spindizzy | Reaction Shot: Fate/Heaven's Feel I: Presage Flower (or: Shirou discovers everyone else's plotlines) (Reply)

I'm sure Lex tried to explain the plot of the Heaven's Feel arc to me once while he was actually going through the visual novel of Fate/Stay Night, and this is why I'm convinced that Type-Moon means never having to say you're kidding. So OBVIOUSLY that's the one that gets an OVA to squidge all of the Weird Shit into, rather than a tv series. ... Actually, that sounds more judgemental than I feel, I don't think my brain could cope with an entire tv series of Heaven's Feel, it would be TOO MUCH.

Like... I guess caution warnings for everything, but especially gore, abuse, murder, general horror bullshit?

I really like the framing of these shots in the dojo. And somehow I always forget that Shiro is an archer, considering, y'know, his WHOLE THING. ... In my defence, I don't think that Type-Moon remembers he's an archer and that's the source of the whole problem.

God I hate Shinji. Like, just in case you thought he had any redeeming features: NOPE, EVEN AN ASSHOLE TO HIS INJURED FRIENDS LONG BEFORE THE PLOT BULLSHIT STARTS.

Bless Shiro, he tells his empty house that he's home. ;_; Like, don't know if it's animism or habit or whatever, but bless his soul.

Taiga leaving him cute little notes, waaaaaaah!

I also always forget that Shirou is a little magic to start. Like, not very GOOD magic, but a little nonetheless.

Oh man this must have been A MILLION YEARS AGO, look at how diddy Sakura is! And her cold dead eyes!

Taiga doesn't even ask questions, she just immediately goes for the beatdown.

Look at Sakura just silently "I recognise that the council has made a decision, but given it's a stupid-ass decision...

But look at her coming up again and again, she is so determined. Or at least dead inside, because *gestures at everything the Matous did in Fate/Zero*

She is folding shirts that he's never shown wearing.

He looks so fond of her when she goes "I'm doing it again."

She has a key! Awwwww, that's a really nice way of showing intimacy, I like that.

God Shinji is the worst.

Do we ever find out what his part-time job IS in this timeline?

TAIGA IS SANTA AND SHE GETS TIPSY AND TALKS ABOUT HOW CUTE SHIROU WAS WHEN HE WAS LITTLE.

"My hero...?" *pans to Shirou obliviously stuffing his face*

I love that archery girl just immediately ambushes everyone to join the club.

IT'S THAT GUY! THE MURDER GUY! I KNOW HIM!

Tohsaka: *flounces away in background*

Look at Taiga being SO CUTE! And wanting photos of their first day!

They have a photo album of them being adorable nerds! Awwwww. ... I am quite okay with there just being a timeline where Shinji fucks off never to return and Sakura gets to be happy with her family. JUST SAYING.

"You have your own daily life," yeah but it sucks tho

LOOK AT THEM TEASING EACH OTHER OVER COOKING, I LOVE THEM.

Shirou is so oblivious, bless him.

Shinji straight up just firing Shirou like he has ANY FUCKING RIGHT. GOD I hate him.

SAKURA AND RIN YAY! All I want in every Fate timeline is for Rin and Sakura to go "No, fuck this," and run away to be a family together.

She looks so disappointed that Shirou knows of Rin. Oh no. Oh honey.

Her fiddling with her ribbon whenever she's having feelings about Shirou! Oh bless her.

"He's not an honest person so he tends to like the people he dislikes." "What a troublesome personality." ... Understatement of the century there, sure.

MATOU EXPECTED EMIYA TO KNOW ILYA OH MY HEART. NOW I WANT THAT AU AS WELL. (Apparently we could have had that canon but the Einzbergs are douchecanoes all the way down so FUCK ME I GUESS.)

Oh hey Ilya!

Ilya rocking up in his nightmares as well, as is appropriate for a tiny murder girl.

I'm sure that gas leak on the news isn't relevant to anything, we can just ignore that.

