#foae chapter 5

[excelgesis-blog]

Free of Any Eden

chapter: 5 / ?

wc: 2,048

pairing: neo

rating: PG-13

tw: brief mentions of suicide

crossposted on: aff // ao3

"...how you remind me of some spring, the waters as cool and clear (late rain clings to your leaves, shaken by light wind), which is where you occur in grassy moonlight..." -Reginald Shepherd, "You, Therefore"

          Hakyeon could feel his heart somewhere near the floor. He blinked back tears for the thousandth time as an emptiness curled in his stomach.

         “Dude, what the hell?” Wonshik jogged down the hallway toward him. “Did he seriously fucking leave?”

         “I don’t understand,” Hakyeon whispered. “I don’t know what’s going on…”

         Wonshik let out a sigh. “That was by far the rudest thing I’ve ever seen him do. And that’s saying something because he’s really not the nicest person around.” He raised a brow. “Do you guys have some bad history together or something?”

         Hakyeon swallowed and shook his head. There was that murky something, teasing the edges of his mind, making him feel like a part of him was missing.

         “Well he seriously owes you an apology.” Wonshik reached out to grab Hakyeon’s elbow. “Come on, we’ll head to the coffee shop together.”

         “I don’t think he wants to see me.” His voice broke halfway through.

         “I’m sure he’s just moody because he had to get out of bed. You can never tell with Taekwoon, honestly. Now come on, you’ll get sick if you stand out here barefoot like this. I’ll take you to our favorite coffee place.”

****

         The coffee shop was cozy and warm, and although Hakyeon wrinkled his nose at the bitter smell, he could understand why people would like to come here. A metal staircase spiraled up toward a loft lined with bookshelves, and the round tables were home to potted plants and mismatched chairs.

         Wonshik ordered a latte – hadn’t he just had coffee at home? – and guided Hakyeon through the sparsely populated room to the back corner.

         Taekwoon sat in an oversized armchair with a laptop computer perched across his knees. His glasses had slid down to the tip of his nose and his hair looked as if he had run his hands through it in frustration. And again Hakyeon felt familiarity warm and comfortable in his chest. He could see Taekwoon in a long crimson jacket, reaching toward him and pressing a folding fan into his hand. He could hear Taekwoon’s soft voice through leaves and branches, composing a melody with the wind –

         “Kim Wonshik.” Taekwoon’s voice carried none of the gentleness Hakyeon had dreamt of. It was all hard edges, like ice creeping across water toward the shore. “What are you doing?”

         Wonshik placed the steaming latte on the table beside Taekwoon’s chair. “Drink this and stop being such an asshole, will you?”

         “I told you I don’t want to see him.” Taekwoon’s eyes narrowed in Hakyeon’s direction. Hakyeon did his best to stand his ground.

         “He didn’t do anything to you, I’m sure. Don’t you think you’re being a little rude?” Wonshik flopped down into the nearest chair, leaving Hakyeon standing alone with his hands clasped in front of him.

         “You don’t know anything about this, Wonshik. Stay out of it.”

         Wonshik rolled his eyes. “Look, he’s a friend of mine now and I don’t want you being such an ass. You’re going to scare him away.”

         “Why is it that everyone wants to be friends with him all of a sudden?” Taekwoon’s tone remained icy, and Hakyeon was sure he could feel it in his veins.

         “Why do you insist on being such a dick to him all of a sudden?” Wonshik countered.

         “I told you to stay out of it.”

         Hakyeon could feel the mounting tension in the air, and he found it frustrating that they spoke of him as if he weren’t there. He cleared his throat loudly. They both turned their gazes to him, and he locked eyes with Taekwoon.

         Taekwoon’s eyes darkened. “What?”

         Hakyeon refused to look away. “Please don’t talk about me like I’m not here.” He swallowed and practiced the next words in his head several times before he said them. “I think I deserve an explanation.”

         Taekwoon scoffed and turned his gaze to his laptop. “If anyone deserves an explanation, it’s me.”

