#edelgard holds up her own suffering as an example

[randomnameless]

Don't forget Marianne being worried about Edelgard's feelings in Azure Gleam as another prime example of Edelwanking; that's a strong contender for the top spot, given how it takes someone who's on the receiving end of an invasion and makes her uwu about whether the leader of said invasion is feeling okay, while giving no fucks about the danger said leader is putting herself and her allies through for the sake of a landgrab.

Hot take,

I was actually pretty milquetoast about Marianne during FE16, then the momo sobfest from FEH made me sigh, and her perf in Nopes, especially in Golden Shower "They see that magic as the goddess's protection? Their faith has blinded them!" and "People do horrible things when their faith becomes tainted with fear. We must stop them at once!" was just... ugh.

(Rhea's magic comes from Sothis you moron, as a Nabatean her powers come from Sothis herself! And yes, their faith has been tained by fear because you and your stupid general are assaulting them and they're making their last stand! no amounts of "i'm still not sure we're doing the right thing" can be used as a plaster to make up for those leaps in logic!).

The GD in general just became friends of Supreme Leader, and all this uwu about her, regardless of the thousand randoms (even from the Alliance and, hell, her own people!!!) dead/suffering is just icing on cake.

Just like Lys who wags her tail because Supreme Leader gave her some sweets, the GD peeps have no substance and are of no interest to me tbh.

The only ones who might get a pass are Ignatz - whose existence legits shits on "crestless people live trash lives and can't marry sad uwus" even if the games ignore his existence, and Leonie who is one of the fews in FE16 to hold Supreme Leader accountable for Jerry's death when Billy "if someone killed my father I would hate them" themselves has the "can't we uwu" or "must we kill her sad uwus" choice - Nopes demolished them but I grew fond of those randoms joes earlier than Nopes' release, and Ignatz has the Mona Rhea support to boast (pissing on Clout's "reasoning" btw!).

[fantasyinvader]

I’ve noticed a few more Buddhist things in Three Houses.

Byleth’s backstory.

When the man who we become Buddha (Siddhartha Gautama) was born, it’s said that he was foretold to either be a great king or a great religious leader. His father, desiring the former, gave him a life of excess. But when  Siddhartha ventured outside of the palace for the first time, seeing old age, disease and death for the first time it made him want to find the answer to suffering. So he became a monk, giving up everything but finding no answers. He eventually began working on a more moderate outlook, not giving into either extreme, that led to him becoming the Buddha.

Now you look at Byleth, the kid of a knight and a nun. When Sitri died, Jeralt distrusted the Church and Rhea, fleeing while also deciding Byleth should have nothing to do with the Church as far as he could help it. He picked the military path for Byleth, but his way of doing so denied Byleth pretty much of everything. Byleth became the Ashen Demon, something Byleth does not like, and it was by joining the Church that they began to develop emotions and real connections for the first time in their life. But then Edelgard starts her war, causing Byleth to pick a side.

The fact Fodlan doesn’t have a golden ending seems to echo the idea of moderation. We as the player can’t have everything, so we must choose. But at the same time, choosing Edelgard goes against the noble eightfold path. It’s Byleth letting their attachment to her altering their judgement into not making the right choice. As I’ve said in the past, Edelgard is supposed to represent the temptations that Mara sent to prevent Buddha from reaching Nirvana which ties into SS’s save icon/the game’s Fire Emblem as well as Epimenides talking about preserving the cycle of the world much like Mara was doing (though in Mara’s case, it’s so people remain in a cycle of suffering).

Byleth either lets Edelgard go, or they help Edelgard create suffering. Creating suffering is very immoral in Buddhism, not to mention lying and deceiving others, is Edelgard’s path is called the Path of the Animal in the Japanese text. Very telling she works with TWSITD to literally turn people into mindless monsters, while Nemesis’s era was described as an era where people murdered and stole in order to increase their own power following his example.

But in general, Byleth’s shitty upbringing is meant to draw a parallel to Buddha. Byleth went through a period of having nothing, much like Buddha did except it came first in an attempt by their father to keep them away from the Church. Byleth will always become the spiritual leader of Fodlan bar CF/Hopes, while Byleth just being a spiritual leader (Azure Moon) is ending where the most characters can live. It’s the ending with the least suffering.

Meanwhile, Edelgard’s claims that her actions will lead to more people being happy in the future? Her actions are still meant to be immoral, because she’s causing the people to suffer. She’s robbing people of their humanity through her lies and manipulations, leading to an Imperial army that will often be out of control in the Japanese endings to Flower as they go to other countries to do things. Her willingness to sacrifice as many people as it takes to make the future she wants IS NOT meant to be a good thing.

Likewise, Dimitri going on to punish the Empire post-Gleam isn’t meant to be good either, nor is… anything done by Wildfire Claude. And while Rhea’s reasons for incorporating the false history are understandable, it’s still considered wrong under Buddhism because it was spreading a falsehood therefore Claude revealing the truth post-Wind is meant to be virtuous.

The fact the Japanese version names Flower Safflower, meaning attraction, while the major poison/flame of that route is attachment holds a lot of meaning.

And yeah, Sitri being the body intended for Sothis aka the body of the Goddess, would also make Byleth a Jesus-figure on top of being the Buddha. Hell, considering that the Dalai Lama drew parallels to Buddha and Jesus, even arguing Jesus had a higher state either through Enlightenment or being a Bodhisattva, makes it feel like this was intentional. Byleth is a fusion of Western and Eastern beliefs.

[dmclemblems]

A couple things confuse me about the "Edelgard was never the Flame Emperor in Hopes so that's why people are acting differently with her" thing people try to say to explain GW and SB.

1) 3H almost never makes it a narrative focus that Edelgard was the Flame Emperor, just that the Flame Emperor as a separate entity was bad. Barring Dimitri, barely anyone says "hey wow, Edelgard sure is a giant fucking asshole since we know she's the Flame Emperor" - they're more like "wow, can't believe she smeckledorfed us like that, not based and kinda cringe." So many people go "I don't wanna fight her tho, I regret having to fight her :/" as though the fact that she clearly never gave a shit about any of them, proven by her lying about being the Flame Emperor for damn near a year, doesn't mean anything to them. She's still their beloved classmate, no matter what she does to a lot of them, so I don't see why it's only now that they'd suddenly give THIS much of a shit about something they never put focus on before. And to the extent that they'd 180 on their characters just to be chill with her.

2) What actual, substantial difference is there between "I am willing to torture my citizens by turning them into Demonic Beasts," and "I will torture my citizens by slowly starving them through my war that is draining away the country's food supplies"? She is still needlessly and cruelly making her people go through suffering, just because it isn't as loud as Aegir mindlessly pillaging shit doesn't mean she isn't still responsible for mass suffering and death of her own citizens. And this isn't even getting into the rest of Fodlan either, who she is similarly ruining/ending the lives of in similarly cruel, torturous ways. But it's not specifically Demonic Beasts or specifically with TWS, so suddenly she's fine? It's morally acceptable for certain characters to join her for no reason other than her (lying) words? Hell, being a pragmatic, amoral asshole for a second - at least a weapon's being made with the Demonic Beasts method of slow and cruel death, the starving citizens do no good for anyone!

I dunno, just seems like a pretty thin straw to reach for to explain why certain characters (WINK WINK) act so wildly OOC :/

Preface after writing: I'm sorry, this is stupid long and two months late. I hope it being stupid long makes up for the wait. :D... :'D...

Yeah, the Flame Emperor portion of her character has nothing to do with Hopes. Between both games, Dimitri treats her completely differently because she didn't do the same things and he has a very direct attachment to her and TWS both, but other characters don't just like her more because she wasn't the Flame Emperor.

For example, Dimitri never spirals into the mess he became in Houses because Edelgard never hid her identity, and the Flame Emperor was very openly allied with TWS. Edelgard in Hopes broke off her ties with them as soon as the game really begins, i.e. post the prologue (in all routes, but you only see it actually be discussed in her route).

