LAST EDITED ON Jun-09-15 AT 01:43 AM (EDT)
 
[Note: web-styled version available here]

The Order of the Rose: A Duelist Opera
Fifth Movement: Taken by Storm
Supplementary Documents File

Item 1: International Police Space Force Flashnet Traffic
June 25, 2410

FLASH FLASH FLASH FLASH PRIORITY-1 BULLETIN FLASH FLASH FLASH FLASH

FROM: IPSF COMMAND
TO: ALL IPSF VESSELS + TIER-1 ALLIED VESSELS

BOLO FOR THE FOLLOWING TWO INDIVIDUALS:

DŌJI, SHUTEN
H: 5'9"
W: 150
HAR: RED
EYE: GRN
APRT SPEC: HUMAN
APRT AGE: ~18 SY
AKA: ONI-MASHŌ, DEMON GENERAL, KOMANO TOSHITADA

NAAZA, NLN
H: 5'8"
W: 160
HAR: GRN
EYE: BLK
APRT SPEC: HUMAN
APRT AGE: ~20 SY
AKA: SERPENT, SEKHMET, POISON DEMON, ISSEI FUTAMATA, YAMANOUCHI NAOTOKI

SUBJ ARE WANTED FOR MULTPL COUNTS ASSAULT (FEL), MURDER (FEL), DESTRUCTION OF PROPERTY (FEL), FORGERY (FEL), ABDUCTION OF MINOR (FEL), KIDNAPPING OF MINOR (FEL)

CONSIDER ARMED AND DANGEROUS W/POTENTIAL ESPER ABILITY. SA 1 2 11 SUPPORT RCMD.

LAST SEEN VICINITY SAIKYO, ZIPANG, 1420 GST. BELIEVED TO BE HEADING FOR ISHIYAMA, ORT.

NOTE FROM CHIEF: NON-LETHAL FORCE ONLY. WE NEED ANSWERS.

FLASH FLASH FLASH FLASH ENDIT FLASH FLASH FLASH FLASH

Item 2: Email from Corwin Ravenhair to Mio Akiyama
Liuyue 25, 291 ASC

From: "Corwin Ravenhair" <cvr3!scm.co.ur>
To: "Mio Akiyama" <akiyama_mio!sato.ac.ur>
Subject: Re: Trouble in Nanisivik?
Date: Friday Liu 25 23:14:38 291 ASC

I wrote:
>Mio Akiyama wrote:
>>Are you guys OK?
>
>Yeah, we're fine

I need to file a correction. We're not fine. Not in any way.

The thing in Nani last night was a feint. (Is that the word?) It was meant to make us do exactly what we did - come to Qurluqtuq and think we'd be safe here. And why wouldn't we be? This place is a fortress. It's /Korra's/ fortress. The White Lotus built it ages ago to keep her safe, and however misguided the effort was, it did at least /work,/ well enough that she's kept it in reserve all this time.

They came at midday (not that that really means anything around here this time of year), after they were sure she was back in Republic City, all tangled up in dealing with the Agni Kai/Red Monsoon shenanigans up there. (Guessing you probably saw something about that on the news?) Triad foot soldiers, Black Rose Duelists, all led by those magic-armor freaks from Kaneko on Ishiyama. They sailed up the fjord in a Fleet of Fog submarine, Mimir only knows where they got such a thing, and laid siege to the compound. Still, we weren't too worried. I mean, it /is/ a fortress. We figured we could hold out until help arrived.

And we probably could've, but, well, Fleet of Fog submarine. Oh, and the White Lotus were trying to let them in. That didn't really help.

I'm not sure what happened next, I was out of commission by then. Pushed myself to the limit taking their Fog sub out of the equation. Should've pulled my limiter, but even then, I didn't think the situation was /that/ desperate. You do something like that, you have to be sure you can explain it to the AEsir Council afterward. Y'know? Of course you don't, you have no idea what half of the stuff I've said means. Sorry. I know I shouldn't do this to you. Shouldn't drop all this on you when you have no background for most of it and no dog in the fight. But I have to tell /someone./ Have to believe that somebody cares.

They...

Anthy has a brother. I'm not sure if I mentioned him when I was up there. Probably not, we don't like to talk about him. They were very close once, but... something went wrong. The brother she loved is dead, and in his place is this... /thing/ that hates her and everything she loves. Including Utena and me. Especially Utena and me. The people who attacked Qurluqtuq... the Agni Kai who raided Nani... the members of both Triads Korra was up against in RC... they all worked for him, whether they knew it or not. He set the whole thing up.

They took Annabelle. Took her for him, took her /to/ him. For what purpose, I don't know. Don't even want to try and imagine. He left a snide little note saying he wasn't going to hurt her, but what the hell good is his word on that? On anything?

Kate's still here, she's OK - well, she'll be OK, she has a broken arm, but that kind of thing is no big problem for the likes of us. She'll be fine by the time you see her again. Anthy's still unconscious, but we think she'll recover, she just needs sleep. Utena's with her. And I'm... I don't know. I can't face either of them right now. What could I say? This is my fault. I should've seen it coming, should've seen the signs. I didn't, and now we're all paying for my carelessness.

I'm not hurt, Utena's not hurt, but some good people lost their lives today. And some bad people, come to that, but not nearly enough and mostly not the ones who really should've.

Shit, Corwin, don't say that to a normal teenager. Not everyone's had your psychotic fantasy adventure game upbringing.

I'm sorry, Mio, I shouldn't even have started this. Your message from yesterday was still at the top of my inbox and this is all just falling out of me now, but don't worry. Now that it's out of my system, I'll just delete it and you'll never have t

Item 3: Note found at scene
Fort Tonraq, SWT, Dìqiú

My darling sister,

I must thank you from the bottom of my heart for your cooperation with my latest little project.

Don't look so surprised - it's disingenuous at best. You didn't sincerely believe this was your idea, did you? Even with your subsequent training as a dream diver (and I can tell you that gave me a nasty turn, you naughty girl), you haven't realized where the dreams that nudged you onto this strangely precipitate path came from?

Come, now. Don't be silly. I think we both know it's much more likely that you've simply not admitted to yourself what you already knew. That, or you were counting on your friends' curious ability to cheat destiny to make it all right in the end. And that might have worked, if you had told them what was really going on. But you couldn't do that. Could you?

Of course you couldn't. That would have meant admitting something else we both know is true:

You'll never be free of me.

Now don't fret. I don't intend to do your little girl any harm. On the contrary, she's my most important possession now, and all of my people would lay down their lives to protect her. I've seen to that.

In any case, you should rest now. You've earned it. Your task is complete, and I must say you've done your usual excellent job, too. She's a perfect little gem, precisely what I require in every respect. But then, I knew I could count on you. I always have, haven't I?

Please be so good as to convey my regards to the rest of your adopted clan, especially the Rose Knight and her paramour. After all, I couldn't have accomplished my goal without their help as well.

With best wishes for your continued good health, I remain,
Your loving brother,
AKIO

Item 4: Telegram from Central Air Temple to multiple recipients
Liuyue 26, 291 ASC

FROM JINORA GM WLS
TO ALL WLS STATIONS

EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY ALL WHITE LOTUS SOCIETY ACTIVITIES ARE SUSPENDED PENDING INQUIRY STOP

ALL WHITE LOTUS PERSONNEL REPORT TO AIR TEMPLE ISLAND STOP

THIS IS NOT NEGOTIABLE STOP

JINORA

---

Taken by Storm Supplementary Documents File
by Benjamin D. Hutchins and Matt Wagner
© 2015 Eyrie Productions, Unlimited

Strange as it may sound, that terse telegram from Jinora is the message that fills me with the most sympathetic dread.

...urge to witness Akio's violent dismemberment and soul death has reached critical mass.

You guys really know how to stoke the fires. Between Jinora's recall of the Lotus and the note about the warlords AND Corwin's missive, man, I don't know how I can manage to wait for the rest.

Not that I have any choice, mind. I guess I'll have to satisfy myself with rereading the leadup to this as well as OWaW. Again.

Akio's letter... Jesus Christ.

