Grail Works, Ltd: A Royal Mess (F/SN, P5R, E3E)

[Kieran]

LOL!! XD I approve of the scene, and pray that you get to making it canon to the whole Grail Works.

. . . I understand why, but I honestly think I'd have an easier time justifying BB and Sophia simultaneously.

Callback to Magical Amber vs the Mushroom Kingdom, woo.

Yup!

As noted, it would probably only work in a "kitchen sink" setting like Smash Bros. - but I thought it was too funny not to do.

I mean it worked, but Godafrid was probably hoping for more from that opening.

Oh, absolutely - but as awesome as Exalts can be, Bowser has canonically survived being swallowed by a BLACK HOLE . . . And without any signs of long-term injury, yet!

. . . Somehow, I just can't see Frid really having much effect, you know?

[Kieran]

Quick update: still working through the latest chapter, got it almost 25% done. Part of it is figuring out what parts of the game to gloss over, since a point-to-point novelisation will be, of course, boring (and it's not quite as straightforward as it was in, say, Trinity).

Hopefully, it will be ready for next week.

[Xamusel]

Thanks for the info, Kieran. I hope you get it updated soon, the story as a whole.

[Arbitrarity]

Definitely an interesting problem; while you don't want to go full point-by-point, you'll still have to emphasize divergences and their effects on character relationships once you get into the canon timeline. When you get into the weeds of Confidants, Palaces, Mementos... very subjective.
Depends a lot on how many waves you've made, but also how much connective tissue you want. Too little and things may feel like a series of snippets, too much and they drag. It's definitely an easier problem in snippet format (since you gloss over everything else) and before the canon story starts (since everything is a divergence).

Presumably this is trickier than Trinity because divergence is more limited; the main dynamics of the Phantom Thieves remain mostly the same, so re-telling those parts is redundant. There's also the weirdness of adapting what's dramatically-important or not from the gameplay side.

[Kieran]

Thanks for the info, Kieran. I hope you get it updated soon, the story as a whole.

I'm attempting to, honest! I've hit a minor (in some regards, anyway) snag, as detailed below.

Definitely an interesting problem; while you don't want to go full point-by-point, you'll still have to emphasize divergences and their effects on character relationships once you get into the canon timeline. When you get into the weeds of Confidants, Palaces, Mementos... very subjective.

Yeah - which ones should be important? How much of any one Confidant should I show? (And this applies to Frid's as well, of course.) Likewise, every meeting of the Phantom Thieves, the day-to-day school stuff, etc. A full novelisation will be boring (and likely about as long as the entire Trinity series), after all.

Depends a lot on how many waves you've made, but also how much connective tissue you want. Too little and things may feel like a series of snippets, too much and they drag. It's definitely an easier problem in snippet format (since you gloss over everything else) and before the canon story starts (since everything is a divergence).

Presumably this is trickier than Trinity because divergence is more limited; the main dynamics of the Phantom Thieves remain mostly the same, so re-telling those parts is redundant. There's also the weirdness of adapting what's dramatically-important or not from the gameplay side.

Exactly. There's also the point of melding in the Works itself, but gradually, since they're quite busy at the moment, and will be for several months . . . But this is their world (even if Frid doesn't know it yet), so they do need to make an appearance, eventually. Likewise, there are certain other elements (Ishtar being one) from other TYPE-MOON sources that can, and possibly should, be involved . . .

Which brings me neatly to my "minor snag," as it involves setting certain things in stone regarding my ongoing metaplot.

As stated previously, I now have a plan for Frid. It will (hopefully) make sense, ties into both TYPE-MOON and the Persona series to a degree (thus making the fusion seem more plausible), and will eliminate certain pesky issues I've had regarding his nature, power set, ultimate companions, etc., etc. - without my having to create things whole cloth, or wait on certain books to be published or not.

(For example, Onyx Path has only now announced that the Camelot sourcebook for Scion 2E is in development - which I've wanted from day one, about five years ago, since the potential to adapt certain Fate characters to the Scion system was too good to pass up . . . At least, until I saw how 2E played out mechanically. )

However, while I was initially resigned to a single route to get there, one of the paths I was looking for has finally turned up - or, in theory, there's a third route I could take. Each has its own limitations and pitfalls, of course; and I can't tell you the details without giving the game away (literally, really).

So, what I'm going to do is post three quotes (one of which you've seen before), and feel free to tell me which one seems to describe Frid best - that'll at least give me a starting point . . .


