Crimson Beauty of The Crescent Moon (Fate/Grand Order)

[Always Late]

A sudden fusillade of shots hit the dolls, sending three sprawling on the floor as blasts of lightning hits them head on. The fallen man looks at his saviours. A line of police officers, armed with muskets unlike any he had seen. Leading them is a man, heavyset with thick moustache, armed with a revolver and a sword as he charged forth. The officers behind him followed suit, the bayonets on their muskets glowing red.

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Magecraft. Lightning-shooting muskets and Reinforced blades. This must be the work of Tesla. Which means he's on the side of humanity. Unless the person responsible for the equipment is Edison, then Tesla's definitely a villain.

"Citizen, it is not safe. Why are you out here?" The main officer said, eyebrows quirking as he reloads his gun.

"I- My family needs food Sir. We ran out of the supplies two days ago and well-"

"I thought so-" He sighed. "Miller and Derek, escort this man to his family and then get them all to Walham, at the edges of this engulfing madness." Two of the officers snapped in a salute before they lift the man up.

"Thank you, Sir."

He snorted. "I am no Sir. I am merely a servant of the public. Now go, pack your belongings and move to a place more safe than... this."

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... Calling out the names of the officers may be a bit conspiratorial. But Walham is likley Walham Green, a show of just how far out the perimeter of the Fog has pushed.

As the civilian went on his way, the leader of the men allowed himself a deeper sigh.

"Abberline, sir? Is it truly wise to do split up with all these bloody Marionettes around the way?"

"It will have to be. There are more civilians on our round to corral. Those two are good enough to escort a family." Especially, left unsaid, due to the armaments and raiments they now wield and wear. It would be unthinkable just a week ago but now? Now he can push the fight to these inhuman beings.

"Let's go, we have a patrol to run." And with a chorus of yesses, Frederick George Abberline moved through the fog clad town.

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Frederick Abberline. Yes, it makes sense. The man was a consummate and professional civil servant. Given he was known for his extensive personal knowledge of the goings-on around Whitechapel, and being somewhat personable, I don't envy his reaction to the second worst designed Servant Type Moon ever put out.

"I must say, not-so-old 'chap. This is an unusual meeting."

"Indeed. But this is an unusual situation." Sherlock Holmes nodded at his adversary's words. Directly behind said adversary, his confidant stand ready, in case this meeting turns sour. Or, more likely, for if a third party intervenes.

"Well, which particular fact would you remark, oh detective?"

"A personal curiosity then. Pray tell, James, why are you three decades younger?" Indeed, top to bottom, the Napoleon of Crime is not an aged mastermind of evil. Not on the surface anyway. A youthful man with sliver-grey hair is youthful. But the eyes, his dull-blue eyes, radiates a sharpness most severe. One that indeed, matched the sharpness of the clear-brown eyes of the detective.

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Ah. So Holmes and Moriarty are involved, with at least Moriarty being a Servant.

We're going to be getting Fate!Prototype Hyde, aren't we?

"And I remember Batavia yes." James Moriarty steepled his fingers, resting his digits on his chin as he leaned back on his chair. "So now, what do you want us to do? My men are busy. This fog is bad for business of all sorts."

"Then I am here for the business of the Clocktower."

"Really now? I only have one eye open to the matters occult, you know that. Unlike you, I do not concern myself with the affairs of the Moonlit World more than necessary."

"Yes, I know." He merely looks at the criminal mastermind.

"...Very well, what do you want to know?"

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Oh right, in Fate-verse Sherlock was a kind of predecessor to people like adult!Waver or Kiritsugu.

"Not now. I, for one, consider our rivalry a stop in the face of extinction. My cards on the table first. The Clock Tower is assailed. By a bunch of spirits and monsters and more. At the helm is a Russian Magus who you may know by the name Zolgen. He is invested in the effort to crack open the stronghold of thaumaturgy."

"And failing."

"For now. I know you enough that you have your theories on what the damn Russian seeks or what the Clocktower might pose to his plans. But putting that aside, what you might have known is the fact that there's a mysterious benefactor of a sort aiding the Yard."

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Aside from Zolgen wanting something to help with Heaven's Feel, or stopping something that can shut him down, we know there's at least Tesla or Edison out there. But that begs the question of who else is with them.

"Fair." Moriarty concedes. "Then, what you want to know is-"

The roof falls in an explosive blast and in a smooth motion, three things happened at once. The first is the near-death of Sebastian Moran, a thrown knife lodging itself in his chest with the force of an elephant's trample. He slams to the wall behind, managing to only fire a single shot that, even with his skill, only grazed the tattered fabric of his assailant, features too indistinct under the cloak they wear.

