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Well, they weren’t immediately dead -- that was step one. But as another rat/goblin pair came at his left side, Chris became acutely aware that his sword was still jammed almost to the hilt in the head of the first, and pulling it out wasn’t going to be a thing until he got at least a moment to breathe, a moment these additional attackers weren’t keen on giving him. He just managed to get out of the way of their swinging sword, though that meant his next action had to be scrambling back to his feet and turning to face his opponent. He had to take out his daggers, too, that was also important. And while Lana was dealing with his flank (and Estellise and Sergei were off… somewhere (was he supposed to keep track?)), Chris leapt, aiming to knock the goblin right off of its mount. Of course, the goblin hadn't gone through all that recovery time that Chris had, and was ready with a second swing, which caught Chris right in the left shoulder. The ensuing collision wasn’t enough to knock the goblin down, but it did stagger it, giving Chris enough time to actually take care of that particular half of the problem with his off-hand. The other half, the rat, kept moving, continuing on its route towards the entrance. Chris let it go for the time being. He had to get his sword out of that first rat now that he had a moment to, and maybe (if she had the time) get Estellise to take a quick look at his shoulder. At the very least, he didn’t want it to hurt if he took a swing at something.

←Previous Post -- Next Post→ Duel 12 -- For Friendship, Perhaps Or: Anthy Gets On Her Knees And Kisses Touga’s Sword Surely That’s Not A Metaphor For Anything Just a heads-up, this episode has a bunch of flashing lights in it that may affect people with certain kinds of photosensitivity. Previous episodes have had some, yes, but there’s a lot more in this one. Last week I mentioned auteur theory in something of a throwaway line, saying I’d probably cover it another time. Well, this is another time. This is still going to be a super basic overview, however, largely because, well, it’s still a seventy-year-old lens with which to look at media, and five-hundred or however many words this ends up being isn’t going to cover it all at once. Auteur is a French word, meaning “author,” and the theory seeks to answer a simple question: The creator of a book is its author, the painter of a landscape is its artist, but who is the creator of something that is inherently collaborative like a film? The answer, says the theory, is the director. It is always the director, and it is their job to exact their vision upon the world. Perhaps intuitively, this makes at least a little bit of sense, right? Even at the start of this series, I said Utena was “made by Kunhiiko Ikuhara”, for example, and there are countless filmmakers where one can say similar. The dichotomy of the time was the French New Wave, spearheaded by essays on the theory in Cahiers du Cinema magazine, against the Hollywood studio system. This isn’t to imply “great art” or at least “classics” weren’t made under the studio system, just that the zeitgeist has moved on since knowing who directed such work. Meanwhile, movies such as Cleo from 5 to 7 or The 400 Blows are almost inextricable from their directors, Agnes Varda and Francois Truffault respectively. One reason for this is how assigning a definitive creator immediately applies a sort of faux-insight into that person’s mind or at least a way to read into recurring themes in their works. Some modern examples one might go to include Lynne Ramsay dealing with themes of guilt and loss, Steven Spielberg and faulty familial (especially paternal) relationships, or Quentin Tarantino and revenge (and also the feet thing). Each is a clear theme in most if not all of their works, and it is because of auteur theory that we can draw a line through it all. That’s not to say that the theory is perfect. There is, of course, “death of the author,” a competing analytical trend that attempts to extricate a work itself entirely from who made it, be that a person or a studio. There’s also still a debate as to whether the director is even the sole creator of a work at all -- screenwriters like Taylor Sheridan and Charlie Kaufman can attest to that (though both have been directing more and more in recent years). And again, movie-making is still ultimately a collaborative process, and while actors and even some cinematographers get their dues, there’s still a whole lot that goes on behind the scenes that can sometimes be left out. So, how does Utena fit into all of this? Well, I already talked a bit about Chiho Saito and how her work leads into this particular series, but Ikuhara is the one people tend to credit (with the anime specifically, at least). When we look at the greater body of work Ikuhara has produced, there are some pretty traceable ideas, especially regarding gender roles and the brokenness of systems society otherwise runs on. It’s these two people, even out of the rest of Be-Papas, that seem to get the most credit for Utena’s creation. Maybe that’s the reason that, when they collaborated years later, they took the name with them. I rush to add, I’m not a film critic, merely an enthusiast at best, so I may have gotten things wrong or brushed over certain elements of history. But then again, I’m also not much of an anime critic, and yet, here I am. Let’s talk about some anime. Clothes are a pretty important aspect of Revolutionary Girl Utena. They’re symbolic of a broader sense of presentation, from how Nanami tries to keep up appearances to the and it’s here, for the first time, that Utena’s wardrobe changes. We’ve seen her in dresses before, but remember, even then she wore her decidedly tomboy school uniform underneath. Now, she has completely discarded it, even apathetically leaving it in disrepair as she deals with losing Anthy in the previous episode’s duel. Utena states it outright, she’s trying to be “normal.” To put it another way, she’s trying to be a “princess”. This is how Touga views her at least, too -- his boast about having finally saved his princess is a double meaning, referring both to Anthy and Utena in equal measure. After all, he did pretend to be her prince for several episodes. Even if he was truly after the Rose Bride alone (although, given past history and how he flirts with Utena in this episode, that’s not a given), to him, it wouldn’t do if he couldn’t “save” Utena as well. Princes save princesses, and Utena is a princess. Not that everyone is okay with that. Wakaba is certainly the standout of the episode, desperately trying to convince her friend that what is happening certainly isn’t normal (“You not being normal is normal!”) as well as giving as much as she takes in the slap department. Meanwhile, Juri steps in at the last moment to lend Utena her sword, a moment seemingly inspired by Touga’s comments about a storybook ending, though whether she desires Utena to be the prince of that ending or simply acting against miracles as is her (stated) wont, is a bit unclear. Even Anthy seems noticeably uncomfortable, becoming even more passive than she had been with Saionji at the start of the series. This is also the first time we get a clear view inside Anthy’s head, both in an imagine spot where she imagines Utena drinking tea with her, but also during the duel, where she commentates wondering why Utena isn’t giving up, culminating in a shocking realization and the afterimage of Utena’s prince. One can make the connection that this is her recognition of Utena as her prince coming to rescue her. Even that, though, is a connection that will have consequences. The episode, and thus, the Student Council arc, ends much like the series began, with Anthy approaching Utena as they exit the dueling grounds and introducing herself as the Rose Bride. But Utena wasn’t fighting for the Rose Bride, she was fighting, to subtly drop the episode’s title, for friendship, and she tells Anthy as much when she interrupts her asking if they can just go home. Anthy smiles, and they do. There’s still a lot to explore, and twenty-seven episodes to do it in, but it’s a happy ending for now, at least. Touga, meanwhile, is going to go sit in a chair and sulk for, like, a dozen episodes. -r Next Time: A recap episode! Except… ←Previous Post -- Link to Episode -- Next Post→

