#(with musical motifs that repeat throughout the series)

[poisonandpages]

Hatchetfield Trilogy aesthetic boards

#these don't really convey how bonkers these stories are #but I feel like if I tried harder to do that I'd have to include spoilers and I don't feel like doing that #not that it would help anyone understand anything without context #basically if you like eldritch horrors but also showtunes check this series out #all on youtube #same characters same otherwordly monstrosities terrorising them but different timelines #so it's more like a series of aus than a chronological thing #the only timelines I've seen link up so far are two episodes of nightmare time #anyway the cast is wildly talented and the songs are so fun #(with musical motifs that repeat throughout the series) #if you don't look them up you're missing out #starkid #team starkid #npmd #nerdy prudes must die #black friday #the guy who didn't like musicals #tgwdlm

[heliza24]

Let's talk about the music in Young Royals! (Part 2)

This is the second part of a two part analysis. You can read part 1, which focuses on needle drops in the show, here.

I absolutely love Matti Bye's original Young Royals score. It is beautiful and immersive. It makes Hillerska feel like some place special. It shimmers and sparkles and draws us in to the emotions of the characters.

I've already talked about how effective the score can be at elevating certain scenes and creating intimacy in my posts analyzing the sex scenes in the show, which you can read here and here. But today I want to focus on another purpose of the music: the way that it emphasizes themes. Much like the needle drops in the show, the score helps emphasize the difference between public performance and genuine emotion. The conflict between the characters' assumed roles and their actual feelings is one of the biggest themes of the show, and the score helps establish this.

In order to examine how the score reinforces this theme, I want to break down the music in one small section of the show. The music that underscores Wilhelm's speech at the end of 2.6 tells us so much about what Wilhelm is going through in that moment, and it's the culmination of several musical motifs that we've heard earlier in the show.

In order to really be able to listen to the score, I ran this little clip through the program that I use for video edits, that separates vocals from background music. It is admittedly better at isolating words than it is music, so the audio here isn't perfect. But I think having the dialogue muted helps when you're trying to concentrate on the music and pick out melodies. I'm going to use time stamps based on this video for the rest of this post.

At the beginning of this clip, the score feels almost... familiar. There's a shimmery opening sound, and then a sequence of falling notes. It sounds so familiar, in fact, because it's a version of "Recomposed", one of the two tracks (along with "Harmony Theme") that are played most frequently throughout the show, and that together make up a kind of unofficial "theme song" for the show.

However, these two themes are used in very specific ways. You never hear them used in intimate scenes between two characters, or when a character is talking about their true feelings. Instead, they're used over montages of the students at Hillerska, when the class system of the school is on full display, or in moments of stress for our main characters. The best example is probably their wide use in 1.3 during parent's day. "Recomposed" plays when August is making a stink about letting Sara, Simon, and Linda eat with the boarders, and when August makes Wilhelm pose for photos with him. "Recomposed" is beautiful but it's also stressful, and it's used here to underline how arbitrary and discriminatory the Hillerska traditions are, and how uncomfortable Wilhelm feels adhering to them.

So, the first 55 seconds or so of the speech the scoring sounds like "Recomposed". But not exactly like "Recomposed". It's a little slower. The notes are more syncopated. It almost feels like the melody is breaking down. Just like Wilhelm's ability to maintain his facade and play his role is also breaking down. If you were to listen to this section of the speech with the words unmuted, you would hear Wilhelm struggle through and then abandon the scripted speech he's been instructed to give. So the idea of this oft-repeated musical motif also being slowly discarded is just perfect.

The next section of the clip, from around :55 - 2:05, is characterized by a series of ominous sounding chords and the lack of a clear melody, which reflects Wilhelm's anguish as he decides whether or not to tell the truth about him and Simon. I think this is a good reflection of the way the score in general shifts between seasons 1 and 2. Season 1 has a lot of complete, distinctive melodies. By comparison the season 2 score feels muddy. There aren't as many distinctive melodies, and the emphasis is on highlighting the stress and confusion that characters are feeling rather than creating a pretty song. This makes the season 2 soundtrack album less satisfying to listen to on its own, but works really well in context. Season 2 is full of amplified emotions and the score really captures that.

Ok, now we're on the last part of the clip, from 2:05 to the end. This is my favorite discovery that I made while working on these posts. For a long time I could not figure out where I had heard this melody before. The piano notes sounded so familiar. It made me think of Simon and Wilhelm in happier times. And then I remembered: the fish scene. This clip once again has (most) of the vocal track taken out. Can you hear how it's the same melody as the end of the speech clip?

So, we have a musical motif that is closely associated with Wilhelm and Simon's love that plays while Wilhelm is admitting to being in a relationship with Simon publicly for the first time. Makes sense, right? (Also thank you to @books-books-smolderinglooks for pointing out that this is on the soundtrack for season 1 as the track named "Dad"!)

Well I got curious, and did a full series rewatch, looking for this musical motif. And I found it in two more places besides the fish scene and the final speech. It also plays during Wilhelm's first two sessions with Boris the counselor. These sessions are so significant for Wilhelm. They allow him to actually feel his emotions in a safe place and realize that he does actually have agency over how he chooses to live. So while I was originally thinking about this as the "Wilmon Musical Theme", I had to revise my thesis about it a bit. Now I would describe it as the "Wilhelm Living In His Truth Theme", which of course includes Simon.

It's so meaningful that this music plays while Wilhelm is admitting that it was him in the video. He's doing what he should have done at the end of season 1, telling the truth and being honest about his and Simon's connection. And he's reclaiming agency over his life by refusing to continue to lie. The music subtly enforces this, without us even realizing, by using a motif that we have already associated with those themes.

I cut off the clip of the speech right before it transitions into "The Most Beautiful Boy" by The Irrepressibles, but I think the juxtaposition of that needle drop with this musical motif is so beautiful.

Those are all my thoughts on the score, and this particular musical moment in the show, for now. Do you have a scene where you think the score is particularly effective? Do you have more scenes that you want me to analyze? My ask box is open and I would love to hear your thoughts!

#young royals #cinematic analysis #my meta #music analysis #prince wilhelm #wilhelm young royals #Youtube

[softlighter]

Pass Through Fire

rewatching The Legend of Vox Machina season 2, episode 5, "Pass Through Fire," and having some Thoughts.

Every time I rewatch this episode, start to finish, I can't help but pay attention. I rewatch tlovm quite frequently, but this episode is goddamn gift and a spectacular feat of animation, script, everything. From the start, with the meta-theme of the voice of Korra the Avatar as Keyleth's mom's voice actor, and the setting of the episode theme and how it's not just about power, it's about her mom, this episode just starts and it doesn't stop. It might honestly be my favorite episode of the whole series, for so many reasons, but to specifically analyze in regards to Kiki, it's a goddamn gift.

So, let's talk about it! Let's talk about the score and the motifs repeating from during her last conversation with her mother into Keyleth then hearing the wind and then transforming into a fire elemental. I'm not qualified to discuss musical score as a factor, I really am musically illiterate, but you can hear the repeated notes and sections throughout the episode, which makes the final "Pass Through Fire" score all the more powerful. You hear it in "Wind" on the soundtrack as well, which is what plays during her goodbye with her mother, and which is beautiful but ends with this emptiness, this solemnity. You hear the motif on the wind, calling her to Pyrah, but the final "Pass Through Fire" is triumphant and powerful, above all else. It's not this just major triumph in battle as a victory, it is a personal triumph, it's Keyleth recalling her mother's last lesson to her and being able to finally actively internalize it. It's self-actualization and self-acceptance after so much self doubt. It's empowerment, not just power. It is her mother, it is the memory of her mother, and it is Kiki herself.

And, on every rewatch, this effect only becomes more pronounced because you notice the repeated motif, even if only unconsciously, and it's staggering. This past rewatch, the scene of Keyleth transforming and passing through fire genuinely brought me to tears, which I do not say lightly! Even before this, I always got chills when watching this episode, and so much of that, for me at least, is from the thematic impact of the score.

But enough about music which, again, I am not qualified to talk about, let's talk about character analysis!

Keyleth as a young child, an Air Ashari. Her mother's final lesson to her is that it only hurts if you let it, and let's examine that. Fire needs air to live, pain needs us in order to be felt by us, but it only hurts if you let it. Her mother is saying, you are not wood or timber, you were not meant to be consumed by pain, you were made to continue through it, to persevere. And then when we look at Keyleth at the end of campaign one, in the smallest nods we see in campaign two, in the published books from CR, and now in campaign three, I think we can definitively say she is someone who perseveres. She goes on, however painful it is. Keyleth is endurance, Keyleth is inner strength.

Throughout the episode, we see her fighting. Not just physically, but fighting internally, finding the strength. She's fighting to follow the wind, fighting to go to Pyrah and help, fighting to tell her father that her mastery is not where she thinks it should be, but she ends the episode having completed the fire trial. What does this say, what does this tell us? Keyleth is a surviver. She's a fighter, and she's a qualified one. Marisha has said she was inspired by Avatar The Last Airbender, and I especially see allusions to the Book One, episode fourteen, "The Fortuneteller," in this episode and its effect, specifically as to when Sokka says he forgets what a powerful bender Aang is.

Keyleth, mechanically, is a prime choice for considering who is the most powerful member of Vox Machina, and I'm not saying she is or isn't, what I'm saying is this episode was a reminder to her and to us the audience how powerful she is. She carries the heaviest burden out of Vox Machina by the end, save perhaps for Vax, in that she has to lead for the thousands of years that she will live, and she will see everyone she loves die as she barely ages. She is powerful, she perseveres, she continues onward.

This episode brings to tears to my eyes because Keyleth is strong. Her strength is not her druidic might, although that is one path for its expression. She's strong because she perseveres, because she passes through fire, because she has the inner will to continue on.

#critical role #keyleth #cr1 #the legend of vox machina #tlovm #keyleth of the air ashari #cr meta #character analysis #my writing

[emxie]

When the World Was At War We Kept Waltzing

You are the sole heir to one of the wealthiest families in the country. A charming and mysterious stranger steals your heart. What could go wrong?

Zhongli x Fem Reader

Warnings: Blood, gore, murder/massacre, violence, one curse word, slightly suggestive content, somewhat yandere Zhongli

Word Count: 3139

A/N: There are several influences that inspired this piece. Music plays a huge part in my writing, so originally I drew inspiration from Lana Del Rey, specifically her Born To Die album, which I love to pieces. Of course, this song title is basically from a Lana Del Rey song (from her Lust for Life album), except for the last word, which I changed to "Waltzing" both for alliteration/phonetics purposes, and because it fits the theme of the fic more. You might recognize influences from Hamilton and Parasite, as I also like these pieces of media. When I first started writing it, I meant to include more angst, but as I formed the story, it morphed into a darker storyline and came to involve some blood and gore. What can I say, I just enjoy writing horror. Additionally, you might notice some repeating motifs throughout the story, specifically involving color. After reading The Great Gatsby, I have been fundamentally changed as a person, and thus why this fic also contains color symbolism and repetition of such themes. Also, although it's a bit vague and I didn't specify the time period in the actual story, I like to imagine that this takes place in the 1920s (just like The Great Gatsby), and there's like the sense of grandeur and riches associated with the time period (until it all goes south with the stock market crash, but let's pretend that didn't exist in this fic).

Enough about the background. I have not gotten Zhongli yet, despite doing 30 rolls and then some, and his banner is still continuing for another week and a half or so, so I'm saving more primogems up to roll more for him. Please come home Zhongli!!!! I'm so desperate you're the one character I would pay money for. Anyways, take this fic as another cry for help from the RNG gods to give me Zhongli.

I hope you enjoy the story, and remember that if you are triggered by violence and graphic imagery, or yandere-type characters, please don't read this fic.

“Would you like to be mine, and I yours?”

That was what he had asked you on this balcony laden with brocade ribbons and your heart bursting with passion.

A breathy “Yes” passed your lips, and then he was on your lips, gripping the bodice with a ferocity bridled. You two had stayed like that under the moonlight, broken up only by the occasional crackle of a firework.

You ran your fingers over the marble balustrade. Memories danced through your mind, earning a small sardonic quirk at the corner of your mouth.

