#ashen wolves i am coming for you

[machiot]

@egittae sent:

It wasn’t always that Lambert got to see Marni, much less actually talk to her. The girl seemed quite adamant in not coming to class and always seemed busy in one way or another despite the professor’s pleas, but in the end he wouldn’t force anyone to attend his lessons. After all it wasn’t as if the Ashen Wolves were an actual class with an actual academic program- it was just their group and nothing more.

However, he had to admit that he often thought about her. All abyssinians had their reasons as to why they chose to hide from the world and that definitely included Marni, but the professor could only wonder how a girl so young ended up like that. He wouldn’t pry, but he did, genuinely, want to reach out. Or try to.

This was his best chance, at least. “Good to see you, Marni. Your performance in the game was quite impressive, you did extremely well!” Even if they were from another team, he did have to admit that seeing Marni and Lyon in the top positions brought a smile to his face. “Even if we belong to rival teams- and even if you refuse to come to class…in the end I still view you as my student. And as a result, your victories and your progress bring me much joy.”

“Great job, Marni. I am proud of you for being able to come this far into the games.”

With blond hair and light blue eyes, a casual observer might look between the two of them and imagine some sort of kinship. Father and daughter. Uncle and niece. Maybe even distant cousins with a generation gap between them.

Ironically, that same passing resemblance is the very reason Marni feels like she's on pins and needles every time he talks to her.

His appearance dredges up unpleasant feelings that she'd rather tamp down. No, rather than feelings, what she wants to tamp down are memories. Memories of useless brothers and a mother who only ever held her hand once, all blond haired and blue eyed.

(Her other family was better precisely because they didn't look like her at all.)

"'Come this far'? What, did you think I was some pathetic little weakling?" Marni furrows her brow and rests her hands on her hips. Is this guy looking down on her? Like she's some loser? "Of course I made it this far! It's because I'm stronger than everyone else that no one can even touch me! I won both last week and this week, so I'm totally gonna win next week, too!"

What happened the first week was only a fluke! If that stupid dragon hadn't been there, she would've swept that game without even breaking a sweat. It was bad luck, that's all.

...If it had just been anyone else.

Marni shakes her head, sending her ringlets bouncing, "Keep piling on the praise, but you're still not getting me to go to class! I'm not taking classes from someone worse at games than me!"

[aptericia]

are you doing trick-or-treats?! I did not see! or maybe I sent you one a while ago. but if I did not: trick or treat from Barfie, Lulu, Uru, Ballyfätten, meow meow tsum tsum, nyanzy, and various other sweet smiling children!

Haha I wasn’t planning to, but they kept coming in!! Thanks for stopping by!! I am giving a treat to each of Barfie, Lulu, Uru, Ballyfätten, meow meow tsum tsum, nyanzy, and the other various sweet smiling children 🥰💕🍬

I was going to send you this in an ask, but since you’re already here…

Happy Halloween from the sewer children!!! Thanks so much for all your support and sweet comments, and of course for continuing to provide ashen wolves propaganda! hope you have a great one 😊🙏

[brucebocchi]

i’ve come to the realization that the ashen wolves from fire emblem: three houses are basically the original cast of its always sunny in philadelphia

yuri is dennis

balthus is mac

constance is dee

hapi is charlie

now that may lead you to say “well surely that must mean that aelfric is frank,” and i am here to tell you that you are wrong. aelfric is cricket

[egittae]

While most were taking this for the face value vacation that it was being toted as being, Lukas was of a different mind. These games were not for fun, and the hastily applied veneer was easy to spot through for him. No, whatever was coming, he had little doubts that it would stay innocent.

They were entertainment, and at the end of this, the goal was for one team to win.

Simple enough results, but getting there would involve a great deal of work -- they would have to get their hands dirty, and Lukas was no stranger to such circumstances.

Physicality would have its place, yes, but one should never underestimate the power and flaws of the mind. Morale and trust were key in a team effort like this. The games may not have started yet, but that didn't mean plans could not be put into motion for later down the line.

His smile is polite as he approaches the other man, team bandana tucked away out of sight for the moment.

"Ah, you're one of the professors from Garreg Mach, are you not? I look forward to working alongside you once we return to our regular duties," he begins, offering a hand out in greeting, "This is quite the place, isn't it? I'm sure events will prove to be quite...enlightening."

Lukas was a people watcher by nature. He didn't mind socializing, could often find it something he might consider pleasurable, but he kept his connections small and close for the most part. His brother had been made for weaving in and out of different circles like this, but Lukas people watched.

And he learned.

"I've heard some tales about you, if it's not rude to say so," he continues, smile still in place. "You suffer from memory loss? That must be quite difficult." A sympathetic lilt in his tone, an upwards curve of the brow to match. "You seem of a strong and capable sort to me, so I'm sure you'll not have any issues...however, it would be remiss of me to not warn you."

A casual glance around them, as if to make sure they are not being overheard.

"You would do well to pick your allies carefully. These games can get quite cut throat, and it's not merely opposing teams you should watch out for. When happiness is the prize many are competing for, lines can be blurred and crossed with surprising ease. You've been here for some time now, yes? Do you trust those you've become closest to?"

At first, azure pools glinted in interest as they came to meet a new face. A man with red hair- definitely a soldier, approaching him with an easy smile that Lambert couldn’t help but return while giving him a proper handshake. “Aha, I am a teacher indeed, though not directly affiliated to the Academy. I do still answer to the Church, however.” Sort of. Theoretically he didn’t need to, seeing how the Ashen Wolves were disconnected from them, but with the cardinals offering so much help it was only natural that he’d report to them some details. 

“I say the same! You must be part of the faculty, correct? I must say, at first I thought you were one of the Knights, considering your build.” His tone was easy and warm, followed by a short chuckle. The guy seemed nice enough, and they could surely end up working together in the future.

But then…he started with some weird things. Things Lambert was quite sure he didn’t exactly tell others, at least not so openly. His memory loss wasn’t something he mentioned here and there- he wasn’t completely against revealing it, but it wasn’t something he talked about freely. The professor knew exactly who had shared this information with, so far.

