How could've the Anthony arc been better handled

[Hero_Lucina]

Like the form title says,as I want to hear your opinions. It screams of Fates Lazy Writing

[Thane]

How about not introducing yet another betrayal arc? How many do we have in Fates, anyway? Takumi, Zola, Flora, Anthony, and I'm pretty sure I'm forgetting someone. This is without counting Hans and Corrin.

If my answer had to include Anthony, I'd make him just a normal Vallite, maybe one of the few survivors, who either serves Anankos out of fear or because of a promise of the remaining Vallites being allowed to leave Valla, or he'd genuinely try to help Corrin and their ragtag bunch of misfits, only to be turned into a Faceless when they got closer to Anankos.

Anthony being a part of the group should've allowed for some worldbuilding, but it didn't. Do we even know if any Vallites still live?

[Azure Sen]

How about not introducing yet another betrayal arc? How many do we have in Fates, anyway? Takumi, Zola, Flora, Anthony, and I'm pretty sure I'm forgetting someone. This is without counting Hans and Corrin.

Gunter too.

I'm with Thane on this one; Anthony's subplot was pointless and just existed to further excuse Kamui's flaws in the end. It would have been better if a( Anthony was a proper party member instead of an NPC, b( he wasn't actually a traitor and it served to better foreshadow Gunter's betrayal, c( it actually gave Valla some proper worldbuilding and d( if Anthony didn't die at the end.

Edited November 11, 2016 by AzureSen

[Rezzy]

How about at least have the Anthony arc be going on in the background, and not be the only thing going on in those 3 chapters? At least with the other betrayals, there was other stuff going on. We could have had some world building in Valla, but instead, we just got the Anthony arc, the zombie parent arc, and then the end. All of that stuff could have been in the background, while we had an actual story being the main focus in Valla.

I'd say, push the Anthony arc to the background, have us get him, then have him betray us later, and not be the focus of those chapters. Combine all the Zombie parent chapters into one, instead of each chapter being: oh, look, it's someone else's dead mommy/daddy, oh joy. Are there even any normal Vallites here?

Things Rezzy hates:

Sanaki

Litten's Final Evolution

The Anthony Arc

Edited November 11, 2016 by Rezzy

[Loki Laufeyson]

It not existing at all to begin with. There was no point to it. It lead to nothing at all and no character benefited from it.

[Ertrick36]

It literally just serves as a wank fest for Gary Stu's ego. How about for this arc - and all of the Valla stuff in Revelation - we have it not be so focused on Corrin? The hell does Corrin have anything to do with this boy? Why do we need to keep establishing how much of a "good person" Corrin is through constant doggy-praise dialogue when we've played through all of the other two paths and most of Revelation, which, up to this point, has been about Corrin uniting the two warring Kingdoms?

Anthony absolutely could've been used for world building. Or he could've been a well developed character in his own right. But no... We gotta stroke the player's ego because the path is literally just fanservice with absolutely no real thought put into any of it other than some of the support dialogue. And because CQ, the path that people most looked forward to, made Corrin into an absolute idiot, so they had to make up for it, I guess...

[NekoKnight]

Anthony is one of the worst parts of the entire game because not only is it yet another opportunity to suck Kamui's dick, but it actually praises him for his flaws and neuters any potential character development.

Maybe Anthony could have been a supporting character in a Valla survivors arc. The whole "Kamui is the new king of Valla" even though Azura is the actual heir apparent would make more sense if there were still subjects to rule over. Here's an idea, Anthony is serving Anankos out of fear but when he sees the protagonist's party show up, he takes the opportunity to backstab Anankos by leading the group to and artifact that can destroy Anankos' control over the dead. That way we can condense the dead parents arc and the betrayal arc into one and maybe get some world-building thrown in.

[Hero_Lucina]

I've been reading this,and the main flaw of the arc is Corrin ass kissing. Maybe if IS took all of our suggestions and made Corrin less dumb,we could get Fates redone in 10-15 years

[shadowofchaos]

Lontao was a waste of space in the story. A bad attempt at world building and says "You might be dumb, but your siblings will always save you. So it's okay."

