Corrin Reacts to Munchkin!
A/N: Welcome, one and all, to Corrin Reacts! Firstly, I'd like to report some good news; I got into contact with the mods (well, one of the mods, the legend himself, P.T. Piranha, a regular reviewer on this story) and I'm pleased to announce that we're going to feature the one and only FE14 Drabbles blog on this story. Secondly, and this happened JUST as I was typing up this very bunch of notes, the one and only Koriember agreed (and you fans of Lucina Reacts get ready to squee) to having their fic When Tactics Collide featured in not one, but both Corrin Reacts AND Lucina Reacts! Hoo boy! I've also sent off requests to a few others, and if those get in before I finish typing this up, you'll know. Anyway! Let's get on!
DISCLAIMER: Fire Emblem belongs to Intelligent Systems, otherwise Takumi would have a pineapple accessory of some sort.
Munchkin belongs to Steve Jackson Games.
All mentioned franchises and characters belong to their respective owners.
"My, my, what a mess…." Flora sighed as she picked a fallen doily from the floor, shaking her head. The maid uttered, to nobody in particular, "Felicia, be careful next time."
Flora was cleaning through Corrin's room, cleaning up the fallen items which her sister had knocked onto the floor in her cleaning spree. Thankfully, nothing fragile had been toppled over- in part because Corrin had stuck most of those to the tables with some miraculous substance called 'glue'- so Flora needed only pick up some books, a few tablecloths and a fallen teddy bear that was a birthday gift from Elise.
"...the Festival of Stars, huh?" The maid mused to herself, remembering what Felicia had told her about Kaze inviting her to come with him to the occasion. "….perhaps I should…ask Jakob…."
She shook her head quickly, trying to dispel the blush that had covered her cheeks. "N-no. No. He wouldn't want to go with me. He's probably got…..someone else in mind."
"On the contrary, you're being rather pessimistic, don't you think?"
Flora stopped, before turning to see Corrin, leaning on the doorframe and the other remaining items on the floor already neatly packed away. "….C-Corrin, I thought you were away."
"I came back early. Clothes shopping wasn't that long," he explained, smiling. "Hey, listen. When you want to go ask Jakob out to the festival, come find me. I'll root for you all the way. I'll even make you two a nice candlelit dinner. Maybe with scented candles and Elise playing the violin in the background."
The maid snorted, trying not to laugh. "Don't be so silly, Corrin. You wouldn't do all that."
"Wouldn't I? You know, I've had your back ever since we lived in the Northern Fortress, Flora," the prince reminded her, wagging his teasingly. "Trust me. If that's what it took for you and Jakob to end up together, I'd do it. It's what friends do for each other, no?"
Flora seemed surprised, before sighing and shaking her head. "You know, Corrin, you're always going to too much trouble for everyone else. It will bite you in the back someday."
"Too much? That exists?" Corrin pretended to look puzzled. "Next thing you'll tell me, Odin's no longer raving about the Thirteenth Darklord that he supposedly slew with a toothpick and a frying pan. While carrying a sufficiently scared damsel on his back."
That time, Flora couldn't resist. The maid chuckled openly, covering her mouth. "Would you stop doing that? You're making a fool out of yourself."
The prince pumped his fist triumphantly at the sight. "Boo-yah. Got you to laugh."
"Alright, you win, Corrin," Flora conceded, her giggling increasing at the absolutely absurd pose Corrin just made.
Elise suddenly burst in, clutching something. "Hey! I just found this in Corrin's office!"
"Elise, what did I say about going into my office?" Corrin sighed, frowning at his little sister. The princess pouted.
"I promise I wasn't snooping! I tripped and fell in!"
"…..I locked the door."
"…..um…." Elise looked guiltily away, blushing in embarrassment. "…..yeah, you...um….might want to replace that door."
The prince shook his head. "….how did you even do that?!"
"I don't know!"
Flora sighed, her giggling fit over. "I'll fix it-"
"No, no, it's fine," Corrin reassured her, holding his hand up. "Trust me. I'll fix it. I know how to fix doors, just leave it to me."
"When did you learn that?" Flora looked over at him curiously. At that, the prince looked away guiltily himself.
"I….may have…..done what Elise just did. In hindsight, I didn't know doors couldn't take a dragon foot all that well and I paid for it!"
Elise looked smug as the maid just sighed, exasperated. "See? I'm not the only one who trips through doors!"
"You're still not off the hook, Elise," the prince reminded her. "Show me what you have."
The princess pushed up a tan-colored box with the stylized image of a redheaded man with a horned helmet and a multitude of weapons. Corrin scratched his head.
"…how did that fall out? I put it in the drawer?" He took the box, blinking. Flora tilted her head at it.
"….what's a….Munchkin?" The maid inquired, curious.
"A really good board game that I picked up in the Outrealms. Used to play it with a few coworkers at the coffee shop where I was," Corrin explained, a nostalgic smile on his face. "Those were good times."
Elise's eyes lit up at the mention of a game. "A board game? Can we play, can we play?"
Flora frowned. "I don't know….I'm not too confident with board games."
'….you know, I could do something with this,' Corrin thought to himself, a smirk growing on his face.
"No, no, stay, Flora," the prince stated. "…I have an idea. Elise, we're playing a game, but…..mind if I get someone to join us? After all, the more the merrier, right?"
The princess bobbed her head up and down. "Yeah, okay! Yay, more people to play with!"
Minutes later…..
"Lord Corrin, I appreciate that you desire my company," Jakob stated as Corrin, Flora and Elise sat in a circle with him, with the prince stacking two different stacks of cards in different piles. "But I really do think I must be going-"
"Oh, come on, Jakob." Corrin replied, shrugging. "The fortress won't die if you take a….half hour break."
"But the cooking must be done in time for your mid-morning snack! And your tea must be ready! And your laundry must be done to the perfect temperature-" The butler started, but the prince crossed his arms.
"You know, I don't like doing this, but as your liege and King of Valla, and also as your friend, I order you to take a break."
Jakob shut up immediately. Corrin was satisfied.
"Excellent," he tented his fingers. "Alright. Flora?"
The maid snapped out of her Jakob-induced fugue, shaking her head as she tore her gaze away from the butler. "Huh? Oh, yes?"
"I'd better explain the rules quickly, just before we start," the prince started, before gesturing to the cards around him. "Basically, the goal of this game is to reach level ten with your character, which is one of these colored cards here. You get those levels by getting a card, killing a monster, or getting some magic. You get said things by kicking down the door- fancy game talk for drawing a card from this pile here- and taking it, whether it's a monster or a curse, and then after you kill a monster, you take some loot from the other pile here. Oh, and if a monster or curse kills you, you lose everything and start from level one. There's a lot more rules, but those are the most obvious ones."
Elise frowned. "Awww…that means I'll-"
"Hang on, I wasn't done," Corrin held up his finger. "Since there's four of us, there's a …..house rule I'd like to introduce. Two players can team up and get one of them to level ten to let both of them win. I'll go with Elise here, so you two can go together."
The princess pumped her fists. "Yes! I'm with big bro! Nothing will stop us now!"
Flora's eyes widened as Corrin paired her off with Jakob, as she barely restrained herself from yelling in shock. "J-Jakob and I?!"
"A good old-fashioned competition, then?" The partner nodded, oblivious to his soon-to-be partner's surprise. "Alright then, Lord Corrin. You are on. Be warned that I am an excellent board game player, as you know from our chess matches together."
"This isn't chess, Jakob. This is more than a mere children's board game," Corrin teased him. "Although I don't doubt you'll win. Flora's not bad at Outrealm games."
"I'm not that good….." the maid shyly confessed, looking down.
The prince broke out a diee. "Very well. Let us begin. I'll roll first. The one with the highest roll takes their turn first."
'Give the two a common enemy to go up against and their bonds will strengthen,' Corrin reminded himself as he cast his die, taking a six. 'It always works, oldest trick in the book. Now I just need to apply it to a game instead of a prank. If all goes well, Flora will get Jakob to at least talk with her and my work here will be done; from that point, it'll all be Flora.'
"Your turn to roll, Jakob," Corrin stated as he passed the die over to the butler. While the latter was busy with that, he peered closer to Elise. "Psst, sis."
"Hm? Yes?" She whispered back.
"Do you want to help me? I'm trying to use this game to get those two together and I need your help to do it."
'Better to tell the truth to Elise, after all. She'll be enthusiastic about it, and besides, it isn't an Order prank. It's safe.'
Elise's eyes widened in surprise, before she giggled and started whispering back. "Anything for true love! You can count on me, big bro! What do you need?"
"Just follow my lead and do exactly as I tell you…." Corrin slowly bent over to her ear, whispering his plan.
…
"I kick down the door," Corrin announced as he picked a card from the 'door' pile. "And I fight this rather ferocious Potted Plant."
Flora tilted her head. "…..Potted Plant? That's an enemy you can fight?"
"Yep! And I beat it because I have a handy polearm to give me some boosts, and I take a level aaaand….." Corrin retrieved a card from the loot pile. "Ooh! A Loaded Die."
The maid's voice took on a deadpan tone. "It must've been a truly dangerous enemy."
"I suppose it's my turn now, then," Jakob announced, as he took a card from the 'door' pile. "Ah, I am to fight this….."
He held up a card labelled 'Crabs'.
"Now, if I got this right, I should be able to kill it with this Eleven Foot Pole's addition to my power-"
"And now it's an old pair of Crabs," the prince taunted him as he placed down an Ancient modifier on the monster. He grinned at Jakob. "Roll to run away?"
"Is that even allowed?" The butler inquired. Corrin shrugged.
"It's not disallowed. Flora can help you fight it off, anyway," the prince replied, shrugging. "I can see her cards, she's doing better than you."
The prince looked over at Flora, as the maid looked confused briefly, before nodding back as she realised what Corrin was talking about. Her cards were indeed better, with an elf warrior carrying enough items to fight things five times their level. "I-I see. Alright. Yes, I will help Jakob kill the crabs."
"….this is hardly fair, Lord Corrin," the butler pointed out. "That's hardly sporting."
Corrin simply grinned. "Get with it, Jakob. Well, anyway, you and Flora beat the thing without much effort, go loot the room."
"Thank you, Flora," the butler nodded at her as he drew a card from the pile. "For stopping Lord Corrin's shenanigans."
The maid seemed pleased with herself. "Do not mention it, Jakob. We are on a team after all, aren't we?"
Jakob smiled confidently. "And that is why we shall prevail. Do you hear that, Lord Corrin? This is not over yet!"
Looking to Corrin, she muttered a silent "Thank you". The prince was satisfied.
'Sorry, Jakob. I'll find a way to make it up to you. Hopefully by hooking you up with Flora.'
"Elise, it's your turn to kick down the door," the prince called over to his sister.
"Oooh!"
As the game progressed, the four of them gained levels, with Corrin constantly messing with Jakob by making his unfortunate butler the target of various curses, monster buffs and stealing monsters out from their grasp to slay himself, before 'letting' Flora act to help Jakob out. It was working well thus far, with the butler occasionally praising his unknown admirer for helping his crusade to rail against Corrin's blatant trolling.
"…really, this is getting juvenile, Lord Corrin," Jakob uttered as he discarded one of his cards, Corrin having set another curse on him. "Was that entirely necessary? I am still at level five while you, Lady Elise and Flora are above level seven."
The prince taunted him with a mischievous smirk. "Clearly, you need to step up your game. The game does say 'Stab Your Buddy'."
"Corrin's only playing with you," Flora reassured the butler. "Don't worry. We'll still win."
Jakob sighed, shaking his head. "Lord Corrin, I swear, if this is one of your 'shenanigans', I will be very disappointed in you."
"Plan? Jakob, this is a board game. What could I possibly do, as a prank, that would involve inviting my best friends and my sister to play?"
The maid sighed, chuckling despite herself at the two men and their heated competition. "I suppose what they say about 'boys being boys' is true."
'Even if they don't ask each other out, at least they'll have a nice talking point to start a conversation,' the prince noted, smiling to himself as he watched Flora enjoy herself between the competitive air and the praise from her crush. 'But…he only has me as his opponent, and sooner or later I'll get stale. We're going to need to ramp this up a little. Time to execute Phase Two.'
"Elise, your turn," Corrin looked over to his sister, winking. The princess nodded, understanding immediately. It was her turn to play a grand part in Corrin's grand plan.
'This is my chance to help along true love! Corrin's counting on me, so I've got to do this right!'
Elise took her turn, slaying an Undead Horse and claiming a Wishing Ring and some Baby Oil. The game passed around the circle again- with Corrin advancing to level eight after slaying 3,872 Orcs and coming away with some more potions and a Hireling and Flora managing to kill off a Mighty Germ with ease.
It was Jakob's turn again. He gave Corrin a suspicious look, watching the prince shifting through his cards.
"…Lord Corrin, put those cards down."
"Huh? I wasn't going to do anything, I swear," the prince answered. "I promise, I won't curse you or sic a monster on you."
The butler studied him briefly, before closing his eyes and sighing. "….perhaps I am being too paranoid. This is just a game. Very well."
He took a card from the door pile. "I kick down the door and fight this Hydrant-"
Suddenly, Elise piled on several cards boosting the aforementioned insectoid abomination's strength. She smiled brightly at the butler.
"Now your battle will be like those fought by true heroes against the demons of the night, who can only be slain by the Demon Swords crafted under a hunter's moon from the onyx waters of the Styx!" The princess smiled brightly as both Jakob and Corrin gave her an exasperated look.
"You too?" The butler almost wheezed out in disbelief.
The prince sighed. "…..you've been hanging out with Odin again, haven't you."
"Speaking in darkness talk's really fun!" Elise admitted, giggling. "I should talk like this more often!"
Jakob blanched. "Gods no. There's already enough Odin for this world. Now…great. I have to run away now. Lord Corrin, please pass me the die….."
"It's right next to you, I kept it next to you since I figured you'd need it a lot, running away so much."
The butler gave him an unamused stare. "As always, Lord Corrin, your jokes are an unceasing source of amusement."
Flora placed down a card. "I use this Illusion card to replace it with a Gelatinous Octahedron. Together, we can kill it. This should put you to level six and myself to level eight."
Jakob sighed in relief. "Thank you, Flora, for your assistance. Perhaps Lord Corrin would do well to follow her example, no?"
The prince simply grinned, crossing his arms. "Like I said, 'Stab Your Buddy'." He nodded briefly at Elise, who smiled back.
Flora's smile returned at his praise. "Of course, Jakob. I'd be happy to help. We won't lose to Corrin."
"Such spirit is precisely what I like about you, Flora. Perhaps in future, we should assist each other more, no?" The butler suggested cheerily. The maid blushed, looking away.
"I-I wouldn't call it spirit. T-this is just a game, r-right?"
Corrin took a moment to look over at his servants, as the pair seemed happy working together against all the shenanigans. He chuckled.
'Excellent. You played your part well, Elise, sparking off more praise. Now for Phase Three.'
…..
At this point, not many cards remained in the heap for both the door and the loot pile. Corrin was currently neck-and-neck with Jakob at level nine, with Elise the farthest at level seven and Flora still stuck at level eight.
Corrin took the curse he'd drawn with grace, discarding one of his potions. "My, my. Well, looks like it's your turn."
"…..I suspect some sort of trickery coming….." Jakob regarded his liege suspiciously. The prince put on his best 'innocent' act.
"You're giving me too little credit. Besides, what am I going to do?"
"You have more or less set everything you can against me, so I'm suspecting a trap at this final moment."
"Hey, I'm not planning a thing. Isn't that right, Elise?" Corrin looked over to his little sister, who nodded happily, her ponytails bobbing behind her.
"Yeah! We're completely leaving you alone!"
Jakob didn't seem satisfied, judging from his still somewhat cautious draw from the door pile. He ended up facing a Plutonium Dragon. The butler looked over at his cards, ensuring he had just enough to fight it.
"Alright, if I just use this potion on this monster, then I-"
Suddenly, Corrin and Elise piled cards onto the monster and himself, causing Jakob to actively groan.
"This is ridiculous. You promised to-" The butler spoke, but he stopped as he realised what they'd done.
The fearsome monster he was supposed to face had been reduced to a babyified version of himself and Jakob's character card had been piled up with every bonus they could humanly put on him.
"…..go ahead, kill it." The prince gestured. "We told you we wouldn't screw you over this time."
"…huh. So I killed it." Jakob blinked. "…..and I'm level ten. I win."
Corrin chuckled. "You seem surprised."
"…..I suspect some sort of joke," the butler replied. "….you're planning something. I know you well enough. Regardless, I cannot stay to celebrate my victory. The water needs to be heated for your tea, Lord Corrin. So, I bid you a good game, a good day and goodbye."
Before he could be stopped, the butler had already walked away, leaving an absolutely giddy Flora and a somewhat disappointed Corrin.
"…I liked doing this," the maid confessed, smiling dreamily. "…can we do this again?"
Corrin closed his eyes. "…..that was intended to get Jakob to talk to you more so you could break the question of the Festival, Flora. And it backfired."
"…..so you did have something planned?" She stared at him, surprised.
"That's why big bro and I were always targeting Jakob! So you two would get mad at us and bond!" Elise explained happily, before faltering. "Too bad it didn't work too well….."
The prince pinched the bridge of his nose. "Yep. Elise got it in one. Well…..at least you liked that, right?"
"…..well, thank you, Corrin," Flora replied, her dreamy smile fading away to be replaced with a grateful one. "Even if your plan didn't work, I still got to have a fun time with him. That's a good enough consolation."
Corrin chuckled. "Well, you didn't do much but help him out. I think next time I have you both in a room, I'll go with the candlelit dinner instead of the board game."
"Ooh, ooh! Can I play them violin when you do it?" Elise offered happily.
END
A/N: Well, that was a thing. Anyway, while I was writing this, the two other guys I was speaking to also responded. So I'd like to announce that The Apocryphal One's Azura/Corrin oneshots and robotortoise's The Mechanist's Secret Power will be featured in this story! Finally, we can get some real fanfic into this joint. Anyway, next time, we'll start with the FE14 Drabbles blog! Hoo boy, Leo's going to love it, for one thing.
So, I hope you enjoyed….well, you already know what's coming, don't you.
Meanwhile, in Castle Windmire…..
"So….." Xander sighed as he read a postcard from Benny, telling of the happy holiday he and Beruka were spending in the woods, appreciating nature. "A trained assassin ended up being completely diverted from her aim against this prankster."
Camilla frowned. "I have sent a letter to Corrin, warning him about the prankster, but…I fear he won't take it seriously."
"As far as I know, you kidnapped him and locked him in a cell to protect him," Leo calmly pointed out. The older sister crossed her arms.
"It was for his protection. NOBODY must be allowed to corrupt my Corrin. Nobody."
Xander pinched the bridge of his nose. "The longer this trickster remains uncaught, the more potential those uncouth rumours have to spread."
"What uncouth rumours? That you fell in love with Charlotte after she ripped a Faceless in two?" Camilla innocently inquired, earning her a glare. "I had assumed those were fact."
"D-don't be so absurd!"
"Who's being absurd, the one pointing out the truth or the king trying to hide a blatant crush she probably returns anyway?" Leo remarked bluntly. "Anyway, it's clear this trickster knows us deeply. They knew that Beruka and Benny had a prior relationship during the war and used that to their advantage. At the very least, they know the Nohrian army well."
"Yes, yes he does," the Nohrian king replied. "….I would send Laslow and Peri, but I promised Elise I would leave her alone in Fort Corrin, and she may not be happy if I do. What about Selena?"
"She doesn't want anything to do with this," Camilla explained. "I didn't get much out of her, but it was something about the 'Antic Order' and 'Reflet all over again'."
"They may both be good men, but I don't think Odin and Niles are the best to use for hunting a prankster," the youngest brother pointed out. "…..no, we'll need a different approach."
Xander closed his eyes. "Surely you're not telling me…."
"We need to call the Hoshidans in," Leo stated. "If this prankster knows about our weaknesses, there's a chance they won't know theirs."
"…very well, if only to catch this prankster," Xander conceded, sighing. He turned towards his room's door. "Peri! I need to speak with you for a few seconds!"
….
Castle Shirasagi
"So the Nohrians want us to send someone to Fort Corrin, because they suspect that our prankster is there….." Ryoma read out the letter sent by the cavalier standing beside him, who was currently horrifying a guard with her best murderous grin.
Takumi sighed in relief. "Finally, someone has some sense around here! I thought I was the only one who thought Corrin was-"
"Corrin is not behind this!" Hinoka interrupted him. "Anyway, the letter said that the prankster was hiding out in Corrin's fortress, not Corrin himself."
"Could it be any more obvious?!" The archer snapped. "It's clear that we're dealing with Corrin here!"
Ryoma closed his eyes. "Fine, we should send someone to Fort Corrin."
At that, Saizou and Kagerou stood up again, dusting themselves off.
"…..Hinoka, send your retainers there," the Hoshidan king ordered. "Azama and Setsuna should suffice."
"I'll get onto it immediately!" The princess declared, looking to her younger brother. "I'll prove Corrin's innocent. Maybe you'll stop being so hard on him then!"
Takumi stared at her in disbelief as she walked off. "Azama. The one person in the two kingdoms short of Niles…."
"It's okay, Lord Takumi, I understand your pain."
The archer looked up, as Saizou was right behind him, arms folded.
"….Saizou? What are you-"
"He and I have a proposition for you," Kagerou approached them both. "We also suspect that Corrin is involved in this. It seems plain that Lord Ryoma, as good of a liege as he is, simply won't see that Corrin may be a suspect. He is blinded by brotherly love."
"I have been waiting two years to find the person who humiliated us both at that beach party," the red-clad ninja remarked. "And now that we have a lead, I want to follow up on it."
Takumi breathed in deeply, closing his eyes for a moment to contain his glee at being vindicated.
"…..very well then. What's your proposition?"
END