I do agree it's a flaw in the writing that they kind of switch on the whole "the Flame Emperor is a bad person" to deciding they don't agree with that anymore once they know who it is. What she did doesn't change just because she was "someone else" at the time, the same way Dimitri's actions don't change just because he was "someone else" for those five years. Difference being, there are actually allied characters who hold Dimitri accountable for it, and Dimitri holds himself accountable too. Just another instance of the writing making women wound like saints because they gotta sell their merch. I'm saying that as a woman, mind you, and it's frutsrating that gender dictactes how a story gets written. Gender also doesn't define someone's personality and who they are, so it shouldn't make a story geared around uwu waifu not bad, we don't wanna fight her.

The thing is, this is one of the problems people have with the narrative of Houses is not committing. It's true that Edelgard didn't care about a lot of people because she explicitly didn't let herself care, because she went into the year fully expecting and being aware of her inevitable "betrayal" (which I quote because she didn't really intend to be friends with them to begin with, so in her view it's probably not really a betrayal. It would be to them, but not so much to her).

It's also true that she decides to "care" about people who side with her simply for siding with her. Unfortunately the writing can't commit to kepeing her consistent as a character because they don't want her to be the villain because it's harder to market villains. That is, in part, why TWS exists, because they're meant to be the 'true villains".

Basically, TWS exists to make Edelgard look better as a person. Since they made her look pretty and cute, they didn't want to commit to making her a more villainous person, despite openly saying in an interview that they made her the villain. If she were a man, they would have made her more of a villain.

Regarding Houses and her evils:

The characters are sad about classmates being their enemies, but they set aside all the bad things as soon as they know the ringleader is a woman. Remember how they all considered her a horrible villain who had to be taken down when they knew her as the Flame Emperor? They thought the Flame Emperor was a man. As soon as it turns out that, that very same person was a woman they uwu went to school with, they don't think he's such a horrible villain who needs to be taken down anymore.

The point of the first half of Houses is that you're involved in all these happy academy days (as far as their relationships go, less so about the missions and stuff). They all trust each other and see each other as people they will one day have to work alongside. Suddenly they find out a pair among the students were plotting against them and weren't really ever on their side. The people they met in school were, in some ways, "fake". They weren't their true selves because they were in enemy territory the whole time (even if they were safe there, but in their minds these were enemies).

Like, personally, would I feel bad when I found out these people were lying to me the whole time and planned to kill me one day if I didn't agree with them? lol no. The characters went from thinking her actions were horrific to "well let's hear her out because she's actually our friend, even though for being our 'friend' we actually know nothing about her and our 'friend' lied to us the whole time".

Regarding Hopes and her supposed lack of evils:

In Hopes, even though none of that is there, it's still true she lied to them and was their enemy. It's still true she started a war and did all the same things from there, and in fact, some of it she actually had to do herself because she broke off with TWS. This includes trying to invade the Kingdom, which Cornelia was the one to do and succeed in doing in Houses. However, Edelgard herself, and the might of the Empire, is canonically not enough to subdue the Kingdom in Hopes. This does mean, however, that she had to do the deeds herself and cou;pdn't hide behind anyone else.

Breaking it down for why she seems less evil in Hopes though, we have SB. Technically both the Empire and Alliance took on the Kingdom, meaning that the Empire alone couldn't handle it. Reminder that, Dimitri, Dedue and Felix all survive SB, so the Empire can't take down three of the strongest fighters in the Kingdom (so less people die, because in SB she's not allied with TWS and does nothave the strength given to her by them, such as the beasts). Ingrid went out specifically to die because she planned to fight as long as possible so Dimitri could get away, meaning she never intended to survive that battle. Sylvain went out in a fit of rage seeking revenge for Ingrid, so his head wasn't on straight and he wasn't fighting with his brain, but his emotions.

Could they have taken these people down otherwise? Sylvain, no. He's too smart. If he wasn't so angry he would have backed off as soon as he realized he was overmatched in that battle. He wouldn't have died there because Dimitri wasn't there to die for, and neither was Felix. Also, he's not nearly as suicidal in this game. If he wasn't seeking revenge, he wouldn't have died, plain and simple. Could they have beaten Ingrid normally? No, because similarly, she would've retreated if she didn't go into the battle planning to fight until she died. She would've left to continue protecting her friends, home and king.

What this means is that she looks less bad because less people died, meaning her war killed less named and beloved characters. The difference though is that it doesn't make her less evil - it just means that alone, her might isn't capable of taking these people down. She needs to be allied with another army to win her war, which is why she took with TWS in the first place in Houses. Since they wanted her to look better in Hopes, she ditched them... but that means she still needs allies for her war. She knows she can't take down the Kingdom alone and they're allied with the Church, and she knows she can't take down Rhea because Rhea is a dragon.

Then there's GW, which just makes Edelgard look FUNNY. It's Claude who has to invade the Kingdom, because she can't break through the west front. Even after Claude fights in Fhirdiad, she still can't take down the west front. This means that, not only did the Empire have people do their bidding for what they weren't strong enough to do, but they had to take any other matters into their own hands for what TWS wouldn't help with in this story. It means Edelgard had to dirty her hands because they weren't there to do it, and she just wasn't strong enough to win her own war.

Remember, in SB, she doesn't win her own war. Her enemies kill each other, and the Kingdom is weakened because she allied with another army to fight them because she doesn't have the strength to do it herself. She looks less evil in Hopes because, being totally frank and not even saying this out of a hatred for her, she's weak. She's too weak to actually win and conquer, and she looks worse if she wins and takes control of all the lands she stomped on to win. When she loses, she looks better because she's not the tyrannical leader of all of Fodlan. In Hopes, no matter what route you're on, Edelgard does not win the war and does not achieve anything with her own army's strength. In CF, she does win because her allies are TWS for the entire game and they're only defeated post game because the game's duration is her war, which she needed them for the entirety of to actually win.

In GW, she doesn't win the war. She doesn't defeat Rhea, instead leaving that to Claude, who had Shez in his army (and was probably the only one with the actual power to rival Rhea's, for obvious reasons).

This also is why the kingdom survives and is never taken over. In Houses, it was never Edelgard's strength that conquered it. However, it does mean every single thing that happened in the war was on her head, because there was no TWS to take the fall for her the bad things that happened.

How it looks on her character:

So, looking at it from both ways, to sum it up... why are they so upset that they have to fight their classmate, who lied to them and was faking around them? Why are they upset about fighting her when she's been doing all this stuff in the war by her own desires and orders? There's no getting mad at TWS for what she does.

The Empire when pitted against the Kingdom can't win without allies, and Edelgard presumbly knew that in Houses and had allies - TWS. In Hopes, she gets Claude on her side because she can't do, well, jack shit to the Kingdom without him. Without something unexpected in the mix (the Alliance in Hopes, TWS in Houses), the Kingdom's strength is enough to defend.

Since TWS are her enemies in this story, she never actually wins. She doesn't lose, but she doesn't win. The only reason she doesn't lose is because she allied with another army (who she was canonically losing to in both routes anyway).

So basically, how do the writers make up for Edelgard not teaming up with TWS here? They have her use the Alliance instead, making her look better for not siding with TWS. To make her look even better, they have TWS do horrific things as a third party to it all, independently fucking around and making Edelgard have to go stop them. It makes TWS look like the worst of all scum, and it props up the "less evil" villains.

In GW, Claude does shady shit because ??? and that also makes Edelgard look better because she's very up front and doesn't do tactics the way he does. She's very forthright and if she didn't want to ally with the Alliance, she would have said as much and not have teamed up with them to stab them in the back later. Instead, that's given to Claude because, well, let's face it, it makes him look worse than her. She also gets no flak for killing Rhea in this game because she can't, because she doesn't have the power TWS gave her. She fights Rhea, certainly, even with Shez's power... but it's not enough. Rhea survives everything you do and only dies against Thales.

So basically, Edelgard is just weak and incapable of winning in this game, and it makes her look better and nicer, since she doesn't have the ability to use Demonic Beasts. The characters feel like upset because she did "less evil" things and killed fewer people (again, because she's not capable of doing so).

