It was snowing again. It wasn't that surprising, considering it was winter, but even still, she found herself almost nostalgic. The window was frosted over and she folded her arms over her chest, trying to preserve a small sense of warmth.
"How are you holding up, Rin?" her husband, Ivan, asked as he stood behind her. Rin let out a long sigh before she leaned back against Ivan's chest, only then did he wrap his arms around her waist.
"As well as I can," she whispered. "Which is ridiculous because I was like her once."
"Like her, yes. But you're not in the same position as her anymore. It's different," Ivan corrected, gently kissing the back of her head.
Rin hated when he was right, but, well, he was right. Rin had always gone for what she wanted her entire life. When she was a child, she'd wanted to become a top magus and student. When she was a teenager, she'd wanted to become Master in the Holy Grail War.
And now, thirty years later as an adult, she wanted her children to be safe. Currently, three of them were, off at school and guaranteed to be home later that night.
But her oldest was heading off to war and no matter how much Rin wanted to stop her, she knew she couldn't. Never mind the fact that it would show her to be a massive hypocrite.
"I suppose there's nothing else for it," Rin sighed. She turned in Ivan's arms and smiled sadly up at him. Ivan returned her smile, reaching up to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear. Rin leaned into the touch, letting out a quiet sigh. "Honestly, how are you so calm right now?"
"Because I'm terrified of how much I don't know," Ivan admitted, biting his lip. "You do know just how dangerous this is, how bad it could be, and the last thing either of us needs is our fears building on each other. Now, when your confidence in our daughter returns to its regular levels, I will return to my 'too prim for fighting' concerned self and you can scold me for having so little faith in your daughter."
Rin was helpless against the snort she let out, causing Ivan to grin down at her.
"See, I knew I married you for a reason," Rin stated, patting Ivan's cheek lightly. She then pulled away and walked over to their dresser, where her regular jewelry box sat.
With an almost hesitant movement, Rin opened the lid and took out a certain piece. Then, without another word, she turned and made her way down the hall to her daughter's room, where the door was open so she leaned in the open doorway.
"There really is nothing I can say to convince you, is there, Anya?" Rin asked softly.
Anya glanced up at her mother from where she was packing her suitcase, her dark hair falling over her shoulder and her hazel eyes set.
"They really brought this shit back after basically excommunicating you and Dad from the magic community," Anya argued. She straightened up, her fists clenched and trembling at her sides. "Neither of you have been able to…to contact anyone from before and that's just not right! Just because you're…!"
"Anya," Rin cut in, stepping into the room and moving to stand in front of her daughter, laying a hand on her shoulder. "I promise you, no matter how much I miss everyone, I do not regret loving your father, your siblings or you. I can't speak for your father, but I know he loves you and your siblings. So don't you dare blame yourself."
"I know, but…but I still want to do this. I want to show them how wrong they were and make them regret kicking you guys out. And I want to be a good magus, to make you proud," Anya explained. Rin was helpless to do anything but wrap her daughter in her arms.
"I will always be proud of you, never doubt that. Never." Rin's voice was firm as steel, leaving absolutely no room for Anya to argue. Instead, she simply returned the hug just as tightly. They stayed like that for several moments before Rin slowly pulled back, squeezing her daughter's arms as Ivan entered the room to join them.
He didn't say a word, because of course, he and Anya had been practically telepathic since the second she was born, and instead gently patted the top of her head with a soft look in his hazel eyes, so similar to Anya's.
"Well, if we can't stop you, the least I can do is give you a memento," Rin sighed. She raised her right hand and finally opened it, showing the pendent to Anya. "This was the catalyst I used when I fought in my Holy Grail War thirty years ago. Well, to be specific, this is the version Archer returned to me. As far as I know, Shirou still has his. But. Maybe this can help you summon Archer, but if it doesn't, it's at least a little piece of home. From me and from your grandfather."
"Mom," Anya whispered, her eyes wide as she reverently took the pendent. Rin wasn't surprised by her daughter's reaction, she rarely spoke of her war and the people she knew from back then.
What point was there, after all, when you were forbidden from seeing them? And selfishly, Rin had always thought that holding on to the pendent meant that Archer was watching over her, wherever he was in the Throne of Heroes.
Ivan stepped forward then, silently holding out a hand. Without a word, Anya passed him the pendent and turned around, allowing him to place the pendent around her neck. It suited her far more than it ever had Rin.
"There," Ivan declared as he returned to Rin's side. He took her hand in his, intertwining their fingers together. "Now you're ready for battle."
"Mom, Dad…" Anya trailed off, speechless. It was a feat Rin typically took a great deal of pride in, considering her daughter often took after her own outspoken nature.
