#‣ ship: edelgard/dimitri (fe).

[wordveined]

Burnished Night

Category: Fire Emblem: Three Houses Rating: PG/SFW Genre: Fantasy Word Count (currently (all parts)): 2635 Status: Incomplete

Summary: A second chance at life is hard to come by; one granted when the first was all but forfeit is unheard of. Even so, Edelgard survives; unprepared to face the Fodlan that greets her when she awakens, but not alone in the slightest.

This is a sequel to Tarnished Dawn. It is highly recommended to read that first, though not necessarily required.

Directory: I (you are here)

***

Chapter One: Woke Up In Chicago (And The Sky Turned Black)

chapter title taken from June by Florence + the Machine

She feels it like a whisper, at first. The hint of warmth, faint but steady in the way it seems to wrap around her where she lays. Edelgard flexes the fingers of her right hand, where the sensation is strongest, and is startled to find that she cannot move them much at all, restricted as they have been by that warmth. Then the sensation tightens; her hand lifts, though not of her accord, and a voice she will always recognize speaks softly near her ear.

"El?"

Dimitri?

Her childhood moniker slips from his mouth like a sigh, all quiet and soft. A beat passes, then another, and when she makes no move to respond, that feeling - his hand, she realizes - tightens again, and something gentle brushes against her knuckles, the touch featherlight. His voice, when again he speaks, hums against her skin there like a vibrato. 

"El, can you hear me?"

His words almost seem to trail off at the end; to quiver, as if afraid to be left unanswered. For how long he has sat at her beside, how many times he has gone without a reply, Edelgard does not know. But she does know that she does not have it within herself to hear his voice tremble again.

When did I become so soft?

It takes far more effort than it should, but slowly, Edelgard manages to crack her eyes open. Just a sliver, enough to make out a portion of the room and some blurry shapes contained within. It must be enough, for she can hear Dimitri suck in a breath and hold it, low though it is. His grip on her hand tightens once more, and as she works on getting her eyes open wider, the blur to her right shifts closer and becomes clearer, and then she finds herself looking up into Dimitri's face as he stares back down at her.

It is a hauntingly familiar position to be in, even if she is bedridden instead of kneeling in defeat. And there are other changes, too. He still wears an eyepatch, his one eye still the same cerulean she remembers; but gone are the deepest lines of fatigue that decorated his brow. Some smaller ones linger still, but he no longer looks to be carrying the weight of the world upon his shoulders. And where before his hair hung unkempt and limp, it is now tied back at the sides - it leaves the whole of his face open and unhidden in a way Edelgard has not seen since their days at the academy, and for a moment it throws her. But whatever shock she lets slip on her features is composed soon enough, and then she opens her mouth to speak.

Or she tries, at least. But what comes out is little more than a croak, the rasp of a voice gone unused for far too long. Dimitri shifts at her side, glances away for a moment before he turns back and there is a glass of water held to her lips. At first she accepts a small sip, then another; before she knows it Edelgard has gulped down the whole thing, her dry, greedy throat rejoicing at the sensation of relief the cool liquid brings. She relaxes back into the pillows with a sigh, and this time when she speaks, her voice is clear, if not a touch quieter than she would prefer.

"... Thank you."

Dimitri nods, sets the glass back down with a quiet clink all without ever taking his eye off of her. Edelgard is a little unnerved by it, at first, but when all she can see in his gaze is concern, rather than resentment, she exhales a little breath she hadn't known she had been holding in. Dimitri gives her hand a gentle squeeze, and it's only then that she realizes he hasn't once let go of it since she awakened - though she is quick to push that thought aside.

There are more important things to focus on than that, right now.

Edelgard clears her throat softly, glad to find it no longer feels raspy or dry. Then she speaks, her voice a quiet hum in the otherwise silent room. "How long has it been?"

"About a month. Wyvern Moon is almost here," he replies. The first thing he has said since she awoke, and though his tone holds composure, it is still soft - and it softens further still as he continues. "I am glad it's not been longer."

A month. This revelation surprises her, but only in the fact that it has not been longer, indeed. When she had used the Hegemon Husk in Enbarr she had been fully prepared to die, and the weakness that had suffused her limbs moments after its power was extinguished had been all-consuming. She still feels some of it, in her extremities and her core, but it is far duller than she presumed it would be. To have awakened after only a month…

Well, it is both a curse and a blessing, she supposes. Clearly the world is not finished with her yet.

"I must extend my thanks to your healers, then," Edelgard murmurs, her gaze shifting to meet Dimitri's once more. "They are clearly very skilled, to have brought me back so quickly."

For the first time, Dimitri’s expression changes, and his lips mold into a small half-smile as he nods. “Mercedes and Marianne have barely left your side, these past weeks. Even when the Imperial Physicians began to waver, they were not deterred.”

Edelgard’s eyes widen in surprise. “The Imperial Physicians? Are we still…?” she trails off, uncertain if she should finish. But Dimitri simply nods again, and answers that silent question all the same.

“We are still in Enbarr, yes. Your condition was too critical to be moved anywhere else,” his smile disappears, and though he does not frown, Edelgard can see that it is more out of restraint, rather than a lack of unease. “Those first few days were… especially rough.”

Though he falls quiet once more, Edelgard can hear his words on repeat in her head. Especially rough. Perhaps she had been closer to death than originally presumed. The thought of that brings a number of questions to mind, but at the forefront of them all is one she knows she has held onto since she remembers looking upon him last. And though perhaps it is not the time, nor the place, Edelgard cannot help herself from asking it of him, anyways.

But she cannot meet his eyes while she says it.

“Why did you let me live, Dimitri?”

He sucks in a sharp breath. Silence follows, thick with tension, and Edelgard wonders if maybe it really was the wrong thing to say. But after a moment that feels longer than it truly is, Dimitri exhales; the sound slow and controlled, and the hand that still clasps hers relaxes its grip as if to let go, but still does not pull away.

“I went into that battle prepared to extend mercy, should you have chosen it,” he says, and in his voice she hears an echo of that day, of the plea he had not given words to but could not hide from her all the same. “And it was not out of pity or sympathy; if anything, it was born out of my own selfish desires.” Dimitri pauses, as if to brace himself, then continues.

“I am done losing the people that I care for, Edelgard. And despite the last five years - or perhaps in spite of them, this includes you.”

Edelgard’s breath escapes her in a rush; only then does she realize she has held it since he began to speak. Her gaze darts back to him, sharp as she meets his one-eyed stare. But no matter how hard she looks, how determinedly she searches, Edelgard can detect no lie in the azure she looks back into; only sincerity.

She doesn’t know how to feel about that.

Maybe he can sense that he’s unsettled her thoughts, for suddenly his hand slips out of hers and he rises from his seat at her side. “You should rest up - I imagine you are still exhausted, given everything. I’ll have a healer come in to check on you shortly.” And before Edelgard can protest, even utter a syllable to the contrary, he slips from the room; the soft click of the door as it latches behind him the only sound left to accompany the mess that is her thoughts.

