Hi Kaya!!!

Soo this is where we'll do our mentor/mentee activities. I would like to start off simple with Usagi, since she's the main character and hopefully one you have seen the most to understand by now So to start with, I have these simple prompts which I will need you to write a roleplay post on. There's no maximum limit, but the minimum is 100 words (more is always best, of course).

For the first set of prompts, please show me how Usagi would react in these situations:

1. She finds a 1000 yen bill on the ground! (About $10) What does she do with it? If she spends it, what does she buy?

2. She wants to do something fun, but all her friends are busy. Does she go to one of them anyway in the hope of changing their mind? Does she go to someone else? Do something else entirely?

3. Tell us Usagi's thoughts that keep her up at night. What worries her, if there is any at all?

Remember that there's no one true answer for everything, so as long as you try your best to stay in character, you'll be okay! Don't stress or consider this like a test or anything. It's practice, and we'll go through it together to make you better in writing canon characters <3

Post your responses as a reply here! You can either post them all at once or do one by one. Take as long as you like. If you have questions, you know where to reach me

Prompt Number One

As Usagi walked down the cracked pavement to her favorite sweet shop, daydreaming about what she would order when she got there, something on the ground caught her eye. She stopped in her tracks and bent down to get a closer look. It was a 1000 yen bill! She looked around the streets to see if maybe someone was obviously looking for it or something, but no such person seemed to be around. She was torn on what to do. Being naive as she was, she walked up to the nearest person she could find.
 
“Hello! Did you happen to lose 1000 yen?” Usagi asked the stranger, a smile on her face. She was going to get to the bottom of this and return the money to it’s rightful owner. Though the extra money would of allowed her to buy *even more* sweets at the shop, she knew this was the right thing to do.

Prompt Number Two


Usagi sat on her bed, pouting. She wanted to spend time with her friends, but somehow, they were all busy! No amount of her trying to convince them to come to the arcade with her seemed to work. Rei had to work at the Temple, Minako was off chasing down an idol she found out was in town, Mako was busy baking for Motoki’s birthday, and Ami was studying for an upcoming exam. It was frustrating that they all seemed to be busy on the same exact day. She would be fine with only spending time with one or two of them, but allll of them?  
 
She allowed herself a couple more minutes of sulking before she got off her bed and headed downstairs. She figured she could sit in her room and pout all day or she could go to the arcade herself and have some fun. She slipped on her shoes before running out the door. This was a good thing! She wanted to go to the arcade and now she was! Though she was still a tad bit upset that she wasn’t going with her friends, she decided, as is in her nature, to make the best out of the situation.

Prompt Number Three


It was 3 in the morning and Usagi was still awake. She sat on her bed, arms wrapped around her knees. She couldn’t fall asleep. No matter how hard she tried, nothing seemed to work. Not sweets, not talking to Luna, not a bath, nothing. Instead, she was just left with her thoughts.While she always tried to have a sunny outlook on life, that didn’t stop Usagi from worrying about things.
 
She thought about her friends and how she wanted to keep them safe from all the evil monsters that always seem to be after them. She loved them and didn’t want anything bad to ever happen to them. She thought about her parents and brother. Though her brother was a often annoying and the two fought a lot, she still loved him with everything she was. Maybe one day the evil forces would turn on them in order to hurt her. Maybe they’d kidnap them and torture them in order to get her to reveal her true identity to them. She worried about Mamoru and him getting sick of her. Sure, they had an amazing relationship, but Usagi knew her flaws. She wasn’t always the most mature person in the world and maybe he’d get bored of her childish ways one day and leave. She wanted to marry him one day, there was no doubt in her mind about that, but she wondered if maybe he didn’t feel the same way about her.

She wanted everyone to be happy and safe, and not knowing if that was going to happen worried her to no end. She sighed to herself and shook her head, trying to clear her mind. She laid back down against her pillows, pulling her covers up around her. She hoped that she would be able to finally fall asleep sometime soon so that she could escape all the worries and just have pleasant dreams, where nothing bad ever happened.

#1 - Good job! I think Usagi would at least ask around too rather than just outright using it (unless maybe she's desperately hungry and no one is around or something xD) You showed off her conflict which reflected her personality well - she would have definitely loved to use it to buy sweets, but she's not really the kind of person who would steal someone's lost money.

#2 - This was a nice way to portray her optimism too! Usagi isn't someone who's easily beaten by unfortunate circumstances, so her going out and being determined to make the best of it alone is very in character. Another option would have been finding someone else like Mamoru, or mention that she hopes Motoki can entertain her when she arrives at the arcade, as Usagi is also by nature a very social person. But she definitely wouldn't have just moped around alone in her room, so that's great!

