#ascended Celica

[s117rartblog]

Ko-fi poll winner: Ascended Celica✨

[godly-feh-edits]

(Mod Toto) Fourth day of ice cream menus! Today we have Celica, Felix and a summoner!

[rubaduck]

First post on Tumblr!

Here's a portrait of Ascended Celica

Hello everyoneee, I've decided that I want to post my artworks here, hope you all like it!

Character: Celica/Ascended Celica

Game: Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia/Fire Emblem Heroes

[emblemxeno]

Alm and Celica’s argument at the end of Act 2 in Echoes is honestly fascinating when you think about it more cuz yeah it’s easy reading it on the surface level as a lover’s spat (hell I think even Kusakihara described it as “girl gets mad and boy has no idea why girl is upset, just like real life” which bleh) but it grants very good setup. These certain lines from each of them stick out to me most: 

Alm: Nrgh… If I didn’t know any better, I’d swear I was speaking to a blue blood. My station doesn’t matter, Celica. I’m here because I was called. I have a duty to perform, and I’ll perform it. No more, and no less. [...] Do you think I WANTED this fight? This all started because Lima IV went and angered the empire. If you wish to point fingers, point them at the ruler who failed his people. It’s his fault we’re in this mess.

Celica: That’s not… Well, so what if it is? Maybe you should go become king if it’s such a damnably easy job! [...] You’re awfully free with accusations for a boy with no idea what royalty entails! And now that you’re a “hero,” I imagine the throne is next on the list, is that it?

Celica directly critcizes what Alm is currently lacking as a leader, and Alm unwittingly hits one of Celica’s major insecurities. 

Alm is established as having strong ideals and unwavering views during Act 1, but his awareness of the world is incredibly shallow, not made better by how he’s so sure of how the world should be that he’s unprepared for what it actually requires of him and what it means to be a person of influence, be it an army’s commander or someone of high birth, hence why Celica brings up exactly how he’s ignorant to the kinds of burdens that royalty have to endure. That’s why his parts of Act 3 and 4 have him dealing with exactly that: it starts with his Brand being revealed to Berkut, next he gets the Royal Sword that’s supposed to be royalty only, the conversation with Clive about rescuing Delthea, him finding out Celica is a princess, dealing with killing his own father and cousin, etc. And despite it all, what he has to due is think beyond himself and for the world. He can’t focus on his sadness of losing his family right now, as the heir to Rigel’s throne his responsibility is to make sure the safety of Valentia’s people is secured. That’s the burden of royalty that he was lacking, what Celica has had since she was a kid and what she criticized him for, and the piece of the puzzle he was missing.

Celica meanwhile is established as being incredibly aware of the people around her during Act 2. She takes out pirates even thought it’s not in her mission description because she knows the people are suffering because of them, for example. However, she’s distant. She’s closed off. She knows what’s required of her as a princess, but it can seem like she’s being cold instead of responsible. And despite this, she’s still under the impression that she’s not doing enough, hence why she gets as upset as she does when Alm calls Lima a terrible king, because even though she didn’t like him whatsoever, Celica herself sees herself as a terrible princess. In response, during Act 3 and 4, this insecurity of hers gets put into overdrive. She’s helping people yes, but being Mila’s priestess and the newly revealed missing Princess of Zofia starts having her taking her burdens to extremes. She’s convinced that she has to do everything herself, and that Mila is the only way to fix things. This extreme is taken to the point where she’s too self sacrificing and closed off to the pleas of her friends and the situation right in front of her, that everyone involved gets hurt. Her piece of the puzzle that she’s missing, is the day to day perspective, and understanding that the strength of her friends can buoy her; Alm being raised as a village kid means he was set up to have this way of living woven into his character.

In short: Alm sees what’s in front of him, but needs to learn to see the bigger picture because he’s unprepared for what kind of pain being a leader brings. Celica is very aware of the bigger picture, but needs to learn to lean on her friends or else she’ll end up hurting more than just herself in trying to do things alone.

They each have what the other lacks, but are just unable to reconcile early on because they were separated for so long, hence the argument. But y’know. Hardship builds character and all that. And sometimes hardship means unknowingly killing your cousin and dad, or getting turned into a souless monster and stabbed with a sword.

[katfreaks-hidyhole]

[pyrite]

he just needs time's pulse 4 and seven more copies and he'll be perfect.

on a related note, why are all my faves green mages?

[themonotonysyndrome]

hello my lady!

how are you? i hope you are well.

i hope you know i adore your writing 🫶🏻

do you happen to have a part 2 to that oneshot? maybe another scenario of castin and the baroness when things were still icy? i’d love to hear things from castin’s pov as well.

unrelated, but i love the idea of the baroness being an absolute badass at combat. like being able to take down his men. and castin just being in awe.

anyways!! hope you’re well

thank you for all you do, you are so appreciated

Good evening, Anon! As I'm writing this, it's raining heavily at 10:12 PM, and my Bluetooth speaker is blasting Hit 'em up style by Blu Cantrell while sipping on some orange juice, cold and munching on sweets.

It makes me really happy.

Hmm... I wasn't thinking of continuing that oneshot, tbh, but you caught me in a good mood, Anon. We can explore that scenario a bit more!

do you happen to have a part 2 to that oneshot? maybe another scenario of castin and the baroness when things were still icy? i’d love to hear things from castin’s pov as well.

I'll be focusing on this since I've explained in an ask that while Celica can fight, it's mostly for self-defence and only when she's desperate. She wasn't trained to be a warrior; she's trained to fight dirty like an assassin.

