Hey there everyone. It's Will S. Lavi, here to give you some news regarding my current situation and the story itself.
First, where have I been since the last update?
I was in mortal combat with college, the online classes and many activities were...stressful. I'm not even joking about the mortal part since I collapsed once during an online class and overall, my health throughout these months had been on the fritz. Thankfully, it wasn't bad enough to warrant a trip to the hospital, I'm not sure my family's budget could cover that given the pandemic and a massive blunder my grandfather made. The latter got all of us relatives strategizing for a way to fix that for the past month and the foreseeable future so there's a need to travel around, which is an obvious risk.
Aside from my academic matters, I have to handle those of my younger siblings because I'm more or less the only viable option as their guardian. There's also the fact that storms had hit the area where I lived one week after another so it's been rather harsh for the family budget. Don't worry, we've risen back with some well thought out investments that ensured we'd get by. Remember folks, focus on yourselves and your family. If you're feeling charitable and have the resources, then give it to those who need it more.
Now, when's the next update?
I wasn't able to write much because of my responsibilities. Too much material *cough* Three Literature Subjects and other Teaching Subjects *cough* needed to comprehend before answering does that and dampened my fire. Good thing I'm finally on Christmas break so I should be able to write but I make no promises on when. I do hope I got release at least two chapters before I'm inevitably whisked away in the next semester by my mortal enemy, THESIS, but the material I'll tackle is more in my field of expertise (Mythology) thanks to the suggestion of my professor.
Will, why the hell is Shirou capable of that?
Normally, I'd say that is BS but then again, so is HF Shirou for being capable of copying and using Nine Lives through Berserker's weapon. To clarify, that weapon is not one he used from actual history before the 5th Holy Grail War and made instead by the Einzberns from a part of temple they used as a catalyst.
Berserker using it in battle was enough to imprint his history and technique within the Axe-Sword which theoretically means Shirou could see and implement the history/technique of Morgana's teacher.
The argument that the weapon should be the one to guide Shirou if that were case is a legitimate point of concern. As he needs the weapons themselves to mimic the techniques and stats, even if he changed his weapon to be like what the teacher used, that should not have been enough.
However, there are certain details to consider. They are Morgana's state of mind, Shirou's condition, and Archer himself.
The first one is simple. I wrote it from Morgana's perspective. Therefore, it is possibly skewed since that is what she assumed. I may have implied that Shirou mimicked it from that but even she stated that it was sloppy and overcompensated.
The second one is about Shirou, his mind and body specifically. It's not quite what it was in the grail war. In the former's case, there is what happened to Shirou's mind in HF Normal End. In the latter's case, he's tall and muscular, with a different arm. Who fits that criteria and whose arm did it originally belong to?
Right, the third one. On a much closer read of the chapter, it might be obvious to see which arm was more accurate in defense and offense. We all know the preferred fighting style of Archer when he is not fighting at range and this bring us to a question that lead me to my interpretation. Is the fighting style of Archer, popularized by fanfiction, really stance-less?
The answer to the last question is a big no. Though I'm not an expert, in my observations of the source materials and its adaptations, I realized Archer's application of dual wield has some similarities to Niten Ichi-ryū also known as the school of the strategy of "two heavens as one". It may sound familiar since it is the famed fighting style of Miyamoto Musashi, who also has a Buddhist name, Niten Dōraku.
Of course, the application of Niten Ichi-ryu in life differs from fiction since this is Fate/ stay night. Regardless, I'd like to point out it is a plausible inspiration for Archer's sword-fighting in universe.
Anyway, could I have written the story better and gave it better pacing?
Yes, I should have and will endeavor to do so to the best of my abilities.
Do I regret writing the story and making mistakes?
No, that's part of the fun of writing. There's always a chance to learn from mistakes.
Thank you for all the support and criticisms you've given for this story. Stay safe and have fun, I bid you all a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays. Till next time, this is Will S. LaVi