the woman with no name (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
bottecellie) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
bakerstreet2012-04-23 11:40 am
bottecellie) wrote in bakerstreet2012-04-23 11:40 am
Entry tags:
I don't remember the last time I posted this
THE AMNESIA MEME
Ah, amnesia. The old standby for soap operas, it usually involves a good knock on the head and a complete loss of memory. Ever wanted to do that to your character? Well, now's your chance.
1. Comment with your characters!
2. Others comment. Optionally, go to RNG and roll the scenario. (As to who gets knocked on the head, well, that's up to you!)
3. ???
4. PROFIT.
1. HEAD-ON COLLISION - ... whoops. It was an honest mistake, really! You didn't see that car/tree/post/person/whatever coming, but now you're stumbling out of the wreckage sans memory. Better ask for help.
2. WAIT, WHO ARE YOU? - Okay, so a while ago, you got into... something that caused you to lose your memory. Fortunately, you managed to get by and create a new identity for yourself. Unfortunately, someone new has just entered your life. Or should I say, someone who's a little too familiar...
3. RINSE AND REPEAT - Sigh. Really, this is just so inconvenient. You wake up everyday with no memory of who you are, and have to figure it out over the course of the day, only to fall asleep and have to do it all over again the next day. Good thing someone's there to help you out, right? And what's with all those post-its and notes?
4. THIS ROOM'S TOO WHITE - Welcome to the hospital. You've got an "Unknown" tag on your wrist, a healthy diet of bland hospital food, a steady trickle of doctors coming in to check up on you, and a TV, and nothing else. Looks like someone's coming to help you today, though! Here's to hoping they knew you before you lost your memory.
5. I'M SUPPOSED TO DO WHAT?! - Oh, crap. There's something only you can do right now -- that is, the you who didn't lose your memory, anyway. Better figure out a way out of this mess and how to control your strange abilities before it's too late.
6. FIGHTING FOR THE WRONG SIDE - Uh, oh. Looks like your enemies decided to take advantage of your confused state and convinced you that you're on their side. Here's to hoping your allies can get you back to yourself before you cause some serious damage.
7. JUST TOO TRAUMATIC - You just saw something that's so traumatic you lost your memory because of it. Unfortunately, right now, you have to remember it, or else something really bad happens. Hope you don't regret remembering this!
8. I DON'T WANT THIS - You've been living a peaceful, ordinary life, for a while. And you'd rather it stay that way, because you're not sure if you'd want to remember what went before. Unfortunately, something's coming, and the key to stopping it lies in your memories.
9. NO SUCH THING - Maybe you were a wizard, or a werewolf, or an angel, or a demon, or something else entirely before, or maybe you just knew about the masquerade. Sadly, you've been knocked on the head and now believe yourself to be a perfectly ordinary person. Magic? That doesn't exist, right? Anything can be explained with science, after all! Right?
10. I'M WHO?! - And who the hell are you? Basically, this is the wild card option! Combine one of the above or make up a new one or whatever you want! Go wild!
no subject
"However, know this: I would not persist in calling you by a name which is not your own. You are the legendary King of Knights, are you not? Monarch of Britain, wielder of the golden blade, summoned to participate in this Holy Grail War as Saber."
Even if he is unable to discern the exact extent of the damage Caster has inflicted upon her psyche, it certainly is bad enough from what he can see alone, and Diarmuid chooses his words carefully.
"I know not of the ordeals Caster has forced you to endure, yet it is clear that my identity to you is a mystery. You know me as Lancer, Diarmuid of the Knights of Fianna, and though we both may be participants in this battle, I bear no ill will toward you, and I mean you no harm."
no subject
He admits it. Unlike that man who kept insisting, kept trying to prove it, and all she could do through it all was deny deny deny. This man, instead, makes no move to prove what he says. He says his piece and waits for her say. She may not be in a state where she can trust the truth of what he says, but his actions tell her he honestly means her no harm.
Doesn't mean she's going to let go of her sword.
