#— • ✦ • — ⊱ ⁞ study ‵ ❛ ritsuka fujimaru ❜ ⁇

[mako-neexu]

Feel like cursing you today with the thought that shrieked through my mind at mach 2 just now, a vortigern/dantes interaction about guda, because it spiked through my mind while reading your comments on the latter

Vortigern sneers at the Count. "My curse means I can't say it, or else it becomes a lie. What the fuck is your excuse?"

studied edguda so hard i took a nap earlier and started dreaming of dantes and oberon arguing over ritsuka and opening tumblr lo and behold moth's perfect timing ww

funny automatic response i came up with in my brain was dantes looking away with his mouth pressed into a straight line but then before i knew it i have this:

Monte Cristo looks at the Pretender, a glance made from the corner of his eye, before turning away to continue focusing on their sleeping Master, having been thoroughly exhausted from the singularity. Soot stains Ritsuka’s cheek, with one hand, he lets his thumb gently brush it away. “...Even for someone such as I, there are many things I can’t change nor do I have any intention of changing,��� He spoke, softly so as not to wake her up, “Speech for one, as it does not matter to me if I’m understood by my peers. What matters only is a mode of communication that would aid her in her endeavors.” A man difficult to understand. Even in his early days as a new summon to their Master, that was almost automatically attributed to him. He doesn’t mind. The masses’ perception of him matters little, barely worth any mention as he is already an Avenger through and through. The Fairy King—along with a majority of the Servants may not know, but Monte Cristo’s speech becomes simplified when alone with his Master. But if she asked him to explain his words clearly in front of the many people around them, then there is no reason to hesitate when it comes to his accomplice. Because whatever Fujimaru Ritsuka desired of him, the Avenger who would burn a brilliant path for her forward, he would follow through no matter what.

i love oberon and dantes interactions watch these bitches fight over their views of a star uheheheh

[asksythe]

Commed. Artist: Duckie Beam

I want to write a post-FGO dark romance Oberon/Ritsuka story featuring Single-Dad!Oberon and Dead-Mom!Ritsuka.

It's my third attempt at writing a dark romance story, with different interpretations of dark and the characters themselves. Out of the three attempts so far, this one seems to have excited @erimies the most. I get why. It's my most poetic so far.

I have given it a name...

Apple, Apple in the Skies

The story is styled around gothic fairy tales and dark nursery rhymes, in which Oberon effectively becomes a single dad to a flock of terrorist children, all of whom remind him of the woman he loves, who hurt him beyond anything he has ever known in his thousands of years of existence. The children are feral little gremlins born of Riri's flesh and Oberon's heart.

The plot goes something like this:

Ritsuka Fujimaru's journey ends. The world is saved and humanity is secured, but she herself dies. She dies not in battles but at the hands of the very mages she saved, who go after her to make her a subject to study and harvest.

Oberon watches it all go down, watches Ritsuka being butchered by the people she fought for. And there's not a thing he can do about it.

Centuries pass. Humanity is now stagnating, trying to break into the Age of Wills and failing. Some secret components are missing.

The mages of the future believe the key to their ascension lies with the Last Master of Humanity. Examining the impossible miracles she performed and her extraordinary link with the heroic spirits, they believe she accidentally and unknowingly created a doorway between flesh and blood humans and ether-liner existences (ala Age of Wills humans).

If only they had the still-living specimen to experiment with! But alas! The foolish, wasteful, and shortsighted mages of the past already wasted such prime research materials! They cut her up into pieces and used her body as reagents for frivolous projects. And when those projects failed, they paraded her body around as trophies. A lock of hair here. An eyeball there, pickled in primordial juice. The hand with the command codes still in tact. Pieces of skin and teeth and some pulled nails with the crusted blood still stuck to them.

The petty king of some nation boasts of having her entire preserved spleen as house decor. What wasteful, gross misconduct as magi researchers!! Now their descendants have no more of the prime original materials to work with.

But needs must. So several wars break out in order for different groups to claim the remains of Riri's preserved body.

They start experimenting with these parts. One group has a success, using the hand with the command codes, they create a genetic clone of Riri, and then use this clone as catalyst in a summoning ritual, hoping to call forth a rare extra class servant.

Oberon answers the call, and, of course, promptly massacres all the mages and steals the cloned child away. In no time at all, Oberon susses out the existence of other research cells carrying out their own attempts at cloning the original Last Master. He goes after them, hitting them guerilla style and stealing any successful clones they manage to create.

The story is propelled forward by Oberon's desperate drive to free all the little morsels of Riri and the human's efforts to corner him. The mages are fascinated with Oberon's devotion to Ritsuka even after her death and the cessation of their contract.

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I want to examine the layers of Oberon in this scenario. He's such a fascinating and complex character. I just can't help but want to play with such a well-written and designed character. I want to see how far he will stretch and bend, see if I can break and remold him and make it convincing somehow! Ergo... why this story idea goes to such dark places.

I want to explore the trauma of having to see the one existence he loves be butchered and he himself is completely helpless, incapable of doing a single thing. Then I want to explore the whorls of his warped feelings upon hearing that impossible, familiar call all the way in the Throne of Heroes, and then rushing to answer that call only to see the flesh of the woman he loves be used to make a walking, talking facsimile of her.

How does he feel when he looks upon the cloned child bearing her eyes and her face and her hand upon which the command codes are emblazoned? What does he think when he decides to steal the child away with him into the night?

It's Ritsuka but it's not Ritsuka. It's some child who is the physical manifestation of Ritsuka's violation at the hands of the mages. But this child will grow up to look exactly like Ritsuka, and maybe one day she will look at Oberon exactly like Ritsuka did centuries ago when he first fell into this horrifying, inescapable abyss called love.

His feelings for Ritsuka would be warped too, because how can it not in the face of Oberon's suffering over the centuries after her passing? He loves her but he doesn't trust her. Because she has shown before that she can't be trusted with her own safety.

He loves her. He wants her to be happy. He doesn't trust her. He can't let her leave. He clips her wings and tells her to stay forever. Oberon as a character should be aware of his own misplaced, warped feelings. He's too internally conscious not to. But being conscious doesn't mean he can do anything about it. Like how he was in LB6, laughing at himself in the end.

Once more, Oberon chases after an ephemeral dream forever out of his reach. She is gone, and they will never meet. He doesn't even get to hold her and take her into the abyss with him in her final moment like he said he would. All of that repressed yearning and how did it end up? He's once more stuck in hell of a different kind.

My plan is that eventually, Oberon resolves to treat the clones as Ritsuka's children. He tries to teach the cloned children what he believes the original Riri should have known. He teaches them to fight, to survive, to run away, to scheme and deceive, to be ruthless. He believes this is what Riri should have done to avoid her grisly fate, but even when he talks of her in his barbed way to the children who never know her, slivers of the woman he loves come through.

The Riri clones all possess the ability to see right through Oberon, just like the original Riri.

