#aka the nabateans

[randomnameless]

FFS man you were there too, you are supposed to be as broken as your fool of a sister relative -

"please player chan, everyone counts on you"

"only you plz"

And then the fights ends with Billy being rekt'd, Claude making a diversion and Billy finally managing to rekt the zombie.

"only you can do this"

Come on Seteth, just tell us you were too busy to lend a hand.

Interestingly, contrary to SS, Seteth doesn't out himself as a Nabatean to Billy.

Maybe it's the wisest decision to make, since Claude is busy telling everyone Nemesis and the Mole People were ruining things/are targetting the monastery to get revenge against Sothis and Rhea...

[deathbirby]

Sorry for a bit of venting but god people like Dolphin and Rax really make me hate 3H so much. Which is funny since I actually started off liking the game quite a bit. But now? I cannot separate 3H from the horrendous discourse surrounding it. It’s really soured my opinion on the game and made me look at it in a different light.

The dumb 3H shit also affects other games that aren’t it like Engage, which is a shame since I love Engage and yet it was plagued by controversies— including being constantly compared to 3H and its “brilliant writing”.

Honestly yeah. It's hard for some people to enjoy a game when its fandom has such garbage people in it. It's hard for me to look at Edelgard in a positive light (even in the rare instances I defend her) because of how unhinged her stans are.

And 3H constantly being compared to Engage is just... ugh. They're different games. Different story, setting, world, characters, gameplay, etc. 3H was the exception in FE games, not the norm.

[randomnameless]

Flayn definitely isn't a child and no i'm not talking about the +1000 years old loli issue

Her support with Manuela showcases it, when Manu expects Flayn to be disgusted after hearing her "sordid" past, Flayn isn't at all, and tells Manu that her life of hardships is the reason why her songs resonate within people's hearts...

Flayn woke up, and wants to discover the world and its people, something she wasn't able to do during the War of Heroes - because, well, War - but maybe also before, when being a Nabatean was dangerous so she had to use hair dye, but more importantly, her parents lived in a secluded place, to protect her.

She wakes up and comes to the Monastery, finally able to "interact with people of her age" and make friends...

But then the game's events happen.

Her parents were right, not living in seclusion means danger, and she is kidnapped - she was going to be killed if not for the intervention of Sothis reborn (and Manu!).

Afterwards, she has a small moment of respite... until someone paints another target on her back, for being a non-human, and declares war against the only home she has left.

Depending on the routes, either Flayn's parents were right, and she should never have interacted and, ultimately, lived, in the "outside" world to survive (but then is she surviving if she cannot live?), or she was right, and manages to find friends (and possibly a lover!) "outside" bringing her great joy?

Can Flayn live in Fodlan?

The game never answers, and yet, 75% of its content tells you they can

Sometimes, I think people forget that, despite her situation, Flayn isn't "just" an innocent child. She's... not really a child, more like an older teen, perhaps a very young adult, whose father see as a child still because he's very protective over her

Flayn has participated in war. Flayn has exhausted herself to the point of sleep for almost a millenia to recuperate, watched over by her father.

Like, yeah, she's a bit out of touch (because hello she missed a millenia of culture evolving due to - sleeping for a thousand years to recuperate from her exhaustion during / after a war that dragged for almost a century), and she's very enthu

fuck

you know what I just fucking realised, typing this ??

Flayn, when you start the game, is FINALLY EXPERIENCING PEACE after ALMOST A CENTURY OF WAR

FLAYN HAS PROBABLY EXPERIENCED MORE TIME IN WAR THAN PEACE

WHAT THE FUCK ACTUALLY

Let Flayn Actually Fucking Live In Peace With Her Dad And Her Family For Fuck's Sake She Deserves It After All This Fucking Shit

[ym-loreposting]

Saints, Gods and Dragons in the murals of Fire Emblem: Three Houses

Fire Emblem: Three Houses is a large game that has subtle world building and thematic details hidden all over and in this post I want to point a few out, mainly concerning the depictions of Seiros, Sothis and the four Saints, as well as some related things. Major spoilers for Three Houses and Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes after the cut.

The hooded Saint

Saint Seiros is the identity Archbishop Rhea of the Church of Seiros originally went under during the War of Heroes, which ended with the Adrestrian Empire and Church of Seiros coming to rule over Fódlan. The war ended in the Imperial year 98, but Seiros stuck around for at least a century more until the completion of Garreg Mach Monastery in Imperial year 195.

Some time after this, Seiros would "die" and the Church of Seiros went on to be led by Archbishops, of whom at least a substantial portion were alternate identities of Seiros. This is made most apparent in Sylvain and Ignatz's support line in Three Hopes, where they discuss a painting of an Archbishop who ruled around the Imperial Year 961. During the support line, the painting is noted to bear a resemblance to Rhea and it also looks the part.

Saint Seiros meanwhile is a religious figure revered throughout Fódlan, but she is never noted to look like Rhea despite them being the same person, so why is that? The answer lies in a piece of promotional art for Three Houses that depicts an in-universe mural. Near the bottom of the mural, a hooded figure can be seen that is the Saint Seiros. This is evident from the clothing she wears under her robe being the garb Seiros wears, as well as the wavy Sword of Seiros she holds.

This is further driven home by the murals shown at the start of each chapter in Three Houses, some of which depict the hooded Seiros as well. The one for Chapter 10, Where the Goddess Dwells, for example, shows a variation of the promotional mural. This variation also depicts the Immaculate One, Seiros's Nabatean form, which are thought to be separate beings in the religion of the Church of Seiros.

The mural at the start of Chapter 2, Familiar Scenery, meanwhile shows a statue of the hooded Seiros defeating Nemesis. The familiar Sword of Seiros can once again be seen wielded by the hooded figure.

In-universe, it seems the face of Saint Seiros isn't known, likely a deliberate choice so that Rhea could continue to lead the Church of Seiros as its various Archbishops even after the 'death' of Saint Seiros.

The depiction of the Goddess and the Saints

While she appears as a child throughout Three Houses and Three Hopes, in the murals of the Church of Seiros, Sothis is depicted as a grown woman. In the large promotional mural, she seems to be the winged woman that takes up the bulk of the mural, as Seiros is depicted near the mural's bottom. Whether the mural depicts an idealized version of Sothis or the actual form she took prior to her murder by Nemesis is something I am not sure of yet. This depiction of Sothis can also be seen in the murals at the start of Chapters 9 (The Cause of Sorrow) and 4 (The Goddess's Rite of Rebirth). Of note is that Sothis is often depicted alongside a star symbol, likely representing the Blue Sea Star, her place of origin.

The mural at the start of Chapter 4 shows several other figures alongside Sothis, which are Seiros in her usual hooded depiction and the Four Saints that fought alongside her in the War of Heroes. The Saints in the mural resemble the statues that were built of them, not necessarily their true appearance (as is the case with Cethleann/Flayn).

The Saints, who are in truth Nabateans, also seem to appear elsewhere, specifically in their Nabatean forms. The crest of the Church of Seiros has a dragon depicts a white dragon that one at first may assume to be the Immaculate One (aka Seiros). However, this dragon lacks some key features of Immaculate One, most notable the Immaculate One's curled horns. Its head shape is also subtly different.

