#like yeah Shirou /was/ me but /was/ though. i don’t even get his shit hell bad end version of his dream. /these/ hands really /will/ never | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

solara-bean · 4 years

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Shirou's Secret :

Shirou Ogami x Human Reader

( reader might be slightly oc )

For as long as you can remember you've been fascinated by beastmen. This was most likely due to your love of animals and curious nature. It became a habit of you annoying adults with all of your questions.

" Teacher, why don't we learn about beastmen?"

" Mr. Zookeeper, do elephants and elephant beastmen eat the same kind of food?"

" Ms. Librarian, why are all the books about beastmen so mean?"

You were normally met with a prejudice and ignorance that you didn't understand. Your mother was the only one who ever bothered to give you an unbiased answer. But even she didn't know everything.

Then you met Izumi. A snow leopard beastmen. You were both only eight at the time when you found her hiding under a playground set. Izumi was understandably afraid of you while you were the exact opposite. Soon you two became the best of friends.

Until the incident happened.

The same event that was playing over and over again in your mind as Shirou's body covered yours. His fur stained with blood from the multiple bullet wounds in his chest.

" S-shioru..." you whispered.

" Izumi!! "

" ..s-shirou..." your trembling hands clutched his shoulders, too afraid to nudge him off of you.

" Izumi!!!!! "

It all came back to you at once. The screams. The smell of blood. The pain. You couldn't feel anything but the pain in your head and the fabric of Shirou's coat.

" ..I...."

You heard a familiar deep voice, snapping you back to the present.

" I'm ok Y/n. "

Your vision focused on Shirou and your eyes widened. He was....he was healed! How?!

Before you could question it any further Michiru appeared to check on you both. That's right. Now you remembered. You were helping Shirou with a case when you were ambushed. It was suppose to be safe. At least safe enough to bring you along but apparently it wasn't.

" Y/n?" asked Koichi from the front seat of the mayor's car.

You came out of your daze once again. It seemed like it had been mere seconds since the mayor arrived with the police, questioned Shirou and Michiru then offered to escort you all home. The only thing you didn't vaguely recall was Shirou telling her " They know. " Except you weren't exactly sure what you knew or what happened at all.

" Yes Mr. Ishizaki?"

" I asked if you wanted us to take you home."

You were in front of Shirou and Michiru's place. They were already out of the car, watching you.

" No I'm not far from here. I can walk. "

As the car drove off you turned to Shirou and Michiru. You were all silent. They looked like they wanted to tell you something but you couldn't bare it. You had to get home now before your emotions fully took over. So you waved goodbye and started in the direction to your apartment.

" Y/n."

You stopped.

" Please we need to talk."

You stuffed your hands in your pockets so that they wouldn't see your shaking fists.

" If it's about what I saw don't worry. I'll forget it ever happened."

You began to leave again but Shirou grabbed your wrist.

" Y/n just let me explain."

" You don't have to explain anything! Just-" Your stopped before your voice cracked, tears threatening to fall. " Just please let me go home. We can talk about this tomorrow if it's so important."

He sighed as if to calm himself down. His hand slid from your wrist into your palm.

" It is important," his voice was low, almost a whisper. " That's why I have to tell you now."

You still didn't face him. You did your best to focus on anything to distract you from crying. His warm hand gently squeezing yours almost did the trick. Then you felt another hand on your shoulder. It was Michiru.

" Hey everything's gonna be alright. If you come inside I'll make you some tea. Would you like that?"

You wiped a few strands of tears.

" Y-yeah...yeah I'd like that."

-----

Before long you were sitting on the edge of Shirou's bed. Tea half drunk and now room temperature but still soothing all the same. Shirou sat on a chair that he moved in front of you. He made sure to still keep enough space between you so that you could breathe.

He wasn't always this considerate of your feelings. Your relationship started off rocky because of his hatred for humans, even though it had been lessened thanks to Michiru. But over time he saw how genuine you were about helping beastmen as an avid activist for beastmen rights.

Not only that but you were overjoyed by every new thing you saw, heard, ate, learned and even smelled in Anima City. You somehow made friends with just about every new beastmen you came across. You had this talent of lifting their spirits and making them feel comfortable around you as a human. Sure there were those who tried to harm or kill you but you held up a pretty good fight against them without his or Michiru's help.

A moment that nearly brought him to tears was when you reunited with your old friend Izumi, who was now a man. He could only imagine his hardships as a beastmen and as a transgender man. But he was happily engaged and utterly ecstatic to see you again after all this time.

So he let a few barriers down around you. You hung out a lot more without Michiru or Nazuna. It got to the point where some moments seemed much more than platonic. But he couldn't go that far with you. Not without telling you the truth. And now might be his best chance.

" Ok I'm ready. You can talk now." you set the teacup aside and faced him with a determined look.

He pondered on where to start. In the middle of his thinking his hand traveled to yours. Your knuckles were bandaged from the previous fight.

" Is your hand feeling better? Lizard beastmen have very tough skin."

" I'm fine Shirou," you placed your hand over his. " Just please explain to me what I saw. How .....how did you heal so fast?"

" I guess there's no avoiding now," he sighed then locked onto your gaze. " For starters I'm the Silver Wolf..."

He told his story to you as best as he could. When he was done he took a minute to analyze your reaction. Except it wasn't what he was expecting.

" You don't seem surprised."

" Oh I am. I just....uh..wow your not what I imagined at all. Not that it's a bad thing. And you're that old?!"

" Yes."

" You must've seen a lot of shit."

" Trust me. I've seen more than anyone needs to."

You laughed at his dry humor. He smiled from seeing you happy for the first time that night since the attack. But he knew it wouldn't last long with his next question.

" Why did you react that way when I got hurt?"

Your face instantly faltered.

" What do you mean?"

" You looked terrified."

" Of course I was! You were covered in blood and bullets."

" Y/n," he took your hand again. " I know trauma when I see it. Please...talk to me."

You didn't speak for awhile. When you did your voice was low.

" You know my friend Izumi?"

" Yes."

" Do you remember what I told you about him?"

" You were childhood friends, correct? Then he had to move away."

" Yeah but I never told you why he left," you took a deep breath. " We would always meet up at the park before sundown. No one was there that late so we could play without getting stared at but then-" your body shook. " I was late one day and some kid told their dad that Izumi scratched them a-and-" your voice hitched. " they were hitting him and kicking him and one of the guys pulled out a bat so I tried to help but I got hit in the head and blacked out-" your gasped in a breath and continued to ramble on. " then I woke up in the hospital. My mom was arguing with the doctor because he refused to help Izumi. Eventually they did but Izumi's family saw how in danger they were around humans so once he got better they left town for good."

You took a moment to catch your breath again and wipe the tears you didn't know had fallen.

" I know it was years ago but everytime I see a beastmen get attacked or hear about one getting killed at a protest or something I just-" you sniffed. " My mind goes back to that night. And I can hear screaming for his family again. And smell the blood. And I.....he was just a kid Shirou. He was just a kid! He'd never hurt anyone. Hell! Snow leopards don't even attack humans in the wild! It wasn't fair!-"

Before you could continue Shirou pulled you into his chest.

" It's alright Y/n. He's ok now. You did your best. In fact you probably saved his life."

" I could've done better. If I wasn't late none of that would've happened." you sobbed.

" You can't know that for sure. Izumi is ok now. Even better he's happy. All thanks to you and your kindness."

That was your final breaking point. You cried into Shirou's chest for what felt like hours. When you calmed down he let go of you and stood up. As you wiped your nose on your sleeve you noticed him moving some of the furniture around then closing his window's curtains.

" What are you doing?"

Instead of answering you he knelt down in front of you and morphed.

" Could you take off my collar?"

" Uhh..." ok this was getting weird really fast. " Sure?" you gently reached through his fur and undid the collar.

You were quick to notice the large scar underneath. Without thinking you reached out to touch it but stopped before you could. Shirou however took your hand and guided your fingers to it. You were about to ask how he got it when a bright blue light poured out of it. Within seconds he was a large wolf beast with glowing fur and blades on his shoulders.

He had to kneel down so he wouldn't hit the ceiling, which positioned his head over your lap. He looked up at you with shining eyes that left you speechless.

" So," he spoke although his voice was slightly echoey. " Is this what you pictured the Silver Wolf would be like?"

An old memory played in your head. You went to visit Izumi at the hospital. It was actually the last day you saw him.

" You know I bet it was the Silver Wolf that saved us." he said while laying the hospital bed with his face still bandaged.

" Who's the Silver Wolf?"

" They're this really cool god that protects all beastmen."

" Wow! That's so cool. Are they fluffy?"

" Yep! They're the fluffiest biggest wolf that ever existed!"

" I hope we get to meet them someday. I wanna thank them for saving us."

Another tear slid down your face. This time out of joy. You hugged Shirou's face and petted his flowing fur.

" Thank you Shirou. And no. You're even more beautiful than I imagined."

#bna #brand new animal #shirou ogami #shirou ogami x reader #angst #fluff #i dont know how to cut posts so this is really long sorry😅

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animebw · 4 years

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Binge-Reading: Fate/Stay Night VN, Heaven’s Feel Day 11

Holy. Fucking. SHIT.

Stopping Point: Dawn of Day 10

Supernova

Perhaps one of Fate’s most impressive aspects is that it’s never clear when the next shoe is going to drop. Every day starts out so mundane, Shirou following his usual routines, maybe going to school, maybe training in the dojo. Sometimes, a day will go by without any battles. Sometimes, the day itself will be peaceful only for the war to advance during the night. Sometimes, all sense of stability is shattered and a million things happen at once that completely transform the war’s trajectory. Sometimes battles will come out of nowhere and leave almost no lasting impact, sometimes they come out of nowhere and upend everything. You’re never sure what’s going to happen when, how important any one day is going to be until shit starts going down. Hell, even when shit does start going down, you don’t always realize just how much shit is going down until thinks keep escalating past the point you expected them to stop. You never know when the big moments are gonna come in Fate, so when they do come, they’re genuinely able to shock and amaze you.

Day 9 of Heaven’s Feel starts out just like any other day. Shirou wakes up, makes breakfast, struggles to keep Sakura healthy, goes to school, catches up with Tohsaka and resolves to stay in this fight even though he’s not a Master anymore. More almost-flirting passes between them (”Will you give me you absolute obedience?” I can’t believe I have to say yes to all of these in a row, good fucking lord.), their alliance deepens, and things seem to be going smoothly. There’s no way of telling from the outset what kind of day this is gonna be. It it just gonna be cooldown and character building after the shock of losing Saber last time? It it gonna throw yet another curveball at us? How long is it going to take for the next crisis point to hit? How long is it gonna take before whatever’s going on with Sakura explodes to the forefront? You couldn’t guess the answers to any of those questions just from the first stretch of the day. All you can do is wait and watch with bated breath to see what happens next.

And what happens next, it turns out, is everything.

The Black Rider

Tension already spikes into the stratosphere when Shinji captures Sakura and holds her at knifepoint. Suddenly, the person we’ve been trying to keep safe from this whole mess has been violently dragged into it, and the only choice left is to face down Shinji’s punchable face one last time. And what a fucking confrontation! Rider being an absolute fucking badass and giving Shirou the opportunity to break through even as she’s following her orders to beat him within an inch of his life! Shirou getting so righteously pissed that he needs several people to calm him down before he skewers himself for the sake of breaking Shinji’s nose! ”There are five more meters. Your patience has won out.” Shinji getting absolutely fucking wrecked! Rin showing up to tell the prick that he’s made an enemy of her and better watch his back! Rider officially casting Shinji aside to swear her allegiance to her true master, ending her miserable imprisonment to a bastard who only treated her like a tool! ”With a sound, the existence of Matou Shinji breaks.” HE GETS FUCKING WRECKED! And then, even Sakura defies him to his face, telling him to shove off for breaking his promise not to kill Shirou! SHE SHOOK HIM OFF! She finally dragged herself out from under his shadow and refused to let him control her anymore! Sakura Matou is goddamn free!

