Disclaimer: I don't own Fire Emblem Awakening, 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, Wyvern Rider, Phobia, Thicc, Tsundere, Damsel in Distress, Gangrel's Child, Wyvern Rider, Child, Communist, Bomber, Bear Cavalry, Flying, ADHD, Super Strength, Patriotic, Martial Artist, Scottish, Sassy, One Liner, Seamstress, Shephard, Speedy, Cool, Shy, Bookworm, Mercenary, Sweet, Kung Fu, Buff, Lazy, Wingless Flight, Blunt.
Standard: Elemental, Deaf, Foreign, Future sight, Nurse/Medic, Valmese Tactician, Medusa, Amazon, Genderfluid, Gift from Validar + evil to good, Mimic, Emotionless, Crippling Overspecialization (Idiot Savant), Coward, ESP, POW, PTSD, Magician, Mute, Handicapped, Secret Helper, Crazy, Morpher, Dreamwalker, Twins, Regenerating, Animal Whisperer, Naga/Tiki Assistant, Deadly Touch, Mind Reader, Doppelganger, Arachne, D&D magic, Umbramancer, Horror Monster, Dominatrix, Songstress, Kinky, Matchmaker, Androphobic, Illusionist, Attraction Aura, Ring Maker, Therapist, Teleporting, Crippled, Puppet, Broken, Hallucination, Depressed, Slave, Love Curse, Detective, Geokinetic, Trauma.
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, Alchemist, Protoss, Spirit Manipulation, Invisible, Plegian Honor Guard, Mecha, Kryptonian, Creator, Orc, Memory Stealing Respawn, Racer, Khan, Misfortune, Vampire Hunter, Geokinetic, Imaginary Actualization, Death, Resurrection, 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, 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, Cupid, Undertaker, Master Thief, Guard, Faceless, Shadow, Age Control, Cradle Snatcher, Emo, Singer, Nun, Courier, Haunted Knight Armor, Egyptian, Sentient Object, Shit Lord, Court Wizard, Naga's sibling, Mad Queen, Artist, Predator, Cheshire Cat, Radio Host, Chimera, Wendigo, Witch, Symbiote, Hivemind, Hammerspace, Anna, Mother Nature, Psychopath, Stripper, Painting, Grima Parts, Knightmare, Super, Swimsuit, Bunny Outfit, One Punch, Idol, Chef, Rampage, Housewife, Determination, Vessel of Naga, Instant Expert, Time Travel, Hermit, Alternate Dimension 'Twin', Legendary, Resistance, Memory Regain, Umbra Witch, Naga, Aquatic, Hexblade Warlock, Dragon, Demon of Choice, Demon of Temptation, Affliction, Good Samaritan, Gallant, Rosannite Tactician, Leeroy.
Other: Second Generation replacement, Dimensional Walker, Cycle, Fates.
So, originally this was going to be Broken Robin, but that quirk is apparently really hard to use. The story of Awakening doesn't lend itself well to such a quirk, and if I changed around what I was doing we'd probably end up with something like Consistent Amnesia Robin. So instead I'll do Therapist Robin, as suggested by AuraPheonix1500.
"It's unfair!" Cordelia whines. Her heat meets the table in frustration, and Robin takes the opportunity to silently take away her mug of beer. "Wh-Why does Sumia get him and not meee?"
"Well, why do you think that is?" Robin asks. He wasn't planning on this being an impromptu counselling session, but so be it. It would help is Cordelia was sober, but at least she'll be more truthful here. He subtly pulls out a quill, ink, and paper, and sets it on the table when the girl isn't looking. She's drunk enough that she doesn't seem to notice it when she looks back.
"It's… It's gotta be b-because she has boobs." Cordelia says after a moment. "That has to be it! He knows..."
"Really now? You think bust size is something Chrom cares about?" Robin asks with a raised eyebrow. "It's a wonder you care for his attention at all if you think he's that shallow."
"W-Well no, th-that's n-not it." Cordelia stutters. "I-I don't really…"
"Then what is it?"
"I…" Cordelia sighs. "I c-could never talk to him. H-He's just intimidating."
"Really?"
"Yes! H-He's a prince!"
"I see…" Well, that explains so much. Cordelia never actually talked to Chrom in a casual context so she never learned that he's one of the least intimidating and nicest nobles you could ever meet as long as you're not actively against him.
"A-And Sumia always u-used to encourage me to k-keep trying, but now she's gone off a-and taken him!" Cordelia whines. "E-Except she didn't, b-because it's not h-her fault, b-b-because I said she could g-get close to him b-because I know I'm hopeless!"