This guy wasn’t one of them. And yet, he could tell.

The easy smile stayed, though it lost its gleam and stood between the limits of ‘unsure’ and ‘forced’ instead. It was hard to tell if the guy was being genuine with his words or hoping to get a reaction from him through false sympathy. Lambert didn’t want to assume malice of this man so easily, yet…this was a game, and this guy was from another team. All was fair in love and war as they say, and destabilizing the enemy was a favorite of many. “What you say is correct, indeed. There is a point in every game and battle that even friends may become foes, all for the sake of desperation. However it is still much too early to turn blades against allies.”

He chose to accept the warning with grace, but making it clear he was suspicious of the man’s intentions. 

“And much too early to trust your words, above all.”

[aubins]

TOA Anniversary Munday!

Celebrating TOA and the people who contribute to make our group what it is.

Repost, don't reblog. Only fill in what you feel comfortable sharing!

Happy anniversary, TOA! Here's to many more years spent together.

NAME. darcy, but i also go by elio in other places

PRONOUNS. they/them

BIRTHDAY (NO YEAR). january 9

WHERE ARE YOU FROM? WHAT IS YOUR TIMEZONE? sea & gmt+8

ROLEPLAY EXPERIENCE. i couldn't give you an exact timeline tbh i do it very on and off for the most part

GOT ANY PETS? not at the moment!

FAVORITE TIME OF YEAR. there aren't really seasons where i'm from, so more generally my favorite time of year is the start of it! something nice about seeing the year turn over i think

SOME INTERESTS AND THINGS YOU LIKE. my life is a constant cycle of consume new media > fixate on said media > repeat so my current interests really depend on what i've gotten into recently haha (rain code right now i fear) otherwise some things i always like to talk about regardless are atla, orv, ace attorney, and specifically venti from genshin & ryuki from somnium files. i'm sure there are other things that i can't remember rn tho haha. in general, i also like math, reading & writing (i mean. you know LOL), photography, and music (i play the piano)! i also just like to learn in general

SOME FUN FACTS & TRIVIA ABOUT YOU. i speak three languages, though i can only confidently say i'm fluent in two. my mandarin has unfortunately suffered from years of disuse

WHAT NON-FIRE EMBLEM GAMES DO YOU PLAY? ace attorney, somnium files, rain code…there is a pattern here lol but those aside, other games i like that come to mind are 13 sentinels: aegis rim, hades, pokemon, and honkai: star rail

FAVORITE POKEMON TYPE & POKEMON. fairy types & ditto :] i just think it's a silly little guy

HOW DID YOU GET INTO FIRE EMBLEM? my brother came home with fe3h one day and i decided to play it too because he seemed like he was having fun

WHAT FIRE EMBLEM GAMES HAVE YOU PLAYED? fe11, fe12, fe16 (+ hopes), & fe17! though i got a little bit through awakening before i stopped, and i've watched play throughs of the tellius games & sov

FIRST FIRE EMBLEM GAME. three houses

FAVORITE FIRE EMBLEM GAME. i don't know if i would say i have a specific favorite to be honest

ANY FIRE EMBLEM CRUSHES? hm, not really? if i had to say one, maybe yuri, but that's in part gender envy i think haha

IF YOU'VE PLAYED THE FOLLOWING GAMES, WHO WAS YOUR FIRST S SUPPORT? WHO WOULD YOU S SUPPORT NOWADAYS? — THREE HOUSES. claude…probably yuri these days though haha — ENGAGE. technically no one because i immediately reset it after, but i gave the pact ring to veyle before i did

FAVORITE FIRE EMBLEM CLASS. mages are fun! in general i just like magic conceptually

IF YOU WERE A FIRE EMBLEM CHARACTER, WHAT WOULD BE YOUR CLASS? i used to do archery so probably an archer!

IF YOU WERE A THREE HOUSES CHARACTER, WHAT WOULD BE YOUR AFFILIATION? i am heavily biased toward the golden deer because they were my first route haha but i'm an ashen wolves liker at heart so probably between those two

IF YOU WERE AN ENGAGE CHARACTER, WHICH EMBLEM WOULD YOU ENGAGE WITH? ooh…byleth? goddess dance is silly methinks

HOW DID YOU FIND TOA? i was struggling a lot with my writing at the time and stumbled upon the heart & soul ad on twitter! it was rather serendipitous timing i think

CURRENT TOA MUSES. one mister yuri leclerc

WHO WAS YOUR FIRST TOA MUSE? IF YOU DON'T HAVE THEM ANYMORE, COULD YOU SEE YOURSELF PICKING THEM UP AGAIN? my first muse was the lovely marianne von edmund :] she is very dear to my heart which unfortunately means i was very hard on myself when it came to writing her so probably not, but i think of her time in toa fondly

HAVE YOU HAD ANY OTHER TOA MUSES? caeda very briefly from when i first picked up the archanea games, and est whose app i wrote on the spot in the middle of the night after rereading her base conversations & supports

DO YOU THINK YOU HAVE A TYPE OF CHARACTER YOU GRAVITATE TOWARDS? i'm sure i probably do, but i wouldn't be able to put my finger on it myself. i think the process that happens for me when it comes to muses is that i find characters with certain aspects that i find interesting and would like to explore, then i learn to write them. and very rarely a character will just hit me over the head with a steel chair (yuri and est namely for muses i have/had in toa haha)

WHAT DO YOU BELIEVE YOU ENJOY WRITING THE MOST? i love exploring a variety of relationship dynamics, though antagonistic relationships and found family in particular are my favorites (paw against the glass for the ashen wolves..) and i like writing the disparity between what a character thinks internally versus what they would actually express externally. more generally, i really enjoy writing combat!

