Ryomarx

Ryomarx is the slash ship between Ryoma and Xander from the Fire Emblem fandom.

Fire Emblem Fates
Ryoma and Xander are the eldest sons of the rulers of the rival nations of Hoshido and Nohr, respectively. As such, they're poised to become the next rulers. The two first meet face-to-face at the border of the two nations following Nohr launching an attack after the death of Hoshido's queen. Xander came not only to follow his father Garon's orders, but also to bring back his adopted sibling Corrin, but Ryoma - their biological brother - won't let that happen. Corrin ultimately has to choose which among them to side with. Regardless of who Corrin sides with, Ryoma and Xander begin dueling in an attempt to bring them back, only for one to be defeated and forced to retreat. The two wouldn't meet again until Corrin and whichever force they allied with begins assaulting their enemy's castle, where they're killed in a duel against Corrin as the other watches and prevents anyone from interfering.

Revelations route
If Corrin decides not to side with either Hoshido or Nohr, both Ryoma and Xander believe it to be a trick by each other to get them and the two duel. Corrin is able to draw their attention away from each other by beating their forward commanders before defeating them both. Despite being pacified, Ryoma and Xander still refuse to listen to what Corrin is trying to say, as they both feel betrayed by them refusing to join. Without any other recourse, Ryoma and Xander pull their forces back as Corrin and their supporters retreat.

Ryoma and Xander would next meet up in the ruins of Cyrkensia on the border with Nohr. Upon seeing each other, they believed the other was responsible for the city's destruction and began fighting, unaware that the forces of Valla - a hidden kingdom - were responsible. The two are briefly stopped when Corrin arrives and urges them to stop fighting and instead turn their attention towards their (literally) invisible enemies. This was a momentary diversion, however, as the two continue fighting and blaming the other for Cyrkensia's destruction while also now seeing another opportunity to bring Corrin back to them, forcing said noble to quell both of their forces as well as stop the Valla forces that are also in the area. Even when Azura uses her power to stop Ryoma and Xander from fighting, the two refuse to join Corrin and soon retreat back to their nations, although Ryoma at least considers that Corrin is right.

The two leaders meet next at the Bottomless Canyon on the Hoshido/Nohr border. Ryoma arrives first, with he and his group assisting Corrin's in defeating a force led by Garon's enforcer Hans. When Garon's other enforcer Iago arrives to try and finish the job, Xander and his group arrives and assists in defeating them as well. As the three groups convene, Xander reveals that Garon planned for both Hoshido and Nohr to be destroyed before saying he'll join Corrin. At that, Ryoma proposes a truce between the two of them, saying that they are similar in their desire to help their motivations and his desire to ensure lasting peace for their kingdoms. Xander agrees with that assessment and shakes hands with Ryoma, bringing the two together. They join Corrin's group and, together, assist in ending the threat of Valla.

Fire Emblem Heroes
Ryoma and Xander are two of the heroes that the player can summon separately via the Breidablik using orbs to help Alfonse and his sister Sharena defending their kingdom Askr from the Emblian Empire. As in their original game's Revelation route, Ryoma and Xander can develop a bond via support. They can raise their level of support in the following ranks: C, B, A and S if they stand together in the gameplay. Each of them have variants beyond their base forms: Ryoma has three variants and while Xander has four solo variants and assists a Duo Hero.

Both Ryoma and Xander received performance-based variants in the "Festival in Hoshido" focus from August 2018. In the associated paralogue, the two participate in a Hoshidan festival dedicated to the Dawn Dragon, but end up being bound by the goddess Loki. Before being bound, Xander talks to Micaiah - who's also there along with Elincia - about how the conflict between Hoshido and Nohr effectively began as the feud between the Dawn and Dusk Dragons, as well as how he and Ryoma were able to end it and now live for their kingdoms. The Order of Heroes manage to free them, and they got back to participating in the festival.

In addition to the above, Ryoma and Xander also both have a legendary variant. These versions see the two wielding the weapons of their fathers: Ryoma using his Raijinto - which was passed down to him by Sumeragi - and Xander using a variant of Garon's axe Bölverk.

Fanon
Ryomarx is a popular ship in the Fire Emblem fandom, particularly the subsect for Fates. The two are seen as near mirror images of each other in regards to their demeanor, their way of fighting, and how they take Corrin siding against them. Fans of the ship have taken this dichotomy between the two to see how they bond over their differences. This ship is also part of the trend of pairing the royal siblings of Hoshido and Nohr with their counterparts.

On AO3, this ship is fairly written about with nearly 250 tagged entries. It's Ryoma's most written ship. It's also Xander's second-most written ship behind Xanlow.

Fandom
FAN FICTION
 * Ryoma/Xander tag on FanFiction.Net
 * Ryoma/Xander tag on FanFiction.Net

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