[ EPU Foyer ] [ Lab and Grill ] [ Bonus Theater!! ] [ Rhetorical Questions ] [ CSRANTronix ] [ GNDN ] [ Subterranean Vault ] [ Discussion Forum ] [ Gun of the Week ]

Eyrie Productions, Unlimited

Subject: "(S66) S5DS02 What's Past Is Prologue"     Previous Topic | Next Topic
Printer-friendly copy    
Conferences Annotations Topic #113
Reading Topic #113, reply 0
Gryphonadmin
Charter Member
22362 posts
Sep-11-13, 06:55 PM (EDT)
Click to EMail Gryphon Click to send private message to Gryphon Click to view user profileClick to add this user to your buddy list  
"(S66) S5DS02 What's Past Is Prologue"
 
   LAST EDITED ON Nov-19-13 AT 10:15 PM (EST)
 
Annotations by Gryphon
Annotations by Phil
Annotations by Anne

[1] We all were sea-swallow'd - I joked during development that I should add a different bit of poetry as an epigraph:

The darkness drops again, but now I know
That twenty centuries of stony sleep
Were vexed to nightmare by a rocking cradle.
And what rough beast, its hour come round at last,
Slouches toward Bethlehem to be born?
- W.B. Yeats, "The Second Coming" (1919)

This got the skeptical eyeroll from Phil, but in acknowledging it, I realized that the Shakespeare quote from which the title came would work just fine for that. OK, the character speaking was talking about murder when he said "to perform an act", but if you take the whole thing as metaphor, which isn't hard with Shakespeare, well... there you go. "Everything so far has brought us to this point; where we go from here is wide open."

[103] barely more than head height - "I think it's time to buzz the tower... "

[130] how elaborately the saddle was anchored. - Sky bison saddles are anchored by braiding their fur through holes in the periphery of the saddle. There are, on average, 15 anchor holes per saddle.

[266] more like a suit or uniform. ... dressy navy-blue tunic - This is Korra's new look debuting in Book 2 of Legend of Korra, modulo more modern sensibilities.

[279] Master Tenneq - Early in the development of this scene, I wanted to identify Tenneq explicitly as Korra's actual grandson (largely to facilitate her later complaint, "My own grandson! I ask you"), but Phil persuaded me that all such matters should be left ambiguous.

For what it's worth, if Korra were to have children (and really, that all depends on who she eventually hooks up with in the long-term), there would be at least a 33% chance they'd be waterbenders. The other 66% would be either non-bender, or the bending element of the other parent.

[307] Inspector Imanishi - Detective Chief Inspector Eitaro Imanishi, Korra's closest contact in the Republic City Police Department these days, is a nod to the title character of Japanese crime novelist Seicho Matsumoto's Inspector Imanishi Investigates. In fairness, that he cracked the case of Avatar Korra's missing mail in less than a day is less a display of his virtuosity than of the conspirators' lack thereof.

[372] Your grandfather would be disappointed. - A particularly cutting thing for Kyoshi to say, given Jinora's reverence for Aang. Although, unusually for Kyoshi, she pulled her punch a little; she could have said "Your grandfather is disappointed."

Though, if Kyoshi did say that, Aang would have visited Jinora in her dreams later that night and reassured her that no, that's just Kyoshi being unpleasant, he's not actually disappointed in her.

[477] few young people today would dare presume - Jinora may be underestimating this a bit; later in this story we meet at least two young people who have so dared, although one of them (Karana) is probably a relative. Still, she's right in that the statistical likelihood is very small, and the world is very big when you feel you're mostly alone in it...

[492] and this entire meeting will be ruined - This began as a fourth-wall aside I tossed out during a writing session as a joke - "... and this entire scene will be ruined." Phil suggested that it could be adapted into something she'd actually say fairly easily, and give her back a little of the whimsy which the gravity of this conversation has mostly taken away.

[517] everyone has [a theory] - Mine is that she's a cryptogenic immortal, like Fox MacMulder o' the Clan MacMulder. Every human population in the universe has a few, and no one knows why; it appears to be a spontaneous condition. If that's the case, though, the ongoing vagueness about her descendants is probably a bit silly - she likely hasn't got any, as most such immortals can't. Also, this is in itself not established, because, well, we don't officially know why she's still young either. :)

I personally subscribe to Jinora's theory about advanced waterbending healing undoing most of her trivial aging damage. It at least keeps her looking pretty fit and feeling pretty healthy, while leaving the long-term core aging possible (though modern health techniques and outer galaxy procedures have probably already reversed part of that). Also, it allows her to have had children in the past, though by now they'd be several generations removed enough to not directly realize they've got the current Avatar as a (greatn)-grandparent unless they investigate the matter themselves or Korra points it out to them. (Being unable to have kids, whether or not she wanted them, would just be too depressing for me.)

