MoonRose

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I adore Xander. Like many of the Fates characters, he falls victim to unbelievably poor writing at times, but that creates the perfect canvas for the imagination. I see him as being a thoroughly brainwashed, submissive victim of abuse. I'm currently on Chapter 21 in Birthright. If you know what happens to Xander in Birthright, imagine how excited I am about a certain upcoming chapter. I plan on building Supports and leveling up until I'm ready-which I'm betting will be never. How do I cope? I thought of skipping the cutscenes but I know I won't. I keep reading that the chapter is just dreadful and then I saw the image of Xander crying and OMG NO I AM NOT READY. How did you fare on that chapter? What did you think of the way Corrin handled? Should I get ready to hate Corrin even more than I already do? How would you have rewritten the chapter? Would you have preferred Corrin or someone else changing the outcome?

Welcome! May you have many awesome adventures here!

I'm not a fan of couples that feel cookie cutter, like they were simply created to fit the 'guy meets beautiful, feisty/cold and mysterious girl with a mysterious/past' mold. If a game is to feature the average guy/girl couple, then I prefer such couples to have established backstories and gripping chemistry. Not very many canon guy/girl couples fit that criteria for me. Many can easily argue that the Fire Emblem Fates creators want Corrin and Azura to be canon, but Azura just fits the pre-requisite 'very beautiful female character with a very tragic past' role for me. I can not count how many books have featured that character type, let alone other sources of media. In addition to her being an exposition bot. So I'm not really a fan of the usual couples, and definitely not a fan of the 'here's a guy, here's a girl, they're canon' concept. I think Cloud Strife and Tifa Lockhart from Final Fantasy VII work well as a romantic couple, as Tifa is a quiet, regal soul with a strong heart and doesn't feel like an everyday female character. Luke and Tear from Tales of the Abyss complement each other, as they help each other discover their greatest selves and neither feels like a cookie cutter character. I like Sora and Kairi from Kingdom Hearts. Link and Zelda. Anyone can defend for Corrin and Azura or any other male/female pairing, but I'm of the team that seriously wants more relationships between same-sex couples. I loved Sorey and Mikleo from Tales of Zestiria, especially with the creators writing them as a couple. I adored Ludger and Julius from Tales of Xillia 2 being an affectionate couple, even moreso in the original Japanese version (and yep I know about them being brothers). I appreciate Niles and Rhajat being added as same-sex options in Fates, but wish Male Corrin could have his pick of any of the men. Mine would go for Arthur, Shigure or Xander. The usual guy/girl romances are kind of okay, but much better for me if the characters feel unique and aren't shoved in our faces as canon. If it were up to me, I'd love to see more same-sex romances, and/or more focus on friendship. Family themes.

I'd like to. :) Thank you very much! I'm very flattered!

Your artwork is stunning. It's easy to tell you put a lot of heart and effort into your masterpieces.

The details are superb. You really did an amazing job with the armor!

Hi. :) In learning about how many ship Leo and Takumi, and while falling in love with both Xander and Takumi, I've decided to try shipping Takumi with a different Nohrian royal. I've got some headcanons for what would be a Revelations-esque storyline, I guess. Please feel free to tell me why you feel they work or don't work. What could be done to add to the relationship. I tried to pinpoint someone else that would smother Xander in the worship he deserves, but decided to just try Takumi. Xander and Laslow are transported to Lilith's astral plane/the army's castle, Xander fleeing from torture and certain death at King Ganon's hands. A weeping Corrin, Sakura and Jakob rush to look after them, Laslow adamant about them paying attention to only Xander. While Corrin and his willing friends care for Xander, Takumi hears him having violent nightmares and sees himself in the Nohrian Prince. Having gone through nightmares himself, and having heard of Ganon trying to kill him, Takumi remains at his side. Xander eventually awakens. He warmly, tearfully thanks everyone for looking after him, referring to Takumi as 'milady' in thanking him. A giggling Hinoka tells Xander the fuming Takumi's a guy. Corrin's brother apologizes, innocently, shyly telling him 'I've never seen such a fetching man before'. Takumi senses deep-rooted, excruciating torment inside of Xander and eventually grows fiercely protective of him. Says 'someone's got to look after you-you embody all the good left in this damn world, even though you're way more annoying than Corrin'. Xander finds deep comfort in Takumi's iron-clad strength and protective mannerisms. He eventually asks Takumi for archery practice, speeding up the archer's heartbeat because they're just too close together. Just as shy as he used to be as a child, Xander expresses admiration of Takumi as a warrior, as a friend and as someone he feels is beautiful. Takumi's spirit is watered by Xander's adoration. Through each other, they find the strength to emerge from their darkness.

I honestly thought you were going to give me paragraphs on why Corrin's actually a good character, considering your username, and I would have been 500% fine with that. I'm okay with opposing opinions as long as they written by trolls. But you gave me what will most likely be the greatest response I get on this thread. :)

I don't yet own Revelations, so I can't be treated to Xander meeting anyone from Hoshido yet, but he's part of what makes Conquest the more comforting option to play. From your response and others, I can tell Xander really develops beautifully during his support conversations. Which one would you say is the best? Thank you for saying such things. I agree with you on Xander being treated unfairly, and definitely deserved a much better script (especially in Birthright cough cough hack wheeze). A lot of Fates players point out missed potential with Camilla, but there was a lot of untapped potential in Xander as well. With deeper digging into his background, and with him having Garon as a father, he really could have been brought to life in a way that would have made me and others love him about 10,000 times more. You made me remember reading about Xander not being at all talented in anything during his childhood. That alone makes me want to hug him and ship him with a guy/girl that will just treat him like the cutest little poodle. I mean, not feeling like you're good at anything? And with Garon as a father? Can we say 'ew'? Yes yes yes yes to Xander being an incredibly attractive beauty. Cue wild applause. Yeah he DEFINITELY is someone ensnared in the worst abusive, violent relationship. With his father. While Conquest Corrin just comes off as idiotic, Xander was programmed to be this perfect, powerful royal and was also programmed to believe his father is righteous. All the while growing up with a pound of insecurities. I mean, how can you not see Garon as a wicked, murderous monster? Xander can't because he knows nothing else. And he can't escape Garon because Garon's laws and values are HIS. Leaving that behind would be much too frightening. Yeah. I'm not at all looking forward to BR chapter 26. I REALLY need Revelations. He is quite the beauty, isn't he? I agree. :) Xander really does feel like a strong, loving, sympathetic father figure-moreso than Ryoma, whom I feel falls flat in comparison. I'll have to check out Xander's supports with his son. :) You're the second person to give strong recommendations for that video. I definitely need to watch it and will. I agree on the writing putting a few cracks in Xander, especially considering the Xander thing that happens in Birthright (HOW CAN YOU GIVE SUCH A CRAPPY EVENT TO AN ABUSE VICTIM WTF?!?!), so I know it'll be a great watch. :)

Birthright Corrin in Chapter 6: "King Garon is evil! He must be stopped! Join me and we'll end this war together!" Conquest Corrin, Chapter 16: (cue Patrick Star voice) "Father's kinda, uh, doing mean things and we should, like, probably stop him or something. I dunno. Azura, what do you think?" Birthright Corrin impressed me right from the get-go, and continues to delight me as he (I play Male Corrin for yaoi fangirl reasons) feels relatable, noble and very kind in several supports. I love him letter writing with Hayato. BR Corrin's emotional struggle feels real. Conquest Corrin uses cookie cutter Azura as a crutch, whines incessantly and is just inexcusably, insanely STUPID. Like, stupid beyond words. He's getting a little smarter now that I'm hitting around Chapter 20, but WTF why did it take almost TWENTY chapters for him to recognize Garon (whom he still calls Father) as evil? BR Corrin comes with his own faults, but compared to Conquest Corrin's faults, they're infinitesimal. I'll have to check out Oboro and Silas' convo. Thanks! There are plenty of gems when it cones to support conversations between a few characters. I'm finding a lot in Birthright. A lot of conversations in both games are mind-numbingly terrible, the F!Corrin x Odin being one of the WORST (why would Odin still marry her after that?), but there are a lot of hits against the misses too. But honestly, I think Conquest Corrin's the only real bad part of the saga. Haven't played Revelations yet, but C Corrin is just no. I wish more time and emotional depth had been invested into Takumi's illness and the Rainbow Sage event in Conquest, and Flora's Birthright event could have used more emotional depth (I was more worried about Takumi than Flora). I feel Azura's just the pre-requisite 'beautiful, mysterious girl with a very tragic past'. But seriously, Conquest Corrin is a Gary Stu in all the worst ways, making him the worst part of the Fates experience.

As someone that values story much more than gameplay, I don't think the Fates saga deserves such brutally poor reviews when it comes to the writing. Sure, there are quite a few cracks in the storytelling and characters (Corrin being the biggest crack), but for me, Birthright and Conquest have been incredibly emotional, nail biting experiences. I've lost quite a bit of sleep being anxious over getting to the next chapter, especially while playing Birthright. I'm deathly afraid of chapter 26 in Birthright. Of course there are superior Fire Emblems. You may think Fire Emblem 1 has far better characters/storylines/battle mechanics. Fire Emblem 4 may have a much better villain or a support system. And there are quite a few problems with Fates, Corrin being the biggest one (Conquest Corrin is the WORST protagonist of all time). Some of the support conversations in Birthright are stellar, while others are just silly (Corrin and Tsubaki, anyone?). Birthright Corrin is, by far, superior to Conquest Corrin, as BR Corrin is about a billion times wiser. But minus Corrin, Fates does offer incredible adventures and many unforgettable characters.

Hi. :) Out of all the Nohrian Royals, Prince Xander is far and beyond my favorite, Leo coming in at a close second. I've noticed that Xander gets slammed a lot, particularly his Birthright version, and that may be a product of the game's writing (totally understandable, considering some Supports are excellent while others are ridiculous), but to me he feels like someone trapped in a fatally abusive relationship. Brainwashed into believing that whatever King Garon says, does, eats or drinks is right, no matter what the cost. Anyone that goes against that notion, even beloved Corrin, deserves to die. Hence a Birthright chapter I will not talk about. Xander seems like a very gentle, caring person outside of his prince persona, the persona raised by Garon to be a blind killing machine. Please prove to me that there are Fates fans that appreciate Xander with me. :) Preferably from a character standpoint.

It's great to see Silas to get a vote. Especially since I'm someone that ignores him, sadly. :( I get the whole childhood backstory, and it's so cute, but he hasn't grown on me yet. Love the Shura vote. :) He's definitely not one of the pretty boys. I'm all the way down for Team Underdogs, which includes Arthur the Adorable and Benny. Niles appreciates your vote. I should give him more of a chance to grow on me, then. :)

I say this from the bottom of my heart-thank you for your change of heart. It really does make a difference in the world. But hm. Now I'm considering nipping the love triangle altogether, because Takumi does a bit more (as in a lot more) before calming down. Then he and Ryoma disappear as they do in-game, giving Tsubaki more time to be sweet and adorable. Thank you so much!