The Grail Works Mission Dossier (Discussion & Ideas)

[Kieran]

Clock Tower, London, England
Three months after the Great Holy Grail War








My dearest sister, he wrote. How are you?

I realise that you’re not likely to ever read these words unless until you come back, but I thought I’d write to you, anyway; it’s a nice way to organise my thoughts. And who knows? Maybe there’s some secret magical or technological method that will transport this letter to you, regardless—we certainly saw stranger things surrounding your travelling party.

I’m settling into the Clock Tower fairly well, which I’m sure will be a relief to you. I’m enrolled in Lord El-Melloi II’s class, so while I’ve been the object of some attention (mostly Lady Archisorte’s, unfortunately), I’m not nearly as interesting to the populace at large as some of my pee—

As a sudden cry of pain rang out, Caules’ attempt at writing abruptly devolved into an illegible scrawl. Scowling, he looked up to see more or less what he’d come to expect: Flat Escardos and Svin Glascheit in mid-argument again, interrupted by the iron grip of their professor on their skulls.

Sighing, he put the letter into a used section of his notebook, and paid attention to the oncoming lecture (the class’s, not Flat and Svin’s), adding to it irregularly during gaps in the lesson.

My peers are real characters, Sister; maybe not on the order some of the ones we met back home, but they’re just as quirky as some of our extended family, at least.

Flat Escardos, for example, reminds me a bit of you, but more of our “little brother”: he’s prodigiously talented, but more than a little spacy when it comes to dealing with anything that doesn’t interest him—which seems to be most of what magi consider important (along with common sense, half the time). He’s a decent enough guy, I suppose—but some of the things that come out of his mouth make you wonder how his brain functions well enough to allow him to breathe . . .

Svin Glascheit, on the other hand, is almost Flat’s polar opposite: level-headed, reasonable, almost completely hopeless with technology. Get him excited about something, though, and you’ll see there’s not as much difference between the two of them as you might think. Maybe that’s what makes them friends. Either that, or Flat is too dense to figure out that they aren’t.

. . . On second thought, forget that last part, would you, Sis?

The important part is that they’ve been very friendly to me, with no apparent ulterior motive about it. I wish I could say the same about everybody I’ve met here—honestly, Lady Archisorte scares me some people have no sense of shame . . . I’m referring, of course, to Yvette H. Lehrman, who makes no secret of the fact that she aspires to be Lord El-Melloi II’s mistress.

(You read that right: not “wife,” she’s deliberately aiming for “mistress.” And I wish I could say that was the only strange thing about her . . .)

Still, as crazy as all of them are, they seem remarkably friendly for magi. Part of that, I think, is that Lord El-Melloi II has both a low tolerance for the usual politics—certainly not enough of one to tolerate it in HIS classroom—and a knack for “polishing jewels out of dross,” as Lady Archisorte put it once. The students here are the ones most magi don’t want to deal with, being seen as “too troublesome,” and Lord El-Melloi II takes an especial interest in such cases. The students here are intelligent enough to know that this is the only place where they’re actually wanted, I think, and are loathe to ruin the first place in the Clock Tower that feels like a home . . . Which is not to say that Flat doesn’t risk blowing us up on a bi-monthly basis, it seems like.

(And why, you ask, does Lord El-Melloi II tolerate Flat’s antics? The same reason, I suspect, that he tolerates everyone else’s foibles: he takes an almost perverse pleasure in turning the Clock Tower’s “problem children” into magi to be reckoned with—and I believe that with every hare-brained stunt, our teacher’s imagining of watching the nobles bow and scrape to Flat keeps him going. He’s going to make Flat Escardos his greatest achievement, I believe—out of sheer spite, if nothing else—assuming that Flat doesn’t manage to somehow kill us all, first.)

Sadly, I’m afraid I have less to say about the other subject I’m sure you’re interested in. Oh, don’t worry; he hasn’t been entirely absent, but since for some reason Lady Archisorte is even more interested in him than she is in me, he doesn’t show up in person more often than he can help it.

. . . Which, now that I’m thinking about it as I put it to paper, seems to frequently coincide with whenever I mention that Lady Archisorte has been particularly insistent. Sis, have I mentioned lately just how much I approve of your engagement? Honestly, if there’s anything I can do to help speed up the wedding, let me know, O—

“Hey, Colin!” Flat’s call interrupted in him mid-stroke of the pen, and Caules cursed, even as he turned at the sound of his alias.

(Was it a clever one? Not in the slightest—but it was close enough not to confuse him when it came to answering it; it was also so close to his original name that most magi would convince themselves nobody could be that stupid . . .)

“Yes, Flat?” Caules said warily. The other youth was excited, and Svin, a step or two behind him, looked exasperated. Neither of these, even in his admittedly limited experience, was a good sign—and less so when they were together.

“You are coming to game night, aren’t you?” Flat exclaimed. “Please say ‘yes’—the more people we have for this, the better!”

Caules blinked at the unexpected request. “You’re finally done with whatever the project was that was holding you up?”

“He wants to use the project for game night, apparently,” Svin said flatly, and Caules felt several of his body’s processes freeze at that statement. Apparently, the effect was visible, because Svin abruptly smirked, adding, “Yeah, that’s what I thought, too.”

“Oh come on, guys!” Flat whined. “You’ve gotta try this—it’s gonna be so awesome . . .”

“Is the professor joining us this time?” Caules asked carefully—surely, Lord El-Melloi II would forbid Flat the use of his project if he was going to end up as a test subject. Or, at the very least, would look it over thoroughly for hazards, first?

Flat slumped in almost palpable disappointment. “No—apparently, he’s got a case . . .”

At that, Caules opened his mouth to decline—

The other boy perked up suddenly. “But ‘The Dreaded Glittery Eyes of DOOM’ will!”

