#This works better with present!Lucina

[veriana-rose]

Chrom: “Lucina, what are you wearing to [enter important formal event here].”

Lucina: “Oh! Father, I’m so glad you asked. See, I picked out—“

Chrom: “…Actually, never mind. I’m sorry but I’ll have to ask Lissa to help.”

Lucina: *visibly deflates but accepts it*

[ruthofroses]

I introduced my best friend to Omega Strikers since me and my other friend needed a third teammate. My best friend (I’ll call her Lucina) decided to play Era to buff my other friend (Let’s go with Ike) while he played X.

Well when we finally went into normal mode Ike totally stomped the other team as X, getting some great awakenings (Quickstrike, Cast, etc) and we absolutely obliterated the other team. But the entire time Lucina was just losing it over, to quote, “X’s himbo lines.” She kept saying how it was super funny Era was so quiet compared to her loud teammate. I was playing Asher goalie and didn’t really score, just kept the ball away from the enemies. But we all worked very well together, and she did pretty good for a relatively new player.

Lucina likes to ship characters / write fanfics (I do too but weirdly enough I haven’t done so with Omega Strikers characters) so when she found out Era liked Kai in canon and not X she was absolutely FUMING. We all had a long laugh (alongside her, dw) and she literally made a whole Google Slides presentation on why Era and X would be a better couple than Era and Kai. Ike and I sat through it, not really partial to either side but finding it incredibly amusing. Literally one of the slides was just “himbo with a goth gf is one of the best dynamics in fiction” with the line beneath it saying “screw you daddy issues.”

I’m still baffled this all happened literally just because Ike and I wanted a third teammate so we didn’t have to suffer solo-queue goalies or backwards forwards.

( I could upload an image or two of the slideshow but I’m on my phone right now and not my laptop, might add it later lmao. )

EDIT: Reblogged with the images, enjoy.

[pryings]

An opportunity to talk to Knoll never quite presented itself during their last hours in the tears. Now that things are calmer, Knoll is the first teammate Alcryst seeks out.

"Hello Knoll... I'm very happy you're safe." That's one of the benefits of being brought back to life, he supposes. No real casualties. Knoll looks like he's seen better days, but he is alive and that's what matters. What brief smile comes at the thought quickly fades when Alcryst turns to the real question he wants to ask:

"Um... I heard that something went on in between my death and the deaths of three others, including Lucina... that people were stabbed? Lucina and Leo did not want to say anything... and I don't think Ares recalled much of the incident... please, tell me what happened."

knoll is surprised to see alcryst again upon their return. he shouldn't be, they do work in the same monastery, after all, but he is. he inclines his head toward the archer, a polite gesture.

he's tired, but that's to be expected. he isn't dead, and when he thinks long and hard about it he supposes he would rather not be dead, so this is fine. alcryst is alive, too, which is good. he had worried about him, when he'd disappeared. a casualty of disease, he'd been informed, and then nothing until that wretched debate.

the question posed is one he'd been expecting, a mystery for the others, and while he is grateful to lucina and leo for their discretion, it is clear that this mystery has worked itself under alcryst's skin, like a grain of sand in an open wound. he doesn't want to be the cause of distress, or wondering.

"yes. lucina, ares, and leo were stabbed. i can only tell you my part. lucina... was weakened by the illness. i doubt i could have stabbed her at her best. but i did not want everyone to get sick." his hands twist over one another, uncertainty in his voice.

"ewan was insisting there could be another way, but fighting illness itself does not make anything better, it only allows the rot to fester. i did not want anyone else getting sick, and i wanted to test the blades, see how they'd function. does... does that clear things up?"

[fehtism]

Hi, it's me again 😶‍🌫️

I come requesting knowledge for a good Warrior Princess - Hinoka build if you can.

I summoned her this morning and I love her sm she is my wife.

hi ! thank you for your ask

Hinoka has a rather middling speed stat so this build tries to stack as much speed as possible cause her other stats are not really worth boosting ...

good news for you is that due to my late reply divine codes part 5 has been announced ! every skill shown in this build (INCLUDING THE ARCANE LANCE) will be obtainable using only divine codes part 5 : )

arcane qiang and arcane luin are both great arcane lances though qiang is actually slightly better for this build due to the extra special charges it grants. arcane luin is shown here due to rearmed ingrid being in divine codes part 5

no quarter is the special of choice for the damage reduction piercing ... due to the fact that you will be able to get it for free i won't really recommend alternatives here.

atk/spd clash works well with the movement buff from the rein snap skill in her c slot. it's also great for use on teams with an ally with soaring guidance (or the echo version of that). atk/spd clash 4 will be available on the rearmed lucina combat manual though that's arguably a waste of her fodder. clash 4 is on quite a few other units (so you may have it available and not realize) and otherwise you can run atk/spd catch 4 which is available from quite a few units in divine codes part 4.

cheapest way to get catch 4 is from the summer dimitri combat manual in divine codes 4

as for her b slot skill... aerial maneuvers is a great option but it is super premium as it's only available on legendary elincia. guard bearing 4 can be inherited from rearmed ingrid alongside arcane luin making it an easy b slot option. it provides damage reduction without a stat check being required.

you can also run wings of mercy 3/4 in her b slot to get the most out of her clash skill without using aerial maneuvers.

fliers have an abundance of great c slot options but one of my favorites is the rein snap skill. it provides the rein effect (stat debuff against foes within 2 spaces) as well as +1 movement to user and melee armor/infantry allies within 2 spaces. (movement buff will not apply on user if no applicable allies are within range). s/d rein snap will be available in divine codes part 5 from bride say'ri.

if you want to use her on a more flier oriented team then you can use soaring guidance which will also be present in the divine codes. another option is atk/spd oath 4 for the warping effect (extra movement for the clash skill) oath 4 is in divine codes part 4 but it will be cheaper in part 5.

the units needed for the above build are:

winter dimitri (no quarter)

rearmed ingrid (arcane luin, guard bearing 4)

rearmed lucina/other unit with clash (atk/spd clash 4)

bride say'ri (s/d rein snap)

the sacred seal is really flexible i just put atk/spd catch because it is an easy +5 atk/spd in combat. you could also use dist. counter melee or another atk/spd boosting seal or iotes shield (if you care about fliers)

hope this helps !!!!

[fiction-box]

Fortuitous Company

F!Alear x Alfred

Requests are open. The story will continue under the cut.

“Emblem Corrin, how would you describe your family?” Alear asked, running a soft cloth over the draconic princess’ ring.

The cozy space of the ring chamber granted peace and respite from the clamor of life on the Somniel. Here, Alear felt like she could breathe. The emblems tended to be much more relaxed and forgiving when it came to socializing, and silences never felt awkward in this place; it provided a safe escape. 

“Each and every one of my siblings possess their own strength. My older siblings take on swarms of enemies without so much as flinching. My younger brothers are incredibly smart and dedicated, and my younger sisters love sharing their kindness with everyone.”

“Wow,” the Divine Dragon furrowed her brow, working at a particularly stubborn strip of tarnish on Corrin’s band, “you have so many siblings.”

“Yes, though it wasn’t always that way. My father locked me away in a fortress for much of my life, keeping me away from half of my family.”

“How awful!” she paused her motions. “There seems to be a lot about you that I don’t know.”

“There is no better time to strengthen our bond than the present,” the Vallite royal smiled. “In fact, I believe there is a place in Firene that reminds me of my time with them.”

“Really?” the Divine One’s eyes widened, her hands folding the cloth neatly before resting it back in its place. “Then we should go there - maybe we can jog your memory a bit more. You might even find a new power in the same way Lucina and Lyn could.”

Corrin placed her hand to her cheek, “I must admit, it does sound like fun. Not to mention I would be more helpful to you with that kind of power.”

“Great, then let’s do it! I’ll gather everyone else.”

Finished with polishing the ring, Alear slipped it onto her own finger and strode out the door.

~~~

“Is everyone ready?”

A small portion of Alear’s army gathered under the open sky at the center of the plaza, ready to depart to Firene.

“I did a head count,” Framme placed her hands on her hips. “Everyone is here and accounted for, Divine One!”

“Emblem Corrin, could you please describe this place to me one last time? I want to be absolutely certain,” Alfred frowned.

“Of course. It is a plain with a winding river dividing it in three. There are two bridges, and small patches of trees on the outskirts of the plains.”

The blond gave a polite smile and a nod, “Got it. I know where we’re going. Thank you, Corrin.”

“By all means, lead the way,” Princess Ivy urged.

So it was that Alfred left the Somniel first with Lucina at his side. Alear followed a moment after him, landing on the soft grass and getting her first look at her surroundings.

Unfortunately, any pleasant view she had anticipated was currently blocked by a band of corrupted.

There were way too many for it to be a coincidence. For them to have been located exactly where Alear’s group planned to touch ground…

“Divine One, look out!”

Ducking and rolling before she could think, the Divine Dragon managed to dodge just in time as a lick of violet lightning scorched the ground where she once stood.

“Oh dear, I missed.”

A familiar white-haired mage soared just out of reach, her tome balanced between her hand and her arm. Beneath her, a horde of corrupted soldiers wheezed and moaned, waiting expectantly for a command. The sea of red eyes unnerved Alear, though the pressing discomfort eased slightly at Corrin’s presence beside her. Aware of the danger in which she found herself, the heterochromic royal rose to her feet once more.

“Zephia!” Alfred called, his eyebrows lowering, “What are you doing in Firene?”

She frowned, “So much for my little surprise. No matter. I suppose nothing has been ruined yet, seeing you don’t know why I’m here.”

“You won’t be staying long. Take your army and leave,” Alear drew her sword.

“Oh, I won’t be letting you off that easy. You’re meddling in my affairs, children; I think you’re the ones that ought to be punished.”

“Lucina!” Alfred called, the warrior princess appearing only to vanish in the next moment, melding her powers with Firene’s prince.

Zephia smirked, letting out a single laugh before lazily waving her dark army to attack.

Groups of corrupted rushed the two. Defending themselves proved difficult, though it became considerably less challenging when more friends funneled down from the Somniel. Each gave the same reaction: surprise, then determination. Thankfully, they knew now was not the time for questions. First Diamant touched down, then Alcryst and Ivy followed with Framme not far behind them.

The group gradually began to spread out as they covered more ground, their safety assured by Lucina and Alfred’s bond. If anyone found himself in trouble, the prince of Firene rode to his side in a flash.

Regardless, Alear couldn’t keep her mind off the steady beat of wyvern wings in the distance. Zephia hadn’t moved from her spot, yet the Divine One could feel eyes on her no matter where she fought.

Why wasn’t she doing anything?

Clangs of metal and flashes of magic swirled about the plain. Slowly, they progressed, and Alear took to cutting down strays while Diamant and Ivy insisted upon charging ahead. Corrin would help her when it came time to rejoin the others.

The passage of time and the difficulty of the battle took its toll on the emblems, just like always. Alfred’s time with Lucina ended after the fourth wave fell to Alear’s army.

Apparently, that’s all the invitation Zephia needed.

“Celica!”

Everyone’s eyes snapped to the dragon mage at her outcry. She remained in their line of sight for mere moments prior to vanishing, wyvern and all.

“Stay aler-!”

Prince Diamant never finished his warning. Sombron’s right hand woman materialized just paces away from Alear. The Divine Dragon froze in shock.

“While we’re here, I have a new spell I’d like to try,” the tome in her hand darkened, wispy shadows spiraling from the pages and shooting into Alear’s chest.

With a shaky gasp, the swordswoman staggered back a step.

“You wouldn’t mind being my subject, yes? Certainly not now that you are isolated from your friends?”

What did she…?

Looking up, Alear caught a glance of Ivy racing toward her location. The Elusian’s eyes darkened, lips in a thin line that parted only once.

“Lyn!”

A green flash tore through the sky, dividing into five streaks that each landed upon Zephia’s wyvern. The beast lost its balance, flapping wildly in the air and releasing a horrible screech.

Unfortunately, the woman regained control just in time to dodge a follow-up strike from Diamant.

…I don’t feel anything. I feel completely fine…?

Stepping forward, the Divine One pointed her blade to the sky.

“Return Celica to us,” she ordered. “Take off your ring and surrender.”

Zephia’s only response sounded in a click of a tongue against the teeth, “You will not be in a position to demand anything soon enough.”

Immediately, she yanked the reins of her wyvern. The wings of the beast flapped mightily through its pain, every remaining wave of corrupted enclosing upon Alear’s army seemingly to assist the mage’s escape.

“She’s getting away!” Alcryst cried, firing at the horde targeting Alear while Lapis covered his flank

Alfred called back, “She’s retreating to the coast!”

Nobody could do anything, though. There were too many bodies between them and the ocean to even think of cutting her off.

“Why would she be so eager,” Diamant grunted, cutting down another humanoid monster, “to abandon not only her mission, but her army too?”

“Perhaps she values her life more,” Ivy supplied.

It took time - much more than Alear would have liked to admit - before the numbers subsided. Weapons and shattered vulneraries sprinkled the ground, scattered from either breaking or from their wielder’s death. 

Corrin turned to Alear only after the last opponent fell, worry written upon her features, “How are you feeling?”

“Tired,” she grimaced, “but I’m glad we intercepted Zephia today rather than let her go through with her plan. Who knows what awful things could have happened with an army that size?”

The silver-haired princess looked no less worried at her response. Her eyes scanned over Alear, a light frown pulling at her lips.

“I promise, I feel nothing out of the ordinary. Whatever Zephia did to me…she did say it was a new spell. Maybe it failed to work?”

“Sometimes things are not always as simple as they appear,” Corrin responded. “The things we fight against…though they are not always visible to the eye, you should never let your guard down. That’s a lesson I had to learn very well.”

“Right…we should at least head back to the Somniel to rest. We can try for the plains again some other time.”

“Good idea.”

