Disclaimer: I don't own Fire Emblem Awakening or any of the songs I parody/use here, all rights to the owners.
Minor: Dark Flier, Immortal, Boxer (Pugilist), Exploitive, Swordmaster, Angry Cinnamon Roll, Tripping, Perpetual Cheer, Chef, Blacksmith, Pegasus Knight, Teacher, Librarian, Masochist, Literal-Minded, Authoritative, Middle Age, Wyvern Rider, Phobia, Thicc, Tsundere, Damsel in Distress, Gangrel's Child, Wyvern Rider, Child.
Standard: Elemental, Deaf, Foreign, Future sight, Tiny, Nurse/Medic, Valmese Tactician, Medusa, Amazon, Genderfluid, Gift from Validar + evil to good, Mind Control, Banshee, Dancer, Mimic, Emotionless, Crippling Overspecialization (Idiot Savant), Coward, ESP, POW, PTSD, Magician, Mute, Handicapped, Secret Helper, Crazy, Morpher, Dreamwalker, Motherly, Twins, Regenerating, Animal Whisperer, Naga/Tiki Assistant, Sleepless, Fairy, Deadly Touch, Mind Reader, Doppelganger, Arachne, D&D magic, Umbramancer, Horror Monster, Detective, No Sense of Personal Space, Shota, Dominatrix, Songstress, Kinky, Matchmaker, Androphobic.
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, Drunk, Demon, Punk, Harpy, Revenant, Luck Manipulation, Demon Summoner, Megalomaniac, Kitsune, King of Plegia, Mood Ring, Reverse Aging, Hammerspace, Prostitute, Demon Hunter, Cyborg, Maid/Servant/Butler, Deadlord, Rebellion, Einherjar, Trap, Yandere, Living Weapon, Size Shifter, Queen of Plegia, Gluttonous, Stretchy, Ninja, Alchemist, Protoss, Spirit Manipulation, Invisible, Plegian Honor Guard, Mecha, Kryptonian, Creator, Orc, Memory Stealing Respawn, Racer, Khan, Elder God, Misfortune, Vampire Hunter, Geokinetic, Imaginary Actualization, Death, Resurrection, Arachne, Force, Merchant, Background Music, Variable, Civilian, Natural Disaster, Mental Noise Projection, Hidden OP, Summoner, Cyclops, Teleporter, Cryokinetic, Genie, Judge, Intangibility, Fortune Teller, Future Vision, Serial Killer, Pervert, Stalker, Magic Fixit, Drakengard Restoration, Ying-Yang, Childhood Friend, Cyberpunk, Chrom's Mother, Obsessed, Berserker, Phase Shift, Gravity Manipulation, Hallucinating, Bladesoul, Zombie, Double Entendre, Shared Body/Two Souls, Cannibal, Singer, Violent, Insane, Waterbender, Casanova.
Other: Pokemon Trainer, Self-insert, Second Generation replacement, Dimensional Walker, Cycle, Fates.
Hmm... throw a dart… Plant Robin. Sure. Demi-humans are fun. The main challenge here is going to be dealing with a mostly stationary Robin.
Plant Robin, requested by Darkness is complete. This is my fourth take. Long one here.
Chrom slowly comes to consciousness. He doesn't quite remember what happened. There wasn't a fight, was there? No, he was investigating something…
The Shepherds! They were exploring his Father's private gardens now that he's dead, which is a nightmare of dangerous plants imported from the Fey Jungle. Sumia tripped over something, a screaming plant which nearly caused him to black out and made everyone scramble in every direction to escape it.
With that in mind though, how is he not dead? He ran around in a panic for nearly five minutes, stumbled into a bunch of mushrooms, got blasted in the face with some spores and started hallucinating… really something should have killed him during that time, especially considering he was alone.
Maybe that's why he's nervous to open his eyes. He doesn't want to see his situation. He can feel he's lying against something soft, and despite hearing the patter of rain he isn't wet which means he's under cover, but there are a few concerning things like a sickly sweet smell filling the air and something stroking the side of his face.
Taking a deep breath, Chrom opens his eyes.
Another pair of eyes, two golden orbs with no pupils or irises, meet his. They belong to a shapely light pink-skinned girl with long purple hair. That's rather interesting on it's own, but it's not the most significant thing Chrom notices.
No, the most important thing about his current situation is how he's lying in the clutches of a massive flower that's five meters in diameter. The dark pink petals of the plant are curled up to hold him so he won't roll off, and Chrom notes several vines of the same color hidden among the petals that shift slightly on occasion.
