#character: saizo (fe14)

[real-fire-emblem-takes]

saizo oiled up and naked 🙏

.

[almoststedytimetravel]

If.... If I retool sol master ninja sweep corrin to have the ninja talent.... I can marry her to Keton for hero....

Which means....

Which means I....

WHICH MEANS I CAN MAKE SOL MASTER NINJA PERI LET FUCKING GO!!!!!

[cloudborn309]

Iris and Saizo attained... C support?

Fire Emblem Fates Revelations spoilers below

That giant blue dragon is my oc, Irisidas, or Iris for short, a Manokete (yes I know it’s spelt Manakete, this is a headcanon thing I have lol) from an island very, very far away. How she ended up in Hoshido is a story for another time, however she’s found herself enlisted in Corrins army to defeat Anankos and it seems her mysterious past has caught the attention of a distrustful ninja...

After realising she's being followed, she confronts her adversary, and things get messy from there.

Uh, hi. First post on tumblr, cause DA is a garbage heap lol. I like Fates, I like making ocs, I like dragons, and I like making headcanons, so yeah this was bound to happen heh. I’m definitely going to post more about her, and her relationship with not only Saizo, but a whole heap of other FE Fates characters! So if you’re interested, feel free to stick around

[tokyotheglaive]

FE14 for the ask meme (so answer everything, heheheh)!

oh BOY I haven't thought about this in a Hot Minute but apparently I still have Much Feelings (TM) about FE14. All answers below the break!

(Want to send me one? Want to see the original questions?)

the first character i ever fell in love with: Scarlet. As soon as I saw her, that was it, game over, everyone else step aside

a character that i used to love/like, but now do not: Saizo. I liked the idea of him and Kaze working as a parallel to Corrin and their sibs on opposite sides (at least if you do Conquest), but ultimately he fizzled for me

a ship that i used to love/like, but now do not: Kagero/Orochi. I still like them, but I guess I like the memory of liking them? The fandom never really gave me the dynamic I craved, and I wasn't put together enough to ever write anything for them myself.

my ultimate favorite character™: Mozu. I know the Donnel archetype annoys a lot of people but I love her for it. Get big and strong, my daughter. Kill god. Rebuild your village. You deserve the world.

prettiest character: a ridiculously hard question when the whole cast is pretty (at minimum in the generic way) but I'd have to say Reina. That's just a pretty lady right there.

my most hated character: there is competition for this one because the characters I hate I really hate, but I think the winner for Tokyo's Most Hated is Laslow. I hate his stupid face. Why are you even here. Go bother someone who likes your trope.

my OTP: oh god this one is also hard if only because none of the ships really make OTP status for me. If I had to pick, I'd say probably Charlotte/money just kidding mostly Sakura/Hana

my NOTP: Camilla/anyone.

favorite episode: gonna pretend this means "favorite map"; my favorite Birthright map was the Woods of the Forlorn where you fight Leo because it had fantastic vibes; for Conquest, definitely the Great Bridge of Suzanoh where you fight Takumi, again for the vibes

saddest death: if we're talking canonical/inevitable deaths, then Oboro and Hinata at the aforementioned Great Bridge of Suzanoh. I Care Them Much.

favorite season: again, gonna pretend this means "favorite route". Also preparing for the ghosts of FE fans past to gang up on me as a fake fan because my favorite route was Birthright. Conquest made me angry with dumb decisions, and Revelations was what it was.

least favorite season: Conquest. Fuck Garon and playing his silly little games.

character that everyone else in the fandom loves, but i hate: uh oh I don't know who people love(d). uhhhhh do people like Kaden? Because I cannot stand him.

my ‘you’re piece of trash, but you’re still a fave’ fave: ...Dwyer. Look, I know he's discount serial-numbers-filed-off L as a butler. Let me live.

my ‘beautiful cinnamon roll who deserves better than this’ fave: SCARLET. DESERVED. BETTER. Mozu also falls under this classification but she wasn't shafted by the narrative nearly as much.

my ‘this ship is wrong, nasty, and makes me want to cleanse my soul, but i still love it’ ship: I...straight up don't have one of these. This question is too judgmental, don't like it.

my ‘they’re kind of cute, and i lowkey ship them, but i’m not too invested’ ship: tbh most of the ships in this game qualify for this. I'll say Ryoma/Scarlet but eh. I'm not too invested :P

[illusionsofdreaming]

Hi! I absolutely love what you do here. Please never, never stop! If you get time could I please request 6, 10, 13, 18 for Saizo? Thank you!

Notes: It’s been a while since I answered these… and even longer since I wrote anything for the grump. So I guess I managed to post before FE3H’s release huh. I should dare myself more.

Ft: Saizo

6. Their vices (physical or emotional)

• his temper, when people do push and insist on getting on his nerves, Saizo explodes

• while he will never lift a hand against another in anger, his words can be incredibly cutting and hurtful

• when he calms he is swamped by regret and guilt but the damage is already done

• it used to be worse but he’s actually getting better at realising when he’s losing his calm and will quickly remove himself from the situation if possible

10. Fears/phobias

• His confidence is actually a stubborn mask to hold back his insecurities about being a worthy Saizo

• It is an incredibly heavy burden and he’s made many mistakes throughout his leadership

• He can’t relax. Because every mistake’s cost is too great. He has to be stoic, he has to be strategic and determined. When something goes wrong, he takes failure pretty badly.

• When Asugi rejected the Saizo name, it had terrified him, for the idea that the Saizo name would die with him as an example was frightening

• Over time though, with the help of family and friends, he’s learned to share his responsibilities and accept that there’s no such thing as a perfect leader.

13. What gets them flustered

• answered something similar here

18. Things they’ll never admit

• It had bothered him, if it weren’t for a chance of fate that he came out of their mother’s womb first, the Saizo name could’ve been Kaze’s

• It is nothing as shallow as ‘because he feels he deserves the title more’ - for many can attest to the fact that Saizo worked very hard to prove in his own way that he is fitting of the title - but the fact that Kaze’s presence would be overlooked

• He of all people knew how hard Kaze trained and can attest to his brother’s skills but who has time to pay attention to the other twin when you can curry attention from your future clan leader instead?

• Saizo hates that kind of attitude more than anything and will viciously rebuke any who dare demean his brother’s efforts and skills

• As a result, he can have incredibly harsh and high demands of Kaze because for a while, that’s the only way for him to make sure that everyone knows that although his twin will never be the leader, Kaze’s not someone to be overlooked either

[barensian]

cain archetypes.

[authordgaster]

Age Swap AU Pairings

A list of who gets together and my opinions/reasons for these pairings.

This will be specifically for a Revelations Route, so if you wanna ship different combinations of characters in this AU, I won’t stop you.

I also won’t be getting into the Child Units (yet.) With all of that in mind, here’s the ASAU Pairings:

Corrin X Azura. I mean… it’s Corrin and Azura. How can I not? Especially since they’re not altered in this AU, but their kids are. Imagine big sibling Kana little brother Shigure dynamic.

Sakura X Hana. I’m as much of a sucker for Sakulise as the next FE14 fan, but honestly the bond these two have and have had for easily a decade at this point just overrides the softness of Adult Sakulise. Shiro is their son with Ryoma serving as a surrogate father.

Elise X Effie. Same as with Sakura and Hana, Elise and Effie’s bond in this universe (realm?) is just too strong for me not to pair them together. Siegbert is their son with Xander serving as a surrogate father.

Takumi X Oboro. This is a cute pairing, what can I say? Can you tell I’m a sucker for Liege X Lord pairings? Also, just imagine cute and sweet Kiragi making his mom’s Demon Face.

Leo X Niles. I don’t even know how to put my feelings on this pair into words, so I’ll just trust y’all to accept it. Forrest is their son with Beruka serving as a surrogate mother.

Hinoka X Hinata. This pairing is unique since it’s the only time I don’t ship a lord with their non swapped retainer (or another lord) but honestly I just like the himbo samurai/tomboy princess dynamic. Also protective older cousin Hisame is interesting.

Camilla X Beruka. Cute but strong Malig and her scary Assassin waifu? What’s not to love? Also Niles served as a surrogate father so they raise Nina together.

Ryoma X Xander. I decided to pair these two together since I figured I should do at least one pairing between a Hoshido and Nohrian royal. Since they couldn’t have kids with each other, they agreed to be surrogates so their oldest sisters could have kids, allowing Shiro and Siegbert to exist in this world.

Jakob X Charlotte. A very… very chaotic duo. This was simply a duo born from the fact that they were kinda just leftover after I paired off most of the other characters. Add super strength to Dwyer’s mountain of secret skills.

Silas X Felicia. One: they’re cute. Two: imagining Sophie inheriting Felicia’s clumsiness and ice magic is equally hilarious and terrifying.

Kaze X Orochi. Stoic ninja who struggles with feeling like he failed his liege due to something out of his control plus merry diviner who struggled with feeling like she failed her liege due to something out of her control equals both fun shenanigans and absolute angst. Also imagining Midori being able to somehow use a combination of Divining and her Medicine could make her a force of nature in her own way.

Saizo X Kagero. What can I say, I’m a sucker for this duo too. I’m sure they could be happy together once Saizo learns to stop having the personality of a cactus. Plus having two Ninja parents probably makes Asugi a super ninja.

Laslow X Selena X Odin. If I was gonna have Corrin get with Azura, an OT3 would be needed so all the kids would be capable of existing and I’m just a sucker for this trio. I’ll be using Henry!Laslow, Robin!Selena, and Lon’qu!Odin. Soleil inherits the Fell brand, Ophelia inherits the Exalts’s brand, and they get to be awesome redhead step sisters. Sorry to anyone who ships these two.

Azama X Subaki: …ok, look, so far I’ve done three wlw and only two mlm pairings. Two more guys were gonna have to get together. And after I saw these two, reread their supports, then read @unassumingvenusaur’s fanmade S Support for them, I wound up enjoying this pairing immensely. Also for the sake of not having to do anymore surrogates because this is getting complicated: Transmac Subaki (which I feel could not only make his backstory more interesting given the implications of how terrible his parents are) allowing for them to have a brown haired Caeldori and a red haired Mitama who are sisters.

Arthur X Setsuna. Apparently luck works like integers because when you combine an unlucky Fighter with an equally unlucky Archer, you get a doubly lucky Wyvern riding super hero. Also imagining dorks like Arthur and Setsuna together is just adorable tbh.

Kaden X Peri. When I don’t pair Peri (heh) with Laslow, I usually pair her with one of the furries so I can create an absolutely terrifying Kitsune/Wolfskin. In this case I decided that Peri would be Selkie’s mother and the rest of the army gets to suffer then consequences.

Hayato X Mozu. One: this is basically genderswapped Cyril/Lysithea and Donnel/Maribelle which already makes it a win. Two: Rhajat with Mozu’s hair and freckles is a hilariously adorable image.

Benny X Rinkah. Gentle giant meats muscular spitfire to create flaming good boy.

Keaton X Nyx. Yes, let’s pair the most mature woman in the army who considers herself a monster with one of the most immature guys in the army who can turn into a monster.

Feel free to share your opinions on the pairs, I’ll probably talk more about the child units in the future.

[emblemxeno]

Anon who asked about FE14's mechanics here. I'm about two thirds through Birthright, and I'm enjoying it a lot, though it randomly got me wondering—which Hoshidan characters/Birthright units do you think would get along best with Dimitri?

That’s actually hard to say, because Dimitri cares a lot about destroying prejudices and helping people no matter the background, whereas Hoshido as a country is very isolationist in terms of culture and mindset, and there’s a xenophobia issue Hoshido has against Nohr.

In essence, I think he would be in the same position as Corrin, in trying to break down the barriers that the Hoshidans erected.

I think he’d immediately like Sakura, as he could see some of his younger self as her; shy and proper, but with hidden strengths and passion. He might also be able to relate to Hinoka in that they’ve been training since childhood.

He’d probably be comfortable around Hana, Kagero and Saizo, as he’s used to having a devoted retainer always ready to help him. He’d hit it off with Kaze too, since Kaze is friends with everyone (and the girls can’t get enough of either of them)

If we consider Mozu to be Hoshidan, I think they’d get along, though after Mozu’s done being intimidated because royalty is scary. Dimitri would probably admire her for her strong resolve and determination after losing  her family, something he could relate to. Plus, strong commoners are an inspiration and something he advocates for.

I feel like he’d not hit it off with Oboro at first because he doesn’t like prejudice against people, but he’ll be more understanding of her situation after learning her story and try to help her overcome being obsessed with revenge like he was.

He’d want to be friends with Kaden to establish better relations and to outlaw hunting the kitsune. I think he’d find Reina fascinating between how she is on and off the battlefield, because she’s kind of like him in that she’s proper off the field, but feels exhilarated when fighting.

If we’re including child characters, Dimitri would probably be great friends with Shiro because the latter is incredibly supportive and a treat to be around. I also want him to talk with Hisame because “oh an overly serious swordsman who’s not a fan of his father, doesn’t that sound familiar”

[gascon-en-exil]

Lords and their Knights: When FE Chivalry Goes Gay

@mwritesink prompted me to write about my favorite tropes in FE and how they evolved over the course of the series. I already crossed a few others off in an earlier post, but this one is a particular favorite of mine where M/M romance in this series is concerned and one I felt had enough examples to constitute a piece of its own. Let it not be said that this is merely the gay variation on the well-worn heterosexual romance trope of a lady and her knight (ex. Eirika/Seth), because negotiating the fundamental power imbalance in this type of relationship takes on different dimensions when both parties are male. I draw a closer comparison to courtly love, which in the traditional sense is also socially transgressive (being adulterous) and not consummated via marriage or other public means...which in FE terms means an S support and possibly a eugenics baby. A vassal in love with his lord rather than his lord’s wife is not only cutting the female intermediary out of what can already be a very homoromatic scenario, but it’s directly tangling together a kind of martial romantic love and ideas about what knighthood/vassalage even is or ought to be - two topics FE loves to explore. I’ve therefore compiled a few of the most notable examples of this trope across the series to talk about in more detail, because if one is willing to be liberal with subtext there’s surprisingly quite a few to pick from.

(And yeah, this is also in part because I like hot rich men who take orders, and this series already has plenty of gay or otherwise ambiguously non-straight mages, thieves, archers, and their ilk without my help.)

The Sad Gay Knight: Quan/Finn

This one I’ve talked about before in a fair amount of depth, from my hopes for how a Genealogy remake will treat Finn to speculation on just what Quan got out of this relationship besides a devoted retainer and (we may assume) a nice piece of ass. The summary here is that Finn’s love for Quan supersedes anything he’s shown to feel for any of the various women he can hook up with and quite frankly astonishes in its ramifications for the future of Leonster and Thracia as a whole. It’s poignant, adulterous (but Ethlyn’s probably ok with it?), and messy as all hell once you factor in whatever’s up with Glade and whatever Lachesis wasn’t feeling about the whole situation. It is also, naturally, very sad; Finn loses his lord when he’s only around eighteen, and with their kingdom collapsing around him and the entire continent consumed by war he dedicates the next twenty years of his life to raising Quan’s son to be the king Quan himself had wanted to be. And for all his labor he apparently derives no lasting satisfaction, spending his epilogue wandering around the Yied desert and at last returning only to (possibly) pen the history he’s helped to make. 

Finn is the embodiment of knighthood loyal unto and beyond death, and that paired with all the romantic and erotic subtext surrounding the two of them - Finn as Quan’s treasured favorite, his catatonia after Yied, the obsessive polishing of the brave lance that Quan gave to him, his inability to satisfy women in some vague way - makes them the defining example of this trope in Fire Emblem. I look forward to seeing how remakes will handle them; Finn’s presentation in Heroes is definitely cause for hope there. As for the issue of yet another story in media of gay men beset by tragedy and death, I did draw up a long headcanon on the technically crack pairing of Diarmuid/Tristan that specifically plays into the lord and knight trope while also allowing Finn a chance to pass his experiences on to a later, happier generation. IS is free to take notes, just saying.

