#( only her fight with tibarn was good )

[nobilismare]

@tomestobetold​ ; ask answered

❛   if you ever have need of my life, come and take it. it is yours anyways.  ❜   -Rafiel to Nailah

Had Nailah not rescued him all of those years back, he wouldn’t be here today, alive and well. His body would have been buried underneath the harsh sand of the desert, forgotten for all of eternity. A sad fate if one thought of it but luckily that wasn’t the case. Saving him was the best decision she had made and it gave her a partner for life. One she would never throw away.

“Shouldn’t that be my line?“ The Queen smiled and wrapped an arm around his waist to pull him close. It was uncommon for her to show affection in public, needing to appear strong in front of her people, but she always wanted to keep her lover close.

“I have kept you safe all this time, haven’t I? I was ready to sacrifice my life if I had to — Not that there have been many real challenges. It’s a bit disappointing if I’m going to be honest.“

[theia-eos]

I am of the opinion that it is Dheginseas fault that Lehran lost hope in the laguz too, the massacre is the final straw for the beorc but the laguz never did anything so atrocious, but Lehran is shown to dislike Dheginseas inaction regarding laguz slavery and Dheginsea doesn't seem to have done anything after the massacre and that might have made Lehran generalize it to all laguz being beyond redemption through his inaction.

I don't really like Dheginsea he's good for the story but I just don't like him. I do like Lehran though, maybe a bit hypocritical of me, I still don't really forgive him for handing Lillia over to Ashnard and the whole ending the world thing but I do have a bird bias.

sorry for rambling like this and you don't have to answer if it doesn't interest you but what is your theory? I enjoy seeing your theories and takes on tellius <3

Ah. Dheginsea, my beloathed. If he has 0 haters, I'm dead. He's a great villain and character for the story, but there's a reason why on my tier list he's only above Izuka. Cut for spoilers.

Dheginsea's inaction is understandable to a point. It's said that once battle enjoins, dragons lose themselves to chaos and their drive to fight. But he takes bystanding to an extreme.

Lehran also has some horrific sins to bear, but he does have a great case for an insanity plea given that he witnesses the massacre first hand, feeling all that hatred and pain in the thick of it, whereas being on the other side of the country it made Rafiel black out fleeing from it, and the other survivor Reyson "No amount of human blood can slake my thirst for vengeance" Serenes...well...he absolutely could have gone the same way as Lehran, even 17 years later Reyson sees battle between Ike's forces and Oliver's and will cast the forbidden magic that will have dire consequences for him, he's going to do it anyway. The only reason Reyson doesn't do it is because Tibarn is there to talk him out of it and Leanne is found safe and sound. For Lehran, alone without a true friend, the chaos he feels in that moment prevents him from calming the medallion, and it is in that maelstrom that he decides the world must end.

Your position is an interesting one, and I think Dheginsea's inaction could have contributed. In the Extended Scripts, where Lehran would say this:

Lehran: NO! Chaos…madness… So much…anger…so much…pain… Why? Why was my family taken? Why? Why was my forest destroyed? The apostle did not deserve this fate… Killed by her innocence…her murderers free to seize power… This is monstrous! This world does not need beorc. And the laguz…are deeply flawed. There is no need to wait for the covenant’s thousand years. Awaken! Oh, Goddess. Awaken…and judge. Radiant Dawn, Chapter 4-F-4: Rebirth, Normal Script

He instead says this:

Lehran: Ungh! NO! Chaos… (Several voices appear in Lehran’s mind) Dheginsea: You, who have lost your birthright? Misaha: And yet, now that I’ve met you, I understand. There is no shame in my heritage. None at all. Ashera: In deference to you, I will place my faith in your kind one last time. Altina: You… are the gentlest soul of them all, my sweet Lehran…Lehran: Why? Why did I lose my power? Why? Why was my tribe stolen? Why, why, why? (Image of Lehran holding onto the medallion) Civilian: Huh, what’s up with this guy? He’s been standing there frozen for a while. Civilian: We won’t allow you a painless death. You need to know what true pain feels like… Civilian: Yeah, you don’t take blows very well. We just hit you a few times and you drop dead… How can we punish them like this? Civilian: We can’t let the Apostle’s killers get away so easily… We should torture them, make them bleed until they beg… Then we kill them! Lehran: …Humans… 350 years still remain. But there is no need to continue waiting. This world does not need beorc. And neither does it need laguz…Both are deeply flawed. Please awaken! Oh, Goddess. Awaken…and judge. Radiant Dawn, Chapter 4-F-4: Rebirth, Extended Script

So Dheginsea's voice is one of many, and it is the line where Dheginsea is belittling Lehran, asking him how he can hope to improve things when he's incensed about laguz slavery and saying he's going to leave and help. (Also, Altina's line there, gah. My heart. I'm crying.)

But Lehran has lived for a very long time. He served Ashunera before the Flood. Nasir says that a long time ago, laguz had beorc in chains (edit: persecuted beorc, terms unclear), so Lehran has likely seen it both ways at this point and doesn't believe peace and co-existence is possible at that moment.

I think later on, he blames himself. He believes that the Apostle was killed by her innocence, as seen in the normal mode script. What caused her death? Him. He meets her, tells her the truth, and she decides to confront the senate, reveal that she is Lehran and Altina's Branded descendent, and tell the truth to the world to guide them to the just and honest future he wants. And she is killed for it.

Miasha: And yet, now that I’ve met you, I understand. There is no shame in my heritage. None at all. I will not live in hiding. I will reveal to the world that I am one of the Branded. They must see there is no shame in who I am. Lehran: No! You mustn’t! You don’t understand the danger you will be placing yourself in! Miasha: Oh, but I do. The senators will do their utmost to rally the people against me, as they did when I freed the laguz from slavery. But I will not be deterred. If I am to lead this nation, I cannot allow it to be corrupted by prejudice and hatred. I can put the life the goddess has given me to no greater good than this. Lehran: …Such determination. Your eyes… They very much resemble Altina’s. Miasha: I will stand before my people and proudly proclaim the truth. And then I will guide them to a just and honest future. This is my promise to you. Lehran: Thank you. Your strength of will, the truth that guides your life… You have shown me the way back to myself. I shall return to Goldoa and tell my friends of you and your actions. I will tell them that laguz and beorc may once again live together in peace. I will tell them that there is hope. Radiant Dawn, Chapter 4-F-1: Rebirth, Extended Script

Why are the Branded considered abominations and taboo? Lehran.

Gareth: King Dheginsea fell into despair. If people caught wind of this news, he believed it would create a deep rift between the two peoples. The king was especially concerned about the reaction from the laguz. They might interpret the birth as a herald of their eventual end. Some might even attempt to harm the child. Kurthnaga: Lehran needed to hear the voice of the goddess then more than ever before… But he could no longer sing the galdr of release. Is that what happened? Nasir: Just so. Lehran was forced to make a very difficult decision to protect the peace between beorc and laguz. He decided to retreat into seclusion and consider the problem. Once he regained his sanity, he announced his decision. Gareth: Lehran was forced to ask the unthinkable of his wife, his aides, and close friends: "For the sake of Begnion, you must tell the people that I died in an accident. Tell them the birth was merely a false rumor." Nasir: Lehran left the medallion to his tribe, moving to Goldoa under King Dheginsea’s protection. He simply disappeared from history after that. Gareth: After Lehran had left and life returned to normal, Altina eventually welcomed a beorc husband. She raised the child she’d had with Lehran as though it were an ordinary beorc child, born of her new husband. Since then, marriages between laguz and beorc have been forbidden. It became known as a "crime against the goddess." Radiant Dawn, Chapter 4-F-4: Rebirth, Ancient History

It is absolutely no mistake that we get this conversation right before fighting Lehran. This is to be fresh in our minds going into the battle, his reveal (as it is only possible to view on New Game+, like Ike's memories, these are supposed to be all put together), and his memories of the massacre. It's sickening. He gave the order that, after hundreds of years, led to his descendent being assassinated and the genocide of the herons.

Now, should Dheginsea and company have taken the advice of Lehran, who was suicidal and depressed over the loss of his powers and ability to commune with the goddess? No. Absolutely 100% not. (Dheginsea. I am still in your walls.) But it's easy to see that Lehran blames himself for everything, and wants nothing more than to die while also believing that the world is beyond saving. There are only two people who could have swayed him from that stance: Nailah and Micaiah.

Micaiah: You… I’ve heard about you. Have we… met before? Sephiran: The Silver-Haired Maiden. It’s taken so long to finally meet you. If I had known you still lived, I.. I… No, it’s too late. This changes nothing. I cannot falter. Radiant Dawn, Chapter 4-F-4: Rebirth

Nailah: Who would’ve guessed that a madman on the other side of the desert would somehow threaten Hatari? Sephiran: Hatari. I’m sorry I didn’t get a chance to see it. The wolf tribe has survived all this time in the far corner of the world. Only the goddess could have known that. Nailah: Perhaps even she didn’t know it. Your goddess isn’t perfect, you know. Does an imperfect goddess have the right to judge imperfect beings? Sephiran: I see your point. Does the creator retain the right to destroy her creations when they are no longer what she envisioned? I imagine we could discuss this sometime… if only we had more time. I believe you alone might be able to sway my opinion on this, Lady Nailah, Queen of Wolves. Radiant Dawn, Chapter 4-F-4: Rebirth

Micaiah being his descendent and the new apostle is obvious. If he had known is family still lived, if he still knew there was someone who could speak to the goddess, he might not have gone as far as he did. If he had known of Hatari, a land where beorc, laguz, and Branded co-exist in peace, the world he dreamed of not only being possible but there, then he might not have believed Tellius beyond saving either.

So this is a Dheginsea hate blog, but I think Lehran's long life of seeing constant conflict, of the war that drove the goddess to split herself in do, of seeing the pendulum of power dynamics flip one way to the other was ultimately what did it to him, Dheginsea's inaction likely only being a contributing factor. But end of the day, I don't think there's anyone Lehran held in greater contempt than himself.

Tibarn: You know what? I don’t believe you’re the big, bad, evil guy you want us all to think you are. Sephiran: What could you be talking about? Tibarn: Ah, I was right! I see it in your eyes. I’ve been around for a while, and learned a bit about spotting fakes. So now that your secret’s out, maybe you’d like to open up and tell me: Who are you really? Sephiran: …

[randomnameless]

Yet another reason why AM is the best written route! Billy never angsts about Supreme Leader in that route, the only times they say something positive about her is to comfort Dimitri, which is completely logical given they're close to him but barely know her in this route.

Sunday's salty answer is : Billy doesn't need to angst about Supreme Leader, Dimitri does it already and it's nigh unbearable

I've already mentionned it, but to me, AM's message of "drop vengeance for acceptance" falls completely flat because... Dimitri doesn't accept everything that makes Supreme Leader, well, Supreme Leader, WC is obliterated from everyone's memory and all is well that ends well.

Dimitri won't even ask what Thales is to her, or why she was working with him for her "ideals", or why Duscur happened (both the Tragedy and the following massacre), or where is Rhea/why was she caught, or why Supreme Leader thinks Flayn's race is what makes her unable to "rule over the people", etc etc.

That's why I prefer TS's Roland, both in his route and the golden one, he reluctantly accepts to put his revenge aside and not kill Gustadolph on spot, he still hates him but also wants to stop the bloodshed for the sake of Glenrbook/Norzelia.

Sure, Dimitri's AM arc is to learn to live for himself, so to stop pushing his feelings aside for the sake of his people and embrace them : he cannot still hold hatred against her but move on for the Kingdom, so the devs had him... not feel hatred at her at all? Drop all of his grievances and only end up fighting her because he has to stop her war and their views are not compatible at all?

Dimitri? Bleeding Heart Dimitri?

What would he feel if he saw the rooms where people were waiting in before being transformed in War Assets ? Or would he feel the same feeling of sadness because "their ideals" forces him to stop her, if Supreme Leader told him Flayn, because of her race, has no regards for human life? Or if she told him Dedue's sister and entire family were "necessary sacrifices" because her ideals needed Duscur to happen?

We have the entire sobfest "I have to kill her because our ideals are not compatible and we will not see eye to eye to end this war :'(" and no "I have to kill her to end this war and to bring justice for all those suffered and are still suffering due to her selfish war".

In a way we have boar!mitri being BaD because he wants not just to kill, but to murder her, and King!mitri being GoOd because now he doesn't want to kill her, but has to because their ideals are clashing and he has to end her war :'(

Fun for thought -

Imagining Supreme Leader somehow survives AM and Dimitri doesn't want to kill her, what happens?

Naesala only escapes death because Tibarn ultimately knows about the Blood Pact, bcs herons and bcs Naesala makes amends and decides to atone.

Assuming Rhea is found in the state she's in at the end of SS/VW, would the CoS want her execution?

If the truth about Duscur and Agarthans is revealed (but unlike Naesala, Supreme Leader willingly helped the people who tortured her and in turn called the following people who were tortured "necessary sacrifices"), on top of the current War and Cornelia, given how she helped and abided by her Agarthan associates, and started the war, and sacrificed her own people to create War Assets... Would Faerghus/whoever's in charge of Leicester (Erwin) and Adrestians themselves want her alive?

What would she become? Exiled from Fodlan? Executed? Put in permanent House Arrest in a manor?

[enbyleighlines]

Leigh plays Tellius prt 14

It's time for the penultimate chapter of Path of Radiance! I was excited for this chapter, hoping that I could farm as much exp for my units as possible.

Strangely enough, I was excited to see Izuka. He's just a delightfully fun villain, the type of villain you love to hate. And is it just me, or does he somehow look worse in this game than he does in the sequel? He definitely looks older in Radiant Dawn, but for some reason looking like an old man suits him. Here, he just looks off-putting.

I am a little sad that they dropped Izuka's weird character quirk of saying "Wheee!" every few sentences. It's just so ridiculous.

Naesala really can't help but immediately flirt with Leanne, huh? I love these two. I'm always a sucker for the childhood friends trope.

I really like how they handle this scene. The visuals are very minimalist. In fact, for most of the scene, we just have a pitch black background, plus the soundtrack falls silent, which means it all falls on the dialogue to set the mood. I think it does a fantastic job. Especially having Ranulf react like this, since in every other situation he has been entirely unflappable. It's all done very subtly, which I enjoy.

I also appreciate how, even when they show the dungeons, they don't show anything explicit. (Obviously the game would have a different rating if they did.) But even without seeing the full picture, I always get chills looking at that single still image.

I'm so glad that Tibarn and Ranulf get the opportunity to tear Izuka to shreds in the sequel.

This is such a little thing, but I love that they included this. It shows that even on the supposed "good side", there are people who don't necessarily want peace, because they can benefit from war. This makes them not so different from the people they're fighting. It helps set things up for the sequel, wherein the conflicts at play are no longer so black and white.

Nealuchi, you brilliant scheming schemer, you. I completely forgot about this, and I couldn't stop grinning. I genuinely love Nealuchi. I know he's mainly there just to make Naesala more endearing (like with Rolf and Shinnon), but he's such a fun character in his own right.

Aaaaand, that's the Twisted Tower chapter!

Next time, I take on Ashnard. However, before I end this post, I did want to take a look at my main units, to see how they are doing. I would like to get as many characters to lv 20 with capped stats as possible, so let's see how close I am to accomplishing that...

Ike is already at lv 20, with 5 capped stats! Since he's already OP in Radiant Dawn, I'm excited to see how broken he'll be with all those transfer bonuses.

I don't really intend on getting Mist to lv 20, but she's already capped magic and speed, and not too far off from capping resistance. So maybe I'll give it a shot, once I've gotten Jill and Ilyana to lv 20.

Like Mist, I don't intend on getting Mia to lv 20, though she's capped both skill and speed, and close to capping strength. We'll see.

Ilyana! She has two levels to go, and she's only 1 point away from capping her speed. That's one of my top priorities, so if somehow she doesn't cap her speed on her own, I have a speedwing ready for her. She's also close to capping magic, which would also be useful for Radiant Dawn.

Jill has 5 more levels to go, and she's close to capping skill, speed, and defense. I could potentially also cap her strength, if I get lucky enough and use an energy drop, but if not, it won't be the end of the world. For Jill, I'm mainly focusing on her survivability, since I know her debut in Radiant Dawn happens in a super difficult chapter.

Nephenee, my girl! Like Mist and Mia, I'm not prioritizing getting Neph to lv 20, but she is pretty close to capping strength and speed, plus an already capped skill. So if I can get her to lv 20, that would be really nice, especially for her starting chapter in Radiant Dawn. Gotta impress Heather, y'know?

Soren is only 3 levels away from lv 20, with three stats already capped. I anticipate that he will also be able to cap magic, but if not, I have a spirit dust ready for him. I was very determined to get him to cap his speed, not only because they nerf the speed of mages in Radiant Dawn, but because his skill Adept triggers based off of speed. So I'm glad that I was able to accomplish that goal.

Kieran has not capped anything yet, but he's fairly close to capping strength, skill, and speed. It would be nice to get him to lv 20, but we'll see.

Oscar! He's already capped his speed, and he has 8 more levels to go. He's also fairly close to capping his skill. Idk if I'll get him to level 20, but it would be nice.

Man, Boyd was doing so well in the beginning of my playthru, but he fell off hard. He did manage to cap strength, and he could potentially cap HP and defense, but probably not without the help of some stat boosting items. But it's okay if I don't get Boyd any transfer bonuses. I'm mainly just going to use him as a walking support bonus for Mist.

Last on my list is Rolf! At level 12, he's quite close to capping strength, skill, and defense. He could potentially also cap his speed if I'm lucky. I initially didn't have any intentions of getting Rolf to lv 20, but honestly, I think it would be hilarious to go into Radiant Dawn with a buffed out Rolf.

And that's my team going into endgame! I'm so excited to see what will happen.

[tomorrowscircle]

Morgan finds herself suddenly glad to be atop a wyvern, she thinks as she glances down into the watery depths below. At least she won't be getting her shoes wet from all the way up here. (Why does this feel familiar? This perch atop a wyvern, an axe in her hand. Her head hurts.)

She does feel bad for Lyn though, the only one trapped without a way to soar above and not risk drowning. Hopefully that won't be too much of an issue, and she would happily fly down and rescue her even if it was!

With one axe in her hand, and a pair of gauntlets strapped to her belt, she feels like she is about ready to take on anything. She feels strong, and strength is good. Or at least she feels strong until a crash of waves hits her right in the face.

She coughs, managing to get all of the water out, but damn, really unfortunate that it was sea water. It tasted salty, and she really wasn't too fond of things that tasted salty. (Not to mention the fact that she couldn't exactly swim. Yet another reason to be glad for the wyvern she found herself upon.)

Charydbis (25/25* HP) summons Dolphin A (10/10 HP) Dolphin A (10/10 HP) rallies Charydbis (25/25* HP). Charydbis gains +4 DEX and +3 MAG for one round. Charydbis (25/25* HP) hits Morgan (10/10 HP) with Raging Waves. [Roll: 14 + 4 = 18; -5.5 HP] [Morgan: 4.5/10 HP] Charydbis (25/25* HP) hits Morgan (4.5/10 HP) with Maelstorm. [Roll: 16 + 4 = 20.] Morgan (4.5/10 HP) is bound until the end of the following phase.

Morgan coughs a little more, wondering if she should actually try to attack or if it was pointless because of how much water was around. But with a rallying screech from Tibarn, she knows that she should stand up and fight. And fight she would! She was strong after all!

She tugs the wyvern into battle (with a instinct she had not know that she'd had. Familiar... it was so familiar.) swooping over the pesky little dolphin that had been summoned by their bigger foe. She slams her axe into it as hard as she can, and it all but explodes into a million little water droplets. Well done herself!

Morgan heals +1 HP from Amaterasu. [Morgan: 5.5/10 HP] Morgan (5.5/10 HP) critically hits Dolphin A (10/10 HP) with Labrys. [Roll: 20 + 8 = 28; -11 HP] [Dolphin A: 0/10 HP] Dolphin A Has Been Defeated!

"Hey guys! I think the big one is open now that its little minion is gone! Use this chance to attack!"

@regnumaves

Yelp Review: 7.8/10 Too Much Water

[rubywolf0201]

Some pretty and fun various FE headcanons that l made up on the spot because I feel like it:

- Lysithea may adore all desserts but her favourite has got to be Strawberry Shortcake

- Hilda likes to read romance novels and would often bring it with her whenever she has the opportunity to read it when no else is looking.

- Marianne often goes to the monastery’s greenhouse to check on the birds that she befriended. Sometimes, she even bring the birds in secret to the stables and have them befriend Dorte.

- Leonie often draws Jeralt in her schoolbooks. Most of the drawings of Jeralt involve him in various poses.

- Claude often thinks of his favourite food back in Almyra and tries to emulate the dishes. Sometimes with disastrous results.

