#dorothea critical

[flangst]

YES^^^ thank you! Dorothea’s development could have been so helped by actually supporting with another commoner, ANY commoner, during the game and she was really screwed over by not getting that. Somehow I don’t think Mercedes, or let’s say, Leonie, would put up with her “poor me the Church did nothing and I suffered and I hate nobles even though I’ve been in a very high level position for years and most of the nobles I actually know at this school are nice people.” Or heck, even show that in CF or something she knows she’s a hypocrite about Edelgard and she’s trying to secure a good position in the future Empire by sucking up to her. Anything. 

Why don't you like Dorothea?

got long and character hate, under the cut it goes

She's just... insufferably sanctimonious.

The way she treats a lot of the characters give off a vibe that she thinks she's better than them because She Knows What It's Like Being In The Slums - when realistically speaking, she's had it so much better than the overwhelming majority of commoners for the majority of her life. She's been with the Mittelfrank Opera House since she was ten, and a renown diva since 13 - it's to the point where she has noble connections as a no-house-having commoner. That is such a huge sign of privilege that never really gets addressed as privilege instead of another way to make her pitiable because "poor Dorothea, no one thinks she's actually smart enough to get in Garreg Mach."

It's like... compare that to Leonie, who has actual debt on her name because of her want to get in Garreg Mach. Dorothea literally never has to worry about that, all she has are some schmucks gossiping about her - it's sad, but it's like. Not fuckin' debt. And her passing the exams is supposed to compensate for her noble connections, but that just shows that she's intelligent, not that she doesn't have a huge advantage in life through her status as a diva. But we never get to really face how different her life is compared to the average commoner, because she can't support with any other than Byleth (because they're the player character) and Yuri (who is very decidedly not an average commoner). Literally everyone else she can support with are one of noble blood, royal blood, or the same diva status she has; doesn't really make it look like she cares oh so much for the people when evidently she can't stand to actually talk to them.

And just. Ferdinand getting flustered by her washing naked in a public fountain when they were children - a one-time event that ultimately did nothing but hurt Dorothea's feelings - is enough to make her deeply hate him for over a decade, but Edelgard trying to murder her after revealing that she's lied to everyone for a year barely puts a dent in her feelings for her. It puts no dent in her feelings, if it's CF. It makes Dorothea look so brazenly hypocritical - she'll go on and on about how much she just hates nobles and how much they hurt those under them and how they abuse the power they have, but as soon as a noble she likes does horrendous shit she'll just overlook it entirely (or otherwise hold no hatred for them, like she did with Ferdinand and like she says she does for all the other nobles).

She's completely ready and willing to blame the Church and nobles for all the wrong in the world, but blaming Edelgard for literally anything? Including the violent conquest thing? That's just too much to ask for, apparently - she'll opt for romanticizing the exile/death of Claude and the destruction of the Alliance as an independent nation as a beautiful romance between Edelgard and Byleth instead. Like... it's not Dorothea, former starving resident of Adrestia's lowest class, that brings up the starvation those people are facing on CF - that thing that sounds like something she'd rush to call out were any other noble/the Church the ones that did it. Ashe has to do that, because apparently she can't be fucked to call out Edelgard for anything.

There also how, on CF, she'll go on about how much suffering the war is causing as if the side that she willingly chose to fight for isn't the one, sole side that's causing the suffering in question. On other routes, it's fine; on CF, it makes her incredibly tone-deaf and adds on to her hypocrisy. It makes her look two-faced, being frank.

And, like. If this were intentional? If I thought for a second that the writers meant to make Dorothea seem like someone who, after so long in the spotlight, lost touch with her roots and became the very sort of person she despised? I'd think she be just fine! Because that's honestly how she comes across to me - even with all the hardships being a diva genuinely did bring her, that doesn't mean she wasn't given a head-start compared to her fellow common-born peers. As much as she throws her slum-slicker past in the face of people who criticize her, she is not a slum-slicker anymore and has not been in the lower position of one for most of her life by the war phase.

But I don't think it was meant to be taken like that. I think she's really meant to be the down-to-earth, poor victim who has no power to her name, and who is meant to be seen as right in her words... despite almost never living up to those words herself, and despite how wrong or otherwise unsupported her words often are. She's rarely contradicted in her attitude towards others, and the one time she's called out for her actions - with Sylvain - she just goes No U and the conversation basically ends. Her writing is just... all over the place, for me.

Plus as an ending aside, ngl. With how many times I've seen her fans hard-down insist that literally any and everyone who dislikes her must hate women, can't say it exactly endeared me to her character. Kinda like Yuri, the fandom experience I've had with her was unfortunate, in a word

[ciderbird]

I will leave it up to you how accurate you think the account of the mistress of Metternich is, but this passage about Alexander’s stay in London is so funny to me. I mean the English at this time were generally curious about foreigners but this is admittedly more intense

from “Rites of Peace: The Fall of Napoleon and the Congress of Vienna” by Adam Zamoisky

[dorkofclanlavellan]

Remember when Justinia had a Tranquil (his name was Pharamond) go to Adamant to see if there was a cure for the Rite of Tranquility and when he did as she asked and cured himself she punished him by ordering him be made Tranquil again while he cried and begged her to just kill him instead?

Remember a couple years before that when she had Leliana go to Kirkwall to warn Elthina to flee because she was planning to order an Exalted March on Kirkwall because more and more mages weren't taking their imprisonment, tortures, rapes and murders without resistance?

Yet we're supposed to see her death as sad and awful.

[maelor321]

That's why Adrestia being so underdeveloped is a crime, because Adrestia is the land who screwed over the church the most.

Edie's hatred of the Church isn't unique to her, it's part of the Adrestian supremacist identity, fostered from ruling over a continent and made worse by the destruction of the Southern church after the loss of northern Fódlan.

If Manuela was from Faerghus, spouting such arguments would be followed by deep analysis of her character, because the Faerghus characters have the study of how culture affect the people, with the struggle between the violence and scorn that likely come from Nemesis and his Elites' legacy mixed with the devout brotherhood and camaraderie enforced by the Church of Seiros.

Manuela and Dorothea's supports with church members should have been tied to that, with an addition of their general attitude being different as the game advance, because they fundamentally don't really understand the church, which is understandable because they're commoners of Adrestia, who sullied holy grounds a century ago, destroying the eldest branch of the Faith (the southern church is literally the birthplace of the Church of Seiros) and putting its pieces under control of a noble house.

It would have been so great to see them realize their misunderstandings, and for once, seeing the nobility called out specifically because of their actions against the Church, instead of the usual implication than the Church condone Nobles' sins.

But alas, only the BL route truly care for tackling on the faults coming from toxic aspects of a culture, rather than merely talking of the Church and nobles*, which lead to Dorothea being close-minded even when she turns against Edie.

Manuela is especially sad because she's devout in a way outside of the Church, following the Goddess without really feeling the need for the great buildings and all, so not seeing her perspective evolve, especially when she's a teacher working at Garreg Mach, is a wasted opportunity.

*the vengeful attitude of Faerghus and devotion to the Church is in all of it, not just the nobility.

Favorite instance of the Fódlan games framing the CoS as bad for doing something objectively benign and good for nearly everyone involved in said action?