FAVORITE TOA-RELATED MEMORY. i think any silly rng moments with the dice. two that come to mind immediately are est & sirius whiffing their attacks against one another in arena and, far more recently, waking up to yuri immediately getting bodied in team zofia. those made me laugh a lot haha

HOW DO YOU PRONOUNCE TOA? by the letters! t-o-a

GOT ANY DELUSIONS THAT DIDN'T SEE THE LIGHT OF DAY THAT YOU'D LIKE TO SHARE? fun fact of the day is that edelgard was going to be my first muse before i got intimidated at the idea of writing a lord mfksldjflskd i unironically have delusions of writing sommie haha but otherwise i have half-written apps for clarisse, both solm royals, lysithea, and shez

[tiny-cloud-of-flowers]

🌟 idr if ive ever asked this .. but catarina with the ashen wolves !!

Ooh! I am not sure whether you have, but I do think I might have been asked this question a long time ago, so it's possible! And, regardless of whether that was also you or not, thank you very much for asking it here, friend!~

(source: this post by cloudy-memes)

Send a 🌟 + name and I’ll talk about my self-insert’s bond to that character! - I'll do this in relative order of closeness, if that's alright~

So, first of all, we have Hapi, who.. Catarina does definitely have a very close bond with, by virtue of Hapi being one of my romantic F/Os. The two share a lot of opinions on things, though I would say that Catarina is not quite as apathetic as Hapi tends to be - even so, the two enjoy each other's company greatly, as both of them feel that they can just be themselves and not have to worry about things when the other is around. I think it would take some time for Hapi to trust her with knowledge of her sigh, but when she does, the fact that Catarina responds with wanting to find ways to adapt to it (e.g. taming the monsters), instead of just ways of mitigating it (e.g. killing the monsters), stands out a lot to Hapi and is a strong catalyst for the pair really becoming closer.

Next, I think I would say Catarina gets on best with Yuri, because the two have a number of comparable personality traits - in fact, even their Crests have the same effect in-game, in that they prevent enemies from counterattacking. I'm also thinking of tying part of her backstory to his, in that both of them ended up in Abyss for the same reason/as part of the same incident (since Yuri was also in the Blue Lions house, which is where Catarina would also have been placed initially - and his retailation at what his group were asked to do would most likely have been something she supported him on). So, all these similarities are what lead the two to have a strong bond of friendship.

Following this is Balthus, who is not generally the sort of person Catarina enjoys the company of very much, given his more rowdy personality. However, they actually have a closer bond than might be expected, because Balthus first attended the Officers' Academy in the same year as her older half-brother, Tobias. The two of them (plus Holst) had a fierce friendship, even despite Holst and Balthus being Golden Deer whereas Tobias was a Blue Lion, so Balthus knows a bit more about Catarina's younger self than the others as a result - and sometimes struggles to see her as any older than she was when he went to school with her brother, which leads him to both be caring towards her and also sometimes be unintentionally belittling.

Finally, we have Constance! I wouldn't say that Catarina and Constance dislike each other by any means, it's just that she gets on least well with her compared to the other three. Constance has a habit of turning everything into a competition, particularly when it comes to unconventional magics, whereas Catarina does not enjoy being competitive whatsoever. So, this can leave her rather exasperated at her. Even so, there can definitely be moments where the two are able to bounce off of each other very effectively and get on brilliantly - it's just generally a case of whether Catarina's bluntness clashes with or act as a fun foil to Constance's theatrics.

I hope that all of these answers were alright, friend! Thank you very much again for sending this in, even if it has been some time since it was first sent ;w;

[nerdnag]

Tell me about your blorbos! Absolutely anything you want to share. And any OC's you have for any fandom you're in?

Omg omg omg!!! I love talking about my blorbos!! Thank you for asking 😍😍😍

Ok this will barely be structured at all because I am so excited but bear with me.

First! We have Constance von Nuvelle. Everyone should know at this point how much I love her and relate to her. She is so Babygirl. A genius before her time. I love writing her i love drawing her i love cosplaying her. One day I will learn how to speak in a voice that sounds like her and when that day comes I will have reached immortality.

Then! Let's go with Hubert von Vestra!! He is adorable and clever and I love myself a tricky man. He will do almost anything for those he cares about. He has a cute brooding thing going on. I like his little hair horns!!! And his way of speaking is lovely to write. I love to write him love to draw him love to put him in awkward or traumatic situations. 10/10

I also love Yuri Leclerc!! He is so smart and tricky and pretty and his combat style is really fun to write. Love his loose ponytail. Love his street smarts. Also love that he hates Hubert and likes to tease Constance. He's so funny all the time aND HIS POINTY SHOES ARE 10/10 BY THEMSELVES

Then outside of fe3h we have Killian Lu!! He is a true Babygirl. He uses magic built on WORDS how cool is THAT. It's so fun to write because I can do magic with poetry and insults!!!!! He's so cool and skilled and smart but he has literally no friends. Like at all. But he deserves them and he deserves a break and he deserves to be adopted by Dina who is another blorbo of mine and omg she is so precious. Literally just says whatever comes to mind at any point in time. A literal plant girl who's trying to find friends but fails time and time again. She brews various types of tea with interesting effecta and her humor is Spot On. Love Dina and Killian together they are literally perfect together, as friends or otherwise.

And then there's Kazuma Asogi!!! Also hella cool. He knows what he's talking about and he says it well. Everyone wants to be him, including me. How is he so cool. I want constant wind in my hair too. Also SPOILERSSPOILERSSPOILERSBUTHELOOKSSOGOODINAMASKHHHHHNNNNGH

Who else?? You know what. Let's go with Adrien Agreste too. Haven't written or seen him in YEARS but he is such an awkward cinnamon roll there isn't anyone more pure on this EARTH. Literal model who didn't have any real friends until he was like. 14. Literally evil father and omg all my blorbos have family trauma don't they...

There's also Arlo! Captain Arlo of the Civil Corps! First time I met him he kicked down the door without a care in the world. He's such a dork and wants to be an adventurer but he's also very good at punching things. And he's a cute redhead. What else do you need

Speaking of redheads we have Sylvain Gautier! Back to Fe3h I guess! Such a silly little traumatised fella. I both want to give him fluff and to hang him upside down from his toes. I have several fic ideas jotted down for him but don't know if I'll ever write them. He deserves a found family in the Ashen Wolves by the way.