Instead, this may be the otherwise unseen Nabatean form of Saint Cichol/Seteth, which is indicated by the rest of the symbol of the Church of Seiros. Atop the symbol rests a mitre resembling the one worn by Cichol in his statue. In Three Hopes, it was revealed the name of this Nabatean form is the "Hammer of Judgment".

The flags of Knights of Seiros, as well as the Holy Kingdom of Faerghus, depict a Griffon-like creature on their flags. This may be the Wind Caller, Macuil's Nabatean form, though there are some differences in their designs, most notably the tail, hind legs and head horns. They could just be generic Griffons, which have appeared in Fire Emblem: Awakening and Fire Emblem: Engage, but those settings are distinct from the setting of Three Houses/Three Hopes and generic Griffons do not appear in Fódlan. Thematically at least it would make sense for Macuil to be depicted on the Knights of Seiros's flag, given Macuil made weapons for Seiros and the other Saints during the War of Heroes and the Knights of Seiros act as the protectors and metaphorical weapons of the church. The design differences remain notable however.

[fayesdiary]

Rhea for the "send me a character" w/ the "first impression, impression now, etc." ask game!

Cringefail pope my beloved💚

First impression

The days of 3H pre-release are long gone, but from what I remember I didn't think much of her beside her being another Mikoto archetype which I didn't have any interest in. (especially because this was back when I was still on Reddit and by extension the Fates Bad™ circlejerk)

Then I think I remember seeing a screenshot of an official tweet that went something like "fight/destroy the Church of Seiros in Fire Emblem Three Houses" (nevermind it happens in only one of the four routes and the most villainous one at that) so I was something like "welp. guess she's the villain of another Evil Religion™, whatever."

Impression now

fgdgdfgdfgdfgsdfgshfgifuhg

She's my favorite Fodlan character, something I never saw coming.

While I have my issues with how she's treated as a character (mainly being relegated to the red herring for Edelgard in Part 1 and the late Nabatean infodump only to then die in Part 2. You know, when she's not completely absent or treated as the scapedragon. In general she's treated with the "tell don't show" approach Fodlan writing loves) they are definitely mitigated by all the small details that make her so interesting. And while I find her lack of spotlight and moments where she shines at her best incredibly frustrating, I'll admit that digging beneath the surface and starting to see who she actually is as a person is quite fun in its own right.

She's a truly kindhearted, deeply flawed and quite cringe woman. Of course I love her.

Favorite moment

Funnily enough, her weed quest. Not just because the sheer concept of the pope indirectly giving weed to her students is hilarious, but because if you look closer you'll notice that every herb she gives seems to fit the specific students a bit too well to be a coincidence (for example Bernadetta's herb is said to give her the courage to strike a conversation, Marianne's gives her a more positive outlook on life and Ignatz's boosts his self-confidence).

This shows that while she feels unable to get close to the students on a deeper level, she's clearly paying enough attention to them to know the general things they struggle with and tries to secretly help them, and it's really sweet!

Idea for a story

I've been entertaining the idea of a Silver Snow rewrite (AKA a scenario where getting an A support with her changes the entire route instead of just the ending) where Rhea is rescued early and becomes the de-facto lord. Featuring character development where she finally starts to actually talk to the students and her loved ones, Dimitri in a secondary role because I think the dynamic between her and early-timeskip Dimitri, not to metion in a context where Edie's already dead, has some insane potential (also makes for a nice foil to CF).

Also changing from her requirement to survive from being A Rank with Byleth to being A rank with all of her support partners. AKA overcoming her fatal flaw allows her to not only survive, but live.

Basically her learning to stop compulsively keeping secrets, openly talk and get close to others again and rely on other people on a deeper level. You know, the good stuff!

Don't count on it ever actually getting written beyond a few posts though. I know my limits :(

Favorite relationship

Romantically with Catherine, platonically with Cyril!

Unpopular opinion

I mean, this is Rhea we're talking about.

Liking her to begin with and not treating her like she's responsible for everything wrong in Fodlan is already unpopular to begin with.

Also people severely overestimate the political power she actually has.

Favorite headcanon

As a joke headcanon: Rhea has been every single archbishop in the past as well, so to keep humanity from finding out she's a dragon she faked her death every few decades... in increasingly ridiculous ways.

It got to the point where the Seiros faithful believe the position of Archbishop is cursed, and whenever people act concerned about her because of it Rhea is grateful for it but at the same time is internally laughing her ass off.

[butwhatifidothis]

How do you feel about the QRT reactions to this "mistranslation" claim? A lot of Edelstans seem to be under the impression that Treehouse went out of their way to make Edelgard despicable but I always had the feeling that it was the opposite, that they softened in many other ways...

Link to twitter thread: https://twitter.com/teaspoonTL/status/1621494047167885317?t=nI-IHZFTyfUGPaHuVeigpg&s=19

Going by a trusted bud of mine who translates stuff, the translation the tweeter person gave seems accurate. It apparently, however, can either be seen as "this is an outright noble - aka just - thing to do" or "being noble doesn't mean being just" from Ferdinand's end. The in-game translation is more black-and-white on the matter, but given Ferdinand's general non-CF feelings towards Edelgard's conquest it's not surprising why they went down that route.

That said. To think that the ENG version of the game made Edelgard look worse is actually hilariously ironic. The ENG version covered her ass so much. Off the top of my head, her want to kill all the Nabateans and her explicit desire to use the Crest Stones for herself were both either muddied up or straight up changed in the translation. Another popular edelstan position is that the "reconquer" line was mistranslated - it isn't. Even their own "prettied up" version of the lines still makes her look childish and unaware. And I'm sure there are other examples of this happening that I can't think of right now lol.

It's a go-to they've been using for the last three 1/2 years whenever anyone points out that Edelgard is a villain. While this one has more stock to it than others, it's still up for interpretation and doesn't negate the numerous other examples in the game that clearly showcases Edelgard being the villain. To say nothing of the aforementioned things the ENG version made Edelgard look objectively better in lol

[randomnameless]

IDK if you’ve done the paralogue opening up in this chapter? 

It’s about Seteth and Rhea taking their kids out for a family outing to whack bandits !

Curious how they’ll handle this. Because if Dimitri does talk to her and it becomes clear he’s after TWSITD, what does Edelgard do? Keep insisting on war or give up and team up with Dimitri against TWSITD? It’s OOC for her to give up and let Rhea and the Kingdom live their lives, but prioritizing killing Dimitri and Rhea above even taking TWSITD down would be, eh, questionable on her end to put it lightly. Really curious to see how the writers deal with this.

:)

I can’t wait to see your review of a certain chapter later on!

Oh, look at that, Dimitri being smart. He plans on cutting off Edelgard’s supply line. Since she only uses one, that’s brilliant.

We knew since Crimson Flower that Hubert is the brains in their duo, but Hopes is an AU where she decides to take things in her own hands instead of listening to his plans about siding with Uncle’n’pals...

