#mostly thinking about this when i watched an orchestra for video game music
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13threbagel · 3 months ago
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I just realized that the arguments used on generative AI are basically the same as those used on NFT. They treat anything on the Internet as free to use and completely disregard the fact that copyrights exist for everything that someone made on the Internet.
Just because something exists in a public space doesn't mean it is in the public domain (free to use, copyright-free).
You'd think that's a no brainer but apparently not. And when they broke those boundaries, they just go, "Oops, it's already in the model/chainblock. You should have never upload them publicly/minted it first so you can keep the work to yourself."
sth sth demean human desire to socialize and part of that involve sharing things they are passionate about, aka the thing they had worked on to connect with other people. And taking it for yourself and disregard the original artist is insanely disrespectful sth sth
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evablueblanket · 11 months ago
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what kind of music do YOU listen to
I’ve kind of realized that i’m mildly picky about what I listen to? Either that or it’s just bc I am extremely dependent on what kind of vibes I’m in the mood for + if whatever song fits said vibe
According to spotify my top genre was broadway, which I don’t completely agree with bc I have a friend who would 100% say ‘no you loser you aren’t that into broadway’ but also she’s just into show tunes way more than anything else. Ig it’s a vibes thing more than an actual ‘this has been shown on broadway’
Though I do love musicals, i’m kind of basic since I’ve only ‘watched’ hamilton (disney+ version when it was turned into a movie). But i’ve listened to some of the more popular songs from Dear Evan Hanson, Heathers, Be More Chill, Legally Blonde, and others that are just popular songs. A few years ago I watched a TON of animatics so I think that’s kind of where it came from.
Another thing that’s not as vibe specific is orchestra/band stuff. I love love LOVE when a live orchestra and/or wind ensemble gets incorporated into music. Cody Fry was my top artist this year, and basically all his songs have an orchestra in it minus his older albums and ITS SO COOL. I play clarinet (and bass clarinet) so that’s where that appreciation comes from. I also just like, wind ensemble music. Gustav Holst (second suite in f major) is a piece I played last year and I absolute fell in love with it. Samuel Hazo is also a super good composer and he has a gigantic roster. I played two pieces of his last year, ‘Arabesque’ and ‘Solas Annes (Yesterday’s Joy)’ Going back to Holst I can 100% appreciate his planets suite.
For that kind of music though, it helps if i’ve played the piece cause then I’m like ‘hehe I know this and THIS SPOT WAS SUPER HARD ARGHHHH’ but music is super fun.
OH ALSO I’m a choir kid (basically just a fine arts kid in general) so i’ve listened to some choral pieces too just cause I like how they were performed and I like how they sound. I’m a band kid first and foremost though.
Also I listen to a lot of game soundtracks, bc instrumentals are just peak, and they vibe pretty easy since I mostly listen to soundtracks that i’ve played before. (Minecraft, Omori, Stardew Valley, Breath of the Wild, Undertale, Deltarune, etc)
OKAY I’VE EXPLAINED MY VIBES I’ll give you some stats tehe
Top Artists:
1. Cody Fry (this man has such an array of songs, he goes from funk to pop to overture-esque songs and he’s just kinda epic)
2. Omori (video game that has my entire heart, the story is so AHXISJJXD and the music is awesome. Nowadays I listen more to the breakcore side of the soundtrack but all of it is peak)
3. Bluey (LMAO I forgot about this one. Like the albums on spotify? Crazy good. Taxi is just super fun bc there’s a lot of saxaphone where there’s a GROWL solo and I love that stuff fr)
4. Coyote Theory (vibes, that’s pretty much the only reason. Yeah ‘This Side of Paradise’ is good but THERES MORE THAN THAT.)
5. Toby Fox (Video gAmes. Fun fact I think it was last year or two years ago that I was in his top 0.01% of listeners xD)
RANDOM FUN FACT: Choir kid = I know my range, and my best range is alto/contralto range and the two artists that actually do the lyrics part of music are in that so it’s also bc they’re super singable for me. (ofc I can go higher than that, but I don’t like the sound of my head voice :’) )
Top Songs.
1. Snakes (Arcane)
2. Flying (Cody Fry)
3. You Only Live Once (Yuri on Ice)
4. Fix You (Cody Fry’s cover of Coldplay)
5. Before I Met You (Cody Fry)
Snakes is just super angry, which is fun for me cause I get to go AHHH with it. Everything else kind of fits what i’ve already said.
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bluesdesk · 7 months ago
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Hello and sorry for being late again. Here's round 12, we have 5 games left! I've been busy with uni stuff :"D Skyward Sword lost to botw and Majora, I could see how this was going since round 10, but honestly I'm really sad it went like this. SkSw is my favorite after all, followed by Majora, and I think Majora or botw are going to lose this round :( There's still wind waker I'd like to yeet, I played the gc version and left out of boredom tbh.
A little off topic: I and a group of friends are making a video game for an exam! It isn't related to Zelda but it's an action-adventure. I'd love to get some feedback on the idea, and I made a survey. It's anonymous so you won't be tracked in any way! I mostly need people from 12 to 18 years old but really anyone is fine. When we have a demo, we'll most likely share it to get more feedback. I'd be really glad if you take a moment to take the survey! Thanks in advance :D
So, about SkSw! I really feel like people need to play it, and with motion controls if they can (mostly because I played it on the wii). With the motion controls I felt like I was really in control of Link's actions, movements, and story, it felt way more "real" and personal than any other game. The music is the best imo, you can really hear the orchestra! Also Zelda isn't a princess but a knight academy student, she can fight! And we have character development with Groose and an unlikely enemy that's Ghirahim. Yes you go to the same area more times but each time it's a different zone. In OoT you visit each area 2 times, and nothing has changed in appearance. Also SkSw is one of the few games in which Zelink can be considered "canon", the others being Spirit Tracks, TotK, Hyrule Warriors.
Back to the poll, remember to vote the game you think is the worst out of these in the list! Please don't vote a game if you don't know it! Knowing means having played the game (even not completed), watched a gameplay, read the wiki! Having read the manga is ok too, I can't think of any other things rn but I hope you got what I mean :D
Reblogs are appreciated, since for obvious reasons I won't tag this as Linked Universe, but the majority of my interactions come from that fandom!
<< Previous round
Rankings under the cut!
The CDIs
Triforce Heroes
Zelda 2
Hyrule Warriors / Legends / Definitive
Cadence of Hyrule
Zelda 1
Four Swords Adventures
Four Swords
Oracle of Seasons/Ages
Age of Calamity
Phantom Hourglass
Link's awakening/LANS
Spirit Tracks
Tears of the Kingdom
A link to the Past
A link between worlds
The Minish Cap
Skyward Sword
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leffee · 1 year ago
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What do you think each pet/ or au persons idea of a romantic date would be?
Bonas who do you think they’d be in it with?
This is actually such a hard question and I have genuinely been thinking about the answer ever since I got it, that's also partly why it took so long to reply to this specific ask. So, just to be clear, I decided to go with the idea of the "most perfect date" which doesn't include any limits, so it doesn't mean that any of them actually expect whoever they're going on a date with to adjust or anything, it's more of a "if it was possible, they'd like this date to be like that". Some of them are, uh, way more extragavant than others 👀
Pepper - just take her to McDonald's. No, genuinely. Sure, it's not exactly the most romantic place for a date, but like, she was never into convencional romance anyway. So then why McDonald's? There's the superficial reason that she just wants to eat fastfood, and on a perfect date whoever's with her buys her everything and a lot of it, and also adding onto it, it would be preferable if the restuarant was mostly empty. She doesn't mind people at all, but if she's there on a date then she'd rather not have to scream for them to hear her and be distracted by milions of other conversations all around her. Now for the deeper reason, if you take her to such a place then she knows you understand her. She doesn't need romantic dinners and candle lights, she just wants a good time and be able to basically hangout with her date in a normal atmosphere, and some other, fancy places are so full of fakeness. That's the most romantic thing you can do for her.
Minka - okay, she craves excitement and wants to have things to do when on a date and have fun. And what has both excitement and fun? Amusement parks! Any one is fine, but since I'm going by the most-perfect-date-standards ever since she was little she wanted to visit Disneyland and that dream didn't die down at all. So yeah, take her to Disneyland and make sure you do as much there as possible. Go on rides! Take pictures! Eat food! Watch all the performances! Talk with all kinds of performers as well! Preferably it would be with someone who matches her level of energy and enthusiasm.
Vinnie - he doesn't need anything extravagant, first and foremost, you're supposed to be friends so he literally just wants to chill with you. But again, it's the most perfect date, so... take him to your house which is a mansion. It's not like having a bigass house is his biggest dream, but he wouldn't complain if he suddenly had the opportunity to live in one for free, you know? So yeah, and also, warmth! Have a jacuzzi in that mansion and sit there with him and play video games in that jacuzzi somehow (but nothing too competitive cause he might rage). Have some music in the background, as loud as possible but not that loud that he can't hear you. And like Pepper, have as much fast food for him as possible, he's eating all there is. And energy drinks. Give him all that and he would the happiest boy because you're both basically just chilling but expensive version and if he could he would.
Zoe - it's our queen and we all know she would want one of them classic romantic dates but cranked up to 11. So, in a perfect scenario she'd like it to go like this: her date without any warning knocks on her door in the middle of the night claiming that they're taking her on a date of her life and they have a big, biiiig bouqet of roses for her. Somehow, she's already in the most perfect outfit and, of course, she happily accepts. As he jumps into their arms they catch her and carry bridal style all the way to a very elegant and lit up yacht. There, they have the most expensive dinner with wine and there's also a whole orchestra that plays romantic tunes the entire time as well as rose petals everywhere. All the while the yacht is swimming on the river surrounded by the most beautiful sights. They eat, they drink, listen to music and are surrounded by all those beautiful views, but still, her date only has eyes for her. Only at the very end of the date they dare to kiss her and, a classic, that's when the fireworks suddenly explode in the sky above the yacht.
Penny Ling - she would love love to go to the Swan's Lake performance in some big fancy theatre, though the size is not the most important thing. She just wants to see it live, because when she saw it on a video as a child this was actually what inspired her to take up ribbon dancing. Sure, Swan Lake is a ballet not ribbon dancing, but it indirectly inspired her because she thought the dance was so pretty and greaceful. So if you could somehow take her too see it, and in a perfect scenario it would be only her and her date in the theatre, the performance only for her. Also, I' pretty sure you can't eat in such theatres, but in this perfect setting they could and they would have lots of snacks :]. She would be wearing a pretty elegant dress that would make her date swoon as well.
Russell - a classic picnic date for him. On some pretty hill overseeing the city to emphasise that contrast that yes, there's a lot of going on down there but here on this hill there's just him and his date and they can do whatever they want without anyone judging. They have a giant blanket and lots of yummy food, they can have lighthearted conversations, he can maybe show them his favourite books and talk about his favourite games which is sure to lead to some ineresting moments. They can also sit in silence but it's not an awkward one and they both know it, it's just there because they're that comfortable with each other. Ideally, his date would also show a lot interest in him and what he brings to the table, not judging anything, but being entusiastic and accepting.
Sunil - okay, so his perfect date would be driving on a highway when it's already dark, him behind the wheel and his date in the passenger's seat. As I said in one other post, he likes driving and is good at it so it's genuinely so nice and enjoyable for him. Ideally, the highway would be mostly empty (but not fully empty or he might get a bit paranoid because "where is everyone??"). They have some calming music flowing from the car's radio and they sky is clear so they can see the stars perfectly. They can relax and talk about nothing and everything, or maybe they can just sit in calming silence, neither uncomfortable with it. Where are they going? It doesn't matter, he just like the non-complexity of highways, it's just a straight road without any pedestrian crossings or traffic lights he'd have to watch out for so it's perfect for him. At one point they can take a break and for a while pull over somewhere to catch some fresh air and feel the breeze. And at the end, now back in the car, they turn back and drive back home. Perfect
As for who they'd like to be on it with? The obvious answer is whoever they're crushing on. But let's say they're not crushing on anyone at the moment, and someone just asked them out on a date so they accepted to try. In such situation they'd like be with:
Minka - as I said, someone who matches her entusiasm and energy
Pepper - someone who gets her and that she doesn't need any of that fancy, romantic stuff to form a connection
Vinnie - I said it in some other post but he wants it to be someone who he knows already and is of course on friendly terms with
Zoe - ideally, she'd want it to be someone who she doesn't know yet, a charming stranger that comes into her world and sweeps her off her feet because as soon as they saw her they fell for her
Sunil - someone who can appreciate the quieter moments but can also bring out his more energetic and playful side
Russell - just someone who accepts him as he is and doesn't try to change him or say that he's too stubborn for example
Penny - someone who sees past her niceness, sees that there's more to her than that and doesn't take advantage her empathetic spirit
Ahh, I hope this came out okay, I'm actually pretty happy with it
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piratebay · 8 months ago
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do all of the music ask prompts (if u want!)
the ultimate music ask game
i DO ! i'm not gonna do the one's where i need a color or song of your choice tho but if you wanna ask those with something in mind please do! thank you for asking! also putting it under the cut because it's so long lmfao
1. are you an albums person or a singles person?
maybe mostly singles? most of the time i hear a song & i like it & am more picky about the album on the whole, but there are some albums that are so integral to my being they'd have to be ripped from my soul, you know? x
2. do you still buy cds (or other physical media)?
i do still have cds! i don't often buy them because honestly i often don't have the funds to, but when i can i do! my car still has a cd player thankfully & i have an external drive for my laptop :] the last cd i bought was rachmaninov: piano concertos nos. 1 & 4
3. do you listen to more oldies or more current stuff?
i would LIKE to think there is a balance but i'm afraid it's mostly oldies lmao
4. is there a song you love but don't like its music video?
oh god recently i was watching music videos with my cousin & my mom & my mom was like "put duran duran on!" so we watched the music video of rio & she was so disappointed & said "this seemed so much better back in the 80s" 😂
5. is there a song you don't like but like its music video?
i can't think of one at the moment but i'm sure there is one. tbh i don't watch a Lot of music videos
6. who's an artist you really like but are embarrassed to admit it?
kiss 😭 i don't like them like i used to, though
7. would you wear a t-shirt of a band you're not into?
no, i don't think i would. unless i really liked the design? i still don't see myself doing that though
8. is there an artist or song that you like, despite being of a genre you don't usually like?
i'm not SUPER into reggae, despite being into its adjacent musical genres, but utu bang bang by ka'ikena scanlan HITS.
9. do you have a favorite band?
i dooo.... it's the beach boys 🥲
10. favorite solo artist?
i've been into sza for a while now
11. favorite songwriter?
stevie wonder!
12. who’s the most obscure artist you listen to?
probably hui ohana lmfao they're soo nostalgic for me but idk how far their reach outside of hawai'i & hawaiian households are...but probably not much...
13. who’s the most popular/mainstream artist you listen to?
rihanna?
14. a song or album from the 50s or earlier:
black is the color of my true love's hair by nina simone
15. a song or album from the 60s:
and then...along comes by the association
16. a song or album from the 70s:
out of the blue by electric light orchestra
17. a song or album from the 80s:
thriller by michael jackson
18. a song or album from the 90s:
nevermind by nirvana
19. a song or album from the 2000s:
white pony by deftones
20. a song or album from the 2010s:
we are young by fun. & janelle monáe
21. a song or album from this year or last year:
unholy by sam smith & kim petras
22. what’s your favorite song or album from the year you where born?
the boy is mine by brandy & monica
23. do you and your partner/best friend share a special song? One you’d call “our song”?
amor prohibido by selena 😭
24. do you play any instruments?
i mean. i can fuck around on a keyboard & bang on some drums?
