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Starless Black (A Fate/Extra-style Quest)
- Thread starter ArlequineLunaire
- Start date
- Location
- USA
Aw man. I'd honestly considered voting for "no summon" but decided against it because I didn't think anyone else would, much less it having a chance to win.
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Round 1: Well met, camarada...
- Location
- SV's Only Complete Persona Quest
- Pronouns
- She/Her
[x] "I'm pretty sure I'm with Rider and you're with Saver. That lottery ticket of yours makes me think this Saver more than Rider."
"Lottery ticket? Yep, that'd be me then," Saver said, though it meant turning around to acknowledge Sakura really was her Master.
"I see. Well met, camarada," Rider said as she no less than knelt on one knee before me, "Let us realise a grand dream together then, something neither of us could in the world outside."
"Oh, ah, thanks," I had to blush, before I brought myself to say, "But… I'm not sure if I have a grand dream. I mean, I'm an Oneiromancer yeah, but I just entered this War because everyone else did."
Rider then cocked her head at me. "Are you sure you mean that? I'd say everyone has a grand dream, or at least a dream. You wouldn't have made it this far if you didn't," she said, but then had to look back at Saver and muttered, "Verdadera, things might actually be better if certain people didn't have such dreams."
Saver, rather than give a real response to Rider, simply stuck out her tongue and pulled down an eyelid. This Divine Empress then asked Sakura, "Okay, well if I'm stuck with you, you better make yourself useful. So like, what do you all do for fun around here?"
"Ah, well right now it's… just the Grail War, really. Guess we're all stuck in sleeping pods in, of all places, space otherwise," Sakura said.
"Really, that all? Boo!" Saver said, crossed her arms, then sighed, "I suppose I'll just have to make my own fun, y'know, like always."
"Wait, I guess there's probably a mini-games collection or something, maybe Gatekeeper would know," Sakura then tried to reign Saver in, then hesitated a bit to say this next line, "Or hell, a casino even. Felix did mention some betting tables for a sec."
"Casino? Pfft, I'd wanna be the one running it, not stuck at a table like any normal person," Saver kept groaning.
"Ah, liege Amemiya, you're alright!" Jasper's voice called out, and by now we were grateful that anyone could distract us from Saver. My old valet running right onto the platform, he took one look at Rider and his eyes widened. "Of course! Naturally I knew Amemiya would summon a more than capable Servant," he said and bowed.
Rider had to smirk at him. "Getting a bit hasty in your assessment, heh? You've barely even seen me in action," she said, before she showed off a little by tossing up then catching her own sword.
"Well, ahem, it's a valet's intuition, really," Jasper said, before he glanced over at Sakura, then had to say, "Admittedly, it might've been easier for you if Miss Sakura hadn't made it. If you two remain undefeated, you would have to eventually face off against each other."
"Jasper!" I had to protest.
"What? All that would've happened to her is she'd have simply gotten a game over, that's all," Jasper then said. That just raised the question of why it'd be such a big deal that us two would face off, but well, anyway.
"Well, if Saver here's up to it, we could simply have it out right now," Rider turned to look at her, "It's not like that Gatekeeper could muster a scratch on either of us."
"Hah, bring it on! I've already seen you in action, I can totally predict what you're gonna do," Saver said with a catlike grin.
However, a voice from seemingly above then said, "I'm afraid not. The Star-Cell Grail War is no mindless free-for-all."
"Ciel?" Sakura then said, seeming to recognise the voice.
In a flash of light, the five of us found ourselves standing outside the hilltop chapel again, Ciel there to meet all of us. "Seems I need to explain just how this Grail War works to you two," she sighed as she looked at rider and Saver, "Each week, the Star-Cell will assign two Master-Servant pairs to face off against each other, till a single pair remains. On the Saturday they'll be granted access to the battlefield, from which only one pair shall proceed onwards."
Sakura and I expected Saver to speak up against that format, but to my surprise it was Rider who protested. "Que demonios? My apologies, but I was told I'd be summoned for a War, not some polite little gentlemen's game. Do you honestly think real War has tournament brackets or conflicts on schedule?"
For a second, Overseer Ciel fumed and didn't reply, but she then said, "Well, that was Earth, this is an interstellar virtual reality. What goes in one environment doesn't in another, I'd have thought one as adaptable as you should know that."
I twitched. "You… already know who Rider is?" I asked.
Ciel nodded and said, "Oh yes, Saver too. It's a perk of being the Overseer."
Those words did get Saver riled up. "Are you spying on us or something? Because y'know there's still stuff I wanna keep private!" she said.
"Er, weren't you talking about how everyone should already know who you are?" Sakura had to ask.
"Well, y-yeah, but not like everything!" Saver said, her face going red.
"Anyway," Sakura then said, trying to take the heat off Saver, "I take it we're not just doing nothing till Saturday, right?"
Ciel smiled, "That'd be where the Gauntlet comes in," she said. "We divide the Aquarius into two main parts, the Sanctum, the safe zone you've been in so far, and the Gauntlet, a hazard-laden trial area meant to give Servants practice before the Day of Battle. What you really have to be looking out for in the Gauntlet is the 'Stage Pass', whoever finds it will have the Battlefield that week tailored to their Servant's strengths."
"That all? Pfft, this'll be a breeze, only real problem is I gotta to drag this loser around," Saver said looking at Sakura, who couldn't help but glare back. "Plus, if we do face Rider, I'll trounce her prissy self. From what I can tell of her, she's from a much later time than me, ergo she's gotta be way weaker," Saver ignored Sakura and kept saying. Which is weird, because wasn't Saver the same person going on about 'old fuddy-duddies' before?
"Ah, that. Yeah, about the whole 'weight of age' thing," Ciel then said, "For the Grail Wars of the Earth and Moon, it was generally true that the older the Servant, the stronger. However, thanks to the Star-Cell's innovation and extensive modifications to Servant parameters, that is no longer the case."
"W-what?!" Saver gasped, shivering as she looked at Rider. She then approached Ciel and growled, "So, you've also been messing with my Parameters behind my back, hmm?"
Ciel responded to this with a shrug. "In your case Saver, it's not like your stats were strong enough that we needed to adjust them that much. Oh, but the Star-Cell was careful not to adjust stats too much in the other direction, so it's not like say a pharaoh will be instantly mowed down by a gangster's tommy gun."
