Characters / From Fake Dreams

Most of the characters in this fiction are in many ways similar to the ones from Fate/Zero and Fate/stay night, but have significant differences from canon, due to this being an Alternate Continuity. This page will also discuss the fate of most characters to exemplify their personality traits, so beware of spoilers.

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Fifth Holy Grail War Participants

Masters

Shirou Emiya

Shirou Emiya

Rank: 10th Ancestor (Unofficial)

Servant: Saber, Rider (Temporary)

Origin: Sword

Element: Sword

The sole survivor of the Fuyuki Fire and protagonist of Fate/stay night, this time around, Shirou has been trained to be a more competent Magus, and could gain access to his abilities much earlier. However, knowing how he could end up, Kiritsugu educated him differently, therefore his mindset is somewhat different from his canon self.

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• Anti-Magic: Combine the Origin Swords with Unlimited Blade Works. Factor in the curse of Angra Mainyu. This is how you make something even more dangerous than the Origin Bullets.
• Awesomeness by Analysis: Shirou gets this with his standard Structural Grasping, but this gets taken up to eleven when he gets his Pure Eyes. It gets to the point where he grasps the air to see through an illusion to find his target, and nearly nails her, albeit at great cost to himself.
• Awful Truth: This Shirou inherited Kiritsugu's regrets, not his dreams. Realizing this difference is this for Shirou.
• Batman Gambit: Manages to pull a few of these successfully.
• Broke Your Arm Punching Out Cthulhu: Suffers this quite a few times over his battles, since he faces foes normal humans have no business fighting in close quarters.
• The Chessmaster: This version of Shirou has become this, to Archer's great surprise.
• Clueless Chick-Magnet: As per canon. A source of drama, and funny moments.
• Crazy-Prepared:
  • Shirou being sword-aligned means he can copy any thaumaturgy that is actualized in the shape of a sword. End result? He has a round-about way of accessing them, but he can therefore use all five elemental affinities. Rin being a natural Average One with all five affinities is positively peeved. More generally, for any given job, Shirou has the right tool. This is what leads Archer to conclude that this Shirou has a spellcaster's mindset, whereas Archer veers a bit into Awesome, but Impractical even though he has a bigger hoard of more powerful swords than Shirou.
  • In a more mundane example, Shirou has rigged the Einzbern castle, his house, his workshop, the archway to the temple, the temple buildings, and the Greater Grail cave. Just in case.
• Crippling Overspecialization: Shirou defies this trope by way of using the magical equivalent to casting swords, by using a blank blueprint as the "vessel" and then inserting the mystery he wants into it, creating a literal swordspell. Two that have been seen are his helix blade, which is a water elemental Magic Missile Storm, and his immolation blade, which is Exactly What It Says on the Tin.
  • Archer is not completely subject to this trope either, but Shirou is admittedly better at managing a wider range of skills thanks to his mindset of using swords as spells.
• Determinator: Getting up after getting your heart blown out and bleeding your lungs out to protect your sister HAS to count.
• Did You Just Scam Cthulhu?: Pulled two successful bargains with Barthomelloi, in circumstances where things could have otherwise gone very poorly for him, had he failed.
  • First when getting hired, managing to get means to contact Aozaki Touko in order to make a puppet body for Illya.
  • Then when Barthomelloi merely hints at hurting his Protectorate to test the waters, he threatens her back with smearing her life's achievement by harming an Eldritch Abomination before she could, should she theoretically do this. But of course, as Shirou points, since, or rather, as long as she won't, he won't.
• The Dreaded: Comes with the title of Magus Killer, and with rumors of what he is able to do to Dead Apostles or Magi. This gets boosted to memetic levels after the Holy Grail War and since the feats are so properly unbelievable, they enable Shirou to talk his way out of explaining any embarrassing circumstances.
• Enigmatic Minion: Plays the part under Barthomelloi for most of the Clock Tower. He also has his own agenda that is not completely aligned with his boss'.
• The Fettered: This version of Shirou has the compulsion to become a Hero, but he has also been imparted with Kiritsugu's regrets and therefore also yearns to have a good life with his loved ones.
• Finishing Each Other's Sentences: Shirou and Saber are fully in sync when discussing options for combat, which they demonstrate when planning with Illya.
• Future Me Scares Me: Not scaring so much as render into a sobbing wreck and throw into Unstoppable Rage.
• Genius Bruiser: Shirou might be average in most common areas of thaumaturgy, he is an outright prodigy in his specific field (he gets rewarded with a Noble Color for Tracing making research on projection magecraft progress), and when he gets a researcher's mindset thanks to Rin, Waver and Sirius, he gets truly creative with his tools.
• Glowing Eyes: When his Pure Eyes activate, they glow silver.
• Good Thing You Can Heal: Given the insane injuries he sustains, it should be called "Good thing Shirou has Avalon and an active contract with Saber"...
• Grievous Harm with a Body: He gets an arm severed by Gilgamesh, uses it to channel weapons from Unlimited Blade Works, and then as a catalyst to open a portal to it.
• Healing Factor: A mesh of several. His natural healing from UBW, the healing abilities of Avalon, and the abilities he gains as a Living Apostle.
• Heroic Build: Even more so than in canon because of his training.
• He Who Fights Monsters: Is turning into a more literal example than most cases. After the Holy Grail War, he is now a new subspecies of Dead Apostle that is still alive and has swords that appear like scales that grow on various parts of his body.
• Hey, You!: The nobles of the Clock Tower rarely call him by name, rather calling him "dog" based on his title of Silver Dog of the Queen of the Clock Tower. This is actually invoked, as only Shirou's surname, Emiya, is known to them. He also tries using a mundane alternate identity where only his given name "Shirou" is known so as to not bring up his relation to Kiritsugu.
• Horrifying the Horror: He actually pulls this quite a few times on Dead Apostles and Servants.
• Humanoid Abomination: Has been slowly turning into this over the course of the story, but even as a 100% pure-blooded human he could turn his skin into blade mesh for very nasty results. Ask Louvre or his daughter.
• I Did What I Had to Do: Holds this mindset very strongly, and hides a lot of stuff from his allies, even though it's for the best ultimately.
• I Have Many Names: Ends up receiving quite the amount of monikers.
• Laughing Mad: Sometimes does this under the pressure of a fight.
• Living Emotional Crutch: Despite everything he did to remove Zouken's influence from her, he is still this to Sakura, enough so that she still considers him her sole reason for living disregarding her renewed relationship with Rin and having new friends who she does care for but are incomparable to her devotion to Shirou.
• Metaphorically True: A master of this and Exact Words to avoid revealing questions. This helps him avoid outright lying, since he is, admittedly, bad at it.
• Morality Pet: Rin and Sakura are literally the pillars of his mind.
• My Skull Runneth Over: What Shirou risks if he overuses his Mystic Eyes, or if he sees divine constructs. This means certain death for him if he catches a glimpse of Ea.
• Oblivious to Love: As usual.
• Odd Friendship: Shirou has made an unusual friend in Merem Solomon.
• Power Copying: As per canon, Shirou can memorize and reproduce any blade he has witnessed, including the ones with magical effects. This version of Shirou, however, has a different take, and uses special swords as he would use spells, and also has the approach of a researcher. Archer points out the difference.
• Power-Upgrading Deformation: Once he gets turned into a Living Apostle, this grants him quite the generous mana reserves.
• Protectorate: Rin and Sakura, as pillars of his Reality Marble, but also Illya and pretty much everyone close to him on a personal level.
• Rank Up: Near the end of the first act, Shirou gets advanced from a third-rate magus to a second-rate; the distinction being that while Shirou does research magecraft, he still uses it for practical reasons rather than gathering knowledge for knowledge's sake and doesn't have a For Science! mentality. Also, after sharing his edited notes on Tracing, which are found to be replicable, he also receives the Noble Color of Silver, the highest a human magus can achieve.
• Red Baron: Second Magus Killer, Ash of Miracles, Provisional 10th Dead Apostle Ancestor, Silver Dog of the Queen of the Clock Tower, and Dream of Heroes.
• Refuge in Audacity: Uses this to his advantage to conceal the truth.
• Reluctant Warrior: Very much so. He wants to keep to himself, surrounded by his friends and loved ones, and will not go out of his way to search for a fight. If he must, he will also play peacekeeper. But when downright coerced or assaulted, he will respond in kind.
• Secret Identity:
  • Tries to have an unassuming persona as "Shirou" as a random student, while the Magus Killer is known as "Emiya" and has his face masked with a holy cloth. Only works on people who don't know him.
  • Ends up having one that is secret even to him; the "Ash of Miracles", the title of the newly appointed 10th Dead Apostle Ancestor.
• Storm of Blades: As per canon.
• Time Master: Inherits Kiritsugu's shtick thanks to the Emiya crest. Combined with his other abilities, and his lack of self-preservation, the results are quite devastating... Both for foes and for himself, explaining why Kiritsugu never ever went that far. It doesn't help that even accelerating his Reality Marble or his projections causes nasty episodes of feedback-induced seizure on him, because they're extensions of his soul materialized by his Reality Marble!
  • Locking a Dead Apostle to the current time stream to prevent regeneration via time reversal. Not quite a Story-Breaker Power like Tsukihime's Mystic Eyes of Death Perception, but coming close.
  • Overclocking his Reality Marble to produce more swords, or accelerating his swords once they are shifted in the real world.
  • Locking a blade into frozen time to make it eternal and immune to change. This actually (temporarily) holds back Berserker!
• Trauma Conga Line: Technically speaking Shirou experiences a number of mental traumas throughout the story even beyond the Fuyuki Fire. After Kiritsugu had dreams of the future he would unknowingly flinch everytime he looked at Shirou and this continued until he died leaving Shirou with trauma. Looking at Kiritsugu's swords is compared to being tied down and forced to watch a loved one being brutally tortured and murdered over the years. When Shirou gets notes on the possible futures he learns that the bad ones which result in his or people he cares about dying are technically a result of his own actions which Saber notes was cruel of Kiritsugu. When he sees Archer and realizes the difference between them and what Kiritsugu was trying to avoid it causes him to break down. That's not including all the physical trauma he experiences in the war proper as well.
• Victory Through Intimidation: Shirou gets a reputation as The Dreaded through being actually VERY good at what he does, and being VERY well equipped for the jobs, but in a pinch, he will resort to pulling Tranquil Fury and use intimidation tactics to force his enemies' hand. Two examples include forcing Marjatta to leave by threat of summoning Saber, and forcing Caster to back off by threat of blowing up the mountain with a Command Spell-enforced Excalibur.
• What the Hell, Hero?: Falls on the receiving end of this several times for his suicidal tendencies as per canon.
  • However, he also gets lots of flak for his machinations and questionable methods, that DID save a lot of people but angered and traumatized as much.
  • He gets on the giving end against Archer, turning absolutely ballistic upon witnessing the entirety of EMIYA's life.