[523] King Bumi of Omashu - Similarly, Guru Pathik lived to be 150, and he was around during Monk Gyatso's (Aang's mentor, not to be confused with the young airbender of the same name in 2410) prime.

[580] 'the world' as an entity - This hearkens back to the original story bible for Avatar: The Last Airbender, where the Avatar Spirit was that of the world itself. We'll learn more about this, hopefully, in The Legend of Korra - Book 2: Spirits.

[650] the gentle trilling of the lemur - No real note here, I just really like this phrase. Something about the scansion.

[812] throwing your chi at the wall - Also this one.

[866] an enigmatic little smile - Somebody says something's heavy, she knows she's not going to have to lift for long... telekinesis is wonderful, you don't have to worry about where to put your hands so they're not in anybody's way.

[879] an air of wiry indestructibility - A slightly different perspective on Nyima's appearance from somewhere who Knew Her Before. I quite like her design exactly because she's not Classically Beautiful; similar to the way I deliberately designed Virginia Shepard so she'd be a bit quirky.

[1024] the Nall-Lhakpa flashbacks - There are a lot of flashbacks in this episode, but these were the most fun to do. I'm particularly fond of the 2402 one, the staging of which was Phil's idea.

It only took half a century or so, but Korra did get the hang of airbender meditation eventually! Master Tenzin would be so proud.

[1204] the next level - Not that next level. Well, maybe that next level. It was very dark down there.

[1241] King Ulfgerth of Jotunheim - It's an interesting feature of the relationship between Asgard and Jotunheim that an Aes and one of the Einherjar stealing one of the Giant King's treasures doesn't spark a war between the gods and giants. Partly that's because there's always at least a low-grade war between the gods and giants, and partly it's because there's a long-standing tradition of the gods, giants, svartelves et al. stealing each other's treasures. It's just part of the cultural background hum in the Upper Worlds.

[1343] That's my main problem - This sequence was intended to show that despite outward appearances, Korra has changed and is a lot more aware of her situation (and resolving it) than certain people may give her credit for. As Vedik'Zorah vas Archangel was known to comment with a measure of self-deprecation, "I'm not as dumb as I look."

[1379] the Spirit World - This flashback was my favorite part to write in this movement, establishing Korra as somebody with a lot of Spirit World experience, and on good terms with more than just Aang as her predecessor. I especially liked writing her frank discussion with Kyoshi, and the chance to see a more thoughtful side for the usually flanderized Earth Kingdom Avatar.

[1402] The polar bear dog pack - Korra's long line of polar bear dogs have since established residency inside the Spirit World, with Naga (the first, the only, and the best!) as the pack Alpha. The others that we see named here are as follows:

  • Atii - Inuktitut for "Let's go!". The second of Korra's companions (and Naga's firstborn) was really eager to get going, go on walks, and a natural pathfinder. She is one of the Betas to Naga's Alpha.

  • Nuvuja - Inuktitut for "cloud". This one was REALLY FLUFFY. She often needed more pelt cleaning than 3 other polar bear dogs combined. But when cleaned, she was the softest and most stylish.

  • Imaani - Inuktitut for "in the water". Imaani loved to swim, and was a better swimmer than Naga, and very endurant.

  • Amaruq - Inuktitut for "wolf". Amaruq was as combative as the Avatar was in her early days, always up for a tussle, and doesn't let go of a scent he's tracking. His natural pack instincts made him the other Beta to Naga's Alpha.

  • Innruq - Inuktitut for "cliff". The climber, Innruq can give mountain pig-goats a run for their yuans. They still haven't figured out how the polar bear dog got halfway up the central temple building on Air Temple Island... from the outside.

[1548] Yangchen always did play all the angles - Some of what Yangchen accomplished in her time as Avatar has been lost to history, but there's always rumors (especially after the connection to Zipang was discovered) that the ancient Air Nomads knew a lot more than they were letting on.

[1610] we've got one in the Valkyrie - Tech Sgt. Tinker "HV" Bell, 121st Sidhe Rangers. Armorer, demolitionist, master sniper; built and installed her own cybernetic wing replacements after losing her original ones during the Ragnarök. Nine inches of trouble looking for a place to happen. Six to one on the last rev of the board despite the flagrant disregard of the laws of physics this implied. Do not mess with.

