Helm sighs and bows to MST crew,

I would like to apologize for my knee jerk reaction. It was made with
reading it thoughtly. I feel rather foolish at this point. I appreciate the
tourble you went to do this. Thank you very much.

Ahem, now let's see if I can make up for my little and very childish
tantrum. I have the wonderious duty of responding and this time it's geat
stuff I get to respond to. Only possible squirrel in here is me :)

Hotaru:  So how am I portrayed in them?
Sean:  Most of the time, you aren't, at least in the future ones we've
      been discussing.  The authors who examine Crystal Tokyo closely
      don't have you there.  I've never been able to figure out why.
      Perhaps because they think you're too powerful, or that your old
      body was too sickly, or maybe they just can't get a handle on
      what you'd be like...
Hotaru:  Well, at least I don't have to worry about being poorly written.
Sean:  For the most part...there are a few awkward Saturn fics out there,
      but they're mostly 20th century.

I wouldn't have the skill to do justice to anything decent with Hotaru in it.

Hotaru:  And a lovely archive it is too.
Sean:  Indeed.  Our meet cute story is there, y'know.
Hotaru:  Sean, we did not meet cute.

Thank you, I try. 

Sean:  First of all, can Iie just come in here and make a point?  While
      Iie am generally not bothered by Japanese in fanfics, and Iie do
      like to learn, Iie feel that this word is out of place.  It jars
      in points where 'no' would flow much better.
Hotaru:  Yeah, but the authors use Japanese throughout.
Sean:  But for the most part, it's more common fanfic usage.  Even hai
      is well known.  But I don't know of any other fanfics that use
      iie for no.
Hotaru:  Thank you, Mr. Lawson.
Sean:  Had to be said.

I might have become overly fascinated with the word. We will consider it
and might do a search and replace to make it flow better.

Sean and Hotaru:  Foreshadowing:  your key to quality literature.

(grin) As I'll explain later I was doing forshadowing for this fic back
when I started this whole thing with "Grandmother Makoto".

Hotaru:  Aw, cute kid.
Sean:  Misako is one of the best things about this fic.  She's cute and
      likeable, in the same way that Chibi-Usa wasn't.
Hotaru:  HEY! <WHAM> That's my best friend you're dissing!
Sean:  When you met her, she was a lot better than her introductory
      stories.  Plus you knew the manga Chibi-Usa, who is also more
      likeable than the anime one.

Misako is cute and likeable. However allow me to point out that she *is* 5
after all. This can have it's own probelms. Err... I'll shut up now before
I ruine the plot of future parts.

Hotaru:  You're right, this is a different Chibi-Usa.
Sean:  Doug is one of the best at capturing her.

Thank you, but I must say that Will was also a contributing factor of this.
I detest combat scenes. Well with the possible exception of Sir
Flop-Alot... no he isn't in this fic :(

Hotaru:  Is Crystal Tokyo as nice in Doug's future as it is in mine?
Sean:  Well, it's no utopia, but yeah, pretty nice.
Hotaru:  Then she'd be much better off training in the past, where she
        can actually fight evil?
Sean:  Tell that to Sakuya.

Um... Hotaru seems to have the backwards. Sakuya didn't want her in the
past fighting evil. She understood it but didn't except it.

(so do Sean's.)
Sean:  That certainly explains her bitchy personality...if ever there was
      a woman that needed to get lai--
<WHAM!>
Hotaru:  I thought you said this was a family C&C...

Heh! I'll have to fit that into a later part some how. Now who would be
best to tell Sakuya that she sould um... well you knwo... Uh oh! shouldn't
have said that, I can see both Sakuya's glaring at me, OH! this is gonna hurt!

Hotaru:  Hasn't she oaked up?
Sean:  Not yet, I guess...

Nope not yet.

Sean:  Stage *out*?
Hotaru:  As in exit, stage left or something?
Sean:  Yes, but that's taken from the standard theatre direction, with
      right for left depending on how the actor is facing.  There is
      no out.  If there were more than one, you could say 'exeunt'.
      But not out.

This could be the fault of a script problem in translation that we use for
references. Hard to say I'll see what Will thinks.

Hotaru:  If she turns out to be Sailor Cosmos...
Sean:  Then we'll hunt Doug and Will down, I promise.

Who Misako?!? No, definitely not Sailor Cosmos. If your refering to
Chibi-Usa she also does not become Sailor Cosmos, if I though of that idea
I'd hurt myself!

"You kawaii! Onee-chan S'nshi!!!" Misako declared and gave Chibi-Moon a

Sean:  Bo, that's Bishoujo Senshi.

Err... Misako was saying that her older sister was a senshi. It might not
have been clearly written.

Hotaru:  This whole scene was utterly gorgeous.
Sean:  (sniffling) Indeed.

For the record we manged to make two people cry... at least thats as many
that would be willing to admit it.

Sean:  Bet she'll never do that again.
Hotaru:  Why do I suspect this kid will be scarred for life by the end 
        of this fic?

Nah! We don't specialize in scarring for life, just emotional torment until
they die :)

Sean and Hotaru:  (openly weeping) Waaaaaaaaaahhh!
Sean:  Again, lovely. *sniff*

Starts to grin as if on something. This is great! Suddenly comes back down
to earth, but what will they do in part #9 when Sakuya um... well... Oh
that's going leave a mark.

Hotaru:  What ever happened to him?
Sean:  He was crucified along with Usagi's parents just before the start
      of Crystal Tokyo.
Hotaru:  REALLY?
Sean:  (pause) No, not really.  I've no idea.
<WHAM!>
Sean:  I think I'll go lie doen now... <thump>

You find out, in a round about way. Cause of death may be determind by the
reader once they have all the facts :)

Hotaru:  Isn't Ikuko being a lot more supporting than usual?
Sean:  Usagi's grown more in this alternate universe than she has in the
      real SM one.  Her relationship with Chibi-Usa has certainly helped
      convince her mother of her growing maturity.

