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Just As Planned - Babylonia 25 (Part 1)

A/N: Splitting this one up a bit, because it was getting unwieldy. There's some more Interlude to come later on! Probably a peek into how Cauldron is doing since they've been left alone...

* * *

Glaistig Uaine

She approached the building, taking in the details at a leisurely pace. How simple. I expected grander things of that prince's followers... ah, I see. The bronze-and-silver statues flanking the door finally caught her eye, and she nodded to herself.

A faerie whispered into her ear of the life encased within the statues, slumbering peacefully and waiting to be called on. He hides his works behind masques; how fitting for one such as him.

The door opened and a man exited. He dressed all in white and wore a crown made of feathers that made her narrow her eyes suspiciously. Yet, he crossed an arm over his chest and bowed before her with a smile. "Faerie Queen; you are welcomed here, if you agree to stay your hand from violence. My duties to my flock and those who shelter here require that I ask."

"Hmm. You would make demands of me? I ask, what shall you do if I refuse, Manipulator?"

"I will do all I can to deny you entry."

She studied him, tilting her head to one side curiously. "You lack arrogance, Manipulator. It is not that you believe you will succeed... no. You care naught for your own death?"

He spread his hands, palm up, as though shrugging. "My life has already been written by my goddess, Faerie Queen. If I am to die today, then I shall die; if I am not, then I shall not. No matter which, I know that my life was spent in Her service."

She maintained eye contact, and he never flinched or glanced away. He means it, whispered a shadow. "Such dedication is to be commended, I think. Very well, Manipulator. I will abide by your rules, so long as I am not egregiously scorned by your flock. I wish to see the prince's workings with my own eyes."

He nodded, stepping inside to hold the door open, and she entered. The building reminded her of a church, as she supposed it should – a large, open hall greeted her immediately, surrounded by a variety of furniture. There were pews scattered around, but also scavenged chairs or couches, or even simply cushions on the floor. The center of the hall was dominated by a great tree with shimmering, chitinous bark, with many fruits of different colors and shapes hanging from its low branches. She watched a grimy man reverently pick one of them before shuffling off into a corner of the hall to eat it.

"Hm. The Chirurgeon's work, I take it?"

For a moment, her host did not speak. Then he nodded with a smile. "Indeed. My Lady facilitated much of her work to come to us. Without her, we could never have aided so many of those affected by the battle here in the city."

She glanced around at the haggard crowd, and the way they eyed her out of the corners of their eyes. There was suspicion there, but no fear or dread - perhaps they did not recognize her, then. "Do they know the origin of their saving grace, I wonder?"

The Manipulator smiled as he looked around at the people milling about the chapel. It was a quiet, gentle smile – somehow, looking at it irritated her. "They do. These are those who were out of options, Faerie Queen. And I would be a poor preacher if I did not extol the virtues of my prophet and my Lady to those saved by their generosity."

She took a moment to truly look at the crowd. She'd dismissed them at first, for they reminded her of the denizens of her Cage that had lost their impetus, their driving force – the empty masks barely driven on by their Faeries, who were simply waiting for the end of the play to be called so they could finally cease.

But that isn't what she saw. These people... they were haggard, certainly. Drawn, and beaten down... but they were not without a spark. What's more, she could see a difference already – in the time she'd spoken to her host, some of the suspicion had melted away. Indeed, it seemed that when her conversation had failed to turn to violence or anger they had simply accepted her presence like it was nothing. What an odd feeling.

"I see. You are truly devout, it seems."

He chuckled. "How could I not be? I have witnessed something far beyond myself, and She deigned to bless me with knowledge." He paused for a moment, and she felt her faeries grow agitated. She turned to an empty space, eyes narrowing, but was interrupted when her host spoke again. "Duma. The Faerie Queen is here as a guest, there's not need for that."

Ciara blinked once, and a small figure dressed in dark clothes, hidden behind a hood and mask suddenly filled the empty space. "...If you say so, Israfel."

"Interesting. Silencer is here as well, I see. Is she a believer as well, then?"

