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May he give you the desire of your heart and make all your plans succeed. May we shout for joy over your victory and lift up our banners in the name of our God. May the Lord grant all your requests. -Psalm 20:4-5 (NIV)”It is done!” Gabby said. And it was! People were coming in from all around. Most of the people who’d braved the outdoors were not people Melissa recognized, and the people she did were largely out of happenstance. Over here was a classmate. Over here was someone who lived on the same floor as her. Over here was - “Melissa!” Over here was Connor. “Hey, you’re okay!” he said. “Saw these messages, uh, that was you who started that, right? Do you know what’s going on?” Melissa shook her head no. No, she didn’t know what was going on. She’d never figured that part out. But that wasn’t the point behind the messages. The point was she was trying to keep people safe until someone did find out. She searched Connor’s face for any sort of indication that he understood, and, finding none, was about to verbalize it to him when her phone’s alarm went off. Thirty minutes was up, and she left Connor with a simple “I know what I’m doing, though,” before finding Jun and Gabby again. “Duel disks on,” she told them. “Ready?” Souji, too. His disk was already on, Melissa assumed, but she still waved him back to the safety of the Skull Servants. “Thank you. We need you here now,” she said. She’d kept mum on exact details of the plan so far, mostly out of fear that it wouldn’t work and not wanting to inspire any sort of false hope, but also because, well, telling a crowd of people her plan was the end result of the plan itself. This was the final step: convincing everyone that things were going to be okay. Under normal circumstances, it was a terrible plan. After all, its culmination lied in her -- of all people, Melissa Ashforth’s! -- ability to give a speech. But these weren’t normal circumstances, and as she walked back to the center of the area, instead of a yawning pit opening up in her gut, she actually felt confident. Or, if not confidence, at least a sort of serenity she’d hardly ever felt before. There wasn’t any stalling or double- and triple-checking of the circumstances. When Melissa reached the spot, she simply took a breath and began to speak. “Hello, everyone. My name is Melissa Ashforth. “I know things are scary right now, so I wanted to thank you all for putting your trust into some random text messages and avoiding all these duel space-generated monsters to get here. As you can see, we’ve cleared the area, and these Skull Servants and Vampire Familiars are going to keep it that way. You can thank Souji Kazuraba and Gabb- Gabriela Von Draculesti for that.” Melissa motioned in their direction when she said their names, and a few of the audience gave a halfhearted applause. “The final step in making this a safe place to be is to believe it so. That was why you might have noticed Jun going around checking in on everybody, making sure you were thinking ‘good thoughts.’ I know that sounds silly, but this is duel space. It’s will made manifest. That’s how Gabriela’s been controlling the perimeter, and I’ve seen other phenomena happen besides. “Duel disks help -- if you have yours, I encourage you to turn it on -- but really, I imagine manipulating duel space might be like finding out you’re in a dream and, because you’re in a dream, doing whatever you want. That doesn’t mean you can do anything in duel space, but if enough people think it, it might just happen.” Melissa brought her hand over to her duel disk and turned it on. Its hum provided an additional comfort, and already her duel field was spreading beyond where it’d gone back in her room. “I got this idea because I saw these things happening, and wondered if there was a way for me to do the same. But I don’t have especially exciting dreams. I don’t think I’m a superhero or anything like that. I can’t even say all my dreams are good. “But my best dreams, the ones I’m asking for your help in realizing now, are the ones where everything turns out alright.”

