Call Out Meme: Version 2.0

[oathshackledbird]

Edit:  I'm going to close this one to new threads now.  Feel free to continue old ones, but start all new ones here, please!  Thank you!
Since the first one is getting so big, here is a new one! Feel free to continue any thread in the old one, but start all new threads here! Thanks!



【the ❝CALL ME OUT❞ meme】 II
a roleplay meme to inspire muses.

♛ refer to the list above for active muses. ♛ post "calling" one of them out — you can do so by putting their name journal in the subject line! (I have too many Lancers to just go by name! X.x ) ♛ can be informal/formal/comment spam/crosscanon/explicit/whatever tickles your fancy! ♛ feel free to make up a scenario at the start, or wait to see where things go. meme code.

Comments

It is just fine! And he thanks you for giving him something to do! :-D

[whydidithavetobecrows]

[He is there to fight. That is all Cu Chulainn wants form this war--this second chance at life. He wants to meet other heroes and enjoy the thrill of battle as much as he can. Since he is so skilled, when he inevitably wins the Grail for his master, the servant really doesn't care what his master does with it. By that point, his own wish will have already been fulfilled.

As Cu Chulainn looks around himself, though, his attention is immediately drawn to the old fool who is scolding the man who he can feel is his master. He doesn't speak. He just observes. And remembers.

This place. It smells of evil. Of wrongness. And while the man who is his master carries some of it himself, it isn't hard for the servant to tell that the wrongness is actually centered on the loud-mouthed old man.

Once said old man finally leaves him alone with his new master, Cu Chulainn allows the silence to stand only for a short time before tilting his head and grinning.]

So I'm gonna get to kill that old bat first, right?

Always happy to oblige Cu Chulainn!

[vermicompost]

[Kariya gives a start at the suggestion. He isn't sure what he was expecting the Servant to say, but it wasn't that. He glances back toward where Zouken's gone. That is, he seems gone, but it can he hard to tell with Zouken. Kariya's year of training has left him jumpy where Zouken is concerned. He's suffered a great deal at the man's hands.]

Oh, no. That's--my father.

[Kariya admits this fact regretfully.

Father or not, it's not that he wouldn't want to kill Zouken, as he loathes and fears him. Killing him is one of the things he'd most like to do, after what the man has done to Sakura and himself, but he doesn't know how easy it would be to do. What if the attempt failed? What would that mean for him, and, more importantly, for Sakura? Zouken could go back on his word and refuse to release her. Sakura matters most to him now.]

I'd like to, but-- [He breaks off. He says too much, sometimes. He probably shouldn't be admitting to wanting to kill his father. He's sure, however, that even if Zouken were listening, he wouldn't find the information surprising.] He isn't so easy to kill.

[How long has Zouken been alive? Can he be killed? If so, Kariya doesn't know how.]

[whydidithavetobecrows]

Neither am I.

[Cu Chulainn tsks under his breath. Out of thin air his spear appears and the servant swings it up to rest across his shoulders. There is nothing threatening in his movements. Instead, he almost seems bored.]

Something tells me that...thing...ain't no one's father in the proper sense of the word. But call 'em whatever you want.

[Cu Chulainn might not be the smartest guy out there, and he would not deny he lets his emotions get away with him more than he should, but he wouldn't have survived his first battle if he didn't know how to observe and process that information. That's what he's doing now. He's watching Kariya and thinking about the things that short little imp had said before leaving.

His master and his father share that darkness--that wrongness. Can it be the imp has some kind of physical control over his master? It would explain that little lecture anyway. The thought makes the lazy smile on Cu Chulainn's face harden into a frown.]

Now ain't the right time. I understand. Later. For now, tell me what we're doing first. When do I get to fight someone?

[vermicompost]

I'm sure you're not.

[He doesn't think his Servant intends to injure him, but that doesn't change the fact that he's intimidating. He pauses to watch that spear move, his good eye widening slightly. He's never seen anyone quite like him before, but then, he's never seen any Heroic Spirits before.]

No, he probably isn't.

[Kariya sighs. Lancer's right about that. Kariya wishes he didn't have to call Zouken anything. He'd been happier when he'd had nothing to do with the Matou family, even though times had been hard then in their own way.]

Yes. [Right. He has a War to fight now. For all that he is the family's champion in this War, so to speak, he's been left very much to his own devices. Zouken has given him some information, but he hasn't helped him a great deal or given him any advice about strategy. He's given him nowhere near the amount of resources he could provide, almost as if he's setting him up to fail. But he won't fail. No matter what.]

You can fight someone soon. We're going to fight all the other Servants, and we're going to win.

[He smiles. He's glad to see that Lancer's eager. This Servant is his only hope of winning. He has to believe that they'll win. He has to believe Lancer is the strongest.]

