Fate/strange fake (Free-Range Spoilers)

[Ronove]

Yeah, I'd agree that the el-melloi classroom is the worst addition to strange fake. Thia already hasn't been handled well at all. Just a moody non-human that hasn't accomplished anything, nor has any discernible motives. Considering Flat was one of the liveliest FSF characters, Thia is a step down where you'd expect an escalation of Flat's arc. I doubt volume 10 will change anything for this character.

But that's relatively innocuous compared to the flip side of this coin. Waver's whole class showing up is a showcase of Narita's worst vice; trying to cram in as much Nasuverse lore to his story at the cost of its integrity. People who read FSF want to read FSF, not Case Files. There is not one reason to care about any of those students in this work, and I definitely don't. If anything, it's jarring to dedicate a chunk of the penultimate volume to these nobodies. It would have made more sense if Waver had been written as Hippo's master. He had been a character from the first volume at least.

[Asch]

I guess I'm one of the few who enjoy the implementation of the El-Melloi Class since it makes sense considering they're the only ones who had a previous connection to Flat excluding Waver who was already barred from going to Snowfield very early on and was on house arrest lmao. Correct me if i'm wrong, but didn't a good few make their introduction in Strange Fake? Like for instance Verner and Org? I never got the vibe that I weas reading case files during their parts. I like that Narita brought back the multiple masters for one servant from the twin sisters who had saber in one of the previous HGW in FSN. I also liked the showcases of Verner's and Org's magecraft that is different from the other magecraft I've seen so far in FATE. The implementation of Paplio Magia for a variety of usage was cool to see, and I like the idea of Org's magecraft being purely defensive and group supportive.

[Comun]

Yes, about half of them are FsF debuts, but even for the ones featured in Case Files, Narita feels a lot more invested in making them cool than Sanda was.

- - - Updated - - -

A development that "feels like Case Files" would be the class jobbing to Thia, or better yet, a guest character from another title.

[You]

I'm pretty meh on Werner but I really liked the Org and Fezgram sections. Those sections very economically showcased how these misfits benefitted from being in the El Melloi classroom and at the same time how that aid is a burden, a curse so to speak.

Compare this to Svin's synonymous section in case files vol 3.

Svin Glascheit kept fighting, taking the role of covering Gray's blindspot.

Truth be told, it was a situation that made him overflow with joy.

Having the chance to protect her was enough to make him want to break out in dance. The pleasure ran up his back in a shiver, and his brain was flooded with the sensation of pure delight.

It had been three months since he had fallen for her.

Was that really love? Even Svin hinself didn't know.

The Bestial Magecraft was a school of magecraft that was practiced widely across the world, but as if in inverse proportion to its geographical distribution, the number of actual practitioners was surprisingly small. As a form of magecraft that appropriated the nature of beasts, it inevitably led to the complete loss of humanity in many. For that reason, families that were able to continue a stable bloodline while practicing it were rare.

The Glascheit family was one of those rare exceptions, but that wasn't because they had conquered that weakness.

Within their line, even of the heir were to be lost to madness, the family's Magic Crest was nevertheless pressed upon them.

At times, Svin felt a sense of animosity towards that crystallized Mystery, that forced inheritance. As an example of phenomenal success within their family, he was sent off to the Clock Tower, and since their family had no strong connections to any of the Clock Tower factions, he was taken in by the El-Melloi classroom.

Lord El-Melloi II saw through to his true potential, and through his help Svin was able to reclaim a number of lost arts from his family's history in Bestial Magecraft...but, he was never able to overcome that feeling of alienation.

Not a magus, neither a human, not even a beast.

He felt just like a drain, a gutter that could never be filled.

Until he caught Gray's scent for the first time. For the first time, that feeling was drowned out by something else.

(...probably.)

Probably, it was because like him, she wasn't used to dealing with people.

Uncomfortable among the living, too weak to embrace death, and deathly afraid of ghosts.

Maybe, all he wanted was to be with her, to lick their wounds together.

That's why he thought, maybe that emotion wasn't love at all. A hunch he just couldn't ignore.

(Ahhhh...!)

"Org Rum…!"

Hearing his name, Org deployed more wheels.

The wheel-shaped Mystic Codes released from his hands rotated in high speeds, displaying magical energy afterimages as it did.
A facsimile of Projection.
The real wheels flew in circles, looking as if they had multiplied, and mixed with the fakes to weave a giant Bounded Field.
But this powerful "cage" of his was less of a magical wall and more of a physical one, meant to reflect any and all attacks coming from its interior.

"It was my sister who inherited the family's Magic Crest and I exist to be nothing more than the training wheels keeping her stable…"

It was thanks to his cage that the mages by his side could maintain continuous fire without hesitation.
They unleashed as much Single Action magecraft as possible, without bothering to aim.
A storm of varied techniques and curses.
But Org Rum's wheels brought everything together, altered the magecraft's quality and composition, and freely bounced back the shots so that everyone's attacks would converge on Thia.

"But our teacher's lessons inspired me toward a new goal… support magecraft capable of making me into training wheels for anyone, not exclusively my sister."

Thia didn't let it show, but he was vexed because he knew exactly how precise of a magical energy control that required.
This man named Org was the same as Flat and Rin—
A student who learned devilish techniques at the El-Melloi Classroom.

Org Rum had once given up on his mage identity.
He came from a family that used a unique magecraft with wheels. Due to a minimal advantage in amount of Magic Circuits and his studious personality, Org was considered one of the best candidates to inherit the Magic Crest. But after many intersecting schemes unfolded, overturning his favorable lead, his older sister Jean Rum was chosen as the Magic Crest's heir.
And, as the family head predicted, Jean Rum was able to draw the full potential of Magic Circuits on the Crest engraved in her. Her forceful yet delicate steering left Org behind in the race before he knew it.
Jean later became known by the moniker of Gale Wheel and regarded as the greatest in the history of the clan of wheel-using mages. And after earning this reputation, she said she'd search for Ivan the Terrible's library and went freelance.
Org knew he'd never be able to reach his sister's level, neither in magecraft capabilities nor in freedom of spirit.
He entered the Clock Tower resigned to spend his whole like as a spare for the case his sister met unexpected tragedy, but there he caught Lord El-Melloi II's eyes.

ーIn the world of magecraft, the wheel has many different meanings depending on the culture and religion… circulation and rebirth, alteration, harmonization, power at its purest, travel and exploration. What you can do depends on the context in which you use yours, but normally… front wheels and back wheels, not to mention additional pairs or training wheels, display greater stability when used in conjunction. Without the option to inherit the Crest, you're faced with a choice. You can take the mapped path of supporting the family head or, using the keywords of your magecraft… you can leave your trail marks on unexplored snow fields. The ability to create new contexts is a privilege of the talented.

Lord El-Melloi II spoke the word "talented" with some level of resentment.
The main weapons his student Org used to improve himself were his naturally studious personality and the extensive knowledge that came from his bibliomania, a habit learned from his sister. Due to those, he managed to leave his marks on untreaded land.
The cluttered El-Melloi Classroom faced all sorts of troubles.
Through his multiple experiences being strong-armed into these situations, he was forced to fight together with multiple mages, and along the way, he naturally left his tracks on the snow.
Time and time again.
And with enough time, the marked tracks become roads.
He perfected a new form of Wheel Magecraft that can support many others individuals with Magic Crests of different lineages, not only his sister, thus reaching the rank of Pride.

Fezgram responded next to her with a bitter smile.

"Though I can't do anything better than just clearing this little mist."

Like his father, his usage of magecraft uncreatively followed the textbooks to the letter. He used it to systematically make Mystic Codes float in a 30 m² area.
While manipulating countless Mystic Codes with the precision of a calculator in his magical energy control, the student who chose to explore the route of taking the by-the-books approach to ground-breaking levels spoke.
For the Sembren family, which specialized through generations in magecraft that delivered shockwaves, his Magic Circuits were an improvement over his father's, but his output had a peculiar quirk.
He was great at controlling countless instances of small-scale magecraft in parallel, but poor at pouring magical energy for one gigantic impact—until he, too, found his answer at the El-Melloi Classroom.
Fezgram's magecraft operated countless Mystic Codes simultaneously, cleverly overlaying tiny shockwaves together to ultimately generate overwhelming force at the target area from any direction of his choice.
Each individual impact he generated made virtually no difference on its own, but their raw energy amplified as they synergized and resonated with each other.
A phenomenon very similar to how in the seas, the impact of waves builds up on other waves to ultimately form a giant wave.
This does more than simply build up power: it slips past Thia's eyes by controlling countless magical energy currents too tiny for him to easily detect—And by converging all the shockwaves at the area Mary pointed to, he creates a dispersive energy that instantly clears away the fog.

"Well, not that I ever expected my magecraft to damage your barrier..."

The moment Fezgram said that, Thia felt his body restrained by shockwaves from every direction.

[All fictions]

Yeah, I will say I disagree, I liked the Class introduction. All other Servant-Master pair are strange, fake, or both in some manner, yet Hippo felt strangely normal. So the reveal of her having 30 Masters was a good one IMO. They are another group, but feel more distinctive than the other group (Clan Calatin) in this war is. Werner and Org especially I liked how they were introduced and how the story showed what they are about and what their powers are and how both tie together. The others, even if there for flavor, showcase the overall vibe of the whole group well, especially in the battle against Thia (Yvette for example is pretty funny in that).

Thia as well I like as an element, especially in his introduction in the 7th volume after various hints in previous ones and how it showed how terrifying he is. His fights with Enkidu and then later Gulaganna I liked as a sort of "ancient superweapons vs. modern/future one". But more than that, seeing this weird creature supposedly only focusing on its role to replace humanity only to try and convince itself it isn't mourning the boy whose body it took over was a good character trait.

I do think there are things about Flat's death that should have been handled differently? I liked the one paragraph in Volume 6 where Svin senses Flat leaving this world, so I think that should have been kept and colored the class' interactions and feelings, that they truly think Flat is dead, instead of showing up and already knowing he isn't fully gone. Likewise, Jack disappearing for so long is pretty disappointing, especially when Thia specifically brings up he is likely the real reason Berserker was summoned, not the toy knife. Interactions between the two, or just seeing Jack grieving or lost after Flat dies, anything. Now it's just really weird how long he has been gone.

[You]

I don't like how there are 30 and you only meet a third. Its going to be like the cops all over again.
El Mellon OBs shouldn't be npc-ing.

[All fictions]

Hey now, the cops are worse! Outside of Orlando, Vera, and John, we get no names at all (or the names we get have no designed faces).

[Kamera]

That's the issue right, they don't really have a firm identity as a group relating to the story of Snowfield grail war. The only ones getting spotlight are some rando that don't have much attachment to the current story or any of its characters. They're all just flashy, superfluous jiggling keys at best.

[L.H.S]

I only hope for that one spear lady to have more screen time cause she's cute.

[jennajayfeather]

I think I had already posted the quote before, maybe even with the same thought process but another instance of Flat having something more about him than just Thia is where after the mixing Jack had a moment that was like "I know its weird for me to ask but just WHO is my Master?" By that point Jack should realistically know about Thia (which I think they always did tbh given how perceptive they are) and pretty much everything about Flat's past because their souls were mixed.

[asterism42]

Having "are you my master" not be a rhetorical question for once would be a kinda cool thing, except FSF already subverted that scene

[Emeraldwolf]

I do think there are things about Flat's death that should have been handled differently? I liked the one paragraph in Volume 6 where Svin senses Flat leaving this world, so I think that should have been kept and colored the class' interactions and feelings, that they truly think Flat is dead, instead of showing up and already knowing he isn't fully gone. Likewise, Jack disappearing for so long is pretty disappointing, especially when Thia specifically brings up he is likely the real reason Berserker was summoned, not the toy knife. Interactions between the two, or just seeing Jack grieving or lost after Flat dies, anything. Now it's just really weird how long he has been gone.

I do feel a bit in the minority as somebody who actually likes Thia, but I do agree I think it could've been handled differently. I guess we'll have to wait to see what Narita does with Jack in Volume 10 to warrant keeping him in his pocket this long, but as of now I think if Jack had somehow survived and allied with Thia, it would've been a very interesting dynamic of Jack getting to know Thia and comparing him to the master he had before, and Thia being stuck with jack due to their magic circuit connection but not really needing him to do what he wanted. After the Main Street fight Jack was pretty weak anyways, so it would be interesting kind of reversing the master and servant roles and how that power dynamic would affect it. Now, I do think Thia's loneliness (or at least, perceived loneliness) is an important part of his character, but there are ways to still do that even if Jack remained I feel.

[CO9p5JMGv!p9]

Thia would've been fine if the series just was less packed in general and he got sufficient focus, but that's Narita's thing.

[Dreamyaarav]

Yeah, I think I'm a part of the Thia enjoying minority too tbh, since I just really like his concept as a whole and think that the idea and scenes he has are generally just super cool. Characterwise he isn't groundbreaking, but I do still like and understand the emotional crux of his arc, although I am ofc hoping that it doesn't come at the cost of proper closure and characterization for Flat and Jack in general.

I don't really know how to fully encapsulate it, but I really do like the Thia reveal as a whole, since it sufficienctly captures and expands upon the hype and mystery set up about how Flat functions and why he is deemed such a dangerous monstrosity despite being an airhead, while at the same time leaving room for us to still question whether Thia is the truly crazy aspect of the two, or whether its Flat himself(with his crazy aptitude and beyond human mentality). I have high hopes that Flat and Thia will have something of a cool conclusion towards the end, even if I am dissapointed that we haven't even gotten a single scene with Jack after Flat's death. I hope we get some more expansion on Thia's role as humanity's successor and his own opinion and thoughts on the subject, but we'll just have to wait I suppose.

As for the El-Melloi classroom... I'm mixed. On the one hand, I think they are absolutely PERFECT as far as the crazy factor goes. No single Master-Servant relationship in this war is normal, and not a single servant isn't absolutely crazy in some insane way, and so Hippolyta being on Alc and Gil's footing by having 30 MASTERS powering her up is absolutely crazy and fits right in I think. Further, I CANNOT WAIT, for some ventual scene where Hippolyta has to make a final stand, and she gets powered by all 30 Command Spells at once. That attack would go so hard.

On the other hand though... they are kinda excessive. Not super well fleshed out for obvious reasons, but also just kinda whatever in general as far as my investment in them goes and not really deserving of that much time dedicated to them. I do think that the concept of having the entire class face off against Thia is an absolute banger, but the fight itself definitely felt a little lame. Svin getting some spotlight was nice, and I do think that them all teaming up was necessary in order to establish how difficult their fight is while maintaining a sense of scale against an opponent like Thia, but I really was just mostly invested in that fight to see Thia and Svin alongside the class's affection for Flat.

I also definitely agree that seeing their reaction to Flat's original death would have been really nice, but atp I'm not really sure how well that could have been conveyed across such a wide array of characters... maybe if they just showed the reaction of the group leaders? Regardless, they've been a mostly ok change as far as Net factors go, I just hope that their major role is done and that most of the spotlight remains on the rest of the characters in the final volume.

[friendly]

I would have to also add myself into the Thia liker bandwagon. I personally don’t agree with him not being fleshed out, as I think his motivations and personality has been neatly deconstructed so far. I enjoy the multiple parallels that he shares…not with Flat, but with Ayaka, as that I feel helps make a shape as to what Flat is supposed to be. Thia and Ayaka both are powerful creatures treated as objects, forced to unexpectedly hit the ground running the moment that something forces them to exist in this world as a human, and that struggle of searching for their identity is a fascinating one that Narita keeps on writing.

