So I felt like writing about the "real" world; I explain in the rant why I wrote what I felt like writing instead of focusing on the main story. I don't know how many of these kinds of chapters I'll write; maybe it'll be half a dozen, maybe this will end up being an intermediary Bount Arc where there'll be like 1 if these for every 3 regular chapters just spread out across the whole stpry. IDK, but I had fun writing this. Hope you enjoy! But uh...first a rantI wrote a while back that I haven't edited because I want to get across how I felt at that time.

Heavenschoir: Dude, what did I say at the end of the last chapter? A bit of advice: no matter how friendly a writer is, don't ever tell them they need to upload more often. At least, don't do that if that person uploads at least once a month. Okay typing this out makes me think about how many other factors there are but BOTTOM LINE: If you want a writer to get angry with you, an easy way to do that is tell them they don't upload fast enough. I read fanfics long before I started writing and I get how torturous the wait can be, but you never know what's going on in the author's life; there could be all sorts of non-writing related reasons that they can't write often.

To be clear I'm not upset with you specifically, this is actually a good chance for me to say this:

I WILL FINISH THIS STORY. NO MATTER HOW LONG IT TAKES, I WILL FINISH IT. That being said, I can't promise anything in regards to upload frequency. The nature of my writing process dictates such. I write as a coping mechanism, and because of that it's actually hard for me to sit down and simply write. I keep a notes folder on my phone in which I regularly jot down any ideas I randomly get, what I'm saying is as lazy as this sounds, I legitimately can only write when I feel like it. I'm sorry but that's honestly how it is for me. Almost all of you have been incredibly supportive about my inability to regularly upload, but there's going to come a time at least once where you'll be miffed about this, and I don't blame you. If you ever want to discuss something in addition to a review, feel free to PM me. I love to discuss things in depth and more often than not it helps tremendously

20XX, International and Secular College Institution, fall semester, opening week.

On the first floor of the co-ed dorm, there was a loud rapping against the window, and the student inside awoke.

Against the glass plane was a blond male tapping his wrist. "OY, IT'S RILEY!" He cried, voice muffled from the plane. The student in the room rolled off the bed, but just looked up from a prone position, unfazed. He mouthed a single word.

Riley rolled his eyes. "I left my room key in there, hurry up and get ready for class, and bring me my key, okay? Classes start in 10 minutes!" The moment the student inside nodded, the blonde took off.

"...sigh" the student said aloud before putting on a pair of headphones. Music began to play with the touch of a button.

"I was born depressed and-uh,

I end up in one big mess and
Trip around it… Trip around it…"

As the song played, the student splashed water on his face and brushed his teeth.

"I was born jaded
I lift one finger up to display it and
Trip around it
Trip around it"

Every step and every stroke was in sync with the song.

"Trip around it
Trip around it"

He took one last look in the mirror, saw his bedhead, and just shrugged.

"Ah, ah…"

"Born different"

Black shirt…

"Born innocent"

Black hoodie…

"Born perfect"

"I'm not like you" the student sang quietly.

"Born lover"

Laptop plastered with Witcher and Bloodborne stickers...

"Born livid"

Lanyard with ID, keys, and two seperate keychains of the same character...

"And I know. Why. I'm not like you! I was…"

"Born clever"

Gold and black scarf...

"Born knowledgeable"

...and a PS Vita.

"Born better than your best"

The student grabbed another set of keys from the opposite bed…

"I swear I'm a born killer…"

...and slung his backpack on, switching from singing to whistling as he opened the door.

"Born thriller…"

SLAM

"Welcome to our campus's first ever hybrid course: Music Composition!" The teacher cheered; she couldn't have been out of her 20's but had a 1920's aesthetic, and her dark complexion made it stand out even more. "If you read the course description you'll know this is a combination of Songwriting and Musical Arrangement. Everyone here had a minimum requirement on their aptitude tests to ensure this still experimental class type can work."

There were murmurs as the class, a small one of about 23 students, settled into a circular seating arrangement.

