#me: gets way too caught up in feh for forever

[herok1ng]

heheh yay

[iturbide]

Also I have to agree, the fact that we don't get dynamic conversations, where our different allies can interact and react to each other (outside of the sometimes poorly written Forging Bonds) is a crime.

Other mobile/gacha games have outstanding writing like that and Heroes just falls on it's face in that department.

You're absolutely right and it's one of the things that most disappoints me about Heroes (though, in all honesty it's getting to be a pretty long list).

Forging Bonds is too limited, and our interaction with the characters themselves is capped at five lines in the plaza and one Level 40 conversation. Not only that, most characters don't have Forging Bonds events, especially the old characters, and their use in-game is almost always boiled down to one pre-battle quote in their launch chapter at best outside the paralogues; in all honesty, this latest Bridal Paralogue was probably one of the best bits of character development the game has ever done (even though Catria's involvement was kind of weird and not explained very well).

What I really think Heroes would benefit from is more actual character development and interaction in the game. Not in external manga or YouTube videos or what have you, actual in-game stuff that everyone can experience directly. One of the things I really like about Dragalia Lost is that the cute little Dragalia Life side comics where they introduce characters and have random things happen is built into the application itself: it does have its own website so you can see them on a bigger screen if you play on your phone, but all of them can be easily accessed from the game without it kicking you to an external site that takes forever to load (which is why I never bother reading the FEH manga but I'm always caught up on Dragalia Life).

They could also give us unique dialogues depending on your roster, the way they have in FGO, where certain dialogues are only available if you have specific characters in your barracks. Heck, they could even have special conversation pieces if you have specific characters in the plaza, where they actually go back and forth between characters. It could be people from the same games or from different games, people who didn't get much chance to interact in canon, former enemies now working together...there are so many possibilities, and the thing is that they wouldn't need to bring the voice actors back. The plaza dialogues are all text with no voice acting, so they would just need to add in text.

I'm just really sad that Heroes keeps squandering the amazing opportunities afforded by its concept and I'm going to stay bitter about it until they do something.

[markoftheasphodel]

⭐fic of your choice

Imma talk about “Reckoner” since that took FOREVER to write and I was thrilled to finally have it see the light of day last year.

So the idea was kicking around in my head from my very first PT of FE4 like, in 2013? Something like that. You encounter the village dude in Ch10 who says you gotta sacrifice somebody to Julius&Ishtar to pass and while you sure don’t if you have Forseti!Ced on your team, it got me thinking. This wasn’t so many years after the howls of fan fury over the “sacrifice” in FE11, and here was a beloved entry in the franchise urging the player to do exactly that!

I bounced some ideas off the Dreamwidth gang and the earliest draft began to take shape. It centered around Lester, Diarmuid, and Ulster and went to some pretty dark places:

“That’s something we don’t do.  Like torture– we don’t do it, and it separates us from the people we’re fighting against.”

“Well…”

“What, Del?”

“You mentioned torture.  Leif’s tactician in Thracia– August, you remember him?”

“The creepy old priest, yeah.  You mentioned him before.”

“He knew all about torture.  He’d done it.  He could teach it.”

Like that, yeah.

That was V 1.0 and I toyed with it until August of 2015, when I realized that the entire idea of the “blood sacrifice” required to get past Miletos worked much, much better in a subkiddy universe. So I started working with Deimne, Tristan, and Roddlevan (as he was then called) instead of the “canon” Tirnanog boys. That helped drive the narrative on the boys’ end– their feelings of uselessness and low self-worth, the friction between Tristan and Roddlevan that distracted from coming up with something better, the sense that the whole thing was a league above them anyway. The adults were a bit more of a problem, as while I felt comfortable enough in assigning Shannan the role of “Eff blood sacrifice let’s just go in there and seize Miletos,” who staked out what corner of the debate and how heated those arguments got was a real thornbush to navigate.

“And while we’re talking about that, don’t you think I’ve felt a share of responsibility all these years for advising those closest to me into a complete disaster?”

“You may as well send me in,” Prince Shannan interrupted.  “I’m the one who didn’t do a good job of guarding Deirdre and got us into this mess.”

“Shannan…”

“Well, if we’re going to pick over who did or didn’t do what twenty years ago…”  The prince flipped a strand of glossy dark hair over his shoulder.  “I still think we just need to send in the best we’ve got and take on Julius and his girl.  Even if we’re just talking holy weapons, there’s more of us.”

“If it only takes one life to pass, we can’t risk more than that number,” said Lord Oifey.

“Yeah, but if we take out Julius here and now–”

“Can it, all three of you,” said Lewyn, having clearly lost patience with the other men.  “We’ll have fate settle this.”  