The story becomes Sad single-dad Oberon rearing a flock of feral children as they go about terrorizing the mages and detonating all of their research facilities, stealing away more clones and any morsels of the original Riri's body.

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The ending is fairly straightforward. Oberon is cornered by the mages. At the end of the day, a masterless servant against the totality of the mage's resources is not a fair fight. Oberon makes a production out of his own death, a fitting exit for a Fairy King / Terminal Device. But in doing so, he makes sure his flock is grown and strong and escapes the mage's eyes after the final battle.

The children take his lesson to heart. They lie. They scheme. They deceive. They are ruthless just as he wants them to. And they survive just like he wants them to. They disguise themselves and slip into the great mass of humanity. They infiltrate human governance and magi high society. They avenge their fallen father and mother.

Yep, the clones are children of Ritsuka's flesh and Oberon's heart. Imagine a flock of feral gremlins with Ritsuka's determination and insight into human hearts but with Oberon's social savvy, ruthlessness, and sheer brain power. Now imagine them all on a roaring rampage of revenge for their father and mother. Not only will they slaughter all the mages and anyone having to do with their parent's death, they will suborn the mage's great project itself.

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The finale of the story is the scene where all the now grown-up children come together to witness the pinnacle of their achievement. Having suborned the mage's dream to propel humans toward the age of wills, they carry it out in a way they think their mother would have liked.

More than that, using their combined knowledge and the magi tech after centuries of mesing around with servant summoning and splicing human genes, they find the heroic spirit Ritsuka Fujimaru and create an interlock binding between her and the terminal device Oberon Vortigern.

No good children want to see their parents separated in such a tragedy, don't they? So of course, after avenging them, the children would make it a goal to reunite mother and father.

The children are clones of Riri, but they are not Riri. They each hold a piece of her, so they instinctively know what she would have liked and the guilt she bears, knowing what happens to Oberon once she passes away. It is a regret so strong it persists even after she dies.

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I have 2 endings in mind:

Ending 1: the sad ending. Oberon gets his wish of 'dying together' with Ritsuka as their saint graphs are merged into one.

Ending 2: the earn your happy ending. the children incarnate Oberon and Ritsuka into 'new age-of-will human' bodies. They have a second chance at life, growing up together. Final scene of this ending would b tiny Oberon and tiny Ritsuka playing in an orchard in space and falling asleep underneath the shade of an apple tree. This is Erimies' preferred ending!

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Some lines from reborn Oberon's perspective in the second ending.

"I want to pull your pigtails and push you on the swing, laugh at you for being clumsy, and skinning your knees while patching you up. What a crybaby you are, never leave me again."

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I also wrote nursery rhymes for this story!

Apple, apple on the tree,

Whisper secrets, dark and free.

Shadows dance in moonlit night.

Lonely branches weep for thee.

Beneath the branches, children play.

In the orchard, lost their way.

Apple, apple on the tree.

Hold our childhood's reverie.

Leaves have fallen, seasons passed,

Memories of joy don't last.

Apple, apple in the skies,

Silent witness to goodbyes.

Ah, still pretty rough. They need polishing for sure. But I like some verses and how they sound.

If I ever get around to writing this, I would like to commission an HTML skin for AO3 so that readers will read the story like they are reading the pages of an old fairy tale book.

Something like this, probably.

[artblock-tm]

SURPRISE! Sudden fate series writings be upon ye!

Rating: Mature Archive Warning: Graphic Depictions Of Violence Category: Gen Fandom: Fate/Grand Order Character: Lancelot of the Lake | Saber Additional Tags: Gender-Neutral Fujimaru Ritsuka, non-specific Master (could be Fujimaru but could be an oc! whatever you like!), Blood and Gore, Lancelot Goes Through It, Character Study, Kind of? Honestly I just wanted to write Lancelot losing his mind a little, He’s MY blorbo and I get to cover him in blood and viscera, no beta we lose sight of ourselves and devolve into madness like Lancelot

Summary: Lancelot fights his way through a blizzard with his unconscious Master in his arms.

[yuurei20]

Meet the Seiyuu: Silver

Silver’s VA Shimazaki Nobunaga first became interested in voice acting in elementary school after being inspired by Lilia's VA Midorikawa's performance as Heero Yuy in New Mobile Suit Gundam Wing.

In Twst, he voices Midorikawa’s adopted son.

Today is his birthday!

He was made it to the final round of a talent agency talent search competition at 17 years old but did not win, choosing to go into dentistry upon graduating from high school. Six months into his studies he decided to instead pursue his dream of voice acting and reached the final round of another series of agency auditions, but was once again not selected.

In 2008 he enrolled in a voice actor training academy, and his voice acting debut came a year later as Herbert Nielsen in Valkyria Chronicles for the Playstation 3. He won a Best New Actor award in 2013 and an award for Best Supporting Actor in 2021. 

Since 2009 he has had lead roles in over 80 anime series and OVAs, 50 video games and 40 drama CDs. A few of his more notable roles include Haruka Nanase in Free!, Shinichi Izumi in Parasyte, Fujimaru Ritsuka in Fate/Grand Order, Eugeo in Sword Art Online, Yuki Sohma in Fruits Basket (2019) and Fuji Tsukasa in Your Name.

A collection of 52 different characters voiced by Shimazaki

A solid 25 minutes of Shimazaki reading a short story

In 2021 Shimazaki performed at Tokyo Disney Sea’s “Prince of Voice: Voice Stars Dream Live" alongside Malleus’ voice actor Kato Kazuki and Crewel’s voice actor Ito Kent, singing “Compass of Your Heart” from Sinbad’s Storybook Voyage.

[lanymme]

Karuṇā

Characters: Sessyoin Kiara, Fujimaru Ritsuka (F)

Rating: Mature

Summary: A tight-knit but wounded community struggles with loss and scarcity in the wake of Goetia’s defeat. The former Last Master of Humanity, deprived of a partner, a mentor, and the promised end to her long struggle, is isolated and hopeless. Meanwhile, the while the Mages’ Association and UN close in.

A humble nun in search of enlightenment answers the call in this time of need, and things begin to change.

An Extraverse-inspired Servant route for Kiara, set during the Epic of Remnant.

Tags: Suspense, Minor Psychological Horror, Character Study, Living Through Loss, Enemies Turned Allies, Slow Burn, Religion

Other Characters: Mash Kyrielight, Da Vinci, EMIYA, Ushiwakamaru, BB, Tamamo-no-Mae, Scheherazade, Shuten-douji & Ibaraki-douji, Jeanne Alter, Moriarty, Ishtar, Edmond Dantés, Hans Christian Andersen

Excerpt:

Ushiwakamaru smiles like a prince, un-self-conscious, without artifice. “Lady, I am confident that you will find what you need here, and grow to become the person you wish to be.” Her expression softens to something almost dreamy. “Chaldea is a place where such things happen.”

It is embarrassingly clear that she thinks of Chaldea’s Master as she says this. This girl has already found an outlet for her desires, a Lord to imitate her brother, to fill that hole in heart. Or perhaps… perhaps.

