bakerstreet | so, i ask of thee, are you my master?

so, i ask of thee, are you my master?

The HOLY GRAIL WAR Meme

Seven Masters, magi of the present day. Seven Servants, heroes of days past.One Holy Grail, granting whomever claims it a wish. Only one team of Master and Servant may claim it.
Who will it be?
For those unfamiliar with Fate/Stay Night or Fate/Zero, you can find a better explanation of the Holy Grail War here. (Note: The Holy Grail War in Fate/EXTRA functions in a dramatically different way, and one not followed for purposes of this meme.)

Instructions
1. Comment with your character. In the subject line, put that character's name, canon, and which role (Master, Servant, or either) you would like them to fulfill. Though not mandatory, it would be preferred that you give a brief summary of your character as they will (most likely) be AU'd into the setting. (NOTE: If your character can fill the role of Servant, I suggest you state which class(es) -- Saber, Lancer, Archer, Rider, Caster, Assassin, or Berserker -- they fall into.)
2. Reply to others' comments. Pick your character's role (and the other character's if they list "Either" as their preference), then use the RNG to pick a scenario that fits the two characters' roles.
3. Enjoy! Though there might be triggers, depending on how the prompts are interpreted.

TWO MASTERS

1. Battle. Who says that Servants get to have all the fun? After all, most Masters try to kill each other, too. Whatever the circumstances, the two of you are locked in a fight. Neither of you are willing to use your Command Spells just yet, so no Servants here. Just two magi duking it out.

2. Alliance. There's a bigger threat out there. Either one Servant is exceptionally powerful, or the situation has changed and the participants need to take action aginst it. One way or another, you're teamed up with one of your rivals for the Holy Grail. How long will this last before you try to stab each other in the back? Or, will something more develop?

3. Protection. Uh-oh! One of you has lost your Servant! Unfortunately, there's no way you'd get to the church safely on your own, so the other one will help you get there! Or maybe you don't trust the priest presiding over the Holy Grail War and are giving shelter to them yourself? Given their track record, no one would blame you.

4. Death. One or both of you lay dying. It might have been by the other's hand, or by someone else's entirely. How will you spend your last moments in the presence of one of your rivals?

5. You, Too? Surprise! You may have been friends before, but you've just discovered that you're both Masters! How will you handle this revelation?

6. Wild Card. Roll again, pick one of the previous options, or make one up!

MASTER AND SERVANT

1. Are You My Master? The summoning is complete. Whether intentional or not, catalyst or not, a magus has summoned a Servant. What kind of meeting was it? Was everything totally under control, or did a hitch occur? Or maybe it happened in the middle of a life-or-death situation!

2. Identity. Either the Servant has flat out told the Master their identity, or they unleashed their Noble Phantasm. Either way, the cat is out of the bag. How will the Master react, now that they know their Servant's name and legend? Will anything change between the two?

3. Battle Aftermath. A battle has just ended. Who participated? Are either of you hurt? Did the Master have to use a Command Spell? Any number of things could have happened here.

4. Discord. Uh-oh. It looks like the Master and the Servant don't get along. Here come the arguments! Don't do something stupid, like waste a Command Spell over a triviality...

5. Love. And then, there's the opposite. Sometimes Masters and Servants fall in love with each other. How will this affect things?

6. Wild Card. Roll again, pick one of the previous options, or make one up!

TWO SERVANTS

1. Battle. This is what usually happens when two Servants meet -- they duke it out. This probably says enough as it is.

2. Alliance. There's a bigger threat out there. Either one Servant is exceptionally powerful, or the situation has changed and the participants need to take action aginst it. One way or another, you're teamed up with one of your rivals for the Holy Grail. How long will this last before you try to stab each other in the back? Or, will something more develop?

3. The Grail Dialogues. Maybe you're not interested in fighting just yet. Maybe you just want to sit down and talk with the other Servant. Find out what they want, what makes them tick. Get some wine while you're at it -- nothing like good wine to go with good talk!

4. Death. One or both of you lay dying...again. It might have been by the other's hand, or by someone else's entirely. How will you spend your last moments in this War in the presence of one of your rivals?

5. Identity. Congratulations, you've just learned each other's identities! Will this change the situation, or will you press onward?

6. Wild Card. Roll again, pick one of the previous options, or make one up!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

No choice.

[The words come out like acid. Like a curse. There are always choices. Always options. No path is ever truly closed.

Thoughts that marked Waver as Unseelie, as much as it marked the attitude of those parts of the Rider class from previous Grail Wars.

Rider permits VH to slither out of the sewer great he stands over, coiling around his ankles. In a moment, they can ride. At least try and take Caster down with them. But oh, oh fuck Assassin somewhere uncomfortable.]

Explain how there's no choice in this!

[There are always choices. Until there aren't. There will always be a better way of doing things. Until a person runs out of options. Lancelot is kind, and gentle. He wants to win this war for the grail, but he would be hard-pressed to make a firm decision when pitted against a friend.

He won't like this. But what Lancelot doesn't know, what he doesn't find out, cannot hurt him. And it's Faolan's job to make this as easy on him as he can. To keep him safe. No matter the cost.]

You are an unknown, Waver Velvet. You always have been, and you always will be. You are far too intelligent for you own good, far too unpredictable. We cannot afford such a thing. Not now. Not at this stage in the game.

[Unpredictable. The word gives Waver pause as Caster begins her first spell incantation, said in a long forgotten tongue that Waver can't place. Unpredictable.

He had always thought otherwise. He was against the war. He worked against it through a network of contacts that he could always call on. His home never changed. He only hid information about himself when it was to his advantage. The goal had been to hide in plain sight.

And he had.

