History Fridge / FireEmblemFates

** Going on from this point, if you look at Takumi's Friendship Supports, you'd realize he has ''two'' characters that will give him the Samurai class set. To be more exact, his brother Ryoma and his retainer Hinata. It's more meaningful if you look into it. Trying to distinguish himself from Ryoma is implied to be the reason why Takumi doesn't have the Samurai class by default. Meanwhile, Hinata in his A-Support with the Avatar reveals Takumi and his talent with swordplay, and thus he knows his skills firsthand. [[HeartwarmingMoments In other words, getting Takumi an A+ support with either Ryoma or Hinata seems to have encouraged him to take up the sword again, hence why he's able to access the Samurai class.]]

* 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]].

* 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 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.

* In VideoGame/FireEmblemWarriors Azura has a conversation with Tharja. Tharja reveals that she can sense the danger in Azura’s song and knows what it could do to her. Really makes one wonder if Rhajat [[spoiler: (implied to be an incarnation of Tharja)]] came to a similar conclusion. Especially in a scenario when Azura is Rhajat’s mother.

* The Nohrian siblings, sans Elise, are a lot more negative about the Avatar leaving them for Hoshido or choosing neither while the Hoshidan siblings are, save Takumi, more confused and surprised. The Nohrian siblings grew up having to survive against other half-siblings and their mothers, all of which were fighting for Garons attention. Its no wonder the Nohrian siblings are so hurt if you don't join them, they've had to fight and kill just to make a relatively stable family, one that they did explicitly for Elise, and then the Avatar when they showed up. The Avatar is essentially doing a big middle-finger to all the hard work they did for them and so rationalize the same they likely did just to make it here: that you are an enemy. This is also why Elise never fights you, she's grown up with your company and thus wouldn't feel any reason to see you harshly.

* In both of the Avatar's [[spoiler:[[NearDeathExperience near-death experiences]]]] wherein s/he meets her deceased siblings, she is actually speaking with a [[spoiler:third one — their sister, Lilith. The only one who actually ''is'' blood related... but Lilith can't tell because she too is bound by the curse of Valla. And in ''Conquest'', even in death, she wouldn't know that the Avatar ''did'' go to Valla — because Corrin can't tell, and there's no way for Lilith to know! What's to say that the Valla curse doesn't transcend to the astral plane?]]
** Similarly, why would Flora be present in the [[spoiler:''Birthright'' near-death experience]], despite not being blood-related ''or'' raised as an adoptive sibling? She's been Corrin's servant since s/he was a child — s/he was probably raised alongside Corrin serving him, and essentially a family surrogate, but separated by the social class of a servant like Felicia and Jakob. Who's to say that if [[spoiler:it was ''Jakob'' or ''Felicia'' who committed suicide in ''Birthright'']] that ''they'' wouldn't show up there, either?

** It also makes sense considering that they just recently learned that they can transform into a dragon; unlike previous Manaketes who had learned their entire life to fight as a dragon, Corrin spent their entire life learning swordplay and Kana, even in respect to the other kids, is still extremely young. This also reflects in their Dragonstones, the normal one giving them more toughness but they aren't very nimble, and Dragonstone+ gives them slightly more power, but get tired because of it, hence the debuff. It comes down to experience, which is why they have the Dragon Fang ability, letting them use part of their power as a dragon to supplement their swordplay.

* If one takes a look at the Hoshidan siblings' designs, you'll notice unlike his siblings, whom share mainly a red and white color scheme with their clothing, Takumi wears mainly blue and white clothing with only some splashes of red. He's also the sibling that takes a while before he accepts the Avatar as family in ''Birthright'' and [[spoiler:descends into almost homicidal hatred in ''Conquest'' for their betrayal partly thanks to DemonicPossession]]. Even better, Takumi's outfit as a Sniper (his promoted class in ''Conquest'') is mainly blue, white, and black with no clearly visible traces of red save his hair ribbons.

* 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 of 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.]]

* Besides both being magic users, Odin and Leo also share the fact that [[spoiler:both are princes who had to deal with being overshadowed by their relatives. Leo has Xander the crown prince, and Owain has Lucina the one who inherited the Falchion.]] Odin doesn't let it show nearly as much, however.

* Generic enemy models are red as enemies, blue when recruited. This is hardly a new concept, but as maids Felicia and Flora's brooches are blue and red respectively. [[spoiler:Flora becomes an enemy on all three routes.]]

** Subaki and Niles: Both do a very good job of annoying people, though while Niles does it to troll people in general, Subaki doesn't realize that his comments about being perfect annoy people. Also, Niles has no issues to reveal any flaws he has while Subaki strives to show that he has no flaws despite evidence to the contrary. However, both are very good in observing, they just show it in different ways.

** Orochi and Nyx: Both are very mystical and would count as the token female mage of each sides. That is where the similarities end however as Orochi is very playful and mischievous while Nyx is very wise and cautious.

** Shiro and Siegbert: Both are afraid that they won't be able to live up to their father's expectation 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.
** Kiragi and Forrest: Both are the exact opposite of their fathers, Kiragi is more excitable and Forrest is very flamboyant. They both love their hobbies and are not afraid of showing it off. Kiragi is more physically active while Forrest is more of an artist who enjoys creativity.

** Hisame and Percy: Like many children with father-child relationship, both characters are the opposite to their parents, Hisame is more calm than his father and Percy is extremely lucky unlike his notoriously unlucky father. They also both try their best to become what they want to be, Hisame wants to be a retainer and Percy wants to be a hero not to mention they both share a very serious determination.
** Rhajat and Ophelia: Both are very interested in dark magic but while Ophelia at least tries to be careful, Rhajat doesn't care what happens as long as it happens. Also, both character's outfits can be on the skimpy side.

** Selkie and Velouria: Both are perhaps the closest to their fathers relationship-wise. They are also shapechangers which allows them to bond over their support. But Selkie has no clue about Kitsune culture while Velouria is well aware of what being a Wolfskin is like.
** Even the two party members who will always join your side, Silas and Kaze, both have similarities and differences. Both of them were involved in the Avatar's childhood but they do not remember either of them and both feel that following the Avatar would lead to the greater good over their respective factions, Nohr and Hoshido respectively. Silas is very casual, generally speaking in a very relaxed manner while Kaze's way of speaking as well as his behavior is very formal even in informal settings.

* In both of the Avatar's [[spoiler:[[NearDeathExperience near-death experiences]]]] wherein s/he meets her deceased siblings, she is actually speaking with a [[spoiler:third one -- their sister, Lilith. The only one who actually ''is'' blood related... but Lilith can't tell because she too is bound by the curse of Valla. And in ''Conquest'', even in death, she wouldn't know that the Avatar ''did'' go to Valla -- because Corrin can't tell, and there's no way for Lilith to know! What's to say that the Valla curse doesn't transcend to the astral plane?]]
** Similarly, why would Flora be present in the [[spoiler:''Birthright'' near-death experience]], despite not being blood-related ''or'' raised as an adoptive sibling? She's been Corrin's servant since s/he was a child -- s/he was probably raised alongside Corrin serving him, and essentially a family surrogate, but separated by the social class of a servant like Felicia and Jakob. Who's to say that if [[spoiler:it was ''Jakob'' or ''Felicia'' who committed suicide in ''Birthright'']] that ''they'' wouldn't show up there, either?

* If one subscribes to the fan theory stating that Izana [[HesJustHiding faked his death]] in ''Revelation'', why would Fuga join with his condition filled? Easy -- ''Izana'' told him to. Why wouldn't Fuga join in ''Birthright'' or ''Conquest'' in this case? Because Izana didn't ''have'' to fake his death -- so nothing stopped Izana from joining you personally.
* Looking at the cast, of all the recuitable characters, the only ones who you can never fight on any route are Izana and Nyx. Izana is rather obvious — fate never places him against you. But why Nyx? She is in a self-imposed exile and ''happens'' to be around Nohr or the Sevenfold Sanctuary. If Corrin had run into her on ''Birthright'', she might ''have'' joined them -- she may be Nohrian, but she has become such a recluse that she honestly doesn't care about taking sides in the war, and joins the Avatar's side, ''not'' the war -- the Avatar just ''happens'' to be fighting in the war in ''Conquest''.

