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kumeko · 2 years

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A/N: For the @fatezerozine! I could resist putting a little Lancer/Saber and Iri/Saber here, because they broke my heart in the series.

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Artoria always believed in facing her mistakes head-on, in confronting and correcting them. Yet, staring at the angry, broken shell of a man she’d once called Lancelot, she didn’t know how to respond. Standing on the docks, she lowered her sword, her grip slack. “Lancelot?”

He roared, enraged and full of pain. It was the sound of Camelot crashing down, of all of her sins accumulating into a single person. Artoria had always known her rule had been a mistake but this only confirmed it. This angry demon was nothing like the kind knight she’d known.

It was all her fault. She clenched her hand tightly and bowed her head. “Forgive me.”

That only made him angrier. She flinched as he took a step forward and roared once more. However, before he could make another move, he dematerialized, no doubt called back by his master. Artoria stared at the particles that once made the berserker, at the choppy waters now visible from behind where he’d stood. In the night, the waters were chaotic and unruly.

Closing her eyes, she sighed. “I suppose there’s no way you could.”

There was a soft tap behind her as Kiritsugu landed on the concrete. Turning around, she found he was already packed up, his rifle safely tucked away in its case. His long trench coat rustled in the wind as he started walking to his car. “We’re going.”

As usual, he didn’t ask for her input, but she wasn’t in the mood to argue. Not when she could still hear Lancelot’s roars in her ears. It took her back to when Guinevere had confessed her affair, to when her knights had left her side. To Mordred’s battle cry as they fought and Tristan’s cries as Camelot splintered.

The king doesn’t understand the hearts of men.

No, she didn’t. Maybe she never had. Maybe her rule had been doomed from the start. What sort of king didn’t know his own subjects? Her hand clenched into a fist. “Can I even atone that?”

Artoria hadn’t meant to say any of that aloud. Quickly, she glanced at Kiritsugu, but he didn’t say anything. Perhaps he hadn’t heard or, more likely, didn’t care, Sometimes, when she looked at him, she could see just what her people had seen in her: a heartless leader.

It was no wonder they’d all rebelled. They would have been better off without her.

When they reached the car, Kiritsugu opened the passenger door but didn’t slip inside. When she stared at him curiously over the car’s roof, he muttered, “Some things can never be forgiven.”

She gazed at him blankly before realizing he was replying to her earlier words. “You…”

“Some sins are too big.” His eyes were on her now, cold as ice. “You just have to live with it.”

Artoria clenched her teeth as he slipped in the car, hating the truth ringing in his words.

-x-

“Forgiveness?” Gilgamesh snorted elegantly, raising a perfectly groomed eyebrow as he looked at her over the top of his goblet. When she didn’t say anything, just glared at him, he threw his head back and laughed. “You really have the strangest ideas of what a ‘king’ is.”

“What?” Artoria retorted, trying and failing to keep her temper down. She had no idea why she continued to meet the other two kings in the Einzbern castle. The silvery flowers around them glowed softly in the moonlight, the golden goblets filled with a fragrant aroma of a ruby red wine, and every part of this scene was ruined by the two Servants sitting across from her.

Semi-serious now, Gilgamesh swirled his drink before taking a refined sip. “That word doesn’t exist for a ruler.”

Iskandar guffawed heartily, reaching over to pat her on the shoulder. With his strength, it took all of her concentration to make sure she didn’t fall over. “A leader leads! The others follow—what is there to forgive or regret?”

“Even the oaf understands it,” Gilgamesh added, giving Iskandar a dismissive look.

Disgruntled, Artoria looked down into her goblet. Her reflection trembled in the dark wine. These two should never have led anything, let alone entire countries, but she couldn’t deny she was drawn to their confidence. If she had that arrogance, perhaps Camelot wouldn’t have fallen.

Gawain had exuded the same sort of charisma and he’d often been surrounded by knights and peasants alike. He had known the hearts of men. He had seen her people, talked to them, and been welcomed by them.

