#marth going along with it is so!!!!

[phoenixkaptain]

fe: heroes KILLS me

A Day in the Life having female Alear try to Engage with Marth??? Marth saying: “Let’s try it anyway” and playing along???

Male Alear saying “It feels wrong to be here without Marth”???

They are so stinkin cute I can barely stand it

[s1llyalabaster]

When mediocrity meets the supremacy - veritas ratio

Where the Doctor narrows his eyes at the trailblazer for stealing his partner's attention.. ~700 words, SFW (not necessarily connected, but read part 1!

AU where reader followed the trailblaze before quitting to pursue further studies in various fields of science with Dr. Ratio himself in the Intelligensia Guild. (Might not be entirely lore accurate, trailblazer doesnt go to Belobog)

Your mind brings you back to the soft swishes of water during your bath with you beloved. it had been almost 5 system hours since the last few drops of bathwater went down the drain, small petals being the only thing that signified your intimate rendezvous with the Doctor himself.

You shake your head, forcing yourself to pull away from the sweet, dream-esque scene. You find yourself struggling to focus on the task at hand, the smug face of Vertitas Ratio plastering itself all over the wals of your mind like the "WANTED" posters all over belobog's brick walls you saw during the journey to Jarilo VI with your old friends.

Speaking of the trailblazers, you had planned a small gathering with the Astral Express members in the evening, since they were visiting. You had yearned to see the faces of Marth 7th, Dan Heng, Himeko, Welt, even Pom Pom. You've heard from March that there had been a new member of the Astral Express, going by Caelus. Judging from March's bombarding texts of photos and videos, he seemed to have a quite....eccentric personality, but bore a kind expression nonetheless.

You'd adequately dressed yourself up after returning to you and Dr. Ratio's humble home, opting to switch to a fancier outfit. It was a speical occasion, after all. You loosely linked your arm around Veritas' very reluctant arm, walknig towards the round table where the members were sat.

"It has been a while, hasn't it?" Himeko addressed your name, and drifted her eyes to the grey-haired trailblazer to the opposite of you. Dr. Ratio narrowed his eyes, you slightly nudged him to get rid of that old habit, hard enough to get a small grunt out of him.

"Say, Trailblazer. How has the Astral Express been treating you?" You asked, watching as the gears slowly spun into action in his head, almost as if someone was controlling him through a game screen.(teehee)

"Well..I've been through lots of unforgettable journeys with the Astral Express, and they've shown me much care in a...familial way."

You nod your head, satisfied at the answer before you. You reminisce about your days spent on the Express. Whether it be happy or hurtful, significant but sad. A clink of the wine glass drew everyone at the old-fashioned western-styled restaurant's attention.

"Come on! Won't a handsome man just come up and sing along to this song with me?!"

The woman dragged Caelus' arm towards the center stage, handing him a hat. He gracefully donned it on his head as you watched in admiration. Since Caelus was younger than you, you had an almost...motherly love to him. But Veritas didn't seem to take it that way.

You clapped along to the rhythm of a song sang by the singing duo - composed of a random woman, and the newest member of the Astral Express. The soda bottles hopped in joy as the trailblazer returns to his seat. Ah, a livehouse, I see.

Throught the scene, Ratio's eyes trailed alongside your movements; every captivating smile, every clap sent to the trailblazer, every whoop or cheer sent to him, every---

Graphs and charts were buzzing about in his mind. His analytical brain was working at full speed. "What made him to be so charming when it was me that needed to be appealing?!" No amount of data or statistics could account for how much love he had for you in his heart, yet he couldn''t show it, and you were about to be taken away by--

"Veritas? Are you alright?" He had awoken to your soft touches on his face. He'd abruptly sat up on the bed that he once laid on. Pause. An epiphany occured in his mind, "You...the party...!" He tried to compose himself, yet his drunk-dazed (teehee) mind wouldn't cooperate. "The party went greatly, dear! Half the time, you were zoned out, just staring at some random poster about Robin and Sunday!"

Veritas' eyes widened. "I didn't say anything....preposterous, did I?"

"Well...only something about wanting me to be your super private secretary, and only yours-" "Ridiculous! Utterly absurd!"

Putting on his alabaster head, facing away from you. Looks like the Doctor won't be able to admit to his jealousy...

[sincerely--me]

[Everyone is taken back to headquarters. Although Marth had to go and get Tracy. Lucas and Pit tag along since they are involved in this. So at the main room is Ness, Captain Falcon, Jigglypuff, Luigi, Mario, Yoshi, Donkey Kong, Pikachu, Kirby, Fox, Samus, Link, Marth, Roy, Ike, Reflet, Chrom, Corrin, Kamui, Byleth, Byless, Lucas, Pit, Older Ness, Jeff, Tony, Tracy, and Poo]

[Ness]

...

(? Where's Paula...?)

[s0ckh3adstudios]

Now I'm curious... assuming the humans come back after the true pacifist ending, where do Clover and Flo GO? Do they end up living with Martlet? Or would they end up with the Ketsukanes or Sunnysides? I can't imagine they'd return to the parents they had before given the uh. negative implications that part of their life has, at least from what we know about it because of clover. Would flo get to also partake in the found family clover got?

SO THIS IS ACTUALLY A REALLY INTERESTING ASK because.. Clover and Flo both sort of gathered their OWN people. Me personally with my own headcanons, I love thinking of Dad Starlo and Clover, though of course Martlet is also an option. Ceroba is.. not a caretaker option. Genuinely do not think she can mentally deal with all that right now especially with what happened between her and Clover.

Meanwhile, Flo has a total of one (1) people in their corner. Alexander. As much as they hate to admit it, and it would take them awhile to properly admit it, they care about Alexander a lot. They would want to stay with him.

And the problem with that this is that Clover and Flo want to stay with each other but have ultimately got different lives and people for them. Clover moreso, especially having been separated from Flo for like two years while Flo was with them previously before just dying.

UNLESS Alexander (and honestly Marth by association depending on the two's relationship. wink wink) was to become buddies with the UTY crew. Which honestly that's not too far-fetched to me because I feel like Alexander and Starlo could actually be great friends with their interests. I feel like this is possible LMAO

I think it would be cute if Flo (and maybe Alexander) got assimilated into the found family I think that would be really sweet. When all of Flo's baggage is unpacked that is HAHAGJKG everyone needs to like. understand what Flo did and just kinda. process that. BUT IMAGINING FLO INTERACTING WITH THEM IS CUTE I actually think Flo would really get along with the occasionally rough and rowdiness of the feisty five. They'd get annoyed with Martlet's chatting. Flo WOULD think Ceroba is cool if it weren't for. uh.

The History They Have With Her Family.

wow this post got long. ANYWAY HEHERJKG I'll have to draw some interactions sometime

[butternuggets-blog]

FOR WANT OF A NAIL

@baldwin-montclair @adowobsessed @sylverdeclermont @nicki-mac-me @thereadersmuse @kynthiamoon @wheresthesunshinesblog @adowbaldwin @beautifulsoulsublime @lady-lazarus-declermont @adarafaelbarba-blog @dogblessyoutascha

Part Eighty-One

Summary:  Baldwin Montclair had a string of ex girlfriends, a single child, and a  lifetime longer than most people could dream of to make all kinds of  mistakes. His family knew one which kept coming out of the woodwork to  irritate him every other century

Also on AO3

The corpse put rather a dampener on the mood.

The woman was found at the front door two days after the christening. No one had heard a car or any other vehicle pull up and dump her; she was wearing a bloodied nightgown, barefoot and covered in bruises.

'She's had a miscarriage recently.' Marcus looked white as he peeled off his gloves. 'She's was only a few months along.'

'Lena Budnik,' Blanda announced, tapping at her phone. 'She went missing from a nightclub in Munich.

'Who dumped her body?' Phoebe asked.

'Satu,' Martin said firmly. Everyone looked at him. 'There was no scent outside and no one heard a vehicle drive up. Satu can fly.'

'She's working for Benjamin?' Diana looked stunned.

'She failed to stop you getting to the final page first, so Gerbert fed her to Benjamin. She's obsessed with you and he's obsessed with Matthew. Their interests align.'

Diana shuddered.

'I have to stop him,' Matthew muttered. He was clutching a piece of paper; Martin plucked it from his grasp and read the familiar, spidery handwriting.

Care to swap?

'I'll rally the knights,' Marcus said.

Matthew turned. 'This is my fault. I'm going to find him, and I'm going to end him.'

'On your own?' Martin raised his eyebrows.

'Diana will go after the book, and you will protect her,' Matthew explained. 'If I can't find Benjamin I'll need book to lure him to me.'

'And what if the worst happens?' Martin asked.

Matthew glared. 'You told me in Jerusalem that Benjamin was a mistake. I didn't listen to you and now we're here. Do you want this to continue or not?'

