Starless Black (A Fate/Extra-style Quest)
- Thread starter ArlequineLunaire
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Vote closed
- Location
- SV's Only Complete Persona Quest
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Prologue: Wandering around again...
- Location
- SV's Only Complete Persona Quest
- Pronouns
- She/Her
[X] -I don't know, just try wandering around again. I mean, who knows what we could find?"
"Just wonder around?" Beryl asked, eyeing Sakura closer.
"Well, there's like a whole bunch of potential Masters roaming around, as well as AIs, so likely we'll just naturally find something. If we're attentive enough, anyway," Sakura said. Beryl did nod in response, but otherwise didn't say anything.
Breakfast down at the cafeteria was, hmm, hard to describe. Not that the food was bad, that simply wouldn't do for a place as luxurious as the Aquarius. More the issue was, no matter how good the food was, there was always the knowledge clawing at the mind that this was only the image and sensation of food, not actual sustenance. It would've also unnerved Sakura to see Beryl not eating at all. Not that Beryl needed to, AI and all, but still… weird.
It looked like Sakura had been one of the 'late risers', with more people having left since she came in (er, probably just correlation). It was likely that other players had adopted the approach that more sleep meant less time to figure out the 'secret of the outside world', or maybe Sakura wasn't much of an early morning person in general.
Either way, she did look around the room for anyone still here, likely anyone who met Ciel's descriptions from yesterday. And well, that's how we first met.
I've been speaking for a while, but this'd be a good segue into introducing myself. My name's-
[ ] Yakumo Amemiya (Western order)
[ ] Shannon Conroy
[ ] Avital 'Tal' Rosenbach
[ ] Write-in
-they/them, and I'll tell you, I was quite surprised actually when Sakura came up to me and said, "Oh hey, you kinda match the Overseer's description of a player with a lighter blue hair. Ah, sorry, I should introduce myself, Tohsaka Sakura."
I gave her my name and smiled, then tried to say, "Hey, pleasure's all mine. It's always great to meet new people," which made me automatically worry whether I was being too forward.
I would've been fine if Sakura had asked what I'd found out about the outside world right away, but it sounded like she wanted to build up to a topic like that. "Er, nice avatar you picked out," she went with instead.
"Guess it's an avatar, yeah, but really I just tried to stick as close to my real self as possible. Felt less… weird that way, ah, no offence," I said. I confess I might've been lying or at least misremembering due to how the VR memory-wipe worked. My virtual self was more 'along the lines' of how I actually looked.
"None taken", Sakura smiled, and seemed sincere enough. Feeling now like she could be more forward, she then asked, "So, what Magic Specialty did you pick? I went for Imaginary Numbers myself."
You- you just told me what magic you use? I thought, given what a potential giveaway that could be. Well, she's only told me her basic field, nothing too specific. All I knew then about Imaginary Numbers was it could be a serious headache to use, more so than regular maths, but reportedly did have massive payoffs.
"Oh, me? I'm just a-
[ ] Onmyouji
[ ] Oneiromancer
[ ] Witch
[ ] Write-in
-that's all really, but I think it's fun!" I said, trying to keep the positivity going. I did add, "Speaking of magic though, I've heard whispers yesterday about something called 'Grain'. I learned from the library that it's basically space-dust but couldn't find out much more."
Sakura shrugged, "First time I've heard of it, sorry."
"Ah, master!" I heard a voice cry. It was none other than Jasper Carlisle, the valet assigned to me, somewhat tall and lanky and with hair a darker shade of green. He was currently rubbing the side of his head, looking like he'd run into something.
"Is everything alright?" I asked him.
"Perfectly fine, master! I just, er, tripped and fell face-first onto one of your used plates, that's all," Jasper said.
"Jasper, I should've known," I could hear Beryl sigh.
"Anyway," Jasper said, then focusing on Sakura, "I do trust that everything's alright here?"
"What? Of course it's fine, we've been getting along pretty well," Sakura said, with me nodding to confirm.
"Alright, if you say so," Jasper said, looking more relaxed now. His eyes then darted from side to side before he added, "Do take caution with others you may speak with, this is a tournament environment after all. Or will be, anyway." He then bent down between Sakura and I and whispered, "That 'Rin Matou' for instance."
