#TELLIUS SAID GAY RIGHTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[moonstoneraven]

The gay agenda is whatever these two have going on

[dimiclaudeblaigan]

Hiiii, I just wanted to say Thank You, legitimately, for all of the very very good shinon posts you've made (you've hit the nail on the head why I like him so much as a character (also I'm playing through por for the first time and gd the growth in RD was so visible to me right away (for him and jill, but seeing soren act as he has legit surprised me and now i am going 'i can fix him' towards soren). Also! I am a big fan of Shinaff as well <3

Do you have any thoughts or posts on Zelgius, Tibarn, or Naesala? I'd love to hear more of your thoughts and with those 3 being....well, themselves, I'm very curious :3

THANK YOU FOR READING THEM ALL. Also THANK YOU for loving him!!! I'm so happy to know someone is seeing his growth from both games.

I actually recently met someone in another fandom who told me they've always been a Shinon fan and grew up around people who were also fans so they never even realized how hated he is in the fandom. I was like DAMN, wish I grew up with you guys lmao. It's so hard being a huge fan of him when people don't bother looking past a single trait, but will excuse it in Soren just because he's the resident gay twink (and idk that he's even gay more than just Ikeromantic LMAO).

I love Soren but he's arguably worse than Shinon in the bad habit department that everyone hates Shinon for, given that his reasons for being kinder to laguz is only for Ike and not for personal growth, whereas Shinon's growth is because he's realized he's been wrong and again, also why I argue his supports with Janaff are so incredibly important to him. It's like the mid development that's missable in a given playthrough, but so important as the bridge between games.

I know I had an ask once about Jeritza and Zelgius that I believe @reneethegreatandpowerful sent, but I can't find it now and I've had so many asks that wading through them, tags and all, was fruitless LOL. Otherwise I might have said some things about Naesala here and there, but not really Tibarn. When it comes to Tellius I don't talk much about the overly beloved characters because other people do it all the time anyway.

I do find both of them interesting in that Tibarn was pretty nasty originally, and when I recently replayed PoR I realized that nowadays, if I'd been playing for the first time, that I would have leaned more toward Naesala's arguments at the laguz gathering. I think because back then, my first time playing, I was basically just a kid (I mean this was in like 2005ish? I was very young) so I kind of was lured in with thinking Naesala was "bad" at first (I came around to him eventually, but little me didn't use her brain in video games as much as I would've liked her to when she was in grade school LOL).

That's a really generalized point overall, but mainly just to give you an idea that yeah, I think about them! I just don't write about them as much because Shinon needs the help more LMAO.

If you have any specific questions though I'm totally fine with answering them!

Also fuck yeah for the Shinaff fans. We are smol in number but we are powerful in brain. >:3

[themoomoorn]

LA SAGA DE BAGUETTE PART DEUX: BIENVENUE A CHILI'S

It's time to balance our blossoming war with activity micromanagement on a magical, overloaded airship-fortress-sports bar. Y'know, as you do.

The Somniel may not have a Chili's, but they better have a Chocolate Chip Paradise Pie in that kitchen anyway!

...what do you mean Chili's doesn't make it anymore!?

Emblème, Engager!

This enchanted doggo poops out Bond Shards if you feed and pet it. That's nice and all, but can it also poop out Happy Hour priced custom margaritas? Didn't think so.

Yeah, not weird at all /s

Also, can we please just have a normal war camp again??? I'm siding with the Tellius fandom on that one.

After getting acquainted with the Somniel, we begin our journey proper by getting a set of rings from Firene, the perpetual springtime kingdom and also the most peaceful and religious of the lot. Their current monarch is Ève, and her heir is Prince Alfred. We meet him his sister, Princess Céline, and their respective retainer duos after finding out that a local town is being sacked by Corrupted.

Per Lumera, Lythos kept two rings and the other countries got two to three apiece. She kept the ring for Sigurd, and Alear had Marth's on during their epic millenium-spanning post-con crash. For Firene, they have the rings for Celica and Micaiah (the latter we find for ourselves later on, as it's in a shrine at the border).

Here I have Alfred Engaged with Sigurd, and Céline will always enter combat in this Chapter with Celica in tow. Both of them rock their respective outfits well and are also good fits for their respective skillsets. I do find it odd that Sigurd's Engaged hair color is a vibrant lilac though.

I wonder if this crystal is made of trix yogurt?

Here we meet Veyle, our Mysterious Fragile Female Waif-type. As you can see by the BDSM choker and the chains on her legs, she will presumably continue the Great Shouzou Kaga's legacy of women being too "pure" and "innocent" to be evil. As these interviews show, the guy presumably needed to have his teeth pulled out with pliers to even conceive a character like Jugdral's Queen Hilda of Chronos.

This game continues the trend of NPCs having banger designs, and for Firene, this includes a lot of floral prints. I love the dresses, and I'd love a button-up with a pattern like it. The item shopkeeper is also really pretty!

Framme is the only character who sorta responds positively to being gifted horse manure. Sigh.

"Alear has that sadness and longing in his eyes that you only see in eastern European gay porn."

Exercise mini-games, which offer a temporary stat boost. Here we have Alear doing push-ups in improper form. Most of the Somniel activities are more valuable for grinding up Bond Fragments more than the activity itself, although fishing is a nice extra spot for cooking ingredients.

In contrast to her daughter's absurd gown, Queen Ève's is nicer, and also has a prettier color palette.

We are introduced to our smex appeal female henchman of the game, Zephia. I will be inevitably disappointed when we are forced to see her sob backstory and be forced to sympathize with her.

She's also voiced by Elizabeth Maxwell in English, and while I know she's had many, many roles, I still mainly hear P5's Sae Niijima, which in this case is kind of hilarious.

This line is actually pretty funny. And hey, if Alfred actually didn't have the capacity of trampling over people like Sigurd himself did, lance abilities, or a workout routine that would presumably fit right in on TikTok, then Nelucce would have a leg to stand on!

Hopefully his passing was uneventful and not the stuff of nightmares, like poor Cornelius.

...Is Vander a cat???

In good old Post-2012 FE fashion, we have a Paralogue off the beaten path to do before running to the border to get Micaiah's ring. And in said same fashion, this map is where we recruit our steroid-injected child who presumably got Tommy John surgery at the age of seven under the pretense that it would allegedly enhance their performance. Yes, I do like baseball actually.

Anyway, our trainee unit for this game is Jean, and he is my new fictional son. I love him. I also love his hot dad and his drip.

Alear raids a farm at night and steals a nice, light, feathery cock. Kinda shocked we don't have more memes of Alear hoarding animals for the Somniel's farm.

Hiyah Papaya, it's time to meet Yunaka, who's actually one of the best characters AND units in this game, despite having one of my least favorite designs, but that's also the power of a good story and good voiceover work (Laura Post in this case) for you.

Unfortunately, the same cannot be said about Emblem Micaiah, who, like some of the other Emblems, is presented here in sanitized fashion. Yunaka enters the scene Engaged with her, which is convenient as Micaiah's Shine tome lights up this Fog of War Map.

Also, Fog of War maps are back. Sweet.

Veyle is back. Another plot trinket is bestowed upon us. The vivid red shade presumably denotes that it's eeeeeeviiiiilllll.

Another Paralogue before we wrap things up and head to Brodia, and it's Anna's. We get a refreshing change of pace with a female bandit boss and some female bandits, which is pretty cool actually. She even has a 9/10 design.

The remaining 1 point was knocked off for the micro hot pants.

I didn't bother with screenshots, but Anna is a viable playable unit after being completely shitty in 3H. She's a pretty mixed bag in terms of stats, but her Personal Skill is extremely useful providing her Luck levels up (She can plunder 500 gold from an enemy she defeats off a percentage of her base Luck stat). This also might be the most likable Anna so far...not that that's a very high hurdle to clear.

Her being 11 in this game is also still odd, but she got a far better and less rotten English VA out of it in the end.

And that wraps up the Firene Arc. Next time, we head to Brodia, the testosterone-poisoned Sparta analogue. What rings will their royals have, and will they be as inoffensive and mild as -

...wait.

I hear rattling.

Rolling along the grass, over there...

Is that...a bracelet...?

...oh no.

ALEAR NO -

[maykitz]

small update i have been unable to stop crying ever since i saw the valentines banner trailer

[wistfulvulpine]

I’m so used to giving and now I finally get to receive

[the-great-squidini]

intsys designing the new valentine’s banner:

[nightrayes]

do you ever just

[gascon-en-exil]

FE16 Black Eagles (Edelgard) Liveblogging

Entirely on the Dimitri/Dedue content of Chapter 17, because...wow. 

I don’t need to provide details on the standard version of this map and its ending, as it’s up on YouTube. In summary, Dedue takes Crest stones from the royal vault without Dimitri’s knowledge, and he and at least one (more on Hard?) generic soldier use them to willingly become Crest beasts. This then leads to the regular scene at the end of the battle, with a CG of Edelgard about to behead the defeated Dimitri and him still raging at her for her alleged role in the death of his parents. Nothing else is mentioned of their past history because, as I said in a previous post on this route, it just isn’t important here, and Dimitri dies a pitiable figure still blaming Edelgard for something she didn’t do thereby minimizing the horrible things she actually has done way to go villain route.

Now, that’s not to say that this version of events is lacking in intimate interactions for these two. There’s still their pre-battle declarations of loyalty toward one another, and then right before he transforms Dedue calls Dimitri by his name just as he does in their A support. Dimitri’s tone is sad when he reacts to this, but he still says this:

Dedue! I will fight by your side until the bitter end... As long as I am with you, this lance of mine will know nothing of defeat!

...and then just as sadly calls him a fool once you defeat Beast!Dedue. Was not expecting Dimitri to admit so publicly that he needs Dedue, even an inhuman, raging Dedue, for moral support, but there you go.

I also can’t neglect the profound implications from a series archetype perspective. In accordance with the criteria for my own merciless judgment of the Camus archetype, Dedue possesses neither the aesthetic hallmarks of a Camus figure - he’s not blond, his outfit isn’t black, he’s not mounted, he has no legendary weapon - nor the unwavering loyalty toward the nation he’s about to die defending. Hell, we know from his supports that he still hates Faerghus for their genocide of his people, and that he’s a polytheist and no follower of the church of Seiros. His loyalty is instead wholly in line with the Camus archetype’s usually female counterpart: the romantically-entangled Ishtar, the male representatives of which were previously confined to Tellius. And yet with all that said Dedue goes full on into the Camus role, harder than arguably any other character ever has. He’s willing to give up his humanity to protect Dimitri. Somewhere, in that weird dimension Heroes exists in the name of which I cannot recall at the moment, Dedue has thrown down a gauntlet that even the Sable Knight himself would hesitate to pick up.

That, however, all concerns the default version of this chapter.

It’s a little funny, really, that in Normal at least it’s not difficult at all to defeat Dedue before he transforms. It even makes the rest of the map easier, because human Dedue, an immobile fortress knight locked to melee range with terrible RES, is substantially easier to down than Crest beast Dedue and his multiple health bars, enormous bulk, and powerful AoE attacks. The Eagles are especially well equipped for this: Dorothea should be able to two-round him handily with Meteor, and Linhardt can Warp Hubert or another heavy hitter in to finish him off. Just don’t enter what appears to be his standard movement range before you’re ready to defeat him, because he’ll transform on his next turn.

Anyway, Dedue appears to actually die after, and Dimitri praises his sacrifice as he does Sylvain and Mercedes when they’re killed on this map. What’s unexpected if you didn’t know about it beforehand is the exchange below, which completely replaces the scene of Edelgard about to behead Dimitri. It’s delivered over a black screen, in place of a CG that would undoubtedly have been exceedingly gay. (Great opportunity for fan artists, just saying.)

Dedue: Your Majesty... Your Majesty!

Dimitri: Stop calling me that.

Dedue: Ah, thank the... No...

Dimitri: Dedue... It seems I will die...before I can get revenge for everyone...

Dedue: ... [gasp/half-sob vocal]

Dimitri: My family, my friends, my home... Everything that truly mattered to me... I couldn’t...

Dedue; You’re wrong! Because of you, I was able to live on until today. You saved me. These past nine years... I am proud to have been at your side. It was a joy I never could have hoped for. Despite all, I count myself a lucky man.

Dimitri: Is that so? I see...I am glad...

Dedue: You must be weary, Your Majesty. Please...rest in peace.

It then cuts to the scene of Rhea ordering her forces to retreat, followed by Byleth, Edelgard, and Hubert. Oddly the last scene does not change based on which version of Dimitri’s death occurred; Edelgard still pities him for believing her to have killed his parents, and all but states that she put him out his misery. Not in a “it was so generous of me to let him and his mortally wounded lover die in each other’s arms” way, either. Oh well, I’m still in shock we got everything that we did from this chapter; I can forgive them a little inconsistency.

[ikessorens]

ok im gonna post my hopes/what im excited + explanations for nintendo in 2020 bc i have no one to share them with!

what im excited for

Hatsune Miku Mega Mix - oh boy i love rhythm games and i love vocaloid this game is gonna be great but only if its reasonably priced

Animal Crossing - no explanation needed who isnt excited for this game

BOTW 2!!!!!!!!!!!! - again, no explanation needed. botw is one of my favorite games of all time and is the game that got me back into gaming. SUPER hyped for the sequel

Gods and Monsters - im a classics major so the idea of an open-world game in ancient greece makes me so happy. it could be great if done right but we havent seen any gameplay so we’ll see

LEGO Skywalker Saga - what can i say im a HUGE slut for star wars and its p much an open world star wars game that i can play on switch. also lego games are so fun and lego harry potter was my first game EVER so i have a lot of nostalgia for lego games

Fairy Tail JRPG - the weeb in me is jumping out. i love rpgs and fairy tail was the first anime i ever watched when i was in middle school. so im low key hyped for the game again bc of nostalgia

Ultimate ninja storm 4 - naruto is my favorite anime ever and we get vote2 in this game. naruto and sasuke sacrificed their arms for gay rights

Hollow Knight Silksong!! - GOD I LOVE HOLLOW KNIGHT. first indie that i really fell in love with and im obsessed with it. silksong is gonna be great

OCTOPATH TRAVELER… 2! - i LOVE the first octopath. and yeah nothing official has been announced yet for octo 2 BUT they have said that theyre working on a sequel and i couldnt be more excited

witchbrook - STARDEW BUT ITS WITCHES

Switch games i want

Ace attorney 4-6 PLUS a new AA game - i love AA,, please let me play the rest of the games on my switch and PLEASe give us a new game. also #phoenixwrightforsmash

Tellius remasters/remakes - fe9 and 10 are my favorite FE games ever i literally love them so much and want a remaster so bad!! altho i have mixed feelings bc i really really worry that if they remake/remaster it that theyll straight wash ike and take out all of the gay coding from his character esp everything with him and soren (who is my all-time favorite fe character). so Big Fear there but id love a faithful remake/remaster since its maybe my favorite game of all time. 

Judgral remakes - ive never played these games but the characters look incredibly charming and i want to play them so bad. i know that theyll probably do either one or the other but not both for the fe remakes and i am sooooo split on which i want more i want them both so bad

Super mario galaxy 3 - no explanation needed, smg is one of the best games ever and was one of the first games i played and im dying for another game in the series

Persona 5 - i want to play it so bad... we have joker in smash and p5 scramble... why not p5

Batman Arkham games - i love batman PLEASE put these games on switch so i dont have to dust off my wii u every time i want to play them

Kingdom hearts - never played them but GOD i want to this series is on crack fr

Okamiden - i love okami and the ds sequel is ADORABLE let me play it on switch

red dead - the inherit homoeroticism of cowboys.. let me have it

ok im sure im forgetting some but this is everything im excited for/want to happen please come talk to me about them

[pansexualkiba]

who fucking CARES about fjorm

TELLIUS SAID GAY RIGHTS

[oskasteinar]

i just spat out what’s basically a bad essay about ike in rd and have nowhere else to keep it so it’s under the cut i apologize in advance for the blocks of text and the run-on sentences but it’s genuinely not intended as a post to be spread and no one will read it anyway so whatever

tellius spoilers // it’s really long, i know, i just love him

I understand that a lot of people feel that Radiant Dawn Ike is rather bland and sort of a spotlight hog compared to Path of Radiance Ike, but I feel that there's reason for this that is important to notice, even though it is true that Ike is more of a central character in Radiant Dawn than he perhaps "needs" to be.

Ike's Radiant Dawn development doesn't really occur in the game, but rather occurs between Path of Radiance and Radiant Dawn, wherein he clearly grows from the impulsive and somewhat unsure boy of seventeen that he was in Path of Radiance, who was still struggling under the weight of witnessing his father's murder and dealing with suddenly having command of the Greil Mercenaries (and not long after, an entire military command) thrust upon him, into the man of twenty that he is in Radiant Dawn, who is fully assured and used to his position as commander, and who has grown enough from the somewhat brash person he was in Path of Radiance to recognize the problems with how he acted towards people like Kurthnaga and Sanaki and even apologize to Kurthnaga for it three years after the fact, even though Kurthnaga was never upset by it to begin with. Showing who Ike has grown into as an adult and as commander, and explaining his decision to renounce his lordship in the previous game, is important to his overall character and offers a display of what came after Ike's previous development, since while he did grow a lot in the last game, showing what adulthood and those years of experience have brought to him offers a satisfying conclusion to his development since there were no endings in Path of Radiance, and explaining that he renounced his lordship solves the "Alm problem" of having an important part of a character being that they grow up a commoner, only to have them eventually gain nobility status and spend the rest of their lives in power and wealth. 

