#jet wolf reads shadowjack watches sailor moon

[keyofjetwolf]

Shadowjack’s AUs

We’ve a series of comics today (courtesy of Lamonta!) featuring each of the Inner Senshi in a world where they’re Sailor Moon and Usagi is whichever Senshi they no longer are. Specifically, I was asked:

I would like to know what you think of all of the predictions (including Usagi) and do you agree with them?

And then there’s a bonus unrelated comic. So let’s get to it!

~~~

Ami Tsukino (comic link)

I can’t say in this one that I’m seeing a lot of the fun play that an AU can provide. Ami’s turn at Sailor Moon reads here like just slotting her in without actually changing anything. She even turns up as a school nurse at Usagi’s cram school! If we’re going to play this game, I’d rather go hard and try shaking things up.

Like, we have Ami in the comic worried about Naru, just like Usagi was. But why? Besides just a general desire to help someone in need of help, Naru means nothing to Ami. Their first interaction that we see has Naru standing off to the side talking about how stuck up Ami is, which Ami DEFINITELY overhears and DEFINITELY resents. So let’s REALLY fuck around with this.

Ami still hasn’t bought what Luna is selling, logic-ing her way out of their interactions. Cats can’t talk, after all, that is fact. So when Luna talks, it’s a hallucination, brought on by overwork and a possible impending illness. Ami refuses to engage Luna and indulge her delusions, putting Luna outside, locking all the doors and windows and triple checking them. She’s in an apartment, there’s not a lot of easy access for Luna anyway. With Luna unable to get to her, Ami never gets the brooch, she never transforms, and she never hears Naru’s cries for help.

The next day at school, the news is spreading so fast that even Ami hears about it: Naru Osaka was found dead. There are enough details that Ami connects it to something Luna said. Doubt creeps into her mind. When Luna tries again to reach Ami, this time she listens. This time, she transforms. This time, she vows, will be the last time.

AND WE GO FROM THERE. All of Ami’s dedication to studying and academic success now go to stopping the Dark Kingdom. She can’t do both, of course, and her grades begin to suffer. Let’s have Sailor Usagi Mercury take a lot of the blame for that, she’s a bad influence, Ami’s mum and her teachers insist. Ami becomes obstinate, defiant. CONFLICT BREWS.

Where it goes from there is beyond the scope of this post, which is already long as balls, so I wrap here. But yeah, short version: don’t agree with Shadowjack on this one. Wasted opportunity there, However, bonus points for this:

~~~

Rei Tsukino (comic link)

Rei and Usagi swapping Tragic Anime Backstories is something I’ve already played with, which I would link here, if I could remember how to fucking find it, oops. I think it was just pasts, though, not Senshi roles, SO. Shadowjack obviously had fun with this one, and as someone who ALSO loves the Rei and Usagi dynamic, it’s difficult for me to argue. They also go much further with this one than the Ami one, with snippets going through R and S. Which is where we butt up against my general problems with an AU, which is that the further you go from the splinter point, the more stuff does -- or should, to my mind -- diverge. Would R unfold the same? Would Neo-Queen SerREInity banish Dimande & Co. to set them up to become the Black Moon Clan to come back to try and take her out in the past? Would she instead imprison them locally so she could keep an eye on them? Execute them as the assassins they were? Hell, would she rule Crystal Tokyo in as similar a fashion as Usagi to have led to them trying to off her in the first place? YOU SEE MY PROBLEMS.

But, again, this is already long as fuck, so I’ll instead stick to what Shadowjack has, which amuses me enough that I’m not prone to argue. I especially liked Rei considering there’s something to learn in Usagi not shrouding every feeling she’s ever had under seventeen layers of protection, and Usagi’s delight in the same. Usagi breaking the pen Rei tossed at her tickled the hell out of me. And, of course, Chibi-Rei taking after her mother.

~~~

Mako Tsukino (comic link)

Once again, we don’t really get into the specifics, and IN FAIRNESS to Shadowjack, as I go through these, it’s clear they aren’t meant to. They’re little one-off gags, and so it’s a bit ingenuous for me to come at it from a perspective it was never going to offer. That said, I really enjoy that we immediately tackle an emotional problem for Mako, that being how she’s really ALREADY doing the whole love and justice thing, and that’s what keeps fucking her up. Forcing Luna to take a stance on school being less important -- which I’m not sure I’ve ever seen, but yeah, she SHOULD. It doesn’t go further than that (again, not its point), but I love this as a starting place for Mako’s superhero conflict. Would the answer be in keeping Mako out of school more than in it? Would Ami be pressed to cheat for her, for the greater good? Would she shift more to private school like TA, where presumably if you can pay you can stay? And how would they get that kind of money? THE POSSIBILITIES INTRIGUE

Also Chibi-Mako just being a preternaturally strong toddler, fantastic, no notes.

