#titania wyvern

[haunted-van-au]

Patton, sweetie, how are you doing? *she boops his nose* Roman and Logan, too, for that matter? *considers booping their noses as well, and decides, yes, she will* - Titania Wyvern

Patton hadn’t been feeling good for the last few days. At this point, Patton was okay in the car most of the time, but anyone would hate being trapped in the back of a van for weeks, let alone him who still sometimes forgot that he was safe.

He’d started to get crabby a few days ago and had snapped at Roman for moving Barnaby even though he’d only been trying to make the bed and couldn’t have known Patton would react that way to it.

He’d immediately felt guilty about it, and that guilt had slowly slipped into anxiety. Roman was one of the only people who cared about him. He was the only person other than Logan who had wanted to keep him around. What if Patton was bad enough that he didn’t want to be around him anymore? That’s what happened with his aunt after all. There’d been something wrong with him so she’d sent him away to live at Ms. Morris’s.

Even Logan who he hadn’t snapped at was probably mad because Patton had been being irrational and Logan didn’t like irrational things. He’d created conflict when things were already so hard.

Patton had found himself getting quiet over the course of the last few days, that familiar feeling of strangulation in his throat every time he thought about speaking. He hadn’t uttered a word in 2 days.

Thomas is open for questions.

Logan is open for questions.

Patton is open for questions.

Roman is open for questions.

Read the story in order.

Read the important bits of the story in order.

[risingsunfish]

Sorry for the wait, everyone! Back with an answer to /u/MankuyRLaffy, who has once again inspired some cross-universe hijinks. I could've sworn they'd mentioned Tiana having red hair in canon, but I guess it's just a super common hc.

Bonus panel:

Twitter

[ladykailitha]

Just a little continuation of this AU idea. I'll be using their show names for ease of understanding but in the story they would be called what I called them in the previous post.

It all cumulates toward a masquerade ball where everyone is dressed as mythical creatures.

Newly crowned King Steven dresses as the Stratford Lyon. A beast that is that of a red lion with large antlers and tusks, but known for its impressive and wild mane (you know Steve would latch on that like lightning). He dressed all in red with his hair flowing to his shoulders, his mask is red, too. It's a full face mask that is a lion face with tusks and the antlers coming off the top of the mask gracefully blending into his hair.

Eddie is beguiling dressed as Mephistopheles. He's dressed all in black. His mask dark rust red covering his upper lip and horns curling from the top of his mask, like Steve's antlers but his are rams' horns.

Robin is dressed as a Nachtkrapp. She was born in Germany and married off to a French Marquis (multilingual like whoa) so she grew up hearing about the night raven. She wanted to go scary and masculine. She succeeds. :D

Chrissy is an angel, to play up on the queen thinking Steve should pick her and Steve wanting to pick Eddie. Her mask is silver, only covering her eyes. She wears a circlet on her piled up hair making it look like a halo. She wears pure white dress. And she is the only one at the ball who knows that Mephisto is Eddie.

Steve's other candidates for marriage are dressed as Titania, a mermaid, and a Valkyrie, Nancy, Vickie, and Tammy respectively.

The Party is all dressed as mythical creatures. Dustin is a griffin, Will is a unicorn, and Mike is dragon. And is completely pissed when Lucas shows up a wyvern. Lucas points out his wings are his forearms which completely different from the four legged, back-winged dragon Mike is. Dustin wanted to be a griffin because it was like Steve's Stratford Lyon without completely giving it away who is under the mask.

The queen is royally pissed when Jonathan turns up as Oberon signalling that Nancy and he are an item, completely removing her from candidacy.

Eddie dressed up in secret for the ball because as he was stripped of his titles he wasn't allowed to go. But an advisor of Steve's and long time friend of the Munsons, lets Eddie go in his place. Chrissy helps him get clothes and things and stores them in her room. Which he sneaks into after the ball has started and changes.

Hopper helps him sneak around front to go through the front gates as though he's arriving.

Steve is drawn to Eddie, even though he doesn't know it's him. The queen is chewing glass. This was NOT how it was supposed to go.

Eddie tries to sneak back to Chrissy's before the unmasking at midnight, but Steve chases him. He finds out the man he was so attracted to is also the one that makes him laugh, makes him think, makes him a better person.

And they kiss about it.

[paladin-tourney]

Paladin Tourney - Preliminary Poll #1 (Fire Emblem)

Melady (Fire Emblem) vs. Cain (Fire Emblem) vs. Titania (Fire Emblem) vs. Finn (Fire Emblem) vs. Camus/Zeke/Sirius (Fire Emblem) vs. Frederick (Fire Emblem: Awakening)

Propaganda:

Melady

Literally will do anything for her princess. She betrayed her kingdom and had to kill her lover because of how loyal she is to princess Guinivere. Also she rides a wyvern, which is badass, and she’s an s tier unit gameplay wise.

Cain

He’s one of Marth’s most loyal knights and serves him until death. Started the “Cain and Abel” archetype, which is a recurring character trope within fire emblem. Also he can promote into a class named paladin.

Titania

She used to serve as a knight for the kingdom of Crimea but became deputy commander of the Greil mercenaries. She’s super cool, very useful in combat, has a huge axe, and is a mother like figure to the other mercenaries. Also her class is literally paladin.

Finn

Will do anything for his lord and lady including raising their son after their deaths. Dude sacrificed so much just so Leonster (his kingdom) gets restored.

Camus/Zeke/Sirius

This guy loses his memory and changes his identity a lot, doesn’t mean he isn’t a good paladin tho!

Frederick

literally paladin class, eternally suffering fantasy babysitter trope, extremely broken in early game!!! iconic, i love paladins who are always suffering for who they’re pledged in service to, “pick a god and pray”

[magictavern]

!! (another! throws tankard on the floor)

HIIIIIIII <3

you get titania/annie who is my babygirl tbqh. niece of the emperor, probably too soft for court politics but manages to survive via manipulating by being nice (and also occasionally dabbling in poisons). was sick a lot as a child/was kept away from other people, so was deeply deeply sheltered in a lot of way + learned about the world via books -- had to figure out how to curtail that earnestness, once she realized it would be a detriment to her.

anyway, got manipulated by someone else into trying to poison her future husband, he turned out to be from a family who is into mithridatism, they got to actually talking after the initial confrontation, figured out they actually liked each other, etc etc. she ran away from court with him and gets to raise wyverns in the woods. she is so happy with how all of that ended up

(i think i once pitched a young/contemporary version of her as like: neurodivergent popular girl who masks via making everyone like her through catering to their interests at the cost of never showing off her personality. also keeps like two blunts and a first aid kit in her purse. so like. that's the vibe)

(also also-- had a pivotal homoerotic teenage friendship. like i said, she's so important, to me)

[sacred-stanning]

Chapter 15 Part 2: Checking out the map

Here's the Jehana map. Since this is Ephraim route, we start on the bottom left here.

Moving up, we can see a smattering of enemies, and then a big clump around Caellach in the upper left corner of the map.

The big pyramid-thingy is the now-ruined Jehana castle. Moving to the right along the top of the map, there are a couple guys near the castle. And then down from there, there's a clump of wyverns.

In the bottom right corner, right of our starting position, we have Valter and a metric crap-ton of units nearby him.

Upon starting the map, Eirika, Innes, and Saleh appear.

They appear here, on the other side of the desert from Ephraim's starting position. So one of the early goals of this map is to get at least some units up their way so that they don't overwhelmed. There aren't a lot of enemies around them now, but there will be reinforcements in a bit.

Before playing the map though, here are some key enemies. This berserker to the right of Eirika has a Dragon Axe that he'll drop, which does effective damage against dragon-type enemies.

Here's Caellach. He has a Silver Axe and a Tomahawk, which is a more powerful hand axe, and he carries a Hoplon Guard, which prevents him from taking any critical hits. (If only Ephraim had had this in the last map... *grumble* *grumble*)

Nearby him is a shaman with a droppable Luna Tome. I don't particularly need a Luna Tome, so I might sell it once I get it.