Additionally, renouncing his title and choosing instead to continue leading the Greil Mercenaries is entirely in line with his character, who was already established to care little for social status, glory, and unnecessary conventions, but is interested more in the life he has always led as a member of their mercenary company, doing what is right, protecting those dear to him (mainly Mist, who he promised to stay with and specifically wants to keep safe, but also Soren -- who he is obviously closest to -- as well as the Greil Mercenaries in general and his other friends), and finally his father's memory (both avenging Greil's murder through defeating the Black Knight (a major obsession in Path of Radiance, which returns in Radiant Dawn upon the news that the Black Knight still lives) and living up to / continuing his father's legacy as a fighter and commander). 

While it's true that Ike has a big spotlight in Radiant Dawn for a game that isn't essential to him, I feel that it's important that he's there, given not only that it is a Tellius game incorporating many characters that were important to Ike's story in Path of Radiance, but also because the storyline with the Black Knight was not yet finished, and there were components of Ike's backstory that were intentionally not revealed in Path of Radiance (for example, how Sephiran locked his memory of witnessing his mother's death, and how he met Soren / why it is that Soren so unconditionally trusts him and him alone). Soren is an important character to the overall story of Radiant Dawn as well, due on the surface to his assistance in the Laguz Alliance's strategy, but also due to his true identity as the son of Ashnard and Almedha. However, from a writing perspective, given that he never leaves Ike's side, it would be very difficult for Soren to feature in Radiant Dawn from the sidelines as he does without Ike. 

That being said, Ike was the protagonist of the previous game, and Path of Radiance Ike is, at least at this point in time, widely recognized to be one of the best and most popular Fire Emblem lords AND characters of all time; if Ike's popularity after Path of Radiance is even somewhat comparable to his current popularity, it makes sense that he would feature prominently in the direct sequel to the game he independently starred in. Micaiah as a protagonist could definitely have been written more compellingly or given more chances to shine, but complaining that she was written badly at the expense of Ike isn't exactly true; Micaiah's character is actually rather complex and her decisions make sense for who she is established to be as a character and the confines of the situations she finds herself in, and disliking a character (because she is admittedly rather difficult to like) is not the same as claiming that she is poorly written, just like how Celica's character is called poorly written because people disagree with her decisions: it's true that she could have been written better, but truthfully her decisions do make sense for who she is as a person. 

Finally, Ike's Radiant Dawn character ending is one I've noticed a lot of (straight) people disagree with, but given who he is, it also does make sense for him. Ike renounced his lordship and retreated into semi-anonymity after Path of Radiance because he felt uncomfortable in the world of politics and uncomfortable with his public reputation as Crimea's hero. After defeating Ashera and saving the populace from petrification with the blades she herself had blessed, as well as Yune's blessing and assistance, Ike's reputation as the hero of all of Tellius ("the Hero of the Blue Flames") would have been extremely difficult to avoid, and it is stated in the end of the game that everyone in Tellius knew his story and knew of him as a hero for a very long time. To remain in the known Tellius would have forced him to live with that reputation, and he has never been the sort of person who found any joy from being placed on a pedestal. Leaving allowed him to escape the constraints of his reputation, and while he did have to leave Mist to do so, he had never before this point done anything purely for himself, and living free of that burden is genuinely probably the best thing that he could have done for himself at that point in his life. (Also, it irritates me to no end when people complain that he has no paired ending with Elincia. He's gay. He has a boyfriend. Those are his paired endings. Get over it.)

[livesoffcoco]

Fire Emblem Heroes said gay rights with a Tellius valentine banner and specifically giving us Ike and Soren with matching bracelets

[variabels]

Fictober18 #13 Who does Ike like?

A/N: Gotta make up for the lack of chapter yesterday.

Words: idk

Fandom: Super Smash Bros

Ships: Daisy x Luigi, mentions of Ike x Soren and Link x Zelda

Who does Ike like?

Daisy couldn’t help but be fascinated with Ike’s life story. She really wanted to learn more. Everyone except her knew it. To learn more, Daisy decided she had to interview Ike’s friends.

Daisy went to the living room where she found a few of Ike’s friends. She chose to speak with Marth since she was sure he’d know who she was. He didn’t, but that didn’t really matter.

“Marth, could you tell me about Ike’s story?” the brunette begged.

“Why do you want to know his story?”

“Um...”

Daisy was embarrassed. She would appear stupid if she said she didn’t know it. So she lied and said she thought Peach got some facts wrong.

“What did Peach get wrong?”

“Um… The ending! The ending was definitely wrong! She said he never eloped with someone.”

“That’s weird, I thought Peach knew the whole story,” Link said, “I’m pretty sure she’d get the ending right.”

“Maybe she’s confusing her playthrough of Radiant Dawn with Ike’s story,” Roy suggested, “I don’t think she’s smart enough to know that Ike can have three different endings.”

“So, who does our Ike end up with?” Daisy asked.

Ike’s friends weren’t sure what to answer. They excused themselves to talk about it.

“I thought Daisy was into Luigi,” Roy whispered.

“Same here,” Marth added, “What do we tell her?”

“I know!” Link smiled, “Let’s just not tell her everything.”

“I’ve got a better idea. Let’s just say Peach was right.”

“Nah, I think I’ve got something better,” Roy smirked.

The trio returned to the princess ready to lie about Ike’s life story.

“Ike tells everyone that in another universe he eloped with someone but he actually just left with a big pile of meat,” the redhead lied.

“That… That actually makes sense,” the brunette replied shocking the trio.

