Grail Works, Ltd: A Scattering of Roses (TYPE-MOON Multi X-over)

[Kieran]

Huh. I suppose Frid has to worry about weird supernatural effects from the island. Reasonable. He's definitely having somewhat more trouble than normal.

The perils of working in a "dating sim" universe . . . Particularly as he's not actually as lecherous as the canon "Boss" (there will be no camera shots zooming in on Ayane's bust, for example, when he takes a publicity shot), so it's possible the universe is attempting to compensate (he'd really be missing those paradigm shields, if he knew).

Of course, being bathed in the waters of the Evergold as a blessing from an actual love goddess might have something to do with it, too.

I suppose searching for a summoning circle diagram is the sort of thing that would make sense for him to do, but we'll have to see how well that works out. Drawing incorrect fictional diagrams might have strange results, if he can find anything at all.

Indeed - and there are SO MANY ways I could take this . . .

Given the historical relevance of Nanoha to other Magical Girl shows I watched it recently, and yeah, you can really see a lot of the classic tropes and where other works take from it (and then I got to Strikers and whyyyyy).

I've only seen the first season, but am aware of bits and pieces of the following series - mainly through crossovers (they do love the Book of Darkness, those fanfic authors).

Prisma Illya is somewhat funnier with the additional context.

Indeed.

[Kieran]

In Dead or Alive Xtreme: Venus Vacation, around the third installment in any given girl's route, they're given a new swimsuit entitled the "festival outfit." Which suit this is seems to vary in the videos I've seen, and I don't know whether it's simply from girl to girl, or totally random depending on what a player's managed to grab from the gacha (yes, VV is a gacha game; horrors). Regardless, the 5th Anniversary event has unveiled a new swimsuit called "Dea Marine" (Latin for "sea goddess," if you're unfamiliar) - which I rather like, because it matches what I think of when considering "Venus" as a concept . . .


As such, since I've found a pic that shows both of my best girls in it, you may consider this what they're wearing. And because the image is labelled as "NSFW" (though all of them are, so I don't know if it is), consider yourselves warned.

(Sorry - I tried to put the image in directly, and couldn't get it to work.)

[Arbitrarity]

Reddit does weird things with redirecting image links that could cause problems with hotlinking unless you download the image and host it elsewhere, and really it's nicer to link anyways.

Also gotta say I feel like there's something weird going on with the head/torso/hand sizes there, but a lot of similarity to Nero's Silk of Venus costume, so definitely relevant.

[Kieran]

Reddit does weird things with redirecting image links that could cause problems with hotlinking unless you download the image and host it elsewhere, and really it's nicer to link anyways.

Good to know, thank you.

Also gotta say I feel like there's something weird going on with the head/torso/hand sizes there,

I can't say that I notice, but I can't definitively say you're wrong, either.

but a lot of similarity to Nero's Silk of Venus costume, so definitely relevant.

Indeed - which is, of course, part of the reason I wanted to use it.

[Kieran]

Firstly, I'd like to offer my apologies: there will be no chapter this week, family events have kept me too distracted to focus.

(On the plus side, this does mean that I could potentially incorporate that Witch on the Holy Night/FGO event's Servants/lore into my planning, depending on how it goes . . . )

The main thrust of this post is thus: I've encountered a situation with multiple potential answers (yes, again), and I'm polling, after a fashion, to get opinions. In the course of his travels to recover the scattered "petals" of our favourite Emperor, Frid is going to require at least two things: 1) A way to track them, and 2), a way to travel dimensions.

Now, as stated, there are multiple ways to accomplish either, but I'm going to try and break it down into simpler, spoiler-minimal categories.

Effectively, I could take a TYPE-MOON canon option, such as Akira Seo's visions or Caren Hortensia's "syndrome" for the first issue, and the "Dark Maana" for the second (sadly, it doesn't seem like Ishtarin has a dimensional breaching capacity, but Ashtart DOES, so I'd be recreating the kidnap scene more or less entirely rather than subverting it). Or Du Stallion II, since MHX ALSO seems to have that capacity, but Space Ishtar (either half of her) is a bit funnier if I'm trying to have Frid assemble an ersatz collection of Fate "main girls," and Nero is kind of meant to fill the Saberface slot.