~~~

“Well, it appears nothing is wrong. I ran every test imaginable, as I am certain Framme can attest to. If Zephia’s spell truly harmed you, I see no symptoms or evidence that you’re in danger.”

“Thank you, Ivy-”

“Nonetheless, I suggest that you rest. While I am…unsure…what Zephia did, one can never be too careful when it comes to a woman like her.”

The fabric of Ivy’s orchid dress ruffled at Alear’s bedside when the princess lifted herself from her chair. She put a hand to her lady’s shoulder, guiding her head to her pillow before turning to the door. Framme picked up the seat, setting it aside before leaving to walk out with her.

“Sleep now. I will run through the tests again when you wake.”

With Alear’s nod, the door shut with a light click.

A moment passed.

Then, another moment.

A sigh.

Alear turned onto her side. Her eyes faced the door, and her knees were pulled toward her chest. It was strange; her body felt heavy with fatigue, yet her eyelids refused to remain closed. 

It became especially difficult when a flash of silver and blue light flared against her eyelids.

“Is there anything I can do to help you relax?”

“Oh, Corrin!” her eyelids fluttered, “I’m so sorry! Please, allow me to return your ring to the chamber.”

A small giggle faded into the night, “I don’t mind. If it would make you feel better, I was actually about to suggest that I stay with you, just in case. Would that put you more at ease?”

Realizing she had subconsciously twisted the white sheets of her bed between her fingers, Alear frowned.

“I suppose I have been a bit on edge ever since Zephia hit me with…whatever that was,” she agreed. “Thank you, Corrin. I promise I’ll clean the ring thoroughly as soon as I get up tomorrow.”

“After Ivy checks in on you, you mean,” the Vallite smiled warmly. “There’s no need to rush. I’m here with you.”

For how many allies Alear accrued, hearing such phrases came to be a surprisingly scarce event. It made her feel safe, and she considered herself both happy and lucky to have someone like Corrin by her side.

“I do think it would be best if you got some sleep, though. The best thing you can do for yourself right now is rest.”

It was worth a shot, especially now that she knew someone nearby would support her if anything happened.

“Right. Good night, Corrin.”

“Sleep well.”

Luckily, after a few minutes, exhaustion finally caught up to Alear’s mind. Sleep claimed her, and she drifted into slumber.

~~~

“When the sun is almost a quarter of the way across the sky, you can wake the Divine One,” Ivy had lectured him last night. “Please no earlier than that. She needs rest tonight, understood?”

Alfred didn’t think he had that strange of a sleeping schedule. He would always count the number of hours he slept, and the prince always double-checked when it came to the Divine One’s rest.

Unfortunately, seven hours of sleep never seemed to cut it for his friends.

“Maybe it would be better if she woke up naturally, today,” Framme shrugged at her breakfast, Alfred sitting across from her.

“But Framme, if nothing really is wrong, there should be no issue with waking her up at a normal hour,” he argued. “Besides, it’s been more than enough time for her to have gotten proper sleep.”

She sighed, “Coming from you, Alfred, I’m not so sure about that.”

It was true, though. Ivy even told him - just under a quarter of the way across the sky.

Well, the sun crossed more than a quarter of the sky. Waking Alear up now could count as late.

Firene’s first prince stood with furrowed brows, excusing himself from the table. Clearing his plate prior to returning it to the countertop, Alfred made sure to thank Clanne, who happily accepted the dish. One step after the other, he crossed the dining area to reach the stairwell. The stairs clicked lightly underneath his feet until the blond found himself in front of the Divine Dragon’s door.

Politely, he knocked once, receiving no response just like every other time. Alfred’s hand latched onto the door as he let himself inside the room.

“Divine One?” he called, approaching her bed. “It’s time to wake up now.”

The following silence formed her answer, and Alfred couldn’t help but smile.

“Should I go grab my flute again?” he teased. “Or maybe you would rather I do some more training?”

Arriving at her bedside, Alfred paused. 

Alear appeared abnormally still. In fact, the cavalier was unsure if her chest even drew breath.

“Hey,” he extended his hand to grab her own, “It really is time to get-!”

She felt colder than death.

The prince recoiled, “Divine One? Alear?” 

No matter how he tried, she would not stir.

“Alear! Please, wake up! You can’t go back to sleep - not now! We all need you, and I can’t…”

Gathering his thoughts, he turned and raced out of her room, careening into the balcony railing and calling for help.

~~~

She had been trapped here since her consciousness had awoken. Her body was asleep, she knew, but her mind was aware and fighting.

Black and purple tendrils of darkness threatened to pull Alear into the wispy ground beneath her, which formed a darkness she had not yet come to know. Her only thought was that it might be death, and she thrashed with all of her being to avoid it.

“Help! Please, someone help me!’ she called. The Divine One never imagined she could sound so desperate. Death leaves one vulnerable to all sorts of new experiences, she supposed.

“Can anyone hear me?” fighting it exhausted her. “Help!”

I’m here!

“Princess Corrin?”

I’m here! I’m with you, Alear! she called back.

The emblem was there, and she was not there. Something prevented her from reaching through the darkness, but she told the truth, Alear knew. Corrin’s presence remained with her.

In taking that small comfort, her body felt invigorated. A familiar power flowed through her as the Divine Dragon committed herself to continue clawing and pulling at the coils clasping at her limbs.

The Vallite royal’s essence bled through the void, Don’t give up! I’m lending my strength to you, so keep fighting! I’m sure I can think of something and get you help!

