ada-tan

[ada-tan]

diamivy...

[ada-tan]

big things happening on my twitter rn

[ada-tan]

Been a while since I yapped about diamivy... anyway!

I think their support really touches on two huge aspects of their characters: Diamant's sincerity and insecurity, Ivy's trust issues and valuing of genuine intent.

A VERY recurring theme in Diamant's bond supports is his insecurity. The uncertainty he faces in his future role as king, and whether he'll be a good ruler or not. And in Ivy's bond supports, the topic of trust comes up often. Namely her troubles with it, borne from her upbringing.

Their support is one of TWO instances where Diamant openly reveals his insecurity towards leadership/ruling to someone who isn't an emblem (the other person is Alear).

The man who feels he should show NO fear, no weakness, unloads to a woman who WAS his sworn enemy until a bit ago. The crown princess of Elusia, THE person he should not be revealing weakness to.

And this unexpected moment of sincerity from him directly plays on Ivy's trust. It starts with the gem he personally gives her, but there is hesitance.

She thinks that he may want something in return (hence her NEED to thank him, to not owe a debt), because growing up, Ivy has been made to believe that most relationships ARE transactional. People want things from you. Acts of kindness are not acts of sincerity. They have conditions.

And with the prince of BRODIA? There has to be a catch. She can't be beholden to him or his country.

Despite what people say ("oh they're instantly friends"), there IS an undercurrent of tension and distrust initially!

But it's covered by a layer of royal decorum and "rising above" feuds and heated emotions (which Alcryst's dynamic with Ivy directly - and interestingly - contrasts), and it's covered by a faint understanding of each other's circumstances.

And it's fully broken when Diamant reveals his deeper insecurities. Unexpected to her, and even unexpected to HIM ("sorry for unloading").

And Ivy's response to that? "I'm relieved you're a kind person"... though the localization changes it to, "I'm relieved you have the same concerns".

Both establish connection, but the original emphasizes his kind nature, which opens Ivy up to trusting his intent and vision, thus allowing her to have faith in it, as well.

This is what spurs her to make the necklace from his gem, to give him the tangible plan he NEEDED for a new connection to Elusia, not fueled by, or reliant on, war.

Ivy has always struggled to trust and open up to others, but when she sees their sentiment is genuine, and that their good intent is true (the Kagetsu support is a great example of this), this allows her to fully open up.

And this is what happens with Diamant.

He - unintentionally - makes himself vulnerable with her, a rare occurrence for him, and she puts aside her discomfort and tension to begin the path to trusting in him as a friend, and partner she can work alongside to restore and reform both their countries.

Diamant and Ivy not immediately jumping to lashing out and hatred? Is perfectly true to their characters, and imo is a more interesting angle on the usual "enemies to friends" formula.

Enemies by circumstance, but two people who actually connect really well with each other once they're able to peel back the layers.

A really good support characterization wise, and SUCH a fave.

[ada-tan]

Fire Emblem girl Yunaka ready to perform her routine!

[ada-tan]

i haven't even played engage yet and y'all are getting me unreasonably emotionally attached to diamant. my best friend played engage and i was like meh diamant is boring all of the other lords are way more interesting. but the way that asks on here talk about him give him more depth than i realized he had. and now i am no longer normal

.

[ada-tan]

GREAT meta, OP! I always LOVE to see a good deep dive on Engage characters, there really is so much to dig into them with imo.

Hope you don't mind my addition, but I think another interesting thing to note is her A Bond with Soren, too!

It further points to that resolve to "prepare for the worst", but also introduces the outside perception of that, how she is underestimated by her peers because she's trying to take on what's supposed to be a "prince's" duty.

Céline: I’ve always wanted to protect my homeland. That’s why I learned how to fight. Céline: But no matter how strong I get, there are some who say that is the prince’s duty, not mine. Soren: That’s because those people don’t understand the meaning of royalty. Soren: It is the duty of all royalty to defend the people. That’s what taxes pay for.

Along with adding even more dimension to Celine's motivations, I think it says something real interesting about Firene society and its expectations of its women.

Especially when you consider the backstory elements of characters like Chloe (expected to marry and become a housewife) and Etie (not considered a proper "lady", despite being a noblewoman, simply because of her bodybuilding interests).

Okay, this just may be me not having gotten all of either of their supports, but where in Engage does it say that Céline is the preferred heir over Alfred? Is that just extrapolation from Alfred having some sort of chronic/terminal illness and him only living a long life in his paired ending with Alear?

Yes-ish, no-ish? Saying "preferred heir" was probably a bit hyperbolic of me, but it's blatantly obvious that Celine was raised to be the heir under the expectation that Alfred would kick the bucket before he had any of his own.

From Etie's B supporr:

Etie: Do you remember our first teatimes together? Céline: Not especially well. We’ve been having them for so long, after all. Céline: At the time, my brother’s health was still very tenuous. Every day was nerve-wracking. Etie: But all that stress toughened you up. Céline: I knew I had to be able to support my brother… in case of the worst. Céline: But just as I was getting stronger, my brother’s health vastly improved, thanks to his training.

yknow "in case of the worst."

Céline: I suspected as much.

Céline: Likewise, I honed my swordsmanship and magical prowess to support my sickly brother.

Céline: But wouldn’t you know it! Just when I thought I’d strengthened myself enough…

Céline: my brother seemed to make a full recovery.

Fogado: Haha, and you didn’t know whether to cheer or break down sobbing.

Or here, in her Fogado A support. Yeah, she always talks about wanting to support the king, but here, it almost seems like her training was wasted by Alfred surviving. Both times, she contrasts the end of her training with Alfred's recovery, which doesn't sound that much like "supporting" to me.

Don't get me wrong, she is 100% glad and happy that Alfred lives, and she continues to be terrified for him, as one of the only people who knows that he's still sick.

From her Alfred A Support

Céline: I’ve always yearned for happiness and saw only misery. Like the day I fled from the castle. Céline: If Firene had fallen or Mother died or you were lost to us…I wondered, “How would I respond?” Céline: And now this? If things get worse, and you have to leave… What will I… How can I… Céline: … Alfred: Hey… I’m not gonna die, OK? I’ll be fine if I stick with my training.

Or the most blatant example of this is her C Support with Alcryst (or rather, most blatant example I could dig up by skimming supports.)

Alcryst: Ah. Did you have a bad dream?

Céline: …

Céline: I dreamt my brother died.

Alcryst: Oh…

Céline: This is a recurring dream, mind you. One that I have had many times since childhood.

Céline: My brother used to be chronically ill, you see.

Céline: But even now, I can’t shake the feeling that he might be taken from me at any moment.

Alcryst: Oh, Princess Céline…

Céline: Alfred has recovered since then, make no mistake. He is the picture of robust health now.

Alcryst: That he is. He always seems so brave on the battlefield. It’s amazing.

And from her Alfred support chain, we know that whenever she tells someone that Alfred is in perfect health, she's lying. She knows he's not. But she keeps it secret for Alfred because he doesn't want to worry anyone, and I think, Celine also wants to convince herself that Alfred's going to stay.

She is still perfectly prepared for the case that he'll die. Even if, emotionally, she abhors it. She can't bear it. Nonetheless, she constantly thinks about it.

Her Alcryst A support plays more on this. If you haven't read her Alfred support chain, it's pretty cute! Alcryst and Celine promise to protect both their elder siblings together. But if you consider that Celine knows about Alfred's condition, it becomes... playing pretend. She knows this joke alliance will not hold, but it's simply nice to think it will.

Alcryst: You know…I don’t think either of us will ever rule our countries. Céline: I beg your pardon? Alcryst: Ah, that came out wrong. I meant that, should the worst happen, we’d do our duties, but… Alcryst: The worst isn’t going to happen. We’ll fight to protect them─our brothers, our future kings. Alcryst: Fear may persist in our dreams, but we won’t let it affect our realities. Alcryst: In fact, I’ll go a step further…and do my best to protect Prince Alfred as well!

