#senshi's special effects and all that

[agendratum]

✨ ink letting his hair down for the first time in the camp ✨

this is why my pinteres fucked up, i'm looking up references (the pose and the emotions for surprised companions)

[dunmeshistash]

Ryoko Kui Q&A (part of the Autograph event in Shanghai, China)

Here's the full Q&A copied from the post by Minute_Profession_34 on reddit

Original on weibo

About Ryoko Kui

Q: You have created a lot of interesting short manga in the past, do you have any favorite short manga by other artists?

A: A classic choice though, I think it's the collection of short stories by Fujiko F. Fujio. Other impressive works include "Hanshin: Half-God" by Moto Hagio, "Hanashippanashi " by Daisuke Igarashi, "茄子" by 黑田硫黄, "Skygrazer" by Ishiguro Masakazu, and "Tabi (The Journey of Life)" by Irie Aki. However, I haven't really read many short manga compilations.

Q: Do you prefer to create short manga or longer ones?

A: Long manga.

Q: Do you have a game that you highly recommend to fans?

A: Although not a game title, Steam Deck is the best thing I have bought in the last few years.

Q: What kind of music genre do you like?

A: I'm really not a music person and don't listen to music at all. Sometimes I listen to something like Tropical House.

About the creation & worldview of Dungeon Meshi

Q: Is the main storyline of the comics conceived at the beginning? Is the final ending adjusted during the serialization process?

A: I decided everything from the beginning. It may sound overly pretentious to say that, but I am the type of person who cannot move forward with each and every story unless I have decided on the main flow of the story. Of course, there are parts that I changed during the process because I thought, "I was going to do it this way, but it might not be natural," and there are parts that didn't work out the way I wanted them to. However, I think the story turned out to be roughly what I had in mind at the beginning.

Q: Will people outside of the dungeon incorporate the use of magic into their daily lives?

A: It would depend on the region. There are many sorcerers in elven and gnome cultures, but I don't think you will find many in dwarf and most short-lived cultures.

Q: What secrets of ancient magic are the elves hiding? Why would one be punished for doing anything related to ancient magic?

A: It is about the existence of Demon. They restricted that information because they didn't know what effect it would have on the world if the existence of Ddemon became known.

Q: How do adventurers know the time? Is there any dungeon having a different time flow from the normal world?

A: Some people bring things like clocks, but most only use their biological clock. There are also Dungeons where the flow of time is different from that on the ground.

Q: In the world of Dungeon Meshi, how do you deal with natural disasters, what would Laios or Marcille or Canaries do when there's a drought or a storm?

A: I don’t think it is so different from us.

About characters in Dungeon Meshi

Q: It’s about to give the new puppy a name again. Can Laos still beat Falin?

A: 7 out of 10, Laios will win. Or it may be decided by rock-paper-scissors or a raffle.

Q: Who will inherit the Golden Land after the passaway of Laios? The children and grandchildren of Yaad? Or the descendants of Laios? Or will there be a new Devourer?

A: Maybe the descendants of the Laios will inherit it, or maybe it will be passed on to someone with no blood ties at all. Or perhaps the monarchy will be abolished.

Q: Will Laios continue to eat monsters in the castle? And who will cook, maybe someone better than Senshi?

A: Many people in Merini are good cooks, but Senshi's cooking must be special to Laios. He may invite Senshi to cook from time to time.

Q: Where will Falin prefer to travel to?

A: She may prefer places where she can see landscapes and cultures she has never seen before.

Q: Would Marcille befriend a half-elf, such as Fionil? Since half-elves shouldn't think too much about longevity amongst themselves. Or would they not consider race as a factor to make friends but by fate?

A: Because mixed species in this world grow at very different rates and have very different abilities from person to person, there is often not much of a sense of sameness when you first meet them. They may or may not become friends as a result of interacting with each other as we would with any other human being.

Q: Is there any special meaning of Marcille and her mother's ribbons on the neck? And what about Cithis’s ribbon?

A: In elven culture, people with magic tattoos on their necks sometimes wear decorations covering their necks to hide the tattoos (mainly military personnel) This has spread to the general population, and many people wear decorations on their necks even if they do not have neck tattoos. Marcille and her mother's ribbons are just for fashion. While Cithis may have something special.

Q: Why wouldn’t Cithis wear a gorget? Or she’s not afraid of Dungeon Rabbits?

A: Maybe it’s suffocating or simply not liking it? The head-cutting Dungeon Rabbit is a fearsome monster, but it is not the first thing for the rear guard to be on the lookout for.

Q: How will Izutsumi and Falin get along with each other?

A: They may work together if necessary, but I doubt that Izutsumi will actively show interest in Falin (as she does with everyone).

Q: Itsuzumi has a beast soul mixed with a small amount of human soul, and does she shapeshift between a beast-man and a beast form like Lycion?

A: It can be done, but once transformed, she may no longer want to return to her human form.

*This Q&A seems to be strange

Q: What would Thistle do if he attended the former dungeon masters meetings?

A: Perhaps he would feel angry at the incompetence of other masters (their dependence on the devil).

Q: How did Milsiril accept Helki to stay by her side? After all, she hated elves and was bullied by her Canary teammates.

A: In the past, Helki was abandoned by his comrades for various reasons, and she could not leave him alone.

Q: Has Kabru ever had a real relationship with a girl? If so, what race or personality type of the girl was she?

A: I don’t think he cares about race, etc...

Q: What kind of soba will Mithrun make?

A: I hope he can make delicious soba.

Q: I would like to know the name of Mithrun’s brother or his brother’s crush!

A: His brother's name is Obrin (オブリン). I haven't thought of a particular name for his brother’s crush, so I'll name her appropriately now. Hmmm. Sultha (スルスハ).

Q: Since Mithrun used to assist Canary from behind, I wonder what kind of weapons he was good at using? Or was he good at using no weapons? (this is new info from the Korean Q&A)

A: He used a magic staff similar to that used by Pattadol. He was issued with the same one by the team. However, he no longer carried it because he lost it easily.

[felixcloud6288]

Dungeon Meshi Chapter 88

Maybe it's intentional; maybe it's coincidental, but the title image feels like a dark reprieve of the chapter 26 title image.

The lion's treasure house is nothing but regrets. It's the ruins of the world he destroyed and the bones of the people it killed without getting to eat them.

Thistle's house was littered with all his attempts to recall and recreate treasured moments but he had long forgotten why they were special. Maybe the lion does something similar. It keeps the ruins of the old world in itself and once recreated it as what would become the dwarf city ruins floor but has forgotten what made the old world so beloved.

Kensuke is no longer attached to Laios's hand.

Yaad is showing up regularly on Izutzumi's attire this chapter.

Contrast the dramatic pose and background with everyone's reaction to it. As an animated bit, Laios's explanation would open with a spotlight on him, sudden camera shifts and end with a rotating camera dramatically rising before zooming out to show Laios making that pose, waves crash and a "DON!!" sound effect plays. Then we'd see the shots of his party members staring and there would be a "doink" sound when we see them.

Laios genuinely believes his plan is brilliant. Everyone else realizes if it were that easy, someone would have already done it.

I...I want to see him in the dress.

What desires did the lion stir up in Marcille to make her agree with Laios's plan?

Izutsumi tried to rip Marcille's outfit off after telling her to take it off.

I was questioning why they don't use Marcille's spellbook as a potential seal, but Marcille probably hasn't had it on her since chapter 72. She was fighting in her pajamas before the lion gave her that dress.

I love this repetition of layout here.

Marcille confirms Senshi was way off on making "local" cuisine.

Laios told Izutsumi she has the easiest request and then he laid the most difficult task before her.

Laios and Izutsumi do not have the best relation to each other. I'd argue that Izutsumi shares the same general opinion of Laios that Shuro has, but she actually expresses when she is frustrated with him. But she respects him enough to follow his lead and plans.

Laios trusts that Izutsumi is the only one up to the task, and she's steeled herself to prepare for the worst.

Reason 1 for why Laios's plan was doomed to fail: They are literally inside the lion and the lion can see and hear everything through Kensuke and possibly Marcille. There's no way it didn't know what Laios was up to.

I guess this is what it was like for Marcille when her desires went wild. The lion is picking and choosing very specific memories and drawing up desires related to them. If he were completely in his right mind, I bet Laios would be able to shrug off all these old memories. None of them matter now and he has people he can truly consider friends.

The lion is acting like a manipulative SO. The lion is opening up by flooding Laios's mind with all these negative memories to wear him down and make him doubt himself. It asks him if he's ever fantasized monsters attacking his village, which is meaningless because Laios was a child back then.

Then the lion plays on his fears. The nightmare he had in chapter 42 was that he was a failure who was only good at slaying monsters. The lion tells him that he would become just that if he went through with his plan.

And then the lion starts painting Laios as a bad person, saying he's selfish to want to take away magic from others when he needs it to resurrect Falin.

And finally, the lion spins its own suggestion about what Laios wants based on half-truths. Laios likes monsters and he definitely said he wanted to be one when he was little. But the lion is stripping away the years since to make impulsive imagination the ruling part of Laios's conscious.

And then the lion presents itself as the one who can give Laios what he desires. But everything the lion is offering is what it said Laios wants. Laios didn't actually get a chance to think for himself and any other ideas were shoved aside.

The lion wanted to make Marcille its master because her wish would give it the chance to wrap the world in a dungeon and effectively give the lion back the freedom it lost when it became bound within dungeons.

But it wants Laios because Laios's wish could give it an opportunity to hijack Laios's body.

The lion could just turn Laios's body into a monster body, but it wants to evict Laios's soul and take it over. Is this some sort of loophole that would let the lion become a dungeon lord? Like, the fine print says "Laios the human is dungeon lord" and if "Laios the human" happens to be piloted by a demon, then the demon gets the powers?

Yeah, this was a complete failure.

Looks like it's some kind of bird or wyvern monster.

Izutsumi managed to call it right. But what made her decide something was off? Here's my hypothesis: "Laios" was not holding his sword the way he normally does.

Laios is right-handed. He used to use a shield in his left hand but lost it after the fight with the dragon at the start of the series. But he mostly prefers to use one hand to swing his sword.

When he does wield it two-handed, he holds it with his left hand closer to the guard and the right closer to the pommel. (And if I'm correct, this means Laios two-hands his sword wrong because that's a left-handed grip.)

But "Laios" held it with his hand placement reversed.

Oh dear.

back

[armoredisopod]

Collab Event PV

New Operators

Senshi, 5* Collab Welfare Guardian Defender

Now, which is the better dish to make...?

