Hello again! February was a slow month for me writing wise, but fortunately my productivity tends to pick up as the days get longer ^-^ As a more concrete measure of progress, the chapter is up to 9.5K words now, which is good! ...Except that I'm looking at how much more I still need to write and becoming mildly frightened by the prospective word count 😅 Weirdly there was a point earlier on while I was working on this chapter where I'd convinced myself this one was going to be unusually short (by my standards) and. I honeslty don't know what happened except to say really I should know better by now aksfjsd.
ANYWAY. Preview passage time:
Once King Validar returns, one way or another, this new era between Ylisse and Plegia will shudder inexorably forward.
Forward…but forward towards what?
From the beginning, Chrom was skeptical of his father’s intentions with the peace summit; he's long seen Andres's contentment for the warning sigil it is. But naive or not, Chrom wanted to believe that whatever his father might be planning could not be worse than what already lays behind them.
Because what could be worse than more bloodshed? Than another year’s worth of crops rotting on the vine, only for the fields to lay barren the coming spring? Worse than watching their people grow thinner and hungrier, all while in the castle, they were offered a banquet night after night.
No. Chrom was certain whatever trickery his father had planned couldn’t be harder to stomach than what had come before…but that was before he knew that it was Robin who was to be ensnared by it.
planning my fic in a normal way. 1) what incredibly indulgent scene do I want to write next? 2) what connective tissue do I have to set up between indulgent scenes to get us there?
Big ask, and unsure if you have done so before, but could you rank the characterisation of each iteration of Robin/Grima in Fire Emblem Heroes? Odd but I'm curious about your thoughts on all of them
Have a nice week!
Y'know, I don't think I have ever done this before... Or at least, not in any kind of organized manner. I'll give it a shot!
But oh boy... Anon, I hope you wanted an essay, because there's no way I can keep this short.
... Indeed, now that I've finished writing this post, I would like to officially add a warning. This essay is 7k words long and clocks in at 14 pages. Please do yourself a favor and open it in a new tab.
Okay so before we get started I think it's important to establish what I think Grima's characterization actually is. This is made a bit difficult because much of Grima's characterization was more or less established by FEH itself, so there are sometimes moments where what Grima is saying may be "inconsistent" with Awakening but consistent with other lines from FEH... And this is not necessarily "OOC" in my view because most (though not all) of the Grimas who appear in FEH have amnesia. If they act a little different, we can say it's because their experience of existence is simply a lot different to that of other Grimas.
But that brings up another point of difficulty in characterizing Grima... the different timelines/worlds that they come from. Because you've got
The original timeline (the future adult Lucina comes from in game)
Awakening's canon timeline (what we play during the main campaign)
The Future Past (which I maintain is a bad end AU of the canon timeline, in which Grima/Robin from the future is able to successfully take over their past self's body, as opposed to them failing to do so like we see in the main endgame chapter)
Infinite Regalia (timeline where Grima turned all the Shepherds into Deadlords. Unfortunately this world is not fleshed out at all and kind of raises more questions than it answers...)
What I consider to feel "in-character" for Grima can thus vary a lot depending on where I think they come from... which causes a lot of problems for me since I am fairly sure that some of the FEH writers do not even realize that there's a difference in characterization between OG and Future Past Grima (namely, you only see two personalities emerge in the Future Past, because that is the only timeline in which Robin gets possessed. It's a self-possession. In the OG timeline there is no separate "Grima" from "Robin" and Robin's soul simply "awakens" as Grima. I know this is controversial to some people, but I WILL die on this hill.) Expecting anyone who isn't neck-deep in Grima lore to know everything about every iteration of Grima is a bit much to ask, honestly. So when I go through and nitpick the characterization of every Grima alt in FEH, please don't take it as me being overly harsh. I think that FEH has largely done a good job and made a lot of people take interest in Grima. (Heck, I wasn't all that interested in Grima myself until I pulled the original Fallen M!Robin version of Grima when he was first released back in 2018. I liked Awakening before this and would casually read Chrobin fanfiction, but it was only thanks to FEH that I really got inspired to delve into Grima/Robin's characterization... and just look at me now!)
With that out of the way, let's start looking at Grima's appearances in FEH.