Behind Closed Doors “You are not to interrupt me when I’m with company. You know this. Especially with dogs involved.” “You need to deal with Weatherson and his goons.” “We’re dealing with them as best we can. Did you really barge in to tell me how to do my job?” “No, I came here to tell you to do your job. It’s a subtle difference, but I thought you’d appreciate it. They’re hurting people, Lev.” “We’re handling it! Medeis’ temple wasn’t seeing much use, anyway, and until we get them something Simon will actually accept-” “They moved. Again. If you were any good at your -” “Where?” “Taros. And they’re spilling out from there too. At Simon’s behest, of course.” “Taros! They haven’t -” “Do something about him, Lev. Let me go back to my actual job and relieve me of being your stupid messenger, please.” Office Space The voices on the other side of the door stopped talking after that. What little noise remained was the sound of someone pacing back and forth in front of the door, which too stopped eventually, and nothing could be heard at all for a while until Levanna finally walked back through, carrying a tray with teas and biscuits for all. “I do apologize,” Levanna said. “In fact, I’m afraid I owe you a three-fold apology. The first is for the interruption. Aiden is a marvelous priest, and he really cares about those who worship with him, but he can get ahead of himself sometimes. The second, though I may have apologized for this already, is being late with the tea. I don’t have anything exotic to offer, either, just some herbs found here on Galatea, but maybe that’s exactly what you were looking for all along. “The last apology I have to make is concerning the faulty scheduling.” She nodded at Kitt. “I’m afraid the temple to Taros is currently occupied with another matter, and the offering ceremony must be postponed. It truly is a tragedy, and on such short notice too! What else can I do but apologize?” Levanna set the tray down and passed out the teacups to her guests before sitting down at her desk. “Well, it wouldn’t be much, but I suppose I could try to answer any questions you might have about our humble island? If this is your first time here you must have many, I assume? Or perhaps you would like to visit the temples yourselves? I’m sure I could arrange for an escort if you so desire.” OOC

←Previous Post -- Next Post→ Duel 05 -- The Sunlit Garden - Finale Or: This Isn’t Even My Finale Form (That Pun Was Terrible And I Apologize) I watch a lot of movies, but I’m also acutely aware of the image an amateur “film buff” tends to present. I don’t even like to refer to myself using that term because of these perceived connotations. And yet, because people know me as someone who watches movies, they will frequently bring the subject up in conversation. This is something I talked about in my AMA too. I try to get out of the snobbier aspects of the “film buff” image mostly by trying to engage with other people about a movie in question. For example, I didn’t like last year’s 1917 all that much, but I was still interested in what a friend who had just seen it thought about it. I don’t want people to be giving my opinions any more weight than theirs. But isn’t that the point of something like this? By running this blog, by putting up a thousand words or so a week attached to each episode, aren’t I placing some sort of additional weight on how I view this show? The obvious counterargument is no, it’s the readers who give someone a platform that makes their opinions matter. And that’s certainly a sentiment one can have, but it kind of falls apart when thinking about things made “for the art of it”. Far be it from me to say this blog is art, but I don’t imagine myself stopping because of low readership. I think it’s fun, really, to go in-depth like this, with little sidebars at the top talking about whatever vaguely Utena-related topic I want. If I stop or slow down, it’ll be because I lose that personal drive, not because the little numbers didn’t go up. That isn’t to deny “numbers not going up” as a reason for anyone to stop doing something, especially in this economy, just for this specific project. Perhaps it’s just the nature of the medium. I try to inspire discussion about various symbols, I bring up choice quotes like “All interpretations of Utena are true,” but this is still my blog, and these are still my words. There isn’t really room for an exchange of opinion like there would be in a conversation, and if it were a conversation, I’d already be dominating it by dumping paragraphs upon paragraphs before a reader might have a chance to even look at the episode. Better might be a book club format (I guess it’s an anime club format in this case), where everyone watches the episode ahead of time and comes in ready to discuss. But even in that case, I imagine there’s a special significance ascribed to the host. When the host asks, say, “What do you think is the significance of Miki's stopwatch?” that implies they already have a meaning ascribed to it and are guiding the discussion in that direction, ready to talk about it. I don’t really have a solution, to be honest. The best I can offer is this little essay demonstrating my awareness of it and continually asking for other people’s opinions as we continue through Revolutionary Girl Utena. Anyway, I promised to talk about Miki and his stopwatch, so let’s talk about that. There are two explanations I can give for the recurring shot of Miki’s stopwatch. The first is its use as a storytelling beat. It’s a cheap (budget-wise) way to emphasize certain phrases, telling the audience, “Pay attention here! This is important.” However, while this interpretation is useful in terms of analyzing other lines, it’s also outside the narrative. It doesn’t explain why Miki specifically, or why a stopwatch, or anything in that regard. In-universe, I like the explanation that Miki has sensed that something is wrong with Ohtori Academy, and is