#brief mention of jeralt

[loyalflutist]

Am I like you, Father? (F!Byleth x Edelgard)

Rating: General Audience Category: F/F Word: 1,289 Summary:  After the war has ended, Edelgard and Byleth finally retired to the countryside with their daughter. Their times are full of joy and love, but one particular moment reminds Byleth of whom she takes after.

A/N: Here’s a quick OS based on domestic themes in a way. I really wanted to write something like this for Edeleth. :) Hope you enjoy it! I enjoyed writing it.

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Byleth Eisner watched her wife— the retired emperor— grace her presence in the vast flower bed. The seasons that slowly crawled out in this warm field mimicked the years of warring Edelgard von Hresvelg waged against the Church of Seiros and two other nations. Scarlet carnations bloomed in masses as if they were out for domination against the other floral species. Time eventually arrived in the present as the entire field was swept with the color red.

Knelt onto her knees, in the simple, yet luscious white summer gown, her wife was basked in warmth from the sunset’s rays. Byleth stood from the distant, the tattered overcoat she has worn for many years draped over her scarred arms, her teal hair retaining its disheveled appearance. The handicapped woman that served as the emperor’s trusted bodyguard continued her duty effortlessly. Well— retired bodyguard, that is. She watched over her blooming wife and budding seed from a nearby newcomer.

Small hands lightly pat Edelgard’s cheeks. A pair of feet marched in place as an innocent giggle and laughter bubbled from the little girl’s direction. Although the brown colors dyed her hair, It was unfortunate that their child inherited the messy hair from a certain ex-mercenary, the daughter’s short cut minimizing the scrawny appearance.

Elena Eisner. That was their daughter’s name.

Another round of laughter was accompanied by a playful squeal. Edelgard reached her horrifically scarred hands to cup their daughter’s face. She leaned forward and planted a tender kiss on the girl’s forehead. This caused a burst of glee to explode on her facial features.

“I love you so much, Mommy!”

“…”

Byleth’s eyes softened. Whenever she looks at their child, she would feel her fragile heart race at an incredible speed. Byleth hugged her worn overcoat even closer.

Ever since the natural birth of Elena that shared their genetics through an ancient ritual of impregnation with the assistance of Linhardt’s and Hubert’s research, a new life was wedged in between the two powerful figures. It was easier for them to raise their daughter as they had entered their first year as a commoner, the two of them have already given up their duties for Fodlan.

Years of hard work had finally driven out Those Who Slither in the Dark and any remaining threats that would uplift the conflict’s results. A suitable heir handpicked by Ferdinand, Hubert, and Edelgard ascended the throne in conjunction with the white-haired’s relocation to a new life. Edelgard and Byleth reside in the outskirt of the Adrestian Empire, isolated farmland tended and cared for by Byleth, Raphael, Leonie, and occasionally Caspar, Catherine, and Shamir. They were self-sufficient and created their own financial stability by their own hands.

They were finally free to live their lives… Free from the Crests… Free from the heavy burdens… and most importantly, they were able to live their lives as a family.

“I love you too, sweetie.”

Edelgard smoothed their child’s hair and retracted her hands to let the young girl run off. Byleth saw her wife watch over their daughter with a gaze full of wonderment and love. This naturally prompted the teal-haired to approach Edelgard, her limp prominent from the left leg.

“She reminds me of myself when I was younger.”

“?”

Byleth had just seated herself near the ex-noble with the partially numb limb extended outward. Edelgard immediately rested her head on her spouse’s right shoulder, her lilac hues overlooking the field. Clouds lazily floated above their heads in the orange sky as she continued,

“I used to spend time with Mother and my siblings before they were gone like this.”

“El…”

The older female uncomfortably shifted in her position. She wasn’t sure what to say about the matter. No matter how many times Edelgard recounted her days during her childhood, Byleth could not conjure an appropriate response. After all, Edelgard’s past was riddled with agony no youngster should ever have to experience. Not even Byleth could envision herself in a position like Edelgard.

Her retired wife shook her head. She emitted a chuckle, her delicate fingertips brushing upon Byleth’s hardened arms.

“Relax, Byleth. I’ve accepted that their fate has been sealed. There’s no use in digging up the past again.”

“…are you sure you’re okay?”

“I am.”

“Positive?”

“Yes.”

“…”

“…why are you giving me that look?”

“What look?”

“Don’t play dumb!”

Another playful laughter came from Edelgard, who was shortly joined by Byleth, as she lightly slapped her wife’s sturdy shoulder. This caused Byleth to lean forward and greet her lover with a kiss on the lips.

“You’re so cute and strong.”

“Byleth!”

No matter how old they were, they would always act as if they’ve never aged during their time at the monastery. Flirtations eventually morphed into compliments that were endlessly exchanged no matter the time and day. (Even Sylvain finds it too sweet to deal with.) Another smooch planted on Edelgard as their fleeting pecks on the nose and lips began to tally upward, their giggles and smiles in-between.

“So… now I should be asking you that question, Professor.”

“?”

Edelgard had parted from their fun-loving session and snuggled right up to the sitting Byleth, a hand placed on the soft beating chest.

“How are you feeling?”

“I’m feeling fine. Just a bit tired.”

“Hm, Linhardt and Mercedes did tell you that you’re still recovering from the final battle. It's been nearly six years though!”

“I’ll get better in no time.”

Edelgard chuckled. “I’m sure you will. But aside from that, I’m talking about yesterday.”

“What about yesterday?”

“You know… with Elena. When she tried to use the Sword of Creator?”

She diverted her attention to their offspring.

“…”

If Byleth were, to be frank, she had never handled a kid before. Sothis, Jeralt, and her father’s mercenaries had raised her, but the retired professor never once brought up a child from the very beginning of their life. Edelgard was charged with nursing and providing for their daughter. Byleth, on the other hand, was responsible for making the buck and putting food on the table. Time moved forward and transformed their duties to more complex routines. Yet despite her shortcomings, she was able to become an adult their offspring could look up to.

Byleth squeezed her hold on Edelgard.

“I’m not angry at her. I’m just… scared of losing her.”

“Mommy, look!”

An interruption was in order; it promptly slashed right through their conversation. Their child, no older than six, proposed a daffodil after dashing back. However, she did not run towards Edelgard. She ran towards her other parent. That silly, toothy grin beaming in her direction… Byleth easily accepted the gift with a smile of her own. She twisted her wrist and examined the lonesome flower.

“I’m surprised you found this.”

“I found them over there!”

Byleth directed her gaze in the pointed direction. Right smack dab in the middle of the red field, there lies more daffodils. Closer inspection showed that there were only three of them. Unlike the other flowers that wilted and withered at the sight of the scarlet species, this trio bloomed healthily, their petals lightly ruffled by the gentle evening breeze. She glanced back at their daughter.

“Daddy, look.”

A hazy image overlapped their daughter of a young Byleth. In the small girl’s hands, there was the same exact flower as their child had showcased: daffodils. When Byleth reached out to pat Elena’s head, Jeralt’s transparent hand bled into hers.

“I’m surprised you found this.”

“I found them over there.”

At that same moment, a single tear was shed from the hero of Fodlan. This startled Edelgard and their daughter, their questions becoming interrogative. However, Byleth merely cracked a smile, mimicking that of her father, and quietly whispered,

“Am I like you, Father?”

[allovertheplace-writing]

Hiya again svshs! It's Tulip Anon 🌷~ I decided to send in my first request to you aaa! I think there will definitely be more to come sbsjs 💕

Anywho! I was wondering if I could request headcanons of female Byleth with a gender-neutral reader s/o who's super affectionate (they like showing their love using words, giving gifts, and such svshs)?

Tysm for your time and please have a great day!

- Tulip Anon 🌷

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Fire Emblem Three Houses

Character(s): F! Byleth

Genre: Fluff

Type: Headcanon

Description: Byleth and Her Very Affectionate S/o

Warning(s): Jeralt Mentioned

Tulip, are you.. a mind reader? I was just thinking about fe3h and began writing a little blurb for Ferdinand, but BYLETH-

Thank you for sending this in, it was so nice writing it! And I'm happy to see that you're thinking of sending more in the future, hehe!

I hope you have a wonderful day, Tulip!! Take care ♡

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Time with you is like a pick-me-up for her

A reset of sorts after dealing with her professorial and church duties

No matter how brief

Sometimes you would show with a trinket or food, catching her in the halls of the monastery

Other times you'd visit her in her father's office with her lunch and your own, and maybe one for Jeralt too

Byleth would melt even if you only uttered a "For you, By!", even if you rushed an "I love you."

She found pet names strange at first, not use to them, but was quick to love them

She appreciates when you help her with things, such as deliveries and passing on a message

Although Byleth feels as if she isn't doing enough for you every once in a while, mostly due to her busy schedule

She finds you to be so sweet and adoring

Whenever she is able, she'll return to you with a gift or a letter, and plenty of honeyed words from her heart

Including a kiss to your lips

Had she formed a plan based on your past actions?

...perhaps

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[isp-annafer]

For notetaking purposes only--

List of students that havent actually appeared in RS (tho they will at some point, even as a brief mention), and what theyre currently doing:

-- Ignatz: he's shy. He really wants to go up to jeralt and ask about his travels and all the sights he's seen but he hasnt collected enough courage points to do it yet.

-- Flaynn: look. L O O K. She has A Plan. She can already see her (dad) brother is getting friendly with jeralt and MAYBE she can finally convince seteth to let her join a class. SPECIFICALLY, jeralts class. Shes working on it.

-- Marianne: nervous. Jeralt is big and scary, but all the horses only have good things to say about him, and horses have always been a very good judge of character.

-- Lysithea: this girl is more focused on her studies. Probably only cares about jeralt in an 'only interact for class or lessons' fashion. She will occasionally visit his office for questions about his lessons. Claude teases her every time. jeralt freely admits she's one of his best students and this pleases her.

-- Hilda: shes pretty chill about him. She can get away with lazing in his class (yes!!) but she cannot skip any projects or assignments because he ALWAYS follows up on them (no!!).

-- Dorothea: pretty neutral. Look, jeralt has nothing she likes. He has a reputation, but he's not rich. His life isnt very stable. He's pretty nice, tho, and most of her classmates all have good things to say about him. Also, she managed to hear him sing once during the sunday church and he has a nice voice.

-- Linhardt: he can sleep in jeralts class and jeralt doesnt bother him about it at all so long as he does his assignments and the like. Good fishing buddy. Doesnt bother filling up silence with chatter if its not needed. wrote very interesting books.

-- Ferdinand: This!!! Is the Bladebreaker!!! One of the best knights in Fodlan!!! Ferdinand is determined to make the best use of this opportunity to learn as much as he can from him!!

-- Hubert: Sus >:(. An unknown factor. Is very likely a danger to Lady Edelgards plans.

-- Bernadetta: scary, but alois has only good things to say about him, so she's more comfortable with him than she is with most adults.

-- the Ashen Wolves: Aelfric's friend (compliment), but also (for Yuri) Aelfric's friend (wary)

[fireemblems24]

Flame Emperor Reveal Analysis

This game is all over the place with this. This level delivered some of the most intense and emotional moments so far, but doesn’t always capitalize on character development and conflict. 

I’m playing all four routes in Fire Emblem Three Houses mostly blind. Below is spoilers for all four routes (which I’m learning the names of now). And for the first it’s actually 4! 

Crimson Flower & Silver Snow

I lied. Originally I planned on writing a different analysis for Crimson Flower and Silver Snow, but the build up is the same. Only the fallout is different, and yeah there’s a lot to say about how things played out. 

The Black Eagles routes have the biggest advantage for this scene because your main character is the Flame Emperor. It does not hold back. All of your students, sans Edelgard and Hubert, are terrified, confused, and hurt. None of them grasp fully what’s going on when Edelgard takes her mask off and orders her army to kill anyone who stands against her. The voice actors do a fantastic job here: Dorothea, Caspar, Bernadetta, and others sell the mess of emotions the Black Eagles experience, and Edelgard sounds stone-cold and in-command. Her betrayal is the gut-punch it should be. 

The level presents a no-win scenario. One of your students is willing to kill you and everyone else you’re supposed to protect, and Rhea is out for blood. No matter what happens, no matter what you do, you lose. It’s a heartbreaking, emotional mess of a situation the writing sets up. 

Even prior to all this, the dance between revealing to much or to little about Edelgard’s true intentions is fantastic. Where the Blue Lions basically dumps the answer in your lap and the Golden Deer gives little to no hints at the Flame Emperor’s identity, the Black Eagles is the only route where I do not know if I would’ve guessed correctly or had so few clues that I didn’t bother trying to guess. 

Edelgard drops enough hints to guess correctly if you’re looking for them. She always questions Byleth about his thoughts on the Flame Emperor, trying to drive a wedge between the Emperor and the heinous actions the masked knight is involved in.  Likewise, Edelgard constantly asks Byleth if he’d pick her over the whole world. She also makes alarming declarations that tow the line between reformer and despot. All of these actions make sense in retrospect - she was fishing to see who would and would not side with her regardless of her actions. 

The scene in the Holy Tomb builds up to a crescendo, Edelgard is defeated, and Rhea makes her demand to kill Edelgard. It’s a bit telling Rhea needed to go so extreme in order to make siding with Edelgard believable, but it’s counteracted  by the game going as far as making Edelgard an enemy unit who can and will kill her classmates. Both women resort to extremes. Rhea is emotional, hateful, and screaming for blood. Edelgard is cold, calculated, and resorting to using victims of human experimentation to kill her own friends. These are two driven, passionate women exposing their ugliest sides in an emotional scene ripe for fantastic character development and conflict. 

And then . . . the wrap-up. 

