Hm, are there already references to other things that happened? IIRC that's when spirits started entering Diqiu proper, but will we see a list at some point?

>a range of different types - Each type of bending can be used
>to propel a naval projectile, but the different methods require
>different hardware; there's also a model for nonbender gun crews.

When I read this in the story, I was like, 'oh, like antishipping, antiaircraft, shore bombardment...' but I guess not. =) One wonders how much more effective the bending versions are, since if I were a general I'd keep the benders somewhere their talents weren't being duplicated. =)

>
>didn't have a father of record - A career-minded single woman
>bearing and raising a child alone on purpose was a pretty
>startling and radical thing when the Sato women started doing it; even
>in the late third century it's considered pretty progressive.

Iiiiiinteresting.

>
>unlike Nature Priestess - It's cute how Utena still pretends
>she believes that's the real reason Anthy shied away from all the
>technological solutions.

The alternative is to admit to herself Anthy lied to her to have an excuse to sleep with Corwin. That's...stark, and all three of them are past it, but it's no less true.

>
>Seriously?! - This is one of my favorite little Anthy moments
>(along with the facepalm following it), if only because it's so rare
>and pleasing for her to have a complete record-scratch moment that
>way.

This may be the first time in UF Utena has caught Anthy off guard. Usually Anthy knows what Utena's going to do before Utena does.

>steal his clothes, etc. - You thought the button-up shirt she's
>wearing for a jacket in Avatar at Work was hers? (Well... I
>suppose it is now.)

Well, it's a bit of a distinction without a difference at this point. =)

>flicked an ancient switch - Studies have shown that the sound
>of babies in severe distress actually does this. Don't ask me how the
>people conducting the experiment got them to play along; there are
>many things about the study of psychology I would rather not know.

The creep factor in some branches of science is what creates the whole stereotype of cold/ruthless/amoral scientists. (Dr. Vahlen, I'm looking at you.)

>
>What's Nall got to do with it? - What's Nall but a secondhand -
>... no.

These EXACT lyrics were what I was thinking when I read this line! (Well, not the 'no'.)

>
>Yolvahlok! - Adapted from the "Call Dragon" Shout in The
>Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, by which the player character can summon
>a dragon at will by Shouting his Name. (Convergently, the summoned
>dragon's Name, and thus the in-game Shout, is "Odahviing", which is
>Nall's Name in UF.)

I have the Skyrim theme running through my head due to Nall's use of the Shout. (Again. 'Dovahkiin, dovahkiin...')

>Freiherr von Arschgesicht - "Baron of Assface". Much less
>comical and more insulting in German than the translation might imply.

...Doctor Doom needs this engraved on his forehead when he's sleeping some night. That is the awesomest insult in all of the ever.

>more like what I remember - Ikki was a mightily loud
>child, capable of summoning her father from up to two miles away.

She hasn't gotten all that much quieter. XD

>
>expecting her to slap him - In the original draft of this
>scene, she did, but then I realized that she's come beyond the
>fantasy-princess slap-in-the-face (even if it was going to be hard
>enough to knock him down). She's been studying ba gua; the
>obvious thing was for her to throw him instead.

Well, I only disagree in that I think it's not obvious. But to be honest, a slap wouldn't have been enough to convey the depth of her anger anyway. All for this.

>chillin' with his daughter - Dad Achievement Unlocked:
>Adjustable Priorities.

AWWWWWWW~

>
>oh, you have one - I love Garnet. I just do.

She's pleasantly, amusingly acerbic. Not that far off from Nall, if you swap the 'sarcasm' and 'whimsy' sliders. (For some reason I envisioned the tablet the villain was using to control her employees in the Doctor Who episode, 'Bells of St. John'.)

>spontaneous firebending manifestations - Spontaneous bending
>manifestations are very rare in the third century, but they do
>occasionally happen. Most students of the phenomenon believe that the
>people they happen to have really been benders all along, but their
>talents have lain latent in them for various reasons, until unlocked
>by extraordinary stimuli, like Korra's own airbending ability.

Were they possible before Harmonic Convergence?

>I haven't played since... almost 40 years - In other words, she
>put it away when Asami died.

...Wow. I hadn't put that together...

Anyway! I enjoyed this immensely. Definitely bringing this back on a very positive note, though I confess I also wonder what's happening with Emily. =) Either way, though, linking this back into the narrative of Symphony 5 is a very good thing. Definitely looking forward to the continuation.

--------

this world created by the
hands of the gods
everything is false
everything is a LIE
the final days have come
now
let everything be destroyed

--mu