Obituary

Hi, y'all. Sorry for those of you who were hoping this would be a chapter, but I thought it would be better to lay this out than to leave you hanging forever.

I am no longer continuing to write this story, for multiple reasons, which I will explain.

First, I find that I don't enjoy writing for Fate any more. My interests have moved on, I suppose.

Second...the plotting for this story was a mess. Mostly because I was making it up as I went along and didn't have coherent character arcs planned for anyone. Which was a serious problem, since this whole story was supposed to be character-driven. The longer things dragged on, the harder it would have been for me to force myself to write. I tried writing the next chapter, at least, and eventually gave up after months of not being able to manage more than 300 words to a scene. I just didn't have any meaningful way to reach the destination I wanted.

Anyway, I'll summarize what plans I did have for the rest of the story, since I really did like some of the ideas I had. And I can offer answers for the speculation in the comments. If anybody wants to use my ideas, feel free. You have my permission.

Character Arcs

The biggest fault in my planning was that I never chose a true main character, but I did put enough thought into the characters to fill out this section. Anyway, let's get to it.

Shirou: Shirou's arc would have been fairly bland, to be honest. I had the vague idea of using Ryoma as a role model to push him away from the magus mindset in a way that canon Saber didn't, but Ryoma's bushido attitude really wasn't going to help Shirou all that much, except for how the ideal would be tempered with experience. Outlook-wise, Shirou would have resembled his UBW counterpart the most, as that's the philosophy of Shirou that I like best, but with no Archer EMIYA to develop against...well, as I said, I didn't plan this out.

His different magecraft/magical abilities would have been water/Dragon Vein/Dragon Fang based, with more emphasis on the former two, for reasons I will note in the overall plot section. It wasn't unique enough that I would consider centering a story around this Shirou.

Rin: Rin's arc would have two parts: first, coming to trust Shirou and embrace her rejection of magus amorality; and second, addressing her daddy issues. Kirei would have played a role here, but I hadn't really considered how.

Takumi: Takumi's relationship with Rin is perhaps the thing I'm most unsatisfied about in what I wrote. I gave him snark, but I didn't take time to research his character before starting the story, which hurt both their characterizations. Probably should have read transcripts of Birthright, because Conquest focuses exclusively on his worst qualities, not to mention the subtle mind control. I didn't have a good picture of his canon personality when working with allies.

Ryoma: Bushido samurai. I had two things for him: getting over his feelings of betrayal from Azura (and Corrin), and developing a genuine respect for the Nohrians (mainly Xander).

Leo: I didn't have a character arc planned for him, really.

Leo's Master: The girl he pulled out of Atrum's human sacrifice storage. She's little more than a MacGuffin to explain why Leo is fighting. Behind the scenes, Leo handed her off to the first trustworthy person he found on the street, to prevent her from being targeted. (That person happened to be Mitsuzuri Ayako, and was something she chose not to mention to Shirou in their conversation that I depicted.

Camilla and Illya: I didn't have much of an arc planned for them. They probably would have been the first to die, simply because somebody would have to, with it being a HGW fic. Tragic.

Camilla is Birthright!Camilla, though, which is why I felt comfortable slotting her into the Berserker class with low Madness Enhancement and the characterization you all saw.

Azura: Unique among the FE Fates characters, she had memories from both timelines (no Revelation). Due to Various Reasons (TM), she knows what's going on with the HGW to some degree. Her character arc would focus on her extensive baggage with literally all her adoptive siblings on both sides. If there's one thing I regret about not finishing this story, it's missing the opportunity to properly develop Azura as a character beyond her Ms. Exposition personality in the game.

Xander: Not only does he not take Shinji's crap, he is actively trying to get Shinji to clean up his act. I hadn't decided whether he would succeed.

Sakura: No real plans beyond a reevaluation of her life after Zouken gets removed. At the time, I didn't fully understand her character, and it shows.

Overall Plot

This is where I lay out all my cards. Ready?

Well, here goes.

The final boss of the story was going to be Corrin. (I'm using male Corrin. You are warned.)