         And all at once the coffee shop dissolved, washed away like silt in water and Hakyeon was in another place, another time, another life. There was dirt under his shoes and low stone walls were sharp against the searing blue of the sky. He felt a hand on his shoulder and his heart leapt into his throat.

         “I think an explanation is necessary.” The voice was stern, but Hakyeon was taken aback by the softness of it. He turned in surprise, his gaze locking with Taekwoon’s. He was dressed in a deep sunset purple broken by a golden pattern.

         Hakyeon lowered his gaze. “An explanation?”

         “You had no right interrupting our practice. It isn’t your place.” His voice grew fuzzy and distant, there was a roaring in Hakyeon’s ears like wind and water—

         And the coffee shop rushed back into focus. Taekwoon was staring at him, his knuckles white where he gripped the arms of the chair. The room tilted at a dizzying angle and Hakyeon stumbled forward, reaching out blindly to steady himself.

         Taekwoon’s hands were on his shoulders, warm and comforting, and Hakyeon could feel his breath ghosting along his ear, followed by a soft “Hakyeon, I missed you so much.” The words were sugar sweet and Hakyeon leaned in, only to feel Taekwoon’s hands shoving him roughly back. He stumbled and fell, landing hard on the wooden floor.

         “What the hell?” Taekwoon gasped.

         “Jesus Christ!” Wonshik scrambled forward to help Hakyeon to his feet. “Taekwoon, what the fuck?”

         “What was that?” Taekwoon’s voice shook. “What the hell are you doing to me?”

         Hakyeon clung to Wonshik’s arm and tried to steady himself. His head spun. “I don’t know,” he whispered. “I don’t know what’s happening--”

         “I told you to stay away from me.” The words trembled and Taekwoon’s eyes were wide behind his glasses. “I shouldn’t be feeling this, this isn’t normal--”

         Hakyeon swallowed. “I feel it, too.”

         Wonshik looked between them frantically. “What?”

         “Is everything okay over here?” A barista in a black apron hovered near Taekwoon’s armchair. His eyes were wide underneath a fringe of light hair.

         “We’re fine, Kyung,” Taekwoon said darkly. “We were just leaving.”

         “Says who?” Wonshik squawked.

         Hakyeon stumbled as Taekwoon grabbed his arm and yanked him toward the front door. All protests died on his lips, and he couldn’t deny the shiver that slid down his spine at his touch. It was as if he had craved it for a hundred years, an addict deprived of his high.

         Taekwoon shouldered the door open and rounded on him, his fingers pressing hard against Hakyeon’s forearm. “Explain yourself.”

         The words hit like acid. “I can’t,” Hakyeon breathed. “I honestly can’t.” Taekwoon was close – so close – and he resisted the sudden urge to bury his fingers in the fabric of his jacket, to pull him closer and closer—

         But how could he feel that for someone he barely knew?

         His mind rebelled, pushing back, insisting that he knew Taekwoon from some other time, some other place. His presence felt so familiar and safe and he wanted to revel in it. He wanted to forget about this new life with all of its complications and intricacies and bask in Taekwoon’s familiarity like it was the summer sun.

         “I know you.” Taekwoon’s grip tightened. “Why do I feel like I know you? How do I know your name?”

         Hakyeon shook his head. “You feel familiar to me, too. I-I can’t explain it.”

         “Is this some kind of sick joke? Did my father put you up to this?” He shook Hakyeon’s arm, but his grip had slackened into something surprisingly gentle. His voice was laced with desperation.

         “I’m as lost as you are.” Hakyeon reached up to pull Taekwoon’s fingers away. Taekwoon’s grip loosened easily. “I can’t explain this any more than you can.” The emptiness that had curled in the pit of his stomach was gone, replaced by a warm comfort. Something felt so right about being with Taekwoon. But how was such a thing possible?

