#fuck sudou

[rinshiroufan]

The thing about Rin in Heaven's Feel is that nobody actually gives a single fucking shit about her.

It is deeply ironic; deeply ironic in a very contemptible manner. It is rather infuriating, for me personally—to see this rather complex and intricate character be so thoroughly underappreciated in any truly substantive fashion; to see people gloss over her brilliant and nuanced characterization in UBW; to see her—admittedly considerably less-written—HF incarnation reduced to a few easily digestable scenes, tragically overlooking the deeply imbedded nuance in the story; to see people fawn over an inferior iteration of the character at her peak—only to then not voice a single complaint when said iteration gets butchered beyond recognition.

The thing about Rin in Heaven's Feel is that nobody actually gives a single fucking shit about her.

The Heaven's Feel film trilogy adaptation by Tomonori Sudou is... not good. Not in the slightest. Explaining why it's all so bad would require a lengthy, thorough essay of its own; and frankly, I would rather this blog remain but a place for my venting my random frustrations about the discursive strictures fettering any proper analyses of Rin as a character—and above all, as a love interest—in the broader ecosystem of the FSN fanbase... admittedly so completely arbitrarily, but alas. But ultimately—it is quite revealing to observe what are the most common complaints that people about said adaptation after a careful perusing of online discussion of the films: the fact that the films did not give important side characters like Illya and Kirei their due. For such important characters, not enough time is devoted to fleshing them out as complex and nuanced conscious actors in the story.

Which is quite interesting since there is another exceedingly prominent character that receives an interesting and peculiar arc of her own.

Tohsaka Rin.

Rin's role in the story is reduced substantively and much of her characterization is actively butchered... yet none care.

Well—it's quite simple! If you are someone who adores Rin as a character and as a love interest for Shirou, then HF is really primarily a sideshow for you. The core of Rin as a character is to be found in UBW; thusly, her dedicated fanbase cares mostly about UBW. And UBW got an adaptation that most Rin fans utterly adore—for all complaints one may adduce against the 2014 show (most unfair and incorrect in my estimation), most people who like Rin agree that it at the very least did our girl justice. So what if HF didn't do her justice? We got to see Rin and her Emiya-kun in London!

And if you are someone who only cares about Rin inasmuch as she is Sakura's sister, and a foil to her in her own arc, with no appreciation of her in UBW—then you don't actually care about Rin. You don't understand her at all, and I hate you, and you should shut the fuck up about her.

The other thing about Rin in HF is that she's not some profoundly well-written character.

Her arc has no real meat—unless one, of course, takes into account how her arc in HF relates to her arc in UBW and how one analyzes Rin from a holistic perspective. But no-one does that... So we'll leave that for later. It all really boils down to "Rin don't like her sister... but then she DO!!!!" Brilliant. Riveting stuff. Perhaps one might cry out folly; it is a crime to be so reductionist with how the character is written. And that would be true to a certain extent—the way the story is executed certainly elevates a lot of the meagre, flaccid writing. But ultimately, Rin still basically just boils down a girl struggling between her humanity and her commitment to magecraft. Which is what Rin is—but without all of the richness, depth, nuance, flavour, brilliance that really takes that rather simple conflict and fleshes it out beyond what anyone could have imagined would be its potential... of UBW. The arc has no added complexity beyond Rin steeling herself for a whole route—before at the very changing her mind, suddenly. The effectiveness of the moment is greatly enhanced by the presentation: the way the CG is drawn; Kana Ueda's delivery; the music; the je ne sais quoi; etc. It's ultimately a testiment to how one may take a very simple story, and make it incredibly compelling and involving and wonderful...

But it is still, ultimately a very simple story.

And Rin in Heaven's Feel, viewed in isolation from her characterization in Unlimited Blade Works, is a very simple character.

Which is why no-one gives a shit about her.

Can anyone really think of a single person who considers HF Rin to be superior to UBW Rin that would consider Rin their favourite character? Or in their Top 3 FSN characters? Top 5 even? Anyone who wasn't already drawn to and fond of her character, who was ambivalent on her, but then were suddenly blown away—to the point she clawed her way all up to the top—simply because of that CG of Rin hugging Sakura?

No such person exists.

Why?

Because HF Rin is a mediocre character.

Past all the whiny melodrama and tearful theatrics—which are, admittedly, fairly effective—there is no substance.

Hence:

No-one gives a shit about Rin in HF.

There's only so much actual passion a character on the upper bounds of mediocrity just barely missing being actually good can actually inspire—which is why people usually praising her to high heavens (not entirely earnestly, mind you) are Sakura fans who only care about Rin and her feelings and her struggles and her own meaningful characterization inasmuch as she serves as a therapeuth for Sakura, and nothing else. Rin is good because she makes Sakura feel good—and isn't that wholesome!?!? But pierce the veil the veil of wholesomeness—and one finds but the empty void; Rin in HF is a lifeless husk. She is but a homunculus to serve as a means to assuage Sakura's guilt and make her happy.