which, this one?

Chris appreciated the familiarity of each staircase in the dungeon, though that didn’t mean he didn’t still try to stick the side of them in case of an errant creak in the steps. In that instance they were too familiar, he supposed, too much like a labyrinthine house that he’d been assigned to sneak through than a crack in the earth. To be fair, though, the stairs were the only reminder. No house he’d ever been in had stinging, numbing spores lying around, nor, as he looked onward to the next floor, did they have goblins or rats the size of horses. Well, Chris thought to himself, at least it was the last floor of the day. He did another quick survey of the area as he tried to quickly identify just how to approach it. “Those ones over there,” he said, gesturing towards the portal (which, unfortunately, looked to be off at the moment) “are probably magic users? Estellise, can you deal with those? I’d rather not get hit in the face with a fireball if I can help it.” Any other planning would take too long. They were outnumbered enough that time was definitely not on their side. He picked out a target and ran in, sword drawn and ready to strike. If he could get rid of the mount, that’d be a great first step. His blow landed right between the eyes of the giant rat, which keeled over, tossing the goblin right off. Before Chris could feel too pleased with himself, though, he became acutely aware that every other beast or being in the room was looking directly at him. “Surprise,” he said.

Bosses Hang The way Amir moved through the city was impressive to Emily. He couldn’t have known where he was going, and yet he seemed to know exactly that, cutting through the Temple Square and heading straight to the religious council building. It must be his patron, Emily thought to herself. Myria must have been lightly guiding his steps. Or maybe it was just luck. Whichever it was, Emily followed a few steps behind. She wasn’t as sure as Amir seemed to be about facing Levanna, but if that was where the Nuumu watchdog was, that was something she had to face. “Miss Briar and I have some troubling news we would like to talk to you about,” Amir said as they walked into the room. Emily frowned at that. Not because it was wrong, though the exact details were a little fuzzy, but because she wasn’t sure there was anything they could say that Levanna didn’t already know. And perhaps that was the point, that Amir did know, but Emily still felt a little uncomfortable at the thought of her being the reason Levanna found out. She did, after all, pull two watchdogs away from Levanna’s watchful eye. Levanna, for her part, didn’t immediately jump on Emily’s presence. “Of course,” she said, before turning to Neasa and adding, “He is supposed to be in the old temple to Medeis, if you do go looking, though as you saw, he tends to move around.” “Medeis’ temple…” Emily muttered under her breath. She felt like she was still in her dream, like another puzzle piece had just fallen into place. Unfortunately, her utterance was still loud enough to be heard by at least Levanna, who shot her a dirty look from across the room. If that wasn’t another reason to feel unwelcome… Her mind was made up. “It is probably best if we speak alone in any case,” Emily said. “I will wait outside, Lady Neasa. Forgive the intrusion.” Before she exited the room, then the building altogether, Emily heard Levanna say, “Well, alright. What ‘troubling news’ did you have to bring me, then?” Fam/Famine There was a long pause after Finn finished speaking. Each person was either reeling from what had just been said or was holding their breath, waiting for what happened next. John himself was mystified, though that quickly reverted back to anger and he was the first one to do something. “Twice a day, huh?” he snarled. “You sound like that guy who came over a couple months ago saying things like we couldn’t worship the house god in our own homes. I told my mates I should have shown him some proper sense, but he’s not here anymore, so I guess I’m gonna have to do the same to you.” But before things could escalate any further, someone else grabbed John’s arm. “John, he’s a kid,” they said. “Besides, we’ve got bigger things to worry about right now. Like what we’re gonna tell Wendell. I don't wanna also tell him you beat up a kid because of it, even if he is a brat.” Mentioning Wendell seemed to calm John down, or at least it got his fists to unclench, which was almost the same thing. “Whatever,” John said. And, to