~~~

Minako Tsukino (comic link)

The lack of joke is more the joke here, in that nothing for Minako would functionally change. Which I might agree with, except you then have Usagi sliding to the role of Sailor V. NOW I’M STRUGGLING.

Minako as Sailor V who turns out to be the actual princess? That could be particularly interesting if she doesn’t KNOW. If she’s pretending to be the princess this whole time, but is in fact that cosmically important? THE VINDICATION. I would think it’d make her that much more a lone wolf, though. She’s proven again and again she doesn’t need other Senshi. They aren’t more powerful than her, they sure aren’t more EXPERIENCED than her. The only thing they can do is die for her, and hey, how about I just keep being fabulous and no one die at all? Awesome, you catch up on Netflix, I’ll go kill some monsters, later. So what do the other Senshi do, protecting a princess who doesn’t want their protection? Who, perhaps not unreasonably, is sure she doesn’t need it? I’D LIKE TO FIND OUT

Minako Moon without the experience of Sailor V, I’m thinking would be near fucking insufferable. Pretty, popular, and now literally and irrefutably the most important person in the universe? WELL NATURALLY. Forget surviving the Dark Kingdom, she’ll have to survive her bodyguards first.

Usagi as Sailor V though. Man. I think she’d try REAL hard. But if we look at what we know of their respective times, Minako had a measurably rougher solo time of it than Usagi, to the degree that I’m not sure Usagi could make it. Assuming she did, though, how much would that experience change her? Would it dampen her “no one has to be hurt” boner that she develops in later seasons? If Minako turned out to be as insufferable as I’m theorizing, how far would Usagi be able to let that callous superiority go, knowing firsthand how difficult and dangerous this is? How frustrated, how FURIOUS, would she be at Minako’s apparent callous attitude toward their lives?

