Mercakete

You missed some. There's also Rajaions 1 and 2 (even though the second one was only mentioned by name in the epilogue of Radiant Dawn), the massive turtle guy from 3 Houses, and...for some reason I'm forgetting her name, but the leader of the Hounds from Engage. (She's a dragon, she just doesn't turn into one.)

I guess I was almost right with the cat gal being Lethe? Bit weird that she's a cat dressed as...a cat. Also, Nah joins her mom after all these years. And her transformed costume is adorable! The one prior to transformation is...eh. And Nagi telling Idunn that she probably shouldn't turn into a dragon here? Um... Just about everyone who's attended this festival can and you're going to anyway, so... Also, kind of disappointed in this harmonic. We didn't need a Nagi here, and I've been hoping for a harmonized Idunn+Alear since they have certain characteristics in common. Feels like a missed opportunity...but I guess IS likes Idunn a lot so...? But she already was partnered with Fae and now with Nagi, so I really don't know if they're going to jump on this or not now... Anyway, moving on. Free Yarne. Poor Yarne. Looks like he'll be a zombie or something. ... Wait. Does that mean he's extinct, or will never go extinct? Hard to tell. And then there's Askr, whom I will be trying to summon if I'm able to pour orbs into this (I've been trying and failing to get either Emblem Sigurd or Emblem Celica. Instead, I got 2 Lumeras. Take a hint, please, lady. It was okay getting you the first time, but honestly. That said, blocking people from obtaining emblem rings is in character for her.) His being all "I want to bring some of this candy home to my daughter" was so cute and wholesome. Love it.

Well, the silhouettes are up! Looks like Askr is on the left (with feathered wings. Is he wearing an angel costume?) and someone with kitty paws is on the right. The ribbon could mean anything, but it reminds me of the trailing ribbons at the ends of Lyre's collar. (Lethe has bells. I can't really remember what Lyre has. She might also have bells, though.) That said, the paws look fake and have the fuzzy wrist bits, so it's probably not a cat Laguz (unless one of them decided to dress up in a cat costume anyway?) Edit: You know, if Askr's here, I wonder if we'll get an Ash+Elm duo (I'm not banking on it, though.) I don't know what they'd be dressed up as (I thought of Ash being a bat and Elm being a young bull, but that might be kind of weird), but the blended family siblings energy could be adorable.

I'll begin by supporting Hrid. If (when) he loses, hopefully Nils will still be around for me to join. My other bracket preferences are Gunnthra and Flora. If all 4 lose in the first round, then... Uhhh Ylgr, I guess?

HOKAY. So, Blue is hands-down where I need to summon. I didn't manage to get Emblem Celica last time she was available, Sigurd's movement is crazy, and I don't have Mythic Lumera either. It's all Engage and TWO Emblems on that color. Here's hoping I don't get nothing but greens because that one's a hard pass for my barracks.

Okay, so, Pandreo's B conversation... I didn't expect Alcryst to farewell with a little "aroo." XD That was so adorable and unexpected that I accidentally barked a laugh! (Which isn't great because at the time, others in the house were trying to sleep.)

Whew! Well, I just finished the chapter and man was it a doozey. I'm glad it explained so much so clearly. But shoot was it dark. Man, poor Laeradr. That king was terrible. But shoot, Laeradr was absolutely broken by that king's prodding... It really explains his detached yet erratic behavior/mentality. He's desperately trying to get his children back, but is dissatisfied with his methods...and yet, he clings to what he can because it's the best he can do. He probably hates himself on multiple levels, too. For betraying his creed, for letting himself be used, for failing to protect his children, for living opposed to his morals... He just keeps yo-yoing between "at least I can live with incarnations of their memories" and "but they're not real" with a bit of "what have I done to these people" and "there was no hope for them to recover anyway" all thrown together. And he's immortal so it doesn't ever end. Man. It feels almost like killing Laeradr would be a mercy...which makes me think of when he described surgeon bird girl's state of how killing her would be putting her out of her misery. Even if it's true, Laeradr is unconsciously talking about himself too. He desperately wants to live with his family again, but he also is in such torment and has been in that state for so long that part of him thinks it would be more merciful to die. And so he goes back and forth in his stance...and that's reflected in his behavior too, reasonable one moment and violent the next. And all this as someone with a healing nature... I feel bad for the guy. This is a really creative story for how his kind of power could manifest, though, and the "transplant" theme works perfectly with the medical and tree/plant themes. It's beautifully seamless. I feel bad for Eikpyrnir too. He found out all this accidentally, and tried to bear it without letting his sisters know about it. From a design perspective, it also kind of makes me wonder if these glowing animal bits were naturally on the original kids, and that on these new hosts, they're actually just sprouting out from the heart seeds. But man, I guess the major takeaway is that killing the bad guy doesn't repair everything. The main villain here is that wicked king, and he's been dead for a long time. It's good to acknowledge that hurt and loss persist even after "the world is saved." People need to be careful about their actions. Consequences thereof can really stick around, and turn into even more pain in other people in a ripple effect. This solemn truth... It's nice to see it spotlighted for what it is. Edit: Wait. Guys. What if the wicked king isn't dead? It implied that Laeradr killed him, but at the end of that flashback, Laeradr wondered to himself what he would do after killing him. What if, in some need to maintain some connection to his kids and in a twist of logic, he decided to keep the king alive and found a way to make him immortal? Even if the guy was his children's murderer, in some twisted way, that's still a link to their last days alive. And what if this king is the guy Laeradr was referring to when he said that there's someone who he supplies the needs of and vise-versa (the guy who had the Quieting Hands attack Askr and Embla in an attempt to destroy their peace talks.) Maybe what the other guy supplies to Laeradr is vegetables (and by that, I mean people whose bodies are alive, but whose minds are blank) by which to keep his children's heart seeds alive, continuously transplanting them as Eikpyrnir described. If that's the case then we can expect the big bad to actually be this wicked king, and Laeradr is just the dragon (and by that, I mean the very strong, very loyal person serving the big bad, like Vader serving Sidius (or however you spell his name) in the original Star Wars trilogy.) Also, that would make this one heady book. It seriously plunges right into a combination of herbology (medicine and poison aren't all that different - it's mostly a dosage thing) and both mental and physical healthcare themes (all of which are quite interconnected.) (Regardless, though, they already very much took inspiration from all of these themes.) Of course, IS may also be using this to introduce a new character, and that could be whomever Laeradr has a partnership with and the evil king could really be dead. It's just that if Laeradr kept the blind king alive, then that would be an extra bit of twisted.

Oh. That one girl from the hounds will be coming to the game. Cool. Also, dang it, I love the music in this trailer. XD And maaaaan having a cute little buddy robot?! Shoot. I was ready to skip the new Reginn entirely, but...maybe just for now. I wonder what other little friends we'll get along the way. Also, Fogato's in! Cool, though I still wish he'd get a version where his weapon is an affogato (coffee with ice cream, basically.) Kind of funny that Laguz Friend is here again. That's what you get for your localization choices, IS. Anyway, I'm satisfied with this banner, but probably won't pull on it. ... Despite the little buddy bot and cool keychain charm art. (Clearly my priorities are straight.) Edit: Oh, Pandreo's being added too? Awesome! I'm just glad he made it in. IS makes some weird choices sometimes. Like how Franz is still waiting to be added into the game, even though his hero, his bro, his bro's bestie, both of his lieges, and his girlfriend are all already in the game before him...and he's a very early game character.

And now I'm disappointed again. XD; I'll work through it again.

So, Nils is the freebie. Everyone else is a girl, and in outfits that actually remind me more of Askr and Nifl (they like to use feathers a lot.) The silhouette is maidlike, but at least it's not just a Nohrian maid uniform. However, I kind of hate these outfits' designs. Also, they don't really feel like they'd be the traditional Ice Tribe garb, based on what clear examples we have (Flora and Felicia's dad's outfit, the other generic Ice Tribe members.) I somehow totally misremembered what Ice Dad's outfit looked like. I'm editing this to say that I'm glad it kind of looks like it's modeled after it. It still doesn't quite feel right, though. So, speaking personally, I'm happy that this theme happened. I don't like the execution of it. That said, I don't have to like it. I can save orbs (since the only one I care about is free.) My life and my happiness are not dependent on what some other company decides to put out. ^_^ I'll just make my own stories and art the way I like them (original stuff, of course. I'm not about to try to change someone else's canon.) There. Problem solved. It's so nice how perspective can totally change one's mood! ^_^ (This has been Merc working through disappointment.) Extra notes: I'm glad Nifl has an ice vein ability. Also, what's with all the ice skates? I'd be all "okay, cool" if they gave a cavalry effect over ice, but some are mounted and still wearing skates. I fear for those horses and that pegasus. Poor things, getting lacerated like that. Now to see everyone else's impressions! Edit: The outfits are based more on the Ice Tribe garb than I remembered, so glad about that. Not that I like the designs. Also, I meant to share a lineup I'd been thinking would make sense, but IS really didn't go with it. One thing was that this would have been a great opportunity for Flora and Felicia's dad to be added to the game. Another thing is that having representatives from a lot of games (in this case, from cold-climate nations) and only 1 from the host would've worked well. Silisce (if I'm remembering that place's name right - the one from FE4 with all the peg knights and wind mages), Faerghus, Ilya (I'm probably spelling that wrong), Elusia, Nifl... We got some of those, but...the choices are just so bland... We could've at least had Florina over Thea. Honestly, if we were going to get both of the ice twins, I would've rather had them as a duo unit. And as for Nifl... Just Nifl by herself would've been fine. Or Gunnthra. We just got Summer Hrid, otherwise I would've rather we got him. Ylgr would've been fine, I guess (provided she got something to wear underneath that dress because good golly no.) And then you have to wonder how Rosado would've done this, also being a cold-climate kid.

Obviously it's Ice Tribe. I was never arguing that. I was arguing the costume choices. They're representing a subsect of Nohrian society (or at least the girls seem to be) instead of their own native dress. Giving someone a servant's uniform instead of traditional garb just because they've been subjugated by a more powerful nation is kind of... Hmm I can't quite find the word, but it's sort of mortifying. We know they have traditional garb, we just haven't seen much of it. This was a good opportunity to show more of it.

Ah, new silhouettes. Looks like Nils on the right and...Clarine or someone on the left? In a Nohrian maid's outfit... So, they're not going for Ice Tribe traditional wear but rather the working garb of those sent to serve Nohr? Hrm...

Sorry, Alfonse, but I have to support Soren. If Soren loses and Alfonse is still around, I'll join him. If not, then I'll join Felix.

Pff. Shez... It feels like a "I can quit anytime I want to" line, him talking about his sword returning to him. XD Seems fun. I'll decide how I feel about summoning on this later.

Sharena is spot on. I think that's actually a Bride Embla line. XD And man, Askr and Embla are so cute here! Man, I've been waiting for this thread to update. But, hm... I know there have been more comics since the last update here.