Finn, he added, “You better know what you’re doing. Get out of here before I change my mind.” Undoing A Luciferian Towers Aiden was quick to jump in and issue a correction. “I don’t think they’re trying to do anything,” he said. “It’s their inaction that is the problem. Simon started professing his new faith… I think it was a few weeks ago? The religious council was pretty quick to accede to his demand for a temple, and yet if you go outside and look, there are no foundations set or even space set aside. There is a bureaucracy to the whole process, I’m sure, but it has not been proven to be an effective one. Especially since, well…” For a moment, Aiden paused his rant, trying to think of the best way to say what he wanted. When he did start back up again, it wasn’t following up on anything at all, and yet it seemed to him like it was the only way to move the conversation forward. “I am passionate about this not only because I care about the people of Galatea, but because Simon has affected us at this temple personally. One of Lar’s dogs came here months ago and, as his representative, declared that maintaining the fire was not just the most important way one could give worship, it was the only way. For years, people had been worshipping from their homes out of convenience; they were sacred places too, they believed. It was a struggle to adapt to this new theology, but we managed. Just as we were getting used to our new normal, however, that was when Simon and his cult invaded the temple. “People are still afraid to come and worship,” Aiden said. “They don’t want to end up the victims of some stories I’ve heard. They think Simon’s mere existence in these temples is harmful and dangerous, and I am inclined to agree with them.” OOC

Lucine had gotten up and left, which left Elsie and Corbin all alone with Lauryn. Well, it also meant that Lucine had probably gone and stiffed Elsie with the bill, but that wasn’t that big a deal. She could just start a tab or bill Jekyll or, failing everything else, flee into the night on her broomstick, high above where anyone could conceivably catch her. Not that she’d done anything like that before, of course, just that she was pretty sure she could. Still, the brief idea of it distracted her long enough to almost miss Lauryn mumbling to herself. Elsie didn’t even hear the first part of what she said, but the “Already had some try before and they failed…” part was enough to snap Elsie right back to reality; she sat straight up as soon as she heard it. “Okay, that sounds like some pretty juicy gossip. Why weren’t we talking about this before?” she said. “Who were they and what’d they do?” Lauryn whipped around, shot Elsie a look. “...of course ya heard that,” she said. But she sighed too, and with an “Alright, fine,” she relented. “We'd asked mercenaries from a few guilds to come and sort out this problem. Unfortunately, even the best mercenaries couldn't handle them.” “Okay, but, like, were they just defending the town? Did they go on an expedition scouting out the surrounding area?” Elsie leaned in. “I dunno, if they had a campsite somewhere that’d be something to look at, I think. Something of interest. If we’re going to do it right this time we’d definitely want to avoid their mistakes at least.” “The former,” Lauryn said. “We have no idea where they run off to or where they come from. Don't have a lot of signs showing that.” “Ah, sure, sure,” Elsie said. She tossed another bit of food Corbin’s way. “Well, I guess I have to thank you for putting our trust in us, then. Providing room and board for a bunch of people you think are going to die is pretty charitable, huh? Unless, of course, you need money upfront, in which case, uh --” Elsie gave herself a quick pat-down, miming searching for money she knew wasn’t there “-- maybe we need to talk about collateral? “I mean, you could march right up that mountain to that tower we arrived in and demand money from one Eric Jekyll, I dunno how that would go, though,” Elsie said. “Or -- actually, this is my favorite option -- if you want a money charm, I could help with that. The first thing you’d need is some blood. Any blood’ll work, really, you just gotta -” The tavern door opening distracted her, stopping the recipe dead in its tracks. Elsie turned to see Lopt and Alexandre walk in, and she gave both of them a big, full-arm wave. “Hallo!” she said. “We were just talking about staying the night here. Food’s pretty good, you should try it! Also: Monsters, what’s their deal?”