>I do have a bit of a question, though. When Corwin asks Utena what the
>name of her old sword was, she says she never learned its name. Was
>she never told that it was called the Sword of Dios?

She's not talking about the Sword of Dios, or at least she doesn't think she is. In the part of Revolutionary Girl Utena that never made it to the US, the Sword of Dios disappears mysteriously, and has to be replaced in Utena's arsenal by another sword which, coincidentally, happens to look just like it. (That's either an indication of something very important, or the animators were lazy. I'm still not entirely certain which.)

Anyway, that sword's name, she never learned, and she didn't want to spend the time explaining to Corwin that there were actually two swords that were basically identical, and so on, and so forth. That would have led inevitably to an explanation of the entire Tournament and everything else, and she feels, for some reason she hasn't been able to pin down, somewhat reluctant to have him know much about that part of her past.

>Very spiffy job, as usual. I would kind of like to know exactly what
>the New Avalon Symphony's New Year's program is, since aside from
>"Sing, Sing, Sing" I don't remember seeing it.

Well, basically, watch one of the Boston Pops' holiday concerts, add some alien stuff and things written since the 20th century, and there you go. :)

>Oh, and I love how everyone, including Skuld, knows
>exactly what Corwin is thinking with regard to Utena, even if he
>doesn't. ^_^

Personal experience suggests that the one in that situation is always the last one to receive formal notification, and at that point, it's patently obvious to every other carbon-based lifeform within spitting distance.

--G.
-><-
Benjamin D. Hutchins, Co-Founder, Editor in Chief, Netadmin
Eyrie Productions, Unlimited http://www.eyrie-productions.com/

> That would have led inevitably to an explanation of the entire
> Tournament and everything else, and she feels, for some reason she
> hasn't been able to pin down, somewhat reluctant to have him know much
> about that part of her past.

Ah ha! Would this in anyway be tied to the off the cuff remark Eris made about Cephiros and the Test of Ascension? Obviously Utena doesn't know about it, but she has shown power and some psychic ability... Foreshadowing?

Delighted with this and the winter break.

t.

Trigger Argee
trigger_argee@hotmail.com
Manon, Orado, etc.
Denton, never leave home without it.

In this case, probably not. It's more likely she's just feeling unaccountably shy about certain elements of her past with Corwin...

--G.
-><-
Benjamin D. Hutchins, Co-Founder, Editor in Chief, Netadmin
Eyrie Productions, Unlimited http://www.eyrie-productions.com/

got a friend or mine who got drunk at a party, and made out with a girl. she ended up being the one that made sure he got back to his room. the two of them started spending some time together, so he was asked if they were dating. his response: <shrug>"maybe"
then someone asked her. after she said yes the line was: "well maybe you should left him know"

>room. the two of them started spending some time together, so he was
>asked if they were dating. his response: <shrug>"maybe"
>then someone asked her. after she said yes the line was: "well maybe
>you should left him know"

Remembers me of a joke about a guy who after being married for twenty years wasn't sure if it counted as a relationship.

Pangaro, "I don't know, after all we've only been married for twenty years"
<o>
Maestro indiscutido en las artes del escabio y la borrachera.

Huh...I always thought it was still the Sword of Dios. Anthy creates both, after all, even if the second one comes from Utena, not her. The funny thing about SKU is, it's next to impossible to tell what is illusion and what is real, unless it's revealed later. The Sword of Dios is no exception. Did Anthy actually create the sword from nothing every duel? Was it the same sword, and when it disappeared, Anthy just created it again, a different way? Was the creation routine BS to begin with, the sword just a physical object? Only Akio and Anthy know these things, and neither one is in the habit of revealing secrets. I highly doubt the animators would be so lazy, though, not when everything else in the series is abstract symbolism.

Oh, and one other amusing if irrelevant fact: The disappearance of the original sword, and Anthy's creation of the new one, happen in a duel with Saionji, of all people.

--"I invoke the rites of fiery Muspelheim, and give thy soul up to the inferno's embrace..."

