Wandering King's Rock and Roll

[fauxcalibur]

Who: Richard the Lion-nerd and OPEN
When: Dec. 4
Where: around Tokyo, back home at his temple
What: Saber has an electric guitar and he's not afraid to use it



[A - Near Shore, Tokyo, evening]

[By nature, gods tend to escape the notice of mortals. This is probably how Saber has managed to set himself up on a street corner with his electric guitar and an amplifier without getting chased off by the police for making himself a nuisance. He has his guitar case open in front of him and it doesn't seem to be deterring him in the slightest that no one has put any money in it.

To his credit, he does actually look and sound like a professional. He's wearing his usual leather jacket with its rhinestone cross on the back, but he (mercifully) is wearing a T-shirt with a stylized anime robot on it instead of the horrible Hawaiian shirt Caster gave him as a present. Add that to boots and ripped jeans and the fact that he actually knows his way around an electric guitar and you might actually believe that he's about to pull this whole thing off.]

Who'd like to hear a song about King Arthur?

[Except this is Saber we're talking about.]

[B - Near Shore, Tokyo, early morning]

[There are supposed to be bear ayakashi in this park and Saber is supposed to be staking the place out to try to find them. However, no bears are immediately evident, so he has his phone out and is watching something intently on it.

He is, at least, being polite and wearing headphones.

This, however, is not going to help him notice incoming bears.

This could be a problem.]

[C - Far Shore, near Michael's Temple]

[If you happen to be walking past the stately medieval castle that this dork resides in, you might want to dodge because Saber is running out of his own gates, laughing delightedly while being chased by several irate geese.

God only knows what started this one...]

Comments

A

[futhark]

I want to-! [ There's a familiar voice among the crowd. ] Hear a song I mean. Not necessarily about King Arthur. Don't need that kind of flashback right now.

[ Did he just spill beans about meeting Arthur? Yup. It's said in joking tone, so take it as you will. In the end, he won that "Grail War", though he has to admit that wouldn't be able to defeat that Saber alone. Cute girls with shields as a distraction for teh win. ]

Did you get anything else in your repertoire?

[fauxcalibur]

My repertoire is ever growing, my friend!

[New hobby: writing rock ballads about giant robot anime, movie musicals, Godzilla, and...well, basically anything else on Netflix.]

But what do you mean by "flashback?"

[Because no matter how much he watches, reads, or listens to, nothing is ever going to replace his number one obsession.]

[futhark]

[ Godzilla is badass, he deserves a whole rock opera, you go guy ]

Eh, I don't like remembering how my head almost rolled after meeting that blade. [ And who knows, maybe it even happened more than just once. In another time, in another "life" ] Surely they must have made songs about you or that friend of yours.

[fauxcalibur]

[There's a discordant twang from the guitar as Saber reels in shock.]

You've met King Arthur?!!

[His heart is going to stop. It's going to stop right now. Right here. This is too much to take in.]

[futhark]

Yeah, joys of the Grail Wars, right?

[ Ooops, there it goes. Caster rocks on his feet as he answers. ]

No Heroic Spirit would mistake that sword for something else.

A

[priforprince]

[ He plays rock? This is news to Hibiki. It's not her usual milieu, but talent in (almost) any genre can be appreciated.

So she's not going to approach, more lurk - but there is another god, hanging out in the back, here. Watching with resting prince face an air of barely-deferred judgment.

You may play. Go on. Impress her. ]

[fauxcalibur]

[Surprisingly, Saber is actually really good at playing the electric guitar. He was skilled enough to impress people the first time he picked one up and months of practice and watching videos on YouTube have taken his talent to a new level. His singing voice isn't half bad, either.

It's just the lyrics that need work. This is clearly not his day job.]

Coincidentally, my next song is also about King Arthur!

[priforprince]

[ The. The imbalance. Between legitimate musical talent and...and....the libretto.... ]

An instrumental will suffice.

[ She never thought she'd see the day where a headache was on the verge of blossoming after an avant-garde concert and it wasn't the music's fault. ]

[fauxcalibur]

Hm? An instrumental?

[He looks down at his guitar as he thinks that one over.]

I don't really have any of my own compositions that can stand on their own without lyrics...

[Maybe on the acoustic guitar, but the electric guitar is a different beast.]

Shall I just improvise?

A

[rockthemonkey]

[Goku has too much time on his hands and a small amount of disposable income, which means he's wandering the streets of Tokyo at night with his arms full of takoyaki. He stops when he passes Saber, mouth full and with a toothpick sticking out of his lips, a little confused. This guy looks familiar...]

Hrm? [Chew, chew. Swallow.] I wanna hear!

[fauxcalibur]

[He's never one to turn down an audience, even one that has said, perhaps, less than kind things about him in the past. Because, honestly, who hasn't spoken ill of him? He's rather used to it.]

Excellent! I shall do my best to stop at one.

[This really could go on for a while.