How naïve you were.

That night set in motion a series of elaborate plans, not that you were aware.

Not even a week later, he had asked your father for your hand in marriage. You watched, holding your breath, as he sat across the furnished oak table from your father. As they talked, his hands continued to move as if they were their own entity, gesticulating to convey his intense love for you.

After an hour of discussion, you watched as your father reached across the table to shake hands with your love.

He stood up, moving across the room to where you sat. His amber eyes glowed as he reached out to you, gloved hands an inviting trap. You took his hand, standing up and being pulled into a tight hug. He brushed his lips against your ear. “You’re mine, beloved.”

🎕⽕⼟🎕⽕⼟🎕⽕⼟🎕⽕⼟🎕⽕⼟🎕⽕⼟🎕⽕⼟🎕⽕⼟

After another month of bliss, engaged to the man who had taken your heart in its entirety, painting it red with his raging passion for you and entreating you to his cause, the wedding was announced. And it would be a sight to behold.

The absolutely sheer size and amount of wealth your family possessed signified that this would be a legendary union for ages to come. Invites slipped into envelopes and marked with your family’s seal, a dove holding an olive branch, were sent to hundreds around the country. Day in and day out maids and ladies-in-waiting would pester you about the dress, the flowers, the decorations, the theme, the ring you wished to gift your soon-to-be husband, and a variety of other accessories.

In the few spare moments you were able to catch with your fiancé, you would find yourself within his arms, gripping onto his broad shoulders as he bent down and kissed you. Occasionally you two would get a little too riled up, and had to cut your loving short lest a servant find you. But in those several times you found yourself subject to his more intense states, you were shivering, eager to learn what it was finally like to be loved by such a fierce and powerful man. And as you grabbed onto his long black and caramel locks which trailed behind him whenever he walked, pulling him down into a rough kiss, his hands ghosting your body feverishly, you couldn’t wait to be wed.

And wed you would be. For it was the day of your holy union to the one you loved, and excitement thrummed throughout your body as you were being dressed. The maids were straightening out the final pieces of your outfit. Staring at yourself in the mirror, you could hardly recognize the person staring back at you. The intricate makeup, paired with the dramatic crimson dress that you chose, was certainly a statement. Layers of bright red fabric made a beautiful waterfall all the way from your chest to your ankles. Making the decision to dress so boldly was another way to ensure the strength and legacy of your family among the wealthy. Of course, at the time, you didn’t think much of how he had suggested you wear a certain color.

They placed the scarlet veil over your face, obscuring your vision. It was time.

You walked out of the dressing room, a couple of servants gathering the glorious gradient of a tulle train behind you. The presence of such a color caused pride to swell in your heart, and your back straightened and you felt a bit taller as you slowly stepped, in sangria-colored heels no less, towards your future.

🎕⽕⼟🎕⽕⼟🎕⽕⼟🎕⽕⼟🎕⽕⼟🎕⽕⼟🎕⽕⼟🎕⽕⼟

You had arrived at the venue where the wedding was to be held. Hundreds of people, most whom you knew from previous encounters, milled around the entrance. Your maids guided you towards a side entrance, so that you would be prepared to walk down the aisle once everyone was seated.

After some time waiting, you were informed that everyone had gotten settled, and it was about time for you to walk.

Rising from your seat, you passed another mirror in the room before leaving. Glancing at your reflection, you noted how your appearance seemed to herald…something. You resembled a specter; of what kind though, would remain unseen.

🎕⽕⼟🎕⽕⼟🎕⽕⼟🎕⽕⼟🎕⽕⼟🎕⽕⼟🎕⽕⼟🎕⽕⼟

Regal doors, carved with designs of divine intervention, could barely be seen beyond your veil. There was a hand clenching around your heart. You could feel your pulse speed up. This was it. The beginning of your happy ever after.

Your father stood to your right, looping your arm with his. “Look at my gorgeous pumpkin, already so grown up.” You offered a delicate smile at these words.

A grinding noise sounded as the doors opened. Music began to play as you began the slow trek to the altar. Each step felt like an eternity. There was a noticeable hush as you began to walk.

Your gaze swept over the guests. You could make out some familiar faces. They looked as if they were drenched in a red liquid due to the filtering effects of the veil.

Then you were there. Your father handed you off, and stepped to the side. Looking up, you saw him.

He was dressed handsomely, in a suit matching your dress’s vivid choice of color. The sleeves stopped just above his wrists, allowing you to focus on his hands. Black gloves still covered his hands, barring you from viewing the naked flesh underneath. A little miffed, but undeterred by such an occurrence, your eyes moved up to his face.

He possessed a strong profile. Intense golden eyes, an angled bridge of a nose, lips that were straight-set, yet still so luscious and plump (you knew from kissing them so often), and a jawline to die for.

His eyes trailed over your body, taking in the sight of how beautifully you had dressed up. Just for him.

The music ceased. Only the occasional shuffling noise could be heard from the guests.

“We gather here today to celebrate a most momentous union!” The priest announced with a wide sweep of his arms. Some polite applause ensued, before dying into oblivion again.

The priest continued on with his speech. Some of the words became lost on you. Staring into those glowing amber eyes really did make you lose track of time.

With the exchange of the rings, you gave him a black ring carved from obsidian with ruby and gold veins running through it. In return, he gave you a typical diamond ring, although the jewel was perched atop a red crown. The priest was about to conclude.

“You may kiss the bride,” he declared. Your husband leaned in, grasping your soft hands in his rough leather gloves. He placed one hand behind your back and dipped you, while flipping the veil behind your head in one fluid motion. The crowd gasped in awe at his movement.

You could finally view his handsome face, unhindered by red. He kissed you, those plush lips resting comfortably on yours, just as they did on that nighttime balcony escapade. His eyes flashed a golden brown as he did so, so fast that you missed it. Your eyes fluttered shut, basking in his unwavering attention.

You didn’t feel the veil floating back down to shield your face from the atrocities committed. Almost. The absence of his warm lips and firm grip had you opening your eyes, searching for the touch of your husband.

The world was swathed in red. The guests were asleep, draped over the chairs in awkward and unnatural positions. Your father was slumped in his chair. Standing in the middle of the aisle was your husband. You ran up to him, hiking up your dress to reach his side.

“What happened?” you inquired.

“It had to be done,” he whispered, shoulders stiff as he stared down at the ground, hands entrenched in his pockets.

“Wait, what had to be done? What do you mean by that?” You backed up, heel skidding on the marble surface almost too easily. Tumbling backwards, you landed with only the padding of your dress breaking your fall.

The sudden motion tossed your veil backwards.

It was red. Everything was red. Red. Red. RED.

A scream clawed its way out of your throat. You back-pedaled on the floor, away from the man. No longer was his aura inviting. The love within your heart was obliterated in an instant, crushed by the rising fear that swallowed every warm emotion in its dark terror.

Your hand slipped. Catching yourself on your elbows, you looked to the side. A slick scarlet substance coated your hand. You knew what it was.

Your stomach twisted into a knot at the sight, sending a wave of nausea throughout your body.

The clicking of dress shoes against the floor had you freezing in place, too afraid to do anything else. What could he possibly want? You thought that you had it all, and he had truly loved you.

He knelt down in front of you, cupping your face with a bare hand dyed garnet. You flinched as his soiled skin made contact with you. You didn’t miss the sorrow in those entrancing golden eyes as he witnessed you shy away from him.

“I had to do it, my dear dove.”

“Why? WHY?!” you yelled, slapping away his hand. “My entire family is dead because of you!”

“Now; that’s not entirely true, princess.” He gestured with a grand sweep of his arm to your surroundings. “Give a great round of applause to your regularly-scheduled assassins!!!”

He chuckled at your puzzled expression, slowly morphing to one of wide-eyed horror. Several wedding guests arose from the prone bodies around them, dressed in all black and with Gatling guns slung over their back.

“I don’t understand. What could you possibly gain from murdering my family, much less hundreds of people?” you protested.

“Angel, angel, angel.” He tsked at your confusion.

In one quick smooth motion he had wrapped his hands around your head and placed his forehead against your own. You squirmed in his hold, cringing at the feeling of life, other people’s once thriving life, coating your once perfectly-coiffed hair.

“Oh, is my dear princess a little squeamish?” His voice had deepened, sending tremors throughout your body. You felt his fingers tighten around your locks, tugging on them ever so slightly.

“A small price to pay for the keys to an empire.”

It dawned on you.

“This…this entire time, I trusted you! How dare you scheme to steal my family’s fortune!” You struggled once more, and he released his hold on you, having thoroughly soaked your hair a crimson shade.

He began to pace in front of your weakened form.

“Beloved, you know that I only have the best intentions. Believe me, I really did fall in love with you. At least, that’s all it was at first. Did you know, the idea came to me in a dream, with you by my side? You gave me the idea. You agreed to be rid of the shackles of your family’s status and expectations in order to be by my side. And that’s when I reached for the sun, love.”

You spit at his shoes.

He stopped pacing. Leaning down, hovering over your body, he gripped your chin with a newfound strength, sending jolts of pain throughout your face. “You’re lucky I love my wife so much that I would be willing to overlook a little bit of deviance, when she should be rightfully punished.” As you were forced to look up, the amber eyes you had so loved to stare into for hours on end gleamed with a vicious ambition, thirsty for vengeance and glimmering with scathing deceit.

He released his hold, and continued to pace.

“I thought to myself: why not kill two birds with one stone? Continue my original plan of marrying you, but orchestrate the death of your father to gain access to an entirely new world of wealth.”

“You bastard! I hate you!” You screamed at him, voice growing more hoarse with each passing second.

“Now darling, I don’t think that’s an appropriate way to treat your dear husband,” he mused, shooting you another glance with those damned eyes.

You shut your mouth, the obscenities coming to a halt. Something sinister lurked beneath the surface of those eyes. And if you didn’t stop yelling, you didn’t want to know what he would do.

“Now, as I was saying, once we were legally married, I would be able to get rid of your father without anyone questioning my claim to your family’s assets.”

“Then why did you kill every other person in this room?” you questioned, voice cutting into his reasoning with a bitter hatred.

“Simple. They were collateral.” He shrugged as if this were the most rational approach to take.

“Don’t give me that sanctimonious bullshit,” you spat. “You know perfectly, as do I, that there was no need to shed so much blood over an act that could have been committed in secret.” Your voice cracked as the “secret” spilled over your lips. The gravity of this atrocious event hit you straight in the stomach, twisting your insides until you felt sick.

Sinking to the floor, you began to sob, body trembling against the cold floor. This time you ignored the drying vitality crusting over the white marble, for it could no longer distract you from the terrible truth that had been unveiled. You could not escape the claws of the dead, for they were forever persistent, leaving indelible rust-colored stains that permeated your dress, your skin, and your mind most of all.

He let you cry, until you could mourn no more.

Growing quiet, you whispered one thing through a raspy voice: “Why play your ace now?”

“I couldn’t just sit by and take the coward’s approach out. I had to go all out, my love. Otherwise, I would have no right to call you my wife, and you to call me your husband.”

“And how do you plan to cover this up? This isn’t some stupid business deal you can let fall through when it no longer suits you. These are lives you so carelessly crushed. You toyed with the fate of all these people. And you will pay.” You steeled your gaze at him, glaring with all of your might.

“I won’t let that happen, dove.” In one swift movement, he drew a pistol from his suit.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! As naturally as if he were breathing, he took four shots, clean right through the skulls of each of the assassins.

“There. No witnesses besides us two. I hired the assassins from a local mafia. We can blame the deaths on them and how it was part of a larger scheme to take over your family.”

He blew the smoke off the tip of the barrel before pocketing the pistol carefully.

“I believe it is time for us, lawfully wedded husband and wife, to return to our rightful mansion. I will talk to the authorities and handle the specifics, okay? All you have to do for me is sit pretty and act scared, princess.”

He placed another rough kiss to your head, burying his face in your bloody mussed hair. You didn’t respond. He took your left hand in his and placed a delicate kiss, right below the ring he had so lovingly slid onto your finger, which was now saturated through with the runny insides of others. You didn’t respond. He ran his hands, dipped in the sacrifices of others, down the sides of your dress. You didn’t respond. He sighed.

