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Book IV Official Speculation & Discussion Thread


DefyingFates
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2 minutes ago, Othin said:

If we ever get gauntlets, they'll presumably also get added to any physical/melee weapon lists.

Yeah... probably...

They would probably be like normal Brave Weapons, that attack twice in player phase, but don't in enemy phase.

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You know, there was something about book 4 that I really wasn't feeling compared to books 2 and 3, and at first I thought it was just the whole fairy motif being something I'm not into. But I think I figured out why I'm not so much into book 4 as I was with the other two.

Right now, we have no idea where this story is going. There really aren't any stakes that we know of right off the bat, the story hasn't told us who our big bad is and what their plan is, things like that.

Book 2 was pretty straightforward with introducing Surtr early and telling us that he wants to burn Askr to the ground. Book 3 introduced Hel pretty early as well and we know that she wants to kill people living in Askr. We also knew how Fjorm (and Nifl) and Eir fit into the stories of books 2 and 3 (admittedly, not always very well but they still had a connection to the setting or the characters in the world). Book 4 is basically ... people are falling asleep but why? Who's causing it? Are the light elves and dark elves two populations who are at war or some conflict with each other, or are they sort of not supposed to get in each other's way? What is the point of this story? What are we trying to prevent? Who is causing the thing we're trying to prevent? It's just ... I have no investment.

And yeah, I get that stories don't need to reveal their big bad or the big bad's motivations right off the bat. Sometimes it's better if you don't. But FEH has pretty shit pacing with how often (or not often) chapters are released to begin with. So ... giving me nothing to start with isn't really doing the story any favors in my investment level.

I don't know. It just feels like there's no stakes in this plot right now.

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There certainly a lot of Mystery and unanswered questions to this story but from what I can gather just based on the story so far, the promotional video/poster, and Peony's meet the heroes page, I get the feeling that Alfonse and Sharena are gonna get separated at some point. This story seems to be going in the direction of dreams vs reality in the sense that one would rather stay in a happy dream and forget about all the harshness of reality(Peony's meet the hero page leans very heavily into this idea). The story seems to be drawing a lot of differences between the innocence of childhood and the cynical nature of adulthood seeing as how Adults can no longer see into the world of dreams likely due cynicism and disbelief in it. Children, meanwhile, still have that innocent belief and naivete which allows them to dream both in the literal sense and the sense of dreaming about one's goals. Again, a lot of this can be seen when you compare Alfonse and Sharena especially in how they are being depicted in these early chapters. Alfonse is trying think through this logically while Sharena just accepts what happens with her childlike innocence. In that way Sharena and Peony get along much better. Also Sharena is the first to always say they should trust Peony and when you consider what's written on the meet the heroes page. Well it certainly has me raising some eyebrows. 

That's basically everything I've been able to gather from what we've seen so far and you know what? I'm very intrigued to see where this goes.

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28 minutes ago, Sunwoo said:

the story hasn't told us who our big bad is and what their plan is, things like that.

Triandra mentioned her boss once in Chapter 2 but we haven't heard of her since and you're right that Book 4 is keeping things much closer to the chest than others. I just wanted to point that out 😛

Also as you said, not all stories need to set the stakes right away, so I'm willing to give this one some time, partly because of the good will Book 3 earned from me.

Edited by DefyingFates
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14 minutes ago, Sunwoo said:

Right now, we have no idea where this story is going. There really aren't any stakes that we know of right off the bat, the story hasn't told us who our big bad is and what their plan is, things like that.

It is not as dire in terms of casualties and people dying, but the result is still effectively the same in terms of partially shutting down Askr, and eventually fully shutting down the kingdom if the sleep fog keeps spreading.

19 minutes ago, Sunwoo said:

Book 4 is basically ... people are falling asleep but why?

Magic fog that causes sleepiness.

20 minutes ago, Sunwoo said:

What is the point of this story? What are we trying to prevent?

I guess it does sounds kind of lame when the point is to wake people up instead of saving them from dying or slavery unlike Book II and III, but the goal is still saving Askr and try to prevent Askr from collapsing from whatever threat, in this case a magical sleep fog.

Not sure about other questions though.

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Personally, I like the mystery and lower stakes. Leaves more room to wonder what'll happen than "find some way to defeat the immortal leader of the unstoppable army before they kill everyone" which I got tired of quite early into both times we did that.

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1 hour ago, Sunwoo said:

You know, there was something about book 4 that I really wasn't feeling compared to books 2 and 3, and at first I thought it was just the whole fairy motif being something I'm not into. But I think I figured out why I'm not so much into book 4 as I was with the other two.

Right now, we have no idea where this story is going. There really aren't any stakes that we know of right off the bat, the story hasn't told us who our big bad is and what their plan is, things like that.

Book 2 was pretty straightforward with introducing Surtr early and telling us that he wants to burn Askr to the ground. Book 3 introduced Hel pretty early as well and we know that she wants to kill people living in Askr. We also knew how Fjorm (and Nifl) and Eir fit into the stories of books 2 and 3 (admittedly, not always very well but they still had a connection to the setting or the characters in the world). Book 4 is basically ... people are falling asleep but why? Who's causing it? Are the light elves and dark elves two populations who are at war or some conflict with each other, or are they sort of not supposed to get in each other's way? What is the point of this story? What are we trying to prevent? Who is causing the thing we're trying to prevent? It's just ... I have no investment.

And yeah, I get that stories don't need to reveal their big bad or the big bad's motivations right off the bat. Sometimes it's better if you don't. But FEH has pretty shit pacing with how often (or not often) chapters are released to begin with. So ... giving me nothing to start with isn't really doing the story any favors in my investment level.

I don't know. It just feels like there's no stakes in this plot right now.

I'm actually more intrigued by the fact that there's not a clear motive right now.

Book 2 and 3 were obviously more straight-forward with their "conquerors" being obvious from the beginning, but the fact that Book 4 currently has us guessing as to just who is doing what right now is intriguing to me.

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1 minute ago, Sentinel07 said:

I'm actually more intrigued by the fact that there's not a clear motive right now.

Book 2 and 3 were obviously more straight-forward with their "conquerors" being obvious from the beginning, but the fact that Book 4 currently has us guessing as to just who is doing what right now is intriguing to me.

Considering how slow paced story moves and that they have only 13 chapters to wrap things up this could be a very bad thing... in terms of character development. Compared to the other books.

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Again, it's not even that I dislike lower stakes or mystery or buildup to plot in general. It just doesn't work with me when it comes to Heroes and its chapter progression, and it's not as if Heroes is a pinnacle of storytelling anyway. Like ... I'm at the point where nothing they do in the story will ultimately wow me and the chapters progress so slowly anyway I'd rather just know the major points and players right at the forefront.

EDIT: Like ... if all the story chapters were available right from the get-go, I'd have less of an issue with this. I read a 500 page book in an entire day, the same day I got it, because I found everything it had to offer intriguing and couldn't find a good point to let it go until I finished it. I read a 300 page book in two days because while it was intriguing, my need to know what happened didn't overcome the need for sleep and the mystery and action was slower paced than the first one so I didn't feel the need to know immediately.

In Heroes I can't just go through the story. It leaves us hanging for two weeks at the shortest, a month on average, and if we're unlucky ... more than that. So the cliffhangers and mystery and intrigue just come off as very annoying in Heroes format.

Edited by Sunwoo
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4 hours ago, Hilda said:

Considering how slow paced story moves and that they have only 13 chapters to wrap things up this could be a very bad thing... in terms of character development. Compared to the other books.

That is a legit concern, though probably not one we'll be able to judge until we're further in. I'll be satisfied if I get at least a little development for Sharena. I'm not expecting much development on Peony since the "main girls" of these books haven't been the best.

Fjorm really didn't develop much in Book 2, and Book 3 spends more time on Alfonse and Lif while Eir mostly monologues to Kiran.

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1 hour ago, daisy jane said:

I am curious about the sister that Peony mentions when you tap her on the screen....

One of Plumeria's status page quotes is "...S-so dark... Someone... please... Help me...".

I wonder if Plumeria could be Peony's sister, that got corrupted by Freyja? And then, Peony doesn't remember because Freyr maybe erased her memories so she doesn't suffer?

I cannot say the same about Triandra, since we doesn't have many of her quotes, and the ones we have don't give us any information... and she is the one that brings nightmares.

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1 hour ago, Diovani Bressan said:

One of Plumeria's status page quotes is "...S-so dark... Someone... please... Help me...".

I wonder if Plumeria could be Peony's sister, that got corrupted by Freyja? And then, Peony doesn't remember because Freyr maybe erased her memories so she doesn't suffer?

I cannot say the same about Triandra, since we doesn't have many of her quotes, and the ones we have don't give us any information... and she is the one that brings nightmares.

that would be a really good twist. i know someone (a lot of them) think that we won't see a sister, but they tend to do the family theme in FEH a lot

Bruno + Vero
Laev + Laeg and Gunnthra, Ylgr + Fjorm
well theoretically Eir/Hel (not sisters or even mother/daughter but the bond was there)

so i do feel we're GONNA see this sister.  and if it's plumeria so much the better

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2 hours ago, daisy jane said:

that would be a really good twist. i know someone (a lot of them) think that we won't see a sister, but they tend to do the family theme in FEH a lot

Bruno + Vero
Laev + Laeg and Gunnthra, Ylgr + Fjorm
well theoretically Eir/Hel (not sisters or even mother/daughter but the bond was there)

so i do feel we're GONNA see this sister.  and if it's plumeria so much the better

I personally think the sister is going to be Sharena (in a "we're such good friends we're practically sisters!" way) or Triandra (because she and Peony are polar opposites). Still interesting to think about!

And FWIW, Book 3 was also about Alfonse and Sharena's bond in a way, considering Lif's motivation was mostly to bring his sister back to life.

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5 minutes ago, DefyingFates said:

And FWIW, Book 3 was also about Alfonse and Sharena's bond in a way, considering Lif's motivation was mostly to bring his sister back to life.

I hope Book IV has a happier ending.

Book III has a pretty sad ending. Other Lífs never managed to bring their Sharena back and Lífs and Thrasirs all over the multiverse are still left with their dead Zeniths, so it is a huge downer after killing Hel. All he had for comfort was dreaming about our Alfonse triumphing over Hel, and that our Sharena is not dead.

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5 hours ago, XRay said:

I hope Book IV has a happier ending.

Book III has a pretty sad ending. Other Lífs never managed to bring their Sharena back and Lífs and Thrasirs all over the multiverse are still left with their dead Zeniths, so it is a huge downer after killing Hel. All he had for comfort was dreaming about our Alfonse triumphing over Hel, and that our Sharena is not dead.

I think the ending was fitting. Not everyone can or should have a Teletubby-Unicorn-Rainbows-and-Sunshine ending. Lif abandoned his beliefs and was willing to sacrifice another Askr to get his Askr back after he failed at protecting it. I dont think that warrants a happy ending in my eyes. The very least he could hope for was the satisfaction of "revenge" by Alfonse on Hel. Which is really the best he could hope for.

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5 hours ago, XRay said:

I hope Book IV has a happier ending.

Book III has a pretty sad ending. Other Lífs never managed to bring their Sharena back and Lífs and Thrasirs all over the multiverse are still left with their dead Zeniths, so it is a huge downer after killing Hel. All he had for comfort was dreaming about our Alfonse triumphing over Hel, and that our Sharena is not dead.

I'm wondering. If our Sharena lives to presumably play a big role in book IV then it means she couldn't have taken that role in the other timeline where she's dead. 

So that might mean all the fairy girls might be dead too in the other timeline. Truly the darkest timeline. 

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8 minutes ago, Etrurian emperor said:

I'm wondering. If our Sharena lives to presumably play a big role in book IV then it means she couldn't have taken that role in the other timeline where she's dead. 

