#I WANT JERALT TO BE MY DAD TOO

[sheikahwarriork]

prompt for childhood enemies dimileth!!!

When Byleth was 6 years old, and Jeralt left her in the care of an inkeeper while he was doing merc jobs, a traveling caravan of rich people arrived to the inn, and she heard an ugly rich bowlcut blonde baby say his dad was the strongest and could beat anybody's dad and she choose violence.

Someone had to put the bowlcut in his place and make him understand Jeralt was the strongest.

Dimitri didn't want to fight back for his crest until Byleth called him a wussy... which is a word the mercs used around her and she didn't know what it meant.

(she fondly recalls this story as the first time she won a fight)

(dimitri still has bite scars from the incident and was very scared of girls for a long time)

(gustave was worried sick a commoner kid got the crown prince rabbies)

(they haven't connected the dots)

(This is the same anon who hates Dimitri's hair)

(hello dear dimitri's hair hater anon, i loved this prompt a lot! i changed some little points in the narration, but the main plotis the one you wrote. i really hope you'll like this :3)

wordcount: 1.2k

Byleth was extremely bored. Jeralt— no, he said to call him dad— Dad ­­went to do some cool mercenary stuff he said were 'too dangerous' for Byleth to attend. How silly! She was perfectly capable of taking care of enemies. She had the best teacher in the world, after all; the Blade Breaker’s abilities were well known along all Fodlan.

Of course, she was still only six, while her father was… How many years old was Jeralt again? She realised she didn’t know exactly. Probably the same age all dads were. Like three-hundred years old or something like that.

Byleth frowned. Did she need to wait three-hundred years to become as powerful as Jeralt? No, it was too far away from now! The little girl stood up. She needed to go training now.

She went out the little inn where Jeralt— Dad left her some days ago, heading for that nice spot she found out the day before to train with her new super powerful sword. (Well, wood sword. After the last time Byleth tried to train by herself, she almost chopped her own leg, so Jeralt took precautions by giving her a weapon that 'woudn’t hurt his precious little girl'. How melodramatic! But he chose it precisely for her. It was special. She wasn’t gonna break it!)

Her wandering gaze stopped when she noticed some people a few meters from her. She frowned. A tall guy with dark hair and a younger blonde boy with an ugly bowlcut were talking under a tree, the very tree of her perfect nice training spot.

She frowned again. As people said, Byleth wasn’t… the best at social interactions. She didn’t like talking to people, especially strangers. And she hated when she had to. Like this moment. She needed those two to get out of her new special training spot. She needed to train! To become more powerful! Like, right now!

The urge to train was bigger than her despise for talking to strangers, so she got closer to the tree, holding hard her sword. Byleth repeated in her mind Jeralt— Dad’s lessons about how ‘not to be too scary with other people’. She had to act nice.

“Hi. Get out of my training spot”.

A greeting! Super nice. ‘Good job, me’, she thought, pleased with herself.

The taller boy looked at her with surprise, but his expression quickly changed in a smile. ��Hello, you fellow warrior”, he said in a condescending tone, winking.

Ugh. That was one of the thing Byleth hated the most: grown-ups treating her like she was just a little child!

“Get out, I said! I need to train”, she said, pointing at her sword.

Bowlcut boy frowned. “But you’re too young to train by your own!”

“What?!” Byleth exclaimed to him, annoyed.

“Yes! My dad says children shouldn’t fight until they grow up. And you look almost my age! So, you can’t train”, Bowlcut boy explained, nodding.

Byleth crossed her arms. “It doesn’t make sense! My dad helps me train since I was… younger than you!”

Bowlcut boy looked troubled. “Why does you dad train you?”

“Because I want to become strong, and he’s the strongest mercenary of all Fodlan!”, Byleth said with a hint of pride.

Now Bowlcut boy looked annoyed. “That’s not true! My dad is the strongest one! Glenn, tell her!” he added, looking at the taller annoying guy.

Tall-annoying guy was watching at them holding a hand over his mouth as if he wanted to hide it, slightly shaking. Then he proceeded to burst into laughter, hitting the ground with his fist, without saying a thing.

Byleth frowned. What a weird guy.

Bowlcut boy frowned too, but apparently he decided to let the matter drop, as he looked at Byleth again. “My dad is stronger! He has big muscles, and he’s the only one that can use a super uper big powerful spear!” Then he looked down at Tall-annoying guy, who was still on the floor. “Glenn! Tell her!”

The guy tried to stop laughing, but miserably failed. “So… sorry, Dimitri… you’ll have to… deal with her yourself… PUAHAHAHAHAHAHA!”

Byleth crossed her arms; then, she got an idea. “Let’s settle this with a fight. However wins, has the strongest dad!”

Bowlcut boy’s eyes widened. “N… no! I can’t! I’ll hurt you!”

Byleth was really annoyed now: how dared that little brat imply he could beat her?!

She lifted her sword, pointing at Bowlcut boy. “Prepare yourself!”

“Oh, fuck!” Tall-annoying guy stopped laughing and stood up between them. “Ok, party’s over. Let’s try to get along, shall we?”

Bowlcut boy sighed in relief. Byleth sticked her tongue out, looking at him. “Your dad’s just a… wussy!”

Byleth really liked the word ‘wussy’. The way it sounded was funny. She didn’t exactly know the meaning, but Jeralt’s mercenaries often used it when someone was arguing (usually when drinking that weird ‘grown-ups fruit juice’) with some other of the band, getting the latter very angry. And Byleth wanted to make Bowlcut boy angry.

And she succeded! Bowlcut boy’s eyes widened, and he proceeded to run towards her. Byleth was ready, and promptly dodged the boy. She grabbed his arm, and sinked her teeth in it.

The boy screamed in pain until Tall-annoying boy managed to pull him away. “Shit shit shit! What the hell is wrong with you two?!” he said in a high-pitched tone. Bowlcut boy started crying.

‘Pathetic’, Byleth thought.

“Okay, little girl, we’re leaving, but promise me you’ll stay away from Dimitri!” Tall-annoying guy said, while taking Bowlcut boy in his arms. “We’re leaving soon anyway, so forget about this and do not tell anyone!” he added, going inside the inn, without waiting for Byleth to respond. “Shit! I did tell Gustave I’m not a good babysitter…” she heard him muttering, while Bowlcut boy was still crying.

She looked at the now closed door for a few seconds more, then turned around. “Okay. Melee training for day: done. I should practice with my sword now…”

“You did what?!” Jeralt—Dad screamed in shock.

Byleth crossed her arms. “I bit him, I told you! He was saying some crap about you!”

Dad looked at her in disbelief, and then bursted into laughter.

‘Why is everyone laughing at me today?!’

“You… you bit him… you bit the… freaking… AHAHAHAHAHA!” Dad was laughing so hard he didn’t finish the phrase.

Byleth shrugged, deciding to let him be. ‘It’s not like I’m gonna ever see Bowlcut boy again…’

15 years later

Byleth didn’t know if she was getting better at reading people, or if Jeralt was acting strange more than usual. Since she told him she chose to lead the Blue Lion House, her father started to make a soft giggle everytime she mentioned the house-leader, Dimitri. It was getting annoying.

“Are you going to tell me why do you make that sound everytime I mention Dimitri, dad?!” she finally said one afternoon, while her and Jeralt were having tea in her room.

Jeralt smiled. “Ah! Never. But maybe, you’ll have your answer if you’ll ever see his arm… Summer is starting, after all…”

[fireemblems24]

Azure Gleam 15 (Final)

As long as this has gone on for, I'm actually bummed to finish this one.

NARRATION

Those special chapters were so weird. It's kind of funny how the plot is like, just ignoring all of that and going back to regular programming. It's like in an old kid's show when they got a dog and then the next episode - no dog anymore. Like there's kinda no point to it.

Ok, so Thales talking to yeeted Edelgard. I will never not get over how funny it is that's the path the writers decided.

Yep, we're really just jumping back into the regular plot. That is so funny. The writing in this game is a clusterfuck at times.

Ok, so we're going to the monastery to save Rhea. MUCH better than saving Bernie's dad.

TWSITD causing chaos again. I feel this route targeted them more than the other two. Like they barely existed in GW.

Everyone's worried about Rhea.

Dimitri wants to wreck TWSITD and the Empire. Let's fucking go!

MAP

No side quests again! Guys, I'm sooooo close to beating this game I can taste it. Both SB and AG have very short final chapters.

Only Claude is annoying, which tracks how this game's gone so . . .

So I've gotten all the supports for: Dimitri, Dedue, Felix, Sylvain, Ingrid, and Rodrigue. Mercedes I'm only missing Jeritza. I didn't use Annette or Ashe, so they're missing a few, but I feel I did pretty good. Hopefully I can get Mercie and Jeritza this chapter.

Ugh, so I missed the opportunity to deepen my bond with Byleth :( Maybe next time.

So in another route, Ashe had no idea what he believed in anymore. In this one, he's confident about his sense of justice.

In another route, Yuri didn't tell me his history with Varley, in this one he trusted me with it.

Ingrid is a queen. She said it's the people who suffer in war, our leaders should reach diplomatic resolutions. Too bad only Dimitri believes in those :(

Aww, Byleth refused to kill Shez during their fight because he could tell she wasn't herself. I soooo wish I'd gotten their supports.

Ok, so I ran into Raphael again and agreed that I didn't like how we were fighting (which, imo, isn't true, but I wanted to see the difference). Shez thinks Edelgard is too cruel, Claude is too haphazard, and Dimitri is too cautious. She pretty much nailed it.

No Arval in the tent :(

Linhardt just said Caspar revels in bloodshed. That's fucked up.

My heart just broke and warmed at the same time. A Kingdom general asked a Duscur general how the people from Duscur pray. He wanted to learn because he lost a lot of good soldiers from Duscur in the last battle and wanted to pray for them in the way their religion would. It's details like this that make Hopes worth it.

Haha, Dedue was fairly chill considering I attacked allies and posed a possible threat to Dimitri. He brought it up, but didn't harp on it.

BYLETH & JERALT A

Man, I'm glad I got this unlocked in time.

Byleth gave Jeralt flowers. First time in Byleth's life lol.

He's trying to communicate his feelings, thankfulness to Jeralt for being his captain and father.

Aw, it's a throwback to Byleth giving out flowers at the Academy.

Lamo, Jeralt just said Byleth may have been a student or led seminars, but isn't qualified to be a teacher.

Jeralt's like, I knew you cared, kid. But I still appreciate it.

Byleth picked the flowers out himself. It's the same kind his mother liked :(((

Jeralt used to give these flowers to Sitri.

Byleth is being so sentimental and sweet. I can just imagine a voiced Byleth saying lines like that in Houses' supports and buying more into the character.

I swear, this game made me really get Byleth more and "buy into" the character. Also, I'm going to cry so hard when Jeralt dies. I still don't really care for Jeralt, but I'm going to just feel so sad for Byleth.

DIMITRI & DEDUE A

For anyone wondering, I purposefully saved this one and Felix A. I've had them unlocked for a while.

Dedue is worried because Dimitri keeps sleeping at his desk. He's grateful or else he'd get sore.

Of course, he had bad dreams about the past.

Ohhhh! Not the tragedy, but arriving home after. Cool to learn some tidbits about that part too.

A child cursed Dimitri after the funeral because his dad died in Duscur and was furious with Dimitri for not killing Dedue, but hanging out with him instead.

Dimitri just ignored him.

Then Dimitri talks about his duty to those who died, and asks Dedue what he would do if Dimitri begged for vengeance while he was dying. OFC, Dedue says he'd do it even if he died.

Then Dimitri asks the opposite, what would Dedue do if Dimitri begged him to live for his own happiness? Dedue said he couldn't.

"I cannot know happiness without you by my side." :(((((((

He'd seek revenge, for his own sake, not Dimitri's.

Dimitri's like, nothing I'd say would change your mind?

Dedue just flips the subject, asking if Dimitri can't just live for himself, and ofc Dimitri says no, he can't.

But imagines another life traveling around as a merc with Dedue or living as a farmer. Dedue's like, why not go?

Dimitri says obviously I can't do that.

So Dedue's like get some sleep.