The first bolt of magic from Caster strikes like lightening, and it is only through VH's swift movement, the puddle of mercury under Waver expanding up and to the right tht the spell misses.

A bitter laugh escapes, finally, as VH gets Waver safely onto the roof. There's a wind picking up - Caster again, Waver's willing to bet - and there's something right about this backdrop.]

And yet I've been the most upfront I've ever been during this ritual!

[Perhaps unpredictable is not the right word, if only because he has been incredibly predictable about not cooperating, not trusting. And perhaps it's smart and wise and all of the things Faolan would have done himself. But Faolan knows what he himself would do in order to get what he wants. And so he cannot trust Waver in return.

He watches as Waver escapes to the roof. Watches from the ground as Caster fights his battle for him - for now at least.]

Could you guarantee me that you would continue to act as such? Could you guarantee that your alliance would hold, no matter what? What are your goals in this, Waver Velvet? What is it that you are truly after?

[If ever there's a time for honesty, now would be it.]

The same thing since day one: a way to end this war that doesn't involve bowing to the courts.

[Towering over the roof, Waver watches as VH forms a slick silver bridge. He slides from one side to the other, even as another bolt of Caster's magic causes the landing roof to be a slick mess. Waver's footing fails, and it's only with VH's support that he doesn't fall off.]

Moreover? I want everyone to go home.

[Faolan sighs softly, shaking his head as he does. Watching as Caster works his magic, perhaps feeling slightly wrong about having someone else fight his battle for him, but not enough to call him of. Not yet anyway.]

It's a nice thought. But I'm not certain it will work out. Not the way that everyone would like, anyway. [He shoots the other man a direct look.] There is only one wish to be had, Rider. We only have one chance to get this right. It cannot be jeopardized, not for friends or alliances, not for anything.

Then congratulations on seeing to that chance's death. I'm sure Lancelot's going to be thrilled when he hears about this.

[Faolan shrugs slightly. Not exactly with an air of nonchalance, but he's obviously not troubled by the idea either.]

He probably won't like it at all, no. Which is why I'm going to try and keep him from finding out. [What he doesn't know can't hurt him, after all. It's a tactic that Faolan's practiced many a time before now, both home and here, and even a few times against Lancelot himself, yes.]

Then I'll ensure it.

[He's going to die, oh yes. But in death, dicking another over. If Rider is to be a mage like he is back home, then this is the moment for it.]

[Faolan tenses at that, his eyes narrowing at the other man as he does.]

How do you propose that, then? Since you are here and he is there. [And if all goes according to plan, then Waver or Rider or whatever you would like to call the man - he will not be in any position to be passing on information to anyone once they're through with him.]

((ooc: wow i'm sorry i'm so slow work is kicking my ass I AM STILL INTERESTED IN CONTINUING THIS IF YOU ARE THOUGH!!))

Do you think that this fight isn't being watched? That details won't be leaked out?

[Another blast of magic to dodge, and this time Waver allows VH to encase him entirely in silver before responding to Faolan.]

That's how these wars work! A good master has familiars planted everywhere, and watches the fight in real time! Any smart master will exploit your betrayal and happily pass it along to Lancelot!

[ooc: no worries. i've had a long week anyway!]

And tell him what? [Faolan asks. He feels odd that he should be standing back, watching the fight happen while he only talks, but that's why he brought the other to fight for him, he supposes. He is no magic user, after all. He is Assassin. He does not need such talents. He has talents enough of his own.]

Tell me truly, Waver Velvet, or Rider, or whatever you want to be called. You have this alliance with him, but if it came down to a choice between your own motives or his, would you side with him or support your own gains? If you can honestly tell me that you will not use him to your advantage, that you will put him above yourself, then I will call this off. But I would be a poor guardian indeed if I did not eliminate all threats and you, whether he realizes it at the moment or not, are a threat.

You went behind his back, Faolan. You betrayed his trust by assuming what was best for him, and not letting him make the right call. The Master-Servant relationship isn't one of equality, it never has been. You don't exist without your master, and magi worth their salt knows exactly how easy these fissures are to exploit.

[Waver smiles, thin.]

And ever single master has a familiar or two watching us right now, and are overhearing every single word I say. They'll all know how to capitalize on this.

[Faolan shakes his head, his expression betraying nothing of how the other man's words may or may not have rung to him.]

I know what's best for him. Better than he does, at times. You and I both know what Lancelot is like. To hell with the Master-Servant relationship. To hell with all the listeners-in and their thoughts on whether or not I am overstepping my boundaries. Whether or not I am betraying his trust. If I let him play the game the way that he wants to, the way that they want him to, then he will die. And I cannot allow that.

((ooc: i'm sorry if this makes no sense canonically I WILL REMIND YOU I KNOW NOTHING ABOUT CANON AT ALL LMFAO))

[Waver smiles thinly. That'll do, that's enough damning evidence to ruin everything even after he's been destroyed. His eyes turn to a small rat that's been listening in - the familiar of another Master, an allied one, one who Waver wish summoned him instead. The rat's gone in a flash, and now Faolan gets no more words from Rider.

Instead his attention turns to Caster, and he engages in the fight in earnest. A clash of magi, a flash of silver as VH acts as a shield time and again, the mercury veering to almost grae Faolan every so often. There are houses downed as they fight rages, but for all of this Rider's movement is brought to a standstill after a spell from Caster pierces his foot. Pins him to the roof of some poor man's house, and for all Rider's speed, he can't move the great spike. IT is too heavy, and the iron is burning white hot.

This is how he goes then.

Rider looks for wherever Faolan's gotten to, to make eye contact. To make sure he knows this is your doing, and I hope you die for it.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

so, i ask of thee, are you my master?

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject