#— ✧ route: revelations.

[duckdachi]

chillin

[dirtyoldmanhole]

sorry i haven't been posting as much about gunter specifically!

in the middle of a different 14 page comic strip and if there's one thing i've learned this year about doing a bunch of fates strips it's NOT to do or touch ANYTHING else when the momentum & mojo is working lol.

what i can guarantee is in about two months (after it's posted on oct 17th) you all will be wishing krad will shut up about gunter again. :D

[disastersteps]

thinking about a scenario where mortum and anita finally meet again, and her second meeting with anita is that they're leaning on their cane. and how they walk saggingly and awkwardly and wondering.

if mortum had given more thought and let them know within that week, if mortum had just call them sooner to finally talk but instead, that idiot did promised not to use Aoyun anymore- that idiot decide to go to face to face with Hollow Ground because of course, Anita is Harbinger.

and here is the good doctor, looking at anita with a leg that is now non-functional and just.

"let's talk." with a heart squeezing in her chest, wondering if she could've talk it out with them sooner and even if she tried to tell them that it's idiotic, stupid, moronic to go face the kingpin of the entire city.

its anita lee, and they're just as stubborn as aoyun they were.

[friend-of-a-cat]

I decided to rewrite the plot of Fire Emblem Fates for some damn reason, so here's Corrin if they were twins and also children (no idea what their canon names would be - that's still undecided). The rewrite starts with the two of them and Azura as kids playing in a Hoshidan forest until Nohrian spies capture one of the twins in retaliation for the Hoshidans stealing away Azura when she was a baby. One thing leads to another, and the other twin, terrified and enraged, loses control and awakens their dragon powers in response, trying to fight back to no avail. Their twin gets stolen away and taken to Nohr, and Azura comforts the newly-empowered twin with her singing voice, allowing them to slowly return back to their original state.

If this was actually the in-game storyline, the player would theoretically be able to pick which twin they want to play as, the other one being taken away. The route split would still exist (with three routes), but I'm thinking that would happen after a timeskip (the protagonist, Azura, etc. would then be the ages they are in the original).

All of this is in the early stages of development lol, but it's kind of fun reimagining Fates. We all know the story is rubbish, but I did enjoy playing through the games when they came out, and I think it has a lot of unexplored potential.

[randomnameless]

I did Crimson Flower first in my Three Houses run and... honestly, Edelgard wasn't even remotely as convincing to me to join her as the fact I'd get to fuck Jeritza.

Beresu I've chosen for the job grew up in Ardesian Empire and I've definitely leaned into Ashen Demon idea as much as possible, so what I've got was a merciless butcher, not a revolutionary firebrand. I expected Edelgard to be this scary red emperor with the grand ideas that justify the means, I expected the vibe of Nine Inch Nails' Survivalism, but instead she's an absolute dork and Hubert does everything morally dubious for her. It reminded me of Corrin in Fates on Nohr path and it definitely did not endear me to her.

Generally speaking the only interesting bits were Jeritza (love this man, best girl) and... maybe Hubert. Honestly speaking, with the way Hubert acts I expected him to be a Flame Emperor after seeing Edelgard. I just genuinely don't get how Crimson Flower Edelgard can be even remotely convincing - she's scary in White Clouds at times, but then it's nothing but dork, dork, dork, Beresu I hate rats, Beresu my path is stained in blood despite the fact I can barely reach any enemy in my automatic promotes and Hubert, Jeritza and you kill most of the enemies instead.

She's idealistic, but it's never really shown how much she's willing to mow down people for her ideals - we don't see destruction, we don't see any particular drama. The only bits closest to it were me deliberately not recruiting any non-BE students aside from Mercedes, Anette, Marianne and Lorenz. Killing these students felt like something, but it isn't really enough and it's entirely optional.

she's scary in White Clouds at times, but then it's nothing but dork, dork, dork, Beresu I hate rats, Beresu my path is stained in blood despite the fact I can barely reach any enemy in my automatic promotes and Hubert, Jeritza and you kill most of the enemies instead

LOL

I don't remember having the same movement issues with Hector when he was promoted, but damn if Supreme Leader's prf class was a nightmare, she was behind people and didn't have enough def to act as a suitable tank - she's supposed to be a player phase unit, but she doesn't have the mov stat to do so...

