#and nabateans cannot be allowed to 'live' because if they do then she cannot be the Supreme Leader

[randomnameless]

While it would have been a cool moment if Edelgard killed Byleth at the end of CF for being related to the goddess and, as such, having no place in the world she envisions, i somewhat like the implications of her allowing Byleth to continue working for her even after she finds out they're part-Nabatean; it's even more evidence that, when push comes to shove, she's more than willing to stomp on her own supposed ideals if doing so benefits her.

Those implications are already here, with some of her lines in her supports and Hubert's own - they know what Billy is, but still sprout the same shit, even if the Goddess herself (or at least her vessel) in on their side.

Supreme Leader's ideals imo is only about being on top, and being the Supreme Leader of Fodlan.

To reach that goal, she will ally/do whatever she must do, even if she doesn't like it. Enlisting Billy - a lizardspawn - 's help? Okay, because they have the SoC (and then maybe uwu romance). Siding with Uncle'n'pals? Okay. Nopes wise, siding with the Church for one chapter, to get rid of Uncle? Okay.

Everything is alright, as long as she becomes the Supreme Leader of Fodlan in the end.

The rest are just, uh, loose ends that will be dealt with.

I would have loved for Billy to be one of those loose ends - even if they swore to listen and to follow her, because Billy can eventually turn against her and become, in turn, a Supreme Leader of the world in her stead, she'd deal with them.

With a lot of sad uwu, of course.

Granted, idk if her fantastic racism is just, uh, usual racism or if it has roots in the belief that Nabateans, because they are "stronger" than humans, can become "Supreme Leaders" and humans cannot as long as they exist.

Hubert alludes to it in his Billy support, he calls it hypocrisy because he obviously drinks the kool aid of "might makes right" and the strongest being should rule, which is his and Supreme Leader's vision of what a ruler is supposed to be.

[faroreswinds]

i heard about this drama in my periphery and it is absolutely buckwild to see someone cite the literal, actual historical art inspiration and imagery for the game in their arguments—something that took time and effort to do!—only to get told they're uneducated because they think edelgard has rancid vibes. anyway you're a rhea fan which means your taste is as immaculate as she is <3

I cannot take too much credit for the art myself.

I mean, I did actually look up the pieces and did some research but the images themselves I saved from long ago because someone else way more intelligent than me caught references. I wish I knew who originally made them, but they happened across somewhere where they were not credited.

But it is still silly to call me uneducated. I know I'm not the best writer, and I know that there is much I don't know when it comes to philosophy or history, but that doesn't mean I am incapable of engaging in the conversation. My education did not lack in History, but my real talent was in Biology and Chemistry, and the understanding of cultures. And now I code for a living.

I do like Rhea, but I hope I don't disappoint you when I say she's not actually my favorite! I just dislike seeing blatant shallow readings of her actions and character. She's a rather fascinating character and the only one I would actually call to be morally gray.

I wish she got more screen time. She honestly deserved it. It's a shame the game did not give her the space to allow for her own side to have a stronger foothold. It's mostly Edelgard, Dimitri, and Claude, with Rhea getting just a sliver of the pie.

Actually, the Nabateans on a whole are not given the respect by the narrative that they deserve. We still know very little about them. But to be fair, the game isn't really about them. It's about Edelgard's war.

(Her Halloween alt in FEH is super cute and I wish I had it)

<3

[waterbirdz]

Got the classic TWISTD goes after other people instead of Edelgard Au in my head

(My brain is actually flip flopping between wanting Edelgard and Lysithea to have been experimented on still or not)

But essentially, because I am predictable, they go after Almyra.

Despite what The Church of Serios teaches, Almyra is a very prosperous country that is much grander than Fodlan. Their military prowess once almost defeated Fodlan in the past, and that was over a hundred years preceding the game. Their modern day abilities, unrestrained by church teachings refusing to learn and create new technologies, would be a clear advantage.

Controlling a country like that would no doubt bring in an assured win.

So they scurry over the border like the rats they are. They infiltrate Almyra and get close to their king.

I’m not exactly sure how they do it quite yet. Maybe it’s the act like the person they killed thing. Maybe it’s a violent takeover.

Either way, they take control of the royal family. The kids are locked away, separated from their parents.

It’s then that they find a daughter of Riegan had become Almyra’s queen. Better yet, she had a child.

They were already testing limits, deciding to even try to experiment on those not from ten goddess’s land. Their blood doesn’t flow with the same magic those from Fodlan have. But TWSITD already had plans to try and implant crests. They were curious.

But then there were two of Riegan’s bloodline right before them. One had the chance to inherit both Almyra and the Alliance.

What a chance. What luck.

With all that power…no doubt the Nabateans would fall.

So they began their experiments. They couldn’t risk having the Riegan child die, not when they promised so much.

They start with the other children. They see what limits Almyran blood have when imbued with Fodlan’s magic.

They tell the Riegan child all of their siblings died in the process.

They don’t touch the Queen, she could be a valuable asset later. She is locked away, withering day by day. She hasn’t seen her child in a long long time.

TWSITD finally get their perfect creation. The little demon prince has two crests. Riegan and Flames.

Given the two crests have the same effect they were sure that having both would work, as the child’s body already knew what a crest felt like.

But here’s the thing

Almyra is a prosperous country. A proud one too. They do not take being attacked lightly.

War breaks out among the people. They cry for justice. They cry for the royal family that governed their land for so long.

Nader manages to find the little Riegan child. Still weak, still hurt, and still alive. With all the violence happening, he cannot allow the Riegan child to stay in Almyra.

So Nader makes the most difficult decision of his life.

He wraps the Riegan child in the finest fabrics he can find. He packs away food, water, a dagger, and a precious little earring.

A few days later, he lands near the Locket. He must say goodbye to the child, if only to ensure they live.

He walks up to the massive fort. Magic and archers all aim their attacks at him, but none fire yet.

General Holst Gonerik stands at the edge of the locket, looking down with those pink eyes. The strange color reminds Nader of the child in his arms, with their own strange eyes.

“Please!” Nader calls, “keep them safe!”

He holds out the bundle in his arms. Still weak, still asleep, still alive.

The Goneril’s take the child within their care. Nader knows what their care is, he hates it with a burning passion. But it is what is best for the child. So he allows it.

The child sleeps and heals over the course of a few weeks.

A little girl with pink hair and eyes often peaks in. Curious in the child brought to her door by the infamous Nader himself

When the child wakes up and heals, they are out to work as the girl’s servant. Help her clean, help her dress, fetch her food and toys.

During this time, the little girl grows uncomfortable. There is a child her age working for her. There is a child her age with dead eyes. A child her age who, actually is only slighter tanner than her. She could easily mistake them as someone from Fodlan who enjoyed the sun too much.

But then they learn the child has a crest.

Instantly the child is carted away to Riegan

The impact is already made

[lochnessies]

I disagree. if Edelgard hates them so much to the point of complete extermination...Why be able to spare flayn and seteyh? If the route is about ethnic cleansing you should have to kill them literally no matter what, not be able to let them live. She literally never shows the same animosity to Seteth or Flayn as she does Rhea. Despite her going "children of the goddess.", her focus is almost always on the woman in charge of the church she sees as corrupt: Rhea.

Duscur doesn't make CF have themes of ethnic cleansing, because Duscur wasn't "Oh Yeah Since we hate this ethnicity lets do this horrible thing", It was TWSITD taking advantage of the fact that people were already prejudiced towards the people of Duscur and stoked the flame hot enough to turn things into a fully blown tragedy. It wasn't even really done FOR edelgard so much as it was done for "Whoever lived through the crest experiments".

Like, Edelgard could have died and her made up brother Carl von Hrevelg could have been the one to survive, and theyd still say "all for your benefit." Just before they say that line Edelgard openly threatens to kill them, so Duscur had nothing to do Edelgard's plan and everything to do with TWSITD's plan.

Like, say what you will about Edelgard and being a trash person, but her motivations don't really have anything to do with races or ethnicty except in regards to the fact that Seteth, Flayn, and Rhea are practically immortal and literally aren't humans who are in a position of power of the main (and false) religion of fodlann. They're also only three nabateans she knows and the only ones we get to see her interact with, the first two being loyal to Rhea and therefore also bad since she thinks Rhea's bad. She only ever calls Rhea (the one she saw turn into a dragon) a beast. Her priority for better or worse is always Rhea.

I dunno, maybe you are right. I just think going "Edelgard is definitely racist" is a bit of a stretch. Like it's a reasonable stretch, but still

I disagree. if Edelgard hates them so much to the point of complete extermination...Why be able to spare flayn and seteyh? 

that’s because she doesn’t spare them!!! only byleth can!! throughout the story edelgard refers to them as ‘beasts’ and dehumanizes them again and again. to her, they are subhuman creatures. yes, they are not human but they are sentient and have human feelings and emotions. they are capable of love and hate just like humans are. edelgard admits that she wants to “obliterate” rhea and those around her. in the jp it is even more explicit and she says that she wants to obliterate rhea and the other children of the goddess. the game mechanics even show this by not allowing you to spare seteth and flayn if you play as edelgard - only byleth can. to contrast this, in the mission where you attack the alliance, if you attack claude (a human) with either byleth or edelgard, you can spare him even if edelgard makes her displeasure known. the game is trying to tell you something. byleth can convince edelgard to spare claude’s life, but under no circumstances can you convince her to spare the nabateans. this is also shown in leonie and linhardt’s paralogue. when you choose your units for the battle against the Immovable (who is saint indech) you cannot bring either hubert or edelgard. this also translates over to fire emblem heroes. if you use edelgard to fight a nonhuman enemy she has a guaranteed follow up quote. "beasts hiding in the light. monsters slithering in the dark. i will destroy them all.”

there’s also these totally not racist quotes about rhea AND the other nabateans:

“the monsters that have controlled fodlan in secret for far too long... rhea is their leader.”

“we are the only ones who can stop this indomitable enemy that has plagued our world for ages. we fight for humanity!”

“i will save this world from those creatures and give humanity its freedom back!”

“should the one leading the people of the world be someone with humanity or a creature that can merely masquerade as a human at will?”

“as you know, my goal is to free our world from the control of rhea and the other children of the goddess.”

“we'll head straight for the castle and strike down their leader—rhea, that vile creature called the immaculate one!”

“if the battle becomes a clash of beasts with inhuman strength...”

“the children of the goddess have been defeated at last. the shape of the world will be forever changed. humanity is free now. the world is ours once again.”

Duscur doesn't make CF have themes of ethnic cleansing, because Duscur wasn't "Oh Yeah Since we hate this ethnicity lets do this horrible thing",

so you’re admitting that crimson flower does have themes of ethnic cleansing with the nabateans and that edelgard does hate that specific ethnicity and does horrible things to them?

Like, Edelgard could have died and her made up brother Carl von Hrevelg could have been the one to survive, and theyd still say "all for your benefit."

ok?? but that didn’t happen. if little carl von hresvelg lived then the tragedy would have been for his benefit and not edelgard’s cold corpse. but carl von hresvelg didn’t survive, edie did. and the tragedy of duscur was done for her.

It was TWSITD taking advantage of the fact that people were already prejudiced towards the people of Duscur and stoked the flame hot enough to turn things into a fully blown tragedy.

you do know that duscur and the kingdom were on pretty good terms right? that’s why lambert was going… to solidify that relationship.

It wasn't even really done FOR edelgard so much as it was done for "Whoever lived through the crest experiments".

that’s your hc. show me anything in the game that proves that. the tragedy happens after the experiments so it would have to be specifically her.

Just before they say that line Edelgard openly threatens to kill them, so Duscur had nothing to do Edelgard's plan and everything to do with TWSITD's plan.

what is twsitd’s plan? it’s to cause chaos on the surface and destroy the church and nabeteans. what is edelgard’s plan? to take over the kingdom/alliance and destroy the church and nabateans. and how did twsitd help foster unrest to aid edel’s war of conquest? they helped start the tragedy of duscur.

edel might not have set the fires or had the idea but she still profited heavily from it and knows who the culprits were the whole times. and yet she never reveals their identities to the public and duscur is forever remembered as a nation of cruel and backstabbing people all because edel wants to save face by not letting the public know she willingly works with a death cult.

