| 1 | [[quoteright:320:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/From_Fake_Dreamsedited_1159.jpg]] |
| 2 | |
| 3 | ->''My body is made of blades... Fire is my blood... and Glass is my heart... Through countless battles, I endlessly await on the Hill... For Hell's hands to bear... For Heaven's hands to temper... There is no lure of salvation or victory here... Thus, there is no place I rather tend... Surrounded by the silence on the Hill... I dream after the smiling end... This body is truly, made of blades.'' |
| 4 | -->-- '''Emiya Shirou''' |
| 5 | |
| 6 | In the aftermath of the [[Literature/FateZero Fourth Holy Grail War]], Emiya Kiritsugu was content to live out his final days with his newly adopted son Shirou. However, he found himself beset by strange dreams, dreams that told him the results of his incomplete training of Shirou's magecraft. As a result, he knew that he had to prepare for the future. For a [[VisualNovel/FateStayNight Holy Grail War that was approaching fifty years early]]. |
| 7 | |
| 8 | ''[[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/YetAgainWithALittleExtraHelp'' 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. |
| 9 | |
| 10 | ---- |
| 11 | !!''From Fake Dreams'' provides examples of: |
| 12 | |
| 13 | [[foldercontrol]] |
| 14 | [[folder:Tropes A-I]] |
| 15 | * AbsurdlySharpBlade: Shirou's [[spoiler:Natalia]] blade is one even without its instant-cut effect. |
| 16 | * AdaptationalBadass: To put in simply and without spoiling anything, Shirou got proper magecraft training this time around along with a bunch of other nifty toys from Kiritsugu. That's all you need to know. |
| 17 | * AdaptedOut: |
| 18 | ** Sasaki Kojiro isn't summoned as an Assassin Servant by Medea this time. Instead, she summons [[spoiler:Kiritsugu]]. |
| 19 | ** The entire plot of the ''Literature/LordElMelloiIICaseFiles'' has been butterflied out of existence, per WordOfGod, with most characters only likely to show up in cameos, such as the one Yvette gets in Chapter 55. |
| 20 | ** Zouken is killed before he can summon a servant, meaning Hassan of the Cursed Arm isn't summoned. |
| 21 | * 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 as an organisation 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. |
| 22 | * AnguishedDeclarationOfLove: Luvia declares Rin's love for Shirou to him in Chapter 40 when she gets too stressed to hold her tongue, as a proxy in a very peculiar example. |
| 23 | * AndIMustScream: [[spoiler:Marjatta Edelfelt]] gets put in suspended animation and hooked up to a huge prana generator to essentially be used as a supplementary wand for Witch!Caster. [[spoiler:She's freed later, but is left comatose, and with the War effectively over, she's being kept prisoner under the guise of recovery until she proves to no longer be a threat.]] |
| 24 | * ArcVillain: Louvre, the tenth Dead Apostle Ancestor, gets his own arc in the years before the Holy Grail War. |
| 25 | * AnArmAndALeg: |
| 26 | ** Shirou accidentally cuts his arm off in one of his projection experiments. |
| 27 | ** [[spoiler:Bazett]] gets her lower legs blown off by a landmine. |
| 28 | ** Happens again to [[spoiler:Shirou]] in Chapter 41. |
| 29 | * ArtificialLimbs: [[spoiler:Bazett]] loses her legs in the [[CurbStompBattle encounter]] with Assassin. Fortunately, [[spoiler:Lancer and Merem]] are able to fix that. She now has a pair of [[spoiler:preadolescent Banshees]] for legs. |
| 30 | * AssholeVictim: Shinji gets [[spoiler:turned into a zombie]] after a trip through the sewers, and is later [[spoiler:killed alongside the rest of Louvre's zombies after his own death]]. |
| 31 | * AwfulTruth: |
| 32 | ** Rin finds out that there are downsides to [[CannotTellALie forbidding]] [[BrokenHero Archer]] from lying via Command Seal: though he ''was'' keeping things to himself for his own purposes, there are some things he kept from her to avoid hurting her, like Sakura's childhood and his execution—which she attended, indicating she knew about it and was unable to help him. For a girl who has dedicated herself for the past several years to helping Shirou and has been working to prove herself able to keep up with him, this is a truly awful realization. |
| 33 | ** Shirou realizing Archer's identity and true nature. Given how differently he was raised by Kiritsugu, once Shirou takes in all the differences, it reduces him to a sobbing quivering mess. |
| 34 | * BackFromTheDead: All of the servants aside from Archer are technically this, but none embody the trope more than Assassin. [[spoiler:Unlike the others, he lived in the present and had already died, being that he is Kiritsugu Emiya]]. |
| 35 | * BadassBiker: Saber on a thaumaturgically pimped-out 1999 Suzuki Hayabusa. |
| 36 | * BadassBoast: Shirou to Gilgamesh in Chapter 41. It sort of doubles as AGodAmI. |
| 37 | --> ''"It's simply… just as you are the King of this world… I am the God of mine. And I'm invading."'' |
| 38 | * BadassCreed: Nearing completion as of chapter 41, the aria to summon [[FieldOfBlades Unlimited Blade Works]]: |
| 39 | --> ''"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"'' |
| 40 | * BadassTeacher: Kuzuki [[spoiler:has been sparring with Shirou]]. |
| 41 | * BigBadEnsemble: During the 5th Holy Grail War, there are effectively three major enemies to Shirou's plans. 1st of course being Kirei and Gilgamesh, 2nd being Zouken, and 3rd being Marjatta and Witch!Caster. [[spoiler:All three enemies are dealt with by time of the wars end.]] |
| 42 | * BigBrotherInstinct: Shirou to Illya, even though he's (technically) the younger one of the two; saving her from being sacrificed for the Grail is one of his main goals for the Grail War, and the only reason he allows himself to become Lorelei's dog is so he can get access to Clock Tower secrets in the hopes of furthering that goal. |
| 43 | * BigDamnHeroes: The event itself isn't shown, but Bazett shows up just in time to save Shirou from the vampire that is about to kill him. Lampshaded by the author when Shirou says he "didn't expect anyone to come in and be a big damned hero!" |
| 44 | * BlackSwordsAreBetter: Shirou's most dangerous sword, Kiritsugu, is made entirely of black metal, blood-red stains and [[TaintedVeins brown veins]] notwithstanding. |
| 45 | * BlastingItOutOfTheirHands: Rin does this to Louvre, shooting the Mace of Odo to multiple characters' surprise. Justified, as the mace is weak to anything non-magical. |
| 46 | * BoomHeadshot: [[spoiler:Assassin on Witch!Caster in chapter 48.]] |
| 47 | * BoringYetPractical: Assassin doesn't seem like much. Witch!Caster does say that he doesn't have any impressive spells, and he really doesn't. He's "boring" because [[CombatPragmatist he's cold, is efficient, and does not fuck around]]. Since he uses modern weaponry, he's the only Servant who who can act during the day, and he can snipe anyone without suspicion of magic. On defense, if anyone dares try to siege your base, his traps and skills ensure that anyone who sieges your base will be SORELY defeated. In fact, Shirou points out later on in the arc that the only reason Witch!Caster hasn't won yet is because she 'does not know how to use such a broken servant'. |
| 48 | * BreakThemByTalking: Deliberately invoked by Archer in regards to Princess!Caster, pointing out Witch!Caster will not hesitate to do it, with more devastating effects, and at the worst timing. |
| 49 | * 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 Archibalds and the Einzberns]]. |
| 50 | * BrokeYourArmPunchingOutCthulhu: Tends to happen to Shirou quite a lot when he faces foes he should have no business fighting in close quarters, and ends up very badly wounded quite a few times because of it. |
| 51 | * BrokenPedestal: [[spoiler:Kiritsugu/]]Assassin became one to [[spoiler:Archer]] when he realized that, unlike himself, [[spoiler:his father]] had become a true hero and [[spoiler:was not drafted into the Counter Force]], and that Assassin effectively doomed [[spoiler:Archer]] to fulfill an ideal that he already accomplished. Needless to say, [[spoiler:Archer]] no longer sees him as a savior and now wants him dead. [[spoiler:He starts to get over it once the War ends however.]] |
| 52 | * CainAndAbel: As in canon, Illya wants to kill Shirou. [[spoiler:And then she doesn't.]] |
| 53 | * CallingTheOldManOut: [[spoiler:Done by Archer to Kiritsugu in chapter 42.]] |
| 54 | * ChekhovsGun: Shirou's inherited magic crest ends up being a StoryBreakerPower against Louvre: [[spoiler:Time magic, combined with the Origin Sword Maiya, equals a way to bind a vampire's personal timespace to the Gaian timeline, thus nullifying his pesky healing factor]]. Shirou is now considered not only a major threat to magi all around, but the threat he represents to magi-turned-Dead Apostles (and eventual threat to weaker Dead Apostle ''Ancestors'') is held to be even greater. |