He slid one of his arms under your bottom, and supported your back with the other. “You know, you’ll have to talk to your dear husband sooner or later, dove. I won’t have any bad behavior from my wife.” 

Muttering these final words to your despondent form, your love, the one who had buried his fangs deep into your heart until it dripped red with desire, picked you up in his arms and carried you off, his own bride, back to your home—no, our home—where no one would be there to meet and congratulate you. Where your father would no longer be. And where you would never find happiness again.

🎕⽕⼟🎕⽕⼟🎕⽕⼟🎕⽕⼟🎕⽕⼟🎕⽕⼟🎕⽕⼟🎕⽕⼟

You sighed, running your hands up and down the railing of the balcony. It had been a year since you had first kissed him. A night you will never forget, and always come to regret.

“My darling, my dove, my angel, my princess, the light of my life.” Arms encircled your waist, and he buried his face into your neck. His hands, bared to the chill night air, toyed with your thin coral nightgown.

“What are you thinking about? I hate to see you look so miserable.”

You smiled, despite the pain in your dejected and blackened heart. “Just about the night we first kissed, honey.”

He peppered kisses against your skin. “Ah, yes. That night I wanted to ravage you and steal you for myself. Yet I withheld and waited, remaining patient and anticipating our marriage with open arms. If not for that night, we would never have married and gotten our happy ending. If not for that night, you would have been plucked out of my life forever, like a dying flower. I revitalized you, darling. Look at how you glow in the moonlight. My wife, all for myself.” Chuckling, the timbre of his voice rumbled against your skin.

Placing his right hand around your waist, kneading the soft flesh underneath his fingers, and interlacing the fingers of his left hand with your right, he began to sway with you from side to side. There was no music to guide you two. Yet you still danced, illuminated only by the moon and stars.

And so was your fate. Doomed by the very man you loved. The man who had charmed you and pulled the rug out beneath your feet. The man who had shielded you from the bombs he himself had set, distracting you with promises of loyalty and extravagant gifts. While the rest of the world had raged on, he had blinded you to reality, and now you were his. The man you were to be wed to for all of eternity.

Zhongli 血红血红血红血红血红血红

#genshin impact #genshin impact x reader #genshin x reader #genshin x y/n #genshin impact zhongli #genshin zhongli #zhongli #zhongli x reader #zhongli x you #zhongli x y/n #zhongli x female reader #zhongli fanfiction #yandere genshin impact #yandere genshin au #yandere genshin x reader #yandere zhongli #genshin angst #tw: yandere #tw: violence #I meant to make this full-on angst but then it devolved into a dark fic #I'm so sorry to all my soft readers #he was supposed to run off with your assets and break your heart #but i couldn't do something that mid for the geo daddy #so i had to go all out and it became a horror fanfic instead #there might be inaccuracies in the time period #then again i didn't specify a time period so you can't flame me for messing something up #also idk why y/n didn't hear the gunshots let's pretend she was so wrapped up in Zhongli she ignored the sound #too tired to write the gunshots into the story #it ruins the atmosphere #please come home Zhongli

[awigglycultist]

The Ghosts of Antikythera Part 1 Thoughts

The very beginning bit of When Are We? is beautiful

As always Matt hits it out go the park with a banger of am opening number

I am not even slightly exaggerating when I say that when I heard the line "yeah and I'm president Thomas" I paused the video, threw my phones to side of my bed, threw my head into a my pillow and started screaming "NO NO NO" while banging my hands on bed and kicking

Matt Dahan's singing has seriously gotten so good throughout the series

And obviously every person in Pulp Musicals is an incredible singer

God Matt Dahan loves his motifs and repeating of lines and BOY DO I LOVE THEM TO

Okay AJ this is supposed to be a fun time you're really ruining the vibes here you need to relax

Oh my god Maria's voice is so beautiful

And The Sargasso Sea is a beautiful song

Oh... Oh yeah war... Oh yeah haven't even thought yet about just how much history they've missed and how much stuff has changed

Troll The Tide is SOOO FUN!!

Omg no one knows about printing press plates

Ok "(everyone liked that)" really got a good a laugh out of me

Polaris <3

Fuck yeah some Herschel and Margaret friendship development!!!

You can do it Margret I believe in you! Turn it to gold!

Okay woah Shifts is SUCH A VIBE I love it

Margarets right make your move man

Oh shit

Me sitting here knowing the story of thr Ellen Austin "uh huh yeah it's pirates!"

Ok I'm coming around to AJ

HELLO SIR??

Yeah ok definitely not a strange introduction Kal, totally normal

That's my boy Samuel, don't drink it

Ghost!!

I know this is only part 1 but yeah I definitely think this is the best episode yet

#pulp musicals #the ghosts of antikythera

[shabby-alonso]

part 2 of this

A Scattered Moment

OG2, K2

The end of Y2 finds us high over the city, in the snow, facing down for one final time none other than our first rival dragon - Goda Ryuji. Rather than the energetic and grinding guitars heard throughout the rest of the soundtrack, we are met with a solo piano. Rhythmically, A Scattered Moment fits in well with the rest of the game's soundtrack with clusters of chords in syncopation, but otherwise it stands out completely. 45s in, we hear dragon calls and the occasional percussion followed by sustained strings at 1m30s. To explain the musical dragon call, it’s expressed as a sustained high note rising in pitch before broadening as if in a roar. I’ve seen people describe this motif as a siren, or half a siren, but it reads quite clearly to me as a representation of the dragon call. This motif is heard throughout various tracks in all the games, but it is most notable for the first time at this point between Kiryu and Ryuji. Ryuji isn't just the loud, brash persona here; much like with Nishikiyama, he's stripped down and the fight is personal.

The opening piano gives us setting and motive. You can almost hear the cold and feel the snow start to fall as the piano melody rises and falls. Two dragons locked in combat high up in the sky overlooking Kamurocho. The Hills itself representing not only a symbol of oncoming change, but of loneliness. Ryuji is, in a lot of ways, quite lonely. Surrounded by compatriots and hangers-on, but yearning for the family he lost. As the track comes to a close, the piano falters, falling out of rhythm like a heart palpitation and slowly crawling to a resolution. We can look at the ending two ways, either Ryuji falls and dies with the music, or he stutters towards a new beginning.

K2 takes a similar approach to K1 in terms of "updating" the soundtrack. The texture here is much thicker with strings present throughout and the piano nearly drowned out by the accompaniment. Strings and percussion begin the track before allowing a few moments of solo piano before bringing in the whole orchestra. Like K1, I believe this was done to give a more "cinematic" feel as well as a grander sort of look at what we can do now with a bigger budget and a bigger orchestra. Also much like K1, however, I think this is to the detriment of what the song originally represented.

It no longer feels lonely and cold, but grandiose and almost self-important. Perhaps it is a more dynamic and exciting sound, but in that it seems to imply that Ryuji really is only as he seems. The dragon calls have also been removed and the piano never stutters. Ryuji doesn't fall musically at all; it all simply resolves nicely and prettily.

Fly

Y3

Y3 presents us with our most complex final boss theme so far, and our first planned for dynamic intro. The dynamic intro has since become a staple of the series visually, something countless fans look forward to, compare, and even swap out the original tracks for other songs in some strange competition of who can make this each scene look “cooler.” The addition of the intro changes how the theme is presented in-game and more greatly differentiates it from its soundtrack equivalent.

In order to accommodate for the dynamic intro, a short string version of the one of the main motifs of the theme is used while the characters are talking that segues into the theme as it appears on the soundtrack with the next cut. So far, the discussed themes have been fairly simple in terms of construction with two main sections, A and B. Fly, on the other hand, clocks in at arguably 4. Although, we could argue a bit in either direction, as none of the sections in Fly repeat perfectly – only in variation. To spare too much of a play-by-play, the ostinato bass of the opening section creeps in and vamps until the freeze frame of the intro ends as Kiryu and Mine’s feet hit the ground with the entrance of the rest of the instrumentation. What follows next is the fight, with the theme looping as need be, until the end where it switches to a music box version as Mine falls into Kiryu and onto the ground.

In very short, Fly is a meltdown. Each section builds on the last, never repeating with only a few moments of comedown until it finally crashes, adrenaline spent.

Mine’s mental state is reflected more specifically in the music as well through the use of guitars and a modified dragon call motif. The guitar solo is the most clear example, coming in at about 2m40s breaking over the accompaniment with an urgency unlike the previous sections and a turmoil that never resolves – merely being cut off at its emotional height. The modified dragon call, kirin call if you will, comes up throughout the theme much more even than dragon calls in the earlier themes. Unlike the others, the sound is different; Kiryu is nowhere to be found here.

Where previous dragon calls seem to roar, ending on a high note, the kirin calls switch between manic and mournful. At around 56s we hear the first of the more manic variety, short and open, roaring much like the dragon calls but not as sustained. At around 1m25s the second even more manic variety sounds, nearly a laugh. The more mournful kind can be heard clearly around 2m40s, crying out plaintively (and the first such call in the series to move downwards in pitch). These motifs can be heard throughout the rest of the track, but those are a few notable examples to listen for. In fact, one mournful call sounds only a few seconds into the in-game introduction behind the strings and piano.

It’s clear even just audibly that Mine is at his limit emotionally, moved past coherent thought by the weight of his grief and his shaky attempts to convince himself he can take control of the situation and right himself. At times, two guitars in concert take over the melody, signalling a moment of internal unity before returning to the duel between his will to rationalize and the chaos of his emotional state as the two guitars diverge again. The ending music box variation signals not just the end of the outburst but, in narrowing everything we just heard over the course of the battle down to one instrument, a moment of unity – a mind resolved.

#part 2 let's goooo

[danielpowell]

Mel's Pairing Monday

This is my third installment of my track pairing series !

First up is...

Throne by ANIMA!

This band tends to use nature-inspired sounds and acoustic instrumentals infused with electronic. It's a gentle and soft tune with lyrics touching on the singer being used in a relationship.

I am to you

A stepping stone

A card to pull

A name to know

In your book

You jot me down

To help you up

Upon your throne

A specific vocal is used throughout and has a flute-like quality. The song ends with it as well which transitions perfectly into the next track...

Keeps Bringing Me Back by Blood Cultures

Content warning: Death, hypnosis

It starts with an actual flute and it has a similar musical structure to the motif present in Throne. This is a far more electronic tune and more energetic.

The lyrics keep a dark theme and have an occult tinge to them, alluding to a toxic relationship where they continue to repeat their mistakes. Except now, they're numb to the hurt this union causes.

The moon, it lights our way

There is no turning back from this mistake

We've both been here before, but something's changed

We're cutting to the bone, but feel no pain

While the entire LUNO album has an overarching theme, this track goes wonderfully with Throne. They present similar ideas and have a motif to tie them together.

As always I highly recommend checking out these artists discogs. It's worth it.

Notes of this pairing: transactional relationships, an eerie sense of dread, comforting tunes sung with a knife in hand, a flute of dark liquid cracked to the point of almost shattering

#mel pairs #melvis jams

[drjcowboys]

Dean Rodney Jr and the cowboys first ever article.

The emotive synthesised strings of "The man with the golden suit transport me back to supernormal festival in Oxfordshire,August 2022.

Dean Rodney Jr's metallic gold boots glint in the sun as the band take to the appropriately saloon like shed stage and begin to play. Hearing Rodney and his cowboys for the first time and feeling the collective charge of joy they generate among the crowd is a festival experience I'll never forget.

I didn't know there was a term for what was happening at the time, but have since discovered that it was what some call a yeehaw moment..

A year later, the London based ensemble have captured that moment in album form.

With added spoken word interludes, rich production and engaging sequencing. The Yeehaw moment is another deep dive into the unique world of artist, musician and rapper Dean Rodney Jr, with support from trumpeter Robyn rocket, bassit Rosie Ridgway, synthesist Tom Hirst and Drummer Jack Barraclough.

Rodney has produced many ambitious and immersive projects over the years through his work Deptford based arts charity Heart N Soul, has toured extremely as the Afropunk band the fish police and is also an intensely prolific solo bedroom producer. In lockdown he recorded 54 albums under Dean TV umbrella, a name which refers to the autism informed way that he sees the world, sometimes as if it were a TV show.