Like, say what you will about Edelgard and being a trash person, but her motivations don't really have anything to do with races or ethnicty except in regards to the fact that Seteth, Flayn, and Rhea are practically immortal and literally aren't humans who are in a position of power of the main (and false) religion of fodlann.

goddamn that’s a loaded paragraph. and a shitty one at that. once again, you admit that edelgard has prejudice and ill intent towards a specific race. also what power does seteth and flayn have? they’ve only been at the monastery for 20 years (flayn for only one). and also what significant power does the church of seiros wield? the church in adrestia was dissolved 120 years ago at the start of the game. the church in the alliance is ‘toothless’ and is ignored by the nobility. the church in the kingdom is in open revolt with the central and has tried to assassinate rhea multiple times.

also why does it matter that rhea isn’t human when it comes to the church? THE GODDESS IS HER FUCKING MOTHER! THE RELIGION ORIGINATES FROM THE NABATEANS, YOU KNOW, HER RACE!! SHES THE FOUNDER OF THE CHURCH OF SEIROS! SHE WROTE THE DAMN BOOK! does she not have the right to run the religion that she’s literally the child of the god of? the religion that she started? the religion that comes from her race and culture? what sort of backwards ass logic are you on?

that’s like saying that edel and dimitri don’t deserve their thrones even though their parents were also the rulers and they had been trained since they were kids to be leaders.

also the religion isn’t false. sothis is an actual deity with powers over time, earth, and life. sure, some details are fabricated due to the fact that nabateans are in hiding out of fear of genocide but other than that it’s a legit religion. seteth even talks about humans building churches and worshiping sothis before rhea rebranded it during the war of heroes in order to, as the devs say: “seiros and co. meddled with history not in order to rule over humans, but to quell the flames of war and chaos as much as possible, and to also keep a steady balance about humanity.”

They're also only three nabateans she knows and the only ones we get to see her interact with, the first two being loyal to Rhea and therefore also bad since she thinks Rhea's bad. She only ever calls Rhea (the one she saw turn into a dragon) a beast.

she also can’t interact with macuil and indech. so no, it’s not just bc of the fact that they are close to rhea that she knows about. also no, she also calls seteth and flayn beasts and creatures in my examples above. please reread them because i don’t trust you to have any reading comprehension.

Her priority for better or worse is always Rhea.

even if this was true, which lets be clear it’s not, am i supposed to praise her or???

I dunno, maybe you are right.

yeah :)

I just think going "Edelgard is definitely racist" is a bit of a stretch.

i do not stretch. i’m as stiff as a board. literally no flexibility or reach in my body.

Like it's a reasonable stretch, but still

if it’s reasonable then it’s not a stretch. a stretch is an unrealistic claim that someone has to grasp at straws to make. i literally show you quotes from edelgard’s own mouth and a play by play of her direct actions and you still go ‘well she’s not racist :(‘ if anybody is grasping at straws it’s you

i never back away from an argument. if we can both agree that edelgard being a villain is conclusive then why the fuck are you set on her not being racist despite the evidence? aren’t villains supposed to do bad things? have bad agendas? have twisted morality? last i checked that’s what racism is.

[butwhatifidothis]

Tumblr is starting to VERY MUCH dislike how long the other reblog chain is getting, so this will be Reblog Chain 2 of my jotting down notes of this fic. Here is the first reblog chain for Chapters 1-20

But it appears as though I was correct in sleeping off Chapter 20, because Chapter 21 is. Hm. bad. Very. Not good.

Chapter 21:

Transcript under the cut:

Chapter 21: It's Called Scars so it Gonna Be Ass

- To be blunt, the constant need to reaffirm that yes, Edelgard went through terrible experimentation and that yes, they were very horrific, is tiring. This is chapter 21. The experiments occurred in chapter 2. Every single chapter between now and then have, at some point, mentioned that INDEED, Edelgard DID in fact go through horrific trauma. It is tiring to the reader to constantly have to reread the same thing - we know it happened. We know it was terrible. There's no need to constantly say so; we already understand as readers.

- "Every time the spark of life broke through Byleth’s blank face, it brought a flickering hope to the Flame Emperor’s heart." ->

- Firstly: Awkward use of the Flame Emperor epithet (its usage is on and off with how appropriate its been - this is off).

- Secondly: Once again, Byleth's face was rarely if ever blank. She was never the Ashen Demon, as even the last chapter showcased. The author is mistaking reservation with emotionlessness, which is simply wrong

- "There had been so many empty days and nights, without friendship, love or joy. With nothing to hope for, except someday, the peace of the grave." -> Suicidal tendencies: another trait that Edelgard doesn't have... (strikes against canon: 89)

- ...but Dimitri does. Counter: 12

- "Dimitri, too, was troubled by the thought, grasping the side of his head and frowning. As the spasm passed, he turned to Edelgard and smiled warmly." -> It seems a little callous to so casually toss Dimitri's symptoms into his interactions with others when such things simply don't occur in the canon interactions. It's not impossible, or strictly against canon, but it does not feel natural; it's more as though the author is shining bright neon signs that say DIMITRI HAS MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES than a genuine attempt at writing Dimitri's mental health issues. This is not the first time this sort of seemingly thoughtless showcasing of symptoms has happened (Noted separately: Dimitri having drastic mood swings)

- "No, this world must be ruled by humans…not cruel gods who ignored the prayers of little girls." -> This statement follows Edelgard internally chastising the actions of not gods, but the Children of the Goddess. This is a weaselly attempt at dodging Edelgard's racist beliefs that Nabateans should not be allowed positions of power by shifting the belief to apply to miscellaneous gods instead. While not inaccurate per se - she does also canonically believe that gods should have no power in human affairs - it is not honest

- "Byleth nodded with childlike simplicity. “We should all try to get along.”" -> Again describing Byleth as childlike and/or innocent. Counter: 3

- For those curious: yes, the rat scene is implemented, yes it is sloppy, yes it is out of character for Claude - so much so that it is being noted separately - and yes it is forced to all hell

- What will be noted here, however, is that this is yet another instance of a man being demeaned/humiliated for the honor of a woman. See quote: "Byleth was on him in an instant, a tempest forming in the sea of her blue eyes. “That isn’t funny.” She crossed her arms sternly. “Jokes are about bringing people together...about making them smile. Right now, the only person laughing is you.”" with Claude reacting awkwardly. Once again, Man Bad Woman Good

- In a showcasing of a complete lack of self-awareness within the fic: "“Maybe if you’d have taught the Deer instead…but since you seem to have no ambitions outside of cleaning up Edelgard’s messes…”" -> This is Claude being portrayed as the bad guy, not the one being completely and utterly right

- " She slapped Edelgard on the back, and smiled heartily. “I agree, Dimitri!” Edelgard grimaced, trying to hide the fact her teacher had just struck the wound she had received during the mock battle." -> As well as where undoubtedly countless scars would be, yes? Scars that still cause Edelgard pain? In fact, Edelgard has been slapped on the back by Byleth and Jeralt numerous times before, and yet expresses no pain or discomfort.

- Another thing, that I had not noted though ought to have: Edelgard, a victim of sexual assault (in this fic), rarely seems to mind people touching her. She gets a little surprised if someone tries to get her attention with touch, yes, but Byleth's constant unprompted and random touching of Edelgard is never said to do anything but bring warmth and joy and comfort to Edelgard. It seems as though Edelgard suffering through sexual assault is just another source of trauma for the author to dump onto her for nothing more than pity points

- This is incredibly harsh to say, yes, and I would usually refrain from attributing such harshness onto a piece of text, but remember that Edelgard's scars only cause her pain when it's convenient, that she only experiences headaches when it's convenient, that she experiences PTSD episodes (when Claude mentions the rat) when it's convenient (note that in this fic he does it outside of battle, where her getting triggered wouldn't compromise her chances at victory). Edelgard not being touch averse and being a victim of sexual assault are not inherently something bad - survivors react to trauma differently, after all - but it is another in a steadily longer line of instances where Edelgard is simply given trauma for the sake of making her pitiable to the reader and the love interest, not something that Edelgard genuinely has to struggle with.

- "As Claude and Dimitri looked at their classmate expectantly, Edelgard was wracked with another bout of guilt. Deep in her soul, the princess knew these peaceful days would end soon. When that happened, no feast or vows of friendship could make up for the chaos and horror she would unleash. It would be better to pull away, close off her heart, rather than fuel the flames of her inevitable betrayal." -> Aka, "Feel bad for me, I feel guilty for planning to cause the death and ruination of countless innocents' lives all because I convinced myself that my way is the only way to get things done my way without ever actually trying to see if more peaceful ways could have worked. I'm going to orphan children, force families to fight each other, have the land be rampaged by banditry, and overall bring chaos onto these days that I ADMIT ARE PEACEFUL all because I feel that my way would be better. Wah wah pity me but I don't wanna be pitied I promise wah wah."

- "Byleth shrugged with a characteristic blend of innocence and spirit. “I guess I just like winning.” She began to blush and grabbed Edelgard’s hand. "It's so exciting! I’ve never had anyone other than Papa to celebrate with before!”" -> Byleth = innocent/childlike. Counter: 4

- The fic likes to reaffirm again and again that Byleth is "now" only acting like this due to Edelgard's presence in her life. Note also these statements written previously: "Every day, [Edelgard] was watching the person she loved grow and change. Become who she always was supposed to be." This, perhaps unintentionally, again enforces the "Lesbian Love is Pure and Innocent" trope; these wlw are only allowed to be their good girl, innocent selves - who they were always supposed to be - due to the pure lesbian love they have found with one another

- Count Bergliez didn't know of the experiments initially, but he eventually found out and did nothing to stop them, fleeing from a young and tortured El who was pleading for him to save her - Unnecessarily painting Count Bergliez as a spineless coward too afraid of Duke Aegir to save a child in pain

- Once again, a man fails to save a woman and further traumatizes her

- It should be noted that Bergliez is fearful not for his own life, but for that of his children, who were the ones Duke Aegir threatened. He, very similar to Ionius, cannot save Edelgard, except Bergliez (unlike Ionius) has a tangible, physical, explainable reason as to why he couldn't, and yet it is him who is painted as the bad guy, not Ionius. He is worthy of Edelgard's scorn and hatred, but Ionius only receives a begrudging feeling of betrayal from Edelgard that she feels guilty for harboring, even though he failed her far more than Bergliez failed her.

- "Daughters must always be loyal to their fathers" trope

- "No decent person thought the things Edelgard did. Just as her body had been twisted and shattered by the experiments, her mind bore terrible scars. Scars that the monster kept hidden, so she could walk in the world of men." -> Dehumanizing oneself as a monster as well as having violent thoughts (that specifically stem from trauma) one feels guilty for harboring are not traits Edelgard shows in canon... (strikes against canon, 90, 91)

- ...but Dimitri does. Counter: 13, 14

- "world of men?" Did the author perhaps mean "world of man," as in mankind? Keep note of

- The reason as to why Bergliez is said to have witnessed young El's tortured state and did nothing to help her is revealed: in canon, he dislikes her. It is blatantly and objectively said that he and Edelgard share a mutual displeasure in the other's company. What this fic had him do will be used as an excuse as to why he doesn't hate her, since no one is allowed to dislike Edelgard on the "good" side

- Edelgard, upon being asked if revenge is the reason she is doing what she's doing (reuniting Fodlan): "“No.” Edelgard put her hand to her chin thoughtfully. “I think for a long time, it was…but after a while, I realized that revenge wouldn’t satisfy me.” She looked at the blue sky above. “After you go through that much suffering…when you beg for help, day after day, and no one cares...you realize that nothing will ever truly make you feel safe again. The only thing I want is for this madness to end.”" -> This is internally inconsistent. See chapter 15 note: ""You know why they created me in the first place.” / “To reunite Fódlan,” spat Hubert. “It was all my father talked about.” / “And I will give it to them. "" This directly connects Edelgard's want to reunite Fodlan to the wants of her tormenters (as this states she is doing it out of spite). Note how Hubert spits at the idea of reuniting Fodlan, and how it was all his father - portrayed as a villain - talked about. This is not what this Edelgard wants, at least not of her own independent want. Earlier in this very chapter, Edelgard internally states a want to hurt Bergliez for leaving her behind. To say that she now no longer thinks vengeance would satisfy her, or that none of the reason that she is doing everything she does is out of a want for revenge, is ridiculous

- Edelgard to Bergliez, upon being asked what will happen to him and his family should Edelgard rise to power: "“All those who distinguish themselves will be rewarded. Given your history, I have little doubt you will be among them.” She nervously played with her white gloves. “All I ask is that when I seize back control of the throne, I can count on the military’s support.”" -> Yes, all who distinguish themselves to Edelgard, for Edelgard's cause, that Edelgard can see and/or know of. How likely is it that a poor farmer who is exceptional at fighting will actually be noticed by Edelgard and be given the credit he deserves, when others who may not be as meritable but do have some merit have the connections to show themselves directly in front of Edelgard? What means will Edelgard give the poor soldiers (that she or Byleth aren't already friends with, notably Dorothea and Leonie) that will allow them to be able to be seen by her and have their merits recognized? Edelgard is the one who says who gains power after all, so it is her they must prove themselves to, but how can they realistically do that?

