Archer

Archer is a mysterious person who can be quite the jerkwad, but he's actually a cool guy.

Oh, and he's also the epitome of GAR, since he's the character that started the whole thing.

His complete application can be found here.

His other wiki page is there as well.

Appearance
I...cannot even describe what-in-the-hell kind of outfit he's wearing.

All I can say is that it was made for a manly guy like him.

TL;DR Abilities
Cheating by imagination and sword spammage, I mean Because Archer is still kind of a magus, he had to train so much on what little abilities he had, namely Projection and Reinforcement.

And, since he is a heroic spirit of sorts, he can revert to spirit form (AKA turn invisible) whenever he wants to, which will then allow him to pass through anything, go undercover, and bypass boundaries that have been set up by mana.

Archer mostly uses swords (and sometimes a shield) when fighting, but they are mostly replicated and use up mana. However, he is also adept at physical combat and sometimes uses a long bow for ranged attacks.

Here's a list as to the things he uses during the UBW route:

- Rho Aias: A seven-layered shield in the form of a bright flower with seven petals that Archer summons occasionally and is used as an absolute defense for any weapon. Each layer is tough like a fortress, so it's enough to withstand against even lances that can pierce hearts in an instant. However, he has to maintain magical energy into it constantly, and he receives damage if one of the layers is penetrated.

-Hrunting: A black sword with a serrated design, even though the one he uses is a replication. Archer usually uses it as an arrow when he has his longbow out (No, I am not making this up. F/SN is weird like that) and turns into a highly fast magical bullet in red light, which will then hunt its target relentlessly, even if it is deflected or dodged. Although, that only works if Archer keeps aiming at the target.

It can also be shot for five times in a row, but with each one shot, there's a bit more mana that he has to put into it, and it takes up a little bit of time as well. However, he can adjust the strength input so that it'll take less time, if need be.

- Caladbolg ll: Another replicated sword that Archer uses as an arrow, its design is that of a coiled blade which can penetrate any target.

- Kanshou and Bakuya: The twin swords that Archer prefers to use in battle; Kanshou is black with a white design that's near the hilt and is adorned with faint, red hexagonal lines, while Bakuya is white with a black design that is also near the hilt. When he equips them, they improve both his magical and physical resistance. On top of that, he can also use them as boomerangs, since they have a bond that makes them attracted to each other, and even if they miss or are destroyed, they will always materialize right back into his hands.

If need be, he can modify the swords with Reinforcement, thus resulting in Overedge.

There is also an incantation carved on the blades, which is thought to be a charm against demons. It reads as follows:

Spirit and technique, flawless and firm

Our strength rips the mountains

 Our swords split the water

Our names reach the imperial villa

The two of us cannot hold heavens together

—Two great men, sharing a life.

- Unlimited Blade Works: Both a Reality Marble (inner world) and sort of a Noble Phantasm (precious tool) for Archer, he summons it only when he really needs to. In order for it to work, he has to say this incantation:

"I am the bone of my sword.       Steel is my body, and fire is my blood.        I have created over a thousand blades.        Unknown to death.        Nor known to life.        Have withstood pain to create many weapons.        Yet, these hands will never hold anything.        So as I pray, 'Unlimited Blade Works'."

A circle of fire appears after that, followed by the surrounding area being seemingly engulfed and replaced with a desolate wasteland; the landscape is littered with replications of the Noble Phantasms (mostly swords, but there's a few other types of weapons as well) he has seen throughout his entire life and is blanketed by a bit of smoke and ember, while the sky has gears in mid-air as twilight approaches the horizon. This will then allow him to recreate any weapon in sight. However, since the weapons are only copies, they can't be brought to their full potential like the original ones. Depending on how it goes, he will either use all of the weapons in the field to pierce his enemy (ala levitation and have them rain down on them), or he will pick up one or two of them for a one-to-one combat.

If need be, he can also replicate shields inside his Reality Marble. However, that usually takes up a bit more mana, so he rarely ever does it. Alternatively, he can still summon a hail of swords without the chant, but he can only spam about 13-20.

