#RAFALE DEAL NEWS

[politikapolka2]

S-400s 'Boxed', Rafale Deal 'Scrapped' -- Fabricated News Takes Internet By Storm & Media Falls Prey To Pranks

Fake news

[anyasivy]

When You Know, You Know - Leonora Lesso x Fem!Reader

"The sky's beautiful." you said.

Leonora Lesso replied with, "I know." staring right at you, drinking in just how the night sky's beauty compared to nothing from you.

warning: i wrote this at 2 am so PLEASE ignore the grammatical errors because on top of that, english is not my first language and i honestly write what sounds best in my head lmfaooooo. this is also based on movie sfgae too.

tags: second chances, light angst, hurt/comfort, fluff

A Reader. Nevers would pick on you and some Evers would be ashamed to be in the same space as you. But nevertheless, you never gave up. You had made it through most of the years... barely. But the thing is, you were graduating and about to embark on a journey worthy of heroes. Well, that until you met a new teacher from the School for Evil during the opening day. Lady Lesso. You eventually found out she'd taught Curses and Deathtraps to Nevers. The thought of falling into one made you shiver, and you made sure since then to never be in the same space as her students. She was a meticulous woman, you observed. From afar, she was almost not intimidating. Her movements were firm and confident. Every flick of her hand, every step and stride, every look— it screamed of fearless. She was, in a way you wouldn't dare admit then, beautiful. Your mind reasoned she was evil, and therefore undeserving of that description. But who could look at Lady Lesso and think of her as anything than? She had the features of a goddess, a beauty that begged to be loved, and a soul that invited affection. You reveled in it, in her, that you hadn't realized you had been staring too much. One day, she pinned you against the wall and demanded to stop your madness.

That had changed it all.

You snapped yourself out of it, your hands holding the invitation the school had sent. Or by the looks of it, schools. You heard what had happened recently, and you thanked the heavens you had graduated already. Rafal? Blood magic? Oh yes, definitely grateful you weren't there to deal with that.

Tonight was the night you'd come back, and you looked momentarily at the gown you had picked. The ballgown was violet, which was the first thing that captured your eyes along with its threaded silk flowers down the bodice. It fit perfectly on your waist and had off-the-shoulder straps. It left your collarbone and cleavage bare. You would wear a necklace and black heels to compliment it. And as you look at your gown, you think of how you're supposed to be excited and stuff. A part of you is... kind of... but you were mostly nervous.

You don't wanna know why. You need not to. And there was no way in hell you'd acknowledge it.

"I apologize," her heels were the first to have entered your view as you hunched over your desk, studying. The sound of rustling and her coat falling on your bed made your heart thump over and over relentlessly against your chest. You try to remember the events of today, making sure you aren't going to let Leonora Lesso off the hook so easily. "It's an exercise getting rid of habits."

You scoff at this. "Habits, you say, when what you did was evil."

"I wonder why," she says ever so smugly, but there is a trace of hesitation in her voice. A fragility that suggests caution and care. You don't dwell on it. Not wanting to.

Flipping to the next page deemed unnecessary as words float above your head. All your senses concentrated on the woman who seemed to sit comfortably atop your dorm bed. You resist the temptation to look in her direction. A second of gazing into her limitless amethyst eyes and you'd lose this fight. Useless it may seem, but it was a big step for you. An instance to remind yourself of your own worth.

The flipping of pages must've rang annoyingly in Lesso's ears because she clears her throat. A testimony to the arising irritation she's been keeping off. "I apologize," she says more firmly than the one she came in with. You remained silent. "Truly, this time. I have no excuses for letting my students perform the prank." She had graded them, too. Shouting a significant 'you passed!' across the room with a hint of amusement not of you, but of her students' stunt. You repeated the scenario over and over in your head, hoping it'd motivate you to keep up the upper hand.

You hear Lesso move. The click, click of her heels matched the fast beating of your stupid heart pounding eagerly.

"Do you want me to beg? Get on my knees for your apology? Because you and I are fully aware of my incapability to surrender to Good."

You snapped. "Lesso." a triumphant smirk formed on her lips. It disappeared a moment after as she circles your desk, now presenting herself in front of you. Her scent fills the space you felt protected in, and for an instant, you could feel your walls of bricks shattering.

"Perhaps I should, then. With that look you're giving me." Leonora tilts her head, hoping for more words to spill out of those pretty lips of yours. She'd kissed them millions of times, but if it took giving up her whole identity to kiss them again, she'd strip herself nameless. "[Y/N], my love. What will it take for you to forgive me?"

You shivered as she spoke. She knew just how to get you, both with her words and her eyes. That expression of hers. The vulnerability of it all. Leonora Lesso promised a wonder that she swore only you could ever reside. So it wasn't a surprise when you got up and pulled her in for a kiss, quick and soft. A promise itself, too. A forgiveness of something shallow to some.

"You are an asshole."

"We have established that to be a compliment."

The School for Good was as grand as ever. As beautiful, too. You looked over the lake and recalled the lessons you had dozed off in that place. The wind and the soft sound of water made it too relaxing for you to behave like anything but an Ever. You continued up the stairs along with other heroes and their partners. The engagement ring you had shone bright like a mark of property you wanted to resist. You wonder if you should've brought your partner like the rest. But then again, you weren't for semantics when it came to the person you wanted to marry for functionality and formality.

The door was wide open for guests, and as you walked further into, you realized there wasn't anything much that changed. The same halls, walls, and designs. The longing in your chest made you want to go back home, away from this place and reminders of who you used to be--- who you used to be with.

You wonder if she's here. If anything had changed about her, or if she stayed the same, too. Evil and cunning. Yours. The bitter taste of how things ended clouded your mind. The cheery guests and welcomes of students in the Theatre of Tales thankfully distracted you from that.

Surprisingly, the floor was full of both Evers and Nevers mingling. There were those who looked disdained as if the Evilness and Goodness of their souls forbade them from interacting with the opposite side. But then there were those who giggled and laughed with each other, almost intimately. The scene before you caused an overwhelming grief. You pushed it forcibly down and started off as you spotted Professor Dovey.

She gives you a look-over like she wants to remember you, and not a second passes before melts in her knees. "Oh, you child!" she ran to you and wrapped an arm, the other too busy keeping the drink she was holding from spilling. "You have grown!"

"Thankfully," you cheered, beaming at the sight of her. "You look nice. Professor Anemone stopped giving you a hard time?"

"Quite the opposite. Everyone, really. The stress of the events and changes-- oh, it's like Christmas and Halloween collided here and urged a holiday of itself." Professor Dovey groans. "But all's well that ends well."

"Yikes." you flash a sheepish smile and glance over the ball, spotting someone with yellow hair reminding a student to smile brighter. You chuckle, looking back at the Professor before you.

"Mhm. Oh. And--"

"Please, Professor." you cut off. The sudden change in her tone, the small whisper and the softness of it obviously led to the territory you've been avoiding all morning.

Dovey sighed, "All right," her shoulder slumped and her eyes darted around across and behind the place before she was sure to speak again. "I don't wanna spoil your surprise."

"Surprise?"

"She's changed, [Y/N]."

"Surprising."

She chuckles softly, almost with pity. Dovey places a gentle hand on your arm and squeezes it. "How about we go get drinks before you meet the rest of the night?"

The end was nearer than you expected. It was coming fast and keen. Surely. You've been keeping your mind off it, finding solace in the moments of now, and not of the future. You question from time to time your insanity and the way to keep it intact should anything unforeseeable happen. Losing her, to be precise. But she's been quiet about it, and the often change of topic when the mention of your graduation is said clues you just how much she's been keeping her mind off it, too. So here you were in the night, sitting on an alcove, and gazing at the stars from your window. The night sky promised such peacefulness. The darkness and the silence radiated comfort you'd almost forgotten the stakes. The meanings. The possibilities. You hug your knees to your chest, feeling defensive of what was yours. What is yours. What should be yours tomorrow and the days after.

The door creaked open.

"You should be sleeping," her voice echoed from the door, and you felt your heart breaking at the unpredictability it held.

You gulp down the ache, hoping your voice didn't come out shaky, "Punish me for it, then." your humor earns a soft chuckle from the woman you loved, and she walks closer to where you were sitting. She opted for the bed instead of beside you.

"Is everything well?" the question shouldn't be hard to answer. The days when you cried about exams and the fear of failing, and she caught you, were far better than the moment right now. You'd rather endure repeating the year if you were given the choice to. It all seemed so simple then.

"The sky's beautiful," you said instead, your eyes never leaving the view before you.

Leonora Lesso replied with, "I know." staring right at you, drinking in just how the night sky's beauty compared to nothing from you. You were... so much more. Your beauty yielded of tremendous unknown that no words could ever amount to describe you. You had her soul, heart, and body. And she didn't mind. Not a single of it.

"What you said earlier," Lesso's mind blanked and her heart froze at the reminder. "I can't say it. I won't ever."

You hear her take a deep breath, it shakes. You finally look at her. And the thoughts of running away with Leonora Lesso didn't seem mad anymore.