Then FEH came to town and we got new names and, piece by piece, additional bits of characterization. And then AMC’s The Terror hit the airwaves and I was hooked (I’d been anticipating it for years) and suddenly my brain was immersed in this dated homosocial military world that was both under outside attack and rotting internally and something… clicked.

“No, you won’t,” Prince Shannan said to the both of them. The prince grasped Lord Oifey’s hand by the wrist and held it close to his own heart. “Send in the best we’ve got and let us take on Julius and his girl. Even if we’re just talking holy weapons, there’s more of us right now. Trust me. We are Crusaders. We were born for this.”

“Twelve of you were created for this,” said Oifey, very low and solemn. He didn’t take his hand back from Shannan. “And we have only three weapons now.”

At this, Shannan let go of Oifey and aimed a finger right at Lewyn.

“Then why doesn’t he take the Forseti tome out of its hiding place before sending one of you to die?”

So began draft 3.0, in which the impossible role of some poor wannabe knight like Tristan became more clear, in which the adults weren’t just frustrated with one another, they really cared about one another… maybe too much. While Version 1.0 presented Oifey and Lewyn as prospective in-laws thanks to Fee, V 3.0 hinted that the adults had aligned themselves along different axes entirely. Of course, I’d also had many more years of playing with these characters and other ‘fics had happened in the meantime.

“Shannan. If it only takes one life to pass, we can’t risk more than that number,” said Oifey, and now he took hold of Shannan’s shoulder. “And I’m not risking yours. You’re Isaach’s last hope.”

“Isaach got liberated without me. If we take out Julius here and now—”

“Lewyn, please…” And the other three turned to look at Finn, because talking over Prince Shannan wasn’t something he did. He sounded choked up, almost like this whole discussion was making him sick. “Pass your judgment. I trust you know which of us is essential, and which can be deployed.”

The tiny reflection of Lewyn in Deimne’s mirror looked angry, at least that’s what Deimne thought. The tactician was usually above all of them, almost like a god himself, and Deimne’d never seen an expression quite like that on Lewyn’s face. But maybe Deimne was seeing things, the way the blood churning in his ears now was making it harder to pay attention and his own stomach felt like it was roiling from the horror of listening to this conversation.

“We’ll have fate settle this,” Lewyn said. He held up one hand and Deimne caught a flash of gold between his fingers. Lewyn looked right at Prince Shannan and added, “This coin has only two sides.”

And suddenly the whole damn thing worked in a way it just hadn’t before, and I was able to publish it and finally get it off my chest. :D

[jasperlion]

Get to know Alm

tagged by; @stratesia thanks jee <3 Tagging; @galdrgraced , @indumasname , @fiat-ignem , @radiantxhero , @thegraypath , @fensariru , @loptyrant​ , @sweetestest-ninja​ , @regaldisaster​ , @i-nsubordination and uh whoever wants to do this!

<Using: FEH Verse ; so Alm 1~2 years after the events of SoV>

 Name? “Alm— my full name is a mouthful.”

Are you single?  “I’m... engaged, so no. No I’m not.” (* can vary, generally unless stated otherwise he is)

Are you happy? “I like to think that I am! Sometimes it’s a bit of a struggle, but I can truck through it just fine.”

Are you angry?  “... Sometimes I can get really mad, but not right now, no. Maybe a little upset at personal things, but I wouldn’t say I’m a generally angry person.”

Are your parents still married? “... Well, they’re, uh, dead. Far as I know, they were married before my mother passed, so I... guess you could say they are.”

NINE FACTS –

Birth Place? “In Rigel, somewhere. If I had to take a guess, it’d probably have been the castle at the capital, but I... don’t know the details.”

Hair Color? “Green, kind of like moss.”

Eye Color?  “Maybe a little darker than my hair? I think... ”

Birthday? “Ah! 10th of Flostym! Er— that is to say, March 31st. That’s how you say the date in Askr, right?”

Mood? “I want to say generally easy-going and happy. I think that’s usually the case.”

Gender? “Male!”

Summer or winter? “Wyrmstym... winter...? It feels easier on me, like I was made to stand that kind of weather better. Still, considering how harsh it is for everyone back home, I prefer Avystim overall. ... Summer.”

Morning or afternoon? “The fresh morning dew is wonderful!”

EIGHT THINGS ABOUT YOUR LOVE LIFE ? –

Are you in love? “Hehehehe... yes!”

Do you believe in love at first sight? “Hm... I don’t know. At least, I don’t think I’ve experienced it. I generally don’t think about mushy stuff unless I know the person well...”

Who ended your last relationship? “I don’t think I’ve been on any before this one, so I don’t have an answer to this.”

Have you ever broken someone’s heart? “... I have. Not that I wanted to! Sometimes, things just don’t work out, or someone you like doesn’t like you in the way you do.”

