Title: Unsealed Fates
Author: theantepenultimateriddle
Rating: M
Genre: Gen. Crossover. (Action Humor)
Status: WIP
Library Category: Dresden Files
Pairings: DF Canon-ish. Past Harry/Susan. Thomas pushes Harry towards Murph. Author tagged that no official pairings will happen in fic.
Summary: I don't know how most people find out about the Holy Grail War, but for me it was the dream that started it.
--
"Nasty business, most of the time, but the reward's worth it. I mean, wishing for whatever you want?"
--
"We think this is why the vampires have backed off. They're preparing their own candidates for the Grail War."
--
"You have a gift for ending up in the proximity of those who feed on others, either as an enemy or as a friend. I have no need for friendship. I already know how this will end."
--
Where trouble goes, Harry Dresden inevitably follows-- or ends up in the middle of it, as things may be. So when trouble comes to Chicago in the form of a war for a powerful, wish-granting magic artifact fought by summoned heroic and mythical figures, it's not a surprise that Harry gets chosen to be involved. What is a surprise is who he has to fight against... and who he will be forced to fight with. (Set around the time Proven Guilty is set in the original series.)
Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21923116/chapters/52326427


This fic takes Dresden Files universe and setting and transplants the concept of grail war, and has people summoning fate universe characters for a grail war in Chicago.

The history of DF seems mostly intact, although existence of some servants raise unanswered questions if you want consistency. Holy grail wars in japan are mentioned, but no fate/stay night characters are exactly present*.

So far, no direct references to fate magic systems or more obscure elements of the nasuverse, just powerful servants summoned by DF cast, which seem to bend DF rules somewhat, but in ways that are glossed over. (The issue with mind-control like power of seals and how that would interact with the white council laws is ignored.)

Fic tags on AoOO will list all characters and servants* involved, so don't look at it too intently if you want to avoid minor spoilers, but overall all servant identities are comparatively quickly laid on the table.


I give this 4/5.

Perks:

• Well handled merger, considering the can of worms of nasuverse lore
• DF is the primary setting, and DF characters take front and center
• DF characters are well written.
• The setup and some of the servants are very well handled
• There's lots of interesting conflicts of interest and uneasy alliances, considering this is a free for all
• Harry's voice reads alright.
• Humorous places are funny.
• Lash has some presence and significance
• Harry's servant* is a nice idea thematically

Flaws:

• Servant identities are revealed too quickly
• Implications with the way Amoracchius is handled leaves some open questions
• The author seems decent to set up some future conflicts/issues, but slow to actually deliver on them. This is hard to judge since this is unfinished.
• The DF cast is a bit to chummy with each other and they build an alliance too quickly for my taste. Too little attention given to the fact that only one party can win this war.
• Red Court and Denarians are set to be the most powerful opposition, but neither their nor their servant threat seems too large.
• Some things seem to be too easy*

*Spoilers:

• Harry's servant

Spoiler

Gorgon, Avenger. Very nice implications of struggle of becoming/staying as a monster. Lash is constantly saying that Harry needs to kill Gorgon as it won't end well, but Harry is doing his thing and trying to negotiate a smoother transition to victory, with as little casualties on the way as possible.

• Servant - Master pairs:

Spoiler

Harry and Avenger Gorgon (see spoiler above)
Molly and Saber Alter Artoria (they take away Michael's sword for this, so he's a knight without a sword for now) (see Amoracchius)
Marcone and Lancer Jeanne d'Arc Alter Santa Lily (he's not happy with having to use a kid and tries not to)
Susan and Berserker Vlad III
Lara Raith and Assasin Shuten-douji
Donald Morgan and Caster Merlin (fate universe part-succubus-merlin, not DF merlin) this is as hilarious as it sounds.
Red Court (Maybe Duchess Arianna Ortega) and Rider Quetzalcoatl
Denarians (Nicodemus?) and (???) (see speculation spoilers below)

• Too easy

Spoiler

Susan just so happens to be able to power Vlad via her partial Red Court-ness. This conveniently seems to reduce her hunger.
Lara Raith is too fast to jump into bed with heroes XD

• Amoracchius

Spoiler

Basically, Michael is still in the party, but he has no defenses. But this so far hasn't come up in a major way. The stakes are high, and I'm expecting a powerful payoff, but I might not get one. We'll see.
Also, Saber Alter fucks up the sword. Not sure if that has any long term implications?

Speculation spoilers:

Spoiler

Denarians are yet to reveal themselves in major capacity. The tags of the fic have Archer James Moriarty listed, so I assume this is the Denarians' servant.

Major question is what happens after Red Court / Denarians are dealt with.
So far, they have not been hyped enough as a threat, at least not for the firepower Lara, Hary, Molly, Susan and Marcone alliance can bring in terms of servants. Maybe Quetzalcoatl, being the only servant-goddess, will be powerful enough to inflict casualties/change the power balance, and Denarians themselves are heavy hitters, but this speculation IS NOT IN THE TEXT OF THE FIC. At best, the power of Denarians and Red court is implied, but not shown. Characters do not seem to fear them enough for them to be a true treat. There's not enough desperation in Harry.

And without dangling the danger, there are too many friends too fast. It seems that no one is plotting for the "afterwards". This breaks my suspension a bit.

This all might change, as the story has just reached a major confrontation with the Red Court.


There are also tiny hints that if the grail goes off the rails in some way, a Ruler might be summoned, but this probably won't happen here.