#me watching fe3h scenes like

[whumperofworlds]

*Watches a scene that has whumpy potential*

So how do I make this worse.

[shroomthedecayedfox]

So, I know a majority of you guys follow me for my art, but I also kinda wanna post some rambles about my interests and the like (a majority being about FE3H). This is me wanting to be a little unhinged on my dash. I'm still gonna be posting art (got stuff already cooking), but if you want to watch me go insane over Byleth's heartbeat, keep reading.

So, as someone who has been listening to the FE3H soundtrack for the past few months there's this really subtle narrative moment that's happening in the music during the scene where Byleth’s heart starts to beat for the first time.

What I mean by this is when you go back and you listen to the soundtrack or the music of the game, you're going to start to notice the heartbeat motif. 

The music of FE3H has a lot of distinct leitmotifs throughout the score. Most of them are tied to just locations or themes throughout the game, but then there’s the characters. Now, I don’t know if Dimitri or Claude have leitmotifs themselves (Although, feel free to correct me if I’m wrong), but I’m fairly certain their routes do. However, none of it comes close to how distinct and prolific Rhea and Edelgard’s leitmotifs are.

Rhea’s leitmotif can be understood as the “Song of the Nabateans”; the lullaby she sings during the winter ball when you encounter her wandering the entrance hall. That progression of chords acts as a musical shorthand or stand-in for Rhea within the soundtrack of the game. It is tied to Rhea/Seiros or the nabateans in general. You hear it again during “Funeral of Flowers”. It’s distinct and recognizable, but then there’s Edelgard’s.

Which is just EVERYWHERE. The progression of chords that follows “Reach for my hand…” in “Edge of Dawn '' makes its way into a LOT- and I mean a LOT- of the music. From the more obvious tracks of “The Apex of the World” and “Three Houses Main Theme”, to subtler ones like, “Unfulfilled” and “Life at Garreg Mach Monastery”.  The motif is everywhere and employed at every possible moment. Like once you hear it, it becomes impossible to not notice its presence. 

But then there’s Byleth.

Now, Byleth doesn’t have a leitmotif in the traditional sense. They don’t really have a distinct progression of chords symbolizing them within the music, but they do have a distinct sound: the heartbeat. The heartbeat acts as a kind of throughline for them within the composition of the music. It’s almost like a solo instrument. Wherein, instead of a progression of chords symbolizing the whole of a character, it’s the musical sound and presence of one distinct instrument. 

It’s kinda acting like the percussion section of an orchestra, but is only included within the composition in regards to Byleth. And it’s similar in nature to Edelgard’s, where once you start noticing, you realize it’s everywhere. But it’s hard to catch because it’s often buried so low in the mix. In the moments it’s not though, it’s very difficult to ignore.

So it's pretty buck wild that the scene where Byleth’s heart actually starts to beat, the song that plays doesn't contain the heartbeat motif. 

“A World for Humanity” is the song that plays during that final cutscene of Crimson Flower and the heartbeat motif is nowhere to be seen. Which is pretty interesting because the player would have literally just heard it not two minutes ago in the context of the game. The heartbeat motif shows up in “The Apex of the World”, CF’s final boss theme. The player would have been listening to it as they were finishing the final chapter of the game. So musically, “A World for Humanity” follows “The Apex of the World”. Something happens where the percussion of the heartbeat motif vanishes between the two tracks. And after this moment, the rest of CF’s music doesn’t contain the heartbeat motif.

In-text, we know what caused that vanishing: Byleth’s heart actually starts to beat where it hadn’t for the entirety of their lives, but the narrative implications of that transition just fits so well with the overarching theme of CF. 

Now, there’s a lot to be said about the individual themes connected to each of the different routes within the game and for the most part, I’ve seen a lot of different takes regarding CF’s major theme as “the cost of one’s ideals”. Which, I’m not saying it isn’t a part of that route. It very much is, but what I am saying is that that theme is not distinctly tied to just CF. I’d argue it’s present throughout the entirety of the game and its four routes. It exists, across the board, within the stories the game is trying to tell.

For me, CF feels far more invested in the ideas of autonomy, freewill, humanity, and choice. That the overarching theme is aligned with the freedom to be your own individual and the right to make your own choices based on that freedom. The ethos of Edelgard’s final speech is the right for humanity to choose its own path. (I can explain all of this in another text post: trust me I want to talk about Edelgard’s final speech.)

But, this is how I largely interpret CF: it’s that strong emphasis of humanity’s freedom and it’s no surprise how Byleth’s heartbeat ties into that.

As far as I’m aware, Byleth’s heartbeat situation isn’t addressed in the other three routes. It’s set up in White Clouds and promptly abandoned. (which is a staple of the game; that’s just how it rolls. You’re not going to get everything on your first time through.) It’s loosely alluded to, but there’s no real pay-off outside of CF. You can outright tell Dorothea Byleth’s heart doesn’t beat, but she won’t believe you. When it comes to Claude or Rhea, you learn more about the nature of Byleth’s birth rather than address the nature of their heart. Given how strongly it is emphasized in Jeralt’s journal, the game wants you to pay attention to it.

For CF, the heartbeat becomes a symbol of Byleth’s humanity. At the very beginning of the game, they’re considered a demon by the people around them and the mercenaries within Jeralt’s company. In the eyes of the church, they’re seen as a figurehead or the second-coming of Seiros/Sothis. (Read that section in the Book of Seiros and tell me that’s not what the devs were trying to do). They rarely get to just be Byleth outside of whatever house you pick. A lot of Byleth’s interactions and relationships with other characters centers on the internal conflict of Byleth being understood as themselves. With CF it’s double because of all of the narrative implications Edelgard brings. All of those details and traits that characterize Byleth often get buried or go unnoticed.

So, what does this mean in the context of the music? “A World for Humanity” is musically reflecting the journey Byleth would’ve undergone during the course of CF. The heartbeat motif is no longer buried within the composition of the music, it’s free to be its own distinct sound. Which brings me to a detail I’ve been neglecting to mention up until this point: Edelgard is the first person to HEAR Byleth’s heartbeat.

During this scene, the heartbeat motif shifts from a non diegetic percussion to an in-universe diegetic sound. It breaks free from the composition of the music and becomes real. It’s no longer just symbolic of Byleth, it very much is Byleth. And what is the immediate reaction to that in-universe shift? 

Edelgard starts crying for the first time in who knows how many years out of joy. Byleth comes-to listening to her basically be the happiest she’s ever been because Byleth is alive. Their hair shifts back to its original color and they open their eyes to show they’re once again blue. The end card further adds to this transition, explaining that Byleth has lost their connection with the progenitor god’s powers. They’re just human and the music, alongside the characters, celebrates that humanity. 

And I find that to be really neat.

[jesskasb]

9 people you'd like to get to know better

heyyy thank you so much @nitw for the tag 🫶 i love to do these

three ships: sylvix fe3h (been crazy since 2019), metamy sth (mostly platonically but when it hits it hits), aaaaand. JUNEPEI 999 (they are yuri to me).

first ship ever: i was like 9 or 10 years old when this happened ok i obviously dont support shipping real people. my first ""ship"" were youtubers gona89 and sarinha ... the youtuber shipping craze hit the hispanic minecraft scene late and in a more lighthearted way so it was mostly shits and giggles but still

last song: El Gran Varón by Willie Colón !! was showing it to my roommate yesterday night while telling her my tragic backstory . #transgender

last movie: tmnt mutant mayhem ... i miss the turtles so bad

currently watching: penny snapcube vods, jacksepticeye, and some new smosh stuff. if youtube doesnt count ig ive been watching sonic x every once in a while!

currently reading: finishing up "the left hand of darkness" by ursula le guin for my scifi class 👍 very interesting stuff

currently consuming: banana 🍌

currently craving: this incredibly delicious chicken nugget sandwich im making myself

tagging: @moonpiesarah @mystic-dahlia @vincentspork @giselles-dumping-hat @rootbeerfloats @business-cannibal @rottingrobin @meteorherd and YOU dear reader . feel free to do this if you guys want !

