943/The Meloncholy of Setsuna Meiou Episode 943: Boxing, Tea, and Taboos.

The Meloncholy of Setsuna Meiou Episode 943: Boxing, Tea, and Taboos.
Date of Scene:	30 December 2023
Location:	Plot Room 1
Synopsis:	In the wake of hearing what the Taboos her Mother laid on Sailor Pluto were, the new Princess decides that they WILL NOT STAND and does something about them.
Cast of Characters:	Setsuna Meiou, Usagi Tsukino

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Setsuna Meiou has posed:
It's Boxing Day!

Well, it's known to most as 'The Day After Christmas', but some people say that sounds uncomfortably close to the title of a strange horror movie.

Maybe with post-apocalyptic themes.

Some people say the first people are weird.

In any event, it's a shorter way to SAY 'The Day After Christmas', so 'Boxing Day' it is!

This particular Boxing Day is a bit unique, as it follows many friends of Setsuna's coming to rescue her from the constructs lurking within her sometimes rather bizaare mind.

It also had Setsuna wide awake and rational before 10am on a day she didn't have to be at work.

Which her housemates probably regarded as an impending sign of some apocalypse or other.

In any event, they knew that Setsuna planned to have a discussion with The Priness, so they toddled off to find some other things to do for the early afternoon.

Thus, a bit before 1, Usagi gets a text inviting her over for afternoon tea at Setsuna's place.

Oh, and she has a neat new food dish a friend of hers gave her that everyone who has tried it seems to have enjoyed greatly and she's saved some for Usagi as well.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
Usagi Tsukino had spent Christmas - well, babysitting her little brother, because her parents had decide to go on a date (ew, gross, loveydovey parents...) and she didn't have any other, significant plans. Mamochan was busy with his boys and their cleared but still full of trauma probably heads, and Usagi...

Well, Usagi had gotten Rashmi's texts, and was very, very worried. She'd texted Ami too, and Rei, and had started to text Haruka before realizing she didn't have her cellphone number, and had decided against texting Michiru even though she did have her cellphone number because, well, by then she'd realized that she was probably busy with Setsuna, and -

The point is, when the text comes, Usagi has been waiting for it. She leaves her house promptly, the silver crystal around her neck (she'd gone with her papa to have it put on a clasp and chain to wear around her neck, which was maybe tempting fate, but, it was tucked under her shirt and leaving it behind didn't sound safe either, so -) and a winter jacket to bundle up in.

The bus ride over gives her time to think about how to approach things (and to wonder what the new food was), and by the time she's walking up to Setsuna's door, she's...pretty sure she knows what to say, maybe.

RKnock, knock. "Suna-san! I'm here!"

Setsuna Meiou has posed:
It's a very short wait in the cold before the door is answered...by Setsuna herself.

Who is dressed in pseudo 'Christmas Elf' attire. Namely, she's wearing a one-piece black velvet 'christmas elf' dress with white fur trim that's a bit longer than her Pluto skirt as well as matching black velvet boots and gloves...with a black and white 'santa hat'. A rust red bow centered with a large faux garnet finishes the outfit.

She waves Usagi inside, taking her coat and hanging it up. The Casa Del Outer is much as it always is...though there are some Chrismas decorations here and there such as a wreath or some fairy lights.

The woman of the house leads the way into the kitchen, "Come in, Princess. Make yourself at home. What can I get you to drink, and would you prefer to eat now or later?"

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"Suna-san! Your outfit is so cute."

Her eyes look over Setsuna with concern - there's no hiding her relief that she's here instead of the Gates of Time, and she follows her into Casa Del Outers eagerly.

"You don't have to call me princess, you know? I'm still Usagi, even if there's... other stuff too." Given the nature of Rashmi's texts, she's pretty sure she's going to have to be princess, to get the message through - but she doesn't want to be just princess, especially to the people she's so fond of.

"Some juice would be nice, if you have any? And I'd love to try that food you mentioned! But... I think there's important things we have to talk about, you know?"

Setsuna Meiou has posed:
Setsuna nods, "I imagined as much...but in a lot of cases, you'll find that sometimes the formalities have to be observed...in their absence, if nothing else."

She offers a seat at the kitchen island, then wanders over to the fridge, "I've got grape, orange, and some stuff I decided to try called 'Sunny D'. Its some kind of wierd hybrid, that's MOSTLY orange juice, but a bit different?"

She shrugs, gets Usagi whatever she asks for, then retrieves a large tupperware of some dark brown substance.

An absent reach over flips on her electric kettle before she spoons some into a bowl to microwave, "So this is a dish from Louisiana in the southern part of America called 'Gumbo'. There are a few ways to do this, but Master Chief Hendricks said that he made this without rice so you can add rice to taste. Basically, this is an American Curry."