25. is there a song you used to like but can’t listen to anymore because you associate it with someone you don’t like?
YES. ALL STAR BY SMASH MOUTH 😔 it's tragic
26. have you ever pretended to like an artist/song just to fit in or please somebody?
ummmmm.... no i don't think so. but i pretended to like harry pothead even though it made me deeply uncomfortable before it became a habit to hate jk for her rampant transphobia 🙄 you know, as if it wasn't obvious before that she was a raging bigot...
27. do you enjoy making playlists? if so, are there any you’re proud of and would like to share?
i do! i really kind of like this playlist i made while reading dorohedoro
28. have you ever made/got a mixtape as gift to/from a friend?
ofc oh my god. that's actually most of my cd collection are burned discs. i've also gotten some spotify mixes ❤️
29. songs you love to dance to:
omg so in my early 20s i used to get really stoned off my ass & dance & paint in the backyard to long youtube compilations of disco/funk/r&b/house hits from the 70s, 80s & 90s. i can't find which ones were my go-tos at the moment but they were something like this:
youtube
30. songs you love to sing along to:
I LOVE SINGING yay yay! i made a whole playlist actually that i sporadically add to sorry it's sort of lame & also should be played on shuffle!
31. who’s your favorite fictional band or artist?
uhhh lol i can only think of löded diper from diary of a wimpy kid
youtube
32. when was the last time you cried when listening to a song, if ever?
sooooo my dad used to really like michael mcdonald & on the day i went to my first pride after he died what a fool believes came on the radio & i had to like snuffle my face in to stop from absolutely bawling, i.e. it occurred to me that he would've loved to have gone WITH me actually oops now i feel bad even talking about it sorrrryy
33. your favorite artist from your city/state/country?
green day lmao
34. your favorite song in your native language (if it isn’t english) OR in your second language (if english is your first):
escándalo by la sonora dinamita
35. a song you like in a language you don’t speak:
intermission: flower by zayn malik
36. a song you like with lyrics in two or more languages:
the girl from ipanema by stan getz, joão gilberto, & antônio carlos jobim
37. if you could travel in time and go to a concert of an artist who’s no longer alive or a band that’s no longer together, who would you choose?
i would go see the gap band!!
38. which was the first concert you went to?
hall & oates lmfao
39. which was the last concert you went to?
fa// out b*y 😔
40. which was the best concert you’ve ever been to?
leslie odom jr.! followed closely by system of a down
41. have you ever been to a music festival? if not, would you like to go?
i have not, i feel like it would be too stimulating for me, but i'd like to try it at least once. well wait. i am going to be in a big gala event in minneapolis & kansas city, but i feel like that's different from attending. also it will be my first time touring! :D
42. your favorite(s) “no skips” album(s):
wonder what's next by chevelle, fresh cream by cream, & dirt by alice in chains
43. do you enjoy musicals? if so, what’s your favorite?
i DO lmfao, i would say the phantom of the opera since i practically memorized every part in high school
44. have you watched any musician’s biopics? do you have a favorite?
um i have, i wouldn't say that i have a favorite but whitney houston's was profound
45. a non-musical movie or show with a soundtrack you love:
wellll... a tv show..... cowboy bebop's soundtrack is one of my favorites for sure
46. do you like comedy songs? if so, do you have a favorite?
i think i used to when i was younger. i mean, weird al still hits tbh
youtube
47. is there an artist you used to dislike but learned to like because of a friend’s influence?
ummmm, jethro tull?
48. who’s an artist you think is criminally underrated & deserves more recognition?
oh i wouldn't know, i don't think i can make decisions like that, i can only recommend stuff to people
49. is there a cover you like more than the original version?
oh YEAH controversial opinion but i really can't listen to bruce springsteen sing at all but juanes' cover of dancing in the dark is excellent
50. is there an artist you used to love as a child/teenager but now are embarrassed to have ever liked?
i mean... besides kiss? 🤣 probably the beatles. i realized i really just liked psychedelic rock in general
51. is there an artist you used to love as a child/teenager & still like, even if you don’t listen to them as much?
the black eyed peas probably? i mean i don't actively seek their hits but if they come on i'm like. transported back to being a middle schooler
52. do you make playlists to be listened to in a specific order or in shuffle? or both?
both! this one's meant for shuffle:
& this one's meant to be played in order:
53. is there a song you hated the first time you listened to but then loved after listening to it more times?
i tend to keep my preferences for a long while, maybe big time rush? i don't remember HATING their music, i just wasn't a fan, but boyfriend is still good to me
54. an album you loved since the first time you listened to:
i mean... pet sounds by the beach boys 😳
55. an album you learned to love after listening to it again & again:
umm after laughter? i wasn't a big paramore fan in high school unfortunately but later i found them & learned to love them
56. a song/album/artist you wish you could forget so you could have the experience of hearing it for the first time again:
dream a little dream of me by the mamas & the papas
59. do you listen to music when it's raining or do you stop to hear the sound of the rain?
i listen to erik satie when it rains :D very low so i can still hear the rain
62. artists/bands you think have an impeccable discography, with no bad albums:
oh i don't have one. i'm a little picky in that sense, i guess
63. do you prefer live recordings or studio recordings?
whatever sounds better!
65. are there any songs you know the entire lyrics by heart?
i am CHRONICALLY bad with lyrics now i don't know quite what happened but i'm really forgetful. i think too much of my brain is occupied to other things :(
66. share your favorite playlists that you or someone else has made!
here are some i've enjoyed greatly!! :3
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adamwatchesmovies · 2 years ago
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Allegro non troppo (1976)
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Allegro non troppo is a 1976 Italian parody of Walt Disney’s Fantasia. "Obscure" is the correct adjective considering it came 36 years after the film it's lampooning. Only die-hard animation fanatics are likely to seek it out but the effort is worth it. Even if you haven’t delved deep into the medium, this is a funny, clever - occasionally inspired film.
This musical anthology begins in a dingy theater where “The Presenter” (Maurizio Micheli) introduces “A new and original film” where “you will see music and hear drawings”, a feat which has never been done before… except by some American called Grisney, or Prisney or something like that. With his domineering orchestra master (Néstor Garay), an ensemble of old ladies playing the instruments and a frazzled editor, they bring the following pieces to life: Claude Debussy's Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune, about a randy elderly satyr who attempts to pass off as young and virile to get the attention of beautiful nymphs and dryads.
Antonín Dvořák's Slavonic Dance No. 7, Op. 46, in which a solitary caveman inventor gets tired of his brethren imitating him and leads them into war and dictatorship.
Maurice Ravel's Boléro, a direct parody of the Rite of Spring segment of Fantasia which shows the evolution of life on a strange planet from a discarded Coca-Cola bottle.
Sibelus’s Valse trise, a purposely dramatic segment that follows a lonely cat wandering through a now-abandoned house.
Vivaldi’s Concerto in C major for 2 Oboes, 2 Clarinets, Strings and Continuo RV 559, which follows the misadventures of a bee preparing to dine on a flower.
Stravinsky’s The Firebird, where the serpent in the Garden of Eden fails to tempt Adam and Eve with the fruit of knowledge and eats it himself instead.
This is a delightfully low-brow film. It knows it’s late to the game parodying Walt Disney so it pretends as though it has no idea what film it’s riffing on. Whereas Fantasia was targeted towards adults and aimed to do something new by using abstract imagery and (mostly) scientific theory to explain the beginnings of life on our planet, Allegro non troppo (whose title is a play on words and can mean either "Not So Fast!” or “Joyful, but not too much”) frequently throws cheap humor at the screen. Horny old goat men, fake-looking gorilla costumes, slapstick, trees whose fruits resemble engorged breasts, rear ends pointed at the screen, gratuitous violence... nothing is off limits. The visuals are nowhere near those found in the 1940 masterpiece, though those in Boléro are delightfully and weirdly beautiful. For that segment alone, the film is worth seeing. The whole thing is experimental and wonderfully varied in terms of style and tone but in the case of the first two stories, it can also look kinda crap. At least the jokes, mean-spirited as they may occasionally be, make you laugh. I wish they’d put a stronger opening number to avoid scaring away apprehensive viewers but who is tracking this film down except those determined to see it through?
Making this Bruno Bozzetto film particularly enjoyable is its willingness to go all-out. Just when you think it’s trying to say something serious the film will subvert everything it just showed you with a cheap joke. Damn you movie. I was so enraptured by your visuals and audio I’d forgotten what I was watching and you make fun of me for it! Got to hand it to you for finding something else to ridicule: the unsuspecting audience! Numerous segments can be interpreted as legitimate criticisms of society as a whole, and as long, elaborate gags with splendid punchlines. Some of the jokes are dumb, but smart people are behind them.
There are relatively few animated anthology films out there and although they’ve had a bit of a resurgence lately, most of them are used to promote video games or keep the masses invested in previously-established properties. Allegro non troppo is something else. It’s not classy like Fantasia but deserves, in a strange way, to be placed next to it on your shelf, and not just because seeing one after the other adds to your enjoyment of both. (Original Italian with typo-riddled subtitles on DVD, September 1, 2018)
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turnaroundroundround · 3 years ago
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Morimyu in Classical reference
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So, as for the fact that music in Morimyu Op. 3 resembles classical music in both progression and musical technicality, it's interesting how it's possible to keep coming up with different interpretations after re-watching the musical again and again.
I've made a thread on twitter about this before, but 1) word limitations and thread will never be enough to list all that I have to say lol 2) I'd prefer to have a fuller version noted down, especially one that I can edit and keep coming back over and over again when ever I come up with something new.
Either way, I am still (lol) not a pro in music theory and music history as well. All that is written here are based on my very very basic knowledge on music as well as something that I've picked up (and discussed) with my friends after watching Op. 3.
What's the point of this?
Why is it important? Lol I always need this to keep myself from writing off-topic but anyways. Why do the music sound good (except for the fact that because it does lol), and what do they represent? Surely there must be, and there always are, other things that are implied not only through the lyrics but also the music, and the flow in general.
Apart from the lyrics and the lines, it's also quite interesting to have a close look at the music - melody and harmony itself - to see how they portray the stories.
Most importantly, the continuality. How did Morimyu manage to insert so many songs and still managing to connect them as a whole? And how did they use music to go beyond what's on the pages? That's the most important thing about musicals - beyond the pages. We don't see stage or anime doing so very often, as they mainly focus on what's already there, bringing them to life as close as possible to how we imagine things might happen.
As for musical, they have the music. They have the arias and the songs. At some point, a character starts singing, and other characters followed suit. They have their very unique way of expressing the plot, and they have the orchestra, the arias where characters get their solo song, and the duets between characters with strong relationships, and the ensemble which emphasizes the plot, and so on.
A funny thing about duets in classical opera, they're often meant to show lovers' relationship because of the harmony but can also use opposition and all to show enemies' relationship. And in SherLiam's duet it's just both of them at the same time - thoughts connected while engaging in a chase, a hide and seek game of mystery. We'll go into that later.
Back to the topic. Morimyu follows the main plot strictly, but also uses their advantage with music to add all the side details that wasn't told in the manga to create a "complete" view of the plot. It is always available for musicals to do something unexpected (like how we never expected Lestrade's puppet show to be a whole 5 mins long piece lol). And where they did that they added arias and duets, they allowed moments where characters express and developed their emotions as well as going with the plan (yes Albert yessss). Of course there's both a good and bad side to this all the while.
💛 The good thing is they went all the way to show us sides of emotions that we don't see much in the manga or stage, the sides of the story that all of them have kept hidden while focusing on their grand plan. 💛 But then it does get too emotional at some point, especially those who came for the plot and the mind games behind all of it (like me - although I won't deny that I had a lot of fun picking out all the emotions behind the music here lol).
Musicals can always go beyond what we knew. As for Morimyu, their music is heavily influenced by opera and classical music, and it's shown quite clear. There is live music playing (instead of the entire orchestra we have a violin and piano duet), and they have distinctive arias and recitatives throughout.
So thanks to that, it's also possible to use a reference from classical music to interpret their songs.
A Sonata formation - The Narrative Series of SherLiam
Yes, songs arranged and analysed with reference to a Sonata formation, especially in the way they progress through the play.
Some notes before getting into the point
1 - Sonata = a piece of music consisting of several movements - very often 3, sometimes 4. First movement-Allegro: With the quick tempo, introducing the theme of the entire Sonata Second movement-Adagio/Largo: Slow tempo, can be emotional sometimes, as well as leading more towards the final movement Third movement-Rondo Vivace: The ending, quick-paced and vigorous, leading the Sonata to a close. A Sonata always has a general theme, a topic. The theme that I chose to write about is Mystery - the Hide and Seek game between the Detective and Lord of Crime
2 - Aria and Recitative = different types of songs used in an opera Recitative: Lines within a song that happens like a real conversation, as the characters sing they are also talking to each other Aria: A solo section where everything else is a freeze frame, while one actor remains and sing their own song about their thoughts, feelings, etc. In this post we're mainly discussing the arias of Sherlock and Liam, and the duet between them. But there's also some mention of recitatives here and there.
3 - Videos used To make it easier to understand which songs I'm talking about, I also arranged them in piano. And also to have a listen at how they might connect. Just in case the videos beneath don't work (they didn't work on my phone), the three songs discussed are Nazo, Liam's solo, Kokoro no Rondo, all piano arrangements.
All of the songs noted in this section are arias and duets from Op. 3 - the Ghost of the Whitechapel. The additional "series" that Morimyu has added spreading throughout the play, Sherlock and Liam's narratives, which portrays both their emotions and the chase between the detective and the Lord of Crime.
First Movement - Allegro: Nazo(謎) song
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Starting from Lestrade's exit after his puppetshow and proceed to the scene, Sherlock's aria introduces the theme of the imaginary hide and seek game that the Lord of Crime has started. The song repeats the word (mystery) over and over again with a continuous rhythm.
Ends with Sherlock just mumbling the word Nazo (mystery) and exiting the stage - no conclusions, just like a mystery that leads into further mysteries with no answer.
♛♛♛ In regards to a Sonata formation, this is the beginning of the entire piece. Quick in tempo, written in 3/4 time and introduces the theme of the entire piece - Mystery.
Uso ka Shinjitsu ka - Lie or Truth song
Starting after Sherlock learns the truth behind Jack the Ripper, wondering if Lord of Crime is a good person after all.
Now I had a really hard time thinking whether this piece should be included or not. For one, it's not an aria. It can be viewed as a Da capo Aria, a development section of the Nazo song, repeating the theme that is introduced, coming and going rather quickly. So, for continuality.
It also does not fit into the series as a whole, being 1) a recitative. The lyrics focus entirely on Sherlock's deduction and whether he should expose the truth or not, etc. so on. 2) The lines in here, unlike the other arias, are taken directly from the manga, so it's not entirely an 'added' element to this chase. 3) Also because if we compare this to a Sonata form, this doesn't really fit anywhere
However, among Sherlock's arias, this song can also be seen as an interesting development as I have mentioned above, so I've decided to have it here, still.
There's another thing about almost all of Sherlock's arias throughout the 2 stages - they never have a conclusive end. The detective's mind is always running, mysteries after mysteries.
Most of the other characters' songs ends with some kind of closing lines, and piano continues to conclude the piece with a strong end, and then goes on to start another piece. All of their problems in the songs are concluded. They made up their minds in some ways.
