On Hayden, Innes and post-game Frelia

[crimsonmorgan.livejournal.com]

Why is it that most writers make Innes king after the end of the war?

I can see a few reasons for making him king; they rather want to write about Innes than Hayden, after the war Innes is a hero and Frelia might like to have a war hero as king, etc.

But.

Innes was not the one who stayed in Frelia and tried to keep the order, protected the country from invading forces and even helped his neighbouring country to keep Grado at bay. That was all Hayden. Yes, Innes helped defeating the Demon King, but how much do the Frelians care about that? Wouldn't they rather have a king who fights for them in their land to keep their property safe than a king who wasn't in the country when it suffered? I'm not saying that Innes deserves to be viewed that way, because he did a mighty good thing, but... In the eyes of the population Hayden would be placed above him, wouldn't he? It's natural for a people to care more about their immediate safety rather than the future safety of Magvel (especially since they didn't know about the Demon King). And even if they later heard about the Demon King situation I still think they would want to keep Hayden, because he was there for them. It's a matter of distance. Their focus is on "what happens to me here at home" and not on "something happens at the other end of Magvel that concerns us as well".

Also, wouldn't it be an advantage if Innes stayed prince for a few more years? As a prince he would have more freedom and could leave the country more often on diplomatic missions. As king he couldn't just leave Frelia to have a diplomatic discussion with Ephraim in Renais. Not when Frelia needs rebuilding as well (it's not comparable to the destruction in other countries, of course, but from the viewpoint of the people, they'd rather see a king who cares about them first). In my opinion the best solution would be Hayden stayed king and looks after Frelia while Innes is an ambassador and concentrates on the other countries. It just seems more economic to me.

Comments

[mark-asphodel.livejournal.com]

Also, wouldn't it be an advantage if Innes stayed prince for a few more years?

Absolutely. I personally see Hayden remaining king for a while-- possibly until his son gets married[*], possibly even after that. Hayden is of sound mind, there's no indication that I recall that his health is poor, and he did a fine job of minding the home front-- and of supporting his allies.

Meanwhile, Innes has plenty of outlets for his energy and talents. There is no reason to shove Hayden off the throne prematurely.

[And my headcanon says that he steps down once he thinks Innes is ready to take over... let's give one of the Magvel rulers a happy retirement, yes?]

* Which seems to be a while if Innes marries L'Arachel.

[crimsonmorgan.livejournal.com]

Exactly. I see no really good reason for Innes becoming king so earlier. Hayden does a great job and Innes values his father´s abilites highly. Innes can do so much other important things.

[He is one of the few Fire Emblem fathers who doesn't die and has a wife who's not dead. He should remain one of the happiest FE dads, y/y?]

[mark-asphodel.livejournal.com]

Yes yes yes.

[raphiael]

I already said most of what I had to say over on your journal (which was dumb, now that I think of it, lol), but I just wanted to add that I think the ambassador to Renais idea is extremely feasible, as opposed to ambassador to potentially dangerous territory.
(Could also make for setup for an Innes/Eirika story, which is a pairing that seems to get an awful lot of hate because of how Innes phrases things in his supports.)

[crimsonmorgan.livejournal.com]

You could also use it as a setup for Innes/L'Arachel since I don't see that much danger in Rausten as well. If he travels via ship and not through Carcino, of course.

I'm totally not feeling Innes/Eirika. He acts like an asshole in their supports. JMO.

[raphiael]

Yeah, that's true as well - their supports do set up for them visiting each other, after all.
It's also worth noting that with the exception of Grado and Carcino, which have no playable official leaders, Innes supports with royalty of all the countries. So it makes a lot of sense.

I always thought Innes' Eirika supports were sweet in an awkward way, like he's just not exactly good at saying how he feels in such an irrational situation. I don't think he actually thinks of Eirika as a trophy to be won from Ephraim. He's competitive, sure, but he definitely shows concern for her well-being and not only his own interests.

[crimsonmorgan.livejournal.com]

I just don't like it how Innes completely ignores what Eirika is saying. I don't really believe that he does that consciously, but he is really disrespectful. That's what I hate about their supports. I don't have the feeling that he treats her equally.

[mark-asphodel.livejournal.com]

Yeah. He's fallen head-over-heels for her and doesn't know how to deal with it. He doesn't come off all that great there, but I do see sweetness beneath the awkwardness. Yeah, you can spin that in a sinister way, but you can skew the Eirika/Seth supports likewise IMO.

[raphiael]

I'm beginning to think I actually like all of Eirika's options, myself, yeah. And agreed about the Seth supports having a similar issue.
Maybe it's just that I've seen a lot of total-dickweed-Innes fic, where he doesn't care at all about her and only wants to stick it to Ephraim regardless of how Eirika feels, but I felt like it needed some lovin' there.

[crimsonmorgan.livejournal.com]

I don't find it as bad in the Seth/Eirika supports because Eirika and Seth are not equals. Eirika and Innes are. That's what bugs me the most.

[mark-asphodel.livejournal.com]

I find the power imbalance between Seth and Eirika to be one of the stumbling-blocks, really. I do like it, and I adore Innessa with its even worse imbalance, but the issues are there.

I also think Eirika would be good for Innes in a way that his other options wouldn't be.

[crimsonmorgan.livejournal.com]

Sure the issues are there. That's what makes the pairing interesting to me.

That may be. I'm just wondering if it were good for Eirika as well. (If I go by their support. But maybe he gets better later on.) It's just that his supports with Eirika are so much different than his supports with his other love interests that it makes me wonder if this relationship would be really healthy. For both of them.

[xirysa.livejournal.com]

Gonna copy-pasta what I wrote in your original entry.

You know, I really like the idea of Innes as an ambassador to the other Magvel nations--specifically to Grado--after the entire shenanigan with the Demon King. Even though he's among the oldest of the Magvel royalty in that generation (he is, right? I'm out shopping with my mom now--yay for Blackberries!--so I have no way of double checking) I think a few more years as prince with that sort of responsibility would better prepare him for his role of king after Hayden dies/abdicates (I go with the latter, personally). And King Innes, in my mind, is a formidable force indeed.