Everything really comes down to this. My idea was that Corrin was the winner of the Fourth Holy Grail War, but when he discovered the nature of the corrupted Grail and destroyed it, he couldn't escape Angra Mainyu's curse mud. But if there's one thing Corrin can do, it's take on the curses of others. The one consistent character trait he has in the game is that he never repudiates the hatred of others toward himself. And when he speaks with others, he (very blandly) assumes the best of them, always giving them the benefit of the doubt. He's kind of like a reverse Goetia. Goetia mirrors the personalities of whoever it interacts with while promising to destroy everything they hold dear; Corrin accepts people and wants to help fulfill their desires, even if he has nothing to contribute to the relationship.

I wrote a snip about this, which I will include for completeness.

The Mud and the Empty

The mud fell from the sundered vessel. The ancient curse, formless yet incarnated, streamed forth without pause, consuming all, devouring all. Wherever it touched, the World burned.

For nothing could be when confronted by all the evils of the world. It was the dearest wish of humanity itself. It was the justice of a world without mercy. It was everything. It was oblivion.

Something stood in its way.

I will bear your curse.

By nature, the mud could not acknowledge anything aside from itself. Even had it not been released, the empty soul in its midst held no wish of its own, and would never have been acknowledged by the Grail.

Yet the empty one was not devoured. The mud strained against the island in its sea.

If you are the cause of all the evil in the world...then I will suffer all the hate and vengeance of the world.

I will bear your fury. I will weather your punishment.

In life, his greatest strength was the loyalty he inspired from men and women of all walks of life; how he accepted them for who they were, without prejudice; how he admired their virtues that he did not possess.

Loved by his friends and hated by his enemies in equal measure, he was the companion who comforted without understanding where understanding was unnecessary. He was the scapegoat for the sins of his people and the curses of their victims.

He was all things for all people yet nothing for himself-a mirror of human nature with the wishes of others to guide him. Always reacting, never moving on his own.

Even now, he could only stand and let the mud wash over him, beating at him, and feeling nothing. And yet-

-that world without conflict, which he had professed so ardently to desire-

-that ideal for which Emiya Kiritsugu had sold his soul, but would not use the tainted Grail-

-that dream, of a child with only half his blood in the world of man, compelled him.

He stepped forward.

The curse of the mud stemmed from the refusal of mankind to accept the evils caused by their own sins. Thus, they wished for an evil god, while also wishing to survive. A paradox.

As the empty soul moved forward, the mud tried in vain to take him. Instead, it was drawn inward. The mud could neither corrupt nor possess the hollowness it found.

He bore the curse, all of it. The city still burned, but the mud was sealed inside him. Evil would not take the world of man this day, as one man had chosen, though the choice broke him.

For Corrin, son of the invisible dragon, was himself an existence that granted the wishes of men.

...

Yup. So, with that established, the Fourth War ends with Corrin...eating the mud. From that, he would get an incarnated body, like Gilgamesh did in FSN, but unlike Gil, he would have been corrupted in another way. Not as a Blackened Servant, per se, but he would get an Alter form - Ruler-like, and drawing from an alternate him that embraced his heritage as the son of Anankos. In the crazy way.

Part of the idea was that, after the events of Conquest, Corrin would go on a journey to seek answers concerning what possessed Takumi and what happened to Azura. This quest would lead him to Valla, and Anankos...and he would despair. Corrin Alter would channel this, and have Invisible Kingdom as his primary Noble Phantasm, which would allow him to command the shades of the dead as Anankos did in Revelations and the Heirs of Fate DLC.

The Plan for the plot would have involved Leo luring Team Rin/Shirou/Takumi/Ryoma into an Obvious Trap in a section of the forest outside the Einzbern castle's bounded field, which he would have extensively trapped and filled with hidden Einherjar and Stoneborn (the latter fashioned from stolen manhole covers). With Xander and Azura on his side, he would hope to win, but Kirei has Hinoka temporarily fight on Team Rin's side to keep things even, although when Illya sends Camilla out to play, she ends up attacking both sides in a frenzy. The whole battle would go to heck for everybody, until the appearance of a mysterious water mage commanding semi-invisible warriors would convince Rin to pull out. (Said mysterious mage would be Matou Kariya, brought back by Invisible Kingdom with his water affinity strengthened, and no longer requiring worms to augment his magic capacity.)