Not like that stipulation didn't keep Saver from storming away, Sakura being made to rush after her. "Er, sorry, you can see I've gotta go. Here's hoping we don't have to fight first up," she said back to me.
"Wait, Sakura, one more thing," I then said as I ran up to her, "You're… gonna ask your Servant her identity, right? Because… I'm actually not sure if I should even ask Rider's."
Sakura then said to me:
[ ] "Yeah, course I will. I take it Saver will probably blurt out her name anyway even if I don't ask."
[ ] "No, I don't know if I should do that. I already made a bunch of wrong assumptions about her being Augustus, so knowing her real name could just make me assume more."
[ ] Write-in
Hearing her thoughts made me decide:
[ ] "Yeah, I'll ask Rider for her's. It sounds like something I should know, and while she's more… refined the Saver, I'll probably find out sooner anyway."
[ ] "I don't think I should actually. My own magic, er, stardust thing, is primed to spy on other Masters. It just makes me fear if I know, they'll find a way to know."
[ ] Write-in
"Lottery ticket? Yep, that'd be me then," Saver said, though it meant turning around to acknowledge Sakura really was her Master.
"I see. Well met, camarada," Rider said as she no less than knelt on one knee before me, "Let us realise a grand dream together then, something neither of us could in the world outside."
"Oh, ah, thanks," I had to blush, before I brought myself to say, "But… I'm not sure if I have a grand dream. I mean, I'm an Oneiromancer yeah, but I just entered this War because everyone else did."
Rider then cocked her head at me. "Are you sure you mean that? I'd say everyone has a grand dream, or at least a dream. You wouldn't have made it this far if you didn't," she said, but then had to look back at Saver and muttered, "Verdadera, things might actually be better if certain people didn't have such dreams."
Saver, rather than give a real response to Rider, simply stuck out her tongue and pulled down an eyelid. This Divine Empress then asked Sakura, "Okay, well if I'm stuck with you, you better make yourself useful. So like, what do you all do for fun around here?"
"Ah, well right now it's… just the Grail War, really. Guess we're all stuck in sleeping pods in, of all places, space otherwise," Sakura said.
"Really, that all? Boo!" Saver said, crossed her arms, then sighed, "I suppose I'll just have to make my own fun, y'know, like always."
"Wait, I guess there's probably a mini-games collection or something, maybe Gatekeeper would know," Sakura then tried to reign Saver in, then hesitated a bit to say this next line, "Or hell, a casino even. Felix did mention some betting tables for a sec."
"Casino? Pfft, I'd wanna be the one running it, not stuck at a table like any normal person," Saver kept groaning.
"Ah, liege Amemiya, you're alright!" Jasper's voice called out, and by now we were grateful that anyone could distract us from Saver. My old valet running right onto the platform, he took one look at Rider and his eyes widened. "Of course! Naturally I knew Amemiya would summon a more than capable Servant," he said and bowed.
Rider had to smirk at him. "Getting a bit hasty in your assessment, heh? You've barely even seen me in action," she said, before she showed off a little by tossing up then catching her own sword.
"Well, ahem, it's a valet's intuition, really," Jasper said, before he glanced over at Sakura, then had to say, "Admittedly, it might've been easier for you if Miss Sakura hadn't made it. If you two remain undefeated, you would have to eventually face off against each other."
"Jasper!" I had to protest.
"What? All that would've happened to her is she'd have simply gotten a game over, that's all," Jasper then said. That just raised the question of why it'd be such a big deal that us two would face off, but well, anyway.
"Well, if Saver here's up to it, we could simply have it out right now," Rider turned to look at her, "It's not like that Gatekeeper could muster a scratch on either of us."
"Hah, bring it on! I've already seen you in action, I can totally predict what you're gonna do," Saver said with a catlike grin.
However, a voice from seemingly above then said, "I'm afraid not. The Star-Cell Grail War is no mindless free-for-all."
"Ciel?" Sakura then said, seeming to recognise the voice.
In a flash of light, the five of us found ourselves standing outside the hilltop chapel again, Ciel there to meet all of us. "Seems I need to explain just how this Grail War works to you two," she sighed as she looked at rider and Saver, "Each week, the Star-Cell will assign two Master-Servant pairs to face off against each other, till a single pair remains. On the Saturday they'll be granted access to the battlefield, from which only one pair shall proceed onwards."
Sakura and I expected Saver to speak up against that format, but to my surprise it was Rider who protested. "Que demonios? My apologies, but I was told I'd be summoned for a War, not some polite little gentlemen's game. Do you honestly think real War has tournament brackets or conflicts on schedule?"
For a second, Overseer Ciel fumed and didn't reply, but she then said, "Well, that was Earth, this is an interstellar virtual reality. What goes in one environment doesn't in another, I'd have thought one as adaptable as you should know that."
I twitched. "You… already know who Rider is?" I asked.
Ciel nodded and said, "Oh yes, Saver too. It's a perk of being the Overseer."
Those words did get Saver riled up. "Are you spying on us or something? Because y'know there's still stuff I wanna keep private!" she said.
"Er, weren't you talking about how everyone should already know who you are?" Sakura had to ask.
"Well, y-yeah, but not like everything!" Saver said, her face going red.
"Anyway," Sakura then said, trying to take the heat off Saver, "I take it we're not just doing nothing till Saturday, right?"
Ciel smiled, "That'd be where the Gauntlet comes in," she said. "We divide the Aquarius into two main parts, the Sanctum, the safe zone you've been in so far, and the Gauntlet, a hazard-laden trial area meant to give Servants practice before the Day of Battle. What you really have to be looking out for in the Gauntlet is the 'Stage Pass', whoever finds it will have the Battlefield that week tailored to their Servant's strengths."
"That all? Pfft, this'll be a breeze, only real problem is I gotta to drag this loser around," Saver said looking at Sakura, who couldn't help but glare back. "Plus, if we do face Rider, I'll trounce her prissy self. From what I can tell of her, she's from a much later time than me, ergo she's gotta be way weaker," Saver ignored Sakura and kept saying. Which is weird, because wasn't Saver the same person going on about 'old fuddy-duddies' before?
"Ah, that. Yeah, about the whole 'weight of age' thing," Ciel then said, "For the Grail Wars of the Earth and Moon, it was generally true that the older the Servant, the stronger. However, thanks to the Star-Cell's innovation and extensive modifications to Servant parameters, that is no longer the case."
