#it was meaningful that their first date

[yellowocaballero]

1, 3, 4 (listen to your heart!)

1. What fic of yours would you recommend to someone who had never read any of your work? (In other words, what do you think is the best introduction to your fics?)

Fuck y'all would have to tell me :v. I get experimental a lot, and I know sometimes it just ends up confusing. I know which fics would be very bad (Fahrenheit 101, apparently...). I think Mens Rea is like. Normal. Mens Rea is normal. It's a normal fic. From the TMA side I think Martin and the Dream Boy is the funnest without requiring you to understand the Lore of Hot Jon!

Seriously do you guys have any idea how often people come into my comments section calling me a freak. Does this happen to other people? Do other people get comments going "what the fuck is wrong with you op"? Who like the fic? Is this a human experience?!

3. What are some tropes or details that you think are very characteristic of your fics?

Man vs self! Amnesia plotlines! Self-hatred! God complexes and all-powerful man-children! Mortifying ordeal of being known! Characters inexplicably becoming teenagers! Guy trapping himself in his own lotus eater machine! Pontificating on politics and/or religion! Denial! Escapsim! I am SO predictable lmfao.

4. What detail in [listen to your heart] are you really proud of?

Holy fuck I'm so glad I remembered this. I mention in the fic very briefly that Layla's reading The Love Equation - aka that published Reylo fanfic haha. A few other mentions of her reading published Reylo fanfic didn't make it in (hence the Layla's a reylo tag). Layla is a Reylo. This explains THE ENTIRE STORY. I cannot stress enough that I legitimately put this in as a shorthand to explain a lot of things about why Layla didn't catch so many red flags with Jake.

[charlieconwayy]

fryleela meme ♥ [1/8 episodes] → season one, episode 10 "a flight to remember"

[randomnameless]

tbh, I stopped caring about houses that much when I found out that it's an otome/dating sim game with srpg gameplay sprinkled on top. In other FE games, you either gather supports by pair ups or by having units standing against one another. And mechanics like cooking in Fates were done to get some more stat boosts. And even if the avatarization of the game started with New Mystery, Robin and Corrin feel more like customizable characters than an avatar for the player.

In houses, Byleth is like every typical dating sim protag, that does not speak and the few times they do is by having the player choose options that may raise heart points with a character or lower them, you have to find lost items and when you give them back you gain heart points, you have to give them gifts to gain heart points and cooking now doesn't give you any beneficts in battle and only works for, you've guessed it, getting heart points. And let's not kid ourselves, tea time is like the "dates" in otome games, in which you can spam gifts till you raise the affection to the max. The only thing that distincts those points from the otome ones, is that those are necessary for proficency and for unit classes.

Heck, we even have a ring to give to the chosen blorbo in order to get a special custom made cutscene, when in pasts games getting an S support gave you a broken unit to deploy and a little blurb of text during the credits. And of course, calendar/day systems are also common in these tipes of games too.

People complained about awakening and fates for turning the franchise into a dating sim, but 3Houses is literally one in and of itself, and yet is praised as peack FE experience and as peack srpg.

(I could also argue that is because of this otome nature why the characters are "tell don't show" with their given trauma, unlike in pasts games when it was "show don't tell" (Nino, Reison, Camilla, Leif, Soren...))

Well,

When you put it like that, it becomes obvious that the other games (FEH, Engage) mentionning Fodlan are stuck on the uwu monastery part of the part 1 and not the, y'know, events happening that will lead to part 2 because as you said, the SRPG aspect is just "sprinkled on top" lol

However, the "pair up your units and build their relationships!" has been a non gameplay mechanics for decades now (FE4's was a gameplay mechanic, it had no support convos - FE6 added the support convos and gave a small gameplay boost but it didn't commit and we had no endings, FE7/8 had endings, FE9 had convos but FE10 removed them and yet had endings depending on the pairs, etc etc) even without avatars.

