>>@ALKOHEIST | @ALL

[frogfractions]

Does anyone have need of lipstick? I've been able to create a few tubes' worth, but I don't use much makeup myself. The benefits of eternal youth, basically. I should be able to manufacture nail polish as well, and perhaps a few other things. We can discuss based on your needs.

In news that I promise is highly, and in fact, completely unrelated, I've finished my research on the Shaper specimen. As I'm sure most of you are aware - unless we've picked up some new recruits in the past week - we had a pest problem. Basically, I dissected one.

[What follows is just straight-up a picture of a shaper's brain. There's a vial of blue blood to the left, and a plastic container full of small bones to the right of it. Off-camera, there's a few other internal organs she's separated and tucked away, but mercifully she hasn't decided to show everything to the camera.]

Would anyone like to enjoy foreign cuisine with me? The brain is supposed to be a delicacy, so we might as well give it a try. It's unlikely I'll be able to get a hold of another specimen, so it's a once-in-a-lifetime chance, in a way.

And if you'd like access to my research notes, I can text them over to you. Knowledge is meant to be shared, after all. They mostly concern the creature's biology, since understandably I did not want an annoyed psychic creature bouncing around my room, and thus could not leave it alive to study its behavior. In layman's terms, I like being conscious.

Incidentally, any and all moral or ecological complaints can be forwarded to my secretary, @MODERATUS. Thank you for your time.

Comments

[frogfractions]

Just think of it as banter between comrades.

I've done and said much worse to the woman I consider my closest friend.

[horsepowered]

I can chalk it up to that. I was just checking to make sure it didn't come to actual blows.

[frogfractions]

She very much wants it to, but she's not very hard to outwit.

Do you know her?

[horsepowered]

We all have or faults.

And yes, after a fact. We come from the same world.

[frogfractions]

Hm. Her armor didn't look very Greek.

[horsepowered]

It isn't. Nor is she.

[frogfractions]

Your life seems far more interesting than 'just' being the mythological Chiron, you know.

[horsepowered]

Ah, there is the entire Holy Grail War, I suppose.

oh my god i hope you didnt get those four subscription misclicks as notifs. if you did, im sorry.

[frogfractions]

The Holy Grail, proper noun, capital letters, hardly seems like an 'I suppose.'

Don't worry.

[horsepowered]

Lately, it has felt almost like an afterthought.

[frogfractions]

I can understand the sentiment, but I'd still rather like to hear about it.

For a variety of reasons, basically.

[horsepowered]

There's not much to tell. Among rituals for magi, there is one called the Holy Grail War. In it, seven magi summon seven servants - familiars, if you'd like - to fight as champions for the Holy Grail. This is a wish granting device, omnipotent and bursting with mana. The familiars are drawn from history and legend.

So, hence, she and I are familiar with each other in a way. We had a very good fight once.

[frogfractions]

I'm happy you enjoyed it. The rambunctious teenage girls I fought weren't nearly as fun.

So she's a figure of importance as well? Interesting. I'd like to ask more about the ritual itself, but I imagine you, as a servant, don't know every single detail.

[horsepowered]

Saber is fearsome, and it was a genuine challenge.

You can ask, and I'll answer what I believe I can.

[frogfractions]

What powers the Grail? Mana, obviously, but how is the mana gathered? Are there any limits on what can be wished for?

[horsepowered]

Death of servants. The last standing means that they get the one wish.

[frogfractions]

Ah. There's the trick.

It's rather human to summon someone with as much intelligence and experience as you just to serve as fuel for a ritual.

Then again, I'm basically in no position to judge.

[horsepowered]

It is, isn't it? But regardless: that's the explanation, as far as I myself understand it.

You are admittedly not trying to take control of a wish granting device, unless you've failed to inform me of things.

[frogfractions]

No, but

[There's actually a bit of a pause between texts there, as Prelati gets her thoughts in order.]

Well, using lives as fuel is work I'm familiar with. And if we had any knowledge of a wish-granting device, we'd have definitely tried to fuel it.

[horsepowered]

Then it is a good thing you didn't. And that the magic between our worlds is different.

[frogfractions]

I'd be interested to know exactly how different, but I imagine there's only so much you could tell me.

Are there any others here from your world?

[horsepowered]

I admit, I am now at the end of my own knowledge on the topic.

Several, yes. But their interest in these mechanics is lower than my own, I believe.

[frogfractions]

Are they all the summoned spirits, instead of the ones doing the summoning?

If so, that's a shame. Nothing against you or them, but it would be nice to talk to someone who actively participated in the ritual. Well, I suppose it wouldn't have any real benefit to me, but new information is always a boon.

If I might ask, what was the person who summoned you like?

[horsepowered]

Their information would be along the lines of what I've shared, I'm afraid. I will leave any identification on the matter to them, as I believe some do want their privacy.

She was...a very smart, capable young woman with a big heart. She is decidedly illsuited for the emotional callousness that her position requires, and I want the best for her.

[frogfractions]

The best rarely comes to people like that.

But at the same time, the strength of people like that can surprise you. It's a complicated thing, basically.