Silver Snow

Should you choose to kill Edelgard, you land in Silver Snow. Rhea’s angry rant against Edelgard is fantastically delivered and makes me anticipate further development from her character. Back in Garreg Mach Monastery, Rhea  juxtaposes her earlier scene for a softer one. She implies a willingness to sacrifice her life to protect her home, and asks Byleth to take her role should something happen to her. Rhea’s plan all along was to put Byleth (who is connected to Sothis, who is connected to Rhea, though the details are still unknown to me) in charge. After hearing Rhea call for blood, it’s a sweet scene between Byleth and the archbishop. The problem with it is that every route gets these scenes sans Crimson Flower. It’s two great scenes for Rhea, but not unique to Silver Snow. 

And here’s the weird part - there is no unique content for Rhea outside of a few initial lines when choosing to kill Edelgard. Instead, we get the Black Eagles upset and unsure about Edelgard’s actions, a few wondering how much she planned all along and how involved she was in every horrible thing that happened during their school year. It’s necessary, but there’s nothing stand-out in anyone’s dialogue to bring home a real gut-punch. 

Seteth gets the best unique content in Silver Snow when he offers the Black Eagles a chance to defect to the Empire should they desire. It’s delivered softly with no threat behind it, showing an earnest desire for the students to feel comfortable even if it means they’re going to turn around and try to slaughter him in thanks. Thankfully, none of the students leave. Cyril and Catherine automatically join your team, and Hilda is now recruitable as well to make up for losing Hubert and Edelgard.   

The fall out for choosing to stand against Edelgard is . . . fine. For such a unique event in Fire Emblem (siding against your lord, possibly losing two units you’ve heavily invested in should you not know what’s coming), I expected a bit more drama and flare and a lot more Rhea. However, this is only the start, and it gave what it needed to give. 

The stage has been well set. Everyone’s in a no-win situation. Should they lose, they and everyone else in Fodlan will suffer an all-out, dragged-out war. They’ll lose their school and have to fight against their home country (sans Petra) where most of their family and friends live. Killing Edelgard ends the conflict, but she is their former friend, classmate, and rightful leader. She gives them no choice - fight for me or die standing against me. Neither option will leave Byleth and the remaining students wholly satisfied, so I foresee more bittersweet confrontations coming, and I look forward to it.

Crimson Flower 

Deciding to protect Edelgard lands you on the Crimson Flower path. I have to say, I’ve read and watched thousands of stories and this one scene stands out among all others. 

Never in my life have I ever seen characters react to a situation in a way that makes less sense. Even more baffling is how much potential gets tossed out the window. Stories thrive on conflict and character development and this scene is ripe with potential, but instead of even letting the fruit grow rancid they just . . . act like it never existed. 

After Byleth picks to guard Edelgard, Rhea loses it and is ready to tear Byleth to pieces before turning into a dragon. The Black Eagles and Edelgard all run away and, not long after, make it back to Enbarr safely. How they escaped a rampaging dragon or successfully fled Garreg Mach is hand-waved away. This is the kind of hand-waving I can forgive. It’s lazy writing, but it doesn’t really impede the story. What I cannot forgive is the hand-waving that comes next. 

Edelgard has a brief scene where she tells her classmates her intentions - she wants to rid Fodlan of the Church of Serios’s control, claims that Rhea and her fellow beasts have secretly ruled humanity and held them back, and is going to declare war. She asks who will join her. Predictably, all of them do - except Flayn. Edelgard mentions that Flayn has opted not to stay with the group. 

Hmmm. I wonder why. Could it be Edelgard’s lackey kidnapped and tortured her for a whole month, preparing her for blood experiments at the hands of an evil group of mages who just happen to be Edelgard’s allies? Maybe that had something to do with it. The fact the game presents this is as some magnanimous act is hilarious. I believe Edelgard would let someone like, say Petra, turn away too, but she deserves no “brownie points” for allowing someone who she allowed to get tortured and set-up for a slow death as a human sacrifice to leave and not decide to attack her the home where her father still lives. I think this aspect of Edelgard’s character would’ve hit home significantly harder if someone who wasn’t so throughly victimized by Edelgard’s actions had fled, or you actually saw Flayn leave. 

No one asks about the Death Knight. No one asks about Flayn’s kidnapping. No one asks about Kostas attempting to kill students. No one asks about the students kidnapped and experimented on or Remire Village or Jeralt. No one asks where the Crest Beasts Edelgard is using came from. No one asks about the fact she just tried to kill all of them, or what she’s going to do with the Crest Stones. No one even mentions the Flame Emperor. No one questions the history she spilled on them, claiming the church was behind the splitting of Fodlan despite not even having enough knights to guard their own monastery and needed students to help out at events. 

I could buy the Black Eagles running away with Edelgard. The scene where Byleth chooses Rhea or Edelgard is highly emotional. Things happen quickly and no one is given much of a chance to process anything. Rhea doesn’t give anyone much of a choice by shifting into a dragon. I wish they didn’t rely so much on “Rhea bad” to make any sense of siding with Edelgard, but it is believable. What I cannot buy is how no one questions anything afterwards. 

It’s like the whole cast just forgot the first eleven chapters. No one even mentions the Flame Emperor’s existence. The moment the mask came off, it ceased to exist. Everyone mindlessly believes everything Edelgard says, and no one even asks any questions - not about Rhea, not about the history of Fodlan, not about the Flame Emperor’s actions. Barely anyone bats an eyelash at the idea of attacking their own school and killing former classmates, teachers, and friends. Everyone comes across borderline brainwashed. Did the writers have so little faith in Edelgard’s position they were afraid to even attempt exploring it? Even worse is the strategy meeting is just Edelgard, Hubert, and Byleth - the Black Eagles are no where to be seen. It makes them come across like mindless puppets rather than anyone remotely rational - like pawns arranged on a board required for gameplay reasons than actual characters.        

Never in my life have I seen a story throw away so much potential character development and conflict. The situation here is intriguing. Edelgard’s stance is fascinating, but everything falls short when all that’s interesting about it is getting tossed out the window because Rhea is secretly evil and nothing Edelgard did beforehand seems to matter anymore. I am seriously concerned about where this route is heading, because despite the massive potential, it seems like it cares less about that and more about making sure Edelgard looks good rather than complex and interesting, even at the cost of logic, character development, and by turning other interesting characters black so Edelgard has someone she can look better than in comparison rather than standing on her own ideals.     

Verdant Wind

Am I correct in assuming the fandom consensus is that Verdant Wind had the least impactful Flame Emperor reveal? Because it did. 

Edelgard had little to no presence in Verdant Wind. Outside of pre and post class vs class battle banter, her only scene consisted of interrogating Claude and getting and giving no answers. Claude has no connection to Edelgard and neither does Byleth or any of the Golden Deer. When the mask comes off and it’s her face behind it, there’s no emotional response. 

The fallout is equally lackluster. Claude demands answers from Edelgard, which she refuses to answer, and she warps away. Afterwards, things play out the same way they do on every route. And that’s the core issue here. Claude and the Golden Deer bring nothing unique to this scene. Elements of surprise that Edelgard is the Flame Emperor, her willingness to kill all your units to get crest stones, and her declaration of war is there on every route. Claude’s character and goals have had no impact on the plot. 

Analyzing this scene has brought to light my main issue with the Verdant Wind route thus far. It’s that Claude and friends have done nothing to move the plot forward. Things just happen; no character is making anything happen. You could argue it’s the same for the Azure Moon route, but Dimitri’s clearly defined goals and emotional connection makes it a streamlined story with a sense of forward progression instead of plot points getting dumped in the player’s lap. 

It’s too bad, because Verdant Wind could’ve approached this differently. Instead of Claude getting nothing done and shouting about every relic that showed up, he and Byleth could’ve solved mysteries together a la Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boy. For all of Claude’s questioning everything, very little attention was paid to unmasking the Flame Emperor. Verdant Wind guided its players to look at the wrong mysteries - mysteries that ultimately got no answers while ignoring the one part one was actually about figuring out, and if this was flipped, Verdant Wind would’ve had a much more impactful Flame Emperor reveal. 

I will give Verdant Wind major bonus points though. It is nice to see a character question Edelgard about her involvement in things. Dimitri’s too caught up in his Duscur trauma (which I don’t believe Edelgard participated in) and neither Silver Snow and especially Crimson Flower question Edelgard’s actions as the Flame Emperor, but Claude throws at her all the questions I wanted to hear: what about Flayn? What about Jeralt? What about Remire? So congrats Claude, you’re the only character and the only route that’s holding Edelgard actually responsible for her actual actions. If only she was the mystery you were investigating instead of one that went exactly no where for eleven straight chapters. 

Azure Moon

What’s interesting here is that the Flame Emperor’s reveal is less about who the mystery person is and more about our protagonist’s, Dimitri’s, reaction to it. And that is core reason behind this scene’s success. 

Multiple users on here told me to play chapter eleven of Blue Lions first, and I’m both glad and upset I listened to them. Glad, because they were all right, this route had by far the best Flame Emperor reveal, but sad because it all went downhill from there. 

The Crimson Flower/Silver Snow routes should’ve had the best Flame Emperor reveal. After all, those are the routes where Edelgard plays the biggest role, but the follow up to the scene is fairly lackluster, especially in Crimson Flower. Azure Moon, on the other hand, did everything Crimson Flower was afraid to - address the elephant in the room.   

Characters in Crimson Flower respond to the situation as if Edelgard didn’t just try to kill all of them, nor do they ask any questions about her actions as the Flame Emperor. Everyone acts as if none of that ever happened, and by not bothering to even mention it, those actions stick out even worse than they would’ve otherwise. 

The opposite is true in Azure Moon. Everyone is unnerved by Dimitri’s violent outburst. Felix jumps at the chance to tell everyone, “I told you so.” No one knows what to do about Dimitri, nor do they really have time to process anything with Edelgard’s war machine knocking on their front door. However, this is the base expectation of a story - that characters respond realistically to what happened prior instead of teleporting to some surreal dimension where Edelgard isn’t working with people who perform human experimentation. 

So what exactly did Azure Moon do to make this reveal so successful? It utilized the route’s unique aspects: Dimitri’s mental instability and desire for revenge, terrible family history, and emotional connection to Edelgard. 

Unlike Verdant Wind, Edelgard has an actual presence and relevance in Azure Moon thanks to her connection to Dimitri. He cares about her like family, which makes her betrayal more personal and automatically more impactful than in Verdant Wind. Even more brilliant here is milking the emotional aspect of what happened. Instead of focusing on “shocking” the reader with Edelgard’s betrayal, it drops hints about her secret identity with all the subtly of a lead brick. 

You know what inevitable, dramatic, and tragic outcome is coming. Edelgard, Dimitri’s only remaining family (outside of an uncle he’s on bad terms with), is working hand-in-hand with the people who caused the deaths of his family which led to the genocide of a race of people and the source all of his trauma.  Dimitri makes it quite clear he’s out for revenge, and that anything related to Duscur triggers his PTSD so bad it seems like a dissociative or psychotic episode. Azure Moon does not build up a mystery, it builds up an emotional conflict - like watching a train wreck that you know is coming and can’t stop. 

And that’s the brilliance of it - this scene isn’t about Edelgard being the Flame Emperor, we already know that, it’s about Dimitri, who this route is about and who the player is emotionally invested in during this version of the story. 

Nor does this game disappoint here. There’s no softening anything to try and make Dimitri look “better.” He has a full-on violent breakdown. It’s devastating. He is succumbing fully to his demons after fighting against it over and over while getting tossed into triggering situations ad nauseam and getting no help in return (after all, therapy, medication, hell even the concept of mental illness simply doesn’t exist). All the signs that the route has built up explode in an emotional scene, and probably thee best cut scene so far with some of the best voice acting in Fire Emblem to carry it out. Every plot thread comes to a head: Dimitri’s lust for revenge, his unstable mental health, the mystery of the Flame Emperor’s identity, etc . . . 

The upcoming battle has more meaning now. It has what is at steak in the other routes - win or lose and the fear of having to kill former classmates - and more. Because it isn’t just about the battle of Edelgard vs the world, but also the battle for Dimitri’s mental health and for his soul. There’s a bit of a catch-22 here, is Edelgard dying really the best ending? Killing her saves many lives, but at the cost of Dimitri’s mental health? What if she dies and he doesn’t kill her, but what if he does? Would he kill himself now that the dead are avenged? Or what if she lives and this drags on longer? No option is good. There isn’t an easy win button by offing Edelgard or taking over the school. Every possible ending is a bad ending. Your lead character is in the middle of a mental breakdown, and giving into his demons and lust for revenge (which is a separate issue exasperated by ill mental health) and the situation only makes it worse and is to dire to properly let anyone deal with said breakdown. The tension, the drama, the sense of foreboding dread, is all so much more here than in all the other routes. 

What makes Azure Moon’s handling of the Flame Emperor so good is that it widely succeeded where the other two routes failed. Verdant Wind didn’t make the reveal relevant to anything Claude was interested in or working towards. Crimson Flower completely and utterly failed to address Edelgard’s actions let alone use that to create compelling tension. Azure Moon did both. It made the Flame Emperor reveal relevant to the route, even made it actually about the main character of the route. Nor is it shying away from conflict and tension, even if it means letting it’s main character fall out of grace and risking the player’s infatuation/admiration/whatever with/of Dimitri by having him succumb to his dark side. Because it’s not protecting him, he’s going to turn out a way better character for it. 

