Headcannon: Makoto is amazingly light on her feet. It’s part of what makes things like dancing come so easily to her. 

When Minako first notices, she assumes it’s a habit based in sports or fighting tactics. That’s why she’s light footed, after all.

But really, it’s something Makoto learned to try and negate her size. She’s always been too tall for her age, “too big,” so she learned to sound small, especially after her parents died and she was shuffled among guardians who didn’t really want her. No stomping, no shouting, no big laughter. She learned to step so quietly that they had to see her to know she was there.

Okay, I want everyone to take a moment to think about Mako and Ami as science class partners.

Now, Mako isn’t very school-smart most of the time, and I’d imagine most of the math and physics stuff goes right over her head. But chemistry? That’s a whole lot like cooking. And the plant side of biology clicks with her instantly.

Ami is mostly the reverse, math is second nature to her, and wanting to be a doctor means she’s had an ongoing interest in animal biology. She’s good at Mako’s strong points, too (and likely academically far better), but Mako brings something extra she can’t get from textbooks. They balance each other out perfectly.

This scene hurts so much.

I’m definitely still interpreting it as she slept with him (though I absolutely support people who see it differently; teach me your ways because that’d hurt so much less).

The thing here is, Mako’s not nervous. She’s doing her best to appear casual, but she’s happy. She believes senpai loves her; she has no reason in the world to think he’ll say no. She probably thinks they’re dating. They never said they were, but he was so nice and they did things and how could they not be together?

But now he has a girlfriend.

Didn’t he tell her?

No, he forgot her. He used her and forgot her and found a real girlfriend. 

Was I fooled? Makoto asks after this flashback. She believed he loved her so much. I think she still believed he loved her even after this. He just fell out of love or she did something wrong or he just fell more in love with the other girl. Of course he loved her. Makoto has to believe that.

And the realization that maybe he didn’t crushes her. If they could do those things without love, what even is love? And if he didn’t love her, then has anyone loved her since her parents’ death? Maybe no one ever will. Maybe no one will ever see past her rough exterior.

But that’s not true either. Usagi is there, Usagi has seen how lovely Makoto is, Usagi will love Makoto with all her heart, and the others will too. And that’s all Makoto needs. Just a little love, a little support, someone to tell her, for the first time in years, that she’s wonderful.

What I really, really love about this is that it’s Makoto reaching out. With Ami and Rei, it’s Usagi building the connection all the way. In Crystal, more than the other versions, they’re ready for that connections, but within their episodes Usagi has to come to them, she has to be the one inviting them out or visiting them.

But once Usagi shows herself to be genuine, Makoto reaches back. It’s a really simple question, but it’s also an open invitation for Usagi to keep spending time with her. It’s not just that Makoto wants friends, because Rei and especially Ami do to, it’s that Makoto knows how to make friends. Makoto has these social skills. Once she gets to talking to someone, she knows how to handle it.

The problem is getting people to talk to her. Girls are afraid of her because of her reputation. Boys vary more, I think, but are mostly the same. That’s why she’s so happy Usagi notices these other aspects of her. Mako definitely plays up her feminine side to try and combat her appearance and reputation (though she also just likes feminine things, too) and Usagi is possibly the first person to notice.

Please enjoy (and by enjoy I mean cry over) the image of young Makoto digging through her parent’s stuff in the wake of their deaths because she can’t take it all with her (as I firmly believe she did have a guardian (or several different guardians) for the first few years, and she’d have limited space in their house), and finding the lunchbox that was her mother’s. Imagine little Makoto clinging to it, taking it everywhere while trying to keep it in pristine condition. Imagine little Makoto using what little allowance she gets from her guardians to buy paint to keep retouching where ever it gets scuffed. Imagine little Mako throwing her first punch when some bully decides to steal her lunch box and tries to smash it. Imagine Mako getting kicked out of her first school for that punch, and imagine her getting shuffled to a new guardian because whatever relative she’s living with doesn’t want to handle a delinquent like her.

THIS IS THE CUTEST.
That’s really all I have to say. I love that Usagi recognizes it’s not entirely polite to take food from someone she just met (especially since she practically invited Mako to offer it), but she wants it’s so bad that she can’t refuse. And Makoto just isn’t sure how to take it. She hasn’t been approached by a girl in so long, she’s actually a little suspicious right now (oh Mako, you’re suspicious because you heard Umino tell her about you, but you’re not suspicious when an older boy on a dark street says he loves you out of nowhere. Darling, no.). But Usagi is just so genuine, and that overrides everything.