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A thread discussing Theresia and Wilhelm and how their relationship subverts the "Happily-Ever-After" trope 🧵

In fairy tales and romantic fiction (particularly in Western media), the phrase "happily ever after" is frequently used to indicate that a story has a happy and positive ending. This expression is frequently connected to a hero and heroine meeting and remaining blissfully wedded until the end of their lives. For instance, in Disney films, the prince saves the princess, they fall in love, and victorious music plays to suggest that they will live happily ever after.

The audience is given the impression that everything will work out for these folks and that they will always be happy forever. But in reality, this overly optimistic viewpoint is not particularly feasible. In other words it's a simplistic and reductive perspective on relationships. The self-destructive nature of this mindset is mentioned by Joshua Loth Liebman, author of Hope for Man: An optimistic philosophy and path to self-fulfillment.

According to Liebman, "It can never be true that love and marriage are unblemished perfections, for any worthwhile life has its trials, its disappointments, and its burning heartaches."

As everyone knows, being happy all the time is not possible, nor is having a "perfect" marriage in which everything works out. Theresia and Wilhelm's love story is an example of how their relationship isn't fully healthy.

Theresia and Wilhelm's relationship is a prominent relationship in Re:Zero. Both are well-known in the kingdom for their fighting capabilities, having conceived the infamous Heinkel, and most importantly, being Reinhard's grandparents. However, they are best known for their love for one another. That love is even the foundation for a songstress like Liliana to sing about.

Their love is frequently portrayed as something akin to a fairytale. The ideal relationship the ideal love, that one would wish for. Wilhelm, who enjoys telling stories about his wife, also contributes to the spread of this idea.

However, like with everything in Re:Zero, there is more to their story than the world's perception of it. That is, beneath the surface there lies something far more complex and human than magical and whimsical.

But what is their love story? I'll summarize Chapter 5 from Volume 7 of Re:Zero. Wilhelm Trias, the son of a minor noble family, flees and joins the civil war in the Kingdom of Lugunica. He is known as being blunt, brash, and rude, but he is an excellent fighter. Years pass, and on his days off, he visits a Flower field to train. There, he meets Theresia.

They became closer over time, and Theresia became Wilhelm's savior. Wilhelm hears that his family is in danger and rushes It is subsequently revealed that she is the Sword Saint. Wilhelm confronts her about this revelation, and as Theresia departs, he promises to take the sword away from her, citing the anguish it gives her.

The war ends with a resounding victory for the kingdom, and as Theresia receives a medal for her efforts, Wilhelm returns to engage her in combat. He wins and takes on her responsibilities, and they eventually marry, both happily until the whale.

On the surface, this sounds great. Wilhelm saved the woman who became his salvation from ever having to shed blood again because the sword gives her pain.

Wilhelm would also agree with that perception, given that the summary was produced with his perspective in mind for that volume. That both Wilhelm and Theresia managed to continue to live in idyllic bliss from that point on

Tappei, on the other hand, recontextualizes Volume 7 Chapter 5 with Chapter 5 of Volume 20, from Theresia's point of view, demonstrating that Theresia's difficulties extend beyond her dislike for the sword.

A big Issue with Theresia, is her indecisiveness. Theresia's

indecisiveness stems from her fear of hurting others. Her Divine Protection of the Death God (DP of the Grim Reaper) was a major contributor to that terror from a young age.

This frequently causes Theresia to distance herself from others, fearing she may injure them, which is-

which is exacerbated when she acquires the Sword Saint DP. She begins to become a cynic and excludes people from her life, which leads to another problem: Theresia concealing her emotions from others. The convergence of these two issues leads to the larger issue: her-

allowing others to enable her inaction. To absolve her of her own responsibilities, despite never asking them to do so.

We see this happening with Theresia’s brothers and uncle, as they all chose to entirely take on the burden of her responsibility away from her, and onto themselves.

Which eventually led to their demise. Now, there is nothing wrong with sharing the weight with others; however, in the instance of Theresia, they attempt to remove all of her responsibilities and let her sit out.

They are exacerbating Theresia's indecisiveness by accepting responsibility for all of her difficulties. Now in fairness, Theresia was fourteen years old at the time, so it's hard to blame her for not wanting to spill blood, especially as a child.

However, her indecisiveness, as well as her concealing her own emotions persists into her adulthood, leading to her relationship with Wilhelm ultimately being no different from how she interacted with her family.

Yes, Wilhelm made Theresia happy by removing her from the sword, and Theresia hoped Wilhelm would be able to do so. However, it also contributes to her indecision and emotional concealment.

