Screenshot Dakota's War Journal (Semiblind Fire Emblem Fates RP/LP) (Send me your castles!)

Alastor15243 · May 9, 2016

WHY did you add the time limit? this chapter is already hair-pullingly annoying even without it.

What can I say, I had temporarily gone batshit insane, plus the story I came up with wouldn't have made sense otherwise.

Guardian · May 10, 2016

I personally liked the time limit, it made everything seem so more intense and exciting.

[spoiler] Just imagine if this was on Lunatic Mode [spoiler]

Edited May 10, 2016 by Guardian

sirmola · May 10, 2016

I personally liked the time limit, it made everything seem so more intense and exciting.

[spoiler] Just imagine if this was on Lunatic Mode [spoiler]

I didn't mind it from a story prespective, it just seems odd to volentaraly take it on for this chapter.

Alastor15243 · May 10, 2016

I didn't mind it from a story prespective, it just seems odd to volentaraly take it on for this chapter.

I underestimated how hard the chapter would be and didn't realize the currents would constantly change. The previous chapter was waaaaay less difficult than I was fearing it would be, so I had kinda gotten cocky.

Alastor15243 · May 10, 2016

Just a heads up: I don't think I can keep to a once a day schedule anymore, not with the drastically increased narrative requirements my story choices now require. I'll do my best to do it at least once every two days, however, though sometimes it may take longer.

Guardian · May 11, 2016

Do whatever you think is best for the series. Its better to take time to put each part up, as you still need to enjoy the game for yourself.

I may just be curious at this point, but did you ever consider doing the Before Awakening DLC in any of the versions as part of this series?

Alastor15243 · May 11, 2016

Do whatever you think is best for the series. Its better to take time to put each part up, as you still need to enjoy the game for yourself.

I may just be curious at this point, but did you ever consider doing the Before Awakening DLC in any of the versions as part of this series?

I don't know, maybe. How much does it spoil of the game?

Also, my plans for those three's backstory and motivations are rather planned out and might conflict with it.

Guardian · May 11, 2016

I don't know, maybe. How much does it spoil of the game?

For the DLC map, the only thing it spoils, if you count it spoilers:

Chrom, Lissa and Fredrick find the Awakening Avatar/Robin at the end of the DLC, with the same lines from Awakening's Prologue CG cut-scene/ Laslow,Selena, Odin conversations

But other than whats in the Spoiler, not much else. I just wanted to know if you ever considered it as part of your story, play-through.

Edited May 11, 2016 by Guardian

Alastor15243 · May 11, 2016

For the DLC map, the only thing it spoils, if you count it spoilers:

Chrom, Lissa and Fredrick find the Awakening Avatar/Robin at the end of the DLC, with the same lines from Awakening's Prologue CG cut-scene/ Laslow,Selena, Odin conversations

But other than whats in the Spoiler, not much else. I just wanted to know if you ever considered it as part of your story, play-through.

...Hm...

...Oh right, THAT one. I thought you meant the two-parter one involving Laslow, Odin and Selena meeting up before the events of the game.

Hm... actually that does give me some ideas storywise. Maybe for revelations.

Edited May 11, 2016 by Alastor15243

Alastor15243 · May 12, 2016

Entry 22

Dear War Journal,

The last update ended on a triumphant but ultimately sour note. So let's start this entry off with a maelstrom of good news!

Upgrades to three of the most important buildings! Oh, and the accessory shop. We now have unlimited class change seal stock, access to the finest weapons money can buy, and the ability to forge weapons of ungodly power!

But before we get into the myriad ways in which I intend to abuse the new power I've been given, a quick note, between our otherworldly trade partners and people just randomly finding shit, we now have a poor man's killer axe that basically turns anyone into what Arthur would have been had I not made him an infinitely superior sniper, and a single-use high-powered rod. Not really worth mentioning, but... y'know. Here I am. Mentioning it.

More importantly, meet Basil and Basil, from Ren and Aera respectively! Kana now has two options to fill out his combat technique selection once he gets Nohrian trust.

Now lets get into my rampant exploitation of our new supplies. Basara time!

Sadly this is more of a setback than an advancement until I get Rend Heaven and Quixotic. Without access to any particularly strong weapons and an unreliable combat technique rate, my offensive power is... greatly diminished. I hope to be a Nohr noble again by the time we actually reach Hoshido proper. I intend to storm the Hoshido capitol in full-on Nohrian supervillainess mode. It'll help me play the part.

Thankfully I at least have a raider naginata. If I were forced to use a bronze lance I wouldn't be able to do special techniques at all with my physical attacks.

I also made this upon realizing that I had three fimbulvetr's lying around and would only need to buy one, but then reality struck me and I realized I only have a D rank in tomes and scrolls. I guess Leo can use it for now, it has a little more punch than Brynhildr, but of course it further cripples his rather unimpressive speed.

Anyway, check out Xander! Gods damn look at that magnificent defense. Even his resistance doesn't look so crappy after putting a few talismans on him and giving him a guard naginata.

...Yeah, um, I've got to be realistic here, there's basically no point to using Selena as a front unit anymore. Frontliners need a dual guard partner, and really no contribution she could conceivably make to this army could ever be better than simply boosting Xander's speed by six. There's no reason to ever put her in front.

So I gave her the news that she's permanently relegated to full support and is being reclassed to a falcon knight to further boost Xander's resistance to tolerable levels and also grant me the option of initiating a flying charge into enemy territory. She protested immensely and demanded to at least be a kinshi knight, but I put my magnificent foot down and told her the resistance bonus and superior speed bonus of Falcon Knight were essential. She grumbled for a bit, but after making the class change she just... kinda... started laughing uncontrollably to herself... something about being a... Pega-Pony-Princess... I think? ...And then she just started screaming at the sky saying “Are you happy now, Mother? ARE YOU HAPPY NOW, MOTHER!?”

...Shifting into full-on happy news: Guess what Kana and Velouria made in their spare time while Velouria was getting better? It's this delightful thing again! I'm never taking it off, War Journal!

Oh, and note the past tense, “was” getting better!

Yep! My little girl is finally all healed up and ready for action, and holy shit look at those stats. And that outfit, holy cow she's adorable and badass at the same time!

She's basically a much faster and even tankier version of her father! Gods, and I thought Keaton was great! Legs of jelly my ass, sweetheart, you seem to be doing just fine! Velouria is easily the strongest in our family behind me! ...Hell, while I'm gimped in the Basara class she might even surpass me for a bit!

But enough about statistics, now that she's all better we have some family bonding to catch up on!

Family portrait time! We'll have to redo this once I'm back in Nohr noble, but I simply must have something to hang on my wall immediately! Oh, don't mind the blood, there were some purple ones, no big deal. We all took care of them as one big happy family.

And now that that portrait's done, I'm sorry honey, but you've got to train in another class for a little while, there are some really good skills I want you to learn if you're going to be a mainstay of this army. Let's see how she looks...

...Oh dear. Mommy's little girl is growing up so fast. And that tail is just adorable too!

I'm not having her become a combat skill machine however, mostly because she can't. She didn't inherit my basara class capacity, so she can't learn the crucial Quixotic. She'll have to settle for being a badass wolfmonster who happens to know Luna and Dragon Fang. As for learning the first three Nohr noble skills... her weapon ranks are of course shot, but thankfully she can at least use advanced dragon stones for all the good that'll do her (I hate how I have to speak so harshly of turning into a goddamned dragon). Apparently if you know one kind of stone you know them all. Oh Kana is going to love to hear that. He still hasn't given up on dual-shifting, War Journal. It's adorable. And who knows? He might even succeed!

Actually, I've decided that since I'm putting both myself and my son through the Basara class, I'm making a forged bronze lance to keep our attack power from being too severely nerfed. We won't be able to rely on special skills with it, but at least it's high stable consistent damage.

Next, I'm about to talk to Xander about him becoming a hero for a bit. The resistance penalties are a bit unpleasant, but best to take care of them now before things get even tougher at the capitol.

Alright, here he is... oh, he seems to be talking to Peri.

Peri: Oh you should have been there, Lord Xander, it was absolutely wonderful down in the village!

Xander: …

Peri: I've never had so much fun! So many bodies! So much stabby stabby time! And Lady Dakota said I could do whatever I wanted with them! So I did! There was so much blood! I painted pretty pictures on the walls with the stuff, and I still bottled enough to finally have that blood bath I always wanted! It's a lot harder than it sounds, actually. People don't have that much blood, you need like fifty peoples of blood to fill a tub. But I finally managed it! And nobody even yelled at me! Yay!

Xander: That... that's great, Peri. I'm happy for you.

Peri: Oh! Looks like Lady Dakota wants to talk to you! Bye Lord Xander! Lalalalalalalalalala...

Xander: …

Dakota: ...Is this a bad time?

Xander: ...Yes, but you're not likely to find a good time for me in the next few days.

Dakota: How's Selena doing?

Xander: Moderately grumpier than usual. She's not happy about losing her bow, and becoming a falcon knight is only making it worse.

Dakota: We all have to make sacrifices in times of war.

Xander: I'm sure she understands that, but... no, it's nothing. And even if it were something, I should not speak of my wife behind her back. And besides, there's something else I need to speak to you about, Dakota.

Dakota: ...Alright, what is it?

Xander: I'd like to apologize for yesterday. I still stand by everything I said about being prepared to die to protect the innocent, but since our little argument yesterday... I've come to realize I'm not actually prepared to die at all. I mean that there are a few important things that I haven't taken care of in the event of my death. And my brush with it yesterday has made me realize how foolish that was.

Dakota: That was my fault-

Xander: It's fine, Dakota, I do not blame you for what happened yesterday. That battle was taxing on us all. ...And that's not the only brush with death I was talking about.

Dakota: Hm?

Xander: ...I still can't believe what Father did yesterday. I saw the proof in your journal, I connected the dots from his behavior, but... part of me still wanted to be proven wrong about him. He had been so careful to justify the war as a necessary evil to save our people, to keep me feeling that going against his more extreme actions wouldn't be worth it... but to see him cast that pretense aside and spurn the Hoshidans' offer to help... and attack them like a raving lunatic... ...I will be honest, Dakota. Had you not braced me for that, had you not revealed your plan to me... I would have turned against him right then and there. Even knowing he was invincible, I would have helped Ryoma and tried to stop Father. ...And I would have failed and died for nothing.

