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teaand-dreams · 2 years

Text

Cages or Wings (which do you prefer?)

Arthur Pendragon x Reader

Summary: Some say a life with the person you love is perfection—they never say what happens when that life is spun from lies.

TW: panic attack, lying, magic, angst

WC: 2240

The repeated scratching of a quill against paper floats through the air as you quietly slip through the door, pausing to reassure yourself no one else is in the room. As your eyes sweep over the empty chairs to land on the only person in the light, you take a deep breath and prepare to move out of the shadows.

You take a deep breath as you move toward the man writing in the dimming candlelight, words and phrases flitting through your head in half-questions and half-conversations. Finally, you ask: “Long day?”

“Hmm?” The quill stops as Arthur glances up, eyes blinking wearily before they clear as he smiles up at you. “I’m sorry, I didn’t hear you come in.” He sighs, the quill falling from his fingers as he lifts his hand to run his fingers through his hair. “Yes, it’s been a very long day. Leon ran into some trouble with the new recruits this morning, and as I’m sure you’ve heard by now one of the visiting nobles was caught using magic so I had to deal with that with Father instead of going over the wedding protocol, and I-” Arthur pauses, his mouth open as his eyes stare out into the darkness of the world beyond the window. You bite your lip, carefully bringing your hands to his shoulders and rubbing as he groans. “I forgot about our dinner plans, didn’t I? Again.”

“It’s alright.” You swallow the growing lump in your throat as Arthur leans into your touch. “Three more weeks and you’ll be stuck with me for life. We can eat together then.”

A pained laugh echoes in the room as Arthur shakes his head. “Still. I’m sorry. I’ll make it up to you; I swear.”

You press your lips together and shut your eyes, forcing yourself to take another deep breath before carefully pressing your lips to Arthur’s head. “I know,” you whisper. Arthur just tilts his head back.

“And how exactly am I supposed to do that?” Merlin drops his head onto the table, groaning as Gaius closes the book in front of him. You glance over the various pages in front of you, scanning the paragraphs and drawings of the creature Gaius determined is being used to try and kill your fiancé.

“I could try talking to him,” you offer.

“That might do more harm than good.” You open your mouth to argue, but Gaius tilts his head in a knowing manner and the resolve drains from your shoulders into the ground. “Arthur trusts you, loves you, but is it strong enough to withstand the notion of you knowing about creatures of magic?”

“Probably more trust and love in that relationship then in his friendship with me,” Merlin mutters.

You swallow to dissolve the growing lump in your throat, but it pushes back, expanding to constrict your airway as Gaius’ words and Merlin’s next response fade into distorted noise in your ears. “Not enough to still love me if he ever found out I have magic.” The words leave your mouth with your next exhale, and if either of your companions heard they ignore it as they continue to debate the best course of action.

You blink as your ears prickle with the sound of a chair being pushed away, and your eyes focus on Merlin as he stands, arms folded over his chest and lips turned down in a frown, and stomps out of the room. Your eyes turn to Gaius as he shakes his head and shuffles toward the bookcase on the other side of the room.

“Excuse me,” You mutter. Gaius doesn’t turn, and the lump in your throat reels the words back into your chest as you push your way from the table and stumble out of the room. The walls shift, chasing you as you stumble, foot after foot after foot after foot, until you find yourself falling onto a patch of green and crisp, fresh air found the morning after a storm wraps itself around you in a comforting hug. Your lungs scream joyously as you breathe.

Your fingers clench around blades of grass and you force your brain to focus on the ticklish feeling as you shift to kneel on the ground, head bowed low as you regain the breath you had lost in Gaius’ chambers.

Your eyes shut as you swallow once more, and when you open them it is to the shadow of someone walking up behind you. You slowly push yourself to your feet and turn, letting your shoulders drop with relief at Gwen’s smile.

“Are you okay?” At your nod, she nods her chin back toward the castle. “Well, Arthur asked me to tell you that the tailor finished your outfit for tonight so he sent it to your room.”

“Thank you, Gwen. Did he say anything else?”

“Just that he’s excited. As am I. I can’t believe tonight’s the last feast before you and Arthur’s wedding; I’m sure it’ll be a lovely event.”

Your lips tentatively pull up in a small smile. “As if Uther would let it be anything else. Only the best for his only son, right?”

Gwen laughs. “True enough. Well, I’d better be on my way. I have to pick up material for a new dress for Morgana. I’ll see you later, Y/N.”

You say farewell to Gwen and slowly make your way up to your room in the castle. Once the door has shut, a loose barrier protecting you from the world of Camelot and Uther’s hatred of magic, you turn to look at the new outfit sprawled out on the bed. You take the fabric in your hands, smiling at the colors, and pick up the note next to it. Your fingers aimlessly trace Arthur’s handwriting, and you close your eyes to force the pain from your heart and gut.

He loves me, he loves me, he loves me, you tell yourself. Not if he knew the truth.

You turn quickly, moving to replace your current clothes with the new outfit made specifically for the feast. A final feast before the wedding, a final goodbye to life before…it will be all right, love shapes life, and I love him and he loves me; that is all that matters…

Arthur smiles when he sees you. A wide, unconscious, loving, terrible smile that holds a world of possibilities, hopes, and future dreams within it.

“You look lovely,” he whispers in your ear as you link your arm through his and he leads you into the main hall. You thank him, and let the warmth of his arm guide you past the nobles chattering and whispering, your eyes desperately searching the corners of the room until Gwen’s reassuring smile slows your beating heart and Merlin and Gaius’ waves slow the spinning world to an acceptable pace.

“Ah, there you are.” The world crashes into motion again, your heart slamming into your chest.

“Father,” Arthur nods in greeting and you instinctively bow your head.

“Your Majesty.”

Uther Pendragon waves his hand dismissively. “None of that. We are to be family, after all.” You silently nod as Uther moves to greet someone else.

“See. I told you he doesn’t hate you.”

You sigh. “So you did.”

Arthur laughs. “Come, let us sit down.” You let Arthur guide you toward a seat, frowning when something shifts in your peripheral vision. You turn your head to see Merlin talking animatedly with Gwen, head turning and eyes searching. “Y/N?” You turn back to Arthur, his once smiling face fallen into worry.

“I-” The words constrict in your throat as the world slows, slower than before, your vision locked on the figure of someone—the daughter of a noble, your brain supplies—as their fingers shift and they point at Arthur’s back, sparks flitting through the air. A gasp tears its way from your throat as you push him away, arms rising instinctively to stop, protect, keep the lightning away.

The sparks bounce away from the shield as they have every time Merlin practiced the spell with you in the privacy of Gaius’ chambers, and your heart plummets when, instead of his praise, your ears receive the gasping horror of an entire room of nobles and knights of Camelot.

“Magic.” The word breathes itself into existence, a small, quiet sound uttered from the most protected corner where Uther stands, face white, through the jaded room and into your soul, shaking, cracking, as Uther gestures for knights to restrain you.

You turn helplessly toward Arthur, mouth opening with unsaid words, but the gaze in his eyes stops you. He backs away, knights push him behind them, and your arms are forced behind your back and tied together. Behind Arthur, you see Gaius grab Merlin’s arm, forcing him to stay still. He watches, eyes wide and mouth moving in an unheard, unforgiven, apology. Next to him, Gwen’s hands clasp together under her chin as she mutters into them, watching with shaking shoulders as the guards force you out of the room.

Your gaze falls to the ground as you’re pushed from hallway to hallway, out of the sun, out of the moon, down a flight of stairs, into the freezing, damp dungeon. You only lift your gaze once the clanking echo of the cell door being slammed shut has faded and, alone, you let your tears fall.

He arrives an hour later. Silent, guarded. He stays in the shadows for the first few minutes, watching, waiting. You keep your head down, eyes watching the edge of his shoes as he moves to step closer, hesitates, and then speaks.

“So you have magic, then.”

You swallow, throat dry. “Yes.”

“You never told me.”

“No.”

He pauses, perhaps unsure, perhaps confused, perhaps wanting to know but not wanting to ruin the image of what you were with what you are. “Why?” You flinch, the word cutting through the defenses you had prepared for this very conversation with its soft, quiet, desperate tone.

“I’m sorry.”

“That’s not an answer!” Arthur slams his palm against the door of the cell, and you close your eyes until you hear him take a step back. “That’s not an answer,” he repeats.

“I know. That doesn’t mean it’s not true.”

“Was nothing true?”

“Everything was true.” You lift your head to stare at him. He raises his eyebrow. “It was. It is. I love you, Arthur. I have always loved you, and I always will. Yes, I have magic and I never told you. What did you expect me to do? Tell you the day we met? Your father would have had me executed.”

“And now he’s planning your execution in place of our wedding.”

“Better that than your funeral.”

Arthur swallows, stares a moment more, and turns to leave. “Get some rest.”

“Whatever for? I’ll be dead by nightfall.”

He pauses, and you wait in the silence as he shakes his head and continues on his way. In the quiet that follows, you hold back a scream.

The cell door opens. You press your fingernails into your palms, silently recounting every promise and every truth and every lie and every dream you have ever made and every face that will mourn when you are gone and every face that will laugh and say good riddance and every face that will be unsure of how to mourn your erasure from existence without mourning the loss of the magic you possess.

A hand grabs your shoulder. Your eyes shut, and your throat closes in on itself. You’re pulled to your feet, and your mind counts the laughs and smiles you’ve shared with Gwen, Merlin, Gaius, Morgana, Arthur.

The hand pushes you and you stumble as you’re guided out of the cell. Arthur, Arthur, Arthur, sweet, loving, Arthur, trying to please his father, the smile he only shared with you, please let him find happiness again.

The hand presses firmly into your shoulder and your breath catches in your throat as another hand grasps your wrist. Fingers delicately draw circles into your wrist before something presses against your skin, moving, and the rope tying your hands together falls to the ground. Your eyes open as the hand urges you forward again. You stare at the dimly lit hallway, turning your head as Arthur leans whisper in your ear.

“I have two horses waiting just outside here. Quietly, come on.”

You follow as he leads you, eyes scanning for the missing guards, and soon Arthur is helping you onto a horse before mounting his own and leading you through Camelot and out into the wilderness.

You ride in silence, fear gripping your throat, until dawn breaks through the sky and Arthur pauses, drawing his horse to a stop. You stop next to him, watching as he turns his horse around. His eyes stare into the distance as he speaks.

“You are to leave Camelot. Do not return. Ever.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

Arthur nods, and urges his horse back toward Camelot. You watch as he pauses again, several feet from you. You wait as his shoulders rise with the need to say something, and then drop as he says nothing, and his horse moves again. You watch, tears filling your eyes, as he continues to move away from you. You watch until he is too far to see and, once you are sure he has not looked back, you turn your horse away from Camelot.

taglist: @tangled-upwithyou @retvenkos @multifandomfix

#arthur pendragon x reader #arthur pendragon imagine #arthur pendragon angst #merlin x reader #merlin bbc #arthur pendragon x you #arthur pendragon fic #tw: angst #tw: magic #tw: lying #tw: panic attack #arthur pendragon x y/n

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lgvalenzuela · 3 years

Text

Angelique Campbell

Thanks to @hogwartsmystory for making such a cool template

This will be expanded upon, and some things that are left vague will be explained.

(Tw: there’s some violent acts and murder described)

Identity

Name: Angelique Campbell, also goes for Eirian (just by Artemis)

Gender: Female

Age: 16

Birth Date: October 23

Species: Human

Blood Status: Pureblood

Sexuality: Heterosexual

Ethnicity: Caucasian (welsh)

Nationality: Welsh

Residence: Merthyr Tydfil, Wales

Alignment: Chaotic neutral

Myer Briggs Personality Type: INTP-T (The logician)

Ennegram: Type 1 (The reformer)

The Mage

Wand: She doesn’t have or need a wand, but she does use her cane for dramatic flare

Boggart Form: The demon that’s been following her for centuries

Riddikulus Form: She hasn’t been able to find one yet

Amortentia:

She smells like petricor, nature and rosemary perfume

She smells Scotch malt whiskey, wild mint, heather, fresh sea air and summer rain

Patronus: Y Ddraig Goch

Patronus Memory: Meeting Artemis

Mirror of Erised: Her in her old age, having lived a life that’s been stolen from her time and time again

Specialized/Favourite Spells: The one’s Merlin left her and the one’s she made, specially healing ones

Misc Magical Abilities: When she worked under Merlin, they started writing a grimoire together, which has found her in every life. She’s been working on it for centuries and has really powerful magic contained in its pages

Appearance

Faceclaim:

Voiceclaim

Game Appearance: Who knows?

Height: 170cm (5’7’’)

Weight: 55 kg (121 lbs)

Physique: She’s thin and weak

Eye Colour: Aurora borealis green

Hair Colour: Ginger

Skin Tone: Pretty pale, but healthy looking

Scarring: Lost her leg under the demon’s attack and has a prosthetic ever since, missed a couple of years for going through rehabilitation. She also has a white streak of her she hides for going thought this trauma.

Inventory: She carries her grimorie and the Ouroboros brooch

Allegiances

Hogwarts House: Slytherin

Ilvermorny House: Pukwudgie

Affiliations/Organizations:

Wales

Pendragon family

Crowe family

Professions:

Healer

Teacher

Hogwarts Information

Class Proficiencies: Don’t get fooled by her good grades, she went to Hogwarts having just experience her own magic for so long she entered having no idea what kind of things they teach there, only earning such good academic record on behalf of maintaining a certain reputation, not for her family but for her own pride.

Astronomy: ★★★★★★☆☆☆☆ (A)

Charms: ★★★★★★★★★★ (O)

DADA: ★★★★★★☆☆☆☆ (A)

Flying: ☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆ (T)

Herbology: ★★★★★★★★★★ (O)

History of Magic: ★★★★★★★★★★ (O)

Potions: ★★★★★★★★★★ (O)

Transfiguration: ★★★★★★☆☆☆☆ (A)

Electives:

Ancient Studies: ★★★★★★★★★★ (O)

Muggle studies: ★★★★★★☆☆☆☆ (A)

Relationships

Family

The Campbells

Arianell and Cadogan Campbell

No matter they’re wizards, Angelique’s parents are truly product of their times, they see their daughters only as products they must sell, especially Angelique as their ‘pride and joy’ an extremely beautiful, intelligent and powerful witch? They want to get her married as soon as possible, to someone just as wealthy and powerful as the Campbells, and of course, a pureblood.

And they certainly didn’t take well how open minded and pro muggle Angelique was, in the eyes of society they were the perfects parents to her, in private she was the subject of much scorn and ridicule.

Brynna Campbell

If Angelique was the pride and joy of her parents, Brynn was for Angelique, in all her lives she never had a sibling and welcomed her with open arms, no matter if her parents wanted to keep them apart since Brynna was a squib, Angelique would never stop loving her.

But how did Brynna feel?

Love Interest: Artemis Crowe @brothergrimm71

She was urged by her parents to get married as soon as possible, but for a while has refused to fall in love until her curse is broken. Or at least she didn’t want to until she met Artemis, but still refuses to admit the obvious, with fear that if she dies again, she would break his heart.

Best Friends:

Lorilyn Kumari

Akane Fukui

Artemis Crowe

Backround/History

Previous lives

Eirian Emrys

Late 5th century - early 6th century

She was born in the midst of war between the Celtic Britons and the Anglo-Saxons, of her true parents we know not, but she was found by Merlin during The Battle of Badon, as a child, fighting. And was taking to Arthur, who was horrified that a child was fighting his wars and promised she never had to fight again, she was taking in by Merlin and became his assitant and apprentice (even though she did not possess any magical talent at this point)

And in this life she never fought again, she lived a completely normal life, she got married and had a kid, and everything was perfect until an Anglo-Saxon noble saw her, and decided she was for him. He found her alone and threatened to burn her village to the ground, to destroy everything she loved if she didn’t go with him.

And she did, gaining the reputation of an easy woman and a whore from the ones that were once her family and her friends.

But of course she did not love this man, and even if she married him and never said a thing, he came one day to their room, and impaled both of them with a sword.

Gael Bach

971-990

She woke up as another child, she received a brooch, with the form of an ouroboros, and even in the loudest night she could hear something creeping in.

But she also received the grimoire her and Merlin wrote together, and decided to expand it, since she had magical powers this life, found more druids that could teach her.

She tried to live a normal life, she fell in love again. Hogwarts was being built at this point, and children from Ireland and Wales were being dragged to this noticeably British school, she tried to do something, but a demon killed before that could happen.

Mair Carew

1261-1283

She woke up again, as different child. She received the ouroboros, and the grimoire, and heard the creeping sounds, realized she was cursed, and followed by a demon.

But she didn’t have much time to think about it since she lived midst of war again (and only took time to study magic with local wizards to keep working on the grimoire) battling for Wales, which they lost this time, and the last thing she saw before the demon got to her was her country being conquered.

She asked to be chained to a rock with a sword, to fight even in death.

Nonn Gower

1332-1353

Already centered on breaking her curse, worked on her spells until The Black Death came and she couldn’t turn a blind eye, made the most healing spells during this time, but quickly found out her demon could also turn people against her, and even was burned as a witch even when all the people that she saved protested.

Penrose Moore

1500-1521

Ever the beautiful young lady, was noticed by Henry the VIII, who tried to make her his lover, even if married to Catherin of Aragon at the time, but she did not yield to the British, and pronounced the words that led to her perdition: I only kneel in front the ones who fought for Wales. And the demon compelled them to kill her.

Henry the VIII passed the acts that tried to kill the welsh language.

Pre Hogwarts

And we come to Angelique, the only one born under pure magical blood, and the only one who has survived an attack from her demon, just losing a leg in return.

She didn’t want to go to Hogwarts at first, but figured she wouldn’t lose anything trying and at least would learn a thing or two, just missed a couple of years doing rehabilitation from the trauma of her leg being ripped off of her.

Personality

Open-Minded: She’s fairly liberal for a Victorian lady, with a “none of my bussiness” sort of attitude when people go outside of social norms or traditions, especially if they’re not hurting anyone.

Compassionate: She didn’t expend all this centuries becoming a highly powerful healer for nothing, she saw too many people die in the wars, and she saw a lot of people die under the plages, and she couldn’t just stay there, the love for her people has made her last so long and she’s not giving up on them.

Passionate and loyal to her values, but tired: Highly conscientious and ethical, with a strong sense of right and wrong, ever the teacher, the crusader and the advocate for change, for making things better. Only wavering on the basis of being tired of getting brutally murdered time and time again, feeling the clock ticking while her doom approaches. But even at her worse, at the end she can’t help her desire to be good, her integrity is too strong.

Secretive and reclusive – While yielding many insights into her surroundings, her surroundings are ironically considered an intrusion on her thoughts. This is especially true with people, she’s quite shy in social settings, and scared if she makes strong bonds again they will miss her soon. Even close friends struggle to get into Logicians’ hearts and minds.

Short tempered and grumpy: Maybe it’s the way she feels her time running out, but it has made her quite impatient and insensitive if she thinks someone´s wasting her valuable time, she has stuff to worry about so don’t bother her with stupid problems, even though begrudgingly she will help you.

Prideful: She’s an extremely powerful witch and she knows it, there’s very few people that can stand in her way, and she won’t let them.

#hogwarts legacy #angelique campbell #mine doodles #artbreeder #Mine writing #character profile

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dankesdarkman · 7 years

Text

Fate and Economics: How FSN Is An Economical Commentary By The Spacebattles Forum

You know what’s normal? fate shitposting

You know what’s fun? fate economics shitposting

The beginning of this madness

Raguna Blade said:

You know, thinking on it, yeah that totally makes sense based on what I know of japanese work culture. Especially when mixed with the targeted audience of the FS/N games (otaku type) who were already on the outside edge of such culture and were totally open to hearing alternate idea's of what to do, it makes a clear amount of sense. Tying with the heroines then, it sort of follows that the various routes demonstrate how things work out for him. Following Saber, who basically embodies the Work your ass into dust ideal set's him up with an impossible goal for happiness. Saber has to Wait Forever, He has to work forever and if they can both keep it up without fucking it all up along the way, Glory GLory forever. Rin though? Rin's got a discrete clear goal. It requires hard work certainly, but it's not the end all be all. You need to work certainly, you need to work hard, the world is utterly vicious and will swallow you up (the clocktower, then, is true society I guess. None of those fake niceties, it's kill or be killed, eat or be eaten, real Chaos Route stuff there.) but there's plenty to do aside from it and happiness can coincide easily enough if you're willing to stick out that hand and work for it. And then yeah, Sakura is a full on rejection of that, and it makes sense that in her route there would be the most shit going horribly wrong is just in general kind of the most painful (as my recollection calls anyway). Shirous not only rejecting the dominant paradigm for work ethic, sorta, but he's doing to be with someone who is kind of coded as handicapped(? Recollections may be failing I apologize). Severe Trauma, violent violent freak outs (or just freak outs in general really), Sakura is a broken girl really. SO He not only rejects the idea that he has to work himself into dust for his ideals, Ideals he still technically has but needs to better consider and come to terms with as I understand it, But he makes use of that titanic drive to do something utterly radical and do what would make him truly happy even if it means rejecting basically the entire culture he's in. So that's neat. And Bludflag Imma need you to stop. I can legitimately go at this all day, but my surface level knowledge of the FS/N series is gonna out me as a clown sooner or later and I kinda need to dodge that. Assuming I haven't run face first into the clowning pie already.

frozenchicken said:

The Economic Simulationism of the Fate Franchise Part 1-Economic Mechanisms Many compliments have been offered to Nasu for the depth of his worldbuilding, but very few discuss the blatant economic commentary hidden within his works. In particular, the Masters and Servants of the 5th Holy Grail War* are each distinct commentaries on various Economic mechanisms and social systems. Mechanisms Spoiler: Large Corporations

The first of these mechanisms is one that is obvious even to those unfamiliar with economic theory. The Archer-class Servant Gilgamesh is a Great and Powerful Hero, stronger than any other in the series. He enacted his deeds long ago, and in addition to the power and wealth this initially brought him, he laid claim to the Gate of Babylon, a Capitalistic Means of Production that grows his strength from the work of others. In this current age he has thus become an unstoppable juggernaught who can throw his weight around anywhere in the Marketplace of Ideas. Obviously, Gilgamesh symbolises the tyrannical strength of a Corporation who has become too large, and managed to gain a Monopoly. Interestingly, we can see that his Villainy is linked to his growth and desire to expand, as he never possessed such horrific goals in pre-modern times, or when people had purposes that suited his goals. Interestingly, we know that Gilgamesh was at his most personable back in Ancient times when his friend Enkidu was present. This a clear commentary on the necessity of competition to cause healthier business structures. Spoiler: Rational Choice vs Behavioural Economics

One of the simplest and most basic Economic theorems-known as 'Rational Choice Theory'-is examined by the character of Medea ('Caster'). Rational Choice Theory is the assumption that all individuals within in an Economy will act within their own best interests, acting in order to maximise their profits and minimise their losses. This behavioural pattern is shown by Medea's first master, Atram Galiast. Atram is a skilled mage, backed by the Magus Association and equipped with a workshop full of human sacrifices that could massively empower Caster's Magic. With his support, she could easily achieve success in the Holy Grail War. She instead elects to kill him, release the sacrifices, and wander around without hope of survival. In this, we see that Nasu has chosen to support the converse theoreom that is Behavioural Economics. This is the psychology-based study of human behaviours that examines why humans embrace irrational behaviours that makes modelling human action in an economic model so difficult. Medea rejects her first master due to hatred of being bound, and yet embraces Souichirou Kuzuki for his kindness, in spite of the the tactical disadvantage his lack of magic brings. This demonstrates both how standard logical predictions of her actions fail, however once we understand her psychology better (such as the fact she would rather embrace temporary happiness with Kuzuki rather than seek the ideal perfection of a Holy Grail Wish), we become better able to understand her decisions. *Fate/Stay Night, Fate/Unlimited Blade Works, et al. ------------------------------------------------------------- AN: There, look at what you've all made me do. You crazy people. Also, I'm neither an Economist nor an expert on Fate lore, so I accept no blame for this being an illogical pile of absolute BS. We all knew that going in. I was planning to write up a section called 'Love Triangles as Symbolism for Competing Economic Social Systems', but it's 3am here, so I won't. I also didn't comment on all that 'Saberface' stuff, but that's because I know practically nothing about the 10 billion variations of Saber. If somebody wants to actually continue this, be my guest. I have no idea what my work ethic will be like in the morning. [Perk Activation: Sloth!] ....Seriously, feel free.

BlueHelix said:

The Symbology Of Saber In Economics (Or: I Really, Really, Hate Things Like Macroeconomics. Yorokobe, TehChron, frozenchicken, and Neroj. Feel free to critique, this is a half-assed attempt in between my analysis of the MotSR world, and developing my own quest idea.) One could put Saber into one of two possibilities: Keynesian economics, and a pure representation of capitalism. Let's begin with the Keynesian aspect. The ideal of Keynes is a planned economy, that "spends against the wind." Okay, let's break it down. This great plan, hatched by Uther Pendragon and Merlin, try to create something amazing, which is a symbol for the planners like those of Keynesian economics. And Keynes, for a large part, works in times of war, which basically is King Arthur's entire reign. The people unite, things go along to rationing and planning. In times of economic downturn, Keynes says to spend more and more, and to go into debt, which is a little similar to how Saber had to drain the resources of a village to go to war. And in times of economic surplus, one raises taxes and then pays those debts off, which shows in the prosperity of Camelot before it fell. In the perfect ideal of Keynes, also known as "Saber Lily," Keynes works perfectly, with it being a utopian ideal that whenever things go wrong, the government will intervene. On the other hand, Hayek in "The Journey To Serfdom," envisions that this so-called planned economy will fail, and sets the ground for the total corruption of Keynes' ideas, which finally takes the form of in terms of TYPE-MOON as the inversion of Saber: Saber Alter. In between the range of Saber Lily to Saber Alter, from Mysterious Heroine X, to Saber Lion, to Nero, would be the variability of how Keynes' ideas actually worked out in the long run. Secondly, one could look at Saber, and at an extension of her, Camelot, through the lens of free-market capitalism. Saber begins at her journey, and has a really successful start: pulling the Sword of Owed Victory, Caliburn, out of the stone. However, this is really the beginning of a bubble, as she can no longer be a normal person, but rather has to be a king, which is exacerbated by how so many people put faith into her (a false representation at that, as they believed for her to be a male, and put a false set of expectations upon Arturia, putting an enormous task that she, and most of her counterparts, were doomed to failure), and put some truly significant investments into a stock that was higher-valued than its true value (such as Guinevere. And look at how that turned out.) For the longest while though, just like the post-World War I American economy, Saber, buoyed by support from so many, managed to get through the countless wars and competition. However, like all bubbles must eventually do, they burst. And the indicator for this was the eventual plateau of Camelot and Merlin (a vital investor/co-founder) leaving for better pastures (woman troubles.) Then came the confrontation by Mordred, who took so many of her knights (investors) away, leading to a civil war (Black Tuesday and the Great Depression.) Which all went to hell, leading to Arturia making a deal with Alaya (a government bailout), which as we all know, generally fails (Hoover, am I right? And really, Roosevelt as well, because it was the Second World War that revived the American Economy), which leads to a major conflict (Holy Grail War=World Wars. You could fit an enormous amount of connections and parallels here, especially how the Fourth is similar the the First World War, and the Fifth is similar to the Second World War) in order to rejuvenate our stocks (Saber) through the major investments and turnarounds (the Wishes), which usually are misused, and we head back to a depression after a peak (Angra Mainyu and the Corrupted Grail.) This continues on ad infinitum, with the hope that things will be better for the individual, similar to the Fate Route (that one quote I forgot where they say something along the lines that one has to seek forever, and the other will have to wait forever. Halp Bludflag), and maybe, it will work out, similar to the Avalon Bonus Episode: "Welcome back, Shirou."

Raguna Blade said:

Hm. Maybe? Although there's another pretty obvious bit in play here. As far as systems go I can't say but well... Ilya represents Old Money. Like Flat out. Her family is wealthy, one of the ancient and old magus families, they're the ones who functionally MADE the grail wars and the systems that everyone has to deal with, or at least has lived through their transitions, and compared to everyone else, they have a flat overwhelming advantage that simply cannot be surmounted by playing the game as it's supposed to be done. If, as the Grail Wars was supposed to be (basically a big ole tournament of heroic spirits fighting each other) went to plan, basically nobody in the running has a chance at victory. Ignoring Girugamesh for a second here, nobody else was remotely in Hercs range. Flat out, his ass SHOULD have won. And had things functioned as intended, had the other players not basically gone out of their way to get around it, he would have smashed them to pieces. Which, well, is actually a lot how it works with old money anyways. When you have the best education, the best tools, the money, the connections, and all that, it takes something coming from out of left field entirely or a variety of smaller systems and groups rising up to actually topple that power. Now of course I don't know the actual status of the Einzburn family's wealth and a quick wiki walk shows me little to say their exact financial standings, but it has been made clear that as of present the head of the family is basically sinking everything they have into making damn sure that they win the grail war. That is, they want to continue to win the system that they created/had a hand in creating for as long as possible and...Well, past acts in the Grail War Series has proven them to be kind of breaking down. Their attempts to game the system fail spectacularly (See that Whole Avenger thing) and functionally spells their doom down the line as the blow back from basically breaking the system they created keeps coming back to haunt them (Mud of the Grail My guys), while attempts to hire an outside agitator ultimately proves to be damnably effective, in giving the reigns to someone who they do not have perfect control over, it also further destabilizes their control over the system that they are inherently tied to. In fact, let's talk about Mr The Ends Have to Justify The Means for A second, Since he is, in fact, Our Girl Ilya's Old man. At least, as far as it goes with alchemic golemy nonsense. Not quite sure about the blood lines there. But we see him, and Kiritsugu is unquestionably an outsider to the system the Einzburn's have up and running. Oh yes, he is a magus, no doubt, but in the view of this, His family is fallen disgraced and can't claim old money status because well...Dudes poor as shit. Relatively. But the thing is, due to his nature as an outsider, because he's taken the time to grow up outside of the system, to develop and learn things in it, he comes to a very specific view of the world. What it represents in an economic sense isn't important for this here, but the important thing is that because of this, and then later training he acquired in order to pass through the world that he was an outsider of, He was better able to navigate in ways that others in the system simply couldn't conceive of. This of course lead to his ASTOUNDING success at the 4th Grail War, but because again he was fundamentally an outsider, he saw how clearly the system was broken by the time he won and had a choice in the matter. The System can't support itself anylonger, not in the way that it exists presently. It can only be destroyed, and built upon. So what's this to do with Ilya? Well, again, Ilya is Old Money. She has the resources, the connections, the education, the knowledge all that. She can do a tremendous amount. She can, in fact, just about grant the wish of any given person she wishes given those connections. I mean hell, she's literally the Holy Grail. She's literally the system she's built to work within. And as such, compared to the Einzburn Family as a whole, she has unparalleled power to shift control and ultimately destroy the system as she see's fit. And ultimately, in every single route she is dead or dying. Fate See's the system crumble around her, leaving her functionally on life support. Unlimited BLade Works See's the system Kill her itself for it's self (as repped by the glorious golden boy himself), before ultimately self destructing anyway. But Heavens Feel? Well, that's about the only route she has Agency as Grail-chan, and in here we see her, as far as true route's go, Sacrifice herself for Shirou, Underpaid Everyman with Anarchic Leanings. The system is breaking down and dying, and rather than let everything collapse into the rubble and close off any kind of hope for the future (such as it were) she gave a part of herself to those who most wish to abandon what ultimately proved to be a failure of a system, effectively trusting them with the power and resources and such to go forth and create a better tomorrow and all that. Alternatively, It's the Old Money using their powers for good, fostering the growth of a new system that will inevitably replace it down the line, given her existence as a opposite to the Grail that Sakura Represents. Which, Just for the moment, As Black And White Grails, the two play off each other interestingly in that the Matous Are ALSO old money with deep ties to the system. But where Black Grail Sakura could probably be described as Old Money lording it's power around to ill effects, Ilya would essentially be the opposite. Of course, that is a bit beyond what I'm able to play with here.

BlueHelix said:

Okay, first off, someone compile the shitposts about Rin and distill it into something coherent. It is literally that easy, and I'm way too exhausted to do that right now. I think what you're going with here is that Sakura symbolizes those that are under the "capitalist boot" that look to communism as a better alternative, like how Sakura is hot for Shirou. And Shirou is definitely a communist, wanting to save everyone and all that. Actually, the Emiyas could represent the parts of Asia that turned to communism (spits to the side). Norikata Emiya, who went all in towards the pursuit of advancing himself (actually, most hardcore magi) would fit the bad part of free-market capitalism. Such as the big corporations stepping over the people, oil companies and factories polluting the earth, etc., he and ruthless magi represent those who cast others down for their goals of greed and similar actions. And he gets shot by his son after screwing things up royally. Make of that what you will. Now, I'm going to only talk about Natalia, Kiritsugu's sensei, briefly. I'm going to put her as the original capitalists that turned to communism. She has a Russian name, after all. So she represents Russia, who then taught Kiritsugu (other to-be communist states), all she knew (communism/Marxism). And then Kiritsugu has that dream/ideal of being a superhero, to save everyone (haha definitely communism there), which then, after Natalia's death (the reality of a communist state after the "glorious revolution"), turns him into a ruthless machine (Lenin in his first decade or so). However, after taking a job from a third party to win the Fourth Holy Grail War (World War II connection), he meets Irisviel and fathers Illya, significantly mellowing him out (New Economic Policy). At the end, however, the true vision of his dream (the failures of communism: Stalin. Great Leap Forward. Five Year Plans. et al.) is shown to be horrific, which then forces him to cast aside his dream. Then he passes down the ideal of his dream to Shirou. I think basically anyone could make an easy amount of connections between Shirou Emiya and communism. He wants to save the world. He fights against Gilgamesh (the 1% bourgeoisie lording over the poor proletariat), Kirei (the cruel rich finding joy in abusing the poor and others), and Dark Sakura (dark side of capitalism incarnate). He is the "imitation that surpasses the original" (refined "communism" that China, Vietnam, and others have that have outlasted Soviet Russia, the OG communist state, which could technically be Gilgamesh in the sense of being the "original," Natalia on account of being Russian, and Kiritsugu who passed the dream down). He creates an infinite amount of swords with his Reality Marble which then he distributes for the "greater good." And of course: Shirou's inherently self destructive unless something happens to change him. Archer anybody? Edit: I'm done with economic analysis for today. Need to get some rest for the next exams.

Mortifer said:

Okay, okay, how do I sound smart when I know nothing about economics... Uh... Well, the thing about Shinji is that he is, as per canon, actually rather knowledgeable about the theory behind Magecraft, He's just utterly incapable of using it. And his main reason for hating Sakura isn't that she can Magecraft, but that Sakura pitied him for it. He hated that. So, uh... I give up, I don't know economics. Maybe he represents something to do with putting in a lot of effort but not having anything to start with and might be commentary on how being born without advantages is nigh impossible a goal to overcome? I don't know, I don't economics, I should really just shut up before I say something objectively wrong and stupid-sounding. ...Actually, that's never stopped me before. Shinji's backstory friendship with Shirou is symbolic of how those who are disadvantaged in the system may embrace anarchism because the current system isn't working for them, and the two of them stopped being friends when Shirou found out Shinji hit Sakura, which is symbolic of... ...Something... Abusing flaws in a system to progress when the system itself isn't working for them? Criminal activity when legit methods don't work for them I don't know, I'm blanking on how to pretend I know what I'm talking about without getting political and even I refuse to touch the cancer known as politics. Maybe the relationship between Shinji and Sakura can be vaguely considered to be charity? Shinji doesn't care about Sakura, just the benefits he can get from her, but as soon as Shinji starts seeking too much from Sakura she cuts him off. By killing him. Yeah, if I keep following this train of thought I'm going to end up concluding that Sakura's killing Shinji is evidence that capitalism will eventually lead to The Purge so I'm gonna wait until someone else uses something I tossed around here in a way that makes sense and then I'll claim credit.

frozenchicken said:

The Economic Simulationism of the Fate Franchise Part 1-Economic Mechanisms Many compliments have been offered to Nasu for the depth of his worldbuilding, but very few discuss the blatant economic commentary hidden within his works. In particular, the Masters and Servants of the 5th Holy Grail War are each distinct commentaries on various Economic mechanisms and social systems. Mechanisms Spoiler: Large Corporations

One of the simplest and most basic Economic theorems-known as 'Rational Choice Theory'-is examined by the character of Medea ('Caster'). Rational Choice Theory is the assumption that all individuals within in an Economy will act within their own best interests, acting in order to maximise their profits and minimise their losses. This behavioural pattern is shown by Medea's first master, Atram Galiast. Atram is a skilled mage, backed by the Magus Association and equipped with a workshop full of human sacrifices that could massively empower Caster's Magic. With his support, she could easily achieve success in the Holy Grail War. She instead elects to kill him, release the sacrifices, and wander around without hope of survival. In this, we see that Nasu has chosen to support the converse theoreom that is Behavioural Economics. This is the psychology-based study of human behaviours that examines why humans embrace irrational behaviours that makes modelling human action in an economic model so difficult. Medea rejects her first master due to hatred of being bound, and yet embraces Souichirou Kuzuki for his kindness, in spite of the the tactical disadvantage his lack of magic brings. This demonstrates both how standard logical predictions of her actions fail, however once we understand her psychology better (such as the fact she would rather embrace temporary happiness with Kuzuki rather than seek the ideal perfection of a Holy Grail Wish), we become better able to understand her decisions. Part 2- Love Triangles as a Symbol of Competing Economic Models Whilst Financial mechanisms can greatly influence the Global Economy, they are all ultimately subordinate to the various social and Economic systems championed by various nations. This is displayed most clearly in the form of the Masters of the Holy Grail War, particularly Shirou and his assorted romantic interests. Spoiler: Advertising and PR is an important part of the Capitalist System

Tohsaka Rin is perhaps the simplest of the Masters to classify, as her connection to the Capitalist Model has many facets. She is an ambitious young Mage, who desires to work hard in the Holy Grail War so as to achieve success. This expresses itself as desire for a Wish, but also a desire to obtain the Wealth her family once had. Indeed, Nasu makes her connection to finance even more obvious by literally using valuable jewels to store and empower her magic. Moreover, her Capitalistic Philosophy is displayed by the way she not only uses her own efforts, but suborns other Economic systems and models into alliance with herself, and as seen in the UBW Route she even purchases The Means of Production (Saber) for herself and rides her accumulating asset-derived wealth to a successful circumstance. It is perhaps easy to think of Rin as having an unkind philosophy, but it is eventually shown that her pragmatic outlook is simply a way of creating a stable platform of success that she can use to enact her desired philanthropies. Spoiler: Anarchism as an Adaptively Symbiotic Social Construct

The character of Shirou began as a blank protagonist in the F/SN visual novel, who progressed into an Amnesiac anime protagonist with many love interests, multiple established 'Routes' of development and the ability to copy the weapons of others. It is therefore no surprise to say he represents a sort of Symbiotic Anarchy, that is extremely flexible, born from rejection of the ideals of previous systems (as represented by The Revolution), and yet willing to ally with other Economic systems that he believes will align well with him. Though his Anarchistic Philosophy is lacking obvious markers of a particular Economic Policy, he does maintain a clear ideological philosophy that represents itself as a rejection of the unphilanthropic mechanisms of the systems of the past, which is also displayed by an initial fondness for the philanthropic basis of Socialism (Sakura). However, as events continue, he finds himself strongly connected to the will of the People (Saber) and eventually comes into a symbiotic alliance with Rin (Anarcho-Capitalism). One of Shirou's best traits is his adaptability, as he later gains the ability to copy the Economic Mechanisms of other systems. However, he must be careful with his development lest he end up as something he despises (as symbolised by Archer). Spoiler: The Pitfalls of an Idealised Philanthropic EconomyTo build on the earlier analysis, the kind-hearted Sakura initially represents Socialism, and the worms within her are a metaphor for how such centralised power attracts corrupt interests who seek to gain control of everything. The routes where Shinji takes over show one vision of how this can end, as a decadent and corrupt Communist governmental system that replaces her, and exploits the efforts of the past, with his extreme incompetence symbolising the degradation of the state until an eventual collapse. Dark Sakura is the other end of the situation, where the self-interested powers seize control of the state mechanisms, maintaining a coherent Facist government at the cost of perverting the kind-natured original designs of the economic system. Spoiler: The Idealised Economy as represented by a Magical Girl

Illya represents the dream of a post-scarcity economy. She is artificial, shares a parent with Anarchism, her unaging youth shows just how far we are away from achieving that dream, and (much like Sakura) her potential as a Grail Vessel shows the hopeful, dream-like nature of their systems and how they are vulnerable to degradation/corruption. Herakles (and his 12 Labours) symbolises the impossible difficulties involved in achieving such a dream, but also the impossible strength of such a system if it were actually achieved. (Continued in the next post, as SB has an Image Limit).

frozenchicken said:

Part 3- Economic Analysis and The People Economic Systems of the Past Spoiler: Rejection of the Old and the Revolutions that followWe can see that Natalia rejects the old systems and turns away from them, but it is Kiritsugu who is the most interesting representation of this aspect, as he is The Revolution. He enlists the help of the Masses (as represented by Saber), and then proceeds to destroy all the existing power structures. His path is bloody and destructive, he fails to achieve his goals and in the end his victory only ends in disillusionment as he destroys the unrealistic hopes presented by the Holy Grail. However, in the wake of his passing, two new philosophies, Shirou (Anarchism) and Illya (Post-Scarcity) come to be. Spoiler: The limitations of Theory when contrasted against Pragmatism

The final aspect of Fate to be analysed is The Holy Grail, which represents the Grand Theories of Economists, with each wish being an idealised end state of various economic models-and the cursed nature shows they all eventually fail to predict how human agency alters events, causing the models to go off-track. Shirou (Anarchism) does not have a specific Wish in mind, but may react in a manner determined by circumstance. Saber has multiple desires, that may include allying herself to other economic systems, seeking a perfect state for capitalism to operate by, or perhaps even rejecting the truth of trickle-down economics and attempting to remove the elitist mechanisms of the capitalist state-as represented by herself. All the manifestations of the Grail that interact with a member of the Matou family seem to end badly for them, and though an ideal state could be found, most have given up hope of that. Special Thanks to Raguna, Blue Helix, Last Sanction and also to Karugus for coming up with that 'Invisible Hand' line. Oh, and also Mortifier whose lengthy contribution ended up...well, it's quality, not quantity that matters, right?

#Fate/stay night #fate stay night #fate/zero #fate zero #economics #saber #social commentary #type-moon #spacebattles

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