#because there was a god more worse than her or cichol

[glytchflower]

something I'll never get over from Mabinogi: Morrighan, the Goddess of Revenge, threatens the King of the Gods with a fucking hate crime

like.

this is even more funny when you remember most of the gods in this game have wings.

it's also terrifying. imagine fucking up so badly that the goddess of war and revenge personally swears on her name to break your fucking wings.

[fellhellion]

can you make a rec list of your favorite fe3h fics? if that's alright?

OF COURSE I WOULD LOVE TO <3 always happy to give my fave works a shoutout <33333

Though mind u this is going to be a LOT so ill pop them under a cut

from the heart in exile

TLDR: platonic hubert edelgard fic that haunts me. It’s extremely good with really well written character voices and focuses on these two characters trying to find out who they are beyond the war with their friends refusing to leave them behind

Summary: 

You can’t speak just yet to whether time—and age? experience? not that war or rulership have given you much of the latter, at least in the area of gardening—has made your thumbs any less brown, but the house in the Oghma Mountains is surrounded by so many growing things it hardly seems to matter. It sits at the edge of a forest, on the gentle lower slopes, and the people in the nearest town had all smiled to speak of it when they pointed the way for Hubert, the day you arrived. A number of them were old enough to remember what it had been like, years ago, in the warm and golden before, and to insist that it had not changed in the ways that mattered. It was still full of light. The air still smelled green.

In which Edelgard keeps a garden, Hubert learns to fly, and those they leave behind refuse to be left behind.

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Watchtower

TLDR: platonic fic and amazing sylvain character study. Like genuinely one of the best i’ve ever read. If you’re someone who really wanted a deeper exploration of Sylvain’s feelings about Dimitri this fic is for u. 

Summary: 

When Sylvain is six and a half and climbs to the top of a tower with no one’s hand in his, he realizes that each and every one of the people he loves has been born as a gift to something else. Dimitri was born for Faerghus, and Felix was born for Dimitri. Glenn was born for the royal family, and Ingrid was born for Galatea and for Glenn. He realizes, too, that what they’re for decides their future. Dimitri will lead them into a better world. Felix will guide his path, and Glenn will protect his life, and Ingrid will bind her future to theirs.

And Sylvain, who was born for the border, will stand in a watchtower. He will see the enemy before it comes, and he will keep Dimitri and Felix and Ingrid and Glenn safe.

Dimitri reappears after five years. Sylvain knows it's his role to fix the mess they're in, but he doesn't know how.

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little light

TLDR: really good exploration of flayn and seteth’s relationship (+ with his wife and flayn’s mother) pre canon (also post canon if i remember right) just a really good if heartbreaking family fic 

Summary: 

"She is beautiful, and she is perfect. It is foolish to say so, because the goddess herself says perfect beings cannot exist - but Cichol knows now she must have been wrong, because his daughter is perfect. They name her Cethleann. In the old tongue, it means 'light.'"

Cichol, Cethleann, what they lost, and who they became.

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conjure the wind, ease my mind

TLDR: this author in general writes FANTASTIC work so pls check out their whole repertoire. a platonic fic between holst and claude w an exploration of claude’s past that’s just so good....found brotherhood i am WEEPING 

Summary: 

“I’d like to know what’s wrong. I’d like to help if I can.”

Calculating green eyes lock onto Holst’s own, but this time they’re laced with something a little bit like resignation

Many people call Duke Riegan a liar, but Holst feels like he knows the young man a bit better than that. To call him a liar is wrong, you see, because all Claude has ever really done is master the art of giving up as little of the truth as possible. He keeps truth close, treats it like a valuable commodity.

“I have three brothers,” he says. “Half-brothers.”

***

Claude won’t spar with Holst and Holst wants to know why.

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my fellow passerine

TLDR: same author as before and just...god this fic is so good. a platonic exploration of the relationship between Claude and Cyril. This fic has it all: found brotherhood, worldbuilding about Almyra, Claude character study, CYRIL character study. it’s just fantastic 

Summary:

Then the Alliance delegation shows up, and their offering strolls through the gates of the monastery like he already owns the place.

A reminder, for those who need it: Cyril is not an idiot. He has good eyes and he uses them.

An observation, for those who want it: The Golden Deer house leader is Almyran.

~

Cyril knows a lot more than he lets on, Claude is far less covert than he thinks he is, and messing with the guy your parents told you was a possibly-unkillable demon-prince isn’t usually supposed to earn you a lasting friendship but hey… life is already pretty damn weird.