Alear could only pray that she would hurry.

~~~

Prince Alfred, Framme, Princess Ivy, and Prince Diamant were the only ones allowed in the upper chamber. Clanne volunteered to place himself on duty outside the door while the others went to work.

The women examined Alear’s limp form, attempting to find some rational explanation as to what the draconic mage inflicted upon their leader. The men remained in the room in case of an emergency or complication. If extra materials were needed, they could run to get them, and if Zephia intended to try anything nefarious, they stood at the ready to fight.

“Well,” Framme concluded, “the Divine One is still alive, at least. Her pulse is strong.”

After a few minutes, Ivy frowned. She pressed down on Alear’s torso before watching the dragon’s ring flash and her chest extend.

“I believe it’s Lady Corrin we have to thank for her survival. Zephia…she stopped her lungs.”

“What?” Alfred panicked.

“Fear not; her emblem seems to be manually pulling in air. Our leader will continue to survive so long as she keeps her ring, and so long as Corrin continues to help.”

If Alear had chosen not to wear her ring to bed…

“Lady Corrin, can you hear me?” Framme tried. “Could you come out and talk to us?”

One moment of silence turned into three before a flash of light yielded the silver-haired princess to them.

“Good, I’m so glad her friends are here to help her,” Corrin gave a sad smile. “She’s in trouble.”

Diamant stepped forward, “We figured. Do you know what’s going on?”

“Not exactly - it’s so dark. There’s something preventing me from reaching her. She’s practically suffocating in black magic. I’ve been doing my best to lend her my strength, but it won’t last.”

The plum-haired princess sighed, “It is times like these that I lament the loss of Celica. She would have known how to expel such darkness.”

A heavy wave of despair blanketed the room. How could they stand around the Divine One’s deathbed doing nothing while she suffered?

Suddenly, Framme perked up, “Wait, Celica told me about something! The rings she helped us forge - her friends were infused in them. She said someone from her world known as Mae grew up with her and learned similar magic.”

“Really?” Alfred pressed, “Do you have Mae’s ring?”

Framme nodded, “It’s in the Ring Chamber. Surely Mae knows how to expel the darkness from Alear like Celica does, right?”

“Only one way to find out,” Firene’s first prince called on his way out of the room. He apologized to Clanne for almost hitting him with the door as he practically fell down the stairs.

The cold breath of the Ring Chamber sharpened his senses as the blond scanned his eyes over the displays. In his haste, he forgot to ask Framme what the ring looked like.

Stupid, stupid, stupid.

“That one!”

Lucina’s voice shocked him only for a moment when she materialized at his side. He shook himself out of the small stupor, his gaze following her finger to a ring with an amethyst hue.

“...Mae?”

The small halo beamed in reply; the only answer Alfred permitted himself the patience to wait for prior to snatching it off its stand.

Out the door and back up the stairs he strode, thankful for all the training he committed to each day if only to get him back to the Divine One sooner. Clanne, recalling the incident from just a minute ago, opened the door for him this time to avoid getting hit again.

Slowing down, Alfred held out the jewel to Framme, the steward urgently slipping it onto her finger.

“Mae?”

Framme’s eyes flashed before she began recounting their situation. After a moment, she placed her hand over Alear’s pulse.

“...Okay…yeah…” the girl turned to Ivy and Corrin. “Mae says she can’t fully expel this magic, but she can remove it from the Divine Dragon’s body. The only issue is that with nowhere else to go, it’s going to appear in front of us.”

Lucina turned to Corrin, “Do you have any idea what we might be up against? Any warning we might heed?”

“I’m sorry, but Zephia’s magic prevents me from tangibly interacting with it. I really don’t know - no!”

Gasping out her liege’s name, Corrin disappeared, presumably back into the ring.

Alear’s complexion had paled rather noticeably; still filled with life, yet untouched by nature. It was as if she had never experienced the sun, the breeze, or the plants…as though she had never taken water nor tasted food…

Like a painted doll never taken out of its parcel.

Diamant drew his sword, “If she is dealing with this alone and losing, we may have better odds of winning by working together.”

“Right,” Ivy assented.

Alfred turned to Framme, “We can do this. Tell Mae we’re ready.”

The petite girl pursed her lips together, bobbing her head once and holding her hands out.

Purple magic gathered in front of her before surrounding Alear to expel the darkness. The dragon’s body seemed to resist at first; Alear’s torso the only thing initially rising as the spell lifted it off the bed. 

Eventually, a stream of darkness protruded into the purple, the colors dancing as the darkness trailed from her chest. When all was said and done, Alear fell limp onto the mattress, and a massive, horrible void formed between the Elyosians and her bed.

“This is what Zephia conjured to consume the Divine One?” Diamant balked.

“Ugh, it reeks of emptiness,” Ivy brought the back of her hand to her mouth. “So much energy, and yet…nothing.”

The void thrashed and tremored from its spot on the ground. Moving quickly, Ivy struck it once with her magic, then again. The spells collided with the darkness and disappeared just as quickly.

“What the-?”

Diamant grit his teeth, “It’s just absorbing your attacks.”

The room watched as Ivy continued her fruitless onslaught. Flares of light danced between the princess’ book and the dark matter occupying the center of the Divine One’s chamber.

“I’ve never seen such an uncontaminated shadow without a host,” Lucina worried.

Alfred tensed, “There must be a way to get rid of it for good.”

If Zephia’s claim had been true, then it must have been experimental magic. The prince found it difficult to believe that even she could create a perfect curse on her first attempt.

Then again, maybe she had tested it on others prior to this incident.

“Of course!” the Ylissean princess’ blue eyes widened. “Prince Alfred, with Naga’s blessing, my Falchion should be able to purify the void.”

“How do you mean?”

“In my world, Falchion possessed the power to seal away even the fell dragon,” she rushed to explain. “I am certain it must be able to seal this darkness away as well - especially if it was merely created by man.”

Her reasoning seemed sound, though he had to admit he felt a bit timid in regards to launching himself at the thing.

Unfortunately, Ivy had halted her assault in favor of searching for a spell that might work more effectively. Their amorphic opponent lashed out, looking to cling to something after supporting itself alone for so long. Called to its original host, it began crawling back toward the Divine One.

“Now! Lucina!”

Alfred charged forward, his form glowing upon the emblem joining with him. Now brandishing Falchion, he attempted to cut through the black shape and prevent it from reaching Alear.

With one slash of the blessed sword, the black magic recoiled and shrank, the newly purified tendrils transforming into light and dissolving into the air.

There was no time to celebrate; a faint cheer from Framme faded when the remaining fragments dragged themselves beneath him and latched onto his leg. They merged, wrapping themselves up Alfred’s body and forging a path directly to his ring.

“H-Hey-! -ngh!”

The curse forced him to disengage, ripping Lucina from him as he fell to his knees.

“Prince Alfred!” Diamant called.

Amidst the chaos, a sharp inhale resounded from the Divine One’s bed.

“She’s breathing again! But how?” Framme cried, rushing to Alear’s side.

Her breath clung to Alfred like a pulse, his own inhalation timed perfectly with her own. It felt like he could no longer control his lungs at all…

Lucina…I need you…please…

It was driving him crazy…and leaving him a bit dizzy. He needed to fight to stay conscious. If he fell under…well, wouldn’t he end up just like Alear? Only he didn’t have an emblem to save him - not anymore.

I can’t die here! Not now!

It was all he could do to keep calling out to Lucina. Alfred had no intention of losing himself, but even so…

…

…

…I’m here! I found you, Alfred - I’m right here!

“...Please…stay with me…”

Always.

“Lyn!”

The blond barely made out a feminine voice, but at that moment it didn’t matter. The air around him trembled until his senses came flooding back to him all at once.

Gasping for breath, his body failed him and he fell to the ground. Thankfully, Prince Diamant rushed to support him before his head could strike the marble floor.

“Are you alright, Prince Alfred?”

“I…I’m still awake, right?” he gasped. “Am I still…?”

“Yes, it is finished. That spell took quite the hold on you.”

He lifted his head, black spots forming at the edges of his vision to punish him for being too quick. Alfred didn’t care.

“What of the Divine One?”

“Sleeping,” the Brodian prince reassured him, “Corrin said she would be alright.”

It was then that he finally allowed himself to scan the room. Ivy and Framme were rushing about the Divine One, the princess splitting her attention between Alear and Alfred now that he had awoken while the steward elected to remain at her liege’s bedside.

“Forgive me;” Ivy clarified, “I needed to utilize Lady Lyn’s bow to free you. I never intended to actually strike you with it.”

The prince gave a weak grin, “No worries. Besides, there was no way to guide the arrows without hitting me through that thing. I think it took the brunt of your attack.”

Extending the stave over Alfred, Princess Ivy took her time mending everything as best she could. With Diamant’s support, he found his footing and rose to stand, the three of them migrating to Alear’s stirring form.

“Her breathing is normal,” Framme confirmed, “and isn’t synced with Alfred’s anymore. She should be just fine on her own.”

The group gave the mattress more space as red and blue strands of hair tangled together.

“...hello…?”

“Good afternoon, Divine One,” Ivy greeted her calmly. “How are you feeling?”

“My body feels fine…my head…not so much.”

“I know how that feels,” Alfred frowned.

After a moment of cursing the light entering the room, the woman’s eyes flew open, and she shot up as though she had just snapped out of a trance, “Wait, I-I’m awake?”

Alear’s eyes trailed over the room, assessing the damages in her confusion.

“...what exactly…happened?”

Diamant kindly filled her in to the best of his ability, patiently answering her bewildered questions. At the end of the story, her gaze caught Alred’s.

“Are you okay?”

His mouth almost dropped open, “Me? You’re the divine dragon! You were out cold for hours, fighting this thing by yourself, while I could hardly hold on for a few minutes, and you’re asking about me?”

“He does have a point,” Framme meekly piped up. “Everything we did was for you. We had each other, but we really thought you were going to die, Divine One!”

Alear shook her head, “I would never overlook someone else’s pain just because I suffered too. We both endured Zephia’s curse, so it’s important that we’re both taken care of.”

Prince Alfred sighed, bringing a hand to his face, “Honestly, Divine One, you’re too selfless. If you must know, I’ll be fine. You should let Framme and Princess Ivy tend to your head for now. Then, if you’re still concerned, we can talk later.”

It was clear that she didn’t like that answer, yet she resigned herself back to the bed nonetheless. Resting her head upon her pillow, the women continued working their staves and monitoring her vital signs.

Eventually, Framme helped Alear right herself on the mattress despite protests that she really should be resting.

“Framme, I’ve been lying down long enough. What I really want is to stretch my legs and to get some food and water.”

“Even so, perhaps it is best Lady Corrin stay with you - at least until tomorrow morning. One can never be too certain,” Diamant supplied.

Ivy nodded, “Yes, and I would recommend you keep Lucina with you as well, Prince Alfred. You have been through quite a lot today, despite what you say, and I would hate for anything to happen because of anyone’s carelessness.”

“Oh,” he turned to Lucina. “Would you be alright staying with me a while longer?”

The emblem’s hand found its way to her heart, “Of course.”

Alfred received his own checkup at Alear’s insistence; however, she had to practically force him to swap places with her since he was adamantly against sitting upon her bed. Fortunately, he relented once Framme began to complain.

Ivy sent Prince Diamant to get Bunet to start cooking, Alfred’s checkup commencing without so much as a hiccup before the Divine One’s chamber emptied out. Clanne clandestinely snuck in and cleaned up the place, leaving things as though Zephia’s experiment had never happened.

Perhaps it didn’t, Alfred thought. Maybe when something is spoken of for the last time, it dies.

Of course, his mind was not so kind to him. His dreams the next few weeks were plagued with her pale form and the pulse of their synchronized breaths.

Those were the nights he was glad to have Lucina with him.

[eldritchlittleblackdragon]

Putting Together a Quick Masterlist of All My Current OCs from Major Projects/Ones I'm More Focused On, With More to Come Later:

Obey Me! One Master to Rule them All/Nightbringer

Joey Andrews (My MC Who Has An Alternate Backstory to the Canon One- Instead of Being Lilith's descendant she's the reincarnating wife of Lucifer whose memories have been magically suppressed. Also Satan is the son of Lucifer and Joey in this version of events, and so is Luke.)

Kat Barker (Joey's fellow human exchange student and roommate who was also kidnapped and sent to the Devildom. Her backstory and arc follow a path very close to the canon Obey Me! MC, with Kat taking up a more familial relationship with the brothers rather than romantically pursuing any of them.)

Tabitha (An Angel exchange student who came to RAD with Simeon and Luke. She was Luke's mentor and caretaker before he worked for Michael.)

Ghost of Tsushima

Annabelle 'Emi' Nishimura (A woman from modern America who gets possessed by a literal ghost from the time/setting of Ghost of Tsushima, said ghost sending her back into the past by night while she lives her life in the present by day. She takes on the name Emi to better blend in, but is still obviously an outsider and is eventually taken into custody to ensure she isn't a threat. Jin Sakai is tasked with being her minder. Eventually the two form a bond, and develop an affection for one another, and after some difficulties and political maneuvering, the two of them eventually marry. But then the events of the game happen and everything kind of goes to shit and also the literal ghost is still around and it's on a mission.)

The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles

Alice Van Zieks/Alice Rask (A young woman from America who befriended/was befriended by and married Lord Barok van Zieks. Their marriage was alright in the beginning, but began to suffer difficulties and resulted in their separation, leading Alice to join her parents who had moved to Tokyo after her father accepted a professorship there. She becomes very close with the Mikotobas, and in particular Kazuma Asogi. At the time canon starts, she decided that is best that in order to pursue a new path, she must divorce her husband. But Barok is reluctant to accept it, hence leading her to return to Britain to try to hash things out/try to come to an understanding.)

Persona 5

Mary Shaw (An American Exchange Student attending the same High School as Goro Akechi (and who has an online friendship with Futaba Sakura). She is eventually invited to join a junior detective league organized by Akechi, but then she eventually discovers the Metaverse and evidence to suggest things are not as she was initially led to believe. She and Akechi become briefly but intensely romantically entangled, until she discovers he's been manipulating her, both in terms of their relationship and their work together, leading to a painful break up and then a falling out between the two of them. Mary eventually joins the Phantom Thieves with the help of Futaba, and awakens to her persona, Jeanne (Joan of Arc). Please be advised that Mary's story involves themes of a toxic/abusive relationship (her relationship with Akechi) - particularly emotional abuse and gaslighting.)

Fire Emblem

Meri (Awakening - A Manakete mage whose been disguised as a human and working as an apothecary/pharmacist before she is discovered and inducted into the Shepherds by Chrom. An outburst by her at the death of Emmeryn and the reveal that she is of the Divine Dragon tribe lead to people in Ylisse revering her as a Demigoddess and Agent of Naga, much to her disgruntlement. However, she eventually accepts the role, using it to try and restore the spirits and morale of the Ylissean people. Her canon S-Support for fic writing purposes is Chrom, making Lucina her daughter. She also has a yet to be fleshed out fankid associated with her.)

Gianna (Fates - A mage and scholar from Nestra. She belongs to the Nestran Order of Scholars which devotes itself to gathering and sharing knowledge, as well as recording historical events (they are eventually an order of Librarian Monks and Nuns, except they're not required to take a vow of celibacy, but may do so if they wish). She joins Corrin's army to help better shield civilians and neutral parties from being harmed by the Nohr-Hoshido war, as well as to record events as they unfold. Due to there being multiple routes in Fates, who she's romantically involved with varies.)

Euphemia von Lehr (Three Houses - The surviving daughter of Baron Lehr. Originally, Euphemia had an older sister named Irene and a fraternal twin brother, Myron, but they both passed away when she was ten 'due to a terrible illness' an illness that also left her more frail, more prone to illness and injury. In truth, all three children were secretly experimented on by Those Who Slither in the Dark, and only Euphemia survived the ordeal. The experiments, in addition to leaving her in a weakened state, gave her a major crest of Riegan which was discovered not long after. As her crest supposedly meant there was a familial tied between House Lehr and House Riegan, for a time Duke Oswald von Riegan took her in and declared her his heir. Sometime later however, his grandson Khalid came into the picture, and the question of who would be heir came into question. Oswald resolved their after observing the two by declaring the two would be betrothed and married to one another, with their wedding to be shortly after Khalid's 20th birthday. Khalid took up the alias Claude, and both he and Euphemia were enrolled in the Officer's Academy at Garreg Mach. Euphemia has a Pegasus she is very close with, and canonically becomes a Pegasus Knight.)

Still being Developed:

Meri's associated fankid

Ghost Dad (A Fatal Frame OC that doesn't have a permanent name yet so for now he is Ghost Dad.)

A couple of Octopath I & II OCs

And more!

[irisandlily]

LuciSev- Happy Day of Devotion

happy late valentine’s day have some lucina/severa! (also ao3)

----------

Severa stares at the little gift-wrapped box on the side table next to her bed.

She stares. And stares at the little blue box with a red bow.

This is stupid. Severa groans, and falls back onto her bed with a thump.

She stayed up way too late to make it, and she was so fucking tired. Sure she could have made it this morning, but that meant letting the kitchen staff witness her embarrassing attempt at making it. Like she'd ever let that happen.

No. That would raise questions. And the questions would become gossip, and the gossip would turn into rumors, and the last thing Lucina needs are others suspecting that she and Severa are courting. Cause who else does Severa spend the majority of her time with that she would make fucking chocolate for on Day of Devotion.

And- it’s not like they are courting or anything. Lucina doesn’t have time for shit like that when she’s busy with the war and leading a country. But- they’re something.

Their relationship blurred the line between friendship and romance ages ago, but they’ve never actually talked about what their relationship is in detail. They really should, considering they sleep in each other's beds, cuddled together at night.

That and the kisses they share in quiet corners of the palace. Especially with how softly Lucina kisses Severa. How gently she presses her lips to the back of her neck, to the shell of her ears, when no one is looking.

That is definitely not something you do with a friend.

…I love her…

Severa has been aware for quite some time that she's been in love with Lucina for... who knows how long. What had started out as a childhood crush had turned into something more serious as they got older. And now that their relationship was very much not platonic…

Today. She tells herself. I’ll bring it up today (she won’t, because she’s waiting for Lucina to make the first move in their complex relationship, and because she’s a coward).

Severa pushes herself off the bed, stretching her arms. She grabs the present and leaves her room, in search of the blue-haired princess. She finds Lucina in her study as per usual, going through paperwork that needs her carefully thought-out decisions.

Her eyes are narrowed at the paper in front of her, eyebrows furrowed in concentration.

When she sees Severa, her tight-knit expression softens to an almost smile. Almost, because Lucina rarely smiles anymore, especially when she's working. 

Severa pulls a chair to the other side of the desk, opposite Lucina, and sits, discreetly placing the small present on the floor out of Lucina's sight. 

No words are needed between them, as Severa grabs a stack of papers to look through. Noon is work mode, with time spent in Lucina's study for two to three hours, going through the princess's workload, until Lucina is called to a meeting, or it's time for lunch.

An hour later, they manage to go through two stacks of papers before Severa forces the princess to take a break.

They sit on the sofa by the window in the corner of the room, with Severa’s gift in hand behind her back. Lucina leans against her with a small sigh, weariness overcoming her.

Severa knows, that Lucina doesn't allow others to see her like this. That she keeps a strong, confident face in front of the people and their friends. Because Lucina is their leader. Their hope and ray of light during these dark times.

It makes Severa feel weirdly special, that Lucina lets her defenses fall around her when they're alone.

Severa swallows the lump in her throat, forcing her nerves down before she speaks. "I… have something for you." 

"For me?" Lucina sits up, turning to face her.

"Here." Severa shoves the present into Lucina's hands. "It's- I stayed up late to make this, so you better be grateful." Lucina blinks, and opens the gift.

"Chocolates?"

“For Day of Devotion.”

"That's today?" She stares. "I didn't realize- I wasn't expecting this from you." a rare, soft smile forms on her lips. "Thank you, Severa. Though, I'm afraid I don't have anything for you… "

"I'm not expecting anything in return," Severa says with a shrug, trying to hide her embarrassed blush. Lucina pops one of the pieces of chocolate into her mouth and chews thoughtfully.

"They're delicious Severa." Lucina places the present to the side, and takes one of Severa's hands in her own, pressing a kiss to the back of it. Then, she kisses her knuckles, before moving up to her shoulder, then her neck. 

Severa shudders at the light kisses, breath warm against her neck before Lucina kisses her lips softly, and Severa can't help the sigh of content that escapes her. Lucina's lips taste of overwhelmingly sweet chocolate, with hints of the earl grey tea that she had been drinking earlier.

"I love you, Severa." Lucina whispers, and Severa feels her heart hammer in her chest at those words, the admission from the other who so rarely allows herself to show others how she feels. At the soft, loving expression Lucina wears, and Severa pulls her in for another sweet kiss.

“I love you too Lucina."

[pieman1112]

"Father," Chrom made his way to where Spartan was patrolling. Even on this day he's still working. "Should I issue an order to get you to rest today?" a heartful chuckle followed up. "Happy birthday, Father. Lucina was eagerly waiting for you to come back so she can hand her present to you," had not the maids stopped her she would have run around running with her present to find Spartan. Chrom opened his arms for a hug, an inevitable one. Hunter can't escape it. "I'm glad to have you in my life, Father. Thank you ... "

The Spartan never really celebrated his birthday. To him it was just a day he was born. Nothing too special about it. When he adopted Rebecca, it would just be known as her birthday and so that's what he would focus on. Today was just like all the other November 28ths. He was patrolling around the castle, making sure that it was all secure. He started on the outer perimeter of the castle, looking at the moat, the wall integrity, watch towers. Currently he was walking around the inside of the castle, going from room to room. His trail halted in the garden when he heard his son-in-law call for him. He turned to face Chrom. He guessed that he might have been working a little too long if Chrom was joking about ordering him to stop.

"No that won't be necessary." He responded.

He gave a nod as a way to thank Chrom for wishing him a happy birthday. Upon hearing that Lucina was looking for him he responded "I guess I've been keeping her waiting long enough. I'll go find her after this last sweep."

He felt Chrom wrap his arms around his armor in a hug. The hug was shortly returned by Hunter hunching over a little to wrap his arms around Chrom.

"Anytime son. Rebecca made the right choice in trusting you and I couldn't ask for a better son-in-law."

[iturbide]

In Affectionately Yours (and bunch of you other fics actually), you really build more upon Pelgian culture. Were there any specific things you took inspiration from when doing so? Sorry if this is something you've gone over before. I'm tired and could have very well missed it. Also, if you don't mind me asking, any interesting things you'd like to share about Future Built?

Developing Plegian culture is definitely one of my favorite parts of Awakening fic, it’s true. ❤ I tend to draw bits of inspiration from all kinds of sources, though it’s less for “this is an exact replica of something our world,” more “this has a real-world precedent.”  Even though Plegia’s official roots are probably drawn from ancient Egypt, I completely abandon that because let’s face it: Plegia as a nation has little to no resemblance to Egypt outside of certain stylistic choices like the eye design in the Heart of Grima. 

I’ve actually drawn a lot of inspiration from Judaism, since I see a lot of parallels between existing there.  Aspects like the lunar calendar, date transitions at sunset rather than sunrise, even the Day of Remembrance, all have real-world analogues in the Hebrew faith; meanwhile, Grima’s Night -- specifically the Grimleal celebration, not the Ylissean children’s festival that more resembles the modern-day celebration of Halloween -- takes inspiration from the Mexican Day of the Dead.  Other aspects like food staples, cuisine, and even technology for survival in the desert I drew from Iran: whereas Egypt flourished because of the Nile River, Iran engineered their own water sources called qanats, digging underground channels from the mountains to their homes in arid locations (which provided not only a water source, but a means for indoor cooling).

Also I never mind questions about Future Built, it remains one of my absolute favorite projects (and one I keep mulling over going back to, I just need to get in the right headspace for it):

Chrom is going to get the magistery clerks in line so they stop foisting their jobs off onto Robin and stressing him toward a breakdown.  This gives Robin significantly more free time, which he ends up spending in a variety of ways, including chats with Panne, a book club with Sumia and her ladies-in-waiting, and training with Sully (something he did not ask for but got roped into anyway).

Robin ends up becoming the Ylissean ambassador to Regna Ferox sometime late in that first year of stability, once he and Chrom have started reining in the nobles on the council and instated new members from among the commoners.  This makes sense, given how well he knows the social mores, but everybody ends up missing each other terribly -- enough that within the first week of his absence, Sumia writes him a letter; despite having no love for writing, Chrom writes his own along with her, and they send them together.  It’s a seemingly simple gesture, but a moving one to Robin who still harbors some deep-rooted doubts about his place within the royal family.

In her earliest years, Lucina is equally comfortable with Sumia, Chrom, and Robin -- because all three of them take are extremely attentive parents and take an active role in her care.  Chrom brings her to council meetings with him, Sumia takes her through the gardens out toward the stables where they keep the pegasi, and Robin brings her to the library while he works.  She’s held often, talked to almost constantly while she’s awake, and the instant she starts to fuss she has someone checking on her to see what’s wrong.  It’s rare for her to get to the point of crying while any one of them is present.

Lucina’s birth is what really starts helping Robin keep better track of time, and in doing so take better care of himself.  Especially when he’s acting as her primary caretaker (in cases where Chrom and Sumia are called somewhere while Robin remains in Ylisstol with the baby), he stops getting endlessly distracted because he has important matters to tend, like ensuring that Lucina gets fed on a proper schedule while he’s watching her; that regularity makes it much easier for people to get him to stop and have a meal, too, and often enough when he goes to meet the nurse there’s a lavish spread waiting for him, too.  It’s the first time he starts getting toward a healthy weight.

Whenever possible, Lucina always has at least one of her primary guardians with her in those first years of life.  When Chrom and Sumia have duties they need to tend where they can’t bring the baby, Robin stays behind with her; when there’s a diplomatic matter demanding Chrom and Robin’s attention outside Ylisstol, Sumia stays back with her to keep things running; and when there’s any kind of unrest where the Shepherds need major back-up in the form of Robin and Sumia, Chrom will hold the palace to ensure his daughter’s safety.  Once she’s a little older they will sometimes all leave together -- but whenever possible, they’d rather bring Lucina with them.

[irandrura]

Third and final post: what were my other thoughts?

 Let’s talk about the game’s mechanics first.

I am overall very pleased with the battle gameplay. On the battlefield itself the gameplay is more-or-less unchanged from the past, but the character advancement and customisation system is significantly improved. Moving to a single overall character level and giving every character the ability to change classes at will is a much more fluid and elegant system than in the past, and the ability to choose the specific combat arts and abilities each character takes looks like it adds a lot of depth. It’s probably appropriate for the overall ‘teacher’ theme of the game that you have much more power to mould each character’s skills and talents, but I’d like to see it in other games as well. There’s an important balance to strike: on the one hand, characters should not be infinitely malleable, and should all have their personal strengths and weaknesses. On the other, so much of the fun of the game is in developing characters and watching them grow that it’s really good to be able to specialise them.

