Held/At Swordpoint (PGSM Kunzite/Dark Mercury)

[catchingspirit.livejournal.com]

Title: "Held/At Swordpoint" Author: poetesslaureate Fandom: Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon (PGSM) Pairing: Kunzite/(Dark) Mercury Word Count: ~4,300 Spoilers: mostly centers on episodes 21-28 E-mail: leah.d.stewart@gmail.com Notes: x-posted to deviantArt, dA comm, poetesslaureate

Mizuno Ami/Sailor Mercury/Dark Mercury:

Ami is a bookish, shy, very insecure, but loyal friend. Misunderstood as an aloof genius, she is really a normal, cute, teenage girl who likes pop idols and karaoke. She is very respectful of authority and very dutiful, even to the point of wanting to become a doctor because she wants to accept her mother's pressure on her to become one. She worries too much about what others think of her. In fact, she has trouble standing up for herself firmly at all, usually held back by worry the other person will resent and hate her for it.

Behind this, Ami hides a petty streak that comes from her jealousy of other people who have an easier time making friends and feel more comfortable socially than she does. While she means well, and wants to be the compassionate person she seems like, she is very self-aware and recognizes the subconscious darker parts of herself that prevent this more than she'd like. She tends to be possessive over friendships, but has little trust in them.

This all changes when Ami meets Kunzite. Not quite halfway through the series, he kidnaps her and imbues her with dark energy. This has the effect of turning her inside out: all those hidden parts become her main drive and focus, while her compassion and gentleness are somewhat suppressed and stunted.



From the Dark Kingdom, one of the shitennou, Kunzite:

Kunzite, whether past or present, is a driven man. Serious and strict, the duty and responsibility he shoulders as the leader of the kingdom's top men have made him stern and almost inflexible. He is guided by the way of the warrior, and quite honorable even now. He is exceedingly strong-minded and self-controlled, and while he is very emotional, these emotions rarely seem to make a notable impact at all and are certainly not what he makes his decisions based upon.

While Kunzite had a large share of compassion and kindliness to temper these qualities in the past, in the present he has thrown away those parts of himself and in fact denies their existence. He refuses to acknowledge "Shin", the kindly and gentle amnesiac he lived as before awakening as Kunzite, in any way. Instead, he is prompted almost wholly by vengeance for the events of the past life, when the world was destroyed.



Although they interact a few times beforehand, it's not until he brings her to the Dark Kingdom that Kunzite and Dark Mercury, as she becomes, start doing so regularly. After declaring he wants a sailor senshi, Kunzite sets up a trap to distract the others to allow him to target one. His choice, he implies, is specifically Ami as he tells her, "I'm glad it's you falling into my hands." What results is a very convoluted relationship that is very dark at its core but which provides endless facets to analyze.



STOCKHOLM SYNDROME

In the Dark Kingdom, Mercury is reduced to a fair amount of dependence on Kunzite. She seems to appear only if he is nearby, suggesting she may or may not have the power to travel to and from the Dark Kingdom on her own, and we see him taking her back there several times. It is an unfamiliar place, and while she seems to have free run of it since we see her wandering its tunnels even without him at times, it's hardly safe for her since Beryl voices her disbelief that "this girl could be any use", Jadeite wonders aloud just what Kunzite is up to in using her, and Nephrite openly resents having a sailor senshi around.

Jadeite and Nephrite also match Beryl's disdain, with both referring to Mercury specifically as Kunzite's slave. Only Kunzite speaks on behalf of her abilities. All of them have been her enemies from the moment she became a sailor senshi until now. Between disdain, suspicion, and outright hatred, she doesn't stand much of a chance without Kunzite's help.

Although he is her captor, Kunzite protects Mercury within the Dark Kingdom. He guides her through her audience with Queen Beryl, and was secretive about his plans in order to make sure Beryl has no hold over her. When Nephrite attacks the new girl after she has taunted him one too many times, it is Kunzite who steps in very quickly to fight Nephrite off. While this suggests he takes excellent care of her in a literal, basic sense, any positive feeling on Mercury's part must be seen through the lens of Stockholm Syndrome since he is still her kidnapper.

Perhaps any softening towards her on his part must be the same. So far, however, his attention to her is the sort a consummate warrior like himself might give his sword. It is certainly important to him, and he certainly devotes time and attention to its care and maintenance, but it's a tool to achieve his purposes.