"W-what?!" Saver gasped, shivering as she looked at Rider. She then approached Ciel and growled, "So, you've also been messing with my Parameters behind my back, hmm?"
Ciel responded to this with a shrug. "In your case Saver, it's not like your stats were strong enough that we needed to adjust them that much. Oh, but the Star-Cell was careful not to adjust stats too much in the other direction, so it's not like say a pharaoh will be instantly mowed down by a gangster's tommy gun."
Not like that stipulation didn't keep Saver from storming away, Sakura being made to rush after her. "Er, sorry, you can see I've gotta go. Here's hoping we don't have to fight first up," she said back to me.
"Wait, Sakura, one more thing," I then said as I ran up to her, "You're… gonna ask your Servant her identity, right? Because… I'm actually not sure if I should even ask Rider's."
Sakura then said to me:
[ ] "Yeah, course I will. I take it Saver will probably blurt out her name anyway even if I don't ask."
[ ] "No, I don't know if I should do that. I already made a bunch of wrong assumptions about her being Augustus, so knowing her real name could just make me assume more."
[ ] Write-in
Hearing her thoughts made me decide:
[ ] "Yeah, I'll ask Rider for her's. It sounds like something I should know, and while she's more… refined the Saver, I'll probably find out sooner anyway."
[ ] "I don't think I should actually. My own magic, er, stardust thing, is primed to spy on other Masters. It just makes me fear if I know, they'll find a way to know."
[ ] Write-in
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- Location
- USA
[x] "Yeah, course I will. I take it Saver will probably blurt out her name anyway even if I don't ask."
[x] "I don't think I should actually. My own magic, er, stardust thing, is primed to spy on other Masters. It just makes me fear if I know, they'll find a way to know."
[x] "I don't think I should actually. My own magic, er, stardust thing, is primed to spy on other Masters. It just makes me fear if I know, they'll find a way to know."
[X] "No, I don't know if I should do that. I already made a bunch of wrong assumptions about her being Augustus, so knowing her real name could just make me assume more."
[X] "I don't think I should actually. My own magic, er, stardust thing, is primed to spy on other Masters. It just makes me fear if I know, they'll find a way to know."
I don't think either servant has any major enemies we need to know about, right?
[X] "I don't think I should actually. My own magic, er, stardust thing, is primed to spy on other Masters. It just makes me fear if I know, they'll find a way to know."
I don't think either servant has any major enemies we need to know about, right?
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- Pronouns
- They/Them
[x] "No, I don't know if I should do that. I already made a bunch of wrong assumptions about her being Augustus, so knowing her real name could just make me assume more."
[x] "Yeah, I'll ask Rider for her's. It sounds like something I should know, and while she's more… refined the Saver, I'll probably find out sooner anyway."
[x] "Yeah, I'll ask Rider for her's. It sounds like something I should know, and while she's more… refined the Saver, I'll probably find out sooner anyway."
[X] "No, I don't know if I should do that. I already made a bunch of wrong assumptions about her being Augustus, so knowing her real name could just make me assume more."
[X] "Yeah, I'll ask Rider for her's. It sounds like something I should know, and while she's more… refined the Saver, I'll probably find out sooner anyway."
[X] "Yeah, I'll ask Rider for her's. It sounds like something I should know, and while she's more… refined the Saver, I'll probably find out sooner anyway."
- Location
- Germany
[X] "Yeah, course I will. I take it Saver will probably blurt out her name anyway even if I don't ask."
[X] "Yeah, I'll ask Rider for her's. It sounds like something I should know, and while she's more… refined the Saver, I'll probably find out sooner anyway."
The mystery identity aspect would probably work out better in my opinion if we didn't already know who's who. That being said, I came out of this interaction feeling the inexplicable urge to bully Saver, but, like, in a good way.
[X] "Yeah, I'll ask Rider for her's. It sounds like something I should know, and while she's more… refined the Saver, I'll probably find out sooner anyway."
The mystery identity aspect would probably work out better in my opinion if we didn't already know who's who. That being said, I came out of this interaction feeling the inexplicable urge to bully Saver, but, like, in a good way.
- Location
- Gainful Employment
- Pronouns
- He/They
[X] "Yeah, course I will. I take it Saver will probably blurt out her name anyway even if I don't ask."
[X] "Yeah, I'll ask Rider for her's. It sounds like something I should know, and while she's more… refined the Saver, I'll probably find out sooner anyway."
[X] "Yeah, I'll ask Rider for her's. It sounds like something I should know, and while she's more… refined the Saver, I'll probably find out sooner anyway."
I feel like you don't really need this kind of justification? I know older is better but I feel like there's no real need for an explanation, y'know ?
A practically unknown Roman emperor is obviously weaker than South American George Washington.
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- Location
- SV's Only Complete Persona Quest
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Er, I wouldn't exactly call it a 'very thorough explanation' about Servant age, since it was only a couple of sentences long
I guess the reason I put in 'older is no longer automatically stronger' was partly because I'm not a fan of the 'past ages were stronger' trope in fiction in general, not just with Type-Moon. But for Type-Moon specifically, I've had regular run-ins with fans who take the 'older is stronger' thing obsessively seriously, which made me want to House Rule it away pronto, for fear the Quest could risk attracting that same sort of behaviour
Ciel was also talking Servants in general, beyond Rider and Saver
I guess the reason I put in 'older is no longer automatically stronger' was partly because I'm not a fan of the 'past ages were stronger' trope in fiction in general, not just with Type-Moon. But for Type-Moon specifically, I've had regular run-ins with fans who take the 'older is stronger' thing obsessively seriously, which made me want to House Rule it away pronto, for fear the Quest could risk attracting that same sort of behaviour
Ciel was also talking Servants in general, beyond Rider and Saver
- Location
- Gainful Employment
- Pronouns
- He/They
Do the people who make those arguments forget how well EMIYA did against Heracles in the Fate route???
Alt. Summoning AU: Dorothy Gale
- Location
- SV's Only Complete Persona Quest
- Pronouns
- She/Her
"This guy didn't die upon me being summoned, huh? Alright, give me one second..." was what she spoke upon meeting me.