But Sherlock, his songs always end with him repeating the melody, a capella, and exiting the stage. Piano waits for him to exit, then starts a new song. Or in Op. 2's Mindgame case going straight into the next conversation. We never get to know how Sherlock's songs end, because they didn't really end at those points. There's a hanging sense of waiting for a resolution, a conclusion. Sherlock never seems to have his problems solved within the songs, they just go on and on.
An idea initiates, then something happens and he is once again in the dark. And he spins around within his own mind.
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Screenshot from Op. 2. Even if we look back to his aria Mindgames from Op. 2, this song doesn't really have a conclusive ending as well. He just starts singing, the music stops and he starts shooting and going on, resuming the play. It kind of has been a thing for Sherlock's arias?
Second Movement - Adagio/Largo: Liam's solo
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♛♛♛ The "second movement" - the 'slower' piece - of the series, Liam's aria lol but actually the piano part of this song isn't slow at all but ok. The other side of this hide and seek game. The "development" section of the sonata series, where we see things in a much more emotional way.
This aria is much richer in harmony and melody. Not only Liam's melody, but also the piano's part which plays a beautiful melody in harmony.
I recall an interview where the stage director mentions how the "orchestra" - piano and violin are representations for Liam and Sherlock. It kind of applies here, where his music is created mostly by piano.
There is modulation, emotions rising and elevating quickly and strongly. But the harmony is beautiful, overflowing and rich with emotions. The song repeats certain lines, emphasizing aspects within Liam's thoughts.
Unlike Sherlock's train of thoughts that circles with no destination, Liam's solo has a definite ending in harmony -> Even with all his emotions in mind, Liam still has a goal already set before him. He has a brief moment of slowing down, pausing and sung about his feeling, before resuming the story.
Leading us to the final stage - Kokoro no Rondo.
Third Movement - Rondo Vivace: Kokoro no Rondo
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Rondo formation: Rondo is a type of dance that revolves around a pattern, often ABA, ABACA, or ABACABA - where A is the ritournello ("meguri - kimi ni omou - meguru kokoro no rondo" section) that is repeated over and over with B, C parts in between. Rondo can also be combined with sonata form - this case applies to this song which begins with a key other than the tonic (Fm) before resolving to the tonic key (Fm) to put an end to the entire sonata series. For reference purposes, the last movement of Beethoven's Pathetique or the very typical Fur Elise is also written in a similar format. I also referred to Pathetique quite a lot when brainstorming this post.
♛♛♛ The "final movement" of this Sonata, the final scene of their "Hide and Seek" game. The song's tempo is vibrant and rapid, combining with the dancing sense, all the while strictly following the structure of a Rondo as mentioned above.
This is the stage where Liam and Sherlock's line interacts and reply to each other, as if in a real conversation - just like how the connection between them are now much stronger than what they had before.
In the ritournello, we have Liam and Sherlock's lines intertwining and chasing after one another, emphasizing the "Hide and Seek" element between the two of them.
The song comes to a definite ending, concluding with a strong tonic (Fm) chord. At this stage, there is no more question to be left open, for Sherlock at this point has already made up his mind to take the next step into solving the mysteries regarding the Lord of Crime.
Their imaginary game of Hide and Seek is coming to an end, as Sherlock came to a decision to take the next step - going to Durham.
That's the end of my first draft.
So far that is some of my thoughts noted down right after watching Op. 3 stream a while ago, with some edition made just now.
On the side note, at some point during my discussion with a friend, we also came up with the idea that a Suite may be a better reference. A Suite consists of 4 parts and a prelude, each of them having their specific characteristic. But we didn't go all the way analysing that idea, as 1) we couldn't find a 5th piece that can be added into the series. 2) Even if we did, the Truth or Lie song still would not really fit into the "aria" vibe of this series, as mentioned above.
But then quite interestingly, after a while, I've found another interesting fact that should have been quite obvious but I've missed for (lol) like ages.
The game of Hide and Seek between the detective and the Lord of Crime has begun ever since after Hope's case - that being said, ever since the end of Op. 1
And what is it that we have in Op. 2? "The Mind games of the Lord of Crime". The one where Sherlock went maniac rapping about all the thoughts he has and end up shooting randomly into the wall.
At first it begins like another recitative, but in the later half, the harmony starts to become more harmonious, written in 3/4 time flowing like a dance.
In that section, the melody of the piano and violin part resembles the one we have in Kokoro no Rondo, the Ritournello section, only that the melody of the violin in Op. 2 and the melody that SherLiam sung in Op. 3 are kind of reversed.
Coincidence much?
So now we have a collection of songs from both Opus, it becomes tricky. How do we connect them? And what's the story?
At this point, all these recitatives, aria and duets all in the theme of the Hide and Seek game. And they all connect to each other through harmony, progressions in harmony.
We know that the Mind games of the Lord of Crime has begun from ever since the end of Op. 1. We know that Sherlock keeps wondering about that in Op. 2, and then he wonders even further after he has been tested by the Lord of Crime. "また俺だけのメッセージなのか?" - Is this a message just for me?, as he wondered in the Truth or Lie song. We knew all of that. But Morimyu didn't let that stop them from emphasizing on this subplot even further.
They didn't let the gap between Op. 2 and Op. 3 stop them from making a smooth flow in plot either.
Correction, they didn't simply create a flow. They established a connection, all the while showing a strong progression of Sherlock's thoughts that goes on from Op. 2 straight onto Op. 3.
Very often, what makes a good plot is how their plots and sub-plots intertwine with each other. Morimyu has a main plot that follows Moriarty gang in the plan of changing society. And they have a smaller plot told from Sherlock's side of things. And they have this sub-plot told by harmony of how Sherlock is connected to Liam, or the Lord of Crime, by an invisible thread. A connection that is only expressed that clearly in Morimyu.
We have so many things going on, so many songs throughout the play. But each of those elements are all connected to something else, creating a sub-plot that enriches the main plot.
There is no loose connections. For everything that connects to the main plot, they're also linked to other elements. Each scene and every song has their own meaning not only in regards to other songs, but also to the plot as a whole.
Also, did I mention how Morimyu feels like a grand piece of music?
Opus -> What classical songs had that basically shows the order in which they are written. Morimyu - a title piece itself - has 3 Opus, 3 different parts with the same theme.
Classical music very often had all the different elements in it -> Morimyu had an overture, the song they sing just before the main theme song, just before introducing the stage. Then arias, ensembles and choruses. All of them are connected by similar harmony.
Classical music always had a big general theme, with each section having a smaller sequence connecting to each other. Subplots within a big plots. A Sonata piece has 3 movements, each having their own "sections" of development - expositions, development, recapitulation. -> Morimyu does the same to their plot and subplots, as discussed above.
Also, Opera reference
While Opus 2 used an opera reference to tell the story, I feel like Opus 3 has become an Opera itself. During Op. 2 the arias were mostly very loyal to the manga, taking their lines from the original work, like the Mind Games song. Their story progresses steadily but logically.
However starting from Op. 3, the aria became more independent. They developed and expressed even further what wasn't said in the manga. For instance, the 3 songs mentioned in the "Sonata" above. And there's also Albert's solo, and Patterson's solo and Milverton, which I haven't got the chance to discuss all.
But either way, they spring out of the original story, adding more emotions and "colours" to the characters. The aria became more original, all the while also much more expressive. We get to see new sides of the characters that we haven't seen anywhere before.
Anyways, it's probably time to go back to the main question: How Morimyu used music to go beyond what's on the pages.
-> Musicals aren't simply about music added to acting. The characters on stage don't just simply starts singing for no reason. All the songs are meant to express something, and while they do they also establish various connections to the plot's progression.
We don't get to see much of the characters' emotions in the manga. And we don't see much of the side story, the finer details behind each arc. Every time, Morimyu adds something original to enrich their plot. They express and develop what's already known to all the viewers, especially regarding the emotional and motivational side of the characters.
-> The manga shows us the entire plot, with details related, back stories that lead to the present, and all. But it doesn't give a lot of hint into how characters might feel. Surely, reading between the lines, it's up to the readers to interpret them.
But Morimyu gives us all of that, and they leave it to us to read between the music.
And even if we didn't, that's fine. Then the purpose of all of them linking together would be to create a performance where everything is connected harmoniously, allowing us to be emerged in the world of Yuumori.
-> The purpose of having a stage, primarily, is to allow the audience to engage in, experience and feel the emotions along with the characters they see on stage. The point of having a live stage, a plot, and the music, are all to let us emphasize with the characters on stage.
In Morimyu, we aren't just watching a plot between our favourite characters happening as we know it from the manga. We see a combination of mysteries unveiling slowly, the stories on the side of each characters as they slowly progress forward, as well as emphasising with their emotions in the story.
That's what I really like about Morimyu.
So, WHAT'S THE POINT OF THIS?
So I had to scroll back to the top (lol) to quote this and make sure I haven't gone too far from the main theme.
Regarding musical Yuumori, there's always so many things I'd like to talk about. And if I start going on about it then it only gets harder to focus on one single topic.
Since the topic here is Morimyu and their music, especially in classical reference, I've tried to keep everything I've discussed relevant. But whenever I start on something, there would always be something that comes to mind. Like how other songs might also have certain connections, or how they used stage directions and lightings, etc. I really want to look more into stage directions in Morimyu as well, but that would have to wait...
Anyways, I tried to keep this as simple as possible. When I sent the first version of this to my friends, I keep having the feeling that I got too technical with all the theories about harmony and structure lol
And once again, this is only some of my own interpretation of the series that I've picked up.
If something else came to mind... well. Either way, for the purpose of engaging in their wonderful music or for the purpose of watching a beautiful stage just for enjoyment, Morimyu definitely is worth watching. And to watch over and over again. I've said this for Op. 2 but I'll say this ten times as much for Op. 3. Truly magnificent.
And, that's pretty much it that I have for today, I guess.
Thanks a lot to all my friends who gave me lots of inspiration and motivation to complete this ヽ(・∀・)ノ Lots of love to @rikaaki as well ヽ(・∀・)ノ
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comfyswitcherblanketfort · 4 years ago
Note
please please a part 2 of that gamer!geralt au, them doing something like Q&A
Nonie, I hope you know what you signed up for. This got out of hand lmao. like 2.4k of Q&A kind of out of hand. 
Warnings: swearing, talk of drinking to excess, kinda spicy questions, lil kisses, idk how but I meant for this to be goofy and horny and it got kinda soft? what’s new?
____________
“Holy shit,” Geralt sat staring at his phone as he mindlessly stirred pasta.
“I swear to god, if you found a way to burn noodles-” Jaskier turned away from the blender to wave a wooden spoon covered in pesto puree.
Geralt shook his head and held his phone up to him, scrolling through the replies to a tweet as he did, going on for ages as Jaskier’s jaw slowly got closer to the floor.
“What are those for?!”
“I put up a poll for a boyfriend Q&A or a game review and not a single person has voted for the game review.” Geralt was still scrolling through questions people wanted answered as he watched Jaskier’s face go from shock to confusion to a smug grin. 
“They love me,” he sang, kicking his heel up as he turned back to the pasta sauce.
Geralt rolled his eyes and started screenshotting some of the less invasive questions, shaking his head and muttering, “Course they do.”
-
Geralt pressed record, waited a moment, and heaved a dramatic, long-suffering sigh, “You guys literally didn’t even give me a choice on this one,” he reached off frame and scruffed Jaskier, plopping him down on the couch with him. 
Jaskier didn’t stay where he was put for even a moment, using his momentum to bounce up onto Geralt’s lap with a shit-eating grin, “Oh? Are we rolling?”
Geralt dropped his forehead to Jaskier’s shoulder, stifling a laugh, “This is gonna be a long one.”
“Yeah, it is,” Jask agreed, then turned to the camera, stroking Geralt’s hair, “My fans want more!”
“OH-kay,” Geralt manhandled Jaskier to sit next to him which earned him a pout and a leg draped over his lap as he continued his intro, “I’ve got a bunch of questions from twitter. I didn’t even have to confirm which video we would do, you guys just went straight for the kill. I picked a few, Jask picked a few, neither of us knows which ones the other picked.” he turned to see Jaskier wiggle his eyebrows at the camera, “Why am I thinking you picked the raunchy ones?”
The brunet pretended to be offended before he smirked, “Only a few.”
Geralt rolled his eyes. “Of course,” he nudged Jask with his shoulder and opened up his phone to his screenshots, “Okay! First up is AdamSandlersBitch, nice name. They asked what Jaskier’s favorite gaming console and game to play is.” he turned to Jaksier with raised eyebrows.
His boyfriend cringed, “My.. my phone? I don’t know? I play a lot of Candy Crush while I listen to podcasts?”
Geralt smiled sweetly, “Wait what about Stardew Valley? I thought you started that?”
“I did!” Jaskier brightened up for a moment before he deflated again, “But I got confused and then the ADHD made me bake cookies.”
“Those were good cookies. I’ll play with you if you want?” Geralt’s normal ‘streamer dude’ persona melted away while he played with the rips on Jaskier’s jeans. 
Jask leaned forward and kissed his temple, “I’d love that.” 
Geralt blushed, even after years, Jaskier’s affection still caught him off guard. 
“Mkay! My turn!” Jaskier flashed his devilish grin and read, in his most obnoxious voice, “Dwn2Clwn said ‘do you two live together? Have you said ‘i love you’? And who tops?’”
Geralt’s mouth twisted into an upside-down U as he stared at Jaskier in muted surprise, “Honestly, not as bad as I expected.”
Jaskier looped his arm around Geralt’s, “I’m starting off easy.”
Geralt let his mock-disapproving gaze linger just a bit before he answered, “The living together is kind of new-like a few months. This one said ‘I love you’ on, what? The fourth date? Fifth?”
“Fourth.”
“No, it was the fifth, Eskel locked himself out on the fourth. Remember?”
“Shit you’re right,” Jaskier gave the camera a stern look, “In my defense, we’d been friends for a good four years before this. I wasn’t just confessing my love to a tinder date - though I have done that before.”
Geralt nodded, “That was very amusing.”
Jaskier tapped his nose, “Don’t avoid the last part, darling.”
Geralt huffed and stared down the camera, and, in the most matter of fact tone possible, said, “We switch. Compromise, folks. Can’t have one person doing all the work all the time.”
Jaskier nodded sagely, patting Geralt's chest, “We got a pow-”
Geralt clamped his hand over Jaskier’s mouth, 100% sure he was going to say ‘power bottom pillow princess’, “Nope. I’ll get demonetized for that.”
“But not who tops?” Jaskier asked through Geralt’s fingers.
He just shrugged, “I don’t make the rules.”
Jaskier tapped his phone and raised his eyebrows, telling him to move to the next question. 
“Mis- Mischanication? Shit I hope I said that right, Mischanication asked, ‘would you ever get a pet together?’ We did! Her name is Roach and she’s a little shit! I told Jaskier not to feed her, but he did, now we have the snuggliest, crankiest cat I’ve ever met!” 
Jaskier had gotten up to pluck Roach from her perch on the windowsill when Geralt had read the question and plopped down with her as Geralt finished his proud speech, “She’s not a little shit! She’s just delicate! Isn’t that right, darling?”
Geralt scratched under her chin and cooed, “You are a nasty little dragon baby, aren't you?! Just a little garbage child! Yes, you are. We love the tiny demon beast.”
“Geralt!”
He snickered and kissed Jaskier’s hair, “Next question, love.”