***

True to his word, Dimitri must have spoken to someone fairly quickly; for it’s only minutes later that Mercedes comes bustling into the room, a basket of what she can only presume is medical supplies clutched in her hands. So when the other woman settles herself into the chair and opens it up to instead reveal a sizable pile of sweets, Edelgard can only raise her eyebrows in shock as she looks upon it. Mercedes must see how wide the Emperor’s eyes have gotten, for she lets out a pearly little laugh before she reaches into the pockets of her dress and retrieves an Elixir bottle from its depths.

“You shouldn’t look quite so surprised, Your Majesty,” she says as she uncorks it and hands it over, mannerisms clearly conveying that Edelgard should down the contents - she does so without complaint. “After all, it has been a whole month since you’ve eaten last, and I find there’s not a better way to both perk someone up and build up their energy than with fresh-baked sweets.”

“Well… I suppose when you put it that way, it makes perfect sense,” Edelgard concedes as she sets the bottle down, lips now curved into a slight smile as she accepts a pastry from the blonde. She takes small, cautious bites at first, uncertain as to how her empty stomach will take to the food; but when it sits without incident, she becomes a little more gregarious in her eating. When it is gone, she is only mildly surprised to find Mercedes at the ready with another to press into her grasp, but Edelgard accepts it without issue. Even prior to her extended rest, she had kept her consumption of sweets and baked goods to a minimum; this feels purely decadent, and given that she lives when before she had fully well expected not to, a little bit of indulgence seems warranted.

When the second pastry is finished, she accepts another Elixir from Mercedes, then settles into the pillows behind her with a sigh. She allows herself a moment to enjoy the sense of calm that has suffused the room, then turns to Mercedes with as much purpose as she can currently muster.

“What can you tell me about all that has happened since the battle?”

Mercedes hums, the sound thoughtful as she closes the basket and sets it aside. She doesn’t seem at all shocked that Edelgard has asked - indeed, she rather looks as though she expected it. “Well, we’re still in Enbarr; several of the healers - myself included - had actually wanted to move you to Fhirdiad, as the School of Sorcery is closer by if any complications were to arise, but your condition was rather unstable, and neither Dimitri nor Hubert would hear of it.”

“Hubert is alive?!” Edelgard can’t help it; she starts at this revelation, pushes herself up from the cushions with as much force as she can muster. She must look near-ready to swing herself out of the bed, for in seconds Mercedes is on her feet, hands on Edelgard’s shoulders as she gently - but firmly -  presses her back into a reclined position. She leaves her hands there, perhaps afraid that Edelgard will try to rise again as soon as she lets go.

“Yes, alive and well. His injuries, while bad, weren’t anything quite so severe as yours. He was up on his feet maybe a week after the fighting stopped,” she explains. All of Edelgard goes limp in relief at her words, sinking into the cushions, and Mercedes sits back down. “I’m quite surprised he wasn’t here when you woke up, actually. It’s been almost impossible to get him or Dimitri to leave your side.”

There it is again. She had almost missed it before, as struck as she had been by the knowledge that her most trusted friend still lived, but with Mercedes saying it so casually, Edelgard can’t help but get stuck on that thought.

‘Neither Dimitri nor Hubert would hear of it…’

‘Impossible to get him or Dimitri to leave your side…’

Hubert, she understands. Of course he would resist her being moved to Fhirdiad, regardless of the resources available there - truthfully, Edelgard thinks he would have resisted even if her condition had been stable, so stubborn is the man. And for him to refuse to leave her but for short periods of time runs par for the course, as it has since her return from exile in Faerghus more than a decade ago.

But Dimitri… surprises her. That he was with her at all when she awoke was enough of a shock; but his earlier admission, coupled with this discovery that he has been remiss to leave her sickbed, is…

Well, it’s rather a lot to deal with all at once.

Edelgard sighs. There is no use dwelling on it, not while she is still bedridden and with other things to worry about. She pushes the thought from her mind, and Mercedes seems unsurprised when she avoids the topic entirely upon speaking again. “What else? I know that Leicester has been ceded to the Kingdom - has Dimitri spoken of his plans regarding it, or the Empire, for that matter?”

Mercedes shakes her head. “Not a thing that I’ve heard. I know that when Claude first left, Dimitri tasked Lorenz with managing all former Alliance lands in the Kingdom’s name, and Hubert has been taking care of matters here in your stead - but outside of that? I couldn’t really say.”

This news feels both unexpected and unsurprising, and it’s an odd combination for Edelgard to contend with. On the one hand, it wouldn’t have been without reason for Dimitri to simply conquer all of Fódlan under the banner of Faerghus, to install loyal, Kingdom-born vassals as rulers over new administrative regions - it’s what Edelgard herself had nearly done, and would have had she been the victor. But such a move would be unlike Dimitri, this much she is certain of, and to instead leave lands in the charge of those who would best know how to govern them… well.

It makes her wonder just what Dimitri has in mind for the future of the continent as they know it.

So caught up in her musings, Edelgard hardly notices as Mercedes rises from her chair; only glancing over when she sets the sweet basket and a few additional bottles of Elixir and water on the chair within the Emperor’s reach. She gives Edelgard a soft smile when she notices her stare. “I think you’ve had enough excitement for one day, Your Majesty. If you need anything or if there’s any trouble, a guard is posted just outside of the room - just ask him to fetch me and I’ll come running.”

Edelgard returns her smile - it’s hard not to, what with the older woman’s calm demeanor being so infectious. All the same, however, she is grateful for the promise of solitude. There are too many things running rampant in her brain to parse through while in the presence of company, and it must be evident in her features for how efficiently Mercedes excuses herself from the room. 

The door clicks behind her, just as it did for Dimitri earlier, and for the first time since she woke, Edelgard is alone with her thoughts.

[gascon-en-exil]

Considering the undeniable fact that Edelgard was written for men and not them, what do you think that says about her lesbian fans? Are they following the wrong character? Or better question, does she truly have a significant sapphic fandom to begin with?

This is a difficult question for me to answer directly, because I'm not a lesbian. I've gotten a variety of comments from queer women addressing issues related to this on my relevant videos, with the range of responses being overall mixed. Even those who can enjoy Edelgard as a bi option (and/or her other F/F prospects) are usually still aware of IS's blatant misogyny in the way they handle their female characters, and acknowledge that these conversations are useful to have.

I think Monica's writing in Hopes sums up very well just how little the writers of these games are thinking about lesbians when they craft these characters and situations. Monica's attraction to Edelgard is treated as one long joke at her own expense, one that Edelgard appears to humor at best but never really understands. It's especially galling because this is the same game that takes a remarkably sober approach to Shamir's attraction to women, both in general and to Catherine specifically. There's also the matter of the M/M subtext, which as ever exists in a blind spot of straight male writers. With Dimidue alone, we have a situation where men are saying stuff like "You are irreplaceable, cherished" and "I cannot know happiness without you by my side" and holding hands and each other's gazes for something like fifteen seconds in an animated cutscene...and still expect us to believe that that's only platonic devotion. (As far as lord + retainer ships go, hold up Monigard and Dimidue side-by-side, and it's very obvious that IS is laughing at the former and isn't aware that the latter could even have romantic dimensions.)