*laughs*

Yeah, that elation lasted all of five seconds before everything goes wrong all at once. Shinji gives up completely and tells Sakura to die. She explodes into a writhing mass of energy sucking the life out of everyone around. Rin and Archer rush in to try and kill her, but the newly baptized Rider stands in their way. And Jesus fuckign hopscotch son of a bitch, I knew she was going to be a force to be reckoned with. I knew from outside knowledge that her true identity was Medusa the gorgon, but seeing her square pupils start to petrify Archer where he stood still took my fucking breath away. This ancient Greek monster is a jobber no more: Rider has officially claimed her place in the pantheon of the most dangerous servants we’ve crossed paths with yet. And it’s not lost on me that this isn’t the first time we’ve seen square pupils in this route: in Shirou’s wet dream nightmare of Rin, her pupils were square as well. I have no idea what that means, but something really goddamn insane is going on here. And it rips defeat from the jaws of victory just when we thought we were finally safe. The playing field is flipped, Shirou takes another devastating wound, and everyone is left scrambling for answers. The floodgates are blown off their hinges, and this is only the start. This entire climactic battle is only the inciting incident for the entire rest of the goddamn day. This is no mere post-fight fallout. This is no mare aftermath. This is a turning point the likes of which we’ve never seen before.

This is the moment where we finally come to understand Sakura Matou.

And this is the moment that Heaven’s Feel becomes a masterpiece.

The Story of Sakura Matou

Of course, coming into this VN having watched Fate/Zero, I was already aware of a lot of what Sakura’s gone through. But that couldn’t prepare me to experience it firsthand with fresh eyes. Sakura Matou is actually Rin’s biological little sister, once a member of the Tohsaka family. As previously established, mage families only need one heir to pass their magic crest down to, so there was no need to keep both sisters around. Meanwhile, the Matou bloodline was dying out, their magic crest crumbling, and they decided to finally do what their pride had prevented them from doing for centuries and take in a magical outsider to train as their new apprentice. Thus Rin became the Tohsaka family heir, and Sakura became the Matou family heir. All this time, Sakura has been the Matou family’s true master. The only reason Shinji’s been controlling Rider is because Sakura passed the responsibility- and the command spells- to him, not wanting to get involved in a battle that would surely bring her and Shirou into conflict. He’s been a false master from the very start, holding onto an image that was never his because it made him feel important. But deep down, he always knew that this outsider who was brought into his family would always be the master that he, the biological son, could never be. No wonder he grew up so twisted and monstrous.

And this time, there’s no shying away from the true nature of what being the Matou’s heir entails. Sakura has been raped. She’s been sexually abused. She’s been physically and mentally violated in too many ways to count. Her very Magic Crest, the source of her power and Matou inheritance, is a worm that’s literally grown inside her and fused with her nervous system, serving as a power source, a tracking device for Zouken to keep watch over her, and a kill switch to rip her apart should she defy her family. It’s constantly devouring her magical energy, and it’s all she can do to keep it satiated. If she chooses not to fight in the Holy Grail War, the worm will devour her from the inside out. If she chooses to fight, she won’t be able to both feed the worm and give Rider enough energy to fight, and she’ll destroy herself. Now that the worm is awake and feeding, Sakura is doomed. No matter what choice she makes, her life is already over. She is a ticking time bomb waiting to go off and destroy everyone around her. And if she somehow miraculously manages to survive? If she’s somehow able to survive the worm’s torment and keep walking? Then all that’s waiting for her is the war. More blood, more death, draining innocent civilians for their mana just like we saw back in day 4, keeping herself alive by bowing to her grandfather’s wishes and becoming a living weapon running on pure instinct. Her body was ripped away from her eleven years ago, twisted into something not her own and turned against her. And all she can do is live as a murderous puppet... or die and spare everyone else the trouble.

Holy. Fucking. CHRIST. Even if I knew some of the outermost details, I wasn’t ready for this. I wasn’t ready for how utterly, horrifyingly doomed Sakura was. No matter what direction she turns, the only thing waiting for her is to be twisted into another foul shape and turned into a weapon against the people she cherishes most. And she knows it. She knows that her entire existence has been constructed to be a weapon of death and destruction. She knows that her life has long since been snatched from her own hands. She knows just how capable she is of bringing pain and misery in her wake. And she knows that no matter how hard she fights, there’s no escaping it. There’s nothing she can do to make this better. There’s nothing she can do to stop her imminent immolation. Even if she ran away from Shinji, from Zouken, from the Matou legacy, she could never truly escape. She would still be just as trapped as ever, waiting for the moment she was shattered for good and turned into a mindless killing machine. She doesn’t deserve to live. She doesn’t deserve to want things for herself. She doesn’t deserve to be so selfish as to think she could actually be happy. But her desires bubble up within her anyway, desires for love, desires for lust, desires for someone, something, to give her what little comfort and happiness she can muster up until it’s time for her to break. However hard she tries, she can’t keep herself from wanting. And Zouken exploits that shame to turn her into her perfect weapon, fighting to keep Shirou safe, lashing out at Rin for the perceived crime of stealing him away, even though she convinced herself she would be fine letting him go when the time came. Which only makes her shame run deeper and her desires sting blacker. What right does an impure, spoiled, broken, evil girl like her have to wish for anything more? What right does she have to believe she could ever deserve someone like Shirou? Why doesn’t she just give up already? Why doesn’t she just die before she hurts the people around her even more?

What other purpose could she possibly serve than that?

Wretched Failure

And then, there’s Shirou. Shirou, finding all this out for the first time. Shirou, finally realizing what his quiet archery club underclassman has been hiding behind her sad smile. Shirou, finally realizing the unspeakable horrors Sakura’s been put through. Shirou, realizing how helpless he is to save her from the catch-22 slowly devouring her whole. The person he cares for more than anyone in the world, and he can do nothing to help her. He can’t even sit at church and pray for her safety; just him being around her now is dangerous for the instability that would cause in her. But it’s more than the pain of his helplessness. It’s more than the horror of knowing what Sakura’s been going through. It’s more than the rage of wanting to strangle Zouken with his own hands. It’s more than the guilt of only just realizing the horrors she’s endured.

No, what truly rips Shirou’s heart out, what truly renders him almost catatonic with shame, is that he’s finally, unmistakably aware of just how wretchedly he’s failed her.

Shirou has never been the best at looking outside himself. Even now in Heaven’s Feel, with two routes worth of character development under his belt, he’s often struggled to see the emotional needs written on the faces of the people he cares about. And back in the Fate Route? When he knew full well that Shinji was an abusive prick but couldn’t be bothered to do anything about it? That sin has followed him throughout this entire VN. This self-professed superhero, determined to save everyone, couldn’t even save someone right under his nose. And now, at last, all those sins have come home to roost. Every single way Shirou has failed Sakura bubbles up from the darkness and laughs at his pathetic misery. His depression over losing Saber almost blinding him to how clearly Sakura’s health was still suffering. His inability to realize how much his growing companionship with Rin was hurting her (thank god at least Rin recognizes that shit). The convenient way he took Zouken at face-value and thought Sakura had nothing to do with this war, despite knowing she was part of one of the families most deeply invested in it. How his raging desire to punish Shinji almost overtakes his desire to keep Sakura safe from him, or to protect his own life for her sake. How naive he was to think he could ever keep something this massive from her forever. How he tried to push her away when she reached out to him for her own safety. All these inescapable truths he turned his eyes from, believing if he just didn’t acknowledge them, he wouldn’t have to worry about the girl he loves being wrapped up in something far too monstrous to speak of.

Shirou fucked up.

There’s no other way to say it. Shirou fucked up. He fucked up in absolutely damning ways. He fucked up in every conceivable way he could fuck up while still reasonably following the just path. He turned his gaze away from Sakura and let her suffer in darkness. He stood by her side for ages, oblivious to what she was going through. Even if he couldn’t know the full extent of what was going on, he never even bothered to see the things he could see. But he knows now. GOD, does he know now. He knows just how horrendously he let her down. He knows just how staggeringly he failed her. And that knowledge just about fucking breaks him. What the hell can he possibly do now? How can he help her when he was so blind to her agony for so long? What right does he have to share her pain when he’s let her stew in it alone? What good does it do to rage against all the foul things Zouken’s done when his own myopia is at fault here? He failed Sakura. Maybe even betrayed her, if you’re willing to get that intense. He was an idiot. He was a fool. He was a stupid, stupid boy who couldn’t even see what was right in front of him. And the person he loved the most paid the price. What could he possibly do for her now, after everything he couldn’t do for her before? How could he possibly think he deserves to keep trying?

What other option is there... but to fulfill that promise they made just a few knights ago.

Emiya’s Choice

It was such a seemingly innocuous promise. If Sakura ever became an agent of evil, Shirou would be the first one to bring her down. For the sake of their bond, for the sake of all they’ve shared, he would rage against the monster that took the place of the kind, loving girl he knew. And now, that moment is here. Sakura’s fate is to become evil or die. By stopping her, he can save all the casualties she’s posed to cause. Isn’t the only option to defeat this most dangerous master and end the threat she poses? Wasn’t this why he became a master in the first place? To fulfill the dream his father couldn’t? To become a superhero who saved people from harm? Isn’t that the ideal he’s been striving for all this time? Who would he be if he abandoned that now? Who would Emiya Shirou be if he cast away his desire to save everyone for the sake of saving a single person? Archer, more than anyone, knows the cost of those ideals: ”But if you choose another path, there will be no future for Emiya Shirou.” He doesn’t know what the right course of action here is. But he knows that someone like Shirou- someone like him- can’t survive betraying their ideals. Letting people die for selfish reasons is against everything Shirou stands for. Can he really throw his life’s work away, all those years of self-loathing... for her?

Except that’s not quite right.

Except this interpretation of events overlooks the most critical part of Shirou’s idealism: he believes in trying to save everyone.

Hasn’t that been the most powerful, sometimes frustrating, part of his character? No matter how evil someone is, no matter how much danger they pose- Shinji, Kuzuki, Caster, Ilya- his first instinct has been to try. It’s been to give his best effort to resolve things peacefully before accepting the responsibility of taking them down. If Shirou gave up on Sakura now, he wouldn’t be holding true to his ideals: he would become his father. He would become the same cynical, apathetic mage Kiritsugu was, sacrificing people for the sake of a greater good. He would become someone who didn’t see the inherent value in human life. He would become hard as iron, cold as ice, unable to do anything but fight for a helpless cause he didn’t even truly believe in. And the dead ends in this critical moment show us the horror of that choice. Shirou doesn’t even get the luxury of dying; he simply closes his heart off, becoming the same amoral warrior his father did and falling short of the same ideals. Even the usually lively Tiger Dojo barely says a word before solemnly returning you to make the better choice. They don’t even tell you which choice to make. Why would they need to? If you’ve been paying attention, you already know there was only ever once choice to make.

Because Shirou has never been fighting to be like Kiritsugu. He’s been fighting to be better. He’s been fighting to embody the ideal his adopted father couldn’t reach, to be the kind of hero he forced himself to give up on. And that speaks to the most critical difference between them: Shirou cares. He cares about people and their lives. He cares about doing right by people. He cares about building a better world and striving for the best possible outcome even in the face of impossible odds. Sakura’s been abandoned by her family twice over, first by an adopted brother who treats her like a tool, second by a biological sister who can only view her as a growing danger that must be dealt with. The curse of being a mage is to dance on the verge of death, separating yourself from the world at large until even fellow humans are merely resources to you. But not Shirou. Shirou has never given up on people. He has never seen himself as somehow above humanity. He has never tried to separate his emotions from his ideals. So why the everloving fuck would he start now? Forget Kirei, forget Archer, forget Rin, forget everyone telling him he’s wrong, hell, forget his own self-loathing telling him to give up and give in. What matters right now, more than anything, is that Shirou take the one stop his father never could:

He needs to fight for the sake of the person who matters to him.

And this, at last, brings us to the best scene I’ve ever yet seen from Fate/Stay Night.

I’ll Be Your Superhero

His decision made, Shirou runs through the pouring rain. He runs looking for the girl who’s run away in the night (”Forgive me. It is a structural defect.” aksjdhaskdh Kirei please). And he finds her at last under the bridge where we first saw Rider spill blood. There is Sakura, soaked to the bone, her hair hiding the agony in her face. They stand facing each other, with no more lies, no more secrets, seeing each other clearly for the first time in all their failures and weaknesses. And Sakura tells him... everything. How she knows how horrible her situation is. How there’s no hope of changing it. How ashamed of she is for her dark feelings. How much guilt she feels for everything she’s put him through. How she needs to punish herself since no one else will. How she doesn’t have anywhere to go. How he shouldn’t force himself to take care of her. How she doesn’t deserve him. How she’s impure and broken and wrong. How she’s considered suicide but never had the courage to follow through. How she’s nothing but a wreck of a human with no hope left. How she hates herself for not being able to accept her worthlessness. How pathetic she feels for holding onto the happiness they shared. And on and on and on and on in an unbroken side of self-loathing and misery and pain and suffering and heartbreak and kindness and cowardice and surrender. And Shirou stands, listening to it all, listening to every last ounce of the inescapable agony coursing through her heart. And he realizes, in no uncertain terms, how impossible it would be to let her go. How much he’d miss her if she left him behind. How sorry his that he didn’t realize until now how much she meant to him.

