fodlaneverafter

[fodlaneverafter]

new chapter is FINALLY, FINALLY UP

and it's one that speaks to something very near and dear to my heart <3 so go go check it out if you haven't already!!

https://archiveofourown.org/works/39936471/chapters/161327998

[fodlaneverafter]

Dimitri stood, Gala snuggled in his arms. “As Dedue would be more than happy to tell you, the kitchen is no domain of mine, nor the oven my friend.” “I’m sure you exaggerate!” “I do not,” said Dimitri. Ferdinand’s hearty chuckle rolled through the unseen wood, earning him an annoyed look from the nearby Dorothea. “So you say, but I have never seen you fail to excel at anything you set your mind to, Dimitri White!” “You have never seen me set my mind to cooking,” said Dimitri.

next chapter coming soon...

[fodlaneverafter]

FEA character mini-analyses: the house lords, rhea, and byleth

Here is part 3 of explaining why I cast characters the way I did in FEA (my ongoing 3H/EAH crossover fic)! Part 1, about the Black Eagles, is linked here, Part 2 on the Blue Lions is here, and Part 3 on the Golden Deer is here.

Now without further ado... let us begin!

Edelgard as Raven Queen: the biggest hurdle for writing El as Raven was--and honestly still is--the huge personality difference. While El is kind, she's not exactly... as nice? I also imagine her inner monologue to be a lot less insecure than Raven's, so I had to take some liberties on that front. Other than that, though, I can't think of any reason why Edelgard wouldn't be the leader of the Rebels--she's here to contest the system and make a real change. To echo her twin Crests, I tweaked Raven's destiny-bound magic so that El just has weaker magic than she should, and thus relies on spellcraft.

Dimitri as Apple White: I don't think Dimitri would actually be as in love with his story as Apple apparently is, but they share their obsession with duty and what I would call an intense fear of the unknown. Dimitri disagrees with El for exactly the same reasons as Apple disagrees with Raven--because of the disastrous consequences of division and unrest. Apple isn't hiding any demons in her head, though, so again we have some liberties at play. I thought having super-strength (echoing the Blaiddyd Crest) would be an interesting secret for Dimi to keep.

Claude as Madeline Hatter: Claude is the son of Alice here, but Alistair from the original show never did anything interesting and no one else deserves Maddie's iconic role. I couldn't make the Wonderland situation perfectly parallel to Almyrah, but I do want a spotlight on Claude's identity being split between Fódlan and Wonderland. Even though there are other Wonderlandians, he's the only one who is from both worlds--who has to be both logical and mad, but is never quite enough of each. Just, you know, the typical TCK experience. Oh, and talking to the Narrators is of huge importance too!

Yuri as Ramona Badwolf: I took some biiig liberties with this one. Yuri is not related to Bernadetta, but he has the Badwolf name because Mr. Badwolf needed to hide his marriage to Red while still preserving the story's future somehow. I never liked the idea of him having another child, so I thought it'd be cool to mess up some succession laws and have Yuri--the only house lord in the game who didn't come from a wealthy background--"fight" for his destiny by beating all the other Wolfs to it.

Rhea as Milton Grimm: well this is a no-brainer! I'm still smoothing out the wrinkles in how her backstory has to do with Sothis, but just like Milton, Rhea's fear of losing control causes her to rewrite history to fit her narrative. This is gonna be key in FEA.

Byleth as... like... Just Byleth: so... yeah, Byleth doesn't get an important role in this AU, mostly because I couldn't think of a good reason they'd be involved. Honestly it would be hard for me to write them in an interesting way so I'm fine with that.

other characters: Seteth mostly suffers at the hands of chaos and Flayn enjoys it. Jeralt is mentioned exclusively by Leonie. Sothis does not appear as a living character but uh... let's not spoil that. Rodrigue appears as often as I can allow because he's King Charming (!!), who teaches a class at EAH. For the most part, I don't include the 3H students' original parents. Dimitri's father is still named Lambert but his mother is the EAH version of Snow White; likewise for Edelgard. As for the Ashen Wolves--Constance is the daughter of the Marsh King (look it up; I think you'll agree with me!), I made Hapi the daughter of the Sea Witch just because, and Balthus... there's no good reason for him to be around, I'm afraid :(

And that, my folksies, is that!

[fodlaneverafter]

FEA character mini-analyses: golden deer as wonderlandians

Here is part 3 of explaining why I cast characters the way I did in FEA (my ongoing 3H/EAH crossover fic)! Part 1, about the Black Eagles, is linked here, and Part 2 on the Blue Lions is here.

So the Golden Deer are special... in that I had to make up a third category for them (since apparently Roybels were never made a real thing, thanks for nothing Poppy). I call them "the Wonderlandians" but only half of them are from Wonderland... It matters not.

Without further ado, let us begin!