She couldn’t say the same for herself. For all her subjects’ words of loyalty, she had only ever been followed from a distance.

And from a distance, they watched her die.

Artoria gripped her goblet. “And if your subjects are harmed by your actions?”

“So?” Gilgamesh curled his lips. “What of it? If they don’t like it, they can try to steal my power.”

Iskandar gulped down his goblet and slammed it down. Wiping his mouth, he leaned forward and smirked. “Ohh? That sounds fun.”

Gilgamesh eyed him. “You could provide maybe a few minutes of distraction.”

Or maybe Camelot would have collapsed even earlier if these two had led it. Artoria ignored them, taking a sip of wine. It had been foolish of her to have expected anything else from them; these kings had never once thought of their people.

Regret was for kings who cared, and she doubted they’d ever done that.

-x-

“Forgiveness?” Under the silver moonlight, Irisviel looked absolutely ethereal. She tore her eyes away from the stars to look at Artoria, puzzled. “What do you mean?”

Artoria glanced at the sake bottle that sat between them, at the two cups they’d spent the past half hour drinking from. She wasn’t sure why she’d agreed to these moon-watching sessions. The compound was big, Irisviel vulnerable, and if Kiritsugu wasn’t willing to protect his wife, then she had to. Yet, it was impossible to say no when Irisviel asked her to join in. Impossible to stay far away when a soft hand tugged her down to sit.

“I…” Artoria peeked up. Irisviel smiled kindly. Blaming it on the alcohol, she pushed on, “If you make a terrible mistake…is it possible to be forgiven?”

“Yes,” Irisviel answered immediately, no hesitation at all in her voice.

Not expecting such a quick answer, Artoria resisted the urge to gape. “I am talking about a terrible crime, one that has harmed many innocents.”

Firmly, Irisviel repeated, “Yes.”

“That’s…” Artoria didn’t even know how to respond to such determination. “Why?”

Irisviel rested her hand on Artoria’s. “Do you regret it?”

“Yes.”

She interlaced their fingers. “Do you want to fix it?”

Artoria closed her eyes wearily. “Yes.”

Irisviel smiled broadly now. “Then yes, you can be forgiven.” Sensing Artoria wasn’t convinced, she giggled. “You and my husband are exactly the same. Neither of you believe me, but everyone deserves a chance to atone and be forgiven.”

Part of her rankled at the comparison. Pushing past it, Artoria asked softly, “Aren’t some crimes too big for that?”

“Some can feel that way.” Irisviel looked up at the full moon. No doubt she was thinking of Kiritsugu. Her expression softened, as it always did, and Artoria wondered what it would take to convince this tender-hearted woman to leave this dangerous game. “The more blood on your hands, the more impossible it feels.”

“Then—”

“But it’s not true,” she interrupted firmly, turning back to Artoria. “All that means is that you have to atone more. There’s no such thing as too big.”

It must be nice, to have such a kind, naïve viewpoint. Artoria couldn’t remember the last time she’d thought like that. Before she’d taken on her mantle as king, maybe. In the early days when she’d just been Artoria, a wandering swordsman helping others. “No matter how much you atone, some things can’t be forgiven.”

“By others, or by yourself? You both say this exact same thing and I don’t agree. Others might never forgive you, but you still have to try for yourself.” Irisviel sighed, leaning against Artoria’s shoulder. “Then, if you won’t allow yourself compassion, I hope you get kindness. I hope that one day you might forgive yourself. I hope that one day you allow yourself happiness.”

Artoria didn’t reply, content to just soak in Irisviel’s warmth. For a moment, just a moment, she wanted to live in that world Irisviel saw, however improbable it was.

-x-

“Forgiveness?” Diarmuid cocked his head, considering the question. No doubt he hadn’t expected her to ask such a thing when he’d arrived for the strategy meeting to take down Caster, but there were few chances for them to interact alone as it was.