It worries Dedue every time he sees Dimitri asleep like that at his desk bc he's worried Dimitri died. But Dimitri's like, not why you're here. It won't happen.

Dimitri's like, if I died, that wouldn't go well, so I'll listen.

GUYS. DIMITRI'S GOING TO SLEEP. SOMEONE TALKED HIM INTO SLEEPING. THE POWER OF DEDUE.

They're married, your honor.

DIMITRI & FELIX A

Starts with Dimitri apologizing and promising revenge, killing all of TWSITD no matter the cost.

Felix walks in, Dimitri almost calls him Glenn, but corrects, and apologizes again except to Felix for seeing that.

Felix is like "I've seen all there is of you to see." So, uh, what does that mean?

Dimitri explains that he suffers from a "waking dream," saying he sees the dead like they're real.

Then talks about the violent revenge the dead scream at him.

Felix asks when this all started. Dimitri says 6 years, but the voices started 4 years ago during his first battle? Not sure those numbers line up with lore and age, but I don't know how old they are this time. Anyways, started with Duscur, got worse when Rufus tried to have Dimitri killed by sending him to battle.

The man he killed that freaked Felix out was someone from Duscur, and the voices cheered when he killed the guy.

Felix is like, do you really think Glenn and Lambert would torture you like that? Telling Dimitri he's the one doing it, not them.

Dimitri's like, even if that's true, I can't forgive myself.

Felix talks about how if Dimitri loses his path, he's taking everyone down with him (so Houses, sans AM) and says "keep the whole removing their heads thing in check yeah?"

Felix says it'll be their secret.

"are you offering to let me unburden my heart to you when the time calls for it?" - Dimitri to Felix. Guys, I'm dying a little.

Dimitri credits Felix with the reason he hasn't descended into madness, and asks Felix to continue being his right-hand man.

Hahahah, OMG, Felix picked Dimitri up and is physically carrying him to bed. Dimitri is nearly laughing because he's so much taller than Felix his feet are dragging the floor.

Felix calls him a "sack of muscle" lol

Dimitri carried Felix like this when Felix twisted his ankle. And now is calling this a workout. Dimitri's still massively entertained.

They are also married.

Man, so Dedue got Dimitri to fucking sleep, and Felix got him to laugh.

Ok, this game is really Dimilix, the game. I swear a shipper on deck wrote this. It may also be why Felix was one of the few Blue Lions to survive SB. Writers' bias.

My shipping heart is so happy with both supports.

ASHE & FLAYN B

This is their final support.

They're fishing together. She's trying to reel in a big fish, but it's not working. Ashe gives her tips. And she got it!

Though, it seems like it was a bit of a struggle.

Flayn swore she'd not let go no matter what. Ashe says sometimes it's best to not let go, and suddenly understands Seteth. But still compliments her on her determination.

Flayn thinks her mother would be proud of her for catching this, which is part of the reason Flayn loves fishing.

She flirts with Ashe a bit too lol.

And now she's drooling over the fish.

Ashe says Flayn enjoys him of his sister and really had fun.

But then panics thinking of Flayn in the kitchen lol.

ANNETTE & CONSTANCE B

Constance compliments Annette's performance in battle.

Constance is a legendary alumni at the school in Faerghus.

Stories include turning bossy noble kids into horses. And she started using it everywhere.

She argued magical theory with teachers and won.

These make me love Constance, not going to lie.

Annette is nervous being around someone so famous. Constance calls Annette one of the most talented women in the Kingdom.

Constance loves a book Annette work, but it's mostly a cook book, so Annette doesn't make much of it.

Annette wrote a magical cookbook, and Constance is all about it.

Annette tries to give Mercedes credit because she's the cook.

They both want to get to know each other better.

This was really them geeking out over each other, magic, and Mercedes' cooking.

MERCEDES & JERITZA A

It came down to the lack fucking minute, but I got it. Thank you, Shez, for cooking the perfect dinner.

Jeritza finds and old letter from Mercedes' mother. Or, rather, she wrote Jeritza a letter after Mercie told her that they found him.

They both want to live with him after the war, but he says no.

He can't face her because of his past actions. Doesn't seem Mercie holds it against him. And says neither will her mother.

Then Jeritza talks about the Death Knight persona.

Mercie's like, naw, because you're fine right now.

Jeritza still doesn't give in though. He insists he must pay for his crimes, which he thinks he never can. He wants to get judged by the law, which, honestly, respect.

Mercie decides to support his decisions, even though it makes her sad, and that they'll be waiting for him. No matter how long. Even if they're both old ladies.

I really loved that support. Seeing Mercie support Jeritza's decision, seeing Jeritza take responsibility for his actions. All around good support.

ANNETTE & CONSTANCE A

Glad I got this one. I think Seteth/Shez A is the only other support still within reach.

Constance wants Annette's help conducting an experiment outside. Annette knows how Constance's mood changes when she goes outside. Annette's happy to help.

Obviously now Constance is being down on herself.

Annette volunteered before learning the experiment. Thankfully it's just to try and get all the cats from the area.

It fails :( I want a spell like that.

Constance is obviously moping, Annette gives her a pep talk, but it probably useless bc they're outside.

It attracted bugs, and Constance says the cockroach is a better sorceresses than her lamo. Then they attract angry birds lol.

Once back inside, Constance realizes her spell does sort of work, but they just didn't know how to get cats.

Aww, I really liked that support chain.

FINAL BATTLE

How can anyone not tell something is wrong with Edelgard?

It's so weird how they just ignore the special chapters.

Thales is making her fight.

Sylvain said he'll skip the class reunion if this is what they're like.

Ingrid is roaring to go after Thales.

No sign of Claude. Dimitri's trusting him, but I don't know about that. I wonder if he betrays you here too. Though Dimitri makes a good point that if Faerghus falls, Claude's ass is next.

On, cool image! Dimitri giving a speech. It's like a moment in Lord of the Rings before Aragorn and co march on Mordor.

I like this! Dimitri's talking about severing the past and moving on into tomorrow. Good to hear him talking like that.

I only got 40 points too. Guess Claude was the odd one out, getting more points for his battle than the other two.

Kyrona made an appearance.

Felt good to kill Varley for once.

Getting ready to face Thales now. Dimitri about to get his revenge against TWSITD. Feels good.

Shez is reassuring Dimitri that he's not alone. That his friends are here to help. :)

I think I just killed Kyrona for good this time.

Time to kick Thales' ass. Much better than killing Rhea. Again.

We also got to defeat Edelgard. Having a hard time feeling bad about that.

This battle is pure chaos. But in a fun way.

Oh, did I beat Thales? I'm at a cut scene. Shez stopped Edelgard; and Dimitri's marching to kick Thales' ass.

Haha, he just ignored Thales magic like it was nothing. What a fucking badass.

He's not even saying anything, just breathing, and the voice acting is still on point.

Edelgard remembered Dimitri? So he didn't kill her. And outside Rhea, Claude and the Blue Lions are waiting. And sun is about to come up.

This felt WAY more complete than the other two. I was expecting MUCH worse. Maybe if I played the other two first I'd be more surprised, but they set the bar stupid low.

We defeated the Empire, defeated TWSITD - I don't know what would even be left?

I love how hard the narration tries to make it sound like the Empire has a fart's chance in the wind anymore. It's just clean up now.

MVP time. It'll eventually turn into the Dimitri show like SB did Hubert and GW did Lorenz. I suspect it'll take longer though bc I wanted to use the other Blue Lions a lot.

Actually, I lie, it happened like the second I got Dimitri and not just Shez. I think I may just be a stan lol. He's also just so damn strong he killed so much easier and faster than anyone else.

You can tell the chapter Dimitri was missing for since Felix and Ingrid kept trading MVP. Then back to Dimitri.

Hey! Rodrigue got one!

I'm excited for Dimitri's letter. Still wish we got paired endings here though.

Dimitri feels reassured with Shez by his side. He's also the only one who asked Shez to stay in the Kingdom. It's nothing spectacular, but it was sweet.

I'm also a bit sad to see this one end. No more Fodlan unless I replay, but I guess there's still supports I didn't unlock.

Guys, I can't believe I finished. Now I'm finally "free" to play whatever games I want.

Def want to replay Engage and Houses, and some non-FE stuff too. Should I get the Engage DLC?

xxx

[emblemxeno]

Man I hate the fire emblem fanbase so much it is hurting my enjoyment of the games. They can nitpick every little thing about Engage's and Fate's story, but watch out if you point out that Edelgard blaming the church for her experimentstion and not, y'know, her uncle who she KNOWS is an Arganthan, or how it doesn't make sense that the disappearance of 9 royals was swept snugly under the rug in the empire, or how Jeralt was suspsicious of Rheas doing to Byleth what she did to HIM, and suddenly you're a "hater" and "you have bad taste" and " lack media literacy".

3houses has the same storytelling issues Fates and Engage have, but bc the game has big tiddy lesbians and "I can fix them" traumatized characters = best JRPG since FF7. Fuck right off bruh. I'm so tired.

It does lend a lot of chances to be hypocritical in the fandom yes.

For as much as people can hate about Engage's time travel and magic stuff, or anything regarding Valla in Fates, at least those are purely fantastical. Does it erase the problems? No. But "magic world has magic things that don't need to always be explained in great detail" is-or at least should be-a sufficient explanation.

3H's issues, meanwhile, are almost always logical, informative, and communicative. Edelgard's war is predicated on logic jumps built upon exaggerated issues, an inflated ego, a savior complex, and half truths, and she herself is a canonical liar and manipulator. 3H's worldbuilding is based upon taking NPCs, books, and character biases as fact, despite there being known cover ups in Fodlan's history; to the point where it's not even fully known whether the other Hresvelg siblings actually exist. Jeralt is supposed to be 100% trustworthy as your dad, but being vigilant means you'll probably realize he's kind of shit and did a poor job properly teaching Byleth growing up.

Fates might have the Valla curse and a magic truth throne, but those things have a simple A -> B explanation and impact on that game's plot. It's easy to criticize because it's easy to understand.

3H on the other hand, you have to constantly twist yourself into a pretzel in order justify every angle and every motivation for every character in the game, mostly in service of not overly shitting on Edelgard's character, which usually results in kowtowing to her fans by shitting on Rhea, Dimitri, the church and Faerghus or, in my eyes, giving up and claiming "no one's completely in the right and that's why the story's good in the first place!"

From my perspective, if this happens, where someone can't form a rock solid opinion on even just how they personally feel/think about the writing, then either they need more time to themselves instead of online discourse or (where I lean) the writing they're discussing simply isn't that good enough to warrant engaging with its bad faith fans.

Side tangent that doesn't really fit but I wanted to say it anyway: Other FE games' moral dilemmas worked as well as they did because they were ornamental; a spice to the main emotional and thematic thrust of what their stories were trying to convey. Even the more complex examples like the Tellius and Jugdral games, weren't trying to sell their stories based on "look how complex and morally gray everything is", they were natural elements of war stories that supplemented the more major storytelling beats (Tellius' discrimination aesop, religious and political dogma, class warfare, and Jugdral's geopolitical inheritance feuds and territorial disputes, blood quantums, and passing the torch to the next generation).

3H's main drive... is the moral grayness. War horrors, comparisons between peace time and conflict, and constant conversation over "what the other side's justification is" while trying to "fix Fodlan." And the sloppy, fractured, and overly bleak attempts at nuance exemplified in the story is precisely why moral grayness shouldn't be the main factor. But people ate it up because... well, the prose wasn't too shabby I guess.

[zevfern]

More M!Byleth (named Rorann in my playthroughs) headcanons, this time with the Golden Deer:

In this route, Rorann's best friend is the House Leader himself, Claude. What is initially a relationship where the two hold each other at arm's length turns into the most intimate friendship Rorann or Claude ever foster. Their unbreakable bond ends up saving the entirety of Fodlan, and connects it to Almyra and the rest of the surrounding nations.

(While Claude appears to be cool and collected in his post-timeskip reunion with Rorann, when he goes off to eat with Rorann he's internally screaming, "I can't believe it, we might be able to win this war after all!")

