Chapter Five Released

[Bob Schroeck]

Hey folks -- sorry, but I've been away from the forums for most of the weekend. Let me see if I can catch up on comments where Chris hasn't already addressed them.
Rob Kelk wrote:

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If I'd known you were going to use that theme for the quotes at the beginning, I would have sent you this one earlier.

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Nice... Thanks, I've stashed it against future use. I've got my quote nominees for chapter 6 already selected, but who knows?

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That's the biggest surprise of the chapter, for me -- Doug's part of the local Symphony. Go figure...

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Why wouldn't he show up? He's an "instrument", so to speak, and he's not discordant in the sense a demon would be. Whether he blends in or is slightly out-of-step is something maybe to be determined, but for the purposes of the story it's really not important.

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I hate to say it, but you might need to make a Concordance entry for this one. There are actually some poor unfortunate souls who've never heard of Abbot and Costello, alas...

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You know, I never thought of that. Yeesh.

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Megumi's hearing protectors are removed twice, and her safety goggles aren't removed at all. (And "ripped off her the hearing protectors" has an extra word.)

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Not at all -- I caught it myself about midday on Friday, and it's one of several changes I made before posting the chapter to the twin FFMLs. Thanks for the catch, though!

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I thought it was called "jan-ken-pon"...

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Looks like it's one of those "spell it like you want" phrases. I've seen "pow" in fics for years, Google shows that and a "po" variant, as well as the "pon". I think we're going to stand by "pow" for now.

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Why am I hearing this in a mock '40s-era Bugs Bunny voice?

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Because you are a wise and perceptive man.

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Oh, shit. It's that powerful?

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No, not really. As NomadEngineer noted, they are mostly one-way, and it's blowing through the weaker side. It's also not so much a matter of pure power as something like armor piercing (but don't take that literally). The wards came down mostly because it knocked out the underpinnings from the backside, not because it overpowered them.
Kokuten wrote:

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"Except for Belldandy, of course."

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Of course!

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I should probably note that Helen, as part of her preread comments, said, "And Hexe, right? Right?"

Chris replied to Rob:

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Actually, that's more an effect of Paradox's presence in the Symphony, and his agitation.

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Precisely. He's broadcasting, and she's close enough to pick it up.
Hoagie of Doom wrote:

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Now then, mister quarterstaff, what might you be, hmmm?

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Basic technical specs and origin as well as at least one name will be made available as part of the next chapter.
zero sum mgame wrote:

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One minor kvetch. Every copy I can find of the lyrics to "Closer to Fine" uses 'definitive', not 'divinity'.

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Geeze. That quote has been in my file for years, and it never occurred to me to confirm that I didn't have a mondegreen before using it. Though I should note that Helen, who introduced me to the Indigo Girls, didn't catch it either.
I guess I'll have to remove that from the chapter...
Bluemage wrote:

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That... was absolutely fantastic!

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Thank you!
DHBirr wrote:

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And if the gods are enemies of humanity, then their Soldiers and Servitors -- and ordinary clergy, too -- are traitors in the service of a hostile power. How will the gods react when a coalition of mages starts hunting down and killing Servitors for their treason against the human species?

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As Chris notes, not bloody likely. While Doug's got his own personal power level going for him here, the staff is what's key.
More on this later.

Okay, I'm out of time right now -- when I next get a chance, probably at lunch, I'll pick up with Morganni's post.

-- Bob
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