| 55 | * TheChessmaster: Aside from the usual Witch!Caster, Kotomine and Zouken, another player has suddenly come into light. Who? In an unusual move, it is Shirou. That's right, oblivious, NaiveNewcomer Shirou. Thanks to his father's dreams, he's become one of the war's biggest power players. As a demonstration of how good he's gotten, he was able to [[spoiler:get Kirei to help him kill Zouken when the opportunity presented itself]]. It's to the point that once Archer gets a much needed update, he outright compares him to playing the damn game like Kotomine Kirei from the get-go. |
| 56 | * CluelessChickMagnet: Like in canon, Shirou has managed to get Rin, Sakura, Luviagellita, and even Rider/Medusa all wanting him without even trying ([[ObliviousToLove or noticing]]). PlayedForDrama in that the very reasons they fall for him are thanks to his lack of self-worth, and upon learning just how broken Shirou is, those in love with him are torn over the idea that the reason they love him is why he's so broken, and desperately try to stop him from ending his own life through his exploits. |
| 57 | * CoolBike: Having learned from his father that Saber was good with a motorcycle in the fourth Grail War, Shirou gets her one for the fifth. It's a custom-upgraded, nitro-boosted, heavily enchanted 1999 Suzuki Hayabusa that can do 350 [[superscript:km]]∕[[subscript:h]] (40 [[superscript:km]]∕[[subscript:h]] faster than the stock model) ''without'' using the nitro. She loves it. The bike could have been ''even cooler'', but the advanced enchantments require one of the standard five affinities to cast, which Shirou doesn't have. Even before being enchanted it was cool though, as not only is the maximum speed higher than normal bikers can manage (prompting motorcycle producers in the entire world to put electronic limiters so that no other motorcycle can go over 300 [[superscript:km]]∕[[subscript:h]], thus avoiding accidents when these monsters get into the hands of anyone who isn't a champion), but the bike is balanced, sleek and efficient, has good turning and excellent acceleration, and can be easily customized. As the narrator states, "if there was ANY series of motorcycles that had the potential to become a phantasmal existence at some point in the future, it was without any doubt the 1999 Hayabusa." |
| 58 | * CoolSword: |
| 59 | ** The Origin Swords are StoryBreakerPower material, to be blunt, to the point that Shirou could easily become TheDreaded for other Magi. [[CoolBigSis Bazett]] tells him upfront that if he ever makes her list of targets, she'll kill him before he can use them. |
| 60 | *** Natalia: This sword actualizes the concept of "severing". If it so much as touches a living being with less than C-Rank magic resistance, the target will be instantaneously cut in half. The same goes for inanimate objects unless they are too big, in which case it's simply an Absurdly Sharp Blade. |
| 61 | *** Maiya: This sword actualizes the concept of "binding". It binds things (note that the binding effect happens AFTER it makes a cut), including alterations, magic circuits, and souls, improperly, effectively screwing over anything that can split itself apart, use familiars, or add something to their very core. A unique thing about Maiya is that if it causes an injury then the wound will bind itself improperly causing severe necrosis, as it works on a molecular level. So, any injury cause by this blade can't be healed even with magic. Also, thanks to Shirou's Time Crest, he can now bind Dead Apostles' personal timelines to the "normal" timeline, neutralizing their healing abilities. |
| 62 | *** Kiritsugu: This sword actualizes the dual concepts of "severing" and "binding". It Severs and Binds just like the Origin Bullets and the two blades mentioned above, but combined with the curse of Angra Mainyu, it hits the target down to the very soul. Hitting someone's magecraft or essence with it can cause the target to [[DeathOfPersonality literally lose the memory of the spell that was hit]]. If it hits them directly... Well, let's just say even [[VisualNovel/{{Tsukihime}} Roa]] [[DeaderThanDead wouldn't be able to escape it]]. [[spoiler:Louvre]] finds out just how terrifying it is, the hard way. |
| 63 | ---->'''Shirou:''' ''Sacrifice and save, blade of the cursed hero.'' '''Kiritsugu!''' |
| 64 | ** Of course, the biggest problem with the Origin Bullets? They are bullets, therefore ammunition in a limited stock, which Kiritsugu only very sparsely used. Here? We have three monstrously powerful swords, and Shirou's HyperspaceArsenal ensures that he has unlimited copies of EACH of them. They were so dangerous that after taking them in his arsenal, Shirou destroyed the originals so hard the dust could not be used. In terms of being AntiMagic, Shirou has truly surpassed his father in potential. |
| 65 | * CoolVsAwesome: Rider on Pegasus versus Princess!Caster on a dragon. |
| 66 | * CurbStompBattle: |
| 67 | ** Marjatta, being a RichBitch Magus, assumes this will happen when she goes to face [[spoiler:Sakura]] in Chapter 25. In practice, it's pretty even for a while. She has to have her Servant save her from [[spoiler:going through a worm bath]], and ''then'' [[spoiler:Shirou shows up mad as hell and armed with Gae Dearg, which is an AntiMagic spear]]. |
| 68 | ** Lancer and Bazett [[spoiler:get taken out in five seconds in their first round against Assassin.]] |
| 69 | ** Rider and Archer [[spoiler:find themselves on the receiving end of one in Chapter 28 when they run into Assassin.]] |
| 70 | ** The very last part of the war turns into this as [[spoiler:Witch!Caster loses her territory and gets on the bad side of Princess!Caster's dragon.]] |
| 71 | * DarkIsNotEvil: |
| 72 | ** Sakura, as a protagonist, can wield [[ManaDrain anti-mana]] [[CastingAShadow shadows]] in battle. |
| 73 | ** Shirou feels more and more like this, especially with the Origin Blades, cursed existences Shirou wants to use for good, or at least not evil. The metaphor gets more and more applied to Shirou himself, he gets described as a ''monster who saves''. |
| 74 | * DeadManWriting: Kiritsugu left behind letters to be read by Shirou and others once the the fifth Holy Grail War goes into swing. |
| 75 | * DeaderThanDead: The final fate of anything hit by the Origin Blade Kiritsugu. [[spoiler:The souls can't even go through reincarnation!]] |
| 76 | * 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 and [[spoiler:being Rider's master]], or he watches as Sakura slowly and painfully dies from her condition. |
| 77 | * DeathByAdaptation: [[spoiler:Shinji]] bites it after running into Louvre's son. [[AssholeVictim Not that anyone actually complains...]] |
| 78 | * DidYouJustScamCthulhu: |
| 79 | ** It's more like bargaining, but Shirou manages to get a better deal on his end should he agree to being Lorelei's "dog". Sirius, Bazett, and Waver are not happy he risked his life that way. |
| 80 | ** 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]] 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. |
| 81 | * DidntSeeThatComing: |
| 82 | ** Waver Velvet's plan to rescue Sirius runs afoul when Louvre uses his newly-acquired weapon. |
| 83 | ** Shirou is offered both a scholarship under the Queen and the role of [[spoiler:the 10th Dead Apostle Ancestor.]] |
| 84 | *** The Queen seeks to use him as a public enforcer for this reason and awards him a Noble Color for his advancements. |
| 85 | ** Because of Ore Scales, the Edelfelt sisters summon ''two'' Medeas, one as a princess, and the other as the familiar witch. |
| 86 | ** Witch!Caster didn't expect to be faced with [[AntiMagic Gae Dearg]]: |
| 87 | ---> ''The last thing that confused her was that normal humans were not supposed to have Noble Phantasms, yet the single red spear that had pierced through her barrier, her cloak, and her body without any issue was without a doubt one.'' |
| 88 | ** Shirou finding out that [[spoiler:Assassin is neither Sasaki nor one of the Hassan-i Sabbah]]. For that matter, any of the contenders finding out that [[spoiler:Assassin uses modern weaponry]]. |
| 89 | ** Zouken. In a very, VERY satisfying way, he never saw Kirei and Shirou pull a EnemyMine on him, and [[DeaderThanDead utterly obliterating him]]. |
| 90 | ** Lorelei receives quite a few of these in Chapter 40: [[spoiler:Emiya Kiritsugu being Assassin, 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.]] |
| 91 | ** Chapter 43 has a pileup of these: Kirei didn't think [[spoiler:Sakura could control the curse keeping him alive]], and nearly gets killed for his trouble. He didn't think [[spoiler:Leysritt would stay alive after being nearly decapitated]], and pays dearly for it. He most likely didn't expect [[spoiler:Witch!Caster to waltz in and steal his Command Seals]]. To trump it all, Witch!Caster (or anyone else for that matter) did not expect Merem to [[spoiler:take Kirei's mantle as Overseer]]. |