Sakura dropping the plate as she sees the command seals! Ahhhhhh!

Oh shit she knew Shinji was up to something, that's why she wants Shirou to to go home!

Shinji and reasonable responses aren't in the same country.

Mitsuzuri! That's Archer Girl's name! Also sweet fucking christ Shinji STOP BEING A DOUCHE TO MITSUZURI JUST BECAUSE SHE EXISTS AND IS BETTER THAN YOU IN LITERALLY EVERY SINGLE WAY.

Is it significant that he went for the shoulder that got Shirou out of his orbit? It feels like it could be.

I just have a note here saying "Jellyfish" and I have literally no idea what that was referring to or why I wrote it.

OH, IT'S THAT FIGHT! I want more Lancer vs Archer in my life, okay.

Sakura's eyes are dead again. That's a bad sign.

Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhh fuck it's Gilgamesh.

Sakura detecting Shirou dying across the city, oh no. Oh honey.

I like how they've gone "Nah mate, fuck it, if you're watching this you know what you're getting into," with the common route stuff. Yep, Shirou is dead, he gets better, stuff is going down, have fun.

Dislike the bug room. Nope, don't like that. Even if it's not the room from Fate/Zero: DON'T LIKE THAT.

HE KNOWS THE GRAIL'S DISTORTED, HE'S THE ONE THAT BROKE IT!

Mate, Kirei is not going to be a saint. Not even once. There is NO TIMELINE where he's going to be a saint.

Is that statue of Mary supposed to look like Saber, or is this a chronic case of Saber Face spreading to everyone?

I find the choices of when it goes to cgi interesting, I think it's supposed to be depth of field? Or maybe it's just more noticeable in that case? Either way, I think the cgi backgrounds are pretty.

Shirou: *discovers that Fate/Zero happened*

Ilya is a cute little kid, but also canonically eighteen. She's eight when Fate/Zero happens, this in ten years later, she still looks eight. I got nothing.

OH SHIT SABER DOESN'T KNOW THAT FATE/ZERO EXISTS

SHE DOESN'T KNOW WHAT HAPPENED. SHE DOESN'T REMEMBER. OH NO.

Kirei, probably: I broke him in half. Excellent.

"Okay, I'm gonna kill you now!" Illya is TOO into this. She's very cheerful about the murder thing!

Well. Those are his guts all over the floor. Like, that roll. Those entrails. Oh NO.

Shirou: *dies twice in one day, disappoints every woman he knows*

I like that you can see the scabbard THROUGH him as he falls.

Shirou: I recognise that I died an hour ago, BUT

Mitsuzuri! OF COURSE FUCKING SHINJI TARGETS MITSUZURI.

Why is Rider a vampire?

The fight scenes are SO GOOD and SO PRETTY, I love getting to watch Rider go!

Shinji doesn't even get to finish grandstanding before it goes wrong.

Rider fading away is pretty. Poor Rider. But also it's pretty.

"Otherwise you'd make me look like a loser!" says man burning all three of his command seals on telling his servant to stand up.

"I am the mage of the Matou family," says man who has never done magic a day in his life.

"Is Sakura forced to do something like this too?" SHIROU CONGRATULATIONS ON FINALLY NOTICING THAT EVERYTHING IS FUCKED.

Matou is literally eighteen thousand insects in a trenchcoat.

Gilgamesh: *creeps in background*

Kirei: I didn't break him thoroughly enough. Time to crack his soul open by revealing his father was responsible for the distruction of Fuyuki that orphaned him!

SABER ISN'T SUPPOSED TO REMEMBER THAT, no, wait, I have consulted with Lex and he says she works differently. Apparently her dying wish was to seek the grail, so the grail can summon her from the moment of her death instead of copying her into the grail and pasting her into the timeline from there?????

I like how everyone's like "He was a ruthless bastard but also a saint."

"Saber, I want you to fight with me."