And again, I'm not even saying that out of hate. Edelgard admits they needed TWS in CF if they were going to win the war. Consequently, she doesn't win the war in any route in Hopes because she splits off from them in all routes.

No, it doesn't make her a better person or more worthy of people's pity, but they used Claude as a means of having someone else do worse things than her to make the characters doubt Claude while believing wholly in Edelgard for being so forthright. Since TWS is worse than Claude, it makes a tier of "bad", and she's at the very bottom of it. Thus, the characters see her in a better light and don't want to kill her.

Other stuff:

In AG it's actually kinda interesting, because even though the Empire has fallen because of Thales, literally nobody pities Edelgard for the situation she ended up in. Nobody feels bad about it and nobody thinks man, we should save Edelgard, she isn't the one who made the Empire fall into ruin like this. They still understand she's the one who started this war and enabled enough of a situation for TWS to take advantage of it. She gave them the opening instead of fighting them in the first place.

Even if you went along with her strategy of siding with the Church to take out TWS, but then she betrays the Church and starts her war against them because she also sees them as her enemy, that would have been the most reasonable strategy. Side with the Church, take out the strongest enemy first so they can't run around wreaking havoc while you ignore them to fight your war, then deal with the Church after when they won't have distractions and a potential other enemy creeping up on them.

Point being, it was stupid to start a war against the Church after simply driving out Thales from the capital. She should've waited to start the war until they'd taken out TWS completely. Why didn't they do this? Because they needed TWS in the story to make her look like a better person. Removing them too soon would mean she can't go back and stop their destruction. She can't seem like the better person because there's nobody worse than her. By making her strategy, well, let's face it, incredibly stupid to the point even Hubert told her outright not to do it/that he didn't agree with it, it made her look, well, honestly, dumb... but a better person in the long run.

Like I said, in AG it's done in a more interesting way because her situation doesn't get pitied by anyone. The people loyal to her are still loyal to her, but that's about it. None of her enemies feel sorry for her. None of them see that her war brought about something bad on her (i.e. being controlled by Thales) and went awww poor thing. She reaps what she sows and faces the consequeces of both starting a war and not being smart about it (i.e. dealing with TWS altogether at the start or remaining allied with them until the war was over like in CF). The characters in AG see it for it was, and Edelgard had to have known that there would be potential consequences of doing what she did.

Even at the very end, Dimitri doesn't pity her when she her mentality reverts to a child's. He doesn't feel it necessary to stain his hands with her blood at that point because the war is over. If she was still a threat they would defeat her but she wasn't, and she also didn't have any memory of starting the war, so killing her would be for nothing but personal gain, which at that point Dimitri didn't have. If anything, it might have staved off even more more because the emperor would be returned home safely, and possibly even by Dimitri (because I can't imagine the Church would do it after she declared explicitly on them, and I doubt Claude would even care to do it because he has no history with her like Dimitri does) or someone he trusts.

The Empire would need to focus on dealing with what happened to her, and they wouldn't be in a position to keep fighting or even need to since the person who wanted the war doesn't even have the memories leading up to why the war was started. All they could really do at that point was take care of her and decide what to do about leadership (and in this moment, we're going to prefend Ferdinand wasn't killed offscreen. They didn't say he was, so he wasn't! Got it? Yeah? Great!).

This last part doesn't really have much to do with your ask, but I wanted to add it in as a contrast to the way SB/GW were written and how they did make her seem like a better person than Claude. They made it seem like she was less bad for doing whats he did with her own hands this time because there was no TWS to do it for her. AG flips that on its head and says no, we don't care that she ended up in a bad situation because she brought it on herself. They said no, we're not going to pity her just because someone worse than her came along because she still did what she did.

Imo AG was just a much more refreshing and realistic take. They didn't look at her and see uwu classmate. They looked at her and saw the woman who started a war and knew what she was doing. Just because she lost in her own war and just because someone got the jump on her didn't make her worth pitying.

Instead, we get a wholly satisfying conclusion to the Duscur story, whcih was completely dropped in AM and probably because they ran out of chapters. We can bring a literal army of victims from that tragedy with us and have them be able to face the person who caused all of it. Since Duscur was also allied with Faerghus for a long while at this point, it wraps up that storyline in a nice, neat bow. The only thing left is to assume that things with Duscur went well and that Claude determined starting a new war over the Church just wasn't worth it.

Claude post AG (in contrast to him in the other routes):

Yes, I think Claude considered taking advantage of an existing war to fight the Church and might have done so in Hopes if Edelgard wasn't out of commission, because if she wasn't the war would continue. However, the war was over right then and there and more fighting on his part would just be a really stupid move that would turn everyone around him against him.

The war ended, the person who started it lost, and the third party was defeated. People would not want to fight another war just because Claude doesn't understand Fodlan at all in this game. Quite ironic that Edeglgard's rhetoric to him in VW about not knowing enough about Fodlan to lead it was completely true in this game... or maybe they did that on purpose to make her look better! Again! :D :'D

So yeah, Claude didn't start another war after AG ended. I say that, of course, assuming AG Claude has a brain and knows how to use it. Also, I don't think he would want to make enemies of the Kingdom at that point. If his goal remained to bring people together, he had already succeeded in getting every territory on the same page by allying with the sides opposing Edelgard in the first place.

The only people left are the Empire's people, who weren't in a position to fight and would probably just agree to an allying sort of truce so that all of Fodlan was on the same page. Even without Hubert or Ferdinand, they have Waldemar, and he's smart enough imo to make the right moves there. Claude has no reason to start a new war/renew an existing war that just ended when now that there's no war to just jump into to use as an excuse for something, he can just use words and his presumably route working brain to figure out how to work with the Church. Like, you know, he does in VW.

[iturbide]

(1/2) Also. Let’s talk about the Crest experiments. I’ve seen a few arguments here and there and even got into it with a friend that all of Edelgard’s actions are “justified” because of the trauma she went through because of those experiments. On one hand those experiments did suck, shortened life spans and family died because of it. But people tend to forget that Lysithea went through the SAME THING and didn’t go insane and war crazy.

Oh yes please let’s talk about those because they are contentious to say the least.

[[MORE]]

Don’t get me wrong, I understand what Edelgard went through.  I sympathize with the trauma she suffered.  I can even get how the experience led her to loathe the Crest system and want to tear it down.  Those experiments were horrific and stole so much from her, not just her family and her peace of mind but her very life as she potentially faces a drastically shortened lifespan.  But her suffering does not, by any means, justify the pain and death she brought down upon Fodlan.  That’s literally the argument of ‘I was hurt so everyone else should, too.’

Lysithea is a fantastic counterargument here, especially considering how she took a nearly identical experience (the experiments, the trauma, the loss of family) and dedicated herself to doing as much as she could in the little time she had left to make things better for what was left of her family.  You know who else makes a great point of comparison for this, though?  Claude.  He had a rough time growing up in Almyra due to his mixed heritage, and he was bullied and mocked as weak and cowardly for the fact that his mother was from Fodlan (despite the fact that she’s an incredibly capable warrior in her own right).  And then, when he came to Fodlan, what did he find but a land that reviled him for the other side of his heritage, considering his Almyran half savage and uncouth.  He’s faced discrimination, danger, even attempts on his life, but did Claude decide that the answer was the misery he’d suffered among other people?  No!  He made it his mission to ensure that no one ever has to suffer the way he did, striving to bring down borders so that understanding could be forged as people came together in peace and learn about one another, rather than continuing to fear what they didn’t know or understand. 

