#mac: ok. i won't do it next time since you hated it.

[telltalebatman]

a very fun thing about frankie and mac's sex life is that frankie explicitly asks mac to be mean and sadistic, and after he does, she tearfully asks "d-do you really think i talk too much?? :(((((" even though SHE was the one who pestered HIM for a week to act like he's had enough for her talking

[yanderefairyangel]

Engage story's dark elements : Brodia's lust for war

One of my biggest woe towards Engage's writing was the fact that it tends to minimize each kingdom's role. That is to say that once you get the 2 magical mac guffins you came to search, you skip towards the next kingdom and so on. And while Engage sort of broke with the traditional war aspects in the FE story to focus more on the mac guffins aspects like Sacred Stones, the second part of Awakening's etc one of the main problem is that it doesn't allow any of the Roylas to have striking moments since they sort of relay ride each other by switching the spot light to the others and similarily, it doesn't speak to much about each kingdom so the wordbuiling feels a little poor. That is especially true for one important thing: Brodia. While all kingdoms and all Royals have the same impact and are given the same treatment, Elusia was given more spotlight for the only reason that Sombron used it as his base until he manages to bring back Gradlon but not Atlantis and one of the others problem was that Engage doesn't developp too much/expand more on Elusia/Brodia conflict despite Diamant and Alcryst having support with the Elusian sisters. However, Diamant's support might help give some informations about the history of Elusia and Brodia. (I try so hard to not make it about Diamant, please little prince, stop being an interesting character for 5 minutes straight, it's about your country ok ?)

Those supports are : Ivy's, Framme and Alfred's.

1 - Alfred's support

This one is mainly about the 2 of them bounding with training, however the B-A section of the conversation as some interesting stuff to it. Diamant mentions how Firene and Brodia have signed a nonagression pact in the B support. The A support however has Diamant explaining how Brodia is a warmoning and belliquous country.

Diamant : As you know, the kingdom of Brodia prioritizes military might above all else. Our kingdom is home to many ambitious people. That might explain those priorities. Our culture also teaches that it's honorable to gain things by force. [...] Thanks to Queen Eve, our two kingdoms have signed a nonagression pact. However...

Alfred : You're saying you can't promise it'll last.

Diamant : That's right. [...] I have my one hopes, but I won't just force them upon my kingdom. The will of my people must come first. I have to fight for whatever future serves them best.

2- Framme support

In their chain, Diamant approaches Framme who is given history homework by Vander. The first support chain has Framme complain about how boring history is.

Diamant : History does tend to be a chronicle of warfare. That's been true since the first Fell Dragon war. It's not all battles and bloodshed, though. For instance... My ancestor were able to found Brodia thanks to Lumera's protection, not warfare. [...] You have my vow as the crown prince of Brodia that, when I' m king, there will be peace.

But the second chain support has Framme not wanting to pursue her studies for different reasons. This time, she is depressed and scared by the tales of war she just read.

Framme : Prince Diamant... You said you wanted to bring peace to the world but... Is that really true ?

Diamant : Of course it is. I would never lie about that.

Framme: Then why does Brodia keep attacking Elusia ?

Diamant : Well...

Framme : I read the histories of both kingdoms (but she won't share it with us alas) There are helpless citizens in Elusia that fear Brodia. When you talk about ending war, do you really mean conquering Elusia ? Is that peace ?

Diamant: ....[...] Brodia... is a kingdom of warrios. It does have a regrettable history of seizing territory by force. And it is true that some people in Elusia have been hurt by - and have grown to hate - Brodia. That's an undeniable part of my kingdom's past, but I won't let it be part of our future. [...]

Framme : I don't know.... You skipped right over the bad parts of Brodia's history last time.

Diamant : I didn't mean to hide any of that to you. But ... I suppose I have a guilty conscience about these things.

3- Ivy Supports

While the support in itself is more about them bounding and less about their kingdom, it's still mentioned in a few elements

Ivy :...Please don't tell anyone about this. It cannot get out that the future rulet of Elusia was frightened by mere shrubbery. Or even worse, that the prince of Brodia had to come to her rescue.

Diamant : Believe me - I understand. I won't say a word.[...]

Ivy : Charity from Brodia is not going to do my royal image any favors...

Diamant : [...]Brodia has a lot to answer for. [...]

Ivy : It's true. Brodia has invaded our lands many times. I often wonder how my people would have fared without that suffering and bloodshed. [...]It's when kingdoms are involved that it gets complicated.

Diamant : That's true. My father focuses on our kingdom's affairs when he began explanding our territory by force. That singular focus is how things have always been done in Brodia... but that needs to change.

Diamant : Convincing Brodia to change it's warmongering ways will be a battle of it's own. War leads to profits, which lead to war, which lead to further profits... it's a horrible cycle. That cycle cannot continue. And I am the only one who can stop it.

Some peaks from Kagetsu, Citrinne and others support.

Diamant (with Kagestu) : Ah, well... Brodian culture prioritizes strenght, so I make sure my sword is a symbol of that. And just like you, I consider it to be more than a simple weapon.

Citrinne : Indeed. They're eager for a response. I've been sent here to ask you directly about your stance on future military campaigns. These nobles are acquaintances of my family. As a noble myself, I can't ignore their demands.

Diamant : ...

Citrinne ; Diamant, don't send me back empty-handed. I don't have the energy for tag anymore.

Diamant : War is profitable. The nobility is expecting to line their pockets for years to come.

Diamant (with Saphir): It's royals like me who declare wars... but the citizens and soldiers are the one who suffers. Your training may keep innocent Brodians safe someday.

Saphir (in A support) : I know more strengh is what I need, but at the same time... I'm starting to scare myself. I'm worried about becoming someone who only exists to hurt people.

Diamant: Wars leave scars that last forever. They hurt everyone involved, on all sides of any conflict. I often feel lost just like you... but I always come back to two things. One- I can't run away. Two - I don't fight to win. I fight to end the fighting. [...] That's the only way to change a world driven by conflict.

Diamant (in his support with Timerra, yes really) O Brodia, a land of strengh and might. Evil mean a-aren't allowed here

Timerra (A support) Hey, between you and me... do you think peace is really possible ?

Diamant : Ah. That's a big question... and one I often worry about myself.

Diamant (with Nel) : I've always wanted to be like my father, though there were times I failed to understand him too. He's always been considered a great king for his military might. That isn't how I'd like to rule. [...] We occasionally butted heads over the future of Brodia.

I also add some others supports chains that might be interesting from Alcryst and the Brodian.

Ivy (in her B support with Alcryst) I can't take my eyes off of your armor. In Elusia, we are taught from an early age to keep watch for Brodian armor.

Alcryst : Ooh. I think I understand... Brodia has invaded Elusia more times that I can count. My country has a lot to answer for. [...]

Ivy: Did you just issue a formal apology from the kingdom of Brodia for its invasion of our land ? Are you admitting fault on behalf of your people and swearing to adopt peaceful foreign policy ?

Alcryst : [...] The relationship between Brodia and Elusia has never been civil - certainly not in my lifetime.

Alcryst (with Hortensia) Brodia has invaded Elusia more times than I can count.

From all of this, I came to the conclusions that Brodia attacked Elusia because they wanted to expand their territory, but also, that Brodia MIGHT want to conquer others realms.

I think the support with Alfred makes that very clear, even if Diamant dislikes it, he knows that the Brodian nobility, as shown throught the support with Citrinne, will eventually lay eyes on others territories.

For instance, the question Timerra asked might be random at first. But hum.. you recall when she mentionned that there were spies all over the continent ?

This makes Timerra's question about peace less random. Timerra has every reason to worry, her spies must be very aware of Brodian nobility's greed and of their way to always push the country to another war. After all, if Brodia manages to conquer all of Elusia then Solm might become an easy target for them. And from there Firene too, hence why Diamant was worried about it in his support with Alfred. In short, Brodia may be capable of invading all the kingdom to expand it's territory.

It's obvious that both Alcryst and Diamant wish things would go differently, but it seems their father agrees with the nobility and for the sake of their people keep on attacking Elusia even though it made many vicitms on both Elusian sides (Ivy and Framme support) and Brodian (with Saphir's past). People often mentioned how despite being a pessmistic Diamalt was pretty close to Diamant in terms of ideal for peace. He wished to change a country that is used to wage war to be proseperous despite it being blessed by other reason in it's roots as mentionned in his support with Framme.

Another point to talk about his; Sombron. We don't know exactly how long Elusia took him as a deity, however seeing how Lumera and him are the same age, it was most likely ever since a 1 000 years ago. So... why would Elusia try only NOW to bring him back ? Well, I think it's easy to understand. In my opinion, Elusia trying to bring Sombron back was probably in order to win the war against Brodia. Like in Awakening, they had Sombron feed human sacrifice until he was fully restored. But the one reason I can see is not only for the sake of worship since they could have took Veyle, especially as the Hounds tried hard to bring Sombron back. I think king Hyacinth, as terrible as he is, still tried to do it for his country since he became obsessed with Sombron's return according to Ivy and Hortensia's support. That's mainly a theory though since none of his daughter support's help humanizing him which.... *sight*

I think it's interesting how one of the kingdom that has the most pacifist characters still has this very dark side of wanting to conquer others.

But yeah, in short, this means that out of all four kingdoms, Brodia is the one capable of threatining the 3 other and pluging the world to war.

Feel free to correct me/add stuff I you feel I missed something (ask box is always open )