         “I told you that I wanted you to stay away from me.” Taekwoon’s voice was weak, and the anger that had painted his words was a diluted version of itself. “But whenever you’re gone I…”

         Hakyeon waited for him to finish with bated breath.

         “I miss you,” Taekwoon whispered. “How is that possible?”

         “What the hell are you doing out here?” Wonshik stumbled onto the sidewalk and shot Taekwoon a sharp glare. “Are you still being an asshole?”

          Taekwoon took a step back from Hakyeon. His eyes were glassy, as if he were stuck in a trance. He shook his head and glanced at Wonshik, who stood near the coffee shop door with his arms folded across his chest.

         “I-I need to get to work,” Taekwoon stuttered. He turned and headed down the sidewalk, pushing his way through the crowd until his retreating back was swallowed in an undulating sea of dark coats.

         Hakyeon let out a breath. The emptiness had returned, clawing its way into his chest like a trapped animal.

         “What the holy hell is going on between you two?” Wonshik’s voice was an octave higher than usual.

         Hakyeon slumped against the wall, his legs threatening to give out. “I have no idea.”

****

         “So tell me again.” Jaehwan paced back and forth, and Hakyeon thought idly that he would wear a hole through the hardwood floor.

         “I know him,” Hakyeon said softly. He poked at the food Jaehwan had brought, his appetite waning as the seconds ticked by. “He seems so familiar to me.”

         “You must have met before. What’s so special about that?”

         Hakyeon sighed, and the sound seemed to echo in the empty bookstore. Wonshik had dropped him off on his way to work, and Jaehwan had instantly jumped on the chance to interrogate him after Wonshik’s quiet “Kid’s had a rough morning already.”

         “It’s more than that. I feel almost… empty without him.” Hakyeon frowned at how vulnerable the words sounded.

         “Oh no.” Jaehwan shook his head and pointed a finger at him. “No no no, you absolutely cannot fall for Taekwoon. Trust me. It’ll just end badly for you.”

         Hakyeon flushed at the suggestion. “That’s not what I’m implying.”

         “Sure as hell sounds like it to me,” Jaehwan said. “I mean, sure, he’s tall and dark and handsome and everything, but the boy has serious commitment issues, man. He’s too busy with work to focus on a relationship.”

         “I’m not suggesting a relationship!” The words came out loud and harsh, and Jaehwan visibly jumped at the outburst. Hakyeon couldn’t begin to explain why ire roiled in his veins, but his head was spinning and he wanted answers. Real and tangible answers that could set his pounding heart at ease.

         Jaehwan held up both hands, palms facing outward. “Fine, fine. Whatever you say.”

         “I’m just so confused about all this.” Hakyeon tried to keep the frustration from showing in his voice. “Is this normal? Have you ever felt this way?”

         “What, like I miss someone? Of course I have. Everyone has.”

         “But that’s just it.” Hakyeon let out a breath. “How can I miss someone I barely know?”

         “Maybe you just click. Maybe you knew each other in a past life, hell, I don’t know. It could be anything.”

         The door to the bookstore opened, and Hakyeon didn’t bother turning to see who had walked in.

         “Speak of the devil,” Jaehwan said under his breath.

         “Jaehwan, I need to talk--”

         Hakyeon jumped at the sound of Taekwoon’s voice. He turned in his seat and their gazes locked. Something tugged at the corners of his mind, stronger than before, and a rising tide of affection and familiarity bubbled up in his chest.

         Taekwoon sighed. “I should have known you would be here.”

         “I can leave,” Hakyeon whispered.

         “Won’t do any good.” Taekwoon ran a hand through his hair. “You’re everywhere. Even when I’m not around you, you’re still there.”

         Jaehwan’s eyebrows rose. “What?”

         Taekwoon crossed his arms and seemed to weigh his words carefully before speaking. “Come with me.”

         Jaehwan pointed at himself questioningly.

         Taekwoon shook his head. “Not you.” He nodded toward Hakyeon. “You.”

         Hakyeon got to his feet and took a shaky step forward. “W-where are we going?”