[1616] the small space between them - With this whole sequence, I was deliberately trying to echo the scene back in Interlude at Vortigern's Lake No. 1 in which Corwin and Utena lie hand-in-hand on a hillside and watch the sunset, talking about the future and just quietly being in love. Not that Corwin and Korra are In Love, exactly; there is a lot of love there, just not the romantic kind.

[1649] elskr - Old Norse, "beloved". Corwin has been calling Utena "elskr" for almost exactly five years now (he first said it to her, as part of the sentence "Walk in glory, my beloved," in S1M5 Roses in Springtime), though he didn't admit what it meant until that December.

[1650] that photo of you and Saionji - The one Kaitlyn took during Hogtown Rhapsody.

[1723] camelephanthair overcoat - Lightweight and durable, cool in summer and warm in winter, camelephanthair (and camelephant-koalasheep wool blend) cloth is particularly prized for its wrinkle resistance. They say it never forgets its proper shape!

What. I had to.

[1737] The Hat - You may recognize this as the hat she wore when infiltrating the Equalist "revelation" rally in episode 103 of The Legend of Korra. The gag about people pretending not to recognize her when she's wearing it is taken from old Fantastic Four comics, in which the melancholic, monstrous Thing would occasionally put on a trenchcoat and fedora and go for a walk, and everyone in Manhattan would be kind enough to pretend they didn't know it was him.

[1751] rapidly outgrown the facility - Originally, the owners of the museum considered expanding downwards beneath the original building (using earthbending and modern construction techniques) to add more function space, but after some analysis, the project team decided that it would be best not to, because if they tried it and got it wrong in any way, the ghost of Toph Beifong would probably arrive to chew them out for messing up.

Given that Toph Beifong is apparently a going concern these days, they may have been right to fear that.

[1818] everyone in town bets - In my neck of the woods, people do this regarding when the ice will go out of the rivers every springtime.

[1832] Avatar Korra = Badass Babe poster - Korra finds it a little embarrassing, but this is an iconic image of her, and duplicates can be had in several different sizes in the Avatar Museum gift shop.

Full-scale copies are theoretically available as a special order; years before this story, Derek Bacon and Michael Garibaldi acquired a number and used them in one of their famous pranks. Having learned that Korra would be visiting New Avalon soon, they decked many of the key buildings in the City Center district - City Hall, the Central Post Office, the New Avalon Museum of Modern Art, basically anywhere that had a lot of steps and a portico - with them. Corwin still has one of those rolled up in the storage room at the World Wide Building. He occasionally considers displaying it out front.

Found on page 73 of The Legend of Korra Book One: Air - The Art of the Animated Series. And yes, these are the actual banners used at the original party that Tarrlok hosted. They're historical.

[1916] Future Industries P2X - The car Korra and the gang use in a couple episode of The Legend of Korra seems to have been compiled from features of a couple of different Allard Motor Company products from the early 1950s: the P1 saloon and the J2X roadster. (The "X" is for "extended", as in wheelbase.) It has the grille and seating capacity of the P1, but the stance, lighting arrangement, and sporting aspirations of the J2X.

[1932] greenish glass windows were only fragmentary - This is the Mecha Tank Asami Sato piloted in order to defeat her father at the end of the Equalist Revolt.

[1938] the Sato - More formally the Future City Museum of Technology and Industry, commonly referred to as the Sato Museum, since most of what's in it pertains to the accomplishments of one or another member of that large and illustrious family.

[1946] Authentic Wacko - Hiroshi Sato (2239-2324), founder of Future Industries (2257) and inventor of the automotive assembly line process which made mass-produced Satomobiles available for the common citizen of Republic City and Diqiu, and later inventor of the Mecha-Tank, High-Speed Airship, and Attack Biplane. Easily Diqiu's equivalent of Henry Ford, Charles Lindbergh, Keita Goto, and Yataro Iwasaki with all the positive and negative associations that implied. Driven mad from grief over the death of his wife in 2277 (due to an attack on the house by members of the Agni Kai firebending Triad), his deep-seated hatred of benders caused him to support Amon and his Equalists behind the scenes.

[1971] scrapped to reclaim the platinum - While the platinum armor and structural members were melted down, Future Industries also salvaged everything else internal that was useful. Parts of the original Mecha Tanks were used in the prototypes for the Mecha Builders (see below), which saved time and money during the R&D phase of that project.

