So here’s the deal.
I’ve remade this blog. Over three years of content is on this blog and honestly it’s a lot of clutter. it shouldn’t be too hard to find me but i’m planning to be more plot focused and selective there. I’m also going to be dropping most of the threads I have on here to favor a fresh start. if we do have a thread and you want to continue it though, let me know and we can do that then. Otherwise it’s a fresh start with fresh threads
❛ bad luck relies on absolutely perfect timing. ❜
DEATHLESS.
‘ throughout the many years of my life i have come to know that there is no such thing as luck. ’
luck was the hope that someone so unprepared could achieve what they otherwise could not. it was that hope that led to complicity. to death. luck would have no place in a war where skill was the only factor in who would survive.
fate, luck, destiny and even god himself would turn a blind eye, wanting nothing to do with a war fed by the lust and greed of those participating. he would offer no console nor words of advice; only a the cold realization of what she faces.
‘ you are alone in this war. i hope you are prepared. ’
however unfortunate as it may be you will not see the end of it
The Sacrifice of Isaac (detail), Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, 1724-29
anyways small reminder that kirei is very good at his job.
Fate/HAのろぐ by 小旗つねちか
※Permission to reprint this was given by the artist. Please do not repost without the artist’s permission. If you liked this fanwork, do take the time to rate and bookmark the original work.
GRACE IS A GIFT FOR THE FALLEN, DEAR.
YOU’RE AN ANGRY BLADE AND YOU’RE BRAVE
BUT YOU’RE ALL A L O N E.
Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio - Seven Works of Mercy (detail)
❛ what should i have done ? i went to dance on his coffin. i owed him at least that. ❜
DEATHLESS.
‘ it is not for me to decide what you should do. ’
no words spun to vex her. no lies to deceive her. she was no longer the little lamb. no longer the docile sheep and no longer the fool. it was never his intention to tell her what to do, but to help guide her.
all the pain and suffering you have endured
he could never imagine. never truly understand what it is she went through and what it is she still must go through. she does not need his console and he does not offer it. what he offers is the advice of a man who has seen much in his life.
‘ the betrayal you went through i cannot comprehend. but you did what anyone else in your position would have done. there is no shame in it. ’
a man like him deserves nothing more.
❛ i chose to fight, & i still choose it. ❜
DEATHLESS.
‘ i must say your disposition is certainly admirable. ’
a fleeting smile is all he could offer her, never giving more to someone that he needs to. she is flawed in every way yet admirable in that against all odds she chooses to fight; never to back down and never to give up.
you’re nothing but a fool and can’t even see it
there was no comfort. no wise words from an old man. he understood her words and knew perfectly what they meant. her battles were not fought for only herself, but for everyone. he understood and there was nothing he could do but pity her.
for you truly are a saint a martyr to your own ideals
‘ but what of battles you cannot win? where you would only do more harm than good. against all odds would you still choose to fight? ’
Caravaggio c. 1598
Saint Catherine of Alexandria (detail)
the following prompts were taken from the novel deathless by catherynne m. valente, an american novelist & poet. the novel was loosely based on the tale of koschei the deathless, incorporating other elements of russian mythology, & setting it against the backdrop of the russian revolution. feel free to change the pronouns / prompts as you see fit, but be warned – below the cut, it’s quite long !
GRACE IS A GIFT FOR THE FALLEN, DEAR.
YOU’RE AN ANGRY BLADE AND YOU’RE BRAVE
BUT YOU’RE ALL A L O N E.
Saint Francis in Meditation, 1606, Caravaggio
Size: 90x130 cm Medium: oil, canvas
The Sacrifice of Isaac, Juan de Valdés Leal, 1657-59
WHY — HE IS AN ABSOLUTE DELIGHT. he will give nothing of himself to her, not even a pale droplet of his soul bared before her carnivorous wrath. she is subtle in grace but overbearing in pride. many have given themselves over to she who wore wings like an ink - black mantle, whose twisted fingertips proved how her magics have molded & sculpted her anew, whose lips promise an empty bliss. they are all her creatures & yet he still stands.
❛ my head, if that is any reward, ❜ she speaks harshly, carrying a velvet timbre to her voice. ❛ do you not delight in snuffing out the lights of others? do you not relish in their agony? are you so quaint, so silent to yourself? ❜
YOU ARE THE MOST PITIFUL CREATURE OF ALL.
‘ your head would bring me nothing. ’
he knows what she tries. to grab onto and pull him in. to claw her way inside and make him hers. but it will not work. and like the many before her that have tried he will give nothing to her.
‘ what do you believe? ’
his voice calm, as though they were having a normal conversation. perhaps her words held some truth, yet such a time was long ago. he was a different man clutching at whatever could bring him even the smallest amount of joy. no longer would he tie himself and no longer will he bend.
for the man i once was is dead.
‘ can you see it, when you look in my eyes? ’
your life does not matter their lives do not matter everything. all of it absolutely useless
YOU CANNOT GIVE ME WHAT I WANT
Open to me the doors of repentance, O Life-Giver …But in your compassion PURIFY ME by the loving KINDNESS of your mercy.
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