"Alright, why don't we all introduce ourselves? We'll keep it relatively simple: give your name and reason for taking the course! I'm Tiana Rose, I'm here cause bitches gotta eat."

Most of the class burst into laughter at that, and even the more prudish and appalled hid a chuckle. As the laughter died down one student who had simply smiled spoke up; he was wearing a dark hoodie with a Guy Fawkes Mask on it with jet black T-shirt save for red and orange old norse style markings in the shape of a wolf. Despite it being cold as Hel itself that day, he was wearing knee length shorts. "Gavin. Gavin Míraclos." He pronounced the surname with a hispanic accent, treating the i as a double e. He shrugged the hood off, revealing wireless headphones hooked around his ears, but self evidently not listening to anything. He continued speaking softly and bluntly. "I have an eidetic memory for music but memorizing composition and understanding it are two different things." Despite speaking first it was clear it was to get it out of the way rather than any sort of eagerness. He sat removed from the circle by at least a meter and never stood nor removed his hands from his pockets when speaking.

Another boy stood up. He had a royal purple shirt with dark gold long pants. Despite the unusual sense of fashion he somehow managed to remain indistinct. His eyes were bright blue and hair dirty blonde. "Riley Young, I like to think I'm a pretty good composer already, I've been writing pieces since I was 12, but I could never figure out songwriting. I hope to change that. To be honest I've been given flak for attending college when I already know I want to make music, but I'm here on scholarship and thought I could pick up a few skills to fall back on in addition to the music thing-" He stopped short when he saw the teacher shift her position. "Oh crap, not supposed to talk about the scholarship stuff…" He muttered, eliciting a few snickers as he sat back down. "Sorry for going on one there." He said as he awkwardly scratched his head. The way he spoke so casually through it all gave a distinct impression he was incredibly laid back.

The next person to stand was a girl dressed in almost exclusively in relatively simple black and white clothing save a pair of punk goth boots, though she didn't have gothic makeup or the like. Her platinum blonde hair nearly reached her lower back but was incredibly well kept. "Hi!" she exclaimed with a large hint of canadian accent. "I'm Tabitha Strong, I'm taking this course as one of my steps towards musical theatre and voicework."

A girl with middling skin tone and a green sweater that had to be at least one if not two sizes two big held her hand up and stood. "My name's Kay! Same here, I love musical theatre!"

…..

A few minutes passed as most all the rest of the students gave their name and reasoning, with most people either being interested in original composition or musical theatre.

A guy with a red beanie and clean shave stood. "Jonathan Green. I'm really into cover albums but I want to learn the difference between copying and covering; figured I should learn about composition before learning about recording."

Lastly a bright red haired girl with freckles stood. Out of all the people there she stuck out most, by a country mile. She had a green balmoral as well as a yellow and navy blue Sukajan with a tiger on the back. "Aye lads! Oim Ashelay, Ashe fer short!" She introduced with her voice essentially 1% English and 99% Scottish. Several looked at her in confusion. "...Oh, sorree, jus got back tae states from viztin me fam…" she cleared her throat several times. "...I can talk like this, if it's more helpful. My name is Ashely Hyles." She said in perfect American English, although based on her facial expression it took a small amount of conscious effort on her part.

Tiana stood. "Now that we've had a round of intros, let's go over the syllabus and basic concepts for the course…"

"...alright, now for the last 30 minutes we'll split into groups of 3. Write a response to our talk on the pros and cons of standardized writing and music, then discuss those views with your partners." As soon as the professor finished speaking, people began organizing into groups, save for a couple students. Gavin sat at his desk and began writing in silence. Eventually the classroom quieted a bit as the groups finished forming.

"Hey, mind if I sit here?" A voice asked. Gavin glanced up to see Ashely standing there, hand on an adjacent desk. Gavin simply silently nodded as he made sure his hood was entirely over his head, but took out one earbud to make it clear he could still hear. "So what're your thoughts on things?"

"...standardization kills creativity." Gavin replied bluntly. "Because the system doesn't standardize, it homogenizes."

