#katkit-42

[aqours]

That three-way hug in the true ending really brings me to tears because like. Ok I know everyone compares silent hill f to umineko but I actually just finished the entirety of umineko right before shf dropped so it was very much on my mind.

But there's this theme in R07's works, not just in Umineko, but of people who are separated but feel like they "should" be one, like they can't be happy if they're separate. Sayo is obvious in Umineko, but Mion and Shion have shades of this too (they both connect being twins with misery, because "if we were one person we wouldn't have to go through this"). I haven't read Ciconia yet, but I know there's Miyao and Meow and MIYAO.

And I don't think this is R07 saying that plurals are destined to be miserable either, I think the tragedy is supposed to be that they are miserable but they shouldn't be.

And then we have the Silence ending! Hinako has been torn between these two parts of herself for so long, and the ending is saying "hey, it's ok to be ambivalent. It's ok to have these two parts of yourself. You don't have to kill each other, you can both be happy." R07 took this theme that appears in his works and says "hey, fyi, being plural is not misery. Never kill yourself, not even part of yourself."

And I wish Sayo could have had that. SHf really highlighted the tragedy of Umineko to me because I see these two characters who parallel George and Sayo and I think "would George have embraced Kanon and Beatrice along with Shannon, the way Kotoyuki embraces the Hinakos? Would that have helped?" I hope he would, at least.

IT'S SOOOOOOOOO FUCKING GOOD!!! god i need to read more WTC so so so so bad.

but like. it really touched me too. idk, media portrays plurality as so... horrifying and terrible- and in fairness, throughout a lot of SHf, it fucking is. but like...

that ending and the two sitting together moved me a lot. i feel sad when the title screen on my game changed bc i did Fox Wedding after. the two just sitting there...

so maybe i get. worked up when people talk about it like that, especially people like that.

[carnivorous-horses-lover]

Me 🤝 you: CONSTANTLY thinking about Kinzo's wife having no sprite/face/name and not getting into the Golden Land

For the past few days (since SHf came out lol) I've been thinking of Kinzo's wife as "Hinako". Not as like, the actual Hinako we see in SHf, but I want to give her a name that isn't "Kinzo"s wife" or "grandmother". And Hinako's whole journey is about loosing yourself in marriage to a powerful family, which like, is basically what happened to Kinzo's wife.

Hinako would still be named after someone else but at least it's a NAME and not just "that guy's wife".

YES YES YES!!!!! Kinzo's wife I love you Kinzo's wife

Really like the headcanon of her being named Hinako, too - I've seen other names for her, I think, and it always makes me go ;))

Also the way she may not be the only one without a sprite, but Asumu still has her name and her side of the family is mentioned, and there's also Piece to be considered!

And we never even learn her name, we never see her photographs, even in the manga her face is blacked out!

She and Bice are parallels in the most fascinating way possible! What is worse, losing your personhood to the point you are only remembered by proxy, by the role you had OR losing your personhood because you were put on pedestal so high its shadow swallowed an island whole?

[sokkagatekeeper]

I like to look through people's posts before deciding whether or not to follow them and I want to let you know that your post defending against the slander that sokka (of all people) would buy an nft is what tipped the scales and made me follow you. You are so right, defend our boy from that libel.

once upon a time we were that boy's lawyers. glad to see our reputation lives on

[allegory-allegorier-allegoriest]

So I just finished binging you and a bunch of other utena meta posts and I saw your post (at least I hope it was your post, otherwise that's embarrassing) about how what utena and the student council wear is not what they're actually wearing but more how they see themselves. Like, utena sees herself as wearing booty shorts and the princely jacket but in reality, she's wearing the boys uniform. Then I saw someone else's post (I'm pretty positive it was @louchan but if not than that's doubly embarrassing) talking about how the students are drawn as way more mature than they are. Like, kozue and nanami especially. They are thirteen but they look more like juri than tsuwabuki and his little friend, even though they really only just got out of the elementary school. Also, there's the ridiculous size differences between everyone: if I'm remembering correctly, akio is a head taller than [I always forget his name, the non-nanami kiryuu sibling], who is a head taller than utena, who is a head taller than anthy who is double the size of tsuwabuki.