Also, the girl seems to be attached to the flower. She has a tube in the back of her neck that connects to the center of the plant which makes Chrom fairly sure she's not human.
So that's why he feels nervous at having his head in her lap. Emmeryn would probably tell him to be open-minded, but he feels it's valid to be a bit suspicious of the sexy gold-eyed flower girl, especially when that girl is found in a garden filled with lethal plantlife like hangman trees.
"Are you alright?" The girl asks in a melodious voice.
Okay, maybe he should have said something rather than just staring at her. "I think so."
"You think? Are you still hallucinating?"
"Still?" He blinks. "I was before?"
"Well considering you were talking about giant bees and multicolored stones, I assumed you were hallucinating." She says. She threads her hands through his hair and starts combing it nonchalantly as if it's a perfectly normal thing to do to someone she's just met.
"Ah, well… I'm Chrom." The prince says, hoping to change the subject.
"I'm Robin." She hums. "Because I like robins. They're tasty."
Well alright then. "I see. I don't suppose you've seen other people around here? I came with a group and we got separated."
"I've seen other people before." Robin murmurs. She runs a hand over his face and strokes his cheek, which makes the hair on the back of his neck stand on end. "There was a man like you, but older. He was nasty, but he brought me food."
Chrom notes how one of the many vines lying under the cover of her petals is now slowly curling around his leg. He figures he might in danger in just a moment, but a sudden movement is sure to prompt an attack so he stays still.
"He has assistants too." Robin continues. "They were… not welcome. They were interested in this." she runs a hand along her hip and leg. "Sometimes they came alone."
Chrom doesn't like where this is going.
"They thought they had power over me, because they planted me here." Robin whispers. She's looking intensely into his eyes. "Humans are tasty too."
A chill goes down Chrom's spine.
"I could easily have eaten you too. I still can. You're fully within my trap." The surface Chrom is lying on shifts, and the petals of the flower slightly close so that they're bending upwards and resemble a giant bear trap. At this point Chrom also notices that the center of the flower, while also being where Robin is attached to the thing, has a meter wide hole that opens up that looks suspiciously like a throat.
It's at that point he understands. The petals are teeth, Robin is bait, the vines are the tongue. This whole flower is a mouth, and he's dangerously close to being swallowed.
The prince swallows thickly. His voice is hoarse when he speaks. "I-I promise I'm not like them. I may be the… uh… nasty man's son, but I'm different. My sisters can attest to that."
"I hoped so." Robin says. She's still using that calm, pleasant voice, and it drives home to Chrom just how inhuman this girl- no, this plant actually is. Robin looks like an attractive girl, but she's not. She's the plant as a whole, not just the humanoid form he sees before him. "After all, that's why I haven't eaten you already. It's been a while since I had someone to talk to, and I was hoping you were better than the nasty man and the assistants."
The petals relax, and the vine uncoils from his leg. The hole in the middle of the flower closes up, and the situation returns to something resembling calm.
Chrom takes a few deep breaths to calm himself, and cautiously sits up so he's no longer lying in her lap. Robin puts up no lets him sit next to her.
"So, if you don't mind me asking…" Chrom says slowly. "What are you? I'm not familiar with plants as a general rule, but you're… unique."
"I heard the assistants call me either a 'man-eater' or an 'alraune'." Robin offers. "I mean, those things over there eat people too, so I don't know why they just call me a man-eater." She points to a group of tall grass blades just on the other side of the path. "They paralyze with a touch. I've seen at least two or three assistants get paralyzed and eventually have their hearts stopped after lying in there for a few hours."
Well that's terrifying. "I see."
"I've only eaten about five assistants, and they all deserved it." Robin hums. "Really, I'm not the dangerous one here."
Chrom would absolutely disagree.
###
"We were so worried!" Lissa cries as she clings tightly to her brother. "It took forever to find you Chrom! What were you doing the entire time!?"
"Sleeping mostly." Chrom says sheepishly. "And apparently hallucinating."
"And you say this… plant saved you?" Frederick says suspiciously. Robin waves at him with a calm smile. "By putting you to sleep?"
"Well she stopped me from walking around in a hallucinating stupor, so I'd say that counts as being saved." Chrom says. In truth he's hesitant to speak positively of Robin considering she outright threatened him, but she did chose to help him rather than let him wander around or just eat him.
Chrom left out the part about her threatening to eat him when he told the others. He doesn't want to create any unnecessary conflicts.
"So you have to go now?" Robin says in disappointment.
"Yeah." Chrom nods. "It's late."
"Will you come back?"
"At least once, and Miriel here will probably come back dozens times to study everything." Chrom motions to the mage who is in the process of taking a sample of the paralytic toxins on the surface of the massive grass.
"Can you bring food next time?" There aren't many animals to catch." She says. "I can catch birds and squirrels here, but those really aren't enough."
"What do you usually eat?" Chrom asks cautiously.
"A pig or a few chickens usually." Robin hums. "Or a cow. A cow works."
Chrom has no idea how she'd eat a cow. It's too big for her to swallow. He decides he really doesn't want to know.
###
"Greetings." Emmeryn says, and bows towards the flower girl. "My name is Emmeryn. I am the new ruler of Ylisse. I understand you suffered at the hands of my father during his rule?"
"If your father was the nasty blue-haired man, then yes." Robin says calmly. "He was most unpleasant. He and his assistants harvested my nectar against my will."
"I apologize on the half of the royal family then." Emmeryn murmurs, and bows again to her. "I hope you won't hold it against the rest of us."
"Of course not." Robin says with a serene smile. "I am not so petty."
"Thank you." Emmeryn says.
"If I may ask miss Emmeryn." The flower girl murmurs. "What is to become of this garden?"
"Well…" The exalt frowns. "This garden is filled with incredibly dangerous things. However, it has potential to provide resources we would not have otherwise, and there is still the matter of curing the experiments my father conducted on his prisoners of war which will require recreating and experimenting on the many ingredients he used from this garden…"
"So the garden is not going anywhere any time soon."
"No, it is not."
"I see." Robin smiles. "Good, I would hate to lose the company I had just so recently obtained."
"You are lonely?" Emmeryn asks softly.
"Well yes… I'm plenty used to it of course, but conversing with the Shepherds and more specifically your brother was the first pleasant conversation I've had in awhile." Robin hums.
Chrom wasn't sure he'd call that conversation 'pleasant'. It largely consisted of him very cautiously prying Robin for information on his father while simultaneously trying not to piss her off and be eaten. Then again, if Robin calls that 'pleasant' than the conversations she had with his father must have been pretty bad.
"Well, I'm not able to come for a visit all that often, and Miriel must focus on other things." Emmeryn murmurs and glances towards Chrom. The man instantly knows what she's going to ask. "Chrom-"
"I'll do it." Chorm sighs. "I can't ask anyone else to come through a killer garden just to visit Robin."
"I appreciate it." Robin says with a sweetness to her voice that Chrom absolutely doesn't buy. He knows she's putting on a nice act for Emmeryn, and while Robin isn't exactly a bad person she's not the innocent flower (joke fully intended) she's pretending to be right now.
Chrom smiles back, but it's just for Emmeryn's sake. Robin saved his life, sure, but he does not trust her in the slightest.
###
"A game?" Robin asks as Chrom carefully sets the board down in the grass. The tube connecting her 'body' to the flower actually extends far enough that she can walk a short distance beyond the flower's petals, and after learning that her flower is basically a death trap Chrom absolutely refuses to set foot on it again.
"Yes. I figured it would give us something to do as we talked." Chrom says. "It's called 'chess', and it's a game played all over the known world."
"Interesting…"
Chrom quickly explains how to play. He's not particularly good at chess, but he's hoping Robin's inexperience will make the game somewhat fair after a few games of learning.
He's sorely disappointed. After only five games Robin gets her first win against him, and the ratio only tilts more in her favor as they keep playing.
"So your group fights bad people?" Robin asks.
"Yep." Chrom grunts. He cautiously moves his knight closer to the center of the board. "There are plenty of people out there who would rather steal and murder and pillage than earn money the legitimate way."
"Which is…?" Robin flicks forward a pawn.
"Well there are a lot of legitimate ways." Chrom says. "With the strength a usual bandit has, they'd make for good builders or farmhands. They could work as dockhands, hunters, or even sign up for the military. Being physically strong gives them a bunch of options that they just waste…"
"These bandits sound like your father. They take rather than earning." The girl hums.
"I suppose that's an apt enough comparison." Chrom agrees. His father was far worse than any mere bandit, but on a basic level the comparison works well enough. he moves his queen in position to attack the center line.
"But how is your royal family any better?" Robin asks. "You take money from a lot of people and arrest them if they don't comply."
"That money goes to improving the lives of everyone in Ylisse." Chrom counters. "They're paying for a better society, and we don't accept freeloaders who don't pay. Unless, of course, they don't have the money for it. That's a different case. If that's true that means we, the royal family, aren't doing enough for them… or they're really lazy."
"Hmm…"
"To be fair, I'm biased in the favour of the government with me being a part of it an all that." Chrom admits. "I can be abused though, corruption exists, and that's how we get people like you suspect that just take money from people for their own benefit."
"Checkmate." Robin says as she moves her rook forwards and takes one of his pawns.
"What?!"
###
"Robin, I've been meaning to ask something."
"Sure."
"You mentioned my father would take your nectar, right?"
"Indeed."
"Well.. erm… we've been meaning to ask for a sample." Chrom coughs. "It would greatly help our understanding of my father's experiments if we could run some tests on it."
"I see." Robin's face is dangerously neutral.
Chrom is very nervous. He hasn't forgotten her threat. "So, if you wouldn't mind, could we have some?"
Robin gazes at him for a full minute, and the prince squirms under her scrutiny. Eventually though she whispers. "Fine. Do you have something to hold it in?"
"Y-Yes." Chrom pulls out a bottle from his belt and hands it to her. "We don't need too much."
Still not breaking eye contact, she brings the bottle up to her mouth. Her lips purse, and a thin stream of golden liquid falls from her mouth into the vial. It emits a potent sweet smell that swells to fill the entire section of the garden, and only stops when the girl corks the bottle.
"Careful." Robin whispers. "It's very potent."
"Poison?" Chrom asks. The girl shakes her head.
"Aphrodisiac."
###
"Chrom, seriously."
"I refuse."
"You're getting soaked. Get up here."
"No."
"You're going to get sick."
"So be it."
Robin has no idea why this is something he refuses to do. "Get up on my flower Chrom. I can protect you from the rain."
"No."
"You'd rather get sick than walk five feet?"
"Yes." Chrom says firmly.
Robin has had quite enough of this. She carefully gauges the distance between herself and the man. Maybe she can grab him? He's out of range of her vines, so she'd have to use her human body.
Hmm, that won't work. She has another trick though. There's more to her than some vines and nectar. She still has sleep spores she could use, even if it feels a bit wrong to use them on a friend.
It's either put him to sleep, or let him get sick for no good reason. She's choosing the former.
"Chrom, don't be crazy." She says, and takes a slow step forwards. She just needs to get in range to touch. "What are you worried about? I'm trying to help you."
"I have my reasons." Chrom says evasively. The look in his eyes is something she hadn't seen for a few months, and hoped she'd never see pointed at her again: caution. Not suspicion. Suspicion isn't always a bad thing, it can be the anticipation of a surprise. Caution always means you're expecting something bad.
What does he expect from her? Why is he cautious? She doesn't remember doing something to harm him. "Chrom, are you okay? Have I done something wrong?"
"No, nothing's wrong."
Well that's bullshit. Robin is, however, now close enough to spore him. She quickly jumps on him, wraps her limbs around him to make sure he can't get away, and breathes a cloud of spores directly in his face.
Chrom staggers back, and feebly tries to push off her. Her spores are fast acting though, and he slumps into sleep a few moments later. Robin gently lift him off the ground and carries him back to her flower where she closes the outer petals over them, making a shield from the elements outside.
The downpour isn't over by the time Chrom wakes up. In fact, it's evolved into a full-blown storm.
"Lovely day." Robin greets the man when he groggily awakes. "And you wanted to stay out in that?"
Chrom smiles nervously as he sits up and glances around. "W-Well I didn't want to do that, I just didn't want to be in here…"
"Why not?" Robin huffs.
"Last time I was in here, you threatened to kill me." Chrom mutters.
Robin blinks. "Wait… are you talking about our first meeting? Five months ago?"
"Yes." The prince says quietly. He looks incredibly nervous now. "That was when I learned this flower is a death trap…"
"Well yeah, how else am I supposed to get food if it's not brought to me?" Robin huffs. "You think my species survived in the wild by just waiting for people to bring them food?"
"Still…" Chrom mutters as he grips the hilt of Falchion. He has no intention of drawing the blade, it just makes him feel safer to hold it. "You could kill me here, easily."
Robin really doesn't want to ask this, but she suspects it's true. "Chrom, are you scared of me?"
"Maybe." The prince grimaces. "I mean, I remember that first day. You made it clear I was on a thin wire, so I've be careful about what I do."
"Right…"
"And, well, your flower is a death trap." Chrom shivers. "I'm sitting in the middle of a death trap, and… uh…"
"What?"
"You're not… I mean…" Chrom really doens't want to say this, but is he's coming out with everything then he should say it. "I can't tell if you're human or not."
"Meaning?"
"You're a plant, right? You're not even a demi human." Chrom mutters. "I can't tell if I can trust you or not. Are you a person? Are you just manipulating me? I can't tell."
"Anything else?"
"No, that's about it."
"Okay." Robin says. That's a lot to take in, but it boils down to two things: trust, and their bad first impression. "So, you remember our first meeting?"
"Of course."
"I threatened to eat you, right?"
"Right."
"Do you know why I did that?" Robin asks.
"Because you thought I might be dangerous."
"Exactly. So I scared you a bit." The girl whispers. "I did want company though, so I made sure it was just a warning."
"It had the desired effect." Chrom grimaces.
"I don't think it did." Robin frowns. "The idea was to make sure you didn't exploit me, not to make you permanently afraid of me. I was hoping for a friend too, and making him afraid of setting foot in what is essentially my home was not the plan."
"Ah."
"So what I'm saying is that the threat I made when we met no longer stands." Robin says flatly. "I'm not going to try and eat you if you piss me off. You're my friend, and I assume friends don't eat each other."
"Right." Chrom says, and lets out a long breath. "Okay…"
"You were scared of this the entire time?" Robin asks in a softer tone. "Did I scare you that much?"
"Of course you did, you're terrifying." Chrom says bluntly. "You're a literal man-eating plant who threatened to eat me when we first met, and you mentioned that you've already eaten people before!"
"They were creepy and awful, and you definitely aren't." Robin scoffs.
"I had no way of knowing if you thought that." The prince grimaces. "If I asked you, it would look like I was trying to exploit you."
"So you've spent the last five months in fear that I'd suddenly turn on you." Robin sighs.
"Pretty much." Chrom coughs.
"Well enough of that then." Robin says firmly. "You are safe with me Chrom."
It's like he just shrugged off a massive backpack. Chrom's shoulders finally sag in relaxation, and he slumps against her petals tiredly. It's the first time Robin could really say she's seen him vulnerable except when she's forcibly put him to sleep.
Chrom falls asleep again some time during the evening. Robin fully closes her petals to shelter him from the bugs overnight, and patiently waits out the darkness while stroking the boy's hair.
###
"Are we sure this is going to work?" Chrom asks nervously.
"Chrom, I'm fairly sure you're more worried about this than I am." Robin says calmly. "This will be fine."
"Indeed." Miriel says as she gives the cart one last check. Everyone else signals their readiness. "We are prepared to begin. Robin, tell us if you start experiencing anything unusual."
"This whole thing is going to be unusual." Robin snorts. "But sure."
The operation is in theory a simple one. They've dug up a huge amount of dirt around Robin's roots, and now all that remains is to drag her onto the cart. She's been fed a massive amount over the last few days to make sure she has energy for the trip and the recovery after she's replanted in the palace gardens rather than this letal forest garden.
"Alright everyone! Grab your ropes!" Miriel barks. "On the count of three!"
Chrom grabs his own section of the rope and grits his teeth. He dearly hopes they don't injure her by accident.
"Heave!"
It takes a few minutes to drag the massive flower onto the equally massive cart, and it takes a few minutes more to arrange her roots in a way that they won't drag along the ground as the cart moves.
"It's going to be top-heavy." Sully grunts. "But this should work. We need to go slow, it'll take the whole day to get back."
"Let's get moving then." Chrom says anxiously. Robin already looks a bit off. She walks around with a slightly unsure gait on top of her petals. "We don't want her out of the ground longer than necessary."
The trip back is agonizing, though more so for Chrom than for Robin. The plant girl reports feeling "a bit tired, and it's weird to feel wind on my roots" but she seems largely unphased by this whole thing. In fact, she spends most of the trip back reassuring Chrom that she's alright, and no she's not dying, and yes she's still sure about this.
Lissa finds it very funny, as do most of the Shepherds. Chrom is not amused.
Just as Sully predicted, it takes until dusk to get Robin to the castle gardens. Robin says she'd be fine overnight, but Chrom insists on working into the dark hours of the night to get her planted safely into the ground.
Hilariously, Chrom falls asleep halfway through the work. He stressed himself into exhaustion. The Shepherds finish the job anyways, and leave Chrom to sleep with Robin.
Lissa teases him mercilessly the next few weeks about that.
###
He's falling in love with a plant. Granted, the plant looks like an incredibly attractive you woman who walks around in the nude all the time, is incredibly intelligent, and is also very friendly, but she is species of plant that specifically evolved to trap and eat humans.
So yes, if you told Chrom he was crazy he probably wouldn't argue. He can't really deny it.
The problem is that the feeling hasn't gone away. He's been hiding it for at least a few months at this point, hoping it would diminish into something more tame. It hasn't, and instead he's started acting so flustered around Robin that she's started to ask if he's ill.
Chrom has just told her 'yes' to avoid the trouble of the actual reason. The problem is that Lissa, and even worse Emmeryn, found out; and while Lissa will just poke at him Emmeryn is absolutely not going to let him keep quiet about this.
Emmeryn means well. She wants him to be happy. She's also never actually confessed to anyone, so Chrom doesn't think she quite knows what she's asking him to do.
Also, Robin is a plant. She's a person, but she's a plant. Chrom isn't even sure romance is a thing she does and really doesn't want to risk the embarrassment of realizing his suspicions are correct. However Emmeryn isn't going to give him a choice but to find out (or more accurately, she's not going to talk to him about anything else until he does).
Chrom has decided to do ask today, and after suffering a minor panic attack he made his way out to the gardens for their usual game of chess. Chrom has gotten slightly better at the game with Robin's teaching. Despite playing the game for less than a full year she's already much better than him.
"Check." Chrom says cautiously as he moves his bishop.
"Oho…" Robin says with a smile. It looks like she's in a bad situation, but she's always calm and collected so he's not sure if that's actually the case. Maybe he's totally misreading the situation, or it could just be that she has a fantastic poker face. "My turn."
As seems to be normal for her, she just moves a pawn to block his attack. Chrom hates it when she moves pawns around, she does it all the time, and then on a random turn she's suddenly move one of her powerful pieces and announce checkmate.
So yes, Chrom hates pawns. They're mocking him…
The prince also decides this is a good opportunity to start conversation. He's going to ask something that can totally make a fool of him, but at least he can lead into it and soften the blow.
He's already resigned to this conversation going badly. He's just trying to make it less of a catastrophe.
"Robin, I've been meaning to ask something." Chrom says. He takes a rook, and moves it two spaces up along the side of the board.
"Sure." Robin murmurs. She doesn't look away from the board, and again pushes up a pawn.
"You know how you're a plant, right?" Chrom says nervously.
"Stop right there." Robin glances up at him. "Chrom, we had an issue with this last time because you assumed I was inhuman. Whatever your thinking right now, change it. I am a person."
"I know that." Chrom says hastily. "But it's relevant."
"Alright…" Robin doesn't sound convinced.
"So, uh…" Chrom takes a moment to look at the board, and moves his queen out to the side to get a better angle of attack. "How do relationships work for you?"
"Pardon?"
"I don't mean friendships or anything." Chrom clarifies quickly. "I know you're a person, it's just… uh…"
"Just be blunt Chrom." Robin says with a roll of her eyes. "You're really bad at dancing around things."
"Right." Chrom winces. "Erm… blunt huh…"
"Yes."
"W-Well." The prince coughs. So he's actually asking this. He does not feel prepared. "Alright. So, uh…"
Robin is giving him a flat look, with the clear message being "get on with it."
"I… I like you." Chrom says tentatively. "I mean more than a friend."
"Ah." Robin blinks. "Ah… okay. I get it."
"You do?"
"Let me guess. Your thoughts were somewhere along the lines of 'she's a plant, can she even fall in love'?"
"Well I phased it a bit differently… but yes." Chrom coughs. "It's not like plants reproduce the same way humans do, there's no biological reason for you to be able fall in love, so I wasn't sure it was a natural behavior for you."
"Well it is." Robin huffs.
"Alright then."
There's an awkward silence for a few minutes. They play their game, but Chrom is distracted and Robin is quick to capitalize on his mistakes.
The game, which might have been going in Chrom's favor a few minutes ago, is now totally lost for him. "Checkmate."
The prince gives the board a once over, and nods in defeat. "So it is."
"Chrom."
"Yes?" The prince glances up at her. She leaned in when he wasn't looking, and takes advantage of it to surprise him with a quick kiss on the nose.
"I hope that answers any lingering doubts." She says. She falls back into a sitting position with her usual calm smile, leaving Chrom flustered.
"That's not fair!"
"How not?"
"You can't just be calm and collected after that!" Chrom groans. "Gods, how am I ever going to know what you're feeling?"
"You'll have to find out."
"How?!"
"Give me a hug." Robin says with a smile. "If I push you away, I'm angry."
"That's not exactly what I meant…"
"Well I'm serious." The girl chuckles. "It's normal for me to be calm Chrom. I can try to be expressive, but it's actually a bit difficult for me. It's a lot easier with touch."
"Oh." Well that'll be something to get used to. "Alright then."
"Hurry up."
"What?"
"I told you to give me a hug, come on." She says insistently, and holds out her arms.
"Oh, uh…" Chrom does so. He awkwardly leans forwards and embraces her, and is surprised by the fierceness with which she clings to him.
"Been hoping for this for a while." Robin hums happily and nuzzles into his neck. "Stay for a bit?"
"Of course." Chrom says with a relieved smile. Finally, he can relax again. "As long as you want Robin."
So… this is a weird chapter. No tactics at all aside from chess. Making Robin immobile really made this chapter difficult, also it was surprisingly difficult to decide how to write Chrom at any given moment. Usually Chrom is the easy part, but he also doesn't usually jump between emotions so rapidly. I'm of the opinion this chapter is thoroughly mediocre. Not my best work, not the worst, but a good experiment.
bauers374: Yep. Henry was sorta the inspiration for that.
I'm well aware, I've been told numerous time. I just can't be bothered to change it. I'm lazy :P
No. We already have Timesnap and Savepoint Robin, and proper time travel is just a massive hassle to deal with.
Thanks for reading! Hope you're gonna stay with us for future chapters!
Pengaius: Sure, why not.
RedRat8: For Wyvern Rider have. That's not necessarily enough to hold a story on it's own though. Singer/Lullaby is interesting, though frankly I think some other ideas have already covered what would make Singer interesting (Bard covers the song aspect, Succubus covers the magic sleep aspect) so I'm not quite sure it brings anything unique to the table. I'll put it down on the list though, maybe I'll think of something.
LoveGlutton: What can I say? I'm biased.
Guest: You've just described Virion I think.
Guest: I don't take gender-specific suggestion. I mean, I'll take the ideas, but don't expect me to give them to male or female Robin specifically. All the ideas are fine except for Hector Robin. I haven't played that game, and a minor personality tweak isn't enough to make a chapter out of anyways. Also, the word you're looking for is "Androphobia". It's the fear of adult men granted, but I couldn't find a term just for the fear of men so this is as close as we get. Lon'qu's condition is called "Gynophobia" (and he probably also has Post-Traumatic-Stress-Disorder).
Guest: So Nidus Robin would be someone who can infect others, control them, grow tentacles to attack people, and make maggots pop out of things. Fury Robin is a hyper-violent monster bent on killing specific people for their sins. Is that about right?
LancetheGallade: Well hey there, I appreciate the comment. You'd be absolutely right in suspecting I enjoy F!Robin more than M!Robin most of the time.
I sorta disagree on the "don't worry about wasting good ideas" front. See, The Robin Variable is much more popular than Varied Awakenings (it gets about thrice the number of visitors when there's a new chapter, and many more reviews) so while I could do alternate versions with Varied Awakenings, if I want people to share my enthusiasm I need to put it in The Robin Variable. That's why I save all my favourite ideas for F!Robin, because I might not have time to write another version or the other version will slip by totally unnoticed by everyone (and half the fun of writing these ideas is getting reviews/talking about them. Varied Awakenings is very hit-or-miss).
That is, however, an excuse. I'll admit outright I'm sacrificing M!Robin for my own enjoyment. It's the selfish thing for me to do. Not to say there aren't some cool ideas for M!Robin (I personally like Vampire, Stringcutter, Arranged Marriage, and Bowknight) where I think they work better on him than F!Robin, but I often get more enjoyment out using F!Robin for the more interesting ideas (often because I like how I can use her/her powers for romance. I'm a sucker for romance).
Maybe I am better at M!Robin romance than I think I am. I wouldn't know. I'm so used to writing one specific type of male character (nervous/submissive) that I can't really judge how well I do with any other personalities or romantic dynamics.
Casanova huh… sounds like something I would have trouble with, but it's a good idea.
I'll admit there is a lack of romances for M!Robin. Off the top of my head I can think of Vampire, Bow Knight (sorta?), Necromancer, and maybe Spy… well that's actually a few, but nowhere near as many as I give to F!Robin.
There's a few reasons I don't focus on the kids, but the main one is that frankly I don't want them getting in the way. I find family-focused stories boring for the most part, so I don't write a lot of parent-child interactions unless it's to support something else. I could give it a try though, it deserves at least one pass. I always planned on writing things I'm not used to so I should at least attempt it…
I appreciate your review, even if I seemed a bit snippy here. You've pointed out several areas where I'm lacking or haven't tried yet and I appreciate it. I can't guarantee you'll get what you're asking for, I enjoy writing certain types of character and situations over others so I'm going to cater to that, but it would be remiss of me to not at least try other things, especially since I said I was trying to branch out.
Cheers! Hope to hear from you again!"
Wrathie Winsre: Yeah, it was inspired by the Feywild. The hangman tree is ripped straight from DnD.
I totally imagined that too. I actually considered having Sumia be left behind for the mission.
At first I was going to lean more into the 'savage' part of being wild. Robin was going to have a club, speak with poor grammar, and generally fill all the caveman stereotypes. I decided against it purely because I couldn't make it work.
I think the line is: "Time to tip the scales!"
I was going to have him abuse that power more, but there ended up being almost no conflict in the chapter so I kept it to that one instance.
How do you know she wasn't? I never specified! Jokes aside though, it felt out of place to put that in. Also Cordelia doesn't need fanservice! The internet does that enough already! The only people I give fanservice are Robin and sometimes Chrom, so why are you only complaining now? I'll admit I don't give her a lot of spotlight though, that comes from her not being a character I like a lot. She falls squarely into indifference for me.
It's harder than it looks. Eventually I'll run out of scenes to pull from and have to make things up, and that's a lot harder than adapting something already existing.
Chrom can save himself. He's a big boy. Who really cares about the children anyways? They just get in the way. :P
That is a good line, I must admit.
Usually Chrom is the dense one, I figured it was Robin's turn for once. May have gone a bit overboard. It made for a cute chapter though.
I could probably do that. Gender bender is something I am very familiar with (my other main story is based entirely on that premise). It's not the most popular gimmick though, it attracts a bit of an audience but nothing substantial.
That's not actually what I was referring to, but that's true too. I just meant that I write them in a more flattering light.
Maribelle is similar in some ways, but there's some substantial differences. They're both big on being proper, but Maribelle is more focused on noble bearing and self presentation while Frederick is focused on being in shape and following orders. Maribelle is (in my opinion at least) a bit of a bitch though, so I tend to avoid using her. I'll try to slip her in however, I fully intend to use all the Shepherds.
I dunno. I'm not familiar with different groups.
That's a very meta thing to say, I'm not quite sure a Matchmaker Robin would think in terms of skills like that. Remember, characters in universe aren't necessarily aware of game mechanics, and game mechanics don't always translate well into story. I don't use seals for example.
Reviews are my enjoyment. At least, they're a large part of it. It's no fun to write a story and have no one share your enthusiasm. Having consistent reviews enables me to write what I enjoy because I know a few people will at least give it a read and show their opinions.
I hope not to end it any time soon, but I imagine I'll eventually have to cut back on the number of stories I'm writing at once. I currently have three after all.
It's not that Chrom didn't get the talk. I just mean Chrom picked up some bad habits that run a bit deeper than everyone around him suspects. Others see him a bit stubborn, or a bit too rigid in his duty, they don't see the deep-seated fear he has of letting other control him, or that his clumsiness around women comes from having no role model (and instead having a figure he tries vehemently to not be like, but no example of what he should be like). So I wouldn't really blame anyone but his father, because his father is the stem of so many of Chrom's issues… at least how I write him, and how I see it.
Well that would be funny, albeit catastrophic for Chrom.
I'm of the opinion that Ylisse is gonna give a big ol' nope to harems. I see the religious institutes of Ylisse as pretty uptight and prudish soo… yeah, definitely not something they would approve of.
Necromancer Robin, not Risen Robin. But yes, that's probably a good idea.
Maybe Gaius. I'm still leaning towards Virion though. Tharja is an interesting one. Towards Robin she might do that, but to others…?"
Stupid yes… but still a fun idea. I'm getting an idea for a Robin that feigns weakness or incompetence in order to be 'cute' or to inspire a protective urge. Kinda like Charlotte.
Hope to hear from you again!
Fantasy Paradise: Sure, that works.
Darkness is complete: I was going to make him human initially. The first several drafts were based off a 'savage' character that was basically a caveman with a club. It was sorta boring and didn't work, so I changed it to this.
AuraPhoenix1500: Really? Huh. I wouldn't have thought of this as one of my best, but I'm glad you like it! Maybe it was better than I thought.
A nicer interpretation of Alien? In what way? The fact that he doesn't seem quite human? I'm genuinely curious.
That's an interesting idea for Fairy Robin, but I have something else in mind I think I'll be using.
Nice to hear from you!
Cyberchao X: I'm afraid I've never watched Dragonball. I wouldn't know.