#to be honest I think Celica needs more love

[isaactheowl]

@nottoxicfr this is my dizzember day23 art todays prompt is cosplay

So I Drew dizzy cosplaying celica

[themonotonysyndrome]

Boo! Hello, Lovely Lady ~

If she were to meet some of the people in Intacia, how do you think they'd feel about Anastasia? Warren too?

Honestly, I feel as though when Anastasia gets comfortable enough, she'll tell both Cecila and Isolde about her .. fooling around with Warren. How do you think each of them would react?

Hehe, hey Addie!

I think Anastasia would enjoy the change of scenery. Intacia isn't 'rigid' like Steelgate, and Intacians wear their emotions on their sleeves. They're also very straightforward, and that might be something that Anastasia needs to get used to. All in all, if she's honest with Intacians, she'll get the same treatment.

If Anastasia gets to the point where she's comfortable enough with Isolde and Celica to tell them about her entanglement with Warren, rest assured the two women won't judge her. In fact, even before Anastasia confessed to them, Isolde would've suspected something and shared it with Celica (who's kinda slow in this kind of thing sdjfnksnfdsf). I can see each of them giving advice to Anastasia based on their personal experience, which hilariously, freak poor Anastasia even more.

Anastasia: WHAT DO YOU MEAN THE KING KIDNAPPED YOU AND THE COMMANDER HUMILIATED YOU WITH LINGERIE!?

Celica & Isolde: Well, you see...

[littlemisssquiggles]

Ruby Alone

As you all have seen, since prior to the last episode, I’ve been sharing my thoughts and ideas on the theory of V8 concluding with the “death” of RWBY after they fall “off Remnant and into a mysterious Other World”, as alluded to by Oscar.

While I’m still inclined to believe that theory may become possible given what transpired in this recent episode, in reviewing the RWBY V8 Opening, I noticed something interesting about the visuals again which caught my attention.

During the opening, RWBY falling was hinted much earlier in the theme during these shots right here. It’s these two shots of RWBY’s signature weapons falling through negative space which is later followed up by the opening ending with the weapons landing together on the ground.

However, here’s the bit that I think is noteworthy that I didn’t take into account before. Although the weapons of all four main girls were shown falling together through space and landing on the ground, not only is Crescent Rose the last one to hit the ground but it is also the ONLY one shown in the final shot of the opening.

It is also worth noting that the weapons fall in this particular order---first Ember Celica, then Gambal Shroud, then Myrtenaster and final Crescent Rose which ironically spells RWBY backwards.

And going back to my theory about RWBY falling in order....with Yang falling first then this is all starting to make more sense.

Going back to my point---Crescent Rose---Ruby’s weapon is the only weapon that landed on the ground but didn’t fade to darkness like the others. Instead, Crescent Rose is the only one remaining in the snow on what appears to be Remannt. Keeping that in mind, it’s making me start to ponder an alternative to my V8 finale theory. 

What if…I’m actually mistaken about the whole RWBY team falling prey to the Other World ? 

What if…as an alternative prediction, V8 will end with Ruby as the last man standing and the sole surviving member of her team after the rest “die” to the void?

Thus; V9 becomes Ruby’s story as she deals with the depression of losing her whole team; all obviously culminating with her eventually reuniting with them in the Other World. But before that, it’s mostly just about Ruby. Not RWBY. But just Ruby since RWBY started with just Ruby on her own in Remnant, trying to become a huntress. She only ends up going to Beacon and meeting and forming her own team due to Ozpin’s influence.

So imagine if...after everything she’s been through these last eight seasons, things just go back to how they were before. Ruby is on her own again. No team to lead. No big sister to guide and protect her (although ALPNE is there of course). No “BFFs” or “future-sister-in-law” on the same team to fuel her spark of hope. She no longer has her main friends by her side.

Ruby will be on her own for the first time in a long time and it becomes just her story for the most part of V9 as she does her best to figure out things all while the rest of the cast who survived the fall---Penny, ALPNE and their allies in Vauco and eventually Vale---try to provide her with the emotional support that she needs in place of the one she lost.

For the first time, the story is not about Ruby having to be the spark of hope to support others but…her friends, at least the ones she still have, coming together to support her for once in a time when she can truly need it.

Like I said. It would be the story of Ruby. Not RWBY. Just Ruby. If you get what I mean.

...And now for a squiggly rant...about Ruby:

One general complaint that I’ve heard from the FNDM about Ruby including Little Red Ruby fans like myself is that Ruby has more or less received the shortest end of the stick in terms of development over the past couple of seasons since V4…despite the fact that she is our central main character who is the leader of our core team with her name literally being in the title. Not to mention that Ruby is also the face of the RWBY franchise. When RT isn’t promoting the whole RWBY team together, it’s mainly Ruby to represent RWBY since of all the girls, she is the main one as the main protagonist of RWBY. At least…she’s supposed to be?

To be blunter, I’m just going to call out the fat Heffalump in the room---Ruby Rose, despite being the leader of RWBY---despite being our title character and face of the franchise---the one characters in the show always turn to since she’s THAT important---despite all of that, Ruby has NOT felt like the actual main protagonist of RWBY for several seasons. Since V4 as some fans like to point out. 

And after closely observing her story over the last few volumes, I can’t help but agree with these critiques and comments of Ruby’s treatment when it comes to her own writing. Even when the CRWBY showrunners DO attempt to do stuff with her---it all falls...flat especially when you compare Ruby to other characters like Jaune Arc, for example, whose stories and overall development were handled much better. At least in my opinion.

Don’t believe me? Take for example, Ruby’s whole so-called “arc” as a Silver Eyed Warrior. First it was introduced as a new idea for Ruby during the FINALE of V3, then it got abandoned for two whole seasons between V4-V5. Then it got reintroduced back in V6 but was then rushed and dropped yet again for V7 only to be brought up again briefly during V8…kind of?

It’s really telling when you realize that Ruby gained control of her silver eyes despite never truly receiving any actual training from Maria in how to control her powers. Not only that but the showrunners really did Maria Calavera dirty. She was supposed to be the wise old mentor who was a badass in her prime meant to pass down her wisdom to her young eager apprentice who knew nothing of her own unique abilities including its mysterious origins.

Instead Maria didn’t know at all about where her powers originated from until she conveniently met our heroes after the Argus Ltd crash and just happened to be present when they asked Jinn about Oz’s secrets. Instead of being a mentor to Ruby which she was initially propped up to be, Maria ended up being relegated to the Granny Uber Driver of the hero team---no longer the wise experienced ex-huntress whose supposed to be teaching our title character but just a form of transportation who provides the occasional comic relief and support for Pietro Polendina, who she was put to work with…instead of Ruby…her alleged apprentice?

 Shoot---despite being a Silver Eyed Warrior, Ruby was never even a person of interest for this volume. Despite the main big bad being in Atlas and despite targeting her in the past, Salem…never goes after Ruby again while she’s in Atlas??? Ruby never even meets Salem? Despite…Salem targeting Ruby back in V4? Despite Salem’s history with capturing Silver Eyes? Despite Salem’s connection to Ruby through her mother???

Ruby is never actively a part of the Salem subplot on Monstra…even though… certain developments left over from previous seasons indicated that she should’ve been?

Instead…we got to watch Yang accost Salem for Summer Rose’s death after SHE is the one to be on the rescue party to save Oscar from Monstro. Even though…Yang has neither been a person of interest to Salem before NOR has the Xiao Long girl been shown to be a close affiliate of Oscar in the past prior to V8 NOR has the Xiao Long girl actually addressed Summer Rose as her mother since V2???

Up until V8, Ruby has always been the character of focus with all things Summer Rose and Salem and yet…we NEVER saw her meet Salem in the flesh period for this season…at all…???

Instead; Ruby spends MOST of this season cooped up at Schnee Manor, completely absent from and even oblivious to some of the more dire PLOT stuff that was happening outside of Schnee Manor (such as YJR going into Monstra to save Oscar before the Aces Ops blew up the whale).

Despite her connection to Oscar who became Salem’s prisoner. Despite her connection to Salem through her mother. Despite being a Silver Eye and a former target of Salem. Despite the Hound and what it turned out to be. Despite the showrunners literally teasing Ruby meeting Salem face to face back in V7---WE NEVER GET TO SEE RUBY MEET SALEM IN THE FLESH AT ALL DURING V8 WHILE SALEM IS IN ATLAS???

Salem targets Oscar which makes perfect sense given his connection to Ozma as his current incarnate. But Salem doesn’t target Ruby? DESPITE HER BEING A TARGET OF HERS IN THE PAST? DESPITE HER BEING A SILVER EYED WARRIOR? DESPITE WHAT THE HOUND REVEALED?

Why didn’t Salem send the Hound after Ruby? That would’ve made more sense, again knowing what the Hound actually was? Instead the Hound was sent after Penny which, in my opinion, felt mighty redundant since Salem already had Watts and Cinder Fall dealing with Penny.  

THEY EVEN TEASED THE HOUND TARGETING RUBY BUT IT WAS ALL A FLUKE.  RUBY IS COMPLETELY OMITTED FROM THE SALEM SUBPLOT EVEN THOUGH SHE IS THE TITLE CHARACTER AND THE ONLY ONE ON TEAM RWBY WITH A LEGIT CONNECTION TO SALEM AND HAS BEEN A TARGET OF HERS SINCE V4???

I DON’T GET IT!

…BUT… with my mini rant aside, those are just a few of the inconsistencies that I’ve noticed in the writing of RWBY in respect to Ruby Rose.

Overall; the point I’m trying to make here is this: for the sake of sounding like a Negative Nancy, I ask this honest question to the CRWBY Writers. How? How can you fumble this much with your own title character? I’m not saying this to come off disrespectful. I’m saying this as someone who has followed the story of RWBY since the get-go and has closely observed the treatment of its characters; particularly the main ones and particularly the ones that I personally love and Ruby is one of them.

Despite being our main girl, Ruby’s writing hasn’t been the squeakiest, admittedly. As a matter of fact, it’s been quite messy since V4 due to the amount of times the showrunners have introduced ideas for her only to abandon them later on thus creating those problems with consistency I mentioned earlier.

Overall, it’s difficult for me to even say that Ruby is the lead character of RWBY since often times; she doesn’t FEEL like the main protagonist despite the show claiming how important she is meant to be. And this sentiment is due in part to how messy her story is handled compared to other characters of lesser importance.

And it’s a sad thing for me to say as both a viewer and fan of Ruby’s character since Ruby is THE lead main character of RWBY. She’s like the Tony Stark of the RWBY-verse. She’s the one who started it all yet her story is one of the messiest I’ve seen in terms of direction and treatment. At least by my observations since this is just my opinion on the subject matter.

It’s one thing to blunder a bit on your side or even your supporting characters. But to slip up on your lead characters, especially your MAIN one who is the FACE of the show, c’mon CRWBY Writers.

And the events of V8 didn’t help change my opinion. After taking away all the bloat this season had for all the stuff they tried to shove into this one season, I realized that V8 didn’t really do much for Ruby. At least, not as much as I anticipated.

I was hoping that Ruby would’ve been a more focal character for V8 since V7 teased some stuff for her in respect to Salem. Instead, I watched a season where Ruby felt more like a supporting character for Penny Polendina since, in my opinion, Penny received much more focus and better development for V8 while Ruby, our LEAD took backstage to her story.

Because while Ruby was stuck playing supporting character, she was actively left out of subplots that she should’ve been a major part of. Not just because she’s the “protagonist” but because of elements to her story that were developed seasons prior but seemed to have gotten dropped for V8?

Ruby’s treatment for V8, to me,  is an example of a “build-up with no payoff”. All that stuff between her and Salem and her mother felt like it ultimately didn’t matter in the end because Ruby didn’t even meet Salem. 

Yang, to me, had the development with Salem that Ruby should’ve received.

Shoot---Ruby wasn’t even a thought on Salem’s mind…despite the events V4 and V7???

I just don’t understand. 

But like always, this is just how I feel about it. I’m disappointed with how Ruby was done for this season. While I liked the moment she shared with Blake in V8CH8 and Yang in V8CH11...that’s pretty much the ONLY thing I liked about Ruby’s story for this season. 

Outside of that, it felt to me like the showrunners didn’t do much with her for V8. In a season of so much happening, the stuff that happened with Ruby on her side of the story didn’t honestly stand out to me compared to what I saw the showrunners do for other characters who aren’t the lead this season.

It’s not like I’m trying to say she didn’t receive any development at all for V8. It’s more like most of what was done with Ruby didn’t quite stand out to me so it ends up feeling like not much was done for her. 

To me, Ruby falls into the same category as Nora Valkyrie for this season. Despite the PLOT preaching about them getting big developments, if you rock back and actually analyse the narrative, you’d actually see that not much was done for them despite the PLOT “talking the talk but not walking the walk” y’know what I mean?

And going back to Ruby, that’s disappointing since I wanted more for Ruby. I EXPECTED MORE for Ruby as our title lead but it didn’t happened. Instead it felt like some of the major developments that she should’ve received for this season went to other characters while she in turn took a backseat.

