#but after watching the first episode and researching a bit it appears that this is very much a big ship

[katstiel]

Decided to start watching Hawaii Five-0 because. Well, I was bored. And what the actual fuck? Why are these two men full on flirting with each other right there on my screen? I'm honestly not sure it's possible to interpret whatever they have going on in just the first episode as anything but sexual tension. I'm sure this'll only get more homoerotic as the show goes on.

Why do I keep doing this to myself.

[woso-dreamzzz]

Gone II

Hardersson x Child!Reader

Part of the Big Adventures Universe

Summary: Your mothers deal with your separation anxiety.

After your breakdown from Pernille's absence and a bit of research, your mothers quickly came to the conclusion that you were experiencing a bit of separation anxiety.

It made sense, sadly.

Pernille had been your constant since birth, with Magda popping in as often as she could but being restricted to the phone screen for most of your life.

It makes perfect sense that Pernille's absence makes you worried.

Which was why, though heartbreaking, they were doing this in the first place.

You're sat on the carpet, having some supervised Lego play (Magda worried incessantly that one day you would put a brick in your mouth when they weren't looking).

"I don't know," Pernille says, chewing on her bottom lip as she watches you.

Ever since your little episode, you had been relentlessly clingy and sweet but she didn't exactly want you to go through what you went through last week all over again.

"It's for the best," Magda says, though there's a waver in her voice," She can't just stay like this. What happens when she starts going to school?"

The question lingers for a moment before Pernille sighs and goes to put on her shoes. You perk up when she passes you, thinking that she's come to play Lego with you but she doesn't. Your brow furrows in confusion.

"Momma?" You call as you watch her slip on her shoes. "Where you going?"

They'd established through this past week that your anxiety only flared up when your routine broke. You were happy to abandon Pernille at training or to go with Magda to the park or shopping but if Pernille was anywhere different to where you'd left her then you'd burst into tears.

Her putting on her shoes to leave at this time of day very much broke your routine.

"Just out, princesse," She says, trying to act blasé about it, to not worry you further.

Your worried crinkle appears regardless though. You stand on your feet and wander closer. You spy your shoes sitting neatly next to Morsa's. You sit by Momma and put your feet out to her, to get her to put your shoes on.

She picks you up by your armpits and sets you back on your feet. "No, princesse," She says firmly but not unkindly," Momma's going out. Not y/n."

Your next question comes out in a quivering whine. "Why?"

"Because Momma needs to grab something from the post office." It's not a lie. There was something waiting at the post office but Pernille could have easily just had it redelivered to the house if she really wanted to. It's about twenty minutes there both ways plus however many minutes it took to actually get the package.

It wouldn't be as long as your separation last week but certainly the longest you've been separated since.

You seem to realise something similar as your chin wobbles and your crinkle gets deeper. "I..." You look around at Morsa, who hasn't gotten up. You tap your chest. "I go too. Shoes. Please."

Momma laughs and strokes your cheek with a finger. "Silly y/n," She says," You need to keep Morsa company."

You tap her on the arm. "Keep you company."

"Oh, princesse. I think-"

She doesn't get to finish though because you're scooped up and placed on Morsa's hip. You hadn't even seen her move and suddenly you've no escape.

Momma moves to kiss you on the cheek a few times, pulling away wistfully. "I love you," She says, looking into your arms," I love you so much. I'll be home very soon."

Your worried eyes follow her to the door, staring longingly at it seconds after it has been closed. You look between it and Morsa and then you promptly burst into tears.

Morsa bounces you. "Okay," She says," Okay, princesse. Come on."

Magda picks her way back to the sofa, careful to avoid your scattered Lego bricks. She slouches in her seat, propping her legs up on the ottoman and leaning you back against her folded knees.

You're still sobbing but not quite hysterical just yet. You keep looking back at the door pitifully as fat tears roll down your cheeks. Your Morsa's calm look and the rhythmic way she's rubbing your tummy makes your sobs quieten until its only short bursts of sucking breaths in.

"How are you feeling, princesse?"

Morsa's a little slow sometimes, you think. It's pretty clear how you're feeling.

"Wan'-Wan' Momma."

"I know." She's completely sympathetic and sweet and it distracts you slightly from your want for Momma. "But she'll be home very, very soon."

Your tummy clenches at the reminder that your Momma isn't here. It almost sets off another wave of tears. But Morsa keeps talking.

"You know, before you two moved here, I missed you and Momma so much."

You blink away tears and say shakily," Really?"

She nods. "Uh-huh. I missed you both with every little bit of me. But I found ways to cope." She gasps like she's just remembered something. "Do you know what? I think I can make you miss Momma a little less. Would you like that?"

You nod pitifully.

You're back on Morsa's hip again and you rest your cheek against her shoulder, completely limp against her as you stare blankly ahead.

Morsa takes you to her and Momma's room and she grabs a nice-looking wool jumper from the top of the dresser. It looks warm and it's a nice dark green that's not exactly Christmas tree colour but close.

She sets you on the Big Bed and you whine when you're out of her grip. Morsa crouches in front of you.

"This was Momma's from way back when we used to play with each other at Linköping. When I left, I took this with me because it smelt like Momma and it helped me when I missed her."

She holds out the jumper to you and you sniff the fabric.

She's right. It does smell like Momma.

Morsa bunches it up and pulls it over your head. The arms are floppy and it fits you like a dress, almost dragging on the floor. But you don't really care. It's like being wrapped in a nice blanket of Momma even though she's not here.

"Now," Morsa says," Every time you're missing Momma, I want you to close your eyes and take a nice, deep breath of Momma's jumper and think about how much she loves you, okay?"

You do as she says and relax marginally.

"Now, Momma will be home very, very soon. What do you want to do while we wait?"

You feel a little bit teary but you manage to squeak out," Lego." You poke at her chest. "With you."

When Pernille comes home just under an hour later, it's not to carnage. You're sitting with red-rimmed eyes on the floor, telling Magda where to put each brick, wrapped up warmly in Pernille's ratty old jumper from years ago.

You don't look completely at ease without her, especially when you spot her and abandon Magda completely in favour of barrelling towards her like a charging rhino, going limp in her arms as they wrap around you (and then refusing to leave them until dinner). But it's better than nothing.

It's still progress and that's all the really matters.

Besides, you look extra cute and cuddly in your stolen clothes.

[kvetchinglyneurotic]

a list of things from my season 2 rewatch, in no particular order:

there's a mundane practicality to Nate that's kind of embarrassingly relatable. "I was going to buy a suit but it was really expensive so I borrowed one from my dad" in season 1; "he's going to use a lot of water" about Dani's breakdown in the showers in 2x01. This is... basically exactly how I would respond to both these situations

Very funny that the man Roy describes as "settling for fine" is almost exclusively shown telling stories about almost beating up elderly celebrities

"Do you believe the return of Jamie Tartt will impact that so called 'vibe'" I don't have a point I just love this line.

love everyone supporting Sam in the Dubai Air protest but I feel like researching the sponsorships is probably supposed to be someone's job? That being said they were already the sponsor in season 1 and Rupert probably wouldn't care that their parent company was polluting Nigeria, and I can see how re-doing all the due diligence on the established sponsorships wouldn't be high up in the line of priorities

start of some tonal problems — trying to reintegrate Jamie into the team by shouting and flipping tables comes off a bit weird as a comedy beat when the previous episode has Jamie openly discussing his abusive father

kind of hilarious that the kebab guy thinks Ted is Roy's dad when he's like. maybe 8 years older

the end of 2x05 is very clearly a reference to something (presumably a romcom) and I believe the fact that I don't know what it is makes it much funnier. I do feel kind of bad that Roy has to spend the entire match in a suit when it appears to be quite cold outside, though

"maybe there's a good reason she hasn't replied. maybe she got hit by a bus." (Isaac) "or a train?" (Dani) they are so good at comforting

I tend to need a fair bit of personal space myself so I absolutely understand where Keeley is coming from in 2x07, and the way Roy responds to learning that she feels smothered ("I feel like a fucking idiot," "you've been making out like I'm following you around like some creepy shadow" (paraphrased)) is obviously a product of his own insecurities and he doesn't initially seem to understand that alone time is a legitimate need that doesn't inherently reflect poorly on him,  but ultimately I think the problem itself is more a result of Keeley's difficulty expressing her own needs than of Roy failing to intuit them

The first time I heard Jamie say his thing about giving Richard space I thought he was trying to subliminal message Roy. He definitely wasn't but I was very impressed for a second there

The hug. The HUUUUUG. I am having a feeling

my controversial favourite episode is Beard After Hours — it feels like an episode of a different show, but TL is a bit of an outlier in terms of my tastes and 2x09 is closer to the norm. That being said I didn't start watching until after all of season 2 had come out and might feel differently if I'd been watching the episodes as they came out

the bit where they're singing at the funeral makes me want to crawl out of my skin with vicarious embarrassment. I have never managed to listen to this entire bit with the sound up.

Is sparkling water actually much more common in the UK than in the US? I'm Canadian and it's generally not the default kind of water to offer people, but it's also not as much of a novel concept as it seems to be to Ted.

[zorasthoughts]

some thoughts for the holly jackson fandom

so, some people have been wondering about when the agggtm show might be coming out and i've been thinking *deeply* about it. also, the universe is laughing at me, because i had an urge to check ig last night, and holly had posted a reel joking about everyone wanting to know when the trailer is coming out, which makes me think that she knows that everyone is (im)patiently waiting, but it might be still be a hot minute before we get anything. anyway, these are my thoughts. this is all speculation, with a little bit of logic, so don't take this as gospel

on the show's release

first things first: a couple of weeks ago, holly reposted a reel from one of the bbc accounts on her ig story where we got our first look at pip (she's in a dark room with lots of pink and blue led lights, i think this could be from the calamity party). this reel was a montage of clips, that you also see on tv that the bbc show during the holiday period to advertise shows coming out in the new year. from memory, these are usually for shows that are coming out in the first half of the year, so the show might come out in the spring, like april

why april? well, if you've read the book then you might remember that it all starts in april (the andie & sal case happens in april 2012), so if the show came out then, it would be a neat tie-in to the book

another reason why i think it could be april is because of another tv show: heartstopper

obviously, there are differences, hs is a netflix show, so is available to watch all over the world, agggtm is made by bbc so is only going to be available to watch in the uk (and i think also the us). it may become available to stream elsewhere later on, but that's another story

anyway, hs and agggtm are both ya book-to-tv show adaptations set in britain. hs had eight episodes per season with episodes being roughly 30 minutes each. agggtm is going to have six episodes, roughly 45 minutes each. so hs totals around 4 hours of content, agggtm will have 4 and a half hours of content in total. pretty similar

i did some further research (a lot of scrolling through instagram) to try and calculate when we might get some content. the hs ig account posted some stills on 1 march, just giving a first look at the main characters

on 16 march, they released some more stills, with some of the other characters, and also released the teaser trailer later that day

the full trailer came out 13 april, and the show came out april 22

sooooo, this is all speculation, and bbc will probably have different ideas from netflix to promote their show, but if the dates are similar and agggtm were to come out in late april like heartstopper (again, this would put it around the dates of the andie & sal case from the book), but i reckon we could maybe expect content to start dropping in march. we will see.

a final thought, which i'd forgotten earlier: if the show is successful, which i think it will be, then it would probably get renewed for a second season, then they'd want to film over the summer (the majority of events in ggbb happen in april/may, after the andie & sal memorial, which happens around the six-year anniversary of their deaths, which happened in, oh yeah, april)

some other thoughts:

holly posted on her ig grid a few days ago, mentioning stuff that will be happening this year, and i have a couple of ideas about that

her new book, the reappearance of rachel price is coming out on 2 april (this made me wonder if the show would come out later so that one isn't overshadowing the other, but the people deciding when a book is published and when a tv show comes out are going to be two different groups of people, and if i'm right with my guess, then start of the month and end of the month releases gives trorp enough time to get the hype it deserves)

book tour for trorp/holly doing appearances at book festivals this year. holly and her books are popular, and this popularity is probably going to increase after the show comes out, so i could see this being pretty likely

lastly, and there is no real evidence to suggest this, but it could happen: film adaptation of five survive. i'm not the first to say this, but it would be a great thriller, and as people have joked, would be pretty low-budget given that most of the action happens in an rv with just six people. if we do get this though, it would be probably be much later in the year

[kerubimcrepin]

Liveblog 5: many words much analysis

His favorite parenting technique: Bullshitting

Yet again, we have the tenets of Lou theorizing reiterated here by Kerubim and Simone, as well as this flashback:

She left sad, and unlike many other times, without any anger for Kerubim.

She left Luis with him to watch over him.

She also left Luis because he couldn't go with her, but that could mean many things.

She left after Ecaflip City, obviously, and at that time, their relationship seemed the healthiest. (Well, as healthy as it could be.)

Unlike all the other times, Kerubim didn't go searching for her. It seems this separation was final in a way no other was, and there had to be a reason that he didn't go and try to make up. An unsolvable issue.

Both Luis and Kerubim blame Kerubim, and the first one uses this to make the second one angry.

Adieu, translated here as Farewell, is a word used for when you never expect to see one another ever again.

And sure, Luis really hated that. To the point of not allowing anyone to clean him ever again.

And yet...

That's what I thought you'd say, you lying asshole. In this liveblog, so far, I had taken a stance against referencing future episodes, but I feel the need to pinpoint this now:

Aux Tresors De Kerubim is a show that will lie, cheat, and deceive you. A show that is incredibly transparent about being at least a little bit, but an in-universe fiction.

Kerubim Crepin is a man who has mastered the art of not really lying, but, more-so, fudging the situation. Usually for the better.

And, as seen from this screenshot of the shop as it was two years before Joris was born, sometimes, for the worse.

Kerubim had many ways to solve his situation — convince Luis to let him clean once in a while via the use of psychic warfare, find a different house, or clean while Luis was sleeping, which Luis canonically does, like Kerubim will later do, after Simone is gone, because unlike her, he's not good at not pissing Luis off.

Or, perhaps, he could have continued doing whatever maintenance he was doing, during the time Atcham showed up and tried to boil him in a sauna. Because back then, Luis was allowing him to clean the house. Just food for thought!

Even Luis doesn't really like the situation they're in.

So, letting himself and their home go, never trying to get them out of this situation, — are both his active failings as a parent, not something he passively went through.

There is absolutely no excusing the way he raised Joris.

So yeah. I will just have to make these two into soup.

The thing is, his lying doesn't come from malice at all.

Kerubim hates disappointing people or appearing weak, because, as we'll see, from his personal experience, relationships just don't end well if you present your authentic self without thinking, or just don't lie well enough. He will keep lying in even the most dire circumstances, because not being good enough is the worst sin he could partake in.

He doesn't really have a self-esteem, or a way to like himself, without outside validation, because of the sheer brainrotting trauma of his childhood and his relationship with Ecaflip. And it just so happens, that being a parent is having a little validation machine running around... As long as the child believes he is competent and an indisputable authority, that is.

Which Joris will, one day, realize, just isn't true.

(hint: before the end of Aux Tresors, but fully set in stone in the movie.)

