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sunnnfish · 4 years

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Rambling about tbhk thoughts & theories n stuff

Hi I’m thinking too much about how much is still unanswered in tbhk :) this is all over the place but i tried to organize it a little bit but it is very very ramble-y and it might not make much sense. Please feel free to talk to me i have so many thoughts (but also not many answers)

I also bolded some of my favorite thoughts for maybe easier reading

(Also crazy spoilers about literally everything watch out)

Gonna put it all under a cut bc its long but please read 🥺 i talk about like straight up everything and everyone (tsukasa, Sakura, natsuhiko, amane, tsukasa, nene, kou, mitsuba + what is going on with them)

Tsukasa, Sakura, natsuhiko:

Okay so like why did tsukasa only recently appear after supposedly being dead for like 50 years cause like hanakos been around yknow ? Does it have something to do with the seal? Cause like tsukasa is clearly very clingy to hanako so you’d think he’d stick by him as soon as they died but they apparently hadn’t seen each other in a long time. and how did Sakura get into like a contract or whatever with him ? and why can natsuhiko see and interact with supernaturals ? Natsuhiko is so weird what is his deal. why in the world does he know how to turn into a supernatural ???

GASP i just had a thought so like tsukasa says he only grants wishes for the dead so like how would Sakura get into some kind of deal with him if she’s alive? She could be dead but idk it kinda does and kinda doesn’t work.

Hanako, tsukasa, seals:

And as for hanako and tsukasa like when did they get those seals and why ??? And like during the part where kou asks yako about rumors being changed hanako at the end like touches the seal on his cheek and ?????? What does that MEAN ??? Did he have to get sealed because his rumor was changed ? Like what was that about ??? Also why in the world are hanako and tsukasa so powerful? They are so strong and its crazy. Also I REALLY wanna know what hanakos boundary and yorishiro are and what purpose his boundary serves.

Tsukasa, plans, rumors:

Also why is tsukasa changing the rumors ? Is he trying to like kill the 7 wonders or what ? Or remove them from power cause like yknow breaking their yorishiros removes their control over the boundary and like he did straight up kill number 3 to put mitsuba in control so does he want to do that with all of them? He also keeps messing with nene and like why.... i just wanna know his plan...

Also how come they haven’t like put anyone else in charge of the boundaries after their yorishiros got broke? Also also why is hanako the leader despite being like the youngest like what did he do ??? He is also pretty bent on breaking the yorishiros too like couldn’t they just change the rumors instead of breaking the yorishiros? Like they did with the mokke? I think hanako has some other agenda too.

Amane:

Also thinking about if tsuchigomori knew about tsukasa ... like when amane was alive yknow like where was tsukasa ? Did he go to school? Was he in a different class or what ?? Also did amane immediately kill himself after he killed tsukasa or did he like go on for a bit afterwards ?

I’ve also had a little theory about the whole “I’m not going anywhere” scene, so like amane gives his lunar rock, that he has had and treasured since he was 4, to tsuchigomori and that seems a little odd to me, but its seems especially like su*cidal behavior yknow? If someone’s got a plan to, yknow, die, then they sometimes start acting different and start giving away things that are important to them. I’ve also seen recent theories about how maybe tsukasa got them involved with something supernatural while they were alive so maybe amane was like planning to die or something... and I’m also still super intrigued that amane was the only human to defy what was written in their book, and it makes me wonder about what was written in tsukasas book, like was he supposed to die? Was it written in amane’s book that he killed tsukasa or was that different too?

The severance:

Also thinking about the whole lead up to the severance and like how that went down—like number 6 shows up and kidnaps Aoi of all people and like sacrifices her and stuff and it all makes me wonder if hanako planned it? Like he clearly thinks the severance is a good thing and that aoi being sacrificed extended nene’s lifespan so like did he plan it? Did he ask number 6 to do a sacrifice cause like they haven’t done that in YEARS like why would they suddenly do it again? Number 6’s rumor hadn’t been changed or anything so there was no reason to do that (unless i missed something).

Red house, mitsuba:

And then there’s the freaking RED HOUSE like my goodness like what does it have to do with mitsuba??? Why did he have a picture of it? Why was the picture black until nene found it? Like the house is cursed and it seems like the picture might be too, since nene and kou mysteriously showed up at the house. There’s of course all the theories that its probably the yugi family and that it might be connected to Nowhere now so that’s fun but I still really wanna know what this has to do with Mitsuba

OH i also just remembered yknow like at the beginning of the hell of mirrors arc mitsuba is like different mitsuba and doesn’t remember anything but at one point nene mentions hanako and he like reacts like “hanako?” Like he knows the name but like stuff keeps happening so that’s quickly forgotten BUT like what does that MEAN !! Why does he know hanako !!! When he’s not supposed to remember like anything !!!! Zdfghgjhfdhfj

Oh also also what in the world happened to mitsubas arm and why does he keep it hidden?? It clearly still works cause like he grips things but he still keeps it hidden so ??? Also like his eye too idk if something happened to it or if its stylistic but its only shown vaguely like once or twice, and in scenes where he’s alive it’s much more visible so ?

Nene:

I also think nene is totally gonna die or at least turn into a supernatural somehow because like so much official art and stuff really points to it. With like pictures of the four (nene, hanako, kou, mitsuba), nene is always tied in with hanako and mitsuba while kou is shown separately or with different motifs. The ones that really come to mind is the one where nene, hanako, and mitsuba and tied together with a rope, it being tied around mitsubas neck, hanakos chest, and nenes leg, while kou is positioned away from them. With the recent chapter with that dolls leg coming off and like the references to dolls n stuff like i think something crazy is gonna happen to her leg at least. The other one that comes to mind is the one with the four pictures of their middle school entrance ceremonies, where hanakos, mitsubas, and nenes families faces are scribbled out, while kous is fine. At first you think it’s because teru and tiara are like actual characters, but in amane’s and tsukasa’s, one of their faces is scribbled out too so its not about whether or not we know the character. So like nene is continuously shown with the same symbolism as the supernaturals soooo....

Kou:

Also thinking about how kou was WAY to ready to die for mitsuba like he’s 14 !!! And do y’all realize he ACTUALLY for REAL fell off the building right then and there, not expecting mitsuba to save them ! He was fully ready to die at the drop of a hat and as much as it shows how much he cares about mitsuba like that is not healthy babey. Like think about yourself for once kou, stop hurting yourself to help others !!! People care you !!! (I’m people)

Misc:

And then i still have thoughts about the minamoto family but mostly i just wanna know more about their family and history like where are their parents ? Also that reveal that teru like protects the whole town was like crazy.

Oh also gotta wonder like why so many of the ghosts are attached to the school ?? Like i dont think any of them actually died at the school so why do they haunt the school? Shijima died at a hospital, mitsuba died like in the town supposedly, and we dont know about the yugis but idk how they would have a knife at the school unless they were doing some kind of after hours ritual. Also no adult ghosts.... all the adults are pure supernaturals.... hm.

Anyways that’s all i can think of right now and its a lot :) I’m so sorry

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astro-break · 4 years

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Thoughts on the final episode of Hypmic Rhyme Anima /sob/. For one last time, spoilers beware

Ep.1 | Ep.2 | Ep.3 | Ep.4 & 5 | Ep. 6 | Ep. 7 | Ep. 8 | Ep. 9 | Ep. 10 | Ep. 11 | Ep. 12

I am so not ready for this

ahaha sexy boots you got there ichijuku, mind stepping on me?

Interesting question, what Does happen when someone is hit with multiple attacks from more than three mics? I’d like to see what happens, despite how awful that might be

Thats a hilarious pun there Samatoki

Hmm, interesting set up, I don’t hate it but I don’t like it.

lmao samatoki snatching the phone away is so like him

Aha! I was right, Iris was involved with the gangs. It certainly explains a lot of her mannerisms and quirks

Hmmm.... did the animation quality go down or something?

Oh samatoki you wonderfully stubborn bastard fuck your later half anime characterization to hell and back. In the beggining, he was at least in character but now he’s been flattened to a rocks for brains brawler. At least he still has super pretty eyelashes I guess lmao

Still with the “-san” huh, samatoki lol you silly dumbass

Iris looks so pretty wtf that hand of her is so cute i love her shes so cute aaaaa

Hn, don’t know how to feel about the girl being the support character, if anyone I thought that would Tom’s role. Because Tom just seems more like a support kind of person, or at least an allrounder especially given the fact that he was able to heal and bring together Iris and Rex. But then again i guess theres the might meants that you’re the leader, it’s not bad I guess. Rex is very obviously the heavy hitter of the team so theres no surprise there

Iris’ butterfly motif is interesting, I’d love to see if theres a reason for it if we ever get the chance to learn more about them

The animation team really doesn’t waste any money making Samatoki’s eyes look super pretty huh

ahaha technicolor lights go brrrrrrrrrrr

lol they all posing even in a situation like this, and the leaders Had to call out everyone’s names. I love how Jyuto jokingly calls Samatoki “Samatoki-sama” just to rub it in that he needs help lmao

Oh they used the second verse of the OP, nice nice. It saves money from having to compose a new song lol

Oh that kind of outline thingy is kinda nice aesthetic. Very cute

oh course its the “You forgot something important” speech

Though I am feriously rolling my eyes at the whole “We won through the power for friendship and this Mic i found” thing

Oh hello you bastard who doesn’t pay the child support

Wait was that spoilers? maybe oops, I’m sorry bout that anime only peeps!

... What was the reason for Saburo threatening the Party of Words then?

Hah, please know that I think that ive rolled my eyeballs out of their sockets, the amount of cheese in this speech is enough to make my lactose intolerant ass hurl

... Otome looks very cute when threatening Rei. Very very cute.

At least their keeping the shit about Rei under wraps which is nice given that the anime is in the business of handing out secrets like candy

NEMUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU shes so cute ohmygoshohmygoshohmygo

lol for a teenage prodigy, Saburo is so slow in picking things up. Maybe thats why I connect a lot to him lol

Samatoki consistently has the funniest and best lines wtf this is favoritism lmao

Cat’s and dogs every one of them lmao. I love how at this stage, they really can’t get along, especially with all the bad blood between them. It’s only natural and I think that the banter between the four teams was not only nice and organic but a nice way to show that they still have a ways to grow

Though the ending Was admittedly slightly anticlimatic

I love how the ED and OP for this episode was both new and fresh without wasting any money just by using different parts of the same song. Very nice move on the team’s part

And with that, we have come to the end of the season, as well as the end to this little series of my thoughts on Hypmic episodes. This has been such a fun experience that just started out as a documentation to show my hypmic friend later and compare our initial thoughts, but now its grown into such a fun little project. I’ve really enjoyed typing out these thoughts that I’ve had and I’ve really enjoyed the thoughts that everyone chips in as well!

This series has really helped me keep a clear head throughout this term and I’m very thankful for Hypmic as well as the tumblr community. But for better or for worse, this has come to an end. But if we always look down, we won’t be able to find a rainbow.

#hypmic #hypnosis mic #hypmic spoilers #hypnosis mic rhyme anima

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meta-squash · 4 years

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Brick Club 1.3.2 “Double Quartet”

According to wikipedia, a double quartet is a musical composition made for eight voices or instruments, or made up of two string quartets, that are often written in a call-and-response style. Also, I’m not quite sure if this is relevant, but wikipedia specifically mentions German composer Louis Spohr in the section on double quartets. Spohr wrote an opera in 1816 called Faust (which was drastically different from Goethe’s plays), to which wikipedia gives this synopsis:

Faust is torn between his love for the young Röschen and his desire for Kunigunde, the fiancée of Count Hugo. He makes a pact with the devil Mefistofeles which allows him to rescue Kunigunde from the clutches of the evil knight Gulf. Faust obtains a love potion from the witch Sycorax which he gives to Kunigunde during her wedding celebrations. Outraged at the sudden passion his bride shows for Faust, Count Hugo challenges him to a duel. Faust kills Hugo and flees. Meanwhile, Faust's first love, Röschen, drowns herself in despair. Mefistofeles seizes Faust and drags him down to Hell.

Again, I don’t know if that is relevant, but I thought it was interesting nonetheless. Especially considering the “lover flees, young woman is ruined” motif. I have no idea if it was popular or even known in France at the time, but it was part of the Romantic movement, so I wouldn’t be surprised if it was part of Hugo’s repertoire.

But it’s interesting that Hugo names this chapter after a call-and-response style of music. This chapter specifically is set up that way: we get information on the women, and then the men. Their affairs later on seem to also line up with this call-and-response, at least until the end of the dinner, when one half of the strings drop away and the other four are left on their own.

I don’t know enough about the different areas of France, so I’m wondering if where the men are from is at all important?

Also, who is the “Oscar” Hugo is comparing the group to?

Hugo establishes the men as “insignificant,” which I think is actually quite significant. To the other grisettes, and probably most other grisettes in their circle, these men are (as Hugo explains) common little flings. So to make someone who is insignificant to most, significant to Fantine is an interesting move. Hugo kind of does this with all his characters, on a larger scale. Aside from Valjean and Enjolras, who are exceptional, most of his other characters seem to be relatively normal people who aren’t necessarily special in a big way. The fact that he decides to focus in on them is what makes them special. And yet here it’s Tholomyes’ insignificance that highlights how unusual Fantine’s attachment to him is.

“...and in their souls that flower of purity which in a woman survives the first fall”. I don’t really know what to make of this line considering how a paragraph later he seems to insinuate that all but Fantine have already “fallen” due to their many affairs. (Which he then softens by blaming society for the women’s problems.)

“Poverty and coquetry are fatal counselors; the one scolds, the other flatters, and the beautiful daughters of the people have both of them whispering in their ears, one on each side. Their ill-guarded souls listen. Thence their fall, and the stones that are cast at them. The are overwhelmed with the splendor of all that is immaculate and inaccessible. Alas! Was the Jungfrau ever hungry?”

Hugo referencing the fall of man here, although this time it seems like only the women are punished, and not the men. Also, another Faustian reference, this time Marlowe, with the “good angel and bad angel” imagery. More references to life choices and the whole concept of having two potential paths and choosing the “wrong one.” Like with Valjean’s original crime, Hugo seems to criticize this behavior here while simultaneously pointing out the way that society demonizes these women and hurts them. I’d love to know why he uses the German “Jungfrau” here instead of just saying “maiden” or “virgin.”

We get a lot of information on Favourite in this chapter, and not that much on the other girls. She’s the eldest at 23, born out of wedlock, and has her own home. I love that she’s like Jehan--adding an extra letter to her name for the fanciness of it. We basically get an illustration of her as the sort of “leader” of the group, with everyone else looking up to her. She’s then contrasted with Tholomyes, the men’s “leader,” who is also the eldest of his group, I assume. Favourite seems closer to Bahorel’s “laughing mistress” or Musichetta than the other three; aside from her mother barging in on her life and being a nuisance, she seems much more stable than any of the others, financially (she’s been to England!) and emotionally/socially (her friends all look up to her). (I think it’s interesting that she’s not paired with Tholomyes, who seems to be her masculine counterpart?)

Fantine is “wise” while the other women are “philosophical.” Also, Hapgood translates “sage” as “good” instead of wise, for some odd reason. It seems as though Fantine is wise in the same way that Valjean has that divine element of goodness that can be kindled and relit. It’s something that she is not necessarily aware of. I’m also wondering how Hugo defines “wise” vs “philosophical.” I’m guessing that wisdom is closer to intrinsic, instinctual knowledge, while philosophy is more thought out and pondered upon. (Perhaps these definitions are based on a popular philosophy at the time? If so I have no idea which one.)

In any case, part of what makes Fantine wise is her capacity to passionately and loyally love. Which I think is an interesting move, to praise someone’s social (and possibly emotional) naivete as wise, only for her to be completely ruined because of the person she’s devoted to. Her capacity to love is also the vulnerability that manipulative men see as a good opportunity to latch on to and use her.

This “wisdom” thing is also a weird call considering Fantine’s utter lack of pretense. The other three grisette’s go by fake names, have had a number of affairs and seem more playful than thoughtful when it comes to the affairs with this group of men. Fantine is just...Fantine, and she’s the youngest, and she hasn’t had the experience the other girls have had, and she’s about to make a huge mistake (rather, by this time she already has, and Cosette is an infant). Presumably the other three women learned somehow that their affairs were just affairs, why didn’t they clue Fantine in on this game? Later on we see Favourite thinking that Fantine is “putting on airs;” but she’s also the only one tu’d instead of vous’d and they all know she’s the baby. Are the other three just wrapped up in their own stuff and too preoccupied to think that maybe Fantine doesn’t realize this isn’t a real, permanent thing? Or is this a situation of three older girls being latched onto by a younger one who doesn’t really know what to do, and aren’t really a fan of the burden of being teacher? She’s been in Paris at least 4 years and yet she’s never had friends like these grisettes? I don’t exactly know the social mores of back then, but I assume that having friends then was similar to having friends now: gossip and talk about relationships and flings and one night stands. Interesting that she either never really learned by inference that this might be that, or that perhaps she just blindly assumes that this isn’t like that because this is real.

And here we get Fantine’s backstory, and her symbolism as the Universal Grisette. So many of Hugo’s characters that are blatant “universal” symbols are either orphans or abandoned quite early in life. And so many we get a certain period of their life, then a jump, then more. What happened between infant-Fantine being found and her working on a farm? Hugo does this time-jump with Valjean and the Thenardiers, and Marius, too. I think Fantine’s about 19 when we’re first introduced to her, if my math is correct? Hugo also foreshadows the sale of her teeth and hair here.

“Fantine was beautiful and remained pure as long as she could.” An interesting callback to a few paragraphs ago. Hugo seems to imply that the other girls gave in to those “whispers” quite quickly, while Fantine did not. Part of her purity, too, is her trust and devotion to Tholomyes; she’s not giving in to promiscuity or shallow affairs like the other three, she is genuinely in love.

The way Hugo uses beauty and ugliness is so interesting. “Beautiful” Fantine paired with “ugly” Tholomyes, as with Enjolras and Grantaire, and even to some extent Cosette and Eponine.

What stands out to me is Tholomyes and Grantaire both specifically being characterized as “doubting” and also described as ugly. Grantaire gets the actual word “ugly” while Tholomyes gets this horrible description (weirdly tempered by the fact of his humor and gaiety). I know that technically Courfeyrac is paralleled with Tholomyes, but I always seem to see more similarities between him and Grantaire. The difference being that Grantaire changes and Tholomyes does not. There also seem to be bits of each of Les Amis in Tholomyes (Grantaire’s doubt and ugliness, Bossuet’s irony, Bahorel’s age, Courfeyrac’s womanizing ways, Joly’s illness, etc) but all from the negative.

Tholomyes is described in a really awful way. That “he had a play refused at Vaudeville” and “doubted everything with an air of superiority” always has me reading him as this MRA type loser who thinks he’s better than everyone else and that that’s why people hate him. He’s charismatic, but in a slimeball sort of way. Hugo tempers Tholomyes’ awfulness with gaiety and then immediately turns around ruins that “but he was funny!” by telling us this awful prank.

Oh, and then Hugo stops to interrupt himself with a question about linguistics regarding the word “irony” and whether it’s based on the English word “iron,” like, the metal. Which...???? I don’t really know what to make of? Is he trying to say something here, because if he is, I don’t get it.

