[FF] Grail Works, Ltd.: Fate/Anarchy (Type-Moon/Scion crossover)

[RanmaBushiko]

I cannot help but feel like I made a terrible mistake somewhere. I'm not sure where. Perhaps it was just when I realized that we had multiple characters who want to suplex things. An eye for an eye and all that.

Also the rising suplex attempts in the air was a VERY vivid image. I'm pretty sure it was a Dragonball-inspired image, but very vivid nonetheless.

I look forward to observing what actually happens at that time in the story, since this is evidently AFTER dealing with Shirou, and we're barely done with Dracula. I also have to wonder if with sufficient determination or expertise, you can use Command Spells non-verbally. Perhaps not, though I know Kirei's alternative uses didn't require words... hm.

You brought the crack omake on yourselves!

Seriously, though. Crack omake is crack. Take it for the humor it is.

[Arbitrarity]

Oh I did, I just don't have a good way to describe laughing about crack fic in text, so I resort to expressing exaggerated horror at how crack it is, in a "what hath science wrought" way.

I then couldn't think of much else to talk about afterwards and went off on a tangent. Might be padding, I kinda dislike making forum posts that are two sentences long.

[RanmaBushiko]

Well, I *thought* it would be easier to produce a new character sheet for Scylla.

Then Kieran let me look at the 2e editions for a lot of stuff that would be useful for making a 2e Scylla. (Cue a scream of despair echoing time and space, as I try to work on deciding if Scylla would be better off as 1e or 2e. Much like Vegeta in DBZ abridged, only despair instead of RAGE...)

Much, MUCH thumping my head against a wall (thankfully with a pillow between my head and said wall) as I've been trying to work out if 1e or 2e scion would be better for Scylla.

So, I'll ask you this, do you want 2e, considering how much they've expanded on it, with the understanding that there's going to be a lot of experience saved until Demigod comes out?

Furthermore, do you want Scylla's name changed? Or would you rather Scylla to deal with Tamamo trying to get him to consider being a girl, fucking with Scylla, etc. as a result? Much like Caules had to worry about, earlier in the story...

Edit:

Thinking about it, I'll explain a bit why.

No epic attributes is a huge factor for 2e, as far as the three books released now show. To counterbalance that, and make Scylla have the "oomph" that he's had to date, will take work.

And creating purviews from scratch for his character.

At the same time, it's far more versatile for 2e than it was for 1e. 1e was pretty much "DICE ROLLS, YAY!: THE GAME". 2e... not so much.

So if you want me to move Scylla up to 2e, and purviews to fake being equivalent to a 1e Demigod until the Demigod book comes out, and I can work things out more (and KEEP Scylla at a level where he's a decent threat for any enemies, so they have a relatively safe home base to go back to...) I can do that. But it will take time. And a lot more than I've already put into it.

[Kieran]

No epic attributes is a huge factor for 2e, as far as the three books released now show.

A quick counterpoint/info drop: there are Epic Attributes, it's just that they're all largely (though as of the latest release, not exclusively - not quite, anyway) physical in nature. The Mental and Social trees are pretty bare; less than useful for Erik and Tamamo, specifically.

. . . In other news, I am working on the next chapter, but it's slow going; I've been called back to work, and the hours are not only exhausting after three months of inactivity, they're erratic. Lack of consistent time is slowing me down as much as anything, sorry.

[Xamusel]

Ouch... sorry to hear that, Kieran. I hope all goes well for you.

As for RB? I think the best I can offer is that I hope you can make placeholders for Scylla.

[Arbitrarity]

It feels plot-relevant to make Scylla a 2e character eventually, but if it's extremely high effort, I'm just fine with statting him out in 1e, especially with the extra system familiarity. You can always defer changing him over with the same reason as Erik. Since you're doing a "converting things over" you might be able to do piecewise substitutions, but I have no idea what that would look like. Most RPG systems you can't just drop pieces in from another edition.

Name changing is too meta a question for me. Scylla is Scylla. If Scylla wants to go by a different name, he can. I don't know what sort of name he would choose, or if he would be interested in doing that. I can see Tamamo playing with gender identity stuff, though I feel like she might prefer to do that once Scylla is slightly more established in his identity. Then again, I'm not entirely familiar with her motivations for doing that normally. I feel like going from agender to male is already interesting, and she might chill out a bit until the novelty wears off?

Also, ick, work. No worries Kieran, I'll be watching.

[RanmaBushiko]

Ouch... sorry to hear that, Kieran. I hope all goes well for you.

As for RB? I think the best I can offer is that I hope you can make placeholders for Scylla.

Yeah, he seems to be holding up somewhat well, but I can tell he's exhausted, and he's only had an hour at most every night to message back and forth with me on skype. Tired Kieran is tired.

It feels plot-relevant to make Scylla a 2e character eventually, but if it's extremely high effort, I'm just fine with statting him out in 1e, especially with the extra system familiarity. You can always defer changing him over with the same reason as Erik. Since you're doing a "converting things over" you might be able to do piecewise substitutions, but I have no idea what that would look like. Most RPG systems you can't just drop pieces in from another edition.

Name changing is too meta a question for me. Scylla is Scylla. If Scylla wants to go by a different name, he can. I don't know what sort of name he would choose, or if he would be interested in doing that. I can see Tamamo playing with gender identity stuff, though I feel like she might prefer to do that once Scylla is slightly more established in his identity. Then again, I'm not entirely familiar with her motivations for doing that normally. I feel like going from agender to male is already interesting, and she might chill out a bit until the novelty wears off?

Also, ick, work. No worries Kieran, I'll be watching.

Converting things over... would, like I'd say, be harder... normally... Except for the tiny thing where you can make your own purviews in Scion 2e, according to the newest book, as well as outright make pantheons from scratch, and are allowed to remake older purviews from the previous system if you wish, or unique abilities.

Remaking half of the abilities Scylla has as Purviews isn't... impossible, but it is going to be tiring. Considering how much work I've been trying to do to ensure Fenris and Tamamo will get converted, and the fact that each character is getting 1 exp per chapter we write?