Here's the other boss, Valter, in the lower right. He has a Silver Lance and a Slender Spear, and he carries a Fili Shield, which undoes effective damage to fliers. So shooting him with arrows won't do 3x damage even though he's on a wyvern.

Nearby Valter is this Troubadour with a Berserk Staff that she'll drop.

Also near Valter is this Berserker with a Devil's Axe, which has a (31 - Luck)% chance to hurt the user instead of the enemy.

Also near Valter is this Shaman with an Eclipse Tome, which has 3-10 range and reduces HP by 1/2. It has an absolutely garbage hit rate though.

This guy also has a Guiding Ring, which I wouldn't mind stealing, but I don't want it enough that I'm using up a slot bringing Rennac.

Vanessa alighted next to Lute. She had been relieved of her duty to go ahead and look for enemies, so she wanted to keep her promise.

Lute looked up from the book she was reading on horseback. "Hello," she said. "You are riding Titania, not Lute."

"Hi," Vanessa responded, suddenly feeling self-conscious. The situation their army was in was dire, and she also just wasn't used to engaging in casual conversation while on a mission in front of her fellow soldiers.

But Vanessa thought back to what Moulder had told her, "It's ok to have friends. It's ok to be a person."

Vanessa stroked Titania's neck and looked at Lute. "Yeah, I wanted to make sure Titania got some exercise as well since she hasn't been seeing any action in battles recently."

Lute nodded silently, seemingly satisfied with the answer.

"I was reading about bug species in the Jehana desert. Did you know that there are almost 200 species that have been identified as endemic to the region?" Lute's eyes were wide, and Vanessa could see the excitement in her face.

"Wow," Vanessa said, unsure how to respond. She wasn't terribly knowledgeable or excited about bugs, but she was still happy that Lute wanted to share this with her.

"Also, even though we're not quite in the desert proper yet, I've already noticed that the climate is much drier here, and I'm seeing species that I haven't seen before in Renais, Frelia, or Grado! For instance, I saw a Jehana Flycatcher just a couple of minutes ago! They are birds who prefer dry enviroments, so they are not usually seen outside of Jehana proper, but it is not unheard of for them to come down a little to the south."

"That's neat!" Vanessa responded. "I don't know much about birds, but I definitely have noticed some of the different ones we've seen in different regions. If you see another one, let me know!"

Lute looked at Vanessa's face as she spoke. She had learned from talking to people in her village that most people usually got bored and stopped listening when she talked about interesting things like animals, monsters or spells. She was happy to see that Vanessa appeared to be listening to everything she had to say.

Lute knew from experience that many people were not fans of insects, but she decided to try sharing something with Vanessa. "Well, speaking of new creatures, I actually discovered an entirely new species of insect that was not described in any of my books!" As she spoke, she pulled a small glass jar out of a pocket in her dress and held it out for Vanessa to see.

Vanessa nudged Titania to move closer to Lute's horse and she leaned her body over to peer more closely at the contents of the jar.

"It's really pretty! What a nice emerald color its wings are!"

Lute could feel herself smiling. Vanessa liked the insect! She saw how beautiful it was and didn't call it an icky bug!

"Since it is a new species, I can name it," Lute declared as she tucked the jar back in her pocket. "I am planning to publish my own book of animals after this war is done. I have been taking extensive notes on various creatures I have observed while we have been traveling."

Vanessa smiled at Lute. "What are you going to name it?"

"I'm going to call it an Emerald Wing Dung Beetle!" Lute beamed, "I found it in a pile of pegasus dung when we took that last break!"

Then Lute smirked at Vanessa in a way Vanessa hadn't ever seen before.

"But I also need to give it a scientific name, and since its shade of green is the same color as your hair, and it likes pegasi, I'm going to name it Vanessica Vanessicus!"

Vanessa drew her head back slightly and arched her eyebrows. "You're naming a dung beetle after me!?"

"Heh heh." Lute chuckled, smiling and looking down slightly.

Vanessa rolled her eyes and laughed, "Hah!" She shook her head and looked at Lute, "And what if I say I don't want the whole world knowing me as a dung beetle?"

"Well, I will not insist on it, but it really is a fitting name."

"Hmph. Fine. You win this one. But just wait. I'm going to find a new species of skunk and name it after you some day!"

Lute knew from the context of the conversation that Vanessa was teasing her, but she couldn't help herself. "I would love that, actually!"

Vanessa laughed again and said, "Yeah, you would, wouldn't you? I'll have to think of another way to get my revenge."

Lute put her hand on the pocket with the jar in it. She felt happy knowing that the dung beetle was there. She felt happy that Vanessa liked the name. "It's good to have a friend!" she thought.

Next time: Hurrying to Eirika's rescue!

[femme-blem]

We doing confessions? Ok I'll go, Minerva makes me w e a k. I would do anything for the strong dragon lady

god I feel that…another powerful woman with a husky voice!! I was never all that interested in Fire Emblem Warriors but I’d watch the support convos on youtube just for her,, she’s straight up handsome

[fancoloredglasses]

Puck’s Saga (Oh, what fools these Gargoyles be) [Part 2: The Gathering]

[All images are owned by Disney. Please don’t sue me]

In my last review, I showed Puck’s first appearance, as well as his attempts to circumvent King Oberon’s edict to return to Avalon. While this is not his final appearance, it is his most important. We get a glimpse as to what Puck is up to when he’s not transforming Gargoyles into humans.

This is also a two-part episode that takes place immediately following Future Tense. If you would like to see part one, it’s available on Disney+.

PREVIOUSLY ON...

Goliath, Elisa, and Bronx have been brought to the mystic island of Avalon (where time moves much more slowly than in the mortal world), where they discover the Gargoyle eggs from 1,000 years ago have hatched and grown up, including Angela (Goliath's daughter. Three guesses who her mother is) Upon leaving Avalon, the group (along with Angela) are taken on a journey via the Mists of Avalon to wherever the island thinks they are needed.

For 19 episodes, the four are brought through the Mists to locations that are definitely not Manhattan. Along the way, they discover that Gargoyles have survived not only in Manhattan and Avalon, but England, Japan, and Guatemala as well!

After returning to Avalon to keep the King and Queen of the Fair Folk (Oberon and Titania (voiced by Star Trek: Voyager alum Kate Mulgrew)) from destroying the Avalon Clan and the survivors of Castle Wyvern, Oberon makes peace with the mortals and decides to call the Fae home and the travelers continue their journey.

On the mortal side, David Xanatos and his wife Fox are expecting their first child. (Who knows, maybe fatherhood will mellow Xanatos’s more wicked ways. I mean, probably not if the events of Future Tense are more than Puck’s manipulations...but we can hope!)

We open on Avalon where Oberon is welcoming his children home.

Unfortunately, not all came willingly, as the Weird Sisters drag the Banshee (voiced by 80s pop singer Sheena Easton) home. The Banshee lashes out at Odin (yeah, he’s Faerie too) and the two scuffle until Oberon has had enough entertainment for now and puts a stop to it.

(Thanks to Igneous Abercromby)

The Weird Sisters report that all of Oberon’s children have returned, save Titania and Puck. Oberon excuses Titania (she is royalty, after all), but decides to go looking for Puck, borrowing Boudicca (a Gargoyle hound similar to Bronx) from the Avalon Clan to assist.

Oberon holds a flute that was made by Puck as a basis for Boudicca to track him down. Once Boudicca has the scent, Oberon uses Titania’s Mirror to journey to the mortal realm (three guess as to what city the trail leads)

Meanwhile at Xanatos’s building, Fox’s family (Halcyon Reynard (voiced by I Spy and The Greatest American Hero alum Robert Culp), his ex-wife Anastasia (also voiced by Kate Mulgrew...hmmm) and Reynard’s assistant Preson Vogel (who bears more than a passing resemblance to Xanatos’s assistant Owen Burnett)) are waiting for word regarding Fox’s labor.

Owen then brings in Xanatos’s father Petros, who notices the similarities between Owen and Preston as asks if they’re related.

When Owen introduces Anastasia, she mentions she had reunited with her first husband.

Now there’s an “Oh shit!” face if ever there was one!

Suddenly, Owen excuses himself and hurries away. At that point...

...Xanatos introduces everyone to his newborn son, Alexander Fox Xanatos.

Eventually, the sun sets, awakening the Clan from their stone slumber.

Nice that the Clan is looking after Elisa’s cat Cagney while she, Goliath, and Bronx are away.

Meanwhile in Central Park...

Oh, you knew he’d be coming to Manhattan! Quickly slapping on a mortal disguise, Oberon continues the search for Puck.

As the family coos over mother and son in Fox’s bedroom, Owen enters and tells Xanatos that Anastasia should not be left alone with either Fox or Alexander.

In the lobby of Xanatos’s building, Oberon charms the guard into letting him pass. Oberon takes the elevator to Castle Wyvern. Boudicca signals he’s caught Puck’s scent (in Xanatos’s inner sanctum? That can’t be good...), but Oberon catches the scent of Titania nearby and apparently that takes precedent.

In Fox’s bedroom, Anastasia shoos the elder men out as she holds the baby and offers to watch Alexander while Fox rests.

...but Xanatos insists on watching Alexander himself. Fox wonders what is happening.

Oberon would like to know as well...Titania!

When I first watched Gargoyles many years ago, I wondered why Kate Mulgrew was doing double duty on voices. Now I know!

Titania admits she’s here to claim Alexander to train him in magic (however thin his bloodline may be, given Fox never showed any magical aptitude), however...

...Xanatos respectfully refuses (never thought I’d see the day I was rooting for Xanatos!) However, Xanatos’s weapon is no match for Oberon’s magic, so he decides to get physical.

Yeah, you knew that wasn’t gonna work. Oberon shows a touch of mercy in allowing Fox and Xanatos an hour to say their goodbyes to Alexander.

At the clock tower, the Clan hears about Alexander’s birth on the news as they hear someone enter the tower and prepare for battle.

Well, I suppose Bronx could lick Hudson to death...

Yes, the Clan has finally been reunited as the travelers have come home!

Goliath introduces Angela to the Clan and tell the Clan of their journey.

Meanwhile, Xanatos and Owen have much to discuss. It turns out Owen knew about Titania’s secret and had been preparing for the possibility of the Fae having an interest in Alexander as soon as she became pregnant. After briefing Xanatos on his best chance to defeat Oberon, Owen removes himself from the coming battle.

(yes, Owen has a stone hand; no, I don’t remember the events that caused it)

At Elisa’s apartment, Goliath drops Elisa and Cagney off and once again the pair lament that biology is against them (seriously? I seriously doubt anyone who knows either of you will care about an inter-species relationship)

As a storm begins, the fire alarm chimes at Xanatos’s building and everyone evacuates (except Xanatos and his family) Goliath comes home before the worst of the storm starts when...

Titania asks for the Clan’s help in the coming battle to claim Alexander, but Goliath refuses to be involved in taking a child from his parents (even if that parent is Xanatos) Therefore, Titania warns Goliath to stay neutral...or else!

Yeah, like that’s gonna happen! The Clan takes flight to Xanatos’s building.

Speaking of...

Xanatos activates Owen’s defenses, placing the building under a force field.

Looks like it effective (at least for the time being, but I do not wanna see his electric bill when this is all over) Oberon is through playing games. After putting all of the humans in the city to sleep (except those in Xanatos’s building...at least I hope it was just the humans or else the Clan’s gonna be in for a rough landing!), Oberon grows to the size of Xanatos’s building!

That is one hell of a cliffhanger! If you would like to see part 2, it’s (obviously) also on Disney+.

We open to find that Oberon did indeed only include the humans in his spell (of course, that means Elisa’s out of the fight)

...as the Clan approaches Xanatos’s building. Brooklyn notes that if Oberon is powerful enough to put an entire city to sleep, why is the Clan risking themselves to defend their enemy? Goliath explains that he doesn’t wish to see any family separated...not even Xanatos’s.

At the building, Oberon is hammering the force field, attempting to break through, as the Clan approaches. Oberon then bear hugs the force field, overloading the building’s generators. However...

...Oberon begins shrinking as his energy begins to fade. Xanatos remembers Oberon’s weakness...

...iron. Xanatos’s “Steel Clan” attacks Oberon, further weakening him, as the Clan joins the fray.

...and fare about as well as could be expected.

Angela and Brooklyn grab shards from a wrecked steel gargoyle and attack Oberon’s hair, freeing Goliath (yes, that’s his hair binding Goliath in the picture above)

From the skies, Reynard’s flying fortress (how is he not affected by Oberon’s spell?) joins the fray (despite Preston questioning his boss’s actions, since Reynard hates Xanatos)

Couldn’t have a better answer than that! Reynard launches his own drones to engage with Oberon (you certainly can’t say they aren’t throwing everything they have at Oberon!) Unfortunately, Oberon can control the wind, meaning Reynard is vulnerable...but keeps fighting on to save Alexander!

Goliath sees Reynard’s fortress under attack...

...and distracts Oberon to give Reynard a chance to regroup. Oberon tires of the Gargoyles...

...so animates nearby statues to deal with them...

...while he deals with Goliath!

Fortunately, Reynard has regrouped and sends another wave of drones to attack Oberon. Additionally...

...it seems as though Xanatos is willing to aid the Clan (as long as they’re on the same side)

As the drones approach, they don’t immediately attack...

...but try a different tactic as they form an energy cage around Oberon. The cage further leeches Oberon’s energy, causing him to shrink further until he’s small enough to pass through the cage.

He then summons sheets to freezing rain, icing up the drones, as well as the Clan and Reynard’s fortress (forcing it to crash land in Central Park...hope no one fell asleep there!) Then Oberon sinks beneath the surface...below the force field!

Oberon has breached the building!

Xanatos, Petros, and the Clan prepare for a final stand. Petros fires an iron harpoon at Oberon...

...injuring Oberon, but also pissing him off!

All too soon, the defenders fall, giving Oberon a clear path to Alexander.

...except for one small detail. Oberon laughs that one man with a stone fist could stop him...until Owen starts spinning faster than any human could...

(Thanks to dtaina)

Oh, you knew he’d have to show up eventually! And yes, Puck has been Owen the entire time! But you ask how this could be. Allow Puck to tell the tale (Fae love their stories, after all) while fending/pissing off Oberon (who, if you recall, was looking for Puck when this episode began)...

Puck spotted Titania posing as Anastasia courting Reynard. Curious, he also donned a human disguise to see the appeal.

As a model, Puck used Preston Vogel, a more (heh) wooden man you’ll never find. Puck decided to play a role he never played (a straight man) and became...

...Owen Burnett. However much fun he was having out-Vogeling Vogel, he found working for Reynard boring, and then he fell into the orbit of...

...Reynard’s daughter Fox and her then-boyfriend David Xanatos. He enjoyed working for Xanatos so much that he revealed himself to Xanatos, offering either a single wish from Puck or a lifetime of service from Owen. I’m sure you know which he chose (and given how well Demona’s wishes turned out, I think it was the right choice)

With his tale concluded, Puck implores Oberon to give his leave to stay with Xanatos and work with Alexander.

I’m sure you can guess how well that goes over...

With that he teleports into Alexander’s nursery, swatting Fox aside. Xanatos and his allies (insofar as you can call Goliath an “ally” in this case) burst in to defend mother and child...

...but Titania stops them cold. Just as Oberon reaches for Alexander...

Remember how I said earlier that Fox didn’t show magical aptitude? I think she just tapped that potential! With that, Goliath sees an opening. He pleads with Oberon that if Fox could use her untapped abilities, surely Alexander could learn to use his in the mortal realm...with the right teacher (to which he volunteers Puck) Oberon agrees on one condition...

Puck may only use his abilities to train or defend Alexander. Otherwise, he shall be...

With that, Oberon is more than ready to return to Avalon (don’t forget Boudicca!), releasing the spell of slumber over the city. But first Titania would like to say goodbye to her daughter and grandson...

...and lays some pretty heavy hints that this was her plan all along.

With that, Goliath gathers the Clan to head home, but is stopped by Xanatos.

While Goliath is skeptical, he is hopeful that this experience has changed Xanatos.

Thanks for reading, and as always let me know if there are any other minor characters that deserve the spotlight.

[raxistaicho]

Everything’s coming up wyverns!

Since I already got onto the subject of Fire Emblem gameplay with my recent post on the Weapon Triangle, I guess it’s a good opportunity to hit on another complaint that often gets hurled at the feet of Three Houses: that the game is just wyvern spam.

Now before I get into the details of why this is a Fire Emblem problem rather than a Three Houses problem, it’s worth pointing out that this viewpoint that spawned in 2019 and never really went away, despite being nothing more than low-effort ammunition to bitch about the game.

It was certainly true at one point that you could just mass a squadron of wyverns to roll over the enemy with, but that was back when hard was the highest difficulty we had. And hard’s a joke. But with the advent of Maddening and further development of the meta, anybody pretending that, “just mass wyverns!” is still considered the best strategy can safely be ignored. I mean, Bernadetta was once deemed a trash unit, now she’s unironically considered better than Claude and the male version of Byleth.

So, why do people complain about mass wyverns so much? Most because it’s visually boring and appears to result in a team with no versatility. In most games, what class a unit is in has a huge part to play in their prospects, so the class system appears to force versatility on your team by giving different units different strengths and weaknesses, but this very seldom plays out in reality. In actual practice, one or two classes are best in a given game, players just mass those classes with maybe a few others to support them, and if you’re in the wrong class for a given game (footies in 4, swordlocks in 7) then you’re dead on arrival.

While it isn’t actually true in Three Houses that mono-class teams lack versatility to begin with (units are made unique in this game not by their base class but by their skill aptitudes, abilities, spells, and combat arts), to pretend that Three Houses invented the issue of mono-class teams with its redesign of the class system is ludicrous.

FE4 is horse spam, FE 6, 7, 8, 9, and 11 are horse and flier spam, FE13 is dark mage and hero spam, FE14 is more flexible but there was still a lot of wyvern and ninja spam, and FE15 is mostly soloing everything with an archer and sometimes using a horse or merc for specific tasks. Meanwhile, FE12 avoids this by having the best array of promoted classes in the entire series (EVERY promoted class aside from Warrior has some valuable niche at varying points in the game) and that game has DS Emblem’s free class changing system. The problem is game balance, not army versatility.

Now, getting back to Three Houses.

As I mentioned previously, a large part of what makes units unique in this game is not their class but what attributes, abilities, spells, and combat arts they learn. In this game, classes are often little more than a vehicle through a unit leverages their innate qualities (Sniper and Grappler are two notable exceptions to this).

To take just the Black Eagles as an example, assuming you’re using your entire base class you’re likely to end the game with Edelgard, Petra, Ferdinand, and a female Byleth on wyverns.

On paper, you have 4 units who fly around and bop people with an axe.

In practice, Ferdinand’s the wyvern you use when you need guaranteed doubling or to hit those annoying swordmasters or assassins, Petra’s probably the only wyvern who can carry silver or brave bows since she has a bow boon and low skill benchmarks, Byleth’s the wyvern who has battalion desperation so she can kill mid-tier and slower enemies without giving them a chance to counter, and Edelgard’s the wyvern with Aymr.

Now compare this to the fandom darling Path of Radiance, where your options are to have Titania ride around killing everybody with axes or have Oscar ride around killing everybody with axes or have Jill fly around killing everybody with axes or have Kieran ride around killing everybody with axes or have Astrid ride around killing everybody with axes or have Makalov ride around killing everybody with axes, or when you wanna break out of your comfort zone, you can have Marcia or Tanith fly around killing everyone with lances.

Yay versatility :D

And as I alluded to previously, “just mass wyverns!” is a stupidly inefficient way to play Maddening. People who know what they’re doing haven’t unironically done that for years.

The pool of units who function best on wyverns is actually quite limited if you’re looking beyond physical female units, and wyverns are generally more resource-intensive than most paths. You also want a dancer, a healer, generally one or two warpers, and at least one sniper for shooting down enemy pegasus knights. There’s also the fact that your deploy slots are limited to 10 before the time skip, by which point your team is mostly fully developed so adding a late-joining extra wyvern is giving you diminishing returns. Maybe go for a rally bot or somebody to carry a utility battalion instead.

In practice, most players will have 4 or 5 wyverns on their final team depending on which route and who they recruit (the OG Blue Lions, for instance, have very few units at all who are well-suited for riding wyverns). This only seems like a significant chunk of your team because Three Houses has unusually low deploy caps for most of the game, maxing out at 10 and 11 for most maps.

So yeah, “Three Houses has poor gameplay because just make everyone wyverns and win!” is a weak argument from start to finish. It hasn’t been relevant since 2020.

[captainchocolatesstuff]

Warframe: Voice Headcanon

[These are purely my opinions on whose voice fit who but please do put in your opinions in, I wanna hear more variety on whose voice would fit them!]

Ash: Shen [League Of Legends] by Kieth Silverstein

Atlas: Nasus [League Of Legends] by Erick Todd Dellmus

Banshee: Kalista [League Of Legends] by Misty Lee

Baruuk: Jenos [Paladins] by Christopher Gurrero

Caliban: Zeratul [Heroes of the Storm] by Fred Tatasciore

Chroma: Leoric [Heroes of the Storm] by Joe J. Thomas

Ember: Lina [Dota 2] by Jen Taylor

Equinox: Camille [League of Lgends] by Emily Roya O’Brien Night / Mirana [Dota 2] Gin Hammond Day

Excalibur: Hayden Tenno [Dark Sector] by Michael Rosenbaum

Frost: Zed [League Of Legends] by Donnie Lucas

Gara: Vivian [Paladins] by Fryda Wolff

Garuda: Elise [League Of Legends] by Sidney Ranin-Smith

Gauss: Agni [Smite] by Scott Freeman

Grendle: Ravana [Smite] by Leo Fabian

Gyre: Auriel [Heroes of the Storm] by Cree Summer

Harrow: Karthus [League Of Legends] by Unknown VA

Hildryn: Bangalore [Apex Legends] by Erica Luttrell

Hydroid: Gangplank [League of Legends] by Matthew Mercer

Inaros: Azir [League of Legends] by Travis Willingham

Ivara: Artimis [Smite] by Brina Palencia

Khora: Cassiopeia [League Of Legends] by Karen Strassman

Lavos: Caustic [Apex Legends] by JB Blanc

Limbo: Viego [League Of Legends] by Sean Teale

Loki: Set [League Of Legends] by Xander Mobus

Mag: Nova [Battleborn] by Colleen Clinkenbeard

Mesa: Valkyrie [Apex Legends] by Erika Ishi

Mirage: Junko Enoshima [Danganronpa] by Jamie Marchi

Nekos: Hades [Smite] by Patrick Seitz

Nezha: Sha Lin [Paladins] by Todd Haberkorn 

Nidus: Morphling [Dota 2] by David Scully

Nova: Nemesis [Smite] by Amanda Doskocil

Nyx: Diana [ League of Legends] by Nichole Oliver

Oberon: Taric [League Of Legends] by Yuri Lowenthal

Octavia: Seraphine [League Of Legends] by Michele Panu

Protea: Skye [Paladins] by Holly Franklin

Revenant: Thanatos [Smite] by Scott Freeman

Rhino: Victor [League Of Legends] by Owen Thomas

Sevagoth: Noob Saibot [Mortal Kombat 11] by Sean Chiplock

Titania: Inara [Paladins] by Amanda Gish

Trinity: Vayne [League Of Legends] by Nika Futterman

Umbra: Scorpion/Hanzo Hasashi [Mortal Kombat 11] by Ron Yuan

Valkyr: Hel (Dark Stance) [Smite] by Monica Rial

Vauban: Abathur [Heroes of the Storm] by Steve Blum

Volt: Ezreal [League Of Legends] by Daniel Amerman

Wisp: Kronika [MK11] by Jennifer Hale

Wukong: Crypto [Apex Legends] by Johnny Young

Xaku: Bloodhound [Apex Legends] by Allegra Clark

Yareli: Awilix [Smite] by Bryn Apprill

Zephyr: Winter Wyvern [Dota 2] by Merle Dandridge

[patroklides-archive]

i have a million things to write and very little muse, but because i was suddenly struck by inspiration, here is an assorted collection of soren headcanons, most of which already exist on this blog somewhere, but i love him and i want to talk about him so i’m making you all sit through them again: 

- soren is afraid of thunderstorms, though he would never admit to it. this is from a combination of the trauma of growing up as an orphan and spending a lot of his life on without a home, and also an effect of him being half-goldoan, as even without the physical weakness to thunder magic, some part of him still subconsciously knows to fear lightning. 

- he hoards food. having dealt with food insecurity for a lot of his childhood, he tends to keeps snacks stashed away in his room/tent. (he is also hesitant to eat around most people, with the exception of ike, titania, mist, and occasionally others who are close to him.)

- he is constantly cold. his hands and feet in particular are always freezing. if you have the misfortune of sharing a bed with him, you will learn this very quickly. rip ike. enjoy soren’s cold little lizard hands. 

- he is about 5′4″ as of radiant dawn, but isn’t fully grown yet. had he not spent much of his childhood malnourished, he would likely grow to a similar height as the other goldoans — both his mother and father are fairly tall, after all — but being as neglected as he was as a child left his growth... somewhat stunted. still, fully grown, he reaches a respectable height of around 5′8″. 

- because he has goldoan blood, and — based on dheginsea living to be well over a thousand, and even then only appearing around middle-aged — it’s a safe bet to say that soren’s lifespan is easily 500+ years, if you assume that branded lifespan is somewhere around half that of the laguz whose blood they share. 

- soren claims not to like animals, but animals seem to like him. cats in particular. 

- he has an affinity for wyverns, and in fe3h verses (of which i have two distinct verses for him) he rides a wyvern. because i can do that. and i say so. 

[haunted-van-au]

"WRP?" she whispers to herself, sounding confused. "But what's the safest option to get water? There's no guarantee that the werewolves will be hostile, but also no guarantee they will be friendly..." She shrugs. - Titania Wyvern

(WRP means the Water Restriction Program!)

"Perhaps the werewolves would not be hostile," Logan suggested.

Roman looked at him with a twisted up expression. "They're werewolves, Logan. They're almost bad as vampires half of the time and if they have that bad of a WRP, that means they probably don't have much love for humans."

Thomas is open for questions.

Logan is open for questions.

Patton is open for questions.

Roman is open for questions.

Read the story in order.

Read the important bits of the story in order.

[se-housman]

Chapter 81 is available! 

Daein has been suspiciously quiet as the Apostle’s Army creeps along the mountainous southern border. Soren fears a trap---and his fears come true. General Micaiah proves herself a ruthless commander, and her troops follow her with more fervor than ever. Soren is no match. 

Also, medieval napalm. 

Wattpad | Ao3 | Quotev | MediaMiner

Excerpt from the end of the battle:

Gradually, the rain started to let up, and with each passing minute, Soren wondered why Micaiah hadn’t ordered the naphtha set alight yet. Is she waiting for her men in the ravine to escape? he wondered and glanced down. No, they were already dead. Has she lost her units capable of setting the fire? he wondered next, glancing back. No, she had archers and fire mages standing right behind her. Has she lost her nerve? he finally thought, but at this distance, her face was impossible to see. He couldn’t know.

Whatever the reason for her delay, it didn’t last forever. Ike was leading the mercenaries toward her now, and that seemed to spur her to action. She raised her hand, and the legion of archers at her back raised flaming arrowheads. The small phalanx of fire mages walked closer to the edge.

“No!” Ike screamed, “Stop!”

“Don’t do this Micaiah!” Jill shouted, but her wyvern was too far away.

“What are you doing?” Ilyana moaned, shaking her head between her hands.

“Gotcha!” yelled Tibarn, and he was the only one whose voice lacked despair. He shot straight up, appearing at the cliff’s edge right in front of Micaiah, and as fast as a speeding arrow, he ripped Sothe off his feet.

“No!” came a woman’s scream, and Soren realized it belonged to Micaiah. She sounded oddly human for someone so revered—she sounded desperate. “Sothe!”

“Don’t move,” Tibarn warned, “I see one arrow fly, and the boy gets a quick lesson in falling.”

Sothe tried to fight back, but Tibarn merely threw him in the air, caught him, knocked the knife from his hand, and then wrapped him in his vicelike side-hug. Sothe might have grown taller these past few years, but Tibarn was still massive and easily kept his arms pinched uselessly to his sides. They were suspended over the ravine now.

“Sothe! No please! All units, cease fire! Now!” Micaiah ordered. Although most of the troops had already fallen still, fighting now ceased entirely. The fire mages moved back, and the archers lowered their bows. Ike and Ranulf ran closer to Micaiah, and the dazed soldiers let them pass. Apparently they knew Sothe was important to their beloved general, because they looked scared now that he was Tibarn’s hostage. Most were watching Micaiah nervously, awaiting new orders.

Soren tried to move closer too, but it seemed the soldiers weren’t going to let just anyone close to their general. Now that Ike and Ranulf had passed, they closed ranks to block Soren, Titania, Mist, and the others.

“Micaiah of Daein!” Soren heard Ike’s voice call: “Listen to me very, very carefully.”

“Tell him to release Sothe!” came Micaiah’s proud, defiant voice. Soren decided to move backward so he could get a better view.

“Not a chance,” Ike replied. He and Ranulf had stopped below the jut of stone on which Micaiah and Tauroneo were standing, but they couldn’t get any closer because six Daein shield knights were blocking them. “I’m offering you a choice: surrender now and go home, or fight us and die.”

Micaiah didn’t answer immediately; her attention kept turning from Ike to Tibarn. “We can’t,” she finally said, and Soren was grateful the rain had all but completely stopped so he could hear her words. “We won’t retreat or negotiate,” she continued, “Regardless of what you believe, the only choice we have is to fight.”

“Are you insane?” Ranulf demanded, taking a step forward. The knights leveled their lances between their shields, but he didn’t seem to care. He threw his arms wide, gesturing at the remnants of her clifftop battalion. “Look around! Every single person in your army will die! Do you care that little about them?”

Micaiah didn’t answer, but just then, Sigrun flew out of the ravine with Sanaki sitting in front of her. They hovered near Tibarn and Sothe, suspended by the pegasus’s powerful wingbeats. “Enough!” Sanaki demanded. “Everyone, stand down!”

“Apostle-” Ike growled, but he seemed to bite off his next words.

“I’ve seen enough bloodshed for one day!” Sanaki continued, addressing Micaiah. “That’s enough! Please, no more.” She shook her head, and Sigrun flicked the reigns. They twisted in a tight arc, flying west. Below her, the army started retreating back down the ravine. With Sanaki no longer on the ground, Soren hoped Micaiah wouldn’t try to set the army on fire again.

“We’ll retreat for now,” Ike announced. “You’d better do the same, and I mean now. I’m not sure how long I can hold my troops back.” Although he was still in human form, Ranulf snarled to emphasize his words.

“But we can’t!” Micaiah cried out, and her voice was squeezed by desperation again. This surprised Soren, who was forced to conclude the Maiden of Dawn wasn’t allying herself with Begnion because the senate promised her power. They must have some leverage on her instead.

“Fine,” Tibarn replied, “His death is on your hands then. Sorry, little Sothe, your girlfriend just killed you. Say a quick goodbye.”

Sothe started squirming again, trying to grab onto Tibarn for security. “No, wait, Micai-” he cried out. But then Tibarn released him, and his protests became a wordless shriek.

“NO! SOTHE!” Micaiah screamed, running to the cliff’s edge. A soldier grabbed her before she could go over (which was a pity, because a lot of the Apostle’s Army’s problems could have been solved if the premier general of Daein threw herself off a cliff for love). While she stared, disbelieving, at the edge, Ulki steadily pulled himself out of the ravine, holding Sothe by the shoulders. The soldier let go of her, and Micaiah fell to her knees in relief.

Tibarn took a woozy-looking Sothe from Ulki, muttered something Soren couldn’t hear, and dropped him next to Micaiah. Then he and Ulki flew west without another word.

“General Tauroneo!” Ike suddenly called out, raising his hand to signal the old man. “I’ll ask you one last time: talk some sense in that girl, alright? She’s losing it.”

Tauroneo took a few steps down the rocky slope and cast his eyes over Ike, Ranulf, and then the rest of the mercenaries. “We won’t pursue you this time,” he finally answered. “However, we cannot avoid this war. That is all I will say for now. And Ike…I’m sorry for this.”

Ike threw up his hands in frustration and turned on the spot. He seemed to be grumbling something to himself, or maybe Ranulf, but Soren couldn’t hear. The Daein soldiers followed Tauroneo’s instruction and moved back toward their general. As soon as Ike and Ranulf reached them, the mercenaries began retreating too.

[gem-quest]

[ SIDEQUEST 02. — INFERNA ]

in which inferna plans her “wedding” to jack ;DDD

--

FROM inferna’s ‘standard notebook’ (h-rank, given to all players upon spawning in-game for the first time; simply a place to keep notes):

PLACE; idk bro, I’d do Finvarra’s Gardens/Level 10 except for the fact that I can’t stand that Finvarra piece of shit sooooooooooooooo............but if neddy thinks level 10 will be fine & finvarra will leave us alone, then i don’t see why not?

TIME; uh not before 12 pm do i look like a morning person??

GUESTS; anyone???¿¿??¿? could just copy paste an invite into obsidian food + koreaboo + other gcs i have tbh...how much will people kill me if i make a copy pasta w all the emojis like the cringey cancerous ones ppl spam into my fb messenger ?? lmfao

OUTFITS; maybe ill wear a dress lol. ok that’s a lie BUT who gives a shit; ppl can do what they want. i bet neddy could cop some flower crowns for us tho so at least we will be matching!! 

OTHER LOGISTICS; neddy can be both me & jack’s maid of honor, haters back off & go fuck yourselves bc there are no wedding rules in this game >:(. since ace is the closet person i know to an official dev or w/e for gq & she left, maybe we could just get some rando to dress up all Official Like (TM) & officiate the ceremony lol

RECEPTION; wildflower meadows?

APPETIZERS; yue city’s fruit markets are pretty good but if i can find someone willing to hop into level 42 summer villa for me, we could get those oranges & lemons & whatever else they’re supposed to be growing there? also i hear 35 (enchanted forest & tatiania/titania lady whatever person) has some pretty rad berries but some of them are poisonous so......oops. but also! valley of monsters has some berry-like things too. will have to investigate further. [to be expanded]

SIDES; goddamn i really miss french fries & onion rings (maybe ophelia knows how to make smth similar?), & ofc i’ll need ketchup if we go w those. city of magic has this place that sells some pretty good bbq gryphon drumsticks & other skewers (the rat ones taste just like chicken!) so i’ll also hit that up. will need to make a lot of sauce & sriracha bc nothing in this fucking game has seasoning. will also have shish kabobs of all sorts hopefully. maybe a veggie platter for ppl who’re into that stuff? [to be expanded]

DRINKS; i mean, the usual honey wine/mead/ale that’s p cheap in yue city stores. could try to get morningstar to make me more ‘burnett’s potions’ again - or maybe something more bougie like grey goose??? but also not sure what she’d want in return, hmm. must think on it. for chasers, just fruit juice & cider & shit? kinda wish they had soda in this game. also, BOBA & starbucks fraps, i miss that so much! must try to find a substitute.

MAIN DISHES; i’m going to make a hotpot out of cauldrons and teapots and shit bc god fucking damn i miss that. i wonder if ophelia will know anything about where i can get, like cilantro + scallions + peanut sauce + other hotpot spices? then, need the stuff to go into the hotpot too ofc, im thinking all the raw meat strips (beef, lamb, whatever), all the usual veggies (do they have bokchoy in this game???), i dont think there’s any tofu which is a shame but i can def. get some mushrooms and sprouts and stuff. hmmm i might be able to hunt down a wyvern in one of the valley of monsters side-quests & have that roasting there too. kinda also want peking duck w/ that special sauce ngl. gotta ask around & try to see if other ppl have in-game substitutions for like, dumplings/potstickers & pho & kimbap & fried rice & pad thai & stuff, but if not then all the usual fantasy game food is fine - chicken potpies, stew, roasted swan, etc are all good no matter what. is there anyone who knows how to make tacos/mexican food/chipotle in this game??? [to be expanded]

DESSERTS; um, everything, basically. need to go stock up on sugar cubes for jack + order one of those fancy four-tiered cakes at the tearoom! is there a way to make those pies that have birds fly out of them when u cut it open? [to be expanded]

MUSIC; anyone, as long as they can play blackpink songs & the cha-cha slide & whatever else neddy wants. some other good songs to have will be: poker face by lady gaga, tik tok by kesha, party in the u.s.a, eminem (lose yourself AKA mom’s spaghetti song, real slim shady, rap god), god’s plan & sicko mode would be extra bonuses

PHOTOGRAPHER; literally anyone who’s willing to send me all the pics lmfao. if they’re at murias pass & not obsidian, maybe i can convince the ppl holing up over there to let this person thru when they get to it?

[will add more as i think of stuff!]

[sauvechouris]

Today in Begnion : Ike vs nobility is the gift that keeps on giving.

e.ê

And why is Prime Minister Sephiran not here ? Did he get himself in prison for usurpation of identity again ? Is he busy chatting with overpowered Riders of Daein ? What is he supposed to be doing ?

Since Sanaki turned out to be good, I know there's like a 95 % chance Sephiran is too, but still. He's a little bit dodgy. And I've already got two or three of my own party members for that, so he can stay wherever he is, I won't miss him.

(Don't you hate it when you're suddenly reminded that there is still a traitor in your group, and that you're missing part of the picture because you can't pay a damn thief, and that this is bound to end badly sooner or later ? I DO.)

I'd say she could suggest that they go jump in the nearest ocean, but an empress must be responsible about where she throws her trash.

Did you just

So our side's goal is to help a young princess take back her throne, so that another girl, who happens to rule one of the most powerful nations on Tellius, can join forces with her and together they can fix the mess made by old men ? Said mess being racism, prejudice, and the violence they cause ? Did we just establish that our happy end will be the ladies of the new generation making the world better

Tellius is so good

=D

=DD

=DDD He's going to hate this so much.

(When did they decide Ike would help lead the army, though ? He's only recently started leading the Greil Mercenaries (it's been, what, a few months in-universe ?), and an army is on a different scale altogether. Unless Sanaki plans on only lending them soldiers, any kind of officer she can spare would technically be more qualified. Oo)

We noticed. About 50 times in the last four chapters. But kudos for being consistent. =p

Sanaki's fave was Problematic before it was cool :p

I love that she's fully aware of how much he doesn't want it and just goes « too bad, suck it up ». With an implied friendly reminder that despite how the last two chapters made it look sometimes, she is the boss here. (And so is Elincia.) Resign yourself, obey the tiny Empress. :D

IKE

This must be the most polite knighting ever.

(I had a philosophy teacher who talked like this, always asking permission before digressing a little or using a german word. It was adorable, and it's no less so on Elincia.)

I was going to nitpick that she needs to make him lord of something, even if it's just some abandoned fort nobody wants, but it's not like we know the name of any other place than the capital of each nation. And port Toha, but fuck port Toha. *local Hobb nerd pointlessly complains about worldbuilding* Anyway. Lord Ike. He is SO going to hate this. <3

...oh, he gets the class change animation in the middle of the chapter and everything ? xD

...the lights show and sudden outfit change, you mean ? Did that actually happen ? =p

(Meh/10, too brown. I like that you see more of his headband, though !)

Annnd this better be the closest Tellius gets to unnecessary het-spirited praising, please and thank you. (Well, this and Astrid. Ugh.)

...unless they’re all teasing him ? Sanaki is for sure, but I thought Sigrun and Elincia were really complimenting him. Elincia most likely is, but if she’s the only one I like this a lot more.

« When this war is over, I don't want to see another noble for the rest of my life. »

[At one time these woods were home to the kingdom of Serenes and ruled by the heron clan of the bird tribes.]

