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! 
Join our public Matrix server! https://matrix.to/#/#tracha:chapo.chat
As a reminder, be sure to properly give content warnings and put sensitive subjects behind proper spoiler tags. It’s for the mental health of not just your comrades, but yourself as well.
Here is a screenshot of where to find the spoiler button.
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?
Is it the general gender identity survey again, or a trans specific one? If it’s the general, I’d like to see an identity over time question (how did you identify before / how do you now), and to separate cis-by-default and cis-because-they-feel-it. I think a lot of people will want to know how common their journey is. Personally I went from cis-by-default to cis-because-internal-feelings and want to know how common that is.
general gender identity survey again
im not really following, if you could write that out as like a multiple choice question, could you?
Yeah, but my sleep meds just kicked in. Pester me if I forget to get back to you.
I am curious about a couple of intersectional things about neurodivergence/a-spec identities, just simple things ig like "Would you classify yourself as ‘neurodivergent’?’ and ‘are you a-spec’ etc.
Not sure if that’s appropriate for a survey like this, though
I feel like it would be a landslide because neurodivergent is kinda vague. Like, is anxiety/depression neurodivergent? If so pretty much every trans person is without doubt
Did Hexbear crack your egg?
at what age did you realize you might be trans, and how long did it take to accept it?
at what age did you realize you might be? what do you mean “realize you might be”? like when the thought first floated through your head or?
good question. I guess personally I’m more interested in when people first started to seriously consider being trans. thinking back, even before I learned about the existence of trans people, there were multiple moments over my life where I felt like I was the opposite gender, but I didn’t know what to do with that, so I just ignored it, so I think that would be harder for people to accurately pinpoint.
I’d be curious to see both “At what age did you first realize you didn’t identify with your AGAB or would prefer being a gender other than the one assigned by others?” and “At what age did you realize you are likely trans?” next to each other to see how much of a gap there is for people.
For me there was like 5 years between “i wouldnt mind being a girl” and “i really wish i was a girl”, and then another decade and change before “oh shit i think i might be trans” and then another few years before coming out.
huh. honestly there was only like a two-three month period of my life when i thought “hey i might be trans” and realizing “oh shit”
then again, i do distinctly remember vocally complaining my distaste for being a cis man as early as 14
yeah, for me the gap between “I might be trans?” to “I guess I’m trans ¯\_(ツ)_/¯” was only a couple months. but for a year prior to that the way I thought of it was like “I kind of like thinking of myself as a woman, but I’m not really interested in actually transitioning”, and in the ~12 years before that were when I had those random moments of feeling feminine (and felt dysphoria when there was pressure to be masculine) but didn’t know how to process it.
I hate how it’s all complicated by the stigma around questioning yourself to begin with. I feel like even if I never ever learned that transgenderism was a thing, even if it somehow didn’t exist in society, I could have figured it out sooner if there wasn’t strong social pressure to conform to AGAB.
lmao if there weren’t already a ton of trans people around me IRL I never would have figured it out, I would have just stewed in the dysphoria forever
nsfw, hormone shit
Realising that I would be much happier if genital atrophy was a real thing instead of a myth from imageboards
Sleepover time!
💤
Clicking “Browse by Tags” on Ao3 and receiving mild psychic damage from being shown the tag word cloud
oh no, dont do that. the cissies aint alright
cursed
I was trying to figure out how to search for multiple tags at once so I could find Stuff :3
the search system on ao3 is pretty bad, it’s good once you click into a category and add search parameters and search the tags that way
maybe choose the oc category
Waow look at this advanced search!!! ✨ Thank you :>
np im something of an… expert when it comes to ao3
i could send you my profile,if you want? i have cultivated a bunch of different fics both short and sweet, and long and sexy
karly marx jepsen
Charli MCMXVII
james randi orton
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Holy shit I want to cry and can’t, this is awful.
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I get that a lot too, it takes a lot for me to actually cry
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im on a lot of anti depressants so the joy is great but sadness is really muted
Sleep is important. That’s why I always make sure to stay up late, scrolling through this website. I think I’ve encountered a paradox, where I’m tired but I have things I want to do. My brain then cannot process the fact that I need more sleep, or remember the fact that always have to wake up early in the morning. The paradox continues, I get more tired, I need more sleep, I can’t process why I need that sleep, I keep reading, on, and on, and
on, and… 
Many such cases!
you ever just look at a girl and think that Sappho was a hopeless fool for ever thinking she could possibly capture the beauty of a woman in the form of mere words?
Poor thing
i am completely and utterly devoured by the most sapphic thoughts you could ever conceive of god she is so fucking cute
It might be time to pick up the pen~
i was already thinking that same thing. writing some love notes to her and then just not sending them might make it a lot better or a lot worse. or maybe it would give me something cute to hand over after the dam finally bursts. i’ll be sure to date all of the notes
girls
writing some love notes to her and then just not sending them
Big
energy
So far twilight feels like a very esoteric and surreal curb your enthusiasm episode
This shit was edited like an early ps3 era cutscene wtf
tbf it did come out in the PS3 era
Thinking about getting a tattoo. How bad does it hurt using hair removal laser as a comparison?