He sounded, Caules thought, like a child trying to convince his parents that there was an adequate substitute for a babysitter—and then what the other magus had actually said caught up with him.

“Didn’t he threaten to castrate you with a rusty bottle opener—and without anaesthetic—if you ever called him that again?” Svin asked.

It was their turn to watch Flat freeze up, this time. Caules had to admit that it was kind of obvious on sight, looking at it from this side of things.

“His real name is just so hard to pronounce, though!” Flat whined. “Besides, it’s not like I’m wrong . . .”

“You kind of are,” Caules corrected him. “He’s on a job overseas, as far as I know.”

Which was a shame, as while Godafrid probably wouldn’t understand whatever the heck Flat had done as well as Lord El-Melloi II could, his Glam Sight would probably spot any obvious failure points or safety hazards to it. Caules would feel a lot safer if his future brother-in-law could look the other magus’ project over . . . Not totally safe, since it was Flat, but safer.

“He said he was done when I asked,” the other magus said with a shrug, “so he’ll be teleconferencing in.”

Caules blinked. “He will?”

“Yeah, it’ll be great!” Flat said enthusiastically. “It’ll be a real test of exactly what this Mystic Code is designed for!”

“And that is . . .?” Caules said warily.

“You’ll just have to come if you want to find out, Colin,” Flat teased.

Caules sighed. At least, in theory, they’d have “adult supervision” in the form of Godafrid; if something went wrong with Flat’s Mystic Code, there was at least a reasonable chance of their getting out of the situation as long as that was the case. He might be just a spellcaster, but unlike Caules, he’d been at ground zero for the entirety of the Great Holy Grail War and survived.

At the very worst, I can at least count on him to avenge me if Flat gets us killed . . . And at least if he’s back in-country, I can ask what the heck this “problem I need to check on” was . . .








Hôtel Meurice
Calais, France
Six hours later









“All right, the Bounded Fields are up, and the decoys are either set off, or in place for the appropriate time—we should be able keep going undetected, and safe for the night. I am sorry for the roundabout route, but I want to make sure we’re hard to track. Regardless, we should be in London by tomorrow.

“How do you feel?” Frid asked the girl carefully. “Can I get you anything?”

Despite what her neighbours would claim, he hadn’t kidnapped her; he’d just offered to open the door of her gilded cage. That her private fears and insecurities had led her to walk through was her own choice (though he could hardly say he was unhappy that she’d chosen to align with his personal feelings on the matter).

“. . . I’m alright,” she said at last. Still uncertain, it seemed—though how much of that was just her natural reticence, he wasn’t sure . . .

Inwardly, Frid sighed—and fully aware of the irony that if what he’d read on TVTropes was correct, she was liable to be doing the same, and a fair amount of snarking, besides—he was making a mess of this . . . And who had asked him to interfere, this time? Nobody. It was his own bloody idiocy at fault here, plain and simple.

It probably would’ve been better not to interfere—if it weren’t for the fact that he might not survive some of the things that he’s liable to do otherwise . . . And, let’s be honest, it’s the simple fact that you’re a flat-out canonist; as much as you’d have liked, as a fanboy, to have her for yourself, you’d hate depriving her of what she so very obviously loves even more . . .

He tried his best to sound gentle (smiling, in his experience, never helped) as he said, “All right, but let me know if that changes, all right? I meant what I said: I want to help you, and for you to be happy.”

She gave him a long look, and in return, Frid studied her back.

While he’d had no trouble identifying her, ultimately, the truth was that she didn’t look like he’d expected her to—and it was more than just the differences that arose from mapping an anime character’s design to the features of a living human. Ultimately, the alterations in this world’s history affected more than just Fuyuki—and the realisation of that fact was why he’d gone looking for her in the first place—but in this specific case, though, her literal appearance was different. It made sense under the circumstances, he supposed, but the result was that she was close to what he’d expected, but not quite.

Which, he supposed, might actually make it worse for her, this time around, because the ghost of who she used to be was still hinted at, if you knew how to look . . .

“I’m going to set up to call back to London,” Frid said aloud. “I play games online with a few kids there who are liable to end up being future classmates of yours, if things turn out well—did you want to say hello?”

“. . . No,” the girl said, after a beat. “I think I’m going to go to bed, if that’s alright.”

“Of course,” he said, trying his best to sound reassuring. “I’ll try to keep the noise down.

“Sleep well, Gray.”

We both get it. He asked me for advice on it, as well, since I'm more familiar with all three.

Mecha will be hard, unless you're picking up that D&D ultramodern 5.0 for help. (Which really read more like a ripoff of Mekton Zeta to me, but I digress.) The settings could work? Just keep in mind you're writing this up, and will be looking at a lot of stuff to make it more simple. So those two will be hard in general, right away. Add in the constant referencing and re-referencing of mecha and the like in those two settings, and you'll have a lot of shit to cope with, jump back to, and tons of re-reading. Not impossible, just hard.

Full Metal Alchemist looks like the best of the lot, honestly.

. . . And I can't disagree with any of that.

[Xamusel]

...Kieran? What did I just read?

[Arbitrarity]

Huh, Case Files-based follow-up. Godafrid stealing a march on Lord El-Melloi II with regard to Gray, or would she not be rescued normally in this universe? I'm leaning towards the former.

On an unrelated note, I finally decided to actually read Worm, so I finally appreciate all of the older Trinity Worm snippets, which is a nice change of pace. I'm glad I forgot what was in those before reading the actual story, though. For some reason, Godafrid rescuing Gray here reminds me of that last Worm interlude, in that I'm not sure his intervention is necessarily a good idea.

[Kieran]

...Kieran? What did I just read?

I thought it was fairly obvious . . .?

Huh, Case Files-based follow-up.

. . . Though that sums it up reasonably well.

