maybe that’s why)

signal (I know this is a fan favourite but for me this song is just too chaotic. I prefer my songs to follow a certain structure…also not a fan of the accordion…I do however love the drums in the beginning and Hikaru’s general badassery)

misterioso (I wouldn’t go as far as to call this song chaotic but it’s certainly lacking some sort of overreaching harmony. It just feels a little disjointed during certain parts, at least to me)

lapis (sorry Keiko, I wanna like it but I can’t. Something is missing, it’s a bit boring I guess…which is really surprising to me since I am a huge sucker for ballads. I am usually the one who is into all sorts of ballads [e.g.Hokage] which tend to be written off as boring by the rest of the fanbase)

ring your bell (I would probably like this song more if YK had written it differently. Right now it’s just too fast/difficult/high and neither Wakana nor Hikaru can manage those notes without sounding screechy. For the most part YK knew how to use their voices to create amazing music but occasionally I wonder what went through her head when she decided to have the girls sing in a certain way…it’s not flattering at all…on a brighter note,I do love the bridge!)

monochrome (the accordion again…and more chaos….you can see a pattern, right? There is a type of song that I really do not enjoy…which leads me right to the next song on my list…)

Musunde Hiraku (I wanna love it so bad because Wakana in particular loves this song so much. But unfortunately I can’t bring myself to like it. I don’t know what it is but for me it’s another one of those unsettling songs that feel kinda all over the place. I also just noticed that a lot of the songs I dislike have one thing in common, they don’t have a proper build-up, they start rather boldy and sudden, it almost sounds random. Not sure how to explain it but it applies to misterioso, signal, monochrome and Musunde Hiraku)

blaze (this doesn’t really deserve to be on the list since I don’t think it’s any worse than let’s say heavenly blue or One Light which I both like a lot. However, I haven’t been able to connect with the song at all ever since it was released. I think it’s mainly because I have never seen it performed live. Yes, I have watched footage but I have never actually been there for one of the performances. Plus, I think the song just doesn’t get enough attention from me. I am sure if I listened to it more often I would start appreciating it. It’s really not a bad song)

Top 10 favourite Kalafina songs (in chronological order)

Kimi ga Hikari ni Kaete Iku (does this even need any explanation? I think we all know that this is my all-time favourite Kala-song. I even plan to get a tattoo of parts of the lyrics one day…there are no words to describe the love I have for this song. Forever grateful that they sang it at their 10th Anniversary Live and that I got to hear Wakana perform the acoustic version at her symphony concert)

ARIA (it is without a doubt one of their best songs and it made me fall in love with Hikaru so for me it’s all the more special. Unlike most people, I actually prefer the “new” version of ARIA because there is just more emotion behind it. They really nailed it at their 10th Anniversary Live. Personally I like to use ARIA to introduce Kalafina to other people. It’s a great introduction song)

Natsu no Ringo (I don’t know the exact moment but at one point I realised how very much I love this song. It happened without me noticing. Don’t get me wrong, I always liked it but I never really considered it to be among my favourite songs. But throughout the years, I started listening to it more and more. Turns out that right now this is actually among my most-listened-to tracks on my playlist. Who would have thought…?)

red moon (duh…one of Kalafina’s most epic songs. How can it not be on this list? There is a reason it is loved by so many people and why they performed it at pretty much all of their lives. If there is one song that’s representative of the awesomeness that is Kalafina then it is “red moon”)

Magia (another epic song and one more example of why I love Hikaru. I know, I tend to favour Wakana and Keiko most of the time, I guess that boils down to personal taste. However, I have just as much love for Hikaru because with songs like this she manages to touch my heart with her passion and emotional delivery)

Yane no Mukou ni (just like Natsu no Ringo, this song snuck up on me. I always liked it but until recently I had no idea how much I actually loved it. Seems like I have a huge weakness for summer ballads)

Hikari Furu (the singing, the harmonies, the melody, the lyrics, this is a perfect ballad. A perfect song. Wakana is killing it in all the more recent performances. And I can never get enough of Keiko’s “mabushii asa”)

Tsuioku (instant love. When it first got released I listened to nothing but this song. All day long. It’s forever stuck in my head and I love it to death)

Koibito no Mukashigatari no Yuugure no (do I even have to say anything? Amazing harmonies, so much epicness. Seeing this live was life-changing)

Hokage (this must seem like the most random choice to a majority of the fandom. It’s one of those ballads that never got a lot of love because it’s apparently too much like all the previous Kalafina ballads but not as good as them. I beg to differ. There is something about Hokage that strikes me on a very emotional level. Not so much the lyrics because those are not all too special. It’s the melody that makes this song stand out to me. Then there’s Wakana’s singing and Keikio’s lower harmonies…absolutely divine. Last but not least, that combination of the piano and cello! I could listen to this song every day and not get tired of it. I agree that Hokage sounds a lot like some of their older songs [e.g. sapphire] and I honestly enjoy them all equally but for some reason Hokage has a special place in my heart)

Honourable mentions

sprinter (it’s no secret, I have never liked the regular version. A few years back this might as well have been part of my least favourite list. But when I watched their Arena Live acoustic version, I had an epiphany. Ever since then I can’t get enough of this song. It’s a tragic ballad at its heart but the up-beat nature of the original version managed to trick me into believing that it was something entirely different. It was my own fault for not looking up the lyrics sooner. Back in the day when I first listened to “sprinter” I didn’t know any Japanese and later on I always skipped the song…so yeah, it took me ages to appreciate the song and I definitely prefer the acoustic version so I thought I shouldn’t mention it in either of my lists)

Kagayaku Sora no Shijima ni Wa (this was my very first Kalafina song that immediately made me fall in love with them. It has a special place in my heart and I can never get enough of it but there are just other that I love more so it didn’t manage to get into my top 10)

We Wish You A Merry Christmas (since this is a cover I feel like it doesn’t really count but there is no way I cannot mention it because I absolutely ADORE this song. It has become my all-time favourite Christmas song and I am listening to it literally every season of the year)

Hyakka Ryouran (this is by far my favourite among their more “generic” anime theme songs but I might be a bit biased since it’s the only one where I provided a translation of the lyrics so I thought it would be best to list it here as part of my honourable mentions. Unlike most fans I do like a fair share of their mainstream anisongs. I actually love “heavenly blue” as well as “One Light”. And if it weren’t for Wakana’s strained singing style I would be all over “believe” because I really like the melody.)

