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Something to be summarized and entered into the relationships sections of the respective characters.  Let me know what you think.  This information is largely based off of a thorough astrological compatibility reading for Benjamin and Hotaru.

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Character Relationship Profiles - Benjamin Rhodes and Hotaru Tomoe

Benjamin and Hotaru's relationship has been the most whirlwind of all of Benjamin's romances.  In part because Hotaru made it absolutely clear that they were meant to be together (this due to the effects of the Malleable Causality System blending in the causality of the "Hino Ichiro" timeline), and in part due to a mutual attraction between two old and battered, yet loving and artistic souls.

While their compatibility isn't perfect, it's near enough that their combined precocious maturity has enabled them to neatly avoid the more troublesome stumbling blocks.

Physically, there is a very strong sexual attraction between the two.  To Benjamin, Hotaru is his "Hime-sama" - his beautiful and visually stunning Princess of the Land of the Rising Sun.  And to Hotaru, Benjamin is her exotic and mystical-seeming warrior-prince of a distant land - enticingly handsome with his Acadia-Mestizo heritage and giving a vague sense of the forbidden with his bad-guy-gone-good looks.  Indeed, one of the most trying aspects of going through a second adolescence was keeping their hands off of each other, and a primary factor behind their decision to start having children at the biological age of sixteen.

(Other driving factors were the fact that they wanted to have their children and raise them while they still had their youthful vigor, and a mindset of "If not now, then when?"  Benjamin will also cite strong evidence in relatively recent studies that shows that not only are humans meant to "start" early, they're supposed to do so in the presence of a strong support network of friends and extended family.  In other words: scientifically gathered evidence indicates that it actually *does* take a village to raise a child, and this notion of couples "going it alone" and not relying on help from extended family and/or friends is not only a very new thing, but also "The Wrong Way To Do It".)

Helping to drive the relationship is that Benjamin and Hotaru have a fairly easy time of communicating with each other due to compatible feelings and similar tastes.  Not to say that they don't have their differences, but these differences play well off of each other.

Benjamin has an openness and expansiveness in his psyche where there are few, if any, holy cows.  With him, anything and everything is open for discussion between the two of them.  He actively uses his imagination and worldly knowledge to dazzle Hotaru and encourage her own fantasies and dreams, as well as help develop her own ideas and self-confidence.  Additionally, he will develop his own artistic talents solely to please Hotaru as they share similar tastes for music, art, and other soothing things.  His sentimental side will also make frequent appearances, as their mutual living spaces will be dotted with mementos from the better parts of their respective pasts, curated by Benjamin himself.

And while Benjamin spends all this energy to be her support, Hotaru herself will gently rein in his emotions and energy.  While it can be seen as restrictive, the openness of communication between them ameliorates any negative feelings about it.  That said, Hotaru has the depth of character to understand Benjamin's magnitude and intensity.  When Benjamin is in high-gear, she can get him to slow down, control his passion, and be more reasonable, which can be critical in solving problems they find themselves confronted by.  Simply put, Hotaru aims for the future and will gladly point Benjamin in the right direction to get them there, and Benjamin is more than happy to accept this guidance.

This can make them seem like The Genius Couple - where they will actively collaborate to tackle problems, using their differences to not only bolster and guide each other, but also attack a problem from two different sides like a pair of seasoned strategists.  What's more, their combined wisdom and mutual respect enables a healthy spirit of competition where they practically dare each other to be better.  Thus, when working together, they form a sum that is greater than the individual parts and are able to overcome just about anything that comes their way.

Granted, all this openness is not without its drawbacks.  Due to their hurtful pasts, there is a slight undercurrent of paranoia of becoming too vulnerable.  It's hard for them to pick up on it because it is at an almost unconscious level.  They are both so very capable of transforming each other that this sort of fear is only natural, though, and this despite a nearly fanatical devotion to self-expression.  This can lead to tempestuous moments where Hotaru's views of right and wrong come into conflict with Benjamin's openness, but their ability to be frank and direct with each other will often always defuse these situations.  While there will be times their relationship may seem impractical, this is still a very vibrant and lively one.