Otherwise, there are non-canon options for either: there is a "tracking tool" used by the Mugen Tenshin clan, or relying on Wednesday's visions for tracking - or advanced sensors and a ship provided by a certain Norse God while in the Servantverse, which would cover the dimensional crossing, too. Or their coming from another source, like a spell or Charm, or something from the Morphin Grid . . .

And I could go one way with the first option, and the other with the second (or vice versa, as well).


On the face of it, the choice should be easy - TYPE-MOON fan board, pick the TYPE-MOON option - but given what else I've been looking at/pondering, and the opportunities for better integration that these choices potentially give, I thought I'd do a bit of pondering "out loud," as it were.

[Xamusel]

I think, in the spirit of staying consistent, you should go with the non-Type-MOON options. I don't have a strict answer as to why, but I feel it's important, truth be told.

[Kieran]

OK, thank you.

[Xamusel]

You're welcome. I hope you get to update soon enough with the details.

[Arbitrarity]

On the face of it, the choice should be easy - TYPE-MOON fan board, pick the TYPE-MOON option - but given what else I've been looking at/pondering, and the opportunities for better integration that these choices potentially give, I thought I'd do a bit of pondering "out loud," as it were.

Pretty broad options. We did make Abigail un-canon, right? That seemed like a potential option for travelling and/or tracking, but since you're not locked into it, lots of things on the table.
Ashtart or MHX + Erik sensors is the most contained/obvious solution, in that it loops back on existing foreshadowing and doesn't introduce many new elements. It's a bit constraining in that some of the foreshadowing probably needs to actually be fulfilled, but I kind of favour keeping things simple.
Wednesday or Akira substitutions for tracking are also viable, if you want to make them more important. I feel like the Mugen Tenshin tracking tool doesn't sound that plausible for cross-dimensional tracking, it just doesn't seem like within their technology level, but I'm not sure exactly what context that's used in. I'm not really sure what Charms would apply unless Blood on The Wind is interpreted in an especially crazy manner. Sorcery is free-form enough to potentially provide an answer to anything. You can also answer both in relatively boring manners if Illya can identify other Nero locations given a sample, but it's sounding like Frid is going to be without direct contact for a while if locating shards and travelling are unsolved problems.

I kind of lean towards canon-adjacent or continuity-reusing solutions, rather than introducing totally novel elements, but that's largely because you'll already be introducing a lot of new things. I'm not especially attached to Type-Moon vs other, though "canon-adjacent" does favour it somewhat.

[Kieran]

Pretty broad options. We did make Abigail un-canon, right? That seemed like a potential option for travelling and/or tracking, but since you're not locked into it, lots of things on the table.

Abigail is only going to be un-canon, I think, if I don't go with my plan to make Frid the Throne's (future) "Grand Foreigner" candidate in order to keep ORT out; whether that's by using the Morphin Grid as a barrier to the Mythos, or her adopting Frid and being married to Wednesday's "Great Aunt Lavinia," or something else, I don't know. But stopping the Mythos from wreaking havoc is something Abigail would do, and Yog-Sothoth, as written by Lovecraft, is a being of many aspects, a couple of them relatively benign, even helpful to humans. Blocking the malevolent ones from Earth is something he actually might do; certainly, his power can be called upon to turn aside lesser entities of the Mythos in Lovecraft's works . . .

And it is a threat that, per F/GO and Frid's own history, would need dealing with.

Ashtart or MHX + Erik sensors is the most contained/obvious solution, in that it loops back on existing foreshadowing and doesn't introduce many new elements. It's a bit constraining in that some of the foreshadowing probably needs to actually be fulfilled, but I kind of favour keeping things simple.

Me too, to some degree, at least; certainly, going too far is just counterproductive. But finding that line . . . *Shrugs*

Regardless, using Ashtart would require effectively aborting Saber Wars II (doable, possibly, but dangerous), but the Space Shinkageryu are unlikely to just give away the Dark Maana. Erik could certainly build something, but you've already seen what he considers "reasonable . . ."

