Fire Emblem Fates: Personal Arcs And Thematic Parallels For The Royal Siblings

Julius and Ishtar are Well Written Characters, Actually

You All Are Just Taking Spoken Words At Face Value

The title to this post is tongue in cheek and the subtitle to this post is mostly a joke, but I've seen a lot (with no real change over time) of misunderstandings regarding the character writing of these two. Mostly confusion over exactly how "himself" Julius really is, and why the hell Ishtar stays with him; there are some finer points as to what the game expects you to feel about these characters, too.

Part 1: Julius (The original one, to be clear.)

So, most people know Julius's general backstory- was a good kid until he was given the Loptous tome. This is where the information ends, though. We learn nothing else about him, even from other characters, besides "he was such a nice guy."

There are a lot of arguments made that certain actions taken by the Julius we see imply that he's still in there, but these don't hold much water. There's also mention of Loptous "fully returning" in the final chapter, but in terms of actual events, this seems to refer more to the fact that Arvis is out of the picture than to any change in Julius himself.

Characters in the game who actually interact with him treat him in varying ways. Arvis calls him a demon; Ishtar spends half of Thracia worried for his health; Manfroy spends much of the second generation of FE4 treating him like a child, suggesting that at least he thinks that he's not actually speaking to his god for most of it. All three of these people, though, have good reasons to be deceiving themselves. (Arvis is a major wifeguy; Manfroy really doesn't want to be shown up as a religious authority (see his interactions with Veld); Ishtar (in Thracia specifically) is a 14-year-old at best going "I can fix him." with her childhood crush.)

The most important testimony, funnily enough, comes from someone who's not seen him in over half a decade. Julia, upon initially encountering him, tells him that he is not her brother and asks him who or what he really is- that her actual brother died seven years ago. Julia, who treats her father and his sins with a gentle hand, and even greets Julius by calling him her brother, isn't the type to treat someone as unforgivable if there's any way she could see to save them. And of course, she has no memories of possessed Julius to mix with her memories of the Julius she knew and loved as a child- unlike Ishtar.

Per Kaga: "The tome... makes Loptous able to control Gair's descendants. The final boss of Genealogy of the Holy War was its victim." It certainly doesn't sound like Julius has any effect on things.

TL;DR: Julius is gone as hell from at least the start of Thracia 776, but in practice probably from 771.

Part 2: Loptous (This Fucking Guy)

As for Loptous, we get PLENTY to characterize them. They're a complete misanthrope and a sadist, of course, which isn't news to anyone who's played FE4; but they're also interesting in terms of how incredibly paranoid they are- for the sort of evil god figure, such vulnerability is surprising. There's a lot to dig into.

Most people who've played Thracia know about the "jealous about Reinhardt" scene, and many people take this (and his obsessiveness in general) to be a twisted expression of Julius's actual feelings for Ishtar- but this doesn't actually make any sense. Julius was possessed (and killed Deirdre) at age nine to ten, at the oldest- seven to eight is more likely. (Deirdre's not pregnant yet at the end of chapter 5, which takes place in 761; 778 is the year the game ends. Per Julius himself, Deirdre bit the dust seven years before 778, thus he'd be ten at maximum.) If Julius has feelings for Ishtar at all, they would have developed entirely after being possessed (or at most been a puppy crush that developed into something more later). While possible (if Julius is still there) Occam's razor simply says that Loptous is the one who has feelings for her, instead. (Or doesn't, and thinks of her as useful. Who am I to psychoanalyze a lizard? But dragons in FE are perfectly capable of getting attached to people, and cartoon villain though he is, I don't think Loptous would be an exception.)

This scene makes more sense in the context of Julius's further paranoia in chapter 10, after successfully capturing Julia; Manfroy is understandably more concerned about the army of rebels on their doorstep than some chick with a book (who doesn't even have a chance to get her hands on the book.) Julius, by contrast, sees Seliph and crew as busybodies at worst, but is very nervous about Julia escaping. Together with the Ishtar discussion, it seems that he's entirely unconcerned with any threat he's posed unless it's an obstacle to another vessel coming into existence or Naga herself. (This bites him directly in the ass, but it does the same to Manfroy; the paranoia in Julia's case is justified, but Seliph is why she's able to become a threat in the first place.)

