Fragment 80 Insight

Last fragment was extra fluffy, so of course I was going to have to shake the train a bit with the next one. Not everything is a happy ending in the wonderfully gray world of Fate, after all. It’s unfortunate, but Shiki just had to learn it the hard way. But I made it a mix, because she’s one of TM’s heroines, and she’s been through quite enough as is. Overall, it was one to flesh out her circumstances as a pseudo-servant, as well as showcasing she’s an older/experienced Shiki in her youthful body as per Counter Force shenanigans. Makes for plenty of heart string pulling and diverse introspection.

Truthfully though, it was one of the more difficult ones to write because Shiki is so famously well fleshed out as it is. So, in order to make it interesting, it had to address something curious: In this case her awful circumstances. I even decided to offer a plausible reason as to why she stayed, which may or may not be a giant flag towards what lies much further along the path. It’s vague and flexible though. I like having vague and flexible pieces I may use later.

There was only a small paragraph teaser about the circumstances with Void, but it was more than enough for you guys to get the real gist: She’s baffled at the possibility, and Void is definitely getting her own standalone.

Time for another living cameo though! The unfortunate downside to having a fragment outside Chaldea is it limits interactions with other servants, but opens the doors for scenes with new faces. In this case, some small moments with Mikiya, but a bigger one with Touko. Still the same old with her own curious circumstances and even a plausible figure that can move into the growing town. I just hope I did her fair and Shiki fair justice.

Tomoe plays a rather huge roll in this fragment too while also dropping some teaser bricks for a strange development: How the hell the Onis and Raikou are kinda getting along… or Ibaraki not outright foaming at the mouth around the Minamotos for that matter (and actually listening to two). Again, lots and lots of plausible expansions dropped and teased on this fragment.

Scene V is probably one of my better handlings of scene transitions and setting descriptions. I’ve been trying over time to make it that much more natural, and I feel this is one of the greater highlights. Anyone who’d seen my original descriptions from two years ago would very likely agree this flows well. A technical note, but one I liked.

Teaser: They can say whatever they want about him, but in the end, he always did whatever he wanted to do. That’s how he lived and breathed as a feared name of the sea. It’s a pirate’s way shared among many subordinates in search of new treasure, adventure, and danger… So damn the world. Damn the judgement! Damn the ignorant normies! With their return and a new friend, he could finally truly indulge in the delights of Otaku culture!