And he comes to one simple conclusion: he loves her.

And no matter how dark things get, no matter what his ideals might say, no matter what darkness befalls him for making this choice, that’s a truth worth fighting for.

So he hugs her. He hugs her with his unreliable arms, trembling in the rain. He hugs her for all the embraces he couldn’t give her before. He hugs her to say that even if no one else will forgive her for the darkness within, he’ll always forgive her in her own place. He hugs her as Shirou Emiya, who loves Sakura Matou and is willing to bear the full brunt of the calamity that comes from doing so because that’ how fucking much she matters to him.

Emiya Shirou wanted to be a superhero.

And now, he will be her superhero.

And no matter how impossible the path ahead, he’ll stick to that promise until he can finally save her from the darkness within.

I’d actually started crying even before this point. When Ilya shows up in the park and Shirou snaps at her out of instability, only for Ilya to apologize and forgive him because she can tell how distressed he is, it punched my tear-ducts open in a single shocking impact. But once Shirou found Sakura in the rain, I was done. I started openly weeping during Sakura’s tirade, and by the time Shirou finally threw his arms around her, I was a fucking mess. God, that was amazing. That was countless hours of buildup and tension, since back at the start of the first goddamn route, finally exploding into cathartic release. That was a piercing light blazing through the darkness and illuminating the depths of hell with a sacred inferno. That was the entire thesis statement of Fate/Stay Night swirling together and bursting through the heavens at last. In this moment, Shirou has become the greatest superhero he could ever be. Not by denying himself the right to be happy, not by denying someone else the right to their own choices, but by choosing to protect what matters to him and fighting to save the people he loves from whatever chains hold them down. No longer is he staring toward an impossible horizon: his ideal was always right under his nose, waiting for him to finally notice. Because he deserves Sakura just as much as she deserves him. Because they deserve to make each other’s lives better, no matter what mistakes they’ve made. Because the simple act of loving someone, of letting yourself be loved in turn, is the greatest heroism one can ever hope to achieve. And there’s no mage, shadow, demon, god or devil that can tear that away.

Welcome Home

So bring on the darkness. Bring on the impossible quandaries and unsolvable problems. Bring on a countdown to death’s door. So what if Sakura’s life is ticking away? So what if she’s on the verge of being turned into a monster? So what if it doesn’t seem like there’s any way to save her? The holy grail is the granter of ultimate wishes. As long as something that powerful exists, there’s still a chance. And right now, a chance is all we need. Saber is gone, Ilya and Kirei’s loyalties are uncertain, and even Rin has officially become an enemy now. The comforting presence we’ve always relied on is now our greatest foe, determined to end the threat Sakura poses and fulfill her duty as a mage no matter what. I can’t even imagine what a terrifying enemy the Tohsaka’s heir will make, when all the strength and perseverance that saved out ass countless times before becomes the danger we must escape. But right now, none of that matters. What matters is that at long last, Sakura and Shirou have each other. As family, and something more. Shirou’s found the strength to reach out to her. Sakura’s found the strength to defend her autonomy, even in the face of the sister she’s always relied on. No matter what hell lies ahead, they’ll face it together. No matter how many times they hurt each other, they’ll hold on tightly as the whirlpool pulls them down.

Because in the face of impossible odds, simply having the courage to love each other may be enough.

Fate/Stay Night has always been good. Every route has improved on the previous one, fixing its flaws and pumping its strengths up to even more incredible levels. But in this moment, in this day, over the course of this absolutely riveting table-flip, Fate/Stay Night has officially become a masterpiece. This is the culmination of everything this VN has been building towards, ever incredible action scene, every philosophical interrogation, every piece of character drama, every epic swell of meaning and magnitude, all coming together for a singularly perfect statement of purpose. This is the franchise’s purest, most distilled form of excellence, the best of the beauty and awe and wonder and courage that define its place in the modern anime landscape. This is the reason that the Fate franchise has earned its status as a classic. This is possibly the best the franchise has ever been, across all its permutations and retellings and alternative versions, shining brightly even two decades later. If this entire VN existed for the sole purpose of getting us to this moment, then it was worth it. And we’ve still got so much of this route to go. Thank you, Nasu. Thank you, Type/Moon. I can’t wait to see you bring this epic saga to a close.

Odds and Ends

-”The only negative effect of your death would be Saber’s disappearance.” “Yeah, that’s all I’m good for.” dkfhsdf Shirou back up.

-”I tend to do things my own way, so I need someone to act as my brakes.” Happy to oblige.

-”Come on, I don’t have any traps set up.” pfft

-Oh god, the picture...

-Wait, the ribbon actually serves a purpose? She stows excess magic energy in her hair? Good lord, the Tohsakas are wild.

-Somehow, that outfit just makes him even more of an asshole. Fucking prick.

-WHY DOES SHE HAVE A FUCKING TANK ASKDHASDKJHAS

-”Even I’m tired of this joke by now.” Lol, I appreciate you, Taiga.

-”I can’t tell if you two are on bad terms or good harmony.” Knowing them, both.

-”Sorry, I’m not in the mood for your long talk.” sdkfjhsdkjf

-”And what sort of priest would I be if all I did was rely on the holy grail?” I. Cannot. Fucking. BELIEVE Kirei’s being this awesome.

-”I grind on the bare nerves.” Ouch.

-God, I hate how kind Zouken can appear. All the awful things he does and he’s still being lenient to tell Sakura that Shirou doesn’t need to die.

-”It is delightful the more sufferers there are.” Fucking hell, Kirei, just when I’m starting to like you.

-He... he used it all up. To save her. Fuckin- KIREI JUST LET ME LIKE YOU OR HATE YOU ALREADY

-”Today was a long day.” UNDERSTATEMENT OF THE FUCKING CENTURY, MY DUDE.

-”I don’t know when I entered another dimension-” dkjfhsdfk Shirou please

-”You’re not dirty. You’re beautiful, Sakura.” GOD. THANK YOU.

Goddamn, what a day this has been. Don’t expect me to knock out sessions this long on the regular; I think I’d self-destruct. Regardless, see you next time as this incredible journey continues!

#anime #the anime binge-watcher #tabw #Fate/stay night #fate vn #fate hf #heaven's feel #shirou emiya #rin tohsaka #sakura matou #saber

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medea10 · 5 years

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My Review of Fushigi Yugi

#fushigi yuugi #fushigi yugi #miaka yuuki #yui hongo #tamahome #hotohori #nuriko #mitsukake #chichiri #chiriko #taisuke #nakago #mayo sakaki

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fgodestinyawakenings · 6 years

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Babylonia Section 15~Section 16

Day 2 of the queue with the turning point of the story is here! Definitely a challenging one since this is way before a certain class kicks to deal with Avenger class. Though they are one thing... Another enemy that shows up in the near end is another! Anyway, let’s start!

Section 15

With Gilgamesh’s soul back to his body along with the people in Uruk, Ana welcomed us back... A new change of look? Guess she finally outgrown her fear of humans a little :)

Oh? Seems like everyone is rejoicing at the return of their king! Third return... Someone been into hell too much back and forth... Oh hey, the Gudas even their model done after saving the King’s soul!

Now that we left 2 days... Time to start the meeting against Gorgon’s attack. Siduri is making sure you’re finishing your work here so that’s a role of king for ya.

100k of hundred beasts marching towards the city tomorrow.. Half a day is given for us to enter Gorgon’s temple, so a limited time to finish her while Uruk is dealing with the beast. Ah, the axe has finally arrived as well! That should take care of the bounded field!

Expected of Quetz to be able to throw that giant axe! But the rules are still in effect by their alliance... That’s a nasty burn to you Gilgamesh from Quetz herself! She has a point of your missing golden armor from your archer counterpart. Good point, Doctor Roman, despite his behavior... It’s amazing how Ozzy and him got along

Oh Merlin will take care of the axe to the temple?! Seems like we need to sneak in there with Merlin... Hm? The red cloth? Guess it’s a way to grab the axe too from Quetz! One last repeat of the procedure, we’ll be facing the King once more for a final warm up battle!

Geez... I’m thankful the EXP cards but no need for a fight! While Gilgamesh remains in Uruk, Kingu is really an opponent not to be underestimated since he has the grail...

With Merlin bidding farewell to Gilgamesh and us to the people in Uruk, we’ve got one last feast to enjoy before the decisive battle. And... An old lady... Because of Ana’s effort in helping the shop despite her condition... Even keeping her alive knowing what happened in the last 2 chapters previously...

A flower wreath for everyone in Chaldean Embassy... Damn it, I’m about to cry but not yet, because the feels are only the beginning!

One night rest later, time to head to the temple... Bidding farewell one last time to the gatekeeper. Damn Merlin! I don’t know if it’s illusion but that’s one carriage for everyone!

And of course the trip to Northen temple involves bandits trying to kill us all!

One heck of a ride later, we arrived with all pieces of our body and soul intact. While everyone went to rest.... Looks like we meet up with Ana again, and a little more bonding with her. Also passing to her the flower wreath by the old lady to her... Ouch shit... Her grandchildren... And Ana for her grandchildren...

Seems like we meet Merlin along with Fou kicking his ass as usual. I picked the last one so it turns out he’s the one who sent Beddy back at Camelot Singularity. And well, we also get to learn a bit more about Merlin and his own views of humanity

The day has arrived with the beast finally invading Uruk... Time to head out to the blood fort!

An hour passed since we fought, Kingu arrived with his army and heading to the Northen wall by Romani’s words. And at the same time there... They are trying their best to withhold the invasion as long as they could. Jaguar Warrior and Quetz engaged with Kingu in combat.... And shark-teeth faced is back!

Buying time to prevent Kingu from finding us, let’s head to the Cedar Forest!

Looks like we arrived and...... I really wonder how Merlin raised his king at this point with that spell naming! And.... MERLIN THE BIGGEST FUCKING MORON COCK WIZARD OF ALL HISTORY, I’M SO GOING TO KILL YOU WHEN I GET TO AVALON FROM OUR DEATH!!!!!

.......... Bright side, the axe hits the gate..... Yeah Fou, let’s kick his ass after this. And crap, looks like Kingu is coming after us when we defeat Gorgon! I guess he and Gorgon shared something similar, Quetz?

Inside her lair... A demonic lair that really fits with cocoon for the next birth of demonic beasts.... Tch, damn it! At the face with her belly of the lair... She’s finally here!

No point in talking things out here, Mash. Considering by her legends and current motive... And Gorgon, as tempting as your roll is for tomorrow... I’m sticking with no. I’m not becoming your Master to destroy humanity!

And Ana... You’re... No, Medusa Lily... Are you sure? To fight with your older self... Another Shirou vs Archer fight from UBW with the stake of human history. Time to finish her once and for all!

Unlimited defense only work AOE lasers like her! But definitely trying to outdo her curse damage the moment she fires her NP once!

Pretty much this is a solo Chloe fight with two Mash supporting her ^^;

Story wise, looks like Gorgon isn’t giving up till the end.... Wait Medusa!! Into the hole... And the last smile..... ANAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

............. Damn it... Both Ana and Gorgon died from a suicidal attack... Flower Wreath from a gift becomes an offering for her..... Wait, if Gorgon didn’t hold the grail with her.... Kingu! So he had the grail all this time, not only that... He’s ready for revenge without a doubt. And of course we’re not even happy we’re doing this! Tch... So no longer a Lancer but an Avenger like Gorgon...

The worst one now without BB here to save the job. Especially RNG luck is praying he doesn’t charge his NP too quickly on this! Berserker still works but... Definitely still basing on RNG luck to deal with his unexpected NP charge!

Even after Gorgon’s defeat, the Singularity remains.... Woah what?! Space-time quake?!! MERLIN?! What... He... Merlin put the real Tiamat to sleep to prevent from awakening...?

As the seas turned black outside the lair, the skies turned dark... Okay, what the fuck DW?! WHAT THE HELL IS THAT CREEPY LOOKING THING!?!?!! Damn and it’s killing everyone again!

Damn it Merlin stay with us! Merlin!! MERLIN!!!! ............. Damn it so the real Tiamat awaken but.... MEEEERRRRRRRRLLLLLLLLIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNN!!!!!!!

Section 16

After escaping from there... Those things already invaded Persian Gulf by Romani’s words. Three hours before 20k of those reached Uruk... Or 10k since the rest of the cities in Uruk has already been invaded

Merlin disappeared as Romani revealed... And died too since his true body was killed... Damn it after Gorgon’s death it awake her and killed him!