Rin Tohsaka

Rin Tohsaka

Servant: Archer, Princess!Caster (Temporary)

Element: Average One

The heir to the Tohsaka magecraft, Second Owner of the land of Fuyuki, and Master of Archer.

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• Action Girl: Very much. She takes part in a few fights with a mixed record, but this definitely counts.
• Childhood Friends: Is this with Shirou since in this timeline they got to know each other before high school.
• Did You Just Flip Off Cthulhu?: Unintentionally does this when she makes the mistake of mentioning how Zelretch defeated Crimson Moon to Merem. He responds by giving her a Death Glare and a warning to never do it again.
• Glass Cannon: She has a lot of firepower, as per canon, but if you manage to get in a good hit, you can take her down.
• Hand Cannon: Gets to use the Thompson Contender against Louvre's son and against Louvre himself. Also, it's later stated that she nearly broke every bone in her wrist because of the recoil of the thing.
• Heroic BSoD: Rin has one after interrogating Archer.
• In Spite of a Nail: She still manages to summon the original EMIYA heroic spirit (from Fate/stay night), but this time she used a piece Shirou's shroud that had some of his blood on it.
• Jerkass Realization: When she finds out that yes, Shirou is that dense, and he has good reasons for being as distorted as he is. Doubly so when she gets to see EMIYA's memories.
• Laughing Mad: She starts laughing uncontrollably when she summons Archer. It gets so bad that he wonders if Rin has lost her mind.
• Mr. Exposition: Averted this time around, since Shirou is competent.
• Squishy Wizard: She doesn't go up against Servants, but Bazett makes this point clear to Rin. A tad downplayed thanks to reinforcement, lest she gets her insides turned to goo.
• Teen Genius: And she gets to show it a few times. The best example would be when she finds a proper counter to Kiritsugu's Origin Bullets.
• Trauma Conga Line: Realizing the difference between Archer and Shirou, then realizing what fate Archer has condemned himself to, and the implication that she could not, or did not prevent him from doing so.
• Tsundere: As per canon. This fic shows she is like this towards Sakura as well.

Sakura Matou

Sakura Matou

Servant: Rider

Element: Imaginary Number, Water (acquired)

Formerly Sakura Tohsaka, now the heir to the Matou magecraft, vessel for the Black Grail, and Master of Rider.

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• Adaptational Badass: Training under Shirou and Rin has made Sakura much more powerful and combat capable than in canon.
• Break the Cutie: Experienced this as a child as per canon.
• Casting a Shadow: How Sakura's magecraft manifests.
• Childhood Friends: Meets Shirou just a little while before Kiritsugu dies.
• Clingy Jealous Girl: Shows vibes of this, but not as bad as in canon.
• Damsel in Distress: Gets in these scenarios several times.
• Dark Is Not Evil: Sakura has partial control over the shadows, and even made them into her brand of magecraft.
• Defiled Forever: Sakura views herself as this, especially after Shirou has been Forced to Watch her training. Shirou doesn't mind, but for him this pushes Zouken in unforgivable territory.
• Defusing the Tyke-Bomb: Shirou makes this one of his major milestones for fixing the mess that is the Holy Grail War.
• Devoted to You: As per canon, she considers her sole reason for living to be attached to Shirou. This is in spite of the better relationship she has with Rin and the friendships she made with the others. She is so devoted, her threats actually impress Merem.
• Eating the Eye Candy: And not shy about it at all.
• Gone Horribly Right: From Marjatta's perspective, Sakura is this: the unstable heir resulting from a crazy experiment that did not go and self-destruct.
• Green-Eyed Monster: Has vibes of this. First towards Rin over Shirou's affection, and then when she fights Marjatta, she outright points out that such a thing as Ore Scales would have avoided her a lot of pain.
• I Just Want to Be Normal: Even though Shirou and Sakura mutually knew about magic, neither brought the topic up because they wanted to keep things simple.
• Mana Drain: As per canon, she is capable of this with even Servants, but has more fine control over it.
  • With tutelage from Rin, she even comes up with creative bounded fields capable of killing vampire familiars without harming humans. This comes in extremely handy.
  • She can do this in a pinch to avoid very nasty blasts from Witch!Caster, but she risks overloading.
• Not So Weak: As per canon, but also with a twist. She could easily give Marjatta a run for her money, but doesn't unless pressed and not surrounded by witnesses.
• Point of Divergence: In this timeline, her initial encounter with Shirou changed a major event of canon that ended up having very subtle ripples. Long story short, Shirou using magic to protect her from bullies even at the cost of injury for himself has led to Kiritsugu imparting upon Shirou his regrets instead of his dreams!
• Shrinking Violet: Downplayed compared to her canon counterpart. Actually, knowing Shirou for longer than in canon and opening up to Rin before the Holy Grail War did some very good things for her personality, even though it ends up letting the influence of Angra Mainyu slip through, giving her "not herself" moments.
  • One of the best examples is her talking back to Kotomine and actually catching him off guard and shutting him up good when he tries to probe Shirou a bit too hard on touchy topics.
• Took a Level in Badass: Compared to canon, she can actually contribute to fights, and she is not as much of a pushover.
• Tragic Monster: Runs the risk of becoming this, as Kirei notes that her hold over Angra Mainyu is actually weaker than she shows.

Luviagelita Edelfelt

Luviagelita Edelfelt

Servant: Princess!Caster

Element: Fire, Ether

The co-heir to the Edelfelt family and Master of the Princess of Colchis.

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• Action Girl: Comes with being heiress to a mercenary household.
• Alternative Character Interpretation: Not directly her, but upon listening to Shirou telling her Kiritsugu's story, she actually comes to view the Magus Killer in a new light, acknowledging him as an unsung hero, and not merely admiring his skill level as a ruthless mercenary. Her butler even worries at one point that she might be viewing Kiritsugu as Draco in Leather Pants and be falling prey to a mental fallacy that might corrupt her thought process. This is to the point it can be said she interpreted differently the character of Medea, invoking an otherwise improbable What If? aspect of her.[invoked]
• Ascended Extra: While she's only in the Post-Script Season for the Unlimited Blade Works route and a recurring character in Fate/hollow ataraxia, here she is a master in the Fifth War and a major protagonist.
• Everyone Has Standards: Proves herself to be a decent individual, as far as Magi go.
• Loophole Abuse: Uses one in the standard mercenary contract she has on Shirou's life from the Archibalds.
• Noblewoman's Laugh: Pulls this at times.
• Ojou: Pretty much.
• The Rival: To Rin.
• Succession Crisis: Not for royalty per se, but Ore Scales enable the Edelfelt to have two heirs, thus averting this. However, Luvia is recognized as "the" heir, which is quite the sore point for Marjatta.
• Woman Scorned: Had a crush on Shirou, but got screwed over by his machinations, and feels mildly miffed about it.
  • It comes into focus in chapter 59 when everyone notices that Luvia is far more formal about addressing Shirou than she used to, and she is pegged as being similar to Rin in that she can't be honest with her feelings, so she confuses her feelings for him with her wish to have a real battle against him as mercenaries.
• Worthy Opponent: How she considers Shirou.

Marjatta Edelfelt

Marjatta Edelfelt

Servant: Witch!Caster (Former)

Origin: Burst

Element: Fire

The sister of Luvia and co-heir to the Edelfelt family, she is the Master of the Witch of Betrayal.

