[ He feels her stiffen in his arms, and he responds by pulling her close again, his chest against her back. ]
Hah... that's right. Sickening, isn't it? Maybe it's just because I'm not from Proper Human History... but I never did understand that king. Perhaps nobody ever did...
[ Well, it's a good thing at least that those words are a lie, even if neither of them have a way of knowing it.
She wakes up as per usual, and at the very least, her pain is at least somewhat noticed by Fujimaru... and the Faerie King, who serves to reinvigorate the party.
It's strange to watch himself tell the others of his summoning, especially with Ai in his lap like this. Ai, who already knows the grotesque truth of his summoning, but...
The way he lets out a sigh when the group is informed of the encroaching army on the Welsh Forest... his forest...
Rather than pained, he sounds... resigned, almost. How many times has he watched this? ]
[ The question tumbles out of her mouth before she can stop it.
Sat like this, she can't see his face - and maybe that's a little kinder, all things considered. It means that whatever this pulls out of him, he doesn't need to hope Ai doesn't see it. But she knows the sound of a sigh like that. She's let out so many of her own that sound just the same, after all.
Again, the question surfaces in her mind: just how many times must you watch a tragedy play out before you get so... bored of it? ]
I'll stay to the end no matter what but... we don't have to keep watching.
[ He's glad she can't see his face. Perhaps it's selfish of him, considering what he's seen of her face, but... ]
...I hated them, you know. I hated how grotesque they were, the way they crawled along my body when I couldn't move, the way they clustered around my every step, the way they viewed me as their king... their savior. To them, the Child of Prophecy was a story... but I was their reality. I hated having that role thrust onto me by creatures so weak that it was only natural they were persecuted, faeries that didn't even have the intelligence to understand the injustices they were dealt.
[ The first tragedy plays out. A forest erupted in flames, the chitters of the creatures perishing within. "It hurts. It hurts. Please, stop. Please don't burn our forest. Please don't destroy Oberon's home." ]
...In the end, I saved none of them. Their deaths accomplished nothing, too. Watching to the end is the one and only respect I can grant them.
[ All of it. From Artoria's enraged screams, the battle with Faerie Knight Gawain, and even to Oberon's first participation in battle (yet another lie he had told, that he wasn't suited for combat)... he rests his chin on top of Ai's head, proof that through it all... not once does he look away. ]
...Well, I suppose I did return the favor in the end. Oh, whoops, spoilers.
[ His tone is so jovial with those last words they couldn't be anything but forced. ]
... It's all stories in the end, huh? Ones other people tell you. Or about you, I guess. You never really get a say in how it turns out.
[ She really can't draw a comparison between them. Oberon is so unfathomably old, a story playing out at a scale a tiny thing like her can barely even comprehend. Ai of B-Komachi was something she did to herself. Faerie King Oberon was burned into him like a brand. Everywhere you could even try to point to some way they're similar, Ai falls pathetically short every time.
But it still prickles at her skin like recognition. For the second time, she wonders if maybe she's just projecting. Then she decides it doesn't matter.
The hand that'd been gripping the front of her shirt at last slides down to settle atop his. When he'd lifted her into his lap, their hands had come unlinked but now she slides her fingers back into the gaps between his again. ]
I like the one we've been telling together. For what it's worth.
[ It's unfair to compare them. Ai's life, as tragic as it was, was the life of a human. She faced human troubles, human pain, and at the very end... she experienced human love as well. Oberon Vortigern is and always has been larger than that, whether he liked it or not. The will of Britain itself... it's wish for destruction. It's hard enough to comprehend for mages, nobody could blame Ai for struggling herself.
He was just one such iteration of that will... that the concept of "Oberon" washed ashore on the isle and used as the base for the next Vile King.
...But does that really matter? That she is merely a human idol, that he is a living doomsday device... who says that means they can't understand each other?
If an ordinary girl thrust into a larger-than-life role can do it... can come to an understanding with not only him, but countless others... then anything is possible, isn't it? ]
...Yeah, me too.
[ His hand links with hers again, this time with his clawed and monstrous hand... but still his hand nonetheless. He's inhuman, but he desires love the same as her.
The fire ends, and the Faerie King is left to mourn for his subjects. Unbeknownst to all, his true wrath is inflicted onto the single nearby individual that he needed out of the picture anyway. ]
"You... You! I know you! I recognize that horrible cursed scent! I smelled it during the war against the mors! No... This can't be. You're supposed to be dead... The high queen... I have to tell the high queen..."
