#anna fire emblem but giving merchant mother

[juicet1n-art]

who's this anna? is she... of the experienced merchant variety? has more tricks up her sleeve than her younger sisters? you bet!

*cough* milf anna *cough*

#fe #feheroes #fire emblem #feh #anna fire emblem #anna #anna fire emblem but giving merchant mother

[themoomoorn]

Megathread Review of the Lupicia x Fire Emblem Fódlan Tea Collection by a Tea/Coffee Addict (UPDATED!)

Ahem

LOOK AT WHAT RIKA SUZUKI DID TO MY GIRL BYLETH! SHE'S GORGEOUS!!!

And now that I have your attention...guess who bought the Fódlan Tea Collection from Atai-Kuji? Meeeee.

Out of all the bizarrely belated FE3H merchandise to actually come out, the tea set is definitely one of the better ones, and one of the most fitting. Not only does it fit the setting completely, but it's also a great bit of merch for an older weeb like me who does not care for figurines. You can either use/consume the merch, or display it, and it looks classy! And I really like tea. A lot. I even broke out my mother's fine china tea cups for the occasion. So for the curious, I decided to post a review of every tea in the set. Please note that I'm a fanatic, not an expert in tea by any measure. I hope you enjoy this anyway. Now if only they actually did a full-blown tea parlor café I mean come on it's the perfect fit and would probably bring in money hello???

Of note, the teas used in this set are blends and leaves curated by a high-ish end Japanese tea merchant called Lupicia. The majority of the teas used here are derivatives of tea they sell on their site, with a few custom blends put in here and there. They have a U.S branch based in Hawai'i, and they also have merchants in Taiwan, France, and Australia. Each store also sells region exclusive blends, like the Hawai'ian tins for the U.S site, which is pretty cool.

Also, I only purchased the tea box set (the box with Femleth on it), not the box with the special tea cup and Hresvelg Blend tin (the one with Manleth on it and also of course that blend got the big fancy tin with five satchets...), so the Hresvelg Blend will go unreviewed.

Also, I'll be sharing my favorite teas and there's a lot of hyperlinking in this post. This is NOT any kind of endorsement - I just really like tea, okay?

UPDATE: Disregard the above statement! A second run of the set was made available and I have now the Manleth box, teacup, and Hresvelg Tin in my possession!

Let's begin!

Bergamot

In-Game Description: "The bright notes of this tea stem from an infusion of citrus oils. This blend is highly favored by nobility."

Tea Base: Earl Grey tea

This well-known tea's biggest feature is being blended and cooked with bergamot oil, giving it a very unique flavor. Being a black tea popularized and cribbed by the English yet having Chinese origins (as the English so often do), Earl grey tea is one of the most accessible and affordable teas out there, and you can get it at any grocery store. Lupicia has their own base blend along with some special blends.

Alas, because this tea is normally accessible as can be, I can safely say that this set's Earl Grey is not very special - if anything, there's a lack of bergamot. Since EG is one of my all time faves, I can safely say that there are better greys out there. For personal picks, I really like Twining's Lady Grey derivative (it's an Earl Grey with lemon and orange peel added).

Two packages of bergamot come in the box. One is eagle red with Aymr illustrated on it; the other is lion blue with an illustration of a wax-sealed letter, presumably for Sylvain.

Favored By: Edelgard, Sylvain, Lorenz, Constance, Hanneman, Anna

Final Rating: 2.5/5

Dagda Fruit Blend

In-Game Description: "A stark, bitter fruit from Dagda makes this black tea particularly pungent. Connoisseurs enjoy its unique flavor."

Tea Base: Assam tea with bits of mocha

This black tea comes from a state in India that shares its name, and it is one of the biggest producers of any tea leaf in the world. By itself it is malty and bold. Because of its flavor profile and ability to grow quickly and in high amounts (due to Assam's soil and weather conditions), the tea is fairly easy to come by. If you see "breakfast blend" teas (I.E English or Irish), there's a 99% chance that it's made from a blend that includes assam tea leaves. Most straight assam teas and blends especially are quite affordable and widely available. This particular bag appears to be a custom blend, as none of the assam teas on Lupicia's site feature the mocha bits within them. A similar black tea with cacao nibs and cocoa powder is also on the site.

The tea itself is nice and malty (I already enjoy Irish Breakfast a lot, so that helps), and the mocha bits add an extra bit of sweetness and depth that enhance it. Believe it or not, very small bits of coffee flavor mixed with tea actually can taste good, as Canandian teamaker David's Tea has a pu'erh blend with coffee beans and vanilla. "But MoomooRN," I hear you say, "this isn't a fruit blend!" Technically, coffee begins its life as a fruit that resembles a cherry, so actually yes, this tea is a fruit blend. Hah!

Two bags of the Dagda blend are in the box. One is eagle red with a bag of coffee beans, funnily enough, representing Hubert. The other is one of the four grey ones for the Ashen Wolves, featuring a drawing of assorted pebbles, which Hapi likes to collect.

Favored By: Hubert, Ignatz, Marianne, Hapi, Anna

Final Rating: 5/5

Almyran Pine Needles

In-Game Description: "This tea is composed of oxidized pine needles from eastern Almyra, giving it a distinct, earthy tone."

Tea Base: Lapsang souchong

This beautiful Chinese black tea originates from Fujian Province and gets its distinct flavor by its leaves being smoke-dried over a pinewood fire. While not quite as widely available as other black teas, it is nevertheless fairly affordable. This is a special tea for the set, as Lupicia does not sell lapsang souchong on their site.

Because of its signature smoke, this tea is very divisive (I hated it when I tried it the first time). I've had a blend of the stuff from Twinings that dialed down the smoke a little and liked it, and I can safely say that this lapsang is fantastic for the same reason. It even had a little bit of a chocolate-y aftertaste, and it smells wonderful.

"But MoomooRN," I hear you again, "There's no pine needles in the tea!" Pine needle teas (like this Korean one) do exist, but it's been cited that multiple breeds of pine needles, when brewed, are poisonous. Plus, the tea in-game is described as having an "earthy" taste and the needles are oxidized; oxidization is one step in the LS-making process if smoked hot...It's the thought that counts?

...The fact that this tea is inadvertently tied to the guy making homebrew poisons is pretty funny, actually.

Two bags of the Almyran goods are in the box. One, fittingly, is deer yellow with Failnaught illustrated on the front. The other is eagle red with a drawing of a tea cup with a tea tin and bag of leaves, representing Ferdinand as one of the continent's leading tea connoisseurs.

Favored By: Ferdinand, Linhardt, Felix, Claude, Cyril, Balthus

Final Rating: 5/5

Angelica Tea

In-Game Description: "A cleansing herbal tea blended with angelica."

Tea Base: Herbal tea mixture of rosemary, jasmine, lavender, chamomile, and verbene

The angelica plant exists in varying forms across the world, particularly in Iceland, Lapland, Greenland, and in parts of China. It is a popular plant for herbal medicine, and some seeds are used to flavor gin and liqueur -

"MoomooRN, there's no angelica in this tea!"

Yeah, that's actually correct. Whoops. Despite this big fat omission, this tea is a fantastic blend of plants that always taste great together, especially the jasmine and verbene.

This is notably the only tea in the box that is a true herbal tea. The tea base for this is Lupicia's custom Lumière blend, which appears to be only available in the Japan store.

Two bags of angelica tea come in the box. One is eagle red with Linhardt's down pillow illustrated on it. The other is deer yellow with a drawing of a bow and arrow set made by Leonie.