[notesappwitch]

fe3h fic masterpost

omg i cannot believe we are celebrating the FIFTH anniversary of fe3h. the passage of time is Crazy

to honor the fandom that actually made me start writing seriously, i thought i'd put all my fe3h fics in one spot so you can revisit them or perhaps find them for the first time! these are in no particular order but my favs ARE at the top ;) (also all fics are explicit jsyk)

the lion pulls his own teeth out so you can love him

Dimitri/Felix/Sylvain; 14,983 words; explicit A series of scenes set over the course of the Blue Lions route, following Dimitri's fall to madness and the phases of his, Felix, and Sylvain's relationship.

no angels could beckon me back and it's hotter than hell where i'm at

Ingrid/Annette/Mercedes; 5,287 words; explicit Ingrid lacks experience, and Annette and Mercedes have just the type she needs.

when i'm down on my knees you're how i pray

Hilda/Marrianne; 7,822 words; explicit Hilda gets gravely wounded and stranded in a battle; Marianne is there to help her.

and the day that we watch the death of the sun

F!Byleth/Dimitri; 2,460 words; explicit Byleth is beyond thrilled that Dimitri has come back to himself, but there's still a part of her that misses when she'd first found him and he was still a little feral.

Riding Rank S

Dimitri/Claude; 2996 words; explicit Dimitri was visiting the eyrie on routine, kingly duties and not to watch for one flight-harness wearing wyvern rider in particular.

i'm drinking poison and expecting you to die

Dorothea/Edelgard; 7,208 words; explicit Listening to the Imperial Empress dole out commands was no longer of interest to Dorothea, but helping Edelgard unwind after delivering them was.

blood on my shirt, heart in my hand

Sylvain/Felix; 5,012 words; explicit Felix and Sylvain go out to the seclusion of the woods for the full moon. They're going to need it. (Vampire/Werewolf AU)

Pillow Princess

Linhardt/Caspar; 5,602 words; explicit Caspar asks, "Is it right to treat a princess so roughly?"

boar, beast, and other names of endearment

Dimitri/Felix; 3,109 words; explicit Dimitri didn't like being insulted by one of his longest friends. ...Right?

Unused Lipstick

Sylvain/Felix; 3,032; explicit Felix returns something that Sylvain has lost.

the funniest part about going thru my fics in chronological order is you can literally see where i decided all of my fics were going to have song lyric titles forever permanently

i hope you decide to check something out off this list! i know im going to go through my bookmarks and reread some favs lol

if you like any of these, i also write bg3 and stranger things you might enjoy <3 (theyre better, bc they're way more recent)

[lumeha]

@furtiveseal no derailment at all but making a new post because I Can :D

Joker : I like him ! He's a fun silent protag, and as always, I do think the Persona games are good at having silent protags having a lot of personality. I like how we get to know a lot of Joker's personality through hobbies we can have him have (watching movies and playing games, cooking), the fact that he does get into Shenanigans outside of the main plot (... the whole Yusuke social link, like, Sir), that he has some really strong morals from the start, etc.

Morgana : I, hm, really didn't like Morgana. I'm. One of the problem being that I genuinely think they sorta did his existential crisis arc much better writing wise with Teddie in P4. /o/ \o\ /o/

Ryuji : (carries him above my head) I Love Him So Fucking Much He's The Best. Didn't expect him to be my favourite but. He is. He deserves better. I wish the comedy of the game didn't rely so much on him getting the short end of the stick. I also wish the game was consistent regarding his leg injury because damn the game isn't consistent with the leg injury. But I Love Him. (also very fond of his relation with Mishima and I ship them but I'm mostly saying this because I am in fact vindicated by the fact that he does say that his friendship with Mishima is meaningful to him in the 3rd semester and I am very glad okay they have some nice scenes together) (also I have feelings about him as the Chariot it's a great pick)

Ann : I wish most of her stuff wasn't frontloaded in the first Palace, and I am glad she has another spotlight time in Strikers. I really like Ann ! She's a great character ! I think there's a whole tension over how the game treats her character and her story over beign sexualised that is, let's just say, quite obviously not well done, but as a character, she is just. so delightful. She's a great friend, she's a fun girl, I love her determination and her compassion at the same time :3c

Yusuke : hell yeah !! hell yeah. I love the boy. He's such a weirdo (affectionate) another one who gets another turn in the spotlight in Strikers and it does work super well for him too. He's definitely a character I got to appreciate more the more I got to see him in game, and I appreciate that there's a sort of delighted weirdness about him that is just... he's just like that and that's all, it's good, I appreciate it.

Makoto : my least favourite thief, because she just... doesn't... feel like she belongs in the group. I'm genuinely thinking her sister has a bigger "becoming the rebel" moment than her, despite being older and not a teen which is part of the theme of that game ? Didn't help that she is not doing herself a favour in Strikers. Also the way she's set up in the game was a little, uh, too "look at how COOL and GREAT Makoto is !!" by putting down the other characters which was just a little grating to me so that probably didn't help a lot (the ultimate irony being that she is voiced by Cherami Leigh AND represents the High Priestess, much like my absolute queen favourite character Rhea FE3H)

Futaba : actually grew on me because that's the one character that I swear to the gods Strikers did an horrible job with (can we stop with hot springs scenes thanks Atlus), and I played Strikers first. But her relationship with Sojiro is fantastic, I think her palace was legitimately my favourite to go through story wise (maybe because it did have echoes of P4 dungeons, I just think it did Something with it at least), and I like that it doesn't get... smoothly easier for her

Haru : she deserves sO MUCH BETTER than what the game gives her. I love her. I really love her. But I think the game writing doesn't allow her as much space as she could and should have. What we see of her relationship with her father and her feelings about his death, about the memories of her grandfather and how she wants to carry legacy of everything her family is, and how she's so genuine, I think she's great. Also she has an axe. Who doesn't like that. OH and she does get an additional arc in Strikers too !! and it's good !! I really liked it !!! I liked it because it shows her interacting from someone she knew as a kid and who she thought a lot of positive things about and idk it worked super well for me

Sumi : she's. she's so badly integrated pre-3rd semester. But I think her story is compelling !! I like her 3rd semester arc !! She's just really badly integrated into the story, in a way that Marukichi is weirdly not. Which kind of does her a disservice. But what a goddamn grim story she has.

Bonus Round Zenkichi : I love cop dad a whole fucking lot, and not JUST because he's an old man okay :/// ... and NOT JUST because his Persona is Valjean :////// .... no but he's fun. I like the way he interacts with the Thieves in general, his relation with his daughter being a red thread of his arc AND a good echo to the overall themes of the game he's in regarding actions and inactions. I think Strikers does a good job at adding him to the team, also he has a fun interaction with Sae :3c which was fun.

[resident-cake-anon]

hi luna !! do u have any ideas/info abt golden petals in other aus, like modern aus? 🤔 id love to hear abt them!!

