#Rhea obviously cares about humans and humans want her dead

[randomnameless]

It's kinda funny how consistent it is that every time Rhea brings up Willy during an argument with Edelgard the latter just pretends she didn't hear that part of the speech and focuses entirely on some minor throwaway comment instead for her response lol

Remember how her lines, when you use her in NG+ against Supreme Leader are basically "Willy :'(" over and over?

I mean (and big thanks to @deathbirby for the lines!) :

Rhea engaging against Supreme Leader :"You bear such a resemblance to him.. It breaks my heart that I must defeat you."

Rhea rekting Supreme Leader : "Wilhelm. If only you were alive today."

I remember a blogger made a meme about Supreme Leader being pissed that Rhea always talks about Willy when she talks to her, and well, that's not completely wrong? lol

But yeah, more seriously, if Supreme Leader really thinks Rhea doesn't value human life at all - because she is a Nabatean (note how she adds "Child of the Goddess "女神の眷属" at the end of this sentence in the jp text, that Treehouse obliterated for ~reasons~) - it is actually very telling : the very same Supreme Leader, faced with Rhea expressing grief/ or thinking fondly about Willy, thus, valuing at least Willy's life (even if he is long dead), aka a human life, doesn't react at all.

But that's a very Supreme Leader thing, she will bulldoze through her path, even if you dangle evidence in front of her eyes that she operates on wrong/faulty premises, and never reconsiders or self-reflects. Rhea very obviously still cares about Willy? Well, Supreme Leader dgaf, Rhea is a Nabatean, and Nabateans don't value human life.

[theolympusfiles]

rereading the PJO and HoO - part one: the lightning thief

before i start, all italicized parts are from the lightning thief by rick riordan. they're not my words and these are not my characters. my thoughts are the only thing that are mine :)

• "mom, you're coming too." her face was pale, her eyes as sad as when she looked at the ocean. "no!" i shouted, you are coming with me. help me carry grover". - the first(ish) appearance of percy's fatal flaw! i love the early establisment, especially because it helps foreshadow to the sea of monsters when fatal flaws are formally introduced.

• "that's -" "pasiphae's son," my mother said. "i wish i'd known how badly they wanted to kill you." - sally is underappreciated. she's smart as hell and clearly took the time to research demigods. yes, she was a little bit selfish with keeping percy out of the loop and not sending him to camp. but can you blame her? she lost all of her family and if she sent percy to CHB at an early age, that most nearly means she won't see him often (he'll attract monsters because he's aware of his status as a demigod and will most likely be at camp full-time). but sally ensured that she knew enough about the demigod world to protect percy because she knew that her selfishness would come with consequences. best mom.

• i was crying, calling for my mother, but i held on to grover - i wasn't going to let him go. - percy's first loss as a demigod and i am broken. honestly, so sad to think of, especially knowing all the losses he'll face in the future books. this line is also his fatal flaw showing once again (refer to first bulletpoint)

• "it (america) is the great power of the west. and so olympus is here. and we are here." - if olympus follows the west, where would the next location be? obviously, america is still a big powerhouse in terms of western civilization but that's not going to last. my bet is south korea but who knows? would love a fanfic on this tbh

• "the truth is, i can't be dead. you see, eons ago the gods granted my wish. i could continue the work i loved. i could be a teacher of heroes as long as humanity needed me. i gained so much from that wish... and i gave up so much. but i'm still here, so i can only assume i'm still needed." - how will it be decided that he's not needed? honestly, can't imagine CHB without him but chiron also deserves retirement

• i started to understand luke's bitterness and how he seemed to resent his father, hermes so okay, maybe gods had important things to do. but couldn't they call once in a while, or thunder or something? - percy has always showed some hesitance when accepting the demigod world, so i wasn't really surprised to see doubts like this pop up, especially with luke's influence. i'd think most demigods feel this way, luke and percy are just the ones who exhibit it the most in the series. i'm really interested in the parallels between the two and i'm looking forward to reading more and examining them

• "during the winter solstice, at the last council of the gods, zeus and poseidon had an argument. the usual nonsense: 'mother rhea always liked you best', 'air disasters are more spectacular than sea disasters', etc. - despite the fact that the gods are all-powerful beings, i appreciate the petty sibling spats that are mentioned briefly

• "so let me get this straight," i said. "i'm supposed to go to the underworld and confront the world of the dead." "check," chiron said. "find the most powerful weapon in the universe." "check." "and get it back to olympus before the summer solstice in ten days." "that's about right." i looked at grover, who gulped down the ace of heaers. "did i mention that maine is very nice this time of year?" he asked weakly. - this would be perfect for those 30 second trailers

• "gee," i said feigning surprise. "who else would be stupid enough to volunteer for a q uest like this?" the air shimmered behind chiron. annabeth became visible, stuffing her yankees cap into her back pocket. - the way he knows her pretty well already, i-

• the truth was, i didn't care about retrieving zeus' lightning bolt, or saving the world, or even helping my father out of trouble. - early on, we see from the get go that percy has a dislike for the gods. it's small mentions like this that really gets me thinking. he never really showed any dislike of the gods when he first arrived at camp (understandable) but he was hopeful for his father. it wasn't until luke planted the seed into his head that these thoughts came to light. i love this little detail, especially as we know that towards the end, luke does seem to think he can turn percy against the gods. his plan backfired a little bit on him in the end but like i said before, the parallels between luke and percy are so glaring. riordan definitely thought it out extensively

• do not be a pawn of the olympians, my dear. you would be better off as a statue - this is said to percy by medusa and again, feeds into his dislike of the gods. i wonder if monsters have some opinion on this. most would probably hate the gods but i wonder what their stance is on demigods. we know that they work with them (see kronos' army). the real enemy for monsters are the gods, the demigods killing them are just pawns to the gods so maybe that's how some monsters see them

• "so, what's your status?" luke asked me. "chiron will be sorry he missed you." i told him pretty much everything, including my dreams. it felt so good to see him, to feel like i was back at camp even for a few minutes, that i didn't even realize how long i had talked to him until the beeper went off on the spray machine. - there's no doubt that percy really considered luke a friend. he wasn't hesitant to tell luke about his dreams, something that he didn't share with annabeth or grover until later on the book. luke was a sort of mentor to percy and it was conveyed pretty well through their interactions, which makes his betrayal even more heartbreaking

• "you think you'll ever try living with your dad again?" she wouldn't meet my eyes. "please. i'm not into self-inflicted pain." - my heart breaks for annabeth and her relationship with her father. i've read most of the riordanverse books and the growth in annabeth's relationship with her family is definitely something i'm looking forward to watch grow as i make my way through the books again

• i looked over at the desk and saw a girl sitting there, also wearing a straitjacket - so i never paid the dreams any mind but now that i think about it, they're really good for analysis. for example, the straitjacket could mean something like the gods are keeping them restrained. maybe i'm overthinking it or have been analyzing text too much in AP english but i think that the dreams are worth some deeper thinking

• i pretended not to see annabeth wipe a tear from her cheek as she listened to the mournful keening of cerberus in the distance, longing for his new friend - i need to see annabeth play with cerberus again D:

• i turned and faced my mother. i desperately wanted to sacrifice myself and the last pearl on her, but i knew what she would say. she would never allow it. i had to get the bolt back to olympus and tell zeus the truth. i had to stop the war. - percy's growth as a character really shines through here. the lightning thief is a pretty short book and the journey they took was less than 2 weeks but despite that percy's grown immensely as a character. his goal was always to save his mother but in the end, he sacrificed her because he knew it was his duty to save olympus and i respect that

• "you have made an enemy, godling," he told me. "you have sealed your fate. every time you raise your blade in battle, everytime you hope for success, you will feel my curse. beware, perseus jackson. beware." - ares cursed percy to be unsuccesful in battle but does his curse ever take effect? i don't recall any mention of this curse later on the series. obviously, percy is the main character and a really good swordfighter but the curse might have affected some battles right? but then again riordan has a lot of plotholes so i wouldn't put too much thought in it

• i knew dionysus must've filled it out, because he stubbornly insisted on getting my name wrong. - i've always accepted the fact that dionysus called the demigods by their wrong name for humor. but what if it's deeper? what if it's a way to put some space between him and the demigods, just as an extra precaution so he won't get attached. or it could be a ploy to showcase that he's more powerful than them and that they are beneath him, which is why he doesn't need to know their name. i like the former headcanon more though :P

• i opened my eyes. i was propped up in bed in the sickroom of the big house, my right hand bandaged like a club. argus stood guard in the corner. annabeth sat next to me, holding my nectar glass and dabbing a washcloth on my forehead. "here we are again," i said. - the parallel

well, that's everything i had notes on. overall, i liked rereading it. i really do miss this series and i'm finding my love for it be rekindled by rereading. i miss the humor of the early books (i could literally make a whole post of underrated lines). the last time i read the series in its whole was when i was 7 and now that i'm 16, i have more thoughts and can analyze the story better. also loved seeing baby percabeth as they're my OTP. i'm excited to continue with the series. to the sea of monsters!