The Yeehaw moment sees Rodney expanding on some of his ideas forged during that intensive period of working alone or online, now reinterpreted with his new full band.

The album contains many characters and storyline some of which are taken from real life scenarios and observations, such as eating a seeded burger bun (food is a recurring theme in Rodney's work) while others spun from more fantastical visions, such as a visit to Easter Island where Rodney meets the talking statue bro bro man.

Rodney has cited 1980's electronic music, Daft punk and earth wind and fire.

As influences.

Indeed, throughout the album we're treated to flashes of funk, disco, lo-fi hiphop, synthpop and more, sometimes recalling the spirit of Gary Numan, talking heads or Grace Jones. In She said no problem in which Dean remembers an online conversation he had with a friend during lockdown. Ridgway's cool and measured bassline works with Barraclough's restrained drum fills to underpin a tight synth funk feel, and Rocket's echoing trumpet melody adds an apt pensiveness to Rodney Jr's musings on that strange and isolated time.

New photo begins with daft punk like arpeggio from Bunaiger affect.

Dean Rodney Hirst, with the brigde and chorus akin to Numan or Kraftwerk in its stripped back synthpop glory.

"Every time I see that picture it looks so good, it's a new photo" raps Rodney Jr in his direct, downtempo style. Rodney reflects on the joy of a fresh perspective, and through the brilliant simplicity of the lyrics we share in his smooth, measured vocal delivery contrasts against the rocking, reverberating backing screams of the formidable Robyn Rocket.

There is much humour in Rodney's observations too with comedic grace, Ahh what was that riffs on the subject of noisy farts, and Boing appreciates the jiggling body parts of moving party goers.

Sometimes a Rodney chorus will feature quick repeating lines that will feature quick repeating lines that will subtly adjust in unsual ways, as in the off beat tonuge twister Sesame bun.

Much like an epic TV series, Rodney's extensive discography features characters that linger and develop and motifs that reappear after long stretches of time. During the yeehaw moment's opening track the man in the golden suit Rodney declares its like a mystery here and I'm reminded of the prophetic penultimate track of his 2017 debut solo album The buzzard degree, in which the chorus repeats its like a cowboys in here.

Like fully realised broadcasts direct from his mind, Rodney's output makes it possible for him to display and share the unique way he perceives his surroundings.

His ultra catchy songs are open invitations to partake in his creative fun they didn't know existed.

This article was written by Meg Woof.

From page 59 of wire magazine issue 474.

#wire

[crusherthedoctor]

Can you list anything you unironically like in the games (and cartoons and comics) that you don't like?

I won't bother mentioning music, since that goes without saying and is to be expected for a Sonic game... unless you're Chronicles.

Sonic Adventure 2 (mixed gameplay-wise, annoying story-wise) - While I prefer Sonic's SA1 levels for a number of reasons, I still think his and Shadow's gameplay in SA2 is fun on its own merit. I also don't mind the treasure hunting gameplay returning or how big the levels are this time around, since Knuckles and Rouge are still fast and not '06 levels of slow. It's mainly the gimped radar that creates the unfortunate domino effect of making them a problem.

- Introduced Rouge, one of my favourite characters for how playful she is and how she's a lot more nuanced and intelligent than you'd expect.

- Some genuinely good scenes, like Eggman's trap on the A.R.K and Sonic escaping from the G.U.N. helicopter.

- Had some good ideas going for it, like the Pyramid Base and the Biolizard as a scientific monster instead of an ancient one.

- Despite my thoughts on the backstory itself (or rather, its execution), Shadow has enough depth and subtle qualities and occasional unintended hilarity to stand out from the typical dark rival characters you see in media.

- The Last Scene's music in particular is one of my favourite cutscene tracks in the series.

Sonic Heroes (mixed gameplay-wise, loathed story-wise) - The gameplay is fun when you're not being screwed over by repetitive combat, overly long levels and/or ice physics.

- Boasts some of the most consistently Genesis-worthy environments in the 3D games, up there with SA1's and Colours'.

- The in-game dialogue that isn't the same tutorial drivel repeated ad nauseam can be interesting, funny, etc.

- Reintroduced the Chaotix, which provided me with another character I quite like in the form of Vector.

- Bringing Metal Sonic back in full force and front and center in the plot after a long absence (not counting cameos and the like) is a perfectly fine idea. Just... not like this.

Sonic Battle (decent yet repetitive gameplay, mixed story-wise) - Emerl's arc is compelling, and it earns the emotional weight of having to put him down at the end.

- While some characters are iffy (read: Amy), other characters are extremely well-handled. Shadow is probably the prime example.

- Gamma's belly dance healing animation is fucking hilarious.

- When I was young, and the game was first announced, I was really excited about being able to play as Chaos. This proved to be my downfall when it turned out he was arguably one of the worst characters in the game due to being slower than me during the writing process, but I still recall that excitement fondly.

Shadow the Hedgehog (comedy classic) - The sheer amount of legendary stupidity this game has going for it makes it practically impossible to actually hate. It helps that it's not quite as white-knighted on the same level as '06... usually. You know you're in for a unique experience when you hear a gunshot every time you click something in the menu.

- By extension, Black Doom never gained an unironic fanbase like Mephiles/Scourge/Eggman Nega did, which means I'm a lot more willing to take Doom's dumbass brand of villainy in stride. He even has a unique design... a terrible one that rips off Wizeman granted, but alas, even that is a step-up from Fridge Shadow and Bumblebee Eggman.

- Despite being... well, Shadow the Hedgehog, some of the environments would fit right in with any other Sonic game, like with Circus Park, Lava Shelter, and Digital Circuit. Even the Black Comet levels look pretty cool.

- This game understands amnesia better than IDW does.

Sonic '06 (what do you think?) - The obvious one: Shadow's character was handled pretty well, even if it came at the cost of everyone else being a dummy and being forced to interact with Mephiles.

- Like SA2, there are some good moments, like the Last Story ending sequence with Sonic and Elise.

- In the greatest form of irony ever, I like Solaris as a concept and design(s), and its backstory has potential to serve as a parallel with Chaos without being a complete ripoff. Iblis sucks, Mephiles sucks, but I'm fine with Solaris.

- Introduced legendary characters like Sonic Man, Pele the Beloved Dog, Hatsun the Pigeon, and Pacha from The Emperor's New Groove.

The Rivals duology (apathetic outside of Nega-related grumbling) - There were some cool zone ideas in both games that were sadly let down by the restrictive and limiting gameplay. I particularly like Colosseum Highway for thus far being the only full-on Roman level in the series instead of merely having a couple minor hints of Roman, and Meteor Base for the unique scenario of the space station being built into an asteroid. These level concepts and others deserve a second chance IMO. (At least Frontier Canyon got a second chance in the form of Mirage Saloon, amirite?)

- Ifrit has a better design than Iblis. Not saying it's amazing, but the Firebird motif it has going on is a lot more interesting for a fire monster than the Not-Chaos schtick they had with Iblis.

Sonic and the Secret Rings (a very frustrating gaming experience) - Erazor Djinn, A.K.A. Qui-Gon Djinn, A.K.A. Dr. N. Djinn, A.K.A. I'll Take It On The Djinn, A.K.A. Not From The Hairs On My Djinny Djinn Djinn, is one of the best villains not associated with Eggman in the series. He's a Mephiles-type character done right, and there's actual weight and reason to his actions, however sinister or petty.

- I don't have strong opinions either way on Shahra as a character, but the Sonic/Shahra friendship is sweet and well-handled.

- The ending is one of Sonic's greatest moments. The sheer contrast between how ruthlessly he deals with Erazor and how comforting he is towards Shahra speaks volumes... Still gonna make fun of the mountain of handkerchiefs though. (Before anyone lectures me, I understand the significance of it and can even appreciate it from that angle... doesn't mean I'm not allowed to poke fun at it. :P)

- Another game with some redeeming environments. I love the aesthetic of Night Palace, and Sand Oasis looks gorgeous too.

Sonic Chronicles (my personal least favourite game in the series) - Uh...

- Um...

- Er...

- I like Shade's design?

Sonic Unleashed (overrated game and story IMO) - The obvious two: the opening sequence and the Egg Dragoon fight deserve all the praise they get.

- Seeing Eggmanland come to life was an impressive moment to be sure. While part of me does feel it didn't quite measure up to what I had in mind (ironically, the Interstellar Amusement Park ended up being closer to what I had in mind), it still looks badass and works well for what it is. I also don't mind the idea of it being a one-level gauntlet... key word being idea.

- Obviously, the game looks great. Not a fan of the real world focus (real world inspiration is fine, but copy-pasting the real world and shoving loops in it is just unimaginative), but it can't be denied that the environments look good.

- This game pulled off dialogue options a lot better than Chronicles did, since they didn't rely on making Sonic OoC.

Sonic and the Black Knight (just kind of boring all around) - Despite my gripes with the story (Merlina wasn't nearly as fleshed out as her unique anti-villain status deserved, which ends up severely undermining the ambition of the plot in more ways than one, and the other characters go from being useless yes men for King Arthur to being useless yes men for Sonic), I will admit it provides interesting insight into Sonic's character.

- Like '06 and Secret Rings, the ending is very nice... well, aside from Amy being an unreasonable bitch ala Sonic X at the very end.

Sonic the Hedgehog 4 (apathetic) - The admittedly few new concepts sprinkled within had promise. They may not have been as fleshed out as they could have been, but level concepts like Sylvania Castle and White Park, bosses like Egg Serpentleaf and the Egg Heart, and story beats like the Death Egg mk.II being powered by Little Planet, all could have been brilliant had they been better executed.

SatAM (apathetic outside of SatAM Robotnik-related grumbling) - I'm not a fan of the environments on the whole due to them looking too bland or samey, but there are some exceptions that look pleasant or interesting, like the Void.

Sonic Underground (apathetic) - The character designs make me feel better about myself.

- Does "large quantities of unintentional meme material" count as a positive?

Sonic X (mostly apathetic outside of Eggman's handling) - Helen was a better human character and audience surrogate in her one focus episode than Chris was throughout his entire runtime.

- Actually, most of the human characters not named Chris were legitimately likable. Including everyone in Chris' own family not named Chris. Hilarious.

- Despite arguably having the most Chris in it, I actually don't mind the first season that much, partly due to slight nostalgia from seeing it on TV when it was new, but mostly because Eggman actually acted like a villain for the most part, and certain other characters weren't quite as flanderized yet. It's season 2 and onwards where things started going off the rails IMO. (Incidentally, Helen's episode was part of season 1...)

The Boom franchise (apathetic) - Along with Chronicles, the games provide yet more proof that just because someone isn't SEGA/Sonic Team, that doesn't mean they're automatically more qualified to handle the series.

- The show had some good episodes here and there, and Tails' characterization was probably the most consistently on-point out of the cast.

- Despite not exactly being favourite portrayals for either character, even I'll admit that many of Knuckles and Eggman's lines in the show on their own were genuinely funny.

Archie Sonic (pre-reboot is mostly terrible, post-reboot is mostly... bland) - Whenever I doubt myself as a writer, I think back to Ken Penders, and suddenly I'm filled with a lot more confidence.

Sonic the Comic (apathetic) - Fleetway isn't a comic I tend to recall much of aside from how much of a loathesome cunt Sonic is, but IIRC, Robotnik's portrayal is pretty good. Different, but good.

IDW Sonic (stop pissing me off, comic) - Putting their handling aside (and being too obviously "inspired" by MGS in the latter's case), Tangle and Whisper are good characters IMO.

- Same goes for Starline, before he was killed off-screen and replaced with Toothpaste Snively.

- Execution aside (noticing a pattern?), the zombot virus was a fine concept on its own and an interesting new scheme for Eggman.

- I get to remind myself that I've never drawn scat edits and posted them publicly on Twitter.

#Crusher's Asks #Opinion #Sonic the Hedgehog #Sonic Adventure 2 #Sonic Battle #Shadow the Hedgehog #Sonic the Hedgehog 2006 #Sonic Rivals #Sonic and the Secret Rings #Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood #Sonic Unleashed #Sonic and the Black Knight #Sonic the Hedgehog 4 #Sonic SatAM #Sonic Underground #Sonic X #Sonic Boom #Archie Sonic #Sonic the Comic #IDW Sonic

[rpg-elf-girl]

Shadows House

I have a lot of thoughts surrounding this particular show, both good & bad.