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Autotomy

TLDR: god this ferdibert fic just fucking...destroys me. i cannot get through it without crying at least twice and usually more. it’s basically a CF canon divergence with a heavy HEAVY exploration of ferdinand and hubert’s perspectives towards usefulness and how abelist thinking affects that in their efforts to find Shambala after Ferdinand loses his sight from one of Hubert’s experimental spells. All while falling in love. this fic is VERY fucking heavy, please mind the tags, it’s amazing but it’s subject matter is something you need to be very aware of. Also i would highly reccomend reading the prequel to this fic as it provides some critical context to Hubert’s actions that you don’t get through Ferdinand���s flawed pov. Basically this author is a master of character perspective.

Summary: 

Ferdinand von Aegir's war record ends in 1182. The war does not.

Or, blind man's bluff.

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Coming of Age

TLDR: same author as before and god...just my FAVOURITE ferdinand character study. Takes place within the period Byleth is away. I don’t want to spoil anything but it’s incredible. Mines the fantastic character drama hook between Edelgard and Ferdinand that canon DIDNT rip

Summary: 

Ferdinand was a general. In theory. Edelgard had promised him continued command of his battalion, and a general needed a certain measure of wealth to supply his horses, his servants, his armor and rations and lodgings and, she’d promised.

But his father sat rotting in a cell, or worse, and it could be nothing more than a fable they thought him simple enough to believe. What did promises matter?

When the house of Aegir collapses around him, Ferdinand struggles to forge a path forward. He quickly discovers he can't manage it alone -- and neither, perhaps, can Edelgard.

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Another Life

TLDR: same author AGAIN (can u tell theyre my favourite fjsdhfk). Ferdibert fic, a man loving his partner and trying to figure out the best way to support them as they silently wrestle with questions about their gender identity is something that can be so PERSONAL and make u CRY god. also dark flier hubert my beloved. 

Summary: 

Ferdinand notices things. He cannot say what he notices, precisely, because he has no one to ask, and if he were to ask Hubert it would damn well result in every questioned moment up and vanishing forever behind a new wall of prickly austerity. Ferdinand cannot risk that. The things that he notices stick in his chest, and he thinks only, but.

Hubert wrestles with unasked questions; Ferdinand wrestles with a pegasus.

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Beneath the Sheets of Paper Lies My Truth

TLDR: Dimilix fic in my FAVOURITE fucking format of secondary in game historical sources exploring their relationship in retrospective.

Summary:

It was said that Duke Fraldarius’s grief at King Dimitri’s death was more potent than even the queen’s—but said by whom, and how, and why?

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A Fair Day’s Work

TLDR: Post CF Canon ferdibert where Hubert and Ferdinand’s overworked aides desperately try to get them together so they’ll be too busy being uhhhh AMOUROUS to give them so much work. Very much a romantic comedy with very fun OCs as our protags. 

Summary:

“I may have some coffee in the place for you,” said Prime Minister Aegir. “Let me show you how much better I have become at brewing it to your taste.”

“If you insist,” said Minister Vestra but he sounded pleased. To Delarivier, who had literally made it her profession to attune herself to his tone (usually ranging from sort-of-murder-y to extremely-murder-y), Minister Vestra sounded very pleased indeed.

--

Ferdinand and Hubert's long-suffering aides figure out a way to work fewer hours.

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Roost

TLDR: Dimilix post AM Canon with some pre canon moments. Basically an exploration of the complexity of their relationship with bird symbolism and extra Holy Kingdom lore. Gifting ur lover a vulture is something that can be so personal fksdhfsjkd

Summary:

Dimitri makes an affirmative noise. Then he takes a breath, voice leveling out into what Felix had long ago dubbed his 'future king voice', all steady explanation: “Long ago, the saying fledged right along with the nobles' and royal family's love of hawking, and it has remained a common phrase from one generation to the next. As adviser to the king, the duke is meant to be regal and strong, even deadly when required, from his place at the king's side. To always act as the most piercing, watchful eyes over the Holy Kingdom of Faerghus and her sovereign."

He looks over to Felix as soon as his mouth snaps shut on the final word, as always seeking approval on his recitations.

Felix tilts his head, trying to look unimpressed. “I like eagles.”

A hand automatically comes up to cover the lower half of Dimitri's face, muffling the inarticulate sound of a snort of amusement. “That is good, since you are to be mine.”

***

They say an eagle watches over Fhirdiad.