So let's get to it!

-

"Rhett."

"Beloved."

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't throw your bro into the lake for making my girl upset."

"Castin does not make for a good fish food. Do you really want innocence to die from indigestion?"

"Can... can fish even get indigestion?"

The King of Intacia promptly snapped his mouth shut. A look of genuine contemplation is clear as day on his face. Normally, Isolde would've laughed and kissed him silly. It's just like her husband to be affronted over a piece of knowledge he lacks. Now? In this instance? On this day? On this beautiful day blessed by the Divine Couple themselves?

She's mad. Like, real mad. Mad enough to personally confront Castin, no bullshit. No King, no husband, no servants, no guards, no entourage and no pretence that it would be an amicable meeting.

If Isolde could see her reflection right now, she would've flinched in shock, but since there's none - only Rhett - the world remains blissfully unaware of how terrifying the Queen Ascendant truly is.

Rhett reaches out to her with a tentative hand. "Beloved..."

"No! No, Rhett! Don't you fucking dare try to pacify me," Isolde hisses, emerald-like eyes glowing with magic untamed as the ocean. "I gave not only Castin a chance but you as well. Forget about support from House Anesidora; if Castin made Celica cry? I'm finna be on a ship back to the Empire with her! 'Cause what the fuck, Rhett?"

"Anything that I say now regarding Castin will only sound like excuses - "

"Damn straight!"

" - and even though the Baroness has agreed to marry Castin - "

"Say sike right now. Rhett, I swear to the Conqueror, that better be a fucking joke."

"..."

Somewhere in the Palace, a fountain suddenly exploded. The unfortunate servants and nearby foreign dignitaries screamed and scatter like headless chickens. It's chaos.

"I'mma talk to your bro real quick."

Isolde forcefully yanked her hand free, her shoulders taunt with tension. Rhett scrambles after her, just barely able to stop her march. "Ok, look, I know this is not what you want to hear, but may I make a suggestion?"

"You're right - I don't."

"That is fine! Completely fine, Isolde. Then, I will speak to the air; don't mind me. Ahem. Sometimes, good intentions can go awry. It happens, right? Can we agree on that, please?"

The Queen Ascendant growls. Right. If Rhett wants to save Castin, he needs to watch whatever he says next carefully; every word counts. So he centres himself and has clear his thoughts. He ponders the bigger picture. What is truly important here? Uniting Intacia and the Coastal Empire. That has always been and will forever be Rhett's goal in life. His wife, friends and family deserve to grow old without war looming. But has he fallen into a tunnel vision? Did he nearly sacrifice the goodwill of his loved ones to accomplish that?

The answer had him pale, eyes widening in realisation. Suddenly, weariness seeps into his bones.

Seeing how defeated her husband looks broke Isolde's heart. She sighs, feeling just as defeated and so lost. She steadies him, and together, they sit on the ground. She couldn't care less how their clothes are dirtied.

"Rhett, I need you to listen to me very carefully here, ok? I know that your heart is in the right place; I do! It's one of the things that I love about you, sans kidnapping and all that. But the point is, in theory? Hooking our friends up and watching them ride off into the sunset in their wedding fit is awesome, great, a fairytale come to life. But we're not living in a fairytale, babe. Castin and Celica are just too different. They exist on opposite extremes, and you can't force them to change their nature."

The King is silent. His beloved's words are heavy and true. And then, he finally speaks, "We shouldn't interfere with them anymore. If the Baroness decides to revoke her agreement to marry Castin and withdraw her support, then... then that is her right and I will no longer darken her doorsteps. I will ensure her passage back home is safe. It's the least I could do. Could you please deliver my most sincere apologies to her? For the moment she steps foot on Intacian shores?"

Isolde pats his shoulder comfortingly. "There, there, Rhett. Don't be so sad. We're not gonna interfere with them anymore but let me talk to Celly first; check how pissed off she is because we might need to up our security."

"What on Earth for?"

"So you better let him know that if he mess up, you gotta hit 'em up."

-

Castin messed up big time. Major.

He lashed out at a woman who is not only the Queen Ascendant's bestie, but also the love of his life. Not that she knows that and at this rate, never will.

Ever since their telephone game turned into a trainwreck, flame and all, Baroness Anesidora never once left her assigned bedroom in the Palace. Her food is delivered when everyone knows King Rhett invites her to sup with the royal couple daily. She turns all but the Queen away when her friends come by for a visit. The maids in charge of cleaning the suite and attending her whisper that she's practically monosyllabic. No one but Castin, Isolde and Rhett knew the reason why.

Speaking of Isolde...

The Queen had chosen to have dinner with the Baroness this evening instead of her husband. Castin wanted to keep his brother company since things were still tense between him and the Baroness. Much to his dismay, however, Rhett wanted to be alone and ate his own meal in the office. This sucks - everything sucks!

And there's no one to blame but Castin.

He hates this. He hates himself for pushing the Baroness to a corner where she's forced to unsheath her claws. Again! He hates the chasm he created between Rhett and his wife. He hates how that little boy is still crying because he just can't fit in with the other Intacian boys.

Insecurity is a bitch.

He needs to make things right, and for that reason, he's been stealth-camping on the Baroness' balcony, patiently waiting for the Queen and the maids to bid her good night. When it's finally quiet inside, Castin continues to wait. A Noblewoman like Celica has a whole routine before she gets ready to turn in for the night and he didn't want to catch her mid-undressing. He doesn't want to create another international incident.