I will admit though, that I think playing all four routes impacted this a bit. It didn’t benefit Azure Moon, but I think this route spoiling who the Flame Emperor is hurt the other routes. Verdant Wind might’ve had at least some tiny smudge of an impact because it’s the only route where there’s very little way to correctly guess who the Flame Emperor is - the only one where it may be truly a surprise. Crimson Flower/Silver Snow does make it a bit more obvious, but doesn’t quite spell it out for you the way Azure Moon does. Here, the player kind of has to be looking for it. Obviously though, you can only learn this once, and good writing could’ve made all the routes impactful with very small tweaks - have Verdant Wind actually focus on the mystery that’s solved at the end of Part 1 (who is the Flame Emperor) and actually have characters react to and get answers about Edelgard’s actions. I also think the choice between Silver Snow and Crimson Flower looses its tension when you go into it knowing you’ll pick both. Azure Moon easily had the best reveal, so I want to ultimately thank everyone who told me to do this one first - you were all very, very right. 

[kal-rants]

(Not Really) Quick Thoughts on FE: 3 Houses

Me? Talking about a game that’s been out for almost two years now? You best believe it.

Quick Backstory before I bullet point this shit so I can get it out of my system. I played the game the day it released years ago and more or less finished it in a week. My first route was with Black Eagles and after finishing it was ultimately unsatisfied by the ending and set it down with no intention of doing the other routes. A friend started playing it late 2019 and was fawning over Dimitri and his route. Taking her word for it, I gave the game another go and decided to finally finish it. Took me a while but I finally finished the three main routes and oh boy...

The Houses

I loved all the women in Black Eagles but the guys were meh. Caspar was fun and by far my favorite of them, but Hubert grated on my nerves and Ferdinand was sweet but because I also had Sylvain on my team, I kept confusing the two (based on appearance not personality). 

The general cast of Blue Lions was by far my favorite. Every person in the house was so enjoyable and I actually loved getting the support conversations for all of them (Ashe is my favorite character). My only issue with the house was ironically Dimitri who I could not stand post time skip (a little more on that below).

By my Golden Deer run, I was mostly playing just to complete the game which might contribute to how lackluster I found them. I wanted to kill Lorenz so bad but he was so good at killing people and Ignatz was sweet but was so bad at killing people that I permanently benched him to focus on everyone else (played this one on hard mode). Almost all of their support conversations were fairly one note and after the layered convos of Blue Lions, I wanted more. Claude is incredible though and it became an inverse of my thoughts on Blue Lions.

Bonus: Yuri and Hapi were my immediate faves (even if Hapi was a glass canon on the field for half of the game) while Balthus and Constance where interesting but still meh for me. 

Plot

So I picked Black Eagles house solely because I was interested about Edelgard and I definitely didn’t realize I was signing up to side with the one starting a fucking war. While I loved Edelgard throughout, I found the actual route complicated for me, especially after the time skip where I was taking down people I didn’t want to take down. I was left feeling like I was following the bad guys even as the game tried to say otherwise and it left me with a bad taste. In retrospect, I’m sure the devs didn’t really intend for you to do this route first judging by how little they go in the way of explaining certain things such as Byleth and Those Who Slither In the Dark. Overall, I understood why Edelgard was doing what she was doing, but the game thought that was enough and didn’t even try to convince me why I should side with her outside of that and it only hurt her route overall. Plus, I am still annoyed that Edelgard dealt with TWS in the epilogue and not in her actual route WHEN SHE IS THE ONE WHO WAS ARGUABLY AFFECTED BY THEM THE MOST OF THE THREE HOUSE LEADERS LIKE WTF WHY GIVE THAT MOMENT TO CLAUDE.

I’ll be honest, I remember so little of what actually happened in the Blue Lions route which I attribute to me not being able to really get on board with Dimitri since BL is more or less an intimate character focused route for Dimitri’s growth. I’m not here to bash Dimitri, I’m just saying his shifts in character happened a little suddenly and there were other things about his character that were kinda just vanilla for me. I did find it weird that we never actually saw Rhea again even though getting her back was a big thing for most of the characters and you’re kinda left to wonder what even happened to her (another moment given to Claude’s run).

And finally the Golden Deers. By the 3rd time through all pre-timeskip stuff was so insufferable to get through, but the one saving grace was Claude’s insight in all of it. It made it feel different even though the events were the same. Post-timeskip his route really shines as it is able to bridge the gap between the war and the proxy war behind it with TWS. It’s also the only route that you actually get answers for shit that the other two ignore (which thematically makes sense for those routes but still). It is ironic though that this route did more to get me to sympathize with Edelgard that her own route did. It is technically the best route of the three hands down. 

Other

So Rhea. I went in not trusting her because Jeralt mentions to be on guard about her and, since I started with BE, my distrust was proven right since she is trying to rip open your heart to get Sothis back. That hatred/distrust ran through my other two routes up until the last few chapters of Claude’s where we actually get context for what was going on. I was left in a similar position that I was in with Edelgard where I could understand Rhea’s reasoning for doing everything she did, but I still couldn’t side with her considering that she is technically responsible for the worship of Crests and nobility. Also, who builds a church and places yourself on top to be worshipped? Also also, why even place such importance on Crests? I know about the interview with the developers saying she “had” to because of how humans viewed the 10 elites at the time, but I feel like there is another option to build peace between them that doesn’t involve the elevation of Crests. Also racism; really should have done more to prevent that from blossoming in the way that it did.  

So Edelgard. She seems to be a hot topic on Tumblr which tracks so I’m going to traverse this with extra tact. I do love her and overall, I do agree that the system that the Church built had become corrupt. I mean when multiple children have emotional and physical scars of that corruption at school, it’s hard to argue against that. Do I agree that starting a war is the best way to change things? Before 2020, I would have said no, that there had to be another way to change things. But now? I dunno sometimes a system is too corrupt to rebuild off of diplomacy alone and it definitely wouldn’t happen quickly enough in a person’s lifetime. Given Edelgard’s shortened lifespan, I do get why diplomacy would have never worked for her. I don’t think I can ever fully support Edelgard for the war she started and for siding with TWS (I know her reasons but that’s basically making a deal with the devil) but I can’t deny that her goals are admirable at the least. Will her winning said war even change things? Well who knows. That depends on how she implements them afterward. I’ve seen lots of people claim that it’s unrealistic for her to have been successful in changing anything after the war but I don’t know about that. If anything, Rhea proved that she could mold the world however she wanted after her war and if Rhea could do it, then why can’t Edelgard.

Considering the nastiness of racism, I can’t even believe that Claude’s run of “end racism” was going to be as successful as they think. Solid baby steps, maybe? But don’t know how well that’ll actually go in the long run.

Dimitri might have been overhyped or something but I expected so much more than what I got from him. In the Academy Era, he rang fairly vanilla in that he was a kind and honorable guy but not much else. Felix mentions how savage he is, but there weren’t very many hints of that pre-timeskip (that I remember anyway). Obviously he was a ticking time bomb and later Dimitri shows that. And I was totally on board with slowly helping Dimitri become human again, but that’s not really what happened. You’re not allowed to do anything with Dimitri other than get his brief blurb in Explore or toss him into battle. I know why they did it, but because they shut him off from you so completely, I had problems being able to connect with him in the post time skip and ended up rolling my eyes whenever he started talking. It also made his change after Rodrigue died so sudden and it felt v forced for me. They really could have done a better job at it is all I’m saying. 

Ashe and Mercedes had the cutest S-support epilogue and I will die for them. 

Dorothea deserves the world and Yuri and Dorothea making an Opera troupe for commoners is the best thing.

I wanted so much more for Leonie but they stuck so hard to the Jeralt fangirl label that she never really grew beyond that. 

[yukiwrites]

Byleth, Furtive

Thanks for the support as always, @xpegasusuniverse! Starting this year’s prompts with a lot of info! This is always so fun to write aksçjdlamd

Summary: Being forbidden by Manuela, Hanneman and Sothis to talk to Rhea about the reason why he bore Sothis’ Crest Stone, Byleth resorts to unsavory means of obtaining information... namely breaking into Rhea’s room. He finds what he wants, but what they all discover later makes sense only to the Goddess...

Commission info HERE and HERE!

______________________________

Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4 - Part 5 - Part 6 - Part 7 - Part 8 - Part 9 - Part 10  - Part 11 - Part 12 - Part 13 - Part 14  - Part 15

It was time for the morning mass -- the lazy sun had barely set itself up in the sky, its weak rays of light barely keeping the cold of the previous night at bay.

Apart from the devouts and the members of the Church, barely anyone was up at that Goddess-forsaken time.

Ah, but if only.

"This is a terrible idea!" Sothis, the Goddess herself, cursed at the one who hosted her consciousness. She kicked and screamed, wanting to pull Byleth's hair until he was almost entirely bald. "Listen to me, you!"

The Professor could swear he felt tugs on his hair, though it took everything he had to focus on the lock he was picking to be able to shut Sothis' voice out. He inadvertently stuck out the tip of his tongue in his concentration, droplets of sweat itching down his temple as he did so.

After finally hearing a comforting 'click' coming from the lock, Byleth's entire body relaxed as he breathed out in relief. "If I can't talk to her, the least I can do it look through her things, right? She's bound to have something on my mother here... if she truly was Rhea's protegée."

"Don't you throw this on me, young man! Not only one, but three voices of reason told you not to confront her, and I can assure you that BREAKING INTO HER ROOM ISN'T THE BETTER SOLUTION!" Sothis screeched and Byleth was sure that if he had actually heard it with his ears instead of inside his head they would be ringing. "Go back, go back right now!"

Promptly ignoring his mindmate's warnings, Byleth quietly slipped inside, pushing the door to a close behind him. Rhea's personal room was the only building that was completely detached from the monastery and the cathedral both, with only a stone bridge connecting them. From the outside, it rather looked like a small temple, with what the round columns and triangular ceiling, though it was somewhat normal once one was inside: albeit as big as a noblewoman's room, it was also cramped.

It comported the canopy bed in the middle, a large bookshelf on the left, alongside a sturdy-looking desk while the wardrobe, folding screen and bathtub were cramped on the right side. 

For a brief moment, Sothis clutched her chest, her voice dying down while she collected herself. The room of the child who was most attached to her -- and it looked like any other room, there was no personal touch or whatsoever. How had she lived her life after casting away the alias of Seiros? There was something driving her, that much was obvious, but... what was it? To the point of forsaking her very right of being her own person...

While Sothis was overwhelmed with such thoughts, Byleth thanked the soft pair of boots he had worn specifically for this earlier that morning -- he made no sound as he walked, nor did he leave any dirt behind his steps. Carefully did he eye the room before daring to touch it, not wanting to leave any unwanted marks.

First things first, how about he checked under the bed? The most classical hiding spot... He lowered himself to peek, his blue hair cascading on the floor as he squinted to see in the dark.

"What, there's actually something," he murmured as though he wanted to hear Sothis' feedback on his search. That managed to snap his mindmate's out of her own thoughts, making her widen her eyes.

"A box under the bed? What could this be- ughhh, this is so wrong, so terribly dangerous, but I am overcome with curiosity... take it out! Quick!" She materialized before him, sitting on the bed as if it were her own. "Open it, open it!" She urged as Byleth placed the box on the floor by the bed, kneeling in a position that would allow him to sprint out at the mention of any danger.

Carefully did he pull the lid out, and what greeted him from inside made him flicker his brow in surprise, then press his lips into a thin line.

A long, bluish lock of hair tied in a green ribbon sat atop a wide array of yellowed paper. Without even missing a beat, Byleth reached out to it, scared for a split second that touching it might make the fragile, old hair crumble. "Mother..."

Rhea had said that he looked a lot like his mother, both physically and personality-wise. So that battered, almost grey lock of hair unmistakingly belonged to his mother, which made the young Professor feel a lump grow in his throat.

Slowly did he pick the lock of hair, so very carefully it felt like a hundred years had passed until he brought it high enough to touch his face on it. 

The motherly embrace he never had the luxury to have. At last they were reunited.

Sothis patted Byleth's head in sympathy, allowing the young man the time he needed to compose himself. After a moment, he carefully placed the hair inside his pouch, any complaints Sothis had about pilfering something out of Rhea's room not even leaving her lips in the first place. It was something Byleth needed, after all, so she wouldn't complain.

Also, it probably belonged to him, anyway.

"We've not much time! You can contemplate the similarities between you two after we're out of here! For now, let's see what's in these documents and leave!" She urged, kicking her feet on the bed -- if she had an actual body, that would've hit Byleth on the face countless times, but alas, they simply went through his body.

Nodding, the Professor quickly unwrapped the brittle knot tying a pack of folded letters, carefully opening the first one.

The lump slapped his face, back in full force into his throat.

It was a letter from his mother -- Lilith was her name, as she had signed every single one of them -- to his father. It seemed that she never managed to send them, or that those were the ones she scrapped before sending a proper one.

Nevertheless, they were as romantic -- or cheesy, as Sothis commented with a mock sigh -- as Jeralt's entries were about her. Some of them contained information Jeralt barely gave Byleth after they arrived at the monastery: how happy she was to bear his child, how much she felt by simply receiving a flower or spending time with him... It brought warmth and pain into Byleth's heart.

He couldn't help but sob as he went through a few of the letters, his shoulders shrinking as though he were back to being a child, but now an orphaned one; alone in a world that had robbed him of his parents.

That line of thought managed to make the Professor straighten his back and sniffle back the tears, if only to focus on the matter at hand: it steeled his resolve in seeking revenge for his father's death and uncovering the truth behind his mother's.

From the letters and some of the other documents tied beside them, it did seem as though Lilith was Rhea's protegée -- there were a few lines of Rhea herself commenting on how much Lilith had 'improved' compared to the other ones, though there wasn't much apart from that to go on.

Other ones? Improved? Perhaps Rhea had kept multiple protegées throughout her endless life?

Regardless, Byleth, urged by an impatient Sothis, quickly and neatly put everything sans the lock of hair back in its rightful place, taking a last look at the room to check if he hadn't touched anything unnecessarily before stepping out. Sothis stood guard to check if there were any bystanders, and only when she gave her signal did the Professor leave the room, promptly reverse-picking it so as to lock it back.

