#same thing with alear !

[aquanutart]

I welcome our new toothpaste lords

[moe-broey]

HELP maybe this is influenced by how I'm writing this, or maybe it was supposed to be gleaned from canon and I just. Haven't fully thought about it til now. Haven't Deeply analyzed it beyond the blaring alarm bells that go off when reading this. But. Alfonse's,

Straight into.

This isn't him doubling down. This is him BACKTRACKING. This is him going, "oh fuck I think maybe I came on a little too strong maybe I was a bit too vulnerable and that's really scary. How do I fix this" and he's running through all the dialogue options in his head like Okay. Play it Cool. Keep it Casual. Proclaim your undying loyalty and devotion to your Trusted Partner (person he just told in the beginning of this conversation that he didn't intend to become friends with) by making yourself a blade and shield for them. NAILED IT 👍

[yanderefairyangel]

Ok. So I’ve heard people complaining about how cheesy Engage’s plot was, e saying that after Three Houses, it was “dissapointing how much they regressed to cheesy stuff like Awakening/Fates”, as if dark story necesarilly equals to a good story. Let me tell you this. This is false. Because EVERY story can sounds dark according to the executions. 

This is a complain a lot has for game saying that since Awakening, stories in FE games are less dark, hence less good. Yeah, cleary, nothing can beat Genealogy with it’s Ring of the Nibelung like plot, plus the infamous Julius’child hunt, as well as some elements from Sacred Stones (*kof,kof, Orson*) when it comes to be dark. But honestly, Awakening, Fates, and Engage’s plot are actually darker than what the games portrays.

SPOILERS

In Awakening, you had Emmeryn, being a 10 year old girl having to deal with her father legacy and having her own people throwing stones at her!! She was a CHILD at this period !! Not to mention what kind of impact this could have on Chrom and Lissa, who were even younger at the time !!!! 

Then you have this timetravel thing. Put yourself into the Shepherd’s shoes. Some of them just recently got wed, and yet there is already an adult version of their yet to be born child that appears, having a whole lot of trauma in them. Seriously ? I mean, some of them are not even born yet and yet they still love them as their child. But at the SAME time, they don’t view them as their child : it’s not the same as having watched them grew up until they become the people they are, it’s more like they had a baby and then a grow up version of arounf 18 years old barges in, sometimes older than them, and tell them that they are the children of their future selves. But whenever they share they experience, the Shepherds were not there when they were born, nor for their first words, first steps, first everything. They did not raise them, they did not watch them grew up, nor were here for them for the sad moments nor the happy one. They don’t and will never be able to share their memories. Whenever the future folks talk about their past, the Shepherds, didn’t they felt like they could not understand it ? like an amnesiac person you talk about memories they don’t and will never have? They were not the one who shared those moments with them, and when they eventually bond together, it’s not the same as bounding with your kids. There they can’t see them as other than their equal, they managed to have a bound as allies, as friend, and that’s not something many parents and children would manage to achieve…. meanwhile when the Shepherds actual kids will be born, they won’t have the same memories : the first words, the first steps, it won’t be the same as what those kids had. Those are going to be new happy memories, new sad memories, new clusmy moments…Imagine the pain of being a parent and learning what happened to your child because you were not there for them, even if it actually is the child of another version of you, hence like someone else’s child but that someone else is an alternate version of your own future... if not making them feel guilty, would it not make the Shepherds scared that their ACTUAL children ends up having to deal with the same things ? would it not makes them fear to also be unable to protect and support their ACTUAL children, the one they raised ? Would they not feel haunted too by those memories that the time traveler shared with them, scared for their ACTUAL children ? Just imagine the pressure. Sure the time travel version are wonderful people, but how much they suffered and they were not here, their other selves where not here for them !!

And the kids. Seriously how can you claim that Awakening’s plot is chessy when half of the cast is filled with young adults more traumatized than teenagers living in Musset’s era ?! 