I’D LOVE TO FIND OUT

~~~

NOW THE OTHER SHIT. First up, this horror show (comic link), which I think actually gave me trauma. SHE’S A MY LITTLE PONY LOOK AT HER BUTTMARK LOOK AT HER FUCKING HOOVES. Also, Usagi has never been more relatable.

And this follow up (comic link), in which Usagi’s unbridled (HA) delight is glorious, but mostly I want -- no, MUST -- focus on this part:

Which I’m still not sure I GET, but am taking to mean that My Little Chibi took a giant centaur-sized dump on Rei’s lawn, so enjoy that, everyone.

And finally, this Rei and Usagi vignette (comic link), about which I am torn torn torn. On the hand, while I passionately friendship my beloved idiots, I don’t AT ALL romantically ship them, and it’s preeeetty clear that Shadowjack does. But also, this brand of love language is MY WORLD. So after sitting with it for a few minutes, I’ve decided to take from it everything significant to me and ignore the rest. Which is every last scrap, save the creator’s intention. It’s sort of a reverse subtext thing. I’m at peace with that.

#jet wolf reads shadowjack watches sailor moon #long post for ts #senshi au #rei loves usagi loves rei

[keyofjetwolf]

Still to come

We have some Shadowjack comics to take a look at, but first I have to go run a couple of errands. I’ll be back for those in about an hour!

#jet wolf reads shadowjack watches sailor moon

[keyofjetwolf]

oh my god is this entire next part “And this is what should have been fucking happening while Mamoru was being an asshole” AND DOES IT FEATURE REI EVISCERATING HIM

I’M GETTING TO SEE THIS AND I DIDN’T EVEN HAVE TO BE THE ONE TO WRITE IT WHAT A BEAUTIFUL GIFT AND IT’S NOT EVEN MY BIRTHDAY I MAY CRY

#jet wolf reads shadowjack watches sailor moon #i have no idea why rei is calling mamoru stupid in spanish #but fully support my new headcanon that sometimes she just gets so fucking pissed off she forgets what language she's supposed to be using

[keyofjetwolf]

AMAZING. Rei boiling it all down to a way she completely understands, and then just “He had a vision, I don’t understand your problem”. That’s not exactly how I wrote it out myself, but it’s SO CLOSE, this is the perfect way to be personally served, my god.

#jet wolf reads shadowjack watches sailor moon #i've never interacted with shadowjack to the best of my knowledge #but it is clear that they are someone with exceptional character opinions

[keyofjetwolf]

Have I ever known a joy such as this?

#jet wolf reads shadowjack watches sailor moon #it is only know that i understand what it truly means to love and be loved

[keyofjetwolf]

Do the Kim Possible

Welcome back, kids! This month, Lamonta has me dipping my toe once again into the world of Kim Possible with Season 2′s episode “Exchange”. Mostly we’ll be focusing on the A-plot and ignoring the B, so prepare yourselves accordingly. Once we’re done with the episode, I then have some more Shadowjack selections to check out. It’s a day packed with ADVENTURE, so let’s get started, courtesy of Lamonta!

#jet wolf watches kim possible #jet wolf reads shadowjack watches sailor moon

[keyofjetwolf]

And that’s our today!

I hope you guys enjoyed this smattering of Sailor Moon But Different Though. If so, don’t forget to thank Lamonta for sponsoring today’s activities. YOU CAN THANK ME TOO IF YOU WANT HERE’S HOW:

Tell me you love me! I’m needy and also not a fucking mindreader.  

Sponsor me at my Patreon! It’s that sponsorship that keeps my puppy fed and allows my job to be entertaining you. Not only does becoming my patron let the content flow here, but you can get some pretty fucking sweet bonus exclusive shit, too!  

Tip me at Ko-Fi! If you really enjoyed yourself today, this is a great way to let me know, and can help steer me toward future content. Let’s face it, I can always use drink money.  

Embrace that capitalism! Nothing says love and appreciation like material goods! I’ve set up some wishlists on Gift Hero if you’d rather not trust me to spend money, which is very fair.  

Send me love/hate mail! I’ve got a shiny PO Box, after all, might as well use it. (Doc and I share it, by the way, so you can send her stuff there too!) If you’ve got a thing you’d like to send my way, I’d love to receive it!   Jet Wolf (and/or Doc Holligay)   PO Box 1621   Billings, MT  59103

Tomorrow, much closer to our usual start times, we’ll have our second PGSM Loveblog of June. REI AND MINA ARE GOING TO START FIGHTING OVER A PUPPY AND IT’LL BE GREAT. Then tomorrow, we’ll have another helping of Orphan Black, sponsored by @skylineofspace​.

Until next time, my little Fashion Disasters!

#sm dub #sm dic dub #sm ep 60 #jet wolf reads shadowjack watches sailor moon #jw schedule

[keyofjetwolf]

I can explain the Spanish Rei thing, but even though I know you've finished Sailor Moon, I'd prefer to not run afoul of your spoiler policy. If you'd like an explanation, g'head and ask.

Thank you for the caution, I appreciate that. And yes, please do, I AM SO CURIOUS.

#jet wolf reads shadowjack watches sailor moon

[keyofjetwolf]

And now here we have the most perfect Minako moment:

Beautiful perfection, no notes.

#jet wolf reads shadowjack watches sailor moon #sometimes little things like this entire page #makes me remember when for three entire seconds i thought crystal would take the opportunity #to fix where things most needed fixing #(if it wasn't going to just be its own thing which was my greatest hope) #THE DISAPPOINTMENT NEVER REALLY STOPS DOES IT #oh well at least we have this

[keyofjetwolf]

Well immediately I’m just irritated I can’t draw because I would LOVE to do something like this myself, but alas.

I’m not sure who Rei is hitting here with a stop sign

but it looks like it could be Helios, and until told otherwise, that’s exactly who it is.

#jet wolf reads shadowjack watches sailor moon #probably after too #i just really in my heartspace need rei hitting helios with a stop sign #WE ALL NEED TO HIT HELIOS WITH A STOP SIGN

[keyofjetwolf]

But wait, there’s more!

With the remainder of our time today, Lamonta has pointed me in a direction I know a few of you have wanted me to visit (if THE GIFTENING is any judge, anyway). I’ll be checking out “Shadowjack Watches Sailor Moon”, specifically season 2, recap 3, episodes 60-71.

I wasn’t given any specific guidelines for how to do this, and it’s not in a format I play with much, so bear with me while I feel out how it’ll work for us.

The links I was given to the comics are below, so you can follow along if you like!

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5

#jet wolf reads shadowjack watches sailor moon

[keyofjetwolf]

All that, AND Rei continuing to give Usagi shit at every opportunity. Delightful. Clearly Shadowjack knows what is truly at the core of a Sailing Moon.

#jet wolf reads shadowjack watches sailor moon #UGH I LOVE REI AND USAGI SO MUCH YOU GUYS I AM AWASH IN A SEA OF EMOTION