[After this, derived from anime/manga with changes according to what happened earlier.]
The Death Busters still came, drawn by the rich planet Earth they wanted to make their own. The shitennou, Mercury, and the Outer Senshi have dirtied themselves with the deaths of daimon victims unable to be separated from the monsters taking over their bodies (without Sailor Moon's purifying powers). The Goddess of Death, Saturn, was destroyed by Uranus before she could awaken. There was no one to ask the Outer Senshi to spare her, here. The remaining inner senshi surrendered with their mission in shambles, though Venus fought to the end before succumbing to her illness exacerbated by the stress of battle.
Princess Snow Kaguya was next, and wanted to freeze the entire planet, with her main target being Ami's mother as the first person to hold a fragment of her comet in their hand, rather than the astronomer Kakeru. Mizuno Saeko developed heart troubles as a result of the enemy's interest, leading to Ami's determination to study cardiac medicine specifically. Princess Snow Kaguya's snow dancers were hunted down, and Snow Kaguya herself, made of ice, was weakened by the combined efforts of Mercury and the shitennou and then unmade. In the process, Ami's mother also learned of and accepted Ami's identity as Mercury. Earth was half frozen, leading to worries over its viability with so much damage left behind. The men strong enough to hold it together and defend it, became its leaders for what they claim will become a New Golden Era.
Dead Moon, who wanted to cover the world in nightmares and rule it to accomplish their grudge against the tiny remanant of the ancient Moon Kingdom, came next. Nehellenia targeted Jadeite, who had been pliant to Beryl's advances before her, but was killed for her pains when he came back to himself. The Dead Moon was not wholly repulsed, however, until the combined wish of humans on Earth unsealed the power of the golden crystal, Endymion's crystal produced by the gathering of the shitennou's stones once Endymion was dead. This unleashed a healing force enough to preserve Earth, the one sign that this violent way may not be hopeless. Rebuilding continued; by their dogged efforts to prevent destruction, this world has not allowed the way to be cleared for rebirth and renewal.
Since that peace, Ami has been able to finish pursuing her studies as she hoped - though at Tokyo University rather than abroad. She has still become a doctor at age nineteen, but at Meiwa University Hospital like her mother. People may whisper about nepotism when wondering how the famous doctor's daughter got the position so young, but Ami holds her head high this time and, much as she had in the Dark Kingdom, goes about proving herself by her results. Peaceful life no longer entirely suits her, and although she's carried out one or two diplomatic efforts, she's also been known to involve herself in battles in other worlds if she feels they're justified.
Mizuno Ami was a quiet and reserved bookworm, a compassionate girl who was nonetheless lonely. She treated others with fairness and was so self-effacing that she was once accused of using it to make others look bad by comparison to her; her attempt to avoid offending went far enough to offend. She was close to her mother and a dutiful daughter.
However, underneath this, Ami's insecurities led her to passionate jealousy of the other friends of those she wanted to be friends with, and even to petty and vindictive grudges that let her want them hurt. She had trouble with faith or believing that things would work themselves out, and even more trouble believing in the friendships she'd finally made. She felt horribly about this darker, nastier part of herself which she had recognized even early on as she fretted about whether she may have simply been 'bad inside'.
Then it became her driving force. To become Dark Mercury, she was kidnapped and imbued with dark energy that made all the resentments come out and gave her the spark to go after the things she wanted. She displayed an independent spirit, a brash confidence, and a decided pervading sense of glee about the twisted things she was now free to do. She made friends by brainwashing her school class, made them shut out Usagi so she'd see what it had felt like to be the one person left alone, and ruthlessly attacked the former friends she thought had neglected her. At the same time, she retained a shred of compassion towards her new associates, but only a shred, usually communicated through awkward gestures.
Dark Mercury is still prone to making her decisions emotionally rather than rationally, just as Ami's strong mind had been overcome by her emotional doubts. She has become less combative, but still antagonistic, to the sailor senshi when she meets their alternates. She becomes jealous of their happiness if they're from worlds with happier fates, and firmly believes they intentionally abandoned her and only ever wanted her - at most - as a senshi who would obey and protect the princess and not as herself. Learning about the past has let her believe it was kept from them intentionally for the same reason.
