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Forum Name: Symphony of the Sword/The Order of the Rose
Topic ID: 468
#0, TFLF: CH6-7
Posted by Silversword on Nov-01-14 at 04:07 PM
Following on from the end of chapter 5, certain canon developments start to overtake themselves, and the divergant properties of UF take hold. I like where this is going :)

Thoughts on chapter 6;

> "Yup, he's better at math than Yui,"

Well, -consistently- better. :) Yui, certainly in this context, strikes me as somebody who might accidentally invent Warp Physics, and then forget everything involved the moment she was done.
Hm. Actually, that may still not equalise out. This is -Ein-, after all.

> Sergei the tiger prowled around him into the room, and Yui's delight in the occasion reached a level that had theretofore been purely theoretical.

I am actually amazed I didn't see that coming, and yet both meeting and delight were somewhat inevitable.

> somewhere in a contentedly dozing heap of corgi, tiger, and Azusa.

The mental image is adorable.

> "You're just... building your own recording studio? In a place you're only visiting for a while?"

Also, they've probably thought ahead enough to know you won't be in school forever, and if there's nowhere suitable for -their- needs....well, I'm sure you'll catch on eventually.


Thoughts on chapter 7;

> "Don't you want me for your kōhai any more, Ritsu-senpai?" asked Azalynn with a wide-eyed, innocent look, causing Mio to come perilously close to snorting tea.

As evident, Azalynn is having far too much fun for your pesky logic to interfere. :)


> "I've never heard of this Fang brand before," Azalynn remarked, "but they look a lot like Ibanezes."

Funnily enough, on a similar note, I popped into my local music store a couple days ago, looked at their (rather meagre, admittedly) guitar selection and thought* "I've never heard of these Ibanezes before", which was 90% of what they had. My guitar knowledge to date appears to have been limited to stuff mentioned around here.
* Followed up by "and they all look tiny", because I'd already bought a Rockburn Les Paul style, and my sense of scale has been coloured by that slightly.

> "So," said Ritsu once all their orders had arrived. "How long before you two finally join the club?"

Yes indeed. I mean, I understand why Jun didn't join from the outset (and the subsequent slow redecision as stories filtered through from Azusa) but I never quite got why Ui didn't. Seems to me she'd be all over the excuse to hang out with her sister further. In either case, the original rather drags its heels on that front, and I like that we're not going to here.

> " Like I'm making a difference. And it reminds me... of older times."

Funny you should mention that.... :)

As mentioned above, I do like the accelerative effect Kaitlyn's having on canonical events, and it is nice to be reliving some of the "these kids are going places, but they haven't made it -yet-" feel. Older times indeed. A lot of the older duelists and assorted company have things down pretty well at this point, which is good for them, but not always so interesting to be watching, if you get my drift. The older kids still have their more notably on-screen fighting chops, of course, but if Mio is an airbender, Ritsu's a firebender, Mugi is...well, Mugi, and it wouldn't surprise me if Yui had accidentally memorized a Kung Fu form or two by marathon-watching too many martial art movies with Nodoka one rainy summer and has never thought to practice (or not, but I could see it happen :), then it's only a matter of time before that equals out as well.

Overall, very much enjoying things. Looking forward to next week. The week after's impending hiatus, not so much, but I understand why that's a thing so I'm sure I'll manage. :)

~Silversword
Starting topics feels weird to my lurker-senses


#1, RE: TFLF: CH6-7
Posted by Gryphon on Nov-01-14 at 04:41 PM
In response to message #0
>Also, they've probably thought ahead enough to know you won't be in
>school forever, and if there's nowhere suitable for -their-
>needs....well, I'm sure you'll catch on eventually.

Mio might start to suspect when she discovers that it's called Tea Time Studio. :)

>As evident, Azalynn is having far too much fun for your pesky logic to
>interfere. :)

It is entirely possible that Azalynn will just stay on and graduate with Ui, Azusa, and Jun. Sure, she already has a high school diploma, but really, can you ever have too many?