But even with the darkness that has pervaded their early lives, they both shine with an inner light.  They use this light to find the good in each other, encouraging each other to become better, leave their respective stigmas behind, and recognize themselves for who they are.

This is a relationship filled with hope and optimism, and it has the potential to stand the test of ages.

(03-15-2022, 02:41 PM)robkelk Wrote: [ -> ]I'm reminded of a line from one of Heinlein's works (or possibly from the man himself) about geniuses making their own rules. You're certainly following that line here! (Not a bad thing, since I'm doing something similar with my SI.)

You do know that Usagi (at the least) is going to notice that "slight undercurrent of paranoia" and be tempted to meddle, right?

Glad you like it.  As for Usagi...  She might try, but Setsuna might actually intercede, reminding Usagi that they were happily wedded a long, long time ago (in a galaxy universe far, far away...) and that this rough patch is just them getting reacquainted with each other.  They will be more than just "fine".  They are going to thrive.

(03-15-2022, 03:52 PM)Bob Schroeck Wrote: [ -> ]...wow.  I don't know if my SI being happily married is a benefit or a hindrance to the storytelling after reading that.

<thinks>  Probably a benefit.  There's got to be something I can do with being fairly unique among the managers.

<ring><ring><ring>  Yeah, hey, Gomez.  Yeah, yeah, I'm calling to bitch again about not being able to relate to most of the other managers because they're single guys...  Yeah, Peg and I are so grateful that you and Morticia are also in this gig -- I can't imagine what it would be like being the only married couple running a residence. ... Oh, yeah, sure, we're free on Saturday.  What'd you have in mind? ... That sounds awesome.

Heeee.  Now that does sound like fun.  And I'm glad to know that I'm inspiring more stories with these bits of behind-the-scenes character development and world building.

I'll be doing more of these in due time.  It will take a bit, though, because these astrological compatibility charts go into a LOT of detail.

Coming up next...  It'll be a toss-up between the Ben-Nanoha-Fate triad, the Ben-Homura-Madoka triad, or adding in Dark Lady to complete the Ben-Hotaru-Chibiusa triad.

The Ben-Ruby-Weiss triad is gonna be trickier to do because I don't have anything to make comparative dates between Remnant and Earth.

EDIT: Don't expect much more from me over the next 24-48 hours. I'm finally getting started on working on my truck.

Addendum:

Some quick research has led me to place Chibiusa's actual date of birth at June 30, 2986 - since she was six at the time she time traveled, and that trip was to the nice, round figure of 1000 years, and everyone is basically redoing the year 1992 in Sailor Moon R thanks to Usagi winding back time.

That is, unless, we're rolling with the idea that Chibiusa is actually 900 years old.  Which would make her DOB June 30, 2092.

This is important here because it's going to decide how she and my character get along with each other later on down the line.

The astrological compatibility for the 2986 birthdate seems to indicate a casual raltionship - no real love or passion, but more good aspects than bad.  Enough that I'd dare say they'd have a "best friends with benefits" relationship, aided and abetted by Hotaru.

However, the 2092 birthdate is a whole other kettle of fish.  Not as much love in this one as there is between Benjamin and Hotaru, but much more flames of passion, as well as even more positive and negative aspects.

Thing is, 900 years old Chibiusa doesn't make much sense with her losing herself to darkness and becoming Dark Lady.  She'd have too much emotional maturity to fall for Wiseman's shtick.  On the other hand, though, the compatibility report for 900 years old Chibiusa makes a lot of sense if she *did* become Dark Lady.

Thoughts?  Really, any input here will be helpful.

Manga Chibiusa starts at 901 years old - she specifically tells Minako that she turned 902 during the birthday party we see for her. Does that help any?

(03-16-2022, 08:18 AM)robkelk Wrote: [ -> ]Manga Chibiusa starts at 901 years old - she specifically tells Minako that she turned 902 during the birthday party we see for her. Does that help any?

Not too much different from the the 2092 birthdate, but it throws in a very interesting aspect.