Daisy left the living room and headed to the cafeteria. She wasn’t sure if she had been told the whole truth, but now was the time to confirm everything.

She found Ike eating with Pit. She interrupted their conversation to ask about the pile of meat.

“Ike has a secret pile of meat?” Pit gasped, “I didn’t know that!!”

“I thought everyone knew about it,” Ike said confused by the angel’s response, “It’s in the kitchen.”

“Not that one, the one you eloped with,” Daisy clarified, “Your friends told me you left Tellius with it in another universe and that you lied about eloping with someone.”

“Yeah, they like to say that to piss me off. I did leave with someone though.”

“W-who?”

“With my boyfriend, Soren.”

“Y-you actually have a boyfriend?”

“Yeah. I’ve gotta go, see you later.”

Daisy didn’t know what to say. She felt a hand placed on her shoulder.

“Try harder next time,” Zelda reassured her, “The harder the rejection, the better you’ll feel in the long term. Every princess here goes through an Ike phase. There’s something about him that attracts princesses, but he hates that since he hates nobility, titles and all that stuff. He’s also pretty gay.”

“What are you talking about? I’m not in love with Ike, I’m dating Luigi. I just wanted to know what the big deal with Ike’s story was.”

“Oh. I’m going to have to go speak with Link.”

Zelda confronted her boyfriend while Daisy went on a date with hers. Luigi found the day’s events funny and was glad Ike hadn’t stolen his girlfriend’s heart.

Daisy was Luigi’s pride after all. He loved her with all his heart. But above all, he loved that he had beaten his brother in something for once: love.

[2figs]

Regarding Ike & Soren’s Sexuality

I’m a little bored and I’m feeling pretty talkative and advocative right now so I’m gonna try and lay to rest an extremely bitter and long-lived shipping battle, and also throw my own opinion into the ring about Ike/Soren and their individual sexualities as characters, just for fun and because hey opinions, everyone has one!! So first I’ll have a section regarding why the controversy is unneeded, and then what my personal feelings on the ship are.

First of all, if you haven’t read amielleon’s write-up on Ike’s sexuality, I highly recommend you do so, link right here (warning, it’s long).: 

https://amielleon.dreamwidth.org/237826.html

You should read it if you’re interested, because I can tell you for a fact what I’m about to say isn’t going to amount to anything this person has said. It is a near perfect, un-biased essay on the Ike/Soren controversy and how to solve it. But nevertheless again I feel like talking so I’m gonna try re-iterate some of their points anyway.

My unbiased take on the ship:

They’re shipping characters from a video game! It doesn’t matter!! There are so many more things that are better to worry about, world hunger, clean water, teacher salaries, etc., and you’re worried about some anime fuck being gay or not gay?? Go outside and live a little.

Ha... sorry I got carried away there. Anyway like I said, it shouldn’t matter so much to you. Ike is my favorite fictional character of all time, and I don’t ever mind at all when I see people ship Ike/Soren, Ike/Elincia, Ike/Ranulf, etc., you know why? Because people can ship what they want, unless its morally wrong. It makes them happy, and you can’t take that happiness away from them with your opinion. It’s rude and it likely won’t help out either one of you in the situation.

There’s a lot of evidence for both sides of the argument, usually enough for either sides to reign victorious in an argument, to which then it usually comes down to one’s argumentative skills. (I won’t bother listing all of the evidence for both sides, you can check the link above for that.) The fact of the matter is the games make Ike and Soren’s canonical relationship out to be very vague because of the amount of evidence for both sides. It’s a problem that isn’t meant to be solved, and sometimes that’s ok. The dialogue in FE9 and FE10 are so vague that it can be interpreted either way. In a sense, I think this is great. It allows for everyone to have their own personal fun with the ship and have it still be convincing, and with that said I think it’s time for me to throw my hat into the ring.

My biased take on the ship (in other words, my opinion, which is by no means fact):

I don’t think Ike thinks about sexual identities or relationships, and I think Soren is basically Ike-sexual.

Soren:

Two quotes from Soren in particular make me think this way. One is Ike’s death quote in Radiant Dawn: “Ike... Please live... Even if all the cities burn, and the seas swallow Tellius... You mustn't die... Not you...” and the last line in the Japanese version of Ike and Soren’s support in Path of Radiance, which I can’t seem to find the quote for right now, but it was something along the lines of him saying Ike is the only one who is special to him. Soren has had some pretty traumatic experiences as a child (if you haven’t already find an article on his backstory regarding his near starvation and parental abuse.) And all of these experiences went away when Ike and Greil found him and offered him food and shelter. Ike is a savior to Soren, nearly a deity. I think his trauma was so hard on him that he developed some sort of savior complex to him, and has therefore shut everyone out in his life, save for Ike, which explains his antisocial behavior. His trauma is something very serious, and if it were to happen in real life, I think his behavior in the game isn’t too far off to what would actually happen. I think some people take his trauma too lightly and see Soren as an overall good person, without thinking about how much his trauma would realistically affect him. I actually think Soren is a very tragic character, and while he is aligned with the good guys, I think he’s only with the mercenaries because of Ike. He lashes out against his own comrades, particularly laguz in FE9, and even shows only small signs of improvement with his racism in FE10. I think if Ike didn’t exist and Soren somehow survived his childhood, he’d become a villain and an outlaw, using his magic to retaliate against those who rejected him for his brand.��

To conclude, Soren has a deep and complicated character that is explored plenty throughout FE9 and FE10, but in my opinion at the core of this character is his trauma, and Ike is involved in this trauma. He develops tragically undying love and devotion to Ike on almost a terrifying level because of his trauma, and it becomes even more tragic as Ike is unable to feel the same way.