Unbidden, unwanted, it calls to the surface a memory of another girl bathed in light, shining and dancing through seafoam and smiling proud, full, even as her face crumbles like porcelain, crumbles like Kiara’s dream, so far out of reach.

And beyond, so much further afield, the reflected light of a moment.

Falling sakura petals. A cold heaviness. And one final bittersweet tale of a dreaming heart.

“Yes. I am sure you’re right.”

[nasuversekinkmeme]

I Know it's not Easy to be Calm by FarewellToMrA

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Archive Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply

Category: Gen

Fandoms: Fate/stay night & Related Fandoms, Fate/Grand Order

Relationship: Hessian Lobo | Avenger & Fujimaru Ritsuka

Characters: Hessian Lobo | Avenger, Fujimaru Ritsuka, Dark Young (Fate/Grand Order)

Additional Tags: No Dialogue, Character Study

Summary: Lobo finds himself alone with the only human he's come to care for, at their least human.

[original prompt]

[novena-proxy]

Fate fanfic recs:

The Kid

Ongoing 

Ritsuka Fujimaru is a teenage mage with little experience, participating in a part-time case study at a magecraft corporation, when chance encounter with a trapped heroic spirit brings her to an unexpected crossroads. As a heavy lack of a future looms closer and closer undetected while the days wind down to the end of 2014, her choice sends her and a few chance heroic spirits in a direction none of them were meant to take, but may end up being the only chance their timeline has.

Screaming into the Void Because Someone Should Be Able to Hear

Complete 

off the record, a lot of people were annoyed with the mute master of chaleda. But really, if she's the only person that could save humanity... well, beggers can't be choosers.

Alternatively:

Fujimaru Ritsuka wakes up in another world where no one hears her, no one talks to her, she's imprisoned, and she thinks they're making her fight to the death with people in the strangest clothes.

Morning Glory

Complete 

Alter Servants are not the same as their original incarnations, and the Hero of Benefaction is no exception to the rule. Cold, reclusive, and disdainful of his other self, he is almost nothing like the Lancer she's already summoned and fallen for.

As Ritsuka struggles to adjust to the lull between Lostbelts after everything she's seen and done, she finds herself caught between her feelings for her Servant, the agenda of his Alter, and the realization that a single person giving all their life and receiving so little in return may not lead to the healthiest mindset.

That maybe, there is such a thing as too much charity.

For Want of a Relic

Complete 

Kayneth Archibald El-Melloi's stolen relic was one shipped from Ireland rather than Macedonia. As a result, an inexperienced Master determined to prove himself and a desperate Servant seeking absolution share in a quest for victory and recognition.

Highly Recommend: 

A poisoned chalice

For each Master, a Servant. For each Servant, a Master. The relic system was never introduced, and every Master in the Grail Wars has always received a Servant based on their own personality alone. Now, the Magus Killer goes to war - and receives his greatest weapon yet. But even with all of Assassin's skill and treachery, can they stand against the raw power of the Fourth War?

Complete 

Fervor, Mei Sanguis

Complete 

The Finest One

Complete 

Attachment

Ongoing 

The strongest servants in Chaldea all had one thing in common: they were hopelessly and irrecoverably attached to you. Whether you were their master or not

The Problems with Lilies

Complete 

Two-shot.

The process of Arjuna Alter reclaiming his humanity forces Arjuna to examine certain things about himself.

Or

Arjuna doesn’t know how he’s supposed to feel watching another version of him cling to the master like some overgrown shoulder cat.

[celowosc]

Unnecessarily Detailed Dislikes

Muse name:  Kadoc Zemlupus

Least favorite nickname:  mage

Least favorite color:  bright primary colors that scream attention

Least favorite season: summer

Least favorite weather: hot days, humid weather as well

Least favorite—hot or cold: hot

Least favorite holiday: new year

Least favorite food:  -

Least favorite flavor:  something incredibly sweet

Least favorite drink: banana juice

Least favorite scent: very strong flowery perfumes that linger in the air

Least favorite sound: the sound someone makes when tapping their fingers against any surface, he feels as if he’s being pressured to be quick.

Least favorite book: none

Least favorite movie: -

Least favorite tv show: -

Least favorite school subject or area of study: anything that involved working in teams

Least favorite aspect of their job: that he has troubles finding his place in it

Least favorite fictional character: none

Least favorite person: Ritsuka Fujimaru

Least favorite trait in others:  stubborness

Least favorite place: places that are too crowded

Least favorite thing to talk about:  himself

Least favorite thing about themselves: his own jealousy, stubborness, his own powerlessness, his eyebags, his pride, his inferiority complex, the natural gift he was born with; everything.

Least favorite sexual position: no words; except that he feels ashamed to be stared at

Least favorite daily chore: putting books back in their shelves when he knows he’ll need them out soon enough

Least favorite style of clothing: anything that is short on -him-, short sleeves, short pants, etc.

Least favorite activity: small talk

Least favorite superpower: mind reading

Least favorite thing about humanity in general: their stubborness.

Least favorite thing about being in love: being vulnerable about his true feelings, someone witnessing everything he hates about himself; someone seeing his heart and finding nothing useful, finding nothing valuable in it

Least favorite thing about death:  the regrets that might come at the very end.

tagged: Stole it from the dash!

[elstreem]

hello hi I am in fact cringe so here's a fanfic I wrote about this scene that is way too long for what it should be at 3k words.

A Courtly Kiss

There was hardly any free time for the lone Master of Chaldea - even when she wasn't investigating Singularities, Fujimaru Ritsuka was hardly idle. Every day, there was always something to do - magecraft studies, training, exercise, and juggling Servant matters. 

And since there were more than a hundred Servants at Chaldea, there was a lot of juggling to do.

But this afternoon, a precious time slot opened up, and Ritsuka eagerly grabbed that chance with both hands to spend some very special time with a very special someone.

Someone who never demanded any of her time, but always happily devoted all of his for her sake.

Her beloved Sir Bedivere.

She found him at his usual spot, sitting with his comrades from the Knights at the Round table in one of the spare rooms used for training. As soon as the door opened all eyes turned to her - but there was always something special about his look, attentive and affectionate. What's more, she found his face lighting up with a welcome smile, causing her heart to stutter.

"Good afternoon, Master!"

"Good day, Master."

"Yo, Master! Do you have any snacks on you?" (Mordred said this even though she already had a pile of snack wrappers beside her). 

"Is there something you need, Master?" Bedivere asked, gentle as always.

"As a matter of fact, I do need something," Ritsuka said with a grin, going over to his side and grabbing his hand.

"Oh?" Bedivere said, smiling widely.

"I got some free time and I'm using it for a date, so if you'll excuse us!" Ritsuka said, waving at the other knights.

Bedivere coughed and tried to curb his overjoyed smile, his silver hair not quite hiding the pink blush growing on his cheeks.

The other knights gave good-natured laughs and waved back.

"Of course, Master. Enjoy your date!" Gawain said.

