I wanted to make them look less like random village kids, so I gave them a uniform! They wear the uniform over their regular clothes; to show they're still novices when it comes to stuart duties and still have a lot to learn before they can don the all white outfit like Vander.
Framme's uniform is basically identical to Clanne's, but I bunched it up around the waist to give her more freedom of movement for punching👊🏻💥 Also to show that she's more laidback compared to Clanne; who likes to do things more by the book
How did it take so long for me to realize how perfect it would be to pair the twins with the twins?
Their color palettes already match and their abilities all align with each other pretty well. Clanne's more offense focused so Terriermon's heavy artillery when help him a lot. Lopmon becomes more magic focused with access to holy skills which make her a perfect for a healer like Framme
Plus their personalities balance out their partners. Terriermon's more active personality can encourage Clanne to be a bit more outspoken. Lopmon's more passive personality can keep Framme grounded
How I spent my free time thinking of other partner options for a digimon crossover and didn't immediately clock this idea until yesterday is beyond me
Shout out to FE Engage being like "Everyone is their own fucking little weirdo, let's rock." Clanne is an incredibly hyperfixated and anxiety ridden nerd and Framme is the cheery bubbly nerd that avoids reading because she finds it hard to maintain attention for very long. They say completely sus and inappropriate shit, but they also embrace their weirdness in such a way that makes THEM comfortable, them happy. They are basically superfans. They are like Dipper and Mabel if they were even weirder about it. And I love Dipper and Mabel!
Now here's everything about why I like Clanne and Framme under the cut:
And at the end of the support, they become a little more self-aware of it, talking through Clanne's anxiety while choosing to stand together and embracing themselves. And that changes their dynamic just that much more. Instead of trying to shut in and retreat, they're looking now to build a place for themselves to be themselves. It might make them weirdos, but their passion will be their means of finding the people who would love them most for them.
Now, is some of what they do offputting? Very much so. (I WANT TO BE THAT DRINK OF WATER!). But they are also not real. They are allowed to be offputting because they're fictional characters. Not everyone is built to be liked by everyone. In fact, the very nature of writing offputting characters can show how it looks like from an outside looking in perspective and that can be a lesson to take from. And people can grow. I think they grow over the course of their supports.
But their issues are surprisingly very real to a very specific kind of person. They're characters who exist as like, metacommentary on being superfans of the series. They would be fanfic authors, musicians, artists, game makers. Incredibly strong passion for something they love, even if it makes them lonely.
And... who doesn't feel more anxious, passionate, and lonely than a fan who's all alone in their hobby? The kind of fan who's too earnest, and therefore too weird, that either they think nobody likes them, or they genuinely have very limited friendships.
Like, these characters in Engage are very exaggerated, but also very sincere at the same time. And honestly? I love that, because it gives room to self-reflect. So many people in fandom are both seriously passionate but seriously afraid to let themselves be weird or comfortable. Because when you're weird, when you have strange tastes, when you're too against the grain that you don't feel like you belong even in spaces with people who you should be like minded with, you start to hide.
You start to put away the toys and things, ships, stories that you are secretly the biggest fan of, and you try to become normal again. Because these interests, for all their joys they bring you... are abnormal to a larger world. There will always be someone out there shutting you down, ostracizing you. They'll insult you, they'll accuse you of things about you that are just plain untrue. And in this age of fandom? It's never been more easy to be harassed. The fear is legitimized when you think you've found a friend and suddenly they're metaphorically smacking you in the head for being a creep. And the crime?
Liking fiction. Liking weird fiction. Being weird about it, and accepting that weirdness as a normal part of your life. Maybe not others, but YOURS. Maybe people don't like that, but maybe you've never wanted to give it up in the first place. Maybe, like Clanne, the fear is in the alienation. And if things were different, if you could find a place to openly talk about your interests and prattle on and on and on, you would take it in a heartbeat and swoon. Maybe you're one of those people who's got that 100k longfic as the only pushing your rarepair. Maybe you've got that one so-called problematic ship that makes you squeal with enthusiasm because it resonates so incredibly. Maybe you're using your art to have characters ponder the human condition and/or touch butts, possibly at the same time. Maybe you just want to make art for free as a fuck you to capitalism. And you're on your 17th literary analysis essay or shipping fanart because this is what you like to do for a hobby.
And maybe that's like 5 people in the world, but one of those is also me.
Those are all great things that fandom thrives on. You know what's a sign of a fandom that isn't fun? People picking on each other. Policing each other's behavior even though no one's committing a crime. Feeling ashamed that you like the parts of your own fandom that get weird about it, not because you don't want to like them, but because people keep beating it into your head that you're weird, or bad, or an awful person. But you're not awful. ...Weirdness is not a bad thing in itself.
And then there's the opposite side of the spectrum, embracing your weirdness. The consequence is that you tend insulate. That is the product of recognizing you stand out, that people give you strange looks, and that people think you're strange, and even if you're harmless, they'll see you as uncomfortable to be around. Even if you don't realize those things, or you do and don't care, it still happens in a lonely world where you constantly feel on guard.
But what does that embracing bring you? A sense of clarity, a lack of doubt in yourself, and the courage to not be dissuaded by the people looking down at you. Because if your worst crime is that you really love a certain type of fiction that people are uncomfortable with, then you have just committed a thoughtcrime, and thoughtcrime doesn't exist.
So you keep embracing it, and then that brings you joy. That self-acceptance turns into reflection, insight, the desire to keep doing what you love. Improvement, even skill mastery. You'll stumble and struggle and fall sometimes, Clanne certainly would, but as long as he has Framme, he feels as if it's okay to be who he is. Even if it means being a little lonely, he's not alone. He has her.
These dynamics are strongly reflected in Clanne and Framme, I feel. Clanne who is embarassed of his hobbies and Framme who is shameless, both of them are looked at as total weirdos by outsiders and probably even plenty of FE fans... He does not feel as if he knows how to interact with people at all, and even when in supports that have nothing to do with his hobbies, he's still anxious and jittery.
Clanne's anxiety is literally tied to being so weird, nobody will like him. That he will be judged because he is weird. But... who cares? Saying who cares isn't going to fix his anxiety, but it's a start. He is at a crossroads, where he can choose to abandon the things he loves to be a respectable person in both his mind and to the greater world, or he can accept his own individualistic nature even if it makes him unrelatable or even unlikeable. And he takes the harder route.
It's the harder route because it's set up for loneliness. He's not the only sibling pair in Fire Emblem or even the only support where loneliness and ostracization are important themes, but the self-awareness provides a second nature to the conversation.
But think about it this way. Framme is not going to stop. Framme doesn't want Clanne to give up what they have together. That rift would only have them drift away. If Clanne really did walk away from her, that would be a sudden shock to Framme's system. Now she's fully alone. They are strangers amongst strangers, and it isn't like Framme doesn't ping sus vibes when she opens her mouth to talk about dragon girlsweat. Mmm, dragon girlsweat.
They'd both be sacrificing their happiness for acceptability. To fit in with a society that wants people to fit in.
...That doesn't really sound like a fun trade now, does it? The most critical thing is the potentiality for their relationship to deteriorate. The relationship could have a falling out. They just wouldn't be the same anymore and they'd have to find new people, they'd miss the other, and it'd be lonely, but now the shame would creep into Framme. She could even start to hate herself.
So they don't do that. They choose their happiness, their fascination for their hobbies, and their adoration for the other, content in their shared weirdness.
Clanne describes to Veyle that sisters, aka, Framme are 'like air.'
Air: You need it to breathe. Without air, you can't live. You can never leave without it, or your heart would stop. And sometimes you just take a deep breath and, for a moment, things just feel fine. Like you're going to be okay.
Wow Clanne.
Now, Clanne, I think there is something you might want to tell Framme, but that is besides the point. I think you might like Fire Emblem A LOT. I know, it's very hard to believe. A weird little gremlin of fire emblem in a fire emblem game celebrating fire emblem? And not one but two of them and they're probably a little codependent. They choose not to adjust to society entirely, but to embrace each other in such a way that if they're not careful could end up pushing people's boundaries, leaning into bad habits. But that's okay, they're a duo with faults and problems that speak to a real theme of loneliness in fandom. And I think they've got a lot of good things going for them.
I don't want them to be likable, I want them to be human.
So, someone out there is putting incredible work into some fan content they have a vision for, no matter how much they stumble or how unlikable they are. And they're doing it for free, putting it out there for people to get their hands on no matter how cruel they might treat them in response. And that takes guts. That takes strength. I think it is lovely to be so passionate about something that you would not let others stop you by putting you down. Even if you stumble.