So statting out Scylla as a Demigod without the Demigod book to ensure I get things right means I'm going to have to rely on purviews to counter a lot of issues, until that book comes out. Purviews that could leave him utterly broken as a 2e charcter, by standard 2e rules, until we get that book out.

On writing notes...

I've got 5 pages of the first draft of Interlude 3 written, by the way, though I need to correct spelling to handle perspectives properly... and make sure it meshes better, as well.

I've also written, then rewritten (more than once...), parts of what will be either chapter 65 or 66 on my end. It's slow, but steady. There's a lot of ground to be covered with my next chapter... like poor Olga's reaction to the clusterfuck. You didn't think Olga, Mash and Fou were missing for no reason during that last few chapters, did you...?

[Kieran]

DISCLAIMER: Lunar Legend Tsukihime, Fate/Stay Night, and all related characters and concepts are the creation and property of Kinoko Nasu and TYPE-MOON, along with whomever they’ve happened to license them to, such as Geneon, Funimation, A-1 Pictures and Netflix.

This is a not-for-profit, just-for-fun project.







Yggdmillennia Castlevania
July 4, 2004








“. . . So,” Fiore said uncertainly, after glancing around the wreckage of the room, “as we appear to be sealed in here for the time being, shall we continue where we left off?”

Using the Bronze-Link Manipulators, she set herself in a combat-ready, defensive position; whether it was to protect herself from sudden intruders, or him, Frid wasn’t sure—and her next words didn’t help.

“You were saying . . .?”

“Right . . .” He closed his eyes and sighed, trying to flush the adrenaline out and recall his thoughts at the time, which had become more than a little scattered due to recent events. Once he had, however, he reopened his eyes and locked them with Fiore’s, speaking as calmly as he could manage.

“You’re doomed if you stay here, and I can’t save you—we’ve established that. And as much as I’d like to be able to argue those facts, I can’t . . . But just because there’s nothing either of us can do, it doesn’t mean that there’s no hope, Fiore.”

“. . . I presume you mean Erik and his entourage,” she said after a moment—proving that she might not be an “ideal” magus, but it wasn’t because she didn’t measure up when it came to intelligence.

And it wasn’t what he’d meant initially, Frid admitted to himself; the idea had only occurred to him between their argument and now—and if it meant keeping the Works’ secret intact, he was willing to let her run with that mistaken conclusion (what was one more, really?).

“They’re not local; that much is obvious,” he said by way of an answer, “And from the statements I’ve been getting from them, they have no real reason to stay here, once they’ve secured the artefact they’re after. Wherever they are from, it is Earth, but an Earth that’s far beyond the reach of the Association, save one; from all I know of him, he’s not likely to hold a grudge over all of this—at least, not in regards to you.”

“. . . It means leaving Caules behind,” she pointed out, after a moment’s thought.

“It does,” he agreed, “but you’d almost certainly have to do that anyway—whatever cover the El-Melloi devise for him is useless if people have any reason to start connecting him to the Clock Tower renegade Fiore Forvedge Yggdmillennia. If they do, then he’s not only in danger because of who he is; he becomes the obvious pressure point to get to you—and that defeats the whole purpose of doing any of this . . .”

She shrank in on herself a bit at that (unconsciously, he suspected), but said nothing to contradict his statement. Not that Frid expected her to; he was right—as little as either of them liked it—and as already noted, Fiore wasn’t an idiot.

Neither was he (at least, some of the time), which was why he’d expected her next sentence, sooner or later, along the course of this conversation.

“. . . Will you come with me?”

“Even assuming that I survive this,” Frid answered carefully—pausing to let the reminder that a horrible, imminent death was a distinct possibility sink in—“not immediately. You’ll likely be safe with Erik, but you and Caules will be safer if the Clock Tower can confirm your deaths—and someone will need to tell him what happened, but obviously not right away.”

She opened her mouth, obviously intending to protest—and then stopped, closed it, and gradually assumed the most palpably frustrated expression he’d ever seen on Fiore’s face, in animated or real-world form. Because, again, he was right—or at least, he wasn’t wrong—and she knew it.

Whatever the aftermath of the Great Holy Grail was, the Clock Tower would tear this place down to the bedrock for answers, advantages, and scapegoats. Even leaving aside the possible resources left behind to exploit, as an organisation, they simply couldn’t afford to have their authority flouted so openly and completely. Atlas, at least, was composed of a tradition (to wit, the discipline of alchemy as a whole) and so was the Holy Church. They amounted to hundreds of families of comparable size and resources, employing thousands of people worldwide.

This had been one family; a fairly diverse one, true, with all the bloodlines they’d adopted, but ultimately a single collective under one name, and a disgraced one, at that. If they could successfully secede—or at least, get away with the attempt—the Clock Tower was finished as an institution, plain and simple. The egos of the various lineages and Lords would presume that surely they could do the same thing far more successfully, and the whole thing would go up like the proverbial Roman candle. Heaven knew it already had enough internal conflicts to spark such a thing; evidence that it could be done would just be lighting the proverbial match . . .

Not even Zelretch, for all his natural authority and the Association’s “hands-off” policy regarding him, could stop that. They couldn’t afford to let him, for the same reasons that they’d have to come here and salt the earth where the ashes of Yggdmillennia’s attempt at independence stood. Which meant questioning every witness they could find, by any means they could dredge up—and for that, it was better if there was someone around, obfuscating the traces that might lead to either of the siblings.

Naturally, he’d be under some suspicion; his association with Fiore at the Clock Tower was common knowledge, even if the engagement wasn’t. However, he had both the record of contacting Waver for instructions regarding the situation prior to the War’s commencement, and hopefully the Wizard Marshal’s word regarding his participation in the Red Faction, to keep accusations to a minimum. Moreover, he was both small-time enough, as a “mere spellcaster,” and simultaneously useful enough, with his Mystic Eyes, to not be worth sanctioning even as a show of force.

Not when prosecuting an independent overzealously, when there was no direct or provable connection to Yggdmillennia’s actions, would only grant those actions the air of a legitimate grievance, after all . . .