She has more or less made her peace with the shitennou: she is still capable of defying Kunzite but typically no longer does so only to assert her indepdendence, and her stunted compassion to Nephrite has grown into something of a friendship, as has her connection to Jadeite who was the kinder and softer of the shitennou anyway. At this point, they are certainly her comrades after fighting together through this many battles, but she still has issues relying on them and still shies away from outright calling them friends; friendship didn't exactly end well for her before.
She is fed up with alternates. She often dislikes her own, since dark alternates are typically motivated only by the petty reasons while purer alternates refuse to give up supporting Usagi or have even gone back to supporting her. (However, she typically feels at least a little bond of similarity despite herself.) More, she cannot put her own past to rest when reminders are constantly right there in the form of alternates of the people she's seen defeated.
Although still arrogant about her own powers and existence, she no longer looks down on humans in general, thanks to the experience fighting the Dead Moon. Many of her offhanded cruel comments and much of her flippant attitude are acts at this point, that keep her from having to seriously consider her actions now that she's gone this far. She has come to believe she is irredeemable; and she isn't sure she wants to be redeemed. She has partly come to see her path as simply her own way of preserving the planet, and despite still worrying about balancing the roles of doctor and soldier, she has found her own reasons for becoming a doctor beyond her mother's expectations: Part of her does not want to be at a loss when the people close to her at hurt.
Ami's clinginess has not left her. She has been known to be glad when friends she makes become alienated from their other friends and thus more reliant on her (and preferably, her alone). She has also been known to plan absolutely horrible ways to get back at any perceived 'betrayal' of her feelings by these friends, even while still equally desiring the relationship. As usual, it's simply an inversion of which is stronger: She used to be kind and friendly while equally resenting popularity and those who had other friends. She is even more uncomfortable than in canon with most people touching her, however.
* Intelligence: Ami is told by her cram school teacher during junior high that she could probably handle college-level work. She is consistently ranked first in the school for her grades, and does in fact start her medical school studies abroad during what should have been her high school years instead, letting her become (it is rumored) the youngest doctor ever. However, while her mind is very strong and capable of amazing feats of mind over matter in bearing up under enemy attacks, her emotional state tends to be much weaker.
* Senshi Power: Throughout the series, several things are explained as manifestations of the 'senshi power'. The girls are endowed with the knowledge of combat they had in the past innately once they become senshi, as seen when they may be clumsy at fighting until that moment but quite capable afterward. They are resistant (not to say wholly immune) to brainwashing; no basic brainwashing has worked on them but much stronger brainwashing has (such as for Mercury herself). The same holds true for the enemy creatures, youma, putting people to sleep; senshi are often not affected. Typically, senshi are expected to be able to sense the presence of danger or the enemy; Venus is utterly shocked when Usagi fails to notice an enemy presence at one point.
* Powers: As opposed to general 'senshi power', Mercury has certain specific abilities and attacks. She is able to control and manipulate water in any state or form, hear it, and even commune with it or track enemy's movements through it when they're too fast for her eyes to keep up. She also has a sword she made from an icicle and endowed with her power to become a channel for blasts from her own dark energy. [In her AU, she has gained the sentient Mercury Harp and progressed to learn a version of her anime/manga final season attack with it, which has become 'Dark Rhapsody'. She has also learned some spells in Econtra that let her do basic things the Dark Kingdom members can typically do such as basic teleporting, closing doors, levitating objects, etc.]
* Teletia-S: This device is a magical communicator that looks like a cell phone. It is capable of disguising the girls as whatever they take pictures of, and Ami even uses hers to literally take Rei's shape at one point, to the point a man who had met with Rei purposely to ask for her help did not recognize the difference.
* Sailor Star Tambo: This device, which looks like a tamborine, is given to each of the girls about midway through the season. They report they feel stronger once they have it, and the item itself is able to produce blasts of energy at the opponent. They also call on the tambos to produce their ultimate weapons. [In her AU, Mercury has used hers as a power source for Mercury's computer from anime/manga, which she received the plans to build from one of her alternates in another world. This is an effective hand-held computer and visor that seem somewhat magical; at one point, the cursor leaves the screen.]
Ami stops the second she hears Osaka Naru's familiar voice, an intrusive and grating sound in this otherwise pleasant outing to the park. She doesn't turn around. She will not show her face if they're going to talk about this.
