#ALSO WHAT IS FALCHION!!!!

[real-fire-emblem-takes]

hi to chrom hater anon i'm a professional chrom enjoyer

if you get deranged enough about awakening i think chrom is a very well done character :) he's ignorant but well meaning which meshes in interesting ways. he's not overtly prejudiced to the plegians he knows personally but still *generally* prejudiced because of his upbringing.

additionally in discussions of the ylisse-plegia war he tends to focus on how ylisse came away from it because that state of ylisse is what shaped his formative childhood years (seen particularly in his feelings about emmeryn's early years as exalt). this is UNDERSTANDABLE but still an extremely DEEPLY FLAWED and naive stance when doing politics on a larger scale, which chrom is incredibly ill-prepared for. it's a very childish view of a large scale conflict.

chrom's propensity for violence is a trait that actually deeply fascinates me. he has intense admiration for emmeryn's desire for peace yet he has a very short temper in tense situations (seen in basically all of chrom's interactions with gangrel), and he tends to lash out easily at anyone he views as an enemy. he admires peace but sees no other means to achieve it than violence. isn't that interesting. the implications here. like, he's the inheritor of the falchion, he's the only son in his family, in all likelihood it was expected that HE would take the throne and continue his father's war, but he was so young when the exalt passed that the crown went to emmeryn instead.

it really seems like emmeryn intentionally kept her siblings away from politics, which results in BOTH of them being naive in vastly different ways, with the expectation that she would always shoulder the burden of the crown yet left all the bigger a void when she died.

mind, intentionally being raised to behave this way isn't an excuse either. it's ultimately still something chrom, as an adult, SHOULD examine critically. this is, in fact, a character flaw, and i think its great.

you can then of course do nice little compare and contrast at the shitty dads, i.e. chrom's dad vs validar. robin's first act as an awakened god is murdering validar. robin became the monster everyone saw them as, the one their father thinks they were born to be. it's a neat lil nature vs nurture comparison if you really get into the depths of grima-ology (hi grima ✌️ mutuals).

to dig more into points the chrom hater anon makes.

"chrom is transphobic for killing excellus" do you hear yourself. excellus was an enemy commander. chrom has no personal grievances against the commanders other than they are part of the army with the known intent to raze ylisse.

SAME WITH ROBIN BURNING DOWN THE BOATS. THEY ARE AT WAR. IF ROBIN DIDNT DO THAT THEY'D ALL GET KILLED. they would have to fight the valm forces ON FOOT and BE KILLED VIOLENTLY because they are vastly outnumbered. it would be weird if he WASN'T at least happy about this.

he could stand to be regretful about the massive loss of human life but honestly hashtag robin warcrimes W.

"chrom makes sure to only recruit white ylisseans" i think this is just dev colorism actually. like you know how robin's dad (who is evil) is brown, but robin (who is good) is white? and how that makes no sense and robin should logically also be brown? i dont think chrom would've turned down if like, mustafa joined him. it is simply that intsys was still in their racism era (which is, tbh, only really ended with engage, like, cmon, look at literally all of FE, this isn't a chrom flaw, it's a FE being racist flaw.)

same with the sexism things actually FE is just homophobic and sexist a lot so all the characters are also by extension. this is called doylist analysis

Chrom tells Aversa "One person's life means nothing in the shadow of millions" Chrom is a hypocrite i hope this helps. additionally what aversa is doing is "help the dark god literally causing the apocalypse rn" whereas the sacrifice/save robin choice is "doom people in some hypothetical far off future" which is FAR less personal than "all of humanity RIGHT NOW".

TLDR: the real chrom enjoyers know about his character flaws and love him anyway because it's nice flavor to chew on

also never insult my beautiful daughter lucina ever again. she is deeply compelling even if she is narratively underutilized. anyone who calls themself a chrom fan and hates lucina is a faker and will not survive the winter.

also learn the difference between flaws of the story's writing and flaws of the character otherwise everybody in awakening is sexist.

anon you should read chrom/grima fanfiction unironically we fucking love tearing this dude to shreds for his flaws. this has all been a ploy to say that. chrom is naive and selfish and hypocritical and i love him very much he is my wif e :)

.

#fe #fire emblem #chrom fe #chrom fire emblem #i am no longer neutral on chrom #fe13 #fe awakening #fire emblem awakening #what am i witnessing #fave takes <3

[nellasbookplanet]

Do I actually think Imogen is going to turn on the party? No. I don't think it’s any more likely to happen than I did Fjord releasing Uk’otoa, or Caleb returning to Trent and the Vollstruckers.

Given the nature of the game, any character turning fully dark is unlikely, seeing as it would take them away from the party for a time or potentially even turn them into an npc, replaced by a new pc. So far the only time we've gotten close to seeing something like it happen was Yasha siding with Obann, which could only happen specifically because Ashley was gone from the table for a long time (it was also the product of mind control, not an active choice to turn dark, and as such still doesn’t really count as a pc turning on the party in my eyes).

But the possibility is there. The seeds planted. Travis has talked about how, after he threw the falchion away, he briefly considered having Fjord leave the party and retun to the coast and Uk’otoa. Liam has mentioned that, early on, Caleb returning to work for Trent was a very real possibilty. It can happen, if the players and narrative are open to it.

And now, canonically, Imogen is desperately and understandably searching for a reason not to have to fight her own mother. She is, however briefly, questioning whether the Ruby Vanguard might have a just cause. Much as she hates it, she also feels the allure of the power Ruidus gives her. Her closest ally is someone who has repeatedly assured she will stand by her no matter what she chooses, even after she voiced the possibility of letting Predathos get out. None of these parts of Imogen are evil, and all of them are understandable and deeply rooted in pain and ostracization, but they could very easily be turned into justification, were she pushed enough.

The seeds are planted. Again, I don’t think it will happen (she seems firmly against the evil plan when reminded of how evil it is), but there’s certainly nothing strange or hateful about engaging with and being interested in the darker possibilities as presented in canon. It isn't character hate to acknowledge that Imogen has the potential to go dark, much as Fjord and Caleb and Yasha. To me, it’s what makes her character interesting. I want to see her clash with the party, whether because she’s desperate to save her own mother or because she’s high off the power of Ruidus and lured in. I want to see Laudna have to choose between the world and her promise to stand by Imogen no matter what. I want to see the fallout, the slow healing and redemption and coming to terms with bad choices. I eat that shit up, and if it doesn’t happen in canon I'll probably go read some fic about it to get my fix.

