Pretender
by morningmaple is a Fire Emblem: Awakening Interquel and alternate retelling fanfic addressing what happened behind the scenes during the two-year Time Skip. This fic explores the ramifications of having no past nor identity would mean for Robin and how it would affect his personal relationships: Frederick and Chrom, in particular.
After a failed suicide attempt on Robin's part, Frederick becomes a confidant and a closer friend while Chrom tries to figure out why his best friend has started to shut him out and try to find out Robin's past identity.
Spoilers for canon are unmarked. Read with caution.
Tropes:
- Adaptation Expansion: The story expands what happened during the two-year Time Skip as Frederick, Robin and Chrom adjust to peacetime.
- Amnesiac Dissonance: Discussed, Robin feels that his past self must have been a massive dick because no one bothered to look for him when he probably went missing.
- Apologizes a Lot: Sumia has her moments.
- Beneath the Mask: Noted by Frederick that he tried to look past Robin's mask to find deceit, only to find a very troubled person trying to thank the people who gave him the only life he knows.
- Broken Ace: Robin is a genius tactician gifted with both tomes and swords, lead his army to many countless victories without the loss of a single life. On the other hand, he is filled with great guilt over Emmeryn's death and his jealousy of Sumia for having Chrom's love and has poor self-esteem for having no identity outside of being a tactician and no past to speak off.
- The Confidant: Frederick begins to serve as one to Robin.
- Crazy Jealous Guy: Chrom is not pleased when he finds out that Robin and Frederick are together. He almost revealed the truth of Robin's origins in hopes of breaking them up before stopping himself.
- Cut Himself Shaving: Robin explains away his voice sounding off after his suicide attempt as having sand stuck in his throat.
- Death by Adaptation: Emmeryn does not survive her suicide and her body is found.
- Deconstruction Fic: It points that an amnesiac with no past would be intensely bothered by lack of memories and the fact that no one is looking for him
- Dead Fic: The story has been dropped with the author moving on to other fandoms.
- Dogged Nice Guy
- Double Entendre: When Frederick tells Lissa and Chrom that he's having dinner with Robin so he can get used to eating game meat, Lissa slyly replies that Robin is "training his(Frederick) gag reflex."
- Dramatic Irony: Frederick learns to trust and love Robin and is regretful for how he treated him initially. Chrom and the readers know that Frederick was right to suspect Robin, considering the latter's true origins.
- Driven to Suicide: Robin attempts to hang himself over failing to stop Emmeryn's Heroic Sacrifice and seemingly failing to fulfill his only purpose in life as a tactician.
- Due to the Dead: Emmeryn's body is implied to have been desecrated by Gangrel, while Chrom gives her a state funeral when they are given her body.
- Everyone Can See It: All of the Shepherds can see that Frederick has feelings for Robin.
- Expy: Robin is one for Cordelia, which is exemplified which Frederick's Plot Parallel with Stahl.
- Finally Found the Body: Emmeryn's body is rescued by Plegian rebels and delivered to Ylisse for burial.
- Foregone Conclusion: Chrom vows to keep the truth of Robin's origins a secret for the rest of his life. Anyone that played the game knows that's not happening.
- Frontline General: Chrom, Lucina, Basilio, Flavia... neither of them are happy when Robin sidelines them or positions them back in the formation.
- Goodbye, Cruel World!: Frederick finds Robin's suicide note thanking everyone for taking him in after he cuts him down. Chrom ends up finding it later when goes to Robin's tent to discuss tactics.
- Green-Eyed Monster: Robin is jealous of Sumia for having Chrom's love and admits to Frederick that he sometimes wished she was dead, only to feel terrible about it. Sumia becomes jealous of Robin for being so skilled and loved by everybody and ultimately having Chrom's attention. Chrom gets jealous of Frederick for seemingly taking his place as Robin's best friend after Robin starts to avoid him.
- Heroic Self-Deprecation: Robin is a gifted tactician that rarely fails in acquiring the Shepherds a victory, but the fact he has no past, no close friends and failure to save Emmeryn lowers his opinion of himself considerably.
- Hollywood Healing: Averted as it takes a long time for Robin's hanging injuries to heal.
- Hypocritical Humor: Chrom tells Lissa to be more like a lady when she starts speculating that Robin is gay. Lissa calls him out on this, saying that he told her to be herself before that.
- I Don't Want to Ruin Our Friendship: The initial reason Frederick decided not to pursue a relationship. He eventually changes his mind.
- I Have This Friend: Before Chrom finds out about Robin, Frederick warns Chrom that morale was at an all-time low and he should keep a closer eye on the Shepherds, not all of them are as well as they pretend.
- I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: Begrudgingly on Chrom's part.
- If You Ever Do Anything to Hurt Her...: Chrom pulls this on Frederick when he finds out the latter got together with Robin...by spotting the love marks on Robin's neck.
- Incompatible Orientation: Robin, who is male in this fic, has one-sided feelings for Chrom, who is married to Sumia. Averted as Chrom has feelings for Robin, not that he realizes it.
- Interrupted Suicide: Frederick cuts the noose before Robin successfully hangs himself.
- Irony: It does not escape Chrom that Frederick, the one who trusted Robin the least, ends up romancing him behind Chrom's back.
- Just Friends: No one is buying it, Frederick.
- Locked Out of the Loop: Sumia and Lissa have no idea that Robin attempted suicide and misinterpret Frederick, Chrom and Robin's interactions as a result.
- Love Hurts:
- Chrom loves Sumia and has feelings for Robin. He is upset when Frederick and Robin begin dating, but he refuses to betray his wife or hurt his friends.
- Sumia is hurt because her husband also loves Robin.
- Robin loves Chrom, who married Sumia. He's scared that he'll betray Chrom, too.
- Frederick has feelings for Robin, but he'll have to kill him should Robin become a threat to Chrom.
- Make It Look Like an Accident: Frederick fears Robin will have a magic "accident" if he doesn't convince him to not take his own life.
- Master of the Mixed Message: Chrom's concern over Robin and his refusal to stay with Sumia for long periods of time, mixed with his joy at Sumia's acceptance of marriage proposal and gushing of Sumia leave both Robin and Sumia stupefied for who Chrom truly cares for.
- Moment Killer: Sumia accidentally interrupts Chrom's attempt to have Robin open up.
- Mutual Envy: See Green-Eyed Monster above.
- My Greatest Failure: Robin blames himself for not saving Emmeryn and feeling that he failed as a tactician for not predicting the events that led up it, even telling Chrom to let her die instead of giving up the Fire Emblem.
- Oblivious to Love: Chrom is unaware of Robin's feelings for him and of his own.
- O.O.C. Is Serious Business:
- Frederick, who normally is a proper gentleman, swears when he saw that Robin hanged himself.
- A minor variation that Emmeryn's death depresses Stahl to pick at his food instead of eating it.
- Plot Parallel: Frederick gets the courage to confess his feelings for Robin when Stahl tells him that he will pursue Cordelia.
- "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Chrom tears Frederick a new one for seeing Robin behind his back especially since Frederick told him that he wasn't interested in dating.
- Rescue Romance: Discussed when Chrom is lead to believe that Robin and Frederick are romantically involved. He discusses the problems with such a romance, it would seem that Frederick is taking advantage of the emotionally-vulnerable Robin to force him into a relationship, before reminding himself that Frederick would never do that.
- Security Blanket: It's implied that Robin's constant reading and trying educate himself is a coping mechanism for his amnesia.
- Shell-Shocked Veteran: Robin is quietly bitter and his attempts to assimilate to peace time is exasperated by his amnesia and only having memories of the war.
- Shipper on Deck: Lissa and Sumia are one for Frederick/Robin. Although in Sumia's case she hopes that if Frederick and Robin get together Robin will give up his feelings for Chrom and Chrom will give up his obsession with Robin.
- Slash Fic: The pairing is Frederick/male Robin
- Secret Relationship: Frederick and Robin manage to keep their relationship a secret for several months before it was revealed.
- Secret Secret-Keeper: Chrom finds out after studying Robin's mark that Robin was part of the Grimleal and that Validar's son went missing the same time as he did. He does not tell Robin because he feel that man doesn't need such darkness in his life.
- Stepford Smiler: Robin is good at raising the Shepherds' spirits and presents himself as cheerful despite being miserable inside. Exemplified when Robin raises Chrom's spirits and successfully cheers the man up right after Robin tried to take his own life.
- Straight Gay: Robin is one as Lissa points out.He's never looked twice at any of the women, not even Cordelia! And everybody looks at Cordelia.
- Starts with a Suicide: The story opens with Frederick stopping Robin's suicide attempt by hanging.
- Talking Down the Suicidal: Frederick tries to convince Robin out of hanging himself or attempting a future "accident".
- That Came Out Wrong: When Frederick tells that Robin is one person the Shepherds can't afford to lose, he immediately tries to rephrase it and fails, realizing that it makes it sound like that he only saved Robin because of his usefulness.
- Tough Love: When Robin denies feeling troubled and refuses to open up after his attempted hanging, Chrom confronts him and makes him take off his scarf he used to cover his neck wounds.
- Uriah Gambit: Defied by Robin. He feels tempted to send Sumia to her death, but he refuses to give in to temptation. And he hates himself for feeling that way.If their eyes met, she might find out. About how he felt for Chrom. About his disgusting jealously. About how he made sure she was well-protected in every battle because he wished she was dead and he hated himself for feeling that way, and he would rather die than to let that emotion control him.
- What the Hell, Hero?:
- Chrom tears Frederick a new one for dating Robin behind his back after he told Chrom he was reading too much into Frederick and Robin's relationship.
- Robin and Chrom let Frederick have it when Frederick attempts to kill Robin after he found out the truth of Robin's past. It especially stings for Robin, who Frederick promised that he would give him a chance if Robin used to have dark ties.