Pretty Blond Twinks and the Men Who Love Them: Perceval/Elffin and their lasting influence

Moving on from Jugdral, I’ve got to say that I’ve really been sleeping on the original gay Elibean duo. Before Raven and Lucius (but chronologically after, because these games are out of order) there was another feminine young man with long blond hair beloved of a severe-looking warrior. Binding Blade gives us the bard Elffin, who in another life was Etruria’s Prince Mildain and Perceval’s liege. The Knight General takes Mildain’s alleged accidental death about as well as Finn takes the death of his lord and lady; he turns grim and humorless, and without a dying dream to guide him he follows the command of the corrupt revolutionary faction of Etruria with little protest. It takes learning that Mildain is alive and in Roy’s army for Perceval to drop the halfhearted Camus routine and switch sides, and the strength of his fealty not to his nation or even to his king but to the prince he’d thought dead is absolutely touching in the moment not to mention incredibly useful since the guy is one of FE6′s best units. 

Binding Blade doesn’t give anyone but Roy and his harem paired endings, but there’s still a fair bit to be gleaned from their support lines, both what is in them and what isn’t. Perceval and Elffin each have supports with women, but nothing remotely romantic - Perceval’s support with Larum is particularly amusing since he clarifies that her, ahem, dancing does nothing for him. Also worth noting is that neither of them can support with Clarine, even though one would think they’d make fine romantic choices for her given their statuses and physical resemblances to her beloved brother. Their own support line is quietly intimate. Elffin has changed since his near-death experience, and Perceval is still struggling to accept that their relationship can’t be as it was, that in fact for the time being they can’t now be a knight and his prince. Perceval also frets over Elffin’s refusal to see his father the king, and he later extracts a promise from Elffin to come home to Etruria after he’s done traveling the world as a bard, in one of the series’s several instances of writing what sounds like a marriage proposal in ambiguous terms. Per Elffin’s ending, he’s only gone for a few months after the war, so their promised reunion isn’t long delayed. I’m interested to see what a remake would add to their relationship, because as it stands Perceval/Elffin has an established romance arc that deserves a paired ending or at the very least more suggestive epilogues.

Further compounding their underrated signficance, it’s not too difficult to trace a line from Perceval/Elffin to a number of other M/M pairings in the two later GBA games and in Tellius that present some variation on this theme:

As mentioned above, Raven/Lucius is physically similar and performs a nearly identical gameplay function, with the pretty blond waif again responsible for recruiting his surly but protective boyfriend from the ranks of the enemy. 

Gerik/Joshua meanwhile borrows the character of the end of their support line and turns it into a genuine paired ending, with a prince incognito recruiting a swordsman to come work for him. They being who they are however, it’s all handled a bit rougher, with Gerik being impressed by Joshua’s “swagger.” Take that as you will.

Ike/Soren may be the defining seme/uke dynamic in Tellius’s overflowing fount of queer subtext, but Tibarn/Reyson smashes that trope together with this one and FE’s power couple unit archetype plus a dash of whatever the avian equivalent of furries is for wholly unique results. Although both of them are technically royalty, only Reyson is a prince by heredity whereas Tibarn presumably became king of Phoenicis by beating the crap out of any rival contenders as most laguz prefer to do. One can therefore read shades of a courtly relationship in Tibarn’s decision to zealously take up the cause of justice for the Serenes massacre in Reyson’s place. Combine this with Reyson’s characteristic edge that even Tibarn is forced to rein in at times and their relationship comes off as surprisingly more egalitarian than the sum of its parts. Oh yeah, and blond waif dancer + premade OP unit with ludicrous physical stats and movement again.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the conflict of the Tellius games Zelgius -> Sephiran explores what would happen if a gay Camus archetype chose instead to dedicate himself to an antagonistic lord. Sure, you can still recruit Sephiran via a convoluted and unintuitive process, but Zelgius is doomed no matter what.   

They Can Say It, But They Can’t Do It: Awakening and Fates

Ugh. If I must....

I’ve made no secret of my ambivalence toward FE13 dragging the series into open acknowledgement that same-sex attraction is a thing that exists, handled as it was with a lot of explicit homoerotic denial and an assortment of cheap gay panic jokes and...whatever the hell Victor and Vincent are supposed to be. Chrom/Frederick, hot though it may potentially be in fanon, is one of those jokes, making a parody out of a knight enamored of his lord and leaving it to mean absolutely nothing since Awakening’s relationship endgame is invariably S supports for time traveling eugenics babies. FE has taken cracks at the overly dedicated knight before - see just about everything involving Kieran from Tellius, up to and including his overzealous devotion to his superior officer - but Awakening plumbs the depths of Frederick expecting Chrom’s nude image to raise the army’s morale. Just..what do you even say to that, apart from the awkward sputtering that comprises most of their support line?

FE14, for all its stumbling steps toward something less completely offensive, fares little better in this particular regard. Leo/Niles is a deeply troubled albeit thought-provoking callback to the subtextual lord/knight relationship, one where it’s hard to imagine them finding a healthy way to navigate the power differential. Then there’s Ryoma/Saizo. It’s nothing special in localization, but the never-localized festival DLC involves Saizo’s ardent desire to warm Ryoma’s clothing in his cleavage. That sounds like absolutely normal behavior for a servant and not a rehash of Frederick’s shenanigans, uh huh. Fates may indeed be said to be slightly better about playing palpable homoerotic tension for drama rather than comedy...but only slightly.