Things didn’t really start kicking up for Rubes until halfway through the season when the 100th episode aired and the Hound appeared. And even then the excitement of that reveal was short-lived since...Ruby was NOT the real target of the Hound. PENNY WAS. The Hound wasn’t sent to antagonize RUBY. It was sent for Penny which to me sort of undermines the reveal.

Some Ruby fans have been wishing for the show to feel more about just Ruby again for quite some time now and it is for this reason why I’m starting to dig this alternative theory of mine with Ruby surviving “The Fall of the Central Zone” alone with the rest of her team lost to the Other World.

While the concept of RWBY being trapped together in another world is still on the table of possibilities, I still wish to toss out this other one too.

I like the idea of a more Ruby-centric season where for the second time in the narrative, she’s separated from her core teammates only this time…it’s in “death” or rather “nonexistence” or “nothingness” since from Ruby’s perspective with her limited knowledge of magic (despite what she does know from Oz and Jinn) and the workings of the world that Ambrosius created, she doesn’t know what truly happened to her team.

The only thing she knows is that she watched her whole team dissipate into nothing before her very eyes and that is the last memory she has of them that haunts her for some time.

Imagine if…V9 will be about Ruby dealing with such a huge loss which could potentially touch more upon how she internalizes death in general tying back into probably flashbacks of her time with her mother before she learnt of her death at a young age.

While I understand we’ve had a storyline with Ruby being separated from her main team before back during V4-V5, however a plot line like this would be different this rounds since unlike before, Ruby at least knew that her team mates were alive. Far away. Separated by distance. But still alive and still a part of Remnant with the hope that she would be reunited with them again.

However this won’t be the case this second time. It would truly be Ruby alone since her team would be gone and no one could provide her with the solace of seeing them again---not even the friends she does still have (although that doesn’t stop some of them from trying to be there for the little red rose who has now lost more than her heart could handle)

I know the off-chance of this theory actually coming to fruition might be scarce. But like many ideas I’ve shared, it’s still worth tossing out since you guys know how this squiggle meister likes to roll.

~ LittleMissSquiggles (2021)

[gentleoverdrive]

(29/?) Arbitrary list that means precious little but you're reading already and-- oh shit! What's next? What is this madperson going to say/post next?

My top 10 favorite Fire Emblem Characters, because I cannot think of anything cheeky/sardonic/fun/insightful/interesting to write about and rehearsal has left both my body and mind dry, so I'm trying to go to sleep with all those factors in mind.

Ayra: Big surprise, I like sword ladies, and who better to sit at #1 than the codifier of the trope within the franchise? Despite the limited dialogue for all playable characters not named Sigurd on Gen 1, she gets a strong character arc through general conversations, "cutscenes" and lovers' chats, probably the second most realized character in the whole game's 1st part. "Oh, but Lewyn." Listen, I love Lewyn, but whereas Lewyn gets a lot of shilling that might sometimes feel out of place, Jeorge is there and he doesn't overstay his fucking welcome.

Alm: Spots 1 through 5 could all basically start with "big surprise...". Anyway, while Celica's route might have been slightly more interesting during my first playthrough and even though the "coming of age"-arc has been done to death within the franchise, I do think Alm himself gets a simple yet incredibly effective character arc, up there with Ike's. Him and his redheaded half are my favorite lords in FE, and that's unlikely to change any time soon.

Lachesis: This is basically because I used to be obsessed with Sailor Moon and Utena and, while also short and not as complete as Ayra's, Lachesis' character arc is covered/explored through the two Jugdral Emblem games having an interesting, if tragic, conclusion. An incredibly interesting character that has not gotten enough justice in my arrogant-ass opinion.

Celica: A friend described Celica to me as thus: "Basically a Disney Princess mixed with a Gundam Pilot". This was back when I was showing interest in SoV, after staying the fuck away from Fire Emblem for almost 2.5 years at that point in time (January 2019). I've played the game 6 times since then, and both herself and her green-haired half have held a close place in my dorky heart of hearts. Oh, and that dumb "X meets Y" thing? Totally true.

Arvis: Contrary to what I said in Alm's entry, this was hard due to the fact that, while I think I like Lyon's in-game character arc better, because I'm a giant nerd that's read and owns almost all of the FE4 manga, light novels and supplementary materials, Arvis' remains one of my favorite antagonists in all of fiction. The closest the series has gotten to making a main/main-ish antagonist this good has only been a couple of times, with Lyon being the close 2nd in this regard.

Hector: Sigurd used to be 6th, and while I still love the main chalphy boi, Hector's character arc a another of my favorites; the "rough 'n tumble" exterior conceals a man who struggles with a rather heavy burden that he knows he needs to get rid of but he then also tries to be a solid foundation for others. Hector basically finished codifying the "Rowdy"-type Lords archetype that Alm started and Sigurd undoubtedly popularized on the decade prior, and the series has been all the better for it going forward.

Cherche: She's the best character in Awakening by a long mile, with Maribelle and Panne coming in close second and third, and it's not even subjective. "B-but Luci--!" Listen, Lucina is pretty, but her, Chrom and Robin are kinda meh. You can be honest and admit that you like a character/a person because they're hot, even if they've got little else going on. It's fine. "Oh, but the DLC--!" seriously, you're embarrassing yourself at this point. Wyvern + Axe + Formerly going to be part of the clergy but said 'screw that, wyverns to infinity' + a very interesting personality? We all need to get on Cherche's level. All of us.

Clair: "Rich/Noble Ladies that start being kind of a pain in the ass but are lowkey among the best characters in the game" is one of FE's most time-honored traditions. With SoV giving Gaiden a new coat of paint and a new lease of life (especially in the west), Clair basically takes on all the "killer" and gets rid of all the "filler". Alexis Tipton's performance is one of the game's highlights in a cast that's stacked with stellar performances, making pretty much every facet of this rich lady incredibly endearing.

Sigurd: Much has been made/said/written of House Chalphy's Duke-Heir and the fateful conclusion to his journey. And while he has fallen to 9th place from his previous positioning at 6th, there is just so much that they got right with Sigurd, character-wise, that IntSys has been constantly trying to tinker with the formula, and even if they got it close to perfect the first time around, I must commend their efforts, even if they can get screwy from time to time.

Lyon: See Arvis. For many of the same things I love (and occasionally "love to hate" them for, for some people) Arvis, Lyon is up there fighting the good fight. Pound for pound, probably my favorite actual in-game antagonist, with Ephraim's route Lyon proving how you FE can both infuriate me to no end... and yet also slap my heart-strings around hard.

See ya' tomorrow!

[summoner-asha]

It is late and I don’t know where I was going with this but it’s my first post as a FEH blog here so here! It’s a horrible WIP but maybe I’ll visit it again and fix it up...Or something

You had no real reason to dislike Valentine’s Day back in your own world. Regardless though, you still hated it. A commercialized “holiday” was what you called it. And if there was any REAL reason you liked it at all was because it would pull out all the best chocolates for great deals. That was it. You’d buy yourself a heart or two of some high quality candies and call it that.

But here...here it was different. Entirely. And you didn’t know how to feel about it. Watching everyone go about the activities for the Day of Devotion was truly something else here in Askr. And it near took your breath away. It also made you a tad jealous. Watching couples like Alm and Celica , Sigurd and Deirdre. Hell, even Berkut was in high spirits with Rinea. Effortlessly going about his way showing off his Beloved and his prowess. Her giggles of pure happiness at him just being himself. To be honest it almost made you a tad sick.

These were innocent moments of love in these trying times of war. That was right, you guys were still in the midst of a war. And somehow they were all able to...melt into each other’s arms. Your [ e.c ] eyes would gloss over as Robin and Chrom strolled by you, hand in hand as Chrom gazed at an amazed and flustered Robin that held a bouquet of various , delicate flowers in his free hand. Your eyes would then be pulled down to a tome that had been forgotten in your lap. An absent gaze would flutter about the page of scribbles and crossed out images and words. Even now, you could still be found only thinking of the next best thing for the coming battles. Never a time to rest.

“You never rest, do you?” A rough yet soft voice would catch your attention. “No matter where you’re from...here...there.” There was a pinch of teasing begging those words.You had to squint your eyes just a bit as the gowns of white and the sun stung a bit. You’d not have to for long though , for he’d made his way under the tree and to your side. Blue bangs would cover his face more as he knelt to sit, the covering over his lower face shifting just enough for you to have glanced what was underneath. Ever so curious, you leaned just to get a better peak. But he knew this and leaned back so that the cloth would rest back into place. His eyes watched you. Ever so sad they were. And they’d catch you each time since Líf had come to your side.

The silence was getting awkward. But you’d hardly tell from how struck you were by his eyes. You could stare into them all day if you could. But a snap of the fingers brought you back. Your eyes blinking as your brain clicked back to reality. His question now registering through your ears and to your brain.

“There is always time for plotting. We’re still at war here.” You sighed with a beam at him. He was the last person you’d think would be on your case about something like this. What with him all ‘devoted’ out. You were still in your battle attire. You had to be on your toes. Even when everyone was sick in the head with love. At the back of your mind you had to admit it would be nice to be in that spot too…

Gods, the same in either world…

It annoyed him so much. You being like this. Even in his world it was the same. You staying up countless nights for the sake of others. Sacrificing time you could have spent relaxing when you needed it. Time that could have been spent relaxing...Together.

Staring at you now, his mind could only go back to all those times he could have just carried you off from your desk , or the fields , or the library and just took you and hid away from the daily ruckus with you for just a little….

Wait. Now he was the one that was staring. And now you were the one leaning in. You asked him a question but he heard nothing of it. But he was more clever than you. His brows furrowed slightly as a hand slowly reached up, gloved fingers hesitant at your bangs that covered the head band. Your eyes watched his hand. Unsure of what he was going to do. And at the back of your mind you hoped he’d do SOMETHING. He couldn’t be cold all the time.He couldn’t do it. His hand fell and he shifted his body to be facing forward so that he ,too, was looking out at the others.

Man he was just as awkward as your Alfonse…

Words crumbled between you two. It fell silent. And for some reason, your cheeks were gently flushed. But why? He didn’t do anything. He didn’t even answer your question. Why was he bothering with this festival? Why was he bothering with you right now? You didn’t even call him over. He was being weird.

Your eyes would linger back down to your tome. You could tell you weren’t going to be getting any ideas for a game plan. At least not right now. It was lazily closed shut and then set to your side. It was a nice and sunny day anyways. And Líf also seemed to be relaxed for a change.

You might as well take this moment while you could. And so you did. Slipping your cloak off your shoulders and allowing it to pool around you. Your body relaxed as your leaned on your palms. You stole a glimpse of Líf who seemed to also to just...be in the moment. Seeming to stare off into space after seeing you loose. It was a very nice feeling. It you felt you would do best to just keep that to yourself.

[crystalelemental]

Eirika: “Oh great.  Second place.  And last place among the top four.  This sucks.”

Ephraim: “What’s wrong with second place?  You got the Brave alt, sis.”

Eirika: “I was supposed to beat you!”

Ephraim: “Beat me?”

Eirika: “This was my chance!  I had first place by midterms, and it was taken from me, and now I’m in the same place you are but years later!  After everything, people still see me as just a worse you!”

Marianne: “I’m sorry.  If I hadn’t taken first place from you-”

Eirika, holding her face: “Shhhhhshshsh.  No.  You have done nothing wrong ever, and we love you.”

Marianne: “I don’t deserve your kindness.”

Eirika, whispering: “You deserve everything.”

Byleth: O_O *points to self*

Eirika: “You deserve nothing!  Get out of here, loser!”

Byleth: O_O, *sadness*

Eirika: “Freaks me the fuck out…”

Ephraim: “I can understand how you feel, but you still won second, and second really matters!”

Camilla: “Exactly!  I mean, I was first, but second is fine, given how many people spite voted Micaiah to throw me off.”

Eirika: “Wait, spite voting?”

Camilla: “Oh yes, it’s when a bunch of people vote for a character not because they love them, but because they hate the alternative so much they’ll refuse to vote based on their preference and instead vote for someone with a chance to ruin the one they hate.  That’s why I wasn’t second in CYL2.”

Veronica: “It’s true.  I’m only here because enough people hate Camilla to offset those who love her.  I don’t even think I’m that popular.  I was probably just going to be that one weirdly high-ranking OC for that year, who’d drop like a rock immediately after.”

Lysithea: “I had fewer votes than Marth and am only here because of gendered divisions.”

Eirika: “Okay, I’m going to need you all to be honest with me.  None of this matters, does it?  My winning or losing had no value either way.”

Ephraim: “What kind of mentality is that supposed to be?”

Eirika: “Ephraim, listen.  Maybe in your time, second place meant something. You lost to Hector, one of the fan favorites, and to Celica, who recently migrated into existence in a meaningful way.  Your competition mattered.”

Ephraim: “We had Veronica win our year, Eirika.  Veronica.”

Veronica: “What is that supposed to mean?”

Ephraim: “You don’t exactly have much going on.  You were a big antagonist initially, but all you had even then was sad angry child.  Nowadays you’re really just an ally that refuses to admit you’ve gone soft, and your popularity was clearly a mix of being barely passable as an archetype and spite voting Camilla out.”

Veronica: “A fair assessment, but words can still hurt.”

Eirika: “But at least your competition mattered.  Being here just feels like a joke anymore, and being second is a disgrace.”