.......yeah to end it on a funnier note, i really do think Kerubim Crepin shouldn't have been at the club.

he should have been getting therapy. he should have been doing inner child healing. he should have been researching coping mechanisms for cluster b personality disorders, of which he has 2. Imagine having a kid instead of therapy.

Choosing beggar Keke!

If they ever make a second Dofus movie via crowdfunding, I will enshrimpify myself. I think she would destroy Bakara's cringe teenager self. I think Bakara would be jealous of her and Joris's aunt-nephew relationship.

...Yeah I love Bakara and Simone a lot. How could you tell?

Some canonical info on Luis's cleaning protocols.

When Kerubim thinks things are going bad, it's "It'll be ok! Don't worry! We can make it!" When Kerubim is suffering through it, it's "I don't know. Don't ask me. I don't know. Probably. Not a good situation." But when Kerubim truly loses all hope, it's "THIS IS ALL MY FAULT, AND I FAILED YOU, AND I'M AWFUL, AND I'M NOTHING, and it's OVER, and we are going to DIE."

A very helpful thing to keep in mind, to see how distraught he is during various events.

He's good at putting on a casual front while under stress, but it means that when he cracks, his fears burst out like an ocean and take him out of the commission entirely.

It's both a character flaw, and a strength of his, allowing him to not lose hope even at the worst times / help others not feel as distraught. We will see this in some significant, albeit very subtle, portrayals of his character in the Wakfu OVA, as well as the ease with which he takes control of dangerous situations.

Him being insecure and a liar never really changes, but he really does do it all out of love.

One of the most significant lines of this show. It appears both in the second episode, and second-to last episode, expressing one of the main themes of the show: the uneven, often clumsy and painful, nature of love and family. From a chance meeting that doesn't go the best, like here, to, well... the way it's used later the second time.

Kerubim's musings on items in this scene introduce the other theme: Stagnation, progress, and memory. In his opinion, it is only natural for artefacts to pass through different hands, instead of being locked up in a vault. Yet, Kerubim himself is stuck in this shop, collecting dust, being a subpar parent to his son, and never moving on from a multitude of painful break-ups that happened decades ago.

Joris's recitation of his words introduces his, for now, unwavering belief in his papycha. Which makes Kerubim's insecure self feel very giddy and loved.

Then, Simone kicking them out promptly introduces the theme of her being literally the best.

It must feel nice for Joris to see their home look good for the first time in his life. As sad as it is, I am very happy for him. The way he begins running around the house, looking at everything, while Kerubim is walking around in a literal daze, is just so adorable. Makes me even forget I want to make his dad into soup, for a little bit.

This brings us to a close with episode 2. Here's to more insane posts to come.

[awkwardchaosposts]

Shit, it's you again

Part ?

Chishiya x Ex!reader [male!reader]

TW!: Nsfw themes,swearing

/⁠ᐠ⁠｡⁠ꞈ⁠｡⁠ᐟ⁠\/⁠ᐠ⁠｡⁠ꞈ⁠｡⁠ᐟ⁠\/⁠ᐠ⁠｡⁠ꞈ⁠｡⁠ᐟ⁠\/⁠ᐠ⁠｡⁠ꞈ⁠｡⁠ᐟ⁠\/⁠ᐠ⁠｡⁠ꞈ⁠｡⁠ᐟ⁠\/⁠ᐠ⁠｡⁠ꞈ⁠｡⁠ᐟ⁠\/⁠ᐠ⁠｡⁠ꞈ⁠｡⁠ᐟ⁠\

You were nervous. Ofcourse you were. It's your first time going on in a date in years.

Maybe watching an episode of Dateline before going out wasn't the best idea.

Dammit you should've cleared your browser history. It's all too late now,than again-

"Hey" a familiar voice brought you out of your own head.

You nearly had a heart attack when you saw him. He was blonde now and he's grown out his hair,but you'd recognise that face. After all that is the face of the person that ripped out your heart and stomped on it.

"Chishiya?"

"Yeah?" maybe he should've been more compassionate but that never was his strong suit.

"What the fuck are you doing here?"

He tilted his head,almost watching you out of amusement. He wants to say sorry but his pride won't let him. So instead his defense consisting of mockery and sarcasm was up. "I'm on a date"

"Oh yeah? well I'm on a date too so scram,Luscious Malfoy!"

"I know you're on a date. That's why I'm here"

This confused you. That's why he's here? the fuck did he mean?

"Are you stalking me?"

He tried his best to hold back his laugh and at least appear serious right now. "No. Here maybe this might help"

He held up his phone, showcasing the messages you've been exchanging. Turns out your mystery guy wasn't so mysterious after all but instead it was... Chishiya. Your ex.

Was this some kind of sick joke?

"Are you trying to humiliate me or something?"

He was a bit confused by your assumption but shook his head. "No. I'm not. I actually-"

"I don't want to hear it"

This only further confused him. If you didn't want to hear it then why did you ask him in the first place?

You stood up abruptly. "You know what? you're just as selfish as you've always been"

"And you're just as childish"

"Oh fuck off!" you grabbed your bag,accidentally knocking over the coffee you've ordered in the process.

"Shit" You try to help clean up but pause when you see Chishiya stifling a laugh.

"Oh you think this is funny?"

"Yes"

You've forgotten how brutally honest he can be sometimes.

"Yeah well...You suck in bed!" Is the only insult you could think about.

Chishiya watched you storm out with a confused expression. For someone who thought he sucked in bed you sure did 'agree' with him a lot all those years ago.

~*~*~*~*~*~*

You were beyond furious so why? Why on earth did you text him that night?

Honestly you don't know.

<Hey>

Chishiya was busy at home doing research in a particular abnormal case that one of his patients had.

He picked up his phone upon hearing that 'ding!'

You sent him a message? Well how about that.

<Hi>

<Wanna come over?>

His lips twitched up into something that resembles a smile when he read your text

<I don't know. I'm kind of busy being bad in bed right now>

You sighed at his teasing,quick to respond. <Shut up and just come over>

<Why should I?>

<Please?>

He grinned upon reading your text before answering rather quickly. <I'm already on my way>

/⁠ᐠ⁠｡⁠ꞈ⁠｡⁠ᐟ⁠\/⁠ᐠ⁠｡⁠ꞈ⁠｡⁠ᐟ⁠\/⁠ᐠ⁠｡⁠ꞈ⁠｡⁠ᐟ⁠\/⁠ᐠ⁠｡⁠ꞈ⁠｡⁠ᐟ⁠\/⁠ᐠ⁠｡⁠ꞈ⁠｡⁠ᐟ⁠\/⁠ᐠ⁠｡⁠ꞈ⁠｡⁠ᐟ⁠\/⁠ᐠ⁠｡⁠ꞈ⁠｡⁠ᐟ⁠\

[super-secret-clown-corner]

catching up on the kabsmp videos rn and i'm having normal person thoughts as usual anyway did you guys ask for a crazy ass idea on where i think the storyline is gonna go because i have a crazy ass idea on where i think the storyline is gonna go (this is gonna get long sorry in advance)

In Which I Lose My Mind Over Some Guy's Minecraft Persona In A Goofy Ahh Lore SMP

cover image for sillies

So. Hear me out. Clown is still the overarching villain of the series. Whatever's happening with Kyle and the void is still """""important"""""" n stuff, but (totally not because i'm biased or anything (i totally am)) that's all a red herring covering up the real threat. The idea I have rn is that Clown is biding his time and finishing up whatever research he had on the void, then when Kyle is defeated, he's gonna swoop in, take the void for himself, and become basically unstoppable which'll lead into season 3 or smth.

Bits Of Info That Makes The Pepe Silvia Meme Cover Relevant

Time to be insane and dump every single bit of potential evidence on why I think Clown's a bigger threat than the others think he is, starting at the very beginning (i'll try to keep this as chronological as possible but i'm busting my brain trying to piece everything together i watched this so out of order at first).

First, obviously, is the whole him killing Pyro bit and betraying him to get to Rae, then killing everyone in the commune. hoWEVER bro just casually tore open a portal to the nether and back and none of the other people in the group can do that. It's kinda hinting that Muu knows how to make portals but other than that the original s1 group has been stuck there since the start (which maybe suggests Muu isn't from this dimension also but that's another thing to unpackage).

a side note here: lincu came from an end portal that clown made for maddy and they NEVER BRING THAT UP AGAIN????????? WHAT

In the Pyro POV that came after that, it was heavily suggested that Clown was originally a conqueror or insanely destructive pillager (not the actual mob) (like come on, "bow before the scythe emblem" or whatever the words are? just write your name in the book you're practically screaming it at this point). Then, when Branzy showed up in that cameo episode, he didn't shut up about how Clown destroyed entire villages and killed a fuck ton of people (i will scream more about this point in a second 😁).

In the Season 2 opener animatic, he dropped his manipulative buddy buddy act the moment the void appeared, stabbed Kaboodle, and fucked off. He was also shown going full aggro on Magic, trying to get information about the void from her. A little while later, he's shown reading books on the void and finds something "perfect" for whatever he's planning (brain explosion).

Looping back to the Branzy cameo, it was revealed that he, Branzy, and Ashswag worked together in a laboratory somewhere in a different dimension researching and experimenting with portals. Ashswag said that Clown pushed him into one they made, which resulted in him glitched out and broken (WHICH OPENS UP ANOTHER CAN OF WORMS ARE THEY SUGGESTING THAT THIS IS ALL ACTUALLY JUST A SIMULATION/GAME LIKE HOW MINECRAFT ACTUALLY IS???????????? holy shit if i think about this for too long i'm gonna have another huge scream fest again).

and THEN in the most recent one as of today (aka A New Issue) it's revealed that Pyro had his suspicions that Clown is otherworldly and unnatural. Bro casually soloed a 100-Piglin invasion. I already had the thought of "oh yeah this guy's definitely not from any of the three dimensions" but the only contradictory thing that popped up for that was he and Pyro used to live together for a bit with the Waste Walkers. HOWEVER with this new information that Clown was just this anomaly that popped up periodically in their group, he's practically screaming that he's not from any of the three dimensions.

BASICALLY. I'M VERY NORMAL RIGHT NOW.

i love overcomplicating silly lore as a pastime

[sapphyreopal5]

Hmmm had a bit of a weird dream this morning after I fell back asleep, curse you, itchy poison sumac rashes! I saw on my desktop a Tumblr ask to another user but all I could recall was the blogger saying "I wonder what this "Ellie" has to say 😏" and also recall a 117a being in the screename of the person who sent the ask I believe. I woke up not long after I read it in my dream.

Naturally, I googled "numerology 117 meaning" when I first woke up because what in the world?! Well, it turns out one of the results said this:

Also, I got curious as to why 17 is bad luck in Italy. I did briefly see the above info back when I was writing about the number 4 being seen as bad luck in some East Asian countries (but didn't think too much of it back then). This is because the Cantonese word for 4 sounds very similar to the word for Death, which I discussed in a post I made back in November where I specifically talked about Friday the 13th as well (Magazine article was in issue number 13). Strangely enough, my best friend who is on a road trip with her parents traveled on Route 8 at one point, which notably does NOT have an exit 117... but it does have exits 17A, 17B and 17C (in my dream this morning, I saw 117A). I took the below screenshot for your viewing pleasure from this website (which notably the website name is "An American in Rome" and was posted on 4/17/2020. And of course, I am making this post today Thursday 6/13/2024. And of course as I'm writing this and she is in the car watching a Wayne's World, she heard the line from a character named Cassandra saying to Wayne "you learned how to say I look pretty in Cantonese!"

https://anamericaninrome.com/2020/04/why-17-is-unlucky-in-italy/

Now, I am well aware that Jared and Gen Padalecki are on a said family vacation in Italy as we speak. It's also noteworthy to say that today is June 13th and is when I had this dream because I fell back asleep for a couplish hours after waking up close to 3:30am EST. Also strangely enough, I looked up R17 in Italy. Huh, there appears to be NO operating train traveling this route today the 13th per the website I came across.

On another strange note, I saw someone pointed out on another blog how Wildfire ended after 4 seasons reminding them of how Walker is ending after 4 seasons (with the last season having 13 episodes). Coincidentally, Wildfire had 13 episodes each season, equaling 52 episodes for the whole series. Walker will end this season at a total of 69 episodes for the series. Mathematically speaking, 69 Walker episodes - 52 Wildfire episodes = 17; in numerology, this breaks down to 1+7=8. The 11th episode of Walker aired yesterday 6/12/2024. To do the math here again, 6+1+2+2+0+2+4=17, which in numerology breaks down to 1+7=8. The last Walker episode will air on 6/26/2024, which is 6+2+6+2+0+2+4=22; technically in numerology you are supposed to leave it at a master number like 22 but if you were to break 22 down anyways, 2+2=4. Funny also both of these shows start with the letter W as well...

It also is funny both Gen and Jared posted about the upcoming Walker episode yesterday in actual posts instead of just Instagram stories per the usual. Clearly, Gen was on Italy time when she spoke of the episode in past tense posting a little before 12pm EST. She seemingly forgot about her husband the Executive Producer of the show and how the show was already canceled lol.

One reason I've been posting less lately is because I've been sticking my nose in animal symbolism research. I did learn last week and spoke to my best friend about this but I learned Gen's primary spirit animal is the Black Bear and secondary being the Otter. On an even stranger note, yesterday on my way home from work I saw a Pilot car with a Friends of the Smokies license plate (which has a Black Bear on it) AND an Otter window decal on it.

[freneticfloetry]

#4 & #34 for the writer asks. Please

4. What piece of writing are you most proud of?

God, I must sound like a broken record, but I’m totally going to say to build a home once again. I’d gotten so badly burned by the ship I’d been writing since 2019 that it literally blocked me from writing anything else for a while, and feeling the urge after watching 4x04 live was a bit of a welcome revelation. It started much smaller, as most of my longer fics do — just the idea for a single post-episode scene. And what it became was the perfect blend of exactly the story I set out to tell — the fic that lives in our heads when bunnies are born, that we then have to wrestle onto a page — and something that took me entirely by surprise at times. It’s my favorite thing that I’ve ever written, partly because I’m proud of the actual words I put out, mostly because it’s my love letter to Carlos, and I’m immensely proud of myself for both starting it and seeing it through.

34. What's the weirdest thing you researched for a fic?

What’s sad is that there’s probably more than one answer to this question. I’m almost positive I looked up the exact day of the week for every May 2nd — thirteen in total — that appears in Shells of a Long-Ago Lifetime. And to All a Goodnight involved finding the most popular toys for tween holiday gifts in the year 2002, and the answer (the very first Xbox) spawned the longest, most ridiculous scene in the fic. There’s the random mentions of booze — I spent way too long searching for the perfect obscure wine to reference in one fucking line of scenes from an unfinished story, and for The Once and Future I got to Google how to make moonshine from scratch (also a single line appearance). For By Any Other, I went down a brief but deep medical research rabbit hole, trying to accurately document the timing and effects of tetrodotoxin poisoning via ingesting improperly-prepared fugu sashimi. But the winner is probably unpublished, actually — I have thousands of words of an unfinished Sherlock fic for which I researched where in the greater UK one might find a meat grinder large enough to fit a full-grown man. I’m almost positive those last two put me on a list somewhere.

Back at you, Lim. Both questions.