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A faint and faraway sound

TLDR: Ferdibert with an excellent Hubert centric character study....just so good...makes me warm and fuzzy...the mutual pining and ROMANCE of it all

Summary: 

Hubert learns to be a person, with a lot of help and complication along the way.

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In golden light

TLDR: A really REALLY good ferdibert fic with ferdinand centric pov that focuses on him reflecting on his life as he prepares the Aegir house to become a boarding school. Ferdinand sibling exploration is ABOUND here and it’s great

Summary: 

When his family's summer home at Lake Aegir is set to be converted to a boarding academy, Ferdinand pays it one last visit and contemplates his complicated relationship with family, love, and legacy.

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one three four three four zero

TLDR: the fic that actually got me into dimilix. VERY heavy character study and you NEED to mind both the general fic tags and the content warnings the author lists for each chapter but it’s incredible. Takes a very familiar trope and just. slams you in the face with over 60k words of amazing character study. 

Summary: 

“How are you going to get the One-Eyed Demon of Garreg Mach, the Boar Prince of Faerghus, smuggled past Dukedom soldiers? What plan could you possibly have to get a creature that incapable of even pretending it isn’t a bloodthirsty beast into Dominic without getting caught?”

The Professor gives him one of their steady, unreadable stares. They definitely do not and could not possibly have answered him, “You’re going to pretend to be married to him.”

or, How to Pretend to be Married When One of You Can't Stop Hallucinating and the Other One Uses Hostility to Cope

[randomnameless]

Interesting FE16 world-building (?) tidbits, found through food and menus

or i was hungry : the post

Nabateans have no taste, Zanado fruit is described as “inedible” but apparently golden Zanado fruit is rad, so idk. Is it a Zanado fruit specially harvested for human tastes?

Saghert & Cream :  “ A baked confection with Noa fruit cream and a currant reduction, often enjoyed as a dessert at family gatherings.”

Noa fruit --> smthg smthg Noa, and Noa’s crest is apparently making Constance able to grow flowers (or to make plants bloom)? Are Noa fruits specific to Western Adrestia, or are they found everywhere? But since it’s a common dessert enjoyed at “family gatherings” I suppose Noa fruits are kind of common and/or not that expensive. Noa crested people make a lot of fruits and control the production of Noa fruits in the continent? But even if they have a monopoly on Noa fruits they think it’s more profitable to sell them at a rather low price than to treat it as a delicacy?

Sweet Bun Trio : “ Traditional pastries from Faerghus, known for their subtle sweetness. The dough is made with eggs and sugar.”

Important to note : this is made with Noa fruits (lel) and Albinean berries. So, traditionaly, Faerghus traded with Albinea to get fruits to fill their donuts/buns? Otoh, if the taste is rumoured to be subtle, Sylvain apparently doesn’t find it so awesome because he has that infamous “food from my own country sucks”. And yet he still like Faerghus’s sweet buns, so...

Pheasant Roast with Berry Sauce : “ Well-roasted Fodlan pheasant drizzled with a berry reduction sauce”.

Again, made with Albinean berries. Are they sweet or sour? Pheasants are eaten by a majority of nobles, but some commoners like it too, Raph (duh), Mercedes, Cyril and Flayn.

Peach Sorbet : “ A sorbet made with thin slices of magically frozen peach, dusted with bean flour”.

Made with, uh, peaches, and chickpeas (?).

Here comes Fodlan’s magic, in that world, people waste i mean use magic to bake/make funny food. If peaches are “magically frozen” then they musn’t be “naturally frozen” (well...) so this dish wasn’t originally from Faerghus. Maybe it’s an Adrestian delicacy and imperial mages are used, during peaceful times, as hired freezers?

Beast Meat Teppanyaki : “ A dish that tastes like wilderness. Thick slices of meat covered with Noa fruit and grilled on a hotplate”

Here another menu graced by House Nuvelle’s graces

Otoh, “beast meat” like... are they using meat from the various monsters? Or, worse, demonic beasts? But then, given what they used to be... not so odd to note, no nabatean likes this meal

Pickled Rabbit Skewers : “ Hunks of rabbit meat are pickled in bacchus, skewered, and roasted over an open flame to create this flavorful dish”

Finally someone cooking something with wine i mean - The only other mention of bacchus we had in the game was in the description of the Feast in Rhea’s trashy novel, apparently “fine bacchus” comes from Boramas, a territory of the Empire not that far from Enbarr. Given how Faerghus’ climate seems a bit too cold for wine, it must grow in the alliance/empire. So this dish is a southern (well) one?