| 92 | ** Chapter 48 has quite the list too: [[spoiler:Lancer did not expect Saber to use a rune curse to get locked in deathmatch with him, Rin did not expect Kirei to be resurrected, Witch!Caster did not expect Shirou to be able to defend against Rider's full power, no one expected Witch!Caster to be stupid enough to mess with Avenger's curse to get at Sakura, Witch!Caster did not expect Rin to hold the Command Seals to Princess!Caster, and last of all she certainly did not expect Assassin in her workshop at the last moment.]] |
| 93 | ** The mages of the Clock Tower didn't expect [[spoiler:Kiritsugu to have set explosives to destroy Fuyuki's leylines to ensure the end of the Fuyuki Holy Grail Wars. They also didn't expect one of the Servants to be a Counter Guardian.]] |
| 94 | * DiscOneFinalBoss: |
| 95 | ** Louvre serves as the antagonist of the pre-war arc, before biting the dust. |
| 96 | ** As of chapter 50, [[spoiler:Witch!Caster]] was the final antagonist for the War proper, but many hints are given that things are clearly not a wrap yet. |
| 97 | * DissonantSerenity: Chapter 39 illustrates what happens when people try to intrude on Shirou's holy ground (the kitchen) despite repeated warnings. The first signs of this prompt MassOhCrap from everyone around who know Shirou's priorities and mechanics: he values his kitchen above his workshop, and he will NOT tolerate intrusion when stressed out of his mind and needing the relief. Sella learns this firsthand on the receiving end of a very soft-spoken TranquilFury speech with an ImpliedDeathThreat. |
| 98 | * {{Doorstopper}} At 60 chapters, the fic has over a ''million'' words, and it's still far from complete. |
| 99 | * 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]]. |
| 100 | * DramaticallyMissingThePoint: Luvia is unable to tell that Rin and Sakura's envy towards the Edelfelt's ''Sisters'' Sorcery Trait isn't just the standard magus envy to unique abilities but what said Sorcery Trait represents and what it could've prevented. |
| 101 | * TheDreaded: |
| 102 | ** Assassin gradually becomes one within the Holy Grail War as the other contenders find out about him. He has pitiful physical stats, but he's so good at what he does that his battle with Rider and Archer is [[CurbStompBattle completely in his favor]], with Rider and Archer only surviving because he ''let them go''. {{Justified|Trope}} by him being [[spoiler:Kiritsugu]], an expert at killing powerful magi and Dead Apostles using only basic human ability and preparation. |
| 103 | ** Shirou is shaping up to follow in his father's footsteps as "The Second Magus Killer" [[spoiler:after killing Louvre]]. This is not necessarily a good thing, given the number of times he is compared to a monster rather than a hero. |
| 104 | ** [[PlayedForLaughs Humorously]], drunk/sick Taiga. |
| 105 | ** [[WorldsStrongestMan Gilgamesh]] is so strong that anyone in the War who knows about his existence fears gaining his attention, and even after years of preparation Shirou doesn't want to fight him, even with Saber and Berserker backing him. {{Justified|Trope}} when he lives up to the hype against Shirou. |
| 106 | * 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, prompting him to make preparations in the hopes of attaining the most ideal ending to the war. Rin is technically doing this as well, since she's seeing Archer's life. |
| 107 | * 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'']]. |
| 108 | * DystopiaJustifiesTheMeans: Even knowing that the Grail is corrupt, [[spoiler:Witch!Caster]] still intends to use it, claiming the fact that it is cursed will only ensure that [[spoiler:her]] wish will comes to fruition in far more grander ways than even [[spoiler:she]] imagined. [[LampshadeHanging Lampshaded]] by Archer: |
| 109 | --> '''Archer''': ...How annoying. [[spoiler:She]] ''wants'' the world to burn in the process of fulfilling [[spoiler:her]] wish. |
| 110 | * EnigmaticMinion: |
| 111 | ** Assassin to Witch!Medea. Considering that it's [[spoiler:Kiritsugu]], this is a given. |
| 112 | ** Merem plays this part to his boss in the Church. |
| 113 | * EntertaininglyWrong: |
| 114 | ** Archer thinks Rider is still Shinji's servant, not helped by Rider referring to her Master as male. He's soon corrected when he talks about Shinji, and Rin "reminds" him that Shinji [[spoiler:has been dead for a couple of years]]. |
| 115 | ** Likewise, Rin thinks her Archer is the future version of the Shirou she knows, rather than an AlternateUniverse version. (However, the humor of it vanishes when she learns the truth and [[FreakOut has a mental breakdown]] over what she learns about EMIYA's past and its implications about herself.) |
| 116 | ** Kirei and Kiritsugu are having a field day with Witch!Caster in chapter 40, with a lot of cryptic lines, the implications of which are completely missed by her. |
| 117 | * EvenEvilHasStandards: |
| 118 | ** When Medea, the Witch of Betrayal, discovers the room of vegetative orphans being used as prana batteries in the church basement, she razes it and brings the ceiling down on it in disgust. In her words, although using others for one's benefit is a familiar idea to her, even she has a limit to how much unnecessary cruelty she's willing to put her victims through. |
| 119 | ** For all the times he's betrayed his allies throughout the various incarnations of the Fifth Grail War he's been involved in, the one thing Archer refuses to do is [[spoiler:[[BigBrotherInstinct have Illya be harmed as a direct result of his actions]].]] |
| 120 | * EveryoneHasStandards: |
| 121 | ** [[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 peculiar status and condition as a Servant, 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: |
| 122 | ---> ''"At the very least, it is refreshing to know that there is someone that you won't backstab."'' |
| 123 | ** Reines may be something of a sadist who loves to [[TheGadfly tease the living hell out of Waver]], but even she tried to keep the fact that Lorelei Barthomelloi may be ''fond'' of Waver as even she knows where the line is drawn. |
| 124 | * 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 she realizes heroes truly are predictable. |
| 125 | * ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin: Assassin, whenever he uses magecraft, methodically says whatever he's going to do with it. If he wants a firestorm at twenty meters around him, his incantation will be, "Firestorm. Twenty Meters." Just as efficient as the rest of what he does. |
| 126 | * ExactWords: Shirou becomes very good at this when dealing with compromising situations and being able to [[FromACertainPointOfView technically answer]] a probing question truthfully, while not giving too much. |
| 127 | * 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 realizes that the most likely possibility is Barthomelloi, and that things would likely not go well for anyone if that was the case. |
| 128 | * FateWorseThanDeath: Rin, Luvia, and Princess!Medea all consider [[FallenHero Archer's]] fate as a Counter Guardian to be this. And they aren't wrong, as Archer is forced to kill people if it means protecting humanity as a whole, the exact opposite of what he once stood for, and can never be freed from this fate unless he somehow manages to cause a feedback loop by killing a version of himself close enough to how he once was. |
| 129 | * FemaleGaze: Archer deliberately invokes this in chapter 38, prompting three examples of LuminescentBlush from the women in the room. |
| 130 | * FinaglesLaw: Shirou needs to recover from [[spoiler:having Sakura's Command Seals transferred to him]]. Just as he is about to get some rest, [[spoiler:the Edelfelt sisters choose to attack the Matou household]]. The ensuing battle drains his prana reserves up to the point that [[spoiler:his Dead Apostle blood comes to the fore]]. |
| 131 | ** [[spoiler:Also happening post-Holy Grail War, when everyone is stressed out and needs a breather. This is also when Fina decides to pay a visit in town and have a deal with Merem. Shirou is pissed, and so is everyone else.]] |
| 132 | * FinalSpeech: Gilgamesh gives one before he lets himself fade away. |
| 133 | * FiveSecondForeshadowing: In Chapter 62, Waver is waiting for the representative of another magus family when he notices the arrival of [[spoiler:Fou]]. This clues readers in onto ''who'' he's ''actually'' going to meet right before they arrive. |
| 134 | * FlamingSword: Louvre's son has one with blue flame that [[ManaDrain drains od]] on contact. |
| 135 | * FlatWhat: Illya says this, voicing everyone's stupefaction upon learning [[spoiler:from Archer that hundreds of Servants were summoned in [[VideoGame/FateGrandOrder another timeline]]]]. |
| 136 | * ForTheEvulz: Witch!Caster's whole motivation for [[spoiler:using the Command Seals she stole from Kirei to order Rider and Assassin to kill themselves if anybody approaches them with Rule Breaker. Even if Shirou manages to defeat her in the FinalBattle, she'll have ensured he won't be able to save anyone.]] |
| 137 | * {{Foreshadowing}}: |