Ephraim: “Listen, losing to Marianne and Marth isn’t anything to be ashamed of.  They’re good first place picks.”

Eirika: “Marth didn’t get first.  He was second.”

Ephraim: “Wait, what?  But...Chrom didn’t get in, so who-”

Gatekeeper: “Greetings, everyone!  Nothing to report!”

Ephraim: “I...don’t even know this person.”

Eirika: “He’s Gatekeeper.”

Ephraim: “Yes, I can tell from the uniform, but what’s his name?”

Eirika: “He does not have one.”

Ephraim: “...what?”

Eirika: “No one knows his name.  Not even the people from Fodlan during his time.  He was just some guy that stood at the gates of their academy and guarded things.  According to some, guarded them badly.”

Ephraim: “...huh.”

Eirika: “We all lost to that.”

Marianne: “I’m just happy to know others think so highly of me.”

Ephraim: “Marianne’s got the right idea.”

Eirika: “But this is supposed to be a prestigious event!  And we all lost to a nameless nobody!  It wasn’t even close!  He had more than double Marianne’s votes, and therefore even more of a lead over me!  I’m less than half as important and interesting in the eyes of the people as this guy!  We’re past the point where important figures seem to matter to anyone, and we’re all just consolation prizes after random selections!  It’s a disgrace!”

Ephraim: “Eirika, I think maybe you need to hear some advice Duessel once gave to me, that might cheer you up.”

Eirika: “I really do not need war advice from that man.”

Ephraim: “The only HP that matters is zero.”

Eirika: “...that sounds exactly like something he’d say.  What is that supposed to mean?”

Ephraim: “It means that it doesn’t matter how much is left, or how close something comes.  At the end of the day, there are only two distinct states of being: Alive, or dead.  Victory, or defeat.  And you won today, Eirika.  That’s all that matters.”

Eirika: “But it feels like it should matter!  This is meant to be a means of determining who people love.  What stories they hold close to their hearts, and the characters that stirred their passions and imaginations!  The means and nuance of outcomes should matter!”

Ephraim: “But they don’t.”

Eirika: “But that’s completely dissatisfying!”

Ephraim: “Yes, Eirika.  Yes it is.  But hey, look at it this way.  Second place can be just as good or better than first place.”

Eirika: “Wouldn’t they give more to the winners?”

Ephraim: “I mean they get a cool skill, but look at the last few years.  Veronica ranked last in my run, and she was the best of us for years.”

Veronica: “It’s true.  Everyone was afraid of me.”

Ephraim: “And Lyisthea was last place last year, and no one considers her a bad unit.”

Eirika: “I guess, but...Roy?  Eliwood?”

Ephraim: “Were still pretty good!  Every Brave alt does well for itself, even if it’s not a top threat.  And just remember that Alm won CYL3 and is considered the worst of all of them.”

Eirika: “I don’t know…”

Ephraim: “Then think about it this way.  Getting last place means last pick of weapon.”

Eirika: “How is that a good thing?  That just means I have even less say!”

Ephraim: “Well, what would the others pick?  Have you thought about it?”

Eirika: “Well, Marth will take sword, I’m sure.  And Gatekeeper has a lance so that’s likely blue down.  So I could have green or colorless.”

Ephraim: “Exactly.  Green’s really good coverage for you, and Colorless...look, Colorless is the best color every year.  Veronica and Lyn absolutely dominated their competition until refines were given, Camilla was the strongest in a fairly underwhelming bunch, and Claude honestly had more variety than the others and is likely to stand the test of time.  If you’re Colorless, you’re in the clear.”

Eirika: “Okay, but...what if you’re wrong, and they make me a blue unit?  What if I’m a lance cav?”

Ephraim, placing a hand on her shoulder: “Then all is dust, Eirika.  All is as dust.”

[dragonheadskilax]

Gonna annotate about Leon’s entire character to y’all because he’s so so good, and every time I see someone say he’s a bad character for crushing on a man who doesn’t like him back i’m >:(

An archer born in a Zofian town. His manner of speech and conduct are unmistakably similar to a young lady's. He grew up care-free thanks to his parents and their laid-back environment. He was often teased for his effeminately good looks, and he always responded with a test of skill--which he would win, improving his reflexes. He joined the army to search for someone he could devote his heart to. When Valbar decided to accompany Celica, he naturally tagged along, and provided much assistance during the journey. He has a frank personality, saying what's on his mind; he's also the type of person who wears his heart on his sleeve. After the war, he became a merchant and it's said he lived a free and happy life.

The area of Zofia do follow Mila who is known as the goddess of love so considering how Leon is sappy and having the title “True of Heart”, Leon would totally be into lovecore aesthetic.

He may act feminine, use female gendered words in other languages, and would call himself a maiden, but as far as everything else he’s crude and mean and doesn’t hold back on filtering himself even if he’s talking to a kid.

Leon left home when he was young, so considering how this game series does have a thing of making 15 year old kiddies soldiers I’m guessing he left home at around that age.

To ‘wear your heart on your sleeve’ means to be honest and openly show your feelings or emotions. He’s painfully honest and drop hints he’s not straight.

"...Blerg. I don't like sea travel, and it sure doesn't like me. I'm nauseous, I'm sunburned, and I'm wind-beaten. I look like death's damp leftovers. But YOU look fresh as a daisy, Priestess! What's your secret? ...What? Nothing? NOTHING?! But you look like a dew-dappled angel! Augh, that's so annoying... Well, youth is great and all, but don't expect it to last."

There’s that painful honesty.

He sure does focus on his looks. He’s 24, smh Leon don’t think that you’re not gonna last past 30.

"Great. We finally get off that infernal boat, and now it’s the desert. Are you doing this on purpose, Priestess? Is it personal? *sigh* I want to get out of here before I dry up like a mummy. If I turn hideous and Valbar abandons me, it’s your fault. …What did you say? …Valbar isn’t the sort to judge people by their appearance? You think I don’t realize that? I know him FAR better than you! Gods, it really throws me when you’re so rational and correct…"

Still trying hard to get noticed by Valbar.

I like how he’s saying this particular line to a 17 year old, like chill, dude. Be nice.

"When I was a kid, there was this guy that I was head over heels for. He’s the reason I enlisted, actually. Just so I could stay close to him. He died in the first battle we fought. I cried so hard, I thought my eyes were going to float clean out of my skull. Valbar saved me from that. Every time he saw me, he’d take the time to say something. Cheer me up. What can you do with a man like that but fall in love? You’re thinking I’m a tramp, aren’t you? Well, I’m not. It’s hardly my fault that the world is full of wonderful, lovable people. Such a thing really motivates one to get out there and save it."

He made a big decision to leave home and enlist to follow a guy.. Now that he fell in love with Valbar he’s doing anything to follow him, too. I guess what’s different is it had been an unrequited love, even when it was suggested that Valbar knew about it it remained as a crush. Leon loves him at a distance so then he wouldn’t get badly hurt as he once had.

Him saying he’s not a “tramp” is a bit of info I like because people tend to wanna characterize effeminate gay characters as being touchy and wanting to peek at lotsa guys (which isn’t bad but there’s more than one type of guy), but not Leon, he’s more of a yearning for a soul mate kinda guy. He’s not big on lots of physical touch unless he really likes ya. "Hey, hey, now. No more of that." “I'm a friendly fellow, but not the touchy-feely type. All right?"

talking to Valbar “Heh heh. But it's fine. Emotions come in many forms, and as you say, there's no point in hanging on. I'm still glad I have these feelings, and nothing will change that.”

A crush is totally different than being in a relationship so like... I don’t like it when people say he’s a bad character for it. It totally happens to like someone but they don’t swing that way. In Leon’s case he keeps the crush because it feels safer and sappy to have it. Even if he tries his darnest to let Valbar get the hint he Loves loves him, when nothing happens he just accepts that.

talking to Valbar “Just realizing I've been a fool for feeling sorry for myself. Compared to what you've gone through, my worries are nothing.”

Despite the ol’ “keeping his heart on his sleeve” thing Leon has a knack of keeping negative feelings to himself. Probably the type who wouldn’t admit it because it doesn’t feel as big of a deal compared to other’s. This guy needs a hug so bad.

Kamui: “Oh, you're a laugh riot. But anyway, what do you think makes a good man?”

Leon: “Hmm. That's not easily summed up in a few words, but... for starters, he should be kind, strong and mature... while maintaining a boyish innocence. He also needs to listen, but be ready to tell the hard truths when necessary.”

Kamui: “Oh, come on. No one's that perfect.”

Some people take their conversations as being odd or random information or just to express again on how Leon’s gay but I wanna turn more attention on Kamui’s motive for asking in the first place. For someone who tries to not make people take him as gay, and explicitly so in the manga, he sure do wanna know what Leon’s type is if he’s got his eyes on Valbar.

Kamui is kinda right that no one could be perfect but Leon had been describing Valbar, when like,, they’re not even in a relationship… Leon honey… don’t hurt yourself like this. This leads to their next conversation;

Kamui: It's about… what you said before. So what would you do if Valbar ended up being.. the opposite of your ideal?

Leon: Well, that's an absurd question. But in the interest of humoring you and passing the time... Well, I suppose I'd set off looking for a man who met my perfect ideal. A journey like that might actually be kind of... fun.

Kamui: I think that's the first time you and I have agreed on anything.

Kamui could probably tell that Valbar isn’t ever going to return the kind of love Leon wants, and tries to learn what Leon’s thoughts are about that. Because even if he says he doesn’t care much about anything he seems to care about Leon. On the battlefield given his specific quotes for Leon and in these conversations. Kamui tells how his luck went south ever since joining in this journey and he’s only sticking around for the money, but that job he was paid for was done a long time ago at his recruitment quest. So he seems to hang around anyway for his sense of completion on things it seems.

The word ‘journey’ is like music to Kamui’s ears considering his history. It would be a fun writing idea actually of them traveling across Valm picking guys to speed date, well, like in the manga lmaooo but wider ranged.

This would be the first time Leon speaks nicely to Kamui instead of being standoffish and harsh. Kamui sounded really relieved for that. Then when Leon says he doesn’t like him that way Kamui instantly tries to back track lol

"Hello, Kiran! I've prepared some tea. Would you care to join me? I must admit, I was anxious when you first summoned me here. Ugh, don't laugh—it's rude! I may not look worried, but I have my fair share of concern, same as anyone else. Anyway, you've proven yourself more than capable, so I suppose I don't mind sticking around. To be honest, I am eager to return home... But that can wait, I think... Care for another cup?"

He says this when level 40 in FEH. So by this point he’s well acquainted with the player. Him admitted that negative feeling is once again that thing he has of keeping feels in to not seem it’s a big issue. And him wanting to go back home…. boohoo..

(If Valbar lives) Welcomed into the One Kingdom's Brotherhood of Knights, Leon remained at Valbar's side until an injury ended his fighting career. He then took up work as a merchant in the city market, where he lived free, happy, and dauntlessly true to himself to the last.

He better keep that good happy ending 👊

(If Valbar dies) Dealt a grievous blow by Valbar's death, Leon disappeared for a time before returning to join the One Kingdom's Brotherhood of Knights. There, he fought with the strength of a hundred men, and later served as an instructor to new recruits, contributing greatly to the order.

It’s messed up to think of Leon losing someone he loves again….. He should not go through all that again… Where did he disappear to.. Did he turn himself from twink to a bear to take the place of what would’ve been Valbar’s job if he lived (since Valbar ending would’ve been him becoming the instructor)

[jasperlion]

@poltergeist [ x ]

--- "You look like you've been thinking about the immortality of the crab." Even with the joking approach, Alm's frows furrow as he eyes her with concern and moves to Celica's side. "... Something bothering you? You— ... I'm here to listen. If... if you'll have me." A part of him just wants to take his friend's hand and pretend it hadn't been over seven years and they were still just children in a village— a pretty lie they lived then. So he offers it instead, along with an encouraging smile. ---

                           “     alm !     ”          reflexively,   clasped hands fall away from her chest,   just short of the scabbard at her side.     celica’s expression relaxes only slightly at the sight of her childhood friend—       there is no need to force a smile in alm’s presence;   he knows her far too well.     a sigh she didn’t know she was holding in is let,   and celica’s gaze darts back to his,   the soft smile split across her expression a bit more wry than one would expect.         “    oh,   you.     and,   please,   don’t sneak up on me like that again !     i’m liable to jab you in the stomach next time.     ”

                             as he speaks,   she cocks her head to the side,   an act of quiet deliberation.     it would be so easy to brush him off,   to insist that needn’t worry himself with her troubles and switch the topic to something more light - hearted.     self sacrifice has always come natural to celica—        she’s lived out her whole life martyring herself,   after all.

                             it would be easier,   yes,   but celica cannot recall a time in her life she found herself inclined to the path of lesser strife for her own peace of mind.     and she and alm made a promise,   after all:   no more secrets,   no more repressing the darker thoughts that plagued their conscious in fear of burdening the other.         (   well,   it was mostly she who promised.     intrapersonal honesty was not something alm ever seemed to struggle with,   and never to his detriment.   )          there is a certain weight to celica’s footfalls as she steps closer to her friend,   taking her hand in his.

                             “     i appreciate it,   truly.     i suppose...     i was just pondering what future might have in store for the two of us.     the mother and father are at peace now,   finally—        it’s only the both of us left to shape valentia in their stead.     ”         and the hand lingering at her side flexes its fingers,   brought to rest at the hilt of the blade sheathed away.     how celica now finds a sort of strange comfort in resting her hand upon a weapon—        the irony is not lost on her.

                                eyes cast downwards to the ground flash upwards for a moment,   settling to meet alm’s gaze.     there is something strangely comforting,   familiar in a sense,   about the green of his eyes.     it reminds her of ram village,   of home,   where she can recall with a fondness how celica’s many problems seemed to slip away from her like grains of sand past her scarred fingers.     it was ram village,   after all,   that she even became celica.

                                 she wonders how easy it is for her friend to read past the serenity of her smile and the warmth of her eyes,   to the exhaustion lurking underneath.     celica has always been a fitful sleeper,   though that has become especially true as of late.     a tired sigh and,          “     i suppose i don’t quite know.     i’m trying to pick up more on your idealism,   and my hopes for the future are so high,   but...     i worry.     ”          it’s better she leave it that,   she supposes.     for now.

                                 her smile brightens by a fraction,   and the hand held in hers is given a tight squeeze—           a grounding force,   anchoring her to the mother’s earth.     celica says,          “     but that’s enough of my negativity,   wouldn’t you agree ?     we’ll be alright,   won’t we ?     so long as we have one another.     ”

There’s a deep-seated guilt in the fact that his first response to see a hand fall to a weapon was for his own to do the same, regardless of the knowledge that this was all inevitably the result of their struggle. He knows this, yet the very idea of bringing Celica harm (again) feels absolutely revolting to the core— his hand jerks away almost like the Kingsfang’s hilt had burned it.

“Sorry, Celica.” It’s an earnest apology, and the apologetic smile that follows is genuine. “I didn’t mean to spook you.”

Truly, he takes no offense to the gesture, and he’s sure he’d be doing the same until his heart calmed down, were Falchion not the last thing he wanted to be touching when around the person he loved the most. 

He tears his mind away from the memories of the Vault and shuts them away.

Instead, he focuses on the fact that she’s making no effort to just push this all away and pretend it wasn’t happening. She’s giving it some thought, and he might as well listen. Eyes trained on her own (and her in general, whenever she looks away), he loosely squeezes her hand once she takes his, if only to offer a silent sort of encouragement.

“The future, huh?” Her gaze keeps darting, but there’s something familiar about the look in her eyes whenever they meet. It’s one he’s seen on himself often, and a lot of the soldiers that served under him during the war. She’s... tired.

His expression lightens, a small chuckle escaping his breath, and he squeezes her hand in kind, his right reaching to join them both, cradling her hand in both his own. “We’ll make it together, as many stumbles as it takes.” Alm affirms with a growing smile. The mere thought that they didn’t have to part any longer, not for long and uncertain period full of dread, was almost like the lifting of a weight in his heart.

“... Still, though, if I’m being honest— I’m pretty worried, too.” It’s easy to admit things, especially to Celica. “I know we’ll figure it out, I just know it, but... I guess I just don’t want folks to suffer as a result of our fumbles. Duma and Mila trusted us with this— the Emperor- erm... my father” Gods, what a foreign word to his ears “trusted us with this, and as much as I want to trust that judgement, it’s just...

“... worrying.” Yeah. He’s not sure how else to put it.

With a sigh and drooping shoulders, he then huffs and shakes his head, giving her hand one more squeeze. The light frown that had formed on his face turns back to a smile, a far calmer one this time, eyes peering at her own. “I guess it’s worries that are keeping us both tired and wide awake, huh?” Letting his right hand drop, his left thumb runs over her knuckles in an affectionate gesture. “It’s hard to get a good night’s rest of late, but maybe it’ll help.”

[roraruu]

wip: caught

more vamp!au. tw: for blood mentions and mentions of a lost limb

Mae says she almost catches him, slinging fireballs and thunder at him. Silque knows that it is nothing he cannot handle, nothing he cannot overcome. He disappears again, slipping out of Novis for a while until he returns. They all speak of it in hushed tones at the Priory. No one knows his name or face, so they cannot place who he is.

“If I had’ve just been quicker, I would’ve made him into a lightning pole with all the metal he wears!” She jeers. Her words frighten poor Genny, who’s barely able to hold her staff when they go on hunts.

Celica hushes Mae before Silque can hear anymore. The vampire’s warning rings in her ears, making her sick to her stomach.

They had been safe from his kind for a while. But she supposes that moment of peace has ended. Too abruptly; the Pegastym is almost upon them, when the land’s harvest is ripe and ready to be picked. All capable hands from the priory will be pulled to help in them fields, as will hers. They will be left open for attack, for the vampire to make his move.

It makes her both nervous and angry. Why had he picked Novis? Why not the mainland? No... either way they are damned just like him; in the end he will always need to feed and they will be forced to drive him back to his cemetery.

Mae’s pride sets her off more than usual. She finishes her regular duties of caring for the young, sitting confessional and offering food to the poorer sections of the island and then holes up in her room, devoting herself to prayer. It is the one thing that clears her muddy mind and stops her shaking hands.

She never closes the door to her room, instead leaving it ever so slightly open. No one ever enters or bothers her. Interrupting prayer is a holy offence, it is like interrupting a close and private conversation between friends or family.

In her prayers, Silque always asks for the priory—for the Mother to continue to keep it safe and provide Novis with enough. It is continuous, going on for hours and hours until Silque sways in her spot and her mind swims with thoughts.

Moonlight steeps through the lace curtains of her room. The moon is startlingly bright tonight, almost pure white. For once, her room is light. It always seems too dark, barely bright enough to write sermons and hymns even in daylight.

Her hands drop from their clasp and she turns to face the window. Such a bright and pretty night. Her eyes scan the familiar priory—the gardens that grow beautiful and plentiful flowers and food, the courtyard that hosts many a training session for their mages and knights, the large trees that children play under in the warmth of Flostym.

She notices something in the distance. A traveller perhaps, probably weary and looking for somewhere to sleep and a good meal. She glances behind her—the hallway is dark, most of the other residents must have gone to sleep already.

Silque pulls a cloak around herself and hurries outside. She knows they have another cot which can be set up in the chapel, and there are provisions in the canteen. Visitors are not unheard of this late at night, although, it’s been awhile since they’d had one so late. It just be past midnight now. She takes a lantern.

She walks out to the edge of the priory, holding her hand out. “Come into the arms of the mother,” she greets in her most comforting voice.

She brings the lantern up to his face. Porcelain skin, blue hair, lips twisted into a haughty smirk and blood red eyes. “I think I’d rather not.”

Him.

She drops the lantern against the earth and lets out a yelp. Silque scrambles behind the stone posts of the Priory before he can lunge. The lantern begins to catch fire on the dry grass and she lets out a cry. His boot comes down, extinguishing it with dark smoke. It smells like burning rubber and salty air.

“You!” She growls.

“Aw, cold shoulder now? You were so happy to see me a second ago.” He says, his horrible laugh following after.

“Why are you here?” She asks, wide eyed and shaking. He stands just before the dividing line of the mundane and holiness—the line that will burn him in holy eminence. Silque is without her hunting gear, no sword, no holy relic to protect her, no magic. And worst, she’s exhausted.

He is in the best position to kill her, here and now, should she step past the line.

“I demand to know why you’re here!” Her voice is stronger now; Celica and her friends are in there, he could kill them all. She needs to protect them, however she can.

He rolls his eyes. “I do have a name you know.”

“Why are you here?” Silque says, clutching the necklace around her throat. It is full of Mila’s tears, a safekeeping for all holy hunters.

“Nice place you got there.” His head flicks back to the Priory. “Love to see inside, I always liked churches when I was human.”

“Where you ever human?” She practically spits at him.

He smirks. “Uh duh. No one is born like this.” He says, gesturing to his bastard of an outfit. New boots are on his feet, they’re lily white and jarring to the eye. “We’re made, like you are. You were made into a hunter, I was made into a vampire.

“Did you renounce your humanity?” She asks. There could still be salvation for him, an exorcism perhaps hidden in some old text or scripture for his tortured soul.

“Next question.”

No hope then.

“What was your human name?”

“Human this, human that. Honest to the mother, you’re just as vain and obsessed as the rest of the holy.” She stays silent as he smirks in the dark. “My name was Python. Still is.”

“Well, Python,” she says. “Why are you in such an easy position for me to kill you?”

“I know you wouldn’t.” He says. “Can’t actually.”

She frowns. He dares to leer closer to the post, almost wiggling his fingers just centimetres away from the stone. She notices that he’s still missing a section of his pinkie, the one that had been claimed by her spell. “Too weak from prayer. Devoting yourself to a Goddess who doesn’t listen.” He leers. “Silly cleric.”

“Silque.”

“Pardon?”

“The cleric’s name is Silque.” She snaps, releasing her clutch on the necklace.

Python smirks. “Finally. Only took a year to know my huntress’s name.” He says. “Pretty name too. Like the fabric?”

She doesn’t answer, instead staring him down in the darkness. “Why are you here?”

She hears his feet brush against the ground. Walking, pacing perhaps. “I was just coming by to say hello. Been a while huh?”

“You were gone.”

“And?”

“I want to know where. And what you were doing.”

“Possessive, huh? Didn’t realize you were so smitten with me” He says.

“Speak like that again and the Mother will strike you down where you stand!” She exclaims.

He laughs bitterly and loudly. “Ha! She’s too busy on her throne of depravity. And besides, I already drank one of her girls dry before and she didn’t do shit.” He slurs.

“Then I will strike you down!”

“With what holy relic?” He laughs again. “If you really wanted to know where I was, then I guess you’ll have to come out and catch me.”

She turns around, begins back to the Priory. He cannot cross the line, just as she cannot cross his.

“H-Hey! Where you going?”

“Back to my holy chamber!” She calls. “The next time you see me, it will be with your head in my hand.”

“Silque stop!” He calls her name and it sends a shiver down her spine. He doesn’t say it like Mae, who slurs the syllables together or Genny who draws them out carefully. Hard on the k. It sounds...

She stops. “Tell me where you where.” She says. “I need to know if I must bless any bodies.”

“Ha. Good luck with that.”

She whips around. Terror seizes her, she clutches her necklace tighter. “What did you do?” She breathes, hurrying back to the edge of the priory.

“I was hunting elsewhere.” He says at last, proud that she returned to talk.

She frowns.

“Listen, beggars cannot be choosers.” He chastises. “You said stay away from Novis so I traveled to the mainland and drank there. I think it’s fair.”

“So you caused troubles for another village? Or church?”

“Brigands actually.” He says. “The blood was rank. Tainted really.”

“Is there a difference?”

“Oh yes, clear as day.” He says. He takes a step closer to her, his feet crunching against the dry grass. He comes incredibly close, dangerously close. He could go up in ash should he lean ever-so-slightly over the edge...

“The holy‘s blood is clean. They don’t drink, or smoke or sin. Pure, as Mila intended.” He says. “It’s intoxicating.”

Her brow furrows. He sighs, crossing his arms. The cloak slips away so she can see a dirty, blood-stained tunic on his torso. He shrugs. “How do I explain it to a human... Think of it like...” He laughs. “Well that wouldn’t work for you, you can’t drink...”

“A meal.” He says. “Think of it like your favourite meal. Having it after years of drought, no good crops or kills. And it’s fresh, hot, rich...”

Another shiver runs down her spine. Her hands shake a little.

“That’s the blood of the holy.” He says thinly.

“Is my blood like that?” She finds herself asking.

“I’d need a taste to be sure.” He says. She sees a red eye wink. “Care to share?”

She shakes her head. “Ah well, guess I’ll have to live with your smell.”

“My smell?” She asks. All her texts on vampires and the undead were blank. It said that vampires could not come out in the light, but he didn’t shy away from her lantern, nor does he burn up in the bright moonlight. There is so much she doesn’t know and he is an unwitting player—perhaps he could let lose a trade secret, something that could bring her closer to ending him.

“Your smell is the most excruciating though.” He says. “Every human smells different, it comes from their blood. No matter how many jasmine leaves they dust on them or soap they lather into their hair, it doesn’t leave them.”

“I pain you?”

“The best smells are painful.” He smirks. “But your lady is almost as bad. She has royal blood but in that there is corruption.”

She goes still. She swallows back nervously as he smiles and laughs a little. “How do you know about lady Celica?” She asks quietly. It is still a secret to all of Novis. Should someone find out, she’d have to go into hiding again.

“Smell alone.” He says. A smirk curls on his lips, white teeth gleam in the darkness. “And now you. So what’s she doing in this boring little island?”

Silque bites down on her tongue. “I cannot say.” She says. “Nor will I tell you.”

His smirk fades. Then he shrugs. “Fair enough.” He says. “Not that I was after her per se. Just wanted some gossip.”

His feet crunch against the ground. He’s beginning to walk away. “Take care of her, Silque. She’s a lady that‘s wanted by many heads.” He calls.

“Python?” She calls, running to the edge of the priory. Her hands touch the warm stone, brimming and brewing with the holy spell that protects them. She calls his name again and again, but never dares to step beyond the stone pillars.