The majority of IS's sapphic material exists in a different, though comparable blind spot: that lesbians exist as profitable titillation for straight men, and are always subject to the male gaze and the potential interposition of a male proxy for the audience (the Avatar, usually) because women's attraction toward one another isn't something to be taken seriously. Out of the various examples of F/F subtext and text in the entirety of FE, I feel like I could claim Heather from Radiant Dawn as maybe the only instance where the writers were thinking of actual queer women - and even then Heather is still mostly mild comic relief.

(As far as "following the wrong character" goes re: the fandom faction wars, there's always been the consistent irony that Rhea is subject to much of the same open objectification, ex. her summer duo alt with F!Byleth, and even gets to be a same-sex S rank as well. Humorously, this parallel or its implications is pretty much never brought up whenever Rhea's getting roasted as the Worst Ever.)

It's difficult to tell exactly how much of Edelgard's fanbase is sapphic. Of course Tumblr and AO3 skew queer as a rule, but those are just two sites; there's also Twitter and Reddit and SF and GameFAQs and 4chan and art sites like Pixiv and DeviantArt. We also know for a fact that at least two of the most prominent and combative elements in the pro-Edelgard side of the fandom are straight/bi men producing F/F Edeleth fanwork...which I remark on only as a counter to the frequent accusation that Dimitri fans are all horny fujoshi. How that does or doesn't play into what you're asking is hard to say - although one of them tends to get rather pissed when anyone brings something like that up and may still be stalking my blog.

It'll be interesting to see what troll anons I get now.

[reunionatdawn]

My Analysis of the Best Paired Endings in 3H (Part 2: Dimitri/Byleth)

Despite the popularity of some of Dimitri's M/M ships, he seemed to be a typical heterosexual man to me. However, his straightness was actually part of what made his character so interesting, ironically. He spent his youth absorbed in masculine activities like hunting, training, and practicing with the sword.

He was willing to TRY and take Sylvain's advice to pick up girls. But he was very inexperienced with women. Chivalry definitely promotes homoromantic social bonding among men. And perhaps because of that very male-dominated culture he grew up in, he deeply yearned for a relationship with a woman.

The tagline for the game was, "Sweet memories twisted by time's cruel hand". Dimitri's feelings for his stepsister may have been only puppy love, but it was his first time emotionally connecting with a girl. It was one of his sweetest memories. That was why Edelgard's betrayal hurt him so deeply. The emotional core of AM is Byleth taking the spot in Dimitri's heart that Edelgard once held.

The developers did not want to write an entirely different script just to accommodate male Byleth. So, they just took out the Goddess Tower scene, S-Support, and paired ending. The loss of which are a huge detriment to the integrity of the story. Dimileth is just as "canon" as its counterpart Edeleth. I don't even think AM's story or Dimitri's redemption make sense unless there was a romantic connection between those two. Dimitri's Goddess Tower event even foreshadows that specific scene, proving that the moment Byleth reached out her hand was written with romantic undertones.

Byleth being female is an integral part of the story of AM. If Byleth represented the divine masculine in CF, then it follows that she represented the divine feminine in AM. She was a vessel for the soul of the goddess, but more importantly she was a human who could directly intervene in the world and support people with her own flesh and blood.

Dimileth is often criticized for being a simple "fixing the bad boy" straight girl fantasy. But it's less cliche than people give it credit for. Byleth and Dimitri are an interesting blend of masculine and feminine qualities. Byleth is a silent protagonist, but I could tell that Dimitri enjoyed her dry sarcastic sense of humor. She was not a typical healer or pegasus knight like most FE love interests, but a deadly mercenary. She was meant to be similar to Glenn, which is why Felix sees her as his rival.

She serves the role of being Dimitri's sword and shield and stood at his side and protected him during the final battle, filling the knightly role Glenn would have if he had survived (and the role Felix serves in Hopes). She was the Seiros to his Wilhelm. Dimitri is one of the very few male characters that Byleth will give her mother's ring to when she proposes. Yes, it is a woman's ring that Dimitri wears. In fact, Dimitri's whole character arc is about rediscovering and embracing the softer feminine qualities he had as a young boy.

The Professor taught Dimitri how to live. In AG, Dimitri told Shez that from the moment he was born, he never felt like his life belonged to himself. He overworked himself because it was the only way he knew how to live. After Duscur he lost everyone, including his best friend, and his life belonged to their ghosts. The only time he could imagine being happy was upon his death, having devoted his life to forming a peaceful kingdom full of joyful citizens. He yearned for someone to stand by his side and give him a reason to live for himself.

I've seen many people online criticize Dimileth because they say Dimitri already had plenty of people that he was close to in his life and his non-Byleth relationships should have played the biggest role in his redemption. But I disagree. The story made it quite clear that Dimitri's support system was totally inadequate for his emotional needs and could not have pulled him from the abyss.

He was not actually all that close to his childhood friends, even before the Tragedy of Duscur, and he did not confide in them about what he was feeling. He said Rodrigue was the only person outside the castle he was close to. Rodrigue obviously cared for him, but he had not seen Dimitri in two years prior to the academy. Dimitri and Dedue shared a very powerful bond. Losing Dedue was the cause of Dimitri’s initial descent into savagery. But Dedue still insisted on being his vassal instead of his friend and equal.

Felix was obligated to fill the role due to his bloodline, but he did not WANT to be the person Dimitri unburdened his heart to. He was constantly irritable and losing his patience in Azure Gleam. Glenn was one of the ghosts who shadowed Dimitri's every move. And Felix said that since Glenn's death, "his memory has followed me around like a shadow." He hated acting as his brother's replacement. In their AG A-Support, it seemed like he was pretending to like the idea of being the right-hand man because of how dependent Dimitri was on him. We see a direct parallel of that scene in AM where Dimitri is hallucinating in the chapel. While Felix certainly felt compassion for him, he was very eager to foist the role of confidant onto Byleth.

Without anyone to lean on, Dimitri acts pretty monstrous. For five years, he tortured and killed people brutally, as if they were not even human. He threatened to kill Randolph's friends and remove his eyeballs before killing him and we can probably assume that he actually did that sort of thing to his other victims. I related so well with Felix because I felt the exact same mix of disgust and pity towards him.

I didn't ship Dimileth because I self-inserted onto Byleth and I wanted to marry him. I just wanted Byleth to accept him. And I don't find it difficult to believe that she would. Because before she was the stand-in for the goddess, she was the Ashen Demon who cut people down with no emotion. She only began to smile when she started teaching his class. He offered his shoulder to lean on when she lost Jeralt, something the other two house leaders didn't do.

