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Divination (Fire Emblem: Three Houses / Sanctioned [Worm])

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curiosity said:
(although Alivaril reposts them in his general snippet thread for some reason), although some are scattered (threadmarked) across INW and Calibration threads.
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I've started reposting the crossover ones precisely because people expect the snippet thread to have my snippets, as demonstrated by someone linking to it. :p

EDIT: The ones in Calibration are Calibration-relevant.
 
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So. There's another one.

MOOORRREEEE!!! :drevil:

In all seriousness, the character development is a bit flimsier than your other works (presumably due to problems with the source material), but besides that this seems interesting.
 
jason1stlegion said:
In all seriousness, the character development is a bit flimsier than your other works (presumably due to problems with the source material), but besides that this seems interesting.
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No, I'm afraid I can't blame the source material for this one. This simply isn't my finest work and I know it. (Still, thanks for the feedback! "Issues with character development" is more specific than my vague general feeling of "this could be better.")
 
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Chapter 4: Vainglory
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    • Special thanks to @saganatsu, @DB_Explorer, @fictionfan, @Adephagia, @DaGeek247, @Wordsmith, @LonelyWolf999, Jamie Wahls, @Elfalpha, @BunnyLord, @Drcatspaw, and my 18 other patrons not mentioned here. An extremely enthusiastic "Thank you" to @Torgamous for her patronage as well. Also, if you're not on here, you fit the tier, and you want to be added, please tell me. >.>


    Admini's local vessel was not yet wholly calibrated to reduce the impact of simple stimuli on her emotions. Devouring the delicious roast pheasant provided by Rhea made her happy. Sitting on Rhea's lap and using the disguised dragon as a comfortable heat source made her happy. Having her head and hair continuously petted made her happy. She had even been promised cute new clothes of white and blue, and Admini was pleased by the likely boost to social perceptions such attire would allow.

    It was during Admini's post-meal dozing that she realized her happiness had consequences: she actually liked Rhea. Any budding affection would need to be carefully managed, Admini knew, and it certainly couldn't be allowed to progress to love. Such an overriding emotion could lead to Admini Queen Administrator attempting to treat and alleviate Rhea's mental health issues rather than exploiting them for personal gain.

    Humans and their evolutionary relatives often seemed delighted to have small animals of different species fall asleep atop their laps. Admini, as a cute small animal of the same species, expected that Rhea would be even happier if Admini took a little nap. Besides, sleeping was arguably important for Admini's vessel despite her ongoing attempts to upgrade it.

    ~ ~ ~​

    Rhea continued to stroke Sothis Admini's hair as the child lapsed into slumber. It was nostalgic to have Admini push her head into the contact; once upon a time, Rhea had been the little girl pushing into her mother's palms. It felt a little strange to swap roles like this, yet it was an oddity that Rhea could easily ignore. She was too overjoyed at simply having her mother back.

    And Admini was Sothis reborn, Rhea was certain. Sothis had once told Rhea of her first attempts to create life from barren desert, of grasses and wildflowers in every color the goddess thought of. It could not be a coincidence that Admini should start the same way when there were now so many other forms of life to use as inspiration.

    ...Rhea should probably keep an eye out for carnivorous plants, shouldn't she? She could still remember Sothis's tales of one of the only forms of life that the goddess had ever called mistakes.

    Rhea shook her head and reluctantly pried her attention away from Admini and to the other individual in the room. Jeralt. Rhea had placed him on one of the most uncomfortable chairs that she could find, and she noted with some satisfaction that he seemed incapable of finding a comfortable position. It was a petty form of revenge, certainly, but harsher forms of punishment seemed excessive when he'd clearly been doing his utmost to care for Admini.

    Rhea would be quite surprised if he wouldn't take a sword for "his" daughter, actually. That kind of loyalty was useful, but also had the potential to be problematic. Jeralt would have been happy to raise Admini among a band of wandering mercenaries without any of the 'political nonsense' that Jeralt despised. Rhea would need to prove that her own expertise took precedence over whatever parenting ideas he still harbored.

    Rhea was still unhappy with him, however, so she waited to speak until he was in the middle of drinking directly from a wine bottle. He should know better by now.

    "Admini is the goddess reborn," Rhea said idly, as though discussing the weather.

    Rhea felt a flicker of petty satisfaction as Jeralt choked on his drink and spat some of it back into the bottle.

    "Thats, uh," Jeralt choked out. "Really not what I expected you to say. At all."

    "You made that quite clear when you ran off with her," Rhea said serenely, and was gratified to see guilt cross his features. "Admini possesses knowledge she was not exposed to, a grasp of logical arguments which even you admit is akin to an adult's, specific physical traits not explained by her parentage, and abilities not seen since her prior incarnation. Perhaps she won't regain her memories until the Millennium Festival, yet I do believe we'll still have our hands full until then."

