#Fell Alear my beloved

[theoretical-tactician]

The Fell and the Divine

[elysianstars]

In Rafal's character notebook, it lists one of his dislikes as 'kindness', which in the JP version is clarified to 'other people's kindness/friendliness' (他人のから好意). It's nuanced, because he's not actually such an edgelord that he can't recognise the value of treating people decently. The real issue is that, after everything in his past, he doesn't feel like he deserves to be the recipient of kindness, not anymore. He doesn't want to encourage it.

Let's start with Nil. We don't have a complete picture of him, only the version filtered through Nel's and Rafal's ancient memories, which is probably idealised. But Rafal's portrayal of him is certainly a kind and pleasant person – he's the one who makes Alear feel welcome in Xeno Elyos, and tries to mediate the quarrels between Alear and Nel.

Nil was also physically weak, and rightfully afraid of being killed without Nel's protection. And yet, when he's separated from her, and meets Rafal for the first time, Rafal's choice isn't to hurt or manipulate him, to try and gain status. Instead they become friends, and Rafal is so devoted to his supposedly pathetic brother that he considers Nil his other half, in place of the dead twin he never knew. It's the two of them against the world. Even though Nil didn't see Rafal in precisely the same light, because he already had Nel.

Beginning as the lone child surrounded by twins, and then having his first genuine bond be with somebody who didn't commit as wholeheartedly as he did. Always incomplete, reduced to second best. Accepting Nil's friendship regardless, because it was much better than nothing.

Then Nil is fatally wounded in battle, and Rafal agrees to an incredibly strange request from his dying brother. Not only to return the dragonstone to Nel (somebody he's never met, the reason Nil never saw him as number one, a figure that a distressed child could easily feel resentment towards), but to take up a pretence of actually being Nil.

Here's how he explains all this, at the climax of the Fell Xenonlogue: We were inseparable, for a time. And I was all too happy to have something like a real brother. He was my other half. That was how I felt, at least. But for him, there could be no replacement for Nel. When I found him on the battlefield, breathing his last, his only thoughts were of her. He gave me her dragonstone, and said that he wished Nel would never have to grieve. For that reason...he asked me to take his place.

He doesn't consider that Nil probably did this to save Rafal's life, too. Nil wanted to transfer Nel's protection onto Rafal, and saw that as the easiest route. He didn't want either of his beloved family members to be left alone. No matter the phrasing, I don't think it was meant as Rafal doing a one-sided favour for Nel, it was meant to benefit them both (and ultimately, it did).

Looking back, Rafal talks about how kind and giving Nel was to him, the miserable and lonely child. And while the Sombron-cursed side of him disdains this, it's clear his true self doesn't. He treasured those bonds. He went to great lengths to honour a promise nobody else knew about, that he could easily have abandoned. He came to love Nel as much as he loved Nil, even though he felt stuck in a third wheel position.

From the brief glimpses we see of the other siblings, Nel and Nil were definitely amongst the kindest, and they were the ones Rafal gravitated to. There's no indication at all that it was strategic. He chose the people he wanted to be with. He calls them his real brother and true sister, while the rest are lumped together into that distant definition of siblings, tied by genetics but nothing else.

In their Pact Ring support, Rafal calls Alear caring and gentle, and then says, If you had been born one of my siblings, your disposition would have led you to a quick death. Do you think he's remembering Nil, in that moment?

He understands perfectly well the value of kindness, and of people who embody that trait. He just struggles to feel worthy, when it's directed towards him. A selection of other quotes, for emphasis...

[Fell Xenologue] All my life I have sought to be valued...only to discover that I am truly worthless.

[Alear Support] It is absurd for you to trust me at all after what I have done. To be friendly is beyond the pale.

[Ivy Support] My sins are unforgivable, and I will carry that burden for the rest of my life.

[Mauvier Support] No amends I make to you will counteract the evil I have done at all. My paltry overtures have been nothing but a childish attempt to soothe my own ego.

