#azuregard

[mapas-fantasticos]

Map of Azuregard from Project Phoenix.

[azuregard]

FE7 -- Thoughts on Lyn’s Tale

Just finished Lyn’s tale, so I figured I’d share some thoughts. I’m really enjoying the game so far and can’t wait to continue.

Before starting the game, I lowkey shipped the following pairings: Eliwood/Ninian, Hector/Lyn, Lyn/Florina, Erk/Priscilla, Raven/Lucius, Kent/Fiora, Pent/Louise, Dart/Farina, Harken/Isadora, Jaffar/Nino, and Bartre/Karla. Since I haven’t gotten too far, I can’t say for sure how many will be full-fledged ships (or whether any others will join them), but I think Lyn/Florina’s hella cute so far (though I want to see their supports before I fully board the vessel).

As for ships not on my “lowkey” list, I’m keeping an open mind. I remember back while playing Sacred Stones, there were a few sleeper hits I came across, so I’m fully expecting the same to happen here. In terms of said sleeper hits, Ephraim/Innes was probably the biggest one, as I went in convinced I’d probably go for Innes/Eirika and Ephraim/Tana, but the fact that those supports were littered with such sweet subtext caused me to go a different route than expected.

I managed to unlock the first Gaiden chapter, and since I got Nils up to Level 7 before beating Chapter 10, I’ll hopefully be able to play that obscure chapter in Hector Mode once I get to it.

I almost started crying when Reminiscence came on for the first time (and if I play my cards right wrt supports, that melody’s gonna hurt a hell of a lot worse later on).

I loved that the final chapter allowed you to deploy all the units you’ve acquired. One of the things I struggled with most was deciding who to bench from Chapter 7 onwards (poor Wil got stuck warming said bench a lot).

I actually had to play through the final chapter twice because my dumb ass made the mistake of having Lyn attack Lundgren with an Armorslayer instead of the Lancereaver. While I was annoyed at the time, the fact that Lyn killed his racist ass with a crit pleased me immensely, so I’m not really mad anymore.

As of right now, Mark is my favorite FE avatar, as I find that they play that role better than the ones you see nowadays (not counting New Mystery in this group since I haven’t played it yet). When I think of player avatars, I find the most effective ones are those you can easily project yourself onto. Unfortunately, the modern day avatars tend to have very specific backstories -- Robin is an amnsesiac who was born into a doomsday cult; Corrin is a prince/princess who was taken away from their birth family and raised in a sheltered environment; and Byleth is a merc with a rock shoved into their heart that allows them to wield a legendary weapon; also all three have strong ties to their universe’s dragons. Unlike those three, Mark’s past is currently an open book outside of being a tactician (which, while specific, is relatable due to the player’s role while playing ultimately amounting to just that). That said, I haven’t played far enough to determine whether they’re connected to dragons yet.

Another thing I like about Mark is that they play a relatively minor role in the plot. One thing that bugs me about FE’s avatars nowadays is the need for them to play a major role in the narrative, often to the point of them taking attention away from other characters (or worse, derailing characters for the sake of pandering). In Lyn’s Tale (and hopefully the rest of the game), the focus is on the lord herself, and that’s where I think it should be.

Getting ready to start Eliwood Mode soon. I’ll post my thoughts once I make it far enough.

[achorusofcleris]

For the untitled church!edel au, is Sothis with Edelgard? I doubt Rhea gave up on her attempts, but if the crest stone (heart) is still in the sword would her spirit be there? Cause, that'd be a perfect opportunity for divine pulse crest of flames power.

Hi! Thanks so much for the ask!~ <3

Sothis’ crest stone is in the sword, as is her spirit. Edelgard can sometimes hear her voice in her dreams as she grows accustomed to wielding the sword, but she never actually sees her (at least not at this point, I might change that in the future). As for the divine pulse, I do have a point in my AU where she uses it, but she isn’t able to control it the way Byleth is able to in canon (but again, that might change).

