When I decided to host the mega again a bit ago, I had no idea what to make it about (of course). So it fell between two topics: a post on the importance of sleep, or a post on just how much I love Fire Emblem: The Sacred Echoes. Well, I felt like the importance of sleep was well-known, and could always wait for the next time I host a mega. I wanted to make sure I hit the Sacred Echoes iron while it's hot, because I've almost finished my play through at this point, and it might genuinely be one of the best games I have ever played.
Sacred Echoes feels so polished, considering it's a fan-made romhack of Sacred Stones, with the goal of bringing the 3DS game, Shadows of Valentia (SoV), to the GBA. Everything about the game aesthetically is very well-done, from the portraits, to the battle sprites, and literally anything else that could be thought of about a game. This includes new character writing, which helps the game in areas where Shadows of Valentia was a little, well, off. That's what I want to go over first, and although I've made a post before, I had only played a little bit of the game. Being at the end, I've noticed more things, and grown to appreciate this game even more than I already did.
Let's start off with the relevant (and interesting) bits: Sacred Echoes actually does a really good job at representing a variety of backgrounds, while also being diverse in a way that doesn't feel like it's simply to have a token character. This game doesn't suffer from the cracker curse, for example. Although most of the characters are white, there is more than one person of color (
) . In terms of LGBTQ+ representation, it's even better. There are many gay/lesbian characters, whose sexuality actually plays a role in the plot and how they interact with others. There's also an aroace character, Lukas, who goes through a whole arc of self-discovery in his support conversations (support Python). It's good stuff, and not things I would normally expect from a Fire Emblem game. I hesitate to bring up the (possibly) only trans character in the game, Jesse. HOLD ON, NO HESITATION AT ALL! I just decided to do more research, and I wasn't just projecting. He is 100% trans, and it's in supports, and it's relevant to his plot and backstory, so it's just like the rest of them, thank goodness, I was worried he was a token. So yeah, support Clive and Jesse. Good stuff, and good luck getting to the end of the game so they can actually meet, one fights for Alm and the other for Celica...
This is Jesse
Here's some dialogue between Clive and Jesse, in the context of a will:
Clive: Only the following will be yours - your mother's wardrobe, her jewelry box, and all corresponding contents.
Jesse: Urgh. Even from halfway in the grave he's trying to tell me what to wear. So yeah, he's still the same tyrant he always was. Hasn't changed a bit.
In terms of character background, it's more diverse than one would think, and it addresses the issue of feudal class. Not all of the characters are nobles, and one of the main characters is a commoner from a random village. The plot regularly deals with the fact that nobles and commoners do not get along. However, it does not try to redeem most nobles. If they aren't proving themselves with their actions, they're probably shitty. Even if they are supposedly "one of the good ones", there's usually some underlying prejudice that comes out when you might not expect it. I love it so much, and I am extremely impressed that the plot doesn't try to redeem nobility as a whole, but rather allows the noble characters within the cast to have character development that feels less like justification and more like re-education.
Pictured is the class traitor Lukas absolutely destroying Fernand
For other details about the story, I'll link my original post. I don't want to drag this on too long, and I mention most of the improvements there. It also includes where to find the patch for the game, and how to play the game for yourself. If you enjoy SRPGs, or are new to the genre, I recommend this game. It has an easy mode for the newbies, and hard mode for those of us who hate ourselves (/s), and a normal mode for everything in-between 
The Echoes cast is amazing, and I love how they interact with each other and the world. Each character stands out, and they feel unique in their relationships with the other characters. Even characters that suffer in SoV, like Faye and the Masked Knight (has a name but it's spoilers), benefit from the Sacred Echoes writing, making them actually enjoyable characters. The villains of the game are also great. I don't want to go too deep, because I don't want to spoil too much, but they aren't just pure evil, and for that I applaud the SoV writers. Berkut is probably the highlight of the game, being the heir to the throne of the empire. I am once again asking you to play the game, because IT IS SO GREAT, and I would not have expected these good of villains to pair with Alm and Celica, as well as their armies.
Pictured is the Masked Knight being a gay little guy. The other guy (Saber) is threatening his life...
Everything about the game design is also amazing. It's GBA Fire Emblem, so the animations are peak and the pixel art is stellar. The maps are improved from the original SoV maps, and they are definetly much better, and much less repetitive. Classes in the game are fun in how they work, each character being able to promote 2-3 times. Mages also work really uniquely and well in this game, with spells costing HP to cast. They learn spells as they level up, rather than by purchasing tomes, which makes for (in my opinion), better gameplay. Sacred Echoes also adds the GBA weapon and magic triangles!
All in all, Sacred Echoes is a great game, and even if you never ending up playing it, you now know of its existence. It stands out as a great romhack, as well as a great Fire Emblem game, AND it has the gay. Can it really get better than that?
If you want my original (and more in-depth) analysis, check out my original post. It's mostly about what Sacred Echoes improves upon the original Shadows of Valentia.
Hope you enjoyed my little nerd-out session, and have a good week everyone! 