- What about professions that are not immediately beneficial to Edelgard's cause, such as the arts? How will they fare in Edelgard's society, when their works and talents yield no tangible, objective results (such as, say, farming)?

- Something the fic will address?

- Edelgard does not nervously do anything in front of those she is trying to negotiate with in canon, not even Thales. Strikes against canon: 92

- "[Bergliez] could only laugh in response. “I think we’re going to get along rather well, my lady…and the other?”" -> Except Bergliez and Edelgard don't get along well, ever. Pre ts they are stated to dislike each other, which continues even onto post ts with Bergliez being the only noble Edelgard couldn't bring to heel. Strikes against canon: 93

- As predicted: No one is allowed to dislike Edelgard on the "good" side

- Literally forgot Hubert was with Edelgard and Bergliez lmao

- Ionius tried to consolidate power to be rid of the consort system due to his unending love for Anselma -> A ridiculous idea, plain and simple. Ionius was Emperor. If he wished to be rid of the consort system there was no need for him to try and take away all power from the other Imperial houses.

- If Ionius truly loved Anselma, why did he allow her to be exiled from the Empire? Why didn't he step in and use his influence as Emperor to help her?

- Edelgard, when she is Emperor - passed down a supposedly empty crown, at that - showcases the all-encompassing power the title of Emperor truly holds to one willing to use that power. That Ionius supposedly wanted to do all of these reforms and yet nothing at all was done, ever (save for ruining Houses Hrym and Ordelia, something even this fic has as canon), if Ionius did want to make these reforms, means that he was too spineless and cowardly to truly go through with trying to pass them. This again unintentionally showcases how awful a ruler and weak-willed a person Ionius was when he had power when trying to paint him in this righteous light.

- Lambert was stated to be trying to pass reforms before he died in canon, not Ionius. From parents to the children, the author is attributing traits from Lambert onto Ionius just as he (author's confirmed gender is male) attributes traits from Dimitri onto Edelgard

- " Her father and mother…she had thought their romance a fairy tale-a story from her father to make a motherless child feel valued. But…they truly had loved each other." -> Edelgard does believe Ionius when he told her of the story of when he and Anselma (supposedly) met each other. There is nothing to indicate that Edelgard thought it to be a lie: in fact, in canon: "But I choose to believe there was genuine love between them." Strikes against canon: 94

- It seems as though finally, after around 18 chapters, Edelgard's scars will finally cause her genuine inconvenience due to her complex about them as well as her trust issues. She has a gash on her back from the Battle of Eagle and Lion, but will not have it treated if Manuela isn't the healer, and yet the woman is occupied dealing with the rest of the students who were injured. How will this fic deal with this?

- Ingrid, referring to her and Sylvain: ""We just switched from Felix lecturing us all day to listening to Edelgard moralizing, didn’t we?"" -> The author is trying to compare a childhood friend whose friends have had years to get used to their barbed tongue to a stranger that directly insults the dreams of one of them. Something which Ingrid canonically hates having be done to her, even from Felix, a childhood friend. Once again, Ingrid being so casual about Edelgard being so disrespectful of her dreams is out of character. Strikes against canon: 95

- "Sylvain shook his head knowingly, ignoring Felix’s truly alarming scowl. “You should have seen his face, Edelgard. Dimitri would go on and on about this girl he met when he was a kid…and Felix would complain about her for hours!” He looked at Felix and smiled. “For all his whining about the “Boar,” nobody loves Dimitri more than him.”" -> Oh? A romantic gay male relationship presenting itself within the fic?

- Another vision of SS experienced by Edelgard. Word from a nameless guard: "The woman, Byleth, leading their forces... She’s not human! She killed half my battalion with one swing of that sword of hers. She didn’t speak, she didn’t shout, she didn’t even change her expression!” The panicked man was teetering on the edge of hysteria. “All those people rallying around her, and it’s like she doesn’t care at all. Like she's a walking corpse!"" -> Obviously saying that Byleth becomes the Ashen Demon if not allowed to be with Edelgard.

- Unintentional statement: Byleth can't be the pure innocent (lesbian) woman without Edelgard's (lesbian) love granting her purity, reverting her to a monstrous, corrupt demon incapable of humanity

- See chapter 20 note: "Implying that choosing SS - aka, choosing the Nabateans - makes Byleth less human. Intentional?" Confirmed to be intentional. Also false: in canon, even when accounting for CF's lesser chapter count, Byleth emotes far more on SS than on CF, which matches with CF having Edelgard call Byleth detached in their A support. Strikes against canon: 96

- The same nameless soldier, same context: "And those Faerghus kids…” / Edelgard leaned forward in her chair. “Ingrid…Sylvain…what of them?” / “They…they were animals. Screaming and ranting about revenge for the King.” -> Is the author really demonizing Sylvain and Ingrid for (potentially!) being mad at Edelgard for murdering one of their childhood friends? Is that really the depths the Edelgard worship will sink to, that friends becoming enraged at a friend's unjust murder from a warlord is being portrayed as something sad for the warlord? Just what else should Edelgard be pitied for?

- "The scared girl desperately tried to drown out the thoughts that reverberated incessantly. / They’re going to despise us…it’s destiny. And how could they not? If we were truly good, the Goddess would have saved us…protected us. But She didn’t. The Goddess took Mother. She took our family. And soon, She’ll take everything else we love. She hates us. / It’s what we deserve." - Now confirmed that Edelgard hears multiple voices in her head tormenting her. That trait that, once again, Edelgard does not have... (Strikes against canon: 97)

- ...but Dimitri does. This is the third time this chapter that this has happened, and far from the only chapter to display such baffling characterization of Edelgard via Dimitri's traits. It is nonsensical.

- " Why had [Edelgard] even been born at all? Nonexistence would have been preferable to watching every faint dream be dashed, to suffering alone over and over. She was just…so tired of being alive." -> Once. Again. Suicidal tendencies/thoughts is not a trait Edelgard shows in canon... (Strikes against canon: 98)

- ...but Dimitri does. The fourth! The fourth time in one chapter the author desperately wanted to just write Dimitri!

- If the fic wanted to take Edelgard in a different direction than canon does and has her display some of these traits, it would be more passable, but this fic is under the delusion that it is in any way following canon closely, especially in regards to Edelgard, and so this can only be seen as a desperate attempt from the author to have Edelgard be sympathetic by donning the skin of an actually sympathetic character such as Dimitri

- "Edelgard looked at herself in the mirror. The back of her academy uniform was stained red, the rhythmic, soft dripping of blood assaulting the princess’ ears." -> And no one commented on this? No one was worried? Not Ingrid, Sylvain, and Felix, who were sitting right by her? Not Lysithea, who saw her take the blow to her back and never get it healed? Not Dimitri, who delivered the blow? It just so happened that literally no one at all noticed this?

- Byleth literally slapped Edelgard on the back earlier? Wouldn't her hand come back red with blood if it were seeping through the uniform?

** The scene that follows the previous note is too long to quote, despite how truly terrible it is. Long quotes, even extremely long quotes, have been presented in these notes before, but the length this quotation would be if the full extent of it were written here would be a mess, and quite frankly, at that point it would do one better to simply go to the fanfiction itself and read the text from there. With the context received from these notes, if one wishes to see the words for themselves, go to chapter 21 of The Emperor and the Goddess, enter Ctrl + F (or Find in Page on mobile devices), and enter the phrase "Byleth crossed her arms, clearly frustrated" verbatim. The following note will not be quoting the entire scene from the fic (merely summarizing it), though context is needed to understand how truly bad the scene is. **

- To have hope in this fic performing anything correctly is proving to be a fool's dream, for it has yet to do anything right; that includes the aforementioned gash upon Edelgard's back. As stated, it did not draw the attention of those who were sitting around her nor did it draw the attention of the one who witnessed the injury itself, nor of the one who delivered the injury itself, so no one commented on the gaping, bleeding wound Edelgard was "hiding" from everyone as she turned her (bleeding) back to them and left for the baths to clean up (it must be heavily stressed: immediately after leaving it is revealed that the blood is seeping through her uniform). As she was washing - naked, of course - Byleth just so happened to step into the baths with only a towel wrapped around her "for modesty," much to the horror of Edelgard, for she does not want Byleth seeing her scarred body. A slight argument arises between the two over Edelgard getting her injuries checked, before Byleth warns Edelgard that she will go to Rhea and force her to go to the infirmary should Edelgard continue to refuse treatment, which drives Edelgard past the brink. She raises her arms from the bathwater and presents her scars (""Fine!... If you want to see so badly, here!""), to the horror of Byleth ("Byleth Eisner was not a woman given to strong emotional reactions, but she staggered back, hands over her mouth."). Edelgard cries in hysteria, fear of her beloved teacher running away in disgust over her ugly, mutilated body overwhelming her. But Byleth, childlike in her innocence, shared that she too is scarred in strange ways, and that she too is scared of failing those around her - that she has no ambitions save to help and protect those around her. Byleth reveals that it is Edelgard whom Byleth looks up to for always being so strong and always moving forward, and shows that without Edelgard Byleth wouldn't know how to handle the pressure everyone else puts on her. The exchange ends with Byleth reassuring Edelgard that she is beautiful and not the monster she thinks she is.

- There is no nice way of putting this: this is a classic example of how not to write someone opening up to another about something. Edelgard views herself as weak, ugly, repulsive, a monster, shameful, but it is Byleth's love and affection that gives her comfort and warmth, that gives her hope of something more. It forces Byleth to behave wildly out of character (the author can try to excuse this with "well she wouldn't normally behave like this!" all he wants, it doesn't matter when it goes against the base, canonical Byleth. Strikes against canon: 99) in order for Edelgard's scarred body to be seen as something that is repulsive, that is ugly, that is stained, so much so that the pure, childlike, innocent Byleth couldn't stand to see something so tainted. And yet it is that same pure, childlike, innocent Byleth's pure, innocent, childlike love that pushes away the pain of Edelgard's scars for just that moment. Other characters become suddenly blind and/or forgetful of Edelgard's obvious, bleeding wound so that it is Byleth who can be the one to save Edelgard with her pure, innocent, childlike presence and her pure, innocent, childlike uncertainty about her own insecurities (but only when it is convenient for Edelgard, as even Byleth didn't noticed the gaping, bleeding wound until she was alone with Edelgard where no one could interrupt their bonding moment). This scene is inorganic and forced, ham-fisting Edelgard and Byleth in the same room - the wash room, where both are either naked or nearly naked - so that Byleth is the one to find Edelgard, no one else. No one was worried enough about the sudden exit Edelgard took from the conversation she was having to follow her and make sure she was alright, and Byleth just so happened to enter the baths right after Edelgard. The scene is, to be frank, insulting.

- There have been a couple of joking references to a book titled Stones to Abigail in these notes, but in all seriousness, this scene plays unsettlingly similar to a scene in said book, where a scarred girl who is naked reveals her "ugly" and "revolting" scarred body to the love interest, who goes on to soothe and comfort the naked girl as best they can. The resemblance is uncanny

- Byleth described as childlike/innocent. Counter: 5

- Edelgard, in canon, never expresses feeling herself to be ugly, or repulsive, or a monster. Strikes against canon: 100

- Again, Edelgard's scars are only important when they are convenient - this time, in helping develop the romantic relationship between her and Byleth

- There are ways in which scars can be utilized without being problematic, but certainly not when this much focus is placed on them and yet they are only truly present when they cannot hinder Edelgard.