The second and third happened simultaneously, as Sherlock Holmes, the Detective of Baker Street, thrusted his bladed cane at the assailant, impacting with a meaty crack that sends them flying out the windows... as the walls promptly exploded into splinters with the clattering of Marionettes rushing in by the dozens.

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So the plotline of Sherlock hunting Jack The Child is still on. Only with Jack acting far more intelligently, likley under the control of a Master or the Demon Pillar.

"Well, I was waiting for this actually." He said as if the weather was the topic. He lifts Moran up, taking care to not agitate his wound. "Your destination would be the Bethlehem. There is a gift and a clue waiting for you there. Now leave!"

"But-" Sherlock looks behind him, at the youthful figure and the injured marksman.

"We are not maidens, Holmes. Besides, have you not heard of the luck of the Irish? Leave." That is a command, the detective knows. With nary a word, he does so, thinning the herd, if only to give his adversary a fighting chance.

He can do at least that much.

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Bethlehem Royal Hospital. An insane asylum infamous for its highly unsanitary conditions and maintaining funding by encouraging wealthy and noble-born visitors to gawk and pity the mentally ill. As well as "illustrate morals" to people. And yet, removing the freakshow element made the staff behave only worse towards the patients.

If Holems doesn't find Hyde, Nightengale, and Edmund Dantes in there, I'll eat my hairpin.

"No~ But I really want to say that at least once and see his conflicted expression. To see that he cares. How unlike him."

"Maybe, Professor, you should consider the fact that you and him have been at this cat-and-mouse routine for thirty years and haven't finished one another." Cutting off whatever rebuttal his boss might have, Moran continued. "Besides, even I am perceptive enough to know what you mean by your saying. The Irish," He said as he spit a gob of blood. "is meant to be fools in that saying. That only the greatest of lucks can help fools."

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Heh. Even Moran jokes about the two having a hell of an asexual relationship.

"Plan C." The Marionettes rush at those words, whatever it was that held them back is no longer there. Three dozen of them rush in, the clattering of limbs sounding slaughter for the two.

Unfortunately then, the only slaughter that comes is ones that comes for them.

And for the first time in three weeks after the Siege of London starts, a light shines through the fog from the direction of Walworth Road.

When what few responders the Yard can spare arrives, all they see is a smoking and charred ruin of where the block used to be.

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Ah. So Moran is also part of Moriarty's Servant status. And they have enough power to obliterate an entire city block. I suspect Mortiarty's a Rider Class, as they bring the biggest bang for the Noble Phantast buck and are often the ones to have summonable minions.

 

[Shade31415]

Ah. So Moran is also part of Moriarty's Servant status. And they have enough power to obliterate an entire city block. I suspect Mortiarty's a Rider Class, as they bring the biggest bang for the Noble Phantast buck and are often the ones to have summonable minions.

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I don't remember where I read it, but I think it was said that

Spoiler

bar the Shinjuku fusion mess, Moriarty would actually be a Caster, not an archer

 

[Vocalend]

Well alright then. It's going to be a while before we see if London still stands.

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When you think about it, most of the Singularities are, for lack of better word, destructive. Most of northern France is a charred ruin with Orleans being represented as a blasted hellscape being not an egregious example because when you take things implicitly, Camelot had the Lion King basically flatten and replace Jerusalem with her shining pillar of light.

Even then, the physical changes are not permanent, only the deaths are.

...Which is- well, if we take London Singu having consumed... let's be generous say half of Inner London in 1888 and basically murdered every human to walk outside the confines of their home, completely without food, that would have a death toll of upwards of two million Londoners. Which, while not enough in itself to destroy the Foundation of Humanity, is definitely the sort of thing that shakes the worldly psyche.

As you might imagine, there is a bone in me that wants to rectify this genocidal plothole into something more understandable, because the alternative is well, what I said above, innit?

I don't envy his reaction to the second worst designed Servant Type Moon ever put out.

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What's first worst?

Also, I can confidently say that the last of these Interludes might not even be half as long as this, mostly because America Singularity is all about warming up. As a hint of sorts, however, I will say this much. What exactly, at its basest reading, is that Singularity about?

I will leave you all with that question as I go to bed.

 

[Shade31415]

What exactly, at its basest reading, is that Singularity about?

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Isn't it Presiking Lion Edison and assorted Hodgepodge of servants against Medb and her Celtic Fantasy troop + Arjuna?

Judging by the blurb, people probably aren't there to reign in Edison and he goes over the line. Either that or the Presidents have a greater influence.

