#and sombron absolutely did not do that

[vonaegiremblem]

It's a shame that Fire Emblem Cipher is discontinued because you know that they would have made up a design for the Emblem of Foundations and it would have owned

[yanderefairyangel]

I can''t... I just can't... this fandom can't be real... this has to be some ... WHY WHY WHY ?!

why do i bother.

Ok, look. See that one criticsm of Alear's reaction when they ask Veyle to give them back the rings in chapter 10 :

"OOOh why does Alear says that, you can't take my rings, not fair gimme back, acting like an actual child like they are on some playground to they think Veyle will really give it back are they serious ? This game's writing sucks so much uwu"

It's all you need to know about how low the bar is for media analysis these day.

"Alear behaves like a child in this scene. They are so immature". Congrats. Congrats on getting the freaking point this scene tried to establish !!

Yes, Alear behaves like the child they are ! they are 17 year old for God's sake, they are thinking with their amygdalia !! This is what this scene is trying to establlish and by the reaction you all have it did it incredibly well !!!

Alear literaly got stolen from them the 6 rings that they spend all the game collecting. All of them !!!! With the rings he stole, Sombron is at 2 rings of reaching his objective and to destroy Elyos !!!!!! The world is so close to be doomed because of this !! And Alear losing the rings mean losing their emotional supports and the one thing that helped them feel braver. Alear is someone who is 17 year old, they are amnesiac, they just woke from coma, they are weak, unaware of the world, they showed they were scarred by the Corrupted and fear to not being ready to fight them and Sombron yet, Marth's presence is what helped them defeat them, if it weren't for Alfred's arrival they wouldn't have been able to handle the castle's attack, they didn't had the time to prepare when Lumera died, they saw their mother dying right in front of their freaking eyes to protect them and were thrown into a bitter war in that state when they didn't even had the time to properly mourn her, are in a state where they clearly aren't ready and are very dependent of other, notably Marth !! Of course, of freaking course they are acting as their character are !! As a teenager who has been living all of this and got it pushed into them as the successor of their mother when they aren't ready yet, of course they are going to show immaturity !!! That's the freaking point of this scene, showing Alear's flaws !!!

HOW THE HECK DO YOU WANNA KNOW THE FLAWS OF A CHARACTER IF THEY NEVER SHOW THEM ?!

That's the whole point of this freaking scene !! Alear is literaly desesperate to know that they failed to fufill the promise they made Lumera to colllect all the rings and prevent Sombron's faction to collect them before they do !!!! They lost the Emblems whom they consider to be their friends !! Did you see the face of absolute terror they have upon seeing Sombron summoning Marth ?! How do you want them to react exactly ?! To brush it off as if they are some sort of Superman ?! They aren't !! They are just a normal person, a teenager that is pushed into this when they are amnesiac and desoriented !!! This is incredible that this comes from the same people who keep saying that Alear isn't a relatable protag because of their deity status (which is quite ironic considering Engage's message about birth not mattering) when they are literaly reacting like anyone their age would in a situation where they got stolen from them the one thing that might threatened the balance of the world when used with ill intent knowing that they have a whole world weighting on their shoulder when theya re 17 amnesiac and didn't even had the time to mourn their mother who DIED TO PROTECT THEM RIGHT AFTER LEARNING SHE GAVE ALL HER LIFE FORCE SO THAT THEY CAN SURVIVE AND FEELING GUILTY ABOUT IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ahhhhhhhhh !!!!!!!

Don't get me started on how they also just learned that Veyle whom they considered a friend was on Sombron's side, killed their mother and are incredibly disturbed by how differently she behaved !!! Or the fact that a 1000 years earlier, they were speaking like a child because their trauma got them frozen in their age resulting in them using the alphabet of a 10 year old !!

"Why do you ask her to give you back the rings ? Are you stupid You think she will give it back ?" OF COURSE NOT THEY DON'T !!! This dialogue exist to SHOW Alear is desesparated !!!!!!! It's not based on logic or anything, it's just to convey their freaking emotions of being desesperated !!!

It's absolutely jarring that people keep acting as if the story never showed Alear as evovling or failing at being brave ! There. There it is! Look at the terror on their face and how they are falling to their knees, begging Sombron to stop in a sign of desesperation !! There they are ! Can you really not look at this scene and see that Alear is failing at being brave ?! They are overwhelmed by the situation. This is the most angry you will ever see them in the entire game !!!! Yet "they don't evolve, their so called frail character and fear is just narrative gaslighting "and yadi yada WHY DO I EVEN BOTHER ?!

It took them 10 chapter to realize that they were too imature yet. It took them 10 more chapter to have Alfred comment on how far Alear went and how they finally seemed to have stepped into their role as a leader and deity figure. It took them 25 chapter to show how much they evolved from their mother dying in chapter 3, begging for her to not die and leaving them alone as they REVERT FREAKING BACK TO SPEAK LIKE A CHILD and being so marked by it that Lumera won't stop haunting the narrative, to chapter 25 were they had to take her down while Lumera was still refering to chapter 2, the only moment the two of them spent as family, with them actually accepting what's comming and refusing to cry anymore !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And this, this is the straw

"A 17 year old becoming the head of an army when they are amnesiac is unrealistic". YES CONGRATS ON UNDERSTAND THE WHOLE POINT THAT THE STORY WAS MAKING ON HOW THE EXPECTATIONS PUSHED ON ALEAR ARE UNREALISTIC WHEN THEY ARE A TRAUMATIZED AMNESIAC TEENAGER THAT IS INTO THIS SITUATION TO SUCCESS TO THEIR MOTHER WHEN THEY WEREN'T READY !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Congrats on understanding the whole point the story was trying to make to explain why Alear acts the way they do !!!

I swear... I am tired. I can't, I can't with this fandom,...

But writing this reminded me of how good of a character Alear is... I CAN'T, I LOVE THEM SO MUCH THEY ARE SOOOOOO !!!!!!!

[dazzlerazz]

One thing I like about the fell xenologue is that all characters in the main campaign have the potential to become their fell xenologue counterparts. What FX did was basically amplify their worst traits to the maximum, and that effected how they interacted with their world, and this is especially present within the royals, and with them being the leaders of their countries that trickled down into their subjects and by proxy the other characters

I feel the best example of this is Celine, who is war-thirsty and ready to attack another country to protect her own subjects from the resource epidemic their country is facing. Celine in the main campaign has shown a similar form of ruthlessness, but on smaller scales, in some of her supports. What she is in FX is that part of her times 10. She's willing to more and more to protect her people, even to go so far as to put those lives of the people she loves at risk to believe that she's saving them all, even when it eventually resultts in their deaths

Diamant is also another perfect example. While Diamant just seems to be Main Game Alcryst, he's actually far different than that. FX Diamant is a king of a country that doesn't want to go to battle, of course, and while this was always the base, I believe it symbolizes FX Diamant's fearfulness. FX Diamant is afraid, he's unsure of himself, he knows his younger brother is more fit for the throne and that Alcryst is going to have him assassinated, or even worse, bring that blade down himself. Diamant has accepted his fate, he won't fight it. He wants to lead his country the best he can, but he's also lost his father. While Alear was alive in this universe as well, Alear fell far too soon to help Diamant be able to completely process his grief, stripping him of yet another ally. The Divine Dragon was everyone's closest friend, after all

Ivy I feel is a similar case but in a slightly different way. FX Ivy is almost like main campaign Hortensia in a way, but devoted to the Fell Dragon all the same. FX Ivy begs his return, something MC Ivy would never do, which leads me to believe that after Alear's death, her faith in the divine dragons was lost, allowing her to fall back onto her previous religion out of just pure emotion. Maybe she thought Sombron would resurrect Alear despite him being the one that killed them, or maybe she just wanted to use his power for her own and burn the entire world down as revenge against the universe for allowing Alear to fall. MC Ivy in battle with FX Ivy says that she hopes that she doesn't sound like FX Ivy, meaning that MC Ivy in some way sees her behaviors in FX Ivy (I've always assumed this was because Ivy was being very careful in the MC to not let that side of herself show while FX Ivy let that side of herself run wild)

Timerra, similar to Celine, wants to do what's best for her country, except FX Timerra has a bit more of a level head on her shoulders compared to FX Celine. (Also I will admit that we didn't get that much time with her compared to others). Solm is a country that keeps to itself and helps no one unless it benefits them mostly, and the only reason they wanted to go to war with Elusia was to keep them from resurrecting Sombron and effectively save their home, so it's worth gathering an army to meet them on the field of battle. They view Elusia power-hungry, and will absolutely tear Elyos to its roots if allowed to run free

Anyways that's it, I could go on about side characters but I feel like the royals are really at the heart of it all and are the best examples I can give. There are characters that are written to just be exact opposites instead of their worst traits, such as Bunet who was described as a terrible cook which pretty much goes completely against his MC character, but you get what I mean

[fayesdiary]

WiP Wednesday

Got tagged by @danganronpa-21 for this! It got me to write a whole chapter after months, so thank you :D

This chapter is part of my Veyle rebuilds Gradlon story. Originally it was meant to just be a scene, but then... I got carried away😅

It also contains some big but hopefully vague enough to @bluescreenl 's fic Defective, you should really check it out!

Speaking of, I tag them, @good-beans and @felikatze to do this if you want to :D

Veyle remembered Timerra once explained to her how Solmic funerals worked, which as was typical for the queendom, was vastly different from how the rest of Elyos did things.

Rather than burying the dead in somber farewells like she was used to see, most residents of Solm choose to burn them instead, the huge bonfire used for the creation serving as a backdrop for a party in their name, as their cinders scattered to the wind.

"It's to make sure their spirit is set free." Timerra continued. "You can't go on whatever journey's up next having to carry that old body around, after all!"

"Oh! So the reason there weren't that many Corrupted in Solm was…"

"Yup! Can't have a lot of undead trapped in their old bodies and forced to do Sombron's bidding if there's no body to corrupt to begin with! It wasn't the reason we cremate the dead to begin with, but it sure has been helpful, don't you think?"

"But… why the party, then? Aren't you sad that your loved ones have died?"

"Well duh, of course we're going to miss them. But I'd rather remember someone close to me remembering what they loved instead of just getting sad about it, you know? They're just going in the afterlife or whatever is up next before me, but it's not like I'm never going to see them again." Then, realizing something, Timerra added. "So you'd better not be all mopey at my funeral! I want my friend to have a great time and not be miserable because I went up ahead!"

…Oh. That's right. Veyle was going to outlive Timerra by a lot, no matter what. Like all of her friends.

" I… I'll try. Thank you, Timerra." Veyle replied, with a sad smile.

As she, her siblings and the Winds set foot in the dark halls of Gradlon Temple once more, Veyle thinked Timerra might have been more right than she realized.

Compared to the last time they were here, the place was eerily quiet without the sounds of fighting, the grunts of the Corrupted and Corrupted Lumera's insults at everyone who would dare take her away from her beloved child. Most of which were directed at Veyle herself.

And yet, Veyle could have sworn to have heard whispers from the moment they entered, as long as seeing some indistinct figures.

The same figures Veyle vaguely remembers seeing sleeping in the halls back when she still lived here.

It took her some centuries after leaving to realize they weren't sleeping at all.

She hates that she can't recall her siblings' names and faces. One of the most common things she heard people say is that the dead aren't truly gone as long as they're remembered, and yet here they are, restless and forgotten by everyone, including her own family.

Veyle, too young to have even known them.

Alear, who forgot everything about their past.

Nel and Rafal, who not only are from another Elyos so they never knew them, they had to forget that the people they were forced to fight to the death.

"No matter the world, this place will always be a cesspool like no other." Rafal said.

"Veyle, if I may? There is something I want to check."

"Of course. Lead the way."

It was weird how the temple was somehow more unsettling without any Corrupted hunting them down.

They entered a medium-sized room with a series of castle beds, who all looked worn down and resembling slabs of stone more than a place to sleep. From her time wandering the world Veyle learned to make due sleeping anywhere vaguely comfortable..but even she had absolutely no intention to try those. Right away, Rafal began looking under the beds, searching for something.

“Why did you two want to come this room?”

Nel took a deep breath.

“This was where our room was, back in our world.”

Veyle’s eyes widened.

“You don’t think… there was a version of you two here too?”

“It’s a possibility. The Alear from the past looked shock to see Rafal and I, and this world’s Sombron seemed to recognize me.”

“I knew it.”

Everyone turned to look at Rafal, who had moved one of the beds while they were talking, revealing a small hidden crawlspace beneath it.

“What is that?” Veyle asked

“My secret sweet stash. I used to hide the sweets I gathered in our missions here, away from any greedy hands… as well as Father’s eyes”. Rafal muttered. Veyle could have sworn he shuddered for a moment.

“I always wondered where the sweets you shared with Nil and I came from. Now I finally know.” Nel chuckled much to her brother’s chagrin.

“Regardless, this proves your theory right, sister. But I have no doubt in my mind our selves in this Elyos have long been nothing but dust.”

Nel closed her eyes. “I see.”

“Are you two alright?” Veyle asked, worried about her older siblings.

"Yes. This just proved our suspicion, nothing more."

"..the us in this world must be nothing but dust now. Not like it ever mattered beyond our selfish want for closure."

"Rafal…"

Veyle couldn't help but wonder what the two were thinking about. Whenever the Winds talked about her late self from the other world, she always felt a strange pit in her stomach. Maybe Rafal and Nel felt the same.

"Enough feeling nostalgic. It's not as if this place holds any good memories anyway. Let's just do what we must."

"Right." Veyle nodded. She had everyone come here for a reason, after all.

"Zelestia? Could you give everyone their crystals, please?"

"Certainly." Zelestia took a handful of strange crystals out of her bag and started handing them over to everyone.

"Lady Veyle already mentioned this before we departed, but be very careful with those crystals. To give them that much destructive power we had to make them extremely volatile. That is to say, any hit or fall could set them off and if that happens…" Zelestia made the sound of an explosion while stretching her arms out to prove her point. Gregory gulped nervously in response.

"Make sure to place them at an appropriate distance between each other so that they'll all activate in a chain reaction. Once you're done, return to the throne room. …I want to make sure you all evacuate before I proceed."

"Are you going to be alright?" Nel asked, worried.

"Yes. The spell will take a little while to activate, and I can run pretty fast when I want to." Veyle responded.

"Everyone, we'll meet at the Throne Room. If you find any Corrupted or other threats, alert everyone. And again please be careful with the crystals! ..sorry I couldn't make them safer. I'm not as good at magic crafting as I should yet and Zelestia could only help so much. And no, the ghosts aren't threats."

And with that, everyone split into groups.

Veyle was about to leave to place her crystals in her designated area when…

Veyle…

"Huh?" She turned around to see two ethereal figures and yet more vivid than all the other ghosts, even if their faces were still unclear. They merely turned to point at a nearby room.

"Yes. I'll go check it out before we leave." She nodded before heading there.

She couldn't turn a request from her late siblings, after all.

"Good, you're all here." Veyle said after reuniting with everyone else at the throne room.

"Veyle? Where did you get those?" Nel asked. Her sister was holding a bag of seeds in her left hand and a sword on her right.

"I found them in one of the bedrooms. …our siblings wanted me to take these with us before we free them from this place." Veyle muttered. Everyone fell silent.

"Mauvier, I'm entrusting these to you. We are going to bring them home."

"Yes, Lady Veyle."

"Thank you. Now, I am going to cast the spell. Everyone, you need to evacuate from here."

"Just be careful, sister."

Veyle nodded before watching everyone head out of the temple.

Once she was sure to be the only alive presence left, she turned her gaze towards the throne where Papa once stood.

She knew what she had to do. But she'd be lying to herself that burning another place to the ground after her other self did so to the port town in Firene didn't make her shiver.

Then she shook her head.

"No. This is different." 

The port was a place of innocents. This temple was a monument to all of Papa's - No, Sombron's - atrocities, and as long as this place stood the wound he inflicted on Elyos would never truly heal.

…and her siblings would never be able to leave this world and rest.

With renewed determination, Veyle took out the tome she specifically prepared for this, and casted the largest fireball she ever made in her entire life.

The fireball lazily floated in place, but Veyle knew that in a matter of minutes it would explode, triggering in turn the explosive crystals she and the others had placed all over the temple and causing a chain reaction that would cleanly bring all of Gradlon Temple down.

Now that her job was done, Veyle began running out of the temple as fast as she could and watching the affair with the others.

It was time for a Solmic funeral they would never forget.

Shortly after reuniting with her group Veyle watched Gradlon Temple explode and collapse within itself, going down in flames. Even she didn't quite know how she was feeling, watching the flaming ruins of the place she once regrettably called home.

She knew this was just the beginning. She may have cauterized Sombron's biggest wound on this world, but there was plenty to be done yet to reshape Gradlon into the land she wanted it to be.

But the young queen wasn't deterred. She had all the time in the world and there were plenty of people by her side.

"Thank you again for planting these flowers with me, Alear."

"They're from our siblings, right? It was the least I could do."

This was the first time Veyle ever gardened with her sibling. Something about it made her feel at peace.

"When I asked Céline which types of flowers they were she said these seeds grow best in temperate climates. Like Firene… or Lythos."

Veyle was genuinely impressed that they managed to grow them in Gradlon.

"They wanted to be here all along…"

"I think that's why they asked me to take the seeds with me. They remembered us, Alear. All of us."

"If only we had gotten to know them… Still, I can't believe you talked to actual ghosts, Veyle. You could give Ivy a big scare with that." Alear smiled.

"I didn't really talk to them much, but I wasn't scared." Veyle continued. "I was just… really sad."

"They're here now, at least. I'm sure they're watching over us even as we speak." Alear smiled.

"I hope they like the garden we made for them!"

Veyle felt really proud of her work. The light-colored flowers bloomed gracefully in the cold green of its dedicated garden in the Somniel, and it made both siblings feel at peace with themselves.

In the following centuries, these flowers could be found growing all over Gradlon. Many of them are said to have been planted by the Fell Queen herself.

"Lady Veyle? What brings you here?" Pandreo asked, surprised.

"Hello, Pandreo. May I ask you a favor? I'd like you to bless this."

"A sword?"

"I found it the other day in Gradlon Temple." Veyle nodded. "It was from one of my late siblings."

"...I see. Not that I don't appreciate you visiting, Lady Veyle, but why did you come all the way to Solm just to bless this sword?"

"When I handed Alear this sword, they acted… strange. The look on their face reminded me of when we saw them in the past."

"I see. Did it bring some painful memories?"

"Not quite. They did say they felt a strong knot in their throat, though."

"Hmmm…."

"Anyway! I wanted to keep the sword in the Somniel as a memento, but they said they felt the owner would have hated it. …that they would rather have it be used and see the world, free. So… here I am."

"You thought to have the sword be given a Solmic blessing to make sure it'd know the joy of freedom? That's quite clever, Lady Veyle! I'll make sure to give it the greatest blessing Solm's ever known!"

"Thank you so much, Pandreo!" Veyle beamed.

"But in return I insist you join tonight's party. We gotta celebrate the blessing and you and the Divine One getting to know their family more, after all!"

"Oh, certainly! Awoooooo!"

The Grave of the Fell.

Built atop where the old Gradlon Temple by the Fell Queen herself, it is a giant grave covered in flowers.

Ever since the official refounding of Gradlon, every year there has been a joint festivity between the Divine and Fell religions to mourn all of the Fell Children who perished in the first war against Sombron.

Whereas the Divine Faith focused more on the atrocities they were forced to commit by their father, the Fell Faith viewed it as a reminder of their bloody past that must never be repeated, as the guardians of Elyos.

But both of them always emphasized their senseless, gruesome demises at the hands of their own father.

The Divine One and the Fell Queen knew that better than anyone, which is why every year they go to that grave to pay their respects.

The incision marks:

"A monument to all the Fell Children who met their untimely demise at the hands of Sombron.

May their senseless loss of life always be remembered, so that their tragedy will never be repeated.

Fell Queen Veyle

Divine Dragon Alear

Fell Guardians Nel and Rafal

"

[rafent]

"Ah, hello! Rafal, was it? I am Leanne, of the heron tribe." Leanne makes her way to the grumpy dragon's side soon after the rest of her comrades disperse. The silver-haired man is a dragon, his self-proclamation confirming her suspicions. He feels more similar to Grima than Kurth or any of the other dragon laguz, but he's a lot more forward about his heritage. Interesting! "I do apologize if we bothered you earlier. While it is important to build rapport, it was not my intention to cause you distress."

Leanne's instinct is to hum a soothing galdr to dispel the tension and soothe the man's distress. It takes her some small amount of time to realize the folly of this--Rafal had specifically complained about the shanties, and here she is following that up with her own tune! Hopefully the magic already released will ease things, but if the dragon truly cannot stand the sound of singing…

Leanne fishes in her pocket, procuring a small wrapped caramel. She'd packed a fair few sweets for this journey, thinking it wise to bring along easily-preserved, high-energy snacks--plus, of course, they taste quite good. Rafal seems to have a taste for them, so maybe this can serve as penance for earlier?

"Please accept this with my most sincere apologies, Rafal. And another, for my own mistake." Two caramels is a little costly, but he obviously needs it, given his attitude. And if she is to speak with him on the topic she so desires, she simply must get in his good graces. "We herons utilize galdr, songs of old magic. It is instinct for me to slip into it sometimes, and I did not mean to reoffend your sensory sensibilities."

"Forgive me for asking, but you said you are a dragon, yes?" Leanne wracks her brains, trying to remember the information on her comrades. He is from...Elyos, yes? The same land as Zelkov and Alear. "I am not certain the classification of dragons where you live, but in my homeland of Tellius, there are dragon laguz with a similar--" oh, what is the best word to describe this in modern? "--feeling-aura, to you. It is wonderful to meet you!"

After his episode Rafal found the quietest corner he could, wishing not to be bothered and expecting it, too. Not many brave souls saw fit to approach the prickly Fell Dragon after he showed his true colors; his fury easily ignited, his attitude severe sometimes even cruel. It thus struck him as a mystery when an ally sought him out with kinder words than his earlier outburst deserved, even going so far as to come with a pair of offerings in hand.

"Humph, your intentions are transparent. Come to buy my forgiveness? You will find that I am not an easy man."

He said that but accepted the caramel drops without a second thought. The rustling of a wrapper followed next. Eager to pop the accompanying source of sugary salvation into his mouth, he nestled the caramel in the inside of his cheek where a maple-like flavor spread outwards. A bit warm, a bit misshapen from the heat of a pocket, but absolutely divine. He made a noise straddling a sigh and a moan. It tasted salty and sweet like the sea, though Rafal didn't wish to be reminded of his sickly circumstances any more than necessary—ah, but he had company, didn't he?

Returned to Leanne's presence, he trained his attention more carefully- curiously- upon the delicate heron to find that their inhuman natures were mirrored even if not identical. Such a fact was reflected in her curiosity for his origins. He would have been lying if he said his sense of intrigue wasn't piqued just the same. Galdr? Old magic? "I am a dragon, yes. A Fell Dragon to be specific." Though it was knowledge that might have earned him fear or hatred from those outside Gradlon, Rafal didn't hesitate to say it. He continued just as smoothly.

"I know not of your dragon laguz, but in my world there are a number of dragons. My kind is born in pairs of twins. All of us children of Sombron—each destined to fight and kill their twin and their half-siblings in the struggle to be his one true heir."

Those were only the basics- and as much information as two candydrops could earn. Beyond the schematics, Rafal would not go into details about their powers. His goal to stop here, however, wasn't marked by any unfriendliness; in fact he went so far as to grant sweet Leanne the boon of a warning. "In any case, I will remember your name, Leanne of the heron tribe. But if you wished to make friends, you are better off finding someone else. My twin would have served a kinder prospect than I."

[iturbide]

What would the Elyusians' religion even be??? Like, we get so little info on them and what they believe, that when we see Sombron and he's clearly doing evil things, it's like. How did this guy get a religion??? Like, from only seeing what the game shows us, it's hard to imagine a religion based on Sombron that would have any good to it. I mean, that's clearly what the game was going for, just pure cartoonish evil, but c'mon... do better.

Yeah, unfortunately the whole impression of any potential Elusian religion is tainted by seeing how Sombron is in person. He is wretched. There is nothing good about him.

But also...religion is a funny thing. It's not so much about the deity, but about the stories and what they mean to the people that embrace them. Sombron can be an absolute piece of shit (and he is) without that necessarily reflecting in any way on the faith itself that adopted him as a central figure.

Like, just as an example. We know that Sombron had a lot of kids with a lot of different dragons. We also know that Hyacinth himself had both a wife and at least one concubine, with each one bearing a daughter. While Sombron himself is a vile piece of work who used his children to further his goals and disposed of them for the most minor of infractions, Ivy and Hortensia both agree that, before coming under Sombron's thrall, Hyacinth was a loving father -- so it doesn't seem unreasonable to speculate that the Elusian faith prizes family, using a muddled record of Sombron's own situation as the basis for it. It's also clear that Ivy and Hortensia love each other dearly, which could similarly play into that concept of valuing family -- especially if Sombron's own children have any minor standing in the faith.

We know that Hortensia's mother was looked down upon for being a concubine, but we don't know what the underlying source of that disdain was: it might have been a matter of class difference between queen and concubine, with the queen coming from high nobility and the concubine coming from either a family of lower standing or even a commoner -- but we also know that Hortensia's mother eventually won over the queen herself with her smiling perseverance. Given the trials that Sombron put his children through to test their mettle, it's not impossible for me to imagine that, a thousand years down the line, the Elusian faith has enshrined such perseverance in its scriptures as a virtue.

And this is just from what very little I know from the interactions in the main game and the few supports I've managed to get with Ivy and Hortensia. There's potential for a lot more -- but it's on fans to make it all up, because the game went out of its way to imply that Elusia is as evil as the divine at the core of its faith.

[oh-cool-a-burning-sword]

Welp, I played and finished Fire Emblem Engage!

NGL, it's really, REALLY good.

Like the people who reviewed the game before it was released did not do it justice. (not that I cared for those reviews anyways). Sure the story is simple when compared to Houses, but that doesn't make it bad. Sure plot points are rather predictable if you've played past games, but their played out in more interesting ways.

Like while it was fairly obvious that Alear was related to Sombron. It was surprising that Lumera wasn't Alear's biological mother. Found family tropes aren't really common in FE games (since parents usually die). Yet the bond that Alear and Lumera shared, despite Alear being taught to kill divine dragons and Lumera's family dying because of the Fell Dragon... and said bond being so strong that she took years out of her own life to bring them back?

That, right there, is family.

And on the topic of Sombron and Lumera. There were already plenty of parallels before the game was even out. Lumera's name meaning light and Sombron's name meaning shadow, divine and fallen. But then you play the game and you find one more thing that they have in common. They both lost everything. In the final battle you find out that Sombron's people were killed and he was exiled to another world (aka Elyos). The difference is that Lumera found a new family in Alear and by the looks of it, moved on. While Sombron HAD someone at first, an Emblem from another world known as the Zero Emblem. Yet the Emblem vanished when Sombron was taken in by a village, and after that he decided to stay alone, pushing away people who genuinely cared for him like Veyle.

He's still obviously the villain. Even with that backstory, he hurt too many people, was willing to destroy a world just to get back to his own. Sombron killed his own kids because they were 'defects'. Because of his treatment, past Alear behaved like an emotionless puppet due to trauma and fear of being killed like his siblings. You can sympathise with a villain while still seeing them as the bad guy.

Same can be said for Zephia. She did so many horrible things, tried to erase the real Veyle, killed Marni, which honestly that scene brought tears to my eyes. When we learn her backstory, we find that she was also alone. She never got to know what Love really was until it was too late. Zephia wanted a family, a child, and she genuinely thought of the Hounds as her family. Hell in the scene where she and Griss were dying, she finds out that Griss truly saw her as a mother/sister. It does kinda make we wish that they could have joined us, but oh well.

Also glad that they actually gave an explanation as to why Alear and Veyle never turned into dragons. Past Alear gave their dragon stone to Veyle (which then breaks when Alear dies), and Veyle in a wake up event reveals that she buried her dragon stone. I would have liked to see how a Fell/Divine dragon hybrid would look like, however, as despite not being biologically related, Lumera giving her powers to Alear made them in part a Divine Dragon.

Then there's these little moments in the game that just makes it shine. Like meeting Fogado's retainers, aka Pandreo's hilarious reaction of 'Oh hey it's God... GOD!?'. King Morion (despite not lasting long) being revealed to absolutely loving both his kids was nice. I really thought that he wouldn't have been a good guy, but he was a sweetheart? I wish he lasted longer tho.

Honestly the whole Brodia fam is just great, I love them.

I like how if you get a game over during the final battle, you don't just get a game over screen, you get a bad ending. Alear loses their divine side, Veyle is under Sombron's control again and has Alear's emblem ring. Everyone dies. There's not really that many bad endings in FE games. At least as far as I'm aware? I mean there's the 'right' thing to do, finishing Grima off as Robin so that the Fell dragon's gone forever, choosing to side with neither Hoshido or Nohr to save everyone. But never an ending that straight up goes 'you fucked up big time'. Even Three Hopes, despite the fact that sure, recruiting Byleth is the 'right' decision, with the exception of Scarlet Blaze, there's no huge consequence for choosing to kill them (though the story just kinda... drops at the end so we never known what happens afterwards)

Granted it's a small scene and you get brought back to the fight soon after, but it's still really neat that they did that.

All in all I really enjoyed this game. It makes it abundantly clear that Engage was meant to be an anniversary title that got delayed. I can't wait for the next instalment which there's a 90% chance of being a Genealogy remake. We should find out about it in about 2-3 years since that seems to be the release pattern FE games have atm. Unless there's any delays.

I didn't get the DLC yet, but now I think I will. Just to see the side story we'll get and also to meet new Emblems/new Characters.

Oh and yes, I married Alfred.

[imustbenuts]

Can i talk about sombron? I want to talk about sombron and what he might represent. I'm gonna talk about sombron, whee!!! Full spoilers ahead

Sombron is basically the guy who craves desperately for the good old days, wishing to return and never sparing a thought for the future of others. He exists by robbing others of any chance to become their own person, repurposing them to suit his agenda but will never feel fulfilled in his pursuit. It doesn't matter if he finds something similar, he will *never* find fulfillment.

Marth says it best. Even if he found the original of that Emblem, they won't be the same. And Alear also with good faith told him the Emblem is benevolent, implying that Sombron will not find approval even in the best case scenario -- he's too far gone for any sort of redemption.

Because in his twisted logic off the deep end, only the idealistic past will acknowledge him. Not the people currently around him, not his own kin, not even strangers who are willing to lend a helping hand.

He doesn't see himself or joy in others. In his isolation his ideals are absolute and perfect. The one person whom he accepted love and acknowledgement from is... Already dead. Doesn't exist. Gone.

We know him as Sombron. In Japanese, he's known as Sombre. He's a wet, dull, soggy pathetic asshole unable to connect with others trying to fly off into space.

I see him as a representation of current day irl people who lean towards key conservative mindsets. People who can't let go of the past. People who are too deep into their delusion and fail to reach out to others around them.

He also reminds me of people who chase after a certain pure spiritual state with no care for the people around them. So long as he gets 'ascended', nothing else literally matters.

Engage is written optimistically and idealistic. In the real world Alear would have stumbled and gotten backstabbed more than what the story offered, and Diamant and Ivy would have much more rocky issues to navigate, not to mention disagreements.

But Engage took the Buddhist poisons of greed, hatred, delusion, and basically gave the characters an innate understanding of them. Kind of. All to say something.

Alear gets poisoned with a deep hatred from Lumera's death, but they learn to slowly let go through understanding their enemies and even arguably themself. They learn of the four hounds' reasoning for what they do, and they learn of their past self. Alear comes out the other end better because they ultimately learned to connect, even if Zephia refused to fully reciprocate. Alear also respects others.

In short, Alear is the opposite of Sombron. They woke up to a new place, connected with people already willing to help, saw themself in others and looked to the future, and they found acknowledgement in the friends around them. Sombron in response to similar events always did the opposite, rejecting and killing people.

I'm glad Engage let me slug one of the most pathetic villain I've ever seen across the face with the power of friendship and a confused good nugget of a dragon. 10/10 will do it again.

[canonical-transformation]

Prologue & Chapter 1 — Mystery of the Emblem [FE17 let's play]

(spoiler: the Emblem was Marth)

Meet my OC! Her name is A'lear. The apostrophe isn't abbreviating anything, it's just really important to put lots of apostrophes and uncommon letters in an original character's name. She is a dragon, like Corrin from Fates!

Also A'lear's mother is Queen Lumera, the universally loved Divine Dragon Queen! And that means she is a princess, just like Corrin from Fates. A dragon princess, wow!

(the Fates comparisons end here. A'lear is better than Corrin because Corrin had that "reconciling two conflicting heritages" angst where she had to fight her own siblings for drama. My OC A'lear will not have any of that "nature vs nurture" angst, because this will be a story about FOUND FAMILY.)

A'lear's hair is red and blue as a homage to the two most important characters in Fire Emblem history: Enemy Phase and Player Phase.

This is my second playthrough of FE17. I'm picking Maddening this time around, and the game insists I pick fixed unit growths for my own sanity. (That means no random dice rolls on level-up, but instead slowly ticking counters that give stat points out at steady intervals.)

We have Switch Online (for my wife's foray into Splatoon) so I will absolutely be making use of the online features — the shiny yellow and purple tiles which give free loot and XP, and more importantly, earlier and more convenient access to the Tower of Trials, which will let me grind for A supports and silver ingots and Ancient Well loot more easily when I'm feeling stuck.

I don't have the DLC but will consider it after this run.

-----------------------

Our story begins with a semi-prophetic dream sequence, in which Robin and a mysterious blue-haired stranger defeat an evil Fell Dragon sorcerer together and profess their undying, eternal, totally platonic love for one another. Then she wakes up from a deep slumber, with amnesia.

But who was the stranger? (It was Marth, protagonist of the original Fire Emblem. This is not a spoiler. He's on the box art and all the trailers. He was also a playable character in 2017's Fire Emblem Warriors, and one of twenty-four non-Fox characters in 2001's Super Smash Bros Melee. Also we'll get his name halfway through chapter 1.) Who could it be?

Functionally, the Prologue is a tutorial for the basic controls. On turn 1, you learn how to move A'lear-and-Marth. On turn 2, you attack the Fell Dragon Sombron with a sword, and he attacks you back with horrifying dark magic. Then he does it again, and A'lear is down to 10/50HP versus Sombron's 36/60HP. The situation is dire!

But hope is not lost! Each time A'lear and Sombron took a swing at one another, A'lear's Engage Meter went up by 1. Now it's full, which means... they can do the fusion dance and...

(Emblem...)

... Engage!

Wow, very Cool(TM). Take that, 13th century Italian city state aesthetic, what have you got for drip? Eyepatches?

With their powers combined, A'lear and Marth unleash a devastating ultimate attack, stabbing Sombron nine times at stunning speed for exactly 36 damage. He dies, and Marth tells A'lear that he'll always be by her side, so long as she remembers him.

Anyway, did I mention the amnesia? A'lear awakes with amnesia and is greeted by her fan club, the twins Framme and Clanne (*). Shortly afterwards, we meet Vander, 32nd Steward of the Dragon, who has pretty good facial hair, and takes his job a lot more seriously than his successors.

(* I do literally mean fan club. Their support chain is about the Divine Dragon Fan Club, of which they're both founders and presidents.)

In Chapter 1, A'lear and her three guardians are on their way to meet the Queen of Elyos when they encounter some of the Corrupted, who are zombies I guess. A'lear and Vander must fight them. (The twins tried to play hero and now need rescuing.)

Vander is what some call a "Jagen": a grizzled old warrior (often a paladin) who starts with way better stats than the rest of the team, but who gets next to no EXP from kills for half the game. Functionally, this means that every time Vander defeats an enemy—which they're pretty good at—he's wasted EXP other characters could have been using to level up.

This results in a totally immersive gameplay experience:

A'lear: "Vander, hand me your vulnerary."

Vander: "Of course, Divine One. It is my sworn duty to protect your life. With my own, if necessary."

A'lear: "Oh. That won't be necessary. Now, take position in the trees. No, those trees."

Vander: "Those trees? In the distance? Nowhere near the enemy?"

Alear: "Yes."

But reinforcements keep coming, and by the end of turn 2 Framme and Clanne are about to be torn to shreds. In a cutscene A'lear suddenly remembers the voice from her dreams, and then she utters the invocation to summon Marth, Emblem of Beginnings.

A'lear and Marth then proceed to fight a single Corrupted axe fighter together, with such perfect synchronisation that they're basically mirror images of one another. Because of this, the monster is able to simultaneously block their every attack together. I kind of feel embarrassed for them. (Supposedly Alear gets Dex+1 from fighting alongside Marth? This is what Dex+1 looks like.)

Alear and Marth demolish the remaining monsters, levelling up their Bond a bit in the process. This requires having Vander lure some of the remaining monsters from the south.

Vander: "As you commanded, Divine One, I holstered my axe and let them all stab me a little bit as I rejoined you."

A'lear: "Thank you."

Vander: "Dare I ask where you learned such battlefield tactics?"

A'lear: "I don't know, I have amnesia."

A'lear takes down the last enemy with another ninefold nonuple stab combo. But then a dragon shows up out of nowhere! Oh no! Is it a potential ally? Or... a NEW STORM!?!?!?!?

[ruinakete]

daisy : did your muse ever feel as though their innocence had been lost ? what moment in their life could be described as the end of their innocence ?

BOTANICAL HEADCANONS ・ accepting! ( asked also by @sorcerese! )

these are only two questions but man, the mental gymnastics I had to do to properly articulate my thoughts on this...

first off, as of the current year / time of interpretation, Zephia would not feel as though her innocence had been lost. in fact, it's probably fair to say that she doesn't even think about her childhood or the past, in general, at all. this isn't in the sense that she purposefully refrains from reminiscing but she likely forgot the source of her emotions because of how long she's been alive. and yes, while Zelestia remembers her childhood, the difference is that Zephia had been in the service of a Fell Dragon who was not against brainwashing subjects for better productivity ( ie; the Fell Church, Veyle, etc ). the likelihood of any of her memories being slowly pushed to the back of her head to maintain a stricter focus is high.

also, in her ( Zelestia's ) A rank support with Mauvier, it says:

Mauvier: I have heard that her draconic instincts were abnormally powerful, even for a Mage Dragon. It is said that her home village was destroyed by an uncontrolled surge of her magic. Some go so far as to say that if Sombron was not the Fell Dragon, then she would be. Zelestia: No, that couldn’t possibly…

with Zephia being the catalyst of the event that left her vulnerable to Sombron's teachings, it wouldn't be surprising that her body gradually made her forget the trauma associated with her adolescent years. besides, her mindset is heavily focused on the future instead of what led up to it. so, to answer the first question, no, she does not feel or think about her lost innocence at all, as it no longer matters to her; the past cannot be changed, so why think about it?

but let it be known that her innocence was long lost before she began her life as Sombron's servant.

what do I mean by that?

assuming that the mage dragon tribes are tightly - knit communities based on familial hierarchies, freedom ( in the sense of knowing everything and wanting to learn without fear of judgment ), and moral standards ( ie; outright refusing to side with Sombron in the Fell Xenologue despite the power he held against them ), it would be humiliating for Zephia as a young dragon to have no control over or idea of what to do with all of the magic she's been born with. while some would be fond of the power, there would also be plenty of others that would worship or fear her. so knowing that, despite practicing restlessly day and night as the other younger mage dragons played to their heart's content, it would be her magic that destroyed the village would absolutely traumatize her.

the realization that she would never be able to redeem her magic for a good purpose of equal significance would promptly be the end of her childhood curiosity / purity.

( though, I can see her innocence already being strained beforehand since she would have been placed on a pedestal above the other mage dragons her age simply because of her draconic abilities; thus learning at a pace that would gradually rid her of her child self and open her eyes to see the world differently )

[gascon-en-exil]

It is because in Nel and Nil's universe Alear is not a fell dragon, but a divine one. They are Lumera's bilogical child in this universe as implied by Alear support with the Four Winds, Nel and Nil. Nel in her support with Veyle explain that her Sombron is not Veyl's father therfore they are not siblings and that her Sombron is a different person. Their Sombron had children by pair of twins while our Sombron had kids without this peculiarity. In short, they want to make it crystal clear that Alear is not related to the twins because they don't have the same father albeit being both Sombron.

I am pretty sure that in their universe, Alear is not Sombron's child while both the twins were not OUR sombron's kids because they were not born or simply did not exist. either way, this is giving me a headache but the idea is that their are fell child but not related ?? like they are just part of the same species or some shit ?

That must be why somehow in their universe Alear is a divine dragon and not a fell one. But by the time you can S support them, you apparently got rid of all your fell blood by becoming an emblem and in both universe you are not related even if their are the kid of Alt!Sombron... wow this is really a headscratchers....

"but you could absolutely play it that way if you were so inclined." what do you mean ?

Wow, four anons about this already.

My point is not that there isn't a non-incestuous explanation, because regardless of any ambiguity that would be covered by the playable Alear and Nel being from different dimensions. My point is that if you need such a complicated explanation to justify why Alear/Nel isn't technically incest, it's probably worth stepping back and thinking about why the writers would construct such a scenario in the first place. It's quite similar to Rhealeth in that regard; Rhea is not, biologically speaking, related to Byleth - but you could also squint a bit at the convoluted circumstances of Byleth's birth and call Rhea their mother, father, grandmother, and daughter simultaneously. What's the point of coming up with something like that? It doesn't even work as shock value like the Lachesis archetype because the game never actually says it out loud. I can only conclude that it's meant to appeal to players with a fetish for that kind of thing. Engage already has a number of Pact Ring options with racy implications regardless of how much the localization may have tried to obscure them, but even though I haven't seen any of Nel or Rafal's supports yet I'm confident in guessing that their Alear supports lean more in that direction than Alear/Veyle does. The game as such has three separate flavors of sibling romance - provided you want to read it that way.