  Please. They had to face the loss of BOTH of their parents without sometimes knowing their actual fates (I mean seriously, Miriel’s body had disappeared... ), having to fight Risen night and day, day and night,to protect people, when they were barely mature yet!! Seriously ? Lucina was like 6 when Chrom died. When their parents died, some of them were still in diapers (Nah)!! They all had a traumatic childhood!! And then, they have to come back to the past because it was either that, or dying since conviniently enough, all the people in their timeline died due to Grima lauching a giantic attack on Ylisse. And when they come back ? some of them has to face killing actual HUMANS as another traumatic experience (if you recall Harverst scrambble conversation between Owain and Inigo) while Lucina had to hold herself from crying each time she encountered this Chrom!! Must I add the fact, that even though the Shepherds and the Child Units act like actual family, this won’t change the the fact that they are technically STILL ORPHANS ?! They know they ‘re not their real parents, they know their real parents are dead, they will never come back. Yet they can’t help but view as such, to call them “mother”, “father”. Even though, they know that when they talk about the memories they had with their parents, the Shepherds won’t understand much, this are not their memories and will never be. And the sad memories, as well : they saw their parents died, this is something even the Shepherds can’t change, nor erase. Even if they saved them, those memories will never fade away….and evetually some will choose to leave because they don’t want to take their “past” selves’parents as they know they don’t belong in this timeline, even if they marry and have their own kids, they don’t belong here and they have no other place to stay but here. But those babies, they won’t have to same experience, they will never get to watch their loved one dies, nor have to survive all by themselves, but their happy moments won’t be the same, their personlity might even not be the same. Even if they looked alike physically, they would face someone else, someone who has the same name, same physical features, but who in the inside is completely different, whose live will be different, whose spouses, familly, kids will be different than their own… The future version will forever remains with the loss of their parents. Emblem Lucina says that she is still not over mourning Chrom, despite having saved the world with alterante younger Chrom. Owain neither, he literally ask if they can be brought back to live !! Severa too, when in Hidden Truths, she says “ I mean, I've thought about it countless times too. If only I could have my real parents back again... Not the ones we helped save, but the ones I grew up with... “... and so on, and so on... and it gets even darker when you realize that said parents are turn into Risen stuck into a DLC bonus map, the only occasions they have to met again the children they never saw grew up because they died before theu could get this chance !!! Without mentionning, that the only reward that the Time Travek Trio gets is that Anankos ends their suffering, giving them proper graves and a chances to make properly their mourn !! And now you know why in Fates, they refer to Cordelia, Lissa, and Olivia as dead. They are talking about their actual mother from their bad timeline, not our playable units... YES BECAUSE ALTHOUGH THEY SAVED OTHER VERSIONS OF THE PEOPLE THEY FAILED IN THE FUTURE THEY WILL STILL BEAR THE GUILT OF HAVING BEING UNABLE TO SAVED THEIR ACTUAL WORLD!!! ( and it gets awkard considering that most of the camarades that died in their timeline, they will get to met them again but as adult and them as children who they KNOW are not the comarades they fought with in the future and will never be, they are DIFFERENT PEOPLE!!)

Not to mentions they never got to experience anything pleasant... Seriously ! Severa CRIES because she is SO HAPPY cause she never got to experience anything HAPPY IN HER LIFE !! AND MANY OF THE OTHERS FUTURE FOLKS HAVE THE EXACT SAME REACTIONS AS HER!!!!!!!!

Must I also add that unlike the Chrom from Luci’s timeline, our Chrom didn’t get to enjoy his family ? HE HAD TO LEAVE HIS BARELY BORN DAUGHTER TO FIGHT A VALMIAN LOBSTER!!! He won’t be here for her first words, her first time walking, her first time EVERY THING!! GETS DARKER WHEN HE MARRIES A SHEPHERD GIRL BECAUSE THE CHILD DOES NOT EVEN HAVE HER MOTHER NEAR HER!!! In her support with Lucina, her mother can’t help but think of the baby she left in the castle !!! And it’s worse when it’s F! Robin because 1) she was fated to kill Chrom hence Lucina has to choose between her father or her mother ouch !2) Lucina was ready to deprieve the younger alternate self of her from her mother, perpetuating on her alternate self the own trauma she had!!! It’s just as dark when Lucina marries Robin because :1) She has to choose between her father or her lover 2) she is ready to inflict the same being of losing a parent on her own future daughter !! And that’s the same if Robin marries a 1st gen because Lucina is ready to make her friends goes throught the same pain of losing their father again and if Robin marries a 2nd gen because Lucina is ready to deprieve her friends of the person they love and who offers them conforts after having lived a literal hell as well as inflincting th pain of losing a parents on their future child !!!! i’ll add this is even worse if Robin marries Lucina’s sibllings !! Or if Morgan marries Lucina because she is ready to kill the mother of her lover !!! HOW IS THAT NOT DARK ?!!!

And Robin, oh god. Seriously ? they have been saved by their mother from turning into an evil being !! But do you imagine what kind of life it is as a child ? Having to hide from people ready to use you to destroy the world ?! And while we don’t know much about Robin’s life in the original timeline, if they really choose to be Grima over the friends, we can imagine that they must have suffered a whole lot of stuff to make them able to choose THIS!! Gets even darker if Robin marries Chrom cause she sacrifices her husband and her daughter for Grima!!!! AWFUL!! Just awfull!! 

And if you think Robin as it easy because they are amnesiac ( I am talking about our Avatar here, not the Original Robin who becomes Grima) then YOU HAVE IT WRONG!! In their conversations with Chrom, both mentions that they are indeed bothers and scared that they might forget the Shepherd and who they are again. this topic is more developped in the Hot Spring Scramble conversations between Owain and Robin when they are married (you know ? the one that gives me diabetes) where you clearly understands how scared she is to forget about her life AGAIN!! And while Robin never mentions trying to get her memories back unlike Morgan considering the identity crisis that they have at the idea of forgetting again who they are, I think I understand why. Imagine that even though you forget everything, you manage to forge yourself an identity which you considers to be yours, YOUR favorite colour, YOUR favorite meal, most deslike food etc. But you wonder : “If I get my memories back ? Then would I still be the same ? Would I still love and hate the same thing ? The me I believe is myself ? What if it was not truth ? What if it was not my true self ? What if what I like now that makes me are actually not real ? would I still be able to be myself ?” and so many other existential question and as someone who read Anouilh’s Le Voyageur sans bagages where the amnesiac main character rejects his previous identity because he could not believe he was the person his family painted him to be, I can say it is DARK!! 