He can also cook and clean real well, since he did have to live alone for most of the time when he was younger, and he can make Noble Phantasms be Broken Phantasms (AKA making a regular sword into an exploding arrow of sorts).

Personality
For the most part, Archer is kind of a douche. He's mostly indifferent at anything and everything, even in battle. Cynical and sarcastic, he sometimes snarks a bit, and although he does say some things in order to get a reaction out of them, it can be quite hard to tell if he is serious or not. However, his teasing does serve another purpose: pointing out the flaws and weaknesses of the person he's talking to. He may use it either to mess with their minds, or just to test them for a moment. Either way, he gets some form of entertainment from it, so he's kind of childish in that aspect.

When he's battling, Archer will use whatever means necessary (except if it involves someone he deeply cares about) in order to ensure victory on his part, which does include messing with the opponent's mind in the hopes that they'll lose and switching sides for a bit just to gain the enemy's trust before he kills them. Why yes, he will resort to that tactic! After all, he is the very deconstruction of a superhero.

Underneath that sour demeanor though, he's really an okay guy. At times, he can be kind of a social derp and might not have anything to say, due to the fact that he never talked to anybody when he was still alive and being a hero. But, in no way does that mean he's antisocial, since he will try and chat along with you whenever he can. He'll most definitely help somebody out if they manage to get close to him, and he will even give advice, although it's under a sarcastic guise. However, his teasing will increase a little, and he won't hesitate to poke fun at them at any chance he gets. Yes, Archer can be silly too, so he's not "super srs manly" all the time.

In short, Archer's a tsundere that's really heavy on the tsun, but can be dere on occasion.

Even more TL;DR History
Though Archer doesn't seem to have a past, he is in fact a future version of Emiya Shirou from an alternate time line that won the 5th Holy Grail War. Unfortunately, he was unable to save Ilyasviel von Einzbern a year after the war, which is what he considers his greatest failure during the course of his life. As he was growing up, he realized that he was incapable of saving anybody, so he decided to make a pact with the world in order to become a hero. In exchange, he had to serve humanity as a Counter Guardian after he dies. As he saved countless of people throughout his career, they slowly started to become suspicious of Archer and his motives (although, it was only because he was forbidden to talk to them, as he was using a type of magic that is prohibited by the Magic Association). At the same time, he struggled with the doubts like what his adoptive father, Kiritsugu Emiya, had to deal with during the Fourth Holy Grail war.

The suspicions had finally reached their peak, when Archer became involved in a war and got blamed for the crimes instead. Eventually, he realized that the idea of trying to save people's lives was pointless, so he became pessimistic and accepted the idea that in order to save one's life, another must be killed, even though it went against the view he originally believed in.

Even though he accepted that idea, he still wanted to save people in the afterlife. However, as it turns out, he will only ever be summoned by destroying people that have started the disasters. Eventually, he became embittered that his ideal would continue to be crushed. It was then decided that he would bank on a crazy ass time traveling plan that involved him being summoned back to the time of the Fifth Holy Grail War, so that he could kill off his younger self in order to create a weird-as-hell time paradox that would cause himself to be completely erased from the time stream because he didn't want his past self to experience the same hardships that Archer faced.

The most fucked up plan you've ever heard? Yeah, that's what we thought too, until it actually worked when a young Magus named Rin Tohsaka screwed up the whole process of summoning a Servant by being an hour early instead of being on time. Wait, what does the time have to do with anything, you ask? Well, if she were to have been on time, Rin's magic circuits would've been at its peak, and it would've been a prime chance to get the most powerful Servant class she wanted in order to win the war. Unfortunately for her, since it backfired completely, she got Archer instead. Neither of them seem happy about it, of course.

Soon after, Archer somehow got into a fight with Lancer (how he did isn't really explained, but presumably, Lancer was seeking servants out to test how strong they were on the orders of his master), so they duke it out in the schoolyard. Luckily, when Archer was about to die, somebody interrupted their duel, which would be none other then the main character of the VN himself, Mr. "People Die When they are Killed", Shirou Emiya! A couple of stabbings, healing, and some Servant-getting later, Shirou used up a Command Spell to keep Saber from attacking Archer. Rin showed up later to chat with Shirou, but they don't form an alliance...yet.