>> "I've never heard of this Fang brand before," Azalynn remarked, "but they look a lot like Ibanezes."
>
>Funnily enough, on a similar note, I popped into my local music store
>a couple days ago, looked at their (rather meagre, admittedly) guitar
>selection and thought* "I've never heard of these Ibanezes before",

I mainly know them because it's Joe Satriani's brand of choice; I've never played one (though last time I was at my semi-local guitar shop, oddly enough the only lefty electric they had in stock was an RG-series). The name is Spanish, but it's a Japanese brand. (And naturally Azalynn spots that the Fang-brand guitars at 10GIÄ look like the Ibanez Strat-derived body style because she plays a JS2000, one of their Joe Satriani signature line. She'd have been disappointed if she'd picked one up, though; they're a bit crap. That Stratoclone Ui borrowed was a Fang.)

>* Followed up by "and they all look tiny", because I'd
>already bought a Rockburn Les Paul style, and my sense of scale has
>been coloured by that slightly.

Heh, yeah, once you've handled a Les Paul, everything else seems a bit toylike. My mom's Mustang is like a ukulele next to my lefty Gīta. :)

>Yes indeed. I mean, I understand why Jun didn't join from the outset
>(and the subsequent slow redecision as stories filtered through from
>Azusa) but I never quite got why Ui didn't. Seems to me she'd be all
>over the excuse to hang out with her sister further. In either case,
>the original rather drags its heels on that front, and I like that
>we're not going to here.

I suspect that Kakifly didn't go there for an out-of-story equivalent of the same reason Ui and Jun sort of object - because he didn't want to risk messing up the feng shui in the clubroom by either expanding the band further or adding more club members who weren't in it. (That, and the "the Light Music Club can't get new recruits because everyone thinks they're freaks" thing is a running joke, albeit not one I'm particularly attached to, obviously. I touched it in Jun's blog post in Chapter 1, and that about did it for that as far as I'm concerned. :)

Also, it has to be admitted that most prodigal young guitarists would resent it at least a bit if their younger, cleverer, better-at-school sisters suddenly upped and took up the instrument, then joined the club where they have, after a lifetime of muddled obscurity, really started to shine. It would tend to seem... competitive. That's probably never occurred to Yui, because she's Yui, but I could see Ui worrying that she might cause it, and the author wanting to avoid implying it.

Personally, even bearing the above (which are valid concerns!) in mind, I always thought it was both a bit odd and kind of a shame that Ui only joined the club after Yui and company graduated, because not only wasn't she in it with Yui, she only got to be part of it for a year. (I should note, in the interest of full disclosure, that I'm not a great fan of either of the volumes of the manga that happen after the four founders graduate, so that probably skews my perception of the matter a little.)

>if Mio is an airbender, Ritsu's a firebender, Mugi
>is...well, Mugi, and it wouldn't surprise me if Yui had accidentally
>memorized a Kung Fu form or two by marathon-watching too many martial
>art movies with Nodoka one rainy summer and has never thought to
>practice (or not, but I could see it happen :)

There was some joking speculation in another thread that Yui may be a waterbender, and just not have realized it because she thinks she merely has telekinetic mastery over citrus fruits.

We'll be seeing more about Mio and Ritsu in that context after the hiatus.

>Starting topics feels weird to my lurker-senses

Well, I'm glad you did. If everybody lurks, I don't know what's going on, and I start to get the feeling that I'm really just the online equivalent of the guy at the bus stop shouting at indifferent passers-by. :)

--G.
-><-
Benjamin D. Hutchins, Co-Founder, Editor-in-Chief, & Forum Mod
Eyrie Productions, Unlimited http://www.eyrie-productions.com/
zgryphon at that email service Google has
Ceterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam.