Chilchuck, 5* Collab Agent Vanguard

For the record, i'm only a scout, don't expect me to fight.

Laios, 5* Collab Dreadnought Guard

I can't help but notice, but you're actually quite interested in monster cuisine, right?

Marcille, 6* Collab Splash Caster

It's just like what i used to do back in the Magic Academy, I've learned how to use all the magical instruments you have here, so don't worry and leave it all to me!

I just had a full meal and now i have plenty of magical energy to spare.

Operator Outfits Update

Total of 7 new outfits, a new collab outfit, 4 new additions for the Achievement Star brand, 1 new addition for the Raythean Striker brand and 1 new addition for the 0011/Yun brand

Collab Series

Terra & Traveller - Marcille

Achievement Star

The Archivist and Her Pilgrimage - Leizi

The Apprentice and Her Aura - Kroos the Keen Glint

The Adjudicatrix and Her Resolve - Irene

The Zoophilist and Her Mollusca - Vanilla (Event Reward)

0011/Yun

Moon Under The Pines - Wind Chimes

Raythean Striker

Dawnbreak - Coldshot

Coldshot's outfit will be up for sale during Come Catastrophes and Wakes of Vultures Retrospect

Vanilla's outfit is a reward from Vector Breakthrough

Announced a rerun for Akafuyu, Mountain and Wild Mane's Epoque outfits, up for sale at the same time as the new Achievement Star outfits

Operator Modules Update

All the collab operators immediately get their modules including Chilchuck despite being part of a branch that DOESN'T have a module yet

SPC-Y module base effect reduces Marcille's deployment cost by -8 DP

DRE-Y module base effect allows Laios to revive himself and gain a +30 ASPD boost at the cost of reducing his Max HP by -60% once per deployment

The base effect of Chilchuck's module is unknown at the time of writing

GUA-Y module base effect makes Senshi take 15% less damage

Crusher Guard branch gets 1 module type

Irene gets her 2nd module

SWO-X module base effect makes Irene's skills deal 10% more damage

Events and Stories

Delicious on Terra, a limited collaboration side story event

When adventuring with no way back, don't ask where the food comes from, you can't defeat monsters on an empty stomach. "Eat and be eaten", is it a cruel curse, or a natural law? A never before seen place, an unfamiliar menu—— i don't care about all that, let's chow down!

Operator Archives update for Goldenglow, Eunectes, Mitm and Courier

Come Catastrophes and Wakes of Vultures Retrospect, scheduled after Delicious on Terra

Vector Breakthrough, an improved version of Interlocking Competition, scheduled after Come Catastrophes and Wakes of Vultures Retrospect

Misc Stuff

Tuye and her potential tokens along with Myrrh's [Bitter Herbs] Outfit will be available in the certs shop to players that don't have them

Special collab profile icon pack and collab main menu background + UI theme pack sold in the shop during collab event period

[tanoraqui]

Dungeon Meshi Liveblog: Some Much-Needed Downtime TBH

ok I kinda read these species-swap chapters quickly without commenting 2 nights ago bc I REALLY wanted to catch up to the show, and honestly I didn't have much to say? It was a fun showcase of some different species talents, and introduced multiple fun problems for the characters to solve [takes notes in DM]. But it didn't seem to move either plot or characters forward much. Some notes:

Honestly it's surprising that there's only been 1 count of food poisoning so far, when they're trying SO MANY new things. One must credit Senshi's cooking skills!

This might be the single funniest joke so far:

I've seen multiple posts saying Senshi's elfsona reveals him to be feminine by dwarf standards, and I'm genuinely BAFFLED by that take because it is SO obvious that Senshi's elfsona reveals him to be 1. the Hottest Man You Have Ever Met, and 2. HAIRY. We have seen 0 other elves with facial hair. I dug up that showcase of different elves and 0 of them have facial hair. In the Tolkienien lore from which all modern fantasy, or certainly this sort of fantasy, is derived, exactly 2 elves in the history of the world are said to have had facial hair. Elf!Senshi has a tiny little moustache. Elf!Senshi isn't feminine, he is the HOTTEST, HAIRIEST bear in the metaphorical gay club.

...it's possible that he's more of a himbo than we realize, though.

I don't know what's up with Kensuke and I AM worried that it's being directed by the demon. I want it to be Laios's friend so bad...

It occurs to me that "the winged lion is actually the demon at the root of all of this" is probably the biggest spoiler I've gotten, and I didn't even realize how huge a spoiler it was because I DIDN'T get spoilered for the fact that, so far as the characters know, the lion is supposed to be a helpful god. Don't play with spoilers, kids! Even if you want to read the juicy meta!

This initial fight with the gargoyles is probably my new second-favorite "Laios is really quickly analytical and problem-solving in combat" moment (the living armor fight is still #1). He sees how everyone is failing, prevents more problems as he can, realizes they can't win and puts together what pieces they need to get out. In group social dynamics, he's a mediocre leader at best, but he's a superb combat tactician.

Laios is just living in his own little after-school special, and I love him for that.

That first panel is definitely support for the theory that the 50-60yr life expectancy of "short-lived" races like tallmen, orcs, kobolds and halffeet is shorter than it should be, relative to their ages of maturity, because the long-lived races control and hold most of the resources. It's even possible that their ages of maturity SHOULD be even older, but social conditions force them to become "adults" at a younger developmental age than dwarves, gnomes and especially elves!

Panel 3 is Marcille mentally shoving Chilchuck higher on her list of Lives to Extend by Whatever Magic I Can Learn.

I love how the way they figure out that the mushrooms' effects are easily reversible is literally by thinking through the greater social worldbuilding implications of the effects.

^This is the single most Dad we've ever seen Chilchuck...topped only by that 'carry child like a football' a moment later. Actually, he yeets Marcille a LOT while tall - here, over the jump in the travel montage, with Laios to make a loop for the gargoyle...which I'm dead certain is an indication of how he physically treated his daughters. Those kids got casually, affectionately tossed like salad.

.

AND THAT'S WHAT WE CALL FRIENDSHIP.

...okay maybe I did have several thoughts about those 2 chapters.

.

"[Falin] was much tougher than I was. I hear she and our parents still write to each other" is SUCH a line for painting a picture of Laios and Falin's childhoods, and Laios's feelings on it.

.

you can keep your Kabru Wink(TM)s, I am weak only for the Laios Fond Little Smile(TM).

.

I love how Senshi is still musing on this soul = egg metaphor, and I LOVE how both times now that we've seen Laios genuinely lose his temper, it's because someone was saying "why are you just being excited about eating monsters when Falin is in danger?!", and he's snapping because he is fucking NOT dismissing his sister in favor of eating monsters, he is doing EVERYTHING IN HIS POWER to save her and it just so happens that the only plans with a smidgen of success involve leaning into eating monsters. And by trying to stop him from that, you're stopping him from saving Falin.

.

Laios, how tf do you remember the Wink? I'm 99% sure Kabru never once winked in your interactions; I WAS looking for it. Was he just exuding wink energy? (I mean...yes.)

.

The dramatic irony jokes in this chapter are on POINT. Chilchuck: "There's no way this thing still works" [tram door slams shut on his heels, cars immediately starts moving]. "You won't find a military company in the dungeon" [smash cut to Shuro, Namari and Kabru unhappily leading the Canaries into the dungeon]. Impeccable.

Stopping this one here in preparation for going nuts about implied elf-related worldbuilding in the next chapters!

[sailormoonandme]

Mamoru is NOT useless in the Anime

Yes, yes, the memes are funny and all, but this is simply objectively not true and I'm rather exhausted of folks critiquing the character/the anime as though it were.

I will hopefully kill his BS once and for all.

"He just throws a rose and leaves!"

For those who have actually watched the anime (or even just the very first episode) to describe Tuxedo Mask as 'useless' is reductionist to the point of being outright disingenuous. In particular when this argument is made in such a way as to negatively compare him to his manga counterpart, who is put over as allegedly superior on this point.

The original 1992 Sailor Moon anime had 200 episodes, 3 TV specials*, 2 theatrical shorts and 3 films, with these latter theatrical releases being dubiously canonical to the anime. Mamoru appears in the overwhelming majority of those 208 entires, even accounting for the final 34 episodes where he was dead/functionally absent almost all of the time. Even if we seriously low balled things, the majority of those appearances feature him partaking in the following scenario.

Sailor Moon, often with her fellow Senshi, are fighting the monster of the day (maybe it's a higher ranking villain, or a general threat they are dealing with).

They get into a tight spot where either they or whoever/whatever they are trying to protect is in danger from whatever threat they are combatting.

Then, out of the blue, a rose slices through the air and imbeds itself into the scenery like a dart. Typically, this action saves the lives of Sailor Moon, her friends or whomever they might be protecting.

Tuxedo mask gives a speech and either leaves or else sticks around to see Sailor Moon perform her finishing move that effectively ends whatever threat she was dealing with, often with Tuxedo Mask being the one to prompt her into performing this finshing move.

For the sake of argument lets pretend that the above is literally the sum totality of what Mamoru does in regards to the superheroics of Sailor Moon. How could anyone describe the above as 'useless'?

If his interventions regularly save Sailor Moon's life then that is a zillion miles away from useless. For him to be useless, his actions need to be superfluous, pointless, contribute nothing. Even if he contributed a little bit he would by definition not be useless. And saving the protagonist's life is much more than 'a little bit'. If the protagonist dies then the story is over. Evil has won, the world is doomed.

And this isn't even considering all the ways Mamoru contributes OUTSIDE of the above scenario.

He has, whilst untransformed, stabbed a Lemures with a knife to save Sailor Moon.

He has willingly acted as a magical life support system for Chibi-Usa when her Pure Heart was stolen, an act that maybe anyone else could have performed but it is still a noble thing to do, in particular when it freed up the more powerful characters to go get her heart back.

He personally met up with the Outer Senshi to learn about them on behalf of the other girls, going alone which might have been dangerous, but the episode also gives the impression that he, as the oldest member of the team, was better positioned to get info from the older Outer Senshi who has a demeaning view of the younger Inner Senshi. In this same episode, he tried to convince the Outers to join forces with the Inners, acting as a diplomat.

He went 1-on-1 with Rubeus to defend an injured Sailor Moon who was herself acting as a human shield for Chibi-Usa

He has personally gone on a one man mission to infiltrate the Black Moon Clan's HQ to rescue Sailor Moon from being sexually assaulted by Prince Demande.

