Fire Emblem!

gosh I feel a bit awkward butting in the middle of all these beagles conversations, but are there any lions fans around? ;v; I just finished the first draft of my first fic in ten actual years and could use someone that's familiar with two of the lion kids in particular/their backstories to give it a quick look over (doesn't gotta be a beta, really) to make sure it looks legit character/story-wise to another person that's got the necessary context X)

 

Just remembered ProZD's tweet (https://twitter.com/ProZD/status/1176332450311458816), the text of which is:
me on my first three houses playthrough: edelgard did nothing wrong
me on my third playthrough: edelgard...........may have done a few things wrong

a response:
no she's perfect and the best

his reply:
you're not wrong

I've played through all the routes barring the last bit of CF, feel free to send it to me if you still want someone to take a look. They're not my favourite house, but they're still my precious students that I care about far too much. Actually, I really like all the Blue Lions, but for some reason the house as a whole just doesn't do it for me in quite the same way... though it's up against stiff competition, to be fair to them.


Also... supposedly the next two DLC waves have been leaked. Anyone else seen them?

Spoiler: DLC info, maybe?

From Serenes Forest

Wave 3
Free DLC

• New playable unit: Jeritza (certain route only)
  [*]New support conversations [presumably featuring Jeritza]
  [*]New activities
  [*]New online features
  

Paid DLC

• New playable unit: Anna
• New monastery facilities
• New online [features?]
• Anna and Jeritza paralogue
• New quests (around 10)
• New activities: Sauna [who didn’t see this coming?], playing with dogs and cats(!)
• New costumes: Maid, Butler and more
• New battalions: Maid and Butler

Wave 4
Paid DLC

• Side story: Abyss Mode
• New playable characters: Juris, Balthazar, Constanze and Javi [tentative translations]
• New support conversations
• New monastery facilities
• New online features
• New classes (4)
• New enemy monsters
• New hero relics
• New paralogues
• New quests
• New battalions
• New gambits
• New costumes for Byleth (male), Byleth (female) and Sothis

Disclaimer: Names and contents may change when the DLC is actually released.

Spoiler: my thoughts on DLC stuff

Assuming all of this is true, which is very possible but not a guarantee...

Wave Three:
I wasn't thrilled about Jeritza at first, but have since kinda come around to being interested. I do hope he's not a one-route character, though, even if it'd make sense for him to be Crimson Flower-only. Hoping also that he and Anna have separate paralogues, not a joint one, so that people without Anna can still get Jeritza's. Or maybe she'll be playable for that, but not overall, still, for them?

Sauna house! I hope it's as tasteful as the tea parties are, but I'm also very curious about how it'll work. I can't think of many things that aren't knock-off meals, or rendered pointless by the dining hall... though that could be fine, too, I suppose. Maybe something that builds a bit less support, only gives 50% motivation, but can affect multiple characters? Or something that gives some kind of in-combat boost for the month? I dunno. Or it'll tie in with the new online features.

Wonder if there'll be any other activities? Something in the library, perhaps? But then there's the difficulty with making seminars even more redundant... Perhaps a way to let anyone use spells for a battle, or to let someone learn a spell (so that those who don't start with one can start learning it faster, thinking especially of teaching folks faith).

Maid and Butler costumes! I'm only very excited if they're both available for each character. Or at least some characters. Like, Dimitri in a maid's outfit? Petra in a suit?


Wave Four:
They note in the linked post that, with the new characters and relics, we might see more of the crests lost to history (or otherwise not natively present on anyone in the game)... Anna has Ernest's on her clothes, if all the other 4 have new ones we could end up seeing all of them, possibly. That seems very possible, with the new relics, even if some non-Crested folk might be nice, too. Wonder if they'll be students or not? One for each House, one for the Church, maybe? All outsiders? Maybe one even with pale green hair, somehow?

Also very curious about the new classes, I doubt any of them will be unique unless they're restricted to new characters, but there are a lot of places they could go. I'd especially love to see something to fill new roles, like:
-Intermediate-level flier that male characters can also use (unlikely)
-Master-level sword character that isn't tied to magic (hopefully? Mortal Savant is... limited, and doesn't feel like a natural progression for several swordfighters)
-Master-level magic character that isn't gender-limited or on a horse (even if it means another secondary skill is needed, like armor or flying)
-Anything women can certify as that uses Dark Seals (maybe an all-gender physical class?)
-Another Armor unit of some variety that isn't unique. Right now it's just Armor, Fortress, and Great Knights. A bit more variety would be neat.
-Another brawling class of any level, but ideally one that women can class into. (Maybe combined with the sword class I mention above, for Catherine and Felix and the like.)]

Even more facilities! I almost hope they up max Professor rank to S+ from A+ at this rate, so there's more time to do all of this stuff in.

Excited for more variety in monsters. And Battalions, honestly. They get a bit... samey, eventually.

Curious what Abyss Mode might be if it's actually a side story (or some of the extra story content) rather than another difficulty setting like I'd thought it might be when I first saw the name. Might be a continuation of some routes with extra difficulty? IDK. More branching paths, maybe for the other two routes? Not sure how that'd work...

Curious about Sothis having an alternate costume. More for Byleth is also great... kinda pie-in-the-sky, maybe, but something like M!Byleth's outfit for F!Byleth (with the more armor and full shirt/pants) and vice versa (with tight shorts and some abs showing) would be neat.


Overall, I'm very excited!

 

Spoiler: DLC

I am going to go to the sauna with my wife like the degenerate fuck that I am and that is my thoughts on the DLC. I know what kind of person I am. What kind of things I like.

 

Spoiler: My tuppence on Rhea

So Rhea made the whole Goddess Sothis and Saint Seiros thing up out of whole cloth to further her own agenda. Which, okay, it's a popular trope, and it was successful enough.

But what really gets me is that it really seems like at some point in the last 1000 years she started actually believing her own bullshit and now is utterly convinced that her mother is a goddess and she is a holy prophet.

This isn't even Dragon Catholicism, folks. It's Dragon Scientology.

 

Spoiler

Godspeed to you. Nap on the tiddy.

 

You have managed to make Rhea even more cursed for me and the woman is already hitting at least twenty of my triggers constantly.

 

May I cheer you up with a blessed concept?

Ferdinand, Groot, and Subway Boss Emmet all in the same room.

 

I

 

I choose to take that as approval.

 

That is a fair read.

 

I have finished all the routes! My emotions are rampant, and refuse to be quelled.

Spoiler

I mean... Sothis kinda is a goddess, though, at least so far as the series is concerned. Sothis seems like a Divine Dragon akin to Naga, perhaps even more powerful given her ability to create life wholesale (unless the Nabateans are all half-humans, anyway). She's also able to heal the land and turn back time far more frequently and easily than anyone else I can think of in the FE canon.

She made the goddess grander, arguably, but I think that that's how the Nabateans might have always seen Sothis. Everything else feels less like her convincing herself over 1000 years and more like her trying to create a world that won't even think of attacking her mother again whenever one of her experiments works out and Sothis returns to rule them all once more.

 

Bagpipes canonically exist in Fódlan. Specifically uilleann pipes as well. My argument for this being 100% truthful canon is the continent is named Fódla and one does not get to be named 'Ireland, but the fancy poetry name one of thems' and not have the things. Bodhran and the like too. But I am most stubborn on the matter of bagpipes. All three nations in the continent got them. Even you Adrestia with your fucking German as hell names for your noble families because your capital is named after Manannán's fucking horse. BRIGID AND DAGDA ALSO HAVE THEM.

this is the single most important headcanon i have

 

I’m half Scottish, half English and I’ll take that as canon.

 

there were pipes during the war. the devs were simply too cowardly to show them in all their glory.

 

I can't find a single damn bagpipe cover for this game and now that I'm looking it upsets me deeply.

 

Bloody hell, how did it take me so long to realize that the Crest of Flames was this game's version of the Fire Emblem?

 

Well, doing some planning for a fic that I now feel like I'm going to have to write, and I realized that we don't know the names of, like... any of the Nabateans that got taken down by the Elites. So I figured I'd use a combination of things to come up with some, myself.

Spoiler: much writing

• Ernest: Angkathi, from the Greek word for thorn, because Thorn Dragon, or Dairire from the Irish word for serious (according to google translate, which I'm not sure about trusting) because that's what the meaning of the German "ernst", which Ernest derives from. That said, as a lost crest, it's also possible that the name refers to the Nabatean, not a thief... though in this case I might just assume otherwise, because to anglophone ears "Ernest the Dragon" sounds more ridiculous than almost any other name even vaguely considered here.
• Macuil: Macuil, canonical.
• Seiros: Seiros, canonical (unless Rhea was her true name and Seiros the fake, which I don't think is the case but am uncertain of).
• Dominic: Syntrivi, from the Greek word for crush, because the weapon is Crusher, made from the Crusher Dragon's bones, and by golly that's too much of a theme to ignore.
• Fraldarius: Ida, after the mountain that is wrapped in clouds when the Aegis is shaken. Felt that would be better than going for Aix or Athen(a/e) or something more familiar. Moralta is another option, using the linked sacred relic's name as a clue. Makes me think some of the Elites' children probably joined the Adrestian side of things, perhaps.
• Noa: Hoglah, which means "circling/dancing" in comparison to Noa's "movement" and is another one of Zelophehad's daughters. That said, as a lost crest, it's also possible that the name refers to the Nabatean, not a thief.
• Cethleann: Cethleann, canonical.
• Daphnel: Celtchar, after the wielder of Luin in the Ulster cycle.
• Blaiddyd: Lugh, after the Irish god that wields Areadbhar.
• Gloucester: Can't decide between Kantharos (the wine cup often depicted alongside a thyrsus in ancient art) or Gloyw (the Welsh word that became the Glou in Gloucester and means "bright") or Glevum (based on a cognate of Gloyw). Alternatively, either Ukko or Ukonvasara (which I think is Finnish for "Ukko's Hammer"), after the axe, making the same assumption as with Fraldarius/Riegan that a sacred weapon might be named after a Nabatean... though, even then, it could also be named after a famous human wielder.
• Goneril: Probably Cordeilla (the root of Cordelia, the youngest of Lear's daughters in comparison to Goneril as the eldest) because I can't get the translation for Freikugel as "freeball" out of my head and I don't trust myself to pick a good name if I go down that path.
• Cichol: Cichol, canonical.
• Aubin: Halla, perhaps, from the Finnish for frost. Not sure. That said, as a lost crest, it's also possible that the name refers to the Nabatean, not a thief.
• Gautier: Halkeama, from the Finnish for fissue, because of being a Fissue Dragon.
• Indech: Indech, canonical.
• Maurice: Kataimagi, a messy combination of the Greek word for blood (haima) and storm (kataigida), because of Blutgang ("blood path") and being the sign of the Storm Dragon.
• Charon: Levin, the archaic word for lightning that gives those swords their name. Seems fitting for a Lightning Dragon, and also ties in with Thunderbrand (specifically, the combat art Foudroyant Strike, which was a levin sword exclusive in a previous title).
• Timotheus: Gottehren, German for "honouring god" which is what Timotheus means. That said, as a lost crest, it's also possible that the name refers to the Nabatean, not a thief. Strange name for the Dark Dragon's crest, either way. Suppose that means that perhaps Skotadi or Skotos would also work, being Greek for darkness.
• Riegan: Basilidion, a diminutive of the ancient Greek word for King, as Riegan is derived from the French for "little king". Could also be Vasilidion, I suppose. Or maybe Begalta, from the Sword of Begalta, which is tied to the crest but is a sacred relic and kept by Macuil. Could perhaps have been a warrior themselves at one point, not like the Nabateans were likely to be utterly helpless or defenseless aside from going Dragon.
• Chevalier: Halochion, from greek roots for both horse and snow, tying in with both Chevalier (knight) and being a Snow Dragon. Went with the more modern, because Hippochion is likely to make people think of hippos rather than horses, though it has the dubious plus side of also meaning irrational/illogical in ancient Greek. That said, as a lost crest, it's also possible that the name refers to the Nabatean, not a thief. Strange name for the Dark Dragon's crest, either way.
• Lamine: I'm torn between Rafail (after the gem, though that seems a bit... well, it's maybe too much like Raphael, given that it's really just an alternative spelling) and Epidaur, from Epidaurus, which was one of the major temples of Asclepius, Greek god of healing.
• Flames: Sothis, canonical.

One thing I feel lacking here is that I'm much more familiar with Greek myth, and using Sothis/Seiros as a base I've kinda stuck to that. If anyone has other suggestions based on other etymologies (especially celtic/gaelic ones), thoughts on which option sounds better where I'm stuck, or just better ways of turning words into names, I'd love to hear them!

 

You want horses and something Gaelic? Macha. Do something related to Macha. We're not sure what the fuck it means but it is suspected to be derived from a root meaning 'plains'. Fitting for a horse goddess. I would suggest Enbarr but that's the name of The Motherfucking Adrestian Capital. For Macha stuff though...We've got Navan Fort/Eamhain Macha, Macha's Twins, and Armaugh/Ard Macha, Macha's Height. She was called Grian Banchure, Sun of Womanfolk. She was also called Mong Ruad, Red Haired. Her children were Fir (True) and Fial (Modest). Fir and Fial might also have been horses or one of them a horse and the other a human.

Lugh I think might not work as he already has a showing in the game. Namely in the King Loog.

I have class soon so I can't really suggest anything else right now. But. I can look through this and make suggestions based on the Gaelic languages and the general themes you're working with.

 

A silly meme for the Black Eagle Strike Force:

Spoiler

Edelgard: Okay, from now on we will be using code names. You will address me as Eagle One. Dorothea, code name- Been There, Adobe That. Byleth is- Currently Doing That. Petra is- It Happened Once in a Dream. Hubert, code name- If I Had To Pick a Dude. Bernadetta is... Eagle Two.

Bernadetta: Oh thank Goddess.

 

Modern Three Houses AU centered around university and which involves people's social media. The big mystery is who the fuck is theflameemperor.tumblr.com. This is contrasted with the facebook account of the person behind it which is far, far different in terms of tone and what is shared there.