Katryn

Nyx is the reason that Nohr is so resource starved and why nothing will easily grow there. Two hundred years ago she tried to cast a spell that would preserve her beauty and youth but it went wrong, making her appear eternally childlike instead. Despite its toll on the land, and its results not being what she wanted, Nyx refuses to release Nohr from her spell because she does not want to die. She joins the Nohr campaign eager to invade Hoshido so that she can use its untapped resources to try the spell again and get it right this time.

I'll say this much: I have a strong suspicion that having any form of long term relationship with Niles would not be for the faint of heart. Regardless of whether the other person was male or female. Niles seems to have more then a few kinks. ;) I see that part of him sorta how others have thought of what Hans does to Scarlet: Nintendo isn't gonna tell us because it's safer for the viewer to fill in the blank with what they can handle.

Very well done. I was moved by the setup for this chapter in Birthright, too. My story idea for it is quite different then yours, though. I definitely agree that this would have had a much larger impact in game, though. -_-;

Keaton has my heart. He and Leo join in the same chapter on Conquest and that was a serious one two punch of awesome right there. I love his design and I find his hording habit funny (a big gross, admittedly, but it's the dog thing y'know?). I like Kaden alright, but he just doesn't grab my attention the same way Keaton does. I like Velouria's design better than Selkie's, too.

I think it's a revelations thing. In Conquest he is found by Azura and she teaches him to survive. In Revelation we find him while we are with Azura and they've never met before. That's just my theory, though.

I voted for Garon. While his inactivity keeps him from being the most offensive, he is the root of the problem which allows characters like Iago and Hans to thrive and actually be a problem to begin with. Also, I actually *like* Iago for some reason I can't put my finger on, and Hans is just 'boring mass murdered #496' so I don't care about him one way or another.

Here is how I see it with regard to Corrin's retainers: She / he has the maid / butler that comes to her aid in chapter 6 (so for my F!Corrin it's Jakob.). She also had Flora, but at some point in the story Flora will prove that she was unworthy of the title. Also, Flora is technically MIA in the main plot, so Corrin is free to accept Kaze as wished by Lady Mikoto. Silas, Gunter, the alternate maid / butler, etc. do not hold the actual retainer title--even if the core game does its damndest to tell us some of them would give their left arm for that type of acknowledgement. Also: the fact that official Corrin has / needs that many retainers speaks to his or her overall incompetence.

I'm not a big fan of either name, really. I use Corrin when discussing the character because I think it's more likely that people will know that name. An early adapter is more likely to know the NA name then a new player is to know the Japanese one. So far Corrin / Kamui has become Chisuzu, Katryn and Sarena in my games.

@ Jankmaster: You have my sympathy with the car thing. How are you planning to get them to Vegas? Have you considered other things that they will find confusing? Remember, also, that they don't necessarily need to know *what* a car is and *how* it works initially. They could, for instance, experience the "thrill" of a taxi or a bus. One of the best uses for fish out of water scenarios is to describe not what we, the audience, know something to be. Rather, describe it in such a way that we can realize what it is, but that what we experience is how it is for your characters. Or you could have Leo make mini transportation stones that will let them get back to their hotel, having *him* unintentionally experience a car ride and end up car sick and going "nope". Or you could allow them to be able to read a tourist guide and have someone end up interested in 'our world specific' items like cars and make it a running joke. It really depends on what kind of tone and flavor you are going for. As for the Rat Pack vs. Elvis, both are great choices! I think one of the key things to consider is how you want the music / music icon(s) of Vegas that you choose to influence your story. Is there going to be part of the plot that ties into this? Is it more something you want to add as a reference for ambience and detail? In my opinion, the Rat Pack are more old school class whereas Elvis was more progressive and ushered in a new era of sound. Heck, maybe you could use both to parallel the Hoshidan and Nohrrian characters you pick? Or maybe they could subvert what people might expect them to like? Is someone an oddball who skips these and goes for Britany Spears or Celine Dion, causing everyone else to facepalm? *laughs* ** As for my own story **... The thing I'm having the hardest time with is figuring out *what* happened to Corrin (I don't think she's dead--all evidence points to a mage needing their illusion target alive) and *how* Charlotte has been or will be able to fool Xander & co. I can see her fooling the Hoshidans, and Garon & co. know who she really is. But how to make the part with the Nohr sibs work is giving me a bit of a migraine.

