Trinity Angles (Discussion Thread)

[Kieran]

Come on, that’s actually great news. Part of the reason why I posted on this forum is to kinda promote this idea, so as many people as possible saw the potential in this crossover.

Ah - I'm glad you're pleased, then.

Thanks, really appreciate it! But it won’t probably happen any time soon, I am only developing story and character arcs at this point. Plus, I also don’t have a lot of experience in writing, so I’m focused on short stories for now.

Fair enough. But still, drop me a line when viable - I like to try and support people.

I am, it will make reading stories in this thread much easier, thanks a lot!

I hope you find one or more of them to your liking - and by all means, tell me so!

[Kieran]

UAC Mars Outpost
May 13, 2149

[SCAN INCOMPLETE]
[REPORT ERROR]
[BASE CASUALTIES: UNAVAILABLE]
[FACILITY DAMAGE: UNAVAILABLE]
[THREAT LEVEL: UNAVAILABLE]
[ATTACK ORIGIN: UNAVAILABLE]

Useless piece of—!

Seriously, who designed a detection system that went totally offline when one of three units did?

. . . The same geniuses who managed to trigger a demonic invasion in the first place, he answered his own question.

Given the amount of effort he’d gone to in blowing up that gods-damned arch in the first place—bloody idiot wizards!—that somebody had managed to build another damned portal, and successfully turn it on, was—

The screen abruptly switched from a map of the damaged satellite array to read [INCOMING VOICE COMM: DR. SAMUEL HAYDEN, UAC MARS DIRECTOR]

“Welcome,” a synthesised voice said smoothly. “I’m Doctor Samuel Hayden. I’m the head of—”

Having heard enough, Galen shoved the monitor aside—and with his enhanced strength, that meant sending it spinning into a piece of equipment that shattered the monitor entirely. “Head” meant that he was the guy in charge, and ergo, the one responsible for this mess. And if he managed to sound that calm during what even his computer system referred to as a demonic invasion, rather than some pseudo-scientific term, then he’d probably set it off deliberately . . .

And even if that wasn’t the case, the cadence of his voice oozed “snake-oil salesman” even through the electronic tones. The fact that the boss of a seeming complex like this had managed to sequester himself somewhere safe enough to send a communication, and monitor enough of whatever this place was to notice that he was accessing a terminal, just screamed “sudden but inevitable betrayal” in any future dealings.

No fucking thank you—Galen had a name and a voice, which was enough to tell him who to shoot if he ever found the guy; beyond that, let him burn with the rest of this place.

After that, the armoured wizard began to take stock of his situation. He was on Mars, apparently, which was good. It meant Earth was still (presumably) safe from invasion, and he hadn’t gone through all that shit for nothing—as long as he could keep this contained, anyway. It also meant that, leaving aside his lack of a wand, magic might start working like normal again. He’d learned from harsh experience that it didn’t function all that well outside the gravity well of a planet—and the effects of Hell on his usual repertoire had been . . . Limiting, in a lot of ways.

Fortunately, his suit had mitigated a lot of—what the HELL?!

Galen stared in sudden disbelief at the readouts, and frantically ran a diagnostic; he stared some more when they came back identical to their previous state.

How gods-damned long was I out to be down to THIS?!

The enchantments placed upon his armour couldn’t actually be undone, by virtue of their nature; the suit would have to be utterly destroyed in order for that to happen. But to have run for so long that they’d not only outpaced the self-charging function, but been totally drained . . .? That implied . . .

Hell, it implied at least centuries of inactivity, more likely millennia, and maybe even tens of thousands of years!

Life support down to minimum function, ammunition storage same, and no armour reinforcement whatsoever . . . I’ve worked with less, but not by much . . .

Galen himself didn’t feel any different—and he’d shaken off the inertia that had built up quickly enough that he concluded that he wasn’t—so he was better off than he could have been, but it was still disconcerting.

A sudden thought crossed his mind, and he took a closer look at his more immediate surroundings—which was immediately followed by a roar of incandescent rage.

“YOU FUCKING BASTARDS STOLE MY GEAR?!”








UAC Mars Outpost
Chairman’s Office








“So,” Hayden mused, “he does understand English.”

“And speaks an incongruously modern dialect of it,” remarked VEGA, the artificial intelligence that was responsible for administering (and in some senses, was) the UAC complex. “. . . Doctor Hayden, I am unconvinced of the wisdom of this course of action.”

“Our options are limited, VEGA,” Hayden replied. “As much as I’d like to throttle Olivia with my own hands, even with your help, I’d stand little chance against the sheer numbers out there.”

Even given the enhanced capabilities of his cybernetic form, he’d endured Hell by having several Elite Guards with him, after all—all of whom had died during the expedition. And Olivia had activated the kill switch implanted in the Guards during her takeover, so there were none left now.

“Still,” VEGA persisted, “he seems quite unlikely to help us; and moreover, in the end, he is only a single man.”

“And they fear him, VEGA,” Hayden reminded the AI. “Whatever the truth of the legends we found transcribed, Olivia believed in them enough to try and make certain he was never released—and that means her patrons did, as well.”

“The possibility of trading our current problem for an even worse one seems even less logical.”

Hayden scoffed. “I highly doubt the legend is one hundred percent accurate—they never are. But the psychological warfare aspects could be of great use to us, even without his direct cooperation.” He studied the video feed. “And if nothing else, he is proving more effective than our own measures, already.”

VEGA silently processed this, even as Subject DMI-5 seized one of the demons by the throat and unleashed a right hook that reduced its head to a smear of bloody pulp. The artificial intelligence quickly calculated the amount of force that single punch would’ve needed to generate to accomplish such a feat on a human, and then scaled upwards to reflect dealing with a body which had demonstrated the ability to treat small-arms fire as a minor irritant.

“. . . I very much hope you are correct, Doctor Hayden.” A sudden vibration went through the room, simultaneous with an alert sounding, and VEGA chimed in, “There has been a security breach in your private lab, Doctor Hayden: artefact DMW-1 is missing—as is the safe it was stored in.”

“WHAT?!” Hayden glanced at the video feed to confirm that no, the most likely culprit was nowhere near his lab. That meant that Olivia—

“Security failsafe activated,” VEGA continued. “Argent Cell detonation successful—”

That was a relief. It meant that none of the documents or equipment—and more importantly, several powerful tools—would fall into—

“Artefact DMW-1 still in transit.”

“That’s impossible!” Hayden exclaimed.

Even an Argent Cell small enough to be thoroughly concealed in his personal safe’s structure contained enough energy to utterly disintegrate the safe itself, and several dozen metres of the area surrounding it. Really, it should have been more, but he hadn’t wanted to risk its being triggered accidentally, so it was barely charged at all—just enough to thoroughly eliminate both vital secrets and potential thieves.