#kalafina #reply #wakana #keiko #hikaru #favourite songs #least favourite songs #Anonymous

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junker-town · 5 years ago

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The 30 best ‘NBA on NBC’ intros

Relive the glory of basketball nostalgia with these old ‘NBA on NBC’ intros.

The 12-year run of the NBA on NBC is mostly beloved for John Tesh’s iconic “Roundball Rock” musical intro, which just so happens to be my ringtone. But I will always cherish it because of the network’s soaring introduction monologues to its big games, which transmitted the viewer inside a piece of art with intense moods and high stakes.

Basketball wasn’t better in the ‘90s than it is today, not by a longshot. But I do think it was sold far more effectively, with the kind of visual and thematic care that made the key figures larger than life. I wish the league’s current television partners tried harder to mimic the scale and grandeur of NBC’s work.

Luckily, YouTube offers us the chance to look back on the days where playoff games really felt like epic dramas. I found more than 150 available on the internet and collected them in a playlist you can find here.

While you watch that, let me show you my 30 favorites. Let me know if you think I overranked, underranked, or missed any from this glorious era.

(All the titles were made up by me).

30. “First Round”

Timberwolves at Sonics 1998 First-Round Game 5 Bob Costas

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I love the timing of this one. George Karl’s deep breath sets the mood before any narration is needed, and the multiple Gary Payton still shots capture the incredulousness of Seattle’s first-round demons. Costas’ closing line – “Maybe too often” – is delivered perfectly.

29. “Lil’ Penny is Ready”

Magic at Bulls 1996 East Finals Game 1 Chris Rock

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No NBA on NBC list is complete without including this one, even if it’s gimmick’y and the narration doesn’t age well.

28. “Teacher and Pupil”

Heat at Knicks 1997 East Semifinals Game 3 Tom Hammond

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This was the first of many NBC introductions for brutal Heat-Knicks playoff games, so it’s neat to look back and remember the larger context before it was obscured by all the fighting. Teacher vs. pupil framed the two teams beautifully, especially because the teacher-pupil relationship was flipped on the court. The music makes me feel like I’m at a graduation ceremony, and Hammond leans into the theme with his word choices — “protege,” “taught their former coach a lesson,” “school was out,” “pass the test.”

27. “The Second Season”

Pacers at Knicks 1994 East Finals Game 7 Bob Costas

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The highest points of this intro rival anything NBC has put together. The rapid tone change before Game 5. The drumbeat as John Starks violently high-fives Spike Lee. The final line — “48 minutes from what they were merely expected to do.” Those moments give me chills. But I docked this one for all the fluff it took to reach those high beats. If NBC had an Achilles heel, it was the length of some of their intros. This one was nearly two minutes long, which is a bit much.

26. “Stalemate”

Blazers at Lakers 2000 West Finals Game 7 Bob Costas

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As much as I love the openings that center around a specific theme, sometimes it’s better to simply run through the key protagonists and what’s at stake for each. Costas does so comprehensively in this one, illustrating the wide-ranging set of characters in what proved to be a memorable series.

25. “Something to savor”

Knicks at Bulls 1998 NBA Regular Season Bob Costas

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Did I only include this one because of the early release of ESPN’s 10-part The Last Dance documentary. Yeah, probably.

24. “Not Like This”

Knicks at Bulls 1993 East Finals Game 6 Marv Albert

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I loved two things about this video. One was the close-up picture of a hoop as Albert narrates Charles Smith’s three blown bunnies. Talk about vivid imagery. The second: the melancholy feel of the music, combined with Pat Riley stuttering with doubt as he tries to sell the public on this being the Knicks’ “defining moment.” It’s as if NBC knew New York would never be the same after Game 5.

23. “Right Now”

Bulls at Knicks 1993 East Finals Game 1 Marv Albert

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Van Halen’s “Right Now” was (and still is) a popular song choice for a pump-up video, one NBC used a few times too over the years. But it works perfectly for this video because it fits the overall theme while simultaneously allowing NBC to visually speed up the entire season before reaching the climax we all knew was coming.

22. “Desperation”

Sonics at Rockets 1997 West Semifinals Game 7 Greg Gumbel

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Gumbel deserved more chances to narrate these introduction videos. He had a way of putting his own spin on common themes, expertly using language that others wouldn’t. Seattle didn’t just fall behind Houston, they “teetered on the edge.” They didn’t just win all their elimination games, they “persevered.” The sentence structure that both conveys Houston’s history facing long deficits and their history against these Sonics. We’ll hear more from Gumbel later on in this countdown.

21. “Another Time And Place”

Pistons at Knicks 1992 East Quarterfinals Game 2 Marv Albert

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Albert’s narration tended to be super serious and at times over the top, so I enjoyed the goofy change of pace. I’m not sure the second half of this intro was necessary, though it did give us Dennis Rodman picking up a stray dog that wandered onto the Madison Square Garden court.

20. “The Year Of Sir Charles”

Suns at Sonics 1993 West Finals Game 6 Dick Enberg

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It’s the little touches that make this video work. The patriotic music choice before leading with his gold medal. The split screen of Barkley deep in thought on one side and his accomplishments flashing on the other. Enberg’s repeated use of Barkley’s full name. This intro underscores how much care was actually put into these introductions.