Allow me to give a quick summary for anyone who hasn't seen/read it!

Shadows House is about 'a faceless family of nobles who all live within this giant manor, the Shadows House.

When a Shadow comes of age they receive a 'Living Doll' to both serve as their face and to clean the soot they emit from their bodies.

The most important rule of the living dolls is "don't fret over trivial matters"

A task which is difficult for the ever curious doll Emiliko.

Watch this tale unfold as Emiliko & her mistress Kate navigate this ever mysterious Manor together.'

For a fan of slow burn thrillers, horror, slice of life, supernatural & mystery series' this has been an absolute blast!

It's not quite the combination of genres you'd expect from a show, but it works really well here!

In fact I was so into the anime that this is actually the first show where I broke down and read the manga!

Unfortunately there's no official English release, but at least there are some people translating the series!

As much as I'd like to go on about the manga, this post is meant to be more so about the anime so I'll (try to) leave it at that.

Though i feel obligated to warn anime onlys I'll likely refer the manga a lot in a spoiler section latter in this post I'll try to be vague but I can't guarantee anything. For anyone worried about that I'll lable it do you can read on until then.

Everything from the animation to the music was amazing & completely fit the mood of the story! I remember a couple scenes where I actually teared up because of this!

The Ending theme is an absolute banger! I've listened to that on repeat ever since I first heard it! And the Opening is also great! It's cool for it to be an instrumental, stuff like that is pretty rare! I also heard the song in the op as a motif in the music throughout the show! It really sets the right mood in each scene it's in! It's amazing for getting into each episode!

In terms of adaptation almost everything from the beginning to the end of the Debut arc was done amazingly well!

Even with the stuff they cut it still holds true to the spirit of its source.

The main important part that was cut is something that could easily be introduced latter if they decide to go for a second season, so I'm not too mad about that.

However! Everything after the debut is a bit of a different story.

There was a lot I liked about the last couple episodes but there were some parts that were immersion breaking for me.

I've been being vague up until this point l, but I'm planning on going into spoiler territory for both the anime and manga after this. So I'll make a quick spoiler free summary of my thoughts before moving onto that.

I really really loved this show but in my opinion the last 3 episodes were the weakest of them all. They went anime only for the ending. I don't mind that on it's own, but it was rushed and the writing was sloppy at times.

Now I'm not telling you to not watch the show! Most of It's really really good, and I can still see people enjoying the parts I'm talking about if they want to give the anime a try. Overall I've fallen in love with this series and I could never recommend it enough.

If what I'm saying is giving you bad vibes the manga is available and doesn't have the issues I've mentioned. You can look for a translation online, it didn't take me long to find one so don't worry too much about that.