"You will not attempt to force this name on me should I reject it?" she asks, "You will not use strange books and blades to sway my mind and force me to believe I know who you are?"
no subject
"I will not," he repeats truthfully, still keeping a respectful distance from the fair-haired king, "for it would be a violation of the code of a knight to resort to such means of coercion and trickery. Your memory, if it is to return, will do so in its own time. Such a thing cannot be encouraged by force."
no subject
"There is a woman I must go to. I regret I cannot recall much but her face and that I must--" likely failed, she believes, if she herself had been captured like she had "--that I need to protect her. She as white hair and always wears a smile. You wouldn't happen to know who she is?"
no subject
"The woman you speak of is from the Einzbern family, I believe, and she is your Master. Fret not; the last I saw of her she was safe still, but that is the extent of what I know of her."
When Saber abandons for the time being her stance of aggression he is relieved, if only for the fact that she is placing trust in him, a person who is at this point a complete stranger. Diarmuid is aware that this is only the beginning, but it wouldn't do to rush things unnecessarily.
no subject
"Tell me, then, what is this Holy Grail War of which you speak?" she asks. If they're meant to fight in it, then it would be best to know what she was getting into first. Especially if he would ultimately be her opponent in it.
no subject
"As for the Grail War, it is quite simple, really. We as Heroic Spirits are called forth from beyond the curtain of death to become champions for our Masters, and aim to ultimately win the Grail for those we swear fealty to, that our most heartfelt wish be granted. However, as in all battles, there can only be one victor."
no subject
She refuses to go into detail about it, but at least she's finding it easier to trust him the more they talk.
"I will need to find a way to contact her. Perhaps I could...." It's then she looks down and holds out a part of her skirt a bit, looking down at the blood distastefully. As satisfying as cleaving Caster in two had been she knows she can't simply wander around soaked in blood that is beginning to dry and clot.
Her face colors. The only place she knows of she could clean up is the river itself.
"I need to bathe. Would you do me the favor of keeping watch while I do so?" Even she doesn't know how she keeps her voice so even.
no subject
'-- while she's still handicapped,' the Irishman reminds himself, shifting a foot to lightly nudge at the golden spear lying in the grass. It comes as a surprise, and yet Diarmuid finds he would not expect anything less from the King of Knights, and looks ever more forward to their next duel.
But now he cannot expect her to wander this city in that state, and at Saber's request he nods, kneels slowly to retrieve his weapons, and turns away to give her the privacy she requires. He shouldn't be here; Caster is dead and that was all he needed to know, but Diarmuid will not allow himself to leave Saber here in this state, and so he stays.
no subject
And once this man turns she heads for the bank of the river, carefully takes off her soiled clothing, and wades in. It's freezing and the shock of it helps clear her mind. This isn't another illusion. This isn't another desperate plea to "prove" she's someone she's not she is truly free.
She spends twenty minutes washing the blood from her skin and hair, then reaches for her dress to do the same to it. It might not be smart to wander around in wet clothing, but wet is better than bloodstained. Once she's through with that, she puts it back on, shivering from the cold--the wonderful wonderful cold--and calls to Diarmuid. "Thank you," she says, taking her sword in hand again.
"I.... I must confess. I don't know where to go from here. If you don't know where my Master is I know not who I could ask."
The more time passes the easier it gets to trust this man. He has not forced his beliefs about her upon her and he left her be during her bath. Asking for his help couldn't hurt. She would find a way to repay him for this kindness in the future.
no subject
"I apologize, for I too do not know where you should go from here. You once did, that is for certain, but now your memory isn't quite what it should be.
Is there nothing you can recall, besides your Master's face? A place, or a name?"
no subject
A name leaps out as her as she tries to reach into that blankness stretching out before the pain had started.
"Emiya?" she says, sounding out the name.
omg that icon so moe u/////u also excuse the microtag this time, sorry!
"That is the other one you call Master. Do you feel any connection with either of these names? Einzbern, or Emiya?"
I'll use it again as punishment for the microtag!
"Yes, he wanted me to protect her above all else during the War and to consider her my primary Master due to it."
She runs a hand through her wet hair, searching her mind for more. It's hard to tell if that's true or not, but when Einzbern's face had been all she'd been able to hold on to she finds it's easier to accept things related to the woman with the cheerful smile.
oh no then i might end up giving you microtags all the way at this rate because moeeee saberchan
"Can you sense their presence, then? Anywhere at all, in this city?"