"Rin Matou? Huh, I don't remember meeting anyone by that name," I said.
"You had the good fortune to be asleep at the time, master. I had the displeasure of encountering Miss Matou while I was doing the night's chores. She's hard to miss, tall, lilac hair, black boots, and simply the coldest glare. I was quite rudely reprimanded by her for 'being in her way', dreadful experience. What she was up to that late I can't say."
My first thought was Jasper may've been overacting or misremembering a little, but she at least sounded like someone to be a little careful of. "Ah, thanks for the heads up," I settled on saying.
Sakura however started muttering to herself, "Matou Rin, Matou Rin, Matou Rin…" Just before she got too trance-like, she shook her head and said, "Sorry, must've been déjà vu. Well, this 'Grain' certainly sounds like something I should check into, and it's been nice meeting you!"
I smiled in return, "Likewise. Well, I was gonna head to the library again, it's got so much that there has to be something I missed."
Sakura then said:
[ ] "Yeah, I'll come with you, that way we can search the library together."
[ ] "I might wanna track down Matou, at least get the basics on her."
[ ] "There's another woman who kinda looks like an older me, I wanted to know her case. Her hair's black, so she'd be someone else than Matou."
[ ] "I was thinking to ask Felix de Carvalho about Grain or the outside world, he oughta know if anyone."
[ ] "There was this wolfy boy I met, who I think was something called an A-Ray. I don't exactly wanna talk with him, but I am wondering if this 'Grain' has something to do with A-Rays."
[ ] Write-in
"Just wonder around?" Beryl asked, eyeing Sakura closer.
"Well, there's like a whole bunch of potential Masters roaming around, as well as AIs, so likely we'll just naturally find something. If we're attentive enough, anyway," Sakura said. Beryl did nod in response, but otherwise didn't say anything.
Breakfast down at the cafeteria was, hmm, hard to describe. Not that the food was bad, that simply wouldn't do for a place as luxurious as the Aquarius. More the issue was, no matter how good the food was, there was always the knowledge clawing at the mind that this was only the image and sensation of food, not actual sustenance. It would've also unnerved Sakura to see Beryl not eating at all. Not that Beryl needed to, AI and all, but still… weird.
It looked like Sakura had been one of the 'late risers', with more people having left since she came in (er, probably just correlation). It was likely that other players had adopted the approach that more sleep meant less time to figure out the 'secret of the outside world', or maybe Sakura wasn't much of an early morning person in general.
Either way, she did look around the room for anyone still here, likely anyone who met Ciel's descriptions from yesterday. And well, that's how we first met.
I've been speaking for a while, but this'd be a good segue into introducing myself. My name's-
[ ] Yakumo Amemiya (Western order)
[ ] Shannon Conroy
[ ] Avital 'Tal' Rosenbach
[ ] Write-in
-they/them, and I'll tell you, I was quite surprised actually when Sakura came up to me and said, "Oh hey, you kinda match the Overseer's description of a player with a lighter blue hair. Ah, sorry, I should introduce myself, Tohsaka Sakura."
I gave her my name and smiled, then tried to say, "Hey, pleasure's all mine. It's always great to meet new people," which made me automatically worry whether I was being too forward.
I would've been fine if Sakura had asked what I'd found out about the outside world right away, but it sounded like she wanted to build up to a topic like that. "Er, nice avatar you picked out," she went with instead.
"Guess it's an avatar, yeah, but really I just tried to stick as close to my real self as possible. Felt less… weird that way, ah, no offence," I said. I confess I might've been lying or at least misremembering due to how the VR memory-wipe worked. My virtual self was more 'along the lines' of how I actually looked.
"None taken", Sakura smiled, and seemed sincere enough. Feeling now like she could be more forward, she then asked, "So, what Magic Specialty did you pick? I went for Imaginary Numbers myself."
You- you just told me what magic you use? I thought, given what a potential giveaway that could be. Well, she's only told me her basic field, nothing too specific. All I knew then about Imaginary Numbers was it could be a serious headache to use, more so than regular maths, but reportedly did have massive payoffs.
