#the cornelius saga

[veganbread1]

Guys meet Cornelius he likes to knit

[askcorneliusabsolutelyanything]

THE LONG AWAITED CORNELIUS TUTORIAL IS HERE!!!!!!

also sort of a voice reveal but yea!!! paper frog!!! btw sorry for stumbling over my words a bit I'm not that good at describing stuff lol

@candiedapplez

[veganbread1]

ITS BEAUTIFUL THE RATTY OLD MAN IS ETERNALLY GRATEFUL

@veganbread1 i made cornelius fanart♥️♥️

[sims-half-crazy]

Breathe! Just breathe through it. It will pass. It always does. Imogen stifled the urge to retch all over the parlor's carpet. Her mother's perfume was heavy with jasmine and the scent did not agree with her current state.

"What is wrong with you, Imogen? You've gone all green." Her mother's soft, melodic voice was tinged with an iron edge. Her eyes narrowed as if she were searching Imogen's soul. "Come. Stand up. Let's get you some fresh air. It's a lovely day out. Winter hasn't quite descended upon us yet. When I was heavy with child, a walk was just the thing to help clear up some of the unpleasantness that came with it." Imogen's head snapped up and she stared, wide-eyed, at her mother. "Does he know yet?" The question hung in the air while Rebecca moved to help her daughter from the settee.

Imogen struggled to answer. None of them knew. Not her husband or the father. She needed to tell them both, but she couldn't quite believe that she was finally with child. It'd been so many years of barren disappointment that she had begun to assume that she couldn't have children. Moving toward the door, she stopped her mother from leaving. "I have not told anyone yet. I wanted to be quite sure. I don't want to get overly excited over nothing."

Rebecca's gaze intensified as she tilted her head to one side. "Is it his?" she hissed, narrowing her eyes again. Imogen took a step forward, leaning in towards her mother. What she had to say was not meant for anyone else's ears.

"If it is or isn't, he needs to think it's his. You will do nothing to dissuade him of the notion that this child is his because I don't want to think of the consequences for both of us if he thinks I've strayed. Do you think for one moment he'll let us continue to live here, paying for everything, and maintaining our esteemed lifestyle if he's not the father? No. He won't. So you're not going to breathe one word of your suspicions aloud."

"What have you done? How could you have let this happen?!" Imogen reflected on how she'd gotten into this predicament, and a soft smile touched her lips. She'd been trying to get away from her ogre of a husband and had escaped to the 3rd-floor ballroom. There wasn't much up there but it led to a balcony with breathtaking views of the area. She'd just wanted to get away and find some peace. He'd been drunk, again, and railing at her inability to bear him a son. He'd tried to strike her but had missed. She'd fled the room and run. Running to the balcony hadn't been a great plan, as there was only one exit but Imogen was certain that Cornelius wouldn't follow her. The stairway to the ballroom was small and narrow with a tight turn in the middle, and as sloshed as Cornelius was there was no way he'd be able to manage those stairs. She didn't know how long she stayed on that balcony, but Eli had found her. He'd been looking for something in the attic storage and had seen her race past and slam the balcony doors. He'd been so gentle and caring. Smoothing away her tears with the back of his hand, Imogen eagerly accepted his tenderness.

He'd been bashful, ashamed almost, of his behavior. She was his brother's wife and he had no right to touch her so, but he hadn't stopped. Their affair had begun slowly after that. A brief touch of their hands in passing. Secretly seeking each other out. Their love quickly blossomed as they escaped to the balcony to steal whatever moments they could.

Upon one such stolen moment, he'd kissed her neck, nibbled on her ears, and beseeched her to meet him in his room that evening. Imogen had needed no further prompting. She wanted to know the man she loved. She'd lain with her husband, and for all his grunting and pawing at her body, she knew that lovemaking could be more.