They as Servants had, after all, an almost unbreakable bond with those they avowed as Masters. If Saber could remember who they were, then perhaps she would also come to recall where they last were together, or at least sense their whereabouts so she could go to them.
And now I'm tempted to have them find bitty!Shirou by accident for lulz.
Then opens one to look up at him, she looks as embarrassed as she feels having to ask this of him. "How do I know if I'm sensing them and not something else? All I could sense back there was.... was his presence while he...."
She squeezes her eyes shut. Don't think about it. The priority right now was finding her Master, nothing more.
"How will I tell their presence from anyone else's?"
lmfajks HAHA AWWW but his name isn't emiya yet during HF4 is it?
"Servants have a bond with Masters that is unlike any other, Saber. I cannot tell you what it is like exactly, as I'm sure it differs among all of us, but it certainly would be the furthest from what you felt while in Caster's domain. You cared for them, did you not? Perhaps if you focused on those feelings, your heart would lead you to them.
If not, then a short rest might be what you need. You've been through much."
Nope. It's not. Hence it being so funny.
She closes her eyes again, clasps her hands over her chest, and tries to reach out. The image of that woman with white hair, smiling, laughing, holding out her hand to her is perfectly clear in her mind. This woman had not just been her Master, but her friend. Even if Emiya had not asked her to protect her above anything else, Saber already knows she would in a heartbeat.
There's.... a feeling. A warm feeling in the distance. Saber looks up in that direction, takes up her sword again.
"That way, I think." She sets off, finding herself hoping Lancer would accompany her.
no subject
Lancer understands that while he remains here in the general vicinity of the Mion he could, by a stretch, reason that he was still following his orders. While accompanying Saber would not be a direct violation of it, he doubts his Master will be pleased to find him aiding another Servant like this. However, to leave her to her own devices at such a vulnerable moment is a risk Lancer is not willing to take.
There is something else they have to take care of before entering the city proper, however.
"Wait, Saber!"
no subject
"Is something the matter, Lancer?"
Vaguely, she's aware she might look like a drowned rat after her bath and it certainly is chilly out. She runs a hand along her arm to get some heat back into her body.
no subject
"You're drenched from head to toe," he reminds her, gently. "And for us both to walk among the citizenry the way we are now would call much unnecessary attention to ourselves."
no subject
"But I can sense her in the city.... I think." She's not entirely sure, more going on instinct than anything. Even then she knows her instincts might not be what they should be after Caster's various illusions and tortures inflicted upon her until she could barely be certain of reality itself.
Yet his words hold true. If they are indeed part of some sort of War then it would make sense not to draw attention to themselves. Other opponents could come out of the shadows and, despite her lack of memory, she knows how vulnerable she is like this.
Her body shifts uneasily as she admits it to herself.
"I apologize. I must seem so foolish to you right now."
no subject
"Under these circumstances, it is in our best interests to be as inconspicuous as possible. As I recall, you were dressed in what appeared to be this century's attire when we first met. If we are to draw as little attention as possible, I imagine a change in raiment would be in order here."
Prana gathers in the air around them, and there is a flash of blinding light as Lancer speaks. When it fades, the embroidered brown and teal leather of his previous attire is replaced with a simple, urban cut dark shirt and slacks over polished leather shoes, the only things he could recall from his brief glimpses at the fashion in this era. Both spears dematerialize from his grip, and the dark-haired man fidgets a little with the collar, slightly uncomfortable in his modern wear. He was never given the opportunity to do this, nor did he require it; Lancer was usually summoned within the walls of his Master's strongholds, and on the few occasions he was not, the level of seclusion was such that there was little need to blend in.
"Now you, King of Knights."
no subject
Once again Saber closes her eyes to focus and then in the next moment sword and dress are replaced by a sharp business suit, black shoes, and gloves. She takes a moment to adjust the tie at her neck, finding it a bit too tight.
It so nice to be in clothing both clean and dry. Saber hates being without her sword, but if Lancer is willing to dismiss his weapons she should be willing to do the same. He trusts her enough to be weaponless and he has not made one move against her. Saber knows she should show him the same courtesy.
"Is this well enough?" she asks, finding an elastic on one wrist and using it to tie back her still wet hair.
no subject
"Now that's taken care of," he turns to cast a glance in the direction Saber was heading before, "let's go, then. Lead the way."
(no subject)