“Saint January” is Januarius, the patron saint of Naples, whose “miracle” is the annual liquefying of the phial of his blood. Apparently people gather to witness this annual miracle three times a year (as well as during things like papal visits). Interesting that Tholomyes compares his rather unpredictable and cruel “surprise” with the predictable, annual miracle of the blood liquefying. It makes me wonder whether this is not the first time he has done this (he is 30, after all, and I assume has had many affairs), just with a different group of friends.

We are just as in the dark about the surprise as the women are. Hugo does the same thing here that he often does with Valjean’s thoughts. He remains an outsider to the thoughts of any of the characters in the scene, and remains in a specific location within the scene, so when the characters leave, any following dialogue or action or thought is obscured from him as a narrator.

#les miserables #les miserables meta #brickclub #lm 1.3.2 #les mis #les mis meta #i started writing this at 2am instead of 4am! progress!#except then i went to sleep and finished it at 2:30pm the next day

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austencello · 5 years

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Fadeout - Arrow Music Notes 8x10

The final episode brings the series to a close as the characters deal with a changed world and reality without Oliver Queen. The show brings closure to the characters and the audience as everyone says a final goodbye. Due to this being the last one, almost everything was a musical callback to a previous moment on Arrow which means this analysis is going to be on the long side.

A New World

The music usually chosen for Oliver’s intro speeches includes previous music from the series and often heroic sounding but not with specific meaning. This last one was a little different as it used the heroic justice/league heroes music from Crisis as Oliver explains that he became something else and birthed a new universe. He became the leader of all the heroes and set the stage for a changed world.

The episode begins with one of the most heart-breaking scenes from the series: Moira’s death. The same music “Promise Kept” (2x20) accompanies the scene until things change. As soon as Oliver cuts himself free and stops Slade, his hero theme 2 (“Time to Go Home” 2x01) plays in the horn while he saves his mom, changing her fate. In a similar way, the same music for the flashback of Robert Queen telling Oliver to survive contains the same music as the pilot and the hammered dulcimer plays the hero theme as Mia wakes up in the future.

The Documentary from 7x12 returns as a Memorial beginning with Moira as she tries to wrap her head around the fact that she died in a different reality and that the whole world was a gift from her son. As she speaks, high electronics play “Honor Memory” (1x02) which originally played for Oliver when he tried to honor the memory of his father, torn between how he would honor his father’s sacrifice and mission to right his wrongs as a Vigilante and how he may appear less honoring as Oliver Queen, especially in the beginning. It returned several times as Oliver dealt with the fact that his father was less honorable than he believed. He grew over the seasons recognizing with the help of Felicity and others that he did not need to carry the burden of his father’s past but continue his own legacy of heroism and love, sacrificing himself to save not only the world but those he loved, including his mother who now has chance to honor him.

Dinah, Rene, and Diggle speak to the Documentary team about Oliver and the changes he made both for them and the city. The music hearkens to the synths and lower bass sounds that the original documentary had. Rene drops by after Diggle talks to the camera discussing the fact that crime has disappeared overnight thanks to Oliver, but Diggle is not ready to believe that the mission is over yet. As they talk about Oliver saving the city, hammered dulcimer (one of Oliver’s instruments since the pilot) accompanies the scene. His instruments and presence is felt throughout the episode even though he himself is not visible in the present time.

Diggle and Rene meet up with Roy, Dinah and Laurel to toast to Oliver with Vodka and discuss what they are planning on doing next. Piano and higher electronics play a theme from 7x10 that had been used for Emiko and Rene’s conversations when Rene shared that he wanted to help the city. Now, he shares a new stage of that dream by running for Mayor after Lance steps down with his endorsement and Dinah shares her upcoming promotion. The piano (Oliver’s instrument) plays the theme as another sign of Oliver’s gift to his team and city for a better future.

Rene asks Diggle when Felicity will be coming in for the funeral and Diggle replies that she might not make it as she hasn’t gotten out of bed since they received the news of Oliver’s death. As he shares this, a piano version of “Being Happy” (1x07) plays. This theme is usually over electronics (“Own Worst enemy”) in the strings. It originally was with Oliver and Tommy’s tough relationship as Tommy believed Oliver was a murderer but at the same time recognized that Oliver’s choices especially in lying to everyone closest to him took a toll: “If you are alone, you’ll never be happy.” Oliver responded that his happiness wasn’t what was important. However, one of the beautiful growing parts for Oliver was that over time, he did accept happiness and others into his life, especially the love of his life and his daughter Mia. The theme comes back in 7x22 as Oliver and Felicity happily share a life together with baby Mia, a life of happiness and everything Oliver deserved. But now he is gone and Felicity is left alone, grieving. This music is in the piano (Oliver’s instrument) but stripped down to simple piano chords, getting rid of all the other instruments and even changing to minor/sadder chords. It’s an echo of the happiness that they had.

While many people were brought back to life in this new reality such as Moira, Quentin, Tommy and Emiko, there were two notable exceptions: Robert and Laurel. Laurel from Earth 2 struggled with this knowledge, feeling guilty that it was because of her that Quentin did not have his daughter back. She goes to talk to him about it as “She was my rock/Canary Flies Away” (4x20) plays. This theme was first heard as Quentin struggled with Laurel’s death throughout season 4 and 5. Later on, it was used to forge connections between himself and Laurel 2 as Quentin recognized her as family while still knowing she wasn’t his original daughter. Here, Quentin tells Laurel in a fatherly tone that nothing needed to be fixed about her which is why Oliver didn’t change anything in regards to her.

Flashbacks

Diggle remembers when he joined the team and Oliver wasn’t letting him go at on the field yet. As Oliver appears and crosses another name off the list, high electronics play reminiscent of “On the List.” Although the melody is a little different, the atmospheric electronics are the same and then the hammered dulcimer plays a new melody as Diggle asks Oliver when the list/mission will end and Oliver responds that it will never end. The high electronics return as Diggle tries to help Oliver and bring down the body count, to convince him that there are other ways of justice beside killing them.

Oliver still goes after the bad guy on his own and kills everyone in his way in a classic Season 1 vibe. In the same fashion, the music reflects Season 1 fight music: string patterns, electronics, and brass but without most of the classic Arrow themes until the end. The brass glissando is heard as he zips up out at the end and then the Arrow string pattern and the hero theme (brass) plays as he lands and decides not to kill but just apprehend the bad guy. The brass hero theme was actually used quite sparingly in Season 1. Outside of the pilot “Setting up the Lair” in guitar harmonics, it was often heard in snippets - 2 or 3 notes instead of all four such as in “Damaged.” While that does occur throughout the all Seasons also for musical effect, in the first Season it is because he is not fully a hero yet. The entire motif is heard in the brass (a heroic sound) in 1x14 when he reveals himself to Felicity and then she and Diggle saves his life. She is the light that can see the hero he becomes and it is through her faith, the loyalty and morality of Diggle, and the decision no longer to kill after Tommy’s death, that set him in motion to move from a killing Vigilante to a hero. In fact, it isn’t used in the Title theme until Season 2 as Oliver begins this shift and the theme is heard much more frequently in fighting scenes such as “A Different Way” (2x01).

Theroy

Thea and Roy reunite again after Roy freaked out and left her over the past year or two. After trying to apologize (with bad timing), the two of them search for William together as “Team Continues Without Oliver” (3x11) plays in electronics and percussion in their running and jumping off roofs, which includes Roy’s Arsenal Theme. Roy proceeds to apologize for leaving her and proposes. While he does so, “I can’t lose you twice” (1x20) accompanies the scene. This theme accompanied several couples such as Laurel and Tommy’s relationship, Laurel and Oliver (1x23), Felicity and Oliver, and Roy and Thea. It first played for Thea and Roy in 1x20 as Roy is determined to find the vigilante, telling Thea that his life is connected to his own and she agrees to help find him. At that point, they would have no idea how true that would become even to the point of Roy saying he was the Arrow and taking the fall so that Oliver could stay and not go to jail in Season 3. This theme returned when Thea found Roy/Jason in 3x22 giving him back the Arsenal jacket and they end up kissing. They both have had different journeys to find themselves and the heroes they became. Having died and come back to life has given Roy a new perspective that he wants Thea in his life for always which leads to this moment.

Thea doesn’t give him an answer right away until after William is found and they meet up in the Queen mansion. She first asks him to promise that he will never freak out and leave without talking to her. The music is accompanied by clarinet (one of Thea’s instruments) first heard in 5x15. It originally played when Thea tells Oliver she is leaving and not to ask her to stay as she needed to figure out who she was. This theme then returns in 6x16 (“Take Good Care of Her”) as she and Roy plan to leave together to destroy the Lazarus pits. Roy told her that he was going with her because all that mattered was that they were together. She found both her calling and was able to leave with Roy. Despite the bumps that happened since then, she realizes she doesn’t want to waste anymore time without Roy by her side and says yes to his proposal.

Mia and Felicity Return

Sara brought back Mia to attend Oliver’s funeral and she tries to “channel her mom” at the computers as Dinah finds her. While not being to tell much about the future, she does share that something happened and making her feel like she has already failed at being the Green Arrow and living in her father’s legacy. Different instruments enter in with strings, brass, a low electronic bass (used more for Mia) and then hammered dulcimer as Dinah tells her that Oliver would be proud of her. Hammered Dulcimer is one of Oliver’s instruments since the pilot and it represents how he would be proud of her as well as continuing on the legacy through his instruments as well as a bow and arrow. Electronics enter which were used both for Archer and the future as William is revealed to have been kidnapped, making Mia live through her brother being kidnapped in both the past and future.

Wlliam’s kidapping brings back everyone who had been on the team including Felicity. As she appears in the bunker, oboe plays the first two notes of the Olicity theme “The One I Love/Convince Him” (2x23, 3x20). Having even part of that theme in their instrument as she appears to come out of her grief for losing the love of her life for the sake of their son is poignant but it is also presented in a happier (major) mood as she brings joy, light, and hope to the team as well to viewers who have missed her presence. As she hugs Diggle and Dinah and greets the team, guitar harmonics (Oliver’s instruments) and harp (Felicity’s instrument) double a pattern from “New Suit” (4x01). At that point, Oliver was discouraged after Lance told him he was responsible for bringing all the darkness into everyone’s life which was one of the reasons he didn’t want to return from his life in Ivy Town. He felt like the only way to fight darkness was to be darkness and he didn’t want to be that type of person anymore. Felicity reminded him that he didn’t have to be that person anymore and that he wasn’t alone. Now years later, Oliver has become a better person and furthermore, inspired a room of heroes to fight for the city, the world, and to bring Oliver’s family back. The oboe plays one more note as Felicity passes Mia signifying their relationship even though Felicity is not aware of it yet. Classic sounding Arrow music starts as Diggle calls them to suit up.

Mia is the one who finds her brother, landing on the roof as her hero theme (7x08) plays in the electric guitar. After the scene transitions back to her from the Flashback fight, string patterns and a low continuing electric bass note crescendos in the music that is very reminiscent of Oliver’s fight music as she chooses to not kill him and make the same decision that Oliver did, following in his footsteps.

Felicity finds out from Sara and Diggle that the young woman she is seeing with William is her daughter. They ask if she wants to meet her but she is a little reluctant since baby Mia is at home. She doesn’t want to rush the fact that she gets to watch Mia grow up. As she processes this, guitar harmonics play a theme from 7x16 when Felicity and Mia reconnect after Mia, Connor and William rescued Felicity. At that point, Mia was angry and confused with her mom who had told her heroic stories of her Dad that conflicted with the villain story the world was telling her. But regardless of hating vigilantes and hating her mom, she started to understand it was for her protection. Felicity told her that she was so much like her father and was proud of her. The theme returned in 8x03 as Mia was confronted with the possibility of losing William, terrified to lose the only family she had left. Now Felicity sees her daughter, a hero who saved younger William. It is a theme of love, connection and a family that had been broken by the loss of Oliver and fear to lose each other, but restored through Oliver’s sacrifice so that William, Mia, and Felicity will have each other in this reality.

Dinah brings Mia’s attention to the news reporting a new Green Arrow, most likely part of a new generations inspired by Oliver. As she hears this, it starts with electronics reminiscent of the future and then adding strings with the first part of Oliver’s Arrow theme moving into something new including high female voices as Dinah reminds Mia that Oliver would be proud of her. It provides an epic quality in the music, a reassurance that Oliver is looking over Mia with an almost otherworldly sound and that she is in fact part of the new generation of heroes, following in her father’s footsteps.

Saying Goodbye

Diggle comes to terms with the fact the mission is in fact over for himself and family in Star City. He meets Dinah and Rene as they share plans for their future as well as saying goodbye to the bunker. He tells them that according to Sara, Oliver became something else as Spectre and so he liked to think Oliver was still with them, watching over them. As he says this, the piano plays Oliver’s slow Arrow theme “I forgot who I was” (1x05) in the manner used for intimate moments for Oliver when he shared his heart for those closest to him, including 6x03 when he thanked Diggle for helping him become the Green Arrrow. Musically, it seemed to confirm that Oliver was watching over them. As these three share about their future, having become better people due to Oliver and each other, and then turning off the lights, a music theme from the flash forwards play (7x10) in high electronics (almost bell like). Originally it was for the Mark of 4, having promised to be there for each other and yet these promises were broken as the team had splintered. It also played when the kids showed up in the bunker in 8x04 as Oliver was trying to process that his grown-up kids were there. Using this theme again as the world has changed and the 8x09 episode showed a brighter future for all of them, returns to that original intent of being there for each other even as they go their separate ways. A version of the Arrow theme plays as the lights go out for the last time.

Quentin gives a speech to honor Oliver and reveal a statue looking over the city. Harp and piano play as it begins with a beautiful and quiet version of Oliver’s hero theme as Quentin thanks everyone for coming and begins by admitting that for a long time he hated Oliver and blamed him for Sara’s death and the violence in the city. The theme changes as strings are added as he talks about how became an honorable man and proof that anyone can change. Oliver wasn’t just a hero but a good man. The theme that plays as the statue is revealed is “United Campaign Speech” (4x04) first heard when Oliver started his campaign as mayor, focusing on the theme of being united and working together. Oliver’s dream in becoming mayor was to save the city in the light and not just in the shadows. Right before he gave his speech (written by Thea), Thea told him the reason they had so many supporters and interns to help was because they believed like she did, that he was going to save the city. He said the same thing in his speech: he returned with one goal to save his city which is possible with the help of friends, family, loved ones, those they trust, and those they need to trust again. This dream may not have come true in way Oliver foresaw, whether it was with the List in the beginning or being mayor in the middle, but ultimately he did save the city which was revealed to be written on the statue as the Arrow theme plays. It became possible because of the people he loved and who loved him back who all stand there to honor this hero, the man who changed their lives.

Everyone gathers at the funeral as different characters interact or meet for the first time. Thea asks Moira why Oliver didn’t bring back Robert as “Sad Moira” (1x10). “Sad Moira” was first heard as its own melody when Oliver checks on Moira after Walter was kidnapped and in similar situations in seasons 1 and 2 when she was missing her children or Walter. Now, Moira is missing both Oliver and Robert as she acknowledges that Oliver would never have become the man he was if it hasn’t been for the loss of Oliver. The theme is also heard as the counter-melody/harmony in “I forgot who I was/Own Worst Enemy” (2x18) which is all about love and loss for the Queen family. It was used in moments for Oliver with Moira, Thea, William, and Emiko. This counter-melody plays one last time as Emiko comes to meet Thea, another proof of Oliver healing his family in a place that had been broken.

Tommy and Laurel meet as Tommy is trying to wrap around his mind of previous realities where he died and the fact that he is meeting his wife’s doppleganger. Tommy and Laurel’s theme “Surprise me” (1x03) plays as he shares that he married Laurel 1 in this life.

Mia meets Felicity for the first time as an adult as high synths and violins play which is used in emotional moments especially with Felicity. There are echoes of a melody like “Honor Memory” (1x02), giving space for the emotions as Mia tells Felicity that she got to meet her dad who taught her how to be a hero as echoes of Oliver’s hero theme are heard.

Felicity asks Diggle to share a few words as they stand around Oliver’s tombstone. Diggle shares that Oliver changed a lot since they met 8 years ago, becoming a better man who inspired all of them, bringing heroes into the world, but most importantly a brother to him. He still recognizes that the mission of hope and justice will continue beyond Star City with Oliver living on in the people he inspired, even though the world is less bright without him in it. He says he doesn’t see what the future holds as glimpses of the future are shown to the audience with Mia returning to the future, Rene running for mayor, and Diggle receiving the Green Lantern ring. The music for this whole speech is “Forgive Us/Goodbye to Roy” (3x19). In the beginning of the theme, Oliver believed Roy was dead and blamed himself, while Diggle and Felicity revealed that it was a ruse to protect Oliver even though Roy would have to be in exile. This was hard for Oliver to accept but Roy was willing to take the fall for the man who saved his life and gave him purpose. It was a theme of saying goodbye and self-sacrifice. Now, it is Oliver who has made the ultimate sacrifice to save all of them. But there is also hope of a future, first for Roy and now for all of the heroes head out on their new journey. Oliver’s hero theme plays in the piano at the end as it focuses on his tombstone: husband, father, brother, son, hero.

The Reunion

As Felicity prepares to leave in the future, the music is sad and full of loss playing “Everyone Left” (5x02). This was used in 7x22 when Felicity, Mia and William were at Oliver’s grave before she left so it makes sense for that to continue as she has been waiting a long time to see Oliver. A high electronic changes locations (almost heavenly) as she walks through. The music is in major (different for a show set in minor) bringing light and happiness with piano and strings as Felicity arrives in a version of the QC office. Harp (Felicity’s instrument) and piano (Oliver’s) play Oliver’s hero theme as she looks at his picture with the red pen in her mouth. It is a quiet intimate, peaceful moment as she turns and sees Oliver smiling at her and the harp quietly plays a repeating note as she greets him and they kiss. Then the Olicity theme “The one I love” (2x23) plays in the cellos as she tells him that this is so nice despite being a little confused that they were in a version of his old office. One of the ways it is made so quietly peaceful is the lack of any movement under the main theme, usually piano or harp moving underneath. Everything is stripped away except their love theme as they see each other for the first time in 20 years. Oliver tells Felicity that he wanted to meet where he first saw her and the flashback from Season 3 is shown. Violins, female voice, and guitar harmonics are added as he continues that they have all the time in the world to tell her about it. Musically having the voice brings memories from 3x20 and 3x23 when they drive away reminding us of Oliver declaring: “I’m happy.” Oliver and Felicity have found peace and happiness as they are reunited with their theme soaring before the Arrow theme plays one last time as the show comes to a close.

Extra Notes and Thank-you:

I decided not to do a deep dive into the Olicity theme since I have done that a lot in the past and this was already crazy long. But for those of you who are interested, I have list of every time the Olicity theme has been used (minus this episode).

https://austencello.tumblr.com/post/182940428674/list-of-olicity-themes

I decided not to review 8x09 at this point. As a back-door pilot, it picks up some older themes like Mia’s theme which occurred a lot but most of it was new which makes it harder to analyze. We shall when/if the show gets picked up whether I will write about the show.

Thanks to all you for your kind words regarding my “Goodbye to Oliver” cello arrangement I made last week. I really appreciate it!