Or, for example, Phantom Rangers are given their own vessels, and are sent to where the Grid needs them to be.

Wednesday or Akira substitutions for tracking are also viable, if you want to make them more important.

Yeah - I'd just need to know exactly how Akira's powers work . . . But Wednesday's visions are always skewed towards the negative, (disastrous events, the worst of people, etc.), which opens up some interesting possibilities.


(. . . And aside from Wednesday being ideal for a Dark Ranger, it only recently occurred to me that I could use the Kurumi scenes almost entirely, if I went Power Rangers with her - could you think of anyone MORE likely to have a puzzle box (real or imitiation) like the Lament Configuration . . .?!)

I feel like the Mugen Tenshin tracking tool doesn't sound that plausible for cross-dimensional tracking, it just doesn't seem like within their technology level, but I'm not sure exactly what context that's used in.

It's magical, but not really the intended use for it - which could be interesting fodder in and of itself.

I'm not really sure what Charms would apply unless Blood on The Wind is interpreted in an especially crazy manner. Sorcery is free-form enough to potentially provide an answer to anything. You can also answer both in relatively boring manners if Illya can identify other Nero locations given a sample, but it's sounding like Frid is going to be without direct contact for a while if locating shards and travelling are unsolved problems.

That is the plan at the moment - at least until I figure out who he's partnering up with on the TYPE-MOON side of things . . .

I kind of lean towards canon-adjacent or continuity-reusing solutions, rather than introducing totally novel elements, but that's largely because you'll already be introducing a lot of new things. I'm not especially attached to Type-Moon vs other, though "canon-adjacent" does favour it somewhat.

OK, thank you.

[Kieran]

. . . Apologies, everyone - no chapter this week, and I can't guarantee anything in the near-future, either - though I'll try . . .

*Shakes* I try to keep things IRL largely separate from my time here (self-inserts' histories aside), but things have not been good for my family, the last couple of months - and in the last week, the situation has deteriorated much faster than ANYBODY was previously predicting. Hopefully, we'll have some answers by tomorrow, but . . .

Up until this last week, I had reasons to be optimistic; now, it's harder - and that makes writing anything harder, too. I'm sorry.

[Kieran]

Continuing . . .




Ten years ago
















Halloween hadn’t even been over for a full week yet, and the weather was sunny and clear, with barely a wisp of cloud in sight.

Despite the miserable weather, however, six-year-old Wednesday Addams knew her beloved pet needed his afternoon walk, so she put the scorpion on his leash and wandered down the hill into town. At least it was pleasantly chilly—she got goosebumps every time the wind blew, and there was every possibility her lips would start turning blue if she stayed out long enough. Sadly, scorpions weren’t as enamoured of the cold as she was; they couldn’t be out that long, or he might be hurt. Wednesday didn’t want that to happen—she loved him, after all (and if she wanted to torture someone, that was what her brother Pugsley was for) . . .

Still, things were going reasonably well, even pleasantly, until they passed the ice cream shop—which was a terrible place with bland flavours and worse toppings; not even something as basic as cyanide (and the smiley faces on the windows were just creepy)!

What happened next would not endear the place to her . . .

Her first warning of anything being wrong was when Nero stopped in mid-step. Looking down at him, Wednesday saw him rear back, his claws raised defensively. By the time she’d glanced up to follow his line of sight, the two boys were within grabbing range, seizing her arms and bodily lifting her off the sidewalk and shoving her against the wall. The force of it caused Nero’s leash to slip from her grasp, and the scorpion scuttled over the curb in a panic.

“What kind of freak has a scorpion for a pet?” one of them sneered, even as Wednesday froze as she realised her lack of leverage; effectively pinned in place, all she could do was watch as Nero scurried into the street, directly into the path of the two cyclists she’d just seen pass her by in the opposite direction . . .

With dawning horror, Wednesday realised both that this had been a setup, and what was about to happen—

As the two cyclists, bikes and all, were abruptly lifted into the air, and tossed onto the bench adjoining the ice cream shop . . . Or at least, the boys were—their bikes suddenly swung back in mid-flight, to land in the garbage can at the end of the block.

