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Forum URL: http://www.eyrie-productions.com/Forum/dcboard.cgi
Forum Name: Our Witches at War/Gallian Gothic
Topic ID: 128
Message ID: 8
#8, RE: GG3/V: Nord par Nord-Est
Posted by Astynax on Jun-22-21 at 05:47 PM
In response to message #0
> Amid the trackless wastes of the eternal desert, half-buried in the
> ever-shifting sands, there stood the Great Library.

This sequence continues to make questions bubble up in my head. Since no time frame is given, is this contemporary to main line UF Dìqiú or some other period? I'm trying to estimate the potential for Patchy to have some form of "wait, you know the Avatar -how- well?" reaction to G if/when the topic comes up, though that's assuming Patchy was staying up to date on current events at all I suppose.

Then there's the other side of that interaction, if G is acquainted with, or at least informed about, Wan Shi Tong, and thus what it might mean for him to tread lightly around Patchy.

> "I see." Marisa frowned thoughtfully. "You called Gryph 'the future count'
> before."
> Sakuya glanced back over her shoulder with a questioning expression. "Yes?"
> "Ain't he already a count, though?"
> "Ah, that's true, it had slipped my mind," Sakuya conceded. "He doesn't use
> his Karlslandic title often, and never at home. I was referring to the fact
> that he'll become the next Count Scarlet when he marries m'lady, of course."

After the forum conversation in the teaser thread, seeing this got a grin from me. I'm curious if this exchange was planned from the start, or included for the sake of those who don't peruse the forums regularly?

> Rising to her feet, she bowed in a courtly sort of way and went on, "Though
> this is not my home, welcome. Enter freely and of your own will; go safely;
> and leave some of the happiness you bring." Seeing the young witch's look of
> perplexity, she smiled and added, "A traditional welcome from my father's
> country. I sometimes forget how peculiar it must sound to the modern ear."

The Vampire Hello appears again, though I believe with a small addition this time? I know the original source didn't have 'go safely' and I don't recall Remilia adding that when she ran the line past G the first time, so I expect it is an attempt to be a little less ominous.

> Remilia's crimson eyes twinkled with mirth. "Ordinarily, you'd have a fight
> on your hands for that seat, but as its customary owner, my little sister
> Flandre, is off traveling at the moment, you're safe enough."
> "Oh yeah?" Marisa chuckled and elbowed Gryphon. "You dog."
> "Harrumph," Gryphon replied, pointedly ignoring her in favor of taking a sip
> of tea.
> "He had little say in the matter, I assure you," said Remilia.

I'm curious if Marisa is really that perceptive about the interpersonal situation, or if she's just indulging in a bit of lightly bawdy humor to try get a rise out of G and/or Remilia?

> "You know," she said, frowning at a telegram, "when I decided to reveal my
> existence and Flan's to the world, I expected a certain level of...
> resistance. That the revelation would bring forth certain types of people who
> wouldn't be happy about it. Those who refuse to believe in vampires and call
> us frauds. Those who do believe in vampires and call us monsters. I was ready
> for those." She looked up from the paper, meeting Gryphon's eyes, and went on,
> "I was not expecting so many asking to join us, as if being a vampire were
> some sort of club membership."

Vampire groupies and wannabes don't surprise me, but I am a little surprised there'd be many in an alternate version of the 1940s. I had figured that sort of subculture was a bit more of a modern development. The scene goes on to provide a few potential reasons of course, but I can't fault Remilia for being a little surprised by it.

> With that, Sakuya disappeared into one of the bedrooms; an improbably short
> time later, she emerged from the other, no longer carrying either parcel.
> Marisa glanced at Alice, a querying eyebrow raised, but the Britannian witch
> replied only with a slight shrug and an almost imperceptible "search me" look.
> She hadn't noticed any use of magic either. Both of them looked at their
> hostess, but she only gave them a faintly smug smile and said,
> "Thank you, Sakuya."

Seems there needs to be a caveat to the classic saying about 'sufficiently advanced technology' when people familiar with actual magic are present.

> "A Liberion hedge witch, a shrine maiden from Fusō, and a faeblood puppeteer.
> What an assortment, particularly in this era. You do gather them about you,
> don't you, mieux aimé?"

I'd expect a vampire to have sharp senses, but for Remilia to pick up on Alice that quickly seems almost uncanny. Is there some magic sense at work here, or are the puppets some sort of obvious tell to someone with the right knowledge?

> "All the same, it's annoying," said Gryphon, a touch glumly. With a wry little
> smile and a moment's eye contact with Reimu, he added, "I was hoping I'd have
> time to get in a little more cavorting."
> While Reimu blushed and looked away, Alice coolly and decorously concealed a
> laugh, and Marisa did not. Remilia regarded the four of them with mild
> puzzlement, but none of the three young women responded. Reimu, her face still
> bright red, wouldn't meet her gaze, while Marisa was still chortling and Alice
> ostentatiously busied herself with her teacup. Only Gryphon responded
> directly, catching her eye and giving her a mischievous little wink, as if to
> say he'd explain later.

And so Reimu's penance continues, I suspect not for the last time either.

> "How very efficient of you. Well, in that case, Admiral, I'd best be about it.
> Please let your superiors know that it was my pleasure, and if Lt. Nishimura
> and his... team... wish to consult with me about anything in the future, I'm
> glad to help as far as security permits. He'll know where to find me." Laying
> it on just a little bit thick, he squared himself up with a click of
> bootheels, as if he really were a Karlslandic aristocrat, and gave Sugita a
> very correct Fusō-style bow. "Good day, Admiral."

I do hope Sugita's staff didn't have too much trouble defrosting him after this exchange.

> Gryphon shrugged. "What would getting mad accomplish? I'm not going to pick a
> fight with the entire Imperial Fusōnese Navy."
> "Why not? It's always worked for me," Reimu pointed out.

I feel like there's a bit of entertaining back story here, even if, as seems likely, she doesn't mean it literally.

> Her curious look changing to a scowl, Hōrai Doll produced a tiny broadsword
> from somewhere and held the fairy off at swordpoint.

Well, that reaction doesn't leave room for misinterpretation. Hōrai clearly takes a dim view of drunken sailors.

> Remilia beamed. "Excellent. Should you need anything of us in the meantime,
> you can find us at the Allied Forces base at Château Saint-Ulrich in
> Ribeauvillé. We're joining the war effort, and I expect we shall be stationed
> there for the foreseeable future."

This sparks a curiosity, at what point exactly does the irregularity at Saint-Ulrich cause LeMay reach his limit and have an aneurysm?

> "I don't know. Not yet. I need more information. I need..." She paused,
> looking thoughtful, and drank off the rest of the tonic, now so engrossed in
> the problem that she didn't react to its flavor. Meeting her familiar's eyes,
> she said firmly, "This man she's marrying. Take me to him. He'll know where
> she is."

Well, Patchy didn't seem to recognize G by name, so it will be interesting to see what comes from their meeting. I imagine one of them will have some variation of "it's a small multiverse" mixing in amongst their other responses. I do wonder, given her somewhat severe seeming personality so far, if Patchy will get off on the wrong foot when she encounters, well, any of the rest of the cast at this point.

Also, it seems years desiccating in a library in the desert haven't left Patchy in the best of health.


-={(Astynax)}=-
"Sometimes fanfic is a love letter to canon, sometimes it's a polite disagreement, and sometimes it's 95 things canon did wrong nailed to a door."