Godafrid stealing a march on Lord El-Melloi II with regard to Gray, or would she not be rescued normally in this universe? I'm leaning towards the former.

A bit closer to the latter, actually. While I've no access to the Case Files light novels, despite the fact that "Lord El-Melloi II" apparently somehow still happens despite the Fourth Fuyuki War not occurring in the Apocrypha universe, there's really no reason for Gray to have undergone the transformation(s) that she does without Arturia's being summoned as a Servant - what I have been able to determine indicate that she only changes because of that. And lacking the history with Arturia that he does, even if Waver happened to be passing through, I can't see a reason why they'd meet or become attached . . .

On the other hand, Waver really won't survive some of his cases without her help, and Frid certainly noted her absence from the class. So, naturally, he went looking for her - and found that Mordred's being summoned had some effect on Gray, but not as severe of one as dealing with Arturia being in the world. And as I understand things, it's not like her village wasn't planning to summon and bind Arturia to Gray anyway . . .

So, a casual scouting mission became an impromptu rescue; we'll see how things proceed from there.

On an unrelated note, I finally decided to actually read Worm, so I finally appreciate all of the older Trinity Worm snippets, which is a nice change of pace. I'm glad I forgot what was in those before reading the actual story, though. For some reason, Godafrid rescuing Gray here reminds me of that last Worm interlude, in that I'm not sure his intervention is necessarily a good idea.

Possibly . . .? I've yet to read it myself, though I've read fanfic about it ad nauseam . . . I tried to jump onboard during its sequel, but found that it really couldn't hold my attention.

[Xamusel]

Kieran... let me just ask this. What happened to Fiore at this rate? I mean, now that I read it through, I have to ask that question.

[Kieran]

Well, it was a few chapters ago, admittedly - but perhaps you recall that Frid was trying to get her to go with Erik's crew, for her own safety?

[Arbitrarity]

A bit closer to the latter, actually. While I've no access to the Case Files light novels, despite the fact that "Lord El-Melloi II" apparently somehow still happens despite the Fourth Fuyuki War not occurring in the Apocrypha universe, there's really no reason for Gray to have undergone the transformation(s) that she does without Arturia's being summoned as a Servant - what I have been able to determine indicate that she only changes because of that. And lacking the history with Arturia that he does, even if Waver happened to be passing through, I can't see a reason why they'd meet or become attached . . .

I forgot that the Fourth war didn't happen in Apocrypha timeline (which should have been obvious, theft of the Grail and so on), and definitely agree that "Lord El Melloi II" makes... very little sense without the Fourth War. Silly of me to forget.

Possibly . . .? I've yet to read it myself, though I've read fanfic about it ad nauseam . . . I tried to jump onboard during its sequel, but found that it really couldn't hold my attention.

I'm very inclined towards powering though long fiction, and it had been recommended to me for a few years, so I was motivated to give it an effort. I'd suggest trying to get through the first 3 arcs or so (some of the early chapters are rough in certain ways, but Arc 3 is where I think the story really starts to come into its own). I think it's quite well-written in a number of ways that I am not equipped to describe (I can say "unreliable narration" or "foreshadowing" when I see it, but there are some ways that phrases and descriptions sound that are... well, hard to describe, and world-building is also something where I can only cite specific examples). It is the author's first work though.

That said, it's also really REALLY long (1.6m words takes me ~25-30 hours), and I now have no one to discuss it with, so I'm listening to an analysis podcast to sate that.

Editing: I'm now noticing that I still have post-read nostalgia goggles and that there are a number of very good criticisms about things like pacing and overall plot design in Worm. I will still hold that it is very good in its strengths, but will definitely agree that it has weaknesses, and how much weight you put on those strengths varies by reader.

Dumping the Trinity in Worm would probably have absolutely horrific ripple effects, even something innocuous like "prevent Taylor from being bullied in this one case" would probably make the timeline extremely unpredictable. This doesn't actually match the events in this short (as Godafrid rescuing Gray isn't really disrupting the normal course of Case Files events, since they're already disrupted), but when I was thinking we were mostly in Case Files universe, it made more sense to me.

[Kieran]

I forgot that the Fourth war didn't happen in Apocrypha timeline (which should have been obvious, theft of the Grail and so on), and definitely agree that "Lord El Melloi II" makes... very little sense without the Fourth War. Silly of me to forget.

I disagree on the last point, but the first . . . And yet, going by the Apocrypha epilogue, it does happen. Strange - fun to speculate about how, but very strange . . .

I'm very inclined towards powering though long fiction, and it had been recommended to me for a few years, so I was motivated to give it an effort. I'd suggest trying to get through the first 3 arcs or so (some of the early chapters are rough in certain ways, but Arc 3 is where I think the story really starts to come into its own). I think it's quite well-written in a number of ways that I am not equipped to describe (I can say "unreliable narration" or "foreshadowing" when I see it, but there are some ways that phrases and descriptions sound that are... well, hard to describe, and world-building is also something where I can only cite specific examples). It is the author's first work though.

Having gone through several arcs of his second work, I think I can see the point you're attempting to make.

That said, it's also really REALLY long (1.6m words takes me ~25-30 hours), and I now have no one to discuss it with, so I'm listening to an analysis podcast to sate that.

Understandable.

Editing: I'm now noticing that I still have post-read nostalgia goggles and that there are a number of very good criticisms about things like pacing and overall plot design in Worm. I will still hold that it is very good in its strengths, but will definitely agree that it has weaknesses, and how much weight you put on those strengths varies by reader.

A fair analysis, I think.

Dumping the Trinity in Worm would probably have absolutely horrific ripple effects, even something innocuous like "prevent Taylor from being bullied in this one case" would probably make the timeline extremely unpredictable.