Mere episodes later he and Artemis went on a scouting mission to learn more about the Malefic Black Crystal

He formed a double team with Sailor Moon to tackle a tennis themed Youma, an encounter that involved more than a singular rose throw and a speech. One of the multiple times he got more directly involved in fighting the monster of the day

He literally carried Sailor Moon on his back to save her when they were both trapped in an elevator courtesy of Nephrite

He was prepared to willingly reveal his identity and hand both himself and his Rainbow Crystals over to Zoisite in order to save Sailor Moon and her friends

The love he shared with Usagi directly led to the manifestation of the Silver Crystal, to the salvation of Chibi-Usa when she'd been brainwashed into Black Lady & the creation of a new weapon and transformation brooch for Usagi in season 3

As Prince Endymion, he went against his own subjects and risked his life to infiltrate the Moon Palace and warn his beloved Serenity that his home planet was going to invade her home

He took not one, not two, but three impalements to protect Sailor Moon's life

More often than not he has acted as reliable emotional support for Usagi and Chibi-Usa, encouraging them, helping them with homework or just being there for them. i.e. he is an imperfect, but ultimately good husband and father. Which is particularly impressive considering he hadn't yet married his wife nor conceived his child.

There are those who might scoff at the latter. Is emotional support really useful? Well, putting aside how the Sailor Moon universe clearly demonstrates how magical power/energy is directly linked to emotions, this is categorically true in the real world as well. There are no end of testimonies from fire fighters, doctors, people who have serious illnesses, or soldiers that the emotional support of thier loved ones have kept them going and kept them alive. So, this is rather useful for our heroine Usagi who's job is that of a Sailor Soldier.

The Outer Senshi

Furthermore, there is an inherent hypocrisy in the 'Mamoru is useless' narrative because such criticisms are never levelled against other characters whose typical role in the narrative are similar to Mamoru's.

The most popular season of the original anime was season 3 (Sailor Moon S) and one of the biggest reasons for that show's popularity were the fan favourite Outer Senshi: Sailors Uranus, Neptune, Pluto and Saturn. Let's exclude Saturn as she wasn't active as a Senshi for most of season 3. Uranus and Neptune's role in the first half of season 3 typically amounted to

Attacking the monster of the day, usually to the same end that Mamoru's rose throws did, i.e. a distraction or last minute save

Swiping the Pure Heart of that episode's victim

Checking it over before concluding it wasn't a Talisman

Leaving, or else at least standing by as Sailor Moon administered her finishing move on the monster of the day

Golly...that seems just as 'useless' as Mamoru now doesn't it? In fact, maybe more so considering they weren't even trying to help Sailor Moon in the first place. In fact, during their second appearance, they unintentionally saved the lives of a powerless Usagi, her friends and an innocent civilian to check a Pure Heart, then uncaringly left them all in danger.

You know who then saved them immediately after that? Mamoru!

Later when he too was overwhelmed by the monster he directly contributed to saving the day as his emotional bond with Usagi generated the Spiral Moon Heart Rod, upgrading Sailor Moon and giving her the power to save everyone.

During the third sub-arc of season 3 (where the recurring villain was Mimet of the Witches 5) Sailor Pluto joined the Outer Senshi's ranks and their role in the typical monster of the day plots became yet more minimal. More than once, the trio literally appeared but did nothing, something that had also happened at least once before Pluto joined the team. Examples include (but are not necessarily limited to) episodes 97 (The Labyrinth of Water – Ami Targeted), 116 (Sunny Skies After a Storm – A Friendship Dedicated to Hotaru) and 118 (Battle Inside the Demonic Space – The Sailor Guardians’ Gamble). In some of these instances the Outers deliberately choose to do nothing.

Barring 2 of the specials mentioned above (one of which was a clip show), the Outer Senshi were wholly absent in season 4/Sailor Moon SuperS. In one of those specials, upon learning that a new threat had arisen Uranus and Neptune...choose to continue their road trip and leave the fighting to Usagi and the others...How...useful???????

They, along with Pluto and Saturn get much more involved during the course of the final season/Sailor Stars. Even then, Saturn only appears in the first few episodes and the last few. Pluto only gets involved in the monster of the day schemes once or twice and Uranus and Neptune three or four times, if that. Whilst Mamoru is barely involved at all in this season, he at least has the excuse of being dead for most of it.

So, the fan favourite Outer Senshi got far LESS involved and were LESS useful than Mamoru typically was in the course of the whole show. In fact, even if we exclude the first two seasons where (exempting Pluto) the Outer Senshi hadn't appeared yet, Mamoru overwhelmingly contributed MORE than the Outer Senshi did.**

The Other Senshi

Much the same can be applied to the Sailor Starlights. The Starlights more often than not actually got MORE involved in fighting the monsters of the day during season 5 than the Outer Senshi did in season 3; or at least they were interested in defusing a direct and active threat to innocent lives. But even they literally showed up and did nothing on at least one occasion.

Whilst the Starlights are nowhere close to the Outer Senshi's popularity, they are also never subjected to the 'they are useless' narrative Mamoru frequently is.

Nor in fact are the Inner Senshi of Sailors venus, Mars, Jupiter and Mercury. Now, whilst it's easy to argue due to their superior screentime, the fact that they often initiate combat with the monster of the day and are generally heavily involved in whatever crisis is happening, that they are obviously more useful than Mamoru is.

And you know what, even including the rare occasions they too show up and do nothing else (or do a last minute save like Mamoru is prone to do) this is perfectly true. It is also perfectly true however that the quartet have rarely ever defeated any monster of the day on their own. The overwhelming majority of the time the Inner Senshi act as a distraction to the Monster of the day or else sufficiently lower its HP so that Sailor Moon can actually beat the monster. That might be more useful than Mamoru's typical contributions, but, call me crazy, it seems like Sailor Moon is doing the lion's share of the work there. So, how 'useful' are the Inner Senshi really if we run by the 'Mamoru is useless' narrative?

If Mamoru is useless so are many if not all of the more popular heroic characters in the series.

But...how useless is Mamoru in the anime compared to the Manga?????????

*Well, one special with three segments, but go with me on this.

**They were mostly absent from season 4 whilst he appeared routinely in that season. Meanwhile, in the season he was mostly absent, they rarely helped out.

Obviously, there are real life writing reasons behind that difference, but my point is why is the fandom not treating the Outer Senshi as 'useless' too?

[shiroasada]

Will there be a 6th and 7th version of the Nogizaka Version Sailor Moon musical?

Many will ask why I ask this question?

To understand why I ask this, you have to understand the concept behind the musical.

The Nogizaka46 version of Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon musical, as the musical is called in full, is special. In more ways than one. Not only is the awakening of the Senshi addressed for the first time in a musical, but it also features very impressive effects and generally has a different style. But above all, it's the first collaboration musical: Sailor Moon with the well-known girl idol band Nogizaka46. That's why it's called that.

To understand what this means, I need to explain a little bit of Nogizaka46's story.

Nogizaka46 is a girl idol group that was founded in 2011. The members are divided into different generations. At the time of the first two versions of the Sailor Moon musical, there were generations one through three.

All three generations are represented in Team Star. In Team Moon, generations 1 and 3. They wanted to have members from every generation who could also be used for advertising. Having a well-known idol playing a well-known character is a great opportunity.

In 2018, after the musical was performed, the fourth generation was founded. This is probably the reason why the musical was performed again just a few months later. The biggest difference was new actresses for the senshi. Team 2019 consisted of generations 2 to 4. The rest of the cast remained almost identical. It was also performed in China and was one of two musicals to receive a limited-time international stream (the other was Kaguya-hime no Koibito).

Meanwhile, the first and second generation no longer exist and the third is shrinking more and more.

Of the first two teams, only one member is still an active member of Nogizaka.

Team Moon: Riria Itou (Mercury)

Team Star: Minami Umezawa (Jupiter & 3rd Captain of Nogizaka46)

Both members of the 3rd generation

Things aren’t looking any better for Team 2019 either.

Team 2019: Shiori Kubo (Moon 3rd generation), Mayu Tamura (Venus, 4th generation)

In 2022 the fifth generation was founded and 2 years later the Nogizaka46 version 5th Generation Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Musical 2024 was released. The entire 5th generation has been split into two teams, with the exception of Iroha Okuda, who plays Queen Serenity. The teams have exactly the same names as the 2018 teams.

Also in general the style is a bit different and the cast is completely new. All Shitennou and Tuxedo Mask are played by former Takazuka actresses.

But now back to the original question: Why ask if there will be a sixth and seventh version?

The answer is: in February 2025, the 6th generation of Nogizaka46 was founded.

Of course, a musical with them won't be made right away. After all, the 6th generation has only been available since February 2025. They waited two years for the fifth generation.

But when I consider that Seira Hayakawa and Mayu Tamura had only been with Nogizaka46 for ten months when they took on the roles of Sailor Mars and Sailor Venus in the 2019 version...

This also raises the question: do we really need two more versions? (Well, that's a question you can ask yourself about the 2024 version, or even the 2019 version, even though I really like the 2019 version.)

[rapturemctro]

Some notes about Elysium cause I’ve been working on their profile for Artfight!

Taken from their family at a young age, like most Beast men was originally created to be a soldier however never fulfilled that purpose, deer features made them fast but too skittish for the frontlines. 

Instead used for entertainment in some sort of circus or arena where they were heavily mistreated 

Eventually sold to an extremely wealthy but mentally unstable individual who collected unique beast men for his own personal Zoo

Elysium’s collar is from the individual who bought them, all the other members of his collection have one.

Collar is imbued with a type of magic that makes it impossible to remove and the bell acts as a sort of tracking device. It will ring whenever the original caster is nearby and get louder the closer they get.

Dungeons somehow tamper with the effects of the tracking similar to how compasses freak out near magnetic fields, leading Elysium to take refuge in the dungeon after they escape.

No one is quite sure how they managed to survive so long in the dungeon by themself.

Is extremely malnourished by the time The Touden party manages to find them, Senshi dotes on them and gives them extra food in the beginning of them traveling together

Isn’t picky when it comes to food but does have issues with certain textures. They try to tough it out because they like Senshi’s cooking so much, but sometimes it’s hard.

Magic User, specializes in plant magic, almost Druid-like just without the ability to turn into animals. It’s not very refined due to having no professional training but it’s still handy

Hides trauma behind a happy-go-lucky facade, doesn’t like to dwell on the bad stuff and is just happy they’re still alive and free. 