[Camilla Bond] I caused my sister’s death. I all but destroyed an entire world. I am irredeemable.

Obviously someone with such a self-loathing attitude doesn't take well to kindly advances. On the other hand, he also dislikes being looked down on, enjoys showing off in battle and bragging about his hard-won strength. There's a difficult balance within his personality – don't think there's anything good in my heart, but don't doubt how formidable I am. I'm an awful creature undeserving of love. I'm an incredible weapon who'll butcher your enemies with ease. Set me loose on the battlefield, and be impressed, but don't thank me for it afterwards.

And in his solo ending, he never manages to grow past that. He dies alone, killed in some (presumably) world-saving conflict without anyone knowing, not even Nel. His body isn't found until there's nothing left but bones. He'd claim that was perfectly fine.

Rafal hated being deemed a failure. He spent his formative years being kicked around, and grew obsessed with rising above that. Becoming the best and strongest and favourite. That's what gave Sombron's curse and the 'true heir' idea room to take over, and warp his personality to such an extent. He couldn't be Nil's first choice because of Nel, and he couldn't be Nel's first choice because of Nil (or so he believed), but maybe that wouldn't matter if he could earn his father's approval, instead?

But now, in the aftermath of his bloodbath, who in their right mind would choose him as their favourite? If Alear offers him the Pact Ring, he tries to turn it down with the words, I may possess superficial charm, but giving this to me would be foolish even by your standard. Moreover, it would be wrong. I have done nothing to earn such an honour.

What happens after Alear talks him into it, though? He demands that they never leave his side (with a bonus of you belong to me, depending on which language you're playing in). The original JP notebook says he has a strong sense of possession/wants to monopolise people he likes (気に入つた者には独占欲が強い), and when Alear is alone with someone else, he's overly jealous and putting on pressure from a distance (誰かと二人でいると, 遠くから圧をかけてくるほど嫉妬深い). Meanwhile in the English text he's described as fiercely protective (because that sounds like less of a blatant red flag I guess). He's afraid that if Alear ever failed to wake, he'd lose his mind. He can't stand the idea of outliving them, and wants to be the first one to die. He claims their bond is everything to him. He uses his own dragon scales to make a container for the Pact Ring, and hoards it away for his eyes only.

This is mirrored by his supports with Nel, where he tries to insist on guarding her in battle, without caring how he's harmed in the process. He tells her, A fear that you would never wake held me constantly in its grasp. It nearly drove me mad, and I will do anything not to lose you again. Protecting you is all I care about. Whatever may become of me, I am prepared to accept.

He doesn't hate kindness. He deliberately starves himself of chances to receive it. He doesn't want it to be wasted on somebody like him. And if a rare, persistent person decides they're going to love the unlovable, he becomes desperate to keep hold of them, to the point of self-destruction if necessary.

I also think there's something to be noted in the way he boasts of his abilities around Alear, specifically. Almost like he's still trying to win approval from the guy at the top of the food chain. Not sure if that's an intentional part of his character though, or just how it looks from my perspective.

Thus concludes another tl;dr analysis post of my favourite poor little meow meow war criminal, host to infinite problems and contradictions.

[tracing-in-gold]

So hi, you mentioned that you're writing an Engage AU and I'd love to hear about it, if you want to talk about it?

Hi hi! First of all, I gotta squee over you bc I've read your FE Engage fanfics on AO3, so yay! Thank you for your awesome fics!! 🥰

So, my au? *sweating* it started with a troll thought, "What if Gregory had been born one of Alear's siblings? They would be Fell (fail) Dragons together, lol." BUT! Past!Alear deserves to have his sibling relationships! Then I thought, "it would be so fucked up bc of Sombron." BUT what if Sombron wasn't able to completely control his children the way he did in Main and Xeno Elyos?

