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number1villainstan · 7 months

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Adolescence of Utena: First Time Watcher Reactions

Finding the movie and figuring out a way to get the file to play was an Educational Experience, to be sure, but I have it now! I've already watched through the series (reactions in this thread) so that should be helpful in understanding the movie. Real-time reactions below the cut:

how many times have i seen those bells now? things kept Not Working

the cock tower got ripped off at the base. lmao get rekt akio

wait is that utena and dios as shadows? with utena kneeling before kid-looking dios too

yo this intro music is fire

all the little stamp-sized pictures look like they're exploding/going up in flames. memories maybe? getting sacrificed? my first thought is nemuro hall from the series

wait wait this one picture. taller than the others, the biggest of them all even if it's not as wide. castle in the background. a small-looking boat, i can see the planks, getting tossed on huge waves in the stormy night. and right in the middle, the shadow of utena (i think) in the doorway--ready to jump out? god the boat seems like a noah's ark reference but idk if the creators would like. already know the noah's ark story? given cultural differences and all. and it's the only picture that moves (sliding backwards) AND the only picture that doesn't go up in flames. oh god. oh my god. is utena okay???

those blackboards are funky

WAKABA! she already knows utena's name but this is the first time they're meeting??

oh this is a dub. hm. well it's better than no movie at all lmao. and it doesn't seem like a bad dub either don't look a gift horse in the mouth after all

this entire school is on some escher shit. escher if he lived to make animations instead of still images

E-ko and F-ko, huh? no D-ko? (or is it linked to superstitions about 4 being unlucky in Japan cuz it can be pronounced like "death") that is assuming, of course, that the corresponding Shadow Girls from the series are A-ko, B-ko, and C-ko

lmao at that broadcast though

"it's the prince!" and the fighters are orange and blue. is juri the prince? miki?

nvm the dub is not actually that good

oh JURI'S the prince here! instead of wakaba! and she seems to be pretty close with miki--does that mean she has a better relationship with shiori here? (or at least a better relationship with her memories of shiori?)

oh damn touga showed up--black and gold uniform, a lot like utena's uniform in the show actually, but without the red on her uniform cuz his hair's already red--

damn there even looks like there's blood on the base of the cock tower where it got ripped off lmao

touga showing up as a ghost, with a dark red rose on his lapel--and the dark red roses piled up in the middle of that inaccessible(?) courtyard, like a grave

"our promise in the planetarium" akio's planetarium??? from the series??? i don't remember them ever meeting there, unless the dueling arena counts--

idk what they're supposed to be saying there. "we have yet to go" ???

that picture again--that's not utena in the doorway though

so touga's the one with the ring this time, instead of utena. "you must be engaged to someone" "this ring led me to this academy" calling back the "perhaps the ring was an engagement ring" part of the storybook intro and utena's "i came to this academy to find my prince" thing from the series

the rain stops and touga is gone. and that single white rose wasn't opened yet, was still just a bud until Utena came along, one white rose among a thousand red ones (and all the red rose petals falling), and that rose gives her the ring like dios did--standing out from the crowd of course, but is it utena or dios? or perhaps simply the ideal of a prince?

"what is that?" utena says about the floating duel arena, which is high up, unlike all of the other floating islands and parts of Ohtori

oh the stairs! unconnected to anything solid aside from their end points, like the spiral stairs in the series, but it's straight up unlike the spiral staircase, and there's no elevator that i see. like it's lost its central support

practically a carpet of red roses. so that's where the petals were falling from? that's gotta hurt to walk through though, so many thorns. plus like--flowers in general don't grow that densely? they're nutrient and energy intensive, just like fruit, cuz they're reproductive organs. Something Fishy Is Going On

anthy is holding a pink rose. pink for utena this time for sure

"i'm the headmaster's sister, so i get special treatment." idk if i can trust the dub's voice acting (doesn't sound like it) but she does not sound happy about that 'special treatment'

"I'm the only one captive to the roses" a) are you sure you're the only one? b) is captive to the roses referring to Rose Bride bullshit or just being trapped in Ohtori in general

damn saionji sounds super rough in the dub. which makes sense ofc it's saionji lol

and there's anthy's mask again. shows up around saionji, but she dropped it for utena

is saionji eating anthy's hair >.>

the sounds of machines that come as utena puts on the ring. of course. of course. the machinery of ohtori is starting up once again to claim another cog

oh wait huh. saionji's wearing the same outfit as touga, so it's not special to him after all

"this is your chance to take it off" it's like the "good luck" in the first duel in the series, but instead anthy's actively warning utena away from the duels--because utena is new, instead of a recurring student? because anthy remembers utena from before and feels guilty from trapping utena in the game? because anthy herself has gained a taste of independence and desperately wants to reclaim it? it's fascinating how anthy is acting as her own person, actively utilizing her agency in a very visible way despite being in the role of Rose Bride, as opposed to the series where she very much sticks to being passive at first (at least when the camera is on her)

the bells again, but they start the duel instead of mark its ending like in the series

aaaand there's the slap. specifically after anthy actively attempts to interfere with the duel, rather than saionji just slapping her for wishing good luck to utena. i honestly really like this new anthy

"my possession?" oh so it's said even more out loud here than in the series

saionji looks downright insane here

the series is transmasc utena the movie is transfem utena and they're both butches

"I'll never lose to anyone who hits a girl!" still that prince mindset. still that association of femininity with weakness and masculinity with abuse. in this specific case it holds true, but in the general--what about people who hit boys?

saionji looked normal for half a second there

anthy is actively taking charge of her own destiny here, kissing utena to give her the sword of (dios? anthy? just A Sword?)

and it's with the sword that utena finally wins (and gets hair extensions). in the series utena won even with a broken practice sword

oh my god they LITERALLY put saionji on the other side of a dividing line. goddamn

underwater moment? we sunk down to the new dorm? so utena isn't living with anthy this time around. it's just normal unpacking stuff

utena and touga were childhood friends...

okay so utena wants here there. which maybe anthy anticipated cuz she really just walked right in lmao

"i'm not gonna let you go home tonight" that was unexpectedly sinister

damn, anthy really just went "hey order me to fuck you utena :)"

shiori and touga are conspiring...don't like that

touga was under a white sheet. don't they usually put white sheets on the dead?

"the prince was killed" juri? touga? ruka? THE BOY FROM JURI'S STORY. which she said happened to her older sister--

"i'll make her be the prince for the rest of her life" ...damn, shiori, tf are you doing to juri

the shattered frame with the picture of utena

wait was that a show that just floated by? a lot of underwater motifs here with scene transitions

wakaba trying to swordfight lmao

utena don't leave the water on even if you're talking to your childhood friend

ah, swimmers. I see, oh it's in the pool. an empty pool. and anthy's flirting with touga. ah yes, the hypersexuality, i remember reading a meta about this

different frames in the pictures--pink roses, then candy, and baby anthy's wearing utena's yellow dress from the storybook scene--and dios being exhausted, but they're in a castle, not a barn like in the series--and the guy talking on the phone to touga, that has to be akio/dios, cuz his story is being told in the painting

oh, witch, not wish--and dios was the the lord of the flies first, akio (evil) first rather than starting as dios (good) (for all that evil and good don't really mean anything in this world)

kozue and miki are. really different in this cycle. i think kozue's hair color is different, and so is miki's hair? miki looks older, more wild, much less like the "girl-shaped boy" from the show. and the dialogue suggests that he's let go of his need for the Sunlit Garden, like how he was introduced fencing with Juri rather than playing piano

also i forgot to say this way earlier but like man, anthy and utena both look way different. i think it's their face shapes being different. rounder cheeks and points for chins. maybe it's cuz they both left last time?

"i was sold to [my father] when i was young" OH YES THE PROMISED TOUGA BACKSTORY I'VE HEARD ABOUT THIS

"the customer" too, like jesus fuck touga are you saying you were prostituted around to pedos??? the touga-anthy parallels are painful

and shiori calling juri disgusting :/ for what, having a gay crush? being a lesbian? liking shiori? the pendant? just a rumor?

the bugs on the cabbage. shiori being a bug? and growing wings from the white cloth (death cloth?) of the room--oh no, moths. white moths. with black spots. (the defilement of purity? the ugly evil on a canvas of nothing?) landing on touga. somehow i feel like even if they had sex that touga wasn't properly into it. that it was just a bargaining chip.

juri and miki's outfits are red and blue, not black like touga and saionji's--

the mirage of dios--and just half an hour in we get the Revolution foreshadowing

the name kozue behind miki as juri's asking about his motivations. and the (blue? purple?) bath duck and water splashes in the red light. this feels like machinery.

"my wish is always to obtain more power" miki doesn't just have ruka's hair, he's acting like ruka. i don't like this

"that's so male" and yet again the gender roles

miki says he wants to simply gain more power. juri says she wants to gain power to free herself from Everything. and then--"unromantic things" are they dating?? is this just something weird about the dub or was it intentional on Be-Papas' part???

they are not, in fact, alone

oh fuck

(and shiori's flirting with juri--shiori's manipulating both touga AND juri. but miki seems to see right through it)

"those things" you mean sex? like cmon utena sex isn't something shameful

"touga started to act strange because of you" and then we cut to the moths over the lamp. oh no. it was shiori made touga "act strange"

"i thought he would only be beside only me" possessive much?

stars--"there is no prince"--callbacks to the show again

she cut the water line! not utena's neck thank god

utena mentions the stars so anthy gives her the stars oh my god

the long haired utena with the red trim that short-hair utena doesn't have, and anthy's reflection has the rose bride dress--which is white instead of red like the series--is the long-haired utena supposed to represent her "true self?" transfem utena fr

wakaba also looks a bit different, so maybe it's just all the girls ("girls") who look different, cuz the boys don't look very different

"capture your partner's essence" what? oh this is art class

anthy always above utena during the walking scene

"i want to be your friend": the "i don't like this engaged business" part in the series came early, during the student council arc--the "if you have any problems come to me, okay" part came much later, during the akio arc. the movie be speedrunning their relationship. but anthy's not cooperating, cuz she interrupted utena to ask to switch

"let's keep no secrets" used to get utena naked. damn. a bit of anthy's manipulativeness coming in

THAT PAINTING AGAIN

is that the sound of a car? and the paintings from the intro--

no that's an airplane taking off

oh god, there's a hole in her chest. the swords of hate?

the shadow girl broadcast! and a 'scandalascious tape'

the nanami cow! and chu-chu, and the triplets as elephants too lmao

i'm surprised they didn't use actual cow sounds. it's just a dub of someone saying "moo" over and over again :/

chu-chu got ate?

wrong tape lmao

Akio! "I lost the key to my car. Oh well!" lmao. and is that girl with him, is that nanami? looks like her. but it's probably meant to be kanae instead. and all the obvious performativeness, even as E-ko and F-ko call him a "textbook example of a prince", yeah that fits him

oh, did he just use the police as an escort? i thought he was getting arrested for half a second (sadly no)

the skip with the "starts, starts, starts...starts here!" huh.

and now the record is skipping--and then the tape skipping--

and now juri and utena are dueling. utena of course pulls a sword from anthy, and shiori gives juri a sword--i'm reminded of the akio and apocalypse arc duels, but the motivation is similar to juri's stuco arc duel

miki standing with touga... except he can't see him. i also think maybe ruka got folded into miki's character

"eternity, miracles, everything that glows" eternity, the power of miracles, and the shining thing. of course.

oh so utena actually properly wins against juri in the movie, by calling on the power of dios subconsciously. naturally.

and then the revelation that Akio is dead? and kanae crying over here. anthy doesn't seem to like her very much this cycle either

oh my god, anthy killed akio? or at least buried his body--no wonder she's so much more active this time around mwahahaha

oh now akio's car key is much more important

oh. no. akio killed anthy. damn. in a drunken stupor it seems. cuz he was taking advantage of her when he thought she was asleep? yay, more sexual trauma /sarcasm

chair with a sign on it, turn for the elevator--black rose arc callback?