Frid hated politics, and hated playing politics even more—but that by no means meant that he was incompetent or incapable in regards to either.

“Damn it . . .” The curse was uncharacteristic of Fiore, and its vehemence was as much a testament to her feelings as the words themselves. But being both intelligent and trained in this particular arena (as he was not), meant that she was capable of reaching the same conclusions he had all the more swiftly.

“Even assuming that I can follow you,” Frid said reasonably, “the more time that passes before that happens, the safer all of us will be.”

The passage of time would allow for the political situation to settle, for cover-ups to solidify, and for interest in the situation to wane. Or, at least, for the lack of evidence to make expending significant effort in proving or disproving theories—like his Fiore’s potential survival and his possible involvement in such—less justifiable to the people who held the investigators accountable . . .

“How long . . .?” Fiore asked, afraid to finish the question. Nevertheless, he knew what she meant, and why she was asking—as apolitical as he was, Frid was still more aware of the Association’s present political landscape than she was.

“Optimistically, at least a year,” he answered solemnly. “Two or three would be better; Caules could finish his education under Lord El-Melloi II and attain an actual ranking, by then—the legitimacy will be some protection. Not to mention any connections he might make in that span; on top of which, it would give me both the time and the excuse to lay the groundwork for our ‘acquaintance’ without its drawing too many eyes.”

The expression that flashed briefly across her face at that pronouncement, before the mask of the magus was reasserted, was so anguished Frid suspected actually hitting Fiore might’ve been less painful to her.

Not that he could blame her—she was basically being told that her best chance of surviving this whole mess was to trust a pair of “gods” she barely knew, and hope that they’d be willing to ferry her to what was possibly an entirely alien world, alone, for years. It was, if not a fate worse than death, one that was arguably pretty damned close. Fiore had already lost everything once, after all; that was how she’d wound up with Yggdmillennia. She’d lost everything but Caules—and this time, she would have to lose him, too . . .

“. . . It’s not all terrible,” Frid offered quietly. “If Lady Tamamo is capable of anything near what myth says she could do, she’s undoubtedly able to perform the kind of spiritual surgery needed to fix your Magic Circuits. You could get your wish without the Grail—or resorting to trying to clone a perfected body for yourself,” he added dryly.

Erik hadn’t exactly been subtle with those devices, after all—but then again, he’d always held the dubious distinction of being a god of paranoia for whom “subtlety” was a completely foreign concept . . .

Fiore frowned. “But, Chiron—”

Frid frowned. Centaurs in Scion hewed fairly close to Greek myth—meaning, in other words, that they were something of a menace. Worse, in Scion they were modernised: the example being a half-human, half-motorcycle biker gang under Titan command. But Chiron was enshrined by legend (and presumably, Fate) as being unique among his brethren; he’d likely largely survive conversion intact, probably . . .?

“If you can retain your Command Spells and contract,” he said carefully, “their universe probably has a means to replace the Greater Grail for carrying the prana load of having him as your Servant—and what they can do for you, Erik would certainly attempt for Chiron.”

If only to spit in the eye of the pantheons and Fate, Frid added silently, that he’d once again done something they considered impossible.

Of course, the last time he’d done that, he’d broken Fate and reality so badly that the repercussions of the act retroactively freed the Titans from their ancient prisons, essentially causing the setting of Scion to exist in the first place . . . But based on his behaviour so far, Frid thought it was fairly obvious that the lesson hadn’t really sunk in—then again, what did he know? If he’d been able to predict what the Aesir was going to do more than half the time, and why, running that campaign would’ve been so much easier . . .

Shaking his head out of thoughts of the long distant past (by several means of measuring, at that), Frid focussed on Fiore, and delivered his closing thoughts.

“You don’t need to decide right this instant, at least; and just because it’s not a terrible option doesn’t make it a good one, I know—but I think it’s probably the only option that will get you out of this alive and free . . .”

And in a better position than the Works could grant her, if they chose to intervene so blatantly, instead. True, she wouldn’t be hunted on their Earth; at least as long as no one realised that there was now a magus version of the “retired” Fiore Forvedge that was probably already running around, since Caules was a student of Waver’s in the canon timeline . . .

But it wasn’t like the Works could offer her the use of her magecraft and her legs, either, without resorting to the Holy Grail. And by that point, Fiore would inevitably realise at least some, if not all, of what was going on—if she hadn’t already figured it out. She wasn’t stupid, and Holy Grails didn’t grow on trees; the origin of theirs would be hard to not at least suspect, coming so close to the end of things.

Worse, it would inevitably follow that she’d discover the truth: that the man that she believed was her fiancé, and quite probably loved, was actually—

His own thoughts, and whatever response Fiore might’ve given to his statements, were abruptly derailed as the low-grade rumbling which had marked the battle within the castle suddenly intensified. The muffled growls of explosions became terrible thundering, violent enough to shake the stone structure surrounding them, rapidly building in noise and power until visible cracks began springing up into view—and then the stone began to crumble away into a gradually-brightening light . . .

“Of course it disintegrates when Dracula’s defeated, because why not . . .?” Frid muttered disgustedly. “Brace yourself, Fiore—!”

And as the world almost literally dropped out from underneath him, he had a brief moment to hope that Rin and XX were having better luck—much, much better.








En route to The Hanging Gardens of Babylon
July 4, 2004








Rin closed her eyes, but it didn’t really help—somehow, the effect bypassed her eyelids, forcing her to see . . .

Something she’d had hints of in her brief glimpses of the Kaleidoscope, when working with that damned stick, or from her master showing off. It was a view of the world that made everything look warped, if not outright wrong, in ways both subtle and vulgar; and sometimes those views were consecutive, and sometimes they were simultaneous.

On an academic level, she’d find it fascinating, if she wasn’t trying to keep her breakfast in her stomach—and half-convinced that she could see her stomach’s contents without actually needing to tilt her head (or an x-ray machine). The descriptions she’d read of “acid trips” seemed positively tame, compared to this . . .

