Fragment 99 Insight

Many of you are probably expecting Fragment 100 to be the special one, but honestly, Fragment 99 would technically be the big 1-0-0 since the prologue counts. That said, both were planned to be pretty nice with their own twists, but 99 gets the win for most sentimental prowess.

I wanted it to be special, but I didn’t want it to be overboard. Regardless, it was best done by someone who was often shown in the background content to watch, photograph, and see things from an outside perspective: George. The FGO canon photographer of the servants. That made his fragment even more special considering, well, that’s my career.

And before anyone asks, yes, that minor cameo character served as my not-quite-Stan-Lee-style cameo. Nothing outrageous or overwhelmingly influential, but just enough to help flavor what should be. Essentially, just another supportive character who plays a tiny role in someone’s new life experiences.

In this case, it’s helping to birth the idea of George’s motivational presentation by planting the seed of thought early: What photos can do. Photos are mere snippets of time. Each one is worth a thousand words, or so the saying goes. Nearly all can forge a story, as those who took standardized creative tests are likely to remember. Thus, what better way to make a subtle recap of everything than to show the servants a subtle recap of the good times.

Many may feel it’s familiar, and you’re not wrong. It’s sort of a spin on the Fragments of Chaldea theme song and video I made last year:

Feel free to play that again and reread that scene if you wish. Obviously some servants have yet to appear because I edited this as an overall mood clip, but I digress. The point is it’s just as much sentiment for you as it’s supposed to be for the present servants. Complete with a name drop.

As a neutral perspective, George also served as a nice way to close the current saga. It wasn’t exactly true closure and an end to the misgivings, but it’s far better than what could have been. Time is essential to everything, and some things can’t be rushed. He still accomplished what he needed to do.

…Only to be reminded that Fate is often fickle, and trouble can loom its head multiple times. Far too many of you have been asking instead of waiting patiently for what was inevitable, but here it is. The CCC supplement falls between this and Fragment 100. I swear though, if any more of you pestered me about it, I would’ve tried to figure a way to delay this EOR further. It was that annoying.

But let’s not end this insight on a sour note. Not when the fragment was purposefully designed to help curve away from the darker tone of recent entries towards newer arcs to come. Maybe still a bit darker and foreboding at times, but a rollercoasters ahs smaller drops after the first big one, no? I still aim to make the ride enjoyable.

Teaser: It felt good to be completely free of the lingering influence of that damn noble phantasm. Sure it was still-

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Nuh uh! Not if I have a say! There’s a lot of you not reading the tumblr answers or the little notes. Tsk, tsk. You would have known like some of the others have. Well? What did I tell you? I wasn’t going to take that long, S-e-n-p-a-i~…