The easiest one I can think of is this one :

Rhea : "I'll make the seat of this Church thing here, where Mother and my siblings are resting, not far from Zanado, in the mountains. The Holy Tomb also serves as a nuclear shelter, just in case humans try again to target me and send missiles."

Manu :

I understand now why they'd build the monastery in the mountainous center of Fódlan. Although... When the monastery was built, the Kingdom and Alliance weren't even around yet. But look how cleverly it was placed right in the middle of the Empire, Kingdom, and Alliance. That's weird, right?

:/

Supreme Leader :

The leaders of the church have misused its creed to fulfill their true desire—to rule the world. They have fooled the people of Fódlan. Long ago, they divided the Empire to create a Kingdom and then...divided that Kingdom to create an Alliance. They did all of this to make the masses bicker amongst themselves. They caused instability in order to reinforce their own authority.

:/

Manu's blaming the Rhine for "weirdly" being between France and Germany, and it's echoed through Supreme Leader's war speech who blames the Church to have "divided" France and Germany.

Sure we have examples of nationalistic speechs blaming the world and everyone else for, hm, dividing a former glorious Empire in multiple states, but coupled to Manu's thinly veiled conspiration theories, it's almost as if the game wants us to believe Rhea was the mastermind who put GM where it is because it stands as the center of the world, and had precognition powers to guess that'll also be the center of a divided Fodlan, and not, just, building her newest home near the old one, on top of her mom and siblings' resting place to look over them.

Very "bruh" moment indeed.

[aerithisms]

you know it was always very stupid that fates straight up just had awakening characters in it as fanservice but i don't think i ever appreciated enough how lucky i was from a pure fan perspective that one of my favourite awakening characters (severa) got arbitrarily put in another game and i got all that extra content for her

[thebearer]

making the bed |carmen berzatto x reader| part one

prompt: carmen's stressed. food critics, a newborn baby, balancing work life and married life and now dad life; he's bound to break, everyone knows it. but no one ever thought he'd lash out on you.

or, part one of the devastation fic. based off this ask from the other day. two more parts to come.

contains: mega angst. mega angst, with no resolution in this part. hurt, no comfort (in this chapter, will be later in part 3). mean!carmen, very mean. mom!reader x dad!carmen with newborn teddy. fighting, language, carmen says mean stuff he doesn't mean. past mentions of trauma, family trauma, mikey mentioned. very angsty and a little heavy, please read at your own discretion. word count- 3.5k+.

"Are you ok?"

Carmen now understood why that phrase used to send Donna into such a blind rage, lips pursing and jaw clenching more and more every time he heard it. First at work, then with you, it felt never ending.

It was beginning to feel like critic season with how many were coming in, snooty and demanding to be impressed. It couldn't have come at a worst time, right in the middle of busy season with the start of the holidays. Days at The Bear were filled with frantic panic, running around, making sure everything was perfect, accounted for, and Carmen always had the sinking feeling it wasn't- that he'd forgotten something, messed something up. 

It wasn't rare for him to work himself up like this, a normal that you always warned him about, but he'd always had a solitude. As long as he'd known you, he'd had a place to go, to unwind, to let himself rest and reset with you. And he still did, it was just shared now with a newborn.

Dorothea Michelle. Teddy, for short. The light of his life, yours too. Nearly two months old with a set of lungs that sounded much louder, much more developed than that. Nights were long, sleepless, spent trying to lull Teddy back to sleep, awake even if he wasn't up with her. Carmen couldn't allow himself the selfishness to relax, to rewind, to "take it easy" like everyone told him to. At work, he was the boss; at home, he was a dad.

"Fuck, fuck," Carmen's sleepy stare was broken by a lick of bubbling heat, the lamb's roux popping with the high heat, splashing all over Carmen's chef whites.

"Jeff, c'mon," Tina clicked, shaking her head, moving the pan to lower heat. "What're you doin'?"

Carmen grit his teeth, snatching a rag off the stainless steel counter tops, scrubbing the burgundy stain, huffing when it only spread the stain.

"What happened?" Sydney turned, looking from the burnt sauce to Carmen's stained chef shirt. "Oh,"

"Do we have a spare coat?" Carmen huffed, throwing the rag down with a firm smack against the counter.

"I don't think so, Carm." Sydney shook her head. "You took the last ones home with you two days ago. The wine-"

"-I know, Chef, I know." Carmen snapped, running a hand through his hair. "Fuck, I-I can't fuckin' serve the critics lookin' like this. With shit all over me- fuck."

"Hey, easy, easy," Richie turned the corner, his hands held up. "What's goin' on?"

"Jeff got sauce over him. He doesn't have any clean clothes." Tina muttered, irritated that she had to fix his mess, more irritated that he wasn't taking care of himself. You have a baby, Jeff, you need to rest and take some time, she'd told him. Carmen only waved her off.

"Okay, okay, hey, that's no problem." Richie's voice raised, lifting over Carmen's. "You go home and change, get your spare, check on my beautiful goddaughter, and then come back with your A game. Yes?"

Carmen didn't even humor him with a snarky remark, yanking his coat off and stomping towards the office to grab his things. Richie and Tina looked at each other, shaking their head gently.

"Kids runnin' thin, T." Richie muttered with a sigh. "He's gonna break. It's gonna be bad."

"Yeah, he is. Gonna wear himself out before then." Tina shook her head. "Jeff needs a vacation." They both jumped at the slamming of the backdoor, Carmen's angry exit shaking the foundation.

"Needs to be fuckin' medicated. Fuckin' lunatic." Richie scoffed, rolling his eyes at Carmen's dramatics.

The drive home was filled with silence, Carmen's iron grip on the wheel, tearing through the traffic towards the house- his house, his home. 

Home, but it didn't provide the same comfort that it usually did. Carmen's shoulders still stayed tense, buzzing with rage, not dissipating when he thought of you, or of Teddy, knowing you'd both be there, excited to see him. 

You jumped at the sound of the car door slamming, peeking out the window to see Carmen's parked next to yours, furiously stomping up the front steps. You frowned, grabbing the baby monitor, walking towards the front door.

Carmen nearly hit you with how fiercely he flung the door open. "Woah," You reached for the door, stopping it before he could flick it shut. "Carm, don't slam it. Teddy's asleep. I just got her down." You frowned at him, shutting it slowly.

Carmen looked at you but didn't speak, looking through you with a rage that had your spine tingling before he finally broke his gaze, stomping towards the laundry room. "Carm? What’re you doing home? Don’t you have dinner soon?" You hesitated slightly, lingering in the doorway with an uncertainty you hadn’t felt with Carmen before. 

Carmen didn’t answer, his jaw still ground tight while he rummaged through the clean clothes, carelessly unfolding and shifting the folded clothes.

"Carmen," You said more firmly, caching his gaze. He didn't speak still, just stared at you- through you. "Are you ok?" You lifted a brow, features softening in worry.

Carmen paused, eyes closing, shoulders tensing in agitation. Are you ok? His ears rang, a familiar rage that he hadn't felt in years bubbling up deep in his chest. Frustrated and blinding and rampant, heat rushing through his veins, pulling himself further and further from reality into someplace different- someplace darker in his mind. 

"What's wrong?" You pressed, he could barely hear it, ears ringing at your question. "Did something happen? Did the critic come-"

"-Where's my chef whites?" Carmen barked, cutting you off, his chest tightening more and more with every heavy heave of his chest. You flinched at his tone.

"Uh, I-I haven't seen the whites. I washed your white tee-"

“-You what? Y-You what?” Carmen spat, eye widening with a wild, raged glint in his eye. Your stomach flipped and fell with fear, stepping back instinctively. 

“I-I washed your tee, Carm, that’s all that you left in the laundry basket-” 

"-Are you fucking kidding me?" Carmen boomed, his head spinning, body buzzing with rage. Your breath hitched, frozen in fear at the anger in his tone, the roar of his voice bouncing off the walls, echoing through your ears in a painful drum. 

Carmen moved, snatching the dirty clothes basket, dumping it into the ground with a shake until the dirty chef coat fell on top. He gripped the basket, flinging it across the room with a hard throw. The final push to his bad mood that sent him right over the edge, crashing into a pit of blinding fury, aggravation, breaking him from the inside out.

"Fuck!" Carmen roared, his voice shaking the walls, your breath leaving your lungs in a trembling exhale of fear. “Fuck, fuck, fuck! This is- This is- Are you fuckin’ kiddin’ me?” 

You tensed in shock, gripping the baby monitor in fear, maybe surprise, as it started to buzz to life with Teddy's startled whimpers. Her small cries pulled you out of your frozen state, something deeper than fear replacing the ache in your stomach. 

"Carmen-" You gaped, voice wobbling with uncertainty, taking slow shuffled steps towards the stairs. “Carmen, calm-calm down. Ok? Calm down.” 

“Calm down? You want me to fuckin’ calm down?” Carmen sneered, an angry red flush blossoming in splotchy deep hues up his neck, towards his cheeks. “You don’t do shit, nothin’ that I fuckin’ ask for! Just sit around all fuckin’ day an-and I’m supposed to calm down?” 

“Carmen,” Your voice wobbled, throat tight with tears, hurt and fear strangling your words. “I-You didn’t ask me to wash them. I-I didn’t know. They weren’t in the hamper-” 

“-I shouldn’t have to ask you to wash them!” Carmen roared, eyes so wide you thought they might pop right out of his head, neck vein protruding on exemplifying his rage. “You know what I’m going through! You know how much fuckin’ stress I’m under! I go to that-that shit hole, an-and work my fuckin’ ass off so you don’t have to! Then I come home, and I-I can’t even get a second of peace!” 

“Stop,” You hiss, finally regaining your composure, his words fully sinking into you  now, feeling the full effect of them. “I-I just had a baby. I’m still on maternity leave taking care of a baby- our baby, and I’m tired too. But I’m not yelling at you-” 

“-Oh, right. Right.” Carmen laughs sarcastically, humorless as he runs his hand down his face. It felt mocking, left you feeling small and too vulnerable for your liking. “Because in between your napping an-and feeding, you couldn’t stick a fucking jacket in the wash, right? You’re so busy.”  

“What is wrong with you?” You snap, hoping he can’t hear the tears in your voice, the way your voice shakes with emotion. 

“What’s wrong with me? What’s wrong with me?” Carmen scoffs, throwing his hands out. “I get no fuckin' sleep, go work my fuckin' ass off, a-and then I come home so I can go back and work my ass off some more, and-and you can’t do one simple fuckin’ thing? You can’t help me out? And then you wanna know what’s wrong with me? When you sit on your ass all fuckin’ day-” 

Teddy’s piercing wail pulls you out of your shocked trance, nose and throat burning with hurt filled tears you refuse to shed. Instead, you turn, climbing the stairs on shaky legs, the sound of Teddy’s cries growing louder and louder. Anchovy watches you from the top of the stairs, sensing the tension, your upset, sliding against your leg as if to comfort you. 

Carmen scoffs, hands buzzing and trembling with rage, the ringing in his ears growing louder and louder with each of your footsteps on the stairs and down the hall. He can barely hear Teddy’s sobs, hands threading through his hair, pulling at his scalp. He sees you walk towards the bedroom, quickly, hugging Teddy to your chest. 

“Oh, don’t go fuckin’ do it now!” Carmen roared, your ignoring him only infuriating him further. “It won’t be ready in time now. I’ll just look like a fuckin’ idiot for the critic tonight! Not that you care! Why would you, huh? I-I mean just our livelihood, just our fuckin’ income!” 

You swallowed back your tears, head tilting towards the ceiling, hands shaking with every shove of your things into the overnight bag. Just enough to get you through the night, the next day. A few essentials, Teddy’s spare onesies, a charger, your wallet- you stopped mid-shove of your items into the weekender bag, the sun’s rays catching in your wedding ring. Your heart fell, more and more, you weren’t sure how that was even possible. 

Carmen’s furious voice was still booming from downstairs, ringing and shaking in his furious fit. Richie and Sugar both warned you about Carmen’s tantrums, brought them up to embarrass him, tease him about it until he was red faced and hissing hushed threats at them. You never, never in your wildest dreams thought you’d be on the receiving end of one. 

You jumped, another slam of something Carmen had thrown, maybe hit in a fit of rage, causing Teddy to wail louder, Anchovy skittering nervously away. Tears leaked out of your eyes, twisting the ring off your finger, setting it on Carmen’s bedside table. Pulling the carrier out of the closet, Anchovy got in much easier than usual, which you were thankful for. 

Carmen was gripping the marble of the countertop when he heard you again, walking from the bottom of the stairs, quick steps towards the door to the garage, Teddy’s voice nearly hoarse from her crying. You kept your head high, tunnel-visioned towards your car, ignoring his heavy breathing and frantic pacing. 

“Wha-What are you doin’?” Carmen’s voice was softer now, still with a jagged edge that was cutting and harsh. The car door opened, the baby carrier hooked into the car seat. 

“Hey, wha- what are you- where’re you goin’? What’re you doin’?” Carmen’s heart dropped in a damning rush of hour, stumbling on heavy legs towards the garage. You ignored him, shushing Teddy gently, running a calming hand over her wet cheek, trying to coax her paci into her mouth. 

“Baby, no-no, no. Hey, no, I-I- What-” Carmen’s chest felt tight, mind numbing and racing, stuttering nervously. You reached for your bag, his hand reaching to grab the strap. “Whe-Where’re you-”

“-Don’t touch me.” You hissed, teeth bared, eyes shining with tears. Carmen flinched, pulling his hand back like he’d touched a hot stove. “Don’t you dare fucking touch me.” You sneered, pinning him with a watery glare that had his stomach turning in sickening fear. 

“Baby, hey, w-wait-C’mon, d-don’t-You don’t, you don’t need to do this, ok? I-I’m sorry, I’m sorry.” Carmen choked out the words, frantic and unsure, his hands shaking when they ghosted over you back just for a moment. Wanting to touch you, to hold you, to grab you and keep you from leaving, but too scared to. Instead, he grabbed the car door you flung open, holding it when you tried to yank it closed. 

“Let go.” You hissed, sniffling back wet, snotty tears of fury and hurt. 

“Please, don’t-do-don’t do this. Please, baby, I-I’m sorry.” Carmen begged, blue eyes deepening with the burning red hues of tears, bloodshot and lashes wet. “Don’t-Don’t do this-” 

“-I didn’t do this.” You sneered, leaving Carmen flinching at your words. “Don’t you dare try to say this was me. After how you just talked to me? The shit you said to me in there? You think I’m going to stay?” Your voice cracked with emotion, lips pressing together to keep a cry in. 

“No, no, no, no, no, baby, please. Please, ju-just come inside. Come inside, please? Please, don’t-” 

“You don’t get to talk to me like that. To say that kinda stuff to me. That hurt, Carmen. That was mean.” You glared at him, tears leaking out of the corner of his eyes. “I don’t care if you’re stressed. I don’t care what’s going on- nothing, and I mean nothing, warrants you talking to me like that. Just because you fucked up, because you forgot to ask me to do it, because you’re stressed out- I don’t care what it is. You don’t talk to me like that, say those things when I’ve been home all day taking care of my ch- our child.” You nod back towards the sniffling baby, whimpering and crying half heartedly, her little eyelids drooping with sleep that was interrupted. 

Carmen felt sick, his knees tightening in fear, he was sure they might give out, that he might fall to the ground right there. Looking at the tiny baby, lip jutted and shaking in the mirror hooked on the back of the seat, then back at you, eyes red-rimmed and glaring at him with a hurt filled anger. 

“Don’t-” Carmen’s chest shook, a white-knuckled grip on the door. 

Your own hand curled around the door’s inner handle, yanking it away from him. “Move,” You hissed, pulling again. 

Carmen wasn’t sure why he let it go, why he let you shut it, locking the door in case he tried to open it again. Why he let you pull out of the driveway, why he didn’t stop you, why he didn’t run after you, only taking soft shuffles down the drive like a zombie as you drove away. Standing in the drive, Carmen swallowed down the spit that pooled in his mouth, stomach churning, sure he was going to be sick. 

He managed to trudge back to the garage, mind racing and far away, the ringing in his ears dulling but still deafening. It felt like he was in a dream- a nightmare, a hallucinating trance that felt like a sick, sick dream- Carmen was hoping it was. That he’d wake up and find you next to him asleep. That he could hug you, pull you into him, nose buried in your neck, still warm from your slumber. 

As the sun began to sink low into the sky, minutes turning into hours that Carmen sat motionless in the garage, staring in a trancelike state, he realized that this wasn’t a dream or a nightmare. No this was his reality, a horrific reality that he’d made into his own. Carmen sat, eyes trained on the concrete of the garage, voice racing and blending in his mind- his words, yours, Teddy’s cries, Natalie and Richie’s, flashbacks of his mother screaming fits. 

He didn’t move, frozen in chilling, eerie fear. What ifs and terrifying possible scenarios, consequences to his own actions that left him feeling sick, hands trembling. A spiraling of fears that only drug him deeper and deeper with every haunting replay of his outburst. Even the flashing of headlights turning into the driveway, filling the garage with light, didn’t pull him from his trance. 

“The fuck is he- Cousin!” Richie roared, laying on the horn. Carmen didn’t move, didn’t acknowledge that he heard it, only stared. Richie frowned, turning the car off, throwing the door open. 

“Cousin? Carm? What-What are you doin’? Dinner service started an hour ago. Syd is freakin’ the fuck out.” Richie threw his hands up, walking towards the man who still didn’t move. Richie’s heart skipped, flashbacks of Mikey flooding into his vision, parallels of the two brothers blurring before him. 

“Yo, Carm, you-you good?” Richie stepped into the garage, his spine tingling with icy fear. It was quiet, an eerie, unsettling quiet. “Cousin, hey, what-what’s wrong?” 

Carmen's chest rose and fell, tighter and tighter. He was suffocating, head spinning and mind racing so fast he felt light headed. He could barely hear Richie’s voice over the noise in his head, Richie’s hand shaking his shoulder finally breaking his trance enough to meet his eyes, rounded in fear filled question. 

“Carmen, what’s wrong? Is it- Don’t fuckin’ tell me it’s the baby. What the fuck is goin’ on-” 

“-She left.” Carmen’s voice shook, raspy and scared. His tongue still felt too thick, head still spinning. He wasn’t even sure he said it, Richie’s widening eyes the only thing confirming that he had said it. 

“What? Who-Who left? Who?” Richie looked around, like the clues might be there, sure that Carmen wasn’t talking about you. No, he wouldn’t- he couldn’t. Not you. 

Carmen’s breath hitched, a strangling of a sob caught in his throat, running his hand over his face. Richie didn’t miss the way it trembled, shaking even as it rested over his eyes. Your car was gone, the house too quiet, no baby Teddy crying, nothing but silence was left. 

Richie’s heartbeat crawled into a rapid, scared pace. “Why? Wh-Why would she-” Richie looked at Carmen, eyes wide but still, reading his expression. “No. No, Cousin, no. What-What did you do? Carmen,” Richie grabbed both his shoulders, shaking him lightly until he met his gaze. “What did you do?” 

Carmen’s face began to crack, behind his eyes, Richie could see flashbacks of something- something he didn’t know what, but whatever it was, it was painful. That was evident by the fear that glossed over Carmen’s eyes, realization and horror. Carmen’s shoulders shook, frame rocking with a sob he tried to swallow, but couldn’t. Deep cries, guttural sobs breaking out of his frame, heels of his hands pressed to his eyes, fingers curled and clenched around his greasy curls in agony. 

The damning realization flooded over him, that you’d left. 

You’d left, you’d taken Teddy, taken Anchovy- you’d left because he’d driven you away. His angry outburst, petulant, mean, hurtful- he’d been so cruel to you. You. His wife, the love of his life, mother of his child, the one person who loved him endlessly without stipulations or boundaries, the one person who truly understood him. 

And he’d driven you away. 

He wished he could blame his mom, his dad, his family for fucking him up so severely, maybe Mikey, even, for leaving him the shit show that was the restaurant, making his anxieties worse and fuse shorter. But sitting in the empty garage, Richie standing above him in silent shock, his sobs and angry sniffles echoing off the cement floor, Carmen knew he had no one to blame but himself. 

He’d fucked up. Really fucked up. Fucked up in a way that made all the other times look obsolete. 

Carmen had fucked up, and for once, he didn’t know what to do. He couldn’t avoid it, ignore it, deflect it like other times. Half hearted apologies and promises of change wouldn’t work, you weren’t here for him to even try to give them to you, and he didn’t know where you went. 

Carmen wasn’t sure where you went, how to fix this, why he’d done what he did, and a million other things that raced through his mind. What he did know, sitting in the too quiet garage, chest stuttering with heaving cries, was that he’d do anything. 

Anything, to get you back home. To make it right. To fix this and make it up to you. 

He wasn’t sure how, but he’d give up everything. Anything. His restaurant, his dreams, his hopes, his life, at this point, to make it up to you. 

[guiltyonsundays]

In defence of Will Ladislaw

George Eliot's characterisation of Will Ladislaw is one of the few aspects of Middlemarch that is not universally praised, with no less a person than Henry James commenting in 1873 that he lacked “sharpness of outline and depth of color”, making him the novel’s “only eminent failure.” And while Will's character is certainly not as clearly defined as some of the other characters in the novel, I believe that this was absolutely intentional on Eliot's part. Middlemarch is full to the brim of characters who believe they know exactly what they want—not least among them, our two protagonists, Dorothea Brooke and Tertius Lydgate, whose ardent ambitions and inflexible attitudes lead them into catastrophic errors of judgement and unhappy marriages.

By contrast, Will's lack of strongly defined goals and his changeability are almost his defining character traits. He's aimless and pliable, prone to rapid mood swings and drastic career changes, with even his physical features seeming to "chang[e] their form; his jaw looked sometimes large and sometimes small; and the little ripple in his nose was a preparation for metamorphosis. When he turned his head quickly his hair seemed to shake out light."

Will’s inscrutability is closely tied to his ambiguous status within the rigid class structure and xenophobic society of Victorian England, with his Polish ancestry and “rebellious blood on both sides” making him a target for suspicion. He is repeatedly aligned (and aligns himself) with oppressed, marginalised, and outcast populations—Jewish people, artists, and the poor.

He serves as a narrative foil for characters like Lydgate and Edward Casaubon, who prioritise specialist expertise above all and are consequently incapable of broad knowledge synthesis. He critiques Casaubon's life's work as being "thrown away, as so much English scholarship is, for want of knowing what is being done by the rest of the world." By contrast, Will serves as Eliot's defence of the value of a liberal education. One of the first things that we learn about him is that he declines to choose a vocation, and instead seeks to travel widely, experiencing diverse cultures and ways of life. He has broad tastes and interests, trying his hand at poetry and painting before eventually pursuing a career in politics.

He also functions as a narrative foil for Dorothea. Will is initially apathetic to politics, whereas Dorothea initially professes herself to be disinterested in art and beauty. This is perfectly encapsulated in their exchange in Rome, when Dorothea declares, "I should like to make life beautiful—I mean everybody's life. And then all this immense expense of art, that seems somehow to lie outside life and make it no better for the world, pains one", to which Will replies, "You might say the same of landscape, of poetry, of all refinement [...] The best piety is to enjoy—when you can [...] I suspect that you have some false belief in the virtues of misery, and want to make your life a martyrdom.”

By the end of the novel, Dorothea unlearns some of her puritanical suspicion of sensual pleasure, whereas Will becomes more serious, compassionate, and politically engaged, dedicating his life to the accomplishment of humane political reforms. They are both flawed individuals, who ultimately become more well rounded through their relationship with each other. Admittedly, Dorothea's influence on Will is more significant than his on her—and once again, I believe that this was intentional on Eliot's part.

In my opinion, the negative response to Will Ladislaw at the time of Middlemarch's publication (and in the centuries since) was and is profoundly informed by gendered expectations of masculine dominance in romantic relationships. Will's marriage to Dorothea has often been described as disappointing, with many readers and critics viewing the ambitious Lydgate as the embodiment of the ideal husband that Dorothea outlines at the beginning of the novel—a talented man engaged in important work for the betterment of humanity, to whom she can devote herself.

However, one of the central themes of the novel is that people are often mistaken in their beliefs about what they want, and Dorothea's marriage to Edward Casaubon certainly demonstrates that she would not in fact be happy living her life in submission to a man who does not respect her opinions. I firmly believe that Lydgate's misogynistic attitudes and expectations would have made it impossible for him to be happy in a marriage of equals with a woman like Dorothea. He is explicitly drawn to Rosamond Vincy because she has "just the kind of intelligence one would desire in a woman—polished, refined, docile."

By contrast, George Eliot made a deliberate choice to pair Dorothea with a man who is not ashamed to be influenced by her, and indeed looks up to her as his moral superior. Through Dorothea's influence, Will discovers his life's work. In turn, by marrying Will, Dorothea is able to pursue her true passion. As a result of their influence on each other, these come to mean the same thing—reform. Thus, George Eliot grants Dorothea Brooke a subversively feminist, politically progressive, and profoundly cathartic ending: a life of companionate marriage, sensual pleasure, and meaningful work, in which Dorothea can devote herself (within the limited means available to her as a woman in the 19th century) to the achievement of just and compassionate reforms that "make life beautiful" for everybody—herself included.

[raxistaicho]

Point 2 is especially important to note about Dimitri. At no point does he question whether what he's doing is wrong, he's just decided he no longer cares. It's not so much snapping as him relaxing his moral fetters. Yes, there's the issue of his ghosts plaguing him, but that's not a new thing, they were tormenting him before the time skip, and they continue to do so after he comes around. He just stopped rejecting the violence they were demanding of him.

Mercy, mercy me!

Edelgard to beaten enemies:

Edelgard’s opponents to beaten enemies:

Edelgard to other students she doesn’t know personally:

Edelgard’s opponents to other students they don’t know personally:

Edelgard to defeated enemy leaders:

Edelgard’s opponents to defeated enemy leaders:

More of Edelgard to defeated enemy leaders:

More of Edelgard’s opponents to defeated enemy leaders: 

Edelgard when she has her enemies cornered:

Edelgards opponents when they have their enemies cornered:

Mercy as much as possible is a repeating theme of her interactions. Edelgard might have started the war, but every indication is that she’s limiting the bloodshed as much as possible. This is not reciprocated by her opponents.

[butwhatifidothis]

It just dawned on me...I didn't realize it before probably cause I'm atheist but dont people tend to seek comfort in higherpowers/gods when they experience desperation and suffering?

So wouldn't edelgards war , which causes mass unrest, death, suffering, famine, etc. Actually cause more people to wish for salvation/intervention from a the Goddess?

No doubt about it, which is a huge part of what makes her zeal to destroy it so horrible. And what makes the CF endings where it does stay but only when directly under her supervision so insidious. She takes away the means in which people find comfort, only to "remake" it so that she has say in how the belief is practiced.

The Church was always its own entity, mostly leaving the surrounding countries alone - it'll intervene when asked to or when attacked, but otherwise they tend to stay out of everyone's business. When Byleth takes over, they either do so alongside the ruler of Fodlan (AM) or they are the only available person left to rule (SS/VW) since they are the one the people want to lead them. There's either a distinct separation between the Church and the ruling party, or there's no other choice but to have the two parties merge. Plus, Seteth and Flayn are there to help Byleth lead the Church in all cases of them leading it (with SS even allowing for the chance for Rhea herself to help).

That's, um, not quite the case with Edelgard. She actively kills/disposes of every other possible ruler with the explicit purpose of ruling over their lands and for Adrestia to be the only one there to control Fodlan. So her killing Rhea, Seteth, and Flayn (or forcing Seteth and Flayn to leave Fodlan) before going on to take control of the religion that was about their mother, well, could only ever really be for one reason; further control.

She already spies on the populace, as seen from Hubert's ending with Dorothea. She enforces a secret police as seen with Hubert's ending with Shamir. She indulges in censorship in her ending with Dorothea. And, again, she's purposefully killed off anyone that could stop her or challenge her control. Not exactly the longest stretch in the world that she also does what she does with the Church to get more control, considering everything else she does. Now the people who were so devastated about losing their religion totally no longer have to worry - now that it's been fixed and is being led by a good human, they are allowed to practice it with no fear of consequences! ...yeah that's gonna get a yikes from me lol.

And the thing is, even if I'm way off base and that's not meant to be taken like that... what you said is still very much true lol. Like, I'm far from religious, but somethin' tells me that for many religious folks extreme hardships would, like... just make them more ardent believers? And/Or that it would, uh, not exactly soothe them to see their religion mercilessly attacked and destroyed, only to be taken over by its destroyer? There'll be some who drink the Kool-Aid like Manuela, but I don't think the majority of believers would exactly be happy with Edelgard once her war is finished

[emblemxeno]

Rant ahead.

