Dear Diary
Shall we play, or shall we eat, that, is the question,
It is not that thou must hesitate, for victory is oh so sweet,
I therefore, say to said Chibi challenger, ‘thou’st must play to eat and I shall have my fill, my pound of cookie treats yet!
Oh delicious chess pieces, I shall know thee well,
Oh, Jovian Shortbread and icing dreams abounding,
Victory is mine!
This royal tummy shall delight in your candy taste and my eyes light up,
I concede oh little princess daughter mine, much bigger are my eyes than my belly!
‘But mother dearest, thine hand is quicker than your eyes, shall we fight for these with swift hand and shared appetite as doth the raven upon its prize?’
(Giggles from mother and daughter as crumbs and bloated cheeks have their way)
The ravenous Bunny and The Munchkin of Crystal Tokyo
~/~
The Cherry Blossom Festival April 3011
I strode back and forth across the floor of my bedchamber, my hair falling loosely down my back.
‘No odangos just yet, so sorry for disappointing you, but I can’t sleep with those tied up, you know much beloved readers.’
I coughed and began, “Dear diary, Arianna ,” I’ve always wanted to use that cliché, sue me! ”Arianna, is it not a glorious day?” I said cheerfully, stepping up to the open balcony, taking in a lungful of sweet morning air.
“Yup, sure is, my Lady Queen!” Arianna responded with a curtsy.
I snickered at the sight of the sparkling red orbs of my dear courtier, Lady Luna, her paw frozen in mid-air upon the threshold as she took in me in my disheveled state and the pretty brunette Senshi like faery sitting on the computer console swinging her legs, ankles crossed, a spinning pink flower in her hand.
Paw (pardon the pun) Luna, I love her so. She puts up with a lot, especially her ‘senile odango headed monarch’ her new term of endearment for me. I must confess, that took a bit of getting used to I can tell you. But I love it now.
“Luna, stop staring at me as if I’m growing an extra set of odangos, okay?” said I, as she stared at Arianna, “She’s my new holo-diary. I designed her myself, too!” I said proudly. Arianna bowed and winked at the surprised Mauan.
Luna then tilted her head in puzzlement. You know how she does that. She was trying not to laugh -- unsuccessfully I might add -- as we began to crack up and fell on the floor laughing ourselves silly.
Recovering herself, Luna then cleared her throat, all the while resisting the temptation to give into her laughter once more and said more seriously, “Usagi-sama, you’ve forgotten to check the holo-mail again. Mamoru has left a message for you, about the roster for the staff and the training schedule for the Shitennou and Senshi. Sailors Juno, Vesta and my Diana, they’re waiting in the conference room for your response.”
“Quit worrying already, I have my breakfast to eat first, and besides, you know how to use the holo-imager, Luna . Please send it for me, the document is prepped to go!” I whined, pouting as my stomach growled so loudly, it gave me a fright and I jumped and squeaked.
“Oh, Kamis have pity on your poor stomach, Usagi-sama, you’ll die if you don’t eat, now go to it before I change my mind!” she shook her head and looked at Arianna and rolled her eyes.
I too looked at my humanoid diary, which was rolling on the floor, kicking her legs and laughing its adorably girlish head off.
‘She did look cute though, I had to admit, like a twin sister for Sere, but for the hair color, and Sere? I will explain that one for you in due course.’
“Arianna, what’s so funny, no fair, even my virtual diary is making fun of me. And there I had made a special effort to get the report all nice and pretty!”
“Usagi, Lord Kunzite is not partial to floral motifs on the latest reports concerning the Stellar Pirates, now please get serious, leaving the tasks to your daughter I don’t hold an objection to, but please, try and set a good example, after all, reams of origami with stats for our Sulean fleet is a bit much, don’t you think? Was that your idea you put into Serenity’s head, or is she as ditzy as my beloved mistress, the Queen of Odango Atama?” Luna gently chided, shaking her head as Artemis and Minako, trying not to laugh at my expense stood in the doorway.
“Eeeee, sorry, I’ll go speak with her, I promise, you’re right, she needs to be a little more responsible and I must take some responsibility for that. Helios, ask him to see me in my office later with Setsuna, I can stroke two bunnies with the one hand and sort out all that mess and perform my other duties as well. See, I can think these things out, but let me at breakfast!”
