#Rhea is her own category lol

[randomnameless]

i know you said hopes had negative character development for the cast, but who do you think is better in hopes than in houses?

Better like in better writing, or better as in I appreciate them more?

Without a doubt, I'd say Felix and Sylvain who are better in Nopes than their FE16 versions, and in a way... Rhea herself, thanks to having more screentime when she isn't PTSD'ing lol

Call it chauvinism, but Sylvain in Nopes was scrubbed out of everything that made him... unlikable/feel flat in Houses.

His sob story about people only wanting to fuck him for his title/crest really felt... straight out ripped from some High School AU, with John McChad acting like an ass because the only girls who want to date him are interested in his situation as a heir of his dad's big company, and not because they love him. Yay. Great. Perfectly what I'm looking for in my medieval fantasy game where you whack people with swords.

Add to that the focus on crusts being the supposedly only reason why people are lusting over him - and not because, hey, you're a member of one of the most important noble houses in the Kingdom - to play in the general "crust bad" orchestra that can lead on the Supreme path, and the fact it's never ever adressed, and we have... this, which completely, to me, hides the other parts of Sylvain's character - like being someone who thinks outside of the box and resolves to lessen the reliance on his relic to defend the border by... creating a situation where they'll be no tension at the border, aka, a peace with Sreng.

Now, Sylvain works so well in Nopes partly because all of his "wah ladies only want my penis because i'm rich :'( " is erased, so we see a character who takes his duties as the heir of Gautier seriously, assists his Lord and friends and bring "new ideas" to help everyone. Sylvain, under his frivolous appearance and behavior, actually thinks and learns and suggests a lot of things that are quite useful, a bit like a "what if Sain wasn't only interested in courtship, but was raised as a future lord and had insight and suggestions on what to do". So sure, it's not as quirky and memorable as John McChad's sophomore year of school, but it fits better, imo, in the FE series.

As for Felix, well, it's more or less the same, his entire "duh boar bad chivalry bad and stupid - but wait no don't die and i'm sorry to have hit you dad i liked you but I was too busy playing the tsundere that I never got to say it to you before you died" schtick felt... old and annoying in FE16.

Sure, Felix can have his own, personal feelings about Dimitri being a hidden boar, but Felix is also the only heir of Rodrigue, and will become the next Duke Fraldarius, aka the second most important person in the Kingdom after the King himself, and the one tasked to protect it. Should Felix completely ignore his feelings and do what is expected of him, or take his role seriously? No, and Nopes has him give some "boar this, boar that", but Felix isn't a petulant 16 years old who wants to be "edgy" anymore, Felix is the next Duke - something he never shied away from, especially in his FE16 paralogue! - and has to start learning the job, thinking about Faerghus in something else than small jabs thrown at Dimitri and how to protect its people and second the King.

Heck, Felix's support in Nopes with Dimitri where Dimitri confesses about the ghosts, where Felix tries to carry him, the more or less cutscene where the general feeling is him saying to Dimitri he can count and rely on them... Given how FE16's Felix was written, even in AM, I can't see it happen before Rodrigue's death... and yet, in AG, Rodrigue is still alive (his optional death doesn't change those scenes), so when FE16's Felix realises there were more important things to do to help both his friend and country and dad but he only noticed it too late because he was too busy... being edgy, Nopes has him drop the edgy act (not completely drop it though, else it wouldn't be Felix anymore!) and act (lel) as his FE16 self, but only, without needing his dad to die first.

As for Rhea...

Having more screentime seriously helps, just like being allowed to talk about non plot relevant things with someone else than Billy or about Billy, I gushed a lot about the Nabatean paralogue, but it depicts her relaxing with her family (pissing on the "u r the only person i can talk to myself not the archbishop" pandering shit from FE16 even if FEH pissed on it first) and making tiny baby steps at apologising and confessing part of her guilt (for something completely stupid like Seiros the Warrior "borrowing" Cichol's shield to gift it to Willy!) to a member of her family.

Would that mean she would have confessed about the rez Sothis plan to Seteth earlier on? I... don't know, don't think so, and we don't have enough interactions between the two.

Compared to FE16 where she is an oyster until Billy turns green and Seteth nags her again and again and again, here she willingly makes the first step to apologise... sure, it's for something silly and not, resurrecting their mother, but it feels like a small progression (tiny baby steps) from FE16 where she has to be reveal stuff due to forced circumstances.

I also like how it sort of teases (or maybe that's just me lol) Seteth realising that Rhea still misses days long past to an unhealthy degree (tfw too much nostalgia), or just, having to remind her twice that those days are gone. Would he later realise her strange nostalgia hides something more deep, and ultimately her wish to "return" to those days by resurrecting Sothis?

idk, it's fuel for HCs and AUs, but for what it's worth, this paralogue and Nopes in general help flesh out Rhea more than what FE16 does, aka tying 80% of her mentions/appearances to Billy and Sothis.

(hell, in Nopes, she finally has lines with Flayn!)

[burning-academia-if]

What's a pet peeve every RO has when it comes to other people, specifically very close friends or even lovers?

Rook: The one thing that sets him apart from other College Guys(tm) is he can't stand a mess, especially in his own space. Like he gets it, he has ADHD too! He will help you clean up just please don't leave it like that

Beck: Hmmm, he's like the most chill of the bunch so this is hard. I feel like everything that bothers him is in the Big Deal category and not the Pet Peeves category lol

Rhea: Immaturity, but to a more extreme degree. She unfortunately does have a bit of her parents in her as much as she's loathed to admit it, and while she can find the joy in general silliness with friends, anything more than that can make her a bit irritated.

Zoe: Making them wait or showing up without warning. Like their social battery is low they need time to charge and mentally prepare themselves to be with someone, even if they like that person

Lars: God what doesn't bother this man. I think people not saying what they mean gets him the most, just because he's so forward. He prefers people be the same, even if that means they are saying harsh things to him. It's better than sugar coated words

???: Seeing as you're pretty much the only one close to them, who knows?

[fenharel-archived]

Dew and Geode for Cari, Moon and Pyro for Cassia?

cari

Dew: What’s something someone could do for them to make them instantly relax?

cari can be trapped in her own thoughts at times, someone taking her by the hand and telling her that it’s gonna be alright already takes a lot of anxiety from her. someone offering to listen to her also helps her relax, or someone preparing her a hot bath,… she also enjoys zevs massages :)& sex

Geode: Are they a fan of expensive things?

cari is more interested in the meaning behind the thing than their value, but she cant deny that she likes pretty jewelry or dresses. she isnt materialistic, but her style is rather extravagant & often falls into the more expensive category, so i guess yeah!

cassia

Moon: Do they have complicated relationships with anyone? If so who and why?

cassia is a thief and a liar… she has complicated relationships with almost anyone lmao. but to point out the most important ones:

thaos. also the gods, especially in poe2. she very much hates them, but i know u arent done with the game yet so i’ll move on!

herself. very much so. mainly since she became a watcher; she had at least 2 existencial crisessince then. but i’ll have to move on from this one too atm

my sisters watcher rhea, who prophesied cassias crew dying because rhea is a mystic. that was over 40 years ago tho and cassia never understood her vague words or took them seriously in any way. cassia remembered this when it was too late and when they randomly met each other again it was… quite eventful?

her relationship with durance was complicated. she tolerated him for his abilities, as a cipher she also got a better sense of who he actually is, but she was also grossed out by him and never let him be too close to her lol

with the “royal deadfire company”. she was forced to work with them for a while during poe2, even though she knows it was their ship hunters who blowed down her ship pre-poe1. same goes for her relationship with maia, they were friends, but it was never the same as with the other crew members, simply because she worked for the company.

working for the queen of deadfire in poe2 was quite fun as well, basically because cassia hails from the deadfire and was a known criminal/pirate, lol.

Pyro: What makes them absolutely livid?

cassia is all about freedom, free will and individuality. anything that doesnt let her or other people live this lifestyle pisses her off. she hates things like slavery which is sadly still a common thing in deadfire. authority, especially people who are stuck up on their “duty”, and on rules and are unwilling to bend them in any way. or just simply rules on their own, especially if people are trying to force them upon her or the people she cares about. also sexism, which she had to deal with quite a bit when she raised up to be a captain, she is used to it by now, but that doesnt mean it doesnt still piss her off. also people hurting or threatening the people she cares about: as a cipher she is an empath, even before becoming a watcher. she cares a lot more than she lets on and she is willing to defend them passionately.