Tristan smiled, strummed a chord on Failnaught and said, "Yes, yes. Take your time." (He was already planning to bust out some drinks with Bedivere somewhere else.)

"Bleech! Get out of here already, you lovestruck dumbasses!" Mordred stuck her tongue out and rolled her eyes.

Ritsuka giggled, and pulling Bedivere along, they made their way to the simulator.

"It seems you already have a plan in mind," Bedivere said, noting that the simulator was ready.

"Yep! So just relax, Bedi. It's my turn to do something for you," Ritsuka said. They stepped inside the facility…

…which was currently set to emulate a serene flowerfield. Ritsuka continued to lead Bedivere, but they walked more slowly now, leisurely making their way through a patch of cosmos.

"Wow, it looks great here!" Ritsuka said, admiring their surroundings. The simulator was often used for combat modes and so contained scenarios filled with danger. Sometimes, Servants did use it for other purposes, more peaceful outings - Bedivere himself had used it for a night fishing trip before.

Still, this flower field was like a breath of fresh air, and even Bedivere paused to take in the sights.

"Yes, it is a soothing sight, today. Did you alter the simulator's settings yourself, Ritsuka?" Bedivere asked, automatically switching to using his Master's name now that it was just the two of them.

"Oh, no. I still haven't gotten the hang of it, so I asked some help from Mash and some of the staff. They were nice enough to put it all together for me, and it's perfect," Ritsuka said, smiling. 

"I'll be sure to thank them, too," Bedivere said.

"Oh, but I did make a little something today -" Ritsuka said. She paused and looked around, and saw a tall tree, its spreading branches providing shade - a picnic blanket was already spread under it. Something was already there, a small package wrapped in white cloth. She had asked Mash to prepare that for them too - good, everything was in place.

She pointed at the spot and tugged on Bedivere's hand.

"Um, if we just go there…" she said.

He nodded and they continued walking, soon reaching the spot. 

"Here it is!" Ritsuka picked up the circular object wrapped in cloth. She unwrapped it and presented it to Bedivere - a familiar looking silver tin. 

"Ah! Isn't this…?" Bedivere said, eyes widening. It was the same one he gifted to her during Valentine's. He couldn't speak, seeing that she kept it with her still.

She smiled and nodded. "Yep, it's the gift you gave me. Oh, but with a little surprise…"

She pulled the lid open, revealing cookies inside. The sweet scents of cinnamon and sugar wafted out, mingling with the fragrance of flowers.

"These aren't as good as the ones you gave me on Valentines…but, I made some cookies to share today…" she said, looking up at him.

"I'm sure they taste wonderful, Ritsuka," he said, beaming at her. She couldn't help but blush, seeing his smile.

"Well, um…do you want to try one…?" she asked.

"It will be an honor," he said.

"Let's sit down, then!" Ritsuka said. She set the tin down before sitting down, and he joined her.

"I also had some tea prepared…" she said, opening the simulator's menu and accessing the tea service that had been stored ahead of time.

A tray with a teapot and two cups appeared on the blanket.

"Yep, all set!" Ritsuka said, closing the menu.

"You…prepared all this for me…?" Bedivere said, looking at the treats. He wasn't used to having things served for him and the gesture touched him deeply.

"Of course, Bedi. You deserve a break like this," Ritsuka said. She picked out one cookie and paused. For a moment she fidgeted nervously with her other hand, tucking a lock of her hair behind her ear.

"May I…?" she said, raising the cookie.

He blushed some more, but nodded, and she raised the cookie to his lips.

Very carefully, Bedivere took the cookie. For a long, drawn-out second Ritsuka felt the warmth of his lips on her fingers - and then took her hand away as he got the cookie. 

He closed his eyes and chewed the soft cookie, taking in the warming flavors and aromas of cinnamon and brown sugar. Knowing Ritsuka made the cookies with her own two hands, Bedivere was determined to savor every last bit of the pastry.

Ritsuka watched him, biting her lip a little, only realizing she was staring when he looked back at her.

"Oh - Ritsuka it's delicious," he said, smiling with such enjoyment that Ritsuka felt her heart jump.

"Oh, um -" her brain scrambled for words, practically whirring as she thought of something to say that wasn't just telling Bedivere how gorgeous he was looking.

"It's just a cookie," she said, a tad feebly, feeling like her cheeks were practically glowing from how warm her face was.

To distract herself, Ritsuka picked up the pot of tea and proceeded to pour some for the two of them.

"Well, don't be shy - let's have ourselves the rest of those treats!" Ritsuka said, handing the teacup to Bedivere. He carefully took the cup from her, glancing at the tea, then the cookies.

