This is absolutely lovely.

Wow.

Even though it's angst. . . a smile is splitting my face. Does that make me bad? :\

Good job, nice follow on from this ep. I enjoyed it. :)

Great piece! Fantastic to know that fans are still writing brilliant Utena fanfiction even now. Just goes to show what a great series this really was. Thank you for your work.

I enjoyed your perspective. Anthy's character was strong, gentle and lonely. The conversation between Utena and Anthy worked. I think in the anime, Anthy didn't ask Utena "Did you get a letter from End of the World?" She knew that she had. There was an intense scene where Utena did receive the letter from end of the world, and Anthy said some thing like "I wish we could all stay like this forever". (Meaning she didn't want to leave.) I think, well it pissed Utena off so bad she shredded it to pieces, and tossed it, without ever reading the letter. (Utena was fighting to free Anthy and she said something like that.) It was also the first time in the Anime they showed Utena angry with Anthy. Great job, I really liked this.

Hmm. This was lovely. I always like it when someone tries to interpret things from Anthy's point of view and makes it convincing, all those between the lines thoughts and meaningful silences etcetera. Your Anthy was softer while your Utena was harder than the usual portrayal of them, yet they're both complex and sympathetic like they should be.

It was very sad and sweet. Good job.

Having just finished the series recently, I think you capture both Utena and Anthy's personalities here (which is hard because it's difficult to tell what was going through Anthy's head during the series.) This feels very natural to the series and I think you should write more Utena fics, you have a knack for it.

oh dear...I could feel Anthy's pain through the words. She has this almost delicate reaction, but since she's so used to showing no emotions, she's just completely worn out.

"Girls are…" She pauses for a moment, fishing for the correct way to word her thoughts, to express her feelings in a way Utena will understand. How strange. It's been awhile since she's had to do something like that.

She thinks of a million swords of hatred. She thinks of pain, and can hear the shriek of metal ringing in her ears.

"In the end, girls are all like Rose Brides."' That part hit me like a brick. Utena has a lot of vagueness, but the deconstruction of gender roles is something that's undeniably a main theme and it can be tragic seeing how it plays out. Anthy associates herself so much with the role of the Rose Bride, and has seen so many people dealing with the "End of the World" and the duels and the prince/princess structure that even though she realizes its issues, she sees it as a grim reality...Anthy's such a multilayered character. You showed that well.

This was a daring fic-there are characters who are virtually defined by the fact that we really don't know what is going on inside their heads, their essential mystery (Sherlock Holmes would be one example, to the point that when even Arthur Conan Doyle himself tried to write in Holmes's POV the stories fell short). Anthy Himemiya often comes off as that way as well, so this is a courageous effort, and it's interesting to see the choices you've made, the interpretation of her character. It's been far too long (6-7 years or so) since I've last watched the episode in question, so I wouldn't know where the "break point" between what we see and what you've created is, nor whether the Anthy you show here is how I would see the one on the screen with my own eyes. What I do see here is an interesting portrait of conflicted feelings, of a person with a heart they don't acknowledge, without free will yet with choices. As for Utena, well, while her flirtation with "falling" may not have come until later on, it was certainly something that she was building towards, or at least which some of the seeds that Akio had planted along the way suggested (I always ask myself, was Akio trying to *engineer* her fall, or instead did he hope she would *resist* that temptation, so that she could deliver to him the Power of Eternity that he craved? But I digress...), ones that would visit her in these dark hours of the night. All in all, an interesting and entertaining read of a short story.

Excellent. Oh gosh this is excellent. Beautiful. Perfect

I love this pairing and I know caders did too! I really love your story and I am hoping for another chapter or a sequel!

Caders kinda ghost

The mind of Anthy is always a mystery. This little piece gives me some peace of mind of what could be going on through her head. I didn't find them out of character at all. I haven't watched Utena again since I finished my slap count back in 2010 but I got instantly teleported back with this fic. You did good.

... ... ... well, that was bleak as Hell. ;;;;;;;

The good: I think you got Anthy's state of mind across brilliantly. She is clearly confused, hurting, and not even remotely sure how she's supposed to react to anything that's happening. She's torn between duty and friendship, and doesn't have a clue which is more important to her; or Hell, at the moment, what's important at all. Poor girl is screwed.

The bad: mostly nitpicks. I have never cared for 'present tense' writing, but that's mainly me. It works well enough, it just feels odd to read after years of mostly past tense. XD ... And I would have cut the last line about sleeping. I think the 'heartbreak' line made a better ending point.

... that's really all the bad. Overall, I found the fic very high quality, easily up to your usual high standards. Looking forward to more, as always.