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Aiden Aiden was a little surprised to be approached -- in recent days, he had been the one doing the approaching -- but the surprise faded when he realized who and why. “Ah yes, of course,” he said. “Unfortunately I’ve become a bit of an expert on the subject of these most recent events. Even still, I would request that we do it in the safety of Lar’s temple. Some of my opinions are not very popular if you understand my meaning. You’ve already seen how Levanna reacts to my approaches, right? Anyway, please, follow me.” He turned on his heels and continued on his way. Inwardly, he felt like gagging, having to present the image of formality, and yet he knew the politeness was necessary, especially after having been presented as much from his soon-to-be guest. It was what Lar would have wanted, anyway. He could speak plainly once they were out of the square proper. The interior of the temple to Lar was much like its exterior in that the material involved in its construction tinted everything inside in a rusty brown hue. In addition to shaped windows allowing for sunlight to shine in, there was an additional source of light in the form of a central fire. Again, Aiden reflected on its size. The area set aside for the fire was large; it was meant to be similar to the altar of any other temple. Lar was the god of the hearth, after all! This was supposed to be that hearth! And yet, the fire dwindled. It still crackled with life on occasion, but it was all the few acolytes attending to it could do to keep it at that level. “Anyone else?” Aiden asked the room. “No, Brother Bell,” was the response. Aiden frowned at that but tried not to let it show too much as he guided his charge back, past the fire, into a hallway beyond where his quarters lay. His were the backmost, and Aiden pulled open the door before gesturing his permission for the Taros dog to enter. “I can’t offer you any tea or biscuits,” he said. “But this is the best place I can think of to talk about what you’re asking me. You can- you can sit on the chair at the desk there, I’ll sit on my cot. Or perhaps you would prefer the reverse?” Emily “You are free to come with me if you wish,” the watchdog said. Which, intuitively, at least, was fine as an offer, but Emily still hesitated. Certain imagery in her dream still troubled her; why had nothing been said about the bonfire scene? Was it that inscrutable, that even Myria’s watchdog couldn’t parse it? And yet, she couldn’t find any words to enunciate her concern, and every time she opened her mouth to try anyway, nothing came out. These instincts, then, very nearly compelled her to say no. There were many things she was pretty sure she would have to decide on her own. But at the same time, instead of dragging watchdogs around and demanding they pay attention to her needs, now a watchdog -- a representative of the gods themselves -- was beckoning her to accompany them. Was that not worth considering as well? And with all that was going on, was there ever going to be time to mourn? She did come to a decision eventually, though. In reality, her pause was probably only a few seconds, before she said, “Very well. I do have business with the Nuumu watchdog as well; I’d like to check on her preparations for my mother’s rites. My father’s as well, so I will follow you to her at the very least.” Levanna “I’m glad we understand each other,” Levanna said as Nuumu’s watchdog reached out for another biscuit. And she meant it. She practically sighed with relief when she heard that Nuumu was willing to stand against such phrases as the ones they’d discussed. That was to say, she’d assumed it, but it was still nice to hear straight from the dog’s mouth. And what a refreshing conversation compared to all the other watchdogs on the island! And now that such connections were being made, they could maybe move on to - “Is this related to that crowd making a scene at the Taros temple earlier?” The question didn’t catch Levanna entirely off-guard (after all, the two had met right outside Taros’ temple as Simon was dispersing), but it was a topic she’d been hoping to avoid. That was the whole point of her approach, after all, or it was a point, at least. Still, she was about to provide her best attempt at an answer when, for the second time today, someone came barging in. Another face she recognized, another watchdog, and not one she was happy to see. “I would have knocked, but I heard some information that pertains to my interests,” he said. And then came even more questions. Four of them, in total, and not one of