** Elise, Jakob, Felicia, and Azura are also never fought on any route. Jakob and Felicia are both more loyal to the avatar than they are to Nohr, so that makes sense. Azura is the only person who knows about the Avatar's origins, so she understands what is happening behind the scenes, and thus doesn't want to be directly involved in the war. Elise is the most interesting -- she is the only royal sibling who is never fought. This is because Elise is meant to be the 'light' of Nohr and represent the morals of the Nohrian siblings, so she doesn't take part in something as violent as a war like her siblings do.

* Setsuna is considered to be the least competent of Hinoka's retainers (of all retainers, possibly), and it shows in her in-game levels. In ''Birthright'', she joins at level 3 compared to Azama's 7 and Hinoka's 8, and in ''Revelation'' she joins at level 11 compared to Azama's 13 and Hinoka's 17. In ''Conquest'', however she always appears at the same level as Azama ''and'' [[OoCIsSeriousBusiness shows a more serious side]] [[UndyingLoyalty by refusing to leave Hinoka's side after she's defeated]]... perhaps the Avatar siding with Nohr and seeing Hinoka's emotional damage over that convinced her [[BewareTheSillyOnes to stop dragging her feet and work harder]].
* The Hoshidan siblings (sans Sakura) repeatedly show outright hatred towards Nohr, while the Nohrian siblings usually only retaliate to their insults and overall don't seem to feel the same disdain in return. Hoshido comes off looking as the more racist and vengeful kingdom of the two, especially in the localization, but [[JustifiedTrope the history gives a fairly good explanation for this]]. Nohr started the war against Hoshido because of their need for resources, as well as Garon's desire to conquer [[spoiler:(though it's later revealed to be because of Anankos' manipulations)]]. Therefore, the Nohrians don't have a ''personal'' grudge against Hoshido: they feel it's something they ''have'' to do, even if they don't necessarily want war, and it's clear the siblings do it [[WellDoneSonGuy to follow Garon's lead]] [[spoiler:as they don't learn about Slime!Garon until later]]. For ''Hoshidans'', though, all they saw was their until-then peaceful nation being attacked out of nowhere, further compounded by the fact that [[TheGoodKing their king]] was murdered and one of their royal children abducted without provocation while on a peaceful, diplomatic mission. It should thus be to no one's surprise why Hoshido's hatred of Nohr is more vehement than the other way around, [[ItsPersonal especially since the royal siblings were personally affected by Nohrian actions]]. The kicker is that the Hoshidan siblings have probably been simmering in their fury and pain over the Avatar's kidnapping for years (with Hinoka [[IWillFindYou having made it her life's purpose to save them]]), and are thus highly unlikely to act cordially to the nation responsible. By comparison, the Nohr siblings don't seem to have been affected by Azura's kidnapping as much, to the point that Elise was shocked to learn that she was their stepsister: Camilla says they were '''explicitly''' forbidden to interact with her at all when she was brought into the Nohrian court, so it's easy to see that they didn't have the chance to emotionally bond with her even though Xander, Leo, and Camilla ''did'' want to (as explained in Azura's supports with them and in Camilla's talk with Azura in the ''Halloween Scramble'' DLC).

* Not counting the servants in the castle, the Avatar is the only royal family member on both sides that does not have a retainer who fights with them. However, there are two party members who will aways side with you, Kaze and Silas. Between that, Kaze pledged to you during his A-Support and the fact that Silas's reason for becoming a knight was to try and pledge to them, instead of having two on either side, the Avatar essentially has one unofficial retainer each on both sides.

* The song used for the lottery, a luckxbased minigame, is named Left to Heaven. [[Creator/{{Nintendo}} Nintendo]] is Japanese for "Leave luck to heaven". CreatorCameo much?

** Another possibility may be to illustrate the flaws and benefits of both sidesk 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.
** Also, while in ''Revelation'', Corrin and Azura discuss that Nohrians may see the Hoshidans as people who think they are better than the rest, Nohr wages war against Hoshido mostly to [[spoiler:gain resources and stop the famine their kingdom is suffering]]. There is [[NothingPersonal nothing personal]] in this war, so Nohrians don't have anything against Hoshidans. On the other hand, Hoshidans are regularly attacked by the faceless sent by Nohrians and it's shown that they destroy villages. Therefore, a lot of the Hoshidan casualties are civilians. Therefore, Hoshidans may more easily develop a grudge against Nohrians.
* The Yato's final forms in all three routes has a stat boost corresponding to the other divine weapons. Raijinto and Siegfried are both obvious, (Strength and Defense respectively). Fujin Yumi and Brynhildr aren't nearly as obvious, as the owner's best stats are skill and magic, but it still makes sense. Fujin Yumi gives unresisted movement, which was the closest thing to speed, while Brynhildr has a passive that may halve incoming magic damage, similar to magic resistance.

** Further FridgeBrilliance on Elise: it's actually commented on a few times throughout the game (mainly by Camilla and Corrin) that she's a light amid all the other darkness that the Nohrian siblings had to deal with. Despite Leo's supposed annoyance with her at the beginning of the game, the Nohrian siblings probably encouraged her GenkiGirl personality as well as her class choice. [[spoiler:Thus, it makes it all the more tragic that her death in ''Birthright'' triggers Xander's DespairEventHorizon and eventual [[SuicideByCop Suicide By Hoshidan Army.]]

* Takumi is the only Hoshido sibling who doesn't have access to Pegasus Warrior without having to marry someone who does. It makes sense; he ''is'' an archer, after all.

** Adding to this, Takumi is [[spoiler:the only final boss in ''Fates'', and one of the few in the franchise ''period'', who's ''not'' some larger-than-life monster.[[note]][[VideoGame/FireEmblemShadowDragonAndTheBladeOfLight Medeus]], [[VideoGame/FireEmblemTheBindingBlade Idoun]], ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemTheBlazingBlade the Fire Dragon]], and [[VideoGame/FireEmblemAwakening Grima]] are all full-blooded dragons (Medeus ascending from being just another Manakete to being a dragon full-time in ''[=FE3=]'' and its remake); [[VideoGame/FireEmblemGaiden Duma]] and [[VideoGame/FireEmblemTheSacredStones Fomortiis]] are deity-level monstrous beings (with Doma being revealed as also a dragon in ''Shadows of Valentia''); and [[VideoGame/FireEmblemRadiantDawn Ashera]], while human-sized, ''is'' a deity. Even the other human final bosses from prior games (including fake-out FinalBoss Zephiel from ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemTheBindingBlade The Binding Blade]]'') have unique classes, with the exception of [[VideoGame/FireEmblemThracia776 Veld]], and they had some monstrous aspects to them -- [[VideoGame/FireEmblemGenealogyOfTheHolyWar Julius]] was possessed by Loptyr (not unlike Takumi with Anankos), and [[VideoGame/FireEmblemPathOfRadiance Ashnard]] managed to ''reduce a dragon Laguz into a mountable wyvern-like form and '''ride him''''', as well as empowering himself with Lehran's Medallion in order to self-resurrect when defeated on the highest difficulty.[[/note]] However, Takumi's brokenness as a playable character, plus his ability to use Dragon Veins, helps make him every bit as worthy of the title of FinalBoss (and credible in the position) as Garon and Anankos.]]

** Relating to the above, bloodlines and loyalty can also refer to a number of the retainers that serve each family in both games. A number of retainers in ''Birthright'' were born into families that serve the royals, so their servitude is based on their birthright. ''Conquest'' has all the retainers be exceptionally skilled people who interested the siblings regardless of origins, leading to the siblings recruiting them. All of them have UndyingLoyalty to the Royal sibling they serve.

** Kaze and Saizo, despite being Ninjas, have Samurai as their secondary class line. Both of them have UndyingLoyalty to their Lords (or Lady, in the case of the Female Avatar), which is a major trait of real-life samurai. [[TruthInTelevision And ninjas were usually samurai themselves operating covertly]].

** Reina has both the Diviner and Ninja reclass. While her relationship with Kagero is unknown, it is confirmed by the latter that she was originally Mikoto's retainer, just like Orochi was. All three of them used to serve Mikoto so it makes sense Reina has both Orochi and Kagero's default class options.

** It also helps that Corrin is only half-dragon while Kana is at most quarter-dragon. Because they each only have a fraction of dragon's blood running through their veins, it would make sense that they wouldn't be as powerful as someone like Tiki or Nowi, who are full Manaketes. [[FridgeLogic But this doesn't explain Nah.]] However, this is balanced out by Corrin and Kana being the main character and the child of the main character, respectively, so they both have access to a multitude of job classes and skills, potentially making them powerful units in their own right.

** Further FridgeBrilliance on Elise: it's actually commented on a few times throughout the game (mainly by Camilla and Corrin) that she's a light amid all the other darkness that the Nohrian siblings had to deal with. Despite Leo's supposed annoyance with her at the beginning of the game, the Nohrian siblings probably encouraged her GenkiGirl personality as well as her class choice. [[spoiler:Thus, it makes it all the more tragic that her death in ''Birthright'' triggers Xander's DespairEventHorizon and eventual SuicideByCop via the Hoshidan army.]]

** 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 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.]]

* [[spoiler:Corrin is halfxdragon. The series has long established that dragons have incredibly long lifespans. Therefore, odds are, Corrin is [[MayflyDecemberRomance going to outlive everyone they love,]] except Lilith (in ''Revelation''), Kana, and any second child they might have. Adding to this, dragons are nearly extinct in the ''Fates'' world, and Corrin doesn't seem to know much about them. Corrin probably does not know they will outlive everyone, and outside of ''Revelation'' Lilith, nobody would be able to explain it.]]

** Midori's Paralogue will permanently be unavailable if [[spoiler:Kaze does die]]l even if he's married. He probably thought that was redemption for [[spoiler:thinking he had gotten the Avatar kidnapped and Sumeragi killed]] when it wasn't even his fault. [[spoiler:He honestly thought the life of him and his possible child was worth sacrificing for the Avatar.]] Keep in mind, this could make Kaze the only [[spoiler:possession that didn't resent the Avatar like Gunter or Takumi did. Kaze was resenting ''himself'' the whole time]].

** Adding to this, Takumi is [[spoiler:the only final boss in ''Fates'', and one of the few in the franchise ''period'', who's ''not'' some larger-than-life monster.[[note]][[VideoGame/FireEmblemAkaneia Medeus]], [[VideoGame/FireEmblemElibe Idoun]], ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemElibe Blazing Sword's]]'' [[VideoGame/FireEmblemElibe Fire Dragon]], and [[VideoGame/FireEmblemAwakening Grima]] are all full-blooded dragons (Medeus ascending from being just another Manakete to being a dragon full-time in ''[=FE3=]'' and its remake); [[VideoGame/FireEmblemGaiden Doma]] and [[VideoGame/FireEmblemTheSacredStones Fomortiis]] are deity-level monstrous beings (with Doma being revealed as also a dragon in ''Shadows of Valentia''); and [[VideoGame/FireEmblemTellius Ashera]], while human-sized, ''is'' a deity. Even the other human final bosses from prior games (including fake-out FinalBoss Zephiel from ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemElibe Binding Blade]]'') have unique classes, with the exception of [[VideoGame/FireEmblemJugdral Veld]], and they had some monstrous aspects to them -- [[VideoGame/FireEmblemJugdral Julius]] was possessed by Loptyr (not unlike Takumi with Anankos), and [[VideoGame/FireEmblemTellius Ashnard]] managed to ''reduce a dragon Laguz into a mountable wyvern-like form and '''ride him''''', as well as empowering himself with Lehran's Medallion in order to self-resurrect when defeated on the highest difficulty.[[/note]] However, Takumi's brokenness as a playable character, plus his ability to use Dragon Veins, helps make him every bit as worthy of the title of FinalBoss (and credible in the position) as Garon and Anankos.]]

* 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 of 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.]]

* When you meet the Rainbow Sage in ''Conquest'' chapter 11, he calls the main character a "funny little dragon" despite the fact that he has never met them before, and shouldn't know about their draconian powers. [[spoiler:Takes one to know one: the Rainbow Sage is a first dragon much like Anakos, the Avatar's father.]]

** Setsuna, [[ButtMonkey whom often is a victim of traps]] in her supports, is also shown in a few of them to be able to [[StealthHiBye sneak up on people]] without realizing it, some of these individuals including ''Kaze''. She's able to access the Ninja class, which revolves around stealth.

* Notably in ''Conquest''’s Chapter 10, initiating combat with Hinata and Oboro as the Avatar will result in unique dialogue. What's interesting is how each one reacts to the Avatar: Hinata, whom never shows any sign of clear hatred to Nohr in ''Birthright'', is outright hostile and isn't afraid to say to their face he wants to kill them, while Oboro, whom is openly ''known'' to hate Nohr, admits she's saddened that she has to kill and wishes they weren't on opposing sides. On closer inspection, both in fact reflect Takumi in ''Conquest'' and [[spoiler:even hint of his eventual fate]]. [[spoiler:Hinata represents the hatred and desire to kill his former sibling that eventually consumes him completely, and Oboro that Takumi secretly did want to accept the Avatar as family and part of his hatred likely stems from his disappointment in them betraying Hoshido.]]

* On ''Revelation'', Gunter can’t support with the Avatar or Jakob, even though he could in ''Conquest.'' [[spoiler:He’s been [[DemonicPossession possessed by Anankos for most of the game, and Valla is the land ''ruled'' by Anankos.]] Leaving him alone with the Avatar (who is, basically, Gunter's adoptive child) would be dangerous (and has been), and Jakob (who trained under Gunter ''and'' is highly protective of the Avatar) might realize something's wrong with him. So Anankos made sure that his "host" wouldn't be able to interact with the people who could notice what's going on...]]

** Plus, Birthright!Azura has a little help from the MasterOfIllusion Zola in her performance... but in ''Conquest'', Zola doesn't appear until much later. She probably decided to take a step further in her disguise, since she's performing without external support.

** Hinoka and Camilla: Both of them are the oldest females of each families, both have a flying steed, and both are very protective of the Avatar. However, Hinoka is a tomboy while Camilla is more feminine and [[spoiler:while Camilla would be next in line but turned it down because she didn't want to rule Nohr in Birthright, Hinoka became the Queen of Hoshido by default because both the heir and the spare were killed off in Conquest.]]

** Similarly, why would Flora be present in the [[spoiler:''Birthright'' near death experience]], despite not being blood related ''or'' raised as an adoptive sibling? She's been Corrin's servant since s/he was a child -- s/he was probably raised alongside Corrin serving him, and essentially a family surrogate, but separated by the social class of a servant like Felicia and Jakob. Who's to say that if [[spoiler:it was ''Jakob'' or ''Felicia'' who committed suicide in ''Birthright'']] that ''they'' wouldn't show up there, either?

* The battles against [[spoiler:Ryoma and Xander sport a keen difference in difficulty; the former will be more than able to take multiple hits from a maxed Avatar and defeating all but the most prepared players, while the latter may die even in one hit]]. While it may look like a huge difference, it's pretty justified — [[spoiler:Ryoma is [[UnstoppableRage livid with anger]] due to believing the Avatar has killed Hinoka, and is absolutely serious about killing them, which won't fade until he's defeated and commits {{seppuku}}. Meanwhile, Xander has crossed the DespairEventHorizon after accidentally killing Elise, and while at the beginning he was already willing to die fighting the Avatar, when the proper battle begins, he has given up on fighting seriously, and the Avatar even mentions that in the next scene.]]

* To truly test the player, the FinalBoss of ''Conquest'' combines some powerful concepts and mechanics from past games, as well as new ones in this game. The boss has an area of effect attack just like Ashera in ''Radiant Dawn''. He also has the skill Bold Stance, which combines Guard Stance and Attack Stance into one, effectively giving him the Pair Up mechanic like how it functioned in ''Awakening'' (wherein the partnered character can both attack and defend), and thanks to the mechanics in this game, both attacking and defending is now at a certainty rather than chance. Finally, he fights with a Yumi [[spoiler:(a corrupted royal Yumi at that)]], one of the strongest weapon types in ''Fates''.

* The Hoshidan siblings (sans Sakura) repeatedly show outright hatred towards Nohr, while the Nohrian siblings usually only retaliate to their insults and overall don't seem to feel the same disdain in return. Hoshido comes off looking as the more racist and vengeful kingdom of the two, especially in the localization, but [[JustifiedTrope the history gives a fairly good explanation for this]]. Nohr started the war against Hoshido because of their need for resources, as well as Garon's desire to conquer [[spoiler:(though it's later revealed to be because of Anankos' manipulations)]]. Therefore, the Nohrians don't have a ''personal'' grudge against Hoshido: they feel it's something they ''have'' to do, even if they don't necessarily want war, and it's clear the siblings do it [[WellDoneSonGuy to follow Garon's lead]] [[spoiler:as they don't learn about Slime!Garon until later]]. For ''Hoshidans'' though, all they saw was their until-then peaceful nation being attacked out of nowhere, further compounded by the fact that [[TheGoodKing their king]] was murdered and one of their royal children abducted without provocation while on a peaceful, diplomatic mission. It should thus be to no one's surprise why Hoshido's hatred of Nohr is more vehement than the other way around, [[ItsPersonal especially since the royal siblings were personally affected by Nohrian actions]]. The kicker is that the Hoshidan siblings have probably been simmering in their fury and pain over the Avatar's kidnapping for years (with Hinoka [[IWillFindYou having made it her life's purpose to save them]]), and are thus highly unlikely to act cordially to the nation responsible. By comparison, the Nohr siblings don't seem to have been affected by Azura's kidnapping as much, to the point that Elise was shocked to learn that she was their stepsister: Camilla says they were '''explicitly''' forbidden to interact with her at all when she was brought into the Nohrian court, so it's easy to see that they didn't have the chance to emotionally bond with her even though Xander, Leo, and Camilla ''did'' want to (as explained in Azura's supports with them and in Camilla's talk with Azura in the ''Halloween Scramble'' DLC).

* When you meet the Rainbow Sage in ''Conquest'' chapter 11 he calls the main character a "funny little dragon" despite the fact that he has never met them before, and shouldn't know about their draconian powers. [[spoiler:Takes one to know one, the Rainbow Sage is an first dragon much like Anakos, the Avatar's father.]]

* In chapter 23 of ''Conquest'', you watch [[spoiler:Takumi jump off a cliff under the the BigBad's influence, after you defeat him for the final time. Players will simply assume it's a case of NoOneCouldSurviveThat. And sure enough, Takumi shows up again later, albeit completely under Anankos' control, and his spirit claims that his body is dead. Now, remember how Anankos mostly possesses people after they die? And that the few living victims are the only ones able to put up a resistance (Takumi in ''Birthright'' as well as before chapter 23 of ''Conquest'', and Gunter in ''Revelation'')? Yeah, Takumi didn't survive that fall. Anankos [[PsychicAssistedSuicide made him commit suicide]] in order to gain full control.]]

* [[spoiler:Azura]]'s involvement in ''Conquest'' and ''Birthright'' gain a horrifying context after playing ''Revelation''. [[spoiler:She reveals that she knew the real cause of the war between Hoshido and Nohr all along but is unable to tell anyone. Meaning that she knew everyone was being manipulated in ''Conquest'' and ''Birthright'', but was forced to watch in silence as they fight and die, playing into Anankos's hands. Her only recourse being to bring the war to as swift an end as possible by helping the Avatar. Even if it means siding with Nohr and helping invade her adopted homeland. Worst of all, she dies in both those routes, knowing that no one will ever know of the silent hell she went through.]]
* It's shown that [[spoiler:Anankos can mentally manipulate or even outright possess people, as shown with Takumi and Gunter on ''Conquest'' and ''Revelation'' respectively. It's also known that it's easier for him to manipulate people when they are feeling angry or hateful, and his influence can exacerbate those feelings to make taking full possession easier if need be. In addition, he has been controlling Garon's physically reanimated corpse since before the story even began, and it would be similar to how he gained full control of Takumi in ''Conquest'', by making him commit suicide and possessing his body. If this is the case, it's possible Anankos could have had his hands on Nohr before he ever got to Garon. In the Nohrian siblings' supports, Garon was once a kind and doting father who truly loved his children and mistresses, and it's mentioned that those feelings of love make it hard for Anankos to gain a foothold in a person (see Gunter resisting Anankos in ''Revelation''). However, his concubines were noted to be ''very'' jealous of each other, and they were constantly competing for Garon's favor. It would have been a simple matter for a being as powerful as Anankos to ramp up those feelings of jealousy into full-blown paranoia, and from there to get them to start murdering one another and their ''children''. The result would leave a bitter and heartbroken Garon completely open to enough manipulation to quietly off himself... and then have a familiar possess his corpse.]]

* The change to the Weapon Triangle with pairs of weapons countering other weapons may seem weird (sword and magic > bow and axes > lances and shurikens/throwing knives > sword and magic), but some of this makes sense for those who played the previous ''Fire Emblem'' games. Many of the lance users were traditionally flying units like Wyvern Riders and Pegasus Knights, and since flying units have an innate weakness against bows and arrows, it would actually make sense to have bows effective against lances, since the player would have to fight a lot of flying units using a lance as their main weapons. Lance countering magic would make sense, since most lance users have a tendency to have built-in high magic resistance (especially pegasus knights), and the fact that most MagicKnight classes use both swords and magic as their primary weapons in the previous ''Fire Emblem'' games. Magic countering axes would make some sort of sense since many of the ax users in the previous games (particularly the Berserker, Fighter, Warrior, and Wvyern rider classes) have a tendency to have low magic resistance. Also, TruthInTelevision, shuriken and throwing knives' range tend to be very short in comparison to using a bow and arrow.

** Anna's secondary class is Apothecary, which promotes into either Merchant (reflecting what is she doing in most of her appearances) or Mechanist (the Replicate skill is the closest thing to represent that she has many identical sisters running around)

* On Casual Mode, the Avatar reaching 0 HP doesn't give you an immediate Game Over, 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.

** Plus, Birthright!Azura has a little help from the MasterOfIllusion Zola in her performance.... but in ''Conquest'', Zola doesn't appear until much later. She probably decided to take a step further in her disguise, since she's performing without external support.

* Similar to the above point, Selena canonically promotes to Bow Knight (and even gets a unique palette swap), evidenced by ''Birthright'' Ch 23 as well as the Royals' DLC maps. It seems a bit random, but it makes sense for a few reasons. First, they want to avoid class overlap since her fellow Mercenary Laslow shares the same class line, so he promotes into Hero. [[spoiler:Since as Severa, her canon promotion seemed to be Hero, since that was her class in the Future Past DLC, she decided to change things up a bit. And on top of that, the Bow Knight uses... well, Bows, which beat fliers. Her mother Cordelia starts out as a flying class, so in a way, this could be seen as her wanting to surpass or distance herself from her mother, right down to using a weapon type that she would be weak to. In any case, the Nohrian retainer ''Awakening'' trio all have something different about them as part of their disguise!]]

** Takumi and Leo: Their supports show that both enjoy history as well as strategy games and both enjoy soup. They also have a serious case of middle child syndrome and seem cold and distant but are really good people. When the Avatar has to face them in their respective routes, Leo tries his hardest to hate them but couldn't in the end while Takumi [[spoiler:own jealousy of everyone turns him into a vessel of Anankos.]]

** Additionally Selena, Odin, and Laslow's Hoshidan supports are very reminiscent of [[spoiler: Severa, Owain, and Inigo's friendship supports with Noire, Male Morgan, and Gerome respectively. Selena's support chain with Setsuna has her coming to the former's aid despite herself, like Noire (and it is purely coincidental that both Setsuna and Noire are Archers). Odin and Hinata get along like they've known each other for quite some time, like how Owain got along swimmingly well with the male Morgan, who might not even be from the same future. And Laslow, once again, is outdone by a man in a mask, like how Gerome becomes popular with the girls over Inigo.]]

* In both of the Avatar's [[spoiler:near death experiences]] wherein s/he meets her deceased siblings, she is actually speaking with a [[spoiler:third one -- their sister, Lilith. The only one who actually ''is'' blood related... but Lilith can't tell because she too is bound by the curse of Valla. And in ''Conquest'', even in death, she wouldn't know that the Avatar ''did'' go to Valla -- because Corrin can't tell, and there's no way for Lilith to know! What's to say that the Valla curse doesn't transcend to the astral plane?]]

* A bit more of a meta example, but in every path, Zola disguises himself as Izana and impersonates him. He must do a pretty spot on impression, [[Creator/LiamOBrien especially considering they share the same English VA]].

** Elise, Jakob, Felicia, and Azura are also never fought on any route. Jakob and Felicia are both more loyal to the avatar than they are to Nohr, so that makes sense. Azura is the only person who knows about the avatar's origins, so she understands what is happening behind the scenes, and thus doesn't want to be directly involved in the war. Elise is the most interesting- she is the only royal sibling who is never fought. This is because Elise is meant to be the 'light' of Nohr and represent the morals of the Nohrian siblings, so she doesn't take part in something as violent as a war like her siblings do.

** Another contrast Elise has in comparison to her older siblings are their retainers of choice: Xander, Camilla and Leo each have one retainer with shady backgrounds and personalities (Peri, Beruka, Niles) and another with mysterious origins (Laslow, Selena, Odin). Elise on the other hand recruits Effie and Arthur from the capital’s underground streets, and both start as commoners beforehand. Also, [[NiceGuy Arthur]] is one of the few [[ForGreatJustice "traditionally" heroic]] Nohrians, while Effie specifically mentions a few times that she and Elise came to be good friends during Elise's trips to the underground. It makes sense that Elise would be the one to pick out a classical hero archetype and her best friend to be her retainers.
** 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, Sakura insists in fighting the Avatar because her loyalty for Hoshido outweighs her morals of how she feels about the Avatar).
* The change to the Weapon Triangle with pairs of weapons countering other weapons may seem weird (sword and magic > bow and axes > lances and shurikens/throwing knives > sword and magic), but some of this makes sense for those who played the previous ''Fire Emblem'' games. Many of the lance users were traditionally flying units like Wyvern Riders and Pegasus Knights, and since flying units have an innate weakness against bows and arrows, it would actually make sense to have bows effective against lances, since the player would have to fight a lot of flying units using a lance as their main weapons. Lance countering magic would make sense, since most lance users have a tendency to have built in high magic resistance (especially pegasus knights), and the fact that most MagicKnight classes use both swords and magic as their primary weapons in the previous ''Fire Emblem'' games. Magic countering axes would make some sort of sense since many of the ax users in the previous games (particularly the Berserker, Fighter, Warrior, and Wvyern rider classes) have a tendency to have low magic resistance. Also, TruthInTelevision, shuriken and throwing knives' range tend to be very short in comparison to using a bow and arrow.

* If you scan Lucina's amiibo, [[spoiler:you meet a Lucina that is optimistic, contrary to her appearance in ''Awakening''. Remember defeating Grima at the end of ''Awakening''? Thanks to that, this version of Lucina, who was a baby at the time, did not have to succumb to facing a BadFuture caused by Grima!]]
** Actually, that Lucina is established to be the Lucina from ''Super Smash Bros''. It's never said whether she's ''also'' the Lucina from ''Awakening'', but if she is, [[spoiler:then she saw Grima defeated and the BadFuture averted at last, so why wouldn't she be happier?]]
* 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 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 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.]]

* If one understands Japanese enough, one can actually see a bit of foreshadowing with the Nohr version of Azura's dance. [[https://kantopia.wordpress.com/2015/07/01/fire-emblem-fates-azuras-song-if-ones-thoughts-full-song-translation/#more-2821 As translated here.]] [[spoiler:"An empty white throne" signs that Garon was long dead, which wasn't very obvious until late game. "One will deceive them all by spinning a false tale" is about Garon's true nature that it was an imposter that took his place, similarly, something that was not noticed until late game.]]
** A similar thing happens with the English version, [[spoiler:with "A legacy of lies, a familiar disguise" hinting towards Garon's possession.]]
* If you scan Robin's amiibo and have him talk to Selena, Laslow, or Odin, [[spoiler:they all recognize him, since they're Severa, Inigo, and Owain.]] However, [[spoiler:they recognize him by his ''clothes'', not his face: a neat CallBack to how you could customize Robin's face in ''Awakening''. Presumably, it also means that, just like with Lucina, while the ''Awakening'' characters recognize Robin as ''an'' Avatar from their world, [[YouDontLookLikeYou they don't recognize him as]] ''their'' (i.e. ''your'') Avatar.]]
** In addition, the original Japanese text [[spoiler:uses gender neutral language]].

* One of the biggest [[BrokenBase divisive aspects]] of ''Conquest'' is the [[CardCarryingVillain blatant, almost cartoonish evilness of Garon, the King of Nohr]]. It's very easy to chalk up Garon's one-dimensional personality as bad writing - but ''then'' you realize that [[spoiler:this Garon is a puppet of Anankos, who has]] [[spoiler:[[EvilCannotComprehendGood no comprehension of human kindness]]]]. [[spoiler:Remember, Anankos hates humans with a passion and is insane AND evil, so of ''course'' Possessed!Garon would act like a CardCarryingVillain!]]
** Once you consider that [[spoiler:Anankos is the reason for Garon's insanity, suddenly his hiring of Hans and Iago makes much more sense. After all, a king possessed by a GodOfEvil needs]] [[spoiler:[[CardCarryingVillain equally-evil henchmen to help him!]]]]
*** It also explains in ''Birthright'' how [[spoiler:Iago was able to manipulate Takumi the entire game and make him his spy. Who gave him that power? Anankos under Garon!]]

* Takumi's considered one of the most ridiculously overpowered/broken units due to his skillset, his stats, and the Fujin Yumi being one of the best weapons in the game. Is it any wonder then that in ''Conquest'' [[spoiler:he serves as the final boss?]]
** Adding to this, Takumi is [[spoiler:the only final boss in ''Fates'', and one of the few in the franchise ''period'', who's ''not'' some larger-than-life monster.[[note]][[VideoGame/FireEmblemAkaneia Medeus]], [[VideoGame/FireEmblemElibe Idoun]], ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemElibe Blazing Sword's]]'' [[VideoGame/FireEmblemElibe Fire Dragon]], and [[VideoGame/FireEmblemAwakening Grima]] are all full-blooded dragons (Medeus ascending from being just another Manakete to being a dragon full-time in [=FE3=] and its remake); [[VideoGame/FireEmblemGaiden Doma]] and [[VideoGame/FireEmblemTheSacredStones Fomortiis]] are deity-level monstrous beings; and [[VideoGame/FireEmblemTellius Ashera]], while human-sized, ''is'' a deity. Even the other human final bosses from prior games (including fake-out FinalBoss Zephiel from ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemElibe Binding Blade]]'') have unique classes, with the exception of [[VideoGame/FireEmblemJugdral Veld]], and they had some monstrous aspects to them -- [[VideoGame/FireEmblemJugdral Julius]] was possessed by Loptyr (not unlike Takumi with Anankos), and [[VideoGame/FireEmblemTellius Ashnard]] managed to ''reduce a dragon Laguz into a mountable wyvern-like form and '''ride him''''', as well as empowering himself with Lehran's Medallion in order to self-resurrect when defeated on the highest difficulty.[[/note]] However, Takumi's brokenness as a playable character, plus his ability to use Dragon Veins, helps make him every bit as worthy of the title of FinalBoss (and credible in the position) as Garon and Anankos.]]
* It may seem strange that the Ninja can share one of its promoted classes, Mechanist, with an Apothecary of all things, but it makes sense considering how real life ninjas were infamous for disguising themselves as simple farmers and merchants while on missions.

** Selena's is the Sky Knight line, because [[spoiler:she could naturally reclass to Pegasus Knight in ''Awakening'' and because she's gotten over the mommy issues she had as Severa, so now she can honor her mother Cordelia.]]

** Charlotte's secondary class line is the Troubadour line, which may seem strange, especially since it's a magic-based class on a physical-based character. However, Charlotte pretends to be a demure and feminine young lady, which fits more with this class line. Additionally, one of the class line's promotions is Maid, which is a real life common fetish and could be used to get close to a rich guy. It could also be a symbol of her attempts at a Gold Digger: She tries to be dainty and ''fails'' at it.

** Also, Ryoma is [[MortonsFork in an incredibly hard position]]. Elise is an innocent young girl, yes, but she's also a very important member of the ''opposite'' army ([[ShootTheMedicFirst and their healer, on top of that]]). So if he ''did'' agree to give the antidote so easily, he'd be seen as a very poor leader willing to put the army under his command in risk. The guy's simply being pragmatic and choosing the option that will suck less for ''his'' side.

** Also, the conversation in ''Birthright'' takes place while Silas is present. In other words, Ryoma is talking to a Nohrian that he ''knows'' is actually a nice guy. (Similar to Takumi's case, who can support with Jakob in ''Birthright'') By that point, Ryoma's had time to actually realize that not all Nohrians are bad, as opposed to on ''Conquest'' where he feels like Corrin betrayed him.

** It also makes sense considering that they just recently learned that they can transform into a dragon, unlike previous Manaketes who had learned their entire life to fight as a dragon, Corrin spent their entire life learning swordplay and Kana, even in respect to the other kids, is still extremely young. This also reflects in their Dragonstones, the normal one giving them more toughness but they aren't very nimble, and Dragonstone+ gives them slightly more power, but get tired because of it, hence the debuff. It comes down to experience, which is why they have the Dragon Fang ability, letting them use part of their power as a dragon to supplement their swordplay.

* If one takes a look at the Hoshidan siblings' designs, you'll notice unlike his siblings whom share mainly a red and white color scheme with their clothing, Takumi wears mainly blue and white clothing with only some splashes of red. He's also the sibling that takes a while before he accepts the Avatar as family in ''Birthright'' and [[spoiler:descends into almost homicidal hatred in ''Conquest'' for their betrayal partly thanks to DemonicPossession]]. Even better, Takumi's outfit as a Sniper (his promoted class in ''Conquest'') is mainly blue, white, and black with no clearly visible traces of red save his hair ribbons.

** Alternately, the colors of blue and white often make one think of water... [[spoiler:wait, isn't Anankos connected to water motifs?]]

* Despite Takumi initially being [[ProperlyParanoid distrusting]] of the Avatar, like the rest of his siblings (plus the Nohr siblings, Jakob, Felicia, Gunter, and Azura), he has a fast support rate with the Avatar. This ''would'' seem like GameplayAndStorySegregation, but it can be explained in ''Conquest'' [[spoiler:where the spirit of the deceased Takumi admits to the Avatar during their near death experience that despite [[BrainwashedAndCrazy everything]] [[ThePowerOfHate that]] [[MoreThanMindControl happened]], he still wanted to accept the Avatar as family]]. So, in the routes where Takumi is on the same side as the Avatar, it would make sense for him to warm up quickly to his lost sibling, initial hostilities aside ([[{{Tsundere}} even if he wouldn't]] [[SugarAndIcePersonality outright admit that]]). It also may even imply that Takumi was being ''purposefully'' more harsh than he normally would be as a SecretTestOfCharacter, to see if the Avatar would disprove all the mistrust he levels at them and show they are every bit the caring sibling their family remembers.
* Notably in Conquest's Chapter 10, initiating combat with Hinata and Oboro as the Avatar will result in unique dialogue. What's interesting is how each one reacts to the Avatar: Hinata, whom never shows any sign of clear hatred to Nohr in ''Birthright'', is outright hostile and isn't afraid to say to their face he wants to kill them, while Oboro, whom is openly ''known'' to hate Nohr, admits she's saddened that she has to kill and wishes they weren't on opposing sides. On closer inspection, both in fact reflect Takumi in ''Conquest'' and [[spoiler:even hint of his eventual fate]]. [[spoiler: Hinata represents the hatred and desire to kill his former sibling that eventually consumes him completely and Oboro that Takumi secretly did want to accept the Avatar as family and part of his hatred likely stems from his disappointment in them betraying Hoshido.]]
* 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 of [[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 of 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.]]
** Plus, in these days [[spoiler: a concubine to TheEmperor of Japan could perfectly be the mother of said Emperor's children and maybe even his ''successor'', the last example being [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emperor_Taisho Emperor Taisho]]'s mother [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yanagihara_Naruko Lady Naruko Yanagihara]]. Under that logic, Sumeragi (whose name in kanji ''does'' mean "Emperor") could perfectly bring Mikoto and the Avatar into the Hoshidan court under the excuse that the Avatar is his HeroicBastard and he means to GiveTheBabyAFather...]]

** As for why he still can't support the Avatar and Jakob [[spoiler: after being freed? Gunter's full of guilt and shame, not wanting to speak to either of them after being revealed as the mole. This is evident when he simply walks away from the former's coronation as the king/queen of Valla.]]

** Also, many players tend to accidentally get their unpromoted healers killed by exposing them too much to danger despite them not only being unable to fight, but having low defenses. Azama is basically "baby's first healer": he can't hit back (unless one considers his personal skill, which deals half the damage he's given if he's unarmed) but he ''can'' take more damage than the average WhiteMage. And in story, this is justified since the above-mentioned penance he went through as a youngster made him physically tougher than one would think...

** Going on from this point, if you look at Takumi's Friendship Supports, you'd realize he has ''two'' characters that will give him the Samurai class set. To be more exact, his brother Ryoma and his retainer Hinata. It's more meaningful if you look into it. Trying to distinguish himself from Ryoma is implied to be the reason why Takumi doesn't have the Samurai class by default. Meanwhile, Hinata in his A-Support with the Avatar reveals Takumi and his talent with swordplay, and thus he knows his skills first hand. [[HeartwarmingMoments In other words, getting Takumi an A+ support with either Ryoma or Hinata seems to have encouraged him to take up the sword again, hence why he's able to access the Samurai class.]]

* 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.]]

* Gender restrictions on classes like Pegasus Knights and Fighter/Barbarian have been removed in Fates; Fates also added homosexual relationships, meaning BOTH mechanics involve removing restrictions on gender.

* In ''Heirs of Fate'', the second-gen characters are given their default hair colors rather than their mothers. This is most likely because of the [=CGs=] when the sacred weapons react to the Yatos, [[spoiler:[[EarnYourHappyEnding and the ending [=CGs=] where the royals reunite with their parents.]]]] On the technical side of things the children can have a vast array of hair colors, so it's just easier to give them one color for [=CGs=] it’s the same reason why children are given hair dye in the Scramble [=DLCs=] in both ''Fates'' and ''Awakening''. But it's also to prevent a possible PlotHole. [[spoiler:Each child, sans Shigure, is from a world where either Hoshido or Nohr were chosen. If you go into the DLC on a ''Revelation'' file, there's chance for the children to be of mixed blood since Hoshidans can marry Nohrians and vice versa. The PlotHole comes into play if one of the mothers, either potentially or canonically, ''dies'' on the opposite route (for example, you can have an Elise-mothered Shiro, or an Oboro-mothered Nina). By the nature of the DLC, those mixed blooded children ''shouldn't'' exist.]] So, ignoring the need with the CG, giving the children their default hair colors really was the best way to go.

* So it seems weird that in ''Revelation'', wherein [[spoiler:Odin, Selena, and Laslow accomplish their mission, and where Lilith survives]], that they wouldn't tell Corrin about what was happening, right? Well, not only would the truth of them [[spoiler: being from Ylisse and another world]] be very far-fetched and hard to believe, but until Chapter 26, [[spoiler:the party is suspecting a traitor in their midst in part due to Scarlet's death -- which happens IMMEDIATELY upon entering Valla]]. Revealing that [[spoiler:Anankos brought them there on TOP of that]] would put ''them'' under suspicion -- so naturally, they aren't going to speak to the royalty and explain. The same goes for Lilith -- her apparent absence after the beginning of Revelation also makes sense because [[spoiler:Anankos would kill her if she showed her face in Valla -- she doesn't leave because she's literally ''hiding out in the astral plane''.]]

** Similarly, why would Flora be present in the [[spoiler:Birthright near death experience]], despite not being blood related ''or'' raised as an adoptive sibling? She's been Corrin's servant since s/he was a child -- s/he was probably raised alongside Corrin serving him, and essentially a family surrogate, but separated by the social class of a servant like Felicia and Jakob. Who's to say that if [[spoiler:it was ''Jakob'' or ''Felicia'' who committed suicide in ''Birthright'']] that ''they'' wouldn't show up there, either?

* Given the knowledge of the Avatar's heritage, it seems like a shame and might even feel like an oversight that out of [[spoiler:the 30 options for hair colors]], you can't choose [[spoiler:the exact tone of blue that their sister, Lilith, and the human form of their father, Anankos, have.]] But that's probably the intention, anyway. [[spoiler:The ''Hidden Truths'' DLC shows that Anankos can change people's appearances if he needs to, like with Owain's, Inigo's, and Severa's hair colors. The Avatar's ''original'' hair color could easily have been that particular blue, but given Anankos didn't want them to know he was their father, the first thing he did to hide that fact was to change it to anything but.]]

* The battles against [[spoiler:Ryoma and Xander sport a keen difference in difficulty; the former will be more than able to take multiple hits from a maxed Avatar and defeating all but the most prepared players, while the latter may die even in one hit.]] While it may look like a huge difference, it's pretty justified -- [[spoiler:Ryoma is [[UnstoppableRage livid with anger]] due to believing the Avatar has killed Hinoka, and is absolutely serious about killing them, which won't fade until he's defeated and commits {{seppuku}}. Meanwhile, Xander has crossed the DespairEventHorizon after accidentally killing Elise, and while at the beginning he was already willing to die fighting the Avatar, when the proper battle begins, he has given up on fighting seriously, and the Avatar even mentions that in the next scene.]]

* Looking at the cast, of all the recuitable characters, the only ones who you can never fight on any route are Izana and Nyx. Izana is rather obvious - fate never places him against you. But why Nyx? She is in a self-imposed exile and ''happens'' to be around Nohr or the Sevenfold Sanctuary -- if Corrin had run into her on ''Birthright'', she might ''have'' joined them -- she may be Nohrian, but she has become such a recluse that she honestly doesn't care about taking sides in the war, and joins the Avatar's side, ''not'' the war -- the Avatar just ''happens'' to be fighting in the war in ''Conquest''.

* 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.]]

* The full version of Lost in Thoughts All Alone contains the lyric "Even the thorn in your heart, in time it may become a rose" and the song that plays when the player fights either one of the elder brothers is named "Thorn in You". Of course, in a route that isn't ''Revelation'', [[spoiler:the rose is never given time to sprout]].

* The song used for the lottery, a luck based minigame, is named Left to Heaven. [[Creator/{{Nintendo}} Nintendo]] is Japanese for "Leave luck to heaven". CreatorCameo much?

* So if you name your avatar [[spoiler: Valla]], it becomes unintentionally hilarious as [[spoiler: the Valla curse says whoever talks about it outside its borders disappears... yet the characters talk about Valla all the time.]] So why don't they [[spoiler: vanish]]? Easy - [[ExactWords The curse]] [[spoiler: is on the ''LAND'' Valla - not a ''person'' named Valla. If you name Corrin "Valla", the characters will talk about ''the person'' - not the ''land''.]]

* The Hoshidans generally are extremely anti-Nohr, and even act openly hostile towards characters like Silas and Corrin in ''Birthright'', or Ryoma refusing to provide aid for Elise in ''Conquest''. The Nohrians are much less anti-Hoshido, however, such as Kaze being more openly accepted in ''Conquest'', and come across as being more willing to see what they are like as people before they make judgements. This may be a way of showing that the Hoshidans aren't so above it [[HumansAreFlawed and have flaws like anyone else]], and may be meant to go against the StoryBranchFavoritism.
** Another possibility may be to illustrate the flaws and benefits of both side's 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 accepted by them but likewise makes them more unwilling or unable to question the motives of the leaders they're supposed to trust.
** Also, while in ''Revelation'' Corrin and Azura discuss that Nohrians may see the Hoshidans as people who think they are better that the rest, Nohr wages war against Hoshido mostly to [[spoiler:gain resources and stop the famine their kingdom is suffering]]. There is [[NothingPersonal nothing personal]] in this war, so Nohrians don't have anything against Hoshidans. On the other hand, Hoshidans are regularly attacked by the faceless sent by Nohrians and it's shown that they destroy villages. Therefore, a lot of the Hoshidan casualties are civilians. Therefore, Hoshidans may more easily develop a grudge against Nohrians.
* The Yato's final forms in all three routes has a stat boost corresponding to the other divine weapons. Raijinto and Siegfried are both obvious, (Strength and Defense respectively.) Fujin Yumi and Brynhildr aren't nearly as obvious, as the owner's best stats are skill and magic, but it still makes sense. Fujin Yumi gives unresisted movement, which was the closest thing to speed, while Brynhildr has a passive that may half incoming magic damage, similar to magic resistance.
* [[spoiler:Considering Mikoto's relation to Arete and her daughter,]] Azura's kidnapping might not have been random after all. [[spoiler:Upon hearing about her older sister's death and the severity of Nohr's DecadentCourt, [[TheKindnapper Mikoto takes action by hiring ninjas to "abduct" her niece from Nohr to Hoshido thus preventing her from being harmed further by Garon's concubines]], since her sole support in Nohr is gone by that point. Who's to say that Yukimura [[TakingTheHeat might have claimed full responsibility for those events because he doesn't want Mikoto's good image to be tarnished]]?]]
* Most of Odin's critical hit quotes are him yelling out attack names. Considering his belief that naming a weapon- or in the case of magic, attacks- will make them stronger, it may be the opposite is the case- his yelling the attack names make them strong enough to be a critical hit.
* The ''Revelation'' route has the two sets of siblings confronting the ideals of the opposite nation- loyalty and morality for Nohr and Hoshido respectively. The Nohrian siblings are all forced to confront the fact that Garon is a clear villain, and all must make the moral choice to instead follow Corrin. Meanwhile, the Hoshidans must decide whether they want to stay with their kingdom, or follow their sibling, which leads to them ultimately choosing to follow Corrin, with their loyalty to Corrin, overriding their morals of fighting for their kingdom against Nohrian aggressors.

*** Ryoma's skill, "Bushido", gives him +10 to Critical, +2 damage dealt and -2 damage received when he is supported a unit whose level is less than or equal to his while Takumi's skill, "Competitive", gives him +10 to Critical, +3 damage dealt and -1 damage received when he is supported by a unit whose level is greater than or equal to his. Ryoma's skill is more balanced, reflecting his code of honor as a samurai and desire to protect those weaker than him as the future king of Hoshido. Takumi's skill is more offense-based as he feels he needs to prove himself as the strongest in the family and is thus more inclined to work harder if he's alongside someone who is stronger than he is.

*** Xander's skill, Chivalry, grants +2 to damage dealt and -2 to damage taken against enemies with full HP while Leo's skill, Pragmatic, grants +3 to damage dealt and -1 to damage received against enemies that aren't at full HP. Xander's skill reflects his own code of honor and status as the crown prince of Nohr while Leo's skill reflects his own pragmatic nature as someone who uses his brains over his brawn to win battles.
*** Camilla's skill, "Rose's Thorns", grants +3 to damage dealt and -1 to damage received to adjacent allies while Elise's skill, "Lily's Poise", grants +1 to damage dealt and -3 to damage received to adjacent allies. Like the Hoshidan sisters, Camilla's skill is more suited for offense while Elise's is more suited for support as befitting their status as an offensive and supportive unit, respectively.
** Izana's skill is "Peacebringer", which lowers the damage dealt by both allies and enemies. A bit of a letdown, yes, but it reinforces Izana's position as the leader of a peaceful and ultimately neutral kingdom. Izana may be fighting for you, but that doesn't mean that he's going to give you special privileges. He extends his blessings to any kingdom regardless of which side they are fighting for.

** Charlotte's skill is "Unmask", which grants her a damage and critical boost when she engages a female unit in combat. Charlotte reveals in her supports that she's very proficient in combat and her bio confirms that she is the strongest fighter in the army. However, because she wants herself to come across as ladylike to men, she has to cover herself up and act weaker than she actually is. Around women, however, she has no such limitation and so she's free to go all out on them and preferably defeat them so they won't be able to tell other men to stay away from her.
** Effie's skill is "Puissance", which increases her damage dealt if her Strength is higher than an enemy's by a certain amount. Considering how strong Effie is, the only way for any enemy to stand a chance against her is for them to be of similar strength level, thus counteracting her strength with their own. Otherwise, yeah, getting hit is going to hurt a lot.

** Azama's skill is "Divine Retribution", which deals back half of the damage he receives to an enemy if he doesn't have a weapon equipped. Not only does it reflect how it is considered an offence in most religions to attack an unarmed priest, it cements Azama's status as the resident {{Troll}}. After all, what better way to troll your opponents than by deliberately placing yourself out in the open for them to attack only for them to get hit by their own attack?
** Hayato's skill is "Pride", which gives him a damage boost if he engages an enemy that is of a higher level than him. Hayato is keen on insisting that he is older than he actually is and as a result is confident that he can take on people who are more powerful than he is.
** Kaden's skill is "Reciprocity", in which any healer who heals him with a staff or a rod will also be healed by half that amount. Kaden himself is insistent on repaying whatever good deeds people did for him and so he is doing the same here. However, since he himself isn't trained in the healing arts it makes sense that what he gives back isn't as much as what he receives.
** Oboro's skill is "Nohr Enmity", which gives her a damage boost whenever she attacks a Nohrian unit. Oboro holds a severe grudge against Nohrians because of what they did to her and her family in the past and so it makes sense that she would take all that anger out on any Nohrian she lays eyes on.
** Gunter, Felicia, Jakob, and Silas all have personal skills that revolve around giving stat boosts ''specifically to the Avatar''. This makes sense, as the first three are the Avatar's longtime retainers, and Silas was Corrin's best friend as a kid.