- Seteth is also a fish fan like Flayn is, having a whole set of books on them. However, he is more mature about it and would always restrain himself from fanboying about the fish that he caught.

- Flayn is smarter than what her innocent and naivety would suggest. She actually understands some of the complicated magic in the spellbooks and has often studied about the plants that grow in the greenhouse.

- Alois would sometimes go out to shop for antique wares since he likes to display them in his house to the point it looks like he is running a mini museum.

- Saber often thinks about his little sister back home and gets worried on how she’s faring without him or if she’s aware of what he’s doing right now.

- Back when she’s living in the priory, Celica would often invite Mae, Boey and Genny to draw on empty sheets of paper they find, so as long as they’re not wet or crumpled.

- Jesse likes painting at a very young age but he’s a pretty terrible artist. Still, he would make an effort to make the painting as accurate as possible.

- Ike love flower pressing in an empty book he bought in a market and would try to show the flowers he collected from his journey to Mist and his friends.

- Volke used to undergo vigourous stealth training when he was a young boy. Hence, why he can appear within a second or so whenever someone mentions him.

- Boyd really hates parents who abandon their children, regardless of whatever excuse they have since it hits home with his and Oscar’s situation.

- Tibarn likes to eat fruit seeds as dessert though sometimes the seeds he consume makes him sick for around 2-3 days.

- Frederick gets really bored easily. So if he gets bored out of nowhere, expect him to do an inspection check on the camp grounds to no avail.

- Stahl is actually pretty good with numbers since he used to help out at his family’s apothecary shop.

- Lon'qu likes to go stargazing in secret whenever he can’t sleep.

- Vaike gets unnerved by ghost stories pretty easily and would black out when he hears one.

- Gregor often likes to tell folklore stories he heard about during his mercenary days.

- Lissa has actually punched Chrom once by accident during their training session. The punch was so powerful, it left the poor bluenette out of commission for 2 days straight.

- Maribelle has tried to bring her whole entire wardrobe back home when she joined the Shephards only for Lissa to talk her out of it and only bringing the clothes that she needs to bring.

- Whenever Owain gets angry, expect the chunni boy to give one cold death glare at the person who offended him and walk away silently. (This headcanon is inspired by Marin Kitagawa from My Dress Up Darling and how she dealt with that one guy who insulted her)

- Brady used to get into fights when he was pretty young because other kids would make fun of his Ma and how she acts.

- Ryoma actually used to quarrel with Hinoka when both were really young. Nowadays, they’re pretty chill with one another, though they still throw subtle jabs at one another if both are in a bad mood.

- Kaze is probably the one person you wouldn’t want to talk to if sleep deprived. Cause if you did, expect a lot of temperamental shouting and profanities from the green ninja. Saizo is more or less aware of that since he used to deal with it a few times before.

- Silas, when he’s at his angriest, just doesn’t say anything but he would keep smiling and would mutter angry words where no one could hear him. The greyhead cavalier knight gets pretty scary when he does that. (Headcanon inspired by the fanmade Shiro-Sophie sibling support of Silas is married to Ryoma)

- Shura sometimes has an extra pillow to hug in case he has a bad dream.

- Hrid rarely if ever blows his top at his sisters, instead he gives them a firm but gentle scolding if he sensed them doing something wrong.

[yukiwrites]

Kiran, Categorizing

Thank you for the support and patience as always, @xpegasusuniverse! This was so funny to write, I hope you like it!

Summary: Bored during a meeting, Kiran started to sort some of the heroes in a way that he had only done back in his own world, in social media... Now, Sharena, Alfonse and Anna seemed interested in the magical world of the... himbos.

Commission info HERE and HERE!

__________________________

Kiran’s workload after he was summoned to Askr kept increasing exponentially as the war against various kingdoms dragged on. There were many Heroes to keep track of and many different powers coming to play, so he always had to be careful when suggesting a team or a strategy.

Of course, he couldn’t deny that sometimes he made team compositions mostly based on personal preference or how the heroes would interact with one another rather than how well they complemented each other’s strengths, but he never sent those out to dangerous missions, so he liked to keep that to himself.

Take the meeting going on at that moment, for example; he was shuffling through a list of buff-looking heroes to form a team to explore whatever had been going on inside the Illusory Dungeon. No one knew for certain when phantoms of heroes and compelling songs would start appearing and playing there, but whenever lights shone inside it, Kiran formed one of those teams based on his own preferences just to hear the reports once they came back.

Well, the meeting wasn’t solely for this situation as Anna, Alfonse and Sharena were sitting on the round table around Kiran while talking strategies about the many other skirmishes happening in the country. There were some heroes who still had to go to the Training Tower, so the smallest pile of papers by Kiran’s left was a list of those; there were also heroes raring to go explore the Aether Islands, so the second smallest pile was full of requests from them; there had also been reports about suspicious movements in the woods nearby, so some nimble heroes were needed…

There was a lot to do, so Kiran was taking his time to at least form a team he found funny instead of drowning in the weight of his responsibilities like it usually happened to Alfonse. Kiran looked up from the paper in front of him to the sick-looking prince, raising an eyebrow at how intently he stared at a report.

“Alfonse, maybe you should take a break. You’re looking whiter than your own clothes.” Kiran’s hoarse voice from talking all morning made the prince blink and shake his head.

“I couldn’t possibly take a break at an important time such as this-”

“C’mon, Alfonse, Kiran’s right.” Sharena patted her brother’s shoulder, her face still full of energy as though she wasn’t tired at all from sitting at that table for hours. “Let’s go stretch our legs! I’ll come with you.”

Once again Alfonse shook his head. “No. As I said, I can’t cut the meeting short just for this.” He shifted his tired gaze from his pouty sister to the Summoner, “were you almost finished with the team for the Illusory Dungeon, Kiran?”

“Hm? Ah, yeah. I wanted a team of himbos, so I figured Raphael, Arden, Draug and maybe Shiro…? I was torn between him and Chrom, but perhaps Chrom isn’t really one…” Kiran mumbled the later half of the sentence, frowning slightly at the personal files of Chrom and Shiro as though he could find the answer there if only he stared long enough.

Anna raised her finger to ask, but then gave up on it, shaking her head. Sharena didn’t, though.

“Eh? What’s a ‘himbo’, Kiran? Is it something you use to sort the heroes? Or does it have to do with how strong they are?” The princess’ eyes shone, while her brother beside her looked confused yet intrigued.

Snorting, Kiran had to avert his eyes for a moment, wondering how he could have said that out loud. An internet lingo he had used back when he still had social media (though still pretty accurate to categorize people) now came up in this kind of situation. Kiran cleared his throat, fighting back a smirk.

“Well, yeah, it can be considered something to sort them based on how strong they look. A man is only a himbo if he has three characteristics: He has to be buff, kind, -- to everyone, though especially to women -- and stupid. If he’s missing even one of these, he can’t be considered a himbo.”

“Wha-” Anna frowned, placing one hand over her mouth to hide a snort.

Alfonse and Sharena, however, were appalled.

“S-stupid? That’s kind of mean to say about the heroes, though?” Sharena deflated like a sad balloon, sitting back after getting up in excitement about a new word.

“Truly, I- I never expected you to talk about them like this, Kiran.” Alfonse looked more offended than anything, as though all of the built-up trust they had shared had shattered.

Kiran pressed his lips into a thin line, almost unable to stop himself from laughing out loud. “No, I mean it in the best way possible. Look here,” he picked up Raphael’s file, which had a picture of him smiling wide and warmly, “this is the peak example of a himbo. He’s not book-smart nor does he have street-smarts, but his heart? It's as wide as the ocean. He’s kind, but without any ulterior motive, and he’s really, really big and buff.”

Sharena’s jaw dropped in shock, processing the information as Alfonse twitched his eyebrows. “But why refer to him as ‘stupid’...? That’s rather insulting.”

Kiran shrugged. “Well, it’s just the fastest way to call someone who doesn’t have much -- if any -- smarts in them, isn’t it? Look at this one here.” He pulled a file from a nearby pile, lifting it for them to see. “Tibarn here, he’s buff and kind, but he has smarts. You can see many thoughts going inside his head,” different from the zero braincells Raphael seems to have, Kiran thought to himself as he swallowed a snort. “So he’s not a himbo, but a hunk.”

“Alright, I’ll bite, “Anna managed to say after properly managing not to laugh at the absurdity of the situation. “So a himbo has those three characteristics, a hunk is a muscular and kind man. So what of the other combination? If they’re kind and… lacking in smarts?” She asked, barely containing a smirk from sprouting, which mirrored Kiran’s.

“Well, that’s just a decent man, I suppose.” He coughed out, trying to mask a snort as Anna threw her head back in laughter, unable to hold it back anymore.

“Pfft-aahaha! This is new!” She laughed loudly, taking shaky breaths to stop herself from crying as she dried her eyes with one hand. “So, since when have you been ranking the heroes like this?”

Catching her laughter, Kiran shook in amusement for a bit before glancing at the confused royals. “Since before I was summoned here, I suppose. It’s a ‘sorting technique’ used back in my world.”

Sharena’s eyes sparkled once again. “Well, if we can not say that they’re stupid, then I think it’s a good sorting! They have a big heart and big bodies, right? It doesn’t matter that they don’t understand the world around them, just that they’re ready to accept everything at face value!” The princess looked up as though she had made the discovery of the century, while Alfonse beside her crossed his arms to think.

If it was something from another world, Kiran’s world especifically, it was worth giving it a try, was it not? Perhaps if they applied themselves, they’d be able to sort the heroes more efficiently and cut back the time for these meetings so they could focus their energy elsewhere…

“As I was saying, I was in doubt about Chrom because, look: he’s buff enough, though not as big as, say, Draug; he scores high in kindness; but he has SOME smarts… Although he’s impulsive, it’s not like his brain is empty like- ahem, it’s not like his heart is as big as Raphael’s or Shiro’s.”

Not hearing the insulting part about the heroes’ smarts, Sharena nodded in compliance, thinking deeply. “Hmmm, I don’t think I can help in this right away. Can you give us more examples?”

“Sure, look here,” Kiran turned the pile by his left to Sharena. “Hinata, he’s a jock. He’s buff enough, but he’s not really kind and he’s kinda brusque, right?” Kiran held back the ‘he lacks brain cells’ part, saying it only with his eyes to Anna, the only one who truly understood him in all of this. “On the other hand, Stahl… is just a decent guy. He’s kind and although he has some smarts, he’s not buff, so he doesn’t fall into this category.”

“Hmmm, so do you think Owain could be one? He’s stup- ah, lacks smarts enough and he’s a good guy. But he- ah, yeah… perhaps not.” Anna started, but then stopped herself after comparing Raphael’s muscles to Owain’s. “Isn’t this kind of sorting way too specific? I don’t think many heroes fall under the ‘himbo’ category.”

Kiran nodded solemnly, as though they were talking about some important strategy. “Indeed. It’s very hard to find a true himbo, as they’re extremely rare. Hence why I was having trouble with the Illusory Dungeon team.”

“I see… It sounds really important.” Sharena nodded, basically accepting that this was something that went way over her head and tried to catch up in her own way. Alfonse still had mixed feelings about it, but the more seriously Kiran and Anna talked about it, the more he felt like he was in the wrong for finding something iffy about the sorting method in the first place.

“For example, Linus… if only he was a bit kinder, he would be another prime example of a himbo.” Kiran said over Sharena’s mumbling, sighing wistfully. “Lex would also be a good one, but he’s too smart to be a himbo.”

“Oh, I know! What about Keaton? He seems perfect!” Sharena raised her voice as her eyes glanced at one of the lists around Kiran.

The Summoner and Anna exchanged glances. “Not enough muscle.”

“Ah…” Sharena sat back with a pout. “This is really hard…”

“Yeah…” Kiran scratched his temple in thought.

In the following silence, only Alfonse’s voice could be heard after a few minutes. “... Isn’t Lord Hector one, though? From those examples…”

Kiran widened his eyes, jumping out of his seat with a bang. “That’s it! Alfonse, you’re a genius!” He praised, quickly shifting through the files to find Hector’s. “Do you have any more suggestions?”

Taken aback by the sudden cheer, Alfonse gulped. “Um, I thought about Helbindi, especially according to what Princess Yglr told us about him…”

“Hmm… A rare tsundere himbo, huh… perhaps?” Kiran took one hand to his chin in thought, mumbling something under his breath. “Alfonse, you’re on the right track! C’mon, keep the ideas coming!”

“Brother, you’re no fun, you picked it up so quickly! Tell me more!” Sharena protested, manhandling Alfonse into fessing up how he understood Kiran’s vague explanations so well.

Anna snorted under both hands as her shoulders shook from suppressed laughter, wondering how the hell they had ended up talking about that in the middle of a meeting.

Regardless, the topic was too much fun to be ditched now that the four of them were eagerly exchanging suggestions and adding more himbos to the pile, so no one noticed that the important meeting they were having was now a himbo-selection tournament.

Perhaps after night fell, they would come back to their senses, but for now, the Commander, the two royals and the Summoner threw heated debate against one another regarding the amount of intelligence this or that hero possessed.

[theofficersacademy]

                                    Silvia  Alfonse  Lyon  Mitama                                     Seliph  Seteth  Henry  Tibarn                                  Ike  Rhea  Ignatz  Hana  Bruno

FINALE [August 26th - August 31st]

Tag: #UnlockedCatacombs2021

Setting: Garreg Mach Monastery

Days after the fateful battle, you all witness a pillar of light erupt from the Star Terrace, breaking through the cloudy dawn. Somehow, you know that this is Rion’s invitation. The trip up there with Faolán is a solemn one, a silent one. When you arrive at the terrace, she tries to step into the pillar of light... only to be forced back.

“What?” Faolán tremulous voice is overwhelmed with shock and dismay. But when one of you tries to and successfully enters the pillar, she says ah, and nods with understanding. “So you have been chosen to enter... ah–! Please don’t worry, I’m not jealous! It’s only... I’m sad that we must part ways again once more. I normally do not spend much time outside of the College of Cardinals, so I’ve grown quite fond of you all...

“There are tales, tales of the Goddess’ ability to rewrite time. She grants the mercy of erasing painful memories, the chance to start over. And I cannot help but wonder what she will do when she arrives here. How she will change things for us all. I don’t know what she has in mind... but I pray that she will allow us to be friends and companions in the many years to come.”

Her hands clasp in prayer. “I pray for your good fortune. I know that many of you do not engage with the Church of Seiros beyond this academy, but I hope that you will permit me to pray for you all the same. 

“My blessings upon you all. And may the Goddess light your path, always.”

What you know:

The Goddess and her child are returning, according to Faolán. If Rion is of Seiros’ blood, then...!

Rion is inviting you to enter the pillar of light. You do not know what awaits you beyond this.

“One last game”, he says... 

Things to do:

FOR THOSE WHO HAVE OPTED INTO THE BATTLE, arrange yourselves into teams of 3 or 4.

Fight for the future of Fódlan

Ask Mod Bren if you need help or additional information.

...

Father...

In the vast expanse of space, you hear a young girl’s hopeful voice.

Father, is that you...? Have we truly been reunited?

[dimiclaudeblaigan]

You're correct about the Order part, and in part 3 endgame, Ranulf is actually the very first character who reacts negatively to the extensive chaotic energy (including even before Leanne, who collapses before the other herons and Mist). You have characters like Tibarn and Nailah who don't react at all to the chaos and actually enjoy it and thrive in it, which can be seen individually but also in their battle conversation (which I totally understand if most people haven't seen, because it would require NPC Tibarn to make his way to Nailah and actually engage in combat against her, which is practically impossible considering the bird tribe doesn't make their way upwards on the battlefield like the beast tribe does. They're also deployed on the right side of the map, whereas Nailah is all the way at the top left iirc), but Ranulf literally says he can barely see straight.

Also:

Tibarn: “Everyone, let’s get one thing perfectly clear here…This isn’t a natural peace. It’s Ashera’s work. Don’t forget for an instant that the world isn’t supposed to be like this. It should be noisy, vibrant, and chaotic.” Elincia: “You’re right. A peace built on the sacrifice of so many lives is monstrous and unjust. It cannot be allowed to stand.” Ranulf: “I didn’t mean that I’m losing motivation to save the petrified people. It’s just that, before we started talking about it, I was feeling…complacent. Is it just me?”

It's kind of interesting here how Elincia doesn't seem to be at all in the same headspace as either Ranulf or Tibarn (she says she doesn't understand Tibarn when he says he prefers a fight right then and there, but she definitely isn't as calm as Ranulf). You'd think Elincia would be further on the side of Order in general, but based on this, it seems like Ranulf is even further on the side of Order and Balance than Elincia is (and we interestingly don't ever see Elincia reacting to the chaotic energy, and they do show us other people reacting to it outside of the battlefield, like Sanaki becoming antsy and needing to see how her soldiers are faring in the battle and Leanne collapsing).

Ranulf only fights because he has to, certainly. The Laguz Alliance of course had every reason to fight, but once they start, it's hard to get them to stop (seen with the beast tribe pretty much throughout the war, and Tibarn admits he'd have to go around knocking all his men out to stop them by the time they realized they had to stop the fighting now or never as far as the medallion was concerned). Ranulf was, throughout the entirety of part 3, the only one trying to stop Skrimir from continuing to make very rash orders to his troops, and it took Skrimir almost dying for him to understand. Ranulf is more the type to prefer negotiations imo, but considering what the senate did, I can totally get him being on board with fighting them.

I think the "is it just me" is also interesting, because it might reflect on the fact that he's pretty close to Mist on the side of Order (who isn't in their army at the time). I think he does have Chaos in him, if his reactions to Izuka are anything to go by (compare to Mist, who reacts in anger toward the Black Knight in PoR chapter 27, but it's more pure rage than chaotic), but he has to be pushed really far emotionally for that chaos to show. The only other person who seemed to react similarly to Ranulf regarding the amount of Order in the world was Micaiah.

I wish they elaborated on whether or not Ranulf's headaches were specifically from Skirmir alone, or if the Chaos had anything to do with it/added to it, or if he got them recurringly throughout the war. More missed opportunities I guess, but they probably forgot about it tbh since it was only mentioned that one time.

He does deserve the world! And more! Poor man is too good for the crazy world he lives in, but then, what would Tellius do without him? 😭😭😭

Ranulf is by far one of the characters with the most potential that I wish they went more in depth with. He's such an important and prominent character, but the fact that you don't even hear he's been having these nightmares for the past three or so years now unless you get this specific dialogue is such a shame.

I think he's a perfect comedy relief/plot serious balanced character, but the amount of personal information we have about him/his feelings/his life are minimal. We see a completely different side of him when they went to Gritnea Tower in PoR, but it's something we only see again one more time, and that's in this chapter.

It's basically like, he has a lot of depth and personality, but they only sprinkle it very sparingly. I just find that to be so odd considering his importance in both games, and the fact that he's one of the central characters in RD in general (that is, he's even more prominent in RD than he was in PoR, and he was still relatively important in PoR). He's no less filled with characterization than other main characters like Ike and Soren, but we're given it so infrequently that it's much easier to gloss over and not think much about again.

I wish they did more with the other facets of his character, outside of him being one of the most kind, intelligent and empathetic characters (especially among the beast laguz, since the general impression we're given is that the bird tribe uses logic over emotion in comparison to the usually emotional and erratic beast laguz, and those are the two most prominent laguz species in the story).

Like, it's great that he has those qualities, but people get angry. They get aggressive. They get enraged. No person is just a solid funny and nice person, and Ranulf has all of those kind and angry qualities, but they skimp so much on this amazing writing of him. You learn so much about him and what he's been going through from these few brief instances of him becoming angry, but they just don't touch on it enough. They had a chance to continue his first base conversation with Ike and bring it up to him. It would've been the perfect time, because we have this dialogue in their first conversation:

Ike: You can come talk to me anytime you want. Don’t think you’re alone in all this. Ranulf: Heh… What are you, an inquisitor? Ike: A guy’s got to do something between battles. Talk to you later. Ranulf: …

At first Ranulf was talking about feeling bad for bringing beorc into a laguz affair, and then they discuss that Skrimir is giving Ranulf a headache with his behavior. That could've been their first conversation, but then they could've had a follow up based around the end of their conversation (the above). It would've been the perfect opportunity to give us another base conversation where Ranulf does go to talk to him because of these nightmares and all the stress he's been having. Imo the way they end the conversation with "...", makes it sound like there's more on Ranulf's mind than just what he was open about.

If you consider that he's been having nightmares about what he saw at Gritnea Tower for the past few years, then you consider that the laguz all just found out from Rafiel that the Begnion senators started the rumor about the herons to get them all killed, it's reasonable imo to consider that Ranulf is intelligent enough that he may have been starting to put the pieces together.

We learn late into part 3 that Izuka was working with the senators, and I feel like Ranulf's suspicions should've been raised. I don't think it's necessarily bad writing that he didn't catch on, but more of a missed opportunity. The whole situation affected him very deeply and they were very expressive about that in both games, but it's just that we don't see enough of that side of him, as in, we don't see it enough times.