Jaskier grumbled something about positive reinforcement as Roach scampered back to her cat tree and he unlocked his phone for his next tweet, “This darling wants to remain anonymous,” Geralt gave him some serious side-eye at that, “they said ‘I think I’m in love with the flower twink, where can I find one of my own?’”
Geralt frowned at the camera and pulled Jaskier onto his lap, holding him close and snuggling into his chest, almost growling, “Hands off.”
Jaskier giggled, brushing Geralt’s hair out of his face as he talked to the camera, “You heard the man. Unfortunately, I was not mass-produced and I’ve been spoken for.”
Geralt looked up at him with what could only be called suspicious puppy eyes, “You picked that one just to sit in my lap didn’t you?”
“Yes. And because I want to change my socials to ‘flower twink’.” 
“Do it,” Geralt kept Jaskier on his lap as he swiped to his next question, “Eggsfuckingsuck - heh, my dad hates eggs- Eggsfuckingsuck says, ‘what is the most embarrassing thing you’ve caught each other doing/saying?’ Oh boy, do I have a story for you!”
"Oh I couldn't say the thing but you can tell this story!?" 
"...you have a point... Check my insta stories. I'll put it there after I post this." 
Jaskier nodded, ever so pleased, and turned to the camera, "Our dear Yennefer of sorceryglammour once beat Geralt at trivia night when the theme was 'video games'." 
“We did shots before we went to the bar and she goaded me and Lambert into a chugging competition before the round started. I’m telling you, she planned this. Yen is ruthless.” Geralt desperately tried to justify his defeat but Jaskier was having none of it. 
“She’s mostly harmless, plus I have video evidence from that night. You weren’t that far gone.”
“Pull it up! Let’s settle it.”
Jaskier patted Geralt’s head like one would a toddler, “I’d have to get my old laptop out. Later, darling.”
Geralt had a smug look on his face, “That means he doesn’t have it anymore.”
“Next question!” Jaskier squeaked, not at all changing the subject. 
Geralt shrugged, “If you admit I won that one.”
“It’s not a competition!” Jaskier laughed, looking down at him with that stupidly smitten look on his face.
“Hmmm…” Geralt tilted his chin up defiantly, “if you say so.”
Jaskier kissed him, lingering a little bit more than could be considered chaste, “I do.” 
Geralt looked up at him, batting his eyelashes, “Fine then, next question.”
Jaskier handed him his phone and he read it off leaning his head on Jaskier’s shoulder, “CountryBumpkin42 asked if we play any instruments. I play the recorder very poorly, but Jask plays everything.”
“Not everything, but yes, I could cover a Trans Siberian Orchestra song if I had a pedalboard with enough loop settings.” Jaskier preened. 
“And more,” Geralt added, counting on his fingers as he spoke, “In this house alone he has two pianos, three different types of guitars, a drumset, a violin and fiddle, a flute and piccilo, an oboe, a mandolin, a lute, bongos, saxophone, clarinet, tambourine, trumpet, and xylophone. Did I get them all?”
Jaskier glanced from side to side with a guilty look, “Ah… no, I bought a bass sax that showed up last night.”
“Oh, did Thursday at 3 decide they wanted to switch after all?”
“Yeah! She got the third chair as a freshman on a loaner instrument! I’m very proud!”
Geralt seemed to remember they were recording and turned back to the camera, “J teaches music at the university and does private lessons.” 
“It’s how I can afford such a pretty trophy boyfriend,” Jaskier teased, ruffling Geralt’s hair and earning a little chuckle.
“Mkay, what do you have next?”
Jaskier smoothed Gearalt’s hair back down as he read the next question, “3R4108F6!J asks if we have any cute nicknames for each other.”
Geralt’s eyebrows nearly flew past his hairline, “J has a new one for me almost every day.”
“Its true,” Jaskier nodded, “I am a slut for cute nicknames. This morning was Ger Bear, one of my faves. I called him Thumbs for a bit, I lovingly call him Dumb Fuck rather often.”
“And he is Dip Shit, it’s balanced. I usually just shorten names? Jask or J is usually it, right?” Geralt asked, shifting so Jaskier was sitting on the couch between his legs and they were both turned out toward the camera but very much still cuddling. 
“And when I’m being childish I get Alfie. But Geralt is much more deliberate and specific with his nicknames. It’s a bit of a friendship level up when he uses nicknames.”
Geralt frowned at him, “I do that?”
Jaskier giggled, “You never noticed?”
He tilted his head, giving Jaskier a quizzical look, “Not at all.”
Jaskier cupped Geralt’s cheek, “You’re so cute.”
Geralt blushed again, leaning into the touch just a tad, “Who’s turn is it?”
“Yours,” Jaskier hummed, pressing a soft kiss to his forehead. 
“Okay,” Geralt blushed even more, “I had this one as an alternate, but uh, Yen asked what we’d name our first kid?” 
Jaskier leaned into Geralt’s shoulder and hummed as he thought for a moment, “I always like Blake or Spencer, but I seem to remember you saying something about old world traditional names?”
Geralt nodded, absentmindedly running his fingers up and down Jaskier’s arm, “My grandma was hoping each of us boys would be a girl and wanted mum to name us Cirilla every time. I quite like it, but I’m rather open as long as I don’t know someone with the name. I really like Eric?” 
“Oo, I like Eric.”
“But you like the neutral names.”
“I do, but it’s your hypothetical kiddo too.”
Geralt gave him a little squeeze, “There’s time for that later. What’s your next one?”
Jaskier snorted when he looked at his phone, “What are your guys’ love languages?”
Geralt just looked down at Jask, completely entangled in his arms, then up to the camera, “I’m gonna hazard a guess at physical touch.” 
“Yeah, I think that’s a safe bet,” Jaskier giggled, “I haven’t taken the quiz in years, but I was that and gifts.”
“Oh, yeah. Physical touch and words of affirmation. I got like a 0 on acts of service and gifts, but I really like giving gifts.” 
“Mhm, yes you do,” Jaksier wiggled his eyebrows, then turned to the camera, “I also had no idea you could have different giving and receiving languages till I met this one.”
Geralt nodded then turned to him with a slight frown, “you know I really thought your questions were going to be more graphic.”
“Oh, honey I saved the best for last,” Jaskier winked. 
“Fuck me,” Geralt grumbled before reading off his last question, “Cali852 asked what we did for Pride.”
Jaskier’s eyes lit up, “Oh Pride was fun. We watched the parade, of course, then Yen did our makeup and… and where did we go after that?”
Geralt looked like he’d been waiting for this, “We went to a club, where you ordered three kamakazis, knocked them all back, danced for twenty minutes, then I took you home.”
“N-no… we went to the beach, didn’t we?”
“That was the year before. We were going to go to the drag show at our regular bar too, but someone had just finished grading finals and went a little too hard.” 
Jaskier grinned, “Speaking of finals, time for the last question. I had a different one in mind but if the thing I cant say from earlier would get this demonetized then that defintitelyi would. So we’re going with ‘what is the wackest placy y’all banged?’”
Geralt snorted, “Shit who knows anymore?”
“Well there was the boat?”
“Or the train?”
“Nah, too standard. What about the cabin?”
“Heh, no I think your o-”
“I don’t have tenure darling,” It was Jaskier’s turn to slap his hands over Geralt’s mouth, “The answer is a dilapidated structure my parents still try to call a cabin out in the foothills.”
Geralt laughed and pulled his hand away, “Okay, that can be the answer.”
“Is that it? Now we just say bye?” Jaskier looked between Geralt and the camera.
Geralt shrugged, “Yeah. You wanna say the thing?”
Jaskier wiggled with a little pride and excitement, “Don’t forget to like and subscribe! Bye Fuckers!”
They both waved for a couple seconds before Geralt got up and turned the camera off. He popped out the memory card and was going to immediately start loading it onto his computer but Jask hooked his finger through a belt loop as he walked past and tugged him back down. 
“I’m tired. Snuggle with me.” 
Geralt hummed, “We just snuggled that whole time.”
Jaskier heaved a dramatic sigh, “I know and this is exhausting. I don’t know how you talk to a camera all day.”
Geralt stretched to set the chip on top of his laptop before collapsing back on top of Jaskier who had stretched the length of the couch, “Are you making fun of me?” he teased. 
Jaskier cupped his face between his hands and pulled him up for a deep kiss, “Oh never.” 
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girlfriendsofthegalaxy · 3 years ago
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tuesday again 8/10/21
got a bunch of followers (many of you are Cool Teens, so also a reminder im 26 and an adult and you’re responsible for curating your own internet experience) anyway there’s a bunch of new folks since the last time this was a regular series, so i am going to pre-answer some things that popped up in my inbox last week.
a quick reminder that this is empathetically NOT a recommendations or review blog series. this is a quick snapshot of what i’m thinking about with regards to mass media this week, and sometimes i’m funny about it and sometimes i also do interesting diy shit
a work can be culturally or historically relevant and important in the history of a genre AND be extremely difficult to recommend unless i know you very well due to. hm. let us say many pitfalls due to the inherent nature of the genre or the time it was made in it any number of other factors that make it unpalatable to modern audiences but still worth knowing about. doesthedogdie dot com will be your friend here for anything i talk about ever
being critical of a work doesn’t just mean pointing out its flaws- was it successful in telling the story it wanted to tell? were the techniques it used effective? were the emotions it elicited in me probably the ones the creators set out to elicit? these are key components of a good review and often help me break down what i want to say about a particular piece of media in any given week, but this isn’t a review series of blog posts either.
i am literally just some guy and you should question everything i say
listening i’m gonna wash that man right out of my hair (from the musical South Pacific) brought to you by a random mix of classic movie musicals bc apparently im that kinda gay this week.
like a lot of other fifties media that aged like milk, i have fond memories of watching this with my grandmother. this isn’t even my favorite song from the musical (that would be bali hai’i) but i think it is one of the more technically interesting non-solo ones. specifically, the faint siren-y dissonance on “ahoy, ahoy!” has really been stuck in my head. the melancholy “ah fuck we’ve broken our hearts again” vibe on “rub him out of the roll call/and drum him out of your dreams” with all the girls singing is probably a result of a soprano-heavy cast, but it’s almost chimey in a way? the rhyme scheme of those lines has an excellent mouthfeel. ms gaynor singing “cancel hiiiiiim” has a very different vibe in 2021
two (really three? maybe four? the world is large and mysterious) things can be true at the same time: i don’t think i could watch this musical again as an adult because i don’t think there’s a good way to salvage or update it. the very qualities of this musical that make me go “fuckin yikes” as adult were the very qualities that made my grandmother love it so much. i can hold a bittersweet memory of a rare late movie night with a complicated lady and at the same time wish she were a better person. the dead never leave you with answers.
reading yet another fallow week. this field is turning back into forest
watching i often say “AAA video game (derogatory)” when talking offline about the bad batc/h, but this was a real bioshock ass lookin episode. i don’t think this show is succesful at making or having a point. mostly because it cannot contradict any existing lore in one of the most traversed time periods of this franchise, even with the expanded universe reboot. it falls into the uncomfortable realm of most starred wars media: this is a franchise for children but it also has to cater to legions of grownup fanatics with lots of money. but by god does it “feel” like starred wars. something not all the sequel trilogy movies or much of the clone wars series were successful at.
as a sidebar to that last sentence. the most memorable (imo) scene of the fucking sequel trilogy is the back-to-back battle couple thing in ep seven, which i have just rewatched, and it simply does not hold up. there are too many cuts to other sideplots, which kills any tension dead, and it’s mostly fighting on opposite sides of the room in frantic desperation instead of what i wanted, which was more than five seconds of synergy. it’s a bad rhyme of the final throne room fight in rotj and my memory of the thing is so much better, which is always disappointing.
back to the main point, i think a big part of something “feeling” like starred wars is big setpieces and fights that make you go “HAHA YES FUCKIN SICK WHY NOT!!!!” like, nobody ever Just gets shot in the head and temporarily incapacitated, they get half-vadered by the engines of a derelict ship trying to go to hyperspace while it’s grounded. this franchise has never met a location it couldn’t destroy in a beautiful and awful shower of light while the string sections of three combined orchestras play their hearts out.
this franchise is so fucking stupid and i am so invested in it
playing got my hands on the death trash early access, very hype to play it, have been too busy turning this apartment into a functional and comfortable space to live in for three separate people with their own separate toiletries and groceries and work from home/school schedules
making related to the above, the fucking kitchen table and chairs are done.
things wot i did friday night/saturday morning:
new rubber feeties on everybody
wrapped the legs that structurally couldn’t get new rubber feeties in jute to be kinder to my rental linoleum
bolted the legs back on the table and rebalanced it bc the jute wasn’t quite even
did a very halfassed job of fixing the drawer rails on the table
bolted the chair tubing back together
took all the old decorative tacks out of the backs of the chairs
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scrubbed the seats and backs and the pieces the tacks were holding down with mild detergent (partially effective, it still has some patina but is sanitized)
re-covered the bottoms of the chairs in remnant black polyester to replace mildewed black canvas
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put in new decorative tacks on the seat backs
bolted the vinyl parts to the chrome tubing parts (a long and frustrating process since there were two sizes of decidedly non-standard nuts and bolts)
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wiped everything down again for idk good luck
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sitting at my kitchen table in the sun eating a breakfast sandwich and some terrible iced tea on sunday morning was very nice. i lived in the south just long enough to get Opinions on iced tea and how the north can’t get it right. shouldn’t be gritty. shouldn’t be bitter. how is this even happening
some very very halfassed “during” pics
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werewolf-cl4ws · 3 years ago
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Random head cannons for my AU because these require oddly specific questions I don’t think I’ve ever seen ask memes have.
A lot of these I do have something to back them up with, but others it's just logical hilarity to me because I can.
Kitty!Sonic:
- absolutely mistrusts/gets annoyed by anyone that is an "authority figure" (i.e. adults "in charge", leaders, etc) but does nothing to actually be useful. As a kid he was always told to listen to the adults because "they know best", but after the coup and seeing a good number of adults doing everything in their power to just save their own hides or hiding, it fucked him right off. Only adults he’s ever respected were his uncle and Rosie (Rosie took some time to gain that trust though because why the hell is she teaching us maths when people need help???). Bookshire is another but he does fight Bookshire on occasion because Sonic hates fussing with medical stuff.
This carried on into his own adulthood, and it’s hilarious whenever someone points out he’s the adult now as it sets off his aversion to being older, but if he has to be called an adult then damnit he’s gonna be a USEFUL one at least.
And yes he has confirmed on many occasions that he can and will flip off King Acorn if he plays up. What's he gonna do, ground him? Arrest his for treason? He flipped off Robotnik, he ain't scared of no thing.
- his uncle was brilliant with robotics and mechanics and science. Sonic has literally zero idea about any of those. And yet he’s weirdly good at chemistry. But he doesn’t get a lot of opportunities to use this so no one knows this, but Rotor has come by chemistry formulas mysteriously solved if he leaves them out on his workbench after a night of wracking his brains over why something isn’t working. How does Sonic know this? Nobody knows, Sonic will never tell either, and will deny he’s even good at it.
- he’s also very good at physics, in that he knows exactly how to break physics to do impossible shit. He’s great at figuring out just what angles he needs to shoot himself into to get the most air time, how much speed and lift to land in the exact spot, etc. It all happens automatically to him (it has to, going at the speeds he does there’s literally no time to plan this shit) but if someone asks him he will actually figure it out in the spot with freakishly good accuracy, and can do it not just with him being the projectile but any object (he has worked out perfect catapult trajectories before and it still baffles everyone to this day). Again, he doesn’t know how he knows this, will never tell anyone he knows how to do this, and will deny he knows this.