“Nevertheless, from video footage, the artefact appears undamaged,” VEGA countered. “In fact, I am now detecting energy readings from it—it appears that the Argent Cell’s detonation has only activated it.”

Tracing the artefact’s flight on-screen, Hayden watched as it was plucked casually out of the air by the ancient warrior he’d unleashed—as though its sudden appearance was expected, despite travelling at an angle he couldn’t have seen. Subject DMI-5 studied it briefly, ejected the cartridge, swapping it out for that of the EMG Sidearm he’d acquired. The pistol acquired a brief glow in response, highlighting some of the patterns of the metal.

And, Hayden noted, he’d done that with no hesitation. As if he’d handled the modern pistol for years, and the ancient weapon had been designed to do exactly what he’d just done—which, much like everything else about the situation, should have been impossible.

“. . . Are you still as certain of your decision, Doctor Hayden?”





Elsewhere








Galen had a shotgun now.

It was, admittedly, a good shotgun—holding more ammunition than any model he’d ever had before, and possessed of a decent punch using that ammunition. It was tough, too; cracking it across the jaw of an Imp didn’t so much as scuff the butt of the gun, whereas the leech-faced pyromaniac lost several teeth in exchange.

All in all, Galen decided, it was a decent stock weapon, by his standards; give him a few hours in a gunsmith’s workshop and an enchanter’s lab, and he could improve it enormously, but he was reasonably pleased with the acquisition and performance of his newest toy.

. . . He was still murderously enraged over the loss of his older toys, however.

It wasn’t like burning Hell to the ground and salting the earth left behind gave him a chance to collect a lot of stuff, after all—and most of it had a short shelf life. What weapons he’d had on him were either brand-new and promising, or tried-and-true companions that had seen him through battles uncountable . . . And, just as important if not more so, bloody lethal.

He’d been loaded up to take out the Hell Priests walking into that trap, after all—of course he’d brought his best stuff, and everything else he could carry, too. And in the intervening time, somebody had looted him; after who knew how long, all that gear could be anywhere, now—on Mars, Earth or in Hell . . . Galen fully intended to reclaim as much of it as still existed—and turn the thieves into a consistency approaching pea soup, of course—but it was going to be an aggravating amount of work.

. . . Hang on—he’d wanted to try out the state of his magic anyway, right? This was as good an excuse as any . . .

“Accio, Apollyon.”

It took a few minutes, but Galen was patient—by now, he’d learned to read when there actually was something on the other end of the Summoning Charm, so he was aware of its success. And it didn’t appear as if he’d lost any power through either his long sleep or being on Mars instead of Earth, as the Charm appeared to working from a very long way away . . .

Finally, after several minutes, Galen snatched it out of the air—his personal sidearm, former designs of which had been called “Thunderbird,” after both the magical animal and the Desert Eagle handgun whose designs had been its basis. After sojourning against Hell, however, he’d redesigned it, based on his new understanding of magic, and access to different materials—and thus, renamed it accordingly. “Apollyon” was the Greek equivalent of Abaddon, the name of the Angel of Destruction—appropriate, when going against demons, he felt.

Especially since “Abaddon” was Hebrew for “doom.”

While the weapon appeared in pristine condition, to his annoyance, it seemed to be operating on minimum enhancements, much like his suit—and the enchantments on its ammunition cartridge had failed entirely. Fortunately, it didn’t take much work to swap it out for the corresponding gel cartridge of his newest pistol.

After all, its ammunition, so far as Galen could tell, was unlimited; the ability to fire it with four times the standard force could only make it more useful—at least, until he could figure out how to charge the gun to its maximum factor of two hundred and seventy-three . . .

[Kieran]

Platform 9 ¾
King’s Cross Station, London
September 1, 2005








. . . It took a beat, but eventually Alexandre’s eyes widened suddenly, and she smiled at his realisation.

“That’s right – by the time you write your final exams next year, you’ll be an uncle.”

And Takara made a mental note to be sure that Hermione had recording devices on hand. If the look on his face was anything to go by, then Galen’s expression when she shared the news would be a riot . . .








Sighing to herself, Takara made her way through the train towards an exit farther down from Alex’s compartment; she needed at least a bit of distance if she was going to avoid her mother’s line of sight long enough to Disapparate. While she had hopes for her next conversation, here and now wasn’t the place to have it.

Pity that the train’s protected against it, she thought. That would make this so much eas—

The sensation of something suddenly underfoot, and a bell-like chime ringing through the air, derailed her thoughts. Takara had just enough time to realise that she’d stepped on some sort of button-operated device before the world began to warp . . .








Unknown place
Unknown time








She awoke with a start, in a classroom she had never seen before—a mundane classroom. Only the fact that her friends and family were visible around her, and not obviously injured, kept her from lashing out on reflex; as it was, she still tensed . . . And when she began processing the differences in their appearances, that tension proved well-founded.

Shirou was more deeply-tanned than she’d ever seen him before, with hair that was as snow-white as his wife’s—whose eyes were now red, instead of blue. So were Iris’, now that she thought to look, and Kiritsugu’s hand was flesh-and-blood again, lacking its prior prosthetics.

Her parents seemed all right, Takara noted; in fact, she thought that they looked somewhat younger than before, though it was difficult to tell for certain—and as for herself . . .?

She was wearing a blue Japanese school uniform, with a yellow scarf around her neck—both colours standing in sharp contrast to her dark chestnut hair.

“Why am I in an outfit I haven’t worn in fifteen years?” Takara demanded. “And what happened to my hair?!”

And why did everything seem, between blinks of her eyes, to be off—like the proportions didn’t seem quite right in a way that she couldn’t define, and wasn’t even sure she was actually seeing . . .?

The sound of a woman clearing her throat caught Takara’s attention, and she saw an exceedingly buxom blonde in a “tavern wench” outfit standing at the door. “The short answer, young miss, is that you are all here to experience”—she took a deep breath, and continued in a deliberate falsetto—“‘the joys of school life . . .!’”

“WHAT?!” echoed from several throats.








Shirou (who was probably best currently described as “Pseudo-Servant EMIYA, Archer”) was used to having a lot of weird things happen, and often all at once. This had been a recurring pattern throughout his life as a magus, afterlife as a Counter Guardian, and second life as a wizard. As such, he was more than familiar with dealing with suddenly bizarre circumstances, and reacting accordingly.

“Ilya, what the HELL is going on?!”

Hermione, on the other hand, hadn’t yet built up that level of tolerance—though she was closer to it than most, having exposure to Galen’s memories. Case in point: she knew exactly who to go to for answers.