She wasn't really proud now, sending her daughter off to war in a new part of Tokyo she didn't know as well. The only sign of her true feelings was her trembling hand entwined with Ivan's own, their hold both reassuring each other and hiding their fears from Anya.
But clearly, Anya knew them better than they thought, or perhaps she simply did what she wanted.
She threw herself at the two of them, just as she had when she was a little girl, and Rin clutched tightly onto her daughter, her heart aching with the thought that this could be the last time.
She did not want it to be the last time. But Rin wasn't the best when it came to voicing her feelings so easily, she never had been, so all she could do was squeeze Anya tighter.
"No matter what, come home. Survive," Ivan whispered, the words exactly what Rin herself wanted to say.
Anya only nodded her head against their shoulders, not daring to promise that when it could oh so easily be broken.
Instead, she whispered three words.
"I love you."
Rin returned the whisper with as much feeling as she held in her heart for her daughter, her oldest child, who still felt so small and precious in her arms just as she had the day she was born. It was only through hearing Ivan's own whisper of love and feeling his hand find hers once more that allowed her to pull back. If nothing else, he was here to shoulder this burden with her.
It wasn't much longer before Anya left their small home behind for Shibuya, one of the most likely battle grounds of the new Holy Grail War.
And Rin and Ivan were helpless as they watched their daughter head off to war, with the Tohsaka name and legacy attached to her back.
Hello, hello! I hope you're all doing well! This is my first Fate series fic, so I'm excited to get started on it while rereading/watch Stay Night and play Grand Order.
So this story is gonna be a Submit Your Own Character, where I have Anya as my character while the rest of the main cast is submitted by all of you, including both Masters and Servants. I'm really excited to see the submissions everyone comes up with! Both forms will be available on my profile so you can copy it over to fill out.
But first, a few rules. First, all submissions must be submitted by PM with the subject being "Fate Coming Dawn – Character Name, (Master/Servant)". Second, I'd prefer the Masters not be younger than high school age, 15/16 for example. I didn't state it here, but Anya is 19 if that helps.
Next, some fun notes for this fic! The theme I'm exploring is "legacy", which is why I have Rin here connecting Anya to Stay Night. This fic is also set 30 years post Fate route, with some plot that happened in between of course, explaining how Rin met Ivan and their life together came about. Not sure yet how much of that will be covered, but I can assure you I have plans for them.
Also, other canon characters such as Shirou and Illya and Sakura can be included in character backstories! (One exception for Shirou, I guess, is that the Avalon epilogue is eventually canon in my personal head canon so my thought process is if Shirou has a family, he'd adopt.) For characters connected to canon, I have no say on any of their current circumstances, 30 years post Fate, outside of Rin. So if you want to include Rin in the backstory, I can let you know the necessary details!
And as for Servants: I'd prefer that no canon character be copy pasted. However, if you don't want to create a brand new Servant (which I wouldn't blame you, Grand Order used a lot of ideas already), you can use a canon character as long as you put them in a class that they canonically do not have yet (like Berserker Gilgamesh).
And finally, I am allowing reincarnation for characters as long as they don't directly break canon! For example, you can have Enkidu reincarnate as a human Master, since they have a set date of death and, could be argued, erased from the Throne of Heroes (please correct me if I'm remembering this wrong, I can't find the source I originally found this info on), but you cannot have Merlin reincarnate, since he is completely immortal and always observing the present in Avalon. Also, my rule for most heroes is that each hero comes from that specific time in their life, like Kid Gil is kid Gil, Archer Gil is Pre-Losing-Enkidu Gil, and Caster Gil is Post-Losing-Enkidu Gil, but there can be a point where any Servant that has a date of death can reincarnate.
Okay, that should be it! The submission forms will be down below and I will keep track of both gender submissions and Master and Servant submissions! Have fun and I look forward to what you all come up with! The deadline for now is tentatively set for January 15th (it could be extended depending on the number of submissions).
EDIT BECAUSE I'M A DUMB DUMB: You do NOT need to have both a Master and Servant submission. You can do one, the other or both!
Male: 10
Female: 10
Non-binary: 2
Masters: 8
Servants: 14
Saber: 3
Lancer: 2
Archer: 1
Berserker: 2
Rider: 1
Caster: 2
Assassin: 3
Master Form
Name:
Nickname:
Age: (15+ would be preferred)
Gender: (all genders allowed)
Sexuality: (all sexualities allowed)
Birthday:
Nationality:
Ethnicity:
Height/Weight
Likes: (Min of 3)
Dislikes: (Min of 3)
Blood Type:
(Appearance)
Physical: (What do they look like? Hair color? Eye color? Body shape? Be really creative.)