         “My place,” Taekwoon muttered. “I think we need to talk.”

[meetthenutshells]

Both of L-Train’s Rock Operas are Identical

Now that I have your attention with a clickbaity title I’d like to take a detour from not reading Past Sins and procrastinate on things I’m supposed to be doing today to write a short essay on the premise that the rock operas Moonrise and Fall of an Empire are in fact, the same story. Now, before people come at me with pitchforks, let me just say that I really like these albums. They’re pretty good power metal and really scratch the itch for melodic metal concept albums with a story, not unlike Gloryhammer or Twilight Force, if a bit less tongue-in-cheek. But this just means I’ve listened to them through enough times to notice that they kinda cover the same story beats. The stories from the show they’re based on are pretty similar (bad crazy magic person gets banished for 1000 years), so they were bound to have similarities, but I feel like the similarities extend beyond that into the execution. Anyway, I’d highly recommend listening to them before/while I babble about them.

Also, L, if you’re reading this can you please not list the artist name as “The L-Train presents the Royal Canterlot Symphonic Metal Orchestra (Ro.C.S.M.Or)“? Because Bandcamp includes the artist name and album title in the file name, it means that the file path for any given song is “.../The L-Train presents the Royal Canterlot Symphonic Metal Orchestra (Ro.C.S.M.Or) - Fall of an Empire\The L-Train presents the Royal Canterlot Symphonic Metal Orchestra (Ro.C.S.M.Or) - Fall Of An Empire - 14 Prologue- The Tale Of The Crystal King (instrumental).mp3” which is longer than the file path length limit for Windows by itself. Just a minor bugbear. I had to rename the folder just so Winamp would even attempt to play the files. Love the music. Please make it more straightforward to open and play on a computer.

Below the break is a very long ramble about these two albums of horse music.

Okay so, let’s go through them beat by beat.

Part 0: The Introduction

Not much to say here. Moonrise’s “Scene 1: Prelude” is an instrumental which foreshadows some of the motifs in the album to come, Fall of an Empire’s “Prologue: Tale of the Crystal King” gives us some backstory on King Sombra. Different in content, but they both have an introduction as a conscious decision as opposed to just jumping right into the action. We can also see the naming conventions for both of them springing up, where Moonrise uses theatrical naming and FoaE uses literary naming, but they’re both titling their songs using the partition names of another medium, which is another conscious decision. It’s worth mentioning that both albums use a narrator who pops up from time to time to cover transitions, Moonrise’s narrator in the songs themselves, and Fall’s narrator in separate interludes. I’m not particularly fond of Fall’s narrator (the singing is a bit flat), but eh. What can you do.

Part 1: WE ARE AGGRESSIVELY HAPPY

This is what really convinced me to write this. Moonrise’s “Scene 2: Harmony” and FoaE’s “Chapter 1: Welcome to the Empire” both strike this slightly odd tonal dissonance where the lyrics have the characters exuberantly singing about how happy they are, while the music some of the most energetic on the whole album. But it’s not... the happiest instrumentation. The choruses are certainly grandiose and upbeat, but large parts of both songs are in a minor key and have this kind of aggressive growl. It’s quite effective at setting up the feeling that underneath this happy exterior something isn’t quite right.

This is much more pronounced when you listen to the instrumentals. The verses on Welcome to the Empire have instrumentals that wouldn’t sound out of place on a Metallica track, it’s really quite the contrast with lyrics that are basically pleasantries. In Harmony, some of the builds and swells have this organ behind them before it breaks into the chorus that make you feel like Dracula is about to burst in. It’s a really effective contrast, they clearly establish the baseline of the story, and both tracks are really fun to listen to, but both of them do basically the same thing.