HIHI CLARA!! I HAVE SO MANY IDEAS <33 this ended up being a really long post im sorry.. im a professional yapper

MODERN/COLLEGE AU

❦. i see them as being college kids w their academy selves

❦. catalina is always really pushing herself in her studies, maybe she would even be double majored so she ends up doing LONG study sessions in the library

❦. claude is there to check up on her though ofc, ryan put the idea in my head that he would come see her in the library between classes to give her food and a kiss and it rotates in my mind CONSTANTLY

❦. claude’s always posting cati on his socials, ppl are kind of sick of it but they’re too cute for them to say anything

❦. BUILD LEGO FLOWER SETS TOGETHER.. not a doubt in my mind that they do that as a sleepover activity while watching a movie they take an hour to decide on

❦. i see claude as being involved in a lot of clubs maybe a leader of one (my gut says chess) and catalina always makes time in her busy schedule to show up at their events to support him!!

❦. they go on dates to the closest boba shop, especially when cati needs a break from her study sessions

❦. catalina gets the same drink every time while claude always tries something new (he lets catalina have a sip hoping she can widen her palette) + he gets a snack that they can share

❦. catalina insists that she pays but claude always seems to trick her into letting him do it, she always feels guilty but claude doesn’t care, he has the money to spend

TANGLED AU

❦. rapunzel and flynn fit these two SO much there’s a reason why i see the light is on the golden petals playlist

❦. catalina basically lives the rapunzel story in fe3h, basically locked away in the monastery unable to leave all that much and wanting to explore the world

❦. also rapunzel being born from a flower??? yea. iconic. and so catalina coded..

❦. the power to heal, all the flowers in her braid, her generally excitable nature, the overwhelming GUILT of leaving home idk so much lines up

❦. also flynn rider is literally the blueprint that defines all f/os i have/will have in the future.. i have a type and it is DEEP-SEATED in my love for flynn rider

❦. fake aliases, rouge-ish but charming personality, being seen as an outsider or weak as a child and turning to putting up fences as a defense mechanism??? sign me up apparently,,

❦. but most of all i think the way the two’s relationship develops in the movie is so perfect and reflects how golden petals would grow closer, learning to trust each other and eventually willing to sacrifice themselves for the other

WONDERLAND AU

❦. IVE WANTED TO MAKE CONTENT FOR THEM FOR SO LONG..

❦. i love alice in wonderland so much and golden petals fits into the story pretty well too!!

❦. catalina is so similar to alice aaa her imagining up a whole world like wonderland bc the rules and regulations of sophisticated society bore her is just so fitting

❦. in this au ofc alice wouldn’t be a child i could definitely see catalina in wonderland as her academy self bc she uses escapism as a coping mechanism sm

❦. also catalina and the scene of alice singing w the flowers… love it sm

❦. in wonderland, catalina would then meet claude as the cheshire cat!! i think he would be more helpful than the original cheshire cat but still mischievous in his own way

❦. i think he would often mess w the others they find along their travels in wonderland to get a laugh out of cati, pulling a prank on lorenz as the mad hatter always seems to do the trick

❦. at the end of their story, i believe catalina would be woken up by her classmate, khalid, ig she dozed off during class…

SLEEPING BEAUTY AU

❦. THE SLEEPING BEAUTY AU.. RULER OF MY HEART…..

❦. this au exists only bc im an actual sicko over sleeping beauty not bc i think their roles fit, this one is just for ME

❦. i actually made sleeping beauty au art before golden petals.. was called golden petals so the love runs deep

❦. bucket assigned the three good fairies to hilda, heather, and marianne and who am i to disagree!! it think they’re quite perfect actually hehe

❦. instead of them being aunts to briar rose they would more likely be like older cousins

❦. catalina as briar rose would definitely want to explore outside the woodcutter’s cottage and the forest and so meeting claude was sort of the perfect gateway!!

❦. claude as prince philip is so nice too.. i wholeheartedly believe that he would throw away his royal title to run away to be w this girl he met in the woods over someone he’s been betrothed to since birth.. it makes sense to me

❦. also white wyvern -> white horse that he bickers with.. love it

TY FOR THE ASK CLARA I <3 YOU AND IM SORRY

[tea-cat-arts]

(Disclaimer: spoilers and a vent post)

Man, Kevin really could’ve been another Dimitri if Mihoyo didn’t hate him (please listen to these clips and try and convince me otherwise. There are major Fe3h spoilers in them though so proceed with caution).

There’s just something so satisfying about watching a kind hearted, loving character go through hell, do some genuinely bad things, believe they’d become a monster who deserves to die, only to come back from all that with the help of their friends/support system, and then offer that same kindness to their enemies oh hey what do you know- I’m also a Sayaka Miki fan. Clearly I don’t have a favorite type of character

I think Kevin had all the makings to be this type of character if they actually acknowledged his loving side and his humanity in dialogue more often and actually allowed him the chance to actually bounce back. Like, his humanity is absolutely shown in game- choosing to save Su and letting himself fall into the sea of quanta in the second key manga, him repeatedly reliving Sakura’s death out of guilt in his intro arc, him being willing to risk everything to get sim Elysia back, him building a sanctuary for Fu Hua so she could stay safe during project stigma, ect- but the dialogue almost always goes back to “oh he’s just doing this for Dr. MEI. He doesn’t care about anything else.” Every time those pieces of dialogue come up, I just think of this scene in Glee where the cheerleading coach has a kid squeeze a tube of toothpaste into his hand, told him to then put it back in the tube, and when he said he can’t she said “exactly.” Mihoyo you’ve already dedicated large portions of time showing us Kevin as a person, no amount of monologuing is gonna convince me he’s actually a one dimensional villain now.

I also just think simp Kevin is just… a less interesting character. He’s still easy to sympathize with, but he’s got nothing on the character who did love his world (read: his friends and family) incredibly deeply and grew increasingly desperate to save the few he had left as they kept dying.

I’d also argue that making Kevin the main, irredeemable villain muddies the central theme of Honkai. They’re supposed to be saving the world with love, but the guy who acted entirely out of love (this is true for even the Dr. MEI simp version of Kevin) is irredeemable and has to die? Why? We’ve already been shown that he can be reasoned with (both in his interactions with Otto and in the Second Key Manga), and you’re really gonna tell me that he wouldn’t back down immediately if he found out Su’s plan actually worked? Hell, Kevin’s even admitted to hating project stigma during the current arc. What reason does he have to go through with it anymore??? I feel like the fourth wall break also further reinforces the idea of love not being enough since it turns it into the players who saved the world, not the characters

Sorry to keep rambling about this topic, it’s just something I really needed to get off my chest. Hopefully we won’t get any more bs news and the ranting will stay out of my system after this. I’m trying to go back to drawing more silly fanart now. If you’ve read this far, thanks. I offer a cat pic as compensation

[tearsoftime0086]

20 Questions for Fic Writers!

Stealing a neat post from @sweepseven and we'll see how far we get haha. I haven't posted all of my stuff to AO3 so I'll kinda be pulling from a few places

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

Only 6! And half of them are from July till now lmao (aka the moment I learned about Steve Burnside)

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

49,691

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Gosh if I kept consistent fandoms it would make my fandom experience so much more easier :') Started out with Gundam, though haven't really kept up post my move away from FFNet (really want to come back at some point tho). Code Geass and TKoE is my long-running baby. Currently swept up in a Resident Evil fever too (see previous question). I've also written some stuff for League of Legends, Persona 2, and Fire Emblem!

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Ravaged Blessings (Fire Emblem: Three Houses, T. Wrote this during the rising peak of FE3H's release. Started out with Blue Lions and whoa nelly I was not prepared for Dimitri's post-timeskip scene.)

Two Kinds of Eternity (Code Geass, M. The behemoth. I had this idea in my head for ages and once I joined AO3 in 2018, decided to finally give it a shot. It's been five years and we're only halfway there, but I'm glad folks have hopped on and off for the ride)

An Eternal Warpath For You And Me (Resident Evil, M. Most recent fic of mine that I'm thankful has gotten a lot of kind reception! Aka Chreon + me fitting Steve into the Resident Evil-verse as best I can haha)

Shuriman Nights (League of Legends, T. Bit of a kudos drop from this point forward, but I love all my works the same, so :) I will never be over Nasus and Renekton's lore.)

Once (That Was Enough) (Resident Evil, M. EVERYTIME I WATCH THE DARKSIDE CHRONICLES CUTSCENES I HAVE TO COME BACK AND RE-READ THIS ONE. The genesis of my sprawling RE AU)

With 6 fics, that leaves We'll Always Have Casablanca out of the standings! Turns out that fic was the first anyone used the Leon & Steve tag. Pure self-indulgence so I understand why it's the lowest haha

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

I try to answer all of them! I have moments in life when I feel way too anxious about what to write back (like am I clogging up my own comments section? will they think it's weird if I write more than their initial comment?), but I work really hard to recognize the people who leave nice notes on my fics.

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

I'm a sucker for happy endings (everything else in the story is fair game tho) so I hardly ever end something too angsty... I guess Shuriman Nights for its implications?

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Once (That Was Enough). Capcom, I reject your reality and substitute my own.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

I had a few small cases, but it's not frequent at all. I try to mind my own business and let folks be ^^

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

As someone who's like 90% sure they're ace/sex-repulsed, I don't. It narrows my scope of reading fanfic too unfortunately - some of the best written works I've seen are rated E, but I have to kinda "hold my breath" while reading them :(

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written?

I never posted it anywhere, but I had a sprawling DCMK/Gundam crossover I shared with a close friend of mine. Still re-read parts of it from time to time. (Silver Bullet Shinichi, anyone?)

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not to my knowledge! I write so slowly that they probably wouldn't be able to steal it.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Nope but it would be a blessing if anyone ever asked!

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Again not posted, but I used to do a ton of co-writing with that same close friend mentioned above. Good times.

14. What’s your all time favourite ship?

Ooh this one's a tough one. If I have to choose, it's Kamille Bidan/Fa Yuiry from Zeta Gundam. It's what really started my fanfic journey, and I'll never forget the pure elation I felt watching their beach ending in Gundam ZZ. Wonder how I'd write something for them in the present? It's been so long...

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

If I thought about my deepest fears it would be TKoE, but I refuse. I will finish that fic. For a more realistic answer, I have a lot of mini-scenes for my Claire/Steve RE AU that I want to string into a full fic at some point, but I already have so many things on my plate.

16. What are your writing strengths?

Hmm. I like to think that in my writing peaks, I have a good sense of capturing character voices and dialogue. I'm also good at coming up with like, "angsty" one-liners, if that makes sense?

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Gosh this one's much easier than the last one. My posting rate is abysmal for starters (sorry to all the TKoE readers). I feel like every other sentence I write is clunky and long. Like on re-reads I can usually shave a few adjectives and words off of every sentence. I get impatient about pacing when I'm actually writing, but my actual writing sessions are few and far between. Tough times man :(

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

Different strokes for different folks, but I'm always afraid that a reader will get whiplash if I write in a language that I'm not comfortable with. Like sometimes I'll read fics where they reference Korean and it ruins my focus a bit when I read something that's not grammatically correct/realistic. Nothing to drop a fic over, but I'm not confident enough to write in another language myself.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

I don't remember off the top of my head. The first one I posted online was for Zeta Gundam, but also I think I have a small A Separate Peace story from around that time? Lol if I go back to my childhood original works, those stories were essentially Guardians of Ga'Hoole and Bionicle fanfics too.

20. Favourite fic you’ve written?

Once (That Was Enough) takes the cake right now. I remember looking on TVTropes for... Tragic Monster examples I believe?... and found a quick summary of Steve Burnside. Oh dear, that lad has me in his clutches and won't let me go. I had to write a story where he survives, and well... the rest is history. I even have a tag dedicated to the AU the fic spawned! Well, that was a ton of fun! If anyone reads this and wants to do it themselves, feel free to! Hoping to get more stuff out soon :)

[meggannn]

2022

I didn't read a lot of books, or write a lot of fic, or even watch a lot of TV, but I did play a lot of video games!

my real life is a bit of a controlled mess right now, this year I had a medical procedure and a minor breakdown and moved suddenly because covid malfeasance in the city terrified me and I think I need to be with family right now after we've had several family deaths over the years. one day I'd like to move back there but only when I can afford to live alone, which is definitely not in the cards any time soon with how the rental market is looking.

I am proud that I started posting and finished Tides, Receding this year. because I started writing it... three years ago? oh god I just looked it up and it was Feb 2020 that I made the post that ended up spawning the fic. and I told myself 2022 was the year I'd get it done, it's been sitting in my lap too long, and I did it. (party horn noise)

anyway my 2022 game list is under the cut, check it out for recs or whatever. this does not include the games i replayed, which included HZD, DAI, and FE3H, but lbr I'm always replaying those games in my heart

Puzzle games:

The Last Campfire (4/5): Play as a little... thing...? lost from its companions trying to find its way home. Some of the puzzles were a little too simple but this was a short and sweet game.

TOEM (5/5): Play as a tourist taking photos around various places and cities. perfect little photography game with cute side objectives and diverse landscapes.

Inscryption: I ended up abandoning this one during Part 2 because it just didn't hook me and I was hanging on by a thread with the creepiness as it was, but Part 1 was a lot of fun and I'd recommend it for anyone who's a fan of card games, escape rooms, horror, or Yugioh.

Unpacking (4.5/5): Unpack the protagonist's life across various moves. I loved this, my only criticism is that it was too short; I'd love more levels.

Into the Breach (4.5/5): Play as groups of time travelers trying to stop aliens from taking over several war-torn archipelagos in a turn-based combat system. the actual game (till the end credits) is great, the combat system is clear and intuitive. the story is pretty short, but progress carries over at the end cause time-travel. I could've gotten more mileage out of this one, but ultimately burned out cause I wanted to do more than just play the same levels all over again with different units.

FRAMED collection (3.5/5): I guess? for a cool concept—adjust comic panels and strips to help the characters progress through levels—it was a bit forgettable. still, nice for a few hours and probably cool for big comic fans.

Please Touch the Artwork (3/5): An abstract game that combines puzzles with modern art. Oof. I had to give some stars for effort cause I felt like the concept was cool, but I just couldn't get into this one. someone who enjoys both might like it?

Elli (3.5/5): Play as a guardian in a 3D platformer, search for gems and coins, try not to get swallowed by the time rifts. I remember really enjoying this this fall, but now that I'm writing this wrap-up, I barely remember playing it. I liked the puzzles a lot but I think it went on a little long.

Turnip Boy Commits Tax Evasion (4.5/5): You're a turnip. You rip up taxes in a sentient veggie world. need I say more.

Later Alligator (3.5/5): Play as an Alligator in Alligator New York City and do puzzles and solve crimes. it's adorable, it is, but I wish it was a little more forgiving; if you fuck up a puzzle, you lose so much time in an already limited day cycle.

Rain on Your Parade (4/5): Play as a cloud. Rain on people's parades, wedding days, office parties, whatever. Snow, thunder, acidic goo, you name it. go goblin mode. probably ideal for kids.

Moncage (3.5/5): solve environmental puzzles within a six-sided cube matching elements up across different sides of the cube to affect the scene. very similar to Goragoa, for the three other people who've played that game. short, beautiful, zen game, but man was it hard sometimes or I’m just an idiot. thank goodness for the hint system

Narrative games:

Heaven's Vault (3.5/5): You play as a young woman charged with tracking down a missing archaeologist across the galaxy with a robot companion. Really cool mechanic in this one where you decipher an ancient language as the main gameplay. RPG style choices set across make me want to rate it higher than I have, but some clunkiness (like not being able to revisit sites once you've left) knock it down. Someone once called this made by people who "want to bring archaeology to games but don't known how to make a game" which I agree with.

Tacoma (5/5): You explore an abandoned corporate space station trying to figure out what happened. Honestly, no notes. Interesting narrative, easy mechanics, great writing, doesn't overstep or overstay its bounds.

When the Past Was Around (3.5/5): got stuck on a couple dumb things that the game wouldn't let me interact with, and some other things were really not that intuitive, but other than that I thought this was short and serviceable, good for an afternoon with a sad story.

Wytchwood (4/5): Play as a witch who's charged with collecting twelve souls to deliver to a talking goat in a fairy-tale world. not really a narrative game but it's not puzzle or an RPG, so here it goes. anyway I had a lot of fun with this game. some of the backtracking was annoying and I wish the resource management was a little easier to, well, manage, but overall I enjoyed it.

Forgotten Fields (3/5): Play as a young author traveling home as his family decides whether to sell their home. Honestly a bit let down by this, there were some clunky mechanics I couldn't get over but it had interesting topics about moving on and finding artistic inspiration.

Adios (4/5): A pig farmer decides to quit his job disposing bodies for the mafia. Great voice work in this one, I enjoyed it; even though you know how it's going to end, they still managed to make it suspenseful.

RPGs/Open-world:

Horizon Forbidden West (3.5/5): I think I've already expressed my thoughts on this one this year but overall: great open-world game, mechanically and visually impressive; just OK story, unless you were a big fan of the first game, in which case the story was a big letdown.

Sable (4.5/5): Play as a young girl on her rite of passage as she travels a harsh world called Midden. hard for me to rate any open-world game as perfect because eventually some parts of it somewhere feel like padding, but despite some technical hiccups, Sable is the peak for me. non-combat, vibes-only, beautiful graphics, incredible soundtrack, easy recommend.

Control (3.5/5): Play as Jesse Faden, who arrives at the Federal Bureau of Control looking for her brother after his disappearance several years ago. this never wow'd me the way it was clearly trying to but I did enjoy it, whenever I could get over my fear of anything that moved. gameplay itself was great and i loved the oldest house as a setting. probably fans of the supernatural/horror genre could appreciate it better.

Citizen Sleeper (4/5): play as a cyborg who arrives on a space station and tries to make their way in the corporate underworld. a bit like Disco Elysium meets Murderbot Diaries. there's no combat, so I'd recommend this to fans of the RPG genre.

Paradise Killer (4.5/5): Play as Lady Love Dies in an island out of time, full of gods and demons and human sacrifices tired of being human sacrifices. Someone has been murdered in Paradise and you have to find out who did it. I had SO much fun with this one and the soundtrack is admittedly a huge reason why. (I'm serious listen to Ego 24-7 and tell me it doesn't get you pumped.)

Persona 5 Royal (4.5/5): the Phantom Thieves steal the hearts of corrupt people throughout Tokyo with their inner Pokemon-like demons and man this concept is cool, the soundtrack is killer, the only thing that fucking sucks is the unapologetic sexism that is unavoidable and irritating AF. (am I a little bitter I paid full price for this only a week before it went on sale for half off, yes. but I got a lot of mileage out of this that week during which when I was preparing for a medical procedure, so.)

God of War (4.5/5): Kratos and Boy travel to the highest peak in the realms to spread his wife's ashes. honestly? it's best enjoyed as a guy who enjoys puzzling going on a long walk with his son. as an action game it's meh.

Marvel's Spider-Man Remastered (5/5): I am PETER PARKER and I can throw MANHOLE COVERS at people while insulting their OUTFITS it is hard to top that

still playing:

Phoenotopia Awakening: A young woman named Gale sets on a journey to rescue the adults in her village after they are all mysteriously kidnapped. I haven't finished this one yet cause I hit a wall but ugh I just want to recommend it somewhere. there is so much love in the little details in this game, so many characters and puzzles and enemy types and history, you can tell so much heart went into this that I'm disappointed it won't get a sequel. my biggest criticism for it is that it is HARD, unnecessarily so at times, and there are no difficulty settings which sucks. but it might be good for Zelda fans or people who are good at 2D platforming, which I am not.

Eastward: Sam and John live in an underground town where travel to the surface is forbidden, until a mysterious event triggers Sam's magical powers and the mayor banishes them... eastward. I want to like this more than I am, the post-apocalyptic concept is very in-line with what I like, but jesus this writing feels like it never saw an editor. it just drags. I don't know how many times I can button-mash past Sam saying "Come on, John!" the game is beautiful, the designers and animators really earned their paychecks, but IDK the jury's still out.

[sun-marie]

"People you'd like to know better"

tag game!

I was tagged by @jespardon! Thank you for the tag, words are not really coming to me today so I apologize if this seems kinda clunky 😅

three ships : 

Gale/Tav (BG3): I’m so sorry but this pairing has me in a vice grip 😭❤ The way it just feels so organic!! And it’s so wholesome!! Like watching Zephyr (my tav) and Gale fall in love in the first two acts is simultaneously adorable and heart wrenching, and then watching them stay together through everything in act 3 is just so *clenches fist* so good!! I feel like all I do is talk about them nowadays lol

Shepard/Kaidan (ME): I’ve been thinking a lot about Kaidan recently, and good lord I love his character so much. I’m learning that I’m a big fan of relationships with a breakup or some kind of separation in the middle, only to come back with twice the devotion (fenhawke is another good example). I wasn’t here when those games were coming out since I’ve only played the LE, so I have no idea how the fandom at large see him, but his relationship with Shepard is by far the best part of ME3 for me ❤

Felix/Annette (FE3H): The ultimate comfort ship for me ❤ I love how Annette brings out Felix’s softer side, and I love how smitten he is with her. Opposites attract pairings aren’t usually my cup of tea bc I feel like it’s too easy to write two people who are just incompatible, but these two really benefit from the five year timeskip and the chance to grow with each other (even if they’re physically apart). Idk if that makes any sense, but even despite the fact that it’s been a very long time since I’ve played 3H I still get all warm and fuzzy when I see art of them or read a really good fic about them.

last film :

So I found out recently that my mom had never watched Dreamworks’ “Prince of Egypt” (which was a lie bc she definitely showed it to me as a small child and just didn’t remember), so we sat down together for an afternoon and watched it. I had forgotten how good that movie is, even if some scenes hit particularly hard due to *gestures vaguely* everything. Still to this day my favorite depiction of Moses’s story <3

currently watching :

So not technically watching currently bc I finished it a few days ago, but “Blue Eye Samurai” on Netflix 👀 I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it, and at the same time I have no idea how to feel about it lol. I’m a weenie so the sex and violence was a bit much for me, but the setting and the story are so interesting, and the characters are SUPER interesting. It’s been a long time since I’ve fallen for a protagonist as hard as Mizu 💙 It almost got too much for me and I nearly dropped it, but then there was that scene with Fowler in the “church” and I was like "oh? Oh so this guy’s like evil evil? to the core? Fascinating 👀👀👀" And I stuck it out til the end! I’m glad I did, it was 100% worth it, even if I had to watch most of it through my fingers lmao.

currently reading :

I am not a huge reader, unfortunately 😅  But for my English class we just finished reading “Passing” by Nella Larsen, which I enjoyed! I don’t feel I have much to add about it, and even if I did I doubt there’d be a ton of value in the 72456456th white person throwing in their two cents on how people of color deal with the racial structure in America

currently consuming :

Baldur’s Gate 3

Coral Island

Way too much sugar (send help)(my tummy hurts)

currently craving :

Mass Effect 2

P*zza H*t thin crust Hamburger Pizza

Sopapilla Cheesecake (my main contribution to the Thanksgiving table, I'm so excited!!)