them asked in anything less than what Levanna felt could be the most accusatory tone. The last one stung the most; Levanna reacted to that one almost reflexively. “Nothing is stopping us,” she said. “I was not trying to deceive you when I said we were working on it. You have been here all of an afternoon and you were expecting the problem solved in the meantime?” She took a breath to calm down. The tea helped as well, not just giving her another excuse to pause, but also, well, because it was tea. When she brought her cup back down, she continued. “Alright, take a seat, young watchdog, and I will explain. And to you as well,” she said, gesturing to Nuumu’s dog as she did so. “We are dealing with a new religion,” Levanna said. “They are aggressive in their recruitment and they have not simply dispersed as the whims of the populace change. We -- that is, the religious council -- have decided to build them a temple to Simon’s specifications, with an agreement from Simon that the particularly aggressive nature of some of his tactics will cease. Construction is not yet underway, but it will be soon. “Why they are worshipping ‘oblivion,’ I could not tell you,” Levanna said. “That is something you will have to ask the man himself.” “Cornulearntocopewithdehydrationia” It wasn’t long before people noticed that the spring had dried up. After all, even if people didn’t take Finn seriously right away, it was an easily checkable statement. The line behind Finn began to murmur, one after the other, a rumble that only got louder until someone with a deep, booming voice, called after him, “Hey, kid! What’d you mean by that?” He was huge, at least a head taller than Finn and probably more, and he still had an empty barrel it appeared he’d been intending to fill up slung over his broad shoulders. As he approached, the size disparity only seemed to get larger and larger until he towered over the five-foot-five watchdog. “John, don’t,” somebody else said. “No, he can speak for himself,” John replied. “What’d you do to our water, kid? You don’t just get to say, ‘Well’s dry,’ what’s your game?” Summon the Fire The choice of seating didn’t really matter. Aiden kept talking. “Actually, before we get into your questions, do you mind if I complain for a moment? This is not complaining about you, but as an outsider and an authority, I feel this is my best opportunity for this sort of petition to work.” Again, Aiden didn’t wait for an answer. “You mentioned Simon Weatherson to me, and given he was in your temple, I have to imagine you spoke to him. Which means you must know how dangerous he is. He’s a blasphemer, at the very least, preaching in places that he doesn’t belong. “But even if -- and despite what those on the religious council will tell you it’s not a when, but an if -- even if he gets a place where his teachings aren’t heresy, I don’t think the blight he has brought with him will cease. That’s what Levanna and the others are banking on, and despite what that would mean for this temple, for Lar especially, I cannot believe it. And in the meantime…” Aiden looked at the Taros dog. “I’m sorry,” he said. “Please, be seated. You have questions, and I will answer them.” OOC

Hana and Leila were clearly made for each other, Peter thought. It was either that or try to comprehend how Hana could be so happy about leaving her wallet behind at school even as she stacked her cart full of foodstuffs. He signed. He was going to have to cover some of the costs for this, wasn’t he? Thankfully, the conversation went elsewhere before he thought about that too hard. Leila was from Ocean’s Coast? It was a school Peter had heard of in passing, mostly whenever he overheard his parents talking about his future. And she was in their duel club? Peter wondered how good the team really was if his parents had decided to send him to Horizon instead. Not that he had the means nor the will to test that right now. But wait, wasn’t Ocean’s Coast… “Where am I?” Oh no. Peter’s phone was immediately in his hands, as he flipped through apps and options (making sure to turn his phone’s location on) until he found what he needed. “To…” Peter mumbled to himself. “From… my location…” In the background, Hana was telling him how bad stealing was, which, sure, that was true, but he was more interested in watching the little bar at the bottom of the screen get all the way to the right. Once it did, he held his phone up, presenting the map and the route on the screen to Leila -- perhaps being a little too upfront about it, not that he cared -- and said, “Did you walk all the way here from Ocean’s Coast?”