ABUSE

The relationship between Kunzite and Mercury is also highly abusive. She is under his control by means of brainwashing. He has isolated her from her former friends and possibly even her mother (she continues to attend school, but spends time in the Dark Kingdom beyond her fights with the senshi, making this unclear). When she defies him, he is quick to put her down and belittle her, referring to her as nothing more than a 'creature' at one point. There is definitely an element of fear, with visible emotion and near-trembling once she begins to remember the truth; likely of what he may do to her if she were to try to escape. Hint: The fears proved correct.

Once Mercury begins to find and search for her true self and memories, Kunzite is always right there to sidetrack her by reminding her "you are already in the darkness" and that the right path for her is to keep fighting the senshi and not worry about the hints of former friendship with them. In fact, he tells her, "this is the only reason for your existence now". This nudges her a bit further away from them, and also reinforces the idea that she cannot escape. His hold over her is possibly almost as much psychological as it is based on his spell by this time.

In fact, it turns out that by the time Mercury breaks through and has her own mind again, she still claims she can't go back to the senshi since she's done such horrible things - a belief right in line with his hints and reminders. Instead, she spends about an episode refusing to physically leave the Dark Kingdom while Usagi has to literally drag her by the arm to get her out once Kunzite's youma is chasing them.

It's clear that Kunzite keeps a close eye on Mercury and monitors her, since he arrives immediately when Nephrite attacks, is easily able to find her when she runs off to think and sort through her emotions, shows up at the precise right time in several scenes (reinforced by other scenes unrelated to her where we see him watching events from a hidden place), and is seen scrying by means of a spell on his sword when he wants to find her after she finally gets free and does not arrive back in the Dark Kingdom with him as expected.

While he is typically fairly tolerant of her antics, Kunzite absolutely expects obedience. If Mercury directly opposes him in something he considers important such as when they argued over who would give the finishing blow to Sailormoon, he makes his anger known right away. He once even resorts to physical violence, shoving her away roughly enough to make her stumble several feet.

Not that this plays out only physically. Much of Kunzite's abuse of Mercury is designed not to be cruel, but to manipulate and control her. Like so many other themes of their interaction, it begins right when he places her spell on her. When they prepare to fight, he warns her not to call her friends because they won't come to help her. She believes him, it seems, or perhaps she's used to it since there have already been other scenes where she has not called them for help. For whatever reason, she doesn't even try. In short, he is able to manipulate her by playing on her fears and once more break down her resistance so that she will not try to leave.



POSSESSIVENESS

Alongside the obvious theme of control, this is an extremely possessive relationship to the point that Kunzite explicitly begins it by announcing "Sailormercury, from now on, you belong to me." He claims outright ownership of her; in his expectations, her life is in his hands and should be devoted to carrying out his orders and fighting the senshi and no more. He goes to great lengths to keep her with him, taking her away quickly each time she is nearly freed, even if this means retreating from a battle. He will not give her up until there is absolutely no hope of regaining mastery of her, once she is healed of his spell entirely.

It should be noted that at that point, Kunzite outright tries to kill Mercury himself, sending a monster after her and then turning up to do the job in person. From a man typically so self-controlled, showing his fury at being thwarted and losing her means he may have been much more attached than he expected to become, or would admit. In fact, he goes so overboard that the amount of energy it takes to trap her causes the entire dimension of the Dark Kingdom to shake violently, shocking the others. This is something very important to him or he wouldn't go this far. In fact, the only other time we see this level of outward emotion... involves Endymion, easily the person who affects Kunzite the most even now.

However, it may not only be Mercury herself that prompts this reaction from Kunzite. Throughout the series, he is driven by the idea of vengeance for the past life, when the planet was destroyed by Princess Serenity and Endymion protected her instead of fighting alongside his men. When that happened, he tells the other men at one point, he lost everything. Kunzite lost his planet and kingdom to protect, his lord as someone he could serve in good conscience, the shitennou as his men he guided and molded into warriors, and their companionship.

It's not hard to view taking Mercury as a step to regain some form of that mentor role and have a connection again. This very slightly parallels the protector and mentor/protegee relationship of Kunzite and Zoisite in the anime, but the tender aspect is lacking here. Considering Kunzite's fixation on the past and the things he lost, and his fixation on keeping Mercury with him in this life, it's also interesting to theorize the possibility of a past-life romantic connection, but there are no explicit hints of this in the canon.