[thrandilf]

Breaking the Ice

Valbar/Leon Valeon fluff/romance. Body positivity, sensuality, sexuality, intimacy, fluff, newly established relationship, rated M for being sexual in nature while not actively having sex in it.

-~-

Some things in relationships didn’t happen magically or effortlessly.

Leon’s nighttime ritual hadn’t changed since he and Valbar started living together a few weeks ago. He washed his face by a polished candlelit mirror and combed his hair, striving for his soft lavender hair to always be styled in place. On days he bathed in the local hot springs he always used gentle soaps and lotion when he dried off, and just a little lotion on regular days at home. He preened incessantly, proud of his appearance, but also hoping to impress his fiancé.

Valbar wasn’t shallow enough to judge by appearance, care to know how much fussing Leon did, and perhaps wasn’t even physically attracted to Leon as far as he could tell.

It didn’t matter. Leon still squirmed happily and blushed, still thinking about Valbar’s confession of romantic feelings to him. Castle life had settled them both down over the years into comfortable roles- Leon a merchant and Valbar a military instructor. Their relationship was a budding one, built on friendship turned something more intimate, but both had agreed that they’d lived together on the battlefield and march harmoniously, how much different could domestic life be?

A soft familiar knock on the door startled Leon out of his thoughts and he grinned. “We’re to be married, you know- come in!”

“Heh, still getting used to that.” Valbar ducked under the doorframe and came in, sighing peacefully as he surveyed the room. His knighthood could’ve granted him his own estate, but Valbar had politely declined, telling Celica that a huge house with room for a family would only cause him heartache. Moving into the top floor of Leon’s hunting and adventuring supply shop had been easy, and the two shared the spacious one bedroom attic in comfort. Leon’s bed had always been huge enough to respectfully host two people, and a few rearrangements made a shared room comfortable for two people’s joined, although the closet was too packed with Leon’s outfits for Valbar to have anything but his trunk of clothes. Valbar didn’t mind, saying it was endearing.

“How was training today?” Leon carefully removed his eyeshadow, squinting and making faces in a necessary blip of unbecoming behavior for beauty’s sake.

“Great! Somewhat sore from sparring. A student almost knocked me off my feet!” exclaimed Valbar proudly. Valbar paused and leaned close hesitantly. Leon immediately stopped rubbing his eyes to give Valbar a chaste kiss. They exchanged warm smiles of new lovers whose lips tingled after a simple kiss and who were still ecstatic over fingers brushing together. They hadn’t had much more than that. Leon had no idea if Valbar even wanted more than that. “How’s business?”

“Steady, as luck would have it. I might have to price drop some of my trail rations and camping equipment, but I think my traps and archery things are selling up to par.” Archery would always be Leon’s area of expertise, even after retiring. “Damn shoulder doesn’t act up as much as it used to, but I might need help unpacking a few shipment crates tomorrow.”

Valbar sat on the edge of their bed, kicking off his boots and tossing his belt aside, settling in for the evening in a loose oversized tunic and thin slacks. “It’ll be my pleasure to help.” He rubbed the back of his neck and dragged a hand through his short hair. Leon spared him a glance and unknowingly bit his lip. He’d fallen in love with Valbar’s heart and caring personality, but Leon wasn’t immune to how his eyes longingly traced Valbar’s sturdy bulk. He was clearly muscled and strong, and oh how his callused fingers felt against his own softer skin in their brief touches together-

“Hey, Leon.” Valbar’s fond tone cut into his wandering trail of thought.

Leon jumped out of his daydream with a startled giggle. “Ahaha! Look at me, head in the clouds when I’m already the happiest man on earth. Sorry, love.”

Valbar smiled and chuckled. “No need to be sorry. I need to talk to you, is all.”

“Is something wrong?” Leon frowned and finished wiping at his face, sitting next to Valbar on the mattress.

“No no, it isn’t a bad thing. It’s just- well.” Valbar shifted on the bed and glanced away before looking back at Leon’s worried expression. “I know how you look at me, Leon. You’ve always known who you love, while being with a fella is new to me.”

Leon swallowed hard. He knew Valbar had been married with a wife long ago. He knew that Valbar’s affection for him was something romantic, with the rest being difficult to put into words. “I’m sorry. Do I make you uncomfortable? I’ll stop-“

“Hush. It’s okay.” Valbar took Leon’s hand and squeezed it. Silence stretched between them for a little too long. Leon figured he truly did make Valbar uncomfortable and opened his mouth to apologize when Valbar cut him off.

“Well. I, uh.” Valbar coughed awkwardly. “Alright, I’ll be blunt. We’re getting married. If we’re ever going to have sex, we have to be brave, honest and just hit the sheets together.”

If Leon had been drinking a beverage, it would’ve been all over the floor as he spluttered. His face glowed with a red blush and he wheezed. “Oh! I- I mean- I thought you-“

“Let’s not assume anything, okay? I want this. I want to try.” Valbar gently laid his hand on Leon’s shoulder. “I’ve never been with another guy before, but I know I love you, and there’s only one way to find out how I like you. We have to be a little clumsy and just give it a shot.”

Leon couldn’t believe this was happening. “You- I mean- yeah. That makes sense.”

More silence.

Valbar shifted his weight again.

Leon nervously bounced his leg, platform of his foot braced against the floor. He’d wanted Valbar for so long, what was wrong with him? Butterflies churned in his stomach. For some reason, even the thought of giving Valbar a hug suddenly felt like too much. “Do you know how this works?”

“Do you mean being intimate with someone, or the mechanics of what goes where?”

“Yes.” Leon switched which leg he was bouncing and tried to look Valbar in the eyes. “I- I’ll bottom.”

Valbar involuntarily snorted and Leon burst into laughter, entire body shaking. Valbar joined him heartily, both barely able to breathe. Leon collapsed back on the bed as he succumbed to his giggling, the tension in the air extinguished. Valbar laid down next to him with a thump. Leon met his eyes, light with mirth. Valbar brought Leon in close for a hug, arm around his waist. “Alright. Back it up. Let’s start a little slower, huh?”

“Okay.” Leon touched his forehead to Valbar’s. They’d laid like this before, safe and warm in each other’s arms. Leon cupped Valbar’s cheek with his palm and lovingly stroked Valbar’s face, pads of his fingertips grazing where Valbar shaved. “You only liked women for the longest time. Aside from how we romantically connected, what do you like about me? I know appearances aren’t everything, I just want to feel like you enjoy me in some way.”

Valbar absently rubbed Leon’s back with his palm in a soothing motion. His eyes still twinkled with laughter. “I don’t think you need me to tell you how handsome and beautiful you are, but what the hell. Everything about you is ethereal and graceful. You’re slender but strong and I know you use a lot of flowery smelling stuff to make your skin soft. I’ve always thought bright hair was pretty too. Really Leon, I know there isn’t an inch of you that isn’t perfect and even if you weren’t so meticulous about it, the Gods blessed you with those cheekbones and violet eyes.”

Leon grinned, embarrassed but warm all over. From Valbar, every word meant the world to him. Aesthetic attraction was much better than nothing. “Wow- you really do pay attention. I’m flattered. I- I didn’t actually know how much you notice. I’m genuinely sort of giddy from it.” Leon dragged his hand through Valbar’s short brunet hair. “Fair’s fair, right? Wanna know how gorgeous you are?”

The mood dropped and Valbar suddenly averted his eyes with a small shake of his head. “Er, no.”

Leon blinked. “What?”

“Leon, I- you know I’m not really a catch physically speaking. I know you love me because of our lives together, but I’m an average sort of guy if we’re being kind.”

Oh no no no. No way.

Leon sat up and folded his arms with a no-nonsense expression. Valbar frowned and propped himself up beside Leon on his elbow. “Leon, I know what you’re about to say-“

“Excuse me?!”

“-there it is.”

“Listen. No. I’m very attracted to you! You, my Valbar, not a catch?!” Leon clutched at his chest dramatically and then reached out to lay his hands on Valbar’s broad pectorals, insistent and determined. “Who made you feel this way? Nevermind- I know. Society’s beauty standards weigh on me as well but please, Valbar. I can’t keep my eyes off of you just because of your caring soul and warm heart. Trust me, I couldn’t be more into you.”

Valbar swallowed and laid back on the bed, head raised against a few pillows. While Leon had initially read him as confident and more experienced, Valbar was shy and uncertain underneath. “I don’t look a thing like you or other handsome blokes.”

Leon couldn’t believe his ears, but he knew exactly what to do. He scooted closer to Valbar, hands sliding up to Valbar’s shoulders as he rested on Valbar’s torso. “Look at me.” Valbar made eye contact with him and Leon’s heart swelled at how vulnerable he looked in the candlelit bed, dark brown eyes round and anxious. “I’ve been attracted to men all my life. I love men,” Leon leaned closer and kissed Valbar’s cheek as he slid his hands back down, voice soft in Valbar’s ear, “-and every lovely shape they come in, yours included.” Leon kissed Valbar directly, sighing as Valbar accepted his warm lips. Leon finally found the hem of Valbar’s shirt and slipped his hands under it, smiling into their kiss as he palmed up Valbar’s stomach with the idea of tossing it off over his head. Valbar panted and Leon could feel his muscles twitching appreciatively under his touch, only breaking the kiss when he discarded Valbar’s shirt. “Much better.”

Really, Leon couldn’t imagine not loving Valbar’s body. His chest and abdomen were bulky and well well muscled, softened by a healthy layer of fat from an active, rigorous, lifestyle. Brunet hair grew all over Valbar’s front, soft and natural under Leon’s hands. Leon eagerly ran his hands up and down, eyes hungrily examining every bit of Valbar from his waist to his broad shoulders. Valbar relaxed as Leon gazed at him, taking the opportunity to stroke Leon’s side, smiling at him fondly. “You know how to make a guy feel special.”

“Oh? You think I’m done?” Leon rubbed Valbar’s shoulders and trailed his hands down his firm triceps and biceps, giving himself permission to bite his own lip. “Hmmm, you know how long I’ve wanted to do this?” Leon leaned forward, pleased to notice Valbar blushing, and kissed his collarbone. He dragged his fingertips down Valbar’s arms and finally converged on his chest again as he kissed lower and lower, nose brushing Valbar’s stomach as his kisses neared his waistline.

“Ah- hmmmm.” Valbar trembled slightly below Leon, eyes wide as devoted hands and a soft mouth worshipped him. “Oh my god-“

Leon cheekily toyed with the top of Valbar’s pants. “Too much?”

“Not at all I- um- oh.” Valbar stammered as Leon tugged the rest of his clothing off. Leon didn’t comment on Valbar’s evident arousal, choosing instead to rub one of Valbar’s feet, keen eyes glinting as Valbar groaned. “Ooooh that’s good at the end of the day.”

“Good.” Leon kneaded and pressed with the heel of his palm and his fingers, proud as Valbar reacted well to his foreplay. Leon was determined to not neglect a single inch of him. He pressed upward, hands gliding over Valbar’s calf as he kissed Valbar’s ankle, looking up at him with adoration as he continued his journey upwards again. “It’s been too long since someone touched you gently,” murmured Leon, humming as his hands caressed Valbar’s thigh.

Valbar sighed lowly, eyes half closed with pleasure. He reached down and lovingly pet Leon’s face, breath hitching when Leon kissed his fingers. “C’mere, you’re wearing too much.”

Leon beamed with happiness and giggled as he collapsed up on Valbar’s chest through his own momentum and Valbar’s guiding arms. Simple, soft touches made Leon’s heart swell with delight. Valbar carefully helped Leon out of his shirt and tenderly explored him, marveling in Leon’s flawless skin and elegant figure. “Good?” asked Leon, suddenly understanding Valbar’s initial shyness.

“You could never, ever disappoint me.” Valbar’s low timbre and fond tone found its way to Leon’s core. Leon closed his eyes, wanting to bask in the warm swirl of emotions inside himself and believe it. He groaned lowly, lips parted as Valbar’s thick fingers traced his collarbone and ribs, teasing at his nipples for a moment before dipping down his stomach and caressing his hipbones. “Sensitive?”

“Hmmmmm.” Leon practically purred, absorbing every way their bodies touched. He gave Valbar a hazy eyed look. Valbar, for some reason, was smirking. “What is it, Val?”

“Forgive me, but I have to know.”

It was sudden and caught Leon completely by surprise. “AAAAAHAHAHA!!!!” Leon shrieked with laughter, almost vaulting off the bed as Valbar’s fingers devilishly tickled his sides without mercy. Leon squeaked and his already higher pitched voice rose an octave as he thrashed only for a few seconds before Valbar stopped. Leon still tittered as he tried to muster up a cross expression. “I’ll show you!” His own hands darted to Valbar’s sides and he looked at him expectantly. “Huh?”

Valbar chuckled completely voluntarily. “I’m not ticklish.”

“What?!” Leon tried even harder to tickle him, aggressively skittering his dancing fingers against Valbar’s exposed sides. Nothing. “This is impossible! How dare you?!” He cried out dramatically. “You’re naked and you’ve still got defenses!”

“Lucky, I guess.” Valbar was still amused at Leon’s efforts to try to tickle him. “I don’t start fights I can’t win.” Leon tried to sulk but couldn’t get his overjoyed mood to cooperate. “Let me make it up to you.”