OH SHIT IT REALLY IS THE BLACK ROSE ARC! evil elevator time??? but different cuz no mikage i bet

ahhhh this makes shiori's "i'll make her be the prince forever" make so much more sense

the boat from the picture!

dividing line between touga and utena

"the end of the world" name drop!

ah, touga was the one who drowned. their relationship is way different this cycle

the lighting used to be yellow in the elevator, now it's pink instead. and huh, the elevator wasn't evil this time around

"you really were my prince" Your Honor I Would Like To Object

and now utena's the prince--as long as she stays in this world. is this anthy's world then? but utena still wants to go to the outside world

ZETTAI UNMEI MOKUSHIROKU!

utena's getting turned into a car let's gooooooooo

these scenes are where all the implied machinery comes to light fr isn't it

utena nearly went to rust before anthy took up her offer

the road from the show! is it staying stop i can't read japanese

the shadow girls now all have pink hair lol

oh my god it's shiori! that's not black, that's purple though, and the insides are pink with frilly lace on the edges, hm

"the only one who deserves to escape is me" and then she takes herself out

oh no, more cars. actually black this time, sounding like bots--creepy bots? compared to bugs--and a swarm--but the radio girls implied that they've seen them before--

is that shiori again? nope

she got help! from the student council of all people! but how did they know what they were trying to do, and what made them decide to help them--this movie requires so much prior knowledge of the series to make any sense. like when did they become friends this cycle even? when utena defeated saionji and miki??

"high goals attract good people" okay but do they? we only have the one instance, and we have a counterexample in touga and shiori don't we?

"i will be there to seduce you" saionji you're like the worst seducer on the planet lmaoooooo

i don't think the magical looking castle is the landmark for the exit somehow

i was right

rondo revolution! and car makeover!

anthy's got some serious dodging skills to get through those tires

oh no, not the treads--and there's dios/akio.

damn does utena feel pain as a car? cuz she must be hurting right now

"a living corpse" huh? a closed world where death and life are conflated--

ohhhhh being a living corpse is how you be a princess....does that mean dios was a princess? lmao

end of the world and "grant me the power to revolutionize the world" name drops

oh my god all the radio girls are literal strawmen. strawwomen? strawpeople? no wonder their faces/skin were blacked out

oh, those are the ruins of the black cars--and the castle too, probably

"a world without roads" huh?

wakaba is still trapped in ohtori :( with what looks like onion prince dude lol

"the world will get bigger by that much" ah, so that's what "end of the world" means here--it's not a literal world, it's their experience that's the world. living at the edge of their experience

and that's the end of the movie! Overall Impressions: I'm...honestly not impressed by it. I do like the touga backstory, cuz we didn't get that in the series, but it felt like it took on too much and ended up cutting vital things cuz nothing fit. Maybe my experience was colored by the lackluster dub voice acting, but it seriously felt like the characterization was lacking, and not just because of the dub--there were important scenes missing that give context to character changes. Most specifically I'm thinking of the heel-face turn of the Student Council. Why did they do that? Why did they help them? Utena and Anthy's desires to go to the outside world also aren't properly explored. That's probably the biggest flaw with this movie, is the way important character arcs aren't fluid--they have big jumps that don't feel right, that only make sense if you have the show's context, and even then don't make sense within the world of the show. We leave a character at point A, and then when they reappear somehow they've jumped to point 27 and the viewer only has any idea how they got there if they've watched the show. That and whatever happened to Miki's character, and the fact that Wakaba only shows up as exposition (and I think the Student Council's car? that wasn't clear though). Absolutely criminal what they did to Wakaba. My girl deserves better than that.

I did like Touga's backstory, though. Makes a lot of sense for his character (even when that calls a lot of Nanami's character into question, like did she suffer the same fate??). And also Saionji's willingness to Throw Down with Utena immediately. If he were anywhere except Ohtori he'd be a delinquent with like 18 fights on his record lmao

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starryo · 1 year

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i am on my hands and knees begging to hear more about your white mask au please tell me more i am intrigued

hi anon!!!! have you seen this post yet? i shared some of my ideas there and am currently working on fleshing out the rest. here are some quick fun facts though! (because honestly most of the interesting bits happen on akira’s end of the game and late in the story that im plotting!! and i havent managed to figure it all out yet 😭)

akira has a cat named merlin. she’s a really pretty ragdoll kitty that he adopted because he misses morgana a lot

early in p5r when sojiro is stuck in traffic after visiting shujin academy, he brings up a really bad car accident that happened two weeks ago. in the au, he still brings it up, but he mentions too that luckily both girls weren’t injured thanks to a kid he knows.

wakaba and futaba both live with sojiro and frequently hang out at the cafe. it seems too that the entire leblanc family is very well acquainted with the detective prince that often visits too.

the velvet room is unaffected by the time reset! meaning that lavenza is currently the sole attendent rather than the twin wardens. however, the real igor seems to still be absent (not that goro knows the difference).

you can safely assume that at least 50% of the times the phantom thieves are in a palace, akira is tailing them from behind. and if it’s important days like stealing the treasure, he is definitely just around the corner.

goro visits shido’s palace very early in the game and meets white mask when he is there.

new code names! goro is now ace, leader of the phantom thieves. sumire is still violet but she gets an outfit change. kasumi’s code name is swan.

aside from joker palace, there will be at least one other new palace.

some of the confidants are now different due to timeline changes! i’m still figuring out the details of who and how though.

goro eventually gets a job at the jazz jin as a bartender because he is permanently banned from the leblanc kitchen by sojiro

i hope some of these details tickle your fancy!!! if you have specific questions, im happy to try and answer 💖

#white mask au #star speaks

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gloriousbookwyrm · 1 year

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Utena Liveblog Episode 2

Here is episode one, I linked to a list of trigger warnings for this series there, now on with the show!

I just noticed this guy in the op is the same one from that weird flashback Utena has of a dude kissing her as a small child. Which does not sound much better in context than it does without.

Utena’s got a fanclub to rival any of those handsome jocks with straight-A’s who are also student body presidents. Which is a weirdly common archetype now that I think of it. I’d almost compare it to the Queen Bee, but the Handsome Jocknerd That All The Girls Have Crushes On (please tell me there’s a name for this I don’t know) isn’t automatically an antagonist the way Queen Bee characters are.

Aww, Utena wants to see if Wakaba is okay after the whole “having her love letter posted publicly for the whole school to laugh at” thing.

Wakaba initially seems to brush her off, but then tells her about the book she’s reading. She apparently didn’t like it very much before, but she relates to the protagonist’s situation way better after her rejection.

Utena has some really good balance, staying upright through all this.

“Well you see, I went to go avenge your honor, and wound up engaged to another woman.”

Listen. I’ve seen some pretty ridiculous student councils in anime before, but these guys take the cake. Like, do they even do any student council things? I’m starting to wonder if they’re misappropriating club funds for this whole Anthy Fight/possible apocalypse cult.

Is Flashback Dude actually End of the World? Since he’s the one who gave Utena the ring, after all.

Okay, so, apparently the student council all received letters that told them that whoever marries Anthy gets to go in the giant upside-down castle in the duel forest and “revolutionize the world.” They all believe this because the letters were correct about the rose seal rings letting them into the duel arena and there being a giant upside-down castle there. I have my doubts. Like, obviously Anthy is actually magic, we saw Saionji pull a sword out of her chest, but this set-up doesn’t exactly scream “trustworthy” to me.

How was the whole entrance area/hallways/etc all perfectly maintained *except* this bedroom? Did the building caretakers just not care about the dorm rooms in the dorm building? Did the student council just assign her the only room no one had time to clean because they’re upset about her winning Anthy when she’s not on the council? Did they all take hammers to her assigned room themselves?

Utena you got assigned a rat-infested wreck in an otherwise perfect building, I don’t think the RA either can or wants to help. If there even is an RA in there, this dorm seems pretty abandoned.

I prefer watching things on my phone, but this image limit is starting to get on my nerves. Anyway, I’ll be back in a bit to reblog this post with the next part!

#revolutionary girl utena #utena blogging

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bergeronprocess · 2 years

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Gundam the Witch from Mercury Episode 1: Okay so once upon a time in about 1999 or so, a young girl who was already into Sailor Moon and Pokemon discovered another anime show, one that was a bit more mature, one that featured a quintet of cute boys and big giant robots. She and her school friends watched the show together, each picking a favorite from the quintet, and read stuff about them on the internet and stayed up to watch the uncensored version of the show where everyone said damn and kill instead of blast and destroy. Obviously, that was me, and that was Gundam Wing, and that was more than 20 years ago.

I haven't watched any other Gundam series since then. It just hasn't really come up - well, not until now. I keep meaning to rewatch Wing as well, but I think that will have to wait, because The Witch from Mercury is here! And it's great!

Reviewers from my 2 trusted sources, Anime Feminist and Anime News Network, have been raving about this show and even calling it "Space Utena". As someone who enjoyed Utena, that piqued my interest even further.

And y'all. It really is Space Utena.

I skipped the prologue because AniFem said that was fine to do, so I jumped right in to episode 1, which introduces us to the school with a big establishing shot that looks exactly like how we first see Ohtori Academy. There's the Utena character, our stuttery protagonist Suletta, and the Anthy character, the cold white haired Miorine. There's the Saionji, whose name is Guel Jeturk, making it very easy to say more like Guel THE JERK! The Wakaba character might be Nika (love her hair). I'm sure we'll meet plenty more characters who fit Utena roles. Though I hope to God there isn't an Akio. Shudder.

Suletta doesn't know the customs of this school she's at now, or that they settle everything with duels (okay Glove Slap! Lol), or that by defeating Guel she becomes engaged to Miorine - which isn't something two girls really do back on Mercury. She just has her Gundam, which she refers to as family, and no familiarity with educational institutions whatsoever.

If you liked Utena, you will absolutely like Witch from Mercury. I enjoyed it a lot and I'm already excited for episode 2!

The one issue: Crunchyroll doesn't translate the on screen text identifying locations! That seems an obvious thing to translate, so I hope it was just a mistake for this one episode. Crunchyroll please pay your people better so they don't feel so rushed and can go back and translate on screen text.

#the witch from mercury #gundam the witch from mercury

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amplexadversary · 1 month

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More Utena, episode 25,

I've been informed ahead of time about the Chuchu theory, and while I didn't feel like I could confidently interpret a lot of the stuff that he's done so far (well, there's been a few), Anthy metaphorically vacuuming down her heart as soon as Wakaba shows up, and then internally having the reaction we see from Chuchu about Wakaba's insisting that they're close (because she wants to room with Anthy's hot brother) make a lot of sense.

Wait, most of the time Chuchu's shown eating. Is that Anthy swallowing her feelings?

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Okay, some of the weirdness in the background of the council meeting scenes has been beyond me, but I think I've caught on to the baseball thing being a metaphor. The group gets a "strike" when Saionji expresses distrust in further letters (after apparently already having one - the expulsion? Being fooled by the fake one?)

This changes to an "out" when Miki claims to have verified the most recent letter. Miki gets a strike when saying he passed through the Rose Gate (not something he was supposed to do?), starts describing something he saw (Strike!) and when he mentions a gondola, "Strike! Batter out!"

And sounds of a crowd cheering when Miki says that it might be meant to take them to "a new stage"

Saionji doubts TEotW again, and another "out" is called, making three.

... I feel like that just outlined the plot of the coming episodes in some way.

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"A star [that Akio's named after] that cannot shine unless the sun sets" said as we see Anthy standing across from him and Utena, with her glasses shining? Somehow, I don't think that means good things for Anthy.

Wait but he says the star is at the sun's side. Is Anthy the "sun" in this analogy or Utena?