Except—she isn't. While the HF Rin that exists in the popular consciousness is naught but a 6/10, the ACTUAL HF Rin is a shining 10. Rin in HF is an amazing character—it's just that people don't deserve her. And the HF films failed to capture that. Because Sudou is one of those aforementioned Sakura fans; and the way he treated he is arguably worse than the way he treated Kirei and Illya.

Here, it might be worthwhile for me to link a previous essay of mine. One that admittedly is exceedingly flawed and perhaps ought to be substantially rewritten, but one that I think nonetheless succeeds at conveying the core of Rin as a character—not just in HF, but the whole of FSN. But I shall attempt to within the bounds of this essay summarize key points in order to explain why the HF films just butchered her so thoroughly.

In essence; Rin is defined by her relationship with Shirou. Rin is Shirou's foil. The two are meant to be contrasted, for the many parallels and similarities are accompanied by complimentary contrasts; while both are held back by the legacies of their fathers and ultimately transcend them by making the same essential realization in UBW, the way they get there is substantially different—Shirou's being more... tumultuous. And in HF, the key difference between them is that Rin doesn't try to save Sakura, while Shirou does. Because it is impossible. And Rin doesn't do the impossible. Because unlike in UBW, where she is under the influence of her Shirou—her behaviour being contrasted not just to HF Shirou's, but to her own from the previous route—she has no-one to truly encourage her to embrace her human, idealistic side over her machine-like magus upbringing. Rin saves Shinji, despite his attempting to rape her; but she doesn't think of saving Sakura until the very end, when she can't kill her. Shirou is the personification of Rin's human idealism—just as Saber is Shirou's. Her desire to never quit; no matter what. Buried deep inside years of conditioning to act opposite to that.

It's why her high jump confession is the single greatest piece of characterization Rin receives in HF. It is the key to unlocking Rin as a character—not just in HF, but arguably in FSN as a whole. It is about who Rin is at her fundamental core.

And the HF films fucking ruin it.

How, exactly? Oh... let me count the ways.

Let us begin by analyzing the surrounding context of Rin's confession to Shirou in the VN, and then in HF. In the VN, Shirou has had sex with Sakura three times by then. The two of them are quite firmly in relationship territory; it is quite safe to say that, in fact, there's no chance whatsoever of Shirou's switching rails to court Rin instead. Rin and Shirou have spent an entire route interacting almost every single day with one another. The situation in the HGW has only gotten graver, with the Shadow having killed hundreds of people by then. When Rin gives Shirou what essentially amounts to an admission of her feelings for him, she is releasing pent up stress from the war, as well as seeking a resolution to her feelings... now that any chance of her being together with Shirou has essentially passed. It's a moment of vulnerability for Rin; it is important that it come during a period of high stress for the characters, stuck in the Emiya household as the world around them unravels and they have no means of achieving catharsis—especially given that Rin has interacted with Shirou enough, and has witnessed enough of his stubborn courage to save Sakura, for her to fall in love with him, while knowing there is no chance of her getting to consumate that love. Ironically, Shirou's unbridled displays of affection for Sakura charm Rin as well...

Now, essentially none of this holds true for the HF film trilogy. There are basically no scenes of Rin and Shirou interacting casually and bantering (read: flirting) with one another; the only time we ever see them interact is on the battlefield; Shirou and Sakura have not had any sex at all by that point; the confession itself occurs just after the Shadow kills Archer, as opposed to a prolonged and arduous period where the characters are left feeling helpless and powerless, completely come over with despair, their relationships with each other decaying ever and ever more. Simply put, the character has no actual reason to confess at all; Rin is a character who suppresses her emotions. Who was taught to see such human traits as a weakness that prevents one from becoming the truly amoral magus.

She also hasn't really been socialized like a normal person either—she feels awkward when trying to express her feelings, and her affection is clumsy. This really shows through in the way Rin behaves when she relays to Shirou her experience of the high jump; she's very clearly embarrassed. She is forcing herself to tell Shirou how she feels and she is clearly uncomfortable; constantly blushing, and with body language that conveys vulnerability. It's a moment that Rin takes very seriously—because Shirou isn't just a crush for her. He is the encapsulation of all that she pines for; he is her inspiration. That moment of his stubbornly refusing to back down meant a lot to her.

Not in HF2 of course! The worst film of the trilogy by far has her treat her single most precious memory as a fucking joke. Rin in the films is completely at ease when conveying the story to Shirou. She is upbeat and whimsy when retelling the events that are of concern; she has a smile all the way throughout her entire recollection. She even fucking chuckles as she's telling the story. And Shirou fucking laughs. He fucking laughs. In the VN, he is basically rendered speechless—he offers a few perfunctory observations of Rin and her emotional state to further articulate some of what Nasu probably felt could not be adequately conveyed through the dialogue, for the sake of the audience; but he does not offer any lengthy commentary on what Rin had said to him. He is so shocked by what he has heard that he really isn't capable of processing it. Because Rin Tohsaka just confessed to him. She obviously still means a lot to him, even in the routes where he doesn't fall in love with her; yet the film has him fucking laughing at the confession. And it only really helps to reinforce just how seriously Rin herself takes the conversation as well—not at fucking all. The film ironically takes Sakura's own biased perspective of the events in the VN at face value and adapts Rin as though she were an all-confident girl who keeps ignoring her suffering and desires—glossing over her own suffering, her own unique characterization, her own nuances, her own desires, her own dreams, her own conflicts, her own perspective.