I do however have to include the disclaimer here that I'm not attempting to shame anyone who ships their Avatars with the Fates Royals, Rhea, or the other Engage dragons. I'm aware that purity culture types can sometimes make the same point: that if you justify shipping something "nasty" with a technicality, like that two characters aren't biologically related or that age of consent is not universally 18, then you're just as much of a degenerate pervert and deserve to be shamed for it. I'm just pointing out that IS has done this before, and it continues to be amusing. I think that after Fates went really in on the pseudo-incest angle they didn't really have any way to top themselves without getting into absurd, dragon-blood-and-alternate-dimensions territory. With the partial exception of Tellius, nothing in FE has ever come close to tickling any of my personal kinks. I thus have no personal stakes here - but in my professional life I've learned that it's better to be non-judgmental about kinks, even the uncommon ones.

[yanderefairyangel]

Would you say the Agarthans are the worst villains to come out of Fire Emblem? If you want a scathing indictment on how 3H's "moral grayness" is a misguided belief, it's really their existence in 3H and 3 Hopes.

OH YES, ABSOLUTERLY RIGHT.

They are awful.... and not in a good way. The Agarthans exist as a scapegoat, they are here just so that neither Eddie or Rhea can be presented as the main antagonist and they are just AJJHHKLKJBFRJKE

Like they are supposed to be competent villain ?! those buffons ?! Thos absolute clowns ?! They have 0 plot relevance, it is limited to little hide and seek games with the students in the academy phase where you play the Scooby gang!!!! The only important thing they did happened off screen and it's not even them who did it since they hired Nemesis to do slaughter the Nabateans !!

In AM they are so minor you kill them by acccident, in CF you only get rid of them freaking off screen, in SS and VD they are still there but for less then the quarter of the route. THEY HAVE FREAKING NUKES THAT THEY COULD HAVE BOMBED INTO RHEA AND NEVER DID IT ?!!!!! They are inexistant and GW, in AG they are there but ... AG was a mistake for what they did to Eddie and freaking SF ends with them dying like the Evil queen of Snow white !!! Eddie really can't get anything can she ?! And they do absolutely nothing and fail at everything they do in the main current story, and I am supposed to take those clows seriously when they are commically absurdely over the top EVUL ?!!! The absolute mockery !!

And their motivation are never explained ?! Why did they needed Jeralt dead ? Why the tragedey of Duscur ? Why the experiment ? Why do they want revenge of Sothis, what did she and her creation did to them for them to commit literal genocide against them ??

The game never says, it just says "yeah in buddhism Agartha is the place where the Ashura were send so symbolism hehe" THAT IS NOT HOW IT WORKS!!!!!

Example : in Engage, see Zephia ? We have her character, her motivation (she wants a kid because Sombron made her believe she would have the uncondictional twisted love she wanted from a link of blood) and only there there is the symbolism of Mélusine to support all of this, so it elevates her character to be a retelling of Mélusine in a twisted light

FOR THE AGARTHANS YOU NEED TO UNDERSTAND A BUDDHIST REFERNCE TO GET THEIR MOTIVATIONS !!!

Tell me it's a joke !! And while you can use symbolism to tell a story, it doesn't work for the type of story 3H stroved to be !!!!!

But clearly you can't expect anyone to believe in "grey morality" when you have those cartoonisly evul clowns who don't even have motivations to do what they do. That's not mentionning how convoluted they make 3H's story be.

Take Eddie for example, the fact that she knew it was them who turned her and her siblings into guinea pigs ruins the whole "yeah crest system bad" cause it's not even that they deceived her into thinking it was the Chruch, no... she knew, but what on earth is the connection between the Agarthans and the Crest system when they aren't the one who established it and aren't part of it ?! They just wanted to create the ultimate weapon using what they knew of the effect of Nabateans crest and blood, how does it link with what Eddie hates (grrrrrrraaahhhhhhh)

And also how somehow Eddie needs them in 3H yes for some reason in her route she keeps helping byleth sabotaging the Agarthans plan like ???? how does that makes sense ? And why did she suddenly not need them in Hopes ???

Why did Arval saved Shez in that timeline only ???? why ???? and oh boi, Shez...ns

They are easily the worst thing FE ever commited in terms of awful villain. They make everthing worse by their existence and that's as you pointed out reinforcing the so called "grey morality" of 3H is just cowardice cause it refuse to have the player feel bad for anything

[rosenhund]

Hounds and Winds though hauntingly similar at a glance came with differences just as easy to sight, when one truly looked. Griss at the very least had taught that. More importantly, it was Rafal who tricked others, not Rafal who was sorely tricked. Be it by an illusion, a spell, or a stranger wearing his knight’s face, there would be nothing to make of him a fool clutching blindly after straws and threads - connections - where there were none.

“You are not Madeline.”

Such a prideful distinction then commanded the aloofness in the Fell Dragon’s downturned stare. He gauged the youth with an expression not warm, not cold, but measuring. Where others saw a human child worthy of sentiment or coddling, even a knight with concerning allegiances, Rafal viewed an anomalous shade who beckoned forth his curiosity.

“—and if you are not Madeline, then I presume you to be another member of the Four Hounds, alongside Griss.”

That much seemed absolute in its truth. The solemn face and maturity well beyond Madeline’s years had adopted a different appearance in this girl, one subtly twisted by hues of pink and resting petulance. Rather than Nel, one could say that Not-Madeline skewed toward Rafal a bit more closely. His observations - and hidden judgments - ended there:

"I am Rafal,” he offered at last. “A child of Sombron from another world. What you choose to do with that knowledge is of no consequence to me. However, the least of our interactions should entail your name.” 

the initial words were.. puzzling to say the least. her lips pursed in confusion and frustration. of course she wasn't—what did he say? madeline? what a dumb name.

she wasn't very good at this, being patient with others, but she did wait until he finished speaking. he knew she was a hound, he knew griss, what else did he know? her fingers twitched, longing to reach for a shield she was not currently holding. she was late to class already. what's one more delay? turning toward the man—no, dragon, if what he said was true as he finally offered his name, and standing in the hierarchy that these dragons adhere to. and it probably was true.

he looked like a dragon, probably, but he didn't really look all that much like lady veyle, even less like lord sombron.

except for maybe a little around the eyes. if she squinted. she had no idea how many children lord sombron had ended up having. mauvier had made it sound like a lot.

she didn't owe him like she owed lady veyle, though. but... it didn't sound like he was after her allegiance. maybe he was just curious. maybe she would be, too, if she had met griss and only griss.

"yeah. i'm a hound," she said at last. her eyes flicked from his face to his hands. you could learn way more about people from their hands than their faces. his likely didn't show off exactly how strong he was. dragons were like that. zephia was like that, anyway. "you can call me marni. griss is here?" she had a lot to catch up on, it seemed.

"um... it's... nice to meet you, lord rafal," she said, awkward and stilted. did she need to call him lord rafal, giving him the same level of respect as lady veyle? she didn't want to, but she really didn't want another dragon's ire in this moment. "you'll need to tell me about all this later."

