fate/stay frosty

[renpy]

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.

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. Add other preferences if you would like. (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!

Comments

Chiron | Fate/ | Archer

[horsepowered]

A horse is a horse of course.

wildcard;

[cheir]

[ It's a brief respite, really. They don't have much time before the next battle, and as the current head of the family, Fiore similarly doesn't have much time to catch her breath. But she makes time where she can, and as soon as she's taken her nightly medicine, she's methodically working the tangles out of her hair when she pauses and looks towards her Servant. He won't leave until she's settled, and she ought to do that quickly, but... ]

Archer... do you ever have difficulties with your hair?

[ Mane or tail-- and Fiore's aware that it's a rather inane question to ask when their conversations have largely been about magecraft and his past and ties to Achilles and strategy.

But maybe it's because it's inane, that she's too drained from beginning to transfer her Magic Circuits to Caules, or that a part of her is still grieving from that choice... she asks it anyway. ]

[horsepowered]

Hm?

[It is a question that takes Chiron by surprise, that much is so very clear as his gaze turns from the window to his Master herself. His eyes had been averted as a matter of privacy, as much as anyone can have privacy with the kind of bond that they share.

The origin of the question is clear, and the way Fiore fights the tangles makes it clear she already has a battle plan for them. He doesn't have to offer to help, but...it's a conversation that causes a warmer laugh to ripple up his throat.]

Of course. Less so these days, but before. [There is a moment in which Chiron pauses, and indicates where his body would be had his summoned form been that of a centaur.] It was very hard to reach.

[cheir]

[ Had she not seen him in his actual true form, Fiore would have paused to consider what that might have looked like. Chiron, trying diligently to twist himself around enough to reach his hair-- she's certain he might have needed help every so often.

She still hesitates long enough at the thought, just enough to wince as the brush snags an unruly clump; a more diligent stroke works to correct that. ]

I suppose taking a human form for this war had more unexpected benefits than helping to disguise your true identity. [ Fiore's smile is just as warm as his laugh had been. ]

It just always looks so soft and lustrous, that I'd wondered if maintaining it was difficult-- it's even longer than mine, of course.

[ And she'd never had a tail. ]

[horsepowered]

I can say with confidence that having two feet and walking more than running has caused many changes on that front.

[He had help, of course. It's yet to come up, but it wasn't as if Chiron lived in solitude. There was a family of his own beyond the great heroes he tutored, and in that there was the kind of quiet companionship that saw help with things like tail problems.]

You've also far more hair products in this century than we did in Greece. [That same warmth continues, even as there are more clumps to do battle with.]

Would you like a hand?

[cheir]

[ Fiore does remember that-- aside from always understanding who he had been, as a legendary figure, she'd seen that in her dreams. A wife, daughters. For as much as he tends to fluster her with his gentle chivalry and his quiet respect, and the occasional (and completely unwelcome) comment Celenike had made about having a Servant like him for Reasons, Fiore's reminded herself each and every time: Chiron was a father and a husband, just as much as he was a teacher. If nothing else, she's certain he must view her as a child, and her sigh is a fondly rueful one before she answers him.

It's not a question her own father had ever asked her, but magus families were a different matter entirely. ]

You do know that isn't a task I'd ever place on your shoulders as my Servant, correct?

[ It's not a "no", necessarily. She can't actually remember the last time anyone else ever brushed her hair. ]

[horsepowered]

I know. And you know my nature by now. I would not make that offer as a Servant.

[The rest need not be said. They've moved well beyond a Servant and Master's bond. He himself would ascribe it as far closer to the bonds shared with his students over the years, as their tender ages sometimes demanded some parenting in addition to a pupil and teacher's bond.

Which is all to say that the offer is one he'd make no matter what.]

I'll cease the moment that you ask me to.

[That's a known fact as well, but it is worth voice all the same.]

[cheir]

...

[ That's really how it is, and given the nature of the Master-Servant pairs their side has had, Fiore finds herself exceedingly grateful that she and Chiron were the ones to be partnered in the end.

The tension in her shoulders eases as she lifts the brush free, facing him with that same sheepishness that she'd allow very little people to see as the current head. ]

Then, if I may.

[ She'll offer the brush to him. ]

[horsepowered]

Happily.

[Chiron crosses the space between them, taking the brush in hand and then letting his eyes seek out the space where Fiore had paused in her work. The tangle there is, indeed, a nasty thing, and Chiron takes it in hand very carefully.

There's a few moments before the brush goes back into Fiore's hair, and it starts at the lowest part of the tangle, seeming to be trying to undo the worst of it hair-by-hair.]

I know how I end up with things this nasty, but in your case...?

[ooc: i gotta head to bed, i will tag back tomorrow!]

[cheir]

There are times where it's simply the wind.

[ Or she'd just woken up from a restless slumber, or it was just the simple nature of long hair. Fiore manages to reply with some modicum of dignity, remaining perfectly still to let Chiron fuss with the tangle with no interference or complaint on her part. ]

In this particular situation, Rider seemed to be of the opinion that I needed to be cheered up, and...

[ She lifts one hand, miming a very underestimated gesture of the overly enthusiastic hair ruffling she'd received. ]

[ ooc: good night!! ]

[horsepowered]

[Rider? Of course, why is he even surprises. Chiron shakes his head, and there's such undeniable fondness in the gesture.]

He could have done far worse then. I expect that Rider will attempt to braid my hair one day, in truth.

[Horses sometimes have stunning hair, after all! But for now, he can focus on the next part of the knot. He has to tug just a little more, but it's as soft as he can possibly manage.]

[cheir]

I'm a bit surprised he hasn't yet, to be honest. He's already proven to be fearless.

[ But it makes her chuckle, softly, ignoring the tug to the best of her ability. It's fine, Chiron, she can take it. ]

[horsepowered]

Perhaps he's waiting for me to sleep? There will be nothing but disappointment on that front, I'm afraid.

[Chiron takes advantage of downtime to accomplish other goals, be they careful consideration of the best strategies to move forward, or simply providing company should Rider be up and about with nothing else to do.

Either way, it gives him the luxury of time for the important things, great and small. Like this. Even if this involves a harder yank than he'd like, just to see the last of the tangle come undone.]

We should both be relieved he didn't insist you come in the air with him.

[cheir]

[ The shudder that runs through her could really be attributed either to that painful yank or the thought of being tugged into the air before she's remotely ready for Rider's shenanigans. ]

I think I'll have to find my excitement elsewhere. I doubt he'd enjoy teatime with me, either, so we may just have to accept our differences.

[ Let Sieg handle him, or be handled. ]

[horsepowered]

I think he'd enjoy the process of it, or at least the idea of baking for a more elaborate version of it.

[Rider in a kitchen, however, is likely the thing of actual nightmares and Chiron cannot imagine it going down well with anyone.]

Sieg would end up having to clean the kitchen in his wake though. That's unfair.

[That's one clump well and defeated. Chiron spies the next one, and he begins as he did before with more gentle, exploratory tugs of the brush through the offending tangles.]

[cheir]

[ if her family could only see her now... their one and only hope for privilege and pride, letting her Servant untangle her hair.

Well, she'd gone and broken a number of rules agreeing to let her brother take over as the head once this was all over, so this is probably the least of her offenses right now.

Still, Fiore smiles, hands clasped in her lap and back ramrod straight in her chair. ]

As much as we tried to plan accordingly, you somehow became part of a rather motley collection of Masters and Servants. I've been wondering if I ought to apologize for that.

[ An Assassin who'd killed her first Master and contracted with someone entirely unrelated, a Master who'd tried to order her Servant to kill a homunculus and been killed by another Servant, leaving the first Servant to contract with the homunculus, a Saber who had sacrificed himself not too far in, Darnic and his everything, to say nothing of Caster...

What's left may be a bit paltry, she's well aware. ]

[horsepowered]

You cannot account for personality or will in such preparations - either of Servants or of Masters, if I'm to be completely candid.

[It's a polite way of pointing out that who knew Darnic was going to be that stupid with regards to Vlad III, among so many other things. Such as it is, they're a good and solid group now. What more can be asked for?]

You work with what you are given, and you plan with that knowledge rather than the knowledge you thought you had perfect command of going in.

[Chiron would glare should Fiore's family make comments about the state of things. They made their decisions and placed Fiore at the head of them all. It is her choices they must abide by now, and that is the end of the matter.]

[cheir]

It's more improvisation than I would have liked, but...

[ Fiore gazes down at her hands, even though she doesn't dip her head so Chiron can continue his work without additional hassle. ]

We've made it this far, and I don't happen to believe it's mere luck. If anything, I've seen everyone's individual strengths emerge the longer we've continued. [ With who was left, anyway. ]

... I understand. No apologies, then.

[horsepowered]

That's all any war is, in the end. The Greeks did not engage with Troy knowing they would take it with a false horse.

[Chiron knows it isn't luck.]

You've exceeded everything that has been demanded of you, and you've the same clarity of vision that any archer has in regards to the future. If you apologized for any of it, I should be very disappointed.

[cheir]

Well, we can't have that. If I can't remain a Master to be proud of until the end of this War, I'd b rather disappointed in myself as well.

[ Even though compliments from Chiron still make the tips of her ears go pink, which she personally thinks is unfair, but she also knows they're not lightly given. He's not the coddling type. ]

[horsepowered]

I was speaking well beyond this war.

[Fiore has proven herself to be the kind of student that deserves praise. Not just for her ability to learn strategy, to lead, and to make judgement calls, but to look at the future and know that what a family's wish might be is not always what is best in the end.

And in those words there's something else too. The confidence of survival, in knowing Fiore will have a life after all is said and done.]

[cheir]

[ ... That's also not light praise, and it causes Fiore to sober up, simultaneously surprised and touched. He says it so confidently, that she'll live on-- and not only that, but she'll have been stronger for it. Even with her legs still unresponsive, the only sensation that sharp, agonizing pain every so often, and that vision she'd seen with her hand clasped in Caules', of furious ancestors...

She takes a quiet breath. ]

It's a little strange to think about... the end of it. I have to say, I'll miss taking tea with you, Archer.

[horsepowered]

Perhaps your brother will find some way to summon me back then, and you'll not have to miss anything.

[It is a long shot, but absolutely worth trying for. The confidence he has in her is important, but it means nothing without Fiore's confidence in herself and the decisions she's made.]

s+s 2, fancy seeing you here c:

[coyness]

[Far be it for Ozymandias to expect or demand anything normal when it comes to being summoned, but even he has to admit that this whole War has far exceeded his expectations. When it had started it had seemed easy enough, but now four Masters are dead, and the city is in ruins from relentless fights all over. To make matters worse, two of those four Masters now yet live as shambling corpses, still with their Servants in tow. Eradicating the Servants and Masters proves futile for the moment- every time it's done, sooner or later they'll show up once again.

This whole thing troubles him. The dead do not rise so easily in a case such as this one. To defy the ways of the afterlife and deny the touch of Osiris only foretells of something far worse incoming. He himself had wished to bypass his own mortality in his life, but not in a miserable way such as this.

Still, while there's a lull after the last battle, the pharaoh cannot help but to give a rather curious look to the other Servant his Master has ordered him to work with. Normally his pride refuses any help unless he deems it so, but considering he and Archer are the last few standing at this point, a partnership was inevitable. Ozymandias tightens his grip ever so slightly on his staff, eyes venturing across the ruin of a field where smoke still rises across charred earth.]

Archer. [His voice is firm, solid. Where once he'd been far too jovial to enter this fight, now he stands simply trying to fathom how this all keeps occurring while they seem to lack in progress.] Speak. Have you any word from your Master on any clues they've found?

[Searching through old archives long hidden from the mage eye, down below. There has to be something there, he's certain of it.]

~~~~

[horsepowered]

[In a war like this, alliances are made to be broken. That is one of the many simple truths of the matter, as it is to one's advantage to form them for so many reasons. Insight into a partner's weaknesses happens to be among them, as well as an eye towards the identity of their servant.

Chiron had no expectations going in, so against Ozymandias, he is neither impressed or disappointed by the course of the war. It simply is, and such clarity of vision is one of the hallmarks of not only the class, but of a life well lived in his own time.

Oh, the dead rising, that's upsetting on so many levels, but it has happened. The matter needs to be addressed, not for the sake of the souls and their afterlife, but for the living. There have been some among their number that recognized the dead, and that is much more upsetting.

Ozymandias' nature is far too helpful in narrowing down his identity. A proud king, almost to the point of parody. And true enough to Chiron's own nature, he does not bristle at being addressed as a subject rather than a partner in a particular enterprise.]

I have had no word, but that does not mean they've failed to find something. Knowing their nature, they are lost in the research and working to present a reasonable conclusion before barraging me with an information overload.