#critical role #critical role meta #cr3 #imogen temult #it feels like half the tag is 'why is everyone hating on poor innocent imogen :(' #and meanwhile the other half is engaging in interesting discussion about character choices and gray morality #like sure there's probably people out there who do hate imogen #but the majority of what I'm seeing isn't that‚ but rather people simply talking about her character in ways that doesn’t coddle her #anyway. i do hope we get at least a mid battle moment of imogen wavering #either because she's actually about to turn or because of some subtle mind control #and someone (preferably laudna) having to knock some sense into her #it would open up for some really interesting possibilities for inter-party conflict and tension #as well as character growth and a shift and maturation in dynamics #really give that codependent imogen laudna relationship a good shake to make it reach maximum potential #what would be most delicious tho: laudna facing off with imogen after she’s gone dark #or laudna fully standing by her word and blocking the party as they try to knock imogen out #pleading with imogen as she stands in harms way to protect her #and that utter trust being what makes imogen return to herself #nella talks cr

[captainofthetidesbreath]

With the casting of Augury, that confirms Fjord is paladin 5, and you know what THAT means!!!!

The return of Misty Step to Fjord's repertoire!! He lost it when the Summer's Dance falchion was destroyed.

That's SIX teleport spells or abilities he has now: Thunder Step, Relentless Hex, Far Step, reaction from Star Razor enchantment, Arcane Gate, and now Misty Step again. This also means he has all three Step teleport spells. Go get it, short-range teleport king!

#Critical Role #Fjord #Fjord CR #CR spoilers #Critical Role things

[howtofightwrite]

Do you know what this style of blocking is called? Or even how to describe it? I'm not sure "holding sword parallel and using other hand to support it" covers the action.

Take this with a grain of salt, because I can't find the references right now, but I think that's just, bracing. Gripping the blade of the sword is often called, “halfhanding,” but by itself the term is usually associated with gripping the blade to assist with precision thrusts. (So, trying you'd halfhand your sword to thrust into a weak point or gap on your foe's armor.) Parrying, or blocking with a sword like this is a little unusual, and (without the full context of the original image) I almost wonder if this is an example of something you shouldn't do.

Now, with the image's detail as low as it is, it might be illustrating a very specific technique. In the case of single edged swords, the, “best,” place to parry an incoming strike is with the back of the blade. Where you've got a heavy chunk of relatively solid metal, without the danger of taking a blow on the flat of the blade. (I can't really tell, but it does look like the defender is wielding a falchion, which were single edged swords. That would also date this image to somewhere between the 13th and 16thcentury. Which, at glance seems right, but I wouldn't swear to that estimate. The design of the falchion would put it later on that spectrum. The design of the attacker's sword seems consistent somewhere in that timeframe as well, but it's genuinely difficult to judge, and while I know I've seen this picture before, I cannot remember where.)

On double edged swords, like the attacker is wielding, the best option for parrying an incoming strike is with the flat. Obviously, that's not ideal, because blows to the side of the blade do risk damaging it, especially when it's halfhanded like this and your opponent is performing a heavy hewing strike as depicted, but that's a risk. If you try to block or parry edge-to-edge, you will damage your sword, without fail. (Also, if you try to block an incoming attack edge-on-edge while halfhanding, you will injure your hand.) If you do attempt to block or parry edge-on-edge both swords will suffer damage called, “gouging.”

Remember that a sword is, basically a three to four foot long razor blade. So, while the blade itself is a relatively solid chunk of steel, the cutting edge is quite delicate and fragile. Gouging on the blade occurs whenever the sword is used against something significantly harder than a person (and can even occur from striking bone.) Abusing your sword will destroy it, and the conventional image of blade-on-blade parrying is extremely destructive to the weapons involved. This almost never occurred historically, and when it did it was either an act of desperation or incompetence.

That image of blade-on-blade parrying comes from theater. Ironically, flat edged props are much more durable than real swords, and blade-on-blade parrying is much easier and safer on stage than the historical swordfighting techniques they stood in for.

While it's not the case in this image, some specific swords (intended for combat) existed with unsharpened blades. The most famous of these is probably the Estoc (or Tuck.) These did not always have sharpened edges, and even when they did, that wasn't the important part of the weapon. Dating to the 16thcentury, these were designed to deliver thrusting blows that could (hopefully) punch through gaps in a foe's plate armor. In this specific case, blocking edge-on-edge (or even half-handing the weapon) wouldn't matter, because there was no delicate blade, (only the tip was sharpened.) Some surviving Estocs even have heavy ridges running down the flat of the blade, giving it a cross-shaped (or, in some cases, triangular) cross-section. This was specifically to improve the structural integrity of the sword while thrusting. Though it would mean that you could probably block or parry an incoming attack as depicted in the image while wielding one (though, neither of the swords in the image are estocs.) In this specific case, there wouldn't even be much downside to edge-on-edge blocking, because the estoc is unlikely to suffer meaningful damage, while the attacker's blade will likely suffer gouging.

So, if this was intended as a depiction of something you should be doing, I suspect it was to demonstrate how to parry an incoming sword strike with a falchion. Historically, falchions tended to be fairly cheap infantry weapons so this may have been intended for teaching conscripted infantry. With the image itself being for the instructor's benefit more than the conscript's. A lot of the surviving codices of late medieval and early modern sword combat were intended for professional combat instructors. So, it is reasonable to assume that this image is from one of these sources.

-Starke

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#howtofightwrite #writing advice #writing reference #swordfighting #Starke answers

[paper-gold-theories]

I have a theory that the polar opposite of black hat is magician (or who I'm assuming is magician) from podimous bailar. If you compare magician's design with black hat's there seems to be a lot of similarities. Like their build and height seems to be the same. Then their clothes seem to be different with magician having his coat collar down instead of up and having his coat closed instead of open like black hat's.

Hmm...they kinda look similar, Alan mentioned in a Q and A that we won't see the character opposite of Black Hat "in the first season" that will provide him a challenge.

It could go either way as I am not sure if the orientation videos (or comics refer to when General Falchion appears in thebcomics below) are considered Season 1 or the photos of Copper and Magician without their faces showing are considered them appearing in the show.

And we might see either Copper and Magician in the future episodes...

However, Alan also mentioned that Black Hat is the embodiment of evil, so there’s an embodiment of goodness to balance him like yin and yang and we’ll hopefully get to see him someday.

The Podemos Bailar, is known for forcing members to join their group so considering that, Magician or Cooper might not be the embodiment of good.

The important P.E.A.C.E. leader that appeared at the end of The Shrunken Rescue (which I theorized to be General Falchion) might also not be the embodiment of good as P.E.A.C.E. is known to do shady things (that could possibly cause wars), have heroes which have not such a good personality like Miss Heed, as well as covering their tracks to ensure they still look like the hero in people's eyes, such as using memory erasers on nurses working in their rehab, hiding Miss Heed's actions and the reason for her arrest, betraying their allies to save their reputation and reinstating her as a hero again because she was able to buy it back because of her father's money and connections.

However Alan also mentioned that nothing’s black and white (except BH and 505), villains aren’t all that bad (like Penumbra) and that they’re all grey, as well as the heroes.

So the embodiment of good and opposite of Black Hat may not be an entirely good person.

Lawful Evil vs Lawful Good

Black Hat is a perfectionist, signs contract and has multiple rules that teaches Villains how to be good Villains.

Hence, we can categorise him as being lawful evil which means anyone that follows a strict code, hierarchy, or system for personal gain at any cost.

So I theorized that Black Hat's opposite is a lawful good which means anyone that promotes the greater good, while following established procedures or rules. (What defines as greater good in P.E.A.CE. or the Podemos Bailar might be a stretch)

____

And as mentioned above, villains and heroes are morally grey, because of this Black Hat is also is willing to make deals with people who aren't actually villains, because there is no true evil or good.

For example, in Episode 3 Black Hat made a deal with Adelita who was considered a villain by P.E.A.C.E. because of her suspicious behaviour due to the dissatisfaction of the new P.E.A.C.E. administration, to fight Pedro who is still actually a hero but is mind controlled to do villainous things, hence is considered one by P.E.A.C.E. despite still doing heroic deeds before being mind controlled.

Conclusion

Hence, I conclude because of this points that in addition to being lawful good, since there is no true evil or good, the opposite of Black Hat is also not 100% completely good and might also be helping morally grey people as well.

Thinking about it perhaps Cooper/Magician or Falchion possibly might fit the "opposite of Black Hat character" as they do work with morally grey people things for their definition "greater good" and they want to defeat the embodiment of evil.

But it feels like it's not likely as I still feel like they've done too many grey things to be considered the "embodiment of good".

Hence most likely there might be a third character not yet introduced that will provide Black Hat with a worthy challenge. 👀

#villainous #villanos #villainous falchion #villainous magician #villainous cooper #podemos bailar #men without hats #villainous missheed #villainous miss heed #villainous black hat #black hat organization #villainous blackhat #villainous headcanons #villainous theories #villainous theory #villainous headcannon

[fushigidane]

Personal skills for the awakening kids

i wish awakening had personal skills SO BAD it's not even funny.

anyway. i thought up some personal skills for the 2nd gen. these are all made within the context of 3h as that's the au that's been swimming about in my head for several weeks hence any reference to those mechanics but pls enjoy :) :)

lucina

gee, lucina, how come mum lets YOU bring the overpowered game mechanic to other games--

basically just the engage chain attack feature as lucina there is The Chain Attack Emblem. killassisting killstealing left and right. would serve really well with 3h's love of chunky hp monsters. the weapon durability aspect is kind of incentive to always have her equip falchion (3h regalia should NOT have limited durability and in THIS essay i will--) or a forged training weapon as the damage is fixed.

this probably could transfer to fateswakening where this would proc on top of normal dual strikes, but another option i thought up for her would be the ability to dual strike for anyone as long as the targeted enemy is within her movement range (i.e. she can dual strike without being adjacent to an ally)

owain

i wanted to make the fateswakening trio's skills distinct from their fates counterparts... though i wouldn't be able to use aching blood in a 3h setting anyway as it has no weapon naming feature. truly tragic.

this is probably self-explanatory: owain does extra damage when using any attack that has a name bc He Gets Excited. it would apply to each individual strike rather than the total damage number, and part of me wonders if this would make 3h-astra actually viable.

also, rip to like half the crests in 3h which have this exact effect but separate and worse since they're a non-guaranteed proc. we honour your sacrifice so owain could rise

inigo

3h's authority makes rally skills pretty easy to get, but the fact they only affect one unit means i barely use them and it makes me sad. inigo deserves his funky little rallies and he will GET his funky little rallies.

this skill would also apply to the stat boost from special dance (though not the dance effect itself).

not much else to say. i just think this skill is neat

brady

this is basically the skill stealth, which is otherwise exclusive to the thief/assassin/trickster classes in 3h. it puts the unit at the bottom of the priority list for enemy attacks so they will only be attacked if there are NO other viable targets.

great for a healing brady. i always put him in a support role so this is perfect for me. less great if you want brady to be a combatant as it limits what you can do on enemy phase, but you could still use it to your advantage

i just have this image of enemies seeing a healer on the battlefield, going to attack them, and then being hit by this Stare of Promised Violence that makes them back off and decide to attack,, idk. fucking dedue instead. and brady is sitting here confused bc he didn't do anything (it's just his normal face)

kjelle

She Will Not Be Knocked Over. armour too strong. 10/10. truly a GET DOWN MR PRESIDENT skill of all time, as she has earned

this skill means she takes the damage but doesn't get movement sealed or debuffed or anything after being hit by a gambit. Not Even The Force Of Ten Dozen Men Charging Will Faze You.

a fateswakening equivalent i considered would be preventing specifically armour-effective damage i.e. from hammers or armourslayers, so they just deal normal damage instead (or, in fates' case, the weapons get hit with the non-effective target debuff).

cynthia

basically a stronger but more situational variant of elise's and flayn's lily's poise. all about protecting the vulnerable, plays into her more sensible (read: comparative to owain) idea of heroism.

i personally like this a lot bc i always always go falcon knight cynthia (it feels better) and cynthia with a healer flavour... mwah.

i'm generally a massive fan of aura skills (i.e. buffs to allies within a certain range of a unit) and this is the type of skill that could definitely save your units after an unfortunate mistake

severa

THE COUNTERPART TO BERUKA'S PERSONAL THAT SELENA SHOULD HAVE HAD. NO I WILL NOT TAKE CRITICISM they did her SOOO dirty with her fates personal--

aside from being perfect personality-wise (she WILL prove she is better than others--), this also syncs well with most classes severa will find herself in. swords are pretty much wholly 1-range weapons, so are usually facing a counterattack, except the levin sword...but nobody is rushing to give her that. (she has a 10% MAG growth in awakening, which is quite literally the lowest available...)

i wanted to name this competitive but apparently that's takumi's personal skill name. so rude of him

gerome

local teenager fixates on dragons, more at 6

he's studied dragons + minervikins so hard he knows how to fight beside them in a way that lets them fight to the fullest. also he gets so secretly happy (and it is secret do not tell a soul) to be next to a dragon that he too fights better.

this would apply equally to wyvern units and units that are dragons in non-dragon classes e.g. a mage nah.

gerome <3

yarne

the original name of this skill was sudden brevity until i realised brevity does not mean what i clearly thought it did when i wrote it.

an improved version of strong riposte from fates. poor yarne spends so much time wanting to hide on player phase that any damage he is directed to deal is only mediocre, but when enemies attack HIM on ENEMY phase, he's like oh shit gotta survive--

DONT MESS WITH A BUNNY indeed :)

laurent

3h's limits on spell learning means this basically has a cap of +10 in the late game, but even that is still mega broken. this skill would serve as a really strong incentive to train his reason/faith in the early game and the extra power you get from learning spells would scale well as you progress further.

now that the meta is out the way, this skill is like when a character (not necessarily a fe one) gets a new skill in a game and there's this super exaggerated powerup sound effect and a victory quote, and you're just like... 'all you learned was how to wear heavier armour' but with THIS skill it's actually VALID

knowledge = power and also justification for laurent joining the cast of fodlan characters found near exclusively in the library

noire

it's a little criminal that awakening wasn't able to give us something that reflects noire's blood and thunder state in combat aside from her crit quotes, so this is what i came up with.

the more she fights, the more BLOOD AND THUNDER she gets.

it makes the most sense that her offense would be the one boosted, and even though she's an archer she can fill a good role as a mixed attacker (i WISH awakening had a shining bow), hence STR/MAG being boosted. i briefly considered SPD, but noire has one of the best base speed growths in the game anyway (before growth inheritance; she's on par with lon'qu and a speed-boon robin, and weirdly only beat out by PANNE with 55 base speed for some reason) so it'd be a little redundant when she already doubles everything

nah

this is based off that odd quirk of nah's where she always forgets she can turn into a dragon. i think of her support with f!morgan all the time, where she spends ages trying to learn how to catch a wyrmslayer and in the end realises it was a wasted effort bc she doesn't even fight in her human form and her dragon arms are too small to do what she learned.

"until engaging in combat" applies to combat initiated with nah on either player OR enemy phase. you'd have to have her avoid combat completely for this skill to build up. it would apply to offensive non-damaging magic e.g. silence, but wouldn't apply to healing, so nah could spend her time doing that.

this is a skill you need to dedicate yourself to using yourself, but in the hypothetical scenario where she's a boss, this skill is absolutely terrifying. especially if you took all the limiters off. it would actually make for a very fun map i think--the best fe maps are those that make you go on the offensive IMO, but that's not exactly what this post is about, so i'll move on.

f!morgan

i've made separate skills for the morgans because their supports are different enough that they feel like different characters to me, even if just slightly. it's why i always like them as twins.

what i wanted with the morgans is a skill that hints at what they were before losing their memory and joining the shepherds. for this one, though she is a wyvern lord in future past 2 she is a malig knight in my heart. they just hadn't yet invented malig knights when they made her. this skill is based on its lvl15 skill, savage blow. (to be clear, the 5 extra damage would also apply after combat).

this is a fun one that's good for crowd control and mopping up large groups of enemies, especially with the existence of 3h canto where you can just swoop out of enemy range after obliterating their movement.

it's a very fitting skill if you have morgan in, say, a wyvern class or even dark flier. but if you put her in a dainty little base pegasus knight class... the image of a fragile little pegasus that will fall to like two axes hunting people down is kind of hilarious. sorry morgy

m!morgan

last but not least, the son himself... likewise to f!morgan, i wanted this skill to reflect who he was before the shepherds. he's a sorcerer in the future past 1, which is why i wanted this skill to be dark magic based. both morgans having skills that debuff enemies is another intentional choice.

it's loosely based upon the -taker skills. this skill isn't as powerful as them (you get less stat per proc and the cap is smaller) but you can gain the boosts without delivering the killing blow and you have more variety in what boosts you can get. morgan tends to be a jack-of-all-trades like robin, so an all-round boost is good for him.

past morgan was probably pretty scary with this, but present morgan without a hint of memory now just goes around Yoinking enemy stats. Morgan Says Teehee Mine Now. as he should :)

#p.s. i'm in the market for better names for some of these skills (mostly luci/inigo/m!morgan's) so if you have suggestions... hmu #fe13 #fire emblem #fire emblem awakening #fe awakening #fe lucina #fe morgan #fe owain #fe inigo #fe brady #fe kjelle #fe cynthia #fe severa #fe gerome #fe yarne #fe laurent #fe noire #fe nah #awakening kids ever beloved sons and daughters always

[rwby-encrusted-blog]

Ruby: Ashe? Solaire? What are you doing here?

Solaire Fall: I found my way to this place as Mother so pleaded, she wishes me to learn Kindness. Softness. Other pitiful Drivel that Jaune would be so "Proud" Of me for searching for. This Haughty Wench so happened to arrive at a similar time.

Ruby: ... What?

Ashe Arc: Sorry about Tin Soldier over here, he's too caught up in his own dramatic existence to speak clearly. Pop's wanted me to check in To see if you could teach me how to forgive my Egg Donor.

Ruby: *pinching Nose* Oh I told Jaune not to get me involved in his family Drama.

Ruby: Okay. What are they threatening you with to make you come here.

Ashe: ... My allowance.

Solaire: Mother is refusing my tactical mind until I may work with the one who makes me wish I was a bastard.

Ruby: Well, there's no time like the present and I'd also like the story of why they're trying to be official after so many "One" night stands.

~~~~~

Jaune: Well, Cinder, I think the kids will learn to forgive us in time. It's kinda Funny, how much Ashe acts like you. She's even interested in Crossbows and sabers, so she's not too far off of you.

Cinder: really? Well, I hope she doesn't turn out too much like me. I've made far too many Mistakes ... Though. I suppose we all do. Solaire is almost as smart as you, and he's wielding a Falchion. Working on an expandable gauntlet so he can have his shield at a moments notice.

Jaune: ... They'll turn out alright. I mean, we did.

Cinder: I know, I simply wish they turn out fine sooner than we did.

Jaune: And if anyone can do it?

Cinder: It's gonna be Ruby.

#rwby #jaune arc #ruby rose #rwby au #cinder fall #knightfall #rwby knightfall #jaune x cinder #solaire fall #ashe arc

[burr-ell]

What are your thoughts on how Celica was treated in the climax of SoV? I've seen people hate that subplot in regards to how the game treated its female characters compared to Gaiden.

Having not played Gaiden, I can't speak to that aspect of the issue. I will say, however, that I genuinely enjoy SoV in its entirety (DLC and all!) and I honestly really love how Celica is written, which was very good and almost certainly not on purpose (given Kusakihara's -gestures generally-).

Because Celica gives and gives and gives and won't ask for things in return, and instead of her just being a tragic woebegone martyr for it, it's shown to be a genuine flaw. Her friends get upset with how she pushes them away and refuses to shoulder the burden with anyone, and she falls right into Jedah's trap and nearly loses her soul (and with it Valentia's one chance at freedom). She's not generally forced to make the decisions she does—manipulated, yes, but up until the last minute she very clearly has the agency to make her choices, both good and bad. And her initial choice to sacrifice herself to bring Mila back makes sense for where she is at the time, which is pretty disturbing when you think about it—a teenage girl is repeatedly preyed upon by a much older and smarter man who confirms her worst fears to be true and isolates her and backs her into a corner until he can take what he wants from her. Does she entirely have command of the situation? No, but that doesn't mean she doesn't have the ability to make choices that make sense for her character.

And when she reunites with Alm, he treats her with so much compassion! He encourages her to care for herself for its own sake, while also acknowledging the wisdom she brings with her selflessness. (Which is something I like about SoV—one of Alm's heroic speeches is basically about how personal feelings and individual lives do matter.) She still has a valuable role to play in the narrative, and while I do wish she'd gotten unique boss battle dialogue with Jedah or the ability to wield Falchion, I genuinely love the strength and the value she finds within herself by the end of the game.

#fire emblem #fire emblem echoes #fe sov #celica #fe meta #i love both celica AND alm and when i see kusakihara it's on sight #asks

[imustbenuts]

Ylisse's parallels to irl Japan

@dentos-wife hihi I saw your request:

Some stuff off the top of my head here and repeating what I wrote in that post for ease of understanding:

Both Ylisse and post WW2 Japan

Are pacifists and have some shame/regret about the sins of their prev generation's actions in WW2.

Wants to break the cycle of hatred. Worth noting here tho Japan irl hasn't been doing a good job of education and repatriation and their politics is a fuck. Might be reflected in Awakening in some way

Formerly participated in a damn near genocidal war. In WW2, Japan targeted the Chinese outside of China for iirc fear of guerrilla retaliation. Aside, they also tried forcing people and kids to speak and learn Japanese and change their name to Japanese. While banning their native language. (See: Korea and Singapore. Also: The Ainus)

Have pivoted from warmongering to peaceful af. Japan has a long history of military warlord behavior in politics up until post WW2.

Have minimal military troops for the strict purpose of defense. Japan only has the Japan Self Defense Force as their military strength. JSDF was put into action 1954 after, y'know, WW2 where America forced them to establish it with lots of restrictions. In Awakening, all the fights can be argued to be for defensive purposes, and Ylisse never once overrides the sovereignty of another defeated nation.

Venerates Buddha. Naga is rooted completely in Shinto Buddhism. Naga's name can be passed on like a title, and she has a line about ritual cleansing in FEH. This also means both Ylissean and Japanese religious beliefs are polytheistic.

Have relics passed to the first king from Gods. The Imperial Regalia of Japan. The Falchion is to the Kusanagi No Tsurugi, the Fire Emblem is to the Yata No Kagami. The jewels are to the Yasakani No Magatama.

Old Japan (1600s) also had a period of time where they isolated themselves, and, drove out Catholicism through the killing of any missionaries, and prosecution and punishment of practicing Japanese Catholics.

If you are willing to entertain it, Grima looks a lot like a monotheistic Abrahamic god. Catholicism is rooted in the same Abrahamic family, so uh the parallels here is worth noting too. I wrote a more indepth ramble about this here if you're interested.

And that's about all I got ��

Obviously the story of Awakening and the country of Ylisse isn't a 1:1 of irl Japan and history and even necessarily reality or beliefs. Let's be chill with that :3

#dentos-wife #fire emblem awakening #ramble

[jongho-my-beloved]

The Divine Insignia: Invisible Threads

Word count: 900+

Prince Yunho x Tactician Reader

Warnings: War, major character death, angst, more to be added with updates...

Hi guys, here's a preview for a new fic I am going to be writing. It's going to be pretty plot heavy and multi-chaptered, so this is probably going to be a project I'll be working on for a while. If anyone is interested I'd be happy to start a tag list, just drop me an inbox to let me know. Anyways, I'm really excited to be starting this and I will also be working on other fics as well as school and work on top of this so please be patient with me! I hope you guys like it and look forward to the first part probably out soonish... Thanks for reading! -Moon

“Up there!” Yunho shouts, directing your attention away from the body of the enemy you just took out, over towards Mrithun just a few yards away. Even with most of his army taken down and now outnumbered, he looks confident as he prepares his next move atop the crumbling platform he stands intimidatingly at. 

“You fool! Die!” He roars as he takes out a few of your reinforcements easily with his dark magic crackling through the air.

“This is it! Our final battle!” Yunho declares as he joins you at your side panting with the exertion of his efforts. “You’re one of us, Y/N, and no ‘destiny’ can change that. Now let’s kill this dastard and be done with it!” He flashes a reassuring grin, the sweat dripping down his brow and off his chin leaving a trail through the grime of battle that had collected on his face.

Your ears are ringing with the sounds of battle and swords clashing just outside the fortress walls as your heart pumps quickly pushing the adrenaline through your veins. Something about this moment seems so surreal, is this really going to be the end of your efforts through this war? You’re snapped out of your trance as Yunho effortlessly takes down another enemy with his falchion. 

“Y/N, we have to get closer. Let’s move!” He commands, his voice motivating your hesitant legs to start up again. “Keep going, I’m right behind you!” He assured you as you approached Mrithun, clashing with another enemy reinforcement that tried to sneak up on you.

Mrithun cackles darkly, conserving his energy for his next spell as he watches your valiant efforts. “Why do you resist fate?” He taunts, his words hammering in your chest.