While arguments can certainly be made that Edelgard was trying to use the time she had left to prevent such a tragedy from recurring, her ends do not and cannot justify her means.  The most important thing to remember about wars is that their effects are always, always felt by the most vulnerable first.  Edelgard is so narrowly focused on her mission of tearing down the Church that she doesn’t consider how her war impacts the people who keep her Empire running.  She didn’t ask her people if they supported a war, she just went and did it -- heck, she stated outright before the timeskip that she intended to sacrifice her people to her personal mission, implying that she considers her cause worth any loss of life.  The war lasts for five years, and while the Alliance front was mostly quiet since they chose neutrality, the fighting in the Kingdom was hard because of territories that held out against her in non-CF routes (and that doesn’t even get into how bad it might have been in CF, given her distraction trying to find Byleth that stymied her).  Armies need to be fed, which means that lots of food supplies needed to be diverted to the war fronts, likely leading to heavy rationing and high taxation on farmers’ crops to ensure she could fuel her war effort.  Who knows how many people might have died in food shortages at home?  Or of sickness as medical/magical supplies were preferentially shipped to the war front?  Heck, we don’t even know how many people might have been conscripted into service so she could have adequate manpower for her war machine and sent off to die on the battlefield.  So many people must have lost their lives to her cause, people who didn’t ask for a war, people who likely didn’t support a war -- but she justifies their deaths as ‘necessary’ because it gets her what she wants.

Plus, it’s referenced in several routes that religious refugees flee Enbarr in droves after Edelgard’s declaration of war, and after Garreg Mach is successfully reclaimed (in every route but CF) the faithful come pouring in to escape the Empire’s persecution.  These aren’t dragons or anyone who poses a threat to her and her mission: they’re just people trying to go about their lives and very suddenly living in fear that their faith is going to get them killed.  In CF, it takes Edelgard five full years to come to the realization (through her A support with Manuela, which is only available after the timeskip) that the Seiros faith isn’t the problem, and could be preserved even if the institution of the Church is taken down.

I can’t condone Edelgard’s methods.  Regardless of how well I can sympathize with her or understand her motivations and her aims, I cannot condone so much senseless slaughter for a cause that is ultimately selfish.  Edelgard doesn’t care about the people she should, as Empress, be protecting and serving: all she really cares about is getting her way by any means necessary, even if it means climbing a mountain of her own peoples’ corpses.

[pineconesarecrunchy]

Pillow

Edelgard x F!Bylteh

(Byleth tries to help Edelgard sleep better at night, but things take a turn.)

Note: This is post time skip, minor spoilers for that!

...

Another day goes by means another busy day full of planning. Ever since your return, Edelgard has been excited to catch you up with everything, but being an empress has its own demanding duties. Edelgard has matured so much since your first encounter. Seeing her directing and giving orders makes you feel her power just by standing near her and being in her presence alone. Her stern and serious attitude remains as she keeps up a strong front defending her ideologies and carrying out missions in order to fulfill her end term goal. Her determination is astonishing and the front that she puts up has not changed at all over the five years. Two things haven't changed within those years, her soft spot for you and her persistent nightmares...

Edelgard's nightmares have gotten progressively worse since the last time you had discussed the sensitive topic with her before the five years of your absence. You notice recently that with each passing day that it has begun to take a toll on her. You wonder if proposing to stay by her side as she sleeps will help ease her fears.

It's a dark now, almost around midnight, and there are not many people roaming the monastery at this time except for you. You walk up to Edelgard's room door and give it a soft knock.

"El..." Only silence replies. She usually is awake at this hour, what could she possibly be doing? You slightly push the door open to see the room is...empty? You begin to give yourself to a self guided tour of her room. Her bed is neatly made but sitting atop of the duvet is an armored bear stuffed teddy you gave her when you first began your days at the monastery. She kept it. That thought brings a smile to your face as you walk over to her windowsill aligned with badges and medals. To the right of it is her desk, sitting on it are a stack or various papers. The one on top is a drawing of someone who looks...awfully familiar. It's not something Ignatz could conjure that is for sure, but is certainly a portrait of you. You open the desk drawer to see an uncovered box of hair pins and ribbons that she used to wear back in the day. You take one of the ribbons and bring it to your nose. It smells just like her and feels as if she's in the room.

"Professor?" You drop the ribbon and slam the drawer close almost immediately.

"E-Edelgard! You...startled me." You mumble as you examine the figure standing in the door frame. Edelgard looks disheveled and sweaty. Her white hair is up in a messy bun, but some strands have fallen and cling tightly to her face. Her nightgown clings to her damp chest and you realize how sheer her gown is and look away abruptly. "Sorry for intruding."

"Snooping are we. I never took you for a peeping-Tom, Professor."

"Byleth."

"...Byleth." She takes a step inside. "Is there something you need from me? It's awfully late."

"I just wanted to see how you were."

"Why?" She asks carefully, sounding like she already knows what you are eluding to.

"The past few days you have seemed more distracted and disorientated than usual, and I think your nightmares are the culprit. Your current state right now—"

"I am... I am not in the best appearance right now to be disagreeing with you." She says nervously. "I guess there is no use in hiding it from you. It's like you can almost read my mind." She chuckles.

"Perhaps I can."

"Then what am I thinking right now?" She seems like she genuinely wants you to guess. Her expression is curious, her thin eyebrows raised with a small smirk.

"Edelgard, you are avoiding the topic at hand. Please tell me what is troubling your dreams."

"Okay." She sighs and walks over to her bed and sits on it. she pats the empty space next to her beckoning you to join her. You walk over to her side and once you sit down she rests her hear on your shoulder. She entangles her arm with yours and grasps your hand. Your shoulder begins to feel hot form her extremely warm body. Edelgard's sweat seeps into your shoulder making your arm feel slightly damp, but you do not mind. You are fulfilling your promise you made to her all those years ago.

To be there by her side.

"My nightmares have been getting progressively worse."

"What do you think is the cause of them? Is it the next upcoming battle?"

"Yes. I...My dreams are vivid. The next battle I, I am a bit worried."

"You will be victorious; I am sure."

"That is not of my concern."

"Is it the enemy?"

"That is what I am worried about."

"Do you know who is the main target?"

"I have to fight family."

"Oh..."

"Yes."

"Dimitri?"

"Yes."

"You dream fearing fighting him?"

"I dream of being the cause to his demise. I dream of him being the cause of my demise." She squeezes your hand even harder. "I even have moments where I envision both of us living our final seconds looking into the eyes of someone we had loved and grown up with. I wish I did not have to fight him."

"You will cross that bridge when we get there."

"But, that bridge is soon."

"That battle isn't soon, it's not until about three moons or so away!"

"That is very soon for me. I — I cannot, I know it is business matters and it is inevitable, but I am so scared, Byleth. Being the reason of suffering to the one you care deeply for... It is unfair! It is so unfair!" She turns away to choke in her sobs. "Why did we have to be on opposite sides. If he had come to his senses, I wouldn't have to fight him, why is this so dastardly unfair!" She throws herself into your chest and cries, grasping onto your arms.

Edelgard's breathing is staggered and heavy. She shudders and trembles with every inhale and exhale. You can only imagine this is how she has been for every battle she has fought in the five years without your presence. You rub her back with one hand and pat the back of her head with the other. With every second passing, the clothes around your chest gets wetter with her tears. Suddenly she pushes you away and stands up.

"I should not be doing this." She says sniffling and rubbing the tear crust from her eyes and cheeks. "This, is unprofessional."

"No it is not."

"I, Edelgard von Hresvelg, Emperor, should not be crying over something so trivial as to fighting an enemy—" She sounds like she is getting upset with herself for being vulnerable. She shouldn't be.

"I would be upset too if I was in your place about to fight my brother."

"I am not upset!"

"You are being open about your worries to me, there is nothing trivial about that."

"This is so embarrassing." She groans.

"Being worried is nothing to be embarrassed or humiliated about, it is human nature."

"It is not what an emperor should do. I have to set an example and be fearless and—Why did you even come here?"

"Edelgard, I love you."

"What?"

"I love you and care about you."

"So you come here to listen to my anxieties and then confess your love to me when I am the most vulnerable—"

"I love and care for all of the people here. I simply noticed you were acting different and came to see if I could help in anyway and even stay by your side as you sleep for comfort. But, my intentions are clearly being mistaken and so I will see myself out." You head for the door. "Goodnight, Lady Hresvelg."

"Wait!" You stop midway in the door frame.

"What?" "I will take up your proposition."

"Excuse me?"

"To sleep by my side... It sounds...nice.... Hold on, come here." You turn around to see her pull out a stool from underneath her dresser. "Let me change out of this gown first." You go and sit on the stool. Edelgard goes over to her wardrobe and starts rummaging through.