I was relieved that this Servant who I guess I might've summoned was so far doing quite well against this 'Gatekeeper', her first strike on them being no less than a punch to their face. She was pretty good at moving around the platform too, even without a mount or (I think) being an agile Lancer. Sometimes she'd pull out, er, what looked like some spiral fan that could blast out wind, with which she'd boost her maneuverability while striking Gatekeeper at the same time. But even without using those winds, she was still pretty good at stepping back and forth in a dance-like pattern.
Gatekeeper's electronic voice went back and forth between declaring this Servant's, ahem, 'genre' as either "Platformer" or "RPG". When they said Platformer, they could suddenly jump as high as she could, but without the wind for a boost. Switching to RPG, they started blasting out magic, but in a silvery, almost comet-like dash, she charged right through all those blasts and hit Gatekeeper square-on.
However, it suddenly turned out that Gatekeeper and this, oh my, 'mage killer' you could say weren't the only Servants around. A cry of "Sunlight scorch my foes!" rang out from atop a nearby arch, Gatekeeper being promptly finished off by a blazing starlit kick delivered right down from above.
With Gatekeeper now dissolving into some kind of glitchy mess, I had the chance to see who these other two Servants were. The first one I saw, who'd come off like some 'mage killer' as she fought back against the spells Gatekeeper had been able to blast out, was... a girl around the same age as Sakura and me. Her hair was a dark brown and done in a shaggy bob, with her wearing a trenchcoat that was a pale blue in colour.
The other Servant's dress was practically the exact opposite, with her clad in a glittering gold dress studded with star and sun decorations. Her hair was also brown though, but a lighter and brighter shade that cascaded down to her waist. On her face was plastered a smug grin, as she then turned to the other Servant and said, "Hah, stole your kill! That's one down already by Saver! Ahem, with a v, not a b, totally different."
"Tch, whatever," the other Servant just shrugged, "This Gatekeeper's gone, isn't it? Oh yeah," she then flat-out blanked 'Saver', looked right at me, then said, "You'll be wanting my name, or 'title' now, huh? It's Archer."
I was kinda nervous to approach someone as stern-looking as her, but I then nodded and said, "I'm Amemiya Yakumo, it's... certainly something meeting you."
"Ah, hello?!" Saver then spoke up, "Did you just brush me off? Like, you know if we were back in R- my empire, I could totally have you executed for that!"
"Oh right, you," Archer said back to Saver, her head now cocked to one side, "Frankly you'll have to be more than an Empress to impress me, I've known that class of royal personally."
Saver glared at that. "More than an Empress? Why you conceited, pompous little-" she began to rant, only for Sakura to then step out.
"Hey look, doesn't this Grail War have a schedule for Servant fights or- or something?" Sakura said, trying to barricade Archer and Saver with her arms. "I definitely know you can't just beat each other up whenever you feel like it!"
Archer narrowed her gaze at first, but then shrugged, "Fine. I don't have much patience for games after... a certain one I was made to play, but I know better than to not make any trouble worse. Well, I try not to, anyway."
"Sheesh," Saver's gaze then turned to Sakura, "Who do think you are, acting like my Master? Wait, those are Command Seals... Oh no, y-you can't be, not some stick-thin loser like you."
Though Saver's comment wasn't addressed to her, Archer had to wince anyway. "If that girl did summon this Saver, I feel nothing but sorry for her. Although," she then confided in me, "Saver actually does remind me of someone I know, but well, not in a good way. Like if someone made some spiteful parody of her.
Guess I'm getting distracted. You were the one who summoned me, right?"
I was relieved that this Servant who I guess I might've summoned was so far doing quite well against this 'Gatekeeper', her first strike on them being no less than a punch to their face. She was pretty good at moving around the platform too, even without a mount or (I think) being an agile Lancer. Sometimes she'd pull out, er, what looked like some spiral fan that could blast out wind, with which she'd boost her maneuverability while striking Gatekeeper at the same time. But even without using those winds, she was still pretty good at stepping back and forth in a dance-like pattern.
Gatekeeper's electronic voice went back and forth between declaring this Servant's, ahem, 'genre' as either "Platformer" or "RPG". When they said Platformer, they could suddenly jump as high as she could, but without the wind for a boost. Switching to RPG, they started blasting out magic, but in a silvery, almost comet-like dash, she charged right through all those blasts and hit Gatekeeper square-on.
However, it suddenly turned out that Gatekeeper and this, oh my, 'mage killer' you could say weren't the only Servants around. A cry of "Sunlight scorch my foes!" rang out from atop a nearby arch, Gatekeeper being promptly finished off by a blazing starlit kick delivered right down from above.
With Gatekeeper now dissolving into some kind of glitchy mess, I had the chance to see who these other two Servants were. The first one I saw, who'd come off like some 'mage killer' as she fought back against the spells Gatekeeper had been able to blast out, was... a girl around the same age as Sakura and me. Her hair was a dark brown and done in a shaggy bob, with her wearing a trenchcoat that was a pale blue in colour.
The other Servant's dress was practically the exact opposite, with her clad in a glittering gold dress studded with star and sun decorations. Her hair was also brown though, but a lighter and brighter shade that cascaded down to her waist. On her face was plastered a smug grin, as she then turned to the other Servant and said, "Hah, stole your kill! That's one down already by Saver! Ahem, with a v, not a b, totally different."
"Tch, whatever," the other Servant just shrugged, "This Gatekeeper's gone, isn't it? Oh yeah," she then flat-out blanked 'Saver', looked right at me, then said, "You'll be wanting my name, or 'title' now, huh? It's Archer."
I was kinda nervous to approach someone as stern-looking as her, but I then nodded and said, "I'm Amemiya Yakumo, it's... certainly something meeting you."
"Ah, hello?!" Saver then spoke up, "Did you just brush me off? Like, you know if we were back in R- my empire, I could totally have you executed for that!"
"Oh right, you," Archer said back to Saver, her head now cocked to one side, "Frankly you'll have to be more than an Empress to impress me, I've known that class of royal personally."
Saver glared at that. "More than an Empress? Why you conceited, pompous little-" she began to rant, only for Sakura to then step out.
"Hey look, doesn't this Grail War have a schedule for Servant fights or- or something?" Sakura said, trying to barricade Archer and Saver with her arms. "I definitely know you can't just beat each other up whenever you feel like it!"
Archer narrowed her gaze at first, but then shrugged, "Fine. I don't have much patience for games after... a certain one I was made to play, but I know better than to not make any trouble worse. Well, I try not to, anyway."