Finishing this is a bit bittersweet. I would never have imagined Oliver’s journey to end up this way (I would never have guessed Olicity would be one of my favorite ships of all times at Season 1) but neither would I have imagined when I started watching this 8 years ago, that I would be analyzing the score for 4 and a half years (103 Arrow Music Notes!), make and meet friends from around the world, interact with Blake Neely on Twitter, arrange the score for cello, work on music collaborations with @jorahandal, and meet a lot of the cast at conventions. It’s been a lot of fun and quite a ride. Thank you to all who have been on part of this journey with me as well as to Blake Neely, Nathaniel Blume and his whole team for creating such great music throughout the seasons.

For of those of you asking what is next...I’m going to take a break from music analysis as my life gets a little busy over the next few months. I’m hoping to shift to a few more arrangements and analysis of some of my favorite Jane Austen and period dramas over the next year or so.

@academyofshipping @ah-maa-zing @smoakmonster @herskirtsarentthatshort @mel-loves-all @dust2dust34 @dmichellewrites @pulpklatura @cogentranting @withgraceandlight99 @scu11y22 @almondblossomme @green-arrows-of-karamel @hotcookinmama @latinasmoak @callistawolf @jbuffyangel

#arrow music notes #arrow 8x10 #oliver queen #olicity #john diggle #theroy #moira queen #thea queen #roy harper #felicity smoak #mia smoak queen #quentin lance #laurel lance #blake neely #nathaniel blume

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mychemicalxmen · 5 years

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aight here’s the tea on TUA and “It’s Not Like in the Movies” from the Superhero musical

Thank you so much to @mycosmicspacestorm for the excuse to go off on this!! This is probably wayyyy more than you expected, but I just feel like bein a nerd rn. Much love. <3

*Here’s the song on spotify.

*Basically, for me, it hits that vibe of when someone asks you what TUA is about and you want to say it’s a superhero show because it technically is but it also sure as hell don’t feel like it, in tone and plot but especially in the fact that the Academy itself was a really unconventional superhero force. *I’m coining the term Duty Bros to mean 1, 2, and 5, the siblings who seem primarily driven by a sense of duty/responsibility. (Luther with his moon mission, Diego with his vigilante justice, and Five with stopping the apocalypse.) These brothers actively want to save the world and know they’re perfectly capable of doing so. (Allison and Klaus, on the other hand, seem to have been running from responsibility their entire adult lives and are only just now making an effort to change that.)

*Like I kinda alluded to in the tags, there’s two ways I like to imagine this song. If you don’t worry too much about the lyric-by-lyric parallels, you could picture it as Diego/Klaus explaining his past to Eudora/Dave for the first time. The subtext being “Yeah, so here’s this thing that made me Who I Am Right Now, and no one really knows/remembers that about me. No, it’s not how you think it would be. Also, it left me with a ton of weird baggage, so even though I like you, it’s probably best if you keep your distance from me”. The other way is this super abstract Oops All Siblings animatic/amv.

ok let’s go No one can get too close. No one can get inside of you. No one can know the secrets that you keep. Your head is always down, hoping that people slide past you, Almost as if you’re walking in your sleep. I feel this for all of the Hargreeves. All of them have trauma. All of them have walls. All of them have secrets. All of them have behavioral, psychological, and/or physical scars from childhood. (Five, especially, has a hell of a wall between him and the rest of humanity, and he has no time to be noticed in 2019 while trying to save the world.) And most of them aren’t especially eager to be recognized as one of the Academy kids. And you can’t cry, though you hurt. You are always on alert. Though you try and you fly, people die.

ngl, this lyric is pretty weak, but it kinda fits with the Duty Bros. This is what they’ve decided to do, but you can’t save everybody, and there’s no time to be sad about it. Alternatively: “Yo, I’ve seen some shit since I was 12.”

It’s not like in the movies, where the hero’s loved and known. It’s not like in the movies; I spend my days alone.

Again, they’re not recognized as the Academy anymore. They walked away. And currently, they’re all living in some form of isolation. Allison not having a family of her own anymore; Luther on the moon; Klaus’s struggles, etc.

I don’t even get a hug from the kid stuck in the tree. It’s not like in the movies; No one knows it’s me.

The Duty bros can’t really reap any tangible rewards from their service. They barely get recognition. And none of them really got suitable gratification for the missions they did as kids. No real connection to the outside world. You don’t drive a tricked-out car. You don’t work at a lab or the Daily Planet for a boss who yells but has a heart of gold.

The Handler doesn’t yell but bitch doesn’t have a heart of gold either. You don’t bleed or scrape or scar – well, at least not on the outside – And you’re at your peak, though you can’t help feeling old. Snarky Five line. New body who dis. You’re always tired, but you can’t rest. You often lose, though you’ve done your best. There’s no parade, no city key. Just anonymity. It’s not like in the movies. It’s a little more complex. It’s not like in the movies. No CGI effects. I don’t get to learn life lessons from my human family. It’s not like in the movies. No one knows it’s me.

Same stuff as before. The Hargreeves in general. Certain aspects of their careers as children were glamorous, but others really really weren’t. And now all the glamor they once had is gone. I’ve tried to walk away, so I won’t wake each day To cries of anguish in my head.

This could be pretty damn relevant to Klaus, who tries to “walk away” from not only the past, but from even having his powers. Boy literally wakes up in Episode 2 to cries of anguish in his head. And in the Superhero musical, there’s actually a really cool, spooky “Help me” musical motif that shows up whenever this character hears these voices and needs to spring into action. And he fuckin hates it. Spot-on parallel.

Alternatively, for all the siblings: “walk away” = “totally block out the past”. I’ve tried to repress it all and never look back, hoping the memories wouldn’t haunt me. But it doesn’t work like that.

But if I disappear, you’ll all implode, that’s clear. It’s gotten worse and worse with every passing year.

You could swing this for Luther trying to take control the way he does (“you’ll all implode” = “you need a leader”) or you could swing it for Five (“you’ll all implode” = “the world will end; but also, you guys are a mess as people, and you have been for a while, and you can’t fix this without me”). And quite literally, if Five decided to disappear halfway through his big mission, he knows for a fact his siblings would die. A lot of pressure there. I don’t mean to sound so harsh. I’ve also seen the good out there. Empathy and kindness on display. But every time I think I can release myself from this nightmare, someone tries to blow the world away. Duty Bros. Especially Luther on the first two lines. He reads as the least cynical of the lot, and his naiveté and hope is really what keeps him on the moon. Five is the one really living the “nightmare”, trying to track down the one who’s going to “blow the world away”.

And so I don’t want to sound insincere, but I think you should just forget what happened here, ‘Cause no one ever truly sees me.

“I got a lot of baggage, bro, you really shouldn’t get involved.” (You’re Jim, the man in 4-B.) An outside voice, reassuring. “You’re not Number Two. You’re Diego.” “You’re not Number Four. You’re Klaus.” Etc. “This new identity you’ve adopted after all that shit went down? That’s the real you. That’s who you are now.” Now Simon, that’s an ending I would really like to see, But I can’t make a life out of my secret identity. The rebuttal. “I can’t just stop being ‘Number X’. I can’t just pretend that wasn’t part of my life. I can’t make that stop haunting me.”

(Why not? It’s not like in the movies.) No one knows it’s me. You mean, like, maybe I can actually process my emotions like a rational adult, and find a healthy way to cope, stop identifying with the shit Hargreeves put me through, and move on with my life? whack.

anyway........................ where’s that season 2 trailer at huh

#if anyone wants to yell w me about the Hargreeves and literally any musical theatre song I am H E R E #but ye thanks cosmic!!!#superhero musical #tua #the umbrella academy

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matildainmotion · 5 years

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This is Your Invitation to the Ball

You don’t have to come. You can turn this invitation down. That’s the definition of a genuine invitation - something to which you do not have to go. If you have to go or feel you should it is not very inviting. At heart I am a hermit. My first response, when anyone invites me anywhere, is a small moment of panic. If I were Cinderella I would never have gone to the ball– the cinders would have suited me just fine. I see this in my son too. We went away for half term and before we left he was already worrying about being homesick, about staying somewhere with different smells, a different bed – the unfamiliar.

I am not in fact inviting you to a royal ball, though I hope the event will be celebratory as if it were one. I am not inviting you away on holiday but I hope the event will take you to new places you had not expected, like a good adventure. I am inviting you to step out of your routine, to come to an Open Space event for our school on Saturday March 7th. If you are like me that last sentence will have triggered a small moment of panic. A step out of the routine is how all stories start, and stories mean change and change is scary. But remember – it’s okay, you don’t have to come. However, whilst you consider your options, I am going to give you three reasons why you might want to accept the invite: a mythic reason; a practical, immediate reason, and a third reason which is both mythical and practical, a long term one.

First, the mythic one. Back in June last year I ran two Open Space events for our school. Beforehand I wrote a blog to encourage people to attend, in which I described the story of the school as if it were a fairy tale. I called it “A Chance to Change the Story.” Since then the story has changed. Something has happened that has never taken place before in the history of the school: a Principal has been appointed. On the mythic, fairy tale level a prince has turned up. A hero. A leader.

Whilst the story of ‘the hero to the rescue’ is a famous fairy tale motif and is part of the dynamic now vis a vis the present threat, in this case being played out by the dragon/ ogre/ evil curse called ‘Ofsted,’ it is not the whole story. For a start Ofsted is not simply ‘the bad guy.’ In many stories the facing of the dragon, the threat, is the process the hero needs to undergo to become stronger, wiser, better. But what happens next is not just down to Paul, galloping in on a heroic steed – it’s also up to us.

The invitation to attend this event comes from Paul. Every man, woman and child in the land is being invited to come and have their say. Every one of us gets to come to the ball, if we wish. Paul may be in the role of the Principal, but in the field of the fairy tale we are all story tellers – we each play a part in shaping how the story unfolds from here. This will be true whether you come to this Open Space event or not. The Open Space provides an opportunity for us do the story-making and shaping of our school consciously and together.

If that was a little too mythical for you, let’s get concrete. If you are thinking, “Yes, that’s all very well, sounds nice, but what actually comes out of these things? Isn’t it just a lot of hot air? I’ve been to loads of meetings and nothing ever really comes from them,” then let me answer this very valid concern. The Parents Working Group has now held a total of four meetings in the last year, open to the whole community. I also held an Open Space on an inset day for the staff. Here is a sample list of four tangible actions that have come out of these meetings:

1) The PWG held a ‘World Café’ meeting to discuss how best to address the safeguarding standards that Ofsted required us to meet. The procedure for collecting pupils from the Lower School building was decided based on the discussions held at that meeting.

2) One of the sessions called at our June meeting was, “A refresh of all key touch points on the customer (new parents) journey, i.e. website, open days, 1st email response, parent handbook, homepage film, facebook etc? “. We now have a new website, in part informed by this.

3) Several sessions at the events raised environmental concerns. A group of staff are collating all the ideas generated by these with a view to putting them into practice within the school. An Industrial compost bin for kitchen waste has already been researched and funds have been raised to purchase this.

4) Another session called back in June was, “Creating a state of the art and craft centre in the clockhouse.” Funds from the Advent Fair have been allocated towards this and Photography, Drama & the Art & Design course have already moved in.

You might not think that is enough, but please note we have not been going long at this. The PWG open meetings are barely a year old. In the performing arts community, the company with which I work, Improbable, have been holding meetings in Open Space for over 15 years. Literally hundreds of projects, shows, companies, networks, policy changes and collaborations have come out of these meetings – we’ve even been credited with bringing about a few marriages. If there are immediate, tangible things you want to discuss or make happen at our school, then come along on March 7th and do just that. Your issue, vision or idea will only get on the agenda if you turn up and put it there. What do you want to see happen? What do you want to work on? What do your children want to work on? The younger ones? The older ones? They are welcome too. Children are naturals at Open Space – they already know how to follow themselves and what they care about. At the last PWG Open Space in June a Class One student participated, calling a session entitled “I want animals at our school –rabbits and guinea pigs.” It was a brilliant example of someone following their passion. One of the things that I would love to make happen is the re-opening of the top lake within our amazing grounds. I don’t yet know how but I know that when you open space, when people turn up and work together, following their passion and energy, stuff happens. Things change. It is an incredibly efficient way of working. But, it takes practice….

Here comes reason number three as to why you might want to accept the invitation and come along on Saturday March 7th. Opening Space is a practice, and like all practices – meditation, music, sport, art - this means it is a tangible, practical thing you can do which, if you keep doing it, has intangible outcomes, mythical rewards. Recently I went to our Class 2 parents’ evening. Julian Rolton came along to tell us about the Class 2 summer term ‘Violin Introduction week’ and to persuade us that, quite soon, it might be a wonderful thing for our children to take up an instrument. He spoke to us about practising, ways to make it easier, to encourage our children to sustain it- things like leaving the instrument out and making a set time every day when it happens. The point of a practice is that you keep doing it, even when you don’t particularly feel like it. You put the hours in. And if you do then, bit by bit, you get better. You start to make music. Whether or not you become a famous musician, Julian proposed, the practice changes you, helps you grow, you become more tuneful, and more in tune, with yourself and with the world. Practice may or may not make perfect, but it does make wonder and meaning.

What then is the ‘music’ being practiced in opening space? It’s this: we are practicing the art of conversation and connection. We are practicing how to be a thriving and sustainable community. We are practicing how to listen. We are practicing how to step up and follow our passion. In short we are practicing, and modelling, all the things which we hope this very special school is fostering in our children. If we keep doing it, bit by bit, things will change, profoundly and for the better. Our school will become more wonder-full and more meaning-full – even more than it is already. I am talking about the intangibles here. Alongside the list of concrete outcomes, the track-able sorts of things Ofsted require us to demonstrate, there is a list of impossible to quantify ‘results’ – ideas, feelings, experiences, connections.

I value these intangibles. I also know they yield tangible rewards. But, like many good things, it takes time. One of the things I love about Steiner education is the recognition within it of the need for time. We try not to rush our children. Let’s have the same patience with each other. I do not know and cannot promise what the results of March 7th will be – within Open Space there is a paradoxical recognition that we are all, potentially, leaders, and yet none of us are in control. The power, the gold, lies in our exchanges, our collaboration. We will not produce a ‘To Do List-like report’ from this event. We will co-create a record of our conversations. Conversations between all of the diverse members that make up our community: parents, young children, older students, teachers, staff, trustees. It is part of our practice. Practice is key, but the process need not be painful. We can practice joyfully.

This is an invitation. I am going to say it again – you do not have to accept it. Staying at home is a valid choice. It’s a choice I made the first time I was invited to an Open Space – I stayed home. Then, the next year, I didn’t, and, despite being a hermit at heart, I had an incredible time. But I actually don’t want you to come unless you genuinely want to be there. Of course, I hope you do want to be there. Because our new Principal has issued a proclamation for the peoples of the land to gather – it’s a pivotal moment in the story. Because we can get some stuff done – make things happen. Because I want to practice alongside you, learning how to create community. I believe it is what our school and our world needs most right now –to start to value the intangibles, to come together with patience to practice the art of connecting. We have so much to do, we have so little time, we urgently need to slow down.

And if you come, you might have a ball. You might have an adventure. You might have a really good conversation. You might decide to make something happen. So, I might, perhaps, possibly, see you there…..

N.B. If you do want to accept my invitation please let reception know so that we can get a sense of numbers beforehand – we want to make sure there are enough biscuits at the ball for everyone who comes. However, it is also possible simply to turn up on the day. You and your children will be very welcome.

To read the original invitation, from Paul and the PWG go HERE

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albion-93 · 6 years

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RWBY Analysis: Who is the Main Antagonist of Volume 6?

Disclaimer: Contains intense RWBY theorising and speculation inspired by Volume 6 Chapter 9 that is subject to being made redundant should the rest of the Volume go along like nothing as follows in this post.

RWBY has an interesting history when it comes its villains and antagonists. From Volumes 1 to 3 we saw a succession of rogues who fit the bill, each nastier than the last, from the likes of Roman Torchwick to Adam Taurus, Cinder Fall, and finally Salem. When it came to these four especially, and their criminal cohorts, the terms villain and antagonist went hand in hand. And with good reason, they were in active or indirect opposition to our protagonists’ actions, and their intentions and deeds ranged from petty theft to Machiavellian manipulation, terrorism and mass murder. Roman was a solid rival and foe to Ruby Rose, while Cinder served her role as main villain and antagonist well in Volumes 1 to 3, with Salem’s overarching series antagonist role revealed as a cliffhanger.

With Volumes 4 and 5, there were certainly plenty of villains but the role of main antagonist became somewhat complicated. As Team RWBY split up, most of them faced their own antagonist to overcome in various stages. In Vol 4 Weiss had her abusive father, Jacques Schnee; Blake had the White Fang operatives in Menagerie; Yang’s was at first psychological - the trauma of losing her arm and regaining her resolve to fight - and the second came in the form of her estranged survivalist mother Raven Branwen. Lastly is Ruby, who is sadly the most lacking in this department. Apart from her battles against the Grimm alongside Jaune, Nora and Ren, nothing came close to Roman or a potential enmity with Cinder, alas.

Now that RWBY is back together, things have changed. Cinder is now a month behind everyone else and unable to confront anyone. Salem is moving her minions into place in Atlas but doesn’t pose a direct threat to the heroes, though we will probably see Hazel, Tyrian and Watts out in the open at some point. Emerald is experiencing a crisis of allegiance, while Mercury seems to have chosen his side. Finally, Adam Taurus is as yet unaccounted for with no White Fang support to be found.

You could argue that we’ve had the threat of personal demons and some excellent opposing interplay within the group, such as Ruby dealing with Qrow’s alcoholism and despair, Weiss’s reluctance to return to Atlas, Blake and Yang keeping a lid on their issues, and everyone falling into despair and anger at learning of Salem’s immortality. As effective as these are, there hasn’t been a single villainous character directly or indirectly circumventing the heroes’ actions. Odd.

So, I ask again, who is the main antagonist of Volume 6?

My personal take might shock many if you.

Since the start of Volume 6, this character’s words, choices and unfortunate past mistakes has led to more problems for the heroes than anything caused by Adam, Cinder or Salem. He’s nominally on the side of good but has failed in upholding his mission and his stagnation and secrecy has become a source of fear, discord, disunity and despair, more so than any servant of Salem. I am referring to Professor Ozpin.

Now let me be absolutely clear about this: Ozpin is NOT a villain.

Ozpin does not crave death, destruction, domination or the suffering of humanity. In the past, he was a kind and wise mentor to Ruby at Beacon, and a fair leader. He is ultimately someone who wants to put an end to Salem’s evil and somehow lift the curse, maybe once he believed he would be the one to finally do it. But now, he he’s a liability to Team RWBY, the remains of Team JNPR and of course his most recent incarnation, Oscar Pine.

If he had elected to tell the heroes that the Lamp attracts Grimm before boarding the Argus Express, and most vitally trust them, they might have avoided separation and being stranded. His constant omission of the truth, while claiming that it was for the greater good, is the same mentality that contributed to the Fall of Beacon. The more his pessimism, bitterness and double standard thinking emerged, the more the group’s distrust grew, culminating in Oscar briefly regaining control and revealing the Jinn in the Lamp. He was even prepared to use force to stop Ruby from asking Jinn what he was hiding. Overcome with despair and shame, he retreated deep into Oscar’s mind. They were left there to endure the Brunswick Farms horrors because of him.

