You know, my first thought here was to ask 'How is Anthy going to antagonize them?' We already know she's a pretty big bitch, though the only open rebellion we see from her she takes out on Saionji, who she clearly doesn't like a whole lot. (With good reason, but then, that's a chicken and egg scenario...would Saionji beat her if she wasn't subtly provoking him?)

For some reason, my instinct suggests she would be similarly antagonistic toward Juri. I think on some level Juri's refusing to believe what's right in front of her would strike a familiar chord; though for Anthy it's more that she refuses to realize the miracle in front of her is a lie. Juri doesn't accept that someone would sacrifice themself for her, and Anthy refuses to accept that the person that should most certainly won't. That said, it'd be pretty easy to antagonize Juri; any vague reminder of Shiori, or any suggestion of miracles or magic tricks Juri can't explain... Judging from her reaction to the rose Anthy offers her in the SCA, for all her otherwise calm and collected rage, she might turn out to treat Anthy the same way Saionji does.

With Miki...it's hard to say. If it's in Anthy's heart to admire or pity, Miki would be a very safe target, but by the same token, his innocence and misguided well-meaning might piss her off. I think for his part, yeah, he's just going to keep her very close and make her play piano with him.

Nanami...I don't think would know what to do with Anthy besides make her another Tsuwabuki. Just have her run errands. She certainly wouldn't attempt a relationship of any sort with her, although given Anthy's history of not especially liking Nanami, this might all get very ugly.

Touga would just do what he did before. Cart her around like a trophy but otherwise ignore her. A woman that isn't capable of lusting after him is of no interest.

Giovanna wrote:

With Miki...it's hard to say. If it's in Anthy's heart to admire or pity, Miki would be a very safe target, but by the same token, his innocence and misguided well-meaning might piss her off.

Miki would probably be too fun and easy for Anthy not to mess around with. She'd do something like volunteering private information just to fluster him.

Did you know Miki-sama likes dancing in his underwear to Beethoven's 5th?

brian wrote:

Touga was partly acting out his personality but he had probably been briefed by Akio that the secret to lasting victory was to not get emotionally involved with Anthy.

I can't really see Akio doing that. He doesn't outright lie very often (or at least if he does, I can't recall), and being emotionally involved is the only way to get any sort of victory in the duels, whether it's as Akio's sacrifice to the Swords, or as the Prince that Utena became. Not only that, but Touga seems to have the impression that the duels are kind of... set in stone, not subject to the influence of anyone but Akio-- probably the impression Akio has as well. Touga never really sees Anthy as a person, or at least we never see him interacting with her in any way that addresses her as a person, so it follows that he doesn't believe she can influence the duels. That makes her a minor consideration, a tool to use to impact others. She can't say no, she doesn't evidence any interest in him, he knows she only acts however her engaged wants her to act, and she appears powerless in and of herself, so there's no reason for Touga to bother himself much about paying attention to her.

After he started to want to save Utena... well, I kinda think he'd try to show a little more interest in Anthy, in hopes that Utena would think that Anthy was happy with him. After all, she has to display it if he wants her to. And this would solve his main problem: keeping Anthy and Utena apart so that Utena wasn't destroyed by her feelings for the Rose Bride.

Miki would treat her the most humanely although Anthy might make a couple of verbal stabs without him realizing it. Touga would just have sex and then ignore her.

I think Juri would be just almost as cruel to her as Saionji because my theory still is that she lost her virginity to her. When Anthy was so nice to her she mistook it for a genuine crush and thought maybe she could help her get over Shiori.

Anyone have any thoughts on Ruka? According to the manga he was the dueling champion for a time.... Ruka sort of plays the game like Touga but at the same time I can't see him treating Anthy exactly as Touga did.

The question I want to ask is; What would have happened if Kanae, Kozue, Mitsuru, Keiko and Wakaba succeeded in killing the Rose Bride?

brian wrote:

It's likely that no one would have been allowed to seriously injure Anthy (physically).

Miss Bluesky wrote:

Mock Puppet wrote:

The question I want to ask is; What would have happened if Kanae, Kozue, Mitsuru, Keiko and Wakaba succeeded in killing the Rose Bride?

Can she die? :S would the swords just have then gone for the prince instead?

I think this latter discussion affects brian's point.  I'm of the line of thought that no one is capable of harming Anthy.  Which also implies that the Black Rose thing wasn't a calculated risk, it was no risk at all.  But we've discussed this elsewhere.

or it could have taken an even more interesting turn, and left Mikage thinking he was in charge, while Anthy and Akio just dipped even further into their own weird twisted little world.

Riri-kins wrote:

hollow_rose wrote:

Anyone have any thoughts on Ruka? According to the manga he was the dueling champion for a time.... Ruka sort of plays the game like Touga but at the same time I can't see him treating Anthy exactly as Touga did.

I think he'd be a tiny bit more appreciative of her than most of the duelists because she'd probably have to nurse him. Ruka can be manipulative like Touga, but he never does it unless his victim deserves it. *dodges bricks from Shiori fans*

You really think Ruka was mean to Shiori only because she deserved it?

Etrangere wrote:

You really think Ruka was mean to Shiori only because she deserved it?

From his point of view, definitely. He's cruel to Juri because he believes it's for her own good, and he's cruel to Shiori because he holds her responsible for Juri's suffering. He hardly intereacts with the rest of the cast, given his limited screen time, but he isn't malicious or manipulative towards anyone else. Judging from Juri's response to his mannerisms, it seems likely he was (or acted) much nicer before his sick leave.

Etrangere wrote:

So you don't think jealousy and spite enter into it?

I mean, I like Ruka, but that's a fairly idealist view of him.

I think you missed this part:

Ragnarok wrote:

From his point of view, definitely.

No one ever thinks they're being jealous and spiteful, even when objectively they are.

Also, 'being mean' to fictional characters is bullshit. They don't care. But I'm tired of character crusaders getting their feathers ruffled at other peoples' valid opinions. Please. We're all mature people here, and none of us are out to get each other. Relax.

Riri, your apology was not needed. Carry on.

hollow_rose wrote:

...but does anyone else have any more opinions about his relationship with Anthy when he has her? I'm writing a fic where this is relevant, and I'd like to hear other people's opinions.

It's just so hard to tell, given the little information we have on him. I firmly believe that a non-terminal Ruka would show an entirely different side of himself. (Somewhat like when Saionji is living with Wakaba, if you will. The situation is so different from every day Ohtori life that the character almost seems to be another personality.) Ruka returns to Ohtori with a specific agenda and all of two episodes to see it through; if he were just an 'ordinary' student council member (perhaps ailing?) he could easily be any way you want to write him.

From what we do know of him... he likes Juri, so he wouldn't likely care for Anthy in a romantic sense. He gives off an air of cheerful nonchalance, so he might outwardly treat Anthy's odd behaviours as a joke or none of his concern. He doesn't lift a finger to help Anthy, if anything he ignores that she exists, perhaps he had once tried to help her and has since given up. He rides around with Akio and Touga, so he might think of Anthy as the emotionless doll the Rose Bride is supposed to be, assuming he had any connection with Akio before his illness.

Actually, what if Anthy caused his illness? He wouldn't be the first she's done that to, and it seems to further Akio's plans. Could Ruka have been an obstacle, had he remained at Ohtori? As the engaged, he'd be very vulnerable if for no other reason than the required proximity to Anthy. But obviously I've gone off on a tangent.