Robin: Fell Reincarnation (February 22, 2018)
Ranking: S
Without a doubt my favorite of Grima's FEH iterations, though I'll try not to let that bias cloud my judgment TOO much. This alt introduces the concept of Grima losing their memories upon being summoned to Askr. I was taken aback when I first saw this, as to my knowledge, this was invented out of nowhere. Absolutely nowhere in Awakening does it ever suggest that Grima has lost any memories, although Awakening Grima DOES complain about losing power when they followed Lucina back in time (this seems to be the justification for why they can't just go rampaging in dragon form from the start of the game and actually have to do the ritual to revive the dragon again). So even though this amnesia business is an invention of FEH's, it feels consistent with how things work in Awakening. Grima just can't travel to other worlds without screwing up a little 😭😭😭
Because this is the first time Grima ever interacts with the player in a non-hostile setting, in many ways this alt establishes what Grima's "normal" personality is like. I think it's basically taken for granted at this point that if Grima appears, someone is going to be called a worm, but... Actually, Grima doesn't call anybody that in Awakening. Certainly, the disdain for humans is there in Awakening—for me, Grima's "The future is built upon the past, but your kind shall never see it" line out of Lucina's flashback cutscene in chapter 21 is pulling a LOT of weight. Awakening doesn't really go into Grima's motivations at all, but this line does come across to me as Grima admitting that they HAVE reasons, just not ones they are sharing with humanity—a sentiment similar to what we see in Yen'fay when he refuses to divulge his motivations while fighting the Shepherds. In that regard, while Grima's tsundere traits in FEH can be seen as a softening of the vicious fell dragon's personality, I think it works well enough because, you see, in Awakening, Grima is both a demonstrated liar AND full of secrets that they are not forthcoming about.
To be honest, I think the unreliability of Grima's narration in Awakening is probably what makes it so difficult for FEH to write them consistently, but... It's also what I love most about their character, and I do believe that they were intentionally written this way (i.e. it's not just "bad writing." Although there is a little bit of bad writing sometimes. Validar... but I won't digress.) I mean, Naga even remarks on it if you get the bad end of the Future Past 3 map. "Perhaps it is best you not trouble yourself with Grima's secrets." You are supposed to notice that Something Is Up with Grima... Now, I ask you, is Grima's secret that "they possessed Robin"? Is Grima ever, at any point during the game, secretive about trying to get their past self to join them? Is it EVER hidden from the player that Robin and Grima are "one and the same"? Absolutely not... What is Grima hiding, then? What is the character whose name means mask, whose upper jaw literally comes off when damaged to reveal a human face beneath, trying not to show everyone?
So I would say that giving Grima a tsundere personality is completely in line with their Awakening characterization. Now, I do think that they open up surprisingly quickly, but that's more a function of like... how the game works lol. This version of Grima confesses a LOT in the 5* Level 40 conversation, but of course, this is probably supposed to happen after a long period of slowly growing closer to the Summoner (as opposed to "5 seconds after we met because I dumped a bunch of crystals on him" which is how I normally play with my Grima alts). Even though I don't really ship Summoner/Grima, I can't deny that writing-wise, the Summoner is just... special to Grima in a way that most people aren't.
Chrom totally is too, though, which brings me to...
Tempest Trials: Invisible Ties (March 15-29, 2018)
Ranking: S
The first (yes, FIRST, because there's more than one!!!) Chrima Tempest Trials will always have my heart <3 And whoever wrote this one clearly has the same view of Grima as me.
My favorite thing about this one is Grima's ridiculously heavy flirting with Chrom ("You've grown in strength. I will have to tear some strips off of you before I devour you.") after lying straight to his face about not even noticing him (in reality, he was at first speaking ONLY to Chrom and completely ignoring Female Robin until Chrom called him out for not responding to her). This is definitely consistent with Grima's behavior in Awakening (both the lying, and being incredibly not normal about Chrom. Because, yeah... Future Past Grima basically starts unraveling the moment they see Chrom).
This Tempest Trials also features a pretty interesting conversation between Lucina as Masked Marth and Loki.
Loki: Don't you have a Fell Dragon to murder? And there's that young lady that Prince Chrom seems so attached to. She's Grima too, isn't she? Don't you worry that little artifice will come tumbling down some day? That she'll kill your dear prince? I would.
Marth: I'm aware of the situation. I once tried to kill her, myself
Loki: Oh, really? My, my…
Marth: But I know better now. The bond those two share cannot be broken—by anything. We have the power to change fate.
So this version of Lucina is definitely post-canon. Now, I feel like it's important to note that when Lucina tries to kill Robin in Awakening, she actually does NOT know that Robin becomes Grima. What she knows is that Robin kills Chrom, and when she sees how Vaidar is able to compel Robin to steal the Fire Emblem for him, she realizes that he is also most likely going to compel them to kill Chrom as well. However, I still consider the conversation here consistent with canon since she is talking about something that happened in the past, and by the time the game is over, she and all the other Shepherds know about Grima/Robin, so indeed she is properly "aware of the situation" now.
