#YOU KNOW. ELIWOOD. ELIWOOD THE LORD OF THE GAME ELIWOOD. THAT ELIWOOD

[bleuberrygliscor]

...so just hector huh...

open up Intelligent Systems. i just wanna talk. i just wanna fucking talk.

[real-fire-emblem-takes]

I know you’re unlikely to read this today, so this will very quickly become irrelevant, but in the spirit of Father’s Day I wanna shout out Eliwood, the one father of a lord (that I know of) to survive till the end of the game.

I also wanna shout out Corrin for the opposite reason. They can have up to three dead fathers by the end of Revelations.

you fool. i have read it immediately

[lumeha]

It feels weird to know that your tastes in characters from a game you played so long ago has changed, but not completely

Because I'm like

Fuck yeah I still love Kent !! Vaida rules !!! Renault ? Fuck yeah !

... But do I still love Heath as much as I did in the past ? Should I replay the game and determine if I still love this man, when I'm somehow unsure about it now ??

Since when is Eliwood my favourite lord of the trio ??? I found Ninian boring and now I look at her and I feel so much affection for her character ??

Why can't I quite remember why I loved Fiora so much ??? Or Raven ?? Why do I find Raven boring now, when I adored him as a teen ?

But also I'm certain that if I replayed it I would fall in love with Isadora

.... Feels weird, but then it's been more than twenty years, but still

[gascon-en-exil]

What do you think the top and bottom preferences are for all the male FE lords?

Oof, that's a lot all at once...and it also assumes that all of these guys are into men which is quite the stretch for some of them. Still...

Marth - How in the world am I supposed to answer this one? He's got a canon girlfriend and his personality is several different flavors of bland depending on the game. I'm sure the Smash Bros. fandom pegs him as a bottom since he's the fem counterpart to Ike there...but he could honestly go either way - so vers.

Alm - Again, painfully heterosexual so I have no idea how to answer this. Might have fooled around with his villager buddies, but I doubt they ever got to anal. Let's call him a side (i.e. sleeps with men but not into anal) and move on.

Sigurd - Deirdre-sexual in canon, but might have gotten drunk and fooled around with Quan (and Eldigan?) when they were in school together. Probably has bottom or sub top tendencies as a result in the extremely unlikely event event that he's ever with a guy, because Quan is just like that.

Seliph - If we take his Chosen One status as topping, then he does that. It's so hard to say, but it'd be comically fitting if he were a calm and self-assured vers in contrast to his cousin...

Leif - Whatever he does he's pissed about it, so hardcore top or bratty power bottom. He has issues.

Roy - Can I just say he's 15 and move on? Eh, the game pairs him up so I suppose not...but he's just so bland.

Eliwood - I'm sure the internet would peg him as a weepy bottom, but I see more attentive service top. Will bottom in the right conditions, but more assuredly than his reputation likely suggests.

Hector - Aggressive power top probably with internalized homophobia who also likes having his ass played with but is insecure about who knows that.

Ephraim - Aggressively vers for his knight buddies or Duessel or whoever else he has as an erotic sparring partner. *coughs* If it's Innes, they fight over who gets to top...even though neither of them really lose no matter what.

Ike - Looks and acts like a top, but could swing vers for the right guy. This probably means Ranulf, because top!Soren is super exotic and rare.

Chrom - Bland...I don't know, tops so when he's fucking m!Robin he can close his eyes and pretend he's with f!Robin or the village maiden or whoever. (Also I'm not counting Avatars as lords here.)

Dimitri - Physically cannot top in most cases lest he accidentally kill his partner with his superpowered Blaiddyd cock, so he's gotten accustomed to bottoming. Felix can take it though on account of his equally superpowered Fraldarius ass.

Claude - You will never know what he's into until the moment he tries it out, and even then he might not be entirely honest about it. Vers, and mischievously so.

[mairinsgale]

Since I’m having a lot of fun with Blazing Blade, here are some thoughts I have !!

I LOVE Lyn, Hector, and Eliwood, and I love them even more together !! They have a fun dynamic and their personalities complement each other well. I was truly sleeping on them prior to playing this, you basically can’t escape them in FEH but I never actually thought I’d come to love all three of them so much !

Officially announcing that Kent and Sain are my favorite Christmas cavs. I love them, and their B support in which (spoiler, obviously) they talk about both of them having feelings for Lyn, yet Sain is the one to step aside so that Kent can be with her , only made me love them more. Ik this game’s characters aren’t insanely complex or anything, but there are so many great character moments 🥹

Before seeing Serra in action , the only feeling I had towards her was slight annoyance as one would for any 3/4 star they’ll get thirty times before the 5 star they want in FEH, but I now realize that it was totally because I just didn’t know what she was like . As soon as I saw her annoying Erk (so, from the very first second she appears on screen iirc) I loved her, and she’s one of my favorites now . Annoying girls u will always be iconic

WIL IS MY FAVORITE 🥳 I love almost all of the characters, but Wil was one of those characters I looked at and immediately knew I’d love . Simple guy but I love him! He’s the designated character that I instantly give every stat boosting item to so he’s better than the rest of my team , it’s what he deserves

I love the three lords in this game . I said it already but it needed to be said again

[wolf-beils]

The Man He Became: An In Depth Character Analysis of Hector's Adult Iterations

Introduction

Hector’s adult iterations are a pretty overlooked facet of him. When people see him as an adult, he’s typically brushed off as “just Lilina’s father” and/ or a raging shotgun dad. Boiling down a character to one thing or a gag doesn’t necessarily mean people don’t know what more there is to one. It does somewhat make that “something more” a little more obscured though. The noise of a simplistic fanbase portrayal, no matter how out of character, will often drown out a character's true self.

That’s why I want to provide this in depth analysis and theorisation on Hector as his adult self, and why it’s actually a really great part of him as a character. He has more to him than what the community and IS push him as which goes very unsung. So I guess this is my shot at trying to spread the good word if you will. I do hope people can take away at least something from this.

And yes, I said “theorisation” because he doesn’t have much content as an adult to go off compared to his younger self. He is ultimately just a backdrop character as this version of himself. So you really have to look deep into Hector and contextualise a lot to get substance. That isn’t to say he's got nothing going for him though. I do firmly believe what I’m going to provide is logical.

I'm just getting that out of the way in case you end up like disagreeing with anything. This is fuelled by my own personal take on this character in the end. So like— please respect that.

A Recap On Part Of Hector’s FE7 Development

Firstly, I want to bring up some things regarding Hector's youth. His exact age during events is not something spoken of in game, but through an artbook and a timeline on SerenesForest, he does have canon ages:

17 during Lyn Mode.

18 during the main story.

Probably 18-19 during the FE7’s epilogue.

34 during FE7’s extended epilogue.

37 during FE6.

SerenesForest Timeline In Question

Anyhow, the reason I’m bringing up Hector’s younger iteration first is because I want to make something clear about his character and development: that he’s only young. This is a point FE7 strives to drive home, often describing Hector and the other two lords as “young”. It helps us realise that while they are good, strong people, they’re still only young and have yet to fully grow and mature. Keeping this youth in mind is pretty important for understanding them.

None of them are fully matured even if it seems like such, especially Hector. Growing out of that lack of maturity is a point Hector makes about himself at the end of his mode. This quote from the epilogue of Hector Mode pretty much says it all:

Before this, before FE7 even, he was more or less a free spirit. He did as he pleased, whether it was befitting of his status or not (mostly not). As implied in his Eliwood and Oswin supports, he was kind of rebellious about it. It's a trait he mostly retains during FE7, though to a less rebellious extent given the situation he's in.

Point is— what I want you to bear in mind about Hector as a youth, before I analyse his adult self, is that he is not a grown man here. He is not grown up, nor developed, nor matured. He's never had the chance to really grow up. This is more than likely due to his trauma and the mess he ends up in for the duration of FE7 then doesn't quite allow that chance either.

With that refresher on his younger self, we can start actually going into Hector as an adult.

Purpose

The absolute main thing I see adult Hector as is a statement that he becomes that better version of himself he vowed to become. It’s honestly quite the inspiring thing to see— someone wanting to change, making that change happen, and making it last. That is, above all else, the biggest yet most criminally unsung thing about him as an adult in my eyes. It's among the most unsung things about Hector as a whole really.

While he is almost only given spotlight if Lilina is involved, be it from IS or the fanbase, I don’t think fatherhood is truly the biggest thing about him as a character. As a person, a human being in the world of Elibe? Yes, he’s a father first given how much he does care about Lilina. Any parent should be a parent first and Hector is no exception to that.

But his adult self just adds such a good extra layer to Hector as a standalone character. It’s like if you ordered 20 chicken nuggets from McDonald’s and got a couple extra. Hector as his younger self is already a nice box of 20 McNuggets. His adult self is those couple of generous extra nuggets that you didn’t need, but god damn are they appreciated anyway. And I personally value that much more than him being a decent dad. That extra layer is yet another part of why I love this character so much.

Through the little screentime his adult self has and the nods to him in FE6, it can be deduced that he’s a much better man. Foremost, he's clearly more mature— the very thing he wanted to improve on when he became Marquess Ostia. It can be said that he’s more respected, which is quite contrary to how he was viewed by others in his youth.

And as much as I don’t like considering FEH writing (especially given how dirty FEH has done Hector's younger self in the past), his Halloween alt also shows his adult self off really well through what dialogue he has. I do have a personal rule of not considering FEH’s writing for a character that isn’t from the game itself but I do make exceptions when the writing is genuinely good. In this case, they did good for him so I’m considering it.

Flaws, Insecurity, & Fear

Just because he’s a better version of himself, it doesn’t mean that he’s suddenly flawless. He’s probably far from it in fact. We all are. So I want to start the nitty gritty off with his less bright aspect that he’s retained, as well as some new stuff he deals with.

First, I want to present this line of dialogue from FEH:

He is likely still quite protective to some degree. Although he’s a better man who’s managed to iron himself out, he’s still a traumatised man. Unfortunately, trauma is something that will stick for life whether we like it or not. All we can do is not let it dictate our thoughts and actions too much. In the past, Hector let this happen and it cost him his very fate when he didn't have to do what he did.

Before I go on, I want to bring up a very similar character for a minute: Gustav from FEH. He too is a deeply traumatised man. His stone cold attitude is fueled by traumatic experiences in his own youth— losing his father to Hel, the man dying right in front of his eyes. That was punishment for Gustav's once excessive willingness to dive into action. That’s why he’s so critical of Alfonse being similar. He may not admit it, but he’s still very deeply hurt by the loss of his father and the attitude he shows towards Alfonse is an expression of that pain. He desperately doesn’t want either of his children to go through that same pain.

At the point we see Gustav in FEH, he’s either a similar age to Hector or slightly older. So that said, Hector is still likely a protective person. He always has been, and always will be. That fear of losing those he cares about most will always be present with how he’s lost so much in his youth. His parents, Leila, Uther— those three losses will stick with him for life whether he likes it or not. On top of that, he witnessed Elbert dying and Athos died in his arms so that’s probably caused some extra damage.

Something to be said about his relationship with Lilina is that she's the only close family he has left (though that could be somewhat debatable since we have next to no clue about his relationship with Orun). As just stated, he's lost more family young than anyone should. Those losses have made him wary, and desperately not wanting to lose anyone else. This little girl of his is all he has left. In his eyes, he must protect her from everything. At anything that could possibly lead to him losing her, he feels great fear.

This facet of his trauma is actually something subtly established in his B support with Eliwood in FE7. While he's young here, it's safe to say that the fear he shows in that conversation applies to his adulthood for the most part. It's also shown in one of Bride Lilina's text quotes in FEH:

But that isn’t to say Hector is some overbearing shotgun dad with a violent, lightning quick temper— far from it. He’s evidently pretty lax, shown by how he doesn’t seem to force Lilina to do anything. That even includes her study of statecraft to be his successor. Lilina does that willingly and Hector does nothing but support that in a genuine fashion rather than just a “because Ostia needs an heir” type manner per the Halloween duo unit conversation. That should be enough indicator that Hector will support whatever his girl does, so long as it’s safe.

This extends to marriage, and moving away. Sure, Hector may well have doubts and fears. But as long as Lilina chooses the right person, he’ll be fine. For example, if she married Roy and had to move away to Pherae for whatever reason (not that it'd happen due to the circumstances of their ending), he’d probably be more than glad to let that happen. Without a doubt, he’d trust in Roy’s goodness seeing as he is Eliwood’s son and all. There’s zero reason he wouldn’t trust him.

Hector can’t really be the untrusting person he once was given his position and certainly wouldn't cast aside rationality when a boy he likely knows is nothing but good is involved. This line of thinking applies for pretty much any character Lilina could reasonably marry in the future. (Not that she has any other marriage options but that’s why shipping exists. This message was brought to you by the Lilina/ Ogier gang.)

Would marriage and Lilina moving away still make him uncomfortable? Probably, yes. But he’d ultimately be fine. Every parent must let go of their child some day, and Hector would be capable of doing that— even if he’d feel disconcerted at first. But he’s likely grown past standing by irrational conclusions and refusing to think any different. He wouldn't have got as far as he has as a leader if he wasn't at least a bit open-minded. That need for trust and open-mindedness would surely aid in his deep down struggle with trauma.

Additionally, I’d like to show an excerpt that more or less proves he trusts Lilina to fend for herself. Here’s a bit from volume 4 of a storybook series related to Cipher (rest in peace):

Before continuing, I just want to link the post that contains the full passage. It’s a detailed PoV from Hector when he’s bleeding out in Araphen. Full credit and big thanks goes to starfirexuchiha for providing the translation, as well as ZoraTwilight for scanning the volume for this to be a thing. I highly recommend you check it out because it’s genuinely one of the coolest pieces of official written Hector content out there and the rest of the stuff is awesome too.

Fire Emblem Cipher Album Book Volume 4 Translation

Back to business though.

Yes, this is obviously how Hector is thinking when he’s about to die. But I think this pretty much shows he trusts Lilina wholly, and knows deep down that he doesn’t have to worry so much over her. Of course, he can’t not worry since he’s a natural worrier. It’s the thought that counts though. Deep down, he knows and appreciates just how great his little girl is.

One last thing I want to talk about regarding this topic is the Armads curse. A curse he contracted through taking up the legendary axe in his mode. Something which is lowkey a writing mess that conflicts with how FE6 handles the axe but that’s not what we’re discussing. I want to discuss how it may have affected him long term, and how he feels about it into adulthood.

