Fragment 29 Insight

Christmas could have been its own mini arc at this point, seeing as the past three fragments all happened within the same week. While technically following each other, they still feel like separate pieces thanks to their spotlight servants.

And so we’ve finally arrived at Scathach, one of the most iconic servants in Grand Order. 

I’m sure many were curious why her disposition was different, but I hope this Fragment finally unveiled everything about that. If you looked at all the clues and facts, it was fairly obvious that the reason she became more open and talkative was because of Gabrielle. I simply used the first part of her piece to solidify that idea. I also made sure to remind everyone (as if no one doesn’t know at this point in fragments…) that servants can change over time thanks to their exposure to different circumstances. 

So I took a different approach with her fragment, since she’s a lot more collected and reserved compared to many other servants. Like Kiritsugu, I can see her being content with being around other servants without feeling the need to mingle. Going off that idea, there’s a lot of observing and self reflection compared to most other fragments. This is also coupled with a lack of dialogue, since she would be more than willing (at this point) to just enjoy the atmosphere for what it is and not feel the need to add to it. 

But still, she needed help to show she’s more than willing to openly converse with people depending on how close they are. Gabrielle and Cu make the perfect candidates for obvious reasons, especially when combined with the much smaller interactions with others.

The observations gave plenty of opportunities to present different situations she’s used to seeing, but it let me showcase Christmas through the eyes of someone content with watching. The contrast between Chaldea’s beginnings and its current state, as seen through a veteran’s eyes, could also be better depicted. It helped give some personal opinion on a holiday, as opposed to Halloween which did not have any focused spotlight and remained unattached per se.

And, of course, besides the usual gifts, Christmas isn’t Christmas without its ugly sweaters.

With the youth potion and the holidays fading away, Chaldea prepares to enter its next chapter. But before the next year can properly commence, there’s an elephant in the room that needs to be addressed for the sake of trust, and those who picked up on the clues should be now well aware of the storm that’s about to break in a very unique way.

No guessing needed for next week’s teaser: It’s time to confront Kiyohime.