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“Nemain… Bab-duh… Mat-cha…” Elsie repeated each of the suggested names in turn. “Cat” certainly seemed simpler than all of those, even if it always felt like it needed an article in front of it. The phrase “The Cat” rolled around in her head for a hot moment, though that seemed more like a title than a name. “Yeah, sure, Cat works!” Elsie finally said. “Nice to put at least some sort of name to a face.” But then Cat uttered the magic words: “I hope you brought a cauldron. It’s only right that we curse somebody to mark the occasion.” That got Elsie really excited because she had. “Yes, let’s!” she said. She nearly jumped out of her chair, too. “I mean, it’s not on my person, obviously, but it’s in my room. I can just go grab it. Even better, ‘cause we’ll be staying up tonight anyway, so that’ll give us something to do while waiting for whatever the problem is to show up. So yeah, just give me, like, two shakes of a newt tail and wait for me at the bottom of the hill? How’s that sound?” It didn’t really matter what Cat thought of the plan; Elsie was too excited to hear it. She snatched her broom up and marched over to the bar where Corbin was still idly chatting with Wada. “Hey,” she said, completely interrupting the conversation. “Ready to hex some fools?” “What?” Corbin said. “Yeah, so Cat over there and I decided we could do some ritual magic tonight during our stakeout so that means I gotta grab some supplies.” She stuck out her broom handle, offering it to her familiar. “And I want you to come with, that’s all.” “Do I have to?” Corbin said. “I was kind of in the middle of something.” “I would like you to.” Corbin looked up at the ceiling and made a little “pah” noise, before looking back over to Wada. “You will have to forgive her, she’s always like this,” he said, before hopping on the broomstick. “We can resume our conversation some other time if you would like. I’d love to hear more about your travels.” And they were off! With only a “Look out for the cauldron rumbling down the hill!” as a final reminder tossed Cat’s way, Elsie exited The Naughty Crow and took to the skies.

The girl definitely noticed that Chris was following her, but she also didn’t seem to care? Which was weird because he totally would have cared if he was the one being followed. At the same time, though, she also managed to keep a stable distance between them, so it almost felt like he was being led rather than him giving chase. That was fine by Chris, of course. Sure, odds were good that he was walking right into a trap, but what was he supposed to do, not walk into it? That meant giving up, and he was committed now. It also meant he didn’t have to disguise his intentions, so he kept his gaze, well, not locked on her, but always in her general direction lest she disappear. Eventually, the game ended. She dashed ahead and ducked into an alleyway, and just as she did so, three familiar hoods came into view. They too seemed interested in that particular alcove, or at least they were interested in stopping Chris when he tried to go in. “What are you doing here?” one said. “This is official Kalo family business.” Obviously, Chris wasn’t surprised that they acted as they did, but he did at least try to put on a good confused sort of face. “Who?” he said. “Honestly, that sounds like a made-up name. That’d be like me going around like ‘This is Ellwood family business, gimme your peaches’ or something. ‘I’m of the Chaderson clan, you must do as I say.’ Come on. I’ll let you pass because I’m nice, but you shouldn’t be acting on false authority like that.” He stepped into the alley and made an exaggeratedly gracious gesture of allowing them to pass, having gotten out of the way of the main road. The one in front sneered and said, “You absolute buffoon. This alley is where we are heading. I’ll let you off with a warning since you are clearly from elsewhere but if you want to survive long in this city you better learn the names of the mage families here.” “Oh, now you’re insulting me?” Chris said. “Even if the Kalo family exists, even if you really are part of them, and I’m still not convinced of either of those things, wouldn’t you think this is a rather poor showing on your part? If it were me, I would be putting on a pretty face to all passers-by, leaving us commoners content with our bread and circuses. If that facade is removed, though, as you are threatening to do, what is left but the gory violence of a small minority of haves oppressing the have-nots?” The man laughed. “With what we have in store, it won’t matter-” he started to say, but another man placed a hand on his shoulder and cut him off, while the third then proceeded to take the lead. As he got close, Chris