See, this website classifies aspects in a number of ways, such as "Passionate", "Loving", "Easy", "Emotional Pain", etc.  One of these is a "Key Aspect" which means that this above all others is going to color the relationship.  And even more so, some of these can also be classified as an "Exact Aspect", which means that because the two planets in question are in the exact positions (be it a conjunction, sextile, square, trine, or opposition - more on what these mean in the spoiler at the bottom), then it places an emphasis on the reading of the positions of this aspect.

This particular Key Aspect is an Exact Aspect that has Emotional Pain, Easy, and Conflict....

Benjamin: Saturn-in-Libra
Chibiusa: Mars-in-Virgo
Aspect type: Conjunction

"Saturn partner (Hereafter, Benjamin) fills Mars partner's (Hereafter, Chibiusa) impulses, often childish, with value and realism. Chibiusa sees Benjamin as a controlling factor in the relationship, but respects the wisdom and sense of correctness. Chibiusa's vigorous desires stimulate Benjamin to provide a solid foundation for Chibiusa's ego. Benjamin leads Chibiusa to the wisdom and dignity, which they deserves. Chibiusa tries to win Benjamin's respect, but only can do it, just following Benjamin's principles. Benjamin directs the energy of Chibiusa in the productive sphere based on Benjamin's own experience. Thus, both partners seek to build a future based on Benjamin's traditions."

It makes sense... if this were not someone who was 902 years old.

How are we handling that?  I mean, we already have her openly stating that she's more emotionally mature than Usagi because of her age, but everything else in her characterization says otherwise.

Possible fix: she's faking it.  Follow Nietzsche's saying, paraphrased, "The mind is a plaything of the body" (which I don't entirely agree on, but I do think it matters enough) and pipe Chibiusa through that.  While she might have some wisdom from being alive that long, she's still a child, and as such would have a child's neurochemistry - which can be pretty unstable sometimes because of growth spurts and such.

Which means that despite her "wisdom" and what she says about her mother (both versions), she's still going to act very much like a child, in both good and bad ways.

As for her starting to age normally, I think we can chalk that up as an environmental factor - that this was an artifact the the world Neoqueen Serenity created using the Ginzusho so that everyone aged much more slowly.  And not being in that place means that Chibiusa is no longer subject to that, and thus ages at a normal rate.

After Ben's wish, turning Hotaru, Ben, and the others back to being biologically nine years old, this will make it so Chibiusa is only two years (biologically) behind them.

Thoughts?

Some preliminary stuff for the relationship between Benjamin and Chibiusa/Dark Lady.

Suffice to say, there's gonna be fireworks here.  Both in terms of conflict and passion.

Thing is, Benjamin's got the whole Saturn-in-Libra thing going on.  As you may know, Saturn is the harsh teacher of life's hard lessons.  Not to say it's all brutality all the time - there's always a very good reason for the adversity being had here.  But having Saturn in Libra softens the blow a bit, as Libra is the sign of balance and harmony.

That said, Benjamin is going to have quite a bit of bitter medicine for Dark Lady to swallow.  But he will teach her how to handle it, and have something ready to help wash the bitter taste out of her mouth.

She'll hate it at first, of course, because these are all the same lessons her parents tried to teach her before.  But where they messed up, Benjamin will be successful because he *knows* what it's like, as his own experiences were demonstrably far worse.  The last bit there is important because she will come to realize that he could easily ridicule her, but most emphatically chooses not to.  At which point, she will realize that she really does need to change, especially as she becomes more and more drawn to Benjamin.  While Benjamin may find her bratty behavior amusing and take it in stride, it's not tolerable for him in a relationship.

Regardless, they're gonna fight and quarrel, but there'll be a certain passion behind it all.  Like as though they actually love the conflict and enjoy trading barbs with each other.  Ironically, this keeps the relationship fresh and dynamic.  When the time comes for it, these two will mercilessly needle each other in way that will make others go, "Hold on, these fuckers are actually MARRIED!?"

Still working on this, but rest assured, this is gonna be one of those "fun" relationships that shifts gears rapidly between tender, loving moments to outrageous verbal sparring matches, and back again so quickly that it can leave others with whiplash.  (Hotaru, though, knowing both of them so well, just finds it amusing as all hell.)