[ It's a grim sight... the knight is completely devoured by a swarm of insects, of course it's grim. But for the first time during Ai's stay here, the rage of Hoshino Ai's true Servant can be seen onscreen. ]
[ Ai promised to watch until the end. So she does.
Even though her skin crawls. Even though her whole body rebels at the thought of seeing even a second more. Even though there's that well disciplined animal part of her brain that never stops and never goes quiet soaking up the rage and resentment pouring off the screen to use against her later as a reminder; see? you're not safe. why were you ever stupid enough to think you were?
She promised she'd watch. So she does.
It's hard to reconcile, though. She'd been afraid of him at the very start because of exactly this - the rage and the violence. She's learned first hand in all sorts of ways that the Servant who answered her call is never going to be kind or gentle, not even with her.
And yet... even as she watches all this play out, here she is wrapped up in his arms. She knows full well how easily his hands can bruise and mark her and yet he's holding her with the care off someone handling a fragile, precious thing.
Suddenly she's glad that the position they're in means they can't easily see each others' faces. ]
It probably gets worse from here, right?
[ Her voice is carefully neutral. ]
I guess that's technically spoilers. I just wanted to be ready for it.
[ He's silent, his clawed hand so careful as it intertwines with hers. He was never a safe Servant to summon... hell, as far as risk goes, he's probably all the way up at the top of Servants most likely to kill their Master.
But he holds her as though she were the most precious existence in the world. He marks and bruises her, but he takes care not to destroy her.
He's used to being a living contradiction, at least. ]
...Yeah. I'm afraid it does.
[ They can't see each other's faces, but he practically eclipses her frame with his body as he holds her close. He's practically giving away how needy he is for her touch. ]
But... thank you for staying.
[ At the very least, every journey has it's ups and downs. There's the battle with Woodwose, Mash's journey with Aesc the Savior, the corpse of a god at the bottom of a pit... but then there's the ball at Gloucester, which has Artoria dragged inside by her two red-headed companions, kicking and screaming the whole way.
But in the end... it is all mostly downhill. The true name of Faerie Knight Tristan, the tragic fate of the Rain Clan, the efforts of a single Savior going up in flames for no reason at all. ]
"Ah... Aah... Aaaaaaaaaaaaaah! Why... Why...? Why...!? This was supposed to be the greatest day in Britain's history... Everything was supposed to change for the better! But they... they killed Uther! They slaughtered my entire Round Table... like they... like they were just trash! They asked the world of us! They thought the world of Uther! But now, they've poisoned him... They were too afraid to even face him! Cowards!!! Uther... Talk to me... Uther, Uther! Say something! Please, say anything! Just open your eyes!!! I never let failure stop me! I've kept trying all these thousands of years! Am I doomed to fail here, too!? Is it still not enough? Am I not enough!?"
[ Two girls hated and rejected by the land they were sent to grant salvation. It's nothing Ai didn't already have an idea about already, but it probably doesn't help that the two girls look so similar... like mirror images of each other. One simply being in the process of burning out while the other burnt out a long time ago. ]
[ It's funny. Oberon's never exactly been shy about manhandling her whenever he deems it necessary (and often when it's not exactly necessary) but this is the first time he's been quite so... clingy. It's definitely not as though she hates it - whether she'd realized it or not, she's been aching for someone to reach out and touch her like she's a real human being for so, so long. Having someone finally do it... well, it's everything.
She wonders, suddenly, just how many of those unnecessary touches before had been just excuses. She wonders if Oberon's like her in that way, too - aching for someone to reach out and touch. And just as terrified of having someone flinch and retreat.
Once again, her attention's drifted from the movie. She thinks that's fine. She's gotten the gist. This feels a little more important.
As best she can from her spot in her lap, she butts her head gently against the side of his neck, tucking herself in as close as she can get. It's all she can manage when they're sat like this, but... ]
I said that I would. I might be a liar, but I don't break promises.
[ He's glad that she can't see his face right now... see the way his face softens at her recognition. His yearning for warmth... their yearning for warmth. Their similarities just continue to stack up... and you don't need fae eyes to see the truth when you're looking at a mirror.
Here they are, watching a movie together... yet their thoughts can't help but rest on each other instead. ]
Mm...
[ He doesn't have much to say... he's not sure how to put into words just how much he loves her in this moment. So he just hums, pressing his cheek to the top of Ai's head and further tucking her as close into himself as she can get.