[...]

Alcryst: I believe we just formed an alliance that would worry most of our friends and allies. Céline: Yet I think that because of it, my nightmares will plague me less frequently. Alcryst: I think that might be true for me as well. Alcryst: We may never bear our own crowns, but we can certainly bear each other’s burdens. Céline: Yes. Even after the war ends, may we always act in harmony for the sake of our nations.

rhe entire support chain is sooo good i highly recommend it

anyway yeah that's the tldr on Celine!

If you want to see a deep dive into Celine, because I think she's a fascinating character, I highly recommend this video!!

It's really good. It also touches on Celine's stance on happiness, and what hidden sides the Xenologue brings out of her.

TLDR: Celine is constantly stressed as fuck about both her duties as a princess and her brother's physical state. She's trained since she was young and mentions this only in relation to Alfred's recovery... So putting two and two together, she could stop (or rather, put on hold) her training because Alfred got better, implying that Celine was "preparing for the worst."

[ada-tan]

YOU EVER SEE A MAN SO BEAUTIFUL

[ada-tan]

Rune Factory-Guardians of Azuma

[ada-tan]

One more for the guardians trailer because I couldn't not sketch her. A SEED Ranger! So proud of her

[ada-tan]

Runey Factor 5'd some studies!

[ada-tan]

I drew that some time ago and I’m not really happy with Diamant but I think Ivy turned out good <3

[ada-tan]

diamivy for @ada-tan for the FE art scuffle!

[ada-tan]

Jaaaaade💛💛 My cool, silly lady!

[ada-tan]

Saw a mutual from the Engage JPN fandom talking about this on Twitter, and they bring up a really solid point—it's not that Engage has no worldbuilding, but that a lot of its worldbuilding is scattered throughout things like bond conversations and supports and flavor text. For me, it's really fun, because as you go through these things, information on Elyos is gradually revealed like piecing together a puzzle.

BUT... that's not the case for more casual players. For those who just do one playthrough without digging too deeply into things like supports and the flavor text, the worldview does end up seeming pretty thin, and the prevailing opinion from players kind of assumes that it is, which is a shame.

It ALSO doesn't help that (from what me and friends have noticed), Treehouse failed to translate several little details brought up in the character profiles that DO help to expand on the world.

How Vander's profile clarifies the way Lythos priests live (in distant villages away from Lythos Castle), or how Louis' profile mentions that most Firenese retainers are nobles, and that him becoming one as a commoner is rare. Or how Merrin's profile explicitly states that women in Solm are the ones who inherit positions of power, over the men. All things brought up in the Japanese version, but not mentioned in translation at all.

Mutual also pointed out that this is why the manga has been so well-received, even with people who didn't like the original game—because the mangaka actually incorporates information from the supports and aspects of Elyos worldbuilding into the main plot. And on that? I'd agree.

While I understand that Engage is Alear's story first and foremost, and that the main plot focuses more on the conflicts between dragons rather than the human struggles that surround it (which is an interesting approach in itself tbh), it's understandable how those looking at it with a more casual glance/superficial eye would think that there's not much to it.

But there is! I find Elyos to honestly be such a fun and fascinating world, and for those who DO care to dig deeper, there really are a lot of fun details about the nations and characters to chew on.

[ada-tan]

Reward art of Jade for TheGinger1s, for donating as part of the FE Rally for Gaza event! Just 3 days left to make your donations and claim an available reward !!

👉 ferally4gaza.crd.co 📅 March 6th - April 17th

[ada-tan]

A really quick nervous frey because I miss drawing her 🥺🥺

[ada-tan]

Diamant's in the Top 20 males and Top 5 of Engage votes so far! DIAMANT GANG! LET'S KEEP PUSHING FORWARD! Don't get complacent, don't let up! With enough support we could do big things! And MORE support, of course, is always appreciated. Good luck to everyone!!