"Sheesh," Saver's gaze then turned to Sakura, "Who do think you are, acting like my Master? Wait, those are Command Seals... Oh no, y-you can't be, not some stick-thin loser like you."
Though Saver's comment wasn't addressed to her, Archer had to wince anyway. "If that girl did summon this Saver, I feel nothing but sorry for her. Although," she then confided in me, "Saver actually does remind me of someone I know, but well, not in a good way. Like if someone made some spiteful parody of her.
Guess I'm getting distracted. You were the one who summoned me, right?"
- Location
- SV's Only Complete Persona Quest
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Okay, while Yakumo's settled, we'll be needing a tiebreaker on whether Sakura gets Saver's identity. I'll keep the vote open until tomorrow morning (East Australian Time), and will roll 1d2 if the tie keeps up
Vote closed
- Location
- SV's Only Complete Persona Quest
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Round 1: We both thought the same thing...
- Location
- SV's Only Complete Persona Quest
- Pronouns
- She/Her
[Sakura] "Yeah, course I will. I take it Saver will probably blurt out her name anyway even if I don't ask."
[Yakumo] "Yeah, I'll ask Rider for her's. It sounds like something I should know, and while she's more… refined the Saver, I'll probably find out sooner anyway."
Sakura had to giggle at that. "We both thought the same thing, huh?" she said.
"Yeah, which I weird when you think about it," I said, "Given how different Rider and Saver are."
"Or that they insist they are," Sakura threw in.
It also went without saying between us that we ought to ask our Servants in the privacy of our own rooms, rather than y'know out here in the Aquarius' gardens where anyone could listen in.
Sakura now off with Saver, I went up to Rider and started with, "Er, hi again Rider. Got a kind of major question to ask, so major that I probably shouldn't ask in public."
"Naturally, my liege," Jasper then spoke up, "I will of course escort the Lady Rider back to your personal quarters."
"Er, thanks," I said to Jasper, "…But is that necessary? Like, I know where my room is, I can just show her myself."
Rider then smirked at me. "I take it you're not that used to having a valet," she said, before she whispered to me, "Just let him, it's better to make him feel useful."
So Jasper showed us the way back, my own quarters luckily not being as deep into the Aquarius' corridors as Sakura's was. Along the way Jasper was quick to detail the layout of the manor hotel, "Over there's the Library, very useful, and that over is the Museum, which of course contains your catalyst, er, well what would've been your catalyst. Now here we have the cafeteria, which for Masters at least is a common meeting ground…"
I was tempted to ask Rider whether she already knew all of this, basic things like this I'd figure were stuff the Star-Cell would've filled her in on. But her own words came to me, best to let Jasper feel useful.
On entering my room again, I stood still on impulse when I saw its design had completely changed. Originally interchangeable with most personal rooms on the Aquarius, its walls were now painted a dark yellow with lines of red and blue, the furniture and wooden blinds were now dark brown, there were a lot more terracotta tiles on the floor, and at one end of the room there was now a desk with a large map spread out on it. Or what I first thought was a map, only for it to turn out to be mostly blank.
"Oh yes, should've mentioned," Jasper then said, "After summoning your Servant, your room is altered to match their own background. I mean, I thought that was common knowledge, but I really should've double-checked."
"N-No, that's okay," I said. It's not like I was ever super-attached to my room, I'd only been in it a couple of nights, just came a bit of a surprise was all, "Actually Rider, that kinda brings me to what I wanted to ask."
"You wish to know who I really am?" Rider said for me. She then laughed, "Don't worry, I have no fear of my enemies exploiting my weakness. For they knew who I was in life, yet my revolution triumphed all the same. Alright, eventually triumphed, but still.
No, it's more…" she then paused, before she sighed, "More that I don't want to be 'put through the wringer' again, as they say. When I left this world there were more than a few people who had, ahem, nothing but ire for me. I'll let history be the judge of whether they were right or not."
As her words sunk into me, I'll admit I went from being a little cautious about asking who she was, to downright afraid. I, I didn't want to imagine I'd summoned someone so hated, both for my own sake, and for hers.
Rider then brightened up and said, "Ah, might as well, I've already said so much. Camarada, Yakumo Amemiya, hah, it's funny I've been summoned by someone Japanese; the whole country was closed off throughout my life- perdoname, I'm rambling."
"No, it's a point worth making," I then said, "I am ethnically Japanese, yeah, but I can't really recall ever having been to Japan. Guess I've spent my whole life in space and stuff."
"I see, that does sound worth discussing," Rider nodded, before she cleared her throat and said, "But back on topic. Camarada Amemiya, I am Simon… er, Simone? Jimena? Ahem, regardless, I am Bolivar the Liberator!" she bowed rather than curtsey. Pointing to one end of the room, where no less than a kennel and one-horse stable had suddenly appeared, she added, "The horse and hound you saw at the summoning were none but my own Palomo and Nevado."
This was… quite a bit to take in. I obviously knew who Bolivar was, the liberator of the most countries, but no more than anyone else did really. South American history was not my forte, but I guess that's what the Library was for. And this princely tomboy I'd been talking with all this time, that was her…
"Ahem, you are…" Rider said but paused, starting to blush, "You would naturally be wanting to know why I've been incarnated as, well, as a woman, no?"
"Not really, I confess," I told her. I looked down at myself for a moment, before I said, "Gender's, well, something I try to stay out of, really. I can't really say who I am, and I don't wanna be forced to choose. I try to think the same about others."
Rider, Bolivar, Rider smiled at that, "Then you are quite fortunate to be born in this new age. Back in my time, I'm afraid my society wouldn't have granted you the same luxury. Wouldn't have granted me a similar luxury either. But anyway, to answer why I've incarnated as a 'Simone'," she then said anyway, despite my words, "I… honestly cannot say. My best guess is it's part of some grand cosmic irony, bordering on retribution, sounds the most sensible explanation."
I took her in words, before I raised the question, "Still, ah no offense, but I'm trying to figure out how I summoned you. I didn't get to use a catalyst, so the other explanation is we've got something in common? But… I'm an oneiromancer, that's it really, I've never liberated anyone or anything in my life."
"Oneiromancer? That would be a dream mage, correcta?" Rider said, "Because I know quite a bit about dreams, if more in the romantic sense than the literal one. Though, ugh, that reminds me…" she then stared at the empty map, "When you summoned me, the desire that drew me in was my wish to see Gran Colombia whole and strong again. But now I'm told our Mother Earth is gone, argh, what's the point?!"