First, the retread:

"They are excellent storytellers or word smiths, embracing paradox and allegory, walking a line between reality and illusion. They tend to be seekers and travelers with restless lifestyles. They are excellent mimics. They are convincing. They deflect. They misdirect. They outrun. They can make nonsense seem like sense — at least for a fleeting moment."


The second, thought-lost option:


"They stand in the doorway to perilous knowledge of the universe and the mysteries of its clockwork. Expanded perspective gives them an aura of outward calm and casts them as anchors in times of crisis, stalwart in the eye of a storm. But on the inside, they experience a constant sense of unease as they stave off visions of the frothing, iridescent slipstream. They offer a quiet comfort to those around them, while grappling with the unsettling awareness of the insignificance of mortal busywork. To function, they suppress the fullness of their perspective and shield those who are unprepared to cope. Flashes of insight about past and future shine through the keyholes. This allows them to react with uncanny reflexes, and to intuit correlations of cause and effect."


And the outlier (which admittedly seems least likely, but still possible, as it does fit with the Phantom Thieves thematically, somewhat):

"They come from among those who are artistic, morbid, or possess a flair for grim and ironic justice, often found among artists where they inspire them to new heights of avant-garde art that challenges consensus morality. They also corrupt those who pretend at morality and expose their hypocrisy. Forever changed, they use their awakened powers to invoke madness in others. They are also attracted to those with power who lack responsibility, tempting them into ever-greater lapses in judgement until they destroy themselves."

[Arbitrarity]

That second ones may kinda give the game away, given some things you've mentioned before, but I respect it.

I'd actually say that Frid as he is (since he got the name) matches the first of those three the best. Even his name is an act.
The second is something he could be, but I don't think you've actually portrayed that much outside of something like depicting Galen as a Foreigner in a few snippets. Perceiving the cosmic horror would be a rather noticeable change. You poked at this a bit with the last chapter.
The third definitely reads more Galen than Frid, and only loosely at that.

Exactly. There's also the point of melding in the Works itself, but gradually, since they're quite busy at the moment, and will be for several months . . . But this is their world (even if Frid doesn't know it yet), so they do need to make an appearance, eventually. Likewise, there are certain other elements (Ishtar being one) from other TYPE-MOON sources that can, and possibly should, be involved . . .

Notably the more of those things you have, the more you can fill in the timeline and gloss-over the minutiae of gameplay without things feeling too disconnected.

Yeah - which ones should be important? How much of any one Confidant should I show? (And this applies to Frid's as well, of course.) Likewise, every meeting of the Phantom Thieves, the day-to-day school stuff, etc. A full novelisation will be boring (and likely about as long as the entire Trinity series), after all.

Loosely, I'd consider Futaba and Shido's palaces to be the ones to emphasize, though Nijima's is a close third. Okumura's is important insofar as Morgana has a role in setting it up, which probably has to translate somehow. Other palaces are mostly interesting for the characters they introduce, and when infiltrating is new.
While it may not be critical to show the day-by-day details of Frid's confidants, presumably you have some important events in mind for them, since you went so far as to tie them into Godafrid's Sorcery Path. Joker's confidants seem like they might vary depending on what's different.

[Xamusel]

I feel that Arbitrarity is right in his assessment of what's going on... especially with Frid's quote choices.

[Kieran]

That second ones may kinda give the game away, given some things you've mentioned before, but I respect it.

I scrubbed as much as I could to make it spoiler-neutral, but I needed to give you some context . . . I don't know how much you've intuited from that, though I can objectively see definite clues. Suffice it to say (for now) that specific TYPE-MOON characters are a certainty to be in Frid's orbit, depending on which option is used - some as allies, some as enemies, and so forth.

I'd actually say that Frid as he is (since he got the name) matches the first of those three the best. Even his name is an act.

Fair enough.

The second is something he could be, but I don't think you've actually portrayed that much outside of something like depicting Galen as a Foreigner in a few snippets. Perceiving the cosmic horror would be a rather noticeable change. You poked at this a bit with the last chapter.

*Whistles innocently*

The third definitely reads more Galen than Frid, and only loosely at that.

Which is fair - and hilarious, when you know the background details. ;D

Notably the more of those things you have, the more you can fill in the timeline and gloss-over the minutiae of gameplay without things feeling too disconnected.

