53 In this context, "the Chief" refers to Brunnhilde Silverspear, the Valkyrie executive officer.

97 Vigdis was not deliberately named after Sturm Brightblade, the grumpy Solamnic Knight from the Dragonlance Chronicles, but I'm sure his name was bumping around somewhere in my subconscious. Almost all the Valkyrie (and indeed many others in Asgard, Vanaheim, and Alfheim) have surnames that evoke something about their character design - Gudrun Truemace, for instance, or Gwyneth Longrifle. "Brightblade" may not be her original surname, but one she adopted when chosen as a Valkyrie.

101 The intent here seems to have been to imply that Valkyrie are destined for their roles from birth and bear a distinctive birthmark that permits them entry into the cadre. This is a pretty common fantasy trope, though not one I ever explored further in the Valkyrie's case.

128 ... among other things.

136 This kind of thing isn't illegal in Asgard; indeed, in earlier times it was practically de rigueur. After all, it isn't as if the Asgardian genome is flimsy enough for inbreeding to be a practical problem.

146 Some of the Symphony characters should have "BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH FOR" tattooed backward on their foreheads.

151 For all her unconventionality, Utena has enough insight into the feminine heart by this point not to buy that.

168 The Asgard CDF, commanded by the Lightwalker twins, acts as a combination militia, police force, and fire/EMS department for the Golden City.

190 Coincidentally, this is Frey Lightwalker's home.

192 The Valhalla complex.

196 Nicknamed "Bigger Ben" by the British members of the Einherjar.

225 Kijana is a white-gold Northern Wyrm Dragon from Alfheim. Northerns are similar to Western Wyrms, but slightly smaller. They tend to be more agile fliers. She customarily stays in human form in Asgard for convenience's sake - there aren't that many doors in the Golden City that can accommodate a full-size Western.

226 The UF version of Thor is not based on the Marvel Comics version, oddly enough; he's an original design. His hammer Mjollnir does resemble the Marvel version, though.

229 By which he means the three Norns, Urd, Belldandy, and Skuld.

275 Many of the gods have multiple versions of their names. Urthr is the more correct version of Urd's.

312 Just like in Darkman - ouch!

343 Apparently Kijana attended the Leonard H. McCoy School of Medicine.

360 Oddly, when the time comes for Corwin's Trial of Ascension later in this Symphony, Balder is explicitly not a member of the Ęsir Council. Perhaps his term expired in the interim, or maybe he was recused because of his prior involvement in the Cephiro crisis - though if he was, why not Frey?

367 As its name suggests, the Street of the Eternal Heroes is the street on which Valhalla's street address falls. According to the Asgard Postal Service, Valhalla is "#1 Street of the Eternal Heroes". Corwin's place is in Midtown, several blocks away.

379 Ravenhair Labs, which we'll see again in Ash Knight.

411 The CX-68's unique construction is a nod to the peculiar fact, previously noted, that Akio Ohtori's car in Revolutionary Girl Utena appears to be a 1957 Corvette with an improbable back seat.

416 The original Stanley Steamer was a surprisingly fast piece of machinery for its day. They have one at the Owls Head Transportation Museum in Owls Head, Maine, that they fire up a few days a year for demonstrations.

439 My mental image of Odin's palace is a sort of "Chartres Cathedral meets the Empire State Building" effect - huge and soaring, but with a tremendous sense of bulk and solidity, and a sort of exultant Gothic/Machine Deco fusion style. ... This is probably impossible, but what the hell, it's my mental image.

457 One presumes Corwin isn't normally this preoccupied with astronomical convenience, but given the way he's been spending his summer...

471 Once again we see a curious parallel between one of Akio's mannerisms - the Deputy Chairman had the most alarming habit of jumping on the hood of his car, at which point Very Bad Things would happen to his passengers - and something benign Corwin's doing.

511 Lenneth is named after the protagonist of the PlayStation game Valkyrie Profile, but is not supposed to be the same character. In the movie, she would be played by the young Meg Ryan (circa The Presidio). She fights with a giant wrench, like Led from Septerra Core, but she's not supposed to be that character either; in fact, I only heard about the latter similarity when I mentioned her weapon on the EPU Forum and someone said, "Oh, like Led from Septerra Core." She is the star of Rahne Sinclair's second Valkyrie Adventures novel, Lenneth Winternight in the Lost City of Kolkular.

522 Another Apollo 13 parallel: the accident that crippled Apollo 13 was caused by a catastrophic failure of one of the liquified-gas fuel tanks.

544 Skuld isn't supposed to play favorites among her subordinates, but Lenneth's fondness for and focus on technology gives her a special rapport with the Valkyrie leader.

562 I forget who originally made this observation about Vigdis during the interlude's development, but it certainly made for a goodly amount of character mental disconnect later on. PJM

583 Peorth - also known as Eris - is also nowhere to be seen in the Ęsir Council scenes later in the Second Symphony. But then, she's Eris.

615 Urd, like Anthy, is half-svartelven. Her mother, Hild, is a person of some significance in the svartelven priesthood, leading the dark elves of the Underworld in their worship of their even darker secret gods. How she and Odin came to have a child together is... unclear.

620 Utena's wrong here: Urd and Anthy are actually cousins. Anthy's late mother was Hild's sister. She was cast out of Svartalfheim many years ago for unspecified transgressions against dark-elven law.