- Perhaps particularly insulting is this phrase from Edelgard: "Did she actually love Byleth at all, or just being saved by her?" Yes, Edelgard, you do simply want to be saved by Byleth, because that is precisely what the narrative has been drilling into the reader's heads ever since Byleth showed herself. Byleth is Edelgard's light, Byleth is Edelgard's hope, Byleth gives Edelgard back her humanity, Byleth is Edelgard's one source of joy, Byleth is Edelgard's entire life, and nothing, absolutely nothing in this fic has shown this to ever be a bad thing. This dependence on Byleth to bring Edelgard joy at the near complete expense of everyone else has been propped up as something romantic, and yet it's now, 21 chapters and over 85K+ words in, that we're supposed to believe that this was actually Edelgard being unhealthy? Even though the author himself said that this was what he enjoyed about their relationship, how much they found each other in each other? Even though we see what the author thinks would happen to the two of them should they separate - Edelgard, lonely and afraid without her beloved teach, and Byleth, the Ashen Demon who cares for nothing without her beloved student - in her visions of SS? This is a joke

- It cannot be overstated that Byleth came to the bathhouses completely independently of Edelgard. She did not come to specifically see her because she followed her out of worry for Edelgard due to her injury - she only knows that Edelgard's injured in the first place due to seeing bloody bandages that Edelgard removed in the bathhouse, before Byleth arrived.

- Author's notes: "On Bergliez, we find out very little in-game, but he 1) offers himself for execution so his men can go free in SS and 2) seems to be actually competent at his job. I thought a nuanced portrayal was more interesting, since I've been writing Aegir as the absolute worst person in the world." -> Note: this is what the author believes to be a nuanced take on someone. Someone who likes Edelgard entirely and does nearly whatever they can to help her, but they did one thing that's morally gray (leaving a child behind to save his own children from the same fate) that is portrayed as objectively bad, so now they are nuanced. While perhaps this sort of character would be truly nuanced in better hands, as it is with his actions being portrayed as something that is obviously so completely and utterly wrong and him someone who deserves complete and utter condemnation - and yet Ionius, who does far worse for far less understandable reasons, gets a comparative slap on the wrist - it causes confusion as to Edelgard's lines. Bergliez seeing her the one time and never helping her is enough for her to want to hurt him as she was hurt, but her father repeatedly coming to and "being forced" to watch her actively be tortured and doing nothing does little to invoke similar depths of resentment? Even granting the idea that "she gives more slack to her father," Ionius is objectively and far worse than Bergliez, down to doing hard things to protect their children, and yet it is only Bergliez who is shined in this unpleasant a light

- To be clear, Bergliez's decision was not a good one, but understandable. It is a gray decision to make. But notice how he is called "gray" and "nuanced" and yet Ionius is nearly completely innocent, as described by the author himself, despite their being no given explaination as to why "he was a figurehead" should be a good enough reason to wash him literally standing there and watching as his children - some of whom aren't even teens yet - get slowly tortured and killed.

- "There are many localization changes I understand (Byleth wanting to get drunk after the battle is one of them), but Treehouse's decision to remove Ionius' entire reason for power centralization (eliminating the consorts) was a big, big mistake." -> Given the history of this author's grasp on the Japanese language, this needs to be checked, as he cannot be trusted as a source as to whether this is true

******* Notes of Claude mischaracterization: Chapter 21, section 1, paragraphs 1, 21 & 23, 27 *******

[hecvenwept]

on Seteth's wife;;

Her name was Muireann*, and she was a human from the Rhodos Coast. A devout faithful of the Goddess, she dedicated herself to a church in Enbarr, which is where she met Seteth during one of his travels across Fodlan. They immediately fell in deep love, and married as soon as they could; Seteth revealed his true identity to her, and she chose to accept his blood as a gift-- a gift that would grant her a significantly prolonged lifespan, albeit not immortality. A few years later they had their first daughter, Artemisia. About fifty years after that, they had their second beautiful daughter, Cethleann. They lived during many centuries of peace and happiness... until the war came.

Muireann was killed during the final battle of the War of Heroes, protecting an injured Cethleann. Seteth was too late and too injured to save her, and so all he could do was cover hers and Cethleann's bodies with his own until help came. Cethleann fell into a coma, and Muireann could not be saved.

Seteth has not moved on since her death, not really. He's learned to compartmentalise the pain, to bury it deep, but there's a part of him that will always be in love with her, and mourn her death, even when he finally lets himself love and be loved again. That does NOT mean he will love his current partner any less; no, Seteth would die for them, he would give his body and heart and soul for them. And that's precisely why he cannot allow himself to forget Muireann, to move on completely; because he's afraid that if he forgets, if he dares to move on, to fully forgive himself for what happened... he will be condemning his partner to the same fate as Muireann. Unable to learn from the worst of his past mistakes, and unable to protect them, he believes he's fated to lose them like he lost his beloved Muireann.

*Muireann means "of the sea" in old Gaelic. I had previously named his wife Idunn, then Ishtar, then remembered one of my Nabatean OCs is named Ishtar, and eventually settled on Muireann!

[travelling-on-the-octopath]

"Only a human could think of something this vile" says the woman who tanked missiles to save humans. And the woman who exposed herself to save humans. And who (as you mentioned) opened a monastery and willingly allowed humans to live in it literally rent free. And the woman whose legendary alt literally admitted to thinking wrongly of humans, which this alt is set after.

Also all the other Nabateans are either unable to transform or are stuck in their other form... ah yes... all... four other Nabateans... what a good sample size to gather information from. Indech and Macuil of which there is literally no proof are "stuck." And why would the mere ACT of transforming put the risk of her "losing her mind"?? Then Indech and Macuil are fine, because they're "stuck"" and aren't transforming?? Because their minds are no where near lost. And didn't her FB LITERALLY SAY that it was because of despair that caused her to lose it and that it WASN'T degeneration caused by transforming?? I know FEH gets its info from wikis but can't it at least stay consistent with ITSELF?? That convo did Rhea so dirty 😭

They must cycle these writers out every week because there is NO reason for that inconsistency in-game.

AND, WOW, WOULD YOU LOOK AT THAT; SHE IS AWARE ENOUGH TO TELL THEM TO GET BACK

[video link]

This game takes years off my life. I think this line was WAY too important to whoever wrote that cursed conversation, because this is a Rhea who was literally on the brink of losing her mind. And yet, it had nothing to do with her being a dragon; it was the literal fact that she'd failed at resurrecting her mother and creator. If I'd dedicated a good bit of my eternal life to something that was ultimately useless from the word go, uh, yeah, I would also Lose It A Little.

I literally cannot fathom where this "transforming breeds insantiy" approach comes from because. Literally where. Literally where, outside of a route where she's had her trauma buttons pushed and pushed and pushed, do "insanity" and "transforming" fall in line with each other?

Rhea loves living creatures! She loves helping them (she literally sends Byleth out with tailor herbs for students she's observed needs them?), wants to feel closer to them, puts her life on the line for them constantly . . . the way Heroes has gloriously misunderstood Rhea makes my fucking head hurt.

[askhubertvonvestra]

How can you justify being allies with the very people who plunged Fodlan into chaos by murdering the Goddess and most of her innocent children, using their bones and blood as weapons, further experimenting on innocent people in Fodlan (Edelgard and her family included) and also murdering the professors father?

Do "the ends justify the means" when so much damage and strife has been caused because of the monsters you work with? Yes, you supposedly defeat them in the end, but don't they technically win if the rest of the few endangered Nabateans are either dead (Rhea) or have likely fled Fodlan for their safety (Seteth and Flayn) or go back into miserable hiding (Indech and Macuil)? How can you claim to want equality for all when the actions of your allies cause direct suffering?

How do you justify leaving humanity to fend for itself as a corrupt, secretive society operates unchecked and preys on the defenseless? How do you justify stifling education to better control the masses? How do you rationalize your moral decrying of our conduct while you have done absolutely nothing to intervene on these mounting atrocities surrounding us all?

What is rumored to have occurred in Ailell is horrific, but simply put, I was not there. I did not bear witness to these tragedies, and I did not dictate that their bodies should be desecrated as weapons turned against their own. It is a unique nightmare that should never have come to pass.

But Rhea has had centuries to hunt down the guilty parties and show what becomes of those who raise a hand against those she cares about. Instead, she has smothered humanity in an oppressive rule that has left us exposed to horrors all our own.

It is because of her fracturing of humanity and its power that we lack the strength to fight Those Who Slither in the Dark alone. If we were to seek aid from other nations in Fódlan, we could not do so without garnering attention from the Church. As yet another guilty party, do you truly believe they would allow us to amass our strength against the Agarthans?

If she wanted those creatures dead, they would be. It is not the fault of myself or Her Majesty that she neglected that duty.

Therefore, if you wish to blame someone for the experiments and deaths that have persisted without consequence, you ought to turn to your beloved archbishop.

Because I can promise you, without a shred of doubt, that I will see to it that those responsible for what occurred to Lady Edelgard and her family, among others, shall pay with their lives. I will not suffer their existence a second longer than is necessary to eradicate Rhea and her false faith.

We have an end to the torment. When the means are what humanity has been enduring with no rhyme or reason for generations, yes: the ends do justify those means. The pain, the suffering, it has meaning. There will come a day when we no longer fear unseen threats that will go unanswered should they descend upon those we love most.

That is more than your vile pretender could ever claim.

Rhea orchestrated her own demise, and there is no one else to blame. Seteth and Flayn played their part, and it is enough that they may start again in another region. Their own Lady Rhea would not be so merciful. As for Indech and Macuil, they will go undisturbed so long as they don’t turn against humanity. So you may mourn Macuil now if you wish. The documents I have access to suggest he is more extreme than Rhea herself, and that bodes ill for his survival.

I did not bring about the ruin of the Nabateans. Rhea did when she elected to use us as pawns and shields, nothing more, in her desperate ploys to restore the goddess to life. Had she focused on those who were still living and deserved her protection, the story of her people might have ended differently.

We cannot provide equality to those who see us as lesser, mere sacrifices in the grand scheme of their unnatural lifespans. And if Rhea’s people suffer in the process of us wresting back control that was never theirs to take, then they may consider that their due retribution. 

The rest of us were already suffering. They simply did not wish to see it or did not care.

[mittelfrank-divas]

I try not to be an Edelgard stan and be sympathetic to Rhea, but it’s so hard when she makes such baffling descions. Like, why would she give the people who killed and ate her family money and power? Why would she create a eugenics-based society that glorifies the descendants of the people who ate her family? Why did she let them keep their bones? If she thinks Byleth is Sothis reborn, then why is she also trying to get in their pants? No other character makes such bizarre choices and it makes it hard to feel bad for her.

You guys are going to get me in trouble with the angry stans for the crime of blasphemy against the church again.

You all know I don’t have a lot of love for Rhea, but I don’t think she started out with bad intentions at all. I actually can't blame Rhea for the measures she took to protect herself and the other Nabateans at a time when they were literally being hunted. In fact, I think creating the Church of Seiros was kind of a brilliant move. People would have seen the relics being used. Nemesis and the Ten Elites were seen as heroes. If you try to deny the existence of a powerful magical weapon that hundreds have people have seen already, there's always going to be rumors. 

But subtly changing the narrative to obscure the weapons' origins? Going along with popular perception of who the heroes were but tacking on that they just happened to be acting on the will of the goddess? That's brilliant stuff. She erased dragons from the narrative entirely by creating a whole different origin story for the relics. She ensured that she would maintain control of the relics by making herself the leader of the church.

Edelgard says that knowledge about the Immaculate One was passed down through the Hresvelg line. Did Rhea strike a deal with Edelgard's ancestor to uphold the narrative she created? Heck, how did Hresvelg, a family without a relic (because it would have had to come from Seiros) become the ruling line of the Empire, anyway? Was it with the support of Seiros and her newly-founded church? We know that Seiros must have been involved with the Empire's founding because she was already in Enbarr, working miracles and helping design the city's canal system, before the first emperor decided to make it the capital. I think it’s likely that Seiros was forced to make some deals with the most powerful families, and in exchange they went along with her new religion. 