Oh, probably - but aside from brief snippets, I don't think even I'm sadomasochistic enough to inflict the Parahumans universe on my self-insert and his friends.

This doesn't actually match the events in this short (as Godafrid rescuing Gray isn't really disrupting the normal course of Case Files events, since they're already disrupted), but when I was thinking we were mostly in Case Files universe, it made more sense to me.

Fair enough.


And back to this snippet: to be fair, while a lot of Waver's cases likely won't happen (there's no relic to steal, so no hopping on the Mystic Eye Train to get it back, for example) in an Apocrypha universe, I see no reason why others wouldn't - and I can specifically think of one or two where Gray was the trump card who got him out of it . . . Hence, Frid's concern - well, that and Gray seemed to genuinely enjoy her time in the classroom, and around Waver. Why shouldn't she have that?

. . . Of course, knowing Frid, it's not liable to end up being that simple . . .

[Vigilantia]

Oye! Fridge! Theres someone at the door for you. They say theyre the Mysterious Bureau of Investigation and your ex girlfriend is there.

MHXX: Im not his girlfriend!!

[Kieran]

Oye! Fridge! Theres someone at the door for you. They say theyre the Mysterious Bureau of Investigation and your ex girlfriend is there.

MHXX: Im not his girlfriend!!

She's really not - or seems to have come to that conclusion, anyway, despite her younger self's ambitions . . . And Gray triggers more of Frid's "needs a hug" reaction, like Miyu Edelfelt (or just about any other young girl in TYPE-MOON - I swear Nasu has a fetish for torturing little girls )

It is worth noting, however, that Gray does share a(n English) voice actress with Fiore . . .

[Kieran]

Continuing . . .




Koyo Town, Japan
June 13, 2004







As might be hoped for on a peaceful day in mid-June (and particularly in a place whose name translated to “Sunshine Town”), it was a beautiful day.

. . . Well, it was if you could ignore the humidity, at least—the rainy season was on the horizon, and the attendant moisture lurked ominously in the air, raising the temperature by several degrees more than the largely-clear skies would imply. Nevertheless, Rin Tsuchimi, second-year high school student (and clandestine Lunar Exalt) moved at a casual-but-ground-eating pace, seemingly oblivious to the thick, near-suffocating heat in the air.

(Environmental Charms were so handy for dealing with that kind of thing; definitely a worthwhile investment.)

He moved quickly but unhurriedly through the admittedly quiet streets, drawing some amount of envy for his apparent ease; but no one found it at all remarkable. He’d been jogging down one street or another in this general area for close to a decade, in weather of all kinds—so long as he didn’t make a genuinely superhuman effort (and even if he did, if he was careful about it), no one would give it a second thought. Everyone knew he was in good shape, even if he didn’t try to draw attention to the fact—most people just never realised how good.

And today, Rin was in no hurry; he was on time to meet Itsuki, if not early, and there was nothing else to draw his atten—

The Exalt stopped dead as his classmate came into view, and just as important, earshot.

“What do you think about that girl?” Itsuki asked the man standing next to him.

Said individual, a tall, gray-haired Devil in a black turtleneck and leather pants, of all things, hummed contemplatively before saying, “She’s pretty nice . . . I’d give her seventy-five out of a hundred.”

I don’t bloody believe it . . .

“Only seventy-five points?” Itsuki exclaimed. “I think she deserves at least eighty.”

“You can’t have a shallow opinion,” the Devil rebuked him mildly. “There are plenty of beautiful ladies in this world. If you give her eighty points, then there are only twenty for other ladies who are above her.”

His tone was that of a sage dispensing great wisdom—and the very thought gave Rin an idea . . .

“I see,” Itsuki murmured thoughtfully. “That’s rather persuasive . . .”

“I’ve been living a while longer than you have,” the Devil said modestly. “Still, you’ve got pretty keen eyes for someone your age.”

Yeah, that’s enough of that. Itsuki’s more than bad enough as he is—he does not need encouragement . . .!

Rin slowly gathered his Essence, even as he cast his mind back, to a winter’s evening several years ago . . .

[Many-Voiced Mockingbird Attitude]

“Ma,” he thundered, in a coldly furious voice. “Ou. Sa. MA . . .!”

More importantly, Rin spoke in a woman’s voice—and the voice of a very specific woman, at that.

Unlike the lady in question, he didn’t follow it up with a Thunder Kick, for the same reason he hadn’t used Nerine’s voice (mainly, that he didn’t want the other to know that he could do that), but it was gratifyingly effective, regardless.

Forbesii, the King of Devils, jumped as though he had been struck, whirling to display a panicked face whose complexion nearly matched his hair, babbling desperate excuses.

“AHHHH! Mama, I was just explaining to this young man he—”

As his brain caught up to his eyes, finally registering the complete lack of his wife anywhere in view, the King stopped in mid-babble; when recognition of who he was looking at finally hit, his jaw dropped fully towards the ground.

“It’s been a while, Maou-sama,” Rin spoke the traditional greeting dryly, giving into his urge to smirk as he added, “I’m pleased to see that I do still remember what Sage-sama sounds like—and that she’s obviously quite well. I hope the same can be said for you and the rest of your family . . .?”

It was a polite question, of course—and one he actually would like an answer to—but it was also a test and a trap. Would the King mention Lycoris’ death, or continue to keep Rin in the dark? Or would he mention her at all, for that matter, in the hopes that Rin had forgotten about her, perhaps (which, if those flowers had been delivered, should obviously not be the case)?

And given what they charged me for it, they were definitely delivered—it’s just a question of whether they actually got through . . .

“M-MAOU-SAMA?!” Itsuki burst out. “Rin, you’re not serious, are you?”

I will not eviscerate Itsuki, Rin repeated his mental mantra. It would at least make Mayumi sad, and she hasn’t pissed me off that much . . .