Paving the Way for an OT3: The Deliverance

This is, incidentally, yet another reason to appreciate Echoes for doing so much to redeem the 3DS games in the realm of (male) queer content. Yes, there’s a large and unaddressed divide between the openly gay and very modern Leon and the heavily subtextual faux-historical queerness of the Deliverance, but taken independently the two presentations work for what they’re each separately aiming to be. Among Clive’s gay entourage are not one but two men who’d dearly love to be the knight to his lord, and Forsyth’s strong desire to put Clive on a pedestal evokes the earlier spoofs of this kind of relationship precisely because Forsyth is that kind of vassal, the kind that would read Ribald Tales of the Faith War and cry like a heavily erect virgin bottom getting his first taste of dick at the brief interludes of tender manly love between Quan and Finn. He’s played for comedy just as much as Kieran or Frederick are, and yet Echoes comes across as less down on the concept as a whole for several reasons, being that

1) Python’s snark over Forsyth’s attraction to both Clive and Lukas is genuinely funny, much more so than when it’s the object of these affections quietly groaning his way through them,

2) Lukas is also there, and his desire to be Clive’s beloved knight is not played for comedy at all but is allowed to be unrealistic and unsatisfying because Clive will never get it,

3) everyone wants to screw Clive for some reason, not just his subordinates but also his sister and the estranged BFF who dies in his arms...and the guy is shown to be unworthy of all of them, and

4) all the characters involved are allowed other avenues for romantic attraction outside of a lord who’s just not that into them. Forsyth has Python, Lukas has both of them as friends and possibly more later, Clair has Gray (...at least he’s not her brother?), and Fernand has a bad rebound that goes to hell in the manner of Zelgius and Sephiran but at least ends with him getting to reconcile with his former friend before he dies. 

The setup for the Deliverance’s overarching queerness is a bit strange as it rests on all these characters somehow finding Clive attractive, but nonetheless it makes for an unexpected and refreshing critique of the lord and knight trope, given a situation where the lord just isn’t that into it and in fact doesn’t seem to realize that he can be into it. It’s a good reminder that this isn’t a particularly good dynamic for a stable and lasting relationship, and that as hot as it can be it takes more than impassioned one-way devotion to make it work in the long term.

The good news if you’re into this kind of relationship like I am is that it’s a trope with some life in it yet. Echoes came at it strong, and prerelease information on Three Houses suggests a few possibilities for this dynamic in that game. I’m especially keeping my eye on Dimitri and Dedue, whose relationship appears to contain echoes of the original duo of Quan and Finn. I highly doubt there will be anything on the level of S supports acknowledging this type of attraction, but I’ll settle for some suggestive A supports.

[pangtasias-atelier]

Which Fire Emblem characters do you love to use and which you hate or don’t bother with, and why? Outside of Heroes of course

Characters I love to use everytime:

FE1/11: Merric, Linde, Maria, Wolf, Cain, Abel

FE2/15: Luthier, Delthea, Atlus

FE3/12: Kris, Sirius, Yubello, Yumina, Michalis

FE4: Azelle, Tailtiu, Finn, Arthur, Tinny

FE5: Salem, Sara, Miranda, Dean

FE6: Lugh, Raigh, Sue

FE7: Lyn, Rath, Nino, Liouse

FE8: Artur, Knoll, Natasha, Amelia, Cormag

FE9: Tormod, Muarim, Rolf, Mist, Astrid

FE10: Pelleas, Micaiah, all Dawn Brigade

FE13: Robin, Frederick, Panne, Henry, Tharja

FE14: Saizo, Corrin, Keaton, Kaden, Silas, Kaze

FE15: Byleth, Seteth, Flayn, Claude, Dimitri

For characters I hate? There's no real ones I hate. I don't mind using characters you have to baby, hell, most of these units are subpar lmao.

Sure there's a bunch I've never used outside of their joining chapter, but none that I downright despise.

[randomnameless]

Hans was a brutal thug but his motive makes sense, he wants money, power, & pleasure. Same with Iago. Validar's motive not only makes zero sense from any perspectives & the rest of the Grimleal are just clones of Validar evil for the sake of evil itself.

Really the problem with Hans is he overstays his welcome. He lasts all the way to 24/26/16 depending on route, while similar character Lang in Mystery of the Emblem dies as early as chapter 6. On a sidenote, someone made a hilarious backstory which painted Hans as a misunderstood character whose family was killed by Gunther's incompetence.

Iago's motive also made sense like Hans. I do like that the artists didn't go over the top making Iago ugly for no reason like they do with most unsympathetic characters like Garon, Iago, and Validar.

Yeah Hans is the usual “rape pillage burn” bandit, who was in jail but fred for some reason, Xander is all “wtf I put that guy in jail myself” but sighs and lets it go. Like you (?) pointed, he is promoted to an important mid-boss when, well, he is just your average bandit. Why should that guy share Iago’s spotlight when Iago isn’t a random but a legit “evil prime minister” and a way more serious antagonist??

damn where is Hans’ backstory i need to read it

Too bad Validar was just a baddie who wanted to resurrect an evil dragon who only wants to eat his followers. Was he even aware of what Grima wanted? Was anyone aware of Grima’s plan save for the “destroy everything” in red capslock?

I really prefered Iago, in Conquest, he was just trying to be the good lackey, do what his King wanted and serve his interests, but sadly his King was made of goo so he was doomed to fail. As dastardly as Iago was in Conquest, I still liked him.

[atropaheart-a]

i just realized that i never made a ship bias list for iole so here’s the ships i would love to do with her!