Also! if you're an anime only who's finished the series and want to know where to pick up the Manga I'd recommend at least skiming through the beginning. I know it might not be what you're looking for but there were a bunch of small scenes that either got cut or were merged for adaptation purposes that I think are super cute & give more context to different aspects of the setting. However! Pay close attention during the "night watchers part" something important got cut .

~~~Now for spoilers!!!!~~~

I don't want to make it sound like I'm some manga purist who hates the very thought of the slightest change from the source. I'm anime only for a lot of different shows and I've always despised it when that type of manga reader reared it's ugly head.

While I'll admit some changes did bother me I won't make a fuss about the smaller stuff.

With that said!

I hinted earlier in this post that I didn't have a big problem with Robe-same being cut. That was because without them there it does make for a more complete story if they only get one season to work with.

If there is another season they can easily be introduced latter on. Like maybe Emiliko & Shaun can meet them when the Debutant class reunion is going on before they talk on the roof (or right after that) I actually think that would be the perfect time to introduce them (other than the time they were supposed to appear, but I digress)

Louise teaming up & being friendly with Kate can be explained with some dialogue changes at the first Debutant Class Reunion. Louise can say she was just trying to show off or that she just wanted to get back at Edward and that she isn't interested in helping Kate with her problems. Things can then go on as they did in the manga.

Kates being reckless & telling everything to John can be explained by her being extremely panicked when Emiliko went missing, as long as there are some lines of dialogue adressing this it's fine. Though I do wish she tried to keep some stuff a secret but couldn't because Shaun tries to interfer because he's still brainwashed, or something along those lines. It felt a bit weird after she just told Emiliko to keep that stuff between them. Still that could be explained by how panicked she was.

There are other things, but I don't want to drag the post on too long. Most of the issues can be fixed with little changes here & there.

I never had a problem with the idea of them going in an anime only direction. I just want to have a good time with the show.

Unfortunately I can't 100% vouche for the direction the show went in. There were elements that I can't excuse, even viewing it as it's own entity instead of an adaptation.

My main complaint with it is how they handled the brainwashing of Ricky & Lou. They didn't say a word when the Debutants were talking badly about Edward & even went along with a plan to go against him. It makes absolutely no sense!

Shaun freaked out when John only suggested that he didn't have to be loyal to the house. These guys were flat out rebelling against an adult! It felt like Ricky & Lou didn't have a purpose & were just there to be there.

The whole point of the coffee is to influence shadows against doing stuff like this. It makes the coffee seem pointless and the adults seem dumb for relying on it to control the kids.

I haven't even brought up the fact that both of their brainwashings were broken by something as simple as a few kind words. It straight up contradicts the rules established by both the Anime and Manga.

This becomes very apparent when you consider all the trouble John & Kate went through to free Shaun & Emiliko.

This was my biggest complaint, but I have some other issues as well.

The next big one is how they handled Edward.

1. Why on earth would he even consider kidnapping Emiliko when he had complete control of the childrens wing? Before this point he was depicted as being a lot more crafty than this. He could easily have Kate monitored or something.

2. Why didn't he use his powers to stop them like what he did to Maryrose & Rosemary when they fought back being taken to the adults wing? He's already shown off his power at this point, why not?

3. Why did he reveal his soot powers at all!? Especially while using his face in front of the kids! The whole unification thing is one of the biggest secrets of the house for good reason! There's no way he wouldn't get in huge trouble for exposing it to children!

Here are some other related questions.

Why didn't Kate, Emiliko, & John react to Edward using soot powers? They shouldn't know about unification yet so why didn't they act shocked, or say anything about it?

Is Edward being banished even an option in the Shadows House? Wouldn't the third floor lords just dispose of him rather than risk letting him leave?

How did John even get a veiled dolls outfit? Louise had to use her powers to get Kate one & she left a long time ago.

I can't think of much else at the moment, but I think you get my point.

Please don't take this as me saying that I hate the show because of these episodes. Even if I consider them the weakest of the series I still found a lot of parts to be very enjoyable!

Like I thought it was adorable When Edward was attempting to interrogate Emiliko & she kept being her sunshine self pretending to eat & falling asleep.

Barbara getting to tell off Edward for breaking the rules was great!

I loved seeing Shaun hatch the plan to get Kate into the adults wing to save Emiliko.

Seeing John (attempt to) sneak around the adults wing had me rolling!

The ending scene of Shaun, Ricky, & Lou singing gave me the chills.

(Though I wonder how they'd handle Shaun & Emiliko being brainwashed again since they already used the scenes where they're freed)

Kate & Emilico being propelled by John back to the children's wing was absolutely amazing! I found Shaun & Ricky running over to catch them to be super sweet! (Not to mention the way that scene was animated was absolutely gorgeous!)

Getting hints to what was supposed to come after the debut was nice, at least the groundwork is there in case this gets a season 2!

To (try to) wrap this all up while there were a lot of things I loved and disliked about this show I still had a really fun time watching it!

I kinda hope there's a season two just to see if they can tidy up the mess that the last few episodes created.

Regardless of whether that happens or not I came out of this with a series I absolutely adore.

Heck I could make a whole other post about the manga. (Hopefully one that's less ranty)

Anyway! I won't take any more of your time.

I hope you all have a wonderful day/night! And I hope to see you in my next post!

(Sorry if this one was a bit of a mess!)

#Shadows House #Shadows House Review #Shadows House Anime #Shadows House Manga #anime #anime review #seasonal anime

[smellycinnamonthundahfudge]

Alison's Allusions & Alliterations (Pt. 1 - Lover's Links 💖💖💖)

yeah, i don't rlly follow taylor's or her associated pips' social or irl lives... but, i do pay attention and remember stuff and details when it comes to her music tho...

sooo, this is the start of the series imma make about the easter eggs or connections in her songs heheh 🤗🤗🤗

now without further ado, let's talk about Lover 💖

one thing that i noticed from seeing a post showing all of Taylor's albums, all 9 of em, is that after every 3 albums, the next one tends to be very specific to who she is.

so like, Taylor Swift (Debut), RED, and Lover.

personally, when i think of taylor, i do think about love, and idk i just think that when she kinda shakes up her image and music style after every 3 album eras, she tends to focus in on something that defines her. (which i just think is a pretty dope idea hahah)

and also (i know this next part might be reaching, but i stg if my suspicion winds up right...), i think she actually drops clues for them in the penultimate (second to last) song of the previous album.

the penultimate song for speak now, is last kiss.

and i mean, when we think of RED we think of the lipstick she wears right?

in the deluxe ed, i think the penultimate songs (one for the additional tracks, the other for the official tracklist) is if this was a movie and back to december

and both of those mention red things, taylor's heart for itwam and roses for btd

(and oh god yes i know reaching she probably might mention those all the time?? heart at least yeah (i'll get back to you on the roses once i review her entire discography again hahah) but istg there just might be a connection considering what the current last third album is and what the penultimate songs there are)

and the penultimate song for rep, is ciwyw, which yalls might now, is the one that has the line that mentions the word Lover.

"I'm laughing with my lover making forts under covers"

and so i bring this up because i think this could serve as a hint for what TS10 could be.

the penultimate song/s are closure and right where you left me.

both of which feature paper, letters, pages specifically.

the lyric/mv for closure featuring a sheet of paper

with the lyric "Yes, I got your letter" and the lyrics of rwylm having "Matches burn after the other Pages turn and stick to each other"

sooo considering that taylor's album eras revamp after every three albums is centered on who she is, (her debut, RED, and Lover), i think it's certainly possible for the next album to be about her as a writer, since that is very much a defining quality of hers, and that it might connect to paper imagery/motif

alright that's the first Lover related connection i couldn't stop thinking about since the possibility i might actually be right in my prediction is just too exciting to pass up hahah.

the next ones, i think, are actually more legit connecting threads/easter eggs (not to mention, i'm finally going to deal with the other part of the title i made and the one that inspired this whole series in the first place hahah) so here we goooo.

it actually starts in reputation, but, i think it's featured significantly in Lover AND in folklorevermore.. sooo

Call It What You Want

it has the lyric "I want to wear his initial on a chain round my neck"

i think the theory that the title connects to a certain person in taylor's life has credence because of that lyric, and the fact that this alliterative connection repeats throughout the next albums.

i mean, it's the only lyric in rep that brings to mind that person's name (as far as i remember lol). and the fact that it brings up the chain on her neck...

i just think that it should be paid attention to, so i think the title could be very significant, and that it does have something to do with the person's name... the lyrics hint at it significantly imo heh.

(plus chain,, call,,, both c?? significant?? just fun alliteration? hah)

(also, ciwyw's lyric/mv also contained some pretty personal footage of taylor's life, so... seems pretty significant/important imo...)

and ykno what i think would solidify the alliterative connection of the letter C in taylors works starting from ciwyw??

the next songs after it that feature C significantly are

Cruel Summer, Cornelia Street, Death By A Thousand Cuts, cardigan, champagne problems, no body, no crime, coney island, cowboy like me, closure

bangers, right?

hah no- i mean yeah it's true, but i just think they're significant songs.

Cruel Summer, cardigan, and champagne problems are all second songs in the tracklist (remember how ciwyw was the penultimate aka SECOND to last song in rep?)

dbatc, nbnc, and coney island (spoilers if you haven't listened hahah) all deal with death

and oh gosh wait Cornelia Street and coney island are also one of the few songs named after places taylor's written, and THEY BOTH START WITH C.

and also closure is the penultimate song like ciwyw

and idk, i guess... for cblm maybe there's some significance to the fact that the only actual (like, as in, confirmed written in the song) happy ending song in evermore has c in it... so idk...

and lastly, i just wanna bring up that in the lyric/mv of ciwyw

there's this footage

which takes me to that paper rings lyric

"I'm with you even if it makes me blue Which takes me back To the color that we painted your brother's wall"

and... uh... cowboy!taylor?!?!? 🥺🥺🥺🥺???

(and idk the first line in ciwyw also features c heavily, "my castle crumbled overnight. they took the crown but it's alright" and maybe the laughin with lover under covers?? honestly dk anymore hahah it was the word that rhymed with the next album eras revamp album title tho... hahah)

so... i think that's officially it for the lover/ciwyw related connections hahahah

the last lover related connection i realized on my own but idk if anyone's noticed already (but there's a good chance tbh) but i just wanted to keep a record of it for myself heh.

it has to do with its music videos heh

remember the whole after three albums, revamp starting with who she is, like defining traits of hers and stuff?

so like, there's just this connection to debut, red, and lover, i think..

and considering that debut is taylor's first album, and lover is her first OWNED album, so they're both firsts...

i think lover paralleling/referencing debut is significant heh

here are the ones i noticed heh:

oh godh, i know the pink phones are probably significant but... is the wall behind taylor in me being blue which is the color of the top she's wearing in that scene also significant??

i just... the color scheme between these two shots tho right??

but anw, the other references

taylor wearing long gowns that flow into surrounding effects in both her first albums heh...

(also does she just have usual go to poses or was she intentionally referencing how she acted in our song's mv? idfk anymore hahahah (yes, it took me a while to get these specific parallel shots help hahah))

and also i think the lover rooms are albums theory is top notch, but, i'd argue that the attic and the bathroom are interchangeably 1989 and rep, meaning, i think the bathroom can be rep and that 1989 can be the attic

rep heavily features blue, it being mentioned in delicate and gorgeous. dress has that line about spilling wine in the bathtub. and taylor and her lover swimming in the fishbowl could be considered them dancing with their hands tied... (heh.. 😏)

and i think of the attic as 1989 primarily because of the projector...

they were watching personally captured images/videos on it, weren't they??

and, remind me, what's the album cover of 1989 again??

a polaroid.

the room's almost like a polaroid what with the white blanket right in the middle of it flashing images, for crying out loud hahah.

i know i said that that's the last one, ... but i just remembered some more and am now officially too tired to scroll & look where i said that and edit sooo...

gah. here's some more.

my my my is primarily featured in mary's song (yet another connection bet debut & lover), but it also shows up in ciwyw and in 2 of lover's songs

ciwyw - the first lyric is my castle right? well that word is repeated in the lyric video

lover - you're....??

you're MY MY MY MYYYYYYY... lover

dbatc - it's repeatedly sung at the very beginning of the song, like a background choir or somethin

not to mention the iconic lines in the bridge of

"My heart, my hips, my body, my love My time, my wine, my spirit, my trust"

and i think this repetition/throughline has meaning

mary's song is a song about commitment, a staying through love that persists for years up to marriage.

i think that's what the mys represent

taylor's commitment to the person

from it being an idea in mary's song, it hinted at in ciwyw, to eventually being very prominent in lover, and then to it becoming a haunting/almost taunting repeating echo in dbatc...

i think it shows the journey of mys, of commitment with someone you're willing to spend the rest of your life with, becoming first a dream, to a possibility, to reality, to the past

and officially finally... i think me is a break up song... 🤷

i think this cause it's post dbatc in the tracklist which just gives it a whole diff energy.

it reminds me of what taylor said about RED (TV), about "moments of strength, independence, and devil-may-care rebellion" happening in the land of heartbreak.

and... the original composition of it, as seen in miss americana, from the piano... makes it sound very sad...

and i mean, if you listen to it...

"I promise that you'll never find another like me"

doesn't that sound just like the taylor red quote i put up there^ ?

(also, a bunch of songs that have the word me in it, usually have you. like, you belong with me, i'm only me when i'm with you, and you all over me. but with me... she's all by her lonesome, just me, no you...)

GAH. THAT'S IT I'M DONE. THE END. (for the lover's links anyways hahah. like i put there, this is only part 1, sooo... stay tuned for pt. 2, and i'll see ya later, folks hahah. this was kinda fun tho hahah.)

#taylor swift #i love you taylor #i did this for/cause of ya #if it wasn't obvious how much your music affects me #this shit makes it pretty damn clear now hahahah #also yes #taylor alison swift #i noticed her alliterations and put it together with her name cause i'm a genius hahahah #lover #gaylor swift

[mewtonian-physics]

what's your favorite soundtrack? (game, movie, just a soundtrack in general)

it's hard to pick an exact favorite--you might think i'd go for one of the nancy drew game soundtracks considering how much i love them, but i think my favorite might actually be the pmmm rebellion soundtrack! i love how it repeats the same motif in different styles and instruments throughout the whole soundtrack, really makes it all come together. it's such a nice touch and i just have to give it credit for that. actually pmmm does the motif thing in music throughout the series but it really stands out in rebellion, so unless i can just pick 'pmmm soundtrack in general' then it's the rebellion soundtrack. kajiura yuki my queen.