"Why don't you cry?" It's more insistent the second time; protective, even. It makes Ami want to retch. She takes another second to force herself to calm, and finally turns to face Osaka-san. The face that greets her is stubborn. “You were Usagi-chan’s friend, but I haven‘t seen you cry once. You didn‘t even go to her funeral.”
The classmates have long been released from the spells that made them leave Usagi alone. Osaka Naru has long been an irritating reminder.
“I’m not her classmate anymore,” Ami says as carelessly as she can manage, as if that was all she‘d ever known that girl as; the effort it costs her is betrayed only by the way one of her hands clasps the other tightly. She’d transferred schools as soon as there was no more advantage to be had in staying at Juuban. Mugen Gakuen had been a top-rate academy - and suspected base of the Death Busters. The timing had simply been… a convenient coincidence. “Why should I go?”
Naru recoils as though stung. Ami takes advantage of her momentary shock to leave, but before she goes many steps, she feels a hand on her shoulder and Naru calls out sharply. “Hey!”
Ami’s eyes narrow. She has always hated being touched. In a single, fluid gesture, the hand is removed without any particular concern for whether she hurts it. Naru cradles it to her chest and stares at her in surprise. This time, Ami leaves unhindered. Her lips curve in a faint smirk; she always wanted an excuse to do that.
Voice sample:
I like going to work at the hospital. I walk through clean, white hallways, always with someone else. The nurses and staff call out their morning greetings: 'Doctor Mizuno'. I grew up wanting to be called that. I tidy my desk and get ready for the day.
Each patient is a battle. I'll defeat their sickness and cut out the part that's making them weak. A scalpel is just a different kind of sword. I finish triumphantly. The people who thought I couldn't do it are silent. It suits them. I smile and accept the thanks of my patients instead, and turn away from the detractors. I don't need the people who want to hold me down.
In the hallway, they ask me for advice, for consultations, for an opinion. Of course my smile grows bigger. They move with me as I walk briskly past.
Back in my office, after a long and difficult day of many challenges, I think about dozing over my desk; but my mother is waiting and we'll go home together. I wonder if becoming a doctor here, at this hospital, was to be closer to her. It's so mindlessly frustrating. Even though I'm like this, I can still love and want to be loved.
The Death Busters still came, drawn by the rich planet Earth they wanted to make their own. The shitennou, Mercury, and the Outer Senshi have dirtied themselves with the deaths of daimon victims unable to be separated from the monsters taking over their bodies (without Sailor Moon's purifying powers). The Goddess of Death, Saturn, was destroyed by Uranus before she could awaken. There was no one to ask the Outer Senshi to spare her, here. The remaining inner senshi surrendered with their mission in shambles, though Venus fought to the end before succumbing to her illness exacerbated by the stress of battle.
Princess Snow Kaguya was next, and wanted to freeze the entire planet, with her main target being Ami's mother as the first person to hold a fragment of her comet in their hand, rather than the astronomer Kakeru. Mizuno Saeko developed heart troubles as a result of the enemy's interest, leading to Ami's determination to study cardiac medicine specifically. Princess Snow Kaguya's snow dancers were hunted down, and Snow Kaguya herself, made of ice, was weakened by the combined efforts of Mercury and the shitennou and then unmade. In the process, Ami's mother also learned of and accepted Ami's identity as Mercury. Earth was half frozen, leading to worries over its viability with so much damage left behind. The men strong enough to hold it together and defend it, became its leaders for what they claim will become a New Golden Era.
Dead Moon, who wanted to cover the world in nightmares and rule it to accomplish their grudge against the tiny remanant of the ancient Moon Kingdom, came next. Nehellenia targeted Jadeite, who had been pliant to Beryl's advances before her, but was killed for her pains when he came back to himself. The Dead Moon was not wholly repulsed, however, until the combined wish of humans on Earth unsealed the power of the golden crystal, Endymion's crystal produced by the gathering of the shitennou's stones once Endymion was dead. This unleashed a healing force enough to preserve Earth, the one sign that this violent way may not be hopeless. Rebuilding continued; by their dogged efforts to prevent destruction, this world has not allowed the way to be cleared for rebirth and renewal.
