On Wed, 1 Oct 2003, hkmiller wrote:

Didn't quite know what to make of this at first. My initial thought was
that you were
deliberating delaying any advance in the plot, possibly in order to put
the onus of figuring
out where last chapter's cliffhanger goes back on your co-author. But
then, as I got further
into this chapter, I began to really enjoy the reappearance of every
minor character we've
seen in this series, and the girding up of hopeless fighters for all-out
battle. And, in the end,
the plot IS advanced, and in directions (if I'm not mistaken) indicated
lo these many moons
ago on your co-author's web site: Ep 23, The Zodiac Strikes at Naru; Ep
24, Enter... Dark
Tokyo; etc. So, despite what seems, at first glance, like a really
haphazard chapter here,
it apparently fits closely into a plot planned years ago.

This is all going according to plan.  (pushes glasses up nose).  Jeff and
I loosely outlined the entire series way back when we started; while we've
made some changes along the way, we've largely stuck to the outline.


But yes, I do pull out all the minor characters, so as to give them their
last big drive around before the grand finale.

AND I LIKED IT! :)

I was disappointed at the length, however. Much shorter than I've come
to expect
from you. ;)

I put all my length urges into the next COAEG, which is currently
theoretically being preread.  (In actuallity, it appears that my
prereaders have died at the hands of the Angels or something...)

 > John
Biles wrote: >

	Sayuri, Leo Istarii (for she was now Leo's heir), stopped.  "You
think she murdered Libra?"

Sayuri, for instance, has had just one single appearance since Ep 13.

I mean tto use her more, but it just didn't work out.

	They both stood uncomfortably in the silence.  "Perhaps if we can
get the Star Princess and take her power, since it rightfully belongs to
us..."

	"We need the Star Orb.  Which remains lost.  So long as it remains
lost, even if we take her, all we can do is stare at her.  The Orb is the
key to unlock that door.  And all our divinations for thousands of years
have been unable to..."

This plot point, although necessary to this chapter, unfortunately
doesn't sync well with
most of the previous plot. Why have the Zodiac been after Naru since ep
1 if they
couldn't take her power without the Orb, which they have no reason to
believe they'll
ever find? Perhaps they've just discovered they need the Orb?

Theyt've been after her because her use of her powers screws them up; if
they have her, they can keep her from using her abilities.  Also they have
very poor memories of the royal faily of the Star Kingdom and are not
inclined to let her run amok (from their viewpoint).

 > >	 "No,
ma'am.  His girlfriend..." > > > >	"I'm his girlfriend!" Polly snapped.

	"Sorry, ma'am.  His mistress isn't in class either."

Heh. Seen a bit too much of Airbats lately, have we? Oh well, it's still
a good joke.

Airbats?

And Polly is another we've not seen much of since much earlier in the
series.

Yep.  She and Chester were meant to have larger roles, back before Jeff
and I realized how much more we'd created than we could use.  ^^;;

	"Maybe it means you will all fuse together to form Voltron," Umino
said.

LOL!

Heh :)

	"We're going to argue for an hour, then decide on pepperoni and
anchovy pizza," Ryo said.

(clip)

	"You thought I had a vision about what kind of pizza we would
order?" Ryo asked, laughing.

Heh. Good one. Ryo does have a lot of power to impose his wishes
on others, doesn't he?

Yep.

	"Gather a group of our Star Guard and get Taurus and Pisces to
help you.  I want to see the Trans-Dimensional Defense Club eliminated.

My first reaction here was... you've GOT to be kidding. But I did
enjoy the way this played out; it's kind of nice to see SOMEONE take
the Legion of Substitute Dimensional Defenders seriously.

Better safe than sorry :)

 >	"We should get my brother," Polly said.
"He needs to hear this."

	"Are you sure we can trust him?" Leo asked.  "I do not like the
look in his eyes."

This struck me as odd. I don't remember Chester being suborned or out of
it or anything.
If it did happen, and I just forgot (was it in #22?), perhaps a brief
reminder would not
be out of place.

Chester is not a very pleasant person, which is why Leo doesn't like him
very much.

both of our main targets there.  Aquarius, you are our strongest fighter
right now.  You will have to keep an eye out for their Idol Angel and
neutralize her before she can start singing.

And I loved seeing Manami return; we REALLY haven't seen enough of her.

I had to put in at least one traditional magical girl :)

	Anthracite moved to engage Leo, while Hematite took cover and
began to snipe at Sagittarius with bursts of black lightning.

I had this theory for a while that Yuki was a disguise for Hematite.
I guess not, though, given they're putting in simultaneous appearances
at two different places.

She's a reincarnated star sailing captain, not Hematite.  Cool theory,
though :)

	"Sometimes," Augur said, "Sacrifices have to be made in the short
term for a long term good.  Some may suffer for the good of the greater
number."  His voice was somewhat sad.

Heh. Talking about himself, here? I wonder if he saw more in the
astrological forecasts at the beginning of this chapter than he let on?

Augur knew more than he told :)

	And then there was a flash of light, and forty elves in armor
appeared with the Younger Pluto.  One of the elves, a blue-haired woman
stepped in front of the white haired female leader of the elves as she was
about to speak.  "You are not taking them ANYWHERE," she said vehemently.
"You are not taking anyone!  I'm the last surviving member of the Solar
Patrol, and I'm putting you ALL UNDER ARREST!"  She flashed a badge.

And here's a plot twist I wasn't expecting. Nice to seen Gwen again, too.

All part of the master plan :)

we will need to find wherever Derith is hiding.  He will want to be part
of this."

Yes, definitely. We need another appearance by Derith and Bob! Too bad
they weren't
in this one.

Once again, a nice chapter.

Thanks!  Glad you enjoyed it!



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