“What the—?” one of the bullies demanded.

Wednesday was just as puzzled—but she didn’t miss the opportunity to take advantage of the slackened grip on her shoulder to step forward and stomp on one’s instep, hearing the satisfying crack of shattered cartilage as her hard-soled shoes made up for her relative lack of strength and mass. The injured bully released her completely—and while Wednesday wasn’t tall enough to reach any really vital spots on the remaining one, she was at an ideal height to reach a very vulnerable one . . .

Her attackers temporarily disabled (if not as much as she wanted them to be), Wednesday raced to Nero, picking up scorpion and leash together and pulling them close.

“Are you all right?”

The words were out before Wednesday could ask them herself, in a deep, unknown voice that sounded sort of hollow, somehow—like it was echoing from inside something.

She turned in their direction. “Who . . .?”

Her eyes narrowed. She couldn’t quite see anything, but there was almost a haze in the air that made her wonder . . .

“Who’s there?” she demanded.

Mother and Grandmama often spoke about “spirits,” but this didn’t seem like one.

Her question was answered with the question, “Are you and your little friend all right? I know you’ve had a scare, but are either of you hurt?”

Wednesday considered the question, and scanned Nero, before shaking her head and looking up to where it seemed like the voice was coming from. “I’m fine, and so’s Nero.”

“‘Nero . . .?’” the voice repeated, sounding shocked, before falling silent. Wednesday had the feeling of someone staring at her intently for a moment, before it said quietly, “Not quite who I was looking for, but it still kind of worked—and lucky I happened along when I did . . .”

(She suspected she wasn’t supposed to hear that.)

“That’s good,” the voice said with relief. “I’m glad.” In a firmer tone, it continued, “To be safe, I think that if you and Nero are going to go for a walk from away from home from now on, you should make sure you have a grown-up with you, OK? Right now, you’re both still too little be out and about on your own.”

Wednesday frowned but was forced to nod in agreement when she thought about it. Something terrible had almost happened to Nero—and not the fun kind of terrible, either.

“How about I walk you both home, OK?” the voice offered gently. “Just to be safe?”

At the question, an idea occurred to Wednesday that would satisfy her curiosity. She widened her eyes and sweetened her voice, like when she wanted to convince Uncle Fester to let her play with his dynamite caps instead of using her own (because his were really fun—hers only made little “pops”) and asked, “But how will anyone know I’m with a grown-up if they can’t see you . . .?”

“. . . That’s a good point,” the voice admitted. “Hang on.”

Since she was looking for it this time, Wednesday could see the faint shimmer of movement in the air and followed it around the corner to near the dumpster beside the ice cream parlour. There was an eldritch sound, as a solid form seemed to fill in the space where the shimmer had gone: a dark form, glinting with silver, with an orange glow in the centre of its chest, like a jack o’lantern—or a burning ember of hellfire . . .

Wednesday was transfixed at the sight.

The dark man—no, she realised, a man in dark, high-tech-looking armour, like an armoured spacesuit, his face obscured by a black, reflective faceplate—stalked forward. His steps were eerily silent in what should have been a heavy, noisy suit. Instead, he made no more noise than a shadow, moving confidently towards the mouth of the alley like a creeping fog bank preparing to swallow its unsuspecting victims whole . . .

“. . . Where do I get one of those?” Wednesday asked bluntly.

“You have to be chosen, I’m afraid,” he answered apologetically. “And I can’t really say how or why, because I’m still trying to figure out how I got picked for this . . . But as long as you try to be a good person, and help the people around you, I think you have a chance.”

Wednesday frowned. “That sounds boring.” And not fun at all.

“Sometimes it is,” he admitted. “And sometimes, you get really frustrated at not being able to do the things you’d like to do, because you’re supposed to be responsible with the Power . . . But somebody needs to protect little girls and their scorpions, after all.”

(When recounting this moment in the future, even in the privacy of her own mind—and maybe especially there—Wednesday would be adamant that she did not duck her head in embarrassment; she was checking to make sure that Nero was all right, now that he’d been recalled to her attention.)