Leon chuffed and gave Valbar a wary look but still crawled up to kiss him again. Heat blossomed in his chest and Leon wound his hands behind Valbar’s neck as they kissed, lazy and languid as they got used to how the other moved. Leon closed his eyes again and shivered as Valbar stroked his sides, firm enough to not set off his ticklish nerves. Valbar’s broad hands rubbed Leon’s back, dipping lower until Leon moaned and reflexively rocked his hips. “Oooooooh, good spot.”

“See? Sensitive is good.”

Leon rolled his eyes mid-sexual pant. “I’ll- hmmm keep touching right there- find your weakness someday!”

Valbar reverently kissed Leon’s neck, relishing in Leon’s soft sounds of want and pleasure. One hand kept massaging the area Leon liked while he ruffled and stroked Leon’s hair with the other, talking lowly as he spoiled Leon with kisses. “I know how much you put into your presentation and appearance, but you’re even better with frizz in your hair and that expression on your face...” Valbar purposefully fluffed Leon’s hair against the deliberate way he’d tamed and perfected it, “-just because no one else gets to see you vulnerable and simply existing.”

Leon wiggled his hips and kicked his pants off. If Valbar wanted all of him, he’d have all of him. He tried to keep his voice from wavering. “And now?”

Valbar surveyed Leon from head to toe, gaze soft and doting with a hushed tone of wonder to match. “Perfect because you’re you, Leon.”

There was nothing between them but warmth and gentleness, skin against skin. Leon’s hair was rumpled and stray strands frizzed out of control. While he was still pretty and slender, Leon’s beauty was plain. Unadorned. Defenseless. They were two people tangled together in a bed, nothing more.

Leon, in his romantic heart, had read about sex before. He’d learned to expect a natural fade into passion, a magical instinct to pull them into coupling, an irresistible tussle of limbs and carnal groans- but it didn’t happen. He was curled up with the most important person in his life, and all he felt an overwhelming wave of calm wash over him. Valbar’s arm around his waist grounded him and comforted him as he laid his head on Valbar’s shoulder, content and already satisfied to his bones. Valbar sensed Leon fitting in more comfortably against him and kissed the top of his head. “Ah, a bit slower is alright. You okay? I’m not a mind reader.”

“I’m wonderful.” Leon smiled up at Valbar, fingertips idly drawing tiny patterns against Valbar’s skin. It was true no one else knew Leon or had seen him like Valbar had- and it went far beyond the sight of Leon’s hair being messy. “If it’s fine by you, I’m actually happy just like this for awhile. I’ve never felt so unconditionally accepted and thoroughly loved in my life.” Leon sighed, surprising himself by being the one who wanted to reign in their activities. “We have plenty of time to learn more and more about loving each other.”

“I agree.” Valbar reached across the bed and pulled their blankets over them, snuggling Leon and nosing his hair. He settled back into their pillows, totally at ease. “We have all the time in the world. This was a huge step for us and I- I didn’t know I wanted you so much. It’s different than how I’ve loved before, but just as strong.”

Leon yawned. “Yes. It’s a lot, and we don’t have to rush.” He playfully nudged Valbar’s leg with his foot. “But if you wanted to speed the process up, you make that spot on my back feel unfairly good.”

“Heh. I’ll remember that.” Valbar scratched Leon’s upper back instead with a hum and Leon dozed in peace. He didn’t think even sexual release could’ve made him feel more complete and cherished than in that moment in Valbar’s arms.

Whenever they did decide to try more forms of intimacy, they’d be ready.

“Valbar?”

“Yeah?”

“Is it always like this?” Leon mused. “Imperfect, improvised, a bit sweaty-“ his hands dived for Valbar’s sides and tickled him in a frenzy, “- and consisting of unfairly rigged tickle fights?!”

Valbar snorted, his complete lack of reaction driving Leon crazy. “You’re still not over how immune I am to tickling?”

“OH COME ON! IT ISN’T FAIR!” Valbar mischievously teased Leon’s stomach and Leon preemptively yelped, both of them laughing again and basking in each other’s affection.

[themonotonysyndrome]

what do you think celica's love life was like before castin? and castin's?

(I'm not sure if you're asking for a oneshot or not, so I'll answer your ask in a series of dialogues, ok? I need the practice anyway, lol)

"Wait. Baby. I just remembered something!"

"Hmm?"

"We promise to be honest with each other, right? Were you ever bothered about my past? About my... y'know. Me being a rake back then?"

"No."

"Really? Deadass?"

"Yes."

"...Seriously?"

"Castin, it would be ridiculous of me to be jealous of your past bedroom adventures or paramours. Not only am I better than any of the women you have ever been, we're married now and are happy together. That's all that matters. Beside... I would be a hypocrite to judge you for it."

"Hypocrite? Wh-What does that mean?"

"I'm saying you're not the only one who enjoys hopping to one bed after another, although I preferred they came into mine. Or on."

"I thought you Imperial women were, uh..."

"Prude? I can't say for my fellow peers but what I can confidently say is that we love playing games. For me, it was how many I could sneak men and women into my bedroom before Ezekiel or Eaton found out. It was a delightful challenge."

"Men and - "

"Sex is a buffet for me, husband. Imagine that as you will."

"..."

"..."

"There's no way you got more notches on your bedpost than I do! That's totally unfair!"

"Perhaps you should have 'level up your game' as they say, Castin. It would have certainly improved your stamina."

"OK, you know what? The first one to fall asleep tonight gets to do whatever the winner wants."

"I hope you like shopping for shoes tomorrow."

[fire-emblem-supports]

Catria & Gray: C - S Supports

(Requested by anonymous)

C Support

Catria: Gray.

Gray: Oh, hey! Catria, right? You were with Celica when we--

Catria: Please try to be more cautious in the next battle. If I hadn’t stepped in, you would’ve been killed.

Gray: Uh... Okay? Wait, when did that happen?

Catria: In the last battle. You were fighting recklessly and didn’t notice a lance fighter coming up behind you.

Gray: Oh, wow, I didn’t even notice that--

Catria: My point exactly. Thanks.

Gray: Hey, wait! ...And she’s gone. Wow. Woman of few words, I see...

B Support

Gray: Hey there, Catria!

Catria: What’s wrong?

Gray: Uh, nothing. Nothing I know of.

Catria: Then what do you need?

Gray: Well, I don’t NEED anything, per se--

Catria: Then why are you approaching me?

Gray: ...To talk?

Catria: About?

Gray: I don’t know. Something? Anything?

Catria: Errr... Alright. Why?

Gray: Because you seem... you know, distant and mysterious. I guess I wanted to learn what makes Catria tick.

Catria: You were... curious about me?

Catria: Well, I’m sorry to disappoint, but there’s... not much to tell.

Catria: I’m a Whitewing of Archanea. My sisters are Palla and Est. And... That’s about it.

Gray: Really? Nothing? What about your hopes, your dreams? Do you have any of those?

Catria: I... uh...

Catria: W-Well, what about you?

Gray: Oh, just the usual. Become a hero, save a pretty girl, live happily ever after with my wife, kids, and rippling heroic muscles.

Catria: ...I see.

Gray: Alright, your turn. What’s going on in your head?

Catria: I would be satisfied if Archanea were to find peace and my sisters and I could be together.

Gray: Just satisfied, huh? What would it take to make you happy?

Catria: Uh... I...

Catria: I’ve answered enough of your questions. I don’t think this conversation needs to continue.

Gray: Wh-- Huh? Hey, Catria!

Gray: What’d I do...?

A Support

Catria: Gray.

Gray: Huh? Oh, Catria.

Catria: I owe you an apology.

Gray: You do? Wait, does that mean I don’t owe you one?

Catria: Of course not. Why would you owe me one?

Gray: I just assumed I said something to upset you... But I wasn’t sure what, so I couldn’t apologize yet.

Catria: No, it wasn’t you. It was...

Catria: This is a secret, alright? I need to know I can trust you to not tell anyone.

Gray: Hey, I never told anyone Tobin’s afraid of ladybugs.

Catria: ...

Gray: ...Bad example. Uh... Well, you have my word, anyway. Whatever that’s worth.

Catria: *sigh* Alright.

Catria: The truth is, I am in love with... someone who will never love me back.

Gray: Ohhhh. So when I asked what would make you happy...

Catria: That’s right.

Gray: Man... I’m sorry.

Catria: Why are you sorry? It has nothing to do with you.

Gray: I have an idea how it feels.

Catria: ...Oh, you mean Lady Clair.

Gray: That’s right.

Catria: I didn’t even think that you might understand me... I should have just told you in the first place. We could have avoided all of this.

Gray: Hey, I don’t blame you. We don’t know each other very well. That’s why I approached you in the first place.

Catria: Yes... Well, I want to fix that. I want to make a greater effort to understand you.

Catria: Let’s have another conversation like this soon, alright? Next time, you can spill your deepest, darkest emotions.

Gray: Well... I don’t know about that, but... I definitely look forward to talking to you.

S Support

Catria: Gray!

Gray: Hey, Catria! Uh, are you okay? Your face is red. How long have you been running?

Catria: I realized something this morning and I had to tell you.

Catria: I think I may be over my... romance issue.

Gray: What? Really? How do you know?

Catria: I realized it had been days since I had even thought of him... And when I think about him now, it isn’t as painful as it used to be.

Gray: Well, that’s great! What do you think changed?

Catria: I think... I think I fell in love again.

Gray: ...Oh. That’s... great, for you.

Catria: Gray, is something wrong?

Gray: No, of course not. Who’s the lucky guy?

Catria: Gray... It’s you.

Gray: Yu? Is that one of those new heroes Kiran has been summoning? He’s probably a handsome prince, right?

Catria: Gray, no! Listen to me!

Catria: I’m in love with YOU.

Gray: Wait... huh?

Catria: Y-O-U. The person standing right in front of me right now. Gray from Ram Village.

Catria: YOU are the man I’m in love with!

Catria: Am I being clear enough?

Gray: Yeah, yeah, I heard you, but... me? Really?

Catria: I know you have feelings for Lady Clair, so I don’t expect anything to come of it.

Catria: But for today, I’m happier than I’ve been in a long time, even if I’m stuck with unrequited love again tomorrow.

Catria: For that... I thank you.

Gray: Catria... what if it IS red kited?

Catria: ...What?

Gray: Damn it, what’s the word you used?

Catria: You mean requited?

Catria: Wait, you mean...?! But what about--

Gray: I don’t know if anything could have ever happened with Clair. She made it pretty clear that she wasn’t interested.

Gray: And, to be honest, I don’t know if it really ever was love. Maybe it was once, but it definitely isn’t now.

Gray: Because I love you, Catria.

Catria: I love you, too...

Catria: Gray?

Gray: Yes?

Catria: You asked me, a long time ago, what it would take to make me happy.

Gray: Yeah?

Catria: This is it.

Gray: Heh. It is for me, too.

[rakuraiwielder]

I'm working on your ask, but here's some for you: I, A, M, S, P, O, T

Ask prompt here: x

thanks puffin!! this is gonna be long and nostalgic eyy

I - HasTumblr caused you to stop liking any fandoms, if so, which and why? 

I wouldn’t say “actively dislike” butthe toxicity of fandom on this website has sucked away most of my passion for Voltron lol. I used to really dig itthe first month or so after getting really into it when S2 aired. I still havean unfinished draft for a 7-parter rarepair fic //ey guess my fav duo ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)// sitting in my folders. don’t think I’llbe touching it any time soon though. im rather burnt out from this fandom, evenif I do still enjoy watching all the new seasons thereafter.

another is StevenUniverse ah a. (but in its and my defence, I wasn’t really into it anywaysas compared to other fandoms. the songs are still good, but I haven’t beenkeeping up with the newer Steven bombs, one part because of motivation, andanother because the thought of going into the tags to reblog contentintimidates the heck out of me pffft)

A - Ships that youcurrently like a lot. (They don’t have to be OTPs because not everyone hasOTPs.) Friendships, pairings, threesomes, etc. are allowed.

(puffin this question is gonnatake up half the ask oh god)oh bOY where do I start hahahaha. there’s so many aph and fe callbacks hahaha few otps aside I really have too manycrackpairs and platonic friendship ride-or-die squads I would die for. theseare only a few really relevant ones from the top of my head-

OTPS:

Norway/Vietnam (Hetalia) – alWAYS. i dont talk about and reblog much aph anymore but i still think about these two frequently. they were my first and closestthing ever to an actual otp in all my years of knowing what an otp was gosh Ihope to write about them again soon. their dynamics are the peak of mypreferences.

MU(avatar unit)/Silas (FE Fates) – thechildhood friends + loyal knight and liege trope + a pinch of memory loss wasnever really my thing, but guess there’s a first for everything ha h a ah a….silas is too pure for the angst I put him through im so sorry ಸ ل͜ ಸ

Berkut/Rinea (FE: SOV) – the second that one cutscene of these two played I got1000% more invested in the story pffft. anyways rinea may be top tier fav andberkut shit tier fav, and their story tragic as heck (and I would also arguethat he doesn’t deserve her), but their genuine and honest love for each otheramidst the incoming death flags gets me every time

707/MC (Mystic messenger) – honestly they can either be a really good platonicdynamic duo or a solid otp. purely from the perspective of my own MC, theycomplement each other well; perfect balance of light-hearted teasing and asolid wall of comfort for each other.