As if reading her thoughts (something Rin was not prepared to say the Servant couldn’t do), the flying robot holding her in a bridal carry remarked, “Apologies. The conditions of Existence Beyond the Domain, when active, are unpleasant for the unprepared. Unfortunately, there isn’t enough room in here for both of us—and my armour’s passive shielding systems, while not nonexistent, are only so effective . . .”

A small part of her mind noted that the Servant was, apparently, not a robot—the rest of her was too nauseated to care, and it motivated her response.

“Compared to this, even being squished into a tin can like that doesn’t sound so bad right now.”

“I have to wear a bikini to fit in here,” Foreigner pointed out, in a tone so flat that it was clear even through the electronic filtering.

“That’s not exactly a turnoff . . .” Rin muttered under her breath.

“What?”

“NOTHING!” the Japanese magus denied immediately—but firmly, so there was no question to there being any point in continuing the line of conversation (and any oddities in her complexion were solely down to her troubles with the flight, damn it)!

“. . . By the Artorium, it’s a multiversal constant . . .”

Under any other circumstances, Rin might have taken offense at the way a robotic-sounding voice could still convincingly emulate sheer horror—but she was almost immediately distracted by the Gardens coming immediately into view.

Rin had been present in Fuyuki (briefly) during the Fourth Holy Grail War. She was a veteran of the Fifth, and one of its victors (translation: she survived with all faculties and most of her sanity intact), and had recently beheld both Yggmillennia Fortress and the Space Battleship Wolfen. By definition, then, she was well aware of how ridiculous Grail Wars could get, to say nothing of the individual Servants participating in them.

But the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, she felt, were another tier of lunacy entirely.

As a magus’ workshop, it had outclassed Caster’s efforts at Ryudo Temple by a significant margin. For starters, there was the sheer size of it; add in the creatures that patrolled its confines (venomous serpents on par with a hydra, and flying skeletal warriors), its barriers, its ability to “beam-spam,” as she’d heard it put, and the fact that the entire thing managed to fly on top of that . . .

Really, Rin thought irritably, it’s like someone took a long, hard look at the Fifth Holy Grail War’s Caster, and said, “How can we do all of that, but worse?”

If Caster had been able to pull that off, she’d likely have won the War (not to mention made maintaining secrecy infinitely harder). And this was being done by an Assassin—never mind what Skills she had that let her pull this off, the Grail system itself had decided that “Assassin” was the designation that she was most suited for, and shaped her parameters and limits accordingly. If the opposite had occurred, and she’d actually been summoned as a Caster, with “Assassin” as a secondary Class . . .

Rin shuddered to think what she might have been capable of then.

Aloud, however, she merely said, “I really hope that this stealth trick of yours works.”

“I routinely combat entities who perceive dimensions of awareness that Human Rationality is literally incapable of comprehending,” the Servant answered flatly, even accounting for the robotic tone—and likewise accounting for it, Rin detected an undercurrent of smugness in that voice with the added “And they never see me coming.”

“Sounds like whoever built your armour does good work,” Rin remarked, fishing for information. If nothing else, she wanted to know who “Frid” had managed to summon without a catalyst—and who knew what else she might learn?

“Sensei does,” the Servant agreed, “even if he’d never have had the idea for conceptual engineering without—CLASSIFIED!”

The sudden yelp caught Rin off-guard, as did the sudden stop of their flight. As they hovered for a beat, she mentally revised her estimates of the “robot”—if the bikini comments hadn’t confirmed it, that reaction proved that there was definitely someone human underneath that plating, and probably younger than she initially would’ve assumed. Either that or they were a lot less secure than their professional façade suggested . . .

(Not that Rin would know anyone like that—and anyone who suggested otherwise would regret it.)

“My apologies for becoming distracted,” Foreigner said. “Commencing scan for the Greater Grail . . .”

The blue eye-lights within the slit visor intensified, and Rin let them work in peace—but after over a minute of silence, she prompted, “Is there a problem?”

“Unsurprisingly, the route is booby-trapped,” came the answer. “Alchemical analysis detects traces of the venom used by the Bašmu surrounding entry points where the highest and densest collection of prana is contained: logically, the Grail’s location. While my armour has internal life support functions rated for operating in a vacuum—and more exotic environmental conditions—unlike the cloaking effect, the mechanisms’ functionality cannot be extended to you. I am having difficulty plotting a route into the room that will ensure your survival.”

Rin scowled. Poison gas bombs were a pretty good security measure, she had to admit; especially since she’d seen the stuff kill a Servant whose Magic Resistance was as high as it went . . .

“Can’t we just stay ‘cloaked,’ and avoid setting them off?” Rin asked.

“Yes, but you wished to examine the Greater Grail—can you gain all the required data without being, for all intents and purposes, physically present?”

“We don’t have much choice but to find out,” she pointed out.

“Understood,” the Servant said. “Commencing infiltration.”

Much to Rin’s surprise, they slipped through the walls of the fortress like ghosts—she’d been told what “Existence Outside the Domain” meant, but apparently hadn’t thought it through. It was a Skill tailor-made for an Assassin—but the woman whose arms she was in obviously wasn’t, given Semiramis’ presence. And she’d met most of the other Servants of Red; at least insofar as learning their Class was concerned.

So, what on earth is a 'Foreigner' supposed to be . . .? Rin asked herself.

Entering the chamber was a “good news, bad news, and worse news” situation. The good news was that this was the Greater Grail’s location, and they hadn’t set off the traps by entering. The bad news was that they likely would when Existence Outside the Domain stopped being used—and Rin realised, after whispering Ilya’s name and receiving no response (much less the hoped-for vanishing of the Grail), that they would have to.

The worse news, however, was that Shirou Tokisada Amakusa Kotomine was waiting for them, with Black Keys in hand.

“How—?” the Servant protested in shock, but Rin realised it quickly enough.

“He still has access to a Ruler’s Revelation Skill,” she spat in frustration. “Even if he can’t see us”—and by his wary, waiting pose, he obviously couldn’t—“he can still see that something is going to happen here, even if he can’t tell how.”