Rin tried to make allowances for the fact that he was dealing with a teenager, no matter how intelligent—he really tried. But the fact that Itsuki was a horny idiot who, if not an anime character, could legitimately be charged with either sexual harassment or brain damage, depending on the circumstances, was sometimes very, very hard to look past.

Like now, for instance, when Itsuki was managing to foul up his plans accidentally—which happened too often to be coincidence (even if Rin never could find evidence that it was actually deliberate on Itsuki’s part) . . .

“Rin? Is this a friend of yours?” the King of Devils asked.

I often ask myself that—usually preceded by “Why?”

“Sometimes,” the Exalt admitted. “Enough for me to show up when he asks me for help, at least . . .”

“Oh, that’s right—I forgot I was here to meet you,” Itsuki said.

I will not eviscerate Itsuki—Mayumi would be sad . . .

“But that’s detracting from the point!” the glasses-wearing teen declared. “Are you trying to tell me that this is truly Maou-sama, the King of the World of the Devils?”

“It’s been quite a while,” Rin admitted casually, “but I can still imitate the Queen’s voice well enough to spook him, so he must be . . .”








Avalon Castle, Phantasmagoria Island (Grail Works. Ltd. Headquarters)
Beyond the boundaries of time and space








Primula giggled. “No matter how many times he uses it, watching Onii-chan’s favourite party trick never gets old.”

“Did he have a lot of party tricks?” Shirou asked curiously.

The seeming tween smiled slightly, but it wasn’t a nice smile—though it made her resemblance to Ilya and her reasons for referring to the man in question as an older brother seem much more obvious.

“That depended on the party,” she answered ominously, before softening. “But that one was very nice, when I was new to the Human World—not even Lycoris read me bedtime stories like that . . .”

She drifted off wistfully as silence descended on the room at that point, and Shirou noted a number of uncomfortable expressions. Apparently, a lack of bedtime stories growing up wasn’t limited to a simple failing on Kiritsugu’s part—though Ilya looked somewhat wistful, herself . . .

“. . . Um, he did say that man was the Devil King, didn’t he?” Sakura interrupted. “And married?”

Primula nodded. “Very happily—and despite his behaviour, monogamously.”

“WHAT?” erupted from more than one throat.

“That makes no sense!” Rin exploded. “I can’t imagine a woman with the title of ‘Queen of the Devils’ would take playboy behaviour like that lying down . . .” She froze, eyes widening. “Oh, God—you said his daughter was one of the marriage candidates. What kind of shameless harlot is SHE . . .?!”

Primula blinked in the face of Rin’s exclamation, as though stunned by the force of her accusation.

And then she laughed until she started crying.








Koyo Town, Japan
June 13, 2004








“Great Maou-sama!” Itsuki declared, nearly prostrating himself. “Please let me emigrate to your world! Surely, the beauties of such a world, under your discerning eye, must be supreme . . .!”

“. . .I give up,” Rin decided aloud. “I’m going home now—goodbye, Itsuki. Nice to see you again, Maou-sama; my best wishes to the wife and daughters . . .”

And as the King of the Devils flinched, all Rin could think was, Gotcha.








Writer's Notes: I'm back in lockdown again - but SHUFFLE! Episode 2 has more details on its sequel beyond the title, so guess what I was in the mood for . . .?


. . . And yes, that actually is how the original game starts.

[Xamusel]

Not an Itsuki fan, I take it? Either way, though... this was a good snippet. I hope you get to release more later on.

[Kieran]

Not an Itsuki fan, I take it?

Nope. The anime incarnation is bad enough - the game version is actually much worse . . .

(Which makes sense, I suppose, as it is an eroge.)

Context-wise, so far as I can tell, Itsuki is meant as both exposition source (being a "genius student" compared to the protagonist) and comic relief. This Rin really doesn't need the former (after all, this universe has Sion ), and so I mostly have the idea that he hangs around with Itsuki because Mayumi does - that, and Itsuki occasionally comes around to challenge him over some academic thing.

The comic relief issue is still in play, of course - it's just that half of it revolves around Rin trying to talk himself out of figuring out how to murder Itsuki and get away with it . . .

Either way, though... this was a good snippet. I hope you get to release more later on.

Thank you. And as RB is still stuck on the latest Anarchy chapter, and my old hard drive is still inaccessible, that seems likely . . .

[Arbitrarity]

I am glad to see more Shuffle!, those were fun snippets.

“Oh, God—you said his daughter was one of the marriage candidates. What kind of shameless harlot is SHE . . .?!”

Ah yes, Lycoris, truly the most shameless of women.

Using [Many-Voiced Mockingbird Attitude] for bedtime stories sounds very effective, though maybe overkill. I have a very expressive reading of The Very Hungry Caterpillar that I have been told is quite entertaining.

it's just that half of it revolves around Rin trying to talk himself out of figuring out how to murder Itsuki and get away with it

He probably deserves the anvils being dropped, though over the longer term, I'd hope he'd mellow out a bit. I suppose that's over the course of several years, and Rin is just going to have to suffer until then.

[Kieran]

I am glad to see more Shuffle!, those were fun snippets.

Oh, absolutely - so you may see a few more while RB works on the next Anarchy bit.

Ah yes, Lycoris, truly the most shameless of women.

Only inasmuch as all little girls are - Nerine, on the other hand, is both timid and gullible (which is how her father gets her into those outfits, much to her mortification) . . .

Using [Many-Voiced Mockingbird Attitude] for bedtime stories sounds very effective, though maybe overkill. I have a very expressive reading of The Very Hungry Caterpillar that I have been told is quite entertaining.

That sort of thing is a lot of fun, isn't it . . .?

Granted, Primula was sixteen when she moved in with Rin and Kaede, but she looked younger, and has even less life experience than that; still, I imagine that after the apology for treating her like a child was made, her response was something along the lines of "I didn't say stop . . ."