In a way I feel like it also hits harder when you have the fun/funny, friendly, kind person experience something that tragic - witnessing the result of his race having been used for experiments and seeing their rotted corpses. Knowing people see his race as expendable and on top of that, left their carcasses to rot after pure torture. He saw innocent lives that had been taken and after all that horror, not even given any sort of burial, let alone a proper one.

There's also the fact that he's a cat - he has a very good sense of smell, and that's how he realized who the Black Knight was before anyone else. The smell of rotting corpses alone would be a lot to handle, but to be able to smell it better than anyone else in the room would have been absolutely traumatizing.

Again - the fun and funny, friendly, kind person experienced something horrible enough that he had a breakdown over it (and (presumably extreme based on context) subsequent emotional distress for years following). Tibarn and Reyson had their own ways of dealing with it that we were also shown (Tibarn was more much collected about it, and he put his rage into his strength, which Reyson similarly did, versus Ranulf's very outward emotional response), but Ranulf has never been subjected to anything that horrendous through the events of the game prior.

To have it be a one off situation in both games (as detailed as they were at the times they happened) is a huge shame imo and deserved to be expanded upon. It's clearly not something he got over over the years, and may never have gotten over post RD (even if he did feel better about it after killing Izuka or, if you didn't have him kill Izuka, if he felt better about it knowing Izuka had been killed for his crimes by the army Ranulf was part of).

I just wish they went more into detail about his feelings, because they were very powerful and emotional and felt like they should've been a stronger part of his character as a whole. Considering his role in RD is about as important if not more important than Elincia's PoR presence, it's something he really deserved as a central character. I love this battle dialogue because it shows you his raw feelings outside of that good ol' sweetheart guy. We can see something he's been struggling with, and we can see him express that so well in the scene they did give him that it would've been amazing to have more of that.

[serenegaldr]

He would’ve dismissed the notion of comforting anyone immediately, especially someone who had been through what Leanne had, had it not been for their recent history. She had healed him lately, and more importantly approached him. In their false prison, she had sought him out.

It seemed unfair to abandon her now. Something about Soren was enough stability or reassurance that he felt he should try, as she was in no condition to approach him herself.

He hoped his own emotions, tamped down as he could make them, wouldn’t cause her grief.

“Leanne.” Soren sat next to her, almost touching. He folded his hands, staring out at anything but her. “This is not something I or anyone can fix, I know.” Reyson, after all the herons had lost. It seemed surreal.

“I only wanted to… remind you that you aren’t alone.” He was bad at this. “I’ll sit here as long as you would like. You- well if you need to be closer that’s okay too.” He was getting more used to physical contact with others, and Leanne was light and gentle. This once, he wouldn’t mind. “Or if you want space, I’m not offended. I’m just here… me. If it helps.”

     Tibarn's agreement to stay off the battlefield helped her nerves more than she could ever state, and Leanne calmed enough to make a valiant - though not entirely successful - attempt at a shaky smile when Soren approached and spoke to her. His emotions were well-controlled, swirling tightly around himself in a muted thrum, but his words were gentle, sincere.

     The Heron took his hand in one of hers, taking comfort from his offer. "I... thank you," she said quietly, rubbing at her eyes, "Friends, here... help... not as, s-scary..." But it hadn't been scary the first time, not when she didn't remember a thing; but she was older now, and she couldn't afford to be so naive now. You're stronger than you seem. She remembered her previous conversation with the other, back when being forced into a prison seemed the worst of their worries.

     "Sir Soren... saw, im... important person... that is... good." I'm happy for you. And she would be, really, because one less death, one less heartbreak, wasn't that cause for celebration? In any other circumstance she too would be glad. But she could not say she was happy, not now, without it coming as something like a lie. In time, maybe, maybe. For now, the knowledge that there was people who had safely reunited, that they could still give each other strength, was enough for her.

     Someone who gave him hope, Sir Soren had said. This time, Leanne managed that small smile, though it was laced with pain. "Careful, fighting... you are, important... you, give hope, too... "

[randomnameless]

Nobles bad?

I said I wanted to make a post about Lorenz and how refreshing he was from the general trend of putting all ills of society, FE wise, on “ugh nobles”, but I forgot.

Of course, in the course of the story (or stories) the people who are doing shit are nobles, because they are the one able to raise armies/mercenaries to give us red units to fight and exp to farm.

But, in previous FEs, it has never been reduced to “nobles bad”.

Even in FE Tellius (I know).

In FE Tellius, a certain hero disses on “nobles” because he’s a country bumpkin and generally thinks all nobles are poop. And, for some reason, some characters agree with him, even if, hm, he is actually hired by a noble who wants to return to her home to assume the throne by getting rid of the mad king who invaded.

This certain lord ditches the noble title he received during the course of the game - and returned to play mercenary with his little band while two countries are rebuilding with more or less success.

But what is a noble in FE Tellius? Is it only being a stuffy prick ? Are Tellius nobles only Begnion Senators? What are we supposed to think about Elincia then? She’s in charge of a land with people living in it, and those same people are killing each other. What is she supposed to do? Can she just “fig off” and disappear with a band of merry friends until the plot calls her back? Micaiah is bound (lol) by her duty to the people of Daein. Are they stuffy nobles? All of their stories involving drama (thus plot) happen because they are in position of power, and yet have to deal with what it means, how can they protect their people when their people want them dead and/or they have to fight a pointless war else they will all die?

Naesala is called a Good King - despite his dastardry - because he always thinks of his people. 

IMO, being a noble, in Tellius, means accepting the responsability to lead people. Some are lousy (Valtome, Lekain, Hetzel, Numida, etc etc) but for the ones we see and follow? It’s a hard job. Nobles aren’t only lousy moustache twirling vilains, they have, sometimes, to make hard choices.

Nobles bad? What was Naesala supposed to do? Kill Lekain? Let his people die? Ask Tibarn for help which would have led to “kill Lekain” + let his people die? Smash a watermelon? Ditto for Elincia, what was she supposed to do? Abdicate? Kill her people? Run away and let Crimea fall to anarchy with Ludveck as the new regent?

So when That Lord sprouts his nonsense about nobles, when Elincia had her arc in Part 2, and happens as a deus ex machina because the devs couldn’t stop their right hands to solve everything, it sucks. But at least the duology is consistent, Ike abandonned his title because he didn’t want responsability to lead people, so at the first given occasion, he also ditches his so called family to sail to unknown lands with his BF of choice.

which would lead to another piece being written about Ike’s wish to lead the GM or rather lack of but that’s for another day

Awakening gave us Virion, who ran away from his home to seek help, and is welcomed... not with flowers when he returns to Rosanne. Virion feels like he failed his people, and his people don’t like him. He doesn’t just fig off somewhere else with his wife of choice, nope. Virion has a duty to his people.

Still, FE Echoes came with the “Alm is nobilty” controversy. To be fair, I never understood it as, apparently, fandom did, the point wasn’t to reveal Alm is secretly a noble so all the game speeches about nobles being inherently better than peasants is suddenly tap water, but Alm, despite his magical blood, was raised as a peasant. 

Nobility in FE15 isn’t about blood, it’s a social class. Fernand, Clive and Berkut belong to that class, but they never do anything “noble” - which should be their alley, because they are “nobles”. Clive the Knight and leader of Zofia’s hopes doesn’t go to rescue a small girl kidnapped and brainwashed by blue people. Alm does. Alm isn’t a noble because he has shiny brand or because he is Rudy’s kid, Alm is a noble because he has a noble heart, even if he was raised as a peasant.

(then he becomes king and defeats Duma because while I’d like to read a story about Bob the Baker who is super kind and gives bread to everyone, I don’t think Bob’s plot would be pleasant enough to warrant a game)

Berkut “silence Woman” hunts peasants for sport - there’s nothing noble about him bar his title. 

It all comes down to the line @garlandgerard​ translated in their Hanneman post, in the Jp!Version, Hanneman defines what it means to be a “noble” to him, it isn’t about being born in a specific line or having magic blood, nope. It’s all about what you want to do. Or at least it used to be (willy’s era?), but no matter what, Hanneman still strives to be a “noble”.

But given what NoA came up with and shoehorned in their support “That is one of the reasons I decided to leave that nonsense behind, and dedicate myself to the study of Crests” I am not surprised how “nobility bad” became a trend.

And here comes our man, Lorenz.

For sure, he acts like a loser in his first supports, and everyone pushes the “nobility bad” act on him. And yet, through his supports, Lorenz finally makes his POV known, it is not that he is a stuffy noble, but acts like he thinks a “good noble” should act - he has to protect commoners, so he shouldn’t be their friend (Raph support). Lorenz also believes nobles are far more important than randoms, because nobles have a duty and responsability to their people, they must be held accountable if something bad happens (Catherine support iirc). In his Leonie support? Lorenz explains he has to help “commoners” because it is his duty as a noble, and oh, all those taxes he and his dad are levying?

They were used to pay Jeralt (who most likely spent everything in a pub).

“It is a noble's duty to give to the commonfolk. In return, the commoner need only pay respect.” / “Yes, the commonfolk give the fruits of their labor— willingly I might add—as a token of that respect”.

Lorenz believes in some sort idealised... contract... with a hierarchy and people having to do something in exchange of something else. Hm. Offering protection to someone in exchange for their “respect”? Where did I hear this? Hommage? Feudalism? No, it can’t be.

Leonie, one of the few commoners with no background and presumable no money in the playable cast, says “Turns out, he just has this grand idea of nobility he's trying to live up to...” + “You weren't wrong about nobles and commoners each having their own role”.

Nobility isn’t bad - Lorenz is trying to adopt the standard of what he thinks is a “noble”... Just like Hanneman.

On a negative note, Dorothea’s views about nobility are never challenged.

Ferdie makes her understand he is not a “stuffy noble” because he can bake sweets and wasn’t oogling her back then but admiring her - but Ferdie doesn’t explain what is nobility, why it apparently sucks in Enbarr and what ideal he is chasing after. Lorenz? There are some perks in her support, but when the guy explains he has to find a woman of noble status to raise the position of his house in the Alliance, Dorothea doesn’t understand - thinks he could find a suitable wife with the masses and grows angry when he refuses because his house’s status in on the line. Dorothea even muses that Lorenz believes in the “lie” that is nobility, never giving him, or anyone else, the chance to explain that no, nobility is not a “lie”.