And then the story kicks off when Rin, Shirou, Archer, and Saber are walking home from church until they suddenly get attacked by Berserker and Ilya. Archer mostly shot at Berserker for a bit, until he gets to a place far, far away from the cemetery to drive away the huge giant by using one of his Broken Phantasms to seemingly shoot at him (in reality, he was really aiming for Shirou). Amazingly, it actually worked, so Ilya decides to retreat for the time being.

The next day, Rin had Archer escort Shirou after his younger self got injured by Rider. As they walk home, Archer gave him the definition of what it means to be a hero. Predictably, Shirou doesn't like it, so Archer just leaves.

However, when Shirou is being lured by Caster's magic to come to the temple and hand over his Command Spell, Archer showed up once again to save him. However, neither of them still don't like each other very much and got into a little argument because Archer thought Shirou's ideals are plain-out stupid, while Shirou thought that Archer's ideals are whack. Of course, it doesn't end well, as Archer tries to kill his younger self, but he gets stopped by Assassin as Saber and Shirou try to leave the temple.

Some planning hi-jinks and a gruesome discovery later, Archer arrived! Only...he was too late, as Rin, Shirou, and Saber are leaving the school. Not long after, he and Saber got into a little tiff over Rider's death, as Saber thought that it was honorable, whereas Archer thought that it was because she was weak. This caused him to be divided from the others even more.

Sometime later in the route, Archer decided to betray Rin and switched over to Caster's side, before he attacks his old Master. Luckily, she is saved by Shirou and they abscond to Einzbern Castle in order to team up with Ilya. Unfortunately for them, they were too late, as she and Berserker were killed off by Gilgamesh.

Soon after, Shirou and Rin allied themselves with Lancer, so they went back to the church, only to be confronted by Archer. Fortunately, he lets them go in order to fight Lancer. However, he admitted defeat and goes inside the church just in time to sword spam Caster, who was about to use Saber to turn the stalemate over. He also killed off her master, Souichirou Kuzuki moments later. Archer then reveals that it was all just a plan to get Caster's loyalty in order to kill her off. He also reveals that he let her break his contract with Rin because now he could do what he finally planned all along: To kill off Shirou. Of course, Shirou will have none of that, so they got into another fight, while Rin decided to make a contract with Saber, and is now her new Master. Unfortunately, Archer then kidnapped Rin and held her hostage at the Einzbern Castle.

With Rin gone, Saber, Shirou and Lancer are now the only ones left (sort of because Gilgamesh is still out there), they arrived at Einzbern Castle the next day to rescue her. And of course, Archer appears once again to reveal that yes, he is in fact the future version of Shirou, and that the reason he wanted to kill him is out of mercy, so that Shirou won't have to go through the same shit that Archer went through. Shirou, being the VN's main hero, will not stand for this, so he went on to fight his older self, while Saber just watched from the sidelines and Lancer goes to save Rin.

As they battled, Archer goes easy on him, but he doesn't relent on his psychological attacks. Shirou gets nearly defeated by it, until he mustered up all the strength in order to not lose to him and finally got Archer to realize that even though it will be trampled repeatedly, he shouldn't have any regrets about the path that he chose. Finally defeated, Archer then went on to protect his younger self from Gilgamesh's sword spammage, before he supposedly died.

But, all was not lost! At their last moments, when all hope seemed lost as Rin is trapped in a fleshy mass after she rescued Shinji, Archer arrived to bail her out by using his swords and forging an exit for her. He then went on to save Shirou from being dragged in by Gilgamesh by throwing a sword right between his eyes, thus causing Gilgamesh to let go of his younger self and to be sucked into the black hole.

Lastly, after all was said and done, Archer fades away as he went back to his timeline, but not before he gave a truly genuine smile and told Rin to keep Shirou on the right path, which he hoped will change his younger self's future and will finally grant his wish of keeping him away from his ideals.

History at the Facility
Coming soon whenever I don't forget that this is there.

Tropes relating to him at A_Fac
Will add some after he's been here for quite a bit.

Links

 * CR Chart-updated whenever
 * HMD