Grand Tour Series

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.

This article is about the fanfic series. For the series of published science fiction novels called The Grand Tour, see Ben Bova.

The Grand Tour series is a collection of fanfics written by Drunken Grognard. It is a Mega Crossover featuring appearance of numerous series, but mostly focuses on the casts of Star Trek, Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha, Ranma ½, and Sailor Moon, with semi-major appearances of Black Lagoon and Slayers characters.

The first entry of the series, aptly titled Grand Tour, began life a Crack Fic that did its take on the common fanfic gag of Ryoga's ability to get lost being equated to being able to end up anywhere in the multiverse without trying. This time however, this ability is considered quite a danger that the TSAB ends up tracking him down, but not before the USS Voyager tries to exploit Ryoga's 'gift' in an attempt to return home. This leads to a chain of events that has the USS Voyager stranded in the Mirror Universe, Ranma testing his luck against Gohan and Zuko, the TSAB investigating the future rise of Crystal Tokyo, and Lina Inverse and company ending up in the world of Berserk.

The second entry of the series, Journey, shifts away from the multiversal romp of the first to focus on the growth of several characters. Ranma Saotome, having gained a couple skills during the events of the first fic, finds himself taking up a role of martial arts sensei to Nabiki Tendo. Not only that, he's charged by the TSAB with supporting the Outer Senshi in Tokyo's defense while the Inner Senshi go to Mid Childa for training under Nanoha Takamachi. Things get tense however, when Youma attacks keep increasing with no end in sight.

The third entry, Odyssey, returns to the multiversal nature of the first. In a galaxy far far away, Admiral Thrawn orders the creation of an engine that allows travel between dimensions, the technology gleamed from a Borg Ship that chased Voyager into the GFFA during the beginnings of Grand Tour. With this engine, Thrawn hopes to gain an insurmountable advantage against the New Republic with the ability to appear anywhere instantly without warning. Elsewhere, the Federation, using the data from the Voyager's travels through dimensions, decides to launch a new exploratory mission to explore alteranate realities, with Captain Jean-Luc Picard striking out where no one in the Federation has gone before. And in the aftermath of the events of Journey, the TSAB finds themselves at war with another multidimensional power, a war that neither side wanted. Little did anyone suspect the events to come would lead to a multiversal threat forming. Events that would draw Lina Inverse and her home dimension right in the middle of the chaos...

A fourth story, Walkabout is done as well. Here, Ranma tries to hash out some stability in his life, complicated by the fact that several Earth governments, along with the TSAB, are sending agents to his Dojo for training. Meanwhile, Fate and Nanoha are in Tokyo for maternity leave, having conceived with the help of Mejere's technology, and Genma got Ranma engaged to a denzien of the Magic World, one who really doesn't take no for an answer. And the Japanese government really doesn't want to let anyone else know about the Magic World...

It has also acquired a side story, fleshing out the Top Gear Mid-Childa special mentioned below, apparently in an attempt by the author to 'get the ideas out of my head so I can work on the stuff I want to work on.' Link here.

