Tale of a Thief and His New Party
is a crossover fanfiction between Daily Life with Monster Girl and Grimgar of Fantasy and Ash written initially by dude932 before being adopted by Curse of Whimsy, author of The Pawn of Grisaia.
The premise is that Manato survives the ambush at Damroww, but Haruhiro leaves the party out of weariness of feeling like an outsider. After striking out on his own for a few weeks, he meets a busty blonde centaur in need of rescuing, and after he leaps to her aid, she swears allegiance to him.
Over time, the thief and his loyal knight meet other colorful characters, before ultimately embarking on a journey of self-discovery with an end-goal that they aren't entirely sure of, but will ultimately push them to their limits.
The story, consisting of 38 chapters and counting, is guilty of Harem Antics, especially the marshmallow kind, but like with Pawn, has quite a few dark and dramatic moments, as well.
This fanfic contains examples of:
- Accidental Pervert: Haru accidentally grabs Centorea's breasts at one point. Both are highly embarrassed, but she doesn't get angry over it.
- Affectionate Nickname:
- Centorea is often called "Cerea".
- Tionishia is typically called "Tio".
- All Webbed Up: Rachnera wraps Haru in her webbing during their first meeting.
- Bathtub Bonding: Haru does this with Tionishia and Centorea, respectively. It gets him a kiss on the cheek and a love confession in the first case, and the second example leads to sex.
- Battle Harem: The haremettes are all Action Girls.
- Beware the Nice Ones: Tionishia is probably the nicest, most motherly woman you'll ever meet, but she's as every bit as physically imposing as she looks and has a darker side that is unstoppable in combat.
- The Cameo: Sig Curtis is the "vice-commander" a butcher shop the party comes across.
- Carry a Big Stick: Tionishia's weapon of choice is a mace. She later uses a giant club she took off the corpse of a Great Ape she slew.
- Charles Atlas Superpower: Tionishia is the strong(wo)man of the party, befitting of an ogress.
- Covert Pervert: Haru can usually keep his libido in check, but he secretly enjoys being squished into his haremettes' respective breasts.
- Divide and Conquer: The Red Apes apply this strategy against the protagonists when attacking them.
- Don't Fear the Reaper: Lala can be rather sharp-tongued, but is ultimately non-malicious.
- Entertainingly Wrong: Due to the appearance of Haru's haremettes, Shu'ni concludes that he likes women whom are older, taller, and well-endowed; thus the form she takes has big breasts and towers over him. It turns out that Haru doesn't have that kind of fetish, but he allows her to maintain the form, regardless.
- Fanservice: Being a Monmusu crossover with some of its bustiest characters as the main harem, there's quite a bit of ecchi material spread throughout the story, up to and including sexual intercourse.
- Flirtatious Smack on the Ass: At one point, Tionishia asks to be pinched in order to make sure she isn't dreaming. Rachnera spanks her instead, her reason being that a pinch from her incredibly sharp fingers might cut into Tio's flesh.
- Friendly Address Privileges: Centorea initially calls Haru "Master" exclusively, even though he wouldn't object to her calling him by name. She eventually starts doing it when they are alone, or when she is thinking about him.
- The Glomp: Tionishia introduces herself to Haru by nearly killing him via hug after he offers to help her find her way. He even imagines his gravestone reading "Not a Teddy Bear" as she squeezes him. Later, when in heat due to a full moon, she tries to hug him, only for Haru to leap out of the way—and she snaps a tree like a twig instead! On another occasion, she tries to glomp Haru and Yukio, but the former manages to evade her while the latter is not so lucky.
- Has a Type: Subverted, but invoked. Shu'ni takes on the form of a tall, busty woman under the belief that, since all of the other haremettes are like that, Haru must obviously prefer that type of woman. He doesn't, but she retains the form, regardless.
- I'm a Humanitarian: Rachnera ate someone once. Centorea shrugs it off because saving Haru's life is more important in her eyes.
- Interspecies Romance: None of the haremettes are human, and Haru doesn't care.
- The Juggernaut: Tionishia is the most physically powerful member of the party, complete with heavy armor, a massive shield, and a mace.
- Killer Gorilla: Chapters 17-20 depict the party battling vicious Red Apes, which split them up and pursue each smaller group relentlessly.
- Kiss of Death: Narrowly subverted, but almost played straight twice.
- When the party reunites after being separated by Red Apes, Centorea pulls Haru into a bone-crushing hug and kisses him so passionately that he nearly suffocates.
- It happens again when Haru nearly dies from hypothermia after Yukio accidentally lowers his body temperature while kissing him.
- Kleptomaniac Hero: Being the titular thief, Haru won't hesitate to pluck items from his kills. Tionishia claims ownership of a club used by a Great Ape after killing him.
- Laughing Mad: Tionishia laughs psychotically when she's in Berserker Mode.
- Marshmallow Hell: Haru gets subjected to this a lot, though he certainly isn't complaining. Heck, on one occasion, when Tio trips and falls on top of him breasts-first, he internally notes that he didn't even want to get out of the way. The trope is even name-dropped in Chapter 16, though Haru notes that he doesn't even know what a marshmallow is.
- Original Character: Shu'ni is based off the Shoggoth from Monster Girl Encyclopedia.
- Rescue Romance: Not immediately, but Haru falls under both Centorea and Yukio's radars by rescuing them from a sticky situation (or, in the latter case, teaming up with Centorea to kill a group of orcs that were abducting Yukio).
- Shout-Out: Yukio's Kiss of Death is a reference to Killer Frost.
- Superpowered Evil Side:
- Tionishia has one due to her heritage, which turns her into The Berserker.
- Haru displays one in Chapter 36.
- The Tease: Sassa mercilessly teases Haru over his incredibly sexy harem.
- Their First Time:
- Haru and Centorea have sex in Chapter 25.
- Haru has sex with Yukio in Chapter 32, and the same chapter ends with Tio about to get her turn.
- Rachnera pleasures him in Chapter 34, though they don't go all the way until the next chapter.
- Tiny Guy, Huge Girl: All of Haru's lovers are taller than him. Except Yukio, who's the same height, but wears high-heeled sandals, so she appears to be a little taller.
- Top Wife: Centorea is unquestionably the leader of the harem and Haru's favorite.
- Your Size May Vary: Shu'ni can shapeshift and size-shift. She eventually settles on being just a little taller than Haru so she's tall enough to suit (what she thinks is) his preference, while also being short enough to appear lower when she bows to him.
- Zerg Rush: In Chapter 19, Tionishia is dog-piled by Red Apes. Her Superpowered Evil Side takes over and slaughters them.
