This is a static copy of In the Rose Garden, which existed as the center of the western Utena fandom for years. Enjoy. :)
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Warning: This parody fic has trigger-y elements including but not limited to fat logic, eating disorders, body image, misogyny, misandry etc so read at your own risk.
All characters belong to their respective owners.
Note: Updated for Morte Mistrata XD
Episode Thirty: The Binging Girl
Everyday is cake day living with Acting Chairman Ohtori Akio, now going full-feeder mode as he showers Utena with gourmet cakes. Utena initially struggles to resist overindulging, but eventually succumbs when Akio starts bringing her savory treats during lunch. Guard down, the fit girl starts convincing herself that maybe processed foods high in sugar/sodium/fat really ain’t “that bad†after all. Even Akio’s scooter is starting to look savvy in her ravenous sight, now that she starts associating the vehicle with Akio’s sweet deliveries. Having had enough of her fiancé’s ever expanding bulk, Kanae sends Mrs. Ohtori to the Chairman’s Tower to lecture Akio about his unhealthy diet. Prepared, Akio derails the talk by heating up the oven, after which only passionate munching remains. (“You. You make the best damn pastries.†)
Episode Thirty-One: Her Tragic Genetics
Chatting with the girls has Nanami realizing something shocking. Even when on the exact same diet – down to identical portions – she puts on weight far easier than Touga, who has no problem staying thin. Could it be that they are really not related? Or, maybe it’s true what they say how boys don’t get fat like girls do . . . which is even worse because that’s literally nature’s misogyny! Unable to face Touga anymore, Nanami runs away from home to take refuge at the Chairman’s Tower. There, the competitive girl takes comfort at noticing Utena’s thickened waistline (that with her recent binging). All is well for her, until Nanami walks in on the Ohtori siblings’s late night binge-spree and is stunned. If Akio is prone to getting fat just like his sister Anthy, how is it that Touga manages to stay thin despite eating the same thing as her?!
Episode Thirty-Two: Reactions of the TDEE Novices
Akio and Anthy both binge; both are fat. Touga and Nanami both eat the same, yet one is effortless thin while the other struggles with fat. Again . . . could it be that the Kiryuus really ain’t related? Turns out that Touga being taller and broader and far more active than Nanami gives him a much higher Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE) than his sister. With the exact same diet, one eats healthily while the other overeats. Akio advices Touga to explain TDEE to Nanami, but Touga thinks its more fun to let his over-reacting sister continue to angst about the unfairness of it all.
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Yasha wrote:
Hey lunaopheliac, while I can understand your objections, shutin posted trigger warnings and it's your responsibility to avoid things that might cause you unwanted distress. I don't mean to be harsh, but no one here has any obligation to conform to your determination of what's acceptable as humor.
Could not have said it better myself. Jesus, lunaopheliac, can you Maybe chill?
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"don't look don't read" is not a defense against criticism; that said, to me this feels like fetish fic
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Man, to think this thread -- especially that bit of drama -- is still getting replies
Ikarikun wrote:
Yasha wrote:
Hey lunaopheliac, while I can understand your objections, shutin posted trigger warnings and it's your responsibility to avoid things that might cause you unwanted distress. I don't mean to be harsh, but no one here has any obligation to conform to your determination of what's acceptable as humor.
Could not have said it better myself. Jesus, lunaopheliac, can you Maybe chill?
Thank you, Ikarikun. And I hope you get some enjoyment out of my writing
Arale wrote:
"don't look don't read" is not a defense against criticism; that said, to me this feels like fetish fic
Arale, of course "don't look don't read" is not a defense against criticism of a work's "artistic quality." Then again, if someone has no constructive criticism to give a work, but is just looking to bash something they're already biased against because of personal issues of their own making . . .
PS. Fic is SKU "parody," its contents inspired by various logic-defying fatlogic statements as spewed by certain people online. That said, if someone choose to interpret this as "fetish" then well, it's up to the individual reader. After all, many seems to think the original SKU LGBT elements are fetish-ized as well - and with valid reasoning.
PPS. Please feel free to take a look at Seinen Kakumei if you're comfortable with what's in the warning.
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Just pointing out, the luna post is two years old. They got a little worked up, but they did not try to police or regulate anything written or posted. They complained, yes. They suggested a motive for writing the stories. But, "warnings," don't mean that no one can complain or criticize afterwards.
gorgeousshutin wrote:
Arale wrote:
"don't look don't read" is not a defense against criticism; that said, to me this feels like fetish fic
Arale, of course "don't look don't read" is not a defense against criticism of a work's "artistic quality." Then again, if someone has no constructive criticism to give a work, but is just looking to bash something they're already biased against because of personal issues of their own making . . .
PS. Fic is SKU "parody," its contents inspired by various logic-defying fatlogic statements as spewed by certain people online. That said, if someone choose to interpret this as "fetish" then well, it's up to the individual reader.
"[T]hey're already biased against because of personal issues of their own making," and "inspired by various logic-defying fatlogic statements as spewed by certain people online," seems, to me, more than a little hypocritical. "[F]atlogic statements are spewed," isn't ever going to be anything except a personal bias, or personal issues, and other than "bashing," what are you doing with those? That term, alone, isn't ever going to be neutral, certainly.
I tried, two years ago or more, to see the humor in this, to roll with the punches (I'm not even the target), but there is a clear target and how you're describing it in your own voice, outside of characters or parodic fiction, shows an agenda and a judgment. Which is fine, and not against any rules or anything, but it is open to criticism, perhaps even emotive criticism if you're going to open up the "conversation"/thread with what is almost entirely story-based