Really depends on where on the body you’re getting it from what I’ve heard
Had a Bodymod Guy friend with a full blacked out sleeve that said getting it was like a meditative experience for him, but getting one on the top of his foot was the most painful thing he’s done
genital mention, piercing
For reference he also had a prince albert and subincision and got scarification done on his other arm and I can’t imagine either of those things are pleasant to get done unless you’re a masochist
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I saw pictures of that thanks to this comment
Sorry
It was kinda funny! Harsher than penectomy, kinda.
It’s not the worst I"ve ever seen
weird, nsfw, anatomy
I don’t really know how I feel about sexual anatomy, I guess. I don’t have real positive feelings toward either set of anatomy, (and not much of an opinion about alternatives) they both seem kind of weird. No interesting in inserting, no interest in being inserted into, no interest in any sort of oral sex, so I dunno. I also feel weird about the fact that vaginoplasty would bring my body closer into line with cisnormativity? Maybe that’s kind of stupid but as I grow to like my body more the concept of most surgical processes (other than orchiectomy) seem weird, Idk. Like I have really clear feelings of wanting the fuckin balls gone, but how do I feel about everything else? I have no idea, a mix of ‘weirdly ambivalent’ and ‘against cisnormativity’ about it? I dunno what the right thing for me is anymore. I don’t think I feel that much dysphoria about it? That I think all came from people and society and whatever constantly putting my anatomy into the “Male” box by way of terminology and connotation. Really a moment where I thought of
tbh. Plus, uh, the concept of being flat anatomically down there actually sort of distresses me? Not that I adore this, and tucking to be flat would be cool aesthetically, but I think that may be all?I edited this a lot btw it used to say something else :)
junk stuff, surgery mention
Yeah idk what to make of those kinds feelings personally
I’m broadly a junk-enjoyer when it comes to other people but think my own stuff is uncomfortable and weird, but thinking about changing it is also uncomfortable and weird
An orchi would probably improve my health and lessen dysphoria for me but even though that’s broadly a very safe procedure, any kind of medical appointments are nerve-wracking to me and something about the finality of it feels overwhelming and scary to me
Vaginoplasty is really scary to me despite PPV being something I might really want
I wish gene therapy stuff got to the point where you could just grow the junk you want in a vat and make it all work easy with like no risks of complications
junk/surgery
It is you, finally!!! The PPV enjoyer!!!
it sounds cool you should get it!!
This sums up my feelings surrounding it for me too, mix in intersex & agender and it’s the ongoing conundrum.
I should be sleeping.
Intersex & agender more like GAYSEX & GAYGENDER
it is a conundrum tho…We should be sleeping!!!
I want to solve the lament configuration and have the hooks so I can then bully pinhead when the cenobites show up
but yes we should be sleeping
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When you die, do you want a penis or vagina? (or something else, there’s other options, null, penis preserving vaginoplasty, etc)
Does having a penis bother you? Do you tuck but don’t mind otherwise? When you have a partner playing around down there do you feel like somethings wrong or prefer them to play around in the perianal area between? If you woke up with a vagina tomorrow AND had a reversal pill to be used whenever but only one time - would you want it reversed?
I top exclusively, but I still want bottom surgery (I’d just use a strap on). I’d probably be open to, uh, bottoming with a vagina but it’d absolutely be more like power bottoming lol. I’m not the biggest fan of my penis and I tuck like 14 hours a day. There’s nothing in me that says “no keep that” besides normal apprehension and anxiety before any big change. It can take a while for funding to be approved or for you to get a surgeon, keep track of how you’re feeling wrt down there - you might feel neutral because you’ve been trying to avoid thinking about it at all!
Not every trans woman wants bottom surgery, it’s not a requirement, plenty of women out there have penises and feel fine about having it.
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Uh
ask me again using different terms…spoiler
Oh sorry, I should’ve said I meant purely in anatomical medical terms when I was talking about it lol. I don’t know specifically how you want your own stuff referred to as.
Or did you mean in exclusively non-sexual terms? Like, obviously that’s a part of genitalia but also it affects your self-image if it’s incongruous cause it’s part of your body and can be a pain to move out of the way you wear cute clothes without a bulge (if that’s a goal for you). And null, just nothing is allowed as an option. Or if you go vaginoplasty route but have no interest in penetrative sex or having a canal, you can get zero depth (faster recovery probably too).
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Do you think a trans woman would have very different opinions on her anatomy compared to me?
Fwiw I do also hate “medical” terminology and allosexual framing.
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Oh yeah, fair enough. I use it cause it’s usually neutral and it’s an agreed-upon (by others of course) framework that I can use at work with my colleagues- and it spills over into personal conversations. I’m sorry if it bothered you! I’ll keep that in mind for the future.
Sorry, I don’t keep track of everyone’s identities either - I saw she/her and made a bumbling dumb assumption you were a binary trans woman. There are plenty of trans women or enby transfemme leaning people who feel completely fine and at ease without bottom surgery. How you feel about it, I dunno. If it’s causing you pain or dysphoria, I’d say sign up. As you research surgeons or get in line for funding, monitor how you feel about it.