Ashely nodded. "Yeah, I get what you mean. He's a wee bit emo." She didn't seem interested much in writing her own response down. "So, you said your name was Gavin, I think, right?"

Gavin nodded slightly. Up close Ashley could see how unnaturally pale his skin was. "...you sure you wouldn't rather be in another group? I'm not much of a talker." Gavin explained, before adding "and I don't want to bring your grade down by not discussing enough or something."

Ashely smiled, to which immediately Gavin broke eye contact, before Ashely replied "Nah, I ain't got issue with it. Seems you're a bit introverted, right? In my experience, introverts make for good discussion partners!"

"...Is that so?" Gavin replied after a pause. "Well if you're sure…"

Ashely drummed her fingers against the table before sighing. "So to be honest, I don't really have that much to discuss about the topic. You?"

Gavin shrugged, and there was a muffled clinking sound from his lanyard. "Hey what's that around your neck?"

Gavin blinked, evidently surprised. "It's… it's a replica scarf; a replica of something from a video game-"

Ashley was snapping her fingers. "Yeah I knew I recognized that design! It's uh...whatsit- Dishonored!" The moment she dropped the name, Gavin's face lit up like a spotlight, and it took everything Ashely had not to giggle at the sudden change.

"You know it?"

Ashely nodded. "I'm not too good at games, but me twin's got a collection big 'nough to keep 'im busy for the next decade and a half."

"Is that so? So, uh…what're your thoughts on the series?" Gavin asked, although his inflections made it easy to tell it was taking a lot of restraint to not immediately take over the conversation.

Ashely smiled at that. "I dunno much about it, I just remember the girl from the second game; she's the one with that scarf, right? She seemed really nice. What's her story?"

"Her name is Emily Kaldwin!" Gavin began with pure enthusiasm. "In the second game she's an empress, but she appears as a kid in the first game…"

Shortly after class ended, Gavin and Ashely walked out of the building, still talking.

"-so yeah, that's the simplified version of Prey's premise."

Ashely chuckled. "I'd hardly call all that neurology jargon simple. So do you have lunch break now too?"

Gavin nodded. "Yeah, suppose I should get going-" before he could finished Ashely waved it off.

"Not a chance, mate! We haven't finished our convo until I've done at least half as much talkin as you! C'mon, if we hurry we can get there before there's a line!"

Gavin stared at her. "R-really? I don't wanna be a bother- hey!" He cried as he was immediately pulled along by the hand. Ashely didn't let on but she could feel the boy's pulse skyrocket.

"Ah swear, this boy desperately needs someone…" She thought to herself.

Ashely cheerily placed her tray down at a raised table by the glass walls of the mess hall. Opposite her was Gavin, staring at the meal of 2 radically different burgers, fries, fruit, and milk that dwarfed his half portion of chicken and rice with a cup of diet soda. "Now then…" Ashely began. "Speak yer mind! Ya clearly got sumthin onnit."

Gavin shifted in his seat. "I mean, Ashely-"

"Ashe."

"...Ashe, I just never thought people like you actually existed."

"Waddya mean?"

"I mean the kind of person who… just all of today. Seeks out introverts, shows a legitimate interest in them, drags them by the hand to go get lunch…" Gavin looked at the window, trying to avoid eye contact as he reddened.

Ashe started laughing. "Ya really are just like me brother!" Gavin jolted and gave a puzzled look. "Remember how I told ye bout his game collection? Well a few years back I asked him why he played so many games. Know what he told me? It was the cheesiest thing, but so understandable to me."

Gavin had a small smile. "I...I think I know. It's why I play games…"

Ashe nodded. "That's why I seek people out. When you told me how you pmayed Dishonored I knew for sure you were like him. People who think that way are wonderful people, don't let anyone tell ya otterwise."

Gavin pulled his scarf around his face.

"What are- awwww, ye blushin'?!" Ashe teased, to which Gavin pulled his hood down, only making her laugh more.

As the two walked out of the cafeteria, Ashely unzipped her Sukaja. "Man, bloody weather skyrocketin'…" under her jacket was a crimson shirt with the word Valkyrie across it and a winged helmet, but that wasn't what got Gavin's attention.