I don’t blame him for retreating as he did, especially given the secrets regarding Salem. But when they finally reached Argus and the truth was revealed to Team JNR, he didn’t even re-emerge to come to Oscar’s defence from Jaune’s anger, and let him take the brunt of it. Again, there was no malice on Ozpin’s part, but in not intervening he allowed the rift between Oscar and the others to widen. In an older post, I said that if I were Oscar I would have taken my chances with the cold weather and Grimm rather than stay with people mad at me for another man’s mistakes. That came true in Dead End. So how is it he went from this...

To this?

The thing that struck me in the recent episode Lost was the reveal that Oscar had seemingly been waiting for the group at the Cotta-Arc house sporting new, princely clothes and having cooked dinner for everyone. I do not think for a moment that that’s the real Oscar who welcomed the gang back. Absolutely nothing about what we saw in the previous episode, being threatened, isolated and emotionally dumped on naturally leads into him being relaxed, willing to reaffirm his mission to help RWBY, accepting his fate, easily forgiving Jaune and cooking dinner for everyone. Why would he do any of this?

Looking at his body language and choice of words, he seems too calm, confident and controlled to be Oscar. His new combat outfit lines up with the green motif shared in other past Ozma incarnations, even with the red flourishes and leather fittings. Also, take a read of this dialogue, and instead of Oscar pretend it’s Ozpin saying this to the group:

Many have said that this sounds an awful lot like someone with a terminal illness would say, and that this could be a sign of the Merge happeninng. But why is the story acting like Oscar is the one who will fade away, when Jinn showed the different approaches Ozma had to coexisting with his hosts?

Personally, I think it’s Ozpin imitating Oscar. He seemed surprised when he found out the group were looking for him, so how could Oscar not know why they were looking for him? For Ozpin, it’s a perfect cover since the group still doesn’t trust him but are are happy to see the boy safe. Asserting his desire to help extends a proverbial peace offering, while keeping the nature of the possession ambiguious. Also, isn’t cooking dinner for someone (or indeed twelve people) a pretty good way of making amends?

But hang on, how could Ozpin still be an antagonist if he’s promising to help the heroes and wants to bury the grudges between them? He’s not telling the truth and remaining entrenched in the same mindset that has weakened their efforts in the past. Also, if Oscar is being locked inside his own head and being used for deception this is certainly a moral breach.

I think Oscar would have succeeded in running away or done something much worse if Oz didn’t forcibly intervene. Such a move would be very in keeping with Ozpin’s pattern of actions; the idea of committing a little evil in the name of the greater good, i.e. to return Oscar safely to the group he had to forcibly take over. Also, the omission of vital truths and maintaining an amiable facade in the belief that everyone is happier for not knowing the full story. There’s even escalating a dangerous solution whilst potentially alienating or endangering others and removing the option of choice, just like in Volume 3.

It would be a cruel twist of irony if Jaune’s angry rant at Oscar in the house actually became a self fulfilling prophecy; “How do we know it’s really him?! What if we’ve been talking to that liar this whole time?!” By denying Oscar’s individuality when he was at his most vulnerable, he sowed the seeds for Oz to return and deceive the heroes into thinking Oscar returned of his own free will.

Now, imagine if all this crazy theory-crafting proved correct and the truth came out, Ozpin would have to contend with the wrath of RWBY and JNR, for duplicity, manipulation and subduing another’s will. And yet, unless something changes within him or his soul and Oscar’s battle for survival, there is nothing anyone can do. A once good mentor turned antagonist, with no villainous intent or goal, who cannot be challenged, driven away, imprisoned or killed without hurting his innocent host. Now that is a terrifying foe...

Aside Note: If it IS Oscar talking and this is something that he has decided himself, we didn’t see the process of making that decision for himself and go through classic character development or spiritual guidance to reach that point and signal his newfound commitment to the mission. This isn’t just a plot hole, this is an easy fix, and completely antithetical to good storytelling. After eight episodes where there were no easy fixes in the plot, why is this suddenly allowed? Maybe a character short could retcon character growth into place, but I have serious doubts.

The one point I will give is the look shared between Ruby and Ozcar when she complimented his new attire. That seemed like a genuine Oscar moment and expression, and I could buy that he chose red to earn Ruby’s attention. But I’m still suspicious.

Thank you to all who’ve read this long analysis post. I’m sure the next episode has a very different idea from what I’m proposing, maybe a much less dark outcome, but this was a very interesting train of thought to indulge.

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that-shamrock-vibe · 6 years

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First Look: Descendants 3 Promo Picture Breakdown

With the third installment in, what is to date, the best Disney Channel Original Movie franchise with the first movie’s premier night surpassing High School Musical’s opening, coming to our screens this Summer. it is obvious we will be starting to get some advertising and promotions from the movie to ramp up the hype.

This comes most recently in the form of a set of character promotional photos courtesy of Just Jared Jr, not only giving us our first look at main characters outside of the main four V.Ks but also Hades.

So we’re going to break these down in terms of styling and authenticity to the characters both from the original material and previous movies.

Original Release:

So before Just Jared Jr. released his set, this image made the rounds giving us our first official look at our main four V.Ks Carlos, Evie, Mal and Jay. Honestly from a personal perspective I have never been a fan of shooting from a low angle mainly because it creates that very unneccersary shadow effect on the necks so aside from Carlos and Evie, you can’t tell they have necks. It could also be the costumes fault which we’ll go into when we get a closer look at them further down.

Overall though with the actual styling, I like how the look has evolved again from the second movie after that look evolved from the first movie. It is still very much all about the leather to be a V.K. and for some characters it works but for others not so much.

We also had this promo of Uma and her two henchmen Harry Hook and Gil, it is interesting to see the three still together despite Uma now not really having need of cronies but I love how all three of them look.

New Promos:

Alright so we have 9 images and 8 characters to talk about. Surprisingly though there is no sign of Ben or any of the Auradon Prep kids and that may be because they’ll have their own set released but it is weird to have the main four and even Uma but not Ben.

Mal:

Mal is obviously the main character and so her shot is the one we start with. I don’t like this look one bit for Mal. I know in the first two video promos with Hades being teased and that Under the Sea special that Mal had her main look from Descendants 2, I was expecting Mal to obviously update her look but this just seems basic for her. They do say less is more but this look not only looks reverted but too plain.

First of all, these shots are way too dark because the amount of purple in the outfit as seen in the first image isn’t as visible here, so that’s a misstep, also the fact that obviously Hades is Mal’s dad explains the heavy layer of black but I really do miss all the purple.

Next her hair, I didn’t really believe Mal’s wig in the first movie but definitely believed it in the second movie, this seems just like the first movie again just a little bit thinner and longer, also with the lighting in the image it makes her hair look blue rather than purple so of course there is that misstep between her and Evie.

Evie:

Similarly with Evie, she looks like she has purple hair. It’s really confusing and I don’t know if it is to do with the story of Descendants 3 but I would love some clarity or insight because this franchise has done a lot to distinguish colours for the specific characters and purple and blue are Mal’s and Evie’s respectively.

I will say I do like her hair though, I like the fact that even though Evie isn’t royalty in Auradon she still wears a tiara because that’s just her style. I love the red heart jewel in the middle and I would love it if this was one of Dizzy’s designs.

As for her outfit, I would say the side-view doesn’t do it much justice but the front view isn’t as good either. The outfits in these promos almost look like battle armour and there is a severe lack of blue for Evie in the outfit. I actually don’t think there is any blue.

I really liked her outfit in Descendants 2 because I felt it was mature, stylish and appropriately regal for the character. This just does not say Evie to me from the neck down, I can’t imagine Evie as a fashion designer would create this for herself and believe it to be “fabulous”.

Carlos:

Carlos genuinely looks like a cross between a spaceman and motocross racer, neither of which I would ever associate with the son of Cruella De Vil.

Interestingly enough he is not wearing shorts here despite the fact Carlos has always worn shorts because I think they’re trying to show Carlos as the youngest of the four which works naturally anyway as Cameron Boyce is 3-4 years younger than the other three. I do miss the shorts I have to say, because it added a certain youthful quality to the looks that again is needed for the character in my opinion.

Also I get how the black and white colour pallet is supposed to represent the dalmatian theme he is associated with, but I feel his first two looks represented that a lot stronger than this, it almost comes across as a cow-hide than dalmatian theme. I do miss the fur I have to say, that fur collar in the first movie spoke to me like the green paw print on Beast Boy’s jacket shoulder in Titans.

I have to say also, I don’t get the hair. I think the color is still great but I don’t like them taking Cameron Boyce down the Ross Lynch route of pretty boy hair and to be honest I loved the slick look he had at the start of Descendants 2.

Jay:

Jay’s I would say is most authentic to his character and shows an organic evolution throughout the three movies, even though he has sleeves here I do find it works as a more mature look developing on his original style as opposed to how the other three look.

All his colours are still there, there’s the golds, the patches of black, the reds. I can believe this is what a modern day son of Jafar would wear. Leather works for the character anyway and this is leather-bound brilliance.

I have to say, I can’t decide if I miss the beanie or not but I would have maybe liked to see a bandanna or some sort of headwear because, if these are battle outfits, I feel Jay would wear a bandanna.

It is shocking that this, out of the four, is my favourite look because Jay, as anyone who has read my reviews know, has not been my favourite character but I will say he definitely knows how to be stylish which I thought I would say about Evie or Carlos.

Uma:

Now you see looking at this I can kind of understand Mal’s look if she’s trying to compete with Uma or vise-versa. But the problem is, Uma wins hands down as this is Uma’s style. I love everything from the accents of seagreen, to the shape of the outfit, the hair and the accessories.

Speaking of hair, it was interesting that in Descendants 2 and that special Under the Sea, Uma had braids which mostly were extensions which China McClain had embedded into her already braided hair. The look worked for the with the whole pirate gang captain attire. Here though, I will be interested to see if Uma keeps her Sea Witch status and this is definitely Sea Witch style hair. It’s very regal and you can tell where her hair ends and the extensions begin but that’s only because she filmed this alongside Black Lightning, although in Season 2 she does have shorter hair so maybe she dip-dyed and then had that cut for the show. Regardless I love how she kept the braid-style, it almost takes her look from gang leader to crime boss.

As for the accessories, Evie should be ashamed that Uma is showing her up with her bling. The necklace that she either got or stole from her mother is still there but I will agree with some critics from the her first appearance that in some shots the necklace kept changing size, but here it looks like a trinket rather than a magical object. She also seems to have more bling on as well as that so I am looking forward to seeing that in full. Also her bracelets and nails are subtle enough to not be garish but also to be the right level of stylish. Clearly her time at sea has done her good.

Harry:

If Harry has taken over Uma’s crew from the last movie, then this is the look of a renegade gang leader. I love the level of chains going on with his trousers, it’s subtle because of the darkness of the photo but seeing the shine makes it so cool.

I will say I miss the curliness and unkempt nature of his hair in Descendants 2. Here it does look good but flat, and also I miss his hait. It may not go with the outfit but I do miss it.

The leather vest with the belt motifs is a great choice for the character. I am a bit annoyed about the lighting and obscurity of his shirt because in that first promo you can clearly see it’s a skull shirt whereas if no one was to see that and instead just see this they’d be unsure if his chest is covered in body hair or tattoos because it isn’t quite distinguishable.

I like the use of the hook even though it’s merely an accessory for Harry to honor his father, I like the leather wrist-straps, love the fact he still wears guy-liner. It adds a level of camp to the character without making it seem goofy.

The only thing I don’t understand is those straps around his neck which I think are supposed to be braces but it’s too dark to tell and his arms are in the way.

But he looks good, he was one of my favourites in Descendants 2 and I am thrilled he is back with this look for the third movie.

Gill:

Gil has actually surprised me as while his Descendants 2 look was very suitable for the comic-relief role he had and actually reminded me a lot of the looks in Hook for the lost boys, this is a step up and a more mature version of that.

Looking at the head alone I do see why Jay may not have gone with a bandanna as with the long hair here the two do look alike, the two actors look alike anyway so it makes sense not to confuse the styles too much especially as you’re talking about the sons of Jafar and Gaston who are two completely different characters.

I do believe he is actually bulkier here than he was in Descendants 2 which again evolves his character and makes his resemble his father Gaston more. I will say also, I love the amount of straps he has. It references the fact that in the animated movie during the song Gaston, Gaston chewed a leather belt and spat it out. Leather is always good in my opinion and an obvious choice for villains.

I’m not crazy about his long hair, again I think it’s copying Jay a little bit too much, also I would like to see him with some sort of weaponry particularly if he is still part of Harry or Uma’s crew. Maybe not a gun like his father but a sword or a dagger or something. Uma has magic, Harry has his hook, Gil needs something.

Hades:

Alright so this is the big reveal of Cheyenne Jackson as Hades, we get two photos here to give us a proper look and I will start with the side-view.

Obviously immediately I am focusing on the hair because, my god that is not Hades. The look overall screams punk or rocker to me which, as we’ve seen with the V.Ks, is the style the movies have taken them but even with Maleficent they at least kept in touch with how the original character looked. Here that hair 1) Has way too much product in and 2) Looks ridiculous. I get they’re trying to represent the flaming hair that Hades in animation always has which is obviously not easy to do in live-action but then go with something subtler like Once Upon a Time did, do not tell me Hades is now apparently a punk. I will say they got the colour right and the mohawk effect does look like fire but, hopefully they’ll CG it in the movie but I would prefer Cheyenne Jackson to be bald and just for them to say they’ll add the hair in later.

In the front view the hair doesn’t look as bad but knowing how it looks on the side-view I can’t forgive it. However with the front view we get a better look at the outfit and again it screams punk, Where’s the robe, where’s the smoke, nothing here is giving me Hades, Lord of the Underworld.I will say he does look a lot like what they did with Steve Coogan in Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief but that wasn’t good either and obviously that wasn’t meant to be based on the Disney version and rather Greek Mythologu, but the Disney version is obviously drawing inspiration from Greek Mythology and I am not getting any of that here.

It’s more of a renegade warlock type of look than it is a supposed god of the Underworld. The only good thing about the look is the colour because at least they’re right, the leather coat does kind of answer why Mal’s look is so dark in this movie but surely this isn’t just going to be a question of Mal siding with her father and therefore dressing like him.

Also I can kind of see Cheyenne Jackson and Kristin Chenoweth together in a sitcom or American Horror Story style setup, but as the Lord of the Dead and Mistress of All Evil...I just don’t see those two characters as a thing.

As someone who loves Greek Mythology and the Hades character James Woods portrayed so well, I am not getting any respect for either interpretation in this portrayal. I do think Cheyenne Jackson is the wrong casting choice for the character,

Overall I am not as hyped for these looks as I was for the Descendants 2 first look promos we got, I do think there is some good and surprising good but I do also feel nervous for some of my favourites. It’s not all about the fashion at the end of the day but it is part of what makes this franchise enjoyable.

So those are my thoughts on this first official look at the characters of Descendants 3, if they do release a set for the Auradon kids I will probably do another post to dissect them but until then post your comments on what you think about these looks and if you think the styling of these characters are a key component to these movies? Which are your best and which are your worst? Post your comments and check out more posts.

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cheswirls · 5 years

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tether notes 2/3

pt. 3

i mentioned this in the last part, but i used muroran as basis for veilstone, not abashiri. actually, if you want my opinion, i think shari, hokkaido, is a better depiction of veilstone than abashiri. mostly, i used muroran bc i could find pictures there that were more than just boat-icebreaker-drift ice-boat. abashiri is cold. and full of drift ice. if you need context, it’s level with toronto, canada. a pretty cold place to live. muroran is further south, and it’s also a port city, so i jus used that.

shari looks nicer, but it’s more into the hook of hokkaido (that piece on sinnoh map that jutts out right below battle zone) and not nestled into the mountains, so. mostly it was out.

makino’s cafe/bar is based on the diner in veilstone. so, walk in, counter bar to your left, tables to your right, possibly a happiny underfoot carrying trays of food.

but, compared to the more rustic and colored veilstone, i wanted to depict more of hokkaido city here. so, more rundown, rusted due to sea breeze, older things without much repair. passable, sure, for daily life. but new and extravagant? no. far from.

if makino is so close with luffy, how come she doesn’t know sabo?

simple. she’s not close with luffy. makino has a fulltime job running a diner in veilstone, sinnoh. luffy grew up on the sevii islands, kanto. when he was in sinnoh, he was training with shanks. yeah, sure, they would come by for food, and makino is good friends with shanks, so of course she and luffy have a relationship. but, also at this point where shanks began to bring luffy around, instead of teaching him out in nowhere, sevii islands, they began to keep things secret. luffy was here “just visiting” to anyone who asks, but they wouldn’t seen him much around, not in the isolation shanks trained him in. also also at this point, because i derailed that sentence completely, ace and sabo were already out traveling. it just never came up. makino is friendly with luffy, she knows luffy, but she doesn’t know him, not really.

pokemon hunters is another anime concept i wanted to use, again to make the story more gritty. no evil teams here with world-domination plots, just poachers. pretty standard. still awful, especially if they’re poaching people, now, but nothing as wide-scale as team galactic.

i had so much fun writing ship captain jinbe. i wished i got more of a chance to write his crew, too. at this point i think i had just caught up reading blackbird by milo, and i was hooked on the idea of biker fishman gang and leader jinbe, so i adapted it into ship crew here. praline is there, yes. she’s badass. i said so, you heard it here.

i talked a lot with my big bang partner, and we eventually decided jinbe’s a mix of hoenn and sinnoh descent. so, darker skin, almost polynesian, from hoenn’s more pacific island vibe. dark, curly hair. i drew a picture once? oh, here it is. jus a little sketch. he probably actually comes from hoenn, but he does cargo runs throughout sinnoh now. [i should probably say around, since there arent rly canals thru sinnoh?]

regarding law’s map error, i really jus wanted to reference flower paradise. of course the map he got was a tourist version, so of course it’s gonna include the magical pathway connecting the sinnoh league to an island of flowers. but it doesn’t actually exist, or if it does, it’s not always there, since they sail through the space with ease. just another fun easter egg.

the marsh scene was another i’ve known i wanted since the beginning. i had so much fun drawing the map for it. i actually based the scenes entirely off the map, so while i knew the general direction i wanted it to go in, and that they would run into sabo, the part about wandering into the rain and encountering volcarona spawned while marking the map. crazy how things work, huh?

i think i made the chase move a little too fast, so most of the time out of their 12 hr limit is spent after departing from the marsh, wandering thru route 212. don get me wrong, the marsh scene spans over the course of hours, but its still less time from leaving the ship to leaving sabo than it is to get back to the ship.

the aegislash scene is the first one i conceptualized, of the marsh scene series. introducing law’s team was strategic, especially once i revealed luffy only had four pokemon. it was always meant to be a readers gamble how many law had. at the end of part 3, it’s pretty easy to gauge how many, but still, the surprise of the sixth pokemon in pt 4 is something im still proud of c:

anyway, yes, the first sense of real danger. poachers have no qualms in using their pokemon to harm other people. they’re there for the money, which they get from capturing and caging rare pokemon. who cares if they hurt a few people along the way? who cares if they brutalize them to take a particular pokemon, a-la mr. cleffa sir? law reacts to this very quickly, in part because he’s used to it, as explained in tragic backstory number 2, right behind one-brother-dies-and-the-other-runs-away from protag #2.