And oh oh oh lemme tell you about my fe3h oc!!! This is heavy spoilers for my fic but currently I do not care I am so excited. His name is Lukas and he is the 11th Hresvelg child, but he was brainwashed and memory-wiped by Thales so he thinks he's an Agarthan named Lysias. And also he has parts of Nemesis inside of his body. Poor babe he just can't catch a break. Such a little devil. He's excellent at dark magic and knows how to Pretend but he's so lonely. And also when he learns the truth about himself he kinda melts into a puddle so uhhh. I like the Troubled Ones I guess. But I am going to fix it for him I swear!! Eventually!!

Oh I also have a Fe3h oc named Androtimos who is a Morfean!! I imagine his voice as smooth and warm as liquid honey and personality-wise he is basically that as well. But also he's a lil tricky-tricky. He's a librarian who secretly knows some dark magic and has a mother in TWSITD.

Who else who else? Is that everyone have I forgotten anyone?? I probably have in which case I apologize to that blorbo and I will add on to this post if I remember!!

[wherefore-whinnies]

6, 19, 27!

6. A series you’ve enjoyed since your early days of gaming and still enjoy to this day whether it still has games coming out or is one you return to

Harvest Moon/Story of Seasons!! I must've had hundreds of hours on Friends of Mineral Town when I was a kid and here I am now playing the FoMT remake currently. I don't actually play much of the new original titles lol but I might try them at some point

19. A game you started up for the first time and you knew from the start it was going to be great

hmmm I think the closest I have to that would be Three Hopes? iirc I was so high off the ashen wolves trailer coming out that I could not focus on work so I took the afternoon off to stream the demo for my friends. and I started it up and we just spent several minutes staring at the title screen and listening to the music in awe lol.

27. A game you love the atmosphere of

man I definitely have one of these but I forgot it?? scrolling through my switch games the next one I can think of is Slay the Spire actually. the music is so good and the enemy designs are so neat. love the little louses (yes I know) that I named all Louise. love the exordium music. love the city music and the part where it does, (gestures), the thing. it is so, blobmelt emoji.

(the thing is the bit at around 2:00.) love the boss music. outing myself as just wanting to talk about video game music tbh

[wild-moss-art]

idt links work in replies so I will put this here. I am your GUY for gen fic

ashen wolves heist fic!!

ashen wolves at the garreg mach ball!! there's romance in it but it's really not the focus

this writer writes a lot of aro Linhardt and Caspar one-shots!

I have a lot more but not off-hand I'll have to search through my files. I'll get back to you later, remind me if I don't

OUGH TY I knew you’d come through with some bangers 🙏 can’t wait to read these

[autridi]

@wargoer said:  ❝ i had hoped my days of ceaseless battles were over. ❞

          ❝    𝐚𝐡,    𝐚𝐡.    ❞      𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐝,    cant forwards      &.      chin tucked to embroidered hem.      ❝    i went to your house,    kratos.    i knocked,    ❞      a pause for emphasis.      a tattooed arm gestures to kratos then opens in a wide arc.      ❝    on your door.    ❞      he steps forwards once      &.      then again.      𝐬𝐧𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐚 𝐠𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐬𝐧𝐨𝐰.     snake measuring prey.      what he sees before him is an effrontery.      a gauche debauchery of a false god at the center of his perfunctory ambling.      𝘈𝘙𝘌 𝘠𝘖𝘜 𝘛𝘐𝘙𝘌𝘋 𝘖𝘍 𝘉𝘓𝘖𝘖𝘋𝘚𝘏𝘌𝘋,  𝘎𝘖𝘋 - 𝘒𝘐𝘓𝘓𝘌𝘙 ?      the iron - scent,    the cloying copper of a world inundated by plague      &.      blood at the hands of the ashen - fiend.      so much,    therein,    wholly unnecessary.       ❝    i do not want war,    kratos.  much less,  do i want a war with you.    ❞

          he stopped before him.      his wool cloak swirling around his knees.      the sun hung west,    a winter - white      &.      lucent glass eye watching them,    heimal light reflecting long blades from the gold damask on his shoulder.    in motes that sifted      &.      spun,    sliding away like optic strobes.      ❝    correct me,    if i am mistaken,    but this    —    all this prophecy    —    it has nothing to do with you.      i asked that you not get involved.      i was willing to overlook the death of my boy …      &.      still your answer is no.    ❞      (  there is the subtlest shift in his demeanor,    from this ,    this sympathetic diplomat  to reveal just a hint of the hardened      &.      serrated edges of an authoritative man.      edges that would seem unpleasant to touch.      his face transforms under this paperthin veil of farce,    solidifying into a demurring austerity.  )      ❝    you wouldn’t know peace if it were standing right in front of you,    looking you in the eye.    if you did not want war,    you at the very least would not have gone looking for týr.      &.      yet you did.  what did you hope to gain from it ?      hm ?      you throw a bone      &.      you expect for a dog to come running towards it,    kratos,    but i didn’t think you were one.    ❞      

         he has made his way to the wolves,    noting the matted      &.      dusty fur,      &.      is brazen enough to reach for them,    scratching beneath their chin.      his back turned to the god.      ❝    take your boy,      &.     go home,    kratos.      this doesn’t have to end with blood.    ❞

[brynn-lear]

Dear Brynlee,

One realizes that the matters of the telepathic are entirely fictional and isn’t an effective measure of communication. Naturally, one such as myself shall apply this standard both to myself and others. I must tell you of an immensely *crass* individual I had come across! Trying to barge into your home and demanding answers, carrying a bag full of…let’s call it items pertaining to the past, whether it be the distant past or the recent past. You may have noticed, but do not worry. I have dealt with that…troubled gentleman. Really, let’s just put such people away into the recesses of our minds. Their words and questions are not worth pondering over. Unfortunately, I do not have much with me, so there is little I can offer you but these words and what I have enclosed. Aha, of course I would enclose a gift. I intend to keep alive the manners so many have crushed under their heel and spat on. It’s nothing special, really. Just a pair of ivory chopsticks, as white and as resplendent as bone. And perhaps we may enjoy a cup of coffee, from a shop by the sea overlooking the sun. Over there, nothing goes missing. A lovely day to you,

An Ambling Soul

Dear An Ambling Soul,

I have been hoarding this letter in hopes that I can conjure up a witty response, but alas, I am unable to do so. I cannot ascertain with this minimal information as to who this "crass" individual is— much less who is the sender (you) of this letter.

