[ Gilgamesh laughs a little. Sarcasm is familiar, comfortable between them. ]
I'm... pleased by the fact that you're open. [ to the possible future, but also to this. ] It may have been a misjudgment for me to speak, though I am incapable of misjudgments, hmph! But... I did not want to cross some threshold with you which would unnecessarily -- complicate matters.
I suppose it's difficult to set aside my pride. But, ah, Master, are you not doing the same? [ that's how he has to see it. that they both are. that it isn't some game of continual one-upmanship where someone is losing and someone is winning and someone is pushing and someone is pulling. the sexual economy has always been that to him, and even if he sincerely meant not to take that approach with her in his offer, on some level perhaps it was there in his immediate awkwardness. it's very very challenging, but... ] I do respect you. I want to satisfy you... as you like. Lead the way, Master!
I'm trying to be fair to you, that's all. I've calmed down, since you first arrived. Gilgamesh is Gilgamesh, but I'm confident that you aren't hellbent on making me yours beyond the way I already am. Right now, there isn't some ominous clock ticking down to the end of the world; we have the luxury to take our time with this.
[Really, he should be more cautious. When it comes to sexual economy, in Hakuno's case it's more of a game of Monopoly, and the deck always seems to be stacked in her favor. She has a way of dragging people into deep, clinging feelings, of artlessly baring her heart and tangling others in it without the slightest of ill intentions.
He's seen it firsthand.]
...Gilgamesh.
[She pats his head gently one last time, and pulls back to shoot him a wry look.]
[ On a certain level, Gilgamesh does understand how his other self could have lost it. After all, he and Hakuno cultivated a surprising degree of closeness during their time in the Moon Cell, even if there was minimal touching. It was certainly beyond what this Gilgamesh would have expected, but it happened quite incrementally.
On the other hand, his twin had all of that shoved into his mind abruptly, with no gradations. And Hakuno would be right to be wary because Gilgamesh hasn't exactly had a great track record with wanting to possess women Saber cough, but... again, incremental developments.
So, yes, Hakuno, taking time is wise, and that Gilgamesh acquiesces should further put your mind at ease.
BUT ANYWAY... ]
Oh? Is that so? Well, perhaps I should assist you, Master.
[ PICKS HAKUNO UP AND FLINGS HER ONTO THE BED, THEN FLINGS HIMSELF IN AFTER HER... ]
[She doesn't even have time to flail, bouncing amoung her plush pillows and coverlets, and then suddenly bounced in accordance with his sudden addition as well. She squirms a little, and rolls over to face him.
She seems to be glowering at him, but there's something bright and childishly pleased dancing in her eyes.]
[ And really, it's not a day ending in -y if he can't bully the cute squirrel girl. She bullies back well, for that matter.
The bed is soft, and filled with Hakuno's sweet feminine scent, warm and perfumed, like everything else in this room. No doubt even if Gilgamesh says nothing, the others will smell it on his skin after their literal embrace. It's certainly not his own scent, which is more sandalwood and a faint metallic tang from all the gold he wears -- nothing flowery whatsoever.
It definitely is pleasing to see the brightness in her eyes. Gilgamesh adjusts himself amid the pillows and eases closer, hesitating for another moment before giving up and giving over, wrapping his arms around her and lying face to face, a scant few inches between them now. Her body is so small, but up close like this, she may notice that, absent the armor which added weight and the spiked hair which added height, he's a bit smaller than he may initially have looked, too... and younger, for all his thousands of years of age. ]
This is certainly preferable to our arrangements in the Moon Cell, wouldn't you say, Hakuno?
[That hesitation is a mark in his favor. If nothing else, it shows a degree of caution and thoughtfulness, at least in that moment. It's frustratingly easy to feel relaxed now, as well. The other Gilgamesh hadn't been in this form when he attacked her, after all, and this one before her spent weeks personally ensuring her personal safety.
She wrinkles her nose at him.]
On the Far Side, definitely. Sleeping on the floor was terrible. Ah, but currently, I have two amazing beds back home: one in each of the capitals that Nero and Tamamo built.
I had many splendid beds in Uruk as well, as befits the first among kings. Ah, but --
[ a little hesitant again... but only a little. as much as it's frustratingly easy for her to lapse in her strict rules around him, it's also frustratingly easy for him to let his guard down around her, so maybe she can take some comfort in the realization that they're both pushing their own boundaries and there's a rare mutuality in that. ]
I'm... quite unaccustomed to lying with someone. In such a manner as this. I slept alone in my chambers. My wives and consorts and anyone I embraced in "the other manner" slept in their own spaces.