Speaking of battle gameplay, divine pulse is great. The Fire Emblem series has always struggled a bit with accessibility, and while casual mode definitely made the series easier, it also felt to me like missing the point. Casual mode is too easy, and by removing any risk of permanent death, it felt like it removed a lot of the game’s tension. Divine pulse is a much better way to make the gameplay a bit easier and less frustrating while still keeping the same feel as classic FE gameplay. It gives you just enough room to survive a lucky enemy crit, or a small misjudgement on your part, without totally removing the need to be careful. I approve. That said, I did feel that by late-game you probably had access to too many pulses and it removed the need to conserve them. With a dozen pulses, there isn’t much risk any more, whereas if it stayed capped around three to five, each individual pulse might have felt more precious.

 (Apparently Mila’s Turnwheel in Shadows of Valentia actually did the mechanic first, and I totally forgot about it. Oh dear…)

Other gameplay innovations were more hit-and-miss, for me. Battalions were fine, but I don’t think I would have missed them if they weren’t there. They helped make the battlefield seem busier and more populated, but they don’t seem to have had a massive impact on the game. Similarly, monsters were mostly fine (Cindered Shadows boss notwithstanding), but again, I don’t think I’d mind very much if they didn’t come back. They rarely actually felt like the most dangerous enemies on the battlefield, and just required a slightly different strategy, and… well, maybe it’s just me, but it feels weird for FE to have boss monsters like that. I suppose arguably it’s been a tension in the series going all the way back to the original game? Marth was supposed to fight monstrous dragons, but his entire game was about enemy soldiers, and dragons didn’t stand out as the terrifying beasts they ought to have been. Still, I’m not sure I’m sold on them here.

When I started playing I complained that exploring the monastery was tedious. You can get into a routine later on, but for the most part, I did think it could have been streamlined more. Having lunch with students or going for special training or browsing the marketplace are all fun things to do, but a bit less sprinting all over the map to talk to everyone and return lost items would have been appreciated. The lost item mechanic in particular feels like busywork. A bit of exploring is nice, but only as long as it doesn’t get tedious. It might have been lovely to explore other locations as well – Enbarr, Fhirdiad, the army camp outside Gronder, etc. – but I can understand that the amount of work required would not be practical.

Speaking of tedium, though… I really could have done with a few more maps. Maybe this is my fault for constantly choosing battles, but I found myself replaying the same forest, plains, beach, or volcano map too many times for comfort.

I might also have liked for crests to be a bit more mechanically impactful, given their important to the world and the plot. I regularly forgot which of my units have crests, and what any of the crests do, since most of them have so little effect as to not matter. The only one I did usually remember was Felix’s Crest of Fraldarius, and that was mainly because it makes him do more damage and sometimes made him kill people I’d hoped to leave on one or two HP. I don’t think crests should have been overpowering, but a little more power would still have been nice. It should not have been so easy to forget that they exist.

Similarly, by the time I finished the game I realised that I had never used a Hero’s Relic, even once. I would like to say that this was a principled decision on my part, given that they turn people into monsters (and it looks like I was right about them being made from bone?), but it was mostly just the BUT-WHAT-IF-I-NEED-IT-LATER effect. They all have quite low durability, and while I understand that infinite durability, as with relics in previous games, was not an option due to breaking how combat arts work, it was still enough to discourage me from using them. Perhaps on a higher difficulty they would become necessary? I always feel a bit sad when for mechanical reasons I never let characters use their most iconic weapons.

 Moving on from mechanics…

There is technically a shipping mechanic, with an S support for the protagonist, but it really felt like an afterthought to me. I don’t think the game would lose anything significant if you just removed all the S supports. Compared to a game like Awakening or Fates, where the second generation makes it mechanically important and the plot seems like it works best with a bit of romantic drama (f!Robin/Chrom and m!Robin/Lucina looking particularly intended), Three Houses is surprisingly chaste. I suppose picking a character to be your waifu might be part of the culture now, perhaps looking also at the growing influence of waifu gacha games, but for me it felt tacked on. I can imagine potentially rewriting the game to make romance a more important theme – perhaps talking about Jeralt and Sitri a bit more? – but to be honest I think that that would have been worse for the game overall.

In particular, it stands out to me as sitting a touch oddly alongside the teacher concept. One of the things that stands out to me about Byleth as a protagonist is the way that Byleth is in a superior position relative to the other units. You are a professor, in a position of authority, and you have more life experience. Your job is to teach and mentor these younger characters. This contrasts strongly with Robin, who I think was presented as the equal of the other Shepherds (your relationship with Chrom is that of comrade and friend), and with Corrin, who was presented as an inferior or junior (your siblings are older than you, and they start off with higher status). Because of that superior position, then, I found the game suggesting a feeling of responsibility towards them, and a feeling of pride in their accomplishments.

This might be a bizarre comparison, but in some ways a game that Three Houses reminded me of while playing was Princess Maker 2, a weird little DOS game from 1993 about raising a girl. The core loop of choosing activities to raise the stats of a character in your care, punctuated with occasional outings to fight monsters and get loot, felt quite similar. Similarly, the emotions that seemed to be evoked, to me, were emotions of care and pride: perhaps not paternal as such, since Byleth isn’t that old, but certainly the satisfaction that comes from nurturing a younger and less experienced person.

For the most part that actually worked, and I certainly applaud it for feeling less icky than Fates. If I compare tea parties to that weird Fates mechanic where you could invite characters to your room and touch their face, it is vastly less creepy. So I’m glad that the romance has been toned down.

And speaking of things that I’m glad aren’t prominent…

I’m deliberately burying this part in the middle of a long post. Tumblr is famously ruthless on issues like this, but fortunately I have a very low follower count and you’re all nice people. Basically, one of my worries going into the game was that Three Houses might be the ‘woke’ Fire Emblem game. I am glad to find that concern averted, at least so far. A person could perhaps make some pretty cringeworthy interpretations of Duscur to do with racial politics, but the game itself does not push you in that direction. Tumblr and AO3 love slash shipping, but as far as I can tell that remains as canonically unsupported as ever. Interestingly, while Three Houses has a small handful of same-sex romantic S supports and endings, as far as I can tell they’re all for Byleth and they’re all simply copy-pastes of the opposite-sex versions. It’s enough for me to genuinely wonder whether they’re in the original Japanese at all, or if they were added. I know translations of FE games have played around with character sexualities before, so it’s possible. At any rate, part of me was concerned that this might be the Dragon Age: Inquisition of Fire Emblem, and fortunately it isn’t. (I mean, I did actually enjoy Dragon Age: Inquisition, but at times it did get to be a bit much.) I’ll take this as a valuable lesson when it comes to not believing posts I see on Tumblr. You’d think I would have learned from previous games: popular fan interpretations of a character are often completely wrong. Three Houses seems for the most part to be a very traditional Fire Emblem game.

In terms of the overall series trajectory, I take Three Houses to be an overall positive sign. Awakening and Fates seemed to be taking the series in a direction that I didn’t care for as much, with heavy use of player avatar characters, much more fan service, and more trope-driven plots. Three Houses seems like a return to deeper worldbuilding and characterisation. The cast of characters overall has definitely been a high point: in Fates I sometimes struggled to build a team of characters that I felt truly fond of, but in Three Houses there were usually more characters I wanted to use than I had space for, and there were no recruitable characters that I truly disliked.

Really, the biggest disconnect between me and Three Houses, in the end, is the fact that Three Houses is built for replayability, and I don’t like replaying games very much. However, I don’t think I can in good faith call that a flaw or poor design: obviously there are a lot of people who love replayability, and considering that I got a good eighty hours of gameplay out of my first playthrough (DLC included) and enjoyed it, I’m not really in a position to complain.

So in the end, then, I think that while Three Houses is not my favourite Fire Emblem and does have some places where it could be improved, for the most part I think it’s quite a good outing and a significant improvement on the last few. It is not designed entirely to my tastes, but what is here is mostly good. Three Houses leaves me feeling much more optimistic for the future of the franchise than Fates did.

[crystalelemental]

“el-jarado: For what it's worth, she's my favorite because Lyn and Florina are both characters I really like, although I'm kinda bummed her existence is probably blocking Florina from a true alt...”

That’s honestly my biggest gripe with it too.  Florina’s really popular, it sucks that she doesn’t have a seasonal alt of her own yet.  Also this got really long so more under the cut.

I think the other thing is that, when it comes to these paired up units, I really want to see an interesting dynamic that makes it worth it.  One of these units may as well not even exist; the very name of the units should make that clear (Duo Lif, for instance, completely ignores the fact that Thrasir is part of it, which she may as well not be).  So they have to compensate in my mind.  And a lot of them...very do not.  Like Ephraim and Lyon.  Lyon’s pretty popular.  And he’s relegated to a backup, who will likely never be at the front of one of these powerhouse units.  Or the Mia and “Marth” tihng.  Yeah, it’s an unexpected partnership, but “Marth” being the backup could mean Lucina never gets anything as a frontliner, despite basically being a lord herself, and the dynamic doesn’t actually offer anything worthwhile.  Which is a problem.  If the backup is considered an “alt” despite not actually getting anything for themselves mechanically, then the alt has to offer a good dynamic that isn’t well-explored, or offers a fresh perspective on the characters.  And because they don’t often do that, there are only five I like.

The good:

Duo Hector and Lilina is a precious dynamic we can never see in the main games.  Hector and baby Lilina, going trick or treating, is unbelievably precious and wonderful, and exactly the kind of thing I expected of all Duo units when they were introduced.  Oh well.

Duo Idunn and Fae are similar, in that we only see their dynamic at the very end of Binding Blade.  This Duo feels like a continuation of their development, notably for Idunn who is starting to regain her lost soul, while expanding upon their sibling-like dynamic that’s implied but not explored in their home game.

Harmonic Tiki offers an interesting perspective on the experiences of these dragons who were, by and large, really isolated through most of their lives, and the difference between one who hesitates to trust humans and one who jumps right in.  It’s a cool dynamic for characters who have met from across games.  Still kinda upset Ninian isn’t the frontliner.

Harmonic Altina and Sanaki actually offers some great perspective into Sanaki.  We already knew a bit about her insecurities, but having her admit to them to her ancestor who seems to be a hero she looks up to is precious, and the reciprocation and just raw joy Altina has at meeting her descendant is precious, and a dynamic that was well worth the investment.

Harmonic Myrrh...honestly is just precious.  It’s another of those really cute dynamics between characters you’d never expect to see together.  I think she and Nah have fantastic synergy, and a great dynamic to explore that, prior to this, wasn’t even considered.  It’s great.  It just sucks that one of them had to be relegated to backline.

The Bad:

Duo Ephraim and Lyon.  Did you knew Ephraim was a frat boy?  Because that’s all this alt seems to offer.  Shit we already knew.  Glad we lost a Lyon alt over this.

Duo Marth and Elise.  We already know their dynamic, this doesn’t exactly add much.  Glad we don’t get Elise in the game over this.

Duo Alfonse and Sharena.  Nothing new is added, and Sharena is known to be the one who likes these festivals while Alfonse isn’t as invested, so why is he the frontliner?

Duo Alm and Celica.  Nothing new is added, and frankly their conversation bothers me.  I actually have this one, and for the first half it just feels like bickering nonsense, that they end by just kinda glossing over because Alm did get her a different present.  Celica comes off as a brat, and Alm as kind of a dumbass.  Which isn’t out of character, but reminds me why I don’t particularly love them as a couple.

Duo Palla, Catria, and Est.  That’s a trio, but sure, it still doesn’t add anything to them.  But they’re babies!

Duo Micaiah and Sothe.  It offers nothing, it makes things worse for me by trying to insist this is the “Correct” pairing, and I really, really do not like Sothe as it turns out.  Worst paired unit by dynamic by far.

Summer Mia and “Marth.”  They offer a fairly unique dynamic, but not enough of one that they stand out.  Also I, like many others, will never forgive them for putting Lucina as the backup, and potentially removing her ability to be a frontliner in another alt some day.

Duo Byleth and Rhea.  I haven’t gotten their alt, never will, but I’m convinced their conversation is meaningless, since there is no way to make Byleth compelling without cheating.  Also I will literally never forgive them for what this alt did to Rhea.  I’m so fucking pissed this is her only representation in the game.  No Seiros does not count.

Harmonic Veronica and Xander is cute, but Xander is still the dumb joke about not being able to swim, and their dynamic is well known, with this offering almost nothing to make them more interesting.

