Fragment 47 Insight

The irony about releasing this Fragment was that I pulled a very late night to fix my sleep schedule… Pre-Work-Trip excitement sucks.

Iskander seems to have this accidental knack for being part of the last fragment before a supplement. It’s not intentional, since this one is his actual Fragment, as opposed to the large part he had in Mordred’s. Unlike that one, I wanted this to feel much more upbeat while maintaining a slight transitional feel towards the supplement. I feel that was accomplished relatively easily.

I wanted to show yet again Gilgamesh does show some respect to certain individuals. Rama was shown to be one earlier, among the other heroic Indian Spirits, but Fate/Zero made it clear Iskander would easily be considered among the count. Though none would be anywhere near friend tier, they would at least be able to discuss with Gilgamesh on rather civil terms. With that building block out of the way, it was easy to move on to the actual fun parts.

There are many ways to torture an OC, but I feel what I do for Tyler is the perfect way to do that. You’ve got the overbearing King of Conquerors who always looks to bring out the best in people… in his own way, of course. Too bad the little prank doesn’t go as intended, but it sure is relatable, isn’t it? I’m sure we all know that one person, or maybe you’re it, that would want nothing more than to nuke their house to remove that tiny spider that got a touch too close. Poor arachnids can never catch a break.

A reader reminded me a while ago Iskander did hold the title of Pharaoh, which I completely forgot about. Shame on me, especially since he’s my second favorite and he was involved in Nitocris’ interlude about this very topic. I simply waited until his fragment to show it considering he’d likely be with others he’s closer with on most occasions.

I’ve introduced a lot of servants over the past several fragments, but most barely got screen time. I’ll be remedying this issue in Babylonia and the next set of fragments, but at least Shuten gets her first slice of life interaction. For the festival-loving servant who has endless food and alcohol indulgence, I feel she would take a big liking to games of that caliber. Just Dance easily comes to mind for breaking that ice, but like Mordred and Cu, she’s only an occasional visitor compared to the real core.

I included plenty of Waver & Iskander interactions because it’s only to be expected. While straightforward, I think I did a fairly decent job of depicting the growth in their friendship, and how there are still nostalgic consistencies.

I also added a small tip of the hat to the Extella War while showing Iskander’s other means of taking on worthy warlords. Too bad Nero hasn’t figured out how to apply Imperial Privilege to help her dice rolls.

Next Fragment won’t be for a long while, but I thought 47 would leave everyone with a good feeling since it was almost pure Slice of Life. I hope you all are ready for a shift in tension, because Babylonia is going to bring the drama in spades!

… In three weeks’ time, of course. I have actual career stuff to do.

P.S. – Had some issues imagining the dance moves the group had to do with Shuten? Here are the videos!

First Song:

Second Song: (Can you imagine Waver and Iskander attempting to do this?)