Reuniting with Quetz... Time to head back to Uruk quickly since those things are arriving faster than expected! And Merlin... Haish, one more trouble before his death.

In Ur, looks like they already began attacking... And turning them to their own kind! Benkei! Thank goodness he’s fine and thank god! Ur’s people is temporarily safe for now too. Huh? Benkei?! What the hell is that just now?!

Tch, even Uruk is on fire the moment we’re nearing! Okay you creepy little shits, now who wants a piece of me so you can stay away from the innocent people here!

Yup... Who’s idea in DW that created this fucking thing! Buff removal is one, but defense down too really?!

I know it’s only fighting 3 times but.... WTF?!

Yup... Definitely endless at this rate! ... OKay? They left? Well good thing, time for a breather to find Gilgamesh!

Definitely chaotic now with Gilgamesh trying to evacuate his people while fighting against those things... Seems like Gilgamesh knew about what happened too....

One report later... Solomon was the one who had brought forth Tiamat again huh... Seems like the Evils of Humanity finally revealed here on this seventh Singularity and the purpose for the Grand Servants.

And those things... Okay fuck that, no adult stage please. This isn’t a pokemon isn’t it?! Lahmu who is Tiamat’s first child meaning mud of what they are... Well Ishtar, our Doctor may be an adorable goofball. But he does his job well! Gilgamesh on the other hand... Anyway!

Gilgamesh, where’s Siduri?

........... So, she got kidnapped by the Lahmu from the people she was protecting... I see why Gilgamesh refused to brought that up... BUT YOU FUCKING MORON! WE’RE GOING TO SAVE HER NO MATTER WHAT!!

And geez make up your mind, are we your people or what?

Late at night with Kingu... Seems like a certain King of Mages is here in a way to mess things up even more.... And yeah, seems like not only him, but Tiamat’s words and wishes are fishy at this point.

Another human killed before Kingu... Damn it, open yours eyes, Kingu! Tiamat and the Lahmus are really not to be trusted at this point!

I brought to you an important announcement that we’ll end here today. Fighting that disgusting thing questioned my sanity to finish this Singularity. Regardless, tomorrow will be another day with another post!

#fgo #fate grand order #babylonia singularity #the shit I shit myself into #DW please don't fucking do that #that's enough of those fucking disgusting thing in one singularity #i'm not sure if it's found inside the fate material #i'd like to murder the idiot who design those fucking creepy mobs at section 16 #babylonia NA

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bitway-arts · 6 years

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title: Toddler Talk characters: Suzuno, Nagumo, Aphrodi, Fubuki, Kishibe, Yukimura pairings: suzunagu, afufubu summary: Most couples don't expect to come home to their kids having fun with a 'bad' word. It's not like the babysitters meant for this to happen anyway. {InaGO babies au, child swearing?} a/n: this is like a self-indulgent thing? this au is basically the original characters are older and take care of the GO kids as babies/toddlers. this all started with afufubu taking care of Kishibe & Yukimura so I thought my first fic for the AU would be on them!

"Shit!" Nagumo lets that curse fly out of his mouth so naturally. It was an instinctive response that came to him as his knee had collided with the edge of the kitchen counter. He hisses in pain, pulling up his leg while trying to balance on the other. He eyes the skin, looking for any marks. There was nothing. No sign of injury but he could still feel that tingling and stinging sensation pulsing.

"Haruya!"

He flinches as he hears his name being called- shouted. Nagumo rolls his eyes, slowly letting his foot back down, trying not to upset his injury. His eyes meet with a very upset Suzuno. The other had his arms crossed, glaring at him from the entrance of the kitchen. Did he really have to look so pissed off to this?

"You don't have to tell me," Nagumo responds, hoping that he wouldn't go and scold him. But by the looks of it, he wasn't getting off the hook that easily.

"Apparently, I have to since you can't control your own mouth," Suzuno replies with a sigh, shaking his head as he puts a hand to it. "We're not at home, Haruya. You know you're not supposed to curse while we're babysitting."

"Yeah, yeah, I know…" Nagumo mutters in response. It was an accident, a slip of the tongue. It had always been difficult to hold back on the occasional curse here. "Just can't help it sometimes."

Suzuno stands still, holding back another sigh. After a moment, he begins to walk towards Nagumo, a look of concern taking place over the irritation that had settled upon his face. He stops right in front of him, going down on a knee to inspect the injury.

"You didn't hurt yourself that badly, did you?"

"I'm fine! It just stings a little." Or a lot. But he wasn't about to say that right now.

"Just a little?" Suzuno asks with a glance up at him. Nagumo can see that look in his eyes, as if he knew that he was holding back on information.

"Don't touch it!" Nagumo shouts as he tries to take a step back, though can feel the pain course throughout his body as he moves a little too fast. The contact was still fresh and leaving him wanting to simply keel over and not move his leg for the remainder of the day. He knew this pain would pass, but it was literally a pain to deal with for the time being.

"You're probably going to get a bruise. I heard that thud from the other room," Suzuno states as he gets back to his feet. "But you should be fine. I know you've taken harder hits compared to some wooden counter."

"Yeah, but it hurts like hell right now," he huffs out. There's a pause before a smirk crosses his face. "You want to kiss it to make it feel better?"

"I considered it, but considering you backed away earlier, I think I won't anymore. I don't want to scare you again," Suzuno replies with a small, satisfied grin.

Nagumo pouts as he glares at the other.

"Ass-"

"Shee-it."

The moment that curse was said, the two fell silent. Nagumo and Suzuno stare at each other, eyes going wide. They were certain that neither one of them had uttered that word. It was a different voice, a younger one that was grasping at how to pronounce this new word.

Nagumo is the first to spot the culprit as he had been facing the entrance to the kitchen, Suzuno slowly follows as he turns to face him as well. Sitting on the ground is a very young child, a toddler, with spiky and messy navy blue hair who was looking up at the two adults. Bright and curious teal eyes were stuck onto them, baring nothing but innocence on his face.

"He…didn't say that, did he?" Suzuno asks in a whisper. He wanted to lie to himself, tell himself that he was only hearing things. The last thing he needed was to have Yukimura picking up a curse word.

"Uhh, I think he did."

"God, I was hoping you would say he didn't…"

Yukimura's head tilts as the adults talk. He didn't quite get why they looked so…frightened? Sometimes they'd say funny and strange things, usually while he was falling to sleep. But, occasionally they, mostly Nagumo, would say those things while he was awake- like the one he had said earlier!

"Shee-it!" The word flies out of his mouth, simply wanting to try and say it again. It didn't sound right but he was certain he'd get the hang of it.

Suzuno groans as he repeats the word, putting his face into his hands. Nagumo gives a nervous laugh, which only earns him a glare from Suzuno as he lifts his head.

"Don't you dare laugh. This isn't funny! You know who is going to kill us for teaching him a curse!" He hisses while pointing to the child sitting on the floor.

"Oh please, Aphrodi isn't going to do anything to us," he scoffs. Maybe he'd be angry with them, sure. But it's not like he'd kick a soccer ball at either one of them.

"I don't know why you're not taking this more seriously- he learned that from you!" Suzuno runs a hand through his hair, looking back to Yukimura. He tries to think of something- how could he get that word off his mind and out of his mouth for good? Nothing was coming to mind in this growing panic state of his.

He begins to walk slowly over to the toddler, not wanting the child to think he was in trouble. Suzuno goes down on a knee, trying to get closer to Yukimura's level. He was still so young, so impressionable, probably had no clue what he had just said. And, god, why did it have to be a curse word of all things? He was hoping- praying that he'd forget it by the end of the day.

"Hyouga," Suzuno starts, "You can't say that word, okay? It's a bad word." He tries keeping his voice calm and steady, speaking slowly in hopes that the child would understand him.

"Shee-it?"

But, he doesn't. Or he does and he just wants to say this word over and over again. Honestly, Suzuno can't tell and he just facepalms when that response is given to him.

"Please, Hyouga, don't say the bad word anymore."

"Hey, why don't we just bribe him with a cookie or something?"

"What?" Suzuno's head turns to look at Nagumo. "You can't just bribe him to solve all your problems. He'll learn saying that would mean getting a cookie and that's bad on us." He lets out a sigh as he rubs his temples. "You really should be the one trying to fix this mess before Aphrodi gets back."

"What? Why me?" Nagumo asks, looking astonished.

"Because you said sh- you said that word, and he heard it."

"Okay, but weren't you the one who put them to nap or something? Shouldn't you have known whether or not they'd be awake? You said they'd be asleep for a couple of hours!"

"Oh, don't go trying to pin this on me," Suzuno says as he rises to his feet and faces Nagumo. "And I've told you before, no cursing when we're here!"

"If they're asleep it's fine!"

"But Hyouga is awake!" He looks back to the toddler, who seems to have lost interest in what was going on now. He had gotten onto his hands and knees, beginning to crawl away from this scene. "I don't want to think if Taiga is awake to. I really hope he isn't…"

Nagumo sighs as he sees how worried Suzuno is over this. He didn't see the big deal over this. Sort of. Kids would forget the word and be into something else, it's not like their attention span was that great, he wanted to argue.

"Whatever. We'll figure something out," he says, trying to be cooperative. "We'll be fine. Don't we still have a couple of hours until-"

Click.

"Oh no…"

"I'm home~!"

Suzuno looks straight to Nagumo the moment they hear the front door unlock. Of course, today of all days, Aphrodi would get home early without informing their babysitters. They went from having some time to none. Which only left for one other option now.

"Let's just go."

Although Nagumo had been indifferent on this, he really didn't want to deal with an angry Aphrodi. Even if his wrath wouldn't be so big, he disliked hearing the other speak to them as if they were the kids and he was the only adult. So, he agrees with Suzuno and whatever he had meant by that.

The blonde comes into the kitchen, holding Yukimura in his arms, trying to adjust him so that he'd be in a more comfortable position. Aphrodi stops as he looks to his two friends, ready to greet them, but was interrupted before a single sound could escape his mouth.

"Oh, great, you're home early. We got a call from Hiroto and have to go. So, see you around, Aphrodi. They were both good kids," Suzuno says quickly. He had a hand ready around Nagumo's wrist to pull him as he started to walk and head towards the door.

"Hey!" Nagumo hisses as he's forcefully tugged.

"Sorry that we can't stay, Aphrodi!" Suzuno shouts, intent on going before that word could be uttered while they were still here.

"It's alright? Thanks for watching the kids again!"

Aphrodi had wanted to make sure they at least heard his thanks. Hopefully, they did since afterwards he heard the door open and shut behind them. He was confused to them both wanting to get out of here so quickly. He didn't think they'd want to go and see Hiroto that badly. But, he just shrugs, not going to mull over it.

"Those two never change…" He says softly as he looks to Yukimura. Aphrodi flashes a smile at him. And Yukimura responds to this by puffing up his already chubby cheeks, trying to give an annoyed pout at him.

"Oh, don't do that. Shirou will be home shortly."

Hearing 'Shriou' causes the toddler's face to deflate a little. That was the magic word to use around him, Aphrodi had learned that quickly. He did wish that Yukimura was more comfortable around him. Although, he had to admit that when he had first met Yukimura, the little toddler wouldn't be allowing him to hold him like this. Thinking of how he used to struggle in his hold compared to now…maybe he was warming up to him. To the thought of that, he just can't help but ruffle his hair, which only causes that pout to return.

"So, how was your day, Hyouga? Did you have fun with Uncle Nagumo and Suzuno?" Aphrodi asks while making his way over to the living room.

Yukimura's initial response was not to answer. Maybe he'd give him a non-verbal one. The day wasn't too eventful, aside from learning that new word. His eyes had begun to shine as he recalled it.

"Shee-it!" Yukimura shouts, raising his arms into the air for a moment.

Aphrodi freezes in place, eyes slowly going to look at the child while forcing a smile. It takes him a moment to realize what he had just heard.

"Ahh…pardon me, Hyouga?"

He's hearing things, he must be hearing things. He's probably just tired from being out today. Because he really cannot imagine hearing his child say-

"Shee-it!"

Nope. His child did just say 'shit' or some toddler version of it. Aphrodi clears his throat, already guessing who could have said this around him.

"Can you tell me who you heard that from?"

Yukimura puts his hands up, trying to reach over his head, but can't quite make it. Little fingers begin to try and style his hair upward. It doesn't stay, his hair only falls back into place after his hands had gone back down to his side.

"Uncle Naggie."

