The Gift ("Fate/Stay Night" one-shot)

[SpoonyViking]

.

[Leftovers]

A very well-crafted fight. The flow of combat, the use of magic, the back-and-forth between the two warriors - they're all present in just the right amounts to pad out the fic to a satisfying length without dragging it for too long. Character-wise, apart from a general comment that they "feel right", framing the event as a pledge marked by the gift of the pendant and the departure and return to the castle after a year gives it the air of a small episode of myth alike to the scenes about the heroes' pasts in Hollow Ataraxia (this is another way of giving the vaunted TM fanfic praise of "I could readily believe this happened in canon"). Also, previous Cú fanfickery had me convinced this prompt would be executed in some sort of desperate one-against-all battle that he fits in so well, so a more poignant piece was a nice surprise.

Nicely done.

[ItsaRandomUsername]

Thought this was good when I beta'd it, and I still think it's a super solid entry, with creative rune use, tight action, and colorful use of dialect. It was a true pleasure to be part of this!

[Bird of Hermes]

I was the one who made the prompt and I still stand by everything I've said previously, I couldn't be happier with it.

Also the last few lines kill me.

He dropped the amulet to the ground, picked up his spear and walked away, tears streaming down his face.

It would be a long time before he cried again.

[Mattias]

Really fun stuff. Good ending, feels good but bittersweet.

[Draconic]

I remember beta reading this. It's just as good as I remember it being the first time I read it.

I love the interaction here between Scáthach and Cú, and the fight manages to surprise the reader several times despite the seemingly obvious outcome.

And of course, Scáthach's accent is great.

- - - Updated - - -

Thought this was good when I beta'd it, and I still think it's a super solid entry, with creative rune use, tight action, and colorful use of dialect. It was a true pleasure to be part of this!

Seems we both played a part in this. It was just so well done even before doing any editing. It was really quite something.

[Pata Hikari]

Yeah this is great.

Excellent action, great ending. Overall my favorite story from that contest.

[SpoonyViking]

I was the one who made the prompt and I still stand by everything I've said previously, I couldn't be happier with it.

Oh, so it was you! Well, I'm glad you enjoyed your gift. :-)

Thanks everyone for the kind words, and especially to IRUn and Draconic for the beta reading! Oh, and regarding dialect, I owe it to both mirrormoon (for Cú Chulainn's occasional slip into a rougher speech pattern, which inspired me to write younger Cú Chulainn speaking more like a "young punk") and Mew, CanonRap or both for translating Scáthach's Trial Quest's prologue, which inspired me to add a light brogue to Scáthach's speech (very light, because a proper Scottish brogue can be tiresome to read).

[Bird of Hermes]

Oh, so it was you! Well, I'm glad you enjoyed your gift. :-)

I certainly enjoyed it more than Cu did

[Tepanyakigo]

Awesome fight scene! I enjoyed this fanfic so much! Also, the way you write Cu's characterization is good. The vivid battle scene is also great.

[SpoonyViking]

Thanks! :-D

[SpoonyViking]

Merry Christmas, everyone! As a treat which you'll hopefully enjoy, I revised a few things in the fic - small things, this isn't a Special Edition or anything! - and, more importantly, commissioned our very own Castor to draw the wonderful picture near the fic's end! :-)
So, once again, enjoy, and Merry Christmas! :-D

[Pastykake]

Reading this again was a real treat. Thank you for the Christmas present, belated as I am in receiving it. I remembered it on its own, not as a contest entry, so I thought the picture was a legit canonical manga page and thought maybe the picture inspired the story.

[SpoonyViking]

I'm glad you enjoyed the fic again! Thanks for the kind comments! :-)

[SpoonyViking]

Many, many thanks to our inimitable Prix of Heroes (with a silent "X" :-P) for her suggestions, all of which have been incorporated into the fic, improving it immensely! :-) Check out her Carrd page, folks: https://prixsilentx.carrd.co/#commissions. Trust me when I say her work is very, *very* good! :-D

[Skald]

So what happened to the one shot? Because I distinctly remember it being more substantive than a picture.

[SpoonyViking]

It's back up at AO3! Though you need to be a registered user to look for it, I think - assuming I configured it correctly.

[warellis]

It's back up at AO3! Though you need to be a registered user to look for it, I think - assuming I configured it correctly.

Why is it gone here?

[SpoonyViking]

For a variety of reasons, but mostly because I'm bothered by how the forum is set up in such a way that I can't simply delete a post with one of my fanfics - I'd have to ask one of the mods to do so, and they may or may not grant that request. It's silly of me, perhaps, but I'd like to have slightly more control over my works - or as much control as one can have on the internet.

Unrelatedly, I'd post a link directly to the AO3 page, but I'm not sure if that's allowed here? I'll check with a mod when I can.

[SpoonyViking]

Unrelatedly, I'd post a link directly to the AO3 page, but I'm not sure if that's allowed here? I'll check with a mod when I can.

It's not, so I'm leaving the fic open for guests to read as well.
Turns out that and it not showing up on search engines are two different settings anyway. :-P