CANON SHIP BIASES ;

FE13 | chrom, robin / mu, frederick, sully, virion, vaike, miriel, kellam, lon’qu, maribelle, panne, cordelia, gregor, libra, tharja, olivia, cherche, say’ri, tiki, flavia, basilio, emmeryn, phila FE14 | kamui / mu, aqua, felicia, suzukaze, ryouma, hinoka, saizo, azama, tsubaki, rinka, orochi, yuugiri, scarlet, laslow, odin, arthur, nyx, charlotte, benny, keaton, flora, izana, candace FE15 | lukas, mathilda, tatiana, saber, palla, jesse, rinea FE HEROES | gunnthrá, summoners, laegjarn, loki OTHER | minerva, seth, cormag, zelgius

OC SHIPS ;

kotaru, rajya, aldrik, lucien, casper, harrison, magdalene, yoshiko, cassandra, clara, veles

[ bolded characters are personal faves ; italicized characters are canon spouses ]

[siraranispleased]

FE14 Top 10 // 01 // Setsuna “Victory, victory~” Enemy Defeated quote

(original art by orly)

The second FE character I have ever taken on as a waifu. A term I use semi-ironically given my ragging on waifu fandom culture, but I suppose I should own up to my hypocrisy.

Accomplishing the same as Scarlet and Izana, Setsuna just gives me immense joy and other happy feelings every time she’s on screen. Like Izana, she’s just an absolute riot of a character, klutzy and flighty in just the right combination to get in the most awkward predicaments, and yet roll with it like just an every day annoyance. But like Scarlet, she’s just an absolute sweetheart, with nary a(n intentionally) bad word to say about her support partners, and making such a wonderful mother to most of the second generation characters.

It’s probably no surprise that her relationship with her liege, Hinoka, is one of the highlights of the game, to me. And not just from their own supports together; some of the most amusing reveals about their relationship comes from Setsuna’s support with Saizo, where it’s confirmed that Hinoka actually dotes on and takes care of her. And then there’s the most striking Setsuna moment in the game, during the Conquest campaign, where she drops the flighty attitude and “useless lesbian” persona to stand between you and Hinoka, swearing to never abandon her liege, ready to die protecting her.

It’s moments like that which give rise to perhaps one of the more interesting interpretations of Setsuna’s character: she’s a fairly simple person, by all regards...except for the fact that she’s actually nobility. As revealed in her Niles support and external material, Setsuna comes from a magistrate family, and was cared for in excess, leaving her rather prone and, in a weird, understated way, something of an adrenaline junkie. So, while she could just naturally be that flighty and airy, Setsuna’s best moments are where you’re not entirely sure if she’s playing you, like subtly trolling Niles or Jakob in their supports, or dropping some shockingly badass, cold blooded boasts.

Compared to other #1′s from FE games, Setsuna’s not as complex as Leif or Eliwood, or as inspiring as Echidna or Sully, or as magnificent as Innes, or as tragic as Hardin. Setsuna falls in the same vein as Nephenee: humble, and endearing. A solid collection of supports that bring touched and amused smiles whenever I read them or see them play out in the game. A voice set that never fails to warm my heart, no matter the line. A personality that, even in the “is she playing me?” interpretation, is open, unashamed, and relaxed.

I mean it also helps that we share birthdays and it turns out there are a shocking number of ways that I relate to Setsuna that in hindsight are kind of worrying, like doing one thing exceptionally well while being scatterbrained at others, or having no idea what the heck we’re doing when working in retail, or just the fact that we’re both so tired. We are so tired all the time!

[airlock]

I’ve also done that tally of popularity per class, so I might as well post that before I finally go tf to sleep

disclaimers on names and etc. from the previous post still apply

for the Awakening doppelgangers in Fates: Owain, Inigo, and Severa had their votes counted in total with their counterparts, and Owain was put in the class category that he got the most votes as; Caeldori, Asugi and Rhajat were regularly included as separate entities, but for each category that they qualified for, the character who would’ve made #10 it in their absence is also noted

=POPULARITY RANKING OF CLASS TYPES (based on the Top 10s; might do the actual full tally.... sometime, maybe) -#1: Lords (270,156) -#2: Mercenaries (86,616) -#3: Dark Magi (70,018) -#4: Myrmidons (69,818) -#5: Thieves (55,770) -#6: Pegasus Riders (50,092) -#7: Dragon/Wyvern Riders (48,863) -#8: Anima Magi (47,374) -#9: Armors and Soldiers (40,665) -#10: Riding Healers (40,539) -#11: Clerics and Light Magi (38,567) -#12: Melee Cavalry (36,024) -#13: Dragon Transformation (34,714) -#14: Archers (30,730) -#15: Beast Transformation (30,275) -#16: Fighters and Bandits (29,038) -#17: Refresh (27,101) -#18: Trainees (19,365)

=LORDS (Lord, Fighter(FE2), Priest(FE2), Knight Lord, Junior Lord, Nohr Prince, Nohr Princess) -#1: Lyn (49,917) -#2: Lucina (48,295 total, counting "masked marth") -#3: Roy (28,982) -#4: Hector (27,372) -#5: Corrin, both genders (27,200 total) -#6: Marth (24,547 total) -#7: Chrom (23,803) -#8: Eirika (16,423) -#9: Ephraim (14,908) -#10: Eliwood (8,709)