In my AU, Rhea only attempted to revive Sothis once (with the Chalice of Beginnings). She thought about it a few times afterwards, but ultimately never went through with it (unlike in canon, where she’s extremely lonely, Rhea has a good support system in this universe, so reviving her mother isn’t much of a priority).

[lochnessies]

do you have recommendations for other blogs that love rhea? other than you my dash is pretty lacking in rhea density

hmm off the top of my head i can think of @electricprincess96 @cethleanns @azuregard @garlandgerard and @selfshipsuccubus. if i missed anybody that others might know feel free to tag them or reblog it yourself if you fit the criteria

[randomnameless]

oooo i like that post about wilhelm and rhea being genuine friends. i always thought that it didnt really matter whether wilhelm was a genuinely good guy or just power hungry, but youre right. it makes thematic sense for him to be a genuinely good person–he NEEDS to be for the themes to work.

Thanks!

I joke a bit about Willy to make fun of the Empire, but I think "Wilhelm and the War of Heroes" is important to Rhea, even if that even becomes completely destroyed over the course of the game because only you are allowed to be important due to avatar powers and the "uwu factor".

I could say it doesn't matter if Willy was an ass or not, what really does is how Rhea perceived him and how she thought she could exist with humans, and not see them as pests like Macuil does -

But if it has to make sense, and to make the final fight a complete destruction of her character, Willy should have also been a friend.

So when Rhea ultimately says "it was you humans who betrayed" she goes full Macuil - forgetting, because of the trauma and everything else, that while Nemesis and pals acted like... they did (and even the mole people) and betrayed the Nabateans, Wilhelm, a human, trusted her.

By doing so, in CF, you effectively kill Rhea. Physically (and no, I don't think her death is dignified) and mentally - before dying, Rhea doesn't think humans and Nabateans can live together anymore when, during the rest of the game, she more or less thought so (she loves humans to the point of blowing her cover for them).

(with added sads that it's wilhelm's descendant wearing wilhelm's armor who kills her. I know we've had a fascinating discussion with @azuregard about Rhea and Edel and how she completely separates Wilhelm from Edel, but even if she makes mental gymnastics in her brain to separate the two, I'm still sure it stings a bit to see Edel, wearing the magical armor she (?) gifted to Willy wield the bony axe that will crush her skull)

[dolphin-banana]

I did a thing- https://www.tumblr.com/azuregard/650676877291323392/fire-emblem-fates-shipping-chart-meme-thingy?source=share @azuregard I apologize for the critical mass of lines around the azura/benny area

[lochnessies]

Man your blog makes me sad because you are the only Edelgard fan I seen. That doesn’t try to rewrite the whole script then go crazy when you tell “them what game did they play?”

aww don’t be sad! :( i’m 100% sure i’m not the only one, you just have to look! i know @azuregard loves her and doesn’t rewrite the game!

[randomnameless]

Imagine if CF rhea's last thoughts were mirroring Cathlyn's, she thinks "Not my hair, willy loves my hair" but it's more dramatic because Edel deals the final blow. Rhea breaks up from reality and mixes past and present, she thinks she's still in her human form, she thinks Willy is still here and seteth and flayn are also back home.

I don't know why I received this but... is it because of the post where i replied to @azuregard regarding Rhea in CF?

:'(

:'(

:'(

I've seen on my dashboard a fanart where Rhea thinks Sothis came for her and she finally reunites with her - but it's actually CF and she dies, I would have reblogged if not for the caption but...

I'm pretty sure the agarthans bet on a likely reaction when they choose the Hresvelg line to become their new Nemesis, maybe they thought at one point Rhea'd hesitate to kill her BFF/golden boy/whatever's descendant and it'd be her fatal mistake.

CF is painful when you try to put yourself in Rhea's shoes, the two final maps are heartbreaking and Kikuko Inoue plays the part wonderfully.