Oddly enough, the possessiveness is probably a redeeming value, in Mercury's eyes. Her taint from the dark energy primarily focused on her feelings of abandonment. In stark contrast to the girls she believed never had time for her and didn't want to be with her, Kunzite is telling her she's "fascinating" and the one he chose out of all of them. He is not careless and does not brush her off. Instead, he gives her the attention she always craved. Considering some of Ami's darker side came out through possessiveness of her own in relationships, specifically her friendship with Usagi, it's not unlikely that she considers this bond to Kunzite important as a result.

Whatever its exact nature, Mercury has an attachment to Kunzite and would resent someone else coming between them possibly almost as much as he would. Besides, he has completely turned her mind and life upside-down and inside-out. If he were to reject her in any way, this would shake her sense of who she is now.



DOMINANCE AND CONTROL/SUBMISSION

This is an enormous theme throughout the relationship. It's pretty clear that Kunzite has the upper hand, especially as some early scenes before the Dark Mercury arc involve her literally prostrate before him after taking the brunt of some of his energy attacks. When they are actually working together, the entire storyline starts with him defeating her in a fight, which then gives him the chance to set his spell. Besides, a relationship started on the basis of brainwashing to make her obey him is definitely one where the question of dominance is a large factor, no matter how much it seems to be already decided from the outset.

The theme goes both ways. When he pushes her too far, specifically when the two argue over which one will strike the final blow to kill Sailormoon, she is quick to respond. He bars her way with his sword, and quickly finds hers pointed at his throat in return. He then promptly grabs her arm and forces it down, suppressing her moment of rebellion.

Even their body language supports this apparent balance of power, and reflects the power struggle between them. Kunzite is often seen walking up towards Mercury from behind, which immediately puts her in the vulnerable position of the two (until she, to correct this, turns around quickly in one scene). He does not simply force her compliance in the scene mentioned above, but he takes direct control of her body. When they teleport together, he is moving her at his will even then.

But perhaps the most interesting facet of this theme is that we have the smallest of hints that Mercury doesn't mind as much as it seems. At one point when she angrily claims she hates orders, Kunzite's response is more or less tolerant patience and a brief "Really? Someone like you?" This is obviously belittling her again, but considering Ami's previous desire to conform to her mother, her teachers, and other authority, and that he obviously knows her personality and psychology enough to manipulate it as he does with the others, he may be right. For someone so worried about doing things wrong and offending or angering others, it may be the slightest bit of a relief to definitely know what is expected or not.



DESIRE

There are a lot of coy looks from Mercury, especially early on when she seems eager to be near him and even brushes against him, and Kunzite can be caught outright leering at her a few times. He enjoys her capricious and wayward attitude when it's directed at Beryl or Nephrite and matches his own plans. He likes her wit, and he likes what he's made. Put quite simply in his own words, she is fascinating.

Mercury probably can't help but look up to someone as powerful as Kunzite. He is definitely on a different level from the others: He maintains his memories of the past despite Beryl's suppression of the other shitennou's memories, he breaks through her strongest moment of control by sheer force of his will, he is able to go head to head with Sailormoon at nearly her most powerful (although ultimately, he retreats), and while most of the shitennou are defeated by one of the senshi, the girls' combined attack only makes Kunzite retreat. Usually he is able to absorb their attacks harmlessly and even turn them back on the senshi. He also gives Mercury herself enough power that she performs a similar feat, knocking all the senshi over and injuring them badly enough not to be able to get up right away in a single blast of her sword's energy.

This becomes important with the Dark Kingdom's emphasis on power, and Mercury's own line, "I will defeat you all and become even more powerful". Clearly, she appreciates and desires the thing itself, and thus probably a powerful person, especially one who can give it to her.

Kunzite, meanwhile, is often found watching Mercury. This could be interpreted as simply checking up on her, or as nothing different from the wry amusement he seems to regard all of his comrades with, but given that it's already been mentioned he explicitly states his interest a few times, there's probably more to it here.

Most notable of all and probably the strongest canon support for this pairing, Kunzite finally makes his move. Intrigued by Mercury's continued defiance and unbroken spirit, he actually reaches out to her to either stroke her hair or face, or perhaps even kiss her. It's not clear which because, before he can get there, she slaps his arm away and leaves, angry. He, by contrast, has the brightest smile ever seen on his face. Clearly this chase is something he enjoys. Perhaps so does she, as a very welcoming smile had stayed on her face until the very moment of rejecting the gesture.

However, considering that Kunzite does not force Mercury to accept his advances, when he demonstrably has no issue with the idea of controlling her, this is one of the few areas, if not the only area, that she is still allowed control and self-determination in. She is not likely to ever give that up completely while the situation lasts. She would need a reason to give in, if she is interested in him, or he would need to relinquish some of that ownership and come to her only as a man intrigued by a girl. It could also be a sign he is, even now, reluctant to completely destroy her innocence if a part of it can remain without interfering with his plans.