The mask shifted from side to side. "Nah. I appreciate what they've done for me and the rest, but I'm not into religion."

"You may yet change your mind, Duma. Whether you do or not, though, matters not. We all do as we are meant to, in the end."

Hm. It is not that Queen that dictates the path of our little play... but, perhaps, her hand manipulates it. Still, if he wishes to believe... I am not so rude as to tear away a man's faith.

"I believe I would like to stay for a while, Manipulator. I wish to observe this place's function for some time."

He inclined his head respectfully. "As you wish, Faerie Queen. All who come in peace are welcome to remain for as long as they desire. Would you like any refreshments?"

"...Perhaps. Surprise me, Manipulator."

I shall examine the Chirurgeon's work myself.

Just As Planned (Babylonia 24)

A/N: I apologize for the delay on this - I hadn't built up a real buffer yet, and then this week came along and absolutely kicked my ass all the way through. Every day I expected to have time to write, something came along to wreck it - doctor's appointments, overtime at work, the works. Hopefully this next week should go a bit smoother, and I'll be able to get a bigger buffer going. For now, enjoy the chapter.

*  *  *

Fujimaru Ritsuka

She sank into the chair with a happy sigh, already reaching out for a slice of some fruit or another. The food on the table was arranged in a rough oval, leaving just about enough space for Mash's shield to be laid in the center and uplink with the Chaldea command room. Hmm. He wasn't kidding when he said he'd prepare for us, was he?

Mash eyed the food for a moment before effortlessly laying her shield in its designated place and focusing. Ritsuka felt her Magic Circuits buzz slightly as the crest on the shield's face lit up, forming a connection to Chaldea – then the drain was gone, as the main facility's reactors took over the upkeep of the connection. Fortunately. I don't think I have the endurance to last through Da Vinci's whole interrogation!

The diffuse glow flickered before resolving itself into an image of Romani and Da Vinci together, right as Michael stepped into the main room carrying a small steaming pot and several cups. "It's a bit late for coffee, I think," he said as he set it down on the table and poured tea for both of them.

Roman frowned, glancing down at his mug, and Ritsuka had to stifle a laugh. The betrayed look he sent her way didn't help her to contain it, either. Oh, he noticed. Oops.

"So." He sunk into a chair across from them, folding his hands in front of him and smiling at them. "What answers can I give you, Chaldeans?"

Da Vinci wasted no time, leaning forward with sparkling eyes. "That magic you used; the one that bent space. How did you do that? Over such a distance..."

"Heh. Well, I suppose I'm not surprised." He leaned back in his chair, humming. "I should open by saying this clearly: it isn't something that can be learned by humans."

Da Vinci only seemed more interested. "The way you say that... it isn't simply a question of ability, is it?"

"Correct. The human mind isn't capable of utilizing that ability. That being said, I'll explain it if your curiosity is that strong."

Roman sighed. "It is. You shouldn't even ask."

Ritsuka simply nodded as Da Vinci tapped her chin with a slender finger. "Yet we observed Morgan le Fey making use of it. I understand she isn't an ordinary human, but..."

Michael shook his head. "No, I suppose I should clarify. Neither Morgan nor I are capable of wielding that particular power; we rely on another to carve our doorways."

"Oh?" Ritsuka smiled a bit. It's kind of fun watching Da Vinci get like this over someone else. Michael gestured and another doorway appeared, so large it nearly filled the room. Through it, several wings first passed, followed by a woman that towered over both her and Mash; not even Hercules came close to matching her stature.

The most striking thing about her was how little color she had. Her skin was incredibly pale, like it was carved from marble or ivory, her hair was the color of snow, and even her eyes were blank and pale. But, for just a moment, they flicked across Ritsuka's face, and she took a breath at the weight of that moment of attention.

"What...? These readings don't... who is that?" Roman was scowling and leaning forward, almost certainly poring over whatever his console was putting out.

"I'll answer that. First, though, I'd like to hear what you're seeing."

Hmm. That voice reminds me of something... Ritsuka peered into his face, the amusement in his eyes and the vaguely smug smirk on his lips... Hmm....