[agent-cupcake]

Do you have opinions about the fabled “golden route” of fe3h? Essentially a route where everyone survives is it feasible? Is it even something you would want?

I think about this a lot, actually. A big factor in considering the feasibility of a “golden route” would be pinning down Edelgard’s true opinions, how much her involvement with Slithers actually impacted her plans, and exactly how far the game would be willing to stretch to make their most interesting villain change in order to allow for everyone to live and what those changes would look like from the perspective of the writers. Since I cannot give any concrete answers to those questions and nor do I think anyone else can (and believe me, I’ve read a lot of debates on either side of the Edelgard train) I really don’t know if it could work out or if it would be interesting or worthwhile.

I know I’m a fanfic writer so it's not shocking, but here is my fanfic of something similar to what I’d have liked to have seen with the DLC.

I think would be interesting if the game used its time mechanic as anything other than a gameplay gimmick and a laughably pointless aside in that one cutscene. I also think it would be interesting if the Four Apostles and the Chalice of Beginnings actually mattered. 

So here’s my idea for the ~Golden Route~: Let us just establish that at the end of every route, you obtain the Chalice of Beginnings from Rhea, either through force or gifting. A seemingly innocuous item drop that doesn’t matter considering you get it by the time the games basically over. Now, after you have completed all the game’s routes, Byleth can open up an alternate post-credits ending with Sothis where Sothis (grown now) asks if this feels oddly familiar, like they’ve been here before. Like they’ve won the war under all of the different banners and met up with those they were closest to in the Goddess Tower with each victory and fallen in love and killed those they cared for and that maybe, just maybe, along the way, they made a mistake. In this scene, they remember futures. The future they had with Claude, with Dimitri, with Edelgard, and with Rhea/the Church, they remember the Fodlan every ruler sought to create and their life with everyone who, in the timeline this scene takes place, is now dead. And they remember how in each of those other lives they lived, as the years dragged on, they began to worry that they made a mistake. That they could have done better, saved everyone. That, somehow, the world they created through their actions is incomplete. In each of their other lives, they have come back to this question and this conversation with Sothis. And they’ve always chosen to try again, using the Chalice of Beginnings. So, repeating the game and starting a new route with Sothis’ first awakening is not a player action, it was a choice that Byleth made in the future long after the events of the game ended and the happily ever after played out with each of your other playthroughs. Restart. Pick another house, try other options, over and over they do their best to mend fate not even knowing what it actually is that they’re striving towards because they can’t remember, they’re just blindly searching for satisfaction when they ultimately come to that ending.

But this time is different. They have all the information, they know all the endings and the motives of each faction and enemy. They will go back to The Beginning and lose what they have come to love in this timeline, but this time, they will retain some of this knowledge. Kind of. The return causes Sothis to revert to her incomplete child-like state. It causes Byleth to lose the aspect of divinity that allowed them to remember it all in the first place. But rather than Byleth just becoming more human through the passage of White Clouds, or Sothis just beginning to recall her origins, they remember the plan they made together to achieve this Golden Route. This time, you meet the strange Ashen Wolves, brought together under mysterious and seemingly convoluted circumstances that have to do with their Crests and the pull Sothis had on them to call to the ancestors of Apostles for aid in this mission. With their help and some sneaky hijinks, you get the Chalice of Beginnings and recover all of the memories you stashed away in it. But, oh no, you can’t stop fate. Although you have planted seeds in each house leader's mind and earned more trust of the Church and been more successful in raising suspicions of Slithers, you were not successful in completely stopping the war. The timeskip follows as normal. 

Immediately post timeskip, your only allies are the Ashen Wolves and you’ve got to figure out a way to use all of your vast knowledge of every future to convince each country to band together to bring down Slithers as a united front. This means convincing Claude to give up his advantage over the Empire, helping Dimitri come to his senses, getting Edelgard to abandon her plans and reject Slithers, and finding a way to realistically dismantle the corruption of the Church. Luckily, the Wolves have a student from every country with a connection to each lord and the super-smart master manipulator Yuri to help you navigate these tense political waters. You also know what each Lord wants and needs out of their different futures and can use that to your advantage. Additionally, you can ask Sothis to reason against Rhea to force her to see how far she and the Church have fallen and that she is no longer a capable leader. Mother knows best, after all.

The question is, even if you could tell her the outcome of every future and use irrefutable facts against her to prove that her way of thinking is flawed, if Edelgard would give up her ambitions... how much of those ambitions are her own and how much are Slithers? She claims that a war is necessary, but what if that war only ever is waged against Slithers, would she accept anything other than total institutionalization of her ideals? Could she change?

Since I cannot answer that, I cannot tell you if this idea is feasible or even sensical. I would like to see it, I would like it if there was a way to dig into the lore of the world and all the things you learn about the characters and use it to play God, but this might also seem contrived and if you don’t view Edelgard as a villain, or if you don’t believe that Dimitri is redeemable, or if you think that the Church should absolutely not be allowed to exist in any capacity, this might not be satisfying. Obviously this is a pretty loose outline too and there would be considerate restructuring to make these events happen and also I can’t actually say how well this could play out considering you’re condensing quite a bit of content into one story, but that’s just my take on what a golden route might have looked like. 

[electricprincess96]

Was Seteth's wife human or nabatean?

OK so we don't have a definitive answer on this so I'm gonna lay out like the arguments for her being human and her not being human and then I'll give my opinion cause honestly I've changed my opinion on this many times.

When the game first came out almost everyone was in agreement that she was human because Seteth is said to have met her in Enbarr (a church in Enbarr to be exact showing that early worship of Sothis existed before the Church of Seiros). Most people took that to mean she had to be human otherwise they'd have met in Zanado because that's where all the other Nabateans were and also how would he not already know one of his own family.

Now this all changed when the Developer Interview dropped and they revealed that there was likely a lot more Nabatean than we originally thought (its not just the named Crests in the game, there was likely many more remember Rhea has a bunch of Crest Stones in The Holy Tomb, each of those Crest Stones corresponds to one Dragon). It also revealed Nabateans acted as Scholars and Leaders outside of Zanado as well. So Seteth could have very easily met a Nabatean in Enbarr who he hadn't met previously.

Also Rhea is the only Nabatean to fixate on Sothis as her mother, now obviously Sothis created all of them, but I don't like the majority of Nabateans viewed Sothis and the other Nabatean like a family the way we do in real life. I mean they were a asexually created, almost like how in the Bible God is said to have created man, Sothis is a Mother the same way God is 'the Father'. Seteth calls Sothis 'The Progenitor God' but never mother. Only Rhea does that, she's the youngest, the Zanado Massacre was traumatic to her, she also might very well have once been closest to Sothis out of her "children" but what I'm saying is for the most part Nabateans are more like an entire race of people, this wasn't Seteth meeting a long lost sister and banging her, he met another person who was the same race as him.