Yummy Checkmate
We were about to play chess, but not your average chess game. Why, you ask. Allow me to enlighten you. Simple really, only that the best cook in the Silver Millennium, the old 21st century and the Crystal Kingdom, Queen Makoto of Jupiter was responsible for my elation. She is only one of the bestest of the best chefs in the cosmos. She had baked a series of biscuits in the shape of chess pieces and the winner gets to eat most of these and both my precocious little angel and I were eyeing these off admiring the pink and the orange icing, the work that had gone into these yummy pieces, Oooh, was amazing! But, I had scanned the images into the holo-emitter, for posterity!
I had been mortified, but cute little pumpkin knew I was a little upset by the fact I started pouting and sulking all through breakfast.
“Usako, she’s fourteen, don’t you think it time you stopped calling her that,” Mamoru said, infuriating me.
“Yeah mommy!” lingering on the word, ‘mommy’ we immediately entered into a contractual staring contest, the loser, did the dishes… I lost!
“Okay, I’m going… I’m going, but Sere, Usa, Bunny? Pick one!” I shouted cheerfully over my shoulder and winked from the door as my growing up daughter waved cheekily back and blew me a kiss while my Muffin gripped his stomach in a riotous outpouring of mirth at his Usako’s expense… men!’
Later, when my king was claimed by my daughter’s queen, I knew I was done, but we shared the tasty chess piece shortbread with Mako-chan and my Mamo-chan, even a few of the pawns went with much gratitude from Luna, Artemis and Diana.
My Darling Daughter, Serenity
I remembered that last occasion I called Serenity, Small Lady, I raised an eyebrow in question at the bitterness in her tone, and I took her hand and squeezed it and asked her to speak her mind. At first, she pulled away, and then seeing my hurt expression, she gripped my hand once more and apologized. She had been petulant at my admonishments over her appearance the day before and our relationship had been strained for a few months now. But I thought it too important to spar and wanted to know her side, how she felt , and I had to take off the parental hat and put on the understanding female perspective, that I was glad, as a parent, I got right.
We should listen more and chastise less. I felt it no excuse for me, or any parent or guardian for that matter, to brow beat, and lay down the law, especially if I were too tired and busy to be bothered listening -- that my friends and would-be parents, is just the recipe for estrangement. If you want to be close to your teen children, simple really, listen and forget you’re a parent for a while and empathize, and really be there for your kids. Sailor Moon says! Whoops, couldn’t resist, old habits die-hard. But I digress.
“Thanks Arianna for your patience here. I love how you recite my own thoughts in my own voice back to me. Its wicked!” she winked and blushed, “Okay, where was I. Oh, yeah,” I grinned.
‘Untying her odangos, and wearing her hair loosely in defiance of the endearment and wearing a short skirt, not that this bothered me at all as I was wearing one myself that morning, but I understood where she was coming from. As she sat there, her hair lovely and shining with her daring top, showing off her budding cleavage, I got the message loud and clear. My expectations of her dress sense were outmoded, she was a young woman now, not a chibi. Life was sweeping past me so fast I was sorry I hadn’t realized she was growing up so quickly. She promptly stood up, and to emphasize her point, patted her chest, then her hips and pirouetted.
I could only nod and say, “Yes, I get what you mean. But dear, what shall I call you?” We sat and like matching bookends -- elbows planted firmly on our knees -- we began to ponder this great cosmic mystery as equals.
Day 2 of the Cherry Blossom Festival
“Hi er, dear diary, my name, is… Wait a minute, you don’t need me to tell you that!” I smiled wryly, as Arianna, looking cute and petite sitting cross-legged upon the cushion I got for her was blowing virtual bubbles as she chewed loudly on her hot pink bubblegum. There she was, all pretty in her burgundy fuku, dark brown hair, pixie face, a diminutive faery blending in with the cushion’s pink sakura flowers that were scattered over its white silk cover. She then recited my earlier entry and helped edit the entries of the last few days.
‘I’ve Got to admit, I ask her to read the typos aloud. Why, you might ask? Simply because they sound so funny! And she laughs too, and that gets me going again. We need a time-out to start over, but I love my diary, she’s so much fun!’
“Ouch!” ‘I know, mother used to always growl at me for trying to talk and shave my legs at the same time. After all these years, “Eeeee, oooh, and I hate blood…Why thank you, Arianna…you’re a handy holo girl to have around.” I said gratefully as she bowed after handing me a tissue.
“You’re welcome, my queen!”
‘My diary is so smart, don’t you think? Mom could have used her instead of that expensive home clearing service back before the… Hey, hired help is hard to find these days…’
“My Queen, you okay?”