At hurried steps, Byleth left the cathedral area, all but running towards the monastery once he was sufficiently far. "Sothis, what if-" he huffed as he ran up the stairs, two steps at a time, "what if we can check my mother's Crest through these strands of hair?"

Already expecting such line of thought, their minds one and all, Sothis placed one hand under her chin in thought. "It might all be for naught if she bore no Crest, as you well know." She said as he ran towards Hanneman's office. "However, if she wasn't... then perhaps that will be the answer we need to uncover this mystery once and for all."

"Hanneman!" Byleth banged the door to the older professor's office open, though found it empty. "Huh? He's usually here at this time-"

"It's the wee hours of the morning, you moron!" Sothis whacked the back of Byleth's head, though she, too, was guilty of that for not thinking of the time. Not that she was about to admit it, of course. "Go back to your room and rest, or go fishing! Be mindful of Hanneman's age and let the old man have his rest."

Byleth's head drooped as though he were a puppy getting scolded. "I can't sit still. Do you think this Crest-analyzer is hard to check? When I went to check mine, I just had to touch it..."

"Don't even think about it!" Sothis hissed at the same time a muffled voice said something by the door.

"My word! Professor Byleth? How come you're here at this hour?" Hanneman adjusted his monocle.

"What? Someone else bothering me this early in the morning?" Manuela groaned from behind the older man, her voice dragged itself as though it was an effort in itself to speak. "As if a crazy old man asking how to preserve a bloodstained shirt wasn't enough..." She grumbled, rubbing her eyes as she entered, immediately gasping once she saw who it was. "O-oh! Byleth!"

It was as though all three were caught red-handed: Byleth held a bluish lock of hair while Hanneman tried to hide a bloodstained shirt behind his back while Manuela carried a jar containing a transparent chemical.

"Ah, you know- that is... Professor, I have a confession to make." Hanneman's shoulders sagged as he flashed the shirt he had been holding on to. It could barely be called as such, since it was in tatters -- stained with blood, mud and Goddess knew what else. "As we were treating Sir Jeralt's body, I thought that it would be a shame to throw such a precious object of study, though I didn't know when to ask you if I could use it..."

"Can you even hear this old man? Keep someone else's father's blood just so he could satisfy his curiosity?! And I'm no better, finding chemicals to help him preserve it-"

"Actually, this is exactly what I've been looking for." Byleth blurted out with his characteristic expressionless face. Both Hanneman and Manuela exchanged surprised glances, their mouths wide open. "This," Byleth carefully lifted the hand that held the hair, "belonged to my mother. I wanted to know if I could find out if she had a Crest... If you have Dad's blood, we can test it as well."

“What about… decorum…” Manuela muttered as she allowed herself to fall on a nearby chair. Hanneman also hesitated, despite his own heart leaping at the opportunity to learn more about the ever mysterious Jeralt.

“Are- are you truly sure about this, son? It hasn’t been long since, well…” He trailed off.

Byleth would be lying if he said he was completely okay with using his dead parents as test subjects, but it was the only thing he could do without directly confronting the most dangerous being in the world, so he had to do it. “I am. Can you do it now? Or do you need something else?”

“Immediately!” Hanneman replied, running towards the analyzer and placing the darkest stain of blood right over it. “It will only take a few seconds…”

The room stilled with tension until they all heard a ‘click’ coming from the magical machine. Hanneman yelped with joy and surprise.

“A major Crest of Seiros?! Sir Jeralt?!” The older man took a step back. “The only known bloodline to rarely carry this specific crest would be House Hresvelg... Well, other than Lady Rhea, Seiros in the flesh, of course” Hanneman sweated, testing two more times to make sure that he had seen it right -- starting to even doubt he had Jeralt’s shirt. “That can mean two things: either she also bestowed her Crest to Jeralt somewhen or your Father is from the Empire’s own royal bloodline!”

Byleth shook his head slowly. “No. Dad was from the Kingdom -- Rhea said so herself when she mentioned the day she saved Dad’s life during their first meeting. Maybe it was then that she shared her blood with him.” Byleth said at the same time Sothis pursued that line of thought, echoing what was on her mind. “Can you figure out a Crest through one’s hair?” He asked right after, carefully handing Hanneman the lock.

“Yes, it takes a while longer, but it is possible.” Still frowning, the older man accepted the brittle hair, carefully placing it over the machine. It clunked with magical energy, then buzzed lightly before emitting a ‘click’ once again. “This!” Hanneman gasped loudly, adjusting his monocle as though it could be lying to him. “How can this-”

Byleth widened his eyes as Sothis’s expression fell.

Now she understood everything. Oh, how painfully so.

The machine displayed her own Crest, the Crest of Flames, as brightly as it did when Byleth was checked for the second time. Sothis lowered her head, whispering her daughter’s name with sorrow. “Oh, Rhea…”

[simplebearperson]

Iron and Downy Feathers

The huntress had always been the cautious sort, never taking any unnecessary risks and always getting the full extent of the situation before acting. Plans were always executed to the letter and jobs were always paid, IN FULL, once they reached completion. She cared nothing for fame or for notoriety, though the latter seemed to bloom, seemingly, out of nowhere in the span of a day for the (un)fortunate huntress. She was the daughter of a well-renowned hunter, a little fact the man had failed to mention, for...whatever reason. Regardless, danger had always been a constant companion in the huntress's life.

"Rah!"

She lets out a fierce breath as she leaps over a fallen tree trunk, not sparing it a second glance even as she hears it erupt into splinters behind her. Her booted feet hit the ground in her run, shattering the once tranquil silence of the forest in favor of surviving another day. She was thankful for the full and bright moon overhead. Despite the canopies of the trees, streams of moonlight poured through their leaves, bathing the trunks and brush in its faint but potent glow. It wasn't the comforting blaze of a torchlight, but at this point she would take anything and everything that would aide her perception.

Quick and heavy footfalls began to catch up behind her. Worst still, she could feel the heat of animal breath licking at her back as if she were being chased by fire itself. She was a skilled huntress, whose prowess matched that of her fathers'. Still, humans were reckless and flawed creatures and error was still part of life, and the huntress had...grossly miscalculated her quarry. Behind her was the towering frame of an enraged chimera surging towards her, its maw opened wide to show fangs and a watering mouth as it continued to nip at her heels. Apparently, the beasts don't appreciate an arrow sticking out from their eye, a dented shield wedged in its jaws, nor a sword stuck in its gut.

She ducks beneath a weathered stone bridge as she runs across a small brook, knowing without turning around that the bridge was now a heap of wet rubble beneath the creatures' feet in its pursuit. Her lungs were beginning to burn from her run. Unfortunately the chimera gave the huntress no quarter and continued to give chase. Nostrils flaring, the beast lunged at the huntress. Its claws caught her armor and she was thrown off her feet, causing her to collide with a massive old oak. Massive claws pinned her in place, piercing through the flesh of her shoulder and upper arm as bark bit into the back of her tunic. Her expression, despite her situation, was eerily calm, even as the chimera leaned all three of its heads close to roar in her face, seemingly flaunting its victory.

As it reared back and opened its fang-filled maw, the beast became still. The huntress struggled against the paw that held her in place and felt no resistance. She opened her eyes, not recalling when she had closed them, and stared up at the towering chimera. Its maw was still open and then its silhouette, shrouded by the night shade produced by the forest trees, began to slowly and subtly deflate. The winding of a cable cord resounded and she could see the beasts' head tilt to the left. A familiar moist sound caught her ear and sure enough, one of the chimera's heads fell from its shoulders to fall at her feet in a grisly heap. The other head was snapped at the neck with the pull of another unseen cord, while the tail's head was crushed by the boot of another. The huntress took this moment to slip out from beneath the massive paw, with mere moments to spare as the beasts' body fell, finally succumbing to its death. The warm aroma of fur and iron permeated the air, making it feel warm and heavy as it died, nothing she wasn't familiar with. It was when the shadows began to stir that the huntress took on another defensive stance.

"Halt!"

The shadows, and the unseen force within it, seemed to stop instantly at someone's command. The huntress tensed at this. From beyond the body of the deceased chimera, out stepped a young woman clad in a crimson mantle with white hair and lavender eyes. She was significantly smaller than the huntress herself but her body language and demeanor was that of one who was in command. She stepped out into the moonlight and addressed the huntress.

"Hail, huntress. I' am the lady Edelgard of Von Hreslvelg. I've come seeking to employ your expertise."

Though this Edelgard spoke calmly, the huntress could not avert her eyes from the shifting darkness staining the area. Sure it was night time in the middle of the forest, but this darkness seemed....alive. Almost sentient, at least that was what the huntress was feeling. Edelgard gave a brief smile.

"I see you're as perceptive as the tales foretold. You are as impressive as your father, sir Jeralt, is. Not many are aware of my vassal, almost none can even perceive him, even on the sunniest of days. Come, Hubert."

The shadows seemed to amass and cultivate itself into a physical being, one that was almost as towering as the chimera itself. Beside Edelgard stood a huge bird-like being, with pale skin, sharp and narrow eyes, donning long dark robes. It was hard to discern if it was a man with wild decorations or if he was a creature with human-like appendages. His features were sharp and he looked to be well groomed, but everything about the man looked....genuine. What stood out for the huntress was the long finger-like feathers protruding from the sleeves of his robes and the downy feather collar. He never blinked, his glowing yellow eyes never budging even as he narrowed them as he took in the woman in front of them. She had shoulder length forest green hair with a near stony look that amused the vassal greatly. "Lady Edelgard wishes to use your talents for her goals. While she may be charmed with your strength and tactical prowess, I' am not so easily won over. Tell me, what is your name, huntress?"

This man, this...Hubert, had all the predatory mirth of a vulture teasing and tormenting its prey with taunts of its mortality. Were it not for her wound, she would find it difficult to hold her composure, even with her stagnant expression. It gave her a foothold to concentrate and focus on her new...allies, and the term is used very loosely.

"I'm the Huntress, Byleth Eisner."

  - For @sleeping-platinum   :)

[sezept]

Indivisible (Invisible) Friend part 2 - Byleth & Sothis & Jeralt

AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20594534/chapters/49040573

A fic wherein Sothis has been with Byleth since childhood.

Summary: Jeralt and Byleth (and Sothis) have a brief moment to bond when they attend a harvest festival.

(-)

The life of a mercenary does not often allow Jeralt to have a quality bonding time with his daughter - an unfortunate reality that the man has resentfully come to accept. There simply isn’t much he can do about it short of changing his line of work. Sure, he could’ve settled down, become a farmhand or apprentice a craft back when he left the service of the Church with his infant child in tow. That, or he could’ve done the only thing he already knew how, and knew how to do well to boot. He supposes the clutches of familiarity were simply too strong for him when he left all else of his life behind in that damn monastery. They needed the money, and simply put, killing pays much better than working the fields. Better than leading a band of men to do the killing, actually, but it’s also less safe, and he does have a kid to take care of. His bounty hunting days were only ever a stop-gap until he could assemble a proper band.

Back then, he had often found himself having to leave Byleth in care of strangers. It was that, or to bring her straight into the danger of a swordfight. He hated having to entrust her safety to others. He was keenly aware that if he were one day to not return form a job, there was no guarantee that his girl would be taken care of any longer than the money he gave to the people he’d left her with allowed. But what other choice was there? The most he could do was make sure she’d be handed over to an orphanage if that ever happened, rather than be left to fend off for herself, even if that meant her falling back into Church’s clutches.

It got easier when he finally assembled his band, but by then Byleth was grown enough for him to leave her to her own devices for more than a few moments and be reasonably sure she wouldn’t somehow hurt herself, as younglings tend to. So he did. He could also leave her with one of his men and be sure they would sooner swallow burning coals than let any harm come his kid’s way. Having Byleth awakened in him a streak of imagination; particularly of all the dangers lurking around every corner, but also of the many ways his men would regret failing to safekeep his child.

The thing is, with the amount of work there always is with the company, it’s just convenient that Byleth is independent enough to not usually need him, as is having someone else to care for her. Because here’s the thing about leading a bunch of sellswords; there’s always more work. Even when everything seems to be going well, it’s all but guaranteed something will go to shit in a matter of days, at most. Equipment falling apart because some dipshit didn’t oil it properly. The tents catching mold. An outbreak of some or other sickness. Food stocks going bad. The animals breaking free from the pens. Men stirring up trouble with the locals, or among themselves. An employer trying to fuck them over. Always something.

It all amounts to him not having nearly enough time as he’d like for his daughter. They’re not distant, but Jeralt can’t in good conscience call them close. Not as close as he wishes they were, certainly. The fact Byleth is… as she is, doesn’t help matters.

It’s for these reasons that the man makes sure to arrange the company to have time off around the time of festivities. It’s good for morale, regardless, to let his boys and girls off the leash for festivals and celebrations when they chance upon them. The camp, he’s decided, will not burn if he leaves it for a day, and he’s glad for the opportunity to spend time with his daughter away from it.

It is how Jeralt finds himself walking the bustling market of Edmund, Byleth’s small frame seated upon his shoulders as to give her a better view of the going-ons around them. She didn’t ask, nor comment on this development, but Jeralt can tell from the minute swinging of her tiny legs that she’s enjoying the chance to be so tall.

A small pat on his head draws the man’s attention to the small person who gave it. He twists his head to find his daughter’s numb eyes expectantly trained on him.

“Yeah?”

“Can we get a bear?”

Jeralt blinks, his first reaction to look around in search of the beast, before haltingly realising what Byleth obviously means. The stall with stuffies draws eyes all around for all the bustle of excited children crowded by their indulgent parents. Indeed, from his position a head above the rest of the crowd he can easily spot the bear stuffy which has caught his kid’s fancy. Curious, that. Among the toys Jeralt has gifted her throughout her life, Byleth has expressed the greatest fondness for sticks and stones to bludgeon those with. That and knives, though she only asks for those on the first day every new moon, apparently in hopes she’ll be old enough to get one, then.

“Oh? Do you like bears now?”

“Sothis wants it.”

The words have Jeralt choke on his breath, and his blood run icy.

“Where did you hear that name?”

Byleth’s eyes betray nothing, though the second it takes her to respond shows clearly her confusion.

“She’s my friend.”

It’s Jeralt’s turn to blink and stare, what parent would name their child Sothis? The Church wouldn’t have the name of the goddess be tarnished on a mere mortal; it’d be blasphemy, pure and simple. He’s also not heard of Byleth having made a friend since they came near the town, it’s only been two days, regardless. Unless...

“The one from your painting?”

The girl nods, satisfied with his understanding, and it’s all Jeralt can do to pinch the bridge of his nose to stave off the coming headache.

It seems a more exhaustive explanation about what his men can and can not mention around his daughter is in order. In the five years since he’s left the service of the Church, Jeralt has made sure to avoid crossing paths with it with zealotry usually reserved for Seiros’ own knights. This has been in part as an effort to slip beneath Rhea’s ever watchful eye, but also to have Byleth grow free of the Church’s teachings and influence. He’s made it as clear that he wants no talk of the faith in his company as he could’ve while avoiding being overt about it. It seems someone didn’t get the memo. Probably one of the Faerghasians, damn fanatics.

He carefully schools his expression past the scowl threatening to break out on his face. Byleth still awaits his response, and he would hate to give her the impression she’s done something wrong. She’s five. She’s heard a name she likes, and gave it to her imaginary friend. It’s not even that problematic, really. If someone were to hear her call her make-believe friend Sothis. They might even find it endearing to see a child manifest her faith so. That is, as long as there were no questions to follow. Jeralt doesn’t particularly wish for a priest to get a wind of apostasy.

“Can you, maybe, call her something else?” he asks, not entirely successful in masking his discomfort. It slips right beneath Byleth’s notice, the girl firmly immersed in the depths of her confusion at the request.

“But it’s her name.”

Right. Of course it is.

“Can you ask her if she’d like a different name, then?”

Disturbingly, Byleth looks off to the side, where as far as Jeralt can say, there’s nothing to be seen, before turning back to him, only for her eyes to stray again for a second and once more return to him. Are children supposed to visualise their imaginary friends? He doesn’t know, he can’t remember if he had one himself. Should he be worried?

“She says no.”

“Can you at least promise me not to tell people her name?”

“Can we get a bear?”

A bark of laughter escapes the mercenary. Hah! A little wrangler he’s brought up, hasn’t he? Fair enough, though it’s not like he wasn’t going to get his daughter the toy she’s asked for. She already asks for things so sparingly, he wonders who between them enjoys the occasion more. Her, for getting something she wants, or him, for seeing his daughter want something.

“Sure thing, kid.”

[faroreswinds]

Hello and welcome to Part 2 of my GW review! As I have continued writing this review, I've realized that it has gotten even longer than I could have anticipated. So there will be another part coming up. I hopefully will not take as long to write it as I did with Part 2. I'm also releasing this part to show that I have not forgotten this review, and as such it's a lot shorter than part 1. Please look forward to the next part.

And now under the cut is the continued part of the review:

Speaking of cruel, I do want to do a brief segue to talk about the characters in this route in general.

Like in SB, since Byleth is no longer there taking up the route, the other characters besides Claude get some time to shine more in the story. 

That said, it is not by much. I would argue that SB saw more out of Hubert and Ferdinand than what we got from the GD crowd. SB gave space for Hubert and the newly added Monica to play their roles as Edelgard’s first and second hands, while Ferdinand got a bit of a subplot regarding his father. 

Ferdinand himself is also a different character in a way, something I failed to mention in my SB review in depth. He is not as silly or funny as he is in his Houses counterpart. He seems more desperate to prove himself- not only in SB, but in GW too (which is funny, because Hubert shows little faith in him in GW to the point where he hired a rescue team quietly in case Ferdinand failed). He is played as a more serious, and in some ways a more tragic, character. 

I cannot say the GD get quite the same treatment. There is no small subplot for Lorenz or Hilda the way Ferdinand got one. And while Lorenz got to say some strongly chosen words for Claude when he was angry for the brief time at Claude’s actions, he is not quite elevated the same way Hubert was, or Monica was. Holst, the newest face to the cast, and Judith get more time to shine that the older characters. 

One thing I can say I appreciate about Hopes- all the new characters that were only ever mentioned in Houses, but given portraits, voices, and time here. Lorenz’s father, for instance, never appears in the original game, and by all accounts was a sleazy noble who did some dirty underhanded tricks to get power. But here, now that he has space to be a character, is shown to, while not necessarily being loyal, to be a caring leader to his people and who was framed for a lot of the crimes he was accused of. 

It’s unfortunate that routes preferred to give their newer characters better treatment than the returning ones, however, and man... the GD are absolutely ruthless. 

WHILE invading, might I add. 

Or, this lovely comment from Claude in response to Sylvain:

Or, what about what Raphael says while in the final battle?

Or this line from Marianne:

(She says this in the final battle, after chasing the Church people and threatening their way of life by wanting to kill their leader).

And that’s nothing to say about Leonie. 

Leonie has always been somewhat controversial from Houses, considering her rather foul attitude towards Byleth for being Jeralt’s real child while she herself was only an apprentice for a brief time. But I find that she is not so bad, and that the criticism is overblown. Yet in Hopes, she is actually worse, and even seems to have a closer relationship to Jeralt (when he is recruited) than Jeralt’s own son does. 

In both her supports and her paralogue, she actually takes over Byleth’s role quite a bit. She spends more time with Jeralt than Byleth does, talking about the past and how great it was, while Byleth says very little. Hell, Byleth gets the short end of the stick quite a bit- Leonie asks Jeralt why he raised such a cold and unfeeling person, and Jeralt did not even dignify that question with a rebuttal (in fact, he nearly outright agreed!). She claims at one point that Byleth and Jeralt get to have private conversations since they are actually family, and wishes it was her instead. 

I understand they have a history, but even Jeralt points out that they only knew each other for a short amount of time. Leonie wasn’t ever truly his apprentice either- he only agrees to call her one since she insisted. She has butted her way into being in a relationship of some sort with Jeralt, pushing Byleth aside. It was all rather off-putting, and frankly I found Leonie to be rather unlikable.

Long story short, the GD are shadows of their Houses counterparts, bizarre shadows who seem to forget what they are actually doing. In a way, they feel no different than the SB cast. The SB often lay blame on their enemies for being attacked, and we see this same behavior here too.

What I find most baffling, however, is how more convinced I am about the recruits in SB than I am in GW.

In SB, quite a few of the recruits never seemed to bothered to be there, and even supported the war efforts to a degree. Many of of the GD recruits did not seem uncomfortable to be on the Empire's side. SB had even taken the time to show a cutscene were the GD explained to Claude that they were really only with him because they had to be, but gave some sort of reason why they would leave the moment they have to (even Claude comments on their... lack of commitment).

In GW, however, many of the recruits were very uncomfortable to be there (at least until the Federation joined sides with the Empire). I often found myself asking myself why the characters were even with us in the first place.

Linhardt and Bernadetta, for instance, were forced to surrender in battle. Linhardt in particular was basically taken prisoner, and says he wasn't treated like an ally until late in the route. Ashe is basically suicidal as he was in SB.

Even Shamir is odd here. She is just freely handed to you without any need to recruit, but she seems generally disinterested in being on your side.

How is it that SB, a conquering side of war, had more convincing recruits than the side that originally started defending itself?

In fact, GW has the least amount of playable characters in any route, and the least amount of recruits. Nearly all the GD can be recruited to some route or another - 6 of them are recruitable. But half of the original eight of the BE cannot be recruited, and 6 of the original BL cannot be recruited!

It does make some sense when you look at which side does what (Seteth and Flayn would realistically never join the side actively against the Church, leaving AG the only route they can be playable on), but it still feels like the GD group was done dirty by the developers.

Why wasn't Judith playable? What about Nader? Why wasn't he made playable? The SB got Monica, a character no one really cared about. People have been begging for playable Judith for years, and yet she has remained an NPC all this time. If we aren't going to get a lot of characters to play with, then at least give us those two!

---

When you first read the route descriptions on the official website for the game, they make it seem like Claude’s route is going to be about him fending off the Almyran army while dealing with the Foldan war on the other side. 

But in reality, his route barely touches on Almyra or its invasion at all, and instead focuses more on the war in Foldan.

Claude really has no reason to like the Empire or what it is doing to the Alliance. So the route makes his animosity towards the Church and the Kingdom rather contrived. He does allude to distrusting Dimitri early on in chapter 4, due to not really knowing what Dimitri might be thinking, but he expresses very little hatred towards the Church until much later. And yet, this is what his route focuses on instead.

Claude has always been sort of a third wheel to the conflict in Houses. The meat of the war has always been between the Empire and the Kingdom (along with the Church), and the Alliance was kinda just... collateral more than anything. Claude even alludes to this in a metaphor in his support with Raphael. That the Eagles and the Lions are fighting for the game, while the Deer are happy with foraging (then alludes to expanding beyond their horizons by asking where they will forge next).

Well, I guess the Deer developed a taste for meet because this game has become the Eagles and the Deer hunting the Lions. Seriously, I feel like the Kingdom has been ganged up on by the developers and the characters alike.

But what about Almyra? What about the Nabateans, or the conflicts all those years ago? What about the war with Sothis and the Slithers? 

This game gave us lore that should have been in Houses - Claude’s real name. Yuri’s real name. The names and faces of characters that should have been in the original game. We got that here... but nothing of the real lore. Where is Macuil? And Indech?

No, Almyra is so unimportant that Claude doesn’t even tell anyone else that he is the Almyran Prince. He tells Judith while Shez figures it out.... in a paralogue.

Instead, we just get Crimson Flower all over again. Rhea being the final boss, the Slithers relegated to being something that will be “taken care of later”, people forgetting they are the invaders. Even Claude’s rhetoric sounds similar to Edelgard’s:

And just like in SB, we never see these claims put into action. It’s merely heresy.

It’s even more baffling because even the route doesn’t fully support this claim based on the dialogue of others!

And we are meant to believe the Central Church has an iron grip on Foldan? 

You can even read the Book of Seiros in this route, and it doesn’t say anything that Claude claims it does. Not one word of it. You can actually read some of the books in the game and they don't make mention of anything Claude claims it does.

But then other characters insist that it’s true:

So, what are we meant to believe?! Characters cannot seem to agree on what the Church is doing, and apparently have not read the holy book of the very faith they are criticizing.

So instead of expanding on the lore that we would have been interested in, expanding on Almyra and the Nabateans, instead we get more Church bashing and Kingdom's chivalry bashing.

Literally, Claude kills his brother in Part I and that is the end of Almyra being an invading force. Almyra's only purpose after that is to provide ships to Claude so that they can surprise the Kingdom in an attack from the sea. There are comments about the Almyran ships being technologically more advanced than Foldan ships (which seems to be some sort of "gotcha" about how Foldan is being held by in advancements, which makes no sense considering Foldan has trading ports with other nations outside of Foldan and would have seen other ships besides their own), but that's all you will really get out of that.

Oh, and that apparently the Almyran king was tricked into giving Claude his navy by Nader, as Nader pushed the papers to be signed by him while he was still groggy from sleeping early in the morning.

The route doesn't do anything with this by the way. There are no repercussions for Nader tricking the king on Claude's behalf to use the navy. The Almyrans invading just so happen to obey Claude's orders to not pilfer while they invade the Kingdom despite wanting to so badly.

There are no repercussions for Claude killing one of the princes. In fact, it's basically celebrated.

If killing Shahid had any affect on Claude as a character, it's completely overshadowed by Randolf's death having an affect on Claude's character. Freaking Randolf, an NPC's whose sole purpose is to die.

How is it that Claude cannot seem to get his own route yet again, and must take elements from Edelgard's routes? Why is it so hard for the writers to give Claude some Almyran time?

Like I said before, he doesn't even tell anyone other than Judith or Shez who he really is. Literally no one else finds out. It's all relegated to a single paralogue. A paralogue, by the way, you can miss if you kill Byleth, since you need Judith to actually access that paralogue to begin with.

For a route that is supposed to be about Claude learning to trust his allies and letting him into his secrets, he sure wasn't willing to let that lesson sink in.

As a little side note, I want to mention that the King of Almyra seems to be a rather ineffective king. Apparently, Claude is the favorite child (great, he plays favorites!). In fact, he is such the favorite that when Claude decided to run off and not tell anywhere where he was going, the king was reportedly so distraught that he was unable to perform his duties to his fullest abilities, such as not preventing Shahid from invading.

A King who can get tricked into signing away his navy, can't keep control of his children, and falls apart when his favorite child runs off? Gee, what a great guy.

How am I supposed to find Nader or the King likable characters when they do stuff like this?

Well, the game says none of it matters since nothing bad comes of these things, somehow.

And the Nabateans? The Slithers? What about those parts of the lore?

Those don't matter either. The Nabateans are basically all but forgotten about, with Seteth and co only appearing in the final chapter right before you kill Rhea. Claude is even surprised that Rhea is the Immaculate One during the final battle.

And the Slithers? Well, don't you worry. We will get around to the Slithers soon enough.

So needless to say- Claude's route, about fighting off Almyra as a big plot point of his route?

---

The rest of the review will continue in the next reblog.

