#anyone who's seen my frederick and gustav opinions has probably noticed

[iturbide]

Hello! Sorry for this vaguely random question, but since you said that you’ve never played fates before (but you have played awakening, I think?), I was wondering if you maybe had any tips/warnings for someone who loves fe characters and lore and wants to write about them (I’m particularly fond of awakening but only through posts/other people/the like) but has never actually had the chance to play a/that specific fire emblem game? Sorry if that was confusing at all, and thank you in advance

Hi there!  Don’t worry, there’s no need to apologize.

You are correct, I have played Awakening!  It’s the only Fire Emblem game I’ve played through to the end (I’ve started Blazing Blade and Path of Radiance but never got far) and remember with any clarity (apparently I have played Sacred Stones because I found old spin-off fanfic when I was digging for Ace Attorney stuff, but I legitimately remember nothing about that game), and I found the story and characters deeply engaging despite its obvious flaws.  

I think the question I would have is, exactly what kind of writing context are we discussing?  Is this full-on fanfiction for a game you haven’t played?  Headcanons only?  Or just the characters themselves in a different setting (a la Heroes)?  Because I can offer advice for two of these three!  

It’s just the first case that I really can’t handle, because – at least when it comes to my own writing – I can’t write fanfiction based in a world I don’t know.  Whether I want to or not, I cannot write Fates fic until I actually play the games or watch a full playthrough, because there are so many details of the setting and story that get lost when boiled down into articles on a fandom wiki.  Even if I were to follow every link, it’s just impossible for me to get a full understanding of events, and I personally don’t feel confident making the attempt.  You might have better luck and more confidence than me, though!  And playthroughs are pretty widespread on YouTube – though if you’re like me and prefer text-based runs (I’m not big on commentary, so it’s sometimes hard for me to find a video playthrough that I can sit through), you can always try the Let’s Play Archive. 

The latter cases, though, I feel at least slightly more confident about – and for that, I think that you’re on exactly the right track already!  Exploring Wiki pages about the game and characters, reading analyses from players, and talking to people who are familiar with the games is a really solid starting place for developing an understanding of the basics.  For me with Fates, a few people I talk with regularly have played the games (at least one I would consider my go-to expert), and every once in a while something will cross my dash with an interesting perspective on one character or another.  Support conversations are also hugely helpful, since each conversation can highlight different aspects of a character that might not have time to shine in the main story.  Heroes has also been really helpful for me, personally, when it comes to familiarizing myself with characters: the whole reason I got so attached to Takumi is because of his dialogues in Heroes, which made me start digging into his character and trying to find out more.  I have no idea if my starting concept of him is close to canon or not, but it adheres to the information I have available to me and I’m pretty happy with him.  

Lore becomes a bit trickier, though, especially depending on what you’re looking for in particular.  The unfortunate truth is that some aspects of the games are sadly underutilized or even mishandled (and I’m specifically looking at Valla for the first and Plegia for the second).  I talk a lot about how Grima, the Grimleal, and Plegia get the short end of the stick in Awakening, but that is very much my personal opinion only, and I see a lot of fan works that don’t seem to question the in-game presentation or even lean into it.  It’s the same with interpretations of Grima: there’s a wide assortment of portrayals, from chaos incarnate to wanton destroyer to ancient entity who just wants to be left alone, and none of them are wrong because there’s enough evidence to support any one of them and no concrete proof to refute them.  Even Naga, probably one of the most frequently recurring characters in the series, has multiple interpretations: at face value, she can be taken as a glorious, glowing goddess taking care of humanity; but it’s equally possible that she’s simply an entity who has made many mistakes in her time and is trying to find ways to mitigate the damage; and at the far end of the spectrum there’s the humanity-obsessed divine willing to rob a child of her life and drive her own kind to extinction for the object of her fascination.  And again, none of these are necessarily wrong.  It’s very much up to personal interpretation and what an individual wants to highlight. 

If I had any warnings at all, though?  It would be don’t get discouraged. No matter what you do, there are always going to be people who dislike things, and some of them can be vocal about it; I’ve gotten some pretty nasty anons criticizing my headcanons in the past, but at the end of the day, they’re not the ones creating, so they have no say.  Your views, your headcanons, your interpretations of characters – those are all your own, and they are valid.  Do your research, find what you like, and build it from there.  People out there can be wonderfully passionate about these games (I know I am with Awakening), so you can always reach out if you want to get someone’s take on a certain character or event.  I hope this helps, and if there’s anything else you want to ask about, you’re always welcome to ask!