First off, I think the curse affected him quite a lot emotionally, and he regrets his decision to take up Armads. He didn’t need to pick up the axe because things would’ve been totally fine without it anyway. The decision was one made out of fear of losing anyone else, and a deep insecurity about his own strength. It probably wouldn’t be long after FE7’s events that he starts to regret it. Perhaps during the year period between the final chapter and the epilogue.

Into adulthood, I feel he’d still regret it. He can’t not when such a curse will lead him to die a horrible death, the chance of leaving his loved ones too soon painfully real. No less is there many possibilities for what could happen. Would he die alone? Would he die in front of others? Worse, would he die in front of a loved one? The outcomes are many, and incredibly unsettling no matter what.

And whenever he lets someone new into his life, there’s always that feeling of knowing that’s someone else that’ll be crushed when he does die. Another heart that will break when he passes. He’d be well aware of this fact— most definitely when Lilina comes into the picture.

However, I do think that as he grows older, and as Lilina becomes a part of his life, he tries to be optimistic. He tries to stay hopeful, so as to not feel down about it all, nor get others down. It’s why he fills Lilina’s head with promises that he won’t leave her in the FEH Halloween alt conversation. He has hope that he’ll live to become a grandfather, and proudly watch Lilina take the throne (given what ends up happening— yeah, it’s a bit of a bittersweet moment).

All in all, his deep-rooted insecurities won’t change. Everything he’s been through will stick with him for life. He can very much still get hurt. But his way of managing it all has potentially changed for the better.

Worries & Stress

While Hector is a better version of himself, his life still isn’t without stress— especially come FE6 time. From personal struggles such as the Armads curse I already mentioned, to simply the stress of being one of Lycia’s highest powers.

A big one is that there’s a particular someone he could potentially be on the brink of losing around FE6 time. That ‘someone’ being Eliwood, who is of course deathly ill by this point. It goes without saying that he’s definitely hurting about that to a degree.

In fact, this is actually alluded to in the storybook volume I brought up earlier:

I think that excerpt more or less shows Hector’s fear of losing him. It’s a no-brainer really, with Eliwood being his first and one of the only friends for his entire childhood as well as his teenage years. It shouldn’t be too hard to imagine just how scared he is to lose him— especially given he’s lost three other close people to illness, all before he even became an adult.

With that in mind, there’s no doubt it plays on his brain to some extent. We know from FE7 that while he is capable of putting up a tough face, he is rather sensitive on the inside. I don’t doubt that sensitivity has changed much. Even if he wasn’t rather sensitive, it’s his best friend. Eliwood is someone he respects above pretty much anyone, and as shown in FE7, he’s willing to do a hell of a lot for him. It’s going to upset him knowing Eliwood is suffering, and possibly on his last legs.

On top of that, it’s implied in FE7’s extended epilogue that Bern starts becoming suspicious as early as that time:

Given Athos’ prediction, it’s within reason for both to think something might happen from this. And it’s probable things slowly escalated throughout the 4-5 years leading up to FE6 events. As the military leader of Lycia, and Ostia’s highest power, Hector’s surely going to be a bit stressed.

And that'd certainly be the case when he eventually has to go out to Araphen. He’ll meet it all with his head held high, but he can’t not be a little stressed when there’s the real possibility he may not come back. It’s known he did tell Lilina about Durandal’s location before leaving too. So he went into that battle knowing full well it could be his last— which as well known, it was his last.

He did ultimately vow that he would do anything to stop anything from going out of hand. Even if it meant sacrificing his life. Which… let me go on about that idea for a minute.

I think that bit of dialogue is such a neat little nod to how aware he may well be of the Armads curse. It shows that he knows well that if anyone is going to sacrifice their life for the greater good, he’s the best for it. He’s going to die in battle anyway and he knows that. The words Durban spoke to him stick to him like a tumour, a reminder that his end won’t be peaceful.

The Real Hector Is Out

Now, I’ll really get into how he’s bettered himself. Why else is it that he’s a much better man than he was when he was younger? I’ve already made it somewhat clear that Hector has attained the inherent maturity and sensibility that can come with adulthood. So what else is there?

The biggest thing is that he’s learnt that he shouldn’t hide parts of himself. When younger, this was one of his biggest struggles. He always felt the need to be someone that he wasn’t exactly— a run of the mill tough guy. You learn through his supports and a story scene or two that he’s actually a wonderfully kind and even somewhat gentle soul who just wants the best for people. That is the real Hector beneath the tough front he puts up the vast majority of the time.

When he grows up, this is something he has potentially improved on. One such implication of this is the Halloween alt’s friend greeting:

This single line of dialogue honestly tells quite a bit for no reason. He’s showing that kindhearted man he is out in the open. No longer is he afraid to hide that softer side— which honestly can be said about this alt’s entire existence really. He’s happily dressing up alongside his daughter, genuinely celebrating the festival. He’s happy, relaxed, lovingly keeping Lilina in his clutches (who’s around 10 here by the way so she doesn’t really need to be held).

Additionally, and on the topic of his Halloween alt, he is very well-mannered towards others in the paralogue and the Tempest Trials dialogue. That’s more or less another way to show he’s more openly kind and sociable too. It’s a bit of a step ahead of how his younger self is (not that he’s that much of a little shit as a youth but there’s no denying he’s slightly too forward and slightly less inclined to gentleness).

And there is one particular part of the Tempest Trials dialogue that shows him at his best. A heartfelt exchange he has with L’Arachel:

There’s not many words, but this exchange speaks so much about both characters. It’s to this day my favourite bit of writing to come out of FEH. There’s just so much meaning tucked into this little exchange. It’s truly a heartfelt moment where two characters relate to each other on a deep level for a moment.

L’Arachel sees a little girl and a wonderful father she sees her own in. It calls back to the hurt little girl inside of her. She wouldn’t wish the pain she experienced on anyone. No less that little girl with the man before her. That’s the place her words come from.

And Hector knows that very acutely. He knows the pain she carries with her all too well. So he hops right to it— metaphorically extends his hand out to the girl in front of him. He offers the most comforting words a girl could hear from a father. Perhaps he offers something more than comfort. I’ll be honest, I am of the genuine belief that he maybe even offers fatherhood to L’Arachel.

However it is, there’s no denying just how sweet he was here. And not to mention how readily he comforted L’Arachel, despite her being someone he’s not known for long. Really, before this, we’ve never really seen Hector so quick to support anyone with words— not even Eliwood. Often times, he was very much a doer, and never much of a sayer. Definitely shows he’s shaped up in terms of speaking to people there.

Another example of his willingness to be more openly soft comes from FEH yet again, and from the same alt. This time in an interaction with Ivy in her Forging Bonds chain:

I just want to say that Hector and Ivy’s interactions in FEH are kind of funny when you take into account how they interact in Engage. I’m just really amused by the juxtaposition between how the younger Hector and the older Hector interact with her. In Engage, he just laughs in her face when she brings up her fear of ghosts. In FEH, as his older self, he doesn’t care and pretty quickly offers some support for her.

And funny enough, I think that does showcase the change in Hector between his youth and adulthood pretty well. He’s being way more readily kind, let alone sociable than his younger self would be. No less coming up with a good remedy to Ivy’s trouble socialising. That in and of itself is why I’m really glad they chose to include Hector here, seeing as Lilina was shown to be quite shy in FE7’s extended epilogue. It’s probable enough that he’s got an affinity for cracking shells.

That knack seems to yield results too. Lilina is quite sociable in FE6, becoming quite trusting (even if to a slight fault) and good with conversation. For Ivy, that little party gives her the drive to interact with others more.

