#I think Usagi would make the connection sooner

[sittingoverheredreaming]

Girls’ Night

Happy Valentines Day! Who’s ready for a fic that has nothing to do with the holiday or even romance? This turned out very different that what I set out to write, and it hits some personal notes for me (warning for slight butch and homophobia). Yes, it’s just under 2K words of Haruka starting to connect with the Inners beyond Mina.

_____

None of the girls knew what to expect when Minako announced-- and she had announced, rather than asked-- that Haruka would be coming to their next sleepover. Or perhaps it was more accurate to say they all had expectations, but knew them to be incorrect and somewhat less than kind.

Makoto felt preemptively defensive. If Haruka dared deride any of their activities as too girly or childish, she was ready to fight. Ami was nervous that Haruka would not come without Michiru. She could not tell if she specifically did not want Michiru there, or if she thought a couple would be inappropriate. Likely, she conceded privately, it was both.

Rei braced herself for another boisterous blonde in the group. Usagi worried everyone, including herself, would be too flustered to have fun.

But when Haruka arrived, she did not appear boisterous or haughty or even suave. She looked nervous, shoulders raised, a plastic bag of clothes in one hand and a value-sized tub of cheese puffs in the other.

“I, um, brought these,” she said, handing the later to Usagi. “Thank you for inviting me.”

Usagi smiled and did not say she hadn’t invited her. “Of course, we’re glad you came! Everyone’s in here.” She took Haruka and the cheese puffs into the living room. They had their usual set up, squeezed just a little tighter to ensure a sixth person could fit. “So what sort of movies do you like, Haruka?”

Usagi had meant it as an innocuous question, but everyone’s attention shifted to them to wait for the answer.

“Oh, um.” Haruka scratched the back of her head. “I like about anything, really.”

“You can tell them, buddy,” Mina said from her spot on the couch, without looking up from the fashion magazine she’d filched from Rei.

Haruka flushed. “Really, anything is good, I don’t want to throw you guys off too much.”

There was a flash in Rei’s eyes that clearly said Too late, but no one voiced the thought. Haruka squeezed in to sit next to Mina, doing a poor job of feigning interest in the article she was flipping through on the summer’s hottest dress styles.

Makoto looked on from her other side. “You ever wear stuff like that?”

“Um, not really, no.” Haruka’s neck and ears flushed pink. “It’s just not really my thing? I mean, I had to wear dresses when I was younger, but…”

“Mhm,” said Makoto, and Haruka felt this was somehow the wrong answer.

Mina threw an arm around Haruka’s shoulders. “Haruka likes pizza though! We should get to ordering.”

Haruka tried to relax into her embrace. “Yeah, pizza’s great. Any kind of pizza is great.”

“Everyone loves pizza!” Usagi held up her phone like it was a holy sword, ready to order. “Pizza is the great uniter of the people.”

Haruka couldn’t help but laugh. “Actually, would you believe Michiru doesn’t like pizza? I didn’t think it was possible.”

No one else found it amusing. “She does seem the type,” Ami said cooly. Rei and Makoto nodded. Usagi still held her phone in the air, face contorted as she tried to process the words doesn’t like pizza.

“Why don’t we get two large pepperoni?” Mina said as though nothing at all had transpired. “I don’t know about you guys, but I’m ravenous.

Five uncomfortable murmurs of assent, and she declared the pizza would be on its way. For a long stretch, they all pretended to watch the pizza tracker. Their order had been received. The restaurant had not begun preparing it. Mina tapped her screen to keep it from going dark.

“You know, I’m pretty good at painting nails. Mi…” Haruka shifted and cleared her throat, sensing at the last moment that mentioning Michiru again was not the best course. “I could do it for you guys, if you wanted.”

“Maybe after the pizza,” Rei said. “If our nails don’t dry, it’s hard to eat.”

“Okay.”

“Look.” Mina tossed her phone to type side and pressed her palms against the table. “She did mine the other day.”

Her nails were a simple red. It was the most Haruka could do, but it was hardly impressive to anyone besides Usagi.

“That’s amazing! Why didn’t you tell us Haruka did them?”

Haruka had sworn Mina to secrecy, but she knew better than to say that. “It’s her secret power.”

“I’m jealous. I always get it all uneven.” Usagi pulled off her socks to wiggle her toes, where polish clumped at her cuticles and stuck to the skin around her nail.

“You just get too impatient.” Rei smacked at her socks. “If you just took your time--”

“I do, Rei, I do!” Usagi swung her socks in Rei’s face. “I go so slow! You’ve seen me, I just can’t do it good.”

“You only think you can’t.”

“Reeeeeiiiiiiiii.”

Makoto chuckled and leaned back on the couch. “You sure got them started.”

“Oh, I didn’t mean--”

She waved Haruka off, feeling momentarily charitable. “They get like this no matter what. It’s what you signed up for just by coming.”

“Yeah. It’s kind of nice. You guys are, I mean, when you’re just…” Haruka trailed off.

Makoto softened a little, loosening from the animosity that had built between them. “It’s always nice when people stop being on their best behavior for you.”

Mina beamed behind Haruka’s back. Even Ami, on the other side of the room, looked more comfortable. By the time the pizza arrived, she was sure this was going all according to plan. They all dug in happily, and for a moment it seemed nothing could go wrong. Usagi tried to match Haruka bite for bite-- a simple, yet admirable feat-- while Rei berated them both for their manners. Mako laughed at them all, big and loud, and Ami laughed small and quiet.

But as Mina knew very well, a victory so easily won was just as easily lost.

“It’s movie time!” Usagi declared when the pizza boxes were put aside in favor of various snacks. “What should we watch?”

Everyone-- besides Haruka-- threw in their ideas. Ami got groans for suggesting an Einstine documentary, but so did Rei for her historical drama. Mina, for once, did not suggest anything risque, but instead put forward a rom-com everyone had liked the last time they’d watched it. Makoto also suggested a rom-com.

And then Usagi pulled out a dog movie.

“Mama said this was really good!” She pointed at the cover art. “And the dog is super cute.”

“I heard they did a lot of research on dog behavior for that, it’s supposed to be very accurate.”

Rei nodded as though she was just as interested in scientific accuracy as Ami. “That’s my vote.”

“I’m down.”

Everyone looked to Haruka and Mina. “Um…” Haruka looked at the floor. “Wouldn’t you guys rather watch something more romancey?”

“Why?” Makoto asked, bristling again. “Is that all you think girls like?”

“No, I just like them, and--”

“What, you think the women are hot?”

If looks could kill, Mina would have murdered Rei on the spot.

“No!” Haruka waived her hands in front of her face. “I mean, sometimes, maybe, I don’t know, but probably not any more than you do.”

“Than I do?” Rei went tense, and the room went tenser.

“Than any of you, I mean.”

As soon as she said it, she knew it was a misstep. Ami blushed very red. Makoto looked to the ceiling. Rei crossed her arms, mouthing the beginning of arguments and shaking her head. Usagi didn’t look shaken, at least, just thoughtful, like maybe the idea just hadn’t occurred to her before.

“Well I guess the closet walls are coming down tonight, huh?” Mina said, too loud and cheerful. She clapped her hands. “We don’t have to unpack this right now, so why don’t we--”

“I think I’m gonna go.” Haruka grabbed her bag. “I’m making everyone uncomfortable. Sorry.” She was out the door before Mina could stop her.

