#meta station

[deeplyshalllow]

An in Depth Study of Fiyero and Elphaba in the train station scene

Elphaba and Fiyero's meeting

Dancing Through Life

Lion Cub Scene

Firstly, I want to touch on a really good point made by this ask here that Fiyero is not in the scene where Elphaba gets her letter to the Wizard. I believe, from a character point of view, that it was purely by chance that Fiyero wasn’t there for this scene (as in, it wasn’t as a result of him avoiding her). However, I do think, from a narrative point of view, this gives a greater weighting to the scene at the train station, as this will be the first time we see Fiyero’s reaction to the news, it also makes it more likely that Fiyero heard the news from someone other than Elphaba (Galinda probably) so hasn’t really had a chance to congratulate her himself, as well as emphasising the distance that’s grown between them.

I also want to go into this scene in the screenplay deleted from the movie:

It appears that Elphaba is not being as subtle as she thinks she is. And, at least a third party can see that Elphaba has feeling for Fiyero. The fact that not too much time seems to have passed since the Lion Cub scene, and Fiyero and Elphaba haven’t been around each other much, begs the question “was Elphaba having subconscious feelings for Fiyero before this point that were also obvious enough for Boq to notice?”. It also leaves the possibility open for Galinda to have noticed something, which may play into her actions in this scene.

In terms of the scene we see in the movie, the first thing to note is that the script is very similar to the musical, not much is changed (though obviously Jonathan has made his own acting choices). So really where it is not highlighted assume it’s the same.

“How will we manage without you?”

“You won’t even notice I’m gone. You have Fiyero...”

Honestly, I find this line a bit sad. This idea that even now Elphaba doesn’t really value herself as much as others. However, I do also think it links back to I’m Not That Girl a sort of “well she has everything, why would she care?” mindset.

“speaking of Fiyero... where is he... not that I expected him to come and say goodbye... I mean... we barely know each other.”

I feel this is relatively obvious, Elphaba is fond of Fiyero – both as a friend and potential love interest, and she wants to see him and see that he cares. However, she also is still awkward and guilty about the fact that she does like Galinda’s boyfriend, and is embarrassed that she wants him to care. It is interesting that we so rarely see Elphaba flustered like this, unable to get her words out (something we will see mirrored with Fiyero later).

It’s also a stark contrast from the way she treated Fiyero when they first met.

“I barely know him anymore either, he’s been different, he’s distant and moodified, and he’s been thinking, which really worries me. It all started the day Doctor Dillamond was fired,”

Galinda likes Fiyero for his mask. She’s wanted him from before she even met him – which must have been defined by his title and gossip magazines, so now that the mask has dropped she’s struggling with the relationship.

On the other hand, Elphaba who disliked Fiyero’s fake persona, is being told that this all is dropping. That the Fiyero that she saw a glimpse of the day with the Lion Cub is still there, and he’s been affected too.

Note the use of the term Thinking in contrast to Fiyero’s general persona of Brainless.

“I mean, who knew he cared so much about that old Goat?”

This says a lot about the difference between Galinda and Fiyero. Even now, knowing how much Elphaba cared about Doctor Dillamond, Galinda doesn’t even see the need to be sensitive about him here (and not she even refers to Doctor Dillamond as “fired” not the more accurate “taken away”). Fiyero, on the other hand, went and saved an Animal without question.

“Elphie look, he did come. Dearest! We’re over here Darling! Come! Hi!”

[Fiyero isn’t looking at Galinda, all attention paid to Elphaba]

Fiyero comes into this scene with a mission, he has something to say to Elphaba and he’s very focused on doing so, even at the expense of Galinda.

“Elphaba.”

“Fiyero.”

“I’m happy for you.”

“Thank you.”

This is so awkward, between both of them. Neither are particularly people who get lost for words (though we do see Fiyero periodically struggling to speak when talking to Elphaba), but neither really know what to say here, so they are leaning on formalities. Fiyero, it will become clear later, has some sort of script – he’s planned exactly what he wants to say to Elphaba, but note how Elphaba is simply making the easiest reply she can because she doesn’t know how to react (something new for the movie but works very well).

“Yes, we are both so happy-”

[Fiyero interrupts Galinda suddenly]

Fiyero has lost a lot of his natural smoothness here, he’s on a script, he needs to say this and so he’s interrupting anything that doesn’t go as planned.

“I’ve been thinking...”

[Elphaba, amused] “Yeah, I heard,”

This is the first time Elphaba has got a little more comfortable. She’s pleased that Fiyero has confirmed what Galinda said, that what happened to them with the Lion Cub impacted him too. So her response is more relaxed and a little teasing.

“About the, uh, Lion Cub and... Doctor Dillamond... I think about that day a lot...”

It’s interesting here, because a lot of Fiyeros in the stage show are really taken aback by Elphaba’s comment of “yeah, I heard,” but Jonathan’s Fiyero is desperate to get his words out that he hardly hears. This line can be portrayed in a lot of different ways and it’s a deliberate choice by Jonathan to imply that Fiyero has been thinking over exactly what to say to Elphaba here for days.