But I think this size difference, besides being stylization, can also be added to your theory. Nanami and Kozue see themselves as more mature and adult than they actually are, when they're closer in age to tsuwabuki than juri. Utena sees herself as a prince, so she's taller than the other girls in her age range. The not important kiryuu sees himself as the all important student council president, so hes taller than everyone else (and is slightly larger than saionji, his second). Akio towers above everyone.

And I feel like this size difference doesn't exist outside ohtori: my favorite utena and anthy reunion pic is the one where we see them with their foreheads together, gazing into each other's eyes. Utena isn't bending down; their size difference no longer exists. Yes, anthy can be standing on a stool or something, but I think them being the same size outside of ohtori symbolizes their character growth: utena no longer feels like the high and mighty prince, and anthy has grown from being the little, powerless princess.

First of all, thank you so much for this ask.

In case it wasn’t obvious I love hearing people’s thoughts about this masterpiece. So much of Utena’s viewing experience is subjective, which means it’s always wonderful to hear how others interpreted the show.

I love the idea that the characters physicality is being impacted by Ohtori’s surreal existence, and that the characters could look entirely different in the real world!

As for the posts you are responding to, they weren't by me!

I actually haven't reblogged or posted any meta I myself have written (as of yet?)

I have however reblogged a few posts centered around the outfits in the show and their symbolism:

There is this one on the color symbolism of Utena’s costumes by @nothing-suspicious-in-there

This one that posits that Utena’s costume is imaginary and then takes a look at the Student Council’s uniforms by @stripedroseandsketchpads

Building off the previous post, this post examines Nanami’s costume within the same framework (again by @stripedroseandsketchpads)

This is a quote from Ikuhara about Utena’s uniform

I am having trouble locating the one about size differences right now. If someone links me to it I’ll add the link here!

This ask is making me think I should work out some sort of tagging system to make it easier to go back and find posts focused on particular topics/characters/themes!

And just to round this all off, here is the picture of Utena and Anthy you were referring to, just because it’s a lovely image of them:

[pistachiosoda]

Spinel college au: spinel met pink Pearl when she started a group chat that's just all of her ex's exes. It's just her, pink Pearl, and Pearl.

[cinyanmon]

The run of the mills version of the power punk girls would just be the most popular girls in school.

LOLLLLLLLLL FACTSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

id LOVE to see that actually

[reynaruina]

I love the newest pt au update because zimmis fuckingns. He's literally wrapping his affection in hearts and flowers and giving them to dib and dib is just like that butterfly meme "is this an alien custom or declaration of war"

in a nutshell

[dekusbrokenarms]

In your fuyumi and endeavor post, I also want to mention something a lot of people forget. While it's true that horijoshi is not always great at writing women, I think a lot of people overlook that, due to her role as peacemaker in the family (which was a specifically feminine role in the todoroki family; i wrote a long ass post about it on my blog somewhere) that influences how she acts around endeavor. She had a role in the abusive dynamic just like shouto, natsuo, and touya did--not as an abuser, like endeavor (and in some interpretations, rei). That role is influencing how she is reacting to endeavor trying to make amends, just like how natsuo, touya, and shoutos roles are influencing how they react to endeavor trying to make amends. Now you could make the argument that hori is stereotyping "good" vs "bad" victims or "feminine" vs "masculine" victims, but at least for the todorokis, I think the women acting a certain way while men act a different way is a well written choice (again, the post where I explain is on my blog somewhere but tldr, the todoroki family dynamic is heavily gendered, with the women playing passive support roles that do not allow for feelings, while the men play assertive active roles where they are allowed to express themselves, often violently. The women in fuyumis life have been either her mother (who is submissive to endeavor for obvious reasons) or servants (who are submissive to endeavor for obvious reasons); meanwhile, her brothers had their father, who is loud, assertive, and demands that everyone cater to his emotions, so they were able to learn to express themselves is ways that fuyumi did not)

Basically, you are so right and fuyumi should not be shamed or trashed for her choice to forgive endeavor. Just like touya and natsuo are allowed to hate him for how they were treated, fuyumi and shouto are allowed to forgive him for how they were treated

Thank you! This tl;dr explanation for why Fuyumi takes this passive role is also great and I appreciate it!