“Sure, just a bit of dust in my eye is all,” I lied. But I knew Arianna knew I was holding back and she smiled warmly, hopped off her cushion, gave me a hug, and promptly returned to her cushion and we went on then, “I think I’ll share my thoughts, okay, ready?” I questioned, and Arianna nodded.
‘I still cry for mom and dad, to this day. I will always hold a place for them both in my heart. Shingo and I talk about them a lot. His son looks so much like father, especially the eyes and the girls, so like mom, too. Memories can be such a great comfort, but often they can bring a little sadness. But it tempers the happy times, to feel day and night, to remember those we have loved and lost to time and this world, it makes the fire of love burn brightly within that shrine of loving memory in our hearts.
But as I smile at Arianna and look past her to the wide veranda that looks out onto the palace gardens, taking in its sights and sounds, the aromatic flowering plants, and the smell of chocolate cookies, I sigh.
“Hmmmm!”
‘Another beautiful day for the festival. The skies are clear, the sun shines, the butterflies dancing about the flowers. Luna and Artemis are rubbing noses and Diana is chasing boys, so cute!’
‘I just hope that some new minion with a poor attitude, bad hair and overly used clichés doesn’t step up and rains on our parade. Therefore, I always expect trouble, and if it turns out there is, we will be ready!’
“My Queen, so morbid, at the end there, you need to get out there and enjoy the sunlight with the Mauans!”
“I know, but I can’t help it Arianna-chan.”
“Okay, I shouldn’t have interrupted you, let’s go again, anytime you’re ready majesty,” Arianna said, smiling.
‘I do have a bad habit of getting a little too negative sometimes. I keep expecting a dark incursion or some weird thing to happen that will turn our world upside-down. But I know. We have the most powerful alliances spread throughout the galaxy and millions of Sailor warriors and Shitennou and firepower. We got firepower all right. But now and then, I just get a little uncertain and paranoid. But I make up for it by pestering my Mamo-chan, my hunkmeister, my King so-magnificently-sexy Endymion!’
“Hey, holo chick, you’re not supposed to swoon!”
“Some Neo-Queens have all the fun, a holo-girl can dream, can’t she, Usagi?” said the stylized holo princess in her tutu of silver and pink with the bunny ears with a pouty expression. Arianna’s long chestnut ringlets so big I could coax Para-Para to jump through them and do triple summersaults whilst eating an ice cream at the same time – ice-cream? Hmmmm, I mean, I keep forgetting, is it Vesta or Ceres? Am I losing it, and getting too old?”
“Oh, lady?” Arianna probed as I wiped soap off my legs with a cool cloth and winced at the little nick on my thigh.
“You’re lucky being a holo-being, you don’t have to worry about nicking yourself shaving your legs. In fact, you don’t have to worry about your legs getting furry at all! You’re lucky!” said I, as is my way, offering the giggling holo girl a pouty expression, this setting us both off again. Arianna was good fun to have around, especially when Endy was off world on a mission.
I grinned. “You’re more than just a crystal holo-processor, who can assume the shape of a holo-girl in a faery fuku. I should know, I designed you.”
“Correct, Neo-Queen Serenity!” Arianna announced with a bow.
“Lose the formality already, Arianna!” I chided and she blinked and nodded before dropping into a curtsey, so cute I had to giggle.
“If it pleases I can call you… Usagi, Usa-chan, Usako…”
“Hold it right there, girl, I’m sure your smart and all, but first, you’re a girl and second a virtual one and third, only my Mamo-chan calls me that!”
“Affirmative, Bunny of the Moon? The seductively sweet computer hologram intoned, eyes pleading and hands extended in a gesture of placation. But I was having none of it and shook my head vehemently.
The faery-like hologram smirked before chewing on her bottom lip sulkily, then brightened suddenly, “I know… Odango Atama!” The virtual dark-haired nymph in her now silvery-red fuku—she could change her appearance in a flash, the girl being a hologram still amazes me whenever she does this -- declared cheerfully, clapping her hands, eyes alight with mirth and triumph.
“What did you call me?” I growled menacingly, but had to admit when Arianna transformed into a kawaii pink fluffy bunny , twitching her ears innocently upon her cushion, I caved in and agreed, “ Okay, call me...Odango Atama, but only if you’re good!” I chuckled as she re-assumed her human form and bowed, the bunny ears still atop her head. She was adorable.