This only adds to their live as a tactican beings dark. I mean how many supports do you need to not get that their lives is not easy ?! In the support with Virion, they explain how much pressure they feel to have to think of everyone! Although Severa scolds him for not being realist and this tell something of her for having to accept that she had to let people die to survive, Robin not wanting to let anyone dies makes sense!! He has to plan everything, he will hence be to blame for every soldier that die!! Imagine, being responsible for someone’s survival, having to deal with the guilt of letting them die, when you could have done something if you had done things better, differently, and so on and on!! They had to deal with that and also the amount of responsability they are tasked with !! The convos int the barracks even seems to implies that Robin can stays VERY LATE TO WORK!!! There is more than 3 supports that emphazied this, leading them to get sick because of their works, which leads them to neglect their health !! Sometimes this lead to them not being able to fufill their engagement in their supports and yet even when they tries to sneak out from work, it is still to find a way to help others!!! WHAT KIND OF LIFE IS THIS ?! And this is because being the tactican of the army, the person everyone relies on and, according to Noire, the parental figure to THE WHOLE ARMY requires you to do all of that!! And when they are married, it’s even worse. I mean, when she marries Chrom, Chrom at least get to spend times with his wife. But for the others... I mean, Tharja summer scramble in both mentions on how she is envious of others spendings times with Robin but she never gets to because Robin is too busy. When he is married to Severa in the Hot Spring Scramble, she CRIES BECAUSE SHE IS SO HAPPY she finally gets to spend time with her husband and goes into a long soliloquy about all the things that Robin is doing for the army... EVEN ROBIN POINTS OUT HOW RANDOMS THE THINGS HE PLANED WHERE YET IT MADE HER HAPPY TO THE POINT SHE BURST INTO TEARS!! When she marries Owain, still in Spring Scrambble, when she promises that she will tries to find some time for them to spend it together, OWAIN BURST IN JOYS!! He is being like “REALLY ?! FOR REAL ?” HE IS OVERJOYED FOR SOMETHING THAT ROBIN HERSELF CONSIDER TO BE SILLY !!!!! Is this not proof enough that being Robin is hard ?!

And what is worse is that Robin being amnesiac they. have. no. home. to. RETURN!!! I mean when I recall Robin’s conversation with any people trying to hire them, they have a point. While it’s no wonder that in heroes Robin talks about how Chrom gives them a “home” and a “new family” within the Shepherds considering there is HIGHT chances their mother died and they clearly can’t return to Valider... having a father just so he could use you as a vessel !! Isn’t that dark !! However I shoul clarify that Chrom offered them a “home” as LONG AS IT WAS WAR because once peace is here ... what are they gonna do? Once the war is over, what is Robin gonna do ? They only knew the live of tactician, sleeping in a tent, battling, etc. Even if they want to stay by Chrom’s side let’s face it. Their friendship won’t give Robin a new job nor  a new home! Unless Robin marries Chrom, or Lissa, or Frederick or Emmeryn, they won’t live in the castle with them!! Unless Robin marries a 1st gen, they won’t have a home nor a family!! Unless Robin marries a 2nd gen, they won’t travel with their spouses to makes themselves a new home !!  Basically, single Robin is like the 2nd gen (which probably explains why I never saw Robin as a “1st gen” or would not label them as such, more a character like Tiki or the spotpass character kind) because they have no family nor a home to return excepts the 2nd gen had actual plans unlike Robin who was too absorbed by their life as a tactitcian to think about it..what is the future waiting for them exactly ? settling down in Ylisstol ? travelling to another country ? WHICH ONE ?! Is there one that allows them to have a 100% happy ending withou having to marry any units JUST so they can have a family and a new home ?! AND YOU SAYS AWAKENING IS NOT DARK ?!!

And you think Fates is not dark ? HA HA HA !! you innocents souls...

Despite it’s poor executions, let’s say the things straight. We have an innocent child who witnessed the death of their step-father being brutally murdered and got kidnapped and brainswash by their murderer, having a “happy childhood” only thanks to the already traumatized children of this man and the few domestics with some hearts, being forced to live like Rapunzel, having only ONE friends from the outside they made everything so they could forget him. Then they feel conflicted because they don’t know what to do, because they found out their “real family” yet still loves the people whom they grew up with despite them being the child of their kidnapper !!! Imagine how the in real life kidnapped kids having being raised by their kidnappers an finally being brought back to their “real” family whom they forgot everything about must feel !!! Adding to that the fact that they have to deal with the loss of the mother they finally found back !!! and the fact that destiny decides how they did not feel confused and conflicted enough and forces them to chooses between the people who preserved their innocence from a man that ruined their life and intended to hurt hem and the people who always love them as family and kept on waiting that one day they would be reunited (seriously ? why no one puts themselves in the shoes of the hoshidans family... just put all the testimony of all the families that finally found back a long lost family member to the Hoshidan family, and you have it! dark) and both your decisions are painfull.

In Birthright, Corrin has to fight the land they grew up in. The people they grew up with !!! In Conquest, they have to deal with the Garon’s way which goes completely against their pacifist ideals, trying hard to spare as many lifes as they can, yet the reality keep strinking them in the face while they try to remain as innocent as they were at first, dealing with blood on their hands !!!! Corrin makes literal nightmare in their support with Azura !!! And Revelations... oh god. Seriously ?! Yes everyone gets along but Corrin still has to face both their parents and kill their father and will never knew it because of 3 worthless idiots too busy brewing tea for their lords rather than accomplishing their actual missions !!! And the kids... SERIOUSLY !! They had to put their babies with stranger into a alternate dimensions, missed many things, many important things in their kids life!! Do you imagine how awful it must be that your kids is already your age after a few weeks, sometimes younger ?! And you missed so many things ?! and you won”t get a second chance unlike Awakening, because it’s not an alternate future version, it’s YOUR ACTUAL CHILD WHOM YOU CONCEIVED WITH YOUR SPOUSES!!! And whoever marries Azura will have to deal with mourning her according to some routes, same things for Kaze, etc. 

And I am not talking about both Awakening and Fates’s character having their own trauma, own issues....

And I’ll add this... the S support. Yes, the freaking S support !!!

Asides from the fact that freaking Nowi, Nah, and Tiki will outlive their husbands which makes their ending incredibly sad, you have the fact that most of the ship are actually pretty tragic. I know, I know, when you look at it the first thing you see are the over the top ridiculous plot holes, but as plot holy as they are the one with Robin are just;... UGHH 

I mean Robin x 1st generation is basically you marrying someone who, in an alternate timeline, gets murdered by you !!! Male Robin may be a good father IN THE GAME TIMELINE but the Robin from Luci’s timeline deserves an award in the top 10 of worst parents ever!!!! This man/woman sacrificed their spouses and made their children’s life a literal HELL!!! Just put yourself in the Shepherds’s shoes for a second : how would you react to discover that in an alternate future, your wife/husband murdered you and screw up your kids’entire life as well as killing millions of innocents life ?!! AS IF FINDING OUT THAT YOUR ACTUAL SPOUSE IS A SERIAL KILLER WAS NOT DARK ENOUGH BUT THIS IS ALMOST SO DARK THAT IT BECOMES RIDICULOUS !!!!

And Robin x 2nd gen is just as dark when you realize that they are basically marrying someone who is the alternate good version of their own parent’s murderer!!! Yes, they fell in love with the alternate version of the person who brutally murdered their parents and destroyed their home and ruined their entire life !!! And who in at least ONE timeline killed them too !!! And also the alternate version of someone they will brutally murder at the end of the game !!!

The Robinsexual not being much better since most of them are alternate version of people brutally murdered by Robin and Co in the playable timeline or that they let die in at least 3 timelines !!! How is that not dark ?!!

Fates is not much better either!! Come on!!! There is a lot of pairings that are formed with at least one units having death flags flying on their freaking head !!!! and the fact that Corrin can marry the children of their kidnapper !! Come on !! how is that not dark ?!

And now, WHAT IN ENGAGE IS NOT DARK ENOUGH TO SUIT YOUR TASTES ?!

This story literaly is the most awful. Sure Alear is amnesiac at the begining of the game. Alear has literaly been raised with the mentality that if they did not fit to Sombron’s expectations, they’be deemed a “defect”!! Like, it’s already hard to be the child of someone who is sooo obsessed by someone else they deemed as the most important person to the point they don’t see you, and don’t even think of you as someone being able to replace the void created by the person you lost, as if this was not hard and awful enough, add the fear and pressure of being killed!!! Alear is TERRIFIED by the Corrupted. THEY. KILLED. ALL. THEIR. SIBLINGS. All of them!! And Alear witnessed that !!! And still feared for Veyle who also had to endure THIS!!! Zephia literally brainwash her into being another person who does awful things !! Imagine someone telling you that your true self is worthless and therefore decides to create a new personality for you ?!! SHE HAD TO LIVE 1000 YEARS OF THAT !!! And Alear was killed by their own father!! when they finally found someone loving in the person of Lumera, a life they WANTED to have, NOT FORCED TO LIVE, but WANTED !! THEY WANTED TO BE A GOOD DRAGON AND PAYED IT WITH THEIR LIFE !! And when they and Lumera finally reunitated with her waiting for YEARS that her “child” and her would finally get to be together ? WHAT happens ? Not only is her child amnesiac but she dies !!! THEY NEVER GOT TO BE TOGETHER!! TO LIVE AS MOTHER AND CHILD!! And VEYLE WAS ALONE FOR 1000 YEARS HOPING TO FINALLY REUNITES WITH HER SIBLINGS AND HAD TO ENDURE ZEPHIA CALLING HER A DEFECT AND WITH THE FEAR OF BEING KILLED TOO!!!  And it’s actually a good thing that Alear forgot about all of this because I don’t see how any average person could bear to have such memories of their siblings being killed by their own father!! No wonder that even amnesiac they are still scared by the Corrupted!!! This adds a new layer to their supports with Diamants because imagine if that one had took place after Alear regains their memories!!! AWFUL !! And I won’t add the traumatic backstory of Marnie who was abandonned by her mother who thought she was useless despite helping her with her brother and finding a mother in Zephia because “finally! someone praised me !! someone noticed my struggles !!” nor Griss explaining why he became addicted to pain !!! Seriously how IS THIS NOT DARK?! 

When you think about it all those games had pretty dark story!!! It’s like Kaori yuki and Jun Mochizuki decided to allies themselves and write a story and GOD!! you know those women are talented at writing story worth making a die hard hearltless criminal who slaughtered many people cry like a big cry-baby a flow, a river of tears in a foetus position !!!

Clearly, Engage’story is actually has dark as Three Houses, maybe even more so. The only reasons why you feel it’s cheesy is the execution.

So does a dark story = a good story ? NOPE.

Does a well executed story = a good story regardles of if it’s dark or not... YES OBVIOUSLY!!

[resalire]

Hello everyone! Just a quick continuity update for Alfonse: following the ending of Book VII, Alfonse’s canon point will now be taken post Book VII, after Nihility and Dream. Every other side event stories that have transpired within the duration of this book will also be canon to him (TT(+), Forging Bonds, Paralogue stories, etc.), though with less emphasis on those that don’t involve him. Alfonse now better understands Fódlan and The Officer’s Academy following the (ultimately unfruitful) attempt of its replication in Askr. He will also now be acquainted with Elyos & Vanaheimr, as well as the FE:Engage & Book VII casts.

As of this update, the following characters form a (somewhat) notable relationship with him in FEH, and these relationships will also be canon to my portrayal of Alfonse— the more impactful of which are bolded. If there’s anything necessary to discuss, please let me know:

Alear (F)

Diamant

Ced

Leif

Ingrid (Three Hopes)

Geoffrey

To reiterate: Alfonse will still treat every Hero he meets in TOA as strangers out of respect. This will mostly take effect on how he views other characters personally. I hope to make a more in-depth post about these changes soon, but for now this will have to suffice. Thank you for understanding!

Additionally, as of this post, I’ve caught up on every single Forging Bonds. Please ask me for a fun FEH fact. I have so many. Please.

[nightmareonpeachstreet]

daily reminder that the Alears are incredibly adorable (also both very pansexual there's no straight explanation for this)

[pansexualkiba]

“decided to redesign this character!” [makes the exact same edit literally every other person has made]

[sukimas]

veyle has my favorite design in engage by such a long shot that i almost have to wonder if someone else did the character design for her. or if mika was possessed

[emblemxeno]

For as good-natured and open-minded as Alear is, effectively he's still extremely young and easily swayed.

While sweet to his friends, he's not at all merciful to enemies, such as outright saying he's going to kill Nelucce for what he's done to Alfred and Celine's family and home. Similarly, he lacks nuance/perspective on Veyle's situation later, thinking that such a blatant switch in personality was just her being a master manipulator this whole time, and lets his anger take control of what he says to her. A classic, good use of dramatic irony.

He doesn't run from things cuz Lumera told him that a Divine Dragon shouldn't run from anything, but Alear took that to an extreme by walking into danger even when advised against it by someone who absolutely knew better-Marth. It's precisely why Lucina and Lyn later have to explain the difference between running away from everything that scares you, and making a retreat when things don't look good. Courage is knowing the risks and recognizing your fear, but rising up to the challenge when it's still possible to win; folly and stubbornness is ignoring the risks as a whole due to getting a swollen head about your own abilities.

Specifically, what's great about this to me, is that Alear is still a work in progress in the story proper. He's compassionate to not want others to experience the pain he has, but not enough to fully grasp the kinds of things people would do because they, their country, or their families were hurt (Zephia, Hortensia, Hyacinth, etc.). He has much general wisdom and good day-to-day advice, but is still susceptible to being full of himself (Chapters 10 and 11). Even after getting a hold of himself when he lost the first six Emblems, he's still not mature enough to see Veyle as anything other than a selfish, monstrous murderer.

When learning he's a Fell Dragon, he sinks into despair, feeling as if he's been deceiving everyone this whole time, even though that perspective logically doesn't make sense. But it doesn't have to! Alear is convinced that Fell Dragons = Bad News, and that it doesn't matter what kind of person he actually is, his heritage is enough for derision.

That's why it matters so much that his friends immediately reassure him of the opposite! Dude, you just spent the entire game learning and growing with us, helping people from royal to citizen, using your power to protect others. You've proven your own version of Divinity, not just because of your hair color, but because of your unending goodness. You're a good dragon!

Alear doesn't have to be all powerful, he just has to be himself; encouraging, calming, inspiring, leader-like. He just has to connect himself to others so they can overcome challenges together. It's also why his interactions with Veyle (and Mauvier as well tbh) are incredibly well done, since now that Alear's been through the process of healing and accepting who he is versus who he can be, he can do the same for his precious sister.

What a lovely character Alear is.

[theeeveetamer]

One subtle thing I like about Fire Emblem Engage so far (no spoilers)

Or: the subtle ways in which game design pushes the societal expectation of Male-As-Default (and how Engage managed to avoid this one simple issue)

If you're a lady gamer, you might have noticed the thing I'm going to talk about. If you are a woman and you haven't noticed this, that's fine too, because it's such a deeply ingrained cultural phenomenon that you probably don't even notice it on a conscious level anymore. But I'm sure you've noticed it somewhere in your life. That's right, I'm talking about Male-As-Default, AKA the assumption that you are male until proven otherwise.

Maybe you got into an internet argument and were repeatedly referred to as "he" (and then you had the conundrum of correcting them and getting called "bitch" instead of "idiot"). Maybe you got a cute new puppy dog and everyone at work kept asking how "he" was doing. Maybe you were hyped for a new game, only to find out that the female protagonist was on exactly 0% (or at least in significantly less) marketing material than the male protagonist. Or, heck, maybe you're even plagued by constant junk emails advertising penis enlargement services despite your lack of one and your lack of interest in acquiring one.

There's far too many broad examples for me to go over, so I'll cut straight to the point.