His words here are awkward, almost robotic, so far from the easy charm he normally comes out with – but also not the kind of dumb stunned stuff he normally says when faced with Elphaba surprising him. He’s thought about these words, he wants to get them out to her and get his meaning.

 “So do I.”

[They continue to stare meaningfully and a bit awkwardly at each other.]

Elphaba’s words are kind and warm. She means them, and there’s much more she wants to say but can’t because of Galinda.

[Galinda looks between them] “Oh, me too, me too, me too, mhmm. I think about it constantly, I mean poor Doctor Dillamond. It makes one want to... take a stand. In fact...” [scene continues with Galinda announcing she’s changing her name.]

Glinda is realising that Elphaba and Fiyero are having a conversation that she isn’t part of. Whether this any degree of her working out they’re having feelings for each other, or simply a way to get Fiyero’s attention back to her I’m not sure, but she immediately tries to do something to get the attention back.

“Your name?”

“Yes.” [hair toss]

“Are you sure?

“Yes.” [hair toss]

[Elphaba and Fiyero look at each other puzzled after the announcement]

Note the distance Fiyero and Elphaba have from the other students supporting Glinda. They’re not cheering, they don’t see the point of this gesture. Glinda’s idea of standing up for Animal rights is far different from Elphaba and Fiyero risking the trouble they’ll get into to save the Cub. Instead, hers is self aggrandising and ultimately meaningless – done with ulterior motives and no real desire for change. It foreshadows a lot of the conflict between Glinda and Elphaba and Fiyero in the second act, Galinda would rather “lift spirits”, make people happy and get their admiration while Fiyero and Elphaba want to do something that makes a difference.

It’s also interesting that the tune of “I couldn’t be happier” plays in the background of this scene – it’s highlighting the separation Glinda is starting to have between her morals and the morals of Fiyero and Elphaba and the general lies the populace are going to follow.

[Fiyero and Elphaba still making eyes at each other as Glinda comes back to join them, Fiyero hands Elphaba the poppy, sudden silence sudden heat tune plays in the background]

I think there’s more significance to Fiyero giving Elphaba the poppy here than there is in the stage show (though the stage show sets the Lion Cub scene in a field of poppies so the meaningfulness is not insignificant there either), because Elphaba used a poppy spell on the students. By giving her a poppy he’s not only saying that he doesn’t blame her for her burst of magic (something her father and sister have been doing for years) but is turning it into a positive memory. The music brings back the moment of connection they had in the Lion Cub scene too – still tentative, still unspoken, but they know something is there.

“Good luck,” [Fiyero briefly glances at Glinda and then leaves]

I think there’s a lot more that’s left unsaid here, and a lot more that he wants to say with Glinda not around, but neither of them realise it’s going to be the last time they meet each other for years. So he’s spent this time telling her that what happened meant something to him, doesn’t want to do anything dramatic to spoil her big day, and there’s a promise of more discussions when she gets back (which of course she never does L )

And, just so I have completed all the Fiyero scenes, the final time we see my boy in the film is when Morrible makes the announcement that Elphaba is a Wicked Witch. We see him immediately realise what has happened and get on his Horse, (presumably) to go out and find her. He has dropped his “nothing matters but knowing nothing matters” persona completely because he cares for Elphaba and wants to help. Elphaba, and her passion, inspires this smart and good man to go out and fight for what is right rather than trying to ignore what he sees as wrong to quell the pain.

There's also something wonderfully full circle about the first scene of Fiyero being him knocking Elphaba down with his Horse, and his last scene being him and his Horse going off to find and help her.

Of course, he has to deliberately put his mask back on in film 2. But we’re going to have to wait until November for me to analyse that.

In the meantime I want to write some predictions for film 2 and possibly an analysis on the deleted scenes when they come out and Fiyero’s other songs in earlier versions of the musical, so watch this space!

additional thoughts on this scene

[meteortrails]

law and luffy are just like. what if I saw you at the peak of your miracle working competence, and then the literal next time I saw you it was at your most isolated and broken. and what if that moment of seeing you alone and grieving and terrified was the moment where I decided you were someone worth keeping, someone who I personally cared about and wanted around. how does that not make you wanna lose your fucking mind.

and then the other thing on top of that which always gets me is the way that you can just so clearly see that neither of them has any idea how to fit this relationship into any preexisting context - Luffy calls him part of his crew, but law is the captain of his own crew and would clearly die before giving that up; law calls them allies but it is glaringly obvious that they care about each other in a way that goes beyond that. of course Luffy is generally a lot less bothered about this than law, who routinely wants to put his own head through a wall about it, but it’s just such a fun layer to their dynamic I think.

[clockworkreapers]

soooo... whos read the most recent blog post?

[megaderping]

Something I think goes underappreciated about Persona 4 is the way that it gives you all the tools you need to solve its greatest mysteries if you put the time in to explore. There are special NPC interactions throughout the year with plot relevant characters like the Moel Gas Station attendant, Mitsuo Kubo, and Namatame that give insights to their roles in the story.