Daphnel Stew :  “Minced poultry and onions boiled with salt. The simple recipe lets high-quality ingredients speak for themselves.”

We have high-quality ingredients in Daphnel, like Raddest Chicken (tm) and Best Salt (tm)? Or onions, you can’t cook without onions.

Or was Daphnel a great cook back in the day? Idk. Still, the alliance seems to be proud of their local products? First Count Gloucester with his sheep, and now Daphnel and their salt - i mean poultry! No one’s famous for their salt, save for, maybe, the guys from Bergliez with the Kingdom and the Alliance said “thks bye” to Adrestia

Gronder Meat Skewers : “ Fatty hunks of Gronder fox cooked slowly on skewers. The meat is magically aged for a full flavor.”

??? Fodlan people eat foxes? Ingredient list requires “wild game” and onions, but still... We all know how Guinivere’s baby fox would have ended then, or an AU where Kaden pops up in Fodlan.

However, here’s the second instance where Magic is used to alter an ingredient’s flavour. How do they “magically” age meat? Can that spell be used on living things to make them decay? It is a Hel “lite”?

Apparently, Cichol was rumoured to have blessed the Gronder Fields with good harvests, but randoms were tired to eat bread every day so they wanted to eat foxes. Not so oddly enough (?) Nabateans aren’t fond of that dish.

Derdriu-Style Fried Pheasant :  “ Pheasant meat is pounded flat and fried. Can be served as a sort of sandwich, with cheese between two strips of meat.”

Fried chicken comes from the Alliance people, and from Derdriu that is to say, from the Riegans. They created fast food, or KFC’s Double Down.

Edel made a wise choice in attacking them and removing the Riegans from the continent in CF

Interesting to note, Hanneman, Manuela and Seteth are fond of this. You cannot write a modern AU without them ordering something at KFC now, you cannot.

Vegetable Pasta Salad : “Pasta with a blend of fresh vegetables from various regions of Fódlan. This popular dish sells out almost instantly.”

Much more healthy! And also more popular? Everyone loves pasta! And does it mean everyone in Fodlan makes their own version of this dish with their local variants (cabbage in Faerghus?) or there are trading routes in the continent where Faerghus’ cabbage can be easily bought by Dude Von Random in the Empire if he wants to eat that salad?

Onion Gratin Soup :  “ Onions stewed with white trout and baked with a layer of cheese on top. Will warm you up from the inside out.”

The trout. Why the trout. Given how nearly everyone from Faerghus is fond of this dish (Linhardt and Marianne are the only non-kingdom students to like it) I’d say it comes from the North, and I remember Gautier being a famous place for “Gautier Cheese”. Also a dish that warms you from the inside would be conceived in a place where it’s cold? Or it’s some sort of comfort food.

Country-Style Red Turnip Plate :  “ A balanced meal including red turnip and verona stew, red turnip salad, and sautéed red turnip with garlic.”

Mostly appreciated by Imperial students, this meal looks healthy, again. Maybe they have a lot of turnips in the Empire, idk. Cichol mixed beetroots and turnips and thought they could give sugar to the empire with all those beetroots but welp they have a crapton of turnip fields now and you can’t make anything with turnips but those silly humans still found a way to accomodate them?

Vegetable Stir-Fry : “A dish of dried tomatoes, cabbage, chickpeas, and other vegetables, stir-fried with eggs. Nutritious and very filling. “

Not specifically tied to a country. tomatoes would suggest it doesn’t come from Faerghus though. But cabbage? Or it’s some sort of fusion food. Sounds tasty though (unlike the turnip salad)

Grilled Herring : “ Herring caught off the coast of Albinea, shredded and grilled in an earthenware pot with sliced turnips.”

what is wrong with the devs and their love for turnips

This dish uses herring from Albinea, so, unless Fodlanese fishers regularly hang out near a foreign nation’s shores to fish, they must trade. I don’t know if Albinean herring is expensive or if Garreg Mach uses a lot of its budget on Albinean herrings but I suppose there’s at least a main line of supply for this kind of fish.

First you trade fish, next we have exchange students from Albinea

Fish and Bean Soup :  “ A soup made by simmering white trout and chickpeas. A simple yet wholesome dish.”

Only Faerghus students love this meal (and Marianne). It seems plain but if Word of God says it’s wholesome, who am i to criticize?

Fruit and Herring Tart : “ A baked tart with stewed herring and Noa fruit mixed into the batter. Popular in Enbarr, the Imperial Capital.”

To contrast with the previous dish, this pie sounds complicated to make and is, of course, popular in Enbarr. You could make a caricature out of this. Oddly enough, no BE student is fond of this dish. Lorenz is though, previsibly.

Fisherman’s Bounty : “ Freshly-caught fish are cut into chunks and stewed together to make this hearty dish.”

Sponsorised by Indech since it requires a Teutates Loach. Flayn likes it. You only need fish and fish to make this dish which is, uh... well. Dedue’s the only guy to like this.

Fish Sandwich : “A simple dish. Airmid pike is pickled in vinegar and served with cabbage between two slices of bread.“

You average random sandwich, with pickled fish. Petra and Manu are the only non BL people to like this but now that i think about it, since it has cabbage, it must be a dish from Faerghus ? Or Faerghus exports cabbage to the rest of the world, and the rest of the world came up with this idea for a sandwich.

Two-Fish Saute : “Two types of fish are cut into strips and sauteed in butter. This lavish meal hails from Embarr, the Imperial Capital.”

It needs Caledonian Gar and Albinean Herring. Of course it’s lavish, it comes from Embarr. A lot of people are fond of this, Lorenz included, of course. Oddly enough, Leonie likes it too so it musn’t be that expensive?

Bourgeois Pike : “ A gourmet fish dish with Airmid pike, vegetables, and a sprinkle of expensive spices. Popular among nobles.”

It doesn’t come from Enbarr??

It needs a carrot and Airmid Pike. Dedue, Seteth and Manu are the only commoners fond of this dish, but I wonder what are those expensive spices needed. Saffron? Does it even exist in Fodlan? And why is it considered a gourmet dish? The ingredients aren’t that rare.

Calling it now, between Sitri’s resting place, the coffin where Seiros’s supposed to have been laid to rest and the storage room where Rhea does her monthly maintanance for golems, there is a specific room in the Monastery where randoms look after jerky, to make sure it ages properly and doesn’t develop mold or something like that.

Sautéed Jerky : “Jerky aged in the monastery and sautéed for a delightfully salty flavor. A perfect snack to go with your favorite drink.”

Now, Dimitri’s fond of this dish, but since he can’t taste it can it really be said he likes it? OTOH, Hubert likes it too, so our local evil chancelor drinks coffee while munching on chicken jerky. I still don’t understand why chickpeas are needed though.

Spicy Fish and Turnip Stew : “ Spicy stew made with Teutates loach and turnips. The monastery’s unique recipe features spices from Dagda.”

Turnip again

This dish has different local variations, given how the monastery’s one uses spices from Dagda. Is it because Garreg Mach can import spices from Dagda and the other places in Fodlan cannot or aren’t allowed, or because whoever is in charge of the meals in the monastery thought the turnip would taste good with Dagdan spices? Idk. Petra likes it, but Shamir isn’t particulary fond of this dish.

Sweet and Salty Whitefish Sauté : “ Whitefish is coated in spices and sautéed with dried tomatoes to bring out an addictive salty-sweet flavor.”

Dried tomatoes aren’t “sundried tomatoes” so maybe it’s an oversight, or there is a process (magical or just using an over) to dry tomatoes in Fodlan. This dish is exclusively liked by members of the BL house. Teutates is in Faerghus, but given how the climate is harsh, I don’t think tomatoes grow there? Or maybe they had some sort of magical greenhouses?

Super-Spicy Fish Dango : “ A light snack, popular in the Empire. Small, spicy balls of fried dough packed with white trout and dried tomato.”

This is the opposite of a gourmet or a lavish dish, but it is enjoyed in the Empire and not exclusively in Enbarr. Oddly enough, Hanneman is the only Adrestian fond of this. Leonie and Ingrid are fond of it, is it cheap? Given how it’s a snack and popular, I’d say it is.

c’est un acras de truite à la tomate?

Sautéed Pheasant and Eggs : “Thin slices of bird meat and shredded cabbage, mixed with scrambled eggs and sautéed spices. Invention of a certain noble.”

“a certain noble” WHO??

Ferdie’s fond of it, but I can’t see Aegir peeps inventing meals, and given the ingredients used, I cannot pinpoint an origin. It sounds like a snack. Claude is fond of it.

Garreg Mach Meat Pie : “A crispy-brown pie packed with tomatoes, cheese, and tender chunks of meat.” 

... This is totally comfort food, isn’t it?

Fittingly enough, Manuela is fond of it. Maybe she eats those pies when she has a hangover or something. OTOH, if it wasn’t evident enough with the previous recipes, Garreg Mach develops its own gastronomy, different from what we could find in the Alliance, the Kingdom or the Empire. I actually wonder how they are supplied with food, is everything made in the monastery or are they importing stuff from other places in Fodlan? Since they have Dagdan spices, they also import from Dagda or they grow their own brand of Dagdan spices?

Cheesy Verona Stew : “A rich dish consisting of verona and sautéed Teutates loach. These ingredients are boiled and served with two kinds of melted cheese.”

Dimitri is fond of this dish with all the reservations i expressed above. Hanneman is the only Adrestian fond of this dish, but damn, two melted cheeses in a fish dish? Is it a fish fondue or something?

Pickled Seafood and Vegetables : “A Dagdan dish of raw fish and turnips pickled in a vinegar-based seasoning liquid. Rarely eaten in Fodlan.”

It may be rarely eaten in Fodlan but a lot of students and staff members like this dish! Shamir isn’t part of them, but Hubert is. Since it’s pointed out here, raw fish sounds to be something only people in Dagda eat, or at least, Fodlanese randoms do not eat raw fish. So the pickled fish used in the fish sandwich is actually cooked fish? They made pickles from cooked things? Odd.

Gautier Cheese Gratin : “A gratin of bird meat topped with heaps of Gautier cheese, which is famous for its low fat content. It has a unique flavor.”

Low fat content cheese what kind of insanity - this uses a Noa fruit, even if Nuvelle and Gautier are geographically opposed if you look at a Fodlan map. But whoever invented this dish thought it’d be nice to put a Noa fruit in it, so why not. Dimitri’s fond of it, actually can it be that he likes whatever is cooked with cheese?

dimitri is a cheese lover so automatically dimitri = best lord

Cabbage and Herring Stew : “ Cabbage and Albinean herring stewed whole. The fish guts lend this hearty dish a superbly bitter kick.”

Again thanks to Albinean exports, Hubert can eat his bitter stew. Lorenz is fond of it too, just like Flayn, Manu and Hanneman. i don’t have a lot of things to say about this dish

Scrambled Eggs with Vegetables : “ Fried eggs mixed with tomatoes, cabbage, and chickpeas along with other vegetables and legumes. A highly nutritious dish.”

Again with the joke about hangover food, but Manu likes this “highly nutritious” dish. Given how it is enjoyed by various students across Fodlan, I’d say this dish isn’t tied to one region, but is actually eaten everywhere in the continent.

that’s it no more dishes

[randomnameless]

I was browsing a tag (i know i shouldn’t do that) and i read an old post nerding about ancient civilisations and parallels with FE16 which made me glee bcs i love to nerd about history 

But then i was disappointed 

Important Agarthans seem to have greek names (?) so they could be ancient greece, okay why not (the superiority complex over the rest of the world feels adequate but then idk if Socrates (Soloncrates?) would call actual humans beasts or not).

But then it was affirmed that Rhea, not the Nabateans, but Rhea, was Ancient Rome (Romea?). She 1) razed the Agarthans, 2) expanded the Church in the continent and 3) allied with Wilhelm of Adrestia and later Loog who represents the various germanic tribes.

Which made me raise an eyebrow.

1) I’ve already posted earlier about the Sothis/Agartha war but here it seems a bit odd to single out Rhea amidst her people for having rekt Agartha when it was, at most, a collective action of several Nabateans, regardless of the fact that Rhea may or not have participated in the first war.

Also, in FE16, the Nabateans gave their technology to Agarthans, who in turn developed it and turned against them. Ancient Rome was tsun-tsun with their greek neighbours, but it is now commonly accepted that the first romans tried to “copy” or at least were heavily inspired by Ancient Greece to build a national identity. I mean Virgil even wrote a poem to make a Trojan ancestor to what would later become the roman people, and that’s not talking about how the old Roman pantheon borrowed the Greek one but with aliases worse than Danved and Devdan...

In FE16, “Greece” actually borrowed/received their technology from “Rome” but tried to attack “Rome” and failed. “Rome” retaliated, destroyed “Greece” to the point where romans don’t even know what “Greece” was and can only make suppositions about its existence. 

This doesn’t match RL history.