Also we see in game what happens when a Nabatean has kids with a human, Flayn and Linhardt's paired ending shows that the kids keep the same Crest as the parent. But Flayn has a completely different Crest from Seteth. But we don't have any other instance of a Nabatean having kids with another Nabatean thus we can assume if Flayn's mother was Nabatean what happens is the child just develops their own Crest, its like their own unique fingerprint but because Humans aren't "meant" to have these Crests if a Nabatean has kids with a human they can't develop their own, they don't have the capability so they inherit the Nabatean parents Crest instead.

So what I think personally is I think she was more likely Nabatean than human, now why wasn't she immortalised as a Saint? Who knows, maybe because the game didn't give a shit about mothers till the DLC anyway? Maybe because the game wanted to the cool reveal of who all the Saints really are (The Birb Man, The Turtle Duck, Seteth and Flayn) and they couldn't do that if she's dead. Maybe because the games full of holes like this and if the developers didn't care I shouldn't either.

[arkus-rhapsode]

My Thoughts on FE3H DLC Cindered Shadow’s Story

You are reading that right people, I just binged the new FE DLC side story for six hours straight. Now I want to preface this with one thing, this is my thoughts on the side story ITSELF. I haven’t seen any of the Ashen Wolves individual supports. This will not be a character study.

This will simply be my thoughts on the side story in and of itself. Now considering this just came out 6 hours ago I can not stress this enough SPOILERS!

With all that out of the way, let me tell you what I thought of Cindred Shadows...

This was FILLER. Like no joke, any person who has watched a long running anime produced by studio Perriot could telegraph this story.

Now let me tell you, just because something is filler doesn’t automatically makes it bad. This story very clearly serves the introduction to the newest members of Garreg Mach. But the plot is very very paint by numbers. From addition to lore that introduces Mcguffin as strong as the already established items.Four really strong people we never heard of who were just lying in wait. A villain who they try to portray as morally grey, but in the end is just a giant monster. (Literally)

Okay, let me back up and give you my negatives first and then positives.

Now due to its nature, I’m not going to rag on things like hyper compression of story telling. By its nature the plot needs to move fast. I’m not gonna say “Well maybe if they built up this characteristic longer etc..”

But I will say that the things that felt like dead weight was the other house members. The Ashen Wolves on their own are all cool characters. Very fun, with my personal favorite being Constance. But then you have the lords who for the first time are all together and they really say nothing of value. The one lord convo I thought was really good was when Dimitri is asking Edel about her hair color shift.

In fact, a waste of supporting characters is pretty much the biggest problem with this side story. Obviously the Wolves take front and center, but you have the central plot involving someone connected to Jeralt, and Byleth’s mother, Sitri.

Not once does Jeralt appear. Edel barely interacts with Constance after she claims she’ll prove house nueville and herself to the Empire is almost completely dropped. And we have another Holst connection. A connection for a guy who who we still don’t know what he looks like. And Sothis? Nowhere to be found.

With how focused on the Wolves it was, I wonder if it be better to scrap the supporting cast, and just have the adventure with Byleth, Jeralt, and the Wolves. That would’ve probably resulted in a lot lower difficulty curve, but it would help the story stay self contained.

Im also gonna say I wasn’t a big fan of the Cardinal (I can’t remember his name). As I said, he was so obviously the villain and what his evil plan was, that it genuinely hurt for me. Like I was shaking being like “I already know how this will go, he faked his own kidnapping and its a trap! He wants to use the power of raising the dead on Sitri!” and “How are none of you piecing this together till its right in front of you?” And then there’s his motivation of loving Sitri so much he wants her back.

Which bites because again, how little you actually get to know him. So when he turns out to be bad its just so meh. I will say that part I did appreciate was he wasn’t jealous or anger at Sitri for choosing Jeralt. He wasn’t like “I’m gonna bring her back and then she’ll love me!” No, he’s doing it because he misses her and wanted her to be happy. (I wish Jeralt could’ve contributed something. Or even Alois who is running around.)

I’m not upset with the fact that the story is predicable. And I’m of the mind that just because you can predict a story, doesn’t make it bad so long as getting to that endpoint was really good.  And it wasn’t.

I almost feel like this story would’ve been better with no “Human villain.” Like, its just some thieves at first that cause Byleth to explore, then meets the Wolves, and that makes them wanna go exploring till they make it to the Chalice where there’s some deformed Sothis Clone that could look like Hagemon Husk Edelgard or something.

Now with all that said, the thing I really have to praise is the gameplay. Seriously, its about 7 chapters and each map really feels like a challenge. There’s a lot more conditions and bells and whistles and you really feel smart when you figure it all out.

It kinda reminds of FE Conquest, but a bit more forgiving.

Another positive is the Ashen Wolves themselves. As I said, they’re good characters. I’m excited to explore them in the main series game, but that’ll have to wait as of now.

I do think the Abyss itself is a neat concept. Particularly it being a haven for people like Almyrans and Dagdans that are refugees. It makes wonder if Cyril knew about the Abyss.

I like the idea that Rhea is excising her power putting all the “desirable undesirables” under her eye. It really does make her come off as far more manipulative and clever than she already was.

And Sitri herself. I’m glad we finally get to see Byleth’s mom. The small bit talking about her body and where Rhea locked it up was possibly the best addition to the main story. Though its times like these I wish Byleth could talk and have a personality.

In conclusion, the DLC side story is something where the gameplay outshines the story. If you’re an FE fan who wants a challenge, you’ll like this side story. If you only care about the plot then its really up to how you feel on predictable storylines.

For me personally, I’m a bit sad about the story, as I was hoping to fill in some narrative issues with 3H. But there is still the supports which could do something. So If I had to give it a grade, I’d say 5/10

[anxiety-trademark]

The week in review:

Raw 12/14 NXT 12/16 NXT UK 12/17 Smackdown 12/18 TLC 12/20 + Main Event 12/17

Raw:

“This Sunday at tlc, it’s gonna be you and me against Nia and Shayna,” Lana says to Asuka, as a quiet ‘woo’ can be heard in the distance.

Lana facing her fears and fighting Nia Jax makes her the bravest person Asuka knows. Rolling. Fucking Asuka. ASUKA. wwe, stop.

Why isn’t Asuka accompanying Lana to the ring?

I like Lana’s gear.

Joe just compared Lana to a mosquito, goodbye.

Oh snap look how fast Lana did that headscissors takedown. We’re witnessing her progression, ladies and gents.

You know, I knew Lana would win this match, I knew exactly how she would win this match, but jfc what a treat watching it myself. 

Nia’s face lmfao.

Shayna wrecking Asuka so she can’t save Lana from her inevitable fate. Still curious on whether or not this beatdown injured her, if she was injured going into the match, or if it was all really just a storyline.

Yikes this is sad.

Man that leg drop onto Lana’s ankle actually looked kinda wicked, ngl.

*distant woo intensifies*

Wow we got real tears from Lana. Points.

Becky and Charlotte have been gone, Alexa hasn’t been on tv, the Raw women’s championship has become a meaningless prop... what a dead period for this roster.

Hi why is this match happening?

I will never not be impressed by Dana’s entrance.

Is Mandy actually hurt? Why did they take her off tv for so long? Is Shayna the resident kayfabe shelver? “Hey this girl is actually injured, have her written off by Shayna” ?? Cuz I know they’re not splitting Dana and Mandy up, and Dana has been on tv every week since Mandy left. Must be genuine.

These 2 are running roughshod over the entire division at this point.

OH SHIT MANDY’S BACK WITH A KENDO STICK

Lmfao the babyfaces are fucking done with Nia and Shayna. Honestly that’s great, I love it when babyfaces band together to stand up to dominant duos. This has been going on long enough. They took out Mandy, took out Lana, were about to take out Dana. Totally fair.

Highlight: Lana getting a clean win over Nia & being taken out so my queen can return

---

NXT:

It’s a funny thing with Toni and Rhea. Toni says she’s the reason Rhea came to nxt, but she’s also the reason I became such a huge fan of Rhea’s. Heard they were having some big TakeOver match and everyone was always praising Toni. So I checked into Blackpool solely to see what the Toni Storm fuss was about, and I left that ppv solely impressed by Rhea Ripley. Then I took particular notice of Rhea in the Royal Rumble a few weeks later, and I’ve been watching NXT UK for her ever since (til she moved). To see her growth has been tremendous, and she’s so young. Such a bright future.

The music to this is great.

Toni says she isn’t scared of Rhea, as if Rhea’s mere theme music didn’t scare the absolute shit out of Toni the week prior lol.

Toni’s not even a terrible promo, but the timing of her blinks could not be worse. Yes, it matters.

I can’t stop laughing at how fucking intensely Shotzi started this interview.

She does pissed off interviews well. I can feel her annoyance.

Really don’t want to see a Candice/Shotzi feud tbh but okay, I’ll try.

aaand there’s the howl. Awful.

Lmfao Rhea called Toni a piece of trash. This is gonna be interesting to see with the alignments reversed.

I don’t remember who won this match, but I’m betting it was Toni. Which is fair tbh. Rhea is probably on the “put some peeps over before moving up to the main roster” path that everyone in the women’s division walks on. They always eat at least one monumental, or a couple meaningful, loss(es).

Oh man that is fucked up. To not only be forced to continue punching/kicking a human (fun fact: the person on the offense takes quite the damage doing so) but to have the defenseless victim bleed out and beg for you to stop. That’s rough.

This was shot really well. That music holy shit, I’m creeped out. It’s like a horror movie.

I see the point. Numbs him to pain and breaks his will, while numbing her to mercy. Ruthless stuff.

Oh are we finally done with Indi’s neck brace? Cool.

I can’t believe wwe invested in this upgraded tank. I still don’t think it’d work on the MR, but points to the boss for shelling out the cash.

Wtf was that stumble and “fall” by Indi lmao.

If Candice was a real bully, she’d distract Shotzi by fucking with her tank at ringside.

Indi does need a mentor, she’s a hell of a lot greener than my mutuals have made it sound. oof.

Shotzi looks like she has no idea how to work with Indi, and Indi looks gassed, confused, and slow as hell.

All Indi knows it going from spot to spot while Shotzi waits around for her to get there.

Lol Indi failed at getting a dirty win. I don’t really care if this is a part of her The Way storyline, what a mess.

The only redeeming part of this piss poor segment was Theory shaking the troll’s head at Shotzi.

I’ll give wwe an extra $9.99 if they let this match have a clean ending.

“[Rhea] was at one point the biggest superstar in the world,” that isn’t even close to being true because Becky Lynch exists, but I’ll let it slide and pretend you said “in nxt”.

Their paths will be so similar to Becky and Charlotte in the future.

Wow what a sequence. That would’ve received an applause on the MR. Traded headlocks for restholds, threw around their strength, then went into a battle of pinfall reversals. Instead of following that with some stalemate, they didn’t take a breath and proceeded to dance with each other and showcase some chemistry before rolling back into a battle of pinfall reversals. The sequence started with a kick by Toni to Rhea’s midsection, and it ends with a kick by Rhea to Toni’s midsection. Peep that match production, good stuff.

My, my, those slaps to Toni’s back. Whew.

Yeah actually it’s really fucking cool that these 2 get to main event nxt together, come to think of it.

They sell well for each other.

Rhea has the best dropkicks, lesbireal.

Holy shit Toni’s headbutts make my own head hurt. God I wish she wouldn’t. Most people put their hands between the heads so no contact can be made, but Toni’s just like “lol fuck it”

This is a great match. This duo works a lot better with these specific alignments. Watching face Toni try to chop down Rhea is not as good as heel Toni being impossibly hard for Rhea to put away.

Women’s matches and never having a clean ending. Name a more iconic duo. Winter of overbooked women’s matches continues.

Like I had guessed Toni was gonna win anyway, but fucking come on.

*Bonus* online exclusive: Toni says playing by the rules got her diddly and squat, but like... she was a champion lol. “It ain’t even Toni time right now, it’s party time.” Alright.

Highlight: Rhea vs Toni minus the ending

---

NXT UK:

I don’t know why we’re getting Isla Dawn vs KLR but anytime I get to see KLR fight, I’m here for it.

Hell even Isla’s song never kicks it out of first gear. Song has so much potential but it never goes to the next level.

Ahhhh my Scottish queen is here.

No, don’t compare Sasha’s basement meteora to the double knees Isla did. That was pitiful.

Anyway, KLR vs any of the 4hw would be fantastic, take my money. Sasha, Bayley, Charlotte, or the woman KLR wanted to face at TO Dublin, Dublin native Becky Lynch.

That back body drop is horrendous as a finisher. It’s like when Becky won her debut match the exploder suplex. Awful lmao. Imagine if KLR lost to a back body drop ffs.

You don’t get to be this frustrated for not being able to beat the champion when you’ve only been fighting for like 3 mins.

Isla’s pisspoor speed going in the corner, and her pisspoor roll off of KLR’s tornado ddt. Shame.

Such a clean transition from a failed pinfall attempt into a submission by KLR, whew.

This whole match was just a flex by KLR lmao.

There was a time where we had Becky Lynch, Bayley, Rhea Ripley and KLR as our champions. Wow, take me back plz.

The background music of this stupid recording is so unnecessarily dramatic, wow.

All for the delivery of a chair. Of a fucking chair. Piper... shut up and handle your shit.

For someone so much larger than the little man, Piper is insanely unintimidating.

Highlight: I got to see KLR wrestle

---

Smackdown:

Bayley does run her mouth a lot. She’s kind of the EST at saying dumb shit that gets her into trouble lmao.

Bianca is so friggin good at interviews and in backstage segments. She hasn’t received much of a chance to do promos in the ring, let alone obviously to a live crowd, but I hope she shines there, too.

Has Liv reverted back to being a dumb blonde, or is it drugs? Stop letting her speak.

Love Riott Squad’s everchanging gear. Wonder who makes it for them.

Billie Kay claims that she’s a ‘seasoned’ ring announcer, and somehow that would not surprise me.

Tamina “get the fuck out of my face until I get a nap and a vat of coffee” Snuka, everyone.

Lmfaooo Tamina fucking chucked Liv across the damn ring. What a good job by Liv.

Ruby is exceptional at running the ropes. She gets a good spring off of it.

Tamina’s hair is always so beautiful, she gets points there.

Dropkick into a faceplant. Billie Kay gets pinned rofl. She’s so bad at wrestling and yet here I am ridiculously entertained.

There’s absolutely nothing wrong with Carmella’s current persona, but man I wish she’d come out in a cut off tank top, camo pants, high tops and a printed hat.

I mean people are at home cuz covid, but go off.

Aye putting over Sasha. Good heel Mella.

Sasha has held the title for like a whopping 2 months and we’re already marking calendars. Sad.

In kf, Sasha is kind of mentally weak, so I’ll give Mella that. I’m not sure what it’s gonna take to shake that perception, either.

“Who is Sasha Banks if she’s not the Boss? Who is Sasha Banks if she’s not the best? It’s sad because that’s a question that not even Sasha Banks knows the answer too.” So I get that wwe are trying to help Sasha develop and fight off her past demons, but man these women are ripping her a new one. Sasha’s only 29 so she can grow and develop however she wants, but jeeze. Salt, meet the dagger Bayley stuck in Sasha’s back.

I like Mella cuz she knows how to hype her opponent’s accolades and strengths while cutting an immaculate heel promo where she hits them RIGHT where it hurts. She’s a pro. Heels should take notes.

This music is like the Jazz Vibes playlist I always listen to.

She just called Sasha cheap and frantic lmaoooo

Oh damn Sasha be out here looking like MONEY. That girl has style, even if it doesn’t always hit with me, she got style.

oof the crack of that slap to Reggie.

OOF the crack of the bottle shattering over Sasha’s poor back. rip.

Match at TLC should’ve been a champagne match. That entails whatever your mind comes up with; pouring alcohol on your opponent, dumping their head in a bucket of ice, breaking bottles over spines. It don’t matter.

“You don’t see me going around here bragging about how damn good I am,” lmao WHAT. Bayley is equal parts delusional and obnoxiously annoying.