#2, RE: TFLF: CH6-7
Posted by Willard on Nov-01-14 at 09:30 PM
In response to message #1
>Well, I'm glad you did. If everybody lurks, I don't know what's going
>on, and I start to get the feeling that I'm really just the online
>equivalent of the guy at the bus stop shouting at indifferent
>passers-by. :)
>


<big eyes>Gryphon-sempai I will read anything you write!!! </big eyes> :-)

Even when you're talking music and I've no clue what you're talking about. :-)

it's just that sometimes the only thing I can say is "I liked it."

Willard


#4, RE: TFLF: CH6-7
Posted by BobSchroeck on Nov-03-14 at 08:52 AM
In response to message #2
>>Well, I'm glad you did. If everybody lurks, I don't know what's going
>>on, and I start to get the feeling that I'm really just the online
>>equivalent of the guy at the bus stop shouting at indifferent
>>passers-by. :)
><big eyes>Gryphon-sempai I will read anything you write!!! </big eyes>
> :-)

What he said, but with more dignity.

-- Bob
<grin>
-------------------
My race is pacifist and does not believe in war. We kill only out of personal spite.


#7, RE: TFLF: CH6-7
Posted by Willard on Nov-04-14 at 01:57 AM
In response to message #4
Sorry sorry, very vulnerable to memes. ;-)

I could resist Azusa but when Azalynn got into the act it was all over for me.

Willard


#3, RE: TFLF: CH6-7
Posted by Peter Eng on Nov-02-14 at 02:34 AM
In response to message #1
>
>There was some joking speculation in another thread that Yui may be a
>waterbender...
>

For the record, that's more joking than speculation.

Peter Eng
--
I've affected the storyline once this year. I think that puts me over my limit.


#5, RE: TFLF: CH6-7
Posted by Wiregeek on Nov-03-14 at 10:21 PM
In response to message #1

>Well, I'm glad you did. If everybody lurks, I don't know what's going
>on, and I start to get the feeling that I'm really just the online
>equivalent of the guy at the bus stop shouting at indifferent
>passers-by. :)


Not to put to fine a point on it, this Hokage Tea Time stuff is nowhere near my cup of tea - but it is well written and enjoyable.

Now, the most recent Dìqiú Suite chapter has my interest and consideration in a big way..


#6, RE: TFLF: CH6-7
Posted by Gryphon on Nov-03-14 at 10:29 PM
In response to message #5
>Not to put to fine a point on it, this Hokage Tea Time stuff is
>nowhere near my cup of tea

(I see what you did there.)

Anyway, that's fine, I'm not saying it has to be - just that when it's quiet I get uneasy, and it's been awfully quiet lately. :)

>Now, the most recent Dìqiú Suite chapter has my interest and
>consideration in a big way..

Well, I shall look forward to your remarks, then.

--G.
-><-
Benjamin D. Hutchins, Co-Founder, Editor-in-Chief, & Forum Mod
Eyrie Productions, Unlimited http://www.eyrie-productions.com/
zgryphon at that email service Google has
Ceterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam.


#8, RE: TFLF: CH6-7
Posted by Croaker on Nov-07-14 at 11:41 AM
In response to message #6
>>Not to put to fine a point on it, this Hokage Tea Time stuff is
>>nowhere near my cup of tea
>
>(I see what you did there.)


I -warned- you there were ninja involved.


#9, RE: TFLF: CH6-7
Posted by Silversword on Nov-08-14 at 01:18 PM
In response to message #1
>>Also, they've probably thought ahead enough to know you won't be in
>>school forever, and if there's nowhere suitable for -their-
>>needs....well, I'm sure you'll catch on eventually.
>
>Mio might start to suspect when she discovers that it's called Tea
>Time Studio. :)

Hah! Nice. :)


>>> "I've never heard of this Fang brand before," Azalynn remarked, "but they look a lot like Ibanezes."
>>
>>Funnily enough, on a similar note, I popped into my local music store
>>a couple days ago, looked at their (rather meagre, admittedly) guitar
>>selection and thought* "I've never heard of these Ibanezes before",
>
>I mainly know them because it's Joe Satriani's brand of choice; I've
>never played one (though last time I was at my semi-local guitar shop,
>oddly enough the only lefty electric they had in stock was an
>RG-series). The name is Spanish, but it's a Japanese brand. (And
>naturally Azalynn spots that the Fang-brand guitars at 10GIÄ look
>like the Ibanez Strat-derived body style because she plays a JS2000,
>one of their Joe Satriani signature line. She'd have been
>disappointed if she'd picked one up, though; they're a bit crap. That
>Stratoclone Ui borrowed was a Fang.)