We have to find them first, that's all. The others must have summoned theirs by now.

[whydidithavetobecrows]

[Cu Chulainn makes a small, non-committal sound. Of course they were going to fight the other servants and win. Really, who did this guy think he was? Some wimpy Archer?]

There ain't any doubt I'll fight and I'll win. You seem to be the only one who has doubts. Wanna explain that to me? Something goin' on I don't know about? If it doesn't interfere with me fighting, I don't care, but I ain't really fond of surprises on the battle field.

[He takes a step forward and gives Kariya a closer look. While he isn't trying to be rude, his close examination isn't exactly the politest thing.]

What's wrong with you anyway? You got this aura 'round you. The old bat did too only it's stronger on him. Like grave rot. You wanna explain that too while you're at it?

[vermicompost]

[Kariya's still intimidated by his Servant, but he stands his ground. His good hand curls into a fist, and he shakes his head, emphatic.]

No, I don't have any doubts at all! [Sincerity, thy name is Kariya.] Of course we're going to win. You're the strongest Servant, I know that.

[He turns his head slightly to one side as he's studied, self-conscious about his ruined face. He hates to talk about it, but as Lancer said, it's only fair that he knows. He shouldn't have any surprises. Kariya doesn't wand to do anything that might jeopardize their chances of winning.]

I--I have my family's familiars inside me. That's how I can fight. They augment my Magic Circuits, so I can support you. They make me sick, that's all. It won't interfere with your fighting, I promise. I'm strong enough.

[It might have been more of a problem if Lancer had been summoned as Berserker. He doesn't mention the fact that the worms are killing him, but he can't disguise the bitterness in his voice, and the low current of anger when he thinks of all the things Zouken's done.]

They're called Crest Worms, and they're Zouken's--that's my father. That's why it's stronger around him.

[whydidithavetobecrows]

Tsk...a dirty kinda magic.

[Cu Chulainn studies Kariya for a moment longer before turning away and wandering back toward the place he had been summoned, spear still slung over his shoulders.]

Better you fight in a different way then in a way like that. What good's winnin' if you don't live to enjoy it?

[He might not realize right now just how sick Kariya is, but he can guess from how the man looks it's pretty bad. He looks back over his shoulder for a moment, a sharp glint in his eyes.]

I gotta bit of healing magic in me. If you need it, say so. I may be the strongest, but even I ain't gonna get very far without a master.

[vermicompost]

[Kariya has no argument there. He nods. It's more dirty than Lancer realizes, but he hates the thought of expressing what it's like, what happened to him and to Sakura.]

I don't like it.

[That's an incredible understatement.]

I didn't want to, but it was the only way. I didn't have a choice. I wasn't strong enough to fight, before.

[He'd once thought it was a good thing, refusing to train in magecraft, refusing to be like them. He hadn't realized he would come to need that power. Another mistake: one of many.]

It doesn't matter if--if I enjoy it.

[He'd say it doesn't matter if he lives, but he doesn't want to die. It's just that he's going to, no matter what. He blinks at the mention of healing magic.]

Oh--that might help. All right. Thank you. And I promise, I won't let you down.

[whydidithavetobecrows]

Oh for....

[Cu Chulainn turns back to fully face Kariya this time, exasperation clear on his face. He swings his spear off his shoulders, planting the end on the ground so he can lean on it.]

What is the point of fighting if you don't enjoy it? Leave it to the ones of us that do! I'll let you in on a little secret. Those of us who like fightin' don't much care for messing with those of you who don't. There ain't any challenge there.

If you hate all this so much, what are you even doin' here? What is your wish? What is worth all this mess?

[vermicompost]

I don't enjoy fighting, but I'll fight. I have to, that's why. Just because I don't like it, that doesn't mean I can't do it. There are things I have to do.

[To kill Tokiomi. To save Sakura.]

I can fight just as well as any other Master in the War.

[He doesn't know if that's actually true, but at the moment, he believes it. Again, he has to. When Lancer asks his question, Kariya doesn't hesitate to answer. He knows what he's fighting for.]

Sakura.

[And then, because that won't mean anything to Lancer, he adds:]

She's my niece. She's just a little girl. She--she's in terrible pain, in a terrible place. She was taken away from her mother and sister, and only I can save her. So that's what I'm going to do.

[whydidithavetobecrows]

[Cu Chulainn is quiet for a few moments during which he seems to just study Kariya with a serious look on his face. Finally, he nods.]

Hope you are if you gotta Lass like that counting on you.

[He could ask why Kariya seems to need to constantly remind himself that he is strong and that he can fight if he is so sure, but instead of doing that, he just straightens up, spear disappearing from sight.]

So we're startin' from zero with information from what you said. How you planning on fixing that?