Interdimensional Observer

Yes, they do actually. I believe you can find some in Myanmar (aka Burma), they play a part in the Rakhine-Rohingya conflict I thought I remember reading once. The Rohingya are a Muslim minority the Buddhist Rakhine majority (in only this part of the country a majority, otherwise they're another minority) oppresses and persecutes. Given Boston Cream Pie is actually technically a cake, does that mean the lie is a cake or the pie is a lie?

Would depend on the size of the desert in question. And how large an area is need for a ton of sand to be lifted and moved?- sand is small and light. If you wanted a definite answer, go and find one of those geologists who study tubes of Saharan sand that sank to the bottom of the eastern Atlantic over millennia. Some people might think they're cool, but I find their job BORE-ING. Why do people shell out huge money for coffee beans that have passed through the digestive tract of one of these?

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To take an optimistic perspective on things, better a character added in a little under par than not added at all. A character that is in the game can still be used and patched up a bit later via weapon refinement. A character not in the game isn't playable at all. They can't let players run out of things to refine, otherwise Divine Dew eventually becomes useless as a resource. It'll take months, but Nanna should get something eventually (and hopefully so will Canas). Sounds like Lector pessimism. Although Rein IS Blue and an older addition (which if Lector was preplanned pre-CYL2 polling would mean their choosing last year's populars for LHs), and to a degree important in his original game. *Sigh* FE's swordlord love bites it again. I'd accept something a little strange like a Lance Sigurd- Awakening did push this to a small degree. Well they could have done something to reference Rajinto's +4 Str, any offensive skill could be thrown on his blade. Similarly, I wish there is one day an Xanfried and Ikell who have Def skills in their signature personals over DC, just because they both offered Def bonuses in their base games.

My old fantheory, before they invented SoV's backstory for Gimle, was that it was an aggregate being born of Medeus and all the Earth Dragons beneath the Table. As centuries pass and they are suffocated by the Binding Shield, they degenerate to the point their minds, body and power meld, and above all their shared hatred for humanity becomes one. Eventually this gradual fusion into a "one who is many" entity ends up having a synergistic effect which is actually able to overpower the Binding Shield and thus breaks though the barrier. The sentient mass then solidifies into a physical form, taking the name Grima. For it was born of degeneracy and hate, it only knows those things and seeks dominance and destruction. Not helped at all by the fact Bantu is implied to somehow be still alive. If that dried chile is still around, where the heck is Gotoh, and where is the much younger Xane? Ah yes, 2000 years, an amount of time exceeding any distance between prior legendary heroes (Anri, Heim, Athos, Altina etc.) and the present day by at the least twofold. 2000 years IRL is also sufficient for climates and geography to change to a degree, but barring a cataclysmic climatic event, there is absolutely no way Archanea could have changed that much in that timeframe. Though FE is fantasy and not real, therefore when something doesn't seem realistic, you can fall back on: Ooh-ooooh It's magic- you know! Ne-ver be-lieve it's not so! It's magic- you know! ...Or they could have invented Not-The-Ending-Winter as a cataclysmic event that turns Macedon into a litter box and such, that be magical, but with a realistic plausibility rooted in things like volcanic/meteoric winters and whatnot. As a bit of an aside, the Grann Desert in Tellius doesn't make too much sense either. It's a fairly large patch of sand surrounded by mountains right smack dap in the middle of Tellius's superpower. I mean we don't know much about Begnion's geography, but it just doesn't seem like it should be there, other than providing the players with a plausible place to fight in the best possible terrain conditions ever. Goldoa suffices as desert lands in Tellius, not that you can even be sure it is desert unless you read the Recollection- before that I just assumed semi-barren hilly highlands.

If it is Lucina, well she hasn't gotten for all her popularity an alt in a while, so she is fine. But instead of a Falchion, could she get the Noble Rapier for a change? Or if thou must have a Falchion, how about breaking from tradition and doing something crazy with it? Like a Dualblade Falchion- two swords connected by the same hilt pointing in opposite directions.

