LAST EDITED ON Dec-02-20 AT 10:48 PM (EST)
 
Same title, same file, now with about 50 percent(!!) more content. And it's not all in one place, either, so I'm afraid you'll have to just read it again to get the full effect. :/

(Not all of it is directly related to the missing scene from the original version; since I had to rescind and repub it anyway, I decided to take the opportunity to fill in a few other bits that either got overlooked, or newly occurred to me, along the way.)

If you were in the camp that liked it better without the fight scene, well... sorry. Hope you don't mind it too much. I mean, you could always skip it if you felt like it. Just tell your web browser to take you to the next instance of the word "Prinzessin" and you should be good to go.

(edit: Might have helped if I had remembered to do the RSS push...)

--G.
oof
-><-
Benjamin D. Hutchins, Co-Founder, Editor-in-Chief, & Forum Mod
Eyrie Productions, Unlimited http://www.eyrie-productions.com/
zgryphon at that email service Google has
Ceterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam.

>For a moment, she wondered whether this were some kind of prank. The eldest of
>these three was the Britannian, and she looked no older than Amélie's own age of
>17—too young to be retired, unless she'd been invalided out because of injury,
>and there was no sign of that in her face or bearing. The other two looked a good
>two years younger than that. She knew Fusō was a nation that valued youth, but
>did even their forces have general officers so young?
>

Well, this is tantalizing. I see two likely options here, either they aren't as young as they appear, or there much more to their story that at this point I could only make wild guesses about. Option 2 seems more likely, and more fun.

>"I'll make this brief," she said, and suddenly the sky around her was filled
>with pulses of magic, spiraling outward in interlocking bands, in an intricate
>patterns that put Gryphon—undoubtedly the only person on the planet in this
>time who had the frame of reference for it—in mind of an elaborate screensaver.
>You don't see that every day, he thought, and then the first wave
>reached him and he was too busy to ruminate.
>

Well at least G has somewhat recent practice in dodging danmaku, and fighting adversaries who can fly when he can't. Maybe he'll thank Flandre for that when he sees her next, confusing her thoroughly.

>She was surprised to hear a low chuckle from off to her left. Turning, she saw
>the two blonde witches were also watching intently, but where Alice's
>expression was thoughtful but neutral, Marisa was smiling—almost smirking.
>"Don't know what to do when they don't go down right away, do ya?" she murmured
>in a low, amused-sounding voice. Sensing Shizuka's eyes on her, she glanced at
>her and winked one golden eye, seeming to take actual pleasure in her
>colleague's momentary discomfiture.
>"Whose side are you on?" Shizuka couldn't stop herself from wondering.
>"Nobody's. I'm just enjoying the show," Marisa replied with an easygoing grin.
>

Yeah, the more I see of her, the more I like Marisa.

>"Don't bother trying to get up," Reimu told him. "Whatever dark pact you draw
>your power from, that seal has cut you off. You're just a man now. This is
>over."
>

And if it had been the result of a dark pact, you'd be correct Reimu, but school is still in session.

It occurs to me that if Reimu were at all inclined to be open-minded, the utter failure of her seal would've clued her in that whatever was going on here was not what she assumed.

>Whatever it was, it wasn't dark power; she'd fought too many rogue
>yōkai, black witches, and would-be sorcerers not to recognize that when
>she felt it. But nor was it white magic, like the flash she'd felt when he
>threw what looked for all the world like a Fusō military shield at his feet. It
>was neutral, not aligned at all. It felt like... she had no frame of
>reference. Springtime? Sunshine? That warm sense of satisfaction that came from
>a good stretch and a nap on the porch on a sunny afternoon.
>It felt like being alive.
>

Hey, reality is beginning to penetrate her titanium skull. Percussive maintenance, it's not just for machines anymore.

>Hesitantly returning the bow, she replied, "... You're welcome?" in the voice
>of someone who is uncertain about... well, virtually everything, just at
>the moment.

"That's good. You've taken your first step into a larger world."

>"Now what?" Gryphon wondered.
>Reimu considered.
>"I don't know about you," she said at length, "but I need a drink."
>

That may be so, but you'll regret it in the morning Reimu.

This whole sequence was definitely satisfying, and does more eloquently explain how Reimu came around to a much less abrasive, much more curious attitude.

And the Touhou partisans should be satisfied that it wasn't a walk in the park victory for G, which seemed to be the impression some got from the 'and then they fought' version of things.