“What the fuck, you guys?”

“Don’t what the fuck us. What the fuck you, you brought her.” Rei pointed an accusatory finger. “None of us wanted her here.”

“Yeah, you made that painfully clear. You could have been nice and gave her a shot.”

“I did and she accused me of--”

“Rei Hino you are a lesbian and everyone knows it, she didn’t accuse anyone of shit.”

“She was making fun of us,” Makoto said, tone terse and measured. “She thinks we’re too girly.”

Mina took a breath. “Firstly, projecting much? Secondly, she does like rom coms, and painting nails, because she’s a complex human being, and she just didn’t want to watch the stupid dog movie because she was gonna cry when the dog died, and she’d get all embarrassed about that.”

“THE DOG DIES?”

They ignored Usagi. Ami looked around, and, realizing it was her turn, shrugged sheepishly. “I just don’t like her much.”

Mina rose a finger, but then dropped it. “You know, that’s actually pretty fair. Thank you for being honest.”

Usagi, being ignored already, took the opportunity to slip outside. She was happy to see Haruka hadn’t gotten any further than her car, having taken a moment to brood behind the wheel. She forced a smile as Usagi approached. “You shouldn’t be outside barefoot, kitten.”

“I want to apologize for everyone. Can I come in?”

Haruka shrugged, so Usagi climbed into the passenger seat. “I didn’t know the dog died. In the movie, I mean.”

Haruka chuckled. “That’s okay.”

“I would have cried too.”

Haruka flushed, and they were silent for a long stretch.

“It’s hard to think of you as just one of the girls.”

“Yeah, I know. I get that a lot.”

“Not… not just that.” Usagi stared at the dashboard. “You’re only a year older than us, but you seem so… so far ahead. I don’t think Michiru would be any less intimidating. You know parts of yourselves we can’t even fathom yet. And you’re like, practically married.”

“And you and Mamoru aren’t?”

“That’s different, we have a whole other life and destiny tying us together. You just chose each other.”

“I guess that makes sense.” Haruka folded her arms over the wheel and rested her chin on them. “I don’t feel older than you guys, though. You guys have built this whole thing with each other, and I don’t have that with anyone. I mean, Mina likes me alright, and we hang out, but that’s it. I haven’t had a group like this since I was real little, and even then it was mostly boys.” She smiled weakly. “They stopped liking me when I started beating them at sports and not kissing them.”

Usagi laughed. “Well, you can beat me at all the sports, I’m sure, and I won’t stop liking you.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah!” Her eyes widened and she pumped her fists. “Let’s have our own sleepover in here!” She leaned back her seat and started to pull up movies on her phone.

“It won’t be comfortable.”

“It’ll be better than spending the night with meanie Rei. Here, this is a movie I’ve seen, nobody dies and it’s real cute” She balanced her phone on the window so Haruka could see. “We can have a nice little girl’s night.”

Haruka sighed and leaned her seat back to join her. “I guess this could be fun.”

Mina looked on from the front step as Usagi hit play. The others would come around with time, she was sure, and if nothing else, this was a good start. She slipped back inside to make sure no one would interrupt Haruka’s sleepover.

[bibiscate]

Took long enough but I finally made Usagi!!

Couldn’t decide what kinda clothing would look better in this version, so I did more than one

He also got those cool mystic swords but unfortunately they are broken, ops

Okay, so, headcanons ahead:

Since rise is really creative with it’s characters, I wanted a new creative introduction for Usagi this time, maybe more of a backstory when compared to his 2003/2012 self.

I also wanted to do something he would hate for conflict dksalfjsa

So here it goes

Born a Yokai to a important family that serves the Council of Heads for centuries

Is expected that he, too, would be one of their agents or guards

But Usagi was kind of a rebel and didn’t like that

He followed the rules just enough to not get in trouble, but it didn’t take long for his attitude to put him in a tight spot

Maybe he was caught doing things he shouldn’t, or maybe he was framed for things he didn’t do. Probably both but don’t know what he did exactly

The Council was furious. He was convicted as a criminal and later, one of the city's most wanted fugitives

Part of his punishment was being used as a test subjct with an experimental liquid the Council was making

Usagi wasn’t told what that liquid would, or could do, nor about the intentions the Council had in using it

The result: He was cursed to transform into... a rabbit. A normal one.

Yes I just did that just for plot and because I think he would hate it more than an actual felony sentence lol

Only the same liquid could turn him back, and he would never have the chance, as the other part of his sentence was: perpetual imprisonment. Yay!

Shenanigans happens, he manages to escape

But he’s still a bunny and still a fugitive

While he was being chased, he managed to flee as far away as possible, to the least unlikely place they would look for him, the surface.

Of course they wouldn't risk it, right?

Wrong

With guards disguised with cloaking broches looking for him at all times, he was accidentally found by a human child, who found him ‘far too cute' and so he was kidnapped adopted

A Lilo & Stitch situation ensues, where he takes the opportunity to escape his pursuers

At first, only using the child for his benefit, little by little he realizes that the chances of him returning to his old life are almost none, he starts to get used to the life of a pet, regrettably, of course.

Years later, still having the habit of running away and doing anything he feels like doing, Usagi senses the familiar aura of mystical objects. Weapons, powerful ones

He discovers four strange turtles, neither yokai nor humans

Thinks it has something to do with the liquid they used on him, or "ooze" as they called it

Sooner or later he would accidentally attract their attention, and his owner, who always goes after him when he runs away would too come to find him adn the turtles. After some akward first meeting and finding out more about them and about mutants, he thinks that the best option for him is to stay close to these beings, as strange as they are.

With a friendship forming between the turtles and his owner, it didn’t take long for them to become one of the oozequito’s victims.

Thankfully, Usagi bravely saves them from becoming a mutant by... eating... the... insect

Half an hour later, there's a mutant/rabbit yokai in Donnie's lab, and a lot of explaining to do.

Maybe I’ll post more about his personality, but later, now I tired kdsak

Also will soon post about his ‘’owner’’ who is my recently revamped oc!! Yes I sorry if you think that’s cringe but I still doing it lol

it’s the only way I found to connect some plot points I sorry but bear with me I’ll explain it in the future promise

[keyofjetwolf]

NO WAY THIS WILL COME BACK TO BITE YOU IN THE ASS

So why would Mamoru lie about this? He, I assume, saw Shin taken over by Kunzite, and as I feel it’s unlikely he didn’t club Shin over the head with the ocean bottle and stuff him in a chest, Kunzite probably ran/flew/teleported off. (Alternately, he could have threatened Mamoru out here to lie to Usagi and get her to leave, but I’m not sure Kunzite would be too terribly worried about Usagi seeing him.)

And Mamoru knows Usagi is Sailor Moon, right? He saw her in the funhouse. So while he might be concerned for her safety just on principle, if nothing else, he knows she’s a Senshi with a whole team and can take care of herself in a fight. Not to mention almost certainly having to face off against Kunzite sooner or later.

What makes sense to me, then, is that he doesn’t want Usagi to know of the Shin/Kunzite connection. Either because it didn’t work, or it did a little too well, however you want to view it. I think Mamoru has been quite charmed by Usagi’s dedication and enthusiasm (which is fair, it’s charming!), and doesn’t want to punch it in the face so hard.

