Fire Emblem Awakening

Video game fandom
Name	Fire Emblem Awakening
Abbreviation(s)	FE13
Developer(s)	Intelligent Systems
Publisher(s)	Nintendo
Release date	April 19, 2012 (Japanese release date)
Platform(s)	Nintendo 3DS
Genre(s)	Tactical role-playing
External link(s)	Official Site, Official Japanese Site
Related articles on Fanlore.

Fire Emblem Awakening is the 13th installment overall in the Japanese tactical RPG series Fire Emblem.

Canon

The story of Fire Emblem Awakening takes place about 2000 years after the events of Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon, Fire Emblem: New Mystery of the Emblem, and Fire Emblem Gaiden. The game centers on a group of soldiers from the Halidom of Ylisse. The player controls a customizable avatar character, (known widely by Fire Emblem fans as Robin, their default name) who suffers from amnesia. Robin is taken in by Chrom, the prince of Ylisse, and his militia known as "The Shepherds" (or simply "Chrom's vigilantes" in the Japanese script). Over the course of the story, Robin aids Chrom's army in defending Ylisse from monsters dubbed the Risen, and attacks from the hostile nation of Plegia.

Fandom

Fan reception

Overall, Awakening was positively received, and ended up being a huge entry point for many new fans to the Fire Emblem series, as well as being attributed to the revitalization of the franchise in general. However, it was not without its critics. Some longtime Fire Emblem fans felt Awakening changed too many aspects of the game to be considered a "true" Fire Emblem game. Fans who hold these opinions are often referred to as the "Old Guard" or "Elitist".

"Old Guard" vs. "New Blood"

As Awakening was the first Fire Emblem game released in North America to feature a customizable player-avatar character, a marriage-and-children mechanic, and Casual Mode (the option to turn off permanent character death), longtime fans were offended and horrified. The game's downloadable content gave characters from older games new names that weren't the same as existing fan translations. As well, some of the new character designs and outfits only fanned the flames. Of note, a returning DLC unit Eirika from Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones had a default character class of "Bride", complete with frilly gown. The division within the fandom continued to grow and only increased with the release of Fire Emblem Fates, which continued to build on Awakening's game mechanics.

Shipping

Due to the nature of the support system, there are no set-in-stone canon pairings in this particular game. The "pick and choose" nature of the supports leads to vast Shipping Wars, with all sides often becoming defensive of their preferred pairing and wanting to see it as the "true canon." Some popular ships include:

• Robin/Chrom (Chrobin)
• Lucina/Robin
• Robin/Frederick
• Robin/Tharja
• Robin/Sumia
• Robin/Cordelia
• Chrom/Olivia
• Chrom/Sumia
• Lissa/Lonqu
• Lissa/Maribelle
• Owain/Inigo
• Lucina/Severa
• Henry/Olivia
• Lucina/Gerome
• Severa/Inigo

Like in Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War for the SNES, optimization for the perfect child units is very common, to the point of causing arguments on forums. In addition, there's a separation between pairings that are considered "good" from a narrative perspective, and pairings that are "optimal" due to game mechanics, with each factor appealing to different niches.

Fanworks

Fanfiction

• Blood for Blood by pallidiflora (Tharja character study) - The birthright of a dynasty of sorcerers.
• i'll save your bones by astrogeny - "Plegia," Tharja says immediately, "Plegia is in your skin and your blood and your bones and all the spaces in between them." "A mirror could have told me that," Robin replies.
• one life for one universe by Kairosity - Seven reasons why there never was a choice.
• sillage by astrogeny - Emm was always a good head taller than her, almost as tall as Chrom, and she filled out the Sage’s robes in a way that did not make her look like a girl playing at being a woman.
• Ties That Bind by WhenTheMoonMetTheSun - a college AU fic based on the novel Fangirl, in which the female Robin is a well-known Ike/Soren writer. Her work acts as a catalyst to her eventually falling in love with Chrom, her roommate's friend and ex-boyfriend.

Zines

• Fire Emblem: Ambrosia
• Golden - A Chrobin Zine
• A Man For Flowers

Fanart

• Listen Up Gay Wizards - Blue's fanart inspired by the meme popular in this fandom

External links and archives

• Fire Emblem: Awakening tag on AO3
• Fire Emblem Ylisse stories on fanfiction.net