"I had a feeling he'd be the one…" He said with a sigh. Aphrodi wasn't even sure if this was all that surprising or not. "Come on, Hyo-chan. Let's go to Taiga. Where is he? Do you know?"

The child nods and points off to the side. His little body turns as he points, letting out little gasps that Aphrodi could only guess would be 'there, there'. He lets Yukimura point the way, only to find that he was being led to the children's room. He slowly pushes the door open, looking to see where the other was.

Kishibe is found lying on the floor, a blanket draped over him, a pillow underneath his head. One of his bigger stuffed lion plush, was placed beside him and he was curled up right beside it, a little hand of his holding onto it. A picture book was left open not too far from the temporary bed. He could only guess that Suzuno had been reading them a bed time story to get them to sleep.

Aphrodi smiles to the sight, ignoring the mess in the corner of the room. He'd have to tell them to make sure to clean up before they decided to run out of here next time. For now, he gets to his knees, slowly taking Yukimura and putting him down right beside Kishibe.

"Stay with him, okay? I'll be back in a moment," Aphrodi says in a soft whisper.

He's thankful that Kishibe doesn't stir to the slightest of sound. Yukimura doesn't seem intent on going back to sleep. Even though he wants to speak again, or just make some type of noise, he glances over to his sleeping brother. Even he doesn't want to wake him up. He listens to Aphrodi and moves over to Kishibe's side, lying down right beside him.

Aphrodi gets to his feet and holds back on making an 'aww' to the sight. He couldn't resist taking his cell phone out and snapping a picture of the two. If only he would have caught them both sleeping like this. With the image saved, he turns and walks out of their room, trying to close the door behind him without having it creak, but leaves it ajar.

Once he's back in the living room, he goes to dial Suzuno's number. He lets it ring, taps a finger against his phone as he waits for him to pick up. There's no answer.

"Why did I even bother to try?" Aphrodi ends the call before it can go to voicemail. He considers calling Nagumo, but expects the same response- or lack of it. If he did answer, he was certain Suzuno would hang up on him. He wasn't going to let them off the hook that easily, and he's certain they both knew this.

For now, he just tries to think of a way to get that word off of Yukimura's mind as he paces back and forth in the living room. It couldn't be that hard. He considers bribing him, but quickly brushes that thought aside. Sadly, he wasn't too sure what to do when a kid ends up learning a curse word. This was the first time he was dealing with this situation. Maybe Fubuki could tell him not to say it. He was Yukimura's favorite after all.

It didn't seem he had to wait long for him to come home. Just thinking about Fubuki had seemed to summon him as he heard the door begin to click open. Aphrodi smiles, forgetting about this incident on hand as he makes his way over to the door to greet Fubuki.

"Shirou is home~!" He chimes as Fubuki closes the door.

The silver haired male greets Aphrodi with a smile. "I'm home."

Aphrodi is quick to go up to him, wrap his arms around his neck and pull the other close in for a kiss, letting his lips linger against his. Fubuki wraps his arms around Aphrodi's waist, pulling his body closer, ready to just give him another kiss.

"I thought I was going to be home before you," Fubuki breathes out as their lips part. "How long have you been home?"

"Not that long," he replies. "I'm glad that I'm home before you. Aren't I a lovely surprise to come home to?" He says with a soft chuckle.

"One of the best," Fubuki responds with a chuckle of his own. "And the other two?"

"Taiga is asleep. Hyouga is…awake." He hated hesitating on saying that. His mind had gone back to wondering if he should mention Yukimura's new word. Fubuki had picked up on his hesitation, causing him to worry.

"Is he okay?"

"Oh, yes, he's fine," he replies as he slowly removes himself from Fubuki. "Hyouga just…might have learned something…bad."

"Bad?"

"You'll hear it for yourself."

Aphrodi turns and begins to walk away from the entrance. He was certain that Fubuki would follow, and he was, as he began to head back over to their children's room. He stops at the door, waiting for Fubuki to stand beside him.

When the door is pushed open, they find both toddlers awake. Kishibe had managed to get on top of the (now fallen) lion plush he'd been sleeping with earlier while Yukimura was trying to playfully fight against said lion. Upon hearing the door creak open, they had both stopped in their play time, turning and looking at their parents. Both toddlers smile upon seeing them.

Yukimura gets to his feet, steadying himself before beginning to waddle over to them, namely to Fubuki. Kishibe tries waving to them both while on the plush, though is rather unsteady. He ends up sliding off the plush, a 'shee-it' escaping from him.

Aphrodi gasps as he hears that, not really expecting the word to have been shared between the two during that short time together. Although, he could consider Kishibe hearing it from Nagumo as well, but he gives him the benefit of the doubt in this case.

Fubuki just stares at Kishibe, though still goes down to his knees as Yukimura was still making his way over to him. "Did he just…?"

"Shee-it!"

That comes from Yukimura once he's in front of Fubuki, small hands already held out and grasping at air, waiting to be picked up. Fubuki doesn't hesitate, even after hearing that.

"Yup. Hyouga said that he heard it from Nagumo," Aphrodi explains as he walks over to Kishibe. He helps the fallen child to his feet, even making his lion plush sit beside him. Holding onto the toy, he makes the lion wave at Kishibe. "And I'm guessing that he shared his new word with you to, Taiga?"

The purple haired toddler nods in response before trying to have his hand meet with the lion's paw.

"You know, I thought they'd pick up something like that from Atsuya first," Fubuki says with a light laugh. He begins to rock Yukimura slightly in his arms. "Think they'll get over it?"

"I hope so. I really don't want their first favorite word to be something like this."

Fubuki hums in response, looking down at Yukimura. He pushes some of his strands of hair away from his face, the boy smiling and making a happy noise.

"Don't say the bad word, okay, Hyouga?"

"Shee-it?" He repeats the word, head tilting and smile replaced with a confused look.

"That one. It's a very bad word. Don't say it anymore, okay? For me?"

Yukimura frowns for a moment, wondering just how 'bad' that word is. He was hoping not to disappoint him with that word. A small hand reaches to grab at Fubuki's shirt.

"Okay," he replies while looking as if he were going to burst into tears. Fubuki has to calm him down, rubbing the child's back and cooing some comforting words.

"I'll never get over how fast he listens to you," Aphrodi says as he glanced over to see them. He looks back to Kishibe, who was now just hugging his giant lion. "You to, Taiga. Don't go saying the bad word, okay?"

Kishibe looks to Aphrodi and nods. He didn't need to be told twice. As fun as that new word was, he didn't want to end up in trouble for saying it. He'd prefer chanting the word 'cookie' instead.

"Now that we've resolved that..." Aphrodi reaches out to remove Kishibe from his lion plush, taking the toddler into his arms. The child clings onto him as the blonde is standing tall again. "Why don't we get some ice cream?"

#fantext;#Inazuma Eleven #inazuma eleven go #inababies au #gOD idk if i wana tag everything sifhaowefhw

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empty-dream · 7 years

Text

Me Watching Fate/Apocrypha ep 22

Remember that Naruto vs Pain best worst fight scene? Where everybody’s making crazy ass face and noodle-y stances? This is not on that scale, but it’s still this.

*Agrius!Atalanta bites Jeanne* Jeanne: “BAD KITTY! BAD KITTY!!”

Karna you’re too polite for your own good

WASN’T EXPECTING CAULES POPPING OUT HERE AND NOW BUT OKAY VERY WELCOME

But how does he come in here again? Did he just step down from his plane? Is that even possible?

Sieg: “Wait, you want to save your original master?” Caules: “Yeah they don’t have command spells anymore what’s the point?” Karna: “Because I want to. Is that weird?” Both: “Well, it’s saintly as fuck, for one thing.”

Seeing Caules negotiating is always intriguing thing for me.

CAULES TO THE RESCUE! And his unfastened collar :))

I have a question what is the exact mechanism of saving these former red masters??

Sieg: “If attacking Jeanne is your master’s order then why go after me instead?” Karna: “I have this promise with Siegfried to fight to the death and I will give up everything to do that.” Sieg: “Ooooooookay I don’t know whether to be awed or scared.”

I like the music it’s so full of pride.

And here we have another type-moon male protagonist swearing to protect the female protagonist who is stronger than him

Granted at this point Sieg is just loaded with tons of eleventh hour superpower and probably kinda more powerful than many other servants but the point kinda still stands?

Back at episode 22 of My Cat from Hell

It’s been almost 3 years and I still don’t understand why Agrius Metamorphosis has to morph into that kind of suit? Isn’t this like the prototype of Dangerous Beast?

Agrius!Atalanta evolution! Sexy-boar-beast-with-batsy-wings-and-dark-arrow-Agrius Atalanta.

Welp, people has always been like that – people. Past present and future, the nature of people hasn’t changed that much.

Jeanne: “The end never justifies the means!!!” Agrius!Atalanta: “Fuck that!!!”

Wow I like how this fight isn’t too dark and I can see what they’re doing and the viewpoint is good.

WOW she rips off her own wing o_o

I’m bracing for another luminosite eternelle but GREEN LIGHT SOARING THROUGH YESSS

IT’S MOTHERFUCKING ACHILLES HERE YOU ARE FINALLY

Achilles: “Go, Jeanne. It’s sis’ and my problem now.” Jeanne: “I fucking knew it something’s up with you two.”

I’m kinda bummed A-1 doesn’t make it explicit that Achilles really does regret not picking up the clues and just letting Atalanta goes out of control.

His face looks like a boy shyly apologizing for breaking a neighbor’s window.

Why is Semiramis so beautiful and dignified here??

Jeanne: “You seriously believe in Shirou’s humanity salvation plan?” Semiramis: “Yeah, he even told me I’d rule the world after the salvation” Jeanne: “You fucking liar. Nobody’s ruling nobody if it’s truly salvation and you just sound like a certain golden Babylonian asshole king.”

Jeanne: “So how does he plan to do it?” Semiramis: “Well, tbh, I dunno.” Jeanne: “Are you fucking kidding me”

Wow this is so vivid. Does A-1 use color play to balance the noodle figures?

How to fight nukes by Sieg!Fried: Slash the nukes apart.

I.. I do not have any words for this fight, it’s vivid and flashy and powerful.

Though I’m wondering will Mamaramis be mad that their children are destroying her fortress with nukes and lavas?

I like Karna’s armors

TASTE THE EYEBEAMS! -Karna

The eyebeams cuts Sieg!Fried’s beautiful wild long hair THAT’S CLOSE AND ALSO A CRIME

Karna can you stop praising your enemies every time you fight? My heart is going to explode

Oh shit oh shit he’s going to VASAVI SHAKTI

Karna: “What’s your name?” Sieg!Fried: “Sieg!” Karna: “Wonderful name” Me: It’s a bit uncreative but it’s made up of honor and gratitude and now that you’re saying it’s wonderful then wonderful it is.

I LOST MY SHIT WHEN I WATCHED KARNA GOING DIVA IT WAS MIDNIGHT

The look of approval between Sieg!Fried and Karna is a blessing in itself

Move, Clarent Blood Arthur vs Balmung, it’s time for the new best clash: Vasavi Shakti vs Balmung

It’s the third time he uses the command spell right? Cause I can hear Jeanne’s Sieg sense tingling with exasperation.

Sieg!Fried: “Even this is not enough-“ Astolfo: “A SHIELD DELIVERY EXPRESS COMING THROUGHHHHHHH!!!!”

Astolfo: “Are you seriously giving me your shield noble phantasm?? You’re crazy.” Achilles: “I don’t need it anymore and beside it’s my promise to sensei.” Astolfo: “Oh okay. You’re still crazy tho.”

Sometimes I wonder if at this point Achilles is ready to give everything even his life to stop Atalanta because that damn shield is too strong to be given away just like that.

Manly screaming Astolfo is something I never thought I’d need in my life

Ain’t no shield like using a world containing your life as one.

Astolfo: “Wow I didn’t expect using a shield would cause an entire trippy journey into Achilles’s entire life, isn’t this breach of privacy?” Achilles somewhere: “It’s called Achilles Cosmos what exactly did you expect from it?”

Wow wowowo the sudden creation Greek architecture buildings is just… wow. Even Karna is amazed.

The scene when Sieg!Fried and Karna race to grab Balmung is an extreme version of when two people race to grab the last pizza.

When in fight, do NOT only bring one sword! -Sieg!Fried

If this entire fight was not Sieg!Fried vs Karna but only Sieg using Siegfried’s power vs Karna, would there still be anyone who would watch this?

