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 | Expand All

[ She shifts her gaze ever so slightly. It's true she's seen it all before. In dreams that she wished she didn't have. It was an intrusion of privacy that she couldn't stop, and she was all too certain that Cloud must have seen her memories as well. Memories of her shutting herself in, of being alone.

But that didn't matter to a magus; they were always meant to be alone in the end, as someone who excluded themselves from the normal, human world.

After all, a magus was something that was no longer human. ]

A monster, huh... [ Placing her hand under her chin, she mulls things over in her head for a moment or two, leaning back in her seat. ] Can you tell me more of his history?

[ She needed to make sure she wasn't misinterpreting things from the short glimpses she saw. ]

[though he has seen those dreams of hers, leading a life within isolation, shutting himself out from his family... though he didn't ask, he had to wonder if that was what Inaba saw too. his moments of despair, the woman who asked if he was living for a memory or what he had right in front of him, those fateful moments where he failed the people that mattered the most to him... how many sins could he commit? what could Cloud hope to gain from the Holy Grail? would it be enough to wash it all away? for once, his gaze wasn't that of a cold and stoic Servant. he was...decisively human. almost as human as the young girl sitting in front of him. though in the end...after everything that happened to him, and from the lineage that Inaba had, how human were they in the end? a long pause and,]

There's a lot... [it wasn't a warning, only so much that if he wanted to explain that man, he had to explain himself. as much as he wished he could stay within his memories alone, they were connected] As you already know, Servants are summoned from across time and space. When we're summoned into a certain age and period, we gain some basic knowledge of the world so we can fit in easier.

The thing is... I already know what cars are, what planes are, what guns are- pretty much everything I had in my time, is here. But... I don't recognize any of it. I've never heard of Japan from where I exist, or America, or Brazil, or Finland, Ireland...

[and what Cloud was getting at?]

Sephiroth and I aren't like ordinary Servants. I think we exist on a parallel planet- but it's also called Gaia.

[he may as well make a long story short of it now that he's gotten that out of the way]

There was an elite militia group called SOLDIER that fought under the Shinra Company. Sephiroth was the strongest one, a cut above the rest. He could single-handedly end wars by himself if he wanted to.

[this one included. the story was far from done yet, but he paused all the same]

Wait, wait, wait.

[ She brings her hand up in pause. ] I've done weeks of research in the library and my computer to find out exactly who you are. Heroic Spirits are supposed to at least have a background that's famous enough for someone to recognize them, right?

If you're from a parallel universe, then maybe I've been looking in the wrong direction.

[ Those words sounded familiar to her ears though, however. But she couldn't seem to place it. Sephiroth. SOLDIER. Shinra-- waaait a sec. Inaba's gaze seems to shift towards the bookshelf (which, truthfully contained more than just books) and got up from her seat in the couch to double check something, pulling out a famous gamer's guide from her bookshelf and reading it.

Intensely.

...And groaning slightly as she rolled her eyes at it. No, this was stupid. But it wasn't impossible. Servants didn't have to be real figures. They just needed to exist somehow. She doesn't dare look at him at all as she speaks in a deadpan tone. ]

Oi, Cloud. [ Did he tell her his name? Or maybe she heard it in his dreams?

] So... your planet is the kind of planet that has mako reactors and materia and people have Limit Breaks and all that kind of crap, right? And Sephiroth is essentially the Big Bad who planned on destroying the planet because of that thing he called his Mother, right? Jenova?

[ She seems to sound as if she's in utter disbelief. As if she's trying to confirm something that can't possibly be true. Because ha.. ha..... she couldn't have overlooked this. Naaaah. ]

[before Cloud can continue, Inaba stopped him as she rationalized Heroic Spirits. it was true that most heroes should have a large enough legend of a piece in history. though he didn't think much of his own life as far as being some 'legend' was concerned, but it was big enough that him and Sephiroth were both summoned. when she checks out the book, he blinks when she groans slightly]

... Master?

[it's enough for Cloud to actually move away from the wall that he was leaning against, slowly but surely stepping closer to Inaba as she doesn't face him still]

........

Inaba?

["Oi, Cloud."]

What's up?

[and one relay story from his Master later?]

......................

[..............she didn't see that all from her dreams, did she? that book-no. she described it all word for word]

...................................

[judging by his blatantly wide eyes and slightly agape mouth? right on the money]

Haaah.

[ Inaba lets out a self deprecating sigh as she runs a hand through her face. ]

I'm a idiot. I'm a huge idiot. I should have been able to figure this out sooner if I knew about this and would have been able to deal with Sephiroth.

.............

I'm fictional? [in her world, he keeps telling himself. it's all real to him damn it!]

You're the main character of a popular video game franchise here.

[ She knows that sounds weird, but it's true. ] I should have known, I have the original game, the prequel, the movie sequel... I even have the mobile game on my phone and the games that have the characters from the original games in it. Oh, and that fighting game spinoff. You're popular enough that your story is all over the internet. And then some.

