To Become an Elitist [Playlogs FE1-5] [currently playing: Thracia 776]

[Saint Rubenio]

1 hour ago, ping said:

Considering the skills she passed on to Ares, I believe we have to replace the old meme "Everybody from Sacae is broken" with "Everybody from Leonster is OP". Half of the playable Sacaen population is overrated, anyway.

Let's see... Who is "broken" in sacae?

Rutger, yeah.

Shin? He's very good. Not sure if "broken", but let's say sure.

Fir... Was Fir even Sacaen? Bartre wasn't, but I don't know where he and Karla settled down and raised Fir. Might've been Sacae, yeah, so let's say she counts, and uh... She's not as good as Rutger, but she is rather good and comes in the perfect chapter to be trained, so uh... Yeah, sure. Stretching a bit.

Sue, no. I like her, but no.

Dayan, he's neat, but no.

Rath, no.

Every swordmaster in FE7? lol

 

Honestly, more than half lmao

1 hour ago, ping said:

I know that what I'm laying out would be quite a lot of screentime for a single, non-Seliph character. But with how important the relationship between Sigurd and Eldigan was for the first generation, I really think that the second generation should've given Ares that time.

Yeah, I'm inclined to agree. Heck, he's just an interesting character that deserved it. Jabarro may've been an asshole but he did genuinely care for and raise this kid. I'd like to hear more about what his life was like there. But, I suppose permadeath.

1 hour ago, ping said:

: "Thank you sire... You'll have my loyalty, no matter what!"

Ahhh, I figured out why Hawke cannot be present in Manster if Ced exists. If they were both there, they'd just crush Thracia with the power of friendship, making Seliph's entire excursion into this area of Jugdral pointless.

Honestly? Good. I'd take that over Seliph.

1 hour ago, ping said:

 

Enemy Rogues will steal your money if they hit you even if you kill them in the same round of combat.

 

1 hour ago, ping said:

To make the capture of Meath even more annoying, it seems that Fee can't even approach the Wyverns from the east, to maybe lure a few of them in that direction. The yellow zone is mostly there to make sure you can't interact with Altena, but this is a secondary effect that's kinda frustrating.

It's interesting to note that you can actually fly through a yellow zone, if you're quick enough. Not relevant here, because I don't want Fee to fly into Ballista range, but still interesting.

Oh yeah, look at the one traversable tile at the very edge. Huh.

1 hour ago, ping said:

Also interesting is that Seliph can dismount. I suppose he can use it to avoid effective damage? ...Except that he has Nihil, so I'm out of ideas why this would ever be a good button to press.

As I recall, Kaga went on record saying that the point of this was for players who want to keep Seliph's dismounted animations.

...Yeah, apparently that's it. That's why this feature exists.

1 hour ago, ping said:

I do like that this conversation is there. It's nice that people don't just shrug and ignore the guy teleporting in, grabbing Ishtar, and teleporting the both of them out again. Good on Seliph for following the thread.

Yeah, it's a nice touch.

1 hour ago, ping said:

That convo is so clearly assuming that Lewyn is their asshole dad... It would seem out of character for most other potential fathers, but it's especially jarring for Claude, honestly.

I mean, look at their hair. For how much of the game revolves around the pairings, they really just assumed you'd be getting a few key marriages that Kaga really liked more than others.

1 hour ago, ping said:

: "It was the legendary dracoknight Dain who founded Thracia all those years ago... With his heavenly lance, Gungnir, in hand, he dared to challenge the king of demons himself! Rumor has it that Nova of the Crusaders, ancestor of the lords of House Leonster, was in fact a sister to Lord Dain..."

[4500 gold --> Dermott]

I don't expect that this rumor will have any follow-up in the story, to be honest.

Just some heavy-handed metaphor for how the two halves of Thracia were once siblings. Or something.

Edited April 11 by Saint Rubenio

[Shanty Pete's 1st Mate]

On 4/10/2024 at 11:59 AM, ping said:

If you enjoy typos and bad Denglish, here's my notes:

 

Wait... "Deng-lish"? Oh, mein Gott. It all makes sense now. This whole time, "ping" has been short for "Xiaoping".

I can't wait until you get to the next game, and get to experience "Fire Emblem with Thracian characteristics".

On 4/10/2024 at 11:59 AM, ping said:

Of course, Yewfelle boosts Faval's Atk immensely anyhow, although it has to be added that he isn't terribly accurate with it. I can definitely see that even without looking at his bad Str, Holyn, or really any dude with a better Skl stat than Azel, would make a better father for Faval specifically. Of course, he can swap to the Killer Bow for accuracy... but if he has to do that, this Azel!Faval really becomes just a shitty version of Lester, who hasn't exactly been the star of the show to begin with.

With my incredibly limited experience with this game, I still dare to question the First Mate's authority on eugenics a little. He lists Jamke as Bridget's most desirable hubby, but with Yewfelle being as inaccurate as it is, Holyn really makes a strong impression on me - especially because his Holy Blood also helps Patty quite a bit by giving her Brave Sword access before promotion. I wonder if Lex/Ayra + Holyn/Bridget might be overall a stronger pair of pairs than Holyn/Ayra and Jamke/Bridget...?

Admittedly, this is one I could see going either way. I do believe that Chulainn produces the best Patty. As for Faval, though - Chulainn provides him the best possible Skill and HP. Jamke, however, gives higher Strength and Luck. Additionally, while Chulainn provides our Archer with no skills, Jamke gives Adept and Accost. So even if he misses, he has a chance to hit again. Oh, and he's hitting harder. Finally, Jamke starts with an extra 100 love points. So Chulainn x Brigid takes an extra 20 turns of adjacency to get going.

In any case, there's a debate to be had on the best partner for Brigid. Much like Lex vs. Chulainn for Ayra, or Lewyn vs. Azelle for Tailtiu. I'm no more an authority than any other overenthusiastic player with too much time on their hands.

On 4/10/2024 at 11:59 AM, ping said:

So, here's the plan: Start with the POWER OF LOVE...

All these music references, and you were still missing one! Added it for ya.

On 4/10/2024 at 11:59 AM, ping said:

: "Any scumbag can apologize till they're blue in the face! If you're really sorry, then get over here! Come help us fight for peace!"

Faval, on the other hand, simply apologized until he was blue in the frame.

On 4/10/2024 at 11:59 AM, ping said:

I do wonder what kind of story Travant tells his children about their mother (or "mother", in Altena's case). Altena's ability to wield Gáe Bolg is, in-universe, irrefutable proof that she has major Nova blood, so if Travant is holding up the story that she and Arion are both his biological children, that should mean that he had to make up a girlfriend in Canada wife from Leonster.

TBH I think you might have it backwards here. My assumption, when Travant refers to Altenna's "mother", is that he's referring to Ethlyn. He's not wrong about her being brash - riding horses and bringing her daughter into the desert with her. No idea who Arion's mother is. Presumably she died offscreen, probably a long time ago. Hell, maybe before Altenna was kidnapped. "Honey, where did this baby with a giant lance come from?"

On 4/10/2024 at 12:25 PM, Saint Rubenio said:

...But at this point I'm just nitpicking. There's really no need to go for such stretches when Ishtar's nicest moment is still yet to come.

I don't know how much is in the original, and how much is the fanslation. But honestly, Ishtar vacillates so frequently between "vaguely sympathetic enemy" and "pathetic simp for the Spawn of Satan".

23 hours ago, Jotari said:

 

"This is the ideal Sage body. You may not like it, but this is what peak performance looks like."

17 hours ago, Jotari said:

The wyverns eat rocks. Just fuelled by pure digested coal.

Eat rock! Heh, that was pretty clever.

2 hours ago, ping said:

: "It is! It's a letter from Lord Eldigan, and it's addressed to you, Ares."
: "I can't believe it..."
: "This should sort everything out! It says that we aren't actually cousins by blood, but by adoption. How 'bout we spend 72 turns next to each other, sugar?"

Holy moly, Kaga did it first!

2 hours ago, ping said:

Ahhh, I figured out why Hawke cannot be present in Manster if Ced exists. If they were both there, they'd just crush Thracia with the power of friendship, making Seliph's entire excursion into this area of Jugdral pointless.

They wouldn't just stop at Travant. With two Sages on his trail, Arvis' days would be numbered.

2 hours ago, ping said:

That convo is so clearly assuming that Lewyn is their asshole dad... It would seem out of character for most other potential fathers, but it's especially jarring for Claude, honestly.

Would be neat, in a potential remake, for variable dialogue based on the fathers. Like, Claud!Ced could say something like "Our Father was a man of the cloth, devoted to helping and healing the hurting. That's why I couldn't leave Munster." Or Naoise!Ced could mention his father being one of Sigurd's oldest compatriots, when meeting up with Seliph.

2 hours ago, ping said:

Enemy Rogues will steal your money if they hit you even if you kill them in the same round of combat.

It was strangely merciful of Kaga, not to feature more enemy Thieves and Rogues. I wonder - what made him hate the world, between this game and the next?

2 hours ago, ping said:

I do like Lewyn's speech there - although I'll say that the game didn't do the greatest job of showing a "brand of nobility and justice" of Travant. He just comes across as ruthlessly opportunistic - not that there's anything wrong with that kind of character/antagonist, I just think that Lewyn is pointing something out that (thus far) doesn't really exist.

A classic FE game treating the enemy king of a Wyvern-riding country more sympathetically than he deserves? I'm shocked, I say, shocked!

2 hours ago, ping said:

You'd have to be very careful about not even let Altena know about the general concept of Holy Weapons. The game has consistently shown their wielders to sense their overwhelming power, and Patty even had a "woah" reaction when she saw Shanan pick up Balmung. So Altena can't even learn that Arion is wielding Gungnir and can do so because he's the heir to Dain's bloodline, or she might wonder why she (and only she) can use a lance of similar power.

Well, the Miracle Sword only works for women. Travant could invent some tripe about both the Gungnir and Gae Bolg being associated with Dainn holy blood - but only men can wield the former, while only women use the latter. 

On 4/10/2024 at 3:51 PM, ping said:

Some people will say that the Joker has a point (truly, we live in a society).