Which was a pity, to be honest. Diarmuid was the most reasonable of all the servants and in another time, maybe they could have enjoyed each other’s company. For now, she would make do with his advice. Rubbing her wrist, Artoria nodded. “Yes. Considering all that happened, do you forgive your lord?”

He leaned against the half-forgotten dojo on her master’s land, his eyes trained on the bright blue sky. “It is not my place to forgive my lord.” He chuckled softly. “If anything, it is I who must beg for forgiveness.”

“You were protecting someone,” Artoria pointed out, keeping her gaze on him steady. “Your lord punished you far beyond your crime.”

Diarmuid gave her a sad smile. “Yet he was still my lord. We had a convent, which I broke.” He paused, before lowering his eyes. “Even now, I do not know if my choice was the right one, only that I couldn’t say no.”

He reminded her of her knights, of a chivalry she had feared never existed. If he had been in Camelot, would he have forgiven her? Would he agree with her wish now or tell her to turn from it? “I…is there anything that you wouldn’t have forgiven your lord for?”

Diarmuid stood straight now. “There are things I would have disagreed with, but forgiveness has never been part of that question.” His eyes met hers, and she felt the faint tug of his curse before her abilities nullified it entirely. “The same goes for your people, I am certain.”

“That can’t possibly be true.” Artoria looked away. Despite the knowledge the grail gave, there was no way he could know the hatred in her knights’ eyes. “If your lord, if I harmed thousands—”

“You have not done that,” Diarmuid interrupted, stepping forward. “We have only spoken a handful of times, and that is enough for me to know you are honourable. Your people must surely see that too.”

“Honourable…” That wasn’t enough. Her kingdom still fell, despite her honour. Still, she had missed those words, after dealing with egotistical kings and cold masters.

I hope you get kindness.

Irisviel’s words echoed in her head and Artoria smiled, offering Diarmuid the forgiveness she couldn’t take. “I would have made a place for you at my table.”

His eyes widened in surprise before he smiled lopsidedly.

-x-

Forgiveness?

Artoria had been naïve to ever ask such a question. Standing in front of the Holy Grail, her sword raised high, she scoffed at the idea of it all. Atonement didn’t abate Lancelot’s rage. Forgiveness wouldn’t alter the fact that she had betrayed Diarmuid. And there was no way to change Irisviel’s death. However noble her intentions, however kind she was to herself, these truths would remain the same.

No, the only who had been right was the one forcing her to destroy the grail now. She locked eyes with Kiritsugu as she brought down her holy sword, as Excalibur ripped through the room.

There was no such thing as forgiveness for a person like her. There never had been.

#artoria pendragon #fate zero #irisviel von einzbern #diarmuid ua duibhne #saber diarmuid #saber x irisviel #kiritsugu emiya #gilgamesh #iskander #rider #saber #lancer #fanfic #fate is so hard to tag ahahaha #fate stay series

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localhornist · 2 years

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100 Year War 2 - Dating Edition!

So another fate au, this time one ive joint worked on with @k1ng0fn00ts called 100 Years War 2: Dating Edition!

Set in modern times in a world with magjc, it follows primarily Mordred in a magic International School, with stuff varying from basic slice of life to angst. Of the Pendragon fam, there is:

Artoria, Mordy's previously single dad who works as the CEO of a MagiTech company, having previously worked at a security company after leaving the military.

Irisviel, Arty's wife and Mordred's step-mom, meating them when Arty's company was hired whilst she and Kiritsugu were still together, before his death.

Morgan and Arthur as Arty's older and younger siblings respectively. Whilst old family stuff meant all three weren't close, other stuff helped them grow close together again.

Saber (artoria alter), Arty's much younger half-sister, who's more of an older cousin to Mordred than an aunt. Works as a vet.

Illyasviel, Mordred's younger step-sis and a sassy 10 year old.

Shirou, step-brother who was adopted after one of Kiri's jobs.

Merlin, the adoptive parent of Saber after their dad passed away shortly after their birth, and alongside Da Vinci built up the MagiTech company and took the pendragons under their wing.