    Jeralt almost raised one sleeve to dab at his mouth before he noticed Rhea's gaze. She hadn't even intended to harass him about his usual lack of manners, but he did switch to using a handkerchief instead. Perhaps Rhea could finally teach him proper manners with Admini's aid.

    "My guess was some manner of Saint," Jeralt reluctantly admitted. "I'm not saying I disagree, mind you, but a claim to divinity is the sort of thing folks'll need evidence for. The Church has burned people for less."

    Rhea raised both eyebrows. In all honesty, she had been expecting far more resistance. Admini must have challenged his prior expectations much more than Rhea had realized.

    "Sothis regrew much of this world from irradiated—" Rhea paused upon realizing that Jeralt lacked any reference for the lasting consequences of nuclear weaponry. "That is to say, toxic wastelands. Admini will not be lacking for power with which to erase doubt. The issues lay in ensuring that she lives long enough to regain her powers, and that she is properly protected in her sleep."

    Rhea wondered if it would be too morbid to gift to Admini the sword made from her prior incarnation's spine. Best not to, Rhea decided. Effective a weapon it may be, yet the memories and motivations behind its creation were anything but pleasant.

    "A promise of future miracles still won't be enough to convince the faithful," Jeralt pointed out. "And you won't exactly be leaving her alone, yeah? People'll notice the Archbishop spending so much time with one child."

    It truly was a shame that Jeralt held so much disdain for politics, Rhea felt. He could be an excellent right hand were it not for his tendency to consider actions only in terms of how they could affect a military campaign or his charges. The manipulation of interpersonal relationships, honor, slights, etiquette, and favors were all concepts he didn't care to study; possible effects on morale and loyalty were his chosen substitutes.

    "And I'm getting the feeling you won't want to pass up the opportunity presented by the Officers' Academy," Jeralt continued. "Which means a cover story that'll have those noble brats treating her like an actual person rather than scum on their shoes. Are you planning to acknowledge her as a 'Saint' after all?"

    "Close," Rhea acknowledged. "However, I'm afraid doing so would hold Admini to an unreasonable standard. I would prefer to instead acknowledge her as the next leader of the Church. The populace will simply assume I mean the next Archbishop."

    Jeralt blinked.

    "Okay, I can see how that could help with alliances, but I'm not so sure about the legitimacy aspect. There were already people thinking Admini was your bastard and making her your successor won't help any. That kind of doubt would cloud any later claims."

    Rhea closed her eyes and reminded herself that Jeralt had missed Sothis's life by about a thousand years. Scriptures and sermons failed to convey the aura of sheer power one could once feel from Sothis's mere presence.

    "Admini will be more than capable of convincing them once she regains her old power and wisdom."

    "And if she doesn't?" Jeralt challenged. "We're talking enough power to reshape the world and thousands of years of memories. I'm guessing the goddess hadn't been born of two humans the first time around, right? That seems like it could be just a bit of a barrier."

    She's hardly human anymore, is she?

    Rhea took a deep breath and traced Admini's pointed ears for comfort. Jeralt was not challenging Rhea, only her assumptions. It was a reasonable question; there was no guarantee that mortal flesh could safely hold or channel all the powers and knowledge that Sothis once possessed. Rhea harbored little doubt that Admini would regain all that she had lost, yet Jeralt was correct about their lack of guarantees.

    Did Rhea truly need for humans to acknowledge Admini as Sothis reborn? No. Rhea just wanted to have a family once more. Admini need not possess all her former powers for that; just being back was enough.

    "Then I'm sure she would still make a fine Archbishop," Rhea acknowledged.

    Perhaps Rhea might even be allowed to properly rest and recuperate at some point. She hadn't gotten so much as a year-long nap in centuries and it was becoming increasingly difficult to retain coherent thought. It wouldn't do for Rhea to dissolve into animalistic rage when she'd finally gotten her mother back.

    ~ ~ ~​

    Jeralt kept an uncomfortable smile upon his face and all his anxieties locked deep inside. Rhea really had gone off the deep end, hadn't she? None of her evidence ruled out "ordinary" sainthood for Admini, yet Rhea had jumped straight to calling his daughter Sothis reborn. Thank the goddess that Jeralt had been able to temper Rhea's expectations; she'd apparently handled her earlier disappointment and grief by purging large parts of the continent. Even her current instability was an improvement over that.