[1972] Future Industries nearly went bankrupt - The other reason being that after the Equalist Revolt, no other company wanted to do business with them. Asami Sato had a long uphill climb rebuilding her company's reputation.

[1973] entire world supply - Cursory observation of Book One puts the total number of Mecha-Tanks seen in the show from 30 to 42 at the minimum (assuming several of the early trashed ones got repaired later). At 2 tons of platinum each, plus an entire wall of platinum (10 tons!) in his secret underground laboratory, that comes to around 65 to 89 tons of platinum used for the Mecha-Tanks alone. Given that platinum is also a key component in automobile catalytic converters and as a petroleum catalyst in several industrial processes, it's easy to see how Future Industries was able to corner the market without drawing immediate attention.

[1986] austenitic stainless steel - Of course Korra knows what austenite is.* She's probably a civil engineer by now. How else is an Avatar supposed to be really confident that that emergency rock bridge is really going to stay there until the entire town has been evacuated across it?

* If you don't, the short version is that it's a form of iron that doesn't respond to magnets, because of the properties of its crystalline structure. Most of the iron in certain grades of stainless steel is austenite, which is why, for instance, much kitchen flatware can't be picked up with a magnet.

Korra's picked up several university degrees and trade certificates in her later years as Avatar. Say what you will about her attitude, impulsiveness, and temper issues, she isn't shy about learning, and if she feels she needs to learn something, she will put her all into it (even if that's not the best way to go about it, cf. airbending). One of her proudest moments was defending her Government and Sociology master's thesis with the Equalist Protester (by that time a professor at Republic City University) on the review board - or as Korra likes to term it, "debate-bending".

[1996] revolutionized the construction industry - The premise, proposed by Phil, is that the mecha tanks would eventually be seen as the progenitors of Diqiu's equivalent of Labors or ConstructionMechs, ushering in a new age of productivity and safety in the construction trades.

The development and deployment of Mecha Builders were initially not viewed favorably by the leaders of the IBBCT (the International Brotherhood of Benders in the Construction Trades, the federation of the various elemental bending trade unions), and they fought hard to keep them from becoming widespread. It took a lot of thought by Asami, Bolin, Korra, and Mako to figure out ways that both construction benders and non-benders with machinery could contribute to joint construction efforts while improving efficiency and safety and reducing friction between the groups. In a way, the Gaoling Earthquake of 177 ASC was sent by the Spirits (metaphorically), as at that point nobody cared who was doing the repair and rebuilding, as long as it got done in a timely fashion - it was all-hands-on-deck, regardless of background or talent.

[2014] old video games - The Professional Bending/MLB Hall of Fame's annex includes a number of antique arcade games from Diqiu's equivalent of the early-1980s Golden Age of arcade video gaming. The most popular ones, both in their time and at the museum, are Pro Bending Challenge, which somewhat resembles Discs of Tron, and Agni Kai, which is basically Karate Champ with fire. Like the arcade games of Earth's Golden Age, these are visually and aurally primitive games that require a great deal of imagination in order to be recognized as resembling their cabinet art, but their highly refined gameplay gives them enduring popularity.

For the record, Amy finds PBC too visually confusing, but is far better than Rory at Agni Kai.

[2054] getting a penalty - This is Avatar Korra Receives a Yellow Fan, actually quite a famous painting in Diqiu, though many people don't realize that the person who painted it didn't actually witness the incident.

In fact, it conflates two of Korra's fouls from her early pro-bending career; the initial over-side foul during her first match, and her later splashing the referee during the quarter-finals of that year's Pro Bending Championship.

[2071] the rules - The rules of Major League Bending are substantially similar to those of the earlier form of the game seen in Book 1 of The Legend of Korra. Much of what differs involves not what happens on the playing field, but how the underlying structure of the sporting organization works. Most notably from a spectator's perspective, MLB players wear numbers, both as an enhancement to audience recognition and for scoring purposes. More about this in a moment.

[2082] actually fight one another - There's a different sport for that. Actually several; the Earth Rumble series, in which earthbenders slug it out in a much less structured competition than MLB, is the most famous, but there are others for the other major bending forms, and fringey underground scenes involving pretty much any other permutation anyone's managed to think of. Airbenders are still not numerous or cosmopolitan enough for their games to have gone mainstream, though quite a few people do enjoy watching airball matches.

[2112] he couldn't get rerouted - The power and position of the Avatar is nothing in the face of airline scheduling.