And why? Why is the film adapted the way it is? Why is the high jump confession moved so much earlier in the story? What is its purpose in this heavily altered version of the story?

To lead to Sakura's stupid piece of shit sex scene.

That's it.

It's to allow a segue into a cheesy, superficial pandering piece of shitty fanservice—while also surgically removing any and all indication that Rin and Shirou like each other despite the latter's growing feelings for Sakura regardless of whether or not it negatively impacts the story; because Sakura's resentment of Rin's closeness and chemistry with Shirou is crucial to the escalation of the conflict between them. Because even putting aside the more nuanced aspects of her characterization, the films fail to coherently and successfully adapt even the most simplest of basics about her character either—Rin never acts cruel towards Sakura, she never belittles her, she never acts cold when interacting with her; it's the single most barebone adaptation that could've possibly been made. And frankly, the entire fight scene is fucking dogshit too, as is the hug between the sisters; it has none of the pathos and gravitas of the VN. The fact that there was no build up towards it scarcely helps it.

Even from the narrow perspective of the average moron who doesn't comprehend Rin in the slightest, the film still fails to capture of positives of their Rin, despite her being a dry, mediocre and ultimately shallow character.

Yet none complained; because they couldn't give less of a shit about Rin.

And thusly—Rin was reduced from an excellent, nuanced and thoroughly developed character, to naught but a prop that exists solely to make Sakura feel good. Rin has no existence, no characterization, no depth, outside of her being someone to stroke the ego of Sakura fans and their favourite character; a fucking comfort pillow.

And no-one cares—either because they are so deeply satisfied with the way Rin was handled in UBW, whether the route or the anime, (which, I honestly can't blame them) or they're fucking drooling morons who don't like her in the first place; if you don't like Rin in UBW, you don't like her at all. That's the simple truth of it all.

The thing about Rin in Heaven's Feel is that nobody actually gives a single fucking shit about her... except me.

I am tired like feeling I'm the only person who truly likes and appreciates this character.

I know it isn't true. I've spoken to plenty of people who have articulated and espoused many of the analyses I have written of the romance Rin has with Shirou, and how the way that Rin is written in HF helps add further depth to it retroactively. And yet... so much bullshit still pervades discussion of FSN online.

It really does pain me to see the way people discuss this wonderful, amazing character; to see her continually get reduced to being just Sakura's sister—while having the sheer audacity to believe and argue that UBW reduces Rin to just a "babysitter" for Shirou with nothing else truly defining her.

I am sick and fucking tired of seeing people talk about her the way they do.

I've come really to loathe and resent this moment. I really have.

It has completely distorted people's image of Rin. It has completely destroyed online discussion of Rin.

I've come to think that having her be the deuteragonist of FSN was not worth it at all; for all the sheer amount of depth she receives from being so, the amount of horrid takes that one is forced to sift through because of her arc in HF is too great a trade off for me. I sincerely think that shit takes about Rin online would have bee insanely more bareable had it not been for HF; had it only been people saying she received no development at all.

But you now what really fucking sickens me?

People who dare have the fucking GALL to express fucking "pity" for her.

"Oh I wish Nasu developed Rin a bit more in UBW she has no arc there!"

"I WANT to like Rin and she has great potential but it was squandered!"

"OOOH if Nasu does an FSN remake, he should rewrite UBW so Rin gets a whole lot more development there! It's an amazing opportunity!!!"

...just who the fuck are you to express pity for this character? You didn't even have enough respect for her to pay attention to a single one of her scenes in UBW or piece together how she works as a character. Nasu wrote an incredible nuanced arc for her and you didn't even have the basic decency to appreciate before thinking you have any fucking right to talk about how sad you feel for her because she got "shafted in her own route."

Go fuck yourself. Seriously, if you're reading this and you've any one of these opinions, I want you to know that I despise you and you should just shut the fuck up. Don't talk about Rin. Don't even fucking mention her. Don't look up art of her. Don't even fucking THINK about "handing it to her." You haven't got the fucking right. Your opinions are worth shit.