They had lain together only once, because of fate's cruel turn, Cornelius wouldn't have any more trips east until Spring returned to the valley. After her interlude with Eli, Imogen made sure to lay with Cornelius. She perfunctorily performed her wifely duty and marveled at the marked difference between the twins. Cornelius was no better than a dog in heat, whereas Eli was gentle and sweet. He treated her pleasure as important as his own, and the experience was wholly different. That is how you ended up with Eli's child. Her thoughts were annoyed, but more because she couldn't tell anyone that the better brother was her lover and father of her baby.

Beginning / Previous / Next

[retroillustrates]

Eternal Champions batch 1 and 2

Our gentlemen doomed by narrative in order: Corum Jhaelen Irsei Erekose Elric of Melnibone Dorian Hawkmoon Jeremiah "Jerry" Cornelius Jherek Carnelian Karl Glogauer Emmanuel Bloom aka "The Fireclown"

[beasanfi1997]

The fangirls actually like Thumbelina, Ocarina of Time, Lightspeed Rescue, Attack of Clones, Mystic Force, Arthur and the Revenge of Maltazard, Twilight Saga New Moon and Star Wars Rebels season three because they are more teen love Story

[aphrmoosun]

What can we expect from the upcoming apes movies??

The success of the new Planet of the Apes movie is obvious, it far exceeds what was expected at the box office and the critics are very positive. The only thing missing is the official confirmation of the fifth installment of the saga but seeing the numbers it has done, we should trust that we are going to have apes for a while.

So we can create our own ideas of what we think will come in the future of the saga.

Noa's first film in the saga opens up endless possibilities, we can also follow the clues given during the Caesar triology. And it is obvious that the new saga is not only inspired by the original saga from the 70s but also presents stories and ideas that were made known to us in those films. It was Cornelius himself who told us the story about Caesar who at that time called Aldo. So it is unreasonable for us to expect that, as happened in the Caesar films, the main ideas that were implemented in the films of the 70s will continue.

In the films of the 2010s we were already introduced to the idea of astronauts and although I think that the second film would be too hasty to present them, I do think that they could appear at the end of this film or in a kind of post-credits for the third film of Noah. Travels in the time? World's End? Humans destroying the planet? These are arguments that I still see as feasible in the movies. If the casting team is looking for an actor to be human in the next film, it gives me to understand that he could be the villain of the second film. And not Mae as many theorize.

It is true that she was the first human that is introduced to us in the new story and that her ideals direct her to be an antagonist. I don't doubt that that could be the case, but that Mae is a gray character is clear from the final scene of the movie. At one point Mae is going to lose her way and will surely find herself against Noa, but she is a character who screams to redeem herself. Noa and Mae are going to work together in the future, as an ape and a human.

Noa and Mae are clearly the same. They follow the same path: Noa does not know what the Echos are until Raka tells him about them. And Mae? She probably hasn't met an ape before either. Ignorance is mostly what separates us from ideals. And they both take the same path of getting to know each other. But just because they understood that, doesn't mean that everyone does. We already saw Proximus Caesar in the first film, who represents an ideal contrary to what Caesar represented. And very likely in the next movie we will see the humans in the bunkers who can take two arguments. The war against the apes or the search for a cure or becoming immune to the ape virus.

That's why we can theorize about the second movie. It has already been made clear to us that Noa and Mae are the protagonists of this story, and so far we have seen a lot of Noa and very little of Mae. If we come to any conclusion with the end of the movie, it is that Noa wants to follow Caesar's ideal and the one that Raka taught him when he hands the necklace to Mae. Because Raka gives him the necklace so that Noa remembers in the worst moments what was important. And now it's time for Mae to understand it too. I know that the next movie will be difficult for her and that she will also have to make difficult decisions, and that is the reason why Noa gives her the necklace.

I would especially like to mention Tim Burton's film from the 2000s. It is the film with the worst reviews in the saga and yet I see a lot of similarity between that film and the new one from 2024. I don't think they dare as much as in that film or that have some creative freedom to do some of the things they did in that one. And I'm talking about the romance within the movie. In the 2024 movie it is not very important and presents us with relationships that go beyond that interest but the relationship between Ari and Leo in that movie has been highly criticized by the general public and that could affect any attempt at a human/ape relationship that they would like to experience. So I don't see intermediate points, either they give us a story of enemies to lovers between Noa and Mae or I don't think it is very important for the story, because if they end up putting Noa and Soona together (which I doubt) it will not be important in the plot.

I don't want to make it longer so at another time I will develop it because I think they have thrown the stone into the river of a possible relationship between Noa and Mae hoping to see the public's reaction and because I think it would be a good idea to continue developing it.

To summarize, I think that the next movie will introduce us to a human villain and it will be the first time that Noa has to face one.

Human culture and how they have been living until now is also important and the reason why Mae lives isolated and away from humans. If she is immune but can still infect humans, no one will want to get close to her unless she is immune too. How does Noa and Mae's story continue to develop? Noa's clan taking a more leading role and getting to know Anaya and Soona more deeply. etc

I'm excited to see how it continues.

[princess-polls]

1A

Zuko (Avatar: The Last Airbender) VS Mamoru Chiba/Prince Endymion (Sailor Moon)

Utena Tenjou (Revolutionary Girl Utena) VS Vegeta (Dragon Ball Z)

Li Shang (Mulan) VS Prince Charmont (Ella Enchanted)

Prince Charming (Shrek) VS Legolas (Lord of the Rings)

Phillip (Sleeping Beauty) VS Prince Humperdinck (The Princess Bride)

Christopher Rupert Windermere Vladimir Carl Alexander Francois Reginald Lancelot Herman Gregory James (Cinderella 1997) VS Prince Lir (The Last Unicorn)

Arthur Pendragon (BBC Merlin) VS T'Challa (Marvel)

Prince Cornelius (Thumbelina) VS Ben (Descendants)

2A

Xie Lian (Heaven Official's Blessing) VS Derek (The Swan Princess)

Cavendish (One Piece) VS Atem (Yu-Gi-Oh!)

Yuu Kashima (Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun) VS Kanata (Go Princess Precure)

Romeo Montague (Romeo x Juliet) VS Yusuke Urameshi (Yu Yu Hakusho)

Zen Wistalia (Snow White with the Red Hair) VS Ashitaka (Princess Mononoke)

Mytho (Princess Tutu) VS Soma Asman Kadar (Black Butler)

Sidon (The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild) VS The Beast/Adam (Beauty and the Beast)

Flynn Rider/Eugene Fitzherbert (Tangled) VS Eric (The Little Mermaid)

1B

Leona Kingscholar (Twisted Wonderland) VS Prince Fluff (Kirby's Epic Yarn)

Prince Peasley (Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga) VS PrinceMamemon (Digimon)

Olivert Reise Arnor (Trails Series) VS Arthur D. Lawrence (Rune Factory 4)

The Blind Prince (The Liar Princess and the Blind Prince) VS Alain (Unicorn Overlord)

Alcryst (Fire Emblem Engage) VS Zagreus (Hades)

Jak (Jak and Daxter) VS Lancer (Deltarune)

Asriel Dreemurr (Undertale) VS Goro (Mortal Kombat)

Roman Sanders (Sanders Sides) VS Dirk Strider (Homestuck)

2B

Turtle (Wings of Fire) VS Krel Tarron (Tales of Arcadia)

Box Prince (Adventure Time) VS Lotor (Voltron Legendary Defender)

Bowser Jr (Mario Franchise) VS Manaphy (Pokémon)

Callisto Regulus (Death is the Only Ending for the Villainess) VS Prince Gerard of Greenleigh (Dimension 20: Neverafter)

Kiriona Gaia (The Locked Tomb) VS The Little Prince (The Little Prince)

Tedros (The School for Good and Evil) VS Cardan Greenbriar (The Folk of the Air)

Henry George Edward James Fox-Mountchristen-Windsor (Red, White & Royal Blue) VS Kaito (The Lunar Chronicles)

Prince Caspian (The Chronicles of Narnia) VS Hamlet (Hamlet)

[wolves-against-the-world]

Lycanthropy and the Body in Medieval Europe

Sourced from: Riddarvold, Stian (2023): Medieval perceptions of the Other in an extranormal community: The Case of Cornelius Vogelsang. Journal of Lycanthropic History, 2(3).

The perception of Monstrosity and Otherness in Medieval Europe has been analyzed in literature from the Icelandic sagas (Merkelbach, 2014) to Beowolf (Fahey, 2019; Cavell, 2014). [...] The Army of the Night (Exercitus noctis) is not documented well, many documents being destroyed upon its dissolution in the 1300s. Despite this, there has been a recent uptick in research about this unique military and social structure. Exclusively consisting of lycanthropes, it was still largely governed by medieval perceptions of monstrousness contingent with human society. This study will examine the norms surrounding monstrosity and the body in a lycanthropic context and their enforcement through the documented court case against Cornelius Vogelsang. Additionally, interviews were conducted with three werewolves who witnessed the trial, which will be referred to as P, Z, and M.

The Army of the Night was a military unit founded and led by Emicho VI., also known as Emicho the Crusader (ca. 1050-2020), to aid the crusades. The Army of the Night is only scarcely documented in official church records, though Emicho appears frequently in the Gesta Francorum and Historia Francorum. He is described as a capable, if ruthless, military leader building a strike force apart from the main, i.e. human, crusaders. While the lycanthropic nature of that force is not named directly, Gesta Francorum indicates a level of disconnect between the fighting units, describing the Army of the Night as simply "strange" (prodigiosus). After the failure of the first crusade, there is a large hole in the documentation, with Emicho and his troops only appearing in fragments. For a more general overview see Vanderbilt, 1989.

Monstrosity and Monstrousness in the Army of the Night

In the Middle Ages, monstrousness was a metaphor as well as a real state inherently linked to the soul. Monstrousness as a whole was heavily confounded with race, disability, and marginalization in literature and was heavily linked to the body. It was assumed that wickedness or sin would show on the body, the damnation of the soul made flesh here and in the afterlife. Unlike in many Christian faiths today, the soul was not seen as separate from the body. The state of the soul was reflected on the body and vice versa. Another important component was the mind: Reasoning ability was assumed to be inherently human, while the monstrous only followed instincts. The damned were thus made monstrous by the rejection of their very existence as a thinking being.

In the period of the Army's assembly and operations, monstrousness was not seen as inherently damning, as in, it was reversible. Repentance could still save the soul.

As eldritch lycanthropes change on a molecular level, they were permanently made monstrous, and were thus damned by merely existing. However, the visible signs of lycanthropy progress with age, giving rise to the idea that there was a timeframe in which one could still reverse the process. (see document B26-3682)

[Fragment of latin text describing a transformation and the idea that there is a way to "save" a werewolf]

The timeframes vary between 30-100 years, which correlates with the lifespans of werewolves in the Army of the Night as estimated by my interview partners (transcripts in Appendix A-C).

Werewolf P was a high-ranking officer in the Army and worked closely with Emicho VI. In regard to the Army's concept of salvation, he stated:

"If they [the chosen recruits] survived the turning, they were brought into the camp. They were told it was a punishment for their sins - that it came directly from God instead of, hm, that they were just unlucky I suppose. [...] It was a sin to be a werewolf, and you became a werewolf by sinning, so unless you were saved before the beast took over completely, you would be damned forever. Of course people figured out that it was Emicho and his officers who were turning people, but the fear kept them in line. Turning someone without permission and hiding it was also punishable by death. Not that most lived very long. They thought dying for the cause could save them."

This idea was reinforced by a lycanthropic trait that has not been studied outside of folklore until the modern day. When dying, the body will take the shape that is most aligned with the phase of the moon. Calculating the moonphase for recorded battles shows that most were fought during half or new moon. A dying wolf would thus turn back to humanoid form and seemingly confirm that they had been saved. This of course was only true for wolves young enough to not show outward signs that a medieval person could pick up on. Once again, this reinforced the time pressure the recruits faced.

Burial, too, was contingent on their body's and thus soul's state.

[...]

The case of Cornelius Vogelsang

To show how monstrousness informed social relationships even within an extranormal community, I will now examine the court case against Cornelius Vogelsang, a member of the Army of the Night that was executed on the fifth of March 1218 on account of sodomy and heresy. What makes this case interesting is that it is the only one still preserved in some detail.

The person in question first appears as either Hussein ibn al-Rahmud or Hassan ibn al-Rahmad in the list of new recruits on the retreat after the disastrous loss at Hattin (1187). He was recorded to be 20 years old, which is not out of place in the Army of the Night. (See document A34-3442)

A supplementary interview with the werewolf Z confirmed that Vogelsang had likely grow up Muslim, but "he didn't like to speak of it". (Appendix B) The name Cornelius Vogelsang appears first in the Army's 1188 census alongside the older name. He seemed to have christianized his name in order to fit in with the Europeans. The appendix "Vogelsang" was apparently given in reference to his singing prowess. In between his recruitment and sentencing there is no surviving documentation of his existence or actions.

The trial commenced in early February 1218. The town cannot be identified conclusively due to damage to the parchment, but the record was found in the abbey of St. John in Alzey. While this abbey was only founded in 1290, it still points towards the trial taking place in the region.

Vogelsang was indicted on charges of heresy and sodomy. He was accused of preaching heresies to young recruits, such as lycanthropy not being a reversible curse, but a natural state of being. In a second charge he was also accused of sodomy with an unknown man that could not be identified in the course of the trial. Document A44-3448 describes the other person involved as "indictus" (unnamed), which implies that the identity was known, but the person was not to be charged.

[Scan and transcript of the page detaiing the court proceedings.]

Sodomy in this period was defined as any sexual act not intended for procreation. In the Army of the Night, this rule extended to all sexual activity, as siring children while monstrous was perceived as a major threat both theologically and realistically. This did not mean the werewolves did not seek out women, but by the decree of 1123, any offspring was to be killed as soon as possible. [...] The primary affront of homosexual acts was not its usually recreational nature, but the "perversion of natural law" of one person taking on the role of the opposite sex. (Hart, 1990) [...]

Vogelsang was described as a "large, blue man" with "shoulders like oxen and hands like shovels". Blue in this context refers to all darker colors and was often used in texts to also denote wickedness, possibly with a racialized undertone (Sigurdsdottír, 2018). The description of his strength also marks him as threatening. In the following paragraph, he is described as wearing his hair in the style of a woman, and his "beard [does] not hide his weakness". This description makes sense when connected with the accusations of an unknown witness, who claims to have found Vogelsang "subdued and taking the part of the woman", i.e. being the receiving partner.

Vogelsang was sentenced to death by burning, and his eyes were gouged out as to forbid him from seeing God's splendor. This sentence is notably brutal, as most other documented death sentences were either executed through beheading or a silver dagger to the heart. It is not too far-fetched to assume the sentence was meant to be a deterrent. The destruction of the body was a highly symbolic act. It proclaimed Vogelsang to be beyond salvation, thus he was considered to have lost his soul and the privilege of burial.

Assuming all accusations are true, Cornelius Vogelsang knew that the soldiers were being lied to, and tried to disprove or at least challenge the reigning narrative. With said narrative as his primary tool, Emicho had good reason to fear an erosion of his power.

Vogelsang's identity (in the modern sense) also made him vulnerable: While race was not conceptualized the way it is today, being Middle Eastern could have been a visible reminder of his status as a convert. Z, who described himself as a "half-gypsy", recounted several instances of prejudice because of his appearance being used to challenge his status as a Christian.

The last of my three interview partners, M, added a completely new and unknown perspective. According to him, while there certainly was "some political shit going on", the sodomy accusation had actually resulted from jealousy. The accuser had previously been rejected by Vogelsang, and the accusation had been revenge. (see Appendix C)

The only defending voice in the trial came from an unnamed officer, whose description has been erased, seemingly on purpose.

[Scan of a document that had an entire paragraph scratched out]

The remaining account merely states that he protested the sentence and was silenced by his superior, one Bishop Anghelescu. Despite the intervention, the officer was sentenced to whipping and being marked by claw, i.e. having a visible part of his body scarred. The nature of this punishment served to make his monstrousness - in this case supporting a sinner - physically apparent.

Monstrousness as a state of damnation-until-saved informed both the social structures of the Army and the identity of werewolves within the group. At the same time, these concepts were used by Emicho VI. and the Catholic church as a whole to enact control upon a highly organized and effective strike force. Monstrousness was tied to gender, sexuality, religion, and race. Deviations both voluntary and involuntary could be cause for punishment including death. The case Vogelsang illustrates this use of theology in the name of control and power, as enacted by Emicho VI.

[furasims]

SCLC mega recap!

Welcome to the dramatic and ever-changing world of the Pessoa family—a swirling cauldron of dreams, struggles, and unexpected love affairs! We left Viola (the Second Gen heir) as a no ordinary single mom; she's a comedy queen and sitcom star who climbed her way to the top, all while managing a household full of twins. A sim-life superhero, if you ask me.

Her daughter Octavia became a mysterious teen who embraced her vampire lineage to delve into a life of nocturnal adventures with her father Caleb and her intriguing aunt Lilith. What darkness and light have they unlocked in Forgotten Hollow?

Cornelius, Octavia's twin brother, is the epitome of resilience! He battled the chaos of youth, aced his way through college, and decided to change the world.

Now a top-notch politician, he's married to the fabulous Mezquite, and they have two dynamic children: Sara and Devante.

Devante, the explorer, ventured into university and sprinted off to Selvadorada, the mecca of archeological treasures. From ancient ruins to vibrant cultures, his postcards are more than mere paper; they're slices of his soul.

Sara, our Oasis Springs artisan, turned her green thumb into a crafting empire, filling homes with handmade furniture that's to die for. But oh, the drama! Her marriage crumbled when Ella Jr, her high school sweetheart, fell under the spell of the ageless vampire, Auntie Octavia.

Thrown into emotional turmoil, Sara's kids navigated the chaos in their own unique ways. Rhys, a gentle soul, found refuge in the serenity of nature, while Adeline ignited her passion for eco-activism, becoming Sulani's youngest crusader. Now Adeline is on the verge of adulthood, and the air is thick with anticipation.

So, grab your popcorn and brace yourselves, because Adeline's coming-of-age promises to bring a whole new wave of drama to this already sensational family saga!

[veganbread1]

unfun cornelius fact: he's from Pennsylvania

Guys meet Cornelius he likes to knit

[askcorneliusabsolutelyanything]

I wanna hug Cornelius

Hopefully this will suffice. idk how you'd react but this was fun to draw CHARACTER BELONGS TO @candiedapplez BTW

[cantsayidont]

1999 and 2004. Inspired by Michael Moorcock's Jerry Cornelius, Nicholas Roeg, and METAL HURLANT, Bryan Talbot's LUTHER ARKWRIGHT saga is a psychedelic adventure story about a dimension-shifting psychic assassin who becomes a kind of reluctant cosmic messiah. His initial adventures focused primarily on his role in resolving an English Civil War on a parallel Earth where the tyrannical descendants of Oliver Cromwell still rule England in the early 1980s.