LIKE-MINDED

On the more positive side, when they do get along, Kunzite and Mercury make an incredibly formidable team. They are often able to flank enemies, which takes definite teamwork underneath their squabbling. While Kunzite is often flippant about the question of how much influence he has over Mercury, shrugging off her antagonism towards the others as capriciousness he is helpless to stop, we've already seen how important her obedience to him is; this makes it more likely to be an excuse that actually helps them plot together without the others noticing their plans as easily. She helps him assert his position above the other men, once even taunting Nephrite that she'll put in a good word if he wants to follow Kunzite, too. He relates that he knows information about the sailor senshi from her, and his idea to determine the true identity of the Moon Princess is enacted by them together.

When he brings her to the Dark Kingdom, Kunzite specifically suggests that she might replace Zoisite, which means he must have a fairly high regard for her abilities under his guidance and command. Later, there are signs they may have planned Nephrite's disgrace together as a way to get him out of the way, since he was not willing to follow Kunzite. Mercury is no mere pawn, but a queen: mobile, powerful, and extremely useful. However, that still makes her a chess piece and it does not put her on the same level as him; he firmly considers her his subordinate and someone to be used.

Kunzite is seen using a chess board as a focus for a magical trap utilizing the Dark Kingdom forest, which ties nicely to Mercury as a fan of chess in the anime and manga. He also uses a sword - as does she - and once trained Earth's prince. It's easy to imagine him also acting as an instructor and even a mentor to his new protegee, and that if they were in a situation that would allow for it, they would find plenty of common interests.

There may be an element of narcissism in Kunzite's interest in Mercury, as she reflects him to a large extent. In fact, they become so similar that it's very hard not to see Kunzite's influence on Mercury. Even her new abilities are typically reflections of his, attacking with energy channeled through her sword like he is able to do, and demonstrating some mental abilities when she brainwashes her class at school to become her adoring friends. And although her new personality comes from parts of her former self, both he and she disrespect Beryl and mouth off to her, enjoy antagonizing Nephrite by taunting him into losing his temper, have come to battle their former lord and princess respectively, and have a capacity for biting wit alongside a gleeful attitude towards fighting. [video]



GOOD FOR EACH OTHER

More to the point, if you look for a more positive spin, these two have a lot to offer each other in their basic personalities and temperaments. She tends to play the emotional girl next to his stoic warrior, and if they rubbed off on each other a bit, both of them would become a more whole person.

Ami's temperament is the sort that would admire Kunzite's self-assurance and confidence. He brings out the soldier in her and tends to keep her going on the path she needs to follow - even if it's a path decidedly in his own interests while in the Dark Kingdom. Kunzite can give her that backbone she so desperately needs. In fact, it's likely that he does, since it is not until after her experience in the Dark Kingdom that Ami is able to assert herself and insist she wants to stay with her friends when her mother wants her to transfer to a different school. Ultimately in canon, this also makes her able to fight when she must against Princess Sailormoon even while the others want to hold back for Usagi's sake once the princess is about to destroy the planet again.

Kunzite is also the one who understands Ami and yet accepts her. Considering his reactions to her darker self, and obvious pleasure in bringing it out, he saw not only the misunderstood Ami but the whole Ami behind her. He also still wanted to be with her. This is going to be extremely appealing to the girl who was always afraid of what others would think if they saw these parts of her. She has finally found someone who, as twisted and unhealthy as it may be at times, will not leave her or let her go; this is something she's always wanted. Consider her manga line, as PGSM is still derived heavily from the manga: "My dream is to be loved, it doesn't matter by who." Granted, she was at a low emotional ebb at the time as a different enemy was trying to influence her, but it's true that Ami would be attached to someone who could make her feel cherished and desired and loved, perhaps even enough to overlook a lot.

In return, Ami has the potential to remind Kunzite that life is not only battle, or battle and vengeance. She is still emotional and could, if hers wasn't stunted (so perhaps outside the Dark Kingdom, such as in their past life), help him acknowledge that part of himself more and relax from constantly acting as the controlled warrior. Since she tends to be an energetic teenage girl as her normal self, and mischievous and playful with an edge as Dark Mercury, she might have the chance to help him have fun.