He holds her, refuses to let go, and just continues to watch the story playing out in front of them. Londinium's fated destruction, the death of a friend, the final ringing of the bells... and the upcoming final battle. ]
"...I see. You're still hung up on Gareth. But remember, the prophecy predicted all of that. 'The round fortress shall burn, and the bell of water shall appear.' What happened to her wasn't your fault, and she didn't desert you, either. That was her fate."
"...Is that really what you think?"
"Of course it is. Besides, Gareth wouldn't want us to be sad about her being gone."
[ It was only natural that the Faerie King would come to comfort Artoria in that moment, but... ]
"I don't mean about her. I mean what you said about there not being a singel casualty. ...The truth us, you think our chances of winning are slim, that the Round Table Army's going to be slaughtered, and the humans will be the first to die."
[ It's strange, really, the difference in their eyes. They were always the same, but Artoria's weren't nearly as violent in dragging out the truth. If anything, they were constantly reluctant to, but did so anyway.
It's different now, though. Her eyes look the same as Oberon's, and for once... it's him on the receiving end.
[ ... A sigh flutes out of her, somehow embarrassed, fond and resigned all at once. ]
Well, that explains it.
[ Then, pre-empting the question which would surely follow; ]
I couldn't stand how you looked at me at first. Or I guess... I couldn't stand how I felt when you did. It was like you were just seeing all the things about me I hate and I used to get scared. Like, "ah, what exactly must he be seeing to make me feel like that?" [ Another soft breath, almost a laugh. ] But I guess that was all on me. If you were seeing the real me, no wonder it made me so sick.
[ "After all, I've always hated her."
Another big dramatic sigh and matching attempt to play her words off as a joke; ]
I'm definitely taking all the wrong lessons from this, but I'm kind of jealous. [ it comes out more bitter than she means it to. ] It sounds exhausting but being able to just understand people's feelings like that... It'd sure solve a lot of my problems.
[ "You could afford to be greedier" he thinks, but doesn't say. She doesn't like what she sees when she looks at most people... she's scared of them.
He's always known, always seen that in her, but now she's saying it out loud... even if it's only because it's him. She's come farther than she realizes... a shame it took someone inhuman for her to reach that point. ]
You're welcome, then.
[ ...Not that he minds. If that means her true self is for him alone, then he can't say he doesn't like the sound of that. ]
[ Dryly but not unkindly: ] I'm still on the fence about thanking you for that, too. Most people ask before they go digging around inside you like that.
[ She would've said no, obviously. But it's the principal of the thing. Or something.
But then she gives another of those little huffs and that bitter look on her face finally softens and sweetens enough to not look so hard edged. It's not quite a smile when the action playing out across the screen is so gruesome, but... ]
I've gotten a little more used to it now, though. So I guess I don't mind if you keep looking.
[ As if he could look away... but he keeps that thought to himself. He wouldn't want to look away in the first place, after all. Not away from her. ]
In that case, I'll look all I want...
[ The rest of the movie is, as expected, nothing but tragedy. There had been a brief moment of respite with Knocknarea and her "Mab Match", but from there... it would be nothing but tragedy after tragedy.
Morgan's gruesome and almost anticlimactic death at the hands of her own court, the cries of a witch who just wanted a place to belong. The poisoned coronation, betrayal after betrayl, Artoria's first friend in Faerie Britain dying in her arms...
...it was honestly remarkable just how quickly everything began to collapse the instant Morgan fell. As though she had been the one and only thing keeping a dying country alive, and with her gone, everything simply went up in flames. Calamities sprung out and ravaged the land... the beast roamed the earth, the flames seared the skies, and a corpse rose from the pit.
Yet Oberon's only real reaction came from when a certain white-haired incubus appeared. ]
Ugh. Hate this part.
[ "Hate this guy" more like. That was possibly the most genuine groan he's ever expressed... ]
[ Maybe it makes her horrible to think it, but it's almost a relief when things finally start to collapse. There's no more waiting now, no tension. Getting jumpscared isn't exactly fun but in a lot of ways, it's better than stewing in the agony of anticipating it. There's no anticipation now - just noise, chaos, bloodshed. It's horrible, of course. But it's better than helplessly sitting and waiting for it to happen.
(She very politely does not laugh when it comes to his so called dramatic sacrifice, as it happens. But come on, seriously. As if they'd kill off a main character that quick with such little fanfare.)
It's only when he complains that she speaks up again - tipping her head back with raised eyebrows to give him an incredulous look. ]
Really? With everything else going on, this is the part you hate?