It's not so much that Anthy is creating it as that she's acquiring it. It's a bit of sorcery: everybody's heart (spiritually speaking) is a sword, and a person with the appropriate spiritual connection to someone else can draw that sword forth (make it manifest in the corporeal world, if you prefer). They're physical manifestations of their owners' spiritual hearts. In UF, this works out quite nicely for the cross-tie to Cephiro, which is a world of magic defined by will and emotion anyway.

Now, I'm not saying that my interpretation is the correct one for the original series, because how would I know - they never provide enough data for a full conclusion. But it's the one that's correct for the UF version, anyway, and also happens to be the way I think it works in the original.

--G.
-><-
Benjamin D. Hutchins, Co-Founder, Editor in Chief, Netadmin
Eyrie Productions, Unlimited http://www.eyrie-productions.com/

*blink* Actually, going back and reading my own post, it's amazing how pathetically biased my hypothetical questions were. It was obvious that I had already come to a conclusion and was then looking to support it. But, to be frank, your explanation makes a hell of a lot more sense, especially given the Black Rose Duelists' method for acquiring their own swords. As for Cephiro, I've only seen part of the first MKR season. But you're right, it does fit in remarkably well. It sort of begs the question, though, whether people other than Akio and Anthy could exert their will and get powers of their own, and perhaps explains something of how Utena invokes Dios in her duels. Pure speculation, of course, and it might not even fit that well. But it's a thought.

>
>Now, I'm not saying that my interpretation is the correct one for the
>original series, because how would I know - they never provide enough
>data for a full conclusion. But it's the one that's correct for the
>UF version, anyway, and also happens to be the way I
>think it works in the original.

--"I invoke the rites of fiery Muspelheim, and give thy soul up to the inferno's embrace..."

The way that world works, sure - but it requires a tremendous force of will to get any notable result, and most of the common people of Cephiro just aren't that strong or that motivated. That's part of what makes Utena so exceptional:

>explains something of how Utena invokes Dios in her duels.

... she's a regular person, in the sense that she wasn't born to power - she acquired it by having such strength and nobility (to use Dios's phrase) that it came to her. That's more or less the same process that the Magic Knights undergo in MKR, except without even the little kick-start from Clef at the beginning.

If she'd had that advantage, yow. :)

--G.
-><-
Benjamin D. Hutchins, Co-Founder, Editor in Chief, Netadmin
Eyrie Productions, Unlimited http://www.eyrie-productions.com/

I THINK he means the dojo scene... if the blade had been real, your alter ego WOULD have been skewered <OK, so it wouldn't have caused permanent harm, bit that's spliting hairs>

-={(Astynax)}=-
"Jumping to conclusions since 1979"

Oh, well, yeah. That would have been interesting, in a "somebody's got to scrub all this blood off the floor" sort of way. :)

--G.
-><-
Benjamin D. Hutchins, Co-Founder, Editor in Chief, Netadmin
Eyrie Productions, Unlimited http://www.eyrie-productions.com/

>>
>>I THINK he means the dojo scene... if the blade had been real, your
>>alter ego WOULD have been skewered <OK, so it wouldn't have caused
>>permanent harm, bit that's spliting hairs>
>
>Oh, well, yeah. That would have been interesting, in a "somebody's
>got to scrub all this blood off the floor" sort of way. :)
>

Yup, that was exactly what I was thinking of, given the placement of the burn mark described when Zoner fished Gryph out of the pond. I think Zoner needing to be reminded to fish him out added to the overall level of hysterics on my part. too.

Oh, and I also think you did a great job with defining the line between Gryphon the Father, (Barbed wire and posting guard) and Gryphon-sensei as well...

___________________

Vaughn doesn't know I exist. I guess this explains why the rest of reality keeps ignoring me as well. >_<

Thanks - I'm pleased with the way the elders came out in this piece myself. I might have mentioned this during the discussions of Christmas Rose - it's very interesting working in a corner of the universe where the characters I've always thought of as the "main" UF characters are only supporting cast, and fairly remote supporting cast, at that.

In Gryphon's case, the war between wanting to protect Kate (especially now that he's learned the truth of why she left New Avalon) and knowing that he has to let her go her own way if she's to become the person she has the potential to be is probably his greatest mental challenge to date. Stepping back when he wants to rush forward is the hardest thing he's ever had to do, and she's just at that age when stepping back is absolutely critical. (She's the closest to him of his children, too, so he's getting the most difficult release first.)