Another body falls, twitching with the crackle of electricity from the spell you cast upon them on your trek towards Mrithun. “Good, he’s almost within reach. Let’s move in and strike!” Yunho praises before taking action, dashing closer to the enemy.

You take a shaky breath taking a few strides closer before releasing Thunder upon Mrithun, just narrowly dodging his own crackle of magic heading your way. He winces as the blow just barely hits, the painful magic coursing through his veins as Yunho attempts to take a swing at him. “Gya ha ha! Fools! Struggle all you want! You can’t unwrite what is already written!” He boasts, but despite his words his frame is swaying with fragility from your magic. 

Your eyes lock with Yunho’s, sparking with the fire of justice coursing through him. You send out another attack, the fire igniting in your hands and singing Mrithun’s skin as it lands. Yunho takes the opportunity to stab at him again as you dash in, unsheathing your own sword to help land the final blow. Just like that, with a swish of a sword and the crackling of magic in the air, Mrithun has finally fallen. The essence of his soul slowly started to diminish from this plane of existence and the tension of battle is dissipating.

“This isn’t over…” Mrithun grits out, your instincts on high alert at the sound of his struggle. “Damn you both!” In an instant you are pushing Yunho away from the blast of magic Mrithun let out in his last efforts, taking the blow selflessly as his life finally fades from his eyes. 

“Y/N! Are you alright?” Yunho quickly regains his footing and comes to your side to support you as the magic courses through your veins. Your heart pounds and ears ring as you look up at Yunho, a relieved smile slowly stretching across his face. “That’s the end of him.”

You’re just able to make out his words through the loud ringing in your ears as the pain of the magic slowly makes its way through you. “Thanks to you we carried the day. We can rest easy now. At long last…” Yunho trails off as he notices you clenching your shaking fists as your head throbs excruciatingly. “...What’s wrong?” He asks, a look of concern etching over his features.

You didn’t know what was wrong. You’ve been able to body much more powerful attacks than Mrithun’s last effort in past battles, but it felt like every nerve in your body was in a battle for control. Your body strains against the magic taking hold of your every being, trying to resist the feeling of it crackling in your palms again. The worry etched in Yunho’s gaze makes your heart pound with fear. “Hey, hang on-” 

Just like before, it all happened in an instant. The world around you seems to grow deafeningly silent as you process agony that mixes with the loving concern on Yunho’s face. You both look down, taking in the sight of the bolt of lightning magic you speared through his abdomen. The bolt of magic flickers as your hands shake and eyes well up with tears before ebbing away. Your heart feels like it's going to explode, grief and guilt and confusion all ramming into you at once overwhelming your senses as hot tears stream down your face in an unstoppable waterfall. 

“This is not your… not your fault.” Yunho staggers weakly, his knees buckling as you try your best to support his frame. You shake your head wildly, your heart aching as you feel the dark magic finally subside. “Promise me… you’ll escape from this place…” Your sobs wrack through your body, processing Yunho’s last request amongst the clatter of battle just outside. 

“Please, go…”

#ateez #ateez fantasy au #ateez fanfic #ateez x reader #ateez smut #yunho fanfic #yunho x reader #jeong yunho #kpop imagines #kpop fanfic #yunho fics

[foxofsunholt]

I NEED YOUR HELP…deciding on what weapons to have in the game. I don’t want to have a lot of options here because I would rather go more in-depth with the weapon you do choose and go with unique battle scenes than generic ones. I also want the MC to have a unique weapon, meaning not one the party already has. I cant decide because everything is super cool to me

What won’t be an option: Greatsword (Adelaide uses it), Sword and Shield (Mars), Crossbow (Faith), Brass knuckles (Sid), Karambit (???), Throwing Knives (Yoon), Claws (already an option), Dagger (you get one by default), Gun (no guns), rubber chicken (would be too powerful)

Pls reply to this with other options if you have them! Going to pick the most popular options out of the poll and comments!

#my test build of the game has 20 weapons and I just got to the first fight and uh 💀💀💀💀 #definitely can’t have that many choices #also I am trying to keep with the medieval theming but #no one said it had to be European medieval #polls

[real-fire-emblem-takes]

it's me, back again, spamming mod sommie with my 3am thoughts, i'm forcing you to read my giant rambling headcanon conspiracy theory thing

the royal family of ylisse in awakening has the "mark of the exalt" which, while never really fully explained is basically just a mark that shows a relation to naga it's never been really fully explained in-universe what makes someone able to wield falchion, since marth alone is able to do it in archanea despite not really having anything special like the Mark of the Exalt or a brand or anything of the like, but the same falchion in Awakening is only useable in gameplay by Chrom and Lucina. (One of the supports with Lucina and Inigo, Male Morgan, or Brady if they're her brother implies that they can use it too but don't know they can).

so that got me thinking about how it parallels to the Naga Holy Blood and the Naga tome, since both Deirdre and Julia have Naga holy blood and a corresponding mark (similar to the Mark of the Exalt) I think this implies that the Mark of the Exalt is at the very least a parallel to Naga Holy Blood linked to a holy weapon (Falchion), although the implied ability of both children of a "major blood" holder being able to wield the weapon is interesting. Either Falchion is not bound specifically to "major blood", which has a possible gap in Lissa and Owain not being able to wield it, but it's possible she just has like carrier recessive holy blood since Owain and Ophelia have the Mark of the Exalt. The other option is that both children have "major holy blood", which contradicts what we see in Jugdral where it's usually one child has major and the other children minor.

So this all boils down to the thought experiment of "Can Julia and Deirdre wield Falchion, and by extension Seliph @ the holy blood distinction", then also the inverse of "Can Chrom, Lucina, any of their children, Lissa, Owain/Odin, or Ophelia use Jugdral Naga?" The Naga tome and all the other Holy Weapons as a findable items in Awakening have the lore that its blood link and power has diminished over the centuries and is able to be used by everyone as a result, so it doesn't really help answer the question and Jugdral never really had a Falchion so we can't really have an answer to that

also lissa and odin/ophelia would be menaces with the naga tome let's be real

personally i think mage fighter julia with falchion and naga would be a really cool concept.

and you know chrom's ass is not reading that holy book he will throw it at grima

thanks for coming to my ted talk

.

#chrom fire emblem #julia fire emblem #deirdre fire emblem #odin fire emblem #owain fire emblem #ophelia fire emblem #lissa fire emblem #lucina fire emblem #fe #fire emblem #fe14 #fe13 #fire emblem fates #fire emblem awakening #fire emblem genealogy of the holy war

[ro-botany]

you mentioned you have thoughts on rkc and lucina and now you HAVE to elaborate. please. i beg of you. og timeline rkc meeting lucina and she knows that this is her father. her real father. and all this time she's been trying to honor his legacy in all she does when it's his body standing in her way. the agonies. THE AGONIES

I was planning to drop a post about Luci in a few days or so, but y’know what? I’m easy to persuade. You’ve unlocked it early. Let’s GO. I'm gonna get halfway to writing an entire fanfic in this answer and no one can stop me.

See. There's nothing saying that RKC and Lucina (our Lucina, that we see in the main game of Awakening) can't have come from the same timeline. All Lucina ever says on the subject of Chrom's death is that there were rumours he was killed by someone close to him. She doesn't specify anything otherwise, and mentioning his death does not preclude him becoming undead.