[ And just how much must he hate it to still feel this strongly after... who knows how many rewatches? ]
Everything else is my fault, you know. I mean, sure, I got everyone else to do all the hard work of burning everything to the ground... but I can't exactly hate the product of all my hard work, now can I?
[ In turn, he tilts his head down to look at her... which means his chin is against her forehead as she looks up and he looks down. ]
This guy, though... don't get me wrong, he's an "ally" of humanity, but he's the worst.
[ Oberon complains frequently, but he's complaining with passion now. ]
Think about it this way. We're compatible, so we get along, right? Well, me and him? It's the opposite. We're as incompatible as can be, I'll never get along with him. He's got this really annoying clairvoyance that lets him see anything in the present... but that's creepy as hell, isn't it? He could be watching anybody anywhere and you'd have no way of telling... so I've allocated all of my camouflauge abilities to hiding me from him, specifically.
[ Wow, uh. He's really seething, huh? She's gotten pretty used to Oberon having nothing remotely nice to say about anybody by now, but this particularly pointed loathing is new. And at the same time it's kind of... low key? It's the way you'd complain about a coworker who grates on your nerves rather than the kind of bone deep base level irritation he expresses for everyone else just existing in his presence.
It's kind of... really funny?! She's trying her best to keep straight face and not just laugh right at him, but... ]
Wow. You really do hate his guts. That's the first time you've ever really complained about somebody like that.
[ She feels oddly pleased to hear it, though. It's kind of fun to think that even Oberon falls out with people for petty, human reasons like that. ]
But you know... you really can't say anything about the pot calling the kettle black. I'm just saying... there's an annoying blonde guy who died a little while ago but all of a sudden it feels like he's right here with us again...
[ Wow, she's definitely getting fearless if she's going to blatantly push his buttons like that. ]
[ A vein twitches in his forehead, and as such, he brings his hand up to pinch one of Ai's cheeks and start to pull at it. Push his buttons, will you? Someone is getting fearless. Oh he has no idea. ]
Aren't you getting a little too fearless? Not that I don't appreciate it, but still.
[ He says, while pulling her cheek remains the most he does. ]
Wh- hey, hold on! [ Accordingly, with her cheek pinched between his fingers, her voice comes out just a little garbled. ] Messing up an idol's face is off limits! ... But I guess it's a little late for that.
[ She has no idea of the rest of her bites are visible in here but that hickey on her mouth is as clear and vivid as it's ever been. Which, given that this is his dream, is probably exactly how he wanted it.
She reaches up with both her hands and promptly returns the cheek pulling. Counter attack, take that!!! ]
Oh, so your face is off limits, but not the rest of—agh!!
[ Her hands reach his cheeks before he can make a snarky comment about all the bites he put on the rest of her, not to mention the hickey still clear as day on her lip... and while they aren't hurting like they will be once Ai wakes up, she does in fact have a good amount of bites on the rest of her dream body too.
More importantly, though... if she's going to use both of her hands, then he has the right to do the same, now doesn't he? He lifts his other hand up to pull at her other cheek, beginning this mutual cheek-pulling while the movie continues on.
There they both are, sitting in a theater, pulling each other's cheeks like bickering children.
Nobody else sees the rest! But my face is the thing that gets put up everywhere, isn't it?! It's one thing to do it in places you'll see but don't you think going out of your way to damage the goods is a little much?
[ Not that she has to worry about that here where the worst that'll happen to her from people seeing her all bitten and loved is a little embarrassment... But come on, it's the principle of the thing!
Still huffy (or at least, pretending to be), she squirms out of his grip just enough to turn and... well, we're right back to Ai all but straddling his lap again. Though this time it's for the much less exciting purpose of giving herself some better leverage to continue the attack. ]
I was starting to think you were going a little soft for me but it turns out you're just as much of a bully as you always are.
[ Don't sound so pleased about that, Ai.......... ]
Damage? I'd say I'm improving the goods rather than dama—ow!
[ At this point escaping the embarrassment of having Oberon's bites and love on display is impossible, and all Ai can do is delay the inevitable... but it's not like she's fighting a losing battle.
Especially because her straddling him like this is, well... it's a lot to handle, even in a dream. The fact that she's straddling him in order to continue attacking him is only somewhat of a distraction. ]
...Yes, yes, I'm a big bad bully. I'm so mean.
[ ...though of course, when your defenses are as non-existent as his, the only thing you can do is attack back. ]
You could try and sound a little less proud about it.
[ He could. But he's absolutely not going to. She really ended up with an annoying Servant, didn't she?
