Ｄ Ｕ Ｏ + odi et amo

[stages]

[A. Action - Earlyish Morning (2/14) - 505 Ricardo - Locked to Hakuno Kishinami

Hey.

Hey Master.

Guess who's waiting outside your room for you to get up?

And who's holding a long strip of leather in her hands, which appears to have been dipped in paint? Also a small parcel, but that's probably not the eye-grabbing part.

I'll give you a hint.

It's not Rin.]



[B. Action - Noon or so (2/14) - wherever the hell Rin lives idefk - Locked to Rin Tohsaka



Knock-knock, pigtails! It's impolite to keep an emperor waiting~!

Saber's waiting at the door with a small parcel, and a stubbornly upbeat expression on her face; if you can read it, you'll be able to tell that the day hasn't been going QUITE to plan so far, but she's still gonna make the most of it, dammit, so OPEN UP YOU DUMB TSUNDERE GOSH]



[C. Phone - Evening (2/14)



Someone sure sound like she's full of Valentine's cheer! Has she been drinking, or... no she's always like this, okay.........]

A fair day to you, Mayfield! Or, rather, I hope that it has been. A lifetime of shame upon the person that cannot enjoy a holiday such as this! Truly, is there a purer sort of beauty than the outpouring of affection?

[...Saber stops to think about that one; maybe she IS drunk.]

...perhaps, but it is a rare thing.

[She has a little chuckle at that.]

For those of you wise enough to enjoy yourselves: you're welcome. [...] Not that I claim personal responsibility for the holiday, of course, but it finds its origin with my people.

Would you like to hear of it?

[is she actually gonna see if people want to-]

Of course you would.

[Of course she isn't.]

...although, it's usually considered unwise for a Servant to reveal anything about herself... but, no matter! My people are rife with larger-than-life figures, and my personal works are legion.

[...she clears her throat.]

...I appear to have gotten off-topic.

You call today "St. Valentine's Day", do you not? However, that is not the name it once went by... I would not have allowed such a thing. No... we named the feast Lupercalia, after the great wolf that was the mother of us all.

[...surrogate mother, dear. surrogate mother.]

In all honesty, many of the customs we adhered to were tiresome, as ceremony is wont to be, but... there was one that I had great affection for. You see, during the ceremonies, goats would be sacrificed... and, after all was said and done, we would take strips of hide, and coat them in the collected blood. As we did so, the women of the city - minus the few nobles that were exempt from the process [...wow, she actually sounded kind of really absurdly bitter at the mention of nobility right there?? what's up with that? ain't she a noble?] - would flood into the streets, and await the passing of the revelers... and, when we passed... [...she draaaaaaags out the pause...] ...we would strike them with our bloodied thongs!

[...and she pretty much has a good laugh at that; a nostalgic one, as she remembers her heady days of lass-whipping, back in the double digits AD.]

...of course, do not mistake this for abuse! Nothing could be further from the truth. It was a blessing, you see; it ensured fertility, and a painless childbirth.

Some would simply charge about, striking every woman they came across... and that was quite alright! Blessing many is the sign of a generous soul! However... more common were those who would seek out a single woman, one whom they cared for deeply, and strike only her. In many cases, this could be taken as a confession, or even a proposal!

A grandiose display, one I find rather appealing... although, I must say, modern traditions are far neater, quite a bit more delicious.

Anyway, I hope my exposition has enriched your day... and, perhaps, that you might take these customs to heart!

Goodn-

[...and she stops; there was definitely something she was forgetting... but what...........]

--ah! No, one last matter!

Our captors have seen fit to return my blade to me; as such, I require a partner with which to train! A skilled partner, of course; my own technique has not degraded so much from disuse that a training dummy will do. If you believe yourself qualified, please do speak up!

And now, I actually wish you goodnight.

Comments

A, duh

[doesnotgetit]

[Like many people, Hakuno is still only half-awake when she rolls out of bed in the morning. Which means she's only half-awake when she walks out of her room and notices her Servant.... standing there.... with a paint-soaked piece of leather in her hands....]

... Er... 'morning, Saber.

[She just woke up and she has no idea what's going on. How else is she supposed to respond?]

huehuehue

[stages]

[Saber gives her a broad, magnanimous smile




and thwaps her crossways, from shoulder to hip

leaving a goodly bit of paint behind]

Good morning, Praetor! And a happy St. Valentine's to you.

[doesnotgetit]

[WELL

That sure woke her up

Except not enough because when she jumps back, she very nearly falls through the still-open doorway.

And she can only look at Saber in shock.]

Wha... W-What was that for!?

[stages]

[saber REACHES OUT TO GRAB HER--- and tries to pull Hakuno into her arms. NO FALLING OVER, SLEEPY!]

A tradition from my homeland! A blessing of love, given out during the celebration of Lupercalia, from which St. Valentine's Day has evolved!

[Looking very, very earnest about all this! Very serious! SHE IS POURING HER HEART OUT TO YOU, HAKUNO, PLEASE UNDERSTAND!!!!!!!!]

Phone

[adropofjupiter]

...okay. Kinda weird.

[long pause.]

But Roman custom always was kinda weird.

Phone

[stages]

Hah! I won't argue. However, most geniuses, be they artists or polymaths, tend to leave others with such an impression. In that case, I take your statement as a complement!

Phone

[adropofjupiter]

It certainly leaves a lasting impression, ze.

[Marisa switches to Latin - for her own amusement - though her pace of speaking is slower and Saber can laugh at her accent.]

Shall I be on guard for wild Romans chasing after me with leather when I leave my house? [And the flirtation is in her voice.]

Phone

[stages]

[The accent is a bit amusing, but she's far more taken by the fact that someone from the modern era still speaks her language! She switches as well.]

Gods pierce my cheating heart if I ever do! You need fear nothing... but, perhaps, a pinched bottom.

[Pretty much the best v-day gift a person can give, amirite?]

Phone

[beamiracle]

I see...traditions for holidays really have changed over the ages. [Yeah, Lion would say just handing out chocolate is a lot more manageable.]

Phone

[stages]

Truly! Though, I worry that it might be because mankind has lost its sense of wonder...

Well, either way, I can't bring myself to object to celebrating with chocolate. [Because chocolate is delicious and she is such a goddamn hedonist piggy...]

Phone

[beamiracle]

You could see it that way...but while traditions change, attitudes change as well. I think if men tried to whip women like that nowadays, people would think the implications unfortunate despite the meaning it once had.

Chocolate is a good way to celebrate it, yes. A delicious one, certainly.

Phone

[stages]

[...she wants to disagree with him, but she actually can't say for certain that she thinks he's wrong. DAMNED CHANGING WORLD why can't we just have the good changes and then still run around like hooligans, whipping each other and getting shitfaced in public and having state-sponsored orgies]

Perhaps, perhaps... ah, well. My time has long since passed, and only the very curmudgeonly decry progress! So I will complain no more.

[phone]

[captainofthe10th]

Lupercalia? You intrigue me, mamzel. Your words are familiar to me. I know many servants and have faced them in battle, both in earnest and in practice.

[phone]

[stages]

Oho? Then you know of the Mother Wolf?

[...]

Hmmm... I had hoped you would respond. You had the look of a true warrior about you, modifications aside.

Would you care to help me train, Garviel? I have no doubt that it would prove amusing for us both.

[phone]

[captainofthe10th]

Let us just say the name Lupercal has a great deal of meaning to me. It would be my honor.

[phone]

[stages]

[...she's definitely curious, but he sounded like he wanted to drop it. Which. Means she'll probably bring it up again while they're training...]

And mine, as well.

When might you be free to begin?

[phone]

[doudemoe]

[...Thank you. That's more Roman trivia than he needed to know.]

I'm willing.