"Oh, me? I'm just a-
[ ] Onmyouji
[ ] Oneiromancer
[ ] Witch
[ ] Write-in
-that's all really, but I think it's fun!" I said, trying to keep the positivity going. I did add, "Speaking of magic though, I've heard whispers yesterday about something called 'Grain'. I learned from the library that it's basically space-dust but couldn't find out much more."
Sakura shrugged, "First time I've heard of it, sorry."
"Ah, master!" I heard a voice cry. It was none other than Jasper Carlisle, the valet assigned to me, somewhat tall and lanky and with hair a darker shade of green. He was currently rubbing the side of his head, looking like he'd run into something.
"Is everything alright?" I asked him.
"Perfectly fine, master! I just, er, tripped and fell face-first onto one of your used plates, that's all," Jasper said.
"Jasper, I should've known," I could hear Beryl sigh.
"Anyway," Jasper said, then focusing on Sakura, "I do trust that everything's alright here?"
"What? Of course it's fine, we've been getting along pretty well," Sakura said, with me nodding to confirm.
"Alright, if you say so," Jasper said, looking more relaxed now. His eyes then darted from side to side before he added, "Do take caution with others you may speak with, this is a tournament environment after all. Or will be, anyway." He then bent down between Sakura and I and whispered, "That 'Rin Matou' for instance."
"Rin Matou? Huh, I don't remember meeting anyone by that name," I said.
"You had the good fortune to be asleep at the time, master. I had the displeasure of encountering Miss Matou while I was doing the night's chores. She's hard to miss, tall, lilac hair, black boots, and simply the coldest glare. I was quite rudely reprimanded by her for 'being in her way', dreadful experience. What she was up to that late I can't say."
My first thought was Jasper may've been overacting or misremembering a little, but she at least sounded like someone to be a little careful of. "Ah, thanks for the heads up," I settled on saying.
Sakura however started muttering to herself, "Matou Rin, Matou Rin, Matou Rin…" Just before she got too trance-like, she shook her head and said, "Sorry, must've been déjà vu. Well, this 'Grain' certainly sounds like something I should check into, and it's been nice meeting you!"
I smiled in return, "Likewise. Well, I was gonna head to the library again, it's got so much that there has to be something I missed."
Sakura then said:
[ ] "Yeah, I'll come with you, that way we can search the library together."
[ ] "I might wanna track down Matou, at least get the basics on her."
[ ] "There's another woman who kinda looks like an older me, I wanted to know her case. Her hair's black, so she'd be someone else than Matou."
[ ] "I was thinking to ask Felix de Carvalho about Grain or the outside world, he oughta know if anyone."
[ ] "There was this wolfy boy I met, who I think was something called an A-Ray. I don't exactly wanna talk with him, but I am wondering if this 'Grain' has something to do with A-Rays."
[ ] Write-in
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[X] Plan: Asleep in the clouds
-[X] Yakumo Amemiya (Western order)
-[X] Oneiromancer
-[X] "There's another woman who kinda looks like an older me, I wanted to know her case. Her hair's black, so she'd be someone else than Matou.
I am kind of almost falling asleep right now so the plans seems fitting.
-[X] Yakumo Amemiya (Western order)
-[X] Oneiromancer
-[X] "There's another woman who kinda looks like an older me, I wanted to know her case. Her hair's black, so she'd be someone else than Matou.
I am kind of almost falling asleep right now so the plans seems fitting.
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- Location
- SV's Only Complete Persona Quest
- Pronouns
- She/Her
I'd say to keep in mind these are all avatars, not the original people, so there could be a bunch of other stuff involved
The first clue we had that something was wrong was that Sakura was Sakura Tohsaka... Also isnt the first born who inherents tha magic crest but the best of the family. Tokiomi could have just decided that Sakura was more suited to the Tohsaka magicraft than Rin. Both of them had good potential.
Edit: Plus remember that in Extra, Rin Tohsaka wasnt actual Rin we know but one from the same lineage.
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Xanah
Armed and Ready
- Location
- England
- Pronouns
- She/Her
I just assumed the deal didn't go through at all ala the Apocrypha timeline, not that it was reversed.