Ike:

The short way of me explaining Ike’s sexuality his that he’s married to the job. In other words, being a mercenary. No, I’m not saying he’s asexual, I just don’t think he thinks about it at all. He just doesn’t care enough. His whole character revolves around him being a blunt and tireless warrior, who appreciates a good fight and challenge, but yet doesn’t love bringing up a sword in times of war. His job and lifestyle leaves little to no time for romance, and Ike has seen evidence of this in the case of his parents, Greil and Elena, as Greil eventually kills Elena, indirectly because of Greil’s life as a warrior. He’s always thinking about the next fight over romance, which is evident in the base conversation in FE10 when Ike almost pretends to romanticize the infatuated Aimee just to get a discount on war supplies.

In the iconic scene in FE10 where Ike offers a shoulder to cry on for Soren, I believe this is Ike simply sharing pain with someone. Ike has lost his parents to war, and has therefore suffered trauma similarly to Soren, but not nearly to as strong of a degree. I mean heck, this is war! Realistically speaking, some tears are gonna be shed at any given point, whether the characters want to or not, so just because Ike started getting all touchy-feely when Soren started bawling doesn’t mean he’s in love with Soren. It’s war, and people have to look out for each other during war. There’s also Ike’s paired ending with Soren in which they both disband the mercenaries and leave off on their own. I believe Ike, being the thrill-seeking warrior he his, went off to find a new challenge, and took Soren with him, not because they were on their honeymoon or something, but because it was his only option as Soren’s friend. Soren has seen and lived with too much to go back to living on his own, and his fixation on Ike doesn’t help much either. Ike knows this, and even though he knows Soren has huge glaring flaws and permanent trauma, Ike believes in giving everyone an equal chance at happiness life, so that no one suffers the same way he did. He fights for his friends after all! If Soren staying with Ike is enough to make Soren happy, then I’m sure Ike was happy to have him tag along.

I like to headcannon that over many years Ike managed to turn Soren into a much better person as he became wiser and older, maybe kinda like a mentor/older brother dynamic. But of course we all know because of his brand, Soren would live longer than Ike and would eventually have to live by his teachings alone, which I think makes for a great story of redemption.

To conclude, Ike/Soren has been a really fragile ship for nearly a decade, even though it really shouldn’t be. I can understand why some people see Ike/Soren as canon (I mean out of context, that crying cutscene is pretty darn gay lol), and I can see why other people don’t. However as fact, as apposed to Marth/Caeda, Ike/Soren isn’t canon. But however (again), nothing needs to be canon!! You can ship what you want, and think what you want about these characters, whatever makes you happy!! I know I feel happy after writing this post and sharing my thoughts on the ship, and I hope you feel happy as well. Happy happy happy. Thanks for reading.

[opendoorlorien]

What are your thoughts on soleil?

why the HELL isnt she the lesbian bi option in this game!?!?!?! INTELLIGENT SYSTEMS, TELL ME WHY.I'm honestly constantly BOGGLED by the fact you can't gay-marry her if you want to. It just doesnt make any sense!! WHERE IS THE JUSTICE.

K the thing is, Soleil along with pretty much all the other child characters in Fates are generally "okay dudes" to me. I mean unlike the Awakening kids, I haven't used them very much. I dont have anything against the Fates kids, but like I said when I was talking about Dwyer, I have no real incentive to use them because across the board they just generally arent very good combat units. Added to that I think all merc units in Conquest kinda suck lol. Selena started out good but then became incredibly meh and I think Laslow is only a little better, so I expect Soleil would be much the same in this case--although I always have wanted to try using her, but Conquest is the kinda route that if a unit can't pull their weight then there's no real use using them, you know? If they don't pay off then then they'll just be a determent, and with no grinding there's no real chance to replace them with someone else (not that it's impossible, it just takes more effort and time you don’t want to waste)So, yeah, she always gets benched unfortunately LOL. Also because of that I havent seen very many of her supports. I havent even seen her B and A with both her father or her mother (although I'm expecting feels in her support with Laslow lol. There's always feels to be had here.)

Aside from that I also think I've seen her support with Forrest and Ophelia and I think that's about it. Personality wise I dont mind her. I kind of like the flirty characters in FE because all of them come off as kind of endearing (YES EVEN VIRION. I DONT WANT TO HEAR ANYONE SAY ANYTHING BAD ABOUT HIM). And since Soleil is a girl it makes it even better... for me anyway. Like it’s unique, you know. I think the only other female flirt we’ve ever gotten was in the Tellius games. 

Although I've heard some people dont like how VERY strong she comes on to Ophelia in their support, especially when Ophelia wants NONE of it. And I can understand and sympathize with this, but I dont really see Soleil to be a threat so I'm not really worried. But because of this, I can’t really get behind the ship. Like thematically and symbolically it makes sense, but when you look at their supports, the majority of it is just Soleil chasing after Ophelia and Ophelia running for her LIFE.

I like her design and her voice A LOT (her VA is 100% on point as with Nyx) and I would also say Soleil's recruitment map is one of the funnest, possibly most challenging, and most interesting use of strategy in the game. What I like about Conquest maps is that there's always much more than one way to go through them. And using debris to open up and block routes into the town creates a TON of interesting situations and varied, constantly changing gameplay...........although when I do her map at least one of her buddies always dies x(

And I know Laslow said Soleil was a free spirit and he didnt want to tie her down, BUT KEEP WATCH ON YOUR KID DUDE, SHE'S FLIPPED OUT OF HER DEEPREALM AGES AGO AND IS LEADING ROUGE MERCENARY BANDS ALL OVER THE COUNTRY WYD.

I also dont know if you want me to talk about her controversial support with M Corrin in the japanese. And I'm not sure if I really even can because I actually havent read it myself. I think people might have been blowing it a bit too far out of proportion, but what was originally there in that support was a subject matter that really could have been taken the wrong way, which it WAS, even if it wasn’t actually meant in a sinister or bad way, you know. But that’s all I got.

All in all I think she's a good kid though. If I was ranking her on a scale she'd probably be one of my more liked child units. Also having her gives you more of a reason to marry Laslow than in FEA, am I right.