| 138 | ** Sirius tells Louvre that he's unable to make the best anti-magus Mystic Code he knows, because the materials no longer exist and he doesn't know where the ones he already made with them are. Louvre is skeptical that he doesn't know where their owners are, but Sirius says one's owner is dead and the other doesn't have an owner yet. The materials are [[spoiler:Kiritsugu's bones with his origin in them]], and the weapons made with them are the [[spoiler:Thompson Contender and Origin bullets]] owned by [[spoiler:Kiritsugu]], who's now dead, and the [[spoiler:three blades]] that are bequeathed to [[spoiler:Shirou]] but haven't been given to him yet. |
| 139 | ** On a meta level, [=ThirdFang=] is extremely good at dropping hints that seem inconspicuous at first, mainly by having his characters narrate part of an explanation but not everything, only to act upon them a dozen chapters down the road. |
| 140 | ** Even though the Holy Grail War is over, there are many hints that some very nasty things are brewing, enough to make [[SeenItAll Archer]] blanch. |
| 141 | ** [[spoiler:One masterful example, Taiga being Shirou's MysteriousProtector was hinted to as of Chapters 35 and 36, and further at Chapter 45, before the ultimate reveal in Chapter 51.]] |
| 142 | * ForWantOfANail: Kiritsugu has [[DreamingOfThingsToCome premonitions in his dreams]] of the events of all three routes in ''VisualNovel/FateStayNight'' and of that Shirou's life and Counter Guardian-ship, and [[CrazyPrepared plans]] accordingly, starting with actually training Shirou in magecraft and attempting to prevent him from following the ideals that led him down that path. |
| 143 | * FreakOut: |
| 144 | ** Rin becomes mentally unstable upon realizing EMIYA became a Counter Guardian. |
| 145 | ** Shirou also has one upon finally seeing EMIYA. |
| 146 | ** [[SeenItAll Archer]] has a minor one upon piecing together why Merem is actually present. |
| 147 | * FromBadToWorse: |
| 148 | ** Chapter 33. Everything seems to be going great for [[spoiler:Lancer and Princess!Caster]] in their fight against [[spoiler:Assassin and Witch!Caster]]. Then, the Witch uses a VoodooDoll made from [[spoiler:Bazett's severed legs]] to take control of her, forcing her to attack [[spoiler:Luvia]]. Then, Rin and EMIYA show up. EMIYA deploys Unlimited Blade Works and opts to kill everyone (which causes Rin to realize this is definitely not the Shirou she knows). ''Then'' Assassin's identity gets out, shocking EMIYA so much that he's unable to stop Assassin from firing an Origin Bullet into the ground of Unlimited Blade Works. |
| 149 | ** Shirou's attack on Ryudou Temple not only [[spoiler:fails to take out Witch!Medea or Assassin]], it allows the former to [[spoiler:steal Rider from him, giving her control of half the Servants in the War]]. (Though, it can be hard to argue this as bad, seeing as [[spoiler:Witch!Medea only has one Command Seal left, and all three Servants she has under her command want to kill her, not to mention Assassin hates her even more for using him as bait for his own daughter]]. The situation only gets worse for her when Shirou ''points this out'', almost ensuring that every single one of those Servants along with all her enemies will do whatever it takes to make sure she [[spoiler:wastes that last Command Seal]]. |
| 150 | *** Chapter 38 shows this is a bad thing, hinting at even worse things, because [[spoiler:it gave Witch!Caster a trove of information about what Shirou knows about the war and what is happening around it, namely the corrupt Grail, Gilgamesh, and Zouken]]. This allows her to finally understand what it is Shirou is trying to achieve. |
| 151 | *** Chapter 39 ends on the note of what Witch!Caster most likely did since it was the only realistic option in her position: spilling the beans to Kotomine that Shirou is not being a rule-abiding contestant and that he wants to bring the ritual to a standstill or outright stop it. Facts: there is an official summon at the Church from the moderator. Conjecture: Witch!Caster spilled the beans. Very likely threat: Gilgamesh is on his way to Shirou's place. |
| 152 | ** Chapter 39 shows that [[spoiler: the Clocktower has confirmation that Kotomine is hiding stuff. Plus, Shirou's condition has evolved and it is still uncertain how Barthomelloi will react to it.]] |
| 153 | ** Chapter 50 has Archer outright stating the situation will get worse before getting better, EVEN though the War is over. |
| 154 | * GambitPileup: Chapter 48 has a very good example of one. Witch!Caster and Shirou try every trick in their repertoire to outwit each other, forcing each other to rely upon more and more flimsy backup plans. |
| 155 | * GallowsHumor: Played with in chapter 15 when Bazett tells Shirou his dad would be turning in his grave over something he just said, so what does Shirou do? [[spoiler:Projects all three Origin blades to see if they would roll over.]] |
| 156 | * GracefulLoser: [[spoiler:Gilgamesh]] becomes one after his epic final battle against [[spoiler:Shirou]]. |
| 157 | * GreaterScopeVillain: [[spoiler:Altrouge Brunestud; although she's uninterested in the war, she sent one of her enforcers to Fuyuki to keep an eye on it.]] |
| 158 | * GrievousHarmWithABody: [[spoiler:Shirou]] pulls this with own dismembered arm, using it as a club to [[spoiler:deflect weapons by channeling aspects of weapons in his reality marble into it]]. |
| 159 | * HaremSeeker: Taiga believes Shirou to be this. |
| 160 | -->''"The School Idol. The Foreign Beauty. The Overly Attached Underclassman. Shirou Emiya has wooed and claimed the heart of these trademarked stereotypes in the school he is at, and now with that Saber girl that's staying at his home as another Foreign Beauty, albeit less developed, it makes four, and I fear what he could do with you ''[Illya]'' who can easily represent the adorable little sister archetype," Taiga Fujimura stated seriously. "I so far have managed to remain immune from his wiles and not fill in the spot of the loving mature elder sister; however I am not so sure about that Bazett woman that sometimes comes over to visit." She paused before looking to the side in thought. "In fact, if those rumors about Ryudou-kun are true... oh dear lord if they are then he has a class president as well!"'' |
| 161 | * HeroicBSOD: Shirou faces two examples. First when he sees the originals of the Origin Blades for the first time, then when he sees Archer in person and peers through the whole of his life, [[spoiler:realizing he inherited Kiritsugu's ''regrets'' from seeing Archer inherited his ''dreams''.]] |
| 162 | * HowMuchMoreCanHeTake: [[spoiler:Shirou]] reaches this level of damage against Gilgamesh, and against Rider and Witch!Caster afterwards. |
| 163 | * HumanResources: Chapter 62 reveals that Sirius has been extracting Shirou's blood and bone powder for over a decade to use in the creation of sword mystic codes. |
| 164 | * HumiliationConga: |
| 165 | ** RichBitch [[spoiler:Marjatta Edelfelt]] suffers a devastating one when [[spoiler:she fights Sakura, constantly underestimating her that multiple times would cost her victory, and even after Sakura admits defeat this continues when she unleashes the Crest Worms, her Servant getting injured by Shirou, and after heading to the Ryudou Temple [[AndIMustScream becomes a living wand for her own Servant]]]]. [[BreakTheHaughty That is kinda harsh]], though it's hard to argue she didn't deserve at least ''some'' of it. |
| 166 | ** Zouken falls on the receiving end of a particularly cathartic one over the course of a few chapters. |
| 167 | ** Witch!Caster finally gets her comeuppance in the finale of Chapter 48. |
| 168 | ** The Archibald family goes through this in the KangarooCourt of Chapters 52 and 53. All their attempts to throw Waver under the bus and make Shirou look incompetent or guilty fall flat. And to make matters worse, their reputation is rendered completely in ruins thanks to the words of Shirou, Luvia, and Barthomelloi herself. [[spoiler:Even their ally, the Einzberns, break their agreement and leave them to their fate when a chance of restarting the Grail War is made possible with a deal with Luvia and Caster.]] |
| 169 | * IAmNotLeftHanded: Sakura has learned Reinforcement from Shirou, which when combined with her own mysteries allows her to [[spoiler:push Marjatta back in close combat]] in chapter 25. |
| 170 | * IAmNotMyFather: Shirou insists it is not his intent to become like his father, in spite of how he has the potential to become the next Magus Killer. |
| 171 | * InSpiteOfANail: |
| 172 | ** Rin still [[spoiler:summons the same Archer using a piece of his cloth and her pendant]]. A 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. |
| 173 | ** Chapter 26 has Witch!Caster relocate to Ryūdou Temple as her base of operations. |
| 174 | * IndirectKiss: Rin doesn't realize she's eating using the same chopsticks she was feeding a still-recovering Shirou with until Sakura points it out to her. |
| 175 | * InstantRunes: Sirius' greatest Mystic Code, the Lebor na nUidre, the Book of the Dun Cow, is actually his skin, and allows him to instantly create runes on any part of his body, enabling him to give himself a wide range of abilities. It also allows him to make said runes on the outside world significantly more quickly than most magi. |