- he’s also good with musical instruments. Obviously his favourite is the electric guitar, but if you give him a sheet of music and at least an hour to mess around with the instrument he’ll work it out. Getting to watch him play the violin is a rare but delightful treat. This is his special interest, the thing he would have gotten into if the world hadn’t gone to shit. He doesn’t get to indulge in it as much as he’s like but he loves music and could ramble about it for hours on end if given the chance.
The con of this though is that he's really good at identifying music, including ones from operas and orchestras. Sally takes great delight in making him identify both because he does get embarrassed about it, but his pride doesn't allow him to just not pick them out.
- he likes to cook, but he prefers recipes that allow him to leave things to cook without him needing to watch it once it’s prepared. So baking, roasting, slow cook stuff like soups and chili, that’s his jam. Anything that’s gonna be a long haul he has to be basically trapped in his hut to do it without wanting to go nuts (so extra cold days where being outside would be hell are good cooking days).
- during the summer he sleeps in a hammock. During the winter he sleeps in a bed and practically buries himself in blankets.
- loves bubblegum. Gum balls, sticks of gum, whatever. If it’s gum he loves it. Unfortunately it is non existent thanks to the coup (shelf life of gum is terrible) so finding any that’s not terrible is an amazing day.
- milk and cookies is oddly a comfort food to him. Something about the simplicity of it just works for him, and ridiculously shit days are made better by it. Default choc chip cookies work best.
- he hates spiders. More specifically, he hates when you see a spider, look away, then look back only to find the spider is gone. Spiders themselves don’t bother him until they do that, but once they do he has to fight himself to not just set whatever building or dwelling he happens to be on fire in order to solve the issue of having to deal with it later.
- he’s about .0001 seconds away from just walking away into the forest and never coming back. He won’t do it because he honestly doesn’t want to abandon his friends… but he’s so close to just becoming a cryptic in the forest. He has wandered off before when things get super annoying, but someone always drags him back, much to his endless frustration.
Sally:
- can’t cook for anything. Sonic has seen her burn water. Toast somehow always ends in fire. No one ever attempt to drink her coffee for your own sake.
And yet somehow she makes really, really good pancakes. Like ridiculously good. She makes them very rarely because she’s always busy with something and has been banned from all kitchens, but when she does they’re amazing and no one can figure out how this happens.
- if she’s snacking on nuts or anything that doesn’t go soggy (like hard/dry fruits, or extra crusty breads) she will sometimes keep some in her cheeks. Not to the point that her cheeks will be bulging with them, but if she’s working while snacking she will just stash some away so she can focus on what she’s doing, and then when she’s done just finishes those off. This only happens when she needs to focus so she’s pretty discreet about this and has perfected talking/quick chewing with them if someone interrupts her.
- she loves video games, but because they’re so hard to come by thanks to the coup she doesn’t get to play as often as she’d like. She knows Sonic, Tails and Rotor has some stashed away and has played them on the sly, which has left them wondering how their high scores got beaten or how new levels have been unlocked. Though she has to be careful about this because if she’s left alone with them long enough she will just play them until either she finishes the game, or someone physically drags her away from it. This is probably her only weak point in terms of something that can just pull her away entirely from everything.
- she is very, very neat… only because she literally doesn’t make a mess of anything thanks to her one-track mind. If she’s working on a plan or something that needs a lot of research she will basically just make a pathway to her desk and bed and leave everything else undisturbed. She will still shower, only because the shower is just another place for her to think without interruption. This is a big factor on why she can’t cook for shit, too. She just… doesn’t. At all. Because she’s gotta work. Work is life because they may literally die if she can’t figure plans out
- she is genuinely fascinated by legends and myths, which we see a lot of in SatAM. Although she does sometimes dismiss some legends or myths as just stories, if she finds anything that even hints at it being real, and if time allows it, she will chase it down. If it’s anything that might be especially useful in their fight she will go for it after doing a ton of research to make sure she’s got every angle and possibility down. The researching to that extent is due to her own perfectionism, but also because if the expedition turns out to be a bust it could mean time that should have been spent on something else/time being away from the village for a crapshoot.
Sonic and Sally as a couple:
- they don’t use pet names for one another… until one of them is absolutely pushing their luck with the other. Pet names = stop it.
- Sally did once call Sonic a shit-weasel out of anger during such a scenario, and then was immediately apologetic for it because that was Too Far™. Sonic said that made him fall in love with her all over again and it was an awesome insult. Pet names are still a no-go though.
- they live together and everyone thinks it’s Sonic that would be the nightmare to live with.
It’s not.
It’s Sally.
Sonic does get messy and likes to live in organised chaos, but Sally just has the worst sleeping habits (she doesn’t sleep), functions mostly on auto-pilot (the amount of times she eats the last of something but leaves the box it came in/was stored in for Sonic to find drives him up the wall something shocking all because she’s just vaguely thinking "I need food I suppose" alongside whatever she’s doing at the time), and if she’s working on something big she will spread herself everywhere (including Sonic’s bed if he isn’t in it or on it in some way).
Sonic won’t move out because he genuinely thinks if he did Sally would never sleep at proper hours or eat like a regular person unless he monitors her. Plus they actually really do like each other’s company and do miss one another if they aren’t in the same space in their down time. But Sonic is constantly amazed at just how much of a gremlin Sally can be and no one believes him.
- Sally takes great delight in this and amps up her gremlin behaviour because of it. If she does this in front of anyone else it just gets encouraged. It’s okay though because Sonic knows how to be a bastard so it’s a constant battle of who can out bastard or out gremlin who.
- they sleep separately (see aforementioned sleeping habits of gremlin ground squirrel), but on occasion will share a bed. Or share the couch. Sharing will almost always result in Sonic being used as a pillow/mattress but he’s fine with it, as long as it means Sally’s sleeping and they get to cuddle ‘cause cuddling is great.
- Sally loves puns. Sonic has begged her not to say puns. He secretly loves them but he hates that he gets them (temporarily forgetting your own language, then relearning it is a trip and picking up the puns does things to his head). Sally does not stop the puns. This has led to Sonic almost achieving his goal of becoming a forest cryptic as he does just start walking out when she starts.
- this is kinda canon but I like to joke that they are actually legally married and this happened during their zone-hopping adventures. But the marriage itself happened in the most mundane way for the most mundane reason, and yet it is legally binding and they do actually have wedding rings from it. They don’t wear the rings but they do carry it on their person at all times, and pull them out just to blindside people with them because it’s funny.
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iheartsunset · 4 years ago
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Papa Louie Scarlett HCs
-Rosabella Ocampo is a 23 year old singer/songwriter and graduate school student who lives with her fiancé, Rudy, in a Powder Point condo. She is widely known by her legal/stage name, Scarlett Heart and is the lead singer/songwriter of Scarlett and the Shakers. While punk ska and playing gigs with her friends are her true passion, Scarlett plans to become a game theory professor in the future. She can mostly be seen writing lyrics for a new song, riding roller coasters with Rudy, climbing trees with Clover, and just vibing with Marty.
-Scarlett is rather bold and seductive, often playfully flirting with others or making jokes about inappropriate topics. I stole this from Rouge, thanks SnapCube fandub for revitalizing my love for Sonic. Alongside her flirtatiousness is her intelligence and desire to succeed, using rules and lessons that she learned from various games to apply to her daily life. Thanks to her love of poker and mahjong, Scarlett has grown to be very analytical and sly in her motives. Out of the shakers, she is undoubtedly the big sister friend as she’s kind of a bad influence on the rest of them and is always subjected to scoldings by mom friend, Janana.
-Rudy calls her “Princesa” because of her Cinderella-like backstory. Her mother was a very kind woman and Scarlett lived happily with her and her father. Her mother died in a roadside construction accident when Scarlett was only 9, leaving Scarlett heartbroken. Her father then married a woman named Moira with two sons, Graham and David, who was emotionally abusive towards Scarlett until she moved out at age 16. Scarlett’s relationship with her dad deteriorated over time and she’s basically disowned them since. She finds solace in Marty and Clover’s parents, who think of Rudy and Scarlett as their own. She also got along with the other Frostfield residents and helped Willow get back into hockey after her infamous car accident (the first one).
-Stan Twitter often makes memes of her because she’s so iconic and quotable. One of her most iconic moments was when she screamed “I wrote this next one about my bitch ass stepmom. Moira, if you’re listening, your hair is limp and you fucking suck!” at the VMAs.
-Music was her escape as a child, hence why she learned to sing and play multiple instruments. However, her stepmother made her play the violin in the school orchestra as opposed to being allowed in a punk rock band. Even though she was concertmaster and first chair, she hated life so badly. Scarlett can play the guitar, bass guitar, violin, cello, drums, the trumpet, the saxophone, the bassoon, the piano, the xylophone, the harp, the flute, the recorder, the French horn, the clarinet, i didn’t even list all of them and I’m tired already. When one of the other shakers has lead vocals on a song, she’ll take over playing their instrument.
-Scarlett met Rudy during their shared freshman year of high school. Hazelnut High’s orchestra department had its annual field trip to Powder Point (based off my actual orchestra field trip!). Scarlett decided to sneak away from her snobby classmates and teachers and have the time to herself. On one particularly large roller coaster, she sat next to a boy with a Mohawk who told her that since he was a Powder Point native, he could more than handle it. He then proceeded to cry the entire time while holding her hand. They realized how much they had in common and kept in contact even after her trip was over. Their relationship is super lovey dovey, yet chill at the same time. Couple goals, but not on the level of Prudence x Cooper x Taylor.
-The shakers got together during the 23rd season of Flipline’s Got Talent. After the shocking elimination of Taylor Morales in the quarterfinals, the remaining acts were merged together. Scarlett and Rudy and Marty and Clover were two sets of pairs merged together. They all got along beforehand and loved Scarlett’s songwriting, so they all wrote an original song together for the finals. Even though they were fan favorites and had lots of support from the audience, Bill and Boopsy’s amazing ventriloquy act was what won the show, with the upset Shakers coming in second place. Afterwards, they were approached by Janana who offered to become their agent, and all they’ve known since was success. Fun fact: Rudy wouldnt accept Clover and Marty into their act unless they beat him and Scarlett at poker. They did.
-The shakers each can speak multiple languages, with Scarlett being able to speak fluent English and Tagalog, Tagalog being her native language (Filipino gang!). She can also speak some Spanish, Japanese, Arabic, Hindi, and Gaelic because she hangs around the other Shakers and Janana so much.
-All of the food, drinks, clothes, and personal belongings Scarlett loves are various shades of red. Cherries, longanisa, red wine, and candied strawberries are her favorite. Her entire wardrobe? Red. Her LED lights? Red. It honestly scares Rudy how red everything is.
-Her voice would either be Jessica Sanchez from American Idol or Gwen Stefani from the No Doubt era. She also covers a lot of No Doubt songs during their concerts. Speaking of covers, the shakers like to sing classic rock songs as well as modern day hits. Scarlett has the vocal range to do Ariana and Mariah Carey justice.
-Her and Marty are best friends. They’re both on the same wavelength and will most likely have the same reaction to memes, like word for word the same reaction. They usually have to get Rudy and Clover out of trouble most days. I love their chaotic, yet chill energy, like the types that just sit and observe and quietly make funny comments to each other.
-She determines whether she likes you or not based off of how good you are at mahjong or poker. If you suck enough to let her win, she’ll love you forever but if you match her in ability, she’ll respect you but kinda fear you as well. If you refuse to play altogether, she hates you. She’s a game theory student, so playing any board game with her is grounds for disaster because she’ll use her weird psychology and tricks to win all the time. Ironically, she sucks at video games. Even though she loves games of chance, she’s hugely against casinos and betting, instead trading small trinkets like food or makeup.
-At the Cheeseria, she set up a poker table, a mahjong table, and a pool table for the entertainment. They unfortunately had to get rid of the Uno table because somebody (ahem, Jojo) got a little too heated over a match with Papa and Wally. And by “got a little too heated”, I mean that Jojo literally got in a fist fight with Papa and lost.
-All she watches are telenovelas. Don’t ask about The Office or Game of Thrones, all she knows is stuff like Rubi and Maria la del Barrio.
-She doesn’t like musical theater except for Phantom of the Opera. She has taken a few roles as Kim in Miss Saigon, but secretly regrets it because musical theater is so much harder than just a regular concert. She still respects theater actors, but will never again sit through Anything Goes.
-She is the only one of the workers who has managed to successfully punch Guy Mortadello. Koilee and Rudy came close, but Scarlett landed an especially hard punch to his nose. Next to being engaged and forming Scarlett and the Shakers, she says it’s the third happiest day of her life. Now, Guy Mortadello is extremely scared of Scarlett and will cry if he sees her or hears her song on the radio (which is all the time).
-She has a tattoo of a heart of her hand along with a crown. On three of her fingers are a yellow Diamond, green clover, and blue spade.
-Scarlett is absolutely gorgeous and badass, I always kept rewinding Papas Cheeseria just to see her and Rudy in the opening because I had crushes on them both. Anyways, stan Scarlett for good grades (it’s not working though I’m still failing two classes)
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theexecutionerssong · 5 years ago
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SKAM FRANCE BTS MASTERPOST
This is a master post of BTS anecdotes told in interviews, at cons, screenings and on social media. Don’t click the read more if you don’t want to lose some of the magic. I know sometimes knowing too much of how a show was shot can ruin it. Also, it’s very obvious that there was more promo starting around season 3 than for the first two seasons, don’t hold it against me. Feel free to message me if you think of something else as I must have forgotten a ton of things.
CASTING, REHEARSALS, BTS IN GENERAL
Skam France had the rights for the 4 seasons first but had to follow the original script almost to a T for the first 2 and if the audience was big enough then they would be allowed to distance themselves from OG
Skam France casted actors that were as close personality wise to their characters as possible, which made it easier for the cast to identify with their characters and made the friendships developping between the characters more believable since it was also developping off screen
They were not allowed to cast underaged actors who would have been closer to the real age of the characters due to the long hours of the shooting conditions
Most of the actors come from theatre and many had no or little previous experience with shooting for a camera before
The cast isn’t allowed to watch the clips before they air.
Most of the clothes they wear in the show are their own.
During rehearsals of the first seasons, Philippine went to the board with everyone’s names on it and wrote something funny next to Zoe’s name and wanted to send it to her but she messed up and published it on her ig stories, leaking the entire cast when it was still supposed to be a secret.
Lula’s first reaction when she got the script and “met” Daphné was “oh no I’m scared. I just want to slap her, she’s insufferable”
Assa almost didn’t audition for two reasons: the casting call didn’t specify they were looking for a woman of color and French casting calls almost always say whether they are specifically looking for a black woman. If it says nothing then they are usually looking for a white person. She thought she had no chance because of that. Second reason, after accepting the casting call, she did some research and found out OG Sana was from the Maghreb and she’s not. But her agent convinced her to go through with it, the only thing the skam france team wouldn’t negotiate was that they wanted a Muslim actress. There was no way they would have casted a non muslim actress/actor for Imane and Sofiane.
Skam France was the first TV show on French TV to have a black muslim  woman wearing a hijab as a main character
Paul, Robin and Axel knew each other before shooting, they’d met in Avignon.
Coline was still in her last year of high school when she shot the first two seasons.