...why the sudden recap ? I just did that. Oo (Well, the average player just did that instead of taking three months. *cough*)

[For twenty long years, the devout citizens of Begnion trembled in shame and loathing over the crime they had committed.]

Hmm. It would explain why the forest was still so dead. I'm no botanist, but in twenty years something should have started growing again, even just a little, right ? It could also explain why Reyson couldn't have fixed it by singing years before : Begnion needed to make amends.

That supposes the goddess is somewhat more involved in these things than has been shown so far, though.

[She spoke not as one nation to another but as neighbors on the same continent. The massacre was unforgivable.

However, hatred breeds hatred, and if the cycle of grief and anger is not broken, it will continue for time without end. It was with this in mind that the herons accepted the apostle's apology.]

Keep a little of this anger for Begnion, though. If the herons and Tibarn don’t go there after the war to have Words with the people who were in charge at the time, I’ll be very disappointed.

(When I die bury me with this art of Sanaki, it’s gorgeous *o*)

[Afterward as payment for Ike's service, Princess Elincia gained the services of a regiment of Begnion army regulars.]

...nice ? *pretends she knows what exactly a regiment is*

Okay, Wikipédia says it varies from 1000 to 3500 men. I'm sure plenty of fictional resistances had to make do with less, but still, if they're retaking an entire country, they could maybe use more. Come on, Sanaki, Elincia won't help you change the world if she dies liberating Crimea. =s

I still think we'd be better off borrowing Sigrun or Tanith. Later, hopefully ? :3

D:

WHO TOLD YOU

asking for a friend

...wait, through Daein ? Isn't it, like… exactly where we shouldn't take the princess of Crimea ?? Who approved this plan ?

EVEN THE FINAL BOSS IS QUESTIONING OUR STRATEGY, WHY ARE THEY DOING THIS

You take that BACK (also he’s what, 17, 18 ? what were you expecting, shut up)

You're disappointing. >^<

(Not actually kidding, because I was under the impression that Fire Emblem villains were usually dragons. He is not a dragon. The actual dragons want nothing to do with him. Who doesn't stand up to the legacy, now ? Shut up and let me kill your subordinate.)

*casually lampshades recruitment mechanics*

(...are we counting Sanaki amongst the people « drawn to Ike », then ? Because as long as canon doesn't try to pretend it's in a shippy way, I'm all for this. :p (How does he know that anyway, you can't conclude this kind of thing just from an alliance ? Wait, no. Spy. I forgot for a blessed minute.))

Oh no. Oliver knowing was bad enough.

Okay so not only is their mother’s song related to the herons, the medallion is too ? (Why didn't Ike or Mist bring this up in Serenes ? Lack of time ? Distracted by the amazing forest-restoring magical action ? Maybe Mist found them intimidating like in her support with Mordecai ? Damnit Reyson.)

Yaaay for ANOTHER HERONNAPPING PLAN, GODDAMMIT ><

(And it's not even just the herons who are in danger this time. Do they know Mist has the medallion ? I need to check the previous chapters' scripts, but I don't think so… ?)

Tanith !!! =D

Hey Jill, look, your colleagues. :'D

(I really hope they're not.)

Hey, Jill was trying her best.

Well yes, since Belka is not in this game the only one we saw was a newbie who had to run after us first.

...unless there were some in chapter 13 ? I honestly don't remember. It would make more sense, I guess.

*squints* Is this worldbuilding or foreshadowing

(More importantly, does it mean Begnion also has gorgeous holy ladies on wyverns)

But they're physical and all you have is dodge and resistance. =/

Look at her, Ike. She can handle Sanaki. You can entrust anything to her.

(If they ever remake and massacre Tellius, I'll make him a pegasus knight so I can at least laught at one thing in the game.)

Oh, I'm sure you will. =w=

Problems you don't have with a group of 23 mercenaries, #1.

Welcome to being an army commander ! Your suffering is just starting :D

...I don't know why I didn't think the game would rub it in. Of course it would. This is your life now, Ike. *gets some popcorn*

That's cheating. :p

donewiththisshit.png

(I am sorry for him, but this is way too amusing.)

Several, but it's not like she can un-promote him. :'D

(They have the same rank now, but Tanith calls him by his new title and Ike just says “Tanith”, like he still doesn’t call Elincia “princess”. xD)

Oh ! Didn't expect this. Good question, though, even if it won't be happening anytime soon.

So, around the time Ike was born, give or take a few months. Meaning his parents had probably already left Daein by the coronation, so it's possible that Greil was never a rider of Daein under Ashnard's reign ? It probably doesn't matter, but I had assumed otherwise.

The great flood ? Don’t tell me Tellius had this ark nonsense too.

...two years before eighteen years ago ? So, like… right before the massacre ? Is the entire universe bent on exterminating the heron tribe, or what ?

Really. What a convenient « plague ». e.ê

Hmm. I know they're obviously very different, but this last part reminds me of how a few characters talk about Ike, and how he's recognized for what he's accomplished so far to the point they made him commander. I'm not sure yet if they're setting up a contrast (Ashnard sounds like he's remarkable by his physical strength, an army of one, while Ike's major achievements are literally bringing people together – getting Elincia to Gallia and Begnion, Tormod to Sanaki, Sanaki to the herons – and earning their trust), but I like the idea.

Does this mean that they haven't joined the Greil mercenaries in-game yet ?

...wait, I was convinced they already had in the story, but after checking, it's not the case. Muarim asked Ike to take care of Tormod, they argued, then the topic didn't come up again. Oo So, are they officially their own little unit of two, here as representants of the Laguz Emancipation Army ?

Maybe he's offering you, a child, the opportunity to avoid fighting in another war. I don't know.

...or he just forgot who he's talking to. ^^''

« You don't owe me anything », he says, after playing a determinant role in kickstarting the elimination of slavery in Begnion. Yeah, there's definitely no way they would ever feel indebted to you. Oh, Ike.

And they'd better because I gave half chapter 17's worth of experience to Tormod instead of training my other kid, he's not allowed to leave now.

I love them ;w;

Not much on the supports front, no IkeSoren, no JillLethe since that'd be too soon, and nobody wants to talk to Stefan. (Understandable. :p) But Jill and Mist made it to A !! and it was awkward and adorable ! Then it did a 180 pretty quickly because clearly the best way to end a support chain is grief and daddy issues. :')

But the daddy issues in question were handled in a way that doesn't make much sense to me at all, and is honestly kinda off-putting. (Everything we saw up until now said the way Jill was raised was wrong, so just let her say her dad fucked up. I don't care if he loved her or if Mist can't conceive that a father can be wrong because she had a good one, this changes nothing, Jill's dad raised her on hate propaganda. He fucked up. End of story.)

Well, at least this makes the choice easier, she's getting Lethe A when they unlock it.

Also I remembered six chapters late that Sothe existed and that there were reasons to use him

...oops ?

I planned to boost him a bit and baby him in this chapter, except he somehow makes bonus exp disappear ? Because of his skill apparently ? So he's going as-is because I love to die and restart :'D

Very tempted to use the bonus exp on Mist, too, since she's so close to promotion… But I also want to save it for later recruits (Elincia, hopefully ? Or Lucia, whoever she is, or that blonde lady who said she'd come back later, or Sanaki's sibling who somehow isn't here, or all these dragons the game keeps taunting me with, WHOEVER REALLY), so Mist will have to promote the old-fashioned way.

Tanith just said the enemy is famous for their fliers, though, I doubt they wouldn't have seen the army coming… And Ashnard knows anyway because of the fucking spy. Their surprise attack is doomed. =s We will beat them anyway with the power of Astrid and Soren, but surprise them ? Nah.

In which Ike continues to forget Elincia is a princess and, you know, kind of half the reason they're supposed to liberate Crimea. *shakes head fondly *

I K E

(Elincia just rolls with it by now. x’D)

The birds !!! =D (Tibarn is a lot friendlier all of a sudden.)