Struggles with sleep, the nightmares keep them awake. Runs themself ragged until their body essentially collapses. Senshi gets on to them a bunch about taking better care of themself. 

Found Family heals the soul. The Touden party ends up being the first real family they’ve ever known, and Elysium clings to each and every one of them.

Loves the rain, but unfortunately doesn’t get to see it anymore due to residing in the dungeon. Would probably cry if they got to experience the feeling of a summer rain again

[flastar13]

I think a Netflix Live Action series would be interesting. As for the change of nationality, my opinion is most certainly extremely unpopular but please don't crucify me, it would be very interesting and perhaps necessary. Something that caught my attention in the first anime and Crystal, is that all the operations of the dark kingdom are in Tokyo-Japan, despite the fact that: 1) Each general has a specific area assigned to work in, only Jadeite deals with Asia, and the rest should deal with other places like Europe, America and the Middle East. 2) It is not smart to keep attacking the same area in search of energy, even if you have already searched in other places for a mystical magic crystal, stealing energy from a specific place would attract unwanted attention from the sailor senshis. On the other hand, collecting energy from different places makes it harder for them to locate you.

Also it's pretty weird that they all reincarnate in the same place, maybe it makes sense with the sailor senshis, but as soon as the shitennou Another History hinted that they were reborn in other countries. I don't think Queen Serenity would be so dumb to make her enemies reincarnate near her daughter, so they must have been born in other countries. One Piece introduced a diverse cast even though the characters were considered Japanese, although in its favor the world in which the plot takes place doesn't have fixed ethnicities, so everyone can be multiethnic. Going back to the previous point, I think it's more realistic that the characters come from different places, I always found it too convenient for the plot that all the sailor senshis live in the same city, in the same country and that three of the five attend the same school. In other shows it's because a higher entity transferred them to the same class cough Evangelion. I think each Sailor Senshi awakening their powers in a different country, fighting the general that controls the neighborhood, and then reuniting with the rest of the team is great cough Evangelion again but it makes sense and is realistic that the chosen ones are not born in the same place neglecting the land, only Rei and Shinji are Japanese, Asuka and Mari are foreigners, okay Asuka has a half Japanese mother but her father is American and she herself was raised in Germany. I really liked PGSM, its plot twists were spectacular. It is the adaptation that best develops the cast, taking their backstories which were rarely or never touched on in the manga or any of the anime. We really see the family situation of Rei, Ami, and Makoto, and how that affected them so much that they were very lonely people until Usagi arrived. We really see the Shitennou interact with Mamoru, and remembering the past does not turn everyone into perfect soldiers loyal to their respective master. Each side and character takes information in a different way and acts according to their personality and character arc. It shows that a good live-action adaptation with its own plot development is possible. Its flaws aside from the special effects are the lack of information about the Shitennou’s second life pre-dark kingdom and Minako’s characterization. I love that Mina is an idol but can we have a flashback to her Sailor V days based on her prequel manga please? The Minako from the manga has been fighting the dark kingdom since she was thirteen, destroyed the dark agency on her own, worked with the Tokyo police, killed her first love in her first transformation and then had to kill her almost boyfriend Ace, only to remember how all her friends died and how her real boyfriend turned evil and joined the bad guys. I hate how the first anime makes up some absurd love triangle story, where Minako makes her surrogate older sister believe that she died just because the boy she likes is said surrogate older sister's boyfriend and that's her big tragedy. What the hell? Not only did they take away any depth from Minako but in my opinion they made her seem mean for traumatizing Katarina just because Alan loved her instead of Minako. The Minako of Damn Sailor V, disguised herself as the love of a boy she liked just to help him not get expelled. As for PGSM giving Minako a nameless deadly disease just to increase the angst is unnecessary when Minako's backstory written by Naoko is so rich and interesting, it's inexplicable why it wasn't used in PGSM given the darker and more serious approach, it was the perfect setting to show how screwed Minako is after the events of Damn Me Sailor V, as well as being an opportunity to explain how Minako became an idol, she had to participate in dark agency idol events and the Kaito Ace movie, attracting attention from the media and idol recruiters.

I didn't like that she was so serious, granted Minako is actually quite serious but she always wears a mask of perpetual happiness, I felt that Minako from PGSM was missing that, they made her an expy of the outers. I love the outers but they are their own characters. I think Minako is more of a joker type teacher like Gojo. At least that's how I see her. I think Minako is an idol who acts like a clone of Usagi but as Rei gets closer to her, she realizes that she is the opposite of Sailor Moon.Sailor Moon Crystal was a missed opportunity to develop the Dark Kingdom arc more with a bigger budget than PGSM, especially if they decided to make SenshiXShitennou canon, but sadly while it was fairly faithful to the manga, it didn't develop the themes that the original work introduced. We get more development of the SenshiXShitennou ship in the musicals than in a TV adaptation. Rei and Ami's family life was not given any screen time, even though Naoko had already published "Casablanca Memory" a short story that chronologically takes place in the Dark Kingdom arc, it deals with Rei's past and why she distrusts men. Why wasn't it adapted in Crystal? But it was used in PGSM, it wasn't 100% faithful but it was used to develop Rei's arc. As for Ami, while her family life was introduced in the Dream arc in the manga, a slight glimpse would help give her more depth, the same as her friendless state before she met Usagi.I think any change of nationality isn't that important as long as the plot is good.

If Hollywood was able to get their hands on a Sailor Moon Live action movie who would you want to do it?

TBH, I would be super nervous about Hollywood touching Sailor Moon. They don’t have a great track record with adapting anime of any kind, and the extremely small handful of female-dominated ensemble movies I can think of are nothing like Sailor Moon. Hollywood is pretty familiar with superhero films by now, but magical girls and superheroes have very distinct flavors and conventions despite their similarities, and I think a lot of the charm that makes Sailor Moon what it is would be lost in an effort to make it recognizable for an American audience. Plus, it would be pretty much guaranteed to be whitewashed, what with Usagi being blonde. 

I seem to recall a Japanese live action Full Metal Alchemist movie that looked amazing. I’d be way more interested in something like that, or a Japanese-produced Netflix collab. 

[reispinkoveralls]

FF.net

@dendyweek Day 7: Free Day

Summary: Usagi, Mamoru, and all of the Senshi have lasting PTSD from the years of battle. But Mamoru has one special side effect that no one else experiences.

Rating: Explicit

[sailorfailures]

I fell in love with these postcards from the Girl’s Night Out popup cafe the moment I saw them! I knew I had to get my hands on them, and the lovely @blaze-rocket was able to help that happen.

I cannot get over how perfect these postcards are. To me, this is what Sailor Moon is; a testament to the little moments from the series that made us fall in love with the characters, especially how their personal preferences were reflected in their fashion choices. In a world of merch where it’s easy to just slap a random crescent moon on something pink and say “look, it’s Usagi,” the designer responsible for these graphics went the extra mile to take imagery from the show itself that needles its way deep into our nostalgia-cortexes.

How many references do you recognise? Quiz yourself against this comprehensive (image-heavy) list! 👇

The inners’ postcards all reference the eye-catching sign for Game Center Crown, the iconic arcade where Motoki Furuhata worked and the gang would all congregate to play games and share information.

Starting in R they switched to hanging out at Fruits Parlor Crown, a cafe attached to the arcade staffed by Motoki’s sister Unazuki, which the Inners’ postcards all also reference. They would often get brightly-coloured drinks there, but the drinks pictured on these postcards seem to specifically line up with the real drinks available at the Girls Night Out popup cafe.

Sailors Neptune, Uranus, and Pluto’s postcards all reference “Café Étrangère,” which was the name of the cafe they were seen dining at in the Sailor Moon S movie. Even the logo is replicated faithfully from a scene only a few seconds long.

All the girls’ clothes are hanging on coat hangers shaped like Luna/Artemis/Diana.

Ami / Sailor Mercury’s references:

Ami’s casual outfit is an unusual choice since she only wore it a handful of times over the entire series, and half the times she wore it, it was given a different colour scheme with a green jacket instead of the yellow version pictured here.

Her “mini data computer” is her most iconic tool/weapon/accessory, revealed in episode 009, directly after her introduction.

The pink package is how Usagi and the other girls wrapped up her transformation stick and communicator watch as Ami’s going-away present in episode 062.

The ice cream may be a reference to the same episode, as she shared a cone with Chibi-Usa before she left, and returned to the store to protect her friends from the Droid Nihpasu.

The flash cards are a method Ami commonly used to help her study, and are particularly similar to the ones shown in the SuperS short “Ami’s First Love”.

Rei / Sailor Mars’s References:

Rei wore her casual outfit fairly frequently, starting and most notably in the beginning of the Sailor Moon R movie.

The small red o-mamori charm is from Hikawa Shrine, seen frequently but introduced in episode 010.

The paper ofuda ward was used frequently by Rei to fight evil, even before she could transform, but most notably in the attack sequence for “Akuryou, Taisan” (“Foul Spirit, Begone”).

To my knowledge the purple bag isn’t a specific reference, but Rei did throw a similar purse at a Cardian as a makeshift weapon in episode 048 before she got her Guardian memories back.

The gift-wrapped shopping boxes are the exact same ones as carried by Rei in the Sailor Moon Sailor Stars opening sequence before she trips and falls, right down to the patterns on the paper...

... which in itself may be a reference/callback to Rei’s tendency to make Yuuichirou carry her shopping (maybe so she doesn’t trip).

The phoenix-shaped pendant is a reference to episode 183; it’s made of glazed ceramic, crafted by Rei’s cousin Kengo Ibuki, given to her as a child after she convinced him not to smash it even though he his pottery a “failure”.

Makoto / Sailor Jupiter’s References:

Makoto didn’t start wearing her casual outfit until around S, but she wore it frequently after that, especially as she became more confident wearing “feminine” clothing. They even remembered her iconic gold wrist watch worn over her sleeve!

Her uniquely decorated bento bag debuted in episode 026, her introductory episode, along with the rounded green cutlery. The pouch has been featured a few more times since and its design is a mainstay in almost every Sailor Moon canon.

The teal hairtie and the rose-shaped earrings are two of Makoto’s iconic accessories, some of the only non-magical fashion accessories in the entire series to stay the same whether the character is transformed or not (the other being Minako’s infamous red bow). Her earrings also served a dual purpose as makeshift projectile weapons in episode 025.