Wilhelm absolves her of all responsibility, not only shouldering the weight of the sword saint, but also taking on too much of it as well. Theresia isn't even given a chance to consider this decision or her sentiments-

about her own existence as the Sword Saint, as the text portrays Wilhelm "forcibly intervening" whenever Theresia ruminates on her innermost worries concerning it. Rather than addressing the basis of her problems and the underlying emotions associated with them, they would-

simply cover them up. Battle Ballad even depicts Theresia's sorrow over the number of demihumans she has slain, which Wilhelm never discusses with her or attempts to reconcile. This continues long beyond their early adulthood, with their now-adult son and young grandson-

Heinkel and Reinhard. When their family starts to fracture as a result of Louanna's absence, Heinkel's downward spiral begins, propelling him to his current state. Theresia is said to have recognized the difficulties but did nothing about them. She is still as indecisive-

as she has been since she was a child. Now, I don't expect Theresia to have solved everything; familial problems are far more complicated than just one person being to blame. However, the fact that she didn't even attempt to try is the root of the problem, demonstrating-

that none of Theresia's primary issues were ever fully handled during her retirement. Now, I'm not suggesting Theresia should have stayed as the Sword Saint, nor am I claiming that her views about not wanting to kill are unjustified. We observe that even when she takes on the role of the Sword Saint, she is still running away from her difficulties, suppressing her emotions while fighting on the battlefield.

Rather, I'm attempting to convey the impression that Wilhelm "saving" Theresia from the sword also prolonged those issues that she never fully addressed. Wilhelm and Theresia's relationship just demonstrates that even the most idyllic relationship on the surface is far from flawless. That "happily-ever-after" is much more of an illusion, as these two had their fair share of disagreements with one another, despite Tappei completely subverts this intricate relationship from a different perspective, that of the saint rather than the devil.

[paperandhis-paper]

MASTERLIST ✍🏻

Hi! This post is a huge collection of all my writing tips in one place. I will update this list and add new posts✍🏻

Writing Tips

How do i Plot a Book?

Childhood Friends to Lovers Gestures

Showing 'Fear' in Writing

examples of body language and action tags

Writing Trust Issues Tension

Quick Tips for Writing Emotional Tension

How to Write a Ruthless Character

Showing 'Anger' in Writing

12 Emotional Wounds in Fiction Storys

Gestures for Shared Moments

Symbolism in Writing

Instead of "Looked", consider

Words to Use Instead of "Said"

Showing 'Determination' in Writing

Showing 'Confusion' in Writing

Showing 'Anticipation' in Writing

Introduce characters

Showing 'Exhaustion' in Writing

Showing 'Excitement' in Writing

Writing a Morally gray character

Showing 'Jealousy' in Writing

Showing 'Love' in Writing

OC Developement

Eye Color to Define Your OC,

Describe your Main Character sheet

Body type and shape

Good Traits Gone Bad

Dialogues

Dialogue Prompts that Hurts

Jealousy Starters

Dialogue Prompts for Friendship

Dialogue Prompts for Unrequited Love

Gestures of Loss

When A Character Is dealing with anxiety they…

When A Character Is hilariously confused they…

Isolation Starters

Regretful gestures

Undermining Confidence Starters

When a character is Babysitting for the first time

Control Starters

Guilt-Tripping Starters

Soft angers Dialogue

Gaslightning Starters

Emotional Blackmail Starters

When A Character Is stuck in a never-ending traffic jam they…

Dialogue Prompts for Mystery/Thriller

When A Character Is dealing with an overenthusiastic fitness trainer they…

Confidence Starters

Prompts

Physical Intimacy Prompts

forced proximity prompts

When A Character Is feeling nostalgic they…

When A Character Is excited about something they…

Prompts for self-Doubt

When A Character Is excited about something they…

Grumpy & Sunshine Affection Prompts

Moral Dilemmas Prompts

when a Character us stressed they…

Supernatural Elements Prompts

Family Secrets Prompts

When A Character Is in a state of panic they…

Inner Conflict Prompts

Twist Prompts

Conflict Prompts

Signs of ….

Signs of Embarrassment

If You’re Writing a…

How to Create a Villain

If You’re Writing a Female Character, Avoid these Bad Writing Mistakes

Emotionally reserved characters

If you’re writing a character who is Naive

Writing Love

How to Write a Confession of Love

forbidden love prompts

When A Character Is in love they…

Signs of Falling in Love

Gestures for Expressing Love

Love Triangle Gestures

Writers Block

Ideas to Get Rid of Writer's Block Inspo

[paperandhis-paper]

If Priscilla lived on Earth she'd be your typical Tumblr user. Her type is kissable girls and also pathetic old men.