The thought of an FSN remake just makes my fucking stomach churn. The idea of Nasu rewriting UBW—which I quite honestly consider to be as close to perfection as a story can possibly get—feels me with terror and dread. I can only imagine how more fucking awful it would make discussion of Rin, UBW and her role in it and FSN as a whole. I can easily foresee; Nasu changing Rin's romance with Shirou to the point it's fucking unrecognizable. Just to pander to stupid motherfuckers who didn't like it in the first place. Adding a bunch of sappy, pukeworthy melodrama and lengthy monologues screaming the fucking themes and characterization in your face; as opposed to the subtle brilliance of UBW as it actually exists. Nasu is going to abandon people who actually liked Rin/Shirou and UBW for what is was... all to please people who never liked it, and never would have liked it in the first place. I am not sure I would be able to brave through all the braindead comments about how much fucking BETTER the remake's romance is than the original—all by people who liked that shitshow of romance in HF. And even worse? If Nasu does decide to leave UBW alone, then people are still going to be insanely insufferable. "Oh boo hoo, Nasu could've fixed the romance and Rin's character, but he didn't! Isn't that sad BOO HOO" Fuck off.

You know what I think? Rin shouldn't be in the fucking remake at all! Just remove her. Completely remove her from the story. Rin doesn't fucking exist. Replace her route with the Illya route. "But what happens to Archer?" I'm sure Nasu can think of something. Illya and Rin are actually quite similar; I'm certain some of the latter's functions in the story can be transplanted over to the former. But really—I don't care. The FSN fanbase does not deserve Rin. At all. They should not have the opportunity to even glance at her; clearly, she was too great for them to appreciate. I am sure some of the more vile pretend-fans lamenting her "getting shafted" will still sully her name by deigning to "pity" her; but at the very least this will be great way to spit in their fucking faces.

...

...

...

Frankly... there are some days where I wish Rin hadn't existed at all.

But I think there's a silver lining to all this.

Because I think seeing all this scum just completely misunderstand Rin has made me appreciate her romance with Shirou more—and how much he truly loves her.

Because anyone trying truly comprehend Rin in UBW and how the storytelling slowly unravels her nuances is relying almost wholly on storytelling conventions and tools which allows to deduce aspects of the characters by the very fact that we as an audience understand that we are experiencing a story; a story that has had many of its elements structured in a particular to produce a narrative that is compelling and involving. It is thus easier for us as viewers to realize things about the characters in a story than it is for others in a story to make the same realizations. It is easier for us to understand Rin, not only because we are allowed an objective birds eye view of the events, but also because Rin is actively being contrasted with Shirou. And taking Shirou's character traits into account allows us to make inferences about Rin. The two characters interplay with one another, and that allows us insight into both. There is also the fact that so much of what we know about Rin is revealed to us through Shirou, who in his dialogue and monologue describes so much of Rin's neuroses so amazingly well. As well as that we have a whole other route which further contextualizes Rin's behaviour. But Shirou himself of course exists within the confines of the narrative; he has no alternative set of events to compare how Rin behaves differently between both and why; and he has no narrator to point out to him Rin's flaws, her anxieties, her strengths and her inner conflict.

Shirou has no help over the course of the story. It's just him and Rin. He figures her all out... all on his own. Simply by being around—interacting with her, talking to her, fighting alongside her, observing her—he is able to peer deep into her heart and understand her even better than she does herself. He is able to achieve something people with far more information available to them were simply unable to do—and I think that that speaks as to just how much he just really loves her.

The FSN fanbase certainly doesn't deserve Rin, not at all; but Shirou most certainly does. I think that he's quite literally perfect for her.

And I wouldn't want it any other way.

I just love these two so damn much. Seeing them cute and happy together makes all the bullshit worthwhile in the end. I am so happy Fate/stay might exists. I am so happy the 2014 adaptation of UBW, which is what got me into Fate, exists. I never would have had the chance to be entranced by either of them.

They really are amazing, and deserve esch other.

[idrawvocaloid]

some of my favs from evillious chronicles :)

[manquesit0]

I absolutely despise Ma

[mx1odyy]

hahah im dying

[c0rpsedemon]

can't believe there was a period of time where i hated nemesis sudou

[glassrednoshozo]

nemesis 🥺 I haven't drawn her in so long.. sorry about the anatomy it was a bit rushed 😭 I need to post more in here

[darkstarbureau]

you know its getting bad when its devolved from listening to judgement of corruption, my fucking song, on loop. to the muzzle of nemesis. i have an inkling that something isnt right

[skyburger]

i did just manage to spend a little over two hours on and off (mostly on.) trying to find stupid connections to prove my theory that noriaki kakyoin and tatsuya sudou are actually twins but ive got pretty much nothing other than they're both born within a month of each other in the same year in japan. so like... you technically can't actually prove me wrong. like this could be canon who knows maybe araki and atlus have been collabing behind our backs for decades! who knows. anyway shoutout to all my fellas born in leo season of 1971

[darkstarbureau]

but wait! theres more!

The Barisol Family Tree, or, “Hey mothy? What the fuck?”

[thegreatsolaris]

Oooo drawing requests?? I love those!