Part 2a: Luna Is Happy And That’s Terrible

Okay, so we’ve established the baseline for the story. We have our major characters, and their relationship is pretty good. So now we settle down into a quiet and tender ballad, where Luna is really happy about something. In Moonrise, this is “Scene 3: Nightfall”. I’ve numbered this part 2a because Moonrise only has half as many tracks as Fall of an Empire, but they still cover the same story beats anyway (in fact Moonrise might even cover more), so where Moonrise covers multiple points in the same track I’ve numbered them with a number and a letter. Anyway.

In Nightfall, Luna is just overjoyed to make the night sky. However, because Luna is by herself here and her anguish is more interesting than her passion, Nightfall has to crush this point and the next into the same song, this lasts for all of a verse, which is punctuated by these growling, sinister guitar stabs. More of the song is in part 2b, but it still covers this tonal beat of the quiet expression of Luna really liking something.

This mood gets more fully expressed in Fall of an Empire’s “Chapter 2: Crossroads of Life”, which is a full-on soppy duet between Princess Luna and King Sombra. It almost manages to go the whole way from the two of them sneaking off to getting engaged in this tone, but then there’s a big sinister metal stab near the back half of it to remind you “hey don’t get too comfortable now”.

Both of these seem to come with the implication that Luna isn’t allowed to be happy. In fact that’s basically the byline of these two operas. Whenever Luna does what she wants, bad things happen. Which brings us to...

Part 2b: Someone Goes Crazy and It’s All Luna’s Fault

Oh boy. In Moonrise, we don’t even get the whole way through Nightfall before Luna starts losing the rag. So incensed is she that people are going to bed instead of looking at this pretty sky she’s made that she goes mad and decides to bring about eternal night. It’s a little childish, but A. this is a rock opera, people don’t need good reasons for doing things as long as the emotions flow right, and 2. this is a mythic-style story where larger-than-life characters do extraordinary things for petty reasons.

These points also apply to Fall of an Empire, where in “Chapter 3: Heavy Is The Crown” Celestia convinces Luna that marrying a mortal is a bad idea, and Luna dumps Sombra fairly abruptly. Sombra, a rational person, decides that he should become immortal (”Chapter 4: At Any Cost”) and take over the world (”Chapter 5: Regents Of The Darkness”).

It’s kind of understandable that Fall of an Empire takes three songs to cover what Moonrise does in less than one, because this story beat involves three times as many characters. In Moonrise, Luna goes nuts basically apropos of nothing. It almost feels a bit rushed, and Fall’s more drawn-out and careful coverage of this decline is far more interesting, by giving competing intentions different voices. It makes the story feel more emotionally complete.

It’s more musically distinct too - where Chapter 3 provides what I’ll call the Heavy Is The Crown motif, which reappears later on during expressions of regret, when Luna is forced to take actions for the greater good that are against her personal wishes. There’s more room across the three songs with three characters to convey more nuance in the emotions, like Luna’s quiet promise to cure Sombra of his madness at the end of Regents of the Dark (this actually matches up with something else later). By contrast Moonrise just devolves towards the end of the song into atonal clanging, which isn’t really to my taste and feels a little out of place in a metal symphony. Regardless, these are quite clearly analogous beats of the story.

Oh boy this is gonna run long.

Part 3: Luna is Intransigent, Bad Things Happen

The part where Luna is intransigent is kind of coincidental, because they’re for different reasons, but it is an interesting commonality, that it seems like Luna is just this world’s butt monkey. Really makes you feel bad for her, particularly in Fall of an Empire.

In Moonrise, this is “Scene 4: Lunar March”, where Luna, now Nightmare Moon, is staging her coup and bullying her subjects by asking them “if the moon is not to [their] liking”, in that kind of way where it’s hard to tell if she’s mocking them or being hysterical, and then Celestia turns up and confronts her. This brings up two components that happen in this story beat; the ideological conflict between the major actors is articulated in preparation for the final confrontation, and the impact of this conflict on the mortals beneath them is mentioned. This is in stark contrast to the harmony and happiness of the first song, and I feel like it could do with twisting and subverting some of the motifs from that song. Particularly in Moonrise, Harmony brings up a very strong main theme motif that comes back in Harmony Restored, but it could have really added something to Lunar March to show off a contrast.

