u/Atomsk-647R

Title says it all. Thank you

I had a website to get em from and was waiting to buy the seeds until next week, but the site went down yesterday.

I'm new to this kinda thing and I haven't the slightest clue where else I can get these kind of seeds in bulk..

I had what I thought was a good site saved that I could buy em in bulk from but the site went down yesterday..

I had buytreeseeds saved [looked like a good place] but suddenly their site went down yesterday.

So.. I wasted quite a few turns at the Dragon's Gate going for a chest that gave me a Brave Bow [which I was initially excited for] only to find out my archer, Will, cannot use it..

Oh, great & experienced Fire Emblem community, don't me wrong, I am loving this game, but what eye-rolling reason is there for why my archer is unable to use a bow?

Thanks ahead of time!

Anything important or crucial I should be aware of besides character-permadeath?

I'm excited but a bit intimidated - I've only ever liked a small handful of turn-based games, but I can tell from review vids that there's a lot more going on, strategically, with Fire Emblem than with games like Chrono Trigger..

And I am fuckin' loving it. This is How the Wind Shifts makes me feel like I am in high school discovering badass new bands and genres of music again. This is totally the album I should have purchased before Dead Reflection & ABPtD; it is equally hard as it is catchy AF, and is exactly what I wanted from another Silverstein album - a sort of culmination of everything from When Broken is Easily Fixed, Discovering the Waterfront, and Shipwreck in the Sand. And, apparently, they replaced their main guitarist before writing this album? Well, he did a damn good job blending right in right off the bat.

Anyway.. I actually prefer listening to it in my own slightly altered version of the "secret order" [which I'll put at the bottom of the post], but I will mostly talk about it in the order they actually made the tracks on the record.

"Stand Amid the Roar" is yet another awesome opener, and I think it is even better back-to-back with part two, "In a Place of Solace," for a perfect introduction to what I call 'the spiritual sequel' of Shipwreck in the Sand.

I'm really diggin' that weird riff in the second track where the instrument-players are all locked in with those rhythmic stops that goes on throughout "On Brave Mountains We Conquer..." - such a fuckin' banger that sometimes reminds me of how I felt after hearing "Ultraviolet" from MMM for the first time.

Apparently, I had probably heard "Massachusetts" once or twice 20-odd years ago, because it felt quite familiar the whole time listening to it.. like re-meeting someone you had only ever met once, but they left one hell of a lasting impression on you. Awesome song, obviously.

"This is How" is one of a number of songs that I am not entirely sure what they were going for. It is short enough to forgive and it could be played off as a sorta outro for "Massachusetts," but I do not think it works too well like this, or much at all, really. Unfortunately, this is not the only similarly-odd decision on this album. Not bad.. just odd. I will get to the others like it as I go through the tracks..

"A Better Place" and "Hide Your Secrets" are good. Not much notable to mention about them except that I do not skip them.. but I have to admit, that wicked bridge & ending in "A Better Place" are what really makes that song for me.

"Arrivals" is another one of those odd choices on a post-hardcore album, to me. I like the lyrics [and the general concept behind the lyrics of This is How the Wind Shifts], but I do not listen to post-hardcore to get this kind of music. So.. I kinda think these parts of this album actually hurt it, sonically.

I absolutely LOVE songs like "In a Place of Solace," especially when it is not sonically-typical of the band that made it. Nothing else needs to be said. Just listen to it.. it is gnarly as FUCK! I need to make a full playlist of songs like this one day...

Following "In a Place of Solace" [which followed the pace-killing "Arrivals"], I am glad the band noticed a mid-album hump was forming and strategically placed "In Silent Seas We Drown" to refocus. With that being said, "In Silent Seas We Drown" is a crazy container of the some of the heaviest and catchiest things they have ever written, and blends them seemlessly into one song. What's not to like here?

California sounds like a bonus song written for a non-existent re-recording of Discovering the Waterfront, and I am all for it! And who does not like it when a fast & catchy verse or chorus is repeated in a slower time-signature for an epic sing-along outro? I know I sure as shit do!

"The Wind Shifts" I do not mind in a similar manner as the first part, "This is How," but I still do not know what they were going for with these 04 super slow songs. The same lyrical message could have been sent using a far more interesting or appropriate sound to match the rest of the album. But oh well, it is hard to complain when the rest of the album is essentially perfect, and they at least distribute those songs throughout it instead of piling them up together [which I kind of ended up doing in my version of the "secret order"].

"To Live and to Lose" - I thought this was going to be the start of a typical "end of album drag" due to track placement and that it follows "The Wind Shifts," but I was quite wrong. It did not take long for me to start thinking about bands like Radiohead and The Pixies while listening to this, and I quickly fell in love with it. It is kind of a slow song, but a slow song done right for a post-hardcore band.

This is the third Silverstein album I have said this about, but their second-to-last song would be better as the album closer. "With Second Chances" is a way better place to top it off than "Departures." And yes, I understand the irony of saying that when my version of the "secret order" does not finish with "With Second Chances."

And out of the four songs I think are kinda out of place, sonically, "Departures" is easily the best of those.

To be honest, I think it would have been better to have made an EP or something out of "This Is How, Arrivals, The Wind Shifts, and Departures" as a sort of companion-album to a full-length version of "This is How the Wind Shifts," in which the LP would remain heavy & faster throughout [the way it already is].

Final note: the concept-album stuff that bands will sometimes do is always intriguing to me, so I was probably predispositioned to like this album no matter what.

Aaaaand that is it! Been listening to it for a couple of weeks now and it is definitely my favorite Silverstein album, so far.

Here is my preferred version of the track listing - I think the album flows better this way:

Stand Amid the Roar... / ...In a Place of Solace / On Brave Mountains We Conquer... / ...In Silent Seas We Drown / California / Massachusetts / This is How... / ...the Wind Shifts / A Better Place... / ...to Live and to Lose / Hide Your Secrets... / ...With Second Chances / Departures / Arrivals

Welp, I've no idea where to go next from here. And while I know I probably can't go wrong with whichever album is next, I have a strange feeling nothing else they have will match This is How the Wind Shifts.

Maybe I'll go with Short Songs next.. is that album bittersweet? If it is, then it probably will be next unless it is mysteriously terrible or something..

Albums I own in the order I acquired them & numbered 1-6 to identify my favorite to least-liked album, so far:

Shipwreck in the Sand [2]

When Broken is Easily Fixed [3]

Discovering the Waterfront [4]

Misery Made Me [2]

Dead Reflection [6]

A Beautiful Place to Drown [5]

This is How the Wind Shifts [1]

The "When Broken" and "Discovering" albums are also almost tied for #3.. quite difficult for me to honestly decide which I like better.