One size heel does not fit all, but I think her version suits her beautifully.

If I were her I’d pick your brain too, but I’d also want a match, cuz people leave matches with you looking as good as humanly possible. Equal parts selfless as well.

She didn’t lie, this was absolutely her putting Bianca on the map on the main roster.

wwe: wants to strap a rocket to Bianca and make her a star. Also fucking wwe: “lol no we’re not gonna show you her full entrance, cry more scrub.” 

Bayley still looks weird without a title.

Bayley mocks Bianca’s entrance and then gets swept onto the apron lmao. Idiot.

Bianca is a lot of flash and showboating, which is great from an entertainment standpoint, but she needs to do a little... less.

Fantastic snap of the hand against the led board. Bayley wrecking Bianca’s arm gonna hinder the flips.

“I’m the ER. I’m BET-TER. haha.” lmao Bayley is such a fucking dork. Got sent into the ring steps for her bravado. Love that there’s always immediate repercussions for Bayley’s arrogance.

Bayley turned midway going down onto Bianca’s knee for that backbreaker, there. Hope she doesn’t have a massive bruise. Looked like it’d leave a massive bruise.

3 things I’ll apparently never get to see again: Bianca’s hair whip, Bianca’s full entrance, and Bianca’s 450 splash. I’m tired.

These stupid fucking squats while Bianca is dangling off the top rope rofl I swear Bayley is something else. Girl knows how to entertain. “Bayley got a bit cute and Bianca made her pay,” story of Bayley’s life.

Beautiful spinebuster by Bianca. At least SOMEONE in the women’s division will use it.

Bit of a miscommunication there it seems. Bayley goes for a B2B, Bianca tries to block it, Bayley drops down to dodge and go for a cradle. She rolls Bianca all the way back, stands up and hesitates before running at Bianca with an elbow - even though Bianca is not in position to receive it - which Bianca counters by rolling Bayley up, but it was super obvious Bianca was just scouting the next spot. Bianca goes to pick her up for a powerbomb but Bayley has to kick out twice to prevent herself from being pinned while Bianca tries to lift her. That entire sequence was super messy.

Then Bianca nearly drops her lifting her all the way up lol. Yikes. Gotta be pretty fluent to pull that off. Not to plug my fav (but I’m totally gonna plug my fav); it’s a move Charlotte does in almost every match against Asuka or Becky, and you gotta be not only built to pull it off, but you need to have impeccable timing to make the transition look smooth. Extra points if you lift them off the mat RIGHT before a 3 (which Charlotte usually does)

Anyway, good match with a messy last 2 sequences. Bayley did what Bayley does best.

Highlight: Bayley vs Bianca

---

TLC:

They really took Eva Marie and Sasha Banks’ characters and meshed them together while keeping Carmella’s obsession for animal print lol.

Really don’t like that gear. That’s a miss, Mikaze.

Beautiful arm drag. Sasha taking the idea of wrestling like a Lucha more seriously? Cuz she should, ain’t nobody else in the MR doing it.

Commentators say the trash talk is continuing, I say Sasha is quietly leading this match with a grimace. Peeped that “hit me”.

Carmella goes to suicide dive through the ropes just for Reggie to catch her, cept she got caught up and started turning in midair. Would’ve hit her neck and shoulder HARD had he not been there. Great catch indeed.

Sasha “rip my back” Banks.

Not to be douchey, but if you have to adjust your gear in the middle of a match and it’s not just to fill time or be used as character work, then you need to redesign your gear.

Sasha’s a great babyface once that bell rings man. I wish she could carry that energy everywhere.

Holy fuck that facebuster. SPIKED her head, oh my god. I have never seen anyone make a facebuster look so impactful. Points if intentional.

Oh the timing of Sasha blocking that superkick from legit connecting. God she’s good.

You know how I know this is a good match? I’m watching some of these near pinfalls and submissions knowing damn well Sasha’s gonna win, yet my anxiety is still spiking thinking Carmella might walk out with the title. I KNOW she doesn’t though lmao. Good sequences, believable offense, great near pinfalls. They work well together (I’m not surprised, Mella and Sasha both work well with almost anyone)

What a fantastic transition into the bank statement. Points.

That match should’ve ended by dq the second Reggie pulled Mella out. 

Sasha could’ve sold that double superkick pinfall attempt a little bit more.

Carmella having a breakdown. What does that mean? That means she’s about to lose this match lmao. There it is, not even 10 seconds later hahaha.

Sasha sells pain so damn well. Good for her. Good defense of her title. Points to Sasha, she’s phenomenal every time she has an actual match. Post-match and she’s already annoyed me though lol. Ugh. Maybe she’ll get it soon enough.

Nice “replay” wwe. Billion dollar company btw.

Billie, drawing a horizontal line is not how you write ‘clairvoyant’. 

“proficient in Japanese” aw Asuka was so excited for a split second lmao.

Oh no, she made a mask to match Asuka’s with a paper plate. Oh no no no. Travesty. 

Ugh I’m so excited. I’ve already seen this and yet I’m excited. Here we are, the whole damn reason I started catching up on everything I basically refused to watch since June 22.

SHE LOOKS LIKE MONEY, WHEW. The queen IS back. She’s so fucking beautiful man.

Love how annoyed Nia looks. This is your comeuppance tbh. Could’ve just faced a measly Lana, but no, you had to play too much.

Really Charlotte shouldn’t be in the tag division, and really she shouldn’t give half of a fuck about Asuka, but we’ll get to that more in the future since this is already nearly 2 months old.

Nia’s doing a great job selling Charlotte’s return, and she’s not even active in the match rn. She does good work.

Bad camera angle on Asuka hitting the ring post.

Asuka getting wrecked lol.

I really despise that the Raw women’s championship was tied up in all of these storylines that have nothing to do with the Raw women’s championship. The Lana crap, the Charlotte crap, the tag teaming in general crap.

In hindsight, I now find it curious that Ric Flair was in the back for this match. Very curious. I swear, if the past 2 real time months weren’t a part of some master plan the Flairs came up with together, I will be SHOCKED.

Charlotte’s fucking crazy for doing those moonsaults to the outside though, for real. I know she was a gymnast and an exceptional cheerleader, but MAN you could not pay me to do fucking blind back flips that high up. Crazy.

She should’ve given us a spear in this match. I wanna go rewatch her work just to see some spears.

Good match. They needed to not focus on destroying Asuka for as long as they did, pacing was off for a little bit there.

Love how Charlotte sticks her tongue out when she bridges up into the figure 8. She’s such an asshole lmao.

If I could’ve changed one thing about that finish, I would’ve had Charlotte bounce off the ropes before hitting Natural Selection. Other than that, it was great.

Charlotte looks good with a title, idk *shrug*

The way Charlotte looked over at Asuka though. I really don’t trust her in hindsight lol.

Like how this Firefly Funhouse is setting the spotlight on Alexa before Bray takes his leave of absence, only wish she hadn’t missed 2-3 wks of tv.

What a fun way of running a video package.

Inferno matches are insane and I’m not sure why anyone would participate in such.

Think it’s smart they’re both leaving their jackets on tbh.

Alright that was cool. The way Fiend called up the flames was fucking cool. It looks amazing aesthetically. They could’ve never done the set quite like this if there had been fans.

WE HAVE STRAPS?! IS FIRE NOT ENOUGH?!? Man. Randy is a fucking trooper.

Guys. Guys excuse me, that strap is on fire, can... can we not, please??

Man is swinging a god damn pick axe at Randy Orton, I--

I hope that wasn’t actually flammable liquid cuz otherwise Randy is now soaked in it, and that’s insanely dangerous. Oh that’s great editing. So it was flammable, but Randy was out of the chair before the fire rushed at him. Also covered the chair in blood. That was cool.

Orton just pull the damn string out of the jacket real quick lol.

Caught Orton’s attempt at an rko with a mandable claw. Points.

Can someone... put him out? Editing trick? Were the flames real? Am I real??

Shouldn’t the bell ring? Match is over, right??