[whovianwatchingstartrek]

A Whovian Watches Star Trek for the First Time: Part 090 - Trip to the Rescue!

Star Trek: Enterprise - Season 4 Episode 16 - Divergence

As our episode opens, Archer meets Malcolm in the Bridge. Columbia is on route for Trip to rescue them, but getting trip aboard is going to be a risky manoeuvre at Warp speeds. Apparently Malcolm has experience moving people between ships at warp, but at a maximum of Warp 1, Enterprise is currently up at Warp 5.2. But, Malcolm is the best we've got.

After the Intro, both Malcolm and trip prepare for the manoeuvre, and it's an impressive sequence, and it felt really tense and exciting! A cable is extended for trip to climb across from Columbia to Enterprise. Enterprise starts having trouble, and the cable starts to tear, but Trip gets on just in time!

There's a way to fix Enterprise's systems, but he's basically going to need to perform a miracle to fix this. Trip's going to need to shut the reactor down while using Columbia to maintain Enterprise's speed, then completely restart everything within about 2 minutes. This is kind of bullshit only Trip could pull off, and it's easily the greatest display of his skills we've seen. We've known he's a talented engineer from the start, but this just shows that he really is the best in Starfleet at what he does.

Meanwhile, on the Klingon research base, Phlox is refusing to help the Klingons make augments, but the Klingon Scientist has been going through his research, and it appears they're close to finding a cure for the virus. They just have to develop it without the general finding out. We also get some insight about the Klingon Caste system. Apparently our Klingon scientist's family is part of the warrior caste, which means that Klingons can work outside their caste, but it looks like it's something that's frowned upon. I really want to know more about Klingon Culture. Apparently the Klingon Augments have the same superiority complex that Soong's Augments had, when they're asked if the one who was taken prisoner by Enterprise died with honour, they just answer "He was killed by humans." It also appears they're operating under a completely different honour system than the other Klingons.

Archer has been going through Malcolm's files, and has found the Image of the Mystery man, and we find out his name is Harris. Archer asks Malcolm to make a call to Harris for an Explanation. Frustratingly, Harris is very vague about what's going on, but apparently he works for Starfleet, and Starfleet needs a stable Klingon empire.

We get a short scene where T'Pol and Trip reunite, and interestingly it seems that Trip's a lot better at hiding his emotions than T'Pol, who clearly misses him. We get a fun conversation about war philosophy between Maclolm and the Klingon in the brig, which was just great, I love how differently they view war.

Malcolm is gives the location of the Klingon lab, and is released from the brig, and the mission rescue Phlox. Meanwhile, Phlox is once again pushed to break his medical ethics, and the Klingons make him infect them to test which cure will work.

Enterprise and Collumbia both arrive at the Compound, but Phlox needs a bit more time to create the cure. The Klingon fleet also arrived, and a firefight ensues. Communications between Archer and the two Starfleet ships are shut down. Archer agrees to infect himself to make the cure production faster.

Phlox giving his final speech to get the klingon fleet to stand down because he infected their command ship was perfect. Trip has take a "temporary" posting on Enterprise to help with repairs. I hope he sticks around longer.

I really liked this arc. It had politcal intrigue, exciting action, and it pushed a lot of our characters to their absolute limits, fitting of the final season. I wouldn't upset if this was the finale, but there a few episodes left. The action in this one was absolutely great, both in the opening sequence, and at the end in the Klingon Compound. Really good episode!

[kverything-official]

5 Reasons Why You Should Watch A Killer Paradox: K-Drama Review

A Killer Paradox has become a hot topic among K-Drama lovers for the past few days. Choi Woo Shik’s powerful comeback has left a chaos among his fans as well as among the K-Drama lovers. 

That soft, cute lover from Our Beloved Summer has successfully transformed into a cold-blooded serial killer in A Killer Paradox. He brutally murders the ones who have a past of tormenting innocent people. But the best thing about it all is that he doesn’t need to run a background research on who to kill. 

Lee Tang, Choi Woo Shik’s character, possesses a superpower that tells him who to kill. And whenever he kills someone, evidence vanishes one way or another. Isn’t that amazing? But that’s not all. There are a lot of other reasons why you should invest your time in watching A Killer Paradox. 

And in today’s blog, I present you with:  

5 Reasons why you shouldn’t miss A Killer Paradox

1. Not a single boring episode

One thing I absolutely loved about A Killer Paradox is the flow of the drama. Nothing here feels like it has been forced into the plot to keep the flow going. It flows completely naturally. One after another, the victims appear in Lee Tang’s (Choi Woo Shik) life and he finds a reason to kill them and somehow after murdering them he finds out that they didn’t ever deserve to live in the first place. 

There are only 8 episodes but you never feel any of those were out of place of any of those over or under-shown anything. There was a perfect amount of thrill and mystery to make sure you were being entertained thoroughly. 

2. Praise-worthy performance of the actors

Now coming to the second reason, I will have to praise the performance of each of the actors. Choi Woo Shik is still himself, an Oscar winning actor, but I will be praising the entire cast of the drama. Son Suk Ku, who played detective Jung Nan Gam, held up the quality of the drama even more efficiently. Another actor that I need to talk about is Lee Hee Joon, who played Song Chon. His character will be the one to hold you in your place till the end of the drama, that’s my promise. 

All in all, A Killer Paradox has become successful because the characters and the actors were perfectly capable of holding on to the plot and essence of the drama till the very end without slipping off even for a bit. 

Read More

[jupitcrs]

comic wrap up — august ‘24

this is something new that i’m doing!! i want to start engaging more with others who read comics and putting my thoughts out there.

i’ve been reading comics for a while but i didn’t really do a lot of research when i started so my taste is incredibly sporadic (sorry in advance)

— young justice volume 1: gemworld

i was dying for some conner kent content because i was hyperfixating so bad on him. he was very cutie in this, and of course, him as a farmer was also very cutie.

i was a big fan of the art in this comic, the colors were stunning and the characters looked great.

i enjoyed seeing stephanie brown, even if briefly! her and tim are so cute together. this was my first young justice comic, so i was introduced to some really great characters through this (cassie sandsmark!!!)

also, enjoy this timkon moment

☆ ☆ ☆ ☆

— batman: under the red hood

i watched the animated film for this like a year ago? jensen ackles voicing jason todd started my love for the character, what can i say.

the relationship between jason and bruce is so interesting to me. jason’s intense, raw emotion combined with bruce’s moral code oh i was eating up the angst like a four course meal.

i would highly recommend this one to the jason todd lovers out there!

☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ .5

— batman, volume 6: bride or burglar?

i jumped back into this run after not reading it for a while, but i needed a bruce fix.

i enjoyed the little snapshots of batcat moments, and selina stealing her own wedding dress is iconic. but, mostly, i loved the side characters that appeared in this. wonder woman looks hot as hell, and harley and ivy had a sweet relationship moment.

it’s nothing special, but it passed the time

☆ ☆ ☆ .5

— fantastic four volume 2: mr. and mrs. grimm

deadpool and wolverine launched me back into my johnny storm obsession eek

this was a cute overview of ben and alicia's relationship, and i liked seeing their origin in the comics. there were also some cute moments between sue and ben and also johnny and ben (i loved the bachelor party issue, johnny and ben's little heart-to heart was so precious).

the main thing i will say is that i am not a fan of reed richards. it may just be this version of him and i'm sure he's better in other comics, but i just don't like him in this. i'm happy to accept recommendations for adaptations in which he's less annoying, i do really want to like him.

☆ ☆ ☆ .5

— jessica jones: alias, volume 1

i was planned to really love this, i am a big fan of the jessica jones show, so i was hoping for something dark and gritty, but it wasn't as dark as i was expecting it to me (this is also probably just a me thing, not a geniune critique of the comic)

there were a lot of aspects of this that i loved. i'm now obsessed with the carol danvers and jessica jones friendship and i need more of it!! jessica is also a fun narrator, i just really love her character.

i definitely want to continue to this series at some point.

☆☆☆☆

— batman: wayne family adventures volume 3

i like to read these to pass the time when i have a minute or two to spare. these little one-shots always have me kicking my feet and giggling.

there were some really cute pairings that i loved in these. ivy and cassandra and stephanie were so such a cute trio. i also really loved the episode about tim and damian's relationship.

if you're a batfamily fan these are a must-read they are so precious!!

☆☆☆☆

bonus: manga!

— attack on titan: junior high volume 1

my feelings on this manga is the same as wayne family adventures. it's cute little moments of the attack on titan characters. it's nice to see them being happy for once.

i always giggle a bit whenever i read this too, especially the way it pokes fun at eren (he's my favorite character i'm allowed to giggle when they make fun of him!!)

also, eren and armin being each other's folk dance partners...absolutely love it

☆☆☆.5

[fluffykitteninabox]

watching Doctor Who for the first time (starting with the 9th doctor)

I'm only doing this because I've developed an unhealthy obsession with David Tennant since watching Good Omens, and I have a need to watch everything he's ever appeared in, and I know he's the 10th and 14th doctor so therefore I must watch 15 seasons of a show I otherwise wouldn't have cared about just to see him for 3 of them and a few specials!

I'm starting with the 9th because it seems like an easier starting point for a new fan from what I've read online

yes I've done research for this!

Plus the 9th doctor only got one season so it's close enough to the 10th that I don't mind watching it.

I am a completionist though so I will probably end up going back and watching the available episodes from before the revival if I like the series enough

so here's my thoughts

episode 1:

I hope we never see moving mannequins again because that shit creeps me out

honestly Rose, same. I too would have chosen the life of adventure and time travelling to infinite universes. Though I do think it felt kinda rushed to have her refuse and then immediately agree after she was told about the time travel part. Would be a cool opening if she refused on the first episode and then she spent the next one thinking about it and then changed her mind by the end. Or if we want to stick to the self contained structure show a bit more about her not liking her ordinary boring life so that it feels like a great offer when the doctor asks her to join him. I mean it does still feel like a great offer after she saved him and saying all that stuff about how she doesn't have anything to lose and gymnastics and all that. It's the back and forth that ruins it a bit honestly. Just have her say yes the first time.

I didn't know the tardis was an acronym! That's kinda cool

so is Rose never going to see her mom or her boyfriend again?

episode 2:

Alright I take it back she has doubts in episode 2 so that's good

that was a hell of an episode I don't know how to phrase it I think it changed my brain chemistry

I might be having an existential crisis?

respect to the tree lady I don't remember her name sorry

ironic how all these aliens exhibited more humanity than the supposed "last human"

kinda sad for the poor plumber that probably died too, we focused a lot on the rich guests but the workers on the ship deserved better

one thing I appreciate is that Rose chose to see the future. my personal choice would have been past but I think her choosing future is really in character for her (I say as if I've known her my whole life when I've only watched 2 episodes)

didn't expect to unlock the doctor's back story so early on. I'm guessing there's more later but for now that's already more than I thought I'd get

um yeah I was going to watch like the whole season in one or two sittings but like... I feel like my brain needs a break after episode two lol

well I was planning this post to have all my thoughts for season 1 but tumblr decided to go ahead and post my unfinished draft AGAIN even though I specifically clicked the SAVE button but anyway

guess I'll have to edit this or reblog as I go

whatever

fuck you tumblr

[corndogninja]

Space Dandy's musical homage to John Carpenter's Assault on Precinct 13

Space Dandy is one of my all-time favorite anime series, and a huge part of that is the soundtrack. A collaboration from many artists in a variety of funky, retro styles that bring together a ton of influences – I often find myself listening to it apart from the show, and still follow several artists that I discovered from their Dandy contributions.

I recently watched Assault on Precinct 13 (directed, written, and scored by John Carpenter) and had a moment of recognition at one of the music pieces - a slow, moody track (typically called "Julie" on later soundtrack releases):

I had heard this before... in Space Dandy! The track "Napoleon & Bishop" is an extremely similar take on this piece!

Furthering the connection, the track name refers to two of the starring characters: convicted murderer Napoleon Wilson and police Lieutenant Ethan Bishop, who become unlikely allies during the titular assault.

Although some quick Googling found I wasn't the first person to notice this, I didn't immediately see any insight about why this pretty specific homage was made. I was really curious as to what was going on behind the scenes, so I did some research...

First, I looked to see if series director Shinichiro Watanabe had mentioned anything about it. During an appearance at Otakon 2013, Watanabe explained his approach to the soundtrack. He selected a variety of musicians whose work he personally enjoyed. They were given an open-ended direction of what sort of music to make, and there was a general request to avoid using any instruments invented after 1984 to give an old-school/retro feeling.

I pulled out my ol' Space Dandy Official Fan Book, which covers the first season of the show and features brief interviews with many artists, to see if Mito's profile section had any specific insights:

(Note: I can't read Japanese myself, so this information is paraphrasing a mix of machine and manual translations.)

The musician Mito (of the band Clammbon) is responsible for the piece in question. He mentions meeting Watanabe at a James Blake show, where the topic of John Carpenter's music came up. Discovering they had a mutual appreciation of Carpenter, Watanabe expressed a desire to work with Mito on a future anime production.

Watanabe's Dandy direction for Mito was to make something to express his love for John Carpenter's horror music.

In keeping with the pre-1984 limitation on music, Mito took advantage of Carpenter fans' work identifying the synthesizers the director had used and strove to use that original analog equipment as much as possible. Adding that this manual audio mixing process meant that he couldn't provide stems, he jokingly acknowledges his approach may have caused trouble for the post-production staff.

His remarks seem to indicate that "Napoleon & Bishop" was written for episode 4 ("Sometimes You Can't Live With Dying, Baby", it plays during the finale as the galaxy becomes zombified), although it can be heard in several other episodes.

Now, "Sometimes You Can't Live With Dying, Baby" is obviously primarily referencing George A. Romero's Dead movies: the zombie's desire to go to the mall references the setting of Dawn of the Dead, and Romero himself is name-dropped in the movie the characters watch as the episode closes. But there's a bit of Carpenterian connection there, too, if you're willing to look at it that way...

John Carpenter never made a true "zombie" movie, despite his frequent forays into horror. However, Assault on Precinct 13 has been noted for its resemblance to the zombie subgenre: the relentlessly murderous gang members are presented nearly without dialogue and act in an eerily deliberate manner, with a single-minded focus on attacking the protagonists regardless of how many losses they take, so despite their use of firearms they come across almost like mindless zombies. The plots are also loosely similar, with both movies featuring several individuals brought together by chance barricaded against the waves of enemies. Many reviewers have compared Assault on Precinct 13 to Night of the Living Dead; Carpenter himself acknowledged that, as his primary influence was Rio Bravo, the production of the movie was "cross[ing] the western genre with a Night of the Living Dead horror movie" on the DVD commentary.

So there you have it!

Both director and musician had a fondness for John Carpenter's music, leading to the specific request to homage Carpenter's scores

A horror-inspired episode Space Dandy episode served as a good place to exercise that fondness for Carpenter

Mito combined the request to evoke Carpenter with the guideline to use vintage instruments, and recreated Carpenter's 70s sound with analog equipment in a way that very closely mirrored the original musical cue

This was a fun connection to discover, and I enjoyed digging deeper to figure out what motivated Watanabe and Mito to make the homage.