actually, i guess the first danger was the wild kadabra, but this is the one in which someone gets hurt! . . . or, worse-hurt, because law’s scratch doesn’t count. luffy’s gash in his shoulder? that’s a big injury. especially when they can’t just stop to treat it, especially when law still has blood on his face from it, especially when they have to go right back to running around the marsh.

and then sabo appears!! i lied, this was the first marsh scene. i drabble-wrote it in my series-of-drabbles-to-add-to-the-outline before i made pt 3′s outline, and then wrote it for real. the aegislash-being-badass-therefore-law-also-by-proxy was the second. one of the first sentences i ever wrote for tether was law realizing the face from luffy’s picture was right before his eyes.

so why do the hunters ignore luffy calling for sabo while running away?

yes, why the no consequences? i realized at this point they were too far away to hear and law too out of it (its law’s pov, still) to figure what they were saying, to i had to play it off. it’s another scene where i almost wrote a few paragraphs from a different perspective [the other two were the tsuru-caesar confrontation and the mr. cleffa dude ft. sabo scene, both of which i had to expand upon by talking, instead of a flashback to show it. i rly went full soul-eater approach here, huh? explaining everything through present means. well. save for law’s backstory, but that’s about the only thing.] but decided not to in the end.

here’s how the scene plays out, full disclosure. law and luffy spot the two hunters. a third person, sabo comes into view. the hunters tell sabo the situation, that they were being chased. law recognizes sabo, luffy does too, and calls out to him, loudly. this causes the hunters to panic, and they tell sabo, there, there’s the people chasing after us. law figures sabo has some secret reason for posing as a hunter and pulls luffy again out of view, not wanting to give him away. all three hunters take off running in the opposite direction. luffy calls out for sabo again, and sabo turns to question the other two, asking which pokemon they stole that was named ‘sabo’. he has a fake name, obviously. they don’t know he’s sabo. before they can figure it out, he derails the topic. but then he slips crossed fingers behind his back at the same time, signaling silently to luffy, who stops calling out.

so, tldr, sabo’s not using his real name while with the hunters and is smart enough to cover his ass from luffy’s mistake.

i wanted law carrying luffy, on their way down the route, to the stormclouds, and i’m pretty sure the one reason i didnt go thru with it is because law’s backpack. and, y’know, luffy being caked in mud.

okay, do. panic attack time. ptsd time. a mix of both, ig. whatever you wanna call it. originally, this scene was going to be a bit different, and happen way earlier in the story. it didnt bc of sinnoh’s lack of fire types [there are only 2 i think, 2 lines i mean, so like 5] and the fact that ace’s team featured none of them. and then i thought, oh, i’ll jus make the same thing happen w sabo, except none of sabo’s team were one of them as well.

originally, it was going to be that law/lu encounter a clan of a specific type of wild fire pokemon. i think for the longest time it was talonflame, not sure anymore. anyway, so it was gonna go that luffy recognizes ace’s former pokemon outta the bunch, and they recognize lu as well, and the two reunite and all that jazz, and meanwhile law has his attack bc the group they encounter are one of the pokemon that tormented him in alola.

and, nope, now i remember why it didnt happen. as much as i hate dof, i had to craft a team for him for plot purposes, and that ended up being a bug team to go w the whole string motif. the problem was i had this scene planned for a looooong time, and it needed to be w a fire type, one of ace’s pokemon. except there are like no fire/bug pokemon, except for volcarona, who wasn’t on ace’s already-planned team at this point. i debated for foreeeeever and finally decided to screw it, and i made it sabo’s unova pokemon. so, instead of getting a unova dragon, in the land of dragons unova, sabo gets a volcarona and ace a darmanitan. all for plot purposes. no sense here. none at all.

[not that it matters, since sabo morphs into a fire trainer anyway after ace dies]

so, after i decided it would be sabos pokemon, the point came back to how they would encounter it. no hordes of wild volcarona in sinnoh. i sadly had to scrap the idea. this is what i came up with instead: volcarona coming to luffy to deliver a letter, and scarring law in the process.

Law has a chocolate bar, because he’s ten and anxious and chocolate seemed good at the time.

-aka my favorite line of the whole entire story!!!

and then law’s backstory time. so!!! for the longest time i was torn between setting the story in sinnoh or alola. this was my big compromise. i wrote a draft-outline for law’s alola backstory before i wrote a real outline for tether as a whole. this was the first part of the story i really wrote. i was done with it before i started pt 1, because i wanted to outline before i started writing.

the thing abt law is that his life is so much of a tragedy. oda writes it so well, to the point where you’re thinking this can’t get any worse and then it gets worse, every time. i wanted to mimic that here. i didn’t do it justice, but i at least tried.

law’s life is filled with mistrust. his whole village dies, he nearly does as well, and so he packs up and runs away, and hides his one pokemon abra because he’s not a registered trainer and he refuses to abandon abra so theres mistrust towards everyone who can turn him in, and everyone who didnt care enough to help with the water crisis. he’s done with sinnoh. so he spends a bit holed up in a library, and once he reads about alola, he’s sold. he’s so mistrustful it’s not a matter of ‘anywhere is better than sinnoh’, its a matter of ‘i can’t end up in another place just like this’. alola is the solution.

except, he’s still mistrustful. so he hides abra, and he hides his money, and he doesn’t speak with anyone, and he leaves the city as soon as he can. he doesn’t know the rules of this place, but abra is all he has. he can’t lose abra. and then things go wrong.

because he’s out of sinnoh, but alola is different. he’s ten, and he’s never had a real pokemon battle, and all the wild pokemon of alola are too eager. he’s ten, and a pangoro attacks and he loses all his supplies on his very first day, because abra’s too exhausted to teleport them away this time. [in hindsight, i did a really bad continuity error here, throughout the entire flashback. it’s thru law’s eyes, so i describe the pokemon he doesn’t know about, and yet sometimes i name the pokemon he really shouldn’t know about. my bad.]

he’s ten, and the only food he finds is being guarded by a giant sumo crab, so he crawls to the other side of the beach and falls asleep on the sand, hungry. he’s ten, and he’s living off berries because money is only so good when you can exchange it, and he’s far away from civilization. he’s ten, and he spends the very last of his money on money for abra, for his only pokemon and his only ally, because going to a pokemon center would mean being seen and asking for a license to verify and its too risky, he can’t risk it.

he’s ten, and he’s hungry, and he has nothing but the abra clutched in his arms and his ripped clothes clinging to his body, and he witnesses a murder. and they catch him in the act, and then he’s stuck, because he shouldn’t have a pokemon so young, and he’s a witness to a crime, and too quickly he’s in a very bad position.

he’s ten, and to keep abra alive, he joins a gang in alola.

he’s ten, and he’s blackmailed into working or risking abra being taken away. he’s ten, and he has morals, and there’s some tasks he won’t do, but the family boss punishes him for it, harshly. he stops having morals. it wouldn’t do him good here.

law turns eleven, and suddenly gang tasks involve pokemon battles. law’s eleven, and doflamingo trains law himself, beating the weakness out of him, burning him, scarring him, terrorizing him because he can, and because law can’t refuse.

law’s eleven when he realizes his picture-perfect alola was nothing but an illusion, because the lack of monopolies and corporations and factories actually had nothing to do with how much the natives cared about their own, or cared at all, about anything. just because alola didn’t have a pokemon league didn’t mean it wasn’t a bad place to be.

he’s eleven when he meets corazon, and finally, finally, gets a breath of fresh air, gets a taste of a person who isn’t there to ridicule him or abuse him. he’s eleven when he meets his first real friend since his sister died, meets someone that finally treats him like a human being. and it doesnt matter that he’s doflamingo’s brother, because he’s kind to law.

law’s eleven and corazon works to repair the damage done by the gang, little by little. he gets law out on an island challenge, and he wanders through melemele and akala and meets kind people and has fun and experiences the real alola. and he realizes, somewhere along the way, that he never wants to go back to the family ever again.

law’s eleven when he realizes he has no choice. because he belongs to doflamingo, because he has to skip out on ula’ula to accomplish a task for the family, because corazon sits there and lets it happen.

law’s eleven when he’s given a pokemon egg, and when he’s given hope.

corazon was going to take care of everything. he was going to get them out, safely. they were going to rescue a captive pokemon. law was going to be free. law was never going to be hurt by the family again.

except, that’s not how it goes. corazon dies. corazon’s pokemon are tortured in order to lure law out. corazon’s pokemon all die for him and law has no option left but to run with all his might, all the way from one tip of ula’ula to the other. and then, because he can’t trust anyone, anyone, law runs away into a desert with no supplies to speak of.

law’s eleven when he comes face to face with the most temperamental tapu in the alola region, and even with all he’s been through, it’s the most scared he’s even been in his entire life. and then, when he comes to, he finds himself stranded in the kalos region. he’s eleven. he goes through all of this and he’s not even a teenager yet.

so, backing up just a bit, you can see how seeing a volcarona is going to invoke some rather strong emotions in law. he panics. he passes out. luffy puts volcarona away, because me might be oblivious on a lot of things, but he can understand the pure terror in law’s eyes.

alright, what else. the letter. of course luffy disavows the letter, he’s luffy, he can’t follow a plan to save his life.

#tether #pt 4 notes whenever i get around to formatting pt 4 #ill link the maps there too #and ill probably throw together a quick timeline too ive been thinkin abt it

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miss-musings · 7 years

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Some wild or not-so-wild predictions about Episode IX (with some TLJ meta/analysis)

So, for the record, these crazy-ass wild predictions (or maybe not so wild???) are based on: 1) evidence of themes, motifs, character development and story arcs from TFA and TLJ; 2) overall story arcs and whatnot from both the Prequel Trilogy and the OrigTrig; 3) other media (TV shows) within the Star Wars universe; 4) other media outside of Star Wars that I feel like share some thematic/character parallels and that I know are very popular among modern audiences; and 5) fan metas that tie into all of this.

So, in no particular order and with plenty of art to break up the text…

And in case this isn’t going to be obvious… SPOILERS FOR THE LAST JEDI!!!

PREDICTION ONE: The Title

Across the 8 Star Wars films we have three possibilities for the way titles are worded: A/The (Adjective) (Noun) ; (Noun) with a verb somewhere in the phrase; (Noun) of the (Noun). So far in this new trilogy, we’ve had the first two. But we haven’t had (Noun) of the (Noun) yet. This has been the case with the third installments of each trilogy: Revenge of the Sith (III) and Return of the Jedi (IV).

I imagine IX will fit this pattern; and, while I doubt it will have “Jedi” or “Sith” in it, I wouldn’t be surprised if it had the word “Balance” in it. Like “Balance of the Force” or something, except that I imagine they might be kind of nervous about using “Force” again in a title so soon, considering they have The Force Awakens and another property The Forces of Destiny.

But, I’d bet money “Balance” is in the title. Maybe not a lot of money. Like $5 or something, but still. I’ll bet money on it. Maybe… “Power of the Balance.” Because Balance has very much been a recurring theme/motif in this trilogy, and I’m 100% certain we’re going there (which we’ll get into more below).

PREDICTION TWO: Character Dynamics

Okay, so for a more general observation of the Core Three Characters of each of our trilogies – Anakin/Obi-Wan/Padme ; Luke/Han/Leia – we had a romantic pairing between two of the three characters (Anakin/Padme ; Han/Leia), and a sibling or pseudo-sibling bond two of three characters (Anakin/Obi-Wan ; Luke/Leia). And the remaining connection of the triangle (Padme/Obi-Wan ; Luke/Han) was more of a friendship than anything else.

Now, looking at our main three characters of this NEW trilogy, I’ve seen a lot of people arguing that it’s Rey/Finn/Poe. No, it’s really not. As much as I like Poe, he’s really more of the Lando or Yoda or Mace Windu of this series. He has an important role, but initially he’s more of a side character (especially considering that he doesn’t really get any character development until TLJ). This is evident in the marketing for TFA and the fact that Poe was supposed to die in the crash on Jakku.

No, Rey, Finn and Kylo are the main three of our story. With that, the bonds between them become more evident: Rey and Kylo are the romantic pairing as we clearly see in TLJ; and Rey and Finn are going to be more of the pseudo-sibling pairing (Sorry, FinnRey, shippers. I enjoy their dynamic but I see it being more platonic.) That will presumably leave Finn and Kylo to one day become friends, although it probably won’t happen in the events of Episode IX.

It’s evident that Rey and Finn deeply care about one another, and while there were hints to a possible romantic pairing between them – like the “cute boyfriend” comment and the “stop holding my hand,” awhich might’ve been done as either comic relief or shipping fodder – I don’t see them getting together unless Kylo dies (which I HIGHLY doubt, and we’ll get into more below).

Finn is the first person who ever cared about Rey and treated her like a real person, like family. That’s partly why she’s so attached to him; that and he’s just generally a good guy. Likewise, Rey was the first person to believe in Finn, and it’s obvious that she means a lot to him. They’re the first real connection they made after they escaped their respective shitty lives (scavenging on Jakku and working for the FO). But Finn only ever calls her his friend, and he and Rey never exchange any dialogue in TLJ. He hasn’t really talked to her since Starkiller Base, before he fell into his coma; they’ve both seen and done a lot since then. They’re really not the same people that they were on Jakku, and while they will always care about each other, their lives are moving in different directions to a certain degree.

Anyway, sorry that was long way of saying: Rey and Finn aren’t getting together; Rey and Kylo are getting together. At least romantically. I imagine Rey and Finn will still be a big part of each other’s lives at the trilogy’s end.

PREDICTION THREE: Length of the Time Skip

I doubt it will be shorter than six months, but I don’t think it’ll be more than three years. We need enough time for the Resistance to have built up their forces again, but not so long that I think Hux will have overthrown Kylo Ren (because it was very obvious that he’s not at ALL pleased with Kylo as Supreme Leader).

A year or a year-and-a-half seems pretty reasonable. Any more than that, and I think you’re going to have to explain why the hell Hux hasn’t killed Kylo Ren or why either the Resistance or FO hasn’t found out about the Force Bond (because I definitely think that’ll be making an appearance).

PREDICTION FOUR: Basic Plot Outline

On that note, here’s how I think the movie might go. We’ll get into the specifics of some of these later.

Since taking over as Supreme Leader, Kylo Ren has been mostly brooding. He doesn’t give a lot of orders, but mostly kind of lets Hux run things. He’s so incredibly conflicted, given everything that happened in TLJ. He is not at all stable emotionally or spiritually. He shuts himself in his chambers and doesn’t do much but wait for the Force Bond to connect him with Rey. They don’t really say anything to each other, even though both of them want to but can never find the words. Or something like that.

(EDIT: I could’ve sworn I put this next prediction in my original draft, but I guess not. Oh, well. Adding it back in now.) Leia’s death will be shortly before the events of this movie. In fact, it’ll probably be mentioned in the opening Title Crawl. News of her death or the feeling of his mother being gone (as he might sense it through the Force) will cause Kylo to break routine and leave his quarters to go on a solo trip to some location that reminds him of his mom. Alderaan is gone, so maybe wherever Leia and Han raised him?? As long as it wasn’t one of those planets that Starkiller blew up. Wherever. It’ll be somewhere that reminds him of his mom.

(EDIT:) Side note: I’m not sure what will cause Leia’s death. She might’ve died in battle. That’d at least be badass. But losing her husband and twin brother within a week of each other might’ve taken a strain on her physically and emotionally, much like what happened to Carrie Fisher’s mom, Debbie Reynolds, IRL. But, I think death in battle would be more fitting. Although, if that’s the case, Kylo won’t have ordered it.

As Kylo is visiting this site connected to his mom, Rey will either be on Jakku or Tattooine – delving into her own origins (visiting her parents’ graves in the junker desert) or into Luke’s/Anakin’s and trying to learn more about the Force. She will have constructed a new lightsaber: either one that’s totally unique to her (maybe like a staff size?), or one that uses half of the kyber crystal from the Skywalker Lightsaber (and Ben will use the other half for his saber at the very end, after he’s redeemed).

While they are both alone and on their personal journeys, the Bond will activate and they will finally say something to each other for the first time since TLJ. It won’t be much, and there will still be some anger/resentment/hostility between them, but it will be poignant and emotional. Rey will probably say something about how his mom never gave up on him, etc.

At some point while Kylo/Ben is visiting this location that reminds him of his mom, he will probably hear some audio of his mother speaking to him through the Force (they might use an earlier clip of Carrie/Leia saying “Ben” or something, they way they used the Alec Guiness/Old Ben dialogue in Rey’s Forceback).

Luke will appear as a Force-ghost to either Kylo or Rey or both at some point during the film, but this point (when they’re both on their respective journeys of nostalgia) seems the most likely. He’ll probably spout off some exposition-heavy dialogue (possibly giving Rey her third official lesson, if they decide the TLJ deleted scenes aren’t canon), and then tell Rey she’ll have to face Kylo again.

In the meantime, the Resistance has been cooking up some big plan to take down the FO’s most recent base/big gun/whatever. Poe is now in charge of the Resistance since Leia’s death. Finn and Rose are potentially a couple now, and they’re also major Resistance leaders.

Either the Resistance will win some major victory or the FO will start to fracture as Hux takes more power from Kylo. Something will have to kick Kylo back into full Renperor mode. Something will threaten his position of power and he will feel as though he has to retaliate. But, Hux won’t be killed off, either in battle or by Kylo, until the third act of the movie.

There will be a gigantic space battle in either the second or third act. Poe will probably be the one to kill Hux, if Kylo doesn’t.

Finn will likely find out about the Force Bond, if Rey hasn’t told him during the Time Skip.

If there’s an element where the Resistance has to send one of their own to infiltrate the FO base, Rey will do it. Finn will initially volunteer at first, but Rey says she has to face Kylo and give the Resistance its best chance to win.

Somehow Rey and Kylo will face each other in the final act of the film, likely after she’s sought him out on a FO base. Or they find each other on the battlefield.

Since the end of TLJ, Rey has gotten considerably stronger in the Force, especially her combat abilities. She and Kylo will be a literal even match. They know each other so well and are both so strong that almost every attack is ineffective. I really HOPE (not predict, but hope) that this fight will either have some kind of a dance feel to it or go back to Episode IV, when it was an homage to old samurai films. Like when they’re both trying to do one-shot kill moves on each other, but keep blocking it.

Okay… now as to how the fight will end… I truly believe that it will end in a draw with both of them being hurt to the point where they can’t fight any more, probably with inverse/opposite/complementary/mirroring injuries. The injuries will be major, but not life-threatening.

While they’re laying there, not fighting any more and experiencing a shared/parallel pain, they’ll both vocalize their feelings for one another. And probably kiss. And while they kiss, they have Force visions on how to resolve this conflict: to balance the Force by becoming Gray Jedi (Force-wielders who use both the light and the dark sides, in balance) TOGETHER.

Kylo will proposition to Rey to join him as a Gray Jedi, which she will accept.

Once they realize this, the two will go back to their respective sides, and figure out some kind of compromise/system where neither the Resistance nor the FO exists, but some kind of balanced government system where everyone feels represented and no one is oppressed.

Everyone celebrates the creation of this new system, the destruction of the old system(s), and Rey and Kylo leave their friends to become tandem Gray Jedi Masters who will teach the next generation of Force users all about the full scope of the Force. They’ll also totally become a couple and maybe we’ll see a Force-vision of the future, where they have kids or something.

Together, Ben and Rey will have brought balance to the Force and the galaxy at large!

EXPLANATION TIME!!!