Also. Creep.

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Huh, I don't think we've seen Anthy with her hair down yet. And her and Utena's beds are arranged like the girls are in the opening.

That flashback of what appears to be Anthy's memory is a bit concerning.

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Okay I feel like there's a theme here, with all of these people taking off their shirts being like, a symbol of them being manipulative. (That's how Touga appeared when he was screwing around with Miki's sister, and these guys all seem pretty shady now, so...)

Akio is at least claiming to be Utena's "prince" as well.

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Really? Parking the car on the fucking lawn? Also it looks like Akio's got Saionji on board with something

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Okay the pre-duel sequence starts off in first-person now. What are we hiding? I have played motherfucking VLR I'm not going to be gotten by this again.

Also I'm concerned about what Anthy vanishing in this sequence implies for her.

Oh, she's just changing clothes via teleport... and now a rose bush is growing into her uniform.

Hm, okay. So the sword that Anthy brings to the fight vanished for some reason, but it looks like Anthy can pull a sword out of Utena now? Did she pick that up from the black rose swords? Now that we have reason to think she was made to roleplay "Mamiya" in that.

Well that's a homoerotic conclusion for the lads here at the end of this duel. More Touga and Akio unbuttoning their tops and lounging like the picture of an anime boy on a daki.

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Okay based on warnings I've seen *that* ending scene was more what I expected to see in the previous 10 or so episodes. Not that I wasn't aware Akio was a villain here from the slamming shades.

#Morg commentary #Utena

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palms-upturned · 3 years

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Uhhhh ur misogynistic gay man whose name I can’t remember for that character ask meme

DJSTEJDH HELP… saionji…

character ask meme

What I love about them

love is a strong word when it comes to saionji 💀 but ill admit i enjoy watching his clownery djsgdjxb in the end i found him p compelling, i think the way the show handles both his and touga’s positions as simultaneous victims and perpetuators of the system is rlly interesting… something something about how oftentimes we cling to systems that actively harm us because they also give us some degree of power over others and tempt us w the promise of even more 😔 err anyway, the point is i love that saionji’s queerness and legitimate struggles that come w that don’t exempt him from being taken to task for the ways he abuses what privileges he has, also it’s very funny to watch him get owned 💙 that being said tho i do get like 😔 over his part in the final duel… oh god oh fuck saionji we’re really in it now

What I hate about them

what’s not to hate about this guy… every time he even exists in the same space as anthy i want to rip him limb from limb… but in all seriousness i think the most damning thing about saionji is that he proves that he’s perfectly capable of understanding the abusive dynamic between akio and his victims and even goes to weirdly touching lengths to forgive touga and help him escape, and yet he does not extend any of that kindness or effort toward anthy and actively heaps on more abuse… i do appreciate that a lot about the show, portraying abusers not necessarily as like fundamentally evil people™️ who are somehow different from everyone else and easily identifiable, but people who make the active choice to leverage their power over others, whatever the circumstances may be 😔

Favorite moment/quote

im obsessed with the entire verdant hopes light novel like it’s maybe the funniest thing ive ever read, there’s a scene where saionji runs into wakaba at a department store and drops a bottle of salad oil, which he then asks a store clerk to wrap in a pretty bow bc it’s a gift for a girl, and wakaba is like WHAT. and saionji is genuinely shocked that she thinks it’s a stupid present. second funniest moment is when touga comes to talk to him at the dojo and says “i came to invite you on a date” and saionji pauses before tentatively saying, “me? 😳” and touga is like “haha a double date, i mean. don’t get me wrong, i don’t swing that way” and the narrator is like “this was obviously a lie but saionji didn’t need to know that” LIKE. GOD DHXGSJXBXBC

What I would like to see more focus on

im haunted over saionji being literally homeless after he gets expelled, like… “i have no family or friends to turn to” WHAT? the friends part i can believe but dhgsjdbxbx what?!!?? i just think it’s kind of hilarious that we know a little about each of the stuco members’ families but nothing about saionji’s even tho he seems to be in the most dire situation of them all 😭 but maybe what he meant was that he got disowned after his expulsion… who knows… legit hysterical that no one cared enough to explain that plot beat

What I would like to see less focus on

🤔🤔🤔 again i have no answer for this, i think his storyline was fine

Favorite pairing with

im not immune to tousai… in spite of [gestures broadly]… explaining why would get a little too personal ksbsjdnxbc but let’s say unfortunately i relate to some issues between those two

Favorite friendship

i think it’s p funny that nanami calls him kyouichi, i like to think she bossed him around mercilessly when they were kids

NOTP

errr idk, do ppl really ship him with anthy or wakaba? i hope not 😭

Favorite headcanon

hmmmm… well for some reason when i picture him and nanami as kids i always imagine her just fucking biting him when she gets mad KSSHSGDH so ig just that nanami put the fear of teething toddlers in him

#asks #queenofmoons #rgu #THANK U JOJO…

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sashas4t · 4 years

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Flutzes: How Big an Issue are They?

There is a common belief within skating fans that flutzes (or lutz jumps taken off from a flat or inside edge) are most common among Russian ladies. I have always believed the opposite, but as I am currently taking a statistics course, I thought it would be fun to see how my beliefs, and the common belief, hold up against percentages and proportions. Because I don’t have unlimited time on my hands, I will only be looking into every ladies skater at Russian, Japanese and US Nationals and analyzing their lutz edges (I wanted to do the Korean ladies and I might mention a few just for fun but as Korean Nationals was postponed until next week I’ve decided to leave them out of this for now). Next time I might return with a junior edition (since flutzes seem to be rather common amongst the Russian juniors).

To Begin: What is a Lutz?

The lutz jump is one of the six types of figure skating jumps. The ISU defines the lutz as “a toe-pick assisted jump with an entrance from a back outside edge and landing on the back outside edge of the opposite foot”. Here are two textbook examples of what a lutz should look like:

(The landing here isn’t great - see the ice flying, but the takeoff is just perfection)

Both of these jumps, and any good lutz jump, have deep outside edges. Another qualification one may bring up is prerotation, but this post is mostly just analyzing whether or not certain skaters flutz - not whether or not their lutz is textbook overall. So there are a lot of skaters to be mentioned that have good outside edges on their lutzes, but their lutzes can’t be considered “textbook” because they prerotate far more than the acceptable amount. But that is a whole other controversial topic that really deserves a post of its own.

So what is a bad lutz then?

In this jump, the skater takes off from an inside edge, instead of the outside edge that the other two skaters use. There are some other issues with this particular jump, but the inside edge is the issue which is most glaring.

The Russian Ladies

Here are my conclusions drawn from Russian Nationals. Interestingly enough, besides Konstantinova, every other skater with an outside edge had a very clear outside edge. Out of the ladies with flat edges, some looked more inside (Samodurova’s namely but also Liza Nugumanova’s), while others looked more outside (Kostina’s), but because they all looked flat more than inside/outside, I grouped them together.

The Japanese Ladies

I only looked at the 24 ladies who qualified for the free skate, and for many of them I ended up having to use videos from the National Winter Sports because JSF doesn’t post full videos of their skates at Japanese Nationals to YouTube. I also couldn’t find any videos of Natsu Suzuki, so I could not include her in this analysis.

The American Ladies

Sadly there were a lot of American ladies that I couldn’t find videos of - so this is a rather short list (and probably not very representative).

Analysis:

In the Russian ladies - 47.1% have true lutzes.

In the Japanese ladies - 52.2% have true lutzes.

In the American ladies - 71.4% have true lutzes.

It’s really interesting that so many American ladies have good lutz edges. This is either because I could not find videos of many competitors, or because some competitors who have problematic edges did not jump the lutz (Starr is a good example). However, out of the American ladies, few have “deep” outside edges. Many of them do have “good” outside edges, as in it is very clear that they do, indeed, have outside edges, however few seem to warp the laws of physics like the most textbook examples do. Interestingly, the panel at US Nationals did call out many of the problematic lutzes with lower level skaters, while blatantly ignoring Bradie and Mariah’s clear flat edges.

Out of the Japanese ladies with outside edges, not that many have “deep” outside edges either. I would say Rika, Tomoe and Honoka have really great deep edges. A few of the ladies I wrote as outside really have iffy edges (Wakaba’s probably the best example - sometimes its outside, sometimes it looks more flat).

Out of the Russian ladies with outside edges, many have good outside edges. Except for Stanislava, all the ladies with outside edges have very clear outside edges (unlike in the other two countries oddly). I used to assume that coaches played a big part in whether or not a skater had an outside edge, but it appears this data says otherwise. The most interesting thing is that the slow motion replays almost always caught the lutzes in the best angle (the same angle as Boyang’s 4Lz in the first gif), and yet, very few lutzes were called.

For example, for the Tutberidze Girls, three have unclear edges and 1 has a good outside edge, however, Sasha Trusova used to be an Eteri girl as well, and also has an outside edge. Same goes for Mishin, who was often mistakingly thought to teach good technique based off of Liza Tuktamysheva’s textbook lutz. But as Samodurova and Guliakova are also Mishin’s student, it appears that this technique does not come from his camp. These conclusions make rational sense as Mishin and Eteri usually do not coach skaters since youth, but rather often take in already established skaters. Eteri has been known to only accept students with their triples. If we were to look into some younger juniors, or some retired (switched disciplines) skaters I think I could present one coach who has consistently presented ladies with correct edges - Panova. Besides Frolova who has a problematic lutz edges, many of her other skaters - Tsibinova, Tarakanova, Sotskova, Sinitsyna, Kanysheva, Kostyuk etc - have had correct flip and lutz edges. This would require some more analysis though.

While it looks like the US ladies clearly have a lead in this category, due to certain circumstances, it is unreasonable to say that overall, American ladies are less prone to flutzing just based off this data. I would do a 1-Prop Z Test but these statistics really do not check any of the assumptions or conditions necessary for such a computation.

Overall, it is really interesting that around 50% of the skaters at Russian Nationals and Japanese Nationals have problematic lutzes. It’s that widespread an issue. No, it’s not just Evgenia Medvedeva or Mao Asada or Anna Shcherbakova that suffer from it. Yes, they aren’t (well, Zhenya and Anya aren’t at least) being punished for it, but neither are a good percentage of the others who have problematic lutzes.

For reference, at Japanese Nationals, only two lutz calls were given in the SP (! for Yoshida and Uramatsu). The tech panel was much harsher in the FS with flip and lutz calls galore (Kaori got “e”, Rika Hongo got “e” and Uramtaus got “e”).

At Russian Nationals, in the SP only three edge calls were given - Trusova’s 3F, Guliakova’s 3Lz and Onishchenko’s 3Lz (which got “e”). In the FS, six edge calls were given (two on flips, two !’s for Guliakova’s 3Lz and one ! and one “e” for Onishchenko’s 3Lz). It is true that out of the lutzes at the competition, Onishchenko’s were the most problematic. However, Daria Usacheva’s were also taken off from an inside edge, and she not only was not called for the three lutzes attempted, but was given high positive GOE for many.

At US Nationals, Ikenishi and Murdock both received “e” calls on their lutzes. Ikenishi receiving one the free skate and Mudock receiving two - one in the SP and one FS. There were no other lutz calls for the event.

Of course, after watching so many events, assuming that flat edges will get ! calls and inside edges will get “e” calls is dreaming of the impossible. At best, really severe flutzes done by lower level skaters may be called, inside edges will be called “!” and flat edges will often be let go with no call nor deduction whatsoever. And while I looked at National protocols, it is true that these results are paralleled in international protocols as well.

So, in conclusion - Russian ladies do not flutz any more than Japanese ladies do. And flutzes are becoming quite a severe problem. Several of the skaters at the top have problematic lutz edges, and it seems like this issue will persist given how the rising generation seems to be struggling with lutz edges as well.