Take the attendant, for example:

This character ONLY appears on rainy days. Persona 4 teaches you that rainy days are important. The Midnight Channel, your rescue deadlines, all of it links back to rain, so if you go to the gas station on those days, you get dialogue. This NPC is never available on any other day. So, if you catch onto this pattern, the gas station attendant becomes more significant than if you never explore the town on rainy days and just focus on your story objectives, Social Links, etc.

But it's not just the gas station attendant. This applies to other plot significant characters, too.

Taro Namatame is a special NPC who only appears around set dates in the game's calendar, but one who appears throughout the entire story. The game teaches you he's important by giving him a portrait. Portrait characters are always going to be more meaningful, which actually makes the gas station attendant a fascinating subversion by having a distinct design and even a voice actor in his introduction, but not a portrait until the game's final day.

But if you interact with Namatame, you will get insight to his feelings and get early evidence that he did not kill Saki or Mayumi Yamano. If you explore, if you investigate, you will have the tools you need months in advance to confront the game's red herrings and see through the fog.

But you have to put in the effort. You have to commit yourself to the investigation and leave no stone unturned. Persona 4 embraces the mystery genre even in its game design by encouraging exploration and interaction with Inaba itself.

Mitsuo is another example. He's introduced earlier with a portrait and appears on the overworld for a few months before he becomes plot relevant. During this time, you do get glimmers of... possible concern intermixed with his less pleasant personality.

But he genuinely is furious at the police for their inability to catch the killer. He may not be nice, he may look creepy, and he may be a copycat killer who wants the attention, but with his dungeon painting this action as a result of social ostracization, expulsion, and possibly even neglect, he becomes a much more layered, if ultimately still antagonistic character. For more on that, I recommend this tumblr post. So, once again, you are given a hint that he's a red herring, if you pay attention, remember those interactions, and ruminate on them.

There are other really cool NPC interactions that update throughout the game, like the shopkeepers, but I bring these examples up specifically because they demonstrate how Persona 4's game design sets you up with all the tools you need to solve the case that I think go underdiscussed.

[walkingstackofbooks]

Oh my goodness I've just found this Star Trek presentation I made for a "3 Minute PowerPoint Party" I went to aaages ago and I can't believe I never shared it here! (Okay it is over 5 minutes long I had to do some forfeits 😅)

It's been done before, but nonetheless, may I present: DS9 - Connecting the Polycule

[lurukifennecfox]

DP x DC Astronaut Danny

he figured stuff out with his rouges he fixed his grades and now he's in space outside the space station he works at fixing stuff!! also he's without a suit and singing the "great asset to the company" but that's beside the point.

he's in space without a suit because he can. and the song is catchy and very funny in this particular situation- where did the wrench go?

Danny is in some sort of meta program and even if he doesn't have the meta gene (which as he found out did run in the family at least by dad's side which explains his... kool-aid-mannes) he does count as a member of extraterrestrial species.

there's the wrench! "hey can you please get that wrench for me?" a perk of ghost voice (not to be confused with ghost-speak the language) is that it doesn't need much substance to carry

[the person who danny asked for the wrench is whoever of your choosing]

[mothstiel]

(in the funko pop section of a store) “i wonder if they have cas” carry on wayward son starts playing

[cicerfics]

Tuesday ramblings

Quantum of Solace is not a very well-loved film in this fandom (though it's good, actually! fight me!!) and I can only assume that's why I see so little meta or other mentions of Craig Mitchell.

But God almighty, I'm eternally obsessed with this minor character. Or rather, I'm obsessed with Mitchell's relationship with Bond (and M) and the implications of his betrayal.

Like?? We only see Mitchell in a couple scenes, but it is clear that Bond and M trust him near-implicitly. He is M's personal bodyguard. She trusts him with her life. BOND trusts him with her life! He and Bond appear to have a rapport! They appear familiar with each other, comfortable with each other, like two operatives who have experience working in tandem on a job.

Bond doesn't bat an eye when Mitchell says he's going to do a perimeter check (and subsequently murders the other guards while Bond and M are occupied). He trusts Mitchell to do his job.

And why shouldn't he? Mitchell has been M's personal bodyguard for YEARS and apparently served her faithfully. She buys him CHRISTMAS PRESENTS.

Sometimes I just have to sit down and stare off into space while I think about how much it must have fucked both Bond and M ALL THE WAY UP to have Mitchell, of all people, turn his coat.

I think about how much it must've fucked Bond up to have this happen RIGHT after the situation with Vesper and her betrayal. I think about how Bond and M cleaved even closer together in the wake of this, because really, who CAN they trust but each other? Isn't it now painfully obvious that ANYONE AND EVERYONE ELSE is untrustworthy?

And I think about how quickly Bond shifted (how quickly he HAD to shift) between seeing Mitchell as a deeply trusted ally to seeing Mitchell as an enemy to be terminated. He had to make that switch in SECONDS.