Taiga: *IMMEDIATELY WANTS TO BOND OVER THEM BOTH KNOWING KIRITSUGU*

Did you see Shinji this morning? Sakura: *freezes*

AND SHIROU FINALLY GETS A CLUE THAT SHINJI IS AN ABUSIVE FUCKNUGGET. Like, the one thing I will say in Shirou's defence is that Heaven's Feel makes it look like they weren't actually FRIENDS - at least, if they were friends at any point, they haven't been for a while.

I like that Tohsaka goes "WE WILL BE ENEMIES!" and Shirou still rocks up like "PLEASE GIVE ME ADVICE!"

And Rin, who knows who Sakura is, is IMMEDIATELY poker-facing at hearing her name.

Tohsaka suggests keeping Sakura safe at his place! Interesting, didn't realise that. I guess it makes sense? Because Saber will be there and even if Shirou doesn't know what he's doing, Saber does.

Taiga cheering Sakura on as she tries to make friends! BLESS HER SO MUCH.

SHIROU ASKS TAIGA IF THEY SHOULD HAVE SAKURA STAY BEFORE THEY ASK IF SHE WANTS TO! THAT IS NOT THE ORDER TO DO THIS IN.

Sakura immediately running off to fix Saber's room.

"You didn't want Sakura to misunderstand having Saber sleep over?"

"Well then, I trust you with the monitoring." They are very cute and blushy around each other.

"Are you worried about me?" "Yeah, that's why it would help me a lot if you would stay here." I like that he frames it as her helping him, because Sakura is 100% someone who has an easier time with anything that she can interpret as helping others rather than herself.

FAKE ASSASSIN NO, WHAT, WHY IS TRUE ASSASSIN A CHEST-BURSTER?!

Caster's master: *spidey-senses tingle*

Caster: *sees the katana fade away and IMMEDIATELY suits up*

Oh no, too late, Assassin got out and Kazuki is super dead.

EXCEPT NO HE ISN'T, HE IS STILL MOVING, WHAT THE HELL KAZUKI.

Rulebreaker is so busted - oh, oh that's terrible. TWENTY FOUR STAB-WOUNDS. And then he casually throws the knife to kill Kuzuki! Because what the hell!

He just bounces off like a wild thing! WHAT THE HELL TRUE ASSASSIN?

... Caster's body being dragged away by something off-screen is HORRIBLE.

Why is he having a murder-sex dream about Tohsaka of all people. Type-Moon what the fuck are you doing.

Oh bless Issei, you don't get as much of him admiring Kazuki in this version, but he does care.

Tohsaka goes from "WE ARE ENEMIES" to "WE ARE ALLIES" at the speed of looking after Sakura.

Shirou is so worried about Sakura getting back to her real life, even though he knows that Shinji hurt her. Shirou. Come on. Brain a little here.

"What big brother punches his little sister?!"

Shinji is foul fucking cretin and I can't wait for him to get eaten. SAKURA DESERVES BETTER AND SHE DESERVES A NARRATIVE THAT DOESN'T MAKE HER PAIN INTO A PISSING MATCH BETWEEN SHINJI AND SHIROU.

Assassin: *LOOMS OMINOUSLY*

It's a good thing those exploding shards somehow DIDN'T HIT HIM.

SAKURA YOU DON'T NEED TO APOLOGISE FOR YOUR BROTHER BEING AN ABUSIVE SHITSTAIN. THAT IS NOT HOW THIS WORKS.

I thought he was going to offer her his jacket, that's way less dramatic. But also quite cute.

"I wasn't a very good girl," says abuse survivor who was literally sold to her abusers by her own family.

Shirou: ... Oh whoops, she's had a crush on me for LITERAL YEARS.

"You don't mind that you were adopted?" says abuse victim who was literally sold to her abusers by her own family.

"Kiritsugu couldn't do housework, and you've seen Fuji-nee." He describes them as unreliable, but he loves them so much! D:

"If I became a bad person, would you be able to forgive me?"
"No. If you did something bad, I'd admonish you. Stricter than anyone else."
"I'm glad."
YOU SEE WHY I'M SO CONFIDENT IN ALL OF MY SAKURA TAKES.