Niels is the one who came up with a raccoon as Eliott’s spirit animal
They shoot about 15 minutes of usable content per day which is impressive (it’s usually 2-3 for movies released in theatres, 5-7 for TV programs)
When France TV told David the first two seasons were a success and they were renewing the show, he gave them a list of things he wanted to change so that he’d agree to come back to direct the next seasons, including a different camera, renewing the writers team (they included Niels), storylines, the ig content, etc. The new camera they got was a SONY Venice which allows them to play a lot with the focus/blur ratio and the cold and warm undertones, which made a major shift in the visual quality of seasons 3 and 4 compared to the previous 2.
David named Eliott after his son.
Having the teaser from Eliott’s POV was David’s idea. It’s the first remake to have a clip from the French Even’s POV
The bus stop from season 3 is fake, it doesn’t exist. It wasn’t even shot in Paris itself but in Saint Ouen.
Maxence didn’t watch OG - besides the towels in the bathroom clip - because he wanted to create his own Eliott without being too influenced, and he didn’t watch s1 and 2 of skam france either because he wanted Eliott to discover the characters without knowing their backgrounds.
Maxence wasn’t supposed to audition. He wanted to be done with his acting school before shooting anything but the head of the casting team came to watch a public class at his school and asked him to audition for Eliott at the end. David and Niels knew right away he was the one. Niels watched the audition tapes and was very impressed with another actor but within the first 3 seconds of watching Maxence, he knew it wouldn’t be anyone else. Maxence met Axel after the 3rd call back and they clicked right away. He’d broken his foot two days earlier so he was in crutches. They watched Even’s manic episode and had to improvise a similar scene but had to do with the crutches. They also went for a drink before shooting and they talked for hours, their connection was instantaneous. 
When he learned Maxence was cast, Axel went on his instagram and saw the model pictures and thought he was way too hot with the abs and everything and he himself would look like a potato during the nude scenes next to him. So he got a coach and for 3 months he trained and got on a very strict diet. He was disappointed that there were no shots where you could actually see his abs properly in Skam. He had also said months before that he had gotten a coach because before they started shooting seasons 3 and 4, he had met up with Marilyn to get advice on how to carry a season and she had told him to get a coach otherwise he wouldn’t be able to keep up with the pace. So what is the truth?
It leaked that Maxence was casted in July 2018 because someone on a Korean website recognized his shoes in an IG story from when he’d been spotted at the airport months earlier but it was kept mostly under wraps. Then his and Lais’s names leaked too a couple of months later but most people hadn’t seen his face before the trailer.
David asked Axel and Maxence to give up their phones and social media during the couple of months they were shooting to be really focused and not get distracted by the outside world and they mostly did. Axel bought an mp3 to still have music, he wrote “LUCAS ♥” on it with a white out pen. He created a playlist for Lucas, including songs like Run Boy Run and I love you by Woodkid, and To Build a Home by the Cinematic Orchestra.
Maxence’s process to get ready for a shot: he does yoga and dances a lot in the morning. he puts music on and paces a room while picturing himself standing on the edge of a cliff and if at some point he feels like falling and loses his balance, it means he’s got it. He asks that all the scripts he gets be printed on the right side of the page and on the left he takes notes about what the character is feeling through 7 different states: love, hate, fear, power, vulnerability, sex and i hate myself for not remembering the last one. To play a scene properly, you have to conjure up 4 states to create one emotion. He loves that David respects his method and is able to adapt to every member of the cast’s method. He also uses his body as a tool, for example if his character has to feel lonely or unsure, he will curl up into a ball for an hour without moving and then he’ll be in the right mindset because his body is telling him he’s isolated. That’s the method he used for Eliott, he created “lost scenes” that weren’t in the script, moments in between scenes with Lucas, to get more into Eliott’s mindset.
Maxence wrote a letter to Eliott, drew a picture of him, and spent hours adding notes to the script about his personality before even trying to get into his mind. 
There was a contest for the drawings in season 3. Maxence participated but didn’t get picked. Jeanne Lelièvre did!
All the social media content for seasons 3 and 4 were shot on the same day in December 2018 which is why you can see heavy winter clothing even when the content was published in May. For season 3, most ideas were Axel’s, and Maxence said no to 90%. 
While shooting for seasons 3 and 4, Axel was also on stage every night for theatre
To prepare for his role in s3, Axel watched CMBYN, Moonlight, and The Office 
They received more feedbacks from international fans than French ones at first. It was even a private joke between Niels and David, there were no comments in French on Youtube. Then the piano clip happened and David’s phone went crazy with notifications. He was in the editing room with Jérémy and the buzzing from his phone was non stop. They banned phones in the editing room after that.
Skam France owes part of its popularity to how accessible the cast and crew are, either on social media or IRL, with 6 entirely free events organized to get the fans and the cast and crew to meet, watch episodes together and have Q&As during seasons 3 and 4.
Skam France shooting locations have become extremely popular for the fans to hang out at and leave little mementos, to the point that the mayor of Paris has asked the team to pick completely untraceable locations, or make sure they are not in Paris itself for the next seasons
Skam France was the first remake to get renewed for 2 (possibly 4?) original seasons
Alexia and Daphné were supposed to have their own seasons they but couldn’t get the green light from Norway. He got the idea for Arthur’s story quite quickly after but they had to rework the scripts for seasons 5 and 6 a lot. Robin talked to David about his addiction to video games and how it could be a potential theme but in the end David chose deafness instead.
SEASONS 1 AND 2
It was Coline’s idea to make Alexia bi. There was a scene when Alexia mentions an ex boyfriend and she asked David “why wouldn’t it be a girl?” and his only reaction was “Ok. What’s her name?” and that’s how bi!Alexia was born.
It was also Coline’s idea to give Alexia’s colorful hair. She later regretted it because she had to bleach her hair twice to get the blue to stay and it fried her hair.
Assa’s worst memory of shooting s1 and 2 is when the girls have to carry Daphné, she kept dropping her and was afraid of hurting her.
Marilyn and Lula ruined the scene when the girls are having breakfast all together when they are on the countryside because they couldn’t stop laughing over carrots and the crunchy noise it was making. It was the last day of shooting and their nerves were all over the place.
SEASON 3
The first scene in the common room didn’t hit them that much, they didn’t realize the impact it would have because the whole shooting was just David yelling at them to look at each other then stop then do it again then stop etc
Nobody realized how big of an impact the “Moi c’est Eliott” line would have and then when they watched the clip, it was obvious.
The check de gang wasn’t scripted, it was Paul’s idea to make it a running gag. David wasn’t sure about it but after doing it just once, he was sold. Basile tripping over the bench was also Paul’s idea but he didn’t warn anyone he was doing it so Xavier started laughing and the camera was shaking so bad that they couldn’t keep it and had to reshoot the scene. They noticed during the editing process that Robin also tripped at the same time in the background during one take so they had to keep that one. 
Lucas playing the piano was Axel’s idea even though he didn’t know how to play properly. He sent a text to David at the end of June with different ideas for songs and David picked the most difficult one. He then practiced anytime he could until they shot the scene in october. It took him two months to learn it completely and then a little more to make it look easy.  (Niels later said it was his idea and that Axel was a cheeky little shit). Maxence had never heard Axel play the song before that moment so Eliott’s reaction is genuine. He didn’t think he’d manage to get in the right state of mind because the apartment was too small for the whole team and they were all very cranky, it was 3 am, but the moment he heard the first notes, he forgot all about it and was completely amazed.
The infiltration party: David asked that Basile pushes Daphné a bit, like shoves her out of the way when they have to run, but they hadn’t had the time to rehearse anything. After a couple of takes, Paul pushed Lula a bit too hard and she fell on her knees quite hard. He felt so bad because he never wanted to hurt her and they all had to take a half an hour break because her knees hurt. David after that was like OKAY NO MORE STUNTS EVER.
Axel got mad at the makeup department because the two lines on his face were not on the same place when they shot the outside scene and then once inside. He got so angry he could have cried that they wouldn’t believe him. So during the shooting he looked straight at the camera and wiped them away with the back of his hand to force them to draw the lines properly.
The first kiss scene: they had been shooting for 12 hours. It was raining intermittently all day so the team had to pack up the cameras often and wait it out when it was too much. They ran 4 hours late. They had a fake rain machine but no change of clothes so they could only shoot once. Below the bridge is not easily accessible, it’s a long path from the gate, so they used ropes to get things up and down from the bridge. They only had one shot. They had already shot kissing scenes but David was always telling them it had to be more passionate and kept yelling at them to use more tongue so for that shot they gave it their everything on the first (and only) take they did. 5 minutes later they were shooting the Remember scene.
They shot all the scenes in the colloc on the first week of shooting. Minute by minute was shot right before Samedi 9h17. They had to restart shooting samedi 9h17 four times because something wasn’t working between Axel and Maxence, they were clumsy and stressed. After taking 5 minutes to themselves with David to remind themselves of how pivotal the scene was, Axel and Maxence said they were ready and they shot the opening scene that made the cut.
The Phase de latence clip : Axel and Maxence felt like terrible actors because they had already shot all the big very emotional scenes and this was a bit tamer since Eliott doesn’t show much emotions. They felt that way about all the scenes shot in the school.
The Fête de trop clip: They shot the fight with the guys 8 times but it wasn’t enough for David until Robin slapped Axel on the 9th. After that they shot Chloé yelling at Lucas. Axel was still out of it due to the slap he’d gotten earlier that he hadn’t expected. At 3am, they finished with Lucas injuring his hands. Axel cracked the metacarpus in his hand and only told David two days later.
Leo has talked about the coming out bench scene and said Yann took it a bit too far and was too dramatic, he was like “i don’t know if i can say that… but c’mon… I mean. C’mon… that’s your best friend… who cares if he didn’t tell you right away, he had bigger problems on his mind, right?”He would have done it differently.
The “viens on n’en parle pas” scene was shot in 50 minutes in the middle of the night on the second day of shooting. Marilyn and Axel’s emotions were briming under the surface so it was one of the easiest scene to shoot.
The hardest scene to shoot for David in s3 was the intervention clip. It was the second day of shooting, the 4th clip of the day. Axel’s first take was not good enough and David was scared it would set the tone for the season. He had a stern talk with Axel. Thankfully, they shot a second time and it was the right one, everyone on set was crying and Axel was completely drained.  
The scene where they go get the couch from the creepy place is the one they shot last for season 3.
The paint scene: they only had one try. Axel and Maxence hadn’t shot together for a week, David had done it on purpose and they’d missed each other. It was shot on a Friday at the exact time it was supposed to happen IRL. The whole thing lasts 14 minutes long. David took their pants off because they were slipping too much. Xavier almost stopped filming he was like “is he serious? did he just take their pants off??”. They shot a part when one of them slips on the ground and the other follows but that didn’t make the cut. There were 25 people on set, everyone in a suit to protect from the paint, but Axel and Maxence forgot everyone and just got lost in their characters. When David yelled cut, Axel and Maxence didn’t hear him and kept making out. David had to separate them. Then they all were so happy that they yelled their joy but then saw all the people who were behind the camera, and everyone was crying, like they had witnessed something too intimate. They showered for an hour, emptied 2 bottles of soap and even then it wasn’t enough, Axel still had paint running down his neck at a party that evening. The music used on set was Dreamer, the Khlar remix. Maxence was upset it wasn’t the one they ended up using in the clip, it felt like a betrayal because it “wasn’t the song they had made love to”.
Maxence fought with the costume department over the briefs he was wearing in the paint scene, because they had shot the PONI scene first and he could remember which ones he was wearing for the PONI scene and he wanted to wear the same ones. He was sure people would notice.
The first scene Maxence ever shot was the PONI scene. 
The boat scene was quite special. It was a big moment for Maxence, he was extremely nervous, so David reduced the team on set as much as he could. Maxence got upset at Axel for being too present during the scene. Being used to a theatre stage, Axel is always a bit over the top, eating his ham with a flourish, stuff like that, but this was supposed to be Eliott’s big scene. Maxence asked for a break and told David that if Axel didn’t tone it down, he’d kill him. That also got resolved quickly. 
The Remember Me scene: the priest is Lula’s dad. Lula and Niels both make a cameo in the church. They forgot to warn Axel that a car was coming when he’s running so his reaction is genuine. He was running so fast, the minivan with the camera couldn’t keep up so they shot it twice. They shot Lucas finding Eliott under the bridge just after shooting the first kiss. Maxence only had 4 minutes to get into the right state of mind which was extremely challenging and during that time he had to change his clothes, dry his hair and redo his makeup. Axel wasn’t feeling very well, he was exhausted after having shot 4 clips that day, but David told him he could do it so he ran on the path to the bridge harder than ever (David thought he was going to hurt his sinews) and when he fell to his knees, he was close to passing out, you can actually hear when he says the first “t’es pas tout seul” that he’s about to throw up / can’t breathe properly. They only shot that part once and after it was done David told them they should hug each other because what they had just done with Lucas and Eliott was precious and a moment to remember.  
There was supposed to be a scene after the Remember scene but it was cut. Eliott is sleeping, Lucas brings him food and starts reading his book and then Eliott wakes up. They say hi, Eliott is confused about the time it is, it’s already late afternoon. He says he needs to leave, but Lucas tells him no. He keeps saying he has to go, he has to go to his parents. Lucas tells him it’s fine, they’ve been warned of where he is. But he says he’s got to leave anyway. Lucas asks him why he keeps insisting he needs to leave and Eliott tells him he just doesn’t want Lucas to see him like this. Lucas tells him he doesn’t mind. Then he starts teasing him, saying Eliott just wants to leave because he doesn’t want to own up to the fact that he lied to him. Eliott is confused. Lucas reminds him that he’d said there was no way he would ever be able to sleep next to a guy that hot (on the boat) and yet here they are actually taking naps. So Eliott must have lied to Lucas about finding him hot. Eliott says he’s an idiot and Lucas tells him that at least he’s not a liar at that what matters is that he is his idiot. “Congrats, you’re now the owner of an idiot… more or less hot” Eliott tells him he’s won and asks what they should do now. Lucas answers that they should start by saying hi properly and they kiss, and when they pull back they just look at each other whispering “salut”. Axel said he was upset at David for cutting the scene because it was so soft and intimate, he called him when he watched the episode to ask why he cut it, but it would have been too repetitive with the following Lundi 17h21 clip.
Lundi 17h21 is the second clip Maxence shot. Lucas’s “T’es beau quand tu rigoles” wasn’t scripted, Axel changed the script, he was supposed to say something about liking seeing Eliott smile.
The Je t’aime scene: the first shot they did was the most emotional one, it was one of the hardest scenes emotionally for Axel. He was crying so so much, he had tears and snot everywhere, and Maxence was just wiping it away so tenderly that David thought about keeping that shot but the snot was REALLY disgusting so they didn’t keep it. They shot it a few more times, except that then Maxence had to leave. So the shot of Lucas saying Moi aussi is actually to David. Axel said it didn’t feel weird because he does love David so it felt true.
SEASON 4
Assa sat down with the team before they wrote anything for the season and told them her whole life story. It lasted 4 hours and she cried when reading the script because they had included so many things she had told them, it felt like her and Imane were one.
Making Assa dance was Philippine’s idea. David asked her what she thought about when thinking of Assa, something that was really her and Philippine said “Dada, you should see her dance”
Moussa and Assa knew each other before since they had filmed together 5 years prior, a movie in which they already were siblings. They feel like siblings in real life.
The worst clip to shoot was on Lais’s first day of shooting, it was the bus clip. The shooting conditions were terrible, there was too much noise, and the crew was tired from having shot the 3 bus stop clips from season 3 earlier that day. David was convinced there would be nothing to save and they would have to rent another bus but the team worked their magic in post prod and it turned out amazing.