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• Action Girl: Is quite capable in combat.
• And I Must Scream: Turned into a makeshift Lesser Grail by her own servant.
• Attention Whore: Sakura ponders she has to be one, given she had to gloat and rub it in Sakura's face how she is inferior compared to her, instead of just collapsing the catacombs on her.
• Cain and Abel: Part of the reason why Medea went rogue in the first place is that Marjatta went rogue. Not only was she planning on killing Shirou as per the contract that Edlefelts had with the Archibalds, but also planned on stabbing Luvia in the back figuratively and literally. To say that almost no one felt pity for her And I Must Scream treatment is underselling it.
• Foil: Is this to Sakura. They are both younger siblings, but she could inherit a whole crest instead of having to be put for adoption by another Magus family. This causes a lot of resentment on Sakura's part, and while neither would admit it, they do have mixed feelings regarding viewing themselves as the inferior sibling.
• Hair-Trigger Temper: Enforced by her origin of "Burst". This leads to personality flaws and to actions whose consequences bite her quite hard several times.
• Hand Blast: Marjatta specializes in using the Gandr Shot and has developed several variations of it.
• Hidden Backup Prince: Not royalty per se, but even though she is a co-heir to the Ore Scales, she is sometimes viewed as this. This becomes a very sore point for Sakura since she got in a Succession Crisis of her own.
• Inferiority Superiority Complex: Is incredibly proud of her wealth and abilities, as well as her status as the co-heir of the Edelfelt family but is enraged whenever people act as if her sister is the only heir or that she is in any way her sister's inferior.
• Internal Reveal: Gets an overdue info dump when waking up about Shirou's machinations and condition. She tries to rat him off to Lorelei, but it doesn't take.
• Laser-Guided Karma: Falls victim to this, like anyone who summons Medea as the Witch of Betrayal should...
• Motivated by Fear: Has one instance of this, as most Magi would when Shirou threatens to end her like he did to Louvre, with a vague but still graphic description. She ends up using a Command Spell to get Caster to teleport her away, all the while realizing Shirou's threat was an empty bluff she SHOULD have called. This leads Witch!Caster to decide she has had enough, and she turns on her Master.
• O.C. Stand-in: Luvia does have a younger twin sister in canon, but she's largely a non-entity with no character. Word of God is that she was needed to use the Ore Scale magic though, so she was conceptualized with that purpose in mind.
• Plot Device: Her primary purpose in the story is to allow access to the Ore Scales magic held by the Edelfelt family, and to give Witch!Caster a master to betray so she can become a threat on her own.
• Pride: Has this in spades and it gets her to fall into some very obvious traps laid by Sakura, after she has taken a few lessons in how to deal with the standard Magus.
• Put on a Bus: After becoming a Lesser Grail.
• Rich Bitch: Never misses an opportunity to flaunt her wealth or status. Also, she summoned the Witch aspect of Medea...
• Sibling Rivalry: One-sided on her part.
• The Bus Came Back: After the War proper, and downgraded considerably since she is now subject to Irisviel's influence, and at risk of her awakened Origin going berserk.
• The Sociopath: As a standard Magus, she shows shades of this. She outright suggested that her Servant siphon prana from the city inhabitants, arguing in her mind that the non-magical common folk are reproducing like rabbits anyway, irrelevant to anything she deems meaningful and therefore mere resources to use as she pleases.

Bazett Fraga McRemitz

Bazett Fraga McRemitz

Servant: Lancer

An enforcer working for the Association and the bearer of Fragarach. She is also one of Shirou's teachers.

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• Action Girl: And a very effective one too, but this is per canon. Obviously, being able to wield a Noble Phantasm helps a lot, but she does not need it to make it clear she is quite the badass.
• An Arm and a Leg: Gets her lower legs blown off by a land mine. Thanks to Merem, she gets Banshee replacements.
• Bare-Fisted Monk: She can beat many a foe to a pulp with her fists, rune enhancement or not.
• Big Damn Heroes: Saves Shirou from Louvre's children and even kills the daughter.
• Cool Big Sis: Tries to style herself as this. She gets this treatment from Shirou after teaching him martial arts.
• Honey Trap: An invoked trope. This is how Shirou was introduced to Bazett, not only to teach him hand to hand, but to train in how to Ignore the Fanservice part of this. Bazett did not appreciate it.
• Instant Runes: Being a Fraga, she is capable of this, of course.
• Lightning Bruiser: She makes the point when a peeved Rin tries to cast a prank spell to silence her.
• One-Hit Kill: Fragarach.
• Perpetual Poverty: She is almost always in need of more money, which leads to her having to take part-time jobs just to get food on the table.
  • Leads to a very funny moment where she views Lancer as a very attractive source of income when Merem points out Lancer's divine blood is a rare delicacy for vampires.
• Put on a Bus: Sort of. She is still active as an obstacle, but being under Witch!Caster's control, she has little to no freedom to act. Thankfully she gets better.

Illyasviel von Einzbern

Illyasviel von Einzbern

Servant: Berserker, Assassin

The representative of the Einzbern family in the Holy Grail War and the intended Lesser Grail.

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• Berserk Button: Shirou and Kiritsugu are an even bigger one than in canon this time around, because of the Einzberns messing around and lying to her. Also, being called old, or at least being reminded of her chronological age.
• Jerkass Realization: She already mellows considerably when Shirou saves her from Caster and a manipulated Assassin, becoming willing to listen what he has to say instead of outright killing him like before, but she completely comes around and this realization kicks in when she sees Shirou fight Gilgamesh of all people with all he has, and realizes that not even ONCE has he lied to her.
• Older Than They Look: She looks like a little girl but is actually a little older than Shirou.
• Parental Abandonment: Worse than in canon, from Illya's perspective. The Einzbern messing with Shirou led to him claiming he doesn't acknowledge her existence... And this lie gets fed right back to her.
• Token Mini-Moe: Quite downplayed, but still present.

Servants

Arturia Pendragon/Saber

Arturia Pendragon

Class: Saber

Master: Kiritsugu Emiya (Former), Shirou Emiya

The King of Knights and Servant of Shirou.

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• Big Eater: As per canon.
• Cloudcuckoolander's Minder: Shirou is a milder example than most, but in her mind Saber words her relationship to Shirou in similar terms.
  Saber sighed. One way or another, it felt like everyone in the Emiya family was a child. A highly functional, psychopathic, murder-capable child.
• Cool Bike: Shirou and Kiritsugu capitalize on the prowess displayed by Saber in Fate/Zero.
• Finishing Each Other's Sentences: Saber and Shirou are fully in sync when discussing options for combat, which they demonstrate when planning with Illya.
• Heroic BSoD: A brief one when she gets the full info dump of what happened after Fate/Zero and what would happen in Fate/stay night. She gets better quickly.
• Instant Runes: Saber gets basic tutoring in runes to activate on her own the "Ath nGabla" curse and get locked in deathmatch with Lancer.
• Now What?: Feels a bit of this since she has been summoned to clean up a mess of a War, the prize is a fraud so she won't get her wish, and she gets told her wish is not worth it either way.
• Our Dragons Are Different: She has dragon-related blood. This comes into play.
• The Social Expert: Saber uses the mental link between her and Shirou to help him in situations where social skills are required.
• Wave Motion Sword: As per canon.

Counter Guardian EMIYA/Archer

Counter Guardian EMIYA

Class: Archer

Master: Rin Tohsaka

Origin: Sword

Element: Sword

Heroic Spirit EMIYA, this time properly summoned with access to his memories and the Servant of Rin. Rather than a future version of this Shirou, he is the same Archer from the events of Fate/stay night.