Bunny Nerd
‘Umino tells me the data stream is multi- Whoops, sorry. I have gained somewhat of an appetite for Umino’s computer speak, and the fact I am like Aki, now, glowing like a figurine, I look so cool, I got to say it here, cause if I say it publicly, they’d think me a prima Donna, but I do love the crystal odangos, and so does Mamoru!’
‘Arianna is so cool. oooh! I have written a lot of things in my little virtual diary. I talk about my babies -- now all grown up, with children of their own, so cute! And look at Serenity-Luna, she is such a good ruler. Told you, she takes after her mommy, didn’t I? I am really proud of her and she’s gotten us out of some minor scrapes since I handed her the throne. With Helios and their three munchkins by their side and me, of course and Mamo-chan, they look so happy in the holo-image, a virtual photograph I have projected upon the wall with other such visual keepsakes.’
‘Why did I retire you might ask? Some had thought I would have to roll over, kick my legs in the air, and push up chrysanthemums before I handed over to Sere, but no way. I call the shots, and so too does Aki on Myola. Delegating gives me more free time to spend with my muffin.’
‘One day, while sitting demurely on the throne, but for one mostly bared leg hanging lazily over the crystal armrest, a sandal dangling precariously on the tip of my big toe, I giggled at the antics of Arianna, who was pulling a succession of funny faces, trying to get me to laugh. She succeeded. There I was, begging the thing not to fall, and inevitably it would and I’d growl at it and look to Arianna who would pick it up and hand it to me and offer me a dainty bow.’
‘I am so overly casual on my days off. There I was, looking like a not-so-lady-like monarch, hair untied, no make-up, not that I wear much but for the pink strawberry lip-gloss and silvery-pink eye shadow – Mamo-chan loves me more when I look like this, and don’t look at me that way, he thinks I look sexy! And for a mature-aged crystal woman, that is better than a burst of force from the Ginzuishou I can tell you!’
‘Now where was I? Oh yeah, I sat on the throne contemplating the possibilities after Eliza and her guy told us they were expecting their tenth child! Yup, she was pregnant again, seems us princesses and queens are so like bunnies the way we breed. Why wouldn’t we enjoy childbirth, real bunnies do and Usagi does mean… ‘Bunny of the Moon’ after all, simply go visit the Archive here in Crystal Tokyo's Celestial library and check your ancient texts on old Japan!’
“Odango Atama, you’re spacing out again,” Arianna teased, and manifested a feather and tickled me with it and I laughed as I always do whenever she does this.
“Excuse me… Arianna, got to eat, back in five!”
~*~
“okay, I am ready to scribe again, Arianna, finished your virtual ice cream I see?” I giggled, I swear she’s almost human sometimes.
‘I often ask Arianna to recite my silliest entries with holo-art in the background. Often, Muffin, I, Luna, Artemis, Diana, and her grandchildren amongst other privileged members of the Crystal Palace, along with extended family and friends enjoy these recitations by Arianna. Even Rei lost it completely and I bet you’d hear her all the way from Mars even without the holo-imager. And boy, she can cackle. I think -- my loving subjects -- and I don’t say this lightly, I am getting crazy in my old age. But I do take comfort in the fact that I am eons old, or young… I like young best; don’t you think so?’
~*~
‘And I thought I had seen it all, life once again springing another surprise on me. Oh, I felt something weird about all of this. I had shooed off Makoto and her husband out of the kitchen, Pirokiko is one of Geb Prime’s best chefs, and I knew, aside from his obvious good looks and adorable nature, that a guy, also being a good cook, sorry, chef was definitely more than simply a good means to an end; where the old sempai line wasn’t forthcoming. I told Rei about it as she sat on her throne on Mars, cackling like a hyena, the crows, Deimos and Phobos squawking and flapping their wings, in what I took to be amusement and understanding – those dammed birds are too smart for their own good sometimes – forgive me, but I must be getting on a bit, oooh!’
“I am… oooh… fifty-nine this June, a great grand mommy, a Usa-sama! I don’t wanna be a sama! Mamo!” Sorry for stamping my feet and my tantrum, but really I’m having an ancient blonde moment, deal! “Okay, I have overcome my hissy fit! You can come out now, Arianna, Serenity, Luna and Artemis – really truly!”
(references can be aligned with Sailor Moon and the Legend of the Oberisku no Shoujo, credit for K-chan for the 'paw' pun for Lady Luna, the most adorable moon kitty)