He's surprisingly good at playing the guitar and his singing voice isn't half bad, either. The lyrics, however, leave something to be desired. He's obviously put a lot of work into them, but it's really just his enthusiasm that makes the song tolerable.]

[rockthemonkey]

[That was just friendly ribbing, Saber. They're practically friends. Sorta.

Goku listens intently to the song, nodding along to the music and chewing on his takoyaki. He even tries to hum along a bit. Music is nice and singing is great, Goku could listen happily for a while, even though the lyrics are confusing and weird. Still, Saber seems happy enough about it and that's the important thing.]

... I don't get it, but it's good!

[fauxcalibur]

Hm? Are the lyrics difficult to understand?

[Entirely possible, considering it isn't his forte and his general knowledge of poetry is about 800 years out of date.]

Would a cover of a more familiar song be more entertaining?

[Because it isn't like he hasn't learned to play his share of popular music as well. Well, music that was popular at some point. He's not entirely sure what's new and what's completely out of date.]

A

[letteropener]

[An electric guitar?]

[Jacket with rhinestones?]

[Boots and ripped jeans?]

[Oh goodness, does she dare to hope?]

What's your style?

[Princess Celestia is practically quivering with eager anticipation. She knows perfectly well the coincidence is extremely unlikely, but does Saber play 80's heavy metal?!]

[fauxcalibur]

Rather eclectic, to be perfectly honest! If you have a request, I may be able to manage it.

[It's truly fascinating how many subgenres of music there are now. He's tried his hand at a lot of them just to see what he can do, so it shouldn't be too difficult to indulge a request.]

When I first attempted to play the electric guitar, I was told the style was a small matter of debate, but that ultimately it was "rock."

[The band's style, he'd been told, was either "metal" or "punk" and they were rather tired of the arguments over it. It had all been new to him at the time, so all he could do was absorb as much information as possible about it.]

[letteropener]

I have seen a great number of styles come and go, but the electric guitar has certainly produced a great number of them since it was introduced. Of course, I was not properly able to enjoy the style thanks to the -- ahem -- "dignity of the crown"... [Which, to be fair, Celestia understands. Perception is everything. It would be quite difficult for Equestria to reconcile the calm, serene Princess who raises the sun each day and guides them all with ageless wisdom with a hard-rocking Celestia neck deep in a mosh pit and letting her mane fly free. But that doesn't mean she has no regrets.] But -- well, ponies called it heavy metal at the time, though that term has expanded some as the genre has grown. I am not certain what humans might call it, if they even have it...

[fauxcalibur]

Ah! I was told my first attempt at a guitar solo was quite metal! It's quite ambitious as a genre and quite diverse in style, the more you listen to it! Composing for it is a bit beyond my current skill, but perhaps another improvised solo?

[He smiles and it's practically blinding.]

From one ruler to another?

C

[replicatedform]

[Yamanbagiri's just on a walk, mostly to unwind and checking how things going. It's none of his business, but it would hurt to go over what he remembers of the area. And where each temple might be at.

Until he see someone being chased by geese?]

What the—

[Quickly, he dodge to the side, watching this person go and the geese chasing after him.]

Oi! Why are they chasing you?

[fauxcalibur]

I haven't the slightest idea, but they seem quite cross!

[Saber, however, doesn't seem the slightest bit bothered by this. Possibly it's entirely his fault, but he's apparently not aware of whatever it was that he did to make the geese so mad.

Really, all he's concerned with right now is keeping ahead of them.]

[replicatedform]

[He could walk away, since it's none of his business.

On the other hand, he already saw this and knows he can't just walk away. With a sigh, he calls out.]

Do you need help?!

[fauxcalibur]

[All the angry honking from the geese indicates that help would be a good idea, but it seems like Saber is thinking it over anyway.]

They seem quite determined! I thought maybe I could just tire them out. Certainly, I could roast the lot of them and we'd eat goose for a week, but that seems unnecessarily cruel, no?

C

[irishfriskey]

[Why does he keep coming to Saber's temple? He just sighs as he watches him leave with geese chasing him. Rubbing his face, he looks at him.]

What are you doing?

[fauxcalibur]

Oh hello, Lancer!

[He seems pretty nonchalant for a man being chased by a bloodthirsty gaggle of geese.]

I'm running from these geese, so I'm afraid I can't stop to have much of a conversation!

[But he will, apparently, keep chattering away while he runs.]

[irishfriskey]

[If he knows Saber, and unfortunately he does, he knows that's not true. If he gives it a moment...]

Is that so? What did you do?

[9 times out of 10, it's something Saber did that's causing a problem. As such... he should be on the right path here.]

[fauxcalibur]

I haven't the slightest idea! I only walked past them and started running when I heard the hissing!

[He laughs, mostly at himself, then makes a wide turn like he's going to try running laps around where Lancer is standing.]

I suppose I'm not quite living up to my nickname, but it's either run or fight them and I believe that wouldn't be the fairest of fights.