Just like Berkut might be a Prince but is no noble, the nobles who treated her like dirt are “nobles” but do not have noble qualities. Leonie understands that all nobles are “noble” and if every rich guy she met was a true noble, like Lorenz, the world would be a better place. Dorothea? She doesn’t.

Just like knights and “true knights” in a certain series, FE always tried to make a difference between “rich aristocrats who inherited a position and are asshats”, and “rich aristocrats who inherited a position but try to do the Right (tm) things with their powers and have responsabilities to the people they are lording over”.

Lorenz, just like apparently Hanneman, are “true nobles” because they want do do noble and heroic things. Randolph? Not so much.

Tl ; Dr : Nobility isn’t Bad - People are bad. 

All nobles aren’t bad, just like all commoners aren’t good. In a game which gave us Lorenz, I thought that point would have been more discussed, but apparently not because the guy has a silly haircut and the BE are very loved by the (localised?) fandom.

[fire-emblem-heroes-supports]

Reyson/Seteth C-A Support

Written by @sharyrazade

A/n: Possible content warning for Reyson’s backstory, but at this point in time, it’s probably not necessary.

C SUPPORT

[Seteth is taking a walk along one of the paths in the castle when he notices a man’s voice vocalizing- save for being a man’s voice, he’s sure he’s heard this exact melody before]

Seteth: [surprised] That’s not possible- can it be-?

[Seteth turns a corner to see that it is in fact, a man’s voice]

Seteth: Excuse me. Might I trouble you with a question, young man?

Reyson: [finally notices Seteth’s presence] Oh, my apologies! I did not notice you there! One might say my people are rather…musically inclined and just as inclined to lose ourselves in song. What did you need, sir?

Seteth: Your vocalizing- I am certain that I have heard that precise melody before, but cannot put a name to it.

Reyson: That is not surprising. You…are not from Tellius, are you?

Seteth: That is correct. And it therefore irks me a great deal that I cannot place the melody- I have heard my…sister vocalize that very one many times before.

Reyson: [expression perks up] I suppose it is not uncommon to have a sister skilled at singing, but to have one from another world be such- with galdrar, no less? Will wonders never cease? Might I ask your name, sir?

Seteth: You may call me Seteth.

Reyson: I am Reyson, third prince of Serenes. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance.

Seteth: I should say the same, Reyson.

[Reyson and Seteth have reached support rank C.]

B SUPPORT

[Amid a noticeable commotion in the distance of Anna and the Summoner yelling at several none-too-happy heroes, Reyson storms away from the great hall out into the gardens in a rage, wings singed and sporting a number of bruises.]

Seteth: [shocked] My goodness! Are you alright, Reyson?! What happened?!

Reyson: [seething] Truthfully, I’m not certain myself. One moment there was calm, the next Elincia had tackled this other beorc woman and began pummeling her before Lethe joined in. Soren, Mordecai and some of the others pulled them apart, but needless to say, they had…some more words.

Seteth: Oh, dear.

[Reyson looks down in anger and shame]

Reyson: Then, the other beorc woman began to taunt Elincia about her father and the “subhumans” and I…I must have just taken leave of my senses- I started raining blows on the white-haired beorc woman from behind. The next thing I remember, I was on the floor being choked and beaten by this gaunt, waxy, corpse-like man before Tibarn clawed him in the face to free me.

Seteth: [surprised] That’s what that horrible commotion was about? I suppose I should have expected something was amiss when Anna seemed genuinely angry and unwilling to speak casually.

Reyson: Yes. It was not one of my…prouder moments, to say the least. My brother certainly gave me an earful about how my conduct was “unbecoming,” but he was not there- he did not have to listen to that vile beorc woman with the white hair goading Elincia about us “subhumans.”

Seteth: [shuts his eyes in contemplation] I see. Even so, that is a dreadful thing to call someone. It is little surprise that one would react badly to being called such.

Reyson: [knuckles clenching] Even so, knowing how arrogant that these humans can be knowing- forgive me, I have said too much.

[Reyson abruptly leaves]

Seteth: What in the world was that about?

[Still cooling off, Reyson storms into the gardens and runs into Leanne as he turns into a hedge maze.]

Reyson: [surprised] Oh, Leanne! Fancy seeing you here.

Leanne: [concerned expression] (Of course I’m here, Brother!  Naesala went off to see what that horrible disturbance in the dining hall was and still hasn’t returned. I was worried about you!)

Reyson: Really, it was nothing to be concerned about. A beorc acquaintance of mine prevented me from getting into any more trouble.

Leanne: [confused] (The man in green? With green hair?)

Reyson: Yes, him.

Leanne: (Brother, has living with Tibarn and the hawks for so long dulled your senses too? That man isn’t a beorc!)

Reyson: [even more surprised] Truly?!

Leanne: (Yes. Rafiel says the gentleman reminds him of Kurthnaga more than anyone else.)

Reyson: You managed to pull him away from Queen Naliah’s bed long enough to get that out of him? Hmm, that could explain why he kept calling me “young man,” after all…

[Reyson and Seteth have reached support rank B.]

A SUPPORT

[Just outside of the library, Seteth is conversing with Tibarn, looking both concerned and rather contrite.]

Seteth: [nods] I see. This was an enlightening- and sobering- conversation.

Tibarn: You’ve probably already noticed, but Reyson’s disposition…isn’t exactly common among Herons.

Seteth: [closes his eyes briefly] I cannot honestly fault him for it, truth be told.

Tibarn: Well, I’ll not pry, as it’s none of my business. Just take care when discussing these matters with Reyson. He’s rather- er- animated, as you know. Perhaps too much so for his own good.

Seteth: Understood.

[Seteth emerges into the garden and wanders a bit before running into Reyson, somewhat more composed than their last conversation.]

Reyson: [Still somewhat subdued] Ah, Seteth. I apologize for how abruptly our conversation ended. It was rather rude of me. And of course, how I came to insult what I assumed to be your people.

Seteth: [crosses his arms] I assure you, there’s no need for you to concern yourself with offense on my behalf- or on behalf of “my” people, I assure you.

Reyson: [inhales] I suppose I owe you an explanation for my rudeness, after all.

Seteth: If you feel it necessary, I’ll not stop you.

Reyson: As you may have gathered, my country, Serenes, is not…in the best of ways. I won’t bore you with the minutiae of how exactly it happened, but the people of Bengion somehow got it into their heads that my people were responsible for the assassination of the previous apostle, Misaha.

Seteth: [nods] And this was false, as your people do not fight.

Reyson: [slightly surprised at him having this knowledge] Precisely. Outraged, the people of descended upon Serenes with their torches and pitchforks and- all of them. Not just the men, but the women and the children too! After three days, my father, my sisters, my brother and myself…we were the only survivors.

Seteth: [visibly taken aback by the detail into which he goes] Goddess, that is ghastly!

Reyson: Tibarn and the hawks took father and I in afterwards, but my brother had been missing for sometime and we had assumed my sisters had both perished- been murdered with the rest of our clan.

Seteth: I…apologize, Reyson. That must have been torturous for you.

Reyson: Oh, it was, I assure you. In Phoenicis, I did not merely envy the hawks for their vitality and strength, but…I hated myself. For being so powerless to do anything to protect my people when they most needed me most. I have no intention of justifying it, but to explain my behavior; that beorc woman with the arrogant voice and hateful eyes must have just sent me back to that first night.

Seteth: [shuts eyes in contemplation] I see. Do you hate them, these beorc?

Reyson: There was a time when I would have answered “yes,” with no hesitation whatsoever. However-

Seteth: However?

Reyson: In the course of my journeys, I met many wonderful beorc. Misaha’s successor literally knelt before my sister and I to beg forgiveness and another exposed and personally ended the life of the man- one of Bengion’s senators- responsible for my clan’s slaughter, even after I spurned his earlier attempts to aid me. But even still…there will always be a part of me that hates them, yes. If you think less of me for it, I’ll not blame you.

Seteth: [rubs his chin] Why would I think less of you? I should think that is only natural that you would have some ill-feeling towards them.

Reyson: You have my thanks for your understanding, my friend. But I will battle these feelings of hatred for them for the rest of my very long life. A fact that sits poorly with me for one reason; a promise I made to someone very important to me.

Seteth: A promise? What sort of promise?

Reyson: To my sister, Leanne. Now we treasure her, but it cannot be denied that she is a little…childish and somewhat naive. When we reunited, she told me that she could not bear to see me with this sort of hatred inside of me and that I should accept the Apostle’s apology. I…did not handle that especially well either, but I did give her my solemn word that I would at least make an effort.

Seteth: [closes his eyes as he reminisces] I understand that very well also, Reyson. Yes, we are quite alike, indeed. But may I offer one bit of advice?

Reyson: Hm? Of course.

Seteth: I assure you, I also struggled and do struggle greatly with the dictates of my instinct towards survival and the protection of those closest to me versus my conscious intellect and moral code. However, for ages- ever since my wife’s passing- I wrestled with these dilemmas nearly in solitude. I…have very few people in whom I can truly confide. That is one way in which we differ, Reyson.

Reyson: What way would that be?

Seteth: From what you have told me, you have, both here and in your own world, a great many friends who would move heaven and earth for you. Be they from your race or not.

Reyson: That is true, I suppose.

Seteth: Indeed. You are a fine young man with loyal, devoted friends, Reyson. Do not hesitate to share your burdens with them when they weigh too heavily on your shoulders. Know that I will, as long as I am here, be one of those in whom you can confide as well.

Reyson: ...I will do that. Thank you, my friend.

[Reyson and Seteth have reached support rank A.]

[sacaeblade]

Apocalypse is the name that whispers itself into Lyn's ear when she sees the enemy standing before her, although it looks nothing like the hero of legend who once wielded the tome with the selfsame name. If anything, it looks more like Nergal, but slightly...wrong. If his creatures are wandering around, then perhaps it only stands to reason that the man himself would appear eventually or at least a mirage in his shape.

Lyn's hand clenches tight around the haft of her axe.

...Wait, axe?

It isn't her usual sword at her side, but a hefty axe and shield, warm from the flames emitting from them. They should weigh her down, but maybe the magic of the elementals has taken pity on her, because she feels just as agile as usual. She gives the axe a few test swings. She had studied how to fight against axes, even sparred with a certain axe user, but never wielded one herself.

There's no time to think too hard what she can learn from the experience, though, because the sight before her eyes nearly causes her to drop her axe. She had seen humans transform into dragons before (or rather, one dragon transform into her dragon form), but never a man transform into a bird! She had also never seen someone use beets as a projectile weapon, either, but that's less shocking than the whole bird thing.

