#altena

[laurencin-draws]

birthday comm for dithorba!

Up on Etsy!

#altena #fire emblem #genealogy of the holy war #thracia 776 #jugdral

[meridachii]

Seliph's big and complicated family 

Who’s your favorite member of this family?

#Seliph #sigurd #leif #fe4 #fire emblem genealogy of the holy war #fire emblem #fire emblem art #meridachii #My art #deirdre #julia #julius #ishtar #nanna #saias #linoan #Oifey #altena #ethlyn #quan #arvis

[roseillith]

Yuki Kajiura Noir: Blanc dans noir (2001)

#m #a #yuki kajiura #noir #mireille bouquet #kirika yuumura #chloe #altena

[ayumitsuu]

And we’re back! With more character impressions/thoughts/brainworms.

[ Character Impressions 5 (Gen 2) - da main squad (+siblings) ]

- I almost screamed when I realized Seliph has the same hairstyle as auntie Ethlyn. 🥺🥺🥺 how did I not realize this sooner???

- Leif’s smirk is giving me “Gary from Pokémon” 🤣 but he’s way too sweet to be like Gary ;P

- I miss Deirdre’s fluffy, wavy hair but straight hair suits Julia

- I love Arion (and Altena) 🥰 That is all.

#fe4 #fire emblem #geneology of the holy war #first playthrough #first impressions #ayu plays fe4 #ayu draws fe4 #character impressions #character thoughts #brain worms #judgral #seliph #leif #Julia #altena #arion #Arione #siblings #Arion fan club #feh #fe heroes

[pokeattorney]

Based off of the Finn and Altena dialogue once you recruit her

#finn #altena #fire emblem #fe4 #fire emblem genealogy of the holy war #finn... what a lovely character #genuinely playing this hame along with thracia made me #appreciate him so damn much #while id love to call him dad of the uear #bro was far too repressed i feel like #its so cathartic knowing all the context behind this scene #seeing him finally cru #cry #this is super messy but i dont have enough time to work on it! #i hope it gets some sort of feeling across though! #doodle #my art

[yeorel15]

A comic for 'Family' prompt for QuanEthlyn Week 2023

#fire emblem #fe4 #fire emblem fanart #genealogy of the holy war #fire emblem genealogy of the holy war #Quan #Ethlyn #Leif #Altena #Quan x Ethlyn #QuanEthlyn #quanethlynweek2023

[phantomstatistician]

Fandom: Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War

Character: Altena

Sample Size: 34 stories

Source: AO3

#altena #julius #arion #ced #eda #ishtar #fire emblem #genealogy of the holy war #fanfiction #ao3 #statistics #phantom statistician

[tmetta]

Just Altena out on a ride with her parents 😊 *Insert Walter White yelling meme here*

#fire emblem #fire emblem heroes #ethlyn fe #altena fe #altena #quan fe #Also posting this cuz im sick of looking at it #fire emblem genealogy of the holy war #FE4

[5seraphim]

happy anniversary genealogy of the holy war!

playable feh gen 2 icons, credit to use!

#❁ edits #icons #fire emblem genealogy of the holy war #fe4 #OKAY chara time #seliph baldos chalphy #larcei #scathach #julia fire emblem #arthur fire emblem genealogy of the holy war #shannan #leif faris claus #nanna #ares fire emblem #lene #tine #ced #altena

[yeyayeya]

You guys remember when I mentioned about wanting to write an arranged marriage AU about Ares & Altena?

Well, I have been getting doses of wanting to write randomly, and while I have 2 chapters done and so many ideas that I want to get to, I do have something that I wanted to share

~•~

Ares stood there awkwardly under the large willow tree that was at the center of the garden. He stayed under it as the sun shone too brightly for his liking.

Here he was supposed to meet his wife.

Faced with the truth that he was a married man, the word sat strangely on his tongue.

He’s been married for a day, and right away he was made to make a visit towards Leonster, where his wife and her family lived. Even during the wedding procession, too many people had come up to him to personally congratulate him, many of whom Ares could not properly remember their faces. He had been too preoccupied dealing with those people to even have a chance to talk to his wife.

The night had ended rather quickly, which Ares was thankful for.

Ares stared at everything and nothing, attempting to see if he could spot her. Just as he was about to give up and go inside the palace to escape from the burning sun, someone cleared their throat behind him.

This was a moment when Ares was glad that he didn’t have his sword.

The noise had startled him so badly that he turned around so quickly that he got the other person caught off guard.

At the sight of who the person was, he let out a sigh of relief, though his posture remained tense.

His wife, Altena, his mind supplied helpfully, stood in front of him.

Her long, auburn hair was loose, and she wore a simple crimson dress with white accents complimenting it. She wasn’t wearing anything extravagant, and the only accessory she wore was the plain bandana settled neatly on her head.

Standing before her now, and without the weight of a hundred eyes on him, he took in her appearance in silence.

As he stared, one contrasting detail made its way apparent.

She was taller than him.