measuring various statements and actions in an attempt to get a handle on exactly what. The stopwatch also lets him keep track of the time in general, grounding him in a way that keeps him from getting too lost in Ohtori’s world. Maybe that’s why he’s one of the more likeable members of the Student Council. At the same time, he’s still wrong in how he sees his and Anthy’s potential relationship. Why does he fight for Anthy’s hand? But to talk about that, we have to talk about his relationship with his sister, Kozue. We only see Kozue for a couple scenes in this episode, but the contrast of the relationship between the flashbacks and the present is clear. It’s a simple line, “Are you going to try to get me to play again?” she says, and this marks the turning point. The relationship was changed ever since she was forced on stage alone and Miki seeks to reclaim that. That is the “shining thing” that he’s searching for. Between Anthy and Kozue, one can make the read, then, that Miki is looking for any sort of connection at all. But it’s an odd sort of connection he wants, because Kozue wasn’t the one to push Miki away after the failed recital, it was Miki, and it was because of the piano. Miki places an awful lot of stock in that specific moment of happiness, of playing piano with someone in the garden, instead of searching for other connections. And that is his tragedy. Miki has devalued every other trait a person might have in favor of their skill with the piano, and he only realizes this worldview might be flawed when he duels. When he duels, he believes he is fighting for Anthy and her ability to play the piano whenever she wants, but Anthy is more than that, and Utena lets her be more than that. In a rare display of emotion from Anthy, she expresses this when she cheers on Utena in a duel, breaking Miki’s illusion. The issues in Miki and Kozue’s relationship run deeper than this, something the shadow play girls get at with their “what exactly are you looking for?” skit, but this is all the episode is willing to cover. Thanks again for reading, and I’ll see you next week. -r Next time: A kangaroo is let loose on campus oh no! ←Previous Post -- Link to Episode -- Next Post→

Peter had been in the city before, but he’d never actually gone to the city, if that made sense. Like, he’d always been taken, escorted by a parent or some other trusted guardian. Which had been fine by him, really. He was fourteen, after all, and he’d only been younger on previous visits. Now, without adult supervision (Makoto and Hana certainly didn’t count as adults), Peter finally got to appreciate how huge everything was. Buildings were taller… streets were wider… everything! There was also that added load of responsibility Peter found weighing on his shoulders. Not just as a representative of his parents and of Horizon Academy (a lecture he had heard all too often) but also his responsibility to the team to both get what they needed and not spend all the money Coach Clara had given. “I’ll take your deck,” Coach Clara had told Ms. Breiner. Even from the little time Peter had spent with her, he knew such a threat was serious. Hana didn’t seem to think it was that big a deal, but he supposed that was why Makoto and he were coming too. Charlie in particular had seemed very insistent that Hana have some buddies with her. In fact, after following Hana around the city for a while, she turned around and said, “So I have no idea where we are,” so clearly it was warranted. Peter didn’t have any idea where they were either, but he hadn’t been the one in the lead. Hana kept talking, something about just needing a place to spend Coach Clara’s money, but Peter kept looking around. Some of it was to get an actual sense of location -- any sort of landmark, whatever -- but also a huge sign caught his eye. PEGASUS MARKET “Isn’t that- isn’t that a grocery?” Peter said, pointing across the street at the sign. He didn’t know how Hana had missed it but he wasn’t exactly sure what else to say. “Can’t we just go there and then worry about getting back after that? Coach Clara didn’t ask us to get anything that would spoil, did she?”

Things had been looking up for the most part. Sure, people on the team were really hurt, but most of the kobolds had been cleared out, and the ones that hadn’t seemed to be too scared to do anything. But everything changed when the fireball appeared. It whizzed past Chris and Sergei, right towards Lana and Estellise, who were still by the pit. Chris barely had time to yell a “Look out!” and even that was too late. Worse still, the kobolds from the first tunnel had managed to work up the nerve to attack. So they were flanked again, with some vague fire-spitting magic on one side and three more kobolds on the other. But between those two options, forward was still the only good way to go. Maybe it was only one thing. Maybe it was just another- It was another kobold. Of course it was. But this one had a necklace and a headdress and a staff with a skull on it, so clearly it was important. Important enough that, when Chris approached, it babbled some nonsense and suddenly even more flames spewed out from the staff, right at Chris. Instinct took over, and Chris found himself lying face-down in the dirt and with a back significantly warmer than he’d prefer it. And now the kobold was laughing, too, safely, what, ten feet away? Probably more. He found himself torn between two needs, the need to keep moving -- at least to keep from being an easy target -- and the need to stop and think. Because he wasn’t going to be able to close that distance without dealing with at least one more blast of fire, but he also needed to get at that kobold. Moving started to hurt, too. All the fighting was starting to catch up to him, and what he really wanted, more than anything else, was a nice bath and an even nicer meal. But he still staggered to his feet and took out a dagger. “Alright,” he said. “Alright. I’m ready.”