Hopefully that did not come off as rude, but am I to presume that you are from another realm? Liyue, perhaps? My knowledge on Teyvat matters are limited and I do not wish to offend you with an extraordinaire hypothesis such as "you must be an adeptus!". Especially when I know little of the aforementioned race.

If I got that wrong, well, this is embarrassing, but are you one of my students? Blue Lions? Golden Deer? Black Eagles? Ashen Wolves? Heavens, forgive me. I do not keep up with new monikers youngbloods have for each other as of late. It's rather awkward for me to receive such luxurious presents when I cannot ascertain your identity. I am so sorry.

Thank you for these eating utensils. Much like coffee, they're uncommon here in Fodlan. Fortunately and unfortunately, I am incredibly fond of both. Many thanks for such a boon! In return, I've encased some teas the Archbishop recommended and some gemstone beads. The latter includes gems such as topaz and aventurine. I find them quite lovely. I hope you are of the same opinion.

Best regards,

- Brynn Lear

[daeva-belov]

The first chapter of a little mini au I'm making of my OCS for funzies.

Wolves of the Arctic Sea

The ebony wolf stared across the frigid waters, glaciers plummeting to the blue depths as they broke from their snowy beds. Each breath was a plume of hot mist, swirling around his grey tipped muzzle before fading into the ashen skies. It was beautiful. He could stand outside for hours and never shiver. His fur brushed with frost that he hardly felt; if he could roll in the snow naked he would.

This landscape of snow and ice so familiar a place; one he could never forget yet never return to. Not that he wanted to, not anymore. The desire had passed decades ago, at least as well as it ever could. He supposed some part of him would always long for the waters, it’s chill embracing him again. But he couldn’t. He wouldn’t. This was the closest the wolf could come, the closest he allowed himself. It wasn’t as if he were missed.

With a sigh, he leaned further over the rails of the ship, an IceBreaker as the land-dwellers called it. These days he called it home. As much as a vessel like this could be. But after over a decade of sailing it’d become difficult to imagine life elsewhere. Better than remaining on land for the rest of his years. And the crew wasn’t hard to get along with, the Captain was another matter. Though what had he expected aboard a military ship? A boat made from iron with an engine that roared under his feet. If one had asked him centuries ago how he felt of such things, well the mere sight of the ship would have struck terror into his heart. But those days had long passed. A lot of things had passed…

There were far worse things to fear, war was one such thing. Although, some part of him didn’t mind it. Morbid as it was it kept his mind occupied and his hands busy. Even such, he relished every moment of peace as a pirate or Servian attack always lingered on the horizon. Moments such as these. Or, they would be if he hadn’t been interrupted.

“Valko,” Jonathon called, the stout doberman one of the louder crew members. “See you’re slacking already, huh? Thought you said you were busy?”

Rolling his eyes, he turned to the shorter male. Well, he supposed Jonathan was among the taller but he’d yet to meet another as large as himself. It was nice to tower above everyone, and such a thing was easy when you were nearly eight and a half foot tall (261.8cm).

“I’m enjoying the view, Jonathon. And the morning quiet,” the wolf crossed his arms, tail flicking. “But should you really be talking to your Lieutenant like that?”

The canine tensed, glancing to the side, “Don’t act all high and mighty. You’ve had that title less than a year. Pretending to be as great as Fayleaf was.”

“I earned my place, Jonathon,” Valko said with a raised lip, fingers pressing into the meat of his burly arms. “I proved myself and climbed the ranks. Fairly. I am not claiming to be her, however, and I never will. I didn’t wish for her death any more than you did. But you will treat me with respect.”

“I’ll respect you when you actually earn it,” Jonathon said with a pinched brow. “Until then, I’m gonna keep questioning how you ever managed to convince the Captain you deserved that privilege? What’d you do? Kiss his boots like a-”

“Enough!” he snapped, fur bristled along his neck. “Belov chose me because of my skill, and I won’t tolerate your accusations. It’d be best if you hurry and accept the fact you weren’t good enough to make the cut…”

For a moment, Jonathon froze, his eyes wide. But soon the look was gone, stepping closer to jab a finger into his chest, “If Fayleaf hadn’t taken that bullet to the head you wouldn’t be standing there all smug. Nobody wants you here, Valko. You’re a freak.”

The wolf forced a breath, taking a slow blink before his emerald eyes stared the mutt down, “Cleaning duty, now Melton,” he said, smacking off the smaller’s hand.

“Y-you can’t tell me what to do…”

With a sharp toothed grin, he loomed over the dog, eyes glowing,“Don’t make me drag you below deck myself, or do. It would be entertaining watching you squirm. Wriggling like a worm as the rest of the crew watches…”

Jonathon paused, taking a step back, “N-no sir…” he said swallowing the lump in his throat.

“Then get to work, now,” the wolf rumbled, releasing a hot puff of air as he watched the dog scurry off.

There was a minute of relief once Jonathon had disappeared, but a moment was all he got before he noticed those piercing, ruby eyes. The antlered rabbit stared at him stoically, not a flicker of emotion behind his gaze. If it wasn’t for his red trimmed coat, Daeva would blend into the scenery, his thick fur as stark as snow. You’d only see the glow of his eyes or the tip of an antler, but by then it’d be too late. Or so the rumors said, the wolf had rarely seen the wolpertinger fight. Often he left it to his men, but he wasn’t incapable by any means of the word.

Slowly, Daeva hobbled closer, cane clicking against metal. The wolf once thought it was only for show, but he learned otherwise despite never being told. Today he leaned on it heavily, but the rabbit showed no pain. He wore quite the mask, they both did, “Shade…”

The wolf straightened, tucking his arms behind his back, “Good morning Captain, is something wrong?”