Honestly part of my confusion at people trashing on Engage's designs for either being too out there or crazy is that this is the same fandom that venerates Pantsless Marth, Dong Armor Alm, Pegasus Knights with short skirts and thigh highs, mages who don't have armor or practical clothes most of the time, the very existence of the dancer class, etc.

These things are classic and funny to poke at, but they were also things that happened 30+ years ago. Do you not think that Marth going commando and Jagen having eye gouging shoulder spikes in 1990 wasn't just as ridiculous, gaudy and impractical as Hortensia's cupcake circus dress in 2023? In Engage's immediate predecessor you had classes with tit separaters, characters with drill hair, Dorothea in opera garb during war time, Hilda's timeskip fit which looks like a prototype Hortensia fit, Petra's timeskip fit, Kronya's existence, and Female Byleth in general.

Impracticality and overdesign is the weakest criticism you can give FE designs. I get it, we long for the GBA era, but let's be real: those designs were made to complement class design in part to compensate for having character mugs and game sprites as the only constant presentation of the characters. "Crazy" designs and high fantasy armor and clothes started with the more decadent characters in the Tellius games because they had models and didn't have to strictly adhere to class design elements anymore.

[thisfirelight]

Sylvain's supports with the female characters can be a bit.. I don't know how to describe it.

When it comes to the women he doesn't marry, he's sometimes the one taking the role of advisor or emotional support. For example, him and Bernadetta/Marianne and to a smaller extent, Annette. However, when it comes to the women he does marry, the women are the ones playing at being advisor or support. For example, him and Mercedes/Ingrid. Thinking about it this way, maybe it's not that much of a surprise how his epilogues with women focus more on him than her.

(As for the other supports: Him and Manuela/Hilda don't really go anywhere. And I feel a bit puzzled about him and Lysithea/Leonie/Flayn. Not taking Byleth into consideration since as a silent character, she spends most of the time being talked at…)

Taking a closer look at the Mercedes support. During the C-support, she shares her backstory with Sylvain. During the B-support, he shares his story with her. The A-support winds up focusing more on him than her. I mean, it's also there to show Sylvain acknowledging/recognizing other people's troubles (eg. his brother). But idk, throughout the entire support, all Sylvain has said to Mercedes regarding her trauma is "I know you've got your share of bad memories too" + "It's horrible what you had to go through. It's not like anyone chooses to be born with a Crest". It feels like she's taking on more of the emotional labour.

Many characters do confront Sylvain on his womanizing behavior and attitude towards women. However, he has never really been shown to work on his bias? He usually brushes it off or talks about women wanting him for his crest. At most he's said "The women who just want to use me to become nobility? Hatred's probably the right word. Though, in the end…that's just an easy answer. I don't even know how I truly feel about it all.."

He very often brings up women not seeing him for his person. We only get to know about these nebulous women through his point of view. Maybe some of them really are conniving, heartless people who have hurt him deeply. Odds are, not all of them are but Sylvain doesn't seem to concern himself over this. In fact, during his C-support with Byleth, we're immediately shown a female NPC taking offense at his preconceived notion of her. And Sylvain does not care.

Sylvain: You think I'd cheat? On you, baby? Never. Come on, you should know me better than that. You're the only one for me. I swear. Hey, if ya don't believe me, well... Oh, I get it. If I'm not your type, do you want me to introduce you to some other guys who have Crests? They're all nobles, just like me.

Town Girl: What?! That isn't why I'm — You — You're worse than I thought!

Sylvain: I just want you to be happy. You know, get what you're after. I hate seeing a girl cry, especially one as beautiful as you. So you know, maybe we..

Lastly, in all of his supports, I don't think Sylvain has ever felt bad for hurting these women beyond a smarmy "I hate seeing a girl cry" or "I'm sad every time I break up with someone!"

This has gotten long and messy. I hope it makes sense. Also, I apologize if I'm too harsh on him.

Despite Sylvain supposedly developing past his misogyny, all his endings with women focus almost 100% on his goals and accomplishments to the point where the female characters he ends up with are honestly interchangeable and I think this is indicative of how Sylvain really doesn't grow out of this mindset. His Dorothea ending talks about him improving relations with Sreng and doesn't mention any of her accomplishments, the Mercedes ending talks about him improving relations with Sreng and doesn't mention any of her accomplishments (the only significant difference from the Dorothea one is this ending says a crestless child succeeds Sylvain but the framing still makes that appear to be Sylvain's doing, not Mercedes'), and his ending with Ingrid is, oh look, the same exact thing. I initially ignored Byleth's ending because she's the player character, surely she could at least avoid being relegated to an accessory in a man's life story, and while Byleth may have gotten slightly better treatment than the other women it's still honestly disappointing. Their CF ending honestly focuses mainly on them as a team so I wouldn't say Sylvain gets too much preferential treatment here and wouldn't even care if it wasn't for all the other factors, but their other endings are all about Sylvain's accomplishments. In AM it says that "he achieved a great deal," not they, in fact Byleth does not achieve anything in this ending besides becoming Archbishop (no mention of what she does with that though) and marrying Sylvain. Their VW and SS ending is the same, Byleth's main accomplishment is marrying Sylvain while Sylvain gets to use his "cunning manner of speech...[to] foster relationships between the CoS, Fodlan, and surrounding regions."

Compare these endings to the women's endings with other people. Ingrid improves the quality of her territory in many endings including AM Felix, CF Ashe, and CF Ignatz. In other endings, such as AM Ashe and Raphael, she becomes a knight and while it may not be an ending I like for her it is still an ending that involves her doing something. Dorothea gets to play a big role in the Mittlefrank Opera Company again with Edelgard, Manuela, and Felix. With Petra she's able to use her connections from the Opera to help Brigid improve their relations with Fodlan. Mercedes runs an orphanage in her CF Annette ending and works as a cleric in all her other Annette endings. With Constance they work to improve both their territories (too many endings with M/F nobles only focus on the male noble's territory but that's an issue for another day). Mercedes also becomes a cleric in her Alois ending and goes down in history for having magical blessings.

These women's endings with Sylvain are by no means their only endings where they're ignored in favor of the male character but the fact that all of Sylvain's M/F endings ignore the female character (while his Felix ending has no issue talking about what Felix is doing separate from Sylvain) speaks to the likelihood of Sylvain still holding on to some of his concerning views.

[whencyclopedia]

Theogony

The Theogony is an 8th-century BCE didactic and instructional poem, credited to the Greek poet Hesiod. The Theogony was, at first, not actually written down, rather, it was part of a rich oral tradition which only achieved written form decades later. The Theogony traces the history of the world from its creation through the battle between the Olympians and the Titans to the ascension of Zeus as the absolute ruler of all of the Olympian gods. With the rise of Zeus to supremacy and the birth of his many children, the poem ends and does not address the continued struggles between mankind and the gods. Much of what is known today concerning early Greek mythology comes from Hesiod's work and that other great Greek poet Homer. Collectively, their works would serve as a major influence on later Greek literature and drama, and Roman mythology, especially through the epic Metamorphoses by Ovid.