#ask

[iohourtime]

Hey!Say!JUMP 2019 in Taipei - Reports from various newspapers

Notes:

I was going to do this back in October when it was more timely but I was going nuts trying to organize all the articles in some semblance of order. Why now then? The concert DVD’s will be released on August 5! A digest version of the Taipei concert will be included in LE 1. According to the fans, they only cut 3 songs (and probably a lot if not all of the MC). 

This article was translated mainly from the Apple Daily article, but I filled in the details from other articles, con reports, and news clips.

Johnny's group Hey!Say!JUMP held their first concert in Taiwan in 7 years. The 9 members of Hey!Say!JUMP are Yabu Kota, Takaki Yuya, Inoo Kei, Yaotome Hikaru, Arioka Daiki, Okamoto Keito (studying abroad), Yamada Ryosuke, Nakajima Yuto, and Chinen Yuri. For two days, they took over the Taipei Arena and were greeted with great enthusiasm: the 22,000 tickets sold out immediately, with the 2 performances grossing 58M TWD in ticket sales.

The concert was not just attended by local Taiwanese fans, the Japanese fans also formed their own tour groups to go to the concert, and you could find fans from many countries like China, Thailand, etc… Wu Chun, who co-starred with Yamada Ryosuke and Arioka Daiki, sent flowers to congratulate them on opening night. They also arranged a lot of "Taiwan limited events" for the local fans, such as opening a pop up shop, releasing 2 songs on streaming services, as well as a collaboration with Line Poko Poko.

2 minute digest video here.

Opening Introduction

As the LED sign of Hey!Say!JUMP's name rose to the top, the 8 members appeared on stage donned in sparkling suits in their own members' colour. The 11,000 fans switched on their penlights to their biases’ colour and turned the arena into a spectacle of lights.

Yamada shouted "Are you ready!!!!" Takaki* (or Arioka & Chinen) said in Mandarin, "Are you having fun? OK, we are having fun too. Taiwan! Welcome to our concert!" The other members didn't want to lose to each other and they all chimed in with their newly learned Chinese phrases like "you guys are super cute", "sing along with us" , "please sit" or “let me hear you scream”. They started with a performance of “Arigatou~ Sekai no doko ni itemo”, a song that included lyrics in many languages, such as “Thank you” in Manadarin.

* The Taiwanese media could not tell some of the members apart, so certain quotes were attributed to multiple members. I used 1 and put the other possibilities in brackets. I suppose we will find out when we watch the DVD.

When it was time to introduce themselves, they did not forget to flirt with and charm their fans in Mandarin. Yabu Kota started by saying “We’ve learned a bit* of Chinese. Please bear with us as we are not very good. How are you, I am Yabu Kota. We’ve let you wait for too long. Friends in the back, I can see you clearly!”

* Another article said we’ve spent a year learning Chinese. That’s what I heard from the news clips too, but either is possible because of his pronunciation. 😅 我們學了一點 (yī diǎn)中文 vs. 我們學了一年 (yī nián) 中文.

Hikaru Yaotome continued, “I remember the last time we came here. Let us melt your hearts.” 

Takaki Yuya also shouted, “I really really missed you guys.” 

Inoo Kei, who wasted no time telling the fans they were cute made a “shocking” declaration. “You are all our girlfriends. Can my girlfriends on the left hear me? How about my girlfriends on the right? ” Then he put his arms around Chinen Yuri and said, “But my real girlfriend is…” and trailed off, leaving the fans to draw their own conclusions.

Chinen Yuri was worried that the fans did not recognize him, so he kept asking “Do you know me? Do you know me? Really?” When he heard the affirmative responses, he said, “I like you very much! Thank you.”

Meanwhile Yamada Ryosuke tried a different strategy and used Taiwanese to tell everyone in the audience that they were cute*. However, his pronunciation was quite off so nobody understood what he said and the response was very tentative. He panicked and kept repeating the phrase*, when Chinen finally asked him to clarify. Yamada said “You’re cute” in Japanese and that was met with kyaa’s. Nevertheless, his failed attempt brought a lot of joy to the audience.

* Cute in Taiwanese is 古錐 (Actual pronunciation). 😅

Finally, Nakajima Yuto used both Mandarin and English to address the audience. “It’s been a long time. We are so happy to see you again. We’ve been waiting to see you again for 7 years since we came here last time. For 7 years. Our dream to come back here has finally come true. We are so glad.” (Source: a clip from a Taiwan TV entertainment show.)

You can watch some of the exchanges here.

There were many familiar songs on the set list but with a Taiwanese twist. For example, in Kimi Attraction, the members mugged the camera and acted cool as usual. At the end, Chinen said “As expected, Taiwan is No. 1.” Inoo added in Mandarin, “So cute!” 

They also brought back the "flying circle" from the stage show “SUMMARY”, which was something they had not performed for years. Dressed in white, they quickly hooked each other up to the harnesses and held each others’ hands as they flew, their capes flowing gracefully as they twirled to the music while they sang “Born in the EARTH”, the audience went wild. The rest of the concert was filled with effects like confetti, smoke, dry ice, and gin tape. It was a spectacle.

MC

Just before the end of the first half, the 8 members were chatting with fans and each other on stage. When they found out a lot of them attended their concert at Nangang 101* 7 years ago, they immediately said “Thank you” in Chinese. They then asked each other (in Mandarin), “Do you have a smartphone?” Nakajima also asked the audience, “What kind of group is Hey!Say!JUMP?” 

* Nangang 101 was a small concert hall that has since been demolished. From what I heard, it was actually a pretty bad location. Supposedly, Taipei Arena is a much nicer space.

At this time, it looked like Yamada was going to introduce each member, but all he did was point at each one and said “他很帥! (He is handsome)”. When it was Arioka’s turn, Yamada pointed at him and said, “他是笨蛋! (He is an idiot)”. Arioka, who didn’t know the Mandarin for “idiot”, immediately asked, “Hey, the word you used to describe me is different from the others!” The audience roared.

After Yamada introduced everybody, Chinen introduced Yamada* with “他是...我的錢包. (He is my... wallet.)” Yamada clarified, “不是,我是...銀行! (No, I am... the bank!)”

*This is not in any of the news articles, but the Taiwanese fans won’t shut up about it, so I’ll add it here. Either the whole thing was in Mandarin or it’s a mix of Japanese and Mandarin. I have no clue but at least “wallet” and “bank” were in Manadrin.

Meanwhile, out of nowhere, Chinen showed off the line he learned and said, “I will not make the same mistake next time”*. The members were completely baffled by that. 

* When Yabu, Yuto, and Chi went to Taipei for the press conference, they appeared on a number of TW entertainment shows and were taught a bunch of “useful” Mandarin phrases. I think this was one of the lines.

They also remembered to advertise the pop-up shop. Since the members arrived a day earlier in Taipei, they secretly visited the pop up shop to check it out and signed the poster. The members teased Yamada, the spokesperson for Lachesca cleansing product, and said “The shop is filled with Yamada.” At this time, Yamada brought out all the products and promoted them to the audience. Nakajima added, “If you use this, you will have the same soft skin as Yamada!” Yabu said, “I heard a lot of items that were sold out will be restocked tomorrow. Please go check them out.” 

They also promoted the Line Poko Poko game they were repping. Takaki jokingly said, “Yesterday, I went to the sauna. Just when I was very relaxed, I suddenly saw our ad on TV. It was a bit embarrassing.” They also revealed that the stickers were designed by Yaotome Hikaru and even used Mandarin to say “Go download it.” Indeed, they were good spokespersons.

Second Half

After a short intermission, the second half of the concert began. The members changed into purple Japanese outfits for the “Wa” corner, with Nakajima on taiko and Yaotome playing shamisen. The “Wa” corner was reminiscent of senpai Domoto Koichi’s musical, “SHOCK”. Each member performed a series of fan dance and ribbon dance, set to a rearranged version of “Over” and “Give Me Love”, etc. The background also changed throughout the set into various Japanese motifs. During “Give Me Love”, Yamada and Chinen grabbed the white ribbons and started flying on stage with no safety harnesses. The audience was shocked and awed.

As the main part of the concert came to an end, the audience was treated to a highlight video of HSJ’s last Taipei concert 7 years ago, giving them a chance to reminisce. They changed into sparkly gold outfits and sang a 12-song medley of their hit singles, including their debut song “Ultra Music Power”, “Mayonaka no Shadow Boy”, “Mae wo muke”, etc., while… you guessed it… flying through the air again! They finished with “White Love”, their single from the previous year, but to the audience’s surprise, they sang the last half of the song in Taiwanese (correctly pronounced apparently)! The audience completely lost it with excitement at this point.

「White Love」（台語版）：

若有一天會實現

咱兩人永遠做伙的彼個夢

妳就是唯一願望

妳是我的從今以後的未來

最後一擺的戀愛

我的愛乎妳一個

獻予妳全心全意的一個人

我的心愛妳到底

我愛妳　遮愛妳

全世界只有妳一人

我愛妳 遮愛你

妳是我永遠註定的命運

上愛的故事

“White Love” (Taiwanese version)

If it comes true one day,

That dream where we are together forever,

Then I only wish for you,

You are my future from now on.

My last love story,

I give my love only to you,

To you, who love me wholeheartedly.

In my heart, I will love you till the end.

I love you, I love you very much,

There’s only you in the whole world.

I love you, I love you very much,

You are my destiny,

The best love story.

You can watch the video here

Encore

After the thunderous shouts of encore from the audience, the members appeared on stage again and sang “Fanfare!”” and “You & I”. They promised their Taiwanese fans to “not let them wait this long for the next time”. However, since this was the last night, the 11K fans shouted for a second encore and the members appeared on stage again.  Chinen said with a smile, “We see each other again so soon!” Yabu used Mandarin to ask the fans, “What do you want to hear? What do you want us to sing?” They then performed “Ultra Music Power again, and rang around the stage. Nakajima Yuto said in pretty fluent English, “Thank you everyone for coming. We are so happy. We will not forget tonight when you are here with us in Taiwan together!” Chinen also said in Mandarin that “We will come again!”. The members wistfully said goodbye to their fans.

Fan stories and fan service

Hey!Say!JUMP’s concert was like a grand entertainment show. In addition to the members’ hard work, the fans also brought a lot of enthusiasm. In Johnny’s tradition, fans communicate to their idols through homemade uchiwa, which was a sight to behold for [those unfamiliar with Johnny’s concerts]. Fan messages included “Wink at me”, “Blow me a kiss”, “Point at me” etc., and the fans could quickly switch to different uchiwas depending on the member who appeared in their sights.

A 30 year old OL fan, Sen, brought a Yamada Ryosuke and Nakajima Yuto uchiwa as well as 2 message ones that said “Give me a kiss” and “Did you drink bubble tea?” She said the handmade ones were actually borrowed from a fan, who successfully got a kiss from Yaotome Hikaru the day before, so she hoped the luck would rub off on her.

Apple Daily’s reporter even saw a Japanese fan who brought 8 uchiwa, and she even joined forces with her seat mates, all holding up that members’ uchiwa together to catch the attention of their idols who appeared in front of them.  During the encore, Nakajima Yuto immediately started running around the stage to look for fans. When he found a fan from Singapore and he asked this fan directly, “Did you fly here from Singapore?” He also compiled with all the fan service: blowing kisses, giving them thumbs up, heart signs, the fans were super excited. [I guess you can say his service is excellent.]

Sources (in addition to news clips and twitter / weibo):

Apple Daily

https://tw.appledaily.com/new/realtime/20191006/1644575/

China Daily

https://www.chinatimes.com/amp/realtimenews/20191006002555-260404

Liberty Time News

https://ent.ltn.com.tw/news/breakingnews/2938402

https://stars.udn.com/star/story/10092/4089578

Now News

https://www.nownews.com/news/20191006/3674832/

https://www.nownews.com/news/20191006/3674976/   (White Love lyrics)

Star UDN

https://stars.udn.com/star/story/10092/4089727?from=udnamp-referralnews_ch1022artbottom

#hey say jump #taipei concert 2019 #translations #yamada ryosuke #chinen yuri #nakajima yuto #arioka daiki #inoo kei #takaki yuya #yaotome hikaru #yabu kota #hey!say!jump #Hey!Say!JUMP 2019 in Taipei

[notim]

CMYK: Rhythm

The Image above is from the Star wars Series

Analysis

Rhythm is movement, a tone, what defines an experience. The Image above imposes a level of dread when looked at. It makes its presence known through it sense of danger. The tension in this image is brought on by its Alternating rhythm, the most notable example of this is the black and white soldiers lined in the image. The image also has a Repeating Rhythm allowing it to continue with its tension by repeating it as much as possible. By repeating itself it rather than creates a sense of predictability it adds to its dread, an unending army. The Repeating Rhythm can also be seen as Visual Rhythm as it uses the same lines to build on its army. Overall this image repeats itself constantly however it uses it in a way add to itself, not to be consistent. I can imagine using this form of constant addition to add to my own works.

Rhythm Glossary

Rhythm

​ is caused by patterns in movement. What are those footsteps in the dark room? Arethey slow or fast? Running or sneaking up on you? Rhythm controls the pace of action in yourstory. Rhythm can be repeated character types, weapons, or color strategies. We see and hearrhythm throughout nature as well as in our digital environment. Rhythm organizes units intopatterns. Rhythm is created through repetition, alternation, and progression.

Alternating

​ Alternating rhythm is a form of repetition and is predictable. We switch back andforth from one thing to another like a tennis match. Alternating rhythm can create tension, suchas switching close up head shots of one character arguing with another.

Audio ​​Rhythm​ 

sounds that create patterns such breathing or shooting rounds of ammo.

Conceptual​​ Rhythm

​Intensifies, moves along, or calms the story. Conceptual rhythmcoordinates visual and audio rhythm with the pace of your story.

Contrasting Rhythms​

 are two or more sounds or motions at obviously different  tempos.

Legato

​means music in a smooth flowing manner, without breaks between notes or a smoothflowing motion.

Polyrhythmic patterns​

 use of simultaneous contrasting rhythms. A battle scene has many(poly) rhythms such as big guns, small guns, shouts, rumbles, footsteps, and explosions.

Progressive

​rhythm is a pattern that changes over time to more or less intensity. Progressive rhythm makes us feel that. something is in an evolving state of change. We can tell when the battle is heating up by the rhythm of the sounds and the actions of the characters runningtoward or away from the fighting

Repeating

The same thing again and again gives us a feeling of predictability

Rhythm and motion

​ When a motion repeats, speeds up, slows down it creates a rhythm. Therhythm of tai chi is slow. The rhythm of Kung Fu is fast.

Staccato

​derives from the Italian verb staccare, meaning "to detach," and can now describeanything - not just sounds - made, done, or happening in an abrupt or disjointed way.

Visual​ Rhythm

 When motifs such as lines or shapes repeat visual rhythm forms.

#star wars #rhythm #repeating #immense #tension

[austencello]

Present Tense - Arrow Music Notes 8x04

Worlds collide as the future Team Arrow are brought into the present. All of the team members wrestle with what happened in the future and whether it can be changed as Oliver seeks to know his kids, now adults, in the knowledge that he was not there for them due to his death.

Oliver, Mia, and William

The opening scene is heart-breaking as everyone is in various states of shock.  As William hugs Oliver and he recognizes his children, a broken up version of the slow Arrow theme plays in the piano. This is played in many intimate, emotional moments for Oliver, but to have it play three notes at a time emphasizes the shock and depth that this goes.  As they all try to make sense of it all, a theme plays, originally from 7x10 in guitar harmonics over high strings and a synth shimmer.  This theme was used three times in the future for regrets by the older members (Dinah, Rene, Felicity) and how they disappointed or failed each other and the kids.  Dinah reminding Rene that they had promised to be there for each other, Zoe asking Rene what happened to the hero she remembers, and most importantly, Felicity admitting to William that they made a mistake that she will always regret in not bringing him back home (7x21).  All the emotions of regret, loss, abandonment are present for the kids as Zoe just had died, Mia and William are seeing their dead father, and Connor is trying to connect with a Dad who doesn’t know who he is.  Oliver tells the team that they had a daughter named Mia and that these are his kids.  It is a theme of mistakes and a call to second chances.  Future electronics play as the Future Team Arrow realize that they are in the past.