“More specifically,” Takara added icily, proving that she had learned, too, “why are we in ‘Isekai Quartet?’”

More than one of them turned to look at her, and she blushed. “My friends liked some of the characters, OK?”

Noting that she refused to go into specifics, Shirou turned to Ilya in turn, waiting for an explanation—particularly regarding a certain absence . . .

“I didn’t send the button, or know it was coming,” his wife—now supposedly his teacher, apparently—said. “My adaptations were still functioning when it went off, though, and that had the effect of reverting us, a bit, so we’d fit better into a crowd of anime characters in high school. Age-wise, that is, and . . . Other things.”

Which explained why his magic was functioning as magecraft again, Reality Marble and all—though he hesitated to examine what effect living as he had would have on it . . .

“And what do are we supposed to do here,” Ginny asked, “and how do we get home?”

“I couldn’t force them to send us home,” Ilya said in a small, apologetic voice. “I’m sorry—given who and what else this world has managed to acquire and contain, I just didn’t have the power, even as the Grail. The most I could manage to do was making them agree to ‘overlook’ certain things, like our marriages—despite the fact that they aren’t ‘part of the normal school life experience.’”

“And make it stick,” Kiritsugu observed bluntly. “How, Ilya-chan? If they were powerful enough not to consider the Holy Grail a threat—”

The fey smile that appeared on his wife’s face caused Shirou to have sudden Berserker flashbacks; her light tone conveyed exactly the same malicious innocence she’d had in ordering the hulking Servant to “Get him.”

“Because if even as the Grail, I couldn’t threaten them, I knew what could,” she answered in a self-satisfied tone. “I might not be able to break us out of this world, but I know how to destroy it, easily enough—it’d kill all of us in the process, not to mention the population of four or five different worlds by proxy, but I could do it. And they couldn’t do a damned thing about it if I did.”

It was the way she said it, as much as what she said, that told Shirou how she’d accomplish that—even if he didn’t understand the exact method . . . But it was Neville, surprisingly, who actually asked the question.

“. . . Ilya? I don’t quite understand why you might know, but since it seems like it—where’s Galen?”

His wife blinked, and then shot a quick glance towards Takara and Hermione before full-on blushing; on her currently-albino complexion, it was actually somewhat alarming to see.

“Oops—sorry, ladies! Just a minute . . . Contract established!”

The circle etched itself into the ground, built of pure prana and nothing else, mirroring the stigmata-like cuts into Takara’s hand—a different pattern than before, Shirou saw, though surely the Servant would be the same . . .? Space warped within its confines, similar to the method that caused their arrival here; and yet, this was somehow more—the hair stood up on the back of Shirou’s neck for a moment, as he swore he could hear reality groan in agony as light and force became meat and bone, wrapped in leather and cordite . . .

Like the rest of them, he was changed. His build was different; much of his bulk, both fat and muscle, was lost, emphasising a number of sharp angles his former appearance hadn’t held. The gray in his hair was likewise gone, but his posture was more bent—gnarled, almost. In some ways, Shirou thought, it was though someone had split the difference between Galen Salvatore, and his original appearance—his true appearance—as a Servant.

His voice, too, was different: softer, both in volume and in timbre. Partly, the Servant suspected, because he lacked the lung capacity for the booming voice he’d developed now, but there was more to it, as well. The almost slurred cadence of his words made it difficult to focus on them, hinting at meanings just out of his understanding—as though it was a deliberate affectation . . .

“Servant, Foreigner,” Galen said as he bowed politely, eyes roaming the hallway as he straightened up. A quick smirk flashed across his face as he spotted Shirou, and the former magus knew exactly what was coming next, stifling a groan even as the other man turned to Takara.

“And I ask of you: are you my Master?”









It wasn’t quite a summoning, of course; Galen was in no way a Heroic Spirit—whatever else went on with him, that had never changed. But part of crossing paradigms like they had, he understood now, involved at least brushing the Root; and pulling information from it . . . And the Nasuverse, as of the time Isekai Quartet existed, was vastly more developed than it had been when Takara had summoned him so long ago.

(From his perspective, at least; the Sixth Holy Grail War would’ve been about six months—give or take—after Season 2 aired, to Takara.)

He’d identified himself as “Avenger” to Takara, at the time, because it was the only “forbidden” class he’d known of; Ilya had named him “Jester” instead of “Ruler,” but he’d been unaware of the latter’s existence at the time, so it hadn’t raised any flags—but now, he realised, it was as much to keep himself unaware of what he was as his potential adversaries.

“Foreigner.” The Servant class given to those who survived “contact with an eldritch being”—otherwise referred as an “Outer God,” as per Lovecraft. A being who existed outside the concepts of the universe, in other words . . . And if there was a more accurate description of someone who came from a world where the entire universe he currently inhabited was fictional, Galen was afraid of what it might be.

It was insanely complicated enough—both in fact and in implication—when both the “eldritch being” and the “one in contact” were, technically, the same person . . .

There was a certain level of detachment in being what he was, now; a trade-off for some of the more esoteric abilities. Not unlike Hermione’s vampirism, really—which, he realised, he could probably cure now. Part of him admired the artistry of Ilya’s initial binding. “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” had been an illusion whose strength depended on how much he could convince people to believe in its reality, and his actual nature was based around the concept of his being more real than his surroundings. Fully manifested and unleashed, he could tear through this entire universe like paper; because to some degree, to him, that was really all it was—

Someone poked his forehead.

Galen blinked, and saw the wide eyes of Luna Lovegood peering into his own.

“Oh, goody—you’re back with us,” she said pleasantly. Her tone turned scolding, and she shook a finger at him. “Ilya assured us that Wrackspurts aren’t native to this world, so you really have no excuse for getting lost in flights of fancy.”

His eyebrows rose as he gave her a flat look, and she merely pouted disapprovingly.

. . . OK, that’s not fair—I have an understanding of the mysteries of the cosmos, now, and I still can’t tell if Luna is trolling everybody, or being genuinely sincere!

“So,” she continued brightly, “what can you tell us about this world?”

“Luna, you have to know that you could ask Ilya—or at least Hermione—for everything I could possibly tell you.”

“Well, yes,” she admitted. “And it’s not as though we wouldn’t believe them . . . But it means more, coming from you.”

His eyebrows shot up again—this time in shock, as he was honestly surprised and touched by the sincerity in her voice.

A quick glance around showed more or less the same sentiment on the faces of the others, though Hermione’s own arched brow had an element of exasperation to it; as if to say “Honestly—you expected things to be any different?”

Closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, Galen organised his thoughts.

“. . . This is the world of ‘Isekai Quartet,’ a parody anime that unites the casts of four different series that have a shared theme of sending their protagonists from Earth to another world, and puts them through ‘school life,’ as defined by twenty-first century Japan. Humour is the order of the day, and violence is forbidden—except where it would get laughs. Even then, they err on the lighter side of the Looney Tunes spectrum; no blowing people into piles of ash, or really brutal assaults. Most of the humour, at least as far as I saw, comes from the varying personality conflicts; with the odd addition of some truly ridiculous circumstances thrown in at random.”

“So we get a modern mundane education?” Luna mused, sounding pleased at the prospect. “That might be worth having to put up with . . .?”

“A semi-random assortment of deities, demons, undead and various magic-users of bizarre tastes and temperaments,” he finished dryly.

“Well, it’s not as though that’s anything new,” Ginny pointed out. “For how long, though?”

“The series was still ongoing, last I knew,” Takara admitted, “so maybe as long as actual high school . . .?” Suddenly remembering her audience, she clarified, “Three years.”

Neville exclaimed. “Three YEARS?! What about—well, everything?!”

Galen hastily reassured him, “I’m extrapolating, but there’s some indication of time manipulation going on, as well as space; certain conditions the protagonists have showing no sign of progressing over the course of the series”—in this case, he was specifically thinking of Ainz Ooal Gown’s descent into evil—“so it’s likely that not only will we be sent back to exactly where and when we came from, we ourselves won’t physically change in the least—”

“OH HELL, NO!” Takara exploded suddenly. “I am not suffering through THREE YEARS of morning sickness!”

Her hand suddenly slapped over her mouth, eyes bulging in realisation of what she’d just said—and hers weren’t the only ones.

“I should not have said that . . .”

[Arbitrarity]

I JUST finished watching all of the associated shows so I could watch Isekai Quartet, so I appreciate this. You'd think they would have had enough "joys of school life" already though, in contrast to most of the Isekai Quartet protagonists (let alone the supporting cast). Maybe it's for Kiritsugu/Iri/Ciel's benefit (also maybe Arc, I'm not clear on if she's there). Though the existing cast almost composes a sufficient diversity for the show's context on their own, being from 3 series and a self-insert. Do you have plans for who's being added to the staff? Minerva, Uncle Algie, Aoko/Touko, and so on might be good choices. Would characters currently dead in continuity be options? If so, CLASS 1 SHIN, CLASS 1 SHIN.

Galen's Foreigner designation absolutely makes sense (and really, has ever since you first mentioned it in an FGO snippet), and most Foreigners progress to "directly channel the influence of an eldritch being" pretty quickly, so I don't think he's actually far off the norm there.

Also, Takara is now Hagrid. Nice.

[Kieran]

I JUST finished watching all of the associated shows so I could watch Isekai Quartet, so I appreciate this.

And I just picked up Season 1 (Yay! Actual disc I can hold and watch at leisure! Double yay - KonoSuba content on home video!), so . . .

You'd think they would have had enough "joys of school life" already though, in contrast to most of the Isekai Quartet protagonists (let alone the supporting cast).

Which would be part of the hell, for some of them . . .

And to be fair, their school life largely revolved around figuring out "How people are going to try and kill us this year, and how do we stop them . . .?", so a little normality might be (in somebody's opinion) just what the doctor ordered . . . Or not.

Maybe it's for Kiritsugu/Iri/Ciel's benefit (also maybe Arc, I'm not clear on if she's there). Though the existing cast almost composes a sufficient diversity for the show's context on their own, being from 3 series and a self-insert.

Well, you're not wrong . . . At the very least, Yunyun won't be by herself in Class 3 (I figure Neville, Ginny and Luna, at least, can wind up there) . . .

Do you have plans for who's being added to the staff? Minerva, Uncle Algie, Aoko/Touko, and so on might be good choices. Would characters currently dead in continuity be options? If so, CLASS 1 SHIN, CLASS 1 SHIN.

I'm juggling ideas, mostly - thus far, I've actually considered splitting up the three of them into the three different classes. It's just a matter of figuring out whose reactions would be most entertaining in Classes 1 and 2, respectively. And also that fact that I figure "Ciel-sensei" is Class 3's homeroom instructor - which means that Hermione is safer in almost any other class, despite the other two having undead-hating goddesses . . .

Actually, with her fetishes, I'm more concerned about Shalltear's reaction to Hermione.

Risk accusations of favouritism by having someone's mother(-in-law) as their teacher? (Conversely, watch Ciel dote on Takara, or punish the little punk who shacked her daughter up with a vampire - but on the other hand, gave her her future grandchild . . .?) Or have it be Shirou - who can relax and enjoy class, while Galen and Takara deal with the egotists and monsters of Class 1, and the lunatics of Class 2 . . .?

Honestly, suggestions welcome.

Galen's Foreigner designation absolutely makes sense (and really, has ever since you first mentioned it in an FGO snippet), and most Foreigners progress to "directly channel the influence of an eldritch being" pretty quickly, so I don't think he's actually far off the norm there.

It makes the most logical sense of all classes in the Fate multiverse for an SI - and had it existed when I wrote "Legacies of Fate," it's what I would have used (Ironically, as the Sixth War took place in 2018, I would have known about it if I'd written it then). But I felt I needed to clarify, in order to stay coherently within my own canon, if that makes sense . . .?

Also, Takara is now Hagrid. Nice.

Yeah - I originally had her saying "Oops," and then thought, why not make it a nice homage . . .?

[Kieran]

Would characters currently dead in continuity be options? If so, CLASS 1 SHIN, CLASS 1 SHIN.

. . . And it appears that the anime gods were listening to you, somehow - because Episode 5 of Isekai Quartet 2 indicates that this may be possible. Hmm . . .

[Arbitrarity]

. . . And it appears that the anime gods were listening to you, somehow - because Episode 5 of Isekai Quartet 2 indicates that this may be possible. Hmm . . .

Indeed. This didn't actually surprise me, for some reason. Probably because if you exclude all the dead characters at the time of transfer, you lose a lot of iconic characters, and it seemed probable that the show creators favoured having iconic character interactions over strict temporal continuity.

That said, Class 1 Shin may be overkill. You could go with someone a bit less ridiculous to start. Snape as a teacher, or Draco and bookends, for example. That does remind me that Tracey, and maybe Hannah, would be good inclusions in Class 1.

[Kieran]

Ooh, Tracey's an idea . . . She'll probably be able to swing Reinhart and Julius for protection, but there is the matter of the Pleiades - neither Solution nor Narbarel is the type to take her type without complaint . . .

*Blinks* New Sports Day competition - target shooting between Galen, Shirou and Shizu?

[Arbitrarity]

You say Shizu and I instantly go "Wait, but Slime isn't part of Isekai Quartet!". Oh right, the maid. The entire 203'rd also qualifies, though they mostly might not do as well.