Dakota: ...

Xander: Dakota, I'm afraid I must ask of you a favor. In the event of my death... I need you to take care of Peri for me.

Dakota: …“take care of”?

Xander: Take her in as one of your many retainers. I know it's much to ask, but it seems that besides me, you are the only person whom she listens to. ...And she needs somebody who can keep her under control. She's dangerous, Dakota, but I'm sure you know that.

Dakota: ...I managed to connect those dots, yes. Frankly she's always baffled me. You seem to be the absolute last person who would choose somebody like her to be your retainer. Why on earth did you?

Xander: ...That is... a long story... and I can't explain all of the details at this moment. But I need you to promise me that you'll keep her out of trouble if I no longer can.

Dakota: ...Fine. In the hypothetical event that you somehow die, I promise I'll take care of her.

Xander: Thank you, Dakota.

Alright, after that I had him reclass into a hero. Excellent.

Next, let's talk with Leo and see how the time pod chamber is doing.

Dakota: Leo! I thought I'd find you here!

Leo: Hello, Sister. Just the person I wanted to talk to. You see, I have some thoughts.

Dakota: That's generally a given. What about?

Leo: I've been considering disengaging the whole time pod chamber temporarily just to interrogate Fuga and ask him some questions. I know the plan is to disengage it at the end of the war and send everybody back to the place where they “died”, but as I showed you, there's also the option of unfreezing them all at once in the pod chamber itself.

Dakota: That would be a massive hassle. We froze some very powerful opponents, and there's very little guarantee we could calm them down and explain the situation before they attacked us in a rage. Plus half of them would be our enemies even if we did explain ourselves. We could very easily be overwhelmed.

Leo: Yes, all of those things are true, dear sister... and yet some part of me can't help but feel it would be worth our time just to pick Fuga's brain.

Dakota: What makes you think he has particularly useful information?

Leo: You didn't notice, Dakota? Fuga had three different special Kaizo-Kotomi weapons.

Dakota: ...No... I hadn't noticed... I mean I noted that he had special ranged weapons, but the implications of that didn't really sink in at the time.

Leo: Understandable, you had a lot on your mind. And yet I'm sure if you gave it a moment's thought you'd realize that that's quite curious. Because that would imply he was backed by the purple ones... and yet his plans threatened to jeopardize everything the purple ones have been conspiring towards if your hypotheses about their motives are correct.

Dakota: It's not like the purple ones are telling these people that they're not supposed to kill Garon, they're just assuming they won't be able to do it. Maybe the purple ones supplied him and just underestimated him.

Leo: Mmm. That is possible, sister.

Dakota: But actually... now that you mention it... he had one of those in the last timeline too.

Leo: ...Fascinating. And I believe you said the purple ones hadn't started intervening and supplying people in the last timeline, correct?

Dakota: Right, they hadn't. Precious few people had them aside from the purple ones. I can't think of any off the top of my head who used them aside from Fuga, though there might have been others I'm forgetting, I'll have to re-read my old journal.

Leo: What are your thoughts on this?

Dakota: I've been thinking about it for literally thirty seconds, I can't really say. What are yours?

Leo: I suspect these bizarre weapons might not originate from the purple ones at all. Or at least they have more than one origin.

Dakota: Hm... interesting. But still, I don't think this lead is worth disengaging the time pods for. Too dangerous.

Leo: Very well. You're the tactician, sister, not I.

Well, that was interesting. Finally, maybe I should quickly speak to Laslow-

…

HEY KIDS WANNA PLAY DRESS UP!? WHO WANTS CROWNS!?

...Alright, enough of that. I'm fairly certain there's something I'm forgetting here. Hm... what was it?

Oh yes. Talking to Lilith about shutting that temporal memory bullshit down.

...She says that thanks to my interaction with other worlds it's possible that she can do it, but it'll take an absolutely huge amount of DVP to mess with the internal workings of this place enough to do it.

...An amount I just barely don't have.

...Looks like we'll have to do one more battle before we can fix this.

...One more battle where if a single person dies, the mission could be horribly jeopardized.

...Let's see what Garon wants.

Garon's orders remain the same as ever: continue towards the capitol and sieze the throne. As for how to do that, as always he leaves that up to me. This entire war is meant to be my test, after all.

Hm...

We have two main options, War Journal: head through a heavily-fortified Hoshidan border fort... or take the Eternal Stairway. The problem with the border fort is obvious, but the problem with the Eternal Stairway is that it's overrun by a huge number of rogue Nohrian monsters sent here before the war. Meaning faceless.

Now faceless are notorious for having some pretty obnoxious skillsets programmed into them. However... actual human Hoshidans backed by Kaizo-Kotomi can have that as well, plus ranged attacks, magic, flight, effective weapons, status staves and rods...

I think it's safe to say we're better off taking the stairs.

...Emphasis on I think.

Alright, I'm not sure how many reinforcements there are here. We may need to just cut through these forces and make a run for-

…

Hey Elise, why don't you take a seraph robe?

...Or two?

All of the faceless here are heavy-hitting and mean business, and they're backed up by stoneborn who are also heavy-hitting and also mean business. All of them have very high attack, to the point that Xander is just barely capable of completely blocking their attacks, but all of the faceless also have savage blow. All of them. Not only that, but most of them have breaker skills as well. This is going to be nasty, and I don't want to stay here any longer than I have to.

Thankfully, fate has smiled on us and granted us some pretty potent dragon veins to exploit if things get too hot to handle. I'll be sure to make use of these.

Alright, here's my starting formation.

Begin.

First let's test how endless this horde of faceless really is.

Velouria gains a great level and nobility, which will make getting the next skills a bit easier.

I am unfortunately having a bit less luck. My plan was to rush in and start one-rounding some of the advance faceless, but I forgot that these stairs would render Elbow Room useless, so I'm three attack points short of being able to one-round these guys. So I can't take the fight to them and I'll have to let this faceless come to me. I suppose it's for the best, the other ones nearby if I advance all have lancebreaker.

I have Selena fly Xander up to start dealing with this obnoxious stoneborn before we have to send our squishies through that passage.

Let's see how these freaks respond.

Step 31 on my path to greatness, and basara skill 1 of 4 obtained and just as swiftly discarded.

Xander takes out two faceless I didn't expect to attack him due to doing no damage (perhaps they wanted to make use of savage blow) and gains a good level and a not-so-great skill. The next two will be much better though.

I expected there to be reinforcements coming in from below. No such misfortune... yet.

However, I've spotted some reinforcements from above, and... Huh. Y'know, I was wondering why some otherworldly enemies didn't seem to make us any stronger from defeating them... Has this always been the cause? Curious. But there's no time to dwell on that now.

I rally up and prepare to assist Xander in taking out this obnoxious stoneborn before he attacks one of my squishies.

Sadly the stoneborn barely clings on to life with 2 HP. I bring up all of my units to prepare to climb to safety.

I gravely wound and hex one faceless and kill another, and the stoneborn is freshly hexed.

And now come the rear reinforcements. And not only do they have this Void Curse, but also Grisly Wound, meaning there's basically no point in fighting these things and if at all possible we should just run from them.

Right, let's take this dragon vein for a spin, might as well, we're going to be running away from here permanently.

Excellent! I can use these things to have Xander switch over to Selena so he can get over to the next stoneborn. In the meantime, I'm going to rush into the range of one of the two upcoming stoneborn so that I can hex it and make it slightly less of a threat.

Done! I also got Laslow his first berserker level after a long time on the sidelines. Two more and he'll be able to use rally strength! One heart seal and four more levels after that and he'll be able to use replicate, and his training will finally be complete!

Alright, brilliant strategy time: I use the dragon vein below that cliff with Camilla, safely out of any stoneborn's range, and then I have Laslow fly up to that western stoneborn's west side, wound it, and I then attack it with Deshi Deshi from its east side, to weaken it for Laslow to kill along with the weakened faceless next to me here, simultaneously making me the only thing in range of the then-frozen eastern stoneborn, allowing me to bait and hex it while taking care of that faceless right by the western stoneborn who's blocking the path in the process so that next round Xander and I can take out the eastern stoneborn the exact same way! And to top it all off I'll also weaken the stoneborn on the next “step” up as well!

Done... sort of! I forgot that I didn't gain strength that last level so I still need Laslow's small strength rally bonus to one-round faceless on plains, so I'll have to count on a lucky dragon fang for this plan to work completely. Also, I got an unlucky dragon fang on that stoneborn, meaning I killed him before Laslow could finish him off, so instead Dwyer, who he paired up with to reach a faceless, rallied up instead.

...This too turned out to be unwise, as the raider naginata I equipped to be able to use dragon fang, Dwyer's Gentilhomme, Dwyer's Rally Defense, and Dwyer's inspiration combined to make me juuuust tough enough for that eastern stoneborn to completely ignore me and ruin my plan. Damn it. If I had kept Deshi Deshi equipped I could have taken advantage of Dwyer's Inspiration to take down that faceless guaranteed while still baiting the stoneborn. Live and learn. Emphasis on live.

Alright, Kana activates the dragon vein to keep that upper stoneborn freshly hexed. Let's try this again.

There! The plan was to have Laslow, Xander and me take out that stoneborn together, but I got a lucky Dragon Fang so instead I had Xander switch to Selena to prepare to fly up the cliff next round. The rest of my forces have gotten reasonably caught up, with the exception of Velouria, who's going to hitch a ride on Camilla next round.

Let's see if we can get lucky with this stoneborn to free up our options.

...Nope. No such luck.

...Honestly this battle is more annoying than scary, though the dragon veins aren't going to last forever, so I'm thinking I should just clear out a bunch of these faceless at once personally rather than try to freeze them and feed them all to my weaker units. That's great when possible, but those stoneborn will probably screw me over if not perpetually kept frozen with dragon veins, so I should probably clear things up a bit.

Laslow, however, manages to reach level 10, one level away from learning Rally Strength.

...Right, here's a great way to clear out some enemies. I'm in a position to one-round all four of these guys, and sufficiently fortified that I'll take 2 damage from each of them. Skill 2 of the basara line, here I come!

Alas, step 32 on my path to greatness is somewhat spoiled when I remember that skill 2 sucks.

We're at the final stretch.

Alright. This isn't guaranteed to work perfectly, but I can always set it up so that nobody's at risk of death, and if I do this just right, I might be able to take care of 2 or even all three of these stoneborn in one round, and that's too much of a benefit to pass up.

The part most left up to chance is that I have to get Dragon Fang for the best case scenario. I can still safely do the good case scenarios with 100% accuracy if I don't, but ideally I get Dragon Fang here.

No dice.

If that had worked, I'd have been able to afford to attack the easternmost stoneborn with Dwyer, allowing Velouria to kill this stoneborn with a dragonstone+ thanks to Dwyer's Inspiration, without leaving Laslow unable to kill the easternmost stoneborn when Azura reinvigorates the Dwyer-Laslow pair.

As it stands, Xander needs to weaken this stoneborn so Velouria can use her normal dragonstone, and then I need to have Laslow attack the easternmost stoneborn twice.

Granted, the only benefit of getting that Dragon Fang was a CHANCE at one-shotting the westernmost stoneborn with a critical from Xander, so it's not a huge deal.

Aww, look at her, War Journal! Turning into a dragon like Mommy!

Aaaaand done! Only one stoneborn left, and the faceless will be easy to take care of after that.

Velouria takes care of the last stoneborn with a little help from Xander...

And then I prepare the retreat. Leo and Felicia are forced to hang back a bit, but I have a way to get them caught up.

There! Xander and I are now primed to take out all of the northern Void Curse faceless, and then the path will pretty much be clear for Leo to catch up and everyone to run.

And after feeding Laslow the boss kill so that he finally ascends to the majestic level of Lord of the Dance...

...and giving Xander one last kill so that he can gain the first of the good hero-line skills, as well as another level up with speed and defense in it...

...everyone evacuates!

As we approached the exit of the Eternal Stairway, we were beset by more faceless. Xander, immediately shifting to that adorably foolish Big Brother Mode of his, tried to order me to run ahead on my own while literally everyone else holds them off, somehow getting the idea into his mind that I'm the only one who needs to get out of this alive.

Thankfully I nipped that idiocy in the bud and calmly pointed out that not only is Leo far more crucial to this plan than I am (as he's the only one who even knows how to create the pivotal chaos surge), not only would victory be impossible if only I were to survive and that we'd have a much better chance of victory if the commander and her army were not separated, but also that every single one of us faster than them, and if any come from the front, the fact that they have savage blow means they'll attack Xander no matter how tough he is so he can just take the front of the group and keep baiting them towards him to their deaths to keep us from being surrounded.

...The look on his face when I pointed this out, War Journal... it was priceless.

HAHAHAHAHAHA! Oh gods, imagine if I had actually listened to him! Can just imagine, War Journal? Who knows what sort of ridiculous, terrible nonsense would have ended up happening!

But nope, instead, we got everyone out of there alive, and Lilith finally has the necessary DVP to fix that nightmarish memory issue, meaning that, heavens forbid, should my streak fail me and somebody dies, at least their memory lapse won't raise alarm bells in the outside world.

Today was a fantastic day, War Journal!

I'm signing off!

Edited May 12, 2016 by Alastor15243

BaconBuster · May 14, 2016

Entry 22

HAHAHAHAHAHA! Oh gods, imagine if I had actually listened to him! Can just imagine, War Journal? Who knows what sort of ridiculous, terrible nonsense would have ended up happening!

You seem to be better at using Savage Blow then the Faceless, it seems.

...ok that wasn't funny i'm sorry but still really good entry

Alastor15243 · May 14, 2016

You seem to be better at using Savage Blow then the Faceless, it seems.

...ok that wasn't funny i'm sorry but still really good entry

Lilith's death was somehow even dumber in Conquest than it was in Birthright. Now bear in mind, I was always going to keep her alive since I had already decided when I first saw her in Birthright that she'd be the one responsible for the time travel stuff, but even if I hadn't, I doubt I'd have mentioned that idiotic death scene on either route anyway. It wasn't even fun to make fun of like Flora's was.

Alastor15243 · May 15, 2016

Sorry for the delay. The next part is a filler chapter made necessary by a certain gameplay decision I made in West Dakota that I didn't consider the plot implications of. Depending on how fast I can get the writing done, it might be released today, otherwise tomorrow.

BaconBuster · May 15, 2016

Lilith's death was somehow even dumber in Conquest than it was in Birthright. Now bear in mind, I was always going to keep her alive since I had already decided when I first saw her in Birthright that she'd be the one responsible for the time travel stuff, but even if I hadn't, I doubt I'd have mentioned that idiotic death scene on either route anyway. It wasn't even fun to make fun of like Flora's was.

Yeah, compared to the death in Birthright...I found this death kind of stupid. Like someone said earlier, it seems like they needed to reach some sort of needless "death quota".

Alastor15243 · May 16, 2016

...Alright, sorry for the delay.

Honestly I don't know how I feel about this entry. There are parts of it I love... and parts of it I hate. I had to improvise the whole thing out of whole cloth because I was an idiot and didn't think through the implications of a gameplay decision that would have story significance.

I've been stalling on it for too long, and I can't let myself get caught up in the details forever, so even though I'm not entirely pleased with it, I'm going to post this to get on with the fun stuff.

...Anyway, I hope you enjoy.

Entry 23

Dear War Journal,

We've reached Fort Jinya. Our next battle will take us directly into the heart of Hoshido. The news that the war will soon be over has delighted absolutely everyone, and they decided to have a bit of a party for all that we've accomplished so far with no deaths.

Good for them. Let them celebrate.

I personally can't, not just yet, not until we've actually won. I wouldn't call it superstition, more like... extreme caution.

Very soon we will have access to the means to stop Garon once and for all. But of course it will also mean inevitably fighting Hoshido's most powerful forces, backed by the best stuff Kaizo-Kotomi can supply them with.

In other words, our enemy of circumstance will be growing stronger with every battle.

But that's fine.

So are we.

Yes, it's time for Laslow to take the final steps towards dance master perfection by taking four levels of a ride on the Giant Mechanical Lion. The instant he hits level 15 he will become one of the most powerful “rally bots” the world has ever seen. He can already grant +5 speed, +5 strength and +4 skill, but once he hits level 15 he'll be able to do it in two places at once.

Also, in spite of Lilith expending all of my DVP on fixing the memory issue, I managed to regain a bunch more after West Dakota was invaded by a bunch of, well, “invaders” who came several weeks too late. My army was far too powerful for them to be a problem, and now we have some shiny new upgrades to play with.

In other news, after an absolutely stellar meal that gave a total of +5 in stat bonuses, I've put Dwyer on kitchen duty by bestowing upon him an unbelievably silly-looking chef's hat. I don't care, I just want him to make more of that stuff.

I'm planning on seeing if I can arrange an expedition to get in some training before we advance on the capitol. I hope something comes up that gives us an opportunity!

Dear War Journal,

Good news: I got my wish.

Bad news: I got my wish.

0500 hours. I'm woken up by Felicia, only for her to give me the news that we've got another kid on our hands. So once the baby's born and sent to a deep-realm to have their aging slowed down, we've got ourselves another mini adventure to tackle, if my weaponizable bad luck continues to hold.

...Except there's a problem, for you see there's a reason I was woken up about this at such an ungodly hour.

And that problem is who the mother is. It's-

Xander: PERI!?

Felicia: Y-yes, milord... I was doing the early-morning cleaning when I saw Peri's room was ajar... She's definitely pregnant, milord!

Dakota: Now the only question is...

Selena: The only question is who in their right mind would sleep with Peri!?

Shhing!

Xander: Someone who is not long for this world, that's who!

Dakota: Right, I suppose it's best to just check on her and ask her what happened-

Peri: Yawn! Mmmm... What's all that racket...?

Dakota: Oh dear.

Peri: ...YAY! IT WORKED!

Dakota: …

Felicia: …

Xander: …

Selena: …

Peri: ♪ I have a baby growing inside me, I have a little baaaaaaby! ♪

Xander: Gods... please don't tell me...

Dakota: ...Nothing else for it, we have to go in.

Xander: ...Right. Peri!

Peri: Xander! Come in! I have big news!

Xander: ...We already heard.

Peri: Awwww! Who spoiled the surprise!? Tell me tell me TELL ME!

Felicia: ...

Xander: ...No, Peri, we're not telling you.

Peri: Aw, why not!?

Selena: Because you'd kill them.

Peri: Awww, your wife knows me so well already, Xander!

Xander: ...I hesitate to ask, Peri, but... whose baby is that?

Peri: Mine, silly!

Selena: That's not what he meant!

Xander: Selena, calm down! ...Peri... who's the father?

Peri: ♪ I'm not telling, I'm not telling! ♪

Xander: Peri, this is important! Whoever did this to you did a very bad thing, and we need to-

Peri: Who's the daddy? Who's the daddy? Noooooobody knows but me, Xander! Not even the daddy!

Dakota: ...What.

Peri: It was so unfair! Everywhere I went I saw people with babies! Mozu and Arthur, Camilla and Jakob, and now Dakota and Keaton have two babies! And I was all “That's not fair! I want a baby too!”

Xander: ...Oh gods please no...

Peri: And I didn't just want any baby, I wanted it to be my baby! Mine and nobody else's! I didn't want to have to share it with anyone! So I made a seeeeeeeecret baby, Xander!

Xander: ...I know I'm going to regret asking this, but... how... exactly... did you make a “secret” baby, Peri?

Peri: I baked myself a maaaaaaaagic CAKE! One with a seeeecret ingredient! And then I went to that big party we were all having last night, picked my favorite guy, and... BOOM! Baby time!

Xander: …

Dakota: …

Felicia: …

Selena: …

WHAM!

Peri: OW! Xander! Selena punched me! In the face!

Selena: I'LL DO WORSE THAN THAT, YOU PSYCHOTIC BITCH! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT YOU'VE JUST DONE!?

Xander: SELENA! STOP!

Selena: LET GO OF ME, XANDER! I'M NOT FINISHED WITH HER!

Xander: SELENA WHAT THE HELL HAS GOTTEN INTO YOU!? SHE'S PREGNANT!

Selena: LET GO OF ME XANDER!

...Well that was deeply unpleasant. Xander was barely able to get Selena off of Peri before she could do any serious damage to her.

...It was a weird sight, seeing somebody physically assault a pregnant woman while feeling totally justified doing it. ...Right now we're back in my room trying to discuss what the hell we're going to do.

Xander: Azura and Elise are helping with the delivery. ...Camilla's on hand in case she acts... unexpectedly. As for who the father is... I assumed it would be as simple as figuring out who couldn't remember what they did last night, but there's a problem. There was... heavy drinking at that party, and four of the men in the army can't remember the second half of last night. Kaze, Shura, Landon and Odin, the father could be any of them.

Dakota: …Did you say Kaze?

Xander: Yes. Why?

Dakota: It's him. He's the father.

Xander: ...How do you know?

Dakota: I suppose I don't. Call it an extremely educated guess. She said she picked her “favorite guy”. Well...

Dakota: ...she hasn't had the opportunity to socialize with anyone but her fighting buddy. And that's Kaze.

WHAM!

Dakota: Oh! Selena! Please, do come in!

Selena: You knew this could happen, didn't you, Dakota!? You planned this!

Xander: Selena, stand down! Dakota had my assurance that Peri was stable and safe around other members of the army! I gave my word, and I was wrong. I am the one at fault here. ...Dakota, I beg your forgiveness. I take full responsibility for this incident. Peri is my responsibility, and it is my negligence that allowed this to happen. I made it explicitly clear to her that I would be very angry with her if she attacked anyone in the army, but this... I never even considered she'd do something like this... I didn't know she even knew where babies came from!

Selena: Oh I'm sure that's going to be a huge comfort to Kaze!

Dakota: Selena...

Selena: ...So what're we going to do about Peri? We're locking her up, right?

Dakota: ...Yes. That's probably for the best. She's proven to be more of a liability than an asset at this point. Nobody in the army will feel safe anymore unless she's behind bars. Then after the war's over, we'll figure something else out.

Xander: What!? No! Dakota-

Selena: Xander, what the hell is wrong with you!? She just raped one of our teammates! We can't let her run free!

Xander: She doesn't understand that it's wrong!

Selena: She doesn't understand that anything is wrong, Xander! She's batshit insane!

Xander: I know that! You think I don't know that!?

Selena: YES! I DO! Why else would you have ever made her your retainer!? This was always going to happen, Xander, all we can do is put her in jail and make sure she doesn't screw up her own kid!

Xander: I can't do that, Selena!

Selena: WHY THE HELL NOT!?

Xander: BECAUSE SHE'S FAMILY!

Dakota: …

Selena: …

Xander: ...She's just as much a part of the family as Dakota is.

Dakota: ...What the hell do you mean by that?

Xander: It was seventeen years ago. I was seven. Leo had just been born. I was just starting my training with the sword under my teacher, Denning. But I hated having to use the wooden training swords. I wanted a real one. I was a stupid, impatient, spoiled child and I did a stupid, impatient, spoiled and childish thing: I snuck into the armory and grabbed a real sword, a sword bigger than I was, and I started swinging it around. ...And of course, being an idiot child, I inevitably fumbled with it and fell flat on my back. The sword fell and nearly cut my right wrist clean off.

Selena: ...What the hell does that have to do with-

Xander: One hour. That was how long it took for Denning to find me, for him and his knight company to ride me back to the castle, and for the finest healers all of Nohr had to offer to fix my hand. And as fate would have it, it was the same hour that a band of marauders saw fit to attack a nearby village. We returned to the outpost far too late to stop it. We barely returned in time to see the smoldering glow of what remained of the village's houses from the lookout tower. ...Denning brought me along to give me a firsthand lesson in what kinds of consequences actions can have. The devastation was total. There were no survivors. Or so they said. My innocent seven-year-old self refused to believe it. I ran around the entire village, calling out, looking for survivors. ...And against all odds, I eventually found two. A terrified young woman, emerging from her hiding place within a pile of corpses, covered from head to toe in blood... and the tiny little girl, no more than a year old and just as bloody, bundled up in the woman's arms.

Dakota: …

Xander: The woman wasn't long for this world. She barely managed to hand the little girl to me before collapsing dead on the ground. The little girl wasn't faring much better. Her breathing was shallow. Maybe she was sick, maybe she had breathed in too much smoke... I was a child, I had no idea. I couldn't think of anything else to do but run to tell Denning. All I could think to myself was that I had to save her, I had do something to keep myself from failing that village completely. ...So we rode back to Castle Krakenburg again. I was supposed to spend the next year at that outpost without returning to the castle once, and yet there we were, returning to the castle for the second time that day. Miraculously, Garon never found out. He had been away that day.

Dakota: What happened next?

Xander: The royal healers did everything they could for her, but it wasn't enough. Nobody could tell what was killing her, it seemed like all manner of things at once. The healers were at a complete loss. ...So I turned to my stepmother, Anastasia. Leo and Elise's mother, and a brilliant and gifted sorceress. Cunning and ambitious enough to win Garon's interest and favor... but also very kind, and never saw Camilla, Azura, or me as anything less than family. She took pity on the small girl I brought before her and made it her mission to keep that child from dying at all costs. She set her most trusted dark mages to work on a secret project, raiding the libraries and combing the shelves for anything that could possibly save the girl. ...And eventually they succeeded. And at first, it looked like there hadn't been any side-effects besides turning her auburn hair as blue as the Hoshidan sky. And so Denning, feeling that whatever his excuse, it was his company of knights that had failed her, took the girl in and raised her as his own.

Selena: ...Let me guess... he named her Peri?

Xander: Yes. I... grew very attached to her during my years training under Denning. I visited her and played with her every day. That adorable, glowing smile of hers... I'll never forget that heartwarming sight... it wasn't long before she was as dear to me as any of my other siblings... and everything seemed fine... until she grew old enough to walk and talk. And then it rapidly became apparent that there was something very wrong with her. What Denning initially saw as a born natural talent for combat soon turned out to be something far darker, and his countless efforts to instill some discipline in her only made her more dangerous. She had killed her first man at the age of six, and no matter how many years passed... no matter how much growing up I did in those eleven years... the only things that ever matured about her were her body and her talent in the arts of hurting people. And yet Denning never stopped loving her. ...I never stopped loving her. Denning kept making excuses for her... and I kept believing them, even as the knights who served under him stopped believing them, and some even abandoned him.

Dakota: ...

Xander: ...And then, three years ago, I received a letter from Denning, telling me he was dying. I came to his deathbed, and he begged me to take her in, to do something with her, or else she would surely find herself in an asylum or dungeon. He couldn't bear that, and he knew I couldn't either... I couldn't think of anything to do but make her my retainer. Garon had no objections. None at all. ...I thought perhaps if I gave her an outlet... if I could just make sure her... inclinations... were directed at the right targets... perhaps she could live a long and happy life without the world suffering for it.

Selena: ...Xander...

Xander: ...I can fix this. I'll just make sure she knows not to do this anymore. And then I'll make sure of anything else that she might-

Selena: Xander... No. I'm sorry, but you can't keep protecting her like this. It doesn't matter how much you care about her... she's dangerous, and she's proved that far too many times already. If even you can't keep her under control... I don't think there's anything anyone can do for her.

Xander: ...I...

Dakota: I don't know what to tell you, Xander. But right now I think the priority is securing the child and seeing what the damage is.

Xander: ...Of course. Even though the children skip through their earliest years, they still know all the things a child would learn growing up. They must get it from their parents somehow. Which means that even without any contact with Peri, her child might wind up just as unwell as she is. ...We have to make sure the child doesn't hurt anyone.

Dakota: My thoughts exactly.

...Ugh. Why did this have to happen now!?

...Anyway, about two hours after the child was born, we went to her deeprealm to speak with the people who took care of watching over her in her accelerated state of aging. ...They must have some very interesting stories to tell, watching children grow up in an hour right before their eyes. We sent Xander in ahead of us to watch over the little girl, in case she turned out to be dangerous. But it seems there was no need to worry. The people told us all sorts of adorable stories about how sweet the little girl proved herself to be in just an hour. In fact, shortly after her aging stabilized, the little girl decided she wanted to do something for all of us and sallied forth with Xander to hunt down some extremely rare herbs she had been imbued by West Dakota's magic with knowledge of.

Look at her. Look at that adorable face.

And goodness! An apothecary with that sort of personal skill? Oh I've got quite a plan for her in this army. And she won't even have to fight.

...Unfortunately, a band of thieves has stolen the precious dragon herbs. Xander managed to shelter her and get her to safety, thankfully... but those are dragon herbs. We're getting those things back.

This seems fairly straightforward: we have to defeat her before she reaches the exit to the woods. She's gotten a sizeable head start on us, but we have access to several shortcuts. So many, in fact, that we may be able to afford to draw this out for as long as possible to milk this training opportunity to its limit. This has been a huge clusterfuck, and I am going to do everything in my power to make sure it at least vaguely resembles being worth it when we're done. I plan to get two levels, and I plan to give Laslow as many levels as he can get. Replicate would be obscenely useful to have sooner rather than later.

Here's my setup.

Begin.

First objective is getting rid of these guys. I'm going to have Laslow clear out these starting enemies and see if I can't bait these paladins to their deaths on counter-attack.

But first...

...There we go!

Yep, this is really all this little girl is going to have to do to make herself useful. Once she uses those goddess icons and boosts her luck to 39, she has about a 60% chance per each of the first 7 rounds of combat of earning us 300 gold, meaning that on average, she will net us 1.2k per battle, which is not an insignificant amount of extra spending money!

Right, now to take care of these guys.

And we're ready for their next move!

Three levels to go before replicate.

I'm planning on letting Candace get a little bit further ahead before taking this path. There's no serious rush, and I don't want to risk her attacking me and ending the entire battle if I burn away the forest and plug up the hole in advance.

Also... it only took two of those goddess icons for her to hit her luck cap. However, this just means her output rate will only be 8% less than what I thought.

Time to bait the level 14 malig knight up there before working out what to do next.

What happens next is that the little girl gets her first gold bar...

...And I burn up the trees and plug up the bottleneck. Either Candace will attack, in which case I'm reasonably confident I'll leave her alive, or, more likely, she'll keep running away like a coward. Her associates likely won't though, and I'll get even closer to finally being able to return to Nohr noble.

One more level, War Journal. One. More. Level.

Advancement turns out to be trivially straightforward. It's been a while since I've fought battles this easy. Honestly I can just brute force and bait my way through this with little trouble. There aren't even any status staff users. One of the strategists didn't even have a weapon!

This is really the closest thing to a dangerous situation I'm finding myself in.

...And even then it was pretty easy to solve.

Alright. We're almost out of shortcuts. Now, I could try to take her out here and now and be done with it...

...Or I could buy some time to get some more experience by blocking off her only path...

...And forcing her to go allllllll the way around the bend again. Of course there is the chance she might snap and attack me, but I think it's worth it since the alternative is cutting it short anyway.

Two more levels before we get the ultimate lord of the dance...

...And the ploy worked! She runs to take the long way around rather than face me. Smart girl.

Now to play with her hopes and dreams by moving back and forth between covering the exit and not covering it, while the rest of my forces take care of the remaining enemies.

Meanwhile Xander stands by to plug up this end just in case she gets the bright idea to escape through the way we came in. Also, maybe he'll have the chance to fight the rear reinforcements.

...Unfortunately, I failed to give her a viable path out this time due to defensively plugging up a bottleneck with Laslow, and the thought of escaping the way we came didn't occur to her, so she attacks me.

Ultimately I decide I'm done toying with her, and I finally ascend to level 15!

...Extremely anticlimactically.

Uh... LOOK! I'm Quixotic now!

Aaaaand done! Ah, that was nice and relaxing, though hardly mentally invigorating. Now... where were we?

...Oh. Right. That.

Nnnnnnnnnghhhhh. ...This is going to be... unpleasant.

Xander: Dakota... your guess was correct. Just like all of the other children born from West Dakota, she instinctively knows the identity of one of her parents. And like in every case but Kana's... it's the father. And the name she gave, and the man she described... was Kaze.

Kaze: ...So... she's mine. ...I should have known. How could that have possibly been a hangover? ...I don't even drink.

Xander: Kaze... words cannot express my remorse for what my negligence has put you though. I only hope you can forgive me, or, failing that, put up with my presence long enough for us to save the world.

Dakota: We'll have Peri detained immediately, of course.

Xander: …

Selena: Xander...

Xander: ...Of course.

Kaze: ...Thank you.

Dakota: We'll work out the specifics of how to deal with her later, but for now I can say you won't need to worry about her doing anything like this again. As for the child...

Kaze: ...I'll take care of her.

Xander: ...What?

Kaze: She's my daughter, she's my responsibility.

Selena: That's not how it works, Kaze! You didn't ask for this, nobody could ever ask you to-

Kaze: Nevertheless, she is my responsibility. ...In any other circumstance, yes... I would put her up for adoption.

That's odd... what was that look on Selena's face right then? Right there, as he said that... what the hell was that look she just gave?

Kaze: ...if she were still a child. If she could properly bond with anyone but me. But these are not normal circumstances. She's already 12, she already knows my name... she already loves me... the magic of West Dakota has already primed and prepared her for a happy life with me as her father. You're suggesting I take that away from her. That is the alternative here. And look at her. Look at her, all of you. She's sweet, she's kind, she's adorable, she's brave, she's smart, she's clever... she's everything I could ever possibly ask for in a daughter. How could I... how could I possibly look that sweet child in the eyes and tell her I don't want her just because she was forced on me? Because of something that's not her fault? ...I can't do that, everyone. I defy you to find me someone who could.

Selena: …

Xander: ...Very well. Then I suppose you should go over there and fill her in on what's going on.

Kaze: Yes. I will do that.

...Huh.

I wasn't expecting that. Selena just walked up to Kaze, with... what I think are tears in her eyes... and just... hugged him.

Kaze: Selena!?

Selena: Sniff... Sorry... I... I don't know what came over me. I... ...sorry. Ahem!

...Anyway, Kaze wound up naming the girl Midori. An odd name choice, considering there's almost nothing green about her, not even her eyes... but I suppose it's his choice. The initial impressions seem to be panning out: there's absolutely nothing wrong with her, she seems like a perfectly healthy and normal little girl.

...She still hasn't asked who her mother is.

...That's probably for the best.

Putting Peri in West Dakota's prison was... less than pleasant, shall we say. Despite Xander assuring me that she had been punished before whenever she did something wrong, the concept of facing consequences for her actions still seemed entirely alien to her, and she kept shouting and crying and calling out to Xander.

...Xander's definitely seen better days, all told. And he's not the only one. It's amazing how much sympathy a sociopath is capable or garnering when they look and act like Peri does. More than half of the people on guard duty aren't entirely at ease with my decision to keep her locked up. They know she's dangerous, they know she would kill them if they gave her the chance just to get the keys to her cell, but they still feel gross about the whole thing, like they're incarcerating an innocent little girl. Xander keeps visiting her, but there's very little he can really say to her. She still doesn't have any concept of why she's in trouble.

...Gods damn it, can we just get back to my grand master plan to overthrow Garon? That was simple compared to this.

...Well, I guess that's what we'll be doing tomorrow.

...Until then, War Journal.

Edited August 24, 2016 by Alastor15243

sirmola · May 17, 2016

...Alright, sorry for the delay.

Honestly I don't know how I feel about this entry. There are parts of it I love... and parts of it I hate. I had to improvise the whole thing out of whole cloth because I was an idiot and didn't think through the implications of a gameplay decision that would have story significance.

I've been stalling on it for too long, and I can't let myself get caught up in the details forever, so even though I'm not entirely pleased with it, I'm going to post this to get on with the fun stuff.

...Anyway, I hope you enjoy.

I persoaly think that its quite good. I really can't tell that you improvised at all. (although now there is a subplot about peri that i hope you can tie up in the third route)

Alastor15243 · May 18, 2016

I persoaly think that its quite good. I really can't tell that you improvised at all. (although now there is a subplot about peri that i hope you can tie up in the third route)

I'll do my best with that, mostly I'm hoping that something that comes up in Revelation gives me an idea. Thanks for the feedback, I appreciate it, I was kinda worried about this one.

Anyway, this is it. The final stretch. Time to begin the advance on the capitol.

Stay tuned.

Edited May 18, 2016 by Alastor15243

Alastor15243 · May 20, 2016

Tried out five hour energy for the first time to compensate for a lack of sleep last night.

Protip: NEVER DO THAT. You will not be able to get anything done, it will just make you extremely dizzy.

Expect Entry 24 in the next couple of days, possibly tomorrow.

Alastor15243 · May 21, 2016

Entry 24

Dear War Journal,

It would appear that despite the warp children being a product of West Dakota's magic, West Dakota is only just now catching onto the fact that when a child is warp-born, it is in fact still their birthday. Midori's was celebrated and despite everyone being partied out from last night and despite the rather unpleasant circumstances regarding her birth, a sort of mini-party was thrown for her anyway.

She got a stat surge that improves luck. Sweet! Also, I gave her a pink beret as a present.

…

Oh Midori. Never change.

Speaking of boosted luck, my luck has finally, finally turned around with the lottery, and I got two gold prizes back to back! The first will be handy when I finally get the nerve to seriously crack into the stat boosters that I've been hoarding, and the second, well, it's basically the only silver weapon that's remotely worth using, even if it's outclassed in its purpose by the caltrops I have.

Anyway, I'm back in Nohr noble, ready to play the part of the megalomaniacal supervillainess in the magnificently trampy outfit.

I found another berserker axe, so I forged it with Camilla's to make a new one.

Once Kana and I get Nohrian Trust, I have quite a few good friendship babies to choose from, including this excellent one I just got. Fighters give great pair-up bonuses for all-out assaults. I am totally prepared to lunge all-out at Garon with this guy at my side. It's occurred to me that I don't even need the specific combination of Dragon Fang and Astra, since I can simply load up Rend Heaven and Dragon Fang rather than Rend Heaven and Luna. So I'm switching completely to making these guys with Luna and Astra so that Kana and I have access to the same friendship babies.

...Also, I've decided that the time to break into the stat boosters is at least partially now. I've finally snapped at Arthur's screwed speed and decided to do something about it by giving him both of my speedwings, bringing his natural speed from 18 to 22. Combined with meals, the occasional tonic and Laslow's rallies, that should be plenty to double most of our current foes. Hopefully his speed continues its recent trend of recovering from its initial screwage, but it was too far behind for me to keep counting on growths, I had to intervene.

...Right, let's see... Hm? Oh! It's Kaze, Laslow and Midori!

Laslow: Well hello there, young lady!

Midori: Hi there, Mister Laslow!

Laslow: And a very happy birthday to you!

Midori: Thank you!

Laslow: And how exactly do you plan on spending this lovely day?

Midori: Father and I were planning to head into the woods to find some herbs! Right Father?

Kaze: Mmhm.

Laslow: Again? But that's how you started the day!

Midori: It's fun!

Laslow: I'm sure it is, but have you even met any of the other kids yet? You're eleven years old, young lady, I think it's high time you started making some friends! Percy and Kana and Velouria are out playing in the field! Maybe you should say hi to them, I'm sure they'd love to meet you!

Midori: ...I don't know... What do you think, Father?

Kaze: ...Now that he says it, I think Laslow has the right of it.

Midori: …

Kaze: ...Do want me to come with you?

Midori: ...No, Father, don't worry, I can do it on my own!

Kaze: Very well. Let me know how it goes!

Midori: Roger!

Kaze: …

Laslow: ...Such a sweet child.

Kaze: ...You don't know the half of it. She tried to get me to go back to bed after we got back just so she could serve me breakfast in bed. On her birthday.

Laslow: ...Kids are the best. ...Y'know, nothing beats making them laugh. Back when I was fifteen, whenever the local kids all started crying, well, I had this trick where I'd start dancing and then pretend to trip during a complicated dance move, and then I'd flip five times in the air before pratfalling.

Kaze: ...Why were all the local kids crying?

Laslow: Ah, see, that, my friend... that's, sort of... complicated. ...So how're you holding up? I mean, after... y'know.

Kaze: ...I'm fine. I'll still be able to do whatever Lady Dakota requires of me for the mission.

Laslow: ...Just keep this in mind: You haven't lost anything that you can't get back in time.

Kaze: Laslow, I appreciate it, I really do, but I think I'm going to be fine.

Laslow: Are you sure?

Kaze: Yes. Honestly, I can't remember any of it, and even if I could... well let's just say being a former prisoner of Nohr wasn't exactly pleasant. I'm a soldier at the end of the day. I'm used to suffering for a cause.

Laslow: ...If anything changes, I just want you to know... I'm always here if you need to talk to somebody.

Kaze: ...Thank you. ...Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to keep an eye on my daughter.

Laslow: She said she'd be fine.

Kaze: I'll be discreet.

Laslow: What, riding one of these things?

Kaze: You underestimate me.

...Huh.

...Anyway, War Journal, it's time to storm Fort Jinya. Once we pierce this defensive formation, we'll be in the heart of Hoshido and the center of its power. Everything is going to become an uphill battle from here. But thankfully through some strategic misdirection I've managed to mislead the Hoshidan forces into thinking I'll be making my strike from a completely different fort, so we won't be facing the best they have to offer immediately.

...Here goes nothing, War Journal.

Alastor15243 · May 21, 2016

[spoiler=???]

Research Log

Final Entry

I successfully arrived at Fort Jinya yesterday and procured the necessary supplies for the ritual from Fort Jinya's stockpile, but I was dangerously close to being too late. The warning horns started blaring mere minutes ago. The intelligence reports expected Sister's forces to attack a completely different location. We're isolated from the main forces. They say the closest reinforcements are a day's ride away at the earliest.

...Which means that if I'm going to do this, it's now or never.

General Raiden tried to get me to retreat, but I can't. I'm the only one who can start the ritual or keep it going. And this has to be the way we win the war, it just has to be.

...If something goes horribly wrong...

Sakura: ...Kino, Kina, are you both getting all of this?

Kina: Yes, milady.

Kino: With the stuttering edited out, as always.

Sakura: Good. Thank you.

...If something goes horribly wrong... Ryoma, Takumi, Hinoka, please, I beg of you, do not blame yourselves for whatever might happen here, and do not give in to your grief. I need you to be strong. I went behind your backs to do this because I believed... I believe it is the right thing to do.

The notes have been fully deciphered, the pylons have been assembled, the correct incenses have been gathered for all of them... everything. It all comes down to how careful and thorough I've been. If I've done everything properly, then within the hour, the war will be over, the senseless death and bloodshed will finally end, and Dakota and Azura will finally be saved. If not...

...I've been wrestling with self-doubt all morning, but I've had to fight back those thoughts. I've done my checking, my double-checking, my triple-checking, my quadruple-checking, but none of that can change the fact that I still don't have a clue how the spell actually works, only what Mother's notes say as to how to cast it. It's taken everything I have simply to gather that much. And so this entire plan is banking on me getting everything perfect without forgetting a single detail. I'll be honest... I'm scared. And yet... there's no more time left for doubt. Nohr's army is at our door, and I'm the only one who can stop this war once and for all before it truly begins. ...I've lost my mother already. I'm not losing anyone else!

Hana: Lady Sakura!

Sakura: Hana! Subaki! Is everything ready?

Subaki: The soldiers have erected Fort Jinya's signature defensive walls and shuriken launchers. Mikoto's Four High Maidens are on hand to assist you in the ritual. The Pylons are erected and ready to be ignited.

Sakura: Thank you, both of you... I couldn't possibly ask for better retainers.

...This is it. Time to address the troops. ...No turning back now.

Sakura: Soldiers of Hoshido, lend me your ears! The Nohrian vanguard is at our door and prepared to destroy everything we hold dear! King Garon has shown himself to be beyond the grasp of pity or reason, and the wounded hearts that cry out for blood and vengeance for what he has done to us grow louder and more plentiful by the day! But I urge all of you to remember something vitally important: That is not who are are! That is not, nor has it ever been, what we stand for! What Garon intends to do to us is surely what he has already done to his own people, and if we give in to our righteous fury and walk the path of the blade, we will forever stain the fields of our beloved homeland with the blood of the frightened and the desperate! We will forever tarnish and surrender our most sacred values forever, and lower the moral standards of the future forevermore! AND I REFUSE TO WIN THAT WAY! We will win this the Hoshidan way! The late queen's way! My mother's way! We have here today a chance to do exactly what our great and righteous leader would have done were she still with us, may the gods rest her soul, and on my honor as a princess of Hoshido, I WILL TAKE THAT CHANCE! All of you, please! Lend me your strength and your courage for one final stand, and I promise, the sun will rise tomorrow on a new era of peace!

(Cheers from the crowd)

Sakura: …

Subaki: That was... incredible, milady. Did you prepare that in advance?

Sakura: No... I just tried to think of what mother would say.

Hana: I'm sure she's watching you right now, milady, and I know she's proud of you.

Sakura: ...Thank you. Both of you.

Yukimura: Lady Sakura!

Sakura: Yukimura!?

Yukimura: What on earth are you doing here!? You were supposed to stay at the castle!

Sakura: I...

Yukimura: Don't tell me this is about Mikoto's shroud of peace!

Sakura: Yes! It is! Why don't you understand!? We have to do this!

Yukimura: I told you already, it's out of the question!

Sakura: The second we get it up, from the Bottomless Canyon to the Sea of the Sun, every single person without eastern blood will be made incapable of fighting! This is what we should have done from the beginning! The entire reason Mother was killed was to take it down! This war can't keep happening if we put it back up! We can win today! We can win now!

Yukimura: Sakura, I told you, it's impossible! Your mother was a spiritual genius the likes of which this world had never seen! Even the Four High Maidens, the elite priestesses she entrusted with the ritual, couldn't understand any of the high concepts she was working with!

Sakura: I've already deciphered her notes, and the Four High Maidens are here. They are with me in this. Everything is ready, there is no reason not to try!

Yukimura: ...You've what?

Sakura: You're right, she was brilliant. I could never begin to understand how the spell works. But we know that it does, and I've figured out how to do it again! All we need is some time to prepare the pylons and bind the shield to my life force and then the war is over!

Yukimura: ...Princess... forgive me for ever doubting you. You are truly your mother's daughter. Had I any idea you were capable of this I would have stood by you and supported your proposal before.

Sakura: That's okay, Yukimura.

Yukimura: ...But tell me... how do you plan to stop Dakota? The shroud will not stop her, she's of eastern blood.

Sakura: ...It won't need to. Once the shield is up, and all of the Nohrians are incapacitated, whatever hold they have on her and Azura and Kaze will be over. She won't have to fight anymore.

Yukimura: ...You still believe in her? After all the lives she's taken? After the way she's taken them? After the Hoshidan forces she's routed and slaughtered!? After what she did in the wind tribe territory!? Sakura, how can you not see that she's a mon-!?

Sakura: DON'T YOU DARE CALL HER THAT! YOU DIDN'T SEE WHAT I SAW!

Yukimura: Milady...

Sakura: It was just after Dakota rescued me from those faceless and came back to the castle with us. There was this moment where Mother and I were showing her around the castle, and... I know she seems cold, Yukimura, but right when Mother hugged her, all of that broke down... she looked right at me, without meaning to, and... her eyes... the look in her eyes when Mother hugged her... no monster could have eyes like that. I don't know how, I don't know why, but I know there's something going on here we're not seeing! I don't know what they threatened her with, or who she's trying to protect, but she must have a good reason for what she's doing! She's not doing this because she wants to, I'll bet my life on it!

Yukimura: ...Let us assume that is true. Suppose she's being brainwashed? You could be right about her and yet she could still be made to attack us.

Sakura: ...What do you suggest?

Yukimura: I have Reina and Orochi with me. We can give Reina a spy's yumi and some skill infusions. We can have them stand by inside the fort. After the ritual is complete, if Dakota still takes up arms against us, Reina can weaken her from afar with poison and speed and resistance sealing, and then we can have Orochi capture her.

Sakura: ...Alright. Thank you, Yukimura. ...Also... if something goes horribly wrong... Kino, can you give Yukimura your copy?

Kino: Of course.

Sakura: Thank you. Yukimura, if I fail... we must make sure we have a second chance at this. This is all of my research, if my siblings get this, they might be able to try this again. Can you send someone to take my notes to my siblings?

Yukimura: ...I swear it will be done, milady.

Sakura: ...Good.

Yukimura: ...I'll get things ready then. By your leave.

Hana: ...You really think Dakota's still on our side?

Sakura: Yes. But don't you dare go easy on her! I need you both to give this everything you've got! Nobody's been able to stop her army yet, nobody's even been able to put a single dent in it, she's outsmarted everyone at every turn! If you hold back on her, something terrible could happen, and I can't bear to lose you any more than I can bear to lose her or Azura! Everything depends on this spell, and until that can go off, I need you to try your hardest to slow her down! That's the only way we'll get everyone out of here alive! Understood?

Subaki: ...You've requested perfection, milady. I can deliver nothing less.

Hana: Don't worry, Sakura, I'm not dying here! Nobody is!

Sakura: Very well. ...Thank you, both of you. You... you both mean so much to me... I can't tell you how thankful I am to have you both as retainers and friends.

Soldier: Lady Sakura! Dakota's forces have been sighted! They're at the gates!

Sakura: Very well. All troops! Prepare for our final battle!

Edited August 8, 2016 by Alastor15243

BaconBuster · May 22, 2016

oh deng

dis gon be good

Alastor15243 · May 23, 2016

Entry 24 Cont.

Excellent! The misdirection paid off! The royals are elsewhere! We can pierce through the country's defenses and make our way straight to the capitol from here.

Oh, also, uh ahem...

(Dakota swings her sword in a figure eight)

EXCELLENT! See, Leo made yet another improvement to you, War Journal! Now any conversations I record in you will be accompanied by “stage directions” if you will, describing significant actions being performed. It seems to work perfectly! It's not exactly a necessary addition, but I had Leo work on it anyway because honestly I don't want to have to personally narrate every significant action that goes on around me, seriously, that was getting annoying.

Anyway...

We were sighted, but they didn't have enough time to erect anything but the fort's usual defenses. The enemies here are perfect, strong enough to give decent training, but not so powerful as to be significantly dangerous. There are no terrifying skill combinations like the last two battles either. This should be a breeze-

Sakura: BIG SISTER!

Dakota: Sakura!?

What!? I have to FIGHT her!? I... what!? I didn't... but Elise didn't... Why the hell is she fighting!?

Dakota: ...Oh! Look! It's, uh...

(Dakota elbows Leo)

Leo: OW! ...What!?

Dakota: (Hissing) Help me. I can't think of a good insult.

Leo: (Hissing) Seriously!? You do this all the time!

Dakota: (Hissing) NOT TO CHILDREN! I'm drawing a total blank!

Leo: (Hissing) I don't know, go for her stutter or something!

Dakota: (Hissing) But that's mean!

Leo: (Hissing) It's an insult! It's supposed to be mean!

Dakota: (Whispering) Yeah, I know, but... she looks like a stiff breeze would make her cry!

Leo: (Hissing) Then why do you want to insult her!?

Sakura: ...I knew it.

Hm? why would she say that? Oh dear. This could be a problem. Come on, Dakota, think!

Dakota: Princess Sakura! In the name of the glorious King Garon I hereby sentence you and all those brazen enough to follow you to a gruesome and bloody death! Fighting is futile, but then, so is surrender, so I suppose you might as well kick and scream a bit if you feel like being a whiny crybaby! Which, let's be honest, is pretty likely!

Sakura: ...It's alright, Dakota. I understand. Keep doing what you feel you have to. Keep protecting whoever you're trying to protect. Dakota... Azura... Kaze... I promise... with all of my might, with all of my soul...

Sakura: ...I will save you, and I will bring you home! All troops! Hold the line! Fight with everything you have! I won't let a single person die here today!

...Wow. Someone's fired up. Anyway, this battlefield actually looks pretty annoying. Ugh. Are those shuriken turrets? So basically, unavoidable debuffs? Damn it. At least they're not overly accurate, but still...

This battle is going to revolve around dragon veins by the looks of it. We'll have to divide our forces into two groups to make sure we can properly navigate this maze. Thankfully Sakura's totally walled herself in so we won't have to worry about what she can do to-

...Sakura? What's that you've got behind your back? Is that a dragon vein, Sakura? ...Oh dear. I have no idea what this means, but I'm thinking I should not depend on those walls to protect me too much.

...Right. Basically I put my slowest main units on the east side with Laslow, bringing Xander along to ensure the east side has a solid tank...

...And the west side will consist of the dragon-doggy family, Azura, Dwyer, and Midori. Midori I'm hoping to get a few battles with so she can reach B rank in bows and thus equip a +5 luck bow I found lying around.

Both sides have rescue rods on their healers so that if anyone's direly needed on the other side, we'll be able to make that happen. Anyway... let's do this.

Begin.

First priority: Have the toughest fighter I have trigger the first dragon vein just in case there's something I'm not grasping about how they work.

...Nope, they seem to work just as advertised.

So the east side moves up to bait the two onmyoji on the other side of this wall. Sadly Leo's not strong enough to one-round them unless he gets a lucky critical, but Leo needs training and this is a good opportunity.

Meanwhile Kana, rallied up and supported by Midori (who still got to pick up a gold bar this round thanks to some help from Azura), prepares to bait and hex these two oni chieftains to pick off next round.

Leo is now fast enough (with +8 from Felicia pair up and Laslow's dancing) to double onmyoji with Brynhildr, so I have Elise swap his weapons while she heals him.

The oni chieftains are down, and now Midori goes in to bait the one blacksmith with the throwing club.

Meanwhile, I trigger the dragon vein to let the eastern force ambush those creepy puppets.

…Damn it, this is the second time Camilla's risked low-rate crits. I think it's because she never goes in guard stance and enemy crit rates are starting to catch up. Thankfully nothing happened, but still, scary. And yet this was basically my best option.

Leo continues to catch up to the others at a delicious rate.

The western division advances...

...the next eastern dragon vein is secured.

...I suppose at least this is the stat he needs the most of right now. At least there's that.

Anyway, Elise got Rally Resistance, finally, so we have this skill back in our main group now.

And with the third level in Nohr noble achieved, Velouria can finally go back to her favorite class.

...Of course there are reinforcements. Just because they won't get support from the outside for a long time doesn't mean they have to put all of their forces out in the open. Suspecting the same will happen soon on the other side, I have my western forces retreat a bit before taking on the next big group run by Hana. Velouria class-changes back to wolfssegner.

...The crown doesn't really go with the hood, but we'll deal with that later.

I have a rallied-up Leo deal with these three onmyoji.

Yes! Finally, Midori can use Anna's bow, whoever that is.

...And instead of sending reinforcements to the west side... they see fit to send more reinforcements to the east side.

...I could criticize this, but let's be fair: this legitimately caught me off guard.

...Not to the degree that it would be a problem though.

...Sakura still hasn't done anything. I'm getting nervous as to what she's planning to do with that dragon vein there. ...Actually... she doesn't seem to be paying much attention to the battle. What the hell is she up to?

Aha! I just noticed these things! No wonder there were enemies over there! This might make it easier to take out those shuriken launchers. Unfortunately they're only accessible by fliers. But still, gotta keep it in mind.

Hana: My levee's been breached! The enemy will be on us in moments!

Yukimura: Stay on the defensive! Reports say she's cautious to a fault!

Hana: No good, commander, she's sized us up and called our bluff!

Yukimura: ...We have no choice then. Attack!

Sakura: Yukimura, NO! We're trying to survive, not kill them! They might not attack first!

Yukimura: All of Hana's skills depend on going on the offensive!

Sakura: No! We need to draw this out for as long as possible!

Yukimura: Hana! Attack!

Sakura: No! Stand down!

Yukimura: YOU ARE NOT IN CHARGE HERE, PRINCESS, I AM!

Sakura: ...Yukimura?

Yukimura: ...Attack, Hana. That's an order.

Hana: …

Hana: Forgive me, Lady Sakura.

Sakura: HANA! NO!

Hana: So. Here you are.

Dakota: Indeed.

Hana: You're extremely lucky, Dakota. After everything you've done, Sakura still believes in you. She's absolutely certain you can't be the monster you appear to be. ...I don't know how she does it. ...For your sake, I really hope she's right about you! ...But make no mistake! I will not hold back! Prepare yourself!

Hana: ...What!?

Sakura: HAAAANAAAAAAAAA!

Sakura: It... it's a trick... it has to be... she can't really be dead... Focus, Sakura, keep going, it's almost over... just... a little... longer!

...Ugh. Damn it, why is my nerve starting to fail me now? ...Ugh... am I really prepared to look that adorable little girl in the eyes and stab her? ...Damn it all!

Keep moving, Dakota. First let's bait and weaken these guys to prepare to advance.

At the same time, we'll see how serious the debuffs on these launchers are by testing the waters with our dancer.

...We're in luck. The launcher only reduces defensive stats. Unfortunately, it does it by five, so that could be an issue. But it appears to be safe to start baiting those onmyoji at least.

Yukimura: Subaki! Assist with the onmyoji's assault with dual strikes!

Subaki: …At once.

(Subaki moves beside the onmyoji. All of his attacks are dual-guarded by Felicia, and the onmyoji both die to Leo)

Dakota: Seriously!? This is Hoshido's chief tactician!? Do you have any idea what you're doing!?

Yukimura: Gah!

Sakura: SUBAKI!

So sorry, Subaki, not even Aegis can defend against a critical hit from the Justice Beam.

Sakura: ...No... it... this isn't happening...

Right. I'm paranoid about that dragon vein and potential reinforcements, so I have my best tanks move up to take out those launcher operators before continuing.

Unfortunately, I'm silenced by Sakura. I'll have to wait until I can get out of her range before I can take out the western launcher.

And reinforcements finally arrive in the west. Nothing we can't handle though.

I position Laslow to rally Xander and then put Arthur nearby in such a way that this may seem like a tastier target for the eastern launcher operator than Xander is.

Then I send Xander in to take out the central operator. The onmyoji will do some damage, but Xander will survive.

I advance upwards to prepare to take out the launcher once I can speak above a whisper again, while Kana baits the reinforcements.

SHIT! I forgot she has a freeze staff! ...This shouldn't be too major, I can bail him out of this...

On the bright side, the launcher takes the bait as expected.

More reinforcements.

Time to take out this turreteer.

Excellent.

The others have taken out the blacksmiths, but unfortunately Kana's gone a little overboard in Nohr noble and is overdue to switch into basara. Ideally he should hold back and let his sister do most of the heavy lifting so that he can complete his skill loadout faster.

I'm going to wait and see what happens next round, and who Sakura uses a debuff rod on, before I panic and use the rescue on Xander.

The result is that she tries to silence me and miraculously fails.

I can press this advantage to head for that dragon vein and expose the final turret operator on the east side to getting attacked.

Xander advances onto a fort and takes out a puppet, finally unlocking the power of the sun.

Sakura finally springs her trap by re-erecting all of the levees and summoning reinforcements. Those Onmyoji might have been a problem if Sakura's freeze attempt on Xander hadn't failed, but then I could have just used a rescue charge.

