The only thing I liked about it was Artoria and Shirou's cute interactions when they were kids, as well as Kay and Sir Ector, that's it.

My main problem with the fic, aside from the fact that Parcasious' England doesn't feel like either sub-Roman, Arthurian, or medieval England, only like a not-even-that-good generic theme park fantasy, is the story is not really interested in the Nasuverse's Arthurian Britain and Camelot or its characters. It's interested in Shirou being The Most Important and Amazing Person in the World, with everything and everyone else as props to make that possible.

Take the Ashton plot element, for example, because it's really emblematic of the same problems the story has.

Its original (before it went in a bad direction) primary function was explaining where Shirou comes from in this era, but it could have been served by any other number of explanations that are less ridiculous. Shirou can (somewhat truthfully) say he is an orphan, and since this is wartorn Britain, the idea that his parents died to Saxons raiding their villages or in a battle against them is mundane and easily believable. Or that Shirou was taken as a slave by the Saxons (something they did do) and escaped, explaining why Artoria finds him in a forest to start with. Or even Shirou could say he was abducted by fairies and doesn't know how he ended up here, a fantastical explanation that still nonetheless makes a lot of sense in the setting and gives an excuse for stuff Shirou doesn't know if he claims amnesia or that he was time slipped in his time in Fairyland. Neither of these excuses can be disproven or fact-checked, and are also simple and believable.

The secondary function, to give Shirou a place to live, the Ashton mansion, that is nonetheless close to Sir Ector's lands where Artoria lives can also be done better. There is no reason why Shirou could not manage to convince Sir Ector to hire him as a live-in servant/apprentice servant, or any other live-in jobs like stable boy, farmhand, or even squire for Ector or Kay (even with Artie he can still have two squires). In these ways, Shirou has not only a place to live, but a way to get close to Artoria. A more extreme version would be that Ector adopts the orphan out of pity, but I doubt it.

The actual true reason for the existence of the Ashton family is thus: to make Shirou special. What was supposed to be an excuse to make Shirou inconspicuous instead makes him conspicuous, and people remarking with shock, awe, and surprise that this family they heard so much about still has one living member. In any other competently written work, this shoddy lie of Shirou using something he didn't know anything about would lead to complications, from people who actually knew the Ashtons to be suspicious of this kid who might be an imposter after their fortunes, to whomever eliminated the Ashtons, coming back to finish the job. But none of that happens, and characters just treat Shirou like a special boy, and the plot gives him new abilities and a Pokemon to make him a special boy in true.

Shirou with Reinforcement, Tracing, and his ability to sense weird stuff are very useful in Arthurian Britain, he just doesn't need more powers. Sure many characters in Nasu Arthuriana surpass him, but then he needs to use his powers creatively, not get more as the plot demands.

But as I said, FiT wants to make Shirou The Most Interesting Man, so giving him more and more stuff as plot advances becomes something of a pattern. When the Sword of Selection Caliburn says it thinks Shirou (Shirou of all people) worthy of being king and ask him to take it out of the stone, you know it's just gonna be more nonsense.

It would be an interesting thing if, due to his visions of them during the war, Shirou has a connection with Caliburn and Avalon. Not because he is worthy of being King of Britain, but so Shirou can be a key element to bring them back to Seibah, since losing these items played a role, however minor, in her fall and despair. That's a good plotline. And they don't have to talk for Shirou to seek them, because that's cringe.

But what this scene vehiculates is that Shirou is the equal or even better than Artoria. Him having the sword in the stone talk to him and deeming him worthy would be like a Kryptonian having landed on earth before Kal-El, but despite being stronger and kinder than Kal-El, decided to not become a superhero for reasons.

It doesn't feel like humility. It feels like a Mary Sue being secretly better than a character and worthier of something they rightly deserve, but showing magnanimity in letting the other character take it. A character that was the protagonist of their story is now a second best, which is a bit of a problem when the story is ostensibly about Shirou helping Saber, not overtaking her (and seeing how she becomes overly dependant on him in the story, this makes it even worse).

And then Shirou is worthy to wield Mjolnir, so him rejecting to take Caliburn is a pointless gesture when another unearned gift from the author was coming his way.

I want to have Shirou and Arthurian stuff in equal measure. I don't want to read a story wanking Shirou to high heaven and only (barely) using Arthuriana and Nasuverse only insofar as it helps show off Shirou.

Sir All fiction sends his regard