Have to admit, now I'm curious to try one. Maybe in a couple months when I feel less new at everything I'll take a proper look. Having a lighter guitar to practice with on a more regular basis than "every other weekend at lessons" seems like a nice idea, but my budget has practical limitations, and the quality improvement is probably still lost on my still unskilled ear.


>>Yes indeed. I mean, I understand why Jun didn't join from the outset
>>(and the subsequent slow redecision as stories filtered through from
>>Azusa) but I never quite got why Ui didn't. Seems to me she'd be all
>>over the excuse to hang out with her sister further. In either case,
>>the original rather drags its heels on that front, and I like that
>>we're not going to here.
>
>I suspect that Kakifly didn't go there for an out-of-story
>equivalent of the same reason Ui and Jun sort of object - because he
>didn't want to risk messing up the feng shui in the clubroom by
>either expanding the band further or adding more club members who
>weren't in it. (That, and the "the Light Music Club can't get new
>recruits because everyone thinks they're freaks" thing is a running
>joke, albeit not one I'm particularly attached to, obviously. I
>touched it in Jun's blog post in Chapter 1, and that about did it for
>that as far as I'm concerned. :)

It's a valid point, it just feels more like an out-of-story driven decision than an in-character one. Ui's predilection for following in Yui's footsteps leads me to think that joining would be the most natural response and not joining is....kinda weird. And mostly I guess jarring because there's not much on-screen decision made one way or the other, she just...doesn't join.

>Also, it has to be admitted that most prodigal young guitarists
>would resent it at least a bit if their younger, cleverer,
>better-at-school sisters suddenly upped and took up the instrument,
>then joined the club where they have, after a lifetime of muddled
>obscurity, really started to shine. It would tend to seem...
>competitive. That's probably never occurred to Yui, because she's
>Yui, but I could see Ui worrying that she might cause it, and the
>author wanting to avoid implying it.

The two come across as the least contentious siblings I have ever seen (and yet without falling into the standard show-sibling trap of coming across as heavily unnatural about the entire affair, which is rare but nice) so I'll give that that would feel feel like the more usual sibling response, but not so much in this case?


>Personally, even bearing the above (which are valid concerns!) in
>mind, I always thought it was both a bit odd and kind of a shame that
>Ui only joined the club after Yui and company graduated, because not
>only wasn't she in it with Yui, she only got to be part of it
>for a year.

Well, yeah, that is kinda the thing. Which is why I think I'll like seeing this approach to it instead :)


>(I should note, in the interest of full disclosure, that
>I'm not a great fan of either of the volumes of the manga that happen
>after the four founders graduate, so that probably skews my perception
>of the matter a little.)

The post-graduation manga pair don't hold up as well, yeah. The High School side I think fared better, probably because it didn't try to rebuild the supporting cast quite so extensively (and Sumire was actually a likable Mugi-alternative), though it did give Sawako the short end of the stick a bit.
The College side suffered mostly by squandering the potential of the supporting cast it could have kept on (why even re-introduce Sokabe if you're not going to actually explore her otherwise offscreen-developed friendship with Ritsu and pretty clear crush on Mio? That just strikes me as wasted opportunity) and the new cast...well, being underwhelming mostly.