Rin made a snap decision. “Can you distract him while I work—ideally, such that he doesn’t even realise I’m here?”

“. . . What kind of protagonist would I be, if I didn’t know how to keep people’s attention?” Foreigner asked in turn. “Be careful, Rin—to do this right, I won’t be able to mind the collateral damage.”

It occurred to the magus to wonder how the Servant knew her given name—but with the tight deadline they were under, this wasn’t the time or place to ask.

“I understand,” she said instead. “Let’s go!”








After that, things happened very quickly, and in the following order:

Rin was dropped off on the opposite side of the Greater Grail, while her ally flew around at high speed, dropping her stealth field such that the magus’ presence should have gone unnoticed, since she was out of sight and away from the doorway.

Shirou Kotomine opened his mouth . . .

And Mysterious Heroine XX shot him in the face.

[Xamusel]

...out of "side"?

[Kieran]

...out of "side"?

Ack - fixed, thank you . . . Damn it, that's the third error of that type - why was I MAKING those?!

[Arbitrarity]

Wooo, update!

Oh Frid is SNEAKY. It feels a bit like he changes his mind over the course of the course of the conversation, initially describing her conclusion as "mistaken", which reads to me like he still intends to take her to the Works, then ends describing sending her with Erik as the better option. I also don't think that's the intent, but it kind of reads that way. If he actually intends to leave her for 2+ years while he goes and does Works things instead, and she thinks he's taking care of Caules, I would be... annoyed. It feels like that would be unusually deceptive and cruel for him. There are still some loose ends here.
Really interesting take on the Clock Tower politics and effects of someone seceding. I hadn't specifically thought of it that way, but it makes a lot of sense.

dubious distinction of being a god of paranoia for whom “subtlety” was a completely foreign concept

Yeaaaah I do have to admit that "hiding your power level" is an important trait in my paranoid characters, though it also rarely survives contact with the plot. Erik is still much more extravagant about his resources, though.

MHXX definitely knows that Rin swings both ways. It seems weird that she specified

can you gain all the required data without being, for all intents and purposes, physically present?

for infiltrating with Existence Outside the Domain, but can actually "decloak" at the target location. If Kotomine Shirou wasn't there, I would think she could still have done that, and Rin could have gathered information there normally. If Rin can gather information while Outside the Domain, there's no reason to decloak.
I also do not have a good feeling about this fight for MHXX, just based on where it is in the story. I suppose we might have the Heart of Winter after Shirou/Semiramis as an antagonist, but otherwise, it seems extremely unlikely that she's going to do much more than distract him, as requested.

[RanmaBushiko]

Wooo, update!

Oh Frid is SNEAKY. It feels a bit like he changes his mind over the course of the course of the conversation, initially describing her conclusion as "mistaken", which reads to me like he still intends to take her to the Works, then ends describing sending her with Erik as the better option. I also don't think that's the intent, but it kind of reads that way. If he actually intends to leave her for 2+ years while he goes and does Works things instead, and she thinks he's taking care of Caules, I would be... annoyed. It feels like that would be unusually deceptive and cruel for him. There are still some loose ends here.
Really interesting take on the Clock Tower politics and effects of someone seceding. I hadn't specifically thought of it that way, but it makes a lot of sense.

Yeaaaah I do have to admit that "hiding your power level" is an important trait in my paranoid characters, though it also rarely survives contact with the plot. Erik is still much more extravagant about his resources, though.

MHXX definitely knows that Rin swings both ways. It seems weird that she specified for infiltrating with Existence Outside the Domain, but can actually "decloak" at the target location. If Kotomine Shirou wasn't there, I would think she could still have done that, and Rin could have gathered information there normally. If Rin can gather information while Outside the Domain, there's no reason to decloak.
I also do not have a good feeling about this fight for MHXX, just based on where it is in the story. I suppose we might have the Heart of Winter after Shirou/Semiramis as an antagonist, but otherwise, it seems extremely unlikely that she's going to do much more than distract him, as requested.

He's been iffy about jumping back and forth over taking Fiore with, or not. Looks like he's finally made his decision, doesn't it?

As for Erik... he does know subtlety. For the Norse pantheon, he's about as good as you're going to get in those terms, aside from Loki and Odin. That doesn't mean he isn't willing to throw everything in when shit hits the fan, however.

MHXX is interesting, isn't she? We've gone over that for quite a while, as well as how Shirou and Semiramis would set things up for when Erik and everyone else finally come knocking on their doors for that Greater Grail.

This honestly twists things a bit, and Kieran has been chatting with me a lot over how things could twist as a result.






On a different note? Sorry that mine isn't done yet. It's been... slow. For good reason, admittedly.


On the one hand, what is now chapter 66 has 14 pages of partially written stuff (parts of which I have to re-write still...), and options for people to choose from for the last stuff Erik's really going to build as usable equipment. Partially because all the unique upgrade paths I looked at for post Fate Anarchy are... a little too irritating, considering how much work I've been doing for Scylla as of right now.

So, rather than take a few weeks, I just simply went back to the drawing board, looked at my chapter I'm writing, and went from there for one single upgrade that the forum can choose from for both Erik and Mordred. Yes, as in all of you readers.

This has involved 5 pages of coming up with possible upgrades for them both. Not exactly pleasant, easy, or good for keeping me wanting to write more.

I've got about 8 pages of the next interlude written, as well, though I have to rewrite some for perspectives.

Scylla's character sheet has been a bitch and a half to write, and I still haven't gotten around to tallying up legend use for Erik yet.

I've written yet another epilogue for Fate Anarchy, for things once all is said and done.

And I managed to write up a couple chapters of a surprise post Fate Anarchy story, involving Erik in an interesting position. Thinking about posting the first chapter of it to the Grail Works Mission Dossier once Kieran can proofread it, to see how people would like it.

On top of that, I've been reading up on Ninja High School, since Kieran pointed it out to me, I have yet to read the next Dresden files book, on my desk, and I'm fighting off a cold or flu that's left me queasy if I ever bend over.