Are you afraid of commitments? “I know it’s a little scary to think about remaining with someone forever, but I feel that if you’re courting, it should be because you’re seriously considering that person! So, I’m not.”

Have you hugged someone within the last week? “Yeah! Sometimes I think I’ll wither away if I don’t let my friends know I care about them. D-don’t worry, it’s just an exaggeration!”

Have you ever had a secret admirer? “Is it considered secret if I was just plain old oblivious? Hah!”

Have you ever broken your own heart? “Um... huh. Is this about your own expectations betraying you about yourself? Or relationship wise...? Because if it’s the second, then no, I don’t think I have. If it’s about the first...”

SIX CHOICES –

Love or lust? “Love, definitely!”

Lemonade or iced tea? “Iced tea? How can I make that? I’d love to try.”

Cats or Dogs? “I like cats a little better, but there’s nothing wrong with pups!”

A few best friends or many regular friends? “Can I choose ‘many best friends’? No?”

A wild night out or romantic night in? “Wilding... out? Like having fun in a party or festival? I can do that once in a while! It’s fun! Romantic nights in sound nice, too. Sometimes you want to just get away from the noise—! Not that... I have a chance to do that here. I don’t think my partner’s here in Askr...” (*last bit can be multiverse dependant)

Day or night? “Both! Been favoring the night lately, though. It’s when everything just... winds down and you can give yourself time to breathe.”

FIVE HAVE YOU EVERS –

Been caught sneaking out? “It’s embarrassing, but one time I did try to sneak out of the village just to see what was beyond Fleecer’s Forest, but Mycen caught me. I got in so much trouble...”

Fallen down/up the stairs? “Who hasn’t? H... hey, what’s with that look?”

Wanted something/someone so badly it hurt? “... ... ...

Yeah, I guess so.”

Wanted to disappear? “... ... ... ... ... ...”

FOUR PREFERENCES –

Smile or eyes? “Both are so lovely!”

Shorter or Taller? “Either is fine!”

Intelligence or Attraction? “Uh... I generally go for the personality of someone rather than their looks or how smart they are, but I can appreciate when someone’s well-read or looks nice! It’s not something I’d use to determine if I like a person like that, though.”

Hook-up or Relationship? “Relationships, definitely. I don’t really understand why people would just, ah, casually use a relationship as a fling, but the world is big and people are different... I guess. It’s seen as more acceptable in the southern region back home than the north...”

FAMILY –

Do you and your family get along? “... They’re either dead or distant and hate me. I guess I’ll have to chalk it up as a no. Everyone I met through the war and my friends from home, and the man who raised me, though... they’re a little like family to me, too. Do they count? I’d say yes for them, if so.”

Would you say you have a “messed up life”? “Hah... ... ... maybe.”

Have you ever ran away from home? “I drafted without telling Mycen. He expected it out of me, looking back, but does it count?”

Have you ever gotten kicked out? “No, no I haven’t.”

FRIENDS –

Do you secretly hate one of your friends? “I don’t see why anyone would do this.”

Do you consider all of your friends to be good friends? “Definitely! Sometimes I feel they might not feel the same, though.”

Who is your best friend? “Do I have to pick?”

Who knows everything about you? “I’d say my friends from back home, but given... everything, I think no one really knows everything about me now. Mycen knows a lot about where I came from and my past that I don’t— and I... ... anyway. He doesn’t know a lot of what I went through after I left, or a lot of what I did as a kid with my friends, and they don’t know about what Mycen does, so...

I don’t know. I’m still trying to figure myself out, yeah?”

[willowgust]

Supper with Chavivah

► Name ➔  “Chavivah Benesh.” ► Are you single ➔  She gapes at the interviewer, then shoots an incredulous glare at an invisible audience. “So this schlemiel with all the questions asks the widower - who feeds him - if she’s single! Feh! Let’s hope they’re only trying to sell something.” ► Are you happy ➔ Chavivah withers a sigh, “Ohh... Maybe I should be. The doctor says I’m recovering well, but our planet? A good way to make some gelt for sure, but this cost I don’t like.” ► Are you angry? ➔  “You bet your fresh hot soup I’m angry! --Here, would you like--” her spoon pours another helping into the interviewer’s bowl before they can protest-- “some more dear? Anyway, Silithus was the birthplace of our faith and some big fiery putz with a big stick does what to it?! Oh but see! That wasn’t bad enough. Then the land of our sacred traditions starts bleeding and the whole planet is in on it for cash. So yes! Yes I’m angry! Almost everyone I know is angry!” ► Are your parents still married ➔ Despite not having to breathe, Chavivah sedates herself with a big huff of air and deflates. Her angst is replaced with a wry smirk. “Somehow the phrase ‘’til death do you part’ doesn’t hold the weight it used to. Who knows? Somewhere they might still be.”