Many use these uncalled Russian flutzes as evidence of Russian overscoring, but in response to those comments I guide you to the PCS section of scoring. That is where the atrocities happen. Most of the top skaters won’t be punished for flutzing, however Russians are gifted extra PCS for existing, while the Japanese, with their excellent skating skills and attention to detail, seem to be getting punished with lower PCS (especially those prone to inconsistency).

#figure skating #figure skating analysis #evgenia medvedeva #Anna shcherbakova #rika kihira #Alexandra trusova #Kamila valieva #Kaori sakamoto #russian nationals 2021 #Japanese nationals 2020 #Japanese nationals 2021 #please don't treat this as an invitation to hate on anyone who flutzes #they are all amazing skaters and ISU is incompetent #or rather RusFed and JSF and USFSA are incompetent #actually USFSA looks pretty competent here but still #us nationals 2021

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winterune · 4 years

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Cross Game: Musings on Relationships Part 1

Some positive reception on my recent Cross Game posts encourages me to go ahead and post this long-overdue piece. Planned to write about the dynamics between Kou, Aoba, Akane, Azuma, and Akaishi—especially Akane’s role in developing the last stretch of Kou and Aoba’s relationship and for them to finally take that step forward from their grief—but I couldn’t do that without touching a bit on Mizuki, could I? So, here’s Part 1. (Part 2 will be coming after I finish rewatching the rest of the episodes).

If I talk about Cross Game, I would probably say my favorite part is the first half, because it’s only filled with fun baseball games with a dash of Kou x Aoba here and there, still rife with their grief over the loss of Wakaba, and also the fight against the stupid Coach Daimon and his half-assed first-string team that always make me laugh somehow. Daimon is that over-the-top proud villain who’s so confident in his abilities that he doesn’t even care to look at anyone else. It’s fun, it’s light, and I love it. I can watch the first 18-20 episodes over and over and over and never be bored. Because after that, the drama starts. Don’t get me wrong. I love good drama. But you can’t deny that drama always drains you in some way—a good way, or bad way. Cross Game drains me in a good way, but that’s precisely why once I hit episode 30, there’s no going back, and I can probably binge the last 20 episodes in a day (which I’m refraining myself from doing because I want to immerse myself in the beauty of relationship and human connection that is in the second half of the series).

Once the episode moves from 19 to 20 and the new school year begin, we are immediately introduced to a new love interest, Mizuki Asami, Aoba’s cousin who is the same age as her, having moved back to Japan after living with his mountain-climbing father abroad. The next 10 episodes are still good and fun. Mizuki is a good-natured kid who has a huge crush on Aoba and everyone knows it. This is where we start seeing more development on the dynamics between Aoba and Kou. We have seen several times before that Kou seems to be conscious of Aoba not just as his neighbor, childhood friend, or the younger sister of his dead best/girlfriend, but as a girl. The teasing, the one-second-too-long stares, the unconscious effort to be near her—we (and everyone else) see it, he doesn’t quite realize it (yet). Aoba, on the other hand, still fights with Kou over the smallest, most insignificant things. But we also start to see a shift in her perception of Kou. She admits that Kou is a good pitcher, she defends him when other people badmouth him, and she starts to cheer for him (without his knowing, of course). Most important of all is the way her face would burn whenever he stands too close. Then, in the middle of all that, comes Mizuki Asami, who shakes the status quo, and Kou realizes, for the first time, that Aoba might actually become someone’s girlfriend.

We saw the first instance of this when Aoba went on a date prior to the new arc. The “date” actually consisted of her going out with some boys who’d asked her out to the amusement park. “The more the merrier,” as Aoba said it. Not anything serious. She only wanted to shut them up because they wouldn’t stop approaching her no matter how many times she said no. When Kou found out, we saw the first small crack in his usually composed poker face. Kou being Kou brushed it away like nothing. He’s not the most honest person in the world, as his friends often noted, especially to himself. Though, personally I think he is more honest than Aoba. I think he's more in tune with his feelings, but he opts not to show them. So he lies—or, well, downplays his emotions—and changes the topic.

The guys Kou was used to deal with were just the kids at school whom he probably knew would never go out with Aoba for real. But then comes this cousin who��s known Aoba for years and is now currently living with her. Kou is rattled. He tries not to show it, but people close to him can see that his mind is elsewhere whenever Mizuki’s name is mentioned or if the guy appears at practice. He takes off the drawing of Mizuki and Aoba from an announcement board and throws it into the trash. He’d look at Aoba every time he sees her talking to Mizuki. But Kou stays silent, and he keeps watching over her from a distance, always knowing full well when he is needed and when he should leave her alone.

On the other hand, Aoba never thought of Mizuki as a love interest. She took his confession in stride and thought he was joking, even after Mizuki said that he was serious. We know that she cares about Kou in ways she would never admit. Part of it is due to the death of her sister, which still hung heavily between them even after six years. Part of it is due to memories of her sister, which is rife with mentions of Kou—how Wakaba’s dream was to become a bride, how she’d made a list of presents ending with an engagement ring on their 20th birthday, how she stated “don’t take him away from me” if Kou managed to pitch 160 kmph and become the best pitcher in Japan. Both Kou and Aoba loved Wakaba very much, to the point that Aoba hated him for monopolizing her. And that’s precisely why she could never truly move on from that hatred. Their time had stopped the moment Wakaba drowned. Neither of them could ever admit this underlying attraction they feel toward each other. Both are more than content with the state of their current relationship—not exactly friends, and not exactly enemies. Just a constant presence in their lives. And that’s where Akane comes in, to finally give them a sense of closure and the push they needed to overcome their grief.

#cross game #cross game musings #cross game analysis #character analysis #cross game character analysis

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kiliinstinct · 5 years

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Closure - Nalu One-Shot for Cutest-Celestial-Princess

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Prompt: Nalu - Set After the Alvarez War, but before Lucy finishes her book- she and Natsu have an unspoken issue still simmering beneath the surface. Series: Fairy Tail Rated: General/Teen Commissioner: @cutest-celestial-princess Word Count: 5239

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It wasn’t what he wanted to hear.

It opened the path to dreams and fears Natsu thought he had shoved deep inside to rot and be forgotten.

“There’s this really good job, and it’s out farther than I’ve traveled before; I think it’s a good chance to find Aquarius!”

How could something sound so positive and be so horrible all at once?

“Awesome! Let’s get Happy and go already!”

“Uhmm… about that…”

The fire in his belly was drenched to soaking embers with the fewest of words.

“You’re not coming with me.”

Just a few months after the war. A few months of tepid peace, rebuilding and settling down into a pattern many hadn’t enjoyed in what felt like years. The Alvarez War was not a long one. It would not go down in the history books as a 100 years war, but the survivors certainly felt aged. Time slowly crawled away, eroding the burdens and worries with tiny chips from a well-worn chisel. Many Guild Members fell back to their routine as if nothing had changed.

Others… looked upon the rest of their life with a newfound goal. Lucy had been hiding away in her apartment, diligently writing every chance she could. When she wasn’t, Lucy was at the guild, staring at the newly added Job postings with an intensified interest. Many times Natsu offered for them to head out, leave Magnolia for a few jobs- revert back to a pattern they could be comfortable with.

She denied them each time. At one point, Happy even claimed she was ‘avoiding’ them, and while that thought forced a frown from Natsu, Lucy had denied it fervently. However, seeing her eyes gleam, excitement pulling just beneath the surface, threatening to explode while fingers all but pinched and crinkled the request in her hands, Natsu realized the truth.

Lucy wasn’t avoiding- she was planning.

“Hah- good one Lucy,” He forced out, laughing at what he hoped to be a joke, “But we’re always a team, and teams go together!”

Her silence screamed volumes. Shoulders tensed under the weight of his own arm as Natsu leaned on her, desperately trying to find the lie in her words. There was none. Sheepishly, she pulled away from his proximity, guilt suffusing her features now that he could look at her better. Folding the request, Lucy stuffed it in her purse, bottom lip pulling beneath her teeth as she nibbled worriedly against it.

This wasn’t how it was supposed to go. They were a team, now more than ever! Even if Erza, Gray or Wendy didn’t come along (but of course they should if available-), they were supposed to do all their jobs together! Isn’t that what things were culminating to for all these years? Didn’t Lucy used to wait for him to be ready for jobs so they could go together? Didn’t he and Happy always find the ones with rewards that would best help her with her rent? That was how things went, and how he had always expected them to go.

“I’m not kidding.” Her tercid tone froze him better than Gray’s ice ever could, smile dropping as he stared. Natsu could hear the tapping of her foot against the hardwood, echoing above the den of chatter in the hall. If he hadn’t been distracted by the strange words falling from her mouth, he would have noticed all present were creening their heads over, desperately trying to listen in.

“I want to do this for me.” Lucy pressed on, sighing as if all her earlier willpower had drained. “I’ve already talked to my landlady about it and she’s willing to put a stop to my rent payments. Just as long as I do a downpayment before leaving. I can do that. And then I won’t have to worry for months!”

Months? She was talking as if- Natsu’s mouth felt dry and a low whine escaped him, “You’re talkin’ like this job is gonna take ya’ forever, Lucy-”

“It is!” Lucy snapped, pointing a finger at him, “No offense, Natsu, but my world does NOT revolve around you. I have goals, plans! And I intend to see them through. This job isn’t supposed to take a long time, but it’s in a good place to search for Aquarius and that’s exactly what I intend to do! Alone.”

The icy tone in her voice was throwing him off. Why did she sound so bitter, so angry? There were many reasons Natsu could come up with (all revolving around the separation she suffered from breaking her key), but not a single one explained the treatment he was currently getting. Had he… done something to upset her?

Eyes glanced to the telltale marks of an old corruption spidering up her arm and Natsu’s stomach churned. Though Gray had protected her from the Book of E.N.D. the slight hints of damage were still there. While he didn’t want to consider how his own weakness could have caused those damages, Natsu was realizing that maybe he had more to own up to.

“Look, Lucy, I-” how could he even explain this uncomfortable feeling in his chest? She was strong enough to take care of herself, that he knew, but leaving for months? Where he couldn’t be there in case she needed him? Where they couldn’t laugh and tease or just enjoy the life they had now that the biggest threat in their lives was over?

“I don’t get why ya think ya can just leave me alone like that.”

Those were not the right words to say and Natsu was unprepared for the bitter dam he’d broke loose.

Lucy had gone silent, jaw open- looking as if she’d been slapped. Blinking her eyes rapidly, she struggled to form words, Natsu’s own had fallen from his lips without truly thinking about it and he crossed his arms stubbornly. Since they helped bring the Guild back together, after all they fought and struggled for, she was wanting to just… run off on her own? He didn’t like it. He didn’t have a way to explain why it left a bad taste in his mouth, but it did- and he saw no reason why he shouldn’t say so.

“.... You,” She seethed, voice gutterral, rising in volume as she took a step forward, right into his space, poking a digit into his chest with so much force, he almost stepped back. Pink brows rose under the fringe of his hair as Natsu stared in shock, not expecting the absolute rage in Lucy’s eyes, “-Inconsiderate. JERK!”

He stepped back then- forced to by her hand shoving him, advancing against him as he realized, too late, what he had done. Tears were glistening in the corner of her eyes. From sadness? Anger? Natsu couldn’t get a read on the fluctuating emotions as her pointed nail dug briefly into his skin through the fabric of his jacket. “Oi- Lucy! Hold up there- “

She interrupted, “Don’t you TRY and calm me down!” She finally backed off, dark gaze turning towards the rest of the guild, many of the eavesdroppers glanced away sheepishly- whistling to themselves. Others (Like Mirajane and Erza) goggled from their locations with wide, disappointed eyes. Lucy didn’t seem to notice. Not then. And she wouldn’t for awhile. “Don’t you remember what I told you back in Amefurashi Village? How I felt during the entire YEAR you had left?!” Her voice was shaky and it lost its loud tempo with every word, cracking when she released the explosion bubbling at the tip of her tongue. “You don’t get to tell me if I can leave you alone or not. I don’t care what’s happened since then. You don’t get to say that. Not now. Not. ever.”

