Chapter 4 is now available for your reading pleasure.

[aku]

Welp. It warn't stunned no more.

Should be "wasn't".

[robkelk]

Welp. It warn't stunned no more.

Should be "wasn't".

No, it shouldn't. That's eye dialect for the accent Doug's thinking in at that moment. (Ozark, if I'm not mistaken.)

[aku]

Concordance broken links, first with bonus typo:

certainly mine yet another <a

href"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantum_gravity">Wikpiedia article</a>

missing "=" after href, and typo in "Wikpiedia".


Second is

YouTube <a href-"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6JdG32Zr3WU">here

using a dash "-" instead of "=" after href.

[aku]

Welp. It warn't stunned no more.

Should be "wasn't".

No, it shouldn't. That's eye dialect for the accent Doug's thinking in at that moment. (Ozark, if I'm not mistaken.)

Thank you, I stand corrected.

[Aleh]

Ah, yeah.

[Bob Schroeck]

I'm in the middle of a product deploy for work right now, I'll fix the concordance errors when we're done. (I'm on the wrong machine to do it.)

[Labster]

And at least your typo didn't bring the Seanchan in with the Shanahan and Shanshan.  Good luck explaining how a male named Looney Toons hadn't gone mad from the One Power.

I'm currently watching a Korean drama where there's a lot of moving back and forth in time, and between universes, without any kind of obvious signal -- to a level that it's even annoying to fans of the show.  So I didn't even notice that you were writing in chronological order until I checked the timestamps later... and the ritual had effect before cause.  That's a pretty neat idea.  I'm sure that Her Nibettes is responsible for this and not the song power. Magic should feel magical, and that certainly did.

Though when Usagi started screaming a note at the beginning of a song, I was sure I won't get fooled again.  Yeaaaaaah!

[Bob Schroeck]

Oh, I figured out what had happened with that search. I had "Match Case" toggled on for a special search I'd made, and forgot to untoggle it -- and then searched on "shanahan", all lower case.

Deploy is continuing, although we're almost done.

and the ritual had effect before cause. That's a pretty neat idea. I'm sure that Her Nibettes is responsible for this and not the song power. Magic should feel magical, and that certainly did.

Well, if you're going to call everyone together, you might as well make sure they all show up at the same time no matter how far away they are. If Venus had been in England still, she would have heard the call even earlier -- at least enough time to book and take a flight back to Japan.

Oh, damn. I should have done that. I have enough flexibility in the Sailor V timeline vis-a-vis Sailor Moon to have gotten away with it.

[Bob Schroeck]

Okay, the concordance has been updated. And it was an oddly good thing that I had to do it, because when I checked the Youtube link to "I'll Go Where I'm Needed", I discovered the video had been taken down. And investigation revealed that so had the group's Soundcloud page. The link now goes to a playable copy at BandCamp.

[Matrix Dragon]

Hotaru needs all the hugs right now.

[classicdrogn]

I'm rereading and haven't gotten up to the new chapter yet, but these stuck out to me in ch3:

I chuckled and caught her eye. "A welcome break from cat food, Sherada?"

She smiled back. "Royal Canin is more appetizing than I would have thought, but yes, I do long for a proper meal on occasion."

When I was a younker (preschool or earlier) I was a fiend for Meow Mix, to the point my mother and babysitters had to keep a baggie of some meant-for-humans snack in a pocket and physically head me off to stuff something else in my hands when I started heading in the direction of the cat dish. It was like bacon-burger flavored Cheerios but more solid and crunchy by my recollection.

I stifled a laugh. "Yeah, except for that part. But Moon — it gave the enemy that much more time to get in the first hit. You are damned lucky they didn't! I'm the last person to complain about banter in combat, but if you must give a speech, give it while you are kicking their butts. Or better yet, knock them down first, then rant at them. Otherwise you're just making yourself a target."

She bit her lip. "Okay, I'll try. It's just that, every time I've done this, I just kinda automatically say stuff like that."

I tilted my head at that. "'Automatically'?" She nodded and I glanced at Luna. "Some side effect of the transformation, Sherada?"

Luna looked thoughtful. "Not one I'm aware of. We'll have to look into that."