She snorts, "As you can probably imagine, Rashmi-chan was VERY excited to take some home to show her parents."

Setsuna smiles and waggles her eyebrows at Usagi, "...If we're lucky, the'll figure a way to make something similar at Khorma before long."

She shrugs as she starts reheating the stuff, "...anyhow, it's got a little spice to it, but it's basically a fairly mild seafood, sausage and chicken curry."

She gets a plate down, pops open the fuzzy logic rice maker, spoons some rice up, then takes the gumbo which finishes reheating about then and pours it over the rice before putting the plate in front of Usagi along with her drink.

Then she steps over, grabs a mug and the now boiling kettle and sits across from Usagi and absently starts steeping herself some tea while she's quite certain Usagi is going to be occupied.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"I... think I get that." She didn't, not totally, but at the same time - a part of her did. There was formality and etiquette and an understanding of both of those things, living in her skull, experiences that were and weren't hers, a life that was and wasn't hers, and she was still sorting it all out.

RSunny D is her request, and she sips at the tangy, sugary, orange juice-but-definitely-not drink. She's getting the feeling that Setsuna... maybe wants to put off this discussion? And she can't blame her - there's food to be had, and sweet drinks, and both of those things were better than thinking about bad, awful times, but at the same time -

"American curry... gumbo. I've never heard of it, but I definitely want to try." Seafood, chicken, and sausage? Definitely American. She smiles at the food, inhaling the scents of unfamiliar spices and rich food, and decides to tuck in, humming her appreciation for the food as Setsuna takes her tea.

"It's delicious! Oh, this is really good. It's not as thick as curry, but it soaks into the rice really well, and this chicken and sausage... it's really good! Spicy, but not too hot."

She really does hope that Khorma decides to start selling this.

When the food is about three quarters devoured she comes up for air, drinking a little juice, and says, quietly, "Suna-san, can you tell me why you went back to the Gates?"

Setsuna Meiou has posed:
Setsuna just smiles and watches Usagi eat, absently sipping her tea and taking joy in watching someone she cares for delighting in a new experience.

To be fair, a part of her DOES want to put off the conversation ahead...but the better part of her knows it needs to be had.

Still, it will come in it's time. She's willing to wait for her Princess to sample something new.



And then, of course, the subject comes up.

Setsuna sighs, "Habit. Duty. Orders."

A shrug, "A little of all three, mostly."

The taller woman takes a long pull from her cup of tea, then stops and scowls at the bottom of the finished cup as if it had personally offended her before she shakes her head and puts another bag on to steep.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
The food is good. Very good. That's nice - because, Usagi is pretty sure this conversation won't be.

"You spent a - long time there," it's an understatement, "But you don't - you don't really like that, do you? I mean... maybe you do. But... it was lonely there, and I was only there for a little while. I can't imagine it was better, for you, being there even longer."

And maybe this is foolish and naive of her, but that's how she's opening this: with the vulnerability: that was lonely. I didn't like it. Did you like it?

"The orders... they came from Queen Serenity, didn't they? My... moon mama."

Setsuna Meiou has posed:
Setsuna smirks a bit and shakes her head...then she changes the pitch of her voice to a much lower register...and while she can't QUITE match the voice, she does the best Morgan Freeman impression she can, "...these walls here are funny...first you hate 'em...then you get used to 'em...after a while, you start to DEPEND on 'em."

A slight wry smirk is given to Usagi as her voice goes back to normal, "...I never got THAT bad...as I spent a LOT of time watching the real world through the Gates...but I'll grant I got used to being there." A pause, then a snort, "...LIKE it? No...that's going a bit too far. I can't say as I particularly LIKE it there..."

And then Usagi is asking about Queen Serenity...and Setsuna sighs. Despite the...COMPLICATED way she's felt about the Queen over the years, she's still loyal to her sovereign...a loyalty that she's transferred to Serenity the Second, "...yes. When she charged me with my duty, she set forth rules for me."

Setsuna frowns, "...given that I was all of maybe twelve at the time, I can understand WHY she did it...and given that things were somewhat unstable at the time, I like to imagine that she intended to come back later and establish something better..."

Setsuna trails off for a moment, the blows out a big huff, "...but as you know, we came down with a rather sudden case of Sovereign Existance Failure, and the Taboos as they were dictated were all that there were."

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
Usagi giggles at the impression, even as her concern only grows at the actual words - because, as much of a joke as she was leading in with, it's still - scary, to think about.

"It was very... I already said lonely, but it really was. All that nothing, except for the Gates, and your furniture, and, well, you... I'm glad you could watch the real world, but - it's more important that you're in the real world. You know?"

She winces even more at the news that Setsuna was so young.

