#past me was too busy being ten years old when fea came out but i sure am catching up now

[felikatze]

every potential for morgan's backstory is so fucked up in different ways.

the way they only remember robin. that has to be on purpose, right? because robin's our other amnesiac of the game, and that one was an accident. they remember nothing.

and yet robin's very memory loss confirms grima's power can erase memories. what does this mean for morgan.

add in grima's last words in future past, the world morgan is from....

it's obvious fp robin changed. we can tell as much from fp robin's, well, everything, but also from morgan's dialogue.

"But I cannot strike down the kind and gentle parent I once knew... Forgive me, Master Grima. I must withdraw... I remain your servant and am ready to accept any punishment you see fit."

'I once knew' implies that Grima isn't kind and gentle anymore. Yet Morgan still recognizes Grima as their parent, without doubt. And even then, if Morgan kept all their memories of Robin, then why not these memories, too?

"...At last...I can rest... ...No one else...will suffer... ...because of me... ...Thank...you... ...I hope your lives are...filled... ...with...joy... ...... ...... ...Morgan...please forgive me... ...I put you through...so...much..."

From one line alone, it's obvious that Morgan's remaining love for Robin is reciprocated, no matter how twisted Robin has become. So. This is a world where either no time travel exists, or Lucina failed to change the past. Either way, the future Shepherds have no reason to return to the past, or no means to. After all, Naga is dead.

The only entity left with the power and reason to travel through time is Robin.

We have two options here.

1. After failing to kill player Robin, Morgan fled to the past.

Presuming somebody erased Morgan's memory on purpose, which I presume because of the specificity of their amnesia, Morgan did it themself here. And they intentionally left in memories of the kind and gentle parent, because that's what they wanted to remember. Even if they said they were willing to kill their friends and forsake everything for Grima, it becomes obvious rather quickly that there are some lines they're not willing to cross.

In this case, they wanted to forget that pain and conflict, of choosing between sides, and opted to cherry pick the best of both.

The version I believe in more strongly, though there's concrete evidence for neither, is option 2.

2. Grima erased Morgan's memory and sent them back in time after they failed to kill the future Shepherds.

After all, if Morgan says they're willing to accept whatever punishment Grima deems fit, why would they run away? And why would they be absent from the final confrontation between Grima and the Shepherds if Robin entering the battlefield at all made them worry?

Fp Grima is. A lot. But as said before, they still loved Morgan- even if they did not express it properly. Even if they were more master and servant than parent and child, in their final moments, Grima wanted Morgan to be happy. To forgive Grima for all the suffering they've put Morgan through.

If Grima saw Morgan's conflict when they returned to report their failure, there's an easy out Morgan could give them- send them to a time where they won't have to choose at all. And if Morgan's memories are erased, they will carry no guilt for a failure Grima doesn't fault them for.

Except... if you've seen me talk about Grima, you know a trait I like to play up. Their desire for Robin to be remembered fondly. Why else hide their face from Lucina and Co in FP? Why else give Robin the option to die a matyr in Awakening? And, why else erase Morgan's memories of Grima, but leave everything about Robin intact?

i just. they loved each other, despite everything. despite the apocalypse. except it's hard to raise a child when you've gone mad with grief and power. both of them remember the good times, and try to play a facsimile of family. but it doesn't work. it's harmful and broken. it was good, once.

man. fucking. grima still loved morgan, okay. despite everything. they still loved their kid. and sometimes loving someone means letting go.