    He really wasn't looking forward to all the courting attempts and betrothal offers that Rhea's successor plan would inspire, though. Jeralt thought that he would at least have a decade and change before he would need to start threatening those seeking Admini's hand. Sadly, nobles seldom wanted to wait that long when it came to betrothals. Who cared what the kids thought, right?

    …And he wouldn't be able to threaten the heirs of major polities without causing a major diplomatic incident, would he? Drat. How was he supposed to perform his duties as a father if threats of severe bodily harm were off the table?
     
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    • Nothing like a little reminder that Jeralt desires to be a good father for her daughter and that while Rhea has good reason to believe that Admini is Sothis reborn, for those who lack her perception it does seem like quite the leap. Rhea's desperate desire for family and the chance to properly rest helps highlight her positive side even as Jeralt reminds us of what Rhea has done and could do again.
     
    Alivaril said:
    "Sothis regrew much of this world from irradiated—"
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    That's an interesting take on the Three Houses world...
    There actually is a precedent for someone like Sothis - the goddess from Path of Radiance/Radiant Dawn (I can never remember her name)

    "so much as a year long nap" - well, Rhea's standard for a good rest is different than expected.
     
    BurnNote said:
    Unnnecessary. Admini will threaten bodily harm all on her own. Her standards are higher too. And also a bit... different.
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    Edelgard be like:

    "For a thousand years, inhuman beasts have controlled Fodlan from the shadows with the Church of Seiros as their chosen catspaw. Good men and women have been summarily discarded in favor of those with powerful Crests, all in the name of letting the Church keep control. I will not allow this to continue!"

    "They've actually been trying to maintain peace among humans, but you keep going to war over every little thing."

    "You, personally, have done your utmost to inflame tensions between every single nation within your sphere of influence."

    "I did say they. Personally, I'm disappointed that you were all so easy to provoke. At least save your resources for important conflicts!"
     
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    Alivaril said:
    Perhaps Rhea might even be allowed to properly rest and recuperate at some point. She hadn't gotten so much as a year-long nap in centuries and it was becoming increasingly difficult to retain coherent thought. It wouldn't do for Rhea to dissolve into animalistic rage when she'd finally gotten her mother back.
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    Well, at least this explains some of the yan and general obsession/madness. No wonder she's not thinking clearly if she's so sleep deprived.
     
    andrewopk said:
    wait, fire emblem has a nuclear war in it!s past?
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    Three Houses specifically does, at least. Fire Emblem itself isn't really a singular, concrete setting - there's some that are interconnected like FE1/2/3/11/12/13/15 all taking place in the same universe, but you also have games like Three Houses (Fodlan), Sacred Stones (Magvel) and Fates(...IDK Fateslandia they didn't name the continent lol) which are their own, contained settings with only one game to them, or Binding/Blazing Blade (Elibe) being just one game and its prequel. Three Houses is the only one with straight up futuristic magitech/actual tech going on though, as far as I know - the rest usually fall under "ambiguous medieval magical fantasy".
     
    So by the tune of things, before I make yet more dubstep jokes. By the way things are spiraling. "Three Houses" is surely, not going to spiral to a case of "Three Kindergartens", or "Three Nurseries".

    That said, it's a bit of an ironic sanity. That Jeralt is inducting some common sense on Rhea's "return the Goddess" plan. On the simple reminder on "how will you spin this?" Alongside not pissing her off enough, to thankfully advert an "easy to flip at will", another Church Inquisition, or Crusade.

    And given how our "reincarnated Sothis" could easily be one conflict away, from going horrible administrative tactician, on everyone's arses... It's probably just as well, if going "operation, please no conflict!"
    pingas plight said:
    Hubert: How pathetic. You truly believe that Lady Edelgard would FALL for such infa- L-LADY EDELGARD, STOP!
    Edelgard: LET ME GO HUBERT I AM GOING TO TEACH THIS BRAT A LESSON-
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    And later, if assuming Hubert's paranoia kicks in high gear, to pick up enough actual 'depth'...

    Hubert: "..."

    Admini: "Your a great friend of Edelgard. To have thought of so many protocols..."

    And this is honestly, before if we're going hypothetical on "younger cast" here. The potential traumas, or madnesses that could have been utterly derailed. As much as say; if Bernadetta got hijacked. Only for if going "Miracles", her Crest to Dragon "malfunction" her in Admini's presense, whilst having a traumatic stress incident.

    In which case, it'd likely lead to one if going hypothetical, political clusterfuck. That surely won't paint a larger target on Admini's back. As much as no doubt make "Miracles" jokes.

    And as a side dab. In before possible 'ideas' on tackling incidious conspiracies, if talking on "corrupt Hubert", turns into an internal list of "how to optimize things" in escalation.
     
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