Since that peace, Ami has been able to finish pursuing her studies as she hoped - though at Tokyo University rather than abroad. She has still become a doctor at age nineteen, but at Meiwa University Hospital like her mother. People may whisper about nepotism when wondering how the famous doctor's daughter got the position so young, but Ami holds her head high this time and, much as she had in the Dark Kingdom, goes about proving herself by her results. Peaceful life no longer entirely suits her, and although she's carried out one or two diplomatic efforts, she's also been known to involve herself in battles in other worlds if she feels they're justified.
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Mizuno Ami was a quiet and reserved bookworm, a compassionate girl who was nonetheless lonely. She treated others with fairness and was so self-effacing that she was once accused of using it to make others look bad by comparison to her; her attempt to avoid offending went far enough to offend. She was close to her mother and a dutiful daughter.
However, underneath this, Ami's insecurities led her to passionate jealousy of the other friends of those she wanted to be friends with, and even to petty and vindictive grudges that let her want them hurt. She had trouble with faith or believing that things would work themselves out, and even more trouble believing in the friendships she'd finally made. She felt horribly about this darker, nastier part of herself which she had recognized even early on as she fretted about whether she may have simply been 'bad inside'.
Then it became her driving force. To become Dark Mercury, she was kidnapped and imbued with dark energy that made all the resentments come out and gave her the spark to go after the things she wanted. She displayed an independent spirit, a brash confidence, and a decided pervading sense of glee about the twisted things she was now free to do. She made friends by brainwashing her school class, made them shut out Usagi so she'd see what it had felt like to be the one person left alone, and ruthlessly attacked the former friends she thought had neglected her. At the same time, she retained a shred of compassion towards her new associates, but only a shred, usually communicated through awkward gestures.
Reply
Dark Mercury is still prone to making her decisions emotionally rather than rationally, just as Ami's strong mind had been overcome by her emotional doubts. She has become less combative, but still antagonistic, to the sailor senshi when she meets their alternates. She becomes jealous of their happiness if they're from worlds with happier fates, and firmly believes they intentionally abandoned her and only ever wanted her - at most - as a senshi who would obey and protect the princess and not as herself. Learning about the past has let her believe it was kept from them intentionally for the same reason.
She has more or less made her peace with the shitennou: she is still capable of defying Kunzite but typically no longer does so only to assert her indepdendence, and her stunted compassion to Nephrite has grown into something of a friendship, as has her connection to Jadeite who was the kinder and softer of the shitennou anyway. At this point, they are certainly her comrades after fighting together through this many battles, but she still has issues relying on them and still shies away from outright calling them friends; friendship didn't exactly end well for her before.
She is fed up with alternates. She often dislikes her own, since dark alternates are typically motivated only by the petty reasons while purer alternates refuse to give up supporting Usagi or have even gone back to supporting her. (However, she typically feels at least a little bond of similarity despite herself.) More, she cannot put her own past to rest when reminders are constantly right there in the form of alternates of the people she's seen defeated.
Although still arrogant about her own powers and existence, she no longer looks down on humans in general, thanks to the experience fighting the Dead Moon. Many of her offhanded cruel comments and much of her flippant attitude are acts at this point, that keep her from having to seriously consider her actions now that she's gone this far. She has come to believe she is irredeemable; and she isn't sure she wants to be redeemed. She has partly come to see her path as simply her own way of preserving the planet, and despite still worrying about balancing the roles of doctor and soldier, she has found her own reasons for becoming a doctor beyond her mother's expectations: Part of her does not want to be at a loss when the people close to her at hurt.
Ami's clinginess has not left her. She has been known to be glad when friends she makes become alienated from their other friends and thus more reliant on her (and preferably, her alone). She has also been known to plan absolutely horrible ways to get back at any perceived 'betrayal' of her feelings by these friends, even while still equally desiring the relationship. As usual, it's simply an inversion of which is stronger: She used to be kind and friendly while equally resenting popularity and those who had other friends. She is even more uncomfortable than in canon with most people touching her, however.
Reply
* Intelligence: Ami is told by her cram school teacher during junior high that she could probably handle college-level work. She is consistently ranked first in the school for her grades, and does in fact start her medical school studies abroad during what should have been her high school years instead, letting her become (it is rumored) the youngest doctor ever. However, while her mind is very strong and capable of amazing feats of mind over matter in bearing up under enemy attacks, her emotional state tends to be much weaker.
