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Abvora

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    General Fire Emblem fanart: what is hotlink???

    in General Fire Emblem

    A Sardonic Look at Fire Emblem Fates

    in Fire Emblem Fates

    Posted

    Okay, I just stayed up all night playing New Mystery (sleep is for the weak!) and I have to say that I honestly think that Corrin is the best Avatar we've gotten thus far, now put away your pitchforks and torches and let me explain.

    [spoiler=Mark]

    Mark felt completely superfluous to the story, almost to the point that I forgot they existed. While Kris and Corrin feel like a case of too much player focus, Mark was a case of too little player focus. The lack of story focus, personality and dialogue had me wishing that the role could've been filled by a 'proper' unit, with an actual personality and importance to the plot. However, I like the minimalist approach and the Tactician's Star mechanic, so I think it works well as a starting point.

    [spoiler=Kris]

    Kris can die in a fire as far as I'm concerned and I'm gonna tell you why. Let's start with the opening text:

    "There is not a soul who does not know of Marth, Hero King and saviour. But there are few who know that person. Marth fought valiantly in battle with many renowned heroes by his side...as well as that person. That person was Marth's confidant and friend. A shadow who aided Marth's victories. History books hold no record of this hero of shadow. The other protagonist of the War of Heroes. Their name was-"

    Already, this is reading like an intro for the worst kind of OC/Self-Insert fanfiction, on par with the likes of a third Winchester sibling or an American exchange student at Hogwarts (or, God-forbid, Harry Potter's twin sibling). Hey guys, remember the Hero of Shadow? Well they were Marth's friend and advisor, second in importance only to Marth himself!

    But there is more to just bad fanfiction than having an original character who upstages the established characters, it also derails the existing characters. Does New Mystery do that? Well here's what Elice has to say about Marth in Prologue 4:

    "The Hero King you say? It does seem that our people have grown fond of calling him that. But the truth of the matter is that Marth...Marth is just a weak, vulnerable child."

    Now, I haven't played an Akaneia game other than this one in quite some time, so feel free to correct me if I get anything wrong, but I'm pretty sure that line shits all over Marth's characterisation in Shadow Dragon where if I recall correctly, he was wise beyond his years and while idealistic, understood that sacrifices were sometimes necessary. Not to mention that the line makes Elice look like an arsehole.

    Anyway, so Prologue 7 ends with Kris finishing training and becoming a knight and Prologue 8 ends with them becoming Marth's Royal Guards. That seems pretty bullshit to me, since it seems like their should be many people who are far more qualified to do the job, but what really shits me is this Marth line from Chapter 1

    "Kris, we'll be arriving shortly. This is your first real battle, is it not?"

    Okay, so not only are we taking someone who only just finished basic training and making them the Royal Guard for the most important person in the entire Kingdom, but that same person also hasn't even been in a real fight yet? That is criminally negligent. It should be illegal to do something that stupid. Still, this is where the real fun begins as Kris soon begins to hog up the screen-time, steal moments from other characters and the dick-riding has hit full speed. Remember when Jagen challenges Lang to a duel? Well Kris does it first, which takes away a lot of the impact of the moment for Jagen, and let's not forget this monstrosity:

    Jagen: Please hurry sire. The enemy is closing in on us.

    Marth: But everyone is still fighting. I can't just leave them behind.

    Kris: Worry not, sire. I will remain here. I will regroup with everyone later.

    Marth: Kris! But-

    Jagen: Sire, you of all people know that Kris is more than capable. As long as Kris is there, everyone will escape safely and reunite with you at once. Now sire, to the boat!

    Here's how that conversation went in the original

    Jagen: Your highness, please hurry. The pursuers have already arrived.

    Marth: But everyone is still fighting. I can't just leave them!

    Jagen: Don't worry, they will all escape safely. We will all meet up at Khadein. Well your Highness, please get on-board the ship.

    The only thing they added to this scene was Kris' dick-sucking. No meaningful dialogue or anything, just 'since Kris is here, everything's going to be alright' nonsense. Why was this scene necessary? If they wanted Kris to be in the scene, they could've just had him support Jagen, but instead we get Kris being so badass that they don't have to worry about the enemy. There's also the scene where Kris comes up with the idea to take the Adria Pass, which was originally Marth's idea.

    But that isn't the worst of it, this is what Marth has to say about his relationship with Kris in the epilogue:

    "Kris...you're...why, I wonder? Ever since we met, I felt a special connection with you. Fate sent you to me... I can't help but think that. Thank you Kris. Please stay with me. Kris, you're my other half, my true friend..."

    Everything about that sentence is so wrong it makes me want to gouge my eyes out. I'm surprised the Devs had enough restraint to not give female Kris' the option to become his queen instead of Caeda. Not to mention that the reason our 'Hero of Shadow' was forgotten by history was because they were oh so humble and gave the credit for all of their actions to Marth. Oh and let's not forget the supports/conversations, in which every single one I had with a female character involved them wanting to ride his dick in the literal sense rather than a metaphorical one, or the fact that they were able to see Sirius without their mask on (something no-one else to my knowledge gets), or the fact that their personality is so bland that Mark, a character that has no supports/base conversations or spoken dialogue manages to be more interesting then them. The gameplay was very enjoyable, so that was nice. The story however, reads like a Fire Emblem Self-Insert fanfiction that somehow got made into an actual game.

    [spoiler=Robin]

    During my first few playthroughs of Awakening, I really liked Robin. I still do to be honest and I find their involvement in the plot to be the ideal level of importance for Avatar characters (being important, but not the most important). However, I find that the game's story cheats to make them look good in some cases. The Valm Arc is particularly guilty of this, the first case being Flames on the Blue, in which Robin's strategy is unbelievably stupid, but inexplicably works despite the fact that it requires a) the Valm ships to do nothing to try and avoid the flaming ships b) the Valm ships to be so densely packed that the flaming ships are able to sink all of them despite the fact that they are presumably using less ships to do so and c) that regardless of the Valmese numbers and fleet formation, that all of them wind up getting sunk.

    There's also Sibling Blades, in which the Ylissean/Feroxian forces are cornered stuck between Yen'fay, Walhart and the traitor Dynasties. But wait! They just so happen to be near a volcano that just so happens to be so feared in Valm that people don't want to go near it and just so happens to be hospitable enough that they can fight inside of it! Maybe it's just me, but Robin's in-story strategies seem to rely on contrivances and the enemy holding the idiot ball more than him actually coming up with effective strategies himself. And if it's not that, it's outright cheating. Like in Invisible Ties, where Basilio is laying out how Robin managed to beat destiny. Consider these lines:

    "I've had your merry little band watched since Carrion Isle. Your every move! So I know Robin hasn't touched the stones- he hasn't been near them!"

    "Robin had your destiny beat days ago when he came up with this plan."

    According to Basilio (unless I'm misinterpreting the line), Robin came up with the plan days ago. Which means in a matter of days, Robinw ould've had to have made contact with Basilio without the spies knowing, organise for Basilio to have swapped the gems with fake ones without anyone noticing. Since Lucina expresses shock at Basilio being alive, it seems reasonable to assume that only Chrom, Robin, Basilio and Flavia were in on the plan. So Chrom and Flavia would've had to find out that Basilio wasn't dead without the spies noticing as well, not to mention that depending on how much time passes between the end of the Valm Arc and the start of the Grima Arc, Basilio could've been 'dead' for months, so the plan also relies on Basilio somehow not being noticed by anyone or somehow knowing not to make his survival publicly known despite the fact that Robin only came up with the plan 'days ago' or that both of the continents on the map are about as large as the UK so that the Shepards could travel from Valm to Ylisse in a matter of days. Oh, and if Basilio was able to swap the gems without anyone noticing, surely the Grimleal would've been able to do the same since if they're watching everyone's moves, then they'd know if Chrom had left the Fire Emblem alone. Maybe someone could explain how it could've happened for me, but right now this is one of the biggest, hairiest and sweatiest asspulls I've ever seen in a work of fiction. There's also Robin being praised by every character with screentime at least once in response to one of their 'brilliant' strategies and the fact that they only get the job as Tactician because Chrom decides to inhale the idiot ball and make someone he just met passed out in a field with no memories his tactician and chief adviser, an action that would've gotten someone like Sigurd betrayed and possibly killed.

    EDIT: Finished, didn't have long to go. Anyway:

    [spoiler=Corrin]

    I personally feel that Corrin is a good, possibly even a great character by on their own. They aren't without their problems for sure, but most of the major complaints have more to do with other characters than Corrin. For starters, I feel like they are the Avatar best integrated into their continuity. Corrin's naivete is justified by their sheltered upbringing, which is a similar justification for Marth's original characterisation and a better excuse than Kris (who doesn't really have one) and Robin (who lost their memory because of time travel shenanigans) and the basis of the story is a great way of making the Avatar feel important without centering the entire conflict around them (Prologue-to-Chapter 6 is when I feel Fates story is at it's strongest). However, the game goes out of it's way to coddle Corrin, preventing them from growing despite having several moments that could've led to growth. One such moment stands out in Revelation, after Anthony has been defeated and Corrin is apologising for being so naive. The siblings, who had been expressing their doubts about Anthony the entire time he was with the party, immediately assure him that Anthony was to blame and that Corrin shouldn't learn from what happened rather than chewing him out and using this as an example of why Corrin should think before they act. Several times throughout the game, I get the feeling that Corrin is genuinely trying to grow as a character and learn from their mistakes.

    There's also the fact that Fates will deliberately set things up so that Corrin is almost railroaded into making unfavourable decisions whereas Awakening felt like it would make it easier for Robin to succeed. Xander (and to a lesser extent Camilla) are blindly obedient to Garon and the others won't openly act against him, making an full-on rebellion unwise, Corrin acknowledges the incestuous side of their relationships with the Hoshidan siblings only for them to reveal that they aren't through a means that Corrin has no control over, Azura cannot give them the full details of the setting because of a lame plot device and Corrin is similarly hamstrung on Revelation. Corrin also lacks agency on the Nohr route, being forced to go along with Hans and Iago's cartoonish villainy less he be executed by Garon and lets not forget Lilith's pointless sacrifices for the sake of a cheap tear-jerker. The game's story seems set-up for Corrin to fail unless they follow the railroads layed out by the Devs while also coddling them and portraying them as a shining paragon, preventing them from having any meaningful character development, even in moments when they acknowledge the very flaws the game tries to avoid punishing or acknowledging.

    Can you read minds through the Internet? That pretty much summed up my thoughts on the Avatars perfectly. Kris especially, he is easily one of the biggest Gary Stus I have seen created by an official company.

    Fun Fact: you actually can choose not to make a Tactician in FE7. Mark is so inconsequential, you can erase him from the game completely and lose nothing except some very minor dialogue.

    Recollection of Bubbles

    in Fire Emblem Fates

    Posted

    @Abvora: Azura's father can sing the song as well from what I understand. So he likely has Anankos blood in him too.

    Was that in the main game? I remember Anankos mentioning that the final king died before he could sing Lost in Thoughts, but that was in the Hidden Truths DLC, which had a different writer. And when stuff contradicts, I usually just go with the original source.

    Favorite support conversations

    in Fire Emblem Fates

    Posted

    LeoxAnyone. I haven't seen a support of Leo's that I haven't disliked yet.

    I love his supports with Niles, Takumi and Odin, but a lot of his S-supports have been lackluster so far. Dude just has more chemistry with the other guys.

    Really? I feel like I should give it a try, though the S support would have to wait since my Avatar is already married before I got Shura. I thought Izana was the last recruit :(

    IIRC, Kaze does that too xD

    Arthur goes a step further and make her laugh :P

    Recollection of Bubbles

    in Fire Emblem Fates

    Posted · Edited by Abvora

    Unless I'm missing something, Ryuurei isn't Azura's father. He's Valla's legendary first king. Azura only knows him from folklore and paintings. He shouldn't be her father unless he somehow was immortal, but I don't think anything is said about that.

    Oh thank goodness, that makes so much more sense. The wiki had him marked down as Azura's father and Arete's wife. Trying to figure out which of them the pendant belonged to was breaking my mind.

    Recollection of Bubbles

    in Fire Emblem Fates

    Posted

    Can someone clear something up for me? Azura refers to Ryurei as being able to sing the 4th verse, right? But in the main game, doesn't she refer to her pendant as her mother's pendant? The pendant's what lets them imbue magic in their songs, so if Ryurei were the one able to sing shouldn't it have been his pendant, not Arete's? I kind of need this information for a fic I'm writing and knowing which one was the born ruler is important.

    Who is the best Avatar?

    in General Fire Emblem

    Posted

    Corrin. He may be the worst for self-inserting, but he's very integrated into the story (unlike Robin, who hijacks the plot halfway through, and unlike Kris, who outright steals the spotlight from Marth), and he's got the most fleshed-out personality. His achievements also aren't as overblown as the other two, and he's even allowed to fail. That makes him feel the most "human" of the lot, which makes him easier to empathize with.

    What is your "Canon" pairings?

    in Fire Emblem Fates

    Posted · Edited by Abvora

    M!Corrin x Azura: They've got the great supports, the great story moments, the parallelism... OTP4life, so canon it hurts, etc, etc.

    Ryoma x Elise: Look I know the age difference is kind of skeevy but their supports were really cute and it was nice to see Lobster Lord get to relax and goof off and Pigtails be mature okay?!

    Ryoma x Scarlet: WHY. COULDN'T. YOU. SUPPORT.

    Takumi x Oboro: I think everyone else has summed up why this is a great pairing.

    Takumi x Camilla: I wouldn't say I ship this, per se, but I got a good chuckle out of their supports, and I think Takumi would actually enjoy Camilla's doting nature. Plus Yandere Kiragi is amusing.

    Xander x Charlotte: Their JPN supports were better, but I love the image of Queen Charlotte too much to let it go. Besides it's not as though their ENG supports are bad, just not as good.

    Niles x Camilla: I feel bad for Leo if this happens--that's like, the ultimate violation of the bro code, Niles--but their supports were really good. He learns not to judge books by their covers and she reveals what she keeps under wraps.

    Niles x Oboro: In the same vein as Takumi x Camilla--it's something I like more in theory than in actual practice. Kind of wish their supports had focused more on Oboro's hatred of Nohr and how Niles might play into her prejudices, but they're still nice.

    Laslow x Peri: Holy character development Batman.

    Arthur x Beruka: He teaches her about justice, and this is her only S-support where she straight-up laughs. Love it.

    Jakob x Flora: She deserves some happiness, and he admits she's one of the few he respects! There's no reason they couldn't be together! I'll just...never marry him to anyone else and pretend they hook up after the game.

    There are a lot more I like, but those are the only ones I'd say I "always" do (or would do if I good, RyomaxScarlet and JakobxFlora). Take Sakura for example, I pair her with Leo, Saizo, or Subaki depending on my mood and the route. Or Hayato, who I don't even care about and just throw him whichever girl is leftover.

    Halloween DLC Convo Thread

    in Fire Emblem Fates

    Posted

    I just translated Laslow/Niles: http://nanigma.tumblr.com/post/141748394452/laslowniles

    Holy gods, Laslow is the perfect victim for Niles! There is no way Japanese!Laslow isn't a virgin. Soleil must have been conceived like Jesus...

    Niles and Leo are friends with benefits confirmed

    Pretty nice~ I'm not surprised Anna tried to use Azura in a money-making scheme, lol.

    A Sardonic Look at Fire Emblem Fates

    in Fire Emblem Fates

    Posted · Edited by Abvora

    Also, why was IS pushing Azura HARD as the canon love interest for Corrin? What we learn in Revelations about Corrin's specific relation to Azura (they're cousins) makes that whole shipping ordeal messed up.

    Values dissonance. Cousins is legal in Japan, so for them it doesn't really mess up the shipping. Heck, it's even legal in some parts of the West.

    Funnily enough, I never really thought IS was pushing Azura as the "canon" love interest--at least, not in the same fashion as Chrom x Sumia.That is one of the reasons I never really liked them together (that and I was salty Sumia couldn't marry Stahl). Maybe they got better at being subtle or I'm just blind AF. Azura was just there to me--I don't even plan on marrying her when I play as a dude. As the same with many aspects of Fates, they could have done a bit more with Azura to give her a bit more presence. She's like the female version of Kellam to me. LOL.

    There's nothing as blatant as a scene called "Lovebirds" or an opening with Azura holding baby Kana (that would require them to put actual thought into the kids), but they really do push her. Three support conversations, three confessions, a fast support growth (which is normally restricted to siblings and retainers), and a lot of shippy dialogue (specifically Chapter 5 and the endgames).

    A Sardonic Look at Fire Emblem Fates

    in Fire Emblem Fates

    Posted

    I was surprised by how positive your review on Conquest was--I agree that Garon was almost entirely the sole cause of its problems, but I expected you to at least comment on how poorly-handled some aspects of the plot were (namely, the trip to Valla in Chapter 15).

    That said, I do agree that for all its flaws, I find Conquest better than Birthright, not just because of the gameplay, but because it's different. Corrin's actually a pretty tragic hero, a flawed prince who fails almost more than he succeeds, in Conquest, and that's very new and very interesting in Fire Emblem. The moral greyness and theme of sacrificing your morals for your family just make it more interesting than the tried-and-true Birthright, in my opinion.

    Child Scramble Convo Topic

    in Fire Emblem Fates

    Posted

    These kids don't really fit but I love the paring so here you go.

    Here's Leon-Kanna and Leon-Foleo too if anyone wants to add them to the masterpost.

    Leo's gave me fuzzy feelings <3

    Keaton/Shigure and Azura/Velouria were...odd? Like I didn't realize how weird it was to have two parts of the family with such clearly different artistic views until this conversation. Especially since Shigure's non-sibling convo with Velouria is about those artistic differences.

    General Fire Emblem fanart: what is hotlink???

    in General Fire Emblem

    Favorite support conversations

    in Fire Emblem Fates

    Posted

    Unfortunately for Corrin I have yet to find a good support line all the way to S. Azura came close, but some parts in Conquest's line made no sense, like the Ninja getting into my castle, how the hell did he get there? Ride on the bottom of a wagon on the way in or something? Soleil and Corrin support at least had the S-Support end in them starting a relationship rather than jump instantly to marriage, which was nice.

    It helps if you consider it taking place in a camp, not MyCastle (which is pretty far removed from the plot anyway).

    Favorite support conversations

    in Fire Emblem Fates

    Posted · Edited by Abvora

    Romantic: Corrin/Azura (all of them), Xander/Charlotte, Laslow/Peri, Ryoma/Elise, Takumi/Oboro, Niles/Camilla, Kaze/Nyx, Kaden/Hana, Keaton/Mozu, and Arthur/Beruka jump immediately to mind. Good C-A chains with natural-feeling S-supports. The first four in particular are at OTP status for me.

    Non-romantic: Oboro/Beruka, Leo/Niles, Leo/Odin, Laslow/Xander, and nearly all the royal/sibling combinations.

    Characters with great quality supports in general: Laslow, Azura, Oboro, Kaze, Saizo

    For the kids: Shigure/Mitama (non-sibling), Kiragi/Fem!Kana, and Shiro/Caeldori are the only ones I really remember with any sort of fondness.

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