The "makes clear" part applies to the Ashnard manipulation, the Blood Pact part is only implied, but I think there is enough evidence to pin it on Sephiran. The exact language used to describe the man who made Ashnard's Blood Pact is "a traveling wise man", no mention of age. The Japanese extended script goes a little further: That Tauroneo line isn't in the English, but it does raise a point, who would concoct a Blood Pact? This one little line should ideally get the player thinking this is no ordinary, forgettable individual, although maybe I read a little too much into it. Given its sheer power, the Blood Pact can't be an easy thing to make, it would be a bit absurd if such a nation-crippling device was Magic 101. The Begnion Senate certainly has the resources to find and get someone to make one, and Izuka seems capable, but how just many lone traveling wise men would know how to make one and then offer it to someone? It can't be Izuka who made Ashnard's though, otherwise Almedha should have said that, and "bizarre" might not be a bad word for the eccentric Sephiran. Arguments to support "a Traveling Wise Man" = Sephiran: Sephiran is the most powerful magic user in all of Tellius, having lived nearly a thousand years and being the loyal first servant of the goddesses, it is certainly within his grasp to create for Ashnard a Blood Pact. Sephiran has the motive to give Ashnard one. Getting Ashnard on the Daein throne will give him an entire country as a tool to spread chaos, which will help facilitating the coming of the judgement Sephiran desires to come to pass. He already gave Ashnard the Medallion and Lillia in the past, and in the future gives him the Black Knight. What is say he didn't help him in some way between these two events? And if this was not enough, Sephiran is noted for traveling in disguise. When you first meet him in PoR, he is pretending to be a pilgrim. Sanaki later says in PoR Sephiran likes donning disguises and traveling. He later traveled with Zelgius to Gallia incognito to check on the Medallion in Greil's possession. Between these events, when Zelgius sought out Sephiran to cure his Brand, he calls him in the flashback "Lord Sage"- a synonym for "wise man". Even the civilians who tell Sephiran about Misaha's assassination and then pound on him when he accidentally reveals his wings from the doubly tragic news, call him "Lord Sage". And this was at the very moment before he even went mad! This isn't one circumstance of Sephiran being a traveling and or wise man, this is five cases when it is shown or stated. Enough circumstantial evidence to assume any traveling wise man in a serious plot role is Sephiran, and getting Ashnard on Daein is a serious affair. And for Sephiran it makes sense, traveling is how he can spot opportunities to take advantage of to bring forth the judgement.

To be true to FE4 and 5, Nanna is not the most staffy Staffbot. Virtually no Magic and a low Staff rank which are compensated for by high movement and ability to defend themselves unpromoted (the Mov being very useful of course). Nanna can't use any legendary or personal staff in Jugdral either, her personal is the Runesword. However, after Caeda's Wing Sword, there is no reason they couldn't have converted the Runesword into a Rune Staff, an Absorb++. Oh well, they can refine one of those for her later.

In defense of Sephiran, he didn't exactly need to do much. Elibe wasn't just going to open the Dragon's Gate or generate enough Quintessence for Nergal to do so. Jugdral wasn't just going to produce a Major Loptyr Blood and bring Loptyr back into the world. Archanea wasn't just going to let Gharnef rule it. Magvel just wasn't going to return the Demon King. Ylisse and Valm weren't just going to free Grima. In all of these cases, the Gharnef need to meddle a lot because otherwise their goals wouldn't be attained. Sephiran on the other hand had a world that didn't need so much direct manipulation. The Senate was corrupt without him, he just had to let it fester and rot even more. The Laguz and the Beorc already distrusted each other and had fought wars in the past, he didn't have to invent this. The Thousand Year Covenant with a heavy punishment for failure he did invent- but not originally for the purpose of continental euthanasia! If Rafiel didn't exist, he would have needed to do more to spur a war between the Laguz and Beorc, but that is about it in RD. And of course, RD also makes clear he is the one behind Ashnard in PoR, and implies he was the traveling old man who gave Ashnard the Blood Pact that let him become King of Daein. Ashnard was so hungry for battle, Sephiran hardly needed to advise him beyond telling of him of the false tale behind Lehran's Medallion and dangling it in front of him. RD also adds in the Nasir 4-Final-1 Base Conversation that Sephiran came very close to success via Ashnard- fairly minimal manipulation and helping of a madman, some monitoring thereafter, and few other sleights of hand: telling the BK to let Elincia set sail after Chapter 11, and bringing the full might of Begnion into war on Ike's side. Fighting Sephiran with Pelleas also suggests he was Izuka's real master. I'm sure the Senate would have been fine with a permanent Occupation Army, Sephiran on the other hand did have more to gain with a freed Daein, a full military power restored being able to produce more chaos than just by opposing a petty Occupation Army as a powerless resistance.

Micaiah doesn't play the trope so plainly as Ninian does. Ninian is quite by the books, and is from her introduction defined by being mysterious and fragile and special. She is also kidnapped twice, gets amnesia once, willing lets herself be captured, and then gets Deus Ex Machina'ed back to life. I find the trope problematic as misogyny- treating females as delicate (even if powerful in some way) creatures who need males to support them. The mystery aspect is also supposed to be in some way seductively alluring to the males. Micaiah, although she does rest on Sothe a few times due to fatigue, she isn't as fragile, and is actually the leader of a group as opposed to the love interest of a male main. Because she is a stronger individual, although her powers are special, in a sense they aren't as defining as they with Ninian. Ninian sans powers, love of Eliwood, and family bond with Nils is just a weak damsel. Micaiah can be a rather strong person even when her powers aren't in play- Part 3 outside of the little time she spends collapsed. Micaiah also has a secret past, but she doesn't come off as mysterious ooh la la la, well ever really. We find out before Part 1 is even over that she is Branded. She is not the only Branded on Tellius at all either, unlike Ninian who is the only half-Ice Dragon who crossed over from the Dragon's Gate besides her brother in all of Elibe. Branded are a normal part of Tellius, Arcadia might exist, but Ninian isn't from there, she came from another world. Micaiah being the True Apostle is only hinted at starting with the end of Part 3, and while this plays into Sanaki's mini character arc, it is not heavily dwelled on in Part 4. Sure Micaiah's powers rest entirely on being the True Apostle, and why P4 doesn't dwell on the past even she didn't know owes something to Micaiah just not having much of the limelight in Part 4. Nonetheless, outside of like the first couple chapters where she is the "Silver Haired Maiden", there is little to no aura of mystery to Micaiah, and she is just a stronger, more independent individual than Ninian, or Micaiah's more direct inspirations Deidre and Julia. And I don't dislike Micaiah or anything, I certainly do appreciate her. Why when I finally dive into FEH, one of my priorities is going to be making a little team out of her, RD Ike, Soren, and Sothe. She just doesn't make me leap with enthusiasm. A nice smile to see her featured in something, but not a cry of utter joy. Part 1? Yes, I'll agree seeing him at the end would have been a great way to reintroduce his character. And also give him a little time with his greatx30+ granddaughter, which is a kinda important bond that is not actually ever established until a second playthrough in the final fight. Part 3 being dragged to prison? That would come off as a red herring in retrospect. Why would Sephiran fear prison? Begnion and the Laguz are at war- the plan of mass euthanasia via Medallion breakage is coming along. He has Mantle, the Senate could drop a guillotine on his neck and *tink* it bounces right off, they can't execute him. He also seems to have been able to cunningly flout his imprisonment at will, I would imagine when he told Naesala to free Sanaki he did it after being arrested. He might as well have just chosen to stay behind bars to give Zelgius a clear rendezvous point. And mind you, he had seemingly zero issues being locked up in PoR. This is Tellius's most powerful magic user, even without a tome I could see him shooting off an Ellight or something and taking out his cell guard and then breaking out. Maybe I subconsciously think more on the moments where Eliwood is at his most boring, like the Fiora support, as sweet and considerate as Eliwood is and as good a match the two are, it is a boring support. With Lyn and Hector, Eliwood certainly pops to life more. A similar case can be made with Ike, sometimes he has the vibrant flavor of cold raw potato. But put Reyson or Ranulf in the room and he comes to life for instance. Characters have their highs and lows of personality, interactions, and characterization and all. As for Lilina, FE7 didn't exist during FE6's development, Hector was just the important old guy who dies early on for some plot impetus. Lilina is Roy's Caeda, except having traded her lance and pegasus for a tome and boots, and crazy high Spd for crazy high Mag. Caeda, although important to Marth, ultimately did zilch in the plot of pretty much both of his games, though she did recruit a bunch of characters in Shadow Dragon, which Lilina also does. Again, I was just saying at very worse, a most dramatic case, for the Corrin comparison. Sigurd didn't invent Agustrian messed up internal relations or play a role in the Loptyrian manipulation of Agustria, but he was more or less if I have it right, the pawn used to bring Agustria under Grannvalian control. Could they have used someone else like Andrei? Yes, I don't see why not. But Sigurd was the one who ultimately did do it in practice. Prior to Chapter 2, Agustria isn't caught up in any warfare at all. And Sigurd as a great warrior who doesn't exactly love fighting, sounds different in a good way. Does his noble duty amazingly with no love for it, unlike Hector (who often escaped Ostia for the arena), Ephraim (who wanted to run off and make Eirika his body double), and Ike (who loves sparring). Even better, Sigurd is guy! "I fight well but harbor no love of war" sounds more like something a female would say, Eirika is more or less like this, and Celica her original too correct? Maybe not Lyn though (she starts out her journey seeking revenge), and certainly not Micaiah, but pacifism is certainly more a female trait in FE than it is male.

i'll agree that Lloyd on Hector over Linus and Eliwood respectively. For pretty much the theorized reasons of freshness. Linus does have a good heart, it is stated in his FFO he avoided dragging civilians into his fight with Eliwood and Hector and co., but he is just too brutish and rash. Not quite an earlygame generic bandit boss, he is still exaggerated like many FE villains. Lloyd is cool and calm, not exaggerated like other villains. Yet he is not exactly dull and forgettable either, nor is he pushed heavily as a Camus, even though he was on the path to becoming one. To judge the Reed Brothers, I went back and read all their dialogue, there is even a line where Lloyd compares Hector to Linus, making the parallel more clear. I've also noticed, in case you haven't, that Lloyd and Linus have two other sets of parallels. The first is Karel and Harken- one is a Swordmaster, the other a Hero, though personality-wise, they're the opposite of Lloyd and Linus, with Harken the Hero calm, while Karel lusts for battle. The other parallel is Georg and Kaim, the bosses of the Durandal and Armads chapters, one is a Berserker (an axe-Swordmaster) and the other a Hero. A third potential parallel can be found in Roland and Durbans, Roland is like Eliwood and is presumed to have been a Hero, while Durbans is presumed to have been a Berserker and is closer to Hector. This Swordmaster/Berserker-Hero imagery has a certain poetry to it when you consider Myrmidon and Mercenary were once the same class.

Sigurd I can't quite judge as I do Seliph. My willingness to judge Seliph is predicated on the premise that FE4 Gen 2 is generally simple, safe and unambitious with its narrative allowing for Seliph to be easily read and digests wholly from the script. There are a few more complicated elements to it I can't really touch, Thracia affairs so much, but Seliph at least is in my reach. Sigurd and Leif are caught up in more complex plots that demand ingame context for me judge effectively. As for whether Sigurd deserves to belong in the same category as Hector, Ike and Ephraim, in the Perfect Pretty Boy group, or be Chrom's predecessor who straddles the two (before the Hector-muscular group was ever established) is open to debate I shall concede. Although being a noble does not exclude from the Hector group, since otherwise it's just a party of one- Ike (who even has a formerly noble father). At very worse, I could see one saying he is CQ Corrin's predecessor, blindly causing destruction all over the world. A more sympathetic reading though could cast him as being a pure and simple warrior at heart whose innocent loyalty is his doom, and such a reading leans him more towards the Hector group I think. I think one could even argue possibly that Chapters 2-3 Sigurd is a Camus as an aside, which then brings to mind Micaiah's near-Camus nature in Part 3 (she never quite becomes one). Moral greyness would be nice, but it isn't necessary. And yes they aren't the smartest around generally, but the way the stories are told for pre-12 Marth, for Roy, and for Seliph, is that they are basically the ones making all the important decisions and everything successful is attributable to them. Having a meaningful coterie of supporters alleviates this, which they lack. And Roy has Merlinus. Who is sometimes contradicted by Roy to the benefit of success. Elffin also comes later, but more supplements Roy with information than actually make strategy, that is Roy's realm. Lumping Eliwood with Marth, Seliph, and Roy is less on grounds of perfection than on personality. Eliwood I know well isn't perfect, and I do appreciate this aspect of him. Having to share the spotlight with Hector, and FE7 having Mark who exists to be the strategizing mind of the group (and Lyn... exists), is very much why Eliwood isn't perfect I think. Roy is perfect because he alone bears the plot on his shoulders, Eliwood doesn't, to his benefit because it lets him make mistakes and his flaws be seen narratively. The Hellene outburst being Eliwood's, and Hector being the one to say the content of these lines: do well to invert the usual expectations of what these two characters are. Eliwood and Hector compliment each other quite well. And Eliwood probably is the best Pretty Boy (since "Perfect" isn't well suited for him). Understandable. I can see how Soren can come off as being just too "inhumanly smart it's favoritism on the writers' part", well in RD, his brainiac abilities aren't so focused on in PoR. To be fair, in Dynasty Warriors, a series which has its fair share of playable tacticians, Zhuge Liang turns me off. While all tacticians come off as godly there (but most people in the series seems godly to some extent), Zhuge Liang is just too godly and too mystically aloof, he feels not very human being so legendarily brilliant. I'm more of the Jia Xu or Sima Yi person, they seem to be a bit more grounded.

And yet nobody defended the terrible PR of FEW. Even though the pre-made Bayonnaise case one may be able to argue is worse.

I can find bits of likeability in all the other lords, some more so than the others. The problem perhaps, is the absence of a nuanced, distinctive, intelligent lord who isn't stuck in the category as I see it called "Perfect Pretty Boy". This starts with Marth, was followed with certainty by Seliph (OG Gaiden Alm has too little to tell), is then followed by Reborn as a Redhead Marth, is then followed by Redhead Marth's father. They're all the same, mild and regal individuals who if they lack in fighting abilities (Roy and Eliwood seem to canonically compared to others around them; Marth and Seliph not so much), compensate with this noble aura (which does what exactly?) and inherent strategic genius- well save for Eliwood and FE12 Marth, they have advisors for that. SoV Alm seems to more or less be a green Marth raised without knowledge of their royal origins, but nonetheless is mild and perfect. But I can't really judge him. Robin doesn't belong to this category, but I don't really care for this perfect loved by all tactician who MUST be loved by all since they are YOU! AND YOU ARE SPECIAL! Robin isn't me, and while I understand a younger more in need of self-help and encourage crowd, teenagers, might need or benefit from such a figure, I certainly don't need one. Corrin seems to be the Perfect Pretty Boy lord and the Kris/Robin merged into one with a terrible outcome, but I can't really judge them. Chrom on the other hand combines the physique and some mannerisms of the muscular lord established by Sigurd, Hector, Ephraim, and Ike, but draws just as heavily from, and narratively if you ask me is more defined by, the Perfect Pretty Boy and all their regality. My opinion of Chrom is quite low owing to him being just much too driven by his heart, I understand there is a place for emotion, but he has little control over himself nor critically reflects on his fault. Marth in FE11 has a rather well-noted "I am a prince before a son and brother" line, I would think Roy and Seliph would be able to stomach making the same statement. Elincia to bring her up, certainly said as much when she let Lucia, her dear friend and sister by upbringing, die. Chrom's mantra is more "I am a brother and a friend before I am a king and someone with the best interests of the entire world in mind". So, with Leif being in a game I haven't played (reading FE4 Gen 2's and FE6's script I feel gives me a good enough impression of Seliph and Roy, not so with Thracia's), the only intellectual lord left is Micaiah if you'd consider her one. And as for Micaiah, I certainly like her, I don't LOVE her, but I do appreciate her, in particular I offer my sympathy when things are going really badly for her in Part 3. Maybe Three Houses will make one of its protags a intellectual that can actually appeal to me. Who knows? Just quit giving us Marth with new wigs!

I can and do appreciate a measure of badass. My liking for Hector most likely began with his gameplay goodness when I was younger, but over time has matured into an appreciation for his actual character. Hector has sufficient nuance and isn't a total brute, he likes battle and being direct, but can grasp politics and battle geography. Nor does he get away with near-perfection like Ephraim. Whilst I do prefer intellectuals and dislike brutes, I try to judge each character on an individual basis to be fair to them. Despite me being something of a Shotacon, Ewan and Ross, and Edward if you'd count him with his cheery attitude as one, don't really appeal to me. Ewan too is mage in training, and I love Tormod, but for some reason Ewan just doesn't stand out. Miriel and Lute aren't exactly appealing either, although Lute being a bit less extreme is better to me. Contrariwise, I find Geitz a good character, and admit there is something admirable to Dorcas in his humble devotion to his wife. FE7 Bartre and Dozla- those are instances of the brawns over brains which I can very much do without. If I had to critically analyze why I like Geitz and find Dorcas okay, perhaps it's that they are muscular men, but they aren't defined wholly by those muscles. Dorcas is defined by being a loving husband, he is rather calm and doesn't lust for war. Geitz, outside of his Dart ties, nothing about his character has to do with being a Warrior. He has become disillusioned with his life as a merchant's son after discovering the inhumanity his father commands below deck on his ship, and has thus abandoned his family in search of some new existential meaning. Geitz could be in any class and his story would not need to change, why looking for life's meaning and a merchant background sounds more like the stuff of a Sage, but just because Geitz isn't one doesn't mean I don't like him. Nor do I like him because his background leans intellectual I would hope, I just consider him written without real issues and rather unique for an FE character. Is there anyone with a story like his? ...But I think I've gone too far off topic here.

One of my favorite chapters in all of FE from a combined narrative-gameplay approach is RD 3-3: River Crossing. For those who don't remember. It follows the failed attempt to delay the Begnion Central Army, after Tibarn tragically united with the Greil Mercenaries and Gallia. The Begnion Central Army led by Zelgius is on the east bank of the Ribahn River is on the defensive, and the Laguz Alliance is on the west side has been on the offensive, although the balance is stalemating here. The BCA is too powerful for the LA to defeat in an open battle, so Soren devises for the Laguz Alliance to gain ground and continue its invasion of Begnion. The plan goes as follows: Skrimir leads the mass of the Laguz Alliance over the Ribahn into battle with Begnion Central Army's mass. This commits the BCA's forces, and also satisfies the base desire of the Hawks and Beasts to fight. Tibarn and some other Hawks drop Ranulf and a handpicked Beast elite force behind the front lines to duel with Zelgius and the other high officers. Foggy and cloudy weather helps keep the airdrop a covert surprise. This distracts Zelgius et al., both from commanding the mass and from the third part of Soren's plan. A second group of Hawks drops the special forces of the Greil Mercenaries and friends into the BCA's base camp filled with supplies, which is lightly defended due to the battle being fought. Ike and co. cause chaos and destruction through the camps, which causes the Begnion Senators there to panic. In their hysteria, the Senators, who are higher on the chain of command than Zelgius despite a lack of military knowhow, will recall Zelgius to defend them. Zelgius will thus withdraw from the masses from the battle to defend the Senators. The implication of this is that it will allow the LA to take the ground the BCA yields, causing their current position to become untenable and the Begnion Central Army will retreat to elsewhere. That is the plan. And guess what? It works perfectly! However, judging from an IRL perspective, was Soren's plan as ironclad as it appears to be in the game? Clearly the foggy weather played a significant role in letting steps 2 and 3 happen, but I'm not so concerned with the fog here. It existed, Soren used it, it means the strategy isn't perfect, but it strategists have to be adaptive and use plans that are context sensitive. What I am concerned with is how necessary was it that Zelgius withdraw the mass to save the base camp? Soren's plan depends on Zelgius doing just this. Zelgius is a loyal soldier, and while the very next fight has him frustrating the Senators by doing their command, but his own way which angers them, here he follows their pleas in full- abandoning the front to save them. Yet, if Zelgius had the bone of slim disagreement which he does in the following battle, would it have been possible for him to keep the BCA mass forces engaged and still have sent a force to restore order to the camps? The Begnion Central Army is made out to be a juggernaut that cannot be defeated in direct combat, and yet the Laguz Alliance had already committed its mass in an open battle whilst the camp attack was underway- the very thing they're supposed to be unbeatable at. Could Zelgius have taken like 5% of the mass at most to the camps and kept the remaining 95% in battle and salvaged a victory via Laguz extermination? Sounds as though it has some plausibility to it. On the other hand, the BCA is said in the prior chapter to be heavily dependent on its supplies with it being so large. That doesn't seem to stop it from being very mobile as well from what the Kauku Caves chapter (3-8) suggests, despite the Laguz Alliance presumably being more mobile due to not needing to lug around weapons and armor and having smaller numbers. Yet this aside, the point of the supplies still matters. Would the work of the Greil Mercenaries have been so thorough Zelgius needed to pull back to regroup and refuel? Even assuming Ike's team outside of gameplay burned a lot more tents and crates, how much could they have possibly destroyed? An alternative to Soren's perfect outcome that appears to me would be that Zelgius does keep the BCA masses engaged while restoring order to the camps. The LA knowing the BCA is now logistically hindered, orders its masses still locked in battle with the BCA to make a planned retreat. Zelgius can't follow because the metaphoric stomach of the BCA has been emptied, but owing to its sheer size, he is still able to hold the Ribahn's east bank to the LA's chagrin and the battle remains a stalemate with neither side having actually lost that much. I call myself someone who wants to be a historian, but I'm not too familiar with military history, I find battle history boring to study. Does real world military conflict historically approve or disapprove of the perfection of Soren's plan? Were there cases where a successful supplies raid coordinated with a battle not cause the raided side to retreat/lose? The only instance I can think of, which supports Soren, is the Yuan Shao vs. Cao Cao battle, Guandu I think its called (thanks Dynasty Warriors!). However, this doesn't exactly support Soren, since I believe I read both sides were on the verge of collapse, and the supply raid was just the straw that broke the camel's back. The BCA on the other hand is virtually unharmed and fresh at this point, and it has a power advantage over the LA which I imagine Yuan Shao lacked.

Interesting to see fellow agnostics here. I think it has something to do with having FFT in the title and people lionizing FFT's plot. That and the irony of saying escapism is bad in a video game. But I wouldn't call the plot at all bad really, I enjoyed it enough, but mind you the last time I played this game was over a decade ago so I kinda forget a good bit of it, particularly from later on. Basically stuff from beyond say the Babus-Exodus battle is where my memory gets foggy. I only played past that point once when I was a kid, the postgame mini-arc with Cid I recall liking as well. By which you mean? It took me about an hour to finalize my EOV crew. As I said before, I already had the classes picked out. My issues were visually and nominally. The first Strata was painful, EO always begins with your guys being nothing, and darned it was bad. Lots of deaths at the start due to the absence of a Dragoon to reduce damage. I didn't buy new equips until I got pretty much to the end of the Strata just before the boss, and once I did, things weren't perfect, but I was doing palpably better, a Kodachi+5 on my Masurao made a massive difference. Since the quests required I slay one of every FOE in this labyrinth, I did and it wasn't really hard at the end, if each encounter still completely exhausting. The Stratum boss (fought at lv 16) did burn all of my Botanist's TP, but the fight was in comparison to prior 1st Stratum bosses, rather weak, I just ignored the peons for I had no chance of destroying them all in time and they infinitely spawned (I did block the side reinforcements though), and I guarded every time it was about to Explode. As for the rest of my journey so far, up to the start of the 3rd Stratum:

Which to be precise would mean July 11th, since the 10th is when the second new summer seasonal banner is coming. *Offers up a silent hope that FINALLY a banner I would sufficiently like is in the forecast*

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Have you heard how much time some of them spout excrement? They can't keep their scat to themselves, so they try to make life as crappy as possible for everyone else by having their 'hole on full display in public for all to see with its contents spilling out everywhere. Why, despite them all being citrus, is Orange Juice called Orange Juice, and yet Lemonade and Limeade are not called Lemon Juice and Lime Juice?

I don't care much for sports, an intellectual type and all am I. If I need a fix, I just wait for the Olympics every two years, they're always fun to watch. A dose of athleticism with happy internationalism. Sure the element of superpower rivalry exists, the games are a giant burden on the host, and most countries sadly win nothing, but I like them. At the very least, I can stare at the divers in the Summer Olympics, they look so good. If only that were the professional attire everywhere- with similar requirements on the body form as well! Can't have the one without the other. Fencing is also fun to pretend to love and watch, because who doesn't love being snobby elitist for five minutes? Winter is all clothed, but the ice skating is so graceful that I don't mind, true elegance can sometimes triumph over lust. And it does in this case. And then there was the Russian girl who did a routine dressed as the classic magical girl Sailor Moon- not at the Olympics, but they were doing a little background clip on her which showed that. I want to forget that, and remember more of the actual graceful skating.

Yes it does. And they're all ingredients that go into the filling for the holy cannoli (yes, somehow all those things taste absolutely divine together, if you read your scriptures right you discover the hidden recipe to make them on Earth exactly as they are in heaven). Why is my donut with chocolate glaze, coated in M&Ms, with a dollop of whoopee pie cream in the middle, and non pareils sprinkled on that, considered breakfast?

I was just in the mood for general character denigration of everyone in the VG. Casting everyone in a negative-ish light without going crazy with it. You do have a point though.

Enjoy your weeklong dose of chaos theory. For a basically random process that produces a winner, I'll play Mario Party, it's more fun. Now if only I could edit that kinda well known "Luigi does nothing and wins" clip for FEH. It's Blackmailed By Manfroy Thinking There Would Ultimately Be Good vs. Subtly Manipulated By Formortiis Thinking It Would End In Good. What difference does it make? Pawns are both of them I say, both with catastrophic consequences. (Since it's Eph vs. Lyon, I'm assuming it's Ephraim's Lyon, and not the super pity magnet of Eirika Lyon. The greater agency and more nuanced manipulation of Ephyon makes me like him more.) Hardin just was just straight up possessed by Gharnef and the Darksphere. Whilst all the bad guys here are just pawns, only Zelgius willingly entered and without hesitation to the moment he died accepted being the tool of a greater villain. And who would I choose if bothered to play? Well Ephraim is a no. Marth is vintage FE, but he has aged in bottle and not a cask, meaning his flavor has not improved at all. Ike, well if maybe if Reyson or Ranulf were besides him I could be persuaded, but otherwise he is rather dull in a different way from Marth. Sigurd I can't judge as I've not played FE4. And as the villains DEH- I haven't played FE3/12, so can't judge, same for Arvis. Which leaves just Lyon and Zelgius. Either Two Inconsistent Faces of Evil, or the victim of a 12th and 13th hour botched character assassination. Of them, well the Tellibias of mine shall swing towards the Earl of Kadohl.

Nope. However, 5-Star Hard, Merciless Mode, is quite brutal, that should suffice instead of an Apotheosis. Particularly if you don't Warpskip later on. Wolf and Sedgar start with terrible bases and promoted already, but for some very strange reason have growths exceeding what anyone else have. It makes no sense, but they're very good if you train them.