'Do not fling my words back in my face,' Martin glared back. 'Take someone with you. He's not intimidated by numbers.'

'No, he'll want to meet face to face.'

'I want to strengthen the Knights of Lazarus,' Marcus interjected quickly. 'Bring in some new blood in order to defend the scion. I think Chris would make an excellent knight, and Jack's old enough.'

Martin looked stunned, then his expression morphed into glowing pride.

'I'm surprised Miriam isn't one yet,' Diana said. Martin snorted. Matthew had the good grace to look sheepish.

'I'm surprised too,' said Marthe quietly, to herself.

Marcus turned to Emily and Sarah. 'Would you do me the honour of becoming Knights?'

'What would it entail?' Sarah asked, quickly.

'You would be sworn to defend the scion, your fellow Knights, and each other, even at the cost of your life,' Martin explained. He drew himself up. 'If you shirk your duties in any way that results in the death or grievous injury of a fellow Knight, you will be immediately expelled from the order. This means your right to protection will also be revoked.'

'We'll do it,' Emily said firmly. She clasped Sarah's hands in hers. 'For the scion. And the babies.'

'I'd like to swear them in too, but I think I might need their parents' permission,' Marcus said. 'It would be a signal to the Congregation that if they take on one of us, they take us all on.'

'Let's do it as soon as possible.' Matthew said.

'If you're going to return to the fold, I suppose you'll be wanting this back then,' Hamish said, turning to Martin. He corkscrewed the silver ring off his finger and held it out.

'The point of the position of Ninth Knight is complete neutrality,' Martin said. He plucked the ring from Hamish' grasp and placed it back in his palm, closing Hamish's fingers around it. 'You get to choose which fights you wish to engage in. If you back out, it leaves room for a second to step in. Or, both Knights fight together. You've more than earned your place in the order. You're not going anywhere.'

________________________________________________________________

Gods, he hated the waiting.

Martin had had his people scope out the Bodleian beforehand and they'd identified a way in via the ongoing excavation of the underground book depository. There were two vampires of Hubbard's on the crew; a quick conversation and a bribe or two later and they had guaranteed safe passage.

'And that is checkmate,' Fernando stretched as Martin cleared the board of pieces and packed them away. The six of them- Fernando, Gallowglass, Martin, Diana, Emily and Sarah- were holed up in the Old Lodge outside of Oxford. Martin hadn't set foot in the place for years; he'd been surprised to see the portrait of Louisa hanging on the wall, and made a mental note to beg Matthew to let him burn it.

Martin poked the log on the fire until it cracked and fell in pieces. He wondered idly what Baldwin was up to. He'd rung him to inform him about the witch; Baldwin had taken the news well, but it was clear that he had reached the end of his rope and was speeding steadily over the horizon.

That getaway couldn't come soon enough.

He checked his watch. 'It's time.'

***

'Good luck!' Stanley Cripplegate handed them over to his colleague Dickie, who led them up into the Arts End of Duke Humfrey's Reading Room. It wasn't completely quiet to Martin's ears; the hum and whir of the construction below was muffled and distant, providing background ambience to an otherwise silent building.

'The statues..' Emily was staring at a bust of King Charles I and Sir Thomas Bodley, who were blinking accusingly at them.

'Witches have been on the security detail since the middle of the nineteenth century. Stan warned us not to do anything we oughn't around the pictures, statues, and gargoyles.' Dickie shuddered.

'Well, this is awkward,' Martin said.

'Your Majesty,' Fernando bowed to the bust.

Diana pulled off the hard hat Dickie had given her to wear and frisbee'd it onto Charles' head, spelling it to tilt down over the bust's eyes. 'Sorry Charlie.'

Martin and Fernando engaged in a quick slap-scuffle before Fernando won, triumphantly handing Diana his hard hat. 'Use mine for the founder. Please.'

***

Diana called Matthew to check in one last time before they got to work. For the first two hours they hung around the dusty, out-of-service pneumatic tubes waiting for a reply to the call slip Diana had filled out and sent.

Nothing.

Plan B was a ritual to call for the Goddess' help to narrow down the book's location. An hour later, they were still staring at a dead triangle of white crystals.

'It's not working.' Diana stepped out of the triangle with a sigh. 'I don't feel anything. Not the book, not any power, not magic. It's like the whole library has gone dead.'

'Alright, why don't we take a breather,' Martin ushered her down into the Old Schools Quadrangle. Gallowglass broke the silence of the night by quick-stepping over to them, phone still in hand.

'Benjamin has Matthew.'

Martin sucked in a breath. Diana swayed beside him; he grabbed her by the elbow to steady her.

'He can't. I just talked to him.'

'That was five hours ago,' Fernando said gently, checking his watch. 'When you spoke, did Matthew say where he was?'

'Only that he was leaving Germany,' Diana whispered, her face pale.

'Benjamin won't kill him. Not immediately.' Martin said evenly, ignoring everyone's glares. 'He'll be hurt but we have time.'

'There is no way forward without him in it,' Diana breathed.

She suddenly ripped herself away from him and sprinted back into to the library. Martin followed behind her as she went into Duke Humfrey's and stopped.

'The goddess. She told me I would have to give something up if I wanted Ashmole 782,' Diana said, taking off her jacket. She stretched her arms wide. 'But it wasn't Matthew.'

Martin shielded his eyes as Corra exploded from her back, bathing the library in vivid red light as she flew down the aisle towards the Arts and Selden Ends.

'What was it then?' asked Sarah.

'Fear.'

Corra flew higher, up towards the rafters. She seemed to be having a private conversation with Diana, but they reached a conclusion and Corra began sniffing and looking around.

'Why is she flying around up here? Send her down the conveyor-belt shaft into the library's underground storage rooms. That's where the book is.'

They'd failed to get their hands on the book before, partly because of Benjamin but the Asmolean manuscripts had been transferred to the Radcliffe Science Library.

'Stop trying to shape the magic, Sarah.' Diana ignored her aunt, watching her familiar. 'Corra knows what she's doing.'

'I hope so, for Matthew's sake.' Gallowglass said.

Diana was cocking her head like she was listening to a sound none of them had noticed. 'The Book of Life. Do you hear it?'

Emily and Sarah concentrated. Martin shook his head. Fernando and Gallowglass stared around looking for a sign.

'There.' Diana marched over to where Corra was hovering; the patron book hold behind the administration desk. A plain, grey box was sitting below the lip of the call desk, glowing gently at the edges.

Martin held his breath as Diana opened the box and gently removed a slim, brown book embossed with ASHM 782 in gold lettering on the spine.

Strange to think how troublesome such a small book has been..

Diana unclasped the book. Martin leaned forward, curious, as she slipped the first page into place. Text sprang up like a living thing, twisting and turning over the page as it seared itself back into place.

The second page. Everyone winced as a high keening noise rose from the book. Corra chittered. Martin looked around to make sure no one was coming to interrupt them.

The final page.

Howling. A sudden maelstrom that blew Diana's hair back from her face as the pages of the book turned in a whirl, faster and faster until Diana forced them to stop by slamming her hands down onto the pages. She gave a great, shuddering breath and as Emily and Sarah grabbed her by the shoulders, demanding to know if she was alright, Martin forced the book out from under Diana's hands.

Empty.

He turned a page, then another.

The book was blank.

'Has it hidden itself again?' Martin asked.

'No,' Diana breathed. He turned to look at her and nearly jumped out of his skin; her eyes were ink black. As he watched the darkness ebbed away to reveal pearly-white glowing pupils; the magic dimmed again and finally Diana's natural blue crept back in.

'I am the Book of Life.'

'That'll make it easier to transport,' Martin breathed, stunned beyond words.

Author's Notes

There was a corpse at Sept Tours in the book, and a living witch in the tv series. I decided to split the difference.

Lena was the name of the witch in the tv series, and Budnik is the surname of the actress who played her.

Satu's storyline kind of...disappeared(?) in the books, and in the show. I tried to scrape something together from the scraps 😅

I really enjoyed the heist in the book, so I decided to use that as the basis for the end of the chapter, rather than having Diana just walk in, sign a call slip and fix the book.

[smashbrosantcuaryoffical]

Smash Sanctuary resident #20, Falco "Hands off my C*ck" Lombardi.

--

Age: 25 (Born 1999)

Occupation: McDonalds cashier

Hails From: Brooklyn, New York

In this AU, Fox is a parody of a washed IG influencer who doesn't recognize he peaked like 7 years ago. All good Instagram stars need a sidekick, so enter Falco. I figured if Fox was the delusional one, Falco would need to be a more positive example of post-fame, just staying quiet and moving on to get money in other ways.