For some unknown reason, this seemed to annoy him terribly, and it annoyed him more that he had to crane his neck a bit to properly look at her.

Her near black eyes stared down at him, and Ares cleared his throat, not wanting to look up at her.

An awkward and unbearable silence blanketed them both. To outsiders who knew of their relationship, they most likely saw a newly wed young man and woman, bashful and timid, and not confident enough to talk to their spouse.

To them, though, it was completely different. They had both been unexpectedly thrown to their roles of husband and wife without having a single moment to take the situation in.

Standing before each other, the situation was made entirely clear.

“So,” his wife started, “there’s no point in getting out of this, so we had best get started.” She finished off with a sigh.

Her hand reached out between them and was extended towards him. “Hello, my name is Altena, and I am your wife, whether you like it or not.” Altena said in a monotone voice, before she finished her greeting in a biting and cold tone.

Ares was not offended in the slightest bit, and an ounce of respect welled in him for her.

He extended his hand and shook hers, her grip strong.

He spoke in his usual dispassionate and gruff voice, “My name is Ares, your husband, and I would like it if we could, at the very least, not be at each other’s throats.”

Altena let out a snort, and both let go at the same time.

“Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that, Ares.” She said, and it might have been Ares’s imagination, but he detected a bit of laughter in her voice.

#yeyarants #fire emblem #fe4 #fe #fe genealogy of the holy war #fire emblem genealogy of the holy war #Jugdral #ares fire emblem #Altena fire emblem #genealogy of the holy war #seisen no keifu #ares #Altena #ares fe4 #altena fe4 #fire emblem ares #fire emblem Altena #ares FE #Altena fe #how do you tag them? #I have NOT given up on it #it’s just… other things have come up #and sometimes I get distracted way too easily #sometimes I have urges to write it #and other times none at all #idk #I’m weird I guess #but I felt like sharing this #despite me being awkward af and not knowing how to feel when others see my writing #but I honestly felt like this was alright

[fe-sibling-duo-tournament]

Fire Emblem Sibling Duo Tournament: Round 1 - Match 11

Propaganda under cut:

Leif & Altena:

even separated their whole lives, one look at her little brother and Altena knows he isn’t lying and knows they’re family

Alfonse & Sharena:

Alfonse and Sharena are so special to me they’re always together and supportive over like seven books Sharena dying drove Alfonse insane in another timeline

#fire emblem #fe sibling duo tournament #polls #fire emblem thracia 776 #fire emblem genealogy of the holy war #fire emblem heroes #leif faris claus #altena #alfonse #sharena #round 1

[fe-smashorpass]

#altena #fire emblem altena #altena fire emblem #fire emblem #smash or pass #fe smash or pass #fire emblem smash or pass #fire emblem genealogy of the holy war #fire emblem thracia 776 #jugdral #mainline #here’s a fun fact about your mod: I am completely weak for the Minerva archetype

[roseillith]

#a #noir #altena

[ayumitsuu]

Is this illegal? Am I committing a felony? 🤣😜

Prince Quan does not look amused with me. 😅

I have Ethlyn +10 but I sadly do not have Leif to complete the fam jam 🥲

#fire emblem heroes #feh #fe heroes #fe4 #fire emblem #geneology of the holy war #ayu plays FEH #thracia #leonster #altena #arion #quan #travant

[skelezomperman]

Genealogy’s Characterization of Altena is Subpar

A couple nights ago when I was thinking about the Jugdral story again, my thoughts turned towards Altena] I was thinking of her pairings, of course, but I was also revealing her storyline in my head. That is when I made a shocking realization: I’ve been understanding Altena wrong this entire time. To an extent, I’ve been liking an idealized version of Altena. In reality, her writing is subpar, one might even say *awful*. Despite the popular conception of her, Altena is infantilized by her game. She is portrayed as rather immature. How so?

(Please read my earlier analysis on Altena here if you are not familiar with her story. Spoilers for FE4 and FE5 are ahead.)

I’ll begin with Altena’s appearance in Chapter 8 of Genealogy of the Holy War and Chapter 23 of Thracia 776. In those scenes, Altena orders her squadron of dracoknights to pull back upon discovering that Munster is mainly defended by civilians. However, her squadron led by Coulter defies her order and attacks anyway. Altena does not fight with them and watches them all die at the hand of either Seliph’s army or Leif’s army. After the massacre of her soldiers, she flies back to Thracia where Travant berates her for leaving her dracoknights behind. That scene ends in Altena being ordered to fight Seliph’s forces again and prove herself.

I want to compare this scene with Minerva’s first appearances in Shadow Dragon. Minerva also abandons a battle against the player army there but she seems mature and collected throughout her introduction. Minerva’s withdrawal is out of frustration with Harmein’s poor strategies against Marth while Altena’s withdrawal is an impulsive decision based on distaste with attacking civilians. Most of all, Minerva still leaves with her servants in the Whitewings and sees them to safety. Altena outright abandons her dracoknights and watches their annihilation while sulking alone. Because of that, Travant’s reaction to Altena’s withdrawal is completely understandable! No matter how morally right it was, she still wasted the lives of her subordinates by refusing to aid them. The player is meant to sympathize with Altena but she comes across as impulsive rather than wise.