Kylo letting Hux run most things would be a good reason for Hux not having killed him yet. And Kylo brooding rather than being a bad dude makes a lot of sense if he’s going to be redeemed and live. And it’s clear from the effort that’s gone into Kylo Ren’s character that he WILL be redeemed, and because we’ve already done the Redeemed Hero Dies route (Vader), Kylo will get to live, albeit probably scarred/injured/handicapped or something. He can’t do TOO much more evil stuff or otherwise he’ll be considered TOO unredeemable for average audiences. Killing Han, killing a bunch of innocent people and Resistance combatants, and trying to kill Luke are all pretty unredeemable, but eh. He killed Snoke, and Rey, Luke and Leia all believe in his goodness. Seeing his conflict early on in Episode IX will clue the audience in on his being redeemed by the end of the movie.

I’m basing a lot of this on Zuko’s character arc from the Avatar: The Last Airbender series and Sasuke from the Naruto universe (which we’ll talk about more in a second).

Rey’s arc, much like Luke’s in Episode VI, will be somewhat overlapping with the main War plot, but will ultimately take place parallel to it. Luke was on a journey of discovering himself, the Force and helping Anakin Skywalker to redeem himself. Rey, likewise, is on a journey of discovering herself, the Force and helping Ben Solo to redeem himself. Her main story will intersect with Finn/Poe/Rose/the Resistance’s, as Luke’s did with Han/Leia/Chewie/the Rebellion’s, but it will ultimately take place mostly separated from them.

With Carrie gone, they are going to have to have some kind of carry-over from the OrigTrig, and Luke as a Force-Ghost makes the most sense. He’ll do the Ben Kenobi role of getting the main characters to fight each other and figure out whatever the Force is trying to tell them. Because, as a Force-Ghost, Luke’s consciousness is one with the Force, or whatever; so he knows exactly what needs to happen for Balance to be achieved.

There will have to be something plot-wise to make Kylo snap out of his vulnerable state and back into his Renperor self because we’re going to need tension that he might kill Rey in their final duel, or at least destroy the Resistance. That way their final battle will have higher stakes.

Rey’s Force powers have leaned more toward the Sensing/Emotive side. Her first “awakening” is the Force-back, but even before that, she’s first aware of being called by the Force (the Lightsaber). She then figures out how to turn Kylo’s Force-sensing interrogation technique back on him, and senses his greatest fear. She also figures out how to use the Jedi Mind Trick, which she will ABSOLUTELY use again in Episode IX, and it’s only later that we see her using more of the physical attributes of the Force (pulling stuff toward you, combat enhancement, etc.). Rey is more naturally drawn toward sensing things via the Force, like the Tree, the Island (in her dreams) and the Lightsaber, and when she senses the Force as whole and then the Dark Side (the cave) in TLJ. So, during the Time Skip, she will have trained in learning how to use the Force to enhance her combat abilities, because it always felt to me like those were earned from her harsh life on Jakku rather than something inherent she had because she was Force-sensitive. (I mean, she didn’t even realize she was Force-sensitive until the Lightsaber scene on Takodana; but she’d been fighting off assholes all her life.)

I wouldn’t be surprised if the Force Bond is exposed to either the FO, the Resistance or both. This might be why Hux tries to usurp Kylo; and I doubt the Resistance will take Rey’s connection to Kylo all too well, considering that he tortured Poe and almost killed Finn (EDIT: and they might blame him for Leia’s death). Rey might make up for this by excusing herself from the main action of the War and offering to take down Kylo alone.

Now, what’s all this about the Gray Jedi and bringing “balance to the Force”?

(EDIT: Linking to the Wookieepedia article on “Gray Jedi” here.)

So, this is what all the eight movies have been leading up to – the prophecy that Anakin was supposed to fulfill. At the end of VI, the Sith (Vader and Palpitine) die and only one Jedi (Luke) survives to pass on what he has learned. This is not balance. At the time, we didn’t know about the whole prophecy thing and the OrigTrig was just about the good guys winning and the bad guys losing. But, over time, Star Wars has evolved to show us that this world – like ours – is a lot more GRAY. That’s what the Clone Wars series was about; that’s what Rebels (as far as I know) has been about; and that’s what the PT was sort of hinting at. That’s what THIS new trilogy has been hinting at, especially with the Finn/Rose subplot in TLJ. (EDIT: Which I wrote a whole meta analyzing and defending the importance of that subplot. Read it here.)

That’s not to say the FO hasn’t committed atrocities and the Resistance isn’t made up of people who have suffered and want better lives. But, as we saw with Finn, there’s a possibility that Stormtroopers are good people who don’t like what they’re being told to do. And, as was hinted at in TLJ, there are plenty of people who don’t like the Resistance. Because, in a war, no side is all good or all bad.

The whole Star Wars franchise kicked off as WWII In Space! But, since WWII, we’ve entered several conflicts where we (the U.S.) weren’t always in the right and the enemy wasn’t always in the wrong. There’s a TON of gray area in our conflicts now.

Anyway, this is all a very long way of saying that the OT’s understanding of the Light Side and the Dark Side isn’t well managed. As we saw with Luke at the end of VI, he let his anger, hatred and rage against Vader flow, but he didn’t become evil. He stopped himself, and realized that Vader was much more like him than he previously wanted to admit.

But, then in the PT, we see that the Jedi’s belief system is very lop-sided. They can NEVER let their emotions get the better of them. They have to be stoic, mindful, “celibate” (more or less), and detached from the world around them. They are encouraged to be compassionate, but not to love or become attached to people. This is a philosophy that isn’t going to fly well among modern audiences.

(EDIT: There’s a really great video Pop Culture Detective did on this very topic today. Linking to it here.)

Like with the War side, the answer is that we (the audience) are something in between. We do sometimes let our emotions get the better of us, which CAN be a bad thing sometimes, but not always (as “Inside Out” taught us, it’s unhealthy to lock certain feelings away). But, at the same time, most people aren’t evil and hate people so much that they want to destroy them.

So, the answer for The Force side of Star Wars is a balance: a coexisting of the extremes and the meeting of the two halves (Kylo and Rey). In TLJ, Luke’s big thing is that the Light Side WILL exist without the Jedi; and that the Force is ALL ABOUT A BALANCE: life/death, light/dark, heat/cold, peace/violence, etc. The Jedi is a RELIGION that used the Force, but there are plenty of other Force-users in this universe who aren’t Jedi or Sith (like Ahsoka Tano or Chirrut from Rogue One). The Gray Jedi can be the religious practice (the way of life) of Kylo and Rey. They can use both sides of the Force without being overcome by one or the other, by keeping them in a balance. I don’t know exactly how this would work, as I haven’t read TOO extensively into this topic, but I know it’s possible as I believe there were some Gray Jedi in the Legends Universe. I suppose it might be a bit like the Guardians of the Galaxy (another popular Disney property) – Kylo and Rey wouldn’t be all bad (because then they’d be evil) or all good (because then they’d be boring), but a little bit of both or something in between.

The happy ending to this entire saga isn’t about the Light snuffing out the Dark, the good guys killing all the bad guys, because the whole idea is that the Force and the world needs to be brought into balance. As much as we want the heroes to win, we also want the ending to be reflective of our human nature – both how we succeed and how we fail. This Gray Jedi ending would be reflective of that and bring the whole saga to a nice end.

I mean they wouldn’t have put a fucking YIN-YANG SYMBOL in the Meditation Pool on Ach-To if the idea behind the trilogy wasn’t about bringing the Force into balance. I wonder if it’s a good thing Rey took those ancient Jedi texts, because maybe they hint at if/how the Ancient Jedi (not the ones in the PT) were more in balance in the Force than our PT Jedi were.

We see this nicely encapsulated into Rey and Kylo as characters. Rey who embodies the Light, but has plenty of darker tendencies (like getting mad, charging at Snoke in a fit of rage and aggression); and Kylo who embodies the Dark, but has plenty of lighter tendencies (like telling Rey to detach herself from her past and let it go). They are a literal fucking YIN-YANG SYMBOL as people, side by side. But combined and intertwined… if you put a Yin-Yang symbol in wet paint on paper, and then mixed it together, what would you get?

A gray circle.

Gray Jedi is the answer, people. No question about it. At least in my mind.

Now, about the fight. Why do I think Rey and Kylo will have to wound one another and kiss?

Well, the draw/wound thing is something I stole from the Naruto universe.

For those of you who are unfamiliar… the main character Naruto (on the left) is very much the “light side” of his universe. His rival Sasuke (on the right, and who has a redemption arc similar to what we’ve seen of Kylo’s so far) is very much the “dark side.” There’s a point where they get sun and moon symbols on their respective hands, and each holds half of the same power source, although they manifest it differently based on their respective abilities/personalities.

Now, the entire series is built-up to this final showdown between the two. Naruto is not trying to kill Sasuke, but needs to stop him, because Sasuke IS trying to kill Naruto and bring an end to things/people Naruto loves. And, it physically ends in a draw. The two lose their dominant arms: Naruto loses his right; Sasuke, his left. Their wounds are a literal mirror of each other (see below). And in that shared pain, they find an understanding, and Sasuke decides not to kill Naruto but to come back over to the “good” side (more or less), to stop being a murderous asshole, and to start atoning for his crimes. (So, in a way, Naruto wins the fight on an emotional level, as he brings Sasuke over to his side.)

That’s very much where I see this Rey/Kylo thing going. There are so many parallels between these four characters and their respective arcs, it’s ridiculous.

With Kylo and Rey, each of them will be trying to kill the other so their respective side will win the War. A draw (with a major non-fatal injury) is the only way I see this fight ending in a way that will bring them into balance with each other and the Force at large.

Also, we’ve never had a movie lightsaber fight end in a draw before, to my recollection: Darth Maul killed Qui-Gon; Obi-Wan killed Darth Maul; Count Dooku injured/beat Obi-Wan and Anakin (I guess he ran away from Yoda, so you might count that); Count Dooku injured/beat Obi-Wan in the rematch and then Anakin killed Count Dooku; Obi-Wan injured/beat Anakin; the Emperor forced Yoda to run away; Obi-Wan allowed Vader to kill him; Vader beat/injured Luke; Luke beat/injured Vader in their rematch; Rey injured/beat Kylo; and there wasn’t really an actual lightsaber fight in TLJ.

It would fit the whole “balance” motif for neither to win or lose the fight, but instead the two come to an understanding and compromise.

Now. The Kiss.

Why do these two little fuckers have to kiss, IMO?

Well, do you all remember the Disney Channel TV Show “That’s So Raven”? The main character (Raven) is a psychic; and there’s an episode where she meets a male psychic. And, while they have 0 romantic interest in each other, there’s a point where they continue escalating their physical proximity/touching, because it allows them to better use their powers. There’s a point where they have to kiss in order to find Raven’s BFF and some other people.

And, as we saw with Rey and Kylo in TLJ, these two are oozing with sexual chemistry and Force power. I mean if they see each other’s futures whenever they touch hands, what the hell are they going to see when they kiss? (Or if they ever had sexy times… but this is a family-friendly movie, so that’s not going to happen on screen; the kiss is the closest we’re going to get).

I mean, c’mon you guys… everything we saw in TLJ is building up to them kissing and the Force coming into balance as a result of their combined lives/knowledge/destinies or whatever.

Also, as others have pointed out, they’re not going to kill off Ben Solo. The Skywalker family is too much of a commodity, and there’s so much possibility in leaving him alive and with Rey. I mean think of all the spinoff movies and TV shows we could have of them and their kids??? (EDIT: Just like how the Legends Universe focused in part on the kids of Luke, Han and Leia.) Rey is too well-loved by the fans to kill her off, and Ben/Kylo has gotten too much character development to not get redeemed. His kids with Rey would sell toys and tickets and subscriptions like crazy.

So, why do I think Ben/Kylo will proposition Rey, instead of the other way around (which would seem more natural)?

Well, in TLJ, each saw the other turning over to their side in a vision of the future. Rey says that Kylo won’t bow before Snoke and will turn, and she’ll help him. Kylo says that when the time comes Rey will turn and join him.

Now, from a physical standpoint, these visions were true after the Praetorian Guard fight. Kylo physically turned against Snoke and killed him, but emotionally was still attached to the Dark Side. Rey did physically join Kylo by his side in fighting the Guards but was still emotionally attached to the Light Side, or really, the Resistance. Neither ACTUALLY came over to the other’s side. Kylo didn’t want to join Rey politically, and she didn’t want to join him spiritually.

But now, they’re going to find that compromise where they meet in the middle both politically and spiritually. Kylo was right in TLJ: the old THINGS (political organizations, religious ways) should die, but Rey was right in that the PEOPLE should be saved. The only way to achieve both goals is to end the War, the FO, the Resistance, the Sith and the Jedi… and create something new. A compromise that works for everyone and brings the much-needed balance to the Force and the galaxy.

Each of them WILL join the other. Rey’s vision will have to be right that Kylo will turn from the Dark Side, and Kylo’s vision of her turning from the Light and joining him will have to be true as well.

So, like any proper proposal of marriage/political alliance/spiritual alignment, I think Ben should be the one to suggest it. That way, we the audience can see the fruition of his redemption arc, etc. (Also, we have to come full-circle on the Space!Mr.Darcy thing.)

Anyway, I’ve now rambled on about this for QUITE long enough. Just wanted to throw out some ideas and see what you guys think and if you have predictions of your own. (EDIT:) And, to quote Preston Jacobs, “I’m probably wrong about half of this.” There’s plenty of hints of where the franchise is going, but I’m sure there are some details I will have gotten wrong. Which is fine. This can be my headcanon for the next two years.

I guess there’s nothing else to say other than, “May the Force be with you, always.” Cheers, guys! And thanks for reading!

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bethygauw · 7 years

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Enstars Magazine vol.2: Interview with Development Staff - Unit Concept

From Enstars Magazine vol.2 Knights, released in September 2016.

This segment writes comments from the staff on their image of each unit in Yumenosaki Academy. Includes 10 units, and Switch got a longer part because they just got recently introduced at that time.

Staff interviewed:

M.T: Chief Planner and Contents Director. Person in-charge of overall supervision for elements such as contents direction, world setting, scenario, outfit designs among others.

M.H: Art Director. On top of being the art director for illustrations, they are also in charge of the Live2D.

K.M: Lead Illustrator. In charge of character designing, copyright illustrations, and line art for 4* and 5* illustrations, among other duties.

Note: I had to take pictures quickly before I flew out and didn’t take proper ones for the post, so I will add more pictures when I get back.

1. Switch

Staff comment: We want to give you moments that become “switches” that bring forth all sorts of changes.

From M.T.:

For Switch, I look at the unit’s theme color, the number of members, and the image color of each member. I chose the color that won’t clash with any of the other units, green, and at first I thought of motifs such as plants and fairies. On the other hand, because there are three of them and they have traffic light colors, in the end I included their individual color into their unit outfits and made them into their hair color. Also, because we were also planning to include one of the Five Oddballs, we had their key motif to be something more fantastical than Wataru’s “magic tricks”, hence “magic”, and that’s how the unit’s themes expanded even further.

In the creation process, we had challenges and there were points we were fixated with. To a certain degree, I already had a fixed image when I passed the character description onto the person in charge of the character’s visual roughs. But we spent a lot of time in designing the unit outfit, adapting the word “sporty” into “idol outfits”. Valkyrie had a dark orientation throughout and their chuunibyou elements were easy to design, but we felt that it was hard to realize the opposite into shape, which is presenting something in a fresh and new way. For unit outfits, they have balanced elements to them, so for future event outfits we hope the different themes and motifs will demonstrate their charms from a different angle.

As for their personalities, like giving muscles to the skeleton, further depth was given to the character description by Akira-san. So for the details on their interaction and what they think of the other characters, we’d like the players to read the stories and see for themselves. Switch may give off a fresh feel as a newly formed unit like Trickstar and units with first-years focus, but I hope it becomes a unit that, more than anyone else, produces chemical reaction with all sorts of units. We want to give you moments that become “switches” that bring forth all sorts of changes. Maybe it’s amongst Switch themselves, maybe it’s from another unit towards Switch, maybe it’s from Switch to other units.

From K.M:

I’d like to talk about things to note about in their visuals. To start off, Tsumugi. It would be his frizzy hair, and his sweater that has overly long sleeves*. We didn’t want his hair to make him look too gloomy, so we had his posture look sharp and his accessories neat. He wears glasses and has fringe, so his double eyelids tend to stay hidden. But we made the depression in his eye socket more pronounced so that his expressions are easier to interpret and his gentle atmosphere can be brought out. Only Sakuma brothers, Shinobu, Mika, and Natsume don’t have this depression, while everyone else’s shapes differ slightly from one to another.

*It’s something moe, also called moesode (lit. moe sleeves).

Next is Natsume. We have a lot of characters with slanted eyes, so I made sure to make a different shape. Hokuto and Souma have almond-shaped eyes that are typical of that of Japanese, but the area around Natsume’s eyes leave a showy impression closer to Wataru and Shu’s. To give him more of a magician’s vibe, the eyeline at the corner of his eye is thick and curved. His expressions were tuned to show confidence and staggering atmosphere.

Sora’s hair has an unusual clumpy feel for the game, so I made sure to fit him into the game without ruining the atmosphere. I didn’t want him to look too young, so I made sure that he doesn’t only feel fluffy but also cool. There are already a number of students who are wearing parkers, so I chose slightly thick material. The strings around the neck are also thick to bring out his individuality. His triangular eyebrows and acorn-shaped eyes are to be noted.

During character designing and creation of event CGs, we pretty much already solidified their unique traits in terms of outer appearances the moment we received the three’s character proposal. But we also paid close attention to ensure there are enough differences between them and the already existing characters, so that they blend into the series. Everyone has unique hairstyle, so we’re really careful about adjustments of things such as the thickness of the hair tufts and the way we draw the hair ends. Tsumugi has a heavy perm and dark hair colour, he wears glasses, and he has unique traits that are not what you’d call a hot guy in general. So I thought about how to make him likened by many while still keeping these individualities and adjusted the details quite a lot. As you may have guessed from his character description, Tsumugi is not your typical hottie, but he has a slightly refined touch, delicate and seems kind. That’s the image I was striving for, hence the visual’s end result. I want to hear people say, “I like this part of Tsumugi!” so I was fixated on things like the nuance of his hair, his big and sinewy hands that show anxious gestures, a posture that gives him a high-class impression, and his accessories. We made his event CG before the script was ready, so it was difficult to picture his emotions from a specific scene. His unbloomed CG is a tragic scene, but despite being in despair, he performs on top of the stage, creating something akin to a beautiful painting. I hope it can give you such impression. His pose too—so that I can create a shadow on his face, I lifted his arm. The sense of negativity is to attract your attention to his expression even more. But he’s still part of fine, so I kept in mind to keep the movement elegant and brilliant. Conversely, his bloomed CG pictures him casting a gentle magic that gives happiness to people, as if expressing Tsumugi’s original nature.

As for Natsume, finding the balance was difficult. For example, his hair is divided into fringe and the back side, and its asymmetrical sidelocks are its unique trait. I wanted to let out a mysterious feel so I made sure that he makes complacent smiles. For the event CGs, I first drew Natsume then Tsumugi, but it was difficult to come up with compositions and poses that express the feel of both idols and magicians. I watched magical girl shows for young girls and movies and I was able to grasp the image of scenes showing how “magic is cast as if they bestow dreams to others.” When the curtains are lifted, Natsume would face the audience and click his fingers and release the first magic. That’s my image for Natsume’s CG, while Tsumugi would spin* some magic with his fingertips. Even with Natsume’s 2☆ card, I wanted people to be able to tell at a glance that he’s mysterious and gives off magical feel, and I had a hard time coming up with the pose.