A less twisted relationship between these two (again, such as in the past life) would probably take the form of him as a first love, or someone able to initiate her into romance. His ability to take the lead would help them both a great deal here, since she would likely otherwise be too shy to do anything at all, from a fear of her lack of experience.

All this may not be a coincidence. In typical astrological thought, Earth signs and Water signs are said to be compatible for many of these same reasons. Earth helps water find outlets and a direction. Water softens Earth. Earth is said to 'hold' or bind Water in the elemental destruction cycle, which fits as an excellent metaphor here. Since Takeuchi often plays with astrological themes, it may have been kept in mind. Ami, of course, represents the Water element. Kunzite, with his penchant for plants seen in his control of the Dark Kingdom forest, the flowers loved by Shin, the plants kept in his Dark Kingdom chambers, and his sturdy temperament, seems to represent the Earth element.



WHY TO WATCH

For me, these two are mostly a pairing 'in potentia'; I don't think canon leaves us at a point that would be considered anything very romantic, as she never passes the point of resenting his control over her, he never passes the point of subjugating her, and she clearly shuts down his advances.

However, this is what the makes the pairing so absolutely fascinating to play with. It can easily finally lead to coming together or to exploding in their faces, and it's interesting to see which might be more likely, depending on other circumstances. It's not really a pairing that can be done easily since it needs a lot of development before it becomes very viable (he'd have to give up control or she'd have to actually submit to his idea of her role, and neither of these is likely without some catalyst to change), but it's definitely worth the effort.

Overall, there is simply so much going on here and so much to analyze. There are endless angles and possibilities to look at their relationship from the perspective of. There is a certain maturity to it, since it isn't the sweet blush of first love one might expect from one of the senshi girls, and Ami ultimately experiences personal growth within it. The pairing is deep, gritty, and intense, even if it isn't always pretty or even very positive.

FANDOM RECS

Episodes 20-28 (Summary) (Download)
Fanart: "Without Permission" by Aesyria on dA
Video: Surrender
Video: Fantasie Impromptu
Video: Ami and Shin by ZahmiraV on YouTube
Video: The Rise and Fall of Kunzite's Obsession by zarahjoyce

Comments

[lilian413.livejournal.com]

This was very interesting to read. Watching PGSM was an amazing experience, but I might have to re-watch it with your manifesto in mind :-) Kudos!!!

[catchingspirit.livejournal.com]

Thank you! And PGSM is always worth a (re)watch.

I'm staring at your gorgeous icon, by the way.

[nagareboshihe.livejournal.com]

I think this is really a very good manifesto for these two. Their relationship is fully explored, and you can really see your love for the ship. I really enjoyed reading it! ^^

[catchingspirit.livejournal.com]

Thank you~ I'm expecting to see Endy x Pluto soon from you, you know. >_>

[nagareboshihe.livejournal.com]

*salutes* Working on it, ma'am!

[catchingspirit.livejournal.com]

Good! Because it will be awesome.

[last-haven.livejournal.com]

Really interesting--I'm definitely, definitely going to have to watch PGSM now. :P Great manifesto--twisted sort of love stories like this one really tickle my fancy. Not to mention, v. pretty~ /shallow

[catchingspirit.livejournal.com]

I love them, obviously. And PGSM is always worth a re-watch. I need to do that sometime myself; it's been awhile since I've watched it straight through.

There's definitely a ship sailing with Ami/Nephrite, too, but while it's nicer, I find it much less interesting. (It's mostly built on 'love redeems' and 'they're both alone'.)

[pocketsprite.livejournal.com]

Lovely manifesto - thank you for taking the time to write this! I should add that it's your fault I'm slowly being sucked into PGSM at all, as your Kunzite/Dark Mercurcy icons here on LJ, and vids on YouTube are beautiful, well-done, and too tempting to ignore. *laughs*

♥

[catchingspirit.livejournal.com]

It probably shows that they're my absolute OTP. XD And PGSM always deserves more love and attention, so I refuse to apologize for stealing your brain getting you interested. ;)

[pigtailedgirl.livejournal.com]

So great to see a PGSM couple represented! I love how you delved into the creepier control and power dynamics, because 'YES, they are a dark couple!' and how the pairing is so very based on their overlapping characters. I love how much details you put into getting into their character similarity and history.

I must confess, this wasn't a big pair for me and you really sold it and made me think and made me a fan.

So yeah, I really really like this. :D

[catchingspirit.livejournal.com]

Ah, thanks! ♥ They're (probably obviously) my favorite and I'm glad I was able to present it so that it's interesting even to people who don't typically like the pairing.