Loosely, I'd consider Futaba and Shido's palaces to be the ones to emphasize, though Nijima's is a close third. Okumura's is important insofar as Morgana has a role in setting it up, which probably has to translate somehow. Other palaces are mostly interesting for the characters they introduce, and when infiltrating is new.

The Palaces are kind of a must, since they introduce the individual Phantom Thieves and are a part of creating their reputation; though yes, the level of detail on each may vary. For example, Madarame and Kaneshiro are kind of unimportant beyond their connections to Yusuke and Makoto. Okumura is much more so, since it has to involve Haru entering the Metaverse with Morgana (Frid's) assistance, without the Phantom Thieves and the MetaNav - and also because it's the murder charge that really sends things toppling for the Thieves vis-a-vis the police/society in general.

I'm thinking more of the "side acts," like Ohya, Takemi, Shinya (the kid at the video arcade), etc. This also becomes important if you really want to see that day . . .

While it may not be critical to show the day-by-day details of Frid's confidants, presumably you have some important events in mind for them, since you went so far as to tie them into Godafrid's Sorcery Path.

Yeah - still working on those . . .

I feel that Arbitrarity is right in his assessment of what's going on... especially with Frid's quote choices.

OK, noted.

[Kieran]

. . . And the universe just keeps expanding - at least the use of the Persona Q art style implies that "this is all just a dream"/non-canon.

[Xamusel]

Wait... are you going to make an omake series of stories for the new Persona game as part of this universe?

[Kieran]

It would have to wait several years, so no - but as with the other extended/expanded games, it may add things that potentially change what I had in mind . . . For example, for all that Persona Q2: New Cinema Labyrinth is portrayed as "a dream/fiction/not to be taken seriously," certain elements imply that its events do happen (the girl involved mails a film she made to the protagonists, for example), and it implies a multiverse by the inclusion of Persona 3's female protagonist. Which is certainly something the Works could deal with - moreover, the main antagonist is revealed to be Enlil: Ishtar's father in some myths, and Nergal's in others - which, given Filia's inclusion right now . . .

But every time they expand things, I have to consider the ramifications . . .


EDIT: And I give up - I'm not going to have it ready this week, either, sorry.

[Kieran]

I hate double-posting only nearly as much as I would hate re-editing the already-edited prior post, so . . .

The forthcoming chapter is currently sitting at about 65% complete - partially because I've been busy (new campaign that I'm running, for starters), partly because I've gotten easily distracted as I get older, and partly because it's been fighting me tooth and nail for every paragraph. I'm sorry, but I will make a real effort to get it up next week, I promise!

[Kieran]

. . . So, I am officially annoyed with Onyx Path Publishing. After asking for Kickstarter donations last month for the Sidereal Exalted book (the third of the core five types), Onyx Path has finally gotten off their asses and published details on the new three Exalt types they've been promising since the Third Edition line began (about 6 years ago) - along with every OTHER Exalt type, bringing the total up to 10 . . .

Sounds good, right . . .? Yeah, small catch: they're in Exalted Essence, a "streamlined" version of 3E rules (which, in my experience with 5E Dungeons and Dragons versus 3rd/3.5, means "less nuanced"). Which, among other things, reduces the system's 25 Skills to 14, and condenses the 9 Attributes to 3, I think (I'm skimming, at the moment) 3 . . . Basically, it's Chronicles of Darkness or Scion 2E, it looks like . . . Except that the 3E Sidereal book is still listed as "in-progress," so are they planning to run two rule-sets simultaneously?

. . . I don't know what's going on, and I don't like that fact.

But it does have ALL the types in 3rd-ish Edition rules: Sidereal, Abyssal, Infernal (which I never could find), Alchemical (Autocthon's Exalts - think "robots"; Erik would love them), Liminal (Frankenstein Exalted), Exigent (create-your-own-Exalted), and "Getiman Exalted," which I've never heard of, but seem to have definite potential . . .

"A Getimian does not exist until Exaltation. They are discarded destinies, heroes who were never born because their existence was inconvenient to the petty bureaucracy of heaven. Some fight now to remake Creation into their Origin, the world they alone remember; others blaze a new path in an unfamiliar world.

Play a Getimian if you want to be an outsider plucked from an unrealized destiny, embittered by a world that does not recognize your glory; a ruthless seeker of self-enlightenment; or a rebel against the hegemons of heaven."


. . . That almost seems like it would be worth the price of admission, because it could describe SO MANY characters . . .