Finally, she lets up on tugging at his face and instead presses her hands to his cheeks. After seeing Faerie King Oberon blown up to such huge sizes on screen, it's a little funny to be up close with the real thing. ]
Let's call it a truce. For now. Otherwise I'll end up missing the end of the movie and you'll only have yourself to blame.
[ His cheeks, like the rest of him, are as pale as ever... but he's there, and he's warm. ]
Right, right... we are approaching the climax, after all.
[ He'll let Ai turn herself back around so she can look back at the screen, with them having agreed to their truce just in time to see them make it to the spirit cavern, where the truth behind the world they were in would be revealed.
A white titan and it's defeat at the hands of humans and a holy sword... or in this case, the lack thereof. The six faeries who allowed the world to be destroyed simply due to procrastination, and the giant fluffy god sent to reprimand them.
The first of many betrayals, the rage of a once kind but now dead god, and lastly... the Faerie of Paradise's memories.
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no subject
Hah... that's right. Sickening, isn't it? Maybe it's just because I'm not from Proper Human History... but I never did understand that king. Perhaps nobody ever did...
[
Well, it's a good thing at least that those words are a lie, even if neither of them have a way of knowing it.She wakes up as per usual, and at the very least, her pain is at least somewhat noticed by Fujimaru... and the Faerie King, who serves to reinvigorate the party.
It's strange to watch himself tell the others of his summoning, especially with Ai in his lap like this. Ai, who already knows the grotesque truth of his summoning, but...
The way he lets out a sigh when the group is informed of the encroaching army on the Welsh Forest... his forest...
Rather than pained, he sounds... resigned, almost. How many times has he watched this? ]
no subject
[ The question tumbles out of her mouth before she can stop it.
Sat like this, she can't see his face - and maybe that's a little kinder, all things considered. It means that whatever this pulls out of him, he doesn't need to hope Ai doesn't see it. But she knows the sound of a sigh like that. She's let out so many of her own that sound just the same, after all.
Again, the question surfaces in her mind: just how many times must you watch a tragedy play out before you get so... bored of it? ]
I'll stay to the end no matter what but... we don't have to keep watching.
[ "Unless you want me to see." ]
no subject
[ He's glad she can't see his face. Perhaps it's selfish of him, considering what he's seen of her face, but... ]
...I hated them, you know. I hated how grotesque they were, the way they crawled along my body when I couldn't move, the way they clustered around my every step, the way they viewed me as their king... their savior. To them, the Child of Prophecy was a story... but I was their reality. I hated having that role thrust onto me by creatures so weak that it was only natural they were persecuted, faeries that didn't even have the intelligence to understand the injustices they were dealt.
[ The first tragedy plays out. A forest erupted in flames, the chitters of the creatures perishing within. "It hurts. It hurts. Please, stop. Please don't burn our forest. Please don't destroy Oberon's home." ]
...In the end, I saved none of them. Their deaths accomplished nothing, too.
Watching to the end is the one and only respect I can grant them.
[ All of it. From Artoria's enraged screams, the battle with Faerie Knight Gawain, and even to Oberon's first participation in battle (yet another lie he had told, that he wasn't suited for combat)... he rests his chin on top of Ai's head, proof that through it all... not once does he look away. ]
...Well, I suppose I did return the favor in the end. Oh, whoops, spoilers.
[ His tone is so jovial with those last words they couldn't be anything but forced. ]
no subject
[ She really can't draw a comparison between them. Oberon is so unfathomably old, a story playing out at a scale a tiny thing like her can barely even comprehend. Ai of B-Komachi was something she did to herself. Faerie King Oberon was burned into him like a brand. Everywhere you could even try to point to some way they're similar, Ai falls pathetically short every time.
But it still prickles at her skin like recognition. For the second time, she wonders if maybe she's just projecting. Then she decides it doesn't matter.
The hand that'd been gripping the front of her shirt at last slides down to settle atop his. When he'd lifted her into his lap, their hands had come unlinked but now she slides her fingers back into the gaps between his again. ]
I like the one we've been telling together. For what it's worth.
no subject
He was just one such iteration of that will... that the concept of "Oberon" washed ashore on the isle and used as the base for the next Vile King.
...But does that really matter? That she is merely a human idol, that he is a living doomsday device... who says that means they can't understand each other?
If an ordinary girl thrust into a larger-than-life role can do it... can come to an understanding with not only him, but countless others... then anything is possible, isn't it? ]
...Yeah, me too.
[ His hand links with hers again, this time with his clawed and monstrous hand... but still his hand nonetheless. He's inhuman, but he desires love the same as her.