Favored By: Linhardt, Ashe, Leonie, Seteth, Rhea

Final Rating: 4.5/5

Ginger Tea

In-Game Description: "The sharp spiciness of ginger laces the body of this tea, unforgettable and brightening."

Tea Base: Assam tea with ginger

Ginger is one of the single most ancient herbal remedies on earth. Not much else to say about it, other than the fact that it often breaks its back carrying both good tea and great food. I personally prefer ginger blends to straight ginger, and I definitely liked this blend since the assam it's mixed with isn't too strong.

This tea is based on Lupicia's ginger blend, which is African CTC (a type of assam) tea mixed with dried ginger.

Two bags of ginger are in the box. One is eagle red with a drawing of a broken hatchet, presumably belonging to Caspar (none of his Lost Items are a hatchet); the other is ashen gray with a bag of coins, presumably belonging to Balthus (again, he lacks a Lost Item of this nature).

Favored By: Petra, Caspar, Dedue, Raphael, Balthus, Seteth

Final Rating: 4.5/5

Albinean Berry Blend

In-Game Description: "Dried albinean berries give this black tea its fragrance. The sweet, relaxing scent is popular among many."

Tea Base: Black tea with dried rhubarb and strawberry

Strawberry is a pretty popular additive to teas, especially of the iced and sweet variety. It's unknown when this trend began, but I suspect that Europeans who raided the Americas had something to do with it (while strawberries as we know them were produced in France, the plants that form its base originate in North America and Chile, respectively). Very sus. Rhubarb, meanwhile, is a bizarre plant. Much like how avocados and tomatoes are fruits treated as veggies, the opposite is true for rhubarb as its inherent flavor is very tart. Strawberry and rhubarb have become a classic pie-filling combo, and this translated into some tea blends, like this one.

Rhubarb is also involved in the human creation myth in Zoroastrianism. Neato.

In spite of all this, it's a pretty bog standard black tea with overpowering strawberry flavor and no rhubarb detected. And there's no berries either, if you want to take your pedantic meter to the next level. Booooo.

Lupicia has both a black tea with just strawberry, as well as a custom blend called Merci Mille Fois, which is the same thing but also includes peaches and rose. This blend appears to be based on the former, since there's mainly only strawberry flavoring.

The two bags of berry blend are both eagle red. One has a drawing of Dorothea's hat, while the other has a hedgehog toy that's presumably based on the case Bernadetta made.

Favored By: Dorothea, Bernadetta, Jeritza, Mercedes, Hilda, Yuri, Constance

Final Rating: 2.5/5

Four-Spice Blend

In-Game Description: "A novelty tea blended with four unique spices inspired by the Four Saints. Enjoyment requires a mature palate."

Tea Base: Black tea with cardamom, cinnamon, peppercorns, and cloves

The above listed spices are popular options for chai tea blends, which in turn has translated into popular dessert drinks overtime like masala chai. The original chai combo actually didn't have any tea leaves in it, but was a medical spice mixture that has origin points in both India and Siam (modern day Thailand). The British coming a-knocking on India's door because of course they did would be the launching point of the modern chai tea as we know it.

Despite this sweeping history with an even more sweeping flavor, this tea fails to live up to its name. While four spices are visible in the sachet, the cardamom overwhelms the other three, although I could taste some pepper in there too. The cardamom itself isn't even that good. The tea itself is also very weak. So much for being the tea labeled for a mature palate.

A bag of assam with pepper and cardamom is available on Lupicia's site. This is likely what this blend is based off of.

The two bags of this blend are eagle red with a drawing of an exotic feather owned by Petra (it's a peacock feather, actually) and a lion blue with a worn practice blade presumably belonging to Felix, as one of his Lost Items is a sheath fragment.

Favored By: Petra, Dedue, Felix, Leonie, Hapi, Seteth

Final Rating: 1.5/5

Chamomile

In-Game Description: "A stark white floral tea with bright notes, this blend calms nerves and heightens concentration."

Tea Base: Black tea with chamomile leaves

Chamomile is ancient, with the first citations of its long medical career stemming from ancient Greece and Egypt. Its claims to fame are sleep promotion and assisting with GI problems, so much so that it's actually become one of the few herbal remedies that's been validated to an extent in the medical world for its effectiveness. Not bad for a flower that looks like a cute little daisy. It's brewed either alone or as part of a blend, and I personally prefer the latter since chamomile by itself has a bitter taste. My personal favorite is the Sweet Dreams blend by Bigelow, which is chamo with rose, hibiscus, mint, and orange. This may not be as good, but the chamo and black tea in this blend mesh nicely together.

This appears to be a custom blend, as the chamomile Lupicia sells is all herbal and features elderflower, mint, and rosehip; this tea is a black mix mainly featuring only chamomile and some mint.

The lone package of Chamomile is in lion blue, and Areadbhar graces the front of it.

Favored By: Dimitri, Ingrid, Claude, Shamir, Rhea

Final Rating: 4/5

Cinnamon Blend

In-Game Description: "An aromatic bark blend referred to as the king of spices. Its unique taste appeals to similarly unique people."

Tea Base: Black tea with dried cinnamon

I've already bought up cinnamon in the Four Spice review above, but I did find some more fun information about it: It's origin points are Sri Lanka and Egypt, there are multiple types based on where it's grown, and the Ceylon version of cinnamon has a chemical called coumarin, which can inhibit clot formation. On the flipside, coumarin can be toxic and even cause liver damage, which makes a specific gag in Persona Q have its comical elements sucked out of it (the gag is that Elizabeth forces her brother Theodore to eat an extreme amount of cinnamon). Luckily, there's only so much cinnamon in this bag, and it tastes great, being complimented by a moderate-strength black tea.

This is based on Lupicia's black tea and cinnamon blend. A bag of cinnamon mixed with assam is also available.

Only one bag of cinnamon is in the set. It is lion blue and uniquely Dedue, as the illustration on its bag is of one of his earings.

Favored By: Hubert, Dedue, Marianne, Hapi

Final Rating: 4.5/5

Sweet Apple Blend

In-Game Description: "A tea blended with two types of apple peels. elegant and sweet, it is popular among common folk and nobles alike."

Tea Base: Black tea with dried apple slices

Apple is not as common a tea additive compared to other fruits, and I suspect its flavor profile and fragility might have something to do with it. The closest to a true blend I could find was this blend from a Turkish seller called Hazer Baba. It's apparently often sold to tourists in Istanbul. In any case, a friend of mine on Discord mentioned that apples in tea often don't work twofold: Apple's mild flavor is prone to being destroyed by tannins found in black tea, and caffeine from black tea also destroys apple's natural acidity.

Lo and behold, she was right. This is probably my least favorite tea in the set. Not only is the flavor poor, but it smells almost artificial.

Lupicia sells a black tea with apple, and is used for this tea.

The two apple teas are in a lion blue bag with a drawing of a music score sheet, presumably by Annette; the other is ashen gray with Constance's fan.

Favored By: Dorothea, Jeritza, Annette, Lysithea, Constance, Flayn, Hanneman

Final Rating: 1/5

Mint Leaves

In-Game Description: "An invigorating mint blend that revitalizes and refreshes all who partake."

Tea Base: Black tea with mint leaves

Mint is a perennial favorite for digestion woes around the world. In North African countries, Maghrebi tea (mint + green tea + cane sugar) is the socially significant drink of the region, similar to the socialization surrounding rize tea in Turkey, Cyprus, and some Balkan countries. Mint tea's efficacy as a GI aid is debated, but that doesn't stop it from being a hot option for tea.