Granted, it was my first run too, so I missed on the heron festival event and didn't get a dancer :( but I played it before Emile was patched in, and, in a way, I thought it was on purpose - Supreme Leader says she'll explain everything to Billy later on, when they see Emile fighting with them when the BESF attacks the Monastery, and nothing is ever explained post TS - much like how the war was supposed to get rid of Rhea because she has scales, but come the post TS and we're not embarking on the MAGA ride, to conquer Fodlan!

Corn at least, in Conquest, spent more time angsting at the casualties and blood shed - to the point some players found it uncomfortable - Corn notable tried to save people or reacts strongly when Scarlet is Hans'd (just like Sakura's army? I don't remember that well).

It's less artificial than Supreme Leader who only says this in some support lines, or when she's alone with you - her lines feels more like a compulsory thing to say, a box to tick, than a regular reaction. There's nothing similar to Corn's distress or at least gambit to try to spare the defeated soldiers, instead, we have a round of hypocrisy because Rhea BaD when she doesn't let people evacuate the city before turning it in a giant bbq - when we have Emile on our side and when other routes reveal the battle of the Monastery happens so fast after her declaration of war that the CoS doesn't have time to evacuate all of its residents (+Emile saying the grounds around the monastery are battlefields too) in the other routes.

Hubert is still the best part of CF, even if I sort of grew somehow interested at the students insulting Billy when they chop them off - sure my interest later died, but Judith's JP VA lit screaming and crying when Ignatz and Leonie died, Inoue!Rhea's lines delivery, everything bar the BESF itself managed to make the "we must kille people we knew sad uwus" hit closer to the mark than the onion scene, aka the one where Supreme Leader cries after beheading a defeated, and on his knees, Dimitri.

But I agree, it's almost if all the pathos that was supposed to be triggered by the "kill your students :'(" from the game went to the CF enemies, rather than to the other routes casualties.

"We killed Ferdie professor :("

Watch as I gave a fig, Ferdie dies in a map where he is fielded with a Demonic Beast iirc, aka a Feral One. If Ferdie doesn't see anything wrong fighting side by side with a Feral One and doesn't have the same circumstances Lorenz does (granted, even those circumstances are mushy) - especially since it's possible for Ferdie to defect since that's what he does in SS - I legit feel less figs that when we had to kill a retreating Judith, or an Ignatz or Leonie who were defending their homes - hell, even Hilda who, against all of her words and previous behaviour - finally puts her life on the line to protect someone.

[moltz23]

Three Houses Trivia (& Analysis): How the writers roadblocked a Revelation-like route with impunity.

It’s no secret by now that Three Houses has no Golden Ending/Route where everyone lives and/or the big conflict is solved without the involved factions taking huge casualties, much to the chagrin of fans. IS & KT were even asked about it in a developer interview back in 2020, mainly because a previous entry in the series did feature one: Fire Emblem Fates:

In all four routes the player can go through, each story ends with Fódlan at peace, yet somehow there’s still this air of sadness. In Fire Emblem Fates, Revelation served as the all-encompassing “route” that wrapped up the games’ story. Was there any reason you didn’t make something like Revelation again?

Kusakihara: If we had created a route for Three Houses like Revelation was to Fates, that route would have definitely ended up being perceived as the “correct” route. In Three Houses, each route is its own history, and we wanted players to be able to decide that for themselves. In this game, the leaders of the three houses have their own unwavering beliefs and worldviews that are unique to themselves. We wanted to model the story and its themes after a dilemma that was grounded in reality, so from the beginning there were never any plans to make something like Revelation.

Yokota: I actually really love the big all-encompassing finales, but Kusakihara-san was so passionate about not including it we decided not to go with it. I also felt like we might just end up doing the same thing we did in Fates… I was pretty worried about it, so from the beginning I had decided I’d just go along with Kusakihara-san’s decision.

From a writing standpoint, I haven’t seen much talk about the specific decisions made for this purpose, which is why I wanna tackle the topic here.