The fire ends, and the Faerie King is left to mourn for his subjects. Unbeknownst to all, his true wrath is inflicted onto the single nearby individual that he needed out of the picture anyway. ]
"You... You! I know you! I recognize that horrible cursed scent! I smelled it during the war against the mors! No... This can't be. You're supposed to be dead... The high queen... I have to tell the high queen..."
[ It's a grim sight... the knight is completely devoured by a swarm of insects, of course it's grim. But for the first time during Ai's stay here, the rage of Hoshino Ai's true Servant can be seen onscreen. ]
no subject
Even though her skin crawls. Even though her whole body rebels at the thought of seeing even a second more. Even though there's that well disciplined animal part of her brain that never stops and never goes quiet soaking up the rage and resentment pouring off the screen to use against her later as a reminder; see? you're not safe. why were you ever stupid enough to think you were?
She promised she'd watch. So she does.
It's hard to reconcile, though. She'd been afraid of him at the very start because of exactly this - the rage and the violence. She's learned first hand in all sorts of ways that the Servant who answered her call is never going to be kind or gentle, not even with her.
And yet... even as she watches all this play out, here she is wrapped up in his arms. She knows full well how easily his hands can bruise and mark her and yet he's holding her with the care off someone handling a fragile, precious thing.
Suddenly she's glad that the position they're in means they can't easily see each others' faces. ]
It probably gets worse from here, right?
[ Her voice is carefully neutral. ]
I guess that's technically spoilers. I just wanted to be ready for it.
no subject
But he holds her as though she were the most precious existence in the world. He marks and bruises her, but he takes care not to destroy her.
He's used to being a living contradiction, at least. ]
...Yeah. I'm afraid it does.
[ They can't see each other's faces, but he practically eclipses her frame with his body as he holds her close. He's practically giving away how needy he is for her touch. ]
But... thank you for staying.
[ At the very least, every journey has it's ups and downs. There's the battle with Woodwose, Mash's journey with Aesc the Savior, the corpse of a god at the bottom of a pit... but then there's the ball at Gloucester, which has Artoria dragged inside by her two red-headed companions, kicking and screaming the whole way.
But in the end... it is all mostly downhill. The true name of Faerie Knight Tristan, the tragic fate of the Rain Clan, the efforts of a single Savior going up in flames for no reason at all. ]
"Ah... Aah... Aaaaaaaaaaaaaah! Why... Why...? Why...!? This was supposed to be the greatest day in Britain's history... Everything was supposed to change for the better! But they... they killed Uther! They slaughtered my entire Round Table... like they... like they were just trash! They asked the world of us! They thought the world of Uther! But now, they've poisoned him... They were too afraid to even face him! Cowards!!! Uther... Talk to me... Uther, Uther! Say something! Please, say anything! Just open your eyes!!! I never let failure stop me! I've kept trying all these thousands of years! Am I doomed to fail here, too!? Is it still not enough? Am I not enough!?"
[ Two girls hated and rejected by the land they were sent to grant salvation. It's nothing Ai didn't already have an idea about already, but it probably doesn't help that the two girls look so similar... like mirror images of each other. One simply being in the process of burning out while the other burnt out a long time ago. ]
no subject
She wonders, suddenly, just how many of those unnecessary touches before had been just excuses. She wonders if Oberon's like her in that way, too - aching for someone to reach out and touch. And just as terrified of having someone flinch and retreat.
Once again, her attention's drifted from the movie. She thinks that's fine. She's gotten the gist. This feels a little more important.
As best she can from her spot in her lap, she butts her head gently against the side of his neck, tucking herself in as close as she can get. It's all she can manage when they're sat like this, but... ]
I said that I would. I might be a liar, but I don't break promises.
[ ...
Somehow, that's not a lie. ]
no subject
Here they are, watching a movie together... yet their thoughts can't help but rest on each other instead. ]
Mm...
[ He doesn't have much to say... he's not sure how to put into words just how much he loves her in this moment. So he just hums, pressing his cheek to the top of Ai's head and further tucking her as close into himself as she can get.
He holds her, refuses to let go, and just continues to watch the story playing out in front of them. Londinium's fated destruction, the death of a friend, the final ringing of the bells... and the upcoming final battle. ]
"...I see. You're still hung up on Gareth. But remember, the prophecy predicted all of that. 'The round fortress shall burn, and the bell of water shall appear.' What happened to her wasn't your fault, and she didn't desert you, either. That was her fate."
"...Is that really what you think?"