Matrix Dragon, J. Random Nutter

>Akio's letter... Jesus Christ.

That's been banging around the drawer since... hang on, let me check the date stamp on the original note.

August 18, 2008.

Yeah.

--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.

LAST EDITED ON Jun-08-15 AT 11:20 PM (EDT)
 
Damn, you've been sitting on that emotional bullet for a while. I've come to truely hate Akio all over again.

Matrix Dragon, J. Random Nutter

>Damn, you've been sitting on that emotional bullet for a while. I've
>come to truely hate Akio all over again.

Well, now you know why Utena read it a few dozen times and then (metaphorically) buried it. And then spent the rest of the evening too upset to cry.

Yeah. This... I've had some trouble with this plotline. I kind of hate myself for coming up with it. You may recall my "bloody-handed tyrant" rant from when Christmas Rose came out... this has been kind of like that.

--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.

>>Akio's letter... Jesus Christ.
>
>That's been banging around the drawer since... hang on, let me check
>the date stamp on the original note.
>
>August 18, 2008.
>
>Yeah.
>
>--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.

Holy shit.

This entire time I've been wondering where you were going and this is nothing like what I'd imagined.

It's just so utterly, coldly perfect.

Hmm. Did Mio see it or not, I wonder.

And if the answer is 'yes'...

>Hmm. Did Mio see it or not, I wonder.

Well... it's got a date stamp. Usually in email that's referent to the time of delivery.

--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.

It could be an autosaved draft!, he says to cover up the fact he missed that bit.

>>Hmm. Did Mio see it or not, I wonder.
>
>Well... it's got a date stamp. Usually in email that's referent to
>the time of delivery.
>
>--G.
>

Presumably, Corwin was saying something on the order of "Stupid SEND button is too close to the DELETE button!"

Peter Eng
--
Insert humorous comment here.

You know.

On reflection, I'm not actually sure about this.

I mean, as far as we've known it so far, TFLF is definitely the fuzzy slice-of-life counterpart to the other ongoing stories, and we know that the girls only really know (correct me if I'm wrong) Corwin, Kate and theirs as The Art of Noise and not their secret superhero alter egos.

Except now they do, in a way that may make Mio feel as if she's just opened her lunchbox (or inbox as the case may be) only to find all of the secrets of the true form of the universe staring back at her, a world where... well, everything's a lot more complicated.

And what exactly happens when a character or characters from the fuzzy slice-of-life end up there? I mean, we do know that some of the girls of Houkago Tea Time have some small talent for bending, but ... well, this is hardly a sign that they're going to be drawn into a conflict, as this may be a case of 'Corwin is there anything I can do to help' 'no' 'is there anything we can do to help' 'definitely no', but still.

I'm just unsure what direction this is all going to go.

I don't want to say anything that will spoil future developments, but I can tell you that all of us are aware that there is a balance there, and we're working carefully to maintain it.

(I mean, Cmon, it's not like we're getting script notes from Dave Sim.)

I understand completely, and I appreciate this.

Wasn't fishing for spoilers, it was just one of those things that the more I thought about it, the more I needed to get it out there.

See, this is why I love you guys, though. Feedback and ... a real connection with your readers.

>>>Hmm. Did Mio see it or not, I wonder.
>>
>>Well... it's got a date stamp. Usually in email that's referent to
>>the time of delivery.
>
>Presumably, Corwin was saying something on the order of "Stupid SEND
>button is too close to the DELETE button!"

When we last saw him, he didn't have any idea yet that he'd sent it. Bit distracted.

He'll probably figure it out the next time he looks at his mail client, but...

--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.

Why do I suspect that Akio values Annabelle in the sense of 'ten, maybe twelve years from now, I can sexually confuse her and use her as the Rose Bride'?

The way he did his sister. The way he did his own daughter.

But maybe he has something more original in mind.

(And of course, with all Akio's talk to Corwin of how Annabelle was Anthy's tool to keep Corwin and Utena under her thumb, how does he use her? Projecting much?)

I figure she's the key to something. Blood of one of the Aesir and the High Priestess of Cephiro? All kinds of doors she could open. None of them particularly pleasant.