They shot the scene with Imane, Lucas and Eliott in class the day after Halloween. Maxence was at a party the night before and lost track of time. He had to take a taxi straight from the party to the set at 6am and showed up in full zombie costume and makeup.
Charles come back: it had been cloudy and raining all day but the moment the camera was on the girls’ faces, a ray of sunlight appeared and the wind blew in their hair, making it a real dramatic moment. Too good to pass on, it’s the shot they kept.
The fight between Lucas and Eliott that we vaguely hear in the background was just gibberish. Axel and Maxence hadn’t prepared anything and Axel just ended up shouting at Maxence things like YOU LIED TO ME BEFORE ABOUT LUCILLE YOU MIGHT BE DOING IT AGAIN ABOUT SOMETHING ELSE and Maxence NO I WOULD NEVER - BUT YOU DID - NO I WOULDN’T - YES YOU DID - NO and they kept going in circles so David was like “guys…. please, you might want to start screaming about something else or this is gonna sound very repetitive” but in the end we can barely hear anything so it didn’t matter much
When Alex comes to pick up Emma to go to the cinema, Assa had a break down and couldn’t stop laughing, hiding under a blanket and making all the girls laugh too with her. David had to scold them a bit to get them to stop.
Lais also ruined a clip by laughing for 15 minutes straight, it’s the clip at Imane’s house when they talk about the fair. It was the longest 15 minutes of the crew’s life. 
The oui oui song during Daphné’s birthday party wasn’t planned, the team just lost control of the cast. Axel started it and everyone followed. The cast are actually terrible extras. They are too dramatic and noticeable in the background so party scenes like Daphné’s birthday were a nightmare to shoot. 
Assa and Laïs rehearsed the Unknown dance clip every chance they got between every take, everyone kept tripping on them in the corridors.
The last sequences they filmed were actually the last clips at Imane’s house for the Eïd. Axel isn’t in the last shot because he had to leave for his play. He actually ruined the very last clip of season 4 by shouting his goodbyes to David from across the corner.
SEASON 5
The auditions for season 5 and 6 were held in June. Lucas was spotted through his youtube channel and asked to audition. 
Coline learned sign language by herself after an initiation class with the whole team. She started signing in July and has been practicing ever since. Robin took a one week class in September and then kept practicing by himself and with the D/deaf people on set. David and the rest of the team also took an initiation class.
Robin doesn’t like water and was anxious about the scenes in the pool. David got in the water with Xavier, Robin and Winona to reassure him and direct them better. They limited the number of extras around the pool because of that.
The place where Eliott works is where David used to work when he was younger.
Coline wrote a song for the season
They couldn’t leave the mural in the high school so they took it off the wall (it wasn’t actually painted on the wall itself) and cut it into pieces. There are a few pieces framed on the walls of Lucas and Eliott’s flat.
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natromanxoff · 5 years ago
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Queen live at Colston Hall in Bristol, UK - November 18, 1975
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The photos could be from either night.
This article from the November 29 issue of Sounds chronicles the second night in Bristol.
Queen triumphant
QUEEN ARE the type of group that make a man want to abandon rock writing. They pose questions and never provide answers. They exist in their own space-time continuum, visible and audible but keeping their secrets to themselves.
On the surface they couldn't be a nicer bunch of people, but they carry English reticence to an epitome. It isn't, as Geoff Barton said two weeks ago, that they're boring, it's just that they're reserved. Or in writer parlance, they don't automatically provide colourful copy. All my instincts as a writer tell me that there is a great story in that band, but after two nights with them I'm hardly any the wiser.
Skin tight
That their insularity has a lot to do with them being one of the most amazing heavy-metal and/or rock bands in Britain - with all the signs that they'll end up monsters on the order of Zep - is fairly obvious, but just how much bearing it has on the matter is hard to say. The enigmas they might pose mightn't even have answers.
Is there any logical reason why they present an image and persona straight out of the Beatles school of interlocking chemistry?
John is reserved, almost nonchalant on stage, as if it's all in a small, personal joke. When asked how he saw himself within the framework of the band he replied, with a small smile, "I'm the bassist".
Roger is his opposite, the cheeky sidekick in a Clint Eastwood movie, and attracting a lot of cheesecake attention in America and Japan.
Freddie is an original - one of the most dynamic singers to tread the boards in quite a few years. His attraction is obvious.
Brian is perhaps the biggest enigma of all. What is this seemingly frail, gaunt astronomer doing on that stage, striding purposefully and blasting diamond-hard rock? They're all equally strong personalities - like the Beatles there's no one major focal point. Ask four fans who their dream Queen is and you'll get four different answers.
Queen have been busy lads these past few months. Having disassociated themselves from their former management and joined with John Reid, the fourth album was seen to. Reid decided that a tight schedule wouldn't cause them undue harm, and figured on two months to record before embarking on this current tour.
Only Queen are driven to better each previous album - which at this stage of the game is obviously producing some excellent results - and 'A Night At The Opera' turned into a saga - culminating in 36-hour mixing sessions in an effort to allow at least a few days for rehearsal. In the end they managed three and a half days at Elstree with four hours off to videotape the promotional film for 'Bohemian Rhapsody'.
Their first few dates had not been without errors and the quartet were still not feeling totally comfortable their second night in Bristol, fourth night of the tour. You'd never know it, though.
Like all other aspects of the group, the stage is sophisticated. A black scrim provides a backdrop bounded by a proscenium of lights both front and rear. At each side the p.a. rises like a mutant marriage of Mammon and Robby the Robot. Amp power is readily evident but the most extraordinary is Brian May's subtle set up: nine Vox boxes stepping back in rows of three. The only packing crate visible is holding a tray of drinks, and you may rest assured that no roadie will rush, crawl or lurk across the stage while the show is in progress unless it's to rescue Freddie's mike from the clawing crowd.
As the auditorium darkens the sound of an orchestra tuning up is heard over the p.a. The conductor taps his baton on the music stand and a slightly effete voice welcomes the audience to A Night At The Opera. The Gilbert & Sullivan portion of 'Bohemian Rhapsody' follows, a brief glimpse of Freddie is allowed, and then in a blast of flares and white smoke the blitzkrieg begins.
Roger is barely visible behind his kit, just his eyes and tousled locks. John is wearing a white suit and playing the-man-who-must-stand-still-or-it-will-all-blow-away. Brian is slightly medieval in his green and white Zandra Rhodes top, while Freddie is...
Around his ankles his satin white pants flare like wings - fleet footed Hermes. Everything north of the knee is skin tight - tighter than skin tight - with a zip-up front open to AA rating. But further south, definitely in X territory, lurks a bulge not unlike the Sunday Telegraph.
There have been sex objects and sex bombs, superstar potency and the arrogant presentation of this all-important area, but never has a man's weaponry been so flagrantly showcased. Fred could jump up on the drum stand and shake his cute arse, leap about and perform all manner of amazing acrobatics, but there it was, this rope in repose, barely leashed tumescence, the Queen's sceptre. Oh to be that hot costume, writhing across the mighty Fred!
Phallic
Freddie is not pretty in the conventional sense of the word; like Mick Jagger of '64, he is his own convention. Also like the Jagger of the time, his stage persona and action is unlike anything else. Although it borrows - like most of the group's plagiarisms - slightly from Zeppelin, in tandem with Freddie's supreme assurance and belief in himself - he always refers to himself as a star - it explodes into something that is a constant delight to watch.
He reacts to his audience almost like an over-emotional actress - Gloria Swanson, say, or perhaps Holly Woodlawn playing Bette Davis. At the climax of the second night in Bristol he paused at the top of the drum stand, looked back over the crowd and with complete, heartfelt emotion placed his delicate fingers to lips and blew a kiss. Any person who can consume themselves so completely in such a clichéd showbiz contrivance deserves to be called a star.
Freddie's real talent, though, is with his mike stand. No Rod Stewart mike stand callisthenics here, just a shortee stick that doubles as a cock, machine gun, ambiguous phallic symbol, and for a fleeting moment an imaginary guitar. He has a neat trick of standing quite still in particularly frantic moments and holding the stand vertically from his crotch up, draw a fragile finger along its length, ever closer to the taunting eyes that survey his audience.
Their show contains lots of bombs and smoke, lots of lights, lots of noise. They fulfil the function of supremely good heavy metal - i.e. you don't get a second to think about what's going on. When they do let up for a few minutes, it's only so you can focus in on the bright blue electric charge crackling between your ears.
Bulldozer
Dominating the sound is Roger's drumming, a bulldozer echo that bounces like an elastic membrane, meshing with your solar plexus so that your body pulses in synch with the thunder. Tuned into that, everything else is just supremely nice icing.
For three days rehearsal, after eight months off the road Bristol was extremely impressive. In speculative mood I quizzed people on how long they thought it would take to headline Madison Square Garden. I was thought a radical at a year and a half. John Reid smilingly assured me it would take a year.
That Queen should end up with John Reid is an entirely logical proceeding. Everything about Queen demands that the world eventually kowtows at their feet in complete acquiescence - so big that bodyguards have to accompany them at every step. Well, no - they found that an annoyance in Japan, but, you know, huge.
Such status demands a Reid or a Peter Grant, and whatever the causes for their leaving Jack Nelson and Trident, an elegant group like Queen is going to look for a man with class. Reid found the idea of managing a group interesting, and having to deal with four strong personalities a challenge. He only concerns himself with their business and ensuring that the year ahead is mapped out. In January they begin a jaunt through the Orient, Australia and America, by which time it's March and they begin preparations for the next album.
Reid's prediction of a year was proven highly credible the next evening in Cardiff. The band had still not paused from the rush up to the tour and spent most of the day relaxing and sleeping - no doubt a factor in their near recumbent profile. Also, unlike most groups, they were keeping their dissatisfaction with the show to themselves.
They stopped off at Harlech TV on the way to see a cassette of the video for 'Bohemian Rhapsody'. The general consensus was quite good for four hours, with much laughter during the operetta. Brian finds film of the group educational - the first time he saw himself was a Mike Mansfield opus for 'Keep Yourself Alive' - "It was 'All right fellows, give it everything you've got but don't move off that spot.' It was terrible." You don't like Mansfield, eh? "Oh, I hate him - we all do... I was horrified when I saw it - I couldn't believe we looked that bad. I looked very static - seeing myself has taught me a lot about stage movement. Some of the things I do are planned for effect, but it's mostly just feeling the audience and communicating that back to them."
Arriving at the motel - several miles out of town - Freddie immediately fell asleep, John held court of a sort, joined later by Brian, while Roger went jogging, a daily event when touring. Tuning in to rock via Bill Haley and Tommy Steele, he became a drummer because he was better at it than guitar. All through school he was in bands; he only went to dental school out of "middle class conditioning, and it was a good way to stay in London without having to work". His mother thought it a bit strange when he opted for a career as a rock star, but she doesn't worry too much now.
The concert starts in much the same manner as the previous night, but there are signs that tonight is work, with posing an afterthought. The endings to most of their songs are magnificent and majestic, especially 'Flick Of The Wrist' and the rapid harmonies of 'Bad Boy Leroy Brown'.
Maniacal
The audience, seeing their faces in town for the first time, are vociferous in their appreciation. Guys know all the words to every song, yelling enthusiastically at every effect and solo. The band picks up, Freddie receiving the crowd beneficently, telling them they’re beautiful.
As the show builds it is obvious that things are gelling more. The previous night Brian had seemed totally out of place, not moving too much, taking solos with the weirdest half blank half possessed stare, talking to himself; cocking ear towards guitar. He was the proverbial stranger in a strange land, one step removed from the plane inhabited by you and me.
Tonight he moves fluidly, the gonzo lead guitarist of a gonzo band. His expressions are just as maniacal, but it only makes him look more demonic. His solo in 'Brighton Rock', an exposition in riffing and echo, is a treat because of his physical response to both music and audience, complete with ham acting. Freddie gets into the same game on 'The Prophet's Song', where he conducts an acapella madrigal with himself. It's a pretty commanding moment.
It’s soon after this that Madison Square seems reasonable. About a minute into 'Stone Cold Crazy' it becomes very obvious that Queen have suddenly Plugged In. Found the metal music machine and Connected. Freddie's movements explode in perfect unison with the music, the lights and surroundings go crazy, and the audience goes berserk.
Freddie asks for requests and receives a roar out of which one can vaguely make 'Liar'. Fred walks along the stage, nodding, agreeing he will do this one and that one while the kids roar on. "I'll tell you what - we'll do them all!"
'Doing Alright' opens slow and portentously. Queen's variation of light and shade is one of the major factors in their popularity, but even so the quiet sections frequently find the audience's mind wandering. One kid starts getting a joint together, totally forgetting it when everything blasts off again; guys talk among themselves, only to instantly leap to their feet, fists flying to the beat.
'Doing Alright' changes into a cha-cha beat, Freddie snapping his fingers, the coolest hipster in town, and then instantly drops into faster-than-light drive - the whole row next to me leaps to their feet as a man, rocking back and forth as Brian roars into a blinding solo.
Two songs later, in 'Seven Seas of Rye', the kids break - very fast - and in five seconds half the audience is a seething mass in front of the stage, climbing on each other in pyramids, sudden openings appearing as a splintering seat sends a few bodies to the floor.
The rest of the show is equally intense, especially for a couple of minutes during 'Liar; where Fred and Brian merge into a tight little triangle with Roger while John stands in front of the bass drum, staring out with his small smile.
Freddie has treated his encores - 'Big Spender' and 'Jailhouse Rock' - differently on successive nights, once appearing in a kimono and in Bristol with rather rude tight white shorts, giving the song title new emphasis. In Cardiff, though, he doesn't bother to change at all. Later it transpired that Brian had twisted his ankle during 'Liar'. While he’s attended to, kids out front pick up chair slivers to keep as mementos.
On the bus back to the hotel Brian sits quietly at the back, chatting with two girls. John sits at the front, as always. Freddie stares out of the window, lost in his own world. Roger bounces around, starts a pillow fight with Brian - which stops as soon as Brian scores a direct hit to the face - then discovers an eight track of 'Sheer Heart Attack', punching it through the channels as he conducts the group. The two hours towards which they have channelled the day's energies are spent.
Ambition
That Queen have become a top attraction through a fair degree of plagiarism is amusing. Stealing is nothing new in rock (or any art for that matter) and mostly Queen use the borrowed material better than the originals. That they would be big I don't think anybody really doubted. All four have immense desire to be successful, and that kind of ambition will keep them slogging until they achieve it.
But there are popular heavy metal bands and there are popular h-m bands. From watching Queen's audience it is apparent that Queen speak for them in a way that bands such as the Who and the Stones and the Beatles spoke (and continue to speak) to their audience. Uriah Heep may be great at what they do, but five years after their demise who'll remember them? Creedence Clearwater Revival demonstrate the same thing - who remembers them? And yet five years ago they were the largest band in the world.
Queen will probably always be remembered, because as their tour is beginning to demonstrate, they have the ability to actualise and encompass the outer limits of their sense of self-importance. Queen and their music, presentation, production - everything about them says that they are more important than any other band you've every heard, and who has there been, so far, who has objected? Certainly not the 150,000 people (plus 20,000 a day) who bought 'Bohemian Rhapsody' in the first 20 days of its release. Certainly not me.
See you at Madison Square Garden.