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• Badass Creed: His aria for Unlimited Blade Works.
  "My body is made of blades... Iron is my blood and glass is my heart... I have survived through countless battles... Not once retreating... Nor once being understood... Always alone... Intoxicated with victory on the hill of swords... Thus my life has no meaning... This body is truly... made of blades."
• Break Them by Talking: Archer is quite good at this, and invokes it deliberately on Princess!Caster.
• Byronic Hero: As per canon.
• Cannot Tell a Lie: Because of a Command Spell, Archer can no longer lie to Rin. This means that he can't hold back a lot of awful truths which causes Rin to suffer a Trauma Conga Line.
• Celebrity Power: Since Shirou is getting a reputation and the beginnings of a legend as the Second Magus Killer, and Kiritsugu is getting recognition too, he actually gets a slight boost to his stats!
• Chekhov's Gag: One omake pokes fun of Archer possessing Rule Breaker in his Reality Marble and not realizing he could have used it to free himself long ago. Becomes important later when he projects and uses it to save Sakura rather than kill her.
• Dark Messiah: He knows he is a Counter Guardian, and since he is summoned with awareness, he does not want the Counter Force to be involved.
• Deadpan Snarker: This is the last remaining joy he has in his existence.
• Entertainingly Wrong: Due to Shirou being the proxy master of Rider, and her addressing "her Master" as a male, Archer thinks Shinji is still alive, for a while at least.
• Fate Worse than Death: What everyone who learns about his identity comes to agree about with regards to him, no matter their opinion about him.
• I Did What I Had to Do: Is pretty much pragmatism embodied. It is implied he had to kill Sakura during his life, which would be why Shirou can't forgive him on principle.
• I Hate Past Me: As per canon, though he quickly realizes that this Shirou can't be the one he wants so this is downplayed. Actually, Archer is more unnerved by his counterpart than outright hating him, and Shirou hates him much more than in canon.
• Locked Out of the Loop: He has his memories. The problem is that ironically most of these are now useless. Until an explosive confrontation that leaves everyone involved traumatized when they realize the discrepancy.
• My Greatest Second Chance: Gets this when he can use knowledge gained from resonance with Shirou to help Sakura rein in the curse of Angra Mainyu, without having to kill her.
• Noodle Incident: Due to his nature as a Counter Guardian, he has experienced a large amount of events, ranging from being summoned by the Counter Force to simply being summoned in a Holy Grail War. And because of his personality, he tends to just give cryptic references a lot of times.
  • He's encountered Merlin at several points, and as result, became aware that Primate Murder and Cath Palug are one in the same: Beast IV. He's apparently died to Primate Murder several times too.
  • He is aware of the identities of several of the Grand Servants, and has met the Grand Archer (Orion), the Grand Assassin (the First Hassan), and the Grand Caster (Solomon). He found the Grand Archer's personality disappointing, and can't recall the identity of the Grand Caster as a result of their removal from the Throne. As for the Grand Assassin, not only has he apparently died at their hands, but he remembers that death more than his original death, and just thinking about it is enough to get him to tense up.
• "Not So Different" Remark: In Chapter 63, Irisviel notes that Archer inherited Kiritsugu's worst traits, to the point that if things had turned out differently, Kiritsugu might have ended up just like Archer.
• Now What?: Feels a bit of this by the end of the Holy Grail War, especially when he realizes You Can't Fight Fate.
• Protectorate: He is not above betraying or harming anyone, except Illya.
• Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: Will agree to teaming up with Shirou for fighting Witch!Caster. Indeed, Archer can be Shirou's best ally, as per Kiritsugu's musings.
• Worthy Opponent: Downplayed, but he outright states that this Shirou is a bona fide threat to Servants, including himself. What Shirou lacks in raw power or speed, he can make up for with one well planned deadly strike.
• You Can't Fight Fate: He has a horrible realization regarding his ability to have free will when summoned in the Grail Wars when he comes to the conclusion that he is still being manipulated by the Counter Force: how else would he have known otherwise that his arm could save Shirou, let alone empower him to solve the crisis at hand in Sakura's route? This means his plan to Ret-Gone himself, hinging on his free will to go against Alaya, is doomed from the start.

Medusa/Rider

Medusa

Class: Rider

Master: Sakura Matou, Shirou Emiya (Temporary), Witch!Caster (Former)

The Gorgon Medusa and Servant of Sakura.

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• Badass in Distress: Gets in this situation when Witch!Caster takes control of her.
• Blindfolded Vision: As per canon. She gets to put the blindfold to some very creative use.
• Dark Action Girl: As per canon.
• Leg Focus: She used her legs in such a way that Shirou has sworn off legs as a turn-on for a while.
• Lightning Bruiser: Shirou gets in a duel against her at a handicap, but she still gets to show this.
• Mirror Character: Sees parallels between herself and Sakura. She later sees the same with Shirou.
  • This is a continuation of canon because both Sakura and Rider have been, or are at risk, of being turned into unwilling monsters who will harm everyone including their loved ones. One of Rider's motivations is to avoid such a fate befalling Sakura or Shirou, and Sakura wished for a big sister figure who could understand her plight.
• Ms. Fanservice: Her beauty has been made note of at least once.
• Not So Stoic: Shows shades of this at times. Namely when Shirou claims legs are now a turn-off for him, she pouts, thinking swords will be her turn-off, before mentally facepalming.
• Semi-Divine: She has some Divinity, but this is lowered due to also being a monster.
• Super-Strength: She invokes it, and she gets a more scaly appearance while it lasts.
• Tragic Monster: Rider is this, and does not want Sakura to become one.
• Wave-Motion Gun: As per canon, her Noble Phantasm "Bellorophon" causes this.

Princess Medea of Colchis/Caster

Medea

Class: Caster

Master: Luviagelita Edelfelt, Rin Tohsaka (Temporary)

The Princess of Colchis. A "What If?" redeemed version of Princess Medea who never became the Witch of Betrayal, and Servant of Luvia.

---

• The Beastmaster: She has full control over the animals of the island where she spent her life.
• Beware the Nice Ones
• Does Not Like Men: A mild example. It is supposed that her experience with Jason left her with trauma, and that this is why she takes it out on Shirou and Archer. Eventually pointed out by Archer.
• Fiery Salamander: Has control over one.
• History Repeats: Even after millennia, she still has to deal with what she perceives as treacherous men toying with her fate. She does NOT take it well at all.
• Irony: She gets to pick up and use the original Rule Breaker dropped by her counterpart, when she had once abandoned it.
• Nice Girl: Is quite a nice character if you are on her good side.
• Mirror Self: A person quite opposite to Witch!Caster.
• "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Gets on the receiving end of one from Archer, pointing out her psychological trauma with men because of Jason as well as the fact that she is a shut-in who became a Heroic Spirit by happenstance.
• Screw This, I'm Outta Here: She left the Argonauts instead of returning to Jason's home with them.
• Summon Magic: Her Noble Phantasms allow her to summon creatures to fight in her stead.
• Woman Scorned: She nearly sics her dragon on Shirou when he reveals the extent to which he screwed over Luvia with his plotting.
• The Woobie: Is this in her own story, since she isolated herself from the world after cleansing herself, and also gets quite a lot of woobie points for the emotional turmoil she gets put through during the Grail War, loaded with self-doubt about her worth as a Heroic Spirit.[invoked]

Medea, the Witch of Betrayal/Caster

Medea

Class: Caster

Master: Marjatta Edelfelt (Former)

Servant: Assassin (Former), Rider (Former)

The Witch of Betrayal and the Servant of Marjatta.

---

• Adaptational Villainy: Any and all redeeming qualities she had in canon she lacks here, as said qualities instead manifested in her Princess counterpart.
• Can't Kill You, Still Need You: Shirou really, REALLY needs her "Rule Breaker" before doing anything else on his to-do list for the Holy Grail War. The fact several people had qualms about killing her several times, or were not in the right position to do so, ended up biting them in the ass quite hard.
• Did Not See That Coming: Is put on the receiving end of this by Shirou many times. And this is actually a requirement to put her down once she has fortified her position because she will blow up the mountain out of sheer spite at the first hint of her losing.
• Even Evil Has Standards: When she 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.
• Evil Cannot Comprehend Good: Subverted. She eventually gets a hint about Shirou's motivations and puts it to good use. This makes fighting her considerably harder. Even before that she is quite good at reading his short-term intentions and understands he needs her for some purpose.
• Evil Gloating: She gets a very long moment when she goes on a Motive Rant towards Assassin, after attempting a "Not So Different" Remark.
• For the Evulz: In this iteration, she doesn't get a redeeming relationship with Soichiro, and when push comes to shove, she doesn't care if the world burns if she gets her wish. Archer further surmises her wish also involves the world itself burning.
• The Heavy: She takes the most time to get rid of during the Holy Grail War, but Shirou still considers her as a stepping stone to his goals.
• Hijacked by Ganon: Once Zouken and Gilgamesh are out of the picture, she offs Kirei and steals the spot of Big Bad.
• Humiliation Conga: Gets several servings, when she nearly gets nailed with Gae Darg several times, though that doesn't do her in. However, the one that does her in is extremely brutal and leaves her a crazed mess ripe for the killing by Assassin.
• In Spite of a Nail: This time around she got summoned through Waver's machinations by Marjatta, but she still makes a base in the Temple, and summons a fake Servant.
• Morton's Fork: She gets her wish, the world burns. She doesn't, she unleashes hell for everyone else.
• "Not So Different" Remark: Several examples apply to her.
  • She tries to invoke this on Assassin as she feels a kinship to him for having seen the true appearance of the world.
  • In return, Assassin replies she is like Saber, for accepting the role and impossible expectations that the world has thrust on her.
• Properly Paranoid: She fears Shirou more than all the other Servants together. She is right to do so, as is proven many times.
• Pyrrhic Victory: Outright states she will settle for this if she can't get her wish.
• Wave-Motion Gun: Her offensive spells, when she takes the time to prepare them, can cause a lot of damage because of the sheer amount of prana she has absorbed, just as in canon. Even if this time she is not a full Servant, even Saber who has A Resistance to Magecraft (i.e near perfect Anti-Magic) still says she would NOT want to be on the receiving end of one of these attacks.

Cu Chulainn/Lancer

Cu Chulainn

Class: Lancer

Master: Bazett Fraga McRemitz

The Child of Light and Servant of Bazett.