"...It's like there's multiple bodies in the same space. Spatial readings around her are all kinds of messed up, too. Like she's occupying more and less space than she should be. Ugh, this is going to give me a headache..."

Da Vinci leaned over Roman's shoulder, smiling widely. "Now I have to know what's going on."

"Heh. Well, that's actually pretty impressive. Your sensors aren't something to be taken lightly, Chaldeans." Michael leaned his head back slightly, as the large angel leaned forward and her wings draped themselves across his shoulders in a hug-like motion. "This is Saena. It's possible you've heard the villagers refer to her as Ninshubar, but that's a case of mistaken identity."

"Hmm. How exactly do those two things cross over?" Now Roman was focused back on the man across the table from them.

"Her first few appearances to the citizens were in their defense, and there are only so many mythological female warriors in Babylon – and when she eventually was seen alongside the goddess Ishtar, mistaking her for Ishtar's bodyguard was a natural conclusion."

"Despite her appearances, I'm not picking up any divinity from her," Roman said.

"Correct. Saena is... probably best described as an Outsider. It's that nature of hers that allows her to warp space the way you've seen."

Ritsuka finished her sip of tea before frowning. "Is she not going to introduce herself? Or speak for herself?"

Michael glanced up, smiling at the pale face staring down at him. "She very rarely speaks, I'm afraid. Don't take it personally. I'm not introducing you because... she already knows everything I do. When you were introduced to me, you were to her as well."

"Ah!" Da Vinci's gasp was one Ritsuka recognized well – it was the same noise she made every time she arrived at the conclusion to a puzzle. "That's what I'm seeing here... she's your familiar, isn't she?"

"Something of that nature, yes."

"I see, I see... so how does that play into your emulation of the Kaleidoscope?"

"Hmm." One of her wings flicked, and a tiny golden portal appeared. Through it, a small stack of paper – not parchment, Ritsuka noted – slid through to rest upon the table.

"Imagine for a moment that you sit on the outside of the World. You peer into the branches of the Universal Tree, observing the movements of Adjacent Worlds where events progress in their individual ways."

As he spoke, he lifted a hand and a several sheets of paper rose into the air, circling around his hand as they rapidly crinkled and folded. They spread out in the air, rising and falling like mountain ranges, and her eyes widened in understanding. "You mean like Merlin. Watching from Avalon..."

He hummed, nodding. "Similar, yes. Now... what if you could make those worlds brush against each other?" Two of the pages tilted on their sides, hovering closer together until the very tips of the folded mountains touched. "For just a moment, if you knew how, you could step between those worlds."

"And if you were capable of doing that, then why couldn't you make a world brush against itself...?" Da Vinci nodded, dropping a fist into an open palm. "I see, I see! How fascinating... what manner of being is she, that she can freely observe and manipulate the paths of the Worlds so?"

Michael simply smiled. "That would be telling, I'm afraid."

Da Vinci's image pouted for a second, before her eyes shimmered. "A mystery then! Hmhm, I'll have to start making theories... Now, what if..." The Servant trailed off, quietly muttering to herself as her eyes flicked across the angel and its master.

When Roman didn't immediately jump in, Ritsuka leaned forward in her chair, humming around her teacup. As she set it down, she spoke up. "So why are you here?"

"The King decreed that I should manage this inn."

She shook her head. "No, I didn't mean - well, okay, sure. But... Roman and Da Vinci have been cagey about exactly what the sensors pick up about you, and I admit some of the theoretical discussion is lost on me. I'm not exactly the best Magus, after all."

"Senpai -" Mash started, but paused when she raised a hand with a smile.

"But if you have that kind of power, why did Gilgamesh give you an inn instead of sending you to fight with the Servants? That's the only thing I'm not understanding."

"I'm not quite one of his subjects, Fujimaru."

She gave him an unimpressed look. "And he can decree for you to run an inn?"

Michael chuckled warmly. "Fair enough. Then, to answer that question – the King and I have differing goals."