All that to say that I think that Seiros was probably forced to navigate an impossible situation and her approach to it was actually remarkably cunning and probably avoided bloodshed like she wanted. The problem is that she didn't stop there. She kept building on the lies, she kept accumulating power, she kept uplifting the noble families, she ensured that her position would become entrenched in Fodlan society, and a thousand years later, long after the stories she made up have become broadly accepted history, she's still keeping it up. Her original reasons for doing what she did aren't actually relevant anymore at the start of the game, and the norms and traditions she helped build have long grown either stale or outright harmful.

While I was thinking about this, it occurred to me that Rhea's whole goal back then was to protect the living even at the cost of the desecration of the dead. She allowed the bones of her kind to be used by the very people who helped kill them in exchange for protecting herself and the few others who were still alive. But that's... actually the opposite of what present-day Rhea wants. 

Present-day Rhea is obsessed with the dead. With bringing back her mother. With hanging around Sitri's dead body. With deifying and dwelling on the dead. Like, visiting the Holy Mausoleum is an annual ceremonial event that's treated as one of the most holy days. She's willing to execute a teenager for the crime of "desecrating" a tomb. She's no longer focused on protecting the living -- not even her own living kin. Her actions can’t be explained as some effort to keep Seteth and Flayn safe. She’s so obsessed with her dead mother that she’s willing to sacrifice Byleth and Sitri and any other living being for her. The Seiros we meet in the game just isn’t the same person at all. 

I have no explanation for why she wants to romance Byleth, though. Some things cannot be explained. 

[umbralstars]

Sothis, the Church of Seiros and Byleth: A Pagan Reading

Due to L!Byleth and the minor hyperfixation he caused I decided to make a whole discussion on how I personally view Sothis, the Church of Seiros as a whole, and examine Byleth's role in the story.

So just some ground rules before I begin:

This is just how I personally viewed the story as I played it, and my own perspective on the plot and meaning behind certain things. I am open to discussion in the comments and reblogs, and if you disagree with my opinion that's perfectly fine. Also so much of this is going to read like headcanons/assumptions loosely supported by canon's thin red strings and I am ok with that.

If any in-game quotes are used they will mostly come from the Church Library since it's easy to check but I'll paraphrase important scenes that I can remember.

Also after compiling a timeline of events best I can understand it I have made a few assumptions: worship of Sothis existed before the Church of Seiros (perhaps even going as far back as pre-Calamity times) and thus Church doctrine and beliefs is largely based upon previously established beliefs about the Goddess. This doesn't have too much to do with the analysis itself, but I just wanted to say it as I quote The Book of Seiros parts a few times and the writings in those books I hold to have a basis in that pre-Church faith.

With those in place, allow me to begin.

The Sothis/Church of Seiros Meta:

While there have been many metas comparing Sothis and the Church to medieval Christianity, I have always looked at them both through a distinctly non-Christian, Pagan lense. 

I myself am a syncretic polytheist who has a complicated history with Southern Baptists. These two core aspects of my spiritual life does color my perceptions of the religion presented in this game and I am fully aware of that. Three Houses came at a time in my life where I was finally seperating myself from my latent Christianity, and exercising my Pagan goggles on this was a major step I took towards that. My intention here isn't to say that Christian coding doesn't exist, but to simply give my ideas and perspective on the religion presented in this game.

First, allow me to give the define the Gods through the lense of a Pagan as it's important to the framing of my ideas:

"The Gods are real, sentient, disembodied minds with awesome greatness and powers beyond what we humans can currently explain with science."

This is the simplest, shortest definition of the Gods I can give and Sothis, beyond a shadow of a doubt, hits all of the criteria as she is presented in the game. The Pagan conception of the Gods does not require any pretense of tri-omnism, and I believe it's best to look at Sothis, and many other FE Gods, through this lense. Sothis, when she was alive and even when she is "dead," is capable of amazing feats such as creating life, turning back time in a limited capacity, and restoring entire continents to life after calamity. While she is not tri-omni, she does not need to be so to be a Goddess and one worthy of worship and reverence.  

Church doctrine itself also exhibits other fundamental aspects of Pagan practice and belief that are important to me and many others: animism and the reciprocity cycle. As stated by The Book of Seiros, Part 1,

"The Revelation.The Goddess is all things. She is heaven above and the land below. She is eternity incarnate. She is the present, the past, and the future. Her eyes see all. Her ears hear all. Her hands receive all."

Obvious allusions to omnipresence aside, another reading of this passage is a far more esoteric, and hard to put into words, aspect of Pagan belief about the Gods. In a sense , the Gods are not limited by the physical constraints of the world and their bodies are inherently an aspect of the very universe itself. They are not omnipresent at all times, but they can be wherever they wish to be especially wherever their presence and power is strongest. That is actually the purpose of idols, alters, and temples. The Gods are not idols or are bound by them, those things are simply repositories to allow us humans to connect with and worship them. 

The natural world as well can be the "body" of a God. Places where their spirits decide to dwell. Natural phenomenon one can feel their presence in. They are not limited to these places, but upkeep of them is necessary to maintain their power and spirit. In this way that passage can be read as Fodlan and the Blue Sea Star being the places where Sothis' spirit chooses to reside along with her actual remains needing to be maintained to keep her spirit maintained. Her sacred body likely extends across all of Fodlan and her spirit resides most strongly as the Blue Sea Star.

Gods in FE also, more often than not, have a physical body that is important for their connection to the physical world. FE Gods are not incapable of interacting with or watching over the physical world from the spiritual, but have much more free reign when their physical body is alive. The places where their bodies are buried are where their power is most heavily felt, and their spirits the strongest, as evidenced by the Mila Tree and the Good Ending of Future Past in Awakening. This what I believe the true purpose of the Sealed Forest to be. Given how protective Rhea is of the place, the strange alter and Crest of Flames that is just there, and that being where Byleth awakens and Sothis remembers, either parts or the entire rest of Sothis' physical body must be buried there and not actually in the Holy Tomb.

As an aside, the remains of the Nabateans can also be seen through this lense but to a lesser degree. It's obvious that parts of their souls and power remain with their bodies, and thus, maintaining the Relics, Crestsones, and the other Nabatean remains not fashioned into weapons would be of utmost importance to Rhea. Because, if they were to be lost or damaged her kin's spirits may forever be lost to the physical world. 

Fodlan being the sacred body of Sothis is also why I believe the Church of Seiros to be an ethnic religion and a henotheistic one to the people of Fodlan. The Goddess is only ever credited in the creation story and a lot of other Church doctrines as having created and choosing Fodlan as her sacred ground. The people of Fodlan likewise are seen as her sacred people. Nothing in Church doctrine says that Sothis is the only God to exist and I truly cannot remember a single instance where anyone says other religions outside the Church are false ones. Hence why I say Fodlanders are henotheistic, where they do not deny the existence of other Gods, but Sothis is the most important and only one worshipped by them. To the people of Fodlan as long as foreigners do not deny her existence and those of Fodlandic descent worship her as they should there is no cause for an uproar.

This is not to say other religions can be practiced freely on Sothis' sacred ground, as evidenced by the women in Abyss who says she worships there "because Abyss is where it is allowed." Along with Atheism among Fodlanders to be a taboo in their societies. Whilst I don't see the Church to be a beacon of religious tolerance (or that Fodlanders don't believe their religion to be the best), I also do not believe them to be proselytizers to places outside of Fodlan. 

The reciprocity cycle also has a place within Church doctrine. The Book of Seiros, Part V describes the various commandments Sothis gave to her people and how if they abide by them the Goddess pays the people back with blessings and gifts. Textbook reciprocity is doing something for the Gods, such as sacrifice or ritual, and gaining something back in return or the Gods do something for you and you give back to them in turn. Reciprocity can be as simple as giving thanks for the blessings the Gods give or complex as full ritual, sacrifice, and or prayer to gain a blessing/aid or give thanks for one. The best case of reciprocity I see in game is the restoration quest for the Saint Statues. Whilst the Saints are complicated in how I believe their divinity is handled there is no doubt the player receives blessings from them for restoring their icons. 

(While I would like to devote an entire section to them and the Nabateans in general like 80 - 90% of my ideas are headcanon that I'm still not sure of. I don't think the Nabateans are Gods like Sothis is however immortal or long-lived they may be. I also still don't know whether the Saints would be worshiped or venerated in the Church, as I still don't understand the distinction of those two things myself, so I don't want to make a judgement call).

What about Byleth?

Byleth...is tricky. Now, I must preface, that all of this is my opinion. Some of it may not be supported by the game, but this is how I personally write him and his status regarding everything we see in game.

Byleth is, for all intents and purposes, the 13th potential vessel for Sothis to return to the world as they were given Sothis' Creststone on the request of Sitri. Here's the thing. I personally do not believe that Sothis is truly dead or that Byleth manifested her consciousness on happenstance.  It has been my personal belief ever since playing the game for the first time that Sothis' spirit does indeed reside in the heavens and that the piece of Sothis that resides in Byleth until his awakening is only a fragment. Along with that I believe that Sothis' consciousness and power manifested in Byleth specifically because Sothis wished for it to be so.

My ideas are centered around a few aspects of the game that have always stood out to me as rather strange if kept in line with the larger context.

Why after all this time and Rhea's many attempts did Sothis manifest in a stillborn child?

How was Sothis able to speak to Byleth and wake him after his 5 year coma?

Why does Byleth loose the Goddess' power at the end of Crimson Flower?

How was Sothis able to speak to Byleth if you choose to S-Support her?

How exactly was Byleth able to dream about something that happened long after Sothis' death even if he can access her memories?

These sticking points have always struck as odd given everything that Sothis says before Byleth's awakening. Sothis should not be able to speak to Byleth at all, but still does so only a few chapters later and comments on the war that Byleth was only privy to the very beginning of.

Hence my belief that Sothis' spirit as the Goddess of Fodlan does reside in the heavens, watching over the continent, and only able to interact with it and its people in subtle ways. Some of her spirit and power laid within her Creststone as it passed from vessel to vessel. One way or another, she was able to foresee the coming war that would change Fodlan fundamentally forever and chose to manifest that piece of her consciousness when the opportunity presented itself. It's why Byleth can dream of a battle that happened long after Sothis' death because he's remembering something experienced by the Creststone and knowledge given by the Goddess soul who resides in heaven.

I also believe that Byleth and Sothis as we saw them during the game was a mistake in some way. Byleth as his own entity was likely not supposed to be and the piece of Sothis' soul that was supposed to manifest wasn't supposed to be amnesiatic or at the very least not separate from Byleth. There were a few times pre-time skip where Sothis would be talking and Byleth's model would be moving and his facial expression changing. Almost like their thoughts were so intertwined that they were practically the same even before the awakening. It's very likely to me that Byleth's memory issues, lack of ability to properly express emotions, and other aspects of their character to be directly connected to the fact that Sothis' soul manifested incorrectly.

The Sothis he hears before waking from his coma and the one he speaks to during his S support is likely the full spirit of the Goddess communicating with him through great effort and only able to because he's her avatar. She knows of the pain Fodlan is experiencing because she can see it and feel it even as Byleth slumbers. Same thing for why Byleth would lose her power and soul piece on Crimson Flower, as Sothis may have interpreted siding with Edelgard as a rejection of being her avatar and simply deciding to be human instead (I don't wish to speak too long on a route I don't particularly like, but I felt that strange ending should be addressed).

My experience as someone who follows a Kemetic path leads me to not see Sothis' soul being split in this way as strange. In this particular religion, as I understand it, the soul is encompassed as multiple different parts all combining to make a singular being. Both Gods and humans have multiple parts to their souls, so one residing in the Creststone, later manifesting in Byleth, and another part residing in the heavens is plausible to me. Also if I wanted to compare Byleth to another FE character, his situation reminds me most of Nagi from FE 11 & 12 who is an amnesiac and likely an incarnation of Naga to aid Marth on his quest. Nagi doesn't get much characterization in those games, but it does show that incarnations/avatar of Gods, who aren't the confusing mess of Robin and Grima for instance, isn't a new concept in series for Byleth.