[four-loose-screws]

Ike x Soren Radiant Dawn Endgame Secret Conversation - Translation

Getting furious over localizations is nothing new for Fire Emblem fans. After playing Radiant Dawn back when it came out, I heard news of a secret conversation between Ike and Soren that could be unlocked in the very final map of the endgame chapter. I looked it up on YouTube and found masses of Fire Emblem fans angered that it had been censored for the Western release, to remove connotations that Ike and Soren have romantic feelings for each other. 

Well, while looking through the Radiant Dawn Tellius Recollection book, I found the conversation in Japanese, and decided that it was time to finally lay this case to rest. (Not that I’m the first person to do so, though.)

TLDR: Some lines were added in the backstory part of the conversation. But it’s not any more gay in the Japanese than it is in the localized English.

[セネリオ]

アイク……　その… あなたは…もしかして……▼

Soren: Ike… um… Did you… maybe……

[アイク]

忘れてて、すまなかった。▼

Ike: I forgot. I’m sorry.

[セネリオ]

！▼

Soren: !

[アイク]

思い出した、全部。 ガリアでのことを…… お前と出会った時のことを。▼

Ike: But I remembered everything. About Gallia…… and how I met you.

[セネリオ]

………あ……………▼

Soren: ………Oh……………

[アイク]

あの日…… 母さんはミストを連れて 買い物に出かけ、▼ 俺は…街をぶらぶらしながら 森の入り口のほうへ向かった。 そこに黒い髪の男の子が倒れていた。▼

Ike: On that day…… Mother took Mist shopping, and I… walked to the entrance of the forest while wandering around town. I found a black haired boy lying there.

[セネリオ]

…………▼

Soren: …………

[アイク]

俺と同じぐらいの年に見えたが…… ひどく細くて汚れていて いまにも死んでしまいそうだった。▼ 俺は自分の昼飯を差し出した。▼ 最初は警戒していたようだが おそるおそる俺の手から 食べ物を��ったくると夢中で食べていた。▼ 俺はもう食べるものをもってなくて うちに来ればいいと誘ってみたが その子は首を振るばかりだった。▼

Ike: He appeared to be about the same age as me… he was very, very thin and dirty. He looked like he was about to die. I gave him my lunch. At first, he was wary of me, but he timidly took the food from my hands and ate it ravenously. I didn’t have any more food, so I told him it was okay to come to my house, but he just shook his head.

[セネリオ]

…………▼

Soren: …………

[アイク]

じゃあ明日また同じ時間に ここに食べ物を持ってくるからというと、 ずいぶん時間をかけてからやっと頷いた。▼ あのとき俺は、自分がはじめて 人の役に立った気がして嬉しかったんだ。▼

Ike: So I said, “Okay then, I’ll come here at the same time tomorrow with food!” and he hesitated, but then nodded. That was the first time I felt that I had helped someone, so I was very happy.

[セネリオ]

……僕も…嬉しかった。 飢餓が満たされたことより、▼ 自分に声をかけて 助けてくれる人がいたことが…… とても…嬉しかったんです。▼ だから次の日も…村へ。 村人たちの冷たい仕打ちにあうのは 怖かったけど…それでも……▼ Soren: ……I was… happy, too. My stomach was full, but…… what made really happy… was that someone reached out to me and helped me. So the next day… I also went into town. I was afraid… that the villagers would be cold and cruel to me, but I went anyway… And then…

[アイク]

………そうか。 あそこはガリアだったからな。▼ べオクたちは ラグズとの揉め事を避けるために “印”のある子供に冷たかったんだな？▼

Ike: ………That’s right. That was in Gallia. The beorc wanted to avoid conflict with the laguz, who would shun a “Branded” child, so they were cold to you, right?

[セネリオ]

ええ…疫病神だと言われ 石をぶつけられました。▼ だけど、村は様変わりしていた。 そこら中に散らばる死体。 村人と…鎧をつけた兵士たち……▼

Soren: Yes… they said I was a god of the plague and threw rocks at me. But then, the village changed completely. There were dead bodies scattered around everywhere. They were the villagers… and even the soldiers clad in armor…

[アイク]

…メダリオンの【負】の気で 暴走した親父が…やったことだ。▼

Ike: …That was when my father was taken over by the negative energy of the medallion… and went on a rampage.

[セネリオ]

僕は、あなたがいないかと 死体を１つ１つ調べてまわりました。 そして…そこにあなたはいなかった。▼ だからきっと生きていると思い 村にあるお金と食べ物を持って べオクの国クリミアを目指したんです。▼

Soren: You weren’t there, so I examined the dead bodies one-by-one. And… you weren’t one of them. So, thinking that you were still alive, I took some money and food from the village, and headed for the beorc nation of Crimea.

[アイク]

…セネリオ……▼

Ike: …Soren……

[セネリオ]

その道中の樹海で、 幾度も獣牙族に遭遇しました。▼ 初めは恐ろしくて震えましたが、 襲われたことは ただの一度もありませんでした。▼

何度めかに気付きましたが…… 獣たちは、僕の何かを察知し それで見えないように振舞うのだと。▼ 見る目でわかるんです。▼ いきなり、さも汚い物を見るような 蔑んだ冷たい眼差しを向け その後、何も見なかったかのように去る。▼

それは…ある意味、襲われるよりも ずっと心を冷たくする行為でした。▼

自分はこの世に存在してはいけない者。 ただそこに居るだけで 嫌悪されるモノなのだと………▼ 僕は…自分にそんな思いをさせる 獣を憎みました。▼

Soren: While traversing the dense woods, I encountered many from the beast tribe. At first, they made me tremble with fear, but not once did they attack me. Then I noticed what happened each time…… The beasts would sense something about me, and then act as if they could not see me. I knew what they thought of me. Suddenly, they would look down on me with a cold stare, as if they had seen something dirty, and then, they would walk away pretending that they had not seen anything. That… was an act that froze my heart even more than attacking me. I am a being that should not exist in this world. I am a being that is hated just for existing……… That’s… how the hatred of the beasts made me think about myself.