The situation would escalate with with Zombie!Kariya killing Zouken, leaving Shinji and Sakura questioning where to go and what to do.

Eventually, this would lead to a confrontation with Corrin Alter in his lair, the chamber of the Greater Grail under mount Enzou. Kiritsugu and Tokiomi would be among his minions.

It would be revealed that Shirou got his special powers/magic affinity from a transfusion of Corrin's blood that Kiritsugu used to save his life, not having Avalon in this timeline. (Think the First Blood item that gives Dragon Vein abilities.)

Corrin Alter would be planning his own twist on the Corrupted Grail Doomsday. As he is already taking on the brunt of Angra Mainyu's curses, the only thing left is to 'save everyone'. Which directly translates into having everyone die and enter Invisible Kingdom.

The remaining Servants would have to team up to defeat and kill him, going through their feelings toward him, of gratitude, betrayal, what have you.

Shirou and Rin would each confront their deceased fathers, coming to terms with the ideals they inherited.

I hadn't planned for it, but Kirei would have shown up near the end to make everyone suffer more, as he does.

The story would end with the Servants vanishing, and the human characters gaining a better appreciation of the darker side of their father figures' ideals.

Side Stories

I had planned a series of side chapters, snippet length, to flesh out the Fates characters and their individual histories. The snips would have focused on a single defining scene from the final campaign of the Nohr-Hoshido war, with Hinoka's, Takumi's, Ryoma's, Xander's, and Leo's taking place on the Conquest route, and Camilla's on the Birthright route. I hadn't planned one for Azura. The only one I wrote was Hinoka's, which I will share below.

The Last Campaign: Hinoka's Side

So this is how I die.

Hinoka didn't look away. She had long promised herself that she would stare death in the face when it came. Her pride and her convictions demanded it. Even if her killer was the one for whose sake she had first taken up arms.

Corrin's Yato flashed. A flutter of red clouded her vision.

"You're dead, Hinoka," he said, his voice as flat and lifeless as his eyes.

He was lying.

Struck by sudden anger, Hinoka rose. "Just what do you think you're do...ing..." The words died in her throat, chilled by the blade of an axe pressing against her skin.

"Oh? Is that a way to behave when my cute brother has just spared your life?" the elder Nohrian princess murmured. "Well, I suppose you were always of a rougher sort, so I can forgive you this once." Hinoka tried to tear her eyes away from the Nohrian's gaze but couldn't. "He seems to think you have a future after all this. Personally, I can't say whether you do. Regardless, watch your steps. Because, if it's necessary, I won't hesitate." The Nohrian gave a smile just reaching the corners of her eyes and drifted back.

Corrin was gazing absently at his still-unsheather Yato, speckled with blood and wisps of red hair. Hinoka's hair.

Is that how he plans to prove he 'killed' me? she thought. Suddenly, she felt very tired.

He looked at her, then closed his eyes and sighed. "I'm sorry."

Hinoka felt a weak urge to laugh. "You say this now?" She almost choked on the words. "You really...don't know what you want, do you."

He nodded slowly, opening his eyes. "I know." His gaze drifted past her. "I used to dream that the whole world could be...like Izumo, I suppose, if I have to compare. No one having to fight. People living with each other in peace, even if they don't like it. But that can't happen. Not in this world...not in my world." He looked back to her, his expression hardening. "You can't stay here."

Hinoka scoffed. "Where would I go? The whole city is crawling with your soldiers."

He glanced behind her. "There are ways to hide a live body."

Something struck her in the back of the head.

Corrin raised an eyebrow. "A bottle? Really?"

Azura shrugged. "It was convenient."

"I see." He turned away. "Hide her among the bodies, as planned."

"...Yes."

In my playthrough of Hinoka's boss chapter, my Master Ninja Azura procced Lethality on Hinoka...with a Bottle. I'm not sorry.

Thanks for your comments and readership. This was the more popular of my two fics on this site by a long shot, and I enjoyed it while it lasted. Goodbye!