DOWNLOAD SACRED ECHOES: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/o9v75blehaid1re2i8qou/ALhV8LN1A59jdFIP6HYRH3c?rlkey=d7fl1m8qh9gl7ztmnim33euu1&e=1&dl=0
PATCH TO AN EXISTING SACRED STONES ROM: https://www.marcrobledo.com/RomPatcher.js/
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hi, does anyone wanna make the mega in the upcoming weeks? if so, reply to this post and i'll add you to the list!
the list as it stands:
Eco* (10/7 - 10/13) oscardejarjayes* (10/14 - 10/20) HelltakerHomosexual* (10/21 - 10/27) GayTuckerCarlson* (10/28 - 11/3) Luna* (11/4 - 11/10) * after name denotes someone who has posted before and will be skipped by first-time posters
chat, i'll be doing another trans survey soon, though this time it will be much more in detail and hosted on cryptpad (for security) and anonymous. do you have any questions you're dying to ask your little trans friends here?
Hello everyone 👋 I'm a refugee from the bloodthirsty land of reddit and very happy to be here. Will take me a minute to adjust to people not constantly war mongering for battles they will never fight in or assuring me that "Putin is just bluffing " (but also will take over the world if he isn't stopped )
Oh and killing children with Battery bombs is "Kingsman shit"
Anyway if my account didn't get approved here , I was about to have my doctor contact the mods and request emergency approval on the basis that reddit is giving me brain cancer
I'll admit it was gender affirming at first, but now it's starting to get annoying that so many guys just assume I'm clueless about everything.
misgendering, dysphoria
Like a good third of my peers at my job aren't even attempting to respect my name or pronouns. Like even in the slightest. And it's actively making me feel so much worse than I felt before I asked this of everyone, which low key has me regretting coming out.
Before I changed my name there, I was sort of ambivalent to my birth name and male coded language. I recognized they weren't my preference but I didn't hate them. Now that I have an environment I go to every day where everyone there knows my preferences and I have an expectation as to how I want to be interacted with, I feel so distressed when that expectation isn't met. I can't stand to hear people call me my dead name anymore. And honestly this goes for everyone. Now that I've gotten a wee taste of that expectation, it feels like such a punch to the gut when anyone calls me that, even people who have no idea I'm trans. I have never longed for the instant gender swap button more in my entire life. I HATE that my body is preventing me from getting basic respect. For fuck's sake. Also would it kill the guys to stop insisting on calling me "man"? It seriously feels so intentional at this point.
One of them opened a text yesterday with "Hey [dead name]," which they have never historically done. They usually just open with what they want. It's like, is everyone so insistent on actively demonstrating to me that they could not care less about me?
It's not all bad I guess. I know who my real ones are now. The ones who have been so wonderful and who originally made me feel so good in the first zoom call after my initial request.
I tagged this with dysphoria because honestly I'm still not quite sure what qualifies as dysphoria.
⚠️ Alert ⚠️
⚠️ My facial hair is falling out ⚠️
This is not a drill.
I know I just said like two days ago the laser therapy wasn't working, but it just started falling out, and now there are hairless patches.
I am entering reverse puberty. The hair came in patchy, and it will leave me patchy.
Pour one out for a real one, folks
My beard had a legendary run 
Wish I could gift it to a transmasc, but it's only fate now is to be subject to the ion cannon.Idk how some girls have the confidence they do X amount of months into transition and I’m at X amount of years and have none.
I've reached an important milestone!
CW: Self harm
It's been over 2 weeks since I last cut myself. The large, gaping wound I got from last time scared me so much that I've pretty much completely lost the urge. It opened my eyes and made me realize I was going down the wrong path. It feels so nice to no longer be dealing with this, it really just made everything worse for me.
Is it girl coded for my wife and I to say we're ugly but actually insist that the other one is pretty?
just worried about the future, dysphoria
I really hope I'll get a good looking dick and my partner will be attracted to me
my mind has been somewhat poisoned by some very hateful comments from someone I once trusted a lot
Piercings, mildly nsfw, I whine
The cool queers, chat! I found them, in our town!!! They aren't just in my phone, they exist at the tattoo & piercing place!!
And it is a terrifying reality
I could have died holy shit. Cool queer trans tattoo artists and piercers where my wife was getting nipple and tongue piercings, and I barely managed to speak a single fucking word.Mostly I stood petrified by terrible anxiety while the bespectacled apprentice kept stealing looks at me. I am usually a pretty plain gay, dorky, it confuses me that very cool queers would perceive me. I kinda wish they wouldn't, almost...
I felt The Tism really powerfully today, I could really perceive every eye contact fail, it was harrowing weh. I felt so so fucking awkward, didn't even know where to stand smh. It became very clear very quickly that I would probably fumble any interaction with actually cool people and I should stay inside. Be
and talk to cool queers online only. I'm not just allergic to grass, it threatens my life.Also apologies to anyone who thought I was cool, I am actually a total dweeb
Least favorite effect of estrogen: I can’t clean up dog shit without almost puking. My wife could never clean up dog shit so it’s always been my job and now I’m constantly at risk of making an ever bigger mess than what I’m cleaning up. What the fuck.
recently i've been feeling so weirdly confident in my presentation that i feel like getting misgendered is the other person's problem not mine. What, you can't tell a pretty girl when you see one? what are you? fucking dumb?