The blue book is 月夜の天馬 (Tsukiyo no Tenma, “The Moonlit Pegasus”), a novel which was written by Tomoko Takase and introduced in epsode 134. Makoto knew Tomoko from her old middle school, before she transferred, and was the first one to read her first draft after retrieving it from bullies. She encouraged Tomoko to try and get it published. Makoto meets with her again and helps her overcome her writer’s block to finish her sequel, 天馬幻想 (Tenma Gensou, “Pegasus Fantasy”).

Minako / Sailor Venus’s References:

This is one of Minako’s most-worn casual outfits, especially if you consider the additional outfits based off it. Despite its prevalence, she didn’t start wearing it until the beginning of S.

Minako’s red hair ribbon is her most iconic accessory, but did you know why she started wearing it? The Codename: Sailor V prequel manga explains that she started wearing the ribbon instead of her usual red hairtie on the suggestion of her “first crush” Higashi. But when he turns out to be an enemy in disguise, she decides she looks good with a ribbon anyway, and keeps wearing it for her own benefit.

The red mask is a reference to Minako’s role as Sailor V before joining the team as Sailor Venus. Sailor V was known as a mysterious vigilante superhero and a fictional video game character as early as episode 001, but in episode 033 Minako revealed herself to the rest of the Sailor Team, dramatically removing her mask one final time.

Minako was known to be a skilled volleyball player, especially in the manga, and it was especially relevant in episode 100 where she had to delicately return the serve of an energy sphere containing the Pure Heart of her old volleyball crush, Asai.

The sign with Minako’s name can be seen hanging off the front of her bedroom door in episode 192.

[Manga scan courtesy of Miss Dream.]

Usagi / Sailor Moon’s References:

Usagi wore this outfit in the Sailor Moon R movie, making it a memorable choice. Although the movie aired roughly midway through R, Usagi didn’t start to wear this outfit casually again until the S season.

Usagi is shown eating a lot of food, especially sweets, but she seems to have a particular fondness for crepes, snacking on them in several different episodes.

In episode 143 we can see that Usagi is very technologically trendy - for the times. She’s carrying that blue-and-pink pager which she and Mamoru use to contact each other by way of goroawase, that is, deciphering messages based on the different pronunciations of numbers, a precursor to modern texting. Mamoru pages her the numbers 84 51, which could be read as hachi yon go ichi; reading only the first syllables, and substituting go for the related sound ko, Usagi would interpret the message as hayo koi, which sounds a bit like “come quick” - she’s late for their date. Oops!

By the way, pagers were often called “pocket bells” (pokeberu) in Japan, and became so rapidly popular they even found their way into the lyrics of Rashiku Ikimasho, the ending song for the SuperS season; 「泣きたい時には ���ケベルならしてよんで、戦士の休息」 [Nakitai toki ni wa POKEBELL narashite yonde, senshi no kyuusoku] “If you feel like crying, send a page thru the Pocket Bell, take a break from [being a] Guardian”

Chibi-Usa / Sailor Chibi Moon’s References:

Chibi-Usa doesn’t technically have a school uniform, but her casual clothes are often styled after sailor suits as a reflection of both her idolisation of the figure of “Sailor Moon” and of her desire to be seen as older and more mature than she appears. She changes “uniforms” every season, and this pinafore outfit is the version she wears in SuperS. She wore the other outfit in the SuperS premiere episode.

The handgun is from episode 060, Chibi-Usa’s introduction to the series and arguably one of the most iconic absurdist scenes in all of Sailor Moon. The gun itself is actually a toy, probably a transformation of the Luna-P sphere, which Chibi-Usa uses to try and threaten Usagi into giving her the Legendary Silver Crystal. When she “shoots” Usagi, the bullet is revealed to be nothing but a suction-cup flower, also pictured. (By the way, if you were wondering, Chibi-Usa’s fake gun is based on a real Colt M1911A1.) She transforms the Luna-P into a toy gun to shoot Sailor Moon again in the Sailor Moon R movie, this time as a way to motivate Usagi to fight.

The Luna-P sphere was a mysterious gadget Chibi-Usa kept with her for the duration of R and parts of S. It’s unknown where it came from, but it could be assumed to have been created from advanced 30th century technology. It was a combination toy and tool which could transform itself into a variety of objects, formulas, and even weapons, though none were shown to be particularly powerful. It could also be used to communicate with Sailor Pluto at the Time-Space Door. When Chibi-Usa was manipulated into becoming Wicked Lady in episode 085, the Luna-P sphere also transformed into an “evil” and much more dangerous version.

The Space-Time Key was a special tool given to her by Sailor Pluto that allowed her to travel between the past and the future, though it was difficult for her to wield effectively.

The sunhat was given to Chibi-Usa by Ikuko, so she treasured it greatly. In episode 112 it got blown away and was retrieved by Hotaru Tomoe, which allowed her to meet Chibi-Usa and marked the beginning of their close friendship.

The blue-and-red package was a gift containing two manga books (”Drop Drop” vol. 1 & 2 by Ukon Katakuri) which Chibi-Usa intended to give to her new friend Hotaru in episode 113.

In episode 127, Chibi-Usa returned home to the future, and the girls all made her some going-away gifts. Ami made her a floppy disk (lol) to help her study, Rei made her a casette tape (double lol) of her music, Makoto packed her a lunch, and Minako made her a photo album of their time together. Usagi hand-sewed Chibi-Usa the rabbit-shaped backpack using a real outfit she used to love when she was a child.

Michiru / Sailor Neptune’s References:

This is a somewhat unusual choice for Michiru’s casual outfit, as she only wore it for two episodes, and that’s only because they made up a two-part story. But perhaps because the episodes were so pivotal - with Haruka and Michiru almost learning Usagi’s true identity - the outfit itself became more memorable.

Not only do they include Michiru’s violin, but they included the lemon she bounced off the instrument as she played to show off her skills in episode 093.

The teacup, teaspoon and saucer are the same set Michiru was seen drinking from at Fruits Parlor Crown in episode 094.

Michiru and Haruka both reference episode 095, where they had to enter a “true love” contest as part of their investigation. The contestants were asked to find their partner’s hand in an anonymous lineup, and Haruka was able to identify Michiru’s hand immediately.

Michiru used Haruka as a model for an illustration in her green sketchbook in episode 106.

Michiru’s Talisman is the Deep Aqua Mirror, revealed in episode 110 and used in her attack Submarine Reflection. She could also use it to receive prophetic visions. Visually, it was based on real-life art nouveau hand mirrors, and symbolically represented the mirror from the Three Sacred Treasures.

Haruka / Sailor Uranus’s References:

Conversely, Haruka wore this outfit a lot. Maybe more than she should’ve.

The teacup and saucer is the same set Haruka was seen drinking from at Fruits Parlor Crown in episode 094.

Haruka’s postcard also references the lovers contest in episode 095 (see above).

The purple scarf is from episode 096; Haruka was wearing it as a necktie when she almost ran into Makoto on her motorcycle. Haruka used the scarf to bandage Makoto’s road rash, which she returned later, though now smitten.

Not only is Haruka’s motorcycle included, they also referenced (one of) her car(s), the 1968 Toyota 2000GT.

Haruka’s Talisman is the Space Sword, revealed in episode 110 and used in her attack Space Sword Blaster. Symbolically it represented the sword from the Three Sacred Treasures.

Setsuna / Sailor Pluto’s References:

Setsuna didn’t have a school uniform, since she wasn’t a student, so she got to double-up on her casual outfits. Her mauve outfit is her most recognisable, wearing it so often it may as well have been her uniform. In fact, she was rarely seen wearing anything else until Sailor Stars, where she started experimenting with other outfits, including the Time Lord-esque suit on the right.

The potted plant is a Tellun, the energy-draining plant created by Tellu in episode 121. Setsuna was investigating it when it attempted to attack her, but she was protected by her Talisman, the Garnet Orb (also pictured, representing the jewel in the Three Sacred Treasures). She then went on to destroy the remaining Tellun plants and defeat Tellu with the help of Sailor Moon, Sailor Chibi Moon, and Tuxedo Mask.

The teacup and saucer are the same set Setsuna is seen drinking from at Cafe Etranger in the Sailor Moon S movie.

In episode 182, the girls are discussing the mysterious arrival of Chibi Chibi while eating ice cream on a hot summer’s day. Setsuna appears out of nowhere to confirm their suspicions... carrying that popsicle of her own.

Hotaru / Sailor Saturn’s References:

Hotaru tended to wear the same thing, mostly all-black, but she did occasionally adventure into rich colours like this bottle green two-piece outfit and iconic raspberry beret.

The sunhat belonged to Chibi-Usa; it symbolises the beginning of their friendship, when Hotaru caught it after it blew away in episode 112.

Chibi-Usa gave Hotaru the rabbit backpack in episode 116, using it to pass a note inviting her on a picnic.

Hotaru collects lamps, and the two referenced here are seen in her bedroom, which she keeps dimly lit to manage her pain.

The window might seem random, but it was random in the series, too - it’s one of the curtained window which looks out from Hotaru’s bedroom, and when a Daimon experiment goes terribly wrong in episode 118 and transforms her house into a Bamboozled-like inter-dimensional maze, one window overlooks a vast ocean while the other overlooks a strange jungle.

Hotaru’s weapon as Sailor Saturn is the Silence Glaive. It’s said that she possesses enough power to destroy the world with a single drop of her scythe.

That’s it! You made it! How many references did YOU know? 🌙

[felixcloud6288]

Dungeon Meshi Chapter 16

Not gonna lie. I was hoping they'd eat fishmen this chapter.

I don't know why, but something about those bladefish makes me think there's some elaborate pun that I just don't get. I know their design is based on flying fish but they have blade-sharp edges, but I feel like there's supposed to be something more to it.

The blade is most likely made of keratin and is actually a layer of highly specialized scales.

Where'd the dramatic wind and waves come from? Is that just because of her trying to cast magic?

As this series progresses, Marcille's incantations are less detailed. I can tell some of the characters she's using match some characters in the spell Falin cast in chapter 11, so they use the same school of magic (Makes sense since they attended the same magic academy) but have different specialties.

The reason the runes are simpler is probably because the author decided drawing the intricate rune designs is too much hassle, but I'm going to say Marcille is either getting into the habit of mumbling her spells so nothing notices her casting, or her brain is still a bit scrambled because of the mandrake incident.

Realistic outcome: Causing fish with sharp edges to come falling from the sky can result in people getting cut.

I wonder what that big shadow at the top of the food pyramid is.

Love this little detail. The fishmen don't eat the bladefish's fins. Even if they can safely bite into and eat it, there's probably no meat in the fins.

Another detail I love: The kraken has serrated suction cups like real-world giant squid.