And it shows lol

Lamo, Shez thinks one hundred Dimitris would wipe the floor with the Empire.

Why one hundred, even 1 Dimitri can wipe the floor with them ! especially if they have only 1 supply line

FUCKING FINALLY. All the points to Ashe. Glenn didn’t die because Faerghus is toxic. He died because he wanted to protect his best friend. He argues that there’s nothing wrong with that.

B-but do you mean the Faerghus promotes toxic masculinity essay was full of shit? :(

I joked a lot about Faerghan people exchanging “knightly vows” instead of straight up marrying, but it felt good to have someone acknowledge that people swear loyalty and die to protect the people they love.

Of course, you will have very different opinions about knighthood and loyalty in, hm, other routes.

More language learning lessons. She wants to learn the language to help Brigid diplomatically. It’s too bad she can’t get a teacher in-house.

Hahaha - remember how in Houses, Hubert said some nobles considered her to look like a “caged animal” or something?

TFW the Faerghus Prince spends time to learn a different language and help his new “friend” to learn it, meanwhile the Adrestian Princess eats sweets while her hostages has to learn everything by herself.

The more you learn about Sylvain, the less sense he makes defecting to the Empire.

This game made me appreciate Sylvain, which I didn’t think possible after his depiction in FE16!

Wait, Edelgard FINALLY told him about Thales? Girl, you (maybe?) could’ve spared all of Fodlan a lot of pain if you just said that earlier.

Who cares about Fodlan when you can care about restoring Adrestia to its former glory??

Dimitri just whipping the magic away. He’s so cool in all of these cutscenes.

His plot armor magically increased his res stat?

AG really is going to go there! TWSITD is really the big bad, not Edelgard.

Sure Nergal was the guy controlling everything from the shadows, but does it mean Marquis Laus can get away scot free with all the shit he pulled?

Will Supreme Leader have to face the consequences of her war??

Oh, Ferdinand’s dad, Duke Aegir is now in control? What happened to Edelgard? (also, I sorta love how so many dads got whitewashed, but they went full evil with this guy still lamo)

Remember Ferdie’n’Lysithea’s paralogue in FE16?

Poor Ludwig was, imo, retconned in Hopes - even if a certain plot point will be revealed later on - which oddly coincides with Hopes nuking Ionius out of the cast ; in Houses Ludwig was more of a Numida than a Lekain, in Hopes, he is really presented as a stupider version of Lekain.

I think you’ll learn more about his motivations in SB... and how they don’t coincide with what we learn in FE16.

Is TWSITD controlling Edelgard? Lamo, that’s one creative way to write her out of the story without letting her team up with Dimitri or choosing TWSITD over giving up conquest.  

And the answer is... no!!! We’re in a Fodlan game, after all!

Let me present you... Supreme Puppet ! 

It really felt like the writers wanted a way to justify why Dimitri wouldn’t behead her on spot for starting the war and invading Faerghus and allying/cozying with the people who murdered his father and brought ruin to the Kingdom - so they took the “surprise brainwash!!” route - can you really hold any grudge against her when she is now manipulated and nothing more than a puppet?

I guess I’ll rant later at the end of the route, but this “surprise brainwash” really felt like the easy way out to... give Supreme Leader a pass for everything she pulls out in this game.

Azure Gleam Ch 9

More Azure Gleam to come. So far it's doing everything I wished AM did or had time for.

STORY

Oh, the title includes "Reunion." I'm guessing Dimitri and Edelgard talk again?

Curious how they'll handle this. Because if Dimitri does talk to her and it becomes clear he's after TWSITD, what does Edelgard do? Keep insisting on war or give up and team up with Dimitri against TWSITD? It's OOC for her to give up and let Rhea and the Kingdom live their lives, but prioritizing killing Dimitri and Rhea above even taking TWSITD down would be, eh, questionable on her end to put it lightly. Really curious to see how the writers deal with this.

The Empire is stalemating at Arianrhod. Shez is worried about supplies, but Dedue thinks they need to prepare more first.

Oh, look at that, Dimitri being smart. He plans on cutting off Edelgard's supply line. Since she only uses one, that's brilliant.

Shez thinks if Dimitri pulls this off, he wins the war.

So I'm betting the big enemy will switch from Edelgard to TWSITD. It would be cool for Edelgard to team up with Dimitri against TWSITD, but I doubt that'll happen. She'll probably die or go and join up with TWSITD or escape but the big focus will still be TWSITD and Edelgard a footnote on the way there, hence powering up the Empire after Dimitri would've otherwise taken them out.

Feels like this is going to end part 1, like how GW just ended.

Oh, Claude!? First time we've seen him in a while in AG. Oh, shit, is Claude going to bail out Edelgard for no real reason except writers said so? Because it would make no sense to help the Imperialists if he wants the Alliance to remain standing.

He's wondering what the Alliance will do, what's best for them and trying to predict who's going to win.

Oh, wow, I really expected AG to get the 1 battle deal this time, but nope. Good.

MAP/SIDE BATTLES

Lamo, Shez thinks one hundred Dimitris would wipe the floor with the Empire.

I got to compliment Dedue. Life complete.

Yuri sold Edelgard a tip about a secret passage. He saying some skeevy stuff about that count. I'm betting we'll recruit him this time. He doesn't seem to like Count Rowe's general dude lol.

Dimitri saying he's not good around children in the expedition dialogue is funny, since it's fairly cannon that they like him.

INGRID & RODRIGUE B SUPPORT

Aww, Ingrid got to return to Fraldarius territory and went down memory lane. Again, another support that reinforces how tied all the Faerghus team are together.

It struggles with having enough food too. I think it's the influx of refugees causing the shortages.

Cool details. There's new shops and good roads.

She finally faced it and wants to keep visiting it. Of course, Rodrigue says she should.

Haha, Ingrid ordered Glenn around. Not surprised.

And Rodrigue says it's ok to show weakness and not just worry about pushing forward. He's such a team dad. And very much in line with the themes in the Blue Lions.

ASHE & DEDUE B SUPPORT

Dedue made his own tea blend!!! Ok, Seteth officially has competition for #1 husbando in Fodlan now.

OFC he made it for Dimitri, lamo.

You would forever be second place to Dimitri with Dedue lol.

The tea reminds Ashe of some Lonato made.

And OFC it's a tea to calm nerves. He made it for Dimitri after all.

ASHE & DIMITRI B SUPPORT

Dimitri is checking on Ashe, esp with his role as a knight. Everyone's been nice to him, which is good, but Ashe is still unsure of himself.

Dimitri pretty much knighted everyone who's now his knights.

Ashe has a more romantic view of knighthood. Someone who's loyal to the king and protects their leader and their people.

Then Dimitri's like, naw, they're here to kill people. Loyalty is only there to control them.

Very in-character for both of them.

Dimitri's like go ahead and follow that code, but don't die for it. Now he's talking about Glenn. And how he wants Ashe to choose life over loyalty.

So THAT'S why Ashe defects. He's so miserable about it.

FUCKING FINALLY. All the points to Ashe. Glenn didn't die because Faerghus is toxic. He died because he wanted to protect his best friend. He argues that there's nothing wrong with that.

