It was due time I set one up. Unless otherwise stated as an AO3 exclusive, the links will lead to its Tumblr post. Some current AO3 exclusives may eventually be posted to Tumblr. The main narrator(s) are listed in italics, other main characters before the semicolon; other characters with at least a speaking role (or more than one mention) after. All fics are short-stories under 7k words unless stated otherwise. Everything is SFW.
means a romance story,
means friendship that could be seen as romantic,
means platonic and/or familial relationship,
means other themes are the main focus.
Stardew Valley:
That Summer, That Night (AO3 only):Elliott, OC: Nicole; Leah, Gunther, Penny
The Tale of Felix:Felix, Annette, Sylvain; Ingrid, Mercedes, Rodrigue, Gilbert
Haunted, AKA The Tale of Byleth: Byleth, Dimitri; Ashe, Ingrid, Flayn, Rodrigue, Felix, Sylvain, Alois, Annette, Mercedes, Gilbert, Seteth, Catherine, Dedue, Lorenz
Longer Stories and their Flashback Excerpts
Clear Sky (AO3 only, 16.7k words): Jeralt, Byleth;Sothis,Edelgard, Claude, Dimitri, Alois, Kostas, Rhea, Seteth, Manuela, Hanneman, all named class members of each of the three houses
Rusalka (AO3 only, 72k+ words, work in progress): Dorothea, Manuela, OC: Camellia, Ferdinand; Seteth, Flayn, Yuri, Constance
The White Heron Cup (Rusalka excerpt): Dorothea, Ferdinand; Alois, Manuela, Hilda, Lorenz
Another Rusalka clipping! I wasn’t a huge fan of how the White Heron Cup dance competition was portrayed (but as it’s a video game, I’ll cut them some slack). So here is a depiction inspired by Dancesport, real life ballroom dance competitions that focus on partners dancing.
Title: The White Heron Cup
Word Count:1,310
Summary: As they are among the best dancers from the Black Eagle House, Dorothea Arnault and Ferdinand von Aegir partner up to compete in the White Heron Cup.
It wasn’t easy to focus on studies that Ethereal Moon. Dorothea found herself practicing her steps on her own time between classes. Ferdinand had been doing the same thing. More than once they found each other practicing near the fishing pond and used the opportunity to practice together. Finally, the evening of the competition, Tuesday the 16th, arrived. The reception hall was filled with students, competitors and supporters alike.
“Ladies and gentlemen!” The loud, booming voice of one of the knights of Seiros announced. “My sincerest apologies for the wait! Thank you for gathering here on the eve of the highly anticipated ball to bear witness to… the academy-wide dance competition! Welcome to the White Heron Cup!”
Dozens of students, especially ones who would be competing, cheered excitedly. Dorothea cheered with them. Ferdinand, however, was surprisingly quiet, only giving muted clapping from his hands. Was he… nervous? Who wouldn’t be, she supposed.
Each of the three house’s homeroom professors went out of their way to make sure the students they believed had the best chance in winning the dance competition participated. From the Black Eagles, that was Ferdinand and Dorothea, but Caspar and Petra decided they wanted to participate as well. Other Black Eagle couples joined in as well; of the fifteen or so couples eager to participate, the Black Eagles were nearly half that number. The next numerous class representation was from the Golden Deer. Dorothea presumed Lorenz and Hilda were their best chance (and between those two, probably Hilda). It seemed a mystery on who the best dancer would be from the Blue Lions. Was it Sylvain, who managed to persuade Mercedes to be his partner, or the more eager Annette, who asked a less confident silver-haired companion to be hers? Some of the pairs represented two houses.
Dorothea did a double-take when Linhardt accompanied Seteth’s little sister Flayn to the dancefloor. Lin, dancing? It suddenly made more sense when she overheard him ask yet again about her Major Crest of Cethleann. They must have struck some sort of deal if Linhardt of all students was persuaded to compete.
The knight of Seiros continued to direct the White Heron Cup. “The competition will be judged by… me! Your humble servant, Alois Rangeld. And also… the acclaimed former songstress of the Mittelfrank Opera Company, Manuela Casagranda!”