I'm gonna guess that water feels slimy or oily when you're under the effects of waterwalk. Fun fact, we can't actually detect wetness. What we call "wet" is actually a mix of tactile and temperature feedback from our touch receptors that our brain associates with "wetness". It's the reason why reptiles sometimes feel slimy. Their skin just happens to be similar enough in feel and temperature difference to what our brain registers as wet.

Never noticed it before, but the party have to throw off their backpacks when they get in a fight.

Laios said this kraken is several times bigger than normal. They are facing a GIANT giant squid. Is that a mutation or do krakens have no upper limit to how big they can get? I'd imagine if it's the latter, this could be a self-fixing ecosystem problem because the kraken would eventually starve to death because its metabolism would become unsustainable.

Kui definitely did a bunch of research on squids going into this chapter. Look at that jet propulsion form.

Since the kraken is so big, it probably gets pieces of the fishmen it eats stuck in its suction cups all the time. It's like getting something between your teeth.

YES!! This is the kind of stuff I wanted to see them do with Waterwalk.

And this confirms that the spell can raise a sunken object.

And one more amazing detail on the kraken. When it dies, the chromatophores in its body stop working and it loses its color, just like real-life cephalopods.

Laios didn't seem to get grabbed before they killed the kraken so I think he was investigating the tentacles and got stuck.

And after all that, they're not even going to eat any of the kraken. They're going to eat the parasites in it.

This is the biggest tantrum Marcille has made since chapter 1.

But she's still drooling for the food through it all.

Everyone's always been willing to let Laios suffer whenever he gets in trouble by his own actions. Senshi is probably a bit sympathetic, but Marcille and Chilchuck came along to save Falin and have been annoyed since day one that Laios is using the journey and their lack of funds as an excuse to indulge in his monster culinary interest. Granted, compared with that other party, they're only doing so well because they don't have to worry about logistics and supplies as much. But Laios keeps causing trouble because he's willing to engage with some dumb antics.

I love how Marcille can apply magic effects by just hitting people with her staff. I bet it's cathartic at times.

SENSHI FLASH!!

back

[roolsilver]

I also appreciate how they treat the love between Marcille and Laios without making it romantic. The Autism in this hits close to home too. It isn't always easy to be casual friends with an autistic person, sometimes you have to lay down layers of trust before you even get to really know them.

I'm the beginning, Laios was just Marcille's friend's brother, and she reacted to him in much the same way as their previousparty members. Falin was the glue that kept Laios with other people. Throughout the quest to save Falin, Laios was forced to trust his party with the parts of him that he knew people found off-putting. He no longer had a choice.

Chillchuck is basically middle-aged for a half-foot. He's more mature in general, and he's willing to roll with most things, as long as he knows he's not getting poisoned. Senshi, who seems to have his life together, is the first person(besides his sister) to tell Laios that the things he thinks about aren't really that strange in the grand scheme of things. It's not something he needs to be ashamed of. Marcille is the one that's really concerned with what's 'normal'. She's so caught up in trying to force the party into normality that she hinders the quest several times, but also ends up saving them several times. And it comes out that Marcille herself is abnormal.

Marcille has spent her entire life trying to make herself normal, and failing. She's the oldest in the party, but also the one least mature for her race. She's so obsessed with her own differences, with hating them, that Laios' differentness seems like a threat to her.

And then they find another group of people, another elf obsessed with controlling the differences between themself and others, and Marcille sees herself. She sees herself, and Laios doesn't see a monster in that. And finally, Marcille can start to trust Laios, the way that Laios has been forced to trust Marcille and the others.

Once they really become open and trust eachother, the quest progresses quickly. There are still a few slips along the way, but they aren't slowing eachother down anymore. Their relationship is no longer dependent only on Falin, they care about and value eachother directly, are friends in their own right.

I love that the relationship between Marcille and Laios stays platonic. Even when Laios is attacked by the succubus, his first thought is confusion, and it's not effective. It's a Perry the Platypus situation. "Marcille!? WTF?"🤨 "Marcille offering me my Special Interest WITH ALL MY FRIENDS!?"😃.

Okay I'm doing it. I'm chapter 96 posting.

This is not meant to be a big analysis post this is mostly just me sharing all the little moments that Marcille & Laios show their care for each other because they are SO beloved to me. Join me on the journey if you wish.

(but also the above statement may be a lie. I do have a point here, it turns out, and the point gets at some of my Big Feelings of what Dungeon Meshi has to say about the nature of friendship & living in the world)

So, first of all, the conversation about Laios being king at the start of the chapter. Just in general Laios insisting on presenting himself in his own way here is so good. Character development!!

Before the events of the story he hadn't shared his inner world with anyone but Falin. Now he's like Actually I'm gonna dress up in the discarded remains of my monstersona and that's just how it is.

And even though there are a LOT of parts of the story and bits of character growth that go into this, I think it specifically highlights some interactions from a few chapters ago.

After all, his initial reaction to having been in that monster form & coming out of it was trying to hide from everyone.

And I think everyone helping him put things in perspective here contributes to how he is able to present himself as king. They assure him that he is accepted, despite having just been seen by EVERYONE at his Peak "Weird Monster Guy" mode.

Highlighting what Marcille says here especially:

Going out to "face them with a smile" is EXACTLY what he does. Not right away. He's still pretty stressed in the following scene in this chapter. But he is able to face the crowds with a smile, eventually...

As king. Dressed in the memory of his most vulnerable moments, the most honest expression of his desire.

BUT I'M GETTING A LITTLE AHEAD OF MYSELF. Before the King Laios speech, there's a little moment with Marcille I want to highlight, because...

Did y'all know that by the end of the manga, Marcille isn't like... grossed out by eating monsters any more? Or at least, she's definitely changed her reaction to it. It's Namari who makes the "yeah it smells good despite what it is" comment, not Marcille.

We even get shots later of Tansu, Shuro, and Kabru being kinda grossed out by - but still going ahead and eating - the different Falin foods. Chilchuck also throws out a line about it being surprised that it's good.

But there's no disparaging comment from Marcille, despite the Everything of the situation. I just think that's also a nice little detail. She may not be as far in the monster eating game as Laios, but she's more willing to roll with the weirdness.

So after this little moment, this is when Laios comes out in his new regal outfit. And first of all...

This is such a good contrast to the moment when the group goes to save Marcille in chapter 84. The monsters had stopped attacking, and everyone's reactions to Laios and the others framed him as unsettling. Creepy. Maybe even traitors.

They even use some of the same labels (lord of the monsters/lord of the dungeon, dark lord/demon king)., but the context is that they are disgusted. The parallels in this manga....

Have a tendency to destroy me. What a difference in reception.

Anyway, after this moment, Laios stops to talk to the group... and I'd like to point out again: MARCILLE ISN'T FLIPPANT HERE EITHER!!

Chilchuck is still Chilchuck, of course, and I want to be clear I love that, too. Chilchuck is who he is to his core. His little jabs are very affectionate in this chapter.

But Marcille... Marcille only points to the Winged Lion symbol as being weird, not the monster bits. And like, considering what she's just been through with the lion, being skeptical of that part is... fair.

(don't get me wrong, her "that's fine and all" isn't exactly excitement. BUT the point I'm trying to make is less about her completely changing her feelings & preferences. It's more about how she expresses them, and how she treats Laios and HIS feelings & preferences)

And she continues to be so encouraging!! Wah!! Like, despite, all four of these people definitely caring about Laios, it's Marcille specifically who tells him to relax and just be honest. And you know what? I think that's what Falin would have said, too.

Please also note how cute everyone's little faces are in the crowd:

(see, Chilchuck loves him too!! Look at that fond face, and the cheer. and Senshi! and Namari! They really are such a family)

Laios' short speech actually has a little bit I'd like to highlight as well, since I think it is a nice little reflection of his choice to keep the lion insignia on his new outfit:

"Eat to your heart's content," he says. Not just "enjoy," or "let's eat."

Dunmeshi does such a wonderful job of framing so much about the Winged Lion with nuance, and this is a good example of that. Desire is not bad! Craving and consuming is beautiful. As Laios says when explaining the lion insignia...

It's not just something to get rid of.

So then... on to the feast!

And not only does Marcille not express any grossed out feelings, as I mentioned before... she even helps to gross out Chilchuck!!

Her weird girl powers are only just in their infancy. She will only grow more powerful in time...

As the feast goes on of course we get the group's realization about her hair, and I'd like to point out:

I really feel like they have such similar reactions to finding out about how the other has been affected by the Winged Lion

Just... the quiet concern. Not making a huge fuss, but... worried. Understanding. A little heartbroken for each other.

SPEAKING OF HEARTBROKEN REACTIONS THOUGH. WHAT COMES NEXT REALLY GETS ME.

After Chilchuck braids Marcille's hair for her, the topic of her needing to leave everyone comes up and...

God, these expressions. Every Time I see these panels I think about about what Laios saw in her nightmare. Her fears. The weight of inevitable loneliness, and the way it has marked her. As much as Marcille tries to keep things light when talking about it, he knows what this means to her. And it HURTS.

So he doesn't accept it. But do you notice how he frames this. Do you see. Not "do you want me to fix this." Not "hey I have an idea."

"Would you be willing to stay."

He doesn't know whether she will accept. Whether she will hate the idea, actually, of staying here with him. He's putting himself out there fully prepared for rejection & dismissal, as he has faced many times before.

But his pitch, his proposal to her, it's not JUST an excuse to ask her to stay, either. He's put thought into this. Into what Marcille could mean and do here. Not just to and for him, but for the people of this area. The place he has taken responsibility for.

He's also thinking about Falin. And about all the other little girls, the people of all sorts, just like her. He's thinking about the people who have been killed (burned at the stake???), hurt, shunned. About the people who have been abandoned. The people who are still alone.

He's not just offering Marcille an out from her isolation, he's offering her a new purpose. A new way to continue her work, to do the things she cares about. He SEES her! he understands her.

BUT ALSO HE'S SO NERVOUS OUGH. FIDDLING WITH THE PLATE. UNSURE IF SHE WILL CARE. UNSURE IF HE HAS IT RIGHT.

HE'S NOT GOOD WITH PEOPLE HE'S NOT GOOD AT THIS.

BUT THEY UNDERSTAND EACH OTHER. AND SHE WANTS THIS LIFE HE'S OFFERING HER.

Still... it's not that simple for her, even if for a moment she is swept up in how much she wants this.

Again here, Marcille is working so hard to be chill about the whole 'going west with the elves' thing. She looks absolutely devastated in the first panel, but puts on a smile in the second.

