Fragment 18 Insight (Revisited)

This fragment was originally inspired by watching that related Prillya episode where Kuro and Illya had a cook-off. I realize that, yes, it can be roughly assumed Illya and Kuro see each other as close sisters by the time Chaldea rescues them, but I believed there’s still that often expected thorn of sibling rivalry/jealousy. Emiya might not by the Shirou they remembered, but he’s still their current older brother.

So that’s the angle I went with, and was content to leave. With the help of Jack and Nursery Rhyme, Illya was going to try and win newfound respect from her brother. The competition just happened to have all different flavors of spectacle, from eyebrow-raising to light comedy: A community event that later took out more perspectives while retaining some reveals.

In the revisit, I amped up Illya and Kuro’s interactions because the latter admittedly got pretty gimped and hand waved due to growing length. Now it feels far more in line with what I intended with their feelings.

I made sure Blackbeard’s little reveal remained intact. I found his true depiction in FGO to be disappointing, so back then, and even still, I do what I can to ensure that he remains a cringey otaku yet still shows those clear signs he was a ruthless cunning pirate feared around the world. Cooking was a strange way to do it, but it served its purpose from a different angle.

In the end, Illya’s fragment could have possibly done more to bloom new developments, but it happens later in the series anyway. Again, just a matter of balancing through revisions to bring the early works closer to the line.