I feel like restricting the shooting to guns is a bit too limiting. Bows should be fair game, so Kazuma gets in. Going into magical projectiles might be going a bit far, but you could add Puck, for instance.
...then Rem. Then Megumin. Then there is no target left.

[Kieran]

You say Shizu and I instantly go "Wait, but Slime isn't part of Isekai Quartet!". Oh right, the maid.

Yeah - it's just nicer (and easier) to say (or type) than "CZ-string-of-numbers Delta."

The entire 203'rd also qualifies,

I did think of them, afterwards.

though they mostly might not do as well.

Which could be a comedy point in itself: terror of the Major's reaction at their "lacklustre" performance, and her likely insistence on "retraining from the ground up" . . . Whereas Tanya's reaction is, "They did fairly well, considering they're up against literal superhumans and/or bullshit reality-warping powers."

I feel like restricting the shooting to guns is a bit too limiting. Bows should be fair game, so Kazuma gets in. Going into magical projectiles might be going a bit far, but you could add Puck, for instance.
...then Rem. Then Megumin. Then there is no target left.

That would be the finale . . . (And probably also grounds for disqualification.)


And I think I've found a theme for Galen to use when he finally cuts loose; i.e., something on the order of Ryogi Shiki's theme, or EMIYA. What do you think?

[Arbitrarity]

It just escalated so quickly in my mind. Throwing icicles is like shooting a bow, right?

Theme has a nice ethereal feel to it from the choir and organ that feels fitting for a Foreigner, which escalates to being foreboding. That said, I don't currently have a great feel for what Galen cutting loose would actually look like right now. For example, if I run this while reading Legacies of Fate, specifically, the Dracula fight, it doesn't seem entirely fitting, though I would expect a bit more buildup than there was in that fight (as opposed to the abrupt transition), given that Galen is more aware of his powers. Of course, I would also expect things to be a bit more eerie as a Foreigner, rather than Avenger. That said, I do feel like anger has been an important part of his character for a long time, and this theme reflects more of a considered menace, than rage.

[Kieran]

It just escalated so quickly in my mind. Throwing icicles is like shooting a bow, right?

By Isekai Quartet logic? Absolutely.

Theme has a nice ethereal feel to it from the choir and organ that feels fitting for a Foreigner, which escalates to being foreboding.

That's what I thought.

That said, I don't currently have a great feel for what Galen cutting loose would actually look like right now. For example, if I run this while reading Legacies of Fate, specifically, the Dracula fight, it doesn't seem entirely fitting, though I would expect a bit more buildup than there was in that fight (as opposed to the abrupt transition), given that Galen is more aware of his powers. Of course, I would also expect things to be a bit more eerie as a Foreigner, rather than Avenger.

All fair and accurate assessments.

That said, I do feel like anger has been an important part of his character for a long time, and this theme reflects more of a considered menace, than rage.

Another excellent point . . . How to describe it . . .?

With his current perspective, Galen's anger would express itself less as "murderous intent" and more as "complete indifference to your right to exist." If his temper was (or is) like a volcanic eruption, this would be more like the following lava flow: it just sweeps everything aside, without prejudice or hesitation. And as to the actual manifestation . . .

I've been thinking that, given his identity and nature, the First True Magic might be appropriate . . .? "Denial of Nothingness" seems to be creation, on a scale magecraft can't encompass; and what are we, if not the creators of the Nasuverse and worlds like it? And its inversion would definitely be how he relates to the world as a Foreigner, based on my prior descriptions . . . Does that sound - I don't know if "reasonable" is the right word, but maybe, "logical?"

[Arbitrarity]

Another excellent point . . . How to describe it . . .?

With his current perspective, Galen's anger would express itself less as "murderous intent" and more as "complete indifference to your right to exist." If his temper was (or is) like a volcanic eruption, this would be more like the following lava flow: it just sweeps everything aside, without prejudice or hesitation. And as to the actual manifestation . . .

Indeed. That also corresponds well with the described 'sense of detachment'.

I've been thinking that, given his identity and nature, the First True Magic might be appropriate . . .? "Denial of Nothingness" seems to be creation, on a scale magecraft can't encompass; and what are we, if not the creators of the Nasuverse and worlds like it? And its inversion would definitely be how he relates to the world as a Foreigner, based on my prior descriptions . . . Does that sound - I don't know if "reasonable" is the right word, but maybe, "logical?"

My issues with that are twofold. First, our understanding of what the First True Magic is is entirely lacking. We are told it has something to do with Ether Clumps, and probably related to "Denial of Nothingness", so we hypothesize that it has something to do with violating conservation of energy/mass.
Secondly, I feel like you are kind of unnaturally limiting yourself by forcing a Fate paradigm. One of the biggest conceptual advantages of the Foreigner is that they DON'T correspond to existing paradigms about how the universe operates. They overturn paradigms. Consider some of the terms that were thrown around during the end of Salem, or what ORT is and does.

The ability to bring things into being, or deny things from existence, is powerful, but I would think for Galen, power would flow from narrative context. The obvious application is the Midsummer's Night's Dream he had previously. More specific applications might include abilities like Holmes' Elementary My Dear (the one that makes Macguffins, not the combat Noble Phantasm), or warping other characters entirely. Rather than being limited by the perception of others about what he does being "possible", as he discards his perception of their independent agency (and in doing so, any empathy), he would presumably be able to twist their perspectives to MAKE what he does plausible.

That said, the power to turn the story into a poorly written railroad plot is a mighty one with many downsides, primarily that he himself is unlikely to be satisfied with it afterwards. Dipping too far into something like that would probably taint his perception in a nihilistic way that could be difficult to recover from. Imagine if he actually knew what Luna was thinking, or realized that whether she is trolling people or not is literally undecided by the universe, because it's meaningless, and she doesn't actually have independent agency, but instead happens to act in such a way. Imagine if he realizes that happens because that is how he perceived her as a preconception before entering the Harry Potter universe. Seeing your friends laid bare as narrative tools would be an EXTREMELY harrowing experience.

That also said, that's a very loose description, since it doesn't actually lay any particular limitations beyond the dangers, nor what that would actually look like. I was mostly imagining Lord of the Rationality mixed with Midsummer's Night's Dream's ability to just make plausible things happen.

EDIT: about an hour later, I just realized I described Musashi's Heavenly Eye, except applied to the plot.

[Kieran]

don't know if "reasonable" is the right word, but maybe, "logical?"
My issues with that are twofold. First, our understanding of what the First True Magic is is entirely lacking. We are told it has something to do with Ether Clumps, and probably related to "Denial of Nothingness", so we hypothesize that it has something to do with violating conservation of energy/mass.