Final Thoughts - Three Hopes Golden Wildfire

If you haven’t already read my review of Scarlet Blaze, I would recommend it, because in this review I will be making references to it, as well as building off of what I said previously. As I experience the game, my understanding of the entire story unfolds, and to fully separate the routes as I understand them would not be fair, in my opinion.

Plus, it keeps me from repeating myself.

To be frank, there was a lot I did not cover or only glossed over in my Scarlet Blaze review. Part of that was because I was so overwhelmed with information, and I lost steam by the end of the review to the point I just wanted to get it over with. 

I’m not entirely proud with how I ended my last review as a result, because of just how much I didn’t discuss, and how much I skipped. But I think those points can be brought up here as needed, to fully cover my bases as I move forward. 

As before, I won’t be speaking too much about Houses in general unless I think it’s worth being brought up. I want to make this review to more about how Hopes stacks up on it’s own. However, I will admit that this is harder to do with this route than Scarlet Blaze.

Also. I am splitting this into 2 parts, since it has gotten so big that tumblr has started to delete my work and I lost some of my writing in the process. When part 2 is done, I will publish it then. 

Keep reading

[sage-nebula]

HOO boy, major Fire Emblem: Three Houses spoilers (at least for the Black Eagles route) ahead. If you haven’t played past chapter eleven of part one, you don’t want to read anything beneath the cut.

But if you have, OH BOY.

So, as is obvious by what I typed above, I’m playing the Black Eagles route. And oh boy. I’d heard rumblings of Edelgard being a “traitor” (and other unfavorable words) around the internet, but I tried to avoid the spoilers as much as I could, especially because I wanted to marry her at the first opportunity and thus did not want to hear a word against my beautiful future wife. Nevertheless, it became apparent to me a decent amount of time before the reveal that Edelgard was the Flame Emperor, and thus was the one who was working with Solon and Kronya (“Monica”) and therefore in league with the ones who murdered my (well, Byleth’s, but still) father. This, even more than Edelgard telling Dorothea that there was nothing resembling romance in her life despite the fact that I spent seven straight months showering her in flowers (WHICH SHE KEPT IN HER ROOM!), taking her on tea dates, and eating almost every meal with her, put a strain on our potential relationship. I was angry with her. To be honest, I’m still kind of angry with her. I was super angry that she offered no emotional support or condolences whatsoever after Jeralt died. I was angry that she never once showed anger toward Monica/Kronya for her actions. I’m still angry that after all is said and done and I’ve chosen to defend her anyway she still hasn’t apologized for the part she played in Jeralt’s death (guilty by association, maybe, but still), because I just feel like that’s really fucking rude and not how a supportive partner should act.

But I suppose I should back up a bit.

As is obvious by both this post and other posts I’ve made, I’ve really been enjoying Fire Emblem: Three Houses. I’m pretty much addicted to it. It’s world’s better than Fates (which isn’t hard to do, but still), and to be honest I think it’s better than Awakening, too, though I haven’t beaten it and so I suppose I should reserve judgment until then. But on top of the fact that it feels like it’ll have far more replayability than Awakening (since I imagine the story will change pretty dramatically depending on which House you choose, not to mention which branches you take within the House paths, provided Blue Lions and Golden Deer have splits like Black Eagles do), but more of the characters have central plot relevance than in Awakening, and the story itself has more depth, I feel. In Awakening, at most you’d get a scene or two with recruitable characters before they faded into the background, just units and nothing more. The same was true in Fates. Sure, there were a handful that were important (if that), but usually not more than that. But in Three Houses, the students in your House (at least the ones that were originally there) show up in all the cutscenes before and after major missions. They’re important. And while you can recruit characters from other Houses that feel more like your standard units, you don’t have to, which means you’re given an opportunity to really grow attached to all the characters in your squad outside of what you make up about them in your head. This is further enhanced by the fact that you don’t only get to talk to them in supports anymore. Supports still exist, but you can also talk to them around the school, have tea parties with them, attend activities with them, have them ask you questions, and so on and so forth. You really have a chance to get to know them, which makes them feel so much more like actual characters versus pawns that you use in battle.

So in this respect Three Houses feels deeper than Awakening or Fates, but I think the plot also feels more intricate. There are so many different threads and intrigues going on to think about, and I remember at one point I was practically going crazy theorizing about what was going on (and I still have some questions, like whether or not Edelgard could also wield the Sword of the Creator since she, too, has the Crest of Flames). So far most of my theories and predictions have turned out to be accurate, though to be fair most of them have been pretty obvious if you’re paying attention. But that’s not a criticism, or a bad thing. It’s not obvious in the sense that “this feels like they wrote the story for preschool students,” it’s obvious in a way that, again, if you pay attention, the writing leads to its natural conclusion. Intelligent Systems didn’t set out to bamboozle the audience with something that came out of nowhere. So far everything has led to its logical conclusion, and I really like that, particularly in today’s storytelling climate. So as a brief rundown of predictions I had that were proven right some time after I made them:

Prediction: Rhea is unhinged / malevolent / evil, the Church of Seiros is corrupt Reasoning: Early on in the story, when it’s revealed that Lord Lonato is raising a rebellion against the Church of Seiros, Rhea sends the Black Eagles (or I suppose whatever the player decides Byleth’s House is) to go take him out. When she’s giving the mission to Byleth, she says something to the effect of, “This will be a good way to show your students what happens to those who decide to raise their blades against the church.” This is a HUGE, MASSIVE, ALARMING RED FLAG, because it demonstrated that Rhea would never, under any circumstances, even consider giving a fair trial to those who seemed to be in opposition to the church, and since the Church of Seiros holds so much power and say over all three political powers in play (and sort of over Brigid, since the Empire has Petra), that’s a huge problem. Rhea continued with this trend, stating again that she hoped the students learned their lesson once the mission was over, and similarly saying that heretics couldn’t be allowed to live when that incident with Sylvain’s brother happened. So when she revealed her true colors in the tomb and wanted Edelgard killed without even thinking to ask Edelgard why she was doing what she was doing, I wasn’t surprised at all. (Plus there’s all that business with her having something to do with Byleth’s birth and lack of a beating heart, and so on. Aside from turning into a giant beast, Rhea is just bad news.)

Prediction: Flayn is Seteth’s daughter, not his sister. Reasoning: When Flayn goes missing, Rhea stumbles over calling Flayn Seteth’s sister. Her line is something like, “We will find your . . . sister.” If Flayn was actually Seteth’s sister, she wouldn’t have hesitated, almost as if about to slip up. Flayn was too young to be his girlfriend (and it’d be weird they’d be claiming to be family anyway, if that were the case), so it became pretty obvious pretty quickly that she was actually his daughter.

Prediction: Sothis was actually the goddess the entire time. Reasoning: The crown that Sothis wears is the exact same one that Rhea, who is the archbishop of the Church of Seiros, wears. Sothis’ hair and eyes are green, which is something only the upper tiers of the Church of Seiros have in common. And lastly, everyone mysteriously avoided ever saying the goddess’ name, which they’d have no reason at all to do if it wasn’t relevant to a particular character. Therefore, when Rhea revealed that the goddess was named Sothis, it was not a surprise at all.

Prediction: Jeralt was going to die. Reasoning: Come on . . . when does the cool dad ever get to survive until the end of the story? That aside, the second he told Byleth that he had ~something important to tell her~ and that “if I die, search every inch of this room,” I knew he was going to kick the bucket. I’m way too genre savvy for that. It was still really sad, though. Sadder than Emmeryn’s death in Awakening, imo, although it didn’t feel as powerful as hers since there was no emotional battle that followed it (and we didn’t get a track for him that was nearly as emotional and beautiful as “Don’t Speak Her Name”). Also, side note, when I first started playing I was calling Rhea “Green Emmeryn,” and continued right up until she gave her “show your students what happens to those who oppose the church” line. At that point I was like, WELP, Emmeryn never would have pulled this nonsense, never mind.

Prediction: “Monica” was evil. Reasoning: A student who was kidnapped a year ago just so happens to be perfectly fine a year later? And she isn’t a playable unit? And she’s always talking secretively to Edelgard, who she’s on personal terms with for some reason without Hubert kicking up a fuss, despite having only just surfaced? Mmhm, okay. Especially since I was already starting to get suspicious of Edelgard by that point, I guessed “Monica’s” true intentions pretty quickly.

Prediction: Edelgard was the Flame Emperor. Reasoning: This one took me a little while, to be fair, but what first tipped me off about it is that when I told Edelgard that the Flame Emperor had wanted Byleth to join them, Edelgard wasn’t bothered at all by this fact. Rather than expressing relief that Byleth had said no, Edelgard instead went on about how it must be hard to trust someone who wears a mask, but that perhaps one day the Flame Emperor would reveal their true identity and Byleth would change her mind then. That made me start thinking about how Edelgard was always conveniently never around when the Flame Emperor showed up, as well as how Hubert was the one to cause a distraction that allowed the Flame Emperor to escape after the proposition. Then there was the fact that Edelgard grew upset if you said that you thought that the Flame Emperor had the same goals as Solon and the rest (EVEN THOUGH SHE ADMITS THAT’S THE LOGICAL CONCLUSION), and that she was so cozy with Monica, not sympathetic about Jeralt’s death (at least in a way that mattered), and so on and so forth. So when the time came for her announcement, unlike the rest of my students, I wasn’t shocked. I been knew. I was just mad.

That said, I do still have a couple predictions that I haven’t received answers on:

Prediction: Flayn is Saint Cethleann, and Seteth is Saint Cichol, and thus they’re both actually super, super old. Reasoning: To be honest I’m pretty positive on this one, but since it hasn’t been confirmed I can’t put it in the confirmed category yet. If you read the statue descriptions for these saints in the chapel, they sound very, very much like Flayn and Seteth, right down to being father and daughter. Flayn has Saint Cethleann’s Crest, her blood was needed for what Solon was doing, they both have a special connection to Rhea and a deep loyalty to the church, Flayn has a very archaic way of speaking, refuses to divulge her age, gets cagey whenever Cethleann is brought up, and insists that she’s older than she looks. It’s far more obvious with Flayn than it is with Seteth, but I think it’s all pretty clear. They’re the Saints, and given what Rhea’s true identity is, they might not even be human.

Prediction: Byleth is Rhea’s niece (or nephew if you’re playing as the boy Byleth---Boyleth).  Reasoning: This one I’m shakier on, because I think my original prediction (that Byleth was a reincarnation of Seiros, or maybe Nemesis, but probably Serios) has been debunked by now. But every time Rhea starts to talk about Byleth’s mother’s relation to her, or Byleth’s relation to her, she’s interrupted. “Your mother was my . . .” is pretty suspicious. The fact that, after fusing with Sothis, Byleth’s hair and eyes turned green is suspicious. (But in that case, why were they blue in the first place? Jeralt’s hair and eyes certainly weren’t blue. Ah well, anime genetics.) Of course, there’s Rhea’s whole speech about how Byleth was “just another failure” and how she was going to tear out Byleth’s heart after Byleth sided with Edelgard (if the player chose that), buuuuuut I’m still going with the theory that Byleth’s mother was Rhea’s sister for the time being.

In any case, as you can see there’s a lot going on, and I think still so much more plot to go, since I haven’t even hit the timeskip yet. I’m really excited to see where the plot goes, but I think that I should explain my reasoning for why I chose to side with Edelgard first, particularly given that my feelings on the whole issue are actually rather complicated, and much more so than the game would make it seem. (Though make no mistake, I have a duplicate save file created so that when I want to play the other path I don’t have to play through all of Black Eagles up to that point again. I was smart about it lol. Also I did look up a tiny spoiler for the split and, upon learning Flayn would leave, hastily shoved as many gifts at Mercedes as possible to recruit her so that I can still have two healers lmao. GOTTA PLAN AHEAD. That said, I recruited Mercedes, my sweet sunshine son Ashe, and Sylvain all in the last month, and they were all Blue Lions, so djkslfdsfsd sorry for poaching three members of your House, Dimitri. But it had to be done, because I needed a healer, I REFUSE to let Ashe die, and Sylvain was free because I’m a woman and he reminds me of Zelos so why not. But still, sorry Dimitri, lmao.)

ANYWAY, to get back on topic . . . I was honestly pretty torn right up until the second choice came. The first choice, where Edelgard asks you to accompany her to the Empire and the game tells you that a drastic change will take place depending on your choice---that was the reason I saw that tiny spoiler about Flayn leaving, because I looked up why choosing to go on a small journey with Edelgard was so goddamn important. But even though I chose to go with her to keep the option open (because if you don’t choose to go with her then, you’re locked into siding with the church), I was still somewhat torn. I was still pretty upset that she offered no words of comfort or understanding after Jeralt’s death, that she never once apologized for trusting Monica so implicitly and always going off with her. Even if she didn’t want to reveal she knew the truth, she could have lied about that and apologized for not seeing the truth sooner. Even a sweet lie would have been better than the zero amount of warmth I received in my time of grief. Aside from that, because Edelgard was the Flame Emperor and was friends with Monica, she indirectly played a part in Jeralt’s death. All the other things that came about as a result of those machinations---Lonato’s death and how that affected Ashe, what happened to Sylvain’s brother, et cetera---that I could get past if I thought it was for a good cause, but such a personal betrayal by one I held such feelings for? I was still so very, very upset. (Also, Solon almost locked Byleth in a void forever, which led to Sothis kind of sacrificing herself, and since Sothis DID offer compassion to Byleth when Edelgard didn’t . . . hhhhh, that also made me feel frosty toward Edelgard.)

But then the moment came. The instant that the Imperial army stormed in and Edelgard ordered them to take the Crest stones (and also said to kill anyone who opposed her, like? You’re really okay with killing all of us, Edelgard? REALLY?), Rhea’s switch flipped and she started barking orders and essentially calling for Edelgard’s head on a stick. And then the battle ended, and she DID call for Edelgard’s head on the end of Byleth’s sword, talking about how she would never stand for the Empire to oppose the chuch, and so on. And in the end, that was what made me make my choice.

Because the truth is, no matter how angry I was with Edelgard, obviously I still care for her. In-game, we spent eleven months together. Yes, the past couple were a bit tense and strained, but that doesn’t change the fact that I spent eleven months---nearly a full year!---bonding with Edelgard, fighting alongside her, finding companionship with her. Byleth’s actual heart might not beat, but unlike SOME people, she still has a metaphorical one that does (or at least, I do, lmao). Maybe Edelgard didn’t have compassion for me, but that doesn’t mean I have none for her. It doesn’t mean I wouldn’t want to hear an explanation, from her, for why she did all these things. It also doesn’t mean that it would be easy for me to just cut down someone who I grew so close to and cared so much about, simply because I was given an order. Like, honestly, what the fuck. Who could do that? How could Rhea ever expect me to do that?

But even setting that aside, I was opposed to Rhea’s methods from day one. I’m a big fan of due process. In Rhea’s world, anyone who opposes her should be cut down. (Apparently Edelgard also feels this way, even toward her own friends, but I feel like I can probably more easily reason with her than Rhea, and in any case, the remaining Black Eagles slaughtered her army, so whatever.) She didn’t give Edelgard a chance to explain, she wasn’t calling for an arrest, there wouldn’t be a trial. She just wanted Edelgard murdered, on the spot. And I can’t stand for that. I’m don’t really like organized religion anyway, but I’m definitely not going to stand for one that ruthlessly murders any who even breathe a word of opposition to it while also holding the most political power in the world. All the Church of Seiros is is religious fascism. That’s it. Her facade of being caring and compassionate is just that---a facade. She turned on Byleth immediately when I had Byleth side with Edelgard, saying that Byleth was “just another failure” (which raises even more questions all its own) and so on and so forth. She’s a tyrant, and I’m not going to follow the orders of a tyrant and kill someone without giving them a chance to defend themselves, and this goes doubly if they’re someone I care about.

That said, I do wish there was an option to give some more nuance, because if I had my way I would have made it clear that while I was going to oppose the church, that doesn’t mean I’m siding with Edelgard, either. Rather, I just want to hear what Edelgard has to say for herself, and all that she’s done. But of course that’s not an option, and anyway at this point she’s won me over again and I’m once again considering marrying her (and if not her then I’m marrying Dorothea, but we’ll see), though I still wish she’d apologize for Jeralt’s death and her callous behavior from before. I wish we’d get an on-screen explanation.

In any event, right now I’m at the part before we storm the monastary to take it down (and therefore right at the end of part one, I think). Obviously, I don’t regret my choice at all given that Edelgard has won me over again, and to be honest I’m not entirely surprised she has given that in many ways she reminds me of Lotor (before he had his character assassinated, ofc). It’s very cool to have a female character like her. I only hope her character continues to be done justice through to the end.

(And if the rumors are true and her S-Rank is No Homo’d I’m going to burn everything to the ground istfg.) 

TL;DR: I’m still kind of mad at Edelgard, but I can let it go for now, especially since my ire with Edelgard in no way means I’m going to side with that unhinged monster running that wretched church, dear god. 

[howmymoneyget]

Elke!!!

Some Lore on Elke down below.  (▰˘◡˘▰) 

tw: brief mention of violence and body horror 

“What do you know about that weird retainer Lord Jeralt has?  The one that never stops smiling?”

“Captain Elke? Promise me you won’t ever get on her bad side.”

“What? Why?”

“Sure, she acts like an idiot but underneath all that she’s a natural killer.  I haven’t seen magic like hers in my forty years of service.  She’s a sea witch, you see.”

“A sea witch?”

“Yup--they’re a dying breed nowadays. Elke is the only one I know that is still kicking.  Anyway, they can control water.”

“That doesn’t sound so scary.  What’s she gonna do?  Splash me?”

“Have you ever had water forced down your throat with enough pressure to scramble your insides like a blender?”

“...N-No?”

“Because thats what happened to the last gal who put her into a bad mood.”

--Overheard conversation between a veteran soldier and new recruit.

[yukiwrites]

Path to the True Ending

Thank you for the support as always, @breeachuu! Here we have Wolfie's alternate route! I hope you like it~

Summary: After five years of loneliness and anxiety, Wolfram discovers that Byleth had woken up from her Slumber and had headed to the Monastery. The day they had promised to meet again when they were younger had finally come, so now the former classmates all flocked back together to fight for the Kingdom. But now, Wolfram was going to make sure to stay by Dimitri's side.

Commission info HERE and HERE!

__________________________

Wolfram forgot how to breathe for a moment.

Byleth was nowhere to be found -- and to make things worse, it felt as though she simply did not exist! It felt much like the dreadful day she had been sucked into a portal to another world: he couldn’t feel the presence of the Blood at all.

Not even the spot she had occupied for the past 5 years felt like it held a person; it was only a pile of rocks now that Byleth was gone.

“Calm down, Wolfram, breathe.” Wolfie scratched the back of his head, then his neck and finally crouched down to touch the place he had left Byleth at. It was, as expected, cold as the stone it was. “Maybe she’s just confused after waking up from the Slumber.”

Nidra had told him not to wake a dragonkin from a Slumber since there was no way to know which state of mind they would wake up with. There was no mention of the Blood being erased, even for a moment, so Wolfram couldn’t help but panic.

He remembered how to breathe when he realized he was huffing. His eyes darted all around, as though he could find any clues inside the cave.

“There’s… there’s no point in staying here! Dimitri is back and when I finally thought we could all be together again-” he choked on his own words, speaking too fast while forgetting how to breathe in between the words. “That’s right, I’ll look for her around here, and if I can’t find her, I can always go up to Dimitri! He’ll help, I’m sure he will.”

Thinking about getting help from a friend allowed Wolfram to calm down for a bit, moments before he scrambled back up to run towards the entrance. He had the dragon whistle on his lips as reached the faint light coming out of the entrance, ready to blow to call for Aquilo.

The moment he stepped outside and whistled, he felt something pull at his consciousness from the back of his neck. Wolfie’s hair stood on end during the single moment it took for his braid to bounce on his shoulder as he suddenly turned towards the pull.

It was the Blood!

He couldn’t help but smile. “Aquilo, boy! Come quickly!” He urged his winged friend as the wyvern circled around the sky to touch down.

Byleth’s presence was weaker than before -- and that had nothing to do with the distance -- so Wolfram could only theorize that the Blood was, indeed, rather ‘grogy’ from the Slumber.

“Byleth, Dimitri, I’m coming, hold on!” He leaped to hop on Aquilo’s back before he landed, taking the reins as per instinct. The Blood’s presence was just around the Monastery, so Byleth and Dimitri would most likely be together once Wolfie arrived.

Everything was coming together again!

Dawn was breaking behind Wolfram as he squinted downwards to pinpoint the Blood’s exact location throughout the ruined monastery. The cover of the night melted under the sun’s rays, though the shadows moved fast, concealing and revealing those who gained from being under its protection.

There was the sound of blades clashing all around, confusing and alarming Wolfram. Where could they be?! He had to be with them!

“Why… are you here?” A voice that unmistakingly belonged to Dimitri made Wolfie gasp and turn his head to it.

Was he talking to Byleth? The fog around the Blood was thinning, allowing Wolfram to pinpoint its general location, which was close to Dimitri’s voice.

However, around them, there were other presences; some that Wolfram hadn’t picked up from being too focused on searching for the Blood.

They were his former classmates!

Ashe, Annette, Mercedes, Ingrid, Sylvain… They were arriving one after the other throughout the ruins, cornering the thieves from all sides.

“Y-you guys…” Wolfram’s voice shook with emotion as his eyes itched with tears. He had been so lonely… so lonely!

“Don’t let the rats get away.” Dimitri’s deep, changed voice echoed through the broken walls. It made Wolfie shake his head to focus on the task at hand: being close to Byleth and helping everyone to get out of this mess!

Surely it wasn��t natural for one to be smiling so warmly and feeling all tingly inside during a skirmish against thieves, but Wolfie couldn’t help it. He could only puff his chest up and follow Byleth’s directions towards the successful end of this battle.

As time passed, more and more of their old classmates poured from behind the broken walls. It truly felt like a class reunion!

“Oh, wait! It IS a reunion, right?” Wolfram gasped as he greeted Annette and Mercedes, seeing Dorothea approach from the side.

“Yup! Isn’t that why everyone’s here? We made that promise 5 years ago, after all!” The ginger girl smiled brightly, the youthful vigor of her student days still present within her mature self.

Many nodded at her statement, while others grimaced as they looked at the center of the Blue Lions House.

Dimitri had a shadow hovering over him, even under the brightening sun. He was hunched over his tall height, that now towered over Wolfie, and had a perpetual frown in his brow.

He looked tired.

Defeated.

Ragged.

Ingrid tried to approach, but retracted her hand, unknowing of where to start. Gilbert didn’t have that timidity, however.

“We all thought you were dead, Your Highness. How did you manage to survive after being imprisoned inside the castle’s dungeons?”

Wolfram tilted his head to the side, remembering what the merchant had told him years ago. “Huh? I thought everyone knew that some men of Duscur helped him escape.” He blurted out in confusion, then turned to Dimitri. “Speaking of, where’s Dedue? I figured he’d be with you…”

“Lad, where did you get that information? It took me quite some time to gather intel…” Gilbert reached for Wolfram, but Dimitri’s imposing yet grave voice made all eyes turn to him.

“Dedue… Indeed. He died in my place while helping me escape.” The prince’s voice shook as he clenched his fist to the point it trembled. He turned his emotionless eyes to Wolfram. “I don’t know from whom you heard that, but they were clearly missing some important intel, hah.” He laughed in spite of himself, hunching his shoulders further.

Gilbert spoke something about honoring the dead.

Wolfram heard Byleth’s voice in response, but he couldn’t focus.

His vision darkened around him as he felt the ground collapse under his feet. Dedue was-

Dedue? That immensely gentle soul who helped him adjust to this foreign world?

That- what? It couldn’t be! It- it couldn’t…

Wolfram’s eyes shook as his breathing turned ragged from shock. He had been so sure the both of them would be okay! So sure…!

He had barely managed to forge a friendship with him! The bonds they shared were deep enough for a great connection, and yet- and yet!

Turning his gaze upwards, Wolfie looked at Dimitri’s mien. Just by uttering those words that confirmed Dedue’s death made him look a hundred times more tired than he was before.

It looked as though he had resigned himself to being under the shadow of the dead, though it still hurt him deep inside, as it would any man; any person. The world shook around Wolfie for a moment, and it took him yet a few more seconds to notice that it was because someone’s arm had pulled him down to their short height.

“Hey, Wolf, you okay, man? You’re spacing out.” Caspar’s voice, that welcoming, warm and blunt tone, brought Wolfram back from the shock. “You gonna pass out? I can call Linhardt if you wanna.”

“I…” Wolfram forgot how to speak for a moment, remembering that he first had to breathe. He couldn’t even rejoice being reunited with his friend again. “I’m… not okay, no. Dedue, he-”

Caspar clenched his fist, hardening his jaw in annoyance. “He was a wall, man. For someone so strong like him to just… GO is insane. I gotta get stronger to be able to fight, too.” Caspar remembered the hopelessness he had felt the day Jeralt had been killed in battle, right there in front of them.

How weak he had felt!

And now, one of the strongest men of their group had been reported as dead. He was still so weak! There was no way these strong people were all dropping dead all over him while he was still unscathed and well.

Unknowingly, Caspar squeezed the hand on Wolfram’s shoulder, as though transmitting his fury through the rough touch. That actually made Wolfie feel better, more grounded to the present than he had been a few moments ago, when the ground was crumbling beneath his feet.

If him and Caspar, who had only known Dedue for a brief period of time, were feeling that miserable about his loss; how deep could Dimitri’s sorrow be? What did he feel when he reported in such few words, behind a self-deprecating smile, the death of his one and only friend?

Wolfram’s heart bled for Dedue. It also bled for Dimitri’s loss.

There was so much loss happening lately -- be it five years ago or now, it didn’t matter for the half-manakete. Loss was always ever so recent.

What did one say to those who had lost someone important? What did one do to COPE with the loss of someone important? He still didn’t have the answer to that question, even after being taught by his elder siblings.

Of course, there was no proper way to ‘teach’ one how to cope with loss -- Meliodas and Cynthia both knew that well. The most they could do was guide Wolfram’s thoughts to the present, or to the battle ahead so as to allow him to find a reason to LIVE instead of to focus on those who had passed on.

But that was all so easy to just say. How did one truly manage to do so?

How did one console someone who lost an important ally while also bleeding from the same wound? Now that Dedue was gone, Wolfram could clearly see that the darkness had taken hold of Dimitri’s heart, just as it had on that day at the Holy Mausoleum five years ago.

Wolfram felt the cold wind blow on his shoulder where Caspar’s hand had been a moment ago, which brought him back to reality. He looked around to find himself on his own as the classmates made their way inside.

“Sorry, I went to get my stuff.” Caspar ran back to his friend, nodding at Raphael, Ignatz and Ashe who were nearby as though to protect Wolfie from running into a wall. “I shoved it under a tree when I saw the fight.”

His heart and head heavy, Wolfie looked around the odd group around him. “Where’s everyone going?”

“Beats me,” Raphael scratched the back of his neck. “Lord Gilbert just asked the Professor to follow him inside and we’re going back too, I guess.”

“I wonder what everything looks like inside… Maybe our rooms are still there?” Ashe pondered aloud as though to force himself to speak lest he, too, was consumed by grief. His room was right beside Dedue’s.