He had to go from 'I trust this man with my life and M's life' to 'I am chasing this man down so I can personally kill him because he is a threat to everything I hold dear'. And he had to do that virtually instantaneously, with no time to process any of it. He had to be psychologically prepared to shoot Mitchell without hesitation.

And he did. When it became clear that Mitchell had betrayed them, Bond killed him immediately and unhesitatingly.

And it fucks me UP to think about Bond having to exist in that kind of headspace for even a month, let alone a decade or so of his life.

[mooniety]

Concerning your last post, is there any chance you can tell more about your pupupu train au 👉👈

HI YES OF COURSE I AM FINALLY GONNA ANSWER THIS I AM SO, SO SORRY FOR TAKING SO LONG, MY BRAIN JUICES HAVE NOT BEEN FLOWING & I HAVE BEEN MENTALLY STUCK IN ESSENTIALLY WHAT IS AN EXTREME LACK OF MOTIVATION ALONGSIDE COLLEGE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

however, i will admit that this is AWFULLY barebones as what i have in my notes app besides this post is legitimately just a bunch of random comedic bits i've made regarding these two in a pupupu train context, mainly the "haha mk refuses to let susie transfer" bit

fair warning: this is a very metasusie coded answer so anyone who is uncomfortable by the ship, i really don't think this is your cup of tea ^^; sorry!

also here's cut so no one needs to read this freakishly long answer if they aren't interested

as of currently, i'm not really sure how the other units will work, but i do know that it will be based on the separate station masters of the real life collab:

kirby for tokyo

dedede for osaka

mk for nagoya

& with station masters comes units, & with units comes staff, which is where our favorite allies come into play:

in kirby's unit is magolor, who's only interest appears to be the fame it will bring him. despite being part of the most popular unit throughout japan, magolor wishes to be recognized, unhappy that he is simply regarded as another employee of japan's top unit, with kirby taking all of the press & fame

within dedede's unit is taranza, who finds trains to be a great solace after applying to the osaka train station as an internship during his stay at osaka university & since then has become a full time employee, working as the assistant station master. he appears to be romantically interested in a woman named sectonia who frequents the station. it's unknown how she feels about him though.

& in mk's unit...IS SUSIE, WHICH IS WHERE I'M GOING TO TAKE A HUGE DETOUR TO JUST TALK ABOUT (because i legitimately do not have this entire thing fleshed out despite it being over several months since this ask was sent in --again, i apologize.)

so, let's talk about susie! (best girlfailure 😍)

susie is an employee of the nagoya station, currently working as assistant station master. she's built her entire way up to her current position, initially working as a humble customer service worker to within several months the position she is currently after proving her worth through helping during dire situations at the station with her extensive knowledge in engineering

she got this job from taranza, an old high school friend of hers that she managed to keep in contact with. aware she was going to graduate from tokyo university soon & wanted to continue living there afterwards, he told her that job applications for all the train stations were opening up soon & recommended she start there in order to get some good experience or at least build a stronger resume for the future, even doing her the favor of recommending her specifically to kirby. although it didn't really seem to entirely work out unfortunately --good job on taranza for at least trying though, we all need a friend like him frfr 💯💯

unfortunately, even after climbing up the ranks, she's still somehow considered a nobody, often relegated as another typical staff member of the station. to add to her frustration, there's a frequent rumor regarding whether mk even has an assistant station master as he's known as "the lone station master" (DO YOU GET THE REFERENCE 👁️👁️). they assume that whoever they are, they seem to rarely make an appearance (despite susie's near perfect attendance, even in comparison to mk himself)

well, now that i've mentioned mk, let's talk about him too:

unlike susie, mk is simply said: the literal face of the nagoya station. everyone knows about him & likes him--he's charming, he's eloquent, knows class, & although he can be overly elaborate at times, people like that about him --he's just a very DEMURE man in general (I WROTE THIS PART WHEN IT WAS STILL FUNNY PLEASE LAUGH 😭)

on the other hand, susie DOES NOT like him very much!!!!!! she finds him EXTREMELY annoying, a HUGE attention seeker, & VERY irrational

because of this, mk enjoys picking at susie as a pastime activity, especially over the fact that instead of getting a job for kirby's unit, she ended up working at mk's unit due to her father's address being in nagoya, the cause of it all

even though mk's a frequent dick to susie, he DOES see the effort she puts into her work & greatly respects as a result. after all, how did she get promoted to assistant station master? vul could've taken it as the longest standing senior member of the crew but mk chose susie instead

generally said, these two essentially have this rivalry on who can piss off the other most, evolving from "i hate you, i cannot stand you & i want you to know that all while NOT losing my job ^-^" to kaguya-sama: love is war type shit as they're both DEFINITELY into it & DEFINITELY into each other

small detour for those who haven't watched or heard of kaguya sama: love is war, it's a great romantic comedy anime/manga & i recommend watching/reading it if you ever find the time & you're into that kind of stuff, very cute & very funny

anyways, going back to susie, despite susie's attempts to piss off mk herself, unlike mk's more...elaborate ways of pissing her off, she typically has to go for the low blows which typically never works or if they do, he immediately gets back at her or if it really pisses him off, he will straight up pull the "i'm your boss." card which is a line susie wishes to never cross as long as she lives!

