#i'm rewriting it

[laxyaklovesloz]

Danny Phantom Revisit Season One

No knowledge of the fandom is needed. I'm rewriting the series from scratch. You can be a part of the fun by joining my Discord server!

Intro Song

“Your parents haven’t left the house in ages,” goth girl Sam Manson said to her best friend Danny Fenton.

“Yeah,” third best friend Tucker Foley added. “You have to take advantage of that!”

They descended the stairs into the massive basement lab, Danny in the lead. It was his house, after all, and his parents’ lab. He had been in the lab many times, tinkering with this or that while waiting for his parents to notice him. Right now, the computer was shut down for once, papers filled with notes littered the tables, and an ominous red glow lit the room. Danny felt better when he switched on the fluorescent lights upon reaching the bottom of the stairs.

“Plus, with Jazz at the library, we have the whole house to ourselves!” Tucker continued.

“Then why are we in the basement?” Danny lamented. He looked at the scattered papers and sighed. He would probably have to clean those up later. His parents often made him clean up the lab as part of his chores.

Tucker practically skipped to the far end of the room where a gaping hole filled the wall, saying, “Because of this, duh!”

That hole in the wall was the bane of Danny’s existence. It wasn’t just a random gap with a six-foot tunnel behind it. No, it was a portal his parents had been working on for as long as he could remember. They worked on it on and off for years until they hit a breakthrough a few months ago and spent all their waking hours fiddling with every detail since. Then, just that afternoon, they tried to plug it in, only to fail. They left the house dejected, muttering to each other about what went wrong.

“What about it?” Danny asked warily.

“Aren’t you at all curious what your parents have been up to?” Sam asked, smirking. She’s always smirking.

Danny had to admit he was. He stepped toward the portal as though in a trance. It was a metal ring with unlit lights. Beyond the opening, metal panels and wires filled the circular tunnel, so it looked like a futuristic tube. He wondered what it was like in the tube.

“Wait, put this on,” Sam said, tossing him a white hazmat suit with black accents from the cupboard.

Danny held it up, a skeptical look on his face. “Why?”

A flash went off and he looked up. Sam took his picture.

“It’s yours, isn’t it?” she said with a chuckle. “It was hanging under a label with your name on it.”

“I didn’t know my parents made me one,” Danny said.

“Try it on!” Tucker said. “I wanna see it!”

Danny shrugged and slipped the suit over his clothes. (No way he was getting undressed in front of Sam.) It fit perfectly and even covered his shoes. There was one problem with it.

“Ew,” Sam said, “let’s get rid of that sticker.”

Danny’s dad’s face smiled from his chest. Sam peeled the sticker off and threw it aside. She took another picture.

“Much better,” Sam said.

“Looking fine!” Tucker added.

Danny gave a double thumbs up and grinned. “I look like an astronaut!”

“Yeah, space boy,” Sam said. “Are you going to go in the portal now?”

Danny’s smile dropped. “What? Go in there?”

“Yeah,” Tucker said. “It’ll look cool!”

“I thought that’s what you were going to do,” Sam questioned.

“Well, yeah, I guess I was…” Danny muttered. He turned back toward the portal and tunnel beyond. He was curious to see the wiring up close. He walked up to the edge and touched the portal ring. It was cold, even under the glove of the hazmat suit. He took a deep breath and said, “Here goes nothing.”

He stepped into the tunnel.

Nothing happened. He let out a breath and relaxed his shoulders. He didn’t know what he was expecting. Why had he been so nervous? He chuckled and stepped deeper into the circular tunnel. He kept his hand on the wall, feeling the metal panels beneath his fingertips.

“Turn around and smile!” Sam said.

Danny smiled and turned around, and his hand hit a switch. Suddenly, everything stopped. There was another flash of light, but this one was much too big to be from Sam’s Polaroid. The light filled his vision, blocking out everything else.

He heard screaming next. Who was screaming? Oh, it was him! He realized everything hurt – no – seared. He never felt such intense pain before in his life. Everywhere from the tips of his toes to the hairs on his arms burned. He couldn’t tell if he was standing anymore, had no inclination of where up was. All he knew was pain, light, and screaming. Then the light faded until all was black. The screaming and the pain subsided.