Natsu felt his mouth run dry, his blood cold. It wasn’t a feeling he was used to, but the wind had been knocked from him by Lucy’s words as his eyes darted back and forth between her and the guild around them, unsure of what he could say. Yes, he remembered Amefurashi Village. The bitterness in her tone when she had snapped at him for his unthinking words against Gray. Juvia had interrupted their moment of tension, but that didn’t overlap his memory. The look on Lucy’s face was all he needed to cement it into his mind.

Not only that, but the memory of her forlorn expression as she slept, finally relieved to see him and Happy again, with only a wall of all her attempts for contact to keep her company. Those memories came hand in hand and Lucy’s reminder stole all words from him. In that moment he realized just how far he had overstepped. “- Lucy, I didn’t mean that-”

She cut him off with a finger pointing to his nose, practically hissing in her rage. “You know what? I don’t want to hear it!”

The click-clack of her heels echoed through the hall. Lucy turned from him in one fluid motion, her words stabbing him like tiny knives with each stomp against the wood floor. The silence in the Guild was palpable, interrupted only by the slam of the doors, as she made her exit. The walls shook and every interloper took in a breath, their gazes falling on Natsu in bafflement.

“You really stuck your foot in a pile of it now.” Macao mumbled, scratching his neck awkwardly.

“Ehh, you shouldn’t worry too much about it,” Wakaba joined in, “Girl’s like to blow up, but they get over it quickly enough. Even my wife- “ He was silenced by a sharp elbow to his ribs from Macao.

Natsu barely heard either of them. His head was buzzing from Lucy’s words. It wasn’t her anger that floored him. Oh no, he could handle that- he could accept her frustration. This wasn’t just anger or a bomb exploding to calm down later. He had seen what no one else had, the glitter of pain in her narrowed eyes. The hint of water shining in the irises before she forcefully blinked them back as she turned away. She hadn’t stomped off from her anger. Lucy had left to hide her tears.

He had hurt her. Natsu had hurt Lucy. He felt like vomiting.

At first, Natsu considered chasing after her, already stepping forward to start his pursuit- but a quick snap of his name from Erza, froze him in place, jaw clenching tight as his teeth ground together. It was hard not to continue, his clenched fists were testament to the inner struggle to rush after his best team mate and make everything right again, but how?

“While I absolutely believe she deserves an apology,” Erza said, moving to his side , her voice was harsh, angry and Natsu didn’t blame her, “I don’t agree with you charging after her like this. Give her the space she obviously wants and think for a change, won’t you?”

Natsu didn’t have it in him to argue the jab. His energy deflated, eyes meeting Happy’s from the nearest counter. The blue Exceed had barely begun eating the fish he’d been given, worry and hurt distracting him. With a noncommittal shrug, he moved to sit by his flying partner, shoulders sagging as a puff of steam blew from his lips. It would have been so easy to turn around and challenge Erza just then, but the idea was an old one, something he’d done often in the past to release emotions he dared not speak out loud.

Often he would release his anger, sadness, inner fears and loss of hope, into the brawls he instigated and joined. It was a quick release that refreshed him and reminded Natsu that his heart was still beating, that he and those around him were still alive. He could shovel his concerns and what had bothered him and others under a thick rug in his mind after a good fight- finding other ways to bring smiles to his and everyone's faces.

How often had he been kicked from Lucy’s apartment, suffered a loss or grew angry at some random enemy mistreating her, only to turn around and fight Gray and Gajeel to calm down- ? How often did he return to Lucy with a goofy grin, jokes and crazy antics to distract her and reassure her that everything would be okay? Too often. He couldn’t count the times on his fingers. (Not even his toes for that matter.)

“Way to go, Flame Brain,” Gray said from behind, voice cold and taunting. “I’d have punched you if I were Lucy. How stupid can you get?”

Natsu knew what Gray was doing. The insult was well-deserved, but also done with purpose. It was the very invitation Natsu often took and needed, but rather than stride through the wide open door of Gray’s challenge, he merely tilted his head to glance at his fellow mage and frowned. He didn’t have the energy. Not now. It had seeped through his bones the very moment Lucy had slammed the door.

“Gray,” Erza snapped, causing the other mage to freeze in place, “Not.now.”

“Uh- yeah, right. Sorry!”

Natsu’s answer was to slam his head against the counter and groan.

The day had looked to be a good one. With a bright sun, hardly any clouds and perfect wind to keep a person cool. With the sun just below the horizon and stars starting to blink out in the sky, the mood was a complete one-eighty. Erza hadn’t allowed Natsu to leave until she was certain Natsu knew what he wanted to. (“There will be NO bothering Lucy if you’re going to speak thoughtlessly again!”) It was hard to be patient, and while he craved the distraction of a good brawl, Natsu had listlessly sulked at the bar instead.

Now, he wondered if he needed a few more hours to sulk before he ventured into Lucy’s apartment. Coming up to the building he could recognize blindfolded, he readjusted his scarf and grimaced.

“You know you can just try in the morning, Natsu.” Happy said. He stood at Natsu’s feet, his own frown on his face while he glanced towards Lucy’s window. “I’m sure she’ll be willing to forgive you then! Oh, we can even bring her a gift!”

That could possibly work, but Natsu had a feeling he knew exactly what sort of gift Happy had in mind.

“A big fish!”

Yup.

Despite the low mood, Natsu grinned. Count on Happy to help even just a little. Kneeling down to pat the Exceed on his blue head, he shook his head and tilted his gaze towards the window he often climbed through. “I don’t think that’s gonna work this time, buddy. And I think I’ve avoided this long enough.”

“What do you mean?” Happy blinked owlishly, but Natsu didn’t give an explanation. The two had been through so much and stayed by each other the year he had traveled. Above everyone, Happy knew and understood his fears and intentions, but that understanding could only go so far.

“Don’t worry about it.” Stretching, he rolled his shoulders and pointed towards his goal. “Think you can get me up there? Probably best you don’t stay for this just in case, but I’ll send ya’ a signal when the coast is clear!” “Aye, sir!” The rustling of magic to unfurl his wings was swift, and with well-timed practice, the two were in the air and elevated to the window of Lucy’s bedroom. So many times she had told him to use the door and there had been a few times he had actually listened - when he got there first.

Most of his window attempts were done just to tease her after her initial complaints, at some point, his blonde partner had stopped complaining and often expected his entrances. Today, he hoped for similar. Natsu had never feared she would lock the windows on him before, but the worry niggled into the back of his brain. It would be far too easy to bust it open if he’d been out for more reasons to anger his partner, but this was a mission to clear the air, not exacerbate their issues.

Natsu felt relief surge through him as the window clicked open. She hadn’t locked it after all! Exhaling, he lifted his thumb to happy and waved him off. With a whispered ‘good luck!’, his partner flew off in the direction of the guild and Natsu steeled himself for the true challenge of the night. He slid the frame upward and quickly moved in, careful not to rustle the mattress or knock items over.

He was surprised not to find her at her desk. Even more so stunned at the amount of papers littering the floor, some crumpled and others torn. Lucy had never been one to be messy. (That was his job!) Natsu’s stomach churned at the realization that his actions caused such a change in her own routine and he quickly examined the rest of the room, trying to pinpoint his teammate’s location. The lights had yet to be lit, casting dark shadows over the furniture and he clicked his tongue. “ - Lucy? Are, are ya’ here?”

He could smell her, but figured he’d ask. The sudden sniffle from the front of her couch caught his attention and slowly, a disheveled blonde peered up from the cushions, eyeing him with narrowed eyes. “Go away, Natsu.”

He almost stepped back through the window, but closed it behind him as he began his trek across the room. She told him to go away, and many times in the past he had ignored such orders until she’d thrown him out. Age had told him to take her words into account more often, but the fact that she hadn’t barred his entrance was all the communication he needed. Lucy would be willing to talk.. If he only had the right words.

“I wanted to-” He began, fumbling over his words, “I just wanted to say that…. Uh- I didn’t mean to, that is-” Where had this rambling come from? Snorting, he took another step towards her and muttered, “I wanted t’say sorry.”

A heavy silence filled the air. Lucy’s eyes stayed focus on him as she kept her face pressed against the back of her seat. The low-light had made features hard to distinguish at first, but now Natsu could see the puffiness and redness in her gaze. She wasn’t at present, but he knew tears had stained those cheeks some time ago. It doubled the tumultuous sickness in his stomach and he struggled to swallow.

Finally, Lucy moved, turning her back to him to settle herself into the cushion. She didn’t repeat her earlier order and her fingers drummed along her arms impatiently. With a huff, Lucy said, `` - do you even know what you’re apologizing for?”

Oh he knew, but it made his throat thicken all over again- as if a ball had been lodged into his throat, suffocating the five inside, smothering him. Why were emotions and words so difficult to say?

“You don’t do you?” Lucy’s voice cracked, he couldn’t see her face, but Natsu could picture it as if she were standing before him. Her words came out in waves, full of emotion- anger, sadness, just at the cusp of spilling out. “You just think, you can waltz right in here, apologizing and things are going to go back to normal so you can tease me again and have a grand ole time, but you’re wrong! Not this time. We can’t ALWAYS pretend things aren’t upsetting us, you know!”

She was rambling, giving Natsu the answer to his earlier thoughts. Lucy had always rambled when upset, embarrassed even, but Natsu could hear the rise of tone and knew everything he intended would be kicked out the window if he didn’t act fast, but what could he do? What would he do? What… what would Lucy do?

Natsu had always been better with actions than words and he crossed the floor in a few steps, hearing Lucy’s words, but not processing them as he moved. In a flurry of movement that sent the tassels of his scarf swooping over her blonde head. His arms encircling her shoulders from behind, cut off all complaints as she choked on her words. Her scent was overpowering, with his nose pressed against the back of her ear, feeling the softness of her hair.

“I- .. Natsu-” Lucy swallowed, tried to find more words as her face slowly began to turn a few shades red, “What are you doing?”

“I’m sorry.” He said. His tone absolute. It wasn’t enough. He knew it wasn’t, but the firmness, the fact he wasn’t crawling on the floor in an attempt to make it funny, deviate with humor, this was him: serious.

“Y-you can’t just h-hug me and make it all go away,” She hiccupped and Natsu realized the emotions were spilling over again, but he chose not to notice. Lucy was embarrassed and confused enough, without his teasing. His grip only tightened, a gentle squeeze as he lowered his voice.

“I know.” He said. “It ain’t like I think this is enough, I just… I really suck at this, Lucy, and I’m not sure if there’s anything I can say t’make it better.” He was sure going to try despite his doubts. “I remember everything ya’ said back then. Ya’ looked so,” Bitter, hurt, annoyed, “I HAD to leave then. At least I thought I did.”

There were many nights he wondered if he had made a mistake. It wasn’t often that Natsu questioned his decisions, usually trusting his gut decisions to lead him down the right track, but after his return? Guilt ate at him like a virus, but he had shoved it away the same as he had done for every negative feeling he had felt for years. How could he be strong if he let things get to him? How could he be dependable? The one Lucy and everyone else could always count on? Back then, he felt there was no other way and even now, breaking through his own inadequacies made his words jumble over themselves.

“No.” Lucy answered, she sniffled and wiped her eyes. “You didn’t. You could have stayed. You could have been honest or- or… did more than leave me a note! You have no idea how long I looked for you that day! How much I WANTED to go too and you- !!!”