And the thing that really gets me is that if they're hailing from the same timeline... they had to have met at some point. It would be weirder if they didn't meet at some point, because Chrom was on the front lines of Grima's offensive, and Lucina was also on the front lines a lot of the time. Not to mention the question of how Lucina gets her hands on the falchion to begin with. No, Risen King Chrom and Lucina absolutely met on opposite sides of a battlefield.

Do you see where I'm going with this?

Do you know how I think their first meeting in the context of their own world would go?

---

Lucina thought he was dead. The news of his death had reached her years ago, and she'd grieved him. Through all her countless fights against the risen dead she'd hoped—and gods does it seem naive now—that he wasn't among them, in spite of the rumours that he'd been seen fighting in the fell dragon's colours.

And it would be one thing if it were just his body facing her. A monster in the shape of a man like every other Risen. But she sees how his ashen face contorts from fury to outright terror at the sight of her, and the half-formed lie that that thing isn't really her father falls to pieces. The Risen standing before her, clutching his head so hard his claws are scoring his own skin and hesitating like none of them ever do, is Chrom.

His hesitation gives her time to get over her own shock enough to dodge when he runs at her and swings the Falchion anyway.

That battle, that first meeting, is the single hardest fight against the magic binding him that Chrom ever put up. Not his daughter. Not his own daughter. When he's not straining to make his swings into misses or to aim for his own limbs, he's begging her to run, please, he can't stop this. But despite his efforts, he has two decades of fighting experience on her and Grima stepping in directly to make him end this faster. It's all Lucina can do to put up a frantic defence, nevermind find a moment to turn and flee. Until Chrom abruptly stumbles to a stop, drops Falchion, doubles over with his head in his hands and screams for her to RUN ALREADY. She grabs Falchion and then books it.

After an encounter like that she should be inconsolable. But there's no time for weakness in war.

---

The first time they faced off may well have been the last. I imagine Grima wasn't thrilled with the outcome. If putting Lucina down upsets Chrom so much he can fight their influence that effectively... Well, they'll just have to do it themself, because they can't have her running around trying to stop them. Cue the cutscene several years later where Grima tries to kill Lucina in Ylisstol.

It's also possible Grima couldn't track Lucina closely enough or orchestrate the war carefully enough to always keep the two of them from coming near each other. So it's fully possible Lucina saw Chrom again years down the line, and saw how he eventually just... gave up. How he went from actively rattling the bars of his cage to just grimly executing people.

I can only think she must've placed all the blame for his actions onto Grima, even after he started being more of an active participant in battles. She's so fiercely dedicated to honoring her father's legacy, and so protective of his life after she goes back in time, and that aspect of her character gets so much more of a kick to it if you consider the version where she saw exactly what became of him. It's not just a rumour of his death that she's acting on there, she knows his fate and she refuses to let that happen again.

For RK Chrom's part... I think having to fight Lucina and grapple with the knowledge that she's trying so hard to find a way to defeat Grima is worse for him than if she'd just quietly died off screen. He can't just not think about that now. He has to actively hurt her, and keep hurting her, and know that she's clinging to a plan that's complete folly. He is so so very steeped in guilt and regret.

...Man, this isn't even touching on how them meeting in another context might go. Like in Askr or post-credits Awakening or something. That would be a whole situation by itself. But this post is so long already.

These two just kill me. This shit is a large part of why RKC's existence enhances the story of Awakening so much for me. The AGONIES.

#ask box #fire emblem #risen king chrom #lucina #headcanon #listen. i'm just saying. chrom brought the falchion to the dragon's table with him and then he died there. #it had to get back into lucina's hands SOMEHOW. why not like this? :) #also for as much as i enjoyed the rkc forging bonds. absolutely criminal that luci never even gets mentioned in any of his heroes content #we were ROBBED i say. ROBBED. she deserved a mention at the absolute minimum! she's a major protag too damn it!!

[emblematicemblazer]

Worldbuilding and the theories of Engage

The Rings in Lythos.

Marth - The Emblem of Beginnings

Marth's ring was on Alear's finger for 1000 years as they slept. The pair have a deep connection which enables Marth  to serve as personal adviser and confidant. 

Part of the reason Marth was chosen as the first ring met and the one closely associated with Alear is because he was the first lord. Their personalities are very similar, both are kind hearted, talented, have a strong sense of duty, idealistic, trusting and humble. Just like Marth, Alear wants to keep all his allies alive, especially after his mother sacrificed herself to protect their child when the ring vault in Lythos was attacked. Marth understands what it is like to have someone sacrifice themselves to protect him. When the Dolhr Empire attacks Altea, Elice stays and sends her little brother away for safety. Vassal Frey deguises as Marth as a decoy to aid his escape. Eventually they are reunited but he still experiences guilt. He has also suffered from losing his family and home when Altea fell. Both are humble and need reassurance from their allies when making difficult decisions. Marth and Alear undergo situations mirrored in Shadow Dragon such as when Marty goes to retrieve Falchion from Khadein and faces Gharnef who is undefeatable due to welding Imhullu. Alear faces the same humiliation and helplessness of defeat when Sombron and Veyle take all the Emblem ring and fills them with fell energy at Destinea Cathedral.

Marth's relationship with Tiki mirrors the relationship between Alear and Veyle. Marth views Tiki like a little sister and promises to protect her forever. They have a bond of trust and familial love. Just like Veyle, Tiki was forced to harm people against her will due to possession. Marth does not blame her and offers her comfort, similarly Alear forgives Veyle and comforts her. Marth promises Tiki that she will never have to go into a long sleep again. Alear promises Veyle that her efforts will bring happier times. 

Sigurd - The Emblem of the Holy War.

Sigurd's role is as adviser and father figure to Alear in the same way his spirit gave guidance to his son Seliph. When he was alive Sigurd made many mistakes due to being short sighted, overly trusting, rash and a warrior. When he invaded Agustria, he failed to consider the safety of the citizens. His naivety and trusting nature enable Arvis to manipulate his actions and evidently murder him. As an Emblem, he offers guidance based on understanding his mistakes. He is also a replacement parent figure for Alear when Lumera dies. As a father who left behind a son he understands her pain and swears to protect Alear as a result.

Sigurd and Deidre's love resembles a fairy tale gone wrong. They fell in love at first sight but their love resulted in his demise. Without Deirdre being exposed from her isolation in the forest it is likely that many of the events that are necessary for second generation's story may not happen, Seliph may have not been born and Loptr Church may have never found her. Alear is treated like a fairytale figure by many of their allies but they realise that Alear isn't a fairytale, they stand equal as treasured allies.

