...I may or may not have played AC For Answer to death and back again. And I may or may not have named my mechs after female protagonists. *shifty eyes*Originally Posted by Kyte
re:AC!Himuro: Does this reflect some personal feelings on the matter?
I also approve of the one-liner.
re:AC!Rin: Either seem rather plausible.
The Art of Shipping is as profound as it is dangerous; not for the faint of heart nor the weak of will, it makes gods and devils out of us all.
I meant Assassins Creed!Himuro and her ancestor's hate of climbing. :V
Oh... * scratches head* Well, I feel foolish now.
Maybe a wall did something mean to her?
The Art of Shipping is as profound as it is dangerous; not for the faint of heart nor the weak of will, it makes gods and devils out of us all.
Cause whenever a hard working assassin tries to sneak up and murder someone, those damn walls and guards always got be blocking them.
Alrighty, give me your input on this.
X=X=X=X=X
The atmosphere around the dinner table was one of thoughtful silence. Shirou had just explained his goal, his ideal, to Lorelei. The head of the Barthomeloi was surprised by a few facts, like the one that the feared and respected Magus Killer wanted to be a superhero, but was mostly mulling over what Shirou had told her.
His goal was to become a hero, someone who can save everyone. It was an unattainable goal, an impossible dream, yet Shirou stepped forward and tried anyway. It was the reason behind his acceptance into her care, four years ago. It was the reason he couldn’t accept defeat, when he sparred against that enforcer.
It was an admirable, yet flawed, ideal. The Barthomeloi do not take kindly to flawed things within their home.
“Shirou, I am going to make you start hunting dead apostles.” She suddenly said, earning a surprised mumble from the boy sitting across from her. “You wish to be a hero? Dead apostles feed on human beings. They kill to survive. By killing them, you save many people.”
“Alright, I’ll do it.” He said clearly, albeit with little hesitation, and Lorelei simply nodded. After a few hunts, he would realize that he could not save everyone. He would realize it was an impossible task, and adjust his ideal accordingly.
Hopefully.
“Good. Now, unto different subjects of attention.” Lorelei said with a clear voice. “You are aware of the concept of a magus noble’s marriage, yes?”
“Ah, yes.” Magus families liked to betroth their sons and daughters to other magus families, to obtain the best offspring. Children born between magi often had a high number of circuits, though there had been exceptions, and that was something magus families valued very highly. To have someone to carry on the family craft was the most important thing to a magus, after all.
But Lorelei did not need this explanation as he recalled it, so he did not say it out loud.
“Why are you bringing it up? Are you getting married?” Shirou said, just as Infrrf snuck up behind him with a cup of tea which he placed in front of the boy. “Ah, thank you.”
“In a way, yes.” She calmly said, and even Infrrf took pause a moment with a look of mild surprise. “Shirou, marry me.”
It was a good thing Shirou had not started drinking his tea, or he would have spat it out. Infrrf, however, was carrying a tray which fell to the ground with a loud bang, followed by the shattering sound of a teapot.
“Infrrf, go clean that mess immediately.” Lorelei said, completely ignoring the shocked looks on Shirou’s and Infrrf’s faces. Infrrf shook out of his surprise and immediately went off to get cleaning implements, while Shirou just gaped. “Well? Speak your mind.”
“What? I mean, uh… what exactly brought this up?” Shirou intelligently said, after blinking repeatedly.
“I was sorting through a ludicrous amount of letters from families that demanded I give them the magus killer’s heir, when I stumbled upon a letter from my mother.” Lorelei explained, and she noticed Shirou’s conflicted look for a moment. “Do not worry. Even should you decline, I will not give you over to those distasteful people. In any case, the letter from my mother reminded me that I had not chosen a husband yet.”
“So, you chose me? But, there’s age difference to think of, and a bunch of other stuff…” Shirou said, grasping at straws. He should have known by now that Lorelei had rock-solid arguments to back up any decision she had made.
“Age difference is little issue. My mother married my father at the age of twenty, and he was fifty. They are not the most extreme case either. Our twelve years’ difference pale in comparison.” She explained, her face barely showing the tiniest hint of irritation.
“Well, there’s still a bunch of other stuff. Like, uh… feelings.” Shirou tried, this argument flimsier than the last.
“I assure you, Shirou, my decision to ask you was mostly driven by my feelings.” She stated, her face set in stone. “Out of all my possible marriage prospects, you are the only one I am even remotely fond of. Unlike those I have met, I actually approve to having you as a life partner.”
That shut Shirou up, and provoked quite the blush. He was used to having Lorelei act as a strict teacher, one that allowed no faults and barely ever rewarded him. Having her suddenly declare to want him as a life partner was… odd.
But he couldn’t object to it immediately.
