furrytrash | INFO ET. ALL

NAME: Keaton
CANON: Fire Emblem: Fates
CANON POINT: Post-game, still unmarried.
AGE: No canon age has been given for Keaton, but considering he's old enough to marry off to other characters and father two children (as per game mechanics), I'd place Keaton in his mid-twenties.

BACKGROUND: Keaton's past isn't exactly dripping with lore, but the Fire Emblem: Fates wiki does a damn decent job summarizing his role in the games. In short: Keaton is the leader of the wolfskin pack (similar to werewolves) who live on Mount Garou in the country of Nohr. The pack has a collective reputation for hostility and violence against humans; in the past, individual wolfskin have been targeted by poachers for their rare fur and these encounters have led the wolfskin to view outsiders with great suspicion. In the Birthright story line of the series, Keaton requires the player's army to lay down their weapons before allowing them passage across Mount Garou, but he's quick to turn back against them the moment he senses foul play. In the Conquest and Revelations story lines, Keaton lends his aid to the player's army, survives the plot (probably), and ultimately enjoys a hero's return to his pack.

PERSONALITY: "Cheerful, sociable, and a little stupid. Loves big bugs and round dust bunnies; avidly collects both. The most easily distracted member of the army." Thank you, Fates, for that succinct canon description.

Keaton's desires and motivations don't vary much between Conquest, Birthright, and Revelations, though Revelations's storyline is the one I consider to be the "most" canon. When he claims in Revelations that he doesn't "travel with a pack," that is a bold-faced tsundere lie. In Birthright, Keaton falls into a berserker rage against an army he incorrectly assumes to have caused the death of his fellow wolfskin. In Revelations, he joins up with your player for the sake of ending a devastating human war that has little to do with his own kind. In Conquest, after initially joining you due to needing directions back to his mountain, Keaton adds, "if you really think I'd be helpful, I can't very well turn you down." Even as you're ordered to slaughter innocents in Conquest, Keaton's loyalty has him sticking with you through some pretty morally dubious waters. Keaton accepts those that gain his trust as pack and his pack must be protected.

Far from being a lone wolf, Keaton thrives in group settings; friendly and outgoing, he's rare to argue with friends and does his best to aid others and tries to share his unique interests in life. Though Keaton quite comfortably thinks pretty highly of himself ("I'm Keaton, your superior," he introduces), our stinky-doggo-wolf-man always puts the comfort and well-being of others above his own. When a human friend expresses disgust with his literal trash collection, Keaton readjusts his strategy and shows them a seashell with "no cracks, no smell, no grime," ie the exact opposite of Keaton's ~~gross~~ ~~superior~~ different tastes, and he's pleased when his friend enjoys the gift he worked hard to find. Keaton may not always understand the preferences of human society, but he readjusts to their standards to the best of his ability. His friends and comrades have largely accepted his eccentricities, and considering the worst of his offenses have only ever resulted in a strange bug bite or three, his social faux-pas don't seem to do damage. Keaton's antics are -- dare we claim it -- evidently endearing to the lads and ladies on his team.

Keaton nearly fulfills the tsundere stereotype in that he has a habit of saying the opposite of how he truly feels when being praised, given a gift, or offered a decent word. He tries to downplay his own excitability, but the reoccurring gag is the tell-tale enthusiastic wag of his large tail. Example: rather than outright asking if he can be friends with the protagonist, Keaton prompts a work-around for the protag to make the suggestion on their own. Keaton replies that he guesses they can be friends, then denies the obvious truth of his happiness when his tail is wagging hard enough to fall off. Keaton lacks an appropriately sadNarutoflute.mp3 backstory to explain his hesitance to verbally express emotion, so I've been understanding it as a character quirk.

In short:

Dense about human social standards, i.e. unable to understand that no one (sane) will ever interested in his trash collection/want to try a bite of desiccated rat/join in his chase after a stray squirrel/enjoy the aesthetic qualities of dust bunnies.

Equal parts kindness and savagery. Keaton has offered his most treasured ~~garbage~~ collector's items to his friends in appreciation of their relationship, but he's equally likely to literally eat his human enemies if given what he considers just cause. With some exceptions, he limits his bloodthirstiness around his human friends, at least.

Could be a passable tsundere if his dog-human body language didn't spell out his emotions with every wag of the tail and flattening of the ears. Keaton can make canine vocalizations, though he doesn't do them often.

Gets lost easily. In Conquest, he recruits himself into your army because he thinks you might be able to offer him decent directions back home. After all, he's an excellent judge of character! And you smell like a person he can trust.

Doesn't bathe frequently, if ever. Dirty doggo. There's probably kitchen leftovers in stuffed up inside his mane that he's been saving for a snack. Oh my God, Keaton, please.

POWERS/ABILITIES: Keaton has an absurdly powerful set of base stats. He's a furry wrecking ball, a one-wolf army. In his regular form -- wolf ears, tails, maybe some claw action under those gloves -- he has enhanced strength, speed, and sense of smell. Keaton's real power emerges when he switches between his humanoid self and a giant werewolf-like creature through the help of an item called a "beaststone," which does exactly what it says on the tin.

You'll be delighted to know that due to his scavenging lifestyle, he's technically poisonous. Our boy is a walking epicenter of fleas and disease. Neat!

INVENTORY:

A beaststone that allows him to transform into his hulking werewolf-ish form. (I completely expect understand that these transformations will probably need to be limited in-game!)

A torn cotton teddy bear with some of the stuffing exposed. The batting is still moist.

A very large, very dead beetle.

Unidentified piece of sun-bleached bone. Is it animal? Is it human?

Some cracked glass beads just barely clinging to a worn leather cord.

A gold coin his army friends insisted Keaton keep to eventually buy himself "something nice."