So that might mean all the fairy girls might be dead too in the other timeline. Truly the darkest timeline. 

True, but that timeline also had Hel running rampant for at least a few more years, which was probably a bigger problem overall (unless Freyjr turns out to be even worse).

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31 minutes ago, Etrurian emperor said:

I'm wondering. If our Sharena lives to presumably play a big role in book IV then it means she couldn't have taken that role in the other timeline where she's dead. 

So that might mean all the fairy girls might be dead too in the other timeline. Truly the darkest timeline. 

Book 4 doesnt indicate it playing after book 3. In all honesty its messed up because none of the books require the completion of the previous book. Book 3 clearly plays after Book 2 due to the eqilogue, Book 4 is I dont know, should play after book 3 but nothing indicates that.

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54 minutes ago, Hilda said:

I think the ending was fitting. Not everyone can or should have a Teletubby-Unicorn-Rainbows-and-Sunshine ending. Lif abandoned his beliefs and was willing to sacrifice another Askr to get his Askr back after he failed at protecting it. I dont think that warrants a happy ending in my eyes. The very least he could hope for was the satisfaction of "revenge" by Alfonse on Hel. Which is really the best he could hope for.

I guess that is true. He did betray his beliefs and did turn into a bad guy, so maybe he does not warrant a happy ending. Still pretty tragic though.

40 minutes ago, Etrurian emperor said:

I'm wondering. If our Sharena lives to presumably play a big role in book IV then it means she couldn't have taken that role in the other timeline where she's dead. 

So that might mean all the fairy girls might be dead too in the other timeline. Truly the darkest timeline. 

Good thing Hel died, or else we would not have Plumeria.

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3 hours ago, Hilda said:

Book 4 is I dont know, should play after book 3 but nothing indicates that.

Thorr mentioned fhe Dokkalfar in the Xenologue between the books, so I think it's safe to assume 4 follows 3. A midquel would be a neat idea for other stories though!

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  • 5 weeks later...

Anyone else wish some Three Houses characters were involved in Book 4's story? Mainly Byleth, Edelgard, Dimitri and Claude? Maybe even throw in Linhardt while you're at it, since he should feel right at home in the dream world.

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2 hours ago, Perkilator said:

Anyone else wish some Three Houses characters were involved in Book 4's story? Mainly Byleth, Edelgard, Dimitri and Claude? Maybe even throw in Linhardt while you're at it, since he should feel right at home in the dream world.

I'd wish all sort of characters were involved in the story. I'd welcome the trio being active players but it seems a bit of a snub to all the other casts if they were the only one getting that treatment. But Linhardt definitely belongs in dreamworld. I don't think IS will make use of that though. Characters like Linhardt, Haar or Mitama fit great with the new setting, but many dead Fire Emblem characters were a great fit for the realm of the dead and they never showed up either. 

Edited by Etrurian emperor
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22 minutes ago, Etrurian emperor said:

I'd wish all sort of characters were involved in the story. I'd welcome the trio being active players but it seems a bit of a snub to all the other casts if they were the only one getting that treatment. But Linhardt definitely belongs in dreamworld. I don't think IS will make use of that though. Characters like Linhardt, Haar or Mitama fit great with the new setting, but many dead Fire Emblem characters were a great fit for the realm of the dead and they never showed up either. 

Yeah, figured. If this were a completely different saga from our adventures in Askr, I would make the story something like:

Seteth hears rumors of suspicious looking bandits lurking around in the Holy Mausoleum, and reluctantly sends Byleth to investigate while everyone prepares for the Battle of the Eagle and Lion (the one in Ch. 7, just to be clear). Coincidentally, the other House Leaders are investigating as well, per Claude's immediate notice. They all head down and take care of the bandits, save for their two leaders (both young-looking women with scarves over their faces). Suddenly, pinkish-red gas envelops the Mausoleum, and the House Leaders fall asleep right before the Professor does.

I think you know where I'm going with this.

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