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daeva-agas · 8 months

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Speaking of the Senshi/Shitennou pairs. I was kind of curious why those stones in particular, right. Kunzite and zoisite are so unusual that I think only gemstone aficionados know them, and even though jadeite and nephrite are somewhat more commonly known names IIRC it still made people mess up the mineral names back in the day.

Well, uh, so, it was alleged that Takeuchi-sensei chose them to match the character and personalities of the senshi they're partnered with, so... Excuse me while I go overthink this and have a meltdown in suffering.

In the first place, supposedly the "inner senshi" are officially meant to be called "guardians"/"guardian deities" (守護 or 守護神). Haven't seen the raws, so I can't confirm, but that's what the JP media says. The term "Shitennou", as many are already aware of, are originally a term used to refer to a set of 4 Buddhist guardian deities.

If true then it just feels like they're all intended to be perfectly matching sets from the start, and it just never made it into the story.

I read that Sailor Moon was originally meant to just end with the Dark Kingdom plot, so maybe sensei intended to have a Romeo and Juliet sad ending where everyone just dies in the end?

These are all based on Japanese gemology guides (same as what I used to research for the Shitennou knight titles), since I imagine it's more likely to be the one Takeuchi-sensei had access to. These may differ from international ones.

(Warning: Long post)

In the manga sensei specified that the zoisite is the blue one, that's also known as "tanzanite". The blue variety of zoisite, among other things, means "calm and intelligence".

The connection to Ami/Mercury's character is very straightforward and obvious.

In terms of romance, a zoisite also means "subdued expressions of love". It really makes me think of how gentle this pair looks in the splash art sensei drew.

Kunzite means "premonition of a lover". It's specifically oh dang when I saw this because Minako was "special" among the senshi in the way that her character vibes are based on "love" (because Venus, goddess of love), rather than the original elemental name attached to the planet. It fits enough to make you pause and wonder if this it truly a coincidence.

The planet venus originally has the element of "gold/metal". The gold is reflected in her design somewhat, but her senshi identity is more related to "love". The other girls' names matches their planets' element names. E.g Jupiter = mokusei = wood, Ki(no) = wood/tree. Mercury = suisei = water, Mizu(no) = water.

Also Venus's relationship with Kunzite ended up being the one who got the most hints actually shown in the manga, so... I do wonder.

The two jades are less overly specific like this, especially Nephrite, but well.

Jadeite is the native jade from Japan, and has been long used to make magatama since ancient times. As such it's always seen as a deeply spiritual stone, that can protect against and/or ward off evil. A perfect match for Rei, who is a miko. One wonders if sensei chose the stone because of Rei being a miko, or if she made Rei a miko after choosing this name for the one matched with her.

Edit: Japanese Wiki claims Rei being a miko was based on Takeuchi-sensei's personal experience as a part time miko. So then Jadeite had to have been named/chosen to fit her, if this theory is true.

Not to mention that Akuryou Taisan, the evil-banishing spell, is something that she uses quite often.

Nephrite is the most confusing one here, because I'm not really able to find the connection. That's why I initially had strong doubts about the rumour/claim about the gemstone names' connection to the senshi.

In the gemology guide that I referenced, its meaning is "charm of maturity". I suppose Mako has always felt like she's older than the other girls, because her hobbies (cooking and home decor) feels really motherly.

Other than that and the stone being a deep green colour similar to Jupiter's senshi outfit I'm not entirely sure. (in the manga, sensei says nephrites are "always deep green" even though IRL that's not the case)

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Just my additional comments after reading everything that I did:

In terms of colour, I like to think Jadeite is a red jade. Not just to match Rei, but in the manga Jadeite's stone is always coloured the darkest (it's almost all-black). Of all the various jades, red is one of the darker-toned ones.

The shading can be arbitrary, especially if sensei was just tracing from reference photos. Dark green jadeite also exist, so for all I know this is intended to be green too.

But if I use the logic that the stones are matched with the girls' character, I think red just fits the best. In gemstone language the red jade means "tenacity" and "willpower". Green jades tends to be associated with things like harmony, prosperity, luck, and so on. It doesn't feel very Rei-like.

Also, the nephrite jade being a "soft jade", it's associated with very cuddly meanings such as "warm" or "gentle", which makes me laugh even more than the "wisdom" one.

