Fanfic / Gray Whirlpool Series

The Gray Whirlpool series is a trio of Fire Emblem Fates Affectionate Parody fanfictions written by P.T. Piranha on both Fanfiction.net and Archive of Our Own. Two of the main route fics are completed while the third is on hiatus. Main stories include:

Gray Whirlpool serves as the prologue to the series, and covers the build-up to the route split.

Gray Whirlpool: Storm tells the story of Birthright.

Gray Whirlpool: Fire tells the story of Conquest.

Gray Whirlpool: Flow is the adaptation of Revelation.

Side stories include:

Gray Whirlpool Gaiden: Defrost expands on Felicia and Flora's arrival in the Northern Fortress.

Gray Whirlpool Gaiden: Slow Roast focuses on Xander post-Conquest, and reveals what became of Mozu, who'd previously only appeared in the Birthright fic.

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This series has examples of:

Prologue/Series in general

• Acting for Two: Discussed in-universe; whenever two characters with the same voice actor encounter each other, someone tends to comment on them sounding similar.
• Adaptation Deviation:
  • All three stories have Felicia join Corrin alongside Jakob during the initial battle between Hoshido and Nohr.
  • The Astral Plane has reduced presence, futzing with the recruitment times of characters who join through it.
• Adaptational Jerkass: In both Storm and Fire, Fuga attacks the heroes for not wanting to tour the Wind Tribe.
• Adaptational Modesty: In both routes, Corrin begins to cover her thighs like in Super Smash Bros. This extends to her Nohr Noble promotion as well.
• Affectionate Parody: The story plays most of the story beats of Fates for comedy.
• Ambiguous Syntax
  Gunter: Lady Corrin will marry and meet her own child barefoot, if she can help it.
  Corrin: I can still hear you. And why would I meet and marry my own child?
• Ascended Extra: Due to the Astral Plane having an extremely reduced presence, Lilith directly accompanies and fights alongside Corrin. Relatedly, this allows Izana and Flora to join in Storm and Fire respectively, much earlier than in canon. They go on to be prominent characters, with Flora even being Corrin's Love Interest.
• Ax-Crazy: Hans has devolved into this. Take a shot for every time he says “KILL” in Chapter 3.
• Big "NO!":
  Xander: Come on, Corrin, use that elongated 'no' to fuel you!
• Borrowed Catchphrase: In each route, Corrin honors her deceased older brother by repeating one of their critical quotes against an enemy in the following chapter.
• Brick Joke: A few cross-work examples exist.
  • While scaling the Eternal Stairway in Storm, the existence of a "Five-Minute Stairway" is joked about. It comes up again in the relevant Fire chapter, implied to actually exist.
  • The Wind Tribe's ball pit.
  • Zola. In Storm, he doesn’t get his chance to impersonate Izana, and suddenly he aspires to be a rapper, which encourages him to leave Garon. In Fire, he makes it farther in his plan to impersonate the Archduke, and even peppers his impression with Jive Turkey speech.
  • Mikoto's cat is the punchline to one in each route. She is introduced along with Mikoto, then promptly forgotten.
    • In Storm, Yukimura leaves her in charge of Castle Shirasagi, so he can join the party.
    • In Fire, Garon shoos her out of Mikoto's throne room, so he can sit on the throne.
• The Cameo: Demon Lord Ghirahim is inexplicably in Nohr during Slow Roast, to the concern of no one. He remains unnamed, but quotes from his game make his identity obvious.
• Cast Herd: Certain characters rarely speak to others outside of a few go-to companions, which is occasionally lampshaded. A notable example is Izana and Mozu in Storm, two characters who never interact in canon.
• Casual Danger Dialogue: All the time.
• Cerebus Syndrome: While the fics are ultimately lighthearted, and even the darkest chapters have their share of humor, certain chapters emphasize tragedy a lot more, usually when a character dies.
  Chapter 12’s Archive Of Our Own Summary: Flora takes the Hoshidans to the Ice Tribe's village, and things are less funny for a bit.
• Character Development: Corrin begins the story as a Wide-Eyed Idealist, believing that even Hans just needs a friend. Both routes Break the Cutie, but in different ways. In Storm, she becomes more aggressive, which even Elise comments on. In Fire, she learns the hard way that the greater good can still lead to unfair suffering. In spite of these, Corrin walks out of each story with a positive attitude, tempering her more into something resembling a Knight in Sour Armor.
• Cliffhanger: The prologue ends with Corrin about to make her fateful decision.
• Cloudcuckoolander:
  • Garon. He speaks like a redneck, can't remember his children's names, and generally acts like a senile old idiot (when he isn't being The Caligula).
  • Silas isn't always there upstairs either.
    Takumi: Trap... trap... trap...
    Silas: You want to learn the trapeze? But why now?
• Deep South: Garon acts like a stereotypical southern redneck. It Makes Just as Much Sense in Context.
• Denser and Wackier: These stories' bread and butter. There CAN be serious moments, but the stories are still comedic.
• Disproportionate Retribution: Garon holds a grudge against Elise for spilling milk. As a toddler.
• Dub Name Change: Referenced. If a Hoshidan character is referred to by a different name in the Japanese translation, that name is likely to appear at least once. Corrin/Kamui is the most prominent example.
• Dying as Yourself: Garon in both Storm and Fire. In Storm, his last words are to state that he is at peace and to thank Kamui. In Fire, he again thanks his children as he dies, and his spirit later asks Corrin to save Takumi from falling victim to the same miserable fate that he did.
• Early-Bird Cameo: Shura can be seen being beaten during Chapter 2 of the prologue. Arthur and Effie also appear similarly early.
• Everyone Can See It: Corrin's crush on Flora.
• Family of Choice: Played straight in Fire, just like in canon. Ultimately played straight in Storm as well.
• Fix Fic: This was not the intention of the fic whatsoever, but the author couldn’t resist the temptation to address and justify some of the common gripes.
• Hated by All: Garon, Iago and Hans are so wildly unpopular, that everyone (Nohrians included) openly voice their disdain for the trio. Half the castle troops back off and allow the Hoshidans to invade them in Storm. The three don't even like each other!
  Flora: Do you know how I've always wanted to come back home? How I've missed the Ice Tribe? How I've never liked King Garon at all?
  Effie: To be fair, I don't think anyone likes Garon very much.
• Hate Sink:
  • Iago doesn't even get any backstory; he's just an asshole because he is.
  • Hans only fares marginally better. He gets some development, but only in Storm and only in his final chapter at that.
• Hulk Speak: Hans speaks in this manner.
• In Spite of a Nail: A couple of details in Cheve happen the exact same way in both Storm and Fire.
  • Reina and Orochi have an awkward and failed bonding attempt. They are accosted by Selena and Beruka, and Kaze and Silas jump in to help their teammates.
  • Corrin, Takumi, and Hans get into a fight, with the nail being whose side Corrin is on.
• It Gets Easier: The fic actually addresses Corrin getting blood on her hands for the first time. While fights are less lethal due to the Denser and Wackier nature of the fic, she does kill more easily as the stories progress.
• It's Personal with the Dragon: Played with. Corrin has a bigger grudge against either Hans (in Storm) or Iago (in Fire) based on the route, while the other is simply an enemy. Though in Storm she still harbors a vendetta for Garon. Though he himself is The Dragon for Anankos in the end.
• Lampshade Hanging: Almost constantly.
• Leaning on the Fourth Wall: A villager at the festival complains about not being able to see Corrin’s face or body type, referring to how they were kept ambiguous in pre-rendered scenes.
• Lighter and Softer: Than the canon stories.
• Loophole Abuse: How Gunter and Jakob are allowed to help Corrin battle Kaze and Rinkah in Castle Krakenburg.
• Major Injury Underreaction: It’s not uncommon for someone to brush off an attack with a simple "Ow".
• Mid-Season Upgrade: All the characters (barring prepromoted units) promote by using a cache of Master Seals, in Chapter 16 of both routes. Xander’s dialogue in Fire implies that they’re the same Master Seals in both stories.
• Mythology Gag: During the climatic choice, Corrin idly wonders if she can run off to join a tournament.
• Never Trust a Title: Chapter 4 of the prologue is named "Kaze Dies at the End". Spoiler alert: he doesn't die.
• Noodle Incident: Camilla almost explains to Elise how Xander once botched an execution.
• Not Now, We're Too Busy Crying Over You: Kaze suffers this as a Running Gag.
• Official Couple: An idle comment from Laslow during Fire indicates that his father is Virion.
• Painting the Medium:
  • Corrin's dialogue is bolded whenever she is in her dragon form.
  • Garon and Takumi's dialogue is bolded whenever Anankos is directly influencing their actions.
• Party in My Pocket: Justified. The deployed roster changes with each chapter, with the rationale that the inactive characters are spending time in Lilith’s Astral Plane. Corrin, her retainers, her siblings, Silas, Izana, Mozu (BR), Anna (CQ), Scarlet (BR), Shura (BR), and Yukimura (BR) are the only ones to consistently fight. In Storm, this courtesy is extended to Silas’ parents and Shura’s former gang.
• Politically Incorrect Villain: Garon and Iago’s contempt for Hoshidans is more extreme here. Iago will even dehumanize Hoshidans who are working together with him.
• Prefers Going Barefoot: Corrin’s barefooted tendencies are occasionally referenced with exasperation. She simply does not like wearing shoes. Even Azura teases her. At one point in Fire she finally explains her reasons.
• Pre-Mortem One-Liner: Ryoma’s is “see your death”. Canon examples also crop up.
• Pungeon Master: Rinkah's dialogue is peppered with flame puns.
• Running Gag:
  • Mounted units lose their horses all the time.
  • Azura sings anachronistic songs. She finally sings "Lost in Thoughts" for real during the final battle of each route.
  • Someone saying, "don't be racist".
• Serious Business: In Chapter 12 of Fire, Elise tells Corrin that dance-offs are serious in Nohr. This is demonstrated firsthand in one of the final few Storm chapters.
• Ship Tease:
  • Leo is often teased as having a crush on Sakura.
  • Elise is occasionally referenced as having a crush on Odin.
• Shout-Out: The fics are stuffed full of references and nods, especially chapter titles.
  • During Chapter 3 of the prologue, Jakob hits two enemy pegasi with his daggers, but misses a third. A dog appears and laughs at him.
  • When Corrin seizes the fort after defeating Omozu, she clears world 1-3 and gets a 4-up.
  • During Chapter 5 of the prologue, a man named Guy Fujito appears and acts like an over-the-top parody of real-life celebrity chef Guy Fieri. Gustaf Ramsay serves as his Nohrian counterpart in Slow Roast.
  • When Corrin gets the Yato, Yukimura tells her to equip it to her B button and hack bushes to make money.
  • The Rainbow Sage speaks in the style of Jeff Boomhauer.
• Sitcom Arch-Nemesis: While the details are the same, Gunter and Garon’s mutual vitriol is on public display, and often for laughs.
• Soap Opera Disease: Takumi and Elise in Storm and Fire respectively. Unlike canon, the diseases are named: Pelican's Revenge and Terminal 7.
• Tempting Fate: Corrin has conflicting loyalties after the festival tragedy. Azura tells her to do what she thinks is right, asking, “what could happen?” We immediately cut to Corrin’s fateful decision.
  Corrin's Thoughts: Note to self: Yell at Azura later.
• Third-Person Person: A Running Gag character named Samurai speaks in the third person.
• Those Two Guys: Felicia and Jakob, big time. Aside from the prologue and then the beginning of Fire, they are almost always together. Jakob tends to fare slightly better, at least. The trope is even namedropped in one of the author notes.
  Felicia: Aw, how'd I get separated from Flora and Jakob? I'm always standing by at least one of them, so how'd this happen?
• Verbal Tic: Iago elongates his "m"s when speaking.
• The Voiceless: Corrin does not speak during the opening dream sequence.
• We Named the Monkey "Jack": Mikoto took in a small cat and named it Kamui after her daughter was abducted by Nohr.
• Welcome to Corneria: The Stoneborn can only say one thing.
  “I AM THE STONEBORN. YOU ALL MUST DIE.”
• You Monster!: Variant. “You fiend!” is a recurring phrase of Ryoma’s.