“Come on, now,” he said gently, offering his hand. “Let’s get you home, and safe, OK . . .?”















No one bothered them on the way back to her house—and Wednesday noted little else about him, concealed as he was in the suit; not as tall as Lurch but roughly as wide, but who knew how much of that was the suit itself? Uncle Fester occasionally hid in the suits around the house, and nobody would guess what he really looked like while he was wearing one . . .

Still, she saw that he was polite, murmuring “Thank you, Gate” when allowed entry—Mother would be pleased by his manners.

As they approached the porch, he let go of her hand and turned to her.

“Do you have a key, or do we need to ring the bell?” he asked.

She looked at him oddly, then reached up to turn the knob, and pushed the door open—

And when she turned back, he was invisible again.

“You’re not coming in?” Wednesday asked, strangely disappointed.

“You’re home safe now, so I should start seeing who else might need my help,” came the answer. “You and Nero take care of each other, all right?”

She thought he ruffled her hair—or maybe it was the wind. When it was over, though, the porch felt empty, and she knew.

He was gone.

Wednesday suddenly felt tears welling up as everything hit her all at once—the attack, the rescue, the abrupt goodbye . . . It was too much, and she turned to race back into her house.

“MOTHER, FATHER . . .!”
















Present day
















Wednesday forced the memories down.

(It took more effort than she cared to admit.)

That day was long gone—thinking about it wouldn’t help her now. Instead, she needed to focus on the fact that she was close, at long last! After ten years, she’d definitively heard that voice again; and now, she had a face to go with it . . .!

The last person to ever make her cry was almost within her reach—and she’d finally be able to make him pay for it . . .

Kieran, I hope things are going well for you now, man. If not... well. That would be a right shame.

Some of that, I won't know until tomorrow - but I'm hoping to slowly work back into the swing of things . . .



Obviously, the above snippet is based on a Phantom Ranger build; likewise, it's one of three major ideas I'm playing with, at the moment - but it's a start, maybe . . .?

[Xamusel]

That was a hilarious way of handling Wednesday Addams. Thanks for the snippet.

[Kieran]

That was a hilarious way of handling Wednesday Addams.

Thank you. It was hard to write her at six, because I wanted to reference Wednesday in her original portrayals, while still making her more current persona recognisable to those who are more familiar with it (as most modern fans are) . . .

(And actually, this is where Wednesday the series works really well, because it implies that she started out as Charles Addams' cartoons and the first TV series originally depicted her, and hardened into the deadpan sadist of her more recent appearances as a result of her pet scorpion's death - meaning that within the series, the TV series and movies are both canon to Wednesday's history, without being directly referenced.)

Thanks for the snippet.

You're welcome - I'll try to be a bit more consistent (as I said, we're dreading results today) . . .

[Xamusel]

A loved one in trouble with health? Or something else?

Either way, man, say no more. I'll stand by you no matter what you go through.

[Arbitrarity]

Some of that, I won't know until tomorrow - but I'm hoping to slowly work back into the swing of things . . .

Best of luck with that, though it's out of our hands.

Obviously, the above snippet is based on a Phantom Ranger build; likewise, it's one of three major ideas I'm playing with, at the moment - but it's a start, maybe . . .?

Ah,I need to watch for "Omake" more closely, I was going to say "oh, you've decided!". Cute though. Wednesday certainly interprets things... interestingly. I'm not sure if I should actually interpret "make him pay for it" as vowing revenge or something else entirely.

[Kieran]

A loved one in trouble with health? Or something else?

Either way, man, say no more. I'll stand by you no matter what you go through.

In the interests of privacy, yes - and thank you.

Best of luck with that, though it's out of our hands.

Thank you, as well.

Ah,I need to watch for "Omake" more closely, I was going to say "oh, you've decided!".

Sorry, I see in hindsight that I forgot to capitalise "omake" - in my defence, it was going on 2 AM at that point . . .?