Ari and Ami (Aria and Ameli, based on Lion King and Storm King), biological twins of Merlin and an older sister to Saber

Kairi - family friend, met Arty dhring their military service. Gets away with lots because Iri falls for his sad boy act. Crimes include giving Mordy a tank.

Then there's other characters. Of them there is:

The d'arc twins, Jeanne and AJ, and their younger sister Lily. AJ is a big rival to Mordy and, looking identical to Jeanne, causes confusion for Mordy when he meets the more mild mannered twin. This little confusion ends up being the start to their eventual relationship. Lily is just a lil pissshit.

Gudako and Gudao, twins. MtF and FtM. Gudako is a rival to Gudako, however when this rivalry ends up spiraling, AJ eventually opens up to her, sparking an odd friendship that eventually goes further.

Cu Chullain, good friends with Mordy and an eventual wingman as he tries to ask out Jeanne.

Frankie, Jeanne's friend, and has non-speaking autism, and wears silencing headphones to help stop overstimulation. Ends up becoming friendly with Mordy after he shows he knows sign-language.

Astolfo, a band kid (tuber) and somehow friends with everyone - no one knows where he's from (Quebec). Also has "The Tea" on everyone, so finds Mordy and Jeanne's mutual crushing hilarious.

Lancelot, Guinevere and Mash - family friends of the Pendragons. Mash is friends with the Gudak twins.

Nightingale - school nurse, Saber's long time crush (joined Med school just to impress her)

Shakespeare - english and drama teacher, secretly dug tunnels underneath the school do he could get to both classrooms quickly.

Jack - foster kid in the younger years, friends with Lily.

Sieg and Siegfried - brothers, Siegfried is in college.

Iskandar - same year as Mordy and folks, kept back one year.

Waver - nerd friends with Sieg, both play DnD. Besties with Iskandar.

Achilles and Atalante are part of the volleyball team, Chiron is their coach.

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melusineisthebestest · 2 years

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Just one more to go...

#fate grand order #fgo #fate #fate go #fate series #saberiri #saber x irisviel #irisviel von einzbern #saber #artoria pendragon

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orchestrated-haunting · 6 months

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she said no pickles dammit

#fate/zero #artoria pendragon #saber artoria #irisviel von einzbern #saber x irisviel #orchestrated art

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discodreaming · 6 months

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HELLO! i've now opened my inbox for my followers/mutuals to talk to their favorite character!

you can send in random sentences, inbox prompts that you see on my blog or even confess your love!

please be sure to be respectful and kind to not only me but the muses.

this will be very much like roleplaying. to continue communication you can send in more inboxes or you can even link the inbox to a conversation to communicate with your beau/family/friend!

please do not request any minors/anthropomorphic in romantic or sexual ways, I'm begging you. i will only reply to the platonic/familial ones.

you may talk to at least 2 muses at once in one message, all to prevent being overwhelmed. this may change once i get comfortable enough to handle more.

all romantic and nsft inboxes or starters towards muses will require slow burn

all ships are multishipped but can be single shipped if you guys can build up their romance meter!

this will only be reader x character, oc x character i will put on either another blog or a different post.

* note: i will accept 5 oc x character in this post for the time being: 1/5

however for certain events i can bend these rules for you to get a romantic scene with your crushes!

or even just hanging out with your friends!

characters i will write for right now:

note: this list will change every now and then as i advance further into the shows or a character is requested more!

if you don't see a character you like here and would like to see me try my hand at playing them, don't be shy to tell me!

bold = characters I've played before

one piece! ( pre timeskip )

romantic options: nico robin, nami, sanji, zoro, usopp, buggy, sir crocodile, dracule mihawk, shanks, portgas d. ace

platonic options: chopper, franky ( may change ), luffy ( im currently on the pretimeskip )

up to debate: please ask !