[2114] very little I can do about it - Being called upon to mitigate the impact of natural disasters is part of the Avatar's lot in life, and by this point in her life, Korra is quite an adept weatherbender (hey, weather is just water and air, and occasionally heat), but there are limits, both to what she can affect and what she's willing to.

[2171] Azana and Karana - People often assume that one or the other of them must have adopted a stage name specifically to rhyme with the other. It is, in fact, totally a coincidence, but they're not above using the assumption to further the mystique of the team a bit.

[2198] do not call me gran-gran - Korra may or may not be Karana's ancestor, but she did help deliver her, and watched her grow up in Senna Village, so she's at least spiritually Karana's Gran-gran. A fact that Karana likes to needle Korra about at appropriate times.

[2203] light torso armor - Modern Major League Bending uniforms are more in the modern ice hockey style (underlying padding armor with jersey, pants, shin and arm guards over it), than the older "leather-helmet-era football" style gear during the pro-bending days.

[2250] the elder days - In this case, Korra's strongly reminded of Bolin during his pro-bending days. If she had managed to see Corwin during the six years they were apart, the resemblance would have been heightened, as Corwin grew "out" before his final growth spurt helped him grow "up".

[2275] Korra doesn't carry money - Lhakpa is actually in error here; Korra does carry at least a few yuans to cover things like snacks, lunch, building admittance, and bus/streetcar change. However, for any larger purchases, she tends to use the White Lotus Credit/Debit Card and lets the accountants manage it.

[2383] Pabu XVII - With each one in the line being selected for intellect and dexterity, Pabu XX will probably be able to carry money and make change for snack purchases.

As it is, Karana had to open a running tab with the Shinobi Arena snack vendors for him. Every few weeks she settles up for whatever he may have absconded with, and in return, they don't try to stop him.

[2285] flaming fire flakes for Anthy and Anne - Anthy appears to be subscribing to the theory that hot food will bring on labor. (Science has not conclusively proven this, but there comes a point where one's willing to try just about anything to just Get It Over With.) Juni, on the other hand, just likes spicy food any time.

Oh, I think Anthy likes hot food too - albeit, perhaps, not usually to the extent she shows later on at Kwong's (see 3983 below).

[2286] Mrs. Williams and Mr. Pond - In their current incarnations (if that's what they are), Rory and Amy's friends don't know they actually are married, and have been for several subjective centuries by this point; but they're such an obvious couple that the pet names persist.

[2287] filet-o'-catgator - The "cat" in "catgator" comes from catfish, so Nall isn't indulging in bizarre transdimensional pseudocannibalism here.

[2329] Doctor Rockalanche - Earth Rumble participants are more like professional wrestlers than MLB players; they virtually always have wacky stage names and personas.

[2339] top-scoring firebender - Major League Bending matches do not have numeric scores, as such, but the game does have its rough equivalent of sabermetrics (the black art of baseball statistics). This is far too abstruse to get into, but know that in this context, the PA man's use of the phrase "top-scoring" is shorthand for saying that Azana led the league last year in the key stat(s) used to assess the performance of MLB firebenders.

[2340] the Flame of the West - "West" is relative here. United Republic natives see her as coming from the west, because she's from Shu Jing, but by Fire Nation standards that makes her an easterner.

[2350] Rule 74 - Informally known in pro-bending circles as the You With the Pretzels rule, Rule 74 allows for the replacement of an incapacitated or absent player with just about anyone else, so long as the substitute player a) bends the same element as the missing player, b) is not under contract to another team, and c) isn't on the league's blacklist (e.g., serving a temporary or lifetime ban for a rules violation). Korra herself got her start in professional bending under an earlier version of this rule in the semiformal old days, and was one of the key voices calling for its preservation when the Pro Bending Association was reorganized into Major League Bending and its ruleset recodified. In the real world, Rule 74 is also the National Hockey League's rule governing how many players are permitted on the ice at any one time (and thus the rule under which Too Many Men penalties are assessed).

[2352] the green number ninety-nine - An unconscious nod on Corwin's part to his friend and Valkyrie colleague Alita "Gally" Ironheart, who always wears No. 99 when participating in organized sports.

[2353] Watari Karasu - During development, Phil plumped for one of the many aliases of Dave Ryder from Space Mutiny - and if he had been participating in an Earth Rumble, Corwin probably would have gone with "Slate Slabrock", but he felt Major League Bending deserved a bit more gravitas. "Watari karasu" is the Japanese name for the common raven, Corvus corax, and presumably just sounds like a Kyoshi Islander (or eastern Fire National, but he's an earthbender, so) name to people in Diqiu.

