metaphor's a very fascinating game bc youll be going around talking to regular jrpg npcs as usual and then one of them will open a conversation with something so racist that you have to imagine the traveling boy is just staring at them like this
it’s so funny when you watch a show or play a game where you know the fandom is super hype about a ship and you’re like “there’s no way they are actually like that™” but then you consume that media and are like “holy shit how did the fandom undersell how fucking gay these losers are”
jiang cheng wanyin and felix hugo fraldarius are the same person please @ me
*youngest
*forced to grow up and become a [child soldier] regional leader because he was the only one left
*father was indulgent but distant and mild
*always in the shadow of the slightly older brother figure who embodied family ideals and father's expectations
*brother who then went and got himself killed acting on those ideals to protect others instead of coming back home where he belonged and was needed
*burying a father with whom you had a complex relationship sucks. Especially because his ideals and hopes blinded him to the truth of reality around him
*everything first started falling towards war when he was 17 and went to boarding school
*orphaned only child with survivor's guilt and loneliness masked by rage and left to stew into a bitter man because he grew distant from the cohort who lifted him up as a team
*even she couldn't stay and help him and be his sister, she had to go live elsewhere, who needs marriage anyway
*lightning magic
*nothing without the ability to wield his sword
*hides behind ruthless training and violence because it's all that never failed him
*was friends with a flaky layabout pervert who didn't come help during the war due to demanding family expectations he never wanted and a brother's legacy he hates shouldering the responsibility of
*angerie hairbun
*pouty and insecure as a child
*also pouty and insecure as an adult he really is not the least bit slick we all know
*figures of authority? The color blue? Keep it all away he just might scream. That bastard stole and killed his brother
*being a role model is hard let him say fuck words instead of just damn bastards
*actually does not want to be any kind of leader but was raised in the culture with peers and hey the common people still need his help peacekeeping in the war's aftermath
I think most interpretations of Felix go along the lines of. 'ahah he's so stupid and wrong abt everything but that's why i love him! such a silly tsundere boy who just needs to get over it and admit he loves Dimitri.'
and every time I try and hold myself back from commenting an essay about how he's completely right about Dimitri in every way. Dimitri is shown to be unstable, dangerous and a poor leader. He's honestly a prime example of why Edelgard is right to dismantle the nobility.
Yes, Felix does love him, and probably has some kind of crush on him. But it's deeply rooted in his childhood connection to him. He's an extremely sentimental character who's uncomfortable with his emotions because, time and time again it's shown that other characters simply don't think about him as much as he does them. He calls Dimitri and him 'once inseparable' and we never hear the same from Dimitri, instead we hear about how Glenn used to be Dimitri's closest friend. Felix's dad also has a clear preference for Dimitri over Felix as well. And eventually when his dad dies protecting Dimitri Felix feels locked into every expectation set on him by his father- which includes protecting Dimitri with his life.
I can't decide what's my favorite part of this anecdote, because confirming that Flins can't even get tipsy because his flame just instantly combusts alcohol means:
First, all those times we see Flins drinking or talking about drinking were actually just for love of the game. He confirms here that he's not drinking because he enjoys savoring the sensations or tastes; he doesn't even get a pleasant buzz out of it... He's almost certainly doing it because it's the fastest vehicle in Nod-Krai for social interaction. Humans like drinking, so Flins drinks to have an excuse to be near them.
Just like Durin, who realizes that drinking would be one of the fastest ways to endear himself to Mondstadters:
Flins has clearly figured out that the way into humans' hearts is to make sure they're happily tipsy 90% of the time.
From all the way back in his character teaser, we see Flins using a chat over drinks to get what he wants out of Ulman (he wants an excuse to lead Ulman to safety because he knows the Wild Hunt are active that night):
Illuga points out that Flins uses drinking just as a means to further social interactions:
We get to see Flins using alcohol as the basis for his friendship with Demyan at the Flagship:
(By the way, he's good enough friends with Demyan that Demyan asks Flins to take over bartending duties at the Flagship when Demyan has to go out of town--Flins was tending a whole ass bar as a side gig for his NPC bro just for the hell of it. Flins really loves people.)
Even his "Favorite Food" line focuses entirely on how Fire-Water can make other people feel; while his "Least Favorite Food" line emphasizes that eating/drinking for him is essentially an entirely social endeavor:
And of course, spending copious amounts of time drinking with Varka, not for the drinks but for the company:
There's just something so endearing about the picture this whole thing paints--despite claiming to not be a very social creature, Flins has put in the effort to become a whole connoisseur of fine wines and spirits because doing so makes it easier to gain acceptance from humans, makes it easier for him to form friendships with people.
Flins isn't Varka's drinking buddy because he likes drinking; he's Varka's drinking buddy simply because he likes having a buddy.
It even gets more charming when coupled with Varka's teapot dialogue, which reveals that until the alcohol starts flowing, Varka is actually a bit socially awkward too and doesn't know how to carry on conversations that don't fit his normal patterns of interaction:
(They're both depending on the beer to help them make friends lol.)
For Flins, just like with Durin, the idea of a magical creature working hard to understand human customs, wanting to learn how to fit in, and finding joy in just being welcomed to spend time with others... So, so, so cute.
Second though! Even though that whole aspect is adorable, the other part of the anecdote's reveal just has me in stitches...
This anecdote confirmed that alcohol's only effect on Flins is as fuel... which makes all his drinking with Varka soooo much funnier in hindsight.
Like no wonder Flins is so smiley and giggly every time we end up seeing him out drinking with the Grand Master. Pouring that much alcohol on a fire would basically be the human equivalent of knocking back a six-pack of Monster energy drinks and then trying to interact like you're perfectly-fine-totally-not-vibrating from the adrenaline rush. Dumping a whole bottle of alcohol on a fire makes it go VHOOSH, you know???
Flins is probably getting wired as hell every time he hangs out with Varka. 😂😂😂 He's shotgunning a whole line of Five Hour Energies and then going "Oh my god Grand Master, you're sooo funny."
A cocktail or a beer flagon or two with other Lightkeepers or Nasha Town residents to fuel a pleasant conversation is Flins's regular modus operandi, and then Varka comes around with his 30-gallon barrels and it's like
Thanks for this random stock photo, Food Republic.
Maybe Flins can't "let loose" and get drunk like humans can, but the idea of a fire struggling to contain itself while blazing from the all fuel he gets every time he sees his newest "drinking buddy"... Trying to still act gentlemanly, aloof, and cool-headed while his flame is flickering all over the place from all that extra energy... Ahhh, this is really adorable too.
B-But then there's even a third aspect I love, because what you do you mean Flins and Varka have never had a single drink together that qualifies as "juice":
Yet Flins just... happened to have Wolfhook berries on hand? You never drink juice together... but you're ready to make juice... at a moment's notice...?
The fact that Flins would have had to go out of his way to get Wolfhooks for Varka is already obvious and sweet in its own right, but when you think about it even harder, it just gets even more adorable: Flins went out of his way to get the Wolfhooks without even knowing whether he'd have a guaranteed chance to use them. The fact that he just had them on hand the moment this topic came up means he had already been ready for that situation. He bought the Wolfhooks in advance and was just waiting for the chance to share them.
Flins picked something up that he knew Varka would like and then literally had to manuever the whole situation just to work them into the conversation. What if Demyan had never asked him to tend the bar? What if the topic of talk just hadn't turned that way? What if Varka hadn't asked for something different than usual?
Would Flins just have had to figure out some completely different way to get the Wolfhooks to Varka?
Despite it being unusual and outside their normal pattern, Flins knew that Varka would like the Wolfhooks, so he bought them just like that, plan or no plan. Even putting aside shipping, this goes to show how generous and kind Flins really is. He cares about the people he spends time with and wants to make humans feel better when they're down. Flins genuinely appears happiest when experiencing joy vicariously--other people being happy seems to be what makes him glow.
My sentient wisp of flame cannot be this cute...
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