During his time as a professor at Garreg Mach, Rorann tries his hardest to get to know all of the students at the Officer's Academy. While some of the more antisocial students evade his best efforts, Bernadetta von Varley isn't one of them. The two unexpectedly bond, and Bernie leaves the Black Eagles to join the Golden Deer. Her decision changes her life, as she does not join the Empire military during the timeskip, instead enduring house arrest with her father until escaping near the date of the millennium festival. Reunited with Rorann, Bernie realizes she loves her former teacher, and is quite literally at his side throughout the entirety of the Alliance's campaign against Adrestria and Faerghus. For his part, Rorann always held a quiet affection for Bernie, but much like her, he didn't realize to what degree he did until the war.

(While Bernie initially balks at filling her duties as queen of Fodlan, Rorann's determination to be a good king despite feeling completely out of his depth in the position inspires her. The Bear Queen is remembered fondly for centuries past her and Rorann's lives.)

While Claude takes some time to really start opening up to Rorann, students from both inside and outside the Golden Deer warm to Rorann very quickly, liking the friendly young man hidden underneath the professor's calm and stoic face. In particular, Ferdinand von Aegir is very appreciative of the professor, as he feels welcomed by Rorann, unlike when he's with his own house leader. Ferdie and Bernie joining the Golden Deer, as well as Flayn's rescue, is part of a turning point for Claude's perception of Rorann, seeing him now as someone truly special due to his ability to bring people together.

Rorann's relationship with Leonie is a complex one. While Leonie is certainly impressed with her professor's skill, and she enjoys his company outside of class, she's frustrated at Rorann for taking her personal hero, his father, for granted all his life. This changes completely after Jeralt's murder, as Rorann sheds his first tears for his dad. Rorann and Leonie grieve together, and reach an understanding of each other. No harsh words are spoken, and no feelings are hurt.

(God I hate the Byleth/Leonie B support so much, so we're striking it from the record. This is my headcanon, they're gonna cry together instead of fight)

Post-timeskip, Rorann rallies his old students to fight off the Empire, but at Grondor, he's forced to fight, and kill some of the students not in his class. Felix is the hardest to kill, not only due to his skill, but because he often asked to be added to his class. Rorann never did, as he considered him too unfriendly and uncooperative, and the result was unnecessary bloodshed.

(I didn't recruit any of the Blue Lions during my VW route, as I don't feel any outside of maybe Ingrid or Annette fit in with the Deer. That, and I didn't meet the recruitment requirements for any of them except Felix, who I didn't want to recruit.)

Post-game, Rorann is shocked when he's given the title of King of Unified Fodlan, imagining that Claude would have taken up the title, only for Claude to reject it and leave the country. Once Khalid returns to establish diplomatic ties to Fodlan as the new king of Almyra, he's greeted by a very miffed (but still happy to see him) Rorann and Bernie.

(Much like with the Flame Emperor reveal, I was surprised to see Claude revealed to be the heir to the Almyran throne. My headcanon for Almyra is that it's similar to what Al-Andarus was in real life, except the Almyrans speak modern Spanish, much like Fodlanese is modern English. Claude's just like me fr!)

Notable Endcards and Pairings from my VW run:

Rorann/Bernadetta (the Ruler of Dawn and the Bear Queen.)

Claude/Marianne (very underrated pairing, a prince in disguise for this game's Disney princess)

Lorenz/Leonie (one of my favorite couples in the game, despite being so different they're just meant for each other. Shout-out to @readythefanons and her incredible Leorenz fanfic titled The Lorenz of Doubt. It's my favorite fanfiction of all time regardless of fandom)

Ferdinand/Hilda (probably the least popular pairing for Ferdie, which is weird to me because it's so genuine and sweet. Someone please write more fanfiction for these two.)

Ignatz solo (poor dude got benched before the time skip, so he didn't get enough support with anyone to get a pairing.)

Ralph/Flayn (really silly, was expecting something a bit different for the two)

Shamir/Catherine (their marriage is officiated by Rhea/Seiros before she passes, a final gesture of love for the two Knights who served her)

[mousegard]

If you’re still doing the character ask thing, Leonie?

leonie! yeah! i don't like, have brainworms about her like other characters, but i do think she's a really good character and i have a lot to say

favorite thing about them

the answer to this part of the ask is down in the "unpopular opinion" section so just scroll down to that. ok basically just read this post upside down, got it? scroll all the way to the bottom and grow up

anyway, leonie is one of many commoners in the monastery, with the golden deer house having the most of the bunch, and each commoner in the game shows a different facet of what it's like to be a commoner in fodlan, and i really like the perspective that leonie's backstory and personality brings. it's one of the many examples of the game's frankly underrated worldbuilding that brings fodlan to life and makes it feel like a real place full of real people!

least favorite thing about them

my least favorite thing is more of a gameplay thing than a character thing, she's a great unit on its own but if i'm recruiting her to another house or doing a full-recruitment run she sorta becomes redundant by other units i like more. sorry!

also, the fandom making "lol she wants to fuck byleth's dad" jokes. but if i complained about everything the fandom says that makes me want to tear my hair out about every character in the game i'd be here all day

oh and also her post-timeskip hair. i'm sorry i just don't like it. it looks bad on her.

favorite line

"Captain Jeralt said that, if anything should happen to him, I'd have to support you in his place. He didn't sound serious at the time, but it was right before he… you know. Before we lost him."

i think this line from her a-support with byleth recontextualizes a lot of the assholery she exhibits in her b-support with byleth (more about my thoughts on that down below in the "unpopular opinion" section) and it really brings a new dimension to the grief she feels about losing jeralt and her contentious relationship toward byleth.

brOTP

i talk a lot about her contentious relationship to byleth in this post but i honestly really like the idea of them being close in a platonic way. like yes their relationship is rocky at first but leonie does eventually get past her own resentment and grows to appreciate byleth as a part of jeralt's legacy and as someone who deserves her respect.

OTP

i don't have a lot of romantic ships for leonie but i really love her supports with bernie. especially in their c-support. bernie just seems so down bad and leonie is completely oblivious to the sheer about of butch swag she radiates.

i also love her paired ending with felix outside of azure moon, when fodlan becomes so peaceful that the two of them can't make a living as mercenaries and have to take jobs as street performers. i think it's the perfect job for felix, at least

nOTP

don't have any, there aren't any characters she has supports with that have me like, "no that's gross" or "nah i don't like that"

random headcanon

none, the things i like about her are all just right there in the text, so i don't have to make anything up

unpopular opinion

leonie gets way too much shit for her c-support and b-support with byleth. i think it's natural for her to feel resentment toward byleth, especially early on. like she's jeralt's biggest fan, knows everything she can know about him, wants to follow in his footsteps, and the person who got to have the life she dreamed of is this weirdo emotionless kid who doesn't seem to know anything about or appreciate at all the man she idolizes.

and i think her c-support is even better if you get it as soon before jeralt's death as possible. it makes his death even more of a twist of the knife.

and then you get her b-support with byleth, which i similarly love. the grief from jeralt's death for both of them is still fresh and raw. leonie tries to apologize for what she'd said to byleth before, but at the end she snaps again and that old resentment pours out, freshly invigorated.

i think those two support conversations are some of the most human support conversations in the game. because dealing with grief is hard and messy, and it can bring ugly things to the surface that hurt the people around you. this is unironically what i love about leonie. she's only human. she's a bit of a shit to byleth at first and when she tries to do better she gets in her own way because she's still hurting. it's just so good and i hate that she gets treated like a bitch for being human. unironically god forbid a woman do anything

song i associate with them

sorry, i don't have one

favorite picture of them

thank you three hopes for making leonie's post-academy design good

suzytookaflight

also i am going to give you my leobern brainworms

chestkeys

[bladesandstars]

What was your favorite piece of writing of yours this year? What was your favorite piece of writing of someone else's (published or fanfic) this year?

My stuff:

I've been pointing to Modern Loneliness a lot in year-end stuff, and I am proud of it. It's a multi-chapter Sylorenz mystery neighbor romance that I really liked writing.

But also want to shout out a soft and gentle light, part two of a claurenz space au I keep toying with and enjoying very much. Space thief Claude, dancer android Lorenz, this one was very plotless smut but I love the world and will return.

Others' AO3 goodies, in no particular order:

:readmore:

The Fate and the Furor, part of the larger The Forsaken and the Forsworn by the amazing aliatori - it's a fantastic world of pirates and deities and complex, emotionally rich characters. I love it.

it's a long way down (from here to the sound) by merionettes - modern au dimiglenn with background sylvix. Just really atmospheric and authentic.

gentlemen prefer... by mumsywrites - delightfully smutty sylorenz, perfectly spiced.

down in the gathering shadow by beleghir - Kojiro/Ainosuke, illustrating a wonderful in-between period in canon, hot as hell. A favorite rarepair of mine.

Salivate by listlessness - The Witcher, a really pretty and delicately balanced Geralt/Jaskier/Yen.

Your own wonderful burning through - this Claurenz was such a fun and sexy AU (spies) while being so distinctly them, I adored it.

no objection by itsrosencrantz - lawyer/judge AU Claurenz and SO fun and sassy, I love this world too.

A Quiet Place by moonlighten, original fic written for an exchange. An outlaw seeking mercy from a forest god. Such great fantasy.

When I look at you, no speaking is left in me , another gorgeous beleghir story, this time D/s Joe/Oka as temporary roommates. Languid and sexy and beautiful.

the paths we choose by asael - Claudedue and everything I ever wanted for this wonderful pairing.

Blue Hours by Last_Rhodeo - hot and horny Sylvix, involving kinks I did not expect to like but very much DO.

Cunt Gloucester by eristicability - this was so funny and spicy I loved it. Let Lorenz's dad have some fun. He's such a tart, and Erwin/Judith/Manuela/Jeralt is INSPIRED.

Beautiful by doop_doop - this diminatz got me right in the heart, so feelsy and pretty.

Published books:

A Lady for a Duke by Alexis Hall

The Unbroken by C.L. Clark

Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir

Giovanni's Room by James Baldwin

Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao

The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers

[dimiclaudeblaigan]

Ah, so cool that Rodrigue gets his own week! Well deserved, he was a great addition to the playable cast in Hopes. Already liked him in Houses, but he really won me over completely with his supports and how much he loves to reminisce about his youth with Lambert and Matthias, aaw. That being said, I'm kinda surprised that OP didn't list Matthias as a one of the prompts. I don't ship them but I could see it more likely than... Hanneman or Nader lol, dunno maybe people dislike Matthias too much

Yeah, he was one of my faves in Houses too. Having him in Hopes was really fun with all the lore drops. In general as a character I love him too of course in Hopes, but it was really nice getting more content about the parents.

@recurringwriter MY NONNIE WANTS TO KNOW WHY YOU DIDN'T ADD MATTHIAS IN THE RODRIGUE WEEK! -waves you over with a flag-

Tbh for the most part I see more love for Matthias than hate. It could just be because of the circles I tend to find myself in on Tumblr, but I tend to have to fight to insist I don't hate Matthias simply because I'm critical of him... as I am of any character when needed. People will start defending him like I'm attacking him, like... no lol I don't hate Matthias. I made a half joke tag about it because apparently I had to reiterate it repeatedly at the time so people would stop taking a critical eye as hate.

I can see Nader, but personally I'd like Jeralt more than Hanneman myself. I'm salty we never got the Rodrigue and Jeralt friendship they both deserved. Their soldiers talk so highly about them and we hear about how they like to drink with their soldiers and be personable with them. Put Nader in and they may as well have a friend date to the local bar LOL.

I don't know if I'll end up doing anything for Rodrigue week since I have commissions, my constant dmcl ideas and Miklan weekend booking me, but I'll be happy to see what people come up with. Maybe I'll try to make something small, I dunno.

Inb4 I write a Rodrigue Dads DmCl fic where he dads them constantly and acts like they're his baby boys and embarrasses Claude for marrying his baby boy.

Also though I wanna write something with him and Sylvain bc... Sylvix good. 👁️👄👁️

If all else fails I could just... write some Rodrigue Loves Lambert... even though IS wrote a lot of that already. 😛

[grandsonoflightike]

Grey Three Houses/Hopes P19: A Grey Reason to Fight

Background song Announcement: Let It Burn By Red

*Outside Light Sauin Village, Light Gloucester Territory*

Grey Jeralt: We get all of them? Ugh. That's the trouble with poachers—you never quite know where they are.