[Kieran]

DISCLAIMER: Tsukihime, Fate/Stay Night, and all related characters and concepts are the creation and property of Kinoko Nasu and the staff of TYPE-MOON. Persona 5 Royal, the Persona series and all related characters and concepts are the creation and property of Atlus. Exalted, Scion and all related characters and concepts are the creation and property of White Wolf/Onyx Path Publishing.

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



Writer's Note: Certain dialogue sequences in this story are lifted from Persona 5 Royal, but I trust in the intelligence of my readers (and the availability of the game) to recognise them when they see them.









Interrogation Room, TMPD Headquarters
Chiyoda, Tokyo
November 19, 2004
















“Hey!” Sae Niijima snapped. “Can you hear me? I said, start from the beginning!”

Ren blinked at the reprimand, and realised that he’d been . . . Not daydreaming, exactly, but reminiscing about things he’d been told, but hadn’t actually seen; things that would make his already unbelievable story even easier to write off as fantasy, delusion, or whatever would suit the narrative of his enemies best.

They’ve done it before, after all, whispered the part of him that was Joker. In some ways, it’s their stock in trade—after all, that’s how we wound up in this mess . . .

It took drawing on almost every ounce of his alter ego’s cool to prevent himself from flushing with embarrassment, but Ren succeeded. He even managed to come up with a decent cover for zoning out like that.

“. . . Sorry,” he said thickly. “Drugs—make it hard . . . To focus.”

And that, he thought, would neatly excuse his actions, help cover for any future lapses, and solidify the idea that he was drugged in the minds of his interrogator and their observers.

“If you can accomplish multiple objectives in one stroke, do so,” Ren recited to himself. “And all the better if you can conceal a couple of them in the process—it’s much easier to get away with things, that way.”

It was a maxim that had served him, and the Phantom Thieves as a whole, rather well to this point.

(He forcibly pushed down memories of Hifumi being caught thus—and the attractive way she blushed and/or pouted a result—on more than one occasion.)

For her part, Sae’s face tightened into a scowl.

“. . . I understand,” she said grimly, “but we have very little time, so I need you to try. I need you to explain this to me.”

“. . . All right,” Ren said, once he thought he had control of himself—that it added a thickness to his voice, he counted as a bonus.
















Shibuya Crosswalk
Tokyo, Japan
April 9, 2004
















He woke from a nightmare of cries for help in the dark, of being punished for answering them—only to remember that the nightmare was his life, now.

Gritting his teeth, Ren blinked away the shock of going from remembered night (and the inside of his eyelids) to a white, sunlit train interior, to say nothing of multiple media screens around—people’s smartphones, and the embedded TV in the train itself.

As he stepped off the train, he was momentarily dazzled by the scope of it all. The expansive crosswalk, filled with a mass of people that would probably cover a good portion of his hometown’s entire population, the overarching skyline—his eye was momentarily caught by an image of Risette, that, if it had been on the ground, would probably have been taller than he was.

It was a bit overwhelming, if Ren was honest with himself—and he’d been here less than a minute. The idea of finding his way around this place, much less living here for the next year . . .

Well, he was resigned to it, but still working his way up to handling it.

Fortunately, at least for the first part of his dilemma, there was an easy fix. Ren removed his phone from his pocket, and—

He frowned. There was an icon on its screen he didn’t recognise; an app he definitely hadn’t put there. Some update from the company, maybe . . .?

After a second, the icon expanded to fill the screen: a stylized eye with a star-shaped pupil in black, set against a blood-red background. Concerned by the abnormal activity, he tapped it to try to delete it—

The ambient noise around him stopped.

Glancing up in puzzlement, Ren saw that, in fact, everything had stopped; the people had frozen where they stood—even a cyclist, halted in perfectly-balanced stillness . . .

And then suddenly, there was fire.

Hidden by the crowds at first, a ball of blue-black flames erupted from the middle of the street. It quickly grew larger, warping itself into a vaguely humanoid shape with a suggestion of wings, but any angelic connotations were erased by the jack-o’-lantern face that emerged; crimson light smouldered from slashed eyes and a jagged, sinister grin.

And then the figure grew even more alarming, as Ren himself seemed to emerge from it, possessing a matching grin and manic, yellow eyes . . .

Ren barely had time to gasp—

And then the normal world started up again, with no sign that anything unnatural had ever been there at all.

(The real world, Ren thought—but that, too, had felt ineffably real . . .)

