Do you think there are parallel universe counterparts in FE?

[indigoasis]

For those that read Marvel or DC comics, you probably know about the different multiverses that exist within the comics that tell stories not tied to or necessarily related to existing "main-universe" canon. I really like the idea of the existence of multiple universes, and Fire Emblem has played with that idea ever since The Binding Blade, which is (as far as we know) not related to the games which take place within Archanea, Valentia, and Jugdral (which are all in the same universe). 

However, I was wondering if there could potentially be parallel universe counterparts to many of the characters in the series, kind of like how there are parallel universe versions of Bruce Wayne or Peter Parker in the comics, although what I'm thinking of might be more along the lines of something like JoJo's Bizarre Adventure where Johnny Joestar from Part 7 is the alternate universe counterpart to Jonathan Joestar from Part 1 (I think I also read or heard from somewhere that Roy is the Elibe counterpart to Marth, but I'm not entirely sure).

Anna and Jake are probably the best examples since Anna is in pretty much every game in the series, but the only problem is that all the Annas are sisters, so whether or not they're all counterparts to one another is up for debate, but Jake is fair game.

So, what do you think? I'm mainly asking because I want to positively reinforce the idea that alternate universe counterparts of Berkut and Rinea are Marianne's parents, but you don't need to take that into consideration when answering.

[Jotari]

Yes. We explicitly see this in Awakening. There's a parallel univierse of Aversa that goes around stealing  Yu-gi-oh cards. As well as the whole Future Past DLC mission which is set in the future but is still an alternate future from the one the Lucina of the main game actually comes from, featuring alt Tiki and alt Morgan and alt Grima etc.

If you  want something less explicit but more fuel for fan imaginings then you can take the original and remake games as parallel realities depicting the same broad events only with some characters present/missing.

Edited August 18, 2021 by Jotari

[King Marth 64]

There's technically Outrealms do kinda minorly considered act similar to Parallel Universes, but I do think it's merely just connects to other worlds that minorly friquiently changes like choosing routes eithter take to Sonya or Deen in Gaiden and Echoes: Shadows of Valentia or small route choices from Thracia 776, The Binding Blade, and The Blazing Blade, etc. But, I think the highly one that might be similar to is Fates and Three Houses since those two games do have multiple routes that doesn't connect the same events from the other routes you play as and some of the characters do die in the specific routes canonlogically as examples like:

Fates Spoiler:

Spoiler

In Fates that some of the sibilings like Xander, Elise, Ryoma, and Takumi, some retainers, and other characters from Nohr and Hoshido gets killed from either Birthright or Conquest who you fight them. Azura does die in the end of Birthright only. Scarlet does die in Conquest and Revelations. Garon does die very differently like he fights as a Boss in both Birthright and Conquest while he gets eaten by evil version of Anakos in Revelations.

Three Houses Spoiler:

Spoiler

In Three Houses that Edelgard and Dimitri does get fight each other and they depend on who dies (like Edelgard dies in all routes except the Crimson Flower Route) who you join while Hubert and Dedue dies with them in the specific routes. Rhea does get killed depending on who you join in one of the routes. There are few other characters that do get killed in one of the routes like the Church of Serios except Flayn and Seteth in the Crimson Flower route.

I do think the Fates and Three Houses might do fall under in the Parallel Universes category since the other Fire Emblem games with one specific story route do merely kept the same as it is.

Edited August 18, 2021 by King Marth 64

[Ouzyxol]

At least 2 Universes.  Given that 1 of the continent's mythos (Tellius) is incompatible with the rest...

 

Tellius is a Creationist world:  Ashunera made the world and all therein, with the exception of the Zunanma (Beorc & Laguz).

 

Then we have Zenith.  Which is a bit curious, given it has gates to all the other FE worlds and at least has some fleeting connection to our world (Maybe?  The Summoner is from a IRL-like Earth at the very least).

 

All the other worlds (Archanea + Valentia + Jugdral, Magvel, Elibe, Fateslandia, Fodlan) have no mention of a creator deity, or even any real deity (mostly just Dragon- and Ancestor-worship).  Thus they are compatible with one another.