"Yes, let's," he said. Ritsuka smiled, nodded - and they relaxed, sipping their tea, eating the cookies, chatting, laughing. This very mundane thing, having tea and treats, with no thoughts for any trouble - was so very precious to a Master carrying the burden of saving humanity, and a man who was once fated to burn up his very existence.

~~~

Once the treats were done, they packed away the used tea set, and Ritsuka wrapped up the precious tin in its fabric cover to take back to her room. But they still had a little time left to spend together, and so sat side by side, gazing out over the flowers which bobbed in a gentle breeze.

All too soon, that precious moment of simply being together was going to end. The system for the simulator indicated their time slot of use was about to finish, with a screen opening up near Ritsuka with a little beep.

"Oh, so it's about time, huh," Ritsuka tapped the screen, stowing away the items they used.

"So it is. Come, Ritsuka. You should have a proper rest," Bedivere said, standing up. He patted down his clothes and then offered his hand to her - she took it and stood up.

"Mm, yeah, let's get going, before some other Servants come in here for combat training or for some drinking…" she said, smiling at him, but she was already feeling wistful. Wishing they could spend just a bit more time together like this, to be at peace.

Bedivere heard that tone and shared it, feeling very much like staying some more with Ritsuka. He took her hand, wanting to comfort her.

"Yes, let's go. It wouldn't be a good ending to our date, getting caught up in some Noble Phantasms…" he said, trying to lighten up her mood.

She laughed, just imagining her and Bedivere taking a leisurely stroll, only to have EMIYA and Gilgamesh suddenly appear and bombard each other with lots of pointy things. Or for Karna and Arjuna to duke it out with lots and lots of explosions…or for Scathach to drag in several Cu Chulains for an impromptu boot camp.

That last possibility was the most terrifying, because Ritsuka knew Scathach would just love to put her and Bedivere through a hellish training course she made.

"Hah, and I expect Sir Tristan has gotten some drinks out in my absence… and I will be coming back to a room full of drunks. He's such a handful…" Bedivere said with a sigh.

Ritsuka giggled again, and Bedivere glanced at her, smiling himself. "I know Sir Tristan loves to drink with Sir Lancelot, but they'll have to do it in secret…Sir Mash would be very displeased to find Lancelot quite, ah, inebriated, wouldn't you say?" Bedivere said, and Ritsuka laughed.

"Haha! Yeah, Mash would be so very cold to Lancelot if she ever sees him drunk…but, he'd probably sober up just seeing her," Ritsuka said.

"Even more so if he sees her with shield in hand," Bedivere said, and imagining that scenario had the both of them laughing as they walked.

"And how about Sir Tristan? How would he get sobered up?" Ritsuka asked.

"I do believe Sir Mordred still has that record Lady da Vinci made, the one with the embarrassingly dramatic photos of him. I imagine seeing that is as effective as dropping him in a barrel of cold water," Bedivers said.

Ritsuka snorted, remembering that record - she nicked one from Tristan from Valentine's and though he nicely (read: desperately) asked for it back, she kept it for the same reason as Mordred did. For blackmail - er, to help keep him in line when he was getting a bit too weird. Well, weirder than usual, anyway.

They had to pause in a patch of bright white flowers,Ritsuka putting an arm around her middle and one hand to her mouth as she laughed. As they caught their breath, Bedivere looked at the joy in her face, a treat greater than anything a Holy Grail could conjure up. 

Seeing her laugh…isn't that a miracle? Being with someone he loved and seeing this bright, beautiful joy in her expression…

The last of Ritsuka's chuckles escaped her, and she straightened up. She wiped at her eyes and took deep breaths. That done, she tucked her hair behind her ear and looked up at him, only noticing then he was looking intently at her.

"Bedi?" she asked.

He faced her, gathering his thoughts before speaking.

"Ritsuka…thank you," he said. He took a deep breath, looking down and then back at her.

"I - that's not enough to express my gratitude…I don't know how to thank you, giving me such a wonderful time as this…" Bedivere said.

Ritsuka blinked, her expression going soft.

"Like I said, Bedi…this is my way of thanking you. For always looking after me, and caring for me," Ritsuka said, gently.

"I know that, and yet…" Bedivere bit his lip. He was so endlessly grateful to Ritsuka for giving him his current existence, and for all the love she showed him after…he just wished he could say something that could sum up all the feelings in his heart, but words failed.

Words would always fail…

But maybe…an action could speak for him.

"Then…as my thanks…Ritsuka, my beloved…would it be alright…" Bedivere spoke slowly and carefully, trying to get the words out, even though the pounding of his heart almost drowned out his thoughts.

"Hm?" Ritsuka looked at him curiously.

He swallowed - it's strange, how his nerve almost failed him at this moment when he could stay calm and collected leading armies in a war.

Then, he took a deep breath and decided to press forward - he knelt on one knee, and lifted his left hand to her.

"If - if you'll permit me, Lady Fujimaru Ritsuka…may I give you a kiss?" he asked.

Ritsuka's cheeks flared with color, with a blush as fiery as the hues of her hair.

"Wh-whuh?" she stuttered.

"That is…may I offer a kiss on your hand?" he asked, softly.

Ritsuka felt like screaming, jumping, or running, or a combination of all three, because did Bedivere just offer her a kiss…!?

Her mind scrambled to form a coherent thought and she realized that if she didn't respond soon, he might be disheartened. A swarm of butterflies took flight in her stomach, but she nodded and extended her right hand. He gently caught her hand, their palms touching.

Time seemed to slow down as she saw him bend his head over her hand, closing his eyes, his silver locks swaying a little with the motion. Then, in a moment - there was the soft brush of his lips over her knuckles, a touch so light and fleeting it might not have happened at all.

But she vividly felt the warmth of his skin over hers - it was real, it was happening -

And then it was over - he drew back, his eyes opening, green irises brilliant under his fair lashes. 

Ritsuka wasn't aware that her soul was floating away on the heights of bliss, but she pulled back to herself as she saw him look up at her face. He was not saying anything, but there was a question in his expression, asking if that kiss was alright.

To which the answer was, Ritsuka thought the kiss was beyond fantastic and she was sure her knees were going to give out and -

But she couldn't speak, either. Though she was feeling terribly inadequate in her answer, she nodded to him and squeezed his hand. 

Neither of them could talk, both of them trying to calm their pounding hearts.

Finally, Bedivere took a deep breath, and put his right hand to his chest. "I - Ritsuka…once again. I thank you…for offering me such a privilege…the greatest honor I could receive…" he whispered.

"…is to feel your love and appreciation. Please, know - I absolutely cherish this feeling. I…I love you," he said, bowing his head, making his forehead brush against her fingers. This sight - her beloved knight kneeling to her, as if surrendering all he had to her - and in a sense, wasn't that how he loved her? He gave her all of himself, his love, his devotion…his full trust, letting her see him at his most vulnerable, and never feeling any shame nor distress, knowing she would accept him, no matter what.

"Sir Bedivere…" Ritsuka said.  She knelt down as well, taking both of his hands in hers.

"I love you, too. I love you very much, Bedi," she said, smiling at him. Her words were clumsy compared to his, but it was what he wanted to hear.

He smiled at her - beamed, really, his face alight with wonder and joy.

At that moment, they both knew this time spent together was something they were going to treasure.

~~~~

The lone Master of Chaldea is never idle.

Soon after exiting the simulator her attention was called to the trio of child Servants, Nursery Rhyme, Jack the Ripper and Jeanne Alter Santa Lily, who came to ask for her help on some matter. Ritsuka quickly agreed to go along with them, only staying a moment to wave Bedivere good-bye, before going.

The knight waved her off, then walked back to the room he shared with the other knights, steeling himself for what he might find. He came inside to find a full company of Chaldea's drunks, Jing Ke, Iskandar and Shuten-Douji making themselves very clear with toasts to each other. Bedivere could just barely see Tristan somewhere in the mess, but he could definitely hear him singing and strumming a song.

Deciding not to ruin the rest of his perfectly happy day, Bedivere backed out of the room and decided he might as well keep Artoria company, and off he went, finding his King as she walked among the corridors. She seemed relieved to find him and quickly asked for him to tag along, and though bemused, Bedivere went with her. Not far behind them, a certain king decked out in gold armor grumbled to himself, foiled in his mission to talk with Artoria, alone.

And so on and on did the busy inhabitants of Chaldea go, and as most of them were Servants, not even nighttime could slow them down.

As a human, however, Ritsuka needed her rest and she lay down in her bed, hoping as always she would be staying put for the night and not wake up having drifted off to someone's subconscious. 

But before she closed her eyes, she put out her hand and gazed at it, reliving the courtly kiss she received from her beloved knight. Though she was sleepy, the memory still made her want to squeal in joy, and blushing fiercely, she grabbed a pillow and pushed her face into it. She would fall asleep to those golden-tinged memories of him, surrounded by flowers.

Bedivere was unable to sleep that night as the drinking party was going very strong in the room, so he retired to the quiet library, finding a few books to pass the time. Or, that was his intention, but as he settled down in a cozy corner, he found himself raising his hand to his lips. He caught himself at the last moment, and feeling a flush on his face, he quickly lowered his hand and picked up a history book to bury himself in.

Thinking, all the time, in the future, he'd draw some more courage to give her a better kiss.

