velshtein | night lights

OH MY GOD THE MOTORCYCLE PORN. IT WAS FUCKING GORGEOUS. This episode has one of my favorite titles: "Knight on Two Wheels" and it's so perfect and all the motorcycle sequences were perfect and Saber is perfect and aaaah. ♥♥♥ (OH GOD I HOPE THE ANIMATION BUDGET WASN'T BLOWN UP FOR THIS BECAUSE NEXT WEEK HAS SOME STUFF GOING ON THAT REALLY REALLY DEMANDS VISUAL AMAZING...NESS.)

Lol this guy. This frightened young man is Matou Byakuya, Kariya's older brother, who would have been the one to participate in this Grail War if Kariya hadn't come back:

Byakuya could never understand why Kariya, who had been disowned by the Matō house a long time ago, had returned to his homeland and gone so far as to participate in the Heaven’s Feel. He didn’t even want to understand it. He couldn’t thank his little brother enough for having changed his mind. Had he not returned, the one reduced to such a state and forced to participate in the Heaven’s Feel would have been not Kariya, but Byakuya himself.

Whenever he remembered that figure, black like a vengeful spirit, that Kariya had summoned using the Summoning Circle and signed a contract with – Byakuya could only use alcohol to numb himself, to get as far away from the terror he felt then as possible.

How could anyone stay sane when he knew there were 6 other such things slaughtering each other in the night while devouring human flesh and blood? The current Fuyuki city was an authentic demonic realm. Alcohol was the only thing he could rely on to keep on living in this place while maintaining a calm mentality.

His only child Shinji was sent overseas in the name of studying. Byakuya himself was strongly against staying in the present Fuyuki. However, he had no legitimate reason to leave the Matō mansion. Zōken had given him the task of acclimating the little girl adopted from the Tōsaka house to the underground worm storage and training her to one day be worthy of becoming the next head of the Matō house.

Yes. Byakuya had already completed his task to near perfection as the current head of the Matō house. Zōken’s original plan had been to sit aside and observe this Heaven’s Feel anyways. After all, Kariya was simply a toy played in that old magus’s hand. Byakuya was the only one in the current Matō family who was walking along the right path. It wasn’t a matter of the number of Magic Circuits. Even if his abilities were only good enough to defeat a small child, Byakuya still firmly believed his path was the only one that could truly connect to the future of the Matō house…

He said this to himself and continued to gulp down large mouthfuls of liquor into his stomach while despising his little brother.

Becoming a magus of the Matō house meant becoming the puppet of Zōken – the mastermind controlling everything behind the scenes. Because Byakuya understood this, he had no sympathy for Kariya, who had once left the family but foolishly returned and willingly became the foster bed for the Crest Worms. He never had much familial love for his little brother to begin with. Kariya had talent that far surpassed his older brother, but left the family and forced the cursed destiny carried by generations of the Matōs all unto Byakuya. How could he feel sympathetic toward such a man right now?

This whole family is such a mess. :(

OH MY GOD THAT SMILE.

DISCOVERING A TALENT FOR THEATRICS, KIREI???? OH MY GOD LOOK AT HIM.

Also Kirei's story for asking Kariya for help was skipped over:

Exactly what did this priest intend? — It made Kariya’s heart very troubled to not be able to discern his true intention all this time.

Though Kotomine Kirei had once been a disciple under Tōsaka Tokiomi, for the sake of participating in the Heaven’s Feel he had split ways and become a Master—a hypocrite. But from the perspective of the Matō family that had also participated in the previous Heaven’s Feel, the collusion between the Tōsaka house and the Church had long been known. In this case, it was also obvious without needing to be said that this son of the Supervisor, who was also an Executor of the Church, had summoned Assassin as Tokiomi’s lackey.

At noon today, Kirei had actually come running all of a sudden to knock on the door of the Matō house, saying that he hoped to discuss the establishment an alliance. According to him, the responsibility for Supervisor Kotomine Risei’s death fell on Tōsaka; as the man’s son it was necessary for him to avenge his father, and so he wished to use the hand of the Matōs to kill Tokiomi.

Although Kariya knew that this intention was suspicious, the conditions laid out by Kotomine Kirei were truly too alluring to him.

Not too bad of a story to believe. Of course the extent of how much Kariya wanted to kill Tokiomi helped a lot.

RIDER LISTEN TO WAVER. SABER JUST CHASED THE SHIT OUT OF YOU, DON'T FACE HER UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL.

Waver holding on to Rider's cape is adorable though.

THESE TWO

ARE SO CUTE TOGETHER. I may never be Rider's biggest fan but my heart turns to mushy mush with Rider/Waver. ♥♥

GRANDPA BUGS YOU REMAIN THE WORST.

SO MUCH THE WORST THAT KIREI IS KIND OF GROSSED OUT BY YOU AND HE'S APPARENTLY TRYING HIS HARDEST TO BE THE WORST TOO.

"GROW YOUNG KIREI. GROW IN YOUR HORRIBLENESS AND THEN YOU CAN TRY TO POKE ME WITH YOUR JESUS SWORDS."

There was also quite a bit of their conversation cut. Which, you know, is mostly fine because of time restraints EXCEPT FOR THIS BIT:

“I don’t quite understand. Isn’t the Matō house also one of the Three Noble Families of the Beginning, one that craves the Holy Grail?”

Hearing Kirei’s question, Zōken gave a cold snort.

“I think the Tōsaka son and those of the Einsbern house are all idiots. If they remember the details from the last battle of the previous war, then they should understand that there is something odd with this fourth Heaven’s Feel, and be alert towards it.

"I saw through the battle for this round from the start. Truth be told, just by looking at that despicable Caster at the start of the War, we should have been able to tell that the summoning didn’t call forth a Heroic Spirit, but an evil spirit far removed from heroes. Without a doubt, something has begun to err within the Heaven’s Feel system. We need to solve this problem first.”

This odd man, who had overcome ordinary humanity, had likely been present in every single Heaven’s Feel. This man Matō Zōken had grasped something that even the previous Supervisor, Kotomine Risei, had not known about.

So there does seem to be something wrong with the Grail System, this time around. I WONDER IF THAT WILL COME INTO PLAY LATER?????

YES. YES YOU DID. RIP GORDIUS WHEEL. YOU AND YOUR BULLS WILL BE MISSED PROBABLY. Poor Waver having to walk all the way back.

Oh Kariya. This scene was one of the ones I was most apprehensive about because it was upsetting enough in the novels and having to see it alskjdaklsd. GEN UROBUCHI WHY.

;; I think one of the things that upsets me the most about Kariya is that he was introduced as someone who walked away from all things magic/bugs/grail. He got away from his insane family and was living a happy and peaceful life. AND THEN CAME BACK BECAUSE HE LOVED SAKURA AND RIN AND AOI AND SLDKFJSLKDFJSLDKF. ;; AND OH GOD SPEAKING OF RIN. ;; KIREI YOU ARE THAT GIRL'S GUARDIAN, GIVE HER A PHONE CALL AND MAKE SURE SHE EATS DINNER. Poor Rin.

HEY TEAM ASSHOLE. YOU GUYS ARE LUCKY I LOVE BOTH OF YOU SHITHEADS SO MUCH.

GOD LOOK AT HIS FACE. ♥♥♥ Kirei, your life coach finds you adorable.

Oh Kirei. WELL AT LEAST YOU ARE FINALLY LIVING FOR YOURSELF AND DISCOVERING WHAT YOU LOVE. THERE IS THAT. ♥