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• The Alcoholic: Loves to drink and talks about getting a drink with several characters throughout the story.
• Blood Knight: To some extent. He wants a good fight, but he also has a decent set of morals, and knows his priorities.
• Deadpan Snarker: Towards Witch!Caster, since that's about the only enjoyment he can get out of his situation. Also does this with his Master.
• Hidden Depths: When he is bored, he contemplates how so many Servants in the War, himself included, were terrible parents. He wonders how far their children could have gone if they had spent more time being parents than being heroes. He brings up both Shirou and Archer as examples of what could have been.
• In Spite of a Nail: Irony has it, that even though this time around it is not Kotomine, he still ends up with his master maimed and losing limbs, and under the control of an hostile party. Things do get better for him though.
• Instant Runes: Having a B ranked Rune Magic skill, you could say that he is pretty good with it. It certainly helps that he would also qualify for the Caster class (and have A ranked Rune Magic) thanks to his legend.
• Internal Reveal: Thanks to an early summoning in the Clock Tower, he gets a proper info dump on the whole situation with the corrupt Grail from Sirius as well as a warning to watch out for Kirei.
• Never Gets Drunk: Thanks to his A-Ranked Battle Continuation Skill.
• One-Hit Kill: Gae Bolg, except when confronted with Avalon. This causes a conceptual paradox. Avalon is strong enough to outright deny the reversal of causality on account of the owner not being touchable while their body is transported in Avalon.
• Status Buff: Lancer can temporarily increase his own already high physical performance through the use of runes.
• You Shall Not Pass!: This aspect of his legend is brought to the forefront, namely that he stalled a whole army for SEVEN YEARS with a Runic Curse.

Heracles/Berserker

Heracles

Class: Berserker

Master: Illyasviel von Einzbern

The Hero of Greece and Servant of Illya.

---

• Berserk Button: Attacking or causing Illya distress. Shirou ends up on the receiving end of this.
• Beyond the Impossible: Berserker destroys a prison made out of swords that are essentially frozen in time through sheer brute strength.
• Death Is Cheap: As per canon.
• Gentle Giant: Towards Illya.
• Good Thing You Can Heal: Ends up on the receiving end of attacks from Merem's beast, from Assassin's Noble Phantasms, and Gilgamesh's Gate of Babylon. Any other character would not have survived this.
• Heroic Bastard: He is also referred to as the Bastard of Zeus.
• Lightning Bruiser
• Nigh-Invulnerable: Only A-ranked attacks can harm him.
• O.O.C. Is Serious Business: Used to stress Berserker's feelings on children fighting in Chapter 44. Berserker actually musters the sanity to utter three coherent words when Saber commiserates with him about their peculiar masters.
  Berserker: CHILDREN... SHOULDN'T... FIGHT.
• Primal Fear: The cursed sword Kiritsugu actually causes this in Berserker since even HE will take care in handling it.
• The Worf Effect: Unlike in canon, where simply killing Berserker once is a difficult task, Berserker gets killed quite a lot in the story. Both Merem and Assassin in particular kill Berserker with very little effort.

Gilgamesh

Gilgamesh

Class: Archer

Master: Tokiomi Tohsaka (Former), Kirei Kotomine

The King of Heroes and the Servant of Kirei from the 4th Holy Grail War.

---

• Amazon Chaser: He still wants Saber as his wife.
• The Dreaded: Even with years of preparation and the proper abilities to face him, Shirou will still prefer running from him if he can help it.
• Dying Moment of Awesome: He makes a big speech to Shirou and Saber before giving the former permission to copy Enkidu to place in his Reality Marble.
• Final Speech: He has kind words for Shirou, acknowledging his value upon dying.
• Narcissist: As per canon. Though he actually feels humbled by what he sees in Shirou's Unlimited Blade Works, since Shirou collects the dreams of heroes, whereas Gilgamesh ends up thinking he merely collected shiny trinkets to show off.
• Pet the Dog: Upon dying, he bestows upon Shirou the title of Dream of Heroes, acknowledging he is the caretaker to a War Memorial.
• Pride: His fatal flaw. He considers taking an opponent seriously as a defeat.
• Sanity Slippage: What happens to him when Shirou manages to surprise him and he does not know how to deal with the emotion.
• Stronger with Age: The reason why as a Precursor to every hero, he is said to be the strongest, and why his weapons are superior to the other heroes'.
• Super Prototype: As per canon, he holds the prototypes to everything that is awesome.

Mediators

Kirei Kotomine

Kirei Kotomine

Servant: Gilgamesh

Origin : Open Wound

The Mediator for the 5th Holy Grail War, an Executor for the Church and the Master of Gilgamesh.

---

• Badass Teacher: Taught Rin everything she knows about martial arts.
• Badass Preacher: As per canon. Especially awesome when he recites a prayer to exterminate Zouken.
• Back for the Dead: Is brought Back from the Dead by Witch!Caster, only to quickly be killed again by Rin.
• Demoted to Extra: Sort of. He still has a big role as an antagonist, but he is no longer a major antagonist like in canon. After attempting his move, he gets killed by Witch!Caster, who then hijacks the spot of Big Bad for the Holy Grail War arc.
• Enemy Mine: Will align himself with Shirou to exterminate Zouken for good.
• Even Evil Has Standards: He is amoral and sociopathic, but he HATES Zouken and his methods.
• Face Death with Dignity: When Witch!Caster tears off his arm, Kirei doesn't even bother struggling because he knows it would be a wasted effort and simply decides to wait for his inevitable demise. When he is brought back by Witch!Caster to fight Rin and is ultimately killed a second time, he doesn't make a big rant or speech and just takes it as it is.
• Schadenfreude: Basically his source of enjoyment. He will derive entertainment for himself and for Gilgamesh, by spreading misery around him and reaping the sows. In his mind, Kirei calls himself as a playwright for tragedies. This is as per Fate/Zero canon.
• Troll: In a pinch, he will also find ways to pour dirt on people he hates. See the story he spun to explain how Zouken's home got burned in a freak fire.
• Worthy Opponent: Seems to view Shirou as this. He will even accept being manipulated by him in Enemy Mine scenarios.

Merem Solomon

Merem Solomon

Rank: 20th Ancestor

The 20th Dead Apostle Ancestor, member of the Burial Agency, and Second Mediator for the Fifth Holy Grail War.

---

• Ambiguously Evil: He agrees to become the mediator of the Holy Grail War for his own agenda.
• The Chessmaster: Merem manipulates the War to make it as interesting for himself as possible. This includes preventing Illya from killing Shirou, saving Bazett and giving her new legs, and ensuring that Bazett gets captured and controlled by Witch!Caster.
• Collector of the Strange: Has a passion for collecting precious artifacts. This is part of what gets him involved in the aftermath of the Louvre incident. Altrouge bribes Merem with a few strands of her sister's hair to get information on the Ash of Miracles.
• Did We Just Have Tea with Cthulhu?: Shirou being a perfect host even to supernatural creatures ends up impressing him quite a lot; he enjoys Shirou's hospitality very much.
• Hidden Agenda Villain: Downplayed Trope in that he's only Ambiguously Evil, but he has his own reasons for becoming the mediator of the War, though what he has planned is still unknown. Archer has an idea as to what it is due to experiencing something similar in a parallel reality, and upon informing Rin, the concept horrifies her and causes Merem to unnerve her.
• Humanoid Abomination: Being a Dead Apostle Ancestor, he qualifies.
• Make a Wish: When asked if he's after the Grail, Merem denies it on account of his nature as a "Planet Terminal," claiming that he is inherently already capable of enacting miracles under his own power.
• The Minion Master: Merem's Daemon of the Left Arm, the King of Rats, can communicate with every rat in the vicinity. They are used primarily for stealth and reconnaissance. It is even mentioned that Merem used to be even bigger of a threat back in the Middle Ages, and that he caused the plague pandemic that wiped out most of Europe's population.
• My Significance Sense Is Tingling: Has one as a Planet Terminal, and this is one of the reasons that causes him to investigate the Holy Grail War: the distortions of reality are beyond expected parameters.
• "Not So Different" Remark: He is surprised by the many parallels between Shirou's first meeting with Kiritsugu and his own with Type-Moon and tells Shirou as such.
• O.C. Stand-in: His canon self has little characterization outside of his backstory and the identities of his limbs.
• Odd Friendship: Merem takes a liking to Shirou and considers him one of the few people he can call friend.
• O.O.C. Is Serious Business: The usually easy going Merem immediately gives Rin a Death Glare, with his eyes turning red, when she makes the mistake of mentioning Crimson Moon's defeat at Zelretch's hands.
• Our Vampires Are Different: Even among the Apostle Ancestors, Merem is an oddity given he is a Planet Terminal.
• Really 700 Years Old: He is one of the older Apostles, having been turned by Crimson Moon himself.
• Spanner in the Works: To some extent in the Holy Grail War.
• Take Up My Sword: When Kotomine gets killed, Merem being the closest member of the Church available, he ends up taking the mantle of mediator.
• Trademark Favorite Food: Cheese pizza for the King of Rats.
• Wowing Cthulhu: Shirou of all people manages to impress him enough that he strikes a friendship with him, and decides to protect him until he is worthy of his title.