=MELEE CAVALRY (Cavalier, Paladin, Sword/Free/Lance/Axe Knight, Blade/Lance/Axe Paladin, Forrest/Duke/Great Knight, Silver/Gold Knight) -#1: Xander (7,511) -#2: Frederick (3,913) -#3: Peri (3,892) -#4: Seth (3,763) -#5: Titania (3,757 total) -#6: Finn (3,607 total) -#7: Silas (2,683) -#8: Stahl (2,611) -#9: Eldigan (2,256) -#10: Sain (2,031)

=ARMORS AND SOLDIERS (Knight, General, Soldier, Emperor, Armored Sword/Lance/Axe/Bow, Sword/Lance/Axe/Bow General, Baron, Halberdier, Black Knight, Marshall, Sentinel, Spear Fighter, Spear Master, Basara, Lancer) -#1: Nephenee (13,473 total) -#2: The Black Knight (10,195 total) -#3: Oboro (4,783) -#4: Arden (3,094) -#5: Kellam (2,129) -#6: Effie (1,974) -#7: Zelgius (1,888) -#8: Gilliam (1,142) -#9: Benny (1,055) -#10: Shiro (932)

=PEGASUS RIDERS (Pegasus Knight, Falcoknight, Pegasus Rider, Princess Crimea, Seraph Knight, Queen, Dark Flier, Dark Falcon, Sky Knight, Kinshi Knight) -#1: Cordelia (14,362) -#2: Caeda (7,243 total) -#3: Hinoka (6,851) -#4: Florina (4,012) -#5: Elincia (3,360 total) -#6: Caeldori (3,149) -#7: Sumia (2,982) -#8: Tana (2,849) -#9: Catria (2,746 total, gaiden including) -#10: Aversa (2,538) [Cynthia: 2,069]

=DRAGON/WYVERN RIDERS (Dracoknight, Wyvern Rider, Wyvern Lord, Dragon Rider, Wyvern Knight, Dragonmaster, Dragonlord, Griffon Rider, Malig Knight) -#1: Camilla (25,766) -#2: Cherche (4,498) -#3: Haar (3,558 total) -#4: Minerva (3,422 total) -#5: Jill (2,975 total) -#6: Beruka (2,561) -#7: Gerome (1,867) -#8: Scarlet (1,848) -#9: Cormag (1,308) -#10: Narcian (1,060)

=MYRMIDONS (Myrmidon, Swordmaster, Trueblade, Samurai) -#1: Mia (13,354 total) -#2: Owain (11,639 total) -#3: Lon'qu (10,002) -#3: Joshua (8,623) -#5: Ryoma (7,248) -#6: Marisa (5,398) -#7: Ayra (4,489) -#8: Hana (3,394) -#9: Navarre (3,374 total) -#10: Rutger (2,297)

=MERCENARIES (Mercenary, Hero, Dread Fighter, Ranger(FE9), Vanguard) -#1: Ike (51,555 total) -#2: Severa (10,743 total) -#3: Inigo (8,886 total) -#4: Soleil (4,333) -#5: Ogma (3,189 total) -#6: Raven (2,233) -#7: Priam (1,556) -#8: Gerik (1,489) -#9: Gregor (1,456) -#10: Dieck (1,176)

=THIEVES (Thief, Assassin, Rogue, Whisper, Trickster, Ninja, Ninja Master, Outlaw, Adventurer) -#1: Anna (15,445 total) -#2: Gaius (9,465) -#3: Niles (8,703) -#4: Kaze (4,069) -#5: Jaffar (3,921) -#6: Matthew (3,565) -#7: Sothe (3,332 total) -#8: Kagero (3,265) -#9: Saizo (2,221) -#10: Nina (1,784)

=FIGHTERS AND BANDITS (Fighter, Pirate, Warrior, Berserker, Brigand, Bandit, Barbarian, Oni Savage, Oni Chieftain) -#1: Dorcas (12,083) -#2: Charlotte (3,924) -#3: Lot (3,218) -#4: Rinkah (3,142) -#5: Arthur(FE14) (1,704) -#6: Vaike (1,096) -#7: Garcia (1,093) -#8: Mustafa (1,017) -#9: Basilio (994) -#10: Gonzalez (767)

=ARCHERS (Archer, Ballistician, Hunter, Sniper, Horseman, Bow Knight, Arch Knight, Nomad, Nomad Trooper, Ranger (FE8), Bow Paladin, Marksman) -#1: Takumi (12,662) -#2: Setsuna (3,292) -#3: Noire (2,786) -#4: Shinon (2,753 total) -#5: Rebecca (2,425) -#6: Virion (1,548) -#7: Rath (1,544) -#8: Innes (1,499) -#9: Jeorge (1,214 total) -#10: Wil (1,007)

=ANIMA MAGI (Mage, Bishop(FE1,FE3), Sage, Fire/Thunder/Wind Mage, Bard(FE4), War Mage, Mage Knight, Archsage, Fire/Thunder/Wind Sage, Empress, Diviner, Onmyoji) -#1: Soren (9,718 total) -#2: Lute (9,176) -#3: Nino (7,825) -#4: Lilina (5,730) -#5: Ilyana: (3,554 total) -#6: Rhajat (2,640) -#7: Merric (2,475 total) -#8: Katarina (2,162) -#9: Ishtar (2,076) -#10: Linde (2,018 total) [Erk: 1,951]