Dorothea and others in Manuela’s homeroom cheered in pleasant surprise when they watched Manuela take her place at the judges’ table. Now she understood why Manuela was so cryptic about the details of how the winner of the White Heron Cup would be selected.
Manuela waved pleasantly as she took her seat, but looked as though she were finishing recovering from a hangover. “Yes, yes, thank you. Oh, and it should go without saying, but I swear to show no bias to my own house. Got it? Good.” She winked.
There was one more chair at the judges table. Would another homeroom professor be asked to judge? She didn’t think Professors Hanneman nor Byleth were quite familiar enough with dancing to be judges, but perhaps she was wrong? Alois resumed his announcements.
“Last but not least, the glamorous assassin who does all her dancing in the dead of night… Shamir Nevrand!”
Ah, another knight of Seiros. Shamir shrugged as she took her seat at the judges table. As this knight was of few words and raised outside of Fódlan, the Dagdan would likely be the most difficult to impress.
“The three of us swear on our honor to judge the following proceedings with utmost impartiality and fairness! And with that, will the representatives of each house please make their way to the stage!”
Everyone arranged themselves into a circle with the men facing outward, and the ladies inward. The couples dancing part of the competition would be first, followed by solos when several are eliminated.
Ferdinand and Dorothea found themselves standing alongside Lorenz and Hilda from the Golden Deer House.
“May the best dancer win, Lorenz.” Ferdinand whispered to his friend encouragingly.
“Oh, don’t you worry, Ferdinand. I fully intend to.” Hilda cut in and giggled, much to Lorenz’s chagrin. Dorothea couldn’t help but to smile at the jab.
“Contestants!” Alois shouted. “Are you ready to dance? And is the band ready to play? Very well… BEGIN!”
They heard the string orchestra, and immediately assumed position. Dorothea looked into Ferdinand’s eyes, and she gently tapped to the rhythm on his thumb to reassure herself, and quite possibly him as well. After a count of three, she stepped back on her left foot, and he stepped forward on his right. And they danced.
She allowed herself to feel lost in the song, surrendering to the dance. After so many practices with Ferdinand, dancing felt like flying. And though she refused to admit it, a couple of his flourishes actually enhanced the appearance of their dance. Never again would she second guess leaning her head and shoulders slightly back.
Before she realized it, the ballroom suddenly felt less and less crowded. Shamir had been stealthily floating around the room, quietly eliminating dancers with hushed whispers. Dorothea caught a glance of Lorenz looking– wait, longingly– after a blue-haired Golden Deer girl whose large blond companion was eliminated. Neither seemed surprised, but those two were laughing together, having fun.
Dorothea looked back to her own dance partner, just in time for Ferdinand to lead her into a promenade chasse. They executed it perfectly. Before she realized it, Dorothea felt herself smiling. Ferdinand smiled in turn.
The orchestra finished their song, and the dancers slowed to a stop, the more practiced dancers with balance steps.
“The representatives still on the stage have qualified for the solo dancing part of the competition!” The knight Alois announced. “Let’s give our remaining dancers a hand!” When the clapping died down, Alois added, “I have to hand it to them, their footwork is lovely. Eye love to see it.”
Several students groaned. Manuela and Shamir, even Captain Jeralt, rolled their eyes. But a couple of snickers were heard from Professor Byleth and the prince of Faerghus, leader of the Blue Lions House. The Professor looked so happy when she smiled.
Dorothea suddenly became aware that she was among only ten remaining, including Ferdinand, Hilda, Flayn, Annette, Sylvain, and the blue-haired girl. Mercedes sat off to the sides, tending to what looked like a twisted ankle. Lorenz was also eliminated and he moped some, but he seemed genuinely happy for the girl with blue hair. Petra flashed one of her brilliant, encouraging smiles to Dorothea.
Dorothea glanced at Ferdinand. “Good luck, Ferdie,” she whispered to him.
“Good luck to you as well, Dorothea.” He whispered back.
“And… BEGIN!” Alois shouted once more.
Dorothea for the most part ignored the people around her as she practiced her solo routine, with an occasional glance to the judges. She danced for the entirety of the song, and it was when she finished with a twirl and curtsey that she realized that others had been removed from the dance floor during the song. She was the remaining Black Eagle representative. The ten was reduced to three: herself, Annette from the Blue Lion House, and Marianne, the blue-haired girl, from the Golden Deer House.