rwby ! ( all season 9 ages )

romantic options: weiss schnee, blake belladonna, yang xiao long, jaune arc, taiyang xiao long, raven branwen, qrow branwen, emerald sustari, sun wukong, neptune vasillias, james ironwood, winter schnee, mercury black

platonic options: ruby rose, nora valkyrie, lie ren, pyrrha nikos, penny polendina, professor ozpin, oscar pine, neopolitan

up to debate: salem, cinder fall

fruits basket !

romantic options: shigure sohma, hatori soma, ayame soma

platonic options: tohru honda, yuki sohma, kyo sohma

castlevania animated !

romantic options: trevor belmont, adrian 'alucard' tepes, sypha belnades

edens zero !

romantic options: rebecca bluegarden, weisz steiner, homura kogetsu, kris rutherford, shiki granbell, labilla christy

platonic: happy, witch regret, sister ivry, hermit mio, valkyrie yuna, elise crimson, justice

d.gray man !

romantic options: yu kanda, lavi, tyki mikk, howard link, cross marian

platonic: allen walker, lenalee lee, nea d. campbell, wisely kamelot

psycho pass !

romantic options: akane tsuneori, shinya kogami, nobuchika ginoza, shuusei kagari, yayoi kunizuka, shion karanomori, shogo makishima

platonic: tomomoi masaoka

owari no seraph

romantic options: guren ichinose, ferid bathory, kureto hiiragi, shinya hiragi, seishiro hiiragi, crowley eusford

platonic: yuichiro hyakuya, mikaela hyakuya, shinoa hiiragi, yoichi saotome, shiho kimizuki, mitsuba sangu, krul tepes

yuukou no moriarty

romantic options: william james moriarty, albert james moriarty, louis james moiarty, sherlock holmes, fred porlock, sebastian moran, mycroft holmes, james bond

fate/ ( /zero & /stay night)

romantic options: saber, kirei kotomine, gilgamesh, cu chulainn

platonic: shirou emiya, rin tohsaka, waver velvet

up to debate: kiritsugu emiya, irisviel von einzbern, archer emiya, tokiomi tohsaka, diamuid ua duibhne

please don't: shinji matou, ryuunosuke uryu

fairy tail

romantic options: lucy heartfilia, gray fullbuster, erza scarlet, mirajane strauss, laxus dreyar, gildarts clive, loke, elfman strauss, juvia lockser, fried justine, evergreen, bickslow, rogue cheney, sting eucliffe, kagura mikazuchi, aguria yukino, natsu dragneel, mystogan, cana alberona, gajeel redfox, erik, jellal fernandes

platonic: wendy marvell

record of ragnarok

romantic options: adam, jack the ripper, kojiro sasaki, qin shi huang, hades, beelzebub, hermes

platonic: souji okita

up to debate: the valkyries, nikolas tepes, thor, poseidon, apollo,

obey me

romantic options: lucifer, mammon, levianthan, satan, asmodeus, beelzebub, belphegor,diavolo, barbatos, simeon, raphael, solomon,

platonic: luke

up to debate: thirteen, mephistopheles

kingdom hearts ( kingdom hearts iii )

romantic options: terra, aqua, xemnas, zexion, saix, axel, demyx,

platonic: sora, kairi, riku, roxas, namine, xion, ventus, vanitas, ephemer, skuld, brain

genshin impact

romantic options: wriothesley, albedo, alhaitham, ayaka, ayato, baizhu, ajax, cyno, dehya, diluc, eula, ganyu, itto, jean, kazuha, kokomi, xiao, heizou, shenhe, kaeya, rosaria, yae miko, beidou, lisa, kaveh, zhongli, nigguang, neuvillette, yela, candace, thoma, yanfei

platonic: hu tao, venti, faruzan, sucrose, chongyun, freminet, layla, mika, fischl, collei, noelle, yun jin, barbara, xingqiu, amber, bennette, xinyan

up to debate: keqing, lyney, aether, lumine, wanderer, lynette, kuki shinobu, sara, kiara, gorou, mona, nilou, yoimiya, charlotte

please don't: klee, sayu, qiqi, diona, dori, nahida, yaoyao

final fantasy

romantic options: cloud strife, tifa lockhart, aerith gainsborough, zack fair, reno, rude, genesis rhapsodos, reeve tuesti, angel hewley, sephiroth, vincent valentine.