But aren't the avatars all people who existed at one point?
- Location
- Germany
[X] Yakumo Amemiya (Western order)
[X] Onmyouji
[X] "I might wanna track down Matou, at least get the basics on her."
Well, there was a lot of shenanigans in this update, where to start even. I suppose congratulations to whoever it was that called there being a first person narrator. Although I am not entirely sure what this means for Sakura. Here's hoping our poor girl doesn't end up being a complete decoy.
Besides that, there goes my guess for a red Sakura being a Rin. It seems like we got some kind of switcheroo on our hands. Perhaps more importantly though, whatever is going on under the avatar shenanigans is tickling our Sakura's memories something fierce, so I say we just go poke the discrepancy.
[X] Onmyouji
[X] "I might wanna track down Matou, at least get the basics on her."
Well, there was a lot of shenanigans in this update, where to start even. I suppose congratulations to whoever it was that called there being a first person narrator. Although I am not entirely sure what this means for Sakura. Here's hoping our poor girl doesn't end up being a complete decoy.
Besides that, there goes my guess for a red Sakura being a Rin. It seems like we got some kind of switcheroo on our hands. Perhaps more importantly though, whatever is going on under the avatar shenanigans is tickling our Sakura's memories something fierce, so I say we just go poke the discrepancy.
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- Location
- SV's Only Complete Persona Quest
- Pronouns
- She/Her
So is Sakura's assumption based on what she's seen. However, I can't say too much more on that right now because spoilers
With Moon Cell ability to peer into alternative timelines the possibilities are endless.
- Location
- SV's Only Complete Persona Quest
- Pronouns
- She/Her
By the way, had the 'let's just wander around' option not been picked, it would've been possible for people to go the entire Prologue without meeting the narrator (well, other than Ciel's quick mention). However, I thought to throw in some chance to meet them, to make any later introduction of theirs potentially less out of the blue (pun not intended)
- Location
- USA
[x] Yakumo Amemiya (Western order)
[x] Witch
[x] "There's another woman who kinda looks like an older me, I wanted to know her case. Her hair's black, so she'd be someone else than Matou."
[x] Witch
[x] "There's another woman who kinda looks like an older me, I wanted to know her case. Her hair's black, so she'd be someone else than Matou."
Xanah
Armed and Ready
- Location
- England
- Pronouns
- She/Her
So, are they just a narrator or is Sakura just the protagonist for the prologue? I will admit I was excited for a Sakura quest and it also feels a bit mean to have us vote on a catalyst when we won't even get the dynamic we voted for.
- Location
- SV's Only Complete Persona Quest
- Pronouns
- She/Her
All I can say for now is that either way you'll at least be seeing a lot more of Sakura, and soon enough her Servant, in Quest to come, but for now think more 'dual protagonist', not 'decoy protagonist'. Though the vote on the narrator's name and magic is important enough that I was thinking of letting it also run for two days
In other news, I've posted up my first Servant sheet after starting this Quest. True, since it's of someone who's still alive (if very exaggerated from her real life self), she probably won't be appearing in this Quest outside maybe omakes. That said, her abilities are actually related to what's going on, this being a computer world:
forums.sufficientvelocity.com
In other news, I've posted up my first Servant sheet after starting this Quest. True, since it's of someone who's still alive (if very exaggerated from her real life self), she probably won't be appearing in this Quest outside maybe omakes. That said, her abilities are actually related to what's going on, this being a computer world:
Arlequine Lunaire's Character Compendium
Berserker of Quests (by Yampa. Source) "I trust that my summoning wasn't too easy, it'd betray who I am if it was. Now, let's see if the 'best of humanity' are also the best puzzle-solvers…" True Name: Roberta Williams Alias: 'Berta' Alt. Classes: Assassin, Caster, Rider, Ruler, MoonCancer...
forums.sufficientvelocity.com
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NinetyNineLies
Memento Vivere
- Location
- Dreamland
- Pronouns
- Any
[X] Yakumo Amemiya (Western order)
[X] Write-in: Astrologer
[X] "Yeah, I'll come with you, that way we can search the library together."
