Cups(When I'm Gone)

**Cups(When I'm Gone)** is the third animatic of Rajarin Tokairi's Welcome to The New Age. It is the most popular video in the series.

## Description

Oh, look an animatic--haven't seen one of these on my channel for a hot minute since last summer. This animatic took surprisingly less time than my country human ones so I'm proud that I got my sH1t together and managed to make it under a week. Anyways hope you enjoy this little look into my story building since I've haven't done one and some of y'all have been asking for OC backstories so here's of the Leihana Twins (Mako and Kai'Lea) I hope to do more in the future so look forward to that

## Summary

The Leihana twins are first seen in the opening, the 2 sitting on the floor as Mako plays with cups while Lea watches with a smile. The frame changes after the title sequence to show Kai'Lea looking at her god-father with a wide smile as he rests a hand on her head, Mako slightly confused as to what's going on. Kai'Lea points to the open door still smiling, telling Mako that they're going out to sea. The 2 are seen on a boat together with a few other people, Lea's expression at peace as she watches sea life from the side of the boat. The scene transitions to an older Mako holding the pendant Kai'Lea once wore, looking out from the shore by himself. Memories seem to flood back to him as he recalls parties with his sister and friends, being the negotiator after Lea's temper got the best of her, and wading in the water with surfboards.

Kai'Lea muses on how she wants to see the world, pinning photos onto a bulletin board with a variety of countries, bays, tickets, and maps, though Mako seems disinterested as he reads a Fishing 101 book near a windowsill. Though the peace ends when a frame shows 3 bullies blocking Lea's path in a forest, her staring at one of them in anger. She quickly punches one boy in the face making his nosebleed, the bullies staring at her in fear as Kai'Lea's eyes turn blue. She gets home leaning on the door from her bruises, Mako, breaking into tears seeing his sister barely able to stand, is comforted by her hugging him as she too lets tears fall.

Soon, a older Mako wakes up by the same windowsill that he would often read as a kid, holding the pendant he gave to Kai'Lea and wearing the fish she carved & gave him. He clutches the pendant, reaching out the window to pluck a flower, holding it to his face, as the background becomes clear, revealing a table where Lea's bulletin board once was, a photo with the words "e ho'omaha me ka Maluhia" and a melting candle.

## Trivia

* The words on Lea's photo at the end translate to "Rest in Peace" in Hawaiian
* This animatic kicked off the popularity of Welcome to The New Age, as it still is Raja's most popular video
* David, Mako and Kai'Lea's god-father and main guardian, makes his rather short debut, but has never been seen again after this animatic
* Lea's eye's turning blue seem to parallel Seia in Soldier Poet King, foreshadowing the Goddess she'd become the heir to in death
* The backstory of Cups is later continued in Aloha Oe & Hey Brother, 2 animatics that Ray later made
* This is the only time unless you include the Welcome to The New Age intro where Kai'Lea's eyes turn blue without her going into Juno in the series