2) Expanding the Church in the continent : this is actually speculation, but afaik, when Adrestia conquered the continent, its religion would have automatically been spread? Still, comparing the Church of Seiros to another religion starting with a C doesn’t really work.

Adrestia was founded by a dude who had been annointed by Seiros herself. The Church, or at least Seiros and her pals, already existed before the Empire. Constantine the Great was the first Emperor to convert to christianity, but he was not the founder of Rome! Christianity became a “state” religion after Constantine. Heck, Julian thought his uncle’s religion was lousy so he returned to a polytheist cult.

In FE16, the only schism between Adrestia (the Empire) and the Church happened after the Southern Church was expelled, giving a good 1000 years of church approved Empire.

Saying Romea expanded the reach of the church through out all of Fodlan isn’t wrong, iirc part of the mediation accepting the Kingdom’s existence is to allow the church to preach in the newly formed kingdom, but i’m not sure it could be tied to RL history, because in Fodlan, Wilhelm walked side by side with Jesus, and Jesus crowned him Emperor. Jesus won against Nemesis. Adrestia’s legitimacy/creation comes from Jesus.

So I don’t think it’s Rhea expanding the reach of the Church through Fodlan, but more Seiros is part of the Empire’s lore, she’s that actual saintly figure who defeated the strongest man ever so everywhere in the Empire tales of Seiros and her deeds are heard of, it makes sense to follow/buy her story. 

Also, if the “religion” the church of Seiros preaches is the rewritten history, people must have “converted” after the unification of Fodlan and yet, if Seirosism is the state religion, and the state is controlling Fodlan, can we say Romea expanded her religion through the continent, or Fodlan, after being conquered by Adrestia, automatically became Seirosist?

It would actually echo the bid to allow the Church to preach in the newly formed Faerghus, if Loog wanted to fig off Adrestia, he might even want to have a different religion than the one from the Empire he came from, hell, the Kingdom even returned to the former naming practices existing before Adrestia. 

The Church would have wanted to make sure that no matter what Loog was doing with his bunch of humans in the North, he would still believe crests are a gift from the goddess, they shouldn’t be misused and if you ever find Macuil don’t murder him to make weapons out of his body.

short story long story : it’s the story of the egg and the chicken, did Seirosism became the leading religion in the continent because Rhea actively preached around, or because it was Adrestia’s state religion? idk.

3) Rome “allied” (well, TC said Rome lorded and traded with germanic tribes until shit hit the fan) with germanic tribes. They could be traded with. But they were not roman citizens. I’m not that well versed in this part of the Roman Empire (even if some part of France was classified as Germania at that time! RIP Franche-Comté T-T). Thing is, Rome never asked for Germania’s help to defeat some enemy, hell, when barbarians invasions happened, it hit Germania first and then Rome.

This is where the Romea analogy falls. 

First of all, Wilhelm became Wilhelm of Adrestia thanks to Seiros who annointed/crowned him, without Seiros there is no Adrestia. (iirc in one of Seiros’ books it is said Seiros makes emperors out of men, and the tradition needs the archbishop to bear witness each time a new emperor is crowned, so i suppose Rhea crowned/proclamed/anointed/made Wilhelm an Emperor).

Rome never had that kind of influence (afaik?) on the various germanic tribes. 

Before Adrestia we had Enbarr and, I guess, several tribes. As I see it (it may be wrong!) Adrestia is made to mirror Rome, sort of. Wilhelm “of Adrestia” set out to conquer unify the world. Now, did Seiros told him to conquer the world or did he came to that conclusion alone, we will never know. And yet, in the time period we’re speaking of (antiquity?), there’s no “Germanic Empire”. Adrestia started as an unified state, not as several tribes. Adrestia thus cannot be likened to “germanic tribes”.

Second, Loog did not receive help from Rhea, but it’s implied (still it’s from the shadow library so i’m not holding it against the TC) he received help from Mole People. 

But from what we know, in the Vanilla game, Loog defeated the Emperor of Adrestia. It is during the aftermath that the Empire, House Charon and the Church negotiated and decided Loog could found his Kingdom. I do not see how Rhea “allied” with the guy, nor, again, what kind of germanic tribe he represents given how he actually got his independance from the Empire to create his own Kingdom.