I’ve talked more than a little lately, particularly on the podcast, how frustrated I find it that we never take the time to see what Mamoru and Usagi would see in each other AS each other, removed from who they were in the past. Given what I’d already seen of PGSM Mamoru, I would never have thought it might be the version of him that perhaps does the best job of exactly that.

[shnuggletea]

So... Mamoru is Endymion. Shocker I know! But what's he gonna do with that info? Thank you all for the awesome reviews and not cursing my name. I mean, some of you did but it was all in good fun. IT WAS ALL IN GOOD FUN!

I told you guys that I loved the last chapter and it was my favorite. Well, this one is Darkenedhrt's favorite. So I'm dedicating it to her. Here you go, raging and out of control Endymion off to find his 'wife'. Nothing like two people in your head to confuse the hell out of your personality! Personally, I love how the Shitennou react. Cracks me up!

Fanfiction HERE

AO3 HERE

Chapter 17

Her chest tightened to uncomfortable levels, causing her to wake up, the amount of anger that rolled into her was overwhelming and no amount of deep breathing seemed to calm it. She heard voices outside her room, yelling mixed with hushing. Getting out of bed, she stumbled, the emotions rolling into her were not her own and she struggled to cope.

Luna stood on the bed, looking after her as she wobbled towards the door. "Usagi-chan, are you alright?"

She couldn't even answer the question because she herself didn't know.

Managing to make it to the door, she flung it open, finding the boys, Minako and Makoto, all standing in the living room. Minako and Makoto had both clearly just woken up and stood bleary-eyed to the side. But once they caught sight of her, they snapped to attention, running to her side.

"Usagi-chan?"

"Usagi-chan are you alright?!"

Zoisite was pacing, all the boys looking agitated, even Kunzite was a bit on edge. "See! Look at her! This proves it for sure!"

"Proves what?!"

They all looked at her, concern etched on their faces at her current condition. Kun straightened, clearing his throat of his own nerves. "He has awakened. Endymion has returned. And I have a feeling he is on his way here now."

Makoto almost dropped her. "What?!"

"You could have said that sooner! We should get her out of here!" Minako was pushing her to the door and Kunzite stopped her.

"It doesn't matter where you take her, he will find her. They are connected. Look at her! You think she is ill? No, that is Endymion!"

More anger billowed in, nearly bringing her to her knees. "Why is he so pissed? I thought you said he loved me? If he loves me, then why the hell is he doing this to me?!" Kun smirked and she had to fight the urge to smack him.

"Endymion has only one weakness, Usagi, and that is you. Waking up and you not being there with him, he has probably lost it."

She managed a glare at Jadeite. "That is putting it lightly! And I am not his weakness, Serenity is! It is not my fault he woke up all alone!"

"Isn't it though?"

Neph looked her over, straight-faced and honest with his words and she only found it more confusing. She opened her mouth to ask more from him but was silenced when the floor began to shake.

"What the hell? An Earthquake?"

Jadeite shook his head at Makoto. "An Earthquake would be better."

"Oh shit, he is PISSED! He is going to kill us for sure."

Zoisite started to pace again while Kunzite went to the door, opening it wide and stepping back. She gave him a curious look. "I don't want him busting the door down. We have a deposit that I would very much like to get back."

She rolled her eyes and bright, white light filled the room for a second, a roll of thunder following shortly after. Even with Endymion's anger boiling over inside her, she still jumped and squeaked at the sound.

"Jesus, he is going to bring down the whole building!"

She grimaced at the boys, partly due to her frustration and partly due to the pain she was experiencing. "I thought you guys said something about him having better control. Whatever that means!"

Zoisite still paced, all of them edging around the room while looking pale. Neph looked around wildly as if Endymion would appear anywhere in the room at any second. "He does have control but not when his emotions are out of whack."

The building continued to shake and thunder continued to roll outside. "Oh, this is ridiculous!" She pushed away from Makoto's and Minako's hold, standing in the middle of the room before the door. "Come on already then! Come and get me, Endymion! I am not afraid of you!"

As if controlled by her, everything became still and silent, causing his voice to ring out eerily. "You should be."

Startled, she jumped, facing the door and finding him standing in it. "Mamoru?" He walked casually into the room as if he owned the place. Not a care in the world. "You shouldn't be here. Endymion will be here any second now."

Yet another wave of pure anger rolled into her but she managed to remain standing, not wanting to alarm Mamoru. If he thought she was in trouble, he would never leave.

Once inside the room, the boys all stopped and fell to a bent knee before Mamoru. "Oh, Kami. Get up, you idiots!" They all looked up at him, questioning looks on their faces. "I said get up!"

They all jumped up, standing rigidly before him. Mamoru walked before them like a man inspecting his troops. Then he stopped, grabbing each of them behind the neck and pulling them into him in a fierce hug.

"It is good to see all of you again."

The anger lessened, making her able to stand and speak while watching the small and respectable lovefest before her. She glanced around, finding the girls just as confused as she was. "Mamoru?"

The men released one another quickly, a short man hug between the five of them. "But you all still kept me in the dark."

They each bowed their heads, Kun being the only one brave enough to speak. "Forgive us, my lord. For that and for many other things. We did try to awaken you… but it was not meant to be us."

At that, Mamoru spun to face her, anger hitting her hard again. It matched the look on his face and the fire in his eyes. "That's right. It was my little Serenity's job, wasn't it? And she refused."

"What?"

She was reeling, her mind spinning, which wasn't helped when Mamoru lifted her up into his arms. "If you will excuse us. I need a moment alone with my wife."

Tiny electric shocks hit her from every part of that touched him and it hurt. Her last glance behind them as he carried her to her room was Kun and Neph jumping over the couch and restraining Makoto and Minako. The two of them fully planning to come after her until then.

The door slammed behind them and he set her back on her feet. "Pack!"

She was still swimming, trying to keep up with it all. "What?"

He was at her dresser, his back to her while he started opening drawers. "I said pack! You are not staying here!"

Now her own anger came to the surface. "You can't tell me what to do!"

Turning on his heel, he glared at her, his anger nearly forcing her to the floor. "The hell I can't! No wife of mine is going to stay with four men!"

She barely managed to stand straight, forcing herself to remain tall. "I am not your wife! And those four men are your friends!"

He stepped up to her, her knees buckling, but she forced them back up. "I took vows, same as you, to be with you forever. That means even in death and the life after Serenity."

"I am NOT Serenity, I am Usagi and you are Mamoru. What is wrong with you?!"

This time, she did buckle, making it to her bed to sit as she was overwhelmed with the rage of someone else. "You feel that don't you? Once I woke up, breaking your barrier was no problem. Notice that I am not touching you for you to feel it either? That's because you and I have a bond. An unbreakable connection that we have always had. Since we were children!"

"...Endymion?"

He did a small and mocking clap. "There she goes. She finally gets it. And YOU kept us apart. Out of what? Stubbornness? Selfishness? Fear?!"

Her vision began to swim, black edging at her vision. "Mamoru...please stop.."

"Months Serenity. For months you have been awake without me and then, when you found out that it was up to you to awaken me, you refused!"

She leaned back on the bed, hoping to fall back on it instead of the floor. "Endymion, you are hurting me!"