Another simple combo, another great delivery. Mint is delicious and its use in savory stuff (I.E mint jam on lamb chops) is underrated.

This appears to be a custom blend, as the sole mint tea product on Lupicia's site is a Baï Mu Dan (white peony) blend.

The two bags of mint in the box are both in lion blue, with one featuring a book about a knight (Ashe) and the other featuring metal horseshoes (Ingrid).

Favored By: Ashe, Ingrid, Hilda, Manuela

Final Rating: 4/5

Crescent Moon Tea

In-Game Description: "Fermented dried seeds blended with tea leaves. It has a soft and subtle flavor, akin to the gentle light of the moon."

Tea Base: Black tea with vanilla flavoring

In spite of its rep as being the default of "boring," vanilla is one of the most expensive spices in the world due to its intensive cultivating process. Anything flavored by the beans (particularly the Madagascar and Tahitian varieties) is nothing short of divine, and the demand was so much that we got some of the earliest examples of knock-off flavoring out of it (I.E vanillin). Interestingly, while vanilla is a very popular additive for chai beverages, a true chai mix does not include vanilla in it.

It's a damn shame that this tea sucks. It has an artificial scent and taste like the Sweet Apple blend, and the vanilla itself is very thin.

This tea is derived from their black tea and vanilla blend. A small variety of other vanilla teas are also available on the site.

There is only one bag of this in the set. It is lion blue with an illustration of a hand-sewn bow, presumably Mercedes'.

Favored By: Mercedes, Lysithea, Shamir, Alois, Rhea

Final Rating: 1/5

Rose Petal Blend

In-Game Description: "Black tea laced with rose petals. A classic floral blend often enjoyed by Kingdom and Alliance nobles."

Tea Base: Darjeeling with rose petals

Darjeeling is akin to assam, Ceylon, pu'erh, and lapsang souchong in that it is specifically grown and harvested in select locations - West Bengal, in this case. Leaf types are determined by season, or "flushes," with the most commonly consumed teas being the first flush (March and April) and the second (May and June). First flush teas are typically classified as being floral-tasting and having a strong aroma. Rose petals, meanwhile, had their start as an herbal remedy and tea in China, and is cited to have GI and menstrual woe-relieving properties; It is also akin to lavender and chamomile in that it's a soothing agent. Rose petals are also a dinner and dessert darling, especially in Middle Eastern countries, with the Lebanese/Syrian zhourat tea mixture being one example.

I liked this tea a lot. Weirdly, while rose petals make for excellent blending catalysts, it doesn't fully mesh with the darjeeling here. Both taste wonderful nevertheless.

A set of first flush darjeeling can be found on Lupicia's site. Several blend varieties exist as well.

There is only one bag of this blend in the box. It is deer yellow with an illustration of a rose, the rose of the based Lorenz Hellman Gloucester!

Favored By: Annette, Hilda, Lorenz, Constance

Final Rating: 5/5

Almond Blend

In-Game Description: "A refined, nutty tea that is blended with leaves and thinly-sliced almonds."

Tea Base: Black tea with almonds

Since the composition of an almond appears to be diametrically opposed in possibly contributing to a tea blend, one would think that this wouldn't work. But this tea is fantastic, and easily one of the best "dessert" teas I've had recently. It would definitely be a great catalyst for a fancy iced latte that doesn't require metric shittons of extra sugar.

As an aside, during my research for this post, I stumbled on this old-time Chinese recipe that's a mixture of Chinese almonds, milk, and rice...except the "almonds" are apricot kernels, so they're not quite the same thing. Pretty cool though.

This tea is based on a Lupicia custom blend called...Cookie. No, seriously. The blend has almond and tiny specks of caramel mixed in the leaves, which is likely why the flavors blend together so nicely.

Only one bag of this tea is in the box. An illustration of Raphael's presumably-germ-riddled leg of mutton graces the bag.

Favored By: Annette, Raphael, Gilbert

Final Rating: 5/5

Honeyed Fruit Blend

In-Game Description: "A candied blend made up of dried honeyed fruits. For anyone with a sweet tooth, this tea can't be beat."

Tea Base: Black tea with marigold and honey-glazed dried fruit

The stunning marigold comes in shades of red, orange, yellow and white, and is an icon of Mexico, serving as its flower of the dead. The pot marigold bloom has become a popular option for herbal tea blends, and the whole plant itself is cited to be safe for human consumption. Its inherent flavor is a bit bittersweet yet still floral.

This is my second favorite of the "sweet teas" after the Southern Fruit Blend, as it was hard to parse whatever dried fruits were used. Nevertheless, the floral marigolds and honey made for a pitch-perfect combo.

This tea is specifically based on Lupicia's Neptune blend, stated on the bag.

There is only one bag of this blend in the set. It is in deer yellow with a drawing of cake and cookies on it, presumably belonging to Lysithea, who I can only assume will struggle with diabetes if her Crests don't take her out first...

Favored By: Bernadetta, Jeritza, Lysithea, Yuri, Alois

Final Rating: 5/5

Seiros Tea

In-Game Description: "A black tea common to the south of Almyra, it is fairly basic in its flavors. [Seiros Tea] is its common name in Fódlan."

Tea Base: Ceylon tea

This is yet another example of a coveted regional tea. Sri Lanka (formerly called Ceylon), like India and China, is home to lands that are primed for growing tea leaves which naturally made it yet another target of the British Empire, the assholes. This tea must meet extremely strict qualifications in order to even be considered a tea worth exporting, and the requirements include it being grown by Sri Lankan farmers and even being packaged in said country - no lion label means that it's a dupe. Ceylon blends, including ceylon grown out of Sri Lanka, are fairly easy to come by compared to their genuine counterparts, but the latter is still obtainable.

In any case, most true ceylons are described as being bold yet brisk, and this tea lovingly delivers, making it stand out compared to the other black teas in the set. Unfortunately, this is also yet another case of game-versus-reality suspension: While the use of an in-universe localization of this tea's name is pretty cool/fitting, the text describes the tea being "basic," which true ceylon definitely isn't. There's also that aforementioned pesky extreme standards of perfection to consider. Maybe they do the same in-universe?

Side Note: For the longest time I assumed this was another Almyran tea, but the text reads "to the south of Almyra," which, going by the world map, is presumably Morfis...but there are also two islands below Almyra, so they might be from there instead. Either way, I doubt the devs give a rat's ass if their Three Hopes interviews are anything to go by.

Lupicia sells a ceylon tea blend called Ratatam, which also includes some assam leaves and vanilla flavoring.

Two bags of this tea are in the set. One is deer yellow with a painting Ignatz presumably made (it shows a view of the Monastery he looks at with Marianne in one of their Supports), while the other is ashen gray with a sword that's likely associated with Yuri.

Favored By: Ferdinand, Sylvain, Lorenz, Ignatz, Yuri, Anna

Final Rating: 5/5

Lavender Blend

In-Game Description: "Tiny dried purple lavandula flowers are sprinkled into this refreshing floral tea."

Tea Base: Black tea with lavender petals

This beautiful purple flower, much like chamomile, is one of the go-to options for relaxation and better sleep. It's less likely to be steeped on its own due to how delicate it is, however, and it is arguably more popular as a culinary ingredient and as a scent option for essential oils. Lavender has even joined chamomile in the "verified for its boasted properties" club.

Like the chamomile, this simple combo tea is great, and the lavender itself is plenty strong.

This is another custom blend, as the sole lavender tea product on Lupicia's site is a white tea blend, which this tea definitely is not.

Another deer yellow exclusive oner joins this set's club. On its cover are birds, likely companions of Marianne's.