May I request a doodle of my Narrator (or yours!) looking abso-fucking-lutely done with Stanley's bullshit? (✿❛◡❛)

How about a lil of both :) this was so fun! Love the freckles on your Stanley!

Friendly reminder to keep voting for sudou! For me ♡

[gece-misin-nesin]

11 about Levia for the ask game!

11. Forget the sex or die trope. This character must attempt to rob a bank or they will die. Do they succeed/how much do they get? (If you have extra time, what’s their plan? Who is their crew?)

Ok this is such a fun ask!! So obviously we have different answers based on which version of Levia it is.

Levia Barisol:

She would make an incredibly meticulous plan and still somehow fail because her life is a cosmic joke. Or she pulls it off perfectly. Depends on how her interactions with Rahab have been going lately.

She goes alone but Behemo tags along to annoy her to death. Peak sibling behavior.

Or she could have others do her bidding, probably not very successfully because Levia's social skills are like...level -999

If she doesn't fail, she probably steals a fair amount.

Elluka Clockworker

THE most obvious robbery ever. You can literally notice it's happening from 2 cities over. She just storms the place. 0 impulse control. Probably does not give any fucks about how the robbery actually goes but will do it to not die.

Depending on the year, either Gumillia is with her (thus saving the operation) or Leonhart and Mariam. They probably succeed. Either way the robbery is incredibly lackluster and very much improvised.

Note: The reason the robbery sucks is %50 because Elluka is incompetent asf (source: the entire series. Love her but she's a girlfailure) and %50 because of her personality.

Nemesis Sudou

Girl was part of a gang basically her entire childhood. She HAS robbed banks before. Didn't she and Zeus sink that boat to steal gold lol? Realistically she's either with the Zeus gang or alone. Maybe some PN members if it's a PN thing. Succeeds.

Completely dries out the place.

I'm not smart enough to plan a successful bank robbery so you're on your own for that one lol

[narrators-journal]

Continuation of the king Leo! Tatsuya Suou where tatsuya finally gives in to joker and just forgets all his friends and needs to protect joker :000

Sorry this one took a bit longer, I got a bit busy and had to chew on this idea to really work out how it might go. That being said, this one might be a tad rough, but I had fun writing it, and I hope you have fun reading it!

Lisa Silverman, Eikichi Mishina, Maya Amano, Yukino Mayuzumi, and Katsuya Suou. Those were the names of Tatsuya’s friends, his loved ones. Those were who he wanted to protect, why he had a collar of metal locked around his throat. He’d sold his soul for their sake. The wildcard had offered himself up to a demonic cult leader with the full knowledge of how much that cult leader hated him, and how unlikely it was that he’d take the deal at all.

But, there he sat. In an inherited, fur-lined coat that reeked of gas and smoke, with his legs tossed over the parapet wall around the roof of an abandoned factory that said demon had somehow magicked into a somewhat medieval fortress. No cultists or demonic dopplegangers with him as he looked out at the Kounan district. So, he could feasibly jump off of the debris-cluttered roof and bolt off to find his older brother. Katsuya didn’t work too far away, after all. In fact, the tall brunette could somewhat see the Kounan police department in the dark distance of the night time, so he could probably make it there without much effort, even if a rough crash onto any of the piled-up, rotted, or abandoned junk below hurt him.

Yet, there he sat. Sat like an obedient dog on the edge of the rooftop. A perfectly trained dog. The persona user thought with a bitter sigh into the night. Only to jump when he heard the crunch of the abandoned factory’s ballast behind him. “There you are, Leo.” Joker hummed, soon at the brunette’s side to stand on a discarded air condition to lean on the parapet wall beside the man. “Are you thinking about running off? I wouldn’t be too mad if you did, it’d be fun to chase you down and punish you.”

Tatsuya looked over to the demon without a response when he approached, but he didn’t meet his gaze and simply kept his cerulean eyes on the streets below. So, the persona user took the chance to look the cult leader over in the light of the waning moon. His odd mask, the pristine white of his black-trimmed...costume? It was more like a uniform, actually, since Joker often took it off when he didn’t have to make an appearance to his followers. Either way, in the dim light of the night time, it, and the flower at the tip of his tail, were a wonderful shade of blue.

He was beautiful, just like Sudou had claimed back on the roof of the aerospace museum.

Usually, Tatsuya ignored that aspect. He always shot down any thoughts of the demon’s appearance with reminders of how he’d wanted him dead, or how he never hid how much he enjoyed any agony that the wildcard was in. Yet, in that moment beneath the moon and stars, he couldn’t help but think about how, beneath the mask and makeup, he looked like his childhood crush.