"Should I turn around?" you inquire.

"Why? We have seen each other in the bathhouse before."

"Have we?" You cannot recall ever seeing Edelgard in the bathhouse before. You tend to go late at night of early in the mornings where there are no occupants. Has Edelgard seen you before, but not approached you? Edelgard...who would've thought you were one to act like that... "What were you doing this late at night?"

"I had woken up after imagining Dimitri's blood staining my gloves and axe handle; so I went for a walk."

"A fast walk I presume? You were sweating quite a lot."

"It was more of a ...run."

"Where to?"

"Just around the monastery, the bridge outside the cathedral looks stunning this time. What were you doing?"

"Looking for you."

"...Oh...What about before then?"

"I was scurrying around doing minor quests for people. Gardening, collecting items for people, returning lost items; the usual stuff."

"How helpful." You hear a final snap of her gown. "You may turn around now." The new night gown she wears is cream colored and reflects her pale skin. It is just as sheer... no even more sheer and see through than her first gown. Her messy bun is redone and her gaze rests upon her bed. She walks over to it and plops down. Propping her left arm up to rest her head upon and look at you.

"Are you going to watch me as you sleep?" You inquire.

"No." She mumbles and turns to lay on her back, starring at her ceiling.

You sit in silence for a bit. "Would you like me to blow out the candles?" You inquire.

"Yes, please." You walk around the room blowing out the candles around the room before returning back to the stool. The moonlight is now the only source of light in the room and it shines brightly through the large windows. A few more minutes past.

Then a few more.

Edelgard's face leaves a blank soft emotionless expression. Her skin looks so soft, if you were to touch it, it would probably be so smooth and smell of fresh carnations, her favorite flower. Edelgard groans.

"Is there something the matter?" You ask.

"Could you..." She pauses. The silence is deafening. "Could you get in with me?"

"Sleep with you?"

"...Yes. If it's not too much trouble." Why would it be too much trouble? That is the main reason you came here.

"But, I'm still in my outing clothes."

"It does not matter, you can borrow one of my night gowns if you so please." You hesitate. Accepting would be completely out of line for the Emperor and you as her aid. If anything it would feel awkward because a few hours ago she was yelling at you for misunderstanding your intentions. You really should not accept.

"Sure." To your reply, Edelgard quickly gets out of bed and rummages through her wardrobe again.

"This would look nice on you." She says holding up a royal blue nightgown. Royal blue is a pricey color of clothing. "Don't think about the color's wealth. Just try it on."

"It's like you're reading my mind, Lady Edelgard."

"Oh how the tables have turned and please, it's El."

"Thank you, El." you say and she smiles. You take the gown out of her hands. The two of you stand awkwardly there.

"I should... I will be waiting in bed."

"Okay."

"You can change here." She gestures to the unfolded room divider next to her wardrobe. You did not even notice its presence the first time. Maybe that's where she had changed when you were looking away.

You stand behind it and change while hearing her rustle the sheets and return to bed. You feel as if her eyes are scanning you through the paper frames in the divider, but how could you tell except for only the feeling of it. She could be watching but she could not...just like at the bathhouse. When you finish Edelgard is laying in bed facing away from you, you clear your throat to let her know you're done. She turns around.

"Byleth, it looks stunning on you."

"Thank you. Um, where should I put my clothes?"

"In the drawer next to the wardrobe, second drawer." You open the second drawer and place your neatly folded outing clothes in the empty space next to Edelgard's. The clothes there are of a deep crimson, each are neatly folded. You see a divider between the clothes and a small rectangular box. Glancing over your shoulder to see Edelgard isn't looking, you peek in the box. Then immediately close it once you see a glimpse of the assortment of lace—

"Is there an empty space there?" she asks groggily.

"Yes! Yes, I, I am coming." You say closing the drawer and joining Edelgard in bed.

You lay on your backside looking at the ceiling while her back is towards you. You were right, she does smell of carnations. She turns to face you and you cannot help but glance at her for a moment before looking away again. You feel her slender arm wrap around your waist and another one of her arms wrap around yours; pulling you closer to her. She places her head on your chest like it's a pillow. You can feel her breathe more slower than before now that she's calm. This feels nice.

What are you thinking? How this moment makes you feel is irrelevant. You are here to support Edelgard and help ease her nightmares. Only that and —She begins to softly snore.

How adorable...

...

The next few days Edelgard has been asking you to join her in her slumber to help ease her nightmares. This time you bring your own nightgown, but she insists you should wear one of hers as a thanks. You never give in though. She let you save the blue nightgown from your first night with her, but you never wear it. You keep it hung up in the front of your wardrobe as it smells of her carnation scent. Edelgard seems that she has returned to her diligent self. Working hard and focussed on the tasks at hand. You have not spoken about if her nightmares have changed. Sometimes she would start to sweat in the middle of the night and her breathing would increase rapidly. You would just hold her and tell her everything is alright and you're here for her until Edelgard ceases and calms down. She never uses the pillows in her room anymore, just your chest is a good enough pillow for her.

You can't help but wonder if the frequency of her nightmares are the same or if she's using that as an excuse to spend time with you...

Each passing day spent with Edelgard is a day closer to the reality of her nightmares...

...

SO I — Accidentally deleted the first half so it may not be as descriptive and well done as the rest because I was re writing it and not writing on the spur of the moment. But AAA my first Edelgard/Byleth fic! May/may not make this into a series lol who knows.

[kendrixtermina]

The “Genocidal Edelgard” Shallowtake

I was not going to make a post about this because it’s most likely futile and not going to convince anyone nor do I believe in dinifying the purity police with attention, but maybe it will let some ppl know that they dont have to let themselves be shamed for liking the wrong video game character

Whatever might have been the case in the distant past when Nemesis was around, by the “present day” the Nabateans are not at all some commonly oppressed stereotyped minority - the setting is chock full of characters that fit that bill a lot better like Dedue or Cyril. Characters that are ordinary humans not magic dragons. 

And even that is more founded on general purpose xenophobia than from the specific, relatively new early modernity construct of racism. (the dedue situation probably comes the closest)

Sure, Seteth and Flays have to hide from their old enemy the Agarthans, I see how some might find that relatable etc. but most of the population isn’t aware that they exist at all. They hold high status positions, are worshipped by the local religion and Rhea all but rules the entire continent (and says so herself to Byleth in that speech about how she was just “ruling this wayward country in your stead”, “you” being Sothis) - though that is mostly Rhea’s doing of which Seteth and Flayn are relatively innocent. 

The interviews pretty much confirmed that the Nabateans constituted the local aristocracy and that many humans genuinely saw the Elites as liberators - though there was definitely also an element of ppl going around killing random Nabateans to gain superpowers, not to speak of Nemesis’ very obvious very unambiguous mass murder. Not wanting to be ruled over by foreign powers is understandable, though obviously killing them all down to the last civilian was just flat out evil - its certainly not a simple situation, we can all agtree Nemesis & the Agarthans were evil but there is no clear defined good guy. 

There are historical conflicts you could compare this to, perhaps some conflicts in Africa or the middle eastwhere different groups took turns being the ruling class after the latest war,  but it’s not at all like the modern USA or early modernity colonialism, and forcing every real or, in this case, imagined scenario inherently dependent of fantasy elements, into this one framework from the present or near past isn’t conductive to understanding at all. 

And in the present day, by the time Edelgard is alive, we are talking about three specific people that she has good reason to dislike individually. Not any sort of group at all. 

She calls Rhea a cruel beast because that’s all she’s ever seen Rhea to be. She’s the shadow tyrant who rules her world, who created the crappy world Edelgard grew up in. It’s no different Cubans thiking badly of the castros after suffering through famines - or, no need for such extreme examples really, ppl call their least favorite politicians monsters all the time. 

She’s wrong to assume that Seteth & Flayn are wholly on board with this, but on the other hand, it’s not at all a far-fetched assumption to make: They hold high positions in the church though they ostensimbly just appreared out of nowhere one day. Do you have to be an evil bigot to assume that the brother and right hand man to the tyrannical god-queen is condoning & supporting her actions?