Enjoyed By: Ignatz, Marianne, Manuela, Gilbert

Final Rating: 4.5/5

Southern Fruit Blend

In-Game Description: "A blend with a unique dried fruit of the south. Popular for its intoxicatingly strong, bright notes."

Tea Base: Black tea with mango and hibiscus

Mango is a superstar tropical fruit that has a unique flavor, is found in multiple countries across the world, and is one of several Vitamin C powerhouses. The hibiscus flower has hundreds of species across the subtropics and tropics, being commonly associated with places like Hawai'i and Haiti. The flower is even worn by Kali, the Hindu goddess of power, destruction, and change. Hibiscus in particular is an extremely popular option for teas and blends due to its lightly tart flavor, while mango is more of a popular flavoring option for the stuff - just ask Snapple.

This is definitely the best of the "sweet teas" in the set, courtesy of a good tea base, dried mango, and just enough hibiscus to avoid a sour flavor. Now in-universe, where "to the south" would be is a mystery -maybe Brigid? - but they certainly picked two fitting flavors for it.

The tea on the bag is called "Grenada," but no tea fits that description on the Lupicia site. However, there is a black mix called Alphonse Mango, whose flavors seem to align with this one.

There is only one of this blend in the set. It is yet another deer yellow (what's up with that) and features a set of three used perfume bottles, all belonging to Hilda.

Favored By: Ferdinand, Jeritza, Mercedes, Hilda, Lysithea

Final Rating: 4/5

Leicester Cortania

In-Game Description: "A specialty tea from the Alliance blended with a variety of leaves from the east. This tea is of the utmost quality."

Tea Base: Second-Flush Darjeeling

What separates second-flush darjeeling from first flush is that these leaves are specifically plucked between May and June, after a period of heavy rainfall. The flavor is muskier (and sometimes more floral depending on where the leaves are harvested from), with some farmers describing it as a "muscatel" flavor, or like muscat grapes. Second flush teas often boast more potent flavors in exchange for a less noticeable aroma. Due to the shorter window for harvesting, as well as the tea-making process, this tends to be more expensive than its first-flush counterpart.

This tea was a good option for the Leicester Cortania label, and it definitely had a pleasant faint grape flavor and a nice floral scent.

Lupicia has both first and second flush darjeeling, with the latter being this tea's base. Darjeeling blends also exist on the site.

The lone package of Leicester Cortania is one of two that are purple. The illustration on it is of the Sword of the Creator.

Favored By: Catherine

Final Rating: 5/5

Tea of the Saints

In-Game Description: "Even commoners have tried this cost-efficient tea, which is a mixture of herbs. It's a tad bitter."

Tea Base: Pu'erh tea

Pu'erh tea is a unique tea originating from Yunnan Province in China, and said uniqueness comes from the fact that it is made by microbial fermentation. Much like how the wood of a barrel and aging flavors a whiskey, oxidization and how long the fermentation process goes on determines the tea's flavor. As you can see by the length of the linked wiki page, the creation process is extremely intricate.

There's a variety of flavors to any pu'erh, but the most common heard is that it tastes "shroomy," likely because of the fermentation. This pu'erh is subtly shroomy, earthy, and a bit grassy, and absolutely wonderful because of it.

This is one of the single most egregious cases of in-and-out of universe separation for this piece of merch. In-universe, this tea is cited to be common, inexpensive, and made of an herbal mix. Out-of-universe, they happened to pick a tea that's one of the single most expensive to produce in the world, is highly coveted, and, uh, there's no herbs in it. It's straight pu'erh tea. That's pretty bad, IntSys.

Lupicia sells a highly affordable blend of pu'erh made in the Menghai Factory in Yunnan, which is one of four pu'erh processing plants in the province. If you want to look elsewhere though, be prepared to shell out some serious dough for it.

The lone package of Tea of the Saints is the other sole purple bag. The illustration on the front is of Sothis' elaborate tiara.

Favored By:...No one, which is probably why Sothis' tiara is on the package. Perhaps she herself liked the tea when she was alive?

Final Rating: 5/5

And now, at long last...

❁Hresvelg Blend ❁

In-Game Description: ✽ "A high-quality blend of leaves procured specially for House Hresvelg. Its refined flavor brings sheer bliss." ✽

Tea Base: Assam and nilgiri tea with rose petals and safflower...and fragrance.

If you bought only the tea cup and the yellow box with a Byleth who looks oddly angry for some reason, then this is the tea you got saddled with, and they let you know it because you got the elite, better-than-you House Hresvelg's epic, boasting tin of how their tea leaves were specially procured only for them. In-universe, this tea and the Leicester Cortania are the most expensive teas to purchase, and the Kingdom gets no equivalent because they're too cold and mopey for one, I suppose. Fittingly, they have assam and rose mixed in with nilgiri tea leaves from Tamil, India (ironically reverse-engineered by English colonists, as the camellia sinensis tea leaves grown there were given to India in the 19th century) and safflower is what the Crimson Flower route is called in the Japanese version of 3H (紅花の章).

In addition to being flowers thought useful in attracting love and marriage, safflowers are both drought and wind-resistant, is able to grow and tolerate slightly acidic soil, can make a dye that can wash away easily depending on the cloth it's placed on, and is considered a cheaper alternative to saffron in cooking.

🤔

In any case, this tea's scent borderlines on being a potpourri ball. The flavor is similar to the rose petal blend but it's much more bitter and leaves a harsh feeling on the roof of the mouth. Safflower flavor is said to be similarly bitter, which is apparent. While it's not the most unpleasant-tasting of the teas (Albinea and Sweet Apple are still at the bottom of the barrel), the princess treatment is a bit overrated.

Funny how that works.

As boasted on the tin, this is a custom blend, and no equivalent exists on Lupicia's website.

As shown above, this tea gets the princess treatment with its own tin. The tin itself is...fine? I guess? It looks and feels very cheap. Furthermore, unlike the individually wrapped teas in the purple box, the tin has the five sachets packed together in a single aluminum bag (similar to how some companies package matcha powder).

Favored By: Technically no one, but both this tea and the Leicester Cortania are the most expensive teas in-universe, and some characters will comment on said expense if you give this to them.

Final Rating: 2/5.

Final Rating for the Tea Cup: 6/5. Unlike the tin, it's gorgeous and much sturdier than the average piece of china. Can be used to drink out of, or as the perfect knick-knack! And I will say that Rika Suzuki's art of Male Byleth does look fantastic.

Overall, most of these teas are pretty great and I'd honestly get the set again if it's ever available. This sort of merch is also my favorite - think of all the fic ideas and accidental laughs you can get out of stuff like this - Like how the Bergamot tea shall hereby be named the "Duke Aegir" because "Earl Grey" is an actual guy, plus in one of the few bits of Hopes' fun worldbuilding bitw is how the Aegir Dukedom actually owns a stretch of sea that serves as their trade route with Morfis. See? Fun!

(IDK why male Byleth is frowning here, he's having the coveted Hresvelg Jingle Juice, he should be happy lol)

#fe3h #fire emblem #fire emblem merchandise #fe3h tea time #byleth eisner #ramblings #moomoorn's neurodivergence is showing in this post #long reads #few3h #rika suzuki #headcanon central #tea! #earl grey tea #darjeeling #lapsang souchong #ceylon tea #puerhtea #So not only does no one favor the Saint Tea #But no one likes daffodils either #Ergo Byleth favors both now #and maybe the Saint Tea really was high quality stuff back in the day but now it's a cheap shadow of its former self

[mandakatt]

Fire Emblem Three Houses Drabble - Dedue Molinaro - Dedue Week Day 4

A/N: Since Dedue's last name is Molinaro I kinda HC that Duscur is based on Italy - both the language and the history.