She fell silent, biting back her words as she untangled herself from his arms. It left a strange sensation of emptiness within him, but he didn’t try to pull her back. Lucy was turning to face him, the extent of her emotions plain on her face. Red cheeks from tears and embarrassment he first noticed, but her bottom lip was quivering, constantly being gnawed between her teeth. It took everything in his body not to lean further to pull her lip down, saving it from the assault. Now wasn’t the time.

“You already know I lost Aquarius,” She stated, arms crossing while her shoulders quivered. “You know how important she is to me, Natsu. What ALL my spirits mean to me. And I.. I- … “ Her tears dribbled down, dripping off her chin and an almost frantic, tragic whine issued with her next words, “I broke her to save you! To save Everyone!”

That was it, the dam of strength, the final resolve. It bashed against the hammer of her words and she sobbed, covering her face from the force of her tears. “I wasn’t strong enough and had to-to… do that to her, and you just.. You .. left and I was so.. So…”

Natsu knew without her having to finish: Alone.

He licked his lips, attempting to dislodge the words on the tip of his tongue. Her words were like blows striking against him, but with a fierce glare, he jumped over the couch, grasping her shoulders to regain her focus as he hissed, “Lucy! You’re not weak. You took on Tartaros by yourself and saved all our asses! I wasn’t there for it, but I knew it when I came to. I just knew it. Don’t blame yourself for that!”

Accuse me. I’m the one to blame. I’m the one who left. I’m the one who ran. “I’m the one who wasn’t strong, I couldn’t protect you. I couldn’t protect anyone- I couldn’t save my Dad!” When did his own tears start to fall? They stung his eyes, burned like his fire, but he forced his gaze on her, refused to blink.

He couldn’t save Igneel. That was the truth. He had to stand there and watch as Acnologia ripped his father in half. Even after the death of the Dragon King, the pain and the memory stung like a thousand knives, it took his breath away. Inhaling sharply, his fingers lost their grip, falling loosely to his side. Natsu could hardly see the look on Lucy’s face through his blurred eyes. “What… what good was I t’anyone like that Lucy? I keep.. I keep goin’ through it over and over again, but there was nothing I could do. And if I took ya’ with me? Then I’d want to go home so much more, want to goof off, not take things seriously, I couldn’t.. I… I didn’t think I was good enough to be anyone’s partner then Lucy. I-”

I made a mistake. I know I did. “I didn’t realize how stupid I was until I came back- I still don’t know if I’d do anything different, but I know I messed up, I know I did- but…”

A softness of slim digits interrupted him, reaching out to straight his scarf before Lucy’s face crashed against his chest, fingers digging into the fabric like a lifeline. She was in his arms again and he wasted no time in holding her close. This was a comfort. This was something they both needed, and he sucked in more air, matching Lucy sniffle for sniffle. He hated crying. Hated showing emotion. He hated seeing her cry even more.

“We’re both stupid.” She mumbled, but no explanation came. Not then. Emotions spilled between them then. No words, only the comfort of each other as their bodies slid to the couch- grips tight around the other as they released the pent of feelings they had buried inside their hearts for over a year. It was a new experience for Natsu- having only unloaded his full emotions to Happy during their times away from the Guild, but with Lucy? Somehow, the release felt somehow… cathartic. Like a rubber band snapping back into place after being strung tight for too long.

When their tears dried, sobs settled and breaths grew even, Natsu and Lucy were tangled together on her couch. Partially laying atop him, Lucy breathed into his neck, and his legs felt stiff from the awkward angle, but he kept his hold against her. The room had grown darker, bringing the silence of night down upon the room, but he could light the room later.

Absentmindedly, his fingers ran through her golden locks. It was a soothing sensation, one that calmed him. Lucy’s body relaxed at the movements and she sucked in air she couldn’t claim through her earlier sobs. With the well of their emotions now emptied, the explosion changed to a weariness that threatened to put the two to sleep.

“Lucy?” Natsu broke the silence, fingers pausing in their movement as he stared at the ceiling so his eyes could adjust to the light.

It took her a moment before she answered, as if the edges of sleep were fighting to keep her quiet. She didn’t bother moving her head, certain he’d hear regardless. “Mmm, what is it?”

“Please take me and Happy with you.”

She stiffened and the room grew tense again. Natsu bit his tongue, suddenly anxious. Instead of snapping as he expected, she pushed up to look him in the eye, tired eyes waiting. “Why?”

More words, but he’d already emptied himself out. What more could he say? He wet his lips, eyes flicked to the wall and back again as he wiped his palms on the cushion beneath him. “It hurt being away from you.” He admitted, cheeks heating up against his will, “and you were upset too. I just… think-” words she had spoken years ago sprang to his mind and he jumped on them, “I think it’s better when we’re together.”

Was it unfair? Perhaps, but he meant it. Meant it as much as she on the day she had spoke those words. He didn’t doubt she felt the same. He was positive she did, and the way her lips finally curved into a small smile assured him of that.

“You know, I wanted to go alone so I could try and get stronger and finish my book,” She said, blowing a strand of hair from her face. It fell back a moment later and she frowned. “I don’t know if I’ll find Aquarius when I go, but I want to believe I will. I didn’t just decide to go on my own to spite you or anything.”

“I know.” Natsu said. He reached up to tuck the strand behind her ear, gaze faltering. “If you’re sure you don’t want me and Happy with you, fine. I’ll accept it. I just…”

Like her, he didn’t want to feel alone. With the guild, the rest of their team, he was never truly alone, he knew that. Just as Lucy had her spirits, but somehow things felt duller, less bright, when the three of them were apart. He felt it, but did she?

She flopped against him, the tips of her ears bright red, but the sudden movement took the breath out of him. Natsu tilted his head and waited, wondering if this lack of response was her way of denying him again. He would relent, if that was the case, but he wasn’t the greatest at reading her, especially in moments like these. Just when he was about to accept the silence as an ‘I’ll answer in the morning’ and close his eyes, Lucy gave her answer.

“Okay.”

“What?” Even with great hearing, that didn’t mean he could always trust what he heard.

Lucy huffed, a soft giggle breathing against his ear. “You both can come. - but I lead, got it?”

Exhilaration filled him and he laughed- relief echoing into the room like a heated balm. His chest heaved from his boisterous cackle and his arms settled around her once again. Later, she might struggle away from him in embarrassment. Morning would come and they’d be just as they were before- best friends, with maybe a hint of more, maybe not.

For now, they just were- and Natsu couldn’t be happier.

“You’re the boss.”

Both dozing off, emotions and energy spent- Natsu took one last glance towards Lucy as her breathing grew even, face tilted to reveal the flushed, puffy cheeks. He readjusted them both for his legs to fit over the armrest and yawned. Unfortunately, just as sleep was about to take him, he peeked one eye open towards the window and realized he hadn’t signaled Happy as he said he would. Natsu was sure his partner would chew him out for the transgression come morning.

He spared another, tired glance at Lucy and figured it was worth it.

#Mira's Fanfiction #Ft Fanfiction #Fairy Tail Fanfiction #Nalu Fanfiction #Nalu #NatsuxLucy #Cutest-Celestial-Princess #My Commissions #Erza #Happy #Gray #Macao #Wakaba #closure #mentions of death

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littleeyesofpallas · 5 years

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Revolutionary Girl Utena - Name Games (pt.3/?)

[西園寺]Saionji [恭一]Kyouichi

Given the classic Japanese Shitennou [四天王] “Four Heavenly Kings” trope so popular in Japanese media, it was kind of predictable that Kyouichi was going to be kind of a throw away character. Of course, Kunihiko Ikuhara continued to find new ways to use and re-contextualize Kyouichi’s serial loser and runt of the litter archetype: His role in the mini boss squad is to be the most overtly aggressive one who shows how brute strength isn’t enough to get by on. He’s always the first of the student council quartet (sometimes quintet) into the action and first out of the race in the lineup of escalating duels for each of 3 arcs.

The name Saionji [西園寺] is written as [西] “West” + [園] “Park”/”Garden” + [寺] “Temple.” I’m a little embarrassed to admit so soon into this series but I’m not really sure of what this name choice as about. It’s a clear place name, as is common with surnames. It doesn’t appear to have any super clear or overt meaning relative to his character or his role in the story or plot. It is a common name in Japanese, one tied to an old courtly family, but that family’s historical notes don’t seem to have any particular meaning to this character either. Their family crest is a trio of Tomoe [巴] arranged in a pattern called a Mitsudomoe [三ツ巴]. (literally just “Three Tomoe”)

So, here’s my best guess, even though it’s kind of a stretch... The Mitsudomoe symbol has been fairly common across Japan for a good chunk of its history but it was at one point specifically the royal crest of the Ryukyu kingdom (one of several indigenous cultures to the Japanese islands once at odds with the Yamato people of the large central island ) prior to its annexation in the mid 1800s. The Ryuukuu people lived in the string of small southern most islands of modern Japan. As it happens these islands are also the western most territories of Japan.

Now there’s a bit of muddled iconography here... For one, Kyouichi’s most distinct feature as a duelist is his katana; every duelist has a sword that is distinctly and uniquely theirs, and while most are western (or in one case a vaguely Turkish or middle eastern saber and dagger) Kyouichi is the only one to use a katana, marking him as distinctly Japanese and in that vein more of a traditionalist (a feature most notably supported in his overt misogyny.) But the katana isn’t really a weapon used by the Ryuukyuu prior to their being assimilated into the central Japanese monoculture. It’s also pretty noticeable that he does’t have anything like an Okinawan accent. So, this doesn’t seem to hold much water beyond the locational links.

Otherwise the only thing I can think of is that the Park/Garden aspect of the name might point to his preoccupation with his appearance and sense of propriety being overly curated, like a park or garden; green like his hair; and yet ultimately only superficially pretty and fruitless and devoid of growth. (given the show’s preoccupation with flowers as a symbols.) But even that isn’t an especially strong case. So I don’t put a lot of stock in any of these.

His given name, Kyouichi [莢一] on the other hand I think is much clearer to read; the kanji [莢] means “Pod” or “Husk” as of a plant, and [一] is of course just the number “One.” Joke here being that Kyouichi is the one character who never really develops any kind of working relationship, and is always alone. Not a tree or flower, or even a sprout or sappling (like Kanae) but an immature seed, alone in its seed pod.

But let’s also talk about his associated characters...

[篠原] Shinohara [若葉] Wakaba

A nice easy one, unlike Kyouichi’s: Family name, [篠原] “Bamboo Field,” private name, [若葉] “New(Young) Leaf.” Which is of course a set up for her second arc development where she channels her bitterness against the main cast for being “special” and not understanding how a normal unremarkable girl like her feels being constantly left out, not good enough, or worthy of attention. She is young, immature, common and plain as bamboo, and not an elegant flower or dignified tree, but a leaf of bamboo grass.

This is also why the wooden hairpin that Saionji makes for her in the Black Rose Duelist arc is a seemingly innocuous leaf design; it’s her name.

[風見] Kazami [達也] Tatsuya

Written as [風] “Wind“ and [見] “Hopes“/”Chances,” Kazami [風見] is actually just the word for “Weathervane” referencing his wishy-washy and fickle character, unable to make decisions about what he should or shouldn’t do in his relationship with Wakaba: Like a weathervane turning in the wind, he frequently and unpredictably changed directions.

The kanji [達] is actually more common in Chinese than in Japanese, and has a variety of different meanings as an actual word. The most prominent Japanese reading I seem to find is “Accomplish(ed)” or “to reach”/”to attain,” but I think it can also be read as “General”/”Common” or “All over”/”Everywhere” which I think is kind of the bridge term between “accomplished” and “common.” (as in if you are accomplished your presence is everywhere, and if you’re everywhere you are common place.) And [也] reads as either “to be” or “too”/”also.”