The main ideological conflict between Edelgard and Dimitri was how much they are willing to compromise and accept the unacceptable. Dimitri seemed to understand that Edelgard had legitimate issues with the Church of Seiros as well as the existing world order. But he thought that total destruction of that system would require too much sacrifice. It was an interesting moral quandary.

And honestly, there was no easy answer. In an ideal world, there would be no false religion and no such thing as nobility, period. Even most of the nobles in the cast would have been happier to just be regular people. AM certainly doesn't end in a utopia or anything (although it's less status quo than AG). It was about the characters compromising and making concessions with an inherently unjust system because perhaps taking innocent human life is wrong even if it's for a just cause.

The Crest of Blaiddyd is associated with Strength. The Strength Tarot card is the Major Arcana of inner strength. It represents mastering raw emotions in order to bring calm to yourself or a situation. Dimitri was born on the winter solstice making him a Sagittarius, which is a masculine fire sign symbolized by a centaur. The horse portion of the Sagittarius symbol is unruly, relentless, beastly, and strong. The human portion is wisdom-seeking and rational. Dimitri's character arc was about overcoming his anger and hatred and becoming the wise "Savior King" who could reach out his hand to his mortal enemy.

Byleth & Dimitri The marriage of the newly appointed Archbishop, Byleth, and Dimitri, who officially ascended to the throne of the Holy Kingdom of Faerghus, further delighted the people amidst the celebrations of the end of the war. Continuously seeking a better future for Fódlan, they pursued their ideals, gradually reforming the traditional political systems and the structure of the Church. They upheld their roles as leaders of the Church and the state, engaging in intense debates at times. However, when they went on long rides or hunting trips alone together, they wore not the faces of the Archbishop and the King, but those of an ordinary, loving couple.

JRPGs are known for "killing god". AM ends not with you destroying the church but becoming its leader. The people of Fódlan paid lip service to the goddess, but they actually revered Nemesis and the 10 Elites. So much so that Rhea had no choice but to refer to them as heroes and Crests as gifts from the goddess. Fódlan is a patriarchal land. Faerghus especially so.

With Fódlan unified under Faerghus, Byleth acts as the divine feminine force who will change that society from the inside out, just as she did her husband. Is rulership by a benevolent monarch and a matriarchal pope a good enough ending? Well, that's for the player to decide. But I found it to be the best ending, both for Fódlan and for Dimitri and Byleth themselves.

[teaveetamer]

I am curious, I've been watching the discourse going on for a bit without getting involved and at this point I feel like I have to ask.

What is the desired result here? Why are you engaging in the discourse at all? Clearly this is not a discussion, so what do you gain from interacting at all?

(I will send this to several people, just out of curiosity)

Alright anon allow me to explain what's been going on with me on my end.

The year is 2019 (yes, we're doing this). FE3H has just come out. I play it and rather enjoy it actually. I've got a couple of ships that I'm into, some fanfic I want to write, etc.

I go onto Reddit to chat with people about the game. Now I don't really like Edelgard, but I'm chill, I'm open to discussing the game and getting alternate viewpoints. Initially it's more or less fine.

Then some posts start coming up. People start getting really aggressive about this. I'm trying to have a conversation, but it feels like their goal is just to shout me down. I get in arguments, I get in fights, I get misgendered, I get called a bigot, I get frustrated, I get ablest rhetoric spewed at me, and I waste my life.

Stop. Take a look at myself. I'm literally sitting here arguing about Edelgard von fucking Hresvelg for hours of my day. I'm annoyed, I'm irritated, I'm always in a bad mood. Ugh.

Now it's 2020, early times I think. I resolve to stop looking at Reddit so much with regard to this game. It's not worth the hassle and the frustration. I should be, like, out doing things and having fun not wasting my time arguing with a bunch of weirdos on the internet. I want to have fun again, not be angry. I delete the Reddit app from my phone and install a blocker on my web browsers, even.

Start using Tumblr for more than just shippy stuff, and find people who agree with me, who are saying the things I've been saying. I stop feeling crazy for liking the game the way I like it. I make a few posts on my main blog but you know what, I don't really want my main blog embroiled in this shit, though I want to add my voice to the conversation. So I make this side blog.

Make some posts. I get flooded with asks from other people about the game, saying they agree with me and they're thankful that they aren't the only ones who think the way I do. I think within like a month of existing this blog had double the posts of my main blog (which has existed since 2016, so for four years at that point), most of them from asks.

The blog was initially for me to vent and throw in my two cents here and there, but I figure I'll keep it around in regular use because people seem to be benefiting from it.

Early on I tried to establish a rule for myself that 1) I wasn't going to go looking in any main tags (e.g. the Edelgard or Edelgard Positive tags) for stuff to reblog or talk about, and 2) I wasn't going to go into any Edelgard specific spaces looking for stuff to talk about (e.g. r/Edelgard or even Dimitri-critical tags). However, anything maintagged that was looking for a fight (e.g. a Dimitri-critical post in the main Dimitri tag) was fair game.

I'm not perfect, but I did try to stick to that rule. I talked about things that happened on the main FE Sub or FEH sub. I did my best to encourage my anons to not go seeking out stuff to bring back to me from Edelgard spaces. After all, this blog was meant for venting and having my own personal space where I could talk about my views without getting accosted. I thought it would be petty for me to go bring back stuff from other places.

Moving into 2021, I was kind of done with 3H. I was still getting like dozens of asks a day about 3H discourse. I'd answer one and five more would pop up in their place. By now we're like, well beyond 3x or 4x the amount of posts I have on my main blog. I'm getting kind of tired of it. It's a lot of the same points over and over and over. We're in pandemic times, so I can't even walk away from it and do something else IRL for a while before coming back to it. I feel like I'm wasting my life again. I feel like I've said anything and everything I could have possibly said about the subject. I ask people to stop talking to me about Edelgard. Eventually, everyone mostly obliges.

I still chat about it here and there, but I'm chatting about other stuff too. This blog is still about venting just about venting about more than 3H. A lot more petty fandom shit in general.

Now we're in, like, 2022. I don't remember exactly, Pandemic Time makes some of this a bit of a blur. I notice a new kid on the block, doing basically what I'd noticed happening on Reddit. Going into the wrong tags. Picking fights. Posting things in the wrong tags. Picking fights.

I'm over it, I'm done, I don't want to deal with this shit anymore. I block the dude. Most people I know block the dude or ignore him. We figure he's new here, he just hasn't learned the etiquette.

He gets increasingly hostile. I'm not really paying that much attention, just getting info about it from the fringes. Again, we figure eventually he'll just go away if we ignore him.

Then Nilsh gets harassed off the platform.

My mutuals are getting increasingly hostile anons and combative reblogs.

At this point I'm relatively unaffected. I guess because I don't tag anything, so he didn't find it.

And you know what? I'm still like "he'll get bored. He'll leave eventually." We were all like "just ignore him, he'll leave eventually."

People try to explain tags to him. Try to help him curate his experience so he quits arguing with people who don't want to talk to him all the time.

Then Moonlitboar gets harassed off of the platform. They take the URL. He's bragging about having done it. He's spreading this vitriol to other platforms and convincing others to join in on the harassment.