Ashe respects Dimitri so much. He's so wholesome.

DEDUE & PETRA B SUPPORT

More language learning lessons. She wants to learn the language to help Brigid diplomatically. It's too bad she can't get a teacher in-house.

Dedue is sorta doing the same for Duscur, though not royalty so not as much power.

Dimitri wants to make Duscur independent again. I'm so glad AG is paying more attention to Duscur.

Petra also realizes that Dedue is more than just Dimitri's bodyguard.

Giving these two a support was a brilliant idea.

DIMITRI & SYLVAIN B SUPPORT

Aww, Dimitri didn't want House Gautier's opinion, but Sylvain's. Their relationship is underrated.

Lamo, Dimitri is speaking with others about bringing commoners into the nobility. This game does a shit job justifying Edelgard's war if everyone is on their way to doing what she's killing them for not doing.

The main concern is lack of crests. And funny that it's Sylvain defending them and Dimitri saying it doesn't matter. The more you learn about Sylvain, the less sense he makes defecting to the Empire.

Lamo, the Kingdom is already discussing the possibility of getting rid of inheritance.

Sylvain only shows the political side of himself to Felix and Dimitri.

I love this support. Dimitri is just showing Sylvain with compliments and expressing how much he relies on Sylvain (which is very healthy for him to admit). Then Sylvain is admiring Dimitri back.

DIMITRI & FELIX B SUPPORT

My first Dimilix support in Hopes. It better be good.

Ah, starts with Felix calling Dimitri an idiot, these two are just so . . . I love them. One of the most complex relationships in all of Fire Emblem. And I live for it.

"Idiot, let me worry for you!!!" Is the most Dimilix(Felix) thing ever.

Felix has a mother, everyone. I think she got mentioned before, but power to her for actually existing!!!

Then Felix gets mad at Dimitri for worrying about him and not his own issues, It's the most Felix ever. And then Dimitri's like, oh, that's not possible.

Oh, no, now Dimitri is going off about revenge. And Felix isn't thrilled about it.

Oh, shit is getting real. Dimitri thinks Felix might hate him because he could do nothing when Glenn died and feels so guilty over it.

Felix "I don't hate you, ok." Haha, I love these two idiots.

Dimitri has such horrible survivor's guilt. He feels so guilty for surviving and that Glenn died protecting him. It makes me wonder what kind of hell his head went through when he thought Dedue died in Houses (or actually does die, including CF). That has to be like worst nightmare shit.

Felix is like, ugh, just eat!!

MAIN BATTLE

Shamir and Catherine! Together, as it should be.

Miklan is here too. Still not sure how to feel about this. Ohh, he's the one who cut ties?

He's starting to come around to liking working for the army though. Shamir called him out for having a bad attitude too lol.

Annette is so much shorter than the rest of the Blue Lions lol. She's standing next to Dedue. Who thought that was a good idea. They can barely fit into the same frame lamo.

So Persuade Shamir and Yuri are strategy options. I was confused until I saw Shamir was an allied general and Yuri an enemy one. Getting to both of them, obviously.

I'm guessing Miklain's death is unavoidable? Eh. Seems pointless to bring him back at all.

Isn't this were Ingrid died in SB? Worst moment in the game so far. 

Aha, cool! Cutscene time. And seems it's cannon here that Dimitri defeated Edelgard in combat. He just keeps racking up the badassery in this game. 

So glad Dimitri didn't just let her run. So annoying when heroes do that, except Thales is here to fuck things up. 

Wait, Edelgard FINALLY told him about Thales? Girl, you (maybe?) could've spared all of Fodlan a lot of pain if you just said that earlier. 

Dimitri just whipping the magic away. He's so cool in all of these cutscenes. 

Thales bullshit magic abilities ruining a potential team up. (Could they ever? She seems hellbent on taking over his country so . . .)

Oh, hey, hegemon. 

AG really is going to go there! TWSITD is really the big bad, not Edelgard. Don't misunderstand, Edelgard is the superior villain. But since Dimitri gets two stories, I'm glad one will focus on TWSITD and (hopefully) send Edelgard to the backseat. Bc him vs her again, what's the point? 

Aw, Shez saving Dimitri. These two have such a wholesome relationship. I really like it more than I expected too. 

Aww, this stuff with Shez and Dimitri just keeps piling up. Shez feels so worried about having the same powers, but Dimitri just doesn't care. Still trusts her. It's so sweet. 

I also love how Shez has some personal involvement in this route. It's kinda missing in the other two. 

Dimitri - "I alone-" Felix shuts that down, ofc. Good though. I'm glad seeing Ingrid and Annette speak up. It's obvious to remember how Felix and Dedue got their lives changed, but so glad they called back to what Ingrid and Annette dealt with too. 

Felix saying Dimitri's name so soft when he's hurt. My heart. 

Oh, Ferdinand's dad, Duke Aegir is now in control? What happened to Edelgard? (also, I sorta love how so many dads got whitewashed, but they went full evil with this guy still lamo). 

Is TWSITD controlling Edelgard? Lamo, that's one creative way to write her out of the story without letting her team up with Dimitri or choosing TWSITD over giving up conquest.  

(sorry for the weird formatting, some of this is copy and pasted)

xxxxx

[fantasyinvader]

So, I was thinking more about Edelgard's Japanese line in Hopes about her getting rid of Fodlan's "absurdity." I recalled another line changed from the Japanese, how Edelgard is said to want to "reforge" the world. Or rather, how it's supposed to be that Edelgard wants to put the world back to what it once was. And I was thinking on this, what was the world like before the Empire and Church? The answer is the Fodlan ruled by Nemesis, who Edelgard sees as a champion of humanity. That's when it hit me.

Nemesis was an Agarthan puppet, and the Agarthans don't see most people as humans. From what the game says during it's info dumps, they got drunk on their own power and viewed themselves as gods.

Rhea:Eventually people began to think of themselves as gods and challenged the progenitor god herself to battle.

Adding to this is the note from an Elite, who viewed his Relic as "sacred".

My life, along with my sacred weapon, will unquestionably be forfeit. My dear son and daughter… I hope you can forgive me one day.

(Also I like how in the Japanese, the final page says "What exactly did King Nemesis do to Seiros? Was it a mistake to go along with his story?" Aka, should I have believed what this guy said?".)

The usage of "sacred" is consistent with the Japanese, which would connect it with some sort of religion. This era, which we were led to believe was an era of humanity ruling itself, had it's own gods of sorts. The Agarthans gave the Elites the Relics and the Crests, the former we know they viewed as sacred, which would connect it to their religion as well as Rhea's claim that the Agarthans thought themselves as gods.

Edelgard wants to get rid of the Nabateans, the Church and any influence they've had on Fodlan. But that just means she wants to go back to a time when the Agarthans were viewed as gods by the people. Sure, she'll get rid of the Agarthans themselves when she has no more use for them, but society will still be based on her trying to return things to the way they were during the time of Nemesis. It'll be based on Agarthan ideals. Suddenly, a "world for humanity" makes a lot more sense.