The truth is of course that underneath her pseudo-parental facade Rhea is sort of a scared girl, very lonely, very afraid, and ashamed, in a shallow, childish way, for “breaking the rules” just because they are rules. She says she can’t trust anyone, that she feels lonely & isolated... and while no one can blame her for distrusting humans after the slaughter of her people, but the reason she can’t trust Seteth is that she’s keeping her bad deeds secret from him. He wasn’t there the whole time, he just showed up a few decades earlier. 

She sees herself only as filling out for Sothis and doesn’t quite grasp that she’s in charge, very much a follower personality bent on stasis & regularity. 

Is Edelgard obliged to try & unravel the complex psychology of the tyrant who rules her home to correctly deduce why she would deceive even her own family? By all intents and purposes, Edelgard is the one getting rid of an oppressive government that doesn’t let ordinary humans let a say at all. A government where ppl of others faiths and nationalities are typically oppressed unless they work directly for the church.

It’s like having a disdain for, say, Ivanka Trump. She holds a high position in her father’s administration despite having no obvious qualifications, she appears to be profiting & making bank from her father’s atrocities, she certainly hasn’t done anything to stop him or disavow him the way that, say, her cousin Mary did - if you suffered under Trump’s regime you’d be very justified in assuming that Invanka is probably a bad person.

Flayn only looks young (She might not if we saw her in other clothes). I mean, Kronya could badly impersonate a schoolgirl. At the very least they’ve supported the regime by refusing to question their own side and they show some however benevolent belief that it is their duty to “guide” the people. Leaving her to the Agarthans is certainly questionable, but no more so than doing it with Rhea herself, under the assumption that she’s guilty and that it’s a sacrifice that will prevent larger chaos. The agarthans had their plan long before they created Edelgard as we know her, and she couldn’t stop their plots all on her own. 

You could say that it’s callous, distasteful or a deal breaker - as the death knight is her direct subordinate & she makes a personal appearance in mask, I would argue that she definitely knew & sanctioned the kidnapping - but she’s no more callous towards Flayn than towards anybody else. 

Of course, that doesn’t mean they’re evil, or that they deserve to die.... and Edelgard would agree with me.  She doing all this to prevent death – flipping the lever on the trolley problem so it crushes one person instead of five so to speak. She always gives her enemies the chance to surrender, unwilling allies the chance to leave, and jails enemies whenever leaving them alive wouldn‘t lead to further death… even the ones she has the most personal reason to hate, like the PM.

As servants of the church who have chosed to back her enemies, she’ll certainly kill them if she has to, but not any more than any other enemy. At no point anywhere in the story does she say anything like that they need to die on principle. Nowhere at all. Indeed there is much evidence to the contrary.

The church paints her as being completely against the religion or even wanting to set herself up as a satanic godess cause it‘s good politics & they don‘t get what she‘s doing – to an extent her own credibility & messaging is compromised by her secretive and at times unscrupulous actions, no one said she was perfect. In truth all she wants is to have the church out of politics, you know, what we have in nearly every modern country outside the vatican and saudi arabia.

You can absolutely let Flayn & Seteth go on CF and there is no word, no fuss about it anywhere. No „make sure to kill em all“ which would certainly be there if the narrative wanted to portray Edelgard that way. It requires the mediation of Byleth as someone they would talk to & not immediately assume the worst of, but, they see the church as the embodymet of all that is good & fighting its enemies as their sacred duty so of course it wouldn‘t be possible for just anyone to talk them down. It‘s framed as Flayn letting Byleth go cause they saved her life once, even if we know from behind the screen that she wasn‘t going to survive a fight to the death against the player-controlled faction.

Heck, even when it comes to Rhea, the one most guilty that Edelgard has the most reason to loathe, she‘s ultimately surprisingly gracious. She gives her the option to surrender – and this is not a lie, she discusses this with Byleth in a lecture question, and seriously ponders the possibility. Here Byleth gets a range of options like „stab her in the back“ and „keep the church under imperial control“ but you know which one nets you the support points? „Strip her of her authority so she can‘t interfere in politics“. She wasn‘t gonna mess with the religious folks & their religion at all, just make it so it‘s separate from government. Rhea could even keep being pope, if she could be satisfied without having complete supreme authority (and ripping her precious artifact out of Byleth‘s chest) – even when she puts her down she‘s not 100% without pity, telling her that „Your duty is done“ (the translators mucked this up)

Couldn‘t be any further from „lets kill them all on principle“.

What really annoys me is how ppl go and twist everything Edelgard says out of context to ascribe a motive to her that just isn’t there.

Common examples:

„If you have Flayn or Seteth fight her she‘ll say they need to die because they‘re nabateans“

Actually what she says is this: „You are a child of the godess. You must not have power over the people!“ Not getting to be privileges rulers anymore =/= being opressed. Stay out of politics =/= Diediedie. Also, this is from the VW/SS boss fight, where they have literally come to get her in her own capital.

„Linhard & Leonie don‘t tell her & hubert about Indech, probably cause he expects that she‘ll go & kill him„

What he actually says is: „Lake Teutates is a place that concerns the saints of the Church of Seiros. It may become bothersome should the two of them find out...“

„It may be bothersome“ as in, „we might get in trouble“, for doing the possibly very inadvisable thing of waltzing into what could possibly be an enemy location to satisfy personal curiosity. If it‘s something related to her agenda she might take over and Linny wouldn‘t get to investigate as he pleases – at very most you might construe it as Linny fearing that they‘ll be accused of consorting with the enemy, but „bothersome“ suggest possible annoyance not imminent murder.

The whole scene ends with Linhard telling Byleth to fill her in later. Doesn‘t sound at all like he expects her to go back with a harpoon.

„She said Claude isn‘t fit to be a ruler cause he‘s a foreigner“

What she actually says: „I understand your ideals are not so far removed from my own. But without knowledge of Fodlan‘s history, I cannot entrust its rule to you“

Now without the additional contexts that Claude won‘t get until after the fight, it might easily feel a bit like the former with the raw spots he‘d have from his backstory, but what she means is that he‘s ignorant of the Agarthan threat – which he is. Edelgard is all for making peace with Almyra and sees fostering isolationism & prejudice as one of the many faults of the church.

Once Claude basically kills Edelgard for information, he winds up having to take care of the storm she had been holding back. But to his credit, he DID „finish the job“ and get the info. But he didn‘t have it at that point.

And I don‘t mean any of this in the least bit as a diss of Claude - He is the smartest character, so there would be no plot if he got easy access to the info.  At this point, they both think they can probably do better, and more importantly, both their backstories have made them so that they won‘t let down their guard far enough to cooperate in this scenario.

That‘s also why the outcome in CF is contingent on Byleth‘s choice. - You‘d sort of have to trust that he will also act so as to minimize casualties.

Very disingenious since many players wouldn‘t necessarily trigger these dialogues.

I guess because Adrestia got a vaguely central-european aesthetic (partially; all the countries are hodgepodge mashups and there’s more than enough spanish or ancient roman vibes there) and central europe existed only for those 12 years of tyranny I guess, even though many other places have had similar BS happening, including the US that delights in making craptons of movies about their faraway victory because their governments haven’t added much of value to the planet as of late. -.- 

Faerghus (vaguely french/ russian - not at all places where nothing bad happened ever) has actually annexed some territory from their northern neighbors in the recent past, not to speak of the whole Duscur atrocity - but no one seems to go around laying that at Dimitri’s feet, because it would be nonsensical - he was a child at the time and as an individual he is super against it and champions a policy of reconcilliation if he gets to rule. after all, there wouldn’t be much of a plot if the characters inherited three perfect faultless problem free countries. 

Edelgard, too, is completely against the previous administration under Duke Aegir (which was in charge during the Bridgid war). She deposed him and is plotting to do the same with Arundel once she can politically afford to do so. For all that one can understand why she would chose the other path  (depending on how much she knows about what Edelgard’s doing and why) it makes all the sense in the world for Petra to support her on CF or if not recruited, because again, she got rid of that previous administration. 

