Tag: Ranulf

o/ Azel

You also asked for Ranulf, so I’ll do both here.

Ranulf

Sexuality Headcanon:

Bi with a preference for men and masculine-presenting people generally, hence why he’s got a camaraderie with Lethe but has no patience for either Lyre or Kyza – and the paired ending with Ike, of course.

Gender Headcanon:

Cis male, but I can see him being more genderfluid in the bedroom if his partner’s into it.

A ship I have with said character:

Ike/Ranulf. Ranulf/Skrimir could technically work as well, but there’s less to build off.

A BROTP I have with said character:

Skrimir if they’re not having wild cat sex, Giffca, Lethe, Amy (Calill and Largo’s daughter)

A NOTP I have with said character:

Ranulf/Lyre. At least if he’s with Kyza the sex can be hilariously awkward.

A random headcanon:

Very few people get to see him without his distinctive hat. It throws everyone (Ike definitely included) off when they see him bare-headed for the first time.

General opinion over said character:

A fun guy with some memorable lines and a decent amount of story presence across both games, which is more than many Tellius characters can claim. He’s also average to above average as a unit in both, especially surprising given how annoying non-royal laguz gauges can be. I like his rapport with Ike, and I like that their paired ending offers an alternative to Ike/Soren that can be just as if not more enjoyable to read fic for. 

Also the porn is unquestionably hotter – cat boy!

Azelle

Sexuality Headcanon:

Mostly straight, but he and Lex are really close *nudge nudge wink wink*

Gender Headcanon:

Has to be cis male so the breeding mechanics make sense, but then I’m not an expert on trans headcanons so I’m sure someone could figure something out given the motivation to do so.

A ship I have with said character:

Lex/Azelle is proto-Hector/Eliwood so I like it, and hopefully their dynamic will be even more endearing and messy (per their current circumstances) in a remake. Azelle/Tailtiu for marriage purposes and also for my preferred breeding setup.

A BROTP I have with said character:

Lex of course. Maybe Sigurd? His relationship with Arvis is a…peculiar subject.

A NOTP I have with said character:

Not a fan of Azelle/Edain because one Midir is enough, thank you very much. I also never do LTC runs, so using Rescue to speed through Chapters 4 and 5 isn’t worth totally screwing over Lester.

A random headcanon:

I can’t see Arvis letting him die at Belhalla, but the ensuing familial situation with the Velthomers could not possibly have been pretty. Especially if Hilda was involved somehow…how is she related to them anyway?

General opinion over said character:

Not very fun to use as a unit because it’s Horse Emblem and fire magic is terrible, but he’s a strong father for some of the kids. I do prefer Eliwood and his dynamic with his intimately close blue-haired BFF, but Azelle’s got his entertaining moments. I like how the two of them and Tailtiu all get to express their conflicted feelings over fighting their families, and how they all approach the prospect differently.

Ranulf/Kyza for the meme

It’s cute. Ranulf is obviously more into masc guys which is why he doesn’t seem that interested in the femme cub tiger, but for what little there is of Kyza to talk about it’s not bad. Humorously I think one of the reasons Kyza has been forgotten by the fandom is that he’s one of the most conservatively-dressed male laguz and as such has little bara potential compared to Muarim, Volug, Tibarn, Mordecai, any of the lions, Gareth, Ranulf with Ike…poor guy.

Ranulf

How I feel about this character

Cute and snarky, like Soren he’s definitely not your typical adviser character. He’s also one of the only non-royal non-flying laguz worth using in both games, so there’s that.

All the people I ship romantically with this character

Ike of course (and I wish this pairing were more popular in fandom), and maybe Skrimir too for something different and probably rougher. 

My non-romantic OTP for this character

He and Lethe have a good rapport that isn’t romantically based surprisingly enough. He’d probably also have a lot to talk about with Giffca, if Giffca were ever inclined to be chatty.

My unpopular opinion about this character

He’s pretty clearly a no fems kind of guy, much as that breaks Kyza’s queeny little heart. He is vers though, and probably poly-friendly.

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon

Like many people I’d like to have seen the extended Hard Mode script localized, because it gives him more screentime and more development to his relationship with Ike. Since he’s an option for a paired ending that’s kind of important.

markoftheasphodel said

That is for some reason the one human/furry pairing I actually like.

Strangely I ought to be more invested in laguz pairings than I actually am, given how they (or at least the beasts and to a much lesser extent the birds) indirectly relate to some of my kinks, but while that’s enough to make me fine with Tellius’s worldbuilding for the most part it hasn’t done as much for my willingness to check out fanwork of the characters or write meta aside from Tibarn/Reyson being obvious and Ike being not straight. However, my feelings on Ike/Soren are extensively colored by my past romantic experiences such that I have trouble viewing the pairing entirely on its own merits, so Ike/Ranulf is a more palatable if less complicated alternative.

Keeping the rhythm going (at least until I have something else to post)

"A peaceful moment"

"Beorc and Laguz"

Ike and Soren, Ike and Ranulf, Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance and Radiant Dawn

Fire Emblem may just be my most prolific of guilty pleasures, as I really enjoy the games but am painfully aware of the fact that most people know nothing about it outside its presence in the Super Smash Bros. series.  I describe it somewhat tongue-in-cheek as “like chess, but with sexual deviancy.”  Although the series is infamous for its teasing of brother-sister incest (in one game, the never-localized Genealogy of the Holy War, incest is even part of the main plot), implied homosexual relationships abound as well – to say nothing of other non-normative sexual practices: adultery, interracial relationships, relationships with a significant age difference if not outright ephebophilia, necrophilia, etc.  Whatever one’s personal convictions regarding these practices, it is somewhat surprising – and perhaps even a little admirable – that Nintendo and Intelligent Systems would feel comfortable incorporating such issues into games that consistently receive ESRB ratings of T or below.  One can get away with anything so long as it remains purely text, evidently.  The latest game, out in Japan now and due in Europe and North America next year, is disappointing in that it seems to be turning homoerotic relationships into little more than ground for absurd jokes, principally to return the focus of supporting to the creation of children as playable units through the magic of time-travel shenanigans.

With that said, Ike is gay.  I’m sure that fact is met with disbelief and horror by many of his fans from Brawl, but his only paired endings in Radiant Dawn are with the two male characters above.  Strangely, I don’t really read fics for either ship, mostly because Ike’s character annoys me except in the hands of very good writers.  The same could be said for Soren, with whom one must tread carefully lest he become too angsty and emo for anyone to reasonably endure.  Their relationship dynamic also hits a little too close to home for me, reminding me always of a friend (and fellow FE fan, appropriately enough) who played the Ike to my Soren for some time.  *sniff*  Ahem…Ranulf, on the other hand, is usually just cheerful and flirty, so he’s hard to mess up.  Still, I’m including them here before other FE ships I actually read (which I will probably post later) because of Ike’s significance as a homosexual protagonist.  Heather’s lesbianism is more blatant and may be more popular with many fans for the obvious reason (*cough* double standards *cough*), but Ike is a more widely-known character and therefore takes precedence in my opinion – sloppy writing and dubious characterizations and all.