| 176 | * InternalReveal: |
| 177 | ** Kiritsugu's letters to various people inform each about the corrupted Grail and everything he saw in his dreams. |
| 178 | ** Sakura, Rider, and Saber learn about Shirou's [[spoiler:Dead Apostle blood]] when the King of Rats enlists their help to save his life. |
| 179 | ** After Luvia confronts Shirou about Illya being his sister, Shirou is forced to reveal to her most of his goals for the Fifth War. |
| 180 | ** Bazett, Lancer, both Casters, and Luvia discover that Archer is Heroic Spirit EMIYA. Immediately after this, Witch!Caster has Assassin reveal his shocking identity to everyone present. |
| 181 | ** In the aftermath of that fight, Luvia and Rin trade information. Luvia tells Rin some of what she forced out of Shirou, and with Princess!Caster's help the two of them realize Archer is a Counter Guardian. |
| 182 | ** Saber's identity is revealed to everyone who didn't already know when she prepares to use Excalibur while they escape from Ryūdou Temple. |
| 183 | ** {{Implied|Trope}}: The second summons by Kirei leads Shirou to the conclusion that Witch!Caster learned from Rider most of Shirou's plans for the Grail War and informed Kirei of at least the part about trying to stop the Grail War. |
| 184 | ** [[spoiler:Kiritsugu]] learns why several people know about [[spoiler:the Origin bullets and how they work]] when they shouldn't. |
| 185 | ** Shirou finally gets a clue that [[spoiler:Merem assigned him a Dead Apostle Ancestor spot]]. |
| 186 | ** Shirou finally gets to know who Archer is, and his history, with a HeroicBSOD. |
| 187 | ** Following said BSOD, everyone wises up and decides sharing notes, which means everyone on the team now has a full info dump of VisualNovel/FateStayNight including bad ends, and hefty amounts of FridgeLogic kicking in. |
| 188 | ** Chapter 59 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 |
| 189 | ** 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 (with a pinch of LockedOutOfTheLoop to help) it isn't quite enough to convince her, and she only stays her hand because Shirou and Waver are just THAT DAMN USEFUL. |
| 190 | [[/folder]] |
| 191 | [[folder:Tropes K-Y]] |
| 192 | * KangarooCourt: Just like in canon, after the Holy Grail War, there is one. The stakes are different, but the modus operandi is still there. |
| 193 | * LaughingMad: |
| 194 | ** Rin after realizing that Archer is Heroic Spirit EMIYA. Archer wonders for a moment if Rin is insane. |
| 195 | ** Sakura in Chapter 25 has a subtle moment of this when [[spoiler:the worms come and try to subject Marjatta to what she went through.]] |
| 196 | ** Illya briefly goes into this when faced with the idea that Shirou snuck into the Einzbern castle and rigged it with bombs without anyone knowing. |
| 197 | ** Gilgamesh starts laughing after Shirou manages to [[spoiler:briefly trump the Gate of Babylon]]. From what he says next, Saber muses that he's gone mad and is desperately rationalizing what just happened. |
| 198 | ** Sirius laughs out loud when he realizes that [[spoiler:the Thompson Contender, one of his creations, is deemed worthy enough to become a Noble Phantasm after entering the Throne of Heroes.]] |
| 199 | * LaserGuidedKarma: |
| 200 | ** [[spoiler:RichBitch Marjatta]] constantly looks down on other people, viewing them as "peasants" and considering herself several times superior to them because of her bloodline, to the point where she doesn't care that families are dying [[spoiler:due to her Caster draining their prana]]. It's also revealed she [[spoiler:killed a potential Master in cold blood before the War even started to get a second set of Command Seals]]. [[ChronicBackstabbingDisorder Witch!Caster's]] [[ForegoneConclusion betrayal]] comes off more as her getting her just desserts than anything else... |
| 201 | ** Two chapters after giving a particularly scathing TheReasonYouSuckSpeech to Princess!Caster, Archer finds himself on the receiving end of one himself from [[spoiler:Illya, the one person Archer has always refused to directly harm in any way]]. |
| 202 | * LastRequest: [[spoiler:Gilgamesh]] makes two last requests of Shirou: that he [[spoiler:add Enkidu to his reality marble]], and that he complete his reality marble. |
| 203 | * LikeAnOldMarriedCouple: In Chapter 14, Bazett hears Shirou and Rin's bickering and says they're acting like an elderly couple. The two in question simultaneously deny it, to Bazett's further amusement. |
| 204 | * 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. |
| 205 | * LockedOutOfTheLoop: |
| 206 | ** 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]]. |
| 207 | ** [[spoiler:As of Chapter 59, 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.]] |
| 208 | * LoopholeAbuse: |
| 209 | ** An early instance of this is how Sirius gets himself out of the geas contract he has with Louvre. He is forced to request one because he can't possibly [[ExactWords make the very best anti-magus Mystic Codes he knows]] and uphold his end of the bargain. Then, he manages to twist the agreement so that he is forbidden from using any Mystic Code he did not have on himself when caught. This shuts off most of his arsenal, but still leaves him with his trump card, which [[spoiler:is fused with his own person]]. |
| 210 | ** Used extensively by Assassin and any Servant under Witch!Caster's control. It's hinted Witch!Caster left a few loopholes unwittingly, but they're finally revealed in Chapter 42: as long as Assassin finds a way to interpret and justify his words and attitude as an open interrogation and not actual "interactive" conversation, he can technically communicate information to the enemy. Also, as long as it is technically a way of killing the enemy, he can choose a very convoluted fighting style which, while technically being lethal, will still allow his enemies leeway to survive, thus creating a stalemate. |
| 211 | ** Luvia and Shirou reveal that standard mercenary contracts have an out that the mercs occasionally use, which Luvia uses to break her contract to [[spoiler:kill Shirou]]. |
| 212 | ** [[spoiler:Lancer's rune curse that triggers a deathmatch can be countered if someone else enacts it of their own accord.]] |
| 213 | * MagicalIncantation: |
| 214 | ** 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.[[invoked]] |
| 215 | ** Sakura has several chants of her own. Her brand of reinforcement starting with ''His body is made of blades'', and several chants to control her brand of shadow magic (reining in the Shadow when Zouken attempts to MindControl her, or spawning shadow shields to absorb Witch!Caster's attacks). |
| 216 | * MagicSkirt: Rin has a literal one, as she enchanted her very short skirt to protect her modesty. It apparently doesn't always work. |
| 217 | * MajorInjuryUnderreaction: Shirou has such a moment in chapter 43, and yet again in chapter 48. |
| 218 | * MindControl: Witch!Caster clearly has [[spoiler:Bazett]] under mind control in the assault on [[spoiler:the Edelfelt mansion]]. However, the victim is apparently able to take suggestions from Assassin while in that state, as well. |
| 219 | * MirthlessLaughter: Shirou has a case of this and TearsOfJoy after [[spoiler:finally killing Zouken]]. |
| 220 | * MundaneUtility: Shirou can, thanks to his utterly ''broken'' Reinforcement, make any type of jewel he desires, provided he has the necessary materials beforehand. |
| 221 | * MyDeathIsOnlyTheBeginning: Part of Kiritsugu's plan includes [[spoiler:making Origin Swords from his bones for Shirou]], which only occurs after his death. |
| 222 | * MyGreatestSecondChance: It feels like Illya's warning to Archer has finally paid off in Chapter 48. [[spoiler:He goes against his first impulse to take the least risk path, and killing Sakura as she is about to unleash a manifestation of Avenger because of Witch!Caster. As a result, he wracks his brains to find a better solution, and manages to TakeAThirdOption via a stroke of luck and the help of Rule Breaker.]] |
| 223 | * MySkullRunnethOver: Shirou's brain has to process all of the information about a weapon in order for it to be added to his reality marble. His [[spoiler:Pure Eyes]], when activated, will force knowledge about weapons he can't comprehend into his head. Being forced to process Ig-Alima would have killed him if not for the effect of Avalon when boosted by direct contact with Saber, and being forced to process Ea would kill him no matter what. |
| 224 | ** Shirou experiences one of these when he processes the Origin Swords in his Reality Marble with a serving of HeroicBSOD. |
| 225 | ** And one more time when he structurally grasps Archer, and it dawns on him just WHAT Kiritsugu had been attempting to avoid. |
| 226 | * 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.]][[invoked]] |