 

[ArvisPresley]

What's first worst?

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Altera tbh

 

[Shade31415]

Edison was already toeing the line in canon where the war is at a stalemate. So the Celts could be winning and making Edison and the presidents significantly more desperate and driven to win.

 

[Finagle007]

Even then, the physical changes are not permanent, only the deaths are.

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Not all of them. All of the people who died in the Sixth Singularity were retconned to live once the singularity was resolved, due to the immense distortion caused by the impossibility of an incarnate goddess long after the Age of Gods. And while those who perished due to the Demonic Beasts in the Seventh Singularity stayed dead, those who were killed by or turned into Lahmu (including Siduri) were restored afterward, due to the distortion of Tiamat being something impossible to reconcile with the proper course of history.

(Ironically, Gilgamesh stayed dead afterwards, despite being killed by Tiamat herself.)

 

[Shade31415]

Does anyone think we'll see Watson in London?

 

[Always Late]

What's first worst?

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Let me put it this way: A skimpy-dressed loli is abhorrent, but not exactly original. But we all know what Type Moon did, what utterly offensive joke they dumped new life into, when they pushed that idea out the door in Fate Apocrypha.

As a hint of sorts, however, I will say this much. What exactly, at its basest reading, is that Singularity about?

I will leave you all with that question as I go to bed.

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The dreams of less than perfect visionaries taken too far, if we're comparing Medb and Edison. But there's also the matter of Nightingale...

Isn't it Presiking Lion Edison and assorted Hodgepodge of servants against Medb and her Celtic Fantasy troop + Arjuna?

Judging by the blurb, people probably aren't there to reign in Edison and he goes over the line. Either that or the Presidents have a greater influence.

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We know it means some president turns dictatorial. But 'a pledge, broken'... it's gotta be either something with Medb or Nightengale going utterly batshit. Medb's wish was rule alongside 'a wicked monarch similar to both myself and Cú Chulainn.' She was genocideing the US just because it was strong, and her MO is crushing strong men beneath her foot for her pleasure. But that's not a pledge. Medb's as manipulative and dishonest as they come, while Cu Alter is the closest thing a Servant's ever gotten to the inhuman monster of Riastrad, a perpetual killing machine that only sees his purpose as killing his way towards something that will kill him. If she discards Cu Alter or if Cu rips her apart, it's just them acting in accordance with their nature.

Alternatively, Nightingale made a pledge. To never commit any harm. To always fight death in all its forms. To bring people happiness. And yet, what do we know Nightingale in FGO for? Being a Berskerker. Being so insane she sees only her 'leader of the army' as existing beyond voices of her own mind. Claiming with full honesty, "If it is for the sake of saving lives, there is no problem in losing lives." That enemies are to be saved and given treatment, even if they must be stabbed, sliced, clubbed, and shot to death. I do not believe it is an exaggeration that such strongly-held beliefs that contradict each other is beyond even Shirou Emiya's worst moments. And we've seen what happens when he truly gives up, knee deep in the blood of the innocents he's slaughtered.

So what demon will make hell on earth when the Angel of Crimea stains her wings black in blood and commit herself to ever greater, ever more efficient, heights of industrialized modern warfare?

 

[taovkool]

Not all of them. All of the people who died in the Sixth Singularity were retconned to live once the singularity was resolved, due to the immense distortion caused by the impossibility of an incarnate goddess long after the Age of Gods. And while those who perished due to the Demonic Beasts in the Seventh Singularity stayed dead, those who were killed by or turned into Lahmu (including Siduri) were restored afterward, due to the distortion of Tiamat being something impossible to reconcile with the proper course of history.

(Ironically, Gilgamesh stayed dead afterwards, despite being killed by Tiamat herself.)

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Not true. All those that died in the Singularity will die another way. For example, say that a guard got eaten by Lahmu and died in Babylonia, when the Singularity ended, that guard could die from getting hit by a cart or getting a heart attack or something along the lines of that.

There were those that survived in Babylonia by taking shelter inside the ziggurat. Some eighty something people I think. Gilgamesh the Heroic Spirit passed away watching them left the ruins of Babylon.

 

[Always Late]

Not true. All those that died in the Singularity will die another way. For example, say that a guard got eaten by Lahmu and died in Babylonia, when the Singularity ended, that guard could die from getting hit by a cart or getting a heart attack or something along the lines of that.

There were those that survived in Babylonia by taking shelter inside the ziggurat. Some eighty something people I think. Gilgamesh the Heroic Spirit passed away watching them left the ruins of Babylon.