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Okay so if it’s not causing me pain or dysphoria, is it fine? To be real it sorta
just hit me a while ago, the dysphoria I’ve felt about it comes from people putting my anatomy into the “male gender” box in terms and connotations. Works a looot better to jettison those terms from my brain.spoiler
Yeah re-name it whatever you want! My ex who did bottom surgery while we were together called her stuff “her clitty” before bottom surgery lol. For myself (and I can only speak for myself), the name isn’t the part causing me bottom dysphoria it’s the actual meat that’s causing me bottom dysphoria - so while I want bottom surgery, I have never renamed it or used a different term like plenty of trans femme types have.
If the only pain or dysphoria you feel with it is when people refer to it in the “male biology” box and it literally doesn’t bother you otherwise - yeah, like I said there’s no requirement you have to get bottom surgery. In the 90s and before, bottom surgery was like the crowning achievement of transition and the moment when you “completed” transition. Thankfully that attitude is more and more jettisoned.
I’d say if you feel really on the fence about it, see about getting on a list but keep track of how you feel - cause waiting lists can be quite long depending on where you are. You’re allowed to change your mind at any moment before surgery (cause under GA you can’t lol), including the minutes before surgery. But if literally the only thing causing you discomfort it when OTHER people refer to it in the wrong terminology or they have the wrong connotations about it, I wouldn’t go through surgery just for that.
genital talk
I know that I do not want a penis, and it feels like I should have a vagina in my case? Like, I cannot wait to get this thing off of me.
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I see, I dunno if I have much positive feelings toward any sexual anatomy I guess…
Tap for spoiler
If you want a vagina I’d guess would be an important sign. Personally thought I’d much prefer having one to what I was given long before egg crack (but null also seemed more appealing than my default).
Surgery scary though. And expensive. So, all things considered idk when or if I’d want any genital-related surgeries. Not like I particularly hate what I have, nor does anyone else see it anyways.
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How should you know if you want one though?
I have this thought at least once a day.
Did u figure it out?
super cool i can’t watch tv thru my ps4 because psn is down
Little trans update:
The doctor’s visit went well. I was worried about my testosterone levels going up after I switched from cypro every day to every other day, but when I asked the doctor about it he was like “oh, yeah, you’re still under 0.5” so I guess I don’t have to worry about that. Also,
cw: surgery
I finally asked for a referral for an evaluation for bottom surgery. I still have some reservations about it but I’m interested enough that I want to at least get started on getting approval (if anyone has experience with grs montréal (since that’s the only place they’ll pay for) I’d be interested to hear about it)
Also, a random guy followed me off the bus and asked me out for the first time. So… milestone?
Also I might not be boymoding as effectively as I thought :thonk:
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I had an ex who went through it this year at GRS Montreal! Straight forward for you as a patient, they do the bottom surgery and then you recover for about a week at a different site. There’s a lot of packing at first and you have a Foley catheter, but it all starts coming off slowly over the week. You can watch videos or read the material for exactly what the surgery entails. They keep in touch for after care when you’re at home, including any revisions if necessary. You have to dilate and no intercourse using your new vagina for a few months.
I went to GRS Montreal for my tracheal shave. They’re very nice, they just do trans healthcare they’re all quite sweet about names and your gender etc. Montreal is a nice city, I liked staying there.
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Was she happy with the results?
probably internalized transphobia
One thing I’m worried about is whether it’ll look ‘normal’. Like somehow the thought of having something that looks unnatural or “fake” is more dysphoria inducing than having a penis
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Yeah! I got to see it throughout the whole thing (before we broke up lol).
It looks like a birth vagina, smelled and tasted like one too fwiw. If you’re on hormones for long enough, your skin flora starts changing. She smelled and tasted like vagina before surgery too lo
l
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I know about the taste and smell, but it’s the looks that I’m worried about. A lot of photos I’ve seen look different, but I don’t know if it’s the angle or something else, and I don’t know what it’s like at grs montreal
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I dunno, from the post op neo vaginas I’ve seen in person up close (not just my one ex) they just look like any other birth vaginas to me. It’s not exactly the same but it doesn’t look bad or “unnatural” and I doubt it’s clockable unless you’ve seen like a LOT of both, and sure there are outcomes like dehiscence or a prolapse or a fistula that can make stuff look bad but that’s what surgery revision is for and it can be corrected (also they’re fairly rare).
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One thing I’ve seen a lot of with pictures of grs montreal work is the labia minora meet above the canal instead of below it and I’m worried about that happening. Do you know if that’s typical or if can be fixed in revision?
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I don’t understand what you mean exactly. The labia minora is supposed to converge above and below the canal (otherwise the canal wouldn’t be open). Do you mean above the urethra? Or neo clitoris? I’m not sure.
i have a primary care doc for the first time in 5 years! hes well known around here for gender affirming care. diy E was easy but im gonna go legit for prog and maybe bica. i started hrt a few months ago so he ordered my first hormone panel. also ive been exercising and eating better! feeling rlly good abt life rn :)