I totally hear you about Oboro x Takumi. I like pairing characters up if I know one character likes another. There are enough unhappy endings in life when real people date--silly as it sounds it makes me feel good to know I have the power to at least make these characters get what they want. Plus, it's really clear he's into her, too. Alas, the game does such a good job at pairing them up that I'm not compelled to write them. They don't really have a legit conflict to move a romance plot forward. They're a fine pairing as a side couple or as a romantic subplot, but not for the type of story I tend to gravitate toward. @BruceLee Yes, I know you were asking for the opposite. I either misclicked or misread the quote I grabbed, taking yours rather than whoever brought Leo up. My point was that while I couldn't find the failed attempt (if anything I think we're looking at an omission rather than deliberately not wanting to help Corrin) I could easily find two incidents where Leo did help him / her, plus if we look at his behavior in other routes we can see, from a meta standpoint, that Leo can be reasoned with. I hate going that latter route, though, because I try to look at each route as its own story. The only way looking at the whole would work (in my opinion) was if the games were suppose to be viewed in some kind of Groundhog Day-esque scenario. Otherwise, it seems like I'm going to be more happy if I look at the three branches like IS got characters, worldbuilding, etc. and then these three things came to be much in the same way I'll end up taking the same pieces and creating my own work. Sorry if that's getting a bit sidetracked. :) (I really want to get going on the story ideas I've got floating around in my head, but I do not write without an outline and that's not done yet.)

While I can definitely see the basis for people claiming that, and I totally have nothing against the pairing, there are already twenty zillion fics about it. Do we really need another? =P :) (FWIW, I'm taking your comment as totally tongue in cheek. :) ) @ Sunwoo: My two favorite Fates characters as the main lords? Yes, that could have been lovely. (Provided they had been as interesting as they are here and now.)

Yes. I must confess that regardless of whatever else Revelation has in store for me it has already given me the end of ch. 10 which is my favorite thing I've seen in any part of Fates three paths. Plus it's gonna let me pair *them* up and have supports. This is all emotionally based, of course, rather than looking at things from a literary analysis standpoint. XD

In regard to Leo, wouldn't his intervention at the Opera House count as a time when he was able to shift the way Corrin was doing something? This is the one time I can think of offhand where one of the siblings did try to help Corrin achieve his / her goals in a positive light, and it really increased my (already positive) opinion of Leo. I love him because while he's not perfect, it's clear between this situation and what he does in ch. 2 that he has been trying to do 'something' right, even if he's not always perfect. I heard someone somewhere suggest the game would have been more interesting with Leo as the lead and while I won't 100% back that--he's too many shades of gray for a main FE hero, alas, and would suffer had he been a player insert--I think a retelling where he was the heroic figure (meaning central character--not changing his overall morality and shades of gray) could be fascinating. As for the speaking positively thing, I can get where @ eclipse is coming from. We can say all we like about Conquest--or any of the paths for that matter--and it's not gonna change a thing. I'm certainly not saying we can't discuss it. This is the internet and for a lot of us "WTF were they thinking when they did "insert thing here"!" is how conversation flows. Bad news travels fast and all that jazz. But at the same time, I've found myself trying to focus more on the aspects of the game that I love when I'm playing and only using my notes about things that make me go "what?!" if I am working on my own headcannons or planning for stories I want to write. Although that may be the key for me: if I don't like something, I can shift things when I go to tell my own stories in this universe. And that's a big part of why I'm really into FE with its tons of characters, multiple pairings, etc. Fates, with three alternate paths I can set a plot in, is actually a fantastic setup for some vastly different and fun story ideas.

That's adorable. :)

From what I've been seeing, the story quality from best to worst is generally labelled as Birthright --> Revelation --> Conquest. But then, it also really depends on what you think is a good story. I, too, have been following that Corrin thread, own all three versions of the game, and have been having a great time. It really depends what you are looking for.