Unless, again, these words are more attached to the matching girls' character, rather than the guy in question, because yes I think Mako is definitely very warm and gentle and fluffy and very huggable.

Although other-coloured zoisite varieties were said to have different meaning, it looks like blue is the predominant zoisite colour in Japan. A lot of Japanese gem sites tend to automatically just say "it's blue" while describing zoisite, even though there's obviously other colours out there.

Sensei did specify it's "blue zoisite, a.k.a tanzanite" in the manga, so I think she's aware of the other colours having different meanings attached. Some articles also had mentioned Takeuchi-sensei's family runs a jewellery store?

I wonder if this is why Crystal went with the gemstone's healing properties for Zoi's title though, because the gemstone words overlaps too much with Mercury in a very in-the-face way. The other meanings are Hope, Mystery, Pride, and Noble, and maybe those don't make very good title names? Like, the only viable one is probably Hope, though I feel like it would be even more confusing if Crystal said Zoi is the "Knight of Hope" or whatever.

Another thing about Kunzite is that its meaning also include "pure and everlasting love", but the website caveated this that this is a saintly kind of love (for the gem's association with Holy Mother Mary). So it's not necessarily something to get overly excited about in terms of SenShi headcanoning, but, well, it's there.

"Shitennou" in Japanese pop culture is generally used to just mean "4 very important people", so it didn't have to actually mean anything. Like, a few samurai in history had their "shitennou", who are just the best 4 generals serving under them. Most famous being the Tokugawa shitennou, but other samurai lords actually have their own so-called shitennou. It's just that if the senshi are officially named "Guardians", then this changes the context.

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gripefroot · 6 months

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something from your favorite sailor moon pairing?

“Show me what it’s like.”

Jupiter’s abrupt demand drew Nephrite’s attention away from the rocks he was skipping across the crystal surface of the lake. Another day, another tryst between their leiges - another afternoon spent alone in the shade of willow trees as swans made scarce currents in the sparkling azure water.

“What what is like?” he asked, and threw another rock - it skipped six times, and sank.

“Those things...that Princess Serenity and your prince do,” she said. And the others, she thought, still tangled up from seeing Venus and Kunzite pressed against the castle wall several days before. Her friend’s flushed face, the low growling coming from Kunzite...Jupiter had rushed away before they saw her, but the craving it instilled in her. It was agony.

Nephrite’s mouth was drawn in a thin line as he turned to stare back at the lake. Tossing a stone in his hand, and catching it. “Staring at each other?” His voice was dry. “Making feeble declarations of love?”

“Kissing,” Jupiter said bluntly.

His head whipped towards her, brunette locks dragging against his cape, fringe threatening to fall in front of his eyes. Those brown eyes - the ones she dreamed of when the sky was dark and stars glittered and she tangled in her lonely bed in Silver Millenium - widened as he blinked in a flurry. “You want me to show you what kissing is like?”

“Yes.”

Rock clenched in hand, Nephrite ran his opposite hand through his hair, mussing the strands as he blew out a breath. Perched on a boulder with her bare feet tickling the surface of the water, Jupiter merely waited.

“You’ve never been kissed?” he asked. Hedging a real answer, but her brashness did that to people. Stunned them, as Nephrite was stunned now. He just needed a moment, so she’d give it.

“No,” she told him. “And don’t bother pretending like you don’t know how - I’ve heard enough rumors about you to know that would be a lie.” She plastered a winning smile as Nephrite blinked again as if struck in the face.

“Rumors,” he repeated.

Jupiter shrugged. “You’re the favorite of the prince’s guard. You’re a popular topic of conversation amongst his people.”

He didn’t look at her. Squinting towards the swans, as if those violent, smelly birds were safer to give his attention to than her. She straightened on the boulder, flicking water into the air with her toes.

“I would’ve thought a princess as pretty as you would’ve been kissed before,” Nephrite said in an even voice at last.

She shrugged again. “I’m too tall.”

He cast her a disapproving glance. “Any man who would think that is a terrible excuse of masculinity.”

“I don’t want other men to kiss me,” Jupiter said. “I want you to kiss me.”

She watched his throat bob in a swallow. And then another. His poor hand - white-knuckled in a fist - could be cut by that rock he was holding. Her eyes flickered there, and then back to his face expectantly.

“You can refuse,” she said. “I’ll find someone else.”