--G.
-><-
Benjamin D. Hutchins, Co-Founder, Editor in Chief, Netadmin
Eyrie Productions, Unlimited http://www.eyrie-productions.com/

Hey, man, credit where it's due. :)

--G.
-><-
Benjamin D. Hutchins, Co-Founder, Editor in Chief, Netadmin
Eyrie Productions, Unlimited http://www.eyrie-productions.com/

What the hell. I'll take it. ^_^

--
Geoff Depew - Mephron
Haberdasher to Androids, Malakim of Tech Support Professionals

Well, I think it's more like Zoner has seen "Real Genius" and Corwin hasn't. ;)

Patrick Chester
"...could you and your associates arrange that for me, Mr. Morden?"

I had that dream a couple of times since seeing "Real Genius" and once while I was awake...

Pangaro, I don't think that speaks very well of my sanity, does it?
<o>
Maestro indiscutido en las artes del escabio y la borrachera.

I'd vote that he has some sort of teleportation device in that lab
(actually , it'd be strange if he didn't) and just called Dorothy
to tell her to use it , homing in on his location .

-Griever
then again , I could be wrong

It's entirely possible, considering the way these things tend to work, that she Just Knew the name. It's an enchanted sword, bound to her in ways that Utena only dimly understands right now, and the fact that she Knows the Name is entirely possible from the binding.

>In "Holiday", we learn that Touga and Nanami would go on Akio's quest,
>with Nanami leaving the morning after the dinner. Touga then mentions
>that
>she left for a term abroad, and so would he (an "official excuse", I
>suppose).
>It was a week later that Saionji left the school.
>On the other side, Miki said in "New Year" that it was Nanami who
>found Saionji's abandoned tent. But Nanami should have been long gone
>by then. What gives?
>Mistake or plot point?

Probably takes a little time to set things up correctly. Nanami probably went to say her goodbyes and found the camp abandoned.

I find it highly amusing, though, that Saionji and Miki, two of the three that refused to follow the quest, were the ones that actually, in some way, ACCOMPLISHED it so far....

--
Geoff Depew - Mephron
Haberdasher to Androids, Malakite of Tech Support Professionals

How about...

Nanami was searching for Anthy, found Saionji's tent, and eventually came back to report what she'd found. Anybody who asked what she was doing back, she told them that it was spring break, or something like that.

Peter Eng
--
Canon? No canon here. Move along...

Paranoia about this haunts my every waking moment.

>Now, my question: Corwin used the phone booth to retrieve Dorothy.
>Does this mean that his transport medium is phones (and he can
>already use it), or has he turned every phone booth in the
>neghbourhood
>into emergency accesses to his lab? (pictures Corwin as Maxwell Smart
>and Dortothy as 99 ;) )

The latter. He disappears and reappears because the phone booth has an elevator in it, Get Smart style. Corwin doesn't actually know how to gate yet - when he does get it down, that will make visits to Earth considerably faster and easier, which is probably a sizeable incentive for him to get on the stick and figure it out. :)

I hadn't worked out just what he would be using for his endpoints; maybe I'll borrow your suggestion and make it telephones. That'd make him the ultimate phreak. :)

>Am I wrong, or did Corwin never tell Utena the name of her new sword?
>As far as I can tell, he was talking in Norse the only time he said
>it.

As another reader noted, it's a magic weapon, bound to her by blood. When it's bound, it becomes part of her; she knows its Name without having to be told because of that.

It was sloppy of me not to mention that, though.

>In "Holiday", we learn that Touga and Nanami would go on Akio's quest,
>with Nanami leaving the morning after the dinner. Touga then mentions
>that
>she left for a term abroad, and so would he (an "official excuse", I
>suppose).
>It was a week later that Saionji left the school.
>On the other side, Miki said in "New Year" that it was Nanami who
>found Saionji's abandoned tent. But Nanami should have been long gone
>by then. What gives?
>Mistake or plot point?

Technically, we call that a fuckup. But I'll wave my hands and go with Mephron's No-Prize-worthy explanation. :)

--G.
-><-
Benjamin D. Hutchins, Co-Founder, Editor in Chief, Netadmin
Eyrie Productions, Unlimited http://www.eyrie-productions.com/

...man, that sounded sort of bizarre, didn't it?

