four words i closely associate with michiru kaioh/sailor neptune (for docholligay)
TODAY IS LIKE MY BIRTHDAY OR SOME SHIT LOOK AT THIS PRECIOUS GAY HOMOSEXUAL LESBIAN
Tag: harumichi
Okay so imagine. The Outers family has a cat, because Haruka aside that is a house full of cat people. It’s probably something like a long haired persian, because Michiru likes the idea of taking it to the groomer, and Setsuna likes brushing hair/fur (it’s calming and she loves that feeling of companionship). Neither of them really gets to do those things, though, because little Hotaru claims that cat, and Hotaru can be extremely possessive. So more often than not, the cat looks like a rag tag furball (and Hotaru takes him everywhere she can, so he gets pretty dirty sometimes. Setsuna has to bathe him in secret while Hotaru’s at school).
And Hotaru loves her cat so much, she gets a little miffed when Luna or Artemis is around (she is more affable to Diana due to her love of Chibiusa). She ends up getting laughably competitive, like “Sure Mina, your cat can talk, but my cat can roll over!” (She has painstakingly taught him to do so, and truthfully he only does so about half the time, even for treats). And Mina, being Mina, is like “Oh yeah, Artemis can do that too!” But Artemis pretends he can’t, because he has a soft spot for kids. The opposite happens with Usagi and Luna, since Luna seems to be offended by any comparison to another cat. Usagi has to step on her tail to keep her from showing up Hotaru’s cat. She marvels over how amazing he is, and tells Hotaru that he’s probably a strong magical cat too.
And truthfully, Hotaru’s cat is a perfectly ordinary cat. He never saves her from anything, he never exhibits any powers, but he curls up next to Hotaru every night while she sleeps, so she feels justified in calling him the best cat in the world.
Harumichi, 12
12. What they do for their anniversary
Their first few anniversaries, Haruka plans big elaborate
surprises. Sky writing timed perfectly for Michiru to see the moment she steps
out of work, singing candy grams, rose petal walkways; if it can be classified
as a grand gesture, she’s done it. It’s always followed with a trip to Red
Lobster or something similar, because Haruka cannot let go of the idea of that
as a special occasion place, and it’s seafood and Michiru is the sea isn’t that
poetic?
The third or fourth year, though, Michiru suggests a few
months before that she get to surprise Haruka that year. Haruka still sends
flowers, but otherwise agrees. Michiru plans something much more low-key. Or at
least, Michiru’s take on low key, which mostly means less public. She doesn’t
want the grand gestures, she likes the smaller things, but she also is keenly
aware of how much Haruka tries and feels the pressure to match it. So she buys
out her favorite restaurant for the night. It’s just the two of them in
candlelight, with the best service and even better food.
Unfortunately for Michiru, this gives Haruka the idea to
rent out the event room at Red Lobster the next year.
Michiru, 16
NOW THAT THIS HAS SAT HERE FOR NEARLY A WEEK I’M FINALLY GETTING TO IT, SORRY
16) The biggest sacrifice they make for their family
If you asked Michiru about this, she’d probably mention some big concert she missed for an elementary school pageant or having to give up the ability to go on luxurious vacations at the drop of a hat, but it was worth it.
And THAT– it being worth it– is her real sacrifice. Michiru spent a long time convincing herself that emotionally, at least, she didn’t need anyone. Her parents only ever treated her as a show pony they gave financial support to, so that’s all she needed from them. Any nanny she got attached to inevitably got dismissed, so she learned to not to need them either. Michiru prided herself on this independence. Her detachment and disdain for everyone else let her position herself as better than them all in her mind.
Haruka was first to ruin her perfect detachment, but I think when they have kids it’s an even bigger thing. Michiru can hold Haruka up as the single good point of humanity, but kids take even that away. She doesn’t love them because they’re pure beautiful good people, she loves them because they’re her kids, her bratty, messy, imperfect kids. And the illusion that she could ever survive without people, without these people, is utterly shattered.
Haruka, 14
,14) Would they ever want to be a stay at home spouse or parent
A stay at home spouse while there are no kids is a definite no as far as I’d see it, at least so long as she’s . Haruka wouldn’t *have* to work, and I think that’s why she’d want to. She takes immense pride in being able to say she did something or bought something for Michiru with her own money. I can’t see her giving that up.
With kids, though, I think they’d *both* try out stay at home parenting, so long as Michiru continued to have the money to support them. After the first year, give or take a few months, Michiru goes back to work. Haruka, though, loves parenting so so much that she has zero desire to do anything but care for their kids as much as possible.
Michiru has to draw a line, when the youngest starts school, Haruka has to go back to work, or at least take back up her more time-consuming hobbies. (She can see the empty-nest fall out miles away). Haruka starts suggesting they have another kid as the time draws near, but Michiru’s firm on no more, as she knows in four years thy’d go through this all again.
So Haruka does go back to work, and she’s still an emotional wreck over not being 100% parent 100% of the time, her babies are in school and are starting to not need her, but it helps keep her going. And later, when the teenage years start and her babies are starting to not WANT her, work turns into her saving grace (though only Mina and Michiru and others would see it that way, Haruka would never think of it).
Haruka, 10
10) How they deal with pain
I think there are certain types of physical pain Haruka handles very well. Cuts and bruises don’t really bother her. She’d probably swear, say, if she drops a wrench on her foot, but she’s not going to make a big deal out of it. It’s the one way she lives up to the tough, cool front she’d like to think she exudes.
Anything to do with illness, though, stomach ache, sinus pain, anything like that, and Haruka’s the… I don’t want to say whiniest, as that sounds to negative, but something along those lines.
She can’t deal with internal pain at all. She all but demands pampering, even for minor things. And the worst part is, it’s only when she’s started to feel better that she can enjoy the attention at all. People have definitely accused her of milking it (which to be fair, she has occasionally done) but for the most part, she actually just feels that bad.
Michiru, 1
1) Something this character is truly proud of.
I think it would be a long time before Michiru gets to a place where she can feel completely, unambiguously proud of anything she’s done. As a child she realized that her parents valued her work more than they valued her as a person, so any pride she might have in art or music got squashed out of her pretty quickly. And I think senshi work is very tied up in guilt and self-loathing for her, so she can’t feel pride in that.
But one day, when she and Haruka have been married a little while and have started having kids, she looks at her family and realizes that there is one thing she’s proud to be a part of. And after that, she realizes she’s proud of herself for being happy, because that never felt like somewhere her life could go, and here she is.
SittingOverHereDreaming 