spotted something of a faraway look in the man’s eyes, but he started speaking before Chris could comment on it. “We will be going down this alley,” he said. “You don’t want to be here if what we are looking for is indeed there.” “I feel like if it’s not there you’ll still be mad at me,” Chris said. “You’d say I let whatever you’re after get away. I can imagine scenarios where that wouldn’t even be true. What if you just got the wrong alleyway, for example? All these alleyways look the same to me -- I could easily mix them up if I wasn’t paying attention -- but, like your friend said, I’m obviously new, so maybe there’s some distinguishing marker that I just can’t see? Or what if…” He didn’t actually have any other examples, so the sentence just sort of drifted off. Still, he regrouped with one final retort. “Listen, I’m just saying, if you’re going to beat me up no matter what, you should at least be upfront about it.” “He’s stalling,” the first man said, clearly just done with the conversation. He stepped back up to the front and moved to shove Chris out of the way. “Ah, yeah, see, just like that,” Chris said. He stepped forward, and with his right hand, he guided the shove away from his person. With his left hand, he punched the guy in the face. That third of the trio stumbled and fell back, clutching his face. Meanwhile, the other two were already in motion, the one with a faraway look seemingly ignoring the melee and pushing forward, while the other began chanting something, with words unintelligible to Chris’ ears. The former, Chris let go for the moment. If there was magic going on, he needed to deal with that first. With as much speed as he could muster he ran up and kneed the caster in the gut. Without even a grunt the caster doubled over as Chris hit him. His mouth opened and there seemed he had bitten his tongue, and blood came spilling out. He crumpled down to his knees and blood that had dripped onto the floor began to blacken and sizzle. It was something Chris made a note of asking Estellise about later, but he had to focus. The final man had continued down the alley. Chris gave chase, and once he was close enough, kicked the man’s knees out from under him. The man flailed and fell to the ground, which wasn’t exactly what Chris had expected, but it did mean he could calm down and actually take in the alley if none of the Kalo goons got up right away. The alley was a lot darker than should have been normal in the morning sun, enough that Chris couldn’t actually see the end of it. There was no trace of the girl either, though that first thing probably explained the second. Before he could investigate further, a scratching noise from the alleyway entrance caught Chris’ attention, and he turned back around to see a creature crawling towards him that, well, he wasn’t sure how he would describe it. It was almost like an upturned purple starfish, with its appendages pushing the center up until it reached a height of two feet or so. He wasn’t sure, but Chris didn’t feel like getting close to something so foreign to him, instead opting to chuck a dagger at it. Which worked!… for a moment at least. The dagger pinned a tentacle down, but the thing just kept moving forward, eventually tearing its limb from the rest of its body and continuing on like nothing had happened. Which was a problem because Chris didn’t have a dagger for each tentacle. His hand drifted to his other dagger out of habit anyway, but it brushed against a small bag along the way, and he remembered: Blast powder! Why deal with removing tentacles one at a time when he could do it all at once? Aiming was a little different with a bag rather than a blade, especially with something as volatile, but he tried to get his toss as close as he could to the creature’s open maw and covered his ears. For a moment, it didn’t take, and the thing kept crawling towards him. But then… *Bababadalgharaghtakamminarronnkonnbronntonnerronntuonnthunntrovarrhounawnskawntoohoohoordenenthurnuk* The creature’s remaining tentacles flew from the body in different directions, some hitting the walls and at least one flying past Chris and deeper into the alley. They still twitched about -- even the one impaled with his dagger had a bit of life to it -- but no longer together, they could do little else. Instead of bleeding out, though, they seemed to be leaking water. Again, that was something he’d have to ask Estellise about, Chris thought. It was a mystery for later. The more pressing mystery was, hopefully, still further down the alley.

I've seen people argue that the paper going under the roll is better if you have a pet that likes to unravel every roll it sees. And you know what? Fair enough. But I don't have a pet so I do it the correct way.