------

Additional footnotes:

1. Carpenter's remarks on his Precinct 13 score:

From the liner notes of the 2003 soundtrack release:

It is interesting (but not surprising) that the soundtrack for Assault on Precinct 13 is only 26 minutes long. In my own defense, it was all the time I could afford in the recording studio. I had to compose and perform a few mood pieces that I could use again and again through the movie.

He also recalls "having great difficulty" composing the "quiet piano sequence" that would become "Julie" (and would inspire "Napoleon & Bishop").

I find it interesting that the process of using mood pieces "again and again" also serves to describe Space Dandy, with many tracks (including "Napoleon & Bishop") used multiple times to evoke emotion.

2. Watanabe's remarks on John Carpenter

At Otakon 2013, when asked about 1970s movies that inspired Space Dandy, Watanabe mentioned Carpenter (in general, not Assault on Precinct 13 in particular):

I like John Carpenter movies. Space Dandy is greatly influenced by John Carpenter. Do you guys know the movie Dark Star? It’s heavily influenced by that.

He also remarked that all Dandy crew members had to watch a few movies, including Dark Star, prior to starting. During a Q&A, he told a fan that Dark Star "is a very dumb movie, so please check it out."

3. Mito Goes To Hollywood

Mito also brings up the song he wrote for episode 13 ("Even Vacuum Cleaners Fall in Love, Baby"):

For this song, he was requested to make "something like Frankie Goes to Hollywood," which he describes as a niche request. I'm not particularly knowledgeable about the work of Messrs. Frankie, but "I should be..." might be a pastiche of "The Power of Love":

[sailormoonrewrite]

Episode 8: The Girl Genius is a Monster: The Brainwashing Cram School of Horrors

“Failure after failure,” she said coldly to the general kneeling before her. 

“Your Majesty-”

Queen Beryl of the Dark Kingdom didn’t allow him to answer. She wasn’t in the mood to hear any more of his excuses today. Instead, she allowed her power to flow through her into her dark staff, creating a streak of black lightning that sent him flying across the room. A loud thud was heard, but Queen Beryl didn’t care if he was injured or dead. He was a fool who embarrassed her several times with his pathetic schemes. She probably should’ve just gotten rid of him already. He was easily replaceable, but then who would she take her frustrations out on?

A loud cough resounded, followed by his struggling to speak, “Please...Your...”

She quickly silenced that with another black bolt. It caused him to scream and pain before he fell to the floor. Queen Beryl could barely stifle her laughter. Serves him right after all. “Do you believe I should be lenient with you, Jadeite?”

“Y-your…” he began to speak again only to be struck again when he couldn’t. 

“I asked you a question, Jadeite. Our Great Queen needs human energy. Energy you swore to deliver and yet every time you bring back merely a fraction of the promised energy and every time your youmas are defeated by a mere girl so why should I let you continue to live? Why shouldn’t I just reduce you to dust or take your energy as a gift to Our Great Queen?”

“B-because,” he began as sparks and bits of electricity appeared around his singed body, “despite Sailor Moon, I have brought back energy. It might not be enough but I swear it will soon be corrected.”

“Sailor Moon,” Queen Beryl growled, hatred and disgust obvious in her voice. 

“Yes. Sailor Moon,” Jadeite continued. “It’s her fault! My plans always went perfectly when she wasn’t there, and it was only when she was that it went wrong. I don’t know how she finds out but please, Your Majesty, give me another chance, and I won’t fail. Sailor Moon will never know this time!”

“You said that the last time and the time before that, and she still discovered and defeated your plots,” Queen Beryl said, amused by how pathetic and desperate he was to keep his worthless life.

“That is true, but I’ve discovered something about the humans if Your Grace wishes to hear it,” Jadeite blubbered. 

Well, she could use a good laugh. “Proceed,” she said.

“From my research on humankind, especially those in the country we’re targeting, the guardians of younger humans emphasize their academic abilities, and we can exploit this. I even scouted out a potential base while Derella was trying to gather energy for our Great Queen. Please, Your Majesty! Allow me another chance, or you can siphon some of my energy for our Great Queen.”

Queen Beryl stroked her chin. Hm…Jadeite made a good argument for once. And if he fails, well, then Queen Beryl can just take his energy. “Alright then, but remember, I will ensure our Great Queen gets her energy one way or another.”

“Yes, Your Majesty,” Jadeite said as he kneeled before leaving the great throne room. 

Queen Beryl smirked as she watched him exit. Jadeite was such a fool.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

“You are not to leave this room for any other reason than school until I see above 60%!” Usagi’s mom cried as she held up a history test with a huge, ugly 41% scrawled across the top of the page in bright red ink. 

“But mom-!” Usagi whined loudly as she sat in the middle of her bedroom floor, bawling huge tears.

“But nothing!” her mom continued. “First, you bring home a 30%, and then we find you sneaking out to go who knows where and joining a contest that nearly got Naru seriously hurt instead of studying and making sure to keep your grades up! So until I start seeing real improvement, you are not allowed to go to the Crown or hang out with your friends,” her mom took a deep breath. 

“But mom-!” Usagi continued crying. “I’m trying!”

“Have you even cracked open a book once today?” her mom asked in her mom's stance, folded arms and all. Usagi’s blush turned deep as she had opened a book at all today but instead had fallen asleep in class, which infuriated Sakurada-sensei and sent her to stand outside her classroom. Then she went to the Crown after school with Naru and Umino. “Exactly,” her mom continued before taking a deep breath. “I’ll bring you up for dinner, but you must take care of your homework and classwork. Your father and I don’t want you falling behind.” With that, Ikuko quietly closed the door, leaving the sad Usagi to haul herself over to her stupid desk to study for stupid school, leaving a trail of tears.

However, just as she was about to open her history textbook, the paw of a certain black feline stopped her. “Usagi, we have to focus on the task at hand,” Luna said disapprovingly.

“I was just about to until you stopped me,” Usagi said, annoyed. 

“I’m not talking about your schoolwork. I’m talking about the princess and her crystal and guardians,” Luna continued. “It feels like you haven’t even attempted to search for them at all, and our enemies are growing stronger each day.”

“No offense, Luna, but they can’t be that strong since I’ve defeated every one of their goons before they could cause any real harm,” Usagi asked as she tried to pull her huge textbook away from Luna who just threw it onto the ground with impressive strength. “Hey!”

However, Luna didn’t listen to her cries of indignation. “Usagi, just because you defeated some of their youmas doesn’t mean you can take them all on, and you didn’t defeat that Dark General when you were face-to-face with him. We also don’t know how much energy they’ve collected or how close they are to finding the Moon Princess. It was honestly through sheer luck we happened onto their schemes so far, but that might not continue if we leave it up to chance.”

Usagi sighed before saying, “I get what you’re saying, Luna, but I can’t do anything if Mama decides to keep me grounded. Besides, I probably would’ve had more time to study and find all these people if I didn’t have to moondust youmas every other night.” That might of been a small lie on Usagi’s part since she had never been good at studying even before she was Sailor Moon, but she definitely hasn’t gotten better now that she was. That and her oversleeping habits, but could you blame her? Being a superhero was so hard in reality! And she isn’t mainly alone. Usagi glanced over to the beautiful red rose still sitting in its vase on her desk, and a blush came to her pale cheeks. Well, not completely alone. “Hey, Luna. Do you think Tuxedo Mask was one of these guardians?”

Luna gave a small look of annoyance before saying, “He couldn’t be. The princess’s guardians were all females.” 

“How do you know that?” Usagi asked. 

“I just know,” Luna said, sounding only half-sure. That didn’t seem very convincing to Usagi. “Besides, I already told you that trusting him could be bad.”

“But he saved me,” Usagi countered.

“He could be just trying to use you as a means to an end. For all we know, he’s allied to our enemy and they stage these entire rescues together,” Luna continued, distrust and anger obvious in her voice. However, this only made Usagi mad. 

“I don’t believe that. Tuxedo Mask has come to my rescue so many times; each time, it gave me the strength to fight on! Heck, he bandaged my ankle when he could’ve just left me there,” Usagi angrily said.

“We still don’t know his intentions, though; getting too close to him could be disastrous in the long run,” Luna continued. 

“Who really are these enemies we’re fighting anyway? I know they said they belong to the Dark Kingdom and that general and keep mentioning something about a ‘Great Queen,’ but I’m not sure what any of that means,” Usagi asked. Everything lately has just been so darn confusing.

“All I know is that allowing them to stay on this planet will mean disaster for this world and everyone who lives on it, including your friends and family,” Luna said.

“Well, do you know what the princess or the guardians look like since you haven’t exactly given me much to go on?” Usagi asked again. 

“I’ll know, so don’t worry,” Luna continued.

Usagi gave a questioning look before thinking back to when she and Luna first met. Luna did recognize her as Sailor Moon after Usagi took that stupid bandage off her forehead, so maybe it won’t be that much different with the other guardians? “Fine. But I need to study tonight,” Usagi said as she bent down to grab her textbook and ripped it open to chapter four. It may be hard, long, difficult, and unyielding for Usagi, but she will accomplish this task! For her friends! For the Crown! For her precious video games! Oh…and for the princess and the guardians. Those too.

“Well, alright. Continue with your st-” Luna didn’t even get to finish her sentence when she heard a loud thud at Usagi’s desk. Worried, Luna spun around and saw…Usagi, fast asleep, drooling all over her textbook.

Luna sighed in defeat.

They were never going to find those guardians at this rate.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Usagi loudly yawned as she was about to enter her class. She had gotten basically no sleep last night since she had to spend it studying to get a good grade in the class. Unfortunately, all that studying seemed to do was make her tired and give her a headache. This had to be proof that studying was secretly evil and just some cruel way of torturing beautiful and innocent children. 

“Usagi!” Luna whispered from inside her school bag. Oh yeah, and then there’s that. Luna insisted that she come along today in case of youmas trying to drain energy from people. However, “Can you stop walking so fast? I’m about to be seasick in here,” carrying cats in schoolbags proved more difficult than they first thought. 

“Sh…Luna someone will hear you and I’m not supposed to be bringing my cat to school,” Usagi whispered back, bringing her bag to her mouth as not to be seen. “And it’s not like you had to ride in my bag.”

“Well, this was the only way to sneak me into your class and keep an eye out for youmas,” Luna continued. 

“Why couldn’t you have just followed me or something?” Usagi asked. 

“More risk of getting caught and thrown out,” Luna said without a care.

“And this isn’t? At least with the following thing, I won’t get in trouble,” Usagi angrily demanded. When did she become the voice of reason? She didn’t like it.

“Usagi-chan?” a familiar female voice asked. Usagi and Luna nearly had a heart attack at hearing the voice and Usagi quickly shoved her bag behind her back so there was no way that Naru could she was talking to the cat in her bag. “Why were you just talking to your bag?” Naru asked. No! She knew! 

“Uh…I…um…An ant?” Usagi said before giving the worst fake smile known to mankind. She could just hear Luna smacking her forehead in disbelief.

“Ok?” Naru said. She was clearly not convinced but not really caring since she said, “You’ve gotta see this!” as she grabbed Usagi by the hand and roughly dragged her inside the classroom, causing Usagi (and Luna) to yelp. The first thing the blonde teenager realized about the class was the commotion they were making and how they were all crowding the wall behind Sakurada-sensei’s desk and talking about something though Usagi couldn’t quite make out what the others were saying. This was also when Usagi realized this is where Naru was dragging her to. They managed to push and shove the other students out of the way until they were at the front, where Usagi saw Umino frothing in anger with his face all red and Usagi could’ve sworn she saw steam coming from his ears. What was his problem?

“What’s going on?” Usagi asked Naru.

“Some evil, heinous witch took my place at the top of the class!” Umino growled with anger and hatred.

“Wh-what?” Usagi said out loud, very confused.

“The mock exams came out today, and this girl got the highest score in the whole school,” Usagi’s black-haired classmate Yumiko said, pointing to the name at the very top of the list, which read Mizuno Ami. Mizuno Ami? “Who’s Mizuno Ami?” Usagi asked out loud. She’d never met a girl with that name before. Then again, she could just be new. 

“She’s just some smart snob who happens to be loaded,” Yumiko said with a shrug. 

“And she managed to score higher than me,” Umino continued to whine from the background, now in tears. “This girl has to have an IQ of 300 or something!” 

“Not surprising. I was in the same class as her last year, and all she did was study and look down her nose at everyone else,” Yumiko continued. 

“How do you know that’s all she did?” Usagi asked with her head tilted. For some reason, Usagi didn’t like hearing Yumiko talk about this Mizuno girl like that. 

“Well, I never saw her with anyone, so I don’t think she had any friends,” Yumiko answered. 

“Mizuno Ami?” Another voice piped up this time. This time, it was Kuri, another classmate with short brown hair and brown eyes. “Wait, isn’t she that girl who goes to that crazy famous cram school or something.”

“Yup. I bet her mom just bought her way in since she’s a doctor,” Yumiko responded. 

“I didn’t know we had someone like that in our class,” Usagi said. 

“She probably went on some super fancy vacation or something. Probably assuming that the rest of us peasants have to go to school while she can just breeze right on through,” Yumiko said with a bit of bitterness. Why did Yumiko know so much about Mizuno Ami anyway?

“Wow. It must be great to be so smart and rich,” Naru said with stars in her eyes as she stared at the name on the paper, Mizuno Ami. 

“You know the teacher will be here soon, and I don’t think she’d want you all out of your seats.” The new voice shocked the crowd and Usagi away from the paper as every one of the students whipped around to see a girl that Usagi had never seen before. She was a pale girl about their age wearing the typical sailor uniform that every girl at Juban Middle School was assigned. However, the blue in the uniform perfectly matched the navy blue of her short hair and the azure blue of her eyes. Blue was definitely her color. However, Usagi felt a ping of familiarity in her chest as she stared at the girl. That was weird. She didn’t even know this girl…Right? 

Usagi couldn’t dwell on this much as the girl turned away from the group and took her seat at a desk in the front row and started to remove her books and supplies from her bag elegantly. Usagi never realized you could do that elegantly. Usually, she just dumps everything out onto her desk and searches through the mess.

“See, I told you she was a snob,” she heard Yumiko whisper to Kuri, who agreed. That was Mizuno Ami? Usagi looked back at the girl who was now quietly reading some really hard-looking book with a lot of pages and gave a questioning look. She didn’t seem like a snob, at least to Usagi. A little bit of a stickler for the rules but not snobby. She honestly seemed more sad than anything if her face had anything to say. 

“Good morning, class,” Usagi heard Sakurada’s voice from the doorway. “If you’d all be so kind as to take your seats so we can begin today’s lesson.” The class all did as she asked without much complaint. However, Usagi noticed that everyone focused on Mizuno Ami instead of today’s lesson. 

Including someone she didn’t expect. 

“Keep an eye on that girl.” It was Luna who said that. 

Usagi was just about to harshly shush Luna for trying to get her in trouble when the reality of what she said finally struck her. “Why?”

“I just sense something strange around her, and with our enemies attacking the city, it would be in our best interest to be on guard,” Luna whispered back.

Usagi looked back up at the girl, Mizuno Ami, quietly writing in her notebook. “Are you really sure, Luna? She doesn’t seem that bad,” Usagi replied.

