Tag: rei hino

~ sittingoverheredreaming ~ Leave a comment

It would have been better if I’d written this yesterday, but eh. Here’s something inspired by Rei’s birthday, 800-ish words, and a different angle than I usually write from.

The cake had come out pretty good this year, Usagi had to
admit. She was no Mako, but the recipe was Mako’s and Usagi was getting much
better at following the finer details. Sure, the top was a little uneven, and
the sides had stuck to the pan, but the color was good and the taste was
better, and compared to last year, Rei would have to say Usagi had done good.
Or she would think it, maybe, and say something else. “Stupid Usagi, why don’t
you just buy a cake from the supermarket?”

Usagi scowled at the Rei in her mind as she got out the
frosting. “I can’t put love in a cake I don’t make, Rei-chan.” And they didn’t
make it right, anyway. Not for Rei. She liked simple spice cake with the
tiniest bit of frosting. Frosting was at least half the fun of a cake, but if
Rei wanted only a quarter of the fun, Usagi would let her on her birthday. On
Rei’s special day, Rei got what she wanted! Mostly, at least. Usagi still stuck
a big candle in the center of the cake. “I’m too old for candles!” Usagi could
hear her huff. “Besides, it gets wax all over the cake.”

They would bicker, and Usagi suspected that is what made Rei
happiest. Sometimes, she had to give her fuel for it. She had to let Rei yell
and stomp so that at the end of the day, they could have whatever moment of
tenderness that made its way through Rei’s façade. It made Usagi laugh at how
easy it could be. For all Rei’s bluster, for all she pushed and pulled and put
up walls, her warm little heart was as easy to unlock as Usagi’s cell phone.
Easier, even, because Ami had said Usagi should change every code and password
every few months, so Usagi put in the wrong numbers half the time.

The cake looked as good as it ever would, and so Usagi
slipped on her shoes and headed out.

The weather was better than it often was on Rei’s birthday.
Cloudy, but dry. It seemed to rain so often on her birthday, and Rei didn’t
much like the rain. Mina claimed it dampened her fuse and made her sputter. Rei
had still managed to explode then, but Usagi had seen some truth in it. Dry
days were better for Rei. Dry days were better for Usagi, too, and bright days
were best. A few clouds couldn’t get her down, though, not on Rei’s birthday.

As she got close, she saw Rei’s grandfather with his
caretaker. Usagi smiled to see him out.
He didn’t make it sometimes, as old as he was. “Hello, grandpa!” She
called.

“Oh, Usagi!” He beamed up at her. “Coming to spoil Rei?”

“I am!” She held out her cake for him to see. “I did a lot
better this year.”

“You do good every year.” He patted her arm. “Someday you’re
going to get married up, and Rei will miss your treats.”

“I don’t think so, Grandpa.”

“Oh, a pretty girl like you? If I were just a little younger,
I’d marry you myself.” He laughed, and Usagi laughed with him.

“I’ll always be here for Rei, even if I get married.”

He smiled more somberly now. “You’re a good girl,
Usagi-chan.”

“Try telling Rei that.”

“She knows.” He gave her one more arm pat, and then let his
caretaker lead him away. Usagi smiled after him for a long moment before
turning to head in.

“Sorry I’m late, everyone. You know your Usagi, never on time.”

She sat down and displayed her cake.

“It’s better this year, isn’t it? Soon, mine will be as good
as Mako’s!”

It wouldn’t, not ever, but Usagi would try. She lit the
candle. Really, even if Rei was worried about the wax, she had to appreciate
the flame harkening another year. It was probably symbolic. It flickered in the
wind in its own little birthday dance.

Usagi sat and watched the wax drip. It ran down in a little
red line, pooling on top of her carefully applied frosting. Rei would be
furious. Mako would be offended too, ruining her wonderful cake. Mina would
probably eat it, just to annoy the both of them, and—

Usagi shook her head. “We’re still together, aren’t we? Just
because I can’t hear your laughter, doesn’t mean you’re not here.” She breathed
in the calm, the way she’d been taught. “I’m happy I get to be with you on days
like this.”

The candlelight glinted on Rei’s picture frame. It gave her
eyes the illusion of life, and that made Usagi smile. She reached out to it,
and for a moment she could almost feel the warmth of Rei’s hand in hers. It was
enough. It was why she came.

The candle was burnt low now, the wax over taking the
frosting completely. Usagi blew it out and watched the smoke waft over the
grave.

“Happy birthday, Rei-chan.”

~ sittingoverheredreaming ~ Leave a comment

Okay I was a lot nicer towards Crystal in my first post but tumblr eating that instead of posting it has given my all the gumpy Crystal!Rei lacks, so whoops.

This moment is meaningless for Crystal!Rei. It’s not an unusual statement, and Usagi being different from Serentiy (or even the ideal of Serenity) hasn’t really come through.

SO I PROPOSE WE TAKE THIS MOMENT AND PUT IT IN ANOTHER CANON. ANY CANON. Even the manga, as much as Crystal is supposed to be faithful to it, would make this moment 1000x more meaningful.