. . . I really need to finish watching the Kara no Kyokai movies - I keep running into the "Ether Clumps" references.

Secondly, I feel like you are kind of unnaturally limiting yourself by forcing a Fate paradigm. One of the biggest conceptual advantages of the Foreigner is that they DON'T correspond to existing paradigms about how the universe operates. They overturn paradigms. Consider some of the terms that were thrown around during the end of Salem, or what ORT is and does.

The ability to bring things into being, or deny things from existence, is powerful, but I would think for Galen, power would flow from narrative context. The obvious application is the Midsummer's Night's Dream he had previously. More specific applications might include abilities like Holmes' Elementary My Dear (the one that makes Macguffins, not the combat Noble Phantasm), or warping other characters entirely. Rather than being limited by the perception of others about what he does being "possible", as he discards his perception of their independent agency (and in doing so, any empathy), he would presumably be able to twist their perspectives to MAKE what he does plausible.

That said, the power to turn the story into a poorly written railroad plot is a mighty one with many downsides, primarily that he himself is unlikely to be satisfied with it afterwards. Dipping too far into something like that would probably taint his perception in a nihilistic way that could be difficult to recover from.

. . . Which, amusingly enough, describes me as a writer, and/or a lot of Galen's behaviour throughout the Trinity series.

That also said, that's a very loose description, since it doesn't actually lay any particular limitations beyond the dangers, nor what that would actually look like. I was mostly imagining Lord of the Rationality mixed with Midsummer's Night's Dream's ability to just make plausible things happen.

EDIT: about an hour later, I just realized I described Musashi's Heavenly Eye, except applied to the plot.

Eh, I'd have to think about how to visualise it too, honestly.

[Arbitrarity]

. . . I really need to finish watching the Kara no Kyokai movies - I keep running into the "Ether Clumps" references.

I don't actually recall much about Ether Clumps specifically from Kara No Kyoukai either, they're supposed to just be pure Ether in a stable, non-reactive, and useless form. Ether is supposed to be a form of magical energy, one of the Five Elements (inferior to the True Ether that was around during the Age of the Gods), that, when combined with another element, lets you do something with that element (think Rin's jewels creating fire explosions, or blasts of wind). But you can end up making "just Ether", which is a clay-like substance which doesn't do anything on its own, and doesn't really react interestingly (throwing it in fire does not cause a massive explosion, for example). Exactly how these relate to the First Magic is not made clear, just that they are somehow related. There are many mechanisms by which we might imagine the First Magic creating Ether Clumps, but we don't have enough detail to actually narrow this down to any particular one, so you'd have to pick one. I think it would be a lot easier to pick an effect first, with the theme of creation, and not specifically try to say that it IS the First True Magic.

. . . Which, amusingly enough, describes me as a writer, and/or a lot of Galen's behaviour throughout the Trinity series.

Well yes, hence why I figured it would be the most appropriate sort of special power you could give him. To tap into his perception of you, the author/Outer God (who he thinks is probably a real bastard), "see" where the story is headed, and "encourage" you to make changes in his favour. That said, it is also probably a bit too meta, but given Foreigner, I figured it makes sense thematically. That's my "logical" idea, but I think it is a really bad idea from a story-telling perspective, because it basically invalidates all conflicts, ever. You could limit it more, of course, but even then, it's too meta. For an example of "warping", there's the Homestuck epilogues (which are convoluted enough that I wouldn't really recommend them to those not familiar, but they do a lot of exploration of meta-narrative concepts), where a character (Dirk) has the ability to narrate (to the audience) and other characters follow his narration (albeit only if he does it somewhat subtly, and it follows their inclinations to some extent, plus some characters can notice him doing it, plus one character just completely overrides his ability to do it). It's a bit too insane for a conventional story.

Eh, I'd have to think about how to visualise it too, honestly.

Yeaaaah, hence the issue. Also, the lack of real limitations other than psychological damage seems troublesome, though maybe fitting.

I would say that something creation-themed does seem fitting and plausible, but also tricky in the sense that you need to pick something kind of specific. Does this mean he can wave his hands and bring any item he needs into existence, or dismiss anything from existence? Does it mean he has an infinite supply of magical energy? You haven't provided enough detail about what you're actually proposing he gets for me to understand it either.

[Kieran]

I don't actually recall much about Ether Clumps specifically from Kara No Kyoukai either,

I just know one pops up in the fifth movie; some kind of cat construct?

they're supposed to just be pure Ether in a stable, non-reactive, and useless form. Ether is supposed to be a form of magical energy, one of the Five Elements (inferior to the True Ether that was around during the Age of the Gods), that, when combined with another element, lets you do something with that element (think Rin's jewels creating fire explosions, or blasts of wind). But you can end up making "just Ether", which is a clay-like substance which doesn't do anything on its own, and doesn't really react interestingly (throwing it in fire does not cause a massive explosion, for example). Exactly how these relate to the First Magic is not made clear, just that they are somehow related. There are many mechanisms by which we might imagine the First Magic creating Ether Clumps, but we don't have enough detail to actually narrow this down to any particular one, so you'd have to pick one.

Based on what you're telling me, I'd call it "a failed attempt at the First?" Something that malleable, I suspect, is probably intended as a "proto-matter" - but nowhere near as versatile as the actual stuff.

I think it would be a lot easier to pick an effect first, with the theme of creation, and not specifically try to say that it IS the First True Magic.

Probably true.

Well yes, hence why I figured it would be the most appropriate sort of special power you could give him. To tap into his perception of you, the author/Outer God (who he thinks is probably a real bastard),

No "probably" about it - that has never been in question.

"see" where the story is headed, and "encourage" you to make changes in his favour. That said, it is also probably a bit too meta, but given Foreigner, I figured it makes sense thematically. That's my "logical" idea, but I think it is a really bad idea from a story-telling perspective, because it basically invalidates all conflicts, ever. You could limit it more, of course, but even then, it's too meta. For an example of "warping", there's the Homestuck epilogues (which are convoluted enough that I wouldn't really recommend them to those not familiar, but they do a lot of exploration of meta-narrative concepts), where a character (Dirk) has the ability to narrate (to the audience) and other characters follow his narration (albeit only if he does it somewhat subtly, and it follows their inclinations to some extent, plus some characters can notice him doing it, plus one character just completely overrides his ability to do it). It's a bit too insane for a conventional story.

. . . It sounds like it.

Yeaaaah, hence the issue. Also, the lack of real limitations other than psychological damage seems troublesome, though maybe fitting.

Certainly adheres to Lovecraft, at least.