outside of mk, regarding her relationship with the rest of the nagoya station unit, she's relatively neutral as she doesn't really talk to any them much outside of work, the only person breaking that rule being sailor dee, a junior staff member who she currently supervises with vul who, as stated previously, is a senior staff member. she enjoys spoiling sailor dee a lot & views him a lot like a younger sibling. she finds his passion for engineering inspiring & she can see a lot of herself in him

however, she does know others outside of her unit, such as magolor, who she met through taranza. as an interesting tidbit, out of the three, magolor is the youngest (& shortest), being 20 as he went to study abroad & graduated early before returning back to japan. taranza meanwhile is the oldest (& tallest) of the three, being 23. susie meanwhile is 21. (for anyone curious about mk's age, he's 24 in this au, which would mean susie & mk have a 3 year age gap)

mk really doesn't like magolor & doesn't want susie to be in a 10m radius of him, & although he doesn't know much about taranza's relationship with susie, he still doesn't want to take any chances

in terms of mk's own relationships, besides the wave 3 trio, he's basically buddy buddy with the rest of the nagoya station unit, absolutely adoring him. in terms of the other two station masters, he's best buds with dedede & views kirby as a younger brother, similar to how susie views sailor dee

going back to susie once again, although she does enjoy her job, she does wish she could maybe transfer to other units because they include closer friends such as magolor & taranza. however, whenever she looks for the transfer applications, they never seem to be there despite mk's claims of restocking them every single day. furthermore, whenever she goes to print out one out instead, the file is also corrupted to a degree that even susie can't save.

even more suspiciously however, the one day mk forgets to hide the transfer appliations & witnesses susie take one (he definitely had heart palpitations after witnessing her actually do it), he has never received the application back from her.

now...i've been waiting for this part for a really long time now as this has practically been in the back of my mind ever since i received this ask...THEIR BACKSTORIES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

since susie's isn't all that interesting since she already gets tortured by mk, i'll start with hers first:

ever since she was born, susie has lived comfortably in nagoya, practically surrounded in wealth. however, this was all without her mother, who had shortly passed away after giving birth to her, thus the only parent she's ever had is her father. she's only heard snippets about her mother, but because she's never actually met her mother, she doesn't feel particularly close to nor all that curious about her

going into the logistics of her wealth: it is primarily old money, both of her parents--similar to her--born into wealth inherited from past generations. however, in spite of primarily consisting of old money, haltmann would eventually manage to hit it big through an ice cream machine & other similar appliances business he called the "Haltmann Works Company," thus the haltmann family would become a combination of both old & new money, so now…they've just gotten richer!!!!!!!!!!!! however, in terms of their ways & methodologies, they are VERY old money

despite the company's large success however, haltmann & susie would over time become much more distant: haltmann focusing on taking care of the company over his daughter & susie rarely ever able to see haltmann

however, as a still young & naive child, in order to feel some sort of closeness to her father again, susie would be inspired to share similar interests with her father, & would begin to secretly attempt to create inventions on her own

this would eventually cause her to get into a freak accident, leading her to retain a large scar on forehead hidden beneath her bangs & experience mild nerve damage on both arms that she would fortunately completely recover from after several months of physical therapy

however, at the moment, haltmann--fearful of what the press would say & the potential decrease in profits--would close her off from majority of the world, forcing her to keep her distance around others & a relatively low profile, even long after her recovery

that did not mean that he completely did not care for susie though, as during her slow recovery, haltmann would gift susie her mother's favorite silver pocket watch, "Star Dream," within it an old photo of him & her deceased mother carrying susie when she was around two months old.

unable to normally interact with others beyond the haltmann household now, susie would develop a large inferiority complex as she grew up, feeling the constant need to appear flawless & perfect. this would culminate into her often masking in many social situations, especially business related ones

regarding susie's school career, she lived her life going to the best private schools, receive perfect scores all across the board, took multiple extracurriculars --she was essentially your stereotypical perfect student

as stated previously, in high school, she would meet taranza, who was two years her senior & had similarly came from a wealthy background of old money. he would be the only person susie would ever consider a friend, her first real friend even (TARANZA SNATCHED THE TITLE FROM MK, WE LOVE A QUEEN LIKE THAT 💅💅💅)

however, despite being the supposed perfect student, susie was extremely emotionally stunted & very socially awkward, often keeping everyone at an arm's length & unwilling to let her walls down to anyone, not even taranza. she would get by through masking, using it as a defense mechanism--as if it were her against the world--& as a result, unintentionally isolating herself further.

after graduating high school, thanks to her extremely successful high school career, she would be immediately accepted into tokyo university, graduating with a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering

susie found tokyo university to be a breath of fresh air, a place where she felt she could just be: normal. she felt free during her time there, especially free from the constraints of her father. even though she still felt the need to keep up her prim & perfect persona--as the effects of her past basically already taken root deep into her identity--she nonetheless felt...free.