Hilda as Kitty Cheshire: you can't look at Hilda Valentine Goneril and tell me she wouldn't make the perfect Cheshire Cat. Kitty excels at getting people to do what she wants them to do, and though Hilda's brand of manipulation isn't quite the same, it's close enough. She's more exuberant than sly, but she's also lazy. See? Everything balances out.

Lorenz as Lizzie Hearts: just turn up Lorenz's voice to max volume, make Riddlish his first language, and there ya go. Overbearing, arrogant, and noisy, all in one go! Replace red roses with red hearts and you've got a man. Okay, but really, Lorenz would take his destiny very seriously--and no doubt be a subject of Claude's relentless needling for it.

Marianne as Rosabella Beauty: what more needs to be said? Our sweet, animal-loving little lady + the curse of the beast = daughter of Beauty and the Beast. There is nothing more to be said.

Lysithea as Ginger Breadhouse: with such a major sweet tooth, Lysithea couldn't be anyone else's kid. Okay, she could have been Hansel or Gretel's kid, but I wanted her to have Edelgard parallels so being the daughter of a witch makes more sense. No, I couldn't include her backstory in this setting, but did I give any logical explanation as a replacement? ... Also no.

Ignatz as Bunny Blanc: Ignatz has bunny vibes. He doesn't seem anywhere as anxious as the White Rabbit, but his shyness suits the image of a rabbit. They even have the same spectacles!

Leonie as Jillian Beanstalk: Leonie has that scrappiness that makes me think of Jack, so... let's say Jeralt in this AU was a famous giant-killer...

Raphael as Tiny: first of all, Tiny deserves more appreciation, and second of all, I couldn't think of any bodybuilding fairytale characters. Raphael is genuinely such a sweet guy who just wants to live a good hearty life, and that's what I imagine the giants are like before they go all fe-fi-fo-fum.

And that, my folksies, is that! Okay, I'll admit I was even less logical with this group of castings... but can you blame me? It's the Golden Deer.

Lastly, but definitely not least: the house lords, Rhea, and other miscellaneous characters!

[fodlaneverafter]

FEA character mini-analyses: blue lions as royals

Here is part 2 of explaining why I cast characters the way I did in FEA (my ongoing 3H/EAH crossover fic)! Part 1, about the Black Eagles, is linked here.

Now without further ado, let us begin!

Dedue as Hunter Huntsman: even though canon Dedue wasn't raised with Dimitri, his loyalty does suit the Huntsman's duty toward Snow White. And that's not even the half of it. Hunter's love of nature, his friendliness with animals? Such a Dedue thing. Plus, they're both axe wielders. That has to count for something.

Felix as the Charmings: I know no one could've seen this coming out of the left field--I certainly didn't. Now, Felix may not have the razzle-dazzle of Daring, or the awkward sweetness of Dexter, or the epic heroism of Darling, or... any sort of charm whatsoever, but hear me out, this is about the call of duty, yeah? It would make sense for Felix to despise the corruption of chivalry if he lost his brother to it. (Oh, and yes, of course, Glenn dies in this AU too!) This puts him in a precarious position as a Royal, since it looks like he could be swayed to the Rebel side, but let's be honest; bro's always been like that anyway.

Sylvain as Hopper Croakington III: he's... *gestures wildly* HE'S A TOAD. Having to be kissed in order to change back into a human is more Sylvain than anything else in the fairytale world. As a human, his personality is very much the opposite of Hopper's though, so in honor of that, and also because I delight in clowning Sylvain, he becomes panicky and clumsy in frog form. Only pain for Sylvain.

Ingrid as the O'Hair twins: Ingrid's dedication to her knightly duties mirrors Holly's dedication to mastering her destiny. I honestly can't say she's anything like Poppy though, other than their down-to-earth vibes. I don't know, I just felt like that long blonde hair worked well as a Rapunzel thing, okay?

Annette as Ashlynn Ella: oh now THIS is where it gets good. As the daughter of Cinderella and a Royal, Annette's every perfectionist, ambitious, overachieving quality can be maximized to their full potential, and I just love that. Not to mention, her absent father being a Cinderella thing? Stepsisters who would make her feel like she always needs to prove herself to be taken seriously? Her weird love of cleaning? Such a Cindy vibe.

Ashe as Blondie Lockes: I struggled with Ashe for a long time, but Blondie's lockpicking talents, earnest ways, and innocent-girl front were what eventually got me. And yes, I am aware. Ashe has no head of gold. But with that heart of gold, isn't anything possible? Huh, maybe I should've made him the son of Robin Hood... *remembers Sparrow* Never mind.

Mercedes as Farrah Goodfairy: the greatest tragedy in casting the FEA characters was that Mercie was too old to fit into a high school setting, no matter how I tried. But literally what would she be if not a fairy godmother! She's very powerful but unable to access most of her abilities, simply because of destiny. As a Royal, she's not bothered by this, which only slightly echoes her passive attitude toward her canon backstory, but we take what we can get. Anyway, it's also a perfect reason for why she's best friends with Annette.

And that, my folksies, is that!