| 227 | * MythologyGag: The entire reason for Marjatta's existence is so [=ThirdFang=] can use the "[[VisualNovel/FateHollowAtaraxia Ore Scales]]" magic in the story, which allows a servant to be summoned as two facets of itself provided two Edelfelt sisters perform the summoning. |
| 228 | * NamedWeapons: The Origin blades Shirou is given by Kiritsugu post-mortem are all named after people in Kiritsugu's life, each having a MeaningfulName. |
| 229 | ** The blade of Severing is given the name Natalia, after Kiritsugu's adoptive mother. It was she who informed him of his dual origins, and crafted the first of his Origin rounds. |
| 230 | ** The blade of Binding is given the name Maiya, after Kiritsugu's partner and mistress. It was she who served as one of his remaining ties to morality, and she who often helped make sure his plans came together. |
| 231 | ** The third blade is named after Kiritsugu himself, and carries his dual origin. His name reflects both Origins: Severing ("kiri") and Binding ("tsugu"). |
| 232 | * NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast: The new [[spoiler:10th Dead Apostle Ancestor]]: The Ash of Miracles. Guess who. |
| 233 | * NobleDemon: |
| 234 | ** Merem Solomon is a [[OurVampiresAreDifferent Dead Apostle]] Ancestor who displays an unusually benevolent attitude toward humans and staunch loyalty to Shirou in particular, whom he considers a friend and kindred spirit. |
| 235 | ** [[spoiler:Gilgamesh]], in his last moments in Chapter 42, finally shows his nobler side with a very awesome and inspiring DyingMomentOfAwesome speech. |
| 236 | * NoodleIncident: |
| 237 | ** The many experiments Rin has performed on Shirou that went awry. |
| 238 | ** Initially, the one experiment that nearly cost Shirou an arm, though it gets explained later on. |
| 239 | * NormallyIWouldBeDeadNow: Shirou tends to go through these moments quite a lot, as per {{Canon}}. [[spoiler:In the Grail War alone, he gets injured to normally-deadly levels by Berserker nearly breaking him apart when he does not have a Servant yet, Assassin blowing his heart out, his own powers backfiring on himself, Gilgamesh unleashing Gate of Babylon on him, a full-power Pegasus controlled by Rider, Rider controlled by Witch!Caster, and finally Witch!Caster herself]]. It certainly helps that he has a very potent HealingFactor. |
| 240 | * NotHimself: Rin gradually realizes something is off about Archer: he hasn't used Maiya, Natalia, or any of Shirou's elemental blades; he doesn't know that [[spoiler:Shinji died]] two years beforehand; and he's perfectly willing to kill Bazett, whom he's supposed to be close with. [[spoiler:Makes sense considering the Shirou she knows is fundamentally different than most iterations of him, and that Archer is a future version of one of the standard versions of Shirou.]] |
| 241 | * NotWhatItLooksLike: When Shirou is returning a prana-filled jewel to Rin, Taiga thinks Shirou got himself a new girlfriend. |
| 242 | * NothingIsTheSameAnymore: |
| 243 | ** After Chapters 42 and 43, the plot has turned to something akin to Heaven's Feel, albeit with less death: [[spoiler:Zouken, Gilgamesh, and Kirei are dead. This officially means all of Shirou's primary targets are offed, Sakura is about to burst from absorbing Gilgamesh, and Witch!Caster who got Kirei's store of Command Seals is now the last participant interested in completing the Grail. And Shirou is on to the fact that external parties want to have a talk with him after the War.]] |
| 244 | ** 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. |
| 245 | * TheNudifier: Rin develops a ritual spell to destroy Bazett's clothes [[JustifiedTrope in order to remove the massive amount of enchantments woven into them]]. |
| 246 | * 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. |
| 247 | * OhCrap: |
| 248 | ** While scouting the city, Assassin is spotted and recognized by Gilgamesh. |
| 249 | ** Shirou reacts this way when he figures out that Kirei has just learned of his plans to destroy the Grail, because it means that Gilgamesh is in all likelihood about to come after Illya and/or Sakura. |
| 250 | ** Everyone when [[spoiler:Gilgamesh opens the Gate of Babylon to an unprecedented level]], which notably never happened in any of Kiritsugu's visions. |
| 251 | ** Shirou when faced with [[spoiler:divine constructs]]. In this continuity, with his [[spoiler:Pure Eyes]], [[spoiler:seeing Ea]] would mean certain death by information overload for him. |
| 252 | ** Witch!Caster gets one of epic proportions when [[spoiler:a quite annoyed Merem announces he will take over as overseer of the whole ritual, knows about everything she is up to, and will let her go this one time ''precisely'' because of this.]] |
| 253 | ** Shirou gets one when he remembers one odd tidbit about Lancer's legend. [[spoiler:That he stalled a whole army for SEVEN years with a Runic Curse, and let us remember that he could actually be summoned as a Caster, which shows with his "DOWNGRADED to B-rank" Rune skills. He is actually a far more broken gatekeeper than Assassin could ever be.]] |
| 254 | ** Princess!Caster gets one when she sees what Sirius and Shirou found out with a new branch of thaumaturgy. [[spoiler:Removal of the Ether concept, meaning rendering materials inert to magecraft and undetectable.]] |
| 255 | ** Witch!Caster when [[spoiler:Rin reveals she held the Command Seals to Princess!Caster, and summoned her in the temple, stealing control of it from her, trapping her counterpart in her territory, and unleashing her very pissed dragon against her.]] |
| 256 | ** In Chapter 62, Waver reacts this way upon learning that the people he is meeting are [[spoiler:Fina and Altrouge Brunestud]]. |
| 257 | ---> No. No, his luck couldn't be that terrible. There was a limit to how sideways the world could turn on him in a moment's notice. This wasn't just impossible. This was an outright ''joke''. |
| 258 | * PapaWolf: To say Kiritsugu is pissed off when [[spoiler:Witch!Caster uses him to mess with Shirou and Illya's heads]] would be a ''severe'' understatement. Any leeway she had with him is long gone after that stunt. |
| 259 | * 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]]. Which Rin is forced to realize when she [[spoiler:learns of his Reality Marble.]] |
| 260 | * PosthumousCharacter: Kiritsugu is dead after 3 years of raising Shirou, by the end of Chapter 5. [[spoiler:Then he is brought back as Servant Assassin.]] |
| 261 | * PowerCopying: Shirou, of course, as lampshaded by Rin, since he can memorize and perfectly mimic pretty much any thaumaturgy, [[AwesomeButImpractical provided it is sword-shaped]]... Borders on PowersAsPrograms except Shirou (or Archer) is pretty much the only person who can pull this, but he does actually manage his collection of swords with practical effects in mind, improving the blueprints in his mind, so he has always the right tool (elemental, antimagic, absurdly sharp, to name the most obvious) available at hand. |
| 262 | * PreAsskickingOneLiner: |
| 263 | ** Rin as she [[spoiler:points the Thompson Contender at an enraged Louvre]]. |
| 264 | --->''"...Get off my property."'' |
| 265 | ** Shirou gets an even more epic one at the end of Chapter 47 as he prepares his allies for the FinalBattle against Witch!Caster: |
| 266 | --->"Finish any and all preparations you have left. Pack light. Eat light. Tonight we burn a Witch." |
| 267 | * PreMortemOneLiner: |
| 268 | ** From Shirou when he's [[spoiler:comparing Louvre's collection of weapons to his]]. |
| 269 | --->''"It's not big enough."'' |
| 270 | ** In Chapter 48, a magnificent one that did not get to be acted upon, but came very close. |
| 271 | --->''"...You, aren't very good at this."'' |
| 272 | * PrecisionFStrike: |
| 273 | ** Shirou gives a couple in his second encounter with the vampire that's looking for him in Fuyuki. |
| 274 | ** Shirou has another one in chapter 46 as he remembers a VERY important detail about Lancer's legend regarding their plans to attack Witch!Caster. |
| 275 | * {{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. |
| 276 | * PutOnABus: Happens to several people. |
| 277 | ** Sirius, when he gets slapped with a Sealing Designation and must stay forever in the Clock Tower. |
| 278 | ** Waver, when word gets out that he was actively tutoring and helping Shirou, the Emiya inheritor, is ordered by the Archibald Family to stay away from him and Fuyuki. |
| 279 | ** Marjatta, [[spoiler:by virtue of AndIMustScream at the hand of Witch!Caster, but she has been freed by Chapter 51.]] |
| 280 | * PyrrhicVictory: |
| 281 | ** 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. |
| 282 | *** 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]]. |
| 283 | ** Chapter 42 is definitely one. [[spoiler:Gilgamesh is dead, but Shirou is completely drained, and Saber is pretty much spent, and there is a threat to the girls in the castle warranting roars from Berserker.]] |