Karna: “Sorry for dragging you with my ego” Sieg: “No, sorry I win through Astolfo’s sudden help” Karna: “No, Astolfo’s your servant and your power. It’s still a fair fight.” Sieg: “Holy crap you are like the greatest person in this world”

I wanna bet at some point Sieg’s like ‘Why do all these heroes have enough time to talk about lots of things when they’re one and half foot into the grave?’

Karna: “Jeanne will be in danger if she finds Shakespeare.” Sieg: “Alright thanks for the info gotta go bye!” Karna: “That was fast.“

Remember when honor and chivalry in war is no good as it will only meet betrayal? No, Fate/Apocrypha isn’t about that.

Karna would die alone if he was a dick but no he wasn’t a dick and Astolfo gets that so he was willing to chat and honor him before Karna fades away.

Karna: “I believe I hardly did anything worthy of a Servant” Me: HOLY SHIT KARNA STAHP YOUR HUMILITY IS KILLING MEE

Goodbye, my kind, hero of charity.

AND HERE I THOUGHT I’D EAT MY SHOE BECAUSE THEY’D SHIFT ACHILLES VS ATALANTA TO THE NEXT EP BUT NOPE THANK GOD

Yes people, the ultimate reason why I keep up with Apocrypha is because I want to see Achilles vs Atalanta and the known result of it

I found almost nothing until today about the fight beside that one line in beastlair forum and an online translated side material and I live with only those for years SO YEAH JUDGE ME I DON’T CARE

Wow the music is so catchy

You know A-1, you can use those 3 seconds for other more important actions on scene instead of Atalanta’s panties.

On a different note, here we are seeing a rider who fights more like a lancer versus an archer who fights more like a berserker

Ow he stabs her. It hurts :(

OW her arrows come back and stabs him. It hurts too :((

Aw yis he’s cradling her, I imagined this for like 3 years and it actually is like this.

NO NONONONO NOT THIS SAD SOUNDTRACK

I’d pay for Atalanta and Achilles to have another 3 seconds to talk more.

Why is Atalanta the one crying? Pretty sure in the novel it’s Achilles who’s crying. It’s even explicitly states in the side material that it’s his very tears and heroic naivety that makes Atalanta feel a bit better in the end.

The English sub makes it sounds like she was fine falling into corruption whereas I’m kinda sure (even tho my Japanese skill is zero) she’d mean she was fine with him stopping her. Correct me if I’m wrong tho.

It kinda hurts that she disappears before he does like I imagined that they’d disappear together, I know there is the battle continuation excuse but.. He has to watch her die and isn’t that painful?

Not gonna lie. Regardless of how short their exchange is and the inaccuracy of who’s crying, I’m loving the detail of this scene. Like how he barely yet still holds her in his arms, how the blood drips on her, how he sighs a little and embraces her as soon as she wakes up as herself, how his head slightly moves as she leans closer, how she weakly caresses his cheek, leaving bloodstains, and he just closes his eyes, and how she finally disappears then he follows- Oh my it looks like I just wrote an entire fanfiction

Isn’t it funny that I ship them for fun since he hits on her which is from vol 1 and then somehow it ends up in tragedy?

Tfw you care too much of a side couple (that isn’t really a couple) way more than the actual main couple

And now all of you understand why those two are on the credit together and why it gives me feels right of the bat

Maybe Achilles’s last words were the ones he wanted to, or should have, say back at episode 19, before Atalanta fell into madness. If he did, would this not happen?

Oh shit I’m weak to when-the-ending-song-is-played-without-the-usual-credit

Holy shit I just read the actual english lyrics of the entire song and my god isn’t this too fitting for this episode??? I’m grossly sobbing.

Goodbye, my pure huntress and brave warrior.

I love when Karna’s spear completely disappears as the song ends.

As of this update, I have replayed Achilles vs Atalanta for 100 times

Semiramis: “I’m waiting for someone else, actually.” Jeanne: “Who?” Semiramis: “That damn brat who rams an airplane into my home” Jeanne: “PFFT.”

The suspicious bitch face look that Jeanne gives as she’s running to the other side of the throne room is what I’m living for

As far as Fate/Apocrypha goes, this episode is the best in terms of everything.

And my long-awaited Achilles vs Atalanta finally comes. A certain op gives a translation over that scene from the novel and as expected, it’s a thousand times more beautiful and sadder. Thank you op. I’m in peace right now.

*Glancing harshly at DW* Yo, THE REST OF APOCRYPHA SERVANTS WHEN?? We have a ton of people to reunite

NEXT: Hang on kids we got a train to Orleans

#fate apocrypha #fateapocomment #hold my heart it's still wet from sobbing all day

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bluepenguinstories · 4 years

Text

Happiness Overload Chapter Forty-Three

Horns blared into my ears.

“Ugh...I didn't realize I had an alarm set on this phone...”

Here I was, having a good nap, when I get woken up by a series of cars honking at me as if they owned the place.

“Hey! I'm sleepin' here!” I shook my fist at the cars.

Obviously I ended up getting up and leaving the parking garage, even if I was bitter about it the whole way through.

“This whole town's gone to shit, I tell you what,” I grumbled as I made my way through the streets once more. Only difference is the feeling of being back at square one. Nothing really accomplished, just some shenanigans. It was a real low, folks. Rock-fucking-bottom all the way down.

“C'mon Kelly Roger, now's not the time to lose morale! Think of what Shirou Emiya would do!” My stomach growled at the mention. “That's no good, either! I don't have any food and I don't even like cooking anyway!”

I kicked a rock on the sidewalk and looked around. Dirty clothes, beat up, hungry as all fuck, with only a backpack to my name. Guess you could say I fit the bill of a stereotypical bum. I sighed and sat down on the sidewalk next to the side of a building. Would others walk around me? Or yell and tell me to get out of the way? Who knew, but at that point, I was ready to just let them.

After all, I finally had a stroke of luck with finding out Lilypad's motives and bam! Yours truly just had to blab to some shady nerd in a naruto costume and ruin the whole operation. I was gonna be a hero, yo! But such was life, after all. You win some, you lose some. But damn, I tell you what, I should've won that one! I should've been the one to take out the gang and save the day and get the praises I so deserved. Now some nobody was going to take all the credit while I just sat alone on the sidewalk.

“I guess I could always give up and go back home. At least there I'd probably have some food and a bed. Loving parents are cool, too, I guess.”

Man, that was not a bright way of thinking. Didn't want to be all Little Debbie's Downer Bars but there I was sulking and skulking and glumming it up. Wasn't hard to say that my endeavors have not proved all that fruitful. My morale was not at the high it should've been and if there was anyone to blame...

Morale...elevators...frogs...ETNA...Lilypad...Celia...Morale...

Wait. That was it.

I got up with a renewed energy.

“That idiot Celia V! She and whoever she works for probably doesn't know where Lilypad's base is! I mean, neither do I, but one step at a time here.”

So there we go, a plan: find out where Lilypad operates and get there before Celia V. or her employer.

For the record, I did not watch Naruto. Never been a fan. But Boruto on the other hand...hell yeah! That's my jam!

So wouldn't you have it, after a job well done, I finally got to hunker down and binge watch some Boruto. All was going well, just as all things should when watching anime at work, when my boss, Dr. CEO herself, showed up. Well, I say 'showed up', but you know it was just a hologram. Honestly, some days it felt like I was working for a Vocaloid.

“What are you doing?”

“Tch. It's called 'self-care'. Read about it sometime.”

“You still have a job to do.”

My heart skipped a beat. I hated when she was all no-nonsense. Though I suppose it was better than being around when she let loose her certain brand of humor.

“Come on!” I protested. “I did what you told me! I watched that idiot! I got that info! What else do you want?”

She pushed up her glasses. Virtual glasses, obviously, but still. “Although appreciated, learning about Lilypad's motives is irrelevant to what I asked. If I cared enough, I could have already found out such things, myself.”

“Then why didn't you?”

For a second, she seemed to change her demeanor and I flinched. Then, she smiled.

“Would you like to test our elevators? I can assure you they have gotten more efficient at what they do.”

Yep. There it was. Her brand of humor.

“No thanks, I'm good,” I growled, and paused my show.

“Such a shame. How will our customers trust our product if we're unwilling to demonstrate its effectiveness?”

“Ugh! Fine! I'll go back to watching Kelly Roger! But look, there's nothing to see! That idiot's got nothing we need!”

She disappeared. Guess I told her what she wanted to hear. Was a real pain in the ass for me, though. The episode was just starting to get good, too!

I switched screens and searched around to find Kelly Roger's location.

“Don't even know why I'm bothering...stupid sadist boss...”

Usually it was just a second, that was it. Just a second and the camera would pinpoint to whatever sad sack I was being forced to watch as if their lives were some dumb TV show from the 60s. But for whatever reason, it was taking a little longer.

“Hm...maybe computer's getting a little slow. Might want to call the IT person later.”

Yeah. That seemed most plausible. For the first few seconds. But time went on and it was becoming increasingly difficult to find someone who was not all that known for being elusive.

“Maybe I should give them a call. Then I could pinpoint their location.”

Ugh. Such a thought. Every other time I'd call, I'd just end up going nowhere. I was reminded what an annoying self-entitled prick Kelly Roger could be.

But for real, where could you be?

Home sweet home. Back underground. Long story short, anyway, I was somehow at the very place I lived alongside Conrad and Velvet. To think that not everything had been demolished and there was still remnants of the old hideout.

Oh, but if I know people, and I don't, then nobody likes 'long story short', so may as well explain. In other words, “you're probably wondering how I got here.” Not that I really liked when characters did that, but hey, don't let anyone ever say I've never been nice!

So the thing was that I was still down on my luck, even if I had a renewed sense of purpose. I thought back to when that Macro fella (that time I was right, that had to be his name) tried to kidnap me only to fail in such an epic fashion that he tried to send frog-people to kill me, which also was a failure of epic proportions, because really, how hard could I have been to kill? As I thought of that, I remembered the warehouse, and I figured Lilypad couldn't have been far. Not only that, but if I recalled, the warehouse was near a dock, and docks are usually near water.

I mean, I'm no detective, but I'm pretty fucking smart.

So I found the warehouse, or at least what I was pretty sure was the warehouse. Wasn't any other around of the same size and location. Even managed to work my way inside. What I found was...nothing. Not even crates and barrels and pallet jacks and the like. None of that construction worker shit. Real disappointing, really.

That was, like, my one lead, too. With that having gone nowhere, didn't really know where else to look. But I didn't leave the warehouse just yet. Because I noticed a hatch off in the far end of the warehouse.

Figuring that it could lead me to Lilypad's hideout (spoilers: it didn't), I opened the hatch and went down. One step down the hatch, as they say. Or someone probably did once. Yep, a little down the ladder, step by step. Before I knew it (because I didn't check the phone to see how long it took), I made it to the bottom, where I was met with darkness.

That's right, and when I say 'darkness', I don't just mean that my glasses were all fogged up or dirty or something. Nah, this was like, pure blackout or something. Like, I've never had beer or anything like that, but I once had a sugar rush from bottle after bottle of Ramune and when I came down, I passed out. Hm...actually that's not really a good comparison. Not really sure why I brought that up. But picture something black. It was like that.

Just as I started taking my slow strides through the tunnels, unsure where they may lead, the phone in my pocket started reading.

I should really think about giving this phone back to that waitress. It's been nothing but trouble since I got it.

“New phone, who...you know what, this schtick is getting old,” I sighed. “What do you want?”

“Agreed, sister! Looks like you may finally be coming to your senses!”

Yep. I knew who it was right away.

I groaned. “Celebi? I thought I told you what you wanted.”

“Cele...what. Just. What. It's Celia! CELIA-FUCKING-V!”

Ow. My ears.

“Yeah, yeah. Deviled eggs are in the details.”

“Hey,” she sounded like she regained composure right away. “where are you at right now?”

“Oh ho, miss me or something?”

“Listen, buddy, I'm being paid to track you. It's not like I'm into you or anything.”

“That's just what a tsundere would say!”

I heard gagging sounds from the other end. “I hate that I even know what that is. Looks like I need to work on my phrasing...”

I was about to reach down to press end call when she yelled.

“WAIT. I bet you're trying to hang up right now, I can sense it! Just tell me where you're at!”

“Wouldn't you like to know?”

“Tell me where you're at or I'll come over and kick your ass.”

“How are you going to do that if you don't know where I am?”

“You know what...UGH! You're not even worth this job!”

She hung up. Good riddance.

To be honest, didn't think it would be that easy. But looks like through perseverance and hard work, I really could get someone fired.

Now that I no longer had to deal with that nonsense (fingers crossed, anyway), I could move on to more important things, like figuring out where the hell I was.