Him bopping the heater because it flaked out is a nice counterpoint to every other part of this scene.

LANCER NO, DON'T DO IT, YOU ARE NOT PREPPED FOR THIS FUCKING FIGHT.

Don't get me wrong, this fight is COOL AS FUCK, but also LANCER NO.

Like, this is the point where I really NOTICE that the backgrounds are a different animation style to the people, but it works for me. It gives things texture and depth. It's most noticeable with the cars I think? In the same way that you can tell which bits are the painted background and which bits are animated in old cartoons. But also LANCER NO DON'T DO IT.

LANCERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR he is so good and I love him. And Assassin just casually flinging cars at him.

Lancer runs like a fucking dork and also OHHHHHHHHH he can summon the spear! I was CONCERNED when he left it behind. But that scene with the fountains is beautiful. The slow motion of the lights and the water coming back up! It's so pretty!

"It's my nature. Projectiles don't work on me." He took deflect arrows at character gen is what I'm taking from that.

LANCER DON'T MOCK HIM FOR BEING STUPID WHEN YOU'RE ABOUT TO DIE.

Oh there is a dude under there, huh. Wasn't expecting that somehow.

LANCER'S FACE WHEN THE TENTACLES GRAB HIM AND DRAG HIM UNDER.

I'm very happy that he gets to use the runestones, because the other role he can be summoned as is Caster. Although the fact that the tentacles could just destroy his runes and barrier is HORRIFYING.

Assassin using the tentacle beastie as a distraction D: D: D: D:

Is that. Has he got Lancer's metaphorical heart there.

THE TENSION BETWEEN LANCER TRYING TO GET HIS NOBLE PHANTASM GOING, ASSASSIN DOING HIS THING WITH THE HEART, AND THE TENTACLE BEASTIE IN THE TIDAL WAVE AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

But also, that grey and red was VERY pretty.

Oh, nope, not a metaphorical heart. Very much not metaphorical.

... Lancer, just standing there completely blankly while two separate monsters eat him is weird and uncanny and noooooooooooo. D: D: D:

... SHIROU WHY ARE YOU MEETING THE CREEPY BUG MAN WHAT ARE YOU DOING. THIS IS THE WORST PLAN IN AN ENTIRE ROUTE THAT IS JUST "SHIROU EMIYA HAS BAD PLANS AND DOUBLES DOWN ON THEM."

"I don't recall saying one word about whether I myself had lost." ... Oh he is fucking CHEATING.

WAIT IS HE USING CASTER'S CORPSE AS A FUCKING DOLL WHAT HOW WHY NO STOP THAT

How did SHIROU know about Rulebreaker?! He knows nothing! But also good work Archer, thank you for your competence in this matter!

CASTER uses METEOR! *One Wing Angel intensifies in background*

You know it's bad when even fucking ZOUKEN is wigged.

HE IS A FUCKING INHUMAN MONSTER AND EVEN HE'S LOOKING AT THE TENTACLE THING AND GOING NOPE, THAT'S NOT A GOOD SIGN OKAY

CASTER IS CLEARLY ALIVE ENOUGH TO REMEMBER WHAT ATE HER OH MY GOD THIS SOMEHOW GOT WORSE

... The meteor just... Vanishes inside it forever...

Archer: *cuts Zouken's head off* Zouken: *continues to be eighteen thousand bugs in a trench coat*

WHAT IS IT WITH SHIROU AND DRAMATICALLY LEAPING INTO PEOPLE TO KNOCK THEM OUT OF THE WAY OF STUFF THAT HE CANNOT TANK. But I did like the glitching effect there, that was cool.

Archer: ... I GUESS I can't dedicate myself to killing him this time. I GUESS.

Sakura just dragging him away from Saber like ??????? Mate????????

Kirei casually calling Shirou out for lunch to ruin his life some more.