Then we entered the avatar era and if it added the "my waifu and my bae" shenanigans, FE13/14 were still more centered on the story aspect that on the "dating sim" aspect, as in, even if you could raise affinity with a character by doing X or Y, it wasn't really coded in a minigame - came FE16 which you analysed perfectly : tea time, gifts, eating, S-support CG, etc etc.

That being said, FE is a RPG, meaning it has characters : you play FE for the solid gameplay but you also build characters, and imo the best way to develop and write characters is to interconnect them with other characters, and/or with the plot/lore.

Sure, Arden functions as a wall/tank. But through the 5 lines he has, you learn that he is part of a group of knights, has friends who often tease him but is relied upon by those people and takes pride in that, he'd also like to find a wife someday and has self-esteem issues.

Is he as developped as, say, Xillia's Alvin? Hell no! But they're characters from two different genres, Arden has those 5 lines that puts him above any "generic" armor.

(I find it interesting how UO and in a way, FE11, gives you the opportunity to play with generics instead of playing with named characters, in UO generics will turn out to be better since you can change their growths, but they're generics. Do you want the RPG of the Tactics/Strategy aspect?)

So, I'd say that support conversations are important, I love Saias and Ralf to bits, but I'm sure I'd love them more if they had more lines. And since support through battle can be a chore (hello FE GBA and trying to get Bartre and Karla's supports when she joins 2 chapters before the end!), I initially welcome any way to grind those supports faster lol.

However, it can quickly spiral in, well, the otome mechanics we have in FE16 - if you want to build support then why not have an entire mini-game for that, and meals and chorals and whatever else?

It's all about finding balance between developping your characters without turning your game in a dating sim or what I'd call "playing the sims and pairing those dolls with those other dolls you like".

Still, let's not kid ourselves, nowadays the "dating sim" aspect of the series is, while decried by some, very popular - and FE is first and foremost, a series that has to sell.

3H is not peak SRPG not peak gaming experience or even in FE gameplay that'd be FE5 but I can't ignore the fact that its dating sim aspects might be part of the reason why it's still very popular.

[drysauce]

i really liked the ending of the buddy daddies anime, i think it fits the story and what annoys me now are people who are trashing this ending because of that line about kazuki meeting with a girl and that he's not gay for rei, well they were never said to be gay it's just a headcanon. not dating doesn't equal not caring about each other, romantic love is not a necessity and a qpr is not inferior to a romantic relationship. they were shown to be a real happy family in the end, that's what is important here

[practically-an-x-man]

this is going to feel like such a "well, duh" thing to say but it's such a good feeling to be looking forward to a date with someone you *know* you like

[trannakinskywalker]

.

[rafent]

To say Griss was bad at gift-giving would be an understatement (unless, of course, the gift involved pain. For him. And then he was half decent at it on a good day). He'd never put any value on doing things like that for other people, and the thought of giving up something that belonged to him - or going out of his way to get something - out of the goodness of his heart made his skin crawl. That wasn't to say that he didn't know how receiving a gift felt, but everything had a string attached, so he'd grown up snatching things so fast the strings snapped. Gratitude was foreign to him, too.

But Lord Rafal was no ordinary person, and Griss had decided the moment he opened the little bag the dragon had given to him months ago that he'd pay him back somehow. He'd learned the date of his birth only recently, surprised as he often was whenever Zephia spoke of age by the fact that he even had one, which left him little time to prepare. Not that Griss ever prepared for anything, but he knew Lord Rafal would be able to tell if he half-assed it, and he took some degree of care to not insult a fell dragon.

The blade of the carving knife slid across the callouses of his left palm, not quite kissing softer skin, still indecisive about whether to cut. Griss straddled a bench in the long-emptied dining hall under the flicker of candlelight, bent over and studying the lines in his hand. Beside him, the table boasted numerous cuts fanned out in some erratic pattern where he'd spent the majority of his jittery energy stabbing the knife between his fingers. He wasn't nervous. He didn't know he was, anyway.

The creaking door echoed through the hall and his head snapped up, grinning mask falling right into place. His guest had arrived, and he stood to meet him with knife still in hand.

"You made it." A hint of doubt, just barely. The dragon probably had better things to do. Griss offered his hand, the edge of the knife pressed into skin.

"So you got options today. First one's blood." And this was the one Griss was clearly most excited for. Brows raised when he bumped his hand a little closer. "We'd give our blood to Lord Sombron on-- well, every day, but especially on holidays. And I'm pretty sure your birthday would've been a holiday if you'd lived in my world. Couldn't get ya any royal blood without getting kicked outta the monastery, but it's not gonna hurt my feelings if my blood's not good enough. 'cause I also got this--" He turned halfway toward the table and the knife became a glint of light as he swung it to underscore the spread he'd procured.

"I didn't know which one you liked best, so I got the chef to cook up all the desserts on the menu. Took a lotta persuasion, but I knew she had sense. Hehehe." Everything from cakes, to pies, to cookies and macarons, to chocolate-covered fruit decorated the table, not laid out in any particularly pleasing way, but they all certainly looked fresh regardless. The knife point stopped at a corked bottle sitting at the end, and Griss led Lord Rafal over to it with more enthusiasm than his presentation of the desserts.

"Or this." He set the knife down to lift the dark bottle with both hands, clearly proud of it. "Got this as a thank-you for a job a while ago. Fancy stuff. I've been savin' it, but it's all yours now. So--" He looked up expectantly. "What'd'you think? An offering worthy of a fell dragon? You can carve me up with that knife if it's not. I made sure it was nice 'n sharp."

[// lord above sorry for the length]

It was not often, or really at all, that others summoned him to a location mysteriously preordained, unmarked by specifics and clear reasons. For such a lure to find its source in Griss of all people, Rafal's ignorance of the sights entered into was ergo wholly sincere. A room wadded full with the smell of mouthwatering sweets, lit by candlelight and replete with preparations in its illuminated shadows. He pretended especially that these implications did not thrill him. That disappoint the other man certainly did not.

". . .Punishments and blood holidays will be rejected." Immediate rejection, naturally, once recovered from wide, traveling eyes with nose wrinkled for further solidity of askance and brutal honesty. Those ideas were more to Griss' favor and even to Father's. Tonight was his eve of celebration and his flourish of hand pointed out the largesse that spelled his preference. "—but these are more acceptable. These are worthy offerings, enough to earn a place among the altars of Gradlon's finest temples."

A lengthier process of thought collapsed next, unfurling on a look almost distracted. Mumbled, worked, and smoothed past its invisible kinks. "Food and libation, a follower, only the setting leaves something to be desired. A temple this place is not, but with enough imagination. . ."

Words tapered off from a thought that would never finish; that would remain privy and consigned to the buried place it came from. Immersion was the true gift, wasn't it? To Rafal it surely was; one who had not been fashioned subject to ostentatious worship during his time. While Fell Dragons were showered with reverence only the true ones enjoyed lavish offerings - not failures with human forms alone that other children of god disdained. That truer humans took notice of, too.

Demeanor brightened, realizing the giddy makings of a destiny that could be worn for one night. He settled himself onto the bench in what could only be determined favorable reception, one leg crossed over the other. With that a lordly air; with that, not all masks worn with intent to deceive. Not all games of pretend condemned as harmful delusion. "Your provision of worship is most satisfactory to me, Griss. You may rejoice. I will accept it; all of it, and all of you."

But worship wasn't perfectly fulfilled in the absence of fawning eyes, mouths, and ovations. Without an audience readied to awe and vaunt at a dragon's every action. "Pour me a drink. I would be pleased further to celebrate me—" he gestured, commanded, and this time finished for that thought even if silently. Hopefully. Together, with the depletion of a sumptuous bottle to mark their time.

[rotteneldritchhorror]

I-- I know we make fun of Resume/Renesme/whatever the fuck, but the other option was fucking EJ FOR EDWARD AND JACOB.

SOMEONE TELL THIS WOMAN THAT SMASHING TWO OTHER NAMES TOGETHER DOES NOT MAKE A GOOD BABY NAME.

[youssefguedira]

look i haven't seen deadpool and wolverine and won't for another month if i see it at all (i'm not paying for it) so this is all conjecture but i find the fact that its marketing has been heavily focused on implying that deadpool and wolverine are/will be in a relationship, which is like clearly not going to happen this is the mcu lmao, and the fact that it has been pushing this so hard for a character whose queerness has entirely been reduced to essentially making gay jokes for extra edginess points while refusing to ever engage with it more deeply (i admit i haven't seen the first two deadpool movies in several years but he is in a long running relationship with a woman and just like. makes jokes about finding colossus hot to my memory) than that, Not A Good Look, you could say. and like come on it's 2024 this is textbook queerbaiting and for a movie that seems to be pushing its supposed potential queer relationship in all of its marketing all of the jokes have always just felt vaguely homophobic to me. maybe the movie will make me feel differently but like. i highly doubt that

[von-eldritch]

//look what this is really telling us is hellsa will fuck you before she dates you and she'll date you before she's friends with you

[tamaharu]

theyre so in love it makes them look stupid

[shadowkira]

[vitiateoriginator]

I'm finally taking a fucking vacation from my job next week

[opalsiren]

no one asked but i think rikki and zane were both each other's first 'real' relationships. like i think rikki maybe had one or two small flings with another guy or girl prior to zane but they were relatively short-lived especially with her having to skip town time and again. and i think miriam was probably zane's closest thing to a real relationship before rikki, but miriam was definitely more invested in it than zane who felt like he had to be with her to keep up appearances, or that they made sense together because they were part of the same social circles

then rikki and zane get together and they both have an 'oh.' moment since this is what a real relationship is supposed to feel like. they are serious and committed to each other from the very beginning, and probably have plenty more epiphanies where they figure out how to navigate what being in a relationship entails. i think before they got together, they both thought their previous relationships were serious enough, but grappling with the strength of their feelings for one another, their need to be around each other nearly all the time, and their pure devotion to one another totally turns that assumption on its head btw. if you even care

[thedeviousdevilxx]

Ya know how some chronically online folk moan and bitch about being alone because they think they are so unattractive, it’s such a WILDLY ABSURD belief. I get insecurities, I get that, I emphasize, like I truly understand that feeling no matter how illogical it is, BUT there are some people (incels but others too) that truly think being short, chubby, or whatever feature they think is what makes them undesirable is the SOLE cause of their lack of romantic partners, is like PLEASE GO TO A MALL AND PEOPLE WATCH.

You will see couples of all shapes, sizes, levels of attractiveness! “Ugly” people marry, fuck, hook up all the time. The problem is your lack of sociability, self-esteem, no confidence, maybe yeah mental health issues, and perhaps shitty bigoted personality, but if being alone really affects you negatively, aka you aren’t a natural loner and are depressed because you are alone, SEEK groups or communities OUTSIDE THE FUCKING internet!

It ain’t easy, but sitting online and complaining because you think women all hate you because you’re short or fat is so ridiculous, HAHAHA trust me there are many happily fat short fellas happily with partners because they aren’t toxic assholes!

This is just one of the many glaring holes in this way of thinking, which is why you will see these guys twist that even “ugly” women can get laid which is also so false and a wild assumption, but that also is a rabbit hole of how some people will have a distorted view on sex, relationships, gender, sexuality, etc that I do not feel like getting into.

[miafeystits]

current conclusion from the trucy poll: either my family is just weird or none of you have step-parents i think