[fireemblem3himagines]

E, D, and R for Hubert?

Hubert von Vestra: 

Dreams - How do they picture their future with their s/o?

His dream for the future before the war ends is simple, he just wants you to be safe and alive. Once Edelgard achieves her own dream, he would feel more inclined to think of one that’s more selfish in nature that involves the two of you. He has no want to leave her side and would instead have you join him, even if you did not hold a place in her court; he knows Edelgard is happy that he has someone to love, and he’s rather happy to have you, too, despite what a difficult person he can be. 

Equal - Are they the dominant one in the relationship, or rather passive?

Hubert is, generally, the more dominant one, but he wouldn’t want a significant other who was completely submissive. He likes people with some bite to them, so holding their own against him when he gets snarky or playfully mean is a must. He will call you out if you’re being hypocritical towards him, or if there’s an elephant in the room that needs to be promptly taken care of. 

Romance - How romantic are they? What would they do to make their s/o happy? Cliché or rather creative?

Hubert has admitted to you before that he suffers when it comes to romance, as he doesn’t have a very natural sense for it. He would prefer you being straightforward about what you want from him, an example being telling you exactly what you’d like for a gift for your birthday or on holidays. Most of his other actions end up being from things he’s read or heard about, so they tend to fall into the cliche range, but they’re always heartfelt and make you feel loved (and takes him far outside his comfort zone), and that’s what really matters to you. 

[nicolewrites]

something cold and something new

Needed to write something soft and not school related so here you go folks. This takes place in a universe where they spend more time in Fhirdiad (the winter) before heading to Derdriu. For example, assume that Edelgard needs more time to reorganize her forces after Gronder.

Rating: K+/G Genre: Friendship, Romance Characters: [Byleth/My Unit, Dimitri B.], the Blue Lions Words: 3,866

AO3 | FFN

Fhirdiad is cold.

Byleth hates the cold. She hates the permeating chill of the stone walls of the palace and the frost that creeps across the inside and outside of the window panes. She hops from mantle to mantle, trying to keep warm in front of the fire subtly enough that she does not draw attention to herself.

She takes the chair closest to the hearth in the dining room and the chair furthest from the long row of windows in the war room. She closes curtains and wears as many layers as she can afford to without looking bulky. And she's still cold.

Of course, the Blue Lions don't seem to react to the cold. Sylvain is from the furthest north and if his stories are anything to go by, he once spent a night in the cold with no protection so Byleth is not surprised to see him wandering about the palace in his usual wear. Felix and Ingrid also seem unphased as they simply trade their thinner layers for more insulated cloaks they appear to carry at all times.

Annette complains a bit, but Felix lends her a coat and afterward, she clams up for almost three days straight, red to the tip of her ears. Mercedes has her own coat, but she hovers around fires as well, a habit leftover from her time growing up in the Empire. Dedue doesn't seem to be affected beyond the occasional shiver due to a gust of wind and Ashe seems to enjoy the chill, appreciating the drifting of snowflakes and the puffs of air from their breaths.

If Dedue and Sylvain are unaffected by the cold, Dimitri thrives in it. The chill seems to bolster his mood and give him more energy. He's animated as he contributes in war meetings and his chin is held high throughout the whole day. He looks more like the prince Byleth knew before the war started and she knows it is partly due to their success in taking back Fhirdiad from Cornelia.

She only wishes she could enjoy Dimitri's good mood, but she can't because she's so damn cold.

- ~ -

Observant as ever, Mercedes is the first to notice.

"Hello Professor," the healer greets softly as she walks into the study Byleth has been using.

Byleth glances up as she enters and cringes. She's currently wearing a jacket and has a blanket draped over her lap and she's still shivering. Mercedes just smiles sweetly and drifts across the room. She places the tray she had been holding on Byleth's desk and pours her a cup of tea.

"Can I help you, Mercedes?" Byleth asks.

Mercedes laughs lightly. "This is a cinnamon ginger tea. It warms you up fairly well and I thought a cup of it might help you stay warmer."

Byleth feels her ears burn a little as she takes the teacup from her former student. "Am I that obvious?"

Mercedes shakes her head and pours herself a cup of tea, settling into the chair across from Byleth. "Not at all, Professor, I'm just good at noticing things like that. It's my job, after all."

Byleth laughs a bit as she sips the tea. The water is scalding, but the spice bites through and floods her with warmth. She pulls it back and blows across the surface, appreciating its aroma for a little bit. "I feel a bit foolish, to be honest," she confesses. "We had done work in Faerghus before, but never in the winter so I never realized how cold it truly got here."

Mercedes nods. "Growing up in House Bartels, it was never this cold. It was only after I came to the School of Sorcery I really learned what winter was like. I'm still not great with the cold, but layers and tea can do wonders for you when you're not moving about."

Byleth sips her tea again. The spice blend is sharp but pleasant and she does feel a bit warmer already. "I've already gone through so much firewood in my room I fear the servants think I'm some kind of hot-blooded demon."

Mercedes giggles lightly. "Of course they don't, Professor. But, if you're really suffering from the chill in your room, you might want to ask Felix for some advice. He cold-proofed Annie's room and he did quite a good job, I might add."

Byleth raises an eyebrow. "Felix and Annette? What's going on there?"

Mercedes hums lightly into her own tea with a smile. "More than either of them care to admit, but Annie's terribly shy and we all know how Felix is with emotions."

Byleth smiles. "You are probably too perceptive for your own good, Mercedes. But, on the other hand, I don't know where we'd be without you either."

- ~ -

She finds Felix in the training hall, slashing away at a training dummy. He's right where she expects him to be. She pauses in the entrance and watches his lightning-fast sword work. He knocks the dummy flat on its back and finishes by frying it with a snap of his fingers and a bolt of lightning from a Thunder spell. He's breathing quite heavily when he turns and finds her watching him.

"What do you want?" he demands. Felix jabs his sword back into its sheath and folds his arms.

Byleth picks up a training sword from the rack and tests its balance. "I have a favour to ask of you, but I figured we could spar first."

He narrows his eyes but draws his sword again. "A favour?"

They begin to circle each other, swords at the ready. Byleth jabs quickly and he parries, matching her for speed. He slashes and she sidesteps and counterattacks, forcing him to step back.

"If I beat you, I'll ask you," Byleth says. She doesn't see the reason to be humiliated by Felix twice–once in defeat and once for admitting weakness–when it could be for one or the other.

"What kind of duel were you thinking?" he questions as he tests a jab against her defences.

Byleth spins and summons a bolt of white energy above her palm, flashing it forward. Felix rolls out of the way of her Nosferatu and a grin edges up his face. He charges at her quickly and Byleth dodges the blows of his sword and then all the hair on her arms stands on end. On instinct, she rolls to the right and his Thoron spell scorches the ground where she had been standing before.

The sparks catch on her cloak and Byleth curses as the hem of it bursts into flame. She rips it from her shoulders and stamps it into the dirt, smothering the flames. The fire disappears quickly and Byleth grumbles as she scoops it up from the ground. She tries to stop the goosebumps from rising on her arms, but the loss of her cloak's warmth along with the sudden lack of warmth due to exertion has her shivering unintentionally.

A few feet away, Felix watches her, his sword lowered. He looks more amused than annoyed as he assesses her. "You'll never be able to fight well with a cloak like that, Professor," he points out.

Byleth sighs and pulls it back on, lifting her blade. "I'm aware," she replies coolly.

Felix doesn't make a move to fight her again and Byleth drops her sword back to her side and frowns.

"You're not much for our winters, are you?" he asks after a moment.

"No," Byleth admits. "I had actually come here hoping to ask you to help me like you did Annette."

Felix's ears turn pink at the mention of Annette and he pivots, heading for the weapon rack. "Cover the base of your windows, keep coals smouldering in your hearth, and keep your curtains drawn as much as you can. There are probably heavier curtains too if you ask around."

His advice is curt and simple enough and Byleth's lips twitch at the simple and Felix-like response.

"Thank you," she says to him and he just grunts in reply, still very interested in the rack of weapons.