To me, those bits are enough indication to show he’s past making his best bits more exclusive. There’s no reason for him to do so and he knows that. He’s got a brilliant heart in his chest and a whole lot of decency. What good is there in hiding that when such goodness can uplift many? There is something in relation to this I’ll bring up later too.

What Got Him There?

Of course, Hector couldn’t have become this man overnight. Self development isn’t easy at all. 

A logical theory for this is that he begins to learn this being with whoever he marries. But the change really comes when Lilina is in the picture. What better thing to change a needlessly rigid, stoic man than an adorable bundle of joy to call his child? Typically, such a thing can soften someone up quite a bit. In the case of Hector, given some tidbits here and there (including interactions with the child in question), I think this would be the case.

Have a listen to the Halloween alt’s conversation with Lilina, and then picture something. Picture Hector who’s been a father for like six months, holding a little baby Lilina. He looks her in the eyes, about as beaming as he can be, making small funny noises to entertain her. When you hear the tone that Patrick Seitz uses, it’s not too hard to envision that, is it? (Awesome work as always by Patrick by the way. I really love his take on Hector despite the criticism it sometimes gets.)

I think Lilina is the thing that really changed him for the better for good. That little girl is the key that indefinitely unlocks what his consciousness locks away more than it should be because of how much he conditioned himself to be what he thought was strong. Of course, because he’d be spending plenty of time with his bundle of joy, that side of him will be quite active. And with regularity comes establishment.

This doesn’t mean he’s become some soft, jovial dad though. Soft and jovial he can be around Lilina, that’s for sure. But in the grand scheme of things, she enables his best side more. A side of him that not just those close to him deserve to have the pleasure of seeing. An openly kind, golden-hearted man that the world around him deserves.

Aside from Lilina, he definitely shaped himself up for the sake of his leadership roles as is because well… he kind of had to. There’s no way he was getting around as a leader if he didn’t work on his manners or his trust issues. So it’s safe to say he must’ve done a lot of soul searching before the first epilogue.

His CYL alt in FEH does entertain the idea of him picking up reading. He probably used that as a method to improve his patience, and actually study (something he didn’t do too much of in his youth). Aside from that, there’s plenty of ways he could’ve started to shape himself up mentally. There’s many ways one can go about healing and self improvement.

He’s Still Hector

I sometimes joke that his adult self is like a different character but really, he’s not entirely. Despite all the change he’s been through, he’s still the same person who those around him know and love. As has been established throughout this analysis, he has changed. In some aspects, he is a different person in that he doesn’t seem to hide who he really is any longer and he’s overall matured. Still, he’s not a completely far cry from who he was in his youth.

Of course, as I said in that last section, he’s still boundlessly good-hearted, loyal, and well meaning. Out of everything, that hasn’t changed a single bit outside of how much better he expresses that. It’s a core fundamental of who he is in the end. Without that wonderful side of him, he just wouldn’t be Hector. It’s a part of what draws those he loves to him, and can more or less be what draws players/ readers to him.

And another thing I’ve already said he’s retained is his protectiveness. That is something he is by nature. He cares for those he loves and will protect them as he sees fit. And like the trait in the previous paragraph, he goes about it better. I probably don’t have to repeat any further on this since I did go on about it earlier in this. So we’ll leave this topic at that.

One small thing I haven't alluded to is how he doesn't completely care for his status. This is pretty much set right in stone in his conversation with Eliwood during FE7's extended epilogue:

It's a very neat tidbit in the conversation. It does show that he cares about his station but also that he isn't consumed by it. He just wants to talk with Eliwood friend to friend, not leader to leader. Just because they're of high stations (Hector in an even higher station than Eliwood ironically), that doesn't mean they can't speak like familiars. Hector doesn't believe in there being this set way nobles have to act. He never has believed in it, despite how much noble conduct is likely pushed, and no matter the judgement that was thrown his way in youth. 

That last bit actually kind of segways into this next big thing that Hector has retained. It's a trait that he's admired for— that being his preference for doing things his way, and penchant for making it work. This is something that Oswin spells out very nicely in two separate supports:

Hector isn’t someone bound by convention. He’s about getting things done and doing whatever he can for that to be so, no matter how improper it may be. Like I said, he doesn’t care so much for his status and won’t bend his behaviour to adhere to what’s considered ‘proper’. That especially goes for when he’s doing something for anyone he cares about. When that’s the case, he definitely does whatever it takes, everything regarding convention and conduct thrown out of the window.

Again, Oswin pretty much puts it all perfectly. He strives to stay true to himself, and he does that better than anyone. Where one doesn’t see a way forward, he makes one himself. It all very much attests to him having a will made of iron. But more than that, he’s just being himself.

So how does this trait fare into adulthood? Well, it’s certainly there and he’s still just about as unconventional. Despite his leading positions needing him to be at least a bit poised and proper, he still does what he wants and it works out. Where this shows is Lilina and Astolfo’s support conversation in FE6:

Yeah, he kind of guilt tripped a thief into working for him.

Honestly though, prepare for something of a tangent because this whole support speaks volumes about Hector and I love it so much. So this won’t entirely pertain to the topic of this section.

More than anything, this support portrays Hector exhibiting those traits I’ve just gone over. Your typical leader/ noble would sooner apprehend a common thief stealing castle riches. But Hector isn’t quite typical. He’s not like the other nobles at all. No one else but Hector would recruit a seemingly random thief who once looked for the castle riches. To an average noble, that sounds utterly ridiculous.

But why did he do it in the first place? Like— yeah, Hector is kind of bizarre but he knows what he’s doing and has a whole lot of sense to boot. There’s always a reason for what he does. There's a method to what a lot of cut and dry nobles would consider madness.

His castle is nowhere near easy to get into. From what we know of Ostia, let alone the support, no common thief makes it as far as the treasury. Here comes Astolfo, a common thief who bypassed the guards and made it as far as the treasure room. Thus what Hector sees is not a common thief, but a man of great potential to be something more than that.

He’s rather pragmatic— albeit a bit of a wacky kind of pragmatic, but pragmatic nonetheless. Definitely the wacky kind given he just laughs in Astolfo’s face at first. Then he compliments the man, and offers him a job. If that doesn’t show how one of a kind he is, I don’t know what does.

Even so, there’s a reason he’s so flippant. Remember, this is the same guy who doesn’t care so much for his noble status. That’s all shown in his attitude and the way he tells Astolfo that he can keep what he’s stolen. He doesn’t talk to Astolfo noble to commoner. He talks to him man to man.

The reason I go over this support so thoroughly is because honestly, it alone lays out just who Hector is as an adult. It showcases both how much he’s changed and hasn’t changed. For the former, it goes back to him getting over his trust issues. He’s clearly much better at seeing good in others and not going straight into his prickly shell. In terms of the latter, he still couldn’t give a rat’s ass about his station and is all for being a little unconventional. He very much lives up to what Oswin says about him in his Matthew support.

The Astolfo and Lilina support chain may not seem like much at surface level. But think about all this stuff I’ve gone over. Think about how the Hector you see in FE7 would approach the situation. Think about the minute details pointed out throughout this analysis. When you consider all that, this support is the hard proof that he achieved the goal he set out to do. And he still stayed true to himself in the end.

Meaning

Well, I’ve pretty much covered every base that matters. So we reach the tail end of this analysis.

I will admit firsthand that Hector’s adult self definitely isn’t the most deep thing out there on surface level. Hell, a chunk of this whole thing has been theoreticals (which I did say that’d be the case at the start). Theoreticals based on the heaps of characterisation he has, but still theoreticals. What I will say though is that through him not having much in plain sight, there lies room for all this speculation and the chance to suss things out yourself.

There’s a reason he doesn’t end up completely better off by the conclusion of FE7. He’s been hurt since before the game’s events. He was always a hurt boy in a world that never entirely accepted him. It only got a bit worse throughout FE7, with him going through the horrors of real battle and going through some painful losses— especially Uther. So after it all, of course he’s not going to be better in a flash.

That’s why I really love the detail that he doesn’t seem that way until he’s portrayed as a grown man. It makes his proclamation towards Mark in his mode’s epilogue that much more meaningful. He does get better, and evidently fits himself into his new life eventually. Even in spite of him being unsure about leading that life, he’s determined to live it and does it all because that’s what he’s all about. He’s all about achieving anything he puts his mind to.

He becomes kinder, wiser, more respectable, and evidently a damn great father. Sure, he’s a great person in his youth, but he had some glaring problems. Growing up, he remedied those problems as best he could while still remaining himself. He’s not without vices, as that is with anyone, though he’s done a good job at toning it all down. 

And of course, it would take until he’s a grown man for that change to be in full force. He’s mentally scarred in more than one aspect. Such things can take a long time to heal. Change can take equally long to truly come into fruition. It’s yet another layer of realism to an already very human, realistic character.

So what do Hector’s adult iterations mean for him?

Well, they serve as a conclusion to his tale. Hector’s tale, his true tale, is one of overcoming trauma and realising his best self. It’s a tale of inner struggle, loss, and a testament to what true strength is. It’s a tale of a boy becoming a man.

Closing Words

That about wraps everything up. If you did read this entire thing— first of all thank you from the bottom of my heart. Second, I sincerely hope you enjoyed and took interest in my perspective.

I’ve worked on this analysis on and off for almost two years, pouring in all the love and passion for this character. I’d be lying if I said that time hasn’t been pretty transitional for me. I’ve changed a bit as a person on my own road towards self improvement. This character, and especially this facet of him, is a massive comfort and inspiration for me. Writing this whole thing has definitely reaffirmed that to a degree.

But yeah, I’m not going to hang around too long. Seriously, I appreciate it colossally if you managed to read all of this. If you have any questions and such, then you’re welcome to ask. I will say, I am more active on Twitter (@/WolfBeils on there), so you may have a better shot at reaching me there.

Otherwise, yeah, that’s all I got.

[emblemxeno]

You know what gets me?

When it comes to Edelgard, I just think that she’s both directly violent (meaning the planned assassinations, kidnappings, conspiracy, coups, assistance in human experimentation, and incitement of warfare that she did) as well as incredibly indirectly violent.

Saying to a political or military enemy whom you decided to attack first,  “surrender exactly to my terms or else you will suffer more violence” is in and of itself, violent.

That’s what separates her from just being an “action oriented lord” like others in the series. Ike retaliated against Daein because he was hired to. Hector retaliated against Nergal’s forces because they attacked Lycia and Eliwood first. Ephraim, Chrom, Sigurd, and Alm sought to fight off invasion of their countries/end pre-existing conflicts. Leif was fighting against a cult and corrupt warlords in order to retake his home and save children. Rhea herself even, never incites conflict (bullshit about assassins in Three Hopes aside cuz half of that game doesn’t line up with Three Houses at all), because all of her enemies attacked first.

Edelgard, meanwhile, incites violence and continues to be violent by telling her enemies “surrender exactly to my terms or die.” She doesn’t let Judith flee. Seteth, Flayn, and Claude only live on Byleth’s terms. She tells the king of another country “you’re the one prolonging the war by fighting back.” 

That is fucking violent. That’s what makes her the same as Ashnard, Zephiel, Arvis, and Walhart. Agree to their terms or be swept aside.

And the only reasons why people are so adamant to not accept that is because the way she’s written 1) has her use pretty, philosophical language so as to convince the player to think she actually knows what she’s talking about and 2) player pandering, to the point where she borders on being infantilized in her own damn game (don’t you see how CUTE she is??? she just wants to eat candy and paint pictures all day!).

Not helping this fact is that any indication of her violent nature, particularly in CF, is subtextual. It’s not like Conquest where that game deliberately makes sure to show the player that Corrin is, in fact, doing bad things and that there’s no turning back because she’s made a choice and has to see it through for the peace she’s seeking. It’s not like Micaiah in Radiant Dawn where she’s been actively forced to commit atrocities for a cause she doesn’t believe in only so she can guarantee the safety of her people.

No, Edelgard made the choice to inflict violence upon people who have done nothing to her or her loved ones, all because of her preconceived and incorrect notions regarding Fodlan’s history. And continued to inflict violence by forcing people to choose between “surrender to my terms” or “be struck down.”

No amount of “Crests bad” or “Church/Rhea creepy” or “I want to change teh world!!!” is gonna change these facts.

[femblem-emblem]

FE3H lords as FE7 lords

(Spoilers for both games.) I've seen a few takes on this but mine is:

Claude takes Lyn's role. He's most separated from the main story, but he's still a leader. Sacae and Almyra have similar aesthetics and reputation. I would love to pit him against Marquis Araphen. Erk and Serra become Lorenz and Lysithea, and we can even keep our mediocre archer.

Hector and Dimitri would be the biggest bros anyway. Hector is very willing to murder, although he knows it's not his story so he manages to hold back most of the time. Hector "I don't know who's responsible, so I'm going to kill you all!" of Ostia and Dimitri "Kill every last one of them!" Blaiddyd. Oswin's role easily goes to Dedue. Uther? Rodrigue.

Eliwood is Seteth. Both of them are the more level and cautious protagonists. Seteth and Flayn as Ninian and Nils might be the more obvious pick, but Seteth is the de facto lord of Silver Snow, and he cares for Rhea just as valiantly as Eliwood cares for Ninian. Flayn takes the role of Nils - she joins early, after all.

So Edelgard? Brendan Reed.

The Black Fang Strike Force used to be a necessary force for good. Holding the nobility accountable, by whatever means necessary? Edelgard would be fully behind that mission. But then morphs (TWSITD) corrupt it from the top down. Instead of Sonia, we have Arundel. The morphs already replace people. Whether this becomes a good ending for the Black Fang where Edelgard achieves her goals, or whether it's left to the traditional lords to take them out, depends on where Byleth-Mark ends up.

(Bonus: Caspar would do exactly what Linus did.)

Yuri is basically young Legault already, so that accounts for the last 3H lord. Maybe he gets to steal a bit of Jaffar's role for story importance.

[fantasyinvader]

I had a couple more thoughts regarding with what I posted last night.

Houses tries to link Claude to wind, but wind isn't one of the Chinese elements. Those are fire, water, earth, metal and wood unlike the western elements of earth, wind, fire, and water (no heart though). Ergo, Claude being wind makes him an outsider to this.

The Azure Dragon, as discussed, isn't always blue as Chinese tradition held that blue and green are simply different shades of the same color. Claude, the leader of the Golden Deer, ends up as the protagonist of Verdant Wind, verdant being a word for green. Dimitri, leader of the Blue Lions, is the lead of Azure Moon, with azure typically being blue but that same tradition says it can also be green. Claude and Dimitri are both blue-green characters, symbolizing that they are both allies and heroic characters. However, Claude's true color is hidden behind the yellow/gold, which in this franchise denotes a separate enemy faction and therefore less trustworthy. Claude never gains that green coloration in Hopes and his route is called Golden Wildfire, his wind took and spread the flames of Edelgard's war to the point it's out of control, and his time in the shadow realm makes it clear he wants Rhea gone and seemingly knows he is the bad guy.

Again with the blue-green stuff, this would also make Byleth a blue-haired lord/player character (the only real outliers in this regard are Corrin. Eliwood, Leif and Roy) But this would also denote that Rhea, Seteth and Flayn are trustworthy by hinting at the connection. Meanwhile, Edelgard's associated with red and black, villainous colors.

When you think about the game's usage of flowers, Edelgard's intendedred flower being the safflower would indicate it's a route of attraction (only revealed post-timeskip and altered to a rose in the English text), whereas the white lily Rhea wears would symbolize purity. Whatever you have with Edelgard is meant to be superficial, whereas Byleth's real connection is meant to be with Rhea. That's the pure relationship.

How Hopes tags taking the steps to recruit Byleth as the “if event.” I dunno, it seems to indicate to me that Shez does end up fighting Byleth as the default story, and that recruiting Byleth is something of a variant of the timeline. Kinda like how the choices that unlock Flower are depicted as changing the story.

[four-loose-screws]

FE7 Novelization Translation - Chapter 13 Section 8

If you would like to start from the beginning, read a missed part, etc., click here!

FE Game Script Translations - FE Novel Translations - Original FE Support Conversations

If you are interested in donating to support my work, please check out my Ko-fi here. Thank you!

———————————

Chapter 13: Light (Section 8)

(All text is under cut for spoilers)

After returning home safely to Lycia, Eliwood inherited the title of Marquess Pherae. His life shifted immediately from war to politics. His work often left him exhausted, but Ninian was always by his side to support him.

They have a son named Roy, who will one day fight in a war that will once again shake the continent of Elibe. 

Hector became Marquess Ostia after Uther's sudden death. Though his grief over the loss of his brother and the pressure he was under as marquess of Lycia's main house weighed heavily on him, with his beloved Florina cheering him on, he grew to become an even greater marquess than his brother. 

Lyn tended to her grandfather's bedside until his death, then abdicated rule of Caelin to Ostia, and left on a journey to Sacae. There, she reunited with and married Rath, son of the Kutolah Tribe's chieftain. They are raising their daughter in comfort with the blessings of nature.

Marcus and Merlinus became fast friends, and continued to serve Eliwood. Marcus became the combat instructor for Pherae’s noble family, while Merlinus managed their finances. Both became widely-known as loyal retainers of House Pherae.

Isadora returned to her post as Eleanora’s guard. Lowen completed the ceremony to become a full-fledged knight. Rebecca also became a formal retainer of Pherae, and later, at the request of the marquess and his wife, became their son's wet nurse.

Oswin became Hector's strategist, and Matthew continued to serve Ostia alongside him as a spy. Serra was busy for a time broadening her personal endeavors, but lately, she once again seems to have more free time than she knows what to do with.

After Caelin's territory was placed under Ostia’s rule, Kent served as its steward. His partner Sain resigned and traveled the continent as a free knight. Wherever each of them went, the two remained close friends. Wil returned to his post as a knight, and continued to demonstrate the full extent of his archery skills.

Noblewoman Priscilla and mercenary Guy fell in love, but he attempted to give up pursuing her due to the gap in their social standing. However, her tears made him resolve to elope instead. Her smile when she took his hand was the most brilliant of all her smiles across her entire life.

When Raven confessed everything to Hector, the marquess offered to have his territory reinstated. However, Raven rejected the proposal, and returned with Lucius to his carefree life as a mercenary. Lucius felt overwhelming happiness at the expression on his lord’s face when Raven became free of the weight upon his heart.

Nino and Jaffar were wed after the war. They were blessed with twin boys and lived happily, but when they were found by bounty hunters pursuing the remaining members of the Black Fang, their whereabouts became unknown.

After Athos' passing, Pent stepped down as mage general, and continued the research the archsage left unfinished. Doing so caused an uproar, but he did so completely carefree, in the names of his wife and future children.

Erk was next in line to become mage general after Pent retired, but he declined. He gave his life to magic research alongside his teacher.

Dorcas used his pay to buy the medicine his wife needed, and returned home to her. Bartre set out on a journey wandering the continent to become a true warrior. According to rumor, he fell in love with and married his own arch-enemy.

After the battle, Legault traveled around each country in search of the lost remaining members of the Black Fang, and pointed them towards new paths in life. Everything he did, was all in the name of the friends he had lost…

ー

And so, the fight against Nergal ended without it ever having to cross the center stage of the continent of Elibe.

At Bramimond’s order, Hector and Eliwood sealed away both Durandal and Armads. Bramimond also once again sealed away all of the other remaining Legendary Weapons across the continent.

They wished that none would ever have to use their power again, too great for human hands…

But they did not remember at the time of Athos' foretelling during the final battle of a bad omen…

[fevotinggauntletreal]

FE Miniboss Battle Opening Round - Match 4

info and propaganda under the cut

ISHTORE & LIZA

Class: War Mage (Ishtore) ; Thunder Mage (Liza)

Appear in: Genealogy of the Holy War - Chapter 7 (both)

Choice quote: "I confess I'd rather keep you away from the eye of the storm, but there's nobody whom I could ever trust more than you. My apologies, Liza." (Ishtore, Beyond the Desert)

Propaganda:

they seem like (possibly) legitimately nice people who have a loving and healthy relationship, who also both die and then are basically never brought up again. YES they are on the evil team (and the evil team in genealogy does some heinous shit) but so is ishtar, who is meant to be sympathetic and attempting to save who she can from within, and this is literally ishtar's brother and sister-in-law so that's probably shared. also, the townsfolk say they like them, and considering how much dialogue/description literally anyone in genealogy gets that seems like frankly how we're meant to judge their characters. and they don't even show up in thracia despite the fact that they ARE IN THRACIA!! wild ass game.

DAMIAN

Class: Paladin

Appears in: Blazing Blade - Chapter 16x (Eliwood)/17x (Hector)

Choice quote: "Lord Eliwood of Pherae… You don't yet know to fear the Black Fang. Start grieving… for I will teach you that fear."

Propaganda:

no propaganda submitted.

[unearthlytwilight]

24E. oh boy we're really in it now

important: implied animal cruelty. if that makes you uncomfy, skip this one. if not, all aboard for part one of the fetch quest!

Eliwood and friends infiltrate Bern castle and... hide in a bush. I'm imagining a Scooby-Doo-esque head stack

Desmond tells her to go play, then gets pissed at Zephiel for being a loving brother. he accuses him of wanting to see Guinevere dead and tells him and Murdock to fuck off. classic Desmond *laugh track*

Sonia shows up and helpfully exposits on the Fire Emblem's location. nice. she senses someone but Desmond says "don't worry it's my kid", which is convenient. anyway, she leaves

Guinevere is upset that Zephiel is gone. Desmond, in a rare display of non-jackassery, offers to play with her, but she declines.