[Kieran]

Wooo, update!

Oh Frid is SNEAKY.

Thank you.

It feels a bit like he changes his mind over the course of the course of the conversation, initially describing her conclusion as "mistaken", which reads to me like he still intends to take her to the Works, then ends describing sending her with Erik as the better option. I also don't think that's the intent, but it kind of reads that way.

Fair. To clarify, he initially intended to bring up the Works, but, as noted, the idea of Erik did occur to him in the interim; and if Fiore believed that was his intent from the outset, he didn't plan to dissuade her.

If he actually intends to leave her for 2+ years while he goes and does Works things instead, and she thinks he's taking care of Caules, I would be... annoyed. It feels like that would be unusually deceptive and cruel for him. There are still some loose ends here.

And other places, yes. Serious consideration is going to have to be given on how to tie them up . . . Though, as also previously noted, that's all contingent on his surviving this.

Really interesting take on the Clock Tower politics and effects of someone seceding. I hadn't specifically thought of it that way, but it makes a lot of sense.

Indeed. It's why I find the aftermath of Fate/apocrypha incredibly optimistic; given the "gloom and doom" nature of the Nasuverse in general, I honestly think that realistically, any survivors of the Black Faction are going to wind up being made examples - because of the Clock Tower doesn't, they're essentially admitting that they have no power as an administrative body. And with the egos of magi (not to mention the horrors they perpetrate with the threat of the Enforcers hanging over their heads), the Association really can't afford that.

Yeaaaah I do have to admit that "hiding your power level" is an important trait in my paranoid characters, though it also rarely survives contact with the plot. Erik is still much more extravagant about his resources, though.

Yes. He works much better as a God of Mecha (however bizarre that is for the Norse pantheon) than Paranoia. "God of Overkill" would be a better title.

MHXX definitely knows that Rin swings both ways.

Well, I've yet to watch "Saber Wars II" (it's on The List), so I don't know if Artoria knows of her prior to the event - but we know that "Rin Tohsaka" exists in the Servant Universe. And if the Ninja High School snippets in the Dossier thread are to be believed, this version of XX has encountered Space Ishtar . . .

It seems weird that she specified for infiltrating with Existence Outside the Domain, but can actually "decloak" at the target location. If Kotomine Shirou wasn't there, I would think she could still have done that, and Rin could have gathered information there normally. If Rin can gather information while Outside the Domain, there's no reason to decloak.

Except that it was specified that she can't - or at least, that Ilya can't hear her while she's "outside the domain," so there's no way to tell her to steal the Greater Grail that way, thus needing Rin to decloak in order to fulfill her primary objective (whether or not she could analyse the Grail in that state is irrelevant by comparison). And thus, she also needs XX to run interference.

I also do not have a good feeling about this fight for MHXX, just based on where it is in the story. I suppose we might have the Heart of Winter after Shirou/Semiramis as an antagonist, but otherwise, it seems extremely unlikely that she's going to do much more than distract him, as requested.

It's certainly going to be interesting . . . As this isn't F/GO, certain elements aren't exactly the same - but just based on stats, XX has a Strength and Endurance advantage, while Shirou's got better Luck (and doesn't that feel weird to say!), and far superior Mana. Both of them have an EX-level Noble Phantasm, as well (two, in XX's case); it's hard to say which would come out on top.

[Kieran]

Sighișoara, Romania
July 1, 2004








The last etchings made, Frid made a cut, and bleeding into his empty summoning circle, beginning to chant as he did so . . .

Ironically, Frid had a catalyst; he’d picked it up during a layover on his journey from the Orkneys. His pre-awakening reasoning, apparently, had been that it might be useful to the Yggdmillennia, given the scarcity of such things, after the wide-scale distribution of the Heaven’s Feel ritual; and if not, it would be an interesting, if macabre, souvenir. Post-awakening, he’d still intended to hand it over—even if the Servant it would almost certainly summon was no better than Jack the Ripper, the newcomer was (probably) more reliable . . .

And then Fiore had made her request before he could even mention it, and rendered the catalyst effectively useless. For one thing, the “Assassin of Red” slot was probably already filled (unless Zelretch had intervened to take out the unholy love-child of EMIYA and Kotomine Kirei), and for another, that one wasn’t at all compatible with him.

Some of the other versions, maybe—but I’m not sure any of them would be strong enough to survive this . . .

Unfortunately, after thinking about it, he ultimately decided he didn’t have a choice. Relying on the compatibility system was a gamble; maybe less so with an untainted Grail, but given the weirdness inherent in its having a defence system summoning fourteen Servants, still not an inconsiderable one. Even more evidence of weirdness was the fact that the defence system’s existence was apparently was unknown to the Einzberns—especially given that they, specifically, had built the thing—unless they’d planned, for some reason, to fight a Tohsaka-Matou union as one faction in the next War . . .

And all that was leaving aside his own personal “idiosyncrasies;” even ignoring his personality, what sort of Servant was compatible with a Master who intended to betray his comrades in spirit, if not in fact, from the beginning? Based on just his present experience, there was every possibility he’d end up with Mysterious Heroine X Alter—and that would just cause all kinds of headaches even before taking Mordred’s likely presence into account.

No, as much as Frid hated to admit it, it was better to minimise the variables involved; which meant relying on a catalyst if possible, and therefore Elizabeth Báthory in one form or another. Fortunately, he didn’t think her personality issues were too difficult to handle; yes, she was spoiled and egotistical, but that was hardly anything new for him to deal with—and more importantly, she wanted to change, however well-buried the desire was.

The main issue, he thought, would be how her combat capability stacked up against the absolute monsters in this weird-ass Grail War; but with any luck, she might get a parameter boost by being summoned here, which would certainly help. After all, she was related (albeit distantly) to Vlad III, who had managed the same—and Transylvania had historically been part of the Kingdom of Hungary, which she’d been a noble of.

(A tenuous link, perhaps, but at this point, he’d grasp at any straws available.)

Regardless of the results, however, Frid sincerely hoped she—and he, honestly—were up to the challenge . . .