* ''Conquest'' Chapter 13 "Uprising" has Takumi assisting the Cheve rebellion instead of Ryoma like in the other two routes. It seems odd at first but do note that Ryoma is already fought the chapter before that, and it is likely that Takumi's action is driven by his growing hatred towards the Avatar thanks to the events of the route's Chapter 10, so he thought that this is an opportunity for him to strike again after his defeat at Port Dia. As for why Ryoma is in Macarath in the first place, getting back the Avatar is a priority for him so someone else gets to help Cheve instead. In ''Birthright'' the Avatar sided with Hoshido so he doesn't have to bother looking for them in the first place while in ''Revelation'' he (and most of the royal siblings) have hated the Avatar too much to care about them so bringing the Avatar back is not in his mind at that point.

* Keaton's personal skill gives him a chance of finding random resources every turn in battle. This includes ''meat'', and he mentions "fresh meat" often when he kills an enemy. Put two and two together and, well, [[HumanResources try not to think about what your army is eating the next time you make them steak...]]

** [[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 something is wrong with him.]]

* When the Avatar returns from Hoshido after choosing Nohr in the route split, he/she is sent by Garon on a mission to subdue the Ice Tribe's rebellion. Though it appears to be a UriahGambit in order to get the Avatar killed in a suicide mission, it actually doubles to put the Avatar through great suffering. [[spoiler:The trigger for the Ice Tribe's rebellion is Flora escaping from her captivity and returning to her tribe. By sending Corrin to subdue their rebellion, he is engineering a situation where Corrin either dies against the rebels or, if they were to miraculously prevail against the odds, kills Flora to end the rebellion. Fortunately, the Avatar manages to take a third option. (It doesn't work as well in Hoshido, however.)]]

* 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 into the world scene, coupled by other factors like the Great Depression, Japan became a fascist nation that effectively became the [[HeWhoFightsMonsters 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]].

* Pair Selena, Odin, and/or Laslow up with any of the royals. Note their paired ending wherein they [[spoiler:disappear -- presumably going to Ylisse with them.]] Extra FridgeHorror for the political implications if you paired Xander with Selena...

** But wait - we can make it ''[[FromBadToWorse even worse]]'' than that! Do a ''Revelation'' run with a Female Avatar. Have Selena marry Xander, the Avatar marry Leo ([[spoiler:since he stays in Nohr otherwise]]), and Odin and Laslow marry both the princesses. [[spoiler:Nohr is now left with ''literally nobody'' running the place]].
* Much like her predecessor [[spoiler:and/or possible incarnation]] [[VideoGame/FireEmblemAwakening Tharja]], Rhajat has a bit of an obsession with her games' Avatar, regardless of gender. However in this game, the Avatar can be Rhajat's ''mother.'' If the player chooses to take the implication that [[spoiler:Rhajat is Tharja's preincarnation/reincarnation, and that Corrin is Robin's]] literally [[spoiler:(especially the possibility that ''Fates'' predates ''Awakening,'' if they're in the same universe thus making Rhajat the ''preincarnation''))]] it might mean Tharja is [[spoiler:lusting after someone who could have been her [[ParentalIncest mother]] in another life.]]

* If Anankos [[spoiler:never killed Azura's father]], the Avatar would never have been born. Think about that for a minute, for Azura to meet her best friend/possible husband/[[spoiler:cousin]], [[spoiler:her father had to die.]]

* In ''Heirs Of Fate'', [[spoiler:it's explained that Anankos lured the children's parents by attacking their Deeprealms in order to kill them from different realms where events differ in Fates.]] Suddenly [[spoiler:the seemingly random Vallite soldiers in some of the children paralogues don't seem so random anymore...]]

*** Thought that this was the end of the horror? Wrong! [[spoiler:Some of the children from ''Birthright''/''Conquest'' runs mention their parents telling them they'll pick them up after the war (presumably the one between Hoshido and Nohr). Some even have knowledge of the war's aftermath like Hinoka becoming queen of Hoshido in Conquest and Leo becoming king of Nohr in Birthright. A player can choose not to recruit any of the children throughout their run for whatever reason that may be, which would only mean that the kids would be picked up by their parents after everything was said and done, which also happens to be ''right when Anankos struck''. This means that avoiding recruiting any of the kids potentially puts that timeline as one of the many attacked by Anankos, leading straight to ''Heirs of Fate''.]]

* [[spoiler:Corrin is half dragon. The series has long established that dragons have incredibly long lifespans. Therefore, odds are, Corrin is [[MayflyDecemberRomance going to outlive everyone they love,]] except Lilith (in ''Revelation''), Kana, and any second child they might have. Adding to this, dragons are nearly extinct in the Fates world, and Corrin doesn't seem to know much about them. Corrin probably does not know they will outlive everyone, and outside of Revelation Lilith, nobody would be able to explain it.]]
** However, it's also established that [[spoiler: dragons with some human blood don't live quite ''as'' long as full-blooded dragons do (it's mentioned in Sophia and Fa's supports in [=FE6=], iirc). Though this soften things for Kana and any other potential second gen kid more than it does for Corrin... But it's worth noting that all of the royals have ''some'' dragon blood, so even if it's faint they'd probably at least live ''slightly'' longer than Corrin's other friends.]]
** [[VideoGame/FireEmblemAwakening Nah's]] supports with Brady mention that manaketes can transfer part of their lifespan to mortals. Granted, she did learn this from [[UnreliableNarrator Nowi]], but if it is true then Corrin could even things out, as it were, by just giving some extra years to everyone in their family (and going from Fridge Horror to [=CMoH=] in one move, to boot).

** She'll be seen as a traitor after the war, since nobody outside the Avatar's forces knows why she's following them. For all her fellow Hoshidans know, she's just another turn coat.

* 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!?]]
* Kaze can [[spoiler: possibly die [[HeroicSacrifice saving]] the Avatar]] on Chapter 15 of ''Birthright''. Now, what if [[spoiler: Anankos had possessed his corpse like King Garon. Kaze had blamed himself for the Avatar's kidnapping because he was a child, and didn't understand what was happening. The Avatar will never know this because Kaze's death happens if they don't have the A support where he reveals this. That means Kaze can come back possessed by the ''real'' person behind the Avatar's kidnapping.]]
** Midori's Paralogue will permanently be unavailable if [[spoiler: Kaze does die]] even if he's married. He probably thought that was redemption for [[spoiler: thinking he had gotten the Avatar kidnapped and Sumeragi killed]] when it wasn't even his fault. [[spoiler: He honestly thought the life of him and his possible child was worth sacrificing for the Avatar.]] Keep in mind, this could make Kaze the only [[spoiler: possession that didn't resent the Avatar like Gunter or Takumi did. Kaze was resenting ''himself'' the whole time.]]
** Kaze is also a CluelessChickMagnet [[IAmNotPretty that doesn't realize how attractive he is.]] Is he really as oblivious as he claims? [[spoiler: Or has he been internally thinking he's not worth loving because of his "failure" about a decade ago?]]

* A popular tactic when playing ''Birthright'' and ''Conquest'' is to spare as many named characters as the game lets you. Generally, this is a prime example of VideoGameCaringPotential, but when ''Conquest'' pits you against [[spoiler: Ryoma and Takumi, sparing their retainers is actually the opposite: in feudal Japan, if a retainer's lord died in battle, it was generally expected that the retainer should commit seppuku (particularly if the retainer was a samurai; hi, Hinata). Granted, they could also become ronin, but considering how devoted Ryoma and Takumi's retainers are to them, the former scenario is sadly the most likely]]. So, far from actually saving them, we've all just condemned them to dying anyway, but with the added regret of having failed to [[spoiler: protect their lords]]. ''Ouch''.

* 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.]]

*** 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.]]

** To be more specific, it's implied [[spoiler: Midori was the result of GladToBeAliveSex]].

** 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.]]

** 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, Sakura insists in fighting the avatra because her loyalty for Hoshido outweighs her morals of how she feels about the avatar).

** 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.