Storm

• 11th-Hour Ranger: Per canon, Shura is this for the Birthright route. Notable because he goes on to appear in every chapter like the other main character units, but he ultimately does not get much screen time.
• Absurd Phobia: Ryoma admits he is deathly afraid of barbers.
• Actually a Doombot: Subverted. Iago claims this is the case in Chapter 11, like in the game, but he’s actually there.
• Adaptation Deviation:
  • Instead of a legitimate major figure of the four tribes, Rinkah is a crazy homeless woman that Ryoma took in out of pity.
  • Mozu is recruited in a paralogue in canon Fates; she pops up at Izumo and joins the party here.
  • Instead of Nohrians as in canon, Garon has Vallite mooks during his final battle.
  • Gunter is explicitly saved by Kamui a year after the war, and he retires to Cheve.
• Adaptational Early Appearance:
  • Izana joins after Izumo, 10 chapters before his recruitment in canon Birthright.
  • Yukimura joins at the Burning Falls, 2 chapters before his recruitment in canon Birthright.
• Adaptational Heroism: Zola doesn't betray Corrin in Cyrkensia, instead opting to quit working for Garon. This ends as well as you might expect.
• Adaptational Nice Guy: Leo's Jerkass facade is far more obviously false here.
• Adaptational Villainy:
  • The real Izana is responsible for attempting to have Corrin and Sakura executed this time around; the heroes walk in on Zola before he can take Izana's place. He also turns out to be the mole in the Hoshidan ranks, replacing Takumi. In his defense, he intended to double-cross Garon later- he just never got around to it yet.
  • In canon Birthright, Keaton is willing to let the Hoshidans pass without any trouble until someone attacks them, making him believe that they are out for his blood. Here, he attacks them under extremely flimsy provocation.
• Adaptation Name Change: In Chapter 10, Corrin reclaims her birth identity of Kamui, including the name.
• Ambiguous Situation:
  • Chapter 10 ends with Kaze falling off of a cliff to his presumed death. However, Kamui refuses to accept he is dead without a corpse considering the amount of shit he's come back from. The author's notes after Chapter 23 reveal he really is dead.
  • Chapter 21 ends with enough wiggle room to interpret the possibility that Laslow and Peri survive.
• Aren't You Going to Ravish Me?: The Wolfskins are afraid the Hoshidans might hunt them for fur… and are then insulted when they won’t.
  Wolfskin: Grrr! Take my fur! No wait, don't take it! … But at least try to take it!
• Back for the Finale: Kaze’s spirit cheers for Kamui in the final chapter, along with her other allies.
• Berserk Button:
  • Downplayed. It takes Niles’ mention of Leo’s siblings ignoring him to get him invested in fighting Kamui, but by the time he finds her, Leo’s back to being disinterested. Mostly.
  • Hans is a walking button for Kamui, more than in Fire since she doesn’t reunite with Gunter on this route.
• Beware the Nice Ones: Corrin, just like in canon. Lampshaded by Takumi, after watching her brutalize Hans in Cheve.
  Takumi: Sure glad we settled our differences when we did, I'd hate to be that guy…
  Corrin: Huh? I didn’t catch that.
  Takumi: Oh nothing…
• Big Brother Instinct: Leo’s disgust at Iago harming Elise is what convinces him to turn the tables, and give the Hoshidans their chance to finish him off.
• Bilingual Bonus: Lampshaded. “Kaze” means wind, which Corrin interprets as a good reason for Kaze to negotiate with the Wind Tribe. He quickly corrects her.
• Bodyguard Crush: Jakob admits in Chapter 5 that he used to harbor feelings for Corrin, but grew out of them long before the story. Corrin’s own inversion of the trope for Flora probably helped.
• Breather Episode: Chapter 13, despite featuring Leo's boss battle, is much more lighthearted after the previous four chapters, in which Kamui had to deal with learning she wasn't Hoshidan, losing Kaze, and then losing Flora in that order.
• But for Me, It Was Tuesday: Arthur has been through so much shit that Azura's memory of him being whipped doesn't even register with him.
• But You Were There, and You, and You: When Yukimura recounts how he met Mikoto, he describes a servant entering the room. Kamui promptly inserts Jakob into the role in her mental image of the story.
• Call-Back: Subverted. Iago attempts to subject the Hoshidans to a game show, much like the one Sonic endured in the author's previous Sonic 06 fic. Hinoka gets fed up and interrupts the game after only a couple rounds.
• The Cameo:
  • Chapter 11 has Waluigi randomly showing up.
  • Gunter appears in Kamui's flashback in the following chapter, serving as his only actual appearance in Storm.
• Cassandra Truth: Izana warns Takumi to be careful around the Wolfskins. Takumi is too irritated to listen. Next chapter, Takumi contracts Pelican’s Revenge.
• Cerebus Callback: Usually when a character’s name from the original Japanese script is used, it’s a humorous meta joke. One of the very last instances of this is Garon referring to a deceased Xander as “Marx”.
  Kamui: You mean Xander? How could you forget his name?! How could you not care if Elise were killed?! Because she was! Sh…she and Xander both…
• Chekhov's Gag: Izana trying to execute the Hoshidan royalty is played as a random gag. Then it turns out that Izana is a double agent who has been feeding the Nohrians intel in the hopes of getting close to King Garon.
• Cooldown Hug: Corrin receives one from Hinoka, to put an end to her crisis of identity.
• A Day in the Limelight: Yukimura plays a prominent role in Chapter 16, joining the army and explaining some of Mikoto and Sumeragi’s history. While he remains a recurring character afterward, he never receives as much focus again.
• Disproportionate Retribution: Xander tries to claim Corrin betraying Nohr is this. Corrin retorts, quite sensibly, that turning against a man who murdered her father in cold blood right in front of her, kidnapped her for 16 years, tried to have her killed twice, and invaded another nation in a blatant war of aggression is perfectly proportionate.
• Distaff Counterpart: Scarlet is essentially a female Silas. This does not go unnoticed by the others.
• Double Reverse Quadruple Agent: Izana. He openly betrays the Hoshidans' trust, then he joins them, then he secretly betrays them, but reveals he intended to assist them all along. No one is sure what to believe.
• Dramatic Irony: At the Eternal Stairway, Azura dismisses Lilith’s concern of Faceless being dangerous. This is exactly how Lilith dies in the Conquest route.
• Dumbass Has a Point: Silas, Cloudcuckoolander extraordinaire, is the one to figure out that Iago has resurrected the dragon at Fort Dragonfall.
• Early-Bird Cameo: While it’s not relevant in Birthright, Corrin and Azura’s starting party pass by the Great Wall of Suzanoh (a late-game Conquest map) early on.
• Emergency Transformation: Keaton uses a Master Seal and promotes into a Wolfssegner in the middle of his bout with Ryoma, to give him an edge.