19. “I Wanna Take You On A Rollercoaster”

Pacers at Knicks 1999 East Finals Game 6 Tom Hammond

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18. “The Ride of a Lifetime”

Magic at Rockets 1995 Finals Game 3 Marv Albert

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These two videos show how NBC used the same theme — a rollercoaster ride — to convey very different emotional journeys. The Knicks’ rollercoaster was unplanned and filled with self-induced drama, so NBC chose Lunatic Calm’s “Leave You Far Behind,” a heart-pumping dance song that conveys raw, and at times misdirected, energy. Houston’s rollercoaster, on the other hand, was more of a fantasy story, so NBC chose a musical element that made the Rockets’ journey to the title seem like a quest. Both choices fit the teams perfectly and showed how the power of sports is that it provides singular variations of familiar story arcs.

17. “Michael vs. Sir Charles”

Bulls at Suns 1993 Finals Game 1 Bob Costas

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This one’s on the list because NBC used the Jurassic Park theme song before the movie even came out. That is a baller move. But NBC also uses it brilliantly to paint the contrast between the classic success of Michael Jordan and the bumpier, rawer success of Barkley. Jordan’s section is narrated over the slower part of the song, while Barkley’s comes over the louder section. This was another example of NBC’s attention to detail.

16. “Big City vs. Small Town”

Jazz at Bulls 1997 NBA Finals Game 1 Marv Albert

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In general, the 12 NBC openings for the two six-game Bulls-Jazz Finals series are a tad overrated in my book because they got a little too sappy. (I’m sure many of y’all like the post-Flu Game one, but it kinda makes me cringe). The best of the bunch is the first one because it wonderfully paints the contrast between the dominant incumbents from Chicago and the small-town underdogs from Utah.

15. “Big ‘Mo”

Blazers at Lakers 1991 West Finals Game 6 Dick Enberg

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The music choice makes this entire video work. I feel like I’m in a murder mystery. Holy crap, this is tense.

14. “A Test of Faith”

Suns at Bulls 1993 Finals Game 4 Bob Costas

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Sometimes, the less said the better. Game 3 of the 1993 NBA Finals — a triple-overtime thriller won by the visiting Suns, who had dropped the first two games at home — was such a weird event that it needed to be commemorated on its own. Costas knew he couldn’t say anything to properly sum it up. Thus, Bon Jovi’s “Keep The Faith” serves as the perfect backdrop.

13. “Little Brother”

Cavaliers at Bulls 1992 East Finals Game 5 Marv Albert

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I’m not sure anyone really believed the Cavaliers would beat the Bulls in this series, even if they had knotted it up at two. It had the same feel that 2016’s Raptors-Cavaliers series had, where everyone knew who was going to win. But it was still noteworthy that the Cavaliers actually fought with pride, not unlike a boy who finally stood up to his big brother. Albert’s narration properly captures that sentiment while still conveying the reality that the Bulls were favored.

12. “Best Team Ever”

Bulls at Sonics 1996 Finals Game 4 Bob Costas

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The glorification of Jordan’s jerk-ish leadership tendencies makes me a bit uncomfortable, but Costas rescues this with some of the most poetic narration of his great career. Everything after “they tower over all present competition” is right up there with the best any TV network has ever produced. (Imagine this wording, but with Kevin Durant’s switch to Golden State instead of Jordan’s return from retirement).

11. “Game 7”

Jazz at Sonics 1996 West Finals Game 7 Greg Gumbel

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Gumble is his usual excellent self, but the music and camera work make this introduction feel epic. I love the musical contrast, which makes the small-market Jazz seem like underdogs and the fast-charging Sonics feel like they belong in a horror movie. The dissolves and fades to separate the different segments of the video underscore how each point is related to each other. Matching Gary Payton’s loud clap to the drum beat is a brilliant touch. All in all, this video provided real stakes to a matchup between two teams that nobody thought could beat the mighty Bulls.

10. “Vindication”

Magic at Rockets 1995 Finals Game 4 Bob Costas

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If the Game 3 intro to these Finals felt like being taken on a fantasy quest, this one is the epilogue when Frodo and friends return to the Shire. In time, this has become the perfect appreciation of the Rockets’ mini-dynasty.

9. “The Tormenter”

Bulls vs. Knicks 1996 East Semifinals Game 3 Marv Albert

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“The concept may be team. In reality, it’s the individual.” Whether intentional or not, Albert perfectly encapsulates decades of NBA marketing with those 10 words. From there, he made me feel so sorry for Patrick Ewing. How much must it suck for the official broadcast partner to promote a game by repeatedly dunking on you?

8. “One Game”

Pacers at Bulls 1998 East Finals Game 7 Bob Costas

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Costas’ delivery here is perfect. The slow pacing. The repetition of “one game.” The mix between short sentences and longer ones. The twist at the end: Jordan’s section ends with “one game” instead of beginning with it, a clear signal to the viewer that he is the biggest story here. The script itself isn’t magical, but Costas’ voice makes it so. Chills.

7. “Agony”

Bulls at Magic 1996 East Finals Game 3 Marv Albert

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Knowing what we know now, this feels a lot bigger than a video setting up a must-win Game 3 after losing two road games. Because of Shaquille O’Neal’s summer departure to the Lakers, it has become known as the last chance for Orlando to sustain a future dynasty. But the video also stands beautifully on its own, with well-executed music changes and a beautiful still of Penny Hardaway peering to his left as if he’s staring at a black-and-white image of Brian Hill’s final huddle of the previous year’s NBA Finals.