Danny’s heart stopped.

~~~

“Turn around and smile!” Sam said.

She watched Danny start to turn, but his hand hit something, and the room filled with light. She and Tucker raised their arms to shield their eyes. A scream ripped the air, and Sam squinted into the light.

“Danny?!” she shouted, dropping the camera. She reached forward, but when her hands touched the light, they flared with excruciating pain. She fell backward with a startled yell. “Danny?” she cried again.

“What’s happening?” Tucker shouted. He sounded as scared as Sam felt.

“I don’t know!” Sam yelled back, tears streaming down her face. “Danny, get out of there!”

Danny’s scream seemed endless. The light, however, changed. Green took over the white, and it dimmed so it wasn’t blinding to look at. The green swirled in shades from forest to lime and seemed solid, like goo.

The screaming stopped. Sam’s heart pounded in her ears, and her breath came in ragged gasps. Where was Danny? Could she get to him now that the light was gone? Before she could will her body to move, Danny stumbled out from the green mass and landed in a heap on the floor. But he looked… different.

The first thing she noticed was a shock of white hair where his black hair used to be. Next, she saw that the colors of the jumpsuit had inverted. His skin was deathly pale, and no wonder. Whatever happened to him must have been traumatic. A glow seemed to come off him.

Danny rose to his hands and knees but kept his head down. Sam desperately wanted to see his eyes, to see if he was okay. She inched forward, still on the ground, and tentatively put a hand on his shoulder. Or, tried to. Her hand went right through his shoulder.

…Like he was a ghost.

Sam gasped and fell back again. “D-danny? Are you… okay?” Was he… not breathing?

Danny shook his head as though to clear it. Then, he smiled up at her. His eyes… were bright green… just like the circling vortex behind him. (Not the beautiful blue she was used to.)

~~~

After the screaming subsided, Danny waited. He waited and waited and waited. For an eternity he waited. For no time at all he waited. He didn’t know what he waited for. He just waited.

A billion clocks chimed all at once. Some high-pitched and cheery. Some deep and gong-like. A pendulum swung on his left and he turned to look at it. The pendulum vanished into smoke, and he was left in darkness again. He stepped toward where the pendulum had been and stumbled. Ignoring his unsure footing, he pushed on. He had to get out of there. He had to get–

He was on the ground. His limbs felt like jelly, but his body felt light. Lighter than air, like he could fly off if he wanted to. He didn’t. Not yet.

“D-danny? Are you… okay?”

He was on his hands and knees now. He became aware of breathing around him. Quick breaths. Scared breaths. Louder-than-normal breaths. He heard the buzzing of the lights above. A comforting hum came from behind him. He shook his head and the noises calmed down.

Danny finally looked up to see his friends on the floor, staring at him with horror-filled faces. His smile dropped.

“What?” he asked. His voice sounded different like it had an echo to it. It harmonized with the hum behind him.

When his friends remained silent, he looked back to see what that hum was. To his surprise, the portal was filled with a brilliant green glow. He craned his neck, taking it all in. Something about that emerald expanse invited him in. He wanted to investigate…

“Don’t go!” Tucker and Sam shouted together.

Danny came to his senses. He stood – no, floated – in front of the portal with a hand outstretched. His fingertips brushed the surface of the portal, sending ripples to the edge. Understanding his situation, his eyes bulged and he moved to a mirror. He couldn’t say if he ran or flew, and that added to his fear.

Green eyes stared back at him, nestled under stark white hair. The black and white of his jumpsuit had inverted. He looked down and saw a wispy gray tail where his legs should be. His head felt light and his vision swam.

A white ring appeared around his middle and split into two. The two rings traveled up and down respectively, and where they passed changed back to the normal colors. To his relief, his legs came back, too. They felt wobbly, and he clung to the table to keep from falling. He took a deep, steadying breath. It felt like his first breath in a long time, but that didn’t make sense.

None of this made sense!

“What happened to me?” Danny desperately asked his reflection.

Sam and Tucker came to his side. Sam hesitated to touch Danny, and he turned to her.

“What is it?” he asked. “Why aren’t you touching me? Why are you crying? What’s with that… that transformation? Why did my hair change color? What is going on?” He waved his hands around with each word.

Sam caught his hands and held them. She stared into Danny’s terrified eyes, grounding him with her calm ones. In a steady voice, she said, “Whatever’s going on, we’ll figure it out.”

“Together,” Tucker interjected.

Sam nodded and went on. “What’s important is that you’re okay. You’re safe. We’re here with you.”

“Thanks, Sam, Tucker,” Danny said, his heartbeat slowing down.