Maybe she doesn't want to bring down the mood. Maybe she doesn't want to burden everyone with what seems like the only option she has. Maybe she had already accepted the cost that might come with bringing Falin back. Maybe after everything with the Winged Lion, she doesn't want to risk letting herself fight for her desires too hard.

But hey. Desires aren't always bad. They aren't something to just get rid of.

A small bit of visual storytelling here... I love that Marcille is confined by the panel, but Laios is stepping outside of it. He's literally pulling her outside of the box she feels trapped in.

Also, I love that his first acts as king are:

1) welcome everyone to a big feast

2) stand by his friend and help her find happiness

It's great stuff and it's so Laios.

In addition to that, I love how this whole act actually plays out. I love that, while getting the elves to let Marcille go, he gets to be extremely cool and protective...

but also like. Not THAT cool and protective.

No really, I mean it! I think it's important! It's important that cool 'suave king guy Laios' is a front he puts up when he needs to deal with these strangers, and one that he completely drops once it's just him and Marcille.

He's not trying to impress her, or convince her he's cool and suave. Why would he? He trusts that she's okay with the messy, often unimpressive, sometimes kinda gross reality of who he is.

And isn't that what Dungeon Meshi is all about? Messy, unimpressive, gross reality. And how beautiful, how wonderful, how very precious it is

Especially when you get to share it with your friends.

[teitpp]

ST: Voyager/Sailor Moon crossover: headcanons and things

Most of this whimsy is just @deannalaurend​ and I going down this crossover rabbit hole... (related posts here, here,  and here)

Do Federation and DQ species know about Senshi?

All to some extent. Vulcans and Klingons both have pretty robust Sailor myths and so do a bunch of other species that are warp capable by the 2300s. It’s actually always been a surprise that Earth doesnt have a similar myth in their history. Turns out they do - it’s just only preserved in the form of 20th century Japanese Manga. Naturally Tom Paris, the 20th century geek, has read all the available senshi literature. Some DQ species have similar knowledge. Talaxia has lots of senshi myths. The Ocampans on Susperia’s array retain some knowledge. The Borg have other species knowledge and they are obsessed with finding a way to assimilate a sailor star seed (they’ve thus far failed in all attempts). Things that would happen if KJ got magical girl powers Sailor gadgets: KJ gets her own special transformation combadge (and a magical tricorder and phaser etc). They can do a lot more things than your standard starfleet gadgets. To her extreme frustration, these gadgets only come in glittery, bedazzled, pink. Her replicator now refuses to generate normal, standard issue gadgets. Chakotay thinks this is hilarious. Everyone else does two but he’s the only one who isnt scared of her death glare.

Mr. Tuxedo Mask (or Tuxedo Maquis... we’re not sure what Chak is going to call himself yet) gets his own special transformation combadge. Much to KJs annoyance his is not bright pink. How do the Voyager characters react to KJ?

Seven is very frustrated that KJ cannot explain how she successfully assimilated senshi powers and is most annoyed that KJ does not seem to appreciate them.

Tom is inspired and even designs a holoprogram based on the classic “Sailor V” video games. They are very popular. KJ secretly enjoys it.

The Doctor is very annoyed - he does not have a baseline for how magical girls work and KJ never shows up for her physicals. She makes his job very difficult.

Chakotay just goes all heart eyes for KJ in her senshi form (and just about faints the first time he sees her princess form). He’s gotten some powers of his own out of this strange destiny and he takes it all in stride much better than her. Then again, he’s not the one who needs to be in a pink short skirt to use his powers.

Naomi Wildman thinks having a magical girl destiny is just about the coolest thing ever. She’s determined to also be a captain with a magical girl destiny. Her enthusiasm makes KJ appreciate the whole thing more.

Q is delighted that Kathy has magical girl powers. He has even more fun annoying her about it and telling her all about his run-ins with other Magical girls. (he’s been annoying S. Pluto for thousands of years!)

KJ’s Magical Girl Powers?

Nebula based! Her senshi uniform has a lot of shimmery pink - like stardust. Her attacks involve lots of star dust and gravity effects. She can even destroy her enemies with tiny blackholes, although that power rather terrifies her so she doesnt try that very often. She can manipulate wormholes, but she doesn’t have the ability to create them herself until the ship is almost home. She can teleport but just her own person, though not for lack of trying. As Sailor Delta, she’s the magical protector of the Delta Quadrant, although she’d rather be the protector of pretty much anything else.

[crunchbuttsteak]

Brainstorming a Fusion AU of Worm and Sailor Moon

I've been brainstorming a Sailor Moon and Worm crossover but I'm trying to work backwards and give each of the senshi a worm-verse trigger for something as close to their canon powersets and backgrounds as possible.

The Sailor Senshi are a sentai revival team mostly composed of Japanese refugees in Brockton Bay who came to the US following Kyushu.

Usagi Tsukino | Sailor Moon:  Triggered with a Blaster/Trump power capable of nullifying Master influences over people following a trip to Montreal that saw her mom become one of Heartbreaker's thralls.

Luna:  A case 53 with feline features and a tinker power that specialized devices that can power analyze power effects.

Ami Mizuno | Sailor Mercury:  She was living on the southern end of Honshu island when leviathan attacked.  She didn't trigger there, but afterwards her family moved to the US.  The strain of being refugees in a foreign country was too much for their marriage and the Mizuno family broke up.  Ami and her father stayed in Seattle as he worked as an artist.  Isolated from her peers, Ami threw herself into academics as a way of proving to her peers that she belonged there.  In 2003, Leviathan attacks Seattle.  Ami and her father make it to a shelter in time, but Leviathan eventually breaches it.  It’s dark, the power is out, the water is coming in around Ami, she's panicking, she can barely even think straight, and she triggers with the ability to move water as a sort of 'shield' all around her, playing keep-away with blasts of water.  Unfortunately her father didn't make it, and she instead moved to Brockton Bay where her mom worked as a trauma surgeon.

Rei Hino | Sailor Mars:  Rei Hino grew up in Torrance California as the daughter of LA City Council member Takashi Hino.  Mr. Hino was an ambitious politician but didn't have time for his daughter, instead foisting her off on her grandfather, who ran a shinto shrine in the Little Tokyo neighborhood of Los Angeles.  Rei's father always neglects her and the rest of the family. She wants to connect with him, but he's constantly busy with his job. She tries to make excuses for his neglect, but as time goes on, she gets more and more resentful. How dare he constantly ignore her like this? This all comes to a head when Rei finds out that her mother has cancer. She calls her father on the phone to let him know that he should come home to the hospital- but in that moment, she knows that he'll just make excuses to stay over there in DC- it's like a future vision, but she can't do a thing to try and stop it. Sure enough, her suspicions are confirmed- her father tries to hand over useless excuses, and she explodes at him, letting out all of her simmering resentment. As her anger reaches a crescendo, she triggers.

Makoto Kino | Sailor Jupiter: Makoto triggered following a plane crash that left her pinned to the plane's electrical cable. She received several shocks before triggering with the ability to absorb electrical energy to make herself stronger temporarily or she can discharge that energy as bolts of lightning.

Minako Aino | Sailor Venus:  Minako's family came to Brockton Bay before Kyushu.  She originally wanted to be a famous actor but grew up next door to the Pelham family.  Crystal used to babysit her frequently, and Sarah Pelham had her over often whenever Minako and her mom got into arguments (which was a lot).  Then one day Minako was in a car accident that left her stuck in a car that was partway down the ravine.  Minako called Crystal and Eric for help but while they were still en route, the car began to slide further down the ravine.  In her desperation, Minako tried to grab for a branch that was sticking out of the ground to hold onto but couldn't make it, until she triggered with the ability to manifest a chain out of hard light that she used to pull her way to safety.

[brazenautomaton]

and then here’s another Sailor Moon space colonist OC!

Sailor Yellow Sky

Real Name: Jeanna D'Trelli

Birth Date: March 29, 2482 (Sol-Aires)

Species: Human-analogous (Planet Mermaid)

Homeworld: Yellow Sky orbits the star Tychus. Due to a series of impacts that were prooobably meteors, Yellow Sky has two biospheres: its high plateaus are an oxygen-based environment where humans and similar species can live, while its hot, wet, lowland swamps are home to chlorine-breathing lifeforms, breathing caustic air that will kill human beings. 

It was colonized by the peaceful Orlamu Theocracy  (who seek to understand the nature of the Divine through scientific research) and established the city of Mount Illumination in 2346. But in 2369 -- during the Second Great Sailor War -- the Orlamu world that launched the expedition was scourged, and the colonists were stranded with no FTL communications, no spacedock, and no industrialized manufacturing or resource extraction. Their knowledge was from the Gravity Age, but aside from preserving what they already had brought with them, their technology was regressed to the Age of Reason.

Combustion is impossible in Yellow Sky's chlorine-based environment, so no species could have discovered or used fire there. Yet, the swamps are littered with ruins of an incalculably advanced, incalculably ancient starfaring species known as the "Stoneburners". From them, emerge shambling youma-form creatures known as the Untouched Ones. 

That is their name. How did the colonists know to call them that?

Appearance: Jeanna is well-tanned and well-muscled from lots of field work at a farm, and about 162 cm high. Her dark aquamarine hair goes down to the middle of her back when it's not done up in a ponytail. Her blue eyes usually aren't haunted, they're usually bright and charming... but there are always deep, dark circles under them.

On Yellow Sky, she wore one of two sets of coarse, itchy, undyed tunics and leggings, the kind made by people who landed on a planet with lots of technical documentation but not a lot of records on "how to operate a shuttle loom effectively". After the colony was rescued and she got some wealth, she got herself a huge wardrobe of outfits in varying levels of formality; even her green T-shirts and blue jeans she wears most of the time are custom-tailored and nothing that touches her skin ever has a thread count below 1000. She tries not to have a big head about things, but there are rules, come on.

Once exposed to current technology again, she's also found with an earbud in her left ear at all times, as civilian and Senshi. If you were to pull it out, you'd hear a metronome ticking at exactly 108bpm, and she'd claw your face off to get it back. 

History: Jeanna was reincarnated, from a backup singer to a 22nd century pop star that died tragically young in a boating accident. She didn't think her distant memories of fame and stardom and performance would ever be relevant; she was a farmer, her parents were farmers, eking out enough to keep Mount Illumination alive. She went to school. She learned state of the art (for the 23rd century) computer interfaces on printed parchment, and how to perform FTL navigation calculations with slate and chalk. She learned archery, as the number of functional guns in the settlement was getting smaller and smaller.