That... might actually be Moon Kingdom stuff coming from reincarnation memories -- formally judging the villain of the week a criminal/enemy of the realm before administering a death sentence. It would fit with the direct monarchy of what little we see of it for the royal family to have the power of high and low justice.

In anything but the defeat of your enemies, always use the lightest touch and the least power necessary, because there is a great difference between a drinking fountain and a fire hose.

I am reminded of a BtVS fanfic (I don't recall if it references a canon incident or not) where someone is talking about late-Willow's magical power, and mentions an incident where an enemy had trapped some magical MacGuffin (possibly a captured soul?) in a bottle, so Willow set up a ritual to find and break the bottle to release it, and the hardest part was making sure it only broke the right bottle, and not every bottle on earth. Debatable for Willow depending on level of fandom wank, but at least as plausibly within Usagi's reach.


I further note that the end of ch3 is lacking a "next chapter" link, but anyway, on to ch4 at last! The hype, as they say, is real. I think I'll post this now though, to avoid risking a derp that erases it all.

[classicdrogn]

Lots of spoilers in here, but given this iis the thread for announcing and commenting on the release of the chapter, I don't think that's unexpected, nor worth putting in actual tags. I will give it a little extra space, though.

I guess we're going to cram school," Usagi said a determination that surprised Luna. "And I know just where I'm going to cram it, too," she added in an angry mutter.

First LOL of the chapter (As opposed to amused snorts and grins)

Karite-sensei

Is the youma's disguise/civilian name canon? Looking up the word turned up an interesting mineral discovered in 2020

Karite fossil impact-diamonds

"But this time we have my computer!" Mercury said, producing the gizmo in question out of a little blur of magic in the small of her back.

"Exactly!" Moon declared triumphantly as Mercury was already suiting action to words. Luna and I stood back and watched the two of them as she flipped it open, then touched the stud in her ear to turn on the "goggles" that wrapped her face in a bubble of blue light.

I always did wonder if any of the others could produce the little visor-thingy from their earrings. Even without a palmtop of their own to connect to just the HUD could probably help with battlefield awareness, and if nothing else they should be able to communicate with the Mercury Computer as well to give Ami more data and let her coordinate attacks on weak points she picks out more easily.

I'll admit to Ami being my favorite, ticking off multiple checkboxes between her visual design, being smart in general, inclined to scientific analysis, her usual battlefield control and support role, and keeping calm under pressure. I also completely understand her mixed feelings about encountering an academic challenge that's an actual challenge.


I take it the lunarian remains cleanup was what you were talking about when you mentioned having a perfect opportunity to use "Where The Wild Roses Grow" to talk to the dead? I guess the information access would have shortcut the plot too much, though. Ah well.

I let go of the Toothpick (it being too deeply embedded in the creature for me to pull it out) and let its wild spasms toss me out of its reach.

The Toothpick shifts size at will, though, shouldn't it be able to shrink its way out? As in diameter, then length to leave the now much larger than it is wound.

Meanwhile at the track...

fill in your own cliché of choice here.

It takes a strong man to make a tender chicken!

I have to suspect that disrupting all the other girls' lives with the calling ritual is going to have some backlash. Unfortunate.

Saturn squeaked, spun away from the mortal remains of her father, and vanished.

Such as. Even if it's for the best in both the immediate term and the long run, like, damn, son.

As a smile began to break across her face, Luna suddenly felt a flicker of magic accessing her storage space. Checking it, she realized everything she had been keeping in there had vanished.

The big first aid kit they added in chapter two or three too?

With a wave of the Garnet Rod (Pluto) conjured a bucket of popcorn and an armchair, then settled in to watch.

I think we all know this mood

"<Fight for the Kingdom, bound for glory,
Armed with a heart of steel!>"

And we have title drop!

