Don’t know if you still doing the best FEH artist for a character but how about the best artist for Seliph?

Oh yeah, definitely still doing these! And Seliph was a harder one, I wish this boy had more seasonal alts where he gets to dress up in something fun. We need a Harmonic Seliph/Alm!

We're going with Akira Egawa again:

Pretty much the same reasoning as Shez: unique posework in every portrait, great colorwork, and his eyes look very nice. I hate to say it, but if Akira Egawa is a character's artist, they're usually gonna be the winner, lol.

Another gif of mine I uploaded to tenor gifs

Can we talk about how they kept adding empty drink glasses after every transition in the CYL FEH channel?

Ahhh yes CYL6 feat Sothis, Y.Tiki, Sigurd and Horse B.Lucina

Kinda sad for Tiki and Seliph though... We can't get away with the fact that they shoved Y.Tiki to us on her... I already guess what Seliph will look like but ooooofff he can't get away with Tryfing... Poor boy, you deserve better. I can see what will happen to Leif as well if he won CYL. Just big oof

But that Chrom special pose arts is nuts 👀👀👀

Overall kinda so-so, Chrom is nice with the assist skill, but the downside when he stole the buff he got gravitied, but the assist with horse movement? That's insane unless im wrong. Luckily he's not bow cav right? RIGHT?? But I feel like B.Eirika is still better, but we'll see

CYL5 was the most underwhelming (sorry Mari), this year still underwhelminh but not as bad lasy year... Guess I'll take the fact due to bot last year

Comparing the First and Second Generation Trios of FE4

One of the themes of Genealogy of the Holy War is the juxtaposition of the actions and behaviors of the second generation characters against that of their parents. The child characters inherit the traits of their parents not just physically but also in terms of behavior. Yet in many ways, they end up doing better in the areas that their parents failed in; for example, Seliph does not rush into a relationship like Sigurd did. In this essay I will discuss this juxtaposition that occurs. 

Seliph vs Sigurd

Seliph and his father despite being related are rather different people. We see the contrast between Sigurd and Seliph on several different levels. Sigurd is the bold Holy Knight who never shirks away from the opportunity to correct a perceived wrong; Seliph is a nervous teenager who reluctantly assumes the role of Jugdral’s messiah. Sigurd is prone to immediately rushing to fight to correct an injustice as seen in his intervention in Verdane to rescue Edain; Seliph is reluctant to fight at times as seen when he needed to be coaxed by Lewyn to continue the Thracian campaign. Sigurd shows little reflective thought until he is prompted by external forces to think while Seliph oftentimes questions himself and his leadership as his story presses onwards.

An interesting contrast to look at would be the contrast between Sigurd’s relationship with Deirdre and Seliph’s possible relationships. Sigurd falls madly in love with Deirdre and the two marry very quickly after they first meet. Some people argue that this led to Deirdre’s location and abduction by Manfroy. (1) On the other hand, Seliph’s relationships proceed at a slower pace than Sigurd’s relationship with Deirdre. In his lover conversations with Larcei and Tine, Seliph directs his partner to fight by his side rather than Sigurd directing Deirdre to be behind him, while his conversation with Lana highlights a relationship where Seliph chooses to wait for Lana rather than jumping at anyone new (i.e., Julia). This shows a capability to stop and think that Sigurd did not show with Deirdre.

Seliph has a conversation directly with Sigurd at the end of Chapter 10 of Genealogy. Sigurd teaches Seliph the valuable lesson to learn the sorrow of the common people. This is what Sigurd failed to do: he failed to consider what regular people went through in Agustria and other lands where his actions had a direct impact. In other words, Sigurd was an excellent warrior but a poor ruler. Seliph learns from Sigurd and others that he must be compassionate and considerate to others; by doing this, he avoids repeating the mistakes of his father. In my opinion, this conversation showcases the theme of children learning from their parents’ mistakes more than any other scene in the game.

Leif vs Quan

Quan’s flaw is his inability to be aware of his surroundings. His famous lack of situational awareness contributes to his demise at the Aed Massacre. There, he thought that Thracia would attack Leonster in his absence rather than attack him directly. He somehow did not realize that cavalry is weak in the desert, a fact that any seasoned player of the Fire Emblem series could say. Some would also point to Quan’s involvement in the embargoes placed on Southern Thracia, claiming that this made the Aed Massacre deserved, though I would note that this policy predates Quan. Ethlyn has her shortcomings too; she is prone to throw herself into situations to follow her loved ones as seen when she rushed to Sigurd’s aid at the beginning of Genealogy.