Others

Emiya Kiritsugu (SPOILERS)

Kiritsugu Emiya

Class: Assassin

Master: Witch!Caster (Former), Illyasviel von Einzbern

Servant: Saber (Former)

Origin: Severing, Binding

Element: Fire, Earth

The adoptive father of Shirou and the Master of Saber in the Fourth Holy Grail War. He returns in the Fifth Holy Grail War as Servant Assassin.

---

• Anti-Magic: His Origin Bullets.
• Back from the Dead: As a False Assassin Servant.
• Berserk Button: Do NOT use him in mind games against Illyasviel and Shirou. Doing this pretty much ensured Kiritsugu would find the first opportunity to off Witch!Caster.
• Book Dumb: Downplayed. But for matters regarding magecraft, he is very much this.
  • He could not teach Shirou properly by himself beyond the bare basics, which is why he contacted Sirius and Waver in the first place. It was so bad that he did not catch Shirou turning his nerves into makeshift circuits, as per canon.
  • Also, he never tried to properly master his thaumaturgic crest more than the bare minimum.
• Boring, but Practical: His shtick. As usual, it works wonders against opponents not expecting that brand of pragmatism.
• Celebrity Power: Since he got the beginnings of a legend in this timeline (thanks to Luvia), he actually has some changes to his stats and Noble Phantasms due to being summoned in Fuyuki.
• The Chessmaster: Where Shirou gets it from.
• Combat Pragmatist: What made Kiritsugu so devastating an opponent was his willingness to use any means to achieve his goal.
• Dead Man Writing: Kiritsugu left letters for a lot of people.
• The Dreaded: Was this when he was alive, but even more so as a Servant since he uses modern weaponry, and therefore doesn't break The Masquerade.
• Dreaming of Things to Come: What kicks the whole plot.
• Enigmatic Minion: Becomes this to Witch!Caster. He obviously still has his agenda of allowing the most people to live through the War, but he ends up subjected to many constraints that make this complicated.
• Glass Cannon: His physical stats are so pitiful that Witch!Caster herself says she could beat him up if she wanted.
• Loophole Abuse: A master of this.
• My Death Is Just the Beginning: Cursed to die a painful death, he decided to make the most of it. The end result are the Origin Swords made from his very bones. And then it comes to a loop when he gets summoned as False Assassin.
• Papa Wolf: He is very protective of his children, even Archer.
• Posthumous Character
• Protectorate: His son and daughter. This even extends to Archer.
• Red Baron: The Magus Killer, when he was alive and active. Once Shirou is revealed to the public, he gets called "the First Magus Killer".
• Small Role, Big Impact: Very much. His lifespan is reduced compared to canon, but this is because he gave his remaining circuits to Shirou.
• Spanner in the Works: His presence as Assassin is quite an obstacle to manage, and he injures a lot of the protagonists. He is even an obstacle to his OWN plans.
• Story-Breaker Power: His own skills, a versatile Noble Phantasm, and a ton of abilities that stack make his attacks eventually capable of taking down several Servants at once, and to even kill Berserker once.
• Time Master: To some extent, as per canon.
• Unblockable Attack: After becoming Assassin, his Contender becomes this for any defense that is not his opponent's strongest. This means anything Shirou can dish out (yes, even Rho Aias) besides Avalon gets bypassed. Shirou gets his heart blown out for his trouble.

Irisviel von Einzbern (SPOILERS)

Irisviel von Einzbern

Class: Caster

Master: The Greater Grail (Former), Merem Solomon

The conduit for the 4th Holy Grail War, and mother of Ilyasviel. Incarnated as a failsafe in the Holy Grail War system, seeing all Servants and Masters agreed to a ceasefire.

---

• Break His Heart to Save Him: Is revealed to have subconsciously invoked this on Kiritsugu in Fate/Zero by deliberately showing him Angra Mainyu's twisted logic to its logical conclusion, so he would reject it with all his might to save the world.
• Did You Just Flip Off Cthulhu?: Irisviel does this when she makes a crack at Lorelei Barthomelloi for being single. This causes everyone to stare at shock and horror. She does this due to Angra Mainyu's influence.
• Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Becomes a case of this as the conduit for the Grail/Angra Mainyu to manifest and fix itself, but this side of hers is tempered by her attachment to Kiritsugu and Ilyasviel.
• Failsafe Failure: Irisviel's current appearance and state of mind is due to this: should a truce be established, the Grail was supposed to activate a failsafe that would invoke a Ruler Servant (like it did in Fate/Apocrypha), however this version of the Greater Grail didn't have the feature fully implemented, and did not have enough power available to operate properly and enact the failsafe. Thus Irisviel got summoned as we saw her, but with less of Angra Mainyu's influence.
• Tragic Monster: Is stated by Word of God to be 80% Iri, 20% Angra Mainyu. The end result is Irisviel, with her love for Kiritsugu and Ilyasviel showing, but with an irresistible compulsion to complete the Grail and thus wreak havoc. Her very existence invokes a lot of pain and sadness for everyone bearing the name Emiya.
• Troll: She does things that annoy others, seemingly due to Angra Mainyu's influence.
• Walking Spoiler: It is impossible to mention her without spoiling the crux of the 59 first chapters of the story.

Taiga Fujimura

Taiga Fujimura

The Tiger of Fuyuki, she is Shirou's legal guardian and mysterious protector.

---

• Beware the Silly Ones: She is one of the most comical characters in the story She has also been tasked by Kiritsugu to protect Shirou from the shadows, as many dead would-be assassins can attest.
• The Chessmaster:
  • Throughout the war, she has put various Masters, primarily Luvia and Illya, into positions where they have to interact with Shirou in an effort to get them to become allies with him.
  • Actually, a careful read of the story reveals that as early as chapter 6, Taiga was already helping Shirou start a relationship with Rin...
• Enigmatic Minion: She is a hidden protector set up by Kiritsugu before he died.
• Genki Girl
• Hero Worship: Towards Kiritsugu.
• Mysterious Protector: She and her family have been secretly killing any and all mages that try to get to Shirou, all without him or anyone else ever finding out.
• Obfuscating Stupidity: It was already obvious, even very early on, that Taiga was aware of a lot more than she was supposed to, but was content just letting things play out and letting everyone think she was an immature Genki Girl. Then it hits the reader in the face just how much she knows in Chapter 51.

Soichiro Kuzuki

Soichiro Kuzuki

A teacher at Shirou's school, who happens to be a retired assassin with the martial arts skills to back it up.

---

• Badass Normal: He is a human with no knowledge of any form of magecraft, but is capable of fighting Bazett to a standstill when pumped with Reinforcement from a third party.
• Badass in a Nice Suit: As per canon. Shirou training with him can't do more than scratch it a bit.
• Badass Teacher: Oh so much. Shirou goes to him to get training in martial arts.
• Bare-Fisted Monk: As an expert-level martial artist, he qualifies.
• Blue-and-Orange Morality: As per canon, and this time around Shirou knows about this so he tries to steer him away from the conflict.
• Dark and Troubled Past: As per canon.
• Demoted to Extra: Not a Master nor involved with Witch!Caster in this timeline. He still has a role, and an important part, but he is not a major character.
• Enigmatic Minion: To Shirou.
• Hidden Depths: A bit of an Extreme Doormat as in canon, but he does have a mind of his own and a lot of insight. Shirou thought he eventually relented after being asked one too many times, but Soichiro actually explains that he saw in Shirou that he had killed and would need to kill again. In his words, he simply could not leave a student without guidance. Then it is revealed that he also did this at Taiga's insistence.
• Secret-Keeper: He is aware that Shirou is not all that he seems, but doesn't ask what that is or bother telling anyone about it. He also becomes privy to the fact the Taiga is aware of everything that has happened and doesn't inform Shirou.

Zouken Matou/Zolgen Makiri

Zouken Matou/Zolgen Makiri

The head of the Makiri/Matou family and the adoptive grandfather of Sakura.

---

• Butt-Monkey: Downplayed, but still:
  • What else can you call him when Kirei Kotomine goes out of his way to make the official story about the Matou manor being destroyed, state that a total moron did it?
  • Also, as a result of facing Assassin, he was forced out of hiding, playing right into Shirou's hands.
  • Getting completely led on by Shirou into the perfect trap for ending him with both thaumaturgy similar to his own, and by the one person who hates him on principle as much as Shirou.
• Deader than Dead: Shirou goes the extra mile in order to ensure Zouken's demise. He has Zouken's soul bound to his own familiars, then he has Kotomine perform a Baptism Rite in order to forcibly send most of his soul to the afterlife, with whatever remaining in his worms not even being enough to maintain a consciousness.
• Death by Irony: Dies at the hand of Maiya, the blade of Binding. The irony comes from being killed because of a brand of thaumaturgy similar to his own.
• Disc-One Final Boss: Is sort of this for the Holy Grail War, since he is one of the hardest to kill targets Shirou has, and he has to be dealt with before anything else can be done.
• Evil Mentor: Has this vibe towards Shirou, telling him to handle his situation as a life lesson for Magi. Shirou actually gains access to the thaumaturgy library the Matou hoards, and gets some good research on Fae lore out of the deal.
• Faux Affably Evil: Oh so much. He will attempt to style himself as an affable old man, but this flies out of the window right away when Shirou performs structural grasping on him on reflex and he realizes what he is. He also does outright sadistic stuff such as forcing Shirou to watch Sakura's training to make sure he understands his place, while saying he deeply regrets things having come to this, what with Shinji being dead.
• For the Evulz: One thing at the core of Zouken. He will make people miserable and go through mental torture for his own enjoyment, even though this is not outright necessary to his plans.
• Hate Sink: Not a single redeeming quality, and killed without fanfare by Shirou's machinations.
• Rape Is a Special Kind of Evil: Guilty of this, as per canon.
• Undignified Death: Ends up suffering this, cursing Shirou with his dying breath.
• The Worm That Walks: As per canon.