And I'm like. Okay. This dude isn't leaving. This is what he wants. His goal isn't to talk about this game—his goal is to hurt us.

I unblock him and respond. We go back and forth. He stops... for a time.

Here's the thing. I didn't re-block him after that, and I didn't do that for a couple of reasons. First, because at this point I'm still hopeful that he's just unaware of what he's doing, and that he'll acknowledge how messed up it was and apologize. I'm all for second chances. The second, because he's dangerous and I'm worried that if I don't keep tabs on him, he's going to try to hurt me.

It's not long until he's doing the same shit again. He tries harassing BWIIDT, he tries harassing FantasyInvader, he tries harassing Ezra, he tries harassing RandomNameless, he tries harassing Emblemxeno, he tries harassing Gascon, he tries harassing people I've literally never even heard of. I keep calling him out, and he tries harassing me. He calls me hysterical, accuses me of acting like a victim. Tries to make me feel stupid and small by saying I don't have anything worth his attention to respond to.

(By the way dude, my point about that was that you were being misogynistic but treating discourse like it was only worth responding to if it came from a man. See, I noticed that you only liked to attack people you thought were cishet white men like yourself, even if we were saying basically the same things at times. The fact that you continue not "debunking" any of my posts doesn't upset me; it proves my point)

He blocks me. I can't say for certain why, but my bet is that he realized people were actually listening to what I had to say, and having a queer woman question the actions he purported to be for the benefit of queer women wasn't a great look for him.

He's still trying to harass me. He's taking screenshots, he's using my name, he's @ ing me. He's casually lying about me. He's using sexist rhetoric implying that I shouldn't be listened to because I'm just too ~in my feelings~ and he's the true victim of my hysterical victimized martyr complex (geez, you sure a a feminist ally for that one, aren't you?)

You know, I did actual research when one of my anons accused him of being a trump supporter and tried to lie about him? I burned an entire evening on that, because I didn't want to be spreading lies about people. Meanwhile he lets his anons casually and repeatedly misgender me without so much as a passing correction, and he hangs out with people who spread lies and slander accusing others of heinous crimes.

And you know what? If I knew it was going to be like this? I'd still waste that evening and correct that anon. It's not about getting a petty win or convincing people he's a bad person for me. It's about being respected.

So to get back to your question. Why am I doing this? Because I have to. Because I know that if I don't he's going to hurt someone else, just like how he hurt Nilsh and Moonlitboar. The best predictor of future behavior is past behavior, after all. We ignored him and he didn't leave, so now we have to say something.

What's the desired result? I want to be respected, like I've tried to respect them for almost the entirety of this blog's existence. I want my boundaries acknowledged. I want him to stop hurting people for no other reason than to hurt them, because they don't agree with him.

When will I stop? When he stops.

[wolfraven80]

I love the immortality angst but yeah, at the end of the day, my bias for CF wins out for several reasons, one of which is Byleth having a normal human lifespan. It’s funny to conceptualize the route split for Black Eagles as like:

Rhea: psst, don’t you want everlasting life and unlimited power? Take my hand and become the divine, eternal ruler you were meant to be

Edelgard: or you could be my trophy wife and we can grow old together and die within a couple decades after relinquishing power

I know Byleth does do stuff post-CF but there’s such a stark difference between their position outside of CF vs in CF that it’s funny to think of her as more of a spouse than anything else.

Oh man that is such a good description of the routes 🤣 But even though the second one is way more mundane than becoming the immortal ruler of Fódlan, it's so iddy for me. I love the idea of Byleth being Edelgard's right hand. I love the idea of her seeing Edelgard's cause as a good one and wanting to serve in whatever capacity she needs to in order to make the world a better place--even if it means she's not the one in charge. I love the loyalty and devotion and the humility of eschewing power in service of something/someone else. In past FE games my favourite characters were often the knights who served one of the lords so I guess CF Byleth plays out more like that to me. It's funny because when I first played 3H and they said Faerghus was the land loyal knights I thought I'd like that route. But when I finally played it, I was appalled by the blind loyalty of the Blue Lions. They follow Dimitri in AM not because they believe that marching on Enbarr completely outnumbered is the right thing to do, but because he's king and they feel duty-bound. And in VW where Dimitri never recovers his senses they die for it at the battle of Gronder; if you haven't recruited them in that route it's a bloodbath. So I guess all that to say that I love Byleth/Edelgard as a sort of knight-liege ship, but one that isn't based on duty or blind loyalty. CF Byleth is also a confidante to Edelgard who makes her a better person and ruler, and Byleth makes a very specific choice to follow her. The choice (at the Holy Tomb) is such a crucial part of dynamic, and something I really appreciated in the game, that following Edelgard is not an accidental choice. These are all parts of the ship that I really love and that are a central part of how I write Byleth.

[dentos-wife]

Since you say Chrobin is inferred what else is inferred and canon in FE?

Disclaimer this is just my option from the stance of an aromantic asexual who only follows the text and what they do with the characters and what I see pushed in side material. But here's what I see and with just the lords

FE1/3/11/12: Marth and Caeda canon, there's no arguing it, all the side material confirms it it's blatant canon

FE 2/Echoes: Alm and Celica canon same reasoning as Marth and Caeda

FE 4: Sigurd and Deirdre canon, Deirdre and Arvis is canon too but it's never pushed not like the former that's the FE4 ship they want you to remember. Seliph as far as I'm aware doesn't have a pairing, his siblingship with Julia is his important relationship and it's platonic

FE 5: I know nothing about this game except what I see in FEH. I think Leif and Nana canon, could be wrong, would be willing to hear someone out who knows that game, if not canon they are definitely inferred

FE 6: Roy and Lilina implied I think like his dad's game Roy can pick anyone to be his wife, IS seems to favor Lilina the most in side material

FE 7: Eliwood and Ninian highly implied this is the one I'd compare Chrobin to the most, Eliwood can marry Ninian but he doesn't have to he can marry anyone else if he wishes, in side material though and FEH they're pushed a lot to the point when I looked it up I was surprised it wasn't canon

FE 8: I...don't think anything is canon or even inferred here. Open season

FE 9: I'm going to get so much hate for this but here we go. It's heavily implied I don't think it's been stated, Soren has feelings for Ike. And I 100% believe that. However...Ike comes off as very ace to me so I don't think Ike can ever love Soren as much as Soren loves him. That said they could easy have a queerplatonic relationship I don't see the two ever separating it just wouldn't be a traditional relationship

FE 10: Micaiah Sothe canon I personally wish it wasn't and don't like it but you can't argue it's not canon, and the side material continues to agree with the game, just ignore it (I sure do)

FE 13: As I said Chrom Sumia was originally implied, but they dropped it now Chrom Robin is heavily implied Lucina has no one, protecting her dad is her character.