Authorship

The Theogony (from the Greek theogonia, meaning "generations of the gods") is an epic poem of 1,022 hexameter lines which describes the birth of the gods in the Greek pantheon. It is thought to have been composed c. 700 BCE (give or take a generation either side of that date). Little is known of Hesiod's life. His father emigrated from Cyme in Asia Minor and settled in Boeotia, a small state in central Greece. It is assumed that the poet was a farmer; a fact garnered from the early verses of the Theogony. He may also have been a rhapsodist, a reciter of poetry, where he learned the technique and vocabulary of heroic songs.

Although there are some who question whether or not Hesiod actually wrote the Theogony, most classicists believe he did. However, parts of the work may have been added by later poets and there is a definite similarity in some aspects to earlier Mesopotamian literature. The historian Dorothea Wender believes that the Theogony was an earlier work than Works and Days, the other work attributed to Hesiod. She considers the latter to be a better work, and while the Theogony seems to be unpolished, the author could have had difficulty with written composition.

Wender criticizes Hesiod for not discussing the dethroning of Kronos and his endless mention of "colourless deities." Also, Hesiod's Zeus is too invincible. There is no suspense. "Homer gets more excitement out of a footrace than Hesiod does out of a full-scale war in heaven" (18). However, to Wender, the poem still has historical interest. Certainly, the Theogony was influential; the historian Norman Cantor in his Antiquity wrote that the Greeks adopted Homer and Hesiod's notion of the gods and

a distinctive Greek religion was developed. This religion was always complex and never consistent in all its details; still, its view of man and the world lies at the center of Greek culture. (123)

Hesiod was influential on Classical Greek literature and philosophy, his Prometheus story, for example, inspiring such playwrights as Aeschylus (c. 525 - c. 456 BCE). His poetic style was much imitated, particularly in Hellenistic times and in Roman times - both the Republic and Imperial Rome - when Hesiod's works continued to be recited and set to music. The great Roman writer Ovid (43 BCE - 17 CE) would use many of the themes of the Theogony in his Metamorphoses.

Continue reading...

[cynical-gamer-media]

The Blue Lions are without question the least closest House in FE3H (long thread)

The Blue Lions are without question the least closest House in FE3H. The writing of AM does questionable choices to the BL as it focuses solely on Dimitri that it neglects how the Blue Lions feel about him, the world they live in, and their relationships with each other.

🦁🔵If we look at the Blue Lions with Blue Lions Supports to A:

Dimitri: 5/7

Felix: 5/7

Dedue: 5/7

Sylvain: 3/7

Ashe: 4/7

Ingrid: 5/7

Mercedes: 6/7

Annette: 5/7

🦅🔴If we look at the Black Eagles with Black Eagles Supports to A:

Edelgard: 6/7

Dorothea: 6/7

Petra: 5/7

Bernadetta: 5/7

Hubert: 5/7

Ferdinand: 5/7

Caspar: 5/7

Linhardt: 5/7

🦌🟡If we look at the Golden Deer with Golden Deer Supports to A:

Claude: 5/7

Lorenz: 5/7

Ignatz: 5/7

Raphael: 5/7

Lysithea: 4/7

Marianne: 5/7

Hilda: 5/7

Leonie: 4/7

It's an interesting mix of Supports! The Blue Lions is the only House with someone having 3 A Supports with someone from the same House (Sylvain). Black Eagles is the only House to have no less than 5 A Supports with someone from the same House.

The Faerghus Four feels like a group barely held together, on the verge of collapsing. They are only together because of the 'good ol' days', but friendship circles end. People change, and wish to mingle with others.

Sylvain & Felix would never stick with Dimitri during his time of madness: they have shown to criticise Faerghus society (see it as a ticking time bomb) & people being yes men (and are open about it), so why are they yes-manning for Dimitri?

Felix criticises Dimitri time and again, and has criticised senseless massacres and blind obedience (his C Support with Dedue), so why is he following Dimitri without challenging him? Felix would have been kicked out by Dimitri if he didn't choose to leave.

Whilst Ingrid does say that Felix wishes to get strong to protect his friends (their A Support) that doesn't mean he will follow Dimitri. If anything he would be even more vocal about his disapproval. Dimitri doesn't care about his men (at that time), so why should he?

Sylvain is quite critical of Faerghus and Dimitri's rule (even in CF as a Black Eagle); he would never blindly follow anyone. He would have left so to ensure Faerghus (or at least Gautier) are kept together during a time when the future king abandoned them.

Dimitri does describe Sylvain as loyal to his friends, but their Support only gets up to B. Sylvain mostly refers to him as 'Your Highness'. Their friendship is strained, or has even ended.

Ingrid doesn't seem to know Sylvain beyond the facade. Contrast that with Dedue, who even after the C Support with Sylvain starts to see him for who he truly is/beyond his facade.

Outside Dimitri the only Faerghus Four member that Dedue would get along with is Sylvain. Sylvain sees him as a person and believes what happened to Duscur was unacceptable. Dedue is simply around Felix & Ingrid because Dimitri is friends with them.

Sylvain doesn't feel comfortable with people getting too close to him (hence only having 3 A Supports), thus showcasing he isn't close to his House--the Blue Lions.

The Blue Lions being the least closest House could have been compelling, if the writers dwelled into it. But because everything revolves around Dimitri the Blue Lions feel like they're just there to play as yes-men to uplift Dimitri.

The Black Eagles & Golden Deer feel tight-knit because of their relationship to their Lords (Edelgard & Claude), how they view the world around them, and their relationships with each other. They're not afraid to tease or challenge their Lords, and they all grow together.

The Black Eagles & Golden Deer feel integral to Edelgard & Claude; without their friends they would not be here or have grown. Whereas with the Blue Lions they don't challenge Dimitri or help him grow: he becomes better because Rodrigue saved him and Byleth gave a pep-talk.

You could take out the Blue Lions during Dimitri's moment of madness and nothing would have changed. (If Byleth & Rodrgiue are out then there is a change).

The Blue Lions being the least closest House could have been compelling if the writers emphasised that/shown more interactions between the Lions and show some challenge Dimitri (not just being yes-men).

[mostrandomgallery]

And now, for the main healer of the Cotton Candy Elephants, give a round of applause for Delicia von Hevring!

With Delicia von Hevring’s enrollment into the Officers’ Academy, it has been speculated whether or not the Hevring family themselves or the Crest of Cethleann naturally makes one disgusted at the sight of blood, as was the case with Linhardt von Hevring. In Delicia’s case, the mere mention of blood makes her want to puke on command. For this reason, she took up faith magic and healing in order to heal gross, icky injuries involving blood and guts. Rumor has it that Delicia would rather eat broccoli than look at blood—and she absolutely despises broccoli.

And now, time for Delicia's stats!

