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I just pulled Brave Sharena, but I didn't feel the need to level her up in order to try her out here. FEH OCs in general are among some of the most broken units in the game, so I had plenty of options to deal with Emblem Eirika. Elm took her out on every difficulty bar Abyssal, and there Rune could do it with an assist from Peony. Nidhoggr almost felt like overkill, but since the RNG saw fit to give her to me, I figured I may as well use her.

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Most of the cooking I do in the hot summer months is quick and easy stuff, for reasons I'd imagine are obvious. I do little if any baking this time of year too, because if I want a sweets fix, I'll just grab some ice cream or a popsicle. 😅

But the humidity hasn't been so oppressive this week, and since the store had some impressive looking peppers and zucchini, I was inspired to make an old favorite, ratatouille. This is the rustic, no frills "niçoise" style, not the fancy "confit" variety made famous by the Pixar movie. I like this dish so much I made it a minor plot point in SWST!

One of my favorite things about this dish is that it starts with colorful vegetables. Aren't they pretty? (That green pepper is practically a melon, lol.) There's also no wrong way to make it; there are traditional ingredients for it, but they're open to variance. I'm not a huge fan of eggplant, for instance, so I usually just leave it out. I usually only use one onion too, but these were on the smaller side plus they've been in my pantry awhile, so I figured I'd use them both.

And yes, I'm aware that's an absurd amount of garlic. It should prove sufficient for warding off vampires until Halloween. 😂

The most tedious part of this dish is chopping all the veggies. Once that's done, this soup comes together quickly. The broth is tomato-based, and while you can certainly use fresh ones, that's also more time and effort. A can of tomato paste and some stock works just fine. Throw in a generous handful of basil, oregano, parsley, and a pinch of thyme, and then it's ready for the veg.

Once these have softened, I toss in a can of diced tomatoes to amp up the tomato-y taste. I also like to hit it with a few good shots of hot sauce to make it just a little spicy.

Since the end result is like a very chunky tomato sauce, I often eat it over rice or noodles, but it's lovely as is with some nice bread on the side too. Cheese sprinkled on top is a must in my book, though! 😋

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I picked some of my favorite Gen 2 units for this. All of them have kits that were pretty good for 2-3 years ago. You know, when the powercreep was just bad and not insane like it is now. I did do a little extra farming for skills when I realized Emblem Ike was the final boss, because he's still such a stupid unit and it takes a lot to deal with his bullcrap. It was quite satisfying when Marth took a Great Aether to the face and survived with 1HP (no miracle shenanigans either)! It was even more satisfying when Sothe took him out on the next turn, lol.

Canas alt when?? 😞

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I got a little nervous when I first saw this one, because I remember raging at this map when it was new. Askr is ridiculously tanky and Marth being in there too was such a nasty twist.

...Of course, that was long before Emblem Sigurd existed, so uh, now this map doesn't have anywhere near the bite it once did. Also a chance to bring out my new Legendary Ayra (a lucky free pull) to play.

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Remember when Altina was busted? Good times. Anyway, this was an easy W for Chrobin Emblem. It's always fun to use them to curbstomp an old map.

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something to remember is that writing is hard. and I don't necessarily mean in terms of writers block or trying to solve plot holes etc (although that's part of it), but as in it's hard work. even when writing is going well, you're spending a lot of mental energy on it – on deciding which words to use and in what order, remembering how to spell those words, figuring out if character dialogue sounds good, remembering the things that happened around the bit you're currently writing + what you want to happen next, checking plot notes, remembering your established canon, holding different subplots in your head.... that's like having a whole bunch of programs running simultaneously on a computer, and even the best computer with high end specs can't run like that forever. so if you ever catch yourself thinking "man all I did was write/revise/edit. why am I so tired?" that is your answer. because your brain has been running multiple processes and it needs a break

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dimileth and chrobin outfit swap commissions i did!! tysm for the support !!!

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everyone the king has married died. Not because he kills them or some grand plot it just...happens. He talked to some of the most powerful magic users and they agree it's not an official curse just sheer coincidence. The king now just spends his time locked away in his room.

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non-writers will never understand the mental illness of writing an entire conversation in your head while doing dishes and then forgetting every word the second you open a blank doc

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art will save you, being unreasonably passionate about something niche will save you, letting past sources of joy show you the way back to yourself will save you, earnestness over composure will save you, the natural world will save you, caring for something bigger than yourself will save you, daring to be seen will save you, kindness not as a whim but a principle will save you, appreciation as a practice will save you, daring to try something new will save you, grounding will save you, love will save you, one good nights sleep will save you

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Content warning for major character death!

Chapter 4 of my elderly Dimileth fic is live! As I mentioned previously, this chapter is pretty much peak sadness, as the life of the Savior King comes to an end. If you're in need of a good cry, I think it's fair odds this chapter will provide it. 💔😭 Tissues strongly advised!

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You get isekai-ed into a random fe3h character body.

What would you do in their place?

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"What are you reading right now?" My own wip because apparently I forgot my own writing style

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WIP Wednesday

I feel weird promoting this, as the next chapter of How Did You Love is pretty much peak sadness. 😭 This preview is a tiny bit of sweetness before all of the heartbreak, as Byleth dotes on her ailing husband.

Full chapter coming August first. Tissues strongly advised. 💔💔

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Guess what? My dentist called to tell me my permanent crown was finished ahead of schedule! She had an opening this morning if I wanted it, so I got up early and my tooth is all finished. 😁 It's still a little grouchy and sensitive from being messed with again, but even with that, the permanent crown feels SO MUCH better than the temporary one. Not only is it more secure and sturdy, it feels like a real actual tooth instead of that weird gritty/fuzzy texture. What a relief to have it done! I imagine it won't be long before it feels totally normal and I forget anything was done to it all. 🎉

...Now if only I could recoup the cost of this thing as quickly. 😅

Much as I would like a Switch 2, it had to go on the back burner because I needed a dental crown. 😣 I thankfully had advanced notice about this (it was about a year ago when my dentist first made note of the cracked filling; the point was to take care of this before it became A Problem and needed a root canal too), but it's a hard hit to my savings and discretionary funds that'll take time to replenish. I'm hoping I can get a Switch 2 by the holidays, or January at the latest.

Anyway, I got the temporary crown yesterday and I'll get the permanent one on August first. The tooth is still a little sore from the drilling today, but I really only feel it when I chew (which I'm trying to avoid on that side as much as possible--luckily this is on a lower rear molar so it's not too difficult to avoid using it). Or if something very cold or hot hits it (I drank my coffee at room temperature this morning 😅). The temporary crown is annoying me though. It's plastic/resin and it has a texture that feels gritty, so I keep thinking there's debris back there whenever my tongue or cheek slides against it. I'll probably get used to it just in time to have the real one installed, haha.

As much as this sucks, as a humblebrag, according to my dentist's records, my last actual cavity was in 2011. I guess I was overdue for something other than a routine cleaning!

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Rhea

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"IT WAS ONLY SUPPOSED TO BE A ONESHOT!!!" i scream, desperately clawing at the floor, as the fic drags me back into The Depths to continue writing against my will for the rest of eternity