The Lullaby I used is here.

Do let me know if I got some of the spelling wrong for the Italian part if you know it, I'm still learning. [Thanks Duolingo!]

Day: 4 Prompt: Family|Tradition Characters: Dedue Molinaro, Blacksmith [Unnamed], Anna Warnings: None Word Count: 991 Summary: Being a man of Duscur, he always worried about how others may be thought of if they continued to learn about Duscur through him. One Tradition however, snuck it’s way back into his life, and he found himself surprised when people wished to learn more.

It wasn’t often that Dedue got to work with metal, but when the Blacksmith at the monastery mentioned that she was short a pair of hands for her forge, he offered to help. War was coming. Almost every weapon at her table needed to either be honed, or repaired, and he was glad for the distraction. 

As he worked the bellows, the Blacksmith gave him a smile and a nod as they got to work, thought it took a bit of time before he got her timing right on what she needed. She worked at a slower pace than his father, and found that he could keep in time with her if he hummed the song his mother used to sing when she worked in the kitchen. 

It was an old lullaby, one that was passed down since--well he couldn’t remember how many ‘great’s’ were in front of his Grandmother’s name--but he knew it was old. And sung in the language of Duscur. 

Dedue paused once when he caught her staring. “Apologies, am I not keeping up?”

“No, no it’s not that…” she brought the blade out of the coals and brought it to the anvil before she started to strike it. “It’s just, I got distracted listening to you.” 

“I’m sorry.”

“No, it’s not a bad thing,” she told him with a smile, lifting her hammering arm to wipe her brow. “It’s pretty, may I ask where you learned it?”

“...my mother,” Dedue said softly before looking back to her. “She used to sing it to me and my sister, usually when making meals in the kitchen.” 

“Are there words to it?” 

“Yes...but--”

“Sing them for me then?” She smiled as she turned back to place the blade she was working on close to the forge. “I would really like to know the words, besides, you have a nice voice…” 

He wasn’t sure if the pink on her cheeks was from the forge, or for another reason, but he gently shook his head. “I am a man of Duscur. It is in my native tongue and I would not wish to cause you trouble.”

“Let me let you in on a little secret,” she moved closer to him and smiled, speaking loud enough for Anna to hear her. “I don’t give a damn where you come from. You’re good with your hands, and you know how to work a forge, and your voice is nice to listen to. So, while I bang out this blade, you keep in time with me with your words. Fair?”

Dedue watched her for a moment before he nodded his head slightly. And when she pushed the blades back into the coals, he pushed on the bellows and started to sing.

“Fai la ninna, fai la nanna con'sto fialio non c'è più pace...

Fai la ninna, fai la nanna pupo bello della mamma...

Ninna oh, ninna oh.”

His eyes drifted to the Blacksmith as she brought the blade back out of the coals and started to hammer. And he continued to sing and keep time.

“Fai la ninna, fai la nanna pupo bello della mamma 

Lo daremo alla Befana Che pazienza che ci vo 

Ninna oh, ninna oh 

Fai la ninna, fai la nanna…”

When she was finished with the blade she pushed it back into the coals once more, before dousing it into the oil, and by then his song had ended, and she turned to him with a smile.

“Now first let me say I could not have gotten through most of my work today without you, so thank you, and two, you will have to teach me how to pronounce that so I can sing that later..”

“You wish to learn it?”

“If it wouldn’t be too much trouble for you to teach me,” the Blacksmith began, wiping her hands gently on her clothing before she fetched a new bit of metal out of her stock. “Or is it something that you cannot teach me due to it being tradition?”

Dedeu blinked at her a moment. “What do you mean?”

“You know, something that your family has done for generations that you wish to keep that way.” 

When she set her new piece of metal into the coals he started to work the bellows again but her question caught him off guard, and it took him longer than he would have liked to be able to answer her properly.

“Perhaps at one point it may have been tradition, but now...”

“Ah,” she gave him a soft knowing smile as his words trailed off. “Sorry, I hadn’t thought about what I was asking.” 

“No, it is not that. You have not offended me.” he continued to work the bellows before looking to her again. “I am simply surprised I suppose. If you had asked for my Father’s folding technique however, I am sorry, but that I will have to keep to myself.”

The blacksmith laughed softly. “No, Dedue, I am not asking for your trade. I have more respect for you than that.” 

“Hey!” Anna chimed in. “Are you going to sing again while you work?”

Now it was Dedue’s turn to turn pink. “I am sorry, I did not mean--”

“What are you apologizing for? It was lovely. I’d like to hear it again, if you’re up for it.”

The blacksmith shot him a bit of bright smile. “Well then, seems I’m not the only one you’re going to have to teach this traditional lullaby to, and HEY! Merchant!” she rounded on Anna and grinned at her. “Stop distracting the help!”

“Me?! It’s you that’s taking a break!” 

Dedue blinked again at their sudden banter only to realize that there was laughter and teasing in their voices. He smiled softly then, ducking his head a little to try to hide his soft laugh before lifting his head to look at them again. 

“Then, I would be honored to teach you...”

#Meraki #Fire Emblem Three Houses #FE3H #Dedue Molinaro #Fire Emblem Anna #My brain is kinda all over the place with these prompts #this one is kinda sad and happy I guess? #I dunno >< #Ah well #*throws it to the void*

[lampsabout-moved]

hhhh awakening rewrite reboot

info under the cut

Alright so forever ago I had an AU called “Fire Emblem: REAwakening, which was a novelization/rewrite of awakening, to in general let me do whatever i want with the plot, while keeping in the same basic structure, and changing character details, the works. But then I realized my writing was bad and forgot about it, and now I’m revisiting it. fixing the bad shit in Awakening, like Henry, Robin, and Tharja all being plegians (a darker skinned people), but because they join your party and are good guys, they are lighter skinned. Same thing with Olivia being of Feroxian descent. since this is in fic format, the characters would have unique designs, and still use only a few weapons, but be able to branch out more and more. Some characters have changed classes, or are pre-promotes, etc, etc. Lucina never pretends she’s a guy, she introduces herself as Marth, and uses she/her right off the bat. She also never drops her Marth persona until she reveals herself as Chrom’s daughter. because i’m me, i’d prolly write some supports? idk which though.  Emmeryn kind of comes back? Like, not in the weird way it happens in canon. Emmeryn is revived by Naga, but it’s really just Naga’s spirit keeping her alive, so she’s a lot more Naga than Emmeryn.

Tharja! My Girl Tharja was dONE SO CRIMINALLY DIRTY! In this AU, Tharja is actually a bit of an aristocrat in Plegia, being high up in the Grimleal, despite not believing in their teachings at all, really only there to fuel her real passion, Dark Magic. Because of that, she is FASCINATED with Grima, a being made of pure dark magic and despair. Because of that, Tharja can sense Grima slumbering inside Robin, and that’s why she follows him around. She is in no way interested in him in a romantic way, but more of a “hey can I study your heart and maybe like, see if you’re harboring a dark god?” which also gives her more plot relevance!

this is kind of a nitpick, but lore to explain why Falchion looks different in different games? Like, Falchion takes different forms depending on who is wielding it. It takes the classic Awakening look when Chrom wields it, or a spear styled weapon when Lucina has, etc, etc, GRIMA ROBIN SHOULD HAVE FANGS, SIX EYES, HORNS, AND WINGS, ATLUS YOU ARE FUCKING COWARDS-

kids are:

Lucina: The oldest of Chrom and Robin’s kids, and future exalt. Has Chrom’s blue hair, with streaks of Robin’s light pink. Has the Fell Brand and Mark of The Exalt in opposite eyes. (I do what I want)

Marc and Morgan: Chrom and Robin’s other kids, twins! Marc has the Exalted Mark, while Morgan has the Fell Mark. (Marc = Male Morgan, Morgan = Female Morgan). Morgan has blue hair while Marc was Pink with blotches of Blue. Owain: Maribelle and Lissa’s younger kid, wanted to be a dark mage as a kid, and now has dark markings over his face and arms because of botched curses.  His personality is virtually unchanged form canon. Owain’s already perfect.