“I’m not refusing.” Nephrite’s response cracked sharper than a whip. Sharper than lightning. Dark brows drawing together, pinched on the cusp of some indecision. He opened his mouth, and then closed it. And then with pain lacing his voice, “You only want me to show you what kissing is like? That’s all?”

Jupiter tilted her head to the side, hair spilling over her shoulder as she stared at his face. The emotion that raged there. I want you to show me what all of it is like, she thought. What is it about men and what they do with women that turns us into such moon-eyed creatures? That softens the most battle-hardened men into sweet fluffballs? What does it feel like?

“I’m curious about all of it, really,” she decided to say, twirling a finger in a lock of her hair. Nephrite’s eyes narrowed in on the action, his shoulders tightening. “The flirting, the kissing - the...other things.”

“The - the other things.” His voice was a deep croak.

“Sex,” Jupiter said helpfully.

“Right.” Nephrite cleared his throat. “I gathered that.”

But still he didn’t answer. She wasn’t one to back down from asking for what she wanted, or even from a fight - not that she expected this man to indulge in the more chaotic emotions one could pick and choose from. But Jupiter frowned all the same, bracing the heels of her hands on the boulder as she drew her feet through the cool water, the sloshing of the movement the only noise that buffeted them apart from distant birdsong.

After a few moments he unclenched his fist, adjusting his steps to send it careening for the lake - but it didn’t skip this time. A single deafening plop took it to a shallow grave, and Nephrite huffed in frustration. His bangs floated in front of his face for a moment before falling back.

“Better luck next time,” Jupiter said.

He glared. The meeting of their eyes was strung out between them like a thread pulled taut from each end. Her fingers clenched into the boulder, a deep shudder in the granite revealing too much of her strength. Breathing out, she loosened her grip and wove her fingers together in her lap, instead.

“I’ll kiss you,” Nephrite said.

“I shouldn’t have asked,” she mumbled back. A heated flush was working its way up her neck, now. Belated regret for her impulsivity. But was it impulsive if she’d thought about kissing him since the day they met? No. Asking him had been impulsive. And stupid.

“I’m glad you did.” The gravel of the shoreline shifted under his boots as he walked towards her. Hands in his pockets. But too tense to be a true swagger, as capable as he was of it. “I’m...glad you thought of me. I can think of a hundred men I wouldn’t trust with something like...this.”

Jupiter lifted a brow as he came to a stop a few feet away, a lopsided smile lifting one side of his mouth.

“With you,” Nephrite clarified, as if he understood her unspoken question. “Come down from there. I don’t want to get my trousers dirty scrambling up to sit by you.”

She grinned and swung her legs over the side to leap onto the shore. The rough sand dug into her bare feet, but she barely noticed - he was much closer now, the flecks of gold in his brown eyes shining with unfamiliar warmth as something in her soul sang in response.

Stars, the twisting and roiling in her belly -

“Let’s go to the shade,” he said, and offered a hand. “It’ll be more comfortable.”

Jupiter found that she couldn’t really say anything. Only slide her gloved hand into his bare one, letting his strong fingers curl over hers with a strength that she’d felt from so few others. It turned her singing soul into a wailing one, mouth dry as he tugged her towards the trees with a grin.

She was about to be kissed. By Nephrite.

It was so easy to trust him. A human man. Was that strange? Was she as duped as Princess Serenity, falling in love with the green earth and its vitality of life? Her knees were shaking as she followed him, climbing up into the mossy undergrowth beneath the willows as he dropped her hand, and turned.

Jupiter swallowed. That blazing look on his face.

“Kissing is more than the simple meeting of lips,” Nephrite crossed his arms in front of his chest. “It’s how you respond. In here.” And he tapped where his heart beat with one long finger. “That’s what makes it...enjoyable.”

“Sounds simple enough,” she said, because she couldn’t think of anything more clever to say.

“It’s about the anticipation.”

She was riveted as she watched - the tip of his tongue darting out from between his lips to wet them. They stayed parted, his breath sounding ragged all of a sudden as Jupiter realized that she was staring at his mouth - that her own heart was beating like thunder and her hands shook at her side.

Nephrite took mercy on her. Grasping her shoulders, he gently steered her to the side, taking a step forward and forcing her to step back - until she was pressed against the rough bark of a tree, still staring up at him as he peered down at her. The gold flecks were gone, in the shade of the leaves: his eyes were all dark, endless, and promising.