He probably deserves the anvils being dropped, though over the longer term, I'd hope he'd mellow out a bit.

I've read that there are supposedly hints of an actual human being in there, so there might be something worth digging out.

I suppose that's over the course of several years, and Rin is just going to have to suffer until then.

Yup - which is largely the point, after all.

[Kieran]

Continuing . . .







Koyo Town, Japan
June 13, 2004








To say that Rin was confused would be accurate, if somewhat understated. Try though he might, he could not remember that encounter happening in the anime—and with the way his Excellency Charms could enhance his memory, that wasn’t a good sign.

Am I dealing with the actual visual novel, then . . .? I’d almost have to be—although I remember reading that the manga didn’t follow the same path as the anime, either . . . Still, if it’s the VN—there are at least three different versions I can think of, and that implies that, depending on how things play out, Tick! Tack! or Really? Really! could be involved here, too . . .

The latter, he did remember, followed Kaede’s route—and would mean that they’d see Sakura again. The former was Nerine’s, and involved time travel; how that worked, he hadn’t the faintest . . .

And those are Future Me’s problems—Current Me has a much bigger one: if this is the original VN’s setting, exactly how much did the anime adaptation end up leaving out?!

After all, as he well knew, such things were often pared down to deal with an anime’s episode budget. According to one analysis, Higurashi had cut eighty-plus hours of games to a mere twenty in its adaptation, though it supposedly kept all the highlights remained consistent within its own context. And length wasn’t the only issue; much as he’d enjoyed it, most TYPE-MOON fans he knew of completely disavowed the Tsukihime anime, it bore so little resemblance to its source material.

Which means I could be dealing with anything, here . . .

Some distance away, in the direction he’d come from, Rin heard a cry of Utter Soul-Crushing Despair™, as some poor soul (Itsuki) was subjected to an unknowable (but probably well-deserved) torment.

. . . But at least I’m not dealing with whatever that is—so, small mercies, right?

Sighing to himself, the Lunar Exalt considered what he did know. After all, the anime, however abridged, rewritten or otherwise altered, was an adaptation; in the end, at least some of what he knew had to apply—for the rest, he’d just have to roll with the proverbial punches.

(Or the not-so-proverbial chairs, in Sia’s case, or the definitely not-proverbial miniature tactical nukes, in Nerine’s . . .)

Essentially, as Rin recalled, there was a meeting between Rin Tsuchimi and the King of the Devils (probably chosen because the King of the Gods wouldn’t be able to keep his mouth shut)—it just didn’t happen that way. After which, the oblivious protagonist encountered Sia while grocery shopping, and Nerine in the park on the way home. Both girls played it casually; only the use of Rin’s name, when he hadn’t offered it, made the conversations seem out of place. Actual introductions wouldn’t take place until the next day, at school . . .

Which means that, unless things are really off the rails for some reason, Sia should be out looking for dinner ingredients about now . . . Well, we need milk, anyway—might as well check how deep I’m in it.

It didn’t take him long to reach the shopping arcade in general, much less the grocery store in specific. Koyo Town wasn’t all that big, for one thing, and he had been living here for close to a decade now. You picked up on locations and shortcuts, after a while. Granted, much like his original home, Rin couldn’t say that he knew everywhere, or could find his way home from anywhere in town; but this general area, he could walk blindfolded—and had once, on a bet.

Once inside, he noted that the place was almost empty—which was a little odd, given the time of day. Sure, the dedicated bargain hunters would wait for specific times and the corresponding sales, the next of which was some hours away, but the casual shoppers, like himself, were usually around to pick up things on a day like this. A Sunday, with good weather? What better time to nip out and grab a few things for the week ahead . . .? Sure, it wasn’t impossible that he’d hit a quiet time, even under circumstances like those—but it didn’t happen often.

Which meant, to Rin’s mind, that something was up . . .

[Perception Excellency: Sight, Hearing, Scent]

It was risky, pushing multiple senses like this—he could only burn so much Essence before his anima banner started flaring, after all. And his suddenly lighting up in a pillar of multicoloured light that could be seen for miles was not something he wanted to have to try to explain, but the oddities he’d already encountered thus far had him on edge. Especially since he suddenly had the nagging not-quite-certainty that one of the dateable characters in one of the remakes was supposed to be one of Sia’s bodyguards, or something like that . . .?

Rin honestly couldn’t remember; what he did recall was that the wiki hadn’t had a great deal of information on the character to begin with; about as much as it had on the characters of Episode 2, in fact. But he did remember the King of the Gods threatening to send a Special Forces team to destroy Verbena Academy, at one point—so that she wouldn’t have to go to summer school if she flunked her exams. That being the case, her having bodyguards made sense—and it was probably a good idea to figure out their tactics.

After all, her father’s liable to have them, too—or maybe not, out of a sense of arrogance regarding his power. But if I end up deciding to kill him after all, I’ll want to make sure that they can’t stop me . . .

There. A glint of sunlight reflecting off one of the freezers—too small and bright to be unfocussed sunlight, coming through the glass panes at the store’s front entrance. No, that was the kind of effect that magnifying glasses produced, or binoculars—or a telescopic sight.

Taking a moment to turn and glance around him, as though looking for a particular aisle, confirmed it; now that he knew to look for it, the sniper’s nest (or whatever the probably magical equivalent of one was) was fairly easy to spot.

That only covers the entrance and the checkout area, though. There’s no line-of-sight for the aisles themselves, though—which means there has to be at least one body within range of Sia . . .

If it was up to Rin, he wouldn’t bother with covert guards, save for having a set at every possible entry or exit point, to either keep them open or block them off as necessary (and maybe the King of the Gods had done that). But since they weren’t a plot point in the anime proper, he had to assume that they were meant to hide themselves from Sia, as well—she didn’t like her dad hovering, after all.