| 284 | ** Chapter 43 gives another. [[spoiler:Kirei is dead, but Witch!Caster has stolen his seals. Illya's maids have been killed by Witch!Caster, Sakura is about to burst from absorbing Gilgamesh, and Merem had to break the fight to avoid further casualties/catastrophes, and was forced to take over Kirei's position. Witch!Caster has STILL lost once again because with her being the only one caring for the Grail and because she made the stupid mistake of killing Kirei, she's effectively united everyone left against her and Merem can now secretly support Shirou from behind the scenes.]] |
| 285 | ** Barring getting her wish coming true, this is precisely what Witch!Caster will settle for: if she dies or does not get her wish, then no one gets to be happy. This is because she figured Shirou's mindset. [[spoiler:Averting this is the main drive for the protagonists, and the reason for the GambitPileup in Chapter 48.]] |
| 286 | * TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: |
| 287 | ** 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. |
| 288 | ** After Marjatta wakes up, Luvia gives her sister one for her part in the disaster that was the Fifth Holy Grail War. |
| 289 | * RefugeInAudacity: |
| 290 | ** Kirei's cover for the collateral damage of the battle at Matou's manor was chosen for three reasons: it adequately explained the home being burned to the ground and a large strip of road and a part of the woods being burned; it was so over-the-top that people wouldn't be willing to think too hard about it; if Zouken survived, it would tick him off by declaring his home destroyed by a fool. |
| 291 | ** Sakura pulled a magnificent example of it on Taiga when trying to explain what they had been doing, which got a LampshadeHanging. |
| 292 | --->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…\ |
| 293 | ''"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."''\ |
| 294 | … Or maybe they were. |
| 295 | ** Shirou is also prone to using it, like when joking about [[spoiler:his Dead Apostle condition]] to Barthomelloi. It does say that he regrets saying it in the future. |
| 296 | ** Chapter 52 has Shirou pulling this the whole freaking time, to the tune of [[spoiler:"You CERTAINLY do not expect me to be able to copy Noble Phantasms? Defeat a Caster Servant from the Age of the Gods? Defeat the King of Heroes in a fight? Let's get real for a second here, will you?"]]. It works, for the most part, because the mere notion is just THAT outlandish to even consider. |
| 297 | ** Chapter 53 has 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 it. |
| 298 | * 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. |
| 299 | * RuleOfCool: The only reason why Rin is able to [[BlastingitOutOfTheirHands blast the Mace of Odo out of Louvre's hands]] using a Thompson Contender firing .30-06 Springfield rounds on her first try. Also meshes with ImprobableAimingSkills. It also helps that Louvre actually tried to block the shot with the Mace. |
| 300 | * SecretSecretKeeper: It's implied that during [[spoiler:Sirius's trial]], he realized that [[spoiler:Kiritsugu became a heroic spirit]], as he reacts to his voice with surprise ''before'' he sees the weapon, and throws a massive party immediately afterwards. However, he never brings it up so it's impossible to know for sure. |
| 301 | * SecretIdentity: |
| 302 | ** When Shirou dons his holy shroud and masks his face, he turns into Emiya, the second Magus Killer and the Clocktower Queen's Silver Dog. This one is quickly out of the bag to almost any plot-relevant character, hilariously. |
| 303 | ** Another successful iteration would be Shirou's identity as [[spoiler:the maybe-maybe-not 10th Apostle, the "Ash of Miracles"]]. It's so secret that even Shirou, himself, is not aware of it. Only Merem is. |
| 304 | *** [[spoiler: Not anymore a secret identity to Shirou as of chapter 43.]] |
| 305 | * SecretIdentityChangeTrick: |
| 306 | ** Shirou dons the holy shroud as a ninja mask to hide his features, the cheesiness of which gets frequently lampshaded. |
| 307 | ** Archer tries to do the same thing in chapter 23 when Rin says he has to conceal his identity. Rin scornfully points out this won't work. They end up having him wear a helmet that covers just as much. |
| 308 | * SeenItAll: [[TheMultiverse The Kaleidoscope]] being what it is, [[IHatePastMe Archer]] has 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. [[spoiler:[[OhCrap And then he finally figures out what Merem is really up to, having seen it before...]]]] |
| 309 | * ShameIfSomethingHappened: Shirou subtly threatens to ruin Lorelei's life's work in this way when Lorelei dares to hint at touching his Protectorates. Note that, as Lorelei points out, he does this in a very unique way by threatening to HUNT the King of Vampires Ortenrosse. |
| 310 | * SheIsNotMyGirlfriend: In Chapter 14, Bazett keeps teasingly referring to Shirou and Rin as a couple, and at one point she says Rin "can plan ways to torture [her] "not" boyfriend later." Rin then shouts, "He's not my boyfriend!" |
| 311 | * ShirtlessScene: Archer invokes this in an instance of LiteralGenie after being basically asked to tell the truth, [[{{Pun}} bare naked]], with no restraint. When asked to explain how he could identify Lancer, he proceeds to show everyone in the room the scar he got during his life by taking off his armor, prompting appropriate amounts of {{Luminescent Blush}}ing and fidgeting. |
| 312 | * ShooOutTheClowns: Sirius being hit with a Sealing Designation makes it hard for him to leave the Clock Tower, rendering him absent once the Grail War begins, as it takes place in Japan, and he's stuck in London. |
| 313 | * ShoutOut: A group of Sealing Designates in the Dungeons of Clock Tower once tried to create "Pouch Creatures or something like that" (i.e., [[Franchise/{{Pokemon}} Pocket Monsters]]) after seeing the games. |
| 314 | * SkewedPriorities: Shirou is unusually obsessed with his kitchen. He takes care of it more than his own workshop and threatening it or his position of head chef is on the level of BerserkButton for him. Connected to this is Saber, who uses food as a measuring stick for basically everything that isn't combat related, to the point that she actually considers ''delaying her mission for several decades for the sole purpose of eating Shirou's godly cooking''. |
| 315 | * SmallRoleBigImpact: Kiritsugu dies even sooner than in canon due to [[spoiler: giving Shirou his Magic Circuits]], but his actions here set the new plot entirely into swing. [[spoiler:The impact really grows when he becomes Assassin.]] |
| 316 | * SolarAndLunar: While cleaning up the remains of ghouls belonging to Louvre's children, Rin and Sakura discuss how they represent the sun and moon in Shirou's Unlimited Blade Works respectively. The fact that both celestial bodies are high in the sky equally without either one eclipsing the other shows how important both are to Shirou. This doesn't really please the two as they are, initially anyways, in a SiblingTriangle. |
| 317 | * SoulCuttingBlade: Kiritsugu's (the blade) intended function was to cripple a magus' Magic Circuits, but when that effect is reinforced by the curse of Angra Mainyu it goes far further, all the way down to the very soul. |
| 318 | * SpannerInTheWorks: |
| 319 | ** [[VisualNovel/{{Tsukihime}} Louvre]], whose desire for Mystic Codes and conceptual weapons has him kidnapping Sirius. This leads to the chain of events that exposes the existence of Shirou and his abilities to not only the Mage's Association, but [[BigBadEnsemble Kotomine, Zouken, and Gilgamesh]] as well. |
| 320 | ** The anti-Grail team merely planned to have the Edelfelts summon Medea to gain access to Rule Breaker, with Shirou quickly eliminating the summoned Servant with Luvia none the wiser. [[spoiler:Marjatta and the use of Ore Scales]] pretty much threw a wrench in the plans to minimize the Edelfelts' role in the war. One of the results from this is the destruction of [[spoiler:the Matou residence]]. |
| 321 | ** Assassin[[spoiler:/Kiritsugu Emiya]]. There is a reason the author calls him "the Servant that fucks everyone's plans up." He even humiliates [[TheWormThatWalks Zouken]]. |
| 322 | *** He notes with some irony that Assassin's doing the same thing to his own plans. |
| 323 | * SparedByTheAdaptation: |
| 324 | ** Thanks to Kiritsugu's pre-planning and Shirou's efforts, all of the servants and their masters are spared by time the Fifth War concludes, including Saber, Archer, Bazett, Lancer, Princess!Caster, Illya, Berserker, and Rider. |
| 325 | ** {{Downplayed|Trope}}, in that he still dies before the Fifth War begins, [[spoiler:but Kiritsugu is summoned as Assassin for the Fifth War, and manages to remain after Witch!Caster's death due to forming a contract with Illya.]] |
| 326 | * StaringDownCthulhu: Waver doesn't back down from Gilgamesh despite knowing that one wrong word or move will get him killed instantly. |
| 327 | * StormOfBlades: Like his canon counterpart, Shirou is completely capable of this. During his fight with [[spoiler:Louvre]], he traces a few hundred weapons simultaneously. Taken even further 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]]. |