Besides, Flat and Thia remind me of a duo from Baccano that I don’t think get much spotlight together aside from a couple scenes in I believe the fifth novel, so I’m pretty happy about it.

As for the Class, I do agree it’s one of the weaker points. I liked the balls it took to do it, but the execution has been a little mid. We’ll see how vol 10 treats them.

[Dark Squirrel]

I wouldn't say Thia isn't fleshed out, just that was is there is boring. Who knows, maybe his confrontation with AYAKA in vol. 10 will be interesting as non-humans who got infectes by humanity. Because his facing the class was ultimately a bore (fun to read, just nothing interesting), and even the Enkidu confrontation ended up being a bust despite the potential (non-human weapons that ended up siding with humanity).

[Shift+CTRL+ALT+Delete]

I like Thia, and I liked the El-Melloi class reveal, but I think they aren't as interesting as they could be. I think the El-Melloi class suffers the most from strange Fake being as packed as it is, and that the series is ending in the next volume. If Narita had a few more volumes to flesh them out, I think they could be really good.

[Emeraldwolf]

I would have to also add myself into the Thia liker bandwagon. I personally don’t agree with him not being fleshed out, as I think his motivations and personality has been neatly deconstructed so far. I enjoy the multiple parallels that he shares…not with Flat, but with Ayaka, as that I feel helps make a shape as to what Flat is supposed to be. Thia and Ayaka both are powerful creatures treated as objects, forced to unexpectedly hit the ground running the moment that something forces them to exist in this world as a human, and that struggle of searching for their identity is a fascinating one that Narita keeps on writing.

In general, Strange Fake is heavily focused on that "struggle searching for identity" with many characters, and that's what I love about it. Sigma, Zealot, Enkidu, Richard, and even Alkeides, plus many more, all struggle with trying to define who and what they are, and it's very interesting looking into how Narita is able to differentiate all of these characters arcs and attitudes despite a very clear similar baseline (there are also an entirely different set of characters who are incredibly set in their identity, who are interesting to compare to these, such as Flat and Faldeus, for example).

I do agree though, I really love the way Thia and Ayaka are paralleled with each other. I've mentioned it before, but Beings Shaped in Man's Image is my favorite chapter of Strange Fake because of how Narita compares and contrasts Thia, Ayaka, and Enkidu's identities and even how they see each other. Not to mention. I also think it's very interesting to look into the parallels between Red Riding Hood and Mr. A and Thia and Flat. I think this is even carried on towards the end of Volume 9 where Ayaka tells Tsubaki she's "not little anymore." Both her and Thia have had a lot of imagery surrounding them relating to more childlike-features. With Ayaka it's much more prominent with the Little Red Riding Hood, but with Thia it was moreso in his physical description describing him to be Flat's body but regressed to its early teenage years, as well as his general attitude we see. I think it's significant though, because we see Ayaka distinctly maturing, while Thia's fight with the El Melloi class really emphasized that, while he may believe he's this 2000 year old being who is insanely strong (and while that isn't false, in an objective sense it is fairly correct), he's really just a lonely kid who's acting out in mourning the only person he cared about. I think with Dumas showing up and declaring Thia the main character, it really sets the stage for him to finally have his own moment of maturity, and makes me quite excited for what Narita does with him in Volume 10. I'd love to go a bit deeper into a lot of the dynamics I see at play with Thia and other characters, but I'd have to find some time to really sit down and type it all out.

[friendly]

I knew a Willard H. Wright Enjoyer would understand me because I too am a Willard H. Wright Enjoyer. It’s like you stole the words right outta my mouth!

[Emeraldwolf]

I knew a Willard H. Wright Enjoyer would understand me because I too am a Willard H. Wright Enjoyer. It’s like you stole the words right outta my mouth!

I guess you could say I understood your heart, even if I wasn’t the one it was meant for.

And then Golden Nocturne starts playing.