Without a second’s hesitation, he immediately sent the weird app icon into his phone’s trash can and told the system to “empty” it. Whether it was hypnosis, or something the app had had nothing to do with—just bad timing in arriving while he was still daydreaming, or in the midst of a stress-induced mental break, or whatever—he wanted that thing nowhere near him.

(Ren Amamiya had little idea just how much had been rigged against him, then—but he would come to learn . . .)
















Backstreets
Yongen-Jaya
















Once off the subway, it was only a little bit of walking to find the residential area, and the quiet, tucked-away area his host’s address was in. Once he’d confirmed that the nameplate read “Sakura” (and that it was written the same way as the one he’d been given to expect, Ren pressed the door buzzer—

And a sudden flurry of barking—from behind him, no less—nearly made him jump out of his skin.

The source, when Ren turned around, turned a small Shiba Inu, as pure a white as any he’d seen, with eyes like polished black pearls, bright and sparkling with joy. Despite its obvious enthusiasm, however, the dog didn’t immediately attempt to lunge for him or jump at him; instead, it halted within arm’s reach, tail wagging furiously.

“Hello, there . . .” Ren said uncertainly, even as he noted the leash trailing from its collar—this was someone’s pet rather than a stray, then. Less dangerous, he concluded, but still a strange dog.

For the dog’s part, apparently Ren’s greeting served as permission, and it darted forward towards his hand, sniffing and licking once before darting underneath his palm, head shifting along with a hopeful whine to indicate a desire to be petted.

The teen blinked, bemused. He’d rarely ever seen a dog so brazen . . .

But on the other hand, he thought, with more than touch of gallows humour, it was the friendliest anyone had been to him since he’d been arrested.

“Hello, there,” Ren repeated quietly, crouching down to get more leverage to pet the little animal. It whined again, pressing forward to lick his face briefly before settling back against his hand again.

He chuckled. “You are a friendly one, aren’t you? What’s your name—?”

“Cavall!” came the call, as if in answer—as much or more frightened than angry, Ren thought. “I keep telling you, nobody’s—oh. Hi.”

As a shadow fell over him with the voice’s trailing off, Ren looked up—

And up.

Ren bolted upright, startled, and noted that he still had to look up a bit to meet the newcomer’s eyes. He was, admittedly, only average in height, but still, it was rare for him to need to do that.

Then again, Ren supposed, America was known for doing things big; and if the foreigner was no more than ten centimetres taller than he was, the breadth of the man’s body proved his origins as well as his skin tone or rounded, very blue eyes.

He’d almost make two of me, the teen thought, before his brain caught up to events, and he realised he’d been greeted.

“Ah, hello,” Ren stammered out. “You . . . Have a very friendly dog,” he said lamely.

“As I’ve found,” the American said pleasantly, before pausing. “Still, I’m sorry about this—he gets excited when we get near this house. I can’t tell if it’s because he gets a whiff of Boss and thinks he’s nearby, or whether there’s someone else inside he wants to play with.”

“’Boss?’” Ren repeated.

“The man who lives here owns a café we stop at. It’s got great coffee, and decent food. Cavall likes it almost as much as Big Bang Burger—”

That prompted an eager round of barking.

“Yes, we’ll stop on the way home—you know we will,” he told the dog in a tone of amused indulgence, before turning his attention back to Ren. “Once again, I am sorry about him ambushing you like that. He just seems to really like making friends.”

“. . . It’s OK,” Ren said, after a moment.

It might not have been polite, or proper, but it had been nice, to be treated with such enthusiasm by someone—even a dog . . .

He spent a moment being loath to let the conversation end, as it was one of the least judgmental ones he’d had in weeks—and then something the other man had said earlier fully registered.

“. . . Wait—you said the man who lives here owns a café?”

The American nodded, then quickly added “Yes,” as though afraid Ren wouldn’t understand the gesture. The teenager concluded then that he was probably a tourist, rather than a foreign talent hired to work in the country—which made his command of Japanese, though oddly accented, even more surprising in how natural it sounded.

“Would he be there now?” Ren asked. “I was supposed to meet him, but this is the only address I was given.” Realising how strange his statement sounded, he reluctantly adding, “I’m supposed to be living with him, starting today . . .”

The teenager braced himself. Either the American would ask about the circumstances, as they were invariably nosy and pushy, or he’d already have heard. Either way, the scowls and prejudice would follow . . .

And indeed, the blue eyes flashed with outrage, making Ren tense up further in anticipation of—

“And he forgot to pick you up?!”