“Ohh, that’s true! We just beat a bunch of thieves, so everything’s gonna be a mess inside.” Caspar slapped Ashe’s back as he led the way inside, planning on making a beeline to the second floor to check his and Wolfie’s shared room.

Wolfram, however, looked down as they walked, then lifted his gaze to follow a hunched back covered by a large, blue mantle. His steps followed his gaze, detaching himself from the group to go after Dimitri -- who walked towards the bridge to the cathedral.

“Muh? Hey, Wolf, we’re going this way-” Caspar pointed to the direction of the dormitories, meaning to pull Wolfram back on track, but Ashe just patted his shoulder softly.

“I think he wants to be alone for now, Caspar…” The silver-haired boy said in a whisper, barely managing to let the words flow.

Frowning, Caspar used the hand that dangled in Wolfie’s direction to scratch the back of his neck. “Yeah.”

The four of them followed their original path as Wolfie wandered towards the cathedral behind Dimitri.

The sun was warm outside, yet the inside of the broken cathedral was colder than if it were night time. Their steps echoed sadly between the destroyed walls and upturned statues.

Dimitri stopped right before the central stained glass, which had avoided the ravages of war and pillaging. He simply stood there, hunched as he had been, looking down as if he avoided gazes that never let him out of their sight.

Hesitating, Wolfram walked slowly until he was a step behind Dimitri. His mind worked at its utmost capacity, which, at that moment, amounted to less than half of its usual performance. He was devastated; he was elated; he wasn’t alone but he suffered from a crunching loneliness.

He then placed his head on the fur of Dimitri’s cloak without a sound, unable to even reach out to take his hand. He simply stood there, digging his face into the cloak from behind, as though he needed this touch as much as Dimitri did (which was true), unable to utter a single word.

“...” Dimitri himself simply stood there, not even able to feel Wolfram’s warmth due to their distance.

They stood there, in silence, within this awkward touch, until the sun moved to the middle of the sky.

Once afternoon arrived, more people started to flock into the cathedral, busying themselves with a cleaning effort that had been decided upon in the meeting at the monastery. Wolfram stepped away from Dimitri, noticing how uncomfortable the prince became once there were more people around.

The half-manakete left with heavy steps towards the dormitories, intent on doing his part. His feet took him to the second floor, where his and Caspar’s room was located, forcing himself to think of the situation at hand instead of losing himself to grief.

It was so hard. He wouldn’t have the drive to do anything were he alone; but watching his friends and classmates move about at least made him follow by instinct.

“Hey, Wolf, can you get that curtain hanger over there? It’s too tall for me.” Caspar pointed to the window as he moved the heavy furniture outside like they weighed nothing. As Wolfram nodded and proceeded to the hanger, the empty state of the room made him blink.

“Oh… Wait, I left my stuff down the mountain.” He belatedly realized.

“What? Seriously? Guess flying on that wyvern’s so convenient you forgot to pack!” Caspar’s laugh disappeared into the corridor as he carried the bed down the stairs by himself.

“Mhm,” Wolfie nodded silently, taking out the curtains and following his friend downstairs.

Once there, they added the bed and curtains next to the pile of stuff from Caspar’s room -- which was next to many other such piles as the students aired all the furniture at the same time.

Wolfram thought of nothing and everything at the same time. It was as though he had to come up with a solution to his feelings right away but also that it was okay to never think about it again. He felt detached, like his head was filled with cotton.

It was to the point that he didn’t even realize Dorothea was approaching, even though she was right in front of him.

“Hey there, boys.” She greeted with an amiable smile. “We managed to cook up something with the supplies pooled from everyone; let’s all eat to gather our strength back, hm?” She tried to look up at Wolfram’s eyes, but, well, it was still hard to determine if they were open or closed, so she refrained from waving in front of his face. “Wolfie? Are you okay, dearie? You look pale.”

“He’s been out of it since we got here. Said he needed some time to think.” Caspar bumped on Wolfram, who almost toppled over. The sudden contact, warm and considering words made Wolfie’s brow twitch with emotion.

“I’m-” he breathed out, his chin trembling.

He wanted to fly so badly. He wanted to put his thoughts in order; he wanted to learn how to cope with the pain; how to cope with the secrecy; how to cope with helping a friend in need when YOU are also needing help.

He was so overwhelmed. There was a desperate need to at least get rid of one source of worry; no matter how old or small it was. He had to let SOMETHING out.

However, he must’ve shown some degree of despair in his expression, since Dorothea hardened her jaw and softly touched his shoulder. “Wolfie?” She called lovingly.

That made his chin tremble again. She cared so much for him.

Caspar’s hand was still on his back, transmitting an unbearable source of warmth. He cared for him as well.

Would it be okay? Would it be okay to at least unburden himself with these two? He… He was at his limit. Wolfram had been alone for five years and the long-awaited reunion brought him more pain than solace.

It was breaking him.

“I…” He sniffled, startling both Caspar and Dorothea. “I left my luggageeee…” he cried out pitifully, as though it was the end of the world.

Startled, the duo exchanged confused glances. “Come on, Wolfie, let’s get you a glass of water at the dining hall-”

“Noooo!” Wolfram cried louder, drying his tears as they rolled down his cheeks. “I have- I have to say something, but I don’t know how and I’m- It’s so overwhelming!”

“Shhh, Wolfie, it’s okay.” Dorothea quickly wrapped both arms around the boy’s thin waist. She frowned at Caspar, signaling with her eyes for him to check if there was an empty room nearby.

“What? Huh? He’s crying, whatchu glaring at me for?” However, it obviously didn’t have the intended reaction.

“Ugh, nevermind. I think Leonie’s room is empty here, so let’s get in there for now.” Dorothea pushed Caspar with one hand while carefully pulling the sniffling Wolfie with the other. Once they were safely inside the dusty and empty room, Dorothea made Wolfram sit at the old bed, where he cried for a few more minutes.

“I don’t even know how to say this,” he managed to speak after a while. “The only one who knows this is Dimitri, but it’s because he caught me by accident…”

“Caught you? What were you doing to be caught?” Caspar tilted his head to the side, but Dorothea simply elbowed him and urged Wolfram to continue.

“It’s okay if you don’t want to say, Wolfie. However, if you do, we’ll be happy to listen.”

“Thank you, Dorothea.” Wolfram fumbled with his fingers, then reached for the locket that always stayed hidden within his shirt. “All of this made me more stressed than usual because I have to keep hiding what I truly am on top of…. Dealing with… stuff.” He choked on more unshed tears as he remembered the news about Dedue, but managed to hold himself together with the locket’s touch in his skin.

“What you really-mmpph…!” Caspar was about to ask, but Dorothea simply covered his mouth with her hands, giving Wolfie the time he needed to brace himself.

“I can’t really explain very well, but the truth is that I’m not human.” He felt the power of his Dragonstone flow through his body, allowing his wings, horns, tail and scales to come out, surprising the duo in front of him. “I came to Fódlan with a mission-”

“YOU CAN FLY?” Caspar brushed Dorothea’s hand out of his mouth with a rough movement. “That’s SICK man, what the hell-”

Dorothea’s hand fell limp on her lap due to her surprise. “Wolfie, so that’s why you were-”

“Mhm, I’m… sorry I had to lie about having amnesia. I really couldn’t let anyone find out about me, but keeping this from everyone is… such a burden.” He confessed honestly, lowering his gaze along with his hands, allowing the transformation to fade out.

“Wait, so you can actually remember your parents and stuff? That’s great! But I don’t get why you had to hide it, man, this is so awesome.” Caspar sat beside Wolfie and groped his back, wondering if there was a way to make the wings pop out again.

“Caspie, have some tact!” Dorothea slapped Caspar’s shoulder, then turned to Wolfram. “I’m sorry about him, Wolfie. And… about me, too, I suppose. I still don’t know how to react.”

Wolfram smiled weakly, feeling a huge weight being lifted from his chest. “It’s fine. It’s already enough that you both are accepting me as I am so readily.” He took both Caspar and Dorothea’s hands, squeezing them ever so lightly. “It was overwhelming to keep up with everything at once, so spilling at least this from my plate was enough to help me hang on.”

“Wait, but aren’t I touching him, that’s tact,” Caspar mumbled at the same time, though stopped his words once Wolfram took his hand. “You gonna tell everyone about this? It’s gonna be- I dunno man, amazing?”

“N-no!” Wolfie shook his head vehemently. “Not right now. I don’t think it’s time to reveal everything now… I just said to you two because you’ve been helping me since a long time ago. I don’t plan on keeping this a secret forever, but until I reveal it, could I ask that you guys…?”

“Of course, Wolfie,” Dorothea squeezed her hand in his with a warm smile.

“Yeah, I'll keep your secret, man, don’t worry. But hey, can you take me when you fly? You’re gonna get your stuff anyway, right?” Caspar grinned widely, already wondering what the sky looked like from above.

“Heehee, I can take you, yes, but I don’t think I can carry everything AND you back, so we’ll need Aquilo’s help…”

“Sure, I’m down!”

The cleaning effort took weeks to finish, though it would take many months to return the Monastery to its former glory. During that time, Wolfram divided his days into helping with the cleaning and hanging out with Dimitri. Though no words were exchanged at first, Wolfram at least made the effort to greet his friend and bring him his food, although the half-manakete never witnessed the prince actually eating it. He only did so after Wolfie or anyone else had left and always placed his empty bowl at the same place.

Wolfram couldn’t imagine the depth of Dimitri’s pain, so the most he could do was stay by his side, honestly. He had thought of giving the jewel he had made during their time away, but ultimately decided against it.

After all, to the manaketes, the act of giving and receiving a jewel crafted by their own fire meant agreeing with the commitment of being confidants for life -- and Dimitri, deep within the darkness that he had long been fighting against, wasn’t in the right mind of accepting such responsibility.

For now, all Wolfie -- and everyone else -- could do was support Dimitri in any way they could, which translated into fighting for and under him.

A matter that would come to play much sooner than they would actually like. The imperial forces were truly keeping watch on the monastery, so they were set to arrive within a few days after they had finally settled in. There wasn’t a good defense plan, or any defense at all, with all crumbled walls and destroyed pathways.

The fight would be for their own survival, amidst tripping on the rubble and dodging fallen debris. The battle was fierce – the imperial forces would stop at nothing to take the Monastery back as they resorted to long range weapons, destructive fireballs and assassins that slipped through their defenses to take out their healers and commanders.

Byleth guided them with all of her power, commanding them as though she predicted the enemy’s every step: She cleared out their reinforcements, secured the ballistae and surrounded their elite knights with the precision of a seasoned soldier.

Once the commander was backed into a corner, he shook with anger. “A total loss… But we can’t just return home like this…” He raised his face with fire in his eyes, aiming at the one who orchestrated his defeat. “I’ll take you with me!”

As though a light that had given up on shining had been ignited back into life, Dimitri yelled from the depths of his lungs. “Professor, get down!” He body blocked the young commander, Randolph, intercepting his weapon with his own bare hands.

The steel crumbled easily under the might of the Blaiddyd bloodline, seeping the blood out of the enemy commander’s face. However, he was too slow to react to Dimitri’s counterattack, which took his arm and twisted it behind his back, crunching it entirely.

“Aaaagh!” Randolph bellowed, kneeling in front of the ‘delusional prince’, as Dimitri had been known lately. “M-mercy… Please, I have a family… I can’t die here!”

“Mercy?! Hah!” Dimitri scoffed at the hypocrisy. “A monster soaked with blood as you are, and still you dare ask for the sweet release of mercy?!”

From atop Aquilo’s back in the sky, Wolfram watched the scene with horror. The man’s arm fell limp on the ground in front of him, twisted so much by Dimitri’s raw power that it fell out helplessly.

“A beast of your depravity, prattling on about family?” Dimitri picked up the stub of lance, discarded Sothis knows when, and pierced Randolph’s neck ever so slightly. “How amusing.”

“Grrahhh…!” Randolph cried out as blood gurgled out of his neck and mouth. “A-as though you could understand…such a thing as love…You heartless monster!”

“You are a monster too, General. You just have yet to realize it.” Dimitri slid the sharp blade through the man’s skin, as though pondering where to stab it next.

Wolfram’s stomach turned. He couldn’t watch his dear friend commit such horrendous acts! Although Dimitri fought and lost the battle against his inner darkness, Wolfram knew the kindness that lay within was too strong to be completely sniffed out. Hadn’t he given an example just a few minutes ago? By protecting Byleth with his own body the same way he had done in the past?

Dimitri was still there, and he was suffering! He would abhor this kind of behavior once he managed to get out with his own strength.

There was no more reason to think. Wolfie jumped out of Aquilo’s back right behind Randolph and stabbed him through the heart with his lance, allowing him a quick and painless death.

The sound of fleshing being pierced and the disgusting thud of a lifeless body falling on the floor was still something Wolfram would rather not hear, but if it meant to help Dimitri… then it was a fair price to pay.

“... What is the meaning of this?” Dimitri’s cold voice found in Wolfram a new target.

However, Wolfie simply looked down to Dimitri’s blood-soaked feet and pressed his lips into a thin line. “Don’t lose, Dimitri. I know you can win.”

“... Win? Win, you say?!” He roared, as though the sound that came out of his throat was a laugh. “Indeed, Wolfram, that is what I intend to do! Trample over their lives, win over their lives, and get that woman’s head! Victory is within my grasp and I do not wish to have it taken from me.” He spoke gravely before turning his back to return to the monastery. “A win!” he gurgled a self-deprecating laugh as he threw the stub away, stomping heavily.

Wolfram bit his lower lip to stop his chin from trembling. The battle was won and the monastery was safe for now, but it seemed that the darkness was taking more and more of Dimitri.

Yet, Wolfie could do nothing but worry and stay by his friend’s side, no matter what happened.