Whenever there's a character creator, the "man" option is always first

My first Pokemon game, and one of my first games ever, was Pokemon Crystal. And while it's an improvement that there was an option to play as a girl at all, one of the very first things you see is this:

A list, with two options, and "boy" is at the top. If you want to play as a girl, you have to explicitly scroll down to the girl option.

This persisted throughout most of Pokemon's lifespan:

And Pokemon is hardly the only offender in this regard. Dragon Age, Mass Effect, and, heck, even my darling Stardew Valley are all guilty of this design sin.

Fire Emblem, too, has a history of this.

The assumption with all of these games is that you will want to play as a male character. If you want to play as a female character, you have to explicitly do an extra button press to choose the option. The female character is frequently posed behind the male character, under him, or in shadow initially (if she's shown on screen at all). At the very least, the cursor defaults to the male option first, even if both characters are shown with equal prominence on the screen intially (such as in Pokemon gen 6 and gen 7).

"It's one extra button press!" I hear some of you saying, "Who cares?"

Well, it's not exactly a secret that women have frequently been unwelcome in nerdy spaces in general and gaming spaces specifically. This is a meta-message, a subtle one, but one all the same. "You're unusual in this space. You are not who we are expecting to be here."

So how do you fix it? Easy. Just make men press an extra button too.

Both versions of Alear are presented with equal prominence on the character selection screen in Engage. The game does not automatically default to one or the other. It does not autoselect M!Alear while hiding F!Alear in shadow or behind him. If you want to play male!Alear, you press left and then A. For female!Alear, you press right and then A. Male is not default, just one of two options.

[calamitaswrath]

Honestly though one aspect of Xenoblade X not being as much in the eyes of Xenoblade fans/Nintendo that I actually enjoy is that it means that Cross is actually allowed to stay the player avatar.

Like, Fire Emblem got really popular after Awakening, which further leaned into the whole player avatar thing that FE12 already introduced, and then followed up on that with Robin and Corrin. But because Fire Emblem really went in on spin-offs once it got popular, the player avatars started appearing in stuff like Smash, Warriors and Heroes, which meant that they just had to pick one appearance for them. Which, y'know, is fair enough. But it also means that all the customization options they had in Awakening and Fates are just completely swept under the rug, to the point that Byleth, Shez and Alear don't even have any customization anymore.

What I'm getting at here with regards to Xenoblade X is that I'm just glad that default male and female Cross haven't really solidified themselves as proper character into the fanbase, because.

Look at these. They just look so boring. Sure, male Cross has a sorta interesting colour scheme, but he's just so generic. And female Cross looks like she's meant to be around the same age as Lin, which I'd really rather not have be the case. X has so much customization for your player avatar, and I'm just really glad that that still exists in the minds of X fans.

[yanderefairyangel]

I don't like doing this... and I was really seriously debating on whether or not I should do this ( and I really hope this time it's the last I ever have to) but

This blog has been running for quite sometime in tumblr, about a month if my memory is right. However, this blog had very.... very weird takes

Notably anti Brodian one. But then, I checked something in the AITA blog and found.. this

This blog, whose first post is a submit to the account about shipping regarding Alear and the Fell twins of the Xenologue. And then

This blog reblogged it. Except they aren't claiming to be a side account as you can clearly tell. Now, I don't like accusing someone, however I find it very strange that scrolling both blog, not only do they have the same way to express themselves and typing quirck but both blog's first post was an entry to that AITA blog.

Do you see what I mean by "same way of typing" ? Well, that's not all. After searching, I realize that the blog they reblogged "femalealeartruther" used to be active as well

For people already aware, I already pointed out that this person was the same as chaotic flower and timerra lover, two blog that became infamous for championing the idea that F!Alear is the "true canon one" and on hating M!Alear. Evidence as follow :

I really dislike saying that but after checking the blog of aleardivine dragonmonarch, I realized they answered in the same way as THIS blog to ask they receive

The same way they answered to a blog reblogging them and this time with the femalealeartruther account

And again. Those blog all have deactivated.

As I explained I have several reason to believe that not only is femalealeartruther the same person as aleardivinedragonmonarch, but also that they are the same person as timeralover and thus with chaoticflower.

Yes, the same blog who in the right order :

claimmed you were bing racist if you didn't like Timerra's singing

claimmed that Timerra and Fogado aren't popular because people are racist

Hate constantly on Brodia and try to villify it by any means and hate Alcryst in particular

Was being rude towards fanfic authors

Insist on shipping Alcryst with F!Alear even though they hate him

Call anyone who prefer M!Alear over F!Alear sexist

Admitted to have stolen an idea of fanfic for an Alearcryst fic that was shared on Discord and trying to make belive it was their idea first

Have apparently lied on their age multiple times

The thing is that each time they claimmed to be a different person who had nothing to with the person who deleted their account... despite the obvious

Each time they come back with a new obsession and a new way to stir out drama and this time, it's because they dont like the fact that they dislike seeing Alear being shipped with Nel or Rafal and won't block or mute the ship instead they tried to prove that this ship is "problematic" (which imo when you do that it's not a good look for you at all ngl it come across as controlling and mean spirited)

Also, I should say it right away but chaotic flower has apparently displayed such behaviour in other fandom such as genshin and twisted wonderland

I could be wrong but again I find it very strange that several account that hates Brodia, claim F!Alear is the canon one, hates M!Alear ship Alearcryst, insist that the Fell twins are Alear's sibling because of an headcanon and express themselves in the very same manner and keep intereacting with the AITA blog with it always being their FIRST post and regularly hosting polls to test which of F!Alear or M!Alear people prefer would all be run by completely different people.