—Not a reaction like that.

The dog whined at the sudden yell, and Ren appreciated that, because it gave him a minute to gather his wits while the big man soothed it—apologised to it, in fact.

“I’m sorry, Cavall—I didn’t mean to scare you,” he murmured earnestly, scratching the white ears as softly as he now spoke. “But Boss did something very stupid, leaving a young man to wander alone in a big, strange place . . . You understand that, right?”

Ren would almost swear the dog did, because it whined once, walked back to reach up and lick the man’s fingers, and then trotted back over to him to lean against his leg with a piteous whine. And when he leaned down to pet it, it was his hand that got licked furiously, as though Cavall was determined to reach every centimetre of exposed skin he had.

It was mildly disgusting, but Ren found himself touched by the genuine affection in it, all the same.

“Sorry about the scene,” the foreigner said mildly, before adding “and the slobber. I’ve got some wet wipes and paper towels for that, if you don’t mind waiting until we get to the café—it’s only a couple of blocks away, but I’ll need to tie him up and set out his water dish, after that display.”

“. . . It’s fine,” Ren said, after a beat to consider it.

None of this was exactly proper, but the guy was obviously trying—and who was he to argue etiquette, at this point? But there was still one thing that was bothering him about the encounter . . .

“Do you—?” he started, before his voice faltered, and he had to try again. “Do you . . . Really not know?”

If the foreigner knew Ren’s host well enough to speak about him so informally, he should (though, again, American) . . . Or he’d find out, soon enough. And honestly, Ren had sometimes felt like “convicted criminal” was tattooed on his forehead since the trial—the dog ("Cavall,” he corrected himself) had been the first one who was genuinely glad to see him.

For the other man’s part, he shrugged. “I happened to be grabbing a coffee when the situation was brought up, yeah—but what you should be asking is if I believe it.”

Hope flared to life inside Ren, even as apprehension caused it to sputter. “Do you . . .?”

The foreigner smiled without showing teeth. “Not a chance, kid.”

“. . . Why?”

(Ren would forever deny that his voice was “hoarse enough to belong a twenty-year veteran of chain smoking” when he asked the question, regardless of any future claims.)

“Firstly, because as naturally friendly as he is, I’ve found that Cavall’s an excellent judge of character,” the big man said firmly. “And he likes you better than almost anyone we’ve come across.

“Secondly,” he continued, “your accuser is a politician, and they literally lie for a living . . . Which brings us to the third, and possibly the most important point.”

“. . . What?”

A predatory light flashed in those blue eyes, then; even so, obvious good humour coloured his tone.

“Because he is a politician, even if you did attack him, he undoubtedly somehow deserved it.”

Ren surprised himself by laughing—a sharp, barking laugh, coloured by gallows humour, but a laugh all the same.

“That’s better,” the foreigner said, with one of those toothless smiles. “I won’t tell you this isn’t going to be hard at times, kid—I hate to lie. So, take what joys and pleasures you can, whenever and wherever you can find them, OK? You’ll need the relief.”

Ren nodded, unable to think of a better way of answering.

(Both of them would come to regret this advice, in hindsight—but that was several months away . . .)

“. . . Maybe, when you’re settled in, you’d be interested in dog-sitting periodically?” the man offered. “Cavall would appreciate the company, and you might like the chance to spend a few hours with somebody who does appreciate your company—and a little extra pocket money, of course.”

“Maybe,” Ren said cautiously—he really couldn’t promise anything right now.

“In any case, let’s get you on your way, eh? The café’s this way—it’s called ‘Leblanc . . .’”








Sakura Sojiro, Ren discovered, was a gruff, aging man who was very firm about his expectations, but not unpleasant; there were no snide comments about Ren’s likelihood of getting through his probation, for example, or the amount of trouble Sakura-san was being put to simply to house him. Instead, he admitted frankly that the arrangement benefitted him by way of being paid a stipend for Ren’s care, and a warning that keeping “under the radar,” as it were, for the year would best serve both of them.

It was a sad commentary on his life when Ren found indifference to be a vast improvement on his interactions with other people . . .

Still, being on edge about meeting Sakura-san, and his near-future in general, had kept Ren observant enough to suspect that the older man wasn’t quite as apathetic as he seemed. He had, after all, pointed out where the laundry and baths were in the neighbourhood, rather than forcing Ren to discover them for himself. And while Ren had needed to clean “his” room, bedding and furniture had already been in place; and it wasn’t actually filthy, just cluttered—not to mention quite spacious, all things considered.