The dummy was kind of obvious ngl. Not to sound like an asshole, but they should’ve made it a bit thicker and more solid lol. Doesn’t really take me out of it though, cuz even though I’m sure it was a stunt double that got lit on fire by the ramp, someone was on fucking fire, and that’s intimidating in itself.

Also the dummy is melting. I’d say they should’ve used pig meat, but I’m sure vegans and animal rights activists would’ve had a field day writing to Snickers about that.

Was a good match, for what it was. I was entertained.

---

*BONUS*

Main Event:

“Nasty Nikki” lol okay.

“The only reason people even know you exist is because you were Alexa Bliss’ best friend,” ouch. Truth is pain.

Ahahahah Lacey has hand sanitizer again. 

Love that submission Lacey jumped into through the ropes, plus an eye rake. Fantastic.

That’s curious. Lacey and Peyton are arguing over the hand sanitizer as Lacey wants to squirt it on Nikki, while Peyton is claiming it’ll get her DQd. Now I’m on Peyton’s side in the sense that it should absolutely be illegal, but Lacey’s done it in a match against Nikki before, sooo ???

I like how Nikki fell trying to get back into the ring before the 10 count. Adds credibility.

Haha Nikki gets the pinfall over Lacey because Peyton was being a nuisance on the outside. Lacey big mad. That’s great.

---

*Smackdown easily shined the brightest in what was a great week of wrestling. Utilized 8 women in 3 different storylines, couldn’t possibly complain about that.

[rcina]

63, 69, 55

SEND ME A NUMBER

63. How does your OC display love?

Poorly, lol. We all know this bitch is emotionally constipated, and she doesn’t really openly and purposely ~display love~ or give affection to anyone but Iris and Rhea, mainly because she thinks love is a useless emotion. It’s there, though, just in subtle ways without her knowledge. Reina acts tough and uncaring but she does care deeply about her family, and she shows them love just by being there when they need her. Visiting Andy while he was in prison and taking Iris to visit him while he was hiding out at the lake afterwards was her little way of showing her brother she loves him without all the fuss or words. The same can be said for Rowan, when she was by her sister’s side along with Rhea after she lost Maddie. Making sure Rowan was fed, showered, and not completely lost to the confines of her mind was Reina’s way of letting her know she actually does give a shit when push comes to shove. Most of the time when Reina wants to show her family she loves them, she just shows up when it counts. With Jackson it’s a little different, partly because she’s in denial that she’s in love with him and partly because she doesn’t want him to hold any affection she displays over her head and make fun of her for it. There are little things she does for him that show just how fucking weak she is when it comes to him, but I already went on a tangent about that before so I’m not gonna ramble anymore. Basically, at the end of the day, Reina will always show up for him too if he needs her despite any conflict they might be having and that’s a feat for someone like her.

69. What is your OC’s favorite kind of weather?

Reina likes when the weather cools down and the humidity decreases a bit in early winter, that sweet spot right before it starts getting a little too cold for her tastes. She’s a big fan of a solid 70 degrees and lower humidity, with clear and crisp skies. Anything below that and she’s annoyed about being too cold, and while the majority of her year is spent in sweltering heat, she isn’t really a huge fan of that either. She also hates rain, it’s always sticky and ruins her hair.

55. What are your OC’s thoughts on death?

I think I’ve touched on this before but Reina, while acting like she isn’t, is actually terrified of dying. More so because she knows if she were to die, people would simply move on and probably forget about her. She likes her presence to be constantly known and feared and that can’t happen if she’s dead. Death in general, however, fazes Reina very little, obviously. She has next to no regard for human life and would only ever react badly to death if it was the death of someone extremely close to her.

[eclipticis]

22-30

Character solidifying meme from a long, long time ago

22. Who are their friends?  Lovers?  ‘Type’ or ‘ideal’ partner?

Hades usually keeps his distance with most but there are those few that do capture his interest and hold it. That is usually the first step to developing any kind of relationship with Hades. Most of his ‘friendships’ are quite abusive and manipulative  ( of course, Hades being the abusive one ). Typically the types of personalities he looks out for are the ones who are submissive or useful to him. Preferably, useful.

It’s incredibly, incredibly rare he would consider someone as a ‘friend’ and be genuine with them. Hades is quite harsh with anyone else and he will not label anyone as a ‘lover’ & the idea of a lover doesn’t exist to Hades. Such relationship would take a long, long time to build as Hades’ view on anyone outside the Underworld is shattered   ( & he’s lost all faith in humanity at this point ). The one pursuing such a relationship would have to be extremely careful with what they say and how they behave. This has the possibility of taking years to build.

Yeah, he’s extremely difficult.

23. What do they want from a partner?  What do they think and feel about sex?

Obedience; somewhat easy to control; knows their boundaries. Hades can & will lose interest if they constantly infuriate him. As a god-king, Hades wants to be in full control of the relationships and his word is the final decision. It’s in his nature to command and dominate.

Sex is a topic Hades will bring up but have no true interest in. He is an emperor and he has much more important things to do than to be in bed with someone. Preferably, Hades doesn’t  want anything to do with it and would prioritize paperwork over it. 

There are only those rare chances where it’s a very, very specific reason and it is rarer that he’d do it to satisfy himself. Hades won’t cave if someone were to beg him for sex  ( in fact, he’d rather watch the potential partner’s fit ). It has to be if he’s up for it or if he’s giving it as a ‘treat’ to his ‘pet’.

24. What social groups and activities does your character attend?  What role do they like to play?  What role do they actually play, usually?

He’s away from the public, so the activity he does is quite limited. Sometimes, whenever he is present, only his silhouette could be seen. On special occasions, he’d let his true body appear in front of mortals. To some, he appears nothing more than a figurehead because they would see Hades either resting or quietly observing. Hades isn’t a figurehead. Hades does have his Cosmos constantly drained to maintain the Underworld, its barrier, Elysium, and the Specter’s immortality.

25. What are their hobbies and interests?

Besides torturing innocent souls? Hades enjoys to read & play his harp. He does enjoy doing paperwork as he is a workaholic   ( there’s something about a quill against parchment that makes him feel relaxed ). Hades takes interest in reading—while he finds most of humanity’s creations fairly absurd, he does have to admit that their books and diaries are interesting to read. Their memos written on papers during their brief life would give him a glimpse as to why they do the things they do. But, as any god, Hades can never connect to them.

Hades does enjoy playing his harp with the twin gods, making new melodies and songs. He believes that music reflects the heart.

26. What does your character’s home look like? Personal taste? Clothing? Hair? Appearance?

It’s a large palace, basically. He’s a King, so of course, he’d have his castle and throne. As for personal taste, that’s a rather vague question. Personal taste for what? It’d be very extravagant and expensive, whatever it is. He’d want the highest quality.

His preference for clothing is actually silk. He also prefers darker clothing; as it wouldn’t be distracting if he were to wear something dark. Like a dark purple or black   ( black would obviously be a strong preference of his ). His hair is shiny & Hades is quite tidy with his looks. He does care for his beauty, so that’s one thing that everyone needs to keep in mind.

27. How do they relate to their appearance? How do they wear their clothing? Style? Quality?

Hades is dark & wears dark clothing to match his soul and nature. He has no color besides his eyes  ( and if you count the original manga’s colors, red lips ). The lack of color he wears reflects with how he views the world: black and white; he’s also very monotonous and unimpressed aa lot of the time. Hades does tend to like the expensive and elegant outfits simply because he is a king and enjoys his luxury, as any rich leader would.

Hades’ hair and skin are fairly soft but cold to the touch, once again he makes sure that he’s in the best shape and takes very good care of himself. Hades shares some characteristics with the dead—and it because of where he lives: the coldest place in Hell.

He’s often concerned with his physical appearance and physique—as he aspires to be the most beautiful God in existence. And it makes sense for him to care so much about his body too—as apparently, it’s easy to make him bleed if there’s a right amount of force. It’s like he’s made of marble, like a living, breathtaking statue.

28. Who is your character’s mate? How do they relate to him or her? How did they make their choice?

Thanatos  ( @deus-exstinguit )  is Hades’… well, there’s no fitting word to describe their relationship.

