[ストロボ・EdGE]

Have you noticed any links or ties in Ayu's songs to others? I found one that (I thought) is pretty cool... Please don't be mean or tell me that I'm nuts And yeah it's long...

I think Heartplace, fairyland, and crossroad are connected or inspired by the same experiences or something but bear with me here!

Heartplace is a song about freedom, independence, the fight we have to make for it, and the pain of it. fairyland is about nostalgia and the past, and crossroad is about the metaphorical crossroads where one decides which path they will take. So at first they don't really seem to have anything in common.

At first what brought my attention was that I noticed that all three songs spoke about certain people of the past, namely "that guy (aitsu)" and "that girl (ano ko)" and that in all of the original lyrics they were written the same way （アイツ　and　あのコ, respectively） both 'aitsu' and 'ko' being stylized in katakana. Also just fyi 'aitsu' is a pretty rude way to refer to a guy.

Here are some snips from the songs. I used masa's translation for the second chorus in crossroad but for the rest I used my own only because masa translated the recurring elements in different ways (and only naturally because the three were released years apart,) so for you to see yourself romaji is added too.

Heartplace

Tears suddenly poured out
by the warmth of someone I passed by
It might have been you, or that guy or that girl

surechigau hito no nukumori ni
fui ni namida afuredashita yo
moshikashitara kimi ya aitsu ya ano ko datta kamo shirenai

fairyland

What it means to become an adult
is something I still don't understand
But I wonder what that girl and that guy from then are now aiming for

otona ni natte iku koto no imi nante
wakaranai mama da yo
dakedo itsuka no ano ko ya aitsu
imagoro doko wo mezashite aruite ru n darou

In crossroad the first chorus talks about 'aitsu' and the second talks about 'ano ko'

crossroad

That guy was protecting himself by pretending to be strong
so as to not get hurt
I wonder if he can smile naturally now

I had the feeling
That the profile of someone I passed by now
Looked like that of the girl
I had known before

But why was I just staring at her back
As she walked away
Without even being able to
Call to her

kizutsukanai you ni
tsuyogaru koto dake de
jibun o mamotte ita
aitsu wa umaku waraeru you ni natta kana

ima surechigatta
dareka ga itsuka no
ano ko no yokogao ni
mieta you na ki ga shita noni doushite

koe o kakeru koto
sae mo dekinai mama
toozakatte iku
ushirosugata o mitsumete ta

In crossroad, Ayu talks about not being able to recognize ano ko, and having the feeling she has passed her by while in Heartplace she passed by someone who might have been aitsu or ano ko, with a similar emotion. In fairlyand she wonders whatever happened to aitsu and ano ko and again in crossroad she wonders if aitsu is able to smile despite his facade. To add to it, strangely enough, all three songs also speak about "becoming an adult" or what it means to be an adult. All songs talk about the past and nostalgia... I don't know, but for me, it might be coincidence but I think these songs are tied up together.

Of course I don't know what sort of experiences they were, or what sort of people they were, or if she's even referring to people she knew or if they're the same people at all, but I'd like to think that it was something that changed Ayu and something she has kept a part of her. Why else would the songs have so much to do with one another as far as theme, lyrics, and emotion yet spaced apart by years? Or maybe I'm paranoid and over thinking it?