FE 14: Gender split. In the game one could argue for MCorrin Azura was slightly implied due to her having a different support per route. For FCorrin due to popularity Leo got a drama Cd and a manga which slightly implied Leo Corrin. That time has passed, Corrin has no implied pairings anymore Corrin just cares about family, everything is platonic

FEH: Yes this is a mainstream game. Almost everyone loves the summoner (because it's you) Fjorm outright is in love with them, Alfonse and Veronica could be implied due to Lif and Tharsir's relationship. Everything is canon here and nothing is canon here at the same time.

FE16: So this one is interesting because of how hard it splits between MByleth and FByleth

Edelgard is heavily implied not just with Byleth but MByleth in particular. In the game the portrait she's drawing is of MByleth if you look close enough, MByleth is also usually for advertisement purposes put with the Black Eagles, Edelgard's house. Because her crush on Byleth is such a part of her character they didn't write it out for FByleth yes, but it was made in intention to MByleth (aka the male players)

Dimitri is implied with FByleth. Her material has her with Blue Lions the same way MByleth's material has him with Black Eagles. It's not as blatant as Edelgard, nothing would be but it's still there (to cater to female players)

Claude: Ha you think they'd care about the character who is a copy paste route? They don't. Poor Claude, nothing is implied or canon with him

FE17: No one but due to Alfred's circumstances changing if you S support him, I might lean to Alear Alfred implied it will all depend on what the side material tells us

[yusuke-of-valla]

In all honesty, I thought about disqualifying Edeleth specifically but I couldn't do it in a way that didn't show obvious bias and/or necessitate disqualifying other ships.

But it makes me sad that there's a good chance they'll win because compared to some of the actual historically iconic wlw ships in FE, Edeleth is kind of just... nothing.

Recency bias + large entry point for newer fans + first canonically gay lord is a bitch even though it’s like. Edelgard falling for Byleth at first sight is stupid and only makes sense in the Black Eagles routes and even the. It kinda makes more sense that Edelgard would fall for Byleth over the course of knowing Byleth than instantly crushing because Byleth saved her life (also I feel like someone explained this but why the fuck does Edelgard’s plan involve anything that could potentially get her killed in the first place?)

Also I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I kinda don’t like Byleth with Edelgard, Dimitri, or Rhea and it’s not me being a Claude stan it is just me being personally uncomfortable at the idea that “you player are the only thing keeping me from going to far and losing myself” being the basis of a romantic relationship but that’s. That’s a whole other thing that’s probably more about Me personally than the Writing

Anyway long story short Edeleth’s probably gonna win and that’s gonna be disappointing just because like. So many of the older ships are more interesting even if they aren’t explicitly canon, and while that’s just the nature of tumblr polls, that doesn’t mean it’s not disappointing to fans who like anything else

[honeydots]

What about Awakening pairings? And feel free to add other Fire Emblem Pairings you like from other games.

for awakening.... i have less defined ones haha. my big faves are chrom/robin (OR chrom/robin/olivia) and lucina/severa. tho i also like multishipping olivia with the entire 1st gen cast LOL. but to name a few i like more than others: frederick/sumia, gerome/laurent, say'ri/tiki, and donnel/nowi!! but overall im pretty much open to most ships in awakening haha im easily swayed

im very slow at playing games so thus far the only other fe games I've played are 3h and feh. despite how i post abt other ones i will get there!!! just!!! slowly!!!! hahaha

for 3h i like edelgard/fbyleth, claude/(dimitri, lorenz, hilda), mbyleth/(lindhardt, yuri), hilda/marianne, dorothea/ingrid, and ummm sylvain/felix lol. none of these are hard and fast tho im extremely bendable when it comes to 3h ships

and finally in feh i like fjorm/(eir, laegjarn), ive been warming up to alfonse/bruno, sharena can have as many gfs as she wants, and alfonse/kiran!! tho again. nothing rly set in stone here

long answer but there you have it!!!

[damoselcastel]

2022 Author’s Notes

 A yearly-sum-up of my personal thoughts for my written works in 2022 (ones with chapters updates count too), my own personal tradition. All of the fic I listed can be found on my AO3.

JANUARY Red Courage - a FE3H Claude/Edelgard AU fic My 2021 Nagamas gift fic, basically grabbing all the ideas I had for this ship pre-release but then had abandoned after playing the game (and seeing how non-interactive the lords are towards each other). These two getting married would be quite the political power couple, but I admit within this fic I also was explore a no-TWSitD AU focused on how 3H’s plot could’ve happened anyway, with just human greed...and well, Adrestia’s gross patriarchy. I’m rather pleased with the result and even and am casually working on a sidequel that follows what Dimitri and Dedue’s time in Alymra was like.

FEBRUARY

Human, Weapon - a FE14 Beruka backstory fic Written for the Les Revanants horror zine, one of my first outright horror attempts, Beruka’s past provided some good fodder to explore. I feel like FE has a lot of solid examples of disquieting ex-child-soldiers, usually children forced to act as assassins, ect, and it obviously having lost lasting negative impacts of their personal growth and expressiveness. Beruka is one, though her backstory is only hinted at in supports- we know she killed the master who’d trained her.

APRIL Chains We Forge - a FE14 post-Conquest bad end AU The hostage fic I wrote inspired by @flutterbatwrites‘ Bad End AU for Conquest in particular. The too long awaited update, wherein dad-tyrant!Xander makes his appearance. I had a LOT of fun depicting all the fankid princes and how they might get make mischief. Still a last update to make, I promise I will and hopefully soon-ish.

MAY Enlèvement - a FE3H Dimitri/Annette fic Ship fic cowritten with @mrmissmrsrandom, this verse spun out of  Fleckerl‘s continuity and we’ve got a whole bunch of ideas. This one’s mostly cutesy speculation on how Dimitri and the Annette’s crushes on each other might’ve gone.

Kitchen Box Step - a FE3H Dedue/Mercedes fic Cowritten with @mrmissmrsrandom with more speculation on post-war politics within a Dimitri ruled Faerghus- but this time with fankids! And not just Duecedes kiddos, but also some royal bastards left behind by Rufus (in our party-prince headcanon, cooked up before Hopes shattered these dreams). All the characters we’ll be feature more of in this verse, which is just very fun to sandbox in.

JUNE Hunger Pangs - a FE16 ABO childhood fic Prequel to Sense of Taste, where it’s mostly the Faerghus four being cute kids and sfw. I’ve notice the trope very rarely ever deals with questions of like, what it’s like pre-puberty with all that presentation weirdness. And then I’m once again wasting Faerghus headcanons by sticking it somewhere no one will read them. I think there’ll only be 3 more chapters, though I have more ideas for the verse- like Dedue’s claiming and a SoT sequel.

NOVEMBER Course de Danse - a FE3H Dimitri/Annette academy fic All our academy-set ideas for this ship, this collection will be pretty solidly G rated as a rule...aside from maybe an off-color joke or insinuation or two. As much as I don’t personally like Byleth-as-teacher or school as an FE game focus, it is fun imagining all the Fodlan kids interacting as students. Also co-authored with @mrmissmrsrandom

DECEMBER

Quartet’s Common Time - a FE3H Annie/Mercie/Dedue/Dimitri fic

This is the big polyam smutfic, with a very small nod to Faerghus politics. The first couple chapters will have more f/f and m/m action, but there will be a sweaty pile on. I suppose for any interested, look forward to when @mrmissmrsrandom and I post more next year!