unfortunately, after graduating tokyo university, haltmann despite his success had been significantly dwindling in health, his health finally reaching a peak immediately after susie's graduation, falling into a crippled state

susie would be forced to go back to nagoya in order to take care of him & the haltmann household, frustratingly postponing her desires to pursue a life in tokyo but also causing her to feel an unreasonable sense of extreme guilt over the fact that she even wanted to abandon her responsibilities in nagoya to pursue her own aspirations in the first place (i specifically state "unreasonable" as it is not her fault for her father's poor health despite how she may feel, there is absolutely nothing wrong with pursuing your aspirations, even if they might be different from what is expected of you by parents & peers)

however, over time after being hired & continuing to work at the nagoya train station, she would eventually find her job to be a blessing in disguise as despite losing opportunities to pursue a life in tokyo, she would be able to reconnect with her father & finally let down her walls (THANKS TO MK), developing genuine relationships for the very first time (HER FIRST ONE BEING MK --lowkey i feel like this is how mk would act, just a huge egomaniac, but he does so as half joke, half who he really is)

as a semi un/fortunate little tease: susie will eventually move on from her job as assistant station master to fulfill the new aspirations she's found after working at the train station. the good news however, is by that time, she'll be in a romantic relationship with mk (MAYBE EVEN MARRIED WHO FUCKIN KNOWS!!!!!!!!!! (i don't)) & still live in nagoya…with him. :DDDDDDDDDD

however, unlike susie's backstory, mk's is much sadder...because he's mk & there seems to be a large consensus that the fandom must torture him in some way 👍👍👍 (ALLEGEDLY ALLEGEDLY ALLEGEDLY, IN FORTNITE, IN MINECRAFT):

mk came from a middle class family with the typical stay at home mother & breadwinner father, thus living a fairly decent life in nagoya

however, while mk was still in middle school, his family would suffer a horrific car accident that would only leave him as the only survivor of the tragedy

this would quickly worsen as immediately after his parents' funeral, he was siphoned of all of assets, including his own house & essentially abandoned by the rest of his family

this would cause mk to become bitter & resentful of others, & he would establish a negative outlook of the world

with no money or home to go to, he had to immediately drop out of school after completing his middle school education in order to find a job --being just barely eligible enough to apply for any sort of occupation

fortunately, he would eventually find work as a full time janitor at the nagoya train station

there, he would meet gk, the current station master at the time --though during the first few months, they did not know each other very well--gk barely aware of mk's existence--only aware that they humorously shared the same surname despite not being related

however, one day, due to extreme exhaustion from working overtime literally every day & obviously not in the right mindset as a high school dropout who essentially lost everything, mk would nearly fall in front of an upcoming train, gk being just there enough in the nick of time to save mk

from that point on, gk would learn more about mk, primarily using vul as his main source of information (as mk would only talk to him out of everyone else in the unit)

through this, he came to the decision that he would help mk out, acting as his guardian, especially after learning about his orphan status

as his new guardian, gk would send mk back to school. however this would not be an easy task as mk didn't want to lose his job due to school (fearful that gk might abandon him like the rest of his remaining family did as well as potentially siphon all his money). thus gk would compromise, changing mk's schedule to part time during the weekends as well as personally pushed to pay for mk's expenses until mk was financially stable enough to move out as mk could barely afford any sort of rent or even groceries--but most importantly of all--afford a normal life again.

in addition, after graduating high school, gk & the rest of the current nagoya unit of that time would pitch in to help mk go to a junior college where he would pursue a major in mechanical engineering & achieve an associate's degree

living with gk would really change mk's initial negative outlook of the world to something much more positive. he can attribute some of his current eccentricities from gk such as his charm & borderline irrationality/overly elaborate nature as well as enjoyment for picking at susie (as gk teased him A LOT, though in a much more lighthearted way than what mk does to susie)

once finished with his studies, mk would move out & slowly climb up the ranks until he became assistant station master himself & eventually the new nagoya station master after gk’s retirement (who was at that point in his mid 70s, my man just enjoys trains yk)

after becoming the new nagoya station master, gk would gift mk his old gold pocket watch called "Galactic Nova"

he would work as the new station master for a bit over 3 years before meeting susie

funny little tidbit about gk since we've practically reached the end:

gk likes to call susie "mk's girlfriend," even before they were in a relationship (HE CAN SMELL LOVE FROM 1000KM AWAY)

he initially did this as a joke, but when it became real, he switched it up to "mk's wife." idk what he's gonna call her when she actually does become mk's wife. maybe just susie.

furthermore, when he learned susie called mk "Yumeta," whenever he refers to their relationship, he calls mk "Yumeta-chan" to get under his skin, but normally, he calls mk "Meta-chan" --unironically. he really enjoys using the "chan" honorific for mk & when i think about it, probably everyone. (this is a big headcanon of mine that goes beyond just this au)

eh, he's a retired old man, he can do whatever he wants as long as it's not illegal

ANYWAYS I HOPE THIS ANSWERS YOUR QUESTION, AGAIN, I AM SO SORRY FOR TAKING LITERALLY NEXT YEAR TO ANSWER

[blackcoldcrackedheart]

I just picture Jason from the firedeptchronicles reading about Bobby's arc for s8 and going "Seriously?!😮‍💨"

[binary-stars-if]

Judging by the art inspo Sol is a kind of utopia or (almost utopia), and Mars kind of cyberpunk dystopia.

