Ten minutes of midnight, Tuesday, April 21, 1992

[Bob Schroeck]

Sailor Moon stepped out the shadows with Luna at her heels as I
touched down a short distance from the building that housed the
radio station. I hopped off my cycle and sent it back up to
hover half a kilometer overhead in stealth mode until I needed it
again. "Sailor Moon, Luna," I said with a nod as soon as they
got close enough.

Usagi looked for a moment like like she was trying decide whether
to hug or salute me, then split the difference by giving a little
wave. "Thanks for coming, sensei."

"I told you I would, teishi," I said with a smile. "So, what've
you got?"

She gave a short, brisk nod. "Right. There's this new radio
show called 'Midnight Zero' that's gotten real popular real fast.
The host reads love letters sent in by listeners, and anyone
whose letter gets read on the air gets a flower-shaped brooch
from the station."

"I think I see where this is going," I said. "Everyone who
received one of the brooches now has the Sleeping Sickness, am I
right?"

She bit her lip. "I didn't check everyone, but my teacher at
school got one a couple days ago and she's in the hospital now.
And one of the girls in my class at school got one this morning
and passed out. And I passed out, too, because it was so close."

"I woke her up, and confirmed it," Luna spoke for the first time.
"The brooch had some kind of life energy drain effect on it."

Inside my helmet, I raised an eyebrow. "'Life energy'? That's
kind of abstract, isn't it?" Then I shook my head and waved the
question away. "Never mind. Stomp the baddies now, magiphysics
and philosophy later. And the baddies are...?"

"That's where it gets stranger," Sailor Moon said. "The people
working at FM Number 10 don't know about the show. It's not in
the listings, either. But it's definitely on the radio every
night and *everyone* seems to know about it. So Luna suggested
that I investigate the radio station while it was on the air.
She gave me a magic pen that let me disguise myself..."

I glanced at Luna. "You did?"

She gave a feline shrug. "It's a toy I'd taken away from the
Princess a few days before... before," she verbally stumbled, and
glanced away. "She'd been playing pranks with it. It seemed to
me that Sailor Moon could make good use of it." She took extra
care to say "sera" and not "tserla", I noticed.

I nodded approvingly. "Good idea, that." I turned back to
Usagi. "So you disguised yourself. And?"

"We got inside just as the show was starting, and everyone in the
station was asleep except for the host of 'Midnight Zero' and
some woman watching him," she replied.

"Both felt like the Enemy," Luna added.

"Yeah. As soon as Luna said that, we snuck back out and I called
you."

"Okay then." I smiled, there inside my helmet. "If I were
marking you on your performance so far, the only thing I'd take
points away for was not transforming first."

She bit her lip again. "Right. I'll remember for next time."

"Other than that, a perfect grade. Good investigation, even if
it was spurred by a convenient coincidence. You found what might
be the the bad guys' base, got in, scouted, confirmed you were
right, and got out again to call in reinforcements. Good job,
Moon. Luna," I went on, "if you've got any other 'toys' in your
back pockets, we'll need to sit down later and go through them
to see what's useful and what's not."

The cat nodded. "Of course."

"So now what?" Sailor Moon asked.

I laughed. "Why, now comes the fun part. Butt-kicking!"

She giggled, and Luna gave me a disgusted look.

"Now, this is *your* operation," I said, raising a finger. "I'm
here as backup only. If these two are like the critter in the
jewelry store, you should be able to handle them by yourself.
I'll be hanging back, and I'll only step in if you get in
trouble." I put a hand on her shoulder. "This should be easy."

It would take less than ten minutes for me to regret jinxing us
that way.

-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.

[Black Aeronaut]

HAH!!!

[Labster]

"It's a toy I'd taken it away from the
Princess a few days before... before," she verbally stumbled
I think more than one person is verbally stumbling here ?.  But it's a nice touch to think about the fun and tragedy of the before time.

Good investigation, even if it was spurred by a convenient coincidence.
Get used to it, buddy.

"I'll be hanging back, and I'll only step in if you get in trouble."
For some reason, this put the idea of Tuxedo Doug in my head.
They're FM #10 because they're broadcasting from Juuban, right?  The tens are everywhere!

-- ∇×V

[Bob Schroeck]

They're FM #10 because they're broadcasting from Juuban, right? The tens are everywhere!

Yeah, that seems to be the case. And in case you're not remembering or didn't know, it really is called that in the anime.

FM No, 10 appears to be based on a station called "J-Wave Radio" which was running out of the Azabudai area in 1992 (and whose approximate location I've used for this scene). From what I've been able to find out about it, it played the kind of music that Usagi canonically likes -- in fact, J-Wave's staff actually coined the phrase "J-Pop".
-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.

[deadpan29]

Upon a re-read, I notice two things.

1) I think there should be a period after "It's a toy." Either that or drop "it" in "I'd taken it away from the Princess a few days before." As is, those seem like two separate complete sentences.