6. “Neither Right, Nor Fair”

Bulls at Blazers 1992 Finals Game 4 Bob Costas

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Imagine this voiceover, but instead of it being about Clyde Drexler in 1992, it’s about Dirk Nowitzki in 2011. Same 2-1 deficit. Same history of postseason failures obscuring their greatness. Similar age range — Nowitzki was 32 and in his 13th season at the time. Similar caliber of competition: Drexler against Jordan, Nowitzki against James and Wade, though the former hadn’t won a title. It would have given any human the feels, especially knowing Nowitzki would persevere when Drexler didn’t. This was an incredibly powerful, yet empathetic way to convey the overwhelming pressure title-less all-time greats face before they win one.

5. “David vs. Goliath”

76ers at Lakers 2001 Finals Game 1 Marv Albert

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I don’t know what’s better: the original version of this intro from the 2001 Finals or this brilliant remake for the first Curry-James, Warriors-Cavs Finals battle in 2015. Both are terrific, but I’m still partial to the original. David vs. Goliath fits the Iverson-O’Neal battle better, and there are a number of NBC’s typically brilliant little touches dotted through the video. For example, notice how the camera zooms to Iverson’s “The Answer” sleeve just after Albert’s “Who can stop this imposing force?” narration ends. What perfect timing.

4. “Worst Nightmare”

Bulls vs. Knicks 1993 East Finals Game 5 Marv Albert

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Holy crap, holy crap, holy crap, holy crap. I feel like I’m about to start an apocalyptic movie where a supernatural demon has been set loose to torment the world. Jordan feels like Godzilla here after scoring 54 points to lead Chicago to a Game 4 win. My heart is still racing as I type this, even though I’ve already seen that video a thousand times. When does Game 5 start?

3. “Coronation”

Bulls at Suns 1993 Finals Game 6 Bob Costas

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The 1993 Finals were really effin weird. The Suns entered as profound underdogs with one edge: They had home-court advantage. When they squandered that edge with two home losses, they looked done, but defied logic with a triple-overtime Game 3 victory. When Jordan dropped 55 on them in Game 4, they also looked done, but defied logic again by winning Game 5 on the road easily. It was inexplicable, a feeling Costas expertly captured in his opening monologue. There’s no way God actually was pulling the strings for the Suns … right? What other explanation existed? It was the ideal backdrop to a Game 6 that lived up to the billing with John Paxson’s last-second three.

2. “Two Dreams Collide”

Rockets at Suns 1995 West Semifinals Game 7 Greg Gumbel

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Remember when I said that NBC’s only Achilles heel was that their introduction videos occasionally dragged on for too long? This one clocks in at a crisp 41 seconds, with no wasted words, images, or music. We have a saying at SB Nation: Sometimes, it’s just best to Say The Thing instead of getting cute. Gumbel says the damn thing bluntly — one dream will “die,” Barkley’s legacy is “hanging in the balance,” “the banner does not hang for Clyde Drexler.” In 41 seconds, I know exactly how big a game this really is. This is a nearly perfect piece of art.

1. “Being Mike”

Bulls at Lakers 1991 Finals Game 4 Michael Jordan

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Twenty-nine years later, this reads like a poignant social commentary on the nature of celebrity, which has gripped our culture in new and unexpected ways. That it came before the release of Sam Smith’s landmark The Jordan Rules, before the burden of Being Mike led to Jordan retiring in his prime, before two returns to the fast life of basketball that consumed him, and before an awkward post-playing process that flipped his ruthlessness from a virtue to an anchor, is extraordinary. How the hell did Costas take one playoff performance and somehow capture the allure and pain of being a national icon like Jordan? It’s one of the most impressive feats I’ve ever seen.

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thepapermixtape · 7 years ago

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FYF Review

By: Cam Vernali and Ciara Mandich

Crowd surfing at FYF

Introduction

Music festivals teeter on the fine line between popularity and niche markets — too many popular headliners, and you got yourself a Top 40s playlist devoid of any personality. On the other hand, too many niche bands run the risk of alienating festival-goers. The lineup itself is only one part of the larger event at hand; when you factor in the setup of the festival itself, the vibe of the crowd, and other uncontrollable factors, there are numerous ways a festival can turn out. As someone who has been through a range of good and not-so-good experiences at music festivals, I can vouch for the fact that a thoroughly enjoyable festival is hard to find.

Whereas other music festivals could have faltered under the pressure of such large headliners, FYF created a music-going experience that was easily enjoyable and entertaining due to a well-planned format and a wide diversity of genres. FYF brought a refreshing mix of music to Exposition Park for the weekend, allowing widely-recognized names to draw in crowds while a cohesive mix of R&B, electronic, and garage rock bands kept the energy going.

Homeshake performance

Colors in crowd

Friday

“This one will cool you down,” Dustin Payseur of Beach Fossils told the crowd before launching into “Sleep Apnea.” The alternative rock group performed at the Lawn Stage in front of a more mellow, laid-back audience — after all, it was only an hour into the extensive three-day long festival and the energy was just beginning to climb. Besides playing classics like “Calyer,” Beach Fossils also brought out Rachel Goswell of Slowdive to perform “Tangerine.”

A walk past merchandising tables and water-refilling stations led to the Trees Stage, where jazz trio BadBadNotGood played for 50 minutes. The surprise of the set was when rapper Denzel Curry came onstage to perform “Ultimate,” leaving the crowd more energized than before.

As the sun wound down, FYF gained a whimsical atmosphere as colorful lighting covered the festival in almost every casual sense. Blue and green lighting accompanied festival-goers as they walked around the Coliseum from stage to stage, striking a careful balance between being too faint or too overpowering.

Bjork was a much-anticipated act of the night, with Arca’s place as her DJ bringing the tunes in sync with sharp visuals ranging from peaceful landscapes to a pulsing heart. Bjork herself wore a multicolored frilled dress that contrasted against the squeaky “thank you’s!” she proclaimed after every song. Playing songs from “Isobel” to “Lionsong,” Bjork covered a whole spectrum of her discography. Watching the whole set was akin to watching a Planet Earth documentary: beautiful, emotionally moving, and a tad unbelievable.