Regardless, there's no time to ruminate on that, either. The enemy, Apocalypse, seemingly rises from the dead even after it is felled. There is little they can do but keep attacking until it stays dead for good.

One of the blonde women casts a spell and Lyn rushes in to the opening created. The movement of raising the axe is unfamiliar against the muscle memory of wielding a sword or a bow, but if she visualizes the reckless way that he would hold an axe...

Lyn 9/10 HP critically hits Apocalypse 3/5* HP with Flaming Axe. Smash activates! [Roll 12-2 = 10; -3] Apocalypse 0/5* HP. Apocalypse’s HP replenishes! 5/5 HP

The axe sinks into flesh with a satisfying cleave and it shrieks, once more refusing death. It lets loose another magical attack in a rampage. It hits harder in its desperation, but it's also less careful, magic just barely glancing off a few of their allies. Lyn herself is not so lucky, the magic easily slipping past her shield.

Apocalypse 5/5 HP hits all with Final Gambit. [Roll: d4-1: 4,1,4,4,1; -3,-0,-3,-3,-0] Patty 8/12 HP, Morgan 9/10 HP, Lyn 6/10 HP, Tibarn 6/10 HP, Lachesis 10/10 HP. Apocalypse gains +0.5 strength, +0.5 magic, +2 speed.

"Is everyone alright?" Lyn calls out, taking stock of her own injuries. They aren't bad enough to need to fall back, but the situation could change for the worst in a matter of seconds. "Be cautious; I think its attacks are growing stronger!"

@tomorrowscircle

(Tibarn vc) All Women Are Queens, Asshole ❁ Team 4 Bronze Round

[wardencommanderrodimiss]

God I feel bad for Ike. With all these changing alliances and the fact that his friend today could be trying to kill him tomorrow. I sense AU potential where he snaps and ironically Soren is the one who has to help him regain his faith in the world.

With the way circumstances are in the game, I think the only thing that’s kept Ike from descending into jaded bitterness is the fact that he’s not prone to...god I had the words I wanted last night. He’s a very action-oriented person - very hands-on when a problem arises, rather than deeply pondering it. He’ll get together a plan and a solution and go enact it.

But everything keeps piling up - which there’s way more to it than a few friends on the opposite side - and plenty of time in which I’m genuinely interested to see whether or not they go toward the arc of pushing him till he breaks. That would be interesting to see!

There’s already one very interesting Ike possible character moment that we’ve already moved past - so there was nearly the civil war in Crimea, with the nobility resenting Elincia for 1. promoting a common mercenary to a lord, 2. strengthening ties with Gallia, one of the laguz nations, and 3. acknowledging Daein’s new king. One of the dukes tries to ferment a rebellion, focusing on #3 as Elincia “kowtowing” to Daein. One of the chapters in Part 2 has two of Ike’s old friends kicking some shit-stirrers out of their little farming village and telling all the hotheaded farming youths that war isn’t fun and that they shouldn’t go this route. But there’s one of the Duke’s commanders who’s, in his shit-stirring, invoking Ike’s name in rallying people to fight for Crimea....against Elincia, the queen that Ike instilled.

Anyway once the duke is captured and his forces scattered, Ike asks Elincia if she wants to hire him to help shut down and round up the rest of the rebel army. She says no, that the Royal Knights are the ones for the job, and Ike heads off to Gallia and is hired by Ranulf to fight in their war against Begnion.

But there’d be a very interesting arc for Ike if Elincia did accept his help in wrangling the remainder of the Duke’s forces. There’s people who are invoking his name to ruin the peace and the queen that he fought for. And Ike might be a mercenary, but he takes jobs according to his conscience, as well - like, if the Duke had tried to hire him to go against Elincia, I’m sure Ike would kick his ass and then go tell Elincia all of it. So I think it’d be interesting for Ike to have to confont the fact that he has a legacy and a name now, and people will take it and twist it to serve their own agendas. Like fuck dude Ike just wants to fight people for money. He’s still a mercenary at heart at the end of this, but now he’s also this symbol that other people can invoke in ways that Ike would never approve of.

[This turned into a plot recap of why what’s canonically going on is even more massively awful, but here you go. Now everyone can get up to speed with the plot, because I know I’ve been glossing a lot of the plot in this liveblog.]

Instead of that, he heads off to Gallia, where they (along with the nations of Phoenicis led by Tibarn, Serenes which is literally four people because the rest were killed 20 years prior, and Kilvas led by Naesala who promptly betrays their alliance for reasons we don’t yet know) have declared war on Begnion. The people of Serenes were massacred by the people of Begnion, in retaliation for Serenes being framed for their Empress’ assassination. Last game, it was concluded that Ashnard was behind the assassination. This game, we found out that Begnion’s senate had their own Empress assassinated and blamed Serenes for it. Naturally, the remaining royal family of Serenes (five of them survived the massacre; Lallia was taken prisoner by Ashnard and died in captivity in Daein; Rafiel escaped but was presumed dead and only just popped up again; Leanne was hidden in a magic coma in the scorched forest of Serenes for 20 years; and Reyson and their father were sheltered in Phoenicis and then went to stay in Gallia for a while) are like “hey what the fuck”, and they’re closely allied and friends with both Phoenicis and Gallia, who also go “hey what the fuck”, and Naesala’s main inclination towards selfless actions is when he has his arm twisted by anyone in regards to Reyson and Leanne, so he goes “hey what the fuck.” They send an envoy to Begnion to ask “hey what the fuck”; Begnion’s senate murders the envoy.

So they respond “fuck it, we’re going to war with you fuckers” and that’s what Ike signs onto. Like, Begnion is objectively in the wrong here; the Empress doesn’t want to fight, but the Senate is overruling her and wants all of the Laguz Alliance massacred. Ike has a strong sense of justice and he’s good friends with a lot of the laguz - he has supports with two cats and a heron last game - when a lot of other humans hate them. Ike hears all this, goes “hey what the fuck” and takes a contract with Gallia to fight for them. Because it’s the right and just thing to do.

And that “right thing to do” keeps going wrong and wrong, as Zelgius smacks down Gallia’s impulsive general and forces them into a retreat. He offers them a chance for a peace treaty, which they have no choice but to make, but before they can, the Senate basically deposes the Empress and orders Zelgius and the rest of the army to start the fighting back up and kill all their enemies. Begnion’s Senate just puts themselves more and more into the most morally abhorrent positions that they can. But they’re winning.

Then they call on Daein to help them kill all the laguz, and Daein’s dumbass king who’s definitely being manipulated by someone agrees to help, and Daein’s naive and idealistic top general believes that the king has to have some good reason for the sake of their country, and that’s where Ike’s last few old friends are. With Daein’s manipulated king and general, fighting on the side of abjectly the worst people in Tellius: the Begnion Senate.

Like, for sure if I were Ike I would be having a crisis about all this. He fought so hard to restore peace in Crimea and put Elincia on the throne and then the country very nearly split in civil war. He pushed hard for humans to accept the laguz as equals and now two of the three human countries are united in war against them, with the intent to slaughter them, as half of Phoenicis (all of the men of fighting age) were slaughtered. The Black Knight who murdered his father is still alive somehow. He’s got friends in the army in Daein - the army in Daein that is now with Begnion against the laguz. The Begnion Empress who he knows is a reasonable person has been quietly deposed. Everything sucks. 

And there’s still plenty of chapters left for it all to get worse before it gets better! Honestly if Ike does have a genuine breakdown that would be more than understandable and fitting. This entire ordeal is a crock of hot shit and keeps getting worse.

[crystalelemental]

now that julia will get a resplendent buff, i was wondering if can we get some ideas for her builds? and/or maybe see your build?

Anon, I would love to.

This is my Julia.  She’s focused on enemy phase, obviously, and is incredibly good at what she goes.  Naga gives +4 to both defenses when foe initiates, Close Foil gives +5 attack and defense against all physical foes, and Close Defense gives +6 to both defenses against melee foes.  At maximum, this puts her at +5 attack, +15 defense, and +9 resistance.  She has perfect Close Counter as well, with Naga covering Dragons, and Close Foil covering everything else.  Lull Attack/Speed was chosen because she wants to limit as much damage as she can, and cutting foe’s speed prevents them from doubling her.  Avoiding doubles is super important, because her raw defenses aren’t high enough to really avoid taking damage at all.  She’ll always be taking something, but she’s likely to take little enough that she can heal it off with Aether.  Sol and Noontime could be run, but there are plenty of foes she has a tough time dealing significant damage against, and the reduced resistance of the foe from Aether is very helpful.  It’s not like she struggles with sustaining through a match.  Here are some examples of her tanking.  She can put up a serious fight against a lot of foes.

As for alterations, I have seen people run Lull Attack/Res, and while I see the benefits of maximizing her own damage, I do think this is a trap.  As you might tell from the examples, Julia isn’t particularly close to a OHKO against any of these threats.  A bit of extra damage doesn’t help her as much as you’d think.  Still, others swear by it, so it’s a consideration.

For other builds, you have options.

There’s a OHKO machine build, stacking Death Blow 4 and Death Blow seal alongside Lull Attack/Res and Joint Drive Attack, to try and obliterate foes in one shot.  You want the Divine Naga tome for this, since Naga offers you nothing, while Divine Naga can give a +3 to all stats buff.  The problem with this build is that anything not one-shot has the potential to retaliate and OHKO, or can attack her in enemy phase, leaving her vulnerable.  You can use Sturdy Impact to prevent the foe from doubling, but that does mean slightly less damage output in the first place.  This isn’t a bad idea, but I think it’s wholly outclassed by Thrasir, who may not pack the same punch, but has guaranteed follow-ups and a Desperation effect, so it’s not like she struggles with ORKOs.  Damage reduction effects are also fairly common, and dunk all over a pure powerhouse Julia, because she can’t keep pace.

The alternative is going for a speedy Julia to double on offense.  Swift Sparrow 3 and Swift Sparrow seal, Lull Speed/Resistance, and Joint Drive Speed can make her really fast, I think around 60 if you have Divine Naga also active.  This is sufficiently fast to keep pace with the fastest in the meta.  The problem is, once again, Thrasir.  Who is also lightning fast, would be even faster with the same build, doesn’t mind the power difference because it’s Thrasir, and has a Desperation effect in her B-slot that offers a ton more viability in this role than Julia, because she bypasses the counterattack entirely.  Julia has to eat a hit, and has nothing to back up her defenses.  You could run Lull Attack/Speed instead, but then you run into the possibility of not dealing much damage.  You can run Lull Attack/Res, but then you might not be fast enough.  In some way, you’re losing out, in a way Thrasir doesn’t.  Also, if you want to be technical, Deirdre can do this but better.  Deirdre has only 2 less HP and 1 less Defense than Julia, but her higher res makes Divine Naga more consistent, so she succeeds against foes Julia may fail against, and is noticeably faster.