This portion of the thread appears to have veered back mostly into the source material side of things, so I'll leave it at that. There's more suitable places for this side of the discussion. :)

>>if Mio is an airbender, Ritsu's a firebender, Mugi
>>is...well, Mugi, and it wouldn't surprise me if Yui had accidentally
>>memorized a Kung Fu form or two by marathon-watching too many martial
>>art movies with Nodoka one rainy summer and has never thought to
>>practice (or not, but I could see it happen :)
>
>There was some joking speculation in another thread that Yui may be a
>waterbender, and just not have realized it because she thinks she
>merely has
>telekinetic >mastery over citrus fruits.>

Hehe. Well, gotta start somewhere, right? ;)
Joking aside though, it's fun to speculate on what Yui might be capable of. Her skillset may be less balanced than Ui's, but strikes me as no less potent. Just...haphazadly applied.


>>Starting topics feels weird to my lurker-senses
>
>Well, I'm glad you did. If everybody lurks, I don't know what's going
>on, and I start to get the feeling that I'm really just the online
>equivalent of the guy at the bus stop shouting at indifferent
>passers-by. :)

I'm glad I did as well, because I've been on both sides of the lurker barrier and I know how not fun it is to get no feedback. Doesn't mean it didn't feel weird to step outside the comfortable little lurker zone though :) I shall endeavour to lurk a little less often, though.

Commentary on part 8 to follow sometime tonight.


#10, RE: TFLF: CH6-7
Posted by Gryphon on Nov-08-14 at 01:52 PM
In response to message #9
LAST EDITED ON Nov-08-14 AT 01:55 PM (EST)
 
>>I mainly know them because it's Joe Satriani's brand of choice; I've
>>never played one (though last time I was at my semi-local guitar shop,
>>oddly enough the only lefty electric they had in stock was an
>>RG-series). The name is Spanish, but it's a Japanese brand.
>
>Have to admit, now I'm curious to try one. Maybe in a couple months
>when I feel less new at everything I'll take a proper look. Having a
>lighter guitar to practice with on a more regular basis than "every
>other weekend at lessons" seems like a nice idea, but my budget has
>practical limitations, and the quality improvement is probably still
>lost on my still unskilled ear.

Well, FWIW, Ibanez seems to be one of those manufacturers that has a fairly wide range of models with a fairly wide range of price points (unlike Gibsons, say, which are all expensive). I think the lefty Ibanez they had at my semi-local was around $500 (roughly the same as a Mexican Strat or Epiphone Les Paul), which is sort of the high end of the low end price-wise. A step down from there you have the Squiers (ca. $200), which are a little uneven. Both of the ones I have here (my J-bass and my mom's Mustang) seem to be nailed together correctly, but one hears occasional horror stories.

Those are new prices, too; you can get some pretty good deals if you go used.

>>>it wouldn't surprise me if Yui had accidentally
>>>memorized a Kung Fu form or two by marathon-watching too many martial
>>>art movies with Nodoka one rainy summer

Heh, speaking of Nodoka, a Hirasawa, and kung fu...

I do kind of like the implied notion that Yui and Ui both have the old Marvel Super Heroes RPG power "Photographic Reflexes", though, and that's why, for instance, Yui learned the riff from "Brush Pen Ballpoint Pen" after watching Azusa play it once, and Ui hit a home run after seeing some dude demonstrate proper batting technique to his little brother in the next batting cage over. :)

>Her skillset may be less balanced than Ui's, but strikes
>me as no less potent. Just...haphazadly applied.

You can picture a more experienced player looking over Yui's character sheet like, "Ten points of Perform (Guitar), nothing in General Academics, and two points of Cthulhu Mythos?!"

>Commentary on part 8 to follow sometime tonight.

Yay!

--G.
-><-
Benjamin D. Hutchins, Co-Founder, Editor-in-Chief, & Forum Mod
Eyrie Productions, Unlimited http://www.eyrie-productions.com/
zgryphon at that email service Google has
Ceterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam.


#11, TFLF: CH8
Posted by Silversword on Nov-08-14 at 09:46 PM
In response to message #0
LAST EDITED ON Nov-08-14 AT 09:46 PM (EST)
 
I was going to post about 8 here, but there's a new topic so I won't now. :)