>"I ought to, by now," said Perrine. "There's no more perceptive friend than an
>old enemy."
>"Were we ever really enemies, though? I mean, I never thought of you as one."
>"Oh, make no mistake about it, Miyafuji, I detested you from the very
>first," Perrine replied lightly.
>Yoshika gave her a hurt look. "I never knew that. Or maybe I just didn't want
>to believe it."
>"Well, that was before you turned my world inside-out with the power of your
>love," the Gallian said with a wink, drawing a flaming blush to her Fusōnese
>colleague's face. "Frankly, I don't know how you put up with me long enough for
>it to take effect. Anyway, it was a long time ago, n'est-ce pas?
>

Resistance is futile. Miyafuji will befriend you.

Being a bit more than halfway through season 2 of Strike Witches (just finished the treasure hunting episode) this has a mountain of impact, particularly seeing Perrine actually admit to any of it. Good for her.

>"You blockhead."
>"What?" said Reimu distractedly.
>"I said, 'You blockhead,'" Marisa repeated helpfully. Reaching out, she donked
>Reimu gently on the head with a knuckle. "'I've studied this document
>thoroughly,' my ass. If you had, you wouldn't have picked a pointless fight."
>She shook her head, still smiling fondly. "Sometimes I think you just enjoy
>pointless fights."
>"You're the last person I want to hear that from," Reimu grumbled.
>"All of my fights have a point," Marisa objected. "Even if it's only to pound
>something into your block of a head," she added, giving the head in question
>another friendly rap.
>

Yup, my earlier comment on Marisa and her appeal stands and strengthens. This makes it seem like she, somehow (they didn't have that long with the Zauberschulbuch did they,) did study the document thoroughly, at least more so than Reimu, to know both that her friend was wrong, and that there was a pretty good chance the strange Liberion could actually get the better of her to boot.

>This time there was no further shape-shifting on the Neuroi's part, but as
>their palms met, a flurry of sensation flickered through Yoshika's mind. No
>words, nor even solid images, but impressions, concepts, ideas. Apology.
>Regret. Concern. Puzzlement. Reassurance. Even something that felt very like
>affection.
>

I'm now very curious what a telepath or empath would make of Neuroi-chan. Which also makes me wonder what the captain's magic specialty is (or if it has even been identified yet.) I also have some suspicion she'll be, at least temporarily, reassigned if anyone in brass learns that she can having meaningful conversations with their defector.

>Turning the paper back around, he surveyed the front page with a smile and
>said, "Sakuya let me know yesterday, and here it is in black and white for all
>the world to see. A full apology and all rights reaffirmed. Most satisfactory."
>

I wonder if anyone present will wonder how Sakuya managed to let him know, unless she actually made a phone call (would the mothballed base have working phone service?)

As an overall comment, I was satisfied on the whole with the original version, but this did improve on it and flesh out some items that definitely benefited from that. I'm not sure what compliment fits the situation, so <insert appropriate praise here>.

	-={(Astynax)}=- "This Space For Rent."

>Well, this is tantalizing. I see two likely options here, either they
>aren't as young as they appear, or there much more to their story that
>at this point I could only make wild guesses about. Option 2 seems
>more likely, and more fun.

Worth keeping in mind, as well, that it might not be the same answer for all three of them.

>Well at least G has somewhat recent practice in dodging
>danmaku, and fighting adversaries who can fly when he can't.

He really needs to work on that second part. Much as he loves the rocketman life, it's getting tiresome when the hardware's not available.

>>"Don't bother trying to get up," Reimu told him. "Whatever dark pact you draw
>>your power from, that seal has cut you off. You're just a man now. This is
>>over."
>
>And if it had been the result of a dark pact, you'd be correct
>Reimu, but school is still in session.

One of my lingering regrets is that he's just not in the right mood here to quote Queen's Flash Gordon theme back at her.

"That's right, I'm just a man, with a man's courage. Y'know, I'm nothing but a man, but I can never fail. No one but the pure in heart can find the golden grail."

"... What?!"

"You never studied."

>>"I don't know about you," she said at length, "but I need a drink."
>
>That may be so, but you'll regret it in the morning Reimu.

She usually does, but she never learns. Some folks are just like that...

>Yup, my earlier comment on Marisa and her appeal stands and
>strengthens. This makes it seem like she, somehow (they didn't have
>that long with the Zauberschulbuch did they,) did study the
>document thoroughly, at least more so than Reimu, to know both that
>her friend was wrong, and that there was a pretty good chance the
>strange Liberion could actually get the better of her to boot.