When he notices that only a single flicker of a candle is still lit, Castin finally takes his chance and slips into the room. He had already broken the lock when he heard the water running in the bathroom.

What he sees, however, made him feel shittier.

Baroness Anesidora is fast asleep at a table. Her head is cushioned by her arms, and books, journals, and documents are everywhere. She must've been working. It's a humbling experience for Castin since he only sees her in the morning, dressed to the nine with an arrogant smile. Seeing her now makes him want to grovel at her feet for refusing to believe that someone as strong and prideful as Celica Anesidora could ever get hurt by someone like him. A warrior with a mountain of baggage.

It takes considerable willpower for Castin to force himself to move, to do something. And so he snatches the duvet, and when he so gently covers the Baroness to ensure she stays warm, he sees what she has been working hard on:

New Intacian-Coastal Empire trade tariff proposal with rates that favours Intacia underneath carefully written lines of negotiations. A protection treaty for foreign investors regarding their assets ensures non-interference from the local aristocracy, including House Anesidora and covers disaster contingencies. On top of a stack of paper beside the Baroness' head is a financial incentive document designed to attract international entrepreneurs specialising in all sorts of industry; notes scribbled below outline tax breaks, subsidies and funding for foreign innovators, especially those from Steelgate. Lastly, a legislative document to be proposed to the King and Queen outlined Intacia's commitment to protecting foreign merchant fleets and caravans from threats like pirates, rogue Ascendants, and political rebellions while traversing to and from the country.

A wave of shame rolls over Castin. While he's too busy antagonising the Baroness, she's busy fleshing out a detailed economic framework for Intacia to stand strong once more.

"I'm so sorry..." Castin whispers. He wants to hold her, to kiss and tells her to not neglect her health; fuck, Goddess, help him, he's caught under this woman's spell, and he doesn't want to break free. "Don't hate me too much, yeah?"

Before he slips outside and stands guard (because of the broken lock on the balcony's door), he leaves his favourite book with a pressed Hibiscus - his favourite flower - inside. His first step in earning the Baroness' forgiveness.

[randomnameless]

Reverse uno card : Jugdral edition

2014 : "yay, i can't wait for a Judgral remake, with updated graphics!!!"

2024 : "gods please no remake"

What happened in ten years to make me dread the remake I would have sold my soul for back in the days?

Well... IS's policies and new writing, mainly.

While I was joking about "Genealogy of the Holy Self Insert" in 2015, I still had faith in eventual Jugdral remakes. Sure, we were in the big Fateswakening era where the only things I could frown at IS were the "writings" worshipping self inserts (Ryoma being jealous of Corn's talents, when Corn was like, 5?) - but I still had hope for a more "serious" FE, and I first I was very delighted by FE15 - no self insert, a more "serious" setting, no hyperbolic time chambers to try to explain in watsonian words why second gens exist, etc...

But there was still something ringing dead wrong with FE15, which I only noticed thanks to FE16 and its years of discourse - at one point, IS's writing went in a certain direction that makes it impossible, imo, for us to have a "correct" Jugdral remake, as long as IS still follows this direction.

I'm not talking about uwufest - even if it is part of the larger problem - but back in FE15, I remember being really pissed at the schizophrenia of the plot : saying one thing and the inverse at the same time.

The narration reminds us of the classic Kaga lesson : whatever madness exists in dragon/gods, a greater madness/evil lurks in the heart of men.

And yet, we have the Hero (who was so cajoled by the plot that, at times, you have to wonder if Alm wasn't the devs's self insert, he's lavished with praises almost as extensively as Ike was!) saying nonsense - without being contradicted by characters at all (or when Celica does it, she admits later she's wrong) - like Duma being responsible, mainly, for the events that transpired in Valentia and, novelty that wouldn't have been in the original game since the character was made for the remake, Berkut's fall and madness.

By that point in the game, the player saw that Berkut hunts low class people for what he sees and perceives as sport, is the textbook classicist asshat noble, but has a lot of pression on his shoulders due to his role of being the heir of the Empire, pression that isn't alleviated at all by his Uncle who mocks him and refuses to give him a third chance... to fight against a person said uncle very well knows cannot be defeated by Berkut himself, especially as said Uncle pretended to "care" for him, only to pit him against his trueborn son whom he names his heir just before dying.

Point is : Berkut feels betrayed by Rudy and goes mad - because of this betrayal : Rudolph named him heir when he fully knew Alm was alive and was the true heir he always wanted, in Berkut's eyes, no matter what he did, it wouldn't have mattered to Rudolph since Rudolph planned on giving Alm his throne since day 1 - of course, without telling him a thing and making him believe he would one day become Emperor.

Is it Duma's fault that Berkut went off the deep-end in Part 4? Because Rudolph's shit gambit involved playing with the life of his nephew and crush it in a bid to have Alm unify the continent against Duma ? Or... it's just Rudolph being an asshole, not curbing the worst of his nephew tendencies (and in a larger part, of Rigel in general) ?

Now, Rinea. She too, is called one of Duma's victims, and yet, who pushed her in Duma's magic pyre that turns women in witches? Duma himself?

No.

Berkut, who already, when pissed tells her "silence woman" pushes his fiancée and love of his life in a pyre to sacrifice her, because in his grief and rage (caused by Rudy!!!) Rinea is only a pawn to be sacrificed to gain more power to kill Alm. Sure sure, Berkut is redeemed in death and Rinea - in a classic Kaga style writing that wasn't here made by Kaga since this plot is basically new so where the fuck does this sexism come from - forgives him and they both die and ascend to another plane of existence.

The point is, despite what Alm says, Berkut and Rinea's fates weren't caused by Duma's degeneration - but by Rudolph and Berkut's own actions.

Heck, I remember when I was sort of live-blogging my run back then, Desaix's greed and lust for power wasn't fueled by Mila's apathy : it wasn't Mila who burnt Celica's house and tried to cook Conrad, it was Desaix, and why Desaix did it? Because he wanted to become king. That's it, and that's all.

So why FE15 - while giving the Kaga message - still tries its hardest to pin the blame of everything "wrong that happened" on... dragon gods, refusing to acknowledge the own responsibilities of humans in their suffering?

I think we had that lunar dialogue at the end of FE15 (or in part 4?) where Clive (i think?) tells Alm without gods giving their blessings, people in Valentia will starve, and Alm saying that may be so, but ultimately Valentia will survive and work hard through those upcoming harsh times to demonstrate how humans, when they work together, can achieve things without needing to rely on Gods - basically, King Alm tells his people to starve now because Humanity will come out stronger afterwards, since they will have learnt to grow their own food without needing magic dragon blessings to make the ground fertile.

... yeah. That's definitely going to work.

FE15 took the Kaga lesson to try to hammer some "humanity fuck yeah!" Square JRPG message and it completely messed up what FE2 tried to say.

(I confess, retconning Duma'n'Mila in dragon gods like Naga from Archanea was a big part in this shitstorm - that was also retconned to explain Grima from FE13! - i mean Duma'n'Mila have to die because they're degenerating, but they didn't get the memo from Gotoh living overseas that degeneration can be stopped by using dragonstones, instead of being a fatality that must be dealt with death...)

Humans cannot be held responsible for what they did, everything BaD that happened is somehow due to the influence of dragon-gods : even if it means "suffering" and sacrificing a part of your population, this choice is a good one to get rid of the obviously nefarious influence of dragon-gods.

So, is it so surprising that FE16 - the most popular title in the franchise uwu - went in the same direction?

Even if it tried to mitigate the "gods BaD" spiel because the avatar - Billy - is the Goddess reborn, the thing is the CoS - aka the dragon - is blamed for humanity's mistakes through each route (AM dodges the question completely) and all routes end up with the dragon going away (her skull being cracked open, or she retires, or she dies off-screen, or she dies because the plot commands so unless you want, as the player, to shag her).

"But in VW, Claude reconsiders his initial stance!"

And yet, it is only off-screen that he seemingly becomes aware that Fodlan people are not superpals with Almyra because Almyra raids them, not because Rhea told them Almyrans are BaD, that's why he tries to negotiate - off-screen and post-game - some sort of ceasefire between the two parties, or at least make it so Almyra doesn't try to raid Fodlan every Thursday for their weekly dick measuring contest.

No matter the ending, Rhea retires and in the worst support, muses on her failings for "having turned a blind eye" to Fodlan and its people in her quest to resurrect Sothis : aka, Rhea (and the game, since Billy doesn't tell her anything) believes Fodlan's state is due to her inaction and not, you know, the action of the humans who lived in the continent and ruined it of their own volition.

Which is also what fuels the endless discourse about what kind of power she has - or not : Rhea BaD for using her power, but also BaD for not using it and letting humans to their own devices.

Supreme Leader's memetastic line from the trailers ring even more true : in Fodlan, Crusts are to blame for everything. For Adrestian being attracted to young women because otherwise without crests they surely wouldn't seek to bed a 12 years old Doro, for Miklan trying to murder his younger brother (and not because, at least FE16 wise, Miklan is a terrible person who is very jealous and not afraid to kill even a child to get what he feels like he deserves), and for people basically killing their wives/letting their daughters die to get a "suitable" heir.

Humanity/Humans can get a pass for doing horrible things (Berkut burning his fiancée alive) because those horrible things can sort of be linked to "dragon-gods", and so, the blame exclusively lays at their feet.

I am always reminded of that Obi-Wan reply to Anakin when Ani accuses him of having turned Padmé "against" him, Obi-Wan basically tells him he brought this upon himself.

Now, what would Obi-Wan tell a non-recruited Doro who blames the Goddess for the War, the leader she is actually protecting, started?

Billy is no Obi-Wan, so we are left in this limbo where characters are telling you everything wrong that happens in Fodlan is due to "dragon blood" aka their existence and presence, even dragons who blame themselves for "being blind" - but not once do we have the Kaga message, or an Obi-Wan reminding people that they have to take responsability for their own actions : Hanneman will blame crests (dragons) for having killed his sister, but not the man who forced her (marital abuse?) to bear him many heirs until one was "good enough" for him.

Claude blames dragons for creating, both literal and metaphorical walls between Fodlan and Almyra - and it's only in his best ending, after the game credits and off-screen that he seems to realise that those walls were built by Almyrans raiders.

"enough about the fodlan rant, what about jugdral?"

Jugdral was sort of unique for not having a giant eldritch abomination as a boss, unlike the later FE8, we never fight Loptyr in his "original" form, Loptyr is fought through his host, Julius.

And I love Jugdral because unlike Fodlan, the local evil death cult might stage a few skirmishes and manipulations here and there, but Jugdral people are... asses, in general.

Elliot will mount an army to seduce Raquie while Eldie is away - and it's not because Manfroy told him to seduce her, no, Elliot does it from his own will.

Reptor'n'Langobalt'n'Andrei rebel against Kurth and Azmur? Sure, Arvis is pulling some of their strings, but Reptor'n'Langobalt are ambitious, even without Manfroy whispering anything.

Arvis pulls out his gambit... with Manfroy's help (and blackmail?), but also because he genuinely thinks he can sacrifice lives to make HIS world a reality because HE has great ideas about how the world should be and will torch anyone who opposes him.

F!Lewyn, as much as I dislike the character, reminds the cast that while Travant's actions might seem justified to him and to the Thracian people, he is still a man who assaulted a bunch of randoms + non-combattants in a desert, amushed them and slaughtered them : no matter his reasons and how justified he was, Travant is still a criminal to Jugdral people.

In Jugdral, people do things and have to take responsability for it - Oldvis basically dies after losing everything he had - by Seliph's hand (and with his own participation!!) because Oldvis has to take responsability for what he did in Barhara. Ditto for Travant, who accepts to die if it means the peninsula will be united (tfw his son doesn't understand what he meant !).

Dragon blood and Dragon people are never blamed for the shitty state Jugdral is in in the 1st or even 2nd gen, if Danan turned Isaach in giant brothel, it's not Julius-Loptyr who asked him to do so, nor Manfroy.

At least, that was the case for the pre FE15/FEH/FE16 Jugdral.

Now...

While I want to blame FE16 for this shift, I know the roots are more ancient (FE15?), IS's writing seems to favour a certain narrative, aka people having sad and or complicated fates because of their brands and Holy Blood - when the ONLY case of having a fate tied to Holy Blood was the Curse of the Gae Bolg, aka a sibling quarrel between Dain and Noba that will eventually "curse" Noba descendants, but through the events of the game we know that curse is more like a prophecy : Quan doesn't die because he had Noba Holy Blood, Quan dies because Travant kills him in Yied. Why Travant kills him? FE5 reveals Quan and his forefathers are basically letting Thracians starve and refuse to "give" them arable lands, or even export food.

Now, did Travant kill Quan because Quan had major Noba Holy Blood, or because Quan (and his forefather)'s policies made Thracians so desperate that their king feels like he has to resort to murder to "save" his people?

The issue is more complicated than "he has Noba HB so I had to kill him".

Come FEH and we had, in 2018 (before FE16 but after FE15) this :

My blood has granted me gifts, it's true. I have expended every effort to be worthy of those gifts. That same blood makes it impossible for me to live a peaceful life. That's a lesson I learned from my mother...

Now, even if I was dissecting and hc'ing and posting about Saias a lot for 5 years, I fully understand Saias is a character with maybe 20 lines in FE5, so you can only dissect the script and theorise and read between invisible lines to get something about the character.

But this?

It might be a reference to Cowen's last words who basically tells him his job is to "pass on" his Fjalar HB, and how having major Fjalar HB was the reason why Manfroy tried to kill him when he was younger (his mother Aida died to protect him).

And yet, FEH here seems to imply Aida died because Saias had Fjalar HB, and not, y'know, died because Manfroy wanted to kill him due to this HB.

It wasn't HB who killed Aida, but Manfroy!

FE5 never reveals why - but if Fjalar HB was the reason why Manfroy targeted Saias, then why the fuck wasn't Oldvis iced earlier, since he has the same brand and blood?

In a way, Saias blaming HB here as the "reason" why his mother died and why he cannot live a "peaceful life" is similar to a Leif who would blame Quan'n'Ethlyn for being the reason why Travant and the Empire were after his life : what is to blame, their "blood" that makes people want to kill them, or the fuckers who want to kill them?

Granted those lines from FEH completely miss the point of Saias as a character - FE5!wise Saias is in a class that cannot use fire magic, when his HB automatically gives him the highest rank in fire magic, and he is funnily enough the only character who "retreats" in his death quote -> Saias doesn't "expend" every effort to be worthy of HB, he hides and doesn't use the abilities given by said HB!

We can say, mkay, this was just FEH trying to fit their "gods and their influence BaD" narrative and missing the real culprits, aka humans themselves (Manfroy is one!) - from FE15 - in Jugdral, even if it meant retconning a character no one cares about.

But then, last year, we had Galzus' FB :

You speak of the blood of the Sword Saint Od. Perhaps. Is that the reason you have been set on a path of violence and bloodshed?

Nyx says Galzus' "curse" isn't tied to his HB, but it's basically his regret at not having been able to save his daughter.

So far, it's completely the inverse of what I decried, so this was a good FB, right?

:)

There is no doubt that the blood within you compels you to lead a cruel life. However, the loss of your daughter was the wedge that split your life into pieces and let the curse in.

Damn it Nyx, why???

Why Galzus's brand "compels him" to lead a cruel life - when it was just established that Galzus fell to despair and became a mercenary who kills for money after the loss of his daughter?

Before losing Mareeta, Galzus, at least per this FB, wasn't killing people right and left as the merc he now is (or was in FE5).

Now, much like Saias...

Why was Galzus left to roam around Jugdral with a toddler to begin with?

I had a daughter. When my wife died, I brought my daughter with me as I traveled around Jugdral.

This FB establishes that Galzus settled with Mareeta's biomom for a while, but when she died he "traveled around". Why Galzus couldn't return "home" and had to "travel around"?

You know the Ribaut family was devastated by our own House Isaach.

Timeline wise : Ribaut is already demolished during the prologue of FE4, and Mareeta is no older than Leif himself, which means she was born after Galzus' grandfather and Ayra's brother, aka, his uncle, beheaded his dad and demolished his kingdom. Galzus, in exile, had Mareeta, and then had to "travel around" Jugdral because his home had already been demolished by "House Isaach" -

Note how Ayra talks about the Ribaut (i prefer rivough but meh) family when she talks about her very own sister - Galzus' mother. Jugdral family trees being what they are, Shanan, Larcei, Scatach and Galzus are actually cousins, Galzus is Ayra's own nephew, just like Shanan!

Anyways, in FE4, the reason given behind Ribaut's destruction is their attack on Darna, so the Isaachian royals killed them.

Galzus' "cruel life" wasn't compelled by his HB, Galzus' life took a turn for the worst when his Uncle and Grandpa knocked at his door and slaughtered his entire family, destroying their Kingdom.

So why FEH tried to fit his backstory in some sort of "dragon blood is to blame" Fodlan narrative?? They at least acknowledge the bad blood (lel) between Isaach's royal family and Ribaut's, hell, Ayra even wants to say Mareeta is a part of Isaach's royal family in her FB with her son, so it's not to whitewash the Isaachian royal family because their units are more popular and would sell more...

Contrary to Saias, Galzus's writing and his FB seem to have been made by people who cared and didn't completely ignore what the character was about so... why this emphasis on his HB ??

Are we bound in post FE16 releases to have, at least with the current writing team, the excuse of "dragon blood is to blame" ? Galzus cannot blame the Isaachian Royal Family or even the slavers for his (and his daugher's!) fate, but he can blame his HB, aka, a non-entity?

Will HB be now used as a "responsibility free" card, because the fate a character suffers or their actions are only tied to said HB? Arvis will get a pass because his HB compelled him to save the world (tfw Victor prefered to "seduce" women instead), Lewyn will be lightly chided by his mom instead of receiving the beatdown he has in FE4 because his HB now makes him unable to stay in place? Ditto for Ced, Karin won't chew him out for abandoning his mother and sister because his HB compelled him to travel around, so in the end, dragons are to blame for him abandoning his sister and mother?

That's what I'm the most afraid in future Jugdral remakes, that had humans characters with human flaws in a crapsack/shitty verse, the insertion in a future remake of a very Squenix "but aksuhally gods and church bad" when Jugdral is the pinnacle of "the world sucks because people living in this world suck". No need for secret sects manipulating everything in the shadows like FE16's Agarthans, Chagall is a horrible person without needing Manfroy's help, and Hilda will not say "Holy Blood is to blame" when she tortures Tailte to death.

When Tailte is caught and Hilda'd, it's because she participated (or even commited) in parricide, and because her camp/army lost the battle. She doesn't die because of her HB, she dies because Hilda kills her, most likely, for having killed Reptor (Hilda wants to avenge her "father" when fought, i'm pretty sure she means her father in law aka Reptor!).

As befits a game called "Genealogy of the Holy War", people aren't targeted because of their HB, but they are targeted because they are part of a genealogy - see the Leif comparison earlier on : Leif is hunted because he is Quan's son, even if he doesn't have Noba major blood. Seliph is hunted because he is Siggy'n'Deedee's son, not because of his Baldo HB.

In FE4, Manfroy tells Julius Arvis was a thorn at their side because "Fjalar's ways" ran too strong in him - implying he had some moral fiber that would make him oppose the return of Loptyr (but those same "ways" didn't prevent him from torching his own brother and conquering the world...) - I will have to check the translation and og script, but was Saias targeted because he had Fjalar HB, or because he could develop the same moral fiber Arvis does in his later years, or just, because he is Arvis's son? Cowen seems to suggest it is FB, but we know Fjalar HB cannot harm Loptyr so... what was the true reason?

Blaming dragon-gods reduces the complexity of Jugdral's setting and characters - and in a post FEH world where tropes win character contests and sell a lot of alts if they are flanderised enough + a post FE15/16 world where characters, to be likeable enough, have to ditch their responsibilities or at least have the plot elude them to pin them instead on vague and non-important (gacha wise) gods, what is going to happen to Jugdral?

Fanfics are fanfics and people are free to write whatever they want - but I wonder (especially after Nopes and the plethora of 'golden endings' fics that ended up with the CoS as the big bad lol) if fics where Mareeta and Ced blaming their HB for their various hardships is going to become the new canon...

I seriously hope it will never, and it if happens then...

I guess I'll still yell at cloud and nerd about the 1990s versions of those games, completely ignoring the new releases (save for maybe updated artwork).

Tl;Dr : FEH makes me afraid Judgral remakes will borrow the "humanity fuck yeah" page from FE15 and FE16 and put the blame of Jugdral's shitty situation from Jugdralians to... Holy Blood and "dragon-gods", completely missing and rewritting the point of those games. IS already said "fig" to Kaga once or thrice, but this might become the most contentious "fig" they ever give him if they decided to write a Jugdral remake this way.