This could mean his full name reads either “Weathervane, To Be Accomplished” which scans as meaning something like “Lacking Direction in Attaining Goals;” or it can read as “Weathervane, Also Common,” which of course plays direction into Wakaba being the character he’s anchored to in the story. He is common, just like her, which is why he is positioned to be her prince charming(her onion prince), until she passes him up for her unhealthy obsession with Kyouichi when he fails to communicate his feelings properly.

...Previous post: Next post...

#revolutionary girl utena #kyouichi saionji #wakaba shinohara #tatsuya kazami #onion prince

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precure-stuff · 4 years

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Aikatsu Episode 31 Rewrite

Episode 31-Rookie

We open in Headmistress Tiara’s office with her examining a form. “I must admit this is a risk,” She looks up at Noelle, “Given that you’re all rookies, there’s a lot of accomplishments I’m expecting.”

“I won’t disappoint you.” Noelle says. We see that Raki and Wakaba are standing beside her Tiara crosses her arm as the unit’s name is obscured.

“Very well. If you can do something remarkable then I’ll take you even more seriously.” The opening plays (Twilight Etranger) There’s added scenes of Twinkle(Mizuki-Nono-Mahiru) Checkmate(Yurika-Alicia-Lily) and Dynamo(Hibiki-Kaede-Mirai)

In the Moonlight Office, Twinkle is going over their concert footage. Mikuru turns off the footage “I had to reach Mizuki’s level too you know. If I can do it so can you.” Mahiru leans back in her chair. Mizuki turns to them.

“Well, girls. Do you think we get better?” Mizuki asks.

“But of course.” Mahiru says.

“I’m sure we can!” Nono says.

“Alright then, let’s get back to work.” Mizuki answers as she gets up.

Cut back to Noelle, Wakaba and Raki. They’re all in their school tracksuits in the Dream Academy field. We see that they’ve been practicing all day with Ichigo and Pure Palette. “Great work today.” Ichigo stretches her arms and turns to Noelle. “Noelle! There’s something else I have for you.” Ichigo whispers in Noelle’s ear. After, Ichigo jogs back to Starlight as Noelle takes a taxi with Clover Ring to Star Harmony.

“So what did Ichigo tell you?” Raki asks. All three girls are in the back seat. Noelle sits awkwardly in between them. “Is she giving you secret advice?”

“That’s not it.” Noelle answers. “She wants me to meet her at Angely Mountain tomorrow.”

“Lucky! You get to hike with Ichigo! We have to come, right Wakaba?” Raki looks over at Wakaba who’s sleeping on the window.

Noelle wakes up the next day and stares at her bedside. There’s a picture of Seira in her Constellation Dress and a poster of 2wings above her bedpost. She gets into her tracksuit and signs out with Tiara’s help. As she’s preparing to leave, a Dream Academy van shows up with Seira in it. “You didn’t think I’d miss my sister’s big day did you?” Noelle joins her in the van and they’re driven away to Angely Mountain. At its base, Clover Ring and Ichigo are already waiting. 2wings enjoy their reunion before they notice Noelle starting to climb.

“Oh, not bad Noelle.” Seira says as she races Ichigo to start climbing. Sweet Spice plays in the background as they climb. Noelle doesn’t keep her head start but keeps pace with Seira who is slowing down for her. Wakaba and Raki are last, exhausted from their hike the previous episode. Once they all get to the top Madoka pops a confetti canon to Noelle’s surprise.

“Madoka! You came!” Raki cries as she hugs her. Madoka thanks Raki for her support (see episode 8) and Amahane comes out from her building. Noelle walks up to her as the others grow silent.

“I’d like to wear Angely Sugar. And I promise I’ll be a good muse.” Noelle’s eyes are fixed on Amahane who hugs her. Noelle eases up as Madoka presents her with a small silk bag. Noelle takes it in her hands and unties it open. Inside she finds a set of cards. “Thank you.” They all come inside for some tea, as we pan up to the sky.

The following day at Dream Academy, Noelle announces her debut. She stands at the Aikatsu card machine and places the cards pictured above She walks on stage and sings Twilight Etranger and the appeal is Angel Arrow. As the audience applauds, we see Tiara backstage. She finally stamps the unit application form and the name is revealed to be Rookie.

Authors Notes:

Now that Noelle got her own episode I think the Shuffle Cup could start soon

I don’t believe that Noelle’s dream story coord should be called a PR because I mean... look at it

So far there’s four shuffle unit. Might add two or not. Seems pretty full so far

LPRs are such a non gimmick gimmick. Its just not interesting at all. I mean yikes so they’re not showing up in this afterward

Eventually hoping to write off most of the old characters. Kinda want Raki to have her own cast toward the end( maybe ill make a season two lol0

Raki, Noelle, Wakaba, Stella,Natsuna, Sumomo. That would be my ideal cast of six for a season two if i wrote it

#aikatsu #rewrite #rookie #episode 31 #part seven

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celestialtitania · 5 years

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Gray sat moodily on one of the benches of the guildhall staring at a certain girl. Said girl ignored him, as she happily devoured a large piece of strawberry cheesecake.

"Ah, cake really is the best~," she sighed dreamily.

Gray glowered at her. Ever since she'd discovered Magnolia's bakery, she'd rather eat cake then fight with him.

He wanted to yell her name to challenge her. He would do it too. Gray opened his mouth to yell at Erza to fight him already.

"ER-," He stopped. What was her full name again. He stopped deep in thought, face scrunched up and brows furrowed.

Unbeknownst to him, at the sound of the start of her name, Erza had finally looked away from her cake. She bit back a laugh, seeing the expression on the boy's face.

It seemed to her that lately, all Gray did was make her laugh. Her mirth vanished a second later though.

"Hey Erza, what's your name?"

Erza blinked at him, unable to comprehend the question. "You just said it idiot."

"No, I mean your full name. Like I'm Gray Fullbuster. What's your name?"

The question took her back to a dingy cell, with others asking her the same question. When she had no name to call her own. Setting down her cake, she sat straight up. She noticed Gray lean in, now curious to find out what her name was. Well Erza would tell him. After all she did have a name.

"Erza Scarlet," she announced proudly.

"Scarlet. Like the colour of your hair!" Gray pounded his fist into his open palm, sounding like he'd had a true epiphany.

Erza was glad she'd put the cake down, otherwise it'd have toppled to the floor. A little blue haired boy flashed before her eyes saying similar words.

"Now I'll never forget," Gray was saying happily. Erza swallowed the lump in her throat, doing her best to prevent tears from welling up in her eyes.

"Ehhh Scarlet? That's so pretty," Cana said loudly from her seat nearby.

"Suits her," Macao agreed, he and Wakaba laughing amicably. Pretty soon the whole guild was telling Erza how pretty her name is.

Erza on the other hand, was captivated by memories of the past. Of a certain someone she kept in the depths of her heart. Gray stared at her tense shoulders, saw her closing in on herself and just...reacted.

"Erza Scarlet. FIGHT ME!" He pounced, launching head first towards her. Erza started seeing him falling towards her before her instincts kicked in and she jumped away before he landed.

Then she retaliated with a swift roundhouse kick. Gray fell backwards, but was already getting up, ready for more.

The others complained but he saw a light in Erza's eyes that had nearly gone out. He smiled and began fighting in earnest.

She smiled back, her scarlet hair swinging wildly from its braid.

#fairy tail #erza scarlet #gray fullbuster #fairy tail gray #fairy tail erza #childhood drabble #cana alberona #macao conbolt #ft #angst #jellal fernandes #jerza #grayza #friendship #midnight drabble #didn't quite turn out like I'd hoped #particularly the ending

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applepi00 · 5 years

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Emi Liveblogs: Revolutionary Girl Utena Ep16, The Cowbell of Happiness

We’re at 17 stopwatches, 16 slaps, 9 Egg speeches, and 2 Mikage speech’s.

All the boys where the ugly tootthpaste uniforms and all the girls are wearing these long formal evening gowns that honestly I feel like they took from their moms closets and I don’t trust ikuhara to not put meaning to that though.

Perhaps something like they’re playing at being grown up even while all still trapped in their own adolescence? I dunno.

The glowing is straight up funny and damn Anthy specifically put her cow’s name on the shipping address instead of her own specifically to fuck with Nanami and honestly I can’t believe Nanami was stubborn enough to wear the bell multiple days.

I like this little soft image that happens when people can’t bring them self to say cow.

Is this the Emperor’s New Clothes Cowbell? Only the innocent children unaware of status and brands can callout this bullshit.

...you could say she’s been cowed.

Jokes aside, I lowkey hate that all of Nanami’s development and progression is in these silly seeming episodes. She was the next most likely to revolutionize the world after Utena and it’s barely acknowledged as far as I’ve seen.

In a way, isn’t this Nanami’s response time a duel of Self? It’s not a proper duel like it was for Utena but the response is the same, despondency and behaving differently. Nanami falls in line and acts like a normal person for once, though this started from her desire to stand out and be the class idol. But she doesn’t have a Wakaba to snap her out of it. So she loses herself entirely and becomes a cow until someone does come along to bring her to her senses.

Hair bows I can understand but how and why does she have a cow patterned gym uniform?

The cat and mouse play! It’s definitely directly “reap what you sow” which fits Nanami in her episodes very well, now and ep8 being notable examples. However! This play also tells us what’s going on at Ohtori on a grander scale: the mouse and cat stroke up an agreement that the mouse will allow the cat access to eat the other mice in exchange for its life. The cat eats all the mice anyways.

Touga now is using Nanami to do his dirty work (manage the council) though he’s planning to use all of them in the end anyways. Even bigger: Akio/End of the World is using all the Duellists against each other. He’s manipulating all of them but nobody can really win here.

I’d like to wonder if the shadow girls might’ve been Duellists once too, maybe they won but accepted Akio’s offer, maybe they lost and this they haunt the halls and try to warn other Duellists. Who knows? Not me.

I took this shot for a reason but now I can’t think of what.

The bullfighter bit is funny I admit but there’s probably some actual meaning behind it I’m not thinking of.

So is it cow Nanami in the movie or actual Nanami in the form of a cow?

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ft-dads-au · 5 years

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Chance Encounter - Chapter 5 (Final)

Home for the Holidays 2019 Prompt: Limits A collaboration by @mdelpin and @oryu404 AO3 | FF.Net | Prev: Ch 4

6:40 pm - 7:15 pm Members are encouraged to talk about any issues or share successes

"Alright, that was incredibly uhm, informational?" Gildarts muttered, "Anyway, on to my favorite part. For those of you joining us for the first time, this is the part of the meeting where we talk about what's going on with us. Any issues that we're facing or anything we managed that we're proud of. Keep it to kids/family stuff, I'm looking at you Wakaba, no one needs to hear more about your fights with Millgana.”

"Let's start with the positive things first, does anyone have something good to share?" Macao asked even as he snickered at a man with a pompadour hairdo that Rogue could only assume was Wakaba.

One of the other dads got up from his seat, smiling widely. He had short dark hair and was wearing a blue t-shirt with the Magnolia Police Department logo. "It's my daughter Asuka's birthday today. She turned six and wanted to celebrate with you guys as well."

Upon hearing her name, Asuka left the play area and rushed to her father's side, "Is it cupcake time, daddy?" she asked, jumping up and down in excitement.

"Yes it is," he assured her, still smiling as he patted the top of her head through the cowboy hat she was wearing. He then addressed the rest of the group again, "We made cupcakes together to share with the club. It was a lot of fun, and they turned out great, Asuka even did all the decorating herself!"

They all took a moment to sing Happy Birthday to the excited little girl who beamed at being the center of attention. Father and daughter then retrieved a plastic tray that had been covered with foil from the snack area.

"Are there any more napkins?" the man asked, and Gildarts walked over to where there were still some market bags, quickly grabbing one and handing it to the father.