In Fall of an Empire, we have the same two components set up, almost neatly demarcated into two songs. In “Chapter 6: Kingdoms Divided”, we get the side-by-side argument between Celestia and Luna, and Sombra preparing the Crystal Empire for war. I say “almost neatly” because this song doesn’t fully prepare us for the final confrontation.

Can I just say before I continue that Kingdoms Divided has one of the best moments on the whole album? The chorus is really cleverly worded:

We cannot stand apart By kingdoms divided by Your arrogant heart

So you’ll stand there and fight Believing you really know What is and what isn’t is right

This is most effective on the second chorus, just after a pair of lines each from Celestia, Luna and Sombra. All three of them sing the chorus, and you could reasonably imagine any one of them saying those exact words, even at the exact same time. This isn’t the only time that they have more than one character singing the same words and where it makes sense to them, even for different reasons (Heavy Is The Crown and Regents of the Dark spring to mind), but because it’s three characters here it feels really well executed.

Anyway where was I? Oh yes, the rest of our preparation for the final confrontation happens in “Chapter 7: The Calling”, alongside a fairly explicit intrusion of the commoners into the Princesses’ affairs when the crystal ponies make their appeal for aid with a really haunting chorus of “save us”. It’s only here that Luna is finally convinced to turn against Sombra. It’s also this moment that really sells Celestia as having Luna’s best interests at heart despite being cold and antagonistic so far, where she gives Luna the final say on what they decide to do (helped along by the return of the Heavy Is The Crown motif). Celestia could have easily badgered Luna into going along with her plan or ignored her, but they really are equal partners in this kingdom-running business. It’s a very sweet and also heart-breaking moment.

This is another place where Fall taking more songs to cover the same ground really helps with fleshing out more characters and greater emotional granularity. But it is the same ground.

Part 4: The Final Battle

This is probably where the disparity between the two base stories is the most pronounced. Moonrise’s “Scene 5: Battle of the Sun And Moon” is an instrumental, which is cool and all, but it kind of betrays how simplistic the story of Nightmare Moon is at its core. All of the complexity in it is in Luna’s descent into madness, and Celestia’s anguish at what she has to do for the greater good (”anguish for the greater good”. Hmm. Where did we see that before?), which means that the big confrontation between the two of them is... basically empty. They have nothing to say to each other at this point. The time for words is past, and it’s a magical punching contest now. This is thematically interesting, but only from a distance. In the heat of the moment, it’s... 2 minutes and 33 seconds of fast-paced instrumental metal. Not really anything more.

Meanwhile, Fall’s “Chapter 8: Heaven’s Fury” is an 8 minute saga. We open with this choral introduction of the “grand regent, unequalled, transcendent, eternal”, which for those who’ve been paying attention, we heard before in the Prologue, telling us how far Sombra has fallen. And just to ice the cake, the start of the song proper, after this little introduction, is the same instrumentation as the start of Welcome to the Empire. I love bookends. They’re great.

What follows is Sombra and Celestia having a metal duel and it’s awesome. Celestia’s singer hasn’t really had much chance to get the lead out until her chorus on this album, and you can really tell she’s giving it socks. She has some trouble hitting the high notes, but I can’t begrudge that too much.

And then, did you think they were done with the bookends? Think again! Sombra’s duet with Luna takes on the melody of Crossroads of Life, reflecting on their relationship, before Luna’s verse slides into her Heaven’s Fury chorus - implying that she is ultimately siding with Celestia here. Even the instrumentation and lyrics of the chorus retrace this transition - it starts off light, she talks about making it work somehow, heavy crowns, the choir jump in on the second line and then we’re back to the full metal instrumentation. It’s impressively layered songwriting and meaningful production.

Wow, I really nerded out about this. The rest of the song is more like Battle of the Sun and Moon, a few minutes of fast-paced battle music, with a little descent-into-atonal-madness bit at the end, which is less interesting, but it wasn’t really going to end any other way.