It's kind of hinted at in The Pros from Dover—Reimu spent most of the flight from Fusō meditating (or asleep), so apart from going up front and annoying the flight crew, which didn't seem like a super idea, Marisa didn't have much to do other than read. In those days, a flight from Fusō to western Europe, halfway around the world, took at least a week, and that was really standing on it. She had plenty of time to get well acquainted with their sample Zauberschulbuch and not a helluva lot else to do.

>Which also makes me wonder what the captain's magic
>specialty is (or if it has even been identified yet.)

Oh... you'll find out soon enough. :)

>I wonder if anyone present will wonder how Sakuya managed to
>let him know, unless she actually made a phone call (would the
>mothballed base have working phone service?)

I assume the IFN would have asked the War Office to turn it back on, both so that Admiral Sugita could keep at least nominal tabs on his pet project and, more importantly, so that the Project Mogami team had a way to request supplies and equipment that didn't involve driving or flying over to Barbican.

Of possibly greater note is that only Shizuka and maybe Mogami are likely to know who the hell he's even talking about, and then only if he's mentioned her while talking about his Domestic Situation at some point off-camera.

> I'm not sure what compliment fits the
>situation, so <insert appropriate praise here>.

Given how many of the last 24 hours went into making it, the old Japanese standby "You must be tired!" might be best. :)

--G.
-><-
Benjamin D. Hutchins, Co-Founder, Editor-in-Chief, & Forum Mod
Eyrie Productions, Unlimited http://www.eyrie-productions.com/
zgryphon at that email service Google has
Ceterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam.

Hm! Well, I've been eagerly awaiting this from when I spotted mention it was in rework, and here it is!

So, like a lot of others, I have some thoughts on this piece, but they're good, so don't worry!

In general, I had no real complaints about the original release. As I'd mentioned, I had been hoping to see the fight, but was not in any particular way disappointed when it was simply skipped over. That felt like it was in keeping with the "we've seen this kind of thing before" mentality that's cropped up a few times in OWaW.

That being said, bloody HELL the update was fun. G having already encountered the "wild rage" version of this kind of fight made the execution of his counter to Reimu's methods feel natural to me, and the direct comparison we get from his perspective on it vs. the fight with the Neuroi-influence Other-Flandre was an excellent touch. The reference to Reimu's style as being more like a dance made it easier for me to mentally pciture the motions of avoiding it, given an exceptionally limited experience with Touhou in general. Also, I enjoyed the fight's ending; what to the rest of the audience appears to be a narrow victory, but G's comment was on point: "My spleen will grow back. You make the call."

As for the other additions, while I personally didn't particularly feel like the piece's pacing was (as others evidently did) off in places before, the alterations do seem to me to have sharpened and improved it significantly. It feels right that you removed Reimu explaining herself to Amélie, and having first mention of her issue with the Zauberschulbuch being when she confronts G about it directly. The added scenes with the Operation Hammer team provided a more regular and stark contrast to the scenes at Crone Rock, and were a solid expansion both of the bits with Eugenie being able to actually -communicate- with Neuroi-chan, and Yoshika's expected mixed feelings regarding that realization. I'm very much looking forward to the continuation of that plot point. (also, the scene with Yoshika and Neuroi-chan afterwards was adorable. -Also- also the one with Yoshika and Perrine, that's been a long time needed from the latter's point. Damn fine work with both)

That feels much better. I like that Neuroi-chan managed to express how she feels about not being able to communicate with Yoshika, the fight added that je ne sais quoi, and Marisa calling out Reimu helps bring more depth to her.

Also, introducing Yoshika's new Striker works better for me; it's something like an inversion of Chekov's Gun (If somebody is shot with a gun, it should be placed in the plot beforehand?)

In metaphorical summary, I like the remodel you did, and I think that the deck you added is an excellent touch.

Peter Eng
--
Insert humorous comment here.

Fully in the zone now, he slipped among the pulses like a fish navigating a reef.

I see this as animation, with golf-ball sized energy bolts coming down, and Gryphon dodging them in the classic "vanish in a blur of black lines, reappear elsewhere" style.

It hit with a flash of white light and a concussive blast,

And this comes with a ring of white light coming out perpendicular to the contact.

No idea what Gryphon had in mind, but that's what I get.

Peter Eng
--
Insert humorous comment here.

>Fully in the zone now, he slipped among the pulses like a fish
>navigating a reef.
>
>I see this as animation, with golf-ball sized energy bolts coming
>down, and Gryphon dodging them in the classic "vanish in a blur of
>black lines, reappear elsewhere" style.
>

Whereas I pictured it much more like Aang or Korra (the airbender temple relic comes to mind) - like one long flowing movement that always seems to just go around whatever was coming, never faster than nessecery.