“Princess,” he breathed out - his scent washed warmly over her face, and she smelled mint and lemon. His fingers stayed gripping into her bare arms, though her skin hummed in pleasured response as they stroked towards her elbow.

Jupiter’s eyes fluttered shut, just for a moment - just to feel his muscled body lined up with hers, parallel but not quite touching. Only where their hands were, leaving prints of heat where their skin touched. And then his hands dropped, and she nearly moaned in disappointment.

“What are you waiting for?” Her question wasn’t as brusque and uncaring as she intended - it was feeble and wanting.

“I’m waiting,” Nephrite said, his voice colored with amusement, “for you to strike me with lightning.”

“I’m not going to do that,” Jupiter said crossly.

“No?”

She opened her eyes, scowling up at him for hesitating - but his teeth were flashed in a white grin as his gaze darted upwards.

“The sun is blotted out,” he remarked. “By clouds. Isn’t that your doing, Princess? There was nothing but blue as far as I could see when I escorted the prince this morning.”

“I didn’t realize I was doing it,” she told him. And let out a long, slow breath - releasing the building power in her veins as she sagged against the tree. The pressure slackened, carrying away the threatening storm that responded to her emotions.

“You’re so powerful.”

The whisper caressed her cheek. He’d moved closer. Leaning in. Jupiter stared at him, but his eyes were lowered to watch her mouth. A whine from the bark indicated that he’d planted one hand above her head, as if to keep himself upright. His other hand, however...lifted to her chin, pinching it gently between his thumb and index fingers. Tugging down, he parted her lips as he gave a sultry smile, warm as the dappled sun that played between the leaves now that she’d cast the clouds away.

Even the minty taste of his breath was enough to tie her insides in tangles and snarls. Jupiter reached behind her to hold onto the tree as well, her fingertips cracking the bark as she sagged slightly. Nephrite leaned down further, still staring at her mouth.

“I’ve wanted to kiss you since the moment I saw you,” he murmured. “Wanted to know whether you taste as wild as you look. As you smell.”

“What do you think I’ll taste like?” Jupiter was bold enough to ask, her own voice barely above a whisper.

Nephrite breathed in, finally lifting his gaze to devour her. Such pools of heat, molton brown that swept over her like a rush of rain - “Like a salty sea squall that sends ships to a watery grave,” he said, the pad of his thumb tracing over her bottom lip as she moaned aloud, unable to restrain herself from releasing that one sliver of tension. “Gusts of rain over a field of wheat. Blustering, freezing wind on a dark winter morning. The burning crack of a lightning strike that sizzles in summer heat.”

“I didn’t know you were a poet,” she managed to say in a hoarse voice, but his responding chuckle was so deep, so dark that she almost wished she hadn’t heard it.

It was the kind of knowing laugh that would drag her through black space and endless stars on an eternal journey; desperate, howling -

She couldn’t wait. She didn’t care that it was about the anticipation. Not when her own storm was untangling the entirety of her guts to burn her alive from her core -

Jupiter seized his face between her hands, and dragged him down.

Nephrite gave a muffled bleat, and then a groan as his lips slacked against hers. The warm flesh was such a combination of mint and lemon and man and musk that she never wanted to taste anything else again - and then his arm was around her waist, dragging her closer to his body as he bore down on her.

“Let me in,” he growled, and in surprise her lips parted - his tongue plunged between them, drinking up her gasp of astonishment, and then pleasure as he groaned into her as if he never wanted to taste anything else, either.

She tangled her fingers in his loose hair without meaning to. But the silken waves were a sour reminder that the world existed outside of their mouths. Stars, she could kiss him forever - was this what had seduced Princess Serenity so easily? And Venus - her warrior friend that had softened into a true goddess of love whenever she plucked silver hairs from her clothes with a sappy smile on her face?

“Jupiter,” Nephrite groaned, and she could feel the rise and fall of his chest, of his ragged breathing pressed against her - his thighs like trunks of birch around hers, his hand trailing down…

He grasped her backside with another groan, another sweep of his tongue inside her mouth, and Jupiter might have died right then and there if immortality wasn’t as much part of her as her bones and blood and the wind and rain.

“I like kissing,” she panted into his mouth, swallowing his breathy chuckle as he pulled away. But only enough to lean his forehead against hers, trying to catch his breath. He released her backside, a twinge of regret in the lines of his face. Normally so composed, so calm...Jupiter recognized the signs of wild turbulence inside of him.

