History Fanfic / FromFakeDreams

* ReasonYouSuckSpeech: During [[spoiler:Waver]]'s trial, Sirius tears the prosecutor a new one about blindly taking Kiritsugu's word about Gilgamesh and the corrupted grail, saying that mere magecraft users are far more qualified to know when everything goes to hell than pure Magi, because they are the ones in the field who have to deal with it. A number of Enforcers in the courtroom nod in agreement upon hearing that.

** Worst of all, her intuition pushes her to suspect Shirou is the Ash of Miracles. Even though Waver is a master of ExactWords and MetaphoricallyTrue statements it isn't quite enough to convince her, and she only stays her hand because Shirou and Waver are just THAT DAMN USEFUL.

** Chapter 60 finally has Lorelei finding about a LOT of the secrets Waver and Sirius had been hiding, namely Shirou's Reality Marble, his becoming a Counter Guardian in another timeline

** [[spoiler:As of Chapter 60, Lorelei is in the loop regarding Shirou's Reality Marble and its possibilities. However, she has yet to know for sure he is the Ash of Miracles, even though she now has strong suspicions.]]

** Chapter 60's final line will throw a lot of people in for a loop.

* SecretIdentity:

* LockedOutOfTheLoop: Out of all the Servants in the Grail War, for a long time Archer is the one who is least informed about the current situation. [[{{Irony}} Which is incredibly hilarious when you think about it]]. It's not so funny anymore, however, when the truth comes out in an explosive confrontation that leaves several people traumatized by [[InternalReveal what they learn]].

* WhamLine: More than a few but one in particular stands out

** Shirou finally gets to know who Archer is, and his history, with a HeroicBSOD

!!From Fake Dreams provides examples of:

--->'''Shirou:''' ''Sacrifice and save, blade of the cursed hero.'' '''Kiritsugu!'''

-->''"It's not big enough."''

-->''"...You, aren't very good at this."''

-->Shirou and Sakura looked at one another skeptically. Technically they HAD done what Taiga was jokingly insinuating, along with other surreal and potentially illegal activities, but they weren't going to tell her that…
-->''"No, sensei."'' Sakura smiled sincerely. ''"We were just talking about the secret war and conspiracies we are currently involved in that may or may not involve our violent deaths in the near future."''
-->… Or maybe they were.

* EvilCannotComprehendGood: Actually averted by Witch!Caster when, after getting thwarted time and again and this time being cornered in a very uncomfortable situation, she finally takes the time to think through things and put herself in Shirou's shoes, figuring out his motivations, and realizes heroes truly are predictable.

* FunnyAneurysmMoment: At first, Rin is EntertaininglyWrong when she thinks Archer is a future version of the Shirou she knows. It's no longer funny when she learns the truth and [[FreakOut becomes mentally unstable]] and emotionally destroyed over what she learns about him and the implications that she would be an utter failure at helping the man she loves, a mission she devoted herself to when she learned how "distorted" Shirou is. %%InUniverse

* EveryoneHasStandards: [[ByronicHero Archer]] is one of the most ruthless characters in the story, much like he is in the source material, to the point that he's willing to [[spoiler:kill his own allies]] if it means furthering his goals, but even ''he'' balks at the thought of telling Rin about [[RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil Sakura's]] [[DarkAndTroubledPast childhood]] in front of other people, he flat out says that he respects Saber too much to reveal what he knows about her back-story and the circumstances behind her pseudo-Servant status, and he admits that Illya is the only person he won't betray consciously. He gets to show he has far more standards than even himself gave credit for in chapter 48 by TakingAThirdOption when confronted with Sakura nearly going critical, no thanks to Witch!Caster. [[LampshadeHanging Lampshaded]] by Luvia:

->''My body is made of blades… Fire is my blood… and Glass is my heart… Through countless battles I forever wait, alone on the hill of blades… For Hell's hands to bear… For Heaven's hands to temper… Never yearning for salvation… Thus I see the dream, on the hill of blades.''

''[[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/7207791/1/From_Fake_Dreams From Fake Dreams]]'' is a VisualNovel/FateStayNight AlternateUniverseFic written by Third Fang, author of the [[{{Doorstopper}} incredibly long]] ''[[FanFic/YetAgain Yet again, with a little extra help]]'' FanFic. The story follows the Magus Killer as he seeks to have Shirou properly trained in skills for the upcoming war, and then Shirou as he tries to make sense of the world of Magi he's been thrust deep into.

!!This fanfiction series contains examples of:

* ExplainExplainOhCrap: When Shirou mentally goes through the list of people who would have had any evidence pointing to him possessing Avalon during Chapter 53, he realises that the most likely possiblility is Barthomelloi, and that things would likely not go well for anyone if that was the case.

* AlternateUniverse: While already one to VisualNovel/FateStayNight, the fic serves as an abnormality amidst the Kaleidoscope. Most worlds in the Kaleidoscope can be classified as either ''Fate Worlds'' or ''Tsukihime Worlds''. In the former, the basis is the "Affirmation of Humanity", Heroic Spirits can be summoned, and the Twenty-seven Dead Apostle Ancestors do not exist. In the latter, the basis is the "■■■■■■■■ of Human History", Heroic Spirits are incapable of being summoned, and the Twenty-seven Ancestors both exist and are at the center of events. ''From Fake Dreams'' is a combination of both types of worlds, as the primary focus is on elements of the ''Fate Worlds'', while elements of ''Tsukihime Worlds'' simultaneously exist, and the events of VideoGame/MeltyBlood happen one year prior to the Fifth Holy Grail War.

* ExplainExplainOhCrap: When Shirou mentally goes through the list of people who would have had any evidence pointing to him possessing Avalon during Chapter 53, he realises that the most likely possiblility is Barthomelloi, and that things would likely not go well for anyone if that was the case.

** Lorelei receives quite a few of these in Chapter 40: [[spoiler:Emiya Kiritsugu being Asassin, Shirou nearly outright threatening to [[LifesWorkRuined destroy her life's achievement]] if she dares touch his protectorate, and him offering her control over several Servants.]]

* AlternateUniverse: While already one to VisualNovel/FateStayNight, the fic serves as an abnormality amidst the Kaleidoscope. Most worlds in the Kaleidoscope can be classified as either ''Fate Worlds'' or ''Tsukihime Worlds''. In the former, the basis is the "Affirmation of Humanity", Heroic Spirits can be summoned, and the Twenty-seven Dead Apostle Ancestors do not exist. In the latter, the basis is the "■■■■■■■■ of Human History", Heroic Spirits are incapable of being summoned, and the Twenty-seven Ancestors both exist and are at the center of events. ''From Fake Dreams'' is a combination of both types of worlds, as the primary focus is on elements of the ''Fate Worlds'', while elements of ''Tsukihime Worlds'' simultaneously exist, and the events of VisualNovel/{{Tsukihime}} happen concurrent to the story.

** Lorelei receives quite a few of these in Chapter 40: [[spoiler:Emiya Kiritsugu being Asassin, Shirou nearly outright threatening to destroy her life's achievement if she dares touch his protectorate, and him offering her control over several Servants.]]

** Waver, when [[spoiler:word gets out that he was actively tutoring and helping Shirou, the Emiya inheritor.]]

* AssholeVictim: Shinji gets [[spoiler:turned into a zombie]] after a trip through the sewers, finally [[spoiler:dying completely]] when he gets [[spoiler:his head blown off by an Origin Bullet]].

* BreatherEpisode: Chapters 49 to 51 are this, as the wrap up to [[spoiler:the Holy Grail War]] and the prelude to [[spoiler:dealing with the Einzberns]].

* DealWithTheDevil: Shirou is forced into one with Zouken regarding the War and Sakura. Either he works with the Matou's and takes Shinji's place in having sex with Sakura, or he watches as Sakura slowly and painfully dies from her condition.

** It's more like bargaining, but Shirou manages to get a better deal on his end should he agree to [[spoiler:being Lorelei's "dog".]] Sirius, Bazett, and Waver are not happy he risked his life that way.
** He does the same thing later on, in the middle of the Holy Grail War: Shirou successfully ropes Lorelei into covering his back in the event his machinations are revealed to the global magus community, and takes his first steps in protecting the people he cares about, by 1) contacting her ahead of everyone and letting her know more of the truth than anyone will get access to, 2) dangling the very attractive prospect of having several Servants to command, and 3) giving a very strongly implied threat that if Lorelei dares touch his {{Protectorate}}, [[BewareTheNiceOnes he will gamble everything]] [[InsaneTrollLogic to smear the achievement of her life]]. This is impressive in its own right because it's a double instance of StaringDownCthulhu, where Shirou actually [[ShameIfSomethingHappened threatens to HURT]] an EldritchAbomination to HOLD IN CHECK his very badass boss. It's more this trope than StaringDownCthulhu because it's actually used as a bargaining chip to ensure no one gets flak from Shirou's machinations.

** Louvre serves as the antagonist of the pre-war arc, before biting the dust; as far as the Holy Grail War goes, it's [[spoiler:Zouken Matou]].

* DramaPreservingHandicap:
** Not that Shirou needs one, but Chapter 24 has him [[spoiler:take on the Command Seals of Rider]]. This is to prevent Sakura from being taxed too hard, [[spoiler:which would trigger her darker side]].
** Chapter 42 seems like this is going to happen again, [[spoiler: as Shirou is completely spent, and suffering from heavy damage, and severe backlash from accelerating 16 times over Saber to do Gilgamesh in.]]

* DreamingOfThingsToCome: What kicks off the entire story. Kiritsugu basically sees all three routes, the MultipleEndings, {{Bad End}}s (sans [[HaveANiceDeath Tiger Dojo]]), and the life of the Shirou who became a Counter Guardian. Rin is technically doing this as well, since she's seeing Archer's life.
* DyingMomentOfAwesome: Gilgamesh, definitely deserves this moniker, though it equally deserves to be called Dying Moment of Heartwarming. [[spoiler:He finally realizes the true meaning behind UBW. It isn't a graveyard, it's a WarMemorial, and even if it is fake, it tries and succeeds in paying respect to the dreams of the past, and that has worth in and of itself. With this, he puts Enkidu, his most valuable treasure inside, and grants Shirou the title of ''Dream of Heroes'']].

* EveryoneHasStandards: [[ByronicHero Archer]] is one of the most ruthless characters in the story, much like he is in the source material, to the point that he's willing to [[spoiler:kill his own allies]] if it means furthering his goals, but even ''he'' balks at the thought of telling Rin about [[RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil Sakura's]] [[DarkAndTroubledPast childhood]] in front of other people, he flat out says that he respects Saber too much to reveal what he knows about her back-story and the circumstances behind her pseudo-Servant status, and he admits that Illya is the only person he won't betray consciously. [[LampshadeHanging Lampshaded]] by Luvia:

** He gets to show he has far more standards than even himself gave credit for in chapter 48 by TakingAThirdOption when confronted with Sakura nearly going critical no thanks to Witch!Caster.

* FateWorseThanDeath: Rin, Luvia, and Princess!Medea all consider [[FallenHero Archer's]] fate as a Counter Guardian to be this.
* FemaleGaze: Archer deliberately invokes this in chapter 38, prompting three examples of LuminescentBlush from the women in the room. Doubles as a SugarWiki/{{Funny Moment|s}}.

* ForegoneConclusion: Seeing as Kiritsugu saw all the routes, [[spoiler:and considering his letter to Saber, it is possible that he wrote letters to Rin and Sakura as well.]]
** [[spoiler:All but confirmed -- Chapter 37 starts off with his letter to Illya, fully explaining his actions, why he wasn't there for her, and then gently requesting that she take care of her brother.]]

** Rin still [[spoiler:summons the same Archer using a piece of his cloth and her pendant]]. Fake Assassin is still summoned by Witch Medea and her master, and Illya still tries to kill Shirou. However, the last one happens earlier than in canon.

[[folder:Tropes J-Y]]
* JerkassRealization: Rin suffers two counts of this concerning Shirou. First is [[spoiler:the identity of his Reality Marble]], followed by [[spoiler:the extent of how distorted he really is.]]

* LiteralSplitPersonality: The Edefelt sisters' summoning of Medea results in this. Luvia has the nicer Princess incarnation, Marjatta the more cruel witch incarnation. This is reflected in their Noble Phantasms and skills.

** You know that Shirou's about to do a SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome whenever he says at least the first line of his UBW aria: ''My body is made of blades''. "Trace On" also counts. Several other characters are shown using incantations, as well.

* MysteriousProtector: [[spoiler:Kiritsugu hypnotized Taiga into being this to ensure that any magus that found out about his connection to Shirou would be handled by either her or the Fujimura group. WordOfGod said he came up with the idea when he realized that Taiga's eyes had the same design as Sakura's despite being a GenkiGirl.]]
* NamedWeapons: The two curved blades of Severing and Binding are named Natalia and Maiya, respectively, and the longsword that contains both Origins is named after Kiritsugu himself.
** MeaningfulName: [[spoiler:[[ContinuityNod Like Kiritsugu himself]], the name reflects both Origins: Severing ("kiri") and Binding ("tsugu").]]

** After Chapter 44, things are bound to be this way for Shirou now he knows who Archer is.
** As of Chapter 49, Shirou mentally prepares for confronting Barthomelloi, given his recent evolution means he will most likely not be able to hide it anymore. Shirou is already prepared to throw away his life and run away with Illya and his friends, so this is a likely outcome.

* ObliviousToLove: Shirou, obviously, but this is PlayedForDrama as when it is revealed that Rin and Sakura really do have emotional feelings for him, he starts to feel the regret of having played with his friends in such a manner to finally bring an end to the Holy Grail War.
** And that's not even mentioning the TraumaCongaLine that Rin has suffered through most of the war.

* OriginalCharacter:
** Sirius [=McGinty=], crafter of Mystic Codes, including Kiritsugu's Thompson Contender. Also implied to have crafted what would become Archer's bow and armor in the main timeline.
** Louvre exists in canon in the Nasuverse, but since information about him is scant, Third Fang proceeded to give him 100% original characterization.
** Chapter 18 introduces [[spoiler:Marjatta Edelfelt, the younger sister of Luviagetta Edelfelt, who due to the ''Ore Scales'' aka ''Sisters'' characteristic of the Edelfelt clan is co-heir.]]

* PoorCommunicationKills: When the {{Tsundere}} nature of Rin clashes with the "just want to be helpful to anyone" nature of Shirou. [[YouKnowWhatYouDid Shirou doesn't even know what he did wrong when Rin cuts off all contact for some time]].
** [[JerkassRealization Which Rin is forced to realize when she]] [[spoiler:learns of his Reality Marble.]]

** In the same chapter as the aforementioned Pre-Asskicking One-Liner, from Shirou when he's [[spoiler:comparing Louvre's collection of weapons to his]].

* {{Protectorate}}: Chapter 40 has Shirou explain that he has one, and just how far he will go to defend it, even against the Queen of the Clocktower. See ShameIfSomethingHappened below.

** Sirius, when [[spoiler:he gets slapped with a Sealing Designation and must stay forever in the Clock Tower.]]

* PyrrhicVictory: Chapters 35 and 36 see Witch!Caster [[spoiler:survive Shirou's assault on her temple, force him to reveal several trumps, keep him from rescuing Marjatta, steal command of Rider from him, and use Assassin to physically and emotionally attack him and Illya after taking one of Berserker's lives]]. Yet, she came out of the whole thing worse off than anyone; having to [[spoiler:recover from a mortal wound given to her by Shirou]], her plans pushed back, her workshop damaged, all of Assassin's leeway towards her gone in place of blatant hostility, and [[spoiler:having used up ''all but one of her command seals'']], which leads to [[spoiler:Shirou]] getting the last laugh after they've called a cease fire when he ''points this out to everyone'' and says that [[spoiler:he'll leave Bazett, Lancer, Rider, and Assassin at Ryudou Temple '''where she'll have to deal with them.''']] Her position in the War is balancing on a knife's edge at this point, and she knows it.
** And those are only the things that ''she'' knows about. On top of all that, [[spoiler:her actions have paved the way for a reconciliation between Shirou and Illya, meaning that she will soon be dealing with Saber and Berserker ''working together'']], she doesn't know that [[spoiler:Luvia and Rin were spying on her and know just how precarious her situation is]], and she's completely oblivious to the fact that [[spoiler:she probably ticked off Merem when she killed the King of Rats]]. All in all, she loses more than anyone due to that battle, and stands to lose even more because of it.
** Chapter 38 more or less confirms this, seeing as [[spoiler:Illya agrees to team up with Saber for the time being, and Luvia and Rin grudgingly agree that their matchup is the one that is the least likely to blow up in everyone's face, compared to other options]].

** Chapter 53 has now Shirou turn back the accusation of owning and concealing Avalon, by first authenticating the file the prosecution has (which mentions some very sensible bits about his element, crest and such; from Chapter 19), THEN pointing out that the authenticated evidence could only have been acquired by an aforementioned spy to House Barthomelloi. The end result is he now has given Lorelei a free pass to investigate anyone remotely involved with the prosecutor for the last two years. Shirou even lampshades the AssPull.
* RhetoricalQuestionBlunder: Chapter [[spoiler: 38]] has Princess!Caster ask [[IHatePastMe Archer]] if being a [[FateWorseThanDeath Counter Guardian]] is really bad enough to warrant [[RetGone temporal paradox-induced suicide]]. Archer's [[BluntYes response]] and [[MotiveRant elaboration]] on his existence as one make it hard for his audience[[labelnote:*]]whom he's lied to (Rin), and tried to kill (Luvia and Princess!Caster)[[/labelnote]] to stay angry at him.

* SeenItAll: [[TheMultiverse The Kaleidoscope]] being what it is, [[IHatePastMe Archer]] has [[spoiler: experienced countless iterations of the Grail War. Some of them end badly, some have a happier ending, he's even seen a few where everyone lives. Even Apostles showing up or [[WorldsStrongestMan The Blue]] popping in wouldn't phase him. [[OhCrap And then he finally figures out what Merem is really up to, having seen it before...]] ]]

* ShooOutTheClowns: Sirius has been in absentia since the Grail War started.

* StormOfBlades: Like his canon counterpart, Shirou is completely capable of this. Taken Up to Six during his fight with [[spoiler:Louvre]], when he traces a few hundred weapons simultaneously. Taken UpToEleven exponentially in his final battle against Gilgamesh, where he matches the Gate of Babylon when it's opened unprecedentedly wide [[SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome and then briefly outpaces it]].
* StoryBreakerPower: Assassin, or, as the author calls him, [[SpannerInTheWorks "the Servant that fucks everyone's plans up"]]. He has [[GlassCannon pitiful physical abilities]], and his luck is E-rank (as bad as Lancer), but his own personal skills, an extremely versatile Noble Phantasm, and several stackable abilities that each increase the Rank of his attacks allow him to defeat Lancer in ''five seconds'' without even showing himself and [[CurbStompBattle utterly defeat Rider]] ''[[CurbStompBattle and]]'' [[CurbStompBattle Archer]] ''at the same time''. This is [[spoiler:Kiritsugu Emiya]].
** The full scope of which gets pointed out in Chapter 36. [[spoiler:Tripping on two Broken landmines + Opportunity attack boost]]? Two A-ranked attacks, and one less life for Berserker. Illya's [[OhCrap face]] upon seeing [[spoiler:her father dispatch her Servant]] is priceless.

* ThatCameOutWrong: [[ObliviousToLove Shirou]] delivering a ridiculous amount in Chapter 15. Bazett and Rin [[SugarWiki/FunnyMoments can't help but notice, though]].
** Even his PreMortemOneLiner is not immune.
* TheOmniscientCouncilOfVagueness: [[spoiler: The King of Rats presents himself as a facade to Crown in front of disembodied representatives of the Church and the Association, asking for a status report on the Grail War, and hinting at very nasty things for Shirou if he does not mop up the mess.]]

* UnstoppableRage: [[spoiler:Surprisingly, Shirou flies into one upon waking up after seeing Archer, on pure instinct, because of what he is, of what he did.]]

--> '''Rat King''' (to Assassin): Such professionalism. The rumours about you certainly did you no justice, both metaphorically and literally. Controlled movements. Minimal conversation. No emotion. Just like a machine. [[spoiler: Yes, I can see why so many were afraid of you, Kiritsugu Emiya.]]

* YouAreBetterThanYouThinkYouAre: [[spoiler:Shirou begins to apologize to his allies for [[TheChessmaster having them risk their lives without telling them what was going on from the start]], only for Rin to interrupt, saying that the hardships they've faced are due to the faults of others and it was only because of Shirou that they were able to survive them at all to get up to this point. She goes on to say that the only thing Shirou's really guilty of is trying to solve every problem by himself without telling anybody or accepting help from them (and even ''then'' that was mostly due to being under Zouken's watch at the time). One by one, Sakura, Luvia, Illya, Princess!Caster, and Saber all agree, throwing their support behind Shirou to the very end.]]

** [[spoiler:Lancer has yet another one when he finds out Kuzuki was actually involved in the War.]]