Whether what’s-his-name—Eustoma, THAT was it—has them or not, though, is hard to guess. You’d think so, being a head of state, and so on, but when you can get into fights that literally erase towns . . .

Still, the logic of his present course of action held: the best thing to do was to scout things out to get a feel for their numbers and likely tactics, in case he did have bodyguards, and check on Sia to see how far things were deviating from the script he knew. Rin was trying to implement some changes, of course—but going too far from his knowledge base wouldn’t help fulfill those plans, either.

Fortunately, tracking Sia wasn’t actually that hard. Never mind the size of the place (which wasn’t really all that much), Rin recalled that she’d be buying meat for dinner, which meant he knew where she would be going if she wasn’t there already. Even aside from that, a girl with long red hair wouldn’t exactly be hard to spot in these environs, anyways.

How no one ever managed to figure out that Asa’s got Devil heritage when her hair is Rydia-green, I have no idea—it’s not like the school would let her dye it . . .

Regardless, there Sia was, yellow basket slid over one arm, muttering to herself as she glanced between two packages of meat.

She’s taller than I thought she’d be, was his first thought. If memory served, she was actually about Rin Tohsaka’s height; but given that he wasn’t in his original body (and was therefore a fair bit shorter), however used to it he’d become, the Sia he’d expected due to that knowledge ended up being only a head or so shorter than he was, rather than a girl who was barely eye-level with his chest.

Still, other than that she’d aged pretty much as he’d expected. There was always some margin for error when a drawn image in his head was translated into a living, breathing person—as he’d learned over the years—but having met her as a child already, he’d had a fairly good idea of what she’d look like as her “mature” self.

Now, it’s just a matter of stepping into view (which he did), and letting her play out her housewife impersonation until she draws me into the conversa—

“RIN-KUN!”









KIKYOU! Sia protested. The GROCERIES . . .!

Oops—sorry, the younger twin thought, in a reversal of the sisters’ usual positions. But though she felt bad about throwing her sister out of the driver’s seat, and the likely waste of food, she couldn’t bring herself to actually regret it. Rin-kun was here, after all this time—he was right there . . .!

And, she realised on impact, she’d thrown herself at him a lot harder than she probably should have.

Oh, crap.

Sia agreed almost simultaneously, as Rin bent back under their momentum—

Kikyou blinked as the world abruptly spun a lot faster in her eyes; between blinks, she’d somehow gone from mid-tumble to—sitting in the crook of Rin’s arm? And held against his chest . . .?

“Got a bit overexcited there, Kikyou-chan?” he murmured against her left ear, sounding amused.

She could feel her face catching fire; partially in embarrassment over her near-fall, and partially over the excitement of the fact that he knew it was her . . .! The only (and very small) consolation was that Sia would’ve been no less red, if she’d been in charge—though for slightly different reasons.

Wow, her sister murmured, We’re really close to him—and Rin-kun is really strong . . .

At the sudden realisation that he was basically holding her off the ground one-handed, Kikyou’s mouth went dry.

“Uh, yeah . . .” the younger princess of the Gods replied, to both her sister and her intended fiancé—and glad that the same answer could cover both of them, because she was suddenly having trouble stringing her thoughts together.

“Are you all right to stand?” he asked, and the warmth in his voice made her face burn even brighter. He was worried about her . . .!

The temptation to ignore her sister and throw her arms around Rin—and maybe snuggle a little closer while she was at it—rose in her chest . . .

Kikyou! Not here, we’re in public . . .!

You want to feel what his muscles are like, too, she pointed out reasonably.

Well, ye—no! Sia spluttered. I mean . . . I mean yes, but we’ve already made enough of a scene!

Kikyou didn’t have to see a reflection to know that her twin would be frowning at her if she did.

The elder princess sighed. Let me try to fix this . . .









“. . . I think I can,” Sia said uncertainly.

She slid unsteadily but easily off of his arm, wobbling only slightly as her feet hit the floor—and the movement drew her attention to an equally-wobbly weight on her arm.

“Oh—my shopping!” Sia exclaimed, eyes widening as she noted nothing scattered across the floor but her shadow. Checking the basket proved that yes, it was all there!

She looked up at Rin and smiled brightly. “Thank you for saving dinner, Rin-kun!”

He reddened, and said modestly, “All I had to do was keep it still, Sia-chan—”

While keeping his balance, and ours, and spinning around like a top, too, Kikyou commented dryly—but there was a warm feeling in Sia’s chest as both twins received further evidence that yes, he really could tell them apart. He was addressing them as “Sia” now, after all.

“—but you’re welcome,” he finished. “It’s nice to see you again—sorry to have startled you.”

“Startled me?” Sia exclaimed.

“Well, you jumped so high,” he pointed out reasonably, though he was still smiling. She had the sense that he was teasing her.

The princess of the Gods pouted. “. . . I don’t remember you having this mean streak, Rin-kun,”

“Well, it’s been a while,” he noted. “But while it’s lovely to see you both again, if you’re shopping for dinner fixings, it’s obviously not the best time to catch up . . .”

Sia blinked, suddenly reminded of what she’d been doing before Kikyou decided to try and tackle Rin in the middle of the grocery store.

“Oh, yeah! I was trying to decide between these two.” She pointed at the two packages she’d been weighing earlier. “This one costs less per gram, but this one is cheaper as a whole—and Dad does eat a lot . . .”

“Then go for the one that will let you buy extra,” Rin advised. “If you do end up with leftovers, then you’ve got the makings of another meal, later—and if you don’t, then you bought just enough, right?”

“Right!” Sia nodded in agreement. “Good thinking, Rin-kun! Thanks . . . And thanks for not holding the whole jumping-on-you thing against me . . .”