Finally, the wildcard sighed and tore his eyes away from the demon to watch civilians stumble home drunkenly from the bar, unaware of the myriad of demons that strolled the sidewalk with them. “Do you miss your friends, Tacchi?” Joker asked abruptly in his usual layered voice. Which, instantly put the taller man on edge since he’d grown so used to Jun’s voice when he was alone with the cult leader. “Yeah, of course I do, the fuck type of question is that?” “Do you miss your junbug?” Tatsuya tried not to instinctively wince or cringe at the old, awkward nickname that he’d given his childhood friend back when he was eight years old. Yet, under Joker’s gaze, he couldn’t avoid the question. “Um, yeah…” Which, surprisingly, only got a hum from the other man as he turned his dimly illuminated eyes back to the Kounan district. No reply, no snide taunts, just Joker’s silent contemplation while Tatsuya sat on the parapet wall. Until, finally, curiosity won out. “Why do you ask, Joker?” Which, got him a small shrug, “I was just curious, like, if I told you I was Jun Kurosu, would you believe me?” He asked in return with his eyes back on the tall man and his eyebrows raised. But, it was as if his second question was a shot of novacaine that spread over Tatsuya’s skin until he was left to stare dumbly at the demon. “Would you protect me like you promised to protect Jun?” He pressed after a moment.

So, the wildcard scrambled for a response while far too many things clicked into place, “Uh...I-I mean, ar-are you Jun Kurosu?” He asked, but Joker simply waved his tail to dismiss the question, “Answer the question, King Leo. Would you protect me like you promised to? Even from your friends?” “Yes.”

The word all but tumbled out of Tatsuya’s agape mouth before he could stop it. Said with a level of certainty that turned his insides into ice cold jello. Seriously? He hissed at himself, This motherfucker’s a master manipulator! He’s basically a genie! Nothing out of his mouth should be trusted, what the fuck are you on? But, as he held Joker’s gaze, and watched their color darken ever so slightly, the hatred he’d tried so long to harbor refused to reignite.

He no longer saw Joker exclusively as some hellish fiend who possessed his childhood friend’s corpse. At worst, Jun was simply possessed, or maybe had fallen down a dark path.

In short, the wildcard realized in that moment that he could somehow save his childhood friend. If I do it right, at least. He thought as he turned his attention back to the streets when Joker did. I just...have to protect him from the others. They can destabilize his power without killing him, after all, so I just need to explain…

Tatsuya clenched his jaw as the thought trailed off, No, no, no, no. The Joker is a cult leader, he’s a liar! He’s just trying to trick me! If he IS Jun, it’s because he’s using his corpse as a puppet! I’m not turning on my fucking friends! He insisted to himself, even though his belly still felt as if it were full of cold jelly, and he did his best to not show his emotional turmoil externally. But maybe…

[typellblog]

alright i finished my HF rewatch last night so time to talk about the adaptation, specifically scenes that were cut or changed

gonna be focusing mostly on illya and kirei as i like them and they got done the dirtiest

other characters to consider here are rin, sakura, shirou

rin i think was served well in these movies considering that she's a secondary character with a relatively straightforward role

sakura and shirou are two of the most complex characters in the entire novel, and inevitably some of that is going to be lost in translation, but Sudou heavily focused on ensuring Sakura was not misunderstood and that really shows. as a result there isn't much to talk about with those two in regards to cut content

for illya, though -

the first thing to note here is that she's almost entirely absent from the first movie asides from her initial appearance to fuck shirou up (which is altered slightly w/ her appearing earlier and actually talking to saber outside the church, i liked this change)

but yeah the first movie adapts up to roughly day 9 of the novel, which should include shirou meeting illya on days 5, 6 and 7

instead what happens is that the FIRST meeting with illya occurs in the second movie

now i'd say this adaption of the first meeting is alright, we have shirou's initial hesitation because of her trying to kill him earlier (altho he's a bit more forceful in the VN and illya has to ask whether he hates her or not which is a nice parallel to their first meeting in the Fate route).

the interesting bit here is the ending - shirou asks if she knows kiritsugu and her face goes blank and she walks off

this happens in the VN but what happens next is that Shirou asks illya if he can meet her again. illya is somewhat surprised and mollified by this and as a result tells shirou that she does in fact know kiritsugu - she wants revenge against him and shirou.

this leads really nicely into their second meeting where illya is actually surprised that shirou would turn up after hearing that

it establishes illya's internal conflict between wanting to see shirou but also wanting to kill him/having the duty towards the grail war

she tries to distance herself from him by admitting her real objective but shirou meets her anyway because he can see that she doesn't really mean it - if she actually wanted to kill shirou she could just do it then and there

the rest of their second meeting is taken up by illya showing shirou the way to her castle by projecting his consciousness which is neat but largely cuttable (although it does have a brief moment of illya acting in a older sister-like way towards shirou, which is always nice to set up for later)

the important part here is really that they're having multiple meetings at all, that they're building a relationship alongside whatever shirou is doing with sakura and rin

but the thing is that in the movies the last part of their first meeting is cut - illya doesn't admit to wanting to kill shirou or knowing kiritsugu

this is saved for the next time they meet in the movies which is when shirou is wandering around in the rain wondering what to do about sakura