Brady: Maribelle and Lissa’s older child, pretty similar to canon, except he’s a troubadour, because I headcanon him as GNC! AlsobecausehelooksuptoMaribellealotandwantedtopursueasimilarpathasherbutshhhhh Kjelle: Daughter of Flavia and Sully (because i do what i want). Similar to canon, but some of her supports mention her being technically royalty. She hates it Severa: The rebellious daughter of Sumia and Cordelia. She’s one of the class changed characters, this time being a horseback mage. She specializes in Wind Magic (get it cause wind magic is good against pegasus knights), and dyes her hair a lot to defy Cordelia, even though Cordelia really doesn’t care. She’s also Lucina’s self appointed Retainer. Cynthia: Sumia and Cordelia’s other daughter, pretty similar to canon in personality, but what was i supposed to do? NOT give her a cheesy medieval super-heroine outfit? C’mon! Inigo: Son of Olivia and Panne, and yes, he’s a taguel. Consider for a moment, a taguel dancer unit. He’s a dancer who uses beaststones because not only is that metal as shit, but provides a really interesting class idea! He’s pretty similar to canon in personality. ALSO GeroAzu rights

Yarne: Son of Olivia and Panne, pretty similar to canon because i have, few ideas about our bunny boy Noire: We all know that Future Tharja was a massive dick to her family, and especially to Noire. Basically, Libra divorced F!Tharja, and they lived seperately. F!Tharja’s curses were still deep-seated into Noire, and created a bit of a specter haunting Noire. If you’ve seen BNHA, imagine Dark Shadow, but it looks like Tharja, is Noire’s shadow, and constantly feeds her insecurites. because of this, Noire has taken up being a kick-ass priest/light mage, in order to undo the damage her mother did. Reclaimation and Redemption babeyyyy

Gerome: Son of Anna and Cherche because I do what I want?? Not much but he’s also a big fan of merchanting. get it? cause dragons? he hoards gold? haha? Also he’s apart of the justice cabal fuck you Laurent: Son of Miriel, other parent unknown. I don’t really pair Miriel with anyone that often? So I left her spouse ambiguous. Laurent is still Laurent, and shares all of the child units brain cells with Lucina. Nah: Similarly to Laurent, I left her parentage ambiguous because EW! Nowi does not enter a relationship, because ew, and it’s implied Nah is from another timeline where an older Nowi had her. Maybe Manakete’s produce asexually? THe world may never know! Her hair color is a green-purple gradient, because it’s pretty I’m also considering adding more kids? Specifically for Kellam/Henry, Tiki/Say’ri, and Frederick/Gaius, but we’ll see. --- this got out of hand, so like, hmu if you have questions! i’d be happy to awnser.

#fire emblem #rewrite #redesign #fe13 #fire emblem 13 #fire emblem awakening #fea #lucina #robin #chrom #lissa #hohhh boy

[shslmahoushoujo]

I spend quite a bit of time wondering how a 2  route Fire Emblem 6 remake would work. Because I know I’d make a split from the start for sure rather than the almost negligible route split from Sacred Stones. It might need some rewriting, but I could see it working. And seeing how this became just an overly long train of thought kind of thing, I’m adding a read more so people can avoid walls of text if they’d so prefer.

Roy route working pretty much as it is, but not getting the cavalier trio from chapter 7 and Astolfo+the Ositia group as him (he’s already overloaded with characters at that point as it is). Rather, have them as part of Lilina’s group. Start her story with Barth, Wendy, and Ogier in Pherae already with her helping out with driving some bandits who made it into the castle while Roy deals with the ones outside, have her meet up with the cavalier trio from Ilia on the way back to Ositia (perfect chance for a few FE7 homages going across Santaruz, maybe taking a ship at Badon after learning of Erik’s betrayal and Hector’s death (Astolfo joining there), and going into the fortress between Thria and Ostia from Kinship’s Bond before reaching Ostia. Also, move Sue there and have her as a Lilina recruitable unit to prevent more Roy bloat, I’d rewrite it a bit so Wagner sent her to be locked up elsewhere just in case so she couldn’t be accidentally found confirm Orun’s death. That’s still 18 units in the Roy route vs. 9 units in Lilina’s. 10 if she got a merchant for herself, say, Anna, who I’ll be counting in this speculation since both sides should have a Merchant anyway.

(EDIT: Come to think of it, this leaves Lilina without healers. So, the way I’d fix this, I’d make Clarine be a possible unit for both sides. In Roy’s route, same scenario as the original chapter 4. In Lilina’s route, they land on Ryerde from Badon or something like that, and a runaway Clarine joins them being chased by Erik’s people. Klein becomes available for both sides. Adjusting numbers for it in the later parts now too.)

So then, going on ahead... I’d still use chapters 7 and 8 from the original for Lilina’s route, but slightly redone. The map from chapter 7 would become an escape map, with Lilina trying to escape the rebellion and that turning out to be a trap (plus Noah meeting Fir at the arena and her going back to the isles as per usual before shit hits the fan), and 8 would be the same for Roy and Lilina’s routes except the other’s army would be green units. Either way, the way it plays out would be different: Lilina’s route would be about breaking out and joining her army up to take down Legance (with Roy’s army showing up as reinforcements later on), whereas Roy would be the same usual charge from the original map. Chapter 8x plays out the same, same with chapter 9 for the most part (except only in Lilina’s route could recruit Fir and Sin). But then, instead of an arbitrary “visit village x or y from the route split”, Roy and Lilina would have clearer route splits. (Also, army numbers at this point for Roy and Lilina: Roy has still 18, Lilina 13).

And now we get to the Western Isles. Roy gets 10A and 11A, Lilina gets 10B and 11B. Roy gets Larum and Echidna. Lilina gets Elfin, Bartre, and Gonzales. Both sides can get Geese, Klein, and Thea. Chapter 12 is the same for both, except it’s the second talk with Cath for Lilina instead of her being outright recruitable at this point. Maybe adjust the recruitment options for Raigh so he can join either route. 12x through 16x the same, only making Garret a Lilina route exclusive unit. All of the other units joining you regardless, boosting up numbers on both sides. Army numbers at this point, Roy 33, Lilina 31. Unique units per route, Roy 20, Lilina 16. Compare to the bloat of 49 units for a single side in the game at this point!

And then the second route split. If you’ve noticed which units I’ve given each side, I think that should give you the idea of how this is gonna go. Lilina gets Sacae, Roy gets Ilia. I’d take the chance to just make a decision that may not be likeable to some people, but I’d make Hector x Lyn and Eliwood x Ninian canon at this point, simply because of the storytelling potential. Lilina’s mother having told her about those distant plains? Roy’s mother being an ice dragon and being all the more aware of that when he realizes how the cold of Ilia isn’t getting to him as much as his army? Good stuff. Either way, Roy gets Juno, Lilina gets Dayan, Niime and Yodel join either way on both sides, and we get to the fight with Zephiel.