I think this snippet from the scene at the beginning of Chapter 9 of Genealogy is interesting:

Arion: Enough, Altena. There's no place here for such meddling. Still your tongue and obey Father! Father, bear in mind Altena is still young and unseasoned. I suspect she merely found the last battle too overwhelming a prospect. Please do forgive her, even just this once.

Travant: You know, Arion? If you'd just hold back on the coddling, perhaps Altena wouldn't be so stubborn! Look, Altena. I'll give you one last chance. Take a dracoknight platoon and retake Meath! If you so much as slip again, then daughter be damned, I will accept no excuses! Understood?

Altena is likely one of the oldest child characters in Genealogy. It’s most likely that she was born prior to the beginning of the first part. The irony, then, is apparent: despite being older, Travant and Arion both treat her as though she is a child. She makes little effort to dispute this either, only meekly replying “understood” to acknowledge Travant’s order to her.

Recruiting Altena requires Leif to talk to her. As we all know, she tries to confront Travant after that and then she joins Seliph’s army after Travant dies. Most of the rest of Altena’s arc revolves around Arion. After reviewing the scripts, I can see now why people think their relationship has romantic undertones besides the throwaway line in the epilogue. During that scene when Altena tries to confront Travant, she actually stops herself when Arion forces her to “fight” him. 

Altena:  Gah... How dare you! How dare you mislead me all these years, Father! Er, no... Travant!

Arion: That's enough, Altena!

Altena: Get out of my way, Arion! This man dies here and now, and nobody can stop me! Not even you!

Arion: I cannot allow this. If you dare to turn on Father, then you'll have to contend with me first!

Altena: W-wait! I can't fight you, Arion! I could never-

Arion: It's too late for you to stand down now... Farewell, Altena!

Altena: Nngh... Arion...

You would think that Altena could try to fight Arion; after all, he’s complicit in keeping the secret of her heritage and she wants to avenge her parents above all else. Instead, she stays her hand and gives Arion an opening to knock her out. When she joins Seliph’s army, her first request is for Seliph to “help” Arion even though Arion refuses to negotiate a truce. Half of her four events with other player characters involve Arion as she asks both Hannibal and Leif for help with her quandary. And of course the epilogue scene with Seliph always mentions Arion even though he presumably flew off after joining Altena. I realize that Altena valued Arion a lot but it gets to the point where one could accuse her of being obsessed with him. 

Let’s step back and review Altena’s arc on the lens of how much agency she has. She tries to order Coulter’s squad to not attack Munster but they refuse, leading her to sulk and run away back to the capital while they all die. Then when Leif reveals her heritage to her, she runs away again and tries to confront Travant only to be knocked out by Arion before doing anything. When she wakes up, she joins Seliph and Leif only because Arion tells her to. When this happens, she tries to convince Arion to follow her but he refuses. He refuses again when she tries a second time to convince him. The only time when Altena really has full agency is when she is successful in her third attempt to convince Arion to defect. Altena has so little agency that you could even argue that Ishtar has more agency than her. At least Ishtar has some semblance of success in thwarting Julius’ plans. 

I’m a big fan of Altena. I don’t hate her as a character at all. But this realization of her poor treatment by the game was honestly mind-blowing. I definitely feel more frustrated to look back at her plot and see the missed potential in her arc. Altena could have been a character that drives the plot but instead she’s reduced to reacting to things that happen. Much like her mother, she is a bit impulsive but she lacks the backbone that Ethlyn has. I usually am not one to ask for a remake to try to “fix” a character but I think Altena could benefit from a rewrite more than most characters. 

It's actually shocking to realize that Altena's writing is this bad. I feel like she's gets overlooked because of how compelling Leif, Finn, and even Travant are as characters. If a modern FE character were written like this then they would get very maligned by the community. It's almost funny how much of the community (myself included) views her as this character who can impose her will on others when the reality is that the game strings her along in the same way that some other female leads have been strung along by the plot. To an extent, I’m still struggling to come to terms with this. I feel like I’ve personally been misinterpreting her and ignoring her emotional weaknesses which could make her a stronger character. I emphasize the word could because I think the writing dropped the ball. It takes a little bit of effort to write a character struggling with these weaknesses, this inability to stand up to one’s own family, without making them feel like a child. Unfortunately, I think Genealogy misses the mark.

This is not a hate post against Altena or even against Genealogy. As I said in the post, I am a huge fan of Altena as a character. I really love the concept that she brings and I can see the struggles she has with her family. I just wish that Altena was able to dictate her own way instead of being pushed around by other characters. But if I'm misunderstanding, please let me know - I'd be happy to be proven wrong!

#fe4 #fe5 #jugdral #altena #poorly written female characters? in my fire emblem? more likely than you think!

[compass-inks]

#altena #fire emblem 4 #jugdral #fire emblem: genealogy of the holy war #I didn't feel like coloring her legs