Talbot drew the character's earliest stories in 1978, but later retooled the original saga, in much more accomplished form, in the late '80s:

Intricately drawn, complex, and full of big philosophical ideas (and not a little adolescent wish fulfillment, like Luther's multidimensional girlfriend Rose Wylde), THE ADVENTURES OF LUTHER ARKWRIGHT is not unlike the later work of Grant Morrison: It's sometimes compelling and sometimes full of shit, but even at its most indulgent, there's always something worth attention, not least Talbot's magnificent art.

There have been two sequels: HEART OF EMPIRE, in the '90s, about Luther's daughter, and the more recent THE LEGEND OF LUTHER ARKWRIGHT, which I'm not crazy about. The original ADVENTURES, however, is a foundational work of ambitious English-language comics.

[sims-half-crazy]

Cornelius leaned back in his chair, forcing himself to forget the turmoil he'd just left at the Triple S. He concentrated on the cards before him as the old-timer across from him dealt the next round. Cornelius wasn’t sure if the old-timer’s slow, deliberate movements were due to his frailty or if it was a ruse to distract him.

As Cornelius reached for his drink, his attention was drawn to Anna coming down the stairs. Her posture was relaxed, but her gaze was sharp, cutting through the haze of the bar. The old-timer’s voice faded into the background as Cornelius watched her, a smirk playing on her lips.

Anna’s eyes met Cornelius’s, and for a moment, the bar seemed to hold its breath. Her gaze was a silent promise, a mix of allure and familiarity. Cornelius set down his drink and rose from his chair, moving deliberately as he pushed away from the game.

He grasped her hand without a word. She understood his unspoken desire and knew she was one of the few who could fulfill it the way he liked. It’s amusing how he fancies himself a gentleman, except when it comes to bed. He puts on airs everywhere else, but not in the bedroom, it’s a different story.

Anna didn’t mind playing the part. She liked the way he thought he was in charge, even though she knew better. The real power lay with women—they knew how to use their bodies as weapons, how to ignite a soul. Did she sometimes imagine her lovers as women? Perhaps, but it only heightened her enjoyment. The tokens of appreciation they left behind were always welcome, a little extra for her services, and a hint of their pleasure.

[retroillustrates]

Eternal Champions

[themoomoorn]

LA SAGA DE BAGUETTE PART DEUX: BIENVENUE A CHILI'S

It's time to balance our blossoming war with activity micromanagement on a magical, overloaded airship-fortress-sports bar. Y'know, as you do.

The Somniel may not have a Chili's, but they better have a Chocolate Chip Paradise Pie in that kitchen anyway!

...what do you mean Chili's doesn't make it anymore!?

Emblème, Engager!

This enchanted doggo poops out Bond Shards if you feed and pet it. That's nice and all, but can it also poop out Happy Hour priced custom margaritas? Didn't think so.

Yeah, not weird at all /s

Also, can we please just have a normal war camp again??? I'm siding with the Tellius fandom on that one.

After getting acquainted with the Somniel, we begin our journey proper by getting a set of rings from Firene, the perpetual springtime kingdom and also the most peaceful and religious of the lot. Their current monarch is Ève, and her heir is Prince Alfred. We meet him his sister, Princess Céline, and their respective retainer duos after finding out that a local town is being sacked by Corrupted.

Per Lumera, Lythos kept two rings and the other countries got two to three apiece. She kept the ring for Sigurd, and Alear had Marth's on during their epic millenium-spanning post-con crash. For Firene, they have the rings for Celica and Micaiah (the latter we find for ourselves later on, as it's in a shrine at the border).

Here I have Alfred Engaged with Sigurd, and Céline will always enter combat in this Chapter with Celica in tow. Both of them rock their respective outfits well and are also good fits for their respective skillsets. I do find it odd that Sigurd's Engaged hair color is a vibrant lilac though.

I wonder if this crystal is made of trix yogurt?