But yes, still thinking, with multiple possible paths - both for Frid and his companion. For example, Phantom Rangers can heal others - and if he happened to be in, say Mifune City at the right point, Fujino Asagami could be stopped and/or saved . . .

Cute though.

Thank you.

Wednesday certainly interprets things...

As Wednesday herself puts it (with some paraphrasing) in the animated film The Addams Family 2: "I felt too different to be an Addams - I didn't realise that 'different' was the most 'Addams' thing to be."

interestingly. I'm not sure if I should actually interpret "make him pay for it" as vowing revenge or something else entirely.

Which, I think, is quintessentially Wednesday (at least, in her more modern interpretations).

[Kieran]

Description

A multi-storey European castle deep within a forested isle, Avalon Castle is the base of operations of Grail Works, Limited, a multidimensional intelligence and intervention service whose founder, Shirou Emiya, has the stated goal of “saving everyone.” To this end, it is equipped with the ability to be there in time when there is no other hope, relying on the abilities of its members and, when necessary, the power of the wish-granting Holy Grail.


Links

The interdimensional nature of Avalon Castle and the mission of the Works make it an ideal base of operations for neophyte Ranger Godafrid Úa Súilleabháin, allowing him—and the Morphin Grid—access to any and all worlds in danger in a way not easily traced.



Features

Protected: The location of Avalon Castle and Phantasmagoria Island is a well-guarded secret and is truly accessible only by the Works' dimensional Doors. Its borders are guarded by the liminal defences of faerie magic, sitting as it does "within the shadow of Avalon." The Game Master must expend two Story Points to subvert these protections and send enemies after the base.

Connected: Avalon Castle can access any point in space and even across different dimensions. Its magic allows it to scry audio and visual information from nearly any source given the right coordinates. While your characters are inside your base, they can spend one Story Point to request details or visuals on a subject of their choice. The Game Master can determine how much information is available to them.


Drawbacks


Shared: While the Works can theoretically open Doors anywhere, the closest thing it has to permanent entrances are in Misaki Town and Fuyuki City, connected to the Tohno and Emiya homes. While this doesn’t often cause problems, Godafrid (and other non-Japanese characters) may find themselves in difficulty on those occasions when using those entrances intersects with the lives of the households there. After all, how does one explain where a six-foot-tall Westerner came from after appearing suddenly, with no vehicle in sight . . .?

It's also not uncommon for the residents to ask for favours when one passes through, before allowing access to the grounds (and thus, the castle).

Technologically Isolated: Being held within an otherworldly space, Avalon Castle doesn’t exactly have regular cell or Internet service. While within its walls, no access to electronics or corresponding signals is possible, which can make keeping tabs on the outside world beyond emergencies difficult—as is explaining to anyone trying to get a hold of you why you’re out of contact so often.


NPCs

Ilyasviel von Einzbern: The spirit of the Holy Grail and nerve centre of the Works’ operations, this mistress of the island’s dimension-spanning Doors was once a teenaged magus trapped in the form of a little girl. Seemingly cheerful and naturally mischievous, she enjoys helping the Works’ members in their mission—particularly her “Onii-chan.”










Writer's Notes: This is what the castle and island would look like under the "command centre" rules of the Power Rangers RPG. Just a thought exercise while I try to find the time and energy to get back to work - and a reminder that I am still thinking about this.

[Xamusel]

Thanks for the Omake, Kieran. I'm sure we all appreciate it, man.

[Arbitrarity]

Huh, I hadn't really considered the lack of internet/cell access. I suppose it isn't a huge problem given the current time period, but it seems like it would be an issue in the modern era. One would think you could run a cable through a Door, though the specifics of what that would do if it were closed (cuts the cable?) are undefined. If physicality of the cable were a problem you could do regular wifi things (though that still assumes a Door has no significant latency, doesn't significantly distort EM, and probably exceeds the Works' level of technological sophistication). Electricity would be much harder, but I guess a standard plug would be modular-enough you could recover from it being cut.

The idea of the Works having a personal cell tower hooked into a tiny Door that opens into the Tohno household's wiring amuses me greatly. Alternatively, opening a Door into a corner of unsecured wifi somewhere.