Fragment 58 Insight

I know a lot of people were expecting Raikou for Mother’s Day, and it would have been a solid choice, but Chaldea’s currently on a summoning break to stockpile. I did consider it, but I had a better idea for her fragment later on. So it was then an obvious choice to go with Atalanta.

She was never a mother, so I toyed with showing a few ideas. I decided against depicting some of her more trying moments in the past in favor of showing the real defining action: Her impulsive decision to try and cater to Jack like she does Nursery Rhyme. It’s one of those big looming questions that was left hanging ever since I introduced them as a family in Fragment 3. It would have been out of place re-mentioning in almost anyone else’s fragment though.

I imagine because of Atalanta’s wish, despite her occasionally rough demeanor, she would be an absolute sucker for her children. She’d be the parent who endlessly spoils them with gifts and affection and can’t seem to say no, much to everyone else’s exasperation. Thankfully her children don’t take advantage of it too much since she’s their real gift.

I added other interactions with certain characters to showcase more than just her with her girls. While I did design those moments to be sugary sweet, I also endeavored to make sure she shows a few other emotions besides the pampering mom she had become. In particular, the fierceness of the huntress is still shown with Mephistopheles after what he did to Nursery Rhyme, just repurposed into a protective inner fire for her family.

Dropped a few more developments, both serious and comedic. The big one was finally introducing Phantom of the Opera properly while also causing a curious advancement. Servants having issues solved with elixirs is pretty staple in Fragments, but the method of deciding how they do it is always changing. Lancelot was forced, Kiyohime was tricked, Brynhildr agreed, and then you have Phantom who had a rather curious moment to change his mind about doing so.

There was the potential for dropping a hell-load of Apocrypha spoilers this fragment, so I ensured to try and make them as vague as possible just out of consideration for those currently watching the series. I’ll likely make them more specific after the series finally stops airing, but those in the know should understand what I’m getting at easily enough. That said, just reading my work is spoilers for… well, everything, so most should already be aware of that idea.

Next week: No one understood what it was like to suffer under mad enhancement. To be trapped in one’s own mind, having bare influence over one’s actions was… They wouldn’t wish this upon their worst enemies, yet it was their daily struggle in Chaldea.