Part 5: Remorse, Return to a Lesser Life

Turning the tables, this story beat I think is actually done much better in Moonrise, probably because the final conflict had so little dimension to it, and all the interesting bits are in the aftermath. In “Scene 6: Daybreak”, the narrator tells us about the ruin left in the battle’s wake, before seguing into Celestia talking, one-sided, to her banished sister about her regrets over a piano. But what really sells this part is what I’ll call the Harmony Restored motif, which she launches into over a building choir and it just... I cried. I won’t lie. Even with Moonrise’s narrative simplicity, there is still a lot of emotional weight packed in here. It was this moment - these two lines of hope and determination in the face of just, bottomless anguish - that created the character of Celestia as she is in my head, and how she appears in Agents of HEART. All of the weight of her experience just hits you in this one moment.

Not content with that, Moonrise builds further on this denouement of its story in “Scene 7: Harmony Restored”, which revisits much of the structure and melody of Harmony - same introduction, many of the same riffs, but something’s different now - all while Celestia pleads to her citizens to forgive Luna. She’s basically trying to convince everyone that the person who just tried to destroy the world isn’t really crazy please believe me, and it’s tragic. This culminates in the fully instrumented chorus version of the Harmony Restored motif, which is basically the ending of the story. Then we dip into a motif from Nightfall, the narrator gives a little aesop lesson to see us out, and we launch into the Harmony motif and another Harmony Restored chorus and wrap up with the Harmony motif again. Fin. The end. It’s very complete, and maybe has too much in the way of an ending. The narrator giving us a moral is a touch on the nose, and the second Harmony Restored chorus might be overkill, but it’s awesome so I’m not really going to argue. Power metal knows not what this “overkill” concept is.

Meanwhile, in Fall of an Empire, we get... “Epilogue: The Fall of the Shadow’s Veil”. The narrator takes over and tells us what happens after Heaven’s Fury, gives us some of Luna’s anguish, a little note of vain hope, and delivers a moral at the end. It’s not completely without art, the Heavy is the Crown motif finds its way in there, but it’s very heavy on tell and very light on show. The reason Moonrise ended so strongly despite rushing through the middle was that we were shown all the complexity and depth of Celestia’s experience as it happened. Maybe doing that for Luna at the end of Fall would have it run on too long, or be redundant - or maybe L-Train caught on that a full denouement song would make the similarity of the story beats too obvious - but what we’re left with makes the ending kind of sudden, like the budget ran out. It’s kind of a shame with how strong the rest of the album is.

There is one highlight though - remember Luna’s quiet little aside at the end of Regents of the Darkness? Where she talks about how she’s going to sweep aside his darkness and get him back? That’s Luna’s Daybreak. That’s her Harmony Restored. It’s in a different part of the story sure, and only two lines, but it fulfils that same function, where it’s this expression of hope in the face of loss. Unfortunately for her, we know how that turns out, which only makes it go on to reinforce the “Luna isn’t allowed to be happy” running theme of this universe.

Conclusion

Wow I rambled a lot I have lots of other things I need to do lemme hurry up

In conclusion, we see here that both of these albums, even in the ways that both of them show mastery of songwriting, instrumentation and storytelling through music, are basically following the same story anatomy. We are happy but things are not completely okay, Luna is happy and that’s terrible, Luna breaks everything, Luna gets upset and bad things happen, there’s a confrontation, and then wounded by the loss everyone goes back to their business.

It’s worth noting at this point, at the very end where nobody’s going to read it, that this isn’t too far from the structure of most rock operas. Many of them are tragedies of some sort or another. The structure being so similar isn’t even necessarily a bad thing - it’s a very compelling structure, and the second time around fleshed it out in ways that made it much better (even if it did slack on the ending a bit).

So ultimately, both of L-Train’s Rock Operas are Identical, and That’s Okay.