Their relationship expanded from subordinate/master, father/son, teacher/student, protector/protected, uncle/nephew, to what it is now: a mess. Throughout these changes in their relationship, depending on the situation they could still see each other as any of those. They’ve known each other for eons and gods never had a simple relationship, it seems. 

Because Hades is unable to experience love, he was unaware of Thanatos’ developing feelings & even denied it a couple of times. When Thanatos made his unbreakable vow, Hades finally accepted the choice. He knows how valuable Thanatos’ strength is in and outside of battle & already sees Thanatos as an object for him to use. There’s a deep understanding within this ship as they don’t always need to reassure each other about something. They already know. Thanatos knows that Hades doesn’t love him. Hades knows that Thanatos would do anything for him.

29. What are your character’s weaknesses? Hubris? Pride? Controlling?

Hades’ weaknesses?  Pegasus & Athena, Athena’s seals, his pride—it often blinds him. His body is also a weakness itself as much as it is his strength; it is vulnerable to other gods. His obsession for beauty is also another one, as it is an easy way to wound his pride. He is fairly controlling and he does have a lot of faults to his overall character  ( with very little redeeming qualities ). He tends to overthink and miss small details of certain critical situations.

30. Are they holding on to something in the past? Can he or she forgive?

He holds a lot of grudges from the past. From scars, he received in the battle to his rivalry with Poseidon, from Rhea giving him up to Cronos to Athena refusing to see his reason. He still hasn’t forgiven Pegasus for being the first human to wound him. Perhaps this goes for huge actions while the minor ones he could let slide after a while. Either way, his wrath cannot be evaded if he’s  provoked to that point.

[randomnameless]

I write and write and make comparisons between a swimsuit and themes like tolerance and freedom,

But in this fandom, some people draw more dubious comparisons, especially ones regarding a certain game - and I warned (who?) at the beginning of the FE16 trend that while it wanted to have a Jugdral flair, it obviously failed. You have a sprinkle of Jugdral in FE16, but it’s only a surface image, or even a mirage.

“CrEsT SyStEM”? Holy Blood? No, those comparisons at least were made in good faith and had some merits.

One of the worst comparisons was noted by several friends, a certain someone, wanting to push a certain ship involving a certain character, managed to write :

“Every route makes one villain from Genealogy of the Holy War the hero, Edelgard being Arvis, Dimitri being Eldigan, Claude being Travant and Rhea being Manfroy”

:(

This will not be a post about Manfroy’s hips, you are warned

Who is Eldigan (Eldie)?

A man who is the carrier of Hezul’s holy blood, Hezul being the founder of Augstria, a sovereign state. Everyone loves Eldie, he is good-looking, strong, kind, chivalrous and has the magic blood that makes him able to use his magic sword.

Is he the King of Agustria? No.

The King is a man named Chagall, who has an ugly sprite, doesn’t have Hezul’s magic blood and cannot use the magic sword. He also killed his father, and is really jealous of Eldie.

However, Eldie’s line (House Nodion) has sworn to support the royal line of Augustria (Chagall’s), so even if everyone wants Eldie to ascend to the throne, he will never accept it. Even if Chagall pisses on him, or imprisons him because he felt like it, Eldie will not rebel against his King. Eldie is seen as a Camus, because he will fight and die for Chagall, and his country, when Sigurd is... more or less attacking Chagall (because Sigurd’s forces are occupying Augstria and Sigurd’s orders are to bring peace to the land, Chagall doesn’t want peace and wants to fight to retake his throne). If everything ends well, Eldie will promise Sigurd he will try to talk one last time his king, try to convince him to accept a ceasefire and peace with Granvalle - but Chagall is an ass and beheads Eldie.

Dimitri... isn’t like Eldigan, at all. First of all, Dimitri is supposed to be the crown Prince, instead of being a mere knight sworn to serve the royal family. Secondly, Dimitri doesn’t die because his liege beheads him - Edelgard will never be his liege - he dies either by defending his borders against someone who is bringing war to his lands and wants his head, or he dies because he pursues Edelgard in a three way battle in Gronder.

We do not know what Rufus is like to his nephew, but I am pretty sure he is no Chagall.

The only common points Eldie and Dimitri have is their blond hair, and sometimes, their manner of death. there is also something about bonds with their sisters but we’re not here for that

Who is Travant?

Travant is the King of the Thracian Kingdom, a proto Nohr-like place, where farming is difficult, and the people living there are starving and often turn to banditry or become mercenaries to be able to earn some money.

Thracia’s neighbour, the Manster District (Manster) could export food to Thracia... but they do not, because, well, the people in charge of the Manster District do not like Thracians a lot (and use slurs to talk about them, but Quan is a special character). So Thracians raid the border, with hopes to reunite the peninsula, with the dream that, one day, they will seize the arable lands in the North.

Travant has an infamous line, which more or less went like “I will unite the peninsula for the sake of my people, and if that process dooms me to hell then so be it”.

And to hell he will go, because by Jugdral standards, ambushing Quan and his family in a desert (horses cannot move in sand, another example of gameplay and story integration!) with horseslayers, is despicable, especially since he leaves no one alive, even, apparently, killing Quan’s young daughter Altena.

(Travant ranks pretty high in the douchebag ladder).

With time, Altena grows, unaware that Travant, who adopted her, isn’t her real Father, Quan was. Things happen, Altena discovers the truth, and Travant finally achieves his dream by making a suicidal charge against Seliph’s forces (he doesn’t even bring his magic lance to the fight!), with him dead, finally, the peninsula can be united under one leader.

Claude? Also has a wyvern. And comes from another land than our hero (but which one?). And... that’s all.

If Almyra raids every sunday, it is not because they are starving, but because they are doing it, per Cyril, for funsies. Claude pretends to be a schemer and underhanded, but he never does something on the scale of the Yied Ambush (the moment where Travant pulled out the horseslayers against Quan). Claude never takes a child hostage, and never orders his daughter to punish civilians.

If Claude wants to unite the two countries, it is not because he wants his people to finally leave their life as mercenaries and bandits behind, but because he wants people to understand each other.

Edit because I’m sleeping : Travant will die for his dream. Claude... always survive. Always. I am not saying he doesn’t believe in it, but he is not as desperate as Travant is.

Comparing Claude to Travant is like comparing... Virion to Iago. They are both male with long hair, and pretend to scheme. Bar that? Well... they both have hands...? I guess?

Who is Manfroy?

Manfroy is... both a mastermind and a plothole.

Manfroy was the one in the shadows engineering a war in Jugdral, not because he likes wars, nope, but because he wanted political instability to recreate the Loptyr Empire.

He will help a douchebag to conquer the world, and use him to sire Julius, the only person in Jugdral who can become a host for the dark dragon Loptyr. The last time Loptyr was there... well, apparently it wasn’t roses and sunshines, slavery was rampant and citizens were pitted against each other to make sure the strongest ones would become citizens of the Empire.

Why Manfroy does this? It depends on the sources, but it is heavily implied Manfroy is part of a sect (sect as in group of people practicing a religion, here the Loptyr religion/cult) persecuted by a lot of people in Jugdral - to the point where Agustrians were having witches hunts to chase them. Manfroy and his followers escaped the the Yied desert, touted to be an inhospitable land. His people had no where and no one to turn to, so they prayed to their God Loptyr (who doesn’t give 3 figs about them).

Manfroy is thus the Archbishop of the Loptyr Church. He also killed his son in law, for some reason, and planned to turn his granddaughter in a zombie. Manfroy also supports (and conducts?) the child hunts, basically the plot in the second part of FE4 and FE5 where the Granvalle Empire and the members of the Loptyr Church round up children, take them from their families (sometimes by killing said families) to send them to Granvalle, with the highly suggested goal of sacrificing them one way or another to Loptyr.

On the not-so bright side, Manfroy doesn’t kill Julia - when Loptyr/Julius expressly asking him to do so, because Julia is the only person, story-wise, able to kill him.