His anger left her, a weight lifting off her chest in an instant, and she almost fell over from the sudden lack of it. Her vision cleared, finding him kneeling before her, holding her upright. He did his best to send soothing waves through her, but the guilt was there as well.

With a gentle hand, he brushed away a few wild hairs from her face, a few strands coming free from her braid. "I'm sorry."

He still knelt before her, both his hands on her hips and watched her. "You know, I'm pretty sure you caused your men out there to wet their pants."

"But you weren't afraid."

Shaking her head, she kept her eyes on him as he kept his on hers. "I know you would never hurt me. Not intentionally anyway."

She felt his guilt again, his eyes leaving hers, but she grabbed his face to pull it back up to hers. "I will never hurt you again. Unintentional or otherwise."

She giggled, but he didn't smile. "Well, that's not true. How will we train?"

He stood, going back to her dresser again. "You won't be training. Not anymore."

She pushed off the bed, her own anger starting to flare up again. "Excuse me?"

"I'm benching you. You are not fighting anymore. I will protect you and the Earth. It is my duty, not yours."

"Are you serious?!"

"Very! Now, where is your suitcase?"

She stomped over to her dresser next to him and slammed the drawer he stood at shut. "Stop it, I am not going anywhere!"

He opened it again. "Yes, you are."

She slammed it shut again and he barely got his hand out before it got crushed. "No, I am NOT!"

"You are not going to live with other men!"

"And just where do you expect me to live?!"

"With me, your husband!"

"YOU ARE NOT MY HUSBAND! Serenity and Endymion were married, not us! They are dead!"

"That is a small and inconsequential detail."

She stomped her foot, her frustration shimming through her to him causing him to grimace. "It is not!"

"Fine, then let's get married."

All the blood drained from her face and it felt as if the wind was knocked out of her. "What?"

"You're right. Serenity and Endymion were married. And according to this world, we are Usagi and Mamoru. So we should get remarried."

"You can't be serious."

"Why do you keep asking me that?"

She moved away from him, needing as much distance as possible from him for fear she might strike him at any moment. "You have lost your mind! Regaining your memories has changed you because you are crazy!"

Her back was to him, unable to look at him at that moment. So she didn't see him approach, just felt his arms around her as he pulled her in tight to him. "You make me crazy."

Her heart was racing in her chest and he spun her around, his lips crashing to hers in an instant. Her brain was spinning, wave after wave of affection and love crashing over her from him, making her heart swell and thump against her rib cage.

After a few moments, he pulled away, only to lift her up off her feet. "Kami, I have missed you so much."

His mouth was on hers again, silencing any thoughts she had other than his lip as she pulled it into her mouth, sucking and nipping on it. He moaned against her, his tongue sliding across her bottom lip, gaining him entrance to her mouth and a moan from her in return.

Pulling her to him tighter, she wrapped her legs around him, not really sure what she was doing. Her body seemed to know just what to do and how to respond to him. She was aching for him, not sure how much of that was from him or from herself, but the only way she could describe it was as wanting.

Her back hit the bed before she even realized he was lowering them and now he laid on top of her. His hands roamed her body, touching and caressing places, the right places. Like he knew exactly what to do while she did not. Her hands felt clumsy, shaking as they moved up his chest to his shoulders.

Pulling his mouth away from hers, he led a trail across her jaw and down to her neck. When he reached her collar bone, her body arched in response, offering herself up to him. His hands worked their way up her t-shirt, pulling it up to her chest, leaving her bare to the cold air in her room.

His mind opened to hers, she read him with ease. He was planning on making love to her, right then and there with a room full of people just on the other side of her door.

"Wait...stop...we can't."

He groaned, the vibration running from his lips to her skin. "Yes, we can."

"No...the others."

"I don't care."

She shoved hard on his shoulders, breaking the contact. "I care!"

"Kami, Serenity, you are so stubborn."

Her heart cracked, splintering into a thousand pieces while tears pooled in her eyes. She couldn't even look at him, pushing him up so she could wiggle her way out from under him. "I am not Serenity."

"Usako…"

"No! Endymion loves Serenity okay, I get it. But Mamoru? He does NOT love Usagi. Never has. Maybe at one point, I was okay with that, but not anymore. Not in this life. I refuse to be some stand-in for someone who died over a century ago."

She pulled her shirt back down roughly, gaining her freedom and getting away from him and her bed. "Wait Usagi."

"I think you should go."

Her back was to him again. She could feel him searching her feelings and her mind. "You don't remember."

She huffed, pulling her head up to the ceiling and letting her tears fall back to her ears. "Remember what?"

He was still searching her, assessing her and she was sick of it. Pushing him out, he gasped, but then slowly got up from the bed. She thought he was going to wrap her up in his arms again, coming to stand behind her.

"I've hurt you again….I'm sorry. I thought...I thought you remembered."

The pain he felt mirrored hers but cut in half in comparison. It was different, more like mourning. Perhaps he finally came to terms with reality, that his Serenity is gone.

She couldn't stop herself from watching him as he walked past her and out the door. As soon as the lock clicked into place, she flung herself back to the bed and sobbed.

~*O*~

"Take it the reunion didn't go as planned?"

He glared at her, the blonde sitting alone in the living room mocking him. "Screw you, Aphrodite."

"Ho, now, is that any way to talk to your new best friend?"

He grabbed his chest, the splintering from Usagi's heart reaching his tenfold. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"You didn't really expect to walk in there and her accept you as her long lost husband did you?"

"Kinda yeah?!"

She shook her head, chuckling, "But she isn't. She is Usagi."

"I KNOW that!"

"And you are Mamoru."

"Would you get to your fucking point?"

She laughed again, standing and poking him in the chest with her finger. "Usagi believes that Mamoru didn't love her."

"Which is ridiculous!"

"Oh is it? Did he tell her he loved her? Did he show her any genuine interest BEFORE he started getting his memories? Look, I'm on your side, I know both Mamoru and Endymion love Usagi. But that doesn't change the fact that Usagi feels as though you are just using her as a look-a-like."

He gripped his hair, feeling the need to rip it out in his frustration. "She's not a look-a-like!"

She patted his shoulder, a feeble attempt to calm him. "As I said, I'm on your side."

He relented, releasing some of his tension with a heavy breath. "What is it you suggest I do then?"

She shrugged, walking away and towards Kun's room. "I don't know. But if you want Usagi, you need to prove to her that Mamoru loves USAGI, not Serenity."

She shut the door behind her, leaving him alone in the dark. "Oh...is that all…."

Not as bad of a cliff hanger, right? Stay tuned lovelies!

[socjuswiz]

Masculinity, anime, and gender dysphoria

An analysis of media-induced transgender identification

Depicted: Rui Ninomiya. Actually just a cross-dressing boy but I wanted to use his image because it’s cute and fitting.

Anyone who spends a lot of time with the transgender debate will notice sooner or later that there are a ton of young trans-identifying males who are into anime, using anime girls for their social media avatars, sharing memes related to cute anime girls, and so on. We don’t have statistic or anything to confirm it (would be a strange thing to research), but the correlation seems beyond coincidence, and in this article I will put forth a theory on the dynamics behind the phenomenon, as someone who spent 5+ years in the anime community of 4chan, and developed a very mild form of gender dysphoria and autogynephilia during the same time.