[paperandhis-paper]

I need this with Subaru

[paperandhis-paper]

Expressing 'Anger' in Writing

Jaw clenching tightly

Hands balling into fists

Veins throbbing visibly at the temple

Eyes narrowing to slits

Breathing becoming quick and shallow

Stomping or heavy footsteps

Voice rising in pitch or volume

Flushing or reddening of the face

Throwing or slamming objects

Brows knitting together in frustration

Lips pressing into a thin line

Teeth grinding audibly

Staring with a hard, fixed gaze

Sarcasm dripping from every word

Snapping responses or barking orders

[paperandhis-paper]

Re:Zero fans be like: "Re:Zero is my obsession, my favorite story of all time. I will spend hundreds of hours researching wikis, reading the most obscure side-stories and long character analysis, so I can craft my theories and write my fanfictions. Also, I have no idea how to spell Chursh's name."

[paperandhis-paper]

“NOW I SAY, I SAY, LISTEN HERE LASS. YOU AND YOURE FRIEND MA-DOKE-KA SAW FIRST HAND THE RESPONSIBILITIES THEM MAGICAL GIRLS GOTTA HANDLE -Bless that lil Lass Mami’s heart- NOW I SAY I SAY I KNOW HOW MUCH THAT YOUNG VIOLINIST BOY MEANS TA YA BUT IS THAT THERE CONTRACT WORTH SIGNING FOR HIM?! THAT THERE KYUBEY WONT EVEN SHOW YOU THIS’OL CONTRACT, NOW I SAY, I SAY THAT LIL FELLA IS SHADIER THEN A FOX UNDER A PALM TREE!”

[paperandhis-paper]

Guy who's never seen a Bus before: "Huh, this is just like a frame rule."

[paperandhis-paper]

handling rich girlfriends (except the last one)

[paperandhis-paper]

*Walks up to gay couple

"So, which one of you is into aliens, and which one of you believes in spirits?"

[paperandhis-paper]

homura saying shut the fuck up terf for all your “homura saying shut the fuck up terf” needs 

(please reblog if you use, thanks)

[paperandhis-paper]

the inner workings of her mind are an enigma

[paperandhis-paper]

What your favorite Re:Zero Ship says about You!

(Obviously inspired by Eldena Doubleca5t's videos)

Emilia/Subaru: you've always had a thing for the "knight who's willing to die for his lady" trope, but one day you said to yourself "you know what's better? A knight who HAS died for his lady, and will happily continue to do so".

Rem/Subaru: your heart shatters every time the phrases "I love Emilia" and "Who's Rem?" are uttered. You are desperate to get Sloth IF animated, but not desperate enough to actually read it.

Ram/Subaru: you are a firm believer in the inherent eroticism of getting dunked on.

Priscilla/Subaru: you want Priscilla to step on you. Moving on.

Crusch/Subaru: you want Crusch to step on you. Moving on.

Reinhardt/Subaru: you love the idea of the strongest man in the universe being weak for the literal weakest. Pride IF is your jam.

Julius/Subaru: you liked the aesthetics of Reinhardt/Subaru, but you thought it'd be hotter if they fucking hated each other.

Otto/Subaru: your favorite relationship dynamic is BoxXBoytoy.

Felix|Ferris/Subaru: you have very politically-incorrect thoughts about Bridget from Guilty Gear.

Julius/Anastasia: you liked the knight and lady dynamic of Subaemi, you just thought the knight should...you know...actually act like a knight (also, you like the color purple)

Geese/Fortuna: you wish Emilia grew up with a happy family. You probably like SAO.

(Spoiler Ships after the Read More)

Al/Priscilla: you would've shipped Subaru/Emilia, but you didn't think he'd died for her ENOUGH.

Vincent/Chisha: you are always down for Yaoi so doomed any attempt at undooming it just makes it even more doomed.

Wilhelm/Theresia (technically not a spoiler, but most info remains to be in the anime, so throwing it here just in case): their scenes make you weep uncontrollably. The Wilhem EXs are the single greatest thing Tappei's written in your mind.

Carol/Theresia: you are always down for gals being pals.

Carol/Grimm: you just want to enjoy a perfectly healthy relationship in this series for once.

Crusch/Fourier: you just want good things for Fourier. And really, who wouldn't.

[paperandhis-paper]

Also applies for Al.

Rezero is so funny because Subaru will be like "how DARE you accuse my close good friend Otto of doing something evil? Otto wouldn't hurt a fly- in fact he would befriend it! He's nice and kind and thoughtful and MY FRIEND! He's just a little guy! Otto would NEVER do ANYTHING evil!" And then we jumpcut to Otto's internal monologue like "I should do something evil."

[paperandhis-paper]

🫵

[paperandhis-paper]

i dont consider myself a 'fashion guru' by any means but one thing i will say is guys you dont need to know the specific brand an item you like is - you need to know what the item is called. very rarely does a brand matter, but knowing that pair of pants is called 'cargo' vs 'boot cut' or the names of dress styles is going to help you find clothes you like WAAAYYYY faster than brand shopping

[paperandhis-paper]