I would say that something creation-themed does seem fitting and plausible, but also tricky in the sense that you need to pick something kind of specific. Does this mean he can wave his hands and bring any item he needs into existence, or dismiss anything from existence? Does it mean he has an infinite supply of magical energy? You haven't provided enough detail about what you're actually proposing he gets for me to understand it either.

Agreed - though part of that is that I'm still trying to lay it out for myself - I could see the first, and maybe the second, but not the third . . .?

. . . Aside from one (very specific) gag, I don't see it coming up an Isekai Quartet tale; mentions of his eldritch nature which largely be confined to suddenly looming menacingly in response to threats - or space warping, walls bleeding black (ink) blood, and an icy hissing, like whispers in an alien tongue (or turning pages rustling), filling the air at an ever-increasing volume and tempo . . .

And then Puck pops into view, and with a delighted cry of "Kitty!", Galen is back to normal and utterly oblivious to everything around him.

(Or something to that effect, anyway.)



In any case, I'm generally just considering Galen's Foreigner abilities as a thought exercise, until or unless I actually do the crossover . . . And especially if I follow through with my idea for after that.

[Arbitrarity]

I just know one pops up in the fifth movie; some kind of cat construct?

Based on what you're telling me, I'd call it "a failed attempt at the First?" Something that malleable, I suspect, is probably intended as a "proto-matter" - but nowhere near as versatile as the actual stuff.

Yeah, pretty much. Touko's projection machine in Paradox Spiral makes a cat monster out of the stuff that is presumably powered by just running a bunch of magical energy through it.

. . . It sounds like it.

Definitely. Metanarrative can be fun if that's what you're experimenting with, but there's throwing shade, and then there's just utterly annihilating the fourth wall.

Certainly adheres to Lovecraft, at least.

Truuuue.

Agreed - though part of that is that I'm still trying to lay it out for myself - I could see the first, and maybe the second, but not the third . . .?

. . . Aside from one (very specific) gag, I don't see it coming up an Isekai Quartet tale; mentions of his eldritch nature which largely be confined to suddenly looming menacingly in response to threats - or space warping, walls bleeding black (ink) blood, and an icy hissing, like whispers in an alien tongue (or turning pages rustling), filling the air at an ever-increasing volume and tempo . . .

And then Puck pops into view, and with a delighted cry of "Kitty!", Galen is back to normal and utterly oblivious to everything around him.

(Or something to that effect, anyway.)

In any case, I'm generally just considering Galen's Foreigner abilities as a thought exercise, until or unless I actually do the crossover . . . And especially if I follow through with my idea for after that.

Certainly. Ominous, but not especially specific, and it's not like you need it to be, yet. The "infinite supply of energy" was just mentioned since the First Magic seems to be related to creation of a material that is basically magic energy, and it tends to be assumed to violate conservation of energy, so if you can produce magical energy violating conservation, it seems like you might have limitless energy (though energy doesn't necessarily mean power, you can still be limited in how much you can output in a given time frame)

[Kieran]

Continuing . . .



Class 3
Ten minutes later








“All right, Shirou—what the hell is going on?”

The question may have issued from a seventeen-year-old girl, but the steely tones of twenty-five-year-old Ginny Longbottom lost nothing in the translation. She had earned her position as Head Auror on sheer merit, and was widely regarded as one of the most effective field commanders the force had ever had; in no small part because of her capacity to utterly terrify those who stood against her. Even Shirou, who was in no way a stranger to powerful and terrifying women (his wife first and foremost among them) wasn’t entirely unaffected by her demeanor—while mildly proud of his own hand in creating her . . .

“It’s complicated,” he deflected—and seeing that she wasn’t buying it, he sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. “. . . Do you remember those computer games we gave to the Aozakis to sell in Japan . . .?”

He did not call them “visual novels,” even though that’s what they were, because Ginny wouldn’t care enough about the details to recognise the term. (And really, if some lunatic was going to call them his creation, and proceed to make money off of their lives, images, and general suffering, then why shouldn’t they?)

“That’s where I recognised the name from,” Neville muttered, before giving Shirou a glare that rivaled his wife’s. “Did you have to make figurines using the enchantments of wizard’s chess? Do you have any idea how many times I’ve had to confiscate some of those sets because somebody blew up half the common room by firing off an ‘Excalibur,’ or something like it—and missing . . .?!”

“I don’t know,” Luna mused offhandedly. “I rather like some of them—‘Nursery Rhyme,’ for example, is perfectly happy to have a tea party rather than fight. And she’s a lovely conversationalist.”

“And they are one of the best ways to encourage integration I’ve seen yet,” Ilya pointed out. “Mundane-born or pure-blood—any kid can talk about ‘Grand Order.’”

Neville nodded, reluctantly admitting, “I’ve seen more than one traditional pure-blood first-year split the cost of a new figurine pack with a mundane-born, so they can both get the newest ones available and have the enchantments applied . . .”

“Victoire did look adorable dressed as that ‘Santa Lily’ character for Halloween,” Ginny conceded. “. . . And it’s one of the twins’ better money-makers, or so they tell us. Gives them all sorts of slush money for their R&D budget—”

“Back to the point,” Neville growled (while visibly trying, and failing, not to think of the number of new Wheezes they’d had to clean up after because of that). “The ‘Servant’ title is part of the game; I know that—but why use it at all? And what exactly is a ‘Foreigner’ in this context . . .?’”

“It’s complicated,” he repeated, anticipating the migraine to come, “and a long story. I don’t think we have time before class starts—”

“You do not,” said a new voice firmly—new, but long familiar.

“Good morning, Class 3,” Ciel announced, pushing her glasses up the length of her nose with one hand. “I am your homeroom teacher, and you will address me as ‘Ciel-sensei.'”

The lenses flared with reflected light at that pronouncement, and Shirou applauded the dramatic touch even as he realised that she was using the sudden flash to cover her scanning of the room—and by the way her posture tensed in disappointment, it wasn’t hard to guess for whom.

Sorry, Ciel—you won’t find Takara, Galen or Hermione in this class—which is almost certainly by design . . .

Although given Takara’s little bombshell, it might actually have been interesting to see her reaction if one of them was here; as it was, Shirou found himself concerned by Galen’s lack of reaction. Sure, the guy was difficult to read as a rule (and he had an unfortunate tendency to keep things bottled up until he exploded), but given the method of his arrival, the implications—

“Now,” she continued, unaware of Shirou’s thoughts, “since we have a brand-new student on our very first day, I’m going to ask her to introduce herself, and then you will all do the same.”

The new student in question was a petite girl who was remarkably well-endowed for her size, dressed in something that looked like a cross between Hogwarts robes and a magical girl costume. Her long black hair was held in a complicated style, and her crimson eyes held a look like a startled fawn’s.