Also, I'm satisfied with past!Alear's canon portrayal, but wanted to explore his personality and possible relationships if he had his siblings. Hence Lueur the Loony, the Loser, the *defect* (beloved), my target (with Alear) of so much pain and comfort and emotional/physical whump!

It snowballed from there. I had so much more written but my phone ate it. 🥲 I can certainly throw open the floodgates of squee in the morning, if you still have the time. Thank you for your ask!

[dazzle-art]

Hee Hoo Hey! It's that time again! It's Fe Oc Week Day 5: Joy!

Today, I bring my two of my Engage ocs! Levin, one of my stand-ins for Alear, and Noa, a recruitable priest npc from Elusia! This is a scribble of them after the end of the game in their ending!

Noa isn't really dedicated to the Fell Dragon, he's dedicated to the highest power in the land, which was Sombron until Alear came along! Noa joins up with the Divine Dragon after Chapter 11 in an optional paralogue, where he must speak with the player to be recruited

Noa knows he's mortal, so becomes a mortality scientist in an effort to stay with his beloved as long as he can in their ending. While he does succeed to some extent, everything he worked for turned up only failure, and he was buried in the pact ring paralogue gardens when his time came. His beloved was buried right next to him when their time came

Fun facts!: Noa wears glasses (but I chose not to draw them), and Levin has black and white gradient hair, similar to Veyle, where as Berse, my other Alear stand-in, has pink and blue but in pastel!

[yanderefairyangel]

Thinking about this post I noticed something.

The OP is right that the Fell Xenologue's theme is love, however this aspect is also present in the main story. It's mention thrice in the opening. The first and third time are in the chorus with the lyrics "伝えよ愛を/Provide the love" and the second time is for the second part of the song dedicated to the Fell Xenologue in the second verse "君は新たなる愛/You are the renewed love".

However, the main story is mainly focused on familial love such as the Royals for their siblings and parents, Alear for Lumera and Veyle, Veyle for Alear and Sombron, Marni for Zephia and Mauvier, Griss for Zephia who is both a mother and sister figure to him. So basically a schema of a character loving their parent or parental figure and sibling or sibling figure. But there is no instance of romantic love at all, not even in the support that all ends up with character developping friendship or even a family like bond.

The Fell Xenologue is also have familial love with Nel and Rafal or the 4 Winds, but it also introduce romantic love with an one sided love from Madeline towards Mauvier and a romantic love Nel has for this version of Alear who was also one sided since Alear probably had no idea Nel was in love with them.

And since the Fell Xenologue is canon due to the opening, this is what can introduce the theme of romantic love that is however never mentioned or expanded upon in the main story, with the only expection of the Pact ring but even that can be used as a token of platonic love so eh....

But that doesn't change the fact that out of anyone in the cast the only character that can know romantic love at the end of the support is Alear since they can still perform a romantic promise with someone they choose as a partner and speaking of that. Recall what Alear says to Alear ?

now the peculiar detail of the JPN dialogue is that they are saying this using verbal form which as a result gives this

旅路の全てを苦しみ、悩み、楽しみ、そして・愛してください

" May you suffer, worry, enjoy and love on your journey"

So remark number one, this is actually a parrallel with how in chapter 24 Alear will tell past Alear that they wish them a wonderful journey.

Remark number two, this means that Isekai Alear is telling Alear to feel love and they use 愛して. Freaking 愛して. Which is loving in a romantic way only. It's such an intense formule that irl it's mainly reserved for stuff such as a marriage proposal !

So honestly, I am starting to wonder... were Nel's feelings really one sided ? That and the fact that Nel and "Nil" are being refered to as "taisetsunahitotachi"* which means "my beloved people" or "the people that are precious to me" and is often used... in a romantic context...

Regardless, this dialogue right here is something that is intriguing me in so many ways. Because in the main story Alear's love is entirely familial and platonic, but here, the idea that Alear can experience romance is introduced.

But now, when talking about the said "beloved people" we all know that Alear and the twins have support and those support are all about caring. Nel showing her caring side, solving her relationship with Alear. Rafal, well, his C support features Alear telling him he likes him to parrallel the two times he told Alear he liked them when he pretented to be Nil, their B support is about Rafal's love for his sister and the A one is about Rafal conveying his friendly feeling towards Alear by offering them a gift as a thanks. But just as for the other character in the game, Alear is the only character they can developp a romantic relationship with seeing how they can only developp the same bond other character developps between each other : friendship or family like bond. In short, it's still following the same pattern established within the main story

So now, I am asking the question : what did Isekai Alear meant when they were telling Alear to "love" ?

*there is another instance of it being used, in one of Rafal's PR wake up event, if Alear don't woke up right away he will call them that.

[theotherseapancakes]

the funniest thing about this post is i don’t even like Sombron I just love to dunk on/hate him bc he compels me from a Magical Girl Villain Standpoint. He’s got big Tokusatsu Baddie Energy. It’s inexplicable and fantastic. If I may add though yeah agree with all this here. Engage has many common wins and the varied cast isn’t JUST one of them, it’s MOST of them! They’re all so great that it makes the older games lacking places like Solm feel kinda weird by comparison. It’s a step in the right direction, but im sure they could always do more. Something I enjoy about Engage is that none of them are JUST jokes and I cannot BEGIN To tell you how much I died at “I love you lets take ibuprofen together” like honestly. And let’s NEVER forget: Tomato, Fogado.

Looking at another post, there are some non white characters in Shadow Dragon, but it really depends on the artist and those games went through a whole lot of art shifts.

Hardin for example is often drawn with a darker skintone than other characters, even though his countrymen are always white.

Darros the pirate was dark skinned in the first game and its artwork, but all future games made him as light skinned as everyone else.

Gharnef also has a skintone similar to Validar in the old ova, though all other sources depict him as white, mildly tanned, or zombie-like grey.

Shouzou Kaga once mentioned he liked having "Arabian" characters and Heroic Legend of Arslan, which was set in Ancient persia was listed as a major inspiration for him.

wrong inbox, buddy! or is that relating to my aversa rant this morning? did i spark this whole discussion? do i even wanna @/iturbide on this one?

also like, still yikes, cuz arent both hardin and garnef evil? iirc hardin is like only evil in mystery of the emblem but garnef is the origin of the evil dark wizard fe archetype. even down to the whole controlling dragons thing. still not a good look

you know what is a good look though? engage. black people who are part of the main cast and not evil and just as zany and fun as everyone else. STILL haven't played engage but i love zelkov. i saw that one clip where he and ivy take ibuprofen together and it was magical. i'm smitten.

why sombron still purple though. like he's the same ashy as the others of his cohort (i.e garnef) just Purplier and the presence of actual black people makes it less awful and just odd. like his kids look normal? wassup

this is like. the THIRD time I'm just passively reading other people talk about FE and then suddenly an anon manifests in MY inbox. before that was the whole chrom's dad headcanon war and there was also some grima discourse iirc but i love grima discourse so i was just really excited to jump in on it.

[didsomeonesayventus]

hellooooooo! if you're still taking words for the ask game, what abt the word "life", or "live"?

“Perjury.” Alcryst finally murmured softly, throat still hoarse. “Heresy. Those were the charges.” “My partner,” Alear began trembling anew, shaking like the last shudders of a leaf before it fell in autumn, “The one I gave my Pact Ring to. The one I share my life with. My beloved, who has dedicated his very life to my protection and maintaining the peace of my kingdom, as well as across Elyos. Called a heretic and a liar and sentenced to death.”

more church drama snippets but this time just a glimmer of how pissed off alear gets to be ehehehe

[ciitrinitas]

fire emblem engage.

finished it last night, so brief revival to log it whilst my thoughts are still clear.

okay, i don't want to lean that hard into comparisons with three houses, but damn, engage was distinctly different from fe16 in such a good way. while there could be some insane clipping (SOMBRON, PLEASE!! THE ENDS OF YOUR HORNS ARE IN YOUR CHEST MORE OFTEN THAN NOT!!), the models were much cleaner and crisper than fe16's. the static backgrounds used in cutscenes also felt correct in regards to perspective. (i still don't understand what happened with that in fe16! the static backgrounds were consistently warped at the wrong angle and looked wrong.) the gameplay was much sharper and with better variety. and alear bepis--i actually like bepis! renaming them as "bepis" had me giggling at the Divine Dragon Bepis all the way to the end, but i grew fond of them. i really prefer when fe does a proper, albeit very typical, character for a protagonist instead of the weird hybrid character/self-insert thing byleth got. i like shipping bepis whereas i recoil from byleth ships.

the gameplay in general...chef's kiss! it had great fe game feel. units felt individual while still being heavily customizable. i really enjoyed the new mechanics like engaging and the break system. the maps were nicely varied, and nothing ever felt like a slog in the way replaying fe16 four times for every route did. i played on normal classic (per usual!), but i might do hard classic on a replay due to how fun and balanced the game felt to me.

engage is definitely more ambitious in the gameplay department than in the story department. fe16...tried to do something more political and involved, but sort of fell flat on its face due to the wonky world building for me. blue lions/azure moon was a borderline euphoric high for me when i played! but it can't carry the rest of the game when it's a more contained narrative about dimitri and isn't as reliant on the mysteries and world building hitting home. so, i'd definitely put bl/am above engage, i would also put engage above fe16 as a whole. i'm leaving engage feeling much warmer about it than i did towards fe16 by the end.

that last chapter was such a delightful cheesefest! i wish it had leaned into that more at times and developed the main royals and bepis' group dynamic more, but the cheese really worked for me. engage's story has all the subtlety of a shounen friendship speech being thrown as a brick at your face, and it goes whole fucking hog into that. bepis gives so many friendship speeches! it's great. not at all perfect, but i had way more of a blast than i expected.

sommie, my beloved. hortensia, my best girl. and goldmary...the unit i decided to feed every permanent stat-boosting item to once i realized Boob Big and who became a nigh-unkillable tank for me.

edit because oh my god, i have to mention lumera. she managed like maybe two scenes that weren't dripping in incest subtext between her and bepis. i didn't expect to ship them as much as i do lmao.

[couldbebetterforsure]

Still haven’t been able to start chapter 10 of Engage yet 😔 Life just doesn’t want me playing this game. Well, screw you too life!

Anyways until I get the time to continue I can at least give you my thoughts from the chapters I did play!

The opening is so entertaining! It plays like a Saturday morning cartoon opening and that is NOT a complaint! While I have said many times male Alear is the one I’m more fond of I chose female Alear because whenever I do first runs/main runs of games that allow gender choice for the player I always go with the female option. I also named Alear after my real life name, which I typically only do once I do my main/true run of a game. But this time around I decided I’m gonna have my true run Alear stay named Alear. But my true run won’t be until all the DLC is released. Right now we’re talking about my first run!

Prologue: What is this music so unsettling for????? Seriously, the song that plays on this map is so creepy! The little cutscenes within the chapter itself were pretty, I especially liked the first engage moment with Marth! Straightforward map against creepy purple dragon guy.

Chapter 1: Clanne, Framme, and Vander: “Oh noble and wonderful Divine One, we’re so glad you’re awake!” Alear, dragon who just woke up: ???????? Alear has the appropriate response to sudden zombies, we run from those suckers! But no worry folks, I’ve got years of zombie ass kicking experience from a land called Ylisse, this won’t be any sweat! But then I learned it would be some sweat because Engage has a somewhat different way of handling battle stuff. It was a bit hard to get it started but it’s fun! And Vander was here to do his job and keep my low level self alive. And we get officially introduced to my man Mar Mar! The chapter ends with us meeting Lumera (MOM!!!!!!!!)