"Time will come." was all she said, but her expression betrayed the strength of her voice.

"I won't let it come. If that's what it takes." your voice had gone small, and your feet dragged you beside Lesso. You take her hand with yours and entangle your fingers. You can't let go. Would rather die than be able to. "I can survive Trial by Tales--"

"No. No. We agreed on this. We won't ever." she grips your hand tighter. Desperate. "Evil and Good don't belong together."

And there it is. The string keeping your heart from breaking snaps, and you had fallen into pieces before her. Tears welled up in your eyes as you shifted closer. You leaned in, hoping to find some insincerity in her eyes. A facade. Because this had to be a joke, a cruel joke. And you'd rather she admit it was and forgive her for being evil than for it being true.

"Leonora, that is not true. You and I both know we belong together. This cannot just stay like this. I don't want us to be just a memory." You begged, holding her hands as if she'd slip through any time.

She would.

"It won't just be a memory for me if it's any consolation, my love."

"I can't deny you."

As the moon passed by the clouds, the moonlight shone right over Lesso's face. Her cheeks glistened with the tears that had fallen. You reached to wipe them, but she had stopped and held your hand before she could. A denial.

"Then it's best if I do."

Professor Anemone had flashed the warmest and the perfect smile as she approached you. The pressure builds up in your breath as you try to imitate. You reminded yourself how foolish it was to think you could still fail at her class, but you were nervous as you smiled, anyway. The Professor hadn't commented on it and instead initiated a quick hug.

"Well, if it isn't our lovely [Y/N]. I'd never admit that before," she raises a playful eyebrow and clinks it with yours and Dovey's. "but you certainly have grown. Engaged, I heard." you start thinking if she had heard of it, too.

Professor Dovey snapped her head in your direction at this, obviously taken aback. You wouldn't blame her. It wasn't something you'd do a year ago. "Engaged?"

You hold out your right hand, and despite having done this a couple of times, the action cringes you as they stare at the beautiful ring. "I meant to tell."

"It's beautiful..." Professor Anemone blinks, "But."

"She'd rather not talk about it." Professor Dovey interrupts, and you smile reassuringly at both of them. "I am glad you're engaged and set to a wonderful, fairytale life, dear."

Your smile tightened. A wonderful, fairytale life you had envisioned before had been different, and beautifully so. The thought of it makes you want to choke. It had been a long time since that dream came across your mind, but the effect lingered the same. The longing and the pain tore through your heart, still. You wanted to excuse yourself then and there when a certain woman walked over the small circle of you and the two Professors.

"You came,"

All the air in your lungs escaped. And so did Anemone and Dovey.

Leonora Lesso stood tall, her heels bothering her feet like always, and dressed in an all-black outfit appropriate for Never Professors, looking as Evil and as beautiful as ever. A wonder. And still, still, she took your breath away.

"You came, too." was all your stupid mouth could say, your eyes fixed on her amethyst ones. Limitless, you'd describe it then. And you were right even after all these years.

"It's kind of mandatory." she humored, and you smiled, and she forgot to breathe as well. It's insane, she thinks, of how you were still able to do this to her. To have this kind of hold after everything.

When Leonora thought she was on the brink of death, her life flashed before her eyes, and she saw you. Your eyes. Your smile. She felt you. Your soft hands. Your touch. You.

Silence fell, awkward silence. And you had shifted your gaze from her eyes to the ground, afraid of letting too much of your emotions fall out. You wonder if she was at all feeling the same.

"Professor Dovey said you changed. A surprise, she claims." you start, hoping it'd suffice for a conversation.

"Dovey says a lot of things."

"I know."

"I should say the same for you." she watched your ring, and you followed suit. You felt almost defensive of your actions when you realized. "I say congratulations are in order."

You gulp the lump in your throat, "You don't have to."

"Congratulations, [Y/N]."

You crumbled. Lesso's face was void of anything but hurt. For a second, you were sure tears formed in the corners of her eyes, and you struggled not to pull her into your arms like before. Why can't this just be like before?

"It's for formality. I don't love him. It's not like that." you quickly blabbered, breathing heavily. "I... shit. Just..." and without warning, you took her by arm and electricity flowed through your skin. You try not to focus on the fact that this has been the first time you touched her in years as you drag the both of you to your secret spot. A surreptitious place that felt like it was built solely for the two of you. When you arrived, a breath you didn't know you were holding was still stuck in your throat. You pull your hand away.

Leonora stands a few feet away, maintaining a distance to keep herself from running up to you and having you be hers again.

"You look beautiful tonight."

"Stop,"

"[Y/N], I apologize--"

"No. Stop,"

"Please, just--"

"You denied me!" all the pain throughout the years, the hurt that had grown over time and had been forgotten, and the frustration, came out trembling. The tears you refrained from falling fell free. Leonora Lesso has always been your ruin. "You denied me, Leonora. I told you I love you and I wanted to fight for you. That--that this fucking Good versus Evil bullshit was nothing compared to what we had-- what we have-- that it was greater than anything withstanding us! And you denied me."

The moonlight shone just like that night. You see Leonora's eyebrows furrowed, and it only took you a second to realize she was crying, too. Her red hair, longer now, had cascaded just above her shoulder. And you ached to brush your fingers on it.

"I love you." she steps closer.

"No."

"I love you so much." and closer.

"Leonora--"

"I love you, [Y/N]."

And you admit defeat. Just like before. You meet her halfway and wrap your arms around her neck as you pull her in for a kiss. Heavens, her lips. Her kiss. Her hands find its usual place on your waist. The feel of her pressed up. The brush of her nose. You could die. It all seemed to fit so perfectly. Like two puzzles. Like two fated people meant to be each other's.

The moment she pulls away, you sniffle, tears still flowing. She chuckles at the sight of you, wiping your tears away with her thumb. You lean into the touch. "You are the best thing in my life and I was a fool to let you go. To ever believe those things I've said, to even imply them. I was the greatest fool ever. But I can't live this life, [Y/N], not without you. I can't live with knowing I had you and set you free. I cannot."

"I love you, too, you dumbass."

Leonora smiles, and your heart swells with so much love. The sound of your diamond ring falling to the ground cracks a smile in you, and Lesso brushes her nose against yours. You inhale her scent. Unchanging. Just like this unwavering love between the two of you. You press your lips against hers again, feeling at home within her arms.

"Deny me again and I'll kill you, you hear me?"

"And to think you graduated School for Good."

the end.

-

any grammatical errors and typos will be changed in the morning because wtf it's 3 am I AM TIRED. SUFFER FOR A LITTLE. GOOD NIGHT.

[elysianstars]

Part of being a fan of the Fell Xenologue, is frantically trying to come up with explanations for weird stuff the plot does.

Why do some people confuse both Alears, despite the gender swap? Why does Rafal not seem invested in Ivy's attempt to revive Sombron? What was Sombron actually trying to achieve with his heir/legacy nonsense, and how did Rafal expect to do that properly without understanding it? Why was Nil, the weaker and less useful twin, getting sent off to battlefields without Nel? Why could Alear only sense something strange about Nel's dragonstone, and Zelestia identify that as Sombron's magic, after it was shattered? How did Sombron, the world's worst parent, manage to spot the difference between Nil and Rafal? Why are Nel and Rafal not doing anything during Chapter 21 of the main story, if you have them recruited at that point? When did Gradlon sink during the Xenologue timeline, and if it was after Sombron's first defeat then where were all his surviving offspring hanging out for the next thousand years?

I've got elaborate headcanon answers for the majority of those, which let me sleep at night, but literally every time I replay, more questions manifest to torment me. Here's the latest set.

1. After the battle in Firene, why does nobody ask how the Bracelet of the Brash General came to be awakened with Fell power? Obviously 'Nil' knows, because he did it. Nel suspected the royals were Corrupted, and it would make sense that whatever Fell sibling was responsible for that would have woken the Bracelet at the same time. So she's got a working theory that she'd rather not discuss yet. But neither Alear nor Zelestia suspects that, so why do they never question who's going around messing with these Emblems, without actually stealing them?

2. I always had the strong impression that Nel and 'Nil' ditched their family a long time ago, and were living in Lythos for most of the thousand year peace. But in one of Zelestia's supports with Madeline, she claims the twins didn't appear until Sombron 'showed signs of returning'. Which makes far less sense, since where does that place them for the last several centuries? In a Gradlon which may or may not have been underwater? Surrounded by hostile siblings, who only learned not to openly talk about murdering 'Nil' because Nel slaughtered the last group who did that? Choosing to deal with an atmosphere like that for centuries? Or were they just wandering the world minding their own business, in which case why is that period never referenced, and why bother ever showing up at Lythos? It doesn't give Nel much time to fall in love with Xeno Alear either, when it's said she felt that way for years.

The other possibility – and I've never considered it before, but the Xenologue is SO agonisingly vague with timelines that I suppose it can't be fully discounted – is that Nel and Rafal aren't actually thousand-year-old dragons born during the first war, they're only teenagers born during the second war. But that also doesn't make sense, since it would have necessitated Sombron being around for at least a couple of decades after his return, plus where did the mothers of these brand new children come from? Were they just floating around in possibly-underwater Gradlon, waiting a thousand years to be impregnated while having no ambitions of their own? Or did they get resurrected alongside him in a package deal?

