Corn Woman 🌽 @WomanCorn@schelling.pt
But Anthy says: you don't really know what's happened. Stay in your coffin and play prince, but I'm going.
Utena isn't gone. She's just vanished from your world.
No matter where you are, I swear I'll find you. Wait for me, Utena.
Next semester and people barely remember who Utena is.
She got hurt and had to be hospitalized, right? Or was it a bad breakup and she transferred away? I heard she angered the chairman and got expelled.
Akio evaluates it like so: she's just another failed revolution.
And Anthy is inside.
Take my hand, she cries. But just as their fingertips reach each other, Anthy, and the coffin and the whole Rose Gate fall into the void.
Utena despairs. Her playing at prince was not good enough.
Oh well, maybe the next one will be good enough. Clearly they've tried this many times.
But Utena is not through yet. She drags herself to her feet and to the gate. With her bare hands, she pulls it open just a crack.
And it's not a door anymore, it's a coffin.
Dios takes Utena's sword to break through the Rose Gate to where his power is sealed.
Meanwhile, Anthy is pierced BT one million swords. The job of the Rose Bride is to draw hate away from the prince.
He hacks mightily at the door, but the sword shatters.
You remind me so much of Dios when I loved him.
But you can never be my prince.
Because you're a girl.
This isn't like the pretend duels, Akio responds. You've never really fought.
But Utena presses him hard, and he draw her attention by throwing Anthy at her.
She stops to make sure Anthy is okay, which is when Anthy stabs her in the back.
Utena rejects this, so Akio reveals the truth.
They're in the planetarium. All the fantasy visions? Illusions, projected by the planetarium.
Anthy will stay the Rose Bride because at this point, she likes it. And she is a witch.
No, Utena says, now we will duel.
Utena and Anthy ascend to the castle where the meet the prince, who is Akio and End of the World.
He draws the sword from her and turns her into a princess. Now they will live happily ever after in the castle. Forever.
Wait. What about Anthy?
Oh, she'll stay the Rose Bride.
Utena explains to Juri that she and Anthy don't have what Juri and Shiori have; they're just good friends.
Basically, she tries everything she can to freeze things where they are right now.
What pushes her over the edge? Probably Anthy's suicide attempt.
She goes.
Utena gets a letter from her prince: come to the phantom castle and gain the power to bring the world revolution, and meet him again.
She takes off her ring, tears up the letter, and asks Akio on a date where she dresses girlishly.
For this battle, Saionji will play the Bride and draw Touga's sword.
Also, Utena cuts a car in half, so there's that.
Touga gives her a last piece of advice: don't let your guard down around End of the World or the Rose Bride.
That night, Utena walks in on the two of them.
If she wins the duel, the student council will stop going after Anthy.
If he wins, Utena has to become his woman.
(Conveniently, if she wins, he calculates she will acquire the power, so he's not actually putting anything on the line.)
Utena agrees.
Touga intends to break with End of the World's instructions. He takes Utena to the dueling arena and confesses. To test his own feelings.
He concludes: he does care for her.
So he must defeat her to keep her from End of the World.
He makes her an offer she can't refuse.
I'm pretty sure Akio is sleeping with Touga too, and at this point, I'm going to guess all the duelists and all the brides have had sexual relations with him as part of the revelation.
It just seems like the right bet.
Akio escalates his courting of Utena.
Or
When Utena was depressed from her parents' death, Prince Dios came to her, and showed her his sister Anthy, trapped in torment, but unable to die. He could not save her, because he was no longer a prince she could believe in. Utena swore to become one and save her.
Long ago, the Rose Prince was trapped in a floating castle by a witch, who was also his sister.
Or
Long ago, Prince Dios was overwhelmed from saving all the girls in the world and his sister, Anthy, sealed him away to protect him. For this she was condemned as a witch.
Some people like to skip recap episodes. You shouldn't skip this one, because at the end of it, Akio takes Utena for a drive.
I don't know if he shows her whatever convinced the others, but they do fuck.
Old: Mandating masks in school.
Bold: Not mandating masks in school.
Gold: Mandating KN95 or better masks in school.