After the judges made their commentary and talked amongst themselves, Dorothea Arnault was declared the winner of the White Heron Cup. Dorothea beamed in her victory, and briefly wondered if she could use this experience to bolster her singing career. Her fellow classmates cheered for her. Even Ferdinand managed a smile. She had thought he would be one to hold hard feelings against her for winning, but there was no sign of it.
And she found no sign of it still when she danced with him nine days later at the ball celebrating Garreg Mach Monastery’s 995th anniversary of the day of its establishment.
I found this format through @pandirpus and liked it enough to give it a go (and include some stuff from my earlier years before I’ve done reviews like this.) Any writer friends that want to try it out are welcome!
Published word count for the year: 196,288 total. From 2019: 41,165. From 2020: 77,945. From this year, 2021: 77,179. (Dang, I wrote and published more than I thought this year compared to the last. Go me!)
Written word count for the year: About 278,963 all time. (Too many Google Docs to attempt to get an accurate amount from each year.)
Number of stories posted to AO3: 25 total, 14 just this year. Of the all time total, 17 are from Stardew Valley and 6 from Fire Emblem: Three Houses.
Fandoms I wrote for: Stardew Valley, Fire Emblem: Three Houses, and a brief stint into Loki (TV Show). (In 2020 I also added my very first fanfic for Darkwing Duck that is now ten years old.)
Pairings written for: Of the pairs I actively made (or am making) their stories focus on the romance…
Most popular story:Always. For All Time. wins by total kudos. That’s what I get for writing for a very populated Marvel fanbase lol
Story I’m most proud of: For Stardew Valley, HomeandOur Friend Linus. (But really, anything from this collection was fun to write.) For FE3H, my long-fic Rusalka. I’m thirteen chapters (54k words) into it, and I feel like I might actually finish something novel-length with this one.
Kinkiest/Flirtiest: I don’t do smut. The most flirty I get is probably between Alex and Sara the end of Dinner Date for Stardew Valley and a couple Seteth and Manuela interactions in Rusalka for FE3H.
Saddest: From 2021, Stardew Valley’s Evelyn. From 2020, FE3H’s Haunted.
Least popular:Clear Sky, my novelization of the prologue of Fire Emblem: Three Houses, suffered most from initial “advertising” (accidentally misleading plot summary) upon release. also, no ships
Most cringe-worthy: Probably my first publication, a diary/journal of a generic farmer’s first three seasons in Stardew Valley. I had written it intending to end at about Summer Year 2 and splitting off into a bunch of different farmers’ stories with each bachelor or bachelorette. The farmers (and what I want to write) evolved drastically since.
Favorite opening lines: “Willy stepped outside of his fishing shop and home and inhaled a great, satisfying waft of sea-salty air. A pleasantly cool rain drizzled on his face, and his lips curled into a smile. It will be a mighty fine day for catching red snappers, he thought.” ~ Rain, Smoke, and Fish
Favorite closing lines: ““Good kid,” Marlon said. “Bummed I missed the lesson. It’s been, what, fifteen years since your last one?” “Be here tomorrow, practice dummy,” Gil said. “I’ll put you to work.” Marlon laughed. “You’ve been saying that for forty-one years, Gil. And I still don’t believe you.” Gil shrugged as he rocked his chair, a sly smile creeping onto his face.” ~ A New Apprentice
Top scenes from anywhere you would choose to have illustrated™: For Stardew Valley, Elliott/Nicole looking at the Moonlight Jellies, whether from the dock or a rowboat. For FE3H, Ferdithea during a yet-to-be published scene of them dancing at a ball together.
Story I haven’t written yet, but intend to: For Stardew Valley, maybe a couple of short stories. The bigger goal is to write about Harvey and his relationship with an OC psychiatrist named Kim. For FE3H, I’ve had for over a year a thirteen-chapter WIP of meetings between that many pairs in the Goddess Tower.
Fic-writing goal for 2022: Publish at least ten more chapters of the long-fic Rusalka before 2023.