Ongoing IRL stuff from last year INTENSIFIED this year, which REALLY threw off personal project free time. But with @mrmissmrsrandom‘s cooperation, we got a lot of fic we’d had on the shelf posted. Although with Engage right around the bend, don’t think we’ll get all out FE3H ideas up before that next FE entry is out. Silver lining, maybe the Fodlan fandom can chill out :v

[irandrura]

3, 6, 31!

3. What titles have you played?

Finished: 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 13, 16

Started but haven't finished: 6, 14, 15

I feel guilty for not having finished Shadows of Valentia, because it's genuinely excellent, and probably the second-best game released since Tellius. However, I remember getting stuck on one of those frustrating missions with teleporting long-range wizards and just getting too fed up to continue.

I haven't finished Binding Blade mostly due to laziness. I haven't finished Fates because its writing was just too awful for me to put up with it any more, and I made the deliberate choice to stop subjecting myself to more of it. Of the FE games I have played, Fates is the only one that I outright think is a bad game.

6. Who’s your favorite lord/protagonist?

Tricky one. I remember at the time I played Tellius I felt Ike was on the dull side, but after the next six games to follow I find myself really missing him - in particular his character growth was just really well-handled, especially if you try to compare him to Chrom or someone. That said, I also have a fondness for all three Elibe lords (yes, even Eliwood, I make no apologies), for Micaiah, and for Alm and Celica. The best lord in Awakening is Lucina, though I don't know if she counts as a protagonist.

I think I'll say Ike, since he does manage to keep growing on me, with a second place finish for Celica, but perhaps that's mainly because I like sincere religious people.

31. Some moments of Fire Emblem you keep thinking of?

These are going to be really arbitrary, and just moments that lodged in my head.

From FE7 (Blazing Sword), I'm going to nominate two. Firstly, the conversation between Lyn and Hector on the pirate ship. That always stayed with me as a fantastic moment of characterisation for both of them, showcasing both Lyn's pride and Hector's ability to be surprisingly aware and empathetic.

Also, from the final battle: The nomads of plains do not abandon their fellow tribespeople. Eliwood and Hector are my dear friends. Their sorrow is my sorrow. Their anger is my anger! Nergal! In my friends' names, I will cut you down!

As far as pre-battle speeches go, it has a really nice cadence to it, and while the message is generic "I fight for my friends" Fire Emblem stuff, I feel like the game really earned it by putting the three protagonists and their evolving friendship at the centre.

From FE10 (Radiant Dawn), I'll also pick two. Firstly, the mission in part one where the Black Knight appears to defend Micaiah. Playing Path of Radiance first really conditions you to feel this sense of terror whenever the Black Knight appears, because he's indestructible and he's this mysterious enemy you cannot defeat. For his first appearance in the sequel to be to aid you, for reasons as inscrutable as ever, is bound to make the player nervous and suspicious, and I enjoy the ambivalence it creates.

Secondly, the river crossing missions. You know why. I know lots of people hate playing the Dawn Brigade, but I unironically love the mission where you play the Dawn Brigade and have to try to hold off for the Greil Mercenaries - for this one moment you get to experience (not just witness, experience!) what it's like to be on the other side, and man, is it terrifying.

From FE16 (Three Houses), I'm going to pick a weird one. In the Blue Lions ending cinematic, after Dimitri is forced to kill Edelgard and he and Byleth leave... the door opens, Byleth steps into the light, and then turns to see Dimitri hesitating. Dimitri looks away from the light and moves to look backwards, but Byleth catches Dimitri's hand and looks downwards, almost (but not quite) shaking his head. A moment of understanding passes between the two men, and Dimitri follows Byleth out into the light, where they face the cheers of their victorious army.

It's a small moment, but I appreciate just how much it does without any dialogue, with only very small, subtle expressions, particularly from the emotionless Byleth. It's a moment of letting go - Dimitri's complex feelings for Edelgard, from friendship to sympathy to murderous hatred, are all dissipating. You can almost hear Byleth whispering, "It's done. Let's go."

And, though this might sound odd, it stands out to me because in my opinion the scene just genuinely doesn't work with a female Byleth, particularly given, as far as I can tell, the popularity of romantic f!Byleth/Dimitri ships. So much of Dimitri's former life was consumed by his obsession with a particular woman, so going the otome route with Dimitri and redeeming him via the love of another woman, a 'light' woman to contrast with Edelgard the 'dark' woman, doesn't feel like the clean break that scene should be. I'd rather cut out any such implication and have Byleth and Dimitri's relationship be clearly Platonic - no longer one of teacher and student, certainly, but perhaps one of equals and allies, of people who've achieved a kind of brotherhood through shared suffering. They've both, after all, lost close family members to Edelgard's ambition.

I don't know. I just liked that moment - Byleth catching Dimitri's hand, as if to say, "Let go."

[archer3-13]

The edeldgard discourse makes me believe that the FE fandom really won't ever be the same again since it's still there despite engage and that even the weird stuff in Engage were not worth a discourse. And weird is a big word since it's mostly ship stuff aka Anna and Jean wank + twins wank that are barely a wank since the localized version presented a non problematic aspects that is barely different than the jpn version and it was us fans being paranoid all over again. But even that is limited to youtube, and we all know that FE youtube channel are the place to avoid when it comes to anything that doesn't ressemble a strategy tutorial. Or playthrought video. Or animation. However anything related to Dimitri or Edelgard turns into a cat fight. I sincerely pity anyone who ships Dimigard, must be though for em.

honestly in many ways we've hit a new normal for the fe fandom considering this exact song and dance has now played out every release since awakening. I certainly hope it changes at some point, but it is a certain kind of stability i suppose.

which means if or when it does get broken, then their will be something worth not filtering out as white noise.

[gascon-en-exil]

2, 3, 8, 25 for Hubert?

2. Favorite canon thing about this character?

That he's a murderer, and a patricide at that.

In past FEs and especially in Genealogy, voluntary kinslaying is presented as pretty much the worst crime you can commit, and a shorthand indicating that a character is an irredeemable monster who needs to die (ex. Chagall, Andrey). There are multiple conversations to that effect in FE4, and it crops up in a few other games as well; it's why the big Gaiden/Echoes twist is meant to hit as hard as it does, or why Ashnard has zero redeeming qualities when his backstory essentially amounts to "removing" his entire family.

And meanwhile Hubert's over here casually killing his father offscreen in two separate continuities for no greater reason than political expedience, and sometimes even getting away with it. Koei-Tecmo doesn't appear to place the same moral weight on kinslaying, since Dimitri, Claude, and...Ferdinand all perform such an act onscreen in Hopes (hmm, I wonder if the reason Edelgard is the only house leader excluded here has anything to do with the topic of my latest video...?), but I don't think that detracts from Hubert committing Obvious Villain Act #1 and giving not one single solitary fuck about it.

