Now that all the witches are back home and the visitors from various points have had a chance to get settled, maybe life can get back to normal at Château Saint-Ulrich. Or... maybe not.

Act VI: "La Grande Bibliothèque Immobile"

--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.

Ahhh, most excellent...

Patchouli's arrival was actually -less- troublesome than I was expecting! Though that more to do with Remilia actually being at the castle by the point she arrived which was clearly to the good.

"If anyone asks, you never see me do this." Was starting to wonder when G would be forced to pull out the "obviously futuristic tech" for emergency use. A good use for it, at least, so there's that.

I wasn't expecting Patchouli to have been (I'm guessing) the mentioned-but-unnamed daughter of Remilia the Elder's old friend Lucrezia Sapere. Also, getting to see Remi just properly twisting her tail, and even coining "Patchy" as a nickname was delightful.

...and yet another Ryo Zan Paku reference. This time in an active state even! That particular mystery turning up once again is always a fun one.

> yet another Ryo Zan Paku reference

Patchy sure has gotten into every obscure supernatural corner of the UF 'verse, huh? Wonder what she'd make of the Prydonia Chapter Academy library.

Ryo Zan Paku's "labyrinth" being mentioned in the same breath as "the Logrus of the Courts of Chaos" caught my eye on two grounds:

1) If memory serves, this marks the first ever appearance of cosmological elements from Zelazny's Amber setting as real-in-UF (as opposed to the books existing within UF, which was established all the way back in Symphony No. 1). I look forward to hearing more about how it fits together with the established cosmology.

2) Is that labyrinth actually the Pattern?

>> yet another Ryo Zan Paku reference
>
>Patchy sure has gotten into every obscure supernatural corner of the
>UF 'verse, huh? Wonder what she'd make of the Prydonia Chapter Academy
>library.
>
>Ryo Zan Paku's "labyrinth" being mentioned in the same breath as "the
>Logrus of the Courts of Chaos" caught my eye on two grounds:
>
>1) If memory serves, this marks the first ever appearance of
>cosmological elements from Zelazny's Amber setting as real-in-UF (as
>opposed to the books existing within UF, which was established
>all the way back in Symphony No. 1). I look forward to hearing more
>about how it fits together with the established cosmology.
>
>2) Is that labyrinth actually the Pattern?

Well. Given that she mentions Kadath in the same breath, which is a reference to the Cthulhu mythos, which I believe Gryph has said is a flat NO for having any inclusion in UF...

It's entirely possible that this is an artifact of the "in-universe TV show" nature of the story, and we're just being namedropped a Mystic S**t Sandwhich.

Or Patchy is BS'ing.

LAST EDITED ON Aug-19-22 AT 06:06 PM (EDT)
 
>Well. Given that she mentions Kadath in the same breath, which is a
>reference to the Cthulhu mythos, which I believe Gryph has said is a
>flat NO for having any inclusion in UF...

I might have said that at one point long ago, but I haven't followed through on it; I mean, Shub-Niggurath had a guest appearance in a Halloween mini once, and we've seen Randolph Carter's house in Ulthar, and mention of Yuggoth.

What are still a hard "no" (and I can't see that changing) are the all-powerful mindless gods of destruction and the inevitability of madness and extinction that runs through most of Lovecraft's canon. That has no more place in UF than has its latter-day homage, the Grim Darkness of the Far Future. Creatures similar to Lovecraft's elder gods may well exist in UF, but unlike Lovecraft's originals, they are checked by other forces more congenial to mortal life. And can be defeated by the Ghostbusters, properly equipped. :)

--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.

(Applauds uproariously)

Thank you very much, Gryphon.

Hark! What is this I hear?

Stories are in fact not just good, but -better-, when the antagonists present a credible but still defeatable threat?

Bizarrely, I have heard rumored whispers that 40K is moving forward and letting a slight bit of hope back in. We'll see if they don't drop -that- ball.

Of course, this is UF in a nutshell, where wronged protagonists the multiverse over come for justice, but still. It's nice to see it spelled out like that.

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

LAST EDITED ON Aug-19-22 AT 03:14 PM (EDT)
 
>> yet another Ryo Zan Paku reference
>
>Patchy sure has gotten into every obscure supernatural corner of the
>UF 'verse, huh? Wonder what she'd make of the Prydonia Chapter Academy
>library.
>
>Ryo Zan Paku's "labyrinth" being mentioned in the same breath as "the
>Logrus of the Courts of Chaos" caught my eye on two grounds:
>
>1) If memory serves, this marks the first ever appearance of
>cosmological elements from Zelazny's Amber setting as real-in-UF (as
>opposed to the books existing within UF, which was established
>all the way back in Symphony No. 1). I look forward to hearing more
>about how it fits together with the established cosmology.
>
>2) Is that labyrinth actually the Pattern?

It's possible that she's wandered farther afield, in a multiversal sense, than the UF universe will, and that anything she mentions here is not simply an alternate universe, but several sheaves of universes away, and doesn't actually exist in the sheaf that contains UF.

Heck, for all I know, what she calls the Logrus is actually Eris's garden maze.

Peter Eng
--
Insert humorous comment here.

>It's possible that she's wandered farther afield, in a multiversal
>sense, than the UF universe will, and that anything she mentions here
>is not simply an alternate universe, but several sheaves of universes
>away, and doesn't actually exist in the sheaf that contains UF.
>
>Heck, for all I know, what she calls the Logrus is actually Eris's
>garden maze.

Random headcanon if it turns out to be closer to home than that: The Logrus is what the Time Lords refer to as the Temporal Vortex.

>>Heck, for all I know, what she calls the Logrus is actually Eris's
>>garden maze.
>
>Random headcanon if it turns out to be closer to home than that: The
>Logrus is what the Time Lords refer to as the Temporal Vortex.

Bah. The pair of ye seem to be conspiring to cause me to commit alcohol abuse upon my poor computer montior.

Which, to be honest, serves me right for happening to pop up here while drinking ANYTHING OF ANYTYPE at all. >.<;;;;

>>Heck, for all I know, what she calls the Logrus is actually Eris's
>>garden maze.
>
>Random headcanon if it turns out to be closer to home than that: The
>Logrus is what the Time Lords refer to as the Temporal Vortex.

While I'm very familiar with the Merlin books, I can't help but think this, every time I hear the term 'Logrus':

"I am the Logrus. I speak for the Trees."

>
>>>Heck, for all I know, what she calls the Logrus is actually Eris's
>>>garden maze.
>>
>>Random headcanon if it turns out to be closer to home than that: The
>>Logrus is what the Time Lords refer to as the Temporal Vortex.
>
>While I'm very familiar with the Merlin books, I can't help but think
>this, every time I hear the term 'Logrus':
>
>"I am the Logrus. I speak for the Trees."

"I am the Logrus, Goo Go Ga Joob."

>1) If memory serves, this marks the first ever appearance of
>cosmological elements from Zelazny's Amber setting as real-in-UF

If memory serves, there WAS a Julian Amberson at one point.

>>1) If memory serves, this marks the first ever appearance of
>>cosmological elements from Zelazny's Amber setting as real-in-UF
>
>If memory serves, there WAS a Julian Amberson at one point.

That might have been a joke reference rather than an actual import. It was a very long time ago and I can't really remember. Either way, since Manhunt came out, Secrets Never Happened™, so...

--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.

>>>1) If memory serves, this marks the first ever appearance of
>>>cosmological elements from Zelazny's Amber setting as real-in-UF
>>
>>If memory serves, there WAS a Julian Amberson at one point.
>
>That might have been a joke reference rather than an actual import. It
>was a very long time ago and I can't really remember. Either way,
>since Manhunt came out, Secrets Never Happened™,
>so...
>
>--G.
>-><-

But he's in Manhunt, too. :)

Yeah, well, we were," Kei's voice replied, and Gryphon noted to
himself that, at least, the sound of her voice -did- still give him a
little thrill. "Except that Amberson decided Sunday that he didn't need
us after all. 'Not a paranormal incident,' he says. My -ass.- I know
a poltergeist aftermath when I see one."
"Yeah, but you know Julian," a deep male voice rejoined. "He
wouldn't believe -I- exist if I didn't step on his toes once in a
while."

>But he's in Manhunt, too. :)

Heh, I forgot about that. I guess I wanted to dot in a callback or two to Secrets along the way.

--G.
still might be a joke reference, though
-><-
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.

>>But he's in Manhunt, too. :)
>
>Heh, I forgot about that. I guess I wanted to dot in a callback or two
>to Secrets along the way.
>
>--G.
>still might be a joke reference, though

No worries. I know I threw joke references into OR that would never be canon nowadays.

>Patchouli's arrival was actually -less- troublesome than I was
>expecting!

Her entrance was a little more extreme as first drafted, but I had a hard time convincing myself that the witches could ever welcome her to the castle if she started out by causing substantial damage and/or actual injury, and that wouldn't have worked out, so I toned it back a bit.

>"If anyone asks, you never see me do this." Was starting to wonder
>when G would be forced to pull out the "obviously futuristic tech" for
>emergency use. A good use for it, at least, so there's that.

He's done it once before, back in GG2, but the only witness that time was Meiling. This was the first time he had to do in front of anyone who was not a fellow time traveler.

>I wasn't expecting Patchouli to have been (I'm guessing) the
>mentioned-but-unnamed daughter of Remilia the Elder's old friend
>Lucrezia Sapere.

Granddaughter, but yes. There have been a few hints (most notably, sapere is Italian for "to know"), so it has amused me a bit over the last little while to watch people walk straight past it and speculate that Patchy might be one of the witches from the 10th of Floréal, or Marthe the dairymaid, or what have you. :)

--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.

>>Patchouli's arrival was actually -less- troublesome than I was
>>expecting!
>
>Her entrance was a little more extreme as first drafted, but I had a
>hard time convincing myself that the witches could ever welcome
>her to the castle if she started out by causing substantial damage
>and/or actual injury, and that wouldn't have worked out, so I toned it
>back a bit.

That is fair; the Witches of the JSAF are a very good bunch, and willing to forgive quite a lot, but that definitely doesn't extend to people who hurt their own. Especially on purpose.

>>"If anyone asks, you never see me do this." Was starting to wonder
>>when G would be forced to pull out the "obviously futuristic tech" for
>>emergency use. A good use for it, at least, so there's that.
>
>He's done it once before, back in GG2, but the only witness that time
>was Meiling. This was the first time he had to do in front of anyone
>who was not a fellow time traveler.

Ah, right I'd forgotten about that one. But I -was- more thinking of "in sight of someone for whom that would be a -thing-". Meiling was traveling with the Doctor after all; that kind of "no one's supposed to see me/us do this" is a daily occurrence after all.

>>I wasn't expecting Patchouli to have been (I'm guessing) the
>>mentioned-but-unnamed daughter of Remilia the Elder's old friend
>>Lucrezia Sapere.
>
>Granddaughter, but yes. There have been a few hints (most notably,
>sapere is Italian for "to know"), so it has amused me a bit
>over the last little while to watch people walk straight past it and
>speculate that Patchy might be one of the witches from the 10th of
>Floréal, or Marthe the dairymaid, or what have you. :)

Hah! I guessed without properly going back to read that bit, but thinking about it, the apparent age of Signora Sapere should've been a bit of a tip-off. As for guesses...It was way too unlikely to be a witch from 10th of Floréal, given how Remilia reacted to actually meeting one in Paris, and saying Marthe's mother "put a stop to it" did rather seem more final than her being Patchy later on would suggest.

Patchouli manages to offend people needlessly in her drive to find Remi, and then knock herself into a full asthma attack for good measure. She tests Koakuma's patience, truly she does :)

Matrix Dragon, J. Random Nutter

>Patchouli manages to offend people needlessly in her drive to find
>Remi, and then knock herself into a full asthma attack for good
>measure. She tests Koakuma's patience, truly she does :)

Being Koakuma is suffering.*

--G.
*not really
-><-
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.

LAST EDITED ON Aug-25-22 AT 09:49 PM (EDT)
 
Holy cow... I've actually got (almost) usable comments for once, instead of just basking in the glow of ZOMG... A new BIT!

> Shirley gazed in mounting astonishment at the telegram form and said slowly, "Noooo..."
> Looking up from the paper, she met Lucchini's eyes and continued, "It... appears he wants
> you to marry him."
>
> With nearly simultaneous explosive sounds, von Hammer and Erica both choked on their coffee,
> prompting Gryphon to duck under the table.
>
> "Whaaaaat?!" Lucchini demanded.

You know what is FRUSTRATING??? I can see this in my head (for the record UF-G is wearing his utili-kilt as shown in the cover of >insert<) but don't have the skills needed to DRAW it!!! :(

> "When I was a little boy, my mother used to do this." He placed the book on his nightstand.
> "She'd come into my room at bedtime to say goodnight, and then rummage around tidying up my
> things for an hour while I was trying to get to sleep." Tipping his glasses down on his
> nose, he looked wryly at her over them and said, "Don't be my mother."

Oh heavens. The sentiment is spot on, RL-G, to the point I am having to call in ye Olde Narn bat squad on all these pendantic quips about how that is not possible since you've met the DC equivalent of both your parents of this dimension?

>You know what is FRUSTRATING??? I can see this in my head (for the
>record UF-G is wearing his utili-kilt as shown in the cover of
>>insert<) but don't have the skills needed to DRAW it!!! :(

This one?

He's not sporting the same hairstyle in 1946, nor is the utilikilt a widely available article of clothing at the time, but I suppose Sakuya could make one. :)

>Oh heavens. The sentiment is spot on, RL-G, to the point I am having
>to call in ye Olde Narn bat squad on all these pendantic quips about
>how that is not possible since you've met the DC equivalent of both
>your parents of this dimension?

They're my father's parents, not mine. Both of my parents were born in the 1950s.

--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.

>
>This one?
>
Yup. That one. I think it has to do with the whole dynamic-ism of the action there?

>
>They're my father's parents, not mine. Both of my parents were born
>in the 1950s.
>
*sigh*. Of course I'd get which generation it was wrong.

>*sigh*. Of course I'd get which generation it was wrong.

Eh, time travel. It gets confusing sometimes. :)

--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.