“How many times have you fallen into the Youma’s traps?” Luna asked back with a raised eyebrow and an annoyed look.

Usagi gave a very embarrassed blush and a huge grimace on her face before she peeked back at Mizuno-chan. “All I’m saying is that-”

“Tsukino Usagi!” Uh oh! “Since you’d rather be talking to your bag, I can only assume you already know the answer to this question,” Sakurada-sensei said before pointing to a super hard math question with a fraction and parentheses and letters (seriously what are letters doing in math anyway!?)

“Uh…” Usagi said, trying to make sense of the evil problem in front of her.

“The answer, ma’am, is -18,” the voice of Mizuno Ami softly said. 

“And how did you reach that answer, Mizuno-san?” Sakurada-sensei said, turning her attention towards Mizuno Ami, now staring down at her hands. 

“It’s not that hard. Once you divide the distribution and multiply it by a fraction, x has to be -18 logically,” Mizuno Ami whispered.

“That’s correct,” Sakurada-sensei replied with an impressed smile. “Well done, Mizuno-san.” 

Mizuno Ami quietly nodded before going back to her notebook. However, Usagi just stared in wonderment. She didn’t see Mizuno Ami pick up a pen or anything so did she just solve that problem in her head? How was that possible?! Was she a cyborg or something? That was the only thing Usagi could think of for someone to be able to do the math so quickly. Stranger than that was the fact that Mizuno-chan helped Usagi. Why, though? Usagi could tell she wasn’t a snob but she also seemed very quiet and shy so why help Usagi? 

Usagi stared at the back of the blue-haired girl’s head. 

Maybe Luna was right about keeping an eye on her.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

“I’m never going to be able to leave my room,” Usagi says to Luna, staring with anger, hatred, and sadness at the evil piece of paper in her hand. The school day had just ended, and somehow, by some miracle, Luna wasn’t discovered. Sure, there were a few close calls, like at lunch when Luna meowed for Usagi to go spy on Mizuno-chan, which nearly alerted Naru to her existence so Usagi had to rush to the bathroom to silence her or during class when Haruna-sensei was staring her down for her homework and was just about to grab her bag but thankfully Usagi just blurted out that her cat ate it. This got a lot of confused looks, but it worked, though her teacher looked thoroughly done with her and her excuses. That made Usagi sad, by the way. However, she was not as sad as she was now. “How am I ever going to show this to my mom?” Usagi asked herself as she imagined her mother with sharp teeth and looking very angry and evil as she loudly yelled about how Usagi could’ve done this badly on all her subjects.

“There are more important things to worry about, Usagi,” Luna said as she poked her head out of Usagi’s bag. “Like-” Luna stops before jumping out of Usagi’s bag and running away onto the school’s wall.

“Luna!” Usagi calls out as she quickly chases after the cat, only to see her land on top of Mizuno-chan’s shoulders. It looked like she had been reading a textbook when Luna landed on her because there was a book on the ground, and she looked super surprised by the cat. Then again, people don’t usually expect to see cats while leaving school. 

“I am so sorry!” Usagi cried out quickly and genuinely, meaning it. It’s one thing to spy on someone, it’s another to jump on them while they’re walking. “My cat can be a little…um…friendly?” Usagi hoped she bought it.

“I-It’s okay. Though I don’t think you’re supposed to be bringing pets to school,” Mizuno-chan said as she gently grabbed Luna off her shoulders and handed her to Usagi with a gentle pet to her head. 

“Please don’t tell! I’m already grounded and probably dead because of my report card, and if my mom finds out about Luna coming to school, I’ll be double dead!” Usagi frantically said while crying a bit, which scared Mizuno-chan or at least startled her if her face was any indication.

“I-It’s okay. I won’t tell,” Mizuno-chan said. “Honestly, when she fell like that, I thought she was an angel.”

An angel of hell, maybe. “Oh…Well, I am super, duper sorry for her,” Usagi said while bowing repeatedly. 

“It’s alright,” Mizuno-chan said again. “My name’s Mizuno Ami.”

“I know! I saw your name on the board in class. You’ve gotta be like a genius or something!” Usagi said with genuine kindness, though it only embarrassed Mizuno-chan. Did Usagi say something wrong?

“I wouldn’t say that. I just study a lot, so I know many things,” Mizuno-chan said in a small, awkward voice. Aw, she’s cute!

“Well, maybe you could teach me some of those things,” Usagi said as she looked back at her evil, Usagi-hating report card before showing the paper to Mizuno-chan. “I kind of suck at school.”

Mizuno-chan looked in shock at some of the things Usagi failed in. “How did you fail at Japanese History?”

“I’m kind of asleep during it,” Usagi said as she awkwardly scratched her neck. 

“Well, that certainly doesn’t help your chances of succeeding in the class,” Mizuno-chan answered. 

“Anyways,” Usagi said, grabbing her report and throwing it into her bag, “I was just going to head to the Crown Arcade.” This caused Luna to stiffen in Usagi’s arms before looking at her with a shocked look, which Usagi noticed but chose to ignore. “And I was wondering if you’d like to come with me.”

“Y-you want me to come with you?” Mizuno-chan asked, looking severely shocked by Usagi’s invitation.

“Sure! It’ll be fun!” Usagi said with a smile. 

“But I don’t even know your name,” Mizuno-chan said as gave a bit of an awkward smile.

Did she give her name? “Well, it’s Tsukino Usagi,” Usagi said, holding out her hand for Mizuno-chan to shake,, which she awkwardly did by grabbing a single finger and shaking it. Usagi ignored that, too as she said, “It’ll be super fun! They have games and food and milkshakes!”

Mizuno-chan paused momentarily before saying, “I suppose I have time before my cram school starts…” 

“Great!” Usagi said before walking ahead and making a ‘follow me’ motion towards Mizuno-chan.

However, Luna was still very confused by what was happening. “What are you doing? Don’t you remember what I said? Aren’t you also worried about your mother?” she asked.

“You were the one who wanted to keep an eye on her, and what better way to keep an eye than to become her friend? As for my mother, I don’t think she’d be too mad if I became friends with a genius girl who could tutor me on all my tests and assignments. I might even be able to become a genius girl, too! Bwahaha!” Usagi said with a bit of an evil cackle. She was pretty sure she grew an evil tail and horns, too.

“Why are you laughing like that and talking to your cat?” Mizuno-chan asked, looking at her strangely

“Uh…No reason! The Crown awaits!” Usagi said before grabbing her by the arm and dragging her to the Crown.

“Motoki onii-san!” Usagi loudly cried out as she entered the Crown with her new companion. 

“Hey, Usagi-chan!” Motoki Onii-san said as he finished serving a couple of teenagers at the counter. “Care for a milkshake?” 

“Two actually! One for me and one for Mizuno-chan here,” Usagi said as she pointed to the blue-haired girl, who blushed before trying to hide her face. Huh…weird.

“Is this a new friend of yours?” Motoki asked with a super charming smile. 

“Hopefully! We actually just met today,” Usagi said, giving the most adorable smile.

“Well, it’s a pleasure to meet you, Mizuno-chan,” Motoki said, turning towards Mizuno-chan with the same smile which made Usagi visibly jealous. How dare one of her crushes to notice another girl? “How about some complimentary milkshakes on behalf of Mizuno-chan’s first visit?”

“Oh no. I couldn-” Mizuno-chan began before Usagi slammed the palm of her head against the blunette’s mouth.

“She would love a free milkshake, and so would I!” Usagi declared with great joy.

Motoki gave a bit of an awkward smile before saying, “Well…uh…Great! Let me go get started on those milkshakes for you guys.” He then left to go into the back of the kitchen.

Usagi turned to Mizuno-chan, “Isn’t he awesome?! And super nice, too!”

“Well…um, yes but don’t you think we should’ve paid for those milkshakes?” Mizuno-chan said, obviously unsure about what just happened.

“Like I said Motoki Onii-san is super nice and always does stuff like that. Besides, you need to save your yen!” Usagi cried out before dragging Mizuno-chan over to a specific arcade machine. “This is the Sailor V video game!” Usagi cried out as she showed the incredible game to Mizuno-chan, who just stared.

“Oh, um…that’s nice,” she said, twiddling with her fingers. 

“Do you wanna give it a try?” Usagi asked with excitement in her voice.

“I don’t know how to play,” Mizuno-chan shrugged. However, to Usagi, that was no excuse.

Without another word, she grabbed Mizuno-chan’s hand to drag her over to the machine and sat her down. “While it can be super hard, it's pretty easy to get the hang of. These buttons let you move and these buttons let you use your wand. See simple!” Then, without another word from the blonde, she fed the machine a yen coin and it started for Ami. “Now, don’t be sad if you don't get it on the first try since even I always get a game over super fast-”

“Hey, look at that girl!” someone yelled out from a crowd now starting to form around her and Mizuno-chan. What the-?

Pew…Pew…Pew…Tap…Tap…Tap… Usagi spun around and couldn’t believe what she was seeing! On the screen was Mizuno-chan, already on the next level! On her first try! That took Usagi like eight tries just to get! It didn’t even take her that long!

Usagi stared as her jaw hit the floor since Mizuno-chan seemed to have a razor-sharp focus on beating the game. Enemies went down in seconds, bosses were barely a challenge, every jump was made perfectly, and the score just kept rising! And Mizuno-chan never played before?! She wasn’t just super smart; she was a prodigy at video games! 

WINNER! The game loudly declared as the crowd cheered in the background while the defeated body of Tsukino Usagi lay crushed on the floor.

“Uh…Tsukino-chan, are you alright?” Mizuno-chan quietly asked the broken secret heroine

Said the secret heroine, jumping to her feet before grabbing Mizuno-chan and shaking her while screaming, “TEACH ME YOUR WAYS! I MUST KNOW!”

“I’d…love…to…if…stop…shaking…me!” Mizuno-chan pleaded as she gently tried to pull Usagi’s hands off her shoulders.

“Oh, sorry,” Usagi said, quickly removing her hands. However, she still adamantly said, “I’ve been trying to beat this game for a couple of weeks now, and I always end up with a game over and an empty purse.”

“Oh, well I…” Mizuno-chan began, obviously a little awkward about the whole encounter.

“Usagi-chan, Mizuno-chan, your milkshakes are ready,” Motoki Onii-san called from the counter. 

“Maybe we can talk more after,” Mizuno-chan offered, to which Usagi happily agreed. In less than a minute, the two had gotten their milkshakes and took place at a secluded booth so Usagi could learn all of Mizuno-chan’s ways of getting good grades and beating good games.

“So spill it!” Usagi said as she put her milkshake down a bit rougher than she thought, making a bit of chocolate splash onto the table. However, there was no time for that. “How did you beat the game on your first try? It can’t just be beginner’s luck.”

“Of course not. I just used the same method of logical deduction that I use for academics on the game,” Mizuno-chan revealed as she took lady-like sips of her milkshake, which stood in stark contrast to Usagi’s huge gulps and half-empty shake. 

“Like in class earlier?” Usagi asked. 

“Exactly,” Mizuno-chan replied. “Being logical is how I solve all my problems, except for…” she didn’t finish as she took a long sip of her milkshake.

Usagi thought back to what happened today and could probably guess what it was from the sad expression on her face. “I-I…wanted to thank you,” the blonde said as she set her milkshake down. “You really rescued me this morning.”

Mizuno-chan looked up at Usagi before saying, “Well…you seemed like you were having trouble, and I just knew the answer anyway.”

“Yeah, but it was super nice of you anyway,” Usagi continued. “I would’ve been super embarrassed if you didn’t.”

“Well, you’re welcome then,” Mizuno-chan said in response. The two teenage girls then quietly sipped at their drinks as Usagi stared at Mizuno-chan. She knows what her classmates said. She knows that Luna’s suspicious of her. However, Usagi had a feeling that Mizuno-chan wasn’t a snob or an enemy and so far Usagi had been proven right. She seemed really, really sweet. “Oh no!” Mizuno-chan cried out as she glanced at a watch around her wrist. “I’ll be late,” she said, quickly grabbing her bag and leaving some yen on the table. 

“Wait…what?” Usagi asked as she stood up. Where did all that come from?

“I’m sorry,” Mizuno-chan said, respectfully bowing to Usagi. “I have to go to my cram school now but thank you for the milkshake and the game.”

“Cram school?” Usagi asked, horrified by those words. Why would you ever want to do more school after just going to school?

“Yeah. Sorry! Bye!” With that, Mizuno-chan raced away from Usagi and out the door. Usagi and even Luna (who popped her head out of Usagi’s bag) were shocked at how quickly Mizuno-chan took that; for a minute, they just stared at the door until something shone in Usagi’s eye. What the heck? She looked down to see a blue floppy disk lying on the floor. Curious, Usagi bent down and grabbed the disk with the words Property of Crystal Seminar. Crystal Seminar? Wait…was this? Was this Ami-chan’s?!

Usagi quickly raced out of the Crown to see if she could catch up to Mizuno-chan to return the disk. However, she was already gone. 

At this point, Usagi was in full panic mode. What was she going to do? What was Mizuno-chan going to do now?

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ami carefully sorted her materials and school supplies next to the computer. Her mother always told her that being organized was the first step to success—that and punctuality, of course. 

Her need for punctuality was why she had to leave so abruptly despite how kindly Tsukino-chan treated her today. Ami looked down at her lap. She quietly prayed that Tsukino-chan wasn’t offended by how quickly she left. In truth, Ami had no sense of etiquette for a situation she had just experienced because other people, especially students, tended to avoid her and then talk about her behind her back. She knew that, logically, she shouldn’t care what others think. She knew that logically, in the grand scheme of things, their opinions shouldn’t and wouldn’t matter. She knew what her mother would say, that they were simply jealous of her intelligence and that trying to fit in with an unappeasible crowd is the pathway to ruin. Despite all this, though, Ami still felt and still wanted to have friends outside her family. She stared at her reflection on the black screen and wondered, was it indeed so difficult for her want to come true? To be able to be friends with someone else without being judged? 

“Greetings, class.” It seemed there wasn’t any more time to ponder her thoughts as the class’s instructor, Garo-sensei, finally arrived. Ami didn’t know much about Garo-sensei, not even her name - not that it mattered, she supposed - or why she suddenly took over for their former sensei, Yusuke-sensei. She knew the official reason was that Yusuke-sensei suddenly quit without explanation, and while that could be logical…Ami couldn’t help but wonder. Yusuke-sensei never seemed unhappy with their position and enjoyed their work. It was also a bit strange they just suddenly found a new teacher in a matter of days it seems. Then again, it might’ve been sooner they found her. Ami had just arrived home in the mountains with her father after a week. However, something about the situation still seemed strange. “Mizuno-chan,” she heard a voice. It was Garo-sensei.

“Y-yes, Garo-sensei,” embarrassment prevalent in the meek voice she managed to utter and her cheeks were now a vibrant crimson. How could she let herself get caught in her thoughts?

“Do you have the disk?” Garo-sensei said, her bright smile still on her pale face but her chocolate eyes unreadable.

“Th-the disk?” Ami asked in a way that was very much unlike herself. 

“The Crystal Disk that was handed out to the class yesterday,” Garo-sensei replied in a sweet voice, her smile never breaking as she started to run her fingers through Ami’s lazuli-colored hair, which made Ami feel somewhat tense. “You do have it, right? I’d hate to have such a bright and promising student fall behind for such a minor infraction.”