“That was a little more than normal kissing,” Nephrite admitted. His nose nuzzled alongside hers, his breath still blooming over her face. “I got...carried away.”

“I don’t mind.”

Her arms still draped over his shoulders, Jupiter hummed to herself, letting the pleasure settle into her skin like a tattoo. Permanent. Neverending. She twirled a lock of his hair around her finger, tugging slightly.

“You taste like ash and light.” His voice was guttural, deeper than ever. And he littered tender, soft kisses around her mouth, utterly delicious and distracting. “I think you did strike me with lightning, princess. You’ve left me a shell of a man.”

“Kiss me again,” Jupiter dared, and saw only a flash of his grin before he obeyed.

This time the tips of his fingers skating along the bare skin above her knee. Tendrils of wicked warmth sunk beneath her skin from his touch, worming their way upward as she gasped, clenching onto the collar of his cape as she trembled like earth at an onslaught of thunder from above.

“Do you like that?” Nephrite positively purred into her ear, sending shivering heat down her damp neck. She was sweating - not just from the oppressive summer heat.

“Yes,” she breathed. “I do.”

Higher his fingers explored, tracing circles on her bare flesh, closer and closer to where the fire inside her continued to burn. The flames licking higher with each pass he made, aching when his hand sank back down.

“Am I a good teacher, then?”

He was smirking. Any other human at any other time would flare up her rage with such an expression, but Nephrite...Jupiter would let him eat her alive and beg for more with her last breath. Her heart was thudding so loud she could hear her blood in her ears. Like she’d been drawn beneath the surface of the lake and drowning was imminent, but she welcomed the release -

“Satisfactory,” Jupiter murmured, and another dark chuckle sank beneath her skin as his fingers traveled higher -

- but still not touching where she ached. A moan slipped past her lips as he completed the circle pattern, back down towards her knee.

“How does it feel, princess?”

Was he doing this because he knew she was struggling to form words? Jupiter wet her lips with her tongue, watching his eyes darken as they drank in the sight of it. The only sign that he was as affected by this as she was. If she was going to drown, she wanted to take him with her.

“Like hot, writhing snakes live in my belly,” she told him softly. Nephrite’s eyes flicked back up to hers, slightly widened as he traced another circle on the inside of her thigh. Not close enough. She gritted her teeth, shifting with her back against the trunk of the tree as she held his gaze.

“Fascinating,” he whispered. Another circle. Nearer yet to her center, her burning core - a bead of sweat trailed down the side of her face. “Do you want me to stop, princess?”

“No,” Jupiter said.

Nephrite’s smile was dangerous in all the right ways. Beckoning her further down a path she so desperately wanted to explore. This time his fingers draped along the inside of her thigh, moving up so agonizingly slow...and then he halted a breath away.

“You smell intoxicating,” he said. “Like a field of flowers drenched in some spell. Have you cast a spell on me?”

“I can’t cast spells.”

“What of your friend? The goddess of love?”

Jupiter twitched in his hand, steadying her stance as she met his melting gaze. “Spells that mimic love are mockeries of it,” she told him. “Actual love - true love - is its own magic that cannot be manipulated.”

Nephrite hummed. An earth-shaking note that shook her to the core, too. His eyes once more dropped to her mouth, as if memorizing the very shape of it...and then he withdrew his hand from her leg, smile widening as she whimpered, and then growled in frustration as he took a step back from her. Jupiter was left alone, pushing herself back into her regular stance with the tree to her back.

“What was that?” she demanded. “Making me feel that way and then - and then not doing anything to ease it?”

“This is part of the fun, princess,” Nephrite said, shoving his hands in his pockets. Perhaps to conceal that his hands were trembling - but nothing got past her warrior gaze. “Drawing out the chase. Leaving each other unsatisfied and wanting more.” He paused, eyes raking up and down her body in a sweep that had her trembling again, fists clenched at her side. “To make sure they come back,” he added quietly.

Thunder rumbled in the distance, but he either didn’t notice or didn’t have the sense to be alarmed. As she stood there, she wondered if the expression hidden beneath the smugness wasn’t something he meant to reveal. A touch of wistful tenderness, of aching sadness.

But for a goddess born into courage, Jupiter couldn’t bear to ask him why he was sad.

#sailor moon #sailor jupiter #nephrite #senshi x shitennou #kino makoto #jupiter x nephrite #drabble requests

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