[ . . . . uh. This is kind of awkward, especially since she's never talked about gaming with Cloud. And this kind of causes her to fluster, smothering her hair. ] A-Anyway. Looks like that means there's only one thing to do.

[ She's moving from the couch to the computer desk, taking out her controller. Can't be bothered to find the PS1 in her closet. Plus this is much faster. ]

Make me some popcorn and get me a soda. I'm pulling an all nighter.

[ I N A B A ]

[for possibly the first time since Inaba has summoned her Servant, Rider hasn't been able to return to his more stoic demeanor for some time. in fact, he'd been prepared to keep going to explain the full situation between himself and Sephiroth. eventually he still may have had to. what could Cloud do with the Noble Phantasms he carried? was he strong enough to really take him down?

right now though, he wasn't acting like a Servant. he was acting like a young man who just had his whole world flipped upside down]

Inaba... [a beat] I didn't know you were such a gamer.

[if she knew him as well as he thought she did, she shouldn't be surprised that even as a Servant he knew the term]

Mm?

[he blinks at that, taking a step back before turning towards the door to head downstairs to go and get everything ready]

What for?

I'm going to start up the game since I need to review it.

[ See? Priorities. ]

Make sure not to burn the popcorn.

Review it...?

[if she needed to know anything about him or Sephiroth, he could fill in for her. was it such a good idea to go through a video game for historical accuracy on what could help them against Saber? ...ah who was he kidding]

I can handle popcorn.

[and about 5-ish minutes later, Cloud comes back up with a bowl of popcorn, a couple pieces of paper towel underneath it and in the other hand? a soda. if she needs to reload and get another, he'll go snag one too. he'd almost forgotten about being able to go into Spirit Form that he actually did all of this all normally as he came back to the room]

You had melon soda and lemon...dunno which one you wanted.

Pass me the melon soda, then.

[ And just as she takes it, she finally boots the game. She didn't want to start without him! That would be rude. Besides, even if she needed to know more things and could have just asked, that would be boring. SHE WANTS SOME ACTION. ]

It's been a while since I've played this game, actually... I downloaded this version so I can always have it in case something goes bad with the PS1 disc.

[ The music starts to play and--

> START? ]

Edited 2015-06-14 08:10 (UTC)

Got it. [he's about to lob it at her, but realizes that carbonated drinks around her computer may not have been a good idea. so he closes the gap, places the soda on the desk before putting the popcorn on the other side. just as Cloud's about to plop down at the edge of her bed to watch, the music starts... and he sees the Buster Sword]

.....

[it's getting weird. but he stares and blinks for a couple more seconds]

So...new game, yeah?

Of course. I mean, I have old save files, but we're starting from the beginning. We're going to make it through the night with this. ... Or you know, quit partway because this game is long and watch the movie instead.

[ Pressing the circle button right there before the first scene starts to play out. ]

... Ah, this scene is one of my favorites. Though really, this game is so dated.

I thought the movie was a sequel... Not so much a good review of my history as a Heroic Spirit if you're just gonna skip it.

[when the first scene starts up, the stars in the sky... it's setting the atmosphere well enough when suddenly]

Is that...?

[his eyes widen some at first when he spots the familiar flower girl, the scene continues as the streets of Midgar come into view, until finally the entirety of Midgar from above]

The graphics are kinda old looking... Granted I didn't play too many games back home.

[too many. Cloud did play though!]

Don't judge me! I've played all of the games enough times to know what happens. Besides, I can save and go back to this anytime I want.

[ She huffs, folding her arms around her chest as she puffs her cheeks in frustration. ]

Well the game is almost ten years old. It came out in '97. Almost everything else in the compilation has better graphics. In any case, if we're reviewing, we just need to do the original game and the movie. We're skipping Dirge because that was a bad game and has nothing to do with you, and the prequel on the PSP wasn't in your perspective either.

So...why are we playing it again if you already know everything about it?

[a beat]

... [and there's something you don't see every day, a smile. you wouldn't be able to tell by his tone, usually more deadpan or stoic, but is that a little hint of amusement...maybe even teasing?]

Is my Master a fangirl of... [a glance] Final Fantasy VII?

[ Now that's just rude, Cloud. When those words slip from his lips, Inaba can't help but glance towards the closet with slightly flushed cheeks before huffing. ]

H, hmph. Just because I know everything doesn't mean I can't use a refresher. [ In her frustration she puffs out her cheeks. ] And I'm not a fangirl..! That's it. When I get to name you, I'm calling you "Jerkass".

[ Who's the rude one again? ]

Wait hold on.

You can name me? [glad that Mom didn't call him "Jerkass" in that case. also he's clearly focused on the more important things]

You can name everyone in the game.

[ Priorities. ]

......

Inaba, I've got a condition.

What is it? It better not be anything stupid.

You can call me "Jerkass" but...

Just...don't call Tifa or Aerith anything weird.

That's fine, but... on one condition.

What?

Edited 2015-06-21 22:57 (UTC)

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