“. . . From the binding circle,” he finished in a thundering tone, “thou, Guardian of the Scales!”

Blazing light filled his vision, but his Mystic Eyes “saw” through the blindness, which revealed—

Oh, you have got to be kidding . . .

The figure looked like a Japanese schoolgirl, at base; a white sailor uniform that had puffy sleeves and brown piping for trim, and included a matching beret-style cap; there was also with a brown, button-down vest as accent, and a butter-yellow bow for colour. The outfit also had a gray underskirt that matched the colour of her thigh-high stockings, as her patent-leather shoes matched the brown of her uniform—and as to who was wearing it . . .

At first blush, you would be forgiven for thinking it was Medea without her hooded robe; pointed ears and blue hair tended to create a rather distinctive look, after all. But the resemblance was almost entirely superficial; the blue of the girl’s hair—and she was a girl, not a woman—was a touch paler than Medea’s, and styled differently. And her ears, while pointed, were a touch longer, as well as significantly narrower. The first might have implied Medea Lily; the second did not. And even leaving aside the fact that the girl was a fair bit bustier than Medea Lily, neither version of the Princess of Colchis had red eyes.

Frid blinked, and it was more than simply his optic nerves readjusting to the light. He knew her (or thought he did; blue hair and red eyes, pointed ears or otherwise, wasn’t an uncommon combination in fiction)—but how and why could she have ended up here . . .?

He was shaken out of his thoughts as the Servant, whoever she was, spoke; her voice was demure, and honey-smooth, despite having hints of that almost nasal tone he associated with Katsushika Hokusai.

“Servant, Caster, answers your summons,” she said, checking herself in mid-motion to stand abruptly straight—if he had to guess, she’d been about to bow. “I will do my best for you in this Great Holy Grail War.”

Frid, for his part, did his best not to show any agitation. Partly, it was because a favourite fictional character turned real was in front of him; he’d had that happen before, with Arcueid Brunestud and Arturia Pendragon—and he had bitter memories of the poor impression he’d made, in the latter case (while he couldn’t say for certain if Arcueid was actually aware that he existed, much less cared). Partly it was because, knowing said character, he was not entirely sure she was suited for her role as a Servant; and she definitely wasn’t prepared for a Holy Grail War, much less one on this scale . . . And finally (and most importantly, whispered a corner of his mind), if she was who he thought she was, then he could easily guess why she was fighting for the Grail in the first place—and he was going to have to break her heart.

The whisper came from the corner of his mind again, bitterly amused.

Why stop with just Fiore’s, after all . . .?








She had lived a good life, and accepted her losses gracefully, but it would be a lie to say that she had no regrets—one, in particular. It was a bittersweet one, to be sure; the kind that she’d grown accustomed to, over the course of her life, but which every now and then made a twinge in her heart.

The circumstances she found herself now in were admittedly unusual—but that word described much of her childhood and adolescence, so it was hardly an unfamiliar situation. The fact that she looked like her seventeen-year-old self again only reinforced the nostalgia.

And it made it easier to do what she was going to do. As a rule, she didn’t much care for fighting or violence in the least—ironic, given her station—but when it became necessary, by her thinking, then she had no restraint at all. And any and every time that the necessity had arisen, it had always involved . . .

“—Rin,” her Master (well, anchor and guide in this contest, at least) said, jolting Caster from her thoughts and causing her to whip around and stare at him with a near-audible crack in her neck. He’d made no mention of her True Name, and she hadn’t told him—!

“Rin,” he continued, seemingly oblivious to her actions, and certainly her thoughts, “this is Caster of Red.”

For a brief, heart-stopping instant, Caster turned, simultaneously disbelieving, hopeful and terrified . . . But no—it wasn’t him, just a girl with his name. “Tohsaka,” not “Tsuchimi . . .”

But, she decided, it was a good omen to be teamed with her, just the same. “Rin” had always been both a goal and a good luck charm, in her life; in this existence, it was still the former—so why not accept it as the latter, as well?

Aloud, she said, “Pleased to make your acquaintance,” while bowing formally in the Japanese fashion—as much out of habit as courtesy towards the girl’s native customs.

She had a Master who seemed nice and a Rin on her side—as well as the power of her birthright and the determination to see this through.

Nerine, Princess of the Devils, did not intend to lose this time . . .




Writer’s Notes: Because I just learned this week that there’s an official sequel (it has a "2," and everything) to the visual novel that inspired one of my favourite harem anime—and not only is The Best Girl’s route not the canon one (though not wholly disavowed, at least), she “died childless.”

. . . And I suppose it might have been more appropriate to use her stand-in in the sequel (since she’s supposedly not only more like Tohsaka in personality, but her very name, “Carnelian,” is a shade of red)—but obviously, I don’t know her at all.








Servant Profile: Caster of Red (Nerine)



Profile:


The princess of the Devils descends to the Earth once more in search of her beloved . . . !

All right, so they’re more like “elves” than actual Devils, and she’s hoping for a do-over of her teenage romance drama, but her father would’ve appreciated the dramatic introduction even if she wouldn’t (and even that’s less embarrassing than the truth). Demure and soft-spoken, Nerine has never liked being the centre of attention, while the beauty of her face, body and voice (not to mention her title) have ensured that she never isn’t. Still, growing old has given her perspective, and her inherently calm and polite nature are a great deal more mature about the whole thing than she used to be—but once again a teenager, her legendary poise may end up taking a bit of a beating.

. . . Nevertheless, Nerine is resolved to endure it all. She may have given in gracefully on her Rin-sama once, but having been handed this chance to try again, she fully intends to seize it.