Missy Elliott continued the strong female energy on the Main Stage, acting like queen of the stage and fittingly donning a hat with “Queen” on it. Elliott constantly called out for her “Missy fans from Day 1” before proceeding to play classics such as “Pass That Dutch” and “I’m Really Hot.” Of course, she didn’t go without the hits as her DJ and backup dancers helped bring the energy for “Get Ur Freak On” and “Lose Control.”

Whereas Missy Elliot got the crowd energy raised, Anderson Paak and the Free Nationals took that energy and ran with it. The entirety of the set was a fast-motion energetic whirlwind of Paak leading the crowd and his band through clean beats such as “Come Down.” Their rendition of “Glowed Up,” a song created in collaboration with Kaytranada, was cohesive and funky. Paak took the show up a level when he went to the drum kit halfway through “This Season / Carry Me” and continued to rap and drum for multiple songs, showing that his musical ability ranges across multiple facets of music.

There was only one way to end the first day, and that was with Flying Lotus. Three-dimensional glasses for FlyLo’s set were sent with every wristband; those who remembered to bring theirs took them out of pockets and bags as they waited for the set to begin, while others bought last-minute yellow-rimmed glasses nearby. As soon as Flying Lotus graced the stage, 3-D graphics added to the bass-heavy energy of the electronic music. Songs such as the Twin Peaks theme song and Thundercat’s “Friendzone” kept the energy high; multiple mentions were also made towards “Kuso,” Flying Lotus’ latest horror movie. While his set was impeccable, the jury is still out on “Kuso” — you’ll have to see that for yourself.

Friday was like the appetizer round of FYF; it had enough musical talent to bring forth an eventful day, but was nothing too physically or emotionally draining. That would be saved for Saturday, the day to buckle down and watch the emotional heavy-hitters.

Saturday

While Saturday would become reverent and touching as the day progressed, it started off in the Club Stage with only high spirits. Princess Nokia had a fully-hyped crowd within seconds of starting her performance. The 25-year old R&B singer started off with “Tomboy,” encouraging the audience to jump and dance along to the beat. She then launched into other high-energy songs such as “Kitana” and “G.O.A.T.” By thanking the crowd multiple times for performing at FYF and crowd surfing, Princess Nokia definitely left an impact on the Cub stage.

Over on the Lawn Stage, Thundercat kept his setup simple with just a three-piece ensemble; however, his personal appearance was anything but. Pink dreads and a bright purple robe kept all eyes on him. Thundercat’s hallmark jazz and R&B elements were heard throughout the set but especially during the improvisational points, which may have lost more casual fans but kept genuine followers firmly glued to their spot.

In case anyone needed a flashback to the mid-2000s, MGMT performed under the glaring sun to a crowd that ranged from old men to young teenage girls. At first, Andrew VanWyngarden and the rest of the band seemed out of place on the large Main Stage, but soon set into their groove after a couple of songs. Fan favorites such as “Kids” and “Electric Feel” were played and left almost everyone grooving to the beat, while newer songs such as “Michael and Me” only had a couple concertgoers dancing along.

London-based King Krule also created an eccentric look with bright orange neon shades as he cooly performed during sunset. Songs such as “Easy Easy” kept the crowd bopping their heads but pensive, a mood that is present in the most of the London musicians’ tunes. The gem of the set was when King Krule closed with “Baby Blue,” allowing for a brief but touching moment of FYF.

A Tribe Called Quest had a clear goal in mind for the night when they graced the Main stage: to honor Mailk Taylor aka Phife Dawg, a member of Tribe that recently passed last year. Q-Tip let the crowd know that this was the last Tribe Called Quest show in Los Angeles, further adding a sense of nostalgia and poignancy to the show. Although a Tribe Called Quest show without Phife is not truly the band at their finest, the constant honoring of Phife through pictures and shoutouts on stage gave the set a more meaningful atmosphere. The band also played groovy crowd favorites, such as “Electric Relaxation” and “We the People…”.

And then we come to the pinnacle of Saturday, if not all of FYF — Frank Ocean. After not performing in the US for four years and canceling his last FYF gig, whispers of Ocean not showing up at all hung in the air. But to silence all those fears came Frank, who walked onto the Main stage with an “Instant Karma” shirt and noise-canceling headphones he wore all night. Starting the show with “Solo” and then going straight to “Chanel” put Ocean in the driving seat.

Throughout the night, it was evident all the time and thought Ocean put into every inch of the set. A guest appearance by Brad Pitt was a humorous but wildly unexpected moment of the night, reinforcing the fact that the only one who can predict what will happen at a Frank Ocean show is Ocean himself. The whole set was arguably the most polished show from a festival I have ever seen — the audio was balanced and crisp, the visuals were simple yet powerful, the setlist was cohesive and flowed smoothly. There wasn’t a single fully dry eye in the radius of people around me, and justifiably so.

In all honesty, I wasn’t able to fully process all the music I had witnessed until about halfway through the walk exiting FYF. Saturday was about as jam-packed with once-in-a-lifetime musical concerts as one could possibly fathom, leaving me with a sense of disbelief that could only be shaken off with the high-energy day that Sunday would bring.

Sunday

Bringing garage punk to FYF was the job of Ty Segall, who rallied the Lawn stage midway on Sunday. Tunes such as “Finger on It” got the small mosh pit rowdy, while others standing nearby the stage got enough secondhand energy to power through the rest of Sunday.