Ami looked down with a strange emotion rising from chest to throat. “I-I sh-should,” Ami said with a slight quiver as she hastily pulled up her bag. Now that her mind was slightly clearer, she remembered that she had put her diskette into the front pocket of her school bag after Garo-sensei handed it out to the class after yesterday’s lesson. Yesterday’s lesson? What was yesterday’s lesson anyway? 

Gh. A twinge of pain assaulted Ami’s mind as she tried to think back. It felt like a horse’s kick. What was happening? Did she suddenly develop a migraine? That couldn’t be it, though. She wasn’t feeling sensitive to lights and sounds or displaying any other symptoms associated with the disorder; it was only when she started thinking of…Gh! 

There it was again.

“Mizuno-san!” it was Garo-sensei’s voice. “Do you have the diskette or not?”

“Y-yes,” Ami said as her migraine suddenly disappeared. She would wonder a bit more about this, but she also knew her instructor was becoming impatient by her unintentional insolence. Guilt started spreading throughout her body as she dug through her first pocket, but that guilt soon transformed into horror. 

Her diskette wasn’t there!

Ami felt her eyes widen. She knew she put it in her front pocket!

Perhaps it had fallen into another pocket! She searched through the rest of her bag, but it wasn’t in the back pocket or her side pockets either. It was just gone.

Panic was rising throughout her body. How could this have happened? Ami knew she had put the diskette in her bag this morning! Where could it have gone!? No. No. Ami knew better than to overreact to inconsequential events. She might not have her diskette now, but she can search for it later or receive another. All she needed to do was explain the situation in a calm and steady tone of voice.

“Forgive me, sensei,” Ami began, careful to choose which words would leave her mouth and in what tone, “it seems, I’ve forgotten my diskette at home.” The air felt colder at that moment and when Ami saw her instructor’s face, a chill ran up her spine. 

She was still smiling but there was something…off. Ami knew that was a rude thing to say about an authoritative figure but she couldn’t lie either. The smile felt forced and even a bit cruel and the look in Garo-sensei’s eyes was worse. Cold and sharp as a blade that seemed to cut into Ami’s soul. Frankly, they didn’t feel human. 

Ami gulped. Maybe she was just being foolish. This was her instructor after all. Of course, she’d be displeased by the fact that the supposed prize student of the school didn’t do something as simple as bring a vital piece of her studying into school so it would only be logical that Garo-sensei would feel frustration and irritation towards Ami. Hopefully, it was still somehow possible to mend the current situation.

Ami took a deep breath before bowing her head in reverence and mentally steadying her words inside her mind before carefully releasing them out into the world. “Garo-sensei. I’m terribly sorry but I’d be happy to self-study or…”

“That diskette is imperative to today’s lesson,” Garo-sensei said in a voice without a hint of empathy and dripped with venom.

“Maybe I could have a replacement?” Ami weakly asked in a small voice.

“I didn’t make extra because I expected my students to be smart enough not to lose them,” Garo-sensei replied as her words cut Ami like a knife. Was she saying Ami wasn’t smart enough? Ami supposed her teacher was making a reasonable assumption given the current situation but…it still made Ami sad to hear. “And since didn’t bring the required materials, I will have no choice but to exclude you from this lesson so for the duration, please stand in the hall.”

Ami silently nodded and stood, as she felt the eyes of her peers. Pity? Happiness? Mocking? A mix? She didn’t know. She just knew that she had to keep her head high and her eyes staring straight ahead. Other people’s opinions shouldn’t matter.

One bad day won’t destroy her. It didn’t destroy her mother. It won’t destroy Ami. She’ll fix this.

She left the room.

It didn’t matter.

Other people’s opinions didn’t matter.

Ami knew this. Logically, Ami knew this.

So…why…were tears coming from her eyes?

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Usagi was in frantic mode right now. She usually was but right now it was super frantic mode as she narrowly avoided falling into the street, into buildings, into people. 

Unfortunately, that last thing was utterly unsuccessful. Instead, all she did was bump into a random passerby and the force of hitting them caused her to land on her rump. 

“Ow!” Usagi whined as she rubbed said bruised rump. “Ugh…Why is this Crystal Seminar thing so hard to find!?”

“Well, maybe because you’ve been running in a straight line instead of watching where you’re going?” Luna whispered as softly as she could. “We really shouldn’t be doing-”

“Odango Atama?” a familiar male voice rang out, interrupting Luna and making the two look up to see that across from them was HIM!

“You! Where did you come from?!” Usagi demanded as she quickly stood to make herself seem taller. However, the baka didn’t answer. He wasn’t even looking at Usagi, which was just very rude in her opinion and just made her more annoyed. How dare this baka not look at her?! “Well?!”

“Your cat…” he said instead of an answer to her very reasonable question, “has a very interesting bald spot.” 

Usagi stared at him momentarily and saw his sapphire-blue eyes staring deeply into Luna’s before flashing towards Usagi, who felt frozen by his stare. Those sharp sapphire-blue eyes pierced her cornflower-blue eyes with such intensity that it almost felt like she was being scanned. It felt so…so…

“What’s your problem, baka?” Usagi said as she ignored the bright red stain that had emerged on her face as her heart pounded in her chest. “And stop staring at my cat!”

“Who were you talking to Odango Atama?” the baka asked as he rose to his feet, those darn sapphire-blue eyes still staring deep into her soul.

Usagi and Luna felt their jaws drop as panic started to rush through their bodies. Did he…did he…did he HEAR Luna talk? Usagi quickly gave a very loud and very obviously fake laugh, “Wh-what are you t-talking?! No one was talking?! I was just talking to myself! That’s all! Nobody else!”

“No one was talking but you were talking to yourself?” the baka asked raising an eyebrow to show that he in no way believed her story.

“Y-yes,” Usagi said while staring straight at him. There was no way she would let this jerk find out that Luna was actually a magical, talking alien cat. What if he found out and told someone and they decided to abduct Luna and perform evil experiments on her?! The flash of Luna tied to a laboratory table with evil scientists crowding around her with sharp tools and drills invaded Usagi’s mind and from the look on Luna’s face, Luna’s too. 

“I heard someone speak. Another female and I know it wasn’t your voice, odango atama, so who else could it be?” the jerk continued as he stared deeply into her eyes and his face became very close to hers before those darn eyes shifted over to Luna’s. “Was it your cat?”

“I…uh! AHHHHH!” Usagi ran as fast as humanly possible away from him. Usagi didn’t know what else to do in that situation. That darn baka. His assumptions. Those darn eyes! Now, he might know that Luna can talk! 

Usagi didn’t know when she stopped but knew she was far away enough to take a breath after a non-stop sprint. She could still feel her heart in her ears and she could still see her enemy's deep, sapphire-blue eyes staring at her with such intensity. She also remembers how close his face had been to hers. So close… Heat began to blossom on Usagi’s face.

“Usagi!” Luna cried through her teeth. 

Usagi snapped out of her thoughts and stared at Luna whose eyes were filled with worry. “Do you think he knows about you?”

“It’s possible and even likely, but that’s a bridge we can burn another day. We need to focus on that Mizuno girl now,” Luna said. 

“What if she’s not our enemy, though? You would make me look like a creep for no reason,” Usagi said, throwing up her arms. 

“We need to cover all our bases, and even if she’s not, she gives off a strange energy that I would like to know more about,” Luna replied. “We should also check what’s on that diskette in case it has some clues.”

Usagi stared into Luna’s determined red eyes and realized there was no changing the cat’s mind, loudly sighed. “I guess if we hurry we could go to the computer lab at my school.”

Luna beamed at Usagi before grabbing the diskette with her teeth and gesturing at the blonde to follow her before she took off in the direction of the school. All Usagi in the meanwhile did was loudly sigh before dragging her feet. She could tell Mizuno-chan was a good person so why didn’t Luna?

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After like 25 to 30 minutes, the pair made it back to the school without too much trouble, and thankfully, the computer lab was empty. Usagi sat at the far back as Luna put the diskette into a machine. The blonde teenager turned to the cat and said, “Just to warn you, I don’t really know much about computers,” Usagi admitted before she started messing with the keyboard hoping at least one button turn on the computer. Unsurprisingly, it didn’t. Luna visibly facepalmed before she scratched at Usagi to move who said, “I told you I don’t know much about computers.” Luna only loudly sighed as she started to tap on the keyboard in a much less chaotic motion than Usagi and the computer roared to life. Or at least they think. 

It was indeed on but the screen was still black. Usagi stared at Luna for a moment when Give yourself to me. What? “Luna, di-” Give yourself to me. What? Was she hallucinating? Usagi looked back at the screen to see the black was now flickering. It was soft, almost soothing as it continued to whisper Give yourself to me. Give herself… Give herself to what? The flickering became stronger and the voice changed as though to answer her question To our great ruler! Join our great queen! Great…Great queen. Join the Great Queen. Join…Give yourself…Join…Give…Join…Give. Join. Give. Join. Give. Join.

Sharp claws clashed with her skin, followed by a voice shouting, “USAGI!” Usagi woke up and looked around her. The computer was off, and the voice was gone. It was just her and Luna alone in the computer room. What was all that? Was she really thinking about giving herself to whoever this ‘great queen’ was? Wait. Great queen? Didn’t the monsters sometimes mention something about a queen they served? Ugh…Her head was pounding, and she felt so weak. “Are you alright?” Luna asked.

“I think so?” Usagi said in an unsure voice. “I heard a voice. It wanted me to give myself to a queen, and if I’m correct, this queen might have something to do with the youmas.”

“You’re probably right, and I’m sure we’ll find more answers if we head to the Crystal Seminar,” Luna said as she jumped and pulled out the evil diskette. 

“Do you still think Mizuno-chan has something to do with this?” Usagi asked as she stood up from her chair and followed Luna. 

Luna stared up at her with an unreadable expression before bolting out the door.

For her part, Usagi gave a very long sigh. Why won’t Luna trust her on this? Something inside tells her that Mizuno-chan isn’t bad, so why doesn’t Luna listen?

Well, whatever. Right now the important thing was stopping the monsters and their evil queen.

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The pair had sprinted back to the Crystal Seminar building in record time, so instead of making it there in like 30 minutes, they made it in 15. However, this did cause Usagi’s lungs to burn and lean on the building for support. “Usagi! Remember to be on your guard for whatever we find, alright?” Luna said.

However, Usagi was more in the process of breathing heavily and trying not to faint. “Y-yeah…S-sure, Luna…” Usagi managed out between breaths. Luna could do nothing more than facepalm at the sad state of her charge. As Usagi caught her breath and her panting became quieter, she heard something. It was super quiet so even she wasn’t sure how she could hear it but she did and it sounded like…crying? Who was crying? And why?

“Usagi?” Luna asked, but Usagi ignored her as she bolted into the building. Who was crying? Usagi looked around the super expensive-looking entryway when she heard that crying again. It was coming from the hallway, she realized. “Usagi?” Luna asked again. It seemed like she had followed her in, but Usagi ignored her again as she ran into the hallway. Who was crying?

She looked around until she saw a huddled ball of a person by the third door on the left. She had blue hair and seemed to be wearing Usagi’s school uniform. Wait a minute…MIZUNO-CHAN!

“Mizuno-chan!” Usagi called out, which seemed to momentarily shock the bluenette, who was stunned by Usagi’s sudden appearance before it turned into embarrassment. Quickly, Mizuno-chan wiped her face of tears before giving a weak smile to Usagi.

“Tsukino-chan? Why are you here?” Mizuno-chan asked as she struggled to put on a stoic and dignified face, but it looked like it could crack at any second.

“I…” Usagi began, feeling like she could cry at seeing the broken look on Mizuno-chan’s face. “Are you alright?”

Mizuno-chan sniffled a bit and her eyes began to fill with tears before quickly saying, “I’m fine. I just got in trouble with the instructor, that’s all.”

“It doesn’t seem like it,” Usagi said with empathy. She, out of anyone, would know what it’s like to be stuck in the hallway after being in trouble. “What happened?”

“It was my fault. I-I lost a diskette I was supposed to use for class and so the teacher got rightfully angry at me,” Mizuno-chan said with a look of shame and heartbreak.

 Usagi stared at the broken and guilt-ridden face of the blue-haired girl. It was so different from her logical, strong, and even stoic face from earlier. It made Usagi want to cry with her. However, that’s not what Mizuno-chan needed then. “I don’t think so,” Usagi said, smiling. “Besides, you’re super smart, so who cares if some mean old teacher kicks you out over something so stupid?”

“I CARE!” Mizuno-chan loudly yelled, which shocked both Usagi and Luna. “All my life, my mom taught me to be respectful to and obey my instructors and teachers and to be logical and always use my intellect to get ahead in this world, but now here I am, missing my entire class and disappointing my mom because I couldn’t do something as simple as remember a stupid diskette! I’m supposed to be the smartest! The best at school! I have to be…” Mizuno-chan fell to her knees again, her hands covering her face.

Pain and guilt hit Usagi. Looking back at her own life, Usagi had it easy regarding grades. Whenever she came back with a bad grade, at most, her mom would lock her up in her room to study or kick her out for an hour, but she was never stressed to the point of breaking down because she forgot something. Did Mizuno-chan always feel this way? Usagi remembers the harsh words people spat about the bluenette this morning, her being a ‘teacher’s pet’ and ‘only caring about studying’ and how Mizuno-chan heard it all. It must’ve made her feel even lonelier and stressed out than she already was. Then you have Usagi, who wanted to use her brains to get good grades. She was no better than them, was she? No. She was terrible.

Usagi bent down and pulled out the diskette. “Here you go,” the blonde said against the glares of  Luna. “This is the diskette, right?” Usagi watched Mizuno-chan raise her head as her blue eyes widened upon seeing what was in the blonde’s hand. “You dropped it at the Crown and I tried to follow you but you had already left.”

“Why would you want to help me?” Mizuno-chan asked, generally confused.

Usagi smiled before saying, “Because that’s what friends do. They help and care about each other.” Usagi meant it genuinely.

“You want to be my friend?” 

“Of course. You’re very kind and sweet and super smart. Anyone should want to be your friend,” Usagi said as she placed the diskette in Mizuno-chan’s hands.

Mizuno-chan stared at the diskette for a moment before looking at Usagi with wide eyes that were confused, then unsure, before relief flooded into them. Tears welled up in her eyes but these weren’t tears of sadness. These were tears of joy and Mizuno-chan flung herself at Usagi in a tight hug. Usagi was shocked at first but happily returned it. 

They both had a new friend. 

And Usagi had some unfinished business.

“Mizuno-chan. There’s something you should know about that diskette, though,” Usagi began but was quickly cut off by Ami’s shouts of thank you and rushing feet. Oh no! “Mizuno-chan! Wait! The diskette’s evil!”

However, she had already disappeared into her classroom when Usagi’s words left her mouth. Usagi was about to start running after her when she felt sharp claws on her ankle that sent her spiraling toward the floor. “We can’t go rushing in Usagi!” Luna yelled as Usagi gave her a dirty and angry look. “You should transform into Sailor Moon beforehand; that way, should anything happen in there, we won’t have to worry about being caught.” Unfortunately, Luna made sense but that still didn’t make Usagi any less mad a the cat. That scratch and fall really hurt! However, she could yell at Luna later! Right now, she needed to worry about Mizuno-chan and her class!