It took a while for me to know how to respond, but then said, "Hey look, whatever starship this VR world is on must be going somewhere, or trying to find somewhere to go to, right? Yeah, South America's gone, all the continents are gone, but its people are still around!" Well, I said that, but the only non-spirit South American I'd met was Felix, who was likely Brazilian, but still, "So, ah, we can all make a new Gran Colombia on the new planet we'll land on!" Again, I said having no idea whether a 'new Gran Colombia' would be a good or bad thing.
Still, that had made Rider smile. "Gracias, camarada."
Sakura finding out who Saver was, I was later told, went… less smoothly.
First off, there was the issue of even opening her door. With it somehow stuck, it took Beryl coming in to shove the door right open, Saver somehow being too lazy to do it herself. They immediately saw what the problem was on pushing it open, Sakura's whole room had become knee-deep in petals.
"Ah, was wondering where they'd got to!" Saver said, as she skipped her way in right past both Sakura and Beryl, her first instinct upon seeing Sakura's bed, which now had a sunburst pattern over it, was to immediately jump all over it.
Sakura gritted her teeth and pushed through all the petals. "Hey look, I'm trying to ask you something important. Would you calm down a second?" she spoke up.
Saver, on the edge of the bed, folded her arms and crossed her legs. "Fine. What?"
"I was, well if it's okay with you, I was going to ask your identity," Sakura said. "Who you are as a Heroic Spirit."
Saver then giggled. "You mean you can't tell? Sheesh, beyond thinking I could be Augustus, you sure know squat about history. Really, how could anyone not know who I am?" she said. Beckoning Sakura closer, Saver told her, "I was the last Pharaoh of Aegyptus, the human avatar of Isis, goddess of all magic. My land was rich, fashionable, and powerful, and I had access to the Wonders of ethe World, and more knowledge in a single building than mankind would ever collect again."
Sakura's eyes shot open, even as Beryl's narrowed. "You're- you're Cleopatra?" Sakura gasped.
Her words promptly sent Saver into fits of laughter. "Hah! Oh man did I get you good, you should totally see the look on your face!" she said right at Sakura. Finally, finally, Saver got to the point, "I'm Elagabalus, you moron! Geez, you seriously couldn't figure that out? Okay, I went by like heaps of names, but Elagabalus works best."
"I see," Sakura said, trying to keep quiet somehow about really not recognising the name.
"Relax, you've totally summoned the best ever Servant," Saver said, before she pointed out, "You know who else thinks so? The Sun itself! I was chosen by its divine radiance to magically save Rome, ya know?"
Sakura just nodded in response, not wanting to say anything less this turned out to be another prank. At least Saver being some divine instrument of the Sun's Will explained her Class. Somewhat.
"Either way, it's so good to see you back from the summoning grounds in one piece, mistress," beryl said to Sakura, then muttered, "Pity I haven't had the chance to tell you till now."
"Oh right, you. Completely forgot about you," Saver than said, pointing at Beryl. "I'd normally have way more people serving me, but alright, you'll have to do. Lessee, totally need an update on what the latest fashions, where people go for dates around here, the best places to throw a party, what other Servants and Masters the best-looking…" she kept going on. "Oh, and I don't wanna hear 'but didn't the Grail fill you in?' As if! Yeah, if the very basics count as being filled in."
"I shall see what I can do," Beryl said, "Though I figured my first task should be to clean my mistress' room of all these petals, with how arduous it's been to move around in them."
"What? H-hey, don't touch them, those are mine!" Saver blurted out.
"Yeah, and they're cluttering up my room," Sakura said, once again bringing herself to be forceful.
Incensed as Saver had been, once Beryl started promptly clearing away the petals, the Servant could only slump down and find her eyes welling up. Seeing this, Sakura sighed, sat down, and tried placing an arm over her Servant's shoulder. "Hey look, as soon as I can, I'll head to the library and study up as much as I can on you."
"W-what? No, don't do that!" Saver suddenly said, "I know what historians are like, they're just gonna say a bunch of mean things about me! Whatever you wanna know, just ask me. I am Elagabalus after all, so I know everything about me!"
Sakura said, "Okay," but still couldn't help but a fidget a little.
The next day, the true beginning of the tournament, no more preliminaries. The real deal.
A vast leaderboard had now appeared in the Aquarius' main hall, and when I walked down that morning, I saw Sakura was already there… her face having gone stark pale upon seeing who she was up against.
Not sure what to say to her, I just looked at the board to see who I was up against. Just my luck, my opponent was none other than "Blut Mavrik" I read aloud.
"Pfft, this War insults my abilities, sending a wilting snowflake to fight against me," his familiar voice said from behind me, mixing his metaphors a bit. Blut then walked right up to me and went, "You're up against a gun mage," Wait, thought he was a blood mage? "Who's Master of a Berserker with EX-Rank Mad Enhancement. You and your dream magic won't survive a single hit! See you in the Gauntlet, weakling."
I'd… take on his word on that, for now. I was tempted to have Bolivar materialise right there to show him just what he was up against, but yeah, now wasn't the time to escalate things.
In the meantime, I felt I had to know what was going on with Sakura, since from her face it seemed like she'd been assigned a most threatening opponent.
[ ] I asked her directly. We'd been getting along so far, and if this guy was so intimidating we could maybe formulate a plan together.
[ ] I looked at the board to see who it was. I mean, this is all public knowledge, so anyone could find out.
[ ] I decided not to inquire, since she didn't look too comfortable with telling. And since whoever it was seemed like a big deal, it's likely I'd find out anyway.
[ ] Write-in
[Yakumo] "Yeah, I'll ask Rider for her's. It sounds like something I should know, and while she's more… refined the Saver, I'll probably find out sooner anyway."
Sakura had to giggle at that. "We both thought the same thing, huh?" she said.
"Yeah, which I weird when you think about it," I said, "Given how different Rider and Saver are."
"Or that they insist they are," Sakura threw in.
It also went without saying between us that we ought to ask our Servants in the privacy of our own rooms, rather than y'know out here in the Aquarius' gardens where anyone could listen in.
Sakura now off with Saver, I went up to Rider and started with, "Er, hi again Rider. Got a kind of major question to ask, so major that I probably shouldn't ask in public."
