Hi

Yeah, Mercury is actually CRAZY versatile and I feel like we don't acknowledge that enough. She's a fantastic support teammate:

Can utilize all 3 states of matter for water: solid (ice/snow), liquid (water), and gas (mist)

Is one of the few Senshi who has attacks that are defensive and can immobilize/disorient the enemy

Going off on that, some attacks like Mercury Aqua Illusion can be used both offensively AND defensively

Provides crucial intel via her visor and supercomputer, giving the Senshi the upper hand in battle

Yes, I was tearing through books constantly, and talking to this teacher at least weekly. Because even though I always loved reading as a kid, literature was always a very weak subject for me in terms of a teaching-to-standardized-test school setting (I just do awful on "what color were the curtains" type multiple choice questions. Those details don't stick in my memory THEY JUST DON'T). But that didn't matter for this class. I could just read my way out of any bad test score. I have always had fond memories of how I "fudged" my way through that class and "abused' the extra credit policy.

There are several groups of traditionalist Catholics that have been pissed since something called Vatican 2, which updated a bunch of practices and official positions, and one group of those is called The Society of Saint Pius X. Their leader was excommunicated in 1988 for making bishops (?) without permission.

Those bishops are now hella old, so they decided to make some more, and the pope said that was automatic excommunication. (excommunication matters both as a matter of theology (sacraments performed aren't valid) and economics (the church stops giving them money, can take back property, etc))

Pope said don't, and they did, and now: schism?????

Apparently they claim not to be sedevacantists ("pope's not valid"), but idek what else you would call this.

Article from the Vatican press office (calling them Lefebvrians is apparently itself a diss, as that is the name of the founder and emphasizes the cult of personality aspect)

Excellent bluesky thread liveblogging the consecration (must be logged in, I think? Screenshots are highlights)

Tl;dr, from the replies to that thread

My actual reaction to reading this ask:

Yeah, Mercury is actually CRAZY versatile and I feel like we don't acknowledge that enough. She's a fantastic support teammate:

Can utilize all 3 states of matter for water: solid (ice/snow), liquid (water), and gas (mist)

Is one of the few Senshi who has attacks that are defensive and can immobilize/disorient the enemy

Going off on that, some attacks like Mercury Aqua Illusion can be used both offensively AND defensively

Provides crucial intel via her visor and supercomputer, giving the Senshi the upper hand in battle

Like it was magical girls but their foes were cooked up in a vial for Kaolinite or genetically engineered with heavy machinery for Eudial and Mimette. Then there the other Witches who used their own magic as well as science like nanomachines to strip flesh away or recreating Little Pet Shop of Horrors.

That was my first exposure to Anime and Sailor Moon. My gratitude will be eternal.

Yeah, I really vibe with the "mad scientist" theme the Death Busters have going on. Like you said, there's still magic, but it's heavily augmented by science.

Also, it could just be me, but I feel like the Death Busters are the villains that best encapsulate cosmic horror/Eldrich abominations. Chaos from the last arc is another big contender, but Shadow Galactica themselves don't really encapsulate that feeling the way the Death Busters do. Like, just LOOK at Pharaoh 90:

That is a straight-up Lovecraftian horror. This mf came out of a Junji Ito manga.

Like, even when Usagi comes back after defeating it, she has an "I have seen cosmic horrors beyond my comprehension" expression: