History Fanfic / HeroesDreamsAndDestiny

* PyrrhicVictory: The fic starts off with a unique bad end of the ''Heaven's Feel'' route where Shirou succeeds in destroying the Grail [[spoiler:but fails to save Sakura or anyone he else he cares about. Some of these losses are averted when Zelretch later sends him a letter saying Illya is still alive, has been made his apprentice, and is being given treatments to fix her shortened lifespan, which all greatly heartens Shirou.]]

* HurtingHero: Shirou saved his world but [[spoiler: was forced to kill Sakura and failed to save anyone else he loved]]. His character development throughout the fic is about him healing as he slowly opens up to his new teammates, and redeveloping his convictions as he eventually comes to terms with what happened in his Grail War.

* TeensAreShort: Played straight with Shirou, as in canon ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'' the average height of male teens seems to be a smidge over 6 feet, while adults are well over that. Shirou is just below the average Japanese height of about 5'6", barely making him taller than the shortest members of the cast.

* BowAndSwordInAccord: Not only does Shirou have Archer's bow and [[FieldOfBlades all the weapons within Unlimited Blade Works]], his magecraft is able to [[AbnormalAmmo reshape swords into arrows]] (which Archer's bow is specifically designed to be able to use as ammunition). [[spoiler:Ruby later designs for him [[MorphWeapon a pair of swords that can mech-shift into a bow]], called Aster. The experience of using a weapon [[WeaponOfChoice specifically designed for him]] leads him to continue using Aster even though Archer's bow and his array of [[LegendaryWeapon Noble Phantasms]] are generally superior]].

* IAteWhat: Ozpin recalls the last time Zelretch visited, he dropped off sentient coffee beans the size of apples that literally begged to be processed into coffee, and continued speaking even after being brewed. For the next visit, Zelretch brings Kopi Luwak and Black Ivory blends.[[labelnote:*]]Kopi Luwak is produced by feeding coffee cherries to small mammals called civets; the beans ferment as the cherries are digested and they are collected from the civet's poop for processing. The process for Black Ivory involves doing the same with coffee beans fed to elephants.[[/labelnote]]. [[spoiler:Nonethless, he is shown to be enjoying the brew in Chapter 27, remarking on its "unique taste".]]

* MulticoloredHair: Perhaps as a result of whatever Zelretch did to his connection to Archer's arm before dumping him in Remnant, Shirou has a streak of Archer's white in his red hair. He also makes mention of the fact that his magecraft will eventually change more of his hair to that same white [[spoiler:and after the battle at Mt. Glenn, where he was forced to make extensive use of Tracing and Reinforcement, a full fourth of his hair has turned white]].

** [[spoiler:Ozpin rejects a potential explanation for Shirou's physiology - a [[WitchSpecies genetic mutation creating a link between the body and the soul]] -- on account of believing such a thing to be impossible. That is actually exactly what [[Franchise/{{Nasuverse}} Magic Circuits]] are.]]

* ExactWords: Shirou's claim of being "self-taught" when asked about his skills is [[FromACertainPointOfView technically not an untrue statement]] -- he acquired them through Archer's arm, learning them from an alternate future version of himself -- but is very obviously not what the term is intended to mean. When asked about aspects of his background and [[WrongContextMagic unusual]] [[WitchSpecies constitution]], he likewise offers ''technically'' true statements, evasive non-answers, or vague explanations that lead others to fill in the blanks. [[spoiler: Taiyang is the first to openly challenge the idea that Shirou was self-taught, leading him to describe Archer to Tai as an unwilling teacher who left Shirou with a pile of knowledge and weapons that he had to figure out what to do with on his own -- which is a ''technically'' correct but vague and distorted way to describe what Archer's arm does]].

* WitchSpecies:
** Aura scanners read two colors to Shirou's "Aura", one of the first reasons he attracts Ozpin's interest -- [[spoiler:he suspects that Shirou having two Auras did not occur naturally (little does he know he's right). In-depth scans detect Shirou's Magic Circuits, christened "Aura Channels", and trace his two "Auras" to different parts of his body. All of these findings are unprecedented, even to Ozpin's knowledge, and are deemed an even higher secret than the Maidens]]. Shirou [[SureLetsGoWithThat feigns ignorance]] when presented with these findings since [[BadassTransplant the truth]] is [[DimensionalTraveler even crazier]].
** [[spoiler:Ironically, [[TheyWouldCutYouUp one of the big reasons Shirou has kept his origins secret]] is briefly discussed by Ozpin, Glynda and Oobleck -- though they believe further testing may reveal even more, none involved want to start [[PlayingWithSyringes experimenting on him]]. Similarly, one of the reasons they keep their findings on Shirou top-secret is that Ironwood and Atlas would likely [[ForScience trip over themselves in a scramble to "study" him]]]].

* TeensAreShort: Played straight with Shirou, as in canon ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'' the average height of male teens seems to be a smidge over 6 feet, while adults are well over that. Shirou is just below the average Japanese height of about 5'6", barely making him {{one head taller}} than the shortest members of the cast.

* DemotedToExtra: Blake's spot in what would have been Team RWBY has been taken by Shirou, making it Team RXSE (read as Rose: '''R'''ose, '''X'''iao Long, '''S'''chnee, '''E'''miya). [[spoiler:Rather than abandon Adam during an operation as she did in canon RWBY, she abruptly leaves the White Fang in the dead of night, totally undetected. Instead of seeking a new life as a Huntress, Blake became an [[ReverseMole informant]], gathering intel on White Fang operations from other disgruntled members and forwarding that knowledge to Beacon. She appears here and there in the fic (though not explicitly named until Adam's death scene in Chapter 25) and is often seen with a cloak and mask. Her encounters with Team RXSE have mostly been rough sailing since [[GoodIsNotNice she doesn't really trust them and Ruby's naivete annoys her]] -- however, Shirou's display at the docks impressed and intimidated her, and she suspects that he has yet to truly cut loose and show his full power.]]

** [[spoiler:Yang appears to be adopting tactics like these when she uses an unconscious White Fang grunt as a HumanShield during the battle of Mountain Glenn.]]

** Even before the Beacon Dance, [[spoiler:there are occasional moments between Ruby and Shirou that suggest she is beginning to feel a certain way about him, including her occasionally [[CrushBlush becoming embarrassed or flustered by close proximity to him]]. In one such instance of ship teasing, she [[SleepCute falls asleep on Shirou's shoulder]] while he is telling her about the legend behind a Noble Phantasm from Archer's memories, leading to him carrying a sleeping Ruby back to their room.]]
** [[spoiler:When Shirou spars with Yang to test her armor, and later helps Weiss train with her Semblance, Ruby is assigned to refine her Semblance control by sparring with someone else in the meantime, [[GreenEyedMonster making her a little jealous]] of the teammate who gets to work with Shirou]].
** [[spoiler:The shipping intensifies in the last scene of Chapter 26, to the point where it starts to resemble one of the confession scenes from the ''Fate/stay night'' VisualNovel. Ruby's [[ChasteHero inexperience with boys and romance]], and Shirou's [[CluelessChickMagnet density]] and [[TheLostLenore residual trauma from being forced to kill Sakura]], prevent them from recognizing or acknowledging any romantic implications to what they feel and say]].

* IAmNotLeftHanded: To avoid attention in general (particularly to prevent people from realizing that [[FunctionalMagic his abilities]] are [[WrongContextMagic not native to Remnant]]), Shirou refrains from [[SpontaneousWeaponCreation Tracing weapons]] in the open, [[SuperStrength Reinforcing himself too strongly]], or using any abilities that couldn't pass as Aura empowerment or a Semblance. [[spoiler: He even decides to stop his first fight with Pyrrha by forfeit once he realizes that the only way to beat her would be to [[CoverBlowingSuperpower show more strength, speed or abilities than he's already demonstrated. Even with these self-imposed limitations, he's still one of the best fighters at Beacon, easily besting everyone except for Pyrrha, whom he goes toe-to-toe with -- when he later forces a draw with her in a Combat class duel, it causes such a stir that it's the thing most people (including Coco, Taiyang, and Cinder) best know him for]].