...I really don't think any explanation works, aside from Nel and Rafal being long-term residents of Lythos.

Nel says she cut ties with Sombron during the last war, but you could interpret that as either running away, or openly fighting against him. Sombron, in the flashback that seems to be placed shortly before Xeno Alear kills him, says it had been 'some time' since the twins betrayed him, and that Nil died 'long ago' (yet isn't it the Bracelet of the Three Houses he's shown with, and wasn't that in Divine Dragon hands, so it could be sealed in the Somniel?). Rafal refers to his residence in Lythos as an 'age of lies'. Everything is 'for a time' and 'not long after' without giving numbers, and those phrases become increasingly vague when they're being spoken by individuals who measure their lifespans in thousands of years. We don't even know how long the Divine Dragon has been dead for – months? Years?

'Showed signs of' is another unspecific phrase. You can show signs of something that doesn't actually happen in full until many years later. You can show signs of something you've already been doing for many years in secret. I don't have the energy to compare the JP text and see if there's any differences. Sorry Zelestia, I'm going to have to ignore your single obscure comment as either a mistake by the writing team, or just you being forgetful because you're so old.

Otherwise I'd have to rewrite around 100,000 words of fanfic as not being canon compliant enough, can you imagine the pain of that.

3. In one of Rafal's bond conversations with Emblem Celica, he asks if her warp magic could be used to travel between countries. But isn't that exactly what he does, after showing his true colours in the Xenologue? How else does he transport an unconscious Alear from Elusia to Solm, seal them in the desert ruins, then race all the way back to Elusia in time for Nel to be none the wiser? His later warping has a stronger basis in the game's mechanics (abducting Nel in a way that's similar to an Entrap staff, then blinking over to the Somniel because the previous Divine Dragon must have given him the blessing). But that particular cross-country event? If he can do it regularly, it would also explain how he can rampage around Corrupting the entire world's royals without Nel realising, but hello, where does this power come from? And where does it go, once he's recruited and just has to walk places normally like a loser.

Additionally, I do enjoy when characters say things which are painfully ironic in hindsight. Zelestia saying in an early chapter how it's so fortunate Nel and 'Nil' never lost their other half, and 'Nil' is just like yeah, haha, that sure is great isn't it...

Sadly I will continue to try and deal with Fell Xenologue's problems forever, because it gave us the gift of not one but two hot murderous bisexual dragons acting completely unhinged, and to me that's worth digging through any number of plot holes for.

[usafphantom2]

#News: Serbia signs a €2.7 billion deal to acquire 12 brand-new Dassault Rafale B/Cs and associated equipped from France. The Rafale deal will be Serbia’s most expensive weapons purchase to date.

@RealAirPower1 via X

[liketwoswansinbalance]

A continuation of this post.

⸻

[One day, Rafal's students upload a video that doesn't conform with his usual content, and it causes his viewers to start turning out conspiracies. Rafal had left his phone unattended in a classroom one day, and Marialena got ahold of it. She is the ringleader in maintaining the online presence he doesn't know about, and she curates all of "his" content.]

[A shaking phone camera turns on and starts recording a red speck perched on a branch. The sound quality is poor and it sounds like Rafal is filming inside a wind turbine. The camera zooms in and focuses on a bird, and Rafal's voice is heard as the camera stabilizes.]

Rafal: Log, the second, overcast Tuesday, four hours in, stationed outside the mortuary, sighting #1 of the elusive scarlet tanager. She's a beaut, isn't she?

[Then comes the sound of heels clacking on pavement, and a second voice chimes in.]

Unknown speaker: Who's a "beaut" that isn't me? Why are you wearing that welding mask? And what are you doing behind that shrub, Rafal? You told me you were taking a stop at the mortuary, and said you'd drive us to Rhian's luncheon.

Rafal: [groans] Quiet. Just wait a little longer and I promise I'll get you a new set of earrings. I'm trying to get it on film!

Unknown speaker: That bird? I've been waiting four hours in your car, you know, thinking that all along you were checking the thermostat, so your new "acquisition" would be properly refrigerated, and now, I step out of the car to powder my nose only to find you out here! Doing God knows what in that contraption!

Rafal: I didn't want to get a sunburn and this mask was the only thing available to cover up with. The electrician must've left it last time he came around to check the lighting in the vaults.

Unknown speaker: You should've listened to me when I told you to buy a sunhat from this season's catalogue, darling.

Rafal: Please just stop talking so loudly—we can discuss this after I get my recording.

[The bird flies offscreen in that instant.]

Rafal: Shoot. Look what you did.

Unknown speaker: Hmpth, well, your neck looks as red as the silly bird of yours.

Rafal: For the last time! It's not silly! If I'd gotten useable film without all your wittering on, I could've sold it to the natural history museum.

Unknown speaker: Goodness me, if you keep pursuing hobbies like these you might as well be a fossil yourself.

Rafal: It's gone. I've lost it.

Unknown speaker: Oh, boo-hoo. Can we leave now?

Rafal: No. There's a nest. It might return.

Unknown speaker: Rhian will be mad if we're late.

Rafal: The luncheon won't start 'til we're there. Rhian always waits for me.

Unknown speaker: Fine. Be like that. Marry your rare bird instead of me.

Rafal: I never said I wanted to marry it!

Unknown speaker: Well you're spending more time with it than at your own wedding shower!

Rafal: Wait. That's today?

Unknown speaker: Yes.

Rafal: ...so that's why you told me to wear a suit.

Unknown speaker: And you've mucked it up with-with dirt and worms, and, and—what is that? EEG gel?

Rafal: Liquified organs and vitreous fluids. An eyeball burst on me.

Unknown speaker: Oh, eww. We can't go one day without you soiling something, can we? At least it's not blood this time.

[There's a shuffling sound and the phone falls to the ground, screen going dark.]

Rafal: That's it. I quit.

Unknown speaker: Oh, no. Are you sure?

Rafal: Sure. Let's be fashionably late to the luncheon and give my brother a heart attack.

Unknown speaker: Finally. Remember, you're a host this time. Try to socialize with our guests.

[There's a scraping sound.]

Unknown speaker: And, you're not bringing that tripod on my watch. There won't be any birds indoors.

Rafal: What should I do with it then?

Unknown speaker: On second thought, you could use it to film the guests.

Rafal: Would it get me out of greeting duty?

Unknown speaker: Might as well do it myself—you look too slovenly to do it now.

Rafal: Deal.

Unknown speaker: Lovely. I'd kiss you if you weren't disgusting. Oh! Look at that—your phone's still filming.

Rafal: Hell. Is it—

[The recording clicks off.]

[anakinsafterlife]

Music and Arts for Interview with the Vampire and other French-Enjoyers

I am so genuinely excited to find out that Zachary Richard, the Francophone folk singer from Louisiana, has released a novel! The story addresses the concerns of the American Francophonie with the story of a family wracked by politics and violence in the wakr of the American Civil War.

Friends, this the is the first American novel to be published in French since 1894! Although there is still a Francophone community in Louisiana to this day, they have been dealing with forced Anglicization for well over a hundred years, including the forced Anglophone education of Francophone children.

Zachary Richard remains an outlier in an largely English American cultural landscape. He wrote and recorded the majority of his songs in French and is popular in the international Francophone musical community.

I have been meaning to talk about Richard for a very long time, particular in the context of Interview with the Vampire. There are a good many cultural references in Interview, but unfortunately it seems that the show-runners are not really too informed about historical French arts because there aren't many references to French music or playwriting. Lestat would be more likely to act Moliere than Shakespeare. Louis would be somewhere in between, probably listening to and speaking both French and English songs. Unfortunately, I'm not too familiar with Black Creole musicians, of which there were/are indeed plenty in Louisiana. I've been meaning to educate myself in that area and post a selection along with my favourite tracks from Richard, but life has been very pressing indeed these last few years, so that never happened.

Here, then, are a few of my favourite songs from Zachary Richard and a few brief recordings from Black Zydeco artists, as well as the blurb from Richard's novel.

I didn't include translations, because that would make this long post long indeed, but Richard's lyrics are readily available in any search engine.

The novel:

Summary:

In the disarray that fell on southern Louisiana following the Civil War, André Boudreaux, seventeen years old, discovered life with his grandfather Drozin. This southern veteran, who became a rich man thanks to the arrival of the railway, tries to regain his prestige and his political power. But the sordid murder of André's uncle, the turbulent elections of 1882 and the political aims of his daughter-in-law will turn his world upside down. Les Rafales du carême is the first French-language novel published by a Louisiana author since 1894.

The music:

Dans les grands chemins. (On the big roads). A song about personal history and being drawn away from your place of origin to explore the wider world.

Au bord de Lac Bijou (On the shore of Lac Bijou). One of his bigger songs and very basic of me, but it's beautiful.

Le Ballade de Jean Batailleur. Again, one of his big ones, but it's a ballad about an orphan who grows up to be a criminal and dies alone. Depressing but gorgeous.

And this one gives me chills every time. It's a live rendition of Richard's song "La Promesse Cassee," performed with Celine Dion. This is hands down Dion's best performance ever, imho. Her voice is so nuanced and her expression so powerful, without ever once over-singing. The song's content probably has a lot to do with that. Richard wrote it in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, when New Orleans was so utterly devastated, and the US federal government promised aid, which, after days of waiting, never came. "The Broken Promise" is a scathing and haunting commentary on that betrayal.

"Laisse le vent souffler" (Let the wind blow) addresses the same issue, but years later. The singer tells the story of the police arriving to evacuate the community as another hurricaine approaches. He refuses to leave because he has already survived other storms and he has seen how the police have failed to support a scattered community in the past.

Can't believe I almost forgot this one:

Reveille--A powerful song addresses the expulsion of the Acadians, the forced removal (by British/English Canadian forces) of the Acadian French from the Canadian east coast and northern USA east coast. Many of the Acadians were shipped further south or "back" to Europe, where most had never been. Plagued by attendant atrocities of starvation, drowning and disease, thousands of Acadians were killed. Those who survived the journey down the American coast eventually became known by the shortened name of "Cajuns."

There are also a few extra things here from Richard's YouTube, where he highlights other Louisiana French singers and musicians. I've only included a couple, but people writing for Interview might want to explore his page more, since there's some Black Zydeco (Louisiana folk and French) musicians there.

J'ai une chanson dans mon coeur:

I couldn't find anything out about this. A young, Black American girl sings this song in an American school. I think, and hope, that she's another member of the French Louisianian musical community. Very sweet.

Zachary Richard talking about his influences and earlier Zydeco music in Louisiana.

[indizombie]

In the recent past, reputed foreign publications reported three explosive news stories but none of them made it to the pages of Indian newspapers. A follow-up investigation, or questions for the government, is unimaginable. On 12 December, Bloomberg reported that Taiwan's Chang family, which was charged by the Indian government in 2014 of being used by billionaire Gautam Adani's empire to siphon money overseas, has now resurfaced under a new name and is again working with the conglomerate. Two days later, the French newspaper MediaPart reported that the Modi government is refusing to cooperate with French judges who have requested India's assistance in their ongoing investigation into alleged corruption in the sale of 36 Dassault-built Rafale fighter jets to India in 2016 for €7.8 billion. This has been highlighted in a diplomatic note written in July by the French ambassador to India, Emmanuel Lenain. Only last month, The Caravan published an in-depth investigation into kickbacks received in 15 major arms deals which, too, saw no coverage by the Indian media. On 10 December, the Washington Post reported on an organisation set up and run by a serving intelligence officer to research and discredit foreign critics of the Modi government. This blurs the line traditionally observed by the country's security establishment between operations that serve India and those that advance the ruling political party's aims.

Sushant Singh, ‘Fire and Smoke’, Caravan

[flameobitch]

can you maybe do a tiny something for anemone because i saw her featured in one of your pieces and she was just so cute !!

If you only knew how much I adore Emma, you'd cry. So, here are a couple of headcanons that are in my head at the moment!

• Emma despises the new grading system at school. She considers such a punishment so cruel and keeps figures of every student who failed exams.

• She was very much worried about the loss of Gregor, and in principle, in general, she cannot accept the loss of anyone for a long time.

• Her demotion to the position of beauty teacher was a misunderstanding. It was an unsuccessful flirtation of the Master in the style of "You have such a beautiful smile, you could teach a lesson in smiles))))". But the meaning of flirting did not reach Anemone, and, trying to somehow save the situation, the Master says that he will demote her

• I like to think that she will be the interim principal of the school. She is literally the most adequate of the entire composition

• Anemone had to deal with all the shit that Rafal left

• Previously, the head of the Department of the History of Magic sat next to the Master, but Rafal constantly received reprimands from her and arranged a reshuffle, having planted the deans to himself

• Anemone and Lesso turn into friends when you need to discuss the failures of the Master

• Anemone is the perfect aunt and godmother. Rowena was very lucky

• Emma is older than Clarissa, but is the keeper of the history of magic

• You won't find a bigger drama queen in the whole country

• Anemone it's time to open a family psychologist business

[yanderefairyangel]

While I can understand where they are coming from, I feel like a lot of people didn't understand why the treatment of past in 3H and Engage is so different.

In 3H, all the students's past is linked to how Fodlan is in a pretty much rotten state with the higher force and power's action affecting their life in a rather direct or indirect way and when Byleth meets them, all the students are still trapped by their past as forshadowed by Byleth's answer's to Sothis's question, showing that despite the appareances the 3H cast keeps, Byleth is still capable of sensing their shadow, that's also why so many of them changes and managed to overcome their issues only after the 5 years timeskip, when things are begining to change.

The Engage cast are people who not only try to live how they want, but also try to overcome their different situation ; dark past, illness, trauma, social background etc. which leads them to be much more discrete about it since realistically speaking, when someone is trying to change they avoid talking endlessly about their past. The notable exception are Veyle and Rafal since they are dealing with guilt over what they did, but the rest of the cast was already trying to overcome their issues when Alear meet them as shown by the A support with Cholé revealing she has donquijotism or when we meet with Yunaka who was already embracing her new identity.

Moreover, the choice of partner also comes into play : since all of the 3H cast are more or less affected by the same thing, they can share their trauma with more people even if you didn't expected it ie Bernadetta sharing her story with Dorothea, the justification being that they are both victim of misogynistic treatment and that Bernadetta is scared to become friends with commoner due to her past and that Dorothea is a commoner herself.

The Engage cast are of more varied background in comparison so the character can show different aspects of themselves depending on which partner you choose : if Framme speaks with Alear, the support will be showing that she is deeply religious and that her faith was what helped her in difficult moments, even if this comes into the form of a cheerleading. With Diamant however, her sensitive side is showing up once we see how scared she is to pursue her history class because of the atrocities committed during the Brodian/Elusian war. Chloé speaks with Alear of her past because of their are opposite : Alear wishes to be treated normally and wished for an average life while Chloé wished to escape her average life as it meant her being deprived of her freedom and finds escape in being a knight, flying on her pegasus like a fairytale hero and showing herself to be open minded with her obsession for folk food. Alfred hates speaking of his illness, he does it only with Céline. Rafal is an exception because of their common point of being weakling striving to become stronger which leaded to Alfred speaking of his illness. He doesn't do it with other character, especially Alear because he doesn't want to be seen as weak and look upon with pity.

Yunaka in comparison has more support hinting at her past in a way or another even if the more developped one are with Citrinne and Zelkov. With Zelkov, it's because of their shared condition as former assasins. She gets to touch on this with Pannette too as both embrace a different personality to move on from their past. Etie also notices it since her obsession for fitness allowe her to determine on Yunaka's condition by her body alone, but other support like with Seadall allows Yunaka to actually demonstrate her natural talent for acting and as a thing she doesn't do to deceives other unlike what the support with Citrinne had as a main conflict, but has something she genuinely enjoys. The Four Wings gets to speak more about their past, but it's mainly because they have few support to establish their personalities and those are with people that are of their familiar circles (between them and the Fell twins) or to establish more the difference with their counterpart while deeping said counterpart characters (with Mauvier and Veyle).

Same thing with the Fell twins : Nel's support with Diamant is more serious as it's showing two character who have much in common due to their tension with their own father and their caring side, the support with Timerra is showing a more carefree and silly side of Nel, the one with Veyle is about how Nel should open more to others and overcomming her issues with trusting people and family, her support with Alear is the occasion for her to resolve her feelings for Alear and to show her caring side and that if she can come off as cold, it's actually a facade. Rafal's support are in the same fashion : he is teamed up with Mauvier as both of them are trying to reach for atonement and to show Rafal's wishes to atone for his sins. The support with Ivy does that too, with showing that despite intially knowing little about the human world ("what is an academy ?") to help Ivy's wish come true, he actually spend time studying things to play the role of professor (even if to Ivy they are more classmate). His support with Ivy mirroring the one Nel has with Diamant. His support with Alfred is more light hearted as the two developped a brotherhood due to their rather similar background leading Rafal to understand how wrong he was to follow Sombron's philosophy mirroring the support with Timmera and also the support with Veyle due to the overcomming issues on Rafal's part and the sister/brother bond developped, and his support with Alear while more focus on their relationship is the one that gets to show more of his character has he drops the facade very quickly between the C and the B, showing his deep love for his sister, his will to atone for what he has done and to fufill the promise he made to Alear, showing he still don't really accept Alear forgave him through his inital attempt at being cold and then moving to their A support where his sweeter and more pranky side of him are actually showing.

While the supports in Engage gets less to have character talking about their past, experience etc they were written with just as much care, choosing carefully each of the possible partner to show every facets of the characters. Sure they aren't morally complex individual, but every information in every of their supports helps establishing their character, deepening it and even explaning how they developped their gimmicks.

Moreover in 3H Byleth is supposed to guide those people to enlightement. Alear doesn't because their relationship is build on equality : even though they are revered, Alear doesn't guide them, those people do their own choices inspired by Alear and inspire themselves and support Alear to become a better leader, it's mutual relationship that Alear can built with their allies.

Those character are more deeper then you can give them credit for. And yes, it's another propaganda post for you to actually check the support conversation for Engage.

[rafent]

Long-haired Divinity walked out of the tent and before he could turn to let a question slip from his lips, an encouraging touch accompanied with words of the same kind, pushed him inside the tent. Slightly stumbling in he quickly recovered his balance and stood straight.

Body turned towards the entrance, where mismatched hair no longer stood and instead void was all left. A chuckle as he faced forward once more, some small talk would do no arm—he hoped.

Quietly he made his way towards the dragon, taking in his features as their day to day encounters were no more. A pleasant sight it was.

"Lord Rafal," The Firenese began. Green eyes landed on the few bandages covering his visage, a caring hand attempted to reach to check on them but logic kept it away from being foolish. A smile bloomed on his lips nonetheless. "Does it hurt?"

A question he needed to say escaped his mind, he would have asked the same if it were his sister, the Divine One or any of his friends—where their bond stood didn't matter when it came to wellbeing.

"Uh... You did great out there! It's upsetting to lose anyway, right?" In an attempt to make things less awkward, his tone picked in vibrancy. He hadn't taken part of the competition but from knowing the Fell Dragon he could imagine not feeling the same way he would. Mentally giving him a pat on the shoulder he kept on talking. "But hey, i'm sure next year you'll do even better! You gotta show 'em what weaklings can do!"

Yeah! Awkward!

Between his own reminder of what had once tied them as brothers but no longer was there and the awkwardness the prince could feel... he probably should get out.

"I'm sure you want to rest so... i'll be going." He took another step back despite his gaze being fixed on Rafal. A little stumble and the quickest fix he could do to reach the exit as fast as possible, making his way out without saying anything else.

Oh well! Awkward as this was next time he'd be cheering for him anyway.

An unprompted visitor crafted surprise which in turn embodied Alfred and the foolish lapse that followed. Recognition, welcome, and relief; found before the other, this triad of inspiriting forces quietly entered the heart and raised it to new heights, with or without intention. Some unconscious brightening of the mood, a severance which for the fleeting span of seconds went thoroughly forgotten. Two things that could not last. Steel returned, fortifying in the soft spots of the mind that had betrayed themselves.

Rafal remembered himself as he never failed to do and, for that, brandished his guard anew: ". . .You slight me with your concerns. These trivial wounds are not enough to affect a Fell Dragon of my caliber," he fibbed, reassured, and spoke true in the same breath, a stiff upper lip serving as an appropriate dam for the thoughts that threatened to spill.

These paltry wounds could not sting him - seeing this estranged friend did. Few events in recent memory nicked as sharply as a hollow reunion, no different than stepping on prickling shards of glass and eggshell underfoot. The fault of strewing those pieces resting with no-one but Rafal. He kept his gaze trained on the prince, close-lipped for the duration of his conciliatory remarks, each stumbling into place one after the other. The dragon by comparison was nothing but concise.

His pale form stirred in readiness. "Alfred—"

'I believe I told you to keep your distance—has the point yet again failed to cross your mind? Your persistent chirping is disruptive to my peace. Leave me. Dealing with your likes will serve only to open my wounds.'

The other's presence here was akin to an ambush, spurning careful plans and expectations, unraveling the conviction put in place for the sake of both. With a tone that left no room for doubt, he raised his voice before Alfred stepped away fully out of sight. The possibilities of his response were born in a plethora yet only one would convey itself, steady and cool, before all behind it could waver.

"Do not come again."

[four-loose-screws]

Alear / Rafal Ring (S) Support Translation

FE Game Script Translations - FE Novel Translations - Original FE Support Conversations

If you are interested in donating to support my work, please check out my Ko-fi here. Thank you!

This translation has been updated from what I originally posted due to a translation error I made. Click here to see the post explaining my mistake, and how I fixed it.

———————————

Because I didn't find the conversations typed out on the Wikis yet, I included a link to footage of them on YouTube instead.

Ring Support On YouTube - starts @ 40:52

Alear: Thank you for helping me replenish our supplies! You really helped me out, Rafal.

Rafal: I just happened to be free. It’s not that big a deal.

Alear: Don’t say that! You’re the one who carried half of the bags, aren’t you? I’ll make some hot tea after this.

Rafal: Jeez… You’re soft. Even in the middle of a grueling war, you laugh and worry about others. When I learned that the you here in this world was the same as me, and of Father… no, the Fell Dragon’s bloodline, I was surprised… A blood relative of the Fell Dragon this friendly, in my world, would have been the first to die.

Alear: Heh heh. That's harsh, Rafal!

Rafal: Harsh? It’s the truth. You really are… an idiot. You're easygoing, good-natured, curious, and help everyone you meet. You are a foolish dragon beyond saving.

Alear: But you’re the one following this fool’s order’s, aren’t you? For keeping your promise, coming here, and always fighting with me… It’s been really reassuring to have you here.

Rafal: Whatever you say.

Alear: I will say whatever I want. Because even if you say such cold things back to me, you listen to everything I have to say. I know that for certain now.

Rafal: Hmph.

Alear: Rafal, this is something I’ve wanted to say for a while now, but… 

*Pact Ring appears on screen* 

Alear: Will you accept this?

Rafal: ! H-Hey, that’s…!

Alear: It’s the Pact Ring. It is a special item that deepens my bond with the partner I give it to.

Rafal: Do not say such a foolish thing! Give it to someone else! I know you find me charming, but… …I’m not. I am not worthy. Your partner should be more… pure.

Alear: Pure? I have the blood of the Fell Dragon coursing through my veins. You just said so yourself. In the past, I fought as Sombron’s pawn. I am different from your Divine Dragon. But… When I thought about who I would give this to, your face was the only one that came into my mind. Will you continue to fight with me?

Rafal: ………… …I have no other choice. Because if I take my eyes off you, I don’t know what you will mess up. I will be with you until the very end. Never hesitate to always stand by your will. I will be by your side, watching your fight. Even if this world may become my enemy, I will be your ally.

Alear: Rafal… Thank you.

Rafal: And… well. I’m only going to say this once, so listen carefully. You said before that you want me to be happy, right? At first, I was happy to begin a new life as “Rafal.” But… As I have spent time here, I can no longer feel happy when you are not next to me. And so… promise with me once more, Divine Dragon Alear. 

*cut to CG* 

Rafal: Don’t ever get full of yourself and leave my side. You… and your future… are all mine.

—————————————————————–

English Localization On YouTube - Starts at 7:10

[derekscorner]

Fiery Opinions: Elyos Sillyos

Four Dragonstones but only two Dragon units

I finally crawled my way through the dlc after waiting for what felt like ages for the rest of it to release. It’s been so long in fact that I had to reread my initial ramble of the base game to put some thoughts together.

I had a couple restarts but only two full (currently on third) playthroughs of this game and I’ve found myself with more mixed thoughts than positive ones. In a weird way at that because the dlc isn’t bad per say but there’s subjective issues I had with how it works.

The first thing I’ll get out of the way is that I find it a bit frustrating due to lack of New Game +.

You see, I didn’t like the dlc for 3 Houses either but a plus of that dlc is that I only had to play it once. It’s story was (apparently) non-canon and okay at best but once you deal with that frustrating final chapter you dont have to worry about it anymore.

Any time you begin a new game plus on 3 houses you can march into the Abyss and recruit any dlc character you like. You can also use the Abyss’ facilities and even level it up, it’s fully open to you.

FE: Engage does not have this perk. It’s lack of new game plus means that you have to replay the DLC every time you do a file if you wish to make use of it’s five addition units.

I personally find that annoying because it defeats the point to a degree. I found the added paralogues more annoying than fun and, sure, you can joke that it’s a skill issue. The point is that I do not find it fun and I do not wish to redo it.

This becomes a problem because I rather liked the parallel Zephia (Zelestia) as well as the addition of actual dragon units.

It’s already ridiculous that the two dragon units in the base game can’t turn into an actual dragon without Tiki’s bracelet but now I have to play through something I find frustrating just to get two additional dragons.

Dragons that come with two stones each yet, even then, Alear can’t use those stones. As of writing this I have yet to check of Veyle can make use of those stones. I am hoping at least she can due to sharing the Fell Child/Dragon class with Nil and Rafal but I am skeptical.

As I’ve come to play through Fire Emblem I can understand the frustration of being handed a dragon lord only to be denied being a f*cking dragon. I actually made my run of Fates harder than necessary because I refused to be anything other than a dragon when playing Corrin since they’re the only lord that has had the option.

As for the twin dragon units that I do get I do like them. I really like their dragon designs but I do not see myself ever using them after this playthrough because I don’t find the Fell Xenologue worth the annoyance.

I may be more annoyed than I’d normally be about this but I can’t help but rant when my only method of turning three of my five dragon units into actual dragons is via dlc. (3 of the 5 units coming from said dlc)

As for the two additional classes added I have yet to use them much. Just one of those seals costs a hilarious 28k in the shop even with the Silver Card. I’m not even sure I’ll bother testing them out between that cost and the hours of dlc I have to play through just to unlock them.

But enough of that rant let’s talk story.

More simplicity but that pleases me

It’s a simpler story than I expected but I appreciate that. I enjoyed the base game greatly for it’s simple & flawed story and this continued that. I was even convinced that Nil may be the bad twin for a moment...I mean I expected one of them to be bad but they did at least fool me as to which one it would be.

Alear is summoned to another Elyos but one that’s in it’s final moments. It seems like a simple reverse world (to the point that even the world map is flipped) but things are more different than it seems.

The first obvious change is the alternative Alear. They noticeably have full blue hair and given Nil’s infatuation for that alternative Alear I would go as far as to suspect that this Alear was a true divine dragon. A real child of Lumera.

I only have context clues at best for this theory but it’s what I’m choosing to go with because the alternative would be Nil wanting to f*ck her own sibling. I made that ‘greek gods incest’ joke when I did the Fates post but that’s still a step too far for me....despite the series’ tendency to add questionable love options.

Other stark changes I noticed was that alternative Sombron’s children are always born in twin pairs. He makes it so that one twin always kills the other as per his comically evil archetype but it’s something key to the story.

The Veyle of this world seemingly died in the war as well among many others such as Lumera. There’s some more typical stuff you’d also expect like the cast having flipped personalities but you see so little of them that it is of little note to me personally.

I do think this was intentional though. The dlc is short anyway so rather than focus on a “evil” cast they focused more on the new twin dragons Nil & Nel and reversed Hounds.

Oddly the Mauvier of this world is the same as the other but what stood out to me was the other three Hounds. They get enough attention that you’ll actually come to like them. Personally I liked Zelestia the most to the point I replayed it just to get those supports.

It wasn’t much but it was still a pleasant surprise to see a focus on more than just the two new shiny dragons. I honestly left the dlc indifferent to the dragon twins. They’re fun units to use because they can change into an actual dragon but I dont have strong feelings beyond that.

Daddy Issues

That’s not to say they didn’t get enough story themselves. These twins are at the root of the dlc and I was momentarily fooled by which one was bad. I just can’t really express thoughts deeper than this since I left the dlc more frustrated than happy.

I will say that Rafal left more of an impression on me than his sister solely because of one tangent he goes on. It’s made clear that Sombron cursed the dragonstone to some extent but rather than take that easy way out Rafal refuses to admit it was solely his fathers fault.

He accepted that he did the evil things and that he sought to be the Fell Heir. This stood out to me due to how easily things were forgiven or ignored in the base story just so a unit could be recruited to your army.

I do think that it’s brushed aside too quickly once he’s recruited in the main story but that Rafal is 1000yrs older and I’ve yet to see all his supports so I’ll leave it at that.

I’m sure some one who sees the previous post would expect more on the personality reversed main cast but I sadly can’t come to care for them. All of the story goes to the Four Winds and the twins.

I will admit that alternative Celine is hilariously pro war and I do find the state of this world intriguing due to it’s dead nature. Make no mistake, there is no alternative Elyos to save.

It also seems that Elyos as a world needs it’s divine dragons to thrive. I say this because the alternative Alear died when they killed Sombron yet the world wilts to nothing anyway.

And I know that Rafal is the one that turned the royals and many (if not all) citizens and soldiers into corrupted but he alone wouldn’t cause the land itself to wilt away. He doesn’t even have a dragon form nor that level of power until he gets the bracelets in chapter 6.

OH! Wait let’s talk about the Bracelet Emblems a bit.

An explanation I didn’t expect

At first I was a bit disappointed that the bracelet emblems didn’t speak in the Xenologues. They get a few words out but Nel’s goal is to put them to sleep. Our Alear seemingly lacks the power to revive them in Elyos Alter and Nel, as a fell dragon, can only put them to rest.

Nil/Rafal has the power to awaken them but they only appear as fell emblems and thus do not emote. At first this feels like a missed opportunity but I chalked it up to time & money shortage. (gotta pay for those voices)

But it was half way through that I realized something; the bracelets being put to sleep explains their presence in the main story.

In the base story you just randomly find Edelgards bracelet on the Somniel but now it makes sense as to how it got there. The twins and Winds aren’t the only ones who came to your Elyos as these bracelets also found their way there.

There’s no telling for how long they were in our Elyos due to the time difference of the parallel worlds nor do they acknowledge the other world but they will reference the dlc story in supports with someone like Rafal or Nil.

It wasn’t much but it was a neat little thing for me.

Conclusions

I think I’ll end it here since I feel like I’m stretching to even get this far. I ultimately liked the Four Winds and the little world building stuff I noticed but I’m not sure how strongly I’d pitch the dlc as “must buy”.

It’s a pain to replay it every time to get your new units and more than one person has pointed out how the DLC emblems can break the game. They can even break the story if you’re wearing one in moments like Chapter 11 or 22.

Why? Because those are key story moments when the intent can be undercut. You lack emblems in those moments due to story reasons...unless you’re using a bracelet. It wont mean much to some but it will mean more to others.

I will say that I think FE: Engage is perfectly fine if you avoid the DLC so buy at your own discretion. Bye now~

================================

Editors Note: This is a addition to my previous post on Engage. A part 7.5 if you will. For more of my trip through fire emblem you’ll find them here: Fiery Opinions <–(link)

[gascon-en-exil]

I like the twins /Alear thing but i don't like the whole "having the same dad without being siblings nor even half siblings is the new FE dicourse" so I am thinking of rewritting the twins background to save myself. What's better ? them simply coming from original Sombron's universe and being part of their kind or the twins still being from an alternate universe but they are Lumera's kid and Lumera is a fell dragon ?

You could just go with the simple alternate universe explanation, and with all parties hating their father it's not like there's much of a familial connection anyway. Some more alternate dimension perspectives:

Nel and Rafal is basically what would happen if Morgan married Lucina and traveled to a timeline where his mother married Lucina's dad. Or if Morgan married Owain and traveled to a timeline where Robin married Lissa and where she is married to Inigo when in her timeline she Inigo's siter. Except it is canon and that the twins did not exist in the original universe. Now let's watch the world burn.

We will be once again dealing with suspension of disbelief and bounding the rule of the universe right ?

The rule of the universe can be accepted. For exemple, the rule of the universe that Alfred and Celine are sibling are accepted therfore the players have no problem pretending that little pixel man is name Alfred nor in suspending their disbelief that he has Celine has a sister when the man really exist on his own. Same thing with suspending our disbelief into thinking that the small red haired boy in the banner is a child/young version of Eliwood and that they are the same characters.

However here the game wants us to believe that because the twins are the children of another Sombron and not our Sombron they are not Alear's siblings as a proof in their universe Alear is not their siblings while in Alear's world the twins don't even exist and could not because Sombron's kid did not match by pair of twins unlike for another Sombron's. That is a bit far-fetched however if we want to respect the rule of the universe, we have to suspand our disbelief into believing that. Which is why any member of the fandom against those ship because they read it as incestuous will have problem relying on the FE wiki since this whole bullshit led them to not include Alear and Veyle in the list of relatives, and I doubt they could find a fittin label. I personally don't view it as incestuous but there is no way I won't raise an eyebrow at someone telling me that marrying the children of your father's counterpart from another world. WHY IS IT SO DUMB ??

"My point is not that there isn't a non-incestuous explanation, because regardless of any ambiguity that would be covered by the playable Alear and Nel being from different dimensions."

What do we do when the non-incestuous explanation is canon but the fans don't want to listen to it and that pointing out that even believing 2 characters are "literal siblings" is only part of suspension of disbelief doesn't work and that even though it is jus an option they feel like they need to make it everyone's problem ? Avoiding twitter won't be enough, will it ?

I am genuinely confused by the number of people who don't know how paralel world tropes works. It's pretty obvious that Sombron and another Sombron are separated entity just like Zephia and Zelestia aint' the same so why do they think Alear and the twins are related ?

Can we talk about how we all got crooked ? We did not get Zephia, Griss not Marnie, we got new character that are SUPPOSED to be them but it's not them because they don't have the same personality. I wanted Marnie to reunite with Mauvier !! *snif*

For that last one - I haven't seen their supports yet, but I'm sure they play with that. It's not as though FE hasn't pulled this before, with Yen'fay in Awakening.

[elysianstars]

Looking through Emblem bond conversations with the Fell Four, and picking out my favourites because why not?

Marth: You may show bravado, but you’re actually quite kind, aren’t you? Both in and out of battle.

Rafal: What?! That is laughably inaccurate. Though I will admit to making an effort of late.

Love that every time someone calls Rafal kind, his response is 'withdraw those false accusations immediately'.

Celica: Deep down, I know you possess a kind heart. Why do you not show it?

Rafal: What do you mean? My disposition is nothing short of sunny. Surely you agree.

He's figured out a new way to deal with it now.

Edelgard: When all of this is over, what do you plan to do?

Alear: Hmm… I think I’d like to take my time and travel the world. And also read and sleep a lot.

Highly relatable, but YOU HAVE SLEPT ENOUGH.

Celica: It’s no good to eat such acidic food all the time. You should try to round out your nutrition a bit.

Nel: I suppose if someone is going to mother me, it may as well be an ancient and ageless Emblem.

Emblems trying to make dragons stop eating such terrible foods, round one.

Veyle: Roy, look! I’ve never seen food this red before. I bet it’s super spicy and super delicious.

Roy: But, Veyle…the look, the smell, the burning! It does not look like it belongs in anyone’s mouth.

Round two!

Roy: An entire shaker, Nel? I can’t imagine any food needing that much salt.

Nel: It is a pity you will never be able to taste my gift to culinary advancement.

Round three!

Edelgard: I’ll admit, one thing about you does trouble me. The amount of sugar you put in your tea…

Rafal: The sweeter the better, Edelgard. I will brook no disagreement on this point.

Round four! There's a few others too, so I stopped at this point.

Alear: Your battle strategy is always so calm and logical. I should probably try to think that way…

Soren: We each have things we are and are not suited for. Calm rationale may not be yours.

Ouch.

Rafal: Am I cursed to have older sisters eternally fuss over me? Did I not tell you I am no child?

Micaiah: I’m sorry. I heard you were a little brother, and I was thinking you must have been very cute.

Micaiah, the woman who called Rafal cute and lived to tell the tale.

Veyle: Didn’t a Fell Dragon ravage your world? You must hate it when I’m around.

Lucina: Not at all. You look different. You act different. You are your own dragon, Veyle.

Fell Dragons feel awkward around Lucina, part one.

Lucina: Rafal, is it my imagination, or are you avoiding me? I thought we were a team after that battle.

Rafal: Your home was destroyed by a Fell Dragon. I, too, am a destroyer. You should avoid me.

Part two!

Nel: I hear you have a history with Fell Dragons. Do not feel obligated to socialize with me.

Lucina: I don’t feel obligated, Nel. I’d like to get to know you as a person, not just as a Fell Dragon.

Part three!

Lucina: Nel! As a token of our friendship, I’ve designed some clothing for you. Vander’s handiwork!

Nel: A large spicy pepper embroidered on the front. I suppose it does represent my preferences.

The follow-up. Since she mentioned Vander, I'm guessing it's a piece of knitting? Maybe a jumper?

Lyn: You look tired. If there’s something dragging you down, you can tell me. I’m a good listener.

Alear: I still hesitate sometimes in battle because I’m so inexperienced.

Alear: Then I second-guess myself afterward, thinking of all the things I should have done instead.

Lyn: Don’t worry about making mistakes. You have friends─and me─to guide you through them.

*grabs Alear by the shoulders* SWEETIE YOU ARE DOING AMAZING. Even when you're screwing up and getting yourself killed, you're still amazing. He says similar things in other conversations and I just. Can someone corporeal please give him a hug already?

Ike: Well, what do you think? Do I seem strong to you yet?

Rafal: I will admit your aid was helpful. Perhaps, of the two of us, we can say you are second strongest.

This is even funnier in context when you see them standing next to each other.

Rafal: You… You are quite the enigma. You fight so fiercely, yet appear so weak.

Eirika: Should I…take that as a compliment?

I don't think he knows whether it was a compliment either.

Alear: Oh, Professor! Sorry, I know I’m not one of your students. I just wanted to see how it felt.

Byleth: I don’t mind. It’s what most everyone called me, after all.

Alear is being cute and I can't handle it.

Byleth: Whatever you’re eating looks pretty tasty.

Rafal: An ally gave these to me. I was told that they were too sweet, but I find them perfect.

Byleth: Good to hear! Seeing you enjoy those reminds me of an old friend.

Rafal: We are having a conversation here. Reminisce on your own time.

Rafal has now become known as a repository for unwanted sweets. Also...did you not realise Byleth telling you that was part of the conversation. That's what was happening there. Sharpen those social skills, Rafal.

Corrin: I spent most of my youth cooped up in a castle. Everything felt fresh when I got to leave.

Alear: I can relate to that. It sounds like our circumstances aren’t so different.

I mean...if I had to pick the main similarity between you two, it would not be that. I'd probably go for the whole 'amnesia + reunited with my mother and then watched her die + evil dragon dad final boss' chain of events. Maybe that's just me though.

Corrin: I hear you risked your life for the sake of your brother. I did something very similar once.

Nel: Rafal is precious to me. I wanted to protect him. Above all, I wanted him to feel accepted.

I love you Nel.

Edelgard: You charge alone into battle far too frequently. I would urge you to think more of your allies.

Rafal: If you dislike me so intensely, then leave. No one is forcing you to deal with me.

Edelgard: That is not what I said. I am merely imploring you to consider some basic strategy.

Rafal: If my being alone in battle is your concern, then clearly your best course is to accompany me.

Love that Rafal's reaction to being told he's endangering himself is 'okay guess you hate me then'.

Nel: If it is all right with you, Tiki, I would like a hug.

Tiki: Of course! I feel so safe with you. I think the gentle hands had to be yours…

Nel: So you do recall my sending you to slumber. Well, I am glad you are back with us for good.

Wait, Emblems CAN give hugs now?

Tiki: I don’t remember you too much, but I feel like I’m safe with you for some reason!

Rafal: That is the wrong instinct to have. Nevertheless, I will endeavor to be kind to you from now on.

His line delivery is the best part of this. He's so absolutely done. Like, he was the source of the original problem, so he gets no right to complain, but he's still done. AND he'll keep knocking away accusations of kindness, even though he's just owned up to it here.

Veronica: I hear you spent a thousand years looking after your sister. I’m jealous of your relationship.

Rafal: You envy my atonement? My just punishment for crushing my sister’s heart?

Veronica: No, I envy the time you’ve had together. I may never see my brother again.

Rafal: If he left you, it must have been with some goal in mind. Trust in that, or find him and stop him.

Too late, Bruno's dead.

Camilla: You have such lovely hair. If only I was corporeal, I would love to brush it for you.

Alear: Oh, um… That’s very kind of you, but just the thought is enough for me.

Camilla no.

Camilla: You need a confidant, Rafal. Come, rest your head on my shoulder. Tell me everything.

Rafal: Ridiculous. Your shoulder is not even corporeal. Why are you looking at me like that?

Camilla NO.

Camilla: I’ve noticed you keep your friends at arm’s length, no matter how warmly they accept you.

Rafal: I caused my sister’s death. I all but destroyed an entire world. I am irredeemable.

Camilla: That’s not what your friends believe. Don’t you think you owe them a little bit of trust?

Rafal: You…do have a point. Thank you, Camilla. I will try to see the matter from their perspective.

Camilla yes actually, tell him how it is.

General Observations - Veyle asks most of the Emblems if they'll be friends with her, and it's adorable. Nel mentions a few times that she's been speaking too harshly to Alear, despite not meaning to. Rafal and Soren's conversations are a disappointment, the two meanest people in the army and they hardly say anything funny to each other.

[usafphantom2]

#BreakingNews: France has ordered 42 Rafale jets from Dassault in a deal worth more than $5.5 billion 👏 This contract will take the total number of Rafales ordered by France to 234! #avgeeks #aviation #aviationdaily #aviationlovers #France #News

@RealAirPower1 via X

[liketwoswansinbalance]

Simony

Summary:

Rafal was fed up with Rhian’s delusions of True Love. After the Vulcan fiasco, after following where the stories go at night, after seeing Gavaldon, Rafal reaches his breaking-point sooner in Rise, and decides to confront Rhian.

This is a canon-divergent fic, by the way.

⸻

Simony (noun) = the buying or selling of something spiritual or closely connected with the spiritual.

⸻

When Rafal returned to the Schools, still in an unrecognizable state after the brothers’ renovations, he knew he had to find Rhian, to communicate. Yet, there stood Good, pompous like a cathedral.

Rafal paced outside the glinting castle for a moment. His brother had sold himself out, twice, for faithless, unworthy lovers, and he’d tarnished himself and his soul in the process.

Rhian was his perpetual foil. Rafal always had to clean up his brother’s messes, do the dirty work his brother wouldn’t deign to do, stain his soul when his brother wouldn’t sully his hands. Wrap up everything when Rhian couldn’t.

He flung open the doors to Good’s foyer, and headed down an oddly vacant glass hall to another chamber, where he had sighted Rhian. With a conversation he would cast out Hook, purge one brother of impurities, and confirm the Evil of the other.

The wall of glass before him shone, the row of lancet windows casting long shadows. Rhian looked ethereal in the light, like a spirit.

His golden, wild-haired double turned to him. “Rafal?”

“Of course you’re here. The ringleader of the corrupt Evers,” Rafal said staidly, too drained to deal with false pretenses. “Where’s your right hand?”

Rhian paused. “Here, with me.”

There Rhian was, seeming as pure and untainted as perfectly blown glass. The walls behind him looked more the pure white of sugar glass, with distortions and cracks. He was backlit by the light streaming through the high, arched windows, haloed by it even. The dust motes swirled like powdered sugar. His soul was not unmarred, but it wasn’t stained irrevocably, unforgivably. He was marked by only cheating.

Rhian cut a striking figure albeit a dark one, with his face shadowed. Meanwhile, Rafal stood opposite him, not bathed in light but shrouded in shadows. With his suit that matched Rhian’s, Rafal stood out. Earlier, Rhian had doffed his royal blue jacket, and now, he only wore his white shirt, buttoned at the sternum, collar shielding his throat. On the dimmer side of the room, Rafal looked a smear of soot, sore and scalded.

He stepped forward and Rhian shrank from him. Rafal felt like he’d been impaled.

Rhian’s face crumpled, and he spoke. “I wish you’d stop attacking me and antagonizing your students. Even the Storian is on Good’s side, and it must have a reason.”

Rafal's head spun as the harsh light glared, illuminating Rhian. Yet, it obscured him in shadow. Even this grandeur and light had forsaken him, just like the Storian and its tales. The Pen always abandoned Evil, condemned it. Rejected and denounced the Evil brother. Always. He was hurt, not the villain. He was reactive—trying to prevent the downfall of the Schools and felled by his supposedly virtuous brother—this couldn't be an Attack.

Rhian’s hands shook as he continued. “I’ve only tried to improve Good. To bring glory to my Evers’ tales.”

“And what's all this? A new School, or a vanity project?” Rafal spat.

Rhian shook, more intensely than before.

“I was never consulted, so I shouldn't need to seek your permission for any changes I'll make to my Schools.”

Rhian recoiled, and his vitriol struck Rafal like live coals. “Your Schools? You abandoned them. And me.”

Rafal’s hands were cold, as always, he supposed. Rhian's voice was weak and sputtering out now, like a smoldering match, the last embers of warmth. His brother had always been his beacon, keeping him in check.

“I fix everything.” Rafal berated. “And then what? Do I get any credit? I don’t care whether I do. I don’t care what anyone thinks of me. But I’d appreciate basic respect for what I stand for. Yet, you seem to weigh the value of your life against what your reputation is. One day, you’ll let your precious Ever followers, the standard-bearers, the bards, the minstrels, wax poetic about you, write epics, compose ballads. Do you want your subordinates to hail and herald you like a martyr, Rhian? Like you’re Good’s one and only savior?

“I don’t believe it. You're too vain. You frame me as the one to be hated and scorned. A role I've been relegated to. To let rot and turn to dust in the storybooks. Why do you think I moved all of Evil’s tales to the upper shelves of our office?

Not all Nevers are villains. I may be a Never and a villain, but I never thought I'd be your villain. Oh, you underestimate how much the students revile and fear me.” His jaw tightened.

Rhian withdrew further under his incisive gaze. Rafal was always more perceptive than he gave him credit for.

"And, you've sold yourself out in the process of chasing your infatuations. You've betrayed your own soul, Rhian, and me. You've lost your true nature, your integrity and my trust.” Rafal stilled, swallowed, and continued on. “You've been corrupted. You've discarded your true nature and better judgment, for a man who ultimately betrayed you, and another who, who doesn’t have your best intentions at heart.”

“How would you know?” Rhian blared.

Rafal took another step forward, thrust out an arm, and blasted Rhian back onto the floor. Approaching smoothly, he loomed over Rhian, and hooked his hand under Rhian’s chin, lifting it to meet his gelid eyes. “I almost drowned to know that which you don’t.” He dropped his hand, and Rhian’s head nodded forward like a sodden mass.

Rhian quailed in Rafal’s grip. Rafal’s suit flickered to black for a moment, burnt and blackened, a scorched figure against the white, and Rhian shook his head vaguely, as if to dislodge water. Surely, he was hallucinating.

Rafal’s hand quivered, like he’d been singed. His eyes seared as if he were about to be burned to death, by the heat of his own built-up resentment and his brother’s corruption that he failed to prevent. He was hollow and numb, like an effigy. Yet, there seemed to be something off in his brother as well. Rafal’s heart throbbed with simultaneous fear and purpose.

His vision was momentarily veiled. Under the harsh, white light, all the flaws and rot beneath the surface of their relationship were laid bare. They were a specter of what they’d once been. Rafal’s face went dead cold.

And then, clarity in denial:

“I'm not Evil—I can't be," Rhian choked.

“And I'm not Good. I wasn’t, even when I had you.” Rafal’s finger burned with a black glow, blotting out the light in the echoing, empty room. He shot a Stun Spell at Rhian.

“I don't want to die.”

Rafal seized one of Rhian’s wrists to keep him from moving. “You’re human, Rhian,” Rafal said as he touched his brother’s face gently. “As in mortal.” He drew a dagger from his side, and held it steady above Rhian’s heart.

“No, Rafal! I forgive you. I love you,” Rhian gasped.

“And I loved you.” Rafal plunged the dagger cleanly into Rhian’s heart as Rhian stirred one last time. The rise and fall of Rhian’s chest quickened. His blood pooled when Rafal removed the dagger. His heart kept pumping regularly but rapidly, to compensate for the blood loss until it stopped.

Rhian’s body splintered into pure, golden light, dissipating in the air.

The burning, bright blue sky was unsettlingly placid as Rafal fled Good. The idyllic landscape around him unleashed a torrent of nausea in Rafal’s throat, for everything else in the world looked right, as it should. Right and good and balanced. No one had yet realized what changed.

It was The End. The End of Ends. For all of time. At least it had an End. Their tale has closed. It had been open for too long, he knew. He’d see The End printed on his tale’s last page soon enough.

Then, Rafal crossed over from Good, and stared at his reflection in Evil’s moat. Its dark waters undulated languidly like the Savage Sea in miniature. His gelid resolve died. Immediately, remorse flooded him. His face broke from its calcified expression. Rafal’s eyes widened. He couldn’t grasp his actions. He could only think of his stained, bloodied hands, and his brother’s stab wound welling up with blood. His jaw pulsed from having tensed it, and his face had gone white at the black depths of his soul.

His hands were pale, shaking, and blue-veined. What had he done? The only person who had ever loved him, gone. Because of him. His blind rage hadn’t been tempered or balanced by his equal as it always had been. No, Rhian brought this upon himself. He’d not placated Rafal. That was Rhian’s role, to appease his temperamental twin. But why was it that the instant Rafal left, he'd lost control? Was Rafal just as responsible for keeping his brother in check as well? His eyes burned and his windpipe closed. Then that meant he’d interfered with the Balance. That it was his fault. Not solely Rhian’s. Searing rage at himself compressed his chest. He couldn’t breathe.

The Storian would make him pay the price for his original sin. Because, Good and Evil relied on each other as much as they were locked in eternal war. And the brothers had breached their blood-sealed vow. The vow that overrode that war, and sustained the Balance. The very Balance he’d fought so long and hard to protect. That he’d destroyed in one, singular, rash move.

Rafal had been stupidly short-sighted for all his knowledge of the prophecy. All for the want of a truce. All for the want of an apology. All through the fault of a bet. The fate of the Woods had ridden on the outcome of a bet. A simple, petty, childish bet. Imagine that. What a tale. Staked on something so small and insignificant, blown out of proportion.

What were they now? Brothers torn asunder. Once pillars, that stood for Good and Evil. Stable and constant. Once equals. And now? Nothing. Nothing at all.

Love had burned Rafal, every time, like a sorcerer of the New tales, lashed to a stake.

There he sat, eyes burning with tears. And there he sat, never to trust again. Not anyone. Not even himself.

⸻

Note:

If it's not obvious, and I didn’t explain it well enough, Rhian violated the Balance. And, the Balance was the sacred thing that was sold. Because Rhian sold himself out, meaning, his true self, or what his true self was meant to be, the image of Good. He might have once been saintly and pious, but now, not so much.

Songs I was inspired by:

“Fearing and Loathing” by Marina

“the last beautiful thing I saw is the thing that blinded me” by Paris Paloma

#deathfic, #fratricide, #rhian martyr fic

Alternate title I considered: “Original Sins and Simony.” Because it would have been the pair of them I considered. Yet, I thought “Simony” was more impactful alone.

This whole thing was written for the sake of narrative parallels. And highly specific imagery. And for the drama and mood. I’m not trying to be melodramatic. I’m just giving the situation the grievous graveness I thought it deserved, with actual drama, if it comes across the way I intended.

I'd love to know your thoughts and reactions, and receive feedback in general.

Also, this is mostly based on memory and a gradual outline. I’ve had this concept for a long time, and didn’t go back to check Rise. So please forgive any errors. Though, if you notice any errors, kindly let me know, so I can fix them.

Lastly, did anyone catch my reference to book one? Comment below what it was to see if you got it. I’ll reveal it a bit later.