And there were only 13 environmental suits left. One of which was sized for a young girl of her proportions. They couldn't afford to let it go unused. Because the settlement needed her, because she ignored her own fears, she suited up, loaded in an air canister that had been filled by a wooden hand-cranked device, grabbed her bow and arrow, and descended with the expeditions into the chlorine swamps, hunting for deposits of precious iron and animals with hides thick enough to bear useful leather. It was hot. Miserable. Her lungs burned. She was drowning in her own sweat. But she bore on, because people needed her to be brave. They even listened to her sing sometimes, to make her feel more valued back at the camp, but she'd never had any coaching and wasn't any good.

One day, they strayed too close to a Stoneburner ruin, and the Untouched Ones were upon them. She was closest to the edge, so she tried to sacrifice herself so others could get away safely. She couldn't tell if it worked -- she couldn't see, couldn't hear. Their spindly claw fingers rent her body. Her breathing line was severed, and she rapidly choked to death in the toxic atmosphere.

11 hours later, she came to, breathing unimpeded, as Sailor Yellow Sky. Around her were 11 corpses of the Untouched Ones, arrayed in a circle.

All dead by their own hands. 

Sailor Yellow Sky

Origin: Jeanna is not the first to hold the title of Sailor Yellow Sky... or at least, let's say, not the first to be Sailor Guardian of this planet. She surmises that the previous title holder was one of the Stoneburners, who lived millions upon millions of years ago, and left her the title, the powers, and the profane alien relic/guardian that screams at her in a language she can't possibly understand and protects her by injuring her friends. 

How long ago did the Stoneburners die out, do we think?

And how long ago did Sailor Galaxia seal away Chaos?

And how come this Sailor Guardian outfit doesn't have a Sailor collar?

Transformation: "Atlach a natai. Aatal oorn. Ab a dhuttai om!"

Sailor Yellow Sky's outfit resembles the environmental suit she used to stay alive on her terrifying expeditions into her planet's corrosive lowlands. It covers everything below her neck in a pale off-yellow, with a dark burgundy skirt and back ribbon, and dark green highlights and piping. Her wrist adornments are shackles; anyone else who touches them finds them unbearably heavy, but she can't imagine not having to bear them. As alluded above, she has no Sailor collar of any kind. While transformed, she can survive in absolutely any environment regardless of heat, pressure, chemical composition, radiation... but she still feels the echoes of its effects on her body, even if they cause no damage and don't really happen. 

Attacks and Powers: Sailor Yellow Sky's element is corrosion. Form and space break down. Boundaries erode, and definition melts. Nothing can be kept out because there is no out or in any more. She corrodes the boundaries of space and distance, she corrodes stone and flesh, wearing all away into a singular point of nothing, just as her fellow colonists' needs wore away any boundary she could claim around herself. 

- "Atlach a natai. Abhai a shudde." Sailor Yellow Sky conjures fistfuls of horribly caustic acid. Due to the possibility of awfully maiming people, she never uses this with others around, or on living opponents. She uses it to melt materiel, terrain, obstacles and walls, etc.

- "Warp." Sailor Yellow Sky bends space. This point and that point become adjacent, regardless of distance in between. There are plenty of tricks to be pulled by sending sound and energy and devices through warped space, or bending the geography of a location past sanity. She can create full-on portals between locations, but she never allows any other living being to cross them, even her enemies -- when she does it, she's always incapacitated by weeping and vomiting blood.

Special Items: Sailor Yellow Sky has two of these, to her chagrin. The first is her Stellar Bow, a compound bow engraved with star-pattern designs from her personal notebook. The system of cams and pulleys allows her to put on a draw weight that matches her heroic strength; it's made out of cutting-edge alloys and polymers that don't actually exist, but she imagined would exist by the time she was rescued. It is her primary means of attack (since she can warp arrows to their destination as long as they stay in line of sight), comes with an 8x scope, and fires arrows that pierce, explode, or leave clouds of corrosive gas to melt through force fields and magical protection. It appears to have nothing to do with the Stoneburners.

The second doesn't have a name that she can pronounce. It's a spherical cube -- a cubic sphere -- of weeping magenta stone that hovers around her and only she can see or hear. It’s eerily silent most of the time, until it suddenly screams at her in a language nobody has spoken in millions of years, especially to wake her up, or tell her to do things. She has no idea what it wants. She wants to keep it that way. Any time she's injured, the stone strikes someone nearby with red lightning, healing her and wracking them with pain and injury. The lightning only hits enemies if it can't hit an innocent bystander, and only hits innocent bystanders if it can't hit a friend. It does this if she squishes her thumb in a cabinet door, or drops something on her foot. She'd much prefer if it went away, please. 

Mission: Mount Illumination needed her. How could she say no? Once she became Sailor Yellow Sky, she was there for every expedition into the lowlands. And then, well, she was so much safer, she was at so much less risk than everyone else because her air supply couldn't be ruptured and her suit couldn't be corroded... can't she just go down alone, and protect everyone else by completing the missions solo? Mount Illumination needed her, so that was what she did.

And now that she's going out on expeditions solo, isn't it an amazing opportunity to map the Stoneburner ruins in a way that nobody else can? Sure, it's frightening, but she is courageous, and she's willing to step up for the sake of advancing human knowledge, right? So she spent less and less of her time hunting slow beasts with inefficient chlorine-based metabolisms, and more in the weeping stone ruins, gathering up relics, trying to snipe down the vulnerable bulbous eyeballs of the Untouched Ones before they came at her as a blizzard of impossibly thin fingers. It was impossible to map the ruins, of course. Every one had a totally different layout every time she entered. Three rights didn't make a left. The horrid laboratory-tombs were filled with impossible, non-Euclidean geometry that hurt her head to try and understand. A horrible droning came from inside her ears. Bas-reliefs seemed to depict hundreds of scenes of her being mutilated and killed, annotated in perfect modern French. It all went deeper. Everything went deeper, deeper than she could go, deeper than she could fathom. Why were there hallways, but never rooms? Why were there rooms, but never hallways?

Sailor Yellow Sky didn't originally have the power to warp space, until she'd been to the ruins. Is that even one of her powers? Or is it something Jeanna has seen about the world, and can't unsee?

But she kept going. She beheld more and more impossible things, things Man was not meant to know, things she could not understand beyond knowing she never should. Because people needed her to. Because she was protecting others from enduring this peril. Because she was brave. 

Mount Illumination did their best to keep her spirits up, and she did her best to keep her spirits looking up. They christened her "Sailor Discovery", an Orlamist saint of courage and inquiry. There was a feast day every week in her honor. She liked those. There were lots of people there to talk to and that meant she wasn't alone with her own thoughts. She sang terribly, and people politely clapped. 

In 2497, the Orion Arm re-established contact with the frontier, and the colony of Yellow Sky was rediscovered. The Theocracy swooped in with much needed medicine and clothing and armaments and modern supplies. Her expeditions continued, under closer scientific guidance, for about a year and a half, deeper and longer than she ever wants to talk about.

Her name and likeness as "Sailor Discovery" were marketed as a character in educational children's programming, with tales of her courage and heroism that had been "massaged" to make them more palatable to audiences back home. She didn't actually get a huge cut of the royalties, and Sailor Discovery isn't a massive well-known household name, but a small cut of a minor character going out to an audience of 745 billion is still a very decent chunk of change, and Sailor Discovery got herself rich. She didn't walk out on her duties, until someone suggested she could -- then she was gone before that sentence finished echoing in the air. She became a free agent, fighting what evils she could find when she could find them, in nice normal happy predictable Euclidean space against things that had a consistent number of limbs and experienced time in an orderly, coherent fashion. 

Joining up with the Verge Senshi was a no-brainer, they provided emotional and tactical support and if she wasn't the only one around who did Senshi things she wouldn't be pushed into doing everything. Sailor Lison is a great help in particular, because she doesn't mind being asked a lot of questions like "how many people are in the room with us?" and "do the angles of this triangle still add up to 180 degrees?" and "Is e still less than pi?", without trying to draw conclusions about what is going on in her head based on the questions.

Personality: Jeanna is outgoing, friendly, gregarious, giving, courageous, self-sacrificing, and clearly about 5 millimeters from losing her goddamned mind at any given moment. She loved being around other people, and that's even better because now being around other people means not being alone with her thoughts! She pushes for lots of time together, lots of talking, or playing lots of games, or watching lots of movies -- lots of TOGETHER TIME. She can seem normal in short bursts, when you don't have enough time to see the patterns, and she just seems outgoing. But the longer you're with her, the more likely you are to notice how much she laughs at inappropriate things, how random words startle her like gunshots, how she keeps looking behind her like she thinks something is in the room with her. She's terrified of being alone. She's terrified of what will be there with her when she is. 

She's always jumping into danger (she can't refuse it) and trying to solve other people's problems (if she solves someone else's problems she doesn't have her own). She's proactive and forward looking. Extremely forward looking, lots of forward momentum, because if she stops moving forward she collapses. She has seen Things Man Was Not Meant To Know. Her courage has almost destroyed her by exposing her again and again to mind-shattering sights, taking on the most awful burdens and obligations of everyone. If her awful experience allows her to help someone, she has to do it... because if she doesn't, someone else might have to see those things, and that's something she can't let them do.

She's not comfortable with most modern technology (it's 150 years past what she learned about) and prefers other people do computer things for her. She does all her FTL navigation calculations by hand, on paper. They get the ship to its destination much faster than the laws of FTL physics allow. Only Sailor Lison is allowed to input them, because she's the only one who is able to conclusively delete information she's seen from her own memory, and nobody else is even allowed to look at them.

Battle: Sailor Yellow Sky is a sniper and harrier, dealing precision damage to high-value targets from extreme range, using her space-warping powers to extend the range of her arrows. Corrosive clouds restrict her opponents' movement, and deal devastating damage to those who can't move away from them. Bent space leaves her enemies lost and confused. She's most effective alone, but she needs to be in contact with others or she'll lose it. Her floating cube-orb has nothing to do with how she uses her powers, provides no benefit she cares about, and she'd rather be rid of it, but nonetheless it means that her being close to her allies while enemies are near endangers them. Being close to others hurts them, because of course it does. If she's outnumbered or caught with an ally, she has to escape through a hole in space, which will incapacitate her and take her out of the fight. If her allies are in danger and sniping off attackers isn't a viable course of action, she's going to have to do something dangerous to save them.