True Name: Nerine
AKA: Princess of the Devils, Rin-chan, Rina
Height: 154 cm (5’ 1/2”)
Weight: Unrevealed
Type: Heroic Spirit
Source: “Shuffle!” and related media
Region: World of the Devils/Koyo Town, Japan
Alignment: Lawful Neutral
Hidden Attribute: Earth
Qualified Servant Classes: Caster




Parameters


Strength: E
Agility: D (EX when evading attacks)
Endurance: E
Mana: A++
Luck: C
Noble Phantasm: EX


Class Skills


Item Construction (Omelet): E *

Territory Creation: -- **


(*In life, Nerine mastered this dish to the point that it was praised by the King of the Gods and the King of the Devils. As such, she is capable of cooking omelets of truly sublime taste and imbuing them with magical effects. At the same time, unless the Master wants a deadly poison, it is advised to keep her away from the kitchen, otherwise.)

(**Nerine does not use or require a typical workshop or territory as do other magi; as such, her rank in this Skill is non-existent.)




Personal Skills


Angel’s Bell: A *

Demonic Magic: A- **

Self-Modification: -- (EX) ***


(*The title Nerine’s singing voice had in life; this Skill is identical to Alluring Nightingale, save that it also affects females as if one rank lower.)


(**Although she is not a traditional magus, as Princess of the Devils Nerine is capable of great magical feats; such that she qualifies for the Caster class. Her magic is typically an act of will, rather than a formalised ritual; though her emotional state can affect her control. Known feats of demonic magic include levitation, telekinesis, healing, cryokinesis, time reversal, weather control, barrier creation and explosive force. The only known feat it is unable to accomplish is the Third Magic.)

(***Through the use of her Noble Phantasm, Nerine can alter her personal history and self such that changes sufficient to otherwise require this Skill are achieved. However, she has no control over the ultimate forms such changes will take, and thus, it is not registered as an official Skill in her possession.)




Noble Phantasm

Tick! Tack!

The sequel, but diverged from the destiny

Rank: EX
Type: Support
Number of Targets: 4 (self)
Range: 5 (self)/20 years



An antique pocket-watch in Nerine’s possession with the power to permit its holder and up to three others to travel in time as far back as twenty years. Merely being in possession of it allows Nerine to evade any attack that she either is or becomes aware of (assuming she survives in the latter case), by doing so retroactively. Similarly, when actively used, any operation that would require up to twenty years of preparation can be achieved “instantly.” However, once used actively to travel back in time, it can only return to the present. Furthermore, such use of her Noble Phantasm causes the watch to break into pieces upon completing the return trip; it requires five days of repair before it can be used again. Still, even as a one-shot, the watch represents a powerful trump card, if used wisely . . .

[Xamusel]

...drat. I was without internet for a good while this week. Otherwise, I would've replied to this post immediately, Kieran.

[Kieran]

...drat. I was without internet for a good while this week. Otherwise, I would've replied to this post immediately, Kieran.

Thank you - RB and I were kind of wondering at the lack of responses to our snippets (his is in the Dossier Thread) . . . So, what do you think? Admittedly, I'm being more self-indulgent than usual here, but I tried to do a decent job of adapting her . . .

[Xamusel]

Admittedly, most of my knowledge of Shuffle comes from the first anime adaptation... sadly, anyway. As for a general opinion? I like what you put into the picture.

Now... I need to read the latest in the Dossier Thread (maybe again).

[Kieran]

Admittedly, most of my knowledge of Shuffle comes from the first anime adaptation... sadly, anyway.

Mine, too - though obviously, with my obsessive tendencies, I've done a fair bit of research since its release . . .

Her Noble Phantasm is based on the (semi-)sequel game, Tick! Tack! - following Nerine's route, Rin and friends discover a pocketwatch which magically transports them back 20 years, interrupting the Devil King's proposal to Nerine's mother. From there, attempts to "fix" the timeline occur, and can cause changes in Nerine - she could be born five years later (as in the middle image), or from a different mother, resulting in some changes . . .

It's part of why I'm so annoyed at Episode 2's history - while not the only heroine whose route got a continuation, Nerine was first, darn it! Why should she have to "die childlessly?"

As for a general opinion? I like what you put into the picture.

Thank you. I may end up doing a more general Shuffle! snippet later . . .

Now... I need to read the latest in the Dossier Thread (maybe again).

Probably wise.

[Arbitrarity]

Thank you - RB and I were kind of wondering at the lack of responses to our snippets (his is in the Dossier Thread) . . . So, what do you think? Admittedly, I'm being more self-indulgent than usual here, but I tried to do a decent job of adapting her . . .

Yeah, sorry. Been a bit busy at work, but also I have ABSOLUTELY no knowledge of Shuffle.
At what... "time" does she need to repair the watch, and does it result in multiples of her running around in the past? If she can just go back in time, repair watch, and set traps, that seems like not much of a restriction on active use. Alternatively, does the watch stay in the present after use?

[Kieran]

Yeah, sorry. Been a bit busy at work,

No worries - we assumed it must be something serious, as you're both reliably prompt, but we did wonder . . .

but also I have ABSOLUTELY no knowledge of Shuffle.

Ah - that would be a problem. Well, there's the obvious pair of sites to start with . . .

Much like Xamusel, I am more familiar with the anime than the original game (my efforts to rectify that are ongoing), though I do recommend it. While yes, it is a harem anime (and a surprisingly low-fanservice one, considering both its source and its competition), it genuinely surprised me in the directions it ultimately went; a very rare thing among the genre. (And if you do decide to look at it, "Shuffle! Memories" is essentially a recap series - literally, as it deals in clips and flashbacks - so the original series is preferable. It does have greater musical variety in its openings and endings, though; at least one for each girl.)

In any case, Nerine has blue hair, red eyes, pointed ears, shy and polite - with a surprisingly ruthless temper, if you can manage to bring it out. She assures the people who do, "Don't worry; you won't be hospitalised . . . It won't hurt - you'll disappear in a flash."

My kind of girl, obviously.

At what... "time" does she need to repair the watch, and does it result in multiples of her running around in the past? If she can just go back in time, repair watch, and set traps, that seems like not much of a restriction on active use. Alternatively, does the watch stay in the present after use?

Sorry - it's good for one trip, forwards and back, regardless of ultimate duration, each. It can only be used to go forward after it's gone back, and breaks once the second trip is completed. I will update the entry to clarify when I get a chance to.

EDIT: And done!