#like Mikoto doesn't really do long speeches that much

[ridiasfangirlings]

Yata finds out Mikoto is (also?) into men and that opens a whole world to him. I know for the whole fandom the rule is "everyone is gay" but I feel like Yata would feel like "obliged" to like girls (And maybe knowing it's ok liking men directly from his hero could make him think about Fushimi in another way... :3)

I definitely agree that out of the whole cast Yata is the one most likely to feel the pull of compulsory heterosexuality, like he just assumes that because he's a guy and all of course he must like girls, strong cool guys always have girls falling all over them (I think this would also go hand in hand with some asks I'm pretty sure I've had before, with Yata being knee-jerk homophobic because he thinks that's the sort of thing expected of him as a guy and not because it's how he really feels). So even though Yata sometimes has funny feelings about Saruhiko he just figures this is normal friendship stuff and couldn't be anything deeper, because of course Yata's not into guys.

But then when they join Homra and Yata realizes that Mikoto's gay I think it would definitely open up a whole new world for him and really challenge his preconceptions, like with his whole masculinity deal I could see Yata assuming that gay guys were 'lesser' somehow – but now Mikoto's gay, and Mikoto is amazing, and his hero, and no way could Yata ever think less of him just because Mikoto likes guys. Actually this could be kinda cute too thinking about it, like just imagine questioning teenager Yata finally getting up the courage to ask Mikoto about what it's like when, y'know, you like guys, like is it...when you see a certain guy, like a guy with glasses maybe, and you feel this ache in your chest is that...is that a bad thing or what. And Mikoto's not the most eloquent guy so I can't see him really giving Yata the whole 'it's okay to be gay' speech (Kusanagi would probably be the better choice for more in-depth coming out advice) but he's also the kind of guy who says things plainly and he just asks Yata if Yata thinks there's something wrong with liking guys. Yata stumbles over that a bit, like of course he likes girls but he always thought everyone should like girls and Mikoto asks him bluntly if he likes girls because he thinks he 'should' or is that what he really feels. And that little question is enough to get Yata to think about it a little more, like just the seeds of realizing that maybe he doesn't actually like girls (or even that he does but he also likes guys too, and that's fine).

[nanigma]

I saw your response to the op who wrote about Takumi and Hinoka's supports and I agree 100%. To add to what you said, one has to remember that as a kid, Hinoka was extremely reckless, and nearly killed herself once while doing so. Since she's distant to Takumi, she doesn't really know that issues stem from self-esteem, and thinks they come from the same defiant recklessness she had, so her first impulse is to berate him for his actions. It doesn't justify her, but it's something to think about.

Thank you for pointing that last one out to me. I didn’t quite remember that childhood incident in this context (I mostly remember it as one of the rare instances where it is pointed out that Mikoto isn’t the Broshidos bio-mom outside the royal S-supports.).

(put the rest under cut, because it got so long)

But yeah, Hinoka likely thought back to that moment when she was confronting Takumi in their A-support . Only I think her “defiant recklessness” could also have been caused by a lack of self-esteem, though not produced by a lack of attention or affection as with Takumi. It’s quite apparent that the incident of Corrin’s kidnapping made Hinoka go on an obsession-fueled quest to save them, viewing it as her duty as an older sister. In fact, she seems to really identify herself not just in the role of “big sister”, but in the role of “Corrin’s big sister”. The strong, capable warrior who will become the heroic saviour of her kidnapped younger sibling. (Takumi and Sakura falling by the wayside, since they couldn’t provide her with the same scenario, and then eventually began to show emotional damage that she both doesn’t know how to solve and is actively scared of.)

It is a strong concept that I feel she based her self-worth on. So all her suicidal marches into Nohr were just as much based on a desire to “prove herself as a capable older sister.” as Takumi’s were based on a desire to “prove himself as a capable warrior.”

The implication of course in both cases being “or else I am worthless.”.

This is also perfectly demonstrated in her Revelations support with Camilla. Since Corrin is now back in her life, Hinoka recognizes that she can’t just be “the protective warrior sister” anymore, especially now that she has active competition in Camilla. But instead of recognizing the importance of the emotional support she could give, she focuses on her ‘failings’ in portraying a “feminine ideal” as part of her role as an older sister. Another external conception of identity.

Let us look back at her talk with Mikoto vs. the A support with Takumi: She essentially gives him the same speech to deter him from running of again, but in a very different tone that made all the difference. While she was ultimately rejected, Mikoto’s approach wasn’t bad. She was obviously very emotionally distraugth to the point of crying, and her “don’t go” and “please don’t say such things”  was a heartfelt plea. Plus, she simply said “I would be sad if you died” as a statement to mean “I care for your well-being”.

Now Hinoka, who even admits that she didn’t get the message until much later uses a much more aggressive tone when confronting Takumi. It’s clear that she is also emotionally distraught, but she comes across as actively demanding him to stop “thinking that way”. This also causes her telling Takumi about how sad she would be if he died to feel less like “I care for you” and more “Have you thought about MY feelings here?? Do you WANT me to feel sad?? Are you that SELFISH!?” Even worse when she uses Corrin as a comparison.

But yeah, this just goes to show how emotionally maladjusted Hinoka is, and that she simply wasn’t equipped to properly handle Takumi here. It’s a real shame that there are no therapists in FE..

[ridiasfangirlings]

Hey!! I'm the soap opera anon, thank you so much for replying to my ask and making me feel the dokis! Can you write a cute aftermath for it, like Fushimi doesn't die (as per your tag, Munakata's blue powers save him, for example) but gets some (not so bad but still annoying) after effects, like he can't concentrate as good as before? or has some speech problems. How would they all deal with it, for example Munakata blaming himself because he didn't see anything wrong before it happened, (1/2)

Following up on this ask, maybe Munakata's able to use his Blue power to somehow keep Fushimi alive until they can get him to a hospital and emergency surgery. In the aftermath Fushimi survives but he's still got a lot of aftereffects, like he gets migraines frequently that he has to take medicine for and maybe he does have some aphasia issues afterward. Due to this he's much less able to work than usual and even when he is working he often finds himself frustrated by his inability to communicate the things he wants to say properly. Like imagine him sitting in front of his computer struggling to put a report into words and the squad are all worrying about him but no one wants to say anything because they know Fushimi will get mad or think they're pitying him.

Munakata meanwhile wants to assist Fushimi in any way he can to make things easier but then at the same time he's feeling some guilt himself, that he didn't catch this earlier and didn't push things even when he knew Fushimi wasn't feeling well. Even so I don't think Munakata is the sort of person who would let himself be paralyzed by guilt, he feels like that was in the past and while he regrets it there is nothing else he can do but move forward. Therefore he decides to focus on helping Fushimi heal, like imagine he suggests they play a 'long' game of chess where Fushimi can make a move whenever he feels like it. Fushimi thinks that's stupid but Munakata urges him to play, actually using this as a way to like stimulate Fushimi's memory and help him heal faster. Munakata also takes care to find things he knows Fushimi can do even if those things are a struggle – he tells the squad not to help Fushimi unless he asks, instead believing in Fushimi that he can complete the work. Afterward Fushimi's annoyed that he struggled on such a basic thing but Munakata's like 'ah, but you finished it perfectly, did you not? Why should you be upset, that such a thing didn't come easily, when you still showed the skill and determination needed to complete this task that others would not have been able to complete regardless of the time spent?'. Fushimi clicks his tongue but he also can't really argue, slowly realizing that even if he can't do things as easily as he once did he can still do them.

His relationship with Yata also starts to change, like imagine right after everything when Fushimi's still in the hospital and can't even really talk Yata just shows up with flowers and sits next to the bed all 'since you can't talk back for once I'm gonna say what I want to say.' Almost losing Fushimi like that made Yata realize just how important Fushimi is to him and ultimately he doesn't care what Fushimi thinks of Homra or Mikoto or even Yata himself: Yata's going to be Fushimi's friend again and Fushimi's just going to have to deal with it. Later when he's a bit better Fushimi tries a few half-hearted attempts at being Yata's enemy again but he's surprised when Yata doesn't rise to the bait, instead Yata shows up at Scepter 4 from time to time offering to help Fushimi with anything he needs and even when Fushimi can't find the words to talk to him Yata will keep up a steady stream of chatter all on his own. Fushimi starts off trying to maintain his distance but imagine with all his issues and recovery he finds himself relaxing around Yata without even really realizing it, and sometimes when they're talking Yata of all people will know exactly what Fushimi means to say even when Fushimi can't find the words.