Overall though, the redone version is a definite improvement. I didn't have a big stake in the fight scene show versus skip debate, though I also remain largely unfamiliar with Touhou and thus was unaware of the power skew. Seeing it in place, yeah, it works much better for both its own sake, but also the addition of the extra pacing scenes that came around it, which nicely filled some gaps I could feel in the first version but couldn't quite put my finger on.

~Silv'

>
>>I see this as animation, with golf-ball sized energy bolts coming
>>down, and Gryphon dodging them in the classic "vanish in a blur of
>>black lines, reappear elsewhere" style.
>>
>
>Whereas I pictured it much more like Aang or Korra (the airbender
>temple relic comes to mind) - like one long flowing movement that
>always seems to just go around whatever was coming, never faster than
>necessary.
>

That's probably more true to what was happening, but I haven't seen much of Korra, and perhaps half an episode from Aang's series, so I don't have the visual reference in my memory.

Peter Eng
--
Insert humorous comment here.

As someone even older, and woefully behind on what is New and Hip, I went all the way back to the "classic" bullet-hell arcade games of my youth and the slightly newer (and previously referenced in NXE) Tempest 2000. ("Play.")

>As someone even older, and woefully behind on what is New and Hip, I
>went all the way back to the "classic" bullet-hell arcade games of my
>youth and the slightly newer (and previously referenced in NXE)
>Tempest 2000. ("Play.")

As he strode onto the bridge of His Majesty's Flying Battleship Mikasa, Gryphon paused, looked around, and then pointed accusingly at Marisa Kirisame's workstation.

"That witch is playing Galaga," he declared. "Thought we wouldn't notice, but we did."

--G.
-><-
Benjamin D. Hutchins, Co-Founder, Editor-in-Chief, & Forum Mod
Eyrie Productions, Unlimited http://www.eyrie-productions.com/
zgryphon at that email service Google has
Ceterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam.

>"That witch is playing Galaga," he declared. "Thought we
>wouldn't notice, but we did."

It's a specialized flight simulator. She wants to be ready when they dock with their sister ship Tsukasa.

>It's a specialized flight simulator. She wants to be ready when they
>dock with their sister ship Tsukasa.

welp

that happened

--G.
-><-
Benjamin D. Hutchins, Co-Founder, Editor-in-Chief, & Forum Mod
Eyrie Productions, Unlimited http://www.eyrie-productions.com/
zgryphon at that email service Google has
Ceterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam.

>It's a specialized flight simulator. She wants to be ready when they
>dock with their sister ship Tsukasa.
>

I have no words, only this.

	-={(Astynax)}=- "This Space For Rent."

>As someone even older, and woefully behind on what is New and Hip, I
>went all the way back to the "classic" bullet-hell arcade games of my
>youth and the slightly newer (and previously referenced in NXE)
>Tempest 2000. ("Play.")

Hey, I used to enjoy the original Tempest. It was one of the few arcade games of the time that I could play moderately well.

At least, until I got on to the "Ludicrous Speed" levels... <aaaiiieee!!!>

--
Unable to save the day: File is read-only.

You will be completely unsurprised to hear that I loved the fight scene. This is why the First Lensman is considered one of the greatest esper warriors of thr galaxy. His fighting style may not be as fancy or glowy as Utena's or Alberto's, but it gets the job done.

And this was a heck of a job to get done, too. My favorite part was when Reimu first actually saw the Force, right before it swatted her out of the sky. The understanding that passed between them at the fight's end was also great.

In non-fight news, cleaning up the part where Reimu was at Saint-Ulrich was well done. I also loved Yoshika talking to Perrine and communicating with Neuroi-chan, even if the latter can't talk directly. Absolutely heartwarming, and very human.

I did think for a second after Yoshika reflected on how much sleeping alone sucks that Neuroi-chan would end up sharing a bunk with her, but that's just my imagination. Besides, the Neuroi still needs to perform the Saint-Ulrich witch tradition of spending a night with Gryphon.

>Gryphon and the interloper from Fusō had just about
>killed each other, and now they were... all heading
>into town to have a drink together?

You have no idea how many of Gryph's best friends have been people who've tried to kill him before.

>It almost looks like they want to cripple her.

I don't know if I missed this in the original, but it seems like this is another facet in finding out more about the Neurois' motives.

Aside from that, I just gotta say that I'm now waiting with bated breath for the next OWaW and/or GG. My heart's pounding and the grin on my face won't go away.

Oh, an error and a thought.