There was a moment of tension, then. She could see Mash tensing slightly at the idea that they were sitting across from an enemy. But... I don't get the same feeling I did with Flauros. As she watched with narrowed eyes, she was surprised when he threw his head back and laughed.

"That's good! Very good. Both of you. That instinct to protect your Master is the very essence of a Servant, Mash, and Fujimaru... you see things pretty clearly, don't you?"

"You don't feel like an enemy," she answered, and he nodded.

"I'm not. So long as I can prevent it, I won't allow humanity to die out – but King Gilgamesh and I have different outcomes that we'd like to see. I told him what I wanted, and I think he judged it worth the attempt. So, I'm here while I work at my own goals. I'll lend my aid to Uruk when appropriate, but I'm an ally rather than a servant."

"I notice you aren't saying what your goal actually is," Roman noted.

"Correct. I will explain, eventually, and I don't think you'll disagree when I do... but for now, I'm afraid that will have to stay a secret."

"Hmm..." She leaned forward, peering at his face for a long few seconds. He simply sat there, patiently watching with a smile on his face. Finally, she nodded, satisfied. "All right. I think you're trustworthy, Michael. You remind me of Merlin, a little."

His eyebrows raised. "Oh? I'm not sure if I should be complimented, or..."

She giggled. "It's a compliment. This time. I just get the feeling that... you've planned ahead, like Merlin or King Gilgamesh. You're looking at something so far away I can't see it, and that's all right. I'll keep moving forward, and I get the feeling that if we need you you'll be there."

He watched her for a long time, a surprised expression on his face. Then, slowly, a small smile spread across his face. "Hmm. You might be giving me too much credit, Fujimaru.

"But... if you do need my help... I'll see what I can do."

She smiled.

Experimental Early Access

So you may have noticed the chapter of Just As Planned that was just posted. This is an experiment – I'm trying out writing with a buffer, to see how it affects my motivation and ability to deliver content.

Essentially, nothing will change from a public-facing point-of-view, except that I'll be picking a day of the week (likely Tuesday or Wednesday), on which a chapter of Just As Planned will be posted publically. On that same day, however, an additional chapter will be posted for patron-only access here – a business model that I'm sure lots of people are familiar with at this point.

I'd like to reiterate that I never plan on paywalling content, and all my stuff will remain free. But at the same time I do want to grow my Patreon, and this seems like the way to do it.

Any thoughts? Or concerns?

Quick Edit: For the time being, I won't be advertising this as a Patron benefit – if I can maintain a schedule for a month or so, then I'll start showcasing this.

Just As Planned - Babylonia 23

Fujimaru Ritsuka

She sunk into the chair with a sigh, laying her body across the table and closing her eyes to enjoy a bit more rest. It wasn't exactly comfortable, but she was not a morning person even if nobody else in Uruk agreed with her.

"Michael, we're here again. Sorry for intruding," Mash said with a light bow to the innkeeper. She wasn't watching, but she knew her kouhai and the bow was inevitable.

"It's fine, as I've said. It's what I'm here for, after all." After a moment, the man's low voice continued. "I take it they've been working you pretty hard, then."

"There are many things to be done in the city, yes," Mash answered, prompting a low groan from Ritsuka.

"I don't mind helping, but why does it have to be so early~?" She opened one eye as she heard the familiar sound of ceramic hitting wood, then blinked blearily at the mug now steaming in front of her face. She inched forward on the table, taking a deep breath... "Ahhh..." Then propped herself up on her elbows, bringing the mug up to her lips and tasting the coffee he'd set in front of her. "You're a hero. No, a saint!"

He smirked at her, chuckling. "I can sympathize with not being a morning person, although it's been a long time since I slept in regularly." He disappeared briefly back into the kitchen, before returning with a few plates scattered with bits of melons and dates along with some bread and bacon. "Mash, would you like some coffee as well?"

"No thank you. Breakfast is plenty for me."

As usual, her kouhai was being too withdrawn and unobtrusive. After she finished another drink of her morning blessing, she smiled at their host. "If you have some tea, she'd love some."