(one reason I love these GBA cutscenes is that the portraits move left/right across the screen easily, making them more dynamic. above, Desmond moves closer to Guinevere and she backs away from him. it reflects action in a way you just don't get with models)

anyway, Guinevere goes to find Zephiel and gives Desmond her baby fox to hold. I think we all know where this is going

Desmond does love his daughter, but it doesn't make him any better. usually you see "oh the villain has a loved one" as easy sympathy points, but not here. kinda refreshing

cut to the lords discussing how bad the situation is. they decide to bounce, and then we cut to Ninian and Nils outside. Ninian is worried because they've been in there for a while

you're a little late, Nils, they got their A last chapter. also, rare Ninian exclamation point

they get surprised by this lady, Vaida, who they can't sense because something something Nergal did it. she's looking for the two, and the lords catch up and call her a lackey. honestly hilarious

Vaida says nuh-uh and tells her troops to attack.

side note: there's a well-known exploit known as the "mine glitch", where if you close the game when a mine goes off and then input a series of buttons, you can control enemies. Vaida's spear is coded to give its wielder big stat buffs. guess what people do

the combat's not so bad. there are wyvern reinforcements near the shops in the top right, but otherwise it's definitely manageable

but before we get to that, Pent and Louise join! Pent gives us a Heaven seal, used to promote Hector or Lyn.

Eliwood, you gotta believe in yourself. do I have to come over there

pov: you're a castle guard and see this shit happening five feet away

apparently [tactician] is famous in Bern. nice little personal detail

Hector gets the promotion because he capped strength. Heath also caps strength. who even needs the Vaida spear

sage crit! Pent says there can only be one

(somewhere, Priscilla and Erk got their B. Priscilla gets jealous of Erk because his previous employer was a lady, but Erk is all "oh god no I hate her." meh. at least this one has characterization? 5/10)

the bottom-left village has a hammerne staff from ...Ursula. surprised? me, too. Sain I don't think she's girlfriend material

anyway! after 11 turns, Vaida decides she's had enough of this and peaces out. Eliwood and the gang follow her, courtesy of Lyn

Lyn and Hector really do have that sitcom frenemy relationship

next time: we spy on the spies and figure out really obtuse character select requirements!

[sukimas]

broadly i think a problem of most of the fire emblem games with avatars is that despite being the main character the avatar isn't allowed to do anything when they are one.

they're not allowed to have ideas that drive the plot; other characters have to suggest them to them. they're not allowed to have ambitions, or to lose things that are important to them besides single people; they only care tangentially, because the people they care about have actual hope and despair in their lives. they're generally not allowed to make decisions (even when we make decisions for them.)

i think a good example of a character who does not fall into this trap (and the character i consider the best-written avatar; their game's story does them few favors, but allowed to be in a plot that's not full of holes, they'd shine) is robin. robin is consistently allowed to make decisions. they make tactical choices. they come into situations and choose how the situation's gonna go; they're gonna set a navy on fire (or they're gonna come up with a plan to thwart their evil father) all on their own, whether we would've come up with the plan or not. they get to do things and be things, despite the fact that they're an amnesiac with no real reason to be with the main army, because they are allowed to take actions.

of the avatars that aren't allowed to do things, there are two types. the first is the understandable ones: kris and shez. kris and shez are just kind of Guys Who Are Being Paid To Be Here. though they can sometimes come up with suggestions, they're never shown to be anything but emotional support for the real protagonists (as much or as little emotional support as those protagonists might need) and they generally get tossed around wherever the winds of fate take them because that's the kind of life they lead.

on the other hand, we come to the problem children.

byleth and corrin have absolutely no agency in their stories, and both of them are written (far more than any of the others) as the true main characters. though the three country lords in three houses do drive much of the plot, they are not the characters we see the internality of- not our marth/roy/ike. we don't get their perspective. we do, for comparison, get chrom's; this is what makes awakening weird in that it actually has deuteragonists.

so, our two true main character avatars. they do not get to make decisions. sure, you get to choose what house you teach/what kingdom you side with. but this is ultimately an uninformed decision in both cases; either way it's just your (and their) gut judgment (unless you've been spoiled online already as to what happens on each route). after the routes begin, you do make interpersonal decisions (do you want to spare or kill xyz character?); but all the decisions actually relevant to the events of the plot are left to other characters (generally azura or whichever lord you picked. in silver snow it ends up being seteth.) this is especially glaring with byleth, where you can make dialogue choices that do not actually alter any characters' dialogue that follows whatsoever. (ironically this is fixed in three hopes. go shez!)

anyway, i am hoping that because alear is not immediately joined by people who are clearly in positions of authority above them/know lots more than them (veyle doesn't seem to be that present, and the guardians are very clearly their subordinates) they will get to make Decisions sometimes, even if those decisions are primarily motivated by information they get from others. i believe that the main problem of fire emblem avatars is not that the plot revolves around them or that they're not very fleshed out characters- certainly they're no more poorly fleshed out than for example eliwood or seliph, as a whole- but that they don't actually do anything in the plots of their games. i think that given alear doesn't have someone who can clearly tell them what to do and will thus have to sometimes make a choice once in a while, that it's possible that they break the cycle and get to pull a robin again.

(maybe with a more coherent plot this time? i can hope.)

[lumeha]

@eiriee (a beautiful new post for you)

My confusion did indeed come from the fact that the very simply titled Fire Emblem on the GBA is FE7, and more comonly referred to as Fire Emblem Blazing Blade now (thanks to FE Heroes, the mobile game). And, uh, Fire Emblem First Of Its Name (Fire Emblem Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light) is (was ?) also available on Switch and somehow my brain went "yeah of course this is totally about FE1", having apparently forgotten that FE7 is. just. named. Fire Emblem. in the West

'cause it's the first game we ever got !

And it was also my first ever Fire Emblem !

With this out of the way...

Do you like strategy ? Do you like cool pixel art ? Do you like a story that is a lot more personal in scope than the usual fantasy story ? If yes, then Fire Emblem is the game for YOU !

... More seriously, Fire Emblem GBA was my first introduction to Fire Emblem as games, and despite some potential criticism of the changes to Lyn's Story, it makes for a great introduction to the game and how it works. In the Western version, the game forces you to go through Lyn's Story as an easy mode tutorial, to teach you the ropes through her personal quest after she finds you, tactician, just. yeah. you were out there. She had to help you. And you decide to help her when you get attacked by bandits.

And that tutorial does give you all the tools you will need to play the game, when, once you are done with Lyn's story, you get introduced to Eliwood, main Lord of the game. And once you've done that, you can go through the story from another point of view, with Hector's mode. Which is a huge plus for me - Hector's mode is harder than Eliwood's, but they didn't just decide to give you the same old, same old - there are a lot of scenes that reveal more of what happened in the story, things you didn't get to see during Eliwood's side of the game.

So you get one really well made tutorial, especially if you don't know how Fire Emblem works as a game (only downside is that it's not skippable for people who know how that all works), and then you get two versions of the same story, from different point of views, with a cool difficulty slide. I like that personally ! that really grabbed me !

An interesting thing about Fire Emblem Blazing Blade, to me, and something that absolutely grabbed me as a teen, is that while the story does end up having beats of saving the world... it is not as grandiose as most of these stories. It starts about a son searching for his father, and it always stays somewhat in the shadows, partly because FE7 is the prequel to FE6 and its much more open war. People just kind of. Don't know what happened. And I think that's compelling.