Light Leonie: Well, we've hit every likely hideout, so I'm guessing we cleared them all out.

Grey Jeralt: I'm glad you were here, Leonie. You really know the lay of the land.

Light Leonie: Well, Light Sauin is my home. But you've been here before too, Grey Captain.

Grey Jeralt: Sure, but that was a long time ago, and I don't remember it all that well.

*Grey Alois, Shadow Byleth, Shadow Scileth, and Light Timmy enter.*

Grey Alois: Ill news, Grey Captain! Another group of poachers has taken hostages from a neighboring light village!

Grey Jeralt: These people are a disgrace to poaching...

Grey Alois: Saying so makes it sound like you believe there was some honor in the activity to begin with.

Light Leonie: These hostage takers must be friends of the poachers who were just here. According to the people of the light village, they were involved in kidnapping as well as poaching. They made it sound like more than a few people have been taken from the surrounding light villages recently.

Grey Jeralt: Light Sauin too?

Light Leonie: Yes, they said there was one. Urgh, it makes me so mad!

Shadow Shez: These folks sound like bad news. We'd better do something before these new victims are dragged off and never heard from again.

Shadow Byleth: House Light Gloucester's orders were to deal with the poaching issue in Sauin. We did that. Our work is done.

Light Leonie: How can you be so cold?! If you see someone in trouble, you help them! That's just basic decency!

Light Timmy: I don't see anyone here. Do you?

Light Leonie: You know what I mean!

Grey Jeralt: Easy, Light Leonie. The 2 kids was just stating a fact—I'm sure no harm was intended.

Light Leonie: How could you possibly raise such a cold and unfeeling person, Grey Captain?

Grey Jeralt: I...wasn't always the best dad, I admit.

Grey Alois: Perhaps we should shelve this conversation for now and determine our next move.

Grey Jeralt: Plenty of villagers helped me out the last time I was in this neck of the woods, so it's only right I pay it back. Plus, I'm not just going to sit by while "poachers" run wild in my light apprentice's home turf.

Light Leonie: Captain!

Grey Jeralt: But we can't linger long. We track down the bad guys, free the hostages, and go home. Got it?

Grey Alois: I knew you'd do the right thing!

Grey Jeralt: *to Shadow Shez* You don't have any connections here, so it's your call if you want to pitch in or not. Nobody will think worse of you if you decide to duck out on this little goose chase.

Shadow Shez: Nah, I'll come. I wouldn't want anything to happen to Leonie's home.

Light Leonie: Good to know I can count on you, at least.

Shadow Byleth and Light Timmy: ...

Shadow Shez: I'm sure you'd manage without me, but many hands make light work and all that.

Grey Jeralt: Then let's roll. Light Leonie? You're in charge.

Light Leonie: Leave it to me, Grey Captain!

Grey Alois: Now, enough deliberation! The time has come for plain old liberation!

Shadow Shez: Uh...sure. Right behind you.

*At the start of battle*

Grey Jeralt: The hostages must be further in. Maybe we can draw the bad guys away from them first.

Light Leonie: A fine plan, Captain! Once we do so, we can easily rescue the hostages.

Grey Jeralt: Here we go, then. Let's make some noise and get their attention! How many decades has it been since I was here last? Where does the time go?

Grey Alois: I know what you mean, Captain! Though not literally, of course, as I don't believe I was with you at the time.

*After seizing one stronghold*

Grey Jeralt: We were dealing with poachers the last time we were here, too. Remember?

Shadow Byleth: Can't say I do.

Light Timmy: Me neither.

*After seizing three strongholds*

Grey Jeralt: Wait, now I remember! None of you were with me the last time I came here!

Grey Alois: That makes sense. The Twins would've been too young, and I was with the Knights of Grey Seiros.

*After seizing the first four strongholds*

Light Bandit: Hey, we're being raided! Don't just stand there with your mouths hanging open! Attack!

Grey Jeralt: Well, we've drawn them out. Now's our chance to rescue the hostages.

Light Leonie: OK, let's take care of any enemies who held back and rescue those hostages.

Grey Jeralt: Guess we should mop up the rest of them, huh?

Light Leonie: Please, Captain! When I first met the captain, I was a weak little village girl, and now I'm a mercenary. I really have come a long way.

Shadow Shez: You? Weak? That's hard to imagine.

*After defeating one of the distracted enemies*

Light Leonie: Looking good!

Grey Jeralt: Don't get cocky!

*After defeating two of the distracted enemies*

Grey Alois: *to Shadow Byleth* I think of you, Your Sister, Light Timmy, and Light Leonie as my siblings. All of us were raised by Jeralt, after all!

Shadow Byleth: Which would make you...what, Grey Alois? Our older brother?

*After defeating all of the distracted enemies*

Grey Jeralt: They sure put up a fight.

Light Leonie: But the Grey Jeralt school of warfare remains undefeated!

*After rescuing one of the Citizens*

Light Leonie: Captain Jeralt taught me how to determine the flow of battle by capturing key positions on the battlefield. He's the best!

*After rescuing two of the Citizens*

Shadow Shez: I didn't realize Grey Jeralt was into strategy. Always struck me as more of a "hit 'em until they stop moving" sort of guy.

Light Leonie: Oh, he's strategic when he needs to be—underhanded, even. He does whatever it takes to win.

*After rescuing all of the Citizens*

Light Light Citizen: Hey, you're Light Leonie! From Light Sauin, right? Wow, you've really grown up. Thanks for the help!

Light Leonie: Haha! I'm surprised you recognize me. Though maybe I don't look all that different.

Grey Jeralt: Looks like everyone from the village is OK. Just have to get them to a safe place now.

Light Bandit: No way we're just gonna let you walk outta here! Get 'em!

Grey Jeralt: I almost admire how persistent they are.

Light Leonie: The hostages are in danger!

*After defeating one of the attackers*

Grey Jeralt: You've become quite the mercenary. Seems like only yesterday, you were just a little kid.

Light Leonie: I know it seems like yesterday to you, but I've done a lot of living since then.

*After defeating two of the attackers*

Light Leonie: Grey Captain, was it too much work taking me on as an apprentice?

Grey Jeralt: Nah. I mean, I gotta do something to fill in the time, right?

*After defeating four of the attackers*

Grey Jeralt: You know, you were a pretty good apprentice. No matter how much I rambled on about this or that, you still hung on my every word.

Light Leonie: Well, I didn't know how to write, so the only way to remember your lessons was to concentrate as hard as I could.

*After defeating all of the attackers*

Grey Jeralt: I think we're about done here.

Light Leonie: Get 'em where they're weak and be done with it! Wasted energy benefits no one!

Grey Jeralt: Another of my lessons—and a founding principle of the Grey Jeralt school of warfare.

*When one Citizen reaches the Forest Highroad*

Grey Jeralt: That reminds me—how's your old man?

Light Leonie: As poor as ever, but he's healthy and happy. I remember how the two of you used to drink until the sun came up... Hehe!

*When two Citizens reach the Forest Highroad*

Light Leonie: Just one more!

*When all of the Citizens reach the Forest Highroad*

Light Leonie: We did it! We saved all the hostages!

Light Bandit Leader: Come to kill some poachers in the name of justice, huh? Well, you meddlers shoulda minded yer own business!

*The Light Bandit Leader, a Great Knight, appears.*

Light Leonie: That must be the leader. Let's make him pay!

*When the Light Bandit Leader's HP reach <= 75%*

Grey Jeralt: The Light Sauin Elder must've had a real headache on his hands dealing with all these poachers.

Light Leonie: But the light elder has a good relationship with Count Light Gloucester, so he responded right away.

*When the Light Bandit Leader's HP reach <= 50%*

Grey Jeralt: You should pack it in already. You're dealing with the Grey Blade Breaker here!

Light Bandit Leader: Wait. You're Grey Jeralt?!

*When the Bandit Leader is defeated*

Light Leonie: You did it, Grey Captain!

Grey Jeralt: We did it, Light Leonie. OK, now we're really done. Let's beat it.

Light Leonie: Yes, sir!

*Outside the bandit camp*

Grey Alois: I told jokes to the hostages as I delivered them safely back to their villages. You could say I had a captive audience!

Light Leonie: We've restored peace to this whole area, Grey Captain! Thank you! Thank you, everyone!

Grey Jeralt: Mercs like us are only supposed to work for pay, but a freebie every now and then won't kill me.

Shadow Shez: Yeah, I would've regretted it if I'd gone home.

Light Leonie: Thank you for doing the right thing.

Light Timmy: I just followed orders. That's all.

Light Leonie: Well, I'm thanking you anyway. Now the light villagers can live in peace. I was supposed to stay here and be a hunter with my light father, you know. But once I met the light captain, I knew I had to try and make it as a light mercenary. My light father and the rest of the light village always supported me—before the light academy and after. It's been a long, strange path, but I finally became a mercenary and was able to help my light hometown in the process. I don't think I've ever been happier. It feels like I've repaid some debts—although not my actual debt from school. Still working on that one.

Grey Alois: I'm glad we helped you give back instead of helping to give you back!

Grey Jeralt: Alois, you mind reporting back and letting Count Gloucester know what happened? Oh, and don't forget to grab the reward money.

Grey Alois: Understood. I will away at once!

*Grey Alois leaves.*

Grey Jeralt: Light Leonie, why don't you run along to Light Sauin and let everyone know things are good now. Tell them I'll stop by later.

Light Leonie: I will, Grey Captain! Thank you, again.

*Light Leonie leaves.*

Grey Jeralt: You two should head back to base. I've got to pay my respects to the light village elder and Light Leonie's old man. Probably won't make it back until tomorrow.

Light Timmy: You expect them to throw you a feast, don't you?

Grey Jeralt: I don't know what you're talking about.

Shadow Shez: Hey, yeah! That's why you sent Light Leonie ahead—so the villagers could prepare for your arrival! I mean, you got rid of the poachers and now Light Leonie's telling them you're on the way? You're practically begging them to serve you up a fancy meal!

Grey Jeralt: It's not like that! Although if I get there and they just happen to have a feast ready, it'd be rude to refuse.

Shadow Shez: And poor Grey Alois doesn't even get to join in on the fun. Shame.

Grey Jeralt: Hey, that guy hasn't had a drink in years. He's not missing anything. Now then, this is an evening for grown-ups, so you kids get on home. If anything comes up while I'm gone...you can handle it yourselves. Well, time for me to set off. Ah, there's nothing like that first drink after playing the hero...

*Grey Jeralt leaves.*

Shadow Shez: Is Grey Jeralt always like this?

Shadow Byleth: Yes. Always.

Shadow Shez: Well, guess us kids should shut up and head home. Maybe hold hands so we don't get lost.

Shadow Byleth: Must we hold hands?

Shadow Shez: Only joking. I swear, the only thing duller than your blade is your sense of humor.

Shadow Scileth: What do you expect from the Shadow Brother Of The Grey Ashen Demon?Light Timmy:*Laughs* True.

[yonaren1996]

This is part 2 of the house of the black eagles

Hey. Time to wake up.

I sit up on the bed and rub my eyes and open them the person in front of me has  blondish-tan hair with brown eyes with a scar on his cheek and a beard that matches his hair. This person is important to me because he is my dad and I care for him a lot.I don't know who my mom is she died when I was born. And I look nothing like my dad while he has blonde-tan hair I have black hair

Were you having that dream again??? Once I wake up I answer his questions.

I was dreaming of a girl...

Yon have described her to me before.

I don't think I've ever met anyone like that.

In any case, just put that out of your mind for now.

The battlefield is no place for idle thoughts.

Risking your life is part of the job for mercenaries like us. Letting your mind wander is a sure way to get yourself killed. Ok time to get moving. are next job is in the kingdom.

I told you before. It is far from here, so we'll need to leave at dawn.

Of course.

Hm? Good grief. Everyone is already waiting for us outside. Just then one of our men came in from outside to let us know that something was wrong.

Jeralt! Sir! Sorry to barge in, but your presence is needed. What's happened???

Outside. When we walk out standing there is two boys and a girl about my age. The first boy is blonde and has with blue eyes. The second boy has brown hair almost black with green eyes. The girl has blonde hair that is almost white with purple eyes.

Boy number 1:Please forgive our intrusion. We wouldn't bother you were the situation not dire. My dad asks : What do a bunch of kids like you want at this hour??? boy 1:We are being pursued by a group of bandits. I can only hope that you will be so kind as to lend your support. My dad :Bandits??? Here??? The girl then says : It is true. They attacked us while we were at rest in our camp.

Boy 2 : we have been separated from our companions and we're outnumbered. They're after our lives... not to mention our gold.

I'm impressed you're staying so calm considering the situation. I... wait. That uniform...

A mercenary walks up and gives a report. (Bandits spotted just outside the village! Damn... there are a lot of them.) I guess they followed you all the way here we can't abandon this village now. Come on, let's move. I hope you are ready. I nod my head to let him know I am ready.

So we go outside the village ready to defend it and the villagers who are fast asleep with out a care in the world. Who will be waking up soon.

Soon one of the bandits attack and we defeat one but there was still more and they attacked in small groups together.

Damn why is there mercenaries in the village?

Guess we'll have to deal with them too.

Is what we heard from who we guess is the leader of the bandits. Soon we where standing in front of the leader of the bandits and he had dodged are first attack but he fell over on to his back but before we could do anything he had jumped back up to his feet and so he charged and the one standing in front of him it was the girl and she stood ready to kill him but before he could get to her I ran to the girl and pushed her down out of the way and covered her with my body with my back to the bandit leader who charged then everything froze. Next thing I know I am in front of the throne again with the little girl on it and she looks mad and she starts to scold me.

What are you doing??? Are you trying to get me killed you fool!!! She sighs well it's fine. After all, if you don't know the value of your own life, you're not going to protect it very well, are you???

Of course not. She then stands up laughing and clasps her hands together.

Well, then. I guess it's up to me to guide you from now on. Right?

You can call me Sothis... but I am also known as

"the beginning "

Hmm... Sothis... Yes, that is it. My name is Sothis.

And I am also called...  The beginning.

But who once called me that?

Sothis? I asked

I was not able to recall my name... until just now.

And just like that it came to me. How odd. That look on your face... did you think me a child? A mere child who forgot her own name?!

Phooey! That "child " just saved your life!

And what does that make you?

Am less than a child?

Yes. Correct! You understand. You threw yourself before an axe to save just one young girl.

Yet all is well, as I have stalled the flow of time for now. You would have died had I not intervened.

Thank you. I say as I place my hand over my chest and bowed.

There now. is gratitude so much to ask?

I did deem you worthy of saving, after all.

Though it is only momentary, time has stopped. However did i manage that...

What now?

When time begins again, the axe will tear into your flesh, and you will surely meet your end. How rude of you to drag me into this!

Oh what to do...

Turn back the hands of time.

Of course I must turn back the hands of time! She then checks if she can. Yes I do believe it can be done. You really are quite troublesome. I cannot wind it back to far. But all is well. You are aware of what is to come, which means you can protect yourself this time. Now, go... yes, you who bears the flames within. Drift through the flow of time to find the answers you seek...

And with that time rewinds and starts again just as the bandits leader jumps up to charge at the guilt again and I jump in front of the girl again only this time I am ready to defend her with my sword bared at the bandit leader and as he charges he's yells you'll die! Only for me to stop his swing and knock his axe out of his hands and send him flying. I stand back in ease, but ready to start ready to fight again if he gets back up when I hear someone from somewhere to my left say.  hey over  here!

And both of the guys from earlier, come running up to us. We all stop to look each other over to make sure nobody is hurt.

Then my dad rides up on his horse and looks at us and says: hey... did you just...

Just then tree men who look like knights appear.

One of them announces loudly the knights of seiros are here! We'll cut you down for terrorizing our students. Hey the thieves are running away! Go after them!

Two of the men run off after the bandits and there leader.

The students seem to be unharmed. And... Hey who is this?

Ugh... why him?

And with the bandits gone so was the battle.

[notajinn]

Top Games Played in 2022 - Number 4: Fire Emblem Three Hopes

4. Fire Emblem: Three Hopes (Switch)

 On paper, a Fire Emblem Warriors game that is only about one game in the series sounds awful. It was frustrating enough that the first Fire Emblem Warriors only included Shadow Dragon, Awakening, and Fates characters.

But I love the cast and setting of Three Houses enough that I was happy for a spinoff. Especially one which could potentially lead to a happier ending.

I only played the Golden Deer route so far, but I know the gameplay systems are the same in all routes. So I'm comfortable judging the whole game off this.

 What I Like

Many of the recent Warriors spin-off games like Persona 5 Strikers have gone for more unique gameplay systems that match their original game. This is good to an extent, but sometimes you just want the classic Warriors setup which the small individual maps, strongholds, etc. Three Hopes uses this method thankfully, which makes the gameplay the equivalent of a popcorn flick; not too much thought needed, but fun to play and in easy-to-digest portions.

Movesets are based off Class rather than character, so they were able to add nearly the entire Three Houses cast as playable characters. That said, every character has a unique function that helps them play differently. Some are very different, such as Lorenz having a unique meter that nullifies damage, while others are more generic like Claude's attacks always having Wind affinity.

By my count, there are roughly 20-24 different movesets in this game by Class. It's a great variety comparable to the amount of movesets in the first Fire Emblem Warriors.

The Golden Deer story gives some much-needed focus to Claude, and helps deliver on the "schemer" trait that was underdeveloped in Three Houses. It's also a nice alternate universe to see for other characters, such as Ignatz becoming a knight for Lorenz, or Leonie immediately becoming a mercenary.

The characters don't feel flanderized, and we even get to see many important characters that never directly appeared in Three Houses such as Holst (Hilda's famous brother), Monica (an important NPC in Black Eagles) and Count Gloucester (Lorenz' dad). I also appreciate the Ashen Wolves being in the game and not DLC.

Supports are great, and we get to see many conversations I wanted in Three Houses but didn't exist such as Marianne/Bernadetta (the two depressed shy girls), Lorenz/Constance (the two comical and proud nobles), and Leonie/Jeralt (the mercenary and the captain she was inspired by).

Three Hopes also adapted and streamlined the "Monastery" portion of the game so it feels much smoother to use efficiently.

Most of the new character designs are great. and some are better than their Three Houses looks. Specifically I’m a big fan of this version of Marianne, Hapi, and Dedue.

 What I Don't Like

The Golden Deer ending is REALLY sudden and frustrating. There is a big cutscene to finish the chapter, then a short text epilogue before credits play. It's really bizarre, and needs time to breathe. I've heard the other routes end just as abruptly.

Some character's unique abilities are really unremarkable, which makes them less fun to play. Strangely enough the three House Leaders (Claude, Egeldard, Dimitri) are among the most boring characters because their unique ability is just adding elemental affinity on their regular attacks. I guess the idea is to balance for them getting unique Classes, but it's still weird. This makes some characters feel significantly better than others.

Classes are still gender-locked for no good reason. This would have been a perfect opportunity to play around with unique setups like Gremory Lorenz or War Master Leonie.

I also wish the Dark Flier class made it into Three Hopes. A flying magic Class in a Warriors game would be really fun.

While the Base is better than the Monastery in Three Houses, it still ends up feeling too long. Especially since this game is overall more fast-paced.

The marketing also made it seem like the three lords would team up, but that doesn’t really happen.

Final Thoughts

The gamplay stays true to Warriors with some Fire Emblem elements, and we get some more time and love for a cast I already love. If the story had better execution (and especially a better ending), this could have been much better. But it's already a great game for any fans of Three Houses.

[theia-eos]

Man, I submitted both of these guys. Alois is a great dad, imo, and he loves his kids and his family and keeps in touch with them. There's the dad jokes and the fact that he helps out Byleth after Jeralt's death too. I love the man.

But let me talk about Oscar for a minute. Oscar's obviously the older brother of Boyd and Rolf, but like, the dude is just great. He's off training to be a royal knight and he finds out that his step-mother ran off, leaving behind her very young son Rolf and her other stepson, Boyd, because her husband, their father, got very sick. But he doesn't find this out until after their father has died, meaning Boyd and Rolf were alone and watched him die and were trying to keep themselves alive too. Fuck Rolf's Mother. Boyd and Rolf were together so young and helpless that Boyd says this about the situation when reunited with his stepmother:

My father died not too long after you left him. We’d have followed him, too, if my brother hadn’t abandoned his knighthood in Crimea to take care of us!

And abandon it Oscar did, to take care of his siblings. All the glory, fame, and money he could have earned, and he gave it up to take care of them. And despite what his stepmother did, when she comes crawling back years later, wanting to see Rolf, begging for forgiveness, saying she was too young to deal with the difficulty of taking care of two boys and a sick husband, that stuck up bitch, Oscar doesn't turn her away. He leaves it up to Rolf to decide whether Rolf wants anything to do with his mother or not.

So, yeah. Like, obviously not their parent, but he filled that role to keep his younger brothers safe.

Anyway, vote Alois or Oscar.

Best Fire Emblem Parent: Round 1 - Match 17

[fireemblems24]

Azure Gleam Ch 14

I feel sad knowing this route is almost over :(

NARRATION

As much as Claude is annoying me right now, it's cool to see Faerghus, the Alliance, and the church all team up.

So it looks like we're fighting Caspar and Bergliez again. It's so much easier on me to kill the Empire characters lol.

It's so funny that all the Empire characters know something is weird with Edelgard, but are like "I'm still fighting anyways."

Is there any explanation of what happened to her? Or is this just a cope out so the war keeps going without making her into a flat-out evil.

Bergliez tells Caspar to run away. He's not though. And honestly, I don't want him. Not Hopes!Caspar at least. Brgliez keeps trying though, which guess he gets some dad points? Maybe? I like him more than Holst.

He compares what they're doing to captains that go down with their ship. So needless death. Ship captains have no choice, but they do and they keep fighting. Poor taste.

They're heading for the monastery. Shocking. I know. /s

I love how in the other routes, I protect Aegir. In this one, I'm sure I'll get to kill him. Feels good.

They talk strategy.

I honestly appreciate that this games goes a bit more into strategy. It's not super detailed, but more than Fire Emblem usually does lol.

Arval is like, ok, it's my turn. The suggestion is to just strike everyone all at once.

She's like, we've got the stronger army, let's act like it. I like that kind of thinking.

Felix calls Shez a boar lol. Says we have too boars in this army.

SIDE BATTLES/MAP

Shez tried to sympathize with Linhardt about possibly fighting Caspar and he's like "it doesn't really bother me" lol.

Felix admires Berlgeiz however the fuck you spell his name because he finds the sense of duty to the Empire despite it being a giant fuck up right now admirable. Coming from Felix, that's hysterical. I wish Shez had the option to tease Felix about it lol.

A scholar just said Dimitri appreciates their input (calculating how much food and raw materials is needed etc) unlike many other leaders. Happy to see more Dimitri praise in this game.

Petra once knocked Duke Aegir on his ass for insulting her father. I wonder if you get to learn this amazing piece of Petra lore in other routes or if this is an AG exclusive badassery.

Ok, so some random church NPC talked about how killing Edelgard would end the Emperor bloodline because there's rumors all her siblings are dead. Her backstory is really so weird. How would people not know about a bunch of dead princes and princesses?

Yuri is religious? He says he has a habit of praying before a big event, something he does because his mother did. I like it when characters add something unexpected to them that the usual stereotype of that character doesn't usually have.

If Hubert came up with "those who slither in the dark" as a nickname, how come everyone uses it? Even people who wouldn't know Hubert at all like Flayn?

Lorenz was just talking up how smart Claude is and all I can think is that GW!Claude isn't smart enough to find his way out of a wet paper bag.

I just got all of Shez's Blue Lions supports unlocked. Now I need to still get Flayn, Seteth, Catherine, Jeralt, and Byleth. I'm not sure I have enough time. But I'm going to try.