“M—my name is Yunyun,” she stuttered. “I’m the daughter of the chieftain of the Crimson Magic Village, and I . . . I’m not quite sure what I’m doing here . . .?”

That last part came out nearly as a squeak.

“Hello, Yunyun,” Luna responded immediately. “My name is Luna—would you like to be friends?”

The girl suddenly stiffened as though someone had run an electric current through her, her eyes going wide and taking on a lambent glow as she inexplicably began to blush. “F–F–F- Friends?”

“Yes,” Luna replied brightly. “It’s been my experience that one can never have too many.”

The dark-haired girl looked to be on the verge of tears, now; it made Shirou wonder at her story—and how much of it Luna had either guessed, or outright knew. He’d have to ask Ilya, whenever they got released for lunch . . .

. . . And in the meantime, I have to figure out just how much to flip their worldview by.

Shirou sighed. Ilya had assured him that he’d been assigned to the quiet class of the school, with no real trouble—but he was having difficulty imagining that any of the others could be as uneasy as he was, right now.








Class 2
Same time








Takara emptied her stomach, violently and noisily, across the front half of the classroom—and this time, the morning sickness was only partially to blame.

She’d felt an almost-forgotten tension in her limbs upon entering the classroom (more than simply nerves, more than the strange-but-familiar sensation of being a teenager again) and instinctively activated her Mystic Eyes in reaction to it. It was a reflexive move—and as much a surprise to her as to anyone else, as she hadn’t been able to do that the last time she had access to them . . . But then, she was a grown witch, now (or at the very least, a mature adult) who’d spent years honing her body for combat, and plumbing the depths of her own mind and awareness.

And even if not all of that was presently accurate at the moment, Takara was still a far cry from the half-breed, untrained Nanaya teenager who’d only awakened her abilities in the middle of a Holy Grail War. If nothing else, perhaps it was meant as a trade-off for stealing (or at least, sealing) her witchcraft away . . .

A group of students had already been in the room when they’d arrived, and to her Eyes, the clown-faced “teacher’s” life force was enmeshed in magic, represented by a web of black and green, that overlaid the native pattern—possession. The two maids’ lines possessed the red borders that indicated demonic taint in their natures, and the silver-haired girl’s lines were bordered in gold, indicating a higher level of such. The smallest girl, on the other hand—the blonde with the corkscrewed pigtails—had a life force that was entirely magical in nature; obviously, some kind of spiritual entity.

The instinct to draw Melinoë and simply start cutting had been strong . . . But again, hormonal issues (both pregnancy- and puberty-related) aside, she was mature enough to have more control than that. And that wasn’t what had caused her to throw up, in any case. It was what she’d seen after . . .

Hermione’s lines were two-toned, as well; black limned around a core of life force—pallid and weak, but there. They weren’t the solid black of a true undead, a description that Takara doubted anyone but her father might ever understand. Like the others, the sight of their nature aroused an instinctive revulsion, and impulse to eliminate them; but her rational self was simply horrified to see the evidence of what it had taken her so long to have faith in—that Hermione did live “a half-life, a cursed life”—but she never had died . . .

And then she’d seen her husband—and not been fast enough to reach the wastebasket.

Observing the lines of Galen’s life force, to her Mystic Eyes, was like watching a 3-D movie without the glasses—and through a kaleidoscope, while on a rollercoaster, to boot. Even now, her mind struggled to make sense of it, or suppress it somewhere it would stop bothering her . . .

Ilya, what did you do to Galen . . .?

Abruptly aware of the mess she’d caused—in front of everyone, no less!—Takara felt her face burn in mortification (which only made it match the burning in her esophagus), even as she struggled to bow and apologise.

This day cannot get any worse . . .

. . . And of course, that was when the rest of the “students” arrived—because if any universe could be said to know a cue when it heard one . . .

[Arbitrarity]

Oh goodness, they made enchanted Servant figurines. You monsters. MONSTERS. At least it sounds like the twins weren't cruel enough to try to use gacha monetization, so you could just directly buy the ones you wanted. Shirou/Ilya/Luna/Neville/Ginny makes sense as a grouping for Class 3. Yunyun is about as adorable as expected.

[I]‘Ciel[I]-sensei

Has a bit of formatting issues

And I completely forgot that Takara would have her old Mystic Eyes back. No more foresight, though these ones might be more useful as a healer. It sounds like you made the classroom entry order different from usual. I'm somewhat surprised if Subaru's lines look normal, unless he just hasn't arrived yet.

[Kieran]

Oh goodness, they made enchanted Servant figurines. You monsters. MONSTERS.

. . . Because now that the idea's in your head, you want them, and they don't actually exist . . .?

At least it sounds like the twins weren't cruel enough to try to use gacha monetization, so you could just directly buy the ones you wanted.

Well, since they don't use industrial-level manufacturing (they just have enough magic to fake it), the figures are a bit more along the lines of "custom-ordered." They might make less money by doing smaller-scale productions, and not forcing people to buy randomised bags or boxes of figurines, but they don't end up with massive amounts of unsold stock, either. And in the mundane world, "hand-sculpted" items can fetch quite the premium . . .

Shirou/Ilya/Luna/Neville/Ginny makes sense as a grouping for Class 3. Yunyun is about as adorable as expected.

I thought so, and always. I foresee Yunyun and Luna becoming great friends.

Has a bit of formatting issues

Huh - I don't know how that happened. Fixed, and thank you.

And I completely forgot that Takara would have her old Mystic Eyes back. No more foresight, though these ones might be more useful as a healer.

And assassin, naturally.

It sounds like you made the classroom entry order different from usual.

As best I can recall, Subaru and Tanya (and their coteries) were already present when the Nazarickians and Axellites arrived; in fact, going by Tanya's flashback, I'd almost be inclined to believe they arrived in their seats - but given that none of them have their guns (or were near Tanya when she pushed the button), I'm sure that's not the case.

And try though I might, I couldn't find a short of anyone in Re: ZERO actually pressing the button (finding, yes, but not pressing). So my assumption is that they were there first (it would make sense, since Roswaal appears to be the "homeroom teacher" - he has to greet his new students, dooooeeeeesn't he?), with the rest to follow - which would be right about now . . .

I'm somewhat surprised if Subaru's lines look normal, unless he just hasn't arrived yet.

I considered that, but ultimately, his actual life isn't any different; "Return from Death" is the result of a curse, not something inherent to Subaru's makeup. And unlike Ainz, Takara can only see (and influence) active magic; something that has a "life" which can be ended. If Return by Death were to activate in such a way that she could observe its operation, she'd see his lines fill back in - and if Subaru trips Satella's prohibition, she'll definitely notice - but so long as its dormant, it's not something she can detect.