basically their more extensive relationship in the novels is turned into this 2 beat thing where 1. illya is kind to shirou but scared off by the name of kiritsugu and 2. illya admits that she wanted to kill shirou because of kiritsugu but now she's totally on his side

indeed the dialogue kind of implies she's on his side because he's trying to save sakura, when what's really going here is that he hasn't made the decision yet but she's unconditionally on his side anyway, due to the bond they formed in previous meetings

illya knows that shirou is a kind person who tries to help those close to him. that's really all she needs to like him and seeing someone have that much faith and support for him is part of what prompts shirou to do the same for sakura. i'm worried this isn't conveyed as effectively in the movie version

the thing is that their third meeting (before this one) is actually really important

shirou forgets to come to the park so illya chases after him. she's actually mad he forgot about it instead of being surprised he'd bother with her at all. she's quick to accuse him of being a liar and breaking his promise because she's used to people betraying and abandoning her. shirou has to try and make it up to her (if you choose the wrong option here she actually bad ends you in your next meeting)

there are two versions of this scene, one where shirou invites her back to his house and they go on a quick tour that ends with illya crying when she realises kiritsugu really isn't there anymore. she's alienated from her emotions, surprised to see her own tears

the other i'd consider more important - shirou promises to be illya's 'servant' and follow an order from her. it turns out that all she wants is to go shopping together

what illya wants is a normal family life that she's been denied for so long, and the tragic thing about that scene is that she still can't have it, she still has to put on a strong face and pretend to be happy even as they both realise that once this is over they'll have to go back to being enemies. this is where shirou realises that her usual persona is something of an act and she's actually far more resigned to despair than any other character in the story

this scene is remarkably similar to another scene that comes up later (which is also cut from the movies lmao) called Lorelei - it occurs after Illya gets rescued and is living with Shirou. Here, they also go shopping. Here, shirou also questions illya's cheerful facade. But this time he actively asks whether illya wants to stay at his place after the war, and she has to confirm to him that like him and sakura, she's basically doomed. her lifespan isn't that long. the difference is that nobody is trying to save her in the way that she wants to save shirou or shirou wants to save sakura.

some of that dialogue is put into the movies near the end, when shirou is about to leave to go fight sakura. it's a nice little movie-original moment, with illya having shirou lean down so she can pat his head, and re-emphasizes the elder sister-like tone of her half-joking request to 'bring sakura home with him before it gets dark'. that line is really elevated in this context, it's a good change

but the subsequent stuff just doesn't hit as hard without the full awareness of illya as a tragic character, someone who fully accepted her role as a grail, who accepted that she was going to be used by zouken and sakura, who shirou has to actively try and convince to not give up on her life, and in the end only comes to save him because of that influence

there are a few other illya scenes that are skipped during the day 11-14 period (i.e. second half of movie 2). none of them are terribly important but i think taken together you begin to see that illya is almost as important to shirou as sakura, that he's aware of her nature as a homunculus and as the grail and as someone who had a very strong reason to want to kill him - and he doesn't care. he still sees her as a person

now i want to talk about kirei for a bit but hopefully i get back to illya before the end

all of kirei's important scenes are there in the movies in some form, but a lot of important dialogue gets lost

when shirou goes to see him in the church the second time, after fighting rider, the focus is on kiritsugu (which is admittedly important) but we lose kirei's 'advice' to shirou, when he expresses discomfort at the whole concept of the grail war. he says that everyone has wishes that they want to fulfill, that even in everyday life people fight to do so. obtaining the grail is simply a shortening of that process, a completely natural action. for kirei, fighting and trampling over other people's wishes is only a matter of course. the most 'worthy' is the one that obtains the grail in the end

i think this is an interesting piece of characterisation for him, and he feels flatter without it

similarly, the mapo tofu scene is changed quite significantly, as it's moved to the second movie when normally it would be within the parts covered by the first. as a result, much of their conversation is taken up by talk of the Shadow (which hadn't been revealed fully before then) rather than the more interesting part in the VN, Kirei's discussion of his wish for the grail.

he says he doesn't have a wish but a goal, that his goal is pointless if he achieves it himself, and then goes on to compare himself to shirou, saying that as neither of them have clear wishes, they can't reach salvation.

i think this is actually key to understanding both kirei's motivations and the similarity between him and shirou - neither of them really know what they would use the grail for. kirei knows that he desires despair and destruction, but what he really wants is to know whether a broken person like himself has the right to exist

shirou knows that he wants to save people, but he can't just use the grail to wish for people to be saved - he wants to become a hero himself.

moving along, kirei's backstory is also heavily truncated, skipping over much of the discussion of his childhood. i find this part interesting in the VN because it notes that the real issue for him was not his twisted nature directly, but rather his common sense that made him realise his feelings were unnatural and wrong. if he had been a pure kind of evil, unaffected of the opinions of society, created specifically for the purpose of causing destruction - in other words, like the Angra Mainyu that he is trying to make Sakura give birth to in HF - would he still have regrets? would he be able to forgive himself?