More walking...more walking...there was only so much of 'making a long story long' I could do before I got tired and wanted to go right back to 'long story short'. Blah, blah, tunnels led to some neon lighting along the walls, where I started to figure out where I was.

“Hey! This place!” My heart did a little flutter and I couldn't help but run forward. Though I may have been a little rusty on the details, it didn't take me long to find the hideout. Or what was left of it. I was met with rubble blocking the door. What a letdown, right?

Well, call it a surge of inspiration, or woman's intuition, or the folly of man, but I went ahead and squeezed through an opening through the rubble blocking the door and made it to the other side.

“I can't believe I'm actually here...”

I also couldn't believe how dirty my clothes were. Not that they weren't already dirty, but the dust sure did get all over me. Even after wiping the dust off my shirt and pants, I didn't get it all and it still left a bit of a mark. Right on cue, I coughed.

Shit. This place is probably crawling with asbestos or other chemicals. Or crawling with bugs covered in asbestos or other chemicals. Maybe some radioactive bugs. As cool as it would be to be a superhero, I'm not too keen on becoming Spider-Man. Hm...Spider-Man-and-Sometimes-Woman? Oh, screw it.

There was another open hatch in the middle of the room. You'd think that whoever raided this place would've sealed that up, but nope. Maybe they assumed closing off the entrance to the hideout would've been enough. But looks like they were wrong.

Eh. Ignoring that for now, the main room itself was utterly demolished. We're talkin' destroyed bits of computers, smashed monitors, pieces of tables scattered about the room. Like, yeah, I knew it was because the place had been wiped by swatters, but I couldn't help but think of Hoarders.

Oh! That reminded me!

I went down the hall, which was actually much like I remembered it. Three rooms, more or less intact. Just for funsies, checked out Conrad's room. Buncha papers along the wall. That famous “the truth is out there” poster from X-Files, and then there were those strings on the walls that connected one paper to the other.

“Dude...Charlie from It's Always Sunny was more sane than you.”

Instead of a bed, I noticed a broken down tent on the floor. Maybe he figured a tent was more secure than a bed? Though that didn't explain why Velvet and I ended up with beds, then. Go figure, right?

Velvet's room was also more or less intact. Was cool to see her crib, actually. Had that whole 'minimalism' vibe. Now SHE had the right idea. Conrad, take notes: if you wanna be sneaky, don't have anything!

...Of course, that's also why I couldn't trust her. I decided to check the drawer in the broken down desk in her room. Within, I found a notebook. I decided to take it out and I almost opened it up, but I stopped myself and put it back. Even if there was some big revelatory shit in there, like some big conspiratorial reveal, some big news bomb, well...that was still a girl's diary. You do NOT just go reading a girl's diary.

Another surprise in her room, though, was I did find something stashed underneath her mattress: granola and candy bars. Before I opened one, I checked the expiration date. Still good. Of course it was. The whole mess was only a few days ago.

Underneath the bed was more goodies: bags of chips, chex mix, and tons of Cup Noodles.

“Food!” I grabbed one of the instant ramen cups and felt as if I was holding the holy grail in my hands. But not the Fate/Stay Night kind, more like the good kind.

“If I can get some water, I'll have good eats tonight!”

Water and a microwave. Guess I forgot a step. Oh well. After a while, decided there was nothing more to see. Sure, there was the other hatch in her room that led back up to the surface, which was how I escaped in the first place, but other than that, nothing really to see. Now that I thought of it, I had my doubts I could really escape out through there a second time. They probably at least sealed the exit.

So not like it was all sunshine and roses, but also not like I really expected anything to begin with. Already considered pleasantly surprised, I went into my room, which was obviously the best room in the hideout. We're talking bunk bed (which turned out to have gotten wrecked), high-end desktop (still intact, but with no electricity in here, was doubtful I could really do anything with it), hard-drives (who knew if they worked, considering the damage done to this place already, but I stashed a few in hopes that one did. I was lacking some good hentai in my diet), figurines (all scattered across the floor. They probably went down in value), plushies, and finally, body pillows.

Yes, my room probably took the biggest hit, but I still had my Astolfo plushie, and the Marth body pillow wasn't wrecked at all (thank goodness, the last thing I wanted to see was some sort of cotton fluff crime scene).

After I stashed the cup noodles, candy bars, hard drives, and figurines into my backpack (honestly surprised I could get them all to fit what with the laptop already being in there), I gave my goodbyes to what was once my room and was about to take off.

“So maybe I didn't find Lilypad's lair, but this? This is fine, too.”

Right as I was about to crawl back out, however, I passed by the hatch in the middle of the room.

“You know...maybe there's something further down...”

Not like I had anything to lose at that point. Precious time? Ha! Time is just a social construct!

So down the hole I went and all the way down, I noticed a huge hole in the wall which looked to be caused by some kind of explosion.

“Damn. Maybe those two...” I gulped. “Maybe they didn't make it alive. Shit.”

Damn it! I did NOT want to be thinking such thoughts. Yeah, they weren't, like, friends or anything, but they were, like, my friends! I'd be devastated if...

“Get it together,” I slapped myself. “It's not like I have any way of knowing.”

Yeah. That was right. Those two, those treacherous scamps, there's no way something like explosives would have killed them. Right?

After a certain point, the path the hole in the wall made led into a dead end. Rubble, bits of concrete blocking the path ahead. How typical. But there had to be some way to find out what was past that point. If I could get back in here, then there must have been some way to get to the other side.

“There must be some kind of secrets buried here that I just haven't found.”

Again, call it man's womanly intuition. Or whatever I called it last time.

First, there was the pacing. Which got me nowhere. For whatever reason I thought doing the moonwalk would open another secret compartment or something. But nope. So I made my way back up the hatch and crawled my way out of the base once more.

But make no mistake: that wasn't me giving up. I just figured that there was another way through. Those tunnels had many paths, like a labyrinth. Not unlike the one I recall seeing in the blueprints of the secret place near the train station. Near where those elevators were...

I shuddered. Last thing I needed was some reminder of them.

Around the corner in the tunnels, I turned to find more rows and rows of doors or what might have been once. The ones who wanted to end our little group sure did put in a lot of effort. But, being the genius hacker I was, I knew there just had to be something they had missed. Even thorough, people are...well, you know that whole thing in math where .999 eventually becomes 1? It was like there was always that .001 or something that would always go unaccounted for. Because people just be like that.

Hm...at first I thought my analogy made enough sense, but actually...it's more like this: there was usually something unaccounted for. Actually, yeah. That was what I was trying to get at in the first place.

True to the that general law of imperfection, I found just the thing: something that looked like another tunnel, leading further downward. From the looks of things, there was an attempt made to cover it up, a loose board was in place of it, but I could picture how it once looked. To no one's surprise, all it took was a carve with my knife (yeah, you were probably thinking some thick wooden board or something. Nah, just cardboard) and I managed to make an opening. Once through, I found a set of stairs.

“Oh god. Really? More walking?” I mean, what did I expect, right? Of course there would be.

Conrad never did tell me about the stairs. If I ever saw him again, I was totally gonna kick his ass and demand why he didn't warn me. Especially considering how the stairs seemed to go on forever. Just how deep did that rabbit hole go? Who knew. Maybe down to Earth's core. Maybe all the way to Hell. Or Agartha. Same difference, really.

At the bottom of the stairs was a double door.

“Fucking prick didn't warn me about no doors, either...”

I went to turn the handle only to find that it was locked. After getting out the pocket knife I had pocketed from that mugger guy the other day, I found a knife that would fit through the keyhole and started shimmying around. After a few good shimmies, I was in.

I gasped.

In view was a wide, empty space. One of those pokeball symbols on the ground or something. That's when it occurred to me: this was a hanger.

“Velvet did say she was a pilot...”

But there was no plane or ship or nothin'. Well, looks like she made good on her word and hightailed it outta town. That must mean she and Conrad were alive. I was glad. Er...glad that I didn't have to see their ugly-ass faces any more! Those no good double-crossers!

After coming all the way down, there was no way I was about to throw my hands up in the air like I just didn't care and declare “well, nothing to see here!”

No. There just had to be something more. Knowing Conrad or Velvet, those two had many layers...just like Shrek.

Sure enough, there was. It only took me a hell of a long time. Meaningless wandering through a maze that wasn't really a maze...for a 20-year old, Conrad sure knew how to torture his companions. What caused me to find the secret was a crate, slightly out of place with the other crates near it. Maybe it was nothing, maybe I was just delusional from the piss-poor sleep I got due to cars honking at me. Was really hard to tell, but for the sake of being thorough, I pushed aside the crate and found a hatch.

“Ugh...how deep does this rabbit hole go?”

Turns out it went balls deep.

Opening the hatch brought forth more stairs.

“You could've told me, dawg...”

Complaining aside, I descended just like I ought to have. I mean, not like you could ascend downward stairs. When I finally reached the bottom, I stood next to yet another door.

“Fuck it! This is so tedious!”

“PASSWORD ACCEPTED.” Came a robotic voice.

“...What?”

The door opened and I entered.

Once I stepped through, the door closed itself. Dim lights flickered on in a green glow. It was nothing but a small room. Couple of desks, a chalkboard, and something covered up with a sheet.

On the chalkboard, a few words were written: “Look at the desk to your right, schmuck!”

“Well, that's quite rude.”

Whatever. Did it anyway. No regrets. Not in this household.

There lay a manila envelope on the desk. Written in ink were the words: “To be opened by Kelly Roger.”

“Holy shit, that's me.”

Inside the envelope was a stack of papers, which was pretty typical of envelopes to have. I didn't know what else I expected. The first page read:

“DNI If You're a Member of the Flashbulb. This includes the following”

Rather than actually read off any of the names (ain't nobody got time for that) I just skimmed through. One stood out to me: Celia V.

I gasped. No way. That couldn't be right. Just Conrad's paranoia, I was sure. Celia V. couldn't have been working for a lightbulb manufacturing company. That didn't seem like her line of work. She seemed more like the 'works for a shadowy organization' type.

On the next page was a letter, addressed to me. The contents made me weep, not gonna lie:

Dear Kelly Roger,

If you're reading this, grats. I never thought you'd actually find this place, even though it was meant specifically for you. Not that you weren't intelligent enough to find this, but it just had to do with the pieces being just right...also, if you're reading this, that means Blanc has been corrupted by Ecstasy, a creation from the ETNA Corporation, which I'm sure I've already drilled into your head, is a front for The Flashbulb.

Blanc was supposed to be our ace (no pun intended) in the hole, the one thing that would put an end to the madness. Not only that, Blanc was my best friend, and regardless of actual abilities, I value my best friend above all else. I would want nothing more than to pull all stops and ensure Blanc's safety. If you're reading this, the likely outcome is that Blanc died and Etna got the upper hand. Again. I've tried many times, infiltrating the very organization I hate in order to utilize their methods of time-travel so that I could beat them at their own game and find myself in a time where just once, Blanc lives.

It seems each time, regardless of the approach I take, Blanc's death is the one certainty. I'm sorry. This is a little hard for me to write. Without my best friend, Velvet and I will probably have either fled our base, been killed, or both. While I would have loved to take you with us, in a sense, you reading this, is the better outcome. It means you're alive, for one. It also means you haven't been taken in by the likes of Etna or Marco.

See, the two great factions that threaten our civilization – Amphibians and The Flashbulb are at a constant struggle for control. I used to believe that the third faction, the Beige, were also a threat, but upon further research, I have reason to believe that they're just stoners from another planet. Even if, by that very definition, that makes them untrustworthy. But hey, who is these days, right?

Look, Kelly Roger, I'm sorry that I ever led you to doubt me. I could say that I had my reasons, but whatever kind of excuse that is, that doesn't make my reasons good ones. I'm human, just like my enemy, The Flashbulb. I can only do what I think is right, not what I know to be right. With that in mind, I want to test something. Bear with me, OK?

I've extracted a bit of what Dr. Etna calls 'Ecstasy' and studied its contents. Part of it, hallucinogenic illusion, but there is something very real attached. Some kind of foreign substance comprised of other, more familiar entities – the hormones dopamine, oxytocin, and serotonin. There is something to the three of them, mingling together, that feels almost...illogical. But I cannot put any words to it. That the mixture contains familiar substances, but the substance as a whole, is unknown, is also puzzling. I do believe that this substance, for the sake of argument, 'bliss', for lack of a better word (you can call it whatever, not like I'm around to tell you you're wrong) is being infused into the clones of whoever enters the elevator. 'Bliss' must also, in a way, be what Ecstasy is.