#3 - You hit all the right points here as well. Usagi's people are definitely one of her biggest worries. She loves them so much and they're really important to her. Her insecurities about Mamoru is also spot-on, as Usagi worries about not being good enough or that he'll one day leave her a lot. I would have liked to see a note of optimism in the end, something like she's Sailor Moon, surely she can protect everyone, or just her being determined to not let any bad thing happen to those she care about, but all in all this still showed a very good understanding of the character.

These are more general writing tips:

For writing that has a lot of inner thoughts, a nice way of making it come 'alive' more so it doesn't just sound like you're stating facts about what she's thinking is by voicing those thoughts. I usually use italics for thoughts to differentiate it from regular narration, so for example instead of

Quote :

Maybe they’d kidnap them and torture them in order to get her to reveal her true identity to them. Maybe one day the evil forces would turn on them in order to hurt her.

You can try:

Quote :

What if the enemy kidnaps Papa or Mama - or worse, Shingo - and use them against me? The thought that the evil forces would one day turn on her family in order to hurt her terrified Usagi.

Doesn't that feel like it carry more weight? It sounds a bit less... flat and repetitive and draws the reader right into the midst of those thoughts, bridges the distance between the reader and the character. It's a way of showing, rather than telling, which is the most important rule in writing.

On a more technical note, the correct grammar is "would/should have", not "would/should of" - it's a common mistake, but I just thought while we're covering all writing things, I should point it out xD

Well done! I'll think up some more prompts that brings us to a deeper level of Usagi's character study in the near future.

Alright! Here are some more Usagi exercises! After this I think we can move on to Ami!

1. It is the day of Usagi's ascension to become Neo Queen Serenity. How does she feel about this? About living her old, ordinary life behind? Is she ready? Is she scared, doubtful, hopeful?

2. Show us a moment of great fear Usagi has yet to face: the birth of Chibiusa. How does she deal with the pain, what keeps her going in the long hours of labor? How does she stay sane? Is she crying, demanding food, being needy, how are her mood swings?

3. After a long and tiresome battle, Usagi dies, only to find out she returns back to life not long after. But when she discovers the price, can she handle it? Every one of her friends have sacrificed their lives to bring her back. How will she deal with it?

Prompt Number One

Usagi sighed as she sat in her bedroom, waiting to be escorted in to the grand hall. It was the day that she finally became Neo Queen Serenity, just as it was always her destiny to do. She wanted to be able to rule Crystal Tokyo the same way as her mother did, but she didn't see that as being very likely. She was immature and a crybaby sometimes...and lazy! How was she supposed to run a kingdom? It worried her that she would be unable to fulfill the shoes of her mother the way that everyone around her expected her to. She wasn't her mother after-all.

The doubts and worries about becoming Queen wasn't even the worse part. She would have to leave her ordinary life behind. She would no longer be Sailor Moon, the heroine who was able to save people. Granted, she would still retain some of her powers, but she would no longer be that 'superhero' that could look out for her friends and family. Her friends would still be here with her, as her guardians, but she would possibly never be able to see her family ever again. The idea brought tears to Usagi's eyes. She knew her brother and her didn't get along sometimes, and that sometimes she upset her mother with getting bad grades, but she loved them with everything she was. She would die for them if she had to.

She sighed to herself again as there was a knock on the bedroom door. It was time, there was no going back now. This was her destiny, who she was always meant to become. She was unsure about everything that would happen after the ascension. Usagi wasn't sure how to feel in this moment. She was upset about having to leave her normal life behind, minus school of course! Devastated that she might not ever be able to see her family again. Worried that she wouldn't be able to be as great of a ruler as her mother once was. But this was her destiny, so she was meant to be amazing, right?


Prompt Number Two

Usagi laid in the hospital bed, in labor, waiting impatiently. She had sent Mamoru to get her a chocolate bar from the vending machine a minute ago, and he still wasn't back yet! She wanted her chocolate and she wanted it now. She loved the man, he was the only thing that was able to keep her somewhat sane during this time, but if he didn't get back in 10 seconds she was going to kill him.

The pain was intense. Even after all the battles she had been in, this was by far the worst battle of them all. Her stomach felt like it was going to explode, and Usagi wished that the baby would just come out already. She had been carrying it around for the past nine months, dealing with it's cravings and kicks, and now it doesn't want to come out? She was scared to have the child in all honesty. While she was excited about starting a family with Mamoru, who she loved deeply, she still acted like a child herself! How was she going to raise a baby?