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I think the sticking point is more... how quickly the deaths happen. Almost a quarter of London in the late 1800s suddenly dying within days or weeks of each other is utterly unprecedented and a massive deviation from history. To 'spread out' those deaths over a period of time would be so lengthy as to very closely resemble the normal timeline already, at which point one has to beg the question of what the whole 'death justification' snapback timeline mechanic actually does.

 

[taovkool]

I think the sticking point is more... how quickly the deaths happen. Almost a quarter of London in the late 1800s suddenly dying within days or weeks of each other is utterly unprecedented and a massive deviation from history. To 'spread out' those deaths over a period of time would be so lengthy as to very closely resemble the normal timeline already, at which point one has to beg the question of what the whole 'death justification' snapback timeline mechanic actually does.

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Technically, there was a lot of deaths attributed to the Great Smog of London. 12.000 people died during the course of four to five days. I'd say it's pretty historical.

 

[Always Late]

Technically, there was a lot of deaths attributed to the Great Smog of London. 12.000 people died during the course of four to five days. I'd say it's pretty historical.

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But that's the problem. That's in 1952, there's nothing remotely close to the 1880s that killed over two million people around London.

 

[hYGP]

coughing in waves of plagues

 

[RookDeSuit]

coughing in waves of plagues

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There's a plague which in a twisted way is understandable and then there's mechanized murder dolls and spontaneous death. One has a framework in which people may comprehend and the other has no framework.

 

[Xexilf]

Some of the more ancient singularites can probably be made to have the deaths fit into history, but london is ridiculously worse, probably the worst.
To have London, one of the centers of human civilization in that day, lose like half its population in a short time... basically, to keep history even vaguely on track from that, youd need such amounts of copious realitywarping you might as well not bother to make a difference between it and the deaths not happening/being undone. Because youd need decades worth of the deaths of a million people being ignored by the entire world, and to have everything they would have done (including having children) magically happen anyway.

 

[Namer]

Honestly of the original singularities, London would be my least favourite if not for all that stuff with Solomon at the end. It basically ignores everything fun or interesting for romping around the city with Mordred to a bunch of different locations, then culminating in a a running battle with a bunch of people who just showed up out of nowhere for the heck of it.

Chain summoning is easily one of the worst mechanics in Fate.

Magecraft. Lightning-shooting muskets and Reinforced blades. This must be the work of Tesla. Which means he's on the side of humanity. Unless the person responsible for the equipment is Edison, then Tesla's definitely a villain.

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Both Edison and Tesla are physically alive at this time, so their presence will be interesting. In fact, they were actually both present in London sometime or other during the 1880s.

Some of the more ancient singularites can probably be made to have the deaths fit into history, but london is ridiculously worse, probably the worst.
To have London, one of the centers of human civilization in that day, lose like half its population in a short time... basically, to keep history even vaguely on track from that, youd need such amounts of copious realitywarping you might as well not bother to make a difference between it and the deaths not happening/being undone. Because youd need decades worth of the deaths of a million people being ignored by the entire world, and to have everything they would have done (including having children) magically happen anyway.

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Those deaths don't necessarily have to be immediate, you know. A good chunk of the people who died in the Singularity will probably go on to die at Verdun or the Somme instead.

 

[Xexilf]

Those deaths don't necessarily have to be immediate, you know. A good chunk of the people who died in the Singularity will probably go on to die at Verdun or the Somme instead.

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If thats allowed, im not sure how it even matters. These people that die in the singularity will die in real history... at some later point, just like every human ever.

Its not like anyone not supernatural would live the 140 years to chaldeas present.

 

[Always Late]

Those deaths don't necessarily have to be immediate, you know. A good chunk of the people who died in the Singularity will probably go on to die at Verdun or the Somme instead.

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... You do know those're forty years away, right? And no army outside the desperate sends people over forty to be enlisted infantry.

Seriously, even putting aside Xex's comment that's very ignorant.

 

[Grue]

IIRC it is actually canon that the deaths get 'spread out'; I think it was something along the lines of it resolving as 'damage to the era'. I'd have to go cite-hunting if I wanted to argue further.
Regardless, it only really matters if Ritsuka and Hinako get into an argument over saving people in the Singularity.

 

[Vocalend]

A takeaway that can be had from this topic is that this is a plothole that takes some thinking to resolve. The deaths, after all, have to matter- at least in a calculus of things. They can't be handwaved away but at the same time, the battleground being London makes things tricky. Because it does make sense to attack it, but with the methods as is — the Demonic Fog — it pushes the envelope of the whole 'death justification' mechanics.