In terms of what happens after Byleth awakens I do believe that Byleth himself becomes a God or at the very least a demi-god in his own right. As it was Byleth absorbing the piece of Sothis' soul into his own, the Goddess' power was inherited by him alone. The inner turmoil caused by two souls sharing one body finally ceased and Byleth was fundamentally changed becoming, well, an Enlightened One. As the game doesn't really explore Sothis and Byleth much post-Time Skip, due to the war taking precedence and Byleth's unfortunate existence as a silent protag, how exactly he changes is up to personal interpretation. I personally believe he gained not only Sothis' power but some of Sothis' memories and insight that the Creststone soul piece had. He also gained greater control and range of emotional expression and probably took on some of the characteristics Sothis had. 

Byleth is both an avatar of the Goddess and his own person at the same time. He is and is not Sothis.

[frozenartscapes]

does dragongard have a crest stone?

So, I think this would be a good time to talk about how I’m approaching Crest stones and Relics in this AU (partially because this is a good question and partially because I’m not sure if it will ever come up organically in the story and I hate writing exposition dumps within a story)

Short answer: yes, technically she does have a Crest stone

Long answer: I’ve always interpreted original Crest stones as being the hearts of dragons. The stones in all the Relics, and the one grafted onto Byleth’s heart, were all once the organic, beating hearts of living people. However, when those people died, the magic contained in their bodies rushed into their hearts and the whole organ calcified, trapping the magic within.

So this would have happened to all the Nabateans who became the Relics (we don’t know their names because the weapons crafted from their bones and hearts are named after the humans who possessed the weapons, not the Nabatean themselves). And any Nabatean Rhea was able to lay to rest in the Holy Tomb, assuming their bodies were intact.

We know that TWSITD are able to eventually manufacture artificial Crest stones (and Relics, from the look of it). But they still needed Nabatean blood (it’s implied they only get this technology once they get their hands on Flayn’s blood). So this is partially why, in this AU, they go for turning Edelgard into a Nabatean over just giving her two Crests. It would be far easier if they had a more reliable blood source - since it would seem that they had to figure out how to artificially manufacture blood, too. Finite resources, and such.

So, going back to the question: yes, Edelgard technically has a Crest stone, because her heart is her Crest stone. It won’t look like a traditional stone unless she dies, but it functions very similarly. It grants her additional strength, boosts magical abilities, and allows her to access Nabatean-specific skill sets like turning into a dragon or healing sleep cycles. There is the complication that she is still technically human, so as a result things like age-based immortality have been significantly affected. (As in: she’ll live a long time, far longer than most humans, but not to the extent that someone like Rhea has.) This is also how I interpret the other living Nabateans, like Rhea, Seteth, Flayn, and the other saints. They all have “Crest stones” but until they die the stones are in reality their hearts, their source of life and power.

Ok, now I’m just going to ramble about the Relics for a sec, but I’ll put it under a cut because this post is becoming long

So: the Relics. Imma be real with you guys for a moment: I grew up Catholic, and I minored in Art History (with a heavy lean to Medieval and Renaissance history). So these Relics... Ok, here we go.

Relics in Christianity, and specifically Catholicism, are things not many people know of if they aren’t part of the religion. If you are they are something so weirdly normalized half the time you don’t even think about it. But many things about Catholicism are. (Like Transubstantiation. That is such a fun thing trying to explain and not sound like a lunatic.) But we’re talking about relics, here, because the creative choice to call them Relics in the game was fucking phenomenal.

Catholic relics are basically dead people. There are some that aren’t - the True Cross and the Crown of Thorns are notable, non-dead people relics. But for most relics boasted about by various churches, they are either part of or a whole person. Whether or not that person is the saint they are claimed to be can get rather dubious, but yeah... Dead people. Often displayed in gilded boxes or holders, covered in gold or jewels, surrounded by paintings done up by famous artists. (Also note, too: If they aren’t a person-based relic they still have some morbid connection to how the saint they are connected to died, like, for example the True Cross - an execution device, or St. Paul’s Chains - chains that bound him before his martyrdom). It’s all very morbid and a little creepy but what’s more creepy is how normal it is to walk up to a box with a perfectly preserved saint just eternally sleeping away inside before asking her to shoot you a little prayer before your big test. But I digress.

In Three Houses, the Relics are also dead people. Dead dragons, to be more specific, but the Nabateans were both dragon and human so my statement still stands. The Relics themselves are bones (which are common for a church to hold as a relic of a saint). And in order for a Relic to function properly, it also needs the Crest stone (heart) of the dragon the bones came from. 

We also have seen that the Relics are highly unstable. If someone were to wield a Relic without possessing the Crest that matches it, the weapon can turn them into a Demonic Beast. And even having the Crest might not save you, as we see with Maurice, it’s possible to still be turned into a Demonic Beast through the power of the Relic/stone combination anyway.

So here’s my take on this: In Christianity, relics are meant to be a strong link between the physical world and the saint being represented by the relic. Praying with St. George’s arm present provides a better link to the saint than just praying to him normally. Sort of like, calling his office via an extension rather than using the main office line. The spirit of the Saints are closely linked to their relics, which is partially why they’re venerated so much.*

*I should note, however, that many of these relics are listed as the “real” relic, but in reality are more like a piece of wood or random body part discovered on a Crusade and brought back as a “treasure” from wars that ravaged many parts of the Middle East. They might hold spiritual significance, but just remember that the acquisition of many of these relics was certainly not the Divine miracle people claim - which also conveniently relates back to Three Houses when you realize what the Relics truly are and how they were obtained

So in Three Houses, every Nabatean crafted into a Relic still has their spirit present within the bones and Crest stone. They can’t really interact with anything outside of the Relic, but there is a strong connection between their spirits and their heart/bone/blood. This is why only someone possessing a particular Crest can wield the corresponding Relic. A Crest (the blood) ignites the power in the stone (the heart), which then prompts the body to come alive (the bones of the Relic itself). If any one of those things is missing or incorrect, the spirit behind the weapon will do one of two things: nothing, or react to the error. The angrier the spirit, the more violent the reaction. And I don’t know about you, but if I was ever murdered so my body could be twisted into a grotesque weapon to then be used to kill more of my family, I’d be pretty pissed about it.

If the bodies of the Nabateans are not laid to rest, they cannot be at peace. And the anger they feel about what happened to them and their brethren will continue to burn and fester. For some Nabateans, their anger was stronger than others. Whoever Maurice killed to get his Relic was so furious that it didn’t matter Maurice also had their blood - that rage still turned him into a Beast anyway. (But at the same time, Maurice was also the asshole who did the deed. Marianne, however, is a kind, gentle soul who does not enjoy raising her hand against any living creature. That would be something the spirit of the Nabatean could sense, and it would reflect how they respond to the user of the Relic.)

This is also why, in the canon game, characters with weapons made from artificial stones/bones did not face any issues. It’s implied that Aymr, for example, was created specifically for Edelgard. Despite holding the Crest stone of Maurice, she has no issue using it, because they reconfigured the stone to be attuned to the Crest of Seiros. (It’s also entirely possible that they just created this stone, and the Crest of the Beast was carved on it for ??? But this would effectively make the stone a blank slate to pair with any Crest that was available.) So these artificial weapons would not have a spirit of a Nabatean connected directly to them, and would be safer to use as a result.

(In terms of Crest stones being able to turn people into Demonic Beasts, even without the Relic, I see that more like handling something like a radioactive substance. The sheer amount of raw draconic power contained in a Crest stone would be enough to transform a human into a monster, just through contact alone. Even the artificially created ones still stem from that same magic, so holding one of those without any sort of protection would result in the same thing. That's why I'm starting to headcanon that, rather than just her two Crests activating at the same time, Edelgard just ripped the Crest stone out of Aymr when she turned into the Hegemon. Real or not, holding a Crest stone in your bare hand is a lot like that scene from Chernobyl when a firefighter unknowingly picks up a chunk of the exploded reactor core with his bare hand: You're dead before you even realize what you're holding.)

[randomnameless]

What are your top 5 "Rhea bAd" arguments?

Ooh!

5. FaIr TrIaL

Like, even in real life different countries have different views on what is a fair trial from what is not, but applying this notion to a video game who isn't concerned with this issue at all? Just to defend a fave? Next what, Rhea's importing food so she is participating to the Global Warming since the Fodlan delivery guy used CO2 to give her her precious Albinean berries?

Someone made a joke about her baking cookies and Supreme Leader calling her a horrible woman because she used flour, thus cannot be eaten by people with diabetes and I'm just... WTF

4. Rhea and Supreme Leader are fighting for DifFeReNt IdEaLs and she wants to preserves the StAtUs QuO

Rhea's fighting to protect the people living in her home, and to protect her family from mole men and a lost eaglet hell bent on deboning her and making shiny daggers from her remains.

Rhea thinks Sothis is the only one qualified to rule over Fodlan, but while she's working on her plans, she's not running around smacking people right and left for ruling Fodlan (or their part of Fodlan) in Sothis's stead.

We know Rhea didn't oppose nor sent her "sekrit army" against Leicester, which is way more "modern" than Adrestia can ever hope to be, but apparently no one cares about them. By virtue of having a republic (oligarchy?) the Church has less pull on the Alliance, thus Rhea's power is reduced to nothingness, and yet she dgaf

But I'm pretty sure this nonsense comes from the NoA sponsorised (tm) RhEa RuLeS OvEr FoDlAn...

Which was debunked to oblivion, and the game somehow seems to acknowledge Rhea has to make amends for, uh, not taking "enough" care of Fodlan when she could - is "United Fodlan 5 ever" telling us Rhea shouldn't have let Faerghus, Leicester and even Adrestia take their own decisions but should have ruled in their stead?

3. Rhea experimented on HuMaNs

This is less about giving her blood to Jerry to save him, but the whole Citrus'n'Billy issue -

Rhea creating homonculi is kind of meh, but we've posted a lot recently about what happened with Billy and how those arguments that turn about "women have no rights Rhea should have Jerry if she was allowed to save bby!billy bcs Jerry has a dick so his opinion overides Citrus's" - but it's always a kind of fallacy to compare her to Uncle dearest, and the mole people, and to create some sort of bond between Supreme Leader and Plank.

And it always fails, no matter what.

2. Rhea StArTeD a WaR and WaR bAd!

Ignoring Willy for a second...

And the fact we still don't know, to this day, how and why the War of Heroes happened...

Rhea "started" a war to get rid of the maniac who slaughtered her family to get power, brought Fodlan to ruin and would most likely slaughter her and what remains of her race if he discovered her pointy ears.

"BuT sHe CoUlD hAvE lEfT fOdLaN"

I am not sure telling someone, who is targeted because of her race, to run away and hide and never return to her home - bcs she was born in Fodlan and doesn't come from space unlike her mom - is the most sensible thing to do.

Again, this is done to draw false equivalences between Supreme Leader and Rhea, one fights a war to unify the continent and make Adrestia Great Again under her Supreme Leadership, the other started a war to get rid of Nemesis and secure a right to live for her and her family in the world that saw their births.

This is not comparable.

1. Rhea HaTeS hUmAnS

I won't tackle the old zeta post about Rhea sekritly despising nabateans because her sekrit history apparently makes them more of a target than... revealing the truth (I confess I only skimmed it, it was just so nonsensical and from 2019)

But Rhea hating humans?

When she reveals her identity twice to protect them? When she shelters them in her own home? When half of her miseries are cause by the duty she feels to those people and her inability to be a "good" guide - when she has none! - because she cares about them?

"But in Tru Piss she says she HaTeS hUmAnItY"

No she never says so, she replies to Edel with "nonsense". In Tru Piss humanity keeps on trying to slaughter her for the very serious offence of having pointy ears, but she still doesn't hate them, she is angry and sad and upset it's her second line! (not NoA approved :( ) because humans are again, betraying her and her mother -

why would she be so upset if she only hated them?

Tru Piss is the route where she meets Nemesis Jr and tells to her face she cared a lot about her ancestor and feels bad for killing his scion + she worries about "not just kill but murder women" Dimitri, his safety and is distraught when he dies (not NoA approved :( ).

Tru Piss is the route where it shines the most : Rhea loves humans, but Humans want to make golden trinkets from her bones :(

0. (because i can) Cherami Leigh does a splendid work as Rhea

Fuck Pat

Whoever wants to play too is welcome!