Crest: Cethleann (major)

Heroes’ Relic/Sacred Weapon: Caduceus Staff

Strengths: Faith, Reason, Flying

Weaknesses: Sword, Axe

Hidden Talent: Lance

Personal Skill: “Ew!”— After landing a hit with a battalion, will push away all enemies in range 5 spaces away and gain 2+ to Mag, Res, and HP

Ideal Classes: Monk, Priest, Bishop, Gremory, Dark Flier, Pegasus Knight, Falcon Knight

Learnable Magic: Heal, Physic, Ward, Restore, Nosferatu, Aura, Seraphim, Wind, Cutting Gale, Excalibur

Ideal Combat Arts: Tempest Lance, Knightkneeler, Hit and Run

Selection Quotes (Academy): "Ugh, Battle!" (normal), "Okay, I got this…" (mid-health), "I think I’m gonna be sick!" (critical health)

As the primary healer of the Cotton Candy Elephants, Delicia specializes in Faith Magic first and Reason Magic second. However, her Reason growth rates are slightly higher than typical healers, and are on par with an offense mage like Dorothea. Delicia herself was envisioned as a combination of Dorothea and Linhardt, having the fashion sense and attitude of the former, combined with the healing focus and smart-mouthed personality of the latter, minus the sleepiness (there's another student in this class who's always sleepy, but she's related to Lorenz). She's even got his Academy Phase selection quote. Her best stats are Res, Mag, and Cha.

A social butterfly, Delicia is super easy to build support with. Due to her high Cha stat, she is easy to have tea parties with an is an excellent candidate for the Dancer class (I'm just gonna say that making Tristesse the Dancer is funnier). For dining, her favorite meals are: Vegetable Pasta Salad, Sweet Bun Trio, Saghert and Cream, Peach Sorbet, Two-Fish Sauté, and Bourgeois Pike. At the dining table, she has unique dialogue with another classmate, Envidia Desiree Dominic. Delicia's preferred gifts include the Stylish Hair Clip, Floral Adornment, Gemstone Beads, Tea Leaves, and Roses. While she can support with everyone in her class, her supports outside her house are limited to: Dorothea, Linhardt, Ferdinand, Sylvain, Lorenz, Hilda, Constance, Manuela, and Flayn. As for S-Support, she is locked to Male Byleth.

Fun Fact: Delicia's name means "delightful". Ironic, considering that she's someone who is rarely delighted by anything, and is easily repulsed by everything around her.

DO NOT REPOST!!! Also on deviantART

[lithopsy]

taylor swift gay at 34

can i say something without everyone getting mad

[malsfefanfics]

OC Profile: Davi

Art by @cringeyvanillamilk, edited to icon size by me.

"We're not exactly sure where he came from, but he's become a fine member of the monastery. Davi has the heart of a knight, but he has a laid back side as well. I get the feeling he keeps us all at arms length, though. I wish to know him better. He seems particularly awkward around Felix, Dedue, and is actively avoiding Seteth and Flayn." -- Dimitri about Davi.

Full name: Davi Valerio Nicknames: Dava (by children), Vi, Brat (by Graham, affectionate) Birthday: 19th of the Pegasus Moon, 1164 Age: 21 (Pre-Timeskip), 26 (Post-Timeskip) Crest: [REDACTED] Family: Unnamed mother (deceased), unnamed father (deceased), Rui (twin brother, deceased), unnamed grandfather (deceased), Graham Govain (Adoptive Guardian), Chliodna Govain (Adoptive Guardian) Nationality: Duscur Titles: Crepuscular Commander, Warrior of the Mind Voice Claim: Jonah Scott (Legoshi from Beastars)

Interests: Weapons training, the Opera, Religious Studies Likes: Horses, Choir Practice, Training, Dancing Dislikes: Most of Faerghus, Crests, Heroes Relics

Favorite Meals: Onion Gratin Soup, Grilled Herring, Fruit and Herring Tart Liked Meals: Saghert and Cream, Beast Meat Teppanyaki, Pickled Rabbit Skewers, Derdriu-Style Fried Pheasant, Disliked Meals: Garreg Mach Meat Pie, Country-Style Red Turnip Plate, Gautier Cheese Gratin

Tea Preferences: Chamomile, Cinnamon Blend, Almyran Pine Needles

Liked Gifts: Fishing Float, Exotic Spices, Floral Adornment, Book of Sheet Music Disliked Gifts: The History of Fodlan, Legends of Chivalry, Book of Crest Designs,

Lost Items:

Strange Book of Music: A notebook filled with unfinished sheet music. The lyrics are in a language you don't recognize.

Traditional Kilt: A garment fit for a warrior. An elaborately weaved design colors it like the twilight.

Suppression Charm: A charm meant to suppress magic power. You remember seeing something similar in a Crestology book.

Starting Class: Commoner Preferred Class Path: Soldier/Monk --> Cavalier/Mage/Dark Mage/Priest --> Paladin/Wyvern Rider/Bishop/Dark Bishop/Warlock --> Wyvern Lord/Dark Knight/Holy Knight Strength: Lance Weakness: Heavy Armor Budding Talent: Faith Personal Skill: Merciful Pantheon - Increases nearby allies critical hit rates by 5% when their health is less than half.

Weapons Starting Levels:

Sword: C Lance: B Axe: E Bow: D Brawling: E Reason: D Faith: D+ Authority: C Heavy Armor: E Riding: D Flying: D

Base Stats:

HP: 30 Str: 12 Mag: 6 Dex: 7 Spd: 7 Lck: 6 Def: 8 Res: 8 Cha: 10

Learned Faith Spells: Heal (D) Nosferatu (D+) Recover (C), Seraphim (B), Aura (A) Learned Reason Spells: Thunder (D), Thoron (C), Bolganone (B), Excalibur (A), Agnea’s Arrow (A)

Recruit Requirements for Canon-Compliance AUs: 

Blue Lions: must complete the Paralogues "War for the Weak" and "An Ocean View", and have B or higher in Lances, Reason, and Riding

Golden Deer: must complete the Paralogues "Dividing the World" and "An Ocean View", and have C or higher in Faith and Flying

Black Eagles: must complete "True Chivalry" and "An Ocean View", have a B in Axes and Heavy Armor.

Black Eagles (Silver Snow): Must also have completed Ashen Wolves Paralogues and have a B in Swords and Authority

Potential Supports:

Byleth

Dimitri

Dedue

Felix

Sylvain

Ingrid (up to B)

Annette

Mercedes

Edelgard

Caspar

Dorothea

Bernadetta

Petra

Claude

Lorenz (Up to B)

Hilda (Up to B)

Leonie

Raphael (Up to B)

Ignatz (Up to B)

Seteth

Flayn

Manuela

Hanneman (Up to B)

Yuri

Constance

Hapi

Balthus

Crit Quotes:

By the grace of the gods!

Ashes to ashes, as they say.

This is my vengeance!

You are not much of a challenge.

My mentor calls.

You're in my way!

You shall regret crossing blades with me!

God of War, guide me!

You are a disgrace!

Defeat Quotes:

Apologies, friends. I must fall back.

This is too much. We must retreat.

I....I won't die here....not now....

Ah...so this is what Rui felt that day...

I'm sorry, Graham. I failed....

Don't weep....I....made my choice....

Skill Level Increase Quotes:

This will aide my people well.

This blessing will serve me well.

Blessings by the God of Wisdom.

Now this is curious.

Insightful. Thank you.

Level Up Quotes:

To grow is part of life.

Blessed by the God of War.

I know I can do better.

The Gods are testing me.

Gift Quotes:

Liked Gifts: You found something truly magnificent. I am grateful.

Neutral Gifts: This is delightful.

Disliked Gifts: Perhaps you should take your curses elsewhere.