To make things more interesting though, the focus will lie in how the Silver Snow route (the first story written for 3H) handles the conflict. After all, if there were truly no plans to make a definitive story branch, then we should be seeing some cues of it on this path alone.

Oh, and I know this is a given, but there will be spoilers for Three Houses (and almost none for Revelation).

With the introduction out of the way, let’s set the relevant context:

Fire Emblem Fates, and Revelation

Fates' artwork was something else man...

Fire Emblem Fates was released back in 2015 in Japan, and 2016 internationally for the 3DS. One aspect marketing made sure everyone would know about was its branching story. And while before Three Houses, Fire Emblem was no stranger to the idea (given games like Binding Blade and Sacred Stones had branching paths which converge later), no game beforehand had previously based its entire narrative on this idea.

Fates was advertised with two main routes which, unless you had the Special Edition, Korean, or Digital version of the game, were sold in separate cartridges: Birthright, in which Corrin supports the Japanese-inspired Hoshido opposing Nohr’s invasion; and Conquest, where instead Corrin’s loyalty falls to the Western-themed Nohr seeking to invade Hoshido. A third path, Revelation, was also announced ahead of time, but not much was said about it beyond being a third option where Corrin sides with no one, and players would need to pay for it sometime after Birthright & Conquest’s launch unless they got the Special Edition (good luck getting it through legal means nowadays, given the E-Shop’s dead and all).

Either way, regardless of the story chosen/bought, the plot’s main goal always lies in finding a way to end the war between the 2 main factions. Of the three stories, Revelation is the only one where by the end, the solution reached allows both sides to come out relatively unscathed, while also directly dealing with the main source driving the war. This is why in the developer interview quoted, the devs talk about Revelation being perceived as the correct path.

In contrast, Three Houses has no such solution, nor were the developers - by their admission - interested in making it happen. As a matter of fact, I dare say that if one analyzes all the key pieces and the nature of their involvement with the game’s conflict, we can find instead three roadblocks complicating the possibility of a Revelation-like route ever happening.

These, for those wondering, are the following:

1. Edelgard: Agency, and Rise to Power

She who commands her crimson destiny.

Silver Snow’s starting point from a story perspective is the conflict between Byleth and Edelgard (according to the game’s director), with the latter going from a big ally and deuteragonist during the first half of the story, to a major antagonist. Edelgard’s character, and her circumstances in which she assumes this role, is the story’s first identifiable roadblock.

As a quick backstory recap: In Imperial Year 1174, Thales (post body-snatching Lord Arundel) leaves the Kingdom along with Edelgard, and establishes a public partnership with the Adrestian Prime Minister Ludwig von Aegir under his Arundel disguise. With the assistance of House Vestra, Ludwig – in secret – had Edelgard and her siblings captured, and allowed his Agarthan partners to experiment on the Hresvelg children for the sake of, in Edelgard’s own words, “create a peerless emperor to rule Fodlan”, all while the actual Emperor was unable to do anything due to previously losing a power struggle vs Ludwig and the Adrestian nobility 3 years prior.

With only these events at hand, it’s clear Edelgard was intended in-universe to be a puppet emperor/super soldier hybrid meant to have the Empire wage war and conquer Fódlan. In any other instance, this context gives the narrative an easy way out for defusing the war; first by rescuing Edelgard, and then by spending the rest of the story dealing with Ludwig + Thales & their allies. That way, Edelgard is able to rise to power at the end and bring official closure to the conflict.

It’s right here however, where Edelgard’s own agency in the story shows the cracks with the idea, as the Black Eagles Route’s first half establishes:

Edelgard has her own bone to pick with the Church - one of the enemies she would inevitably face during the Empire’s conquest - and the social system it helped cultivate in Fodlan under Rhea’s leadership. Also-

Edelgard has been in talks with some of Ludwig’s own allies behind his back to ensure she reaches the Imperial throne on her own terms (which leads to her surprise coup from Ch. 11). And it’s all but stated this is possible because-

Edelgard has no qualms with waging war as long it’s a means to an end (see point 1), to the point she even assumes a secret persona - the Flame Emperor - to stage attacks against the Church before her coronation.

At many points in Part 1 of Black Eagles, Edelgard is even seen testing the waters with Byleth, confiding a bit on her ideology and plans for the future to see if they would be willing to stand by her side once the time comes, before finally relenting and continuing her plans as previously established before Byleth came into the picture.

These facts flip our understanding of the conflict and the key players driving it on its head. And this is considering only how Edelgard factors into everything, because with our other two parties involved, it gets even more complicated:

2. TWSITD: Scheming Outside Their Comfort Zone

Credit to sageofanys for their interpretation of Cleobulus btw.

In the context of Fire Emblem, “those who slither in the dark” stand out like a sore thumb due to how alien they are. For the sake of this post however, I will only focus mainly on how the group’s used in the narrative they were originally created for, as it showcases our second roadblock.

The group assumes the role of the puppeteers behind the scenes, having already infiltrated the antagonistic faction of the story (the Empire) and using them to achieve their goals, while also playing a noticeable role in the backstory of some key players of the conflict. And given the archetype they follow, it appears there’s a clear cut way to stop them: just deal with them directly - while avoiding their puppets as much as possible - and bingo. Problem solved.

…Which would be a viable solution, if it wasn’t for Three Houses complicating the slitherers’ job, forcing them to work outside their comfort zone:

Remember when I mentioned Edelgard did some deals behind Duke Aegir’s back? Well, the Agarthans were part of those deals too due to utilitarian (manpower, assets and tech) and practical reasons (Edelgard is not in a position to get rid of them normally), foreshadowed and implied midway through Part 1. This results in-

Having the puppeteers lose much of their agency in the story once Edelgard assumes the Imperial throne. As mentioned earlier, the “puppet” in question gets control of the Empire once she assumes the antagonist role, and has her own reasons to wage war and conquer. This begs the question: How much control do the slitherers even have in the story once the war starts? Their uncertain input is even compromised further because-

Their success is entirely dependent on Edelgard winning. The slitherers have no trump-card nor a “revive this ancient evil” button freely available which could potentially make the need of a war pointless, meaning that once Edelgard and her Empire is taken care of, they have no choice but go into hiding to scheme again in the future, which is what happens in the story. Lastly-

They are acting on borrowed time. In spite of all their bravado, smugness, hi-tech toys, and hubris (heck, partly because of it), Edelgard, thanks to their established alliance with TWISTD and her own spies (ie. Hubert.) eventually gains the info needed to get rid of the group once their assistance is no longer needed, proven through Hubert leaking Shambhala’s location to Byleth after him & Edelgard are hit with a sudden case of death. Meaning that by the end, any potential win the slitherers gain is bound to become a pyrrhic victory.

So to wrap up this part, TWSITD’s purpose in Silver Snow’ main plot can be summed up as the following:

Remove Jeralt from the story, which leads to Byleth fusing with Sothis while also (unintentionally?) foiling Rhea’s plan for them in the process, which would otherwise never happen without their involvement.

Give Edelgard the means to remove Rhea from the story between Chapter 13 and 19.

Wound Rhea lethally near the end of the story, unwillingly setting her up as the Final Boss.

And speaking of which-

3. Rhea: Snow in the Crimson Gardens

Not so immaculate as she wants you to think.

All I have covered so far comes from the antagonist-side of things. But because Three Houses' story is not done throwing wrenches at our understanding of how the war happens, it seems natural it would add one last, final roadblock within the main supporting roster of characters. And who else to give it than Rhea: Archbishop of the Church of Seiros; leader of Fódlan’s main religion; and Byleth’s boss for all of Part 1.

Within the narrative, Rhea’s role in the plot is very straightforward:

In the Academy Arc, she gives Byleth missions in the story for them & their class to do, while also delivering exposition whenever necessary.

Then in the War Arc of Silver Snow, she has to be rescued from the Empire, delivers one final piece of exposition the story teased late into Part 1 (what is Byleth and what’s up with their mom), and then becomes the Final Boss though circumstances beyond her control.

None of this is really a problem for writing a definitive 3H route. The crux at hand however, comes when we learn about Rhea’s character, painting a different looking picture:

She’s quite secretive, being her reasons for hiring Byleth as a teacher the best example of it in the story, as her vague justification for it puzzles Seteth (her right hand man), Jeralt, and even Edelgard.

As the story goes on, it’s also clear Rhea’s preparing and testing Byleth for something, later revealed to be their status as Sothis’ new vessel - with having them sitting on Sothis’ Throne the intended final step - which, not only doesn’t pan out as planned, it’s also something she kept everyone in the dark about on purpose up until it was too late.

Her answer against insurrections and direct threats against her authority is execution.

She is willing to cover-up truths if it means safeguarding the reputation of Crests and Nobility.

The last two points in particular stand out a lot considering that in Black Eagles’ story, these facets of Rhea’s character are often highlighted right next to Edelgard’s in adjacent events, further showcasing their differences.

Take Chapter 3, for example:

“Even if our enemies are the gods themselves... we must never lose sight of our goal. [...] Really, I'm just like Lonato. I, too, will be the sort of ruler who's willing to risk the lives of my citizens in service of a higher cause. It's not possible to change the world without sacrifice. Dying for the greater good is not a death in vain.” - Edelgard in A Harsh Reality

“I heard some of the students were...hesitant about fighting militia. However, we must punish any sinner who may inflict harm upon believers, even if those sinners are civilians. I pray the students learned a valuable lesson about the fate that awaits all who are foolish enough to point their blades towards the heavens.” - Rhea in Report: Garland Moon

And Chapter 5:

“I have already heard Gilbert's report about what happened. See to it that you keep what transpired at the tower to yourself. People would lose faith in the nobles should rumors spread of one using a Relic and transforming into a monster. All regions of Fódlan would fall into chaos. We must avoid that at all costs.” - Rhea in The Lance of Ruin 

“People believe Crests are blessings from the goddess, that they're necessary to maintain order in Fódlan. But the people are wrong. Crests are to blame for this brutal, irrational world we live in. Their power is granted only to a select few, whom we elevate and allow to rule the world. Have you ever wondered if the only way to create a truly free world is to dispense with the goddess and the Crests?” - Edelgard in Crests: The Good and the Bad

The more the plot progresses, the more it becomes clear that both Edelgard and Rhea are not on the same wavelength, are up to their own devices, and that neither is willing to show their cards before their plans have reached completion. This ultimately causes tension, telegraphing to the player that both sides will eventually crash against each other, but without making certain when and how it will happen (one can guess Edelgard will throw the first stone, but…?).

Thus, with these 3 roadblocks set in stone, the seeds of Fodlan’s main conflict are allowed to blossom unopposed, setting the blazes of war loose.

… And all this is just as far as it goes in Silver Snow. Due to my self-imposed restriction, I deliberately didn’t cover stuff like:

Edelgard’s beef with the Nabateans and their involvement in Fódlan (which Silver Snow hints at but never elaborates upon).

The circumstances in which Dimitri’s rage and madness is unleashed towards Edelgard and the Empire.

The complicated relationship between the Alliance and the Empire.

What’s up with the TWSITD’s “Javelins of Light”.

What’s up with Nemesis coming back only in Verdant Wind.

And all the stuff that Warriors: Three Hopes shows, elaborates upon and makes clear with little room for ambiguity (like the fact Duke Aegir and Thales have history together), plus how the war happens in its timeline.

As a conclusion of sorts, I wanna say that: while I appreciate and see the potential of an hypothetical Revelation-like route in Three Houses, to me, it’s abundantly clear that’s simply not the kind of story IS and KT ever intended to write. Considering the sort of roadblocks at play, a major rewrite is required to even start entertaining such an idea, which would need to drastically shake the foundation of its story, lore, and characters as it currently is, to the point it’s worth raising the question if it would be far more practical to just start from scratch and create a whole new universe altogether…

[princesilverlining]

Gonna do a Rinnen run of FE: Fates.

Rinnen is a made up character from tumblr ask blogs @real-fire-emblem-takes and @fake-fire-emblem-takes . She's going to be reclassed as a mage, and I will probably have another poll for who she should marry (based on suggestions!).