"H-hey, are you alright?!" He exclaimed.

Ashely looked at him puzzled, before realization dawned on her. "...oh! Ye mean-"

"Your arm, it's bruised to hell and back!" Gavin replied. "Sh-should I take you to the clinic or-" before he could finish Ashe waved it off, although she was smiling wide.

"Nah, don't worry bout it. Ya know what Roller Derby is?" Ashe asked, to which Gavin stared in awe.

"Seriously…? That's… that's awesome!" He cried.

Now it was Ashe's turn to turn a bit red. "Ye really think so? Most people say stuff about how I'm just gonna get my body broken, irresponsibility and unladylike, all that crap…"

Gavin scoffed. "Screw that, Derby girls are friggin badass! That stuff is like ice hockey, except the Canadian league where you have to be able to handle getting the absolute shit kicked outta ya!" He sighed. "Honestly, I wish I had half as much capability as people who do stuff like roller derby." He looked back up to see Ashe smiling wide.

"Well aren't you fullla surprises? Most people don't even mention the bruises, they getreal uncomfortable." As Gavin was about to reply, an alarm started beeping and Ashely checked her phone. "...a bleedin 'ell…" she quickly pocketed it. "I gotta get ready for me next class. Catcha later, yeah?"

"Yeah, sure!" Gavin replied. "I'll, um… I'll see ya around."

With a smile and slap on the back, Ashely ran off, leaving Gavin standing there in contemplation.

As Riley lay snoring lightly under three separate blankets, Gavin wrote in a small leatherbound book, the only light being the moonlight coming in through the window pane.

Y/ZZ/20XX: Today I met someone who i hope I get to know as much as possible. Ashely Hyles from music class. She's Scottish, into roller derby, takes Martial Arts, (probably has beautiful singing voice), awesome fashion sense, really really nice. Can't let Riley figure it out yet, will never hear the end of it. Still, hope we become good friends. Feel like I can speak with her without having to act different than how I really am. She even understood why I love so many games; they give me a chance to escape to a world where i'm something greater, someone better… no one has ever been so understanding right off the bat. I don't think I have feelings for her, but there's still something about her that makes me already miss her.

P.S. Riley I swear to fucking Christ on a bike, if you read this again then you better keep your trap shut cause if you tease me or something you'll wake up missing a kidney.

Retcon: Ashely is scottish. Deal with it. (She can speak American English with a slight amount of conscious effort though, so no rewrites are necessary)

On a completely unrelated but important note, thinking of adding some new villains. Enemy leaders and the like, people like Ursula or Ephidel, or to take examples from other games: people like Narcian and Valter, the irredeemable bastard who serves the villain without fail. Not Galle/Gale or Murdock types who are very much redeemable/good people with noble intentions but are just on the wrong side. If you have any suggestions please DM me, do not reply to this through a review. The more the merrier so don't hesitate to leave a suggestion. Disclaimer: these characters will not be used for major chapters, but they will still have a crucial role in the story due to a certain...event.

Seriously it would help a lot. There is one qualifier: these villainous figures are all in complete service to Bern (they can be loyal to others but they must be first and foremost loyal to Bern). Oh and remember these will be original but still treated as if proper fire emblem characters. Please keep that in mind when penning a suggestion.

Here is a rubric for a detailed character submission, if you want to have a bit more control over your suggestion as opposed to just throw something out there for me to potentially misinterpret. Asterisk denotes not important

Name:
Gender:
Alias(es):
*Age: (at least vague estimate)

*Height:
*Body type:

Appearance:
-*skin tone
-*eye color
-hair color
-armor/clothing
-mount if possesses one

Full Bio or TLDR summary:
-goals, ambitions, etc
-already established relationships

Personality:
-motivations
-*relations with other characters
-defining traits

Class:
-unique or prominent combat methods/tactics
-tactical abilities and priorities
-unique weapon if they posses one

*[Optional]
Quotes to demonstrate speaking style and attitude
Music theme (can be instrumental or lyrical, and be from any source)