[moeblob]

Celica!

this was SO HARD because I really like her ascended look but even her base look is SO GOOD. And I love the expressions on fallen (despite it being the same outfit as base)....... but I think. I think I like her resplendent look! It's just so soft and lovely. ;w;

[rosecelebi]

Posting my favorite FEH Meet the Heroes art every day

Ascended Celica

[fehtism]

hmm yes winter edelgard what a silly unit i wonder what her weapon does

this is possibly the worst thing i've ever seen in my life.

so for the "easy part"

accelerating special trigger is a given on any modern prf weapon.

the next part is actually a reference to her raging flame gambit in 3 houses. after combat winter edelgard applies flame terrain in a 2 by 5 area the same as her raging flame gambit

i think it's a cool reference at least.

important to note that unlike flared sparrow and flared mirror, winter edelgard will not get 7 pre combat damage on her first combat due to her applying terrain /after/ combat. however if she attacks a foe already on flame terrain she will get the 7 pre combat damage.

now for. the rest of this thing.

okay let's start.

winter edelgard will inflict a stat debuff on the enemy based on how many allies she has adjacent. the values for the stat debuff are as follows:

- with 3 adjacent allies inflict -9 atk/def on foe in combat

- with 2 adjacent allies inflict -11 atk/def on foe in combat

- with one adjacent ally inflict -13 atk/def on foe in combat

- with no adjacent allies inflict -15 atk/def in combat

i think that's a bit easier to understand than a dumb formula

for her next effect, winter edelgard gets a special jumping effect before her first attack in combat. she gets -1 special cooldown for every space moved based on who initiated combat up to -3 cooldown. for example, if winter edelgard were to move 3 spaces and then attack a foe and she had a special like galeforce equipped, it would go from 4 cooldown to 1 cooldown before her first attack in combat.

if flame terrain is active on the foe's space, it grants edelgard the max special cooldown jump of 3, even if no spaces were moved.

fair and balanced effect.

next is the damage reduction piercing effect in her weapon. this is probably the most complicated effect of her weapon. similar to the stat debuff it is based on how many adjacent allies she has.

- with 3 adjacent allies she pierces damage reduction by 10% (40% damage reduction would become 36%)

- with 2 adjacent allies she pierces damage reduction by 40% (40% damage reduction becomes 24%)

- with 1 adjacent ally she pierces damage reduction by 70% (40% damage reduction becomes 12%)

- with no adjacent allies winter edelgard pierces 100% of non special damage reduction (i.e damage reduction from a skill like gambit, guard bearing 4, or spurn 4)

the last effect of her weapon triggers if she either has weapon triangle advantage or if foe is on flame terrain, neutralizes miracle effects that are not the special "miracle"

this is found on units like ascended celica and brave/legendary seliph

sorry brave seliph, you never stood a chance.

hope this helps at least one person understand the evil wall of text that is "Black Yule Lance"

[emocka]

A new love

Warnings: gender nuetral reader

You first met zhongli when fighting azhdaha he didn't dogde the attack and took the hit.

But you arrived in time to shield him from the next attack. The geovishap was getting out of control.

'Let the rose decide' you whispered as vines erupted from the ground. Purple and blue roses on them. 'Restrain him now.'

A dendro spirit emerged from the vines and nodded doing as told.

You turned back to the stranger. Zhongli looked at you in horror.

You were blind. Faded irises.

'Don't give me that look. It won't get you healed.' You said pulling out a vial from the air. You dropped it on the ground causing it to shatter. 'I'm blind yes but I've lived since the seven rose to victory. Now focus.' You snapped your finger in his eyes.

'Good your responding. The powder needs a sec- there we go.' You smiled as the powder started to activate. 'Now when you feel like you have enough energy join me. I'll help you seal this creature'

With that you turned away from him to join the spirit fighting azhdaha.

'A mortal stands before me' He began.

'I'm no mortal. I was born into a family of spirits.' You began summoning your pole arm 'I'm feeling a pole arm today. You may leave'

The spirit disappeared.

'Wait he's too-' zhongli started

' I'm very aware. That why I used that powder. It helps with energy and stamina. Join soon Rex Lapis.'

When you said his name he realized you looked familiar.

----

You held your own pretty well ending up using the catalyst on azhdaha as close combat wasn't your strong suit. But zhongli had joined you. Together with your help he was able to seal him up. Geo pillars surround azhdaha. Dendro vines with the sumeru rose held him down. Celicas and lotus flowers surrounded the perimeter.

'I must say I didn't recognize you at first.' Zhongli began 'but when you said my name I was reminded that a spirit once uttered my name.'

'Ah you do remember. Lil old willow of the wisp me want to take on a form to aid you. My family said no but I wouldn't give up. I don't know how it was done but my sight was sacrificed'

'Tell me do you still guide the fallen to the gates of judgement?'

You nodded.

'I maybe human now but my wisp duties still exist. I guide the lost and fallen souls to peace. Speaking of which. If you'll follow me we'll continue this conversation. This soul needs guidance.'

He looked at you. You reminded him of guizhong. He watched you hold out your hand. A small ball of white light appeared.

'Come little one. It's time you were reborn' you said gently poking the ball of light. It giggled.

'I'm on my final rebirth right?' A child like voice asked.

'Who knows? Maybe you'll be reborn as twins' you smiled.

'Oooh is that possible?' The spirit asked you started walking zhongli following you.

'Very possible.'

'That sounds cool! Miss! What happens if I don't pass judgement?'

'Now now little one you've passed it all last twelve rebirth you'll pass it on your final one.'

A tiny arm made of light appeared.

'Miss can you grant me a wish please?'

'Yes child of mine'

'Can I hold your finger till we arrive?' It asked you complied with its wishes. Holding put your pinky finger the spirit grabbed and held on.

'You seem to know this one very well.' Zhongli said.