←Previous Post -- Next Post→ Duel 28 -- Whispers in the Dark Or: Remember, Like, Twenty Posts Ago When I Mentioned A “Ruka Tsuchiya”? This Is That Part The manga doesn’t have in-depth arcs for the Black Rose Saga or the first half of the Apocalypse Arc, which means we’re technically further ahead in the story than the anime. I bring this up to mention again that, while the manga and anime do diverge, they still share certain elements one might consider a spoiler for the other. I’m not going to hide elements that the manga has revealed in service of keeping up surprises in the show, so feel free to skip ahead if you’d rather. Manga chapter four, “To Bud”, centers on Akio’s courtship with Utena, in a similar vein as Touga’s attempted romance with her in the previous chapter. Akio, of course, is significantly older than Utena -- at least in his twenties and probably older -- not to mention the power disparity between a chairman and a first-year student, and yes that is exactly as questionable as it sounds, but the manga does try to portray Utena falling for Akio as sympathetically as possible (that is, Akio seducing Utena is obviously monstrous, but it isn’t Utena’s fault). Touga established last chapter, after all, that Utena’s weakness is her obsession with her prince, and, as the end of the chapter reveals, Akio and Prince Dios are one and the same. Utena doesn’t realize all this until she believes it is too late, until she weds Akio and the latter ascends to the castle in the sky. And again, the manga is a bit more direct with its theming, with Utena proclaiming “I called myself your friend but I didn’t even try to understand you.” Utena charging ahead believing she knows best for Anthy is something I’ve mentioned again and again, and this is that payoff. When Anthy tries to protest that Utena could never understand, Utena fires back, “You’re my friend. I want to understand you.” And it’s these final words that propel Utena up to her final confrontation with Akio. This is also the point where the story starts to diverge from what one might call reality. The manga so far had kept a generally realistic tone outside of the side stories, but now that reality has proven itself to be false, or at least a veil hiding its divine truth. This is something that the show goes into more detail on, so I’ll save most of the discussion for a few weeks from now, but as a guide for the meantime, this is where Revolutionary Girl Utena becomes very interested in its themes of gender roles and archetypes, and breaking through the veil of reality is supposed to show the archetypes as what they really are. Akio transforms Utena into the Rose Bride because that’s what women are to him: they’re things to be saved or cast aside. I know I keep ending these things with “Just something to think about” in this faux-mysterious way, but also, like, the chapter literally ends at the beginning of the final confrontation, just before everything is finally all on the table, and I don’t want to jump ahead. Ruka Tsuchiya is the worst and I hate him. Some of this is admittedly my personal bias; I’ve already admitted that Juri is my favorite character and he exists as a method of pushing Juri’s buttons, so of course I’m going to hate him. That doesn’t mean he doesn’t have moments of sympathy, but, well, I’m getting ahead of myself. Who is Ruka? He was the captain of Ohtori Academy’s fencing team before a mysterious illness put him out of commission, and he has only just returned. Interestingly, only Juri and Miki seem to remember him, and yet he strolls into the Student Council Meeting Room with a rose seal on his finger and a knowing smile. But like most of the Student Council, he also doesn’t want to duel Utena, at least right away, instead pursuing other interests, namely Shiori. This is what I mean by pushing Juri’s buttons. Ruka serves as the third leg in a love triangle that only Shiori is excited to be a part of, taking particular delight in calling Juri “the worst sort of person,” in one particular scene. Ruka, meanwhile reveals that he was never into Shiori at all by the end of the episode, so he can’t be pleased by the situation as well. The purpose might have been in that aforementioned scene, where Shiori reveals her thoughts to Juri. We the audience knew her motivations because of her time as a Black Rose duelist, but these had never really been expressed to Juri. Creating an alternative for Shiori allows her to do exactly as she did, attempting to break off from Juri’s obsessions entirely. Of course, Ruka then distances himself from Shiori after his loss; he was never going to be a permanent alternative for Shiori, so that can’t entirely be the answer. Why does Ruka duel Utena? That’s a bit more difficult question to answer. He reveals to both Shiori and the audience that he’s aware of Akio’s scheming and is going along with it for his own reasons, and he says to Utena that he almost expects to lose. The former could be a revelation as to how he returned to the school in the first place, going along with End of the World’s attempts to keep the Student Council dueling as a sort of deal with the devil. The latter is a bit more opaque, but it is at least clear that what he desires is not the power to revolutionize the world. There is also the message A-ko and B-ko leave behind: just because you go fishing doesn’t mean you will catch any fish. But who are the fishermen and what is being caught? This episode is another secret two-parter, so the answers to all of these questions are not fully revealing nor are any of the conclusions set in stone. Next episode will hopefully contain a better look. -r Next time: More like “Ghosts of Tsuchiya” amirite? ←Previous Post -- Link to Episode -- Next Post→