Another cool feature you can enjoy with FE7 : having so many little guys and gals to pick from and become obsessed with. While most characters don't get a lot of dialogue, you can and will find Your Special Boy Or Guy (mine's Kent he's a boring stick in the mud and yet I love him <3 but also shout out to Renault and Vaida). Fire Emblem is often known for its support system, that allows unit to build relations and let you get fun dialogue between those units, and it has always been one of my favourite feature ! and I really like the FE7 cast and the supports ! Having so many guys and gals to pick from is just a plus for me :D

And finally : ... a bit like the point I made about NES FE, I have to say, but... it's worth checking FE7 just for the pixel art. I find myself loving it, not only because it's really pretty, and I think there's a lot of reason why people make GBA FE Style pixel art, but also because it's a genuine asset for the game as a strategy game. I always find it really easy to read and a really solid asset for the gameplay : the maps can be large, but it's usually easy to spot ennemy units VS your own, and get a sense of what's going on where !

... and yes, the game makes the calculations before combat for you, unlike FE1, which definitely makes it easier to play and find your own favoured strategy :D

So... I hope I've sold you on it ?

[dentos-wife]

Since you say Chrobin is inferred what else is inferred and canon in FE?

Disclaimer this is just my option from the stance of an aromantic asexual who only follows the text and what they do with the characters and what I see pushed in side material. But here's what I see and with just the lords

FE1/3/11/12: Marth and Caeda canon, there's no arguing it, all the side material confirms it it's blatant canon

FE 2/Echoes: Alm and Celica canon same reasoning as Marth and Caeda

FE 4: Sigurd and Deirdre canon, Deirdre and Arvis is canon too but it's never pushed not like the former that's the FE4 ship they want you to remember. Seliph as far as I'm aware doesn't have a pairing, his siblingship with Julia is his important relationship and it's platonic

FE 5: I know nothing about this game except what I see in FEH. I think Leif and Nana canon, could be wrong, would be willing to hear someone out who knows that game, if not canon they are definitely inferred

FE 6: Roy and Lilina implied I think like his dad's game Roy can pick anyone to be his wife, IS seems to favor Lilina the most in side material

FE 7: Eliwood and Ninian highly implied this is the one I'd compare Chrobin to the most, Eliwood can marry Ninian but he doesn't have to he can marry anyone else if he wishes, in side material though and FEH they're pushed a lot to the point when I looked it up I was surprised it wasn't canon

FE 8: I...don't think anything is canon or even inferred here. Open season

FE 9: I'm going to get so much hate for this but here we go. It's heavily implied I don't think it's been stated, Soren has feelings for Ike. And I 100% believe that. However...Ike comes off as very ace to me so I don't think Ike can ever love Soren as much as Soren loves him. That said they could easy have a queerplatonic relationship I don't see the two ever separating it just wouldn't be a traditional relationship

FE 10: Micaiah Sothe canon I personally wish it wasn't and don't like it but you can't argue it's not canon, and the side material continues to agree with the game, just ignore it (I sure do)

FE 13: As I said Chrom Sumia was originally implied, but they dropped it now Chrom Robin is heavily implied Lucina has no one, protecting her dad is her character.

FE 14: Gender split. In the game one could argue for MCorrin Azura was slightly implied due to her having a different support per route. For FCorrin due to popularity Leo got a drama Cd and a manga which slightly implied Leo Corrin. That time has passed, Corrin has no implied pairings anymore Corrin just cares about family, everything is platonic

FEH: Yes this is a mainstream game. Almost everyone loves the summoner (because it's you) Fjorm outright is in love with them, Alfonse and Veronica could be implied due to Lif and Tharsir's relationship. Everything is canon here and nothing is canon here at the same time.

FE16: So this one is interesting because of how hard it splits between MByleth and FByleth

Edelgard is heavily implied not just with Byleth but MByleth in particular. In the game the portrait she's drawing is of MByleth if you look close enough, MByleth is also usually for advertisement purposes put with the Black Eagles, Edelgard's house. Because her crush on Byleth is such a part of her character they didn't write it out for FByleth yes, but it was made in intention to MByleth (aka the male players)

Dimitri is implied with FByleth. Her material has her with Blue Lions the same way MByleth's material has him with Black Eagles. It's not as blatant as Edelgard, nothing would be but it's still there (to cater to female players)

Claude: Ha you think they'd care about the character who is a copy paste route? They don't. Poor Claude, nothing is implied or canon with him

FE17: No one but due to Alfred's circumstances changing if you S support him, I might lean to Alear Alfred implied it will all depend on what the side material tells us

[furryprovocateur]

my cup cumeth over

what is there to say about kinship's bond, one of my favorite defend chapters in the series? it was absolute agony to do this chapter because while you don't HAVE to kill eubans, you absolutely want to because a. he drops a knight crest b. boss kill experience c. the chapter ends the second he dies d. the chapter turn requirement is the max amount of turns spent defending, so basically as long as you kill him before turn 10 enemy phase, you'll be saving at least one turn, if not multiple. the problem is that he's basically in the asshole of the chapter, being surrounded by forest squares and being in the very corner of the map whereas you start near nearly the opposite side. still, getting to him isn't hard if you overextend with marcus/any other non-isadora paladin you might have by this point and just haul ass with a javelin, hand axe, and iron axe equipped at various points. if anything, the hardest part is surviving with everyone up to that point.

LMAO JK did you think i was serious? the hardest part is the dicerolling for killing eubans because i cannot tell you how many times i got to the end only to see "sain is attacking eubans. he has a 70%-80% hit rate and he only has to hit once and is doubling. OOPS he missed both hits" or even better the classic "both hits missed on the enemy phase and now you can't kill him because the forest square he attacked you from is preventing a 1RKO LOL haha". i swear to god it's not even HHM or the ranked run that's making my blood fucking boil, it's the fucking probability always swinging against me in the most fucking improbable circumstances. i had like 2 80%s miss then a 30% to kill hit me. i just. i know it gets exhausting to see me complain about RNG in this game but holy fucking CUNT FUCK does it incense me. like i cannot overstate how mad it makes me because i'm literally not making any mistakes and still losing because of it. i'm trying so so so hard not to mald harder but whatever.

heath got a level and change and got good stats. the plan is to use the shit out of him next chapter by prepping him with a barrier and letting him go to town on as many of the magic units that he can. iirc he's not gonna be doubling but if i give him the short spear, he might be 1HKOing until he either can 1HKO with the javelin or double. isadora meanwhile did 2 things for me this chapter: she used a nearly broken iron sword to kill an annoying mage and then she hauled ass to the secret shop to buy a bunch of shit with the silver card (another physic, two torch staves, two barriers, and a 5 use chest key (i'm going to need this for BBD and NOF i imagine)). the best part about buying a bunch of shit with the silver card is that it doesn't cost any money due to how the game calculates funds, so even if i am overbuying, i'm just making my liquid gold solid.

last thing to note: we're in red alert territory because my collective lord levels are only at 46 right now and FFO is right around the corner. i need to average getting 2 level in living legend and genesis. i THINK this is fairly doable considering there's two berserker bosses next turn and i think i can at least get lyn to kill one of them, ideally eliwood would be able to tank out the other one. the biggest problem is living legend has a short turn count so i have to be quick, but i also need to make sure i'm hitting the experience benchmark. i'll burn turns if i HAVE to, but i want to avoid that at all costs. at the same time, i absolutely refuse to do lloyd's FFO, so the conflicting desires there are gonna come to a head soon.