platonic: barret wallace, yuffie kisaragi

detroit become human

romantic options: connor, markus, gavin

platonic: kara, hank

devil may cry

romantic options: dante, nero, vergil

platonic: trish, nico, lady, v

jojo's bizarre adventure

romantic options: dio brando, joseph joestar ( part 2 & 3 ), caesar anthonio zeppeli, jotaro kujo ( 4-6 only ), rohan kishibe, bruno bucciarati, leone abbachio, narciso anasui, johnny joestar, gyro zeppeli, diego brando

debating: jonathan joestar, jolyne cujoh, weather report

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kasunex · 3 months

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Honestly in repose to your fate hot takes I’ve become more supportive of Shirou x Saber on each successive rewatch of the anime. Let me start by saying I’m not a huge part of the fandom Tsukihime, Fate Stay Night and Today’s Menu For The Emiya Family is the limit of my Nasuverse knowledge but on my first watch of FSN I also thought Saber x Shirou was forced and seemed to come out of nowhere to make the final fight more dramatic but on my last watch I honestly changed my mind. In the anime at least a big theme of Saber’s route seemed to be that she didn’t ever want to be King Arthur and her goal at become a servant was to go back in time and not become King Arthur because she failed, I think this is meant to contrast with Shirou whose idealism in becoming a hero is so strong as to make him purposefully pick fights he can’t win and fight them anyway. They’re actually pretty interesting mirror images of each other in that regard like other ships I’ve liked, then after Shirou starts to learn from the mistakes that turned him into Archer he becomes obsessed with saving Saber from herself since he thinks she did everything she could during her life time and wants her to choose a second life with him, something that the admittedly non canon cooking manga spin off shows that she really enjoys being a housewife in Japan as opposed to being king, but I digress at the end before the final fight against Kotomine Shirou and Saber end up with a common goal to prevent the grail from materialising again and plan to win the fight even though doing so will keep them apart and end with Saber’s death but Saber I think at that moment understands Shirou’s father and Shirou understands why Saber will never consent to shirk her duty as king which I understand was your main problems with the ship but I think are covered in canon at least implied to be resolved.

Yeah, I think most would more or less agree with that take.

My issue with the ship is the concept of pairing a shonen with the ghost of a pre-medieval King of England. I struggle to see how the two could ever really be on the same level, and nothing I've seen of the pairing can move me past this impression.

Seeing a badass, legendary, ancient king reduced to a blushing mess by someone as plain as Shirou just doesn't sit.

It also doesn't help that Fate/Zero establishes Saber pretty much hated Kiritsugu, Shirou's adopted father and role model. That they have such dissenting views of the most important figure in Shirou's life is a conflict that's never really addressed, and just further gets in the way. I don't know how much of that is on Fate/Zero and how much of it is on Stay Night, but even in Stay Night, Saber makes clear in Heaven's Feel that she was not a fan of Kiritsugu.

I think there's a lot of comparison to be drawn with my favorite Fate pairing, Nero x Hakuno. Why does that work for me when Shirou x Saber doesn't? I suspect part of it is the tone difference, Stay Night is much grittier and more grounded compared to the more over-the-top Extra. Part is also that Nero is established to have never had a geniune bond in her lifetime - her own mother tried to kill her - so it makes more sense why she'd attach herself so strongly to Hakuno.

Artoria, on the other hand, had a seemingly normal childhood, friends and allies in Merlin and the Round Table knights, and even Irisviel as a close friend in Fate/Zero.

I get why Shirou x Saber has some appeal, but personally I just don't see it.

#Fate/Stay Night #Fate/Zero #Artoria Pendragon #ShiSaber #Shirou Emiya

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