Reaction shot: Fate/Apocrypha E20 (or, let's kill Shakespeare!)

[not_cynical]

• Fiore telling Gordo to watch the house like he's a dog gives me life. Even though I'm pretty sure he's the single least qualified person there to do so.


• Hey, now that the homunculi aren't in tanks any more, how is the magical sustenance thing going...? I mean, I guess Fiore's the only actual Yggdmillenia Master left and she's the one most likely to be able to power a servant on her own...?


• (Sieg is powering MULTIPLE magical beings, no wonder he's struggling.)


• Ugh, I don't trust Murder Moustache to look after a rock, let alone the castle and the homunculi.


• "Well. You know. Come back alive." ... Shit I actually like that line.


• "He has a kind heart," says a homunculus who apparently missed him killing people because he lost his temper / going back on agreements because he felt like it / only helping Jeanne to get something back from her... I guess what matters most is that he fixed the homunculi when they needed it, but... Ugh.


• Huh, Sieg never intends to come back! Interesting! Jeanne Does Not Like That!


• Toole has a name! She says goodbye on behalf of all of the homunculi! ... I just want the homunculi to be happy and live their best lives, to be honest. I want someone to give me all of the fic about them discovering how to people!


• The think that I notice the most whenever I watch the credits is that Jack the Ripper's master is perfectly comfortable standing in the middle of that battle. There's magic and blades flying everywhere, and she is quite happy there!


• Sieg, who has never been in a liminal space before: ............................???????


• All I'm getting is Inception. "I bought the airline. It seemed... Neater."


• (SHIT LIKE THIS IS WHY FIORE SHOULD BE IN CHARGE OF THIS FUCKING FAMILY.)


• ... Did they get Necrodad to raise up a groundcrew for them. Is that what's happening there. If so: HOW?!


• I DO NOT TRUST ASTOLFO TO HAVE REMEMBERED THAT SPELL TOME NAME. OR AT LEAST TO REMEMBER IT IN FIVE MINUTES WHEN IT'S PLOT RELEVANT. Seriously, they've not even done a sidequest yet.


• Ugh, Caules being competent just makes me angrier.


• Fiore saying goodbye to Archer! Fiore taking the brakes off his use of her power! Fiore using her command seal to ask him to fight without regret! Waaaaaaaaaaaah!


• (One-sided crush fic! One-sided crush fic!)


• "The duties of a hero do not reside within you. / You are not required to fulfil a hero's duties."
  "I know that. But I was entrusted with the life of a hero. I have responsibility. / I know. However, I will honour the life of the hero I was entrusted with."
  Their arcs are all about duty, aren't they. The responsibilities they have, the responsibilities they want, the responsibilities they don't want other people to face.


• "Why do I have a feeling there was something else she wanted to say?" BECAUSE YOU HAVE FINALLY GAINED A PERCEPTION CHECK SIEG.


• Astolfo just there like "If she wanted to, she would've!" because Astolfo is the closest thing to socially competent human in that party.


• "Ruler considers you to be precious to her." Yes. That is how I want all romances to be summarised.


• Astolfo's hands are shaking despite their bravado ahhhhhh I love them.


• I do like the design of the Hanging Gardens.


• Shakespeare is SO HYPE.


• His being able to manifest huge command seals in midair is very cool.


• "Before I start, there's one more thing I need to take care of. / However, there is one more thing to prepare before we begin."
  "Master?!"
  "While it's obvious that the joy you display is sincere, I don't trust it. You won't write about that joy. You'll write a tragedy. That's why what I'm about to do is necessary. Heed my command spell: do not add my story to your list of tragedies! / I understand there are no fabrications in that joy. But you'll probably be inclined to write a tragedy and not just about the joy. So, this is a necessary act. By the power of my command spell: do not write any tragedies about me!"

Shiro SPECIFICALLY BINDING Shakespeare to not write a tragedy about him is just plain CRUEL and delightful. Like, I genuinely thought for a second that he was going to pre-emptively kill Shakespeare! But no, this is somehow better and worse at the same time!

• (I love Shiro's delivery btw.)


• Their faces where Shiro's just like "I'm right, aren't I?" and Shakespeare is going "... My pen might slip..." Yep, this was 100% the correct call.


• I don't know why he needed to take his shirt off for this, btw.


• I didn't know it was possible to brute force the holy grail, wtf wtf wtf wtf also WHO ARE THE WOMEN SET INTO IT, WHAT ON EARTH IF GOING ON.


• His immediate instinctive reaction to being tied up AGAIN is "The second time today?!" which makes me cackle.


• I love that Semiramis knew what Shirou was doing and is still prepared to murder Shakespeare just to be sure.


• (Am I going to title this post "Let's kill Shakespeare?" I don't know!)


• And somehow he manages to turn it back onto her? They are both agree they want to see him fail! They are both duplicitous and scheming! Watching a saint fall to despair would make her happy! ... But she just wants to see him succeed more!


• "Unrequited love is infinitely better!" I never thought that I'd say this, but Shakespeare gets me.


• "A love story involving an empress! Our audience will be quite pleased!"
  "Die."


• He has been saved explicitly because she has other murders to commit.


• Bold of the writers to suggest Semiramis considers any of them brethren.


• I FORGOT ACHILLES WAS A FUCKBOI OH MY GOD.


• "It might take me a little while to get it all done."
  "Why?"
  Yggdemillenia: *flies ENTIRE FLEET OF AIRCRAFT at the Hanging Gardens*


• So they have DECOY PLANES, and Jeanne d'Arc as a focus. Yesssssssssss.


• Achilles stepping in to protect Atalanta! In the most casual way possible! Oh no, oh my heart.


• Some might argue that having the person who controls all of the defences being the last line of defence would be a good plan, but I guess she has slightly more ranged power???


• Everyone has just picked a Servant to murder. Whoops.


• ATALANTA DON'T DO IT.


• I love the magic effects, they're so pretty! And the sound effects make them feel like they have weight!


• Achilles sounds like he's having FUN. He's so EXCITED to be trying to kill Charon!


• ... Did Charon just use magic to roll the plane.


• ... Did Achilles straight up just kick the plane to stop it landing on him?!


• (These bastards are so extra, why do I love it.


• Oh, Jeanne and Atalanta. Jeanne deflecting shots bigger than she is! Semiramis teleporting Atalanta right on top of her!


• "Killing me is impossible!" ... Do... Do they know what happened to Jeanne d'Arc?


• Achilles cackling with glee as they fight! That trap! Ahhhhhh!


• "I'm sick of having my paths chosen for me by gods and destiny!" ... I think that actually checks out, wtf.


• I don't know why Archer is acting like this is new information? I thought the whole reason for this raid was that anything is possible with the grail!


• ... Oh, all these pictures of the cast in the rain like they're normal people is giving me feels, why. This is terrible.


• ... What is this hell. Is the grail testing him?


• He's gone WHERE?! HEAVEN'S FEEL IS NOT A PLACE TO GO, MY DUDE.


• HE WISHES FOR WHAT


• Lancer (Black): Vlad the Impaler. Lancer (Red): Karna
  Saber (Black): Siegfried. Saber (Red): Mordred.
  Archer (Black): Chiron. Archer (Red): Atalanta.
  Berserker (Black): Frankenstein. Berserker (Red): Spartacus.
  Caster (Red): Shakespeare / Avicebron.
  Rider (Black): Astolfo. Rider (Red): Achilles.
  Assassin (Black): Jack the Ripper. Assassin (Red): Semiramis
  Ruler: Jeanne D'Arc / Amakusa Shiro Tokisada