FIN

I am way too embarrassed about posting BediGuda fanfics and I don't think I can ever be over it. If this disappears it's because the embarrassment is too much for me and I have to nuke it from orbit before it spreads any further.

A kiss for my lady's hand~

I like to think that when Bedivere finally got the courage to kiss Ritsuka, he started with a simple courtly kiss on her hand. It still made Ritsuka swoon though, knowing that the simple gesture is given with all of Bedivere's heart.

He looks calm but he's actually super flustered and his heart is beating like mad for sure :b

(also he's kneeling but I'm definitely not sure if the height is correct gahhh it's so hard to draw couples with a noticeable height difference)

[furthestends]

WHAT FLAVOUR IS YOUR MUSE’S SOUL?

salt

ah little kraken, bold are you. restless sailor, dauntless fighter, lower your sword, let me see your shield. ah, of course, they are but the same object. oh wave-tossed ruffian, lend me some of your mettle would you? you have been struck by the sharpest of spears yet you still stand here proudly. but off your guard, elsewhere of the battlefield, you will find your spirit can parch others. your words are but weapons crafted from your soul. little lion, sheathe your claws, or the ones you love the most will suffer. you do not have to be strong all the time love, there's nothing wrong with being soft. vulnerability is not weakness, and if it were, what's wrong with that? strength is not always your greatest tool, your heart is good. put down excalibur, and use your words. you'll find they will carry you much farther. not everything in life is a battle.

tagged by   @noircisaint    tagging   @woolfskin   @kyrieleisen  @liedream  @shatteredcrown  @kiicho @hcreath  @originlist @chaldrange @axisanimus @titaneus @pretenderisms​ 

[frost-drop]

Probably Fujimaru Ritsuka and gilgamesh have known each other since childhood. Fujimaru Ritsuka has always liked gilgamesh. The two have always been together, but when Fujimaru Ritsuka was 14 years old, he went abroad to study and start a business. After gilgamesh returned from becoming the president of a famous large company in just a few years, he angrily found out that the kid he had raised since childhood actually went to a singles mixer.

gilgamesh probably meant "wait for me" to Lixiang, but it was too indirect. Ritsuka didn't understand his intentions at all, thinking that gilgamesh didn't want him anymore.

[mako-neexu]

[own interpretation/only for those who can forgive]

daddy kink jokes and getting "dad-zoned" aside, dantes does have a reasonable explanation for the behavior and stance. and maybe thats why i like writing it so much into my fanfics. i dont understand why people dislike this... (is it because of pseudo-incest??? age gap???) but i like it so ill make a post with my thoughts. cut below

because it does come back to the original novel, where when he was incarcerated, his betrothed was stolen away from him and married another bc of pressure, his father believed in him until the end but died without ever seeing his son again... and then there is the Abbe, whom was also his 'fate' and had treated him like a son. so i really get that Abbe Faria who was his light and guide during his time alive would be tremendous inspiration and hope to his heart that has tasted the bowels of despair. coupled with studying under the old man, there was no doubt he truly picked up a lot of things from the Abbe... but also as he is his own person, dantes became a demon of vengeance, one who is compassionate and understanding as well towards victims of circuimstance and highly advocates for determination and personal retribution when wronged.

now, towards fujimaru ritsuka - constantly told to us by the narrative to be the Avenger, Count of Monte Cristo's fate, star, light, accomplice, and "one and only" - his care for them is highly overprotective and selfless that it ultimately becomes selfish and "evil" because it is at the cost of someone else's blood spilled for their sake. he feels like an overprotective father because that is one of the roles he took upon himself... or rather, what you could consider as "canon" if you aren't including romantic implications. (after all, there is that significant age gap that leads many people to simply think that he is a "partner in crime" (platonic) / "older brother" or best friend / "dad" type if the romantic implication isn't preferred by the player....)

but because in prison tower, guda saved him by letting him be their "Abbe Faria" combined with how their soul is and just how guda thinks of him and treats him, the kind of love he has for Fujimaru Ritsuka, grown further overtime, is a kind of madness where you can call it "poisonous". both to him and guda... because if you also think about it, dantes is far more dangerous than any outer god trying to invade their body and destroy the world theyre living in considering dantes in the waste pit and the amount of things sakurai hinted...

one of the factors that also contribute to dantes "dad-zoning" (not really) guda is because guda's family was basically massacred so i think he wants to ease the pain a little bit by being the 'father' in the fake tokyo for them because he cant recreate people guda barely remembers/or isnt in the surface on the bleached earth considering everyone is inside chaldeas, but also being the vengeance demon FROM the book, he doesnt know how to act in any other way other than being the man that was thrown into prison, met the Abbe, and escaped alive. the novel is what the world remembers so those parts of himself that was the "Avenger" was engraved unto the world. in order to help guda, the only way he could do it was through an Avenger like him would. and the man who was saved that is Edmond Dantes's hope and fate- his inspiration is Abbe Faria, whom saw him as a son... and guided him like a light. because with that desire to guide as a light the same way dantes was saved, he put himself into the father role due to how strong his feelings are for fujimaru ritsuka.

even towards haydee, she was constantly referred to as a 'child' throughout the novel because of the age difference until haydee really pressed on and told dantes she loves him romantically. so even to haydee, he felt like a parental figure first even with the master-servant relationship (a time where he can finally have things in control and do what he must to protect those he loves) and to abbe faria, he felt like a friend and a son to the priest (a time where he needed guidance and knowledge) and combined with his personal experiences, he wants what is best for his accomplice.......so i think its really understandable why he would be so close to an "overprotective father" to guda.

its a tough kind of love, but also, so overwhelmingly sweet. where if you struggle and do your best, you will be greatly rewarded no matter what. but if there are factors beyond you that even you cant do, dantes, no matter how incomprehensible and unreasonable he may be, is there to be the fire that will pave your path clear. just as long as you yourself walk it and let him guide you through it. very much like a father...

[preterited]

(  are you real?  are you real?    ⎯⎯  who are you, really?  )       ⤹   independent + selectively private ‘ ritsuka fujimaru ‘ of fate / grand order. 

remake of @selfdynia  mutuals only / selective with following those within fate rpc. single ship with  @lnfinitived​.  my ricchan is not the real ritsuka fujimaru, the OG died within Fuyuki and therefore, they had to have someone replace her. previously on all levels except physical did she resemble ritsuka, but magic altering fixed that.  no one suspects a thing, she doesn’t even remember who she used to be. she is ritsuka,  but call her ricchan. it’s not her right to speak the name of fujimaru ritsuka. 

her main servant is @lnfinitived​‘s Douman, others can be taken with permission from the servant’s writer. nothing will be assumed / forced. 

studies with the side character becoming the final girl,  sense of self fleeting and sacrifice for the world as you’re just one girl. 