Deidre and Veyle mirror each other in many ways. When Alear first meets Veyle, they are enchanted by her, as though she has a magical aura about her. She then ends up fleeing without Akear knowing where she went. When Sigurd meets Deidre he is filled with fascination and enchantment. Deidre also flees to the forest spirit without Sigurd knowing where she went. Like Deidre, Veyle meant long periods in isolation and suffered from deep loneliness. She is also aware of the blood that flows through her veins and how it could leepad to great evil. They are both humble, kind-hearted and naive. Veyle almost leads to Alear's downfall in the chapter; 'The Fell Dragon Sombron' but is able to escape whereas  Sigurd is unable to escape his. 

The stolen rings

Lucina - Lucina is a symbol of hope despite the odds and the determination to change fate. When Lucina is stolen it symbolises all of Lumera's hopes and dreams of a family being taken away. Lucina being in Lythos also symbolises that Alear had already changed their fate. Alear could have been another of Sombron's children fed to the corrupted but instead they built a bond with Lumera, defeated Sombron for the first time and while asleep was imbued with divine power.

Byleth - Byleth being taken symbolises all the lessons that were enable to be taught to Alear because Lumera perished. Byleth being in Lythos symbolises Alear's lack of knowledge about who they are. 

Eirika - Eirika being taken symbolises the end of peace. Eirika is described as a person who defeats violence. Eirika being in Lythos symbolises the growth Alear will have throughout the story. Eirika is thrust as leader of an army from a sheltered upbringing and Alear is thrust upon a journey to collect the Emblems and stop Sombron when they have only just awoken. They both start as naive but end up becoming thoughtful, level headed leaders. 

Leif - Leif being stolen symbolises the end of wisdom. Lumera's wisdom has been lost and Alear is in the same state as Leif at the beginning of Thracia 776, seeking vengeance for the loss of their family. Alear mentions their hatred and desire for revenge against the cloaked figure who killed their mother and Sombron. Like Leif, when Alear starts to learn the truth about Veyle's double personality they change from wanting vengeful to wishing to help her,when Leif learnt of The Empire's oppression of its own people who arrived to help them and take out their rulers. 

#fire emblem engage #fe engage #fe lumera #fe alear #fe veyle #Emblem marth #Emblem sigurd #Emblem leif #Emblem lucina #Emblem byleth

[captainschmoe]

Arena Ferox Smash Taunts: Corrin

Robin: This is Corrin, prince* of two warring kingdoms. Well, actually, he’s also the prince of a secret third kingdom, but that’s another story for another day.

Lucina: Corrin is part dragon, which is why you’ll see parts of his body morphing into and out of draconic forms. Just remember that Falchion no longer has its dragon-slaying properties here in Smash.

Chrom: ………………

Robin: Chrom?

Chrom: Sorry, he just looks vaguely familiar somehow.

Corrin: You’re Chrom of Ylisse, right? I traveled to your halidom once. Remember the, uh, warthogs we had to fend off? The invisible ones?

Chrom: Warthogs…? Oh, that! I do remember! Haha, that was certainly an odd day. But I’ve had a lot of odd days in my life…

Corrin: Hey, after this match, would you want to catch up? I’d love to hear more about your “odd” days and tell you about some of my own.

Chrom: Of course! I’m always up for forging new friendships here!

Lucina: (Robin, what is this about invisible warthogs?)

Robin: (I am just as lost as you.)

*The masculine terms would of course change to feminine ones against a female Corrin, but otherwise this Smash Taunt remains the same.

#super smash bros #ssbu #fire emblem #fe13 #fe14 #fe chrom #fe corrin #fe robin #fe lucina #fanfic #z write #not a reblog for once

[sukimas]

thought wrong! 7, 12, 32?

7. That's a really hard ask. Most of my favorite stuff about FE isn't per se the characters, rather how the story applies to them (for example, Ishtar would be the most boring character in the world were it not for the situation she finds herself in.) But probably Naga? I mean, we don't really get to see her much at all (outside of heroes which doesn't count) but she's eccentric, has very different morals to human beings while still being unquestionably and even self-sacrificingly on their side, and makes a lot of mistakes/questionable decisions. The Tiki thing, non-interventionism in human affairs except when she personally is cool with it, giving people dragonslaying weapons just in case (the valentian falchion was given long before degeneration began at the very least), absolutely NO compromises we are taking human form NOW, "have you considered suicide, fell vessel?"... all while she ended up exhausting her power and eating shit to save the continent of Jugdral, created the Binding Shield to protect humanity for generations, will literally come back from the dead for 5 minutes to save you if you have unutterably fucked up your shadow dragon save file (and just for fun in new mystery)... She's really neat and I like her. Also her dragon form is cool and I will never never never forgive yusuke kozaki for awakening's divine dragon designs.

12. Thracia deserved to be released earlier than SEVERAL YEARS INTO THE N64'S LIFESPAN. And it deserved better than being treated as esoteric and unplayable thanks to a bugged translation patch for twenty years. TF?rururu. But it's one of the best games in the series, not particularly difficult and a fun challenge with a guide, and has really interesting mechanics and an excellent story. Yet it is continually overlooked even by people who play Genealogy (the second most popular game in the series in Japan, by the way). Very sad.

32. I'm pretty positive about the current direction the series is taking. Engage was developed mostly before 3H released and IS saw how positively people reacted to the tone in that one- the story is still more serviceable than many in the series, and the gameplay is some of the most fun I've had outside of Thracia or RD. I personally hope that future games have more varied map objectives, go further into giving the Avatar agency (since at this point, the avatar is just a normal lord again rather than the weird shit the 3DS did) and perhaps even allow them to have their memories, put an increased emphasis on worldbuilding and villain character development and keep comedy strictly to supports (the latter of which this game mostly does well but there are moments. timerra meat song). Of things that I think probably won't happen: I don't think that the games will ever have some of the really good bits of the kaga sagas, like esoteric character interactions for insane PRF weapons. Of things that could happen: I'd really like conversations on maps to make a comeback; 3H had them to some extent, but nothing like Genealogy, and I think they often do better work at character development than an entire support chain thanks to their relevance to the current story beats. I'd also like more unique boss conversations a la POR/RD. Basically, I think IS's writing chops are solid, but they need to be a little bit more ambitious with how they deliver their ideas without thinking "being more ambitious" means putting too many routes that you can't finish in your video game. Also please keep whoever directed Engage around solely to tell all the other potential directors if the way they're writing women is weird. This is the most normally women have been written in any FE game besides Tellius and it's incredibly refreshing. I don't know if Tei or Nakanishi is the one responsible for this, but by god. Women are written like people, in story and in supports. Revolutionary.

Overall: Keep what was good about Engage (which was a lot) but be more ambitious in terms of how you deliver the story. I think broadly "you're a young lord on the defensive against a greater foe and you fight an evil dragon at the end" is a perfectly fine FE story (Kaga certainly seems to think so, as it's the only story he's ever written); the difference is in how you tell that story. You can be more experimental with the types of stories you tell if you want, but it isn't as necessary as simply delivering that story well.

#fe ask game