"Of course it is. Besides, Gareth wouldn't want us to be sad about her being gone."
[ It was only natural that the Faerie King would come to comfort Artoria in that moment, but... ]
"I don't mean about her. I mean what you said about there not being a singel casualty. ...The truth us, you think our chances of winning are slim, that the Round Table Army's going to be slaughtered, and the humans will be the first to die."
[ It's strange, really, the difference in their eyes. They were always the same, but Artoria's weren't nearly as violent in dragging out the truth. If anything, they were constantly reluctant to, but did so anyway.
It's different now, though. Her eyes look the same as Oberon's, and for once... it's him on the receiving end.
Honestly, it's no wonder why he's fond of her. ]
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Well, that explains it.
[ Then, pre-empting the question which would surely follow; ]
I couldn't stand how you looked at me at first. Or I guess... I couldn't stand how I felt when you did. It was like you were just seeing all the things about me I hate and I used to get scared. Like, "ah, what exactly must he be seeing to make me feel like that?" [ Another soft breath, almost a laugh. ] But I guess that was all on me. If you were seeing the real me, no wonder it made me so sick.
[ "After all, I've always hated her."
Another big dramatic sigh and matching attempt to play her words off as a joke; ]
I'm definitely taking all the wrong lessons from this, but I'm kind of jealous. [ it comes out more bitter than she means it to. ] It sounds exhausting but being able to just understand people's feelings like that... It'd sure solve a lot of my problems.
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[ His voice is oddly serious when he responds. He sighs, his chest rising and falling against her back. ]
...Besides, I can't imagine you'd enjoy it. You wouldn't like what you'd see looking at me.
[ The truth can be ugly, but lies can be even uglier. ]
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[ it's an uncharacteristically blunt response, only barely softened to a joke by the bitter smile on her face. ]
It's funny, right? I'm an idol who loves everybody. But a lot of the time the first thing I think when I see people is just how much they scare me.
[ It's always been fear, after all. Fear of rejection, revulsion. Fear of being hurt, fear of being misunderstood.
Or maybe fear of being understood in her entirety - and having them be repulsed by her all the same. ]
I guess that's why it's not so scary with you anymore. I don't have to wonder what you're seeing. ... So maybe that's good enough.
[ All she's ever needed is for just one person to really see, after all. ]
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[ "You could afford to be greedier" he thinks, but doesn't say. She doesn't like what she sees when she looks at most people... she's scared of them.
He's always known, always seen that in her, but now she's saying it out loud... even if it's only because it's him. She's come farther than she realizes... a shame it took someone inhuman for her to reach that point. ]
You're welcome, then.
[ ...Not that he minds. If that means her true self is for him alone, then he can't say he doesn't like the sound of that. ]
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[ She would've said no, obviously. But it's the principal of the thing. Or something.
But then she gives another of those little huffs and that bitter look on her face finally softens and sweetens enough to not look so hard edged. It's not quite a smile when the action playing out across the screen is so gruesome, but... ]
I've gotten a little more used to it now, though. So I guess I don't mind if you keep looking.
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[ As if he could look away... but he keeps that thought to himself. He wouldn't want to look away in the first place, after all. Not away from her. ]
In that case, I'll look all I want...
[ The rest of the movie is, as expected, nothing but tragedy. There had been a brief moment of respite with Knocknarea and her "Mab Match", but from there... it would be nothing but tragedy after tragedy.
Morgan's gruesome and almost anticlimactic death at the hands of her own court, the cries of a witch who just wanted a place to belong. The poisoned coronation, betrayal after betrayl, Artoria's first friend in Faerie Britain dying in her arms...
...it was honestly remarkable just how quickly everything began to collapse the instant Morgan fell. As though she had been the one and only thing keeping a dying country alive, and with her gone, everything simply went up in flames. Calamities sprung out and ravaged the land... the beast roamed the earth, the flames seared the skies, and a corpse rose from the pit.
Yet Oberon's only real reaction came from when a certain white-haired incubus appeared. ]
Ugh. Hate this part.
[ "Hate this guy" more like. That was possibly the most genuine groan he's ever expressed... ]
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(She very politely does not laugh when it comes to his so called dramatic sacrifice, as it happens. But come on, seriously. As if they'd kill off a main character that quick with such little fanfare.)
It's only when he complains that she speaks up again - tipping her head back with raised eyebrows to give him an incredulous look. ]
Really? With everything else going on, this is the part you hate?