Here we meet Veyle, our Mysterious Fragile Female Waif-type. As you can see by the BDSM choker and the chains on her legs, she will presumably continue the Great Shouzou Kaga's legacy of women being too "pure" and "innocent" to be evil. As these interviews show, the guy presumably needed to have his teeth pulled out with pliers to even conceive a character like Jugdral's Queen Hilda of Chronos.

This game continues the trend of NPCs having banger designs, and for Firene, this includes a lot of floral prints. I love the dresses, and I'd love a button-up with a pattern like it. The item shopkeeper is also really pretty!

Framme is the only character who sorta responds positively to being gifted horse manure. Sigh.

"Alear has that sadness and longing in his eyes that you only see in eastern European gay porn."

Exercise mini-games, which offer a temporary stat boost. Here we have Alear doing push-ups in improper form. Most of the Somniel activities are more valuable for grinding up Bond Fragments more than the activity itself, although fishing is a nice extra spot for cooking ingredients.

In contrast to her daughter's absurd gown, Queen Ève's is nicer, and also has a prettier color palette.

We are introduced to our smex appeal female henchman of the game, Zephia. I will be inevitably disappointed when we are forced to see her sob backstory and be forced to sympathize with her.

She's also voiced by Elizabeth Maxwell in English, and while I know she's had many, many roles, I still mainly hear P5's Sae Niijima, which in this case is kind of hilarious.

This line is actually pretty funny. And hey, if Alfred actually didn't have the capacity of trampling over people like Sigurd himself did, lance abilities, or a workout routine that would presumably fit right in on TikTok, then Nelucce would have a leg to stand on!

Hopefully his passing was uneventful and not the stuff of nightmares, like poor Cornelius.

...Is Vander a cat???

In good old Post-2012 FE fashion, we have a Paralogue off the beaten path to do before running to the border to get Micaiah's ring. And in said same fashion, this map is where we recruit our steroid-injected child who presumably got Tommy John surgery at the age of seven under the pretense that it would allegedly enhance their performance. Yes, I do like baseball actually.

Anyway, our trainee unit for this game is Jean, and he is my new fictional son. I love him. I also love his hot dad and his drip.

Alear raids a farm at night and steals a nice, light, feathery cock. Kinda shocked we don't have more memes of Alear hoarding animals for the Somniel's farm.

Hiyah Papaya, it's time to meet Yunaka, who's actually one of the best characters AND units in this game, despite having one of my least favorite designs, but that's also the power of a good story and good voiceover work (Laura Post in this case) for you.

Unfortunately, the same cannot be said about Emblem Micaiah, who, like some of the other Emblems, is presented here in sanitized fashion. Yunaka enters the scene Engaged with her, which is convenient as Micaiah's Shine tome lights up this Fog of War Map.

Also, Fog of War maps are back. Sweet.

Veyle is back. Another plot trinket is bestowed upon us. The vivid red shade presumably denotes that it's eeeeeeviiiiilllll.

Another Paralogue before we wrap things up and head to Brodia, and it's Anna's. We get a refreshing change of pace with a female bandit boss and some female bandits, which is pretty cool actually. She even has a 9/10 design.

The remaining 1 point was knocked off for the micro hot pants.

I didn't bother with screenshots, but Anna is a viable playable unit after being completely shitty in 3H. She's a pretty mixed bag in terms of stats, but her Personal Skill is extremely useful providing her Luck levels up (She can plunder 500 gold from an enemy she defeats off a percentage of her base Luck stat). This also might be the most likable Anna so far...not that that's a very high hurdle to clear.

Her being 11 in this game is also still odd, but she got a far better and less rotten English VA out of it in the end.

And that wraps up the Firene Arc. Next time, we head to Brodia, the testosterone-poisoned Sparta analogue. What rings will their royals have, and will they be as inoffensive and mild as -

...wait.

I hear rattling.

Rolling along the grass, over there...

Is that...a bracelet...?

...oh no.

ALEAR NO -