[text © J. Ingham 2007; photos © Kate Simon]
~ You can see the photos which was mentioned on the article, from the link on the title. ~
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translationandbetrayals · 4 years ago
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Satoru Kosaki: a Modern Anime Composer
fading memories
I don’t remember the first time I listened to a Satoru Kosaki composition. I think it might have been in Youtube, probably in a Loquendo or anime related video, and I know for sure that it was before watching any of the anime he actually scored. Nonetheless, I am also sure that I was impacted by them as soon as I became familiar with any of those themes, which wasn’t really hard considering how recurrent they were within the anime and early video-making community. I’m talking 2008-to-2012 kind of old.
The tracks were immediately recognizable and memorable, and while I wasn’t even initially aware they came from anime (I, for some reason, assumed they were public domain compositions, perhaps because of their repeated use), for better or worse, I ended up growing to like them, as funny and engaging. So that was effective.
I would later realize most of the themes I ended up accustomed to came from one source: the Lucky Star soundtrack, plus some of the Haruhi OSTs that might have been used too. Lucky Star is, if someone happens to not know about it, a comedy anime, which aims for mostly a familiar, comfortable ambience that I think gets captured perfectly in its OST. In fact, I think few OSTs come even close to the specific area Lucky Star’s so successfully hits.
Perhaps the exception could be the Azumanga Daioh OST, which might have been an influence based on the fact both works had the same music production company, Lantis, and that the very style of Lucky Star is quite similar as Azumanga’s, even adaptation wise, as both are 4-koma adapted as full-time weekly television slots.
lucky cool star
Now I’ve been talking about Satoru Kosaki scoring work. It is popular and good enough and as I said his work in Lucky Star is longstanding. But if you’re anywhere familiar with Lucky Star as a show you might be wondering about another thing. Who composed that motherflippin’ crazy OP theme? Was it Kosaki? Well yes it was.
There’s also some comparison to Azumanga Daioh, in that it presents a similarly crazed tune, but it also goes nuts in a different direction to Azumanga’s Soramimi Cake. While Soramimi Cake has an olden soul, closer to a folksy euro-japo mesh with nonsensical lyrics (think yodeling+enka), Motteke! Sailor Fuku sounds more like a cocaine driven hardcore edm moe hip-hop meltdown. Now this sounds more like a song that will revolutionize the industry and become a blueprint for following modern anime songs to come. And so it was, basically. After Lucky Star, everyone wanted to have their own deranged cutesy anime themes. And so you can blame Kosaki for your Umaru-chans, Nyarukos, Go! Go! Maniacs, etc.
Something that must be stressed about Kosaki’s theme for Lucky Star is that, on top of being so amazingly crazy and addictive, it was good music too. It was very well arranged and composed, and you should be thankful that he decided to bless us with equally amazing music, and even mentored or accompanied fellow artists that took on a similar approach to anime compositions. And that’s how MONACA enters the picture, as an active music collective of which Kosaki is part, that has had a hand, either by its members, or together as a group, in some of the most remarkable musical productions of recent times, even outside anime. (And like half of these are Hidekazu Tanaka’s... should I make a post about him?)
MONACA! with Kosaki at the middle-left
One of the most defining features of Kosaki’s work is his versatility. I have mostly talked about the Lucky Star music, but that should not be taken as his only reference. He’s able to manage climactic action just as well as the comfortable and funny.
Broadcast episode 12, Live Alive, is to me the actual climax of the Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya. I don’t know if the same effect would’ve been accomplished without its signature insert song, now one of the most popular anisongs ever: God Knows, sung by Aya Hirano, who voices Haruhi in the show. It is likely you have listened to God Knows before, after all, it was at one time the most viewed anime related song in Youtube, and its popularity has gone way beyond the -admittedly already popular- source material.
god knows this is good
And this versatility affects not only the scope of his dramatic sensibilities, but also the stylistic elements of his work, which takes on a variety of musical genres. And that is just evident by looking at his anime song work, which even outside of the Lucky Star fusion finds moe-sung ska-punk, soviet-inspired funky metal mashups, hip-hop crossover anthems, PLATINUM DISCO, borderline outsider music, avant-pop delusion, epic rocking tracks, some idol music masterpieces, and of course, classic, straight melancholic J-pop.
This variety in style becomes even clearer when looking at his OST work, which tends to be wildly eclectic, either by his MONACA collaborations (like the soundtracks to Kizumonogatari, Beastars, or the Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya movie), or simply by virtue of his own character, in the various projects he scored individually (such as the aforementioned Haruhi and Lucky Star, or Bakemonogatari).
For example, the Kizumonogatari tracks which he composed include funny elevator jazz, french-spoken bossa, suspenseful ambient music, and sentimental, classical inspired stuff. I also really enjoy the Beastars work he’s done and I take it as proof he hasn’t gone stale, quite the opposite. He seems way more confident now in approaching different, out-there styles and arrangements, while also portraying a somewhat amusing maturity: he sounds to me a lot more like the Kuricorder Pops Orchestra or Oranges & Lemons, through the now classic Kosaki trademark nonetheless. And it’s probably because of his established success that he’s able to indulge in such styles now, while still maintaining his high profile as a popular music composer.
kiss-shot acerola-orion heart-under-blade
Even if you are not very well versed in anime, or even if you don’t like anime at all, but partake in current youth culture, it’s most likely that you’ve heard something made by him. Be it by memes referencing Kosaki’s past works, by the liberal use of his music to accompany mid-level internet content, or by his presence as a composer in some of the most successful and far-reaching anime today, such as Beastars and the Monogatari Series, his work has its footprints all around popular media. And I’m thankful that it happened this way, as he ended up enriching something I dearly know and love: the modern anime music industry.
our lord speaking
Salvador González Turrientes
Sources and recommended additional material:
A summary of Kosaki's first of many appearances in Anisong Station 
His second appearance in Anisong Station, in which he talks about Lucky Star 
Another Anisong Station episode, featuring Lantis founder Shunji Inoue 
Satoru Kosaki’s VGMdb entry, which credits -in English- most of his video game and anime music appearances
The Wikipedia article, duh
The official Monaca profile list, including an archive of his body of work (in Japanese)
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honey-makki · 4 years ago
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omg!! the music matchups look so fun, congrats on the followers! (also, i hope these are open i read the post but im illiterate and anxious) if so, uuh. heres my matchup! im short, like super short, and usually reserved and quiet in public but at home tend to be loud and playful, very touchy w my friends, love playing video games together, love to write!!! i play in an orchestra and its smth very important to me, and am working towards a job in the medical field. i listen to a lot of early 200's
omg i just now saw your post 😅 i’m the orchestra anon, ahh i didn’t realize it didn’t send. anyways!! i’m pretty blunt and straightforward with people who strike me the wrong way and will be pretty rude to them if it’s warranted, but with people i know i sort of let them walk on me. i’m a car person and love kids! love the babies... the baby fever is overwhelming. since it’s a music matchup i’ll include some of what i listen to!! mostly early 2000’s pop n alt rock, and hozier too :)!! <3
I match you with!! Iwaizumi Hajime
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You cant tell me that Iwa isn’t someone who also is more of a homebody in the sense he lets go more there
He’s comfortable outside, especially with his group of friends, but he's himself when he's at home with you.
He also helps you stand up for yourself when you should but would have otherwise let something slide
💞 crush 💞
He loves your blunt attitude and the way you told off Yahaba one day.
He happens to passby one day and helps you get something you were struggling to reach (short person probs) which is the start of your friendship
You text frequently, and he invites you to play among us with the other third years
Your excitable and bubbly personality really shines through more than it ever has before and he's a goner.
I think he’ll be pretty forward and blunt about his attraction and feelings to you pretty early on, which might be scary if he weren't so casual and timid about it. 
Would definitely do it like walking home and he grabs your hand and then confesses, or he hugs you at the end and tells you. 
💞 Date 💞
Babysitting a niece/nephew! You had a date planned but he had to babysit spur of the moment and invited you to come along since you already knew this part of his family.
Your eyes light up when you see the kiddos and they run over to you for a hug!
He plays with them too but spends most of his time watching you interact with a soft smile on his face. 
if you watch a movie with them, the kids would ask when you were getting married!
Their reason is that you are cuddled up like their parents are when they watch movies and you are always holding hands so obviously you must be getting married.
Iwaizumi blushes and just says maybe one day while you laugh at how flustered he was
he presses a bunch of kisses on your head/temple when they return to the movie and tells you how much he loves you. v soft v sweet
💞 playlist 💞
Alternative Matchup: Goshiki Tsutomu
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thegirlwholied · 4 years ago
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SW anon - So I have tried to watch the whole thing before but I could never really get past the start. I watched ep IV a few years back (and in 2018 I watched it while it playing with a live orchestra which really enhanced the experience) and ofc I’ve known most of what happens bc my mom and brother have been fans of it (and ofc all the references to it in shows and it being everywhere) but the thing about the original trilogy that I found difficult to watch was very much the acting being off
Gov SW anon continued - but I think I’m gonna watch the clone wars show next as I feel like the general universe and people speak to me more than the skywalker and co. story speaks to me. But I’ll probably try and get back to the prequels afterwards (at least just to have seen them) but also bc I’ve been on tumblr for so long and I’ve encountered so much about the new movies with Finn, Poe and rey (I already know I don’t like kylo) that I’m interested to see what comes before that
Seeing Ep IV with a live orchestra sounds fantastic as the music is incredible. <3
I must admit I haven’t gotten properly into the Clone Wars show! I’ve tried, & did jump in to (and enjoy) the finale ~ and certain Mandalorian episodes strongly remind me of the show’s tone ~ but it has yet to hit me right in the place where I care. What I appreciate about it & what it’s brought into the Star Wars universe is still on a more distant level, not visceral. 
I most love that The Mandalorian is truly exploring & taking advantage of the wider Star Wars universe beyond Skywalker & co. (but boy do I also love Skywalker & co.) There is an exciting amount of potential in the newly-announced projects too I love characters outside of a universe’s main chosen-one story. In 6th grade, I was obsessed with the X-Wing book series, which were definitely really marketed toward adult guys but whoops, I had found the deep Star Wars section of the library! And the first line of that series, introducing the main character, is “You’re good, but you’re no Luke Skywalker.” And in a way, that’s the Mandalorian too, to the audience if not himself ~ good, but no Luke Skywalker. Not a Jedi, not meant to bring balance to the Force, a sidestory in the main universe’s struggle.  I (from what I’ve seen/know of) get the impression that’s how Ahsoka sees herself ~ ‘you’re good, but you’re no Anakin Skywalker’. 
Of course, for that contrast to work, first you need a Luke Skywalker.
it’s interesting you mention OT acting feeling off as I would use that exact word to describe how I feel about the acting in some episodes of The Mandalorian. In some I love it! Other times... I hesitate to say ‘like a video game’ as I mean no insult to the well-developed video game characters out there but yeah, it hits me like the actor’s aware they’re essentially in a live-action video game cut scene.
But. I truly love the acting in the original trilogy! ...but also as I type this I’m watching a movie from 1944 and acting style certainly varies by decade, & mileage varies as to personal taste... but also I will never be objective about Star Wars which I have loved since I was six... but also I studied film history in college and firmly believe Star Wars, the original trilogy is just objectively good if not quite everybody’s cup of tea (...okay maybe Return of the Jedi is not quite as objectively good, but I still love it so much and given the work it had to do wrapping up the original trilogy, hey, it did its job successfully and with Ewoks). 
I love the twinkling, wry humor & also gravitas of Alec Guinness. There’s that sense of amusement as he talks to Han, as he waves off the storm troopers, and even in the “let go, Luke”... but always the right weight in the right moments imho
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Luke & Han particularly can both be petulant in different ways, & they’re all quippy & brash & even cavalier at times in what in context ~ especially when you rewatch A New Hope right after Rogue One ~ in Very Serious Situations! and I love them for it. 
Carrie Fisher’s accent does shift in the one scene (which I have never minded and definitely went around as a kid trying to say ‘Governor Tarkin’ exactly the way she does), and young Mark Hamill’s Luke can be Dramatic & the Most Petulant but understandably (& prettily) so, and... yeah I probably could muster a criticism for Harrison Ford but also I *can’t*! There are some ridiculous Han Solo moments in Return of the Jedi especially, but also I love him/them/just about every choice these movies made. They just hit on magic.
The magic’s there for me from the music swelling as Luke looks yearningly into the twin suns (the cinematography!), but where it really hits is the up-and-running chemistry between all three of the main actors starting the “Luke, we’re gonna have company” scene, and then, boom, it’s the garbage chute, it’s the you’re-braver-than-I-thought/he-certainly-has-courage, for-luck, here-they-come of it all and the movie is flying. 
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...and I will never forgive the sequels for, avoiding spoilers as it sounds like you’re familiar but haven’t seen them, not giving us any true interaction scenes between Rey & Finn & Poe all together until the 3rd movie. While I still so appreciated finally getting that & what we got, for me it was just not just too little but too late. I love the casting & acting for all 3 of those characters, but while fandom’s taken and run with the combination, and they had plenty of chemistry... it should have been up-and-running so much sooner. 
And the prequels just... well, even seeing them in theaters at a susceptible age, the Lord of the Rings movies were coming out at the same time and that did them no favors in comparison. As someone who judges movies above all on dialogue, that... also did them no favors. (Beyond the OT I may have a Nontraditional ranking of Star Wars movies). 
The short version of my prequels & sequels take is that both missed that cinematic magic for me, outside of certain scenes, though I still enjoy them as part of The Whole Thing That Is Star Wars Which I Love. Rogue One had that magic; I know and see the criticism of the early editing & introduction-of-Jyn’s-background-and-Krennic-and-Galen scene, but, to me, that movie is perfect. Solo was solid - maybe not magic, but reliably enjoyable, and I’ve been meaning to rewatch. The prequels & sequels... the lows are very low and the highs are very high, in terms of how they hit me. 
I feel like I’d probably sum them up as Prequels: Good Star Wars, Bad Movies, and Sequels: Good Movies, Bad Star Wars, which may seem a little harsh or too kind on one side or another but gets at my take at the worldbuilding vs. just the cinema of it all. The bread scene in Force Awakens, the salt planet in Last Jedi, the dyad-duel-in-dual-locations in Rise of Skywalker? Gorgeous. Individual scenes’ acting & dialogue is sound for me. And yet. All three sequels’ choices in respect to the entire Star Wars universe and existing characters AND its new characters? ...Tonally inconsistent with each other *and* ultimately with the themes of the OT. Whereas the prequels did so much worldbuilding, and its politics, and I’ll see gifs and think ‘yes actually, is it better than I remember?’... and then I’ll catch one on TV & it’s the Padme & Anakin romance or even Anakin & Obi-Wan’s buddy scene dialogue at the beginning of Rise of Skywalker and the answer will come, clearly: “noooooooooooooooo.”
(...this got long. Which I tend to do when I care, about fiction in any form, and with the prequels/sequels: the ingredients were there to be magic. And just-misses are more frustrating than swing-and-misses. A la, you won’t find me complaining about the Star Wars Holiday Special!) 
(...OK so I haven’t seen all of the Star Wars Holiday Special, and I’m sort of aiming to watch it through this holiday season, since what other year than 2020 seems more appropriate? So I won’t promise not to complain about the Holiday Special but I mostly expect to laugh at it.)
(That said I found the Lego Star Wars Holiday Special an absolute, surprising, laugh-out-loud delight; 9/10 would recommend & yes, 1 point deduction as I will nitpick character consistency even when they are Legos.)
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