"Naturally, my liege," Jasper then spoke up, "I will of course escort the Lady Rider back to your personal quarters."
"Er, thanks," I said to Jasper, "…But is that necessary? Like, I know where my room is, I can just show her myself."
Rider then smirked at me. "I take it you're not that used to having a valet," she said, before she whispered to me, "Just let him, it's better to make him feel useful."
So Jasper showed us the way back, my own quarters luckily not being as deep into the Aquarius' corridors as Sakura's was. Along the way Jasper was quick to detail the layout of the manor hotel, "Over there's the Library, very useful, and that over is the Museum, which of course contains your catalyst, er, well what would've been your catalyst. Now here we have the cafeteria, which for Masters at least is a common meeting ground…"
I was tempted to ask Rider whether she already knew all of this, basic things like this I'd figure were stuff the Star-Cell would've filled her in on. But her own words came to me, best to let Jasper feel useful.
On entering my room again, I stood still on impulse when I saw its design had completely changed. Originally interchangeable with most personal rooms on the Aquarius, its walls were now painted a dark yellow with lines of red and blue, the furniture and wooden blinds were now dark brown, there were a lot more terracotta tiles on the floor, and at one end of the room there was now a desk with a large map spread out on it. Or what I first thought was a map, only for it to turn out to be mostly blank.
"Oh yes, should've mentioned," Jasper then said, "After summoning your Servant, your room is altered to match their own background. I mean, I thought that was common knowledge, but I really should've double-checked."
"N-No, that's okay," I said. It's not like I was ever super-attached to my room, I'd only been in it a couple of nights, just came a bit of a surprise was all, "Actually Rider, that kinda brings me to what I wanted to ask."
"You wish to know who I really am?" Rider said for me. She then laughed, "Don't worry, I have no fear of my enemies exploiting my weakness. For they knew who I was in life, yet my revolution triumphed all the same. Alright, eventually triumphed, but still.
No, it's more…" she then paused, before she sighed, "More that I don't want to be 'put through the wringer' again, as they say. When I left this world there were more than a few people who had, ahem, nothing but ire for me. I'll let history be the judge of whether they were right or not."
As her words sunk into me, I'll admit I went from being a little cautious about asking who she was, to downright afraid. I, I didn't want to imagine I'd summoned someone so hated, both for my own sake, and for hers.
Rider then brightened up and said, "Ah, might as well, I've already said so much. Camarada, Yakumo Amemiya, hah, it's funny I've been summoned by someone Japanese; the whole country was closed off throughout my life- perdoname, I'm rambling."
"No, it's a point worth making," I then said, "I am ethnically Japanese, yeah, but I can't really recall ever having been to Japan. Guess I've spent my whole life in space and stuff."
"I see, that does sound worth discussing," Rider nodded, before she cleared her throat and said, "But back on topic. Camarada Amemiya, I am Simon… er, Simone? Jimena? Ahem, regardless, I am Bolivar the Liberator!" she bowed rather than curtsey. Pointing to one end of the room, where no less than a kennel and one-horse stable had suddenly appeared, she added, "The horse and hound you saw at the summoning were none but my own Palomo and Nevado."
This was… quite a bit to take in. I obviously knew who Bolivar was, the liberator of the most countries, but no more than anyone else did really. South American history was not my forte, but I guess that's what the Library was for. And this princely tomboy I'd been talking with all this time, that was her…
"Ahem, you are…" Rider said but paused, starting to blush, "You would naturally be wanting to know why I've been incarnated as, well, as a woman, no?"
"Not really, I confess," I told her. I looked down at myself for a moment, before I said, "Gender's, well, something I try to stay out of, really. I can't really say who I am, and I don't wanna be forced to choose. I try to think the same about others."
Rider, Bolivar, Rider smiled at that, "Then you are quite fortunate to be born in this new age. Back in my time, I'm afraid my society wouldn't have granted you the same luxury. Wouldn't have granted me a similar luxury either. But anyway, to answer why I've incarnated as a 'Simone'," she then said anyway, despite my words, "I… honestly cannot say. My best guess is it's part of some grand cosmic irony, bordering on retribution, sounds the most sensible explanation."
I took her in words, before I raised the question, "Still, ah no offense, but I'm trying to figure out how I summoned you. I didn't get to use a catalyst, so the other explanation is we've got something in common? But… I'm an oneiromancer, that's it really, I've never liberated anyone or anything in my life."
"Oneiromancer? That would be a dream mage, correcta?" Rider said, "Because I know quite a bit about dreams, if more in the romantic sense than the literal one. Though, ugh, that reminds me…" she then stared at the empty map, "When you summoned me, the desire that drew me in was my wish to see Gran Colombia whole and strong again. But now I'm told our Mother Earth is gone, argh, what's the point?!"
It took a while for me to know how to respond, but then said, "Hey look, whatever starship this VR world is on must be going somewhere, or trying to find somewhere to go to, right? Yeah, South America's gone, all the continents are gone, but its people are still around!" Well, I said that, but the only non-spirit South American I'd met was Felix, who was likely Brazilian, but still, "So, ah, we can all make a new Gran Colombia on the new planet we'll land on!" Again, I said having no idea whether a 'new Gran Colombia' would be a good or bad thing.
Still, that had made Rider smile. "Gracias, camarada."
Sakura finding out who Saver was, I was later told, went… less smoothly.
First off, there was the issue of even opening her door. With it somehow stuck, it took Beryl coming in to shove the door right open, Saver somehow being too lazy to do it herself. They immediately saw what the problem was on pushing it open, Sakura's whole room had become knee-deep in petals.
"Ah, was wondering where they'd got to!" Saver said, as she skipped her way in right past both Sakura and Beryl, her first instinct upon seeing Sakura's bed, which now had a sunburst pattern over it, was to immediately jump all over it.
Sakura gritted her teeth and pushed through all the petals. "Hey look, I'm trying to ask you something important. Would you calm down a second?" she spoke up.
Saver, on the edge of the bed, folded her arms and crossed her legs. "Fine. What?"
"I was, well if it's okay with you, I was going to ask your identity," Sakura said. "Who you are as a Heroic Spirit."