I am uncomfortable with the way they show him eating. Like. I know that's on purpose, this is the reaction that I'm supposed to be having, but I'm still uncomfortable.

Thing that is also making me uncomfortable: the fact that his food is apparently so hot that he's taking his clothes off. Stop that.

Shirou realising that Kirei ordered Lancer to kill him: D: D: D:

I know that the flare in the kitchen isn't supposed to be the fires of hell for Kirei, BUT.

He's so pleased at nauseating Shirou.

"I'd rather die if I have to eat a meal with you" is probably the most truthful thing Shirou says in any timeline.

She keeps checking that Sakura is at his house because she worries about herrrrrrrr oh my god where is the fic.

"Leave the battle between archaic mages to me," Tohsaka I love you and your assessments of these problems.

And there's Shirou deciding to be a hero for the city. Because of course.

"I just went and did this to myself." Okay, no, that's the most truthful thing he's said in this timeline. And Saber just being like "Okay, my job is to STOP you charging onto the battle field.

SHIROU THE BUGS WERE A WARNING, RUN!

That moment when he turns around and Assassin's behind him D: IT'S VERY EFFECTIVE BUT ALSO AUGH

RUN SABER HE'S LEADING YOU INTO A TRAP.

"Protection against the wind" okay that explains how he rode the inside of her whirlwind I guess.

"All I had to do was merely divert your attention." Ohhhhhh no he's the distraction, fuuuuuuuuck

OH SHIT IT'S THE TENTACLE BEASTIE! SABER, NO, RUN, GET AWAY FROM IT!

"As you are pure, merely touching it will destroy your sanity." That is a lot of assumptions that he's making there, but also what the fuck does that mean?

Is she... Just forcing the shadow out of her her with sheer willpower?!

"She chose to confront her own darkness rather than having her heart taken." DAMN FUCKING RIGHT SHE DID.

... Oh Shirou's out of command seals. Oh that's bad. That means only bad things

RIDERRRRRRRRRRRRRR YESSSSSSSSS!

Listen this is the only timeline where you actually get to see Rider going all-out and that is a fucking crime because I LOVE HER. She is so competent and knows what she's doing!

YEAH NOT SO FUCKING FUNNY WHEN SOMEONE ELSE IS RIPPING YOUR HEART OUT IS IT YOU FUCKING GREMLIN

LOOK AT HER JUST THROWING THE FUCKER ACROSS AN ENTIRE TEMPLE LIKE IT'S NOTHING, I LOVE HER

"You are fine, I see," says the blind-folded woman to the boy holding a stick and his guts. "That's splendid."

Me: ... But Saber's okay, right?
Lex: No, she's dead.

... That shadow just standing silent and unmoving in the background like "This is fine."

Shirou, who has no solid ribs and just got kicked across the room by the physically weakest Servant of the Grail war: *GOES TO FIGHT A HERO-KILLER*

"They called this a training room?!" Real talk that's a nightmare room full of rape bugs and I wish I was joking but NO THAT IS CANON.

Oooooooh boy someone just got eaten in a very literal manner.

"How I tether my rotting body with the flesh of others" Literally he's only alive because he's EATING PEOPLE what the hell Zouken!!! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!

Look at the homunculi nudging each other for being rude.

"I don't know who you are, but that belongs to the Einzberns."

... Was the "that" Saber?!

SABER IS A GOTH ZOMBIE It looks good, but doesn't explain how many people look just like Saber tbh. WHAT IS GOING ON AND WHY IS THERE A GOTH SABER HERE?!

SAKURA YOU'RE NOT WELL WHAT ARE YOU DOING OUT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT IN THE SNOW AND SANDALS?! YOU CAN'T YELL AT SHIROU TO LOOK AFTER HIMSELF WHEN YOU'RE BEING SILLY LIKE THAT!

... Okay I think we've had the last peaceful moment in the entirety of the Heaven's Feel route, time to curl up in a corner and regret every life choice that led to these feelings. Why do I not have a stash of happy gen fic for occasions like this.