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waltzoidEarlier this week, I reviewed Dustbringer Terra's Everyone just calm down! No skewering! No disintegrations!, and marked it as the first strike from my list of Fire Emblem fanfic recommendations from across the Internet. Luckily, I've found three more one-shots that satisfied me a bit more than "Calm down", which I would have kept had it not whiffed its punchline.
Author: IChallengeMyFate
Series: Fire Emblem: Awakening
Length: ~1,700 words
This short story takes place during the Future Past DLC timeline and concerns Lucina finding an old painting of her late father, Chrom, and lamenting not knowing much about him before he was killed in the war against Grima.
As for her mother, well... the twist about her is pretty obvious even for those (like me) who didn't play the Future Past chapters, but knowing the secret doesn't diminish the effectiveness of the shock Lucina feels once she puts the pieces together in her mind.
homeroom (or, if we're not recruited in 15 minutes, we're legally allowed to leave)
Author: Schistosity
Series: Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Length: ~10,000 words
homeroom puts a funny P.O.V. twist on a lot of Three Houses players' favorite pre-war activity: scooping up as many students as you can from other houses. But what happens to the ones who get left behind?
In Edelgard, Hubert, Claude, and Hilda's case, they have no choice but to band together and try not to annoy each other while Byleth and her massive class of Blue Lions are away doing all the plot-important stuff.
I feel this fic is at its best when it steps back and lets the characters bounce off each other through playing games, crafting, or reading some unusual documents Claude smuggles into their classrooms. There are a few scenes that are only a few sentences long and can safely be skipped over. Still, I laughed out loud more than once, especially during the scene where the group has Fódlan's version of the "ant-sized bear vs. bear-sized ant" debate.
How Beruka Destroyed But Then Saved Christmas!
Author: The Anomalocaris
Series: Fire Emblem Fates
Length: ~3,000 words
While we're still a few months away from Christmas here in meatspace, the idea of the stoic Nohrian assassin Beruka being forced to play Santa Claus after killing the real one is something I didn't think I'd ever see, much less like. It's two parts "A Visit from St. Nicholas" (the poem everyone calls "'Twas the Night Before Christmas") and one part "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" (the section featuring Garon).
Aside from a few stanzas at the beginning with one too many lines and some inconsistent meter, the core of the poem -- grumpy-pants Beruka being forced out of her comfort zone for doing her usual job -- is rock-solid. My favorite moment is when Beruka gives Garon a lump of coal for being on Santa's "naughty" list...and Garon liking it!
My Rating: So, yeah...all three of these get to stay. If I had to pick a favorite just from these three one-shots, it would have to be homeroom just because it's longer and gives the characters more time to interact.