Leif actually has similar shortcomings to his parents. In Thracia 776, he ordered his forces to support Ulster which resulted in the loss of much of his strength and the death of his key advisor in Dryas. This led to the siege of Leonster which Leif and friends barely survive. However, he has the luck of being in good hands - under the mentorship of August and Finn, he is able to learn both from his own mistakes and the mistakes of his father. Perhaps this is best seen later in the Thracia arc of Genealogy where Leif is able to recognize his long-lost sister and set the path for her recruitment. This eventually helps Leif accomplish the dream of unifying the Thracian peninsula under one rule – not just a pro-North rule but a rule that benefits all Thracians. And we see at least that the people like it, given Leif’s eventual title as “Sage-Lord.” (2)

Ares vs Eldigan

Both Eldigan and Ares are stuck in prickly situations for their first real appearances in the plot. Eldigan tries to negotiate with Chagall to prevent him from attacking the Grannvalians only for Chagall to imprison him. Meanwhile, Ares goes on a mission with Javarro to attack Seliph’s army only to realize that Lene was being taken in his absence. Their reactions are what makes the difference. Eldigan gives Chagall chance after chance to improve even though he literally killed his own father to begin the Agustrian arc. Even at the end where he is convinced by Lachesis to break off the attack against Sigurd, Eldigan does not outright break from Chagall. Ares, meanwhile, deserts Javarro when the latter taunts him over Lene. He is willing to even join his mortal enemy in Seliph if it means he can defeat Bramsel and save Lene. Ares’ willingness to change sides allowed him to not only survive but to save Lene whereas Eldigan’s stubborn stance led to his death and the occupation of Agustria. (3)

Perhaps the contrast expresses itself best in Agustria’s state under the care of each one. Agustria is totally occupied by Grannvale after Eldigan’s death. He tried to preserve Chagall since he saw him as the leader of Agustria but his efforts in standing by such a cruel man were in vain; they did nothing to save Agustria from its fate. Ares fixes the mess left behind by his father’s generation by unifying Agustria under his rule after the events of Genealogy. He even enlists the help of Leif in this campaign; he does not try to “go it alone” so to speak as Eldigan did. (4)

Tying in between it all

One could, perhaps, compare other children with their (possible) parents as well. For example, Ced has the interesting twist of outright repeating the mistake of his father Lewyn. He leaves his mother behind to try to search for Lewyn only to be distracted by the strife within Thracia. Nanna mirrors her mother just as Ares mirrors his father, except that she is able to convince Ares to directly make amends with Seliph in a way that Eldigan did not with Sigurd. I did not cover these cases in detail because I wished to limit the scope to Seliph, Leif, and Ares, but they do offer fodder for discussion. (5) So we return to our comparison of our trios. Sigurd, Eldigan, and Quan were not without their good qualities; they all had good hearts and genuinely cared for the people around them as well as for each other. But it turned out that Sigurd was too rash, Eldigan was too rigid, and Quan was too ignorant for the world that they lived in. Seliph, Leif, and Ares were not without their faults either; sometimes their faults caused problems as seen in the siege of Leonster. But each of them still improved on the faults of their parents and this helped them successfully defeat the Empire and become a well-loved leader in their native countries. But perhaps one fact that I cannot omit is how their fathers did assist in their growth. Quan somehow was wise enough to leave Finn behind with Leif and that choice, chance as it was, paved the way for Leif to lead a successful rebellion against the Empire. Ares was able to come around on Seliph because of a letter that Eldigan wrote. (6) And of course, Seliph was directly told by Sigurd to pay more attention to the common people. As much as one can malign the first generation trio, I must acknowledge how they provided for their children.

Conclusion

For me, Genealogy and Thracia fundamentally are not just stories about struggling with an evil mastermind. They showcase many problems in the world which the characters must also pay heed to. With the first part of Genealogy, I find it enthralling that the main characters not only have flaws on display but that their flaws directly lead to their downfall. It is certainly a draw, too, that the characters in the second part of Genealogy and in Thracia are confronted with the flaws of the earlier generations: the inability to pay attention to the needs of the people, the ongoing blood feud between North and South in Thracia, among other things. Of course, the children aren’t perfect either. Leif especially is still prone to making rash decisions even with good advisors around him. But isn’t that what usually happens in real life: each generation makes their own mistakes which must be fixed by later generations.

Footnotes:

I subscribe to the line of thinking that the Loptrians were on the verge of finding Deirdre in any case. Sigurd’s encounter with her at least led to the birth of Seliph.

Thracia 776 Leif ending

Of course as seen in Eldigan between a Rock and a Hard Place, the option of joining Sigurd wasn’t inherently desirable either. But I point out that for Ares, joining Seliph ran the risk of joining the losing side too. Ares had a lot to lose still.

Thracia 776 Nanna ending: “Following their victory at Belhalla, Nanna devoted herself to helping Leif liberate Agustria.”

The original draft of this piece actually included Ced and Nanna among others, but I felt that an in-depth discussion would be distracting to the main point.

I am assuming that the letter which Nanna gave to Ares was not a forgery. Genealogy does not give any direct reasons to doubt the letter’s authenticity.

Saw this take: "Eddy bad because she started a war? Boy you don't want to play any of the other FE games" Um you mean the games where they say war is bad and the person who starts it is normally a villain most of the times. And it's generally common sense that someone who starts a war is not a great person? Especially if it's over revanchist nationalism and desire to wipe out an endangered race? I swear this fandom lost common sense.

What ?

Look, Edelgard is literaly the FIRST time ever that a protagonist in Fire Emblem was the one who started the war.

Fe 1/3 : Marth is dragged into this

Fe 2: Alm is dragged into this

Fe 4 : Sigurd is dragged into this and Seliph is forced to partake to liberate Jugdral

Fe 5 : Leif is dragged into this and had to fight to liberate Thracia

Fe 6: Roy is dragged into this and Guinevre, the sister of the man who started all this, would rather join with the 15 year old boi to stop this nonsense then support her brother

Fe 7: Dragged into this

Fe 8 : The twins are literaly fighting to save the world and lost their father because of war

Fe 9/10 : Didn't played them but how much do you wanna bet Ike is dragged into this ?

Fe13 : Again, Chrom has to fight to save his kingdom

Fe 14 : You get to choose who to side with but Corrin's isn't the one who started the war and at the end you beat the guy who declared war in the first place anyway

Fe 17 : You have to save the world.

Yes Fire Emblem is about war, but always showing all the negative consequences of war : it leads to poverty, it makes people suffer, it's literaly Eldigan's soliloquy that nobles sucks because they dragg innocent people into a mess that is war because "we are greedy and war has no benefit what'sover"

Eddie stated a war and what happened ? The whole continent was in chaos for 5 years, some innocent civilians died or became so poor they had to resort to banditry. As you point out, there is a reason why the war is always started by the main antagonist of the game rather then the protag who is an idealistic figure a bit naive who wish for the peace in all world. I get that people like Eddie and want to defend her but saying "akshually war not Bad because Fe is about war" is probably the stupidest way someone could do it no other way to phrase it

“Father”? No no nooooo, Travant did NOT. VILE. TRASH. SCUM OF THE EARTH >:(((((

I feel so bad for Altena when the truth comes crashing down. Gaaaaaahhh… somebody hold my poor baby girl… ;’(

The runner-up for best eyesight goes to…

Apparently the wyvernknight Seliph saw in the mountains looked sad. Uhh… how exactly did you discern that?

The WINNER of best eyesight goes to…

Again, how could they tell that Altena was a girl when she was so far away in the mountains?

Finn saw her holding Gae Bolg, with some holy light enveloping her body. Dayum.

He’s so sharp. Figured out what Travant did and why in under 0.2 milliseconds.

POV Thracian wyvernknight watches you from the mountains

etterath!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

obscure sorrows

(the feeling of emptiness after a long and arduous process is finally complete.)

Six months.

It's half a year after the steel jaws of Leif and Miranda's promise close around Dryas' neck. It's half a year of the Liberation Army suffering under siege in Leonster Castle without even the faintest glimmer of hope. Half a year is enough time for the passing of two seasons, all spent cooped up in a fortress.

"Did you hear?"

It starts as a whisper first, gradually murmuring its way through the army until exhausted voices ring out in exuberant cheers. After six long, arduous months, there is finally good news to boost morale, brought by a flaxen haired messenger.

"Lord Seliph's army has taken Ulster! We're saved!"

The person who should feel the happiest about this news does not join in on the cheering. She goes through the motions, yes, smiling and thanking anyone that offers her their congratulations. She plays her part well, as is expected of her.

"You must be so happy, Princess!"

She should be.

Is it supposed to feel like this? She's been waiting for this moment her whole life as the poor, deposed princess of Ulster. This should be the happiest moment of her life. Her heart should be swelling and she should be crying tears of gratitude. That's how she always imagined it would feel to have her kingdom returned to her.

But she feels nothing.

...Huh? Why?

It must be shock, she tells herself. When it finally sets in that this isn't a dream, that's when she'll be happy, right? She just hadn't expected that someone else would manage where they had failed, that's all. It's been a long six months, so maybe she's just tired from the fighting.

That must be the reason for this numbness she feels.

Even if the steel jaws of the trap they had both set up only ever managed to hurt their own, so long as someone managed to catch the fox, then couldn't all be forgiven?

When she catches sight of Leif across the hall, she finds that he doesn't look very happy, either. For the first time in her life, Miranda thinks that she and Leif are more similar than she would care to admit.

Thoughts on the roles of Julia and Altena post-game? Strange that they both have holy weapons yet get passed over for their brothers. Would it be better if Altena became the monarch of Thracia rather than Leif, for instance?

Judgral do be weird and maybe even sexist when it comes to the topic of inheritance and who gets to be the heir to a kingdom or house. Julia’s case somewhat makes sense since Seliph was the firstborn of Deirdre and she herself would want to stay at Belhalla to be around her half-brother (including Saias too) so her not wanting to claim Velthomer makes sense from that angle. However, they make no mention of what Altena exactly does aside from support Leif in uniting Thracia and apparently being given “old Thracia’s lands” to govern (Poor Arion). I guess the idea is that each of Quan’s children now control both North and South Thracia in order to try and mend the hostilities both sides have with each other. Fe5 doesn’t really cover much of Altena either and her role in all this since the liberation of Thracia was something Leif fought for while Altena was on the same side as Travant for a long while though through no fault of her own. Northern Thracians would dislike her but Southern Thracians would adore her while the opposite is likely true for Leif.

Though one thing to note about holy blood in the context of Jugdral and its politics is that it’s not really the end all be all of things when it comes to who deserves to rule. Agustria for instance used to have its king be of minor Hezul blood while Nordion’s lords have the major blood yet pledge loyalty to the minor blooded kings. Lewyn, despite having Major Forseti holy blood, is fought against by his two minor blooded uncles for Silesse’s crown and they do have supporters who fight for their ambitions (Dithorba & Pamela). There are even nobles who don’t have Holy blood yet are prominent figures within their country’s politics such as Dorius, who is a count, and Reinhardt who is not only from a noble house but also a venerated figure within the Gelbenritter. Most of Agustria’s lords like MacBeth and Clement also don’t even have Holy blood yet govern their lands as they see fit, it’s quite complicated in hindsight. At the end of the day though, I do think Julia and Altena were somewhat shafted due to how Jugdral society tends to be patriarchal.

…Except for Yngvi. For some reason, even if she has Major Forseti/Bragi blood, Patty will always go and govern Yngvi over Febail if their dad isn’t a commoner.

Obviously like. I get why they did it from an outside perspective looking at the developers.

But like. What does Leif being the Emblem of Genealogy imply of the universe of Engage. What does Sigurd carrying so much of Seliph imply.

[It implies representation for both stories, of generation 1 and 2. It implies love.]

But as I was saying. Sigurd may have started the holy war, but between he and Leif, Sigurd's the one who can use his house's holy relic. Leif can't, being the younger of a pair of siblings.

Thracia isn't even that poor of a name for an Emblem. Emblems of Genealogy and of Thracia doesn't sound so bad. Even if Thracia isn't a word in the vein of. Wait they could just change it. Marth isn't the Emblem of Shadow or of Light. He's of Beginnings. Would it be so difficult to do similar for Leif?

But but. My main theory being.

Instead of Leif's story going mostly untold in the storybooks of Genealogy here. What if it was Seliph's? Obviously that doesn't make much sense on paper but if you consider how time can warp stories and tales and everything.

Is it not possible then, that over time Seliph's story was forgotten and those traits were meshed with Sigurd? The fight against Loptous, the return to Chalphy? Combined into one person?

Well, not entirely forgotten because Sigurd knows of his death by fire, and mentions Seliph by name and refers to a nephew. (That, being Leif). But. It's not impossible that in the story. Sigurd's death happens against Loptous. I could swear the dragon has some kind of flame attack. Nor is Arvis ever mentioned by name. It's not impossible at all.

Whereas Leif was kept separated from his father Quan in the story, who died brutally to Travant and had his sister Altena kidnapped and raised by Travant. Which leads to his story after Quan's death. About the whole. Uniting Thracia thing. I'd need to watch Leif's supports in Engage and get more context to Thracia 776 as a whole but STILL.

Plus, it's not entirely impossible for the fall of Leonster to occur the time it does in canon. Finn still fleeing with Leif and everything... Mostly playing out as it does in canon.

First gen trio messed up and they will have to apologize to their wives. Quan shrunk Ethlyn's new sweater in the washer, Eldigan accidentally shattered Grahnye's floral plate, and Sigurd forgot to properly lock the car and Baby Seliph climbed into the trunk and fell asleep. What do you think they will do to convey how remorseful they are and how?

Quan is a stubborn soul, unwilling in most situations to concede much of anything, but his wife is made of sterner stuff. He is soon a victim of the omnipotent silent treatment, an onslaught of cold glares, blank stares, and overall aloofness. Gremlyn's mental warfare is strong enough to bring a grown warrior, the bearer of Gae Bolg, to his knees, until he's begging for mercy for his crimes against fabrickind. Only after performing dramatic repentance can he be forgiven.

The Lionheart is much more easily swayed without the need for guerilla warfare on the part of his wife, and instead opts for a sulking apology, grumbling out his sorrys and promising to repay her "whichever way would please." Instead of monetary compensation, Grahnye demands his attendance for her couples' activity/class of choice, much to his dismay.

Sigs is a puppy husband. On seeing Deirdre's concern once she finds out about his "grave mistake", he becomes the unmatched househusband, undertaking all of her typical responsibilities to make up for it. Cleaning, cooking, hands-on babysitting (as she watches with the most intense expression), the works. Poor sap feels so guilty, and is easily forgiven once he fumbles his way through the housework. Deirdre's too taken with him to punish him for long.

End of Innocence

“FARINA, NO!!”

Ewan cried out as he saw her body pierced by the ghost’s arrows. Why.. why did all of this go so wrong, so fast? They were going to find their friends.. they were going to get out of here..!! But this… he failed to save a friend yet again…

He lunged at the ghost, channeling all his remaining energy into a blast of fire. Just when he fired it though, it vanished.. and reappeared right in front of him. It’s lifeless eyes peering into him. Mocking him.

It was as if time slowed down, before cruelly, painfully, he was ripped back into reality. Several poisonous arrows, pierced through his body from all sides. The mage’s body froze, unable to process the sheer agony he was going through. Then, just as quickly as the arrows appeared, they, and the ghost as well, vanished. They had done their job, leaving the poor boy to collapse on the ground in a bloody heap.

….he was still alive, although barely. He could only breathe weakly as he felt his life’s essence slowly pour out of him, staining his clothes, the floor, his body.. everything was stained red.

“No I still… I still want to.. protect everyone…!” With labored breaths, he spoke, though it was barely beyond a whimper. Moving anything was sheer agony, poison coursing through him, his body burning. But still, he tried to turn himself over, from his back onto his stomach. He had to get up… he had to…!

His arms trembled, the pain was unbearable. Yet he still tried to lift himself with his arms. “I can still… I can… agh..!” He tried to push himself up. But because the floor was slick with blood, he slipped, and landed painfully with a wet thud once more.

Was there truly no way out..? No… no there had to be! He couldn’t give up hope, he couldn’t.. but there was nothing left… he would die here.. alone.. having failed everyone.

“Oh gods… am I really.. dying…?” The bleak realization dawned on him. There was no teacher to save him, no sister to protect him, no friends to rescue him. He was left with nothing but silence in this cold, dark maze. “I’m sorry.. everyone… I couldn’t protect you… please know I… I love you all so much….!”

Knowing he would never see any of his loved ones ever again. The thought he could never play, smile, laugh, and spend time with them ever again… Tethys scolding him or giving a warm embrace.. Saleh teaching him lessons in life.. Ewan began to cry. Through pained breaths, tears and blood mixed. “I don’t… I don’t want to die….” He sobbed, every breath he took burning. “I still.. have so much I want to do…!” So many things to learn.. so many things to see, so many wonderful things in the world for him to find… none of that would ever come true anymore. “I wanted to… spend more time.. with everyone….”

Even when on the verge of death.. his mind went to all the people he loved. Saleh, Tethys, Gerik, Marisa… his family. Ross, Amelia, Erk, Poe.. his friends. Tharja, Rafal, Seliph, Sara, Farina.. Ares, Leo, Lucina, Knoll.. people he wanted to protect. He wanted to become friends with them..

The world began to grow cold. His body felt numb. He knew there was no time left for him. In his final moments, a delirious sort of happiness washed over him. He could see them all, smiling warmly at him….

“Everyone….” He gasped, raising a trembling arm, a final smile on his face, holding out his hand to the wonderful people only he could see now.

“We’ll have so much fun…. Right..? Wait for… me…”

And then everything went dark, as the little star was extinguished.

Since you say Chrobin is inferred what else is inferred and canon in FE?

Disclaimer this is just my option from the stance of an aromantic asexual who only follows the text and what they do with the characters and what I see pushed in side material. But here's what I see and with just the lords

FE1/3/11/12: Marth and Caeda canon, there's no arguing it, all the side material confirms it it's blatant canon

FE 2/Echoes: Alm and Celica canon same reasoning as Marth and Caeda

FE 4: Sigurd and Deirdre canon, Deirdre and Arvis is canon too but it's never pushed not like the former that's the FE4 ship they want you to remember. Seliph as far as I'm aware doesn't have a pairing, his siblingship with Julia is his important relationship and it's platonic

FE 5: I know nothing about this game except what I see in FEH. I think Leif and Nana canon, could be wrong, would be willing to hear someone out who knows that game, if not canon they are definitely inferred

FE 6: Roy and Lilina implied I think like his dad's game Roy can pick anyone to be his wife, IS seems to favor Lilina the most in side material

FE 7: Eliwood and Ninian highly implied this is the one I'd compare Chrobin to the most, Eliwood can marry Ninian but he doesn't have to he can marry anyone else if he wishes, in side material though and FEH they're pushed a lot to the point when I looked it up I was surprised it wasn't canon

FE 8: I...don't think anything is canon or even inferred here. Open season

FE 9: I'm going to get so much hate for this but here we go. It's heavily implied I don't think it's been stated, Soren has feelings for Ike. And I 100% believe that. However...Ike comes off as very ace to me so I don't think Ike can ever love Soren as much as Soren loves him. That said they could easy have a queerplatonic relationship I don't see the two ever separating it just wouldn't be a traditional relationship

FE 10: Micaiah Sothe canon I personally wish it wasn't and don't like it but you can't argue it's not canon, and the side material continues to agree with the game, just ignore it (I sure do)

FE 13: As I said Chrom Sumia was originally implied, but they dropped it now Chrom Robin is heavily implied Lucina has no one, protecting her dad is her character.

FE 14: Gender split. In the game one could argue for MCorrin Azura was slightly implied due to her having a different support per route. For FCorrin due to popularity Leo got a drama Cd and a manga which slightly implied Leo Corrin. That time has passed, Corrin has no implied pairings anymore Corrin just cares about family, everything is platonic

FEH: Yes this is a mainstream game. Almost everyone loves the summoner (because it's you) Fjorm outright is in love with them, Alfonse and Veronica could be implied due to Lif and Tharsir's relationship. Everything is canon here and nothing is canon here at the same time.

FE16: So this one is interesting because of how hard it splits between MByleth and FByleth

Edelgard is heavily implied not just with Byleth but MByleth in particular. In the game the portrait she's drawing is of MByleth if you look close enough, MByleth is also usually for advertisement purposes put with the Black Eagles, Edelgard's house. Because her crush on Byleth is such a part of her character they didn't write it out for FByleth yes, but it was made in intention to MByleth (aka the male players)

Dimitri is implied with FByleth. Her material has her with Blue Lions the same way MByleth's material has him with Black Eagles. It's not as blatant as Edelgard, nothing would be but it's still there (to cater to female players)

Claude: Ha you think they'd care about the character who is a copy paste route? They don't. Poor Claude, nothing is implied or canon with him

FE17: No one but due to Alfred's circumstances changing if you S support him, I might lean to Alear Alfred implied it will all depend on what the side material tells us

Genealogy’s Characterization of Altena is Subpar

A couple nights ago when I was thinking about the Jugdral story again, my thoughts turned towards Altena] I was thinking of her pairings, of course, but I was also revealing her storyline in my head. That is when I made a shocking realization: I’ve been understanding Altena wrong this entire time. To an extent, I’ve been liking an idealized version of Altena. In reality, her writing is subpar, one might even say *awful*. Despite the popular conception of her, Altena is infantilized by her game. She is portrayed as rather immature. How so?

(Please read my earlier analysis on Altena here if you are not familiar with her story. Spoilers for FE4 and FE5 are ahead.)

I’ll begin with Altena’s appearance in Chapter 8 of Genealogy of the Holy War and Chapter 23 of Thracia 776. In those scenes, Altena orders her squadron of dracoknights to pull back upon discovering that Munster is mainly defended by civilians. However, her squadron led by Coulter defies her order and attacks anyway. Altena does not fight with them and watches them all die at the hand of either Seliph’s army or Leif’s army. After the massacre of her soldiers, she flies back to Thracia where Travant berates her for leaving her dracoknights behind. That scene ends in Altena being ordered to fight Seliph’s forces again and prove herself.

I want to compare this scene with Minerva’s first appearances in Shadow Dragon. Minerva also abandons a battle against the player army there but she seems mature and collected throughout her introduction. Minerva’s withdrawal is out of frustration with Harmein’s poor strategies against Marth while Altena’s withdrawal is an impulsive decision based on distaste with attacking civilians. Most of all, Minerva still leaves with her servants in the Whitewings and sees them to safety. Altena outright abandons her dracoknights and watches their annihilation while sulking alone. Because of that, Travant’s reaction to Altena’s withdrawal is completely understandable! No matter how morally right it was, she still wasted the lives of her subordinates by refusing to aid them. The player is meant to sympathize with Altena but she comes across as impulsive rather than wise.

I think this snippet from the scene at the beginning of Chapter 9 of Genealogy is interesting:

Arion: Enough, Altena. There's no place here for such meddling. Still your tongue and obey Father! Father, bear in mind Altena is still young and unseasoned. I suspect she merely found the last battle too overwhelming a prospect. Please do forgive her, even just this once.

Travant: 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?

Altena is likely one of the oldest child characters in Genealogy. It’s most likely that she was born prior to the beginning of the first part. The irony, then, is apparent: despite being older, Travant and Arion both treat her as though she is a child. She makes little effort to dispute this either, only meekly replying “understood” to acknowledge Travant’s order to her.

Recruiting Altena requires Leif to talk to her. As we all know, she tries to confront Travant after that and then she joins Seliph’s army after Travant dies. Most of the rest of Altena’s arc revolves around Arion. After reviewing the scripts, I can see now why people think their relationship has romantic undertones besides the throwaway line in the epilogue. During that scene when Altena tries to confront Travant, she actually stops herself when Arion forces her to “fight” him. 

Altena:  Gah... How dare you! How dare you mislead me all these years, Father! Er, no... Travant!

Arion: That's enough, Altena!

Altena: Get out of my way, Arion! This man dies here and now, and nobody can stop me! Not even you!

Arion: I cannot allow this. If you dare to turn on Father, then you'll have to contend with me first!

Altena: W-wait! I can't fight you, Arion! I could never-

Arion: It's too late for you to stand down now... Farewell, Altena!

Altena: Nngh... Arion...

You would think that Altena could try to fight Arion; after all, he’s complicit in keeping the secret of her heritage and she wants to avenge her parents above all else. Instead, she stays her hand and gives Arion an opening to knock her out. When she joins Seliph’s army, her first request is for Seliph to “help” Arion even though Arion refuses to negotiate a truce. Half of her four events with other player characters involve Arion as she asks both Hannibal and Leif for help with her quandary. And of course the epilogue scene with Seliph always mentions Arion even though he presumably flew off after joining Altena. I realize that Altena valued Arion a lot but it gets to the point where one could accuse her of being obsessed with him. 

Let’s step back and review Altena’s arc on the lens of how much agency she has. She tries to order Coulter’s squad to not attack Munster but they refuse, leading her to sulk and run away back to the capital while they all die. Then when Leif reveals her heritage to her, she runs away again and tries to confront Travant only to be knocked out by Arion before doing anything. When she wakes up, she joins Seliph and Leif only because Arion tells her to. When this happens, she tries to convince Arion to follow her but he refuses. He refuses again when she tries a second time to convince him. The only time when Altena really has full agency is when she is successful in her third attempt to convince Arion to defect. Altena has so little agency that you could even argue that Ishtar has more agency than her. At least Ishtar has some semblance of success in thwarting Julius’ plans. 

I’m a big fan of Altena. I don’t hate her as a character at all. But this realization of her poor treatment by the game was honestly mind-blowing. I definitely feel more frustrated to look back at her plot and see the missed potential in her arc. Altena could have been a character that drives the plot but instead she’s reduced to reacting to things that happen. Much like her mother, she is a bit impulsive but she lacks the backbone that Ethlyn has. I usually am not one to ask for a remake to try to “fix” a character but I think Altena could benefit from a rewrite more than most characters. 

It's actually shocking to realize that Altena's writing is this bad. I feel like she's gets overlooked because of how compelling Leif, Finn, and even Travant are as characters. If a modern FE character were written like this then they would get very maligned by the community. It's almost funny how much of the community (myself included) views her as this character who can impose her will on others when the reality is that the game strings her along in the same way that some other female leads have been strung along by the plot. To an extent, I’m still struggling to come to terms with this. I feel like I’ve personally been misinterpreting her and ignoring her emotional weaknesses which could make her a stronger character. I emphasize the word could because I think the writing dropped the ball. It takes a little bit of effort to write a character struggling with these weaknesses, this inability to stand up to one’s own family, without making them feel like a child. Unfortunately, I think Genealogy misses the mark.

This is not a hate post against Altena or even against Genealogy. As I said in the post, I am a huge fan of Altena as a character. I really love the concept that she brings and I can see the struggles she has with her family. I just wish that Altena was able to dictate her own way instead of being pushed around by other characters. But if I'm misunderstanding, please let me know - I'd be happy to be proven wrong!

nobody asked but this is my performance tier list for my current engage maddening run (it is pretty radically different from my last run now that I am actually playing somewhat optimally). units are ranked within tiers btw although maybe I should swap Fogado and Hortensia

Citrinne kind of deserves her own S+ tier tbh I love her so much.

some comments!

Citrinne - I use her with the Olwen S ring and a forged + engraved (Roy or something?) Thunder tome and she just obliterates sooo many things. I thought she would start falling off eventually but she really hasn't yet. once she does I am excited to switch her to a meme bow knight build with radiant bow and Lyn emblem for the world's most devastating Astra Storm

Chloé - she was absolute garbage in my last run so I was pretty shocked in this run when she was actually good? idk what happened. she's currently a Wyvern Knight to help with strength growths but I'll switch her to Griffin Knight after

Zelkov - when did this guy become so good??? I was planning to replace him with Merrin but I can't drop him now especially because he's my only covert. I used to use him with Lyn until I got Corrin

Fogado - I use him with the Claude S ring and a forged radiant bow and he is p strong! but tends to miss kills by a bit. maybe I should give him some spirit dust lol

Hortensia - self-explanatory

Kagetsu - man he's been so disappointing this run. probably because everyone else is so good I no longer use him so much for him to get enough xp. I was using him with Navarre's S ring and he kept not getting crits even with like 60% crit rate and doubling and he kept getting hit by low accuracy attacks my poor guy. I gave him Eirika's ring now in hopes of helping him actually damage enemies since his damage output is falling off hard but for some reason lunar brace is really not helping much ?_? idk.

Panette - I just finished Ike's paralogue so I can finally give her Wrath and then we'll see if she's as good as people say 💪 she's all right rn when she manages to crit but she keeps missing crits or missing entirely. I threw Seliph's S ring on her to help with crit but I might switch to Ryoma when her level is higher if I don't have Roy back by then.

Alear - man this guy sucks wtf. he was my best unit a few chapters ago and now he can barely do damage, can't double, and can't dodge. at least his personal is extremely useful especially for Citrinne. I've been convinced to switch him to Griffin Knight and have him fly around using bonded shield on Chloé for the lulz but I need to finish the next chapter first to get Leif back.

Anna - I've been using her with Olwen S ring and forged Thunder + canto but her magic is pretty low still and I don't have much room for guys so I kind of want to get rid of her... but she's supposed to end up with a better mag stat soon >:(

Merrin - she was pretty decent when I got her but I have no room for her sorry.

Louis - damn this guy was extremely disappointing this time for a unit that I thought it was completely impossible to beat maddening without. he cannot really take a lot of hits... I think it is similar to Kagetsu where my other units are so good now that I'm playing properly that I'm not just turtling through every chapter so he's missing out on a lot of xp compared to last time. I just did Ike's paralogue and Louis was sooo useless because he could not at all hold the chokepoint that he was supposed to. I had to use Zelkov + fog running back and forth between two chokepoints basically being two guys instead.

saline - 😭😭😭 I'm still going to insist on using her for the gimmick build I was planning with divine pulse+, Micaiah, and freeze/entrap staves but man has she fallen off hard for being my highest level and most invested unit in the early game