#[ partner. — sagekinq. ]

[eveniingstar]

|| closed starter for @sagekinq <3

Rin's breaths came fast as she stood before the summoning circle, palm outstretched. The ritual was esoteric, but she had copied it perfectly, rehearsing each line over and over until they came naturally. And now that all her careful preparations had come to fruition, it was time to see if her hard work and study would pay off.

She clutched the artifact steadfastly in her spare hand, hoping against hope that it would work. In the tomes she had studied, there were records of previous grail wars. She knew what sort of servants had been summoned then - their strength and ferocity. If she meant to win this war, she would need only the best - and that meant she would need the strongest hero of them all. So she had procured an artifact which would guarantee her success - a cuneiform tablet depicting the story of the oldest of the world's heroes, set near the end of his reign.

Surely this would guarantee his arrival. ...Right?

" My will creates your body, and your sword creates my destiny... If you heed the Grail's call and obey my will and reason, then answer me! "

[eveniingstar]

what if you're able to manifest without a host body? (idk how else to phrase it nbJKSNAMKLSA)

" Mm? " Ishtar was half-asleep, but opened kohl-lined lids to regard Gilgamesh with ruby eyes glimmering with amusement. " That depends entirely on which version of me that infernal Throne of Heroes deigned to summon. "

" You know me better than any of the others. I am not so different in this form than I was before. The girl has tempered some of my more hot-headed traits, " she said, lifting a hand to check already-perfect nails, " but I remain myself nonetheless. My power would, of course, be at its full force. I would not suffer myself to be bound by a contract then, though I doubt I would turn on humanity itself. I love it far too much. " She stated it bluntly, as though this were simple fact. And to her, it was. She was a goddess of love, and by necessity, she must always love humanity.

" Now, if the Throne tried to summon one of my other aspects... Inanna, for instance, or an aspect that was more war-inclined... That would be fun. " For her, perhaps. Chaldea should count itself lucky that it had summoned her as a demi-servant archer. The girl had tempered the worst of her rash nature, but that bold, bratty, selfish goddess still sometimes lurked beneath the surface.

And who knows? She could make an appearance one day. Everyone else gets to have different forms and alters, after all.

[eveniingstar]

❝ don't tell me to quit being melodramatic it's the only time i have any fun. ❞

various sentence starters // accepting.

" Perhaps with your talent for drama, you ought to have been part of the production, " Ishtar teased playfully, her voice a whisper as all eyes looked to the Servants taking the stage below them. A few of the more theatrically-inclined Servants had taken it upon themselves to put on a production of one of Marlowe's plays, a jest Shakespeare had seemed to delight in.

Pressing her hand to her lips, she curled into a ball as her shoulders shook with silent laughter, already prepared for the dirty looks their more attentive neighbors would undoubtedly throw her way. She should have known sitting near him would be a mistake - his snarky commentary would have her laughing the whole night through.

[eveniingstar]

"I gotta get it off my chest."

"Manic" Sentence Starters // accepting.

There was a pause as the goddess seemed to consider his words, weighing the chances that this could turn into some jest at her expense. While Gilgamesh did often tease her, he didn't usually do so in situations where it mattered.

Ultimately, it seemed that she decided to trust him, because the next thing out of her mouth was, " Is... something the matter? If something is on your mind, I have been told I am a decent listener. "

[eveniingstar]

She waited patiently for the Servant to examine the artifact, crossing her arms and shifting her weight from heel to heel. A million questions bubbled beneath the surface of her mind, but she withheld them. Her father had taught her that first impressions mattered, especially when it comes to Master and Servant relationships. She was not about to make a fool of herself, quizzing the King of Heroes like an overeager schoolgirl.

" A Caster... " she hummed, considering her options carefully. Casters were not the strongest, but they were often masterful tacticians. While she would have preferred the raw firepower of a Gilgamesh in his prime, this was not so much a setback as a chance to reevaluate. " I am sure we will make a great team. "

And if they didn't, there were always the command spells. She hoped to never have to use them though.

" Right, " she said after a moment's hesitation, glancing up at the blonde-haired servant to gauge his mood. Seeing that, for the moment at least, he seemed to have calmed, she cautiously stepped forward and extended her hand. Around her wrist glittered three ruby red chains, intertwining together - her Command Spells.