[2367] a ferret in a jacket - Not yet the title of a popular book for children, but now that Amy's given Nyima the idea, who knows.

[2443] flagrantly unsporting conduct ... blue side withdraws to Zone Two - In the old days, a yellow fan for a foul or unsporting conduct would only cause the fouling player to move back a zone, not the entire team. While that is still an option, this rule expansion was put in place to give pro-bending teams an incentive to police their more erratic team members. However, it only works if the other team members are actually opposed to their teammates committing fouls...

[2492] don't think I've ever seen that technique - While Toph taught many people the metalbending techniques she invented, most of them were already earthbenders in the more traditional style by the time they came to her, so her "praying mantis" base style has largely died out in the century-plus since her passing.

[2595] people winced and dived for cover - At its most basic, sound is just changes in air pressure. An airbender can push a lot of air.

[2752] extra arms of that weird Avatar Yangchen statue - During her life, Avatar Yangchen commissioned several statues of herself with multiple arms, like those of Hindu deities in our own world, with each arm-pair position a different step in one of her airbending forms. A similar principle was used by the Sun Warriors, with multiple statues, to teach "The Dancing Dragon" firebending form to Aang and Zuko in "The Firebending Masters".

Sadly, Yangchen didn't leave instructions on which arms came in sequence. The rest of the ancient Air Nomads who came after her were kind of put out about it. And when Avatar Aang (and later Avatar Korra) asked her about it, she essentially replied "figure it out yourself".

[2816] charring his uniform - MLB uniforms are (obviously) fire-resistant, but there are limits; they're designed to withstand regular-intensity flames, not the sort of superheated plasma a very talented, very focused firebender can produce.

[2906] the air around it warping - Zanya isn't imagining this, it's happening, or at least looks like it is. A similar optical phenomenon can be seen above a car's hood on a hot day, or around plasma gun fire in various episodes of Babylon 5.

[2985] I don't generally like to throw my weight around - Somewhere in Valhalla, Master Tenzin has just choked on his tea.

[3010] why don't you just put on a dress - Toph is apparently a Bill Hicks fan. This shouldn't come as that much of a surprise, really.

[3020] sugarlump - Toph possesses the unique ability to use soppy endearments, as sarcastic insults, as endearments. (cf. her habit of addressing Katara as "sugar queen".) By the standards advanced in the old Teenagers from Outer Space handbook, I believe this makes her a Master Roleplayer.

[3110]

[3136] I'm everywhere people need pizza - Every divinity needs a niche. That they were going out for pizza, which would be considered stunningly novel and exotic in Diqiu, was established fairly early on. That it would be Celestial (coincidentally, a word that turns up a lot, in translation, in ancient Chinese self-congratulatory cultural contexts) sprang upon me all at once, and made as sensical as it needed to be by that line.

[3156] pale skin and coal-black hair ... eyes an arresting shade of amber - Azana looks somewhat like Azula, save without the longer hair done up in the folded topknot (Azana's hair is long, but normally kept down low in a water-tribe-style bun), much more pleasant demeanor, and modern sensibilities. And probably not voiced by Grey DeLisle.

She still has those bangs, though. She just doesn't freak out when "just one hair" is out of place.

[3172] they might've been sisters - My mental image of Karana is based on one of the unused early designs for Korra, to be found in the upper lefthand corner of page 10 in the aforementioned Book One artbook, albeit dressed somewhat differently.

[3185] maybe Amy - Well, if we're talking purely theoretical interest, then no, you couldn't cross Amy off that list. She doesn't know art,* but she knows what she likes.

* That's only a figure of speech. Amy actually does know a few things about art. She's very into Van Gogh, for instance. And his paintings as well.

[3201] ruffians - Dr. Rockalanche was the Earth Rumble equivalent of a técnico, one of the "good guys" of Mexican masked wrestling, and as such is more than a bit nonplussed to discover that, in jumping to MLB, he's inadvertently signed with a squad of rudos. Also, unlike pro wrestling (and Earth Rumble, come to that), MLB doesn't really have kayfabe, as such, so it may not have occurred to him that Zanya and Kassa were actual jerks.

[3292] a metal token like a coin - These are similar to the "challenge coin" tokens employed by members of military organizations. The symbol on the obverse is generally the logo of the team, while the one on the reverse denotes the element used by the particular player whose coin it is.

[3331] emerged from a window - This isn't Korra's regular room in the women's dormitory, that's on the second floor of the main dorm building (though still with a lovely view of the city and the arena). She's just been rooming in the women's guest quarters the past few nights just to be on-call for Anthy.