What a guy! 

Now, Rhea?

There are some comparisons to be made, unlike Claude and Dimitri, but again, it reinforces how they could be seen as foils.

Rhea? Yes, also engineers the birth of a vessel.

However, unlike Manfroy who “forced” Arvis and Deirdre to marry and have a baby, Byleth’s birth, born from the union of Jeralt and Sitri, was completely unexpected. There is no trace in canon of Rhea arranging Jeralt and Sitri’s meeting, and future wedding.

Rhea? Also wants her granddaughter to “die”?

Well, not this one, since Rhea thinks Billy is actually an amnesiac Sothis. Billy would just recover their memories.

Rhea? Doesn’t start a war to build her Sothis vessel. Hell, the DLC is about her previous experiment to resurrect her mother - it was a failure, but someone supposes she fails because she did not want to bleed dry the Four Apostles. Rhea wishes to resurrect a benevolent Goddess (when Manfroy knows Loptyr is... far from benevolent) but will not kill to do so.

Sitri? Asked her to save Billy, by offering her own life.

The most interesting foil though is... how Rhea and Manfroy both belong to a community that was persecuted by others, the people they are supposed to live with.

Manfroy? Went the “if the world hates me, then I will hate it and burn it down” route.

Rhea? Doesn’t want to kill humans, hell, she and her brother disagreed because she didn’t want to kill children of the people who wronged her! She opens a monastery and offers guidance to anyone who needs it, a shelter for the needy and tries her best to protect peace and the humans living under her care.

They could have followed the same path, but didn’t. Manfroy rounds children to kill them, Rhea offers a new home to children who lost theirs.

They can also be compared with their “welp” points, Rhea gave CF!Billy the means to destroy her, just like Manfroy “forgot” to kill Julia - and yet, again, it is different. Rhea trusted Billy and never wanted to use them as a tool, in the other routes, it is because she trusted Billy with “those means” that Billy is able to save the world. Manfroy? Berserks Julia, wishes to use her as a tool and suffers when she regains some agency and beats her brother. But even without Manfroy, Julia would have recovered the Book of Naga to end Loptyr.

Rhea and Manfroy are definitely not parallels, but foils.

And the best for the end...

Who is Arvis?

Well... to summarise Arvis in a few words...

it’s impossible.

So, Arvis is the descendant of one Jugdral’s God-Crusader, Fjalar. Arvis is very proud of his heritage, but he also bears Loptyr blood, through his Mother. And yet, since the Loptry blood exists thanks to Saint Maira - the brother of the Loptry Host of that time, Emperor Galle, who rebelled and helped the Crusaders - he is also very proud of this heritage and his two brands.

Arvis’s familial history is a mess, his father was a womanizer and his mother abandoned him (which might have fueled his Freudian complex?). When his Father died, he exiled all of his bastard siblings, bar Azelle (his bastard half-brother, sired to his mother’s favorite maid). Arvis apparently wasn’t interested in women before he met Deirdre and fell in love with her...

But he had time to sire a bastard (on his best friend and confidante).

Arvis wants to build a world free of prejudice and oppression, and wants to build it by... associating with Manfroy, who blackmails him about his Loptyr blood (if Arvis is proud of his Loptry blood, sadly the Agustrian witch hunts are still a thing, and it will not be well seen in Granvalle’s nobility); however, he made it clear, to Manfroy himself, that he will never allow another Loptry Empire to be reborn. Arvis thus uses hiw fellow Dukes Reptor and Langobalt to set up a coup against Prince Kurth (the Prince of Granvalle) to kill him. Arvis grows close to Kurth’s father, Azmur and more or lesses takes care of everything in Granvalle, since Kurth has no heir left.

And, by chance, Deirdre, Kurth’s bastard daughter, thus rightful Princess of Granvalle, appears at his door. She bears the mark of Naga (the special blood of the Crusader Heim), so they marry, and if they have a son, their son will rule over Granvalle, Arvis acts as a regent until then.

(women can’t rule shit in Jugdral)

Then what? His plan is set into motion, all Granvalle Dukes die, he and Sigurd (plus his pals) are the only ones left, Sigurd dies after being lured to a welcoming party, and Arvis becomes the last man standing able to rule Granvalle, who became, through his plans and treacheries through the 1st gen, an Empire.

(and then his son becomes a Loptyr host, vaporises his mom and makes his sister disappear, wrestles power from him and he is reduced to a sad state (oldvis). He makes a last stand against Seliph, after delivering him Sigurd’s magic sword, and dies.)

Okay.

So, now, Edel.

Arvis managed to become the ruling... person in Granvalle by eliminating all of his rivals, and securing a nice marriage. Edel becomes Emperor... because Ionius gave her his crown, as her father.

So they do not rise to power the same way.

Edel never talks about her brands, but Arvis is proud to bear them and proud of his ancestors. Judging by how Edel speaks of Wilhelm I as a traitor who sold humanity to creatures, I am not sure she is proud to bear his blood.

Also, while Edelgard is extremely prejudiced against Nabateans, Arvis wishes to create a world... free of prejudice (his actions though...). He does not mind Manfroy preaching his stuff, when Edelgard will not allow anyone to follow the Seiros faith (friends put it better, but in several routes, the people who were followers of the Church of Seiros are missing in Adrestia...).

While both Edel and Arvis think they are making ���sacrifices” for the greater good, as pointed out earlier, this greater good is different. They both ally with a death cult, but Arvis is naive enough to think Manfroy will not backstab him - he even wishes for him to preach his nonsense freely. Edelgard has been hell bent since day 1 on getting rid of Thales and friends.

By the time Arvis learns of the child hunts and Julius’s nonsense... he wants to stop it. He is however powerless to do so (or so we think! Apparently he and Ishtar managed to hide every children captured in a castle!) but, at least, he tried to do something.

Crest Beasts... are still used, no matter the path, and even after Edelgard became Emperor.

Now, if Manfroy had to capture children and round them up for execution to make sure Arvis would become Emperor, would Arvis have supported him? I... don’t think so. If children were captured during Arvis’s conquest of the world and it was a “necessary evil”, would Arvis have accepted it? We don’t know. Prideful as he is, I don’t think he would have agreed.

(which is all kinds of wrong, the man can start wars and backstab friends, allies and turn his own brother to ashes, but hunting children is too much? Meh. And yet, Manfroy mentions something about his ways and his pride being an obstacle to the realisation of his dream).

Arvis is... a complicated character. A douchebag through and through, who tries to redeem himself at the end, but ultimately fails. He is rewarded for his actions in the 1st gen by the 2nd gen, where Julius becomes Loptyr and destroys his Empire. He had it coming? Yes. Is it painful to watch? Yes.

Edelgard... does not face any retribution for her actions.

Yes, she can also kill her (step) brother. But either she didn’t remember it, or only cries after it, and ultimately puts the blame on him - so it is not a sacrifice ?

People doubt her words? Well, it doesn’t matter, Linhardt, Yuri and Lysithea are still alive after their... interrogations. Reptor doubted Arvis’s words? Aida was sent as back-up (and... backstabbed him).

Ultimately, Arvis loses Deirdre (whose ghost chills with Sigurd’s), Julia and Julius, whom he loved dearly. Edel loses... Billy, and some randoms.

So, in a way, Edel feels like a discount Arvis, because she misses his ascension to power and his downfall. Arvis doesn’t mow down enemies on the front lines like she is doing, Arvis maneuvers to ensure victory.

Both fight for ideals, but Arvis seems to believe in them when I cannot believe a world for “humanity” involves continuous making of Crest Beasts.

Both betray the main character, but Edelgard is hit with the uwu hammer, thus cannot kill Billy - Thales does it in the non CF-routes.

So... short story, long story, Eldie is not Dimitri, Claude is not Travant, Rhea is a foil to Manfroy and Edelgard is a discount Arvis.

Also, I don’t know what kind of weed the person who wrote this take had, but labeling Eldie as one of FE4′s villain is as dumb as labeling FE7 Karla a villain because she appears as a red unit you have to fight.

where is edel’s bastard son