Everyday Attire: (What do they wear every day?)
Formal Attire: (What do they wear to a formal event?)
Swimwear: (Self-explanatory.)
Accessories: (Necklaces? Watches? Hats? Rings? Gloves? Etc.)
Other: (Anything else that didn't fit above, like scars or birthmarks. For scars, make sure to give a story behind them too.)
(Personality)
Usual Personality: (How they act normally in front of others? What image are they cultivating? How does the world perceive them?)
Inner Personality: (What are they like on the inside? The same as their usual personality? Or are they hiding something? Be pretty detailed here please.)
Hobbies:
Mentality: (Are they stable or not?)
Disorders/Mental Illnesses: (OCD, asthma and things like that.)
Habits/Mannerisms: (Do they fidget when they're scared? Play with their hair while thinking? Little things like that.)
Voice/Quote: (Please give me some quotes, so I can really understand them!)
People They Love: (Is there a type of person your character would fall in love with? Characteristics that they find attractive? Do they even want a romance?)
People They Like: (Who do they like spending time with? Do they have a type they enjoy being around? Stuff like that.)
People They Dislike: (Basically the opposite of the above.)
(Background/Relations)
Background: (Be really detailed here, what made your character who they are. What important events shaped them?)
Family: (Whether blood or found, this is their important people.)
Friends: (Anyone precious that isn't family.)
Romance/Crush: (Any pre Holy Grail War romance?)
Pets: (Any animals they loved?)
(Character)
How They Think: (Are they logical or emotional?)
Desire: (What do they want out of life?)
Strive: (How far are they willing to go to get what they want? All the way or do they have boundaries they won't cross?)
(Holy Grail War)
What is their wish?:
What kind of legacy do they represent?:
What kind of Servant would you see them with?:
What kind of catalyst would they use (if they do)?:
Magic: (just…all the details on their magic.)
Command Spell: (What does their Command Spell look like?)
Other: (Anything else I forgot to ask)
Servant Form
Name:
Nickname:
Age: (Physical, since spirits are flexible)
Gender: (all genders allowed)
Servant Class: (the original seven only please, unless you have a very good argument for an extra class)
Sexuality: (all sexualities allowed)
Birthday:
Nationality:
Ethnicity:
Height/Weight
Likes: (Min of 3)
Dislikes: (Min of 3)
Blood Type:
(Appearance)
Physical: (What do they look like? Hair color? Eye color? Body shape? Be really creative.)
Everyday Attire: (What do they wear every day?)
Formal Attire: (What do they wear to a formal event?)
Swimwear: (Self-explanatory.)
Accessories: (Necklaces? Watches? Hats? Rings? Gloves? Etc.)
Other: (Anything else that didn't fit above, like scars or birthmarks. For scars, make sure to give a story behind them too.)
(Personality)
Usual Personality: (How they act normally in front of others? What image are they cultivating? How does the world perceive them?)
Inner Personality: (What are they like on the inside? The same as their usual personality? Or are they hiding something? Be pretty detailed here please.)
Hobbies:
Mentality: (Are they stable or not?)
Disorders/Mental Illnesses: (OCD, asthma and things like that.)
Habits/Mannerisms: (Do they fidget when they're scared? Play with their hair while thinking? Little things like that.)
Voice/Quote: (Please give me some quotes, so I can really understand them!)
People They Love: (Is there a type of person your character would fall in love with? Characteristics that they find attractive? Do they even want a romance?)
People They Like: (Who do they like spending time with? Do they have a type they enjoy being around? Stuff like that.)
People They Dislike: (Basically the opposite of the above.)
(Background/Relations)
Background: (Be really detailed here, what made your character who they are. What important events shaped them? You don't have to include their entire story, just what's important or what makes them different from how we know them)
Family: (Whether blood or found, this is their important people.)
Friends: (Anyone precious that isn't family.)
Romance/Crush: (Any pre Holy Grail War romance?)
Pets: (Any animals they loved?)
(Character)
How They Think: (Are they logical or emotional?)
Desire: (What do they want out of life?)
Strive: (How far are they willing to go to get what they want? All the way or do they have boundaries they won't cross?)
(Holy Grail War)
What is their wish?:
What kind of legacy do they represent?:
What kind of Master would you see them with?:
What kind of catalyst would be used for them (if used)?
Magic: (just…all the details on their magic.)
Fighting: (how do they fight, what weapon(s) do they use?)
Noble Phantasm: (all the details here please!)
Other: (Anything else I forgot to ask)