Series featured

One-shot Appearances

Tropes used in Grand Tour Series include:
  • Aliens Steal Cable: After the Masquerade gets smashed to bits in Journey, the TSAB enters into more open contact with Earth and develops a liking for Terran culture and entertainment. There is a passing mention of a Top Gear special on Mid-Childa. Complete with the Stig's Magical Girl cousin.
  • Big Damn Heroes: Naga attempts one. It doesn't work out near so well as she'd hoped.
  • Boring but Practical/This Looks Like a Job For Aquaman: The Galactica, being low-tech compared to the other spacefleets, is the only one that can brave the rift and destroy the structure that is causing the rift to expand and allow Voidspawn to invade the multiverse.
  • Calling the Old Man Out: In Journey, Ranma does this with Genma in a form of a martial arts battle that was a one-sided affair on Ranma's side.
    • Their rematch in Walkabout is even more of a curbstomp.
  • Captured Super Entity: The Lord Of Nightmares, of all beings, was trapped in a giant ring that dwarfed the Galactica. Who or what created the ring is still a mystery.
  • Chekhov's Skill: Ryoga puzzles out the Soul of Ice halfway through Grand Tour. At first, he uses it to not get lost - which works until he runs into the Dirty Pair and gets distracted. Later, he uses it to crib Ranma's signature finisher.
  • Colliding Criminal Conspiracies: In Journey, the Black Lagoon group chase Happosai into Tokyo (It Makes Sense in Context), when they get caught in the invasion of Tokyo.
  • Cosmic Horror: The Voidspawn. Picard even refers to the works of H.P. Lovecraft upon seeing them.
  • Conflict Killer: The Let's You and Him Fight incident below? Interrupted by Griffith, four of his fellow God Hand, and a horde of demons. They get a Giga Slave and a Starlight Breaker for their trouble, followed by Guts and Gourry taking down Griffith.
  • Death by Adaptation: Two Type IIs Sorry guys, but the Word of God is that Thrawn is dead. Also, properly speaking Ralgha nar Hhallas should have lived into Wing Commander III.
  • Death From Above: The spirit of Queen Beryl hijacks the Bradeson flagship she's trapped in order to control the ship's blasters and blow Tokyo, and within it the Sailor Senshi, into pieces. She resorts to this when the commander of the Bradeson fleet explains to her his people don't do orbital bombardments.
  • Demoted to Extra: Ryoga in later parts.
  • Doppelganger Crossover: Luke Skywalker and Christopher Blair become each other's wingman during the battle against the Voidspawn.
  • Dynamic Entry: This is how Suburu and Teana get the drop on a Bradeson enforcer who was giving Sailor Neptune trouble.
  • Eldritch Abomination: The Voidspawn. Picard even comments that they're like something out of Lovecraft.
  • Enemy Mine: Ranma's fiancees put aside their rivalry in order to help defend Tokyo from the Bradeson invasion.
  • Even Interdimensional Conquerers Has Standards: According to the Word of God, while the Bradesons do shock and awe attacks to make weaker civilizations submit faster, they will not engage in orbital bombardments due to a nasty civil war where that tactic was employed to a deadly degree. They will also give humantarian aid, and later, full citizenship to the conquered population. Their M.O. is basically Might Makes Right.
  • Exact Words: Once The Masquerade is destroyed by the Bradeson invasion, the JSDF uses this to begin arms buildup. The treaty limits them to defensive weapons, and they still have no conventional weaponry buildup or WMD construction. Mages and highly advanced martial arts are another matter entirely.
  • Expy/Distaff Counterpart: Some of the Bradeson "Enforcers" from Journey seem remarkably similar to some Nanoha characters. Indeed, Word of God says that they could be viewed as such, if the reader wants to.
  • Flock of Wolves: Ranma's class of martial arts students consists almost entirely of spies from various nations there to get basic info about the TSAB. Everybody is aware of this, of course.
  • Funetik Aksent: Ranma and Lister, as well as a few of the OC's in Walkabout. After getting some complaints, the author Lampshaded it in a recent chapter, and has said he'll try to tone it down.
  • Gambit Pileup: The author's description of the events in the upcoming fourth story.
  • Graceful Loser: Sailor Pluto, unlike other fanfiction depictions of her as a Knight Templar Time Police officer, allows the TSAB to destroy the asteroid that caused the Great Freeze and made Crystal Tokyo necessary.
  • Gondor Calls for Aid: Chrono calls out for anyone in the multiverse to help fight off the Voidspawn when the seal on the rift breaks, and later, for personnel to aid Seyruun against the Mazoku.
  • I Have Many Names: The Lord of Nightmares has apparently been also called Azathoth, Rythar and Mythar, and Suzumiya.
  • Interrupted Suicide: William Adama attempts to join those on the Galactica who sacrificed themselves in saving the multiverse, especially after the Heroic Sacrifice of Kara Trace. He is stopped by all beings, the Lord of Nightmares, who insists that William lives for the sake of the remaining colonists.
  • Lampshade Hanging: Once in Journey, and again in Odyssey.
