#shenmei

Ils sont pas allés de main morte pour sa blessure.

im tired of stupid sexy designs and wanted to play with vallite style regalia. most of this is inspired by a mash of aquas default outfit and aretes weird sexy strategist armor with a heavy pinch of motif from the pendant and that circular design found on aquas adornments. of course also looked to aquas vallite songstress and aretes princess of valla designs as well but didnt take much from those since theyre largely pretty similar and inspired by the originals as well.

i mostly want her to feel like aquas mother from a time gone by and that looking at aqua invokes the memory of shenmei (basically to mikoto specifically). i feel like arete kept her hair long back in valla, but cut it after leaving it, whether as a sign of her resolve, in memory of her fallen kingdom, or for easier keeping while traveling with her young child in tow.

in terms of build i think her canon figure is mostly fine; shes curvier and more endowed than aqua is, but still has that similar characteristic willowiness that makes her a fluid, almost languidly smooth sort of dancer. in terms of voice, shes an even better singer than aqua is - where aqua is plaintive and somewhat breathy, arete is clear, bold, and effortless, with a range that extends slightly below that of her daughter.

we dont really get much of her, even with what heroes shows us, but i picture her as confident, resolute, and somewhat strict; every inch the queen on the outside, but soft with those she cares for in private. i think her a little vain, but more in that she believes appearances matter, both as a queen and as a performer; she knows she is beautiful and takes care to keep it as part of her arsenal. shes honestly perfect for the nohrian court and likely had to redouble her efforts to maintain her dignity during her brief period as garons queen consort.

by those who remember her, i think aqua compares herself to her memory most, faraway as those memories are, likely exacerbated by mikotos sometimes unwittingly thoughtless remarks meant more as compliments in relation to the way she sees sister she lost in her niece. aqua lacks her confidence and thinks herself quite plain in comparison; a pale, gangly, and awkward imitation of her mother, who seemed to bask in the spotlight.

mikoto probably has her own feelings of inferiority, as well. if shenmei was queen consort of valla, this means mikoto was not royalty, but merely related to it. (opposite being that if the “arete, princess of valla” cipher card is considered canon, that would make arete queen regnant and aquas father king consort, making mikoto royalty. this is a minor thing on my end bc iirc aquas father was the one trying to calm anankos when he was killed, which means the primary power of the bloodline was through him, making him king regnant. shenmei should likely not have those same abilities and therefore should not be able to use the pendant, but like royalty and nobility and fun blood mixing nonsense and whatever im not gonna get into weird speculative territory with it lol. point being that the princess of valla card is likely noncanon with her having the pendant despite being depicted with it) mikoto was by no means not pretty, but she looks near nothing like her sister, and shes noted to be somewhat air headed at times, with her primary virtue being her kindness. im sure she had her own issues being compared to what shenmei was, but also deeply adored her as well, enough that i think she likely encouraged aqua to embrace what little remains of their shared heritage in secret.

honestly, i think its a horrible shame we got all of nothing about mikoto and aquas relationship as adoptive mother and daughter when the text explicitly states them as aunt and niece, to the point where the detail of mikoto and arete being related at all feels incredibly worthless. we get nothing of mikoto and arete and near nothing of mikoto and aqua; simply omitting that they were sisters would change basically nothing. not to get too into the whole incest debacle, but i personally dont particularly care if aqua and corrin are related - theyre fictional characters; actual royalty in human history has done worse, and im certainly not advocating incest irl. fates is already a game that lets you romance every one of your own step siblings, so think we are well past giving the point of giving a shit anyway.