Disclaimer: I don't own Fire Emblem Awakening, all rights to the owners.
I think I'm going to start posting the categories at the start each chapter from now on. As another note, any suggestions not on the list are not there because I won't consider them at all. This can be because the suggestion simply does not fit with the Fire Emblem world or because I don't know enough to even fit it into the Other or Unlikely categories (like Sith, Ultraman, and Yokai).
So, to remind you: Minor suggestions are too small to hold a story of their own but are otherwise valid, Standard suggestions are valid and can probably hold their own, Unlikely suggestions are difficult for at least one of many reasons (which I won't go over right now because it'll make this A/N far too long), and Other suggestions are valid but not for this collection.
Minor: Dark Flier, Regenerating, Immortal, Boxer (Pugilist).
Standard: Elemental, Deaf, Foreign, Alien, Future sight, Tiny, Nurse/Medic, Valmese Tactician, Medusa, Goddess, Racer, Amazon, Genderfluid, Slime, Gift from Validar + evil to good, Mind Control, Banshee, Bard, Consistent Amnesia, Old, Dancer, Mimic, Lamia, Emotionless, Khan, Savage, Crippling Overspecialization (Idiot Savant), Coward, ESP, PTSD, POW, Magician, Mute, Handicapped, Secret Helper, Crazy.
Unlikely: Chrom's child, Minotaur, Paladin, Werewolf, Assassin, Future Soldier, Bounty Hunter, Weather control, Kleptomaniac, Druid, Steampunk, Shadow Familiar, Magic Augmentation, Lucky, Exile, Piper (Charmer), Gladiator, Witch Doctor, Centaur, Headless Horseman, Drunk, Demon.
Other: Pokemon Trainer, Self-insert, Second Generation replacement.
This chapter was originally going to be Demon Robin, but halfway through I realized it had nothing to do with him being a demon at all and just focused on the secondary gimmick. Still a good chapter though I think. Pastapopulous, this should fit your request for a manipulative Robin.
Olivia nervously walks through the camp, trying to find her tent. The instructions from Chrom rattle around in her mind. "Around the mess hall, past the fire pit… oh dear, where's the fire pit? I just passed the mess hall right? Oh no…"
A hand drops onto her shoulder. "You look like you could use a bit of fun." A voice says, sounding slightly sinister to Olivia's ears.
"EEEK!" The dancer spins around, taking rapid steps away from the figure. "Wh-Who-?"
"Name's Robin." The black-haired man says, grinning sleazily. His red eyes twinkle in amusement as he extends a hand for a handshake. "Robin Tealeaf, master tactician, expert gambler, professional dealmaker."
Olivia does not trust this man, but she recognizes the name Robin from her conversation with Chrom so she nervously shakes his hand. "Y-You're the tactician?"
"Indeed I am! And you're Olivia, aren't you? The dancer from Basilio, right?" Robin says. His eyes roam her body, and the dancer shies away as soon as she pulls her hand free. "You look a bit lost, hmm? A bit tense? I have a solution for both of those things!"
"I-It's really fine-"
"I know where your tent is." He says, and slips a hand into his pocket. He pulls out a single six-sided die. "But I'm feeling a bit starved for entertainment, so I'll offer you a deal."
"A d-deal?"
"You roll this die. If you get a four, five, or six, I'll tell you where your tent is without hassle." The man whispers, looking sinisterly eager. "But if you get a three, two, or one, then you have to show me one of your dances. It doesn't matter how short the dance is though."
Chrom had warned her the Shepherds were colourful, but Olivia was not expecting something like this. However, either way she gets to know where her tent is, so maybe she should just humor the strange man. "A-Alright…"
She accepts the die nervously and rolls it in her palm. The dancer tosses it onto the floor, hoping for an easy six.
Four.
Robin, strangely, does not look disappointed at all. In fact he looks overjoyed. "My! You're a lucky one aren't you? Follow me little dancer, I'll show you the way."
The tactician strides off in the general direction Olivia was heading before, and the dancer follows behind him. They move past several more canvas tents, one of which is quite large. Robin informs her that it's the mess hall. Eventually they reach a ring of tents with a small clearing, and the tactician gestures to a specific one near the entrance.
"That's yours." He says. "This is where the women of the camp are set up. The men are on the other side of the mess tent." The sleazy man gives a sweeping bow, grinning cheekily up at her. "Goodnight little dancer, I'll see you tomorrow…"
Olivia watches until the man walks out of sight near the mess tent. She sighs in relief, and steps into the tent he pointed out.
"Hi there!"
"EEEEK!"
Olivia jumps in surprise, pracing away from the small girl sitting on a bedroll.
"Hey, that's rude." The girl pouts, puffing up her cheeks. "I was just saying hello. You're Olivia right? I'm Nowi! We're tentmates now!"
The dancer releases a breath she didn't know she'd been holding. Of course there are shared tents, this is a military unit, they need to conserve space. Walking with Robin must have put her on edge. She forces herself to calm down, takes a seat on the other bedroll, and starts getting to know her tentmate.
###
"Hello little dancer…" Robin greets the next morning as they all pile into the mess hall. "Sleep well?"
It's an innocuous question, but coming from the Tactician's mouth it sounds sinister and probing. Olivia smiles back at him despite feeling anxious. "Y-Yes, quite well."
"Good, good…" He says, grinning eerily. "I'll see you at training."
The man steps away, and Oliva relaxes a bit. She accepts her plate of food from a bubbly blonde-haired girl and quickly finds a seat away from the others. Nowi is quick to take a seat next to her, but another person, a bulky man also with blond hair, takes his own seat at the tale too.
"Hey there." The man says, grinning at her. "Name's the Vaike, nice to meet 'cha."
"H-Hello, I'm Olivia." The dancer says timidly.
"So, uh, I saw you were chattin' with Robin." Vaike says, getting serious. "You know him?"
"N-Not really, we talked for the first time yesterday." Olivia stammers.
"Well I'm warning ya to avoid him." The man cautions. "Robin's a piece of work. Tries to trick ya into deals. Don't play around with him, yeah?"
"O-Oh…"
"He's magic. If you make a deal, he can force ya to go through with it." Vaike warns. "So don't deal with him if ya can afford not to."
"Okay." Olivia squeaks. Her mind races back to last night when she rolled the die. If she lost, he could have forced her to dance? That's terrifying, she'll have to be careful around him from now on.
"Hey, that's mean." Nowi huffs. "Robin's super friendly! He rolls dice with me for candy!"
"He's teaching you to gamble?" Olivia says worriedly.
"Well he told me that I should be careful gambling money." The girl chirps. "That's why we used candy, but he said you should always have a limit of money you're willing to lose and stop playing as soon as you hit that."
"That's good advice." The dancer murmurs, remembering when she heard something similar from Basilo once.
"Yeah, so maybe he gives half-decent advice every once in a while, but you should still avoid the man." Vaike says.
###
Robin thinks the Shepherds are amusing. They're colorful, and not in the boring way people at gambling parlours are 'colorful'. They're not just wearing fancy coats and lots of jewelry, the Shepherds are genuinely quirky, they're weird and not normal, and Robin loves that. It makes them fun to watch and fun to toy with.
He still remembers when he baited Vaike into a deal, Robin offered to give the man advice to beat Chrom is sparring if Vaike could win a game of blackjack (best two of three), but if Vaike lost the man had to volunteer for Miriel's endurance investigations.
The blond man lost, badly. Robin enjoyed seeing him exhausted for the entirety of the next week. Unfortunately the man never agreed to gamble against him again, which was a shame because Robin thought it was great fun. The Tactician even offered gambles that were much less severe, but the man hasn't bit.
That's why the Tactician is a bit amused to see Vaike warning off their new member. The man is trying to stop Robin's fun. Oh, how cute. Robin does enjoy a little challenge.
Robin watches Vaike and Olivia from his seat next to Chrom. He grins when he notices Nowi speaking up, presumably to defend Robin's honor. The manakete is a fun girl, always up for a game. The Tactician hasn't made any drastic deals with her so far, where Vaike was a bit of an annoyance due to how egotistical he seemed, Nowi is friendly and nice and Robin doesn't want to make a bad impression on her. The girl also agrees to play cards all the time which Robin really appreciates.
"What are you looking at Robin?" Chrom asks. He's feigning curiosity, but Robin knows the Prince is actually wary. Robin has a reputation for causing trouble, so the Prince tries to keep an eye on him. Tries to. Chrom is usually too busy to actually track what Robin is doing though.
"Our new recruit." Robin hums in amusement. "It would seem Vaike is trying to warn her off of me."
"As he should." Chrom snorts. "That's what you get for messing with people."
The Tactician just chuckles and says nothing. This is going to be fun, so he isn't concerned.
###
"Ah, little dancer, there you are!" Robin says, waving to her from his seat around a fire. He had a deck of cards in front of him on a small table, and seems to be playing a game by himself. "So, I've heard from a little dragon that you're looking to save money for your own theater…"
"Of course Nowi would tell you…" Olivia sighs.
"She's very eager to gush about her new friend." Robin chuckles. He picks up the cards and shuffles them back together. "Anyways, I have an offer."
Olivia immediately becomes wary, remembering Vaike's warning. "No."
"You won't even hear my offer, I'm hurt." The man says, putting a hand to his chest with feigned offense. "How rude."
The dancer knows he's faking, but he also has a point. Surely Vaike was exaggerating about him, this man is part of the Shepherds so he can't be that bad right? "Alright, I'll listen…"
"It's just a small gamble to get some money." Robin offers, dealing out two hands of cards. "We'll play Crazy Eights. I'll offer up fifty gold if I lose, and you show me a dance if you lose."
"Fifty gold?!" The dancer squeaks in surprise. "Just to chance getting a dance?!"
"Of course." Robin grins. "I have money to spare, why not offer some up for a good cause?"
Olivia frets in indecision for a minute, but ends up sitting across from the man. "Fine, but don't expect anything amazing from my dance!"
"Of course not." The Tactician says, still grinning. He's successfully snared her despite Vaike warning her off. Success. "Do you want to deal?"
"Yes please." Olivia says. It's not that she doesn't trust him to be truthful, but she'd still feel better having control of the deal. She deals out their cards, and flips one off the top of the deck.
The game is quick. Luck is not on the dancer's side, and her hand quickly gathers cards while Robin's depletes. In less than five minutes she has lost, and Robin places his last card on the pile.
"Well now, I win…" The man chuckles. He picks up his deck and shuffles the cards back together. Robin places the deck back in its pack, a small wooden box, and settles into his seat on the log. "What do you have to show me little dancer?"
Olivia quickly searches her brain for a simple dance. She settles on a dance that's basically just a practice routine. She takes a minute to stretch, very aware of Robin's eyes set firmly on her hers, and begins.
It only takes a minute. It's a slow move through basic positions that gradually increases pace as it moves on to the more complex ones. It finishes with a leap, a quick twist, and a flourishing bow.
Robin claps slowly, smirking in approval. "I see, a practice routine. Clever choice to avoid an actual dance."
That's not exactly what Olivia was aiming for, she was just trying to think of a short and easy dance. "Th-That wasn't my intent…"
"Of course, of course." Robin says, amused. He takes a small pouch out of a pocket, takes a dozen gold coins out, and offers them to her. "Here, for your theater."
"B-But I lost."
"Well yes, but the game was just to satisfy my boredom." The Tactician says dismissively. "I intended to give you the money either way."
Olivia isn't sure how she feels knowing this entire exchange was mostly pointless, but she decides to be appreciative considering Robin just gave her some money for her theater in exchange for a game and a practice routine. "Well… thank you?" She says nervously. "But, erm, unless there's something else you need I have things I want to do."
"Don't let me stop you then." The Tactician chuckles, shooing her off. "Go, be on your way."
Olivia nervously steps away, returning to her previous path. She glances back at the man after taking a few steps, but Robin seems to have settled down for a nap and isn't paying attention to her. The dancer shakes her head and moves off. What a strange man.
###
"You're what?" Olivia says, staring in shock.
"I'm married!" Nowi says excitedly, showing the dancer her new ring. Two two are sitting in their shared tent near dusk, with the little manakete having just arrived a minute ago. "To Robin!"
Olivia isn't sure what to make of that. Robin, the gambling man, married to Nowi, the ancient dragon that looks like a twelve year old. That doesn't sound quite right…
"You are, huh?" Olivia asks slowly. She isn't sure if she should be excited for the girl or nervous. "How?"
"We were playing our usual game for candy, and then he offered up a new gamble." Nowi recounts eagerly. "We each rolled a die, and whoever rolled higher got to ask a favour of the other."
"He won and forced you into it?" The dancer assumes, feeling disgust.
"What? No!" Nowi huffs. "He won, but he just asked to have lunch with me. He proposed during the meal, but I wasn't forced into it!"
"Oh!" Olivia feels a bit sheepish. "Sorry. He just doesn't give the best impression so I assumed the worst…"
"Rude." Nowi pouts. "What's wrong with him?"
"Nothing, nothing!" The Dancer says hastily. "He's just sorta… suspicious, and I remember how Vaike warned me away from him."
"Vaike and Robin have never gotten along from what I know." The manakete says, kicking her legs. "Robin gave him a particularly nasty gamble which Vaike lost, and they've been at odds ever since. That's what Sumia told me."
"I see…" Olivia mutters. If she really thinks about it, the most strange thing she's actually seen Robin do is ask for a dance (which could be misinterpreted as sorta… perverted) but otherwise he's been playful but harmless. He even gave her some gold despite her losing their gamble. "Well congratulations. I'm happy for you. You might have to keep him out of trouble though..."
###
"Little dancer, hello!" Robin greets, flipping a coin as he sits next to the training grounds. He looks a bit sweaty, but otherwise just as cocky as usual. "How fares your theater fund?"
"It's fine… slow going." Olivia says. She's pleased at how she doesn't feel nearly as nervous as she did before around the man. She glances around the open area. "Is Frederick here, he said he wanted to meet me here."
"He went off to grab a drink." The Tactician chuckles, snatching his coin out of the air. "So that means you have a moment, care for another game?"
"What are you offering this time?" The Dancer sighs, amused. "What do I have to give in return?"
"I'm offering more money of course!" The man laughs. "And for my victory… I want you to teach me."
"Pardon?"
"I want to learn a dance." Robin repeats. "Nowi has expressed interest, but I find myself lacking in skill."
Olivia really doubts Nowi will care how well Robin can dance, but it's good to see that he's actually making an effort for his new wife. This is really a no-lose situation for her, so why not? "Sure. What's the game?"
"Well I'm presuming you don't have much time." Robin says, pulling out his deck. "So we'll do something quick. Each of us draws a card, aces are high, whoever pulls the highest card wins."
Robin pulls first, drawing the eight of hearts. Olivia goes next, drawing her own card… the eight of spades.
"My, a draw." Robin laughs. "How about we stay with that? I'll give you the money, and you give me the lessons."
"Sure." Olivia agrees. She accepts forty gold from the Tactician. "Can we meet this afternoon then?"
"Of course." The man nods. "My thanks little dancer." He glances behind her, and grins in amusement. "Here comes the iron terror, best of luck." Robin stands up, brushes himself off, and saunters away.
###
"Oh wow, I forgot you could do this." Nowi laughs in genuine amusement as her body stiffly rummages through her own pockets and pulls out a few candies she'd hidden there. The gamble had been for all the candy she had on her, and she'd only given her husband those she'd put on the table. The man had activated his powers, and the manakete's body started acting against her will to dig candy out of her pockets. "How did you know I had more on me?"
"You always have some candy in your pockets Dear, you're just as bad as Gaius." Robin chuckles, accepting the candy as it's dropped into the palm of his hand. "You can't fool me, I pay sharp attention to you."
"No fair!" The girl huffs as she finally regains control of her limbs. She's not actually mad of course, she finds this funny. "I don't sit around watching people all day like you, so I don't know what you have!"
Robin grins lazily. "And that's precisely why I lie around all day Dear. People watching is quite the hobby, you can learn a decent bit if you stop to look, and you're my favourite to watch."
"I thought that was Olivia."
"Pardon?"
"You seem to deal with her quite a bit too. She's always telling me how you gamble money for dances."
"Ah, yes… the little dancer is good fun." Robin laughs, and shuffles the cards for their next game. "I haven't met anyone so willing to play since yourself."
"No one can beat me at playing!" Nowi brags.
"No one indeed." Robin agrees. "Though I'll have to be wary of my wallet. Perhaps I should stop offering her so much for so little…"
"You said you have a lot of money, right?"
"Well yes, but seeing as I don't have my own house or belonging or any sort beyond what you see here, we'll need quite the pretty bit of coin if we plan on settling somewhere."
"Won't Chrom let us stay in the barracks?"
"Well yes… but do you really want to live in the barracks your whole life?"
"Good point."
"Besides, I was thinking I wanted to open a casino, so I should be saving money for my own fund rather than donating to the little dancer's." Robin murmurs, dealing out new hands for another game of rummy. "But it's so hard to not invite her to play, and the only thing I have to offer her is money…"
"Just offer candy!"
"Dear, I don't think she's going to humor me just for candy…"
"But candy's great! And Olivia is really nice!"
"Both true, but she has her own schedule. She can't be playing with me all the time like yourself."
"Good. I don't want her to. You're mine… but sometimes is okay."
"Well I'll have to find something else to offer then." Robin chuckles. "Any suggestions?"
"Shiny things!"
"Those cost money Dear."
"Oh right… offer to teach her magic!" Nowi chirps
"Hmm, interesting idea." The Tactician nods. "I'll give it a try, thank you Dear."
"No problem! Now let's play another round. I bet I can beat you this time!"
"If you say so." Robin says teasingly, dropping a few candies on the table as his ante. "Do you even have anything to offer this time?"
The girl drops a smooth, shiny rock on the table that she'd found earlier that day. "Yep!"
"Well then, let's play."
This is a decent ending point. Robin didn't end up being nearly as mischievous as I'd planned. I sorta have a problem with actually making characters do anything even slightly malicious, much less evil. I just have a natural aversion to it for whatever reason. Still, I think this chapter is quite good.
Mram99: It would seem your favourites are the same as mine, I guess we have similar tastes. Your headcanon is pretty accurate by the way.
Atraxia Dragon: Don't know Touhou, and I can't easily fit sith into the Fire Emblem universe either so that's a no go.
Zero kami no mu: Goddess is seeming popular, it's a hard one though so it might be a bit before I find a way to make that work.
XenoEmblem4TW: This chapter actually started out as Demon Robin (minus the possession/mind control, that's getting its own chapter at some point) but the demonic part of him became irrelevant compared to the secondary gimmick so I ditched it. I don't think I can really do a Demon Robin, it's too similar to Vampire, Succubus, Robin of the Pact, and now this chapter.
I'm not sure this Robin is a troublemaker per say, but he's a bit more mischievous than the other versions we've seen so far.
Darkness is complete: Sure, emotionless sounds fun. I might have an idea for that.
Mr. Martin: I'll add that to the list, but that's a difficult one.
Guest: Savage? Sure, I like it.
Teh Esprite: Yeah… see the oldest cell phone is around the 1970s, the oldest gunpowder weapon is nearly as old as the 13th century, which is well in the medieval period. Besides, what's the point of a cell phone if no one else has one? Being a teenager doesn't count for much either, it just means you're a bit more emotional than an adult, that's basically it. Not that a teenager is inherently a bad idea, but it's a very minor modifier considering most Shepherds are already only twenty years old or so. Taking off a few years doesn't count for much.
IcyAltheon: Sure, I'll call it 'Magic Augmentation'. That's a tough one to write though because it's very combat-oriented and I'm not good at writing combat.
Serfius: Renaming 'Idiot Savant' to 'Crippling Overspecialization' just so I remember what it actually means. Both ideas are fine.
anon: Sure. Interesting idea, makes for a different sort of protagonist.
Ocharlos: Yeah, Old Robin is already a suggestion.
Pastapopulous: Well it's not a devil, but this Robin is a bit more or a manipulator. Hopefully this chapter satisfies.
Vanderspiegel: Sure to all of those but Force Choke. Drunk, Exile, and Charmer (renamed Piper) are all Unlikely though.
Guest (X4): No to Headless Horseman, Centaur, Gladiator, and Witch Doctor are difficult, Demon has a few issues that probably stop it completely, but Medic, Pugilist (renamed to Boxer so I'll remember what it means), and crazy are fine.