What scares me is the idea that Akio might set up things so that his ultimate revenge can happen completely posthumously, without any further direct input from himself at all. It's the kind of 'If I can't win this thing I will at least ensure that your 'victory' is nothing but ashes' thing I can see him doing as a last resort.

>But maybe he has something more original in mind.

I don't think so. Despite Akio's Byzantine machinations his end-goals have always been pretty straightforward. He needs a Rose Bride/Pillar, for whatever reason it has to be his kin and he's willing to burn down the world to get exactly what he wants.

--
Mr. Fnord

>>But maybe he has something more original in mind.
>
>I don't think so. Despite Akio's Byzantine machinations his end-goals have
>always been pretty straightforward. He needs a Rose Bride/Pillar, for whatever
>reason it has to be his kin and he's willing to burn down the world to get
>exactly what he wants.

The incestous mindgames are probably optional, but he seems to enjoy breaking the associatied taboos, and is quite skilled at using the result to his advantage (mind games along the lines of "now you're as filthy as I am, nobody would help you if they knew, it's the two of us against the world").

After looking at Akio's message, I'm bothered by one thing.

It's too long.

If he just wanted to say "gotcha!" he could have done it in less. If he's going for that much verbosity, I'm inclined to suspect that he's still trying to push people's buttons. If I'm right, he's not as secure as he tries to make it sound - and he's looking to get an advantage out of the reaction.

Peter Eng
--
Insert humorous comment here.

>After looking at Akio's message, I'm bothered by one thing.
>
>It's too long.
>
>If he just wanted to say "gotcha!" he could have done it in less. If
>he's going for that much verbosity, I'm inclined to suspect that he's
>still trying to push people's buttons. If I'm right, he's not as
>secure as he tries to make it sound - and he's looking to get an
>advantage out of the reaction.
>
>Peter Eng
>--
>Insert humorous comment here.

Well, UF is a stylized anime-esque (multi)universe. Bad guys get the Diabolic Monologue trait on their character sheets a lot. Akio 'at least' managed to set it up to be given after the fact.

>>After looking at Akio's message, I'm bothered by one thing.
>>
>>It's too long.
>>
>>If he just wanted to say "gotcha!" he could have done it in less. If
>>he's going for that much verbosity, I'm inclined to suspect that he's
>>still trying to push people's buttons.
>
>Well, UF is a stylized anime-esque (multi)universe. Bad guys
>get the Diabolic Monologue trait on their character sheets a lot. Akio
>'at least' managed to set it up to be given after the fact.

Akio probably doesn't know how to interact with Anthy any other way, even when pragmatic villainy would indicate that it's a terrible idea.

>If he just wanted to say "gotcha!" he could have done it in less. If
>he's going for that much verbosity, I'm inclined to suspect that he's
>still trying to push people's buttons.

Are you familiar with the fable of the frog and the scorpion?

--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.

>>If he just wanted to say "gotcha!" he could have done it in less. If
>>he's going for that much verbosity, I'm inclined to suspect that he's
>>still trying to push people's buttons.
>
>Are you familiar with the fable of the frog and the scorpion?

... oh wow. never before were truer words said...

>>If he just wanted to say "gotcha!" he could have done it in less. If
>>he's going for that much verbosity, I'm inclined to suspect that he's
>>still trying to push people's buttons.
>
>Are you familiar with the fable of the frog and the scorpion?
>

Yes. I'm just not sure whether he's taunting because that's in his nature, or he's scheming because that's in his nature.

Peter Eng
--
Insert humorous comment here.

>Yes. I'm just not sure whether he's taunting because that's in his
>nature, or he's scheming because that's in his nature.
>

Yes.

>If he's going for that much verbosity, I'm inclined to suspect that he's
>still trying to push people's buttons.

As was said elsewhere about Emma Frost (before she (sort of) reformed), Akio finds people's buttons and plays Bach on them because it's fun. I don't think we need to look any deeper than that for the letter. His actual plot on the other hand... I think he's about to discover he just stepped on a perfectly ordinary-looking patch of ground, and something went <click>...

