Nevanna's Forest of Stories

I am now caught up on Sherlock, and while, yes, episode 2.03 tore at my heart from the very first scene and I have many hearts for John and Molly in particular, I really wanted to talk for a minute about (this version of) Moriarty, who didn't really impress me in his introduction, but now?

Now.

I've never made it a secret that one of my favorite villains of all time, in any medium, is Ohtori Akio from Revolutionary Girl Utena - an anime series that, much like this particular episode of Sherlock, makes ample use of fairy tale tropes. For those of you unfamiliar with the series, Akio is textually a Lucifer figure, manipulative and brilliant and selfish, willing to corrupt and destroy and seduce in order to get what he wants. And yet it's not just what he does to people that makes him a threat (though there's that, too). It's the things that he can convince people to do to themselves, and each other, by convincing them to believe the stories that he spins. Because he knows what both his victims and his adversaries want to believe, about him, about themselves and their place in the story, and can use that knowledge to nurture what is already in their heads and their hearts and to plant a few suggestions of his own, and -

Yeah, I get Moriarty now.

Fandoms: Labyrinth and Revolutionary Girl Utena
Disclaimer: These characters are not mine, and I don't profit from their use. The title is from "The Stolen Child" by W.B. Yeats.
Summary: “This school stands at the crossroads of what is and what could be... The darkness beyond its boundaries is beyond your comprehension.” The King of the Goblins finds a new princess to rescue from her life.
Words: 615
Written for: onlyinthislight, who asked for Jareth and Kanae.

( While The World Is Full of Troubles )

"Strings Attached." Revolutionary Girl Utena, third season. Written from a prompt on the Empty Movement forums: "Saionji, Akio, Pinocchio." (I love this fandom.)

( *** )

... no, not that L. Sadface. Although we've discussed at length the resemblances between the two characters.

Title: Lie
Fandom: Revolutionary Girl Utena
Characters: Anthy and Utena, directly after Episode 33

Utena pauses several times during breakfast to stretch in her seat like a well-fed cat. It would have been so much simpler if it were genuinely smug satisfaction written all her face, but Anthy knows better than to attach such petty triumphs to her "champion," who, if last night registered clearly at at all in the fog of her mind, probably viewed it as another workout. She applies her knife to the ends of each flower stem, tapering the ends, and remarks aloud, "You were home late last night, Utena-sama. Did you have a pleasant evening?"

The first rose that she slips into the water, which it drinks eagerly, is only a shade redder than the blush that spreads across Utena's face like blood over sheets. "It was... I hope you weren't worried?"

"Not at all. I knew that I could trust you." That she could trust her to do what she believes is her duty, especially when, in her eyes, her duty involves carrying a token from her lady to their prince.

"Are those flowers for him, too?"

"No." The edge of the knife flashes against the stem of a sunset-colored bloom, which joins the red and green roses in the vase between them. "These are for us."

"Oh." Her blue eyes widen and she grabs her napkin. "Himemiya - your hand."

Anthy looks. The drops of blood fall into the vase, become puffs of red smoke into the water, and vanish. "I'm fine, Utena-sama," and she's no longer sure whether or not it's a lie.

--

Entry in my Blogathon venture for Amnesty International. We're now at $144.90. Please sponsor me!

Title: Talisman
Fandom: Revolutionary Girl Utena (post-series)
Pairing: Utena/Anthy

Utena discovers the ring by accident while cleaning house one day. She doesn't remember whether she was wearing it when she was found, or what happened to it afterward, and wonders for a moment whether it's a sign...

"That's silly," she whispers, but it's not. Wasn't that all the rose seal was to her, all those years? A sign that pointed her toward the prince that she'd lost, and the one that she was trying to become? A magic charm against any foe and obstacle she might face? And now that they're miles away from the end of that journey, what's it supposed to mean.

Anthy might be upset to see it again, which is why Utena almost doesn't tell her, but she wouldn't think that it was silly. As it turns out, she does neither. She just shakes her head, very seriously, and says, "You've had that ring ever since you left the school. I put it away for safekeeping." She raises her eyes to the window overlooking the lake. "These things are only as dangerous as we allow them to be. It's yours to do with as you wish."