"Senpai, there's no need to -"

"It's no trouble. If I didn't keep my guests happy I'd be a poor innkeeper, correct?" He glanced into the distance for a moment before gesturing, and a tiny glowing portal deposited a steaming glass of tea in front of her Demi-Servant. "There you are. Enjoy, both of you."

"Um... thank you." Blushing, Mash blew a bit of the steam from the top before taking a drink and smiling happily. That's a better expression, Mash. You're allowed to enjoy yourself.

There was a chirping sound, and Ritsuka held out her bracelet. "Fujimaru here."

"Did I hear that correctly?" Came the voice of Da Vinci. "You're drinking coffee and tea in ancient Babylon?"

"Yep!" She exclaimed happily between bites of sweet fruit. "It's really good, too. Just as good as the food."

Romani groaned through the communicator. "How on earth did he manage to get... it hasn't even been invented yet!"

"My my, you grow more mysterious by the day. Fufu."

Ritsuka hummed happily at the taste and sensation of perfectly crisp bacon before nodding once. "I think I'll have to come back this evening to give you a proper interrogation."

"I agree!" In her mind, she could see Da Vinci's enthusiastic nod and mysterious smirk. "I'll prepare a list of questions."

"I suppose I'd best prepare myself, then. All right, Chaldeans. I'll answer at least a few of your questions this evening."

* * *

Riley

She hummed to herself, swaying to the not-quite-tune as she pried the lion-tiger-bear's ribcage apart. Really, these 'Demonic Beasts' just don't make sense. Her Shroud formed grey tendrils to shift the larger bones out of the way so she could examine the organs more closely, and she hovered up. She leaned forward to peer inside before scowling as her blonde hair hung down, the tips almost touching the carcass.

A moment's focus and her Shroud wound around her hair, pulling it back and braiding it behind her, and she leaned in again. Hmm. That almost looks like...

"I didn't realize you dove inside the corpses, Riley," Michael's voice startled her and she hovered up, glancing over her shoulder at him. He smirked at her, and for a moment she was confused. Then his eyes flicked down, and after a moment she blushed... and smiled. Oh! Was he... did he look up my skirt? Ehehe... She shook her head to clear her mind and refocus.

"They're large enough that I have to, if I want to see how everything connects clearly. Gosh, these things don't make a lot of sense!"

"Hmm. Well, why don't I take a look with you. I'm a bit more familiar with the magical side of things, I might be able to fill in some blanks."

"You..." She blinked at him. He's never... he wants to do an autopsy with me? Um... She swallowed, confused at the strange tightness in her chest. After a moment, she shook it off with a smile. "Of course! Come here and I'll explain what I've been doing."

He wandered closer and she hovered towards one of her hybrid-computers. The display flickered to life and she started scrolling through the data. "So far, I've managed to get a pretty complete picture of their various individual functions. These things - the Uridimmu, you called them? They don't have any abilities I'd call magical, normally. Except there's a problem. I've collected lots of data from the living ones we've encountered, and the sorts of things I've recorded them doing? Their bodies can't produce that kind of power. If they were still humans, I'd say they had a passenger giving them powers, but..." She shook her head.

Michael was staring down at her, vaguely amused, and she pouted up at him. Instead of asking, she went over what she'd been saying, trying to figure out what was... oh. "Oh. Um. I guess that part was important? There's some clear markers that they used to be humans. If I had to guess, that's where all the missing people have gone?"

Michael simply nodded. "Yes. Medusa's borrowed a degraded form of Tiamat's divine power – are you familiar with the mythology?" When she shook her head, he continued. "I won't get into the whole story, but Tiamat birthed a number of Demon Beasts said to be equal to the gods. Now, Medusa's own power isn't that strong – obviously, her beasts are significantly weaker. But she also can't create them from nothing. She needs something living to be converted."

She peered up at his face. If it had been... Jacob, he would have been amused at the suffering, or said something about the irony of men showcasing their inner beasts - but Michael just looked... almost blank. "Does that bother you? That they used to be people?"

He tilted his head, pursing his lips. "It's unfortunate that it happened to them. But... bodies are just things. If their families could recognize them still, I might want to return them – as it is, the greatest good that can be done is for us to figure out how they work and make use of that data."