Just trading the teachings of the goddess, stuff like not abusing your power and using it to help others, for the teachings of a bunch of racist dickheads, that's all Edelgard is doing. No wonder Mercedes doesn't support her new church in Flower.

[fellstcr]

— on byleth’s fighting style.

(as based only on her favored skills, and her canonical learned skills, across games!)

tl;dr: byleth prioritizes strength, speed, and quick-thinking in battle. she is willing and capable of forging a path for her troops and using her own strength to encourage them to fight at their best. she boasts a remarkable level of endurance, and uses her budding skills with faith magic to perform feats of healing as she wipes through the enemy lines.

       byleth’s nabatean ancestry allows for a great wellspring of magical power dwelling within her. one that grows until ultimately released in one big blast of energy (ie: releasing the spell aura on an enemy and landing a critical hit) this draconic lineage is obvious enough that it intimidates her foes on the battlefield. (interpretation: glowing eyes and glowing hair and a massively powerful aura really do just Be Like That.)

Byleth’s favored skills:

swordsmanship

hand-to-hand combat

(hidden talent) faith white magic

authority/leadership

BONUS: Byleth’s titles across games (and routes):

the enlightened one (her main title)

the ashen demon (formerly, and she dislikes this one)

the fell star (sothis’ former title, and now hers)

proven professor

the fodlan light

the sublime light

archbishop of the church of seiros (azure moon, specific)

queen of the united kingdom of fodlan (silver snow + verdant wind, specific)

the wandering flame (solo / CF specific)

Byleth’s Stat Growths:

charm is her highest stat

her second highest stat is her HP/endurance

her third highest stat is strength

her dex, speed, and luck are her middle of the road - ( dex = ability to dodge / acrobatics) , (luck = divine favor, ability to evade and land critical hits)

magic and defense and resistance (aka magical defense) are her weakest stats, but not by very much.

Byleth’s Faith Spell List:

nosferatu - siphons health from foes

heal - basic healing magic

recover - advanced healing magic

aura - powerful faith magic that causes a tower of light rings to descend upon a foe.

Byleth’s Personal + Enlightened One Skills:

professor’s guidance - byleth is able to teach herself and those around her skills more quickly than others, allowing for great mastery. (it also boosts her own attack power)

divine pulse - the ability to stop and rewind time. allows for: creating new timelines at will (re: rewinding time), ‘warping’ across a battlefield using stopped time, and compounding attack power onto an enemy during stopped time, and allowing the effects to settle when time moves forward.

sacred power - byleth can negate damage done to allies and boost their damage output

absolve/terrain resistance - byleth can no longer by harmed by extreme heat/cold/terrain interference.

blessed breath (few:3h) - magic is used to recover hp / give a boost to her inner wellspring of power.

saint’s power (few:3h) - byleth’s power is constantly growing and inevitably will ready to be fully unleashed

goddess’ vessel (few:3h) - byleth is unable to be shaken and/or knocked back when in battle.

dragon gaze (feh) - byleth’s dragon lineage allows her an advantage (intimidation) on the battlefield

Sword Skills:

sword prowess - self-explanatory

wrath strike - (innate) a whirlwind attack with a sword.

grounder - a sword attack that is effective against flying units

bane of monsters - effective against monster foes.

axebreaker - axe : sword :: scissors : rock (+evasion)

windsweep - an attack that staggers the enemy and does not allow counterattacks

sword crit +10 - self explanatory

swordfaire - mastery of the sword

Hand-to-Hand Skills:

brawling prowess - proficiency with hand-to-hand combat.

fading blow - uses momentum of her blows to get around her enemies (backward)

rushing blow - uses momentum of her blows to get around her enemies (forward)

draining blow - siphons health from foes

healing focus - ability to heal oneself in combat

mystic blow - her blows are infused with magic.

fistfaire - mastery of hand-to-hand combat.

Faith Skills:

white magic avoid +20 - self-explanatory.

faith (prowess) - mastery of faith magic.

white magic range +1 - self-explanatory.

white tomefaire - allows for more prowess with offensive faith magic.

Authority Skills:

authority (prowess)  - mastery of leadership skills.

batallion vantage - when her troops morale/endurance is low, byleth will attack first.

model leader - her leadership allows her troops to learn faster on the battlefield.

defensive tactics - byleth reinforces her troops with defensive tactics.

rally movement - ability to motivate others on the battlefield, with an emphasis on being able to take in a battle quickly and react accordingly. (boosts speed/movement)

batallion desperation - when her troops morale/endurance is low, byleth will attack twice as fast and as hard.

offensive tactics - byleth’s troops have been taught to strike quickly and strike hard, making them powerful units in battle.

[randomnameless]

What do you think about the fics where children of nabateans and humans are either humans or nabateans?

Fics are fics so it's basically the author's interpreration and fantasy being written, but as far as personal taste goes, it's not really my cup of tea!

Where's the fun with fantasy settings if you can't come up with mixed blood humans who sekritly (or not so sekritly) descend from some sort of other race of beings and got super powers from that deal ?

I think I ranted about it in a french post some months ago about this but it was kind of salty.

The only setting in FE where half human children were developped is Tellius with the Branded and... well, let's not go there, after all, it's the verse that tells you that racism is BaD, but miscegenation is also BaD...

In Elibe, fwiw, bar having weird mystical powers and longer lifespan than humans, but shorter than full blooded dragons, hybrids aren't generally developped (and that's taking into account Al from the manga).

That being said, in the particular context that is Fodlan and some characters' pov about Nabateans, their blood and a general discussion about what is "humanity" used to "other" sentient beings that are despised because they are "others"...

The "kids are either humans or nabateans" isn't really something I'm fond of.

But hey, fics are basically someone's takes on canon and there's no point about arguing headcanons !

Like, even with half-lizard Lycaon AUs, some people could try to explain his "died from a sudden illness" in different ways : he can be inherently prone to sickness because he is a half-lizard, or, in my hodgepodge of an AU, the "dies from a sudden illness" is a cheap cover up story to hide his assassination, at the hands of members of his dad's family because they wanted the throne and because he was a half-lizard.

We basically have two different takes, coming from two different people about a thrown away line, which creates, in substance, two differents AU/HCs/fanfics!

So, to reply to your question anon, it's not the HC i came up with and not one I like because of all the racial implication and tensions Fodlan, as a setting, has regarding coexistence.

But I'd be really pissed if anyone went to comment on a fic to say the author's headcanon is "wrong".

Now, if we're talking about people claiming to write meta or to comment canon, it's another story - but in the end, the canon answer is "10k years of lore" so we're pretty much quickly entering headcanon territory, and when people try to pretend their headcanons are canon, that's how you end up with 5 years of discourse lol

[deathbirby]

there's an irony in the people thinking the Nabateans have to atone for their "sins" because they think Rhea is irredeemably evil compared to Seiros letting the families of the Ten Elites live despite all the problems their ancestors caused

lmao now that you mention it, theyre basically saying what they wanted rhea to do so that their claims would be 100% correct

[fireemblems24]

Scarlet Blaze Ch 15 (Final)

Last one, everyone! After this, I finally get to play Spiritfarer which I got on . . . Christmas 2022.