A familiar face to FYF was Mac DeMarco, whose set on Trees signaled his fifth year at the festival. “Salad Days” was first up and pumped up the crowd. The rest of the set followed with a mixture of older and newer tunes from the Canadian singer. An unexpected break was when DeMarco covered “A Thousand Miles” by Vanessa Carlton but chose to repeat the lyric, “Making my way downtown” for the duration of the entire song. DeMarco then followed this up with a command for the audience to crowdsurf his friend Brandon during “Freaking Out the Neighborhood,” creating cheers and laughs.

Mura Masa followed DeMarco on the same stage, taking the energy from DeMarco’s set and elevating it to a punchier level. Bonzai, who sang on multiple tracks from the British electronic musician’s recent album, gave extra energy to the songs performed. “Love$ick” and “Firefly” got the crowd excited and dancing their hardest compared to any crowd I had seen over the weekend. The addition of live drums and guitar to Mura Masa’s tracks gave the electronic beats an edge that complimented the live vocals smoothly, creating richer songs with more depth than one would usually expect from an electronic show. The surprise of the set was when Desiigner came on to perform “All Around the World.”

6LACK was the final act on the Trees Stage and closed it out with a devoted crowd. After his hype man played high-energy songs such as Kendrick Lamar’s “HUMBLE” and Lil Uzi’s “XO Tour Lif3,” 6LACK walked onstage and dived straight into songs from his recent project “Free 6LACK.” It was his first time performing without the dreadlocks that has become his signature look, but one could not tell from his performance that anything was different; the transitions between songs were smooth and filled with personable tidbits, grounding 6LACK to the crowd. During the slower, more emotional songs, simple background graphics echoed a Vince Staples-esque setup; this changed when more hyped-up songs were performed, such as “PRBLMS.”

Ending FYF was done with the most seemingly random band of them all: Nine Inch Nails. After not playing live for three years, the band certainly did not miss a beat; they tore through their intense, hard-paced music without faltering. Included in their set was a tribute to David Bowie’s “Blackstar,” which was a softer mix-up for the industrial rock band but touching nonetheless. Fast guitars and drums matched their light and visual compositions, creating a cohesive set.

Sunday took the emotional heaviness and reverence of Saturday and flipped it on its head, creating a fast-paced but enjoyable and at times humorous ending to the weekend. Less packed than its Saturday counterpart, Sunday felt like it had more space to breathe and have lighthearted fun.

Conclusion

I have been to my fair share of musical festivals up until this point and experienced quite a number of exhausting moments through this process, so when I walked into FYF I had braced myself with low expectations of an average festival with above-average music. To my surprise, the festival setup itself was as enjoyable as the home-run lineup itself. FYF has nowhere to go in the coming years but to be bigger, better, and more memorable — as long as they don’t lose the aspects that make it an enjoyable festival to begin with.

Photos and Words by Cam Vernali Photos include: Preview, Friday, Sunday, and Conclusion pictures Photos by Ciara Mandich Photos include: Introduction and Saturday pictures

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loudsociocollective-blog · 7 years ago

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Hey! I’m Christine. I’m going to talk about sociology now.

Just like every twenty-something, I am guilty of waking up in the morning and checking my phone before I even have a chance to wipe my eyes and yawn. First things first, I review my notifications on my home screen and order them according to precedence. Texts first, then Facebook (where i look at at least three cat videos). On to Gmail where I delete the 5 emails I have received from Victoria Secret overnight, and then maybe Instagram and Snapchat if I have time. By this time, I’ve spent 10 minutes too long on social media accounts and make a mental note to set my alarm earlier tomorrow morning to account for the lost time (which I will have forgotten by the time I’m exiting the shower).

Since I have a time consuming and elaborate beauty routine in the morning, I often need some motivation to keep my eyes open and continue on with my day. Most days I’m too lazy to go downstairs and put on the coffee pot, so music has to suffice. My most trusted companion for my makeup routine is Spotify, which streams my favourite tunes to my smartphone/ laptop while I brush my hair and apply makeup. With features such as ‘Discover weekly’ and browse, I am able to add new songs as well as old favourites to my personalized playlist. Turns out I've successfully made this blog sound like an endorsement. Spotify how about a little compensation???

Spotify Fun Facts!!!!!!!

I use the services of this company daily, which made me intrigued to find out what kind of business I was supporting and contributing to. After a quick Google search and a longer analysis of the Spotify website and its archives, I discovered some key facts of the business. Spotify is a streaming service owned and operated by Spotify Technology S. A. in Stockholm, Sweden. The software for Spotify was released for public use in 2008 but had been developed a few years prior. The content is available in countless countries and is administered by 19 local Spotify offices (ie. Spotify Belgium for Belgium users). They have contracts with many large music companies, such as Universal Music Group, Sony BMG, Warner Music Group, EMI Music, Merlin, and The Orchard and Bonnier Amigo. They are also partners with companies such as Tinder, Android, Playstation, BMW, and Ford. The company was founded by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. Daniel Ek is the CEO of Spotify, as of 2015 when Lorentzon stepped down. Daniel Ek has been named one of the most powerful individuals in the music industry. To be honest, I had a hard time finding anything on Ek, other than he is bald and occasionally advocates for gender equality. Sounds like a decent guy to me.

Spotify is available to all as a ‘Freemium’ service, where users may access the entire Spotify music library and most of its perks. Perks not included in the Freemium version include ‘unlimited skipping’, ‘listening offline’ and ‘high quality audio’. Most importantly, these free users must tolerate advertisements during their listening experience. Typically, the advertisements are repetitive and occur often (I hear that listening to the ‘McDonald’s everyday breakfast’ advertisement between every other Kanye song kills the vibe). Alternatively, users can opt to use the ‘Premium’ service where they pay a monthly fee to enjoy advertisement free listening. Which in my experience, is what most spotify users end up doing.

“I just can't take listening to one more McDonald’s advertisement. I just can't”

- My roommate as she signed up for Spotify Premium last week.