"That's great, Alzack!" Macao complimented as father and daughter wandered around the room offering cupcakes, "I think one of the challenges we often face as fathers is allowing ourselves to enjoy activities that are usually associated with women. Baking, tea parties, or playing with dolls, just to name a few. We need to remember these are just another part of our children's development. Giving them affection and support is much more important than any perceived affront to our masculinity."

Hearing Macao mention tea parties, Rogue couldn't help but remember the ones Gildarts and his father had forced on him and Gray when Cana had first shown up. She'd been so quiet and sad when they had first met her, and both men had tried their best to make her smile. To the point of wearing ridiculous outfits while sitting around holding conversations with dolls and holding the little cups from the tea set that had been a present from Rogue's mother in their large hands.

Rogue chuckled at the memory and searched out his brother, wanting to see if he'd had a similar reaction only to find Gray watching him as well, and for one instant, they shared a smile before Gray looked away.

"I'd love to do stuff like that," a man spoke up, drawing Rogue’s attention to him. Unlike most of the other men there, he was dressed impeccably in a fitted suit, and for some reason, he chose to wear tinted sunglasses inside. His expression was sad as he accepted a cupcake from the little girl, but he still managed to offer her a smile, "Thank you, sweetheart."

"What's going on, Loke?" Gildarts asked, sitting in one of the empty chairs next to him.

"I barely get to see my girls anymore. They're usually asleep by the time I get home during the week, and now my wife has started taking them to her parents' summer house on the weekends."

“I get that, with my crazy schedule I don’t get as much time as I’d like with the twins, so I try to plan something each week and just kind of grab any moment I can along the way, you know?”

Rogue knew Sting was just trying to be helpful, but something about Loke's body language made him think his situation was very different from theirs.

Gildarts leaned his head towards Loke, and they began speaking in quiet voices, Loke seeming more upset the more they talked.

Rogue looked away, feeling uncomfortable with watching when Loke seemed so unhappy. As his eyes wandered, he couldn't help but notice that his brother's companion was staring at Loke with a rather interesting expression on his face, seeming to Rogue to almost border on dislike.

Before he had a chance to wonder about it, Alzack and his daughter were standing in front of him and Sting, holding a tray still half-full of cupcakes. The little girl's eyes were hopeful, and Rogue could only gawk at her attempts at decoration. Each cupcake was slathered with pink frosting, a drawing of some kind done in white frosting on the top, although to him it looked like no more than a blob.

"Oh, wow! Those look great!" Sting grinned, always enthusiastic about anything having to do with food, "Can I have more than one?"

“Sting!” Rogue scolded, but the little girl only giggled as she handed his husband two cupcakes.

“You can have one too!” she handed Rogue a cupcake before moving on to the men sitting next

to them.

Rogue ate his cupcake before Sting could beg it off him, he had to admit it was pretty good.

Another man had spoken up about a problem he was having with his teenage son when Rogue heard someone say, “Wouldn’t these have been more useful before you got here?” followed by a chorus of laughs.

Gray’s companion was holding a box of condoms in his hand, and a quick glance at the impish grin on Gildarts’ face and the way he was watching Macao for his reaction made Rogue realize this must have been the object he’d hidden earlier.

Macao, for his part, was frowning at Gildarts with what looked to be long-suffering exasperation, which seemed to be enough to set Gildarts off into a fit of mirth. It almost reminded Rogue of the way his dad would sometimes get when Gildarts was too much for him to handle. And he stopped that thought before it could gain any traction. Of all the hornet's nests that had been stirred that day, his father was the one he couldn't afford to dwell on.

7:15 pm - 7:30 pm Upcoming events or activities (signups)

"For now, we are still paper only, so there will be a clipboard available where you can sign up to bring an item or help plan an event. The old club used to do activities like picnics, potluck dinners around the holidays, stuff like that. We'd like to continue the tradition, so if you have any ideas of things you'd like us to try, don't be shy. As soon as Warren finishes, you should be able to just do it from your phone." Macao declared.

“Feel free to send Warren an email to encourage him to hurry up, his email is-” Macao teased as Warren yelled at him to shut up.

“As far as the snacks, we’ve decided to just charge a 500 jewel monthly fee rather than asking people to remember to bring stuff. Please make sure to list any allergies you or your children might have on your membership form. Gildarts and I will just buy snacks before every meeting. Everyone okay with that?”

No one complained, and they soon began discussing different possible activities both with the kids and dads only.

Rogue lost interest in the conversation, his eyes darting more and more to the play area. He observed Aki, hoping he could somehow glean the answers to all of his questions just from the way he acted.

Aki ran back to his father, sporting a bright smile on his face as he climbed back on his lap. Gray

hugged him, kissing his forehead and listening to whatever the little boy was telling him. The silver-haired man smiled at both of them, ruffling Aki's hair, which caused the little boy to frown at him, and it was such a perfect replica of Gray's frown that Rogue had to laugh.

There was a longing in him now to have Aki be a part of their lives and to rekindle the bond he'd once shared with Gray, back when things were simpler. He waited impatiently for the meeting to come to a close so that he could try to approach his brother. If nothing else to let him know he wanted to talk.

7:30pm Cleanup

“Alright, our time is up. We’d like to thank everyone for coming, we’ll be here again next week. Please take a moment to help us clean up, and make sure to grab your kids on the way out!” Macao announced as Gildarts appeared with a large garbage bag.

The room once again became chaotic as everyone got up to help with the cleanup. Small groups formed blocking Rogue’s view of Gray and his mysterious companion while others cluttered up the play area in search of their kids.

He finally caught a glimpse of them and without even a word of warning to Sting Rogue took off after them. He tried to get through the crowd to get to his brother, but he was stopped by an older man.

"Are you the journalist Macao was telling me about?" he stared up at Rogue, and though he was furious at the interruption, the man's kind smile made it impossible for him to snap at him.

Instead, he took a deep breath and held his hand out for the older man to shake, “Yes, my name is Rogue Eucliffe.”

“Nice to meet you, I’m Makarov Dreyar.”

For a man his age- and this short, he had to be under 4 feet tall- Makarov had a firm handshake. Whatever he had to say did not quite reach Rogue’s ears. Instead, he was focusing on overhearing the conversation Gray was having with his companion.

"I told you this would be a waste of time," Gray grumbled as they walked towards the exit, a smiling Aki in his arms.

“I wouldn’t say that. This was just as much for Aki as it was for you, and he seems to have enjoyed it immensely. Now, are you going to tell me what your deal is with that guy with the long black hair or what?”

The doors closed behind them, and Rogue felt his frustration grow as Makarov continued to talk to him, asking him questions about his family, which he tried to answer as politely as he could.

"Can you excuse me for just one minute?" Without waiting for a response, Rogue ran out the daycare center exit, down the long hallway and out the community center doors, but he saw no sign of them.

Damn it! How was he supposed to find him now?

With a heavy heart, he hurried back to the daycare center, feeling bad for acting so rudely towards the older man. When he entered, he was surprised to see Sting had already put both boys in the stroller and was talking to Gildarts, million watt smile at the ready.

"Put that away, son, you're liable to blind someone with that thing," Gildarts asserted, looking amused. "I've already told you, I can't give you any private information on any of our members. Would you like it if I just gave out the half-pint's number to anyone that asked?"

“But Gray is his brother,” Sting protested, “You know that for a fact.”

"I do, still doesn't change anything," Gildarts shrugged, "Listen, kid, I wish I could help you out, but my hands are tied. Now, if you were to ask me for information on his companion, that would be a different story."

“What?”

"He gave me business cards and permission to hand them out to anyone who might need one, but you didn't so-" Gildarts turned away, and Rogue wanted nothing more than to throttle him.

Same old Gildarts, always playing games, never taking anything seriously.

“Give me the damn card, Gildarts,” Rogue growled, not in the mood to play along.

“Half-pint, you came back!”

Rogue rolled his eyes, grabbing the card Gildarts offered him and reading it hungrily. Lyon Vastia, Attorney at Reitei Family Law and a phone number. It wasn't what he'd hoped for, but it was something, a connection to Gray no matter how small.

“You talked to him, what did he say?” Rogue demanded, not even bothering to disguise how important the information was to him.

Gildarts crossed his arms “I’m not saying a word until you start talking. What the hell happened between you two? And don’t you dare say nothing, I’m not stupid. I’ve witnessed sworn enemies act happier to see each other.”

The last thing Rogue wanted to do was to rehash the events of the last six years with Gildarts, especially when he was already riled up. But Gildarts had always known how to push all his buttons and this time was no different. The man had been interrogated countless times by professionals and had never been broken, Rogue knew without a doubt Gildarts would not disclose anything until he came clean.

“Fine,” Rogue accepted the terms, but when he opened his mouth to begin Gildarts stopped him.

“Not here.” Gildarts turned to Sting, flashing him his own million watt smile that had wooed more women than any of them had ever been able to count. “Half-Pint’s coming with me to FairyTail, assuming he’s honest with me he shouldn’t be home too late.”

Sting looked like he wanted to protest but one look at Rogue’s face was enough to silence him. Instead, he gave him a quick hug and whispered, “Good luck, I’ll see you when you get home.”

Home. Rogue held on to that word, it had been an empty one for so long, until Sting had come along and given it meaning again. No matter what came of his talk with Gildarts, knowing that he had a home to return to that was full of love and family gave him the strength to suffer through whatever the rest of the night had in store for him.

~~~

“That bastard!” Rogue ranted the second he made it through the door.

Sting shushed him, pointing at the door to the twins’ room. “How much did you have to drink?”

Rogue blinked, trying to remember how many drinks Gildarts had shoved at him as they talked. He shrugged in response, he had no idea.

Sting snatched the baby monitor and the glass of wine he’d been drinking, leaving the other he’d obviously poured for Rogue behind. Grabbing him by the arm he gently led him outside, sitting both of them on the bench swing in their backyard.

“What happened?” Sting pushed his feet against the ground, rocking the swing back and forth slowly.

“I must have talked for hours, I told him everything and-” Rogue was once again filled with rage, “He didn’t know anything, said he tried to get Gray to talk to him but failed.”

Rogue wanted to scream, he felt like such an idiot. How was it that even after all these years Gildarts could still turn him into an insecure child? Gray would never have fallen for that.

He could feel Sting’s eyes on him, even worse he could see the way he was trying hard not to laugh at him.

“That guy is something else,” Sting chuckled with something akin to admiration, “Let me ask you this, outside of the anger you’re obviously experiencing, do you feel any better?”

“What?”

“You heard me, you’ve been holding on to a lot of that stuff for years, I know it’s been eating away at you. He might have been a dick, but he got you to talk about all of it, which is something you desperately needed.”

Rogue had done more than that. Gildarts had always been a man of action. Given all the things he’d come to learn about there was no way he would be willing to stand on the sidelines while people he considered family were floundering about.

No, Rogue thought as he remembered how furious Gildarts had seemed upon hearing the events that had transpired while he’d been handling his own issues. He had unleashed Gildarts on all of them and with a sadistic grin, considering everything he’d gone through on his own, he realized he wasn’t one bit sorry.

He laughed until tears streamed down his cheeks, the alcohol feeding into his hysteria, causing Sting to gaze at him with concern once again.

“You’re right, it’s going be fine,” Rogue finally replied, wiping the tears from his eyes. He waited for Sting to put his glass down and snuggled into him, reveling in his warmth. They swung together for what felt like a long time, enjoying the silence after the chaos of the long evening.

Things were likely to get interesting in the coming weeks but for right now Rogue was at peace.

A/N: This concludes our first multi-chapter story in the main plotline.Gray and Rogue’s story will continue in the sequel which is tentatively titled Brothers.

#fairy tail #ftdadsau #stingue #ftlgbtholidays2019 #ftlgbtales #prompt: limits #gildarts & rogue #loke #Alzack Connell #asuka connell #warren rocko #gildarts & macao #fics

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