[X] Write-in: Astrologer
[X] "Yeah, I'll come with you, that way we can search the library together."
- Location
- Not the asylum anymore
- Pronouns
- She/Her
[X] Plan: Asleep in the clouds
We're gonna see some fuckery, I just know it.
We're gonna see some fuckery, I just know it.
- Location
- Germany
Well that amd the Rin Matou/Sakura Tohsaka image linked in the first post... although I honestly don't remember that having been there before?
You know, for a moment there you had me worried this would turn into a set up where the narrator just telling the story of all the opponents he had to kill his way through. That's... not actually that bad an idea, but possibly a bit cruel for a quest format.
- Location
- SV's Only Complete Persona Quest
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Great to see you in the Quest, but er, might wanna fix the formatting to make sure the vote's counted
Ah, I sometimes add the image links in later to minimise how many tabs I have open at once, guess I'm a little cautious about lag
Actually kinda sounds a little like Speaker for the Dead
- Location
- SV's Only Complete Persona Quest
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Oh yeah, posted another Servant sheet. Granted, I probably won't post links to new sheets on this thread every time I make one since that could get repetitive, even if I have slowed down on writing them for the Quest. Still, this one's of a Servant who has a chance of appearing in this Quest (I say a chance, since quite a few Servants are already planned):
forums.sufficientvelocity.com
Arlequine Lunaire's Character Compendium
Faker of Glory (by Nishida Megane. Source, contains possibly questionable images) "Servant Rider- no, Lancer- Berserker- Look, I can't lie in front of my Master. I'm Servant Faker, an inglorious class for sure, but really, there's no true glory in war." True Name: Patroclus Alias: 'Glory to...
forums.sufficientvelocity.com
Vote closed
- Location
- SV's Only Complete Persona Quest
- Pronouns
- She/Her
So Asleep in the Clouds is basically the winner, even among people who didn't vote for the plan specifically
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Prologue: You but older...
- Location
- SV's Only Complete Persona Quest
- Pronouns
- She/Her
[X] Plan: Asleep in the clouds
-[X] Yakumo Amemiya (Western order)
-[X] Oneiromancer
-[X] "There's another woman who kinda looks like an older me, I wanted to know her case. Her hair's black, so she'd be someone else than Matou.
-[X] Yakumo Amemiya (Western order)
-[X] Oneiromancer
-[X] "There's another woman who kinda looks like an older me, I wanted to know her case. Her hair's black, so she'd be someone else than Matou.
"Like you but older?" I repeated before I had to admit, "Eheh, got a little worried it could be a doppelganger situation, but yeah, that'd kinda be jumping to conclusions this early on. Right?"
"Well, you can never know. This is still a Grail War, prelims or no," Jasper said.
"Yeah, pretty sure she's not a full-on doppelganger, whoever she is," Sakura said, with me hoping I didn't embarrass her, "But best to check for myself anyway. But thanks, Amemiya, it was nice meeting you. You're the nicest player I've met so far." She didn't add 'by default', but I couldn't help but feel that was the implication.
"Hey, likewise," I smiled back at her, myself having met probably even fewer players than her at this point. Part of me also thought, Wait, wouldn't you want the other players to be unlikable, that way you don't feel bad about beating them? I dismissed that logic though, too harsh for what I thought, at the time, was just a game.
I did later get an account of Sakura's first real meeting with her older (thirties at least) lookalike, a woman with long, brownish-black hair, a red coat and skirt and white blouse. They met by the library door no less, the older woman having just walked out. Sakura's eyes met hers almost directly, I say 'almost' because of the height difference, before Sakura finally said, "Oh, sorry, it's just… I couldn't help but think our avatars matched, you know? Ah, I'm Tohsaka Sakura, should've said that first," she bowed.
Beryl then stepped in to try handling this more professionally. "Pardon us, my mistress had simply come across you more than a few times and simply got curious. I am her maid, Beryl," she said.
