Hey everyone, here's the promised Q&A post; I'll do my best to answer each question in a respectable and informative manner.

Sidenote: It's fantastic to see you guys liked the ending for Fate Zero; however, there seems to be a bit of confusion. A few people have asked if the fanfic is over and one of the tvtropes pages even says it's completed. I'll clarify right now, this story is NOT over and will push forward into the future; I wasn't kidding about wanting to drive into FGO eventually.

Anyways, let's get started on this, it's more casual, but I think after 160k words of philosophy and whatever other nonsense I write, it's nice to take a step back and chill a bit.

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Question #1: The dreaded pairing question I knew would come up eventually, what do I plan to do with it going forward?

For those in the discord server, this question has always been a matter of intense debate since the literal start of it when it was just me and my beta reader harassing each other. As I mentioned a while back, this plotline primarily begins in FGO, but let me elaborate for a second.

I prefer slow burns that make sense rather than some contrived pairing based on what seems cool, so I've been going through characters, personalities, etc., trying to find candidates that would add to the story.

Believe me, when I say I read through the comments; every recommendation has been noted and looked through at this point, alongside some of my own personal choices. Before I say my current top pick, remember that FGO is very distant from where we are, and this decision is subject to immense change. However, these characters were recommended to me in the very early days of this fanfic, and they keep coming back time and again during our discussions on the topic, so for the moment, I'd say my views are tied between Nagao Kagetora and Lancer Alter since I can see viable storylines with either of them. (Yeah, there's going to be one pairing, I'm not writing a harem fic)

Looking over my dm's and general comments, there are some characters I'll have to look at more since people see something I might not, for example, Medusa (I pray you mean Rider), Atalanta, or Nero (these are almost exclusively in my dms oddly enough) the list goes on, even a couple wanting Da Vinci (Caster). This is a painful process; I'll figure it out someday.

I'm not even going to discuss the existential dread I faced when people dm'd me asking for Saber to be the pairing, like, no? Raiden is like 35; I'd prefer someone within his age bracket (physically and mentally).

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Question #2: How will Rin act with Aoi still in the picture?:

Yeah, to clear up the confusion, Aoi is still (mentally) alive in this timeline; however, due to the fact that my beta reader may or may not be fanatical about Rin, I don't want to incur his wrath by having her act differently, and besides, she's a tough personality to crack through anyways.

I'm sure you can all imagine Rin and Shirou will play a pretty active role in this rendition of Blade Works, but keep in mind Raiden is always going to be the focus of this story. Things might be different, but I have plans for those two, and since a lot of people ask about them, yes, Raiden will make Shirou question himself and his ideals and how realistic they are, take that as you will. Sadly, there's not much else to say without spoilers, so we move on.

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Question #3: Will the Servants in blade works be the same or different?:

:)

Since it's a spoiler, I can't drop too much, but we do have something devilish planned for this story since it's always going to be a servant-centric fic for pretty much its entire run. Blade works will essentially be me taking my gloves off and having some fun, so get ready for things to get a bit wacky.

What I can say is this: I fully plan to flush out some Servant classes that always get the metaphorical boot in Fate, the type of treatment where in all honesty, they should be a threat yet get manhandled like no one's business. What I really want is a story where we see what Servants are truly capable of, both in what they say and how they enforce their ideals.

This story has focused primarily on the nuance and philosophy guiding each character forward, and I intend to keep that trend in the future. My personal favorite chapter was Rider, and I want more vibes like that going on, and thankfully blade works provides ample opportunities.

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Question #4: Sakura's Role going forward and her dynamic with Raiden.

I'm glad a lot of you seem to enjoy their relationship; honestly speaking, those moments are arguably my favorite part of the story to write. We always see our favorite cyborg as a murder hobo, but I like showing the human side of him far more than anything else.

Before diving into this, I figured it would be an excellent place to mention; initially, we intended to jump into blade works immediately, but the question of their dynamic stuck with me.