[3390] Blossom and what's-his-face - The Utonium sisters have all had fairly rocky love lives by the admittedly skewed standards of Corwin and his gang at Koopman High. Blossom particularly so, because she can be a bit... overbearing.

[3409] moderation and temperance - Air Nomads are contemplative spiritualists with a bent for humility and simplicity, and so are often labeled monks, but they're not the absolute renunciates of worldly pleasures the Western mind associates with that word. Indeed, it has been said that nobody throws a better party.

[3448] the Phoenix House Stranger - Not to be confused with the Phoenix House Strangler, Inspector Imanishi's first big case.

[3511] just fire support - Who would've thought that her time on Tarrlok's Anti-Equalist Task Force would lead to a lucrative career path as a breaching charge?

[3599] earlier forms of bending dueling - There were also friendly tests of skill between bending masters of different elements, before the 100 Year War, but the practice quickly fell out of favor once the Fire Nation turned aggressive and unwilling to play nicely with the other nations.

[3759] Anthy's dress from Ming and Daughters - Inspired by the Air Nomad maternity wear sported by Tenzin's wife Pema for most of Book 1 of The Legend of Korra, but with the palette altered and the formality turned up.

[3824] a small group of framed portraits - Many Fire Nation expats have a similar sort of thing somewhere in their homes, though in this day and age, relatively few include a portrait of Fire Lord Zuko.

[3904] an elegant old-fashioned telephone - Azana's telephone looks very similar to the 1974 Western Electric Design Line "Mediterranean" Cradlephone.

[3983] "Nothing," Utena replied - Utena, however, appears not to have worked out why Anthy is going out of her way to eat the hot stuff. (Though by this point, Anthy doesn't really need any help; the kid is on her way.)

[4006] I'm Avatar Korra, etc. - Apart from the obvious reference, this is in the style of the autographed photos of famous people one finds on the walls at certain sorts of restaurant (e.g. Nancy Chang's in Worcester is full of them).

[4045] the classical version of Love Amongst the Dragons - As opposed to, spirits help us, the rock opera.

[4056] The Spirit and the Sword - Kaitlyn already has a copy of Piandao's student Sokka's own reflection on swordsmanship and life in general, the somewhat less formal and more lavishly illustrated Love in the Time of Space Sword.

[4138] old Republic Apothecary soda fountain - The belching contests held there were legendary.

[4183] Mogi was lounging in the alley - Regrettably, there are no Designated Bison Landing Zones near Narook's.

[4207] Master Kaitlyn's brother - Azana's working with a limited sample set here, but in fact it's Kate's entire family that helps Korra to be more herself. She's greatly enjoyed watching Kaitlyn, Leonard, Corwin, Nall, Priss, and Gai grow up in New Avalon, feels that Kei Morgan is a Firebender in all but name, and Gryphon is somebody to whom she can just feel that she's able to relate properly given their relative ages. Everybody else in Diqiu treats her as Older, Unreachable, or Younger than she really is, which gets to be a problem when she knows that everybody is younger than her. But when compared to Chief Hutchins, she's still a spring pigchicken, and she likes that sensation.

[4252] it's barely even gotten interesting yet - We are indebted to the real Anne Cross for the inside story (... er... as it were) on the early stages of labor and childbirth, and how they differ from the Usual Dramatic Depictions of same. Without her guidance in these matters, I would certainly have fallen into several of the same standard traps myself; I don't know nothin' 'bout birthin' no babies.

[4375] force 5 - On the Beaufort wind force scale. Fresh breeze, 17-21 knots. Wave height 6-9 ft. At sea: Moderate waves of some length. Many whitecaps. Small amounts of spray. On land: Branches of a moderate size move. Small trees in leaf begin to sway.

[4419] Air Temple infirmary - The Air Temple Infirmary was added around the same time that the Married Couples' Quarters were added to Air Temple Island. The need for birthing facilities was driven home during the birth of Rohan in 170 ASC; Pema's prior three births were performed at Yugoda Memorial in the city proper, since she had sufficient warning to get there in time.

[4445] Maki and Izumi - When we needed another Kyoshi Warrior for the other side of the door, of course it had to be Izumi; we're already paying her scale.

[4489] I need you to run to my room - By long agreement, When Medical Stuff Is Happening is basically the only time Rory is allowed to boss Amy around like that.

[4595] maintaining an even strain - Another of the stock concepts I wanted to dodge here, as much as practicable, was the old "father panics, becomes wittering imbecile" chestnut.

