History Fridge / FireEmblemFates

** The fact that the Ice Tribe's rebellion ends so horribly on the ''Birthright'' route is some additional FridgeHorror. [[spoiler:Because Corrin didn't [[ForWantOfANail go there earlier]] and TakeAThirdOption to subdue them, the situation gets out of control, and Felicia, Corrin, and Jakob end up having to watch their sister/friend [[DrivenToSuicide kill herself]] via ''self-immolation''.]] It's a huge PlayerPunch to those who did ''Conquest'' first and realized just how big of an impact Corrin's actions had there, and just how easily this whole thing could have been avoided.

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[[folder:FridgeLogic]]

* [[spoiler:[[BigLippedAlligatorMoment The fact that the Avatar and Azura didn't overreact when Mikoto revealed that they are actually cousins can be strange]], but it might make sense if Mikoto and Arete are actually best friends instead of being sisters. Sometimes, best friends can refer to each other as their own family, to the point of being assumed as HeterosexualLifePartners.]]
** Or (more likely) it's not that big of a deal to them. [[spoiler:Even if they were married at that point, KissingCousins was quite common in their time period. It's also seen as acceptable in Japan, which is the East Asian country with less restrictions for cousin marriage ''and'' even has [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naoto_Kan an ex Prime Minister in such a situation]].]]
** Also there's the fact that [[spoiler:it's the last time Mikoto is going to speak with Corrin and the others. If they were really just HeterosexualLifePartners, she would have been way more specific and just ''say so.'' Considering she all but said 'Anankos is your father', I think she would have chosen her words more carefully than that.]]
* If Corrin reaches S-Support [[spoiler:with any of the Hoshido siblings, they find out through a letter (or just from Ryoma) that they are not blood related to any of them]]. However, this is the ''only'' time this knowledge comes to light. Regardless, they can also [[spoiler:S-Support any of the sibling's ''children'', which is potentially any of them, but Shiro and Kiragi are guaranteed]]. In order for the latter to be possible, they must never have gained knowledge from the former (in fact, such knowledge retroactively doesn't exist). Which means, as far as Corrin is concerned, [[spoiler:they are willingly going after their blood related niece/nephew, even though in every Hoshido support, they take issue with marrying their sibling. And unlike with cousins, uncle/aunt and nephew/niece marriages aren't at all legal in Japan.]]
** Actually, in the supports with [[spoiler: Hinoka, she relates an incident to Corrin where she yelled at Mikoto for not being her "real" mother, and Corrin seems to be more surprised about the argument rather than the fact that this reveals that they're actually step-siblings]]. So them knowing ''might'' be canon, and, either way, it's still possible for them to find out. Still is a bit [[{{Squick}} squicky]] if you don't get that conversation before then, though.
*** Corrin always knew that [[spoiler:Mikoto wasn't the Hoshidan siblings' mother]], but they ''did'' believe that they were [[spoiler:Sumeragi's child with Mikoto, which would make them half-siblings]].
** Something interesting related to this is brought up if the Avatar S-supports Sakura. She outright mentions that they're (supposedly) ''half-siblings''. Which while it brings up more awkward and confusing implications, it could explain why Corrin would [[spoiler: not come to the conclusion that he and Hinoka weren't related at all when Hinoka reveals Mikoto is her stepmother]].
* A little more on the lighthearted side: Corrin plays the piano, which contains both ''black'' and ''white'' keys.
* While closing off any child characters if their mother died in ''Awakening'' made sense (as they come from a BadFuture), it comes off as odd in ''Fates''. Due to the method of how second generation characters exist compared to ''Awakening'', exactly why would allowing their fathers to die result in them being unrecruitable, especially if their mothers are alive? This is quite apparent with [[spoiler: Midori]] in Birthright, as [[spoiler: it's fully possible for Kaze to be paired with someone, yet he must survive the events of Chapter 15 for Midori's paralogue to even unlock]]. Due to the TimeyWimeyBall, this technically means that [[spoiler: Kaze's death at ''that'' particular point wouldn't invalidate Midori's existence.]]
** Actually, [[spoiler: Midori]] in ''Birthright'' can easily be explained away if you simply assume that she actually ''wasn't'' born until after [[spoiler: Chapter 15]]. The paralogue ''does'' immediately unlock afterwards, yes, but the same thing happens for all the other kids; the NarniaTime involved with the second gen this time around makes them really ambiguous, anyway. Going off that, it's possible that the couples simply never had the chance to have a kid if the fathers die (considering they're actually born ''during the game'' this time around). It's weird, yes, but it's more just a necessary HandWave for the fact that the kids are tied to the dads this time.
** To be more specific, it's implied [[spoiler:Midori was the result of GladToBeAliveSex]].
*** Of course, on the flip side, this gets weird when [[spoiler:Kaze]] is married to [[spoiler:the Female Avatar]], who can still recruit [[spoiler:Kana]] before [[spoiler:Midori]]'s paralogue is unlocked despite [[spoiler:Kana]] being stated and treated as being the youngest of all the children.
** All of the children, though [[spoiler:Midori]] in particular, simply work better if you assume the dads dying is a case of GameplayAndStorySegregation. They still could / should be born, but it goes back to the HandWave explanation to avoid support / paralogue inconsistencies. To be more specific, [[spoiler:by all rights, Midori "should've" been born once Kaze hits S-Rank, ''especially'' if she's Kana's sister as the above troper mentioned, but her paralogue simply unlocks then so they wouldn't have to add extra dialogue into chapter 15 if she's there and Kaze dies.]]
** Here's one way of looking at it: say guys like Subaki, Silas and Kaze get hitched. Their children could very well be born or at the very least conceived even if they die, and the kids would be sent off to their respective Deeprealms. One reason why they don't become recruitable could probably be a very desperate case of MamaBear: having already seen their husbands die, who's to say that the mothers of these kids would want to keep them inside the Deeprealms longer and not have them join the war lest they follow the same fate as their fathers? Of course, this will vary depending on how you look at the personalities of the female characters and if they'd actually do that, but it's a possibility nonetheless.

** Shiro and Siegbert: Both are afraid that they won't be able to live up to their father's expectations and both have {{hidden depths}} they hide from everyone. They also fit the RedOniBlueOni archetype, with Shiro as the Red Oni and Siegbert as blue.

* Mikoto is mentioned to have had two retainers — Reina and Oboro — while no mention is made of Garon having any retainers at any point, which makes him stand out among the other royal characters[[note]]aside from Corrin and Azura -- Corrin has Kaze and Silas as unofficial retainers, as mentioned above, and… okay, I’ve got nothing for Azura[[/note]]. However, paying attention to his relationships, you can see that Garon does, in fact, have two retainers like the rest — [[CoDragons Iago and Hans]], who are his closest cronies and are the most active agents carrying out his will.

** Niles's secondary class is Dark Mage. Since his lord and his partner are mages, he must have learnt something from them.

* If the "Before Awakening" DLC could be considered canon, then it would retroactively explain some of Frederick's behavior towards the Avatar at the start of ''Awakening''. He just finished defending Chrom and Lissa from some very strange enemies. So when they find someone lying in the field nearby claiming to have no memory of how they got there, he would naturally be quite wary of them.

* In Chapter 27 of ''Conquest'', after the intro-cutscene to the final boss, [[spoiler:Azura notes that the corrupted Takumi's [[UncannyValley jerky, unstable movements]] represent him having been taken over by Anankos. However, none of Anankos' other puppets seem to have this issue. Therefore, it's instead possible that the reason for Takumi's more spastic and stiff movements is because of the nature of how he died; blunt force trauma from throwing himself off the Great Wall of Suzanoh, with Azura commenting that the height alone would make walking impossible even if one managed to survive. Or rather, that Takumi's disjointed movements are because he either broke or shattered many, if not most, of his bones in the fall that killed him, with Anankos's power alone being all he's moving on.]]

* Okay, this troper isn't certain whether this is FridgeBrilliance or FridgeHorror, but here we go. [[spoiler:Some people think that ''Fates'' is BlackAndWhiteMorality incarnate, with the peace-loving Hoshido and the war-like Nohr setting the stage of the conflict. That would be true, but then you realize the historical analogies between Conquest!Hoshido and UsefulNotes/ImperialJapan. After being bullied by numerous nations into partaking in the world scene, coupled by other factors like the Great Depression, Japan became a fascist nation that effectively [[HeWhoFightsMonsters became the bully to the so-called bullies]]. Thing is, this is the ''exact same set-up'' Hoshido has in ''Conquest''; with a massive hatred towards Nohrians over a king who doesn't even represent the people as a whole, and the fact that Queen Mikoto (and a ''Birthright''-aligned Avatar) are the only ones preventing Hoshido from JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope really enforces the fact that with Hoshido sacking Port Dia, forcibly ousting one of their own (Azura) for execution due to wartime, and all other manners of crimes committed, if the war went on longer, ''[[AdultFear Hoshido could've become just as bad as Nohr with the anti-nationalist leaders out of the way.]]'' Hoshido is definitely ALighterShadeOfGrey, but that doesn't mean that they couldn't become just as bad as the monsters they were fighting.]]

* Here's one related to both ''Conquest'' and ''Heirs of Fate''. In ''Conquest''[='=]s endgame, [[spoiler:Takumi]] states that he's aware of what his now-mindless body is doing, but can't stop it. In the last part of ''Heirs of Fate'', [[spoiler:the children are forced to fight their reanimated fathers, whose situations are quite similar to ''Conquest'' Takumi's]]. Who's to say that they're not in the ''exact same situation'' as he is? Even worse in that they'd be ForcedToWatch [[spoiler:themselves [[AdultFear fight their own children]]]].

** The Avatar's forces in ''Birthright'' would also have caused a higher alert to go around given that they were coming to Nohr from the rival country rather than in ''Conquest'' where they were a domestic force assigned only to stop local rebellions. Nyx could have gotten the alert and fled the area before the Avatar arrived along with some of the Nohrian civilians.

* The end of ''Birthright'' Chapter 15 if the Avatar has an A Support with [[spoiler:Kaze]]. [[spoiler:The scene proceeds as normal with both hanging over a collapsing cliff... then Kaze notices a crystal on the other side of the canyon, declares he's "going to try something", and throws a shuriken at it... which just ''happens'' to cause an explosion that blows him and the Avatar back onto solid ground without harming either of them. If Kaze knew that crystal had those properties before, it might have made sense, but he admits afterwards he had no idea and was just winging it. His survival MIGHT feel like a giant DeusExMachina -- until you notice that his dialogue was very much similar as his A-Support. Therefore, if an A-Support has been achieved, Kaze will not feel obligated to tell his story a second time. This made him more aware to his surroundings, thus able to spot the crystal. If the A-Support is not reached, Kaze will be too distracted with telling his story to the Avatar, and failed to spot the diamond in time. It makes a lot of sense considering the GuiltComplex Kaze carried.]]

* In ''Revelation'', the potential choices of mothers for Asugi, Rhajat, and Caeldori are in order Charlotte and Beruka (Asugi), Nyx and Effie (Rhajat), and Nyx and Selena (Caeldori). If the players look more carefully, they actually are further references to their ''Awakening'' counterparts:

** '''Rhajat:''' Her potential mothers are Nyx and Effie. Nyx is also pretty obvious as it gives Rhajat access to the same class of her Expy [[spoiler:or Reincarnation]] plus dark hair similar to Tharja's. Nyx's aloof personality and (former) penchant for cursing others is taken from her as well. Effie does seem a little out of place...until one realizes Tharja's other reclass options were Archer...and Knight, which is Effie's main class.
** '''Asugi:''' His potential mothers are Beruka and Charlotte. While Beruka doesn't match the theme of the other mothers, Charlotte will give Asugi the Axe Fighter class...one of Gaius' reclass options. The other option was the Myrmirdon class (aka the Samurai class), which Asugi will already have natural access to from Saizo. Hence he's the only one of the three that can have the exact same class sets Gaius had in ''Awakening''. Even with Beruka, he'll still have access to a class using mainly axes, which still would make it very similar.

** Another possibility may be to illustrate the flaws and benefits of both sides' perspectives. For instance, Hoshido's people have a far sterner adherence to principles of morality, making it easy to approve and side with their conviction but subsequently making them far harsher and less forgiving towards those who scorn those principles like they view Nohr to have. Contrasting this, Nohr's populace has a higher regard for loyalty to one another and the leaders that provide for them, making it far easier for people of all walks to be accepted by them but likewise makes them more unwilling or unable to question the motives of the leaders they're supposed to trust.

* All of the ''Awakening'' [[spoiler: Preincarnations]] plus Ophelia can speak with Chrom and/or Lissa... but not Asugi or Rhajat. Why? Because Chrom and Lissa hadn't ''met'' Gaius or Tharja yet.

* If the "Before Awakening" DLC could be considered canon, then it would retroactively explain some of Frederick's behavior towards the Avatar at the start of ''Awakening''. He just finished defending Chrom and Lissa from some very strange enemies. So when they find someone lying in the field nearby claiming to have no memory of how they got there, he would naturally be quite weary of them.

* After Azura [[spoiler: passes away in ''Conquest'' and ''Birthright,'' it's possible that she is already a ''wife and mother of two.'' Due to GameplayAndStorySegregation, it's never mentioned that she has left behind an entire family, but the epilogues for her (now single) spouse and children can read as pretty depressing nonetheless.]]
* Going on from the Fridge Brilliance in [[CharacterCustomization Character Customisation]], the Avatar's name can be a verbal "shibboleth" (something that is impossible for someone of a certain accent to pronounce correctly) against the Hoshidans, especially if you're using a language such as English. Why is this? Well, Hoshido is based off of Medieval Japan, which means that the Hoshidans could find it impossible to pronounce certain syllables. What makes it Fridge Horror? Well think about how the Avatar could end up with a shibboleth name - King Garon could have given them such a name so that the Hoshidans would never be able to call them by name again.

** On the other hand, Kaze seems to recognize Corrin's name when they address him at the start of Chapter 2, implying Garon stuck with their real name. Of course, it's still possible for the player to give them a name that would be hard for the Hoshidans to pronounce (or the Nohrians, for that matter), but that's probably not the in-universe reason for it.

* Before the route split, [[spoiler:Gunter falls through a bridge]]. If the player chooses Hoshido, they never see him again, giving the impression that he dies. If they choose Nohr, on the other hand, the Avatar and Azura [[spoiler:go to the Invisible Kingdom, where you find him and he rejoins you]]. This never happens on the ''Birthright'' route, which means that if Hoshido is chosen, [[spoiler:Gunter is trapped in the Invisible Kingdom with no way out. ''If'' he didn't effectively die in the process, that is.]]

** [[spoiler:Given that in ''Conquest'' Azura doesn't join till about Chapter 9 whereas in ''Birthright'' she joins right away, it's likely that in ''Conquest'', being freer until she was taken, she visited and found him, whereas in ''Birthright'', she didn't go enough to find him, given that she's with you for the entirety of the game after Chapter 5.]]

*** It's possible that [[spoiler:since she was spending more time with him on ''Conquest'', she was able to realize his possession and purge it. But in ''Revelation'', the circumstances they're in and him trying to avoid people (whereas in ''Conquest'' he would have needed her help to survive) would mean that she's not able to discover that something is wrong with him.]]
*** It's also possible that [[spoiler:Anankos didn't bother with him since he lucked out and found a much better vessel in Takumi]].

* Okay, this troper isn't certain whether this is FridgeBrilliance or FridgeHorror, but here we go. [[spoiler:Some people think that ''Fates'' is BlackAndWhiteMorality incarnate, with the peace-loving Hoshido and the war-like Nohr setting the stage of the conflict. That would be true, but then you realize the historical analogies between Conquest!Hoshido and UsefulNotes/ImperialJapan. After being bullied by numerous nations into partaking in the world scene, coupled by other factors like the Great Depression, Japan became a fascist nation that effectively [[HeWhoFightsMonsters became the bully to the so-called bullies.]] Thing is, this is the ''exact same set-up'' Hoshido has in ''Conquest''; with a massive hatred towards Nohrians over a king who doesn't even represent the people as a whole, and the fact that Queen Mikoto (and a ''Birthright''-aligned Avatar) are the only ones preventing Hoshido from JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope really enforces the fact that with Hoshido sacking Port Dia, forcibly ousting one of their own (Azura) for execution due to wartime, and all other manners of crimes committed, if the war went on longer, ''[[AdultFear Hoshido could've become just as bad as Nohr with the anti-nationalist leaders out of the way.]]'' Hoshido is definitely ALighterShadeOfGrey, but that doesn't mean that they couldn't become just as bad as the monsters they were fighting.]]

** [[spoiler:When taken into context with the fact that Takumi is not only aware of what his corpse is doing, but is [[AndIMustScream still actively trapped within/bonded to his dead body]], the idea that said body has a shattered skeleton only adds to the BodyHorror of his perspective — especially since it's never specified whether or not Takumi can or can't still feel pain in this state]].

* The CharacterCustomization helps support the fact that the Avatar and the Hoshidans [[spoiler:are NotBloodSiblings]]. Their default appearance alone makes them look more at home with the Nohrians and they can have an array of hair colors [[spoiler:(possibly due to SuperpowerfulGenetics)]]. They can have something like Mikoto’s hair color or a color more at home with the Hoshidans, or they could have [[YouGottaHaveBlueHair green hair.]]

* On Casual Mode, the Avatar reaching 0 HP doesn't give you an immediate GameOver, like in earlier games... except in Chapter 5. The main reason for this is probably since the boss there [[UnwinnableByMistake would likely be unbeatable without the Avatar]], but from a story perspective, it makes sense: the Avatar has completely lost control of their dragon form and is essentially mindless (as seen by their lack of voice clips in battle). It takes intelligence to know when to retreat in battle and survive: with their mind completely feral, they're unable to make judgements like this and so succumb to their wounds and die.

* The reveal that you and your Hoshidan siblings are [[spoiler:NotBloodSiblings]]. It's easy to argue that [[spoiler:it invalidates the idea of choosing between your bloodline and the people who raised you]], but it ''does'' reinforce the idea that the Hoshidan and Nohrian siblings are NotSoDifferent. After all, [[spoiler:Ryoma knew all along that you weren't related to him by blood, but he still fights to bring you back home]].

* Unlike in ''Awakening'', children in ''Fates'' are actually born biologically, but are put inside a [[YearInsideHourOutside pocket dimension where time moves faster]] upon birth. [[RealityEnsues This means that the war between Nohr and Hoshido occurs for at least 9 months before the end of the game if any units get married, meaning both kingdoms are being subject to invasions, war crimes, and pillaging from both the opposing side and the various bandit groups dotted about the land.]]

* So, according to [[spoiler:Hinoka's supports with the Avatar]], [[spoiler:Mikoto showed up one day with "a newborn baby" — the Avatar — and married Sumeragi]]. Problem is, [[spoiler:Takumi and Sakura are younger than the Avatar — they couldn't have been born yet, meaning their real mother, Queen Ikona, was still alive at the time]], therefore technically speaking, [[spoiler:Sumeragi was [[YourCheatingHeart cheating on Ikona with Mikoto]]]]. But why isn't this seen as an outrage or as at least a little reprehensible, never mind [[spoiler:Mikoto becoming TheHighQueen]] ''and'' [[spoiler:how Garon's penchant for keeping lovers ruined Nohr's court]]? The cause might be that, aside from [[spoiler:Mikoto's own talents and kindness]], [[spoiler:Hoshido is modeled after MedievalJapan, where noblemen were allowed to have a wife plus concubines ''and'' [[http://hubpages.com/education/Women-in-the-Heian-Court some smart-enough court ladies]] (especially in the Heian era, the time where the famous [[LadyInWaiting court ladies]] and writers [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murasaki_Shikibu Murasaki Shikibu]] and [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sei_Shonagon Sei Shonagon]] lived) made whole careers out of being lovers and sometimes advisors to powerful men... and Sumeragi ''happens'' to be the most powerful man in the whole of Hoshido. Since Sumeragi isn't said to have had ''other'' romantic liasons aside from Ikona and Mikoto, unlike Garon, who married twice ''and'' went the MarryThemAll path, it probably wasn't hard for [[YamatoNadeshiko Mikoto]] to start as Sumeragi's official mistress, [[RemarriedToTheMistress become his legal wife when he's widowed]], and ''then'' reinvent herself as the Noble Queen of the Hoshido ''and'' the kindly ParentalSubstitute to the Hoshidan princes and princesses, despite her unclear origins.]]

** Yet ANOTHER contrast -- Elise is the only Nohrian sibling (or royal sibling in general) who you never fight on any route. This again ties into how Elise differs from her other siblings. Whereas Xander, Leo, and Camilla are willing to put their loyalties to Nohr above their feelings for the Avatar, Elise puts her loyalty towards the Avatar above Nohr (which actually adds a very interesting contrast between her and Sakura -- while Elise avoids fighting the Avatar because her morals for how she loves the Avatar outweigh her loyalty to Nohr, Sakura insists on fighting the Avatar because her loyalty to Hoshido outweighs her morals of how she feels about the Avatar).

* This one's more a case of inverted FridgeHorror, but here goes. [[spoiler:''[[GoldenPath Revelation]]'' is the ''only'' route that ends with an actual confrontation with the BigBad, Anankos, and the only one that can potentially end with both royal families surviving (not to mention Azura). But Anankos is ''not'' a KarmaHoudini in the other two routes, nor do things go the way he wanted them to. Anankos wanted to ruin ''both'' Hoshido and Nohr, or at least weaken them enough that he and his Invisible Kingdom could [[DivideAndConquer curbstomp whatever was left]]. Thanks to the Avatar, however, the winning side, whichever it may be, suffered few enough casualties that at the ''very'' least, they'd be able to give Valla one ''hell'' of a fight, if not repel its invasion entirely. Furthermore, Anankos's primary agent in all this was the impostor Garon, who dies in all three routes, killed off by the Avatar's party. Regardless of how many people knew about the real Garon's death beforehand, pretty much ''everyone'' knows that "Garon" is dead. We do know that Anankos can resurrect and brainwash the dead to be his servants, but we only know for sure that he can do this with ''humans''. He may or may not be able to do this with monsters, and false Garon's true identity was a slime creature. Even if Anankos did bring false Garon back, people would think it strange that the king suddenly returned, and he probably wouldn't have as much influence as Anankos would like, ''especially'' not if the Avatar and their party had anything to say about it (this goes double for ''Conquest'', where Garon's true nature as a monster was flat-out exposed by the throne of Hoshido). Basically, no matter what, things go OffTheRails for Anankos, and it's going to take him a long, long time to get his plans rolling again. Sure, a lot of people died, including many the Avatar cared deeply about, but rest assured that The Bad Guy Did ''Not'' Win.]]

* This one's more a case of inverted FridgeHorror, but here goes. [[spoiler:''[[GoldenPath Revelation]]'' is the ''only'' route that ends with an actual confrontation with the BigBad, Anankos, and the only one that can potentially end with both royal families surviving (not to mention Azura). But Anankos is ''not'' a KarmaHoudini in the other two routes, nor do things go the way he wanted them to. Anankos wanted to ruin ''both'' Hoshido and Nohr, or at least weaken them enough that he and his Invisible Kingdom could [[DivideAndConquer curbstomp whatever was left]]. Thanks to the Avatar, however, the winning side, whichever it may be, suffered few enough casualties that at the ''very'' least, they'd be able to give Valla one ''hell'' of a fight, if not repel its invasion entirely. Furthermore, Anankos's primary agent in all this was the impostor Garon, who dies in all three routes, killed off by the Avatar's party. Regardless of how many people knew about the real Garon's death beforehand, pretty much ''everyone'' knows that "Garon" is dead. We do know that Anankos can resurrect and brainwash the dead to be his servants, but we only know for sure that he can do this with ''humans''. He may or may not be able to do this with monsters, and false Garon's true identity was a slime creature. Even if Anankos did bring false Garon back, people would think it strange that the king suddenly returned, and he probably wouldn't have as much influence as Anankos would like, ''especially'' not if the Avatar and his/her party had anything to say about it (this goes double for ''Conquest'', where Garon's true nature as a monster was flat-out exposed by the throne of Hoshido). Basically, no matter what, things go OffTheRails for Anankos, and it's going to take him a long, long time to get his plans rolling again. Sure, a lot of people died, including many the Avatar cared deeply about, but rest assured that The Bad Guy Did ''Not'' Win.]]

* The amiibo characters are shown to be their ''Smash'' incarnations. If they fall in battle, you can presumably bring them back by re-scanning the amiibo, like in ''VideoGame/CodenameSteam'' -- you're reviving the character from his/her trophy form, just like in ''VideoGame/TheSubspaceEmissary''.

** The mere fact that the reclass options for Odin, Selena, and Laslow are Hoshidan classes matches with a detail in the Hidden Truths DLC: [[spoiler:Initially, Anankos thought the Avatar was still in Hoshido and planned to send the three there. But, with Lilith revealing that s/he was taken to Nohr, he had to change plans in a pinch]].

** One can even compare the Avatar and Azura in the same manner. The Avatar is a Hoshidan that was kidnapped and raised in Nohr and Azura is a Nohrian that was kidnapped and raised in Hoshido. In addition, the Avatar is very emotional and social, while Azura is withdrawn and introverted. It also comes to how they each influence the plot: the Avatar freely chooses his/her decisions and directly affects what goes on in the story as the leader of the army, while Azura cannot directly affect the situation and as such must be very subtle and do small things to shift things in her favor. [[spoiler:It also helps that both turn out not to be Nohrian or Hoshidan but rather descendants of Valla, a third, hidden faction.]]

* Chapter 5 is infamous for its difficulty due to being littered with DemonicSpiders, all of which were made specifically to kill the Avatar within two hits. [[spoiler:''Revelation'' reveals that the mystery swordsman was none other than the possessed spirit/corpse of the late Sumeragi, which explains why Ryoma had such difficulty beating him. Said possessor was Anankos, the Avatar's true biological father. Anankos likely knew of how to take care of him/her, being his biological son/daughter. This begs the question, how long had he been watching over him/her!?]]

* [[spoiler:[[BigLippedAlligatorMoment The fact that the Avatar and Azura didn't overreact when Mikoto revealed that they are actually cousins can be strange]], but it might make sense if Mikoto and Shenmei are actually best friends instead of being sisters. Sometimes, best friends can refer to each other as their own family, to the point of being assumed as HeterosexualLifePartners.]]

*** How about a little more? If one takes it at face value that [[spoiler:there really is literally nobody else that might put forth any sort of a real claim to the throne, it’s entirely possible that Xander might simply leave the crown with the only remaining person that he has an official connection (and a personal bond) with, who could therefore be seen as technically be the highest-ranking remaining presence at the court, and whom he also knows does at least possess noble blood. Take a moment to consider [[PsychopathicManchild just how awful that could be.]]]]

*** How about a little more? If one takes it at face value that there really is literally nobody else that might put forth any sort of a real claim to the throne, it’s entirely possible that Xander might simply leave the crown with the only remaining person that he has an official connection (and a personal bond) with, who could therefore be seen as technically be the highest-ranking remaining presence at the court, and whom he also knows does at least possess noble blood. Take a moment to consider [[PsychopathicManchild just how awful that could be.]]