One thing to note is that the versions of the characters who appear in FEH's events are often different from the version of that hero that you actually summon. This is important here because it is clear that the Grima who appears here does NOT have amnesia like his summonable alt does. And that is where my one slight nitpick comes... Grima says "Before fate was altered, Chrom slew me. I was reborn as Grima." And I don't know if it's a problem with my reading comprehension or what, but to me this reads as, "I was reborn as Grima [after] Chrom slew me." though I could also see it as "Chrom slew me [because] I was reborn as Grima." Idk, the phrasing just confuses me a bit. The whole thing is obviously a deviation from canon due to the Tempest throwing time and space into disarray, so trying to place exactly in what way it's diverging from canon would be helpful, but yeah... I THINK this Grima is post-Chrom landing the final blow, but then somehow revived by the Tempest. But I'm not 100% sure, and again, this is the only little detail that prevents this version of Grima from being 100% perfect in my mind.
But in any case, it's got a lot for Grima-is-Robin truthers, because of this exchange between Grima and Female Robin.
Robin (Fell Reincarnation): Who am I? Robin, of course. Before fate was altered, Chrom slew me. I was reborn as Grima. I have come here in pursuit of the child who calls herself Marth.
Robin (Mystery Tactician): You're saying that you're…me? From a different past?
Robin (Fell Reincarnation): Indeed. We are one and the same. But we come from different worlds… Very different. Perhaps it's due to the intensity of the forces of chaos… I had not anticipated meeting a female self.
Robin (Mystery Tactician): Well, here I am.
Robin (Fell Reincarnation): Would this qualify as self-loathing? Because I have an intense desire to kill you… This turmoil is fascinating.
"We are one and the same" echoes the same language Grima uses in Awakening. If this was all the Grima content FEH ever gave us, NOBODY would be arguing with me that the writers meant for Grima and Robin to be the same entity... Unfortunately, this is not FEH's last word on the matter and it will go on to cause me endless frustration 😭😭😭 But we'll get to that stuff in due time. For now, let's move on to Grima's next appearance in FEH.
Robin: Fell Vessel (March 29, 2018)
Ranking: S
The first appearance of female Grima in FEH is every bit as good as her male counterpart in my opinion. Note the name change from "Reincarnation" to "Vessel"—I find this unfortunate in some ways, because it seems to me that people looked at the word "vessel" and interpreted it WAY too strictly later on... but this terminology is consistent with its usage in Awakening. The thing is, "vessel" essentially means "container". There is no doubt in anyone's mind that Robin's body does contain Grima's soul... (the question is "is Grima's soul also Robin's soul, or are they separate entities?") Thus, I don't find the usage of the term vessel, even by Grima themself, to be out of character, even though I believe that in Awakening itself, it's only Validar who uses the term, not Grima.
Anyway, this version of Grima essentially displays the same characteristics as her male counterpart, and her voiced lines are the same, although her quotes and castle dialogues are a little different, which I like a lot as it means more Grima content for me :::)
Because she's a legendary hero (and regardless of what you think about her being one), she also gets some dialogue before her Legendary Hero Battle. This is notable because it shows FEH is still on the Grima-is-Robin train.
So you've come. Once I gain the memories my other self holds, I will truly become whole…
We'll see this "other self" language show up again (it shows up in the Id (Purpose) Premium Arrange, even... ~oshimai da mo, hitori no ware, kisama wa ware to hitotsu ni naru no da~) and to me, this is THE definitive way that Grima looks at Robins from other worlds—still fundamentally the same, just other versions of themself. I don't know if this is the first usage of that exact term or not, but I do know that in Awakening, Robin says "the other me" when talking to Naga about the possibility of killing Grima—"The other me claimed the dragon and I were the same, yes? If I land the final blow, he'd be killed by his own hand." So this is, at least, consistent with how Awakening characters talk about other versions of themselves.
Anyway, for a long time, I thought that was all we were going to get of Grima in FEH. I suspect people working on the game may have thought this too, because when Resplendent Male Robin came out (July 25, 2020) I was surprised at how Grima-y he was... (You can find my post about Hel m!Robin being "covert Grima" here, but I won't go into it in this essay, since it's not explicitly a Grima alt. I do speculate that they might have incorporated those elements out of an assumption that Grima wouldn't get more content on their own, because the Grima elements are notably absent from Resplendent f!Robin despite the design otherwise being the same. By the time Resplendent f!Robin was released, Grima had a LOT of content, to the point that people were getting mad about it lol. But again, this is just speculation on my part; I don't actually know what was going on in any of the official team's heads.)
So basically, after 2018, there was very little Grima content in FEH... for two years... but then, in 2020...
Robin: Fall Vessel (October 8, 2020)
Ranking: A
Oh, Halloween f!Grima, my beloved... She gave us so much. And yet, this was also the unfortunate beginning of the, uh... "possession era" in FEH... What I mean is...
Possessed by the Fell Dragon Grima, Robin has arrived for the harvest festival. What could she possibly hope to accomplish? Appears in Fire Emblem Awakening.
That's how this alt is described. "Possessed by the Fell Dragon Grima." Now, I would like to point out that this is the first time the word "possessed" is EVER used to refer to what's going on with this character. The previous two Grima alts? Their description reads "The Ylissean tactician Robin with body and soul ruled by the Fell Dragon, Grima" which... kind of seems to take care to NOT use the term "possess," but okay...
Now to be fair, if we assume that this alt originates from the Future Past, where Grima DID possess their past self, then there's no problem with the language used here... The problem with THAT interpretation is that this alt's characterization is just not consistent with Future Past Grima. Future Past Grima will have lapses where their other self momentarily gains control... There is not a single hint of anything like that going on here. So ultimately, my interpretation is that it's a Grima pulled from either the original timeline or mid-canon, and the description is just inaccurate.
Other than that bit of wording, though (which is only in Grima's description, and not her actual lines), there's nothing really objectionable in this alt's characterization. The whole thing with loving sweets is completely out of nowhere, but it is at least consistent with the tsundere personality previously established in FEH by the other Grima alts. Insisting that she's not enjoying herself, trying to hide how much fun she's having... These are perfectly reasonable extensions of what we know about Grima's character, and yeah, it's played up in a really silly manner... because it's a silly Halloween alt. The choice of costume is a fascinating bit of characterization in itself... a werewolf, a creature that wears a human shape by day but becomes a monster as soon as the moon reaches its fullest... And, like, there's layers upon layers we could unravel with that COLLAR, ugh... I love this alt so much.
And this alt also gave us the SECOND Chrima Tempest Trials, so I am truly the luckiest player in the game. Let's look at it.
Tempest Trials: Ever Two Halves (October 9-19, 2020)
Ranking: S
What's really interesting to me is that despite the description of this alt being that Robin was "possessed by the Fell Dagon Grima," when you look at the actual dialogue here... It's clearly just Robin talking. Like with the Invisible Ties Tempest Trials, the Grima presented here is a little different than the one you can summon, and has clearly not lost her memories the way the summonable Halloween f!Grima has.
On the contrary, she is very haunted by the memory of what transpired between her and the Chrom of her world.
Robin: I can see that you do not understand. In my world, you are dead… I betrayed you, and drove this very hand through your heart.
Chrom: And then what happened?
Robin: … You looked at me…your murderer… and said, "It's not your fault." So tender. So nauseating. I was overcome… Overcome with hatred.
Chrom: …
Robin: Does a shred of the me who shared a bond with you exist in my heart, beyond Grima's reach? Hoping against hope…is pointless. Do not speak to me again. I do not wish to recall these feelings…
Chrom: Robin…
This is completely consistent with Grima's portrayal in Awakening's canon timeline, in which they declare that they are the Robin who "murdered [Chrom] and became the fell dragon, Grima." To be honest, I would argue that Grima in fact did NOT "murder" Chrom at all—they were the weapon; responsibility for the murder actually falls on Validar. But what's important is that Grima always, always claims the blame for it. It is so absolutely on brand for Grima to tell Chrom that she betrayed him, even though anyone who has played Awakening knows it wasn't a betrayal at all (unfortunately, the people in-universe don't, and so this too is consistent with what we know from Awakening... Grima calls it a betrayal. So did everybody else from that timeline.)
I think it's interesting that Robin wonders if there is some part of her "beyond Grima's reach" because like... believe it or not this language is actually consistent with Awakening, too. Grima/Robin often talks about the fell dragon in the third person. But you do get first person as well—"I am the fell dragon, Grima." and "I am the end." for example. So this kinda just adds to the possession vs reincarnation confusion 😭😭😭 But it's lore accurate so I can't even complain asdfghjkl.
Anyway, let's move along. A year after we got Halloween f!Grima, we got her male counterpart.
Robin: Fall Reincarnation (October 6, 2021)
Ranking: A
This alt, like his female counterpart, unfortunately has the "possessed by the Fell Dragon Grima" in his description. But just as is the case with his female counterpart, there is nothing in his actual lines to suggest that there is any possession going on. Again, the lines are pretty consistent with Grima's character as it has been previously established in FEH.
His summoning quote provides another good example of him referring to himself in third person lol. "You have some nerve to summon Grima to this harvest festival. Now prepare to learn what true trickery is." God I love him.
He didn't get to feature in the Tempest Trials this time, unfortunately. (But don't worry, he got to show off his Savior skill with Chrom in the banner trailer, so FEH still said Chrima rights :::) ) Continuing on...
Robin: Fell Tactician (October 17, 2022)
Ranking: C
FOLKS THIS IS WHEN FEH'S GRIMA CHARACTERIZATION REALLY STARTED GOING WRONG 😭😭😭😭
Starting right off with the summoning quote, oof...
This "Robin" is merely a vessel. When your world is laid waste, you will rue my true name: Grima, the Fell Dragon.
????????? Grima doesn't talk like that????? GRIMA NEVER TALKS LIKE THAT?????? Grima is always really open about being Robin. And then there's this confusing line...
This arcane mark on my hand is now a part of me. Perhaps this is what despair made manifest looks like…
The mark... was always part of her? I think the implication they're going for is that like... she can no longer be separated from Grima's power, but... Awakening pretty clearly shows that that power was ALWAYS Robin's, with both Tiki and Naga herself telling canon timeline Robin that they have power similar to theirs. Idk what exactly they were trying to do with this line, but it just doesn't work for me and I'm very agitated about it 😭😭😭
Now, I do like SOME things about this alt. "If you wish someone destroyed, do not hesitate. Swallow your sorrow and end their miserable existence." and "It matters not how much power I obtain... This emptiness in my heart will not be filled." in particular break my heart. I think it does a good job of showing that Grima's search for power has in fact not led to any greater satisfaction... Because this alt is more powerful than the previous ones (a Rearmed Hero) and unlike them, this one hasn't lost her memories. I actually think it's a great callback to Legendary Grima's pre-battle quote talking about how she would become whole once she had the memories her other self has... Well, this is proof that having memories doesn't actually make her feel any more whole 🙃
Okay, so this is the first time we got a Forging Bonds with Grima (because in 2018 they didn't have Forging Bonds yet so m!Grima didn't get one as a New Hero, and f!Grima wouldn't have gotten one as a Legendary Hero anyway). I wish I could say it was amazing, but... Ugh, let's get into it.
Forging Bonds: Flow of Power (October 17-31, 2022)
Ranking: D
So, Grima appears both in the main Forging Bonds story and in her specific C-A conversations, and... I hate how she's written in both of them 😭😭😭
The main story has Grima pretending to be vanilla Robin, trying to commit a little torture behind everyone's backs, getting confronted by Ricken of all people, trying to kill him, and then ultimately getting stopped by Thrasir. And, uh.... I just don't buy anything about that chain of events... For one, Grima absolutely hates doing this kind of work directly and usually sends servants to rough people up... (Seriously. See my "Grima and Final Blows" essay for more on how much Grima actually sucks at killing in person.) It feels like the writers just made up something generically evil to do without thinking about how Grima actually does things...
Another thing that bothers me is that Ricken starts going on about how the situation reminded him of what Lucina told him about her world, and he explains how "The Robin of [his] world had lost her memories, but the one from Lucina’s world was different. She succumbed to the will of the Fell Dragon. She brought despair to the world in Grima’s name." Okay, even disregarding the fact that I disagree with the possession angle, the fact is, LUCINA could not have told him that mid-canon (he clearly isn't from post-canon or else he wouldn't have been confused by Grima for even a second) because, I cannot stress this enough, it is CRITICAL to the plot of Awakening that she DOES NOT KNOW about Robin becoming Grima. Lucina's Judgment would have happened a whole lot sooner if she'd thought that Robin was going to turn into the fell dragon itself. But she didn't know, so no, she did NOT tell Ricken any of this. This story just sucks. 😭😭😭 My only consolation is that FEH completely abandoned the entire plotline with the Arcane Weapons being terrible and dangerous things, so... if they can pretend this Forging Bonds never existed, so can I.
Grima's personal Forging Bonds is slightly less awful, but it still rubs me the wrong way. The interesting thing is that it... actually holds up pretty well if you consider this to be a Future Past Grima. Indeed, it actually HAS to be a Future Past Grima, because she is interacting with Fallen Male Morgan, who comes from the Future Past. Even this whole "not quite used to controlling Robin's body" business becomes completely consistent with Awakening the moment you define this alt as being from the Future Past. And we even get a brief moment where it looks like Robin momentarily has control. But... the problem I have is that Morgan then goes "Does the vessel yet resist?" and I'm sorry but I simply do not believe that Morgan would ever refer to HIS MOTHER like that. Like, 100% the Future Past Morgans adore their Master Grima as a parent. Even if you wanted to make the argument that Grima holds no love for the children and is only using their love for Robin to manipulate them (this is absolutely not what is going on, but even IF it were), it would not make sense for Grima to go around flaunting that "all traces of Robin have been extinguished" TO MORGAN, and Morgan certainly wouldn't be casually calling Robin a vessel 😭😭😭😭 It just doesn't feel right. I want to love their interactions, and I do like the detail that Grima actually sent Morgan ahead of her to Askr, but... their dynamic is just off here...
Ugh, just a lot of disappointment with this alt. But don't worry, because we get more good Grima writing soon enough... Grima's next appearance in FEH isn't as a new alt themself, however, but rather...
Forging Bonds: Depths of Despair (May 9-23, 2023
Ranking: A
THE RETURN OF THE CHRIMA AGENDA!!!! And also the return of good Grima writing :::)
The only issue I have is that... the timeline doesn't really add up. You see, the Grima in this event displays clear Future Past tendencies, and their other self clearly gains control for a moment at the end. This is all perfectly consistent with the Future Past, and I consider all of Grima's dialogue here to be well-written and in-character. The problem is that it really just doesn't make any sense for this to be a Future Past-based scenario. The Future Past occurs when Grima follows Lucina back in time and, rather than failing like in canon, they instead successfully overcome their past self. The world presented in the Depts of Despair Forging Bonds, however, makes no mention of Lucina whatsoever. I mean, you can say that absence of evidence isn't evidence of absence, and she COULD be around yet unmentioned, but... Frankly, her absence feels quite conspicuous to me. Chrom cries out in despair for all the people he's failed, yet makes NO mention whatsoever of his precious daughter? (I'm actually inclined to think that she doesn't exist in this world, which uh... sort of has Some Implications, especially when you have (dream) Lissa teasing him after he says something sappy to Robin in the C conversation similarly to the way she teases him about his WIFE in Awakening... But I don't want to get TOO deep into conspiracy theories lol). In any case, Chrom definitely takes on Lucina's role in the narrative in this world, playing the "future witness" role and being charged with the duty to use his experience to change the fate of other worlds. I think the story being told here is extremely well done and a very natural extension of Awakening's themes, so I've got no complaints about that. I just have to fudge the details a bit when I use Fell Exalt Chrom in my fanfics in order to maintain a little more consistency with the timeline.
Moving on... We're riding pretty high at this point, but bace yourself, because we are about to hit the lowest point of FEH's Grima characterization... The... ugh.... Brave Robins' Forging Bonds.
Forging Bonds: Turn of Fate (August 16-30, 2023)
Ranking: C
"Know your place, mortal. You are naught but Grima’s vessel." WHERE ARE THESE PEOPLE GETTING THE IDEA THAT GRIMA WOULD TALK TO ROBIN LIKE THAT???? GRIMA NEVER TALKS TO THEIR OTHER SELF LIKE THAT 😭😭😭😭
And furthermore, there is a huge problem with the entire premise of these Forging Bonds... You see, Brave m!Robin here is explicitly a post-canon Robin. He HAS to be, because the whole idea behind his new outfit is that it's his new garb as tactician to "Exalt" Chrom. If you'll recall, Chrom only takes on the "Exalt" title after he returns to Ylisse following the final battle. So, basically... Robin here is acting as though he's never dealt with Grima before, even though he's been hassled before in his own world by his own future self. The whole interaction just feels... disconnected from canon. I honestly think that whoever had to write this one probably didn't play Awakening personally. Nothing in here is so egregiously bad that it would stand out as wrong to someone who wasn't a big Awakening fan, I think. But iirc every fan I saw react felt this Forging Bonds was lackluster at best, giving us absolutely nothing new or interesting or even amusing to talk about.
Now, personally, I did like the part where the Grimas claimed they were coming to warn Robin "out of pity". That does actually seem rather in-character for them, at least their FEH versions—Grima's view that death is an equalizing power, their hatred for humanity's selfishness, commanding Chrom to surrender himself to the darkness and "find relief"... Grima sees hopelessness as mercy from the cruelty of powerlessness, so yes, I do believe that they would think to approach their other selves and pressure them to give up. It would be less trouble for everyone that way, wouldn't it?
I'm still not giving these Grimas anything higher than a C, though. That "naught but Grima's vessel" line pisses me off TOO much. This Forging Bonds was, however, still a lot better than what is to come...
But before we get to that, let's talk about a version of Grima I did enjoy—Resplendent m!Grima.
I discuss a couple of Grima's lines more in-depth here, but yeah... The Resplendents don't carry MUCH new content with them, but what we got with Grima's here was really interesting, I thought.
Unfortunately, we now have to address my most beloathed Grima content in the whole game...
Forging Bonds: In Those We Hope (August 16-30, 2024)
Ranking: F, for what the FUCK did I just read??? I was so mad about this one I had to write a fanfic about it
"I am a body under Grima’s command."
.... I'm sorry, what? WHAT????
Listen... I don't care if you think that Robin is nothing more than an unwilling victim of bodysnatching. You CANNOT argue that this is an in-character thing to say. There is no situation in which she would EVER say THAT.
Look me in the eyes. Read this section from the Future Past 3 Bad End...
Grima: …Don't you hate me? …I'm the cause of all of this… …If it weren't for me, you would never have had to take up the sword… …You and your loved ones would be living in peace… …I am to blame for everything… …You must destroy me, Lucina…
Lucina: You needn't tell me how much I hate you… I…LOATHE you… But… If you were really Grima, why would you seek your own demise? And why does your voice now seem so…so painfully familiar? You're a human, aren't you—a person, like us? Grima is using you to—
Grima: …I am Grima! There is nothing human about me! Lucina …… Grima …I have always been the fell dragon… …since the day I was born… …I wish that I were human! That I could have lived a normal life with you! …But I'm not, and I can't…
Lucina: …… Is there no way for me to… I mean… Can I save you if I defeat Grima? Grima …No. As I said, Grima and I are one… …I can speak my mind like this because we are weakened… …but that does not mean my mind is free… …Put aside your sympathy and finish me…
Lucina: There must be another way!
Grima: …Why won't you listen to me? I— Nngh…
Lucina: What's happening?
Grima: CHILD OF NAGA… I will feast ON YOUR BONES before this is THROUGH…
Lucina: No…
Grima: …Rrgh! Huff, huff …You see? …Grima is my true nature… …We cannot be separated…
Lucina: ……
Grima: …And now I must say farewell… …Take care, Lucina… …I look forward to the day that I die on your blade… …May that day…come soon…
Even in Future Past, a situation where Robin could very justifiably claim to be a body under Grima's control, they don't speak that way!
I don't think the writer of this Forging Bonds ever played Awakening. Not only that, I don't think they even played FEH! Because the things said about Grima in this Forging Bonds are so out of step with every other portrayal of Grima in not only Awakening but also FEH itself. Grima is supposed to be tragic! They are stuck in a fate that all the other characters get to escape, and the game isn't unsympathetic to that. But then in this Forging Bonds, we get...
Robin (Exalt's Right Hand): Can you tell my why evil beings like them have been summoned here?
Robin (Exalt's Deliverer): I asked 【Summoner】 the same thing. I’m led to understand that the Heroes who are summoned to Askr are all necessary in some way.
Robin (Exalt's Right Hand): They benefit Askr, even if we cannot come to terms with them ourselves?
Robin (Exalt's Deliverer): Their existence may have meaning for us as well.
Robin (Exalt's Right Hand): What do you mean by that?
Robin (Exalt's Deliverer): It can be argued that we strengthen our resolve by facing these versions of our worst selves.
Robin (Exalt's Right Hand): You think they make us stronger? That is a good way to think of it! I will approach it that way too.
Oh, my hatred for this exchange knows no bounds... Reducing the Grimas to mere "evil beings" and implying that their purpose in being summoned to Askr is only to make "good" heroes stronger... I HATE IT. Ugh... Everything about this Forging Bonds rubs me the wrong way. Get it out of my sight.
Thankfully, FEH did give us a couple more Grima alts to wash the taste of the Brave Robin Calamity out of our mouths.
Grima: Tyrant of Ruin and Grima: Tyrant of Despair (Jun 6, 2025)
Ranking: B
I'll discuss these alts together, since they were released at the same time and have substantially the same lines (there are a few differences, but the essence is the same). It was a little disappointing to me that they were the same when all the other male and female Grima counterparts had unique lines, but... That's not really a characterization issue so I can't actually take away any points for that lol.