Also.. again, searching, I realized that a lot of the reblogs that were taking side of OP were having the exact same type quirk and scrolling through their blog there is none to little content which are limited to intereaction with the AITA blog and rebloging from the same blog as aleardivinedragonmonarch and weird captions such as never mentionning which is their main account and all

The last one I am SURE I saw the account femalealeartruther at SOME point reply with the exact same arguments.

If somehow they are different person, then this must be one heck of a coincidence

What does Op says ? They are denying it

However I am clearly not the only one who noticed it

(so yeah they kept spamming the inbox of the blog with Alear related ask and F!Alear in particular)

(all of this because of ship I just can't-)

Keep in mind that those are just several thing I noticed and I am kinda worried to see that this person keeps comming back with a new identity pretending to be a different person and well, cause drama.

Also, OP if you read this. Again, I must reiterate. You are welcome in this fandom as long as you STOP doing this sheet right here. That's just baffling that each time you make a blog and then deactivate it all to come back with a new obsession. And each time you pretend to be someone else. Why can't you just run a blog without trying to spark the flame of discourse ? The block button exist, the mute button exist. It's up to you to curate your own online experience and if you are indeed a minor as you claimed several time you were yet keep insisting on having this behaviour, then maybe it's a sign that you are not mature enough to be on social media. Especially since you speak as F!Alear as if she was a real person and not just a fictional being. I am sure that if you properly apologized and admitted your mistake instead of having several blog running to pretend to be another person just to prove that you are right people would actually forgive you.

As for other especially Alear, Alcryst and the Fell twins fans, I am advicing you to block this person and avoid any intereaction with them. This isn't an invitation to harass this person, if anything just block them.

Update

Both account ended up deactivating.

AT THE SAME TIME !!!

[nonbinaryspy]

This is a birthday attack on @larachelledrawsfe for the FE ArtScuffle, with the super fun prompt of fanon Emblems. Please imagine a magical girl transformation cutscene as you meet Emblem Mist! She’s Fogado’s personal Emblem and allows him to wield Florete. Only a certain song can awaken her from her thousand year slumber, so she can’t be summoned until Emblem Ike is there to teach it to Alear. She and Fogado become fast friends and are generally seen in good cheer, though they worry about their older siblings, who won’t stop teaming up to smash barricades with a hammer…

I thought of three concepts for their Emblem bond supports, so I’ve included all three behind the cut. Enjoy!

C — Mist: You sure know how to party, Prince Fogado, but you’re always working hard. It must be because Princess Timerra has so much on her plate, right? Fogado: Me? Working hard or hardly working, amirite? Haha… But seriously, don’t let anyone hear you say that. B — Fogado: You seem restless, Mist. Something on your mind? Mist: No, I’m just used to being busy with chores. Kinda hard to cook or clean without hands, though… A — Fogado: Y’know, Ike’s seemed a lot more relaxed since you got here. Mist: Really? He looks like the same old grumpy brother to me. He can’t even dig into my world famous meatloaf recipe anymore! Fogado: I’m sure he’s just happy to have you around. You don’t have to strain yourself so hard. Mist: Huh… Thanks, Prince Fogado. I’m sure Princess Timerra feels the same way about you.

C — Mist: Your horse is so cute! I used to ride around on one, too. Fogado: A fellow equestrian! I like it. How about I take you with me next time I go riding? B — Fogado: You’re surprisingly knowledgeable about archery. Mercenaries dabble in a little of everything, huh? Mist: Not really. My best friend was just good with a bow. I must’ve picked up more from watching him than I thought! A — Fogado: Healers sure are amazing. Sometimes, I think about asking Pandreo for lessons, but I don’t think I have it in me to be a man of the cloth. Mist: I got lessons from a priest when I was younger. There’s not much to it except wanting to be helpful. Fogado: You make it sound so simple. If only I really could heal everything ailing the people of Solm… Mist: I think you’re great at healing hearts! Just keep your spirits up, and it’ll all work out.

C — Fogado: Most folks are surprised to see a prince roaming around, but you don’t seem fazed, Mist. Mist: I used to travel with a princess, so I’m used to it by now. B — Fogado: Mercenaries have all sorts of adventures, huh? What’s the wildest thing you and this princess of yours got up to? Mist: One time, our ship got grounded in a country full of dragons. They ended up helping us, but boy, things seemed hairy! Er…scaly? A — Fogado: It’s weird to think that someday, Timerra’s gonna have to spend so much time on the throne. Mist: I know what you mean. When my friend became queen, she sure didn’t have a lot of time to chat! Mist: But your sis will still be the same person. So don’t forget to spend time with her, okay? Fogado: Haha, you sound just like her when you say that. Okay, you both win. I’ll make sure to hang out around the throne sometimes, too.

[yusuke-of-valla]

Drawing Ellear in cute outfits I saw on Pinterest 5/???

[genshingorlsrevengeance]

(FE: Engage) Céline, Alear, and Ivy reacting to their isekai'd S/O using guns

For your neutral special, you wield a GUN

Despite being violence-averse, Céline understands the concept of a gun quickly.