In this case, McDonalds; they used to have military jobs, but their not super clean social media presence made it kinda hard for the military to justify keeping them around, doubly so since their reckless content was directly themed around that. I'll elaborate more if I ever go back to do an extended bio on Fox, but fame could not have affected them more differently.

Either way, Falco still finds himself tagging along when Fox wants to do shit. Maybe it's just hard to say no to a friend.

Previous: Bio 19: Pichu

Next: Bio 21: Marth

[khryswilliams]

Character Strategy Thoughts: Zelkov

Yunaka was great, but I had to bench her around halfway into the game because this beast came along! Zelkov is hella complex, but somewhere in that killing smize lays a heart of gold... and maybe a pocket full of gold, as well. Spoiler alert: no reclass for him!

I'm looking at his stats, and while I'm happy with most of them, one of them sticks out like a sore thumb — RES. Now, I can either help it or ignore it. But with a stat that low and so far gone, I might just double down on physical attacks. Even if I bump up that RES stat, it won't be enough to survive an attack from a third-level tome spell like Bolganone. Let's see what skills I can glean.

Potential Inherited Skills

Marth’s Perceptive set grants a direct bonus to a unit’s Avoid stat when the unit initiates combat (max +30). The bonus increases by one point for every 4 SPD. Accumulative cost of 500 SP.

Marth’s Avoid+ set grants a direct bonus to a unit’s Avoid stat (max +30). Accumulative cost of 4,500 SP.

Micaiah’s Resistance+ set grants a direct bonus to a unit’s RES stat (max +5). Accumulative cost of 2,000 SP.

Roy’s Advance allows the unit to move one space toward a foe that is two spaces away and attack them. Costs 500 SP.

Leif’s Knife Precision set grants a direct bonus to a unit’s Hit and Avoid stat when the unit is equipped with a knife (max +15). Accumulative cost of 2,000 SP.

Lyn’s Alacrity set allows a unit’s follow-up attack to trigger before the foe counterattacks if the unit initiated combat with a given SPD advantage. (Required advantage: ≥9 → ≥7 → ≥5.) Accumulative cost of 3,000 SP.

Lyn’s Speedtaker grants a stacking +2 bonus to a unit’s SPD stat each time the unit initiates combat with a foe and defeats them (max +10). Lasts for the remainder of the battle. Costs 2,000 SP.

Corrin’s Draconic Hex inflicts -4 to a targeted foe’s basic stats after the unit initiates combat with them. Penalty shrinks by 1 each turn. Costs 2,000 SP.

Eirika’s Lunar Brace set allows the unit to deal extra damage equivalent to a percentage of the foes’ DEF stat when the unit initiates combat with a physical attack. (Max damage = 30% of foe’s DEF.) Accumulative cost of 5,000 SP.

Eirika’s Dodge+ set grants a direct bonus to a unit’s Dodge stat (max +30). Accumulative cost of 2,500 SP.

Eirika’s Gentility set reduces damage taken by a unit. (Max -5.) Accumulative cost of 3,000 SP.

Tiki’s Starsphere grants enhanced stat growth rates (+15% to all stats) when a unit levels up. Costs 1,500 SP.

Whittling Down

Making Zelkov an elusive little thing wouldn't take too much effort. His base Avoid stat is 56 without the bonus from weapons, terrain bonuses, and other skills. So giving him a bonus with Marth's skills like Perceptive or Avoid+ would make him more slippery the more that he levels up. But again, the Avoid set is just too expensive for me to consider investing in it outright.

But if I pair Perceptive with Knife Precision, he could make something shake. I have no idea how high a unit's Hit stat can be, but I have a feeling if I make Zelkov's Avoid stat go over 100 after all the calculations, that reduces a foe's hit rate to at least 50%. That's a pair I could actually consider, especially considering his personal skill reduces a foe's Hit stat by 10 every time he's in combat with them.

I did include Resistance+ here, but like I said before — Zelkov's RES stat is lower than T-Pain on that one Flo Rida song. Whatever boost I'd get from here wouldn't be significant enough to affect durability in the endgame. I'd be better off equipping something like Starsphere to increase the growth rate for that stat from 15% → 30%. Or better yet, Gentility to directly reduce how much damage he takes. And still... his Avoid stat is right there. I mean, look at it.

Using Zelkov to take care of approaching enemies with Advance seems like a fun idea; but if I'm gonna do that, then I'd prefer to kill them outright. And my fear here is knives being so light of a weapon that it won't do much damage. A unit with partial HP can still kill. But that's where Draconic Hex could kick in. Other units that foe attacks might be able to survive if the foe's basic stats are reduced. That might be a viable strategy.

I have faith in Zelkov out-speeding other foes in future level-ups, so the Lorcan One-Two Punch™ really serves no real purpose rather than to be the final nail in the coffin. There's other skills that cater more to what I think Zelkov needs.

Lunar Brace could be really useful. Knives aren't powerful weapons, and they essentially do chip damage against foes with high DEF stats. That amp in damage output could make for pretty meaty hits. However, I see nothing it might pair with. And Dodge+ suffers from the same problem.

Further Whittling

So, I started with twelve ideas and whittled them down to four: Perceptive, Knife Precision, Advance, and Draconic Hex. And truth be told, I might go with the former pair.

As a Thief, his class skill makes his Movement stat unfettered, which is where a good chunk of Advance's value can come in. And there are other folks in my army that are slated to get Draconic Hex, so it isn't the end of the world if one additional unit doesn't get it.

Perceptive and Knife Precision allow him to hit more enemies and dodge more attacks, which I honestly cannot complain about. There are my *winners*!

Patron Emblems

Honestly, it's a three-way tie between Byleth, Camilla, and Chrom. I guess the question here would be what I'd use on Zelkov and Seadall.

This is what I said about Kagetsu's Patron Emblem. And honestly, there's a strong case for Byleth here. As a Covert unit, he gives out SPD bonuses to adjacent allies, and some of them are in dire need of it. But the problem is, maps have chests hidden behind doors, and Thieves can get to them the fastest. There are going to be times where he's either a lone wolf or paired with someone who can deal damage. The Sync Skills he has in his pockets wouldn't get the most optimal use 100% of the time.

The same could be said for Chrom. His sync skills can help adjacent allies — except for Brute Force and Surprise Attack, which could be nice on Zelkov. I imagine this would be a nice middle decision if not for Camilla existing.

Camilla could also be a good fit for Zelkov. The boost to RES is nice, and the Dragon Vein ability gives him a better chance to dodge attacks and be more accurate (thanks to Zelkov being a Covert unit.) He'd be unfazed by negative terrain effects, AND critical hits would deal more damage. Definitely more fitting for the lone wolf, seeing as how that Dragon Vein effect might be indiscriminate, thus harming adjacent allies... except for the ones whose skill strats bank on HP being below a threshold?? Hmm...

Honestly, I could pair Zelkov with Camilla and Kagetsu with Byleth... which would leave Seadall with what, exactly...?

UPDATE: Seadall gets Chrom, which I'm okay with. As a result, Zelkov stays with Camilla and Kagetsu stays with Byleth!

(back to masterpost)

[firesofdainix]

I need to stop sending so many asks I’m geniunely half asleep right now but here’s the concept of Earth suddenly combing through Mars’s memories and seeing the most unhinged Phars content ever ???

Like hey there’s Phaeton and oh look he’s being freaky towards Mars who’s like going along with this greatly all lovey hearts in his visor like why are they so openly toxic and now Mars isn’t even half of a freak as he was with Phaeton anymor

Then a memory of Phaeton kissing Mars as they progressively direct themselves into Sol who finds this extremely funny but Mars’s back is facing the heat so he thought they were heading to Venus instead. Mercury saves the day by shoving Phaeton into Sol last second and drags Mars away from there ??

GOE marth anon says with a straight face

(whispers for you to listen to " Paper bag by Fiona apple " because it’s what made me think of this)

Phars is the type of couple who gets to be sickeningly PDA but only because Mars WANTS Theia to notice him. It doesn't really do much.

Earth as he looks at every memory Mars has with Phaeton: it should've been me, not this MISERABLE ASS L O S E R who doesn't even know how cool Mars is. NOT HIM!!!! Mars should've been freaky with me. I'd do anything to get Mars to look at me like that. I mean he's cute right now, harmless and he doesn't bite but goddamn I really want him to sneer at me and make out with me like that. If I see Phaeton irl I'm going to kill him

Mars: wow Earth is so cute today :] what's in his mind?

Also I just listened to your song recommendation, and my GOD it sounds a lot like Mars when he's reflecting his relationship with Phaeton, or... Or when he finally realizes Earth is... NOT that great of a partner and how he's slowly leading himself to disappointment. For a while, of course. This is inspiring me to write the next chapter of Take On Me THANKS. Especially these lyrics:

This is a Phars lyric. To me.

But the rest? Like the chorus and the second verse? Oh, that's ALL Earth.

[moe-broey]

My "Not a full thought" post about Emblems now being able to exist in Askr and the potential of timeline fuckery is coming back to haunt me.

@iamdarkness BUT I really did wanna reply to this more in-depth esp to have context on the Engage side of things as well! And tbh it could be a really interesting thing to dig into, I just feel a bit out of my depth about it (the FEH autism does not extend far past Askr. If I'm entirely honest 🧍)

Hoping to clear the air on some things! Such as, Elyios (Engage) is separate from Askr/Zenith (FEH)! All the Emblems have their own "domains", in the form of a paralogue/map that's modeled after the respective Emblem's world. For story Emblems, you unlock these as you collect the rings, and for the DLC Emblems, that's how you recruit them. Unsure what this says about Elyios itself, if these maps are like. Pocket dimensions that are replicas of that Emblem's world or what. Given what I vaguely know about Emblem lore I'm gonna say replicas.

This is Askr's!

Which, is interesting that it Is Askr, because it's Emblem Veronica's domain.

But honestly I feel like I'm getting ahead of myself, because even before the DLC came out, I was under the impression that Engage took place after all FEs were said and done, timeline wise. Given the nature of the Emblems, and the set up of the story starting off "1000 years ago" (and that was just to set up the story of Engage! So it has been A While).

One thing (that feels very loose canon-wise) that made me feel Engage is after FEH is because, not only are there Bond Rings of the Askr trio, but their weapons are here too! This was a promotional thing, but. It's There

Something worth noting, is that Bond Rings are different than Emblems. They don't have a spirit in them, that's as animated as the Emblems anyway... they give small stat bonuses, and are of characters that are related to any given Emblem (so, Corrin has a collection of Fates characters for Bond Rings, ect). This Does have an interesting result where there's an overlap between some DLC Emblems and Bond Rings. Cases being, there's Emblem Camilla and a Camilla Bond Ring that's connected to Emblem Corrin -- and, this happened to Edelgard/Dimitri/Claude too! Each of them having Bond Rings connected to Byleth, and also becoming their own Emblems in the Get Along Bracelet LMFAO (all three of them are in there. It goes about as well as you'd expect.)

But I am. Getting a little distracted.

EMBLEM VERONICA

One line that stands out to me is Alear (named Milo here) saying he hasn't heard of Askr before. But like if I think about that too much my head might explode and also Alear was previously comatose for 1000 slutty slutty years. So. Take it or leave it, whatever this is implying

Also, interestingly, she takes the form of her post Book 6 look -- but there's some odd inconsistencies, like her personality being more young Veronica, and also, mentions of Bruno as if he was still missing in action and not. Well. You know. (I'd have to dig further into Bond convos for examples, which tbh may be a worthwhile endeavor! But for now Take My Word For It Please this is already so all over the place 🥲)

But the main reason I wanted to emphasize that dialogue (aside from it being interesting, to say the least), is how Alear doesn't know about Askr as a whole. And, in Alear/Alfonse Forging Bonds:

WHICH.... AGAIN.......... MADE ME FEEL LIKE. With everything going on in Engage, the Bond Rings of Alfonse/Sharena/Anna, their Respective Signature Weapons (feels particularly damning) and Emblem Veronica. It felt like, what happens in Elyios is something that has Yet to Happen. And that, Askr as we know it, has been long gone.

But then...... everything with the Katarina/Kris FBs............ how Kris was only able to be summonable because Katarina and Marth told their story............. and how it's just the Emblems that are specifically mentioned as Not Having Info on, not Alear herself or her friends. My head hurds so bad.

LIKE...... I GUESS???? My initial thoughts on "Oh yeah that makes sense the Emblems don't exist in Askr" was that they Didn't Exist Yet. Aughh but then ...... in-universe, wouldn't the same be true for. Anyone from "the future". Or does it just apply to ghostly jewelry apparitions. Because we KNOW that option isn't true, it's shown/stated that Kiran comes from a modern world like ours, and there's also the Tokyo Mirage Sessions idols. Maybe the Emblem thing WAS just a Kris case, but that feels SO ODD. Like the Emblems are intrinsic to Elyios it seems. Why wouldn't the Askr library, chock full of information about the various worlds and lives of Heroes, Not Have That Info??? Especially with royalty like Lumera (Alear's mom) having close ties with specific Emblems (Sigurd). And also off the top my head that's a REOCCURRING thing, that the royal families in Engage Are entrusted with specific Emblems that are passed down/protected across generations. Celica with Céline/Firene, Lyn with Alcryst/Brodia, to name a few. It just seems SO strange, because it Feels Like it would be basic information about the world of Elyios.

CONCLUSION?????

My head hurds so bad. Net zero information. I'm so sorry. I hope this helped!!!!!!!!! 😇🫡

[emblemxeno]

Mystery of the Emblem Book 1 Thoughts

-Getting to play through Shadow Dragon's story again is like coming home, especially since it's a fresh take on it for me

-That said, it really shows in retrospect how little Shadow Dragon DS added in terms of writing, because aside from the prologue, side missions and bonus conversations, it's basically the same lol

-It's so good to visit villages and have maps with varying geography and set pieces again. The chapter specific tips/flavor text along with the well built setting is really just prime FE storytelling for me.

-I personally don't mind the cut chapters and characters as much as I thought I would tbh. I never liked using the Ballisticians, there's no worth in using axe users like fighters or pirates, Wrys is more of a meme than an actual character IMO, and Roger is an armor knight in an early FE game which doesn't bode well for him. Gotoh not joining in the final map is the only one I miss, but that's not a big loss at the end of the day. As for the chapters, it's a similar sentiment. There is some story bits and nuance that have been lost with it that are in Shadow Dragon, but ultimately it doesn't change the foundation of the story too much to make a difference. Plus, the chapters that were cut in Book 1 were lowkey some of the most annoying in SD, especially Wooden Cavalry.

-Gameplay pretty solid. Like I said a few days ago, it plays really well even today, unlike what I thought it would for a 30 year old game.

-The only archaic snag is deployment not letting you influence where units start at, with it being solely decided by selection order and not being able to be seen before starting the map. And that only became a problem in the last couple of maps (Endgame especially, since specific units being in specific places matters a good deal).

-LOVE busted stat boosters, 11 Mov Marth go brrrrrrr. Also bias for Linde by giving her the early speed ring payed off in spades, she was a champ.

-My opinion on class changing ASAP being almost always the most beneficial move (with extra unpromoted levels past the 10 benchmark serving as insurance for those units not falling off) was really cemented here. Having an early Hero Ogma, for example, really bolstered my turns and gave me a safety net just in case I made mistakes.

-FE3's unique quirks and mechanics, like dismounting, set experience gain, and the weapon level stat got me to use characters I never gave time to in SD DS, such as Wendell (the prime backup slot tbh), Jeorge (Silver Bow go crazy) and Lorenz (the Gradivus guy on the two final indoor maps).

-Idk if this is a hot take, but from using Tiki and even Bantu in early maps, FE3 has the best implementation of the dragon stones imo. Lore wise I think it makes much more sense to have a 5 turn transformation cost 1 use, rather than each individual attack costing one. And gameplay wise, imma be real, why shouldn't the transformation characters be kind of busted? I get that people don't want a 'Press Manakete To Win' type of situation, but I think for instances where you only get one of them, this is the way to go. At the very least, it's much better than Myrrh's situation in FE8, and from what I heard, Fae is even worse than that.

-Overall just a grand old time. Not sure if I'd go and replay Book 1 anytime soon since I still think SD DS has merits that make it an equal but different experience, but it was worth playing and then some.

[sprnklersplashes]

screamin but daddy I love her (ao3)

buy me a coffee

fanfic fundraiser

This isn’t the first time Martha has been on Heather’s doorstep. To the contrary, the first time was when they were high school seniors, and Martha must have been here hundreds of times between then and now. She knows this porch like she knows Heather’s bedroom, but tonight standing in her new dress and adjusting the maroon bow in her hair, she feels just like she did at seventeen. Breathless, anxious, ready to turn tail and run at the first sign of trouble.

Although, the sight of her girlfriend opening the door does help a little. 

“Hey,” she whispers. Heather steps out onto the porch and closes the door behind her, exuding effortless class in her pale yellow blouse and black skirt. The light catches on her glossy lips, and Martha wants nothing more than to pull her in and kiss her. But her parents are inside her and neighbours might be passing by, so she has to settle for squeezing her hand as if they’re just two good friends saying hi on Thanksgiving. 

Just a few more hours she tells herself. If it goes according to plan, she can kiss Heather on this porch at the end of the night. 

“Hey baby,” she says softly. “How are you feeling about tonight.”

“Good.” Heather nods once, her curls bouncing around her shoulders. “Good. My dad’s in a really good mood, which helps. He had a massive boom in sales right before Thanksgiving.”

“Well, it is the most romantic time of the year,” Martha chuckles.

“Yeah. Yeah. Totally,” Heather breathes. “And he had a good time with his buddies and he has already opened up the brandy.”

“Okay. Cool. How about your mom?”

“She’s good too. Popped some Tylenol this morning, she went to yoga, oh and I let her take me to the mall this morning and told her a little white lie about how the guy at the coffee shop thought we were sisters just before we got home.”

“Wow,” Martha murmurs. “You are good.” Heather giggles, her face lighting up at the compliment, but there’s hesitancy in it, like she’s tiptoeing right on the edge of a cliff. Despite their being ‘in the open’ as it were, Martha slides her hand round Heather’s neck and cups her head, as if she’s about to pull her lips to hers.

Instead, she looks into her eyes and lowers her voice so only she can hear.

“You don’t have to do this now,” she says. “If it’s not the right time. We can wait.” I can wait, she adds silently. Much as the hiding and the half-truths drain the life out of her, all Heather needs to do is bat those eyes and Marth knows she’d wait decades. 

“No. No, I want to.” Heather closes her eyes, shakes her head as a small puff of breath escapes her. “It’s… I’m tired of hiding. I’m tired of my parents asking me if I’ve met any nice boys in college. And I’m tired of… not getting to talk about you.” A pink blush creeps across Heather’s face, matching the one Martha feels in her chest. She rubs circles against her scalp as Heather moves a half-step closer. “I can take a lot. But I can’t take not being with you.” 

“Oh,” Martha breathes. Warmth creeps across her cheeks, glowing in a baby pink blush. Instinct tells her to duck her head, slip into the shadows where it’s comfortable, but she won’t. And while she can’t do what she really wants and kiss Heather until she’s breathless, she can take her hand and link their fingers together, and it’s enough. For now, it’s enough. “You’re sweet.”

“Yeah,” Heather sighs. She straightens up, the same way she used to in high school right before starting a cheer routine. “Don’t let go of my hand til we’re inside.” Martha smiles and squeezes her hand. Heather’s hand shakes, either from the cold or something else. 

It doesn’t matter. Martha can keep her warm.

As predicted, the house is classily decked out for the holidays. The girls enter to gold and brown leaves wrapped around the bannister, towering candles flickering held in bronze candlesticks. Martha tries her best not to gape as Heather leads her along the carpeted hallway into the living room. Mr Macnamara lounges in one of the plush armchairs, broadsheet newspaper folded over his lap and a crystal glass of brandy glittering in the other.

Heather has to clear her throat twice before he looks up.

“Oh. Heather. And….” He looks Martha up and down, face creasing just slightly. Heather stiffens beside her, and Martha squeezes her hand to remind her to breathe.

“Martha,” she says.

“Martha, of course.” He folds up his paper and does them the courtesy of getting up from his chair. Martha forces herself to smile as he walks towards them. When he extends his hand, Martha takes it, 

“Wonderful that you could make it for Thanksgiving. Can I get you a drink?”

“Oh!” Martha squeaks. Her heart pick up, racing like a butterfly’s wings. She did preapre for this question, she did, but now her neatly ordered thoughts are bleeding together and she can barely make her mouth move. She manages to say, “Whatever Heather’s having” without too much trouble, and she lets Heather lead her to the couch as her dad pours them both a red wine.

She hates red wine.

Heather sends her a quick apologetic look, and Martha whispers ‘it’s okay’ as her dad sits back down. Tonight is about her in any case. It might end up being about stopping her from getting too drunk and blurting it out before the turkey gets carved.

“So. Martha. You’re still in Sherwood aren’t you?”

“Dad!” Heather groans. Mr Macnamara frowns at the outburst, his gaze enough to send a chill down Martha’s spine. Her hand twitches, aching to take hold of Heather’s, and she wraps it around her glass as well.

“Don’t take that tone with me, Heather,” he scolds. “I can’t possibly be expected to keep track of all your friends’ exploits can I?”

“It’s okay,” Martha interjects. “I’m at Ohio State.”

“Ah. Certainly a fine school, no doubt. Your major?”

“Early childcare.”

“And a fine major to have,” he says, a bit more warmth this time around. Although he does follow it up with, “Good to see a young girl like you follow her natural path,” and Heather chokes on her wine. Her dad glares at her, a split second that burns into Martha’s mind. 

She is not and has never been a violent person, but she would be lying if she said throwing her drink in his face wouldn’t give her immense pleasure. Nor would it be the first time she thought of such a thing.

“And tell me Martha,” he asks. “Have you had a chance to find a man out there yet?”

“My studies tend to keep me busy,” she replies smoothly. Tomorrow, she and Veronica will laugh themselves sick over this moment.

“Dedication. I like that in a girl. And surely you’ll have plenty of time to find a man.” Martha nods while Mr Macnamara sighs dejectedly, swirling his drink around his glass. “If only some of that dedication would rub off on Heather.”

Next to her, Heather flinches as if a gun had gone off. When her dad goes off to refill his drink, she slides her hand across the couch and strokes the back of Heather’s hand. She watches as she takes another hasty drink, three deep breaths to keep her from breaking down. It’s always a little bit scary, wacthing Heather slip the mask back on in real time. When she smiles demurely at her dad, it’s downright terrifying. 

“Heather didn’t tell you did she?” he goes on. “About what happened at college? The whole waitlist business?”

“She did actually,” Martha replies. Mr Macnamara blinks, a deer caught in headlights, and Martha tries not to look too triumphant. She doesn’t mention that Heather told her before she told her parents, the night of crying in Martha’s room, the rejections from Ivy Leagues and the whispered confession that she was glad. Despite how scared she was at the time, she didn’t have to force herself to an Ivy League that would’ve made her miserable.

“Anway, you seem to be doing okay right now,” Martha adds, looking over at Heather. She allows herself the tiniest smile, a faint rose blush across her face. “And University of Michigan is a great school.”

Mr Macnamara nods, and his mouth opens to say something else. Thankfully, at that exact moment, Heather’s mom appears in the doorway and tells them dinner is ready. Heather’s relief is palpabale as her dad leaves, her body almost doubling over as the tension leaves her. They wait for a few minutes in the living room, her parents’ footsteps getting quieter.

“Well…” Heather begins. “This could be going worse. Right?” Heather lifts her head and looks at her, a pout on her pink lips. Martha pushes her hair away from her face, takes the moment to stroke her cheek with her thumb.

“Absolutely. Your mom even remembered my name this time around.” She squeezes Heather’s cheek between her thumb and forefinger. “Progress.”

Heather, face adorably smushed between her fingers, manages to smile. Even if it’s followed by a worried glance at the doorway.

“Yeah,” she sighs. “Progress.”

Dinner begins fairly okay. They get through the starter without much hassle, Martha answering questions about college and her career plans and making chitchat about the engagement ring business and nodding appropriately at Mrs Macnamara’s bridge club stories. She compliments Mrs Macnamara’s cooking and laughs at Mr Macnamara’s jokes and slips in praises about Heather and so far, it seems to be going okay.

She doesn’t expect it to last. If there is one thing she’s good at, it’s bracing herself for things going south. But she’s also learned to enjoy herself along the way.

As the main course is brought out, Heather’s dad once again turns the conversation to boys.

“Whatever happened to that Ram boy you used to run around with in high school?” he asks. “I keep running into his father in town. Lovely family, that boy has.”

“Uh, I’m not sure where he is now,” Heather says deliately. “Last I heard he went out west somewhere.”

Last Martha heard, some girl on campus was charging him for assault. She takes another spoonful of mashed potatoes and decides not to comment.

“And you never kept in contact with him?” her mom asks. Heather just shakes her head. Mrs Macnamara clicks her tongue and takes another drink. “Shame. You two always looked so nice together.”

“I was just talking to his father about that. A shame you two fell out over such a boyish mistake.”

“Boyish mistake,” Heather echoes. Her voice is hollow, her eyes distant. Martha doesn’t need to guess where her mind is right now. She only heard about that night, first from Veronica and then from Heather herself. She saw the faded bruises, heard the whispers in the hallway. It was enough to make her want to throw Ram off the local bridge. “He assaulted me, Dad.”

Mr Macnamara waves his hand dismissively, shoves another piece of turkey in his mouth.

“I’m sure it was just a game taken too far,” he says. “You always were a bit too sensitive, Heather.”

Heather drops her fork. Her skin has gone white. She looks like she’s about to cry.

“The food really is lovely, Mrs Macnamara.” Martha nudges Heather beneath the table. She glances at her out of the corner of her eye and she gives a quick, tight nod.

“Oh, thank you, dear,” she coos. “Although, the credit really should go to Margaret. It’s such a rarity to get good help these days, isn’t it?”

Martha can just nod and hope her cheeks aren’t as red as they feel. She tugs at the hem of her dress, painfully aware of how cheap it must look in comparison to everything else. The tablecloth is probably worth more than her dress. 

“How is your family celebrating Thanksgiving this year, Martha?” Mr Macnamara asks. “I hate to think you left them alone this year.”

“Oh no,” she says. “My mom’s working today, so we’re celebrating tomorrow.”

“Working?” he asks, not bothering to hide the disgust on his face. Martha bites her tongue, pulls back the anger rising within her. He said ‘working’ like it’s some deadly disease, one you would never mention in polite company. “She’s working on Thanksgiving?”

“Martha’s mom is a nurse, actually.” Heather speaks before Martha can, the power in her voice pushing back against her father like a tiny yellow hurricane. The pressure in Martha’s chest eases.

Thank you she mouths. Heather smiles. 

“I see,” Mr Macnamara says. “And your father?”

Hidden beneath the table, Martha’s hands curl into fists. Her nails poke through her tights and drag across her skin.

“I don’t see him much, sir.” At all is more truthful answer. 

“Well,” he sighs. “That is indeed a pity. It seems that these days the traditional family is hard to come by. Still, I applaud your mother for working. Medical professionals are the backbone of our society afterall. And of course, hard work is the most important thing in life. Next to family, of course.”

“Because you’d know, wouldn’t you?” Heather mutters. 

“What was that Heather?”

“Mom, pass the gravy please?” Across the table, Mr Macnamara narrows his eyes as Heather innocently pours gravy over her food, certain an insubordination happened but unsure what or how. Slowly, he goes back to his food, but not before taking a long drink.

“How’s Victoria doing these days?” Mrs Macnamara asks.

“You mean Veronica?” Heather asks. When her mom nods, Heather continues, “She’s good. We’re hanging out tomorrow actually. The four of us.”

“Four?”

“Veronica’s bringing JD. Her boyfriend.”

“Boyfriend?” her dad echoes. Heather nods. “And how long have they been together?”

“A year.” 

Martha inhales deeply. The room sways like a boat about to capsize. Mr Macnamara’s gaze darkens, his fingers tighten around his glass.

“And she’s the one out in Duke isn’t she?” Heather nods. Her breath comes in swift puffs, although her parents remain oblivious. Her dad just nods slowly. “Long term relationship and an Ivy League school. Amazing things for a young woman to achieve.”

He doesn’t look away from Heather as he says it. His eye bore into her like knives, slicing right down to her bones. Heather is unflinching, even when the tears fill her eyes. Mrs Macnamara refills her glass and offers some to Heather.

Martha wonders if anyone else is finding it hard to breathe. Her instincts tell her to flee, but her love for Heather has her rooted to her chair. Carefully, as if the girl is made of glass, Martha brushes Heather’s knuckles with her fingertips. Stay or go, it’s entirely up to her.

Contrary to Martha’s expectations, Heather bursts out laughing. It starts of low, a rumble of thunder, then gets higher and higher, and Heather’s cheeks are scarlet, and she bangs her fist on the table so hard the cutlery rattles.

“Heather, sweetie, I think we’ll switch you to water now.”

“No. No it’s fine.” Heather then stands, slowly, palms flat against the table. “I thought if I made everything perfect tonight this would be easier. But you two are never going to make this easy. So I might as well say it.”

Martha jumps to her feet. In full view of both her parents, Heather takes Martha’s hand, anchoring herself to the room. Her chest might be rising and falling rapdily, her heart doing somersaults in her ribs, but they stand steady.

“Mom, Daddy, Martha’s my girlfriend,” she announces. “Surprise. I’m a lesbian. We’ve been together since high school. And I wanted to make tonight nice to tell you, but that didn’t work out. So here we are.”

Mrs Macnamara’s mouth falls open slowly, like someone is a winding a key in her. The colour has drained entirely from her face. The fork falls from her hand and clatters against the plate, the noise ricocheting like a bullet was fired.

Minutes pass by in suffocating silence. Then, Mr Macnamara answers with a simple, concise, “No”.

“I’m afraid you can’t lawsuit your way out of this, Daddy.”

“No,” he says again. He looks down at their joined hands as if they presented him with a dead animal and shakes his head. “No!”

“Dad-”

“Heather, sweetie,” her mom interrupts. “I know you and Martha are very, very good friends. But this…” She waves her hand almost maniacly. “This isn’t… you’re not… that.”

“Mother, I can assure you we are.”

“No, Heather, you are just confused!” her mom insists. The words prick at Martha’s skin, but she won’t show it. 

“I agree with your mother.” Mr Macnamara rises to his feet then, standing tall over both of them and Martha feels her resolve begin to waver. Another memory flashes through her mind, a different  angry man and a smaller version of her.

‘No,’ she tells the memory. She is not that small and helpless now.

“Whatever friendship you have with this girl,” her dad goes on. “You’re not one of… them. No-one in this family is.”

“I am. And we’re together. And you’re going to have to deal with it.”

“For fuck’s sake, Heather.” He slams his glass down on the table. A quick, panicked gasp sticks in Martha’s throat. Mr Macnamara looks at her, really looks, probably for the first time the entire evening. Puzzle pieces click together in his head. “She is the reason you left your old friends. The reason you stopped hanging out with the Sweeneys.”

Heather doesn’t say anything. It would fall on deaf ears anyway. Her father sneers at her, pure hatred burning in his eyes. Martha wishes she didn’t understand.

“You’ve spent the last year aimlessly wandering around town and throwing away every plan we made for you for a girl who will work in a daycare!” he shouts.

“At least she’ll actually work!” Heather replies. “All  you do is pay people to sell engagement rings you didn’t design.”

“You will drag this family’s reputation through the mud and why?”

“Because Daddy, I love her, that’s why!”

“Not in my house!”

“Then we won’t be in your house!” she declares. She grabs her glass, drains it and slams it down on the table. The stem splinters. With a sharp tug on her hand, Heather is pulling Martha out of the house, just barely remembering to grab their coats on the way. 

Mr Macnamara is still yelling at Heather as they leave. Mrs Macnamara is quietly sobbing at the table. Just before Heather opens the door, they hear her high-pitched whine, “Is this because we let her do cheerleading?”.

Martha chuckles, but it’s cut short when she looks at Heather. Tears are streaming down her flushed cheeks. When she looks around, she struggles to find the swe she felt when she stepped in. The glitter has faded, and everything looks worn out now. 

Still clutching Heather’s hand, Martha opens the door and leads Heather onto the porch. The door clicks behind them and, despite Mr Macnamara continuing to rant on the other side, it doesn’t open. Heather stares into space, panting like she’s just ran ten miles. Martha stands by her, only looking away to glance occasionally at the door. The shouting steadily winds down and Martha can almost feel the energy of the house eeking out. It’s almost sad to look at; the place that had felt terrifying to Martha at 17 just looks… sad. Dull and sad.

But that doesn’t matter.

“Heather?” Martha asks. “Are you okay?”

Heather sniffles and wipes the tears from her face.

“Is it weird that I am?” She glances over her shoulder at the house. Martha wonders if she’s seeing what she sees. “I wanted to say it.”

“Did you want to say it like that?”

Heather shrugs. White smoke billows from her mouth as she sighs. She shakes her head, blonde curls falling over shoulders. She runs her free hand through it, scrunches up her face.

“I’m not sure,” she confesses. “I don’t know. I think- I want….” Her voice trails off. 

“Do you want to go back to mine?”

A smile bursts onto Heather’s face, sunlight breaking through November clouds.

“Yeah,” she says. “Yeah. Yeah I do.”

Something settles in Martha’s heart then; something that doesn’t quite patch up the discomfort they just dragged themselves through, but cushions it and wraps it up so it hurts less. It makes her feel that, no matter what shit they plough through, they’ll somehow come out on the other side of it in one piece. Hand in hand.

“Come on baby.” Martha wraps her arm around Heather’s shoulders. Heather hums contentedly and Martha-maybe out of affection, maybe as a fuck you to the people inside the house-presses a little kiss to her head. “Let’s go home.”

Neither one mentions how or when Heather is going back to this house. Their relationship is based on getting from one day to the other and it's worked out well so far. It will work out, somehow. Even if it's with spit and a prayer.

(Besides, Martha thinks with an unexpected thrill. Her bed fits two people)

[iturbide]

How old would be like, an actual adult for a manakete? Nowi's "1,000 something" and she seems. Like a child. Tiki's what, like 3,000? She seems like an adult... is it like humans x 100? How does the dragonstone thing work? Are they born with them now or does each generation have to seal their power in stones? Do taguel actually need stones or is that a gameplay mechanic?

At least for me, I tend to interpret dragon ages along the lines of human age x 100 based on what we've seen in most of the Fire Emblem games. Tiki when she meets Marth is somewhere in the neighborhood of 1,100, but she looks like a kid -- at best a very young teenager, more likely a preteen, so 10-11 range by my read. Nowi, similarly, says she's over 1,000 and both looks and acts like a kid, so I struggle to see her as older than a teenager (and a particularly childish one at that). By the time of Awakening, though, Tiki's around 3,000 years old, and is clearly an adult at that point, so that really does seem to line up with the dragon age being two orders of magnitude removed from the human equivalent.

As for the dragonstone thing...that's open to interpretation, I think. I know some people interpret them as something dragons create themselves (@anankos has a fun bit in one of their old Fates fics that goes into it), but in Awakening it's frustrating because dragonstones are sold and they come in multiple flavors. Awakening why do you do this to me.

So I've tentatively adopted a concept where dragons (and taguel) use a specific type of stone as a form of energy storage: specific stones have a crystal matrix able to receive magical energy, and by taking advantage of this specific resonance, dragons can siphon their power into the stone in their possession and adopt a human guise; if they need to transform, they pull the energy back out to resume their original form.

Of course, I'm damned either way because Awakening's mechanics make no sense and a dragon/taguel can't transform without a stone, leaving them trapped in a human guise -- which frankly makes no sense: if the stone breaks, the power can't go anywhere but back where it came from, so logically they should be stuck in beast form rather than the other way around. So I picked my battles and decided that when I work with dragons and taguel, if they don't have a stone, they don't look human. (On a related note note, if a dragon or taguel loses their stone but it doesn't break, they'll be stuck in human form for a while but eventually revert back to dragon form if they don't find it because eventually their energy levels are going to replenish naturally and they'll transform back whether they like it or not. Nowi has this problem...a lot.)

[shadow-trickster]

Captain N: Adventures in Smash

Chapter 7

Melody is pacing back and forth in the training room, looking a little worried. Pit noticed this and came up to her.

Pit: Hey Melody, what’s wrong?

Melody: Hi Pit. It’s just that I have a bit of a problem…

Pit: Problem?

Wren: Her birthday is coming up.

Pit and Melody turned to Wren.

Pit: Birthday?

Melody: Yes, that’s the problem! I wanted to celebrate it with everyone here but I also wanted to keep the cyber world a secret from my mom.

Pit: Oh… Well I’m not sure about the mom part, but I could help you out with the birthday part. I could send out invitations and reminders to everyone in the smash house. Oh, maybe some other stuff like music and food-

Melody: Okay, Pit, thanks for the suggestions. I might even give you some ideas I want for my party after training.

Pit: You’re welcome, Melody!

Pit walked to Megaman who just finished target practice, telling him about his trainee’s birthday coming soon. Melody sighed turning back to Wren.

Melody: Well I got one issue out of the way, now for the second one.

Wren: Any ideas Mel?

Melody: Would Chester mind if we celebrate my birthday at his place? As a sort of ruse to my mom to keep cyber world a secret, I mean.

Chester: Sure, but I’ll tell my folks that it’s a small party and that we’re just playing some games.

Melody: Oh hey Chester, thanks for that man.

Wren: That’s nice and all, but what about your sister and other friend?

Chester: They’ll be fine. I’m sure Samuel, mom and dad won’t mind. Maybe Irene would give Melody a present.

Wren: That’s great. Anyways, break is over so we should go back to our spots. Little Mac and his trainer is waiting for me, so see you two when the sun sets.

And with that, they returned back to their posts. Melody is continuing training with Pit and Megaman with her aim and powers, along with some small talk on the way. Chester is currently sword fighting with Marth, with the Prince giving some corrections in the way. Wren is currently training with Little Mac and Doc Louis, both having done some exercises like jumping jacks and pull ups and taking turns punching the sandbag.

Both teens decided to take a breather. Little Mac, now having the opportunity, turned and spoke to Wren.

Little Mac: So, I heard about the birthday party you’re planning for Melody.

Wren: Really? Did you already heard that conversation?

Little Mac: Yeah. It seems like Pit is pretty excited about it, which I don’t blame him for it. Besides, I know a person who has some pretty good taste in music. He’ll be more than happy to help with that party.

Wren: That’s nice.

Little Mac: If Doc allows us, we should go to the WVBA and meet the boxers there. They’re pretty interesting themselves. I’ll ask him later.

Wren hummed. Meeting the WVBA boxers sounds like a fun idea to her, even if she has to train with Ryu and Ken tomorrow. Once training is over, Pit spoke to Melody on what she wanted on her birthday.

Pit: So you wanted to celebrate your birthday with us. How do you want it to go?

Melody: Hmm… We need some good music and food. Oh! For the cake it’s gonna be a red velvet cake that’s shaped like an armadillo. If you cut it, it looks like it’s bleeding! And don’t forget about the candles, I feel like only the numbered ones work best.

Pit: Got it. I’ll send your requests to Isabelle. Not sure how I’d go with the armadillo cake knowing how Viridi would feel about it, but I digress. Also about the candles: How old are you gonna turn anyway?

Melody: 17

Pit: 17?!

Melody: Yeah, I’m turning 17 soon. I’m a straight up summer baby with parents who had me fairly young… well only one now…

Pit: R-right-uh-a-anyways I’ll be sending your birthday requests to Isabelle on the way. See you tomorrow. Also you want something for your birthday?

Melody: Hmm… I don’t know, maybe some new gadgets or something. I may need to try using my goggles to see how they worked. Maybe sometime.

Pit: Alright, good to know. Bye Mel!

Melody: See ya Pit!

A day has passed. Isabelle already got the message from Pit, commissioning villagers in helping to get and create the much needed things for the party. At the same time, Doc Louis decided to allow Wren to visit the WVBA on the behest of Little Mac. Both of the teens being very excited.

Doc Louis: You two excited?

Wren: Heck yeah! I wanted to know what it’s like. I’ve heard the boxers there are pretty colorful, in terms of personality of course.

Little Mac: I’m sure you’ll like it. I knew some of them well enough, even one of them is a good friend of mine.

Wren: Nice. Also, how can we go to New York? It seems far away from here.

Little Mac: Don’t worry, this house is between New York and Monsteropolis so all we have to do is travel by car.

Wren: By Monsteropolis, you mean-

Little Mac: Yep! The city where Megaman lives. Oh hey, seems like Doc called an uber. Let’s go Wren!

As all three went to the uber, they all went off to where New York City is. Wren became fascinated by the entire city, especially with the state.

Wren: I’ve always seen how New York is depicted in cartoons that I used to watch, even getting some souvenirs when my mom went to New York when I was 15. I kind of wished I could go to here, so being here is like a dream come true. I mean look at these structures, they’re so big!

Doc Louis: That’s New York for you. You’ll be getting used to it once you view more of the cities. *laughs* In fact, both New York and Monsteropolis have large structures.

Little Mac: There’s a lot of stuff New York City has in store. There’s a ton of food, festivals, markets, restaurants, you name it.

Wren: Huh, interesting. We have something similar to that in California, too. It’s just that they’re a little different to New York City.

Little Mac: You’re from California?

Wren: Yeah, aren’t my friends and I Californians? Then again I haven’t told you or anyone else much about us considering, well, a ton of stuff has happened and some training too.

Little Mac: Ah I see. We do have a Californian in the WVBA, but he’s pretty pompous.

The car has stopped, letting the three leave. They’ve entered the subway station, already finding their seats, albeit a little cramped.

Wren: I kinda forgot that there’s subways in New York. Especially with the overcrowding of them.

Once they made it to their stop, they finally exited. To Wren, it feels like freedom to have her own space back after some overcrowding of the subways. They do tend to feel a little claustrophobic to her.

They walked on until they made it to the WVBA and entered the building.

[jamiebamberdaily]

A Year in Review : Jamie's 2023

Welcome to our look back on Jamie’s 2023! It’s been a tough year for the entertainment industry in general, with the SAG-AFTRA strike taking place from July all the way through to November, and we know that this impacted Jamie as he chose to take a stand along with many of his other acting peers. Yet despite this, Jamie has accomplished a lot in this year & it’s time to look back at some of the highlights!

February saw the release of Beyond Paradise on BBC1. Jamie played Archie Hughes, an ex flame of Martha’s who joined forces with her in getting her new business in Shipton Abbott up and running. Unfortunately for Archie, Martha had moved back to Shipton Abbott with her fiance, Humphrey and the two didn’t quite see eye to eye. This was such a fun role for Jamie and a complete joy to watch.

April was an exciting month which saw Jamie celebrating his 50th birthday and as always we marked the occasion with a birthday video which many of you took part in! He also travelled over to Cannes to premiere Cannes Confidential at  the 6th Canneseries Festival alongside co-stars Lucie Lucas and Tamara Marthe.