>The Kempeitai investigation

I can't paste this properly, but in the actual document, it uses BBCode rather than HTML.

>frustration because at this range, she glowed in the Force,
>and yet denied its existence.

Maybe it's just that she hasn't been lucky enough to have Bastila freaking Shan around to run her life.

>Oh, an error and a thought.
>
>>The Kempeitai investigation
>
>I can't paste this properly, but in the actual document, it uses
>BBCode rather than HTML.

Yeah, that got pointed out in a DM, and I've fixed it. (It was also spelled wrong; it's Kenpeitai. I should add an annotation explaining what that is, come to think of it.) I actually knew it was like that and forgot to fix it, which may go some way toward demonstrating how fried I was when I finished building the deck. :)

--G.
-><-
Benjamin D. Hutchins, Co-Founder, Editor-in-Chief, & Forum Mod
Eyrie Productions, Unlimited http://www.eyrie-productions.com/
zgryphon at that email service Google has
Ceterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam.

>
>It was also spelled wrong; it's Kenpeitai.
>

After running a web search, I can't tell if lots of people mis-spell it, or if it's a tricky bit of Romaji that can be handled either way.

Peter Eng
--
Insert humorous comment here.

>>
>>It was also spelled wrong; it's Kenpeitai.
>>
>
>After running a web search, I can't tell if lots of people mis-spell
>it, or if it's a tricky bit of Romaji that can be handled either way.

Words with "np" in them (Kenpeitai, kanpai, senpai, et al.) often get romanized with an M there instead, I assume because it often sounds that way (or at least is hard to tell from the sound which letter is meant to be there), but if memory serves, N is technically the only consonant that can be at the end of a syllable.

--G.
-><-
Benjamin D. Hutchins, Co-Founder, Editor-in-Chief, & Forum Mod
Eyrie Productions, Unlimited http://www.eyrie-productions.com/
zgryphon at that email service Google has
Ceterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam.

As anecdotal evidence, look at how many more people have the last name "Kemp" than "Kenp".

>You will be completely unsurprised to hear that I loved the fight
>scene.

Well, that's good! Under the circumstances, it would have been deeply demoralizing if you hadn't at least liked it. :)

>I also loved Yoshika talking to Perrine
>and communicating with Neuroi-chan, even if the latter can't talk
>directly. Absolutely heartwarming, and very human.

Thank you. The funny thing is, those two scenes only came about because I wanted to cut away between the Folkestone scenes instead of just having time jumps; if I hadn't needed them for structural purposes, I might not have thought of them.

I think my favorite thing about the one with Perrine is that I'm pretty sure this is the first time we've ever seen her properly act like Yoshika's superior officer. She's been Mio's executive officer since Minna was promoted and everyone kind of notched up, and technically she's always outranked Yoshika, but was never really above her in the chain of command proper before that development. But I can't remember her ever (effectively—she did plenty of ineffectual yelling back in the day) exercising actual command authority before, as she does at the end of their conversation.

>I did think for a second after Yoshika reflected on how much sleeping
>alone sucks that Neuroi-chan would end up sharing a bunk with her, but
>that's just my imagination. Besides, the Neuroi still needs to perform
>the Saint-Ulrich witch tradition of spending a night with Gryphon.

Funnily enough, I did consider it (that was originally part of the reason why she reconfigured her legs, besides the fact that it was awkward being that much taller), but when I got to the end of the scene it didn't seem like the right time.

>>Gryphon and the interloper from Fusō had just about
>>killed each other, and now they were... all heading
>>into town to have a drink together?
>
>You have no idea how many of Gryph's best friends have been people
>who've tried to kill him before.

It sometimes even serves as an effective courtship ritual, although in this case there's not much chance of that on a couple of different levels, not that that will necessarily stop Marisa from joking about it. :)

>Aside from that, I just gotta say that I'm now waiting with bated
>breath for the next OWaW and/or GG. My heart's pounding and the grin
>on my face won't go away.

Most likely, OWaW 22 next, then GG3/III--my original plan was to do GG3/III next, but that was when this episode was going to be the last part of Our Fighting Fleet and didn't end with a cliffhanger obviously leading into a battle scene. :)

--G.
-><-
Benjamin D. Hutchins, Co-Founder, Editor-in-Chief, & Forum Mod
Eyrie Productions, Unlimited http://www.eyrie-productions.com/
zgryphon at that email service Google has
Ceterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam.