Ray-Saeran/MC (Mystic messenger) – ヽ༼ຈل͜ຈ༽ﾉ

(Other) Ships:

Seychelles/Iceland/HK (Hetalia) – they are good togetherromantically or platonically hahahaha. a good golden trio of kids

Russia/Vietnam (Hetalia) – their potential relationship and clashof character due to conflicting personalities fascinate me. a totally differentnoir vibe from norviet and one I hope to explore if I ever come back to aph

Nyx/Leo (FE Fates) – nyx ships are reallyrare but half of them are surprisingly sweet and poignant. Odin and Laslow tooare really sweet candidates to woo this jaded grandma’s heart.

MU/Laslow (FE Fates) – got to thank a wacky7-11 employee au dream I had for this one. but in the games their supportconversations are surprisingly thoughtful and low-key flirting which was notwhat I expected at all. wholesome.

Ham/Kai (MUxMU, FE) – remember when I said protag/protagships are the good stuff? yea h thatprincess tutu au is coming along swell

Alm/Celica (FE: SOV) – the rare main canon couple I love whodon’t die and get their happy ending (LOL this sounds really pathetic now thatI’ve said it)

Leon/Valbar (FE: SOV) – no one is surprised LOL. romantic orno, as long as leon is happy with where he stands with valbar and valbar ishappy with where he is im happy for them both

Conrad/Rinea (FE: SOV) – I know there are a couple of youreading this whos gonna give me that look but liste n; they could have met, and there is potential for them.(honestly this is just like another norviet situation where I put my 2 topfaves together for crackpair experimentation bUT IT WORKS I ASSURE YOU)

Zen/MC (Mystic messenger) – zen is so earnest that I can’t refute himhahaha. he also has a special seat in my mysme heart, since he was the firstroute I played and made me create content for the fandom proper

707/Jaehee (Mystic messenger) – they are rapidly gaining OTP status ꉂ (´∀｀)ʱªʱªʱª aaaa nightmare flashbacks because justlike norviet they really are the rarest of crackpairs and have almost to no content(gonna get down to business and churn fic out one day). these two are moresimilar than they’d think too.

Cecil/Haruka (Utapri) – ahahaha a good ship from a guiltypleasure fandom

(Purely) Platonic:

Izuku/Iida/Ochako (BNHA) – the first golden trio of thisseries. I love them so much.

Vanderwood/MC (Mystic messenger) – they parallel each other. truly thebiggest ride-or-die duo I will support to the end of time

Zen/Yoosung (Mystic messenger) – zen is such a mother hen to yoosungwwwww truly wholesome

Chise/Ruth (Ancient Magus Bride) – platonic master/familiar-partner relationships where both of them care for each other so much to the point where they would die for the other are my one weakness. its the reason i love writing more fleshed-out pokemon aus and loyal dogs/animals in longer fics. anyways these two are good

M - Name acharacter that you’d like to have for a friend.

707. It would be a trip justknowing him. (apart from the memes. but my life is already 80% meme, honestlywhats the difference ahahaha aaa-) Just, I feel like it would be really fun tohang out with him and revel in his wackiness (even if that personality is afront, maybe one day when i finally get into his inner-circle of friends, I hopeto be privy and be a good listening ear to his truer, more sombre personality.)

On the other hand, myself-confidence and 2nd hand embarrassment will be directlyproportional to each other (And im 100% sure Seven is the kind of person whowill exploit that hAH)

S - Show us anexample of your personal headcanon (prompts optional but encouraged)

Every relevant character inMysmes is either a type of asexual (greysexual etc.), or on various points ofthe bi-spectrum. Yeah; even self-proclaimed, “straight-laced” Zen lol.

P - Invent a random AU for any fandom (wealways need more ideas)

Vampire/Selkie AU ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

a selkie whose skin gets stolen and hidden from a human man is forced to become his bride and taken back to his village. there, to escape the stares of bigoted villagers and the clutches of her overbearing and possessive husband, she takes refuge in the only place he would not go; the old holy church.

only, she finds she isn’t the first to occupy this place of solitude. the master of the church notices her soon enough, and when vampire recognises the ancient weave of magic that flows within her, he appears; intrigued for something other than a fresh meal.

(basically a deviation from the standard vampire (romance-ish) novels lolol plot bunny hit me pre-Christmas eve dinner/yesterday and sofar im digging it. still planning the ship and fandom though; it might very easily be OC-based)

O - Choose a songat random. Which ship or character does it remind you of?

since 1 is never enough, hereare 4 songs I was listening to recently:

Little Knights, Nem feat.Noire : Zen/MC(a zen-ish song through and through)

over and over, Yanagi Nagi : Saeran Choi + 707&MC(more saeran-centric with interpretative lyrics and referencing to both ray andunknown personas)

Finding something to do, HelloGoodbye : 707/Jaehee(fits their “don’t go where I can’t follow” dynamic haha ow.)

Life will Change, Shoji Meguro + Benjamin Franklin feat. Lyn Inaizumi : Kai(mui) or Ham(let)(honestly the entire persona 5 ost is massive fe fates protag feels)

T - Do you have any hard and fast headcanons thatyou will die defending?

Not really. I’m a very flexible person when it comes tointerpretable lore and content, especially if it’s the type of HCs that thefandom collectively comes up with. Unless it’s a canon fact, I like to dabble orjust stay away from HCs in general. If I have to come up with some in my fics,then so be it. But most of the time these HCs are either super vague or onlyapply to the context in this particular piece or series of writing. Basically Idon’t mind switching HCs for charas frequently as long as it does notfundamentally change their own character. (HCs for hobbies and loves and habitsand relationships apart from their inner circle, etc. are all fine)

Honestly it just boils down to expectations lol I know myown limits, and I know not to be disappointed when canon updates end updebunking (popular) fandom HCs or my own.

[gratuitii-blog]

support + dialogue analysis headcanons.

this is going to be a headcanon post directly analyzing her in-game dialogue, specifically her support dialogue. i will be referring to both localization and original japanese dialogue in my analysis. some things to note,

1. although i have a lot of credentials in japanese, to the extent that i am somewhat fluent in the language, i am no way an official source and i may make mistakes so if i do, please forgive me.

2. these are my personal take on faye as a character and are no way intending to be claimed as canon.

3. although alm is a lot of her dialogue, most of her in game speech is directed at alm, and not a lot else, i will not see it as her entire character representation since she hardly gets any dialogue in the first place.

faye & emotions.

this has been stated in my bio, but i would like to bring it up in more depth, faye experiences a wider range of emotions, allowing her to feel more extreme emotions than what would be normal for a human being. due to this, her feelings can get amplified if the situation is right, causing her to be rather unaware of some extreme things that she may say.

although she is brutally honest with how she feels, the things she says doesn’t necessarily reflect her actual feelings (eg. silque and faye) and realizes to some extent that her selfish actions create real consequences that she takes responsibility to amend if need be (still being rather honest about her feelings without sugar coating them, in silque’s case)

her heart is in a good place but her lack of control over her extreme and intense emotions can cause jealously and cause her to say rude things though, i don’t believe that she means them wholeheartedly (eg. her comment on celica, saying that she would never treat alm like that feels more that she’s upset that celica wouldn’t look at his side of things, and a mix of frustration for alm’s sake and a little jealousy comes out, though i don’t feel it was meant to purposely jab celica) as alm brings out a lot of intense emotions from her.

faye & alm.

faye’s relationship with alm is something that is very hard for me to pinpoint, for one-- i do believe to some extent that her feelings have reason, though i will admit that i’m not as happy with the idea of her life revolving around him. alm is an incredibly big part of her life, seeing him as a shining light in her life and idealizing him extensively. she admires his courage and strength, showing his dependability even as a child, pushed faye to want to become stronger like him.

she puts a lot of ideals and vitures in alm, which are a lot of the cause for her intense love for him, along with her feelings amplifying such that could lead to her “obsessive” behavior over him, though nothing more than intense feelings. even though she thinks about him a lot, she does not/rarely crosses the point of invading his personal boundaries.

due to faye’s selfless nature, and her want to do anything she can for alm, puts her into a position where her feelings become almost one with how she perceives that alm is doing. although there are times where she may say selfish things, she doesn’t do such out of malice towards others ( lack of control on her emotions, especially very strong and amplified ones.)

her supports with alm in the localization feel a bit over the top to me. take for example her c support,

エフィ：ねえ、私が敵をたくさん倒したら、アルム嬉しい？ アルム：えっ？うーん、嬉しいとは思わないけど　助かる・・・かな。 エフィ：そうなんだ。じゃあ、やっぱりたくさん倒したほうがいいよね。わかった！私、がんばるからね。 アルム：うん、気をつけて。

which roughly translates to

faye: hey, if i defeat a lot of enemies, will you be happy? alm: eh? um... i don’t want you to think i’d be happy... but it’d help... i guess. faye: is that so. as i thought it’d be best to defeat lots of enemies. understood! i’ll do my best then. alm: yea, be careful.

compared to the localization,

faye: now, shall i head back out there and slay more of your enemies for you?! alm: slay...enemies for me? um... er, I would hope you're doing it for a better reason than just...me. faye: oh! is THAT what you want? ...because i'll do it. i'll fight for any cause you desire! just promise you'll be watching, alm! promise to look at me! alm: faye, i... look, just please be careful, all right?

although faye generally misses alm’s point in both conversations, i don’t feel that faye is as forceful in the japanese context of the games. it’s the same for her b support as well, the localization comes off as a lot more extreme in emotions, but in both cases-- faye lets her emotions take control of her words and actions, i believe strongly enough that she doesn’t have a lot of control, and can get very overstimulated with emotions being around alm due to her intense feelings of what i consider “puppy love”.

even though she idealizes the idea of her dream ( going back to ram village, and living a quiet peaceful life with him ) she is very down to earth, knowing that such is out of her reach, and in alm’s a support with her, she states this clearly. (though admittingly in the japanese version she doesn’t state that she was hoping that they’d find something together, and just states that ‘after this is over, they’ll part ways’)

eventually i feel that to some extent, faye would be able to learn to handle such intense emotions in a more healthy way, knowing that her feelings are unrequited, though she would most likely struggle with such continuously-- but joining the deliverance was also a journey for her as well, getting out of her comfort zone and opening her heart to new people that don’t revolve around alm.

faye & silque.

faye and silque is the only time that we get to see faye interact as a proper support with someone that isn’t alm. although their relationship seems rather rocky at first, it honestly shows how poorly faye seems to fair with new relationships. though it seems that she brings up that ‘its not alm’ in her conversations, i think that there is also a sense of unease when it comes to silque. faye doesn’t seem to interact a lot with lukas and silque seems to be primarily the outsider that has interest in talking with her, growing up in a village that was rather stoic, a tight knit community that she was comfortable with-- which makes her rather off put (but not against) silque interacting with her.

joining the deliverance is the first time she’s actively put out of her comfort zone, with people from different backgrounds meshing with her own, and willingly throwing herself out of her comfort zone to protect the people she cares for. it’s emotionally draining on her and frankly a relatively new experience. She is rather direct towards silque’s advances in trying to talk to each other, and i think in the japanese it’s a little nicer approach,

エフィ：えっと・・・、楽しくはないよ。だって、アルムがいないもん。もういいよ。私に構わないで。

translating to something like,

faye: um... it wouldn’t be fun. after all, alm isn’t here. it’s ok, please don’t mind me.

compared to the localization,

faye: talking about alm isn't fun unless alm himself is there. look, it's okay. not everyone has to be friends, right?

her words in japanese seem less harsh than the localization but she does state that she doesn’t want to be bothered by silque because of her wanting to have girls talk/gossip, making a statement to be left alone consequentially puts her in a position where the weight of her words do not carry the exact meaning and her opposition to socializing with others outside her group that she is comfortable with ends up coming back and biting her, having time to realize that she did enjoy silque’s company, but the lack of it made her realize her misjudgment and even admits to her selfishness.

faye & the villagers + celica.

although this is the most vague part of the entire post since there is very little to no interaction between faye and the rest of the villagers outside of the prologue and the very beginning of chapter 1, i do believe that faye also has a good relationship with each of the villagers, and cares about them a fair amount-- just as alm. she also cares about celica, as shown if you decide to recruit her on celica’s route, she is shown to be more than happy to see celica back around the village. although she may hold a little jealousy towards celica, i feel that faye has a good grasp on the fact that alm and celica have feelings towards each other in canon, and with alm’s support shown that she respects both of their feelings, even if she may not personally enjoy it.

this was really long and i spent over 6 hours writing and revising this, so i really hope that if you made it this far, it gives you a better understanding how i see and interpret faye’s dialogue and action in game, and try to give more depth to her character that i already love.

[crystalelemental]

So...those refines.  I mean, still no Cecilia.  So she is, in fact, the Last Winner.  Not like I’ve been saving up a copy of every possible boon for her so I’m ready to optimize based on her refine at a moment’s notice or anything.  And need the reassurance that she’s not just going to be a Blade Tome and therefore Inferior Olwen.  But you know, other than that particularly depressing outcome, this is a great batch.