Rei always has moments like this, where she admits that she loves Usagi the way she is (“We always fought, but it was fun,” anyone?). But for those to work, Rei and Usagi need their antagonism. We have senshi who Usagi clicks with right away (the rest of the inners, really, but most especially Mako. Mako and Usagi is the least complicated relationship, and that works). Usagi and Rei take time. Rei wants Usagi to be better and Usagi wants Rei to just love her already, and that causes friction. But when push comes to shove, Usagi, for all her crying and almost losing fights and reading manga instead of studying, is more than good enough for Rei, and for all of Rei’s gruffness and critical comments, Usagi knows Rei loves her. 

So let’s pretend this is Rei, manga!Rei or 90’s!Rei or myu!Rei or PGSM!Rei, who’s kept trying to push Usagi to be stronger, to be a better student and and better fighter and a better everything, saying no, you’re not the ideal princess. You’re you and you’re better than any princess. You don’t need to change at all. 

~ sittingoverheredreaming ~ Leave a comment

Okay but (sort of) on the subject of senshi body type interpretations.

Chubby Rei

Chubby Rei fighting with Chubbier Usagi. Chubby Rei being quite nearly a literal ball of frustration.

Chubby Rei strong-arming boxy, compact Ami early in their relationship into doing shit like go on the cruise with her. And then later becoming little Ami’s ultimate cuddle friend (Usagi does not know how to be quiet, and Ami likes to read while cuddling. Though eventually Rei will have to share this distinction with Mako).

Chubby Rei getting in an argument with Buff Mako one day and Mako just picking her up to prove a point. “You’re not supposed to be able to do that!” “But I did.” “I am big and strong and right!” “I’m bigger and stronger and righter.”

Chubby Rei getting tackled by curvy-but-athletic Minako. Chubby Rei letting her latch onto her back for all of about ten seconds before falling backwards. “Rei-chan you’re squishing me!” “Don’t jump on me in public.” “You only want me to jump you at home? Okay.” “Damn it, Minako.”

Chubby Rei using her size as a strength. She is unmovable dammit (shut up Mako.) Chubby Rei is a wall protecting her princess.

Chubby Rei being the crush of every girl at T.A. Academy. Chubby Rei the cool, mysterious shrine beauty. 

*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧ CHUBBY REI *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

~ sittingoverheredreaming ~ Leave a comment

I LOVE that they’re playing up how much Rei loves kids. I can’t remember if that’s in the manga, but it was definitely in PGSM. 

I see Rei as someone who doesn’t really want kids of her own, but she’s great with kids because she identifies with them (especially kids with family problems).

I think it’s cool, too, how Crystal’s choosing to show the break between people’s perceptions of who the senshi are and who they really are. Ami seems aloof and cold, but throw a cat at her and her exterior falls away. Rei can be intense and a little creepy, but she loves kids.

~ sittingoverheredreaming ~ Leave a comment

Probably my favorite thing about Crystal so far is how it’s making the girls so ready for Usagi and the princess, and how it balances those two.

First there’s the flashback, and how perfect is it that even though Ami has to touch Usagi for it, Rei just has to look? 

But interestingly enough, that’s where I see the princess-senshi connection ending for Rei this episode. The rest of what happens isn’t about Mars and Serenity, it’s entirely Rei and Usagi (whereas last episode I do think Mercury’s princess protection instincts played a role).

Usagi’s second encounter with Rei means the world. Usagi knows about Rei’s powers; she had them used against her on their first meeting. But she believes Rei is good. She doesn’t care about Rei’s powers, either to condemn her or demand she uses them. She just barges in and cares about Rei. That touches Rei, she’s able to open up for a second, but the thing is Rei is not entirely convinced her powers are good. She never asked for her abilities; she does her best to use them for good, but part of her believes that she might be the monster people accuse her of being. So she sends Usagi away. 

But she does care about this strange girl who for some reason care about her, so when she senses she’s in trouble, she runs after her. Maybe her powers can be good, maybe they’re finally giving her what she needs.

And then she recognizes Usagi is Sailor Moon. In the manga she seems to recognize Usagi’s voice, but Crystal takes it further. Usagi has superpowers. Usagi is already established as good in Rei’s mind. She’s sweet, she stood up for Rei, she tried to help. If this girl, this amazing, earnest, good person can have powers, maybe powers aren’t bad.  Maybe Rei isn’t bad. Maybe her powers can help this girl like this girl tried to help Rei.

And that’s what makes Mars awaken. Usagi helps Rei accept that part of herself. Last episode, Ami’s desire to protect Usagi calls to Mercury’s desire to protect Serenity and her powers awaken. It’s different for Rei. She attacks Jaedite physically and then consciously calls for the power she knows she has, but she has more than she knows. 

(Her wording when her powers surface I think *does* bring up Mars and Serenity, but that’s a different post.)