He realized she was holding his hands and blushed. He took a step back, and his wrists phased through Sam’s hands. Did he just turn intangible?! He looked at his wrists. They were invisible. Invisible! They flashed back into view, and he rubbed one wrist with his other hand. His wrist was still there, still connected to him.

“What’s going on?” he shouted.

“Dude, chill out.” It was Tucker’s turn to calm him down. “Remember what Sam just said.”

“Right,” Danny said. “Chill out, Fenton. Everything will be fine–”

The rings returned and Danny transformed again. He still had his legs, so that was a relief. He couldn’t help but smile at the weightless feeling. Before he knew it, he was floating a few inches off the ground.

“Dude,” Tucker said, “I think you have ghost powers!”

“Ghost… powers?” Danny wondered.

Tucker put a hand through Danny’s side to illustrate. “See? I can’t touch you in this form. You’re a ghost. Change back to your human form.”

“How?” Danny asked.

“I don’t know,” Tucker said. “That’s up to you to figure out. But you better do it before your parents get home or–”

“My parents!” Danny said, startled. The rings reappeared and he turned back into his normal – human – self. “They’re obsessed with ghosts! What will they do if they find out I’m…”

Sam shrugged. “Don’t tell ‘em. I know I won’t tell my parents.”

“You especially can’t tell Jazz,” Tucker said.

Danny laughed. “Yeah, she’ll psychoanalyze me about it.” His mirth faded when he thought about what she might ask him about. “Guys… did I… die?”

The word hung heavy in the room.

Sam was the first to recover. “Pfft, no. You’re still breathing, aren’t you?”

Danny took a deliberate breath. “Yeah, I guess so.”

“And your heart’s still beating?”

He felt his pulse. “Yeah.”

“See, you’re not– that,” Sam concluded, even though she couldn’t say the word “dead.” “You’re perfectly healthy.”

“With an added power buff,” Tucker said.

Danny chuckled. “Alright, thanks, guys. You’re the best.” He squeezed them tightly in a hug, soaking in the feeling of realness.

“We love you, too, Danny,” Tucker snarked.

After the hug, Danny said, “Will you help me learn how to control these powers?”

“I told you,” Tucker said, “that’s on you–”

Sam cut him off with a jab from her elbow. “Of course, we’ll help you! Let’s get started right away!”

[eliashirsch]

All I wanted was to write fluff and humor...

The angst got to me...

[apple-recap]

Guys when I was 16 I went to Paris because of this show and I accidentally flashed a bunch of people when I walked over a vent so you could say miraculous ladybug has had an impact on me

[why-the-heck-not]

understanding academic concepts got me blushing swinging my legs giggling

[salarymanwaka]

[love-from-anie]

[rookamell]

We're missing the potential of a Dellamorte reunion after Rook gets taken to the Fade. It's been a week and a half, and Lucanis hasn't slept in three days. Lace is dead, Taash is perhaps the only person more catatonic than he is, Emmrich and Neve have come up with an insane plan to recreate Solas's dagger to give them a chance at ripping open the Fade to find Rook, and Davrin refuses to listen to any word that Rook might not be coming back, the only thing keeping Lucanis alive is Spite. So one night, Spite takes him to the only person other than Rook who can help.

It's not Neve, because Neve is busy with a case: getting Rook out of the Fade, so she and Emmrich are so consumed none of the others have been able to get them to even eat. No, it's not Neve, Lucanis finally collapses from exhaustion on Rook's sofa after being less than useless(or thats how he feels) to everyone for a week, and he wakes up with his hand on the knocker of Viago's door.

For a moment, he thinks about just jumping into one of the canals, but then he knocks, and Viago opens in his dressing gown.

"Lucanis?"

"I need to talk to Illario."

And Illario is grumbling about being woken up in the middle of the night, but then he sees his cousin, no his brother's face, and suddenly the last twenty years haven't happened. Suddenly they're kids again, and they've snuck into the villa kitchens after a particularly brutal training day with Caterina, and both of them are hurt and exhausted and hopeless but at least they have each other.

"Lucanis?"

"She's gone, Illario. I lost her. And I never told her I love her."

[zephyrchama]

You were sick. Your head was in a fog and your throat hurt something fierce. It was sweltering hot yet you shivered under the covers, hoping for the fever to pass soon. Your body, doing its best to get better, decided to empty the contents of your stomach over the side of the bed.

