Author Notes 03: Music & Writing

For whatever reason, I have found that using certain songs to frame or conceptualize a given character's personality/background/preferences has been exceedingly helpful. I wanted to talk just a little bit about how I listen to certain songs when getting into the right frame of mind to write about a character, setting, or theme, and introduce some of the main theme songs that I listen to when getting into any of R0-414's agent's heads, so to speak.

It's really no secret that music plays a large part in shaping this particular fiction effort, with every single official episode of RONIN begins with the main theme, the excellent "Young Men Dead" by The Black Angels. I selected this particular song because of its similar lone guitar intro which is reminiscent of the original FFVII Turk's theme, but as "Young Men Dead" progresses into its primary form, it reveals itself as a distorted, dirty electric guitar sound that I felt was very appropriate for persona non grata Turks. Furthermore, the lyrical themes of "Young Men Dead" truly do have those firm allusions to being on the run and finding some meaning of life in that exodus.

The ending theme of each episode is different, and this is also an intentional design choice. Originally, I had thought to model these theme song patterns after anime syndication, where the ending and intro themes are the same for several episodes in a row, but I thought I could probably get away with introducing far more good music by finding a thematically/tonally-appropriate song for the end of each separate episode, and that's really how that came to be. So far, my personal favorite ending themes have to be the 「街の記憶」("Memories of the City") theme from Persona 3 at the end of File 02: Black Tea, and "Akatsuki" by Babymetal which was the end theme of File 03: Shrine of the Blacksmith.

Yes, despite myself and my thrash metal roots, I somehow love Babymetal.

But, I won't doubt that I like what I happen to like.

"Memories of the City" from the Persona 3 Soundtrack

"Akatsuki" by Babymetal

As for those themes that have not yet ended up as ending themes--those which I listen to several times and meditate over when getting in the right mood to write about a particular character--I would like to introduce some of those below:

1. Riwin Koucha's theme: "Evil Ways" by Blues Saraceno

As a character, Riwin Koucha is not particularly associated with the twangy sound of Southern Outlaw Rock that this song exudes in spades, but thematically when I think of this song, the idea or concept of Riwin becomes easier for me to figure out as a writer. Riwin is really about being the successful outlier--he's at his best when he's breaking (or bending) rules, and this song gets to the essence of that.

2. Valerick Goodliffe's theme: "Helvegen" ("The Way to Hell") by Wardruna

Wardruna is a scandinavian folk band fronted by Norwegian Black Metal's notorious Gaahl. They choose one ancient rune and base an entire album on only that. Although it hasn't really come up yet in the story, Valerick's character has a very strong connection and predication on the occult. Whenever I hear Helvegen I am always reminded that behind the strength of Valerick Goodliffe is a darkness that only he himself can fully comprehend (and utilize).

3. Evan Oris' theme: "Katyusha" (Russian Military-Folk Song)

Like Valerick's association with the occult, Evan Oris' Northern Continent (and allegorically Russian) heritage has not yet been elaborated upon in the current fiction at the time of this writing, but as a writer I am keen to remain aware of how this background has shaped the leader of R0-414. As such, I am reminded of the war song Katyusha, which is equally strength and beauty all at once. Getting acquainted with this duality always helps me write better dialog for Evan.

4. Shizune Mai's theme: 「罪と罰」("Crime and Punishment") by 椎名林檎 (Shiina Ringo)

Yeah, Shizune is very Japanese-y, and the works of Shiina Ringo have always been a strange experiment/perversion/subversion of what it means to be musical and modern in Japan. What it means to have both ancient and modern components in such vibrant proportions that one is never quite settled within oneself about who they are. That's definitely a place that speaks to the core of who Shizune is--an adopted Wutaian of an ancient lineage with a modern upbringing, her latent talents with machinery have been further enhanced by her rote mastery of modern tech. Though that should objectively help Shizune be at peace with herself, like all over-achievers, she is a victim of Imposter Syndrome. I really feel like Shiina Ringo's Crime and Punishment is not only an indictment of the societies she can never fit into, but also of the crime of punishing herself for her own perceived shortcomings.