>Well, Wakaba was Utena's voice of sanity for long before SotS. You may
>remember her making mention of an incident in SKU where she tells
>Utena that not normal is normal for her. That was precisely the kind
>of sanity check Utena needs from time to time.

Indeed. Wakaba had two main Deals in the original show. One was that she was Utena's... not conscience, but sort of an external replacement for the sense of perspective that Utena more or less doesn't have. And the other was that she really, really wanted to be one of those people who Have It Goin' On (and, of course, the show being what it was, she wasn't, and knew she wasn't, and it made her miserable). So in her appearances in UF, I've always tried to be mindful of the former wherever possible while making it plain that she got her wish regarding the latter (which they sort of backhandedly alluded to having happened at the end of the TV show).

That's why I enjoyed writing her little scene in First Dates & Firefights so much - because it's just so... Wakaba, both ways.

"You were the one who said we should call it off altogether!"

"I was wrong! And you didn't listen to me anyway! Which was good! Why are we yelling!"

"I don't know!"

--G.
-><-
Benjamin D. Hutchins, Co-Founder, Editor-in-Chief, & Forum Mod
Eyrie Productions, Unlimited http://www.eyrie-productions.com/
zgryphon at that email service Google has
Ceterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam.