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Week 1.
WEEK 1. As Cynthia had promised, the sun does indeed rise the next morning. Whether you slept or not (and sleeping inside the Pokémon Center you were in before seems totally fine by the attendant), it seems Cynthia kept her word; she left sometime shortly before sunrise, and you haven't been bothered by Team Galactic and those that work for it in the interim. It isn't advisable to return to the headquarters building, however. At least not for the time being. However, a new day does dawn, and with it comes the knowledge that you're in an unfamiliar city, completely on your own. There are several things to be done before you can leave: gathering supplies and provisions, finding maps, obtaining new clothes... Of course, your new "companions" are still with you, and they don't seem willing to leave your side; they'll follow you dutifully, but they still seem...wrong, horribly so, and it doesn't seem to be wearing off. Maybe if you work with them a little...? Try to talk to them, train them, teach them to do things... Who knows? It might do them some good. POKEMON AVAILABLE: WITHIN CITIES MONDAY | TUESDAY | WEDNESDAY | THURSDAY | FRIDAY [OOC: Welcome to week one of Azume; feel free to make as many top levels as you'd like and tag out to other characters! This post is for all of your interactions this week... at least until the weekend. Don't forget that a write-up is due this weekend! Feel free to investigate the city as you see fit this week; we ask only that you try to stagger investigations and be mindful of what's already been checked. If you wish to investigate, notify the mods in your comment subject for your top-level and we'll get on it as soon as possible!] |
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It goes without saying that I am not your overseer—but I am inclined to agree. Were circumstances different, I would have reservations but...I believe we should use all the knowledge at our disposal. To that end I was hoping we could be more open with each other, there is little need for secrecy if we are all allies working for a common goal. As a show of good faith, I don't mind sharing first. I am with the Eight Sacrament as you may have surmised, and my servant is the Red Assassin.
I would presume it is highly unlikely you both have colors...
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I'd disagree that there's no magic in this world, honestly, after what I've observed from these Pokemon. They remind me more of Phantasmal Beasts than anything else, all things considered... but I do agree that there's no way we can access it through our own abilities. We're going to be reliant on them if we want to do anything particularly impressive, I think.
[okay. NOW Shirou.]
...hmm. I didn't automatically think that you were involved in a Holy Grail War, Kotomine- I just recognized your name from my own Holy Grail War, given that the overseer was a certain Risei Kotomine. Regardless... Red Assassin? What do you mean by that?
1/2
I'll concede to that distinction; it's hard for me to find fault with its conclusion. We can discuss it in more detail later.
no subject
He means that despite being the referee, he weaseled his way in as a player. [Huffing, her next line is grumbled under her breath.] Must run in the family.
[...apologies for the aggressive amount of side-eye Shirou's getting right now, though it's not exactly hostile. Rin sounds more like she's stating a fact, certain she already knows the answer. And kind of like that answer exasperates her.]
no subject
Risei Kotomine was my father. [ As to his other question, it luckily folds neatly into what Rin has accused him of. He shakes his head, a touch of uncertainly on his face before he holds a single hand up in appeasement. ]
My, is that what you think? I did no such thing. I was chosen as a master by the Clock Tower due to the unusual circumstances surrounding the Great Holy Grail War, despite the Church's desire to remain as a neutral arbiter. However, in the face of a conflict involving fourteen servants, it was a necessary step to take.
no subject
[...god his curiosity is so piqued, he knows he should be talking about their current situation but this sounds absolutely fascinating...]
Can you give me more details on what that entailed, then?
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As for what Kayneth brings up, Rin suspects she can explain some interconnections if need be, but it'd be better to do so after the fact. There's still a lot of missing pieces to go through, on all three sides.]
I'd also appreciate an explanation. It looks like El-Melloi's version of events more closely resembles what I know, so we might as well clear this up first. Afterwards, we can share our own stories.
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[ His voice is soft and his smile light as he begins speaking, and his speech sounds practiced like he's explained this many times before. ]
In the unlikely event that all of the Master's in the Grail War would decide to work together in unison, there exists a reserve built into the Grail. The stakes then become not seven masters versus each other, but fourteen masters divided into two sides. These exact conditions were met after the Yggdmillennia elected to secede from the Clock Tower with the Greater Grail as the symbol of their worth. The sides were then: the Masters of Black belonging to Yggdmillenia, and the Master's of Red produced by the Clock Tower...and a representative from the Church.
[ He pauses here for any questions the two magi might have, looking between them both warmly. ]
no subject
[we should be talking about pokemon
but this is cool as hell]
no subject
[But you know, she somehow didn't know Tokiomi and all the Tohsaka before him intended to use the Grail for the sole purpose of getting to the Root either.]
If what he's saying is true, however, I can admit his claim that the Mage's Association would invite the Church Overseer to participate as a Master might hold water after all.
[There's a brief pause as she looks back to Shirou as she says this. ...Yeah. It's not an apology, but as she elaborates, it seems she's reluctantly giving him the benefit of the doubt.]
A Grail War between fourteen Servants and fourteen Masters isn't how the ritual is meant to be performed, even if it was allowed. The Grail would see that as an encroachment of its authority and summon a Ruler to mediate the War in its interests. Any overseer appointed by humans would be considered a ceremonial position at best, with little real authority.
[She looks to Shirou here, to either confirm or deny this assessment.]
no subject
Rin is correct as well, a Ruler was summoned for parity and to ensure matters did not break down further. Would that be the case that the war progressed smoothly after that, but...I am not overly surprised that a situation like this came about.
[ And by that he means this world and this place, which he indicates with a sweeping gesture. ]
no subject
[...honestly he's significantly more confused about the why the more he thinks about it but]
no subject
This is the first I'm hearing of that. Since when?
[Was she mistaken before? When he introduced himself, she thought he was the El-Melloi who participated in the Fourth Holy Grail War.]
no subject
...can you explain, Kayneth?
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From then on, we had a private meeting where he... well, told me several things that confirmed his identity, if not his initial story. I really can't say that I believe everything he told me about why he was there, but he was definitely familiar with the events of the Fourth Holy Grail War, to the point where he could tell me things like the hideout of a rogue Servant and Master.
[...he gets quiet for a moment.]
...I definitely know that he was lying to me about some things, given that he initially told me that I was the mastermind behind his ability to time travel in the first place, then later confirmed to me that I perished in his version of the Holy Grail War. Again, I don't really know why he was lying about it... maybe to prevent the Counter Force from activating? Regardless, I can't say that I hold much of it against him, though, considering he probably saved my life by telling me to return to London.
no subject
It's probably telling that Rin listens to that wide-eyed, without a single interruption. The mention of a Counter Force in particular makes her fingers curl in towards themselves, pressing tightly against her knees.
It's a lot take in, and as Kayneth winds down, she sits straighter and forces herself to relax. To process it. A timeline where the Fourth Holy Grail War was interrupted by a time traveller...? What would prompt such a thing in the first place?
...was El-Melloi's survival the only change?]
He probably did. Since it's like this, I don't mind admitting it now.
[Reaching into that picnic basket she brought earlier, she sets about unpacking a sandwich to split with her pokemon. Mostly to give her hands something to do.]
When you'd asked me if I'd heard of you, it wasn't necessarily a lie. If his title was anything to go by, I've met the man who took your place at the Clock Tower. I'd presumed you had passed, though obviously I'd have no way of knowing for certain.
But for me, the Fourth Holy Grail War was ten years ago. [Tearing the sandwich, she hands half off to her Mienfoo.] I knew there weren't many survivors, so that seemed like a possibility.
no subject
I suppose I should be forward, as well. As I stated previously, I was involved in the Great Grail War prior to my arrival here. The last true grail war before that was the Third—there was never a fourth, as that was an impossibility due to certain circumstances that transpired in the Third. Additionally, while I am not as familiar with your name Kayneth, I do know of a Lord El-Melloi II who teaches at the Clock Tower.
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[He laughs it off, like it’s something that definitely hasn’t been weighing on the back of his mind since he figured it out or anything.]
Still... Tohsaka, weren’t you a master at some point? Aren’t Holy Grail Wars supposed to be about sixty years apart? It’s kind of odd hearing that in one timeline things started again early, but in another it ended up in some bizarre seven versus seven mess.
no subject
Yes. I'm the winner of the Fifth Holy Grail War.
[Though as she takes out another sandwich—for Shirou to split with himself and his pokemon, if he likes; after that, she'll retrieve one for Kayneth—Rin clucks her tongue and doubles back on that.]
Well, I'm officially recognized as the winner, at any rate. I didn't actually claim the Grail. When the time came, I ordered Saber to destroy it instead.
[She looks up sharply, already predicting the questions.] The truth is, the Grail war I participated in began early due to the premature and violent end of the Fourth, as I recall events.
No one could explain it, but I learned the reasons why during the Fifth. During the Third Holy Grail War, the Grail became corrupted. There's something evil that resides in it now, and when it wasn't able to be born into the world it sped the timetable along. Last time it only took ten years.
It will be back, though, and I expect I'll have to deal with it all over again soon enough.
[She jerks a thumb in Shirou's direction.] If what Kotomine says is true, and the Holy Grail Wars didn't continue after the Third, I imagine things went differently in his timeline. Maybe he comes from a world where the Grail was never corrupted in the first place.
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Yes, the Grail in my world is free from corruption. [ That's undeniably firm, and he stands again (having knelt to feed Litleo). ]
There were rumors that an unexpected event occurred in the Third but... [ He pauses to push an errant strand of hair out of his face, playing with it a little like a schoolboy would. ] I believe the diverging cause in my world was the Grail being taken by Yggdmillennia.
no subject
[...he's still a little bit obviously bothered by it, though. Why wasn't this explained to him?
...was he still going to fucking die even if he won the Holy Grail War?]
I assume something like fixing that nonsense wouldn't activate the Counter Force...