...Now why can't everyone else make sense like that? That's perfectly reasonable.

"Now. You were saying?"

"...Oh! Right." She cleared her throat, hovering up closer to him. "So they obviously don't have powers powers, which means they're getting it from somewhere else."

He nodded. "In this case, they're drawing power directly from Tiamat – at least, I think so. Part of her legend is that her children had great power, so even a degraded form of that power imbues them with... more. The Mana of this era is probably automatically cycled through their flesh to make it stronger while they're alive, sort of a... self-reinforcing loop."

"Hmm..." She tapped her chin. "So if we could interfere with that, that would really neuter them..."

He chuckled. "If anyone could design something to sever a magical connection to a mother goddess, I'd believe it would be you, Riley. You might want to consult with Morgan on that, though. She's much better at the theoretical aspect of magecraft and Mystery than I am."

She huffed. "She doesn't seem to like me much, though."

He laughed, reaching out to tap her nose and making her scrunch it up in irritation. "I think you just bring up bad memories for her. She'll get past it – if you interact with her in a new context. Something like this might be just what's needed." When he saw her expression, he reached up to run a hand through her hair, and she immediately smiled and tilted her head into the sensation as tingles slid down her spine.

"...Fine. I'll let you know what we come up with."

"I'll prepare myself to be impressed, Riley."

She beamed at him.

Sales Tax & Benefits

It's been a while since I've posted here; it's something I intend to work on in the future but at the same time the impression I get from most of you wonderful, generous people is that you'd prefer I spend my time writing content instead of these (hopefully interesting) rambles!

Anyway, I wanted to do two things: Firstly, make sure that everyone following me knows that Patreon will be legally required to charge sales tax on pledges starting July 1st, so you should all consider that in regards to your pledges. I don't provide much in the way of benefits, so I'm not certain how much of your pledges to me are actually taxable, but there's a chance you'll see the amount increase. If it pushes the cost over the edge for any of you, I'll completely understand.

Secondly, I wanted to field an idea regarding benefits: I'm considering allowing some of the higher pledge levels the option to prompt me once a month and get a small (~1,000 words minimum) omake on a subject of their choice. The outcome would be similar to (but not necessarily as complex as) the Pyrrha-as-Arbiter omake or the Blake-in-Mass-Effect sequel, both of which were similarly prompt-based. I'd accept prompts that weren't based on my main stories so long as I was familiar with the setting and/or concept.

My main question is: is this something that any of my audience would actually find valuable? Would it be worth a ~$15/$20 pledge? (I don't want to overload myself with prompts and drown out my actual stories, for obvious reasons).

Curiosities and Mechanics

Someone asked me recently about the Faunus Curiosity and when there might be an opportunity to make progress on it, since its mostly sat dormant since the beginning of the quest. So, I thought I'd talk a bit about Curiosities and how they came to exist as a mechanic.

They weren't planned, strictly speaking. I knew going in to the quest that I wanted some form of development system because part of what I personally enjoy about quests is seeing the progress of the protagonist as they become stronger or more skilled. I also knew I didn't want to rely on dice. However, I wasn't sure exactly what I did want.

When the players voted for Curious in the first update, it immediately clicked what I needed: if curiosity was their defining trait, then it only made sense for it to be a mechanic. The first two Curiosities – Dust and Faunus – were added simply because they were the two most obvious choices at the time. If I'd had the experience then that I do now, I wouldn't have added the Faunus...but, at the beginning of the quest, I was still floundering in the dark and trying to find my way. More on that later.

Curiosity immediately clicked for me. It represented in a real, mechanical way both who the entity that would be Obsidian was and began to demonstrate how different they were from a human. It allowed me to incentivize and directly reward pursuing knowledge, which quickly became a core part of Obsidian's character. I've always enjoyed when mechanics are tied to character traits or lore, and this was such a golden opportunity I couldn't pass it up.

