#coherency is so low here because I haven't played it in years but my love is strong and I have a book with all supports in it
Note
How about Fire Emblem Awakening for the fandom ask game? 👀
Favorite Male Character
Easy! That's Henry, my most beloved favorite guy, my first video game wife, my silly rabbit, etc. I love that little dude! Obviously he has an absolutely S tier character design, which I shall include for the convenience of everyone who hasn't seen him before and so everyone can have a good chuckle at how absolutely predictable I am. I don't even have coherent Henry thoughts it's just like. Turning that guy around in my head like a doner kebab, y'know? But also I love that he's so cheerful, I love that he smiles even when it isn't genuine at all, I love his absolute detachment from social norms (and morality), I think it rules that he's always drenched in blood and hanging out with the dead... I just think he has a wonderful innocence that's greatly enhanced by that dash of darkness. The crow puns are also 11/10!!! And of course. A man wearing a skirt with a cape covered in eyes. AND it's all purple and gold. And also has those big loose sleeves- look, it's like he was made specifically for me!! And then the little hand thing at the end of the sleeves... Godddd he's perfect. I'm sorry Ash like I said this is INCOHERENT
[Image ID: A white haired young man in a grey shirt and dark leggings. He wears a short purple wrap skirt around the leggings. A wide purple lined black cloak billows behind him, six golden eyes adorning the collar. He smiles cheerfully and extends a hand above his head to a crow.]
Honorable mentions are Owain (I love chuuni characters...), Ricken (who has the cutest little wizard outfit), and Libra (no one say anything. I already know.)
Favorite Female Character
I made the mistake of cracking open the artbook to help me choose when writing this up and immediately had a list of like a dozen ladies who I think are all the best. This game is hell for that. Henry is so easy but the female characters... jeez. I think I'm going to commit to Maribelle! For one thing Maribelle canon sapphic IntSys can fight me. I know the truth. But also, I like that Maribelle is very assertive despite being a person who isn't a fighter, and her commitment to justice is admirable. She's got a strong spirit and always stands up for what she believes in. I'm very fond of her! She and Lissa should have been able to marry. Why can't they get married, IntSys? Why is that, why are you keeping her down
Honorable mentions: Cynthia (chuuni!!!), Tiki (ancient dragon lady who has outlived all her friends gives me many thoughts. also hot), Say'ri (another great story character), Cherche (pretty lady with big axe and dragon makes brain go brrr), Flavia (another cool fighter lady. wow), Anna (the goddess of random numbers), and of course Lissa (Lissa)
Least Favorite Character
Tharja. It's Tharja. This is easy. My least favorite is Tharja. She does have some funny supports, but I just thinks she's overall uncomfortable to be around and I dislike her overtly sexual design, which kind of presaged a lot of things in Fates I dislike. I find her a very uncompelling yandere and everything with Noire is also uncomfortable. I think it's a damn shame that she was one of the most popular female characters in the game and thus she got carried through so much other stuff.
Honorable mention: Cordelia. I don't find her pining for Chrom forever thing or her being literally perfect thing interesting. Also a vaguely uncomfortable character in some ways, but not at all as bad and Severa rules so hey. Makes up for it.
Favorite Ship
Well, when I was in high school I was a serious Henricken guy! I don't really know why, honestly. I think it was just a "these are my two favorite characters, I want to see them together." As a mature adult, allow me to say: Libra and Lon'qu is the pinnacle. I mean. All Libra ships are 11/10, that's Libra's nature, but I feel like that's something that I've seen so much compelling stuff about for years.
On the sapphic side of things, Say'ri and Tiki are obviously just married and I love that for them. The devoted warrior and the immortal dragon she protects... it's amazing. I also really love Severa and Lucina! Severa is just a fantastic character in general, and I love the initial tension between Lucina as the principled warrior and Severa, who's committed to spurning her duties (but is devoted deep down). I feel like these are like, two of the most typical possible picks. But like. They're amazing, you know?
And if you asked me to pick an m/f, since I am seeing that I've not done that, Cynthia and Morgan. It's cute :)
There are so many characters with good chemistry, I know that I cheated badly here ^^;; But like. It's all so good!!!
Favorite Friendship
The Justice Cabal!!! Which is to say, everything between Owain, Morgan, and Cynthia. I love that they're all just little weirdos and I love the idea of them hanging out being little weirdos together. Morgan isn't a chuuni but they're chuuni adjacent... the weirdgirl energy in a room containing all three of them must be off the charts. I love it.
I'm also a huge fan of platonic Chrom and female Robin. QPR Chrobin is the way... And I think there's also something really beautiful about Chrom doing so much for a woman he loved and valued as a friend, and that being as powerful as if she was a romantic paramour.
Favorite Quote
Uh besides everything that comes out of Owain's mouth? Or Henry's... Well, I'd say that because I'm incredibly cheesy, it's that "Welcome back." at the very end.
Worst Character Death (if any)
It's been a looooong time since I last played Awakening so obviously I'm going to give you the most absolutely basic answer ever: Emmeryn's death. I just think it's a really good dramatic moment, and it's a place where that false choice works. It's good characterization for Robin and it's also so fitting that it doesn't do anything at all. Emmeryn's sacrifice is only in her own hands. It's painful to watch. I like the way it echoes through the rest of the pre-time skip stuff, and it's such a heart breaking touch to see sage Lissa's clothing.
Of course, it's also the worst death because the paralogue that brings her back cheapens the hell out of it for no real narrative reason and there really isn't anything the story has to do with her, unlike the enemies that can be rescued or Robin. If any one character should have stayed dead, it should have been Emmeryn.
This made me so happy you have no idea Moment
Okay time to come out and say I'm one of the five people who actually loves the end of Awakening. I KNOW people say it makes the sacrifice feel cheap. And it does, objectively. But ALSO. Do you know how happy it made me at fifteen?! You have no idea. I actually cried seeing that mirrored scene at the ending. I'm a sucker for when it all comes around. And like... the hope of that ending is also really great. It may have been a graver and more real game if those consequences really had been what they seemed, but I do love the miracle of breaking the cycle.
Saddest Moment
I've already touched on Emmeryn's sacrifice and Robin's sacrifice... hmm. I'd say that it's learning about the choice between sealing Grima temporarily and destroying him forever. When the hero learns they need to die for the greater good, that's something that always sends a pang through my heart. And the buildup to either saving themself (what Chrom wants and is so willing to support!) or becoming a martyr is, well, really good. I'm remembering it through the eyes of someone who found it very fresh, I suppose. Along with that is Lucina's assassination attempt. I mean, that's just tragic. She's right to want to kill you, but she'll never be able to do it.
Favorite Location
Either the Mila Tree or Mount Prism- I love verdant places filled with light and water. Both maps feel so soothing. They also feel so far apart from the ordinary world... it's humbling, in a way. Wonderful.
(buuuuut also Grima's back. I love that dragon man)
#sorryyyy I went a little overboard#I reallyyyyy loved awakening as a teen if you can't tell#and I actually used to do a ton of awakening fan art!#alas it is all in the limbo of my parents' house now#ask me emithing#ask game#coherency is so low here because I haven't played it in years but my love is strong and I have a book with all supports in it#as well as all situational dialogue and battle quotes#thank u for my life awakening artbook#turbulentpumpkin43
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The Untamed Rewatch Analysis [Episode 1, Part 2]
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If you haven't read it yet, Episode 1 Part 1 is here!
Suddenly Wei Ying is depressed and when Sizhui asks, he just beelines out of there. Sizhui actually turns around to look at where Wei Ying used to be. They dropped the A-yuan hints so early and I never noticed.
Cut to nighttime, with the Lan cultivators all standing guard and Mo Ziyuan about to do the most stupid thing in his life. Yep, he and his accomplice takes the spirit attraction flag.
And then Wei Ying starts playing WangXian. And he does it AMAZINGLY, I might add, considering he’s doing it on a blade of grass.
Sizhui remembers the song but Jingyi doesn’t, which means that Wei Ying must have played it so much during their time in the Burial Mounds that even Sizhui’s amnesia-riddled mind could remember it. And it’s also possible Lan Zhan had played it for Sizhui and Sizhui only, probably right after rescuing him from the Burial Mounds.
Either way, Jingyi the harsh music critic is not hearing it. He says it sounds horrible and he gives it a 1-star review on Amazon.
We get the same neck-down flashback of Wei Ying’ first glimpse of his future husband, and then he whispers: “Lan Zhan.”
It’s like saying his name is both comforting and painful. He wants to see him, he needs to see him, everything reminds Wei Ying of him — but he also wants to just forget all the horrible things that happened and just not be the Wei Wuxian that was at top of the “wanted” list. He can’t have it both ways.
The peace is broken when Wei Ying is roughly dragged out of his room to where Mo Ziyuan has turned into a puppet. Wei Ying only has a second to be thankful that Sizhui can’t recognize him before Mo Ziyuan goes crazy and Madam Mo accuses Wei Ying / Mo Xuanyu of killing her son and tries to whack him with this random, weirdly shaped piece of wood.
It’s up to Sizhui to protect his parent by arguing that there’s no evidence, but Madam Mo says that Mo Xuanyu’s father (Jin Guangshan) is a cultivator and so he had learned demon cultivation — the evidence is what happened to Mo Ziyuan, and that Wei Ying had said he’d break his arm.
Two things jump out at me here:
There’s some truth in what she’s saying. Mo Xuanyu’s father IS a cultivator, Mo Xuanyu HAS dabbled in heterodox methods (which is how Wei Ying got resurrected in the first place), and Mo Xuanyu / Wei Ying DID threaten to cut off his arm, even if it was all bark and no bite.
Even if everything in #1 was true, there’s no truth to the accusation that Mo Xuanyu / Wei Ying turned Mo Ziyuan into a corpse puppet. Madam Mo just needs a scapegoat and Mo Xuanyu is an easy victim; he has a questionable reputation and no one to turn to. It’s just so reminiscent of how the main sects had treated Wei Ying in his past life. The world just needs someone to blame. But one person could make all the difference: Lan Zhan defended Wei Ying then, and Sizhui defends Wei Ying now.
Wei Ying discovers the spirit attraction flag that he stole and Madam Mo turns on the Gusu Lan cultivators, blaming them for not protecting the child that is Mo Ziyuan. Lady, he’s like 20 years old.
Wei Ying, ever so righteous, immediately jumps to their defense and it’s like Madam Mo is rendered speechless by Mo Xuanyu’s sudden coherence. Nobody notices Master Mo’s left hand shaking until he too becomes a corpse puppet and attacks people outside.
Sizhui tells Jingyi to send the signal to Hanguang Jun and hearing that Lan Zhan could be nearby, Wei Ying goes into PANIC mode. There’s no need to bother him, it’s unnecessary, I can solve it myself (he probably can actually), he says, but to no avail.
Wei Ying immediately recognizes the Stygian Tiger Amulet and his smart brain is already starting to plan.
Here we see something that made me question the quality of CQL on my first watch: the demonic left hand glove that they probably got for $1.99 at Party City.
Even though it’s ugly, Sizhui and Wei Ying’s brains combine against the backdrop of Jingyi’s sassy commentary to figure out the issue is the left hand, which has now taken over Madam Mo. The Lan cultivators...strip to stop her while Wei Ying implements a plan of his own, which is constructing a new puppet army with Master Mo and Mo Ziyuan. Yup, alive for less than a day and he’s already back at it.
Meanwhile, Lan Zhan is elsewhere, staring up at the sky like he always does, when he sees the signal from the juniors.
Wei Ying has fought alongside Lan Zhan so many times he immediately recognizes the iconic blue glare, and for the second time Wei Ying goes into panic mode, hiding behind a curtain.
Lan Zhan appears looking like a god and all his Lan ducklings cluster around him; Jingyi is the first to call him and throughout the series we’ll see that even though Jingyi is the opposite of Lan Zhan in terms of personality — he’s like young Wei Ying in that he says whatever’s on his mind, whatever everyone else is too afraid to say, manners be damned — he looks up to Lan Zhan so much he never really questions his judgement even after finding out that Lan Zhan was aware of Wei Ying’s identity.
The corpse puppet situation is no sweat for Lan Zhan, so Wei Ying is happy just admiring him from behind his curtain. And yep, that’s the look of a boy in love.
Wei Ying comments on Lan Zhan’s funeral-like clothing, which would be a funny reference except Lan Zhan actually has been in mourning for the past sixteen years, you oaf.
Lan Zhan easily attributes the culprit of the chaos to the spiritual energy hiding in a sword, but as the conversation drifts dangerously close to the Stygian Tiger Amulet, Wei Ying seems to snap back to reality — time to go.
When Lan Zhan recognizes signs of the Stygian Tiger Amulet, he feels everything at once — disbelief, nervousness, hope, and fear of getting his hopes up again. In the past sixteen years, I can only imagine how many times a bit of demonic cultivation might’ve given him hope, just for it to be a copycat.
And I don’t know what Lan Zhan has been telling these kids on the down low, but Jingyi looks way too excited at the possibility that Wei Ying could be alive.
Lan Zhan continues to stare for an abnormally long time at the sword (and Jingyi actually seems to catch onto something), while Sizhui notices the disappearance of his other parent.
Lan Zhan’s yearning is rudely interrupted by a shadowy figure running away. He doesn’t catch up but he wonders if it’s Wei Ying and I just love this scene because of the tentative hope in Lan Zhan’s voice.
Cut to the next morning, and Nie Huaisang, with his iconic patterns and fan, makes his second appearance tossing a chunk of gold to the storyteller. It’s kind of Nie Huaisang’s MO, to give people something precious in exchange for their role in his revenge plot — gold for the storyteller, jewelry for Bicao, the opportunity to revive Xiao Xingchen for Xue Yang.
Then comes Wei Ying, dressed once again in his iconic black clothes and red hair ribbon. There’s just one revenge scar left — Jin Guangyao.
So there we go, first episode rewatched!
Up next: Episode 2 — Wei Ying meets his bratty nephew, Lan Zhan fights with his in-laws, and we have our official WangXian reunion before jumping into the longest flashback ever.
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