BOTTOM TEXT

[Interdimensional Observer]

2 hours ago, ping said:

You could just not pay your mercenaries. I believe that has never gone wrong in the entire history of the world.

Mercenaries are hardy people who know the world has things to kvetch about in it, though individuals might vocalize their complaints, the horde will quietly bear with some employer overwork. I think I recall an instance during the 30 Years' War where the mercenaries of some country did go on strike -but only after ...was it three or six months of not being paid? -Whatever it was, you've got time before they revolt.

2 hours ago, ping said:

Also interesting is that Seliph can dismount. I suppose he can use it to avoid effective damage? ...Except that he has Nihil, so I'm out of ideas why this would ever be a good button to press.

There was -not sure if there is still is in this patch- a glitch where dismounting Seliph has a chance of trapping him in the northwest corner of any map (0x0 in map coordinates). -Don't do it, to be on the safe side.

2 hours ago, ping said:

Enemy Rogues will steal your money if they hit you even if you kill them in the same round of combat.

"Yes I CAN take it with me!" *Vanishes via smoke bomb upon taking fatal damage.* -Random Rogue.

2 hours ago, ping said:

Most impactful is definitely Seliph's promotion.

Well you took forever. I think I had him done by C7's end.😅 Speed players will totally get him to 20 before C6 is done.

2 hours ago, ping said:

That convo is so clearly assuming that Lewyn is their asshole dad... It would seem out of character for most other potential fathers, but it's especially jarring for Claude, honestly.

...Eh, Claud can say "religious matters/receiving revelations" unfortunately takes priority over family life. Beowulf judging from his C5 convo with Lach could totally ditch all of a sudden. Arden is still huffing it out of the Yied all these years later -their dad didn't run off, he got left behind.

 

1 hour ago, Saint Rubenio said:

Yeah, I'm inclined to agree. Heck, he's just an interesting character that deserved it. Jabarro may've been an asshole but he did genuinely care for and raise this kid.

Jabarro feels intentional. Ares has been raised by this man since his life got upended -but as soon as Ares finds out that Dancer is in lecherous hands, he goes from red to blue. A flip so effortless despite the tie that should lead to strong loyalty... that -maybe I'm reading too much into it- it feels like it's a conscious act of spite against the Camus archetype. And Kaga did say Ares exists because Eldigan was a stickler-for-the-rules idiot.

1 hour ago, Saint Rubenio said:

Fir... Was Fir even Sacaen? Bartre wasn't, but I don't know where he and Karla settled down and raised Fir. Might've been Sacae,

Shin: …I hadn’t asked you yet. Which clan are you from?
Fir: What?
Shin: Are you from the Bulgar clan? Or are you part of the Djute clan that betrayed us?
Fir: …I don’t know.
Shin: …… Was that…a joke?
Fir: N-No, it wasn’t. I lived with my parents, so I don’t really know much about the clans…

I'd say no. Fir isn't culturally Sacaean, I doubt she knows much about that beyond some of its swordplay. She is half-Sacaean genetically, but genetics aren't entirely what defines an identity.

[Jotari]

3 hours ago, ping said:

 

 

Question, where are Fee and Oifey in those pics? As in, what country are they and those two coastal villages in? The flow of the chapter and the geography being positioned in such a way so you can only reach them from a pass near Munster Castle would suggest they're part of the Munster District. But according to the chapter intro maps South Thracia has all of the land covering those coasts. Even though it means the people living there can't go to South Thracia without hiking a mountain, taking a boat, or passing through Munster territory (so like any random Alaskan village as I understand it)....But....how much we can trust that in game map is questionable too, since when you compare it to the overlayed gameplay maps the castles can be in wildly different places (though at least relatively in the same position to each other). But this has some pretty major plot implications too, as one of those minor villages is Fianna, where Leif is hiding at the start of Thracia and features the Empire marching in and kidnapping people. If that is actually happening in South Thracia then it's a bit of a diplomatic incident for Raydrik to be crossing the border like that. Yet Thracia never actually specifies where that's taking place either and we're left assuming it's Munster District but with no actual identification (at least as far as I can remember).

3 hours ago, ping said:

: "Guhh... Glory... to Thracia..."

 

Well now that you're finished, its time to reveal which of these named enemies are fought in Thracia 776. The list of enemies you fight in this chapter are Muhammed, Ovo, Banba, Fotla, Eriu, Faval/Asaello, Ishtar, Bloom and Coulter. Maykov is fought after the ending of Thracia 776 and there's also Athena who you don't fight at all. Anyways, the answer is *drum roll*

 

Spoiler

1...Just one. Which one? Coulter.  Which one is he? The Wyvern Knight one. Muhammed, Ovo, Banba, Fotla, Eriu and Faval/Asaello are never mentioned in Thracia 776 at all (unless you want to count the to reference Briggid having children for Faval). Bloom is mentioned semi frequently and appears a singular time to deliver about two lines of dialogue. Ishtar gets a bit more screen time appearing in three or four cutscenes, but she never takes to the battlefield and never even meets Leif. It's just Coulter. It's always been Coulter. And he doesn't even have the same face. I hate it. I love it. Fire Emblem is masochism.

I'll also answer that Tine, Ishtore and Liza from the last chapter don't make any appearances in Thracia 776 either despite being prominent people living in the place. Though at least Ishtore gets the one reference I was talking about earlier.

 

2 hours ago, Saint Rubenio said:

Sue, no. I like her, but no.

 

Sue is broken because she recruits Shin.

2 hours ago, Saint Rubenio said:

As I recall, Kaga went on record saying that the point of this was for players who want to keep Seliph's dismounted animations.
 

It's specifically for the rare and elusive creature known as a female Fire Emblem fan. Because dismounted Seliph is just so kawaii, apparently.

[Revier]

5 hours ago, ping said:

Considering the skills she passed on to Ares, I believe we have to replace the old meme "Everybody from Sacae is broken" with "Everybody from Leonster is OP". Half of the playable Sacaen population is overrated, anyway.

And yet a small detachment Thracian flyers could destroy half their army in one fell swoop.

Doesn't speak well to their martial prowess, does it.

Quote

It's specifically for the rare and elusive creature known as a female Fire Emblem fan.

The series has a fair few female fans, surprisingly.

Edited April 12 by Revier

[BrightBow]

8 hours ago, ping said:

Enemy Rogues will steal your money if they hit you even if you kill them in the same round of combat.

Yeah, they do that.

I usually just bite the bullet and let Ares take it, knowing that with the Thief Ring he will never be wanting for money ever again.
 

8 hours ago, ping said:

_

Jackson is really rocking that Lachesis color palette.
 

8 hours ago, ping said:

Also interesting is that Seliph can dismount. I suppose he can use it to avoid effective damage? ...Except that he has Nihil, so I'm out of ideas why this would ever be a good button to press.

It's not. And there is also a chance that it will cause Celice to permanently get greyed out, with the only cure being a refresh. So don't press that button.
 

7 hours ago, Saint Rubenio said:

As I recall, Kaga went on record saying that the point of this was for players who want to keep Seliph's dismounted animations.

...Yeah, apparently that's it. That's why this feature exists.

He did list Leaf as an example, but yeah.
All according to the translation on the site anyway.
https://serenesforest.net/general/designers-notes/holy-war/playing-guide/

Q: Is there any special meaning behind Celice’s ability to dismount?

A: The reason for that is a simple one that I’m a little embarrassed about, which is for “aesthetic purposes”. At the beginning, we guessed there would be many female fans who see Leaf, for example, and think “he looks so handsome in battle, I don’t want to promote him!”. Originally, we wanted every mounted character to have the option of dismounting like in Mystery of the Emblem. However, because of space issues we had to give this idea up, so in the end only Celice’s dismounting option was kept.

 

4 hours ago, Jotari said:

It's specifically for the rare and elusive creature known as a female Fire Emblem fan. Because dismounted Seliph is just so kawaii, apparently.

Fire Emblem was historically more popular with female players than with male players in Japan.
Given the commercials of that era, I suppose this might not be too surprising.

I would say these days they seem to be more aiming for the horny 12 year old boy with a God complex. But I mean, I was a horny 12 year old boy when I played FE7, and I still found it embarrassing how the game was constantly worshipping the player. If FE8 and FE9 didn't drop that nonsense super hard, I would have never become a fan.
So it never felt quite right to me to give 12 year olds that little credit.

Edited April 12 by BrightBow

[Jotari]

27 minutes ago, BrightBow said:

Yeah, they do that.

I usually just bite the bullet and let Ares take it, knowing that with the Thief Ring he will never be wanting for money ever again.
 

Jackson is really rocking that Lachesis color palette.
 

It's not. And there is also a chance that it will cause Celice to permanently get greyed out, with the only cure being a refresh. So don't press that button.
 

He did list Leaf as an example, but yeah.
All according to the translation on the site anyway.
https://serenesforest.net/general/designers-notes/holy-war/playing-guide/

Q: Is there any special meaning behind Celice’s ability to dismount?

A: The reason for that is a simple one that I’m a little embarrassed about, which is for “aesthetic purposes”. At the beginning, we guessed there would be many female fans who see Leaf, for example, and think “he looks so handsome in battle, I don’t want to promote him!”. Originally, we wanted every mounted character to have the option of dismounting like in Mystery of the Emblem. However, because of space issues we had to give this idea up, so in the end only Celice’s dismounting option was kept.

 

Fire Emblem was historically more popular with female players than with male players in Japan.
Given the commercials of that era, I suppose this might not be too surprising.

I would say these days they seem to be more aiming for the horny 12 year old boy with a God complex. But I mean, I was a horny 12 year old boy when I played FE7, and I still found it embarrassing how the game was constantly worshipping the player. If FE8 and FE9 didn't drop that nonsense super hard, I would have never become a fan.
So it never felt quite right to me to give 12 year olds that little credit.

12 year olds don't have the finance to buy thousands of orbs on gatcha games. So it's probably more middle aged men with the mental capacity of a horny 12 year old (alright maybe I'm going a bit too mean there. I'm a Fire Emblem fanmyself, don't be too cruel to the fandom Jotari).

[ping]

17 hours ago, Saint Rubenio said:

Let's see... Who is "broken" in sacae?

Rutger, yeah.

Shin? He's very good. Not sure if "broken", but let's say sure.

Fir... Was Fir even Sacaen? Bartre wasn't, but I don't know where he and Karla settled down and raised Fir. Might've been Sacae, yeah, so let's say she counts, and uh... She's not as good as Rutger, but she is rather good and comes in the perfect chapter to be trained, so uh... Yeah, sure. Stretching a bit.

Sue, no. I like her, but no.

Dayan, he's neat, but no.

Rath, no.

Every swordmaster in FE7? lol

 

Honestly, more than half lmao

I don't know how you get from "one broken, two maybe broken if you squint hard enough, seven (*) no" to "more than half lmao"

(*) "Every FE7 SM" being Guy, Karel, Karla, and Lyn, all of which are middling at best

17 hours ago, Saint Rubenio said:

As I recall, Kaga went on record saying that the point of this was for players who want to keep Seliph's dismounted animations.

...Yeah, apparently that's it. That's why this feature exists.

 

10 hours ago, BrightBow said:

It's not. And there is also a chance that it will cause Celice to permanently get greyed out, with the only cure being a refresh. So don't press that button.
 

17 hours ago, Saint Rubenio said:

As I recall, Kaga went on record saying that the point of this was for players who want to keep Seliph's dismounted animations.

...Yeah, apparently that's it. That's why this feature exists.

He did list Leaf as an example, but yeah.
All according to the translation on the site anyway.
https://serenesforest.net/general/designers-notes/holy-war/playing-guide/

This is a really funny instance of fanservice reducing the quality of the product. Most of the time, it just makes the story worse. (and most of the time, the fanservice is directed at horny male teenagers, of course)

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

All these music references, and you were still missing one! Added it for ya.

I am shamed by this oversight.

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

TBH I think you might have it backwards here. My assumption, when Travant refers to Altenna's "mother", is that he's referring to Ethlyn. He's not wrong about her being brash - riding horses and bringing her daughter into the desert with her. No idea who Arion's mother is. Presumably she died offscreen, probably a long time ago. Hell, maybe before Altenna was kidnapped. "Honey, where did this baby with a giant lance come from?"

I suppose he is. I would have assumed that he's more cagey about Altena's real parents in general - the more people know who she is, the more likely that she'll find out eventually. And if he wants her to be in a position of authority (and I mean, she is treated as a princess of Thracia), surely it won't help if her subordinates know that her claim to her position is fake.

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

Holy moly, Kaga did it first!

Extremely unrealistic.

Everybody knows that kissing cousins is already fully accepted in Jugdral to begin with.

16 hours ago, Interdimensional Observer said:

Well you took forever. I think I had him done by C7's end.😅 Speed players will totally get him to 20 before C6 is done.

You have to consider that Ruben will judge me harshly if I give all the resources to the main character. I don't have the freedom to just leave the Paragon Ring on Seliph indefinitely.

15 hours ago, Jotari said:

Well now that you're finished, its time to reveal which of these named enemies are fought in Thracia 776. The list of enemies you fight in this chapter are Muhammed, Ovo, Banba, Fotla, Eriu, Faval/Asaello, Ishtar, Bloom and Coulter. Maykov is fought after the ending of Thracia 776 and there's also Athena who you don't fight at all. Anyways, the answer is *drum roll*

I have been deceived I assumed that, because you were asking, it'll be more than I would think. This is quite funny, too, though.

14 hours ago, Revier said:

And yet a small detachment Thracian flyers could destroy half their army in one fell swoop.

Doesn't speak well to their martial prowess, does it.

Well, Travant had to ambush them in the desert, with effective weapons on all of his men, and he still had to blackmail Quan into dropping Gáe Bolg.

(OK, Quan would've dropped eventually anyway, but Travant still did blackmail him first)

 

[Revier]

TBH I still wonder what exactly about the series attracts female fans. You would think a series of stories about a righteous prince leading a glorious band of knights and nobles to defeat evil emperors/sorcerors/gods/what have you would have its appeal slanted towards young boys. Maybe it's the fairy tale like quality of the storytelling that makes its appeal more universal than it seems. The addition of romances and romancing mechanics certainly help in that regard, though they only really started showing up by Genealogy - the NES games were just too barebones to have them, after all.

Edited April 13 by Revier

[Interdimensional Observer]

54 minutes ago, Revier said:

TBH I still wonder what exactly about the series attracts female fans. You would think a series of stories about a righteous prince leading a glorious band of knights and nobles to defeat evil emperors/sorcerors/gods/what have you would have its appeal slanted towards young boys.

If you're focusing on the action and actiony-parts of the plot, then yeah, action is for little boys. Fire Emblem is for little boys.

Traditionally, female audiences have been fed/favor nonviolent material, with more of an emphasis on characters than over plot. ...And Fire Emblem has always had great big casts, who have always -accelerating with Genealogy and then skyrocketing with GBA inventing Supports- had some peaceful chit-chat.

Treat the violence as the cobblestones of roads connecting the character events, not as the red manly! meat of the game. Perhaps that's the answer?

-Not to overly gender-stereotype, particularly in the present day and age.

(Kinda unrelated, but I have been told that within Gundam, Gundam Wing was very popular among females. For the reason that Wing was very dramatic (and having a pinch of fujoshi material), while still political and stuff and not a Dragonball parody as was G Gundam. Nonetheless, I get the last impression that there are still plenty of menfolk in the West who grew up loving Wing.)

(And, within the world of JRPGs, Tales has had a strong female following. Which I can see, given its abundance of Skits and other instances of character bonding. Plus, maybe the -never gritty nor DQ-shounen- aesthetic.)

Edited April 13 by Interdimensional Observer

[Saint Rubenio]

On 4/12/2024 at 1:43 AM, Shanty Pete's 1st Mate said:

Wait... "Deng-lish"? Oh, mein Gott. It all makes sense now. This whole time, "ping" has been short for "Xiaoping".

I can't believe Ping was the final boss of Hong Kong 97 all along.

On 4/12/2024 at 1:43 AM, Shanty Pete's 1st Mate said:

I don't know how much is in the original, and how much is the fanslation. But honestly, Ishtar vacillates so frequently between "vaguely sympathetic enemy" and "pathetic simp for the Spawn of Satan".

The funny competition cannot be blamed on anything, so already that's an issue.

On 4/12/2024 at 1:49 AM, Interdimensional Observer said:

Jabarro feels intentional. Ares has been raised by this man since his life got upended -but as soon as Ares finds out that Dancer is in lecherous hands, he goes from red to blue. A flip so effortless despite the tie that should lead to strong loyalty... that -maybe I'm reading too much into it- it feels like it's a conscious act of spite against the Camus archetype. And Kaga did say Ares exists because Eldigan was a stickler-for-the-rules idiot.

Hey, that's true. Neat bit of contrast there. The father loyally serving a godawful king to the end, versus the son immediately betraying his adoptive father because he's on a dickwad's side.

On 4/12/2024 at 1:49 AM, Interdimensional Observer said:

Shin: …I hadn’t asked you yet. Which clan are you from?
Fir: What?
Shin: Are you from the Bulgar clan? Or are you part of the Djute clan that betrayed us?
Fir: …I don’t know.
Shin: …… Was that…a joke?
Fir: N-No, it wasn’t. I lived with my parents, so I don’t really know much about the clans…

I'd say no. Fir isn't culturally Sacaean, I doubt she knows much about that beyond some of its swordplay. She is half-Sacaean genetically, but genetics aren't entirely what defines an identity.

Ah, thank you for your insight. I always figured Karla more likely moved out of Sacae with Bartre than the other way around.

On 4/12/2024 at 3:03 AM, Jotari said:

Well now that you're finished, its time to reveal which of these named enemies are fought in Thracia 776. The list of enemies you fight in this chapter are Muhammed, Ovo, Banba, Fotla, Eriu, Faval/Asaello, Ishtar, Bloom and Coulter. Maykov is fought after the ending of Thracia 776 and there's also Athena who you don't fight at all. Anyways, the answer is *drum roll*

 

  Hide contents

1...Just one. Which one? Coulter.  Which one is he? The Wyvern Knight one. Muhammed, Ovo, Banba, Fotla, Eriu and Faval/Asaello are never mentioned in Thracia 776 at all (unless you want to count the to reference Briggid having children for Faval). Bloom is mentioned semi frequently and appears a singular time to deliver about two lines of dialogue. Ishtar gets a bit more screen time appearing in three or four cutscenes, but she never takes to the battlefield and never even meets Leif. It's just Coulter. It's always been Coulter. And he doesn't even have the same face. I hate it. I love it. Fire Emblem is masochism.

I'll also answer that Tine, Ishtore and Liza from the last chapter don't make any appearances in Thracia 776 either despite being prominent people living in the place. Though at least Ishtore gets the one reference I was talking about earlier.

 

 

Spoiler

I did find it rather hilarious that they cared enough to more or less keep Coulter's color scheme (he has dark, faded blue colors in both games) but then they didn't care enough to Thraciafy the constipated knight portrait so he just shrivelled up between games lol

It's not even the Thracia generic portrait that most closely resembles the constipated knight. There are no portraits that are exactly like it, and I understand wanting to stick to a recolor for this very irrelevant bossman, but they could've given him Dvorak's portrait, which is at least a lot closer than the super wrinkly face he ended up getting. Or, heck - the face of Farden (who, may I remind you, is a boss in the same chapter as Coulter) would've done the trick.

 

On 4/12/2024 at 7:46 AM, BrightBow said:

It's not. And there is also a chance that it will cause Celice to permanently get greyed out, with the only cure being a refresh. So don't press that button.

Imagine ironmanning this game, losing the dancer, and then you accidentally have him dismount and lose the run right there.

Yikes...

On 4/12/2024 at 7:46 AM, BrightBow said:

If FE8 and FE9 didn't drop that nonsense super hard, I would have never become a fan.

FE8 does have Aias sort of breaking the 4th wall to praise the player if they are able to kill him.

"Very...impressive. You've pierced the battle formations I'd perfected... No one's ever done that. Renais's tactician has earned my highest regard."