Shinji Matou

Shinji Matou

Sakura's adoptive older brother and Shirou's "friend", he becomes a casualty of Louvre's children.

---

• Asshole Victim: And no one really minded.
• Death by Adaptation: Dies in the Louvre arc, unceremoniously.
• Rape Is a Special Kind of Evil: Guilty of this, as per canon. This actually becomes a problem when he dies early in the story.
• Small Role, Big Impact: Bigger than one would think, actually. His death opened a few cans of worms.
  • Shinji being dead, Sakura now needs someone else to take care of her urges... Just as Zouken planned.
  • Shirou being Rider's proxy master means she calls her master a "he", and this lulls Archer into thinking Shinji is alive...
• You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: Finds himself on the receiving end of this by Zouken, who thinks he would do better to rely on young Shirou to care for Sakura.

Sella and Leysritt

Sella & Leysritt

Homunculi that serve as Illya's maids, bodyguards, and confidants.

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• Brains and Brawn: Sella was Illya's instructor in magecraft, while Leysritt was specifically designed to be a warrior.
• Killed Off for Real: Despite surviving Kirei's attack, they're finished off by Witch!Caster's Dragon Tooth Warriors.
• Maid: With a hint of Meido.
  • Supposedly, Sella holds herself to very high standards as one, but much to her chagrin, she does not get to show her skills in Shirou's kitchen, as the latter staunchly refuses any intrusion in his holy place.
• Not Quite Dead: Kirei almost kills Leysritt with a semi-decapitation, but she is able to keep on fighting.
• Undying Loyalty: Towards Illya.

The Banshee Sisters

Banshee Sisters

A pair of banshees created by Merem, they serve as Bazett's legs after she lost her original pair to one of Assassin's landmines. As they were crafted from her blood, they affectionately call Bazett "mama".

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• Happily Adopted: They consider Bazett their mother, and Bazett plays along.
• Make Me Wanna Shout: They use their loud screams to defend themselves and Bazett.
• No Name Given: Justified. Lancer says that they won't be able to keep serving Bazett if she gives them names.
• Our Banshees Are Louder: They are inspired by the Old Celtic and Gaelic versions and thus serve as mourners and advisors to one's imminent death. Considering the circumstances, they are in near constant tears when in Saber's presence.
• Shapeshifter Default Form: Like Merem's limbs, they function as Bazett's legs most of time. When not however, they appear as a pair of sisters, the older with red hair tinged the same shade of purple as Bazett's hair, and the younger with straw yellow hair and a mole in the same location as Bazett's.

Clock Tower

Sirius McGinty

Sirius McGinty

Element: Average One

A Mystic Code Crafter, and creator of both the Thompson Contender and the Origin Bullets. He is contacted by Kiritsugu to help train Shirou.

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• Almighty Janitor: Is very competent at what he does, be it teaching or crafting mystic codes, but he is low on the totem pole because he doesn't care for politics or wagging his tail to the powerful.
• Badass in Distress: When he gets captured by Louvre.
• Brave Scot: Scottish? Check. Brave and can fight? Check.
• Drama-Preserving Handicap: In the fight against Louvre, he has been bound by geas to not use any code that was not on his person when he was captured. This seriously limits what he can do, but he can still act as a Barrier Warrior for Shirou.
• Expanded Universe: His character is 100% original, but serves the following purposes in the story:
  • Giving a link between Kiritsugu and Natalia, explaining how Kiritsugu got his Thompson Contender in the first place, along with his Origin Bullets, from Fate/Zero.
  • Giving a sympathetic teacher Crutch Character to Shirou, with a similar skillset (with regards to mineralogy and reinforcement)
  • Giving a possible explanation as to how Archer would come to have his armor and bow, which are canonically made of materials that did not exist commonly in the current era.
• Expy: Of the Scotsman from Samurai Jack.
• Funetik Aksent: Every sentence Sirius utters is a transcription of his Scottish accent.
• Gadgeteer Genius: Provides a lot of Mages with equipment.
• Gargle Blaster: The first Magus to come up with the idea of casting Reinforcement on booze.
  • Comes to a head in Chapter 53 when the stuff is announced to become extremely popular and the cause of a major Noodle Incident.
• Genius Bruiser: Can dish quite a lot of punishment, and is very respected as a Mystic Code crafter, as well as a researcher in mineralogy. He even makes up a new branch of thaumaturgic research from a discussion with Shirou over Alteration magecraft.
• Instant Runes: Most Mages in the Nasuverse can already do this to some level, but he took this to an insane extent and circumvented most of the constraints of this branch of magic. He can outright spawn extremely complex rune scripture on his body and actualize it near instantly. This nets him a Sealing Designation.
  • To put this in perspective, Lancer of all people outright praises his work, and he states back, albeit boastfully, that he knows more about Rune magecraft than him.
• Manly Tears: Sheds one as he sees Shirou masterfully own a whole room of cutthroat Mages in Chapter 53.
• Mr. Exposition: As a reputed researcher, it often comes up to him to do the explaining of thaumaturgic theory. He especially has to heave barrels of exposition in chapter 52 regarding the curse of the Grail in Kiritsugu's body.
• Nice Guy: A bit gruff, but a bleeding heart, and has far more morals than most Magi.
• No-Holds-Barred Beatdown: Gives an epic one to Shirou with his code active, after the latter pulled extremely dangerous negotiations with the Barthomelloi, to pummel into him just how serious the consequences could have been.
• Noodle Incident: Seems to be involved in a lot of these, and the less asked about some, the better. Mainly Played for Laughs.
• Old Master: He is over a century old, and is still able to go toe to toe with a Dead Apostle Ancestor, despite also being severely handicapped.
• Point of Divergence: Kiritsugu's dreams led to him contacting Sirius resulting in the latter moving out of the safety of the Clock Tower area on a regular basis, which gave Louvre an easy opening to capture him. This alone spawns the whole overarching Clock Tower related plot.
• Put on a Bus: After he got his Sealing Designation, he can't directly help Shirou anymore.
• Really 700 Years Old: Is between 100 and 200 years old, and uses his magecraft to keep himself alive.
• Sir Swears-a-Lot: Sirius swears in almost every sentence he says. He also doesn't care to whom he is talking to or where he is when he swears.
• Ultimate Blacksmith: Maybe not the single best Blacksmith in the world, but he certainly can hold a claim to the title on account of the quality of his work, sheer reputation, and the trouble aforementioned quality has landed him in. Furthered in that it is now acknowledged in universe that his work is worthy of going on the Throne of Heroes, that is, recorded as the one of the most awesome things mankind as a whole has created.
• Worf Had the Flu: It is outright stated he could've handled Louvre's children if he had not been drunk.

Lorelei Barthomelloi

Lorelei Barthomelloi

Element: Wind

The Vice-director of the Clock Tower, and fearsome magus in charge of Dead Apostle Hunts.

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• Action Girl: Since she takes part in Dead Apostle hunts, she obviously qualifies.
• Blue Blood: Of course.
• Boring, but Practical: Barthomelloi's magecraft is merely the application of simple mysteries brought to the very maximum of their potential. This is because she feels she has no need for overly complicated mysteries; she sees it as a waste of her time and as a demonstration of her superiority over those who need more complicated mysteries to fight.
• The Dreaded: She is feared among magi, with most trembling simply when in her presence.
• Fantastic Racism: Hates Dead Apostles with a passion.
• Hunter of Monsters: Made it her life's mission to eradicate the Dead Apostle Ancestors.
• O.C. Stand-in: While she is a canon character, she has very little characterization.
• Old Maid: Implicitly called this by Irisviel under the effects of Angra Mainyu in order to anger her to the point of killing Shirou to restart the war. Although, it can be called to question just how much of it was influenced and how much is her calling out Lorelei in retaliation for being called selfish due to her care for her family.
• The Perfectionist: The best praise or even the best display of concern is laced with somewhat disparaging words over marring her requirement for nothing less than spotless perfection.
• Perpetual Frowner: She only smiles on very rare occasions. These occasions are never seen as a good thing.
• Red Baron: Queen of the Clock Tower.
• Slasher Smile: Gets one at the prospect of having multiple Servants agreeable to join her forces, as well as when she hears how a Dead Apostle died under the effects of Kiritsugu.