'I treat all spirits the same. A little kindness goes along way.'

'Tell me have you guided any strange spirits?'

'I guided a God spirit once. She was ascended to the stars. I believe her name was guizhong. Her final wish was to shine brightly so I gave her the form of the brightest star. She hasn't once lost her light. It was to honor her lover. To me it was an honor to guide her. She helped me with my name'

*she must have left some of her presence in this person. She was always able to spot a kind person.*

'Tell me what's your name' He asked.

'Y/n.'

This was just the start of a beautiful love story. 

[ashiribe]

I still love Celica’s ascended form 💕

[meggannn]

i've now been playing the stupid fire emblem gatcha game for a full year. one of the reasons i keep playing the game is for the amazing art, so i wanted a place to save my favorite art of the units i've collected

Brave Claude, Fallen Byleth, Base Dimitri

Brave Edelgard, Nemesis, Legendary Chrom

Legendary Robin (M), Bridal Flavia (though I still think something looks wrong with her leg), Brave Corrin

Legendary Hinoka, Fallen Takumi, Ninja Saizo

bonus: characters from games I haven't played yet but I love their art: Legendary Lyn, Ascended Celica, and Ascended Joshua

finally. okay. Legendary Claude is whitewashed. so i dislike it for that reason. but he absolutely has THE best "damaged" look in the entire game and i stand by that:

[childofaura]

Unpopular opinion of the day:

It’s shameful how we don’t see a lot of Valentia characters having alts or even Resplendents.

The last time a banner that featured Valentia characters was the Valentines one a few years back.

I think Saber was the last time a Valentia character received a Resplendent.

I kinda wish to see Genny getting another alt. Poor girlie was shafted hard and while Amagaitaro wasn’t bad with her base and picnic alt, I kinda want to see other artists tackle Genny, like Saine (Resplendent Palla’s artist) or even Yo Kanzawa. Plus it gives Eden more work with her.

Same can be said for Lukas too, even if Greg’s performance for him is pretty mid at best and having other artists tackle him as well.

Answering this one now that I’m back from vacation, and also because I’m 95% certain this new banner is going to be a Valentia banner (because again I KNOW they’re gonna pad it out with Ascended Peony, Triandra, and maybe Ginnungagap (did I get that right?)). No you’re right, the Valentia characters don’t get enough love, though technically the last time we had Valentia characters get an alt was… I think Easter with Luthier (and Sonya with… Tharja. I still think it should have been Aversa, with having Aversa doting on Sonya like an older sister, reminding Sonya of Marla and Hestia).

But yeah, if you’re not Alm, Celica, Faye, or Delthea, good luck getting any attention. Still bugs me that Leon hasn’t gotten any attention and it was a MIRACLE that Luthier got his alt. Especially because the other part of the Valentia cast is WAY more interesting than at least Delthea and Faye.

I’m still incredibly thankful to PenekoR for that Deen alt, holy shit that was some fantastic outfit design. It hit that sweet spot of giving the female fanbase a mature man to appreciate without his design being TOO fanservicey.

I’m sure Genny will get a Resplendent soon, I think Kousei Horiguchi would be a great artist.

And… even if I don’t like his performances, Greg getting paid for more gigs will always be a good thing. So if Luka’s gets another alt, I may gripe a little bit but that’s it.

[emblemxeno]

Given how many people claim to love Corrin OUTSIDE of Fates, I'd doubt that claim. Imo it's just that Fates plot betrayed Corrin a lot of times

Maybe, but even then, that's the kind of perspective on Corrin that bothers me the most.

Of course it's not bad to like Corrin outside of Fates, but most of the time their personality is piecemeal and sometimes flanderized. They're not center stage, they're plucked from a point in Fates' storyline (pre choice for Warriors, post choice for Engage, whatever the new alt demands for Heroes) that's intentionally left vague and open-ended, and in doing so, Corrin becomes palatable to more people.They're open minded, sweet, supportive, and that's it. There's nothing that's seemingly "offensive" to people's story experience as usually associated with Corrin when consuming non-Fates material. People can like Corrin without being reminded of why they don't like Corrin. And imo that's a little, uh, weird, I guess.

And I wouldn't have these mixed feelings about it if people didn't claim that Corrin is better written in non-Fates material, but that's often the case, and that causes me to take said opinion less seriously. Cuz at that point, what's actually being liked, is it Corrin, or just the general Protag Personality tropes?

As an example, for as much as I adore Engage, all of the female emblems personalities blend in very easily with each other, Celica, Eirika, and Corrin most of all, cuz they're all hit with the "fanservice flanderization" so they don't the boat with any controversial personality tropes. Yeah it makes sense since they already developed through their games' events and thus don't need to do anything akin to their mistakes in their home games, but when someone says they like Corrin in Engage but not in Fates, what's exactly so likeable about her that I wouldn't mistake her for Celica or Eirika? Or even Marth to an extent? It's the same case in Warriors because Celica, Caeda, Marth, and Lianna are all there too, with similar personality tropes. Heroes sort of gets away with it because "hee hee hoo hoo fun and cute designs" that no one else has and variants that deal with actual character development stuff (Legendaries, Fallens, Braves, Ascendeds) all of which help not just Corrin, but Eirika, Celica and others separate themselves and be true to their home game, wrapped in a hellish gambling scheme.

To cut my ramblings short, I can get why people like Corrin outside of Fates, and I even appreciate to a certain extent, but at the same time it can read as superficial and dismissive to their overall character.