Duke Aegir is Thales' puppet. So TWSITD is ruling the Empire.

Edelgard just mindlessly listens to Aegir and Thales.

This lady turned on the Empire big time. Dimitri says he's still throwing her into a cell, lol.

Dimitri believes what she said though. He brings up the evidence he discovered while investigating in White Clouds. And also uses the Tomas situation as more evidence.

Dimitri now knows that his father, the knights, and the citizens of Duscur would all be alive without those mages.

He says they have the right to seek justice in the way they see fit. I love it. Not apologizing for defending themselves, but owning taking the initiative against TWSITD.

And there's a lot of people in the Blue Lions who has a personal beef with TWSITD.

I can finally give Dimitri the merc whistle! He also had a second set of dialogue on the map this chapter. It was about some Empire general we captured.

SHEZ & FELIX A

This one starts on a battlefield instead of training. Still very Felix.

And they're complimenting each other. Felix is complimenting someone. But it's their swordfighting so . . .

Shez is beginning to understanding Felix, saying he assigns a role to himself and carries it out. Which, she's not wrong.

Felix credits Rodrigue for his skill, lol. He also just complimented Rodrigue. Good for Felix.

His style is passed down in Fraldarius for generations. Because they're so tight. Man, the Dimitri/Felix yaoi writes itself.

Shez calls him indispensable to Dimitri and everyone. Felix is the lance and shield. Shez is the projectile like an arrow or stone.

She tells him to be more direct with compliments, Felix gets annoyed, but then says Shez is important to the army too.

Felix says Shez can't stay focused in battle - like she has someone talking to her in her head. More proof on how perceptive Felix is.

Also kudos to Byleth for Felix never noticing the same, which, imo, is perfectly in character for Byleth and Shez.

Shez is actually happy to know that Felix knows her so well that she spotted it. Since she gets sappy, Felix goes tsundere is like "I'm never complimenting you again!" Congrats, Shez, it means you're one of his people now if he's that emotionally fickle with you lamo.

This support was mostly just Shez and Felix gushing over how good the other is at fighting and how important they are to the group as a whole. I loved it. AG!Shez must be so much happier and more grounded than poor SB!Shez.

SHEZ & DIMITRI A

Dimitri is on break, but also depressed. Shez is concerned. Of course, it's because Dimitri can't relax. Other people are working, so he feels bad that he's not.

Shez asks why Dimitri is so insistent on it. Dimitri says it's the only way he knows how to be. That his life has never belonged to him because of his birthright.

Aaaaand of course the tragedy comes up, saying that makes him feel responsible too. So it's rooted partly in trauma :(

I can disagree or sympathize with him. Not sure which. I think I'm going to disagree, that it's not all his responsibility.

Ohh, Shez says he needs to trust people who wants to help.

Dimitri wants to ease the pain of the dead and living. That he'll have to make sacrifices to reach that goal, but doesn't want anyone else to suffer because of his goals. So he must carry the burden alone.

Shez is like, what about you're suffering and pain. That he can't care for others if he doesn't care for himself first.

Dimitri's like, I don't know how to respond to that - but like earnestly doesn't know. He doesn't know how to take care of his own pain nor what happiness would look like for him.

(God, this support is just making me love AM even more in retrospect, knowing that Dimitri gets to learn all of this, an my God wouldn't it be awesome if there was some kind of AG/AM blend that included this support somewhere in the middle)

Shez is like, how can you not know that? Asks what makes him smile? Like defeating a rival or a banquet.

Dimitri doesn't think he has the right to such happiness.

Good, God, Dimitri. He says he can only think of his death and leaving happy citizens and a peaceful kingdom behind.

Lord, nobody knows how much I love this. Like, not for Dimitri, boy needs therapy asap, and I want him to just be happy.

But, as a avid anime/manga and fantasy fan, do you know how many snot-nosed spoiled chosen ones and royalty and nobles I've come across who bitch and moan endlessly about their privileges lives because it comes with responsibilities and how they want to be a commoner with NO FUCKING IDEA what it's like to work day in and day out for someone who doesn't really care about you and will just replace you if convenient but your entire livelihood is dependent on spending most of your able-bodies life slaving away for them? Not to mention - back then - it would likely be some backbreaking work with shitty working conditions and no modern medicine or workers rights? It's so infuriating. Sometime they have a point, like pressure or whatever, but the older I get, the less I sympathize with their whining.

But Dimitri is like the exact opposite. He can't even be an individual away from his role at a leader because he's thrown too much of himself into it with no complaining at all. It's just so refreshing to see something the exact opposite of how this usually plays out, and is so much more interesting to explore than the same old for the xnth time.

Shez is like, you're dismal sometimes, she's not wrong. And is like why is death what makes me happy. Dimitri sounds like he doesn't even get that it sounded dismal while saying it.

She's like, what about partying with friends! Dimitri's like, wasted on me. But he says seeing his friends smile does make him happy.

Shez is annoyed with him lol. And is like, k, I'll just have to work twice as hard.

"You're going to take a break. And by the goddess, you're going to like it." I actually laughed. God, I love Shez.

She's like, you need to leave the office, bud. Dimitri says no words can express his gratitude.

I love their friendship so much. Like, I honestly don't think I ship it? I think they're just really tight friends, which Dimitri is such a shipping magnet, it's nice to see something as just pure friendship.

This is by far my favorite lord/Shez dynamic. Though, I think I ship Shez most with Byleth and I haven't even seen their supports yet.

ASHE & RAPHAEL C

Raphael is eating a lot. Shocking.

Raphael opened an inn??? And he's the cook. But he never gets compliments on his cooking, which makes him think his food tastes bad. He confesses that he doesn't know how to cook.

Ashe volunteers to teach Raphael how to cook.

Ashe thinks one of the best feelings in the world is when someone likes the food you cook.

Ashe test tries Raphael's food, which is just a pile of meat lol. Raphael doesn't understand why people would want anything else.

He describes Raphael's food like bacon wrapped around a salt lick lamo.

Unlike the Empire which won't eat their veggies like a bunch of spoiled brats, Ashe is promoting healthy veggie eating and understands food is best when you match complimentary flavors, including veggies, those Empire heathens.

Poor Raphael gets confused. Ashe talks about seasoning, and Raphael thinks like spring, summer, etc . . . and not like garlic.

Ashe is determined to help though.

Fairly wholesome support.

ASHE & INGRID B

They only got 1 support :(

Ingrid's troubled. Ashe notices. But she denies it.

Ashe encourages Ingrid to talk to him.

Ingrid's amazed by how fertile the lands are. And it's Faerghus lands. It's because of lack of snow and lots of fields.

Both Ashe and Ingrid notice things like the wheat fields.

Ingrid basically lives on rocks. So, hard to grow food.

Ashe thinks the effort will pay off later, even if Ingrid doesn't live long enough to see the results.

Ashe was quoting King Loog. Ingrid notices, lol. They start geeking out a bit. I love Ashe and Ingrid geeking out.

Dagda apparently also has soil issues. They have a crop they can grow despite that, but can't remember the name, but thinks Shamir might know. So Ingrid has hope she can learn it.

Ashe says he's just helping her as a friend, not a knight.

He can relate to being hungry because he grew up poor.

INGRID & ANNETTE B

Annette is trying to convince herself to grab something and run. Ingrid accidentally scares her. It's dark outside, so Annette's likely afraid of ghosts or something lol.

Of course, Annette wants a book she left in the mess hall. A woman after my own heart, braving fear because of love of a book.

Ingrid was heading there too. Annette's like this is destiny.

It's so dark even Ingrid gets spooked, but not as much as Annette. Who runs into a pile of crates lol.

Ingrid asks Annette if she's afraid of the dark. And poor Annette is, but really wishes she wasn't.

Ingrid, though, isn't afraid of the dark or ghosts. Annette is fascinated how Ingrid isn't afraid of ghosts.

Ingrid's brothers used to tell her those stories, but Ingrid thinks it's proof ghosts isn't real because you'd run into them more.

Ingrid actually wishes ghosts were real, because then she'd be able to talk to the dead still. But accepts that the dead are dead.

Annette circles that back to living while you're still alive.

Annette decides to walk back by herself to conquer her fears.

Ingrid is impressed with Annette's attitude.

INGRID & DEDUE A

This is a support I'm very curious about. It's their only one, but it's A. Plus, this game has handled Ingrid and Duscur much better.

Dedue has "brought substance" - it's just a cream puff lol.

Ingrid is happy with the timing. She's writing reports on their last fight in the Duscur region. And thinks it'll be a while until things stabilize.

Both Ingrid and Dedue agree that the Kingdom and Duscur have good and bad people. Ingrid gets upset over the innocent people getting lumped into the bad ones.

Dedue says he used to hate Faerghus, but meeting the nice people like Dimitri and others has made him expand his views.

People used to throw stones at Dedue - and Dimitri too :(

Ingrid says she would've remained gnorant about Duscur if she'd never meant Dedue.

Dedue says he finds Ingrid's willingness to change admirable. Ingrid admits she has a long way to go still.

She invites Dedue to go get a snack together and suggests an inn that Dimitri suggested with good food, owned by someone from Duscur. Pretty sure that was mentioned in her support with him.

Dedue is just pissed that Dimitri went wandering around town with only just Ingrid, seeing it as reckless, lamo.

I love all the Blue Lions, man.

YURI & SETETH A

Yuri fell for a trap. Because it was his "second worst" brush with death, Seteth is curious about the first. It was the plague that wrecked Faerghus (and killed Dimitri's mother). Yuri survived without a doctor's help.

An old man saved him. They found some old man on the road, took him in, and then later he saved Yuri. But is dead by now.

Seteth seems to know who it is.

There's a legend that one of the Ten Elites got sick and got healthy after getting a crest from a Saint.

So Seteth thinks Yuri got his rare crest from the actual saint? Or close descendant of.

So that explains why Yuri's hinted at living longer than average, and has a super rare crest.

Seteth is happy to learn one of his old friends may have found peace in his final moments because he got to save a child's life.

I don't know if his House's supports tells you about this lore, but it's cool to learn it here.

It's also nice to see Yuri talk to someone without picking a fight. He was so chill, almost friendly to Seteth rather than sounding a bit like a fanfic edgelord initially (like, I like Yuri, but some of him reeks of baby's first fanfic OC).

SHEZ & FLAYN A

Flayn's upset with Seteth, who told her no about something.

Man, Seteth and Flayn's relationship would be creepy as fuck if they were really siblings. Like, Seteth is extremely controlling of Flayn, and often it looks like the typical icky "my woman must remain pure!!!" Like, not only do they treat the women in their family like possessions, not people, but seem especially interested in owning their genitals and sexuality. It's so extremely weird and gross, and why I pretty much can't stand Holst anymore (he seemed alright at first, but some supports are so ick).

But learning that their father-daughter helps (it's still gross, but less weird because at least he's a legit authority figure in her life and not her . . . brother), but knowing it's actually because TWSITD want to torture Flayn to death, that his people got genocided and turned into super weapons, and that she healed so many people she nearly died too (which would leave him with no family) makes it not offputting. It's actually a pretty smart way of using tropes that seems set up to make us dislike him (over controlling father) and then a big "ohhhhh" once you learn the WHY isn't the typical creepy "my girl is not a whore!" obsession wayyyyy too many men have.

OK, back to the support now.

Seteth is trying to block Flayn from going out entirely. Poor Flayn. But with TWSITD on the move, it does make sense.

Shez is very concerned with Flayn. I love how empathetic Shez is while still being realistically distant enough to be a merc and pretty straight forward. I actually REALLY like Shez. Esp F!Shez.

Flayn is going to listen to Seteth because she doesn't want to make it hard on him.

After the war, they plan on going out together again.

Flayn is grateful it's F!Shez and not M!Shez bc a woman is less sus to Seteth than a man. I wonder how the M!Shez one goes.

Haha, Shez can offer to help Flayn sneak out, or talk her out of it. I totally offered to help her sneak out lol.

MAIN BATTLE

Do we ever learn what happened to Edelgard? Or did she get yeeted from the plot?

