I think it's so funny that we as a fandom seem to think Tobias has been the one moving the plot forwards the majority of the time. Because yes, while that is true to a degree, Fenn being impulsive and acting off his emotions has led to WAY more plot development than we give him credit for. What was the first real civil interaction they had? Fenn making Tobias food. Who crossed the border first (which indirectly also led to the truce agreement)? Fenn did! Who insisted on rebuilding Tobi's quarters (which also indirectly led to soo many developments in their relationship); who made sure Tobi got his clothes out of his room, leading to that whole thing where they almost kissed (and probably partially contributed to Tobi confessing to Fenn later on because it made him start taking the prospect of Fenn returning his feelings more seriously); whoooooo initiated the first time they ever slept in the same bed? Fenn, Fenn, Fenn! I could probably come up with even more examples if I thought about it longer!
Fenn talks a big talk, but the truth is that Tobias only wanted practicality at first. He wanted them to be at least semi-civil so that it wouldn't be exhausting every time they had to interact, but I doubt he ever would have challenged Fenn's boundaries (staying on their sides of the border, continuing their soldierly duties, etc.) if Fenn hadn't challenged them first. Without his spontaneity, we wouldn't have Faroff as it is now. :)
HIII, I just saw your post in which you headcannon which second language would the Faroff guys have and my dumbass can't figure it out if you are showing that Tobi would be French and Fenn German, or if its supposed to be from the other's pov (aka Fenn speaking French to Tobi and vice versa), for some reason I can see it being either way so I wanted to discover what did you meant! (Also I would love to know more of your headcanons 👀)
Also that post made me think of something and I would love to know your opinion, how do you think the story would go (specially the beginning) if their countries had different languages? Do you think that there would be a big language barrier or that maybe there would exist some "universal" language (like how English is perceived nowadays) that they would use? I think this topic is pretty interesting to explore since it could add many layers and opportunities of misunderstandings, but I wanted to hear your thoughts! :D
HELL YEAH A FAROFF ASK I HAVEN'T HAD ONE OF THESE IN A WHILE!!!
I very much understand how the edit could be misinterpreted tbh, but it was intended to be Tobias speaking French to Fenn and Fenn speaking German to Tobias! :)
Answer to your other question below the split, it was getting a bit long ↓↓↓
It's really neat that you ask how I think the story would go if their countries had different languages, because I do actually have headcanons about Fenn and Tobias' knowledge of other languages, despite having never thought about this scenario exactly before. Basically, I think Tobias would've been taught multiple different languages in his studies, but in Sona I think learning multiple languages would be looked down upon or maybe even banned (it helps the government keep them brainwashed if their ability to read, understand, and learn from other countries is limited), so I don't think Fenn would've been taught another language aside from his main one.
SO! If their countries had different main languages. I think there would be a huge language barrier on Sona's side, because I think the majority of Sonan soldiers wouldn't speak the Vaylinian language, including Fenn (I can see Oskar knowing it and having taught him some words and phrases, though.) However, I think it's very possible and maybe even likely that Tobias would've known the Sonan language.
Therefore, in the beginning they would've spoken entirely in the Sonan language. We probably would've only seen the Vaylinian language being spoken when Tobias is alone, in flashbacks, and when he's saying something he doesn't want Fenn to understand.
I also think Fenn would have a huge mental rule against speaking the Vaylinian language at all, to the point where he'd see it as a betrayal to his country, so there would've been no teaching him anything in the beginning unfortunately. He probably would've gotten very aggressive when hearing Tobias speak in the Vaylinian language as well, because I think he would take it as 'I can't understand what he's saying' = 'he's planning something', which, as we all know, means he'd go absolutely berserk and DEMAND to know what he's saying. (It would be really funny if Tobias just came up with random bullshit and told Fenn that's what he said LMAOOOO)
But over time, as he got closer to Tobias, it would've changed a bit. Especially after their truce agreement, I think he'd still ask what Tobias is saying when he speaks in Vaylinian, but it would be more out of genuine curiosity rather than paranoia. Still no speaking it himself, though. Maybe he would've spoken it to Tobias for the first time around the same time that he let him stay in his quarters, and started trying to actually learn it shortly after the current point we are at in the story? (For any time travellers, the "current point" as of this post is Episode 83 - Truth: Part 2)
Anyway this was a SUPER COOL ask to receive and there are almost definitely more interesting possibilities of this AU aside from the stuff I mentioned 👀