*”tsumugidasu” which is usually used for “spin a tale”; “weave a story”

2. Trickstar

A unit that is close by your side and genuine, a unit that’s very high school boys-like.

M.T.: I think compared to other units, the combination of the four in Trickstar is the closest to the feel of high school boys. All members are second-years, they clash with their true feelings, they make stupid jokes, their interactions are like skits between the silly man and the straight man. You don’t get to see that kind of thing from anyone else that often. Trickstar’s charm is that compared to any other unit they’re the closest to your side, and you can easily build a sense of familiarity towards them.

M.H.: In their key visual, each of them is riding on a star. During the creation process of the key visual, we the staff discussed among ourselves what kind of unit Trickstar is. I think Trickstar is a unit that would burst out into the open and is lively. They would ride on the stars and would probably say, “It may be an unstable [ride] but we’re going to challenge ourselves on various things.” I made their visual packed with vigor that is characteristic of them.

3. Fine

Their theme is rulers who have the position to command others.

M.T.: It’s a unit that rules from the top of Yumenosaki Academy, so I think they have a ruler-like personality and confidence. Hence, they may seem to stand on formalities, or rather, there is a certain distance between the members. Compared to Trickstar, the members may not have a single common thought.

Fine’s outfit has the motif of a ruler’s, at any rate, Eichi, the leader’s image is strongly brought out. We also added an element of music, and they also have a theme of rulers who are in the position to command others. Also, we use angel’s wings as a motif in their unit logo. The way they put pressure on other students from above is perhaps like them taking the role of angels who relay messages from God, in a sense. Their unit colors are white and gold, and an angel’s wings are also pure white, aren’t they? It’s also a color of nobility, brilliance, and purity, so I chose it as their theme color.

4. UNDEAD

Their charm is the gap between their on-stage selves and their usual selves.

M.T.: UNDEAD’s image colors are black and purple, and their charm point is their wild feel like that of a beast. They’re a unit where we can show off sexiness the most. They’re wild, but rather than lunging at other units, it’s more like the way they appeal themselves as idols is thorny. So the members are actually tender-hearted, to put it in another way, there’s a rather huge gap between their on-stage selves and their usual selves. The way they behave towards their classmates and their juniors or seniors is distinguished properly.

Regarding their outfits, we thought something rock and black would be nice after all, so we chose leather jackets. Fundamentally for leather jackets, long sleeves predominate, and when I designed it in an orthodox way, it felt like they were wearing so much (laugh). It was also because the game’s development period was not in summer, so even if they’re a sexy unit their skin exposure is on the lower side. If we had made it half-sleeved, maybe it would have been something like PirateFes.

5. Knights

The appearance of the absent leader, Leo, was undecided.

M.T.: With the models as the top batters, everyone in Knights have a pretty appearance and gives out the air that they would protect someone, just like a knight. We use chess as their motif, so “pieces” are reflected in their relationships and the way they act, in some way.

The fact that the leader was absent was part of the setting ever since we were at the stage of unit creation, but whether the leader would make an appearance or not was not clearly decided. It was like, if an opportunity arises as the game moved along [then we’d introduce the leader].

When Leo was introduced as a new character, I wondered about what kind of position would an idol get the most attention. In the end, I thought it would be the moment the absent leader comes back. Originally, Akira-san’s suggestion also became the trigger of how he was created, “It would be interesting if there’s this kind of character.” He’s a character that lets you feel the connection in the Ensemble series.

6. Ryuseitai

M.T.: As a sentai group, each member of Ryuseitai is doing whatever they want, so compared to the usual sentai group they have a bond that is somewhat different and I think that’s interesting. There are no second-years, only first- and third-years. So there is somewhat distance in their relationships, which is also unique to them.

Every position has their own color, so I don’t have too much trouble figuring out their event outfits, however transformation suits like in Supernova was tough. I asked myself if this design would let them move as I created it.

M.H.: For Ryuseitai’s key visual, I wanted to make it so that their unique traits can be spotted with just one picture. We were told that their part in the main story was like a comic band, so I wanted to bring out not only hero-like feel, but also a little bit of them joking around. In the first proposal of the robot, Midori was the son of the grocery store so we were going to make the cabbage transform, but in the end we decided on eggplant and thus it became what we have now (laugh). To tell the truth, we were also thinking of another form where the robot is separated into pieces.*

*I’m actually not sure about the reference to this whole part, please let me know if I made a mistake.

7. Ra*bits

Nazuna is the one who pulled the other three along, who doesn’t know left and right yet.

M.T.: Ra*bits is also a unit composed of first- and third-years, just like Ryuseitai, but they have a different kind of relationship. The only third-year, Nazuna, demonstrates proper leadership, but he also has cuteness that blends in with the first years. A point to be noted is that everyone is “cute”. There are no less than three first-years who are starting out to become idols, and they don’t have a vision of what it’s like to be an idol just yet, so something to highlight is their development within the stories. Each of them would sell themselves in an adorable way while bringing out their own individuality—as a boy, they may be against it, but I hope we’ll be able to illustrate that kind of conflict. Their first-year peer, Tori, would use his cuteness on purpose (laugh), but those three are not so self-aware—it’s more natural.

I designed their outfit by making a sailor’s uniform become idol-like. The only ones who get to wear knee-length pants are Ra*bits (laugh).

8. 2wink

They shoulder a dilemma only twin brothers would have.

M.T.: 2wink are twins so the bond between them is strong, but what they think and what they aim for is different… They disagree and are unable to fit into each other, and they shoulder a dilemma only brothers would have. From the start they're already experienced in street performance, so they’re not shy in front of people, and they understand how to show themselves off. I think a little bit of that mastery is their unit’s charm. They would guide other units and give them advice. They are dependable first-years.

M.H.: Among all Yumenosaki Academy units, I think 2wink is the sportiest. The hue on their outfits somehow gives of a feel of pointedness, which becomes their theme*. They are a duo, so they present a challenge different from other units. How far should they match and where should we make them different is a point of consideration that always puts us at a loss every time. But that being said, if you just look at their expressions, I think we are able to make it so that you’re able to tell which one is Hinata and which one is Yuta.

*I’m also unsure about the nuance for this, sorry. I think it’s the way they’re being sarcastic, but not so spiteful inside. Most of the time. The original word used for “pointedness” is 毒っけ.

9. Akatsuki

They have masculine toughness and grace, but the three’s distance are that of a family’s.

M.T.: Akatsuki is the only unit with traditional Japanese elements, so their unique traits are the least blurry. Their theme color is red, and while they are substantial and solid as the academy’s number two, there’s also passion hidden within each member. They have that kind of image. During the initial stages, they were powerful people with masculine toughness and grace, but after Akira-san had a hand in them, their role became very clear. The distance between them are close, and I think you can see their strong bond like that of a family.

As for the outfits, it’s a combination of kimono, pants, and boots, which makes a good seasoning comprising traditional Japanese elements and idols.

Also, in their key visual, that becomes their first illustration, they used fans and traditional umbrellas instead of mics which bring out their showiness. This can only be done by Akatsuki. As for Souma, it’s very like him to bring around his sword during his idol activities as well.

10. Valkyrie

The unit’s motifs are “dolls” and “strings”.

M.T.: I think there’s still a lot of mysteries to unveil about Valkyrie’s relationship with other units. We will create more as we discuss with Akira-san, so please look forward to it.

Valkyrie’s motifs were already decided since the beginning: dolls and strings. “Pulling the strings” also connects to the relationship between the members. The antique motif is not really used in regards to other units, but the colors red and black are used a lot, so when I was thinking how I can bring out a different mood, I thought steampunk would make a good compatibility, so we decided to go in that direction. It’s a unit that was created later, so I included motifs that carry a meaning from the get go.

As for their outfits, Shu is the handicraft club’s captain so we chose laces and so on. So elaborate ornaments predominate.

#ensemble stars #enstarsmagz #worldnavi #switch #trickstar #fine #undead #knights #ryuseitai #ra*bits #2wink #akatsuki #valkyrie #staff

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austencello · 5 years

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You have saved this City - Arrow Music Notes 7x22

The season finale concludes the conflict between Oliver and Emiko, the young Team Arrow saves the city in the future finishing with a beautiful and heartbreaking time with Oliver, Felicity, and baby Mia before Oliver leaves to save the universe.

Emiko and Oliver - breaking the cycle

After stopping the bioweapon virus from completely wrecking the city as well as as escaping the police who believed the team was responsible for the terroist attack, Oliver and Emiko have a final confrontation in Palmer Tech, the former Queen Consolidated. Emiko’s strings, percussion and alarm-like electronic sound plays as Oliver arrives: “I’ve been waiting for you.” As they face off, violins play a slow version of the Arrow theme and hammered dulcimer joins in as Oliver tells her that he was angry at her for letting their father die and sending him on a path that included so many losses. The Arrow string patterns and her string and brass motif alternates as they fight each other. His hero horn theme plays as he tells her that her allegiance to the 9th circle killed her mother as did her hatred for their father. He admits that their father drove her away as a faster version of “I forgot who I was” (1x05) plays in the strings and then he tells her that together they can be better. “I forgot who I was” is the theme for Oliver and his family: Moira, Thea, William and Emiko. It speaks to the lies and consequences that gave them so much heartbreak but also of the deep love and loyalty Oliver has to his family. There is nothing more important to him than that. This theme played in 7x10 as he discovered that his father had another family with Emiko. Even after Emiko tried to kill him several times, determined to take down the Queen family legacy, he is determined to give her one more chance to redeem herself and turn away from hatred and vengeance, just as he was given that chance.

The 9th circle shows up to kill Oliver and Emiko chooses to fight with him instead of against him. In the process, she is wounded and as she dies, she apologizes with the background of guitar harmonics (an instrument of Oliver’s since the pilot) admitting that she wanted to be a Queen. He couldn't save her physically but she did have a change of heart, warning him to keep his family safe from the 9th circle. Oliver’s hero theme plays once more as he escapes the exploding building.

The future legacy

In the future, all the new team members are surrounded by Zeta soldiers and it looks bleak until one of them (Connor) gives Mia a knife and then she fights back as the her electric guitar Blackstar theme plays (first introduced in 7x08). Meanwhile, Zoe saves Rene and William as Dinah’s Canary theme plays. This is either because Zoe’s is not firmly established or because Zoe is steeping into Dinah’s shoes as the next leader of the Canaries for the new generation. This seems to fit with the theme of legacy that is present throughout the whole season but especially in this episode as the mantle is passed down.

As the whole team gathers to figure out how to stop Archer and bring the wall down, music from 7x16 (as William and Mia were looking for a tape recorder in black market underground) plays as Felicity mentions that she may have erased Mia from the Archer system giving them an advantage to defeating it.

One of the brilliant editing and storytelling moments was the going back and forth between Oliver and Emiko’s fight (especially with the 9th circle) and then with the younger team Arrow (William, Mia, Zoe, and Connor) as they blow up the wall. One of the challenges that was well executed was the music going back and forth between the scenes. The future music sounds have been well established (including string patterns alternating half-steps) as well as Oliver’s fighting music so it was always clear musically as well as visually which story was being told. As Mia fought on the wall, horn played with string patterns underneath, a heroic sound clearly tying parallels between herself and her father. This horn theme mirrors Oliver’s 2nd hero theme (going down instead up) but Mia’s uses a 4th instead of a 5th making it her own. Similar but unique.

Another music parallel was using her main theme slower in the high piano for a vulnerable moment as she told William to take care of their mom, believing that she might die before pressing the detonator. Oliver’s main theme is used in the same way throughout the series so it is a beautiful way of using her main theme which seems brash and fierce in the electric guitar into a quiet, intimate moment in the piano. Like Oliver, family (and Felicity) is the most important thing to Mia. Then the full guitar and violin Blackstar theme plays as she fights her way out and zip-lines her way off the building. (This season nicely established all the necessary music themes needed for next season or a spin-off if they choose to go that route).

The older team passes on the torch to the new team to protect the city and Felicity brings William and Mia to Oliver’s grave to say goodbye, wanting to be all together one last time. As she does so, the opening strings from “Everyone left” (5x02) plays. It is a theme of loss and goodbyes, first when Oliver felt like he had pushed everyone away except Felicity and now as Felicity recognizes that William and Mia no longer needs her protection and says goodbye. Mia and William still want her in their lives but she tells them that she promised Oliver that she would protect them until they didn’t need her anymore and she believes that that day has come. As she shares this and they talk about missing Oliver, harp (Felicity’s instrument) plays as she tells them how proud Oliver would be of them. Her love for both Oliver and her children kept her strong throughout the 20 years apart. Oliver’s hero themes play in the violin as Felicity tells them how much she loves them and charges them to take of each other. Oliver’s heroism is carried through Felicity and their kids: “He lives on in the two of you.” Piano (Oliver’s instrument) plays as they hug and the camera moves over to Oliver’s grave stone alongside his electronic Arrow slide.

(Picture from telltaletv.com Arrow review)

The End of an Era

The team rejoices in saving the city in the present day and then Oliver and Felicity tell them that they are leaving the city, his legacy being the team, leaving the city in good hands. His Arrow theme plays in the horn and low strings as he shares that he thought his legacy would be saving the city but was in fact the team. Hammered dulcimer begins to play as he says that he started his crusade alone and he thought he would end it alone but that every bit of success was due to the team being alongside him with their courage, compassion, selflessness and loyalty (the 4 admirable traits/pillars of heroism in Oliver that Tommy pointed out in the previous episode). Hammered dulcimer was used in the pilot as Oliver looked at his scars and set up the Foundry alone and has accompanied him on his journey to being a fully fleshed out hero; from being closed off and singleminded to trusting others: Diggle, Felicity, Roy and many others throughout the years. His team reflects the best part of himself and the violins take over the slow version of the Arrow theme as he shares this and they talk about creating the Mark of Four. The horns take over and low strings play a repeating pattern building up the music as Diggle mentions that it feels like an end of a era, the music resembling “Not Black or White”(4x23) in feel, paralleling looking over the masks and uniforms together.

Oliver stands in the middle looking over the bunker as Felicity joins him asking if he had second thoughts while clarinet plays. This instrument is rarely used for the two of them but was used in the previous episode when Alena asked Felicity what she was willing to do differently to keep their baby safe. It is the sound of a new beginning for their family. Diggle comes over and tells them that they are leaving behind a cycle and legacy of heroes who will fight for the city with every fiber of their being as Oliver’s hero horn plays 2 in a expanded theme. The closing of the bunker is accompanied by the classic Arrow title music as the lights shut down focusing on Oliver’s face.

Oliver, Felicity and Diggle arrive at their new home as clarinet and violins play the Olicity theme “The one I love” (2x23). The clarinet adds a new dimension to their family, the culmination of their love and joy for their baby girl as they tell Diggle about her. Lower strings play Oliver’s second hero theme as Diggle mentions that now that the city is in good hands, they can focus on their family. The first time this theme played was in 1x14, the episode when Felicity became part of the team, joining Oliver and Diggle. It is fitting to have that play with the three of them once again at the end of the team and moving on, having completed their mission.

The music then transitions to “Being Happy” (1x07) as they say goodbye to Diggle, have a cabin honeymoon looking out over the stars, the birth of Mia and then walking through the yard, with Oliver lifting Mia up. Using this theme brings several moments back such as 2x06 with Diggle thanking Oliver for helping bring back Lyla: “you had my back.” Now, Diggle has their backs as he helps establish their new home, always a part of their family. But even more importantly, it brings back a conversation with Tommy in 1x17 when Oliver tells him that lying to the people closest to him was hard but he was wrong to think he could be both the vigilante and be open with people around him. Tommy told him that if he is alone, he’ll never be happy and Oliver responded that being happy wasn’t what was important. Oliver never imagined that he would live past his mission let alone be worthy of happiness. But now he is blissfully happy thanks to the love of his life and the daughter they share which is emphasized by the violins and horn playing a version of the Olicity theme as he holds baby Mia as he sleeps. Oliver is happy and at peace.

Then the Monitor shows up to collect Oliver from the deal he made in the crossover to save the universe. As the scene flashes back to their conversation, the Monitor’s violin theme plays and the added choir makes the moment epic in scale as he gives Oliver the option to maintain the balance to save Kara and Barry by agreeing to help the multiverse to survive when it is time. Strings and brass play as the scene returns to present day and a timpani roll leads into the news that the Monitor has seen Oliver die in the upcoming Crisis. A repeated electronic note (reminded me of Chariots of Fire) accompanies the horns and strings as Felicity tries to stop it asking why it always has to be Oliver. The repeated note gives a sense of inevitability, no way to stop what is to come.

The episode ends with Ruelle’s song “The other side” giving the season a bookend of Ruelle songs as the season opened with one of her songs, as Felicity and Oliver were separated by a long prison sentence, following Oliver’s lonely and repetitive journey in prison. Now, the lyrics match the goodbye Oliver has to say to Felicity and Mia, heartbroken and unsure that he will ever come back. Felicity promises to come find him and 20 years later, the Monitor takes her to find him.

I don't want to know who we are without each other It's just too hard I don't want to leave here without you I don't want to lose part of me Will I recover? That broken piece, let it go and unleash all the feelings I don't want to know what it's like to live without you Don't want to know the other side of a world without you

I don't want to know I don't want to know

Extra Notes

- I cried a lot with this episode. And then again in writing this review. It was beautiful and heart-breaking. While I realize there are 10 more episodes, this felt like a series finale. The rest almost feels like an epilogue to a grand tale of a man who became a hero, who deeply loves his family and his city, who fell in love and grew to accept that he was worthy of happiness.

- My deep dive into Arrow’s music was through Felicity after Season 3. I wrote a brief thing on Oliver and a little more on Diggle but then I recorded every bit of her music through the first 3 seasons which inspired me to keep writing and analyzing the individual episodes, 4x01 until now. I loved discovering the use of harp and that her last scene in the official score used that. I love the Olicity theme with it]s numerous iterations and have even recorded cello and piano versions of it. While I hope that it will appear in the last 10 episodes, I also love that it was played twice as Oliver, Felicity and Mia had a bit of happiness together. I am going to miss Felicity greatly.

- For some reason, my account cannot find any Mia or future gifs. It’s weird.

- Sorry for the month delay. My life has been crazy (sister’s wedding, cello recital, etc.)!

- I have one or two Arrow music projects I am hoping to accomplish this summer. I’ll keep you posted!

@smoakmonster @ah-maa-zing @academyofshipping @herskirtsarentthatshort @almondblossomme @dmichellewrites @jorahandal @dust2dust34 @scu11y22 @mel-loves-all @green-arrows-of-karamel

#arrow 7x22 #olicity #oliver queen #arrow music notes #felicity smoak #emiko queen #mia smoak #john diggle

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floralbfs · 5 years

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WIP Ask Game!

thank u anon!!!!

1: Summarize your WIP in 10 words or less.

orphan gains powers, gets adopted by alien, saves the world.

2: Post a line from your WIP with no context.

'There's a whoosh of air, and Leo suddenly hears a voice he never thought he'd ever be able to hear again.'

3: Does your WIP have a title? If so, explain its significance. If not, what are you calling it for now?