"That's... crazy. I wish I knew - what she was thinking, because that place is so bad, and you were so - young! I was a dumb kid when I was twelve, and being in the Gates of Time would not have helped." Usagi you were twelve like two and a half years ago. "What were the orders she gave you? Because - because she's gone, Suna-san. So that means, I think, that I'm in charge now. Because... I'm sure she didn't mean for you to have to be there for so long. I don't think it's what she wanted... and it's not what I want, either."

Setsuna Meiou has posed:
It's obvious that while Setsuna is trying to keep her expression straight, the obvious concern for her wellbeing from Usagi is not without it's effect.

She shakes her head, "It kind of had to be me. Remember the incantation to activate the Key I let you borrow?"

She pauses to let Usagi remember, "...that wasn't just a meaningless phrasing. It was accurate. Because of who I am, I'm very closely related to Time. I was chosen to guard the Gates because literally nobody else COULD. It HAD to be me."

Another shrug, "I'm reasonably certain it was a choice made of expedience, not carlessness."

At Usagi's comments, Setsuna nods, "As the surviving Heir and demonstrated Guardian of the Silver Crystal, you are the Sovereign. Technically, you could declare yourself Queen now and there would be none who could gainsay you."

She pauses and taps her chin as she gets a thougtful look, "...which is not to say I think you SHOULD. There a very good many reasons to argue AGAINST doing that just now...but you COULD."

When Usagi asks her to tell what the orders were, Setsuna takes a sip of tea... then closes her eyes and takes a deep breath...and when she speaks, her voice sounds a lot like a deeper, older version of Usagi's voice (she's had a LONG time to get her impression just right, after all), "Pluto, you are the Time Door's Guardian. You are the Soldier of Time and Space. There are some parts of your job that are Taboo if you commit. You Must Not Travel Through Time. You Must Not Abandon Your Post at the Gates. You Must Never Cause Time to Stop. If you Violate the Taboo, you Will Die."

After a few moments, she takes another sip of her tea, "...whenever the Gates weren't functioning...which was a thing every few decades or centuries or so as they periodically needed to go through a maintenance cycle for various esoteric reasons, I could allow myself to step away, since I wasn't TECHNICALLY leaving the Gates unguarded since doing so would require functional Gates to Guard."

She gives a little smile, "...a little loophole. One that I was able to use once the Gates failed to come look for you."

She then sighs, "...but once you were revealed...well...that geas started poking the back of my brain...and eventually I kind of had to go back."

She then gives Usagi a smile, "...which I really didn't WANT to do...so I'm really glad you ordered them to come get me."

While no ACTUAL order was given...it's apparent that SETSUNA doesn't know that...

(or maybe isn't LETTING herself know that)

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
The... incantation? Which called on - Usagi's eyes bulge a little, as she considers that that means that Setsuna's father really is a god of time - "So... it really had to be you. And then - you were the only one left, so there was no one to help you, or visit, or keep you company..."

She doesn't like it, but - she knows all too well how chaotic things had been, now. She remembers how chaotic it had been. The screaming and panic, the fighting, the clash of steel and the casting of spells and the confrontation - the blade that slashed -

Usagi clutches her glass of juice, forcing away the shake of her fingers for the moment, breathing in - "I don't want to be queen. Not yet. I'm pretty sure Mamochan doesn't want to be king, either. I mean, we're not even though with school, and just because high school isn't required doesn't mean it's not like, important. And... I mean..."

Declaring herself queen of the like, eight of them, seemed a little excessive. Her kingdom had fallen, as much as it pained her to admit, and there was no telling what, if anything, was left of the Moon Palace.

...was there a way to find out? Maybe she should try to find out?

"Anyway - I think, being princess is enough for now. I still have to really... understand what that even means, you know?"

A shiver runs up her spine as Setsuna gives that impression, not only because it's a good impression, but because - because it's a good impression and it shakes something in her, to hear that voice that sounds so dead on - She has to force herself to think about the words instead of the sound, because... because... a part of her wants to cry even thinking of that voice.

"...considering the Gates are broken... you can't travel through time. And you haven't abandoned your post - you keep an eye on the Gates regularly, but like you once told me - the Gates are broken, and this civilization can't fix them. And since you haven't died, I think... leaving your post won't kill you, you know?"

Otherwise, they would be dealing with a very different situation.

At the mention of orders, she shrugs - "I told Rashmi-chan I would come right there if I had to, to make sure you came home. You shouldn't stay there, anymore."

Setsuna Meiou has posed:
Setsuna reaches across the island to lay a hand on Usagi's as the younger woman tenses with the memories, "...I said you COULD, not SHOULD. There are a great many things I COULD do that I don't...but that doesn't mean I don't have the ability. Nothing at the moment restricts your ascention...other than your sole desire. You could decide to remain a Princess if you so wish. It's mostly up to you...and it's nothing that needs to be decided NOW. Or anytime soon, for that matter. Take your time. Find your footing. Grow confident in your power."