2) At the beginning, "Sailor Moon stepped out the shadows." To me, that implies she is in her senshi form at that point. So how does Doug know she didn't transform before going into the radio station?
----------
No, I don't believe the world has gone mad.  In order for it to go mad it would need to have been sane at some point.

[Bob Schroeck]

Deadpan29 wrote:

---

Upon a re-read, I notice two things.

2) At the beginning, "Sailor Moon stepped out the shadows." To me, that implies she is in her senshi form at that point. So how does Doug know she didn't transform before going into the radio station?

Because he asked her when she phoned him and requested his help:

Her relief was palpable, even over the phone line. "Yes, that's
okay. We won't do anything until you get here."

"Good." I started unbuttoning my shirt. "Are you in your
working clothes?"

"My... oh! No, not yet. Should I be?"

I chuckled. "Get out of sight if you can and change into them
right now. Lesson for tonight, teishi: always transform
*before* you start your op. That way you're protected both
physically and identity-wise if things go pear-shaped right from
the start."

"Right, sensei! That makes *so* much sense. See you in ten
minutes! Bye!" And with that she hung up.


-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.

[ordnance11]

Doug invoked Murphy didn't he? He should know better by now.
__________________
Into terror!,  Into valour!
Charge ahead! No! Never turn
Yes, it's into the fire we fly
And the devil will burn!
- Scarlett Pimpernell

[Star Ranger4]

Heck... even I know better!
Hear that thunder rolling till it seems to split the sky?
That's every ship in Grayson's Navy taking up the cry-
NO QUARTER!!!
-- "No Quarter", by Echo's Children

[Black Aeronaut]

Ohhhh, that's right! Dangit, Doug, even Zeke knows better than that!

[Bob Schroeck]

Now I just have to write the clusterfsck -- I know how it ends, and the beginning is probably going to be bog-standard Usagi burst-in-and-"In the name of the moon"ing them. But I'm still choreographing everything in between.
-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.

[ordnance11]

You know, I'd consider this a teaching moment:

1. ASSUME = Making an ASS of U and ME

2. Always have an alternate plan. Even if the alternate plan sez "If all else fails wing it."

3. Last but most importantly: "NEVER INVOKE MURPHY!"

It would be funny if one of Rei's/Ami's duties in the Silver Millennium was to be head(s) of a sect/cult devoted to placating/warding Murphy. The members includes magic users and engineers. Because they know the perils of invoking "He Who Shall Not Be Named". Of course it would have the secret backing of the Royal Family.
__________________
Into terror!,  Into valour!
Charge ahead! No! Never turn
Yes, it's into the fire we fly
And the devil will burn!
- Scarlett Pimpernell

[Bob Schroeck]

Usagi was a one-trick pony right now, and this Jadeite had just 
shown he could neutralize her one trick.  I needed to distract 
him from her *immediately*.  That meant doing something 
tactically inadvisable but attention-getting.  Or, as Hexe would 
put it, "business as usual for Looney".

[robkelk]

Usagi was a one-trick pony right now, and this Jadeite had just 
shown he could neutralize her one trick.  I needed to distract 
him from her *immediately*.  That meant doing something 
tactically inadvisable but attention-getting.  Or, as Hexe would 
put it, "business as usual for Looney".

"Hey Jadeite! Watch me pull a rabbit out of my hat!"

"But that trick never works..."

[Shepherd]

I just saw a really great Sailor Moon quote by Ryuugi and figured it'd fit well with this thread:

*This is, perhaps, Usagi's true secret power--she neither knows nor cares what genre she's in. The original manga was a fucking Lovecraft story writ large. It was Dead Space. It was a Eldritch Horror Story featuring the Time paradoxed futility of existence while everyone is alone in the Universe, faced with the knowlege that Evil is going to win and hope is lost. It's just that throughout it all, Usagi just quietly, adamantly refuses to allow that genre shift. She doesn't say anything, she just keeps smiling that smile that says 'This is not a cosmic horror story' until her utter confidence in the matter starts making the Color Out of Space start checking the script uncertainly and wonder if he read something wrong. See, he thought this was the scene where he drives all life on Earth insane and they kill each other in an orgy of violence hailing his glory--which happened in canon, by the way--but, you know, maybe not. She's not genre savvy; she's so genre blind that everyone else starts having doubts, too.

https://forums.spacebattles.com/posts/40661608/

[Bob Schroeck]

Oh, I like.

[Labster]

That whole post is pretty great, despite the fact I have no idea what setting he's talking about.  Still, I wonder if that in some way is missing the point.  To me it's not that Usagi is somehow off-script in bringing her message of love and justice to a world of cosmic horror.  It's that Usagi herself is yet another Eldritch Horror, afflicting her cultists with the greatest insanity, love.