[Use the Falchion]

I originally had a head-canon where Alfonse and Sharena were the alternate-world version of Chrom and Lissa. Now Alfonse and Sharena are Chrom and Olivia's other children, in between Lucina and Inigo. 

But as others have said, Fire Emblem heavily supports the multiple and parallel universe stuff. 

[Venger_06]

I wish Awakening was the Steel Ball Run version of Archanea. It would be easier to fix inconsistencies that way.

[LJ_Reflet]

The Heirs of Fate DLC from Fates confirms the existence of a multi-verse--or at least in Fates it does.

Big spoilers coming up if you haven't played Heirs of Fate:

Spoiler

Once the Hoshidan kids and Nohrian kids come together, Shiro and Siegbert get into an argument about who was in power, who died, and who killed who, as Shiro believed that Ryoma was king and Xander died, while Siegbert believes the opposite. However, Shigure confirms that the Hoshidans come from their own universe where Corrin sides with Hoshido and the Nohrians come from their own universe where Corrin sides with Nohr. Shigure is the only one that comes from the universe where Corrin sides with neither. Also, interestingly enough, the story kinda "canonizes" (tbh I hate the word "canon" in an FE context, but I can't think of a better word) male Corrin's association with Hoshido and female Corrin's association with Nohr.

However, Shigure also explains that not only are the Hoshidans and Nohrians come from separate universes, it's that each individual comes from their own separate universe with different parallels. So, it's not just 2 universes, it's literally like 20 LOL.

  

9 hours ago, indigoasis said:

So, what do you think? I'm mainly asking because I want to positively reinforce the idea that alternate universe counterparts of Berkut and Rinea are Marianne's parents, but you don't need to take that into consideration when answering.

I honestly would have never imagined this omfg.

If that's the case, Leon should be Yuri's relative. Or Leon could have pulled an Inigo/Severa/Owain and transported himself to the 3H universe under an alias HAHA

Edited August 19, 2021 by LJ_Tenma

[lenticular]

To me, the most meaningful answer to the question in the topic title is “if you want there to be”. It seems unlikely to me that there’s any sort of grand plan for a unifying cosmology of all of Fire Emblem, which means that there’s plenty of place for personal interpretation. If you want to imagine some overarching multiversal theory that links everything together, then there’s no reason you shouldn’t; if I want to think of all the games as being completely unconnected (obvious continuities excepted) then there’s no reason I shouldn’t.

 If you want to be a hundred percent canon-compliant — though I don’t think that FE canon is self-consistent enough to be entirely worth complying with — then there is some trace of multiverse stuff in some of the games (e.g. Awakening, Fates) but not in others. I can’t see anything in games like Sacred Stones or Path of Radiance, for instance, that makes me think they were intended to fall in the same continuity as what went before them.

But if you want there to be parallel universes in Fire Emblem, if that would increase your enjoyment of them, then there definitely are parallel universe in Fire Emblem. At least for you.

[Eltosian Kadath]

Heroes is kinda built around the FE multiverse idea, and explores the idea of alternate versions of characters very explicitly with alts.

[Jotari]

8 hours ago, Use the Falchion said:

I originally had a head-canon where Alfonse and Sharena were the alternate-world version of Chrom and Lissa. Now Alfonse and Sharena are Chrom and Olivia's other children, in between Lucina and Inigo. 

But as others have said, Fire Emblem heavily supports the multiple and parallel universe stuff. 

But we see Alfone and Sharena's parents. And they're not named, nor do they look anything like, Chrom and Olivia. Not to mention Chrom and Olivia are actually in the same game and no one comments on them being the duos parents.

[indigoasis]

On 8/19/2021 at 2:23 AM, LJ_Tenma said:

I honestly would have never imagined this omfg.

If that's the case, Leon should be Yuri's relative. Or Leon could have pulled an Inigo/Severa/Owain and transported himself to the 3H universe under an alias HAHA

There's actually a surprising amount of fanart for Berkut, Rinea, and Marianne all together, since the former two easily look like they could be her parents. At least I think so.