Duo Sigurd and Deirdre.  Oh look, they’re being cute as a couple, because...there was literally nothing else for them to do or go off of, because Genealogy doesn’t care about characters.

Duo Lynja and Florinja.  Does nothing interesting with their dynamic, and locked Florina out of an alt.  Good job.

Duo Peony and Triandra.  Actually does offer some insights to their dynamic, kinda?  Mostly from the story mode though, and that didn’t require a Duo.  All this did was lock Triandra out of an alt.

Harmonic Dorothea and Lene.  And now my least favorite of all the paired units!  I have no idea what this was doing!  Don’t get me wrong, I like the unique partnerships Harmonics can suggest, but their feels completely devoid of charm or purpose.  They just wanted to take two female characters and put them in awful revealing clothing for no reason other than hoping their titties would cause people to spend orbs before they dropped Seiros.  They didn’t think about why this pairing should exist, they just said “Fuck, we don’t know who else from Genealogy would make a good Harmonic because they barely have characters to work with (fair point), just throw one of the dancers in with Dorothea.”

Duo Lif and Thrasir.  I almost feel bad putting this one in the bad category, but hear me out.  We already know this dynamic.  While it’s kinda nice to have confirmation that they have feelings for each other, no one is surprised by this, and I almost preferred when it was a subtle implication and could’ve been taken as either camaraderie or love.  Also Thrasir as the backup means still no proper Thrasir alt, and that’s kinda bullshit.  It doesn’t offer enough to offset the loss of the backup getting an alt.

I don’t inherently hate the idea of Duos and Harmonics, but there is a massive cost to having a unit be just a backup, especially since it feels like IS considers that backup as “having an alt.”  Which it isn’t.  At all.  So the dynamic needs to really work for it to be worth it.  And it rarely is.  This is the Mega Evolution of FEH.  Fantastic idea that could really have done a lot for their character dynamics and development.  But ultimately they just decided to do stupid shit with it and hope powercreep and fanservice would sell better than a well-reasoned combination of interesting characters.

[imthepunchlord]

What I wish for FEA

On the off chance Fire Emblem Awakening got remade for the switch (which can handle far more than the 3DS), things that I really hope for. I really would love if it did get remade for the switch, it was a lot of fun, a lot of great characters, an interesting set up that they could’ve done a lot more for. It’s not a perfect game, so a remake would be good to polish it up, and do the update that’s needed. 

And this is more for me, been holding this in since playing FE3H and finally decided to share it. 

- More supports for Chrom and Sumia

For someone who insists about standing for friendship, he doesn’t have a lot of supports, I also would’ve loved to see some other romantic options for him; like him and Flavia could’ve been great. I’d also be intrigued to see Lucina as a half taguel or manakete. And Sumia has no excuse for her small support pool. While I love Cordelia and Stahl, I also really wanted to see Sumia and Stahl, if they had a support. 

And set it up that, whoever Lissa marries, that opens up a support between Chrom and his brother-in-law, if he doesn’t have one open with them. My otp is Lissa and Henry, I’d love to see the support between Chrom and Henry, that could be so funny. And have this extend to potential aunts and uncles between Lucina (Lucy’s younger sibling) and Owain. There are interactions we’re not getting but should be. 

- Model edits for half races

Speaking of Lucina being half taguel or manakete; do actual edits of their models so they have those traits; I was bothered to see Morgan lack those traits. Also to see that Morgan is just a copy of her mother’s model. Taguel, ok, I can let fly since gender seems color coded for their armor, but manakete, seeing 3 different colors (yellow, pink, and white); its not hard to tweak the color. Morgan could’ve been black or purple (and on the off chance we ever get manakete!Lucina, blue for her). 

- Plegia

This is a big one. While FE doesn’t have the best history with their poc, 3H was a step in the right direction, I would like this added to FEA. 

Don’t make things so black and white, especially with Plegia and Ylisse. Plegia is overwhelmingly framed as the villains and Ylisse is just pure good. Never mind the fact that Ylisse did a mass genocide on Plegia that still effects it to this day. While it is acknowledged, it also feels swept under the rug too and Plegians are portrayed bad for responding as they do. And to my knowledge, Emmeryn didn’t do much to try and make up for her father’s actions outside withdrawing troops. Its a complicated situation I want to see addressed more, for there isn’t an easy answer to this. She’s not her father and shouldn’t be blamed for his sins, but she also can’t just bow her head and try to let things be, leave them to lick their wounds in peace; that allows anger, hurt, and resentment to fester that lead to Plegia lashing out. Actually one thing that could’ve been done is make use of Robin being Plegian and Emmeryn using them as a means to make up for how bad things got. Give us more on Emmeryn, and address that complicated situation. 

Also, really address Robin being Plegian. Aside from later story detail, its something very forgettable and its a huge disconnect from Robin and their character. Robin is an amnesiac, yet there’s nothing of them trying to learn of their past. I would love to see Robin delving into being Plegian, their culture, and what it means to them to work with the Shepherds. While the Shepherds has been kind to Robin and embraced them to be among the flock, Robin canonly does still face suspicion after serving Ylisse loyally (Frederick). Realistically, Robin should be facing far more prejudice in Ylisse, which can help break this black and white set up between Ylisse and Plegia. This would also be really interesting to see for Robin as a character, acknowledging their Plegian heritage, what it means for them, where does loyalty lie, do they want to go to Plegia and try to find their past? Validar even hints that Robin’s mother is alive (potentially); where’s Robin trying to find their mother? To learn of their past and see what Robin was like before losing their memories, what happened that got them separated from their mother? 

And not everyone will agree or like this, but remove being able to change up the avatar’s appearance. Because they want Robin blank for the player, this makes Robin lackluster as a character, and doesn’t work since there are actual conversations between the avatar and other characters that won’t match with the player’s views. Say you don’t like Chrom, but your avatar does and there’s nothing you can do to change this, its a set conversation between two characters. Let Robin exist as their own character, no changing up the design, and keep Robin as a person of color. I can say you can change the color itself  from light to dark, but no making Robin white. This extends to Tharja, Noire, Henry, and the Morgans. All Plegians that are “good” and that can recruit are white, which doesn’t help things. Keep all Plegians dark skinned, it will help remove that light skinned people are “good” and all dark skinned people are “bad”, especially when majority of Plegians are dark. So keep Robin, Tharja, Noire, Henry, and the Morgans all poc, and let Robin become their own character, for they are meant to be but also an insert for the player and they aren’t a good insert. They can do what they did with Byleth, have a potential reason why Robin starts out so blank; maybe Grima reaching out to Robin is what set that off, and the further into the story you play, the more of Robin’s true personality shines through. Tharja reveals that knowing someone’s true name allows for hexes to work, and its a wonder if Robin is their true name or if they have a true Plegian name. 

And what becomes of Plegia when you beat the game? Is Plegia left broken and never rebuilt, becoming part of Ylisse? Does Robin (and their spouse) go to store Plegia and become new rulers and help forge friendships between them and Ylisse? Or does Tharja or Henry go to become the new Queen or King of Plegia with their respective spouse? House does Plegian monarchy even work? Gangrel was a peasant that survived the genocide and stepped up, then Validar just took over and now we don’t know who rules or if Plegia is just left forgotten and broken. 

Speaking of Grima, lets get more into them and Plegian culture and religion. They’re a largely worshiped god that promises doom upon the world, why are they so worshiped when it means many Plegians will die as well? Are they based on the Egyptian culture, believing that there is an afterlife after death, and that it will be better than their present life? Do they believe this world is the actual hell? Is there more to Grima in worship than just death? To play off their old name, is Grima known as a creation god, for destruction is a form of creation, paving way to renewal or new things to rise from creation. Aversa mentioned “gods”, so Grima isn’t the only god that is worshiped. Who else do they worship? Are there believers of Naga? What other gods are out there? 

And Grima’s mention that they and Robin are one and the same, it doesn’t get addressed or explored as much as I’d like. To what extent are they the same? Is Robin just a human reincarnation of Grima? Could Robin become Grima without the possession? Are they a dark and light counterpart to each other? Does this mean that Grima is like Robin, started out good and open to the world and just wound up corrupted or went down a dark path, that Forneus potentially pushed Grima down? Or was Grima always evil at the start? Does that mean Robin actually started out evil and then the amnesia hit and they became good? 

Its said on the wiki that Robin often experienced nightmares, which we didn’t see in-game, Grima could be set up to play a similar role to Sothis, an inner demon sitting in Robin’s subconscious, trying to manipulate and scare Robin down a darker path. And if Robin can potentially explore their own mindscape, could use this to lay hints to Robin’s past and Grima’s. 

- Also go ahead and expand on the lore of the world

Plegia is the one I’m interested to see more of, but would like more on Regina Ferox, more on Ylisse and their views of Plegia presently, of Valm, of the taguel and of the manakete. 

But just expanding this world, for there are a lot of interesting things and details set up that are left unanswered. Actually there are some paralogue that can be doen to expand on characters and give a little on their history. 

Like, Nowi revealing that she was stolen from her parents. Are they possibly still around? Who stole her? Why doesn’t she have a support with Tiki?

Is Panne really the only surviving taguel or are there more? 

Is Donnel potentially part manakete since his father gave him a stone that has a “hidden power” and Nah can use it as her dragonstone to transform. So was his father a manakete or did he just find that stone? 

- Take the new features from Three Houses

One of the things I really liked about 3H was being able to explore the church and talk to characters, see what new thing they have to say for each month. I’d love to see the barracks explored and talk to characters in your army and see what new thing they’d have to say to you when you go about talking to them, what their thoughts and views can be. 

I’d also like to build up points like 3H does, have lunch or a drink with your army, do little things for fun and build up supports and stats. 

I also adore characters being fully voice acted and seeing the cutscenes play out. I’d love for them to stay and be used for FEA. 

And while very unlikely to be done, I would love them doing another take on divide paths. Two possible routes to go, there’s going with Ylisse, or going with Plegia. Have Robin decide if they want to stay and assist the Shepherds or go to Plegia and learn of their pasts, see more of characters we didn’t get to see much of, see Plegians’ life and potential struggles after that genocide and being under Gangrel and Grimeal’s rule. Maybe have a complicated goal of improving things for Plegia, work at becoming the new Queen/King of Plegia, see how things stay the same or play out differently with you there. 

It is very unlikely though, so at most I’d hope for an expansion on lore and culture, and make things far more grey than the black and white set up they did. 

- Update characters 

There are characters who haven’t aged well and require a major update in design and personality. Tharja is creepy but has a secret heart of gold, which clashes with what Noire tells us in the future. Inigo is a nice guy and is extremely annoying. Nowi has the mentality of a child and its extremely uncomfortable to pair her up with anyone, and I’d like to see her updated to be more along the lines of Flayn, still child-like in a sense, but also mature and wise in her own way. Her daughter Nah I don’t remember liking much either and would like to see adjusted. This is one of a few I think really need a tweak in personality and design. 

- Allow for same sex endings

Now, this is unlikely since female characters (minus Chrom and male Robin) are the ones with future kids, but I would like to see that some same sex characters could have endings together, though there’s the issue of no child from mlm pairs. This can be solved by adding a handful of future kids to certain male characters, and can open up more sibling supports. its also realistic for some parents to have more than one kid.

But that means adding more children and I don’t know if they will. I would love to see more child characters and more sibling interactions, but yeah I don’t know if they will... 

- Remove allowing Robin to pair up with a kid from the future

No. Just no. That should not have been a thing. 

- Allow me to have both my children 

Future Past dlc all but confirms that Morgan has a twin that exists, let us have them both. I adore them both, and I would love to see them work off each other. 

- Give Flavia and Say’ri their own kid 

Very salty that these two woc don’t have their own kid as well and a very small window of supports. Which ties into the next point. 

- Update supports 

It is very annoying that some characters don’t have supports with each other. Not just Chrom being picky about company despite boasting about friendship and bonds and Sumia being picky about spouses (for some reason); but Lon’qu and Basilio can’t talk, nor him and Say’ri despite coming from the same region. Nor any support between Nowi and Tiki despite Nowi having a fear of being alone, here is another manakete and yet no interactions between them? And on the off chance they keep in extra recruitable characters, why don’t Emmeryn have a support with Chrom and Lissa and Frederick? 

- Chrom 

So I know Chrom needs a wife for Lucina, but my god its the most annoying thing to deal with him till past a certain chapter, especially if one of his few potential wives I want to pair with someone else. I know its a must, but I would like it updated and adjusted. Because at the start of the play through, everyone has to avoid him like the plague less he goes and steals someone’s wife. 

Another issue is him being the Exalt, we don’t see him being the Exalt and most of his time is spent away from his kingdom, making him lackluster as a ruler and leader. Who is he leaving in charge of Ylisse when he’s about when his potential wife, Lissa, and Frederick are at his side? Is any of the people of Ylisse bothered or nervous about him being vacant to rule? 3H the heirs feel like actual rulers and leaders, Chrom doesn’t. I’d like that updated, see what he is like as an Exalt, and what issues there are for there is no perfect ruler. What are his goals and how will he act them out? Does he have any? is Ylisse ok enough that he hardly needs to actively govern it? 