She gives a little squeeze, "...THEN, and ONLY then...make important decisions. Sometimes circumstances force us to make decisions in haste...but when they DON'T...taking the time to get things RIGHT is often a better call."

Then as Usagi asks about leaving her post, Setsuna gives a sad little smile...and there's a slight deliberateness to her wording as she says, "...Princess...YOU know that, and *I* know that...but the construct of magic laid upon me by the Silver Crystal and the Will of my Sovereign isn't such a thinking being, and only by the will of my Sovereign and her magic may it be changed."

She then gives Usagi's hand another little squeeze, "Modifying what the Queen did is your right. You just have to do it. Change the terms, whatever."

Then when Usagi says 'you shouldn't stay there anymore', Setsuna smiles, "Just like that..."

She then tilts her head a little, "...well, okay...I think to make it more permenent, you probably need to channel power into the Crystal when you say it to make it official."

She frowns, "...while Magic can be amazing, it can also be finicky as HELL."

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
She could. But she shouldn't. She knows this - and so does Setsuna. And, she's pretty sure Inai-sensei would agree with her, not to mention Rei-chan and Ami-chan and Minako-chan and Makoto-chan.

Still, it's a relief, to hear someone agree that it's alright to remain - just the Princess. She had spent so much time learning to be Sailor Moon. Now she needed to learn how to be - herself. All of herself. Including Princess Serenity. Including - Sovereign.

"Then... by the will of your sovereign will it be changed. Because - that's me. The queen is dead. My - my mother -" her mother is Ikuko Tsukino. Her mother is in her house, with her father, and her brother. Her mother - "My mother is gone. And the Silver Crystal is mine."

The Silver Crystal is around her neck, and she lifts it by the silver chain her father had purchased for its anchoring, holding the gem in her in hand, concentrating on its power - she's had precious little practice at becoming Serenity on purpose, in a moment that wasn't emotionally charged, or just channeling the power of the Silver Crystal, but she has to succeed. She has to gather it's power.

The Silver Crystal glows softly, its light dimmed from the almighty glow of its first emergence - Usagi knows without quite understanding how she knows, that she's depleted its power, with purifying so much and so often, with saving Mamoru and purifying the Forgotten District and then one by one finding and purifying the Shitennou -

But it has enough power for this. She has enough power for this. And so with focus and intent comes the light of the Silver Crystal, light that fills the space between Usagi and Setsuna, and which spreads out, under her skin -

Until she glows, and her winter coat has become delicate lace, her golden hair now as silver as starlight - at least four feet longer (again, a part of her despairs), and she is no longer just Usagi Tsukino, but Princess Serenity, heir to Queen Serenity, sovereign ruler in place of her mother.

She opens deep blue eyes, dark as the depths of space.

"Sailor Pluto," she says gently, "I am my Mother's Daughter. And as her heir, as ruler of Silver Millennium, as wielder of the Phantom Silver Crystal - I modify your orders. So long as the Gates of Time are broken, you are not bound to your post, and should the Gates be repaired, it shall never be your sole duty to stand guard in that lonely place. You must not travel through time. You - should probably never cause time to stop. It will be by no power of the Silver Crystal that you should die, should you break these taboos. You are the Soldier of Time and Space - you are Chronos' daughter. As your sovereign, I welcome your wisdom and guidance. You have done well. I am so grateful. I know my mother would be proud."

Setsuna Meiou has posed:
As Usagi transforms into the Princess, Setsuna stands up and quickly moves around the island...then as she begins her pronouncement, the green haired woman kneels before the woman she has declared her Sovereign.

And as the new words are spoken, one can almost see the visible weight lift from Setsuna's shoulders...as she seems to relax on some level in a way she never has before.

Once Serenity finishes speaking, Setsuna looks up with eyes that look like they should be full of tears and says, "...thank you, my Princess."

And then...once the moment is past and the magics are done, she surges back to her feet, and her arms wrap around Usagi in a hug once more and she holds the other woman tight and murmurs, "...thankyouthankyouthankyou...I didn't want to have to leave my family now that I have finally found them..."

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
There's the heavy weight of discomfort on Serenity's shoulders as Pluto kneels before her, but she doesn't demand that she rise. Given the circumstances, she doesn't feel she demand anything from Pluto - and she doesn't want to.

Besides - once her proclamation is done, her senshi is on her feet, and there's a little exhaled oof as she's pulled into a hug that's quickly returned. Setsuna is so much taller than Serenity, but in this moment, it's Serenity trying to wrap her up in a hug, trying to pull her close and comfort her.

"You don't have to thank me for this," she murmurs, "This is the least you're owed, Pluto-san. Your family - that's where you belong, now. With them, with us. You're part of this world, and you deserve to live in it."