--
Unable to save the day: File is read-only.

It just occurred to me, on rereading the letter, how thoroughly Akio twisted the knife with his letter. All this time, Utena and Corwin have been doing their damndest to ensure that Anthy can follow her own desires, now that she's no longer the Rose Bride or Akio's pawn.

And then he comes and implies that her desire to have children - and perhaps all of her desires after his apparent death - are his doing. That she is, and forever will be, a puppet dancing to his tune.

I knoe I've struggled several times with whether I've had free will and whether it meant anything, and these just spurred from my own mind and from philosophy class. Anthy is dealing with this issue being raised by a sadistic psychic mastermind in the shape of her beloved brother who's been torturing her for decades.

I have no idea what kind of mental shape she's in right now. None of us do besides the folks in the studio, since I don't think she's shown up in any of the post-TbS stories. But I am extremely worried for her, and not just for any of the obvious reasons.

Hopefully, they'll rescue Annabelle before she's old enough to vote......

Craig

>Hopefully, they'll rescue Annabelle before she's old enough to
>vote......
>
>Craig

You should have more confidence in our assorted heroes. Pretty sure they execute their rescue with as little lapsed time as possible, and I have this vague recollection of some scene where Corwin is puttering about with... something and Annabelle is trying to help in a well meaning but ineffective toddler-y way (though I can't find that scene searching the back catalogue so far, so I might have imagined it.) So if my memory isn't playing with me they'll get her back before she's out of diapers, let alone casting ballots.

	-={(Astynax)}=- "This Space For Rent."

>>Hopefully, they'll rescue Annabelle before she's old enough to
>>vote......
>>
>>Craig
>
>You should have more confidence in our assorted heroes. Pretty sure
>they execute their rescue with as little lapsed time as possible, and
>I have this vague recollection of some scene where Corwin is puttering
>about with... something and Annabelle is trying to help in a well
>meaning but ineffective toddler-y way (though I can't find that scene
>searching the back catalogue so far, so I might have imagined it.) So
>if my memory isn't playing with me they'll get her back before she's
>out of diapers, let alone casting ballots.
>

If nothing else, we have a reference to Utena's daughter in Volume Four of the mini-stories. While that could hypothetically mean that they have another child, that's not the Eyrie style.

I know they've planned a fair distance ahead, but that's for things that hurt in the moment and pay off with heroics in the end. Planning ahead for long-term pain for the characters, on the other hand, is not what I expect around here.

Peter Eng
--
Insert humorous comment here.

>>>Hopefully, they'll rescue Annabelle before she's old enough to
>>>vote......
>>>
>>>Craig
>>
>>You should have more confidence in our assorted heroes. Pretty sure
>>they execute their rescue with as little lapsed time as possible, and
>>I have this vague recollection of some scene where Corwin is puttering
>>about with... something and Annabelle is trying to help in a well
>>meaning but ineffective toddler-y way (though I can't find that scene
>>searching the back catalogue so far, so I might have imagined it.) So
>>if my memory isn't playing with me they'll get her back before she's
>>out of diapers, let alone casting ballots.
>>
>
>If nothing else, we have a reference to Utena's daughter in Volume
>Four of the mini-stories. While that could hypothetically mean that
>they have another child, that's not the Eyrie style.
>
>I know they've planned a fair distance ahead, but that's for things
>that hurt in the moment and pay off with heroics in the end. Planning
>ahead for long-term pain for the characters, on the other hand, is not
>what I expect around here.
>
>Peter Eng
>--
>Insert humorous comment here.

Lemme put it this way:

When I joined the studio, there were skeletons and story beats that I helped flesh out more that went back as far as 2001. I started writing, as opposed to just editing and proofing, in 20...14? Ish?

Some of the stuff we set into motion then is *still* playing out, slowly and carefully, and there are things I wrote five years ago that have yet to be revealed.

We go off on tangents. We chase plot bunnies. Sometimes the world changes under us in ways we never could have expected or predicted, and we adapt and adjust as necessary.

But there is a plan.

There are devices in motion.

And you ain't seen half of it yet.