Of course, it's a much more subdued bit of player praise and it's actually earned by accomplishing something in the gameplay. Not that killing Aias is super difficult but that's a different topic of conversation.

17 hours ago, ping said:

I don't know how you get from "one broken, two maybe broken if you squint hard enough, seven (*) no" to "more than half lmao"

You said "I think half the cast of Sacae is overrated", and I followed with "honestly more than half is overrated lol." Maybe the broken thing is your reading comprehension lmao gottem

6 hours ago, Revier said:

TBH I still wonder what exactly about the series attracts female fans. You would think a series of stories about a righteous prince leading a glorious band of knights and nobles to defeat evil emperors/sorcerors/gods/what have you would have its appeal slanted towards young boys. Maybe it's the fairy tale like quality of the storytelling that makes its appeal more universal than it seems. The addition of romances and romancing mechanics certainly help in that regard, though they only really started showing up by Genealogy - the NES games were just too barebones to have them, after all.

Girls can like the same things as boys. Usually what keeps boys from doing girly things or girls from doing boyish things is bullying and societal pressure, not any kind of innate gendered preferences. And I suppose there's not as much chance to be bullied out of a hobby when said hobby entails sitting in a room away from civilization looking at a screen.

[Jotari]

2 hours ago, Saint Rubenio said:

  Hide contents

I did find it rather hilarious that they cared enough to more or less keep Coulter's color scheme (he has dark, faded blue colors in both games) but then they didn't care enough to Thraciafy the constipated knight portrait so he just shrivelled up between games lol

It's not even the Thracia generic portrait that most closely resembles the constipated knight. There are no portraits that are exactly like it, and I understand wanting to stick to a recolor for this very irrelevant bossman, but they could've given him Dvorak's portrait, which is at least a lot closer than the super wrinkly face he ended up getting. Or, heck - the face of Farden (who, may I remind you, is a boss in the same chapter as Coulter) would've done the trick.

 

I'd definitely choose Farden over Dvorak between the two of them, but, really...would importing Zane's portrait have been that difficult? They bothered to import Bloom for the sake of one scene. Okay, okay I know they didn't so much as import as they did redraw almost identically in slightly different style and palette, but point is the portrait and design existed. I doubt it would have been that hard to reconfigure it. And how wonderful would it had been to see "that guy" just once in Thracia where he actually has a unique face XD

Speaking of Dvorak, he's actually a bit of a weird character, for someone with no dialogue and is never alluded to. But I'll get to the specifics of that when we hit Thracia.

Edited April 13 by Jotari

[Revier]

I actually kinda like John Constipation as a villain portrait. It just has a certain iconic look to it, feeling evil yet also funny. Or perhaps even cute? I'm sad to hear his portrait wasn't reused in Thracia 776.

[Saint Rubenio]

51 minutes ago, Jotari said:

I'd definitely choose Farden over Dvorak between the two of them, but, really...would importing Zane's portrait have been that difficult? They bothered to import Bloom for the sake of one scene. Okay, okay I know they didn't so much as import as they did redraw almost identically in slightly different style and palette, but point is the portrait and design existed. I doubt it would have been that hard to reconfigure it. And how wonderful would it had been to see "that guy" just once in Thracia where he actually has a unique face XD

I suppose the difference is Bloom's kind of important while Coulter is a Zyne. Still, it would've been nice if they adapted the proper portrait. Heck, use it another seven times, for old times sake!

35 minutes ago, Revier said:

I actually kinda like John Constipation as a villain portrait. It just has a certain iconic look to it, feeling evil yet also funny. Or perhaps even cute? I'm sad to hear his portrait wasn't reused in Thracia 776.

It's attained meme status from the sheer number of reuses, but I'm inclined to agree. He looks a lot less overtly evil than other generic bossman portraits. I honestly don't think he'd look too out of place as a playable character.

Also I think John Constipation is my new favorite name for him

[Jotari]

21 minutes ago, Saint Rubenio said:

Bloom's kind of important

I wish someone had told Kaga that when he decided to give Bloom only three sentences of dialogue.

Edited April 13 by Jotari

[Saint Rubenio]

6 minutes ago, Jotari said:

I wish someone had told Kaga that when decided to give Bloom only three sentences of dialogue.

In fairness, Thracia isn't the story of "kind of important" people, it's the story of nobodies fighting their own fight in a corner of the continent while the heroes and villains are somewhere far away. Bloom making only a single appearance in Leif's lowest point is pretty poignant in that way. Even he is too far off for Thracia's small scope.

[Jotari]

26 minutes ago, Saint Rubenio said:

In fairness, Thracia isn't the story of "kind of important" people, it's the story of nobodies fighting their own fight in a corner of the continent while the heroes and villains are somewhere far away. Bloom making only a single appearance in Leif's lowest point is pretty poignant in that way. Even he is too far off for Thracia's small scope.

Still copious amounts of Ishtar and Julius scenes in comparison though.

[Saint Rubenio]

20 minutes ago, Jotari said:

Still copious amounts of Ishtar and Julius scenes in comparison though.

...True enough. Maybe Kaga just hated Bloom lmao

[BrightBow]

Maybe he realized that no one could take a villain with the name Blume seriously.

But then again, I suppose it's not much worse than Schwarze Rosen.

[Jotari]

5 minutes ago, BrightBow said:

Maybe he realized that no one could take a villain with the name Blume seriously.

But then again, I suppose it's not much worse than Schwarze Rosen.

Remember when we called Veld "Berdo"

Spoiler

 

 

 

 

[ping]

FE4 Chapter 9: For Whose Sake

Meath (turns 0-1)

Spoiler

With the liberation of the peninsula's north, Selph's army occupies Meath Castle as their headquarters, uncertain of how to next act.

Beyond Meath and the engulfing maw of its peaks lies the dracoknights' kingdom, Thracia. This rural nation is ruled by King Travant, who remains bound in coalition to Emperor Arvis. Thracia is the only state anywhere in Jugdral regarded as an ally by the Grannvale Empire.

Within Thracia, Travant's minions await Seliph: his children, Altena and Arion, at the capital; the legendary General Hannibal, dubbed "Thracia's Shield", at Kapathogia Castle; the king's trusted advisor, General Distler, at Luthecia Castle; and a Loptyrian agent from the Empire, Bishop Judah, at Grutia Castle.

Travant has fortified his kingdom for one final, full-scale showdown with the liberators. Thracia's people hardly offer Seliph an eager welcome. Fearing Seliph as a conqueror, they flock in droves to take up arms themselves. How could any justice lie in this conflict? For whose sake is this war being fought? For the first time, these questions now shake both Seliph and his army's resolve to the core...

I'm not entirely sure if I'm convinced by the "morally grey" set-up of this chapter. In theory, this could parallel Sigurd's conquest of Agusty - Seliph initially reacts to a hostile act (the assault of Manster, in this case), occupies an enemy fortification... but then keeps advancing and seizing. However, unless Arion turns out a lot more Eldigan-ish than I expect him to be, it doesn't seem like there will be any attempt from Thracia's side to negotiate a truce - plus, there's the whole "Travant killed Leaf's parents", which gives the whole conflict a deeper personal level than with Chagall (who only killed his own parent, after all).

The introductory cutscene starts with Altena flying all the way south to Thracia castle...:

__

: "I've no interest in any more excuses! Don't you dare belittle me, Altena. You are a warrior beyond compare, and you and Arion embody my will beyond these walls. I expect no less than for you to do your duty! And what do I find instead? You've ignored my orders, left an entire platoon to the slaughter, and strolled home as if nothing ever happened! I've never been more disappointed..."
: "I'm sorry, Father, but at least let me explain! I could never agree with such tactics, which enrich us at the expense of everybody else! How could you ever expect the proud Thracian people to accept prosperity built on the bones of others? Please, Father, rethink your ways!"
: "Enough, Altena. There's no place here for such meddling. Still your tongue and obey Father!" [probabaly missing a 'your' here]

: "Please, do forgive her, even just this once."
: "You know, Arion? If you'd just hold back on the coddling, perhaps Altena wouldn't be so stubborn! Look, Altena. I'll give you one last chance. Take a dracoknight platoon and retake Meath! If you so much as slip again, then daughter be damned, I will accept no excuses! Understood?"
: "Yes, Father..."

: "Whew... Family resemblance, indeed! It's plainly obvious that she loathes me..."
: "Father, you have to remember that she's still a child. Like all children, she has yet to realize her thoughtless words have real effects."
: "Hmph, I suppose... I'm off to Kapathogia. I hear Hannibal's found himself some funny ideas about my plans. And so it falls to me to ensure he loses those ideas before somebody gets hurt..."

Honestly, Arion has been a really infuriating character. Pure passivity ("Yes, Father, you are correct as always...") combined with a hugely condescending way of defending Altena ("...and Altena only doesn't understand your wisdom because she is a little baby, so please don't have her head chopped off."). Fuck off, mate, she is twenty. Good on you, sure, that you oppose decapitation, but that's really all that Arion's own ethos has been thus far.

Travant's "family resemblance" also spells out that Arion is well aware of Altena's parentage. Yet another thing where he doesn't take an own position and just goes along with what Travant is doing. Textbook Mitläufer, the guy.

Next stop: Kapathogia.

: "General Hannibal! The rebels have seized control of Meath. Altena is en route to counter-attack. Your armored knights will join her at once!"
: "Your Majesty, I've said it a thousand times and I'll say it again. There is no use fighting this war! We must arrange a truce with the liberators if we wish to recover the strength to endure! Bowing to the Empire was a despicable choice to start, one which now leaves us serving our citizens to the true enemy on a gilded platter!"
: "I did not ask for such dopey nonsense! The rebels have slaughtered my soldiers, and now they've stolen our territory! The hour is far too late for a truce!"
: "I thought as much... Very well. I suppose I have no choice."
: "What's this, Hannibal? Do I hear traitorous rumblings coming from that mouth of yours?"
: "Come now, Your Majesty! Never would a warrior such as I consider turning my cloak. Traitor, indeed!"
: "Really, now? Then I trust you wouldn't object to a test of your warrior's loyalty. Until the war reaches its victorious end, Hannibal, I'll be taking care of your son."
: "I beg your pardon, Your Majesty? Do you have such little faith in me?!"
: "You have nothing to worry about, Hannibal. If you don't intend to betray me, then I don't intend to so much as scratch the boy."
: "Why..."
: "Men! Bring me Hannibal's son!"

"I haven't adopted anybody in, like, seventeen years! I need my fix!"

: "P-papa..."
: "Oh, Sharlow... I am so sorry..."
: "Remember, Hannibal. You have nothing to worry about, so long as you behave yourself. As soon as this war is won, you'll get him back. I don't get it, though. The boy isn't even your real son. How could he have such sway over you?"
: "Sharlow has brought so much joy into my life. A true family transcends simple blood..."
: "Ohoho! Could it be? Does Thracia's great statesman have a soft spot for children? Now, then. Thracia depends on you, Hannibal!"

I will say that Hannibal's love for his adopted son is a nice contrast to Travant's... rocky relationship with Altena. And it's also set up as Travant sowing the seed of Hannibal's eventual defection himself, but we'll see how exactly his dialogue with Sharlow will look.

Next stop on the Trabant road trip across Thracia: Luthecia.

: "Rest assured, milord. Luthecia is as an impregnable wall! I've seen to it myself."
: "I'll hold you to your word. Now, I've reason to doubt the loyalty of Hannibal at Kapathogia. I've taken his son hostage, just in case, and I'm leaving him to your custody."
: "Yes, sir! I'll not let him out of my sight. But should Hannibal turn his cloak-"
: "Then you'll kill the son. Don't be lulled into offering even a child such as he any mercy."
: "Understood, milord."

Well, since I talked about Mitläufer earlier - here's a literal one. Kaga likes his Nazi-related names, although Distler is quite a different category than fucking Heinrich Himmler.

Spoiler

Do you see in the tiny window
the bright red cap again?
Things cannot be safe,
for it bobs up and down already.
And all of a sudden, such a crowd
at the bridge, past the field!
Hark! The fire-bell is ringing:
Over the hill,
over the hill,
the mill is burning!

Lo! There he leaps in fury
through the gate, the fire-rider,
on the mare, all skin and bones,
as if on a fireladder!
Across the fields! Through smoke and heat
he already runs and is at the scene!
Over there it keeps sounding:
Over the hill,
over the hill,
the mill is burning!

He who so often the red rooster (*)
Has smelled from miles away,
With the splinter of the holy cross
Wickedly spoke a prayer against the embers -
Woe! from the roof framing grins
the foe in the hellish gleam.
God have mercy on your soul!
Over the hill,
over the hill,
it rages in the mill!

Less than an hour it lasted,
until the mill collapsed into rubble;
but the defiant horseman
has not been seen ever since.
Folks and wagons in the crowd!
Return home from the horror;
the fire-bell also stops ringing.
Over the hill,
over the hill,
it burns--!

At later time, a miller found
a skeleton with the cap
upright against the cellar's wall
sitting on the skeletal mare:
Firerider, how so coolly
are you riding in your grave!
Whoosh! there it falls into ashes.
Rest well,
rest well,
down in the mill!

(*) "Der rote Hahn" sitting on the rooftop is commonly used in German as allegory for a burning house.

The poem (clumsily, and more literally than poetically, translated by myself) was initially written by Eduard Mörike in the early 19th century.

 

Next stop: Grutia.

Kaga likes his evil dark mages named "Judah", too.

: "Good. In that case, I think I'll leave the defense of Grutia to your hands. Try not to get too cocky with the rebels, Bishop. They're of a treacherous sort.

And finally, Travant returns to Thracia Castle, although the camera returns to Seliph at Meath.

: "Looks like they're finally sending more dracoknights our way, Seliph. This must be it. It's time we readied everybody for battle."
: "I don't know, Lewyn. Our foremost enemy is the Empire, is it not? Waging a war here feels... meaningless."
: "The point of a battle comes from how you conduct yourself in it, Seliph."

...what.

: "And we hardly have much choice at this point! We're already this far into the fight..."
: "But what of that dracoknight who was watching us from the Manster peaks? I've seldom seen such a sad look in anybody's eyes... How could I fight somebody like her...?"
: "That's enough, Seliph! This is a war! If you can't stand it any more, then go on! Run home to Tirnanog!"
: "Lewyn..."

Oifey has a line?! ...Well, now there's much less of an excuse that he hasn't had any presence at all between his joining and now.

: "Look, I know... But everyone is just as stressed as he is, yet they all know that we can't afford to stop. With the resurrection of Loptyr lurking on the horizon, it's crucial we get to Grannvale and stop the world falling to ruin while we still can."
: "Thank you, Oifey... but Lewyn speaks the truth. An inevitable battle lies ahead, and if we see in it naught but futility, then my duty is to carve my own purpose into it. Come, Oifey! Lewyn! I'll never again flinch or turn away!"

"...what." again, to be honest. Lewyn is really going full Sigurd here - there are castles. You must seize castles. It's a fundamental law of nature.

This is also the second time that Lewyn casually drops the "resurrection of Loptyr" into the conversation. The first time, in Ch.7, Seliph at least managed a "wait, what?" as a reaction (to which Lewyn just answers that he'll "understand soon enough"), but this time it just seems to slip through.

Honestly, I would've expected more substance to this "forced into battle" narrative. Just a basic attempt of negotiation with Travant, really - and if he would've refused, that could've been what forced Seliph into another costly battle on the Thracia peninsula, because otherwise, Leonster would just be under attack the second Seliph leaves for Belhalla. It could've been an opportunity for Arion to develop a bit more of a personality than "Travant's yesman", too, if he were allowed any disagreement with this father.

: "Oh, the woman? I saw her. I don't believe it's every day that you encounter a female dracoknight, is it? Was there something amiss about her?"
: "It was her weapon... She was wielding Gáe Bolg, Leonster's holy lance. And I sensed an aura cloaking her... The holy aura of Nova, like your father."
: "What? What are you saying, Finn?!"
: "There is only one explanation, my lord. Your sister, Altena, mustn't have died in the Thracian ambush seventeen years ago. Nor must Gáe Bolg have been lost..."
: "Altena?! She... She's still alive?! Then... Then what in the blazes was she doing commanding the Thracian army?"
: "I'd surmise that Travant took her back to Thracia as a child, and raised her as his own."
: "Huh... Who knew a man as cold as Travant could do something so humane?"
: "It isn't so simple, my lord. Altena is the sole inheritor of your father's holy lineage from the earth goddess, Nova. As such, unlike you, she alone is capable of wielding Gáe Bolg. Power is the only reason a man like Travant would ever be so kind to his enemy's child."
: "So he's tricked my sister just so he can use her like a... like a weapon! Travant... What a disgusting man... ...I want to help her, Finn. If we can tell her the truth, then I know we can work together to avenge our parents."
: "My lord, I believe you're the only one who could possibly convince her now. Even after all these years, my lord, you are still her brother. I'm certain she will open her heart to you if you try. Please, my lord. Please save Lady Altena..."

And there's that. I was going to comment on Finn's ability to "sense the aura" of a woman flying above a distant peak, but considering that Seliph was able to recognise the sadness in her eyes from the same distance, I suppose that isn't such an extraordinary feat after all.

The map! Seemingly very straightforward, with a linear, if winded, path from one castle to the next. I expect more Dracoknights coming from Thracia, which would put Meath in more danger than our previous home castles have been, but we'll see.

__

Our first obstacle will be Hannibal's Armour Knights, all wielding dangerous weapons: Brave Bows, Brave Lances, and Sleep Edges on the Sword Armours. To avoid fake tension - this predicament seems fairly easily solved by the Sleep staff. A well-timed cast will hopefully disable Hannibal long enough for everybody to (kill all his men and) slip past towards Luthecia (which should've been Lutetia, if you ask me).

I'll note that Hannibal has five leadership stars, so we can't quite rely on the usual awful avoid stat on Knights. Good thing these only work in a three-tile radius. (I believe that is T776 foreshadowing?)

Here's Philip IV., who is guarding Hannibal's castle. To remove another piece of fake tension - I'm aware (or at least pretty certain that this is how it works) that I mustn't seize Kapathogia before recruiting Hannibal - since he would de-spawn alongside all the other troops of that affiliation.

Distler, guarding Luthecia and Sharlow, mostly remarkable for being literally identical to Kanatz, except for +2 HP (and more XP value).

And coming from the south will be Altena with nine generic Dracoknights. This time, we *will* have to be careful about her attacking range.

__

The northwest corner of the map is... interesting. Six villages right next to each other, threatened by a single Brigand, who in turn is protected by three Heroes - all with identical stats, except that the other two use Flame Swords as their 1-2 option.

As usual, the chapter starts with some arena fights, leading to a bunch of promotions: Leif, Nanna, Patty, Ulster, Dermott, Lester, Arthur (although he only did the first fight because he lacks a few ducats for the Paragon Band). Some will follow later this map - namely Ares, probably Tinni, and maybe Faval.

The arena opponents are the following:

(1) Sakra - Lv.9 Cavalier
	39 HP | 8 Def | 0 Res
	[Steel Sword] - 19 Atk | 96 Hit | 10 Avo | 5 AS

(1R) Nietzche - Lv.9 Arch Knight
	49 HP | 10 Def
	[Silver Bow] - 30 Atk | 90 Hit | 4 Avo | 2 AS

(2) Apostole - Lv.12 Axe Knight (Axe Cav)
	42 HP | 9 Def | 1 Res
	[Steel Axe] - 28 Atk | 88 Hit | -18 Avo | -9 AS
	[Hand Axe]  - 20 Atk 

(3) Millier - Lv.15 Myrmidon - Skill: Pursuit
	45 HP | 9 Def | 1 Res
	[Brave Sword] - 23 Atk | 128 Hit | 22 Avo | 11 AS

(3R) Cilon - Lv.15 Armored Bow
	55 HP | 14 Def
	[Brave Bow] - 27 Atk | 98 Hit | -2 Avo | -1 AS

(4) Klain - Lv.18 Armr. Lance
	58 HP | 15 Def | 1 Res
	[Steel Lance] - 30 Atk | 100 Hit | -8 Avo | -4 AS
	[Javelin]     - 26 Atk

(5) Sleighton - Lv.21 Fire Mage
	47 HP | 3 Def | 11 Res
	[Elfire] - 30 Atk | 104 Hit | 0 Avo | 0 AS

(6) Triesta - Lv.24 Dracoknight
	64 HP | 18 Def | 2 Res
	[Brave Lance] - 32 Atk | 108 Hit | 2 Avo | 1 AS
	[Javelin]     - 29 Atk

(7) Canaan - Lv.27 Baron - Item: Magic Ring - Skill: Pavise
	72 HP | 20 Def | 9 Res
	[Tornado] - 34 Atk | 100 Hit | 26 Avo | 13 AS

...and the list of our participants:

	  Lv.	  HP Str Mag Skl Spd Lck Def Res  Funds  XP    Arn
Seliph	  24.40	  62  25   5  22  19  27  22  13  50000  +320  [*]
Leif	  22.41	  55  27   8  22  24  15  24  11  13072  +384  [*]
Oifey	  24.75	  49  20  10  21  21  11  19   8  29340  +304  [*]
Finn	  28.96	  49  24   1  17  22  22  20   4  47735  +176  [*]

Dermott	  23.24	  56  23   0  30  23  19  19   5  30732  +356  [*]
Nanna	  22.71	  50  24   7  18  18  19  21   7  25850  +377  [*]
Lester	  20.08	  48  20   3  16  19  21  16   4  37063  +460  [*]
Arthur	  20.04	  55   5  23  22  22  22   8  11  38113  +10   [2]

Ulster	  21.24	  56  27   6  25  21  11  22   4  50000  +420  [*]
Shanan	  22.96	  53  23   0  29  25  10  18   6  39900  +364  [*]
Patty	  22.04	  53  20  11  15  25  21  12   8  3715   +402  [*]
Johalvier 24.20	  54  26   0  16  19   7  21   8  16500  +314  [*] - Paragon

Julia	  23.43	  44   3  30  17  28   9   5  27  10300  +156  [*]
Lana	  23.28	  51  10  22  23  23  23  10  11  28036  +189  [*]
Tinni	  17.57	  50   1  16  20  21  19   3   9  24853  +540  [*]

Involved with this was a bit of money shuffling (Leif to Nanna; Larcei to Johalvier; Patty to Leylia to buy the Knight Ring), as well as a bit of healing and an in-castle dance from Leylia - so that's why this update is titled as "turn 0-1", as I play out that first turn:

: "Patty! Hey! PATTY!! Don't tell me you've been stealing again!"
: "Oh, er... Yep. Just a bit, though!"
: "Ugh. Look, I don't care if you're just stealing from the enemy. I don't like you stealing at all! Knock it off, okay?"
: "What, d'you think I like doing this? That I'm stealing for the fun of it?! This army needs to eat, y'know, and we need gold for that! We don't have all that many options here!"
: "Yeah, but haven't you heard what people are saying about you? I caught this guy mocking you, like being a thief's a walking punch line... 'What else didja expect from a pirate's brat? Like mother, like child,' he kept saying. Of course, I wiped the floor with him for that..."
: "It doesn't matter what people think, Faval! Let them say whatever they want. Doesn't change a thing about Mom... And it doesn't change that she was an heir of Ullur the Crusader! I was in tears when Lewyn told me about her... I've never been so happy!"
: "Yeah, me too... Y'know, we haven't exactly had the best lives. Poor orphans and all that... But I never even dreamed that our mother could actually be a noblewoman! I don't suppose you remember anything about her, Patty?"
: "Nope! Not a thing... You?"
: "Yeah, but... only a little... She was a kind and beautiful woman..."
: "So is she... Do you think Mom's dead?"
: "I can't say for sure... But as soon as the war's done with, Patty, we're gonna go look for her. We'll find our mother... Bridget... And even though we don't even know his name, maybe we'll find our father, too..."

[+1 Lck --> Patty]

"Eh, maybe she banged Axel. Alex? Alfons? Some unimportant scrub. Far less handsome than I. Not like you're cousins with the crown prince or anything." - Lewyn, probably

Not much to say about the first round, of course. Fee is moving to the left, hoping that she'll be allowed to take a stab at saving the villages, while everybody else simply moves out. As I said, I'm expecting Wyverns from 6 o'clock, more than just Altena's squad, but that's what the Return staff is for, right?

: "Hm... The rebels are on the move, are they?"
: "Lord Hannibal! We're ready to attack at any moment. We await your command."
: "Wait. For the time being we should remain on the defensive. I'd prefer to avoid any needless skirmishes with the enemy."
: "But sire, what about..."
: "...My son? I know... I know, but... For now, I would rather hol back and let the battle unfold on its own first. My apologies, Kanatz, but I'd like you to take charge of defending the castle."
: "As you will, sire!"

Sorry, Kanatz, I know your cape is a different shade of green than that of the previous Philip, but not really worth uploading a separate portrait for you.

__

: "All units, move in and engage the rebels! We will return Meath to Thracian control!"

And there we have it. I think I've said everything I wanted about the story thus far, so let's just see how things continue through the fight.

 

 

On 4/13/2024 at 12:47 PM, Saint Rubenio said:

You said "I think half the cast of Sacae is overrated", and I followed with "honestly more than half is overrated lol." Maybe the broken thing is your reading comprehension lmao gottem

On 4/12/2024 at 12:15 AM, Saint Rubenio said:

Let's see... Who is "broken" in sacae?

[...]

Honestly, more than half lmao

Tsk.

19 hours ago, BrightBow said:

Maybe he realized that no one could take a villain with the name Blume seriously.

But then again, I suppose it's not much worse than Schwarze Rosen.

I'd say "Black Roses" seems more edge-tacky, while calling him "Flower" might indicate that Reptor hated his son. That, or he wanted to overcome gender stereotypes and thought it was worth the cost of his son getting bullied at school.

Edited April 14 by ping

[Jotari]

15 minutes ago, ping said:

FE4 Chapter 9: For Whose Sake

Meath (turns 0-1)

  Hide contents

With the liberation of the peninsula's north, Selph's army occupies Meath Castle as their headquarters, uncertain of how to next act.

Beyond Meath and the engulfing maw of its peaks lies the dracoknights' kingdom, Thracia. This rural nation is ruled by King Travant, who remains bound in coalition to Emperor Arvis. Thracia is the only state anywhere in Jugdral regarded as an ally by the Grannvale Empire.

Within Thracia, Travant's minions await Seliph: his children, Altena and Arion, at the capital; the legendary General Hannibal, dubbed "Thracia's Shield", at Kapathogia Castle; the king's trusted advisor, General Distler, at Luthecia Castle; and a Loptyrian agent from the Empire, Bishop Judah, at Grutia Castle.

Travant has fortified his kingdom for one final, full-scale showdown with the liberators. Thracia's people hardly offer Seliph an eager welcome. Fearing Seliph as a conqueror, they flock in droves to take up arms themselves. How could any justice lie in this conflict? For whose sake is this war being fought? For the first time, these questions now shake both Seliph and his army's resolve to the core...

I'm not entirely sure if I'm convinced by the "morally grey" set-up of this chapter. In theory, this could parallel Sigurd's conquest of Agusty - Seliph initially reacts to a hostile act (the assault of Manster, in this case), occupies an enemy fortification... but then keeps advancing and seizing. However, unless Arion turns out a lot more Eldigan-ish than I expect him to be, it doesn't seem like there will be any attempt from Thracia's side to negotiate a truce - plus, there's the whole "Travant killed Leaf's parents", which gives the whole conflict a deeper personal level than with Chagall (who only killed his own parent, after all).

The introductory cutscene starts with Altena flying all the way south to Thracia castle...:

__

: "I've no interest in any more excuses! Don't you dare belittle me, Altena. You are a warrior beyond compare, and you and Arion embody my will beyond these walls. I expect no less than for you to do your duty! And what do I find instead? You've ignored my orders, left an entire platoon to the slaughter, and strolled home as if nothing ever happened! I've never been more disappointed..."
: "I'm sorry, Father, but at least let me explain! I could never agree with such tactics, which enrich us at the expense of everybody else! How could you ever expect the proud Thracian people to accept prosperity built on the bones of others? Please, Father, rethink your ways!"
: "Enough, Altena. There's no place here for such meddling. Still your tongue and obey Father!" [probabaly missing a 'your' here]

: "Please, do forgive her, even just this once."
: "You know, Arion? If you'd just hold back on the coddling, perhaps Altena wouldn't be so stubborn! Look, Altena. I'll give you one last chance. Take a dracoknight platoon and retake Meath! If you so much as slip again, then daughter be damned, I will accept no excuses! Understood?"
: "Yes, Father..."

: "Whew... Family resemblance, indeed! It's plainly obvious that she loathes me..."
: "Father, you have to remember that she's still a child. Like all children, she has yet to realize her thoughtless words have real effects."
: "Hmph, I suppose... I'm off to Kapathogia. I hear Hannibal's found himself some funny ideas about my plans. And so it falls to me to ensure he loses those ideas before somebody gets hurt..."

Honestly, Arion has been a really infuriating character. Pure passivity ("Yes, Father, you are correct as always...") combined with a hugely condescending way of defending Altena ("...and Altena only doesn't understand your wisdom because she is a little baby, so please don't have her head chopped off."). Fuck off, mate, she is twenty. Good on you, sure, that you oppose decapitation, but that's really all that Arion's own ethos has been thus far.

Travant's "family resemblance" also spells out that Arion is well aware of Altena's parentage. Yet another thing where he doesn't take an own position and just goes along with what Travant is doing. Textbook Mitläufer, the guy.

Next stop: Kapathogia.

: "General Hannibal! The rebels have seized control of Meath. Altena is en route to counter-attack. Your armored knights will join her at once!"
: "Your Majesty, I've said it a thousand times and I'll say it again. There is no use fighting this war! We must arrange a truce with the liberators if we wish to recover the strength to endure! Bowing to the Empire was a despicable choice to start, one which now leaves us serving our citizens to the true enemy on a gilded platter!"
: "I did not ask for such dopey nonsense! The rebels have slaughtered my soldiers, and now they've stolen our territory! The hour is far too late for a truce!"
: "I thought as much... Very well. I suppose I have no choice."
: "What's this, Hannibal? Do I hear traitorous rumblings coming from that mouth of yours?"
: "Come now, Your Majesty! Never would a warrior such as I consider turning my cloak. Traitor, indeed!"
: "Really, now? Then I trust you wouldn't object to a test of your warrior's loyalty. Until the war reaches its victorious end, Hannibal, I'll be taking care of your son."
: "I beg your pardon, Your Majesty? Do you have such little faith in me?!"
: "You have nothing to worry about, Hannibal. If you don't intend to betray me, then I don't intend to so much as scratch the boy."
: "Why..."
: "Men! Bring me Hannibal's son!"

"I haven't adopted anybody in, like, seventeen years! I need my fix!"

: "P-papa..."
: "Oh, Sharlow... I am so sorry..."
: "Remember, Hannibal. You have nothing to worry about, so long as you behave yourself. As soon as this war is won, you'll get him back. I don't get it, though. The boy isn't even your real son. How could he have such sway over you?"
: "Sharlow has brought so much joy into my life. A true family transcends simple blood..."
: "Ohoho! Could it be? Does Thracia's great statesman have a soft spot for children? Now, then. Thracia depends on you, Hannibal!"

I will say that Hannibal's love for his adopted son is a nice contrast to Travant's... rocky relationship with Altena. And it's also set up as Travant sowing the seed of Hannibal's eventual defection himself, but we'll see how exactly his dialogue with Sharlow will look.

Next stop on the Trabant road trip across Thracia: Luthecia.

: "Rest assured, milord. Luthecia is as an impregnable wall! I've seen to it myself."
: "I'll hold you to your word. Now, I've reason to doubt the loyalty of Hannibal at Kapathogia. I've taken his son hostage, just in case, and I'm leaving him to your custody."
: "Yes, sir! I'll not let him out of my sight. But should Hannibal turn his cloak-"
: "Then you'll kill the son. Don't be lulled into offering even a child such as he any mercy."
: "Understood, milord."

Well, since I talked about Mitläufer earlier - here's a literal one. Kaga likes his Nazi-related names, although Distler is quite a different category than fucking Heinrich Himmler.

  Hide contents

Do you see in the tiny window
the bright red cap again?
Things cannot be safe,
for it bobs up and down already.
And all of a sudden, such a crowd
at the bridge, past the field!
Hark! The fire-bell is ringing:
Over the hill,
over the hill,
the mill is burning!

Lo! There he leaps in fury
through the gate, the fire-rider,
on the mare, all skin and bones,
as if on a fireladder!
Across the fields! Through smoke and heat
he already runs and is at the scene!
Over there it keeps sounding:
Over the hill,
over the hill,
the mill is burning!

He who so often the red rooster (*)
Has smelled from miles away,
With the splinter of the holy cross
Wickedly spoke a prayer against the embers -
Woe! from the roof framing grins
the foe in the hellish gleam.
God have mercy on your soul!
Over the hill,
over the hill,
it rages in the mill!

Less than an hour it lasted,
until the mill collapsed into rubble;
but the defiant horseman
has not been seen ever since.
Folks and wagons in the crowd!
Return home from the horror;
the fire-bell also stops ringing.
Over the hill,
over the hill,
it burns--!

At later time, a miller found
a skeleton with the cap
upright against the cellar's wall
sitting on the skeletal mare:
Firerider, how so coolly
are you riding in your grave!
Whoosh! there it falls into ashes.
Rest well,
rest well,
down in the mill!

(*) "Der rote Hahn" sitting on the rooftop is commonly used in German as allegory for a burning house.

The poem (clumsily, and more literally than poetically, translated by myself) was initially written by Eduard Mörike in the early 19th century.

 

Next stop: Grutia.

Kaga likes his evil dark mages named "Judah", too.

: "Good. In that case, I think I'll leave the defense of Grutia to your hands. Try not to get too cocky with the rebels, Bishop. They're of a treacherous sort.

And finally, Travant returns to Thracia Castle, although the camera returns to Seliph at Meath.

: "Looks like they're finally sending more dracoknights our way, Seliph. This must be it. It's time we readied everybody for battle."
: "I don't know, Lewyn. Our foremost enemy is the Empire, is it not? Waging a war here feels... meaningless."
: "The point of a battle comes from how you conduct yourself in it, Seliph."

...what.

: "And we hardly have much choice at this point! We're already this far into the fight..."
: "But what of that dracoknight who was watching us from the Manster peaks? I've seldom seen such a sad look in anybody's eyes... How could I fight somebody like her...?"
: "That's enough, Seliph! This is a war! If you can't stand it any more, then go on! Run home to Tirnanog!"
: "Lewyn..."

Oifey has a line?! ...Well, now there's much less of an excuse that he hasn't had any presence at all between his joining and now.

: "Look, I know... But everyone is just as stressed as he is, yet they all know that we can't afford to stop. With the resurrection of Loptyr lurking on the horizon, it's crucial we get to Grannvale and stop the world falling to ruin while we still can."
: "Thank you, Oifey... but Lewyn speaks the truth. An inevitable battle lies ahead, and if we see in it naught but futility, then my duty is to carve my own purpose into it. Come, Oifey! Lewyn! I'll never again flinch or turn away!"

"...what." again, to be honest. Lewyn is really going full Sigurd here - there are castles. You must seize castles. It's a fundamental law of nature.

This is also the second time that Lewyn casually drops the "resurrection of Loptyr" into the conversation. The first time, in Ch.7, Seliph at least managed a "wait, what?" as a reaction (to which Lewyn just answers that he'll "understand soon enough"), but this time it just seems to slip through.

Honestly, I would've expected more substance to this "forced into battle" narrative. Just a basic attempt of negotiation with Travant, really - and if he would've refused, that could've been what forced Seliph into another costly battle on the Thracia peninsula, because otherwise, Leonster would just be under attack the second Seliph leaves for Belhalla. It could've been an opportunity for Arion to develop a bit more of a personality than "Travant's yesman", too, if he were allowed any disagreement with this father.

: "Oh, the woman? I saw her. I don't believe it's every day that you encounter a female dracoknight, is it? Was there something amiss about her?"
: "It was her weapon... She was wielding Gáe Bolg, Leonster's holy lance. And I sensed an aura cloaking her... The holy aura of Nova, like your father."
: "What? What are you saying, Finn?!"
: "There is only one explanation, my lord. Your sister, Altena, mustn't have died in the Thracian ambush seventeen years ago. Nor must Gáe Bolg have been lost..."
: "Altena?! She... She's still alive?! Then... Then what in the blazes was she doing commanding the Thracian army?"
: "I'd surmise that Travant took her back to Thracia as a child, and raised her as his own."
: "Huh... Who knew a man as cold as Travant could do something so humane?"
: "It isn't so simple, my lord. Altena is the sole inheritor of your father's holy lineage from the earth goddess, Nova. As such, unlike you, she alone is capable of wielding Gáe Bolg. Power is the only reason a man like Travant would ever be so kind to his enemy's child."
: "So he's tricked my sister just so he can use her like a... like a weapon! Travant... What a disgusting man... ...I want to help her, Finn. If we can tell her the truth, then I know we can work together to avenge our parents."
: "My lord, I believe you're the only one who could possibly convince her now. Even after all these years, my lord, you are still her brother. I'm certain she will open her heart to you if you try. Please, my lord. Please save Lady Altena..."

And there's that. I was going to comment on Finn's ability to "sense the aura" of a woman flying above a distant peak, but considering that Seliph was able to recognise the sadness in her eyes from the same distance, I suppose that isn't such an extraordinary feat after all.

The map! Seemingly very straightforward, with a linear, if winded, path from one castle to the next. I expect more Dracoknights coming from Thracia, which would put Meath in more danger than our previous home castles have been, but we'll see.

__

Our first obstacle will be Hannibal's Armour Knights, all wielding dangerous weapons: Brave Bows, Brave Lances, and Sleep Edges on the Sword Armours. To avoid fake tension - this predicament seems fairly easily solved by the Sleep staff. A well-timed cast will hopefully disable Hannibal long enough for everybody to (kill all his men and) slip past towards Luthecia (which should've been Lutetia, if you ask me).

I'll note that Hannibal has five leadership stars, so we can't quite rely on the usual awful avoid stat on Knights. Good thing these only work in a three-tile radius. (I believe that is T776 foreshadowing?)

Here's Philip IV., who is guarding Hannibal's castle. To remove another piece of fake tension - I'm aware (or at least pretty certain that this is how it works) that I mustn't seize Kapathogia before recruiting Hannibal - since he would de-spawn alongside all the other troops of that affiliation.

Distler, guarding Luthecia and Sharlow, mostly remarkable for being literally identical to Kanatz, except for +2 HP (and more XP value).

And coming from the south will be Altena with nine generic Dracoknights. This time, we *will* have to be careful about her attacking range.

__

The northwest corner of the map is... interesting. Six villages right next to each other, threatened by a single Brigand, who in turn is protected by three Heroes - all with identical stats, except that the other two use Flame Swords as their 1-2 option.

As usual, the chapter starts with some arena fights, leading to a bunch of promotions: Leif, Nanna, Patty, Ulster, Dermott, Lester, Arthur (although he only did the first fight because he lacks a few ducats for the Paragon Band). Some will follow later this map - namely Ares, probably Tinni, and maybe Faval.

The arena opponents are the following:

(1) Sakra - Lv.9 Cavalier
	39 HP | 8 Def | 0 Res
	[Steel Sword] - 19 Atk | 96 Hit | 10 Avo | 5 AS

(1R) Nietzche - Lv.9 Arch Knight
	49 HP | 10 Def
	[Silver Bow] - 30 Atk | 90 Hit | 4 Avo | 2 AS

(2) Apostole - Lv.12 Axe Knight (Axe Cav)
	42 HP | 9 Def | 1 Res
	[Steel Axe] - 28 Atk | 88 Hit | -18 Avo | -9 AS
	[Hand Axe]  - 20 Atk 

(3) Millier - Lv.15 Myrmidon - Skill: Pursuit
	45 HP | 9 Def | 1 Res
	[Brave Sword] - 23 Atk | 128 Hit | 22 Avo | 11 AS

(3R) Cilon - Lv.15 Armored Bow
	55 HP | 14 Def
	[Brave Bow] - 27 Atk | 98 Hit | -2 Avo | -1 AS

(4) Klain - Lv.18 Armr. Lance
	58 HP | 15 Def | 1 Res
	[Steel Lance] - 30 Atk | 100 Hit | -8 Avo | -4 AS
	[Javelin]     - 26 Atk

(5) Sleighton - Lv.21 Fire Mage
	47 HP | 3 Def | 11 Res
	[Elfire] - 30 Atk | 104 Hit | 0 Avo | 0 AS

(6) Triesta - Lv.24 Dracoknight
	64 HP | 18 Def | 2 Res
	[Brave Lance] - 32 Atk | 108 Hit | 2 Avo | 1 AS
	[Javelin]     - 29 Atk

(7) Canaan - Lv.27 Baron - Item: Magic Ring - Skill: Pavise
	72 HP | 20 Def | 9 Res
	[Tornado] - 34 Atk | 100 Hit | 26 Avo | 13 AS

...and the list of our participants:

	  Lv.	  HP Str Mag Skl Spd Lck Def Res  Funds  XP    Arn
Seliph	  24.40	  62  25   5  22  19  27  22  13  50000  +320  [*]
Leif	  22.41	  55  27   8  22  24  15  24  11  13072  +384  [*]
Oifey	  24.75	  49  20  10  21  21  11  19   8  29340  +304  [*]
Finn	  28.96	  49  24   1  17  22  22  20   4  47735  +176  [*]

Dermott	  23.24	  56  23   0  30  23  19  19   5  30732  +356  [*]
Nanna	  22.71	  50  24   7  18  18  19  21   7  25850  +377  [*]
Lester	  20.08	  48  20   3  16  19  21  16   4  37063  +460  [*]
Arthur	  20.04	  55   5  23  22  22  22   8  11  38113  +10   [2]

Ulster	  21.24	  56  27   6  25  21  11  22   4  50000  +420  [*]
Shanan	  22.96	  53  23   0  29  25  10  18   6  39900  +364  [*]
Patty	  22.04	  53  20  11  15  25  21  12   8  3715   +402  [*]
Johalvier 24.20	  54  26   0  16  19   7  21   8  16500  +314  [*] - Paragon

Julia	  23.43	  44   3  30  17  28   9   5  27  10300  +156  [*]
Lana	  23.28	  51  10  22  23  23  23  10  11  28036  +189  [*]
Tinni	  17.57	  50   1  16  20  21  19   3   9  24853  +540  [*]

Involved with this was a bit of money shuffling (Leif to Nanna; Larcei to Johalvier; Patty to Leylia to buy the Knight Ring), as well as a bit of healing and an in-castle dance from Leylia - so that's why this update is titled as "turn 0-1", as I play out that first turn:

: "Patty! Hey! PATTY!! Don't tell me you've been stealing again!"
: "Oh, er... Yep. Just a bit, though!"
: "Ugh. Look, I don't care if you're just stealing from the enemy. I don't like you stealing at all! Knock it off, okay?"
: "What, d'you think I like doing this? That I'm stealing for the fun of it?! This army needs to eat, y'know, and we need gold for that! We don't have all that many options here!"
: "Yeah, but haven't you heard what people are saying about you? I caught this guy mocking you, like being a thief's a walking punch line... 'What else didja expect from a pirate's brat? Like mother, like child,' he kept saying. Of course, I wiped the floor with him for that..."
: "It doesn't matter what people think, Faval! Let them say whatever they want. Doesn't change a thing about Mom... And it doesn't change that she was an heir of Ullur the Crusader! I was in tears when Lewyn told me about her... I've never been so happy!"
: "Yeah, me too... Y'know, we haven't exactly had the best lives. Poor orphans and all that... But I never even dreamed that our mother could actually be a noblewoman! I don't suppose you remember anything about her, Patty?"
: "Nope! Not a thing... You?"
: "Yeah, but... only a little... She was a kind and beautiful woman..."
: "So is she... Do you think Mom's dead?"
: "I can't say for sure... But as soon as the war's done with, Patty, we're gonna go look for her. We'll find our mother... Bridget... And even though we don't even know his name, maybe we'll find our father, too..."

[+1 Lck --> Patty]

"Eh, maybe she banged Axel. Alex? Alfons? Some unimportant scrub. Far less handsome than I. Not like you're cousins with the crown prince or anything." - Lewyn, probably

Not much to say about the first round, of course. Fee is moving to the left, hoping that she'll be allowed to take a stab at saving the villages, while everybody else simply moves out. As I said, I'm expecting Wyverns from 6 o'clock, more than just Altena's squad, but that's what the Return staff is for, right?

: "Hm... The rebels are on the move, are they?"
: "Lord Hannibal! We're ready to attack at any moment. We await your command."
: "Wait. For the time being we should remain on the defensive. I'd prefer to avoid any needless skirmishes with the enemy."
: "But sire, what about..."
: "...My son? I know... I know, but... For now, I would rather hol back and let the battle unfold on its own first. My apologies, Kanatz, but I'd like you to take charge of defending the castle."
: "As you will, sire!"

Sorry, Kanatz, I know your cape is a different shade of green than that of the previous Philip, but not really worth uploading a separate portrait for you.

__

: "All units, move in and engage the rebels! We will return Meath to Thracian control!"

And there we have it. I think I've said everything I wanted about the story thus far, so let's just see how things continue through the fight.

 

 

Tsk.

I'd say "Black Roses" seems more edge-tacky, while calling him "Flower" might indicate that Reptor hated his son. That, or he wanted to overcome gender stereotypes and thought it was worth the cost of his son getting bullied at school.

He's not flower, he's Blume. Blooming into the person he is always meant to be.

Also, genuinely a name, though possibly only a surname.

[ping]

He absolutely is Flower Fridge.

[Jotari]

2 minutes ago, ping said:

He absolutely is Flower Fridge.

Ah, but I was speaking English.

[Saint Rubenio]

1 hour ago, ping said:

Look who stands at the center.

They know who the important one is.

1 hour ago, ping said:

Travant's "family resemblance" also spells out that Arion is well aware of Altena's parentage. Yet another thing where he doesn't take an own position and just goes along with what Travant is doing. Textbook Mitläufer, the guy.

I mean, maybe Travant's wife hated him too.

1 hour ago, ping said:

: "Your Majesty, I've said it a thousand times and I'll say it again. There is no use fighting this war! We must arrange a truce with the liberators if we wish to recover the strength to endure!

Hey, there's that attempt at a truce you were asking for.

...From the recruitable, to signal he's recruitable. Because of course.

1 hour ago, ping said:

I will say that Hannibal's love for his adopted son is a nice contrast to Travant's... rocky relationship with Altena. And it's also set up as Travant sowing the seed of Hannibal's eventual defection himself, but we'll see how exactly his dialogue with Sharlow will look.

Hannibal is just the best.

1 hour ago, ping said:

Well, since I talked about Mitläufer earlier - here's a literal one. Kaga likes his Nazi-related names, although Distler is quite a different category than fucking Heinrich Himmler.

Or Joseph Goebbels, who shows up in Berwick. I've probably already said it, but it just... still blows my mind that he went there lmao. Then again, he already dropped the Himmler bomb in FE1 so we were fucked from the onset.

1 hour ago, ping said:

: "The point of a battle comes from how you conduct yourself in it, Seliph."

...what.

It means Seliph is justified in conquering a whole country because he's the good boy everyone loves, devaluing the entire point of gen 1 in the process.

Gen 2 writing!

1 hour ago, ping said:

Oifey has a line?! ...Well, now there's much less of an excuse that he hasn't had any presence at all between his joining and now.

Alas, if/else statements are just so difficult....I mean, honestly, yeah, kinda, but you'd think they could've done it at least just for Oifey and Shannan. It's not like this was made by a small indie developer, it was a whole team with Nintendo's backing. They can afford the time and money to throw a few if/elses in there.

1 hour ago, ping said:

slip past towards Luthecia (which should've been Lutetia, if you ask me).

More precisely, Lutéce. Where's the diligent Ping from chapter 5?

1 hour ago, ping said:

: "Patty! Hey! PATTY!! Don't tell me you've been stealing again!"
: "Oh, er... Yep. Just a bit, though!"
: "Ugh. Look, I don't care if you're just stealing from the enemy. I don't like you stealing at all! Knock it off, okay?"
: "What, d'you think I like doing this? That I'm stealing for the fun of it?! This army needs to eat, y'know, and we need gold for that! We don't have all that many options here!"
: "Yeah, but haven't you heard what people are saying about you? I caught this guy mocking you, like being a thief's a walking punch line... 'What else didja expect from a pirate's brat? Like mother, like child,' he kept saying. Of course, I wiped the floor with him for that..."
: "It doesn't matter what people think, Faval! Let them say whatever they want. Doesn't change a thing about Mom... And it doesn't change that she was an heir of Ullur the Crusader! I was in tears when Lewyn told me about her... I've never been so happy!"
: "Yeah, me too... Y'know, we haven't exactly had the best lives. Poor orphans and all that... But I never even dreamed that our mother could actually be a noblewoman! I don't suppose you remember anything about her, Patty?"
: "Nope! Not a thing... You?"
: "Yeah, but... only a little... She was a kind and beautiful woman..."
: "So is she... Do you think Mom's dead?"
: "I can't say for sure... But as soon as the war's done with, Patty, we're gonna go look for her. We'll find our mother... Bridget... And even though we don't even know his name, maybe we'll find our father, too..."

Whoops, no portraits.

1 hour ago, ping said:

"Eh, maybe she banged Axel. Alex? Alfons?

Doubtul, all three of them would take another three Kaga games to show up.

1 hour ago, ping said:

Tsk.

I can't believe I ate shit and died.

44 minutes ago, Jotari said:

47 minutes ago, ping said:

He absolutely is Flower Fridge.

Ah, but I was speaking English.

You're both wrong. Clearly what Kaga named him after was the bloom shader effect.

I present to you, High Bloom.

Edited April 14 by Saint Rubenio