That is very apt, especially for Mars -- it's True Capitalism, 100%, which is basically what the cyberpunk genre critiques. That's definitely where I'm drawing inspiration for it. :)

Sol Station is certainly striving to be a utopia. Their goal is direct democracy -- very similar to democratic confederalism, AKA Kurdish communalism or Apoism, as inspired by the political philosophies of Murray Bookchin.

[deeplyshalllow]

Hi!

I absolutely loved your analysis on the Fiyeraba train scene and I had some thoughts and questions to expand upon the discussion if that's alright.

What do you make of the scene where Nessa notices Boq's crush on Glinda and she hastily runs away? Because now with the deleted scene not being canon, I wondered whether there's a different route Boq and Nessa's storyline in For Good.

Also, I think Glinda and how she now feels about Fiyero is nuanced in the conversation between Elphaba and her after he leaves ("I don't think he's perfect anymore, and I still want him"). What do you think of Glinda's headspace during that conversation? Also, do you think it's a good change that Elphaba invited Glinda to come with her not out of guilt regarding Fiyero but because she genuinely wanted Glinda's dream to come true as well? Because "guilt" is also present in the script when Elphaba invites Glinda.

One last point - I noticed that in the stage version, Fiyero would play along and take Glinda by the hand when he would walk over to Elphaba, but here JB's Fiyero isn't playing along with being with Glinda, he's more distant and aloof. What did you make of this change? It makes Fiyero a little less douchy because in the stage version, he's actively using his relationship with Glinda as a cover for exploring his feelings for Elphaba while here he's slowly separating from Glinda and it's becoming more apparent to Glinda that something is going on between Elphaba and Fiyero.

Anyway, can't wait for your Fiyeraba predictions and other content!! 😃

following on from this essay

Firstly, I’m glad you enjoyed the analysis and yes you are always welcome to ask me more, analysing Wicked is my favourite thing to do right now lol.

“What do you make of the scene where Nessa notices Boq's crush on Glinda and she hastily runs away? Because now with the deleted scene not being canon, I wondered whether there's a different route Boq and Nessa's storyline in For Good.”

I’m honestly really, really nervous about the Boq and Nessa storyline in Part 2. I don’t really feel like there’s been enough focus on them in act 1 for us to either 1) see it as plausible for Nessa to turn out the way she does and 2) see exactly why Elphaba is so hurt by both of them being against her. 1) might be solved by the promised change of focus of Wicked Witch on the East on something other than her disability but 2) is really frustrating, because the screenplay reveals we had all the scenes we needed to show the Shiz gang becoming friends, they were just cut.

At the moment, with Boq and Nessa scenes, including this one, it feels like they’re doing the bare minimum to make it make surface level sense to the audience, but not enough for us to really care. So like, I guess I’m glad we got what we got, but I wish there was more. I do feel that Wicked is an ensemble show and perhaps the focus on the Gelphie friendship, while it has been great, has drawn away from other stuff (I just really want a director’s cut). Hopefully we’ll get to see the cut flashback somewhere in Part 2!

Also, I think Glinda and how she now feels about Fiyero is nuanced in the conversation between Elphaba and her after he leaves ("I don't think he's perfect anymore, and I still want him"). What do you think of Glinda's headspace during that conversation?

Yeah, I’ve had another reply about that in the comments of my Train Station essay and I think you’re right. It is more nuanced than just loving him less now he’s perfect. I guess, Glinda kind of always has had a plan in life, she’s going to get famous and be a great sorceress, marry a handsome prince, and live happily ever after! And her path there is starting to very slightly slip off track here – firstly it’s been changed to fit Elphaba in, and now Fiyero – who seemed perfect but now isn’t quite playing his part. I don’t think she necessarily dislikes him becoming different but it’s this push and pull between what she *thinks* her life should be and what it is becoming, and how this image contradicts with her real feelings (we even hear couldn’t be happier in the background, which is entirely this concept). So I guess it’s some degree of trying to get her life back on track, which we see expanded on a lot more in the Thank Goodness scene.

Also, do you think it's a good change that Elphaba invited Glinda to come with her not out of guilt regarding Fiyero but because she genuinely wanted Glinda's dream to come true as well? Because "guilt" is also present in the script when Elphaba invites Glinda.

Hmm. I think I like it as a change. The idea that they’re going because they value each other as friends – which is cuter and nicer. I’m still a bit undecided on whether I like what appears to be the toning down of the rivalry between Glinda and Elphaba over Fiyero – my instinct says it’s a good thing (it’s not the 00s anymore, we are sort of over love triangles) but I want to wait until part 2 and see how they handle it there to make my final decision.