Waver Velvet/Lord El-Melloi II

Waver Velvet/Lord El-Melloi II

Servant: Iskander (Former)

The Master of Rider in the 4th Holy Grail War. He helps Shirou with his mission after being contacted by Kiritsugu. He later becomes known as Lord El-Melloi II, a famous and effective teacher in the Clock Tower.

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• Awesomeness by Analysis: Basically his strongest suit. He is not worth much on the front lines, but he is very good at planning and evaluating people.
  • He ends up impressing Fina and Altrouge by analyzing and breaking down just how the former's abilities work in a single afternoon, something that's baffled both the Clocktower and the Church for half a millennium.
• Big Brother Mentor: Becomes a bit of this to Shirou.
• Cool Teacher: Is this in the Clock Tower. As per canon.
• Henpecked Husband: At first, it seems that he will end up being like this to Reines in an analogous resemblance to their canon relationship. However, it gets subverted due to the fact that the failed Kangaroo Court cost the Archibald and, by extension, the Archisorte families a lot of political clout allowing Waver to have nearly full power over the El-Melloi clan. Even though, he does admit that Reines' extroverted sadistic personality will most likely still drive him to an early grave.
• Kangaroo Court: After the Holy Grail War, he ends up on the receiving end of one.
  • He gets hitched to Reines El-Melloi Archisorte as part of an Altar Diplomacy ploy. It is partly Played for Laughs, but it does send Waver over the Despair Event Horizon, and before the story is out, everyone assumes that a Fate Worse than Death awaits Waver.
• Nerves of Steel: Despite knowing that Gilgamesh can kill him in an instant if he makes the wrong move or says the wrong thing, he remains calm and talks his way into being spared. He does this later when he is interrogated by Barthomelloi herself, noting that he has faced far worse than her back when he was a Master.
• "No. Just… No" Reaction: His reaction to finding out that Lorelei Barthomelloi might be fond of him is to say "Nope", claim he's overworked and go to bed.
• Put on a Bus: As he is not a participant this time, Waver is not present much during the Holy Grail War.
• Staring Down Cthulhu: Faces Gilgamesh one more time, tells him to his face he is plotting to get him killed, and LIVES.
• Weak, but Skilled: Bazett notes that Waver is not a combat type mage but is well versed in odd branches of magecraft.

Dead Apostles

The Twenty-seven Dead Apostle Ancestors

The twenty-seven elite amidst the Dead Apostles, they are a recurring element in the background of the series.

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• Civil War: The Ancestors are largely divided amidst two factions, one led by the 9th Ancestor Altrouge Brunestud, the other led by 17th Ancestor Trhvmn Ortenrosse.
• The Ghost: Aside from Merem, Louvre, Fina, Altrouge, and Shirou, the twenty-seven Ancestors remain largely in the background.
• Killed Offscreen: Chaos, Roa, and Tatari all retain their canonical deaths from Tsukihime.

Louvre

Louvre

Rank: 10th Ancestor (Former)

Origin: Possession

The designated successor to Nero Chaos, the Soil of Genesis. A centuries old Magus-turned-vampire who hasn't yet acquired the power to make him worthy of the title.

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• Affably Evil: Is ruthless, but not a total jerk about it. When he captures Sirius, he offers a somewhat fair contract and is not above finding common ground when Sirius raises his concerns over what can be done and what can't.
• Arc Villain: The Big Bad of the pre-War arc.
• Blue Blood: Is actually bona fide Northern Europe nobility.
• Collector of the Strange: Had quite the collection of mystic codes, and a few Noble Phantasms. This includes Rho Aias of all things, and is worth mentioning here since Louvre's daughter wielding it explains how this version of Shirou comes across it. This trait is actually what causes Merem to view Shirou and his Reality Marble as a possible successor in spirit to Louvre's legacy.
• Deader than Dead: His ultimate fate after fighting Shirou.
• Death of Personality: What he goes through when being hit by the cursed sword Kiritsugu. It damages his soul, and outright rips off the memories, and ability to process information. The end result before his death is NOT pretty at all.
• Despair Event Horizon: What pushed Louvre as a human to turn himself into a vampire, but it was not enough for him to achieve a Reality Marble. He still hasn't left it, as he mentions this to Shirou during his Motive Rant.
• Face Death with Dignity: When he realizes that the prediction about his death was about him getting killed by Shirou, he decides to accept his fate.
• The Family That Slays Together: Has a daughter and a son, both with the same name as himself. They help him do whatever it is Dead Apostle Ancestors do, including but not limited to acting as explorers looking for lost artifacts, capturing marked individuals, and serving as enforcers.
• Healing Factor: As with most upper-tier Dead Apostles, Louvre can reverse time on his body to nullify damage. This throws a wrench in Waver's plans, so Shirou makes some very creative use of his tools and his crest to nullify that healing factor.
• Horrifying the Horror: Is positively horrified at what the cursed sword Kiritsugu did to him.
• I Just Want to Be Special: In some ways. He is very miffed that he hasn't become twisted enough yet to achieve his own Reality Marble, and that Shirou, as a human, managed just that.
• Mad Scientist: As many Magi do, he has vibes of this. Besides, when faced with Fuyuki's cursed park, one of his first impulses is to investigate just what could cause such a phenomenon, even though he has a battle to fight. Can probably be explained because he likens the atmosphere to that of a Reality Marble, and he wants more knowledge on that specific topic.
• Motive Rant: Goes on one against Shirou upon being wounded, positively incensed that a mere child would be able to achieve what he hasn't over the course of centuries.
• O.C. Stand-in: The only canon info about him is his name, and that he's died before the Fifth Grail War takes place.
• One-Man Army: Qualifies for this once he has the Mace of Odo, since he takes out a force of 100 enforcers led by Waver and outright makes a Mook Horror Show out of them.
• Point of Divergence: Kiritsugu's dreams led to him contacting Sirius resulting in the latter moving out of the safety of the Clock Tower area on a regular basis, which gave Louvre an easy opening to capture him. Also, Kiritsugu's machinations resulted in him not being able to acquire the most powerful anti-magus weapon in existence, and ultimately in him being destroyed.
• Really 700 Years Old: The story states he has to be around 500 or so, but only looks middle-aged.
• Red Baron: The 10th Dead Apostle Ancestor.
• Self-Made Orphan: He killed his own family when he turned himself into a vampire.

Altrouge Brunestud

Altrouge Brunestud

Rank: 9th Ancestor

The elder sister of Arcuied Brunestud and 9th Dead Apostle Ancestor, she leads one of the two factions amidst the Ancestors.

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• The Beastmaster: She holds dominion over Primate Murder, the White Beast of Gaia, 1st Ancestor, and Beast IV amidst the Evils of Humanity.
• Greater-Scope Villain: She appears to be one for the story itself.
• O.C. Stand-in: While she exists in canon, only the bare minimum is known about her.
• Villain Takes an Interest: After the death of Tatari to her younger sister, she becomes interested in bolstering her factions ranks by recruiting the "Ash of Miracles", even giving a few strands of her sisters' hair to Merem in exchange for information on him.
• Weaksauce Weakness: She has horrible sea-sickness, and will only willingly set foot on Fina's ship when its docked at port.

Fina-Blood Svelton

Fina-Blood Svelton

Rank: 8th Ancestor

The 8th Dead Apostle Ancestor, and the White Knight of Altrouge Brunestud.

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• Affably Evil: Acts as a gentleman, but as soon as Shirou has any contact with him he immediately pins him as being off and his POV points to him definitely being an enemy Shirou and the rest will have to deal with.
• Berserk Button: He absolutely hates Blackbeard and despises being compared to him.
  "Don't you dare put me in the same sentence as that twisted bastard!"
• Cultured Badass: Very much so.
• Dramatic Irony: Is under the impression that it is impossible for Shirou to be the mysterious Ash of Miracles, as if he was, then Barthomelloi would have figured it out long ago and had him destroyed.
• Flamboyant Gay: Has a few vibes of this.
• Greater-Scope Villain: Seems to be set up to become this along with Altrouge around the end of the Holy Grail War.
• Humanoid Abomination: Par for the course with his being a Dead Apostle, and possessing a Reality Marble, "Parade". The exact nature of it has to do with the fact it is a Hive Mind with something close to regeneration From a Single Cell, and for added Paranoia Fuel, has a hoard of various entities, some of which will register as regular humans, unless you know EXACTLY what to look for.
  • It turns out calling Fina the 8th Ancestor is a misnomer because he merely is a part himself, and the most able entity to fit the role as the captain. The actual 8th would be the whole manifested Reality Marble.
• Knight of Cerebus: He means business and he proves it by offing Issei in gruesome fashion, even after all the planning and preparation, and fast-paced tactics Shirou could muster.
• Lady and Knight: Has this relation with Altrouge.
• O.C. Stand-in: Like his master Altrouge, while he exists in canon, only the bare minimum is known about him.
• Officer and a Gentleman: Acts very much like one.
• Really 700 Years Old: Is stated to be around as old as Louvre.
• You Have GOT to Be Kidding Me!: His reaction when he learns that Shirou IS the new 10th.