.

.

.

And I think that about covers it for all things I’d hope to see added/polished up for FEA remake, if it ever happens for the switch. I really hope so, it got me into Fire Emblem, and while a lot of fun, it needs polishing up, and could use some updates and add ons. 

I hope one day I will get to see it on the switch, and to see it updated and improved upon. 

[displaced-tactician]

⚔️️ how does miss tactician fare with no troops to command and no prep time (so no pitfalls haha)

No pit falls? How dare you! Morgan bites her thumb!

But in reality, I think this really differentiates both Morgans. Morgan von Grima and Morgan von Amnesia.

Morgan von Grima was trained for stealth, assassinations, and sustainability. Her life was based around having limited/no intelligent troops (as most were Risen) and had a simplistic advantage of numbers versus Lucina’s army. She couldn’t effectively send in “Stealth Risen” like she’d send in Matthew, position “Buff 8-Pack Risen” to protect allies like she could Hilda or Ike, nor could she utilize effective “Flying Risen” with proper ‘avoid archers’ commands like she could Cynthia.

All in all, Morgan von Grima’s tactics were surprisingly simple and rarely utilized, as it was usually “send troops here to do solo mission there.” Often times she’d simply send Risen vaguely away from an area just to sneak into a place alone or just didn’t use them at all. To her they were useless.

On her most mentally trying mission she had to destroy Alm’s Falchion that Grima had located. After she destroyed it, Brady and Noire (of her world) ambushed her. Her strategy was simple and to the point, attack when Brady attempted to “help and save” her. She had a level of brainwashed focus that kept her mind on the straight and narrow. Grima’s goal and how to reach it was all that mattered. Both Noire and Brady survived the encounter, but Morgan left without a scratch due to her utilizing her opponents weakness of “humanity” and immediately delivered severely incapacitating attacks. The only reason they didn’t die was Alm’s Falchion having a lasting impact on her due to its Holy influence.

Basically, Morgan von Grima was raised to be a silent killer. She was heartless and direct, and as such she faired well on her own. The enemy had one big weakness (humanity/‘protecting innocents”) she exploited to do solo missions. She had her wyvern for any planned battle, but she often operated alone and with minimal command aside from those specific battles. Quiet spells, effective utilization’s of her sword or axe, and sometimes a few Thorons for fun helped to slay countless humans before the fall of her world.

Morgan von Amnesia on the other hand is not as efficient at the actual killing/fighting part on her own. She actually hates killing for an unknown reason. She’s unaware that it comes from her subconscious being vaguely aware she killed her friends. After Time Traveling Robin talked to her, she couldn’t do it any more. As such, she’s much more heavily reliant on her tactics and shenanigans to either have others commit necessary acts of violence on the field, or incapacitate her enemies.

It’s one reason she unknowingly likes pitfalls. The enemy fall in and break a leg. You have a prisoner with information that you don’t NEED to kill.

Without those options she’s kind of lost as to how to END a battle. She can still fight rather effectively, but ending a battle is the rough part cause “no kill” mode is kinda ever present.

In the Battle of Eagles and Lions last year she mostly relied on on the fly deception and tricks to have the enemy harm themselves or get in non-lethal shots (after her pitfalls failed). She used her Robe as a scare crow while on the run to distract and ambush, used mage hand to have a sword fly and attack her enemy after Morgan had fallen (and couldn’t get up), and shot the ground with Thoron to knock rocks into her opponents.

In other words, she fights extremely defensively and sneakily. Unlike Morgan von Grima who was extremely direct and lethal. Morgan von Amnesia utilizes momentary surprises and her surroundings to misdirect rather than attack. Her primary goal when she’s out of tricks now is not to kill, but to distract and leave. She fares just fine, but has a hard time ending a fight. It’s a battle of attrition if it comes down to it.

That being said as a fun side examination, during the Emblem of Honesty I think Morgan played her role as tactician very well. She seldom fought, made rotations for allies to be healed, utilized necessary troops to aid others, and stole from her own allies to try to help others when necessary. Though her party was diminishing in numbers rapidly, there was no prep/scouting time to deal with the scene, and she had no idea what these god darn Emblems were. It didn’t help that Hubert was keeping information from her that could have helped her form better on the fly plans.

For a while they seemed to be losing. Her tactics weren’t working and buff/demonic Edelgard didn’t seem to have an immediate weakness. Then she was attacked by her. Morgan’s inner Morgan von Grima came out to play for a second to retaliate. Her efforts had to be focused by Hubert’s commands but that didn’t change the fact Morgan was there to kill at that point.

I think that’s her weakest “state of mind” and probably the state of mind she enters at the most “hopeless” situations when none of her tactics work and she has no real noticble advantage or sustainability. Without her memory, any resurgence of Morgan von Grima is more akin to rage rather than focused efforts and could easily get herself killed. It takes A LOT to get there though. Like three PC’s died and she was walking up to Death’s door herself.

[luna-paradoxz]

Morgan’s little adventure

Summary -  Morgan wishes to be a hero, and what better hero to look up to than his father who killed the Fell Dragon, Grima himself. But the road to be Ylisse prince and hero is hard but Morgan will make his destiny.

If you want to support me buy me a Ko-fi or you can commission me. 

Little Morgan heads to the training area where he knows his father is going to come today. He had requested, almost begged his father for today's session and after one week of pestering, begging and crying his parents gave in and accepted. But only his father will give him this training session and the little boy is completely ok with it after all his father is a hero who defeated the bad god Grima. He smiles wide as he runs to the ground, he is wearing his small blue training outfit with blue gloves fashioned after his father's training clothes that he had begged his mother for. Because Morgan wanted to be a hero just like his father and he copied everything his father did so that when he grows up his will be a chosen one just like his father and will protect everyone from evils in the world.

And he will also defeat Owain finally. The boy was only one year older than him and yet he loses all the time but once he properly trains with his father, he will defeat his eternal rival.

Morgan grins wide as he jumps in excitement and rushes in the ground as he spots his father and rushes up to him, hugging him tight on his legs, the man is used to his usual leg attack so only laughs as he puts a hand on his son's head and pats as he tried to calm him down.

He looks up smiling wide, "Dad! Let's start on sword training!" He jumps excitedly and the man laughs,

"Yes, we will but before that Morgan we must do warmups, Frederick thought you that right?"

He pouts as he moves back a bit, "But dad I want to sword fight." He whines and the man sighs,

"Yes, we will Morgan but a warm-up is important or you will get cramps or get injured. You don't want to get hurt right."

He wants to start immediately but he guesses that is true, so he reluctantly nods and they both get in places and he follows along with his father as they stretch, redo the basics and share some dud blows. He properly does them as his father cheers him up and he feels very motivated to do everything properly. As soon as the exercises are done, his father finally brings out the main sword and his eyes twinkle as his heart jumps as he takes the Falchion and tries to swing it around. He immediately falls and his face falls, his father though pats his head and smiles proudly at him,

"We will work on its Morgan and you will become better in no time."

He looks up expectantly, "Like dad?"

Chrom feels his heart jump in pride, he is so happy that his son looks up so much to him, "Yes you will be," he ruffles his hair, "you might even become stronger than me."

His eyes sparkle as he jumps up, "I can become stronger than dad!?"

"If you work hard diligently and properly use your strength then yes you will."

With renewed motivation, Morgan jumps and he laughs as they both start the practice again. Chrom is looking forward to seeing how his son will do in the coming future, he won't say his rest of his family just yet, but he is silently rooting for his son to win the rite.

The sun is rising as Morgan puts his hand up and waits for the maids to finish putting the last touches to his clothes. He is wearing royal garments they wear in war, they might look heavy but they are flexible and free so he won't be restricted in any way today, they are similar to his father's usual uniform but a tad more regal because like Frederick put it, this is a rite and they must also present a good look. It is not completely public but mostly all the noble houses will be coming so they need to put a regal show, worthy of the princess and prince.

He smiles as he turns around and shows it to Frederick who nods approvingly and smiles.

"You look very handsome young master." He bows as Morgan grins and thanks to him, "His majesty and Her highness are with Lady Lucina, they will be here in a bit."

He nods as he takes a deep breath in, he has worked very hard for this day for last 4 years he has been working tireless, practising with Frederick, father and even other shepherds just so he can make sure he will win today, that he will be the one chosen not his sister. It is not like he doesn't think his sister is suitable, she is quite suitable. From a young age Lucina was able to take to swords and magic quite easily compared to her he had to work twice to learn both of them even then he has put off magic a bit so he can work on sword better, to at least surpass his sister in that. As a crown princess it would be better for Lucina to win the rite, everyone had been telling that but from a young age, Morgan has wanted to win it. To become like his father and today was the day he can prove everyone that he can be just like his father, a chosen hero just like him.

So, he will defeat his big sister even if she is more worthy or stronger than him.

Frederick takes his leave as he wishes him luck and heads to double-check everything for today. Frederick was a perfectionist his mother has explained, even if one tells everything is good, he still won't believe until he has verified everything on his own, he finds his knight's that quality cute. It has always been quite fun to see Frederick go above and beyond for the royal family and the two siblings have used that far too much then they would admit to their parents unless they want to get punished. Morgan grins at that as he waits for them, his nerves a bit jumpy.

The knock resounds quite loudly in the silent room and he jumps a bit as his parents let themselves in, smiling wide as they take him in. He blushes slightly as his mother has that proud mother look and starts gushing at him, squeezing him tightly as he asks her to stop. Why do mothers have to be so embarrassing, she laughs as he blushes and frowns at his mom. His father puts a hand on his shoulder as he grins at him and squeezes it tightly, his way of telling he was proud of him and Morgan had always loved that gesture.

"Nervous?" His mother asks,

He shyly looks down, "Is it obvious?"

"Don't worry even I was nervous," he laughs, "even though I was the only candidate."

"I can't imagine dad being nervous at anything." He says honestly and his parents laugh.

"I also get quite nervous at many things Morgan." Chrom pats his head and before he can think more the door knocks and incomes, a maid to tell the event has started.

They say their goodbyes as they walk out and he too makes his final check and walks out, as he closes the door Morgan knows this is the day it will be decided if his dreams come true or not. Falchion had allowed both to use her so now it depended on who was more the worthy master to wield the legendary treasure that had killed the felled dragon itself. Morgan wanted it, to prove he was worthy to be a hero and to prove to lose lipped nobles that he was not worthless compared to Lucina. He also knew this way Lucina too can finally openly start practising her tactician training that is why they all had been trying so hard from these many days.

And today was the day he will make his destiny.

He smiles as he enters the arena and looks around, bowing to his parents and then turns to his sister. The 13-year-old tactician in making smiles as she silently wishes him luck and they take stances, swords in hand.

The young man smiles as he picks up his ancestor's treasure Falchion and straps in on his waist, he walks out his room and heads straight to the cathedral. He is greeted by a lot of nobles as he enters the holy place of Naga and takes his place waiting anxiously. She appears on record time, as expected of the exalt, as she walks down in her regal gown and smiles at him with confidence as she holds a thoron tome in her right hand and other holding her gown in place. He takes a step back as she straightens her back and they walk in the chapel, as the newly crowned exalt and her ever-faithful knight. Their parents are waiting in front as their eyes shine with pride and he feels his heart swell in happiness as he stares at her back, he was truly glad they could make their parents proud. She kneels in front of there father as the priest reads scriptures and he stands behind her. She says her vows and the crown is placed on her head and his father helps her up as he looks at both.

"As of today, I pass my crown and my powers to the Exalt Lucina. You shall govern and lead Ylisse to another prosperous and righteous age."

She vows as she gives her final bow to her father, the last exalt and then straightens up, never to bend to anyone ever again.

He stands next to her as she turns to him, "Morgan will you vow that you shall always stay by my side. To counsel me, to advise me and protect me?"

He pulls out Falchion as he kneels and presents the sacred sword to her. To vow, he will use it only for her, and she puts a hand on it as she smiles and accepts his vow. She is truly proud of what her brother has accomplished like a true hero, he has faced every adversary and come out victorious. He gets up as he sheathes it and they both present themselves to their people.

As they complete their coronation details Chrom and Robin stay in the back, now far older as she leans on him and whispers, slight tears in her eyes but she will not cry on her daughter's coronation ceremony.

"We did good, didn't we?"

He leans too and whispers, "Ya we did good Robin."

She is happy, truly happy even after everything they had to sacrifice, they were able to fulfil the one promise they couldn't in another time. They made sure their children will be truly happy, and they were and as their parents, they couldn't be any prouder of them.

Chrom turns to the side as he senses something and beckons to the two people hiding as they smile in embarrassment and rush up to them. The family of four watches over their youngest ones as they take the next most important step in their life.

