[Hereafter] Chapter CII: Strongest in the World
Added 2023-05-20 15:58:40 +0000 UTCWound up changing the title for this one midway through.
I worried a little bit about the pacing nearer to the end, but the editing team signed off on it, so I let it go. It just felt too short if I cut it off where I thought I might, and I guess I've gotten too used to having these 6k+ chapters.
Coming someday (never) to a story near you: weekly 10K chapters. Am I right? No, of course not, that's too much.
There're a lot of moving parts here near the end. We're not there yet, but it's getting close to the final battle of this Singularity, and although it feels like it's been a lot longer, we're actually still about 10 chapters behind Septem's size. Incredible, isn't it?
EDIT: Moving down.
Comments
Yes, of course. Doing it the way I've been doing it has mostly been a matter of convenience, so if you have trouble keeping track of where the latest chapter for your tier is, I can add a date to the edit. I didn't really think of it before, because I kind of assumed people would access the latest chapter for their tier via the email notification...but I suppose those are indiscriminate, aren't they? The update goes out to everyone equally, not just to those who would be getting access as a result of it.
Caractacus
2023-06-24 19:40:28 +0000 UTCCould you, going forward, put the date you move chapters down in the edit? Because I see the date of the original post, rather than the most recent chapter for me.
V01D
2023-06-24 19:31:49 +0000 UTCI mean, she got the blessing from Posiden, and he likely drew power from the Grail Drake now has…
V01D
2023-06-17 17:49:23 +0000 UTCSo bascially...Taylor could really use Tatts right about now?
Gifted-Monster
2023-05-22 11:48:55 +0000 UTCIt's a factor *we* know is important, but the team doesn't. Back before we knew that she was vulnerable to Poseidon's stuff, we didn't have any idea how to beat her in the Atlantic Lostbelt, and then she takes a hit from someone holding his core — not too dissimilar from Drake's Grail, but also not dressed up as a Grail in the narrative to confuse things — and everyone goes "wait a minute." The team doesn't have that clarity to make things simpler. Drake's Grail isn't just a doodad that might come in handy later, it's a tool that everyone has been making use of for things like food and resources, and Drake herself uses it in a way that lets her damage things she's not supposed to be able to damage, namely Servants, which further confuses the matter. This is one of the difficult balancing acts in fanfiction. The readers have knowledge the characters do not, and sometimes, the things we know feel like they should be really obvious. As the writer, getting that balance right can be really hard, too, because sometimes, you overcompensate for your metaknowledge while you're just trying to make sure your characters aren't figuring things out too quickly. Sort of like the opposite of SB competence.
Caractacus
2023-05-22 05:05:31 +0000 UTCI was trying to remember if she’d told them she got her Grail from Poseidon! But…how is it that literally no one remembered that factoid?
Marc Beans
2023-05-21 16:33:09 +0000 UTCIt's fitting that the Protection of Poseidon isn't very effective against the woman who literally killed him, while alive no less, and is practically running around wearing his heart like a festive hat. Just gotta wait for anyone to actually remember that detail of where and how exactly Drake got her Grail in the first place.
SilverShadows
2023-05-21 14:00:27 +0000 UTCI confess, I didn't see Caenis coming either! But I like the extra tension she adds to the story by being there, because as simplistic an idea as "if you give Frodo a lightsaber, you have to give Sauron the Death Star" is, the basic premise behind it isn't necessarily wrong. Since the team has a lot more at their disposal now than they did in canon, and with that, more ways to solve problems, the enemies should be more formidable to compensate. Caenis was the Argonauts' solution to that. Powerful enough on her own that I didn't need to add more than just her, and an established character already, with an established weakness and personality traits.
Caractacus
2023-05-21 03:31:16 +0000 UTCI want to say, "That's not something that Primordial Runes can do," and then I realized that the FGO team (and Nasu) has been using them to do whatever they want whenever they need something that's too difficult to do with some other mechanic, so you might be more in the right about it. They've already done crazy things like changing a Servant's Class so that Sca can wear a swimsuit. On the other hand, I really don't want to use those runes to solve every problem that shows up, and I'm leery of having Taylor always come to the right answer to a difficult situation. She's competent and experienced, but that doesn't mean she should quickly and easily find every solution, and that can be a hard tightrope to walk. There are things she misses, though, at least in these most recent chapters, on account of not having the bugs for her usual omniscience. Like Hektor becoming part of the scenery for a little while.
Caractacus
2023-05-21 03:09:49 +0000 UTCGotta admit, I did not see Caenis coming. Great chapter. I love how you keep the basic premise of the singularity, but add in additional servants and change it up in a way that makes it yours.
NotSoAwesme .
2023-05-21 02:25:02 +0000 UTCI maintain that I think EMIYA pulled in as much mana at the end as he could and used Rule Breaker to cut off his connection to Rika, and is on a teeny tiny boat he projected and waiting for an opportunity to turn the tides.
Raphael Mort
2023-05-20 20:31:44 +0000 UTCAife uses runes to literally create ground or earth under them, or a bounded field that makes the area they’re in “on land”. Taylor is one thing, seeing as she seems to have lost her creativity and quick thinking at this level of combat without her bugs to elucidate her thinking process, but I would think Aife, an experienced, quick-witted near goddess of war, could realize the potential.
Marc Beans
2023-05-20 20:00:33 +0000 UTCRIP you magnificent bastard Emiya.
Benjamin Mages
2023-05-20 17:12:52 +0000 UTCgood
Hector Gregorio
2023-05-20 16:24:42 +0000 UTC