“Honestly, I should’ve expected it,” he admitted ruefully. “You’re two energetic girls in one—what else was going to happen? I’m just glad I was able to make the catch before anybody got hurt.”

Kikyou muttered, I’m going back to sleep now—if I don’t ever wake up again, don’t wake me, OK . . .?

“It’s nice to see you again, regardless,” he said earnestly, tilting his head to one side as he added, “Both of you.”

On second thought, are you sure we can’t just take him home with us?

I’d love to, Sia said reasonably, but you know the deal Dad made with Uncle Forbesii; we have to at least let him meet Nerine, first . . .

Fine, Kikyou sighed. Darn it—he’s right there! Can’t we just invite her to dinner, too?

Sia was sorely tempted, for a moment—but an argument against that presented itself.

If we did, we’d either be leaving Nerine alone with him while we cooked, or having her trying to cook dinner with us.

And we just got that kitchen set up, didn’t we . . .?

Kikyou sighed, and Sia resisted the urge to do the same.

Aloud, Sia merely said, “It’s nice to see you again, too, Rin-kun—and I’m sorry, but I have to go to the pharmacy now if I’m going to make it in time for that flash sale on toilet paper.”

“Of course,” he said understandingly, stepping to one side. “Have a safe trip, and good luck.”

“Thank you very much,” Sia said. “See you again, Rin-kun . . .!”








As he watched the teenaged God(dess) hurry off, Rin felt a bit bemused. While it had definitely been similar, in some ways, in other ways it had been nothing like what he’d expected of that encounter.

So what in the world, I wonder, is Nerine going to be like . . .?

[Xamusel]

Kieran, you failed to close a tag on the story update... just a heads up.

[Arbitrarity]

Whether what’s-his-name—Eustoma, THAT was it—has them or not, though, is hard to guess. You’d think so, being a head of state, and so on, but when you can get into fights that literally [I]erase towns . . .[/I

To be specific.

Rin's acquisition of Harem Protagonist A+ is entirely too much fun to watch. I had forgotten that he was considering taking steps against the King of the Gods, so I was initially confused about his internal narration when looking at the special forces.

I find myself feeling like I'm anticipating Rin having more difficult situations in the future. The note about not knowing the contents of the VN is strongly suggesting that, and Rin feels like he's presently doing... too well, by your standards. I'm not sure exactly what form that will take, but considering we established Limit Break as a thing to worry about here, it's potentially quite bad. I definitely appreciate the sweet interactions, though.

[Kieran]

Kieran, you failed to close a tag on the story update... just a heads up.

To be specific.

. . . So I did - thank you both, fixed.

Rin's acquisition of Harem Protagonist A+ is entirely too much fun to watch.

That is the hope.

I had forgotten that he was considering taking steps against the King of the Gods, so I was initially confused about his internal narration when looking at the special forces.

Sorry. I do try to be internally consistent.

I will admit that I had to remind myself of that, too - but once I did, I felt it was too important not to mention . . .

. . . And amusingly, while the idea of bodyguards for the princesses makes logical sense, as I said, it's not brought up in the original version of the game - Episode 2, on the other hand, has an entire prequel game (albeit not a long one) focussed on one of those bodyguards, as they make preparations for Princess Lithia (Sia's great-niece) to move to the Human World.

I find myself feeling like I'm anticipating Rin having more difficult situations in the future. The note about not knowing the contents of the VN is strongly suggesting that, and Rin feels like he's presently doing... too well, by your standards. I'm not sure exactly what form that will take, but considering we established Limit Break as a thing to worry about here, it's potentially quite bad.

It's tricky to consider - you're right, this is easy, by my normal standards, but at the same time, Shuffle! is mostly a "slice-of-life" game until you get deep into one of the routes (which, at the moment, Rin is attempting to avoid doing). In canon, the biggest physical threats are the fan clubs, or one of the girls accidentally imploding due to power issues (with Primula likely taking at least one world with her, in her case).

. . . Of course, now I have a more proactive Rin, Sion, and knowledge of later concepts . . . For example, with time travel being proven as possible, maybe things are complicated by the Episode 2 characters showing up . . .?

It's a thought, at least.

I definitely appreciate the sweet interactions, though.

Thank you. They are a lot of fun.

[Arbitrarity]

It's tricky to consider - you're right, this is easy, by my normal standards, but at the same time, Shuffle! is mostly a "slice-of-life" game until you get deep into one of the routes (which, at the moment, Rin is attempting to avoid doing). In canon, the biggest physical threats are the fan clubs, or one of the girls accidentally imploding due to power issues (with Primula likely taking at least one world with her, in her case).

. . . Of course, now I have a more proactive Rin, Sion, and knowledge of later concepts . . . For example, with time travel being proven as possible, maybe things are complicated by the Episode 2 characters showing up . . .?

It's a thought, at least.

Nothing wrong with light and fluffy. It's a good year for it, really.

I've always been impressed by how much suffering you usually drop on your protagonists, and the ways in which they're flawed. Galen's emotional instability, self-destructiveness, and penchant for keeping secrets were all great ways to balance out his strengths, and there were some powerfully cathartic moments as a result. However, one of the things that gave that weight was the long-term setup and payoff, which isn't easy to achieve in snippet format. (I suspect this sounds critical in this context, but this is more a "I wanted to compliment you on this before and here's a context where it's somewhat relevant")

That said, that doesn't mean I think you should necessarily force drama, and "why can't I hold all these cute girls" in a slightly subversive way is a very fun read. I also don't actually know much about the actual plot of Shuffle! apart from wiki skimming, so I'll probably enjoy the details either way. There's also been a fair amount of butterfly effect from Rin being proactive already. I suspect I've just been conditioned to be waiting for the other shoe to drop.