Levanna Five dogs! One from the Breadbasket, wretched old ship that it was, and a full four from the Swallow Tail. Levanna couldn’t help but wonder what would have happened if both ships had arrived at once like they were meant to. It wasn’t a wonder she could express out loud, of course, especially within earshot of those so dutifully following her. It wasn’t just the watchdogs she had to worry about in that regard, either, while many of the gawkers from the dock had dispersed, a few had decided they’d nothing better to do than keep following her around. She managed well enough, of course. Watchdogs weren’t the only ones who could solve problems, and they weren’t the ones with intimate knowledge of Galatea like she had. All this was just another problem that needed solving, and Levanna thought she was doing a pretty good job of it. The walk up to her office quickly turned into a tour, as Levanna pointed out the various sights and sounds that she could think to mention. The street full of taverns, the town hall, the amphitheatre, anything they came across had a story, and even without looking, Levanna felt like she had her audience in rapt attention. When she did look back, it only confirmed her suspicions. They were following along just fine, especially the Taros dog, who had been very polite earlier. It took her a second look to realize just what exactly the problem was. “Oh dear, two of you wandered off and didn’t tell me?” Levanna said. “We can’t have that, no, surely not. Imagine if you got lost marveling at Galatea’s wonders and weren’t able to perform your duties. There’s a reason I am accompanying you, after all.” She clapped her hands twice, and a keeper of the peace rushed over to attend to her. One might have said they suddenly appeared at her behest with how fast they came over. It was a common rumor, or so Levanna was told, and one she was happy to keep unquashed. “I’m afraid I’ve misplaced a few dogs that were under my care,” Levanna told the guard. “Could you be a dear and find them for me while I help the ones I still have? One’s a girl with red hair, and the other, I believe, has a mark identifying him as Myria’s. They shouldn’t be too hard to find? Just bring them to me when you can.” The guard gave a curt nod and Levanna dismissed them to perform their duty. “We’re almost there now,” Levanna said to the remaining watchdogs in her care. “Now, let us continue…” Emily Emily kept her head on a swivel, looking all around for anyone who might have noticed what she’d done at the docks. There had been none, as far as she could see, though that was before the crowd had cleared out, gone off either to follow Levanna around or back to whatever they had been doing before. Once they had, Emily noticed the white-haired watchdog had decided to follow along at a distance, which Emily was willing to permit. In fact, “It would probably be faster if he were travelling with us instead of merely following us,” Emily said aloud. She led -- still by the wrist -- the Nuumu watchdog back around, approached him, and said something similar. “We need to hurry. If you are following me, you need to do it close.” They were only a few turns away anyhow until the three of them reached a small square full of shops. One could tell, earlier in the morning the temples might have cast a shadow over the whole market, but now, in the noonday sun, there were hardly any shadows at all. Despite the time, though, several of the stores seemed to be closed, or, at least, void of any sort of activity. It was something Emily tried not to think about, as she led the two dogs to a small bakery in the corner of the square. Above the door hung a sign. “Briar and Thistle Bakery” it read, with a small carving of a rosebush, replete with thorns, underneath the text. Once they were inside, Emily finally started to explain herself. “My name is Emily Briar,” she said. “My family runs this bakery, or we had run it until my father fell ill and was left no longer able to continue the work. Now my mother is ill as well, and the doctor and the apothecary have been of no use. “My mother is suffering, and I will not stand for it,” Emily said. “I need you to either kill my mother or, failing that, find a way for her soul to be at peace.” Levanna The offices of Galatea’s religious council were housed in a large building. It wasn’t as large as the temples in the square, such a thing would be sacrilegious, of course, but it was large enough to still make an impression, or at least Levanna hoped it did. “Fortunately, my office is on the ground floor,” Levanna said. She laughed. “These old bones couldn’t take the stairs if they placed it any higher.” She continued speaking as she brought the two dogs inside. “Now, this will be very exciting, I’m sure. Another watchdog actually arrived earlier today, and he should be waiting in my office. Five watchdogs, all at once! I think I speak for everyone on Galatea, we feel very privileged to have you all. Now, let’s go meet him.” Thankfully, this watchdog had the good sense to not run off when left alone. “Here he is,” Levanna said. “A little on the young side, I’m sure, but you all are on the young side when you get to be my age. I can get you some tea while you introduce yourselves, maybe some biscuits too. Do you have a preference?” The conversation would have continued from there had someone not knocked on the door. Before Levanna could even answer, they walked right in. It was Aiden, because of course in addition to the missing watchdogs, she had to deal with Aiden Bell. “How kind of you to join us, Aiden, what-” Aiden interrupted her. “Spare me,” Aiden said. “We need to talk. It can either be in front of these dogs or not but we do have to talk. Simon is-” Levanna felt herself make an involuntary noise -- some sort of combination between a “Sh!” and a “Zzt!” -- but managed to quickly recover. She turned and smiled at the watchdogs. “Well, the tea and biscuits might be a bit late,” she said. “But do feel free to introduce yourselves still! I’ll be right outside if you need anything else.” She left the room with Aiden and slammed the door behind her. OOC