Chain summoning is easily one of the worst mechanics in Fate.

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Arguably, it is bad more so because of how it is presented in London than anything else, I think. It needs a proper setup, not just any sort of end-game thing that comes out of left field. Or if they do, definitely not something crucial to the resolving of the arc.

Regardless, it only really matters if Ritsuka and Hinako get into an argument over saving people in the Singularity.

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So you mean when, right?

Also, as usual, I am more or less not going to say much with regards to the speculations. The last interlude should be up 'today' — that is to say in 24 hours from now — barring RL emergencies.

 

[guisniperman]

...Jack? Stop trying to stab me while I put you in a Blanket Burrito. This is cuddle time, not stabbing time.

 

[Vocalend]

Here and now, you will see a man be condemned.

Here and now, he walks to his gallows. Willingly, he strides through an assembly of those weary and fearful of a world that is changing. How could they not? They feel, more than see, the changes wrought to the continent they live in. From coast to coast, the world expands.

And coast to coast is all that remains.

The landmass that will be known as the United State of America is sealed off. Its inhabitants knowing only that it remains the sole nation in God's green earth, that their nascent nation is all that is left. And once more, they would feel rather than see the untapped potential of their lands and how to utilize them.

And they would see what they perceive as snakes on the sole garden of the world. They would and have seen the shapes foreign and unnatural. And they would fight the invaders...

...and lose. And so as they prayed for salvation, he comes to answer.

The condemned one.

A white lion stands atop a podium in the Independence Hall, addressing the assembly with assurances and promises. He accentuates his stance with the golden cup he held in his hand, of his plans to rid the nation of its ails and more. And the first in his plan is to take on the mantle of the Presidents Past and Future.

And as the King of Inventions, he who brought low Mysteries enact that step, drawing on the full force of the Grail Terminal, you sigh. Not in contentment or relief, even as you planned for this. No, you sigh in commiseration.

Humans. So piteous.

He realizes his mistake in the first second. He roars in anguish in the second. And he roars in pain in the third, as his Spirit Origin is warped with the mantle of power. And on the fourth, the King of Inventions is no more.

All that is left is the Tyrant of America. One whose mantle would become the hegemon of the world.

And with a baleful gaze, he spots you.

And here and now, with a command, the assembly tear upon your flesh, rending you down to nothing at the behest of its Ruler.

Just as planned. And just as feared.

---

E Pluribus Unum — Saga of a War Wracked Continent begins...​

---

 

[Shade31415]

So I was partially right that the Presidents thing got twisted beyond his control, but now I have so many more questions.

Edit: My understanding of it is that it is "Psuedoservant" Edison, where he is Ruler class and being possessed by the Mantle of Presidents

Edit 2: I wonder if it is partially based on the public belief of American expansionism, based on the use of hegemon

 

[Always Late]

Here and now, he walks to his gallows. Willingly, he strides through an assembly of those weary and fearful of a world that is changing. How could they not? They feel, more than see, the changes wrought to the continent they live in. From coast to coast, the world expands.

And coast to coast is all that remains.

The landmass that will be known as the United State of America is sealed off. Its inhabitants knowing only that it remains the sole nation in God's green earth, that their nascent nation is all that is left. And once more, they would feel rather than see the untapped potential of their lands and how to utilize them.

And they would see what they perceive as snakes on the sole garden of the world. They would and have seen the shapes foreign and unnatural. And they would fight the invaders...

...and lose. And so as they prayed for salvation, he comes to answer.

The condemned one.

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This has nothing to do with the Celts after all. This is about the oldest Type Moon dynamic in the meta-series: Environmentalism. As humanity advances in science and technology, they kill the planet through the depletion of natural resources and Mystery. Mana slowly slips away. The spirits of the world are looked upon as animals to be driven out.

The question is, however, who is The Condemned Man? I think it's Geronimo. His whole schtick is a connection to the spirits of North America.

And as the King of Inventions, he who brought low Mysteries enact that step, drawing on the full force of the Grail Terminal, you sigh. Not in contentment or relief, even as you planned for this. No, you sigh in commiseration.

Humans. So piteous.

He realizes his mistake in the first second. He roars in anguish in the second. And he roars in pain in the third, as his Spirit Origin is warped with the mantle of power. And on the fourth, the King of Inventions is no more.

All that is left is the Tyrant of America. One whose mantle would become the hegemon of the world.

And with a baleful gaze, he spots you.

And here and now, with a command, the assembly tear upon your flesh, rending you down to nothing at the behest of its Ruler.

Just as planned. And just as feared.

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... an Alter Ruler. Fuck. My. Life.