I think you even see some evidence of this in the fandom itself.  Some of them are passionately devoted to her (though perhaps not the same degree as suggested in Senshi: The Merchandising).  And then you have this other faction that is all into the idea that moon healing escalation is a form of brainwashing or mind control.  Forcing a person to feel loved is hardly baleful mind control when the person casting the spell actually loves you.  But it's a little more eldritch than Nanoha Takamachi's method of befriending, that's for sure.  Either way, there are people out there who are legitimately scared of Sailor Moon's power.

As far as that goes, even by age 14, Usagi has enough power to hold the hold the whole world in thrall, or to crush it under her feet.  One of her brethren went on a genocidal rampage across the galaxy.  But over and over again, she chooses niceness, community, and civilization.  Looking at the rest of the cold, uncaring universe, pressing ahead for love and justice can only be insanity.  And somehow, some way she inflicts this madness on others, and her power only grows.  Tsukino Usagi is a terrifying unspeakable Elder God who is fundamentally good, and we love her all the more for it.

[hazard]

Have you read the original manga, Labster?

The original story, once you get past the whole 'written for teenaged girls' thing is kinda terrifying. Sure, the odds that you get involved in any specific incident is pretty slim, but if you aren't some cosmic badass you are going to die, horribly. Probably by getting your life or something otherwise precious and defining sucked out of you. And that's not even counting the number of flat out planet killer level enemies Sailor Moon faces, which is all of the end bosses.

Metallia's awakening, the first end boss they face, drives the whole world mad and into violence as a side effect. And that's just her not even out of bed yet.

[Labster]

I admit I haven't read the entire manga; I only picked it up for SuperS and Stars because gosh was the anime doing a poor job of storytelling.  Seriously, what the hell was that "Congratulations, Shinji!" scene at the end of Stars?  The manga version of Stars is scary enough, what with all of Usagi's friends disappearing, one by one, and no one really acting like anything is wrong.  It's more existential horror than cosmic horror, but scary enough.

But you're missing my point, which is kind of subtle.  If Metallia is capable of driving the world mad as a side effect, and Usagi is more powerful than Metallia, then Usagi's power is truly terrifying.  Just because you aren't afraid of her doesn't mean her power isn't worthy of fear, in the biblical sense.  In a universe of uncaring destruction and zero-sum dog-eat-dog life, the madness of the Serenity family in opposing this creates a pretty nice world for its creatures. (yes yes, canon mumble mumble light and dark in balance, something something The Left Hand of Darkness).  Like, maybe the Shadows are right, or maybe the Vorlons are, but Usagi has the power to make them both leave.  Perhaps everyone is unable to see the grimdark truth of the world, and it is Sailor Moon's power that stands in the way of that for everyone -- why everyone isn't terrified like H.P. Lovecraft.

But let's step back a level and look at the audience's reaction to the show.  Usagi seems like a pretty great guy because she defends what seems like civilization, love, and pretty much our every day lives.  Nothing wrong with that, right?  Well, Lovecraft feels like life on Earth here is kind of an aberration of kindness and justice, and it's quite possible he's even right.  But you should read the article I linked to, though the summary is:

But here is an important rule about dealing with fantasy book characters.
If you ever piss off Sauron, you should probably find the Ring of Power and take it to Mount Doom.
If you ever get piss off Voldemort, you should probably start looking for Horcruxes.
If you ever piss off Phèdre nó Delaunay, run and never stop running.
Elua is the god of flowers and free love and he is terrifying. If you oppose him, there will not be enough left of you to bury, and it will not matter because there will not be enough left of your city to bury you in.
And Jacqueline Carey and Mencius Moldbug are both wiser than Andrew Cord.
Carey portrays liberalism as Elua, a terrifying unspeakable Elder God who is fundamentally good.
Moldbug portrays liberalism as Cthulhu, a terrifying unspeakable Elder God who is fundamentally evil.
But Andrew? He doesn’t even seem to realize liberalism is a terrifying unspeakable Elder God at all. It’s like, what?

The point is that we've invented this thing called classical liberalism, and because we all live amongst it, we don't really notice its power.  But since the Enlightenment, we've been living in a state of exponential technological growth and plenty, and it's all powered on the principle that we show kindness to strangers and respect their opinions.  I'm a liberal cultist, so I say, "bring it on!"  But even the vast, vast majority of conservatives only want to slow down the exponential growth, not revert to the world before 1500.  And maybe that's sane, because we have no idea what the end of all this is.  Our IRL society is in the grip of a massive force that no one can truly comprehend, being driven ever closer towards the so-called "Singularity".  All because of the forces of tolerance and niceness.

And then you look at Tsukino Usagi.  She is the very epitome of kindness to strangers, and tolerance, and trying very hard not to kill one's enemies.  You know, our modernist ideas of love and justice, because she certainly isn't fighting for the archaic divine justice represented by Themis.  If you oppose Usagi, she will more likely than not infect you with her way of thinking.  And if you oppose her to the bitter end, there will not be enough of you to bury, in spite of the fact that you're a Elder God from another dimension.

So I'm thinking, how does it even make sense to call Usagi genre blind to a cosmic horror story if she's the personification of a real world Elder God, with commensurate power?