←Previous Post -- Next Post→ Duel 10 -- Nanami’s Precious Thing Or: B.B.B.F.F. (Big Brother Best Friend Forever) The Subs vs. Dubs argument is not something I want to get into as a general rule; I generally prefer subtitles (and have been using links to subtitled episodes throughout this blog) but I can understand reasons one might rather dubs and that’s really all I’ll say on the matter. However, seeing as the lead-in section of this blog has been looking at various aspects of Utena’s production and impact, it’s probably a good idea to at least talk a little bit about the English dub. The trivia that gets thrown around the most is that the woman who voices Utena, Rachel Lilis (perhaps best known for her role as Misty in Pokémon) has never met the English Anthy, Sharon Becker. I think that’s indicative of a lot of the problems people might have with it; there’s certainly a stiltedness to it all, especially in the earlier episodes. But at the same time, there is some inspiration in there. Rachel Lilis is very good, and Crispin Freeman as Touga is different from the original, and yet still carries the same presence. Besides, given Utena’s nature, the stiltedness is intentional (though that’s a rabbit hole that I don’t particularly recommend following). It did grow on me as I went through scenes in preparation for this post. Some of that may be due to Ikuhara’s involvement -- he helped with later episodes of the dub as well as the dub of the movie -- but also may be related to the voices getting used to their roles. Listening to the English dub also provided a look into some of the sound effects that were changed in the remastering process, especially the bells of the arena (comparison video here), though the subject of the remaster is something I’m going to save for another episode. If you are curious, here’s a link to a Nozomi Entertainment’s playlist for the English dub. I’ll still be sticking with the subtitles, but it should be easy enough to follow along. This episode is a lot of things, really. First, it is a shift in tone from the more episodic format earlier in the Student Council arc to this serial format where Touga begins to enact his plan. We saw glimpses of this in the previous episode, how Touga used Saionji’s lust for power and desire for normalcy to not only get rid of a potential romantic rival, but also plant the initial idea in Utena’s head that he may just be her prince. Episode Ten has the consequences of that; Utena starts challenging what it means to be a prince, but not in the way she had hoped. “Maybe a girl can’t be a prince,” she says. This will continue until the end of the arc. Second, if you couldn’t tell by the title, this is a Nanami episode, though its antics are certainly less subdued than before. Aiko, Yuuko, and Keiko (Nanami’s mooks, and yes, I’m only just now mentioning their names) only get a few frames of screentime, watching on as Nanami berates Utena and Anthy for intruding on Touga’s birthday instead of doing anything outwardly malicious themselves, for example. Everything else is still there, though, such as the little subtheme of Anthy messing with Nanami, this time by replicating a gift Nanami had given when she was a child, a small kitten to play with. The moral of this episode is going to take a while to learn, though, because Nanami’s love for her brother and his (perceived) reciprocation is one of the most ingrained aspects of Nanami’s character. Not only does she go after any girl he might take an interest in, we also find out that she killed Touga’s kitten -- her own gift! -- because she believed he was spending too much time with it. I said “perceived” reciprocation in that last paragraph because, like with Touga and Saionji, it’s not entirely clear what Touga puts into this relationship besides acceptance that it’s going to happen. The most obvious moment is when she asks that he kiss her and he effectively says “we aren’t children anymore,” and when he does embrace her, he makes certain that Utena is watching. The last thing this episode is is a duel episode. Putting aside the pranks and humiliation, Nanami steps forward to challenge Utena. The implication, both in how Touga gives her a ring and how he appears at the dueling arena, is that Nanami is fighting for Touga’s love, not Anthy’s hand. One might even argue that that is the reason she loses, though it would also be the reason she refuses to yield once the duel is over, only stopping when Touga steps in himself. -r Next time: Utena faces her toughest opponent yet: the man she believes to be her prince. ←Previous Post -- Link to Episode -- Next Post→

“Keep going!” Sergei said. Which, like, it was good that they were on the same page -- that was what he was going to do anyway -- but now it felt to Chris like they were leaving him behind. He still did as he was told, though, drawing the three mushrooms still following them away from the group along with his two teammates. If anything else, he aimed to make Sergei’s position a bit more tenable. Hopefully. But the mushrooms were catching up again. His and Lana and Estellise’s racing along the perimeter had allowed another, more direct path for the monsters, one that would cut them off just before they reached the stairs. Well, that was just the new plan then, wasn’t it? If they could fend off their three mushrooms long enough for Sergei to break from the ones around him, they could disengage again and finish their mad dash, right? It wasn’t like the mushrooms were better in a sprint. With the matter settled (in his head, at least), Chris pushed on, practically daring the monsters to pursue. And when, once again, engagement was unavoidable, he spun on a dime and let his momentum guide his sword, this time aiming for the mushroom’s arms, or whatever you could call the bit carrying the weapons.

only ever played super paper mario but love it a lot and all the character designs are fun in all of the games so there probably isnt anything that is a total miss, shoot.

I'm probably the opposite of a burger purist? Tomatoes, lettuce, onions, cheese, whatever condiment, it all goes on. I understand the people that find that way of thinking unnatural and blots out the taste of the patty itself, but I really don't care. I don't get a burger because I want to taste something, I want a burger so I can mash a giant sandwich in my mouth. I never had any "weird" things, but I have heard of a Luther burger, and if you have not, well, it's real simple. Imagine a normal burger. Now replace the bun with doughnuts. That's it, really. If I ever do try one, I'll let you know.

Biscuits The journey back to Levanna’s office was pretty quick, all things considered. Levanna didn’t feel the need to give a tour, after all, and largely kept her head down as she guided the Nuumu watchdog through the streets. Multiple people called out to her, but she paid them no mind. The only person who managed to break her will and grab her attention was Aiden, who’d followed alongside her for quite a distance. When she tried to dismiss him with an “I’ll hear your concerns later,” that was when he finally spoke up. “Three people. That’s how many showed up to worship today,” Aiden said. “The fire’s waning too.” “Your concerns are noted. I’ll be sure to bring them up at tomorrow’s council meeting,” Levanna said. “I have other matters to attend to right now.” Aiden tried to get in front of her then, but Levanna just kept on walking. She almost felt like she was walking right through him with how effortless it was, actually. It was like he was a one-person crowd. After checking that her charge had not gotten lost again in the meantime, she pressed onwards. “You’ll have to forgive the mess,” Levanna said as they two entered her office, motioning to the tea set on her desk. “We left in a bit of a hurry last time. Everyone wanted to hurry off to see their temples and who was I to not oblige? The biscuits should still be good, and if you give me a few moments, I can offer some fresher tea. Make yourself at home in the meantime. I’ll be right back.” Hashing It Out There was something comforting, Emily thought, in hearing someone else -- especially someone of religious authority -- comfort her and say she was not destined to meet the same dreadful fate as her parents. “From your lips to the gods’ ears,” Emily found herself saying, though she felt less reassured when he said it must have been the result of a curse. How could she have the same curse as her parents and not be destined to fall to it? But she thought back to her dream, and realized, maybe there was something there she had to do still. Then, of course, came the questions. Had she had any other strange experiences? Was there something weird going on on Galatea? “You mean besides watching my mother and father turn to stone?” Emily said. “They are not the only ones, you know. News tends to travel of who’s passed on and of what, especially when you’re trying to figure out why business is down. These are just whispers, but I believe them. “As for new people?” Emily rubbed the back of her neck, trying to think. “I could not tell you. Galatea is a popular island, but it is not like new arrivals go unnoticed. I suppose Simon Weatherson’s current stint is significantly different from what he used to do, do you mean something like that?” Washing It Down The exterior of Galatea’s main city wasn’t defined by a wall or anything of the sort. It was more of a gradual progression; the density of the buildings slowly decreased, replaced by trees and natural scenery until Finn arrived, at the outskirts of the outskirts, at a cave. Signs along the way had announced the cave as “Cornucopia Rock,” and a similar sign appeared at the mouth of the cave, a larger one with a drawing of the titular symbol right next to the name. If one squinted, they could probably see it, though the rock face was closer to an abstract impression of a goat’s horn than any actual resemblance. Outside the cave was a line of people. It wasn’t too long, but it certainly was noticeable. Most in the queue had a bucket with them, though some had larger containers than even that. None of them paid Finn any mind as he approached. The Tea Levanna reopened the door to her office carrying a newly refreshed tea set, including some extra biscuits just in case, which she set down on her desk going back and closing the door behind her. “All comfortable? Good,” she said. “I didn’t know which kind of tea you prefer, but I hope this will suffice.” Her mood shifted dramatically when she sat down, however, and the room darkened as though it was sympathetic to her whims. “Now,” Levanna said. “I suppose I could ask you again where you heard that word, but I’m sure I’ll get the same answer as before so I will not bother. I could ask you to never repeat what I am about to tell you, but I am sure it will end up on the lips of every other watchdog on the island, in addition to whoever you heard it from. And their associates. And so on, and so on. That’s the danger with words like these. They catch on quickly. And yet… “‘Inanis.’” Levanna allowed herself a sip of her tea to punctuate the word. “To translate it now, I suppose the closest approximation I can give it is ‘void’. But you must understand, it means so much more than that. It is the idea of nothingness. Oblivion, even. You’re a watchdog for Nuumu, yes? So you should know the difference between dying and being consigned to such a fate. “But it is dangerous to know. That’s why I ask you not to repeat these things carelessly. To know it is to be vulnerable to it.” Levanna leaned forward and gestured to the platter. “You should have some more of these biscuits. I certainly won’t be able to have all these once you leave.” OOC