NINE FACTS

► Birth Place ➔  “Stratholme.” ► Hair Color ➔  She briefly hustles to the kitchen, her voice echoing from inside. “Oye... I don’t know, zombie light brown. I’m no good at making up colors.” ► Eye Color ➔  “Well they used to be brown, when I had them. A glow still counts, maybe?” Chavivah returns with another lush platter of food, which she gingerly places in front of the interviewer’s setting. “Gold?” she shrugs. ► Birthday ➔  “September 12th.” ► Mood ➔  “Oh... don’t worry over that, dear.” ► Gender ➔ She freezes, leering at her guest. They couldn’t have possibly asked what she thought they had. “...Oh-- I’m sorry. I must have misheard you. What was that?” ► Summer or winter ➔ “Ah! All right then. Summer. Summer is lovely.” She finally sits down, but her candlelight eyes flick persistently at his food. Chavivah looks ready to spring the moment he has less than five slices of bread. ► Morning or afternoon ➔ “What does it matter? I’ll be busying myself with something to keep Isaac comfortable. If only every now and then he’d say thank you to his mother. Who loves him.”

EIGHT THINGS ABOUT YOUR LOVE LIFE

► Are you in love ➔  “Oh, I’m well beyond that now.” ► Do you believe in love at first sight ➔ She glances at the door to the basement, where her son is likely dwelling. “That depends. Is she Yibbish?” ► Who ended your last relationship ➔  Chavivah’s expression plummets into a dark frown. “A little thing called the Cult of the Damned. Feh! An affair I might have preferred!” ► Have you ever broken someone’s heart ➔ “Well I’ll tell you one thing that’s guaranteed to break a heart - not calling your mother after you move.” ► Are you afraid of commitments ➔  “You ask that question a little late.” ► Have you hugged someone within the last week? ➔��“No,” she replies pointedly, and slightly louder so her voice might carry down the basement stairs. “It’d be lovely to have a hug, but it’s all right. It’s not too important.” ► Have you ever had a secret admirer ➔ “Oh, well," Chavivah smiles sheepishly. Had blood still pumped through her veins, she might have turned pink. “That’s how my late husband and I met, at the deli where I worked.” ► Have you ever broken your own heart? ➔  Immediately sobered by the question, she releases her trademark sigh. “Every Forsaken has done that.”

SIX CHOICES

► Love or lust ➔ “Why love, of course! Lust comes after marriage, when you’re in your 30′s and have a doctorate.” ► Cats or Dogs ➔  “Cats.” ► A few best friends or many regular friends ➔ “A few best friends are good to have, but a community - that is what everyone needs. That is what holds people together.” ► Wild night out or romantic night in ➔ “Isaac goes out sometimes. But it’s all right. He can go out with his friends. I don’t mind staying at home...” ► Day or night ➔  “I enjoy the daytime, for the songbirds. Some things from my old life still give me comfort.”

FIVE HAVE YOU EVERS

► Been caught sneaking out ➔  “Me? Oh, never!” ► Fallen down/up the stairs ➔  “Once, and knitting needles I was carrying at the time - how scary that was!” ► Wanted something/someone so badly it hurt? ➔  Chavivah pauses. Siiiigh™. “Ohh, I suppose, but... It’s all right, it doesn’t matter.” ► Wanted to disappear ➔ “Become one of those specters is what you mean? My skillet, I would hold onto how?”

FOUR PREFERENCES

► Smile or eyes ➔  “Eyes are temporary. Smiles can last forever.” ► Shorter or Taller ➔  “Taller men are what I preferred.” ► Intelligence or Attraction ➔  “Well, from my experience, you keep only one.” ► Hook-up or Relationship ➔  “Hook-ups?! Is that what’s keeping him from giving me a daughter-in-law?”

FAMILY

► Do you and your family get along ➔ “Isaac and I are all that’s left. Sometimes he’ll stomp all over his mother’s heart, but regardless I love him. Words don’t describe how I love him.” ► Would you say you have a “messed up life” ➔ “...This, you call life?” ► Have you ever ran away from home ➔ “As a girl? Only once did I make that mistake.” ► Have you ever gotten kicked out ➔  “No, as long as I schlepped my part.”

FRIENDS

► Do you secretly hate one of your friends ➔ “Hate? No, but, all these hours I slave over a hot stove and their dinner they won’t finish? The local pandaren ask for 6th helpings! Now that, that is a guest! By the way are you almost done with all the asking? You barely touched your soup! Keep this up and like me you’ll look like! Please, eat!” ► Do you consider all of your friends good friends ➔ “Maybe if more time I had to see them.” ► Who is your best friend ➔  “Joseph Finklestein, if I had to choose.” ► Who knows everything about you ➔ “My son may know more about me than I’d like.”

Tagged by: @abraaxas Tagging: Anyone who hasn’t already done it! <33