thenearshore | Wandering King's Rock and Roll

Who: Richard the Lion-nerd and OPEN
When: Dec. 4
Where: around Tokyo, back home at his temple
What: Saber has an electric guitar and he's not afraid to use it

[A - Near Shore, Tokyo, evening]

[By nature, gods tend to escape the notice of mortals. This is probably how Saber has managed to set himself up on a street corner with his electric guitar and an amplifier without getting chased off by the police for making himself a nuisance. He has his guitar case open in front of him and it doesn't seem to be deterring him in the slightest that no one has put any money in it.

To his credit, he does actually look and sound like a professional. He's wearing his usual leather jacket with its rhinestone cross on the back, but he (mercifully) is wearing a T-shirt with a stylized anime robot on it instead of the horrible Hawaiian shirt Caster gave him as a present. Add that to boots and ripped jeans and the fact that he actually knows his way around an electric guitar and you might actually believe that he's about to pull this whole thing off.]

Who'd like to hear a song about King Arthur?

[Except this is Saber we're talking about.]

[B - Near Shore, Tokyo, early morning]

[There are supposed to be bear ayakashi in this park and Saber is supposed to be staking the place out to try to find them. However, no bears are immediately evident, so he has his phone out and is watching something intently on it.

He is, at least, being polite and wearing headphones.

This, however, is not going to help him notice incoming bears.

This could be a problem.]

[C - Far Shore, near Michael's Temple]

[If you happen to be walking past the stately medieval castle that this dork resides in, you might want to dodge because Saber is running out of his own gates, laughing delightedly while being chased by several irate geese.

God only knows what started this one...]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Ah! I was told my first attempt at a guitar solo was quite metal! It's quite ambitious as a genre and quite diverse in style, the more you listen to it! Composing for it is a bit beyond my current skill, but perhaps another improvised solo?

[He smiles and it's practically blinding.]

From one ruler to another?

I would rather have one from a musician to a sincere fan.

[Celestia smiles right back. You want radiant smiles, you ask the Princess of the Day.]

But please! It's been a very long time!

[Celestia does not realize that even the phone she constantly carries has music of all sorts available.]

Let's see then...

[Seeing as he never plans, well, anything, it takes him a few moments before he really gets rolling but when he does, it's clear that knows his way around a heavy metal guitar solo. It's definitely improvised, but for an amateur it's rather impressive.]

[And Celestia is certainly not criticizing! Quite to the contrary, she's so into it that Saber gets the delightful experience of seeing the calm, serene sunpony rocking out, bobbing her head and stamping her forehooves in time almost like she's trying to provide the beat.]

[When he realizes his attention is starting to wander a little, he brings the solo to a close with a dramatic finish, then laughs delightedly.]

I think your percussion improved it!

Oh, you're flattering me. [Celestia laughs breathlessly -- not that the little one-mare mosh pit wore her out, but she's simply delighted at the sudden opportunity to bask in long-unheard music, and even let herself go to enjoy it.] That was wonderful. I had no idea you were such a skilled musician!

It's the result of a great deal of practice, I assure you, and I have much farther to go!

[But he seems to appreciate the praise anyway.]

I'm glad I was able to perform something that was to your liking. I'm quite selfish, after all, and I don't take other's tastes into account as often as I should.

Especially in a creative work, 'selfish' is often important. If you played things you didn't like, you wouldn't enjoy playing them. It is better to give your best and satisfy those who like it, than compromise yourself to provide less enjoyment to more.

[Wise is the princess, who has seen many a performer come and go in her long life.]

[He chuckles a little at that.]

Perhaps you're right. Perhaps, with my nature, the life of a musician is a far better choice. There was no way I could have chosen it in life, but in this existence I shall have to make the most of it.

[It's not like he was any good at being a king, anyway. It all works out.]

Oh? May I ask what prevented you?

[She can easily imagine any number of things, but more interesting to her are the ones she can't. Ponies are so often free to pursue their special talents, but humans less so, for reasons that seem to boil down entirely to 'because that is how human culture is set up'.]

[Humans really do suffer from lack of cutie marks.]

My birthright, certainly. Were I born anyone but the son of a king, perhaps things might have been different. Had I not died in my prime, perhaps I would have found the time as I aged and was no longer of use on the battlefield.

[He shrugs.]

But there is little to be done about that! Certainly there were choices I could have made that would have led me down a different path, but I lacked the foresight to make them. That really hasn't changed, either.

Ahh. Yes. I understand those constraints very well. [They are much like the ones that keep her from overly enjoying this music normally.]

[But she lets the somber thoughts pass, returning a bright smile and a more positive thoughts.] But here in the Far Shore, they do not exist. So we should enjoy life as best we can, should we not?

That's exactly what I've been doing! Much to the consternation of friends, shinki, and possibly those who brought us here, certainly, but it is what it is.

[He doesn't sound as guilty about that as he probably should.]

Now what could somepony like you do to make your friends and shinki fret, besides developing a terrible Netflix habit?

[Celestia doesn't even bother hiding her grin. Her own behavior here would scandalize Equestria on any number of levels, she has no doubt. (Of course, Equestria is scandalized by photos of her wolfing down cake. The bar isn't high.)]

Edited 2018-06-28 13:13 (UTC)

What couldn't I do!

[Admittedly, the siren song of Netflix has kept him largely under control, but he does have to leave the house now and again.]

I pick up new skills quite easily, so it's impossible to resist taking up anything that catches my fancy.

And why not? If you've never had the chance before, now is the best time! [Celestia only seems to get more excited at the prospect of such freedom, having been enjoying it herself. Her wings spread slightly along with her grin.] This here and now looks both delightful and no cause for fear. If I could play an instrument I would follow your example without delay.

There must be some manner of percussion that would work well for you!

[Why not enable someone else into this sort of thing?]

Drums? I do have a little rhythm, but I have to say they seem very complicated, keeping so much time and all. Also, aren't drummers all a little crazy?

You'll simply have to practice and keep your wits about you!

[Plenty people manage both things simultaneously. Saber is really only proficient at one of them, however.]

Hmm. [How simple and straightforward. Practice does make perfect, does it not?] Well, might I prevail upon you for advice on how to begin?

I would imagine that you would need little to start with for percussion, seeing as you could drum on anything...so perhaps you could watch some videos on the internet and try to mimic what you see!

[He still hasn't 100% caught on to the fact that the reason he can learn things that way almost instantly is because of a power he attained upon arriving here...]

[Some talents are much more obvious than others, it's true.]

Oh, there probably are instructional videos! I'm still not used to that being a thing, so thank you for reminding me.

[And yet somehow everything seems to have worked out.]

Wandering King's Rock and Roll

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