Saying that I think guilt might have been the initial plan for the movie too. Apparently there’s a cut scene where Elphaba tells Galinda about the Lion Cub, and Galinda is upset that they left her and Elphaba promises her she’ll never abandon her again and that’s why she invites her to join. And thank god they cut that scene, partly because it again cheapens the invite scene, but also because I don’t really think it’s in character for Elphaba, who is a little embarrassed and ashamed about her feelings for Fiyero, to admit they saved the Cub together like that – nor Galinda – who is quite sure about her feelings, to get another clue towards Elphaba and Fiyero’s feelings.

One last point - I noticed that in the stage version, Fiyero would play along and take Glinda by the hand when he would walk over to Elphaba, but here JB's Fiyero isn't playing along with being with Glinda, he's more distant and aloof. What did you make of this change? It makes Fiyero a little less douchy because in the stage version, he's actively using his relationship with Glinda as a cover for exploring his feelings for Elphaba while here he's slowly separating from Glinda and it's becoming more apparent to Glinda that something is going on between Elphaba and Fiyero.

Honestly, I think it’s down to the fact that Jonathan’s Fiyero has basically memorised all he has to say. He’s got nothing at all on his mind except “I need to stop chickening out and tell her this right now, and nothing is going to stop me.” So I don’t think he’s even really thinking about Galinda at all (I think with the way he interrupts her too, he barely even notices she’s speaking). With a lot of the stage Fiyeros, he seems to be thinking of the words to say on the spot and the awkwardness comes from there, with him also having to therefore react to what Galinda says and be very conscious she’s there too and he doesn’t want to say too much. While, given he has planned what he has said in this version, he knows he’s not going to say something that he shouldn’t in front of Glinda

In terms of him taking her by the hand, I just had a quick glance at the Ryan McCartan Slime tutorial to watch the train station scene, and, at least with him, I read it more as “Glinda, come over with me, to see our friend,” rather than him actively using Glinda to pretend he’s only friends because of her? But I imagine that might change depending on Fiyero.

I honestly think quite a lot of the problems with the love triangle in the second act are because Elphaba leaves. Had they stayed at Shiz, the problems might have resolved themselves, with Galinda being mostly gracious when she realised Fiyeraba loved each other more – the Flinda relationship I think is still quite shallow at this stage. And this scene could have just been the first step towards it working. Unfortunately by act 2, Flinda has got very complicated, by the fact that Fiyero and Glinda have clung onto each other by necessity, being the only ones who they can talk to about Elphaba – so Glinda feels very betrayed when Fiyero gives all that up to just run with Elphaba.

[inhcritance]

I need to find the meta I already have posted on Harry and FEAST, but now that I'm mentioning it on several threads...

While Harry is no longer a usual presence at FEAST, he's one of their constant top donors and also someone who works with them for charity galas and similar events. It's not unusual for him to reach out to FEAST if he thinks one of the initiatives for the Research Stations or from the EMF might benefit them, and it's also a reasonably guarded secret that some people at FEAST have his personal number and he's been known to help out, especially as a biochemist, when asked to.

And while nowadays Harry mostly keeps to Oscorp and, depending on the timeline, the EMF, Harry did volunteer at FEAST for several years at the suggestion of May Parker, after Harry's mother passed, and he's been very attached to FEAST ever since, for giving him a chance to help others when he felt at his most helpless. To this day, he believes he wouldn't be the person he is if he hadn't spent those years so out of his element, learning to get things done himself instead of throwing money at the problem, and while nowadays he does help more by offering funding, a part of him misses being able to make a difference directly.

One point of note is that Harry made arrangements so that his donations wouldn't stop when he went to "Europe", but the moment his father found out about them, they were stopped... and only reactivated once Harry was back in New York.

Some other fun tidbits related to the topic are that Harry learned how to cook in bulk and for many people during his years volunteering at FEAST, and it's a skill he hasn't forgotten. Enough so that when he ends up in another universe, one of his first options to try and support himself while he figures out how to get back home is to reach out to FEAST and see if they need a cook, and if he doesn't need the money, he'll likely volunteer instead.

[ask-indigo-park-swapped]

this is kinda a rambley-ish question but i think it would be helpful to hear it straight from the source!!

ahem! i dont know if this possible but can u tell us a bit about the railways and trains station? perhaps a brief history of em? maybe even where they are located.. again this info is totally not for note-taking ahaha

<on a meta level, if this was a proper game the stations would have been hub levels where you can rest and prepare before adventures and the railways would have been the fast travel systems to locations>

<originally the stations were basically just the guilds from Pokemon Mystery Dungeon but i realised that that didnt make sense so they eventually became more like a mall? the stations are still heavily associated with adventurers but since theyre easy to get to by design, on a lore level theyre essentially just like. gathering areas where anyone can go anywhere. itd reflect that initial inspiration from pmd lorewise too, stations would have started as places where adventurers can do favours for non-adventurers but has since then become general gathering places for all>

[m0e-ru]

itsok guys fakest splatoon fan is here to serve 👍

[somewherefornow]

GREEN LANTERN 2021 ANNUAL + MENTIONS OF SIMON