--
Geoff Depew - Mephron
Haberdasher to Androids, Malakite of Tech Support Professionals

>The latter. He disappears and reappears because the phone booth has
>an elevator in it, Get Smart style. Corwin doesn't actually
>know how to gate yet - when he does get it down, that will make visits
>to Earth considerably faster and easier, which is probably a sizeable
>incentive for him to get on the stick and figure it out. :)

I wonder just how legal such a setup is...
Hope nobody dials that number by mistake :)

>I hadn't worked out just what he would be using for his endpoints;
>maybe I'll borrow your suggestion and make it telephones. That'd make
>him the ultimate phreak. :)

Trouble is, he actually has to dial and get through to the destination
phone before being able to teleport! :) (A limitation of being a demigod,
maybe?)
That can seriously rack up the long distance phone bill. Not to mention
some delays when there is congestion in the phone network, or the potential
embarrassment if he dials the wrong number and gates in before checking.
(Then again, Skuld DID have similar trouble in her youth, so it wouldn't
even be that unlikely)

Bye,
AH

>Paranoia about this haunts my every waking moment.
>
Actually Gryph, I think it haunts EVERYONE who does any amount of serious writing. I don't think I'm burnt out yet, but I'm certainly having a bit more trouble pushing through to the ending sceene of my current 'book' now that I've written one of the two sceenes that have been floating in my mind since I started the rough plot outline.

>>Now, my question: Corwin used the phone booth to retrieve Dorothy.
>>Does this mean that his transport medium is phones (and he can
>>already use it), or has he turned every phone booth in the
>>neghbourhood
>>into emergency accesses to his lab? (pictures Corwin as Maxwell Smart
>>and Dortothy as 99 ;) )
>
>The latter. He disappears and reappears because the phone booth has
>an elevator in it, Get Smart style. Corwin doesn't actually
>know how to gate yet - when he does get it down, that will make visits
>to Earth considerably faster and easier, which is probably a sizeable
>incentive for him to get on the stick and figure it out. :)

That's what I thought while reading it. Speaking of which... Hey Phil, oh though great artistically talented special member for life; that might make a great fan-pic, if the muse ever struck you!

As to the worry about someone actually dialing the number, I think its moot, since given Corwin's family connections (on both sides) it wouldnt be hard to select a number that would otherwise be considered invalid by the phone co. For example, assuming NAPS used 10 diget numbers, the access could well be a 15 didget one. This was actually used in WWII (the underlying theory is called Chaos theory) to provide cell members with untracable phone links.

And I've been trying not to add this last bit, but I've failed...

Just read A's winter break, and I'm glad to see SOMEONE was able to tighten that poor lads ::snicker:: ..errrm... screws.

>>sorry... couldnt resist, et all<<

::collapses in hysterical laughter!!!::

___________________

Vaughn doesn't know I exist. I guess this explains why the rest of reality keeps ignoring me as well. >_<

WHAM!!!
(Matrix rcovers from facefault)
I shoulda seen that one coming. You absolute bastard.

Matrix Dragon

Do you realize that with that line the REALLY hot cofee I was drinking made a sidetrip to my nose and then another trip to my keyboard.

Pangaro, Instant clearing of the nasal foses
Maestro indiscutido en las artes de la borrachera y el escabio

G.. G... G... Gomen... but you really should know better than to read this board while drinking anything....

___________________

Vaughn doesn't know I exist. I guess this explains why the rest of reality keeps ignoring me as well. >_<

How many keyboards do you go though on a given day?

-Kylone

A: "What is the difference between a fighter and a warrior?"
Q: "The warrior is defeated, especially at higher levels."

I don't think we want to know. But it does serve as a public safety announcement. No drinking anything while reading something from EPU or its fans. It ain't safe for the nose or your computer.

Matrix Dragon
"Bun-Bun, I choose you!"

Borrowing from another thread...

*WHAM* *WHAM* *WHAM* *WHAM* *WHAM*

Thank you.

Blessed be.
Nathan Baxter
(who actually does like puns, but feels this to be the closest approximation of the proper form of appreciation)