Saver then giggled. "You mean you can't tell? Sheesh, beyond thinking I could be Augustus, you sure know squat about history. Really, how could anyone not know who I am?" she said. Beckoning Sakura closer, Saver told her, "I was the last Pharaoh of Aegyptus, the human avatar of Isis, goddess of all magic. My land was rich, fashionable, and powerful, and I had access to the Wonders of ethe World, and more knowledge in a single building than mankind would ever collect again."
Sakura's eyes shot open, even as Beryl's narrowed. "You're- you're Cleopatra?" Sakura gasped.
Her words promptly sent Saver into fits of laughter. "Hah! Oh man did I get you good, you should totally see the look on your face!" she said right at Sakura. Finally, finally, Saver got to the point, "I'm Elagabalus, you moron! Geez, you seriously couldn't figure that out? Okay, I went by like heaps of names, but Elagabalus works best."
"I see," Sakura said, trying to keep quiet somehow about really not recognising the name.
"Relax, you've totally summoned the best ever Servant," Saver said, before she pointed out, "You know who else thinks so? The Sun itself! I was chosen by its divine radiance to magically save Rome, ya know?"
Sakura just nodded in response, not wanting to say anything less this turned out to be another prank. At least Saver being some divine instrument of the Sun's Will explained her Class. Somewhat.
"Either way, it's so good to see you back from the summoning grounds in one piece, mistress," beryl said to Sakura, then muttered, "Pity I haven't had the chance to tell you till now."
"Oh right, you. Completely forgot about you," Saver than said, pointing at Beryl. "I'd normally have way more people serving me, but alright, you'll have to do. Lessee, totally need an update on what the latest fashions, where people go for dates around here, the best places to throw a party, what other Servants and Masters the best-looking…" she kept going on. "Oh, and I don't wanna hear 'but didn't the Grail fill you in?' As if! Yeah, if the very basics count as being filled in."
"I shall see what I can do," Beryl said, "Though I figured my first task should be to clean my mistress' room of all these petals, with how arduous it's been to move around in them."
"What? H-hey, don't touch them, those are mine!" Saver blurted out.
"Yeah, and they're cluttering up my room," Sakura said, once again bringing herself to be forceful.
Incensed as Saver had been, once Beryl started promptly clearing away the petals, the Servant could only slump down and find her eyes welling up. Seeing this, Sakura sighed, sat down, and tried placing an arm over her Servant's shoulder. "Hey look, as soon as I can, I'll head to the library and study up as much as I can on you."
"W-what? No, don't do that!" Saver suddenly said, "I know what historians are like, they're just gonna say a bunch of mean things about me! Whatever you wanna know, just ask me. I am Elagabalus after all, so I know everything about me!"
Sakura said, "Okay," but still couldn't help but a fidget a little.
The next day, the true beginning of the tournament, no more preliminaries. The real deal.
A vast leaderboard had now appeared in the Aquarius' main hall, and when I walked down that morning, I saw Sakura was already there… her face having gone stark pale upon seeing who she was up against.
Not sure what to say to her, I just looked at the board to see who I was up against. Just my luck, my opponent was none other than "Blut Mavrik" I read aloud.
"Pfft, this War insults my abilities, sending a wilting snowflake to fight against me," his familiar voice said from behind me, mixing his metaphors a bit. Blut then walked right up to me and went, "You're up against a gun mage," Wait, thought he was a blood mage? "Who's Master of a Berserker with EX-Rank Mad Enhancement. You and your dream magic won't survive a single hit! See you in the Gauntlet, weakling."
I'd… take on his word on that, for now. I was tempted to have Bolivar materialise right there to show him just what he was up against, but yeah, now wasn't the time to escalate things.
In the meantime, I felt I had to know what was going on with Sakura, since from her face it seemed like she'd been assigned a most threatening opponent.
[ ] I asked her directly. We'd been getting along so far, and if this guy was so intimidating we could maybe formulate a plan together.
[ ] I looked at the board to see who it was. I mean, this is all public knowledge, so anyone could find out.
[ ] I decided not to inquire, since she didn't look too comfortable with telling. And since whoever it was seemed like a big deal, it's likely I'd find out anyway.
[ ] Write-in
[X] I looked at the board to see who it was. I mean, this is all public knowledge, so anyone could find out.
- Location
- USA
[x] I looked at the board to see who it was. I mean, this is all public knowledge, so anyone could find out.
Well, yes. When you're standing in front of the board, you look at it.
Well, yes. When you're standing in front of the board, you look at it.
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- Location
- New Carollton, Maryland
Hm. Having read a little bit of your Character Compendium...I am now very concerned over who Blut's Servant is, especially with him saying he's now a gun mage. I really hope I'm wrong.
[X] I looked at the board to see who it was. I mean, this is all public knowledge, so anyone could find out.
[X] I asked her directly. We'd been getting along so far, and if this guy was so intimidating we could maybe formulate a plan together.
Gun mage and EX Mad Enhancement? I got nothing.
- Location
- SV's Only Complete Persona Quest
- Pronouns
- She/Her
To clarify, Blut called himself the gun mage and said his Berserker had EX Mad Enhancement, if that was the confusion
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- Location
- Germany
[X] I asked her directly. We'd been getting along so far, and if this guy was so intimidating we could maybe formulate a plan together.
Everyone else is right that just looking at the board is more efficient way of getting the infromation, but well, it's also a lot less personal and if Sakura blocks talking about it regardless it's pretty much pointless snooping.
Honestly, I'm not sure if I'm happy about knocking him out first, or if I'm sad about cutting all that edge out of the story.
Everyone else is right that just looking at the board is more efficient way of getting the infromation, but well, it's also a lot less personal and if Sakura blocks talking about it regardless it's pretty much pointless snooping.
Now I'm wondering if people having no clue who Elagabalus is supposed to be turns out to be a recurring trend.
Aw, poor Saver. I'm sure we can keep a pile of them in a corner. It can even double as her bed so that she doesn't have to sleep on the floor.
No, you see, he isn't a literal blood mage, but his magic is represented by the eary and repulsive aura of blood. I suppose we should just be happy that he didn't change his name to Revolver, Pistole, or even Gun God.
Honestly, I'm not sure if I'm happy about knocking him out first, or if I'm sad about cutting all that edge out of the story.
So, if we're starting an early betting ring, I'm going to put down Berserker of Fiction by virtue of Appreciation of Blasphemy alone. There's no real connection to guns, by I kind of want to see how those two would interact and feed into each other.