He had never seen her as family, not even as an elder sister. No, he had always viewed her as an admirable person, someone to look up to in every way. She actively hunted down and crushed what she considered wrong. She was an incredible magus, perhaps the best non-sorcerer in the world.
She was someone Shirou had, deep down, always wanted to stand beside. Someone he wanted to be on the same level as.
“So… you like me enough to consider making me your life partner? In every way…?” Shirou said uncertainly, in a timid voice.
“Yes.” Lorelei stated, a small measure of irritation making itself known in her voice. “Speak, Shirou. This is no longer about me. Will you be my husband? Or do you not want to marry me? There is no harm in answering the truth.”
“I really haven’t had much time to think about it…” She was glaring at him menacingly now.
“Then do so now.” She snapped, crossing her arms over her chest, and Shirou obeyed.
He liked her more than just as a teacher. He didn’t view her as family. He didn’t feel like she was someone he couldn’t be involved with romantically. They got along just fine, as proven by four years where she had acted as his guardian and teacher.
Now that he thought of it, he had no real reason to refuse. It was more of a political marriage than anything, and she felt a lot more comfortable with him over anyone else. He was helping her, like this.
“Okay.” He said in a small voice, until he cleared his throat and tried again. “Okay. I’ll marry you, Lorelei.”
She didn’t smile nor make any exaggerated motion of joy. Shirou didn’t expect her to, either. Instead, her earlier irritation simply evaporated and her face relaxed.
“Thank you, Shirou.” And she thanked him, simple as that. That alone made Shirou blush in embarrassment.
She had never thanked him before. Now that he had thought of it, she had done everything she had done without ever asking for something in return. Something like allowing Lorelei to marry someone she liked paled in comparison.
“No, thank you, Lorelei. Thank you for everything.” Shirou simply said, and Lorelei raised her eyebrow inquisitively, but didn’t say anything.
X=X=X=X=X
...*is left speechless*...
F/GO SUPPORT
I'm going to be honest. This one didn't click with me as much as the others. I think it was the marriage part and felt like it could have delivered in a different way somehow. Maybe a bit further down the path. I also felt like there could have been a bit more detail on the magus killer part as well.
Other than that, good job.
Thanks for the input Sylent. Your honesty does me some good.
For the Magus Killer part, I didn't write it in because it's basically Shirou explaining his backstory while Lorelei listens. There is really nothing new to see there.
And for the marriage bit... Lorelei is really straightforward. She won't fuss around. Instead of using two years to "Seduce Shirou" or WHATEVER, She's going to tell him straight up what she wants from him. No point in hiding things.
At least, those are my explanations. I'll do better next time I write a scene like this, though. Practice makes perfect, right?
It's weird, 'cause it runs contrary to a dozen cultural nuances and stuff. It's blunt, sudden and flat-out unromantic. On the other hand, it completely fits Lorelei's character, so yeah.
Only have just found this thread - I think I'll be keeping a eye on the Shirou in Clocktower snippets
'Fae is Foul' - My SAO/ZnT Crossover fanfic (SB Thread) (FFN Link)
No prob man. I really do not know Lorelei character so hearing the explanation helps out.
It was awkward, it was blunt, it was all sorts of weird and hahaha.
And it fits Lorelei quite well, from what we know of and have seen of her so far.
Any other comments? They've already been made.
Spoiler:Spoiler:
My Work:
Heroes of Justice
Semi-Random Pieces and Drabbles
Diaries of a Youthful Maiden
??? - new project, coming soon (by Valve time)
Pretty much why I was left speechless. I'm not sure if adding any more would've helped...mostly since I think it turned out quite well without anything extra.
F/GO SUPPORT
Oh, Lorelei. Did you have to be so.... blunt about it?
It fits her, though, and Shirou reacted about the way I expected. It was awkward and a bit weird and uncomfortable to read, but considering the kind of state their relationship is at now, I actually thought it was a rather fitting feeling to have. Now, of course, the question is how will they both grow from here.
Ok, so as awkward at the delivery of that proposal sounded, it was perfectly in line with the character of Lorelei. And Shirou's reactions were, dare I say, charmingly clumsy in respect to him saying yes.
So far as I'm concerned, it's pretty good writing.
I'm not at all convinced about this last one. The first part felt very artificial, like if the characters where reading a script.
The second part... well maybe I'm just tired, but I was expecting something different. The absence of drama and Shirou's acceptance was very jarring. In fact, I don't think we've ever seen Shirou's point of view on this subject before this chapter.
Feels like we've skipped way ahead and missed a few steps along the way.
And now, for something COMPLETELY different! Just something I'm a lot more comfortable with. Oh, and Fafnir^, we'll get to see Shirou's side of things soon. Trust me, it'll seem less jarring once some things have been properly explained. I think. I hope.
Anyway, something completely different(Not in a current continuity, I mean).
Tell me what you think.
X=X=X=X=X
She was a statue.