Right on the money! 

Sean:  OK, while we've been extolling the sweet scenes in this fic, I 
      feel a need to add that there's a danger of going too far and 
      becoming syrupy.  We're kind of skirting the edge here, and I'd
      keep an eye out for that sort of thing.
Hotaru:  Sakuya's not as active in this part.
Sean:  Well, that's true.  She does take the sap right out of a person...
<WHAM!>
Sean:  Ow!  That wasn't hentai!
Hotaru:  It sounded like it...

This is about as high as the sugar count will go. With the possible
exception of the Part 5 or 6. However in that particular part sugar is
unavoidable, it surounds the characters. Now if that isn't a plot give away
I don't know what is.

Hotaru:  She sounds like Setsuna!
Sean:  Don't let her hear you say that...

Doug has the first Sakuya restrain the other one. Cough, Hotaru is right
though.

Hotaru:  Younger Jupiter is much more manga-influenced.
Sean:  She is rather...cold, isn't she?

Like a cucumber. To be perfectly honest I've never read the manga.

Sean:  Whoa!  Plot-Contrivance Theater!
Hotaru:  Does it happen that often in the anime?  This seemed really...
        simple.  Why doesn't she do this every time she's punished?

Well she was told that Usagi couldn't find out and Ikuko being annoyed that
Chibi-Usa was late would make Usagi curious. Usagi would then hound
Chibi-Usa, so she uses Luna-P. Also she's unlikely to use it in this
universe with both Usagi and Sakuya around. They are unlikely to let things
slip if they know about it.

Sean:  And she's barely been in this part...
Hotaru:  For a series called Tales of Younger Venus, she hasn't had much
        to do.  Jupiter got *much* more screen time in her fic.

(sighs). I know. This shouldn't be taken as an exuce, more an explaination.
This fic first started out as a way to tie up loose end brought up from
"Tales of Younger Jupiter" and "Grandmother Makoto". Actually I need to tie
up those loose ends or several people were going to seriously hurt me.
That's what the start of this has been about. Kimeko should be taking a
more active roll in the future. The title might have been misleading but...
(sigh).

Hotaru:  Hey, it really was Rowan Atkinson!

Pardon???

Sean:  Game over, man, game over!!!

^_^!

Hotaru:  Excellent part.  Please write more.  Now, what about Pluto?
Sean:  The way Pluto has been portrayed in this series so far is very one-
      sided.  Most authors are wary of finding out what Pluto is thinking,
      and that's fine.  However, the only POV we've gotten of Pluto's
      actions is Sakuya's.  It's getting to the point where I have to
      wonder if Doug and Will like Pluto at all...I'd like to see 
      some idea that Pluto's actions *were* necessary.  At least in
      some way.

Okay let me deal with this first. Do I like Pluto? Yes she's rated second
in line only after Makoto, Hotaru comes third tied with C-U. Will has
slightly different perceptions then I do. Pluto's motivations are told in
#8 again through Sakuya's POV. The problem we're having with Pluto is that
we can't decided upon the best vehicle to really give those reasons.
Contrary to some peoples beliefes, Pluto *does* have her reasons. We're
just in the dark as to how to convey them to the reader and yet stay true
to Pluto's character of being an enigma.

Sean:  Ah, yes, it's time for 'predict the ending', where you and I try to
      second guess the authors.  Now, Misako is a cute, sweet, lovable
      character.  She's cannon fodder, let's face it.  I see them heading
      back to the future at the end, but somehow things are changed again,
      and Misako disappears, having never existed.  Kimeko immediately
      goes insane with grief, and Sakuya, enraged, kills Pluto.  This
      leads Chibi-Usa to kill Sakuya, and then herself.  The rest of the
      timeline, without Pluto to watch it, crumbles.  Crystal Tokyo 
      never existed.

Nope.

Hotaru: (pause) That's sick.
Sean:  Thank you.
Hotaru:  Well, I was reading through the early parts, and I thought, what
        if Sakuya managed to change history so that whatever Pluto did
        to her mother *didn't happen*?  Sakuya gets back to Crystal 
        Tokyo and finds that she and Pluto are supposed to be good 
        friends.  She then spends the rest of the fic trying to deal
        with her unresolved anger, but finally manages to let go of it,
        becomes a better person, and everyone is happy.
Sean: (pause) *That* is sick.
Hotaru:  I try.

Um... Sakuya actually likely Pluto?!? Nope.

Sean:  And how much of a chance do you think that has to happen?
Hotaru:  As much as you writing Tales of Younger Pluto.
Sean:  (to screen) What do you think, sirs?

Again thank you for your C&C and the time you took. I feel rather badly
that I said what I did in the first place. Tales of Younger Pluto??? 

<Possible foreshadowing on>

ToYE, Misako... That's all I'm allowed to say.
ToYP, very intersting idea, I've had demand for an out one and tha would
certainly be a worth challange.

<Possible foreshadowing off>

Voice:  Oooh, panties.  And with the days of the week on them too.
Rei:  GRANDPAAAAAA!!! (turns) Until next time, Michael J. Fox!

Oh, I thought maybe it was RH :)


Doug

"I write in broad tapestries, interweaving characters lives leaving
 the little details to the reader unless the detials are important."
	- Anne McCafrey

http://log.on.ca/users/helm/anime/index.htm
http://log.on.ca/users/helm/sako/sakohome.htm
http://log.on.ca/gbaac/index.htm