Tyranogre Posted February 28, 2017 Share Posted February 28, 2017 Whew. My love for you is so big that I almost can't fit it into a single photo. In fact, there is a distinct possibility that it might have inspired the creation of a side-character in Tokyo Mirage Sessions. And thanks to the aforementioned side-character from Hashtag Effie, I can now feed you something that you canonically like instead of just discount Valentine candy from two weeks prior. But that's not what's important. What's important is that we've been "together" for about eight years now, give or take a few millennia between Shadow Dragon and Awakening. I'm sure that most people reading this will just see it as yet another one of those pictures of a weeaboo offering a snack to an anime girl on a screen. And they'd be right. But it's also a celebration of a fictional character who encourages me to be a better person. Where do I even begin? I suppose I should start with when I first laid eyes on her... First of all, the idea of a cute little girl transforming into a powerful dragon is both awesome, hilarious, and adorable at the same time. And since I'd already played Sacred Stones, I knew that they were awesome in combat, too. However, while Myrrh's Dragonstone could only be used a finite number of times before it broke, Tiki could also use Bantu's Firestones (which were all-but guaranteed to have full durability due to Bantu himself being shit). So, right off the bat, I was getting a more practical version of a unit that I already liked. And even without Bantu's Firestones, Tiki joined in a chapter where you got an item that prevents weapon degeneration, which allowed me to use her even-more-powerful Divinestone with no consequences. But it wasn't just her combat prowess that drew me in. There was also... this: This wasn't just a typical "enemy soldier who suddenly decides to join you for no apparent reason". This was a little girl. A sad, lonely little girl. A little girl that had been locked away in her room for centuries by her own parent out of fear that her own power would destroy her mind. I mean, sure, I may also be a shut-in, but that's my own choice. Tiki didn't have that choice. And now, thanks to Marth's efforts, she could finally be happy. And I wanted to protect that smile. While I could discuss how awesome she was in New Mystery due to the new Dragonstones she got to play with, but that would fall back unto treating her as merely a unit in a strategy game. And Tiki is far more to me than that. When I found out that Tiki was romanceable in Awakening, I was already planning on marrying her from the get-go. But I had no idea that her characterization in this game would cause my love for her to transcend the game. Throughout my life, I've had to leave friends behind due to changing schools, graduating, and other life-changing events. To make matters worse, at each new school, I was always encouraged (sometimes forced) to interact with new people. And I always said to myself, "What's the point? Why should I bother trying to become friends with these people if I'm just going to be forced to leave them behind when I graduate? It'd be much better if I just never made friends with them at all." By the time Awakening takes place, Marth has been dead for thousands of years. A common theme in Tiki's support conversations is that, as a Manakete, she is cursed to watch her loved ones die of old age while she remains young forever. And yet despite this, does she seal herself back in the Ice Dragon Temple like Gotoh ordered? No. Instead, she goes out of her way to make friends with Chrom's party, even knowing full well that she will outlive them. But why does she do this? Well, her confession quote sums it up perfectly: "I know that to love another, I must watch the world move past him. But such short years make an eternity worth living!" To me, Tiki isn't just a waifu. She's a reminder that just because you'll eventually be separated from somebody, doesn't mean that it's not worth it to know them in the first place. Happy Birthday, Tiki. May we be together until Chrom finishes FE1... and beyond. Deku, Chrom, Mystery Ninja and 3 others 6 Quote Link to comment
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