The next day, they stand on the shore, fingers laced together, as Utena weighs the ring in her other hand and then - in perfect form that would make her old basketball coach proud - throws it into the lake. She squeezes Anthy's hand, and feels her squeeze back, the only talisman either of them will ever need.

--

Entry in my Blogathon venture for Amnesty International. Please sponsor me!

"Captive." 305 words, PG13 for mentions of boysex (probably NSFW), set during the fourth arc. For onlyinthislight, who requested "Saionji Kyouichi and Kiryuu Touga, bishounen." (This is my second consecutive story to feature Touga. I still don't like him, but even I have to admit that he definitely has his moments.)

( *** )

Made some actual headway on one of my papers today, go me! With time left over for Actual Ficletting. This would be the story in which I interrupted my own writing to mutter, “Oi, Captain Forelock, this chick in front of you? The one that you said yourself was clearly ON DROG? Is making more sense than you. You might want to look to that.”

I sort of feel that I might be starting to repeat myself when it comes to writing about him. (“Starting to?” I hear you say.) I might want to look to that, too.

For now:

Fandom: Revolutionary Girl Utena
Characters: Ruka, Utena
Disclaimer: These characters are the property of Be-Papas and the brainchildren of Kunihiko Ikuhara and Chiho Saito.
Rating: PG
Summary: "She gave him the benefit of the doubt when he’d affirmed her suspicions about Juri. No longer any harm, either, in returning the favor." A meeting of almost-princes, set in-series.
Words: c. 800

( The Bridges You Burn )

Okay, so, you know how I said I was abandoning these crossovers? You know how I said I had issues with writing certain characters? You know how I said (to some of you) that I had a paper due this week?

At least one of those things was obviously a lie.

Fandoms: Firefly/Revolutionary Girl Utena
Disclaimer: All characters belong to Joss Whedon and Kunihiko Ikuhara.
Rating: PG
Summary: A leftover from the revolution searches for answers that may be closer than he thinks.
Words: c. 1,800
Written for: girlchild, who asked for Zoe and Ruka, with the lyrics, "I put an end to all your pain/ I want guilt, I want to drag you right through your past/ I'm on a roll and I'm moving way too fast/ Aren't we always looking over our shoulders?/ Aren't we always drawing guns from our holsters?"
Notes: This takes place before the main action of Firefly, and considerably after the end of Utena, however you interpret the relationship between the two realities. I have my own ideas, which I may tackle in a follow-up. (Sorry, no swordfights this time ’round.) Thank you thank you and an extra thank you to Tory and Lily for their inspiration and patience.

( No Man's Land )

Fandom: Revolutionary Girl Utena
Pairing: Kozue/Miki if you squint
Disclaimer: These characters are the property of Be-Papas and the brainchildren of Kunihiko Ikuhara and Chiho Saito.
Rating: PG/PG13
Summary: "No perfume to mask the animal smell, no reason to pretend, and no need for anyone to catch her because she won’t let herself fall."
Words: 275
Notes: For the Made to Order Challenge at utenadrabble. sandoz_iscariot's third request: "Kozue draped in fur. Miki optional." Because she wrote for me, and this drabble snuck up on me when I was supposed to be working on a paper. As is inevitable, I suppose.

( Untamed )

Fandom: Revolutionary Girl Utena
Characters: Juri and Ruka
Disclaimer: These characters are the property of Be-Papas and the brainchildren of Kunihiko Ikuhara and Chiho Saito. Title from "Let It Be Me" by the Indigo Girls.
Rating: PG
Summary: "If she were any other girl, she would give in, let go, lose herself in the dance and everything that comes after, let herself forget everything that came before."
Words: c. 635
Notes: For the Made to Order Challenge at utenadrabble. shishiomaru's fourth request: "any male character attempting (and failing) to seduce Juri." I should probably have gone for the less obvious route, but I just rewatched Juri's third-season episodes last weekend and this bunny bit me hard.

( This Is Not A Fighting Song )