~ sittingoverheredreaming ~ Leave a comment

So I just realized how much this must parallel what Rei experienced with her mom. And this is right on the heels of those memories being brought to the surface again with everything that happened with her father.
God, Rei’s terrified right now. The illness might not be the same, but it’s the same to her. Hospital bed. Limited time. The desperate hope that medicine and doctors will work. Rei’s done this before.
Rei needs Minako to beat this so badly. She can’t do this again if it ends the same way.

~ sittingoverheredreaming ~ Leave a comment

This is a continuation from this post, because while rewatching PGSM I’m finding a lot more follow-up than I remembered. It’s small moments, but they do a lot.

My first two caps are from Act 28, because I think a) this moment is adorable, and b) it’s a really interesting contrast to Act 8. Rei’s kept Venus’s identity to herself for who knows how long, and Makoto is understandably a little miffed because she loves Aino Minako. But she’s not actually mad. She understands Rei’s reasoning immediately and her glare borders on playful. There’s a huge difference between this and the look on her face in Act 8 when she calls Rei cold. They’ve come a long way from that. There’s an implicit “You probably did the right thing.” And then Rei apologizes anyway. She recognizes, and cares, that even if she’s right, Makoto’s disappointment matters. It’s not a very deep apology, but it’s such a big step from Rei’s usual stubbornness and Makoto sees that. Her smile about it is almost identical to her smile about getting to work alongside Aino Minako. That’s how much she cares about Rei now.

The last two caps are from Act 31, aka the act where Makoto and Motoki try to go on a date. Makoto has a lot of complicated feelings on whether she should go, and Rei’s response in the first cap is similarly layered. On the surface, it’s simply “Don’t worry about getting grief from me about it,” which in itself is important. Rei’s letting her know that she accepts whatever decision Makoto makes. But behind that are even bigger things. Rei not saying anything means that she thinks it’s okay if Makoto wants to date boys. Makoto believes herself unsuited for it, so Rei being okay with it is important, just like I think Rei’s reaction to the cute things Makoto had in her purse in Act 8 is important. And then there’s the senshi aspect, which at this point I don’t think Makoto picks up on or takes to heart. Usagi gets frustration from the others for focusing on her crushes more than being a soldier. By saying she won’t say anything about Makoto dating, Rei’s also saying she won’t say those sort of things. Rei implicitly has faith that Makoto won’t be any less of a soldier if she falls in love, which speaks volumes of her belief in and respect for Makoto.

Her line after they find out Makoto tried to leave her date also shows just how much Rei understands Makoto. An earlier Rei probably would have taken Makoto wanting to leave at face value; she wanted to leave because she doesn’t like Motoki, end of story. But she doesn’t. Rei knows that Makoto probably would like Motoki if she let herself. Even more, Rei knows that Motoki himself has nothing to do with Makoto wanting to leave. Rei’s lost people; she knows what it is to put up walls to keep that pain from ever happening again. Makoto’s defenses are different than Rei’s, but she recognizes them. By the end of the episode, it’s clear that Rei sees that Makoto is hurting herself with this, but she doesn’t know how to help.
I’m really excited to see what the rest of the show does with this.

~ sittingoverheredreaming ~ Leave a comment

Sailor Moon 30 Day Challenge
Best Friendship

At first I had a hard time making a choice for this day. But the moment I started thinking about PGSM, I knew my decision. It might be an odd one, since it’s mostly just shown in one episode. But god, this episode.
I love Makoto and Rei because they’re almost not friends. If they met in some other random circumstance and were left alone, they wouldn’t get past the vague acquaintance stage. But they have this thing, this huge, impossible to ignore, being a soldier thing, that links them and opens the door for them to connect. And then they still don’t. Mako has these friends now and she loves them so much that she’ll do anything and she doesn’t understand why Rei won’t. And Rei (though she wouldn’t admit it) ALSO has these friends and loves them, but she wants them to improve and doesn’t understand why Mako is fine with letting them stagnate.
Until it’s her.
The moment Rei realizes Mako thought she was being kidnapped and chased the car all the way to the hotel, the moment Mako stands up to Rei’s father’s associates for her, that’s the moment they click. Rei believes what she says about getting better alone, she believes in independence and not needing anyone, but a little secret part of her wants someone to be there for her so badly. And Makoto is there. She’s there forcing people out of the room and making escape plans and actually listening to Rei and it’s more than Rei’s had in a long time.
But it’s not one-sided. In PGSM Mako has so much trouble with her feminine side, and Rei breaks that down a little. Rei is actually someone who doesn’t like girly things and boys, but she makes it so clear that it’s okay Mako does like those things. She teases her, but the message isn’t, “It’s funny boyish Mako-chan likes such cute things.” It’s, “It’s funny you’re so embarrassed about liking such cute things.”
There’s just so much acceptance between them. Rei accepts who Makoto really is, Makoto accepts that Rei can’t love her father. They accept that they’ve had similar losses but they happened very differently and had different effects. And they accept that no matter what they say, they’ll always end up helping Usagi as much as they can.
Even though it wasn’t touched on much for the rest of the show, and even though it wasn’t really dealt with in the other canons at all, there’s enough just in this one episode for me to love it forever.