Oliver takes the kids to the old apartment only to find out that William and Mia never grew up together.  As he hears this, violins play the opening part of “Everyone Left” (5x02).  This theme was also used in 7x22 as Felicity, William and Mia were looking at Oliver’s gravestone before Felicity leaves. Mia grew up without a father and William never saw again after he left at age 13.  For Oliver to hear that the sacrifice he has been making and will make results in this separation breaks his heart and Mia is not willing to forgive him easily for abandoning them. For in this case, it was Oliver who left.  After Mia goes to her room, Oliver plans on calling Felicity with guitar harmonics play a new melody as William warns that they should figure out what is going on with their time travel situation. Oliver reconnects with William as he shares that he is a tech mogul and comes out while strings play underneath, turning to a happier major resolution with Oliver’s response to William’s coming out.  The guitar harmonics play again as William promises that Mia will come around, hinting at how similar she is to Oliver.  What I love about the new melody is that it uses one of Oliver’s instruments and the opening two notes of “Big Mistake,” their melody throughout the series when William is a kid.  It makes sense that they would have a new one with William as an adult but beginning the same.  This melody returns later in the episode as William tells Oliver that he needs to push harder with Mia and that he wished Oliver had done the same when he chose to live with this grandparents. He wanted him to try harder.

Mia had her own moments with Oliver including letting out all her feelings about how he abandoned her to be a hero as he stood in her way to prevent her from going by herself to check out information while impatient and emotional. Guitar harmonics play a repeated upward 4-note pattern “Everyone Left” (5x02) (used throughout the seasons, often in strings, guitar, harp) over strings and the scene is punctuated with toms (drums) to add tension to the scene especially as she threatens to fight him.  The strings play his slow Arrow theme as she leaves and he is left hurt and frustrated.

Later on, Oliver and Mia fight side by side against Grant Wilson and some of his Deathstroke gang.  As they do so, Mia’s Blackstar theme plays in the violins and electric guitar (7x08).  In the end, Oliver stops her from killing Grant as violins and the drums (toms) accompany the scene.  Again, the drum punctuation help to emphasize and heighten the tension as Oliver stood in front of Mia’s arrow, stopping her from killing.  The ascending violin pattern begins with the first two thirds that is in the melody in 7x16 when Felicity reunited with William and Mia.  The order is different and it continues up but I love the possibility that the tension that Mia has with both her parents being vigilantes and choosing heroism over her family (and her) comes to a head in a new way with a similar theme.  In 7x16 she refused to join Felicity’s crusade to save Star City, still angry with her mom, and here she is thwarted in vengeance for Zoe by her father that she never knew.  But Oliver is able to reach her and to stop her from following through, to become more of a hero.  

Later on, Oliver shows Mia his father’s grave, bringing it all full circle to unknown fathers and how to live with guilt.  The slow Arrow theme returns in strings with harp playing the pattern the guitar harmonics played earlier in their fighting scene as she asks whether the guilt will go away.  Horn (used for heroism) plays the first half of the Arrow theme as Oliver answers that he can help her deal with it even though it never fully leaves.

The Rest of the Team

Throughout the episode, different motifs and soundscapes return with returning characters or important interactions starting with the electronic descending Deathstroke motif “Deathstroke” (1x05) once the Deathstroke mask is shown after the bomb in the hospital.  

Curtis returns to the lair and team with his electronic motif: two alternating notes that reminded me of a T-sphere “New Tech” (4x03).  Oliver asked Curtis to help find a way to stop a god (the Monitor) as hammered dulcimer (one of Oliver’s instruments) plays in unison with harp.  It’s a cool little theme that may return later as things unfold trying to stop the Monitor.

The future Team Arrow try to stop the Deathstroke gang and end up in a trap.  After they were rescued, they share the horrible news of everything that happens in the future, such as JJ being a leader of the Deathstrokes.  As Connor shares this to John, a repeated electronic noise (almost like a chirp) plays over strings but stops as Williams tells them how horrible Star City becomes and what happens to Zoe. Drum rolls and percussion begin as Rene hears this news. The drums continue over harp for tension (in a similar way that it did for Oliver and Mia) as Rene and John are in shock and yell at each other about hearing what happens to their kids, while John suggests that maybe they can change things now.  Connor follows John and shares that he believes that he stole their love from JJ and that it is his fault while piano and strings play (the same instrumentation used for Diggle and his brother Andy in Season 4).  Diggle’s horn motif plays as he tells Connor that all he has done is lie to him and leaves.  He doesn’t know Connor and he just heard that his son becomes a murderer, following in the path of his brother.

Rene and Dinah try to process what will happen to Zoe as current Zoe is present joking about ice cream.  While Rene asks Dinah how he is supposed to deal with knowing how long she will live, “Rene’s Loss” (5x13) plays.  This theme was used for their separation in Season 5 with foster care and most recently, Zoe’s death. Dinah then talks to John about his family as he shares that he blames himself in seeing family patterns repeated as horn (one of his main instruments) plays. Dinah tells him that they have seen their worst and now to be their best.

At the end, Diggle reaches out to Connor, telling him that he is part of his family while the Diggle theme plays in the piano, a lovely combination of family instrument with his honorable hero theme (usually in electric bass or horn).  Rene gives a speech to the Glades “We make our future now” with strings, harp and higher electronics and horn is added while watching the Diggle boys spar.

The episode ends with a return of the Monitor and his themes (solo violin, choir, string theme) as he tempts Laurel to betray Oliver in order to have her world returned.

Extra Notes:

- I probably rewatched the opening scene a million times before I could actually pay attention to the music.  I kept being distracted by all the emotions.

- Today happens to be the last day of filming for Arrow.  It’s a bit surreal to look back at the journey of these characters and for myself immersing myself into the music for over 4 seasons.  Thanks to all who continue to read these and for those who are newer starting to enjoy them.  

@smoakmonster​ @herskirtsarentthatshort​ @academyofshipping​ @dmichellewrites​ @dust2dust34​ @ah-maa-zing​ @almondblossomme​ @jorahandal​ @green-arrows-of-karamel​ @withgraceandlight99​

#arrow music notes #arrow 8x04 #oliver queen #mia smoak #william clayton #john diggle #rene ramirez #connor hawke #dinah drake #future team arrow

[ansheofthevalley]

Jenny of Oldstones, the Prince of the Dragonflies and Sansa Stark and Jonsa: parallels, symbolism and motifs.

(This is regarding this post and some kind of discourse that it brought, because apparently, drawing parallels bewteen them is a reach now) 

@sansasnowstark, your defense of this parallel inspired me to write this.

First off, what’s a parallel?

A person or thing that is similar or analogous to another.

A similarity or comparison.

Something very similar to something else, or a similarity between two things

Parallelism, in rhetoric, component of literary style in both prose and poetry, in which coordinate ideas are arranged in phrases, sentences, and paragraphs that balance one element with another of equal importance and similar wording. The repetition of sounds, meanings, and structures serves to order, emphasize, and point out relations.

The Oxford dictionary uses the word analogy. Let’s see what an analogy is as a literary device:

A story, poem, or picture that can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning, typically a moral or political one.

A story, play, poem, picture, or other work in which the characters and events represent particular qualities or ideas that relate to morals, religion, or politics

Allegory is a figure of speech in which abstract ideas and principles are described in terms of characters, figures, and events [...]  Writers use allegory to add different layers of meanings to their works. Allegory makes their stories and characters multidimensional, so that they stand for something larger in meaning than what they literally stand for.

And since we’re on topic, let’s see what symbol mean:

A thing that represents or stands for something else, especially a material object representing something abstract.

A symbol, says the dictionary, is something that stands for something else or a sign used to represent something.

About symbolism:

Symbolism is the use of symbols to signify ideas and qualities, by giving them symbolic meanings that are different from their literal sense. [...]  Symbolism can take different forms. Generally, it is an object representing another, to give an entirely different meaning that is much deeper and more significant. Sometimes, however, an action, an event or a word spoken by someone may have a symbolic value.

So, with all these definitions in mind, let’s jump into Jenny of Oldstones and her story with Duncan Targaryen, the Prince of the Dragonflies.

As said in the post linked above, Michele Clapton uses the dragonfly motif on Sansa’s costumes throughout the series, whether it’s a pendant, embroidery (x) (x), fabric, or the shape of her costumes (x) (x).

But what’s a motif?:

A dominant or recurring idea in an artistic work.

An idea that is used many times in a piece of writing or music

Motif is an object or idea that repeats itself throughout a literary work. A motif can be seen as an image, sound, action, or other figure that has a symbolic significance, and contributes toward the development of a theme. Motif and theme are linked, but there’s a difference between them. A motif is a recurrent image, idea, or symbol that develops or explains a theme.

Now, having better understanding of what a motif is, we can all agree that the dragonfly (image) is linked to Sansa throughout the seasons. The dragonfly motif on Sansa works as symbolism of Jenny of Oldstones and the Prince of the Dragonflies. It has symbolic significance. But why?

First of all, we have to understand that a symbol’s meaning can change throughout the story. It evolves, same as a character.

At first, during S1, the dragonfly as symbol are meant to represent Sansa’s idealism and love for songs and knightly valor. We know the story of Jenny and Duncan is one of her favorites (as is the story of Aemon the Dragonknight and Naerys, but I’ll talk about later). In S1, the dragonflies represent her naiveté. But as the seasons come and go, the dragonflies are still present but their symbolic value are not the same: the embroidery is gone, but we still catch glimpses of dragonfly motif in her pendant, her circle and needle necklace and her dresses’ clasps:

While in King’s Landing, the dragonflies are still tied to her idealism and romanticism, as she befriends Margaery and expects to marry Loras. So, even though her previous idealism and worldview are shattered the moment her father is executed, she still holds on to those things, as they give her a sense of security and normality. But the meaning of the symbol changed: it doesn’t represent the idealism and naiveté of before, now it represents her longing for freedom.

While in the Vale, she goes under a rather radical transformation. She debuts the feather dress, which is a direct contrast to the dragonfly symbolism of season 1: she’s no longer that “sweet summer child”; she has seen how terrible the world can be, that “life is not a song”. So she shows the world, through her costume, how the world made her tougher. The “needle” of the circular necklace, while paralleling Arya’s sword and being her own kind of weapon, is also an evolution of the dragonfly necklace: it represents how she had her wings cut off.

The dragonfly motif comes back to her costume in the form of clasps, while she escapes Ramsay and while she’s at the Wall. But again, the meaning of the symbol is not the same as it was during her stay in King’s Landing. Now, she’s reclaiming her freedom, she’s growing back her wings: she’s ready to fight; for Winterfell, against Ramsay and anyone who wants to harm her. 

The most recent appereance of the dragonfly motif, even if it’s subtle, is in her leather armor from 8x02, as pointed out by @castaliareed (x):

As castaliareed said “she isn’t wearing a dragonfly anymore, she is the dragonfly”. Again, the meaning of the symbol changes: on one hand, you’ve got a fully grown and independent Sansa, one that has wings. After years of being caged and having her wings cut off, she’s finally free; but on the other hand, if she’s becoming a dragonfly, that means the dragonfly is not just a symbol and a motif, now Sansa herself is a symbol, at the same time she starts antagonizing Dænerys, and thus bringing back the Dragonfly/Dragon dilemma Duncan had to face: there is a parallel between her and the story of Jenny of Oldstones and Duncan, the Prince of the Dragonflies.

So, why is it important that Sansa “becomes” a dragonfly, clearly evoking the story of Jenny and Duncan, in season 8? What does this parallel mean? Why is it important for the narrative?

First, let’s remember the story of Jenny and Duncan Targaryen:

Duncan Targaryen, the Prince of Dragonstone, met Jenny while traveling the riverlands in 239 AC. The prince loved Jenny so much he married her against the wishes of his father, King Aegon V Targaryen, breaking his betrothal to the daughter of Lyonel Baratheon, Lord of Storm's End. King Aegon tried to have the marriage undone, but Duncan refused to give Jenny up, ultimately relinquishing his rights to the Iron Throne for her. The outraged Lyonel led a short-lived rebellion. With his younger brother Jaehaerys becoming Prince of Dragonstone and the new heir, Duncan came to be called Prince of Dragonflies. (x)

At first sight, their story resembles the one of Rhaegar Targaryen and Lyanna Stark. Both were princes, in both cases there is a scorned Baratheon betrothed, there’s a rebellion against the Targaryens. The story of Jenny of Oldstones and Duncan Targaryen is extremely similar to what happens between Lyanna and Rhaegar but it’s not a direct parallel, Lyanna and Rhaegar’s story is more of a tragic retelling of the story of Jenny of Oldstones and the Prince of the Dragonflies.

But elements of this story are present in both Sansa and Jon’s respective arcs.

As remarked above, the motifs and symbolism is fairly easy to identify in Sansa’s character. So what are the parallels between Sansa and Jenny?:

Connected to the Riverlands

Descendants of the First Men

Both considered strange: some villagers thought Jenny was a witch; after Joffrey’s murder, some talked about how she killed Joffrey with a spell and flew the scene turning into a winged wolf

But what are the parallels between Jon and Duncan?:

Both are dark-haired Targaryens, something that was unusual: Duncan favored his mother, Betha Blackwood; Jon favored his mother, Lyanna Stark

Both are the heirs to the Iron Throne

Duncan chose love over duty when abdicating the crown in order to stay with Jenny; part of Jon’s arc is the dichotomy of duty/love, so far he’s chosen duty over love, but there will come a time in which he will choose love over duty

Both are linked to Baratheon rebellions, one started one, the other “ended” it: Duncan’s marriage to Jenny led to a short-lived rebellion, in which Lyonel Baratheon declared himself the Storm King; Jon was born at the end of Robert’s rebellion, one of the reasons Robert rose his banners against the Mad King was the abduction of Lyanna Stark by Rhaegar Targaryen

The main connections between Jonsa and Jenny/Duncan:

A marriage for love: Duncan and Jenny married for love. In Sansa’s case, in GOT, she’s been married twice, neither of them of her choosing and neither had any love. Following the Rule of Three, her third marriage must be different, it has to be one of her choosing and one that will bring her love.

The choosing of love over duty: Jon’s arc has been marked by the duty/love dichotomy. From his time at the Wall, while he infiltrated the Wildling camp, to when he gave up his crown so he could secure a military alliance, Jon has always chosen duty. It will come a time when he will put love first.

The choosing of Dragonflies over Dragons: this has strictly to do with Jon rejecting his Targaryen heritage, while favoring the Starks (through a marriage with Sansa).

#Sansa Stark #Jon Snow #Jonsa #Jenny of Oldstones #Duncan Targaryen #The Prince of the Dragonflies #got #game of thrones #got meta #game of thrones meta #costume analysis #character analysis #character arcs #sansa stark x jenny of oldstones parallels #jenny of oldstones and the prince of the dragonflies #my meta #my thoughts #my stuff