[phone]

[stages]

[The More You Know!]

Hmm... training with a wide array of partners would be wise, yes. [That was mostly said to herself; she already agreed to train with Garviel, but, man, swordfighting is pretty much awesome, so let's do this extremely phallic activity with all comers!] You are skilled with a sword, then?

[phone]

[doudemoe]

It's what I'm most used to.

Your place or mine? [That did not sound remotely suggestive.]

B; oh my god what the hell

[gandere]

[ Opening the door is one Very Irritable Tsundere mostly because her ~lover~ has no idea what the heck Valentine's Day is, so she's not going to get a damn thing. This is annoying to her, alright? Plus, last year she recalls being way too close to some stupid priest during this time of year, so she's a bit on edge.

A bit resulting in her giving that sour look of her's that is OH SO TRADITIONAL.... ]

Oh. It's you, Saber. [ JUST YOU. Except she's a bit happy because it's the Saber with the titties. ] You didn't do anything to Hakuno, did you?

[ BECAUSE GURL SHE WILL HAND HER EARRINGS TO SOMEONE AND TAKE OFF THE THIGH-HIGHS IF SHE DID. ]

[stages]

[Oh, hi Rin. How are you doing? Me? I'm doing fine! How's the family? Is little Joey walking yet? Aww, I'm sure he'll get there!]

I resent the implication! [...] I mean, I naturally made certain overtures, but she did not understand them.

[...yep she basically just came right out and admitted that. IT'S HARD, RIN. IT'S HARD AND NOBODY UNDERSTANDS.]

However! That has nothing to do with why I am here.

[She holds up the parcel - a bit larger than a normal box of candy - dangling it just out of reach.]

Were you going to invite me in?

[gandere]

So you did do something? [ It has everything to do with what she's here for. ] Tell me what you did. If you fail to, I'll drag you by your hair to her and find out the truth myself. Then I'll punish you accordingly!

[
Saber is the dog. Rin is the cat.
This is how effective her idea of dragging a Servant around is. ]

It doesn't? [ Well, why else would she come by? ] Wait, you didn't get me something for this holiday, did you?

[ What is her life when her ~lover~ doesn't get her anything, but her Best Friend Elevenever's Servant gets her something................. ]

[unyielding]

[ She listens through the tradition with a very confsed noise uttered, as if she's going to say something, but then it dies down. The stranger the tradition gets, the more Lan Fan resists to comment on it until the end. ]

That is quite the unique tradition. How often does it happen? [ because she is totally avoiding any type of interaction on that day. ]

As for your training partner, I have been searching for one myself for quite awhile since the town has given me my grenades and blades back. [ Yep. Are you ready to go against explosives and knives? Don't worry, she'll only use one. ] I have no intention of using my grenades for training.

[stages]

[there's nothing strange about this, GOSH.]

Yearly; traditionally, it's a three-day event, starting on the Ides of February. I chose to celebrate it only today, though, to bring it further into alignment with St. Valentine's Day.

[...whoops she doesn't even realize that most people wouldn't know when the "ides" are, and, those that do? probably only know because of the ides of march, which is on a different day than most months...]

Excellent! I would be most pleased to have you as a training partner. [Unless you end up disappointing her, in which case she'll suplex your ass and moonwalk out.] Tell me, what sort of blades do you favour? Swords? Daggers? Or something more exotic?

[unyielding]

[ PANTY HITTING IS TOTALLY NORMAL???? ]

I have never heard of the Ides of February. Did you run out into the streets and hit people with your underwear? [ She thought that would have been something phone call worthy - which she stalks but never answers. ]

I use kunai, or daggers. They're meant for throwing and close quarters combat, though I have experience with the Dao as well. [ Oh, hey, totally ignoring cultural barriers! It goes both ways in this thread!

Don't worry. Lan Fan never disappoints. Unless your name is Master Ling and you wanted sprinkles on your chocolate chip ice cream ): ]