" This is the part I'm less sure about. What must we do to finalize our bond? "

       ...   evidently,  this  is  different  from  ishtar.   from  a  bristled  feeling  to  a  now  more  calm  demeanor,  gilgamesh  lets  out  a  sigh.   ❝ right.   you  just  remind  me  of  someone  i  knew. ❞   and  definitely  not  in  the  best  way,  but  he  has  no  choice  but  to  look  past  it  and  keep  it  all  professional.   though  that  little  comment  brought  a  brow  to  twitch  in  irritation.

     well,  hm,  actually,  maybe  not  that  different  from  that  goddess.

      though  it  does  make  him  wonder  a  few  things,  but  those  are  thoughts  to  investigate  on  later.   the  wise  king  glanced  down  to  the  battered  tablet,  taking  it  to  examine  it.   definitely  a  tablet  of  his  tales,  albeit  it  looks  to  have  seen  such  better  days.   thats  what  time  passing  and  the  inability  to  properly  preserve  does  to  artifacts  of  old.   ❝ alright,  let's  get  on  with  it. ❞   sigh.   there's  a  sense  at  the  back  of  his  mind  that  this  was  going  to  be  a  really  long  war.   ❝ i'm  the  king  of  uruk,  summoned  as  a  caster  to  serve  under  you  on  this  battle. ❞ 

     hm,  perhaps  a  refund  is  in  order.   or  get  on  her  case  about  having  to  tried  harder  to  summon  him  as  an  archer  instead  —  but  one  proper  look  ...   hm.   ❝ our  contracts  will  be  finalized  here.   you  have  rather  a  good  advantage  to  call  for  me. ❞

[eveniingstar]

Golden eyes widened as she watched him run through the gamut of his emotions - calm, shock, betrayal, disgust - but that was the only visual tell that his outburst had affected her. Tokiomi had spent many hours preparing her for the day when she would eventually summon her own Servant and participate in the Holy Grail War, and nothing was going to make her forget that now. Even if she did already want to reach out and throttle her newly summoned Servant - he had just gotten here and already, he insulted her. This did not bode well.

Her heel clicked against the stone beneath her feet as she stomped in place, crossing her arms over her chest. She would be patient. She would at least try to understand his upset before losing her temper. " King of Uruk, I have summoned you here to do battle on my behalf. I do not know of whom you speak, but I can assure you we have never met. It has been... something like five thousand years since you were even alive. "

Rin held out the weathered, near unrecognizable shard of the cuneiform tablet she had stolen borrowed from the Clock Tower's archives. " Records like this are all that survive of your reign. So believe me when I say that I am not nearly ancient enough to be someone from your time. I'm not old. " she huffed, a bit of that childishly bratty side coming out. " Now can we please get back to finalizing our contract? Summoning you was no easy task. "

       he  had  remembered  spending  his  final  days  in  mesopotamia.   well,  it  could've  just  been  memories  replaying  in  the  order  of  the  known  legends  that  were  well  preserved.   crimson  eyes  were  pressed  shut,  suddenly  feeling  the  atmosphere  change  and  a  glow  illuminating  through  his  eyelids.   his  body  was  familiar  with  the  feeling ;   in  different  forms.   though  the  memories  that  were  brought  along  with  it  was  fuzzier  than  glass  getting  fogged  up.

      ❝ you  must  have  great  luck  to  summon  me  successfully,  though  i  may  be  just  a  caster- ❞   when  his  crimson  eyes  opened  to  meet  his  new  master,  they  immediately  widened  in  a  mix  of  shock,  anger  and  disgust.   ishtar ?!   he  got  summoned  by-   ❝ i  get  summoned  by  you ?!   after  everything  that  happened ?! ❞   disgusted  familiarity  leaked  through  his  voice.   though  he  deeply  inhaled,  eyes  pressing  shut  once  more  as  he  tried  to  calm  himself  down.   oh,  this  is  like  such  a  cruel  poetry.

      ❝ the  past  is  the  past,  the  past ... ❞   nope,  he  can't  let  go.   the  caster  lets  out  a  sigh.   ❝ ah,  hm.   as  you  are ...   my  master,  i  will  aid  you  in  this  conflict. ❞