[randomnumbers751650]

Sometimes people ask a thing like “how did it get so big?” This is almost like any meme in the internet and sometimes even whatever is in the Top 10 bestselling books of any list. Due to being a historian of economic thought, I’m study the ascension of the idea of the entrepreneur as a hero, how it happened and its consequences, both good and bad. Therefore, I couldn’t avoid Ayn Rand and Atlas Shrugged. It wasn’t a good experience and I’ll talk more about it under the cut.

I think we all know how much of a controversial person Ayn Rand was. But it worked. She’s one of the most influential writers of the 20th century whether we like it or not. Like, a lot of people say she hates the poor and minorities. It’s even a meme, like there’s a joke SCP that makes everything it comes into contact unnecessarily verbose and one of the incidents was a sticky note written “I hate poor people” that becomes a copy of Atlas Shrugged.

After reading her work, I can safely say these are traps she set up in her own work. Not only that, these traps hide the true problems of her work.

In first place, we need to consider her demographic target. That wasn’t me, if I wasn’t researching, I wouldn’t even bother reading it. Like, I remember I saw in the internet a game called “The Jihad to Destroy Barney” and someone commenting: “because 20-years old thinking they’re funny were obviously the demographic target of Barney the Dinosaur”. Rand knew what her demographic target was, after working in Hollywood for so many years.

One might think that her demographic target was people like her, but it’s wider than that. Through all her book, producers (she doesn’t use the word ‘entrepreneur’, but it’s obviously the same) are the protagonists. Dagny shows her dedication to her railway, always looking for ways to improve it, to hire the best people to work with her, to deliver the best product she can, always treating others with respect. All the producers are people full of passion for what they do. They do not just for the money, they do it to express themselves (but still want/should be paid).

Meanwhile their enemies are the government organs that want to curb them, by introducing legislation to make everything equal, like people are forbidden to be fired, prices are controlled and so on. And they are evil, they are hypocrites who don’t really believe in the altruistic values they spouse or they are too dumb to realize they’re being hypocrites. They are always men in position of power, evil bureaucrats, quisling industrialists, hypocrite union leaders (though the union leader, Fred Kinnan, interestingly is the most sympathetic of the villains, and actually gets away scot free, to the point some think he’s a Galt agent undercover).

Rand aimed for the real life entrepreneur identify with the “heroes”. All the companies have names of their founders in their titles, Taggart Terminal, d’Anconia Copper, and so on. Their enemies show their true faces by naming themselves with abstract titles, like National Union and so on. She aimed the person who ever had to deal with the Health Department, with the Labor Department, who has to fills forms and more forms and say “Wouldn’t the world be a terrible place if it wasn’t for you? Wouldn’t it be wonderful if you didn’t have to do all of this? If you just had the opportunity to truly express yourself? Free from the prying eyes of government inspectors? Rejoice, because I have the answer!”

Rand answers this with the Galt’s Gulch – a utopia of freedom, where the word “give” is taboo, while leaving the outside world of looters and moochers to destroy itself. All the producers are gathered to escape the terrible collectivist world around her. Everyone has money and, since they’re all enlightened by the principles of greed and selfishness, the prices are small, even symbolic. Monopolies are good and rivals are always being taken down, and they rejoice with it, both winner and loser, because they contributed to the expansion of human spirit.

When John Galt says “I swear – by my life and my love of it – that I will never live for the sake of another man, nor ask another man to live for mine”, he’s implying all men who belong to this valley. They are not ashamed of taking low jobs, because they know their true power is what they do with their minds and hands. Francisco is shown to be perfect in everything he does, makes one think he’s a Gary Stu, but it’s because, according to the book’s philosophy, if you’re a true man, anything you do you become the best. For this reason, Galt’s Gulch is quite diverse, because it has not only industrialists, but also factory workers and small businessmen who share their ideals. And not only workers, but also artists, intellectuals and others.

This is why I think the argument “this books hates poor people” might not be accurate. The low worker whom Eddie Willers meets in the beginning is actually John Galt in disguise. This I think it’s the most important part to understand why Atlas Shrugged was so influential with small businessmen when published: John Galt is where the Übermensch and the Everyman meet. “Who is John Galt?” Anyone can be John Galt – the same way anyone can be Bella Swan, anyone can be Ritsuka Fujimaru (at least before the 5th singularity), anyone can be Kirito Kirigaya – the idealized self of the entrepreneur.

Thus, one is not born a “man”, but becomes one. Dagny and Hank’s entire character development is to become “men”, to learn to love themselves more than what they create, no matter how passionate they are. This contrasts with Eddie Willers, Dagny’s right hand man, probably the most tragic character of the tale.

Eddie loved the railway just as Dagny. He’s been her friend for so long, and even developed feelings for her. But the book constantly observes that Eddy doesn’t have the capacity to lead something as important as a railway. But he does it nevertheless, dedicating all his resources and passion for the railway. But, unlike Dagny, he doesn’t learn to look for greater things. Thus, he ends the novel stuck in a railway, defeated and probably left to die.

This is controversial, so much everyone still discusses his fate. In the movie adaptation, they deviate from the novel by having the heroes making a point to rescue him from his fate. In Jennifer Burns’s biography, she mentions a letter Ayn Rand received asking about Eddie and she replies that in a collectivist society, Eddie would’ve perished, while in a free one he’d be living okay. Nevertheless, this reveals a truth about that world: not everyone will become a “man”. Eddie would never become a “man”.

Since pity is against Galt’s doctrine, Eddie cannot be pitied. He has to live under the mercy of his Galtian overlords. He has only two options: either worship the feet that trample him, expecting his breadcrumbs fall from their banquet table, or to question his place in the world, thus denying that A is A, and be trampled harder. It really doesn’t matter his kindness, his dedication, he’s not a “man”, and thus has more in common with the looters and moochers than the heroes. Thus, if Eddie ever becomes an obstacle to the productive forces, even if unintentionally, he has to be trampled.

While one might think that I’m being unfair, it should be reminded that Ayn Rand openly advocated the people who were killing Natives during the American expansion to the West were doing nothing wrong. The Natives were actually privileged for being trampled by the productive forces, thus creating the great nation. The same argument can be made for the colonized people and even to the “essential workers” of this pandemic – since apparently people who take this book seriously are one of the most resistant forces to lockdowns and mask mandates, you can guess why.

And this is why Rand hated the environmental movement, because it puts an obstacle to the productive process. Nature can only react with deaf indifference to Galt’s speech. For Rand, this is unforgivable. Would it be surprising if oil tycoons were fans of Rand’s work?

In the end, the producers execute their revenge against the world that rejected them. Galt’s speech caused a lot of disturbance and the last chapters deal with its consequences, with more villains being evil for no reason and more showing how awesome their heroes are. Galt becomes more and more like Jesus, even with a gnostic Judas in Dagny helping him. In fact, in the funniest part of the book, where it comes THIS close from being self-aware, he says to his tormenters, when they asked to cooperate with him: “It took me three hours on the radio to tell me why”. It gave me angry laughter.