Indeed, it’s a regular occurrence that people from the “Anime & Manga” board of 4chan visit the LGBT board and ask, explicitly: could it be that anime made me trans? Here’s a good example of a thread with many people admitting there being a connection:

https://archived.moe/lgbt/thread/7538520/

Their theories vary of course, and those convinced by gender identity ideology frame it as merely “discovering” themselves to be trans after getting into anime, as they don’t believe one can develop the conditions that lead to trans identification. They believe one can only be born trans.

Depicted: A formerly “cis” 4chan user talking about how he began identifying with an anime girl

To properly understand the phenomenon, or at least my theory of it, one needs to begin with an analysis of boys’ socialization into masculinity.

Masculinity

The stereotyping of humans in accordance with their sex begins before birth.

Yes, before birth.

I’ll update this article if I manage to find the study again, but basically, scientists observed how parents react when the unborn baby kicks, and found that, if the parents know the baby to be male, they are more likely to ascribe the kicking to the fact that the child is male and therefore assumed to be more physically active by nature.

Another study found that adults stereotype infants with accordance to the pitch of their cries. Low-pitched cries are attributed to boys whereas high-pitched cries are attributed to girls. When the sex of the infant is known, the pitch is assumed to signify how feminine or masculine the child is. When a male infant cries with a high pitch, it’s assumed to have a more serious cause than when a female infant does so, because female infants are assumed to cry with a high pitch anyway.

I’m giving these examples not to argue that kids begin to be affected by sex stereotypes starting before or soon after birth. I’m not an expert on neurological development, but would assume that babies that young don’t have the capacity to process how others treat them beyond a very basic level. My point is, rather, that by the time a child’s mind is developed enough to respond to such stereotyping treatment, the stereotyping is already happening. We spend not even the earliest phases of our mental development in an environment free of sex stereotypes. Our consciousness is born into a sex stereotyping environment, and grows within it starting from day zero.

For stages later than infancy, I’m not sure if there’s scientific evidence, but I would assume that my claims here are relatively uncontroversial: watch how parents, perhaps men in particular, interact with boys who even just begin to walk and talk, and you are likely to notice that expectations of masculinity are already there. Vaguely, the boy will be taught to be loud, active, self-asserting, to be king. If he is meek, passive, gentle, or otherwise “feminine” or “effeminate,” the boy will be met with disapproval or disappointment. Toy preferences will be policed: no, you don’t want to play with the pony with the glittering mane or the Barbie doll with the pretty hair and dress, those are for girls. Clothing is policed: only girls wear cute, pink, frilly dresses and skirts, or t-shirts with pretty kittens or princesses or whatever on them…

Now, I’m not trying to give a gendered upbringing 101 lesson. Especially for people well versed in feminist theory, all this stuff is basic. Instead, I want to draw attention to a very particular aspect of masculine upbringing, which ties into our topic.

A large part of masculine socialization is dependent on the killing of positive emotions that are deemed feminine, and the prevention of many ways of thinking and behaving that simply make a person feel wholesome, because they are simultaneously deemed to be girly.

I’m not the first to point this out. Andrea Dworkin talked about it as well if I remember correctly. (I probably picked it up from her.) The brilliant bell hooks explains the same thing the following way, as I’ve found just recently:

Depicted: bell hooks

The first act of violence that patriarchy demands of males is not violence towards women. Instead patriarchy demands of all males that they engage in acts of psychic self-mutilation, that they kill off the emotional parts of themselves. If an individual is not successful in emotionally crippling himself, he can count on patriarchal men to enact rituals of power that will assault his self-esteem. -- bell hooks

To elaborate: the boy has to be loud and active, so he can’t relax. He has to assert himself, which means conflict and stress. He can’t be too gentle — even to the things he loves — because he’s not some kind of faggot now, is he? It becomes worse when boys begin to ridicule, ostracize, bully each other based on perceived effeminacy. It becomes really soul-breaking at that point. Sure, masculine socialization means learning to be the oppressor under patriarchy, but for the individual boy, especially the one who has no natural predisposition to the characteristics expected of masculinity, who instead is soft and gentle by nature, the role he is expected to play is his doom.

For many, the result is massive repression. Repress all the positive emotions. Even if you’re not very active, never just relax and enjoy the calm; sulk around with a grim face instead. If you dare to feel light-hearted joy in the first place: don’t dare expressing it with a heartfelt laugh, because laughing is for when you’re victorious over your rival whom you’ve just dominated — otherwise it’s a frivolous girly expression. Gentle touches and caresses are for girls and faggots, so you don’t let anyone touch you. If you can’t be the glorious masculine hero, you become the emotionless robot, the gloomy depressed kid who’s indifferent to pretty much anything, because then at least he’s not girly.

This more or less describes most of my childhood, adolescent, and young adult years, and currently I have to watch the same thing happening to a younger brother, who has a lot of softness inside of him just like me.

Of course, repression never fully works. The boy is left with a deeply seated longing for all those “feminine”-deemed feelings. A longing for enjoying life again. For being allowed to enjoy life, even.

And now, enter the anime subculture.

Cute Girls Doing Cute Things

Depicted: Yuyushiki main characters being cute

This is literally a genre of anime. Frequently abbreviated CGDCT.

Famous examples: Azumanga Daioh, K-On!, YuruYuri, A Channel, Hidamari Sketch, Non Non Biyori, Yuyushiki, Gochuumon wa Usagi Desu ka, Yama no Susume, and the list goes on. These are all just off the top of my head.

Officially, their genre tends to be listed as comedy and “slice of life.” Slice of life is sometimes also called iyashikei — a Japanese word meaning literally “healing.”

Depicted: Miyako from Hidamari Sketch. One of the overall best anime in history, to be quite honest.

Generally, all the main characters are female. Male characters tend to be rare, sometimes entirely absent from the series. The context is oftentimes a girls’ high-school or something similar.

And all the characters are ultra-feminine blobs of cuteness who tend to express their utter joy in life in the most cheerful and dramatic ways possible, or at least represent various stereotypes of femininity that exist in Japanese culture. They showcase purified, sterilized, highly idealized versions of femininity.

So this is like My Little Pony and “bronies” then, right? Adult men creating a subculture around cartoons made for young girls?

Well, not quite. These anime are made for men. The official target demographic is more often than not “seinen,” meaning adolescent boys and young men, sometimes older men even. Which is also why the female characters are frequently covertly or overtly sexualized. (I won’t even get into the whole pedophilic aspect of it.)

The Japanese seem to have learned to turn the repressed femininity of young men into profit.

By the way, said representation of female characters is not unique to CGDCT. Romantic comedies, action anime, and really any genre of anime frequently contain female characters of the same nature. One doesn’t need to indulge in die-hard CGDCT subculture to be bathed in this representation of joyful hyper-femininity.

Depicted: Inari with the divine foxes. One of my all-time favorite characters. Maximum cute, maximum healing.

For the repressed lonely boy, getting into such anime is first of all a way to indulge in the joys of femininity in a way he himself finds acceptable. It may not be entirely socially acceptable for young men to watch “girly” anime, but the male-dominated subculture around them, and the knowledge that the anime are “officially” made for young men, provides sufficient self-justification to overcome the internal fear of indulging in the “girly.” Moreover, the female characters are not only adored, but frequently also sexualized, which provides further masculinity-conformant justification.