In the original Sea Trials thread, drakensis said:
>Onto another point: if the wedding is on, will Gryphon's existing
>family be represented?
>
>I do have this image of him turning up, the organist starts playing...
>Gryphon suddenly realises it's Kaitlyn on the organ

I just realized that, while I made a quip about this, I never really addressed it.

At the moment, the answer is a somewhat unsatisfying "I'm not sure." It would be technically possible for any number of his family and friends from The Future to attend, since he knows four Time Lords and any number of major and minor divinities and infernalities, any one of whom could probably arrange it alone with effort or, working together, with minimal difficulty.

The problem I face in deciding the matter is rather one of tone--would it mess up the feng shui to cross the streams that extravagantly? After all, part of the charm of the OWaW/GG setting is that Gryphon is operating without most of that hugely elaborate background network he has in the 25th century. I haven't come to a conclusion about that yet.

In the interest of providing a more entertaining answer than that, however, I will note that whether it's Kaitlyn or someone else on the organ, whoever it is will need to be a talented organist, because this is going to be the processional. :)

--G.
you were probably expecting something else
-><-
Benjamin D. Hutchins, Co-Founder, Editor-in-Chief, & Forum Mod
Eyrie Productions, Unlimited http://www.eyrie-productions.com/
zgryphon at that email service Google has
Ceterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam.

>At the moment, the answer is a somewhat unsatisfying "I'm not sure."
>It would be technically possible for any number of his family and
>friends from The Future to attend, since he knows four Time
>Lords and any number of major and minor divinities and infernalities,
>any one of whom could probably arrange it alone with effort or,
>working together, with minimal difficulty.

Yeah, the main universe is one in which gods and beings indistinguishable from them walk among the mortal world. This one feels more like one they've abandoned and the mortals and minor supernaturals are keeping it running as best as they can. Gryphon, despite his supernatural powers and experience, is just a man; he fights and teaches as hard as he can, but his lever to move the world is shorter than people like Utena or Korra or Corwin.

>The problem I face in deciding the matter is rather one of
>tone--would it mess up the feng shui to cross the
>streams that extravagantly?

I feel like it would. The sheer number and magnitude of the visitors for any cross-dimensional wedding ceremony would draw the Neuroi, who would get their shit kicked in thoroughly, and then Utena in divinely created Swordfish II strikers and Kozue with a jetpack would lead the charge that sweeps them off the world entirely. And that'd be unfair to the girls of the 501st who've worked so hard for the victories they've gained.

>After all, part of the charm of the
>OWaW/GG setting is that Gryphon is operating without most of that
>hugely elaborate background network he has in the 25th century.

So of course he makes a new support network, and of course it's largely made up of cute girls. Raise your hand if you're surprised.

The other problem is that, not only is it possible for his family to attend, it's all but impossible for them not to. Tracer here knows that G is getting married, and what she knows in one universe, she knows in them all. We've already established that time flows differently here than in the main universe, so there are no time constraints on who can attend. The dei and machinae involved would require another deus ex machina to keep them out of the equation.

I'm reminded a bit of Transformers: Flesh and Steel, where a Kilrathi war is used to keep the rest of the WDF out of the way so the crews of the Axalon and Darksyde can develop as characters the way they're supposed to.

>So of course he makes a new support network, and of course it's
>largely made up of cute girls. Raise your hand if you're surprised.
>

To be fair that's pretty much unavoidable given the source materials. Particularly since the overwhelming majority of characters from the overall World Witches franchise are almost impossible to dislike. Can't blame G for succumbing to their charm (especially since he does so in a wholesome manner, which is almost miraculous given the fanservice levels found in the source.)

	-={(Astynax)}=- "And no right thinking sentient can say no to adorable vampires."

>>The problem I face in deciding the matter is rather one of
>>tone--would it mess up the feng shui to cross the
>>streams that extravagantly?
>
>I feel like it would.

Mm, I'm inclined to agree. The problem, as you go on to note, then becomes plausibly avoiding it...

>>After all, part of the charm of the
>>OWaW/GG setting is that Gryphon is operating without most of that
>>hugely elaborate background network he has in the 25th century.
>
>So of course he makes a new support network, and of course it's
>largely made up of cute girls. Raise your hand if you're surprised.

Look, under the circumstances it's either them or Curtis LeMay, and I still have some standards.

--G.
-><-
Benjamin D. Hutchins, Co-Founder, Editor-in-Chief, & Forum Mod
Eyrie Productions, Unlimited http://www.eyrie-productions.com/
zgryphon at that email service Google has
Ceterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam.