Thoughts and Grievances

As a Spotify user myself, I do not have much to complain about. Other than the abundance of cover songs i’m requested in my discover weekly playlist, Spotify makes streaming music easy and fast. I am able to cater my music to my mood, current event or preferred genre at any moment. I don't complain about the $9..99 monthly fee, mostly because I do not pay it myself (shout out to Tony & Meaghan for paying for me, you guys the real MVP). But if I was to pay the fee, I would find it quite expensive (hey I mean it's like Netflix for music, right? - and Netflix is only 7.99/month...). Not to mention that it is more expensive if you have a family account; costing $14.99 per month. The only exception is for students, who can use Spotify Premium monthly for just $5.99. I can understand how others may decide to put up with the annoying ads and use the free version. For those with lower income, it's hard to justify paying up to $15.00 a month for a music streaming service. Especially with alternate options like youtube and all the *not entirely legal* options the internet has to offer.

As I thought about it, Spotify’s Freemium service became less understood as a nice gesture and more obviously a marketing tactic. They entice their victims to have a taste of their wonderful service, have users learn to love it - need it, even.. Then they will harass them with ads about Mcdonalds Mcmuffins. Okay, a tad dramatic, but you get what I'm saying. Once individuals learn to favour a product or service, they are more likely to pay for it. Why settle for less than the best, right? Spotify is smart, as they have created a clever ‘trap’ for all of their ‘Freemium’ users. Who ideally turn into ‘Premium’ users eventually - just like my roommate last week.

Spotify makes about %10 of their income off advertisements. Companies like Mcdonald's pay Spotify a pretty penny to have their ad play a certain number of times between songs on a Freemium account. They also allow marketing through background advertisements, branded moments, branded playlists, sponsored playlists etc. This allows the company to market their products and encourage sales in their brand.

Interestingly, Spotify has been ridiculed for their lack of financial compensation to their artists. Artists such as Taylor Swift, Jason Aldean etc. have rejected Spotify, and publically expressed their issues with the streaming company. Swift felt underpaid for her life's work, and felt Spotify’s payment was unfair to artists in general. After a quick google search, I was able to determine that Spotify has a revenue of about 2 Billion per year. However, it's hard to know how much is counted as profit. I found out that they pay their artists $0.005 per stream. To put this in perspective, if a song is played 1 million times, the artist would receive five thousand dollars. This wouldn't make much difference in the lives of multi-billionaires such as Swift and Katy Perry, but aspiring bands and rising artists may have a harder time making a solid income. Artists may choose to sign contracts with other streaming companies, like Apple. Although, Apple’s pay per stream is not much more, averaging out at $0.006 a stream.

With the introduction of the internet came many technological advancements and the infiltration of multiple media businesses. These contemporary additions drastically changed the music industry for both artists and their fans. Hesmondhalgh notes prior to the 2000’s, music as a medium was exclusively experienced with the use of CD Rom, Radio and Vinyl technology. Once music was introduced to the online world, users had enhanced choice and control over their music consumption. As a consequence, there has been a reallocation of control in the music industry, where artists now have less say over their music distribution and their compensation. Less consumption of CD and Vinyl sales meant less control over their artistry. The introduction of streaming sites meant artists had to choose between allowing companies to pay them $0.005 a stream or to accept that individuals were listening for free.

On the bright side, it is now easier to connect consumers to new artists. Social networking makes word of mouth look lame. Overall, companies like Spotify have drastically changed the music industry. For the good or bad? It's hard to say. I know Swift has a different opinion than I do.

Well that's it for today. I’m off to listen to my Discover Weekly playlist and mindlessly consume Instagram content. Stay tuned for more interesting posts from your fav sociologist in training. I will be here on a weekly-ish basis discussing different mediums, sociological topics and personal feelings. Sounds fun, right?

Christine, out.

#endorsements #spotify #media #instagram #thoughts #sociology

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theworstbob · 8 years ago

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the thing journal, 2.26-3.4

as a) part of an effort to get me to be a more consistent writer, but also b) to get me to stop watching so much fucking mario maker-related content b.1) and also maybe stop listening to the same fucking playlist on shuffle when i ride the bus home, i have a new goal where i try to watch/hear/play seven new things a week and write at least a little bit about what i’ve done. try to get into a routine where i spend x amount of time with a thing, x amount of time writing, and maybe not looking on youtube for new dudes playing mario maker, y’know? it’s like, i love movies. before last week, i had seen three films that had been released since the start of 2016. so i guess c) be a better fucking citizen of the world. i might move this to medium or facebook, i might move all the non-shitpost stuff to medium at some point honestly, why do i have three different blogs, but we’re doin’ this here for now.

1) Sausage Party: this film is insultingly stupid. i already yelled at it, but ye gods. there is a moment in the film where, when the antagonist makes an unexpected arrival, one of the characters said, “Oh, fuck!” and if in any other movie, this might have been a nice moment, a character reacting to something unexpected by blurting out what one would blurt out on such an occasion, but in this movie, it felt like they just didn’t bother coming up with an actual joke.

2) Zootopia: i did a double-feature with sausage party and this, which is a very weird thing to have done that also might have impacted my opinion, but man, after slogging through Sausage Party, it was such a breath of fresh air to watch a film people put effort into making. even after divorcing it from that context, though, it is still handily the best buddy-cop movie about a bunny rabbit and a fox taking on racism that i’ve ever seen. it’s adorable. i’m not gonna put it in the pantheon of animated classics, not when there’s an extended monologue about how bad racism is from... shakira? for some reason?, but i do have to own up to the fact that, hey, maybe this movie wasn’t meant for my pantheon! i think this film set its ceiling at “the emperor’s new groove for budding social justice warriors,” but there are films with less noble aims, and this is totally a budding social justice warrior’s favorite film right now! and that’s really dope, that they have a movie! that sounds backhanded. i honestly loved this film. like, i saw emperor’s new groove when i was 11, and if there’s kids out there who’re gonna spend the next 16 years thinking about and loving this movie, the world’s gonna be in good hands. (also: the nudist colony scene. gold.)