Chapter 2: What better way to get used to all the new mechanics than by fighting our dragon mom? When she engaged with Sigurd she hit like a TRUCK! Vander was hanging on by a thread after blocking attacks for me. Framme, sweetie, you’re adorable but you hit like a marshmallow! Clanne, my little dude, meanwhile was out here getting a dozen crits. It really is adorable how much Lumera wants to be with Alear again. I can’t imagine how it must feel like, waiting for 1000 years for your beloved child to wake up so you can talk and eat and spend time together again. I’m so weak to family stuff….

Chapter 3: We start the chapter with interest dream/flashback(?) of red Alear. Ooooh creepy grin there. MOTHER NOOOOOOOO!!!!!!! It’s too soon!!!!! I know I know people will say we’ve only had her for one chapter but like I said I’m super weak to family stuff. I also was plenty attached to Mikoto back in Fates too. Also it was Alear’s voice acting that really sold it. Like WOW that was some incredible work to sell me on Alear’s grief. I actually looked up male Alear’s version of this scene and that destroyed me! Getting a bit ahead of myself, first off battle! And we got three new friends in Etie, Boucheron, and ALFRED 😍😍😍😍 As I said in another post, I really did think Diamant would be my man but Alfred showed up and said “remember how much you love the earnest sweethearts”? Boucheron is sweet and was a decent tank, I really like the whole backup mechanic. Etie is out here testing my notorious luck with archer units but she’s cool so I’ll try my best with her! And Alfred my main man!!! I actually didn’t get to use him that much this map 😂 But I already fell in love with the bits of his personality he showcased. Anyways, hello there mysterious murderous hooded girl!

Chapter 4: The Somniel is a gorgeous place! I love that it’s so pretty and bright to look at but also not as annoyingly big to explore like the monastery was in 3H. Firene’s battle map music is so pretty I love just taking my time through this map as I listen to it. We get more pals in this newest chapter in the form of Celine, Chloe, and Louis. Celine is so good and she was terrifying when I engaged her with Celica. I love Pegasus units and Chloe was a great addition to that group, especially with her dodging. And Louis was SUCH a good tank, I love that armored units have the special gimmick of being immune to break! Also the Alfred-Sigurd combo was amazing, my man is just galloping across the map! We end the chapter getting our item and weapon shops, AND we our time rewind mechanic! Heck yeah! And we meet the mysterious little Veyle who saved our ass! I really love her swan look it’s cute!

Chapter 5: Gasp! A wild living Fire Emblem mother! With a name and face too!!! And we meet mystery evil lady Zephia! I really appreciate the change up to the way chests/locked doors work in this game. Anyone can open a chest without needing a key or ability and similarly if you can just break down locked doors. As someone who hated using keys because I consider them a waste of inventory slot, I love the change! And while I love the units with special lock picking abilities I’m glad this game made it so that you’re not forced to make/use one. We got ourselves a clothing shop and blacksmith to join us on the Somniel! A shame the outfits are only for the Somniel. Speaking of the Somniel I got to play around with the features in the ring chamber and the polishing mechanic is funny. The bond ring gacha is a fun little thing and I am glad it strictly only uses in game currency. Plus, SOMMIE!!!!!!!! Tiny adorable puppy looking baby!!!! That I can feed and pet and dress up!!!!! I named it Benji for this run but when I get to my main run I’ll stick with Sommie as the name.