[fayesdiary]

Hortensia from Engage ? :D

Answering these later than I wanted, but it's been a crazy week so

First impression: Oh, definitely not good. I was pretty skeptical of Engage when it was first announced (and you can still see my old posts about it), and not only her designed looked more like an idol than an FE character and had a really squeaky voice, what little we knew about her kinda made her look like a Heroes-tier villain. Yes, I know how hard of an accusation that is.

Impression now: Like most things about Engage for me, they did a 180! Hortensia's great :D

Her design and voice eventually grew on me (esp because her VA, the same of Faye btw so :D, absolutely killed it), she has a lot of great moments both in and out of the story and she's a lot more interesting than you'd give her credit at first glance, between her neverending tragedy called her life, her hidden smarts and being both in the position of an atoner like several other Engage characters, but also one who struggles to forgive and forget Veyle who was in a very similar situation to hers (but I am absolutely not faulting her for that let's be clear).

I really like in general how all of the atoner characters in Engage have at least one support partner who will give them a bit of trouble before accepting them because, well.. redemption does not come easy, and not everyone will forgive and accept them right away.

Also, Fell Xenologue Hortensia. My heart.

Idea for a story: Either her time at the Elusian Academy or Fell Xenologue Hortensia being brought to the main Elyos because SHE DESERVES TO BE HAPPY

Unpopular opinion: Her voice is more than fine (although definitely an acquired taste) and she's more than the annoying cute little sister. Nuff said.

Favorite relationship: Platonically with Veyle because of their slow burn, with Hortensia struggling to separate her two personalities and especially to forgive her for... a lot but especially getting her father vored by Sombron only to corrupt him and have him fight her and Ivy, and by the end of their A support she still can't bring herself to forgive her... but at least wants to give her the chance to start anew. Both of them are in a really rough position with each other, but they're taking the steps to build bridges and I think that's lovely. How Hortensia can't bring herself to forgive Veyle straight away but still wants to give her the chance.

Romantically with... Céline, I guess?

Favorite headcanon: Oh, hmm. Don't really have one, but I just imagined her doing Alear's makeup so let's go with that, it's cute

[rockroselazuli]

"i have found you. there are far more store rooms on this vessel than i expected." a fresh seaward breeze and sunlight washes the damp, salted room of the belowdeck chamber in a brief recycling of airflow — all too short as the door swings shut behind nel again as she makes her way towards the pink-haired girl flanked by towers of crates. "i was informed you had been sent to arrange the supplies yourself. i would be of assistance."

careful eyes take note of any sign of the other's reaction; however different she now realized such identical likenesses could be from those she had once known, the memories themselves were not as easy to cast aside — and perhaps there remained a part of her that sought still for a chance of something familiar. "rest assured, i have no intention of doubting your ability."

she had never been certain whether the other lapis had ever considered her and nil the same nobility to be disdained as many others among the divine dragon's army. status among the children of sombron was doled equally at birth, and carried no riches save for those bloodstones won by force.

nel avails herself of the nearest and seemingly heavest of the barrels, carrying it to the other side to stack against the shelves.

"i expected you would remain with the young prince of brodia," she remarks — a royal venturing abroad without their guard was not unheard of; the guard in absence of their lord less so. "or perhaps his elder brother."

"Lord Nel--?!" That was one of the last people Lapis expected to see here. On the boat, anyway -- she would hardly be surprised by the presence of almost anyone within the monastery walls at that point. She stood up tall as anxiety hit her, abandoning the crate she planned to move before the disruption.

"My ability?" she said with a nervous laugh. "Don't worry about that! I'm sure..." She trailed off for a moment, watching Nel as she moved about effortlessly, barrel in hand. "... you're plenty more capable than I am."

What did she have over a dragon, anyway? Absolutely nothing.

This was rather awkward now, but it was far too late to refuse the help. So instead of saying anything, Lapis got back to work stacking the crates.

"I would rather be with Prince Alcryst or the King, of course," she answered. "I hate to leave Prince Alcryst alone like this." Frowning at the thought, she grew restless with unease. The monastery still had a lot of recovering to do from the harsh winter storms, after all, and... she just didn't like being left to wonder what Alcryst was up to. If he was eating properly or getting enough sleep or being unusually cruel to himself without her there to ground him. Of course, there was also the fact that she simply felt the most at ease when she was beside him. That was something she would never say out loud, though.

"But this is where I was appointed, and I take that seriously! If there's people I can help, I'll be there." Shifting her gaze from the crate below to Nel, she offered a nervous-yet-genuine smile. "With you here, I'm sure we'll be able to protect everyone just fine!"

[zorua-gaming]

Chapters Twenty One through Twenty Three and Paralogues Thirteen through Fifteen

What the absolute fuck.

First things first, onto the Celica paralogue!

Was Seabound Shrine the one with all the necrodragons?

Thank you, Celica, for confirming my vague memories of my SOV playthrough.

Why are there so few enemies? Are there gonna be a bunch of reinforcements?

Ah, some enemy just summoned up a whole bunch more enemies.

DID THAT DRAGON JUST WARP ITSELF WTF?!

It’s fine, Panette killed the dragon.

Now back to the main story!

A series of battles? I don’t like the sound of that, given what happened the last time we had that.

Ah, I vaguely remember them mentioning Gradlon towards the beginning of the land when describing all the countries in Elyos, and it being under the sea explains why it’s not been on the map this whole time.

I kinda like how Marni’s not being all “oh be sad for me!” with her backstory. Especially since we just got Veyle’s and she’s like “oh that’s even WORSE than what I went through.”

Genuinely, rest in peace Marni

MAUVIER THROWING OUT BADASS LINES

WE’RE FINALLY GETTING MARTH BACK?!

What. The. Fuck.

No, seriously. WHAT THE FUCK?!

AND YOU’RE STEALING THE HOMIES AGAIN?!

Oooh, flashback time!

A girl is literally about to cry.

CORRUPTED ALEAR?!

HELL YEAH, VEYLE!!

MARTH!!!

Wait, are we gonna engage with red Marth and have the red parts of our hair change color?

Ooooh, what a unique victory condition! Let's go ring hunting!

Girl what.

Alear just became a ring?

Is this that other power Sigurd mentioned on the boat?

Also HELL YEAH FULL BLUE ALEAR

WE ARE THE FIRE EMBLEM

Wait, if we’re both Emblems, does this we can make out, Marth? We gotta make up for when I said there was no time to do so before Destinea Cathedral!

Alright, time for the Marth paralogue!

Okay, logically I know they keep having Alear be surprised whenever the Emblems mention a trial in the paralogues just in case this is your first Emblem paralogue, but it gets funnier the more you do.

MARTH, PLEASE STOP CHASING ME!!

And now onto what I can only assume is the Alear paralogue.

That’s a unique victory condition.

WHAT’S WITH ALL THESE REINFORCEMENTS?!

I have obtained the Pact Ring!

Back to the story! And looks like we’re gonna be fighting on a volcano or something maybe?

At first I was wondering what Zephia meant by that “In due time, you’ll be me.” But then the next line was about the passage of time, and I was like “right, dragons living a long time.”

Zephia, why are you telling us this?

No, seriously. Why are you helping us?

I do appreciate the game telling us that Zephia was not the mother of any of Sombron’s children. Because that was definitely a question I had in the back of my mind.

And now they’re both dead.