How sad indeed...
Time, Sage Candidate? Is it really that time again?
—Warden
A "Let's Watch Our Show" Plot of Re:Zero, written by Reactionist
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Just before arriving in Priestella, Subaru along with other Royal Candidates and their camps gets summoned into a Theatre by the self-proclaimed "Warden". The reason for summoning them is to show them the tragic story of Subaru's life that goes on and lives that never happened.
...
...
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...oh boy this is gonna suck, isn't it?
Notable for inspiring other people to start writing other Re:Zero react fanfics the fic shows what would the many characters reactions be to Natsuki Subaru's decisions and life in general.
You can find the fic here and also on AO3 Platform here. The author is currently doing a rewrite, so don't be confused if later on, some chapters end up looking different.
You can also find react fic of Dragon's Candidate, another of Reactionst fics, Watching The Dragon's Candidate which according to the Word of God is considered canon to the WHDAAA fic.
Also, some of the works inspired by Reactionist fics are Re:Infamous and Re:Modern Warfare.
Naturally, spoilers are ahead. So read at your own peril.Also, do note that since the writer is rewriting the story, the tropes might change as time goes on.
Re:Zero Watching Him Die Again and Again provides examples of:
- Anguished Declaration of Love: Both Emilia and Rem gave this declaration to Subaru at various points in the fic as they witness Subaru's determination to save them, along with his love and devotion for them (especially for Rem as she once brutally killed him in a few loops for believing that he was secretly a Witch Cultist).
- Awful Truth: Naturally, given that the cast is witnessing the events of their world along with Subaru's presence being a major gamechanger.
- Learning about Return By Death is one for them, as well as witness firsthand of how much of a toll this had on Subaru's psyche when he dies each time.
- Watching how much pain and suffering their on-screen selves were causing to Subaru in the many failed loops, as well as the successful one, for reasons out of his control (i.e. Rem killing him for believing that he's part of the Witch Cult, Julius inflicting a No-Holds-Barred Beatdown on Subaru for supposedly mocking the knights, Emilia leaving him after the whole fiasco of him declaring himself as her knight, etc.) is also one for the cast.
- Dramatic Irony: Ever since learning about Return by Death, Felix has a grudge against Subaru, blaming him for not saving Crusch from having her memories taken, and is willing to believe that he has been manipulating everyone for the benefit of himself and the Emilia Camp. In reality, Subaru couldn’t do anything about it because he was unaware the attack on Crusch and Rem even happened, and by the time he WAS aware, his “checkpoint” had already been moved.
- From Bad to Worse: Poor Warden. After having to fight off Satella for a while, Volcanica comes later on. He cracks for a moment after the dragon arrives to throw the gauntlet.
- Generation Xerox:
- Heroic BSoD: Some of the cast, to various degrees, once they see Subaru's suffering.
- I Hate Past Me: More like “alternate timeline me", but still accurate. Almost every viewer has a reaction of horror or disgust toward themselves when they witness the actions of their counterparts toward Subaru, especially if those actions added to his suffering or even got him killed in a loop.
- Internal Reveal: So many, that it’s hard to count. To name a few, Subaru’s origins, the nature of Return by Death (and by extension just how horribly Subaru has died), that Puck and Emilia’s contract will cause him to destroy the world if she dies, that several members of the audience have been directly responsible for some of Subaru’s deaths…given the nature of the story, this trope is pretty much a given.
- Jerkass Has a Point
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold
- "Let's Watch Our Show" Plot: Obviously.
- Maternal Death? Blame the Child!: This is Reinhard's belief of why his grandmother died. Wilhelm also somewhat believes this too, although his opinion might be changing...
- My God, What Have I Done?: Due to getting to see Subaru’s perspective on events (and the actions of their counterparts), almost EVERY character watching Subaru’s life has a moment like this, be it from getting Subaru killed in one of the loops (like Rem or Otto) to misjudging him due to not knowing about Return By Death (Emilia, Julius, Felix).
- Notable reactions are Emilia for her dismissal of Subaru (because he embarrassed her and wouldn’t, or rather, COULDN’T, tell her what was going on), Rem (for going into a frenzy due to Subaru’s Witch Scent and killing him multiple times), Reinhardt (for being unaware of what was going on and being unable to help Subaru with his trauma)….the list goes on and on.
- Mythology Gag
- "Not So Different" Remark
- Oh, Crap!: After the cast learns the mechanics of Return By Death, this becomes someones default reaction whenever a moment happens differently than they remember (for example, the twins when they see Subaru's first time meeting them).
- Outside-Context Problem: The Warden. Putting aside the fact that he managed to get all five camps together from all different locations to an unknown location (his Theatre) at the same time and that he is capable of stopping Reinhard van Astrea from getting them all out, there is also the fact that he somehow managed to nullify the effects of Gluttony and restore Rem's existence and Crusch's memories respectively.
- Later on, he even shows the capability of fighting back against Satella and even the freaking Volcanica!
- In-Universe, Subaru is considered this by more or less everyone in the theatre. Besides the fact that he has Return by Death, a power which everyone notices how easily abused it can truly be and the fact that he comes from another world, it's Subaru's kindness to people, even those that bring him suffering that really throws them for a loop. Especially Anastasia.
- Single Woman Seeks Good Man: Crusch, Rem, Emilia are aiming for Subaru. Petra too, but...well.
- This Is Gonna Suck: Every time the cast sees some events that they don't remember. Every time, to the point, that Otto has to intervene to stop them from falling into despair.
- Villainous BSoD: Surprisingly, Roswaal. Once realizing the true nature of Subaru's ability or rather, the fact that he can only go back in time when he dies really shocks Roswaal to the core. It even shakes his belief in Echidna.
- You're Not My Father: Although Puck isn't there at the moment, after seeing Puck kill Subaru a few times during the Viewing and finding out the secret behind her contract with him, Emilia takes on this attitude concerning Puck.