    • "Alien invaders from another dimension? When did my life turn into bad fanfiction?" - Ranma Saotome
    • In Odyssey, this is the Stargate characters raison d'être. They recognize most of the ships from the various other series out of having watched those series, and spend a fair bit of time geeking out over it all.
  • Let's You and Him Fight: What happens when Ranma, Nanoha, Fate, and Guts meet up with Ryoga, Lina, Gourry, Zelgadis, and Amelia. Lina provokes the fight for the purpose of getting her hands on Raising Heart.
  • Mega Manning: Sorta, but Ranma tries to duplicate Gohan's flight and Zuko's firebending. Later, he finds a way to use magic, despite (or perhaps because) being explicitly told he was unable to use it, by creative abuse of his translation trinket.
  • My Significance Sense Is Tingling: Magic users and psychics of all sorts can feel disturbance of a massive rift into the Sea of Chaos opening. Lina, of course, gets the worst of it since she uses spells that invoke the Lord of Nightmares, and that the rift is located in the same solar system as Lina's world.
  • Never My Fault: This author's fanon origin of Ryoga's curse of getting lost. His ancestor was a shogun who would not admit fault, so he was cursed to be unable to reach his destinations until he would admit fault. The curse was then passed down the bloodline.
    • Akane falls into this after injuring Nabiki in a training session. It takes Kasumi make her see otherwise.
  • Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: A TSAB captain tries to stop Thrawn escaping with the 'Engine' causing the dimensional rifts, by firing an Arc-En-Ciel blast at the ship containing said engine. The resulting explosion creates the largest rift ever; to make it worse, it doesn't want to close.
  • Off the Rails: In terms of canon plotlines, Voyager making it home early, Thrawn being dead, Crystal Tokyo not forming, Xellos not Zelas' subordinate, and according to the Word of God, Mejele and Tarak not at peace, but jocking in position in the TSAB/Bradeson cold war.
  • Original Generation: The Dimensional Republic of Bradeson.
  • Paranoia Gambit: The assorted defenders of Seyruun think the Mazoku may be pulling this on them by putting Xellos in charge of the Mazoku invasion, as Xellos is known for having secret goals.
  • Reasonable Authority Figure: The TSAB chose to question the Sailor Senshi directly instead of relying on second hand accounts of the Silver Millennium, accounts that would put it in a bad light.
  • Ripple-Effect-Proof Memory: Averted, Chibi-Usa's memories after the TSAB begin investigating the Senshi. Her memories settle into a new history not after the asteroid is destroyed, but when Usagi accepts an offer to be trained by the TSAB.
  • Schedule Slip: The author was trying to get a chapter done each week. Most of Grand Tour managed this, with a few slips near the end, but Journey was a horrible example of schedule slip, with multiple weeks between chapters annoyingly common. Including over a month for the second last chapter - the one with the climactic fight. Averted with Odyssey, which made it without delays. Walkabout was off to a good start, but the author recently placed it on indefinite hiatus, citing real life complications and the desertion of his muse. After it resumed, it made the author's weekly schedule without delays.
  • Screw Destiny: The Sailor Senshi choosing to let the TSAB destroy the asteroid.
  • Ship Sinking: Ranma breaks off with Akane, Ukyo and Shampoo. Even if he lost honor in the eyes of some.
  • Space Cold War: Word of God state this is the situation between the TSAB and the Bradesons post-Odyssey. Several of the other space groups that came to help with the Voidspawn have taken sides.
  • Spin-Off: The Top Gear Mid-Childa Special, which went from offhand mention to full 'episode.'
  • Theme Naming: With a few exceptions, most of the newly created TSAB characters have car names. Likewise, their evil counterparts the Bradesons are named after motorcycles.
  • Unexplained Recovery: Xellos, after being blasted with a Giga Slave. Since the Giga Slave is the Lord of Nightmares incarnate, it's no surprise that she could decide to restore him. However, he's now not in the service of Beastmaster.
  • The Unmasqued World: Due to the invasion in Journey, there's now a more open relationship between the TSAB and Earth. The existence of the Magic World however, is still under wraps so Japan can hold a trump card.
  • What Could Have Been: The author revealed some of the ideas that were cut out of Odyssey. Akane learning of Ryoga's curse used to be a full scene before being regulated to backstory. Honor Harrington was slated to make an appearance as the leader of one of the fleets that confronted Thrawn's taskforce. Guts and other fantasy heroes were also slated to appear in the defense of Seyruun. However, it was probably for the better to leave that part out, as it went heavily into fanon mythology, and came across as annoying, whereas the rest of the story was perfectly fine.
  • Worthy Opponent: The Bradeson invasion force that attacks Tokyo considers the JSDF who opposed them this.
  • Yandere: Kendra Zendor does not take rejection well.
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