Can’t Let Go Emily heard the words the watchdog had said but didn’t really comprehend them until Caleb stepped away, cradling the sword in his hands as he continued to inspect the blade. “That’s it?” she said, not so much expecting to be heard as making sure she was still where she thought she was. What else was she to do? Simon Weatherson was dead, her parents were gone, she’d just been told to go home. “Alright.” She turned away. away from the two, away from the temple, just away from all of it. Not that home seemed like a better place to be, of course, but it was the only place that made sense, right? She’d just been told -- by a watchdog, even -- that it was time to go home, so shouldn’t she? But. There was that small “but” in her mind that hadn’t quite given up; there was a little more she could do. Emily turned back around and returned to Taros’ temple. His watchdog was still there, of course, and it was he that Emily targeted. “Have you spoken to Nuumu’s dog about my parents or any of the other people succumbing to Simon’s teachings?” she said. “She said she would, but she had not last night. And, perhaps if she did in the meantime, you would like to see exactly what she was talking about.” To the Sea Dia did not react favorably to Olive’s antics. She wasn’t violent about her displeasure, but she did let out an audible “tsk” as he laughed in her face. “When I said to prostrate yourself, to take this seriously, did you think that was just a suggestion?” she said. “Do you think I am somehow lesser than Hinder? Or do you just treat all gods with this same irreverence? Not all of us would grant you this same mercy.” “I’m here to offer my services,” Olive said. The lead-up to that also seemed a bit like she was being spoken down to, but again Dia was feeling merciful. She did stand up out of the water, though, starting to pace around her pool as Olive continued. “That pearl,” he said, “did your watchdog take it? The people of Galatea have no water and I believe that has a lot to do with it.” “My watchdog did remove the mother of pearl stone,” Dia said, gesturing at the empty altar, “but this is not what I am asking you to retrieve. The mother of pearl, it’s a nice rock, a good thing to focus prayer on, but it is not the reason Galatea has no water. As you can see, this pool right here in front of you,” she splashed the water again with her toes, “it will likely be used as a reservoir should the drought continue, but would you say that things would change if the mother of pearl stone would return? So few people even enter here, I am not even certain its absence has been noticed. “No, what my watchdog had determined was that the real place people should be worshiping was the well on the outside of the city. And as it is his will so it is mine. Causing the well to dry up was meant to draw attention to this. But the water did not just disappear; it is still on this island somewhere. My watchdog, meanwhile…” She paused a moment and looked Olive in the eyes. “Do you understand now what I am asking of you?” OOC

“What did I do to deserve such treatment?” Chris mused to himself as his towering breakfast was set before him. He generally found bacon too greasy for his liking, but he wasn’t about to be picky, especially when it gave him the perfect excuse to stay in one spot and keep his eyes peeled for anyone suspicious. Julian and anyone who looked like they were with Julian were his biggest people to look out for, but really anyone who dared lay eyes on him was someone to look out for. He didn’t immediately see anyone, or at least anyone out of an ordinary for the morning. The distraction of a veritable mountain of food probably had something to do with it. It took forever to finish it, and he needed at least a few extra drinks to help keep it down. As he set down his mug for the final time, though, he did catch a glimpse of someone. It wasn’t even someone in the room -- that was why he probably missed them before -- but a glance at the window revealed a familiar figure: the girl who had been in his room earlier. Chris felt the impulse to double-take, but he also knew if he looked away there was a pretty good chance the girl would disappear again. But that meant she noticed him looking, too. She didn’t vanish, but she did start moving away. What was he supposed to do, not follow her? He didn’t cause a fuss or anything, but he did hurry up and out of the Drooling Dragon after the girl. “Alright,” Chris said, “What are you up to?”