Fragment 19 Insight (Revisited)

Mashu’s fragment wound up being a strange way to explore her friendship with others. We get light glimpses of it throughout Season 1, but I didn’t quite make a solid statement over how others servants come to see her. This little sick episode was made to hopefully remedy that while giving a few first reveals on who Gudao was going to end up with. By now, I was set on what was going to pan out, and even had some of Season 2 mapped out accordingly.

There was still a supplement to get to though.

One interaction I wanted to cement before then was Mashu’s relation to Arturia; Jeanne too for the FGO Trio poster reference. The King’s inklings were far more vague before, but with more precise translations, I shifted any Camelot viewpoints about her to knowing exactly which servant saved her. It was a rather easy revision, and it even allowed me to add more introspection for her.

Those two were far from the only ones to visit Mashu. With the smorgasbord of visits, I intended to show many have come to see her as a dependable ally and friend, even if she has so many reservations herself. I was careful not to overly establish what readers already knew, but I had to reiterate for the sake of making everything clear.

Originally, there were a striking number of scenes that shifted perspective away from her. Astolfo’s remains a culprit, but it wouldn’t have made sense if I shifted Mashu’s perspective completely over that scene. I figured some exposition or a slight perspective shift here and there could slide without being too jarring.

Looking back after the small changes, it’s a little ironic. I try to limit the number of focuses a character can get, but technically, Mashu has a fragment and co-stars in two supplements. That’s far more than most, but I think being FGO’s star demi-servant means she can roughly get away with it. She did have one hell of a journey that only continues in the Lostbelts.