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Forum Name: Our Witches at War/Gallian Gothic
Topic ID: 92
Message ID: 4
#4, RE: GG Book 2 Act IV: Magie Domestique
Posted by Gryphon on Oct-03-20 at 07:18 PM
In response to message #3
>> Any road, the child is safe now.
>
>Where does this variation on anyway come from? I've seen it only in a
>game before (over in FFXIV) and took it for something they'd invented
>for pseudo-medieval flavor, but clearly it has a more general source.

I'm not 100% sure, but I want to say it comes from one of the dialects of the North of England—maybe Yorkshire? Victor's journal probably isn't actually in English, so in this case it's probably standing in for a similarly archaic phrase from northern Gallic.

>> If I have anything to say about it, she will never need fear a blackguard
>> like Van Zandt again in her life.
>
>Count Victor certainly made good on that in spades.

If there was anything Victor took completely seriously, it was following through on promises like that (and self-defense in general). The fact that Sakuya was 100% on board with the idea herself helped, of course.

>> "I told you both before," said Remilia with a delighted smirk.
>> "In this house, I am the law."
>
>This whole scene between these two was touching, but for some reason
>this line just gave me a flash of the Stallone version of Judge
>Dredd
, which lead to the cursed mental image of Remilia doing a
>bad Stallone impression while wearing the Dredd helmet.

... Pardon me while I change that line to "I make the law."

>> "I guess it's actually not legal in this era," said Meiling, her own smile a
>> little sheepish.
>
>Well, there have been exceptions of late, but the household probably
>needs to rack up quite a few Neuroi kills before that becomes
>available to them.

Indeed. In the short-to-medium term, it may also depend on whether, and how, the Gallian government responds to Karlsland's new "Witch Law".

>> "Don't play along with her—!" Remilia burst out, breaking up with laughter
>> halfway through, and the whole company dissolved into giggles along with her.
>
>Far too late, once this door was opened, this journey was inevitable,
>and entertaining.

I have a suspicion that, when the time come for Flandre to meet the witches of Saint-Ulrich for herself, she will want to revisit this discussion.

>> "I won't have you making a hash of things in front of Benjamin and his
>> colleagues. It would dishonor our family name."
>
>And Remilia shows that she is just as much their mother's
>daughter as their father's.

Well, we already knew that was where she got her preoccupation with her dignity (which is totally speaking there).

>> "No, not really. I'm not sure I can explain it, but... I can't... I don't
>> hear its voice, like I did when it was taking me over."
>
>I wonder if Neuroi sound anything like Daleks? They certainly seem to
>have a similar MO.

In the anime, the only sound they make is kind of a metallic squealing noise. In one episode, the Neuroi of the week tries to "sing", but it just ends up sounding like one of those Experimental Musical Instruments made out of glass and copper wires.

>> "These are spell cards," she explained. "They're how vampires of our line
>> do magic. Each of these cards contains a combat spell, mostly cast at the
>> time the cards were written. Frozen in time, almost but not quite fired."
>
>Reminds me of a few types of D&D magic items, but it also, given how
>they are fueled mostly by the vampire's own magic, makes me think of
>them as a sort of mystic power extrusion die.

That's... not a terrible metaphor, really. (Another simplified but reasonably useful comparison would be to the gel filters used to color stage lights.)

>> Gryphon arched an eyebrow at her. "You know how to summon fire spirits?"
>> "Dude. Dragon here," Meiling reminded him, flicking his forehead playfully.
>> "Oh yeah."
>
>Well, I suppose that answers the elemental affinity question for
>Meiling (even if she does still scream Earth Kingdom to me,)

It's not a coincidence that you get that vibe; Meiling is culturally much more of the Earth Kingdom than the Fire Nation, even if she is a dragon, for Reasons To Be Gone Into.

>Well, another example of Flandre's rather noteworthy pain tolerance.

I kind of hate myself for already having thought this through? But I'm reasonably sure that, at some point in her centuries in the basement, the Other will have gone through a self-harming phase, above and beyond the Child's tendency to injure herself accidentally through recklessness and not knowing what she was doing. That kind of thing happens fairly often to vampires who were originally mortal and were turned without proper preparation—some turn self-destructive out of buyer's remorse, while others get fascinated with their regenerative capabilities to an unhealthy extent. Flandre may not (hopefully doesn't) remember that period, but her body does.

>She's going to be quite the force to be reckoned with once she's in an
>actual fight.

High on the list of things I'm looking forward to getting to, yes.

>> Remilia chuckled, shaking her head, and poured herself some bloodwine.
>> "That girl..."
>
>So I very much doubt that Remilia was drinking anything resembling the
>Klingon beverage by that name, but it makes me wonder how she'd react
>to something quite so... assertive as a beverage. It might just be
>alcoholic enough for a vampire to notice.

Oh, no, bloodwine in this context is literally just normal wine with some blood in it. I don't think Remilia would appreciate Klingon bloodwine, if for no other reason than wherever the blood comes from, I doubt it's compatible.

>This whole sequence of banter was satisfying by the way, it's nice to
>see them all settling into being comfortable with each other,
>particularly the Scarlet sisters.

I wish I could illustrate that couch tableau, particularly Meiling getting her Sakuya recharge. The picture in my head is much cozier and more adorable than I think I really captured in the text. :)

>> I want to be as close to both of you as you are to each other.
>
>Flandre doesn't set modest goals for herself, does she?

Indeed, half measures are not her way.

>> Flandre shook her head. "No. I'm tired. But soon. Maybe tomorrow. I'll teach
>> you what Sis taught me about spell cards, and you can teach me about the
>> Force." She cracked her sly smile, the one that was a mirror copy of her
>> sister's. "You show me yours and I'll show you mine."
>
>The yard may not survive this. Might have to see if anyone can summon
>some nature spirits to do landscaping afterward.

Yes, it's too bad Meiling isn't an earthbender. They can't make grass grow, but she could at least sort out the craters.

... Of course, she could still do that, just... with a shovel. But still.

--G.
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