Even aside from that, there was Sakura-san’s interaction with Ren’s “guide.” Whatever the foreigner’s story was, he was clearly a regular; the proprietor had had a bottle of water, a coffee, and a selection of chicken, pork, and beef pieces piled onto a plate by the time the big man reached the counter. To Ren’s bemusement, the American had carried it out to where he’d tied up Cavall and proceeded to empty the water bottle into a bowl that he also produced from the bag while the dog wolfed down the meat.

Once that was done, he’d handed over a small stack of yen notes, accepted his change—and somehow managed to place it under the plate when he brought it back in without Ren or the owner noticing. Furthermore, saying his goodbyes to Ren had apparently drawn Sakura-san’s attention sufficiently that he was able to make an escape before the act was discovered.

Sakura-san had stared at the bills and coins with the air of someone who had encountered exactly what he expected to see, sighing with resignation.

“. . . One of these days,” the man had grumbled, “I’m just going to not charge him, so he’ll have no choice but to take his money with him.” He stopped, then shook his head. “Then again, he’ll probably just start randomly ‘dropping’ money in places if I do that . . .”

It was impolite, but Ren couldn’t not ask—and it was then that he learned about the American custom of “tipping,” and how it was considered a gesture of respect and approval in the West, as opposed to a minor insult here. Apparently, the other man’s way of getting around that issue was to simply overpay for his purchases, and “forget” to take his change with him when he left, and it was something of an ongoing battle between them.

As much as Sakura-san griped about it, though, he still put the money in the register. Nor, Ren noted, had he attempted to get the foreigner to take money, or just not pay, when he’d come in . . .

Maybe he’s not quite as above it all as he tried to seem, Ren mused.

And even if he was misjudging Sakura-san, the foreigner had seemed genuine enough . . . And there certainly wasn’t an ounce of pretense in his dog. Cavall had been delighted to see him, no question about it—and no doubt would be again, if and when they crossed paths. As nerve-wracking and stressful as the day had been, Ren thought he could count on that much: that someone believed in him. That someone was happy to see him (even if it was just a dog)—which had him thinking, as he turned in for the night, that maybe things were looking up . . .

Entering the Velvet Room in his dreams, and being introduced to its residents, would disabuse him of that notion, however—particularly upon meeting Caroline . . .
















Borrowed Apartment
Shinjuku, Tokyo
April 9
















After settling himself and Cavall safely back at home, Frid contemplated the events of the day.

Ren Amamiya’s arrival (and it was a relief to know which name to use, since the protagonist could be renamed to anything, and even official materials used different ones depending on the format) was what kicked off everything. He and his future best pal, Ryuji . . . Something-or-other (AKA, the idiot loudmouth sidekick every Persona protagonist attracted from the third game onward) were due to unwittingly get sucked into the first Palace on Monday, while trying to get to school. More importantly, they were due to meet Morgana there, to get the lowdown on the Metaverse, Palaces, Shadows, Personas, and so on—which meant, of course, that Frid had to be there . . .

But once again, the issue of not actually being Morgana raised some problems that his canon counterpart just didn’t have. Like, for example, having an actual job, and a dog that relied on him for care—and therefore, not being able to afford to be captured for the better part of a day until Amamiya provided him with a potential escape. He’d basically have to be on-site at the same time as the boys, or not long before, avoid being captured, and have things wrapped up in time to be home before Cavall ran out of food and/or water, needed to relieve himself, or just flat-out panicked at finding himself alone for an extended period.

Which meant that Frid needed to be up and moving early, given that school hours in Japan started at 8 AM, and the pair were trying to get there on time—and given clean-up, cashing out and travel time, doing so on about six hours of sleep, at the absolute most . . .

Yeah, this was not going to be fun.

Fortunately, the actual travel would be easy, given that he could move at a hundred miles an hour on a direct path, once he entered the Metaverse. Heck, it might even be possibly to go to Kamoshida’s Palace from his present location using his spell, unlike the MetaNav, which would cut down on travel time considerably—and allow him to sleep in a bit, at least.

(He made a mental note to test that on the way home from work tonight.)