Phoenicis isn't on the way to Daein or Crimea at all, though… ? :3

Reyson, unreasonable ? Why, you must be joking. (REYSON INSISTED TO FOLLOW IKE. Either he somehow knows we have a medallion that belongs to his clan, or he's “drawn to Ike” too. I KNOW WHICH ONE I'M VOTING FOR. *friendshipping intensifies*)

I'm trying not to laugh at Reyson « kill all beorc » talking about courtesy, but at the same time I really appreciate this : until now, the only positive interaction we've seen him have with beorc was, basically, « I won't kill you because Leanne forgives you ». Again, completely understandable, honestly I expected we wouldn't see him for a few chapters, to give him time to cool down from the anger he had every reason to feel at the moment. Of course, reuniting with Leanne and restoring the forest might have helped with this, enough for him to realize that hey, these beorc were somewhat decent.

Still. Reyson, acting with courtesy. *snerk*

Oh, a debt. How inconvenient. :3c (« We » ? WE ?? Both of them ?? Please IntSys I'l give you my firstborn)

Be quiet Ike, this will be symbolic of the truce between herons and beorc, it's clearly fate.

Oooh, and you get the choice ? But who would refuse to recruit Reyson, seriously.

...okay, that's a good reason. =s I do feel bad that they will be separated again so soon. (Not enough to refuse tho.)

Especially since Reyson sounds genuinely disappointed that Ike declined his offer.

They address it it if you accept too ! =D (But don't try to bullshit me, game, I'm sure this is code for « Leanne told me to ». :p)

I'll let you punch Ashnard :D

BLESS YOU KING PHOENICIS >w<

Oh… ;;

(I thought bringing up the post-massacre years meant that Reyson was definitely going with Ike not (only) out of courtesy, but for revenge because they're out to fight Daein, then remembered that no, wrong nation of racist murderers. Nevermind. >.>)

What do you mean this isn't what he's saying

You just want an excuse to beat up Daein soldiers, don’t you.

Yes ! Or at least, this is a big step towards it. x3 Their actions may have created trust, but to really gain understanding they will need to talk. Preferably a lot. (Give me alll the laguz supports ! And could one of them tell me if they lay eggs I'm serious this is an important question)

Tanith joins the party for real ! I was afraid she would stay a story-only character, like in FE13 when it takes 15 chapters for your allies to become playable. >w<

The downside of all these new units is that I can't fit three laguz and Tanith into my team if I keep choosing who to field by which supports I want to see. Actually I can't even fit the team. It's disappointing to come back to 13 characters after stopping at chapter 17 and its reinforcements for months.

Okay, since I got Astrid I don't really need Rolf anymore, and I could just accept that I won't train Rhys-

HA !?

NEVERMIND

GREIL MERCENARIES OUT WE'VE GOT AN ASS TO KICK

[hartsgold]

𝐝𝐮𝐧𝐞𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐫, 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐦 𝐨𝐟 𝐬𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐬, 𝐥𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐩𝐨𝐢𝐬𝐨𝐧. 𝐡𝐚𝐢𝐥, 𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐮𝐝𝐞 𝐯𝐨𝐧 𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐠𝐚𝐧, 𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐚 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐭 𝐛𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐦-𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐭. ☽

the legends of queen titania and her the summer court trace back over the course of millennia. she’s renown as the height of archfey, the love and envy of many eladrin across fódlan and beyond. the elders of desert and forest villages spin tales of a fae queen whose smile could revitalize entire fields of decayed wildlife, and whose mood swings might set the forest ablaze. the lesser known king oberon, her first husband, was more a man of the people. although a loyal leader and decent king, his power paled in comparison to titania’s. eventually, his tendency to play among his human followers and associate with others outside the seelie court  came to a tremendous consequence, and he was ambushed and killed by a number of those who slither in the dark –– a group of magicians whose goal is currently unknown.

in her grief, the forest where oberon was killed fell to fire and decay. titania unseated the summer court’s place in the forest and relocated with many other officials and the local community. in her leaving, she spread all kinds of seeds, that way the area may begin again with the help of the local fauna that may rejuvenate the area in oberon’s memory.

titania built a kingdom and community at the center of a desert valley, where the edges blended into forests and few humans could even see past the thick brush of, much less the fathomless amount of sands. however, it took some time to recreate her court, and titania found comfort through giving new life in her time of grief. she thrived in the desert, where she found a great of new beauty and the blistering sun began to restore her. 

it was in her attempts to leave the throne of her court and kingdom that titania met a traveler by the name of makram. devastatingly handsome and bighearted, titania appeared mostly as a human to makram, who seemed to be a merchant and wonderful chef who introduced her to countless human recipes and magic without magic. across the course of her return visits, she found herself endeared to and courted by makram, who she believed thought her little more than a weary traveler. however, he was both cleverer and more well-aware than she anticipated. 

he soon disclosed to her that he was the heir to a nearby kingdom, who was well-aware of her poor attempts at playing human. she spoke nothing human, and seemed nothing human. soon, she relented and showed him the summer court she had built in that time from a distance. of course, he could not enter and he did not expect to. the boundaries between the feywild and humans were too great –– but they could not help what had become of them –– they had fallen in love. and soon, titania would bear a child with both the blood of an archfey and a human man. the king of almyra was away in attempts to see more of the world and strengthen him in battle, and what he found instead was an undiscovered world and a privilege like none other. still, he knew his son’s life would not be easy. titania understood it the same way. 

brokenhearted by the knowledge that her son would hardly be accepted in the summer court for his lack of pure-blood, she allowed him to grow up in makram’s kingdom apart from her –– often, she appeared to visit him both in person and in dreams. she gifted him with all sorts of fae knowledge, tricks of the trade and taught him to hone great magics while his father taught him his way around wyverns and the bow. enamored with their dragon traditions, among the several other adventures she took him on, titania took claude out into the desert forest and united him with a rare, white wyvern. rumored to refuse all her riders, claude naturally bonded with her and the rest between him and faiza is history. 

[between the real-world racism and the magical racism on top of that, you can imagine what claude endures spending time in his home kingdom and near his mother, who has countless followers and advisors that suggest she steer clear of humanity while she’s able.] 

but he tires of his time in almyra, and soon convinces his mother to bear a few years in the summer court as the heir. most of the other eladrin distrust and scorn him, but he plays the game and tricks them all into making fools of themselves. somehow, he slips well into both skins and finds himself researching all sorts of new things. mostly, he gets to know his mother more and she eventually opens up somewhat about oberon and what happened to him. although claude knows he doesn’t deserve the resentment or severe mistreatment that the other fae have pinned on him in the aftermath of that incident, he also doesn’t trust the fact that those who slither in the dark are still out there. he means to unite his mother and father’s kingdoms in a distant relation to one another, as far as humans and fae can coexist without hurting each other any longer. 

and who knows how many battles and political powerhouse moves later, he does just that. he and a few battalions and forces gather and unveil the mystery of those who slither in the dark, conquering the majority of them as he pries deeper and deeper. 

as claude’s father is perfectly well and remains seated on the throne, he comes into his place as the new king of the summer court, where he finally commands the respect and admiration he deserves. it’s not perfect, but he makes a difference. 

claude knows his fight is far from over. 

he is always moving forward. 

𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐥 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐬:

claude takes after his mother’s connection to nature. he’s deeply familiar and in touch with the earth, the flowers and herbs and wildlife that surrounds him in most warm climates. he’s especially content in dry autumn and blistering summer, but tropic and cool forests suit him just as well, as per his mother’s forest proclivities. 

titania taught claude elemental magic, and he’s well-versed in fey spellcasting, such as but is not limited to: charm person, detect magic, dispel magic, invisibility, modify memory, mass suggestion and once a solstice, he can cast wish. he has magical resistance, as well as immunities to necrotic and poison damage –– he cannot be charmed, paralyzed, or poison either. he can also speak with beasts and plants! 

it was makram who passed failnaught down to claude, who now has express and magical mastery over all forms of bows. 

as claude has the capacity to pass through human lands and fae courts, he also has some fae traits. his ears are longer and pointed, pierced with gold rings of course. he also has great antlers that curl outwardly from the crown of his head, that he can make invisible at will. 

as he is the son of an archfey who is revered as a deity who can grant divine abilities to their worshipper, he has great power. he’s not afraid to use it!