Beelzebub was the first to discover your condition. He came to wake you up in person when you hadn't shown up on time for breakfast. You were teetering like a newborn deer trying to clean up your mess. He was taken aback at the sight, at how clammy you were, and gently wiped the sweat from your face while checking how warm your forehead was. "You should lay down," he recommended, practically pushing you back into bed. You asked him to guide you to the bathroom instead.

He disappeared to fetch Lucifer. The eldest arrived immediately upon being informed of your condition. Your face muscles twitched as you tried to hold back a second round and apologized for the state you were in. Lucifer told you to stay quiet and just rest. "If you want to apologize, then get better soon."

"Don't tell anyone about this, ok?" you tried to ask. It came out as a garbled, barely perceptible whisper sending bolts of pain through your neck. You didn't want anyone to know how bad things really were.

"I do need to inform Diavolo, but rest assured I'll keep it brief." After ensuring you had water and would be fine alone for a few hours, Lucifer left early to inform RAD of your absence. He later texted you, "Don't hesitate to summon me if you need anything."

The house was quiet. It felt surreal to be the only one there. After some time had passed, you hobbled back to your bedroom and tried to sleep through the pain. Blissfully unaware of the chaos occurring elsewhere.

RAD is no small academy by any means, but rumors sure do spread fast. In first period, Beelzebub told Belphegor the sight he witnessed. They were overheard by Asmodeus, who lamented your absence to Solomon. Solomon asked Raphael to come with him to prepare some nutritious human food so you'd recover faster, and had to be forcibly stopped by Simeon. Luke found out by interrogating Solomon about why he was causing a scene in the kitchen.

Mephistopheles caught wind of the gossip and went directly to Diavolo for confirmation. Lucifer was none too happy at the situation, but the rumor mill was already spinning in full force. He did his best to uphold your image by telling anyone who broached the subject, "it's just the sniffles."

By lunchtime, Mammon was taking bets on how sick you were. "500 grimm says they're explodin' from both ends." "If that were the case, one of us would have stayed at the house with them," Satan rebutted, spying an easy win. "500 grimm says it's just coming out the bottom." They went back and forth, with others occasionally chipping in new symptoms such as hives or internal bleeding. Asmodeus, unable to listen any longer, left the cafeteria to post vague stories about his concern for you on social media.

Leviathan and Thirteen sent you get-well-soon text messages. One was full of worry and asked you to respond ASAP so they knew you weren't dying, as anxiety over your condition was causing them no end of fear. The other assured you to rest easy knowing that your candle was fine and you had plenty of time left before you kicked the bucket. It even recommended passing your bug onto someone else for fun.

You only saw the notifications in the evening, when a pounding headache woke you up and resounding footsteps in the hall signaled that people were home from school.

There was a knock at the door and Lucifer announced you had company. The crown prince and his butler imposed with a tray of fresh herbal tea. It would have smelled amazing if you possessed the ability to breathe through your nose. As the door shut behind them, you spotted at least ten figures out in the hallway.

Barbatos silently served you a hot cup, hopeful the rising stream would assist your sinuses. "Looks like you're recovering well!" Diavolo chimed. "That's great. I feared you were going to heave your guts out all day."

The frank sincerity caught you off guard and you choked on your tea. Barbatos was quick to grab the cup before it spilled.

"You knew?" you rasped. "Oh yes. Lucifer said it wasn't that bad, but tales of your illness have spread all over campus. We know human bodies aren't very strong."

You hunched down into the blankets to hide. The heat spreading across your face this time was not due to fever.

[panstarry]

my final from last semester that i made into a zine. cooked this one up in a couple hours before the critique (the ink was still wet!), so it's very raw and kind of sloppy but the sentiment is there. i love you trans people of color. we are the backbone of this community 🌟

[son1c]

he found a troubled little orphan in the woods and decided to keep her. it should be fine, since his secret can't get out if she can't see that he's not human. right? right???

[bugstung]

Relationship chart, may change things later on but it gets the main ideas across

[the-list-of-ao3-weirdness]

My chapter titles in Your Mortality

[gothamite-rambler]

Red Robin coming out to his foster father, Batman

Red Robin: Batman?

Batman (looking at the city lights): Hm?

Red Robin: I'm… not quite sure how to tell you this because I'm still adjusting to it. "Adjusting" is an odd word, but it's crazy when you find out in your teens that... that I… I like pie!

Batman: Um… Okay?