Pausing beside the rails, Daeva tucked the cane under his arm, fumbling for his smokes. He tapped the box with the edge of a palm, popping one between his lips before setting it alight with a hiss. With a flick of damaged wings, ones missing patches of feathers that left Shade unsure if they were capable of flight, the rabbit took a slow drag. For a second, Daeva held it in his lungs, releasing it with an easy breath.

“We’re nearing Servian territory, I need you to ensure we are prepared for an attack. It is unlikely, as they rarely patrol the waters so far east, but it is not impossible. Ensure the crew restocked the canons and assign additional men for patrol until we reach our destination,” he said in a thick Ruzian accent, gazing over the frigid ocean.

Now, Shade never appreciated what the men called ‘a stick-up-his-ass’ attitude that the rabbit had. But the shorter man was cunning and intelligent, forward thinking. He’d earned his position twice over, the wolf could admit that.

“I checked last night, I’m sure we’re fine. And the men are already complaining about the long shifts, they’re going to argue about more…”

Daeva’s tongue clicked against his teeth, glaring from the corner of his eye, “Do it again, Valko. I am not taking any chances. You should know this. As for the men,” he paused, taking another drag. “It will only be for a little over a week, they will manage.”

Tail flicking, Shade bit back a huff, “Alright, I’ll get right on it,” he ran his fingers through his hair, turning on his heel to leave.

“Valko,” Daeva said, watching Shade over his shoulder, “Do not give me attitude or I will place you on cleaning duty alongside Jonathon,” it was most likely a bluff, the wolf too important for trivial tasks. But he wouldn’t put it past Daeva to enforce such a punishment.

“Sorry Sir, it won’t happen again,” the wolf said; he’d much rather deal with the irritation Daeva gave him than to be stuck beside that doberman. Honestly, the rabbit annoyed him more often than not, but he wouldn’t argue. Not now anyway.

Pushing open the doors, he trudged down the stairwell, turning into the armory. It was a dreary as always, quiet beside the creaking of the ship. And it hardly took an hour to count the supplies, finding them as plentiful as he did last night. Waste of time if Shade was honest, but he also understood the Captain's concern. One wrong move and they’d be caught unprepared, and nobody wanted that.

With a sigh, Shade placed the chart away, tucking his hands in his pockets. As he turned down the hall, his ears flicked, engulfed with cheers and triumph. His head tilted, eyes snapping to the tiger that jogged toward him.

“Ah, lieutenant, glad I found you so quick,” Bernard grinned, wheezing until he caught his breath. “You won't believe what we caught in the chains! Its huge, and real mad. The Captain asked me to find you and have you come to the holding tank. Thought you should see the beast too!”

“Oh really? Sure it’s not just a big jellyfish like last time,” Shade chuckled, following behind the bouncing feline.

“No, it’s more like a mermaid. But a shark, or we think it’s a shark. Honestly, I think the face looks more like a dog, but I’m not an expert in aquatic species,” he chuckled.

Shade’s heart quickened, shoulders tensing. His ears fell back and sweat pricked his neck. I-it couldn’t be who he was thinking. What he was thinking. How could they get caught? Any of them? They knew not to near nets, so why? He shook away the dread, insisting it was impossible.

With a sharp breath, he pressed inside the room filled with awestruck men, even the captain seemed entranced. But Shade wasn’t. The world froze, his mouth falling agape as he stared into familiar, golden eyes. Eyes he used to cherish. That familiar, ashen brown scales and skin, fins flecked with the same golden hue. An intricate, metal ring encircling the end of his tail. It made Shade’s heart ache, fists clenching as he brushed away the welling memories. He had to be dreaming, that was it.

But then, the merfolk looked toward him, their eyes locking for the first time in centuries. Both hearts thrumming but for vastly differn’t reasons. The wolf-shark swam nearer to Shade, claws pressing against the thick glass. Joy flashed behind his eyes, right alongside anger, sorrow, frustration. Guilt? Shade couldn’t tell, but it didn’t matter. In a blink, the shark went stoic, features rigid besides the snarls directed toward the crew. But he was grinning, moving in slow circles as he examined every person in the room like they were nothing more than a meal. And the wolf knew that to him, that’s all they were. He wasn’t one to give land-dwellers a chance. But that begged the question of how he was captured, it should have been impossible.

“Valko, you have arrived,” the Captain nearly made him jolt, snapping Shade back into reality. The rabbit was smiling, it was miniscule, but the wolf might as well count that as if Daeva was bouncing on his heels or jumping for joy. “I belive we found quite the creature, no?”

Shade nodded, hands tucked into his pockets, “It is. How did you manage such a thing? I don’t think I’ve seen one like this before,” he said, eyes never leaving the creature who cursed them in an ancient language. Calling the crew an array of names that Shade would keep to himself. Though most involved how idiotic and pathetic they all were. Typical.

“Nor have I,” Daeva hummed, leaning on his cane. “It is rather surprising, but the researchers will love it I am certain. I will have to call ahead, perhaps see if they know what it is.”

Swallowing thickly, his gaze flicked between them. As much as the shark had hurt him, he didn’t want to see him turned over for science. To be poked and prodded for the rest of his existent; it wasn’t something Shade would wish upon his greatest enemy, “Ah, I’m sure they will, Captain.”

With a nod, Daeva patted his arm as he went to leave, “Indeed, but either way this is a call for celebration. It is rare to find such a large and extraordinary catch,” the men cheered, clapping one another on the back. “Do not become drunkards; we still need to be attentive…”

Shade wasn’t sure the men were listening, hooting and hollering after the rabbit had left for his room. And it wasn’t long before they filed after him, laughing arm in arm while heading to the mess hall. It was going to be a loud night, not that Shade could sleep, anyway.