In the end of the day, what matters? This is a work of fiction, where caricatures of men and women fight each other. The entrepreneurial process works nothing like described in the book. It takes a naïve view of selfishness, upon saying that if everyone was selfish the world would be a better place, when in reality, if you expect selfishness, it’s what you’ll get.

It’s never explained how they invented their inventions, only that they did it and it’s awesome. The One-Man Industrial Revolution trope is one that I loathe a lot, because it misrepresents the innovation process. It requires so many factors, including government funding – scratch that, it REQUIRES government funding because technologies like touch-screen used to be so risky that no private company would take seriously and government can fund because it doesn’t go bankrupt the same way. Even if we take it as a metaphor, it doesn’t work when you stop to think.

Rand belongs to the same class of writers as Stephenie Meyer and Christian Weston Chandler. But she wanted to influence the world, she wanted it to be more than entertainement, much more. Thanks to her publishing network and appeal to real problems, she did it. This is why the problems of her work require critique. And I hope anyone reading this try to understand better what “relatability” means, this is what relatability can do. Stop trying to look for relatability everywhere, let it just come naturally and if it doesn’t come enjoy the story!

[versegm]

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Fate/Grand Order Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Characters: Astolfo | Rider of Black, Fujimaru Ritsuka Additional Tags: Character Study, POV Second Person, brief gender talk, Gender-neutral narrator

Summary:

Astolfo can be surprisingly insightful when he feels like it- which is to say, next to never. But he'll do an exception for you.

[deepsought]

permanent plotter call. 

helllo gamers. fancy seeing you here... on this dash where we are all members of the same group—— anyway i’m a thief and i’m copying the latest trend but you know what ?? i have that right. i am the rules. insert other questionable and weird shit gilgamesh says. so yes, if it wasn’t clear, this is going to be a PLOTTER CALL for gilgamesh ! 

as this might get a little lengthy, i’ll be putting the basic relationship ideas i have under a read more. that said, if you like this post / reply with the number you think could work for gil & your muse, i’ll be able to message you with some idea of what you’re interested in ! it’ll also mean you’re open to me sending you memes, you sending me memes, the usual meme shenanigans.

01. aquaintances : started from the bottom and you’re still at the bottom. aka, this is how he would interact with most people. gilgamesh considers himself an adjudicator of humanity and does not like to get overly attached to individuals on that basis. he is an observer, detached from mankind as a being who is divine in origin. as such, he does not establish much of an emotional connection with most of the people he meets. he is still amicable to the prospect of offering guidance or assistance where he thinks it necessary ( and trust me when i say it takes a lot for him to involve himself personally ), so that isn’t to say it is impossible to start Something with him. but it takes quite a bit to move past this stage unless you really pique his interest, so to say. you’re all his subjects, basically, because he’s the eternally reigning king. 

02. friends : can we really say the king has any true friends ? maybe one. but even then, he was summoned in sort of an awkward stage of his life where he isn’t as comfortable approaching them as he might have been in another class. so, he isn’t the friendliest person in the world, if you haven’t already figured that out. certainly not as difficult to interact with as his archer self would be, but at the same time, he is still gilgamesh. at his core, he will always be egotistical and self-assured in his adulthood. that doesn’t mean people aren’t capable of earning his acknowledgement and later, his friendship. he may just never phrase it as such. he’d be more likely to say that you’ve ‘earned the king’s favor’ or something stupid like that. caster is kind of a pain, but he is loyal to a fault to those he cares for ( despite his less than desirable way of communicating it ). a small positive ? 

03. fellow rulers / divine beings / non-humans : i just think it might be neat for him to get to know any fellow royals or demi-gods / gods / whatever else is out there. i mean, like i said before, gilgamesh still considers himself the one true king. so long as mankind continues to exist, they will always be his subjects. but he is also at a stage of his life where he is appreciative of the insights of other rulers. he does not scorn them, nor would he dismiss their status as a ruler. even if he once held clairvoyance and knew all there was to know, he likes to hear the experiences of people from word of mouth too. any individual with divine blood or who was generally inhuman might also interest him depending on their character, as they fall outside of his self-imposed jurisdiction of ruling over ‘humanity’. he has no authority over those who are not ‘human’. oh yeah, but if you’re a god, he would instinctively dislike you - or at the very least be somewhat spiteful. generally speaking, the only god he actually likes is his mother. the rest are either hated, disrespected or just plain ignored ( but he is willing to cooperate out of necessity ). 

04. study buddies : are you a scholar ? a learned individual? do you have a talent or knowledge that would be otherwise useful in nation-building or otherwise ? then gilgamesh would be more open to speaking with you ! he is known to overwork himself on anything and everything. he drafted architectural ideas for uruk, played a key part in developing them, led armies and his people for years and built up a very successful kingdom to the point of being called the ‘sage king’. but as he needed the cooperation of the masses to accomplish this successfully, he has a genuine appreciation for those who have a talent and use it. use being the keyword here. he would honestly be very happy throwing ideas off of someone, no matter the topic, and hearing their own in return. he has familiarised himself with most every topic, scholarly or otherwise, so it doesn’t matter what field it is. 

05. romance : listen. look at me. he’s married to uruk and to paperwork. he’s a single dad to many kids he willingly adopted. chances are romance is the last thing on his mind. i am being very honest here but it’s just... it would take a lot of chemistry to make him think about anything other than working himself half to death. i won’t say its impossible. but it isn’t the most likely thing to occur. of course, people can have crushes on him if they so wish. i hate admitting it, but he’s pretty. i understand. and again, i’m not saying shipping isn’t going to happen. but i just. gilgamesh. 

06. dad noises : okay so listen. gil is not the best guy for interacting with. like, at all. but he does have dad inclinations. i have no other way to explain that beyond ‘dad inclinations’. welcome to my twisted mind. anyway, you don’t have to be a literal child for him to want to offer guidance and assistance where he can. he is just extremely soft on kids - to young children or young adults. his master is one example, as is mashu. his attitude ( or at the very least, his way of speaking ) typically remains the same, but he is nowhere near as harsh with them. instead, he’s much more willing to speak with kids and help them out. sometimes you just be living life and then all of a sudden, out of nowhere, you’re adopted by the king of heroes. 

07. dad noises 2.0 electric boogaloo : please do not question the name of this section either it is the thrilling sequel related to the above and i did not know what else to call it. i just ( points at ritsuka fujimaru ) if you have any association with his master, gilgamesh will make a point of knowing who you are and how you’re related to her. be it as a servant of hers or just someone she’s friends with, it’s an excuse that stands to reason why he’d be interacting with them. he might pretend that he isn’t protective, or that he doesn’t care much for her, but we all know that is a big fat lie ! their relationship is this vine and i will never change my stance on it. thank you.

and that’s all i can think of right now ! of course, if you had any of your own ideas that don’t fit in these, then i welcome them. honestly, these are just. kind of a mess. i don’t blame you. like i said before, if you like this post ( regardless of whether you mention a specific number ), i’ll message you at some point to butt heads and see what we can come up with ! thank you for reading !