The way I’d handle the endgame is very much the Resident Evil 2 A/B route way. After beating one route first, you have to beat the other. Roy and the Sword of Seals are kinda needed for the ending, so this is where I say: Time to have fun with the army bloat! Both armies join sides, and The Ghost of Bern becomes picking the best you have from both sides (the unique units from the prior run keeping their stats from that run, the common units between both runs having only the stats from the current run). And I’d increase the number of people to bring into The Ghost of Bern just to make it a bigger deal.

And then there’s other small changes I’d make like making Lilina into an actual magic lord with unique classes, and have Roy and Lilina auto class up after defeating Narcian in chapter 16 rather than the stupid, STUPID decision to have Roy class up so late in the game.

So that’s about that, it’s just me rambling on about something I hope we get next year for the 30th anniversary of the series. Won’t complain if we get an FE4 remake or a Tellius double pack though.

#Tara Says Stuff #fire emblem #fire emblem: binding blade #fe6 #my hopes and dreams for a remake

[missblurose]

A Box of Chocolates - Fire Emblem Awakening fic

Series: Fire Emblem: Awakening Characters: Gaius & Anna (Inevitable S-Rank pairing) Summary: Anna decides to branch out her business by selling chocolate, naturally hoping to make Gaius her biggest customer. Of course, it’s having some side effects on him, but it’s nothing for Anna to worry about...right? (A Support-like fanfic.) Note from Blu: S-rank conversations are so hard to make convincing sometimes...! No wonder some of them feel forced and unlikely...

 After helping to win a minor skirmish involving some merchants and a horde of Risen, Gaius decided he deserved a reward for his participation. He had intended to sneak off somewhere private to eat his sweets in peace when his nose caught an attractive smell. “Mm?” The redheaded thief sniffed once more. “I smell…chocolate.” Fueled by curiosity alongside of his initial craving for sweets, Gaius continued sniffing the air and began walking around the camp, searching for the source of the scent like a bloodhound. The others would have thought it was a strange sight if they hadn’t seen Gaius do similar things before. Eventually, Gaius’s nose led him to the tent where Anna had set up shop. The redheaded saleswoman was standing behind her makeshift sales counter, hovering over a small, open box from which the heavenly scent of chocolate was wafting out.

“Wow, you got here quick— I mean, welcome, Gaius!” Anna said with a smile. “I’m glad that you’re here! I’ve got a favor to ask of you…”

Gaius didn’t hear a thing Anna said as he approached the counter. “Hey, Red. You sellin’ chocolate now?” He stared down at the box’s contents and smiled. “Ah, truffles… Talk about fancy.” The box’s lid was placed on top of it, hiding the chocolates from sight and bringing Gaius to attention.

“Listen to me,” Anna spoke sternly. She soon regained her smile. “I’ve decided to expand my business into the area of sweets. I have here a sample box of chocolates. And since you have such a discerning sweet tooth, I thought you would do me the honor of trying them first!”

Gaius smiled and reached a hand forward to take the box, saying, “Don’t mind if I do— Wait a minute.” His expression soured and he pulled back his hand, staring at Anna in suspicion. “I know you. You don’t give people things for free.”

“Well…depending on your reaction, I’ll decide whether or not it’s worth stocking up and selling.” Anna maintained her smile despite Gaius’s glaring. “Come on, don’t you trust me?”

“I trust you with my life, Red. Not my money.”

“Don’t act like you don’t want to try some. Besides, this whole box is free! Imagine how much you would have to pay just to have a single chocolate in town!”

Gaius stared down at the box and licked his lips. “…It’s free, right?”

“Yup!” ‘The first box, anyway…’

The thief smiled. “I suppose I could try them. Gotta make sure the soldiers are getting their money’s worth.” Gaius quickly took the lid off of the chocolate box, picked up a truffle and popped it into his mouth. It only took a few seconds for him to finish eating the truffle. Afterwards, his eyes lit up. “They’re…!”

“Tasty? Delicious? Scrumptious?” Anna asked with a smirk.

Gaius sniffed, trying to hide his pleasure from the merchant woman. “Okay, as far as chocolate goes.”

“If it’s just ‘okay’, why are you taking more?” The redheaded woman asked, her smirk growing in size as Gaius picked up another truffle to eat.

Gaius ignored her in favor of eating the chocolate. “Where’d you get these chocolates, anyway? Make ‘em yourself?”

“Yup! Although one of my sisters gave me the recipe and others traded me the necessary ingredients.”

“Sister, huh?”

“She’s a very good chocolatier among other things. She makes most of her money selling the food she makes. Along with the money she makes selling non-baked goods, her nest egg’s bigger than mine!”

“That right?” At this point, it was obvious that Gaius was too busy eating chocolates to pay much mind to what Anna was talking about, including her barely hidden money-related envy. Not that she didn’t notice. Just like Gaius, her eyes were on the box of chocolates, noting how much he ate before he finally stopped. “Well, Red, you might be able to make some added cash with this stuff. Me? Not to my taste.”

After Gaius walked out of the tent, Anna scoffed. “Not to his taste? He ate the whole box! Two dozen chocolate truffles, gone in a flash!” She smiled and laughed to herself. “Heh-heh…! Perfect! As a thief, Gaius is bound to have a lot of money on him. He’s gonna be my #1 customer for this stuff. Then we’ll see whose nest egg is bigger!”

 Several days passed as Anna began selling her handmade chocolate truffles. She gained the business of those soldiers and Shepherds who had a sweet tooth and a love of chocolates, but perhaps her biggest source of money was Gaius. Despite his insistence that the chocolates she made were subpar, he had been willing to spend enough for multiple boxes. If it were anybody but Gaius, one would be worried about the amount of chocolate he consumed. Anybody but Anna, that is.

“It’s almost time.” Anna sounded positively giddy as she checked her pocket watch. “3…2…1.” On cue, Gaius entered the tent and Anna slapped on a smile. “Good day, Gaius!”

“Hey, Red. I’ll have the usual.”

“Oh, I’ve already got it.” Anna patted a pile of five boxes of chocolates, stacked on top of each other. “Now, if you’ll just hand me your money…” As the gold changed hands, the redheaded woman noticed something about Gaius that she hadn’t at first. “What’s…that on your face there? And there… And…there?”

Gaius made a noise of confusion as he began eating from a box of chocolates. He wasn’t so much oblivious to the rashes on his face—and the other unseen parts of his body—as he had learned to ignore them.  “Oh, that? Must’ve gotten bitten by a bug or something.”

“That…doesn’t look like a bug bite.”

“Then I probably rubbed up against the wrong plant,” the thief insisted with a full mouth.

“…Gaius?”

“Mm?”

“Do you have any food allergies?” Anna asked, roused by suspicion.

“Nope.”

“Are you sure?”

“I think I’d know if I was allergic to something, Red.”

Anna arched an eyebrow as Gaius left the tent. ‘Even if your sweet tooth has hijacked your common sense?’ “Ah, well. What do I care? It’s his own fault if he can’t put two and two together. I’m just the person who sells him the chocolate, not his mother. If he gets sick, it’s not my fault, it’s his fault because he’s too addicted to that stuff to notice what it’s doing to him.” Although she was smiling as she said this, Anna still looked unsure about her own words. “I’m sure he’ll realize what’s causing his rash eventually. I mean, what’s the worst that could happen?” Saying that just fueled the guilt even more. Anna clutched her head, her eyebrow twitching. “Put it out of your mind, Anna… Do it for the money! Do it for the nest egg! Do it for your financial security!”