[ And just how much must he hate it to still feel this strongly after... who knows how many rewatches? ]
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[ In turn, he tilts his head down to look at her... which means his chin is against her forehead as she looks up and he looks down. ]
This guy, though... don't get me wrong, he's an "ally" of humanity, but he's the worst.
[ Oberon complains frequently, but he's complaining with passion now. ]
Think about it this way. We're compatible, so we get along, right? Well, me and him? It's the opposite. We're as incompatible as can be, I'll never get along with him. He's got this really annoying clairvoyance that lets him see anything in the present... but that's creepy as hell, isn't it? He could be watching anybody anywhere and you'd have no way of telling... so I've allocated all of my camouflauge abilities to hiding me from him, specifically.
[ Oh, he's dragging dragging this guy, huh? ]
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It's kind of... really funny?! She's trying her best to keep straight face and not just laugh right at him, but... ]
Wow. You really do hate his guts. That's the first time you've ever really complained about somebody like that.
[ She feels oddly pleased to hear it, though. It's kind of fun to think that even Oberon falls out with people for petty, human reasons like that. ]
But you know... you really can't say anything about the pot calling the kettle black. I'm just saying... there's an annoying blonde guy who died a little while ago but all of a sudden it feels like he's right here with us again...
[ Wow, she's definitely getting fearless if she's going to blatantly push his buttons like that. ]
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[ A vein twitches in his forehead, and as such, he brings his hand up to pinch one of Ai's cheeks and start to pull at it. Push his buttons, will you? Someone is getting fearless.
Oh he has no idea.]Aren't you getting a little too fearless? Not that I don't appreciate it, but still.
[ He says, while pulling her cheek remains the most he does. ]
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[ She has no idea of the rest of her bites are visible in here but that hickey on her mouth is as clear and vivid as it's ever been. Which, given that this is his dream, is probably exactly how he wanted it.
She reaches up with both her hands and promptly returns the cheek pulling. Counter attack, take that!!! ]
I'm just calling it like I see it!
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[ Her hands reach his cheeks before he can make a snarky comment about all the bites he put on the rest of her, not to mention the hickey still clear as day on her lip... and while they aren't hurting like they will be once Ai wakes up, she does in fact have a good amount of bites on the rest of her dream body too.
More importantly, though... if she's going to use both of her hands, then he has the right to do the same, now doesn't he? He lifts his other hand up to pull at her other cheek, beginning this mutual cheek-pulling while the movie continues on.
There they both are, sitting in a theater, pulling each other's cheeks like bickering children.
...what the heck are they doing? ]
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[ Not that she has to worry about that here where the worst that'll happen to her from people seeing her all bitten and loved is a little embarrassment... But come on, it's the principle of the thing!
Still huffy (or at least, pretending to be), she squirms out of his grip just enough to turn and... well, we're right back to Ai all but straddling his lap again. Though this time it's for the much less exciting purpose of giving herself some better leverage to continue the attack. ]
I was starting to think you were going a little soft for me but it turns out you're just as much of a bully as you always are.
[ Don't sound so pleased about that, Ai.......... ]
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[ At this point escaping the embarrassment of having Oberon's bites and love on display is impossible, and all Ai can do is delay the inevitable... but it's not like she's fighting a losing battle.
Especially because her straddling him like this is, well... it's a lot to handle, even in a dream. The fact that she's straddling him in order to continue attacking him is only somewhat of a distraction. ]
...Yes, yes, I'm a big bad bully. I'm so mean.
[ ...though of course, when your defenses are as non-existent as his, the only thing you can do is attack back. ]
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[ He could. But he's absolutely not going to. She really ended up with an annoying Servant, didn't she?
Finally, she lets up on tugging at his face and instead presses her hands to his cheeks. After seeing Faerie King Oberon blown up to such huge sizes on screen, it's a little funny to be up close with the real thing. ]
Let's call it a truce. For now. Otherwise I'll end up missing the end of the movie and you'll only have yourself to blame.
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[ His cheeks, like the rest of him, are as pale as ever... but he's there, and he's warm. ]
Right, right... we are approaching the climax, after all.
[ He'll let Ai turn herself back around so she can look back at the screen, with them having agreed to their truce just in time to see them make it to the spirit cavern, where the truth behind the world they were in would be revealed.
A white titan and it's defeat at the hands of humans and a holy sword... or in this case, the lack thereof. The six faeries who allowed the world to be destroyed simply due to procrastination, and the giant fluffy god sent to reprimand them.
The first of many betrayals, the rage of a once kind but now dead god, and lastly... the Faerie of Paradise's memories.
Specifically, her winter memories. ]
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