* Senshi Power: Throughout the series, several things are explained as manifestations of the 'senshi power'. The girls are endowed with the knowledge of combat they had in the past innately once they become senshi, as seen when they may be clumsy at fighting until that moment but quite capable afterward. They are resistant (not to say wholly immune) to brainwashing; no basic brainwashing has worked on them but much stronger brainwashing has (such as for Mercury herself). The same holds true for the enemy creatures, youma, putting people to sleep; senshi are often not affected. Typically, senshi are expected to be able to sense the presence of danger or the enemy; Venus is utterly shocked when Usagi fails to notice an enemy presence at one point.
* Powers: As opposed to general 'senshi power', Mercury has certain specific abilities and attacks. She is able to control and manipulate water in any state or form, hear it, and even commune with it or track enemy's movements through it when they're too fast for her eyes to keep up. She also has a sword she made from an icicle and endowed with her power to become a channel for blasts from her own dark energy. [In her AU, she has gained the sentient Mercury Harp and progressed to learn a version of her anime/manga final season attack with it, which has become 'Dark Rhapsody'. She has also learned some spells in Econtra that let her do basic things the Dark Kingdom members can typically do such as basic teleporting, closing doors, levitating objects, etc.]
* Teletia-S: This device is a magical communicator that looks like a cell phone. It is capable of disguising the girls as whatever they take pictures of, and Ami even uses hers to literally take Rei's shape at one point, to the point a man who had met with Rei purposely to ask for her help did not recognize the difference.
* Sailor Star Tambo: This device, which looks like a tamborine, is given to each of the girls about midway through the season. They report they feel stronger once they have it, and the item itself is able to produce blasts of energy at the opponent. They also call on the tambos to produce their ultimate weapons. [In her AU, Mercury has used hers as a power source for Mercury's computer from anime/manga, which she received the plans to build from one of her alternates in another world. This is an effective hand-held computer and visor that seem somewhat magical; at one point, the cursor leaves the screen.]
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"Why don't you cry?"
Ami stops the second she hears Osaka Naru's familiar voice, an intrusive and grating sound in this otherwise pleasant outing to the park. She doesn't turn around. She will not show her face if they're going to talk about this.
"Why don't you cry?" It's more insistent the second time; protective, even. It makes Ami want to retch. She takes another second to force herself to calm, and finally turns to face Osaka-san. The face that greets her is stubborn. “You were Usagi-chan’s friend, but I haven‘t seen you cry once. You didn‘t even go to her funeral.”
The classmates have long been released from the spells that made them leave Usagi alone. Osaka Naru has long been an irritating reminder.
“I’m not her classmate anymore,” Ami says as carelessly as she can manage, as if that was all she‘d ever known that girl as; the effort it costs her is betrayed only by the way one of her hands clasps the other tightly. She’d transferred schools as soon as there was no more advantage to be had in staying at Juuban. Mugen Gakuen had been a top-rate academy - and suspected base of the Death Busters. The timing had simply been… a convenient coincidence. “Why should I go?”
Naru recoils as though stung. Ami takes advantage of her momentary shock to leave, but before she goes many steps, she feels a hand on her shoulder and Naru calls out sharply. “Hey!”
Ami’s eyes narrow. She has always hated being touched. In a single, fluid gesture, the hand is removed without any particular concern for whether she hurts it. Naru cradles it to her chest and stares at her in surprise. This time, Ami leaves unhindered. Her lips curve in a faint smirk; she always wanted an excuse to do that.
Voice sample:
I like going to work at the hospital. I walk through clean, white hallways, always with someone else. The nurses and staff call out their morning greetings: 'Doctor Mizuno'. I grew up wanting to be called that. I tidy my desk and get ready for the day.
Each patient is a battle. I'll defeat their sickness and cut out the part that's making them weak. A scalpel is just a different kind of sword. I finish triumphantly. The people who thought I couldn't do it are silent. It suits them. I smile and accept the thanks of my patients instead, and turn away from the detractors. I don't need the people who want to hold me down.
In the hallway, they ask me for advice, for consultations, for an opinion. Of course my smile grows bigger. They move with me as I walk briskly past.
Back in my office, after a long and difficult day of many challenges, I think about dozing over my desk; but my mother is waiting and we'll go home together. I wonder if becoming a doctor here, at this hospital, was to be closer to her. It's so mindlessly frustrating. Even though I'm like this, I can still love and want to be loved.
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