Then we have another set of facts which are less about history and more about the game, but for the history ones : 

Romea cannot 4) enforce the will of the Church and Western branch rebelling mirrors Rome’s western’s provinces being unruly and Romea gradually losing grasp on Adrestia 5) The Church isn’t completely sacked but still remains in CF to mirror Rome’s “gradual” fall/out of powerlessness (for funsies 6) Edel and the Agarthans make Rome face what they did to Greece and represent the germanic tribes coming after Rome after they managed to free themselves from its influence)

4) Unless I’m mistaken, the most occidental border of the Empire was the Atlantic Ocean?  astérix is a product of french chauvinism 

Northern borders were more problematic, we had Hadrian’s Wall to keep Picts at bay and in the 3rd century the “Saxon Shore” to fend off against invaders coming by the sea. 

Of course around this time there was an important crisis that weakened the Empire, so it might explain why there was unrest everywhere. This crisis saw the birth of the Western Gallic Empire, but also of the Eastern Palmyrene Empire (everyone was happy when Diocletian unified the empire afterwards). After, let’s say, 300ish, the Empire, in general, had difficulties to deal with and keep its borders.

Back to FE, the western church rebelling is actually at odds with Rome, because when it comes to religious stuff, the eastern provinces were the most concerned/active, not the western ones (1st council of nicea was made because of the arian controversy (The Son and the Father are the same entity or not? Discuss) in the eastern provinces). 

Apparently, the Western Church rebels because they don’t like/follow the creed of the Central Church, but if we wanted to keep the Rome analogy, it should have been the Eastern church rebelling. From what we see, it is not because they follow another religion, but they have a difference in doctrine (but then it is muddled because mole people, otoh, it is never said that the western church thinks seiros is a hax or the goddess doesn’t exist, they want to claim lands on behalf of Saint Cichol which means they adhere, at least, to the main dogma about saints) and really don’t like Rhea for some reason. tbh i think some “germanic tribes” converted to arianism but they weren’t the theologists who theorised it

Central Church lost its grasp on Adrestia in 1065 (iirc?) when the southern branch was expelled. Idk if everything was fine and dandy before, but given how Rhea oversaw the construction of Garreg Mach after the WoH and tried to resurrect Sothis with the Chalice, I’d say she already said “peace i’m out” to Adrestia and would just be there for some ceremonies (crowning/being a witness for new emperors i suppose).

I’ve said it earlier, but Adrestia is not supposed to represent the “germanic tribes”, Adrestia is Rome. Adrestia having german names could also mean that the devs were lazy because Gaius Claudius isn’t a funky name, but the HRE was situated in western-central europe. Edel’s rebellion against the central church could mirror HRE and the Reformation, save for the fact that Edel dgaf about the goddess bcs humanity doesn’t need gods or something. So the analogy doesn’t really work...

5) Coming to which, CF!Church is not anything like Seirosism or, i suppose, the former Sothisism cult. Various bloggers already tore this take apart, but the “Church” in post CF-Fodlan seems to be less spiritual and more of an organisation which is overseen by the Emperor. 

I mean, if Edel says humans don’t need gods, what is the Church supposed to do? Fodlan has a cult? A religion? Faith? Faith in what? People are supposed to be free to chose what to believe in, but it is clear that “humans” don’t need gods, so what? You can believe in whatever you want, but not in Sothis because we don’t need her, and fig to the children of the Goddess or fig you if you’re still a follower of Seirosism? Rome still exists nowadays as a capital of a living country, I cannot affirm the Church exists, or if whatever the church of Seiros did is still maintained.

Also, “Rome” as in the Roman Empire (kind of) survived with the Byzantine Empire and the HRE. I don’t think offshoots of the Church of Seiros would be allowed to prosper in CF’s Fodlan.

6)  :)

I cannot remember if Romea’s people (well a civilisation cannot have brethrens it’s not a being!) were turned into various weapons by Socrates and Plato (if they had been blacksmiths i’d have been more interested in philosophy classes i swear) but as far as i know Edel’s Adrestia didn’t wage war against Romea because of her conquests or what she did to Soloncrates/Ancient Greece, nope or to free Adrestia from Romea (especially since Adrestia got rid of the church since 1065). Edel wants to conquer the world and change the “system” in place.

Bonus : About names, yes, the devs validated the “Adrestia is both rome and germany combined” which is as WTF as it seems, and yet, last Emperor from the HRE was named Francis II with his birth name being Franz Joseph Karl which is very far removed from, idk, Trajan being Marcus Ulpius Trajanus. I don’t think the devs thought a lot about names tbh, still, if Emperor Wilhelm might sound “german” and yet his second name Paul, is latin (paulus) so idk. Ionius was apparently a name used in Rome?