=CLERICS AND LIGHT MAGI (Priest/Curate, Cleric(except FE9~10), Bishop, Shaman(FE4~5), High Priest, Bard(FE5), Monk, Light Mage, Light Sage, Light Priestess, Saint, Chancellor, War Monk/Cleric, Shrine Maiden, Great Master, Priestess) -#1: Micaiah (13,491) -#2: Sakura (7,782) -#3: Lissa (5,279) -#4: Wrys (2,669 total) -#5: Lucius (2,204) -#6: Serra (2,203) -#7: Libra (1,668) -#8: Azama (1,180) -#9: Mitama (1,051) -#10: Brady (1,040)

=RIDING HEALERS (Trobadour, Female Paladin(FE4), Valkyrie, Cleric(FE9~10), Strategist, Maid/Butler) -#1: Felicia (9,121) -#2: Elise (8,962) -#3: Jakob (4,681) -#4: Maribelle (3,701) -#5: Mist (2,972 total) -#6: Flora (2,939) -#7: L'Arachel (2,425) -#8: Forrest (2,356) -#9: Dwyer (2,048) -#10: Priscilla (1,334)

=DARK MAGI (Dark Mage, Dark Bishop, Loptyr Mage, Dark Prince, Shaman(FE6~8), Druid, Dark Druid, Summoner, Necromancer, Dark Sage, Sorcerer, Dark Knight) -#1: Tharja (29,540) -#2: Leo (12,175) -#3: Henry (12,131) -#4: Ophelia (3,639) -#5: Sophia (3,150) -#6: Nyx (2,562) -#7: Canas (2,450) -#8: Lyon (2,434) -#9: Knoll (997) -#10: Raigh (940)

=TRAINEES (Villager, Recruit, Journeyman, Pupil) -#1: Donnel (10,479) -#2: Amelia (3,214) -#3: Ross (2,234) -#4: Mozu (1,990) -#5: Ewan (930) -#6: Kliff (239) -#7: Gray (115) -#8: Tobin (97) -#9: Atlas (67)

=DRAGON TRANSFORMATION (Manakete, Red Dragon, White Dragon, Black Dragon) -#1: Tiki (16,523 total, Awakening included) -#2: Nowi (10,571) -#3: Myrrh (2,317) -#4: Nah (2,031) -#5: Fae (1,332) -#6: Nagi (784 total) -#7: Bantu (348 total) -#8: Kurthnaga (346 total) -#9: Ena AND Dheginsea (231 total)

=BEAST TRANSFORMATION (Tiger, Cat, Hawk, Raven, Lion, Wolf, Taguel, Kitsune, Nine-Tails, Wolfskin, Wolfssegner) -#1: Selkie (4,800) -#2: Kaden (3,836) -#3: Keaton (3,724) -#4: Velouria (3,339) -#5: Ranulf (3,128 total) -#6: Panne (3,061) -#7: Tibarn (2,710 total) -#8: Lethe (2,616 total) -#9: Naesala (1,656 total) -#10: Yarne (1,405)

=REFRESH (Dancer, Bard(FE6~7), Heron, Songstress) -#1: Azura (14,198) -#2: Olivia (5,889) -#3: Ninian (2,799) -#4: Leanne (1,437 total) -#5: Reyson (982 total) -#6: Nils (730) -#7: Tethys (518) -#8: Silvia (203) -#9: Phina (196) -#10: Rafiel (149)

[damoselcastel]

Saizo/Tsubaki and Kagero/Orochi for the meme

Saizou/Tsubaki

   when I started shipping it if I did: When planning AMOS ships and trying to figure out how to avoid respawning not!Gaius and not!Cordelia- solution was to pair these two to each other and have them adopt.    my thoughts: Definitely a case of rivalry getting heated and then extending to the bedroom. (though honestly is seems a little out-of-character to not fulfill the duty of leaving behind heirs with how big bloodlines are in Hoshido)    What makes me happy about them: Hot redheads who want to serve dutifully.    What makes me sad about them: I normally don’t go for rivalships, and am not quite sure how to write one.    things done in fanfic that annoys me: …is the fic for this pair?    things I look for in fanfic: See above.    Who I’d be comfortable them ending up with, if not each other: I actually really like both Sakura/Saizou and Sakura/Tsubaki (it’s mostly the recycled kid units I dislike)    My happily ever after for them: They both get together with Sakura for a power menois et trois.    who is the big spoon/little spoon: This is definitely something they’d argue over every time.    what is their favorite non-sexual activity: Sparring.

Kagerou/Orochi

   when I started shipping it if I did: After reading the fan translation for their supports.    my thoughts: I love that they shared backstory and found the A Rank more romantic than most of FE14’s S Ranks. But at the same time can see them just being the bestest of platonic friends.    What makes me happy about them: They’re close, plantonically or otherwise, and want the other to be happy.    What makes me sad about them: How the game handles their backstory as retainers doesn’t really makes sense with Yuugiri in the mix.    things done in fanfic that annoys me: When the canon Saizou/Kagerou past relationship suddenly never happened.    things I look for in fanfic: cute bonding    Who I’d be comfortable them ending up with, if not each other: Orochi/Saizou, Hinata/Kagerou (Hisame has Kags’ eyes I swear)    My happily ever after for them: Kagerou/Orochi+ one lucky fella, keep on being working ladies but now with a house hubby    who is the big spoon/little spoon: Orochi bog, Kagerou lil; Orochi loves to snuggle, Kagerou prefers her hands to be free just in case she has to spring into action    what is their favorite non-sexual activity: Spending time together no matter what they’re doing, but especially Kagerou showing Orochi her art and getting feedback.

for the meme