I'd also like to mention that I'm not very good at FE: Fates specifically, so Conquest would be pretty hard, but eh I'll do what the community demands.

[dollking081]

yk shit's gonna go down when you can't select the character during battle prep

[helladventurers]

(long negative rant, be aware)

I think i'm starting to pinpoint one of the biggest reasons I can't really connect with the plot of botw and totk anymore 😫 and it's because I'm really tired of the "peaceful world whose entire source of conflict can all be pinned into a single, cartooningly evil individual/organization" trope

I'm rewatching some fire emblem playthroughs, another series who relies on that plot narrative too much, and it's exhausting to me 🫠 I thought that totk was a step down from botw plot wise, but it's really Nintendo's incapability and refusal to evolve and to make stories more complex than bog standard "evil always falls and light destroys darkness" kinda stories

[silent-partner-412]

Still can’t believe how many horribly handled character deaths there are in Fire Emblem Fates like we’ve got:

- Flora lighting herself on fire for no reason

- Lilith being required to die every route for some reason

- Kaze dying if you don’t A support him in Birthright which ???????

- Scarlet dying in Revelation because fuck Scarlet fans I guess??

- Elise in Birthright cuz we have to feel like something’s actually happening in that story I guess

- Takumi getting possessed because fuck you

And there’s probably more I’m forgetting. I think the only character death in the game that’s handled even halfway decent was Ryoma in Conquest, and that’s only because the scene itself in a vacuum was pretty good. I think literally all of the rest of them were bad. I’ve never seen a game botch this many character deaths before and it’s one of the more ridiculous and baffling aspects of Fates writing that I still don’t understand.

[duckdachi]

ice queens

[dirtyoldmanhole]

random rev observations as we head into valla:

jakob/severa is really really cute. (s/o to @/wonderlandteaparty for reccing that). their whole support chain was endearing as it was hammy, and i especially love severa's c support with dwyer and her being refreshingly honest about jakob's faults as much as she loves him LOL - charmingly goofy, but honest. it's making me regret i have too many staff users to put dwyer in the rotation but i'll be using him another route soon (maybe CQ with flora?) fates is definitely the only fe where i have an excess of staff users on average.

kana sucks so bad as a dread fighter lol, it's mostly his abyssmal lack of str. i may have to reclass him back into a dragon for the dragonstone (< this is probably the fault of gunter growths, i'm just in denial LOL).

azama is. so weird. i haven't gotten a bead on him yet and so far i think i like just how. absolutely balls off the wall morbid (refreshingly so?) he is... i also really like how he gives no shits about how "likeable" he comes across, and yet how it doesn't come across as a ""quirk". he's either going to climb surprisingly high on the favorites list or on the dislike list depending on how good the supports are. (tentatively supporting him with azura?)

using only non royals is hard. still doable unlike CQ lunatic (disregarding crazy minmaxing), but i'm having to turtle along since everyone's as flimsy as wet paper. kagero's a decent mage tank and subaki's an okay physical tank as a grandmaster but still folds to a critical. (tho i liked their supports too. him being genuinely supportive of her painting was cute too.)

speaking of it's kind of hilarious when corrin/gunter (paired up) is by far my best tank with his +6/+4 to her def/str and the extra-fast guard activation.

him protecting her like that is kind.... of .... morbidly...... amusing.... considering .... what's happening to him plot wise >:D >:D >:D

[kyaruun]

just how many episodes does act 3 in virche have because this is long and my attention span can only hold for so long TT

[pochapal]

God is sending you the plagues because it knows what would happen if you analyzed umineko at 100% strength

many powerful entities are conspiring to keep me from reaching the truths of this story and the subsequent consequences of me learning them. all the time this is happening. taking home the prize of "individual who has been hexed the most by the golden witch beatrice without actually being killed by her" for another month running.

[yourstormthlaylirahh]

I know everyone is still reeling from nong chai, but did anyone else feel their shoulders tense up as soon as bible verses started being read?

[truthundressing]

oh my god everything in life is cyclic...