Red Robin: Yeah, and the pies I like are apple and sweet potato. I always thought I liked apple, but I also really, really like sweet potato—guy—p—pies! And it’s just… not everyone gets that. I never thought you could like both um—

Batman (flatly): Types of pies.

Red Robin (nervous nodding, then taking a breath): Yeah, yeah! Even my parents, who I love, didn’t get people liking certain baked goods, but were never against that. My dad... didn't get me, but always said he would love me no matter what. I think they’d have accepted that… would you accept that? Would any of you accept this?

Red Robin sighed turning away.

Red Robin (whispering): Where was I going with this? Why did I pick pies? Just tell him.

Red Robin sighed, holding his head down. Batman, already sensing what his sidekick was trying to convey, cleared his throat. He wasn’t used to mushy feelings; he was seen as the withdrawn, tough, intimidating Dark Knight at night and billionaire straight playboy Bruce Wayne... and that was true. But in this moment, he tried his best.

Batman: I’ve worked with many people in my civilian life and hero life. Some liked… baked goods that I wasn’t into, and you know how I usually reacted? I don’t care about that. I care about who they are, if they’re a good person, and if they truly love… pies. Who am I to judge? Love is love, that's how I've always thought of it. I think your parents would say the same thing. We all love you… Tim.

Red Robin covered his face and let out an embarrassed groan while Batman stood next to him.

Batman (with a knowing smile): This isn't about pies, is it?

Red Robin shook his head.

Red Robin (confessing): Bruce… I’m bisexual. And this is going to sound stupid to ask, but I’m not strange for being that, right?

Batman: Nope.

Red Robin: Are you lying to me? Are you secretly not okay with this?

Batman: Nope, I'm not lying to you. I'm okay with it because it doesn't make you any different. I don't understand all that, but again I'm not turning my back on you. You said you're bi, not abusing animals.

Red Robin: Is it okay if I hug you?

Batman: Yeah, sure.

Batman and Red Robin hugged for a few seconds, then pulled away. Red Robin wiped his masked-covered eyes.

Red Robin: My allergies are acting up.

Batman (dryly): Hate when that happens. Oh, and if it helps, I kind of figured you were gay and was waiting for you to tell me, but the bi caught me by surprise. Do I need to get you a celebration pie?

Batman chuckled at his own joke, while Red Robin rolled his eyes.

Batman: Come on, that’s funny. I’m proud of you, though. They would be too. Trust me, Janet and Jack weren’t homophobic rich people. Snooty at times, but they would never turn their backs on you. And I won’t either. So let’s discuss setting you up on dates later and get back to patrolling Gotham.

Red Robin (laughing): We don’t have to do that first part. So... how do I tell the rest of the family?

Batman: Well, luckily none of them heard our conversation, but we can invite them all over for dinner. They probably won't be to shocked. I'm curious though is the bi flag different from the main one?

Red Robin: Yeah, the colors are nice, why do you ask?

Batman: I want to make sure I get the right pin. Batwoman scolded me for fifteen minutes cause I didn't remember there was a lesbian flag. I am learning and you are too.

Red Robin (shaking his head with a soft smile): You have no idea.

[queeniewithabeanie]

Dear Diary

Dpxdc Prompt #38

After a long overdue clean up of the Manor's attic, Alfred brought a box of forgotten objects to Bruce. One of which being his old diary from when he was a kid.

Being curious, the man opened it, wondering what was on his mind as a child.

He shut it after the first mention of his parents.

He instructed Alfred to burn it, Bruce didn't want any more reminders of how his life was with his parents, how it could have turned out. He had already spent far to many nights dreaming about the what-ifs.

Alfred had other plans, however, giving the diary to the Wayne kids and instructing them to not let Bruce know about it.

They need to know that before he was Batman, he was a kid too. He had a life before vigilantism, before his parents had died.

What neither Bruce, nor Alfred remembered was Bruce's old "imaginary" friend Danny.

They also didn't know that he was real and still around, not alive, but kicking.

Danny allowed himself a little smile as his best friend's children read about him. He had been watching over them for so long after all, it was nice for them to finally know his name.

He knew pushing the diary towards Alfred was a good idea.

[capesch-arts]

Assorted LA-KiY doodles but with Noel, Butcher, and Parker because I've just finished relistening to S3-S4

Faroe and Jane give Noel a tidier haircut lol

Some random Dollins doodles and general Butcher shenanigans doodles

Local serial killer teaches blind journalist and her eldritch entity how to shotgun /j

And also Arthur before he died

The context for the last one is upon the realization that Arthur can no longer go home and he'll die when he sleeps, he immediately killed as many KiY cultists as he could before writing the will. Man was crashing out.