Slowly, he turned to eye the sharp toothed creature. Frowning, Shade moved closer, ears drooped a moment before he forced them upright. Those golden eyes stared into his soul, fins flicking, “Valko, how kind of you to stop by…”

“Pitch…” Shade said, taking a breath as they conversed in an ancient tongue. “What are you doing here…”

“Oh, I thought I'd pop in and see the sights,” Pitch said, circling the tank. “It's not as impressive as I thought. Nor is it worth treason. But that's doesn't matter to you does it, Valko?”

Shades brows furled, divots lining his forehead, “I did what I had to, what was right. You abandoned me, Casimir. When I needed you, you left me…”

“What? Did you expect me to leave our people? Our home? All for some pathetic surface dwellers?”

Growling, Shade stopped closer, lip raising into a snarl, “You call them names and yet there you are, caught in their chains.”

“A mistake. Nothing more than a fluke.”

“Right, so then you can escape without my help?”

Pitch paused, blinking slowly, “I can,” he slowed, drifting idly in the water. “But, admittedly, it would be simpler with your assistance…”

“Then knock off the attitude,” he turned on his heel, ignoring the grumbles behind him. “I'll be back later, once the crew goes to sleep. Dont do something stupid while I’m gone. I don’t need you flopping on the floor and getting caught…”

Shade left with a frown, letting the door slam close as he continued down the hall. His emotions swirling in his gut, thoughts pounding in the back of his head. What was he getting himself into…

[unmeiokaemasu]

finally making progress on a maddening run of 3h 8)

verdant wind, because the final battle on that route is the one that I find the easiest by far, and the thought of even trying maddening was very intimidating to me. If I beat this route I’ll probably do a maddening azure moon with some even stricter rules.

I did start a maddening run before, and found if you start a new game+ file and utilize like all your carried over renown and stuff, it still completely trivializes the game even on maddening. ...I forgot why I still did the new game+, so uh. hm. anyway so rules:

I can’t spend renown (no weapons from the abyss statue, can’t buy friendship or weapon levels for units, whatever else it’s used for)

can’t use the free shit I found under my bed. I don’t usually do that anyway so

no amiibo gazebo bonus items because I want to be limited by the gold I can obtain normally, so I have to think about how to allocate my funds, and the gazebo sometimes gives you like basic weapons and things you can sell...although I didn’t think about that until I’d already picked up two items. I don’t remember what I got, I think it was like. two ingredients. so yeah I started this run one fish and one tomato richer.

Absolutely allowed to use divine pulse; I’m definitely treating this as a learning experience and it’s way easier to learn what you did wrong if you can immediately go back and try it a different way that works. 

I’m allowed to recruit all free units, so I’ve got the ashen wolves and anna (and sylvain, is it universally known that he joins for free if you picked another house but your byleth is female?); this unlocks other paralogs, but I’m still going to have to deal with hunting by daybreak, so using units outside my house is a handicap I have to think carefully about. Ashen wolves give you access to the abyss passes tho so that’s a pretty big bonus* (moved a tangent about how good Constance is to the end)

I’m playing online, so I am allowing myself to pick up the extra exp and items. It’s another case of if I’d thought about it sooner I probably would’ve said no but. I’m already here.

since it’s new game+ bcs idk the saint statues are all fixied, so yeah I guess I’m getting whatever boon I get from that

it took me a long time to get past the mock battle at the beginning; I don’t know exactly how many attempts bcs the first time I tried I was like “well I guess I’m not as much of a better player as I thought” and didn’t come back to it for a while. but I finally beat it a couple nights ago! it wasn’t like I wasn’t trying to strategize the first attempt, but I came away with the impression that it was intentionally more like a puzzle you had to solve with a pretty narrow solution than like the sprawling battles later. (Those still have an order to them, y’know, get to this advantageous spot, take out the miniboss, deal with the reinforcements, proceed to boss with caution, that kind of thing). I tried hiding the woods, but that by itself wasn’t enough. I’m really used to relying on my magic users, so not having any that were powerful yet really forced me to think differently.

In the end I had to send Claude (whose map position was fixed) into the woods to take a hit from Ashe, and then gang up on Ashe with Claude and Hilda without agroing Hubert and Ferdinand in that direction. Then I could get Byleth posted up in the lower forest, take out Ferdinand in one turn with Byleth and the magic girls (I swapped Lorenz for Lysithea lol, she’s really weak at the beginning but I wanted to get her exp as soon as possible), and then take out Hubert next turn with Byleth. I had tried to have Marianne tank a hit from Hubert because she has good res, but in maddening there really are some enemies you can’t just tank hits from.

The other major departure is that I normally go straight up to whoever’s got the right base and get the “wow they’re fighting both houses?” remark from whoever’s on the left, and just never deal with the two people hiding behind the barrier because they come out of it to fight, but this I had to absolutely avoid agroing both houses so go up left and carefully lure out Dorothea and Edelgard by letting Byleth take a hit from Dorothea while everyone else hid in the leftmost forest. It’s really fun seeing the thought that went into designing these maps once you can’t just knock down enemy units like bowling pins! This game really does a good job of teaching you how to think about this kind of strategy if you were like me and just not good at that to start with.

Anyway no map after that was nearly that hard, including the practice battle after that were you still don’t have divine pulse (you have to manage your whole squad at that point so I can see why they pulled back the level of the enemy units; also I just realized that teaches you that generic enemies are weaker than named ones, huh). Even with divine pulse I failed the next map once because of trying to juggle exp gains, but it was fun to start the map from scratch now knowing everything I had to do better.

* (the Constance tangent that I moved:) honestly I’ve used Constance a lot bcs I always like to get the relic for Yuri so I always train Constance up to not die during that...and she’s probably my sickest unit every time? She learns a barrier ability that gives her exp when she uses it, so between that and teaching her healing she can get a lot of non-kill exp and tends to level up really fast, and then you put her in the air and she gets all those crazy benefits...