As for the Toothpick detecting a "compatible component," well, it is a branch froim Yggdrasil, innit? And here it is, wielded by a fella who's currently engaged in supporting the freshly assembled and empowered champions of nine worlds. I surely can't imagine how he or it could possibly get drawn more closely into this whole shemozzle

[Star Ranger4]

Oy what a wild ride!  And While I cant speak for others, it has taken me this long to finish reading through the chapter since Mamoru mentioned it on Callahan's Discord

There were several great bits in here, Some that I can remember and some I won't find until I re read later.  The one that is at or near the top of the list is "No, the OTHER Luna" for folk who aren't privy to that particular bit of intel!  >snicker<

The one thing I found slightly confusing is that there seems to be reference to episodes that were dropped for whatever reason from the first English dub?  Defiantly don't recall either the talent show episode or the clock shop from the first time I saw it...

The last thing that sticks in my head is the whole 'what was duty uniform and was wasn't' question that is raised when Luna leads Doug past that mural.  Based on what we see happen with Pluto later, the Seifuku models are likely like class A's, or Mess dress; what we see in the mural is, in fact, standard duty BDU; and now we have warrior's feast dress as well.

Oh.  AND Pluto sitting back and watching this whole thing go down a different, possibly better, path while eating popcorn.  So many of us in my circle of acquaintances love to do things like that.  "Oh.  I don't have to mess in this.  Lets just sit back and watch the mayhem!"

[Star Ranger4]

As for the Toothpick detecting a "compatible component," well, it is a branch froim Yggdrasil, innit? And here it is, wielded by a fella who's currently engaged in supporting the freshly assembled and empowered champions of nine worlds. I surely can't imagine how he or it could possibly get drawn more closely into this whole shemozzle

Which Fella?  Given the current company (we'll exclude the two who are in their private demesnes) there are two.  Then again, assuming that it means Endimyon instead of Doug is probaly given, since it doesn't say that UNTIL Mamoru is transformed...  but still.  How do we know it really IS Mamoru, and not... say Makoto, who's element includes wood?

[Mamorien]

Oy what a wild ride!  And While I cant speak for others, it has taken me this long to finish reading through the chapter since Mamoru mentioned it on Callahan's Discord

In the immortal words of John Freeman, "Thanks I could help."

Defiantly don't recall either the talent show episode or the clock shop from the first time I saw it...

I don't remember the clock shop one, but I have a mental image of "Serena and Molly" singing "Fighting Evil by Moonlight" that I'm pretty sure is from the talent show.

The last thing that sticks in my head is the whole 'what was duty uniform and was wasn't' question that is raised when Luna leads Doug past that mural.  Based on what we see happen with Pluto later, the Seifuku models are likely like class A's, or Mess dress; what we see in the mural is, in fact, standard duty BDU; and now we have warrior's feast dress as well.

I was fumbling my way toward an explanation like that. Thanks some more!

[Norgarth]

Finally finished the new chapter, awesome read.

And now I get InsaneTD's comment about the gif I posted in the other thread being accurate (I even got the hair colour right)  

As soon as I realized what Prof Tomae was going to do and that it was going to be matching up with Doug's ritual time-wise, well, I knew he was in for a bad day  

Though Rei  may be in for a bad time as well when she heads back to the shrine, depending on what condition her grandfather is in.  Hopefully this method of yanking the rainbow crystals out was merely painful, not lethal (or transformative)

Guessed right about the song Doug used for the moon burials.

Jedite's next encounter with/report about the Sailors is gonna come with a drawer change as he discovers the upgrade in numbers (plus the "Unholy shit! That's the Silver Crystal!" pucker factor)

[robkelk]

As for the Toothpick detecting a "compatible component," well, it is a branch froim Yggdrasil, innit? And here it is, wielded by a fella who's currently engaged in supporting the freshly assembled and empowered champions of nine worlds. I surely can't imagine how he or it could possibly get drawn more closely into this whole shemozzle

Which Fella?  Given the current company (we'll exclude the two who are in their private demesnes) there are two.  Then again, assuming that it means Endimyon instead of Doug is probaly given, since it doesn't say that UNTIL Mamoru is transformed...  but still.  How do we know it really IS Mamoru, and not... say Makoto, who's element includes wood?

All I know is, if I was to call Mako-chan a "component," she'd rip me a new one. If I'm lucky, figuratively, by yelling at me.

But, hey, I suppose it's possible that the Toothpick has the same idiosyncratic grasp of English that Raising Heart has, a few dozen universes over.