Eventually, since the anime girl represents all those repressed emotions in the purest, most concentrated way possible, and as the boy indulges more and more in the media, he is overcome with the desire of becoming like her. A strong identification with the cute anime girl forms. He finally admits he always wanted to be soft and gentle like her, carefree and cheerful like her, enjoy life in its fullest without the heavy chains of masculinity, like her.

And a belief in “female gender identity” begins to form.

I have to go on a slight digression at this point.

I don’t have a straightforward explanation of why this identification also leads to the development of autogynephilia — why the boy begins desiring to be sexually passive and submissive, even becoming “pseudo bisexual” in Blanchard’s terms, when he is originally heterosexual. Sure, masculinity very strictly forbids sexual submission (especially submission to other men), so if there were a natural desire for submission then those feelings would be repressed along with the others, but why would an average straight boy have feelings of sexual submission in the first place? (I doubt that any person naturally has such feelings.)

I suppose it has something to do with seeing such sexually submissive performance as part of the whole package of glamorized femininity. Perhaps, frequent consumption of pornography, in which women are portrayed behaving sexually submissive and enjoying it, causes the boys to subconsciously associate sexual submission with pleasure, and after the floodgates of femininity are opened, this also surfaces. Indeed, many people seem to have an autogynephilic fetish that is more strictly sexual in nature, and that in turn has often been theorized (by the men who have the fetish) to be related to porn consumption. So possibly we’re dealing with an interaction between two distinct psychological processes: a porn-induced subconscious association between behaving sexually submissive and receiving sexual pleasure, leading to the development of a latent autogynephilic fetish, which then surfaces through the embracing of total femininity when repressed feelings explode through identification with cute anime girls who are able to enjoy life.

Perhaps a little far-fetched, but it’s the best I’ve got for now to explain how autogynephilic fetishism ties into the theory of repressed positive/feminine feelings.

Let us go back to feminine identification and gender dysphoria though.

The boy who had repressed positive, life-affirming emotions his whole life has finally found salvation through his cute anime girls who show him how to live life to its fullest. How to be a cheerful person radiating all kinds of love and joy. It’s not merely a superficial attachment. It can be experienced as a very deep, sincere feeling, which finally pulls him out of a life-long depression.

This is why the boy begins to feel not just regular discomfort with his body, which he finds ugly according to conventional beauty norms; rather, the mere maleness of his body starts to feel like a profound contradiction with what he finally finds within himself. The boy still being brainwashed by masculine ideology, the body causes extreme cognitive dissonance and distress, because it’s connected in his mind with the polar opposite of his newly found true and inner self. If I’m a cute, soft, cheerful girl on the inside, he thinks, how could I possibly have a manly body like this? How creepy, disgusting, and plain ridiculous would I look behaving like the cute girl that I am on the inside, when I’m going through all the motions with this male body?

So there you get gender dysphoria. Your whole life you’ve been taught that you’re supposed not to be like the feminine girls and instead a masculine boy, which you subconsciously hated, perhaps to the point of suicidality, and now you’ve finally discovered, and fully embraced, that you’re “really” a feminine girl, but the male body is still there and ruining everything. It’s reminding people that you’re actually male — no, it’s making them think that you’re male. So you jump around between trying to modify (maybe even mutilate) your body into a more feminine shape, and yelling at people that just because you have a male body, doesn’t mean that you’re not really a girl.

It’s a miserable state to be in, and I don’t wish it on anyone.

Not to excuse any of the misogyny coming from guys like this. Women didn’t do this to them, and women aren’t responsible for fixing the issue.

Depicted: Transgender male on 4chan expressing violent hatred for his female psychiatrist, attached with an image of an angry anime girl. For some reason, he thinks serious gender dysphoria precludes the possibility of having an autogynephilic aspect to the condition.

As a final remark, let me add that anime with cute girls in them is just one possible way in which repressed femininity can explode. Representations of glamorized femininity exist in a lot of media and around us, so for any individual young man, the gateway to gender dysphoria may be something entirely different, and may occur in various stages of life. I suspect that the story I’m telling here applies not only to anime-obsessed transgender males, but to many more of them. Possibly, the same general phenomenon explains the dysphoria of many younger boys as well, and not just adolescents.

One way or another, we must abolish gender if we want to fight this issue. Until then, expect to see more young men who hate their body to the point of desiring medical intervention, and who enter an existential crisis if you even just suggest to them that they are perhaps not literally a girl.

[renaramblesaboutcomics]

Wednesday Roundup 4.10.2017

This week ended up being a relatively light reading week for yours truly, but that doesn’t lessen the quality of my enjoyment whatsoever. In fact, I had enough love to share that I wanted to go over all of the available Marvel Legacy Primers for this week as well, even if they’re just short blurbs!

So without further ado let’s jump into it.

Marvel’s America, Marvel’s Black Panther, Marvel’s Incredible Hulk, Marvel’s Invincible Iron Man, Marvel’s Jean Grey, Marvel’s Monsters Unleashed, Dark Horse’s Usagi Yojimbo, Lion Forge’s Voltron Legendary Defender, Viz’s Yona of the Dawn

Marvel’s America - Marvel Legacy Primer Pages (2017-present) Robbie Thompson, David Lopez

As interested as I am in America, I haven’t had the opportunity to really follow her outside of the Young Avengers run she is in. So I think, oddly enough, for me this is one of the most necessary “Primers” of any of the ones I’ve read so far, and the information was very good to have. It really helped to frame her history, her relationship with her mothers, and her confidence in herself in a new light that is really appreciated. And the art from David Lopez is as beautiful as any of his issues on All-New Wolverine.

Marvel’s Black Panther - Marvel Legacy Primer Pages (2016-present)  Robbie Thompson, Wilfredo Torres

There’s honestly not going to be that much more to say on most of these Primer pages. They’re fun, quick run throughs of relevant histories of the characters and teams that they showcase and depending on your interest and engagement may influence whether or not you want to hop in on the next storyline that they’re promoting. 

I do like the sense of unity and legacy that is built into the Black Panther title already, having it be a responsibility tied to kingship that T’Challa knows and the all-important bond it has between him and the memory of his father. 

It really puts a spin on the importance of Legacy that this event seems intent on hammering home.

Marvel’s Captain Marvel - Marvel Legacy Primer Pages (2016-present)  Robbie Thompson, Brent Schoonover

Carol Danvers is one of those characters I desperately want to lie on every feasible surface level, but whose books have never quite got me on board and whose guest appearances always leave me a bit more confused about her than I had been before her said appearance. And yet there was still not a whole lot added here. I appreciate it, and young Carol is adorable, but there was nothing here that didn’t make me feel like... well, like she’s Hal Jordan. And ‘m not a fan of Hal Jordan.

Marvel’s Incredible Hulk - Marvel Legacy Primer Pages (2017-present) Robbie Thompson, Joe Bennett

Everything I have read so far with Amadeus Cho, both in Totally Awesome Hulk and in his guest appearances or team-ups in Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur to Champions has  really connected to me on a level that Bruce Banner hadn’t exactly managed over the years. So it was nice to see a little blurb that went over their mutual histories and explored what was there.

It almost makes people forget that Marvel unnecessarily killed Bruce Banner for... no reason. Almost. Not quite. Though he might be alive by now. I am obviously not current.