Paralogue 1: FUCK YEAH!!! New villager unit!!! Listen I know villager units tend to be a pain in the ass to level up and use but I adore them to death! And not a single one of them has failed me yet! Jean is so adorable, a tiny little doctor in training who is ready to punch! I like that they make him ready and able to heal from the start so it’s not as bad to train him as it would typically be with his unit type. And bless, when I saw this map was a “keep the villagers safe” one I was already getting ready for the headache. But Jean and his dad did a good job keeping the villagers healed on my behalf, leaving me free to kick ass and take names. Also why did Firene abandon all the British people on this one island? 😂

Chapter 6: Yunaka is so funny! I love her energy, her voice mimicking thing, the way she’s blatantly hiding being a killer, her silly quotes and puns. And she’s a thief unit too! I really like the whole “thieves’ daggers have poison” thing. Pain in the ass to get hit by but really nice when dishing it out myself! Also we get Micaiah this time and holy shit does she provide a healing boon! Our very first fog of war map of the game and I didn’t make too many dumb mistakes! Heck yeah! Nothing much to say for this chapter, a straightforward map and funny story content. Ooh and we meet again Veyle! Why are you randomly here? Oh and after the map went back to the Somniel and got the Three Houses bracelet! Dimitri my gentle hearted baby boy, so good to see you, I missed you!!!!!🥹🥹🥹🥹 And Claude, hi there!!!😄 Oh and I guess you’re here too Edel 😒

Paralogue 2: Ahh here’s our latest Anna! And unlike the last game she actually gets to take part in supports! Interesting that they made her a little kiddo this time around. Also I looked up her growths, why the heck is she an axe user if her magic growth is that good???? Welp I mean she’s been doing pretty okay with her axe regardless for me since she’s actually been coming through on getting strength for level ups. But I had to restart this map a couple times because I couldn’t keep this girl alive. She takes hits like tissue paper…But I like how spunky she is!

Chapter 7: We hop on over into Brodia and Alear nearly gets shot in the head along the way. And we get to meet Alcryst! The way his whole apology is so completely at odds with the pretty cool way he’s introduced was hilarious! Also his retainers are so pretty!!! Alcryst is another bow user but he’s also a crit machine for me. Alcryst: “I’m sorry I am such a pathetic failure 😞 *massacres a dozen enemies* Why am I so useless?” Lapis is really good at dodging and pretty speedy too! Citrinne is so pretty looking and magic wise she’s fine but my Clanne is honestly more solid, but my gosh she can NOT take a hit! I mean yeah she’s a mage but even by mage standards my girl can’t be hit. Looks like we get to meet the circus crew for this battle! Hortensia seems interesting so far, kinda bratty from the looks of it. Goldmary’s personality was not what I expected like she seems soft spoken but she’s also sounding kinda rude too? Everything about Rosado is great from his pretty hair to his adorable wyvern to his utter confidence in his cuteness. And ooh Hortensia has an evil version of an Emblem? I wonder what-*sees that it’s Lucina* FREE MY DAUGHTER YOU CIRCUS FREAKS!!!!!! Luci, baby, don’t you worry mama’s gonna save you!!!!! Taking a peek at Lucina’s abilities and geez that shit’s terrifying. I was so careful with how my units were advancing because I did NOT wanna get hit by everybody and their mother with Lucina’s special ability. We didn’t get to free my baby girl in the end 😡😡😡😡 I’ll save you Lucina I swear!!!!!!

Chapter 8: Oh so Veyle is looking for a missing sibling huh? Okay I already can tell where that little plot point is going! We get to meet Diamant, a handsome lad for sure! Sorry Diamant I really was gonna make you my main beau but Alfred has stolen my heart! But since I’m saving Alfred for my main run I’ll still S support you for this run! You know assuming none of the other fellas catch my eye more. We also get to meet Diamant and Alcryst’s dad, Morion, who was definitely NOT what I was expecting. I do like that despite Alcryst being so self deprecating and all that it doesn’t look like it comes from a lack of love/parental favoritism. We also obtain our boy Roy along the way! And he’s got some nice goodies for us as an Emblem! I love how hard they’re leaning into the fire stuff. And geez this is the chapter of introductions huh, now we’re meeting Ivy and her squad. Ivy looks super pretty and super spiky too! I like how she rides her wyvern side saddle. And she’s got a red version of my son Leif, so you know I’m gonna kick her ass to save him! Kagetsu looks adorably out of place compared to how goth Ivy and Zelkov look but I love how cheerful he seems! Speaking of what an *interesting* gimmick Zelkov has going on. And shit here we go with another intro from Amber, one of Diamant’s retainers! What a….goof. Seriously he’s such a weird little goof from the introduction onwards. Diamant himself hits hard, and I do love me some swords. Gotta say of the three Kagetsu was the scariest. A promoted unit and that stupid crit level of his!!! But we managed to get my boy Leif back and I am sooo eager to use him I love Leif so much! And from the sneak peek I saw of his abilities he looks like fun! I really like how the ending scene shows Diamant is just as nervous as Alcryst but in a different way. But yeah, Morion is TOTALLY getting his ass killed. Also yeah, why can’t I become a dragon Intsys?!?!?!?!??!?!!!!!?!?!?!