• Entendre Failure: Niles attempts to fluster Silas and Mozu during their fight. Silas being Silas, none of them land.
• Everybody Was Kung-Fu Fighting: Subverted in Izumo; the trope is name-dropped, but then the heroes realize they all have perfectly good weapons.
• Evil Gloating: Iago's stupid ass ruins his plan to turn Corrin and the Wind Tribe against each other when he teleports in to gloat before executing said plan.
• Falling-in-Love Montage: Chapter 12 opens with a series of flashbacks to Corrin and Flora’s childhood, which ends with Corrin confiding to Gunter that she’s developed feelings for the maid.
• Foreshadowing: In Chapter 9, Ryoma praises Hinoka for her leadership during the first part of the story and notes she makes a better ruler than she realizes. While it doesn't amount to anything in Storm, in Fire she ends up with the Hoshidan crown after Ryoma and Takumi buy the farm.
• The Heart: Hinoka qualifies as this, as far as her family is concerned. She spends much of her screen time tending to her siblings, including Azura, making sure they're all content. Kamui also counts, per canon.
• Heh Heh, You Said "X": Played with.
  Keaton: Well? What? Ya find any good trash or something? Or the Bone Hole? I miss that place…
  Izana: Heh! He said 'miss.'
• Hidden Depths:
  • While he’s one of the biggest Cloud Cuckoolanders in the party, Izana is invested in learning what Garon’s deal is. He also contemplates how he only dies in the happiest timeline.
  • Silas reveals that he doesn’t talk to Kamui during the war, because he knows she’d like to bond with her Hoshidan family for the first time.
  • Hans has surprisingly ambitious goals that suit his character, but are never hinted at until his final appearance.
• Honor Before Reason: In a flashback, Yukimura suggests using ambushes and denying the Nohrians EXP, but Sumeragi chides him for being dishonorable.
• Hypocritical Humor:
  Silas: It wouldn't be prudent to befriend fallen Nohrian commanders and allow them to travel with us.
  Everyone stopped what they were doing and stared at Silas, a fallen Nohrian commander whom was befriended and allowed to travel with them.
• I Am the Noun:
  Xander: [to Elise] Corrin has become a threat to Nohr. All of your 'friends' have. And being in the position I'm in, I cannot abide any threat to Nohr! As the future ruler, I am Nohr! Whether I like it or not!
• If Only You Knew: Azama jokes that Takumi is possessed by a demon of jealousy in Chapter 12.
• I Have No Son!: Or sister, in this case; Xander disowns Corrin after she sides with Hoshido.
• Immediate Self-Contradiction: Lilith denies being a pet, only to immediately display pet-like behavior like drinking water from a bowl or chasing a squirrel.
• In-Series Nickname: Various characters call Takumi “Stud McCool”. He hates it.
• It's All My Fault: Sakura tells Corrin she blames herself for Corrin's abduction, leading to the hilarious mental image of a small infant orchestrating her father's death and sibling's kidnapping.
• The Leader: Unlike canon Birthright, Hinoka calls the shots in Corrin's party from her recruitment to Ryoma's.
• Meaningful Rename: Ten chapters in, Corrin accepts her Hoshidan identity as Kamui. The narration even updates to make it official. (Though Jakob struggles to keep up.)
• Middle Child Syndrome: Directly namedropped in reference to Takumi's issues.
• Motive Rant: During the final fight with Hans, Hans reveals that he intends to turn Nohr into a Social Darwinist anarchy by conquering Hoshido (somehow).
• Mythology Gag:
  • Corrin is weirded out by the prospect of petting people due to dreaming about doing it.
  • In terms of fanfics, Kamui’s flashback in Chapter 12 contains an expanded scene from Northern Fortress Training Video, one of the author’s previous fics.
• Never Say "Die": Subverted. Kamui and co. claim to Elise that Leo and his retainers "took a vacation", and Elise immediately assumes they're lying and he's dead. However, Leo actually did take a vacation.
• No OSHA Compliance: Scarlet notes that Garon tends to design incredibly dangerous buildings like a fort made from a dragon carcass or a castle built in a crater with no guard rails.
• Noodle Incident: Mozu and Niles’ support conversation is treated as one of these, having apparently happened in their past.
• O.O.C. Is Serious Business: After Flora’s death, Kamui is so distraught that she forgets to take off her shoes at the earliest convenience. Lilith has to point this out to her.
• Official Couple:
  • Silas admits he likes Mozu in Chapter 14.
  • When all is said and done, Camilla reveals she is dating Niles.
  • Sakura's ending reveals that she eventually travels to Nohr as a diplomat and falls in love with Leo.
• Please Kill Me if It Satisfies You: Subverted.
  Silas: Corrin, I'm sorry about all this. Would you like to kill me? … Please say no.
• Poke the Poodle:
  • Heroic example: Scarlet’s plan for the resistance is to simply punch Garon over and over, and call it a day.
  • Zola can use Fimbulvetr to make people uncomfortably cold for a few seconds. Tremble before him.
• Poor Communication Kills: Inverted. Hinata misunderstanding Scarlet’s distrust of Silas, and Silas’ obliviousness to the matter causes Hinata to unintentionally solve the problem.
• Punctuated Pounding:
  • Kamui delivers this to Garon in Chapter 22.
    Kamui: You're a horrible father! [slam] You're a merciless king! [slam] You've killed every parent I've ever known! [slam] And the person I loved the most! [slam] You've devastated my kingdom and yours! [slam] You have to die! [slam]
  • Garon pays her back in short order after going One-Winged Angel.
• Race Lift: Downplayed. In this fic, Scarlet is one-quarter Hoshidan; her grandfather was one of Sumeragi's vassals, and was killed in Corrin's abduction.
• The Reveal:
  • Chapter 9 reveals that Sumeragi isn't actually Corrin's biological father and Mikoto already had her when she arrived in Hoshido. It hits a lot harder than the equivalent moment in Fire since in that story Corrin is already with people she knows she doesn't share blood with and she doesn't exactly have time to properly process said reveal.
  • Chapter 22 starts with the reveal that Gunter is still alive and ends with the reveal that the real Garon is long dead. Neither reveal is ever dropped in canon Birthright.
• Right Behind Me: Saizo brutally criticizes Felicia’s servant abilities. When he finally notices Felicia, he is impressed with her stealthy approach. After they both lose a sibling, Saizo makes amends.
• The Rival: Hinoka versus Camilla, as per canon. Hinoka also considers Xander to be her rival after their battle in the opera house.
  Kamui: Camilla…
  Hinoka: My nemesis!
  Silas: Wait, I thought Lord Xander was your nemesis.
  Hinoka: I can have more than one!
• Roaring Rampage of Revenge: Unlike the Conquest route, Corrin’s primarily driven by revenge against Garon for his atrocities. Flora’s eventual fate worsens this.
• Running Gagged: Crossed with Tempting Fate, Kaze eventually dies for real.
• Sexiled: The true reason Fuga sends Hayato off with Corrin’s bunch.
• Ship Tease:
  • Takumi and Oboro are repeatedly teased, but nothing ever comes of it.
  • Jakob and Hana, of the Belligerent Sexual Tension variety. In reality, they’re faking the entire thing to keep their lieges from yelling at their arguments. After this is revealed, they keep up the facade to fluster Azura.
• Shout-Out:
  • Mokushu plays out like a level of Super Mario Bros.. Kotaro thinks he's Bowser (complete with eight children, kidnapped woman, and death by pit of lava), the main heroes are a pair of brothers associated with red and green, said brothers jump on enemies' heads, and Saizo eats a mushroom.
  • Maria and Draco is an opera shown in Cyrkensia.
  • At Nestra, Kaden turns into a giant fox and declares he intends to fight Garon "Just me! No items! Final Destination!"
  • At Cheve, a cranky old man demands dinner from his wife Muriel.
  • When Camilla challenges the injured Hinoka to a fight, Jakob says "Lady Corrin's servants! Battle stations!" Bonus points for both Jakob and Numbuh One being voiced by Ben Diskin.
  • Chapter 12 is named after another fic, Frostbite, a tragic piece about Flora. Other fan fictions are also referenced throughout the back half of the story.
  • Chapter 13 is titled "The Fresh Prince of Nohr".
  • After Leo is defeated, he warns the Hoshidans that Xander has been putting himself through 100 push-ups, 100 sit-ups, 100 squats, and a 10 kilometer run every day in order to beat them. Bonus points for both Leo and Saitama being voiced by Max Mittelman.
  • After a harrowing day dealing with crazy subordinates and nearly being digested by a dragon, Ryoma grumbles, "I sure can wait to be king..."
  • Barinade shows up as the boss of Fort Dragonfall.
  • Chapter 16 is titled "How Yukimura Met Your Mother".
  • During the final fight with Hans, Hans asks Kamui if she wants to fight him. Kamui responds, "...No. I want to kill you!"
  • Scarlet recounts her father's friend's advice and does an aileron roll to deflect enemy fire.
  • Jakob shoots down some enemy fliers with his daggers, and a dog grabs the corpses and sinks into some bushes. This also serves as a Brick Joke for the prologue's third chapter.
  • Kamui uses a heavily modified version of Raiden's speech to Senator Armstrong in her final fight with Hans.
  • The final fight with Iago plays out like the final fight with Mettaton.
  • Iago’s death references Scott Pilgrim by turning into coins. Around the same time, the author was writing Leo vs. The World.
  • Similarly, Subaki's ending states that he eventually gained psychic powers through veganism.
• Smarter Than You Look: Hans is actually capable of normal speech and has grand ambitions for the future of Nohr.
• Spared by the Adaptation:
  • Downplayed by Charlotte and Benny; they are very hard to spare in canon Birthright, but they survive their brush with death here. It's also downplayed by Gunter, whose fate is never revealed; like Charlotte and Benny, he explicitly survives here. Keaton plays this fully straight, surviving his unfortunate encounter with the Hoshidans.
  • The Hoshidans don’t kill any Wind Tribalists by mistake, due to Iago forgetting to cast his spell.
• Suicide by Cop: What was only implied in the game is canonized in this fic. Xander wanted Kamui to kill him for what he did to Elise.
• Sure, Let's Go with That: Leo allows the Hoshidans to believe he conjured the Faceless in the Woods of the Forlorn, during his stint as antagonist, quietly urging Niles and Odin to maintain the illusion.
• Tempting Fate: During the trip up the Eternal Staircase, Corrin says, "Well, at least we didn't run into monsters or anything." After a pregnant pause... nothing happens.
• Thanatos Gambit: A poor one for Iago, who casts a spell on himself so that he turns into gold coins when he dies. His killer is then arrested for counterfeiting money.
• The Thing That Would Not Leave: Kaden. Everyone else in the party is royalty, serves royalty, or is explicitly recruited. Even Rinkah is established to be a familiar face to the royal family. Kaden just shows up in Cyrkensia and stays for no reason.
• Tongue on the Flagpole: Or naginata, in Setsuna’s case. One has to wonder how she even got it close enough to her mouth in the cold weather.
• Too Dumb to Live:
  • Zola confronts Garon to tell him right up to his face that he's quitting to focus on his rap career. The results are predictably bloody.
  • Who cares if Faceless were attacking? Mozu’s mom had to water her crops!
• Took a Level in Kindness: Takumi takes several after his recruitment, and a running gag is made out of people assuming he still has a beef with Corrin.
• Translation Convention: It's implied the Hoshidans are often speaking their own language, which Corrin has not fully grasped, as she presumes that she accidentally offended an Izumite guard in Chapter 4. This turns around in Chapter 10, when Corrin speaks bad grammar and cites it as forgetting how to speak Nohrian.
• Trauma Button: After Flora's suicide by self-immolation, fire becomes Felicia's. She goes berserk and beats Odin down with her bare hands when he uses fire spells against her.
• Troll: Azura’s master plan in Cyrkensia, luring King Garon out and performing on stage is... to Rick Roll Garon.
• True Love's Kiss: Mozu suggests that Oboro should use this to break Takumi's brainwashing once and for all.
• Vengeance Feels Empty: It’s not dwelled on, but Kamui states that killing Hans does not feel as satisfying as she’d imagined. Takumi makes a similar remark after the final battle.
• Villainous Breakdown: Leo’s pretty nonchalant about everything that’s tearing his family apart. But the mask finally comes off when it’s time for his boss fight.
  Leo: Okay I admit it: I really was jealous of you, Corrin. Xander kept training you, Camilla doted if you so much as sneezed, and don't even get me started on Elise! And you know what? A selfish part of me thought that maybe they'd notice me more, now that you'd left. But they're still obsessed with you!
  Kamui: L-Leo, I didn't know… I didn't mean to-
  Leo: Of course you didn't mean to! If you knew, you would've tried to make sure I got more credit. …And then Xander and Camilla would fawn over how thoughtful you were, for trying to include me. Look, you're not a bad person, treason aside. I did enjoy our time together, but now it's over.
• Whole Episode Flashback: Chapter 16 is devoted to recounting Mikoto's arrival in Hoshido.
• Windbag Politician: Inverted. Ryoma has a tendency to ramble during speeches, but come time for coronation, an actual political moment, his speech borders on Beige Prose. His ending states that he eventually gets better at it.
• Your Costume Needs Work: In Birthright, Ryoma hid his identity from Scarlet until he reunited with his family. Here, he was very open about his identity, but Scarlet doesn’t believe him.

Fire

• Adaptation Deviation:
  • Despite Felicia and Jakob joining together at the start, only Felicia goes with Corrin to suppress the Ice Tribe rebellion. Jakob is left at the castle.
  • Anna is a DLC unit in canon Fates; she gets to join as a storyline party member at Fort Dragonfall.
  • Azura wasn't the singer who tried to kill Garon in Cyrkensia, the role being split off to an imposter.
• Adaptational Badass: In canon Conquest, you hit Iago until he dies. Here, he's an outright Master of Illusion who teleports Corrin and Xander to multiple locales they've traveled through on their journey and serves as a very worthy Climax Boss.
• Adaptational Early Appearance: Flora joins after the Ice Tribe rebellion is dealt with, 11 chapters before her recruitment in canon Conquest.
• Adaptational Heroism: In canon Conquest, Kaden attacks the heroes under extremely flimsy provocation. Here, he reveals that Iago and Hans skinned his predecessor and is understandably jumpy as a result, especially when Corrin blurts out that she knows them.
• Adaptational Intelligence:
  • Played with, for Scarlet. Unlike in Storm, she’s more straightforward, but only because she doesn’t last long enough to show her Cloudcuckoolander side, and has to put up with Takumi being hopped up on The Power of Hate.
  • Takumi's corpse is more articulate than his canon counterpart, who could barely string together a full sentence.
• Adaptation Expansion: Gunter's backstory, relegated to Revelation in the original game, is recounted here upon his return.
• Agony of the Feet: In the Storm Ice Tribe chapter and the prologue’s fourth chapter, Corrin’s made to wear shoes in the snow. Here, she finally gets her way, and pays for it until Felicia gives her a spare pair.
• Ambiguous Situation: Chapter 20 ends with enough wiggle room to interpret the possibility that Saizo and Kagero survive.
• And Now for Someone Completely Different: The second half of Chapter 11 is narrated by Shura. The trope is even namedropped.
• Ax-Crazy: Elise becomes this once she learns how to fight.
• Bad Liar: Basically everyone.
• Blunt "Yes": When Corrin accepts aid in dealing with the Ice Tribe rebellion, Garon asks her if she thinks she's going to avoid execution. Her response is a blunt "Yes."
• Breaking the Fourth Wall:
  • After explaining what happened to Garon, Azura states that if they want elaboration, they should "Go ask someone else if you want another revelation." She then winks at the reader.
  • Anna is a full-blown Fourth-Wall Observer.
• Brick Joke: Nyx is reading the same book in her introduction that Leo read in the prologue story’s first chapter.
• Broken Pedestal: Downplayed. Flora moves past her crush on Jakob after spending more time with him in the army, but she is not troubled by this.
• Buffy Speak: Xander doesn’t know what a life preserver is called, and it shows.
• Canon Character All Along: Downplayed, as the canon character is still minor. Samurai, the running gag character, ultimately reveals himself to be the Rallyman from Chapter 23.
• Cast Full of Crazy: Silas, of all people, makes a surprisingly insightful observation, warning Azura against sending a diplomat to speak with Fuga.
  Azura: I have another idea. Instead… we just talk to them. Like people.
  Silas: People?! We're doomed! Azura, I don't know if you've noticed, but we're all borderline psychotic! Jakob actively doesn't care about people, Arthur has the worst luck known to man, Anna keeps talking about 'games' and stuff like that, Flora's obsessed with cleaning everything, Lord Xander would read an instruction manual for fun, and don't even get me started on Peri!
• Chekhov's Gunman: A minor Running Gag character named Samurai who recurs throughout the fic turns out to be the Rallyman.
• Cluster F-Bomb: Parodied with “fox” in Chapter 14.
• Cold-Blooded Torture: Implied with Hans and Scarlet. Right before her execution, she is in a much worse state than when Corrin’s fighters left her.
• The Corrupter:
  • Niles is repeatedly referenced to be teaching unsavory subjects to Elise.
  • Iago is briefly teased as being this for Garon, causing his original demise, but Iago denies it. He admits that he wishes he were this trope, though.
• Curse Cut Short: Takumi, Shura and Leo all get one, of varying intensity.
• Dark and Troubled Past: Niles has one, Played for Laughs.
  Odin: [narrating] His past is an incredibly dark one!
  Young Niles: Who turned out the lights?
  Odin: It was uncommon for a day to go by where Niles did not have to kill...
  [Young Niles steps on a bug]
  Odin: Steal...
  [Young Niles takes a cookie from the cookie jar]
  Odin: And lie, just to survive!
  Niles' Mother: Niles, does this dress make me look fat?
  Young Niles: No, Mother.
  Odin: That was every day of his life, before Lord Leo found him.
  Leo: Hey wanna be my retainer?
  Young Niles: M'kay.
• A Day in the Limelight: Shura is the focus character of Chapter 11, due to his small role in Storm and not joining the Nohrians for the rest of Fire.
• Defeating the Undefeatable: Oboro (and her nameless Basara assistant) have the honor of being one of the few characters to completely defeat Xander in a fight. The only other characters to accomplish this are:
  • Ryoma during Chapter 1 (Ryoma himself being equal to Xander in power, and candidate for World's Strongest Man).
  • Corrin in Storm (where Xander was holding back both times).
• Department of Redundancy Department: Ryoma says “now you’re now Garon’s attack dog” to Corrin at one point. He chalks it up to Nohrian being a difficult language.
• Demoted to Extra: After Shura's plot to rob the Nohrians is foiled, he is thrown overboard instead of being recruited. He still kills Kotaro offscreen, though (and steals his boots).
• Despair Event Horizon: Sakura pleads for Corrin to put a stop to Garon’s attack on Fort Jinya before realizing (from her view) that Corrin never loved her to begin with. This cuts Corrin deeply.
• Don't Make Me Destroy You: Flora warns Scarlet that laying down her weapons and negotiating with Corrin is the only chance she has for her rebellion to end without her own death. Scarlet concedes Corrin seems like a nice girl, but maintains that Garon will never negotiate and fights to the last. The results aren't pretty.
• Dramatic Irony: In the third-to-last chapter, Elise claims to have gotten strong enough to be a match even for Xander. In the counterpart Storm chapter, she’s killed by Xander in one shot. (Granted, she’s implied to have skipped training in that route.)
• Dumbass Has a Point: While he has yet to really prove himself as a Cloudcuckoolander by this point in the route, Silas wisely urges Corrin not to reveal her identity to Kilma, to keep his trust. Then he participates in a victory high five with Corrin after she makes a flimsy attempt at placating Kilma and Flora.
• Dwindling Party: During the final battle, Elise and Silas are left to guard Azura as she uses her forbidden song. Then Leo is forced to use a Dragon Vein to create a shield, leaving Izana and Anna to guard him. Xander, Felicia, and Jakob are left behind soon after, followed by Gunter and Camilla. Finally, Corrin is left to face Takumi with only Flora and Kaze for support.
• Early-Bird Cameo: Laslow appears among the various characters hounding Jakob during a cutaway in Chapter 3, several chapters before he joins the party.
• Easily Forgiven: Played with. While Hinoka is willing to give Corrin another chance, she admits it won't be easy, and is leaning on Mikoto's words of wisdom. This is in contrast to canon, where the trope is played straight.
• Exact Words: Camilla orders Silas to call Corrin a pet name on her behalf. Silas begins referring to Corrin by his dog’s name for the rest of the chapter.
• Eye Scream: When Takumi trips the Dragon Vein at Port Dia and evaporates the water, he is blinded by the steam and becomes easy pickings for Camilla and her retainers.
• False Flag Operation: Implied. During the final fight with Ryoma, he claims he has heard rumors of "a white-haired Nohrian princess successfully raiding Hoshidan villages and landmarks". Given that he attributes these rumors to Takumi, who is possessed by Anankos and has every reason to lie in order to provoke Ryoma further, the implications are unpleasant.
• Flat Character: Kumagera’s entire character is the fact that he hates Garon. Leo attempts to learn more backstory from him and fails.
• Forgiven, but Not Forgotten:
  • Inverted. Takumi is unable to forgive Corrin for everything that happened, but acknowledges that things have grown beyond their spat, that he doesn't want innocent Nohrians to die, and that his corpse needs to die.
  • Hinoka vows to play this straight in the final chapter.
• Gameplay and Story Segregation: Parodied.
  Kilma: Now, everyone go outside and go to the opposite corner of this village! Then make your way back to me so we can fight! … Shut up, it makes sense!
• Giver of Lame Names: What was originally an off-hand joke in the prologue is expanded upon here. Garon renamed Kamui into “Corn” because he was eating corn. Gunter spares her some dignity and calls her “Corrin” instead, and the rest is history.
• Go-Karting with Bowser: The Hoshidan and Nohrian royalty spend the opening hours at Izumo attempting to socialize. Said attempts range from awkward success (Hinoka/Camilla) to a flat-out Defied Trope (Takumi/Leo).
• Gory Discretion Shot: Textual version. Scarlet’s Cruel and Unusual Death is very nearly depicted, but Corrin shuts her eyes and the scene ends before Hans can begin.
• Gratuitous Spanish: Xander thinks the Hoshidans speak Spanish and makes an idiot of himself.
• Heh Heh, You Said "X": Chapter 4 ends on one of these.
• Heroic BSoD: Azura suffers in Chapter 17, as the reality of fighting Sakura’s troops gets under her skin.
• Hold the Line: Sakura pulls this off against Xander and Camilla of all people during the Fort Jinya invasion, keeping either of them from making any progress for the whole chapter. Azama later tries this on Flora, Anna and Izana two chapters later, but Corrin and Azura stop him.
• I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: Of the Hoshidan royalty, Sakura alone accepts Corrin's defection to Nohr.
• If Only You Knew:
  • Felicia expresses relief that Corrin came to stop her tribe from rebelling, instead of someone meaner. Seeing as Corrin isn’t there to do it in Storm, one can imagine. She also later remarks on the brutality of someone burning to death.
  • Elise actually theorized a long time ago that Garon was jumped and replaced by his evil redneck twin brother. Corrin and Azura are astonished at how close she is to the truth.
• I'm Standing Right Here:
  • Iago claims Hoshidans don't have souls right in front of Kaze, a Hoshidan defector. When called out on this, he uses his position as Garon's favorite to continue insulting him.
  • Garon has a tendency to gloat and rant about his plans while in full earshot of his children. This does not seem to bother him. What's worse, this trait isn't even unique to this fic, as he does the same thing in canon Revelation with disastrous results for him.
• It Can Think: The Faceless that kills Lilith demonstrates intelligence, making it more dangerous than the garden variety Faceless.
• Kill It with Fire:
  • The trope is namedropped when Gunter sees Garon’s true form in the crystal ball. This causes him to throw the ball and shatter it, forcing Corrin and Azura to rely on faith to rally everyone into fighting Garon.
  • A more straightforward example is Zola, who burns to death. Felicia gets a weird feeling about it, standing next to Flora at the time.
• Killed Offscreen:
  • Played straight with Kotaro. He gets killed by Shura before anyone else catches up to him.
  • Averted in the final chapter. Unlike canon, Azura's death is still private, but we get to see it.
• Laser-Guided Karma: Corrin recruits Izana against her siblings’ wishes after they dispose of Shura without her consent.
• Loser Has Your Back: Azama lampshades this, noting that things have gone really badly for Hinoka when he and Setsuna are her best friends.
• Medium Awareness: Anna is aware that she is a character in a video game.
• Meta Guy: Anna has a lot to say about the conventions of Fire Emblem and the Conquest route. Elise shows shades of this trope at times too.
• Mid-Battle Tea Break: Exaggerated into a full-blown contest between Jakob, Anna and Subaki over who can make the best tea for Gunter.
• Mistaken for Junkie: Ryoma assumes Corrin has become a drug addict in Nohr, when she’s just trying to get medicine for Elise’s Terminal 7 disease.
• Must Make Amends: Corrin’s guilt never quite leaves her, from the beginning of the final chapter, right to her character ending, she’s determined to spend the rest of her life doing right by Hoshido.
• My God, What Have I Done?: Garon instills Corrin with regret in almost record time. One of the main reasons Corrin returns to Nohr is to talk Garon out of the war. In his very first scene, at the start of the second chapter, he motions for someone to kill Corrin, then forces her into quashing a rebellion all by herself.
  Corrin: Th-thank you… (I’ve made a horrible mistake.)
• N-Word Privileges: Parodied. Takumi is not amused with Selena calling people Baka. Then again, it is Takumi.
• Neat Freak: Flora cannot stop cleaning things.
• Ninja Log: Kagero tries this in a battle against Arthur.
• Not Hyperbole: Camilla tells Elise that “kill Corrin” is Iago’s solution to everything. Leo immediately recalls a few examples.
• Odd Friendship: While they do share a support in the game, Xander’s fondness for Kaze is played up this way, even offering to make Kaze his retainer after Laslow leaves. This carries over into Slow Roast.
• Oddly Named Sequel 2: Electric Boogaloo: Chapters where Corrin fights Takumi are named in such a manner; Dia is named "Takumi", Cheve is named "Takumi II: Night of Takumi", and the Great Wall of Suzanoh is named "Takumi III: The Reckoning".
• Official Couple:
  • Camilla hooks up with Niles offscreen before Cyrkensia.
  • Corrin successfully confesses to Flora in Chapter 11.
• Oh, Crap!: Chapter 3 bluntly ends with Corrin realizing she’d disobeyed Garon’s condition that she halt the Ice Tribe on her own.
• Onion Tears: A gag like this occurs in Chapter 13.
• Pass the Popcorn: Anna spends the opera house chapter watching everyone banter with each other, instead of properly helping out. Popcorn is even referenced.
• Patriotic Fervor: While trying to bond with Azura, Xander reveals that all/most of his favorite things relate back to the kingdom of Nohr.
  Azura: I’m sensing a pattern.
• Playing with Fire: Despite the Flame Tribe not being real, Rinkah manages to control the element during her one and only appearance in Chapter 6.
• Protagonist-Centered Morality: Defied. In canon, Corrin is upset with their actions because the Hoshidans are her family. In the fic, she’s upset with herself for continuously causing death and destruction, until she finally breaks down in her mother’s Afterlife Antechamber.
• Pungeon Master: Kilma likes him his ice puns. He occasionally tricks Flora into making a few as well.
• "The Reason You Suck" Speech: During the final confrontation with Iago, he reveals that everything that went wrong at Macarath and the Eternal Stairway was because of his machinations. Corrin points out that he has just confessed to infecting a princess of Nohr with a terminal illness and conspiring with the enemy to get another princess of Nohr killed, endangering several able-bodied soldiers of Nohr in the process, and sending hordes of monsters to kill a princess of Nohr, again endangering several Nohrian soldiers and the entire Nohrian royal family. This all adds up to something we like to call capital treason.
• Retcon: The story is internally inconsistent on how much time an in-game turn represents. Takumi claims that a turn lasts one hour in Chapter 5, while Ryoma claims a turn lasts one minute in Chapter 13.
• The Reveal: Chapter 20 drops the reveal that Sumeragi isn't actually Corrin's biological father and Mikoto already had her when she arrived in Hoshido. Notably, this reveal cannot be discovered in canon Conquest.
• Secret-Keeper: Corrin, Azura, and Gunter bring more people into their plot to defeat Garon as time goes on. By the time they've taken out Iago and Hans, nearly everyone in Corrin's party (other than Xander) are either conspiring to dethrone him or aware of said plot.
• Self-Deprecation: Jakob takes some time in Chapter 16 to mock the idea of people playing video games, and then people writing fan fictions about video games.
• Self-Harm: A very unconventional example with Garon.
  Garon: Who let you kids in here without mah permission?!
  Camilla: You did, father.
  Garon: What?! How dare I do that without my permission?! Iago, get me mah whip, I gotta teach Garon a lesson!
• Senior Sleep-Cycle: Garon’s occasionally sawing logs in the middle of a scene.
• Sheathe Your Sword: Anna uses her meta knowledge to tell everyone to beat Azama this way in Chapter 6. He’s not too upset about that.
• Shout-Out: Several, as usual.
  • Kilma’s one and only rule for the battle for his tribe: No touching of the hair or face.
  • Apparently Link is Garon's tennis instructor.
  • Elise catches Terminal 7 and needs medical attention.
  • Silas tells Kaze, “Hey, you’re that ninja”.
  • Effie picks up Kagero, spins her around, and tosses her away before quipping "So long-y ninja!"
  • Felicia wants to see I Want To Be Your Canary in Nestra.
  • After the opera at Cyrkensia, two men who bear a suspicious resemblance to Statler and Waldorf mock the show and the subsequent battle.
  • The opera in Cyrkensia is the infamous "Party Time" scene from Titanic: The Legend Goes On.
  • During the fight against Kumagera, Leo hits Kumagera with a bunch of branches made to resemble a fist, causing "ONE PUUUUUUUUUUNCH!" to play. Bonus points for both Leo and Saitama being voiced by Max Mittelman. Relatedly, Leo's only response to Garon's monstrous mucky form is a blunt "Ok".
  • In Mokushu, Kaze and Saizo recite much of the dialogue from the infamous rooftop scene from The Room (2003) before dropping it.
  • When Leo tells Fuga how much the Wind Tribe sucks, he responds, "You City Folk need to turn a New Leaf! Our Wild World out here is beautiful!"
  • The namesake for the Great Wall of Suzanoh is Suzanoh Goldblum, whose dialogue is reminiscent of The Pullout King.
  • The fight with Iago is based on the fight with Zant from The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess.
  • Nyx's ending jokes that she combined with Erebus to end the world.
• Sold His Soul for a Donut: Kaze forsakes Hoshido and casts his lot with Corrin all so he can get away from Rinkah. He tries to throw in an I Owe You My Life word-for-word, but leaving Rinkah was his first and bigger motivation. To his credit, he later admits that he really is loyal to Corrin.
• Spared by the Adaptation: Downplayed by Hinata and Oboro. Both of their deaths in canon Conquest are optional, but while Hinata is relatively easy to avoid if you're so inclined, Oboro is smack in the middle of the path to Takumi and is very hard to get around. Both of them survive their final battle in this fic.
• Spoiler Title: Chapter 21 is titled "Iago Finally Dies". Spoiler alert: Iago dies.
• Take That!: "Put them to sleep if they touch a spinner? Who even has a spell like that?"
• Taking You with Me: Subverted; Saizo attempts to blow the Nohrians up with a kamikaze attack, but Felicia freezes him before he can do so.
• Talking Is a Free Action: Averted. Odin learns the hard way that Setsuna won’t wait for him to finish his incantations.
• Tempting Fate: After seizing Fort Jinya, Corrin declares that as long as she controls said fort, the prisoners will not be harmed. Garon promptly arrives, assumes command, and orders them killed.
• The Thing That Would Not Leave: Keaton’s ending describes him as becoming this for Castle Krakenburg, albeit somewhat reluctantly. It does explain his appearance in Slow Roast, which takes place after this route.
• This Is Something He's Got to Do Himself: Defied by Felicia, who jumps into the fight between Kaze and Saizo.
• Tsundere: Not only is Selena one of many examples of this trope, but she is an in-universe Ur-Example. Her ending states that she inspired its proliferation in Hoshidan media for generations after her lifetime.
• Translation Convention: Averted in Chapter 10’s flashback. Toddler Corrin’s dialogue is peppered with Gratuitous Hoshidan.
• Vengeance Feels Empty: Averted with Hans, Gunter greatly enjoys maiming him. Played straight with Gunter against Garon.
• Warrior Therapist: Deconstructed. The Rallyman distracts Leo, Azura, Felicia and Flora from invading by giving them counselling. It works for a while, but then they feel even more motivated to invade the Great Wall.
• Whole Episode Flashback: Chapter 10 focuses on Gunter’s history with Garon and meeting Corrin for the first time.
• You Are Better Than You Think You Are: After their battle with Corrin, Kilma takes the time to assure Flora that he still loves her, even if she doesn’t fight as well as Felicia.
• You Know I'm Black, Right?: Substitute "Hoshidan" for "black", and you get word for word how Kaze (a ninja fighting for Nohr) responds when Iago insults all Hoshidans. Iago briefly attempts to amend himself, but then doubles down on racism.

Flow

• Didn't See That Coming: Anna, a character only seen in the Fire route, cameos at the end of the first chapter, completely blindsided by the fact that Corrin didn't pick a side.
• Fake Defector: Ryoma assumes this is Azura's intention when she leaves with Corrin. Azura smiles and nods.
• Lighter and Softer: Contrast the beginnings of the other routes, Xander and Ryoma take Corrin (and Azura's) betrayal in much better stride. Mainly because they don't know how to classify the situation.
• Loophole Abuse: Jakob circumvents the Valla curse by writing a note about the kingdom of "Holla" inside Vallite territory and bringing it with him when he leaves.
• Race Against the Clock: Corrin and co. have one month to assemble the Hoshidan and Nohrian armies before the portal to Valla is closed and their chance to defeat Anankos is lost.
• Screw This, I'm Outta Here: Instead of fighting Ryoma and Xander's forward commanders, Corrin and co. opt to just leave.
• Seers: Corrin gains the ability to see briefly into possible futures, helping to expedite character interactions. (It also serves as a meta-representation of how most players going into the Revelation route are already aware of what happens in the Birthright and Conquest routes.)
• Shout-Out: While this route is a stub compared to the other two, there are still plenty of references.
  • Like the other opening chapters, this story’s first chapter title references a song: Black or White.
  • Felicia describes a pigeon named Divorce McFrank.