And yeah, I wouldn't be surprised if there was a Fódlan version of Leon that was related to Yuri.

Edited August 20, 2021 by indigoasis

[Use the Falchion]

11 hours ago, Jotari said:

But we see Alfone and Sharena's parents. And they're not named, nor do they look anything like, Chrom and Olivia. Not to mention Chrom and Olivia are actually in the same game and no one comments on them being the duos parents.

And Calvin Ellis doesn't look a thing like Clark Kent, nor is he a reporter, but they're both Superman in their respective universes all the same. A Parallel/Alternate version of something can be as simple as "I'm you but evil" to "our timelines diverged at XYZ point, and I occupy the space and role you would have possessed had you been here."

Besides, the head-canon existed before Gustav and Henriette were introduced. Still, it's an easy head-canon to continue - I just imagine Gustav as Chrom's real first name, and one he's embarrassed about when we meet him (that he'll later grow into), while Henriette is an Olivia who dyes her hair blonde and goes by a more official name, as is befitting a queen.* Also, Gustav looks a LOT like an older, more scarred Chrom with a beard. It isn't helped that Kozaki Yusuke designed both of them, and his designs can...well, once you know he designed a character, it's easy to see that retroactively, be it Xenoblade Chronicles 2, Fire Emblem, and Catherine. (Kozaki's designs have a similar feel to them to me. It's neither good nor bad, it simply is.)

And again, I DID say it is/was a head-canon. 

 

On 8/18/2021 at 4:06 PM, indigoasis said:

So, what do you think? I'm mainly asking because I want to positively reinforce the idea that alternate universe counterparts of Berkut and Rinea are Marianne's parents, but you don't need to take that into consideration when answering.

I gotta say, I'm still flummoxed as to why people like this head-canon. It's popular, and if you want the multi-verse theory to support it, go for it! But I guess I'd personally rather have Marianne as the daughter of Inigo and either Felicia or Azura (so she can be Soleil's twin and either carry on the pink/blue twin theming in the case of Felicia, or carry on the water and dancing theming in the case of Azura) or Corrin and Felicia's daughter (despite me not supporting that ship a lot). 

But you do you, and have fun with it, no matter what anyone - myself included - says. 

 

 

*Or maybe it's her last name, and she simply never shared it. Or maybe Olivia is her middle name and she prefers it. Queen Victoria was born Alexandria Victoria, and only later came to be known by that second part. I have some friends who have gone by nicknames all their lives or at least for as long as I've known them, but decided to change to their official names when they got older and/or wanted to seem/feel/be more mature. I have one friend who had been called by his middle name his entire life since he and his dad share the same name; and he had gone by that middle name so long that I had forgotten his actual first name for a time! 😅 Heck, my grandmother was called "Sugar" or "Aunt Sugar" by every living relative in her generation and the one below it for DECADES, but when she talks, she's Grandmom [last name redacted] for some reason.

Overall I'm not saying Gustav IS Chrom in actual canon, or that Henriette is Olivia's real/middle/last name - again, IT WAS A HEAD-CANON - but I have seen real life circumstances that lend it an air of possibility for some.

In terms of the blonde hair - I live in the Bible Belt of the U.S., and many women of all ages here dye their hair blonde, no matter the actual color (or ethnicity of the woman in several cases), so it's not unnatural for me to think Olivia does the same. The pink edges at the end are hints of that natural hair color. (Where in her daughter Sharena's case, it's genetically two-toned.) 

 

[Jotari]

25 minutes ago, Use the Falchion said:

And Calvin Ellis doesn't look a thing like Clark Kent, nor is he a reporter, but they're both Superman in their respective universes all the same. A Parallel/Alternate version of something can be as simple as "I'm you but evil" to "our timelines diverged at XYZ point, and I occupy the space and role you would have possessed had you been here."

Besides, the head-canon existed before Gustav and Henriette were introduced. Still, it's an easy head-canon to continue - I just imagine Gustav as Chrom's real first name, and one he's embarrassed about when we meet him (that he'll later grow into), while Henriette is an Olivia who dyes her hair blonde and goes by a more official name, as is befitting a queen.* Also, Gustav looks a LOT like an older, more scarred Chrom with a beard. It isn't helped that Kozaki Yusuke designed both of them, and his designs can...well, once you know he designed a character, it's easy to see that retroactively, be it Xenoblade Chronicles 2, Fire Emblem, and Catherine. (Kozaki's designs have a similar feel to them to me. It's neither good nor bad, it simply is.)

And again, I DID say it is/was a head-canon.

 

Seems far more like fanfiction than headcanon.

[Use the Falchion]

28 minutes ago, Jotari said:

Seems far more like fanfiction than headcanon.

I don't see why it matters so long as it doesn't interfere with actual canon. Multiverse stuff exists in Fire Emblem - the question was answered. Why do you care beyond that?

EDIT: @Jotarisorry if I'm coming off a little harsh or defensive. I'm just annoyed at the nitpicking. To me this isn't worth nitpicking over, so I got annoyed that at the fact that it felt like you did. I mentioned I had this idea in the past, and that FE confirms OP's thoughts. Your post about it felt unnecessary; and coming right off the heels of a different head-canon debate, it felt a little more personal than it probably should have. 

Edited August 19, 2021 by Use the Falchion

[Samz707]

It's canon to Heroes, Fates and Awakening. (And I think was retconed into Awakening? since I think all of the multi-verse stuff in that was purely added in DLC as far as I'm aware as a crutch for how the time travel made no sense.)

Fire Emblem 7 might have had a Parallel Universe with the Dragon's Gate. (But for all we know it actually deposits them on another, very far away, land in the same universe.)

[Use the Falchion]

27 minutes ago, Samz707 said:

(And I think was retconed into Awakening? since I think all of the multi-verse stuff in that was purely added in DLC as far as I'm aware as a crutch for how the time travel made no sense.)

I think the time travel stuff made sense in Awakening (to me at least), and the multiverse/Outer Realms stuff were confirmed to be canon in terms of Fates. (Although Fates is just weird.) No word or whatnot in terms of it being a crutch or not though.

Time Travel in Awakening works a little like time travel in Avengers: Endgame rather than Flash stories or Back to the Future or Close Enough. Going back in time isn't actually going back to YOUR past - you're going back to a past that's now a branch from the one yours (or for the infinite multiple reality people, I guess it'd be more like going back to the past that is most similar to yours up until that moment you travel back to it...if that makes sense*). Or the baby dictator dilemma. In this universe, going back in time to kill a younger version of a dictator wouldn't result in the lives taken by that dictator to come back to life. We aren't erasing them from existence (ala Balefire in The Wheel of Time). We're simply creating a new branch universe where that dictator doesn't exist.

Lucina and Co know they can't really save their own future, but they can head back to a branching point and stop things there. That doesn't mean that Grima would never rise in other dimensions or via other means, simply that the possibilities connected to that branching point have been shut off.

The characters openly acknowledge that they're in an alternate reality in a way, with multiple second gen characters commenting on the nature of their relationship with the versions of their parents they interact with (including but not limited to: Lucina and her mother, Cynthia and her father, Gerome and BOTH parents, Noire and Tharja, and Laurent). 

Even after Awakening, Lucina and Co's future is still in shambles...and would have stayed that way had it not been for the timely intervention and grace of one water-themed Dragon from Fateslandia. 

In terms of the DLC stuff, that's canon because Odin and Laslow explicitly reference it in their supports. 

Quote

Laslow: Do you ever think of our original world anymore? The on we were born in?

Odin: I do. Mostly at night. I...have trouble sleeping sometimes because of it.

Laslow: Ah. So you too, then.

Odin: I also think of the other world. Of seeing my mother for the first time since... Gods, it was wonderful seeing her alive and well after what happened in our time. Oh, and helping our parents and the others defeat the dragon!**

Laslow: That was a wonderful world. It was such a happy place, too. I mean, after Grima fell. Ah, remember looking for that tiara and then getting chased by a bear? Ha! We made some good memories there, didn't we?

Odin: Aye. And none of them were dreams. So cheer up!

Laslow: Yeah. You know, when we talk like this, it's hard to deny it was all real. I'm glad we didn't get separated this time. If you guys weren't here, I don't think... I don't think I could bear it.

Odin: Laslow...

Laslow: Thank you for being here for me. You've made good on your promise.

Odin: No problem! But, erm...what promise was that?

Laslow: Well, it was a long time ago. Remember that harvest festival we went to? When I was troubled about how we were fighting real people instead of Risen. You said you'd always be a shoulder for me to lean on. And you have been.

Now, could there be a version of Fates where the Awakening Trio were actually the Future Past DLC versions and not the Awakening trio? Absolutely. But that isn't strictly speaking "canon." But if that's the version people want to imagine and play as, it's totally cool.

 

*It's like...say I ate fifty jellybeans in one day, but the last one made me sick. Other versions of me maybe stopped at 15 or 46 or any other number. Maybe some version of me continued on to 100. I can't travel BACK to those, but I can travel TO those. I can travel back to the one where I ate 50 and stop myself anytime before then though (which in turn might create the universe where I stopped at 15 or 46 or any other number). That action would make the stopping a branching path. 

**If it was the Future Past DLC, I imagine Odin would have said "and our parents helping us defeat the dragon" instead of them helping their parents. 

Edited August 19, 2021 by Use the Falchion

[indigoasis]

54 minutes ago, Samz707 said:

It's canon to Heroes, Fates and Awakening. (And I think was retconed into Awakening? since I think all of the multi-verse stuff in that was purely added in DLC as far as I'm aware as a crutch for how the time travel made no sense.)

Fire Emblem 7 might have had a Parallel Universe with the Dragon's Gate. (But for all we know it actually deposits them on another, very far away, land in the same universe.)

Chrom mentions in the Before Awakening DLC in Fates that the lands of Hoshido and Nohr are legends in his world, which might suggest that Fates might take place in the same world as Archanea and all that, but like wayyyy in the past.

I don't think the Dragon's Gate from FE7 would stray too far from that same idea.

20 minutes ago, Use the Falchion said:

*It's like...say I ate fifty jellybeans in one day, but the last one made me sick. Other versions of me maybe stopped at 15 or 46 or any other number. Maybe some version of me continued on to 100. I can't travel BACK to those, but I can travel TO those. I can travel back to the one where I ate 50 and stop myself anytime before then though (which in turn might create the universe where I stopped at 15 or 46 or any other number). That action would make the stopping a branching path. 

That reminds me of a theory about the existence of infinite universes. Any and all possibilities exist, where a separate universe can exist just like our own with even just a single difference (or multiple differences) that we would never know about; a grain of sand in a slightly different spot, a blade of grass bent at a slightly different angle, etc. You can obviously go bigger than that (like the idea of branching paths and creating a new universe depending on certain choices, like with what cereal you choose to eat for breakfast on a certain day), but it truly demonstrates how vast the concept of infinity truly is. It's fascinating. 

[Use the Falchion]

12 minutes ago, indigoasis said:

Chrom mentions in the Before Awakening DLC in Fates that the lands of Hoshido and Nohr are legends in his world, which might suggest that Fates might take place in the same world as Archanea and all that, but like wayyyy in the past.

And don't they mention that Chrom's world is in their past or something like that? That's why Fates is weird - it seemingly takes place in the past, but also possibly in the future (given the Rhajat, Asugi, and Caeldori's romance and death quotes). It's weird. 

 

14 minutes ago, indigoasis said:

That reminds me of a theory about the existence of infinite universes. Any and all possibilities exist, where a separate universe can exist just like our own with even just a single difference (or multiple differences) that we would never know about; a grain of sand in a slightly different spot, a blade of grass bent at a slightly different angle, etc. You can obviously go bigger than that (like the idea of branching paths and creating a new universe depending on certain choices, like with what cereal you choose to eat for breakfast on a certain day), but it truly demonstrates how vast the concept of infinity truly is. It's fascinating. 

Yup!

[Shanty Pete's 1st Mate]

2 hours ago, Use the Falchion said:

And don't they mention that Chrom's world is in their past or something like that? That's why Fates is weird - it seemingly takes place in the past, but also possibly in the future (given the Rhajat, Asugi, and Caeldori's romance and death quotes). It's weird. 

This works when we realize that Outrealm gates aren't tied to a specific time. Chrom can meet characters from FE7, and ones from FE6, twenty years later. Not to mention, that the gates also link to characters from Archanea's past (thousands of years ago in Awakening canon).

Fates can be set in the "future", relative to Awakening, while still allowing people in Ylisse to know of their war through the Outrealms. Of course, at that point, comparing "future" and "past" between separate timelines falls apart.

Edited August 20, 2021 by Shanty Pete's 1st Mate
Typo.

[Use the Falchion]

5 minutes ago, Shanty Pete's 1st Mate said:

This works when we realize that Outrealm gates aren't tied to a specific time. Chrom can meet characters from FE7, and ones from FE6, twenty years later. Not to mention, that the gates also link to characters from Archanea's past (thousands of years ago in Awakening canon).

Fates can be set in the "future", relative to Awakening, while still allowing people in Ylisse to know of their war through the Outrealms. Of course, at that point, comparing "future" and "past" between separate timelines falls apart.

Fair enough!

[Acacia Sgt]

4 minutes ago, Shanty Pete's 1st Mate said:

This works when we realize that Outrealm gates aren't tied to a specific time. Chrom can meet characters from FE7, and ones from FE6, twenty years later. Not to mention, that the gates also link to characters from Archanea's past (thousands of years ago in Awakening canon).

Fates can be set in the "future", relative to Awakening, while still allowing people in Ylisse to know of their war through the Outrealms. Of course, at that point, comparing "future" and "past" between separate timelines falls apart.

Except that he isn't meeting the actual characters. The Einherjar are only facsimiles based on said people, summoned from cards.

Personally, I stick to Fates being in the past due to two main reasons. One, Chrom talking about Hoshido and Nohr as ancient kingdoms. And two, the Cipher characters in Valentia. Two are Hoshidans and one Nohrian who world hopped to Valentia, which is Valm in the distant past. No actual concrete evidence it's correct, but to me it makes sense.

[Shanty Pete's 1st Mate]

13 minutes ago, Acacia Sgt said:

Except that he isn't meeting the actual characters. The Einherjar are only facsimiles based on said people, summoned from cards.

So the Outrealm Gate doesn't take you to those people and places, but just recreates them? A la Star Trek's holodeck? Then what enables the Einherjar versions of characters to continue existing in the "real world" of Ylisse?

16 minutes ago, Acacia Sgt said:

Personally, I stick to Fates being in the past due to two main reasons. One, Chrom talking about Hoshido and Nohr as ancient kingdoms. And two, the Cipher characters in Valentia. Two are Hoshidans and one Nohrian who world hopped to Valentia, which is Valm in the distant past. No actual concrete evidence it's correct, but to me it makes sense.

Huh, I didn't know that about the Cipher characters. Very interesting. Any idea whether they world-leapt before of after the events of Fates?

[Acacia Sgt]

9 minutes ago, Shanty Pete's 1st Mate said:

So the Outrealm Gate doesn't take you to those people and places, but just recreates them? A la Star Trek's holodeck? Then what enables the Einherjar versions of characters to continue existing in the "real world" of Ylisse?

Huh, I didn't know that about the Cipher characters. Very interesting. Any idea whether they world-leapt before of after the events of Fates?

No, it does take you to other worlds, with real people inhabiting them. Einherjars are a separate thing, summoned from cards which are very real too. Hence why you can summon them into Ylisse as map skirmishes or shops, and "recruit" them, getting the cards to use for yourself.

Cipher is all about world hopping. The Cipher characters sometimes also participate during each game's events. At least, sometimes. I know Shade and Emma do, fighting in Xander and Ryoma's armies.