After nodding at Beryl, the older woman then had to smirk at Sakura. "Au contraire, I would instead insist your avatar matches mine. Clearly, I'm not so desperate to take fashion advice from a teenager," she chuckled, but did admit with a murmur, "Still, it is a striking resemblance, almost daughterly- hmm, well maybe more niece-ish. Well then, know you've had the pleasure of meeting Kasaito Mikoto, but now I must away. It would not do to reveal too much of myself, secrecy is among the Master's keys to victory."
"W-wait, I wasn't trying to spy on you or anything!" Sakura tried to insist, "I was just, interested in getting to know you better, that's all."
Mikoto turned around only to glare at her. "My dear, are you at all aware of what a Grail War is? What possible reason would any potential Master have to speak with another other than to plot how to defeat them?" she said, "And before you say 'alliances', need I remind you the Grail accepts only one victor?"
"I imagine you would possess a tight-knit social circle, Miss Kasaito~," Beryl said, but could've easily spat if she had less restraint.
"Ah, you certainly seem to take this quite seriously," Sakura said, in a much lighter tone.
"Well, why not?" Mikoto said, "Who wouldn't 'take this seriously', knowing just what's at stake- Oh, oh my. You haven't figured it out yet, haven't you?"
Sakura was caught off-guard by those words, but then said, "You're talking about the truth of the outside world, right?"
Mikoto chuckled. "Why, what else could I ever be talking about? Anyway, farewell my dear. Pity you likely won't make it past the preliminaries, but ah, tis the nature of the War," she said, before she strode off.
Standing there, Sakura would've been left thinking that if Mikoto was mother-like in any way, it was that type of mother who'd never be satisfied with anything but top marks, who'd glare at you like a hawk while you sat there doing all your homework. Well, that was the impression I got hearing about Mikoto Kasaito at least, but bringing up schoolwork does segue us to the next person to appear…
"Irritating, isn't she?" said another new voice right behind Sakura. Turning around, Sakura saw this was someone else she'd gotten glimpses of around the hotel. While Mikoto already gave off aristocratic airs, this pale blonde woman dressed in the darkest blue looked like she could've stepped straight out of a Victorian manor. Maybe she did, given how far back avatars could come from.
"Oh ah, I get what you mean. But I kinda feel sad for her, in a way," Sakura said, "Like, she acts like she's happy, but with how she thinks, I can't imagine her feeling anything but miserable deep down…"
"Forgive me if I don't shed a tear," the blonde muttered, her voice as icy as her looks.
"Er, sorry, forgot to introduce myself again, really should remember to. This is my maid Beryl, and I'm Tohsaka Sakura," Sakura said, a little flushed.
"…You would honestly bother introducing your AI maid? Well then, to what few equals I have I am Cainessa, but you will address me as Miss Archibald," she said, looming over Sakura. "However, I am not here simply to impose my authority. Young Tohsaka, unlike the unfortunate Kasaito," I wondered if the mispronunciation was intended, "I am not blind to the advantages of alliances. I would like to make you an offer."
"…Offer?" Sakura just said, having reason to be hesitant.
"I've obtained the Star-Cell's permission to hold a class for aspiring Masters, which I believe you and your peers would benefit greatly from. As it's unlikely we'll be made to fight each other come first round, the knowledge I impart could be of great assistance against the Masters you'll face," Cainessa said. My words were 'out of a Victorian manor' before, but maybe 'Victorian schoolroom' would've fit more.
"Did she genuinely communicate with the Star-Cell directly," Beryl, a product of the Star-Cell herself, then whispered to Sakura so Cainessa wouldn't overhear, "or did she merely ask Ciel?"
Anyway, Cainessa then crossed her arms and added, "Of course, I will not simply tell you the truth of the outside world, any worthwhile student ought to be able to figure that out themselves. Still, what do you say?"
[ ] Sakura agreed. Icy as Cainessa was, she didn't see what harm this class would be.
-[X] Be on guard for a trap, though. Gathering a whole bunch of people in one place sounds might dangerous. (Shadowhisker write-in)
[ ] Sakura said studying in the library would suit her fine.
[ ] Sakura was actually thinking she should find out what that Wolf players was up to.
[ ] Sakura said she'd be busy elsewhere, but did ask Cainessa if she could reveal anything ese on Mikoto?
[ ] Write-in
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