“Moon Prism Power MAKE-UP!” Usagi shouted and instantly felt engulfed by her magical henshin as streams of pink ribbons surrounded her body, transforming her normal uniform into her fuku. Power began to surge through her as the strong and awesome sailor senshi of the moon, Sailor Moon, took Usagi’s place. 

“Sailor Moon. We need to hurry,” Luna rudely said, interrupting her famous pose.

“O-” Sailor Moon started to say, dejected, when screams rang throughout the hall. Wait a minute. Those screams! Mizuno-chan! Quickly, Sailor Moon raced towards the classroom, where she saw a horrific sight that stopped her dead in her tracks. 

Everywhere, as far as the eyes could see, were bodies. Some were slumped over the table while others were laying in misshapen heaps on the ground with lifeless pale skin and bloodshot eyes muttering something about giving themselves to the ‘Great Queen’! However, that wasn’t even the worst part! The worst part was what was going on at one of the desks! Mizuno-chan was struggling to free herself against what seemed to be an invisible chain and screaming in pain as a woman forced her to stare at one of the computer's screens. “Stupid brat! Why can’t you just make my job easy and give yourself to our Queen!” the woman…the thing cried before she violently slapped Mizuno-chan across the face, leaving a prominent red mark across her face! Screams for help and pain faded into whimpers. At first, Sailor Moon could only stare in shock at Mizuno-chan and that evil woman. How could somebody do that? Especially to a kid! That wasn’t right! Sailor Moon clenched her fist. It wasn’t right! And she would do something about it!

“Let her go!” Sailor Moon cried out, which quickly attracted the attention of Mizuno-chan and the evil woman. “How dare you brainwash innocent students with your evil floppy disks and make a super smart girl feel scared and insecure!? I am the Pretty Guardian who fights for love and for justice! I am Sailor Moon, and in the name of the moon, I will punish you!”

“Sailor Moon? I was expecting you,” the evil woman said with a wicked smile before she ripped Mizuno-chan, who screamed bloody murder in fear, from her chair before dragging her kicking and screaming to a rafter in the ceiling. 

“Mizuno-chan!” Sailor Moon cried as the monster gave a heinous laugh as their human appearance literally melted away to reveal a creature with blood-red skin on her chest, arms, and head where a strange beetle-like thing sat in the middle of her forehead. The rest of her body, on the other hand, was pitch black that Sailor Moon could’ve sworn that she was wearing a leotard but when she looked a little closer, she saw that it had fur and veins pulsing throughout and that made her skin crawl. Her eyes were completely yellow with only two black slits for pupils and a wild nest of blackish-blue hair. Her long nails turned into sharp claws that she held to Mizuno-chan’s throat that could slit it any minute Sailor Moon didn’t do something! What could she do?! 

Sailor Moon looked up at where the youma was gleeful as she leered down at her while poor Mizuno-chan desperately tried to free herself. However, this failed when Mizuno-chan’s neck scraped the monster's sharp claws, drawing a bit of blood. Oh no!

Wait a minute! She was just sitting there…maybe… Sailor Moon touched the red gem on her forehead as she shouted, “Moon Tiara Boomerang!” The command transformed the tiara from a dormant accessory into a powerful weapon Sailor Moon sent flying toward the youma. 

However, it would never make contact with the youma. Instead, the youma gave a cruel smirk before it raised its hand, summoning wires and papers that wrapped and twisted themselves around the innocent and brainwashed students, raising them towards the ceiling to act as a messed-up line of defense. Sailor Moon screamed in horror as her tiara sped toward the students. She needed to do something fast!

At the last battle, Luna said she could redirect the tiara if she concentrated. However, she can’t focus on the monster right now! Not with all these kids in the way. Maybe she can will it back to her? Sailor Moon concentrated on the tiara and practically begged it to return to her before it could hit any of those kids. Luckily, just as it was about to drive itself through the neck of a middle school boy, it stopped. Sailor Moon cheered at this…until she noticed the tiara spinning toward her now! And like that, she started running around like a rat on a sinking ship as she continued to be followed by her traitorous weapon while her screams mixed with the vile laughter of the monster, who sounded very amused by Sailor Moon’s suffering. 

“Just stop it, Sailor Moon!” Luna shouted on Sailor Moon’s eighth run around. 

“Oh right,” Sailor Moon said before turning around to face it and loudly shouting, “STOP!”  This stopped it and returned to its dormant state of being a usual, magical tiara, not a weapon of destruction.

Sailor Moon couldn’t grab it because she felt something metallic and rubbery grab her wrist, and with a loud cry, the superheroine was ripped toward the ceiling as she heard Luna scream, “SAILOR MOON!” 

“Let me go!” Sailor Moon yelled out as she tried to free herself with her free hand. Unfortunately, that just got tangled up in the wires as well. 

“I’m going to be honest: I expected more from you after your previous victories. Aw well,” the youma said before snapping her claws, and immediately, papers began to float from desks, chairs, and floors and shaped itselves into deadly paper airplanes with razor-sharp tips. 

Sailor Moon screamed in fear as she thrashed around, trying desperately to free herself, but the wires only seemed to tighten every time she did. She heard another sickening snap of claws and saw the evil paper airplanes speeding toward her as she kicked around, trying to stop at least a few. However, there was nothing she could do except scream out, “HELP!” And as if on cue, a crimson-red rose came flying through the air and sliced through the wires that held Sailor Moon captive before any of the evil paper planes could cut or slice her up.

However, she still had been hanging from the ceiling and was now failing. Sailor Moon screamed before she realized that she was no longer falling but was instead surrounded by warmth that made her feel safe and protected. Wait, that could only mean! “Tuxedo Mask!” Sailor Moon cried as she looked up to see her beloved masked savior with a handsome smirk on his lips. 

“You didn’t believe I would let you fall, right?” he asked in a sultry way that made Sailor Moon blush red-hot. For a moment, Tuxedo Mask stared at Sailor Moon in a way that made her giggle cutely before he turned an ice-cold gaze toward the villain, “How dare you take advantage of innocent schoolchildren who just want to improve their minds and turn them into batteries for your evil ambitions?”

The monster said nothing before giving out a wicked little chuckle. “It seems Sailor Moon’s little boyfriend finally made his entrance.” Wait,   did she just say boyfriend?! Sailor Moon felt a big, goofy smile come to her lips at the thought of Tuxedo Mask being her boyfriend. “I guess this does make it far easier to kill you both,” the monster continued. Wait, kill? Oh, right! There was still in the middle of a battle. Sailor Moon heard a sickening snap of claws, making the paper planes redirect themselves until they launched themselves straight at her and Tuxedo Mask!  

“I always knew homework was evil!” Sailor Moon screamed as they sped towards her and Tuxedo Mask. Oh no! Now they will both end up like sliced cheese (…or something)!

However, that didn’t come! She felt a rush of air and saw Tuxedo Mask twirling his cane and warding off the evil paper airplanes. “Quick, Sailor Moon! Use your tiara to take out the monster!” 

“I can’t without hurting those innocent people!” Sailor Moon cried as she pointed at the hostages still hanging from the ceiling in a dazed and broken state.

Sailor Moon saw Tuxedo Mask stare at the hostages with an unreadable look before he muttered, “Well, that’s annoying,” under his breath. She had to admit that was a bit of a strange reaction, but she didn’t have long to think about it when she heard something slithering behind them and the ruffling of papers. “Tuxedo Mask! Watch ou- AH!” It was too late, though. Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask were trapped by those horrible wires that wrapped and tightened themselves around their entire bodies so every limb of theirs was trapped in place. With a wicked laugh and a sickening crack of claws, bolts of electricity were sent through the wires that painfully electrocuted the duo, causing them to scream out in pain.

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The screams of pain from the two mysterious superheroes filled Ami’s ears as the cackles and cruel words of the monster continually tortured her. “How pathetic!” it cried as it gave another snap, causing more electricity to be shot through to the superheroes, who howled in pain before slumping over with heavy breaths. From Ami’s calculations, it wouldn’t be long until those superheroes died from an electric overdose, and if they died, then not only she but her entire class was doomed. There had to be something she could do to stop this, but what? She wasn’t magic. She didn’t know any combat skills. She was just an ordinary girl with a high IQ. She couldn’t fight a monster! Especially one that defeated two superheroes already! She was useless in this situation! 

Tears began to pour down Ami’s cheeks as the words from earlier started to reverberate around her mind. I was in the same class as her last year, and all she did was study and look down her nose at everyone else - There was nothing she could do! Maybe she might not even be in this situation if she hadn't studied so much. I never saw her with anyone, so I don’t think she had any friends - maybe if she had friends, there’d be someone she could call. No. She was alone. A lonely, pathetic, friendless girl who was going to die alone and helpless to do anything to stop it.

 You’re very kind and sweet and super smart. Anyone should want to be your friend, Tsukino-chan had said to her. Tsukino-chan… Hopefully, she got out alright. She did come all the way here to help me. Because that’s what friends do. They help and care about each other. She had wanted to be her friend. Maybe they could’ve been real friends had this not happened. Maybe they could’ve done the things Ami had seen other teenagers her age had done like go to the movies or ice cream shops, but she’ll never know now. Tsukino-chan was hopefully gone and Ami will die along with her class and the heroes. 

Ami glanced over at the heroes and saw they were mentally preparing themselves for more volts of electricity and through tears, Ami saw a detail she missed. The female had odango hair with two long ponytails. Wait, wasn’t Tsukino-chan wearing that exact same hairstyle as well? 

Was the female superhero Tsukino-chan? Logically, it didn’t make sense to think of one of her classmates as a superheroine, but that distinctive hairstyle and the fact this hero - Sailor Moon was it - appeared right after Tsukino-chan arrived. And then there was the admittedly klutzy and loud behavior from both of them, it matched. Tsukino-chan was a superhero? The thought was still rather illogical but the evidence was undeniable and nothing about this situation was logical. 

Ami looked back towards Sailor Moon, Tsukino-chan, and her heart broke at seeing how broken she looked. Another volt of electricity was then flooded causing her to scream out. No!

Ami NEEDED to do something! She might not be able to do much, but Tsukino-chan was her…friend! And friends help each other! She wanted to help Tsukino-chan! She wanted to help Sailor Moon!

At this, something felt like it burst inside of Ami. It wasn’t an uncomfortable feeling. It was very familiar. Soothing like a gentle wave even. It was as though it was a part of her that she had forgotten. The burst grew and grew until it transformed into a beautiful, lake-blue light around her chest until it moved to hover right in front of Ami. Ami heard the monster scream and let go of her, but she didn’t care. All she wanted in that moment was that beautiful light.

Ami held a hand toward the light until she grasped it. She felt how it became solid in her fingers until it burst into a bright light that nearly blinded her. However, this light was only for a moment. In the next, Ami stared at what looked like an ornate pen with a bright blue barrel and golden cap decorated with a planetary symbol and four jewels of red, blue, green, and orange at the center. However, something in her told her it wasn’t just any pen. Something in her told her what she needed to do. She knew what she needed to do!

“Mercury Power Make-Up!” she shouted as the symbol for Mercury appeared on her forehead, and a flood of power flowed through Ami. Her normal school uniform was replaced in a rush of watery blue. Her skirt was now short, a teal blue ribbon sat on her back and chest, her ears were now done up with pearls with three on her left and one on her right, white gloves over her hands and fingers now painted with blue nail polish, heeled boots in blue lined with white were on her feet, and a tiara covering the symbol on her forehead with a blue gem at the center.

“What are you?!” she heard the monster screech from behind.

She wouldn’t give this monster the time of day, though. “Shabon Spray!” she exclaimed instead, and heavy and thick mist descended upon the classroom, hiding everything and everyone from view.

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Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask were just barely coherent at this point. Too much electricity, and the only thing keeping them upright was the need to defeat this thing and save the hostages. “Tuxedo Mask,” Sailor Moon slurred out, “I’m so…”

“I know. We need to get out of here,” Tuxedo Mask said in a voice a little stronger (though not by much) than Sailor Moon, which should be impossible in her opinion. “Where did this fog come from?”

Fog? Sailor Moon opened her eyes and saw she couldn’t see her own fingers. Now, you could chalk this up to being electrocuted 6 or 7 times, but no, her body and clothes were also damp and heavy. So the fog was real? Where did this fog come from?

“Wait…this fog?” Luna said as she paused, trying to free them with her claws. It wasn’t like it worked anyway. “I recognize this fog,” she continued in shock, but why?

 However, they didn’t have long to ponder this when a shadowy figure appeared walking through the fog. It didn’t seem like the youma, but one can never be too sure as they braced themselves for a fight - though how they would accomplish this tied up is anyone’s guess.

Thankfully, it never came. Instead, the figure continued walking towards them until she was in full view. It was another girl dressed like Sailor Moon, except her uniform was just shades of blue instead of a mix of blues, reds, and pinks. She looked like a sailor guardian, too! 

“Sailor Mercury?” Luna asked in disbelief. “Is that really you?”

“Sailor Mercury?!” gasped Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask. They watched as Sailor Mercury tapped the jewel on her tiara to cause some kind of magic, high-tech lens to lower, and a cute, blue portable computer with the Mercury symbol appeared in Sailor Mercury’s hand. She tapped a few keys on the computer before she stared at the screen. With a nod, she walked over to the duo and grabbed one of the wires, causing the whole thing to become untangled and fall into helpless lumps at their feet.

“So you’re a Sailor Guardian too?” Sailor Moon asked, catching her breath as Tuxedo Mask rushed over to catch her (he was so sweet) 

“Yes. I am Sailor Mercury, and I’m here to help Sailor Moon,” the blue-haired girl, Sailor Mercury, said with a warm smile as she locked eyes with Sailor Moon. Wait, blue-hair!? Was she-

“Are you-?” Sailor Moon began.

Sailor Mercury cut her off, though. “There will be more than enough time to discuss that later, but we must fight off this enemy right now. And try to keep your voice down so we don’t alert the monster to our location,” she said in a low whisper, to which Sailor Moon quickly shoved her hands over her mouth. 

“How are we going to be able to stop the monster and save the hostages with the fog this thick?” Tuxedo Mask asked in a low whisper.

“Don’t worry, I have a plan,” Sailor Mercury said before she gestured towards her computer. “My computer can show me where the monster and the hostages are due to their heat signatures. I can guide Sailor Moon’s hand, but you will rescue the students,” Sailor Mercury said as she showed the computer to them. 

Sailor Moon looked over at Sailor Mercury and couldn’t help but be in awe and even a bit jealous of how quickly she seemed to have gotten this whole Sailor Guardian thing while she struggled to do anything without help. Why were they so different? Weren’t they both Sailor Guardians?

She didn’t have long to think about this when Sailor Mercury shouted, “Watch out!” Sailor Moon was quickly snatched up by Tuxedo Mask, who saved her from being attacked by another squadron of evil paper airplanes. 

“Thanks, Tuxedo Mask,” Sailor Moon said with hearts in her eyes as she stared up at her masked hero, who gave a gentle smile in return. 