And so, Gaius continued to eat the chocolates that Anna made and Anna did nothing to stop him. Of course, her conscience gradually ate away at her. Each time Anna took Gaius’s money and got a closer look at his rashes, she’d feel a pang of guilt. Meanwhile, Gaius’s rash got worse. Amazingly, it had no effect on his skill in battle, although it had gotten to the point where acting nonchalant about the numerous blotches on his skin and his constant scratching got Gaius strange looks from people around the camp.

Several days later, an itching and scratching Gaius approached Anna. “Hey, Red. Gimme the usual.”

Anna shook her head. “Nope.”

Gaius frowned. “What?”

“I’m not selling you anymore chocolate. Not that chocolate, at least.”

The redheaded thief narrowed his eyes in anger. “What? Suddenly my money’s no good here? You were so eager to get your grubby mitts on it not too long ago.”

The merchant woman shuddered at the mention of money. It almost made her change her mind and take out a box of chocolates to sell to Gaius. But she pinched her leg to snap her out of it and steeled her resolve. “Not exactly… Look, I’m cutting you off for your own wellbeing.”

“Cutting me off?! What’d I do to you to deserve this?! Haven’t I been a model customer to you, Red?!”

Anna huffed as she glared at the scratching thief. “I’m not gonna be responsible for you getting sick! Do you know how badly that would reflect on me as a merchant if it got out my wares did that to you? Not to mention if you die, my reputation would go down in flames!”

“I don’t care if I— Wait, die?! What’s that about dying?!” Gaius stopped scratching for a moment to stare at Anna in shock.

The merchant groaned and held a hand to her head. “I asked you if you had a food allergy, remember? I guess you must have been allergic to one of the rarer ingredients in the chocolate. Granted, I think it’s mostly your fault you look like this now…but I should’ve stopped when I noticed how badly you were being affected. I’m, uh…sorry.”

The thief was too busy despairing to give any mind to Anna’s weak apology. “No way. You mean…there’s a sweet that I can’t eat?!” Gaius sounded like he was on the brink of tears. He clenched his chest and choked back a sob. “I think I’d rather live with the rash and die!”

“I don’t believe that! Could you really give up every other thing in the world you could eat—and also your life—just to eat some chocolate?”

“It isn’t just some chocolate. It’s heaven in bite-size pieces with a tasty filling of bliss. If I knew where your sister was, I’d go through any obstacle to find her and get her to make them for me for the rest of my life. Heck, I’d marry her to get my hands on more, no questions asked. It’s just that good, Red.”

“Wouldn’t you rather some tasty pastries instead?” Anna reached into a sack hidden behind her makeshift counter and pulled out a small bag that had been tied close with a small piece of ribbon. “They’re not chocolates, but they’ll hold you over.” Gaius reached for the bag, but the redheaded woman pulled it back. “They’re also not cheap.”

Gaius glared at Anna. “You…are…evil.” First she got him addicted so she could get his money. Now she wanted him to pay to be cured from the addiction she started. Nonetheless, he dumped some coins onto the counter, snatched the bag from her hand and took out a small tart from it. He eagerly took a bite of the pastry, but his expression didn’t lighten up. The thief could only sigh as Anna happily counted his money. “It’s just not the same…”

“Would you like to try something else?” Anna asked with a not so innocent smile. “I’ve got cakes, and pies, and cookies, and cinnamon rolls—”

“I’ll take ‘em all,” Gaius spoke abruptly.

In her mind, Anna swore she could hear a cash register dinging and she couldn’t help but smile. ‘Talk about turning a loss into a gain!’

After the whole “food allergy” incident, things almost went back to normal. “Almost” is the keyword, because Gaius’s attempts to go cold turkey after his addiction to Anna’s chocolate did not go unnoticed, as did the way he would cringe when he so much as smelled chocolate. It didn’t help that as of late, someone had been leaving chocolate hearts for him every single day. He didn’t know who it was, but it certainly felt like they were mocking him and his current difficulties with chocolate. The thief swore that if he ever found out who was responsible, he’d make them regret it.

Luckily for him, the perp stepped right up to confess their crime. “GAIUS!!!” Anna screamed as she stomped into his tent. “How could you?! How could you just throw them away?!”

“The hell are you talking about?” Gaius asked while he was in the middle of unwrapping a sucker.

“My chocolates! You’ve been throwing away all the chocolates that I’ve been leaving for you, haven’t you?! I saw you throw one to the ground just now!”

The thief narrowed his eyes as he gave Anna a lukewarm glare. “That was you?”

Anna was too busy raging over Gaius’s actions to notice the way he was glaring at her. “Just throwing away my chocolate like that is a waste of my money!”

“Forget your money!” Gaius snapped as he pointed his sucker at the merchant woman. “Even now, I can barely smell chocolate without gagging! What makes you think I’d want chocolate after what I’ve been through?”

 “It’s not even the same kind of chocolate!” The redheaded woman held a hand to her head and tilted it slightly to the side in thought. “Although I suppose it was thoughtless of me to try and win you over with chocolate after what happened... I’ll just give you a heart-shaped cake or something next time…” She turned to leave the tent, but was halted by the voice of the thief behind her.

“Hold it, Red. What’s the deal with all this free chocolate?” Gaius asked in a suspicious tone of voice. “You’re never this generous. Is this part of some new scheme to milk me for my money?”

Anna huffed and glared at the redheaded thief. “How rude! Villainizing my acts of kindness just because I may have been a tad inconsiderate with my choice of gifts! And don’t think I haven’t noticed that you’ve been avoiding me as of late! You even went so far as to give your business to one of my sisters! Do you hate me that much over an incident where you held more blame than I did?!”

“If I stayed away from you, it was because of trauma. And last I checked, you didn’t hold complete and utter control over where I take my business.” Gaius’s cheeks reddened a bit as he looked away from Anna. “But it’s not like I hate you. In fact, you could say I’ve grown accustomed to your face.”

Anna gave a sigh of relief before smiling. “What a relief! I thought that maybe you hated me or something. To be honest…I’ve also grown accustomed to your face. And I sort of missed it…” Her expression quickly switched back to anger as she continued, “Which is why it’s so upsetting to know you’ve been dumping my hearts like they were garbage! A man shouldn’t treat a woman’s heart in such a way!”

“Sorry. If I knew they were yours, I’d have treated them a bit better. But I’ve got something that might make up for all them.” Sticking the sucker into his mouth, Gaius reached into his pants pocket and pulled out a small golden ring. In an instant, Anna closed the distance between them to get a better look at the simple gold band. “I ain’t exactly chocolate, but I consider myself a sweet enough replacement.”

“Hmm…” The redheaded woman closed her eyes, as if thinking about it hard. “I’m not sure about that. I think I should be worth a fortune as a wife, and that ring doesn’t say good things about how much money you have. I suppose you could work off what you owe for both my chocolate and my hand in marriage...”

Gaius began to frown. “Are we talking marriage or business? If it’s the latter, I’m gonna change my mind—”

Anna snatched the ring and started to smile as she slipped it on. “I accept, I accept! You better not make me regret falling in love with you.”

“What a coincidence. That’s just what I was thinking, Red.”

After the end of the war on Grima, Gaius and Anna married. Although he tried to stick to a just path, he eventually returned to the unsavory act of thievery. One would think that his wife would complain about his life of crime, but Anna spurred him on in his endeavors and she was often right alongside of him. Many speculate that she sold the items he stole, but it is unproven.

#Fire Emblem #Fire Emblem awakening #Fire Emblem fanfiction #FE: awakening