3. Least favorite canon thing about this character?

Mostly his Lysithea supports in Hopes, which try to spin him as loving his mother and younger sister in spite of the aforementioned gleeful kinslaying. You can't tell me he wouldn't murder his other relatives if he believed they somehow posed a threat to Edelgard's reign. Like a few of his other Hopes supports, it's a conspicuously cutesy spin on a character who otherwise escapes the generally ridiculous ways that the writing of both games attempts to make Edelgard and Jeritza sympathetic. (She draws pictures of her teacher! He likes kittens and ice cream!)

8. What’s something the fandom does when it comes to this character that you despise?

Related to the above, any attempt at softening Hubert. He's a calculating, ruthless murderer who would do literally anything if he thought it would further Edelgard's rule even if it's behind her back or she expressly forbids it, because he - in that standard incel vein - thinks he knows what a woman wants better than she does. That characterization has the potential for so much black comedy, especially when thrown up against the guileless and indefatigable Ferdinand.

Why anyone would want to throw that away and replace it with an angsty emo who's not really a bad guy once you get to know him is beyond me. If you want an angsty guy with a massive guilty complex, Dimitri's right there and even gayer.

25. What was your first impression of this character? How about now?

When we first got his character intro in spring 2019: "He looks like Iago. He's going to push Edelgard into evil, or betray her halfway through the story...but still be playable, probably?"

Now, he's every bit as ugly and evil as I expected, and then some. Carries the constantly-faltering tone of Crimson Flower on his bony shoulders, a badass dark mage and a playable patricide, and to top it all off he's bisexual in a way that none of the bi-for-Byleth options can even touch, and unlike Dimitri fandom at large has turned Ferdibert into his most popular ship. One of the mostly unexpectedly good characters to have come out of FE16, considering that at the end of the day he still pretty much is "but what if we made Iago playable?"

[overtsexting]

if you could make any common fire emblem ship incestuous which would you pick? Personally I think Roy/Lilina would perfect if they were siblings

hmmmmmmmm idk too much about roy/lilina but that sounds good 🤔 i’ve also always thought marth and caeda actively look like siblings. i think for a while i genuinely was convinced she was his sister until i realised they were a couple

celica and alm iirc could be interpreted as pseudoincest, but from what i remember reading that’s a little more implied in gaiden than SoV i’ve played neither. celica and alm as more unambiguous siblings would be quite good tho

dimitri and edelgard is obviously already also pseudoincest, but they were only step siblings for like a minute, edelgard didn’t know, and dimitri didn’t learn until much later. but actual step sibling dimitri/edelgard would be quite fun

i’m trying to recall other canon fe ships and all of them either wouldn’t make sense (like sigurd/deirdre) or already kind of are incest lol (like nanna/leif)

[ladysolwind]

So I’m like 8 chapters into Three Hopes (Azure Gleam) and I have some preliminary thoughts that may or may not change going forward. For non-spoilers, I mean, I liked Fire Emblem as a whole before I liked Three Houses, so I knew it was a risk picking this up. I do have the OG Fire Emblem Warriors but I never beat it. It’s harder for me to play this as much because of my janky joints, so progress has been slow because this game makes my wrists hurt. I don’t dislike the game, and I love seeing my blorbos again, but I definitely enjoy normal FE games more.

Spoilers below the cut

1) I feel like everyone is more... bland? Sylvain and Felix especially. They’ve really lost their bite. In some ways it’s good because Sylvain isn’t as big of a perv and it seems like Felix is coping with Glenn’s death better. I can’t tell if it’s intentional character development or bad writing yet.

2) When Rodrigue mentioned he had a wife I was so disappointed. LET ME MARRY THE DILF YOU COWARDS.

3) Speaking of DILFs, why... why do Wyvern Riders only use axes when we can only use the Spear of Assal with Seteth? It feels weird having Seteth as anything but a Wyvern Rider but I want to use his spear D:

4) Seteth is SO good though. Absolute beast of a unit. I wish the Church was more involved though. Like we rescued Rhea and she immediately peaced out. Flayn is barely part of things, and Seteth isn’t included much either.

5) Dedue is still perfect and I adore him. The scene where they rescue Dimitri in the castle was amazing and a little gay and I think I might ship now? I cannot help but stan Dedue.

6) Seeing Alois left the Knights to join Jeralt’s crew was WILD but I honestly love it.

7) idk if we’re supposed to see Sothis taking over Byleth’s body as a bad thing but like... I don’t. Shez has powers from the people who genocided her children and I, too, would be mad. Also I do not trust Arval.

I feel unsure if I want to play three routes of this game or not. Is there better story with the other routes? Anything I’d really want to see? I’m curious about Edelgard’s route, and I do love the Golden Deer kids. Also I want to meet Holst. Idk maybe I’ll lower the difficulty just so I can see the story and not worry too much about the missions.

[mysticdragon3md3]

I was going to bookmark that Tweet complaining about El being "watered down" for their characterization in Engage making them respectful to how Alear rules as the Divine Dragon, but looks like the comments pushed them to Private.😣 Hope they're ok.

I just wanted to note that I'm once again glad that i only got into FE3H for the Dimiclaude shipping.😅 3Hopes, Engage, and FE Heroes keep giving Dimiclaude good food, but I keep hearing lamentations from the Emperor's fans.🫣

Some people talk about FE3H as if Edelgard was automatically the one and only protagonist. Like someone posted about FE3H being about your waifu being a villain. And I'm like, she wasn't MY waifu! That's not even close to what FE3H was to me.😂 Maybe if it was a one-route story. Maybe then I'd be into Edelgard, the way i love Lelouch from Code Geass. But I'm sorry, for my personal preferences, the competition was just too good. Claude was much more enjoyable and Dimitri was much more endearing---FOR ME.

So I'm occasionally reminded of how different the FE3H experience was for everyone. I wasn't interested in Edelgard, so i barely looked into her route beyond the broad strokes. So when the Black Eagles fans talk sbout their route and their House Leader, i just have to take their word for it.

...Except when they try to use it as an excuse to demean the other Houses, particularly at the story points when the different routes cross. Then i get defensive and stupid! ...Then I'M the one hiding posts!🤣

Though i still feel strangely justified though. Badmouth Claude or his ideals, and all my open mindedness can go out the window for me!🤣 Claude's (and Dimitri's) ideals are the ones I've chosen to defend.

I'm sure it's the same for the edelstans.

There's gotta be a way to stan without dumping on the other Houses. ...Though even I'll admit, I've found myself going on some angry rants against Edelgard.😅 Maybe all we can do is Private and hide our posts from each other.

[fe3h-incorrectquotes]

Claude: I need some house leader drama, stat!

Dimitri: I don’t think we’re that dramatic, Claude...

Claude: I’ve been gone for a week. Edelgard got a girlfriend and she killed someone.