[bloomandcoffee]

Fe3h ABO headcanons

So yesterday I had a lot of fun in the anon meme writing some ABO worldbuilding for FE3H. Some of it was inspired by the amazing @theeeveetamer. I decided to post it here for easier access, and in case anyone wanted to read them/get some inspiration/play in the sandbox.

All questions and comments are welcome!

Let's start shall we?

Faerghus

Faerghus has a tradition to not give a fuck about omegas. Loog was an omega, and all Blaiddyds are as well. Omegas can inherit and can be leaders of their houses or clans. They prize Chivalry and Duty above all else, and with the harsh conditions of Faerghus they can't afford the privilege to dismiss a third of their population. All are trained to fight before they learn how to write, no exceptions. If they want to partake in the battlefield, become part of the royal guard, command armies? They can.

Which means of course Faerghus is the nation expert on omega nature, heats and all subtle intricacies of omegan behavior and its relation with other spectrums. As a nation that values righteous fury and devotion (to the King) Omegas are very prized as well because of their emotions and relentlessness when it comes to protecting their own. This clashes with the other nations and their concept on what is the proper omega behavior. Faerghan omegas find it stiffling to not be openly passionate and determined in the presence of people from the Alliance or the Empire.

Alpha/Omega unions is most desired between crest bearing nobles because they needs the crests (remember The crest of Gautier is the only thing between Faerghus and a Sreng invasion) and a huge litter will up the chances of getting one. But it is far more common outside the nobility for omegas to mate with Betas.

Betas and alphas too are held in high regard, but for different things. There's no hierarchy based on the ABO designation, but on political nobility designation and chivalry.

The Empire has made a long effort to scrub from history the fact that an omega rallied an army, fought the empire head on, and won somewhat successfully. That is, people on the Empire and Leicester (to a lesser degree) belive Loog was an alpha, while it is is common knowledge in Faerghus that Loog was an omega.

Adrestian Empire

The Empire is very conservative with ABO designations. Alphas on top, betas as servants/retainers and omegas ought to be quiet, domestic and be a perfect wife (see Bernadetta).

Omegas cannot inherit Houses, not even if they have crests (See Mercedes' mom) and while it is common knowledge in the Empire that it is not a woman's fault if the child they bear lacks a crest (or is an omega) it is still fairly common to be shunned culturally.

It is fairly recent that the Empire has allowed omegas to enter in fights, though many nobles would first have them married than allow an Omega of the Family join the battlefield and "decrease their value" (because what if they get scars and become undesirable?!), and those that do usually expect the omega to bring home a respectable wellbred mate.

Of course this doesn't mean that the empire never had noteworthy omegas in their ranks, but they easily scrubbed their designation (or outright changed them) when they excelled in fields that were deemed inappropiate. I.e. an omega excelling in the arts was fantastic, but one that excelled in martial arts and warfare was a disaster.

(It also goes the other way around, an alpha that excells in arts but is mediocre in the activities the Empire demands alphas to excell in is a disappointment, and many families have either disinherited their alpha children or tried their best to hide the shame.)

As for alphas, they are on top, call the shots and have all the rights -but so are their responsibilities. They must excel in the areas that the Empire has traditionally viewed as given for alphas like science, politics, diplomacy, warfare, management and such. The field is extremely competitive (alpha women are held to a higher standard because the Empire made the notion that Seiros was an alpha woman, so they all are compared to her) and a perfect manners and form of conduct is expected at all times.

This means of course that the Empire has the leading knowledge on alpha supressors, because they can't have their alphas behave like beasts. They are civilized individuals, the land where Seiros and the four saints lived, they must lead by example!

(There's a black market for omega suppressors as well. It moves better in the lower classes, but has higher profit margin in the businesses in the noble class)

Leicester Alliance

The Alliance being mainly a mercantile and business nation holds Betas in higher regard. Time is money and businesses that get postponed because someone got a heat/rut is money lost. The logistics of the whole thing are a nightmare for merchants, and after the third time a big negotiation or deal got frozen because of the biology of one of the parties some rules just had to be set.

So betas that don't have to get into this biological mess are valuable. Though it is also fairly common for commnfolk to procure alpha and omega suppresants to be able to conduct businesses as well.

The only people that look down on the use of suppresors are some noble families because the willful ingestion of something that impairs your body is not very noblesse obligue. They think it is either addictive like alcohol, or poisonous.

It is not uncommon to hear the rumor that ingesting suppresors will leave you sterile as a means to dissuade noble omegas from consuming them. (Of course that doesn't mean they won't ingest them from time to time when there's one big summit or deal on the line. The excuse of "oh it seems my rut/heat is coming late this time" is fairly common)

Nobles of course employ trusted beta families to close negotiations in their name, and it is a major honor for a beta family to be adopted into the noble family as their main negotiator.

The Alliance also gets a few cultural cues from both Faerghus and Adrestia. Namely that Alphas should be exemplar and omegas should use their passion to excel in the arts (which includes oratory and negotiation), but in all Alliance fashion the reason why they shouldd excel is because they must make up for the time they are impaired to support the Alliance.

Also all nobles should act in a maner befitting to their station, which means of course that alphas are hold to the manners and etiquette standards of Adrestian alphas (but without the help from suppresors) and omegas should be outspoken and passionate but in a diplomatic and well mannered way that doesn't include outbursts or displays that can be considered shameful.

Garreg Mach

Garreg Mach has everyone on suppressors, and is very liberal with contraceptives as well. There is no ABO orientation shaming because everyone is a child of Sothis and the monastery is a refuge for everyone, and those serving within the church or in the Knights of Seiros should be available at all times to reprieve and help those in need. (Of course this is mainly because Nabateans don't have ABO designations and what better way to hide it than to have everyone be the same?)

Because they are not affiliated to the church, it cannot force any of the students on suppresors. However they make it available for anyone who wants to have them, and make the transaction discreet and private. It is not uncommon for students to go to a "confessional" and leave with suppresors.

Of course the Monastery also has repurposed heat rooms and rut rooms, but they aren't many. The academy does ask the students to give their rut/heat schedules to the administration so they can properly manage the heat/rut rooms and avoid inconveniences.

As for some people:

Dimitri is an omega. But what has (and had) the Kingdom worried for a long time was the fact that he hadn't presented at the proper age (13) but at 17. (This of course is related to his extreme PTSD, survivor's guilt and the almost mortal injuries he sustained in Duscur and while saving Dedue) His heats are terribly irregular and painful. There's also the fear that he might be sterile given how late he presented and the issue with his heats. He believes he can't be a proper omega on top of not being able to be a proper prince, and that it is one more sin that has to be added to his shame.

(Of course in full Dimitri fashion, he buried all that self loathing and insecurity behind a princely smile)

Claude is an alpha passing as a beta with the aid of suppressors because he needs all the advantages he can get in the Alliance. No one really knows because he was presented as a Beta in the Alliance. (Judith knows of course, and complains that it is a pain in the ass to procure the exact brand of alpha suppresors because not all of Fodlan's suppresors work on someone that is used to Almyran suppresors). He finds it fascinating the strange cultural concepts pertaining ABO in the different countries and Almyra.

(Almyra does have a respect for omegas, with a myth that mostly resembles that of Amazons. Claude has a laugh when he realizes the fabled amazons live in a cold Kingdom and not a tropical island)

Edelgard is an omega turned alpha by Agarthan experimentation, because Adrestia cannot have an omega emperor. Among the mess of things she has, there's some internalized omegaphobia, and part of her hatred with the church stems from the fact that Seiros was an alpha (and never realizes that the Alpha Seiros thing was all Adrestia propaganda).

Lysithea is an omega turned beta. A failed Agarthan experiment (they wanted alpha) but the Ordelia family still took the small victory because Betas are more valuable in the Alliance. She doesn't care much about ABO, though it stings when an omega she knows goes into heat, and is more worried about curing herself.

Ferdinand is in fact an omega on permanent suppresors who knows very well that the only reason he's Ferdinand von Aegir is because he's the only legitimate heir. His competitive behavior and manners is he overcompensating and an attempt to hide the secret.

(Also because I love the idea of two of the most prominent and greatest minds of the empire being fucked over by Adrestia's ABO expectations)

Lorenz is an alpha born out of Beta and Omega parents, who is trying very much to prove that being an alpha in the Alliance should be an asset instead of a burden. He will stop at nothing to do so, but has a pouch of alpha suppresors that taunt him every night.

Marianne is an omega, but she is on suppresors. Margrave von Edmund justified it by saying that the suppresors helped Marianne's health given that her heats were irregular. But in fact, while her heats were irregular, she has them because her heats react strongly with her crest. It was usual for her to vomit blood or destroy the whole omega heat room. That's also another reason why she's terrified of her crest.

[electricprincess96]

Honestly, the more I think about it, the more I realize that I don't even particular dislike Edelgard but just her community, and with that I mean her fans and haters. Can we not just all agree that they at least tried to make her a more dimensional character (even thought they failed big time) and not hate her relentlesly OR say she did nothing wrong ever? It's so annoying. I feel like you cannot even mention Edelgard without starting discourse.

I've never denied Edelgard was an ambitious character but it's not that I don't think they could have done her justice it's that in CF they perhaps weren't allowed to if you ask me.

I've said before that I like Edelgard in Azure Moon because it's the logical conclusion to all of her supposed character traits, her narrow-minded view that only she can be the one to rule Fódlan leads to her basically talking over Dimitri the whole time they interact and when pushed against the wall, on the brink of defeat unlike in SS and VW she doesn't just kneel in front of Player-sensei and say "Strike me down, you must", she fights back and it gets ugly because that's exactly what it would be like, she's desperate, if she gives in she might have to admit there is a chance she isn't the one who should lead Fódlan so rather than even think about broaching that topic in her mind she is willing to throw away her humanity which is a big deal because one of Edelgard's whole things is humans should lead themselves not be led by inhuman beings but when push comes to shove she will throw it away to try and achieve her goals. And even when all that has failed and she's being offered an out she is still going to cut her own path rather than accept what she might consider as charity from Dimitri. In Edelgard's meritocracy she doesn't deserve to live if she can't defeat Dimitri so even after all she's done and went through, she's on her knees defeated but she's still gonna try and take Dimitri down or she's gonna die trying.

Edelgard and Dimitri in Moon also act as great foils for each other. Like in Moon Edelgard has no one except Hubert and even when she does have people on her side she never fully trusts them, for example Bernadetta is disposable for her, Ferdie, Caspar and Linhardt are never even acknowledged in her eyes. Even Hubert when he's telling her not to do what she's planning she doesn't listen. Edelgard's most trusted advisor first and foremost is herself. Dimitri on the other hand learns throughout the course of Moon that he needs a support system, he doesn't trust his own council which is why he turns to people like Rodrigue and after his death the likes of Felix and Byleth. Edelgard is willing to throw her humanity away in order to win while Dimitri realises he needs to embrace his in order to prosper.

Like that's a good portrayal of her character. SS and VM fall down by having her basically giving up and kneel at the execution block for Player-Sensei, even going so far as to deactivate her Relic. AM Edelgard wouldn't do this, she's set on her goals and you'll have to take her down kicking and screaming because that's who she is.

I think the reason Edelgard is so controversial is because both sides in some instances aren't even arguing about Edelgard, they are both arguing about this straw man that they have created in their mind. For example one side believes they are defending this revolutionary socialist leader who's out to fight for the common man which is certainly not what Edelgard is. Likewise the other side believes they are criticising an evil mastermind who has no good intentions and only wants to throw the continent into chaos purely because she's bigoted against lizard people. Now there is certainly some truth to Edelgard's dislike for Nabateans and outsiders but considering her entire bases on what Nabateans are probably comes from the Slitherers... I'm not surprised she's isn't fond of them. It doesn't excuse her but it at least is a character trait I can understand it which is a sign of at least semi decent writing if I can go "well yeah that makes sense".

There also the fact I think both sides of the debate to a certain extent so desperate want Edelgard to be a good guy, one side are defending her because they actually believe she is the good guy and the other side are annoyed that she isn't a good guy and yet some people think she is.