NARRATION

Last chapter. Finally. Killing so many people in this route is really awful. Especially since you just . . . don't in the other two.

I think the last chapter will take place at the monastery.

Oh, great, does this mean I have to protect Bernie's dad in this route? I hope Rhea kills him, like gets this badass cut scene where she cuts him down for perverting her faith by using it as a propaganda tool.

So TWSITD showed up and is attacking Rhea and the Empire.

They're mostly after the "beasts" (aka Nabateans? Or humans?)

I wish this meant that we teamed up with Rhea, but we know Edelgard would team up with TWSITD first.

Catherine and Rhea got a cool moment together though.

Yep, we have to protect Count Varley, gross.

MAP

No side battles! This final chapter will be super quick, which is nice.

I'm VERY curious what the Golden Deer students say after Claude's moment last chapter lamo.

And if any Lions mention Sylvain :((((

OMG, Ignatz is savage. He only cares about painting the battle. No mention of Claude.

Yuri wishes he could kill Varley instead of save him. Good for him. He really feels more suited for AG/AM/SS/VW than SB/CF/GW.

Well, at least Mercedes mentioned Sylvain. And Ingrid and Annette. Saying they died for what they believed in and admires them for it, since she could never.

Poor Ashe is having a crisis. Still had no idea wtf he's doing in the Empire's war camp. Honestly, this game made him so much more interesting.

Linhardt also has no fucking clue why he's here. I swear he does nothing but complain every map (in a funny way) and wish he was doing literally anything else.

Lorenz is more concerned about his future bc of Claude than worried about him. Man, guy really has no one loyal to him lol.

DOROTHEA & CASPAR C

I swear I did a much better job getting supports in GW and AG.

Caspar has a bunch of books, and Dorothea's horrified by the idea that he'll use them in training.

Caspar plans to read them. Dorothea teases him. Apparently Lin made similar comments.

Dorothea makes him promise not to hurt the books. A woman after my own heart.

Caspar's like, did you know my dad reads! Dorothea's like, yeah . . . how do you think he got his role if he didn't.

Dorothea tells a story about an unlearned commander who studied strategy in books and improved to become legendary.

The only stupid part of this is thinking you can read and understand complicated books in 5 days and become an expect in 5 days. For once, Caspar was the smart one being like, uh, I need more time.

MERCEDES & LYSITHEA B

This support is SB locked, but neither characters are Eagles. It may be the only support like that in the game. But, hey, new Mercie content, I'll take it!

Mercedes comes across Lysithea in the kitchen, trying and failing to cook.

The fruits she wanted to use are moldy though. Lysithea has an idea to use something else for the fruit - a sugar syrup.

Lysithea has dedicated her time to learning how to cook because of how good Mercedes' cooking was, so she credits Mercie for the sugar syrup, which she learned because of that.

Baking also helped Lysithea learn the importance of taking breaks.

Mercie calls her a wizened old grandma, lol.

They arrange a tea party.

SHEZ & LINHARDT A

It starts with Linhardt saying they haven't learned anything about Shez's powers. I wonder how funny this sounds if you get it after the special chapters.

Linhardt says it's find because the war is almost over, so there's less need and chance for the powers to go out of control.

Shez pretty consistently wants to continue working as a mercenary after the battle.

He also seems to have no desire to stay in Enbarr lol.

Linhardt wants Shez as a personal bodyguard. Honestly, not a bad choice.

Then Linhardt says something like "spending the rest of my life with some random bodyguard" and then makes an excuse to leave. so he wants to stick with Shez for life. It's kind of sweet.

EDELGARD & PETRA A

Their only support

Edelgard comes across Petra praying to Bigid gods. In Brigid they pray in nature rather than in churches in Fodlan.

Edelgard asks Petra why she's risking her life in the war because it's bad for Brigid.

So Brigid will only be freed if Petra remains alive.

To be fair, it's because she doesn't know the new leader. Still feels a bit icky for Petra.

Edelgard warns about "tricks" the enemy will use. She really has a beef with anyone using tactics.

Petra just says she's happy to fight and can't run while everyone else remains and fights.

Edelgard says she can't back out, which true, but she could've just not started one. But that's in the past I guess.

Overall, came across better than the Houses one where Petra didn't seem like an equal.

EDELGARD/LYSITHEA/HAPI PARALOGUE

My plan is to have Edelgard and Shez make the other two adjuncts and see if I can't beat the paralogue that way.

It's about TWSITD, which isn't surprising given that character list.

God, I've made SB Shez so fucking stupid. Never understanding anything. It's so funny.

So is this about Cornelia? They found one of her old hideouts.

I had Shez shrug about joining. Hapi got offended.

They're talking about Hubert. I wish he was here. He's my best unit.

I wish Cornelia showed up. She's so fun, but sadly she did not.

They didn't find anything. Hapi was mostly chill about it. Edelgard and Lysithea were more bothered.

Shez could show concern or change the subject. Obviously I made him change the subject since SB!Shez is not intelligent.

CASPAR/LINHARDT PARALOGUE

Like the last time, I just plan to adjunct Caspar and let Shez and Linhardt do all the work.

They're arguing if Caspar saw a ghost or not. Linhardt remains unconvinced.

Lamo, their dads showed up and Linhardt's dad called him a "fountain of positivity" when he brought up their could die any day.

Linhardt is also upset that he has to help.

We're hunting down Empire people who've turned against Edelgard.

I had Shez not want to go lol.

The main battle changed to defeating their dads. I don't think I'm supposed to take this paralogue seriously.

Linhardt had no fun.

Bergliez gave Caspar some gaunlets, and I could either be happy for him or jealous. I obviously picked jealous since it's fun to pick the dick answer lol.

FINAL BATTLE

Why is the S rank reward Edelgard's axe? This is the last battle, right? Is there some post game stuff? Because I'm so ready for this to be done (I don't think I'll do it).

Funny, Edelgard is the one defending the monastery this time, and Varley. Imagine your final battle being about protecting Varley. Ugh.

Only 40 points for the final battle?

Just killed Catherine :(

Cyril just showed up. Rhea's so concerned. Not looking forward to killing a child :((( He died too. This is by far the bloodiest route. I swear no one even dies in AG, and in GW it's only Sylvain's dad.

This can't be it, right? That was too easy. And Cyril as the final boss makes no sense. I'm betting it's a Thales and Rhea fight.

Rhea turned into a dragon. Badass. Glad she was the final boss poper and not Thales.

Spoke too soon. I think they're both here now.

Think I beat it. We're at a cut scene now. Thales is doing magic shit. Rhea attacked him and just ignored Edelgard and Shez like they weren't worth her notice lol.

Wait, that's it?

Rhea pushes Thales off a cliff? So RHEA's the hero??

There's no way they could've survived that - Edelgard. My girl, Rhea is a fucking dragon and Thales can warp. I have bad news from you. Also, Byleth survived a fall too so . . .

What happened to Dimitri? I don't think I killed Claude either?