(Céline) "Such a small object is capable of tremendous force! It's not so different to magic!"

She views guns the same as any weapon, unfortunate that they must be used, but to protect peace, she sees their function.

That being said, the gun S/O fires startles her everytime with how loud it is.

She especially was surprised by the weight and recoil when S/O let her use it.

(Céline) "Like...this?- BWAH?!"

She almost dropped the pistol after pulling the trigger, which made her heart almost drop as she was sure it was about to fire again.

Alear was aware that all sorts of weapons existed in other worlds, but S/O's gun fascinated her.

It was like a miniature ballista made of metal, at least that's how she understood it.

She would however fail to understand how it functions or how it reloads itself.

(Alear) "What a terrifying weapon. And you say your world has these mass produced...?"

S/O let Alear use a pistol to test it out, but she surprisingly got the hang of aiming and hitting targets relatively quickly.

(Alear) "Hopefully we should never have the need to produce these as much as your world does, S/O..."

Ivy jumps the first time she heard S/O fire their gun, she thought it was some kind of new spell flying at her.

Upon realizing that it was some kind of advanced bow, she couldn't help but eye it curiously.

Just how did that thing work, and where did S/O get the ammunition to fire it constantly?

It never fails to send Ivy and her Wyvern on high alert whenever S/O fires it, even when they're back at the Somniel.

(Ivy) "I would...kindly ask if you do not use that while we are resting...Do I want to use it? ...Well, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't interested."

Ivy's eyes bulge out her head when she realizes that it's far lighter than she expected. How could a weapon so small deal so much damage?

When she pulled the trigger it made her jump and accidentally let it drop, making it fire again and she leapt back into them.

(Ivy) "...I apologize for that shameful display. Please, take that...thing back."

[real-fire-emblem-takes]

Alear's dead siblings haunt the narrative

actually they haunt me but that's the same thing as haunting the narrative

-- horror anon

.

[nightshademyn]

Ok I'm still going insane about the wisdom saga specifically god games so I'm gonna start yapping under the cut because I have A LOT to say

First off, as I said in a previous post, Apollo's verse really does feel like the first/tutorial boss. There's nothing really personal (?) about why he doesn't want Odysseus to be set free, and I'm pretty sure that's intentional with how much this saga took from video games. Also I love his voice because it's fucking Brandon McInnis and as someone who's in the middle of her first FE Engage run w/ male Alear, it was a fucking shock lmao (did not expect to see male alear's va here)

I have no real in depth thoughts when it comes to Hephaestus's verse other than it just scratches my brain the right way. Something about Mike Rivera's voice is just sooo good and there's something so sweet about Jorge getting both his parents as vocalists in his passion project. It makes me smile every time.

OK OK HERE'S WHERE I START GOING INSANE. APHRODITE AND ARES. First off I swear you can hear the danger motif in the instrumentation WHICH MAKES SENSE because Aphrodite isn't going to be easily swayed and that poses a danger to everything Athena is trying to accomplish! It would also foreshadow that Ares is going to come in if Athena pushes Aphrodite to release him. SECOND! This is the longest segment and I wanna argue was the one that took the most effort out of Athena, and I'd like to think it's because of their history with the Trojan War. I'd like to think that Ares and Aphrodite are still holding a grudge from when Athena helped Diomedes almost kill them both during the Trojan War lmao. (Also Athena referring to Telemachus as her friend and Ares' insult towards Telemachus being what causes Athena to lock in is so sweet)

I love Hera's verse and I love how amicable she is towards Athena?? It makes sense to me that she's not quite as hostile as Aphrodite and Ares despite being the final "boss" before Zeus because to my knowledge in mythology Hera held no longs standing animosity towards Athena, probably because she's the child of Zeus and his first wife Metis and not the result of an affair. They were actually on the same side of the Trojan war. So it makes more sense to me that she's less antagonistic and more testing Athena. And I love that her verse starts with "So many heroes/So many tales" because Athena is the goddess that helps out most greek heroes. Off the top of my head outside of Odysseus there was also Perseus and Diomedes that she aided. Hera is testing Athena and asking her what makes Odysseus so special out of all the heroes Athena has mentored

AND FINALLY ZEUS!!!! THE OTHER BIT THAT MAKES ME INSANE! I wanna double back to make a comparison because in the beginning of God Games, it almost sounds to me like Athena is trying to find her rhythm, like she's choosing her words carefully to appeal to Zeus and get him to agree with her. And then once she's convinced the other gods, she returns to zeus with confidence and pride ("I've played your game and won/ Release him") DEMANDING THAT HE RELEASE ODYSSEUS! AND HOW? HOW DOES ZEUS RESPOND???? WITH THE SONG ABOUT PRIDE CRUMBLING AT HIS HANDS!! I firmly believe that's why Zeus struck Athena the second time she approached him. In his eyes, she was prideful and defiant and needed to be taught a lesson (and if the line "to make me feel shame" is any indicator, he probably did not like being called out for his propensity for affairs during Hera's verse). Also I might be going insane but the line "thunder, bring her through the wringer" IS SUNG IN THE FUCKING DANGER MOTIF SIGNALING THE DANGER ATHENA IS IN

The warrior of the mind motif returning first with a soft piano and then with a triumphant brass section (trumpets probably?) was also so good and what a way to end that song

I think that's all I had for now but I will probably come back with more to say because this musical is doing things to me