However, the fact that it originally blindsided me led to a small problem: the Faunus Curiosity. The issue with it is that the Faunus, along with the Grimm, are intrinsically tied to one of the biggest and most fundamental mysteries in the quest: What is the nature of Remnant? This naturally means that resolving it requires information that won't be available for some time. If I'd been wiser, I wouldn't have dangled it before the players so early just to let it sit there undeveloped for the entire length of the quest, but alas.

Now fortunately, I should have some opportunities to allow people to pursue it sooner than later.

Arbiter & The Story Arc That Never Was

So, for the first behind-the-scenes glimpse, I thought I'd talk about Arbiter and its origins in Devourer of Worlds.

So, with that in mind...where did Arbiter come from? To answer that question, I need to go back in time a bit and explain some of the structure of Devourer of Worlds.

Despite its status as a quest, there is an outline for Devourer. I've mentioned this before, but in order to build the world for the quest I had to fill in a lot of history and supporting structure. I needed to know who Salem was, who Ozpin was, what happened in the past of Remnant and how it affected the present day. I needed to know what type of people lived in Atlas and Vacuo and Menagerie. So I plotted and I planned, and from that groundwork eventually an outline was born. A sort of general roadmap of Devourer; a collection of "shatterpoints" around which much of the story might swing. Not guaranteed moments, but ones that would be specifically either met or avoided. The Battle for Beacon, as an example, or the Breach.

And among those moments was time travel. It was obvious that, as a Chrono Trigger analogue, I'd both be expected to and want to include it in the story. But, of course, making time travel work in interactive fiction required some work on my part, so I started planning it early and thought about it often. How might it come about? Who might be travelling? Where might they end up? These questions occurred to me constantly.

And, originally, I'd planned for multiple destinations. Over time, as the quest progressed and I refined my outline, that was distilled into three distinct options: the Days of Ciel, the Faunus Rebellion, and the Grimm Future. In fact, originally I'd planned to run a meta vote at the moment of time travel. To ask the thread: "What time period would you like to see?" (With vague titles and/or descriptions, naturally.)

But...as the vote loomed ever closer, I realized that I didn't believe in the idea. I didn't think it would work the way I wanted it to. Giving the fall through time a vote would rob it of its punch, I thought. So I asked myself: which time period is the most important to the story? If I could only include one, which would it be?

The answer is probably obvious. So, in the end, Blake fell into the time of the Kingdom of Ciel, rather than being granted a tour in a different time. And...over time, as things progressed, I realized how much of a headache having one past time causing ripples in the present was. Having multiple different time periods, all causing their own timeline ripples and eddies? I realized how ambitious something like that was. Could I manage it in a static story? Yeah, I think I could.

Could I manage it in a quest where I couldn't be sure what ripples would come about?

No. No, I don't think so.

So, in the end, the Faunus Rebellion plotline was axed. And, later, it was retooled into a similar-but-distinct idea, crossed with the idea of Devourer!Blake finding herself in the Canon Remnant.

Originally, the Rebellion side-quest was intended to involve the players in the war and allowing them to cause ripple effects throughout it, up to and including the rescue of Adam Taurus' parents. This, in turn, would have caused Revised-Timeline Adam to be more Well-Intentioned and less Extremist, leading to him betraying Cinder during the Battle and becoming an option for a potential recruit further down the line.

On the plus side, I don't have to try to write him as an anti- or fallen hero, which would have been challenging considering how many people absolutely loathe him (deservedly so) after canon and what happened in the Battle.

So, that's how Arbiter came to be. If this kind of thing is interesting to you, be sure to let me know - I'm still refining what it should mean to be a patron, which means I need to know what you want to see as a reward or an exclusive.

Benefit Ideas

So, it may be obvious to you if you're reading this, but this Patreon idea is relatively new to me. I've looked at how some other authors run theirs, but I'm curious...anyone reading this that would or is considering pledging, what kinds of rewards would you want to see?

There are a number of options, of course, but I'm not terribly keen on paywalling content. Maybe, if I had a story on a weekly schedule, I could see an early-access deal, but I wasn't planning on writing story content exclusively for patrons.

So, basically...if you have ideas, I'd love to hear them.