That said, Awakening itself stablishes that time travel is its own thing separate from the Outrealm, and not something that can be done willy nilly. Naga has the power, which is how Lucina and the other kids are sent back, and how the other Naga in the Outrealms send you to the future in the Future Past maps (and Tiki sending them back if I recall). Anankos also engages in time travel to send Inigo, Owain, and Severa to Fates, while in awe about what Naga did since it's not something that commonly happens.

Edited August 20, 2021 by Acacia Sgt

[Ouzyxol]

6 hours ago, Shanty Pete's 1st Mate said:

So the Outrealm Gate doesn't take you to those people and places, but just recreates them? A la Star Trek's holodeck? Then what enables the Einherjar versions of characters to continue existing in the "real world" of Ylisse?

6 hours ago, Acacia Sgt said:

No, it does take you to other worlds, with real people inhabiting them. Einherjars are a separate thing, summoned from cards which are very real too. Hence why you can summon them into Ylisse as map skirmishes or shops, and "recruit" them, getting the cards to use for yourself.

Think Fire Emblem's version of the Yugioh Anime's Monster Card's Spirits (say that five times fast), and you have the general idea.

In a little more detail:  an Einherjar is basically a magical simulation of the person in question being ran from a specific snapshot of them in time, thus why you can see both normal and variants (Bride Eirika, Dread Fighter Alm, Dark Mage Micaiah, etc.). This also explains why they don't realize that they are simulations.

6 hours ago, Shanty Pete's 1st Mate said:

Huh, I didn't know that about the Cipher characters. Very interesting. Any idea whether they world-leapt before of after the events of Fates?

You know what?  I'm a bit curious about that, too.  I think I'll do a bit of digging about that. I may make a thread on that at a latter point (i.e. in a few days).

6 hours ago, Acacia Sgt said:

That said, Awakening itself stablishes that time travel is its own thing separate from the Outrealm, and not something that can be done willy nilly.

Shady, that bit is.  Theoretically, you could jump from World A to World B, and then use a gate in that world to jump into the past of World A, which would effectively be the same as time travel...  But given that FE operates on in a Multiverse, both would then cause a divergence, so that past is no longer World A's past, but the past a new World C.  This is why I dislike the whole 'I will time travel/world hop to the past and change it!' schtick that various franchises use.  Not only is it pointless to differentiate the two, it is also incompatible with Multiverses, because the World A you left will still exist, even if you change the past to 'prevent' that future.

6 hours ago, Acacia Sgt said:

Naga has the power, which is how Lucina and the other kids are sent back, and how the other Naga in the Outrealms send you to the future in the Future Past maps (and Tiki sending them back if I recall). Anankos also engages in time travel to send Inigo, Owain, and Severa to Fates, while in awe about what Naga did since it's not something that commonly happens.

Perhaps this is of interest:

Quote

Anankos: Listen well. When your work is done, if you wish to return to your true home...use this, and you may do so.

Inigo: What?!

Anankos: That crystal has the power to transport you through space and time. After you complete your mission, you can use it to return here. Or, if you truly desire it, you can return to your own time and world. However, know that it can only be used once.

Severa: So if we decide to return to the future, we can never come back here again?

Anankos: Yes. It is taboo for humans to travel through time as it is. Even I do not have the power to break this rule anymore than I already have. That the god of this world had the power to transport so many of you... leaves me in awe.

               -  Hidden Truths 1

The Time Travel that Anankos did is the 'go back to Ylisse' crystals he gave the trio, not him sending them to Valla.

Side note, it can be inferred from this that Anankos is barely able to send three people through time, given the whole 'leaves me in awe' part is about Naga's time-ritual-thing (for lack of an actual name) that allowed Lucina & co. to go back in time.

[Mylady]

Heroes low key canonized the multiverse for every game. I dare say that every playthrough and remake is a different timeline. So, there's a timeline in which Byleth sided with Claude and Marianne died, while on another she survived. In another universe Byleth sided with Dimitri and recruited idk..Ferdinand and Bernadetta, etc... In one timeline, Caeda died while on another she survived. The possibilities are almost infinite considering the variations available in the games with the player's input. 

 

Edited September 4, 2021 by Mylady