Is that really it? The war just keeps going. The war just keeps on with no end in sight. Hahahaha. You mean I played how many hours for THAT? I'm going to laugh my ass off if all 3 routes end like this. What a cheap way to avoid killing any of the lords.

OMG. What a stupid ending.

Except for Rhea. She got the big hero moment lol.

I kept waiting for another battle. Esp since there's an S rank reward that's Edelgard's axe, so Idk what's going on.

OMG, this is going to take FOREVER. They're showing the MVP of every single side battle and not just the main ones. I'm only at ch 6.

There was a lot more variety in MVP than I thought. I thought it would be the Hubert show, but it's pretty varied.

Ok, so around ch 10 turns into the Hubert show. I like seeing battle data though, so I sat through it.

Ok, so you get a letter from the person you get a whistle from. Aww, I eventually won Hubert's trust, and he admits he and the army needs us. Glad I picked him.

Wait, no paired endings? That blows. I hope this isn't a new trend since Engage didn't do that either (I love paired endings)

Ok, so it looks like some stuff would carry over to another playthrough on this file. So, in the future, I'd replay AG over my GW or SB playthrough to at least get 2 on the same one. I can't see myself replaying SB or GW. It's not like the story would matter since I could just skip it, but the gameplay is pretty much the same, so why not play the route with my favorites and the most unit choices on top of that?

So you can carry over supports and even unit level. So I could play Dimitri as the absurd level he's at in level one if I saved over my AG file? Because that would be funny. Probably boring. But funny.

Still feels good. One down. Two to go.

xxxx

[dream-world-universe]

The Treasury

Monastery in Jordan

Al-Khazneh

Al-Khazneh, aka Khazneh el-Far'oun, is one of the most elaborate rock-cut tombs in Petra, a city of the Nabatean Kingdom inhabited by the Arabs in ancient times. As with most of the other buildings in this ancient town, including the Monastery, this structure was carved out of a sandstone rock face. 

Located in: Petra

Address: 8FC2+VM5, Wadi Musa, Jordan

Height: 40 m

Function: Temple

Phone: +962 6 554 3600

Al-Khazneh - Wikipedia

City of Petra by Natan Vance

[fayesdiary]

Engage sequel idea has been buzzing over my head so im jotting it down here before i go to bed and forget it

Takes place at least a millennia after Engage

Elyos has been doing better than ever, with the four countries having forged strong friendships and Gradlon having been reformed under Veyle's rule;

But recently there have been a lot of strange happenings: people seemingly from other words just getting dropped to Elyos out of nowhere (and then became refugees turned denizens of Gradlon), the Emblems are apparently reawakening but acting weird, some new Emblems have been sighted and... The landscape itself seems to have changed?

Story would have two routes taking place in the same continuity similar to Echoes: Alear's, where they once again gather the royalty from Elyos to investigate the sudden changes and the old Emblem's strange behavior, and Veyle's, where the Fell Queen and her band of adopted immigrant misfits tries to solve the mystery behind what is pulling people from all the other worlds, the new Emblems' origin.

Concluding with a final story where the Fell Family come to face the truth behind the Emblems, their true origin and existential nightmare and a dark page in the history of Elyos that predates even Sombron's arrival.

AKA Emblems are fucked up. Addressing their seeming alterations in personality to make them more compliant, them being allowed to remember but never truly miss their loved ones and homeworld, and most importantly the fact they're replicas of existing people doomed to live in a ring and in servitude for the rest of their life and being painfully aware about it, as well as the fact they'll never be able to go home. Again, Emblems are fucked up.

New Emblems are created in a much more amateurish way by forging and using the Bond Rings from Engage. So yay, Emblems of secondary more obscure characters!

Btw, headcanon I literally just came up with, but this comes with the idea that Emblems are able to change the landscape of Elyos to reflect their memories, and do so subconciously. Hence the Paralogue maps.

Technically of smaller scope compared to Engage since there's no war going on... Which is not a bad thing imo

Both Alear and Veyle filling a role of mentors and actually alive parents. Older, wiser and with a tone of melancholy

Speaking of Veyle's group, all of them can be traced back to their home world if you pay close enough attention, although it's way more subtle than the Emblems ever were. Personally I'm down for an at least half-Nabatean who survived the Zanado massacre as that mysterious dragon orphan from Veyle's end card.

The Fell Twins are there too. Also Veyle has the Pact Ring, bite me

[butwhatifidothis]

Okay, I'm morbidly curious, how racist is this chapter? Did Cap really outdid himself here with the dehmunaizing language and rhetoric? And Sothis bless you for enduring through this trashfire. I can't believe people legitimately think this is a must recommendation to understand E**lgard's character and 3H in general with some treating it as more canon than the base game.

Okay, so. Buckle up cuz it’s a bit of a doozy

To start with the “””””””small””””””” stuff, there’s that whole “There was no name in Fodlan’s language for what to call this monstrous form” comment that is very clearly explicitly racist towards Nabateans. Ignoring the fact that Dragon Claws are a weapon in 3H and thus the concept of the word “dragon” exists in 3H’s world, which the Immaculate One is very much a staple example of and thus could easily be described with that particular word in Fodlan’s language - that “monstrous form” is just a state that Rhea’s race can naturally become as a part of their natural biology. Being unable to find the words to “properly” describe how inhuman and beastial she sees this form, when a perfect apt word literally does exist that has no racist undertones at all, would make Woobiegard, at the FUCKIN’ BEST, seem outrageously callous. But that wouldn’t be the first time she’s called Rhea a monster though:

“All that monster had to do was wear a funny hat, and spout some meaningless platitudes about mercy…

(oh, maybe she means “monster” as in Rhea as a person is a monster-)

“ And now, just like Seiros, Woobiegard was alone. Would she lose herself, just as the Saint had? Would she descend into madness, believing in her righteousness even as she damned herself? Without her loved ones, her father and Byleth, perhaps that nightmarish form, that husk she had seen in her dreams, would reveal itself — just like the Immaculate One.

(oh, well, no, not really. Describing Rhea’s other form that is natural to her biology to the mutated “nightmarish form” of the Hegemon Husk - classy!)

Then we get to this bit in Chapter 63:

“The Crests were to blame, not just because of the rapes and kidnappings and savagery that they legitimized, but because they told the world what people could be.

So, the natural blood of the Nabateans that was stolen by humans and made important to human society by humans are to blame for society’s horrific shortcomings. Humans are innocent - it’s the Nabatean’s fault for having magic blood! Humans can’t be expected to not commit genocide and steal Nabatean blood to use for their own gain, or to not directly benefit from said genocide, or to not fuck each other over in the pursuit of this stolen blood of genocide victims, or anything silly like that. We must blame the natural product of this race’s blood that they had no say in humans having. 

(also, uh, ignore that mask slip of “could be” and not “should be,” since that implies Crested humans actually do have a choice which Woobiegard very much wants people to think they don’t until she saves them)

And mind, Woobiegard, does, in fact, know about what Nemesis did, and what happened from it. Chapter 50:

[Nemesis] murdered Seiros’ entire family, in a bid for power.