This post ended up being longer than I anticipated and I'm not entirely sure it all makes sense but this is my rambling thoughts about Edelgard both as a character and as a fandom experience.

[lochnessies]

@cockati3l the church isn’t ruling people from behind the scenes. even the devs confirmed that. the church in adrestia doesn’t exist, the church in the alliance is ‘toothless’ and nobody pays attention to them as said by lorenz, and the western church is in open rebellion against the central. also, when does the church control anybody in the game? nobody is forced to follow them and they even take on nonbelievers as staff.

once again, what corruption are you talking about? it can’t be what edelgard mentions in her speech because that’s been proven false.

it can’t be killing the western priests because they attempted assassination more than once, grave robbed, and attempted to kill students. not to mention are racist af

it can’t be changing history a little because in your own words “what the fuck so u want her to do?” humans killed her race when they found out the amount of power stored in their bones, blood, and hearts. at that time in fodlan’s history clans were fighting for power with the relics of her family and she had to find a way to broker peace as said by intsys: “seiros and co. meddled with history not in order to rule over humans, but to quell the flames of war and chaos as much as possible, and to also keep a steady balance about humanity.”

also yes, rhea was about to step down. she says so herself. even calling herself a “mere proxy” for byleth.

tell me how claude piggybacked off of edelgard’s war to further his own aims? the game tells and shows that he’s spending his time trying to just keep the alliance together.

she’s literally called the hegemon. there is no freedom under her rule. she centralizes all power onto herself and makes herself the supreme ruler. what she says goes and in order to achieve that result she murdered, lied, and stole.

she literally said “i have no regrets.” why? because she doesn’t. she may feel kinda bad about all the dying but obviously not enough to stop what she’s doing and find another path.

also her words about the followers of seiros are far from kind. she calls them “mindless” multiple times (even in her s-support). the faithful are forced to flee from her. people even lose contact with the believers in the empire, and it’s not even allowed to be one in the first place. not to mention in hanneman/manuela’s ending the church can come back but only under the empire’s supervision. so we have a state controlled church. look at all the freedom!

when does dimitri leave crestless people to get fucked? he literally talks at length that he believes that people with crests and people without need to work together and recognize each other’s strengths.

also the church isn’t the one behind the “crest system” (if you can even call it that since the way each house interacts with it is so different). crests/clans became noble houses because of their strength (aka the empire’s meritocracy in the beginning) and the strong aka crest bearers rose to the top bc in the 91 years it took to kill nemesis his elites had already started their own bloodlines and families. the nintendo interview says that rhea lied about the origin of the crests and relics bc she wanted the wars to end and the only way to have gotten rid of the crests humans had would be to genocide them.

with nemesis gone and the adrestian empire now in charge of the continent, a meritocracy started to form among the nobility. hanneman in his support with dorothea says this about the founding of the empire: “consider this. at its inception, the concept of nobility assumed that the greatest among the populace would rise to power. in my mind, i believe that those who value knowledge, those who strive for more, and wish to protect and guide their fellow man. however, in practice, nobility often serves to keep those deemed commoners down, segregated from those who, by chance, were born to a noble family.” this is also paired with ferdiand’s support with edelgard: “certainly, we must recognize the common folk who strive for greatness and attain it. but for those of us born into nobility, things are more complicated. from birth, nobles must excel. if we do not, we will be forced out of our houses. this environment breeds superior individuals, and they, in turn, recreate the rigorous environment for their own children. without that cycle, there would be no political elite guiding the world towards prosperity.” so from these supports we learn that the empire was founded on the idea of the strongest shall rule and they would be replaced if they didn’t reach a standard. however, over time, the nobility started to abuse this power of theirs and the idea of meritocracy was forgotten. which, ironically, is how it always works in the real world as well. that’s where the concept of nobles often bearing crests comes from. it’s comes from the empire not the church. and when faerghus and the alliance break off from it they kept the tradition. also, if you talk to rhea in verdant wind when she talks about zanado you can tell she hates crests. at the very least she hates the fact that humans have them due to how they were acquired. you know, through genocide. it’s also in the book of seiros that the reason the goddess left was because people were abusing crests and it saddened her and she went back to the blue sea star. so no, the church isn’t propagating anything. and they can’t force the noble houses to adhere to their religion so they don’t.

i’m not sure what you mean by “squander any rebellion”. i think you mean squash/stamp out? well the only rebellion we see in the game is from the western church and as i said previously, the priests were punished because they attempted assassination more than once, grave robbed, and attempted to kill students. not to mention are racist af. the church wasn’t the aggressor and only stopped the rebellions because they were dangerous and were also attacking innocent people. however, we do know that in crimson flower there are rebellions under edelgard’s rule and they are put down as well by the empire secret police aka hubert.

the devs also mention that azure moon was written to be a counter to crimson flower. and that is the route where dimitri has to learn to rely on his friends and work together with his people in order to usher in a bright future. in crimson flower edelgard berates people who lean on anybody else for support (all while taking some from byleth) and believes humans need to stand on their own two feet. in azure moon she says: “if after all of this you believe the weak will still be weak, that is only because they are too used to relying on others instead of on themselves.” to which dimitri responds: “yes. perhaps someone as strong as you are can claim something like that. but you cannot force that belief onto others. people aren't as strong as you think they are. there are those who cannot live without their faith... and those who cannot go on once they have lost their reason for living. you path will not be able to save them. it is the path of the strong, and so, it could only benefit the strong.” so yes, there is someone who represents human unity in the game: dimitri.

edelgard doesn’t make fodlan better. she’s the game’s hegemon (called this in three routes). there are rebellions under her. her people are starving (ashe says on cf), she attacked two nations she had no rights to, and defamed an entire race/religion.

crimson flower ends in flames and darkness. this is made VERY clear by the ending mural. unlike the others, which all show a very joyful scene; am has dimitri being loved by the people with archbishop byleth at his side, ss has byleth being held up in the crowd of people as it talks about how they are now the arbiter of every soul and mother of all life (which are the exact words used to describe sothis), and vw has claude talking with the people and the almyrans are visiting; which infers peace between the two nations. however in cf, we have edelgard standing on the flags of the nations she has conquered. she holds a napoleonic staff in her hands, and the mural portrays people with their heads bowed in obvious sadness and defeat. the biggest indicator that this is not an ending to be celebrated, but rather lamented, is the border. In all the other endings, the border is white and is accented by the color of the route. in cf you can see that the border is black. black and red: colors synonymous with evil or darkness. the epilogue also mentions rebellions against her rule that she has put down.

edelgard’s role in the story is that of nemesis 2.0. someone that is manipulated by twsitd and is fed false information to lead her to finish what nemesis started over a thousand years ago - the extinction of the nabatean race.

another massive red flag is what the devs have said about crimson flower being the supreme ruler route. “edelgard in "crimson fower", or rather known as the, "supreme ruler (hegemon) route" is something we honestly meant to be much more difficult to enter.” (they were talking about why it is harder to enter cf than ss). let’s focus on the word ‘hegemon’. the direct definition is ‘a supreme ruler.’ in another interview they mention the ‘hegemon’s path’ which is a chinese philosophy that goes along with the mandate of heaven that the devs have said that they based cf off of. there is a rule of the mandate of heaven: the right to rule is only granted if the ruler cares about his people more than he cares about himself, and if this is not the case, then the people rise up to overthrow the tyrant. we know for a fact that edelgard is this ‘tyrant/hegemon’ because she is called this in the game.

the devs have also said: “due to all the previous titles in the series, the thought/impression that the empire = antagonists is left upon the playerbase. when you think about the "empire", you usually get some sort of "bad/evil" image, i think. and as for the story, it really feels like it started from the romance of three kingdoms, but we force them all to take part in school life. In other words, a period in which there was peace must exist, before starting the fires of war. and because of that, someone evil (villain) has to exist, and so we had the empire bear that burden.” this interview also blew the common argument pro-empire fans had of fodlan not being at peace at the start of the game. they said themselves that the three countries were at peace. even the game states at the start that ‘these three ruling powers now exist in relative harmony.’

also even if other characters did some things wrong that doesn’t suddenly let her off the hook for her actions just like her’s don’t nullify theirs. if she wanted to peacefully change how things worked in her nation then fine. i don’t care. however, she invaded two other independent nations in order to change their systems and put them under her control. that isn’t morally gray no matter how you spin it. it’s tyrannical.

actually it was humans as a whole who fucked up the earth first. the agarthans are a race of humans that have been around for over a thousand years at the start of the game. when the goddess sothis came down from her home on the blue sea star she arrived in fodlan and took on a form that resembled humanity and lived among them. she used her blood to birth a race of children called nabateans. in the beginning, these two nations lived in harmony.

sothis and her children helped the humans advance their technology and weapons over time until the humans’ hubris grew to the point that they began to wage war on each other and eventually the goddess herself - the one who gave them the technology to do so. as confirmed by seteth, (who was there during that time) some of the weapons they used in the war are also seen in the game, such as the missile of light that destroys fort merceus. so basically, it was a ye olde nuclear war that almost completely destroyed the land and the humans. during this, a faction of humans left the surface to live below ground. they built a city called shambala and officially became known as agarthans. back on the surface, sothis used her godly power to try and heal the earth. however, due to the incredible damage done by the weapons, so much of her power was used that she fell into a deep sleep to try and recover. so no, sothis didn’t fuck shit up. it was the arrogant humans that took her kindness and decided they wanted to try and kill each other with it.

yes, dimitri and claude do have the rest of fodlan under their command at the end of the day. however, they way they achieved this was nothing like edelgard’s. they had no intentions of starting a war to unite the three under their rule. dimitri was given the alliance (the round table came to an agreement and willingly became part of faerghus) and when he kills edelgard the empire is now, by default his whether he likes it or not. same with claude. he defeats the empire which by that point had taken the kingdom. both are now without leadership and he doesn’t even stay. he fucks off to almyra. edelgard on the other hand started the war to put all of fodland back under her rule. it’s not comparable.

[halycondaze]

demon edelgard au

everything happens as in canon, up to and until:

edelgard is fifteen, and those who slither are preparing edelgard for the final surgery for crest implantation. somewhere, during the hours of losing blood and long pricks and pokes, edelgard dies. her heart stops, her blood stops flowing. 

however, one of the old gods, what the followers of seiros would call a demon, takes pity on edelgard. 

the name of the old god is schedar (lit. the woman in the chair - think a sort of lilith archetype)

edelgard, life returning to her body, attacks the doctors holding her, quite literally ripping them apart and burning the cells to the ground.

of course, she is then called to where schedar lives (similar to serios, on a star) and only watches the fallout.

she, arundel, and a few “nobles” who were twsitd in disguise are all pronounced dead as a result of the fire

adrestia goes into mourning for the loss of the royal family, especially all the children

ionius dies “of grief.” 

adrestia is left in limbo, and duke aegir serves as emperor regent. 

edelgard has to adapt to the new parts of her - the horns that shed, the feathering wings that are still covered in down, because, in demon years, she’s simply a baby. long talons instead of nails, and of course, her incredibly sharp teeth.

she still has a horrible sweet tooth, and demons are still living, the same way nabateans are “gods” but still need to eat, sleep, etc. 

eventually, edelgard sees twsitd recouping, and demands to be allowed to return to fódlan

schedar was not a fan of this decision but good luck getting el to ever back down on anything, lol

depending on thread, el either follows claude to protect him due to his goals being the closest aligned with her own, or protects the black eagles generally. 

in any case, she is an invisible presence, either literally, or taking the form of a small, black raven, and trying to make her influences as unnoticeable as possible

this always fails. 

her powers entail:

invisibility: edelgard can turn invisible, though still takes up physical space. she cannot use any other magic while invisible.

corvid form: edelgard can turn into a small raven. she can do raven things. she cannot use any other magic as a raven.

enhanced magic: alongside stronger magic from the game, edelgard can create barriers, manipulate objects, the strength of these powers depending on the amount of focus she puts in

talons and wings: while not powers, edelgard can rip through any soft tissue with her talons. due to her flight, she can breathe the thinner air that would be higher in the sky, and can withstand higher rates of whiplash

hegemon form: like in canon, edelgard can take the form of the hegemon husk, but rarely does. in this form, she is not quite in touch with her body, and it frightens her.