Marvel’s Invincible Iron Man - Marvel Legacy Primer Pages (2016-present) Robbie Thompson, Valerio Schiti

Gah, reading this overview of Tony and Riri’s history really reminded me how much I really loved reading Invincible Iron Man when it first came out and just how much I positively adored Riri’s character and her banter with Tony. You know. Before they completely undid the relationship within the first storyline and then Bendis went all Bendis on us and it became obvious that Tony was coming back sooner than later and then Secret Empire destroyed the world... somewhat literally. 

I’d love to read a Riri-centric book in better circumstances. Or at least once the next trade is out. We’ll see.

Marvel’s Jean Grey - Marvel Legacy Primer Pages (2017-present) Robbie Thompson, Mark Bagley

I was actually just recently talking to my good friend @shobogan about how much more interested I would be in Young Jean Grey if only Marvel had the guts to either give us a romantic relationship with her and Laura (or her, Laura, and Scott OT3 hullo) or have Older Jean Grey return to mentor her younger self and others at the school since she’s the only X-Man kept dead for this long who was considered a Top Tier X-Man. And since we’re finally getting the latter, it seems, now I have to look at what we know of Young Jean and consider my feelings all over again. And this primer gave me the opportunity to do just that!

While I’m not following Jean’s book at the moment, I’m obviously a pretty big X-fan so I have a general sense of where all the moving pieces are at the moment. And I have to say, with Older Jean returning it’s going to be a pretty awesome time for comparing and contrasting their characters and relationships. After all, this younger Jean is far, far less experienced than her counterpart, but has a peripheral knowledge of her own fate, and as much as she tries to not be defined by it, it’s been defining her in the opposite direction in a sense. And more than that, she’s a Jean who sees the Phoenix Force not as an asset or a tool, but sees it as an honest to god enemy, which I’m not sure how that will work. And I’m even more interested in Jean’s return now because of the possibilities of their interactions with the Force together. 

Guess we’ll wait and see!

Marvel’s Monsters Unleashed - Marvel Legacy Primer Pages (2017-present)  Robbie Thompson, David Baldeón

I have actually been planning for a little while now to pick up the trade of Monsters Unleashed because I had fun with the miniseries earlier this year and I have been craving more Elsa Bloodstone (as well as the entirety of the Nextwave crew) and this seems like one of the more interesting powers to come from the Inhuman collision.

.... Actually it’s completely stolen from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comic and later adapted TV episode dedicated to Jack Kirby who had the power of creativity to draw and create anything he drew and also had a a penchant for creating monsters and different worlds and so on. So I mean. There’s that unavoidable fact. But Kei’s cute so I’d be willing to overlook it for the sake of seeing what Marvel plans on doing with this very wild and unruly power. 

Dark Horse’s Usagi Yojimbo (1984-present) #162 Stan Sakai, Tom Luth

The conclusion of Usagi and Inspector Ishida’s investigation about the doctors’ murders has come and the hilarity of Kitsune and Kiyoko bumbling along with them and incidentally becoming crucial to the entire investigation does not lose its edge either.

Story: The conclusion of this particular caper is interesting mostly in how the framing by coincidence is not ultimately a linchpin to the story, having been solved almost immediately in the story’s first issue. The inventiveness of Sakai’s work, overall, is simple subterfuge which continues to make each new adventure feel unique and uncertain. In this instance, it would be in the assistance that Kitsune and Kiyoko end up providing by revealing the true murderer almost by accident. 

That being said, as simple as individual stories are for Usagi Yojimbo, the complexity really rests in the margins for long time fans, and that shows most clearly in the way a quiet buildup of several arcs seem to flow together for coming to a head. Perhaps the most famous and arguably best all around example of this would be in “Grasscutter” and how years of storytelling and slow vignettes linking together culminated in one of the greatest comic storylines of all time. We seem to be getting something similar in the backgrounds of more recent adventures with this guild of assassins which Usagi has unknowingly crossed the path of and caused ire to several times at this point. 

I’m excited to see where that story is taking us, and likewise interested in how little details, like Kiyoko successfully pickpocketing Inspector Ishida, will pay off down the road. 

Lion Forge’s Voltron Legendary Defender Vol. 2 (2017) #1 Tim Hendrick, Mitch Iverson, Jung Gwan Yoo, Ji-in Choi

Egghhhhh. Are you ever really rooting for something against your own common sense and get bit in the butt regardless? I feel like that happens to me on an inconceivably high average and almost all of it can be blamed on the fact that for some reason I am still expecting comics to play fairly with me. If anything my standards should be lower by now. But, well, let’s see if I’m being a bit too harsh on Lion Forge’s second effort in making a Voltron comic. 

Story: I would argue that one of the reasons that I had unreasonably high expectations for this comic is in part because the first comic produced by Lion Forge had actuallymanaged to not only be a fairly solid effort as a comic but managed to capture the spirit of the current Dreamworks Netflix series in a wa that was welcoming to fans new and old, and importantly of all ages. So I was hoping for more of the same with this comic project.

In more or less words... I did not exactly receive that. Where there was a solid read of the characterizations in the last comic, this issue showed a severely flattened to the point of parody version of the paladins, especially poor Hunk here who had the already obnoxious and unnecessary fat jokes and food jokes from the series amped up to the point of being his only characteristic in this comic. To the point that at one point he doesn’t even form a full sentence, just grabs a pie successfully from a training maze and says “Hunk win”. Which... I guess is somewhat better faring than the other paladins who didn’t even have dialogue that really fit them. Save for Pidge who was likewise flattened to “the smart one.” 

The storyline itself of a new planet where Voltron is needed but the species they end up helping... they actually fail initially, I won’t lie, is a pretty solid premise for Voltron overall, and would be something I’d love to see the show tackle similarly, but the fairly generic wolf-furry aliens didn’t receive a whole lot of depth in this first issue. 

Depth trended on being the biggest problem for this issue overall. There wasn’t an examination of the characters and their interactions, how they treated each other and how they tackled problems differently. The sort of things you’d want from an ensemble cast like Voltron. Which is surprising since again the first series by Lion Forge managed all that and was written on a much younger reading level at the same time. Each issue tackled exactly those very things -- individual characters, how they functioned in the group, and how they tackled obstacles differently to find a solution together. I would expect the same here but it didn’t seem to be on the menu. 

Hopefully all of this will be addressed and fixed as the comic progresses, but as for now I’m apprehensively putting this series on my three issue trial run. 

Art: The art was not a great improvement on the previous comic but it also wasn’t bad in the least. In fact I think the art popped very well, adjusting colors and textures about as well as you’d expect from a television show adaptation for kids. I do wish that the face models for the paladins would keep more consistent and overall there was a rushed feeling to the comic that seemed fairly unnecessary considering it’s the first issue. 

Viz’s Yona of the Dawn (2009-present) Vol. 8 Mizuho Kusanagi

You know, I keep hearing over and over again from friends and trusted sources that Yona of the Dawn is a series that will continuously subvert my every expectation and make me continue guessing and yet every volume I really do manage to be caught off guard by something which the story chooses to do which is shockingly poignant and new even to its fairy tale epic adventure structure. 