That or she was sleeping with her eyes open. Either way, it didn’t matter. She could not move. She could not think.
She could only look forward, her head and eyes locked into position.
It would be more proper to call her a sentient statue.
No, sentient was too strong a word. She was a living statue, nothing more.
Her heart beat and her lungs breathed, but she could not think.
It had always been like this.
For what seemed like an eternity, she waited. No, she didn’t wait, she simply was.
An empty shell. An unused tool. An accident in production. Something that was faulty, and broken.
She had no consciousness.
She simply was, surrounded by fire and shields, eternally.
Her anchor however was more than that.
The anchor that kept the defective product from simply disappearing could see through her eyes. It could not move the body, but it was conscious.
But to the anchor, this was simply a dream. Something nondescript, vague, that she forgot in the morning.
The anchor had had this dream for weeks. Simply being, on top of a mountain that it couldn’t remember the name of. Surrounded by a fire it did not understand. Being protected, by a wall of shields it didn’t need.
And in the morning, she would remember nothing. Nothing important happened in the dream anyway, and even as a faulty product the shell succeeded at suppressing its anchor’s thoughts.
Rather, it only somewhat succeeded. Because no matter what, the anchor was still conscious during the dream itself.
So it dreamed of the fire, of the mountain and of the shields for weeks, constantly forgetting everything in the morning.
There was nothing to remember anyway.
Until this one time.
The anchor had never seen someone else in the dreams. It had never seen anything, actually, due to the statue’s face being locked in a gaze towards the distant, black sea.
But this time, someone scaled the mountain. It was a knight in red and black armor, with white hair.
The anchor knew something was wrong, though.
The knight’s body seemed to phase out of existence, one bit at a time. Holes appeared into his body, like eraser marks on a drawing, but were quickly fixed as whatever was missing seemed to weave itself together again.
It was an odd sight for the mentally suppressed anchor, even in its state. Sometimes, entire limbs stopped existing for a moment, to show smaller limbs underneath.
Almost like a person inside another.
The knight said nothing nor did nothing, simply standing outside the wall of shields, blocking the anchor’s view of the black sea.
No, he was not simply standing. He was staring at the statue, almost as if he was gauging her.
For hours, he did only this. For hours, he simply stood, like a robot, staring directly into the statue’s and, by proxy, the anchor’s eyes.
But as the knight’s body seemed to break down and rebuild itself, nothing was missed. Even his head once disappeared, revealing a head of red hair underneath, before rebuilding itself.
The anchor knew that person. It, no, she knew that specific red-haired boy.
Her muddled saw things more clearly. Gears that had been grinded to an almost-halt started again in force.
Memories worked properly again. A sense of self re-imposed itself. The anchor had become the accidental creation.
Yet the knight, completely oblivious to the massive changes in his observation target’s head, lost interest almost suddenly and started walking away.
The body felt heavy and unused, yet its hand still raised itself weakly to try to hold him back.
She wanted an explanation for what was going on. Now that her mind was functioning, she felt like everything was too real. The red sky, the black sea… it looked and felt real.
The fire surrounding her was hot and painful. Pain did not happen during dreams.
“…Get…” She tried to speak, but this mouth hadn’t even moved in days. The body had completely forgotten how to do basic tasks. “Back… Here…”
She tried to force herself up from a seating position she didn’t even know she was in. Every one of the atrophied, almost solidified body parts disagreed with her though.
“Emiya…”
She fell down, her body too weak for the immediate strain she put on it. Her fall felt slow, too slow, like she was watching everything lower itself at a casual pace.
And the body, which had hours ago been a statue, fell into the fires that surrounded it.
For hours it stayed that way, too weak to move, while its anchor suffered.
X=X=X=X=X
Mitsuzuri Ayako woke up with a scream of pain. The fires surrounding her, they hurt, they were suffocating, they…
They weren’t there anymore.
She hastily scanned her surroundings, covered in sweat and panting heavily, yet she wasn’t at the not-Ryuudo mountain anymore.
She was back home, where she was safe. She forced her breath to calm down, and flopped back down on her bed.
…But, it wasn’t a dream. When that body had fallen down into the flames, she had felt the pain for hours, unlike anything she had ever known.
Dreams couldn’t make you experience things you’ve never felt, right?
So, she stared at the ceiling while her breathing stabilized, wondering what had just happened that night.
And all the nights before, stretching back further than a week.
She could remember them all.
X=X=X=X=X
Ayako remembers the Grail War?
Well. Shit is about to hit the fan.
...
I don't know what this is.
But it has Ayako in it, so I'm waiting for more.
Spoiler:Spoiler:
My Work:
Heroes of Justice
Semi-Random Pieces and Drabbles
Diaries of a Youthful Maiden
??? - new project, coming soon (by Valve time)
....
DAMMIT NAME, THIS DRABBLE HAS INSPIRED ME.
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