Tagging @full---ofstarlight @beyondthetower and @thefife01 ! No pressure at all tho if y'all don't feel like it 😊

[mysticdragon3md3]

💜...

I never thought before how FE3H used Bernadetta to make jokes that laugh at people with social anxiety. Then again, i was the idiot so desperately happy to see geek culture on TV, back in the day, that i didn't notice The Big Bang Theory was making fun of geeks, until i heard more from internet fandom. I was just happy to see something relatable. I just did that Leonardo di Caprio "point at the tv" meme and didn't think beyond that. Thank goodness we have the internet and YouTube now for finding better representation of subcultures.

I'll have to go back and watch Bernadetta's Supports and how she's used in the main story. I'm woefully underinformed on both. I just watched a few of her Supports, and not even finishing some that i did watch. I just wanted to see people being nice to her. As soon as it wasn't about that, i ditched.😅 And I'm still not interested enough to watch through Black Eagle routes. So maybe I've had a picture of Bernadetta and how FE3H used her in its story, mostly full of gaps, that i let my brain fill up with only nice interpretations.

...Or maybe I'll watch it all and still like Bernadetta, because I'll still relate to her and because I've always liked characters who are just struggling with unconfidence. I like watching other characters be nice to them, create a safe space for them, encourage them, or when they have character growth to slowly gain more self esteem. Maybe I'm just so desperate for that protection fantasy, I'd overlook the anxiously relatable character being the butt of jokes. Who knows what will happen with my reactions.

I feel the same way about Marianne. That's why i really hate Lysithea's FE3H Support with her, but prefer their FEW3H Support. I have seen a lot more of Marianne's cutscenes and Supports, and i still like her. So maybe that foreshadows how I'll feel when i finally see all of Bernadetta's scenes.

Or maybe I'll completely turn on them when i finally start analyzing how the story uses them, instead of pointing and saying "ooh! Relatable!". That's what happened with me and Big Bang Theory. Yikes, that was problematic...!

I'm kind of afraid to look deeper, because i really like just feeling protective towards emotionally frail characters. I like ingenues and small cute mascot characters. It's how i hope the real world regards me when i feel similarly unconfident. Maybe indulging such fantasies is the hope i cling to, to convince myself it wont be so scary to go outside my comfort zones, and to have hope that people won't react with scorn at my fummbles. Or maybe it really is my fantasy of how i wished interactions played out, to indulge as reprieve from real life memories of bad interactions, I'd like to smother with distraction. That stuff is important to me too. I kind of dont want to let go of liking Bernadetta and Marianne.

But i have a history of being easily swayed by others' food for thought, especially opinions from people i already respect. Would i be able to hold my own, differing opinions, or would i feel too guilty if someone else's opinions viewed mine as problematic? I hope i can remember that this is just fandom and people can validly hold different opinions. I mean, representation is important, and FE3H as well as other media I've loved, can still have problematic aspects to improve, which should be improved. But i have to stop taking things so seriously that i torture myself with guilt for liking things/characters that others interpret as problematic. The important thing is to not let problematic media influence yourself into being hurtful towards real life people in the real world, right? That's the argument we always use vs antis, when they say problematic, dark stories/characters shouldn't exist, because they falsely equate representation with advocation. I shouldn't crumble if it turns out my opinions differ from someone else's that i respect. I should be...more confident.

[butchcraftwrites]

For the ask game, Rhea and Manuela, please?

Look, I'm just going to tell you straight up. This has been about Rhea. This has always been about Rhea. From the beginning of this seemingly endless FE3H rabbit hole that I have for some god forsaken reason thrown myself down, it has been about Rhea. Rhea, my beloved. Rhea, you parallel of a demigod or angel. You eternal victim of a hate crime. Baby. Baby cakes. Honey.

*Blows a kiss up to the sky* For the Immaculate One.

First impression: I honestly didn't piece together that Rhea was Seiros until the end of my first run (Silver Snow), so I didn't realize it was her in the opening cut scene. What I DID realize however, when she noticed Byleth walk into Garreg Mach for the first time from her Star Terrace, was her VOICE. Cherami Leigh's voice echoed from my speakers and immediately my ears perked. From like the first conversation she had with Byleth, I pretty much fell in love.

A friend of mine who was also in the middle of completing the game asked me which character so far was my favorite and when I told them, they were like "Oh." (as in "oh, of course") and then told me that I could only S-Support her if I played Edelgard's route. I had already picked Claude by this point and I really am not the type to restart a game once I've already put a few hours into it.

Anyway I restarted the game immediately and my head has been filled with pretty much nothing but Rhea ever since.

Impression now: *GESTURES TO MY BLOG. GESTURES TO MY MERCH COLLECTION. PUSHES YOUR FACE INTO MY DOC OF FIC IDEAS. SHOWS YOU ALL OF THE SAVED PHOTOS ON MY PHONE* *Breathes* Okay. So. I love her. So much more than I could have ever imagined. Dear Lord. I love her for being so resilient. I love her for loving the very species of people that massacred her family. I love her for her stumbles and oopsies in governing (which, to be fair, all in all she's done a pretty great job). I love her for being born with a purpose, having that stripped away from her at a fairly young age, and still day after day striving her hardest to choose kindness. I love how much energy she dedicates towards nurturing other people even though she knows they are going to die long before she does. I love how she is a Scary Big Dragon but treats children delicately and with tenderness (Cyril, the students who have anxiety, the mentions of how much she loves visiting the orphanage and playing with children). She just. She has so many reasons to be cruel and tyrannical and she just isn't. I know a big part of this is her trying to prepare the world for her mother's return (which no doubt is a delusion she's committed to false-memory) but that's honestly also another reason why I love her character. She is flawed. Very flawed. And yet after 1K years of life, we get to see her slowly decide to develop and change. And I love watching how immortals decide to finally do things. Anyway tl;dr She ticks like all of my boxes and I would die for her in a heartbeat. Also. EARS.

Favorite moment: HOW DO I PICK THERE ARE LIKE 5 CUT SCENES AND THEY ARE ALL GREAT. Maybe when the Empire invaded Garreg Mach and she morbed off of a cliffside (fun fact, I went into this game completely oblivious to the series and when I saw that she was a dragon I SCREAMED ENDLESSLY. In fact, I am still screaming, and writing is the only way to bring the eardrums of those around me peace). Or perhaps it was when Byleth woke up with her fucking head in Rhea's lap like it was a fucking pillow, another moment that made me scream and sob the first time it happened. Or perhaps it was in Hopes when Edelgard asked Rhea for the assistance of the Knights of Seiros and Rhea very quickly decided that she would lend a hand but immediately established her boundaries in doing so. It was such a small moment, and yet...

Idea for a story: :) Oh, wouldn't you like to know... I DO have a one shot Rhealeth fic in mind that's another Crimson Flower AU that plays lightly on the French texts of Guinevere and Lancelot. It will give me the opportunity to play more heavily with purple prose.

Unpopular opinion: I love Rhea as much as the next person in this small section of the fandom, but I think the crown she created is absolutely ridiculous and probably a constant strain on her neck and or shoulders. Don't get me wrong, I love her for it, but it just gives me another excuse to make fun of her(affectionate) and for me, it's True Love when I pick fun at a character relentlessly.

Favorite relationship: I'm pretty sure at this point, shipping her with Byleth has overridden everything else in my life.

Favorite headcanon: I like to think that the children Sothis created herself (those not born of Nabateans already created) were made fully grown. I imagine Rhea was born exactly as she is now, and she already knew how to fight, dance etc. I think she had a nice few years surrounded by family and loved ones, but that didn't last for much more than a decade or two before her mother was slaughtered. Strange that this is one of my favorite head canons, but hey, my favorite classical works are all tragedies, so.

AND NOW FOR MANUELA. My beautiful, glorious disaster. I love you. So much. You deserve everything. Everything. I raise my glass to you, sweetheart.

First impression: I was firstly annoyed with her. I generally dislike depictions of feminine flirtatious women in media (bit of aftershock from being tomboyish and coming out as young as I did), so I thought "Oh, it's that trope" and thought nothing of her. Clearly, I was wrong.

Impression now: Manuela is so nuanced. A lot of her motivation comes from needing to be loved, sure, but she gives as much love as she desires to receive. Like, dude, at some point between being a diva at a renown opera company(full time job) and coming to work at Garreg Mach, she became a physician. And a Professor. Like, HOW. I calculated this once, but at the start of 3 Houses she's only around 35??? At some point she must have started cramming her studies as hard as she could, and each field of study she chose benefited others. I also love that her ending cards sometimes mention that she dedicated the rest of her life to educating students from less fortunate families. Girl just wants life to feel good, and I love her for it so much. I think I've said this about every character I've been asked about so far, but she's one of my favorites.

Favorite moment: When she rants about wanting to stab the Death Knight herself. Or when the Death Knight isn't on the battlefield and she's like "Great, even the Death Knight is running away from me..."

Idea for a story: Manuela finds a spellbook on the ground that someone dropped. It's unlike anything she's ever seen, and that WILL show Hanneman, damnitt! She starts casting spells from this book that go HORRIBLY wrong, but she's oblivious and thinks she's doing great. Also she hasn't pieced together that the book she found is from Abyss.

Unpopular opinion: Is it popular to have an unpopular opinion about Manuela? Everyone has so many... Unpopular opinion: there's no way that Manuela is straight. Nope, nope that's also a popular opinion. I give up. I'm just sheeple.

Favorite relationship: With Ferdinand... I know, I know. I just think they are Rally Cute, and I love how he becomes a stay at home dad while she becomes Prime Minister.

Favorite headcanon: I am not the creator of this headcanon at all, but I love the headcanon that she stabbed the knife into the anatomical dummy to help her through the stress of getting attacked.

[angst-in-space]

14 and 20? 👀

wip asks for sylvix pacific rim au!

14. What have you been finding frustrating with writing this chapter/fic?

i think the hardest part for me with the fic over all is finding a way to balance the fe3h/pacrim elements of it and make both universes kind of "work together" in a way that makes sense. it's also been a bit tricky trying to determine how much of the plot to base on pacific rim—that is, i don't want to just like write the plot of the movie and swap out the character names lol, but i also worry a bit about deviating TOO much from pacrim canon, so...it's a bit of a struggle. it's also that, even though i've seen pacrim a bunch of times, some of the lore/world-building stuff confuses me a little so there are scenes i've had to watch like ten times to try and fully understand what they are explaining LOL.

20. Share 3 images that would fit to a mood board for this chapter/fic.

this actually just compelled me to make a whole moodboard instead of writing so here ya go lol

[greymouse42]

For the FE3H question list:)

4,5,6,9,14,15,38,40,41

If that's too many you don't haveta do them all just the ones that interest you the most.

Thank you for all the questions!! I had a lot of fun! 🥰 Answers are beneath the readmore!

4. ✨ Which route did you play through first in FE3H?

Golden Deer!! Fear the Deer!! (FE3H was the first fire emblem I really got into, fandom-wise, since Shadow Dragon)

5. ✨ Which route did you play through last?

Azure Moon orz

I still technically haven't played that one, I've just watched my partner play it... But Azure Gleam in 3Hopes was my favorite route, so I kinda wanna go back and play AM on my own now...

6. ✨ Which route is your favorite?

Toss-up between GD, which I am sentimental about and I think has the best standalone no-additional-context-needed story, and SS, which lets me side with the cool dragon people and I thought was a really fun/interesting narrative foil to BE (also... Seteth fulfilling the role of lord retainer... I am a simple person)

9. ✨ What is your favorite scene in the game (can be in the main story or a support convo)?

It's not very interesting but Chapter 6 and Chapter 9 were my favorites. I didn't know enough to expect that Jeralt's days were numbered so when he died, and when we got to see this unemotional/silent protagonist actually grieving him, I just got really invested.

Also, re: chapter 6, Seteth is A Wreck and I like that in a man. I also really like the white dragon scarf event and I like that the events in that chapter only become more insidious the more context you have.

14. ✨ If you’ve posted your own fanart or fanfic, post a link to the piece you are most proud of.

Oddly, it's this one!! (Setleth Rhondos Coast retelling, with some added emotions) I just think it holds up really well!!

15. ✨ If you are an artist or writer, are you currently working on any new FE3H content (art or fanfic)?  If so, will you share a sneak preview?

I've had horrible writer's block lately... 🥺👉👈 But I do have this silly idea that just boils down to "Rhea knows Seteth is sleeping with someone and is giving him shit for it" that I come back to whenever I want to laugh. Here's a snippet:

I just love Rhea when she's allowed to be a little obnoxious...

38. ✨ Who is your favorite teatime companion?

Seteth... obviously. 😅 I just like how multifaceted he and Rhea turn out to be, and his teatime lines are just really... sweet. I also unironically love inviting Hubert to tea heheh, he's so dramatic I love him.

40. ✨ What character do you always recruit, no matter which route you are playing and why?

Seteth is an auto-recruit sooo... Lorenz and Ferdinand!! Look, I KNOW Lorenz is a disaster but I love his character development no matter what route he's on, and I like making him a dark knight. Ferdinand I recruit mostly to be a good influence on Lorenz, and also because I think he's such a strong personality that he adds narrative interest no matter what route you're doing (he's either throwing everything he has into helping the Empire or he's throwing everything he has into opposing it, and I think both sides are interesting).

41. ✨ What is a favorite character headcanon (can be one you came up with or one you liked / adopted from someone else)?

With regards to the extra lore we got in Hopes, I like the idea that all the Nabateans' hair used to be lighter/blonder when they were in close proximity to the Goddess. I would kill for more art/writing 👏 exploring 👏 that!

I also headcanon a religious schism between Rhea & Seteth where she is of the belief that the Goddess isn't dead and could possibly return at any moment, and he (at least up until the events of the game) thinks that the Goddess is definitely dead and gone. It's subtle, but it adds some extra interest for me.

I ALSO really like that one crack theory I've seen floating around that Kronya and Ferdinand are somehow related. What this means for the story, I have no idea, I just think it's neat :)

[ragamuffin-sage]

Gonna be structuring these a little differently so I’m not spamming a post every single chapter. Spoilers below for Chapters 3-5

I noticed that the character’s run along side you on the loading screen and it is so cute

Chapter 3:

Appearance of Red Alear in that cutscene makes me think that there was a Blue Alear and Lumera smashed them together to get Pepsi-Colgate Alear. Probably had something to do with how the Fell Dragon was defeated the first time. Gonna take a gander Red Alear is Fell Dragon aligned and Blue Alear is Divine Dragon aligned, so when Pepsi-Colgate woke up the Fell Dragon also woke up too. 

Also no offense to the voice actor what so ever but Alfred’s voice makes me want to shove him in a locker. He just sounds so nerdy. Also it’s weird to know he was apparently watching Alear sleep ever since he was a little kid. Just seems a bit unnerving. 

I wasn’t picturing Etie’s voice to sound that deep (I was thinking more she’d sound like Maribelle from Awakening.) I’m not opposed to it though. As for Boucheron I don’t have much to say about him. 

And I’m sorry but that death scene with Lumera drug on waaayyy to long. My switch screen darkened because I put my controller down to watch. Also the “becoming your mother” line makes Lumera more sus. 

Exploring Somniel:

I like that the map so far doesn’t seem as big as Garreg Mach in FE3H. I love the monastery map but go it was so huge. Glad this one is smaller and seems a bit more manageable. I got to read Clanne and Franne’s support and they’re so dorky I love them. Also read Vander and Clanne’s, glad to see Clanne isn’t as timid as I thought he was going to be, also Vander needs to chill.

Chapter 4: Oddly enough not much to say this chapter about the story because it feels more like a chapter to introduce Celine, Louis, and Chloe. Celine’s dress is so ridiculous. Also I thought she was a Alfred’s younger sister, but she sound older and her crown is fancier so maybe I’m wrong? Also I love Loius. Chloe is kinda meh we will see if I like her more later. I liked being able to explore the map after we playing on it. Hope there is more like that instead of it moving you to a different location.

Chapter 5: 

Upon reading Celine’s character page turns out she is the younger sibling, which feels wrong to me. I’m also more curious about the small cloaked child. Also curious where Velye (I don’t remember how its spelled but the girl who showed up, threw a fire ball, and then disappeared on us went.) Also I was skeptical of some of the designs for characters are first but I’m really enjoying them so far. Time to get to Brodia so I can see the scrungly little 2nd prince. At least I’m hoping he’s in the next chapter.

[avemstella]

Tumblr only just showed me that @ksjundel2003 tagged me with this just now, as technology does. I'll always take the chance to ramble (also thank u for the compliment ahhh :D). These ended up being essays hahahaaaha

1. Three Ships: Uhhh so I'm in a weird place where I'm not actively shipping anything. Like don't get me wrong I still love many ships (I'm a super multi shipper, I have no idea how people dedicate their online everything to one ship) I'm just currently not actively pursuing certain ship tags rn... Hmm hxh's return reminded me of how much I love Leopika, I got into fe3h in this last year and I've read a silly amount of dimiclaude. Also finally got around to getting into mp100 and Terumob is so cute.

Genshin thats what people are here for but if I'm honest while I still am very into the game, I haven't read genshin fic consistently for a while and thats how I interact with shipping the most. Like I love Chili, theres a reason I have plans for that ship, but I haven't read a fic with them in forever (and in the more recent examples it was me searching for found fam harb content). I also adore Kaebedo but same story. I love a lot of genshin ships, many 'contradictory' (love Zhongven as well for example), I just haven't been brainrotting about any of them for a while. God that sounds so morose pfft, its really me just letting my brain take a break and experience other things! Also just know I do think about the final planned Zhongli and Childe scene in this fic (well for the main fic at least) every once in a while and grin like a loon. Hehehe I love it so much and rip its so far away (though also once I get there it'll be right near the end and that thought makes me sad).

Also I think about my fic specific ships a lot too. Sandy and Nella for example have a scene that brings me much amusement in a couple chapters (those 2 always bring me joy). Also I've been recently thinking about the ot3 that's a big old spoiler. There's this angsty but also hopeful romantic scene that's been banging around in my head that I literally can't use in my fic it doesn't work with the timeline. But I love it, maybe an eventual bonus chap. (all I'll say on this ot3 is that at least 1 person is a harb). And taras x any harb that isn't his bro, my favorite running gag I take too seriously. Also Madame Volkov x Tsar, I can't wait to reveal why that ship cracks me up (also weirdly angsty).

uhhh that was way too long of an answer um sorry.

2. First ever ship: God I don't know. Probably amuto from Shugo Chara (I was elementary/middle school, the age gap did not clock as weird then). However my first ship with taste was Soulsilvershipping from pokemon (god we need to bring back that ship name format, so fun). I didn't have fictional crushes the same way most seemed to, however what was close enough was Silver Pokemon my beloved. He spawned my love of grumpy long haired red heads so when I saw Diluc for the first time I remember going fuck I'm gonna love him (and I did haha).

3. Last song: uhhh fun fact I'm not a music person at all. As a child I hated it pfft, while I grew out of that I still have no idea what I'm doing with it. 90% of the music I listen to is from animatics (and back in the day from amvs) or musicals because plot. And u know u find a lot of musicals because of animatics its a cycle. However saying that I was listening to Ricky Montgomery, idk why.

4. Last movie: my parents were like we're watching a movie as a fam and in true Christmas spirit we watched Top Gun Maverick pfft. tbh the movie was fine but not the stunning piece of cinema everyone seemed to be saying... also super military propaganda but we all knew that

5. Currently reading? I'm catching up on the Ascendance of a Bookworm Light Novels (I'm on the last book in part 4 and I have part 5 #1 ready). I've also been really slowly reading through (and got back into after almost a year accidental break) Lout of the Counts Family. Also hunter x hunter (my brain is filled with Sheila theories, despite being the Harbinger found fam fic writer I don't care about the troop lol, just Sheila). I also have some DC comics open in my tabs because I want to watch the newest comicpop back issues episode. Its sort of strange I've been on a reading fan fic break of sorts haha, reading lots of original stuff.

6. Currently watching? uhhhh Mob Psycho though that just ended. Also me and my sis are watching Miraculous together. We used to watch it years ago and we are watching all the stuff we missed and cringing. I also am constantly watching lots of video essays, love a good video essay to put on while doing other things like playing genshin/art/etc

7. Currently consuming? We have a holiday party every year and my dad makes his amazing to die for lasagna (we are not remotely italian, but everyone we know says its amazing). So I've been eating those leftovers and having a time.

8. Currently craving? validation uhhh free time maybe. I had so much free time while I was away at school (well more like I should have been working on stuff time, but it was time I could organize myself). I'm home and between Christmas and parties and my grandparents/Cousins/feels like everyone visiting I've had no time for myself. I love seeing my cute baby cousins I don't get to see too often but its a lot. Also a job, I don't want to have to job but it'll get my mother off my case.

Well that ended on a too serious note haha. Also this was way too long and I have no idea who to tag and I'm anxious so uh, no one I guess. I must now return to my chaotic life, as one does.