His relationship with Manfroy is interesting- Manfroy seems to believe that he's speaking in some way to "Prince Julius", even going so far as to attempting to provide justification for why Arvis had to be gotten rid of in chapter 10 (The Emperor had long served his purpose, Your Majesty. He was little more than an obstacle to your ambitions. He had to die.), but Julius doesn't seem to care about this in the slightest. This is curious; why would Manfroy expect him to care about this after killing his mother in cold blood? One possibility is that he's convinced that that was only because he saw her as a threat- that Loptous exerts some influence over him, but Julius is still at heart a teenager who still cares about his family members to some extent.

This probably comes as a surprise to the player, too- Julius can come off as a bit childish. The way he follows his whims instead of plans and "plays around" can come off as being a teenager. Indeed, the game in chapter 10 has essentially no rhyme or reason to it, and seems quite out of character for an ancient dragon- at least until you remember the previous conversation, where you see his certainty at nothing but Naga being able to kill him. (This is even shown in gameplay, very funnily, by him not having Nihil- unlike every other one of Sigyn's (Maera's) descendants. Nihil, in Japanese, is 見切り awareness of everything. He's not paying attention!) In play that's just a way for you to get the Leg Ring if you somehow lost it in gen 1, plus a bit of a challenge. The intended solution is suicide + valkyrie staff; but if you're willing to put in the effort, it's a great way to demonstrate how arrogant Julius is right from the get-go.

As for the sudden turn to flower gardens in chapter 4 of Thracia, that's less whimsical and more practical- telling Ishtar to shut up without doing so explicitly when she won't fall for some particularly weak lies. Those lies are an interesting point, though! What good does it do to try and convince her that what he's doing is harmless when he eventually gives up in lieu of open threats ("Are you trying to escape me in death, Ishtar?")

My hypothesis is that "teenager under the dark god's influence" is vastly more capable of getting things done given Arvis is still around than "actually, it's just a dragon". Manfroy himself doesn't seem to be too loyal to Julius, in actuality- he's perfectly willing to make decisions that he won't agree with. There's a possibility that he's doing this because he thinks he's talking to a teenager, but there's another, quite salient possibility that he enjoys being the head of the church quite a bit, actually, and doesn't want to give up that position. In essence, I argue that Manfroy is a Gharnef in more ways than just being an evil wizard- he's got the one-upmanship, too. In that case, convincing him that the reason he wasn't listened to was because he was trying to argue with a bratty teen and not because the demon he summoned in the basement doesn't actually like him at all might be very useful.

(There's an interesting point, if that's the case, to be made about "why the FUCK would you send Julia out to fight instead of just killing her"- besides the fact that Manfroy doesn't see her as a real threat, there's always "well, just in case she IS a real threat, it's best to have her around in case my relationship with the brand new emperor goes pear-shaped pretty fast." like elice with aum. That's just a theory, though- it's perfectly reasonable for him to just be an overambitious idiot, too, like Hilda.)

Therefore, the thesis of this and the first part is that Julius is a.) Dead as hell and b.) Being imitated to some extent by Loptous in order to get things done more efficiently.

Part 3: Ishtar (Well, Why The Fuck Is SHE Still With Him, Then?)

Most people generally take issue with one of Julius or Ishtar on the basis that either we're expected to think of Julius far too sympathetically considering how Ishtar acts around him or Ishtar's a complete idiot for staying with him for this long that the devs tried to make sympathetic by having her save kids at the last minute.

I've attempted to deconstruct the former line of reasoning (we are NOT expected to think of Julius-as-of-right-now at all similarly to people such as Lyon) but what about the latter? Is Ishtar really an inconsistent, poorly written character?

The answer is... mostly. In Genealogy, that is.

Ishtar in Genealogy, textually, seems to have a fairly happy relationship with Julius, all things considered. He does act weirdly possessive in chapter 8, and there's the implication that she's trying to run away in the final chapter (and she saves those kids), but you're given no real reason why other than her conscience catching up with her, which is inconsistent with her behavior in chapter 10; sure, the rebel army killed her dad and brother, but the same thing happens to Julia and she's perfectly happy to return to your army at endgame- it's kind of odd for Ishtar to participate in a game of hunting rebels with this in mind.

Of course, in Genealogy, you can argue that evidently their sunny relationship isn't all it seems, and she's not leaving due to her obligations to her family, that she doesn't seem THAT happy to play kill-a-rebel, et c. But it's just "whose interpretation is it, anyway" with only Genealogy in mind.

And then we get Thracia.

Thracia sheds light on all of this to an incredible degree. At the end of Chapter 4, we get to see Ishtar and her family obligations show up- they don't seem to actually be that pressing, though. She seems more concerned with the fact that Julius is unhinged, appearing more forlorn than anything, and appears to think that she can argue him out of child sacrifice. This is "I can fix him" Ishtar; she seems to be convinced that whatever Julius is going through he'll recover from eventually.