It’s been, what, two years since M!Corrin’s refine?  And they finally gave us F!Corrin’s refine.  My honest hope is that Gloom Breath means it’s a buffed form of Dark Breath, and will carry a stronger stat debuff effect to Attack and Speed.  Ideally, Lull is the refine.  Go F!Kana with it.  Lull Attack/Speed would work as well for Corrin as Kana, but I could see a justification for needing Res as part of that instead.  F!Corrin does not have the best offensive output, so lowering opponent Res is pretty critical for her damage.  Maybe Speed/Res?  I feel like it would need to do something with speed, since that’s F!Corrin’s best asset.  Very excited, been waiting a long time for this, shame it comes too late and my Arena Core has evolved past the need for F!Corrin.

BERKUT!  My boy finally gets his refine!  I cannot wait for it to be complete fucking trash.  No, seriously, the odds of them treating Berkut well is basically nil.  Fallen Berkut sucks, that conditional DC effect is an absolute disaster for 90% of teams.  Dancer Berkut is alright, but he’s far from a top dancer, and I think even Rinea offers more than he does sometimes.  And base Berkut has been left as one of the worst grail units out there, even outperformed by Clive.  CLIVE.  Who also still sucked and got one of the worst refines out there.  Do we really and truly believe that IS will treat Berkut well?  I mean for fuck’s sake, they decided Rudolf was a good guy who actually cared about Berkut with the Valentine’s alt, in defiance of all sense of reality.  I’m really happy he’s getting a refine, I can’t wait to see it, but I am full-on expecting disaster.

Sheena.  Full disclosure: I don’t have a lot of feelings about Sheena, but she’s easily my favorite of the common armors so I’m glad it’s finally her turn to get a refine.  I hope it’s good.  I have no intention of ever merging her, considering I can potentially finish L!Edelgard as a project in July, but it’s nice to know she’s there.

And our big 5* pick is...Fallen Celica.  By god did she need it.  Being considered a bad pick of infantry sword unit even against many common units was killing her.  That said, as happy and excited for her as I am...I have no Fallen Celica with which to care about this.  Yes, I am distraught about it.  I love Celica, I love Fallen alts and hers is cool, but I’ve never pulled her.  I guess I don’t need to either, but there is a bit of irritation about this.  I don’t know what they’re going to do for her refine, but I hope it involves conditions that aren’t 100% HP.  Mage Eirika can get away with it, because mage range, but a melee unit is going to really struggle with it.

This is a really good batch.  That could go horribly wrong.  I’m excited, but apprehensive.  And really upset that we still have no Cecilia refine.  When will it be her turn?  When’s Cecilia?  There are only like 5 units left in the Book 1 common pool.  Cecilia, Setsuna, Fae, Nowi, and Effie.  So like.  Running really low at this point, guys.  Please.  Please Cecilia.

[vohskyfire]

Top Ten 2017 Games

That time of the year again, the end of the year is upon us. And as such, this will be my last post for this year on this website.

2017 has been a year of a LOT of good games. In fact, it’s argubly been the year of some of the best games ever made being released. Nintendo dominated this year with the Switch, several games have been said to be the best games of all time, and Microsoft shot themselves in the foot, again, with the Xbox One X.  So odds are there’s a lot of great games out there that people love.

Keep in mind, these are just my personal picks for the top ten. If your favorites aren’t here, don’t worry, they’re still great too! Just one rule though.

No ports. Aka no Skyrim, no Doom, no Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, Pokken Tournament, etc. Let’s get this started!

10: CupHead (Xbox One)

I’ll be honest, the first time I saw CupHead I wasn’t exactly sure what to think of it. It looked like it was a tribute to the old cartoons from the 50s and that gave it a bit of a nice feel to it. But I didn’t expect the game to be anything fantastic. Especially given Microsoft’s recent track records with exclusives (Looking at YOU, Halo Wars 2). However, come to my surprise, CupHead is a great game! In fact, it’s so good it’s the only Microsoft title to be on this list. So what exactly keeps it from being in the top 5? Well....

It’s hard. Like, brutally hard. Make no mistake people, this game will kick you in the teeth if you try to go into it acting like you aren’t going to die. In CupHead, expect to die. A LOT. And yes, just because it’s difficult doesn’t mean the game sucks. No one ever says that unless it’s someone who absolutely hates challenges. But sometimes, you gotta give the player a chance to BREATHE. And while boss fights are doable once you learn the patterns, people who AREN’T patient are going to break their controllers. A lot.

Overall, Cuphead is a good game. But goddamn does it make you fight to survive.

9: Crash Bandicoot: Insane Trilogy (PS4)

Crash is back baby. Crash is back. Okay, he’s SORTA back, but hey, it’s nice to see that Sony wanted to have their mascot back! Last year when they showed this off at E3, I went “Welp. There goes Microsoft’s chances to getting back into first place.” (At the time of this post, there is no Xbone Port yet) Seriously I was hyped, if Crash was coming back, then there was a huge chance that Spyro could come back as well. Now Insane Trilogy is an HD remake of the original 3 games, updated to modern times. And damn. Just DAMN. These games looks absolutely stunning. Gameplay wise they are just like they should have been from the past as well. That’s a good thing....aaaaaaaaaaaaaand a bad thing.

Crash 1 is still the hardest of the trilogy, mostly because the game was not MEANT for speed run purposes, and some of the hitboxes in Crash 1 are still as bad as they were back in the day. And while having Coco being playable is a nice touch, she doesn’t really change that much in the games. She’s basically just an alt skin for Crash, and most of the death animations that Crash goes through she’s spared. It’s still a wonderful remake of the original three games, and I am very happy to see that it sold incredibly well. Maybe Activision and Sony might work together from now on to do MORE Crash games? Or at least, you know...give us a Spyro trilogy remake too? That’d be nice. Anyone? Please? ...No? Skylanders still? O-Okay.

8: ARMS (Nintendo)

Oh yes. Now we’re getting into some Nintendo titles. (Be prepared, there’s a LOT of them here.) ARMS is basically what I would like to call the ‘Splatoon of fighting games.’ When they did the full presentation of ARMS back in January this year, I was one of the view that didn’t seem to out right hate the concept of ARMS. I thought it looked like a blast to play, plus fighting games are awesome. ARMS thankfully to me, did not disappoint. In the months of waiting for Splatoon 2 and other Switch titles to come out, ARMS was there. And for what it’s worth? The game is a blast to play. Simple controls that one can get use to, wonderfully designed characters, beautiful music, intense hype as hell battles, and being able to combine different arms with one another based on your fighting style is a great thing. Many hours were put into ARMS trying to get more unique ARMS to use in battle.

That’s...kinda where some of the good stops. The game’s great, don’t get me wrong, but there were some things I feel ARMS needed to be more active on launch. For one, a better story mode. Arcade mode is basically what you get. Info on your fighter, what they’re fighting style is like, and that’s pretty much it. There’s no story building, no interactions between characters, and that can KINDA hurt a fighting game this year when you have Injustice 2 showing how to do a story in a fighting game. Mind you, this is just a MINOR flaw to me.

Overall, ARMS is a lovable experience. And I’m glad to see that it got all the support they said they were going to give it. Maybe the comics will be just as good, or at least have more stuff for ARMS 2. (If they make it.)

7: Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle (Nintendo)

If you would have told me that this game, this game, would be on this list this year or that I would find it to be one of my favorite games this year at the start of January? I would have smacked you in the mouth. I should make this clear to everyone.

I. Hate. The Rabbids.

When I first heard about this game from that huge leak from Ubisoft, I first thought “What? Are you shitting me? Mario and Rabbids crossover? And they have GUNS? What the hell is this? Is this gonna be MARIO OF WAR 4 where it’s a third person shooter? Come on Nintendo.”

Then E3 happened. Oh boy, did I get proved wrong by Ubisoft.

Kingdom Battle isn’t ANYWHERE close to the over done third person shooter area. It’s bright, colorful, charming, actually kinda funny in moments (that’s saying something given the Rabbids’ history) and believe it or not...

Actually...a LOT of fun.

No, seriously. This is one of the most fun games I’ve played this year. Bar none. It’s hard to believe I’m saying that about a Rabbids game that’s crossed over with Mario of all franchises, but it’s true. The game is the first huge strategic game on the Switch and I’m happy to report that the game plays damn well. Think of it like Xcom. Where you actually have to think out your strategies and make certain you know the map well enough.

The only kind of flaws I could give the game is that well...it’s kinda short. Four worlds, each with large maps to do battle, and the story is just kinda...there. Like they explain how the two series meet and everything, but it’s just...there. Not like I expected a huge story from a Mario + Rabbids game, but it would have been interesting to see them go a BIT more into it. Ah well, the DLC will probably cover that.

6: Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia (Nintendo)

And here we have the first Fire Emblem game on this list (Someone’s gonna get upset somewhere). Shadows of Valentia is the first game that uses the classic gameplay the series has been known for that I’ve played since Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn (Which we’ll get into why THAT game sucks another time...) and to be honest? This game really really contends with Awakening as my favorite FE title.

I love a lot of things about Shadows of Valentia. The storyline is enjoyable, the art style is absolutely beautiful, the music is GODLY, the battles are intense and force you to be on your toes, the character models look absolutely gorgeous for a 3DS game, and the characters are wonderfully written. No joke, Alm and Celica, as ‘bland’ as they can be, are some of my favorite FE characters now.

The only thing I can really say that is sort of a draw back to this game is that...well, how it will test your patience. No joke, the maps are fantastic and the gameplay is a joy to go through, but GOD in heaven above, do some maps want to test your will to continue. Especially maps that have the annoying spell known as UPHEAVAL which damages everyone in your army on sight AND...ahem, let’s save that rant for another time.

Over all, Shadows of Valentia is a great remake of the second game in the series. If you have a 3DS, which is going to be put to rest soon, I would recommend getting this game. It’s fantastic.

5: Fire Emblem Warriors (Nintendo)

Annnnnnnnnnd there goes some of the older FE fans booing at me liking this game. Yes, the game is only Shadow Dragon, Awakening, and Fates. Yes, some of the other characters (Celica and Lyn) are the only representatives of their games, yes some characters have the same moves as others. But you know what? I don’t care.

I. LOVE. THIS. GAME.

It’s fun, it’s stupid mindless fun, and enjoyable. I know most fans may not like the fact that it’s three games over the many others, but to me? I am happy with the choices they’ve made.

Combat is smooth and stylish, like Warriors games tend to be, the animations are wonderful, the controls respond perfectly, and just seeing the way that characters interact with one another is fantastic. I love hearing them call each other’s names when they do a dual strike together. I love how over the top some attacks can get, and I love the ability to switch between units on the fly.

Yes the story’s a lil stupid, and yes they should have included other games in the franchise too, but I like it. If you want to turn your brain off, this is the game for you. It got into my list because I’m a fan who doesn’t hold favoritism over others. Just don’t be rude to people who don’t like the game, and vice versa and you might find a gem.

4: Metroid: Samus Returns (Nintendo)

Yeaaaaah, there’s a lot of Nintendo games.

If you would have told me that Nintendo was going to show off not only Metroid Prime 4 and a new classic Metriod game this year at E3, I would have called you a liar. And to my surprise, they did it. They actually did it. Prime 4 during the new stuff for Nintendo Switch, AND during the after presentation, a new Metroid title to be released this year.

Samus Returns is what I would like to call one of the best looking, and best playable, games on the 3DS. This game I could even consider it to be a swan song. Everything from classic Metroid is here. Charge shots, wall jumps, bombs, beam upgrades, etc. It’s all there. As an official remake of Metroid 2, people were happy to see that Nintendo not only DID care for Metroid, but it shed some light as to why AM2R was taken down. There’s really not much to complain about when it comes to this game. It plays well, responds well, and really teases at more future Metroid games down the line. To which I say...please give us more.

I wanna see Metroid Dread. Do it Nintendo.

TOP THREE.

Oh boy...these three were hard to decide their order. I’ll give short paragraphs for them as I feel I’ve dragged this list out long enough. That and really, I don’t have complaints for these three. These three are the best of the best. Hands down. The best games this year easily.

3: Persona 5 (PS4)

This. Game. Holy shit this game. RPGs live. And Persona 5 has shown the world, and more importantly Square Enix, that turn based RPGS still live. And goddamn, is this game amazing. Fantastic story, fantastic characters, fantastic music, spot on battle system, wonderful dialogue, wonderful artstyle, wonderful EVERYTHING. GET THIS GAME.

2: Super Mario Odyssey (Nintendo)

Easily the best 3D Mario game ever made. No seriously, it’s fantastic. If you own a Switch, you need to get this game. It’s beautiful and is just a charm to play through. Also god DAMN does it play so smooth.

1: Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Nintendo)

I know. Predictable. But you know what? I don’t care. This game, this game is my favorite game this year. From exploring Hyrule, fighting enemies, discovering what meals to cook, the wonderful story, and just how much of a riveting experience it has been, I can NOT put this game at number 1. It was the first huge game this year, and I feel it deserves the praise that it’s been getting. I spent many hours playing this game, and I am glad to say that it’s my number one game this year.

And that’s how we send off 2017. Let’s hope 2018 is a good year for games as well!

PS: Also Splatoon 2 is a huge honorary mention.