630 Urd is one of Asgard's most accomplished alchemists. Her skills are in constant demand.

648 It will appear later, adapted for Midgardian ingredients, as "lasagne Valiant".

698 Similar to what happens to dying celestials in In Nomine.

741 Urd is the Norn of Memory; she can see Utena's past in her eyes, if she looks closely enough.

784 Wyverns are nonsentient cousins to the dragons of Alfheim. Carnivorous, savage, and fiercely territorial, they are left alone in the remote wilderness, but in proximity to settlements they're considered a public menace. In Alfheim, proof that one has slain a wyvern near a populated area is worth a considerable quantity of gold.

842 Another scene I wish I could capture in artwork. PJM

882 Corwin - or perhaps his tutor - takes a slight liberty with history here for concision's sake. The Engine actually stopped because Loki fell into it, as a result of being shot in the eye by Urd. Still, given that he was only near enough to the Engine for that to happen because he was up to no good...

935 Despite its lofty-sounding title, the office of Watcher O'er the World-Engine is largely ceremonial. The Engine is, except in the event of a truly catastrophic mishap such as the Loki incident, self-maintaining.

1005 Utena originally learned her horsemanship from - who else? - Akio, in the later part of the TV series. As such, it's another activity she'd have been reluctant to return to back when she first arrived in Midgard, and that she's willing to do it now is another indication that she's healing.

Peorth is Eris? Good lord, that's a terrifying thought. Did she plague Keiichi and Bell in this reality as well?

- Sean
"All tribal myths are true, for a given value of 'true.'"
-- Terry Pratchett, from _The Last Continent_

620 Utena's wrong here: Urd and Anthy are actually cousins. Anthy's late mother was Hild's sister. She was cast out of Svartalfheim many years ago for unspecified transgressions against dark-elven law.<<

I've been wondering for some time how you were going to handle the matter of Hild. I must say that this is an instance in which the adjustments you make to a character in order to have her fit into the UFverse yield a result better, IMHO, than the canonical/source material. It may be my Western cultural background, but I've always had some difficulty buying into the notion of Urd as being half-demon; I personally think Mr. Fujishima has had to go through some undesirable contortions in order to keep her background in tune with the nature of the rest of the AMG universe. Having her be half-svartelven works much better.

-Joe-

Demesnes of the gods are not bound by the rules of mortal architecture.

Polychrome

Well, the only other alternative is that Gryphon really Does Know Everyone.

>136 This kind of thing isn't illegal in Asgard; indeed, in
>earlier times it was practically de rigueur. After all, it
>isn't as if the Asgardian genome is flimsy enough for inbreeding to be
>a practical problem.

Pardon me while I wipe off my monitor, but the first time through this story that gag went over my head with an audible *pwoosh* apparently.

>226 The UF version of Thor is not based on the Marvel Comics
>version, oddly enough; he's an original design. His hammer
>Mjollnir does resemble the Marvel version, though.

One thing I wondered about this: was the square with blank diamond in the middle an original creation as well, or an AMG design feature? I can't for the life of me recall any gods in that series other than the Almighty. At the least, it reminds me of my basics computer classes with male/female serial ports. ;)

>439 My mental image of Odin's palace is a sort of "Chartres
>Cathedral meets the Empire State Building" effect - huge and soaring,
>but with a tremendous sense of bulk and solidity, and a sort of
>exultant Gothic/Machine Deco fusion style. ... This is probably
>impossible, but what the hell, it's my mental image.

Celestial engineering cares not for such pithy things as 'gravity' and 'structural integrity'.

>471 Once again we see a curious parallel between one of Akio's
>mannerisms - the Deputy Chairman had the most alarming habit of
>jumping on the hood of his car, at which point Very Bad Things would
>happen to his passengers - and something benign Corwin's doing.

Yet again, your description of a canon RGU event makes me giggle over the sheer absurdity of it. Then again, the car was probably possessed anyway.

>562 I forget who originally made this
>observation about Vigdis during the interlude's development, but it
>certainly made for a goodly amount of character mental disconnect
>later on. PJM

You can practically hear the 'needle across record' screetch sound of Corwin's thought patterns here. Especially since he can't possibly be unaware of Juri and Kate's standing at the moment.

>583 Peorth - also known as Eris - is also nowhere to be seen in
>the Ęsir Council scenes later in the Second Symphony. But then, she's
>Eris.

*cough* Y'know, if anything, the term "pulled a UF"(regarding a combination which on the face of it makes no sense at all but in practice just works, like the merging of MKG and RGU's universes) is a slang term that I'll take out of reading these stories.

>784 Wyverns are nonsentient cousins to the dragons of Alfheim.
>Carnivorous, savage, and fiercely territorial, they are left alone in
>the remote wilderness, but in proximity to settlements they're
>considered a public menace. In Alfheim, proof that one has slain a
>wyvern near a populated area is worth a considerable quantity of gold.

Are they similarly distinguished by the easy 'two legs, it's a wyvern, four it's a dragon' rule? It seems like otherwise you'd have a bit of trouble if some nasty dragon decided to 'play dumb' by pretending to be a wyvern.

>882 Corwin - or perhaps his tutor - takes a slight liberty with
>history here for concision's sake. The Engine actually stopped
>because Loki fell into it, as a result of being shot in the eye
>by Urd.

Well, if we explained the whole story, we'd be here all night, wouldn't we?

-OM