[ certainly his palaces were opulent enough for any brides to have their own quarters. Gilgamesh kept to himself... with the exception of his friend, sometimes. they certainly lay together while traveling, and sometimes in his palace room, in the most special and private quarters reserved for the king. but even that had often been sexual. this is very strange territory. ]
Nero and Tamamo both like this sort of closeness, so--
[She pauses, mid-reassurance, as something he just said resonates and reminds her of something she overlooked, or maybe failed to examine too closely at the pertinent point in time.]
...wait, wait, did you say something about a wife here, a little bit ago?
[ Oh, yes. He had briefly mentioned that, hadn't he? Actually, Gilgamesh had been considering asking Hakuno about this woman, since honestly he still scarcely knows her. Not that this was completely unusual, given that, for as odd as it would seem to most modern perspectives, many of his marriages had been arranged and thus to people he barely knew, and many he barely saw after marriage, too... but this wife seemed particularly special to his twin. ]
In a manner of speaking, yes. A woman who is the embodiment of the country, Vietnam. [ strange, but, well, look at the both of them. ] She is not my wife, though. She is the wife of the other me. He told her to love me, and she insists she does... however...
[ hm. again, he debated whether to talk to about this, but... it's good to have someone to confide in who's a bit more removed from the situation... ]
Hakuno, I highly distrust a "love" which seems so derivative. I do not know or understand this woman. She has treated me well. I feel a certain fondness for her at moments, yet I also find her insistent affections cloying. I suspect they're in part some self-appeasement.
I think perhaps you understand, having been so often "loved" as an extension of other people's manias and desire to satisfy themselves through you. Though for me, it has always been this way... it is what we call love, in my era, for the king.
[ "love" for him has always had a pretty different meaning. everything was either a game of dominance and submission, or conquest, or adoration for the King but not really for any sort of internal self -- rather an idea of him, which is how he suspects this new wife sees him, though she would argue otherwise. so in that respect, she's not that unusual, among wives. ]
Mm. It's different with you. You do not revere me. Though it's difficult to express, even for me, I feel I receive some truth when I speak to you.
[It's a very particular type of silence that sweeps over her. A cold one, but not one directed at him if the thoughtful expression on her face means anything. There's something sharp in her eyes though, like a blade pulled just an inch out of its sheath.]
Well, first and foremost, it isn't your duty to love somebody just because they claim to have feelings for you. If she's suffocating you, leave, or tell her that her assertions and avowals aren't welcome or wanted. You could... try to be polite about it. She has absolutely no claim on you, after all, and you have no history with her. Whatever she or your other self might think, if you aren't interested in that sort of attachment with her, then she isn't your wife. Period. She doesn't have to be anything in particular to you. Surely you had your share of unbound admirers in the past, right?
[ He hasn't exactly been polite in the face of some of Vietnam's talk of love, having dismissed her rudely or shoved her away a few times, though he hasn't been excessively cruel, either. Not yet, and perhaps it won't come to that if they can establish some form of more normal and gradual relationship as he and Hakuno have managed. The problem is that when you make Gilgamesh feel a certain way, too much at once, there's always the possibility of tripping that switch. It's probably for the best that he addressed this with his Master, all told, since she's a calming presence in his life, and though he would never admit it out loud, the downfall of his other self has impressed upon him a little more caution. ]
Hm. Hakuno... are you unwell?
[ In the relative darkness, he regards her with sudden concern. ]
I thought perhaps you knew them better than I... yes, they live in a place called Atua, in the desert. I was invited to live there, also. Tonight, I left to be here. I needed distance, I suppose.
I'm... possibly furious. Maybe. I need to talk to her about something, that's all.
[Vietnam seems like a kind woman, from what Hakuno has seen of her. But, Gilgamesh can be charming, and he was monstrous to her friend. Who's to say Vietnam isn't every bit as monstrous underneath? Or maybe... maybe he kept it from her? Is she oblivious even now, to what he's done? Does she know the man she welcomes to her bed has forced himself on others here?
She forces herself to slowly inhale, and exhale.]
...I can understand needing space. Sometimes too much interest and affection can be... claustrophobic. And... well, my home is open to you too, if you want.
[ He pauses before leaning in and reciprocating the kiss to her forehead, then pulling back, re-establishing space. Their lighthearted respite had taken a dark turn, but as Hakuno has reminded him, there's a lot going on for her right now. ]
I'm glad of that. I want to visit you again like this.
[ HM. QUICK, SAY SOMETHING STUPID TO DISTRACT HER FROM ANGRY SADNESS ... ]
Of course... I... I will not have much time to experience claustrophobia of any sort soon, for I will be preoccupied with building my Thrilling Splash Time resort worthy of the true King of Heroes. Of course your mongrel self is welcome to come experience its joys and pleasures.
[The kiss puts her off-balance, disrupting the angry whirlpool of what-ifs and maybes starting to sift around her head before it can pick up too much momentum. Certainly, she had made those overtures herself, but...
It means something, for him to offer the same sort of tenderness that she might. No barbs, no backhanded compliments, just honest appreciation.
--and, as it so happens, he picks just the right topic to keep her from tumbling back into that hole.]
...that water park of yours? Where are you building it? How are you going to keep the demons out?
[ The strange thing about him saying/doing the right things is that this Gilgamesh isn't necessarily going out of his way to do so, as Hakuno insinuated his alternate self is doing. He's pushing at the edge of his usual limits, to be sure, but it feels quite natural and effortless somehow. It can really only be explained by the particular nature of the Master/Servant bond and a long time of knowing one another, even if this Hakuno is different in some ways. ]
Why, I'm building it in Atua, of course. Ha, I confiscated the land from that other mongrel. [ well, kind of. or bargained with sex or something something. it's a little blurry. ] Hahahaha, of course when I saw the oasis, I knew I must achieve my dream of a waterpark worthy of my name, something to inspire all the mongrels on this new world to properly revere me...
... hm. Ah. I suppose there are some minor logistical matters remaining to be considered. Hakuno, am I to understand you do not think people would take pleasure in the joy of battling demons during their adventures in my watery paradise?
[She... yeah, she probably won't be coming to visit Trilling Splash Time any time soon, if that is the case. But, all the same, she hesitates to actually tell him so; it's his baby, his pride and joy, something he poured his heart and mind into with a single-minded purity that was almost childlike in its eagerness.
So... she doesn't say it. She lets the conversation move along, instead.]
Uh, yeah, big time. Most people don't find fighting against death and rape to be, uh... relaxing.
[ well, she's always welcome to visit if/when she and Other Gil get on better terms. but aw, how cute. good thing Gil has no idea she's thinking such cute things. there would have to be merciless teasing. ]
...
Hm. I see. I am open to suggestions. Is there someone you would trust with such a matter, Hakuno?
[She nestles her head against the pillow and nibbles her lip as she thinks, turning over different ideas.]
The only one who jumps to mind for barrier magic on a large scale would be Kris and his sister, but... well, they already have Tel'Adre to take care of. Do you... not have some sort of magical item in your treasury you could use?
[Oh. Oh wait, he, uh... most of his treasure is...]
Or, actually, can you access the other Gilgamesh's Vault, too?
I sense your meaning. On that point, even I am confused. Hmph. It's certain that when I freed you from the Moon Cell, I lost 90% of my treasury, yet when I came to this new world, I found it restored to me.
[ because something something RPer plothole mutter mutter. ]
It may be exactly as you guess. In fact, I feel certain that my powers and treasury have actually grown since my arrival on this world -- beyond what they were before. It may be that I have access to multiple Gates from multiple versions of me across space and time.
[ perish the thought. ]
If it means entertaining the masses so that they will revere me properly, I suppose it may be worth my time to use a barrier item. However... [ a little more seriously... ] ... on the subject of corruption, Hakuno, there is something I must say to you.
[That makes him richer than God and probably ten times as shiny, but like hell she'll say that either. The last thing she needs is the second coming of that Hassan bullshit.]
[ Oh, Hassan. Good times. Gilgamesh definitely needs to bring that one back up sometime. ]
...
Hm.
[ Gilgamesh sits up in bed, draping a hand over his knee and looking down at her with narrowed eyes. ]
Did something happen? Not precisely. However... because of my nature, I should be unable to fall victim to corruption. When we contracted the first time, I had slept on the Far Side for half of eternity with all the world's evils, and yet there was no spiritual effect.
Yet... I cannot deny what I have seen. [ as much as he would like to, he knows better. and this Gilgamesh has been rather distraught over his findings, as Hakuno would have heard in his voice earlier, but he gives voice to it a bit more fully now. he hasn't talked to anyone about this in depth. not even his other self -- preferring to ignore the matter. ] Master, this other me tells me that the corruption will certainly spread to me as well.
[ ... yeahhhhh we're just leaving off the part of them having tons of sex that would most likely infect like a disease... ]
Though I do not wish it. I had meant to inquire as to whether you know of any remedies or preventive measures, as I am unfamiliar with this world. But that said, if this undesirable outcome should ever come to pass, then Hakuno...
[ He reaches down, clasping her hands. ]
As my Master, you must destroy me. I will ensure that you have the resources to do so. I would rather not exist and perish in my glory than to continue in such a state.
Well, if the corruption isn't too deep, I can purify it just the same as toxins or paralysis magic. I... I tried my best with your other self, I tried until my Body was on the cusp of breaking and I blacked out, but whatever that incubus did to him, it got him deep, and it spread fast. Back when he and I first met in this world he was... uh...
[Thank God she doesn't have to look him in the eye for this...!]
He was being mounted by a demon lion. I intervened, and what little corruption there was at that point, I could take care of. I think, as long as you keep your sexual partners among the untainted, you should be okay. ...and as long as you don't get overpowered in battle, somehow. He didn't have relations with that incubus, as far as I'm aware.
For me, the Regalia preserves my current state; I'm not sure, but I think if my Body ever became too corrupted, the Regalia might just delete it and generate a new, pure one.
[That's total conjecture, though. More pressingly...]
...Gilgamesh. Has nobody told you...?
[Oh boy. She squeezes his hands right back.]
Death doesn't stick, here. If you die, you'll just wake up back in Tel'Adre, I think. So, I can't fulfill that request. But if that does happen, then I'll do everything in my power to save you, no matter what. I promise you that.
[ yes, ok, he has heard a little about this demon lion business and he's still Trying Not To Think About what exactly they're insinuating.
... ANGSTY DISMAY INTENSIFIES. ]
Is that so? Then, under those conditions, I suppose it is already too late.
Truly, I could laugh. Of course that mongrel would not tell me something like that... perhaps he hoped to spread his revolting disease. I cannot say. How fittingly ironic, I suppose, that I would find my quest for immortality realized at such a price.
[She pulls back, if only to give him a supremely unimpressed look.]
I should have expected that you wouldn't be able to resist spreading your legs for yourself, you silly old narcissist.
[She heaves a sigh and squeezes his hands again, summoning up the power of the Regalia and sweeping it through him. It's a warm, gentle pulse of her mana, different from the soft thrum he might have gotten used to feeling from their Master-Servant connection. As long as the damage isn't too severe, if it even exists, she should be able to purify any corruption he's accumulated up to this point.]
[ This is definitely his punishment for calling her "filthy." ]
Don't say such things, Master. I was simply punishing that one for daring to occupy my identity and for his other transgressions.
[ Maybe he's being a little dramatic, but well, Hakuno, we have both Seen His Other Self. It's a wretched fate. However, it would be just like his Master to never give up and to keep trying even in the face of challenges. He laughs again, arrogance resumed, but they both surely know he'll take her warning seriously as far as corrupted partners.
Possibly there will be a Talk, at least.
His Master's hands are warm and the pulse of energy between them is the touch of the Moon Cell's power, which has a certain familiar feeling even now. Yes, perhaps his concern is a little bit abrupt. Here, in this place and time, it certainly feels like all is well. It's comfortable and familiar, even. Gilgamesh had been keeping somewhat distant even while they lay together, but at the press of her purifying hands -- hands he extended his own towards -- he clasps one hand in one of hers and wraps his other arm around her shoulder, pulling her into a literal embrace. ]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
I'm... pleased by the fact that you're open. [ to the possible future, but also to this. ] It may have been a misjudgment for me to speak, though I am incapable of misjudgments, hmph! But... I did not want to cross some threshold with you which would unnecessarily -- complicate matters.
I suppose it's difficult to set aside my pride. But, ah, Master, are you not doing the same? [ that's how he has to see it. that they both are. that it isn't some game of continual one-upmanship where someone is losing and someone is winning and someone is pushing and someone is pulling. the sexual economy has always been that to him, and even if he sincerely meant not to take that approach with her in his offer, on some level perhaps it was there in his immediate awkwardness. it's very very challenging, but... ] I do respect you. I want to satisfy you... as you like. Lead the way, Master!
no subject
[Really, he should be more cautious. When it comes to sexual economy, in Hakuno's case it's more of a game of Monopoly, and the deck always seems to be stacked in her favor. She has a way of dragging people into deep, clinging feelings, of artlessly baring her heart and tangling others in it without the slightest of ill intentions.
He's seen it firsthand.]
...Gilgamesh.
[She pats his head gently one last time, and pulls back to shoot him a wry look.]
My bed is literally five feet behind you.
no subject
On the other hand, his twin had all of that shoved into his mind abruptly, with no gradations. And Hakuno would be right to be wary because Gilgamesh hasn't exactly had a great track record with wanting to possess women
Saber cough, but... again, incremental developments.So, yes, Hakuno, taking time is wise, and that Gilgamesh acquiesces should further put your mind at ease.
BUT ANYWAY... ]
Oh? Is that so? Well, perhaps I should assist you, Master.
[ PICKS HAKUNO UP AND FLINGS HER ONTO THE BED, THEN FLINGS HIMSELF IN AFTER HER... ]
no subject
[She doesn't even have time to flail, bouncing amoung her plush pillows and coverlets, and then suddenly bounced in accordance with his sudden addition as well. She squirms a little, and rolls over to face him.
She seems to be glowering at him, but there's something bright and childishly pleased dancing in her eyes.]
...you're the worst.
no subject
I did inform you that I was a demon ...
[ And really, it's not a day ending in -y if he can't bully the cute squirrel girl. She bullies back well, for that matter.
The bed is soft, and filled with Hakuno's sweet feminine scent, warm and perfumed, like everything else in this room. No doubt even if Gilgamesh says nothing, the others will smell it on his skin after their literal embrace. It's certainly not his own scent, which is more sandalwood and a faint metallic tang from all the gold he wears -- nothing flowery whatsoever.
It definitely is pleasing to see the brightness in her eyes. Gilgamesh adjusts himself amid the pillows and eases closer, hesitating for another moment before giving up and giving over, wrapping his arms around her and lying face to face, a scant few inches between them now. Her body is so small, but up close like this, she may notice that, absent the armor which added weight and the spiked hair which added height, he's a bit smaller than he may initially have looked, too... and younger, for all his thousands of years of age. ]
This is certainly preferable to our arrangements in the Moon Cell, wouldn't you say, Hakuno?
no subject
She wrinkles her nose at him.]
On the Far Side, definitely. Sleeping on the floor was terrible. Ah, but currently, I have two amazing beds back home: one in each of the capitals that Nero and Tamamo built.
no subject
[ a little hesitant again... but only a little. as much as it's frustratingly easy for her to lapse in her strict rules around him, it's also frustratingly easy for him to let his guard down around her, so maybe she can take some comfort in the realization that they're both pushing their own boundaries and there's a rare mutuality in that. ]
I'm... quite unaccustomed to lying with someone. In such a manner as this. I slept alone in my chambers. My wives and consorts and anyone I embraced in "the other manner" slept in their own spaces.
[ certainly his palaces were opulent enough for any brides to have their own quarters. Gilgamesh kept to himself... with the exception of his friend, sometimes. they certainly lay together while traveling, and sometimes in his palace room, in the most special and private quarters reserved for the king. but even that had often been sexual. this is very strange territory. ]
no subject
[She pauses, mid-reassurance, as something he just said resonates and reminds her of something she overlooked, or maybe failed to examine too closely at the pertinent point in time.]
...wait, wait, did you say something about a wife here, a little bit ago?
no subject
In a manner of speaking, yes. A woman who is the embodiment of the country, Vietnam. [ strange, but, well, look at the both of them. ] She is not my wife, though. She is the wife of the other me. He told her to love me, and she insists she does... however...
[ hm. again, he debated whether to talk to about this, but... it's good to have someone to confide in who's a bit more removed from the situation... ]
Hakuno, I highly distrust a "love" which seems so derivative. I do not know or understand this woman. She has treated me well. I feel a certain fondness for her at moments, yet I also find her insistent affections cloying. I suspect they're in part some self-appeasement.
I think perhaps you understand, having been so often "loved" as an extension of other people's manias and desire to satisfy themselves through you. Though for me, it has always been this way... it is what we call love, in my era, for the king.
[ "love" for him has always had a pretty different meaning. everything was either a game of dominance and submission, or conquest, or adoration for the King but not really for any sort of internal self -- rather an idea of him, which is how he suspects this new wife sees him, though she would argue otherwise. so in that respect, she's not that unusual, among wives. ]
Mm. It's different with you. You do not revere me. Though it's difficult to express, even for me, I feel I receive some truth when I speak to you.
no subject
[It's a very particular type of silence that sweeps over her. A cold one, but not one directed at him if the thoughtful expression on her face means anything. There's something sharp in her eyes though, like a blade pulled just an inch out of its sheath.]
Well, first and foremost, it isn't your duty to love somebody just because they claim to have feelings for you. If she's suffocating you, leave, or tell her that her assertions and avowals aren't welcome or wanted. You could... try to be polite about it. She has absolutely no claim on you, after all, and you have no history with her. Whatever she or your other self might think, if you aren't interested in that sort of attachment with her, then she isn't your wife. Period. She doesn't have to be anything in particular to you. Surely you had your share of unbound admirers in the past, right?
[That said...]
...does Vietnam... live with him?
no subject
Hm. Hakuno... are you unwell?
[ In the relative darkness, he regards her with sudden concern. ]
I thought perhaps you knew them better than I... yes, they live in a place called Atua, in the desert. I was invited to live there, also. Tonight, I left to be here. I needed distance, I suppose.
no subject
[Vietnam seems like a kind woman, from what Hakuno has seen of her. But, Gilgamesh can be charming, and he was monstrous to her friend. Who's to say Vietnam isn't every bit as monstrous underneath? Or maybe... maybe he kept it from her? Is she oblivious even now, to what he's done? Does she know the man she welcomes to her bed has forced himself on others here?
She forces herself to slowly inhale, and exhale.]
...I can understand needing space. Sometimes too much interest and affection can be... claustrophobic. And... well, my home is open to you too, if you want.
no subject
I'm glad of that. I want to visit you again like this.
[ HM. QUICK, SAY SOMETHING STUPID TO DISTRACT HER FROM ANGRY SADNESS ... ]
Of course... I... I will not have much time to experience claustrophobia of any sort soon, for I will be preoccupied with building my Thrilling Splash Time resort worthy of the true King of Heroes. Of course your mongrel self is welcome to come experience its joys and pleasures.
no subject
It means something, for him to offer the same sort of tenderness that she might. No barbs, no backhanded compliments, just honest appreciation.
--and, as it so happens, he picks just the right topic to keep her from tumbling back into that hole.]
...that water park of yours? Where are you building it? How are you going to keep the demons out?
no subject
Why, I'm building it in Atua, of course. Ha, I confiscated the land from that other mongrel. [ well, kind of. or bargained with sex or something something. it's a little blurry. ] Hahahaha, of course when I saw the oasis, I knew I must achieve my dream of a waterpark worthy of my name, something to inspire all the mongrels on this new world to properly revere me...
... hm. Ah. I suppose there are some minor logistical matters remaining to be considered. Hakuno, am I to understand you do not think people would take pleasure in the joy of battling demons during their adventures in my watery paradise?
no subject
[She... yeah, she probably won't be coming to visit Trilling Splash Time any time soon, if that is the case. But, all the same, she hesitates to actually tell him so; it's his baby, his pride and joy, something he poured his heart and mind into with a single-minded purity that was almost childlike in its eagerness.
So... she doesn't say it. She lets the conversation move along, instead.]
Uh, yeah, big time. Most people don't find fighting against death and rape to be, uh... relaxing.
no subject
...
Hm. I see. I am open to suggestions. Is there someone you would trust with such a matter, Hakuno?
no subject
[She nestles her head against the pillow and nibbles her lip as she thinks, turning over different ideas.]
The only one who jumps to mind for barrier magic on a large scale would be Kris and his sister, but... well, they already have Tel'Adre to take care of. Do you... not have some sort of magical item in your treasury you could use?
[Oh. Oh wait, he, uh... most of his treasure is...]
Or, actually, can you access the other Gilgamesh's Vault, too?
no subject
I sense your meaning. On that point, even I am confused. Hmph. It's certain that when I freed you from the Moon Cell, I lost 90% of my treasury, yet when I came to this new world, I found it restored to me.
[ because something something RPer plothole mutter mutter. ]
It may be exactly as you guess. In fact, I feel certain that my powers and treasury have actually grown since my arrival on this world -- beyond what they were before. It may be that I have access to multiple Gates from multiple versions of me across space and time.
[ perish the thought. ]
If it means entertaining the masses so that they will revere me properly, I suppose it may be worth my time to use a barrier item. However... [ a little more seriously... ] ... on the subject of corruption, Hakuno, there is something I must say to you.
no subject
[That makes him richer than God and probably ten times as shiny, but like hell she'll say that either. The last thing she needs is the second coming of that Hassan bullshit.]
That's good to hear.
[But, more seriously—]
...yes? Did... did something happen?
no subject
...
Hm.
[ Gilgamesh sits up in bed, draping a hand over his knee and looking down at her with narrowed eyes. ]
Did something happen? Not precisely. However... because of my nature, I should be unable to fall victim to corruption. When we contracted the first time, I had slept on the Far Side for half of eternity with all the world's evils, and yet there was no spiritual effect.
Yet... I cannot deny what I have seen. [ as much as he would like to, he knows better. and this Gilgamesh has been rather distraught over his findings, as Hakuno would have heard in his voice earlier, but he gives voice to it a bit more fully now. he hasn't talked to anyone about this in depth. not even his other self -- preferring to ignore the matter. ] Master, this other me tells me that the corruption will certainly spread to me as well.
[ ... yeahhhhh we're just leaving off the part of them having tons of sex that would most likely infect like a disease... ]
Though I do not wish it. I had meant to inquire as to whether you know of any remedies or preventive measures, as I am unfamiliar with this world. But that said, if this undesirable outcome should ever come to pass, then Hakuno...
[ He reaches down, clasping her hands. ]
As my Master, you must destroy me. I will ensure that you have the resources to do so. I would rather not exist and perish in my glory than to continue in such a state.
no subject
[Thank God she doesn't have to look him in the eye for this...!]
He was being mounted by a demon lion. I intervened, and what little corruption there was at that point, I could take care of. I think, as long as you keep your sexual partners among the untainted, you should be okay. ...and as long as you don't get overpowered in battle, somehow. He didn't have relations with that incubus, as far as I'm aware.
For me, the Regalia preserves my current state; I'm not sure, but I think if my Body ever became too corrupted, the Regalia might just delete it and generate a new, pure one.
[That's total conjecture, though. More pressingly...]
...Gilgamesh. Has nobody told you...?
[Oh boy. She squeezes his hands right back.]
Death doesn't stick, here. If you die, you'll just wake up back in Tel'Adre, I think. So, I can't fulfill that request. But if that does happen, then I'll do everything in my power to save you, no matter what. I promise you that.
no subject
... ANGSTY DISMAY INTENSIFIES. ]
Is that so? Then, under those conditions, I suppose it is already too late.
Truly, I could laugh. Of course that mongrel would not tell me something like that... perhaps he hoped to spread his revolting disease. I cannot say. How fittingly ironic, I suppose, that I would find my quest for immortality realized at such a price.
no subject
[She pulls back, if only to give him a supremely unimpressed look.]
I should have expected that you wouldn't be able to resist spreading your legs for yourself, you silly old narcissist.
[She heaves a sigh and squeezes his hands again, summoning up the power of the Regalia and sweeping it through him. It's a warm, gentle pulse of her mana, different from the soft thrum he might have gotten used to feeling from their Master-Servant connection. As long as the damage isn't too severe, if it even exists, she should be able to purify any corruption he's accumulated up to this point.]
Please, be more careful from here on out.
no subject
Don't say such things, Master. I was simply punishing that one for daring to occupy my identity and for his other transgressions.
[ Maybe he's being a little dramatic, but well, Hakuno, we have both Seen His Other Self. It's a wretched fate. However, it would be just like his Master to never give up and to keep trying even in the face of challenges. He laughs again, arrogance resumed, but they both surely know he'll take her warning seriously as far as corrupted partners.
Possibly there will be a Talk, at least.
His Master's hands are warm and the pulse of energy between them is the touch of the Moon Cell's power, which has a certain familiar feeling even now. Yes, perhaps his concern is a little bit abrupt. Here, in this place and time, it certainly feels like all is well. It's comfortable and familiar, even. Gilgamesh had been keeping somewhat distant even while they lay together, but at the press of her purifying hands -- hands he extended his own towards -- he clasps one hand in one of hers and wraps his other arm around her shoulder, pulling her into a literal embrace. ]
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)