| 328 | * 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. |
| 329 | * TakeUpMySword: Merem takes over the position of [[spoiler:overseer of the Holy Grail War]] after [[spoiler:Kirei]]'s death. |
| 330 | * TakingTheHeat: Should either Church or Association authorities end up reacting to his plans for the war, Shirou has done his best to ensure that all evidence, hearsay and circumstantial proof aside, would point to him and him alone, to spare his allies whatever punishment would be planned for him. Even [[spoiler:Luvia]], who has by then been nursing a severe grudge for [[spoiler:being manipulated into her role in the war]], finds this self-imposed burden tragically selfless. |
| 331 | * 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. |
| 332 | * 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.]] |
| 333 | * ThereIsNoKillLikeOverkill: Shirou using his entire arsenal of weapons at once to make a HumanPincushion of [[spoiler:Louvre.]] |
| 334 | * TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: Archer gives a particularly brutal one to Princess!Caster in Chapter 45. [[spoiler:Illya]] returns the favor to him two chapters later. |
| 335 | * TearsOfJoy: Shirou in Chapter 32 after [[spoiler:Zouken's death]]. |
| 336 | * TooMuchInformation: Sirius mentions when he was circumcised, much to Bazett and Shirou's consternation. |
| 337 | * TranquilFury: Shirou is explicitly stated in Chapter 31 to have this trait when he gets genuinely angry. |
| 338 | * TraumaCongaLine: |
| 339 | ** Rin experiences one as she gets a major info dump about everything Shirou has been doing behind everyone's backs in the war, and Archer's status [[spoiler:as a Counter Guardian.]] |
| 340 | ** Archer sort of invokes this as he explains his goals to Rin, Luvia and Princess!Caster, repeating word for word his rant to Shirou in the canon UBW route. |
| 341 | ** Witch!Caster sort of goes through one by the end of Chapter 48. |
| 342 | * UnstoppableRage: [[spoiler:Surprisingly, Shirou flies into one upon waking up after seeing Archer, on pure instinct, because of what he is, and what he did.]] |
| 343 | * WarMemorial: Saber and Gilgamesh realize that Shirou's reality marble is a memorial to the deeds and lives of the heroes who wielded the originals of the weapons inside it. |
| 344 | * WeakButSkilled: |
| 345 | ** Assassin. He's a GlassCannon. He barely has any direct combat experience, his stats are really weak, and he uses modern weaponry. But, he's so goddamned skilled and such a tactical genius that if you dare try to take him in his territory, all his powers will activate and his pea-shooters and cherry bombs become more powerful than most Noble Phantasms. Hell, if he gets a [[InTheBack sneak attack]] on you, he can hit with enough strength to kill [[TheJuggernaut Berserker]]. Archer and Rider double-team him on his territory and he doesn't even get a scratch, and he defeats Lancer in five seconds flat. Of course, this is [[spoiler:Kiritsugu Emiya]]. Who else could he be? |
| 346 | ** Shirou becomes this with regards to Servants, as acknowledged by several people and finally officially by Archer in Chapter 46. |
| 347 | * WhamLine: |
| 348 | ** More than a few but one in particular stands out. |
| 349 | --> '''Rat King''' (to Assassin): Such professionalism. The rumors 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.]] |
| 350 | ** Chapter 59's final line will throw a lot of people in for a loop. |
| 351 | --> "It's been a while, hasn't it, [[spoiler:Kiritsugu]]?" |
| 352 | --> "... Yeah. It has, [[spoiler:Iri]]." |
| 353 | * WhatTheHellHero: |
| 354 | ** [[spoiler:Luviagetta Edelfelt]] gives one to Shirou once she finds out about [[spoiler:his advantages in the Grail War (years of preparation, the Origin swords, etc.)]] that threatens to completely destroy their friendship. [[AwfulTruth He has very good reasons]] [[HeKnowsTooMuch for hiding it, though]]. |
| 355 | ** Rin tears Shirou a new one for trying to [[spoiler:kill Archer in a fit of UnstoppableRage, when really no matter what grudge he might have against him, the moment is NOT appropriate at all.]] |
| 356 | * WhatCouldHaveBeen: InUniverse. Lancer actually wonders what the world would have been like had heroes like him, Hercules, Arthur, and the like all done better by their children when they were still alive. |
| 357 | * WorthyOpponent: |
| 358 | ** Gilgamesh still respects Iskander enough to spare Waver, in spite of [[spoiler:the latter's blatant attempts to have him killed]]. |
| 359 | ** The Edelfelts apparently had this attitude to Kiritsugu when it came to doing mercenary work, as their contracts would often conflict. |
| 360 | ** Gilgamesh eventually decides that Shirou has earned the right to face his full power. Then, after the battle's over, he gives Shirou even more respect than he gave Iskandar [[spoiler:in a DyingMomentOfAwesome speech]]. |
| 361 | * WrittenByTheWinners: Deliberately invoked by [[spoiler:Shirou]] in Chapter 40 in order to counteract [[spoiler:Kirei's manipulations of outing him and setting a hunt on him]]. He takes the initiative and provides premium intel (what [[spoiler:Kirei]] didn't report about or doesn't even know--which ends up being the whole truth minus a very few select details) to [[spoiler:Lorelei Barthomelloi]] so that she may use the truth as she sees fit and keep an edge over anyone else who might want to use the whole fiasco for their own ends. |
| 362 | * WrongGenreSavvy: |
| 363 | ** According to the author, Shirou actually [[ExploitedTrope relies heavily on]] everyone in the Association being guilty of this, which has his straightforwardness coming off as mysterious and putting everyone on edge. |
| 364 | ** This is how one could read Barthomelloi's reaction to hearing [[spoiler:Shirou's true motivations]] from Waver. "It can't be that straightforward. It never is." Waver tells her that it is, scarily so. |
| 365 | ** Witch!Caster is this until at one point she pieces out Shirou's motivations from his actions up to then, which she could observe, and secondhand accounts from Rider's memories and understands that yes, he ''is'' that straightforward. |
| 366 | ** [[IHatePastMe Archer]] spends quite a while assuming that the years prior to the War were much like his childhood and that Shirou is an IdiotHero like he was in his youth, leading him to make logical but incorrect assumptions. He goes straight back to being scarily accurate about the situation after he gets enough of his facts straightened out after [[spoiler:Rin and Luvia interrogate him in Chapter 37]]. |
| 367 | * XanatosSpeedChess: Kotomine. Zouken. Witch!Caster. Shirou, Waver, and Sirius. All of them are butting heads to claim the Grail or destroy it. On top of that, comes the SpannerInTheWorks Assassin. |
| 368 | * YouAreBetterThanYouThinkYouAre: |
| 369 | ** [[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.]] |
| 370 | ** Archer gets one such moment in Chapter 48 [[spoiler:when he finds a way to save Sakura instead of killing her to prevent Avenger from going berserk]]. |
| 371 | * YouAreNotAlone: |
| 372 | ** Part of Rin's comforting speech when [[spoiler:Shirou tries to make sense of receiving Mystic Code swords from Kiritsugu while being told to tone down his heroic-obsessed distortion]]. |
| 373 | ** Shirou receives a toned down version of this [[spoiler:towards the end of the War when he finally has half of the participants on his side]]. |
| 374 | * YouCantFightFate: [[spoiler:Ultimately, Archer reaches this conclusion in Chapter 61 regarding his attempt to RetGone himself, when he realizes he could not possibly have known about Shirou being able to survive and use his arm in Sakura's route in canon, which means the Counterforce must have nudged him towards this. Meaning he has no real free will, and Alaya still pulls the strings.]] |
| 375 | * YouKillItYouBoughtIt: |
| 376 | ** After [[spoiler:killing Louvre]], Shirou is offered [[spoiler:his position as the tenth Dead Apostle Ancestor]]. He declines, but the one making the offer expects him to eventually accept and thus renews the offer every few months and is holding the position in reserve for him. |
| 377 | ** PlayedWith: [[spoiler:Gilgamesh leaves his gardens (i.e., the world) in Shirou's care as a reward for Shirou winning and successfully "invading his kingdom". He also requests that Shirou add Enkidu to his reality marble so that he won't have added nothing of value to it.]] |
| 378 | * YourApprovalFillsMeWithShame: Shirou is uncomfortable with accepting compliments from Zouken on principle. |
| 379 | * YouHaveGOTToBeKiddingMe: |
| 380 | ** [[spoiler:Witch!Caster gets one such moment in chapter 43 upon realizing Shirou was friends with Merem, and she realizes he could have called a favor at about any time.]] |
| 381 | ** Lancer has one when he finds out [[spoiler:Kuzuki was actually involved in the War.]] |
| 382 | [[/folder]] |
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