“We don’t have time for this,” Luna harshly whispered. Rude. There was always time for this. “Sailor Mercury’s plan should work, and if Tuxedo Mask wants to make himself useful, he will start by freeing the hostages so they can’t be used against us.” Sailor Moon felt Tuxedo Mask stiffen before sighing and turning to Sailor Mercury.

“I’m on it. Where do I go?” Tuxedo Mask asked. Sailor Mercury nodded before using her computer to scan around before she pointed toward an opposing ceiling. 

“Be careful, Tuxedo Mask,” Sailor Moon said to Tuxedo Mask as we were about to leap away.  

Tuxedo Mask turned toward Sailor Moon with a small look of shock before giving a small smile. “Don’t worry about me.” Then he disappeared into the fog, far too soon, in Sailor Moon’s opinion.

“Sailor Moon! Focus!” Luna harshly whispered. Oh right. They’re in the middle of a battle.

But where was the enemy?

A small, low beeping began to ring out from the computer, which caused the hairs on the sailor guardians’ necks to stand on end as they caught the barest glimpse of a shadow in the distance. It wasn’t Tuxedo Mask’s. This one was too animalistic and looked like a predator ready to pounce as it blindly searched for its prey. Sailor Moon quickly and clumsily got into a fighting pose as she tried to calm her panicked breathing until she felt a tap on her shoulder. Sailor Moon was ready to strike for her life and her friends’ lives and Tuxedo Mask’s life…but this was not needed as it was Sailor Mercury who had touched her.

Sailor Mercury placed a finger to her lips before gesturing at the monster as it walked in another direction. “Quick, use your tiara,” Sailor Mercury whispered.

Sailor Moon nodded and went to touch the jewel on her forehead but only found the smooth skin of her forehead. Well…that was not good. That was very, very not good. Sailor Moon gestured at her forehead to Luna and Sailor Mercury, confused at first before their eyes widened in fear. 

“Where is it?” Luna whispered harshly as she began to look around the floor.

Sailor Moon recalled the last time she used it and remembered it was by the door. “The entrance. I didn’t get the chance to grab it.” Luna and Sailor Mercury looked on in disbelief which Sailor Moon was very offended by. She was kind of busy, you know. “It should be okay, though,” Sailor Moon whispered back. “I can just summon it back, right?”

“The youma might catch onto what we’re doing, though,” Luna said.

“Maybe we could cause a distraction,” Sailor Mercury pointed out. “The monster will be drawn by us, allowing Sailor Moon time to get her tiara back.”

Luna paused before thinking about it and saying, “You’re right. I’ll cause the distraction while you two get the tiara back.”

The feline then disappeared into the fog before they were allowed to agree or disagree with her. Loud thuds and clunks could be heard from the other side of the room, followed by growls and roars from the youma. Sailor Moon gasped as a hundred scenarios about Luna versus the youma went through her head, and none of them ended well for the cat. “Quick, Sailor Moon, get your tiara, and we can save Luna,” Sailor Mercury whispered. She must’ve noticed how worried Sailor Moon looked. 

Sailor Moon nodded and clasped her hands together, focusing on her tiara. Tiara…tiara…tiara. A small shuffle of something could be heard. Tiara…tiara…tiara…come here… The shuffling got louder until he distinctive, magical buzzing floated through the air. Tiara…tiara…tiara…fly into my hand. The magical buzzing became louder and louder until a shining white light pierced through the fog and charged right towards Sailor Moon when the memory of what had happened earlier flashed through her mind. She didn’t want to end up as moondust. Wait a minute…the tiara does as she asks, right?

Tiara…tiara…tiara…land safely in my hand. Hopefully, that worked. Sailor Moon then felt something cool and metal land in her hands. She opened her eyes and saw that her tiara was no longer a spinning weapon of death but just an accessory. Well, that’s good. 

What was not good was the loud cat yowl of pain. “Luna!” Sailor Moon cried out before quickly silencing herself. What was that youma doing to her feline guardian?

“Don’t worry, Sailor Moon. I know exactly where they are,” Sailor Mercury said before showing Sailor Moon the computer, which showed two figures covered in oranges, greens, blues, and yellows. One Luna and the youma who was holding her up to her claws. “Just remember the plan.”

“What about Luna?” the Moon Senshi asked before looking back at the computer, where she saw another figure. Wait, Tuxedo Mask? He was done already. Maybe he could save Luna? Sailor Moon looked at the screen again before remembering all the times Luna told her not to trust him. 

However, Sailor Moon couldn’t agree with that. He’s saved her many times since the beginning when he had no reason to and helped save all those hostages, so why would Luna be any different? Armed with this thought, Sailor Moon placed her tiara back on her head and touched the red jewel in the center. The tiara began to glow once more as Sailor Moon listened to Sailor Mercury’s words. “Remember you need to aim your tiara at a degree of 67 degrees to hit her spine before she moves,” Sailor Mercury said. 

“Uh…” Sailor Moon said, not understanding.

“Just aim for the right, or you’ll hit Luna,” Sailor Mercury repeated in easy terms. Much better.

“Moon Tiara Boomerang,” Sailor Moon said, and she threw the tiara to the right.

A scream of pain howled before cursing Sailor Moon and crying how their ‘Great Queen’ will defeat her someday. Sailor Moon and Mercury both sighed in relief before they wondered about Luna. Was she okay?

A shadow appeared in the mist, this one tall and cradling something. It walked closer until it was revealed to be “Tuxedo Mask?!” Sailor Moon cried joyfully at seeing her masked savior holding Luna in his arms. She seemed a little beat up, but okay otherwise. 

“Your cat seems to enjoy trouble,” Tuxedo Mask said as he returned the cat to Sailor Moon.

“Not really. Usually, she’s the one keeping me out of trouble,” Sailor Moon said with a blush as Luna started to stir in her arms.

“I-Is the youma gone?” Luna asked a bit dizzy.

“Yeah. We got them, Luna! And Tuxedo Mask saved you,” Sailor Moon excitedly said.

“He did?” Luna asked before staring suspiciously at Tuxedo Mask. “Why?”

“You were hostage and I was saving hostages,” Tuxedo Mask continued. “Besides, how often does someone meet a talking cat?”

“Are the hostages safe, by the way?” Sailor Moon asked with worry evident in her eyes. 

“Don’t worry. They’re in the hallway, and emergency services are on their way,” Tuxedo Mask said. “However, I better head off,” he continued before grabbing one of Sailor Moon’s hands and bringing it to his lips. “Until next time, Sailor Moon.” Then he disappeared into the fog, and Sailor Moon felt like she could float on air. If she died at that moment, she wouldn’t even care. Oh, Tuxedo Mask…They were so meant to be.

“Sailor Moon…Sailor Moon….Sailor Moon!” Luna cried, being horrible and breaking Sailor Moon out of her Tuxedo Mask-filled daydreams.

“Huh…what?” Sailor Moon said.

“We need to get home and explain all this to Sailor Mercury,” Luna said.

Oh right! Sailor Mercury! Sailor Moon turned to her fellow sailor guardian and asked, “So you’re Mizuno-chan, right?”

“Yes. And I know you’re Tsukino-chan,” Sailor Mercury replied. 

Sailor Moon gasped in shock. “How did you know!?” She’s always so careful though!

“It’s really not that hard if you know where to look,” Sailor Mercury said.

“Sailor Mercury,” Luna said in a serious tone. “Do you remember anything about your past life or our princess?”

“Unfortunately, no. All I know is that when Tsukino-chan was in trouble something inside me told me that my mission was to help and protect her and everything else was essentially muscle memory,” Sailor Mercury sadly said. 

“This is unfortunate indeed though at least we found one other senshi,” Luna agreed. “Maybe we should continue this conversation at home, Usagi-chan.”

“Yeah,” Sailor Moon continued before realizing how late it was and her mom’s words. “My mom’s going to kill me!” Before quickly racing out of there, followed by Sailor Mercury and Luna.

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“Where have you been, Usagi?!” Ikuko yelled, half-scared and half-angry. 

“I’m sorry Mom! I got sidetracked!” Usagi cried out in sadness with tears streaming from her eyes.

“Sidetracked?!” Ikuko continued. “You were supposed to be home three hours ago!”

“But, mom-!” Usagi whined.

“No, buts! I’m exten-” Ikuko continued scolding.

“Excuse me, ma’am. You really shouldn’t be blaming, Tsukino-chan,” Mizuno-chan said as she walked into the house. 

“Who are you?” Ikuko asked confused at the sight of the unknown girl.

“My name is Mizuno Ami, and I’m in Usagi’s class. I’m sorry she wasn’t home on time, but I was helping her study today and time just got away from us,” Mizuno-chan continued winking at Usagi who quickly understood and nodded in unison. 

“You were helping Usagi study?” Ikuko continued, confused. 

“Yes, ma’am. Tsukino-chan said she needed help on her assignments and thankfully I’m well-versed on nearly every subject, so I decided to tutor her in the library before we came back here,” Mizuno-chan said.

“Is this true, Usagi?” Ikuko asked her daughter.

“Uh…yeah!” Usagi quickly cried before intertwining her arm with Mizuno-chan’s. “We’re just going to head up to my room now and continue studying so bye!” With that, the two girls waved goodbye to Ikuko and headed to Usagi’s room.

The two sat down as Luna began to speak, “Now that Sailor Mercury has found us, we still need to find the other three guardians and the princess before our enemies, this mysterious Dark Kingdom does. I also must apologize to you Sailor Mercury. I had misjudged your energy as belonging to our enemy instead of an ally and for this I am deeply ashamed.”

“It’s al-” Mizuno-chan began but was cut off by Sailor Moon.

“It looks like I was right too! I mean I was the one who pointed out that Mizuno-chan wasn’t evil,” Usagi proudly said. “By the way, thanks for saving me from my mom and the youma.”

“You’re welcome,” Mizuno-chan said before a small blush came to her cheeks. “So are we friends now?” said in a way like the concept was so foreign to her. 

“On one condition,” Usagi said as stuck up one finger. “You have to let me call you Ami-chan!”

Mizuno-chan or Ami-chan looked shocked by this before she gave a small smile. “Alright, but only if I get to call you Usagi-chan.”

“Well, we’re friends now!” Usagi said, before throwing her arms around her new friend and fellow guardian. 

“We better get to studying though,” Ami-chan said which made Usagi cry out in pain. 

“Why?!” Usagi cried before falling to the ground like she’d been hit on the head by an anvil.

“We did tell your mother we’d be studying up here. Besides, friends help each other, right?” Ami-chan said with a knowing smile.

“That’s mean,” Usagi groaned. How dare she use her own words against her? Especially in order to study. “Alright, fine. But I won’t enjoy it.”

Ami-chan then pulled out their textbooks which Usagi, begrudgingly, tried to follow along with. 

The two didn’t even notice Luna leave through the window.

Luna did as she did every night and made her way inside the Crown Arcade through a small crack in the alley. Luckily, they closed early on weekdays, so no one was bound to catch her breaking in and making her way toward the Sailor V video game. She still didn’t understand why Central Command insisted on using this game machine for important discussion. Then again she didn’t understand a lot about Central Command, other than what they told her. 

Hopping onto the seat she quickly typed in the code for Central Command when she heard the voice.

“Luna,” came the garbled tone. “Do you have any news for us?”

“Yes. I am pleased to say we’ve located Sailor Mercury who has been reincarnated into a middle school girl named Mizuno Ami,” Luna said as pictures of Ami and Sailor Mercury appeared on the screen. “Unfortunately, outside of combat and her abilities, she doesn’t remember anything like Sailor Moon.”

“This is unfortunate indeed,” Central Command said back. “For now, keep an eye on them both. Make sure they continue to grow as Sailor Guardians and guide them. They will need it.”

“Yes, Central Command. I also have other news,” Luna said as she took a deep breath. “Someone heard me talk today.”

“Who?” Central Command asked. 

“I’m not sure of his name but I know he’s a male with black hair and blue eyes,” Luna continued.

“Do you believe him to be a threat?” Central Command sharply questioned.

“He doesn’t seem like one,” Luna honestly answered. 

“Ensure he doesn’t hear you speak again,” Central Command said. “And what of the Tuxedo Mask situation?”

“Inconclusive. He saved me today and Sailor Moon has the utmost trust in him but I can't shake this feeling about him,” Luna continued.

“I see. Just watch him for now. He could be a valuable asset to us or a deadly enemy, but definitely a wild card,” Central Command said. “Anything else for today?”

“No.” 

“Good. Central Command signing off.” 

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

And like that, they were gone and Luna was left in the dark, empty arcade with more questions than answers. Then again that’s how it always was with Central Command.

“Are you sure about this? Keeping them in the dark like this?” 

“It’s the only way. With the Dark Kingdom causing trouble and the other guardians unknown in this lifetime, we can only be careful.”

“But why wait for the other other guardians to reveal themselves?” 

“If we’re discovered now, it might be too late.”

“Whatever you say.”

[misteria247]

Hey so y'all know how Splints in that one episode where he disguised himself as a foot soldier he'd complained about his back after he'd kicked his boys ass? If I had to take a guess he probably suffers from back pain from time to time due to not practicing his ninjutsu, possible injuries to his back during his days of fighting for Big Mama and kinda just vibing all day on his armchair and watching tv shows or dramas.

So I've got a head canon:

When Splints first meets the 12 boys after his sons bring them to their dimension he's one of the first people to immediately figure out that 12 Leo has an injury in his knee. After being in the art of ninjutsu for as long as he has he's probably learned to handle injuries and such earned or gained from the art of it as well as spot them rather quickly. Splints watches 12 Leo during training and notices how he'll sometimes favor his uninjured leg over his injured one and put more weight on that unhurt leg and how on some mornings when the weather gets colder or when it's about to storm or when he's pushed himself too hard, 12 Leo will be a lot more sore and aching and he'll have to take more breaks because of it. He'd notice this and in very small unnoticeable ways begin to help him.

Leaving pain pills somewhere for 12 Leo to find easily, leaving the softer pillows and blankets on the sofa for 12 Leo to rest against, having a spare heating pad laying close by should he need it to help ease the aches he's feeling. Once 12 Leo's more comfortable around them Splints will start giving him tips and tricks on how to handle the pains of his knee injury and how to help ease it whenever it gets really bad. 12 Leo of course is a bit hesitant on doing these things because he doesn't want to appear weak or become a burden to the older rat however after seeing how Splints shows no judgement at all he'll start to do the tips and tricks Splints told him about and taught him how to use. Splints would also consult Rise Leo and 12 Donnie for more detailed information on 12 Leo's knee injury and go from there to help him feel more comfortable.

After awhile 12 Leo would be able to function and move a little more easier than he could before, though his injury is always there it's more easier to deal with. And he'll ask Splints how he knew what to do and Splints would reveal that he has problems with his back due to ninjutsu as well and he'd learned how to handle it through trial and error and research. He'd give 12 Leo an understanding fatherly look and tell him that he's glad that he was able to help make him feel better because Splints didn't like seeing 12 Leo in pain. 12 Leo would get a bit choked up and shakily thank him not wanting to break down and Splints would just give him another smile and a gentle pat on his shell to let him know that it was no trouble and that he was happy to be of service.