She knows of the genocide, she knows that power was gotten from said genocide, she knows a human committed said genocide to gain said power - still Crests’ fault tho! If Crests (aka, Nabateans) never existed, everything would be so much better for everyone! 

And then there’s the top dog, the Big Boy, the culmination of a repeated racist sentiment vomited across the course of the fic. Woobiegard had a line waaaaay earlier in the fic that was already omega racist, right? This one, from Chapter 9:

"Of course, the Church had “mediated” that separation [of Faerghus and Adrestia], and given what Woobiegard now knew about the immortal archbishop, she strongly suspected Faerghus' independence was a pretext to keep humanity divided and weak, dependent on the Church’s protection.”

She then says this waaay later, in Chapter 63, bold mine:

"Woobiegard glared at her opponent. “You speak of betrayal, Archbishop, but who was the one who claimed to speak as the Goddess’ Voice?! Who allowed the Southern Church to ferment rebellion in the Empire, and sanctified a Holy Kingdom?” She felt the anger tumble out of her in a righteous wave. “I swore the same oath that Wilhelm did, upon the red blood and the white sword, the ancient covenant between the Hresvelgs and the Church. I promised to achieve peace for all, Crest or no Crest… have you done the same?””

So basically, her racist conspiracy theory she mentally spouted out in Chapter 9 and over the course of the fic is being given legitimacy here; she's being presented in the right for saying Rhea was wrong for separating Faerghus from Adrestia, the act of which Woobiegard believes Rhea did so that she could install herself as the shadow ruler of the country. And this coexists along other moments of Woobiegard thinking this (asterisks mine):

Chapter 49:

“As soon as I am finished retaking this continent for humanity, *the children of the Goddess will no longer control Fódlan‘s destiny.*”

Chapter 50:

She had even witnessed the secret past of this continent — the *lies and manipulations of the children of the Goddess,* infusing their faithful followers with the blood of the Immaculate One.

Chapter 50, bold not mine:

The Flame Emperor looked up at the eager face of one of the children of the Goddess, the *very rulers she had sought to overthrow.* How could this be? How could she stand alongside the Black Eagles, and fight for humanity’s future?

Chapter 53:

She turned, and saw the one figure she had hoped to avoid above all else. *Woobiegard despised the Children of the Goddess for what they had done to Fodlan — standing above, concealing the truth from the people…* despite her sobriquet, the Flame Emperor’s soul was given more to cold, icy rationality then the burning flames of hate. Yet when she looked at Flayn, some long-concealed anger roiled within her.

With all this capped off a bit earlier in Chapter 63, when Woobiegard says this in response to Rhea calling her a mutinous whelp (which, to be clear, Rhea does call Canongard in canon, least in the ENG version):

“A mutinous whelp, am I? So you admit you stand above all of us, striking down those who dare to stand against your rule.”

And she like. Says this one. Like out loud. Meaning her racism is no longer confined to just her thoughts, but spoken for the whole class to hear... and say nothing against. The closest the fic’s come to doing this before is Marianne and Seteth in Chapter 54 and the shitty things she said to him then (that the Church - aka, the Nabateans - hurt Marianne the same way Nemesis hurt them). But she'd never said that it was Nabateans as a race that were to blame (and we don't have access to her thoughts to know if that's what she thought), and also at that point in the fic the possibility still existed, however minimally, for Seteth and Flayn to change everyone’s minds. They could have shown Woobiegard that she was wrong to think of the Nabateans so horribly - and not because “there are goods ones,” but because making blanket assumptions about an entire race is, like... inherently wrong. 

But this chapter, and this quoted line, pretty much conclude that nahhh Woobiegard WAS right all along! It’s not that Seteth and Flayn showed her that Nabateans haven’t taken over the government, their whole point in joining her side was to rebuild themselves into better people as recompense for having taken over the government, with her guiding and righteous light leading them down the path of redemption! And - shot in the dark here, haven’t finished the chapter yet - should the pattern be upheld, Rhea can join them too :)

To almost be fair to the fic, Canongard also believes in the racist conspiracy theory that the Nabateans control every facet of the government and must be destroyed as a race to eradicate their influence from humans. But you see, Canongard is, y'know, wrong in believing that? And is racist for believing that? And in every route other than hers, the villain route, she gets killed by the heroes? And Rhea is saved from Canongard's clutches? Which isn't happening here: Woobiegard is right, she definitely isn't racist, and she is the one true hero. All the times she would think the most racist shit ever about Nabateans are, in this chapter, being completely validated.

Any chance for the fic's tendency to lay the blame for everyone's woes on the Nabateans' shoulders to ever be rectified has been made monumentally harder to pull off with this. This close to the end, and the protagonist is righteous in spouting their racist beliefs to the face of the persecuted minority they are trying to murder - which they are trying to do, in large part, because that character is a specific race that the protagonist explicitly says they despise. Their racist conspiracy theories are being proven "correct." The persecuted minority is definitively in the wrong and is guilty of everything the racist protagonist accused them of.

And as you can see from the quotes, Woobiegard has not been blaming just Rhea. She has not been specific about the person she despises. She very clearly says that she blames Nabateans as a whole. She very clearly states that she despises Nabateans as a whole. And that hatred for Nabateans, at least at the point of the chapter I'm at right now, is being justified as right. And in the entire narrative of this fic, Woobiegard isn't just right, she is the only person at all, in any timeline, who is ever right. 

I am prayin' on my damn knees that by the time this fic ends this shit will have the mother of all explanations as to why this ISN'T astoundingly racist on its face, but brother that's gonna need a mighty big mama to be good enough

[fantasyinvader]

Going over a few things, I think Nemesis and the Elites viewed the Agarthans as gods. If we check the books in the library, we read how Nemesis was given the Sword of the Creator by the Goddess, while Seteth mentions he was tasked with fighting “wicked gods.” The text in the Shadow Library also reveals that the Elites viewed their relics as holy weapons. But we know that the Relics were created by the Agarthans, and that the “wicked gods” Nemesis fought were the Nabateans.

So when Rhea changed the story as part of her peace deal with the Elites, she was left making her kin out to be these evil gods. The Agarthans were changed to Sothis. And even then, there’s conflicting information about where Nemesis got the name of King of Liberation. Some (like Seteth) said he was gifted the title for his actions, others like the history text say he gave it to himself. It might sound nice, but considering that he killed the Nabateans who were governing the world only to throw it into an era of chaos, one where people abused their power, where killing and stealing in order to gain power were rampant enough that Wilhelm started a war of unification to put an end to it, it’s clear that Nemesis’s rule wasn’t meant to be seen as a good thing. This “champion for humanity” is noted to have persecuted his people, ruling as a tyrant who valued strength. And when the war of heroes started, Nemesis rallied people by saying they were going to liberate the West from “a reign of deception,” which is ironic considering that was just a pretense for the war aka a lie to justify Nemesis’s actions and gather support.

Does not bode well for Edelgard’s rule if she’s following his example, but it also adds a layer to her god complex. She not only fights the Goddess, she ends up usurping those who previously challenged Sothis, those who presented themselves as divine towards those they viewed as “animals.”