Story: So the Yellow Dragon joining the group was hilariously and purposefully anti-climactic but what we got as a result of that choice is the new direction for the series that ties directly into Yona’s own self-realization. She doesn’t simply want to rule and she doesn’t simply want to conquer. What she wants is to know her people and to save them from the crises that were overlooked by her father before her and by Su-Won now. She wants to take up arms to protect the entire country not just with the power of the loyal followers she has gained but with her own hands. She is something that neither of the kings -- her father or her cousin -- could have ever dreamed of being.

And then my expectations were really taken for a loop by us then in turn following Su-Won as he travels to the Earth Tribe and earns the respect and allegiance of the chieftan general there through a series of manipulations, tactical conceits, and ultimately quiet and subtle intimidation mostly by the fleeting moments in which he dropped his ditzy and well-meaning act to show his true intentions. But as fascinating as it was and as surprising as it was, for me at least, that this complete shift of POV for a few chapters actually managed to keep me on board when I’m not one to often fully appreciate the “villain’s side of things”, probably the most interesting part of any and all of this is actually how much tension is underlying Su-Won’s leadership. HIs appeal to the Fire and Earth Tribes is less in the leadership that he promotes and more in this current of possible warmongering that appeases the more warlike fractions of Kohka. 

It’s all fascinating and offers a sense of danger in Yona’s new quest to help the people of fher country feel a new sense of danger, knowing that our group is ultimately pretty unprepared for helping parts of the country which would not be as receptive to their quest or the offer of Yona’s leadership.

That being said... the final chapter driving home Yona’s relationship with Hak and everyone’s strange obsession with protecting Yona but rejecting her attempts to grow her own strength and independence. Lik eI guess we’re just all going to overlook the way she killed the slave trader mob boss in teh previous volume. But beyond all of that, my real concern is just... I cannot stand the way Hak’s character is portrayed in his “over protectiveness” of Yona. It’s far from romantic to me to continuously have a character obsess over someone to the point of “jokingly” considering locking them away for the world to see. 

It’s not the best issue of the series by far, but it has some great moments, especially for Yona.

Art: I actually do think that the further we’ve come in this comic, the more consistent and confident the at has gotten. There are still lots of soft tones and all the markings of a usual shoujo, but the real stand out this time around is that we’re beginning to see more and more the variation in ethnicities in the people of the country, which is honestly relieving even if for now the Earth Tribe, which drives that point home, consists mostly of Su-Won’s supporters and may carry with them some more unfortunate stereotypes being fed that I might not be aware of as a non-native to Japan.

So far as single issues this week are concerned there’s really no competition for Usagi Yojimbo in a regular week but especially not in a fairly light week. Yona is still a fantastic book and if there were other trades to compare it to I’d probably lavish on it more, but since we’re on singles I have to give this one to the unending quality that is Stan Sakai’s anthromorphic feudal epic.

And, once more, I am in a bit of a financial crunch for a multitude of reasons, not the least of which being the medical bills I’m paying for my dog, Eve, who experienced a catastrophic dog fight and underwent surgery recently. On top of that, I have exactly a month and a half to pack up everything I own and move halfway across the country again which is not helping those financial crunches I mentioned before either.

As such, I really would appreciate if you enjoy my content or are interested in helping me out, please check out either my Patreon or PayPal. Every bit helps and I couldn’t thank you enough for enjoying and supporting my content.

You could also support me by going to my main blog, @renaroo, where I’ll soon be listing prices and more for art and writing commissions.

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[magical-gull]

So since in your AU Setsuna replaces Luna in the mentor role and considering how "all knowing time lord overseer" Pluto tends to be how would you handle her reaction to the girls' questions during the early DK arc where no one has a clue wtf Tuxedo Mask even IS or why Mams is the anomaly that he he, cause I imagine they'd be fielding tons of her questions her way. What about when the other Outers show up? How does she react to questions about THEM? (especially world-destroying anomaly Saturn)

Hmm.In the interest of keeping this “"short”“ (and totally not because i don’t have a lot of it worked out)… in vague order.

Guardians are the “natural” state of senshi and a few other supernaturally powered folk in the setting, while the Sailor Senshi are ones organized under a specific cult/ruler, complete with uniforms and some shared gimmicks. AU Silmil-Pluto in the past didn’t wear the uniform and probably insisted on not being referred to as a sailor senshi to maintain some impartiality in her duties, though she did work with the SilMil in general, similar to the way Helios was a guardian working with the Golden Kingdom but not really *part* of it. TL;DR Setsuna isn’t surprised by senshi “anomalies” like ENdymion or Saturn, because she already was one

My Setsuna is a Minako-style reincarnate deal, probably the “closest” to her alternate self of any of the senshi but not exactly the same person… which means she isn’t particularly all-knowing, and even a lot of the stuff she’d specifically know isn’t of much practical use to the girls in the modern era; it’s stuff provided to make a more interesting story for the audience. How much does Minako having better memories help the other four, for comparison? Eh. At best, Setsuna might find out a little sooner than the others that Mams is going around as something called “Tuxedo Mask”, but that’s it. Whatever ‘familiar’ feeling she gets from Mams (enough to warrant tracking them over a period of years), Pluto wouldn’t remember Endymion as anyone particularly important besides another of Beryl’s nondescript lackeys in her court. Pluto did, on separate occasions, suspect Beryl was siphoning power from somewhere and that Beryl might be intentionally hiding a guardian from Serenity’s eyes, but the connection between any of those wouldn’t exist.

In… some version of the future arc, Setsuna encounters the equivalent of the Wiseman character, who’s she suspects might be *a* future Pluto gone rogue, as it’d explain the time shenanigans and a few other coinicdences. Among other seemingly outrageous claims, this heavily-degraded, time-displaced person claims to specifically BE Setsuna herself. More confusingly, they have the remnants of Sailor Pluto’s regalia, which from Setsuna’s perspective she doesn’t have “yet”. Setsuna helps stop the BMC in a broadly similar manner as canon - possibly from an impressively fatal use of latent senshi abilities in an untransformed state, suspects Ami - and “dies”/vanishes under mysterious circumstances. Setsuna ends up back in the past and spends a while recuperating and getting her mental bearings Gandalf-style away from the others. Usagi and co. are glad she’s apparently alive but confused as to why she’s keeping her distance via weirdly vague correspondence.

Turns out it’s spooky apocalypse dreams along with needing to find two OTHER girls who’ve already been in altercations with “strange creatures” keeping Setsuna apparently busy, and her fears are confirmed when Setsuna realizes she can transform now. It’s time for Sailor Pluto and.. the other two, to sort some things out. Something big is coming, but it seems to be just this spooky crew and weird monsters and eldritch horror, the three can handle it... but once you get away from all the eldritch monster physics bullshit, the stuff that’s so much static in the way of what seems to be actually there, it hits her. Oh it’s THIS instead. Well, that’s much worse. I don’t think Setsuna knew going in that Saturn (who I do think she was vaguely aware existed in the past) was going to be specifically involved in this thing now, though being the first senshi to figure it out didn’t exactly give her a smug feeling obviously.

Setsuna being distant and weird and seemingly attaching to herself to a new team is just the start of problems and a gulf between her the Inners thats gonna grow soon. As for the Outers, Minako would probably tell the girls as much as she knows about them before Setsuna gets a chance to. Trouble is, what she recalls don’t seem to be good memories.