>I just realized that, while I made a quip about this, I never really
>addressed it.
>
>At the moment, the answer is a somewhat unsatisfying "I'm not sure."
>It would be technically possible for any number of his family and
>friends from The Future to attend, since he knows four Time
>Lords and any number of major and minor divinities and infernalities,
>any one of whom could probably arrange it alone with effort or,
>working together, with minimal difficulty.
>
>The problem I face in deciding the matter is rather one of
>tone--would it mess up the feng shui to cross the
>streams that extravagantly? After all, part of the charm of the
>OWaW/GG setting is that Gryphon is operating without most of that
>hugely elaborate background network he has in the 25th century. I
>haven't come to a conclusion about that yet.
>

I can't imagine that G's entire extended network turning up wouldn't break something (or several somethings) in the witches' world, there are simply too many big personalities with big power levels.

On the other hand, I'd think those closest to and most directly affected by G taking a new wife would want to be included, and that he'd want to do so rather than springing Remilia on them after the fact.

	-={(Astynax)}=- "Hi kids, back from vacation, meet your new step-mom..."

LAST EDITED ON Dec-15-20 AT 12:30 PM (EST)
 
>
>I can't imagine that G's entire extended network turning up wouldn't
>break something (or several somethings) in the witches' world,
>there are simply too many big personalities with big power levels.
>
>On the other hand, I'd think those closest to and most directly
>affected by G taking a new wife would want to be included, and that
>he'd want to do so rather than springing Remilia on them after the
>fact.
>

He may not have much choice. Looping himself as he has been is probably straining the timeline as it is. Unless Marceline drops by to check on him, and he sends the message through her, the only way anybody's coming to the wedding is by beating causality about the head and shoulders.

EDIT: Forgot about Tracer's party trick! Still, there's probably some sort of safety requirement in terms of who they can send across dimensional barriers.

Peter Eng
--
Insert humorous comment here.

>>
>>I can't imagine that G's entire extended network turning up wouldn't
>>break something (or several somethings) in the witches' world,
>>there are simply too many big personalities with big power levels.
>>
>>On the other hand, I'd think those closest to and most directly
>>affected by G taking a new wife would want to be included, and that
>>he'd want to do so rather than springing Remilia on them after the
>>fact.
>>
>
>He may not have much choice. Looping himself as he has been is
>probably straining the timeline as it is. Unless Marceline drops by
>to check on him, and he sends the message through her, the only way
>anybody's coming to the wedding is by beating causality about the head
>and shoulders.
>
>EDIT: Forgot about Tracer's party trick! Still, there's probably
>some sort of safety requirement in terms of who they can send across
>dimensional barriers.

There's possibly a simpler way - an Interdimensional Transtemporal Zoom Call. G's just quarantined temporally until the Neuroi War shakes out, but that doesn't mean somebody can't set up a suitable communication method that doesn't require them to be there in person. There'd still be a cost, but it wouldn't break the universe more than it's already at risk.

--- Philip

	Philip J. Moyer Contributing Writer, Editor and Artist (and Moderator) -- Eyrie Productions, Unlimited CEO of MTS, High Poobah Of Artwork, and High Priest Of the Church Of Aerianne -- Magnetic Terrapin Studios "Insert Pithy Comment Here" Fandoms -- Fanart -- Fan Meta Discussions

>There's possibly a simpler way - an Interdimensional Transtemporal
>Zoom Call.

Oh dear. That is an image of chaos. Utena's on mute when she's visibly talking, Corwin's not on mute and he really should be because the fleet is fighting a kraken in the background, Korra keeps breaking up because the VPN from Republic City is congested, Sumire keeps forgetting that it's not like a long-distance telephone line back home and shouting unnecessarily... mass hysteria. :)

--G.
-><-
Benjamin D. Hutchins, Co-Founder, Editor-in-Chief, & Forum Mod
Eyrie Productions, Unlimited http://www.eyrie-productions.com/
zgryphon at that email service Google has
Ceterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam.

>>There's possibly a simpler way - an Interdimensional Transtemporal
>>Zoom Call.
>
>Oh dear. That is an image of chaos. Utena's on mute when she's
>visibly talking, Corwin's not on mute and he really should be
>because the fleet is fighting a kraken in the background, Korra keeps
>breaking up because the VPN from Republic City is congested, Sumire
>keeps forgetting that it's not like a long-distance telephone line
>back home and shouting unnecessarily... mass hysteria. :)

Ah, but the real question is, will it be more constructive (destructive?) than using earthbending to convert the reception hall into a Fuso-style bath?