[アイク]

…………▼

Ike: …………

[セネリオ]

クリミアについた僕は 一番近い教会を訪ねました。▼

そこでは、僕の“印”が役立ち 魔道の才のある子だということで それなりの世話が受けられました。▼ 話し方や一般的な常識を学んだ僕は、 クリミア国内を数年さ迷って…… やっと…あなたを見つけた。▼

Soren: Once I arrived in Crimea, I visited the closest church. The people there cared for me as a child who had the brand of a Spirit Charmer. Once I had learned how to speak and behave normally, I wandered Crimea for many years…… until… I found you.

[アイク]

…だが、俺は……▼

Ike: …And I had……

[セネリオ]

あなたは記憶を失くしていた。▼ だけど…それでもよかった。 僕はただもう一度だけ あなたに会いたかっただけだから。▼ ただ１人だけ…僕に 暖かい手を差し伸べてくれた 少年に会いたかっただけだから。▼

Soren: You had forgotten. But… I was still happy. I just wanted to see you one more time. I just wanted to see that boy. The one person who had extended a helping hand to me.

[アイク]

セネリオ、泣くな。▼

Ike: Soren, don’t cry.

[セネリオ]

泣く…？ 僕は……泣いて…？▼

Soren: Cry…? I’m…… crying…?

[アイク]

おまえ、頭がいいのに 普通のことが下手くそすぎだ。▼ ほら、来い。▼

Ike: You’re smart, but really bad with normal stuff. Come here.

[セネリオ]

こ、子供扱いしないでください。 僕は……そんな…………▼

Soren: D-Don’t treat me like a child! I’m not…… like that…………

[アイク]

いいから。▼

Ike: C’mon.

[セネリオ]

………▼

Soren: ………

[アイク]

ったく、世話の焼ける。▼

Ike: Jeez, I’ll come to you then.

（アイク近づく）

(Ike moves closer to Soren)

[アイク]

ほら。▼

Ike: It’s okay.

[セネリオ]

……っ…▼ う……っ　う…うぅ…… うわぁああああああああああ うわぁああああああああああぁっ▼

Soren: ……Ah… Wah…… Wah…Waaaah…… Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah Waaaaaaaaaaaaah…

Localization:

Soren: Ike… Um… Were you joking when you said you couldn’t remember how we met? Ike: Well, sorta. It was a long time ago. Soren: How could you forget? Ike: Relax, Soren. I got to thinking, and I remembered. I remember what happened in Gallia on the day we first met. Soren: Ike… Ike: Mother had gone shopping with Mist that day. I was wandering around the village all alone. I walked to the edge of the forest, looking for a stick I could pretend was a sword. There was a raven-haired boy lying on the ground. Soren: I remember the huge oak tree by the clearing… I’d been sleeping in the hollow by the roots. Ike: He looked like he was my age. He was as skinny as a twig, wearing rags and covered in dirt. He looked like he was near death. I took out my lunch and I handed it to him. He made a noise like a scared animal and shied away. He was suspicious of me at first, but eventually he took my sandwich and started to eat. It was like he’d never eaten before in his life. I didn’t have anything else to feed him, so I told him to come to my house. But he kept shaking his head no. Soren: I was afraid you were going to trick me. Afraid that you were going to chase me away after taunting me with food, just for a laugh… Ike: I told the boy that I’d bring him some food the next day at the same time and place. He finally nodded when I said that. It made me happy. I felt like I was doing something right, helping this boy. Like I was the only one who’d do that. Soren: …I was happy, too. Not just because I wasn’t hungry anymore. Because someone finally would talk to me. So I went back to the village again the next day. I was scared of the other villagers and their rocks and sticks, but I still went back. Ike: That’s right. That was Gallia back then. The beorc abused and tormented the Branded because the laguz shunned them. They wanted to avoid upsetting the laguz. Soren: The villagers threw stones at me, called me an animal and a devil. But on the next day, the village was littered with corpses. Soldiers and peasants were in a panic. Ike: It was my dad. He went crazy when the spirit of chaos in the medallion touched him. Soren: I walked through the empty streets, checking bodies to see if you were dead. But I couldn’t find you. I decided that you had to be alive. I took money and food from the village and headed for Crimea, a land of beorcs. Ike: Soren… Soren: On my way to Crimea, I kept seeing laguz from the beast tribe. They were terrifying, but after a while I realized something. They never attacked me. They all seemed to notice something about me, and then pretend they couldn’t see me. That look was burned into my mind, and it was always the same. They’d scowl, then walk away like they’d never noticed me. In a way, that left me feeling colder and more alone than if they’d attacked me. Hate… That I could understand. This was denial. They made me feel like I wasn’t supposed to exist at all. That my simply being alive was an affront to the world. That was how the beasts treated me. And I hated them for it. It sat in my heart like a lead bar. Like a glacier. Ike: … Soren: When I reached Crimea, I took refuge in a church along the way. They took my brand to be a sign that I had been trained in the arcane arts. They took good care of me, and taught me things. Once I had learned to speak and behave like other people, I wandered Crimea for several years. Then I finally found you. Ike: But I’d… Soren: Yes. You’d forgotten that day in Gallia. But I didn’t care. My only wish was to see you again. I just wanted to see the only boy who had held out a warm hand when I had nothing. Ike: Soren… Don’t cry. Soren: Don’t cry? What? I’m not crying… Ike: Soren, you’re smart, but you’re no good when it comes to your emotions. Come over here. Soren: D-don’t treat me like I’m a child! I’m not that– Ike: Come on. Soren: Shut up! Shut up… Ike: Then I’ll come over to you. Ike: It’s all in the past, Soren… Soren: …Sniff… Sniff… Gwuh… Wahhhhhhhh! Ahhhhhhh!