After this, we don't see her for a hell of a long time! But she eventually does return in 17A, to summon Saias and his ten leadership stars off the field. In this chapter, though, she's a bit more than forlorn; she refuses to ask the Loptrian bishops for help in healing Julius's illness, because she thinks they're to blame for his condition. (She'd be right, though.) Here, she seems to be a little less convinced of her ability to Fix Him(tm)- she just wants to stop things from getting worse.

And finally, the fucking chapter of all time, that confirms the light to see her actions in Genealogy. 21x. The two of them make a stop by the fort after you escape, and Julius mocks House Friege again- but notes that she's not the problem with it. As the conversation goes on, Ishtar spends the whole thing horrified, at both him and her mother- far from her forlorn air in chapter 4, by the end of the conversation here she's begging him to not kill her childhood friend and guard. There's no more "I can fix him" or even "I can stop him from getting any worse". The reason she's staying now is for her own safety- because she feels like she'd not be able to escape, even if she wanted to.

Of course, all of our encounters with her in Genealogy are after this conversation. By the point we fight her in chapter 8, she's too afraid to flee (and her father IS still alive at that point- she's fighting so he might not be killed, too. To a small extent, Blume and Reinhardt both get the same treatment as ch. 10 Arvis; Hilda, who's useful, isn't allowed to kick the bucket even after putting herself on the frontline, but the former three are, to put it nicely, left out to die.) By chapter 10, it's worse; instead of stating her opposition to the child hunts directly (like she does in chapter 4 of Thracia) she instead couches her disagreement in what Arvis wants- she doesn't want to anger him by speaking out here.

So, by the time you get to Miletos Castle, is that "I'd love to!" really something you can trust? Voicing her disagreement but still going along with something is one thing, but she's already passed that point. At this point, she's just hoping that she survives, because her mother evidently won't back her up. (Sorry Ishtar dear, mommy is climbing the social ladder.)

And eventually, she gives up on that, too. In the final chapter, when going off to fight your army, what she says is that she wants a chance for vengeance. Unlike in Thracia 21x, though, I don't think that what Julius says in response is baseless paranoia. Ishtar has personally betrayed him, after all; if he finds out that she saved those kids, she's going to go the way of Arvis- staying around as long as she's useful, and then being offed.

And as for joining the rebellion... She isn't entirely fabricating; they did kill her entire family. Also, though, it's pretty unlikely they'd allow her to join in the first place- princess of the Empire and all that. And who knows if Julius would try to get her back? He's brought her back from the brink of death at least once, most likely twice if you're decent at the game; evidently there's not much that would stop him from pursuing her.

So she's left with two options; to likely die once her treachery is discovered, or to definitely die and absolve her sins once and for all. I think it's pretty understandable, considering all she's experienced, that she'd choose the latter.

Of course, she's still complicit in the empire's actions over the past seven years- and she did make the mistake of thinking she could help Julius in the first place. She is not without sin- even if that sin stemmed from a childish crush that she never got an option to back out of. Yet, she (and Julius himself, though we never get to see him) is more of a tragic figure than a fool trapped by her loyalties. She may have once been the latter, but eventually had no choice.

Thanks for coming to my jugdralposting.

(Arvis is still the better main character of a Greek tragedy, though.)

A kiss from your prince

Ahhhh! It’s done! I’m so glad! This took a week to make, but it was a lot of fun! I took this as an opportunity to learn a new engine and also make a xanlas tribute~ And I’m so glad to finally be able to share it with everyone!

This story takes place in the aftermath of war, when the countries of Nohr and Hoshido have decided to make peace, Laslow prepares to return home as Xander becomes Nohr’s new king. Filled with doubt and regret, he has to decide: will he stay or will he leave?

This game is post revelations end. It should take, at most, 10 minutes to play. There are two possible ends. You pick the true end, decide as you see fit!

This game is made with love, so it is free to enjoy in its entirety. However I do request that you do not reupload it to another sharing site. Have fun! Happy Xanlas Week!

Characters: Laslow, Xander, Selena, Odin  Warnings: shaking screen Other: Fluffy, cheesy lines

[Download it here!]

EVEN MORE CLARA DOLL DETAILS:

So you know how the Dolls have their own distinctive clothes?

Guess who else has their own distinctive clothes!

That’s right. The multiple Homuras are actually Clara Dolls.

And that’s why ‘Homura’ is smiling.

Here they are! The one with the striped hat is Nekura (Gloominess or Pessimism) and the one with the flower is Mie (Vanity).

Here’s their descriptions from the art book.

[The second one to come was Gloominess. Walking out with a tapping sound, she sneered at Good-for-Nothing. “This is Good-for-Nothing! How very unbecoming.” These dolls are only disciples of Freedom, and are devoted to their lust for it.]

[The tenth to come running is Vanity. She exaggeratedly avoids Good-for-Nothing's head and says a few words. “I wouldn't be able to bear dirtying my cape with that sticky blood!” These dolls make fun of the witch's self-mutilation.]

Good-for-Nothing is Homura, by the way, but the Clara Dolls seem to consider Good-for-Nothing to be good for something after all after she splits Madoka. She turns into the Devil, and the Clara Dolls are stated to be “okay” with the Devil. If the young voices in the trailer belong to the Clara Dolls, then they also call her “Akuma-sama” now. Something like Mistress Devil, implying a sense of respect.

[… if they are not summoned, they will simmer. There are orders they will comply with, and also orders they will disobey. What they are and the witch herself's own magic are not well understood.]

At the end of Rebellion, Homura gave Madoka her ribbon back. She declared that they might become enemies in the end. Honestly, I thought that Homura would try her best to avoid Madoka entirely. The trailer suggested that Homura was meeting Madoka, though. Here’s the answer: it wasn’t Homura herself, but Gloominess, who wants freedom.

Now, I’m not sure how this situation works out. Do Clara Dolls have free will? Are they obeying Homura’s orders? Acting out Homura’s true emotions? Is Homura perhaps directly puppeteering them in order to fulfill her goals, or do they act on their own?

I find it likely that it’s a mix of both: some of them obey her, and some of them will try and fulfill her (probably very conflicting) desires, as familiars usually do. Gloominess is likely part of Homura who wants the freedom to talk to Madoka, for example, but Vanity seems to me like a Clara Doll who is obeying Homura. After all, she still needs magical girls to fight wraiths, at least until she finds a way to wipe them out.

[I'm Vanity (Mie). I'm pushing myself to the limit for someone.] And she is, of course. All of the theatrics, the calls, the organization of magical girls. These are things that Vanity is shown to engage in. All of this is for Madoka.

We see with Gloominess, at least, that she seems to be fulfilling a specific desire: in the background are white spider lilies. Instead of the red spider lilies that mean death, final goodbyes, and lost love, white spider lilies mean a hope for the future and a fresh start. Maybe this really is the first meeting for these two in a while, and she wants to be friends again?

Or maybe, being Gloominess, she wants to warn her about something.

[I'm Gloominess (Nekura). Forcing smiles tires me out.]

Then there’s this Homura.

Nothing about her clothes is very different. She is wearing ribbons as Homura in the wraith universe does, but look closely: the ribbons are different. They have some wavy stripes on them, while Madoka’s ribbons are plain. She does not correspond to any known Clara Doll.

However, there’s mentioned to be a fifteenth Clara Doll that is not yet born: Ai, representing love. This could be her. Is it love for others? Or love for herself? I’m hoping it’s the latter, but very likely it’s love for Madoka and her friends. This would explain why she’s trying to fight Homucifer in the poster, as Homura believes that she’s a danger to everyone else.

How can this be? Well, here’s a few options:

- The Clara Dolls are grown-up familiars. They ate souls, and they became a copy of their witch. This is a process that was explained to us in the original series, where some magical girls are stated to farm familiars by letting them eat people so that they would grow souls/grief seeds.

- The Clara Dolls are not familiars, or wraiths, but instead a secret third thing. “What they are and the witch’s own magic are not well understood”, as said in the Rebellion art book. They could be magical constructs of a different kind, but I do think that this would get into overcomplicated explanations quickly, so I favor the familiar explanation.

- The Clara Dolls could be familiars, but instead of eating souls they’re simply powerful enough to change their shape. Their strength is equal to the strength of a magical girl…. when Homura was a witch, before Homura became something more. It could also be energy from the contracts making them stronger. Maybe it’s me being sentimental, but I don’t like the idea of Homura letting anyone’s soul be nommed on.

Now, before there’s a panic about how they’ll juggle fifteen extra characters, here’s a few thoughts:

- Just because they seem different doesn’t mean they’re actually different. It might be that the Clara Dolls are a way for Homura to present herself. As Vanity, she might show off more, or have dramatic flourishes like her throne and her dress. As Gloominess, it might be that she doesn’t believe that her plans will work, so she tries to do what makes her happy. It’s likely that the Clara Dolls are just extra ways to explore Homura’s character. They’re parts of her soul, after all, and right now she is extremely powerful. She might simply want to keep her true self away from humans.

- They could work like projections. Homura wants more bodies to work with, but she has to filter herself through the Dolls’ personalities. This could result in a lot of juicy character interactions, as the things she tries to keep hidden are closer to the surface.

- Will ‘Ai/Mystery Homura’ fight against Devil Homura? Very likely! How can this be when they’re the same person? Well, who hates Homura more than Homura? That’s right. Nobody. Anyone can fight and argue with their self, it’s just usually not on the level that a reality-warper like Homura can manage.

If this is true, there’s plenty of interesting directions they can take it.

- Because the Clara Dolls have a degree of separation from Homura, they can show other characters things that Homura herself has ignored or locked away. Bad memories, affection for her friends, the resentment she must feel - everything from concern to a cry for help can be plausibly shown through them as the actors.

- Manuke (Stupidity) is specifically more naive/sincere than the others. Maybe interacting with this Doll would show the Quintet that there’s something more going on than a Devil who wants to hurt other people.

- If Ai represents a love for other people, Ai can have a strange character arc where she learns to value Homura/herself, and become self-love.

- On the other hand, Ai can represent self-love from the start, and because Homura looks very fucking unhealthy in the trailer, she only wants to stop her because she’s hurting herself. This option plays into the themes of self-sacrifice and happiness, which I believe to be some of the major themes that they’re going for.

- The poster could be misleading and Ai ends up fighting everyone but Homura. I find this the funniest option.

- Homura can hug herself. It’s possible. In fact, every character can hug Homura 15 different times.

Smiles are a Clara Doll’s default expression. We have yet to see Homura smile for real.

Is this going to get very ambiguous and confusing? Probably. But rewatching for details was the fun part in Rebellion, so I’m looking forward to it!

i’m kinda upset that the fire emblem fandom keeps drawing Lucina with huge breasts because:

She binds for the whole damn main story

In the official hot spring DLC art she wears an alternate outfit without binding and look.

and there are plenty of other fire emblem women who are confirmed to be over 19 and have large breasts, please acknowledge them, gosh.

Coming this November: Pokémon Pink Diamond™ and Pokémon Renegade Pearl™

Fire Emblem Fates: Reclass Relation to Characters

Had this in the drafts, so I thought to finish it. All of it is under the cut.

Afficher davantage

Reblog if you love any of the underappreciated pokespe pairings

luckyshipping • specialjewelshipping • viridianshipping • ambershipping • entourageshipping • raltsshipping • concretejungleshipping • gracefulshipping • magmajewelshipping • chosenshipping • manganewrivalshipping • originshipping • absurdistshipping • grantedshipping • originalshipping • romantic or platonic • reblog with others!

i don’t think the trauma hits owain/odin until after anankos is killed.

he never knew peace. he was so unbelievably young when the war started, as there was war before there were risen, that chances are, the only little bit of peace he’d ever seen was in the few months before anankos showed up and begged him, severa, and inigo for help, so he donned a persona and fit himself into the role of a retainer—another soldier, another fighter, just with a more refined name.

and then he fought for leo. he fought for garon. he fought the war, and perhaps he killed anankos along the way, or perhaps he and selena hoisted laslow’s body in a casket and used their crystals as odin bid farewell to his lord turned king. and then he returns home—wherever home is, whether it be ylisse or nohr—and is met with… peace.

if he stays in nohr, it takes longer to set in. there are still skirmishes, still reparations, still things that must settle down and things that he must manage by leo’s side. but as peace settles a blanket over nohr, as odin no longer has things to worry about every moment of every day, is no longer worrying about battle after battle or training or building up public trust—well, first come the nightmares, then the flashbacks, then the triggers.

if he goes to ylisse, it’s faster. ylisse has settled, by now, almost irregardless of how much time passed in ylisse versus nohr. there are no battles to fight, no wars to win. owain barely counts as a prince in the ylisse he returns to, with his counterpart already born or maybe, if the time is far different, simply on the way. there is little for him to do, and so the images of risen haunt him—whispers of their magic in dark corners, their eyes in the reflections of stained-glass windows, their rotten stench in the stables.

he is fine. he is fine, he is happy, he is healthy, he is stable. but then when everything he has built himself up around crumbles—when there is no longer a cause to fight for, no longer people who need protecting—he collapses, completely and utterly.