May saw Jamie treading the boards once again in Uncle Glen’s Menagerie at the Arcola Theatre which we were lucky enough to go and watch. Such an incredible evening of ad-lib comedy and superb acting from an incredible group of actors and comedians. As ever we want to thank Jamie for his time that he spent chatting with us before and after the show too.

In June finally came the UK release of Cannes Confidential on Acorn TV and we LOVED Harry King from the moment we met him. Such a fun, easy watching show and such a complex character in which Jamie got to show off all sides of his talent, from comedy through to some really beautiful emotional moments, especially in scenes with his on-screen daughter Emilie who was played by his real life daughter Ava in a brilliant debut performance. June also saw the release of Trader over in Russia - a project which Jamie filmed alongside his amazing wife Kerry all the way back in 2019! And of course, we cannot forget the epic BSG reunion which took place when Jamie headed over to Phoenix Fan Fusion. #SoSayWeAll

July brought some incredible news as Jamie announced that he was taking part in Kenny Logan’s RWC Challenge - an epic 700 mile cycle & walking challenge from Edinburgh to Paris, all to raise money for the My Name’5 Doddie Foundation. Throughout July all the way through to October when the challenge took place, Jamie was training hard to ensure that he was ready for the mammoth challenge ahead.

August saw the release of Who Is Erin Carter? on Netflix - a twisty, fast paced thriller from the mind of Strike Back writer, Jack Lothian. Jamie played DI Jim Armstrong, a mysterious figure from Erin’s past. Though he was only in two episodes. We LOVED this character and with the series being left open ended, we really hope we get to see more of Jim in the future.

In September, Jamie attended the National Television Awards alongside his Beyond Paradise cast mates as the show was nominated for Best New Drama (which sadly it didn’t win).

And onto October which was such an important month for Jamie as all the training paid off when he & so many other incredible people including Kenny & Gabby Logan, Ally McCoist, Jason Fox and Jimmy Nesbitt started their gruelling trek on bike and foot from Murrayfield Stadium in Edinburgh to the Stade de France in Paris. This challenge was hugely life changing for the whole team (as well as a whole lot of fun!) and they smashed their target of raising £555,555 between them for the My Name’5 Doddie Foundation. We were honoured to be able to cheer them all on for a small part of this journey when we saw them off in York on day 3 and welcomed them back as they ended the day at the beautiful Belvoir Castle. To top off an incredible achievement, Jamie was also asked to become an ambassador for the foundation - a role we know that he will embody so well.

October also saw Jamie joining Cameo, giving fans the opportunity to get a personalised video message from him (which we of course took advantage of also!) and to round off the month, Cannes Confidential aired on French TV, renamed  Cannes Police Criminalle, with the entire show having been dubbed into French by the original cast.

November saw Jamie as a guest on fellow RWC Challenge team mate Archie Curzon’s podcast, The Rig Biz Pod, which was a brilliantly funny interview.

And to round the year off, December gave us announcements of not one but two new projects to look forward to in 2024! Firstly, Heavyweight, starring and produced by Jamie’s Marcella co-star Nicholas Pinnock, will be a gritty London drama focusing on the mental state of a boxer and his cornermen backstage before the fight as the clock ticks down. 

With the strike finally over, Jamie travelled to Bulgaria to film Strangers alongside Sienna Guillory, Emmett J Scanlan and Jon Voight. The project is described as an action thriller and will be released in 2024 on Paramount Plus.

As well as these two exciting announcements, AKA Blackbird, the brainchild of BSG alumni James Callis was finally released as an audiobook! With so many former BSG stars taking part in it, including Jamie and Kerry, it’s definitely not one to be missed.

And there you have it! Despite some difficult times, Jamie really did achieve a lot this year and with 2 projects already to look forward to, we can’t wait to see what else 2024 has in store.

As ever, we would like to thank you for all the support of our page over this past year and wish you all a very happy new year!

Jemma and Sophie. xx

[s0ckh3adstudios]

How would clover interact with the UTB cast? I ask both because the “Undertale Yellow but Blue” mod swaps them with Flo, and just in general! I want to know how they interact with the monsters their sibling met!

Oooh!! Fun question.

I feel like despite Ernest's strangeness, Clover would probably pull their usual Cloverness and befriend him. They'd be a little weirded out at first but, unlike Flo, I think if it was Clover who found him instead they'd be able to convince him to come out of hiding and to feel less paranoid over his conspiracies!

I don't know what much to say about Clover and Iris because I just feel like that's an automatic get-along.

Clover and Alexander I think would actually be really funny and cute as a duo??? He is giving them so many piggy-back rides and they are acting out cowboy scenarios. They are bound to have a good time

I think it's obvious by now that if Clover's a human who enters his caves Marth isn't going to like Clover LMAO

However.... Clover is a lot different than Flo. I think after some time and Clover's different attitude, he could... TOLERATE them. :]

[phoenixkaptain]

And another one (Marth and Tiki drabble), also on Ao3

“Mar-Mar,” Tiki mumbled.

“Tiki,” he replied, smiling. “It’s wonderful to see you, again.”

Tiki nodded. She sat on the edge of his bed, careful not to press too close to him. Humans were always so fragile, but they were even more fragile when they were close to dying.

Marth was thin and gaunt. His hair was thin. His eyesight had gotten poor. He looked a single light breeze away from scattering into the wind like dandelion fluff. Tiki had never seen him so weak before.

He reached out his hand and she took it. She still looked the same, no matter how much time passed, and it was obvious in their hands. Hers were still so small and soft. His were small and bony and frail. Tiki cradled the hand offered to her in her hands like a bird. Marth chuckled.

“I’m not going to break,” he told her, his voice so soft.

“I don’t want to risk it,” she replied.

Marth ran a shaky thumb over her fingers. His hands were smaller than they once were, but still bigger than her own.

“Aren’t you scared?” Tiki mumbled.

“No,” he replied. “Not at all.”

She frowned, but he just laughed.

“I’m going to die,” he admitted casually. “This has always been my fate. To do so while laying in bed, after years of peace, sets my mind at ease. I will not be dying to an arrow or a lance. I find it to be a nice change of pace. The only threat to my life is my own mortality. I am more than pleased to be able to die peacefully.”

“I don’t want you to die,” Tiki sniffled. “I’ve dreaded this day for years, Mar-Mar. What will I do if you aren’t with me?”

“You’re strong,” Marth said. “You can do whatever you like. You don’t need me to be there.”

“But I want you to be there,” she stated.

Her tears fell on the back of his hand. She sniffed and tried to blink the tears away, but they came no matter what she did.

“Oh, Tiki,” he sighed, as fond as he had always been. “I cannot live forever. Nor do I wish to live forever.”

She nodded. He’d always been open about his own mortality. No matter that Tiki viewed him as godlike and similar to Naga herself, Marth was still a mortal and seemed to even enjoy being one.

“But,” he continued, smiling, “if given the chance to spend a thousand years more at your side, I would take it. I don’t want you to cry for me, Tiki.”

“I can’t help it,” she insisted. “I’m going to miss you.”

He cupped her face with a hand. The touch was light and gentle. His touch had always been so. Even knowing that she was a manakete and not so easily injured, he still touched her gently, as though cautious of hurting her.

“I will miss you too,” he said simply. “You are my dear friend, Tiki. Can you take some peace knowing that being able to see you, in my final days, has brought me great joy? I wondered if you would sleep through my passing altogether.”

“I almost did,” she admitted. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. You’re here, and that’s all that matters.”

His smile was still as bright as the sun, warming her even as his own hand remained colder in her palms.

“I miss those who passed before me,” Marth said quietly. “I’m going to see them again, after many years apart.”

“You won’t get lonely without me?” Tiki asked.

“I will miss you, Tiki,” he sighed. “And I will look forward to you joining us. I will want to hear all about the life you lead. I even look forward to hearing the boring parts.”

“Yes,” Tiki agreed. “I’ll live the most boringest life imaginable and tell you all about it!”

“Nothing would make me happier,” Marth admitted. “Than your having an uneventful life. I hope that you will make more friends-“

“I’ll make friends with everyone!” she promised.

“-and that you will not have to suffer through more war and turmoil,” he concluded.

“My life will be as boring as your books,” she swore.

He laughed, light and airy and pleased. She pressed her face into his hand and couldn’t help but laugh along.

“Take your time,” he ordered. “Live your life. I wish you more happiness than you can stand.”

Tiki’s tears refused to stop, even as she promised to listen to him. When he passed, only a week or so later, Tiki cried until there were no tears left, then cried a bit more. There was a pain in her chest, reminiscent of her heart being torn out. Already, only days after he was gone, she missed him more than she could stand.