Just sayin', there's been weirder. =)

------
Authors of our fates
Orchestrate our fall from grace
Poorest players on the stage
Our defiance drives us straight to the edge

>Ah, but the real question is, will it be more constructive
>(destructive?) than using earthbending to convert the reception hall
>into a Fuso-style bath?
>
>Just sayin', there's been weirder. =)
>

I would really expect whoever owns said hall to lodge a rather vocal and extensive complaint if that were to occur.

	-={(Astynax)}=- "Though earthbending could solve the SDM bubble problem for certain values of solve."

In the original Sea Trials thread, Verbena said:
>First and foremost, I wrote my last post when my blood sugar was
>somewhere in the 300's. I was...not entirely coherent, and I
>apologize.

Yikes. With that in mind, you weren't doing too bad. I mean, it wasn't hard to follow.

>As for the update, yeah. I can't remember if the original version
>mentioned her hereditary title, but that definitely feels a lot like
>Sakura from Sakura Taisen there--a reason for her to have more than
>the bog standard abilities.

In hindsight, "hereditary" isn't quite the right word for it, but yes, Reimu's situation is very similar to Sakura's in some respects. If they met, they would have many notes to compare.

>I only realized this when I read that just now: She never manifested a
>familiar. It's not explicitly mentioned in the text but is obvious in
>hindsight.

These three are all a bit... odd by the standards of regular combat witches, which is a thing I'm hoping to get the chance to explore further as we go. I'm actually working on an interstitial right now that will slot into one of the time skips in Sea Trials (similar to the way "Late for Work" fits into GG1/V), which will make a start on that, since I suspect everyone is going to be too busy for those matters to get much screen time in Fighting Fleet 3.

>Both of them, plus Perrine, Neuroi-chan, and Yoshika, all benefited
>greatly (as did the narrative!) with the extra sceneage. I'm inspired
>by your ability to take constructive criticism and funnel that
>directly into creativity. Usually I need to stew a bit before I can
>internalize that kind of thing.

To be fair, I think I did sort of sprain something doing it; it's taken me two weeks (admittedly two fairly fraught weeks) to get back into the saddle in any meaningful way. :/

--G.
-><-
Benjamin D. Hutchins, Co-Founder, Editor-in-Chief, & Forum Mod
Eyrie Productions, Unlimited http://www.eyrie-productions.com/
zgryphon at that email service Google has
Ceterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam.

>In the original Sea Trials thread, Verbena said:
>>First and foremost, I wrote my last post when my blood sugar was
>>somewhere in the 300's. I was...not entirely coherent, and I
>>apologize.
>
>Yikes. With that in mind, you weren't doing too bad. I mean, it
>wasn't hard to follow.

Why, thankee! I admit, 'twas completely my fault I was that way, but it could have been a lot worse.

>
>>As for the update, yeah. I can't remember if the original version
>>mentioned her hereditary title, but that definitely feels a lot like
>>Sakura from Sakura Taisen there--a reason for her to have more than
>>the bog standard abilities.
>
>In hindsight, "hereditary" isn't quite the right word for it, but yes,
>Reimu's situation is very similar to Sakura's in some respects.
> If they met, they would have many notes to compare.

Not that they're both walking anime tropes or anything. *cough*

:)

>
>>I only realized this when I read that just now: She never manifested a
>>familiar. It's not explicitly mentioned in the text but is obvious in
>>hindsight.
>
>These three are all a bit... odd by the standards of regular
>combat witches, which is a thing I'm hoping to get the chance to
>explore further as we go. I'm actually working on an interstitial
>right now that will slot into one of the time skips in Sea
>Trials (similar to the way "Late for Work" fits into GG1/V), which
>will make a start on that, since I suspect everyone is going to be too
>busy for those matters to get much screen time in Fighting Fleet 3.

Awesome!

>
>>Both of them, plus Perrine, Neuroi-chan, and Yoshika, all benefited
>>greatly (as did the narrative!) with the extra sceneage. I'm inspired
>>by your ability to take constructive criticism and funnel that
>>directly into creativity. Usually I need to stew a bit before I can
>>internalize that kind of thing.
>
>To be fair, I think I did sort of sprain something doing it; it's
>taken me two weeks (admittedly two fairly fraught weeks) to get
>back into the saddle in any meaningful way. :/

Oof. Yeah, I think with all that happened, never feel bad you had to take a little time to recharge. My creative juices get flowing in different ways (mainly, tabletop and online roleplaying games), but my muse is never consistent. There's no reason to feel bad at all.

------
Authors of our fates
Orchestrate our fall from grace
Poorest players on the stage
Our defiance drives us straight to the edge