So if I beat this route, like I said I’ll probably do a maddening azure moon, and NOT play on new game+ and NOT connect to the internet. A “no divine pulse” run is kind of the dream, but again, not worried about that right now. I think as long as I beat the side story I’ll still be allowed to recruit the ashen wolves, which I probably will do. but beating this file is still probably a long way off so 8)

So yeah...I think I went through a bit of a “3h fatigue” phase when I started playing the older games and was like “dang these are all really good,” but 3h isn’t just popular because it’s new or even just because the writing’s good, it’s a really great game. Blazing Blade and Path of Radiance are still my favorites, but 3h is a much closer contender than I thought, they’re basically all on the same level.

[egittae]

ooh what is this little creature | lambert & ratatoskr

Closed starter for @ourdivinehands (+1 riding)

Lambert appreciated how diverse the surface Academy was, he truly did. It was quite rare to come across a place such as the monastery, where so many people from different backgrounds can rejoice to learn and work together, with many hailing from faraway lands trying to adapt to the culture of Fódlan while also offering others their own knowledge. In the professor’s eyes, this place was special not only for its religious factor, but primarily because of this. It was a common ground for so many.

Of course, that didn’t mean Lambert didn’t find himself slightly…startled at times, regarding certain individuals he’d spot here and there. He was well aware that a handful of the students and faculty from other lands were actually not fully human, but shapeshifters of all forms. It didn’t bother him, no- if anything he found it extremely intriguing and was genuinely curious about them, but the sight still shocked him much to his own embarrassment.

Case in point, the young cleric by his side, as they finished preparations for their excursion. The girl was quite small, with big gentle eyes and in general seemed like a caring person, but she also had a bright…shiny tail, almost resembling a squirrels. And ears, also. In a way they seemed almost as if made of energy, not quite merging with her body.

Lambert had questions, but he was a polite and patient man. “I suppose you are all set? Our destination is by a lake, and the trail is quite easy to follow.” At first he expected to be assigned a student for this, but he wasn’t against conducting expeditions with those of the Church. If anything he was happy to do so, seeing as it was thanks to the Church’s aid that the Ashen Wolves were given a chance to thrive. 

“Your name is…Ratatosk, correct?” It took him a moment to remember, having only heard it twice from another cleric’s mouth. Still, the professor smiled. “I am Lambert, of the Ashen Wolves. As a refresher, this expedition is merely to document the area we are going to…but since it is such a nice place, we might as well have a picnic on our arrival. What do you say?”

[aubins]

BETTER WATCH YOURSELF — YOU MIGHT LOSE A LIMB ... OR YOUR LIFE.　closed & affiliated roleplay for yuri leclerc from fire emblem: three houses. ashen wolves affiliated student. beloved by qiu / darcy, eighteen, they/he, gmt+8.

mobile nav　: 　 dossier,　stats,　supports,　writer.

NOTES,

01.　as per toa rules, yuri is taken pre-timeskip and is a member of the ashen wolves house. i consider cindered shadows non-canon in the sense that its events have not happened, but everything leading up to it has. yuri was expelled from the officers academy for murder and works under lady rhea to spy on aelfric. this is subject to change should we get either character in the group.

02.　i write yuri with they / he pronouns with a preference for the former and kindly ask that you do the same. masculine / feminine / gender-neutral terms in reference to them are all fine. they also adopt their three hopes appearance in lieu of their pre-timeskip one to reflect the passing of time in toaverse.

04.　with the exception of the canon ashen wolves, who i assume to have gone up to b support with yuri by default, i consider all of their in-game supports to have not happened unless previously discussed.

05.　i format all my posts with small text. i do my best to check, but if it slips my mind, please let me know if you need me to refrain or otherwise require me to adapt for any other accessibility purposes.

06.　unprompted asks are totally fine! i will always consider romantic ask memes as aus by default unless previously discussed. otherwise, i'm happy to leave the canonicity of ask memes responses up to the sender's discretion.

07.　on shipping, i i tend to prioritize ooc trust & chemistry a lot more when it comes to shipping just for my own personal comfort. generally, it's not my biggest priority and shipping with yuri is bound to be a slow burn anyhow. that's not to say i'm not open to it, though!

ANYWAY, HELLO! i'm darcy or qiu & i use they/he pronouns. i'm a full-time university student so i ask for a bit of grace from my thread partners as my response time tends to be very variable as a result. i am also unfortunately plagued with anxiety so i'm not super chatty ooc in the server, but do feel free to reach out for whatever reason! i look forward to writing with you!

[originalfireemblemscenarios]

[Character interaction thingy with Yuri! 🍹 fem!reader /c with a fake dating plotline near the ball!] (I'm glad bc I am. So in love with Yuri Leclerc)

Y/n's expression seemed permanently etched into an incredulous raised-eyebrows look, staring at disbelief in Yuri as he fired one surprise after another. "We'll circle back to the Professor asking you to join the Blue Lions later," she said hurriedly. "I suppose that being dates to the ball isn't the biggest issue, but what about what everyone else is going to think? You've come out of nowhere!" Literally. He wasn't even a student at Garreg Mach and very, very few people even knew that the Abyss existed, much less that there was an entire village underneath the monastery.

"You realize that choosing to make a public appearance with me is going to mean that everyone on the surface will also think that we're dating, right? Are you okay with that?" Because whether they liked to think it or not, there were far more people on the surface than there were in the Abyss. It also meant that instead of slinking in the shadows and being a nonentity, Yuri would have to become a legitimate person known to all. "Well, if you've approached me with the favor, I assume that means we also have to come up with how I even got to know you in the first place without mentioning the Abyss."

Ooh! Then I'm glad that you enjoy it!

I'm no longer accepting starters, right now I'm only writing continuations!

~💘

"We won't have to spend the entire ball with each other, just enough time to get them off my case" he reassured so you know you won't be forced to spend too much time with him "As for my identity they won't really have a name to connect to the face so to them I'll only be an incredibly charming stranger" he says satisfied "I mean people don't really gossip here too much for it to matter, so even if you introduce me to your friends my name shouldn't go around the entire monastery" especially as fast as your name traveled around the Abyss.

"And our story... Well to my friends I made up a version that mentions Abyss" he explained "But it won't stop us from coming up with something else for people asking here" he'd tell the rest of the ashen wolves that there is a reason why you'd be saying something different.