Sadly, I find these alts to be somewhat underwhelming, characterization-wise, even though I absolutely adore the direction they took the art (I even made f!Grima my phone wallpaper). A lot Grima's lines are just lifted directly from Awakening, so there's nothing really new or interesting to say about those. It's not "OOC" because it's literally exactly what they would say, but it... feels a little flat to me. Also, it does make it rather difficult to pinpoint what point in time these Grimas are supposed to come from. I mean, the endgame chapter, obviously, but... They speak as though they have just overwhelmed Robin (which they do at the beginning of the chapter, trapping Robin temporarily in... uh, The Void, I guess). But then some of the quotes they're giving here are what they say in battle with the Shepherds, at which point Robin has already broken free... I suppose these Grimas COULD be on the brink of heading into the Future Past, but... I don't know. It's just a bit confusing.
It also bothers me that these Grimas transform directly into the dragon instead of summoning it like all the Grima Robin alts. TECHNICALLY this can be considered canon-compliant to a certain extent, because we do see cutscenes of Grima in the original timeline going after Lucina without Robin present (though considering that nobody in the future knows that Robin became Grima, and combined with the limitations of the medium, I am inclined to believe that Lucina simply didn't SEE Robin's human form as opposed to it not being physically present at all). I feel like they did this to try to justify these alts existing under the name "Grima" despite all the other ones being "Robin" but... it just doesn't work for me, I'm sorry 😭😭😭 I really don't think the difference needs to be justified in the first place—Camus, Zeke, and Sirius all walk around in Askr just fine. Kvasir, Seiðr, and Gullveig manage to coexist, too.
(I'm aware that the argument is that, okay, those other alts were all "Robin" possessed by Grima, and these ones are "Grima" fully in control, but... This simply is NOT how Grima's characterization works. When you actually read every alt's lines, there is no way to distinguish them as different characters from each other. It is impossible to identify a definitive split between the "Robin" and "Grima" identity because there simply isn't one. This character is the fell dragon, Grima and also the Ylissean tactician, Robin. You cannot strip either side away without having to rewrite the character.)
Still, overall, I do find these alts to be pretty good. I'm particularly obsessed with the way their VAs took their "The bonds between humans... So frail. Short-lived. Futile." lines in slightly different directions (the Japanese VAs seemed to do this with this line too, a bit). A more arrogant spin and a more sorrowful one... The duality of Grima <3
I've also talked about it a little bit before here, but these alts also have the "other self" language in the Japanese version ("hitori no boku"/"hitori no watashi"), which I've pointed out is significant because Grima used "ware" in Awakening (and both Grimas also use it here as well... when they're capslocking), while boku/watashi are the pronouns they regularly used as Robin. The Japanese lines also have them breaking into third person when they go "A future of annihilation and despair awaits humanity. And I caused it…" (basically, they're saying "the one who caused this was Robin, myself") So, yeah... I feel like the og writers definitely knew what they were on about here when they wrote these Grimas and made these deliberate choices, but I'm not sure to what extent the localizers are on the same page.
Forging Bonds: Wakened Dark (May 6-20, 2025)
Ranking: B
This essay is already really, really long, and it hasn't been that long since I wrote about my opinions on this Forging Bonds , so I'm just going to link my previous post on the subject. In short, I had some a few problems with the characterization seeming a bit flat in the main story as well as m!Grima's conversations, but I thought f!Grima's were actually pretty well-written. I don't like that they have Grima talking about not being a "complete fell dragon" yet—again, I'm pretty sure this is an attempt to justify bringing in these alts as "Grima" when the others are "Robin," but this didn't actually need to be justified at all, and all they've done is over-explain something that already HAD an explanation. You see, in Awakening, the reason that Grima needs to join with their past self so "the dragon's might will be made whole" is because they lost power following Lucina back in time; it wasn't a matter of them just not being... fully rooted in Robin's body, or whatever. So that brings the score down a bit for me. However, f!Grima's Forging Bonds conversations end up demonstrating that the "Grimas" and "Robins" fundamentally act the same on a core level, and despite the continued overreliance on the "vessel" language perpetuated by previous FEH iterations, they properly recognize their other selves as "the same soul", so like... ultimately I did find it satisfying.
And... I believe that's all of Grima's appearances in FEH as of now (November 14, 2025). I'm hoping we'll get a Resplendent f!Grima sometime, and I'd really like to see a male counterpart for the rearmed version (listen to me, if f!Grima gets a sorcerer outfit like Validar and Fallen m!Morgan then m!Grima needs a dark flier outfit like Aversa and f!Morgan PLEASE I'M BEGGING HERE...). So perhaps in the future, I'll have even more Grima content to analyze. But for now, I think this is it.
Thank you for coming to my thesis presentation holy shit TED Talk. Stay Grimleal, friends :::)
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