The Blue Lions have such iconic dynamics, and I needed to preserve as much of those as I could through these castings. They've got that Royal story, and they do it so well.

Next up: Golden Deer!

[fodlaneverafter]

FEA character mini-analyses: black eagles as rebels

Today I feel like explaining why I cast characters the way I did in FEA (my ongoing 3H/EAH crossover fic)! If all goes well this'll be a four-part series--one each for the three houses and one last post for the house lords + Rhea. (I'm sorry Ashen Wolves fans... I'll talk about Yuri in the last post, but I don't think there's much I can say for the rest of his house.)

Now without further ado, let us begin!

Hubert as Faybelle Thorn: let's raise a cheer for everyone's favorite dark fairy!! (please don't this is cursed enough. haha get it? cursed, because he's--) As we all know the most important thing about Hubert von Vestra is his impeccable sense of style, and Faybelle's aesthetic is the only one that comes close. The only major difference between these two characters is that Faybelle is spiteful, while Hubert is simply ruthless. And I think it's enough to make him a Rebel, as the Dark Fairy's actions are nothing but petty. With his father's role being stolen by the Evil Queen, I thought this would add an interesting dimension to his loyalty to Edelgard (whereas Faybelle hates Raven for it). Also, Faybelle's pet is canonically a pomeranian puppy named Spindle, and I wanted to give Hubie a pomeranian puppy named Spindle.

Ferdinand as C.A. Cupid: I needed something to replace nobility as the virtue around which he centers his life, so naturally I decided on the most entertaining alternative--love. In this AU, destiny-bound "true love" serves as a good enough parallel to the corruption of Fódlan nobility. So while he may have some disagreements with Edelgard, he can't argue with her understanding of destiny. Giving him big ol' wings makes him even more annoying to her, which is exactly what I want. ... Okay, yes, I did make him Cupid just because it was the only way I could include "Ferdinand von Aegir Cupid" in this AU.

Bernadetta as Cerise Hood: yes, it does hurt me that Bernadetta's color palette clashes horribly with the RRH aesthetic, but what can a girl do they're the perfect match! Of course Bernie would be shy and reclusive if her father was the freaking Big Bad Wolf. And who wouldn't be anxious having to hide a secret like that in the woods, constantly surrounded by the vicious Wolf people? Of course I couldn't make her as extremely nervous as she was in 3H, but uh. I don't think anyone minds. (We are kicking Count Varley out of the picture by the way please forget he ever existed.)

Petra as Cedar Wood: the only princess besides Edelgard in 3H may be a mere commoner in this retelling, but real queens need no crowns. Cedar's desire to understand humans is the closest in-universe to Petra's desire to understand Fódlan (even if they're for different reasons). Furthermore, I find Petra's honesty works well with Cedar's curse--they're both so endearing for it.

Dorothea as Meeshell Mermaid: we shall forever mourn the lost potential of Meeshell, but Dorothea is a whole other story. Voice of an angel, check. Renowned beauty, check. Most importantly, her longing to be truly seen and loved, check. Let's not forget the Little Mermaid was treated as little more than a pretty plaything in the prince's court, never truly seen by the man she loved. Canon Dorothea fears exactly that. Her being a Rebel is just too perfect.

Linhardt as Briar Beauty: I don't think I need to explain myself here? But... the tricky part about him is that Linhardt would never in a million years be unsatisfied with his destiny. I had to lure him to the dark side with lots of enticing research opportunities on the true nature of destiny-bound curses and succession laws, because of what happened with his mom's story (Evil Queen stealing Dark Fairy's role and all). Anyway, I love imagining him with green crownglasses and the fact that his personality is the polar opposite of Briar's will never not be hilarious.

Caspar as... the son of the White Queen??: yeah so the White Queen doesn't have a kid in EAH; I just couldn't think of anything more suiting for Caspar, both in personality and appearance (a bonus, in my book!). Now technically most of the Wonderlandians are Golden Deer, but like... who cares. Also, it's adorable to picture Caspar having normal conversations with his mom, who is the princesses' advisor, and they're quite literally just shouting at each other. Even if they're on opposite sides of the destiny conflict, I feel like they'd have the sweetest relationship.

And that, my folksies, is that.

Confession: before starting this fic, the Black Eagles were my least favorite house. I didn't understand them at all, but now I am so glad I do. They got that Rebel heart, lads.

Next up: Blue Lions!

[fodlaneverafter]

https://archiveofourown.org/works/39936471/chapters/100004136

introducing Fódlan Ever After, a bizarre and ambitious crossover between Fire Emblem: Three Houses and Ever After High. Edelgard, the daughter of the greatest villain in fairytale history, wants nothing more than to escape the path she's fated to walk as the next Evil Queen. What if she wants to choose her own Happily Ever After, and how will it affect the futures of other students-–most of all that of her destined enemy, Dimitri?

occasionally interrupted by Claude's chats with the Narrators.

featured ships in the tags :)