Now, all of that could be nonsense, but I did some experimenting of my own. If you wish to pull open the curtain, you'll find out what I mean. If you do not do so at this time, then at the very least, under NO circumstances, should you interact with someone with the code name 'Celia V'. Do not tell her anything. Block her if possible. She is a member of The Flashbulb and she has the means to bring any one of us down.

Hang in there, Kelly Roger. These are dark times we live in.

Regards,

Conrad.

“Sorry I ever doubted you,” I wiped a tear from my eye. It wasn't like I actually believed any of that horseshit, but I just really missed him and to think he would actually think well of me. Okay, so he spent an awful long time talking about that 'Blanc' character, like, screw them. Maybe he should've stopped to think the whole reason he failed is that he couldn't get his head in the game, all lovey-dovey over his bro.

But I was different. I was tasked with something. Okay, maybe it was rather vague, but I knew one thing for certain: I should NOT talk to Celia V. Oops. Too late for that one.

Just as I set the papers down, I received another phone call.

“Papa Dad's pizza, Chunky Rudder speaking.”

“I can tell it's you by your voice, you idiot!” Yep. C'est la Brie. Brie because she was so cheesy.

“Ugh. Why do you keep calling me? Are you lonely or something?”

“Oh yes. Every night I pine for someone to come and occupy my bedsheets, but no one ever comes.”

“Why don't you just get a body pillow?”

“WHAT'S WITH THAT ANSWER?! DO YOU NOT UNDERSTAND SARCASM?!”

“Ow! Sheesh, do you have to be so loud?”

“Where are you, anyway? You know, it's really weird, like there must be reception where you're at, because I can call you, but I can't seem to trace your signal. What gives?”

“I'm up your butt.”

“No wonder I have hemorrhoids. There's a mystery I never thought would get solved.”

“Wait. What? Do you really? I'm so sorry!”

“Fuck, you're so dumb. I was joking. Damn. Anyway, tell me where you're at. I'm not gonna hang up this time, so you may as well just say it.”

“Okay, but you know I can still hang up, right?”

I heard a growl at the other end. She must not have thought about that.

“Look, I don't have to tell you shit,” I added. “Because I know your secret identity!”

“Bluff! That's a bluff and a half!”

“Flashbulbmembersaywhat.”

“What?”

“Gotcha!”

She gasped.

“I just figured out what you said! How did you find out?”

“Because I'm a genius.”

“How much do you know about The Flashbulb?”

“Like, all the things.” Okay, that time was an actual bluff.

She gasped again.

“That's like none of the things you should know!”

“Yep.”

“I am SO telling my boss.”

“I wouldn't do that if I were you. Not if you want to know where Lilypad is located.”

“Hm...that is a good bargain. But how do I know you're not bluffing?”

“Because,” I grinned my best shit-eating-grin. “I'll call you back once I'm out of this tunnel. I don't have any reception in here. You know how it is in tunnels.”

“That I do...wait. You're in a tunnel? And you don't have reception? How are we talking right now?”

“Uh...fluke?”

“I'll buy it.” I couldn't be sure, but she probably shrugged. “But wait! Why don't I hear any traffic?”

“It's a...uh...soundproof tunnel.”

“Oh, I see. That's pretty cool. Anyway, you won't be able to call me. This is a restricted number. You know how it is with secret organizations.”

“Yeah, totally. I once knew someone who worked for Wal-Mart.”

“So how about this: I'll call again in an hour AND YOU BETTER PICK UP.”

“Mm...that all depends,” I really should've tried to be more careful with my words. But when you're a sliver-tongue like me, you can afford a few banana peel slip-ups. “But what's to keep me from exposing your secret?”

As if I really knew who or what I could expose her secret to.

“I'll tell you anything you want to know about The Flashbulb!”

She probably thought she was being clever. But, I had an even better idea.

“Even, like, where your boss's headquarters is?”

“Shit...” I heard her mutter. “Can I really do that? Um...I'll call you back.”

She hung up. Excellent. The cards were in motion. Now all I had to worry about was not only finding out where Lilypad operated, but timing things just right so that I could tell Marco where Dr. Etna's lair was.

Sure, it didn't say anywhere in Conrad's notes for me to do any of this, but let's be honest: Conrad, I was not.

#happiness overload #writing #stories #fiction #conspiracy #thriller #comedy #dark comedy #dorky shit

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empty-dream · 7 years

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Me watching Fate/Apocrypha ep 11

Atalanta the smug cat nee-san

“I’m not gonna hurt you. Not me, anyway.” Atalanta are you trying to be Kiritsugu 2.0?

Hurt? More like, NUKE.

Spartacus hulking out

Atalanta be like “You know what? One last touch and all is well and you’re ready to go!” then shoot just one arrow out of spite.

Atalanta: “It’s your problem now” Jeanne: “Wait what?” Atalanta: “Atalanta signing out. Bye. TTYL. Peace out, holy maiden whatever!”

Spartacus is basically the best worst masochist ever.

He’s like a damn cat getting distracted by whatever moving lights and goes pursuing it

Granted, it ain’t THE best fight in the whole series but I feel really disappointed Balmung vs Clarent Blood Arthur doesn’t get more screentime....

Sieg!Fried’s biceps O_O

Mordred: “HOW ARE YOU FUCKING ALIVE I BLASTED YOU WITH THE POWER OF DADDY ISSUES AND MY DADDY IS FUCKING STRONG AND SHITTY YOU ARE AN INSULT TO MY SHITTY DADDY”

Does Mordred love or hate her dad? Don’t waste any time deciding when the real answer is both and see it’s fucked up.

Discount Saber? Discount Saber??!! Are you fucking serious that’s a hilarious trash talk!

Another continuation of Bitchface Karna vs Uncle Vlad

Why is there a very strange sound effect like evil bubble sound effect when Vlad’s spearhead clash directly with Karna’s???

I get the feel like Karna vs Vlad is Fate/Apocrypha equivalent to Westley vs Inigo from The Princess Bride except haughtier and a tad bit crueler.

dID KARNA JUST SMILE A BIT?!!

Karna you should ask Artoria that ‘do it for love of your country or for king’s responsibility?’ she will have existential crisis.

Why should he be scared of fighting a whole country alone when he has a spear that can kill A GOD?

Vlad: “You have fallen... INTO MY TRAP!”

And then Karna stylishly becomes a pincushion. Stylishly, mind you.

Um I still don’t know if explaining your power to the enemy is a wise move Vlad..

Wow flying snake-like spears

Karna be like “I’m the son of sun God. Hot And Burns Everything.”

He looks like a kamen rider.

Vlad, cornered and excited: “Interesting”

Darnic be judging them so hard like “These stupid heroes with their stupid chivalry bravados”

Spartacus loves rebellion so much I want to give him a copy of Madoka Rebellion story

Did I tell you Spartacus is the best worst masochist ever?

Shakespeare is still at it again

Shakespeare: “Behold. A great fucked up thing created by me fucking things up”

Semiramis I know your noble phantasm is glorious af but not everyone have anti gravity giant ancient fortress

I’ve got a question: Why Spartacus looks way paler than his comrades? Not paler as in human skin, but you know, as in a fucking rock you see on the road.

Tbh I am not even fazed if Shakespeare turns out liking to get off at citing his own works.

“MY FIST IS LOVE. ACCEPT MY LOVE.” Holy shit this sounds like what an abusive person would say.

Spartacus I thought you were a masochist why are you turning into a sadist

Jeanne running be like “NOPE THANKS I’VE GOT PLENTY OF LOVE MYSELF”

Seriously he’s distracted by some bright light moving in the distance. What is he? A cat?

Geez Mordred do you hear what your own cakehole says? Are you pretty sure you just hate your dad?

HAHA SIEG!FRIED's CHEST IS GLOWING ON AND OFF THAT IS SOME ULTRAMAN SHIT

Wait but for as long as I remember everytime I watched Ultraman as a kid the hero always runs out of energy and that jewel goes “TING TONG TING TONG”

Sieg!Fried = Ultraman holy shit I just cracked the conspiracy theory

So Higashide’s original idea was to have Sieg!Fried glitters on the chest area but scrapped it and now it’s back and oN SCREEN

Spartacus is indeed the originator of Hit them when they gloat

No Mordred that’s a fucking terrible idea to slice him in half not everything is solved by slicing!

Wow I just realized Spartacus swallowed form facing off Mordred is a bit like Gilles swallowed form facing off Artoria back in Fate/Zero wow

Jeanne: “I didn’t face Vlad and his entire squad to get you out of this war for this”

Astolfo acts like the student who defends his friend when they cause huge fuck up and faces a raging teacher which is Jeanne

Well for a majority of time, Astolfo is kinda a child so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Um I don’t get why he’s saying that? If he was a Ruler? Fuck that even as a Rider he ain’t gonna leave Sieg. And sure as hell Jeanne won’t leave him too. Is Astolfo thinking Jeanne will leave Sieg? On what ground?? It ain’t really like Astolfo???

Though I aspire to grin right after spitting arguments like he does

There is an entire concept deeper than the ocean at the words “I won’t let a hero like you to harm innocent people”

Tvtropes dubs Luminosite Eternelle as a child's “I block your everything” imagination but without the imagination part and that’s the best description I’ve ever seen about it

Oh look a deformed rogue servant facing off against another golden lady with golden weapon and golden light

Power of love vs Power of imagination

Sieg looking at Ruler tanking a nuke: ❤

Wow that’s some game breaker shield alright

I’d behave exactly like Astolfo if I was on that condition too

Back at Uncle Vlad commanding spike snakes to stab the literal hottie Bitchface Karna

Karna: GYOKAKU NO JUTSU!! Me: WRONG ANIME!!!

You ever seen that meme about everyone making crazy ass face when pulling gyokaku no jutsu but not the graceful Itachi? Yeah Karna is also fucking graceful too

Slicing fire with the tip of the sword. #justvladthings

Vlad is probably the only person who doesn’t like being saved by the bell

You want a Holy Grail? STEAL IT OF COURSE. FROM ABOVE. ALIEN STYLE. #justredfactionthing

Ain’t fighting the holy grail war if you steal it. -Shirou Kotomine at some point

Yeah this is not the only hardship you’ve faced in a century Darnic but is there even any hardship that resembles ‘ancient babylonian fortress kidnaps your holy grail a la UFO’??

PANIC! AT THE YGGDMILLENNIA

Eveybody’s busy but not Celenike she doesn’t give a flying fuck.

The only thing I like about Celenike is her hairstyle. That’s my daily hairstyle. First time I see it I be like oh cool a character with my hairstyle and then she turns out to be sadist pedo witch and I’m like NOPE

Wait a minute why are you not showing Caules :(( Is it because he isn’t a master anymore :((( ?? He’s still crying isn’t he???? :((((

Darnic: V E R Y A N G R Y M O D E

Jeanne: “I’m still angry. So after this I’ll lecture the fuck out of you.” Sieg: “Um okay. I’ll be waiting.” Jeanne: ❤

There is something really funny about Vlad, the de facto captain and royalty, running around a la spy on enemies lair.

Not shown: 5 minutes of Scooby Doo doors chase between Black Faction and the AKA Team

Karna: “I was rude before but since it’s not yet 10 minutes and we meet again, I don’t have to apologize, right?”

“I will make sure to impale you this time.” UMM VLAD

HAHA Avicebron holds that gem with the Sailor Moon pose I can’t unsee it

IN THE NAME OF GOLEM I WILL PUNISH YOU

Achilles: “WHAT did you just throw me?! You’re an Archer!” Chiron: “Boy, nowadays the class Archer means nothing about archery”

OOOO KARNA HOLY SHIT THAT WAS SOME SAVAGE BURNNNN funny that he’s polite about it and 99.99% sure he doesn’t even mean to burn

Hanging Garden of Babylon is just too op

I bet Darnic puts “Professional asskisser” as skill and/or job on his resume

Vlad: “Don’t make me use Legend of Dracula” Darnic: “dOn’T MaKE mE USe LeGeND oF dRaCUlA”

There is something a bit satisfying with Sieg’s command spells and that bright background and the title Eternal Radiance (obviously referring to Jeanne)

But I still wonder what is the essence of changing the title template like I know it means Sieg is finally Sieg!Fried. So what?

Gotta be honest: I love hearing that main battle soundtrack again. Absence in one/two episodes is enough.

I’ve always loved the idea of Luminosite Eternelle but the utilization is always so simple like I thought flag waving will be more involved

NEXT: Being Lancer is suffering indeed.

#hi i'm sorry i'm dead this week #fate apocrypha #random saying #fate apocomment

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