3) Sing Street: this is for all the people that wished Freaks & Geeks had done a musical episode. this movie has so many things that i like. soaring musical numbers! lovable side characters! almost no plot! unbearable sadness! realistic teen drama! accurate depiction of a lower-class family! this isn’t a perfect movie. i think the central love story is brilliantly done, and they really nail the family stuff, but they stop giving everyone else in the band things to do after the characters’ introductions, and they didn’t set up the bully or the priest well enough as antagonists for their respective comeuppances to have any payoff. (everything at the school feels just a tad undercooked. like they had this epic love tale they wanted to tell, but then were like, “Ah, shite, can’t have 15-year-olds bugger off from school all the time, can we?” like at least let us know how the rest of the band feels about their lead singer and lyricist taking off for london all a sudden!) but man, when this film gets in its groove, it /waits a million millennia for it/ sings

4) Mad Love, JoJo: so the opening track, “Music,” is maybe one of my favorite opening tracks of the music year 2016. I don’t think I like this album half as much without it. On its face, it’s kinda cheeseball, just a girl ‘n a piano singin’ ‘bout how much she loves music. It’s a risky move, but she sells the hell out of the song, and because that track is so successful, each subsequent track is imbued with an undeniable joy, because you know, at the core of each song, there’s just a young woman doing the thing she loves the most. It lends each song a certain authenticity, like there’s no ‘tude being copped (or whatever kids these days say), this is JoJo’s music. I had a real good bus ride with this one. (And not for nothing, after miring myself in the Yellin’ at Songs project, I’m grateful for a pop singer who acknowledges that sex is a fun thing to have, and is direct about her desire to enjoy a sexual encounter. "Edibles” would be amazing even if I hadn’t endured multiple selections from the 50 Shades of Grey soundtrack, but as this is the case, got DAMN do I appreciate “Edibles.”)

5) The Big Short: the narration in this movie is so phenomenal. like, they establish from the jump that the narrator is a jerk (“i didn’t hang out with those nerds. i was cool.” or whatever he actually says), so when he starts saying, “Look, some of these terms are gonna go right over your heads, so here’s a hottie in a bubble bath to help you dum dums out for a second,” it’s in character. i absolutely loved that. (also, i, um, i did need to hear the explanation of the terms used in this film. “don’t you work with mortgages?” i don’t know what they do, i only know how to look at them.) i also really loved the scene where the narrator is trying to get steve carell to make the bet, and he has this jenga set up to explain what’s happening with the bonds, and he takes a jenga piece out, but before he throws it away, he asks his assistant to point out where the garbage can was so he didn’t miss. that’s a nice touch. (adam mckay’s good at comedy! weird, right!) also i loved that the hedge fund dudes from boulder moved to new york and had a table which tilted. that’s such a good prop, like these dudes have $30m but they’re still living with a table that tilts, which establishes both that they’re small fish and that they’re also not quite sure what they’re doing. such a solid film.

6) Telefone, Noname: so real talk i didn’t give this the closest listen in the world. my phone lost connection in the middle of track four, and a drunk man had to give me life advice during track nine. maybe it’s not the best idea to try to listen to album with a semi-open critical mind while bussing, but i still really dug this album and would not mind giving it a second, deeper listen, because it deserves multiple spins. i’m really stoked to see what this woman can do on a full-length album, there was a lot to love in what i was able to pay full attention to.

7) It Follows: Y’all. Y’all. This film. THIS GODDAMN FILM, Y’ALL. After the first scene, which ends with a girl disconnected from the main plot dismembered on a beach, I was ready to tout the charms of YA Hannibal, but the deeper I got, the more I understood the disservice such a comparison would do to this film. This is its own gorgeous, brilliant thing. The way it steeps itself in silence is so, ugh, I wish that the central concept didn’t require dialogue to explain, because this would’ve been such a cool silent film. Like. When I think about movies, I try not to think about the acting too much because I know I’m not gonna have any interesting observations about it, but the performances here are just off-the-charts. Just the way the nebbish nerdy boy looks every time he thinks about offering help and what that would mean for his future and his friendships, or the sheer desperation in the main girl’s eyes every time the It gets kind of close, it’s just, I don’t know how to describe it, it’s a film executed superbly, almost masterfully. I keep thinking about the scene where the main girl looks out over the lake at the bro-party boat, and she’s taking off her clothes to go swimming, but her face is somehow blank and terrified at the same time, and her motions are so tentative and rigid, it’s, THIS FILM. IT’S. The thematic content alone! Gosh, I just, I need to find all the pieces people wrote about this film in 2014 when they were excited about it and just dig in, there’s so much to analyze and discuss about the things this film is saying about sex, about gender, about rape culture, about victim-blaming, about abuse, about SO MUCH. This might be my second-favorite horror movie of all time. (No Country for Old Men is a horror movie, don’t @ me.) It’s just so unbelievably good.

8) The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild: This might count toward the Seven Things list next week, seeing as I’m only like six hours deep into this game, but simply moving from Point A to Point B is more fun and creative than half the games I’ve ever played. Honestly, if all I ever do with this game is treat it as Parkour Simulator 2017, I’ma be happy with my purchase. The Wind Waker was heretofore my favorite Zelda, but with every single step I take in this world, I get angrier that The Wind Waker put you on a boat and then... you sailed? You had a jump button on the boat, but that was basically all you did, was point your boat at where the game told you to go, put down the controller, and made a sandwich while you reached your destination. But I shouldn’t come to this space to bury other games, I should rejoice in what we have, and Breath of the Wild is my favorite game since Undertale. I love this game, and I can’t wait to find the first dungeon!

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