I'll state it now; those two are a combination of both father/daughter and mentor/student; Raiden is going to have a significant impact on Sakura's character, considering he's the only one raising her for about ten years. However, it felt somewhat iffy to throw this relationship in your face out of nowhere. A few of you have asked about this, so I'll confirm; there WILL be an interlude chapter set about five years after Fate Zero where we introduce the two and how they work in this new mode.

Now, I'm not going to rewrite Sakura by any means, don't worry about that, his influence is there, but she's still her own person; we won't have a cyborg Sakura running around acting like a mini Jack the Ripper or something, lol, maybe for an omake some day. "Making the mother of all wishes Rin, can't fret over every senpai!"

Anyways

I won't say a lot about how our favorite Liberian's personality will change Sakura, but it will mean she'll adapt both good and bad aspects of it into her own way of handling things. Possibly being a bit more willing to say what she wants and find a voice of her own at times (hint hint nudge nudge)

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Question #5: How will Raiden cope with being away from his son for this long?

Bluntly speaking, Raiden will likely struggle with the issue quite a lot, considering he'd legitimately be raising Sakura longer than he raised his own son. This matter somewhat ties in with another question, but I want to say he'll find his own ways of handling it, considering he has a daughter to look out for and a certain other Matou causing problems in his life.

It'll appear more in the interlude chapter, but Raiden does genuinely care about Sakura in a familial way, so while he misses his son, he enjoys the time he spends with her all the same, so the samurai manages.

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Question #6: Will Raiden interact with anyone from MGS in the meantime?

I'm going to use this question as sort of a gateway into other matters, but to answer, it sort of ties back to the Saber fight. Jack knows damn well how flawed his past was and all the terrible things that led up to his timeline, but he still importantly accepts it all for what it is.

In my eyes, Raiden has a deep longing to see the people he cares about one last time, Snake, Rose, hell, maybe even Olga or Solidus, but there's that knowledge that he can't goof with his past keeping him away. Bare in mind, though, Raiden is not being inactive in this part of the story; the ninja will just be causing problems in the magical world rather than the technological world.

Anyways, into the segway, I did want to say the Snakes ARE coming back in FGO. At first, I was very iffy on the subject since, to be blunt, Snake stole the show in chapter one, but after some thought, this truly wouldn't be a Metal Gear Crossover if I didn't showcase the best of both series. Therefore I am happy to declare you will see quite a few familiar faces turning up in this series, and a number will become Servants all the same. I won't give much detail on how it will work out, but we will explore the MGS timeline in exhaustive detail, hope you're looking forward to that!

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There really isn't much else to declare in terms of housekeeping. I'm legitimately baffled so many people like a Metal Gear Rising crossover of all things, but shockingly, Raiden seems to fit in quite well with the Fate cast. The cyborg's convictions make him sort of an odd man out in ideological terms, but for me, at least, it makes him a breath of fresh air compared to the haughty presence of kings and nobles.

I will say I'm going to take more time when writing Blade Works for the sake of character interactions since, for the first time, it won't just be Raiden versus the world, so he'll have bonds to juggle and work through. Who knows, maybe Raiden will actually make a friend this time instead of trying to solo the entire show? Also, I might dabble in writing an omake or two along the way; we'll see how things go.

Anyways

I want to say words can't express the gratitude I have for the people that have stuck with me in this process; we've definitely come a long way from people screaming at me for the first chapter being mid, lol. I never expected even a fraction of the readers I have now, so here's to all of you. (God help you if anyone ever sees the original eight drafts I made for this story, they were so fucking bad.)

In my personal opinion, Metal Gear is criminally underused in the crossover community, and I'm glad to see how many people have taken an interest in a series and characters that are near and dear to my heart. All thanks go to Hideo Kojima's beautiful story, without which this fanfic would never have been possible. While we may never get Rising Revengeance two, I damn well plan to keep giving Raiden new adventures with fascinating characters while intermingling the lore between two series that lined up perfectly for me. Take it easy, everyone; I'll see you in the next chapter.