Chapter 9: Yup what did I say about Morion? Well he might not be DEAD dead just yet but I have little hope for him. Also wow was NOT expecting Hyacinth to be a punchy dude. And WOW dick move making Ivy have to get herself killed to buy you time to escape…We get Diamant’s other retainer in this chapter in the form of Jade, and she looks and sounds super cool! And she also was stealing a bunch of experience from my squad until I could reach her and recruit her 😞 Kagetsu was once again the scariest fucker of this map but my boy Alfred crit his ass to oblivion! That’s my sweet flower prince!!! Nice of Alear to let Ivy and her squad escape with their lives. Just as it was nice of Ivy to tell us where to go!

And so that’s where I am, waiting for the chance to continue with chapter 10 onward. Haven’t been able to set aside the time to play, which I am so annoyed about because I am really having fun playing Engage and want to continue. All I’ve been able to do since finishing chapter 9 was getting the update and just working on some supports, leveling up, bond ranks…That stuff.

Anyways that’s all I have for now! Hopefully will get to update with my thoughts for the next chapters soon!

[yanderefairyangel]

Rafal and Nel for the ask game ?

FELL TWINS MY BELOVED

Rafal

First impression : Oh you look so cute -- wait* name is Il, has Sombron's eye on the chest and is voiced by Takuya Eguchi* You are going to be evil aren't you

Impression now : *incoherent noises and gestures about how much this man is broken yet interesting at the same time and is super well written despite being a forced antagonist* So yeah I like him a lot, and he needs therapy

Favorite moment : idk if I can call it favorite but the one moment that life free in my head and comes to haunt me is this damn convos wake up events he has when you S support him where he says "Wouldn't it be funny if there was a world where you the Emblem I can summon hahaha!" (what do you mean Rafal.... WHAT DO YOU MEAN). Other then that, the A support he has with Alear healed by depression forever

Idea for a story :

Meeting with Nil. It happened when he was mourning his twin. How Nil came to become the replacing half

Unpopular opinion: For some reason, people compare him to Felix but... hum, I might shock you in stating this but Rafal seems much sweeter then Felix. Shocking I know.

Favorite relationship :

ALEAR, ALEAR, ALEAR !! (it's been month and I am still mentally ill over their support)

Favorite headcanon : 1000% chance of being false anyway, but his natural hair color is black, like Nel, but he dies his hair to pass as Nil and even in Elyos he keeps this hair color as a memento of his Nil days. (shoot, another parallel with Alear)

Nel

First impression : She looks cool

Impression now : You are such a sweetheart.

Favorite moment : See her C support with Alear ? The subtle little smile she has just before leaving. It means everything to me.

Idea for a story : I wanna know how she and Rafal joined their Alear side.

Unpopular opinion : She is NOT a tsundere, she is a KUUDERE.

Favorite relationship: Rafal and Alear (isekai). To an extent her relationship with ours as well, I think romance is kinda important to her character because DLC.

Favorite headcanon : I'd like for her that Isekai Alear was returning her feelings.

But when I want her to suffer, I'd headcanon Isekai Alear has having a thing for Nil instead (I am a monster)