Aside from that, he’d have to figure out how feasible it was to infiltrate Kamoshida’s Palace. In theory, none of the Shadows should pay him much attention so long as he kept to animal forms and didn’t draw attention to himself; the smaller and more unobtrusive, the better. That had proven the case in Mementos . . . But on the other hand, the Shadows in Kamoshida’s Palace were specifically given the role of “guards,” and cognition had a provable and tangible effect on things in the Metaverse. Best to be cautious, or he really would end up playing Morgana’s part.

Good thing I have tomorrow to work out the kinks; it’s Sunday, and all Ren will be doing tomorrow is registering for school, and dealing with—

Frid stopped, as a memory of a cutscene suddenly floated to the surface of his mind: of a train derailment, a mental shutdown, that would result in multiple deaths.

“And there’s nothing I can do about it,” he concluded aloud. “I don’t even remember if it even mentioned when, exactly, the shutdown occurs, much less which train it is. I physically can’t stake out every train in the city, hoping to catch Akechi in the act—and wandering the Metaverse in hopes of stumbling on him is too ridiculous an idea to even dignify with the concept of ‘plan,’ never mind the title of one.”

Shirou would be disappointed in you.

The thought spat up from the depths of him reflexively, absolutely dripping with contempt.

“Oh, don’t even try that bullshit with me,” Frid growled to himself. “I’m not a god, and I don’t have the resources to track Akechi—this isn’t something I can prevent.”

But maybe you could, if you could be bothered to try . . .

“How?” Frid demanded of himself. “He’s hardly going to post his murder plans on social media. I don’t have his scent, blood or otherwise, and there’s no real link to track going at it from the other end; the assassination was done to shame the Minister of Transportation, but the target was random. It just had to be something designed to cause maximum damage, politically—and a train full of people is about as horrific as you could ask for, especially when Tokyo depends on those lines to function.”

He stared at himself in the bathroom mirror and enunciated very carefully. “Barring the Works showing up themselves to do the job, there is nothing I can do to even find that train, much less save the people on it. Tokyo is too big, and Akechi and I are individuals. I have no Charms, no spells, no special knowledge, that will lead me to him in time to stop him.” He ground his teeth. “It’s extremely aggravating, yes, but in the end, I’m an Exalt, not—”

The Lunar stopped dead.
















Shinjuku, Tokyo
Later that night

















With a swing of her arms, Chihaya set her fortune-telling table in place—

And in the brief instant it obscured her vision before it settled on the ground, Frid-san seemingly appeared out of an empty street, causing her to shriek and recoil in alarm . . .

And shriek louder as she began to fall back, her arms windmilling frantically—

Only to be caught, gently but unyieldingly, by a pair of large hands that acted as though she weighed no more than a paper doll.

“My apologies, Mifune-sama,” he said, his voice a deep rumble. “I didn’t mean to startle you, but this is time-sensitive, and lives are potentially at stake.

“I need a reading,” he said, bowing until he was perpendicular to the sidewalk, before looking up with as much desperation as she’d ever seen on any customer.

“Please . . .”

[Xamusel]

Damn, damn, and pentuple​ damn! How'd you do it?!

[Kieran]

How'd you do it?!

Do what, may I ask . . .?

[Xamusel]

I mean, how did you get Frid to come to the realization that he could simply ask a fortune teller where to find the right train?

[Kieran]

I mean, how did you get Frid to come to the realization that he could simply ask a fortune teller where to find the right train?

Ah - Because he was about to argue "I'm an Exalt, not a psychic," and that inner voice immediately fired back with "But you know one, you USELESS TWIT!"

. . . Honestly, it's almost word-for-word the argument I was having with myself over the topic of Frid's intervening in the shutdown.

[Xamusel]

LOL!! XD Thanks for the heads up. It was a nice use of foreshadowing all the way through.

[Arbitrarity]

I'm impressed he remembered; from a narrative perspective I don't remember the initial mental shutdown cases mattering that much, but they do imply ~80 deaths/injuries that are worth preventing.
I doubt it'll have a giant impact on the overall atmosphere, since the reaction of the public is fairly controlled. The specific political implications might be relevant, but they don't really have a huge direct impact on the story.

It'll be interesting to see which approach Frid ends up taking to stop that; it might be simpler to intervene on the affected train, though either could effectively reveal him to Akechi.

I'm thinking more of the "side acts," like Ohya, Takemi, Shinya (the kid at the video arcade), etc. This also becomes important if you really want to see that day . . .

(Both of them would come to regret this advice, in hindsight—but that was several months away . . .)

Uh oh.

[I[“Cavall,”[/I]

Stray reversed ].