Anyway, the last launcher is down.

Velouria prepares to take a bite out of the blacksmiths.

Alright, more reinforcements are coming, including possibly a replacement turret operator. Damn it. Anyway, gotta get Xander well clear of those onmyoji and the falcon knights with bolt naginatas. Rescue time!

Xander's successfully been extracted, time to take out these falcon knights before the onmyoji get in range.

As for the west side...

...We're doing just fine.

AT LAST!

...Ugh. This would be so much easier with Azura over there. If only... wait...

YES! THANK YOU! I AM SO GLAD I WASN'T PROMPTED TO SWITCH OUT A SKILL, BECAUSE I PROBABLY WOULD HAVE REMOVED THIS ONE!

Muuuch better! Take it away, Leo!

Alright, looks like the path is clear!

Sakura: Gods... no... please... just a few more seconds...

Sakura: JUST A FEW MORE SECONDS, I BEG OF YOU! PLEASE! I'M SO CLOSE!

Damn it. I just barely missed Yukimura, and the little worm of a “tactician” ran way away on that mount he is wholly unworthy of.

Run away, little man. Go lead another force incompetently. I welcome it.

Sakura: Almost there...

Sakura: SISTER! PLEASE! STOP! JUST ONE MORE SECOND AND YOU'LL BE FREE!

(Dakota puts down her sword)

Dakota: What's all this? What are you on about? Do you honestly think I'm not-

Sakura: ...THERE!

(Four bright purple lights from inside the fort Jinya erupt and pierce the sky)

Sakura: ...Thank... thank the gods... it's over now, Dakota. I've just cast the spell... the one that Mother used... to protect Hoshido... Garon... and all the other Nohrians... they can't fight anymore. Please, if they haven't brainwashed you... if they're controlling you some other way... please... lay down your sword. You d-don't... you d-don't have to... do... d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-

Dakota: ...Sakura?

(Leo picks up a massive scroll lying on the floor and begins reading the end of it)

Sakura: D-don't... do... what... what's... why... why aren't any of the Nohrians collapsing...? What... why do I feel s-so...

(purple flames erupt at Sakura's feet and rapidly consume her body)

Sakura: AAAAAAH! WHAT... WHAT'S HAPPENING TO ME!?

Dakota: SAKURA!

Quick, gotta get her in the time capsule until we can figure out what the hell is wrong with-

Leo: DAKOTA! DON'T!

Sakura: Hurk!

(Dakota stabs Sakura through the stomach)

Leo: NO!

Sakura: B... b-big... sister...?

(Sakura screams as black flames snake around and pierce her body. She fully erupts in purple flames that get brighter and brighter as she continues to scream in agony until nothing can be seen but a column of eldritch fire raging... until finally it weakens and dies)

Dakota: …

Leo: …

Xander: …

Elise: …

Camilla: …

Azura: …

Dakota: Leo... what was that? WHAT JUST HAPPENED!?

Leo: Dakota, we need to get back to West Dakota. Now.

War Journal, I have no idea what just happened, but I have never seen Leo look so terrified in his life. What the hell did Sakura try to do!?

(Dakota and the other royals all burst into Lilith's temple. Lilith looks miserable and terrified)

Dakota: Lilith! What hap- …

(Dakota turns to look at the door to the pod room. It's smoking. The faint sound of agonized screams can be heard behind it)

Dakota: What... no...

(Dakota runs to the door)

Lilith: Dakota! NO! SOMEONE STOP HER!

(Xander and Camilla pin Dakota to the ground)

Dakota: SAKURAAAAAAA!

Lilith: There's nothing we can do, Dakota... I'm sorry.

...Something went horribly wrong with the spell Sakura was trying to cast. That scroll Leo picked up was apparently all of her notes. And according to her writings... She tried to cast a spell without understanding anything about how any part of it worked. And when I sent her into the pod chamber... it... had a reaction with Leo's magic... and...

They're dead, War Journal.

All of them.

Every single person whose death we faked.

42 Mokushujin.

38 Nohrian deserters.

28 kitsune.

50 wind tribe soldiers.

357 Hoshidan soldiers.

And one sixteen-year-old princess.

516 people. Five hundred and sixteen people screaming in agony.

I... I couldn't do anything. I couldn't even walk away. I just fell to the ground and listened, paralyzed, to all of their screams.

...Has anyone ever listened to that many screams at once? It's... I can't even begin to describe it. You'd think that they'd all blend together, but... no. No, you can hear every single individual one of them screaming. Feel their unique blend of pain and sorrow as their life is taken from them. I... I... What...

Dakota: ...What have I done?

Leo: …

(Elise is curled up in a ball in the corner, not even able to cry. Camilla is trying to comfort her, but has dead eyes and can't even begin to think of what to tell her)

Dakota: What have I done!?

Leo: ...Dakota... Dakota, this was my fault. I was the one who tried to play god and set this whole thing up. I was certain nothing like this could happen, I was arrogant, and-

Dakota: No, I'm the one who put that burden on you, and I'm the one who didn't listen to you in time-

Leo: Dakota, no, you were just trying to save your sister-

Dakota: NO! WE NEVER EVEN HAD TO DO THIS! All of this happened because I was an idiot! I could've warned the Hoshidans the moment I went back in time! I could've kept Takumi from ever becoming a sleeper agent, and then all of this... none of this would have been necessary... we could have worked with them... but I never even thought to do that! I was too excited to be back with all of you! I was a blind idiot! AN IDIOT! All of this... all of this is my fault... all those people... the kitsune... Sakura...

Leo: ...

Xander: …

Camilla: ...

Elise: …

Xander: ...So. This is where we've wound up. Here we are, almost at our goal... with nothing to show for it. It's as if we were Father's faithful dogs this whole time. And now princess Sakura is dead.

Dakota: …

Xander: Leo... Lilith... can you at least get the pod chamber back up and running again?

Leo: ...No. I'm sorry.

Lilith: There's a limit to what the dragon veins here can do. And one of the veins we used to make that... there was only one of them.

Leo: I couldn't even begin to think of how to set up anything even similar. And even if I could... I don't even know what went wrong this time. It could just as easily happen again. And it was a miracle that Lilith managed to protect West Dakota this time to begin with...

Camilla: ...So... so that's it? After all of that... this is what it's amounted to!?

Xander: ...Dakota... it pains me to say this...

Dakota: …

Xander: ...But I think I speak for everyone when I say that this timeline is completely unsalvageable. Any peace at all is impossible at this point. Even if we stop Father, there's no way we'll be able to do it without destroying Hoshido completely. ...However you went back in time last time... you'll have to do it again. We'll come up with some ways for you to convince our past selves earlier, and then-

Dakota: I can't.

Xander: ...What?

Dakota: I'm sorry, I didn't tell you this because I didn't think it was relevant... but I can't go back in time again. ...Not as long as Garon is still alive.

Lilith: ...That's correct. I'm sorry. There are forces flowing through him that are anchoring time the way it is. As long as he lives and breathes... we're stuck in this timeline.

Elise: (Uncontrollable sobbing)

Camilla: …

Xander: …

Leo: ...Very well. If that's the case... I think our course is clear.

Xander: What?

Leo: If we have to break this world a little more before we can fix it... so be it.

Xander: You can't be suggesting-

Leo: I am, Xander. It's simple. We keep going as if nothing's happened. Destroy the Hoshidan army, secure the throne for Father, activate the chaos surge... and then kill Father so that Dakota can go back in time and find a way to keep this from happening again.

Xander: As if nothing's happened!? We have enough blood on our hands-

Leo: What are you proposing!? That we give up!? Let everyone our arrogance killed stay dead forever, and let our father rule the entire continent with an iron fist!? Desert the army and live on the run, biding our time as fugitives until he dies of old age, and give him enough time to do who knows what!? If you have any alternatives, please, I'm all ears!

Dakota: ...Leo's right. We... we have to get back to the past. Nothing else matters...

Leo: ...Just to be sure... Lilith... once we kill Garon... we will be able to return to the past, correct?

Lilith: ...Dakota will be able to, yes. It has to be her, but yes, Garon's the only one stopping it.

Leo: ...Then as awful as it sounds... this entire world is expendable towards that goal. Whatever Garon's planning, we can't let him get away with it... and we can't let the people who have died so far die in vain.

Elise: …

Camilla: ...Agreed. ...This is our fault. We have to fix this, even if it destroys our souls. We owe it to all of the innocent people we let die.

Azura: Garon must be stopped. I'll do whatever it takes to see that happen.

Dakota: ...Agreed.

...So... there you have it, War Journal. That's...

...That's the new plan.

I...

...Good night, War Journal.

I can't.

I just can't.

Edited May 23, 2016 by Alastor15243

Guardian · May 23, 2016

Sakura, nooooo....

The feels are intensifying, I don't think I can take it ;-;

Also, is this a typo?:

"(Dakota swings his sword in a figure eight)"

Is it supposed to be her instead of him, or was it meant to be like that?

Edited May 23, 2016 by Guardian

Alastor15243 · May 23, 2016

Also, is this a typo?:

"(Dakota swings his sword in a figure eight)"

Is it supposed to be her instead of him, or was it meant to be like that?

Damn it. Thanks for pointing that out, I keep having to correct myself on that since I never managed to stop picturing Dakota's mental voice as male. I knew I would slip up at some point.

Also, could you put your reaction in spoilers? Just in case somebody scrolls a little too far in reading this for the first time.

Edited May 23, 2016 by Alastor15243

sirmola · May 23, 2016

Also, could you put your reaction in spoilers? Just in case somebody scrolls a little too far in reading this for the first time.

I'll addmit this totaly happened to me.

That being said, i perdicted that something like this would happen, because more time travel would need to become necessary.

Screenshot Dakota's War Journal (Semiblind Fire Emblem Fates RP/LP) (Send me your castles!)

LP direction 35 members have voted

1. What should I do about covering the Paralogues?

2. What should I be able to edit about my character in Conquest/Revealtion?

3. Should I use the path bonus items?

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