[arscorpii]

the way utena held onto wakaba and anthy's hands, trying her best to not let go (even though utena was barely holding onto anthy's hand, i'm sure she never wished to let anthy slip away from her grasp). both shots were lit with soft lighting ⟶ to highlight the importance of the person utena was holding onto and their bonds to utena.

the fact that she reached out to them with her left hand, the hand on which she wore her rose crest ring (the ring being clearly visible in both shots) ⟶ utena believed that she could only save wakaba and anthy by being a prince/playing the role of a prince.

utena caught wakaba's right hand with her left hand; wakaba wasn't holding back. meanwhile, anthy reached out to utena's left hand with her left hand as well. i think the difference in how each pair held hands may lie within the ideals between the pairs in their respective circumstances. with regard to wakaba, she harboured lots of pent-up emotions and thoughts about how unfairly the (ohtori) world treated the people it regarded as "special" and "ordinary," such as utena and herself. wakaba was clouded with feelings of inferiority and wanted to be special, to put it simply. utena didn't understand/wasn't aware of these dichotomous mechanisms/systems at play, at this point at least. these conflicting ideals, as in, awareness versus ignorance, were represented in the way they held hands; the hero/chosen one with her firm grasp on the motionless hand of the underdog/forgettable one.

with regard to anthy, the moment utena cracked open her coffin was the first time the both of them saw each other as they truly were. utena believed in a world beyond eternal pain and suffering anthy had to endure and wanted to share that view with her, wanted anthy to see and experience such a world, to save her from this needless perdition for good. eventually, anthy took the chance on the possibility, given how unyielding utena was in trying to reach her despite being stabbed by anthy herself; anthy hesitantly reached out to utena. both utena and anthy wanted to believe in a world where suffering is transient when they reached out to one another through the coffin opening, and not an eternally all-consuming pain as their fates in ohtori. they shared similar hopes in that moment.

utena reached out to both wakaba and anthy with kindness and love:

in the duel with wakaba, she never drew out the sword of dios or fought her. utena de-escalated the duel carefully by taking hold of wakaba's sword (the sword pulled out of saionji) and cutting off the black rose. despite not understanding the sequence of events that had them facing each other off in the dueling arena, wakaba was one of utena's closest friends and utena would save her. it's a little interesting to note that the audience (and utena, too i believe) didn't get a glimpse of wakaba's face during utena's speech as above. in addition, the focus on their interlocked hands when utena mentioned about not understanding the situation and saving wakaba is also interesting (even though the interlocked hands were due to them struggling against each other). it's possible what utena said at that moment may have reached her heart even while being under the control of the black rose. perhaps the speech may have made wakaba realise that she was indeed special. this "specialness" was emphasised by utena not letting wakaba fall into the outline of one of the bodies like the other black rose duelists; because she mattered to utena. "to not be chosen is to die" but in a way, she was chosen by utena here beyond the presented choice between her or anthy. utena chose wakaba and anthy.

in episode 39, akio used the sword pulled out of utena to break through the rose gate. utena was injured and incapacitated by anthy's stab, while anthy was relentlessly impaled with millions of swords embodying humanity's hatred. akio's futile attempts eventually broke the sword and he gave up on the pursuit. so long as he had anthy, he could try again, as in, try again to gain the power to "revolutionise the world" instead of freeing his little sister. utena tried opening the rose gate with her bare hands; dragging her injured body there, clinging onto the thorny vines of the roses on the gate, pushing through the large stone doors. she only wanted to stop the swords from hurting anthy, to help her. utena's love and care for anthy finally unlocked the rose gate into anthy's coffin. utena steadfastly held out her hand to anthy despite anthy's protests. utena's efforts moved anthy to tears, and she reached out to her. in episode 38, utena chose anthy over akio, and all the way back to episode 11, utena chose anthy over the power to revolutionise the world. utena had always chosen anthy against all odds and choices.

the aftermath:

wakaba wasn't holding back possibly due to being under the control of the black rose while anthy's hand eventually slipped away from utena's hold.

nevertheless, utena's efforts matter, very much so, because wakaba will always be on utena's side no matter what happens and anthy will find utena no matter where she is.