"I wouldn't quite describe nervousness in situations hoped to be romantic as being hopeless." Robin says reassuringly.
"B-But I couldn't talk to him!"
"Yes, you couldn't." Robin agrees. "But that can be worked on."
"It's too laaaate!"
"For you former intention, yes, it is." Robin says. "But that is not the end of the world. You can still attempt to fix your nervousness so this sort of self stressing doesn't occur again, or at least to smaller effect."
"It won't be worth it anymore…"
"Yes, it will. Again, this is not the end of the world."
"Then why does it f-feel like it?"
"Because you're very very drunk."
###
"Is this the part where you ask 'how does that make you feel'?" Severa asks dryly.
"Well yes." Robin chuckles. "That is the core of my style of therapy you know. Though it's a bit more involved than a simple 'angry' or 'sad'."
"How so?"
"Well, this is something that can be best demonstrated by walking through it." Robin says. "So, your gripe: you're mad that your mother is so perfect… but why are you mad? What about that makes you mad? What about that seems wrong to you?"
Severa gives the man a long, shrewd look. She's here more or less because Lucina and Laurent nudged her into it. Is she really going to spill her guts to this puke-haired, sallow-skinned, perpetually tired-looking, stick-thin, possibly former grimleal?
Well, if she came back from this and told Lucina that she didn't even try, everyone would be disappointed, so Severa guesses she has to at this point.
"Well…" She grumbles. "I mean, it's annoying that she's so far above everyone. It's like she's showing off, or rubbing it in our faces at how perfect she is."
"How so?"
"I just told you!"
"No, how is she rubbing it in our faces?"
"By being so far above everyone!"
"That's not a reason, that's circular logic." Robin says bluntly. "Why is that a problem?"
Severa grits her teeth. This is getting on her nerves. "Why does it matter to you?"
"It doesn't." Robin says bluntly, but calmly. "It matters to you though, otherwise you wouldn't be getting agitated about it."
The redhead seethes. She hates that he's probably right.
"So, again, why is it a problem that she's so far above everyone?" Robin asks softly. "What's wrong with her being better?"
"It- I-" Severa feels like it should be obvious, but she doesn't know how to say it, and it's frustrating.
"Take your time, we're in no rush." Robin soothes. "Well, I mean, dinner is in an hour, but I doubt this will take that long."
With that said, Severa takes a minute to think. More accurately she broods, but at least it's a way to get her thoughts in order. "So… just let me get everything out before saying anything, got it?"
Robin nods. He rests his wet quill against the paper patiently.
"So, uh, Mom… she's… she's perfect." Severa restates slowly. "Right? So, because she's perfect, there's all these problems that wouldn't happen if she wasn't perfect. If she wasn't perfect, she wouldn't be so busy keeping perfect. She wouldn't be too busy for me, she wouldn't be too busy to actually be a good wife to Father, she wouldn't be alone with her thoughts too much and obsesses over Prince Chrom…"
The tactician quietly scribbles notes. Severa isn't done. She's staring up at the ceiling as she speaks.
"And that's not it either! It's not just that she doesn't have time, it's that her being perfect also colors other people's opinions of me." Severa growls. "People expect me to follow in her footsteps. 'Severa, why don't you know how to fly a pegasus'? 'Severa, why don't you know how to use a spear?' 'Severa' why are you resting for two seconds rather than working yourself half to death?' and all the other bullshit like that."
Robin nods slowly. "Anything else?" He whispers.
"I get the feeling Mom also expects me to be like her." Severa murmurs quietly. "Like she thinks I'm not living up to her legacy…" Her expression sours. "And who's fault is that when she doesn't spend enough time at home for me to care?"
"Indeed…" Robin murmurs. "Is that all?"
"About all I can think of." Severa sighs.
"Well, that's quite a decent bit." Robin hums.
Yeah, I know, I'm a handful." The girl mutters bitterly.
"I said it was a decent bit, not necessarily more than usual." Robin interjects. "Your problems are not so unusual."
"Wha- What!?" Severa suddenly shouts. "No! Not everyone has a perfect mother!"
"True, but they have the same general feelings towards their mothers as yourself." The man explains calmly. He's tempted to say "stop assuming you're special, you're not, none of us are, everything that's happened to us has happened to millions of others" but he doubts that would go over well.
"I- Well- Yeah, I guess…" She says weakly. It looks like she lost her steam halfway through that haphazard, stuttered stream of words.
Robin already knows a bit more about Severa than the girl realizes. She's pretty standard. Parental neglect issues, parental and societal expectation issues, anger issues, self-image issues, and just normal teenage/young adult hostility. There's a few 'solutions' to her problems, most of which involve chilling out and either (or both) actually having an open talk with her mother, and/or not tying her own worth and life so closely to her parents and becoming more properly independent.
Sure, the future children may have lived on their own for years, but clearly some of them are still obsessed about their parents, they structure their lives around their parent's legacy or what their parents wanted to do rather than pursuing their own life goals.
Now, granted, they're embroiled in a war for the future of the world, so not focusing on your own goals understandable at the moment, and they didn't have much time with their parents overall, so a bit of thought has to be given to that...
It's a bit more complicated than what Robin has just thought, but he would like to think he has a point.
"Alright, so with all that said." Robin murmurs. "What do you want?"
"What?"
"What do you want?" Robin repeats. "Relating to your mother and all the issues surrounding her, what result do you want?"
"I want her to be less perfect." Severa growls.
"Yes, but why? It's not the perfection itself that annoys you, it's the results of that perfection."
"I…" Severa looks reluctant to speak, but forces herself to do so. "Mother never had time for me or Dad or anyone but Prince Chrom in the future. I just want more time with her, but also for her to not be talking about Prince Chrom all the time."
"Well…" Robin murmurs. "First, we must recognize that neither of us can, or should, control Cordelia, yes? You can only control your own actions. If you want more time with Cordelia, then you need to actively pursue it rather than resorting to your usual passive-aggressive tendencies."
"And if it doesn't work?"
"Then try something else, or move on." Robin says.
"Move on? Like, don't bother with her?" Severa sounds alarmed.
"Yes." The man says honestly. "If something is going to hurt you more than help you, like trying and failing to develop a relationship with your mother, don't bother, and pursue other things that will make you happy."
Now, Robin doesn't think Cordelia is quite so hopeless (he doesn't know how bad she was in Severa's world, but he hopes she isn't as bad now), but there is the possibility that Severa won't be able to develop a functional relationship with her. He hopes that isn't the case, but he feels it's important to establish that there is another option than just solving the problem. Sometimes burning a bridge is the right choice. Usually a last resort, but still a legitimate choice. He doesn't want Severa to feel that her only option is to try and repair her strained relationship, because keeping an unhealthy relationship because you think it's the only choice is a dangerous way to think.
"However, I would suggest that to be a last resort." Robin adds. Severa and her mother's relationship is not abusive, just strained. He doesn't want to present burning that bridge as a first choice. "Unless you feel the situation is beyond saving."
"Of course not!" Severa huffs.
"Good. Then the question is only what you will do to try and bring about what you want." The tactician whispers. "Passivity and hints have failed, so action is required. Your action. Be forthright, be honest, but as much as you can, don't be hostile or your entire goal will be undermined."
"Right." Severa takes a deep breath. She wasn't expecting this to go the way it did, she was expecting to get tired with Robin really quickly and shrug him off after a few minutes. "Uh, thanks."
"Any time."
###
"Do you need to talk?" Robin calls out. To an observer, it would seem he's speaking to himself. He's standing near the supply tent with no one in front of him. "I just need to drop this inventory list off with Emmet, I have some free time after that."
There's a pause. The faint noise of conversation from elsewhere in the camp drifts over to the supply tent. Just like everywhere they camp, the area has ended up smelling faintly of mud and sweat from dozens of soldiers living in close quarters. Not that anyone actually notices anymore, they're all desensitized to it.
Robin wait for a full minute. He isn't positive she'll respond, but he isn't sure if she's shy, suspicious, or has some other feeling he doesn't know about, so he's giving her plenty of time to muster the courage or sort through her thoughts (if indeed that's what she needs). His patience is rewarded when the girl he knew was watching steps out from behind a tent. A dark mage of black hair, pale skin, sullen disposition, and (not that Robin would say so aloud, t'would be inappropriate for someone of his profession) quite the incredible body that is alternatively shown off by her outfit or hidden by her cape and arms.
"How long have you known I was following you?" The girl asks in a voice so raspy it makes Robin wonder how often she actually speaks above a whisper.
"Since Chrom recruited you." The tactician says honestly. "Being observant is integral to both my jobs, so I tend to notice what others wouldn't."
"Ah." The girl frowns. "I was hoping it wasn't as long as that…"
"Well, if I may be frank, you are abysmal at stealth." Robin murmurs. "Perhaps consider asking Gaius for lessons. A small fee of candy may be required, but he's likely much cheaper than any other tutor worth their salt."
"I don't need lessons from him." Tharja snaps.
"Suit yourself." Robin shrugs. "Anyways, I just have to drop off this list. Just give me a minute."
"I don't need to talk."
"Then why did you show yourself?" The therapist asks with a raised eyebrow.
"I…" Tharja purses her lips. Robin smirks. He knows she doesn't have a good response.
"So, like I said, let me drop off this list. Meet me in my tent in two minutes, alright?" Robin says with a reassuring smile. He doesn't wait for an answer; figuring Tharja needs a moment to decide anyways. He finds the quartermaster gathering water (just one of the usual chores everyone in the camp takes turns doing) and hands him the list. The tactician then takes a leisurely stroll back to his tent, giving Tharja plenty of time if she needs it.
"Took you long enough." The dark mage growls when Robin pushes aside the flap and steps inside.
"My pardon, it took a moment to find Emmet." Robin soothes. He gestures to the one chair in his room. "I'll stand if you prefer to sit."
Tharja sneers, but sits nonetheless. Robin pulls his notebook out of his coat along with a quill.
"So, what's this all about?" The tactician asks conversationally. "I don't presume you were following me around due to any sort of awe or attraction, so what gives?"
Tharja purses her lips. "You're dangerous."
Robin blinks in surprise. Out of all possible reasons, that was not what he was expecting. "Really now? How so?"
The dark mage eyes him cautiously. "You're not aware of it, are you?"
"Of what are we speaking?"
"Your aura. You reek of dark magic, and have since I got here." Tharja says bluntly. "Yet you're not a dark mage, and I can't detect a curse or hex on you. Natural ability for dark magic only leaves so strong a signature; you have the aura of a trained sorcerer, and one so powerful only the likes of Henry match it, and yet you don't use dark magic whatsoever."
"I mean, I can." Robin offers. "I have used a dark tome before, just as an experiment, but anything more complicated than Flux is beyond me at the moment."
"That's my point. Amnesiac or no, your aura suggests you should be skilled in the highest levels of dark magic." Tharja is now glowering. "But you're not. You aren't a sorcerer, and you aren't cursed or hexed, and that leaves only a few options, all of which are concerning."
"And what are these possibilities?"
"The first is that you've either run into, or are the victim of some powerful dark creature. A nightwalker perhaps, or a nightmare fiend. The second possibility is that you are a powerful dark creature or undead in disguise. Like a lich, a devourer, a bodak, a pact demon, or something similar."
"Anything else?"
"One more possibility." Tharja whispers with narrowed eyes. "You're a Fell blood. Not just any Fell blood, but the vessel, he who the fell bloodline has been trying to engineer for centuries." Her eyes meet his, holding an intensity that reveals her as a woman assessing a possible threat.
"A fell blood you say? How would we know?"
"You'll have a mark." She says simply. "The mark of Grima somewhere on your body."
"Ah." Robin swallows. Hesitantly he puts down his book and quill and peels off his right glove to show her the back of that hand. "Like this, perhaps?"
"Exactly like that." Tharja says in a low voice. "That's… not good. This is the worst outcome possible. At least, potentially."
"Oh." Robin murmurs. "Oh… okay… what do we do?"
"I don't know." The dark mage admits. "If you were a monster or something, it would be a simple matter to just get rid of you. If you were a lich, I'd just have to make sure you're not hostile. As the vessel though… I don't know. I could kill you, but I don't know how much that would accomplish. Strictly speaking you're the herald of the end times, and while you are the ideal vessel for Grima, you aren't the only one who could be used. Validar would be plenty suitable."
"So my existence just means Grima is coming, regardless of whether I live or not?"
"Exactly." Tharja nod seriously.
"There's not much we can do on our own." The girl mutters. "We can prepare ourselves, try and encourage others to prepare, but in the end… it may not be enough. After all, the future children are evidence we failed once before."
Robin sags a bit. That's not the most reassuring, but she has a point. How would they fight a god-like being anyways?
"However…" Tharja says slowly. "Taking out grimleal could maybe do something. Grima relies on his followers to revive him. So if you take out grimleal, there's fewer people who can try and revive him."
Robin frowns. "We can't go around killing anyone who happens to be grimleal. That would make us just as bad as Chrom's father."
"They're trying to end the world." Tharja growls.
"That doesn't mean we can kill them arbitrarily." Robin scolds.
The girl presses her lips together in disapproval. "So we're just going to let them end the world?"
"It really looks like a lose-lose situation…" Robin frowns. "Those can't be the only options… give me a few days to think on it. I'm a tactician, and I'll be damned if I can't come up with a plan for this."
"If you say so…"
This wasn't what Robin was expecting. He was expecting this to be another impromptu therapy session. Not the reveal of his possible involvement in the end of the world.
###
"You have a plan now?" The dark mage asks as she takes a seat around the planning table. They're in the strategy tent along with Chrom, Lucina, Laurent, Flavia, and Basilio. "And what's with everyone else?"
"Because this concerns everyone if what you say is true." Robin says seriously. "And besides, the grimleal are a thorn in everyone's side, so everyone should be involved with this."
"Alright…" Tharja grumbles.
"So, what's this all about boy?" Basilio grunts. "Grimleal ya said? Some death plot."
"Well, strictly speaking their 'death plot' has been going on for millennia…" Robin coughs. He glances at Tharja to make sure he's right, and the girl nods. "Either way, the mark on my hand potentially signals the end of the world, and it would be the grimleal who would bring it about."
"So, remind me why we aren't just killing them all?" Flavia asks dryly.
"Because then we'll end up like my father." Chrom says grimly. "Genocidal fanatics. Besides, not all grimleal are bad. To some it really just is a religion, not a cult."
"But we still have to worry about them trying to end the world with an apocalyptic ritual." Lucina reminds everyone. She shares a look with Laurent. "We can attest to their success."
"Of course." Robin nods. "So, if we can't kill them all, but we can't let them be, we need a roundabout way of stopping them. Lucina, Laurent, Tharja, do any of you know what exactly the summoning ritual requires?"
Laurent speaks up. "Many, many lives. Approximately half of Plegia's population was wiped out to fuel Grima's revival. Beyond that, they also need a source of great power, as well as many competent sorcerers. In our timeline, the source of great power was the completed fire emblem."
"But it doesn't have to be the fire emblem." Lucina emphasizes. "A large collection of mana crystals or mana gems would work just as well. Several ancient magic tomes could be used to fuel the ritual as well, but as you might suspect those can be quite a hassle to come by."
"More so than the completed fire emblem?" Chrom asks.
"If you have an easy way to get it, yes." Laurent affirms. "After all, we don't know where many ancient tomes are, they've been gone for thousands of years. The gems of the fire emblem, however, are presumably in the possession of several people. It's far easier to steal those gems than hunt tomes that have been missing for centuries."
"And need I remind you that the Shepherds assembled the gems. Validar only needed to steal the completed emblem, not each individual piece." Lucina grimaces.
"There we go." Robin says. "So, if we can obstruct one of those requirements, we can stop Grima's revival."
"And how do we do that?" Flavia asks dryly. "Without killing all the grimleal in our path?"
"Simple." Robin hums. "We either get rid of the easy major power source…" He indicated the fire emblem at Chrom's side. "Or we assassinate powerful grimleal sorcerers."
"Both of those sound like temporary solutions…" Chrom mutters.
"They are." Robin admits. "Chrom, we have no way to permanently be rid of Grima. All we can do is keep the threat level down so long as I'm alive. After my lifetime, there shouldn't be the threat of Grima's revival until the next vessel is born, which might be a while."
"I don't like either of those options." Basilio says bluntly. "We either get rid of a powerful asset, or we maybe cause another war?"
"If you have a better idea, I'm all ears." Robin says patiently. "I don't want to do either of those things either. However, reducing the number of powerful artifacts in the world would at least give us progress towards a long-term solution. The fewer powerful things in the world, the fewer the grimleal can potentially use."
"And the less we can use to fight them." Chrom interjects.
"Also true. There's no real good option." Robin shrugs.
"I, for one, suggest the assassinations." Laurent offers. "We cannot trust the grimleal will not simply happen upon another major power source. It will be much safer to simply kill off those who make the ritual possible."
Lucina's lips purse in disapproval, but she doesn't argue. She honestly doesn't have a better idea. As long as it saves the world, she isn't going to say no. Sacrifices have to be made.
"Perhaps we can burn a few books?" Flavia suggests. "Kill the sorcerers, and eliminate their knowledge so it's harder for future generations to learn the ritual needed?"
Robin nods, despite the grimace on his face. He almost feels like a villain with this plot. Assassinations, burning books, intentionally suppressing specific knowledge… all to save the world.
Do the ends justify the means here? Robin doesn't know. He thinks so, but is this really his call? Who else is going to make this call though? It's not as brutal as Chrom's father at least.
The council ends in an agreement, albeit a distasteful one. Assassinate the powerful grimleal, burn their knowledge, and maybe push Naga's religion to try an supplant the grimleal. Everyone leaves feeling dissatisfied and with a bit heavier of a conscience.
###
"Tea? Water? Juice?" Robin asks.
"Water." Severa sighs.
Robin places a glass of water in front of her, and pours himself some apple juice. "So, what's this about? You don't strike me as the type to drop in and chat… well, not with someone random like me at least."
"Rude much?" She huffs.
"Am I wrong?"
"No…"
"So, what's this about then?"
"Well, uh…" Severa fidgets. "I talked to Mom."
"Hmm?" Robin raises an eyebrow. "About what?"
"A-About how she's a bad mom!" Severa huffs. "Gods, did you already forget our last talk?"
"Just thought I'd be sure." Robin replies calmly. "And how'd it go?"
"It was… okay." She mutters. "Well, the talk was good, but we've both been slow at the changes we need to get what we want. Mom still takes too much work onto herself, I'm still too quick to anger and too harsh, but we're making progress I think."
"That's good!" Robin smiles. "I'm glad to hear it."
"There's another thing though." Severa says. She has a bit of an impish grin on her face this time.
"Hmm?"
"Well, Mom mentioned she talked to you before." Severa says. She's full-on grinning now. "And she wants to again."
"I see. Why are you telling me this instead of her?"
"Well, I asked why she didn't just go talk to you, and rather than giving an answer she just threw out some excuse about having to leave. So…" Severa leans forwards, resting her elbows on the table and her face in her hands. "I smell a story. What happened?"
"Can't tell you." Robin says smoothly. "It's confidential. I would be a poor professional otherwise."
"Come on." Severa weedles. "She never made an appointment!"
"Even so, I refuse to divulge someone's emotions or secrets. It is not my place." Robin says firmly.
There's also the matter of the situation in question being when Cordelia got completely wasted, and that's not something Robin feels like he should be revealing to the woman's daughter.
"Killjoy." Severa grumbles. "Come on…"
"Sorry Severa, but how would you feel if I casually started revealing your private thoughts to someone?" Robin asks in a scolding tone.
"Fine." Severa huffs, and leans back in her seat. "Have it your way."
Robin smiles and raises his glass of juice. "And so I will. Was there anything else you wanted?"
"Nah, just saying thanks." She sighs. "And seeing if you'll prod Mom into another talk, seeing as she's too embarrassed to do so herself."
"I'll try and talk with her." Robin chuckles. "Thanks for dropping by though. I'm always glad to hear my advice has proven somewhat useful."
Gonna end here. I do realize it's a bit of an odd spot, but this quirk ended up being incredibly difficult to work with (which I didn't expect. I thought this would be rather easy). The part with Tharja and discussion of the grimleal threat came on a whim, and I'll admit it seems a bit out of place. The idea was just based on the thought that: "hey, Robin would totally notice Tharja sneaking around and try to offer therapy", and then it just logically went to using my headcanon for Tharja (which is that her stalking tendency is not out of a strange attraction like she'd have Robin believe, but an attempt to monitor someone she can sense is possibly extremely dangerous) and a talk about the Grimleal.
bauers374: Well it's not. Sorry to disappoint.
I'm not sure it was, but indeed it would cross that off.
Fourth wall breaking is something I don't want to do because it negates the suspension of disbelief and makes it impossible to take the story seriously in any capacity. I did it with the first chapter, yes, mostly because I had no clear idea of what I was doing at the time.
Firehedgehog: :D
RoastedButter: I would if it didn't so often get in the way of the actual quirks so often. I learned my lesson with Replicate Robin, so I generally keep this personality of Robin limited because it has the potential to overshadow the quirk entirely.
Muda: Well, considering Hoshido is in another universe/world, no, not really. That's why I chose Chon'sin, because it's the most eastern of all the countries in Awakening.
Guest: Harrier as in skirmisher?
Vanderspiegel: Throwing all those suggestions under unlikely. Fairy is already done by the way. Chapter 48.
Fantasy Paradise: Interesting one, if difficult. I'll put it on the list.
Aerich1106: I'll put that down under minor. It's a very combat-focused quirk, which makes it a bit problematic for someone who sucks at writing combat like me.
Cyberchao X: :D
Blablagogo: That would ruin the theme of the collection, so at the very least it can't be in The Robin Variable. I'll put it down for Varied Awakenings.