She's missing this battle. Aegir lost her. What an idiot. He looks so funny in that armor. I'm glad in this route at least, I get to kick his ass, not save his ass (unlike the other 2 routes).

I do not understand the hype around Caspar's dad. He folds like a twig when I fight him.

Killed Aegis. Such a tragedy. /s

OMG. I beat that chapter in like 4 minutes. Dimitri is so overleveled and stupidly strong. He just kills so fast. It's hilarious and fun. But I also miss S rank because I didn't kill enough. He kills too fast.

They still can't find Edelgard.

It'll be weird if we don't get a monastery chapter.

Byleth insists on looking for Edelgard more because he feels she's nearby.

Byleth and Shez look for Edelgard together. Which makes me hope we get dialogue between them.

Unless this is the start of the special chapter? Ok switching to the next post now.

xxxx

[bae-leth]

HI IM HERE WITH ANOTHER THING I WROTE this takes place before the game so no spoilers here! and i think you’re farther in than the playthrough i’m watching is so bhdhhfh

it’s about jeralt and (genderfluid) young byleth! plus a made up character named elliott

snowdrop

Jeralt was polishing the pommel of his blade when he heard Byleth’s little footsteps coming down the stairs.

He knew it was his child by the way they walked; one step, then a heavier one when Byleth landed on the step two below the first. They didn’t like the one in the middle, since it creaked and bent and made the little one nervous.

Jeralt also knew it was Byleth by the fact that his child was the only other resident of their little home by the creek.

Jeralt glanced up as Byleth landed on the last step, in their oversized sleepwear that consisted of a dark gray shirt—it once belonged to Jeralt, but he had abandoned it when it became too moth-bitten. Byleth had found it and started to wear it to sleep, so what could Jeralt do but patch up the holes?—and worn pants that went to the child’s knees. 

Jeralt smiled as Byleth toddled over, rubbing their blue eyes and letting their father slip them into his lap. They giggled when Jeralt kissed their dusky hair.

“Good morning. What’s it going to be today, kiddo?”

“Boy,” came the child’s soft response, Byleth’s dark eyelashes sticking together from yawning tears. Jeralt carried him to the washroom to help him take a bath.

Byleth was going to be five in a couple weeks. He liked chasing the foxes and catching crayfish in the creek, though he got upset when Jeralt nearly cooked them one evening.

He loved decorating his hair (and Jeralt’s, of course) with early spring blossoms, as well as giving summer wildflowers to the boys and girls of the village he and Jeralt frequented.

The child didn’t like to talk, and Jeralt was fine with that—grasshoppers and swallows were nice to listen to in the mornings. He was aware of a couple village folk who would reprimand their small children for not speaking; Jeralt charged them extra if they needed help with thieves.

There was an incident when Jeralt had taken Byleth (who was a girl that day) to the village for some sweets, and when she wouldn’t talk, a couple elderly villagers started to scold her. This infuriated Jeralt, and he lashed out at them; he had to be escorted out of the sweet shop and was not allowed back in since then.

Thankfully, Jeralt had a friend who bought treats for Byleth and traveled to the woodlands to deliver them each moon.

Byleth liked to keep his hair short, cropped just over his shoulders. Jeralt hadn’t accosted elders where his child got his hair cut, so it was trimmed every two and three quarter moons (Byleth wouldn’t have it any other way).

His hair was to be cut again this afternoon; Byleth sat obediently in the tub while Jeralt cleaned every part of the child he was permitted (by said child) to touch, taking extra care to rid Byleth’s scalp of dandruff and dirt. His little one had a habit of playing in the muddiest of places and going straight to bed, and the barber would probably not appreciate having to claw her way through a layer of muck in her own shop.

“Papa,” Byleth said after he got bored of patting the surface of the water.

“Yes?”

“Is early?”

“Yes. The sun hasn’t risen yet.” Byleth beamed proudly, sweeping his arms across the surface of the bathwater and hugging armfuls of fragrant soapsuds to his little chest.

Byleth liked being up early, and Jeralt liked seeing his child happy, so Byleth waking up at dawn was a good occasion for the both of them.

When Byleth was as clean as he could possibly be, Jeralt plucked him out of the water and sat him on his chair, bundling him up in a warm towel while he fetched Byleth’s village clothes. It wasn’t much different than what he and Jeralt usually wore at home, but it was a little more formal, a little more presentable.

Jeralt helped Byleth dress, then fixed a girdle around his waist to secure his tunic. Byleth hugged his father’s arm in thanks, then went off to play with his dolls.

Jeralt cleaned himself as well, and he realized too late that he hadn’t brought his own village clothing when he had fetched Byleth’s. He waited until Byleth was wholly absorbed in his game before darting past him to dress in the bedroom.

“Papa!” Byleth called, just as Jeralt was braiding his straw-colored hair in the mirror.

“Yes?”

“There’s water!”

Jeralt cleaned up the trail of bathwater he had made when racing past Byleth to dress, thanking the goddess he hadn’t slipped.

Byleth helped to pack lunch, and the two ate breakfast in comfortable silence. Byleth was a fan of butter and bread; Jeralt reminisced, with a twinge of sadness, that his wife had loved butter and bread just as much.

“Ready to go, snowdrop?” Jeralt asked, after Byleth had cleaned his plate.

“Yah!”

“Let’s go!”

Byleth liked to say “yah” instead of “yes” or “yeah.” It always made Jeralt smile. And Jeralt often called his child “snowdrop” instead of his real name. Byleth often responded to “snowdrop” more than he responded to “Byleth.”

The child, with their basket of lunch and one of his dolls on his arm, skipped off to the creek, where he peered between rocks and almost jumped into the water many times before Jeralt caught up to him.

The two traveled to the mouth of the creek by sunrise, gentle light filtering through the thick foliage as Byleth pointed out some minnows hiding in the shade of a boulder. Jeralt held his hand as he toddled along the beaten trail, then carried him and his basket when he got tired.

They stopped so Byleth could pick some flowers for the village children, and they sat on a flat stone to eat lunch at the edge of the forest. When they finished their bread and butter (Byleth insisted on having it again, and Jeralt didn’t mind), they continued on their way.

Byleth was drowsy in Jeralt’s arms when they arrived. His father greeted those who said hello and smiled to those who smiled at the sleepy Byleth, his little hands clutching the handle of the basket as if for dear life.

The village marketplace was bustling with its usual early morning crowd—cattle herders with their cattle and dogs, farmers lugging their daily crops to their stands, blacksmiths and weavers hurrying to set up shop. Buying a head of cabbage from a nearby stand was Elliott. Jeralt greeted him as he approached, and the dark-haired man smiled and hurried over.

“Hello, Jeralt! How are you?”

“I’m all right. How are things on your end?”

Elliott beamed as he held his purchase under his arm. He was a scrawny but strong-willed man with a wife and two daughters, both of which were Byleth’s age. Elliott was familiar with the child and his father, since he was the one who bought and delivered sweets to their home by the creek every new moon.

“Things are splendid. Hello, Byleth,” Elliott whispered to Byleth, who wiggled his fingers a little in greeting before tucking his face back into the hollow of Jeralt’s shoulder.

“He’s a bit tired after our journey today,” the mercenary explained, and Elliott nodded in understanding. “I’ll see you again soon, my friend. Safe travels.”

“Yes, you too!”

Jeralt sat down outside the barbershop and nudged his child’s arm until he was fully awake. Byleth whined and puffed up his cheeks in annoyance.

“It’s time to get your hair cut, snowdrop.”

“No.”

“No?”

“Tired.”

“Want to take a nap?”

Byleth nodded.

“Okay, take a nap.”

Jeralt felt awkward sitting outside the shop; he was a burly, heavyset man who clearly looked like an outsider, with his lighter hair and tannish skin. Most of the people around here had an olive complexion and darker locks upon their heads, so Jeralt stood out like a white feather on a black chicken.

Byleth took after his mother, who had been born in this village. A few of his little friends came up to Jeralt to say hello, and when Jeralt woke Byleth so he could greet them, he simply gave them their flowers and went back to sleep.

It was midday when Byleth yawned and stretched in Jeralt’s arms. Jeralt felt as if he could take a nap himself, but he asked Byleth if he wanted to go get his hair cut now and took him inside the cool shop when he said yes.

They greeted the barber, who had worked with Byleth long enough to know he didn’t like sitting still for too long. She made quick and careful work of his hair and Jeralt paid her, and off he and his child went to find some dinner at the market.

After buying some fresh produce, salted meat, and a tart for dessert (Jeralt had picked Byleth up so he could choose from the many selections at the pastry stand), Byleth led the way along the busy village streets to the edge of the forest, where he crawled onto the flat rock from before and patted it expectantly.

Jeralt climbed on as well and they shared a brief meal of pork and apples. The two distinct flavors and textures went to war in Jeralt’s mouth, and Byleth didn’t seem to like them together either. They ended up eating the fruit tart instead.

Byleth somehow managed to grow tired again on their way home, the setting sun casting long shadows through the trees. Jeralt carried him for the remainder of their trek.

“Papa,” the child mumbled into Jeralt’s chest, his father closing the door behind him in their dimly lit home.

“Yes?”

He didn’t respond.

Jeralt blinked and placed the basket on the supper table, then bent down to sit Byleth on his chair. Byleth wrapped his arms tightly around his father’s neck, refusing to let go, and Jeralt gasped, hugging his little one against him.

“What’s wrong, snowdrop?”

“Tired….”

Jeralt let out a sigh of relief; for a moment he thought he had upset Byleth!

“Okay. Let’s get you in bed, then.”

Byleth squirmed when Jeralt tried to put him down again.

“No!” he cried. “Sleep here.”

Jeralt felt his child’s soft, newly trimmed hair brush against his neck as Byleth snuggled into him, and the veteran mercenary couldn’t help smiling. It had been a long day, but he didn’t mind carrying his little one for another night.

“Okay. Sleep here.”

 ((i want jeralt to be my dad)) ((have fun in 3h!)) ((hope this is good bhhghgh))

-----

notes from bae: JHFSGSJGJ??? HUSDHGAGHJHAG???? THIS IS SO ADORABLE IM GOING TO C R Y IM??

[emblemxeno]

I just remembered a tweet from a while back saying something along the lines of “it's weird that people say they want more characters that don't worship the avatar but get upset when Leonie's mean to Byleth”

As much i don't care for Byleth, this is an incredibly stupid thing to say; the only way this works as a gotcha is if the OP can prove that not only did the same people saying that too many characters like the avatars also disliked Leonie's interaction with Byleth, but that they did so mostly due to projecting onto Byleth and feeling bad when their SI gets mistreated, instead of the much more likely reason that they disliked seeing her insult and blame Byleth as if they were at fault for letting Jeralt die, despite the fact that they did everything they possibly could to try and save him, which is one hell of a thing to try and prove.

Newsflash: people aren't going to like a character when her first interaction with someone who just lost a family member is to insult, bellitle and victim-blame them due to her childish obsession with their father; while i do think it's unfair for people to only remember that one specific interaction of Leonie and ignore every other aspect of her character, that's a different and much better argument to make than this “oh people don't like my waifu, that must mean they're self-projecting hypocrites who can't handle criticism towards their SI/themselves” strawman bullshit.

I'd also question why they aren't shilling this hard for Hana given how similar the reasons for both her and Leonie receiving (arguably unwarranted) hate are, but hey, Hana isn't the OP's waifu, therefore they won't go around making nonsensical strawmans to defend her that will somehow get thousands of likes on Twitter; i deeply lament the absolute state of the FE fandom.

It is a little hard to make a metric for those kinds of people, cuz it's impossible to know which people hated similar characters for avatar worship or avatar hate from game to game. But yeah, there's a way to write characters that don't grovel at the avatar's feet and sometimes... IS fumbles. Like for example, take Seteth! He's a good example of someone who doesn't immediately think Byleth is the most amazing person in the world. Saizo and Frederick are other good examples for their games' respective avatars.