They all had changed there destines.

(And now finally, old ghosts can be forgotten about.)

[wardencommanderrodimiss]

I need more of the fell dragon chrom au HOW WILL MORGAN PLAY INTO THIS?? HOW ABOUT THE OTHER CHILDREN??? N O I R???????????

Morgan, oh god Morgan. In the Future Past, he ends up on Grima’s side even when it’s a very clear-cut “Grima is trying to murder everyone, Chrom was killed and Robin disappeared and Grima rose up immediately after, eating people from his own cult, and immediately setting fire to everything, Grima is definitely evil” matter. But in this situation, where you see both Grima-as-Robin and Naga-as-Chrom coming up alive, badly wounded, and each with an opposing story about who was the aggressor in their conflict, it is going to be a much uglier situation internally for the original Shepherds. And the kids - Morgan is as much his mother’s son as Lucina is her father’s daughter. Morgan is, without question, fighting for Grima, siding with his mother’s ghost and corpse.

And god, Morgan’s not just fighting against his sister and his friends in this situation. The ghost of his father - a puppet of him, his body not his heart - stands across from him on the battlefield, too. Chrom’s not so gone. 

It probably wouldn’t just be Lucina and Morgan who split apart, either. I think the Shepherds could all fracture - the original Shepherds, the Ylisseans, are going to stay with Chrom to defend their home. Plegia did start this original war, after all. That’s not a good look. And while Grima and Naga both command their armies with brutal pragmatism, throwing lives away to get a shot at each other, Naga is at least pushing the fighting away from Ylisse, across the border to Plegia, while Grima keeps bringing the fighting into their homeland. Lissa and Frederick, of course, and Sumia and Cordelia, Stahl, Sully, Vaike, Miriel, Kellam, Ricken, Mirabelle, Donnel, all fight for Naga. Libra would too - and present Libra would have a hell of a time, having to confront the fact that the god he’s dedicated his life to doing good in the name of is truly a monster - and Panne respects Emmeryn as the Exalt, so she would stay with Naga. On the other hand, Tharja and Henry don’t have any particular attachment to Ylisse and weren’t raised with any impression of Naga, and Tharja is very attached to Robin, so I imagine they might go with Grima.

Since Naga is also a brutal commander, with little regard for the lives of her army, I wonder if the death of some of the original Shepherds could cause their kids to switch sides and join Morgan after all his appeals. Grima is little better, as a harsh pragmatist who also has a penchant for sacrificing whatever lives deemed necessary, but considering Naga is claiming a righteous crusade against Grima, those words might ring a little hollow and make some of the kids see the cracks and start to wonder if Morgan’s argument, that it’s Naga who truly desires the end of the world, and Grima who only wants Naga defeated, is true.

Which....oh god, can you imagine, if there’s two factions of kids who travel to the past. Lucina and her friends, and then Grima chasing her with Morgan and the last few kids. That really makes this a very overcomplicated AU, but like....it’s also a super interesting concept. AU of the AU? It’s just hard to wrangle how the kids reuniting with their parents works if some of the kids are also at each others’ throats within the Shepherds while they also are fighting against Walhart.

........and then there’s Tiki, I just realized. I don’t want to make her evil, and Naga doesn’t really need a Voice if Naga is able to use those of the Exalt bloodline as vessels, so maybe Tiki just doesn’t really know how her mother is at all, and ends up mislead the same way Lucina is. 

All of this is just like. I love pain. Love to inflict it on myself.

Don’t think about the fact that through all of this, there’s still Chrom and Robin’s souls buried beneath Naga and Grima, both of them struggling to regain control before they have to watch everyone they love die, on both sides of the war, knowing that across every battlefield there’s one of their children, and their spouse, at the other end, commanding that enemy army, and they can’t make this end.

[the-werdna]

Title : Robcina Week Day 7 - Free Day

Description: New Years. A time to reflect on the year that has passed and to look forward to the year to come. And what better way to spend it other than to do so with the person you love?

Notes: Written for Day 7 of Robcina Week 2020. Takes place in the same Persona AU that I used in two previous oneshots, which you can find as chapters 41 and 47 of Love Across Time.

Robin checked his phone, nervously reading Lucina’s text message for what had to be the billionth time.

HELLO ROBIN,

DO YOU WANT TO VISIT THE SHRINE WITH ME TODAY? PLEASE REPLY.

SINCERELY, LUCINA

POSTSCRIPT: IF YOU ARE OCCUPIED I WOULD UNDERSTAND. I DO NOT WISH TO IMPOSE.

As with each time, Robin couldn’t help but smile a little at Lucina’s particular method of texting. Overly wordy and formal, yet entirely in upper case. Certainly an odd combo.

Yet as before the smile was short-lived, replaced by fluttering in his stomach as he waited for her to arrive. It was unusual for her to be late. Maybe she’d had second thoughts. Not just about seeing him today, but everything. Her. Him. Together. Realized of course it was a bad idea, that she didn’t feel that way about him anymore. Like he expected she would all--

Robin gave himself a little smack, shaking his head to clear those traitorous thoughts from his head. His cheek stung, the cold winter air harsh against his cheek.

Stop worrying and be patient. It's only been a few minutes,  Robin told himself. He reached for his phone again, only this time he managed to check the motion, instead trying to focus on his surroundings.

Snow fell gently over the town of Akanea, blanketing it in a dusting of white. It was as if the town had become a white canvas, almost featureless, ready to be repainted with the start of the new year.

A cheesy sentiment? Perhaps. But wasn’t that what today was about? To reflect on the passing of a year and look forward to the year to come?

Robin couldn’t help but look down from his spot at the top of the old shinto shrine, to the broken gap in the ancient stone wall that gave way to the forest beyond the town’s borders. He remembered how only a week into his stay at the town Owain and Cynthia had practically dragged him into the woods at that very spot, spurred on by rumors of ghostly spirits and people venturing in to never return. The promise of adventure they’d said… not that any of them could have known how true that sentiment had turned out to be,

Not that he’d go back and change it if he could. For all the hardships they faced that past year, he’d never have found the friendships he had now. A place to belong, even if his time in town would soon draw to a close this coming spring. A place for the first time he felt connected to and filled with people with whom he’d forged unbreakable bonds.

And he’d found love. Somehow. In spite of his wildest expectations. That too was worth something.

There was a crunch of footsteps in the snow. Robin turned, finding his breath caught in his throat as he beheld Lucina. She was clad in her usual scarf and peacoat, though the ensemble was now joined by bright yellow earmuffs and high brown boots that reached halfway up to her knees. Under her coat Robin could see just a flash of confused, clashing colors whose pattern he recognized all too well. It was the matching sweater to the one she’d given him as a Christmas present. She’d knitted them both herself, which is why Robin had likewise worn it underneath his own coat.

“I must apologize for my tardiness, Robin,” Lucina told him, taking a hesitant step forward and extending a hand towards his arm but stopping short. “I wasn’t sure what I should wear, and… I must admit I  considered returning home to change into a kimono. I know it would be traditional, but the thought embarrassed me so…” she shook her head, her eyes downturned.

“It’s okay. You look just as adorable without it,” Robin assured her, crossing the rest of the distance and putting his hand on her arm instead. He knew how self -conscious Lucina was in regards to her own perceived shortcoming in regards to acting like other girls her age. As she saw it, she failed to have the same interests and experience in more feminine topics, particularly when it came to acting like a ‘normal teenage girl’.

Robin could never understand why she felt that way. As far as he was concerned, Lucina was perfect the way she was now and had no business needing to change herself for him nor anyone else.

Lucina’s cheeks flushed pink and she shook her head.. “I know, but… I just fear I am… inadequate at times like these,” she admitted. “It is a terrible habit, I know. Though I’m… glad… to hear you say so, Robin.”

Without looking Lucina quickly snapped her hand down, gripping his fingers tightly, so much so that it almost hurt. Robin ignored it, taking her hand between them as well. For an instant he found himself staring at her face, marveling at how cute she looked when she got like this. And how beautiful she was, just like always. Yeah, he could never ignore that, and--

Now it was Robin’s turn to blush, realizing the turn his thoughts had taken. “So, um…” he stammered.

“Oh, the shrine, yes?” Lucina asked, her face turning a deeper shade of red as well. She’d been staring too.

Their feet crunching in the snow, the two walked together to the main altar of the shrine. Slipping their hands free briefly, the two bowed, making their own prayers for the coming year. Robin didn’t ask what Lucina had prayed for, as it felt rude to do so. For his part he merely prayed the two would be able to find happiness together in the brief time they had before the spring… and that they’d manage to remain close and true to each other in the long distance relationship that would follow. While he had faith enough things would work out between them, despite his doubts, he figured a little extra luck from whatever gods may or may not be listening couldn’t hurt.

Then, holding hands once more, the two of them turned to the offering box at the left side of the shrine to draw omikuji. Reaching out, Robin deposited a 500 yen coin into the box, Lucina doing the same.

“Do you want to draw your fortune first? I fear I have the most terrible luck when it comes to things like this,” Lucina asked, a small smile tugging at her lips.

Which seems odd, considering your Arcana is Fortune, Robin thought, deciding to keep this observation to himself. He still didn’t have the faintest clue of how to explain the whole concept of arcanas and social links to his fellow persona users.  So instead he just shook his head, replying, “Which is why it would be best to get it over with now. Better than worrying longer while you wait.”

“I suppose that makes some sense…” Lucina reached out, hesitating a moment before sticking her hand into the box and pulling out fortune. She squinted, reading the small text, her face turning to a grimace. “As expected. Curse. More bad luck is in store for me then....”

“Well, think of it this way. If you had bad luck now, then things can only get better from here,” Robin offered, giving her hand a gentle squeeze. “What about your fortune?”

“Let us see...  ‘Do not be overly judgemental of your loved one's intentions or actions.’,” Lucina read off. “That certainly does sound like me. I fear I am far too negative even at the best of times, which does sometimes make me too judgemental... I must strive not to let my own doubts reflect poorly on others, lest I always fear the worst in their intentions.”

“A very wise way to look at it, taking a negative fortune and turning it in a way to better yourself,” Robin noted.

“I know. Very unlike myself. Perhaps your eternal optimism has rubbed off on me more than I thought.” Lucina smiled, tilting her head slightly to him. “Now I believe it is your turn for a fortune.”

Robin nodded, reaching into the box and taking a fortune from the very center. Pulling it out, he unfolded the piece of paper, reading the text inscribed upon it.

“Great Blessing,” he read off, noticing how Lucina winced at this mention. He paused, gripping her hand at the wrist and moving it up to lay upon the fortune.

“Robin?” Lucina asked, gasping in surprise. “What are you---”

“Sharing my good fortune with you. I figure half of a great blessing is enough to counteract the curse you pulled,” he explained, putting his other hand on top of her’s.

“But this is your fortune. You don’t need to share it with me,” Lucina told him, shaking her head.

“I know, but… I want to. Isn’t that reason enough?” Robin smiled gently, meeting her gaze.

“Robin… you are too good to me. I don’t know what I did to deserve your kindness,” Lucina said.

“You did it by being yourself, Lucina. By being the person I couldn’t help but love,” he replied, wrapping the hand on top of her tighter.

“Robin…” Lucina said. She trailed off, seeming content with simply sharing the moment between the two of them. That, in the end, was all that was important.

“Thank you,” she said at last, Robin whispering those words in answer as well.

Then Lucina tensed up, an off expression spreading over her face. “Robin?” she asked, letting the word hang in the air.

“Yes? What is it?” he asked, concern gripping him. Had he done something wrong? Was she upset at something? Or had something else happened? Something serious that needed their attention?

“You didn’t read the rest of your fortune.”

Robin blinked, it taking his brain a painfully long time to process what she said. “Oh… Right…” he said, smacking himself in the forehead. He’d completely forgotten to read that.

In unison the two each took hold of one side of the fortune, gingerly folding it open once more, leaning in to peer at the text upon it, wondering what their now shared fortune would bring for them.

Your heart is a place to draw true happiness.

“Well…” Robin said, picking his words slowly. “..that was painfully underwhelming.”

“Indeed. Quite the generic fortune,” Lucina agreed. The two exchanged looks, glancing at the offering box.

“Maybe we’re putting  a bit too much stock in silly pieces of paper,” Robin noted, a wry smile tugging at his lips.

“Undoubtedly. In the end, our futures are what we make of them. Not something left merely to fate,” Lucina said, smiling back.

“Yes, it is,” Robin agreed full heartedly.  Even as he said this, however, he couldn’t help but glance down and read the fortune a second time.

“Still, this really is a big let down. All that build up only to just peter out…”

“If I were not mistaken, you sound almost disappointed, Robin,” Lucina told him, a warm laugh joining her words.

“Would have been more interesting at least, you have to admit.” Taking her hand in his once more, Robin leaned in closer, planting a quick kiss on her cheek. Lucina cheeks flushed pink again, matching Robin’s own face as he too blushed.

“Come on. It's still early, and I think I’d like to spend the rest of the day together. If you don’t mind, of course.”

“I would love to,” Lucina said, resting her head against his shoulder for a moment, tilting it just a bit to look up at him.

Then, together, the two turned away from the shrine, making their way back into town, ready to meet whatever the new year would bring.

Author’s Note: So, a bit of a retcon from my previous Persona AU. Lucina now texts in all caps, inspired by the fact that in addition to Naoto, I have discovered that yet another cute blue haired girl who reminds me of Lucina also texts in all caps… meaning it was only fitting Lucina did so as well.

Also yes I shamelessly ripped this off of Naoto’s New Year’s date in Persona 4 Golden. I just love P4 a lot, okay? *sobs*