the second part of his backstory occurs during his fight with Assassin, where he reminisces about his wife, who killed herself to prove that he loved her, but failed, as he didn't feel sad because of her death, instead wishing to have been the one to kill her

the details are all the same in the VN (but note that 1. he was on the point of killing himself before claudia did the same and 2. her death was what put him on the path of embracing villainy. this is relevant because her death did actually have a massive effect on his life, if she meant to stop him from killing himself with it then it worked)

however, the narration is much less clear about the verdict, here. the movie narration ends with 'i wanted to kill her myself'. fade to black, question closed.

in the VN the question of whether i really loved her is something that continues to pursue kirei even into the present day. he tries not to think about it, because despite everything he doesn't want to consider her death as worthless

the thing about having kirei as a parallel to shirou in Heaven's Feel of all routes is that this is the one where Shirou abandons the part of his nature which Kirei considers similar to himself

and so the question remains of whether kirei could do the same. he doesn't, of course. the time has long since passed. claudia was his sakura.

but when he confronts shirou in that underground cavern you have to understand him as someone who failed to do something that shirou is currently risking his life for

this, really, is the point of their fight. Kirei insists they are the same. he likes doing that, because it makes him feel a bit less alone in the world.

kirei has this line in the VN that goes something like 'this fight is pointless, because we're both going to die anyway. neither of us have a purpose or a wish to be fulfilled at the end, we're just following the same empty way of life that we've had all this time'

but shirou knows they're not. he's fighting for something beyond himself. he wants to protect sakura, not simply destroy angra mainyu.

in the VN kirei is absolutely kicking shirou's ass. it's not even close. Shirou is hard to kill because his body is literally made of swords, but kirei completely outclasses him in terms of physical ability.

the fight is not about overcoming kirei, its about shirou being able to overcome himself and endure longer than kirei does. in the VN what gives him this burst of strength is memories of sakura.

shirou can't die if he wants to save sakura. sakura can't be happy without him. that's the point of the kirei fight, it's why it doesn't appear if you're on the road to the normal ending, it's the thing that shirou can only overcome if he wants to live

does this come across in the movie version at all? i struggle to imagine it

and it's vitally important to the next scene as well, where illya steps in to save him. the whole point is that shirou learns the value of his own life and is capable of honestly wishing to live because he finally, finally gets the point that other people care about him too, and would be hurt if he was gone

the resolution of Heaven's Feel, and Fate/Stay Night as a whole, is in Shirou learning to be a person rather than a sword, realising that the kind of hero he wants to be is one who protects the people he loves

sakura, in this route, is afraid of hurting shirou, but not just on a physical level - she admires his heroism, she sees a great inner strength in him, and she thinks that if she makes him pick her over everyone else that part of him will be broken

shirou is the one that has to walk towards her, while sakura attempts to push him away with self-deprecating words, even though she deeply needs him to save her

this dynamic is given physical expression in the final liberation scene, after sakura and rin's fight is over

angra mainyu attacks shirou, trying to push him away as sakura can no longer fully control it. she's afraid of hurting him so she tells him to leave, that she can die on her own

and the tendrils skid off shirou harmlessly. his body is almost completely metal, now. he can endure most things

shirou comes right up to sakura, and with a smile on his face tells her that it's alright, that he's doing this because he wants to, that he's not breaking himself for her, this is actually the purest possible expression of his ideals

in the VN, you don't get to see shirou very often. you constantly look out at the world from shirou's PoV, are confronted with the faces of everyone besides him - people he has to fight, people he has to save

and here, in the culmination of three routes' worth of character development, he turns around and looks directly at the reader, the first time we see him smiling

they don't include a reproduction of this CG in the movie. i guess it wouldn't really have the same impact.

still, i'm a bit sad about it

[nostelou]

cringetober day two : tsundere

okay so, this one was actually pretty easy. theres a lot of tsun is medias .... WELL NO. TOO EASY. I DONT WANT TO DRAW A REAL TSUNDERE I WANT CHALLENGE I WANT FUN so i drew nemesis sudou from evilious :3 i wanted to draw misato from nichijou at first but lol, i said i wanted FUN !!! so yeah heres my true bbgirl yall, obviously with the osana pose from fucking yandere sim.

[hotfudgecherryrosy]

best way to learn how to empathize with a fictional character is be them in a dream. fucking insane!

i was nemesis sudou last night that was wild. except my subconscious always messes with the evillious lore. But it was stil wild

[egret-orchids]

🔪nemesis-sudou Follow

i wonder if youre aware of kayos whole. neighbour situation.

anon i wonder if you know what privacy is

🔁enbizaka-podcast Follow

Honestly it doesn't matter to me if people know about that. They are the basis for the Miroku family.

-Kayo

🔁lemyyyy Follow

well that makes sense. nem i dont think privacy comes into this

🔁nemesis-sudou Follow

stfu i will punt you into next fucking tuesday i know where you live lemy abelard