Then you have cases like Leonie and Hana where... they're good characters on their own but the way they're written when around the avatars is just not good for some reason. In Hana's case it just feels like they forgot to add some type of notable flaw in her personality so they had her love for Sakura turn into malice for anyone remotely involved in hurting her i.e. Corrin, so it just feels artificial. And in Leonie's case, it's almost like they wanted to paint her interactions with the avatar in a bad light by making Byleth sound like they can't be bothered to care about their dad even in the support that only unlocks after Jeralt kicks the bucket. Like, it makes me scratch my head by how weird the writing is with these characters sometimes.

[randomnameless]

SS suffers from being the Byleth route... while also wanting to keep Byleth as a blank "self-insert" avatar type of character.

In games where Byleth is more than the player's UI, they have a bit more meat - but it is also pretty clear that this meet wouldn't have been able to join the CF route.

Anyways

Edelgard is using a wavy sword... Levin Sword?

Ha!

That's not any sword, it's actually the Sword of Seiros, aka the Sword Rhea used during the battle to defend Garreg Mach (when she was fighting in human form). So all those "but where is Rhea?" questions through the routes are easily answered - given how Edel uses her weapons it most likely means Edel saw her last.

Claude switches to calling you "my friend" but Edelgard is still pushing the teacher angle.

Someone joked about it, but given how Edel can have a paired ending with each of the teachers, maybe she really has a teacher kink?

Flayn says she forgot something at the Holy Mausoleum, where we meet up with her... Not sure what this is about. (Update: She and Seteth hang around there later too. Really not sure why.)

AFAIK it will never be revealed what Flayn "forgot" at the Holy Mausoleum, nor why she and Seteth hang around there. Maybe it's because it's a place that is supposed to be calm or something?

Shamir says that Dagda was "destroyed" ten years ago.

I think that's a lolcalisation blunder, and she most likely was refering to the Dagdan forces who tried to invade Adrestia.

Seteth has been refusing Hanneman's requests for 21 years. So even though Flayn came to the monastery very recently, Seteth has been around for long enough that his physical age is going to start looking weird lol (his info on Serenes Forest says he's physically 27). Notably though, he and Jeralt didn't know each other (iirc), so based on the timeline, Seteth came pretty much immediately after Jeralt faked Byleth's death and disappeared. I wonder if it was because Rhea would have been "in a state" about Byleth's supposed death (and the loss of Sothis's crest stone).

Before the TS, Seteth has been around for iirc 18 years. Jerry disappeared 21 years ago, so that's 3 years of Rhea being alone "in a state" before her, uh, relative joined.

Oddly enough, if Hanneman has those doubts about Seteth's age and identity, no one has the same doubts about Rhea - save for a support in 3 Hopes where Ignatz and Sylvain wonder why she looks like a precedent archbishop who lived more than 100 years ago.

There are no records of anyone except Seteth having a Major Crest of Cichol. In fact, it seems like there's probably no one who has a crest of Cichol at all.

Ferdie has a minor Cichol Crest!

And 3 Hopes brought Bergliez Sr, aka Caspar's dad as a living retcon : now, Bergliez Sr also has a major crest of Cichol. Poor Hanneman couldn't win against the power of retcons :(

that mentions the famous craftsman Zoltan who was believed to have made only weapons. I wonder if there's some weapon in the game that was made by him?

I think we have a sword? In AM, if you reach a certain level of support between Dimitri and Felix, iirc, you end up with a Zoltan Sword!

Seteth repeats the legend about Ailell being caused by the goddess's wrath after a battle there long ago. Which... is a weird thing, given that he should theoretically know the actual cause -- Agarthan missiles getting deflected from the monastery by the protections on the Holy Tomb.

Lol, Seteth can't reveal the truth, but against all odds (and sense), in the DLC, we have an old man who apparently "remembers" how a missile aimed for GM nuked Ailell instead.

I don't know what this is supposed to mean (that old man is older than the Empire itself?)

Also, I was worried for a moment when I couldn't talk to Ashe, but apparently you don't need to. Just kill him and he magically survives. There isn't even a little scene about him coming back or anything..

Recruitment, in this game, is an utter mess.

SS continues. Seteth is handsome and I think I would be okay with this normally, but I played VW first and Claude was cuter.

Not to be mean, but that's pretty much literally the only difference so far. Off screen Claude even supporting character magics us into getting the same reinforcements in the same place and going to the same next map. (I tell Seteth I want to go to the Kingdom this time. Seteth says no. I feel like at least Claude didn't pretend I had options. Did I just agree with him on everything...? That is also possible.)

It's kind of... even some of Seteth's lines don't seem to be intended for him. I heard from interview that SS was written first, so I figured that playing it would make VW feel like a reskin, but I dunno if it's the order I did them in, but tbh VW so far feels a more "natural" progression, Edelgard stuff aside.

Aside from that, using church units on the church route has some funny effects like that one general going "your army of children," but I'm actually... using almost entirely adults...

Live blogging notes:

Oh, I didn't notice, but the "village" where we wake up is in ruins. There are burnt remnants and half-collapsed brick walls in the background.

Interesting point: I didn't keep track of the months before, but now I see we fell asleep in March 1181 but wake up in December 1185. I kinda thought it would be the same months, but it's not.

Edelgard's tone at the reunion is...... hum. Not very emotive? Don't get me wrong, Claude doesn't exactly get worked up much either, but Edelgard has a lot more personal stakes in all this, and she should really have a deeper investment in regard to Byleth. It was like this when they parted ways in Garreg Mach too.

Edelgard says "friend from our Black Eagle days have chosen to join me in the fight ahead." But that's... hum. First, why is it a fight ahead for her? She's been fighting for 5 years and is winning, according to the info dump. Second, did the students actually join her? I got them all killed, so I won't know either way, but my impression is that this is not actually the case to begin with.

Edelgard is using a wavy sword... Levin Sword?

Kinda meh sword battle scene.

The fact that Edelgard is older than Byleth now... haha. Claude switches to calling you "my friend" but Edelgard is still pushing the teacher angle.

The info dumps about the political situation post timeskip are slightly different all around, but the only real difference seems to be that Lorenz leads the Empire supporter faction in the Alliance, which iirc was not the case in VW. That checks out. Dimitri is still presumed dead and Faerghus is a Dukedom.

Flayn says she forgot something at the Holy Mausoleum, where we meet up with her... Not sure what this is about. (Update: She and Seteth hang around there later too. Really not sure why.)

SS savefile has the banner I presume Claude also makes you use in VW - kinda blue-grey background with a pink Crest of Flames.

Lol, I killed everyone, but the chapter crawl still says students from the Black Eagle house are working with the Church. Instead I recruited all the Church units, so they show up to help in the new month.

War phase SS has the same monastery music and yellow skybox as VW. Kinda disappointed, tbh. I was (vainly) hoping that each route would get something a little different.

I did notice that they have wooden construction equipment type structures in a lot of places, which I didn't realize before. I guess it's supposed to show how the monastery is in a rundown, damaged state, but even seeing it, I don't think it works too well.

Shamir says that Dagda was "destroyed" ten years ago.

Seteth has been refusing Hanneman's requests for 21 years. So even though Flayn came to the monastery very recently, Seteth has been around for long enough that his physical age is going to start looking weird lol (his info on Serenes Forest says he's physically 27). Notably though, he and Jeralt didn't know each other (iirc), so based on the timeline, Seteth came pretty much immediately after Jeralt faked Byleth's death and disappeared. I wonder if it was because Rhea would have been "in a state" about Byleth's supposed death (and the loss of Sothis's crest stone).

There are no records of anyone except Seteth having a Major Crest of Cichol. In fact, it seems like there's probably no one who has a crest of Cichol at all. Seteth says he is a commoner and has no idea how he ended up with a crest. Hanneman when Byleth says the exact same thing, while being just as sus:

There's some cliff rubble on the monastery defense map... looks like there was a rockslide during the Imperial attack.

The fact that I've forgotten half of VW already is making this a little more tolerable, but looking at the chapter list for VW, we did have a monastery defense map before going to get Judith's troops, and in SS we are...... also going to get Judith's troops.

There's some snippets about how Judith and Daphnel have mostly remained out of Imperial attention and how Judith is a devout follower of the Seiros faith, but tbh it feels out of place here compared to VW.

Oh, there's a spy. Man, was this in VW? I remember nothing.

I've seen this mentioned in fic, but the quest for the Almyran merchant in disguise mentions a Nader bear (which is an Armored Bear Stuffy in your inventory). The thing you give him is "Zoltan's Beast Idol" that mentions the famous craftsman Zoltan who was believed to have made only weapons. I wonder if there's some weapon in the game that was made by him?

Seteth repeats the legend about Ailell being caused by the goddess's wrath after a battle there long ago. Which... is a weird thing, given that he should theoretically know the actual cause -- Agarthan missiles getting deflected from the monastery by the protections on the Holy Tomb.

Oh, Judith suggests she's helping because Claude asked her to. My sus man <3

Reiterating that the Oghma mountains are to the south of the monastery and between it and the Empire. You can't enter the monastery from the Empire directly. You have to go through the Kingdom or the Alliance.

Why do they give you the choice between east and west approaches?? I picked west because I already saw the Alliance stuff, but Seteth just directly shoots you down...

Claude continues to be a proper side character by giving us a way to get into the Empire through the Alliance. "I don't know exactly why, but I feel that I can trust you," my dude, it's because you are a side character who exists to fill the needs of the plot. It's the damn bridge again. SIGH

Also, I was worried for a moment when I couldn't talk to Ashe, but apparently you don't need to. Just kill him and he magically survives. There isn't even a little scene about him coming back or anything...?

[tactiletelekonesis]

ok ok ok i have NOT slept so y’all are getting my fe3h au

this au builds on the fanon that claude had a lot assassination attempts as a kid and that people ostracized him for only being half almyran and has fem byleth

when hes like 7? 8? i forget the age cos i havent slept he decides hes sick of the fact that no one will play with him because their parents wont let them, so when he learns about mercenaries, people you can PAY to DO STUFF FOR YOU hes like wow i can use that

jeralts mercenaries frequently visit almyra for work and at this point in time theyre in the capitol

little khalid seeks out mercenaries because hes persistent as fuck and finds them and tells jeralt he’ll pay to have someone play tag with him

jeralt laughs his ass off and is like you don’t need to pay i have a daughter

byleth is like 12 at this point

khalid pays her anyway and because shes 12 shes like yeah ok ill take this

the mercenaries tease her and her dad for years after this because “oh goddess we missed by’s first mission!!” and “jeralt you charged a child” and eventually they start teasing claude over the years too

after a few days jeralt is like “where are your parents” and refuses to let khalid see byleth unless he meets at least one of his parents to make sure theyre being safe with letting their son out and about near mercenaries

tiana finds this whole situation fucking hilarious of course and meets with jeralt and is surprised cos she knew him when she was a student at garreg mach and he was working there

the mercenaries are there for a month and a half before they leave

they come back about two years later and visit and khalid and byleth reunite

they visit frequently and at one point its decided that byleth will spend a year in almyra to better learn the culture (this is when jeralt gets leonie as an apprentice and byleth isnt with him)

when claude decides to go to leicester, he tells byleth and jeralt and the mercenaries ahead of time and drills it into their heads that hes NOT khalid in fodlan, hes claude

they dont see him again until the events of the game start

imo this makes it even funnier when edelgard and dimitri start trying to recruit byleth right off the bat and claudes like “i was gonna strike up a lasting friendship before asking for favors” cos this time its claude being a smug asshole cos he already has that friendship and he knows it

byleth chooses to lead the black eagle house cos she wants to fuck with claude by not picking him

claude eventually is like “heyyyy wanna help me snoop and learn if i can trust the black eagles????” and byleth goes along with it cos she knows his plans for fodlan and wants to help

when she gets closer to edelgard she realizes that maybe she can get edelgard and claude to work together on their goals???? so she starts dropping hints that they could be allies

idk where else im going with this but id have a full recruitment with byleth/caspar and claude/ashe and im undecided on background ships

other stuff: 1. sothis makes byleth give claude messages and gets mad when its not a word for word repeat of what she said, 2. when claude was little he called himself Khalid the Undying cos of all the assassination attempts he survived and the mercenary troupe 100% makes fun of him for it, 3. byleth tries really really hard to make claude and hubert get along and it Does Not work, 4. aromantic bisexual sylvain is the hill i will die on