Hell, you question where he even came from because all you ever see are invisible enemies in the damn country.

[Tolvir]

By it not being there.

Honestly, this was my least favorite part. I could see the betrayal coming miles away, but because Corrin has to be the stereotypical good guy anime protagonist, he doesn't see it coming.

What could be done better? First off, don't make it a kid. He should of been a soldier, a servant of the king, maybe a nobleman, etc. Fates, and FE as a whole suffers from way too many young characters, especially in leadership. Having him be a soldier, or even a noble just makes more sense imo. Also, change his name. I can't take a dude name Anthony seriously, especially as a bad guy. Honestly though, I think it would be better off scraping this arc and doing something different. It involved no building of the world, it had no impact, just needless over all. I would rather a villain that means something. So I say this should be scrapped altogether for something better.

[Lord_Grima]

One idea i had that might help, is if Anthony was an actual playable character and he was not controlled by Anankos. Instead, In one chapter he joins, like you save him or something, but as an actual allied NPC. Then he helps the army and tells more about Valla, then in a chapter or two, Anankos find out and then kills/ controls him. Maybe a chapter similar to the Conquest boat one, where you have to find Shura in the Nohrian soldiers.

Otherwise I agree that Anthony's story was rushed and not well done, so best case is he is removed from the game.

[Hero_Lucina]

Lontao was a waste of space in the story. A bad attempt at world building and says "You might be dumb, but your siblings will always save you. So it's okay."

Hell, you question where he even came from because all you ever see are invisible enemies in the damn country.

I didn't mind the where he came from part too much originally,but now that you've brought it up,it's a good question.

-Also trying not to freak out bc Rey replied to me-

[shadowofchaos]

I'm very vocal about my opinions and sometimes come off as a very condescending person.

You shouldn't really be that honored.

I'm just a person posting in this site.

But I appreciate knowing you're a fan.

[henrymidfields]

At the very least we could have had Corrin grow up a bit during this arc. My suggestion is to make Corrin, Leo, and Takumi discuss what to do with Anthony. They decides that Anthony may be a threat and confronts him about it. Anthony confesses that he had his hands tied by Anakos, and the whole group decided what to do. In any case, Corrin and the group discovers Anakos's plans to further turn against each other, and that Anakos can manipulate any of the Vallites in his own whim, explaining the relative lack of normal people.

In all of this, Corrin will have to make some hard decisions whether to spare or kill future threats from other Vallites. On a lesser note, Xander, Ryoma, Leo, and Takumi gradually know each other, and express their mixed feelings of Corrin losing his innocence in the process. (Especially Takumi realises how much of a distrusting jerk he was to Corrin, and while he would still be cautious against potential threats, he at least tries to make amends with Corrin, who he now trusts.)

Slightly off-topic, but in conjunction to this, I may also add alternate Support conversations between the Royals in Revelations. Particularly Xander/Ryoma's, and Takumi x Leo/Camilla/Elise would have alternate C/B-level conversations starting off on a more friendly tone if their C-level supports were activated after a certain chapter.

Edited November 11, 2016 by henrymidfields

[Hero_Lucina]

At the very least we could have had Corrin grow up a bit during this arc. My suggestion is to make Corrin, Leo, and Takumi discuss what to do with Anthony. They decides that Anthony may be a threat and confronts him about it. Anthony confesses that he had his hands tied by Anakos, and the whole group decided what to do. In any case, Corrin and the group discovers Anakos's plans to further turn against each other, and that Anakos can manipulate any of the Vallites in his own whim, explaining the relative lack of normal people.

In all of this, Corrin will have to make some hard decisions whether to spare or kill future threats from other Vallites. On a lesser note, Xander, Ryoma, Leo, and Takumi gradually know each other, and express their mixed feelings of Corrin losing his innocence in the process.

Wow. That actually sounds better than Fates as a whole

[Hero_Lucina]

I'm very vocal about my opinions and sometimes come off as a very condescending person.

You shouldn't really be that honored.

I'm just a person posting in this site.

But I appreciate knowing you're a fan.

Your welcome

[henrymidfields]

Wow. That actually sounds better than Fates as a whole

Thank you. Allow me to further elabourate said Xander, Ryoma, Leo, and Takumi's discussions. Throughout their time in Valla, all four of them and Corrin would argue whether Corrin's trust is a good thing or not. While they point out that Corrin's unconditional trust can prove disasterous, they also admit that it was due to such trust that brought the two nations together.

- While Xander cautions Corrin for putting in too much trust, he also apologises for not trusting Corrin enough before and promises to Corrin that the former would ask the latter before assuming the worst.

- Leo praises Corrin for thinking more strategically, but also somewhat laments (and painfully admits) that this suspicion can rob a potential ally.

- Ryoma admits that the balancing act between the two is easier said than done, and that he had made mistakes in the past - and Ryoma encourages Corrin to talk to the former if he feels troubled by this.

- For Takumi, see my previous post.

Edited November 13, 2016 by henrymidfields

[Lady Sansa]

What even is that

[Ertrick36]

What even is that

If you haven't played Revelation (up to Chapter 21's opening scene), don't look at this spoiler unless you don't care about the story which I don't blame you for, since it really is kinda shit; it's more of a clarification about what exactly the arc is.

In Chapter 19, you encounter a Vallite villager named Anthony who's running away from Vallite soldiers. After you complete this chapter, he'll join your side (not as a playable unit) to help you get to Anankos. In Chapter 20, one of the royals almost dies after Anthony leads them to an area filled with unstable and collapsing bridges. This causes literally everyone but Corrin to become weary of him in some way. Then in Chapter 21, it culminates into Anthony leading Corrin away from the rest of the group so that he could kill Corrin... except the others come to Corrin's rescue anyway, because being extremely naive apparently isn't a fatal enough flaw for the leader of an army of royals and elites... or isn't a flaw at all, but a gift. Really, it's because anime.

And the arc ends on that chapter, with all the royals basically saying "No, actually, trusting assholes who stab you in the back is a good thing! We like that about you since your trust in us brought us together."

On that note, I'd like to add another thing. I hate that him being trusting in Anthony is compared to him being trusting in his siblings. No, those two are not the same goddamn thing. One is a total stranger who gives you plenty reason to be suspicious of him, and the other is people you're related to who you've spent a lot more time with and who you're probably exceptionally fond of. Sure, you still don't really deserve praise for trusting in your family, but Corrin knows what everyone of the Hoshidan and Nohrian siblings are like, so he has good reason to trust them assuming we forget about certain character flaws in some of them. But Anthony's just a stranger whose actions almost lead to the death of one of those very siblings Corrin worked so hard (and in fact, someone's life was sacrificed for) to bring to his side.

Why the hell do you care so much about this dick, Corrin? It would've most certainly been better to try to interrogate him to find out what he knows or if he actually did set up a trap, or if Anthony's just really stupid and didn't think that just maybe it isn't the best idea to go over all these worn down bridges. It isn't like you're pressed for time, since Valla and the Astral Realms seem to be Hyperbolic Time Realms.

[RJWalker]

How about not introducing yet another betrayal arc? How many do we have in Fates, anyway? Takumi, Zola, Flora, Anthony, and I'm pretty sure I'm forgetting someone. This is without counting Hans and Corrin.

As mentioned before, Gunter. And also, technically, Takumi is 2 times if you count his initial possession in Birthright and then whatever Iago does.

[Sentinel07]

You know, is it just me, or is it extremely bizarre how little the reaction from the cast was to Anthony's transformation?

I mean, this is the only instance in the whole game of something actually transforming into a Faceless, which you'd have to think would be kind of horrifying to witness. Yet, the battle starts immediately afterwards, no character has any unique dialogue in the battle with Anthony, and after it's done Corrin just apologizes for falling into the trap.

It's just...weird how little reaction this here to this event.

[Time the Crestfallen]

By not doing it?

Seriously, the Anthony arc felt pretty unnecessary to me and the only thing it accomplished was making Corrin look like an idiot.

[BlueBloodEmblazer]

Just imagine how great this would be (even though it's a long stretch)

Throughout the entire Valla arc Corrin and gang use dragon veins to restore Valla to a normal looking place. Eventually they find Anthony and everything plays out like it did, but with more world building as they restore it. Anthony gives us backround and history of Valla. Around Anthony's betrayal he attacks Corrin, but Corrin who was already wary of Anthony dodges the attack. Corrin's friends come from behind the corner, and Corrin reveals that this a trap that Corrin set up.

This is where it gets interesting. Anthony stays in human form, but is possessed. When the squad gets to him in the chapter that you fight him, he opens a portal to Hoshido when we get about 16 squares away from him, or after turn two. We chase him out and encounter Mozu's village (Mozu isn't a paralogue in Revelations). Mozu is getting attacked, when the Vallites come out of nowhere with Corrin's army.

In my version some of the villagers are still alive with Mozu, they hide in the woods but her Mom already died. Because of the portal opened a bunch of weird things happen to her village. The objective of this mission is to Defeat Anthony. Warp panels will be all over with dragon veins and floating dirt. Before you start Azura says she might be able to sing to him and cure him.

Gameplay: Anthony with run around and drain the regular faceless stats into his. This makes the faceless have 0 in every stat besides mov and hp, everytime Anthony does this he gains 1+ in every stat. This allows mozu to get about 20 Ez level ups (to make up for her late join time), since a faceless kill will always grant 100 exp for unpromoted units. By the time the chapter ends, Anthony is stationary on a fort or a throne, and SO OP. If successful Mozu is recruited and the other villagers are safe. During or after this chapter we find out that Anthony is Mozu's much older brother and he hasn't aged since his possession. Azura cleanses the possession with song, and Anthony and Mozu join the party. Also every chapter since this one, Anthony will get a little older in appearance. (He ages fast from the possession) around 4 chapters later he will appear to be in his mid 20s.

Anthony as a unit starts as a level 20 villager with really good bases. He has supports with Mozu, Gunter, Jacob, M Avatar, and Shura, and a romantic support with F Avatar. He along with Corrin and Azura are considered to be "Vallites"

Do you guys like my fanfiction? I know it's a mess, so just ask if something is unclear to you.

[NekoKnight]

*snip*

The backstory could use a little refinement but it would be an interesting twist if Mozu was a Vallite refugee all along and couldn't remember being from Valla because she was too young, or never being able to speak about it because of the curse. Mozu and her mother flee to Hoshido but Anthony gets left behind, killed by Anankos and then revived (thus he stays the same age as when he died)?

I do like the idea of Kamui and friends rebuilding Valla with dragon veins. That would be a much better story than "Nohr and Hoshido donate land to make a new Valla because Kamui deserves his own kingdom for some reason."

[BlueBloodEmblazer]

The backstory could use a little refinement but it would be an interesting twist if Mozu was a Vallite refugee all along and couldn't remember being from Valla because she was too young, or never being able to speak about it because of the curse. Mozu and her mother flee to Hoshido but Anthony gets left behind, killed by Anankos and then revived (thus he stays the same age as when he died)?

I do like the idea of Kamui and friends rebuilding Valla with dragon veins. That would be a much better story than "Nohr and Hoshido donate land to make a new Valla because Kamui deserves his own kingdom for some reason."

You pretty much got it. The only thing is that Rev. would need an entire new second half plot, but most people wouldn't call that a problem. This also brings an otherwise unimportant character (Mozu) into the spotlight, even for just a moment.

Edited November 18, 2016 by BlueBloodEmblazer