She sighed and looked to the left of the bed. All of her friends were there to support her. She smiled at them lightly. They were her rocks, Usagi didn't know how she would of been able to get through this without them. They were always there for her, no matter what, and this time was no different. She loved them, even more so for being patient with her through these times. She knew she was having mood swings, one minute she'd want a hug and the next she'd be crying in the bathroom not wanting anyone to come in. But they stayed with her, comforted her, helped her, loved her. She was lucky to have such amazing friends!

"Where is Mamoru with my candy bar?!" Usagi cried out loudly.

Prompt Number Three

"Usagi...they're...they're gone. During your last battle, a monster was able to sneak up on you and kill you. The other senshi...they gave up their lives in order to revive you. I'm so sorry, Usagi."

The word still echoed in her head. It head been a few weeks since Usagi was brought back to life by her friends, and she was miserable. When she first found out what had happened to them, what they did, she immediately broke down in to tears. She would never see any of her friends, ever again. She wished that they had just left her dead and continued their lives together. She would much rather be watching them move forward in life, then to be left here alone without them. They were her everything. Her friends, her rocks, her mentors, her companions. Usagi didn't want to acknowledge a life without any of them, or live in one.

Though she was devastated by what had happened, she was also slightly angry with the other senshi. How could they sacrifice themselves for her? Didn't they know that a world without them in it wasn't a world worth living in? She sighed. It had been weeks since all of this happened, and Usagi still thought about it every day. She didn't know if there would come a day where she wouldn't think about them every second. She missed them. How was she just supposed to return to her normal life without them?

She had been going to school, mostly because her mother forced her to, but she couldn't remember anything that had happened since that fatal day when Luna told her what had transpired. Usagiw as able to go through the motions of every day living, but she was basically a zombie. She withdrew inside of herself and didn't want to talk to anyone, or do anything. She knew that her friends would want her to be happy. They would tell her that they didn't give up their lives to watch her mope around all day, but she just couldn't go through life pretending everything was okay. Because it wasn't, it was far from it in fact.

#1 - Okay, so first off, I got confused when you mentioned 'her mother' because my thought immediately went to Ikuko xD It's an important distinction that Ikuko is Usagi's mother while Queen Serenity was Princess Serenity's. Usagi almost never refers to Queen Serenity as her mother because they don't share that special bond. Usagi and Princess Serenity are two different people. Despite being reincarnations of the same soul, they have separate identities.

Not quite sure what your headcanon is about Crystal Tokyo, but there is no reason Usagi can't see her family anymore unless they have died by now. At that point in time, Usagi's identity as Sailor Moon (or savior of the world) would have been known by everyone (thus her ascension as Queen of Crystal Tokyo) so there would be no more need for secrets and I don't see her as just 'disappearing' from her family's life for the sake of the throne.

I liked that you end it in a hopeful note!

#2 This is my favorite one because it's so funny! I would have thought Usagi would refer to the baby as 'she' rather than 'it' though, especially at this late stage. I mean she already knows it's Chibiusa and they have a really close bond already, so to say 'it' feels really impersonal.

It would have been nice to include more dialogue with the other senshi, since you did say they're all there. And I just don't see Usagi not being loud when she's in pain and craving, lol.

A tip to improve this part: "The pain was intense". This is a rather weak opening to a paragraph, especially to describe such a strong sensation. I would maybe say, "Usagi flinched as yet another sharp pain stabbed her in the stomach. What was Chibiusa doing in there; poking her with her non-existent odangos?"

#3 First off, I think Usagi would have tried something to bring her friends back. Anything. Her Silver Crystal is her go-to solution to fix things, and she would have at least tried that to bring everyone back.

But the way she dealt with the following weeks is definitely on point. I can't see Usagi feeling much of anything once she realizes she can't do anything to save them and that she is supposed to move on with her life alone. This is Usagi's greatest fear; being left alone by everyone she loves. I don't think she could handle it for long.

In general, you did a good job with this, but you can go so much deeper. Again, it would be nice to be shown Usagi's actual thoughts, worded in her own words, rather than be told about them. It is a really important rule of writing and can determine how much a reader is engaged in your story. By telling them, you're keeping a distance between your reader and your characters. By showing them, you plop the reader right in the middle of your characters and your story. You make them feel the characters' emotions and hear their thoughts.

You could show rather than tell emotions, too. Rather than saying "Usagi is nervous" you could say "Usagi clenches her fists, her entire body feeling tense and her stomach is filled with butterflies" Not only does it give a more vivid image, your reader also gets drawn in deeper.

I hope this helps! I'll continue with more prompts soon!