[classicdrogn]

Despite the physics of their associated astronomical objects, Mamoru is pretty much just a satellite of Usagi. I was talking about Doug, and the Toothpick soaking up a share of the empowerment going around based on compatible mythological themes.

[Labster]

Not sure why everyone's being the boke about the "Compatible component detected".  It's a divine staff, so what is that going to bluetooth connect to, but something else divine.  Our choices here are either the Crescent Moon Stick, or the Moroboshi Imperialist Silver Crystal.  I'm not sure about you guys, but I'd bet 25 or 6 to 4 that it's not the other wand, but the crystal is the compatible component, because it attaches itself to the Moon Stick in canon -- the combining allowing her to release raw spiral energy and drill it into Metalia.  Or something like that.  The reveal here is that the Crescent Moon Stick is of the same nature as the Toothpick, and can probably also kill gods.

I'm hoping the Dark Kingdom doesn't get guns.  What if they shoot Luna?  No one wants to get the hole in Sherada.

On the concordance:
>  This is a girl whose parents own a helicopter she can use on short notice, after all...

Are you sure that's not her magical ability, Sailor Heliport?

> House of Louksnae
Seeing PIE reconstructed words without an asterisk in front makes me uncomfortable.  Also wiktionary suggests *louksnā is Proto-Italic, and that the PIE representation is closer to *lówksneh₂.  And that that's still a newer, more poetic synonym for the the older *mḗh₁n̥s, from which we get "moon".  I don't think I would have looked up any of this if I had seen the asterisk in the concordance... Anyway there's nothing wrong with choosing the poetic name -- which probably means something like "a twinkle".

> English was built out of half-syllables
I sort of think of it the other way around, with Japanese being half-syllables, because the language is moraically timed.  I feel like morae are like 65% of the length of an English syllable, but that kind of depends because of syllables varying like "no" and "shrinks".  Even "hey" is two morae in Japanese.  Okay, enough linguistics.

[SilverFang01]

I enjoyed it a lot.

I noticed that the ritual was almost strong enough to break Beryl’s and Metaria’s spell over the Earth Guardians. Was that a result of whatever last minute modification Usagi did to her part of the ritual?

Also there is a typo on the concordance where it says “solider” instead of soldier.

brevet
A brevet is a temporary elevation in a soldier's rank, lasting for as long as the higher officer who granted it decides it's needed, after which the solider returns to his original rank.

[Star Ranger4]

brevet
A brevet is a temporary elevation in a soldier's rank, lasting for as long as the higher officer who granted it decides it's needed, after which the solider returns to his original rank.

Right, your mostly talking about the typo...  What I noticed there (since you fixed it) is there is one other inconsistency there.  There have often been times where the brevet rank has been confirmed, or made permanent by those above the officer who did the breveting when (which happens a lot more often that IF, especially in fiction) the breveted person proves they really are capable (and probably should have had) of holding the rank to which they were breveted all along.

This, however, most often happens in combat or combat eminent situations; but has also been used a time or two to give an immediate subordinate the appropriate rank after sacking an officer who has proven his incompetance

[robkelk]

As a smile began to break across her face, Luna suddenly felt a flicker of magic accessing her storage space. Checking it, she realized everything she had been keeping in there had vanished.

The big first aid kit they added in chapter two or three too?

Everybody else was getting a party favor. It wouldn't have been fair to exclude Ami.

[Skyfire2020]

I've just finished reading the latest part and I enjoyed it.  Trying to be vague, my highlight was the cause and effect issue.  As for the final line, I just assumed it referred to Doug.

[Bob Schroeck]

To be honest, I forgot about the first aid kit. <sheepish shrug>

I'll fix that and the typo in the concordance when I get out of work tonight.

I suppose that I should be grateful that out of over 320k (chapter + concordance) I only had something like a dozen typos, so that it's practical to point them all out. (As opposed to some writers whose works are such that doing the opposite is less trouble...) But yeah, it's only occurred to me now that the one thing I didn't do when prepping the chapter for posting was a spellcheck pass, and I'm wondering how I forgot it.

[Shepherd]

The shield problem from the cram school scene is still there. Sailor Moon dismisses her shield spell when dodging away from Garoben, then dismisses it a second time after the fight is over and she turns to face Ami.