You can go with a support set, making use of high visible resistance to run Sabotage and/or Ploys.  Naga and Close Foil let her counter against anything while she’s playing defense, which is pretty valuable.  You could also run Fortress Def/Res if you’re going all-out debuffer.  You can swap out C and S slots for just about anything though, including Drives or Close/Distant Defense.  Whatever supports the team.  In a pinch, you can run Phantom Res with Divine Naga, and have a great option to both debuff foes, power her up, and use the rest to fill in a niche on the team.

Finally...this is stupid, but it’s a possibility.  Null Follow-Up is becoming more and more valuable as time goes on, and Julia could make a good user of it.  She packs color advantage against Brave Hector, has good enough physical bulk to take Brave Edelgard, and depending on the rest of the kit, can survive the Tibarns and Pirate Veronica, some of the strongest guaranteed doubles in the game.  This can make her a bit of an anti-meta pick, though I have to admit something.  Most of these targets aren’t that critical.  Armors dropped off the meta a while ago, and dragons aren’t particularly great either.  There aren’t many dragons that get guaranteed follow-ups, either.  The Tibarns and Pirate Veronica also aren’t especially common.  They’re never in Arena because of lower scoring, and I feel like Beast spam has fallen out of favor on AR-D teams, so you may not encounter it much there either.  The overall benefits of this kind of build are pretty limited, but Null Follow-Up is ridiculously good as a skill, and will pretty much always maintain relevance in the meta.

There are other builds, of course.  I’m sure others could suggest something if they have a Julia too.  But in general, these are the categories of Julia.  I personally think that the tanky option is Julia’s niche.  Deirdre outperforms on speed and resistance for the fast and support sets.  Thrasir outperforms on raw damage output.  The anti-meta pick is super niche, and largely depends on how hard Brave Hector and Brave Edelgard start to shape the meta from now on.  But the tank set has literally never let me down.  From the day I gave her CC/QR from Dance Xander back in March 2019, I have been constantly amazed at Julia’s ability to just not give a shit about what she’s facing off against.  That said, nothing needs merges like this build, so if you’re not planning to merge her, one of the other options is best.  It may be outclassed, but it’s still perfectly serviceable.

[emblemevents-newyear]

Set 1: Fate’s Blade vs The Kilvasi Murder

“Upon the dangerous seas, two groups of seafaring warriors are about to duke it out...”

“Welcome to the Pirate Panic event, starting with our first match! Fate’s Blade led by Captain Ron, and The Kilvasi Murder, led by Captain Naesala! They’ve both gathered a fine crew here and I’m totally not reading cue cards either. Now I’ll stop rambling and jump into the battle soon to shake the oceans...”

“Both teams don’t hesitate to begin loading up their cannons for the impending onslaught. In the meantime, Nowi appears to be jubilant about the whole thing and calls to Tharja as a friendly greeting. However, Tharja isn’t at all amused and retaliates with a cannon fire that clocks Nowi straight in the head (Fate’s Blade+5 Points!). Ouch -- where’s the sportsmanship? Not sailing that one, huh?”

“Tibarn doesn’t even care for waiting and fires off his cannon without a second thought, which costs him as Naesala is smacked right in the chest (The Kilvasi Murder+Betrayal!). Hmm... wonder if that was on purpose though? Fortunately, the rest of the crew members aren’t going out to slaughter each other right off the bat and focus on preparing their cannons, as others raise their own flag in a fit of pride, and even direct opponents wave at each other as a friendly gesture.”

“As the two teams finish readying their cannons, Peri gets a little too excited about slaughtering the competition that she immediately fires... while forgetting to turn the cannon around and effectively hitting herself in the chest! Remember, that’s an instant elimination!”

“And then, the true firing commences! Ophelia fires accidentally at her own teammate, Henry, while damaging their ship’s hull. Naesala tries to take aim but is apparently so confused too, he hits Maribelle instead. And just to add more to the chaos, Ron fires off but hits HIMSELF! C’mon, people, where’s your aim!?”

“At last, it seems that at least one of the ships are picking up momentum, at least for Fate’s Blade! Cordelia, Cynthia, and Tharja both manage to strike the enemy ship, Ron strikes Tibarn as the latter tried to swoop out of the way (Fate’s Blade+1 Point!), and Azura fires at Zihark who retaliates in turn (Fate’s Blade+1 Point & Kilvasi Murder+1 Point!). But with that last hit, that bird brained crew is beginning to pick up their own steam again. Tibarn fires off again, AND ONCE AGAIN, at his own teammate, Berkut! Thankfully he just missed em’ this time. But y’know, I just realized they’re not actually picking up any slack, as Zero decides to rag on poor Naesala by firing at his leg. All the while, Robin, Aidan, Noire and Azura all decide to turn the cannons on each other. I wonder if a wave hit the boats and their aim got all messed up?”

“Phew... after that initial wave, the crews are back to reloading their cannons for the next barrage. At the same time, the captains order their team members to climb into the Crow’s Nest and get a better look at how fast the wind is blowing and how many of the enemy team was left -- their next moves needed to count in the midst of all this. Aidan unfortunately didn’t check his cannon which was still loaded, and by accident struck Ophelia right in the torso. Be careful, people!”

“Before long, the next barrage commences, with Maribelle aiming for Azura which ends up hitting the latter’s ship instead, with Tibarn adding another hit onto the enemy ship too. Unfortunately, some more friendly fires continues (with ole’ Nealuchi finally firing off and hitting Naesala in the arm who just can’t catch a break), but at least Berkut breaks the pattern by catching Aidan off guard by his leg (Kilvasi Murder+1 Point!). This is soon retaliated by Robin firing his cannon which ALMOST hits Noire, but instead flies across the ocean and strikes Zero in the chest (Fate’s Blade+3 Points!) -- that would’ve been bad, people! A few more volleys are traded between the teams, with Ron making a statement as he manages to hit Naesala who tried to dodge, but gets scraped at the hand (Fate’s Blade+2 Points!).”

“There’s a temporary ceasefire as the two ships reload with their team numbers slowly dwindling. As they proceed to survey the area and see where each other’s targets are going, Cynthia decides to go for a quick one and hits Tibarn right in the torso, a lucky hit (Fate’s Blade+3 Points!). In response, Berkut tries to avenge such a blight but in his haste, the cannon misfires -- in the torso too, no less.”

“With the cannons reloaded again, Fate’s Blade quickly goes for the offensive and fires their new rounds. Once again, the crew manages to hit each other by accident after the ship is attacked by a nasty wave, but Robin pulls through and fires a cannonball straight at Zihark... which somehow bops him in the foot (Fate’s Blade+2 Points!). However, The Kilvasi Murder isn’t gonna go down without a fight just yet, with them returning fire; in a sense of irony, Naesala manages to strike Azura in the foot of all places (Kilvasi Murder+2 Points!). 

“The teams reload again, a sense of quiet befalling the oceans... when out of nowhere, Maribelle secretly has a loaded cannon ready, catching Noire off guard by hitting her chest (Kilvasi Murder+3 Points!).”

“Cannon fire breaks the silence, with Naesala striking first this time and hitting Azura in the foot yet again (Kilvasi Murder+2 Points!), which would’ve been really bad if these were real cannonballs. The opposing team returns fire, with Cynthia striking Zihark’s hand (Fate’s Blade+2 Points!) and Aidan hitting Maribelle in the chest (Fate’s Blade+3 Points!) -- which almost hits Robin in the process! Another close call... unless this is some sorta twisted strategy. Speakin’ of which, the teams continue to hit their own crew members so uh, there goes a good round of cannon fire wasted...”

“It’s well into the battle now, with the respective captains ordering their crew members to reload and steel themselves... all the while, Henry gets a little too excited like his fallen team member, which costs him as reloading his cannon hits him in the torso.”

“Just before the teams begin their next assault, it seems that Tibarn and Naesala are arguing about something on their end, maybe about how the orders should be told? As a result, Naesala decides he’s had enough and fires right at Tibarn, but ole’ Mr. Nealuchi is standing in the way and gets struck in the torso. And just to add injury to more injury, Zihark is struck in the leg by a cannonball fired by Aidan (Fate’s Blade+1 Point!). Enraged by the turn of events, Naesala actually aims for the enemy ship this time and hits Ron in the leg too (Kilvasi Murder+1 Point!). Azura quickly makes an attempt to retaliate this blunder, but ends up causing more blunders by hitting herself in the torso. Such is the tragedy of the seas...”

“In the midst of reloading, Tibarn decides to finish off Azura who’s still recovering from the previous hit, and just like that, she’s hit in the torso again (Kilvasi Murder+3 Point!). Unfortunately, it seems some sorta bad vibe is cast upon the ships as team members have their own cannons misfire -- Aidan, Zihark and Cordelia, all hit in the torso. Cynthia’s misfires too, but instead hits Tharja... in the torso too! Are your torsos all painted red and white or somethin’!?”

“The teams decide to cooldown and gather their bearings, with Tibarn and Naesala particularly having tension between each other. Meanwhile, Ron makes a move to take advantage of the situation... and guess what? Another misfire to the torso!”

“In the next barrage and with the teams down to so few now, the cannons fire off again! Cynthia and Naesala both aim for each knowing that the torso seems to be the key to everything, and as a result, are both struck... in the torso (Fate’s Blade+3 Points & Kilvasi Murder+3 Points!). Naesala is still standing throughout the ordeal, however, he’s quickly smacked in the leg by Tibarn who really has it in for him.”

“The cannons reload again, with only Robin remaining for Fate’s Blade against the two bickering birds of the opposing team. The latter two both open fire, with Tibarn’s cannon misfiring on him in the torso, and Naesala actually landing the final hit, as Robin is struck squarely in the chest (Kilvasi Murder+3 Points!). And just like that, we have Naesala as the last guy standing for his crew, which earns them a nice bonus (Kilvasi Murder+5 Points!).”

“And like that, the round’s over! Quite a grand one to start out with, and one that really went down to the very last person. Now, here’s the total points gathered for each team here.”

Fate’s Blade: 26 points The Kilavsi Murder: 24 points

**see below the cut for all simulation results!

**Just to note, I meant to have the first part with the preparations here, but I unfortunately didn’t have the image saved. Sorry!!