[4686] a woman's neurochemistry gets a bit strange - AND HOW. Fortunately for Anthy, the end product is totally worth it.

[4722] the ripple of effort - It's a bit like watching a tidal wave. (Feels about the same too.)

[4739] Corwin felt everything go slightly out of focus - I did say "as much as practicable".

[4745] amazing bison-wool blankets - Notable Air Nomad products for charity include excellent fruit pies, bison-wool clothing and blankets, and bison dung fertilizer. How else did you think the ancient Air Nomads maintained their gardens on the mountaintop Air Temples?

[4781] the royal our - As in "the our that has you in it".

[4803] decoding the output - It's going to take him longer than he thinks. ;) There's a very limited set of error conditions initially, but they RAPIDLY proliferate as the system grows in complexity, and the debugger is NEVER at the latest revision. Still, I think Corwin's up to it.

[4813] the rampaging horde - Yes, Air Nomads can indeed rampage. They're just very polite about it.

[4833] time for breakfast - For Annabelle, of course. Every two hours for the next few weeks. Then it'll even out somewhat.

[4919] introducing ... finally - And it only took us 12 years to get to this point...


  Alert | IP Printer-friendly page | Edit | Reply | Reply With Quote | Top

  Subject     Author     Message Date     ID  
(S66) S5DS02 What's Past Is Prologue [View All] Gryphonadmin Sep-11-13 TOP
   RE: (S67) S5M6 What's Past Is Prologue Terminus Est Sep-12-13 1
   RE: (S67) S5M6 What's Past Is Prologue Gryphonadmin Sep-12-13 2
      RE: (S67) S5M6 What's Past Is Prologue Gryphonadmin Sep-13-13 10
   RE: (S67) S5M6 What's Past Is Prologue McFortner Sep-12-13 3
   RE: (S67) S5M6 What's Past Is Prologue Peter Eng Sep-12-13 4
      RE: (S67) S5M6 What's Past Is Prologue mdg1 Sep-12-13 5
          RE: (S67) S5M6 What's Past Is Prologue twipper Sep-12-13 6
          RE: (S67) S5M6 What's Past Is Prologue Pasha Sep-14-13 13
   RE: (S67) S5M6 What's Past Is Prologue JeanneHedge Sep-12-13 7
      RE: (S67) S5M6 What's Past Is Prologue Gryphonadmin Sep-12-13 8
          RE: (S67) S5M6 What's Past Is Prologue Mercutio Sep-13-13 11
              RE: (S67) S5M6 What's Past Is Prologue Gryphonadmin Sep-13-13 12
   RE: (S67) S5M6 What's Past Is Prologue zojojojo Sep-12-13 9
   RE: (S67) S5M6 What's Past Is Prologue Gryphonadmin Sep-21-13 14
   RE: (S66) S5DS02 What's Past Is Prologue Gryphonadmin Feb-17-14 15
      RE: (S66) S5DS02 What's Past Is Prologue BobSchroeck Feb-17-14 16
      RE: (S66) S5DS02 What's Past Is Prologue SpottedKitty Feb-17-14 17
          RE: (S66) S5DS02 What's Past Is Prologue Gryphonadmin Feb-17-14 18
   RE: (S66) S5DS02 What's Past Is Prologue Zemyla Mar-08-19 19
      RE: (S66) S5DS02 What's Past Is Prologue Gryphonadmin Mar-09-19 20
          RE: (S66) S5DS02 What's Past Is Prologue Offsides Mar-11-19 21
              RE: (S66) S5DS02 What's Past Is Prologue Gryphonadmin Mar-11-19 22
                  RE: (S66) S5DS02 What's Past Is Prologue Star Ranger4 Mar-11-19 23
                      RE: (S66) S5DS02 What's Past Is Prologue pjmoyermoderator Mar-12-19 24
                  RE: (S66) S5DS02 What's Past Is Prologue drakensis Mar-12-19 25
                  RE: (S66) S5DS02 What's Past Is Prologue Proginoskes Mar-15-19 26
                      RE: (S66) S5DS02 What's Past Is Prologue Star Ranger4 Mar-16-19 27


Conferences | Topics | Previous Topic | Next Topic

[ YUM ] [ BIG ] [ ??!? ] [ RANT ] [ GNDN ] [ STORE ] [ FORUM ] GOTW ] [ VAULT ]

version 3.3 © 2001
Eyrie Productions, Unlimited
Benjamin D. Hutchins
E P U (Colour)