Okay so I have been calling it the Youtuber Superhero AU (because it started as a fandom au but then i made it an original!!) but I thought maybe it could be "Thicker than Water", since my MC, Leo, is an orphan and he lives alone for most of his life (most of his life lmao at least until canon point? read also: around 9-11 years when in canon he's like 19?) in a remote, lowkey magical place/dimension?, but ultimately he comes back to his hometown and creates a family for himself!!!! i won't give spoilers but, since i already said this, part of his found family is his adoptive dad, an alien who is also a superhero!! If not TtW, I would call it maybe,,,,, Moonstone???? at least the first book!!! (ooh, maybe TtW can be the series name and Moonstone the first book's name?) because Leo kind of gets his powers through a moon stone????? it's not actually moon stone; it was a strange rock he found in the magical dimension that seeked out a champion for the god Huitzilopochtli??? and the closest word Leo could get for it was Moonstone, because of its uhhhhh singular qualities!

4: Describe the setting of your WIP.

OKAY, this is a fun one!!! Leo's hometown is named Star Nova, idk why it just seemed cool, and it is a futuristic city!!! They don't follow capitalism Because I Said So, and they're really into, like, environmental stuff!!! So you'd see SO much flora all over the city kshdsjfh like those???? idk what they're called but like the towns overridden with plants? but controlled!!! There's a tiny percentage of the population (tho I still haven't decided if this is worldwide?? I have a way to make it worldwide but idk) who have superpowers, either due to "individual" factors (e.g Leo's powers are bc of the moonstone, and Matthew(his dad)'s powers are due to him being an alien!) or were affected by a weird experiment an Evil Corporation™ were doing; ECtm was trying out an illegal experiment that could alter living beings' genetics to their will, but it went wrong and their substance exploded and went airborne. Those who were working on it knew about its risks and toxicity, ergo they were wearing a special suit and weren't affected, but the gas contaminated and ??mixed?? with the air and spread to the nearest city, Star Nova (the unofficial capital of the Joint Pacific Nations) and affected a Whole Lot Of People!!! this all happened a while before canon, and the corporation got away with it bc they were filthy rich basically. Anyway, a lot of the people who were affected to the "virus" reacted negatively and died, some were uhhh """immune"""???, and a few Seemed to be immune but had actually had a successful celular-level bonding with the substance! It didn't do anything to them, but their children/grandchildren were born with physical or mental anomalies, also known as super powers (gasps)!!!! BUT!!! a lot of the story happens in the magical city of Coatl (it means serpent!), located within a pocket dimension somewhere inside the Mexican southern forest, where Leo finds himself when he's four years old, recently orphaned, guided by a magical ....bird....being....? he lives there for around eleven years, and he's granted Huitzilopochtli's Champion's power once he's like. Not A Baby lmao. Coatl is.... kind of like,,,,, an Olympus, I guess? Only those with like the destiny to find it know where it is, and they can lead other people there if it's for good causes! It's almost like a sentient city, and the Aztec gods kinda. chilled there???? my theory is that a lot of religious mythologies exist, at least in this universe, and they all co-exist on earth, or pocket dimensions inside of it!!! anyway, Leo lived there and was basically raised by gods???? and an AI???? bc i love AIs???? and uhhhh i think that got away from me ajdhsjdhsj does all of this even count as setting??? am i missing anything????

5: Search for the word “knife” in your WIP. If you find it, paste the line and explain the context.

no knives sadly :( i guess i haven't reached Those Scenes yet???? tho there should be one in the first chapter….. my wip document is just kind of very messy ajdhsjdjsjdh i might just have to make a new document????

6: Search for the word “dream” in your WIP. If you find it, paste the line and explain the context.

???????????? why am i not using any words?????????? sorry :/

7: What are you most proud of?

probably the worldbuilding and characters (at least those with superpowers? maybe i should say superpowers period)!!!!! they're very complex and thought-out????? and i THINK they're original!!!!! so!!!!! ＼(￣▽￣)／

8: What is your biggest challenge?

oooooof,,,,,,,, probably..... getting an actual plot lmao????? like i have an overall view of my would-be first and second books, but i don't know if they actually have enough to them to be written as they are?????? like… idk if the conflict is really like??? worthy to be a Main Conflict™????

9: How would you describe your writing style?

oooooooh uhhhhh maybe….. flowery prose???? i'm a poet at heart, so if i don't use loads of metaphors and language uhhhh idk their name in english but language variators??? i will literally die. but seriously nsjdhsjdhsjfh nothing too serious!!!! most of my “”””angst”””” scenes are….. not so sad, i think skfjsjfj

10: How would you describe your WIP’s narrative style? (1st person, 3rd person, multiple POVs, single POV, alternating chapters, etc.)

oh!!!! well, i think it'd be multiple povs, alternating chapters, third person???? i'm still not sure whether to use 1st or if i already have??? p sure that's a different wip i'm thinking about tho

11: Which character do you have the most in common with?

uhhhhhhhhhhhh seeing how underdeveloped she is right now??? probably Persephone???? bc she's genderfluid skfjsjfjdjfh or uhhhh Scott??? bc i too love leo with my heart and would die for him and stay with him in the afterlife. (hypothetically, of course….)

12: Which character do you have the least in common with?

Maeve, probably!!!! she's, uh…. Something.

13: Your characters are stranded on a deserted island. What happens?

They Are All A Mess. akfhajfjajfj Matthew would probably become the leader and like. establish order and shit???? but he's also the hugest nerd so he'd just give the leader role to someone else (probably seph staine?) and goes exploring and cataloging shit skfhsjfhdjf Leo is probably the most resourceful one of the bunch, so he would immediately like. start planning for huts and food and stuff???? also idk if they would have their powers in this situation cause it'd be too easy to get them all out of there????? but let's just say they do but the island is inescapable by flight?? he can talk to animals, so he could communicate with the local fauna and like form alliances???? Seph is a good leader, so he'd probably like….. keep everything in check???? and Leo's friends are all good and resourceful, so they'd make a good team!!!! tldr they basically create order immediately and do their best to not struggle??? after a few days/weeks, some of them start to like. break down? but the adults are like. wise and shit??? and i'm pretty sure at least one of them is like a licensed therapist??? so they help each other out uwu

14: Have you chosen birthdays for any of your characters? If so, when are they?

oh!!!! only for a few!!!! Leo and Maeve's birthday is on March 25, Scott's birthday is on August 27, Matthew doesn't really have a birthday??? because time is different in his planet????, Percy and Persephone's birthday is somewhere in November, and uhhhh im p sure that's all i got akfjsjfjsj i suck at birth dates

15: Do you know your characters’ MBTI personalities?

GOD, no. maybe i should do their tests???👀

16: What would your characters be for Halloween?

Leo… doesn't believe in/care for Halloween, as he didn't grow up around it, but it's totally Scott's jam!!! they are dirt poor in a good first half of the book, though, so they can't really dress up :( they met in the library, and after (spoiler alert!!!) scotty's death, Leo feels it appropriate to dress up as Scott's fave characters every year. Percy and Persephone are (very weak) shapeshifters, so their costumes ROCK!!!!! they always do matching costumes, so they get cliché pair costumes!! Matthew….. uh. he is… way too old for that. he was literally alive before Halloween was even a thing, so it's not really his thing. Leah just……. does her own thing??? she can see ghosts, so she sometimes does like historical costumes and stuff with their help!!! and Ben…. oof tbh that depends on what his fave song/album/whatev is at the moment??? he kinda creates like a story/aesthetic for them and dresses up that way!!!!

17: Does your WIP have any themes or motifs?

uhhhh found family, definitely!!!! i really can't think of any bc i'm an idiot, but uhhhh intelligence??? if that's a thing??? like,,, they're all powerful and shit but it's also like. brains over brawns????

18: What’s easier, dialogue or description?

i think description!!!! neither of them are… hard??? but!!! description is like…… where i can go hog wild akfjskfjsjfb

19: Post a picture or gif that describes your WIP.

20: Post a brief excerpt.

Leo @Leoberry

You asked, I answered. New Q&A video is now up!

[3k retweets, 10k likes, 9k replies] 20 min. ago

[My First Q&A- video transcription excerpt]

[Leo Berry, a nineteen-year-old brunette guy with green eyes, wearing a red shirt with a lightning symbol on it that's loose on his muscular form, waves at the camera and smiles widely, dimples showing up on his cheeks.]

Leo: Hey, guys. You've been asking me to do a Q&A for a while, and the day has finally arrived! I told you to ask me questions on Twitter with the hashtag #AskBerry, and I've picked a few!

[Leo smiles brightly and lifts up his cellphone.]

Leo: First off, here's one by @razzberry- nice username, by the way-: “what's your cat's name? Do you have more than one?”

[The video shifts, and there's suddenly two cats sitting on Leo's arms: a large, orange cat quickly falling asleep on his shoulder, and a black kitten hugged in his arms.]

Leo: I do! This little fella-

[He gasps as the kitten in his arms struggles to get free and runs off-camera.]

Leo: Don't leave me! Okay, that little fella is Onyx, and, as you can see, he doesn't like me very much. Anyway, this little gal asleep over here…

[He points toward a small orange cat sleeping on his shoulder.]

Leo: ...is Tigress! She's my little baby. You've probably seen her around a lot on my vlogs, since she really likes to hang out on my bed.

Leo: Next! @Honeybats asked: ‘“is it true your dad is Jade?”

[Leo smiles and, after a few seconds of trying to school his features, bursts out laughing.]

Leo: You mean to ask whether my dad is Matlal Jade, the greatest superhero of our era?

Leo: ...Well, yeah! My dad- [more laughs] my dad is totally my Jade. His name is Matthew, and I keep asking him to fly me to school. He says it's not funny!

[He sobers up for a second.]

Leo: Jokes aside, he adopted me a few years ago and he'll always be a superhero in my eyes. I was in a really dark place when he found me, and I can't thank him enough for all that he's done for me.

[Leo looks away for a second and loses his smile. The video cuts and skips again, and Leo appears once again, this time sporting an easy smile and a blue shirt, this one tighter around his shoulders.]

Leo: things got a bit too deep! This one was sent by @shazhangs: “are you dating anyone at the moment?”

[Leo laughs.]

Leo: God, no. I mean, I'm not really a people person, you know? And I’ve been so focused on work, vlogging, and, uh, extracurriculars, that I really haven't had any time to socialise.

[Leo laughs again.]

Leo: This one comes from @perspartone: will you collab with any other youtubers anytime soon?

Leo: Yeah, sure! I don't think I have done any videos with other people in the past, so it'd be a fun thing to do! I just have to find a friend first.

[Leo laughs loudly.]

[End of excerpt. For viewing of the video, refer to Leo Berry on Youtube, and find the full transcription here at DailyBerries in a few hours.]

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thetwoguineabook · 7 years

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@sunnydisposish thank you so much for the awesome feedback and great questions- hope you don’t mind me responding in a new post.

I’m so in love with Blackbird I don’t even know where to begin: the beautiful writing, the impressive historical accuracy and evocative world-building, the poignant storyline and entirely novel yet still somehow in-character arcs for Victor and Yuuri, the thought-provoking questions about politics, ideology, identity, and personal responsibility so skillfully woven into the love story at its center, and last but not least, your merciless puncturing of the British imperialist/colonialist/racist mindset (especially appreciated by this former subject who grew up in what was then still a British colony).

Thank you! It was definitely interesting to me to explore, even at a slight remove as both POV characters were decidedly non-British, the very weird situation of British politics in the immediate post-war era. WW2 was really the last death knell for Britain as the big imperial power on the world stage, but frankly we as a country still haven’t come to terms with that (cf. half the electorate seriously believing that we won’t be questing paddle-less for where Shit Creek rises in the Mountains of Oh God Why without the rest of the EU). The Attlee government was, in my humble but correct opinion, the best and most socially revolutionary government we ever had, but at the same time as we were creating the NHS and nationalising industries, we were also desperately trying to develop nuclear weapons and pissing and moaning about whether countries we’d been stamping on for centuries were ~really ready~ to see the back of us. It was a truly absurd time period.

Another reason I love it is that it’s so rewarding to re-read, because each time through I notice more little details sprinkled throughout the text, like easter eggs waiting to be discovered. For example, in ch. 4 you slip in a casual mention of a drunken assignation Yuuri once had with some guy from Cambridge named “Guy” who professed to be a Communist, then in the very next section you have Georgi complaining to Victor about one of the agents he’s handling who goes by the name of “Hicks,” which is none other than the code name for Guy Burgess. :)

Fun fact: I have a whole document in the notes section in Scrivener entitled ‘Yuuri’s ex-boyfriends’. He was... not very nice to a lot of them, lol. Once it occurred to me that, although Burgess would have come down from Cambridge before Yuuri went to Oxford, they could still very well have met (and drunk inordinate amounts of booze together) at the Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race, I just couldn’t resist.

Also in ch. 4, you describe one of the musicians who had performed Shostakovich’s Symphony #7 during the Leningrad siege as “a short woman with long, pale hair and a hunger-pinched face who nevertheless stared into the camera with the piercing gaze of a soldier, a clarinet clutched in her hands like a rifle” – that has got to be an image of Yura’s mother, right?

Yes! That is none other than Yulia Plisetskaya, classical musician and denouncer of Yuri’s shitty dad. I am slightly intimidated by the prospect of writing it because the situation in Leningrad was so incredibly awful, but one of my planned side stories is about the Plisetskys and the Babichevs during the siege, and particularly about that August 1942 performance of the Shostakovich symphony and Yuri beginning to repair his incredibly fucked-up relationship with her.

Oh, and she’s a clarinettist for a reason ;)

In ch. 6, when Yuuri is told he is being reassigned to Korea, there’s a mention of the new British Consul-General to Korea, Sir Vyvyan Holt, and Yuuri’s boss reassures him that “Holt is… well he’s a lot of things, but he’s not an idiot. He’ll evacuate British diplomats if - when there’s a declaration of war.” So of course, when I googled Holt’s name, I learned that not only was he a real person, but when the Korean war broke out, Holt mistakenly thought he would be protected by his diplomatic immunity, and instead of evacuating everyone when he had the chance, he and his staff ended up being detained by the North Koreans, then forced on a death march to the far north of the peninsula where they were kept captive for several years. Oh the irony. If Yuuri had accepted the assignment, he would have suffered even more at the hands of the North Koreans once they realized he was Japanese, even without knowing he was a spy. (Shudder.)

Yeah that was some thick ladling of irony there, lol. Although perhaps Yuuri would at least have got on with Holt, since one of the ‘many things’ he was at least rumoured to be was gay. And the story of what happened to the actual MI6 officer who was undercover in Holt’s office when the war broke out is... well, interesting to say the least. I’ve got an historical notes post about it that just needs to be finished up.

You’ve thought out everything so thoroughly (down to Victor’s nom de guerre, Stefan Rittberger, and the figure skating jump known as the Rittberger loop) that I have to ask whether there’s a special meaning or symbolism behind your choice of “blackbird” as the title of the story. I mean, the first association that occurred to me, especially given your nom de plume of sixpences, was the children’s rhyme “Sing a song of sixpence / a pocketful of rye. / Four and twenty blackbirds / baked in a pie.” But some light googling turned up a plethora of meanings for “blackbird,” including: a symbol of freedom, a connotation of vigilance, shyness and insecurity, secrets and mystery, etc., any and all of which could fit. Then there are the well-known songs Bye-Bye Blackbird (which had a “cameo” in ch. 5) and the Beatles’ Blackbird (the lyrics for which also fit the story), and one of my favorite poems, the haiku-inspired “Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird” by Wallace Stevens, which is so protean and capacious in its meanings that it could definitely fit. Finally, that redoubtable (and dubious) authority urbandictionary.com gives the following meanings (inter alia) for blackbird: 1. The act of leaving a group of people, especially a social event (i.e. business party), without saying goodbye to anyone and without anyone detecting your escape. 2. Someone who acts happy in public but is an emotional wreck in private. Someone who doesn’t advertise their depression.

Well for starters, the Stefan Rittberger alias followed the same pattern as every other original character in the fic- they are all named after figure skaters from their respective countries of origin (generally speaking with forenames and surnames from different individuals). The only exception was the Jamaican jazz band leader Nigel Harriott- the only male Jamaican figure skater whose name I could turn up was Paralympic skater Nigel Davis, so I gave him the surname of a real Jamaican jazz musician who emigrated to the UK in this period.

As for the origins of ‘Blackbird’... well, for starters, the nursery rhyme connection only occurred to me quite a way into writing the fic, haha. ‘sixpences’ originated as a reference to Dodie Smith’s I Capture the Castle, one of my favourite novels, and as a way to reference the various notions of luck associated with the old silver sixpence coins, and also because when I picked the name six or seven years ago the Livejournal username ‘sixpence’ in the singular was already taken!

I knew from the very first vague ideas I had about the fic that this was primarily a story about Victor- his character arc, specifically getting him to the point where he would joyfully betray his country for love, was the very first thing I knew I wanted to write about, before I was even sure it was going to be an historical AU! When you get right down to it, this is a fic about that scene where Victor’s standing on the Barcelona seafront, looking out over the Mediterranean, and admiring his engagement ring- it’s a story about what Victor is not only willing, but entirely happy to do for Yuuri.

Once I knew I wanted it to be a spy story I started doing the 100% most fun spy story thing and making up everyone’s ridiculous codenames. My initial idea for Yuuri was to use something piglet-related, for obvious reasons, but that both felt a bit too mean and also not like something Minako specifically would think to call him. I wanted to give him a name that evoked the kind of figure he cuts at the start of the story- small, unassuming, lonely, but with something very deep going on beneath the surface, the same way one flighty little bird can nevertheless produce the most beautiful song. It also fitted nicely in terms of a metaphor for what he was doing in Berlin- Japan is of course ‘the land of the rising sun’, and he was ‘singing’ information to the Allies from inside their command structure.

There is a minor bird motif throughout the fic- with maybe one or two exceptions, any time a bird is mentioned in scenery description, you’ll find it’s a dark-coloured one. It wouldn’t have made the cut as an epigraph since it’s from 2005, but this from ‘Rapture’, which is one of my favourite Carol Ann Duffy poems, was very much in my mind in planning out the shape of the plot:

How does it happen that our lives can drift far from our selves, while we stay trapped in time, queueing for death? It seems nothing will shift the pattern of our days, alter the rhyme we make with loss to assonance with bliss. Then love comes, like a sudden flight of birds from earth to heaven after rain. Your kiss, recalled, unstrings, like pearls, this chain of words. Huge skies connect us, joining here to there. Desire and passion on the thinking air.

So birds recur as a symbol of independence, of thinking and acting freely even under dire and constricting circumstances, and Yuuri specifically is codenamed after a bird. It only felt natural that the story of how Victor Nikiforov, Soviet patriot and enormously valuable and accomplished spy (indeed, modelled after a man dubbed ‘the most formidable spy in history’), came to throw away his career and his country, to choose love and the freedom to live as he wanted, should share Yuuri’s name.

Sorry to be such a nerd – I’m probably overthinking all of this – and for sending you such an interminable ask (which would have overflowed the tumblr ask box 10 times over), but I would love to know the meaning behind the title.

Look, I just wrote a 100k historical spy novel about characters from a sports anime. I am the biggest nerd. And I really had a great time answering your questions, so thank you again!

#fic: blackbird

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