- ~ -

Byleth volunteers for a routine scouting mission with Ashe and Ingrid a week later. She's been basically holed up inside the castle for the last week and a bit and she had been going slightly stir-crazy inside. Ingrid flies ahead on her pegasus while Byleth and Ashe ride along more leisurely on horseback.

Ashe has a scarf wrapped around his neck with the bottom half of his face obscured as he hunches a bit to shield his pink cheeks. Byleth is wearing a borrowed scarf from Dedue that Mercedes had procured for her when Byleth had asked to borrow something warm. Ingrid, above them, is dressed in a few more layers, but despite the frigid air while in flight, she seems perfectly at home.

Byleth shakes her head as she watches the Falcon Knight fly gracefully ahead of them.

"Impressive, isn't it?" Ashe asks, following her gaze. He chuckles lightly. "I don't know how they carry on like they're not even a little cold. I'd be totally frozen up there."

Byleth glances at him and Ashe lifts his chin so she can see the shy smile on his face. "When I was on the streets I got used to being cold, but I've been away from the north at the monastery for a while so I almost forgot what it was like, honestly," he admits.

Byleth turns her gaze back to Ingrid. "You've noticed I don't take the cold too well too, then?"

"Well, Professor, it did take me up to the moment that Mercedes gave you that scarf. I had almost completely forgotten you weren't even originally from Faerghus lands. The climate at the monastery is much warmer than most of the Kingdom."

Byleth fights off a chill as a stronger wind blows by, ruffling her hair. She tucks her chin further into her borrowed scarf and frowns. "I should be more used to this by now," she mumbles. "We've been here for a while and I know that Gilbert wants us to stay until this latest storm is over before we head back to the monastery."

"Don't feel bad, Professor. Just because some of us are more used to the cold, doesn't mean we like it any more than you do," Ashe reminds gently.

Byleth chuckles. "No, I suppose that's true enough."

"Professor! Ashe!"

Their attention is quickly caught by Ingrid as she swoops down, a frown marring her pretty features. Byleth and Ashe pull their mounts to a stop and stare at the Falcon Knight curiously. Ingrid pulls to a stop a few feet away, staying off the snow-covered ground.

"Looks like that bandit troupe we caught word of is camped up ahead. There's only a few of them, but we can go back for reinforcements if we need to."

Byleth exhales and slides off her horse. She ties her reins to a nearby bush and starts unlatching some of her gear. "We came out here to find them and they may be long gone by the time we return with reinforcements."

The snow is ankle-deep and cold as it soaks through her boots and her pants. Byleth refuses to let her discomfort show as she slings her bow over her back and attaches her sword to her hip. Ashe also dismounts, pulling his quiver, bow and lance free. Ingrid stays mounted and her frown deepens.

"The snow won't be an issue?" she asks.

Byleth shakes her head. It's cold, sure, but she refuses to let that get in the way of her duty. "Let's get this over with quickly. It's one less thing to worry about before we have to head back to Garreg Mach."

She heads out in the direction Ingrid had returned from and both of her former students follow her after a moment. She sees the bandits' fire before she sees them. She pulls her bow out and strings an arrow, taking aim at one of the silhouettes she spies in beside the flame. Beside her, Ashe does the same.

They let their arrows fly in unison and two of the figures fall without a sound. There's a flurry of chaos in the camp as they seem to realize they are under attack. Opponents scramble for weapons and Byleth vaults over the fallen log in front of her, breaking for their camp. Ingrid swoops down, her lance gleaming as she strikes. Ashe lets another arrow fly and Byleth throws herself into the battle.

She cuts down two more bandits quite easily. As she pulls her sword free, she turns, assessing the remaining few. Ingrid is handling herself fine and Ashe has moved in closer but is still using his bow and his agility to counter close-ranged opponents effectively. Byleth's gaze continues and she notices a figure breaking the outside of the circle, heading into the forest. Without hesitating, she follows the figure quickly, her hand curled tightly around her blade.

The snow slows her down, but she still manages to gain some ground on her opponent. When she has a clear line of sight on him, she sends a sharp burst of flame outwards, sending him sprawling. She has effectively chased him out of the woods into a snow-covered clearing. Byleth approaches the downed figure slowly, just in case he's staying down as a trick.

She hears rustling in the trees behind her and risks a glance back to see Ingrid and Ashe have followed her. Ashe scans the clearing warily and his green eyes widen suddenly.

"Professor!" he yells. "Get off the ice!"

Byleth barely has a second to register the warning. Confusion flares through her at the word 'ice' because she's standing on the snow-covered ground. Before she can take another step there's an ominous groaning sound and her chest tightens.

She hadn't chased her foe into a clearing. She had chased him straight onto a frozen lake.

Byleth steps back towards the trees and hears another low creaking sound so she stops. Ashe is standing at the edge of the clearing where he has apparently discerned where the lake begins. Ingrid is flying toward her on her pegasus, brow knit in concentration. Byleth slowly lowers herself to the ground, trying to disperse her weight as her father had once taught her.

Ingrid is above her now and reaching out with her hand. Byleth shifts, moving to grab her former student's hand. There's a louder crack below her and just as Byleth's ungloved fingers grasp at Ingrid's gloved hands, the ice gives out.

The water is freezing as it envelops her and Byleth nearly screams at the shock of the cold. The water is dark and consuming and she flails furiously in the direction she thinks is up. She can see a muddle glimpse of light above her and can faintly hear yelling. Finally, after a furiously long second, her head breaks the surface and the cool air stings against her soaked skin.

Byleth lifts a hand and Ingrid grasps it immediately, pulling her quickly the rest of the way out of the water. Her clothes stick to her body immediately and she can feel them biting at the remaining warmth she has. Byleth coughs and gasps and Ingrid flies them precariously over to the edge of the lake.

The two women stumble off the pegasus and Ingrid immediately rips off Byleth's drenched cloak. Ashe immediately replaces it with his own dry, fur-lined cloak. Byleth can barely feel the change in warmth. She's shivering so hard she can barely see and the cold is still clinging to her every limb. She feels sluggish and half-dead and her chest aches.

"If I fly her back, I'm afraid that the winds will freeze her solid," Ingrid says to Ashe. Byleth can barely hear her. It feels like there is cotton pressed in her ears, muffling all sound.

She sways on her feet as the world blurs around her. She feels a set of arms wrap around her and she can barely make out Ashe's voice asking her something, but the words are lost in her haze. Her vision tunnels and she collapses, the sound fading out completely.

- ~ -

When she wakes up, she feels weighed down. Byleth stares at the warm pink of her eyelids for a moment before she musters the strength to open her eyes. She finds herself staring at the ceiling of the infirmary back inside the castle. She blinks slowly before allowing her eyes to take in the rest of her situation.

She's lying on a hospital bed covered in at least three heavy quilts. The curtains in the room are drawn shut and there's a fire crackling in the hearth. There's a large silhouette standing in front of the fire and it takes Byleth an embarrassingly long amount of time to realize that it is Dimitri.

She shifts in the bed and tries to sit up. Dimitri wheels towards her, hearing her movement and his good eye widens when they make eye contact. He crosses the room to her side in three steps and reaches for her with large, warm hands.

"Professor, please! Stay lying down," he instructs.

Byleth frowns and tries to sit up anyways. Dimitri sighs and recognizes the futility of his request. He slides his hands to her arms and gently lifts her into a sitting position. He reaches behind her and adjusts her pillow so she can be leaning against it.

Byleth purses her lips at the overwhelming concern in Dimitri's expression. His hands linger on her pillow and he scans her face nervously.

"Dimitri," she says gently. "I'm okay."

He frowns. "You almost weren't, Professor, so you'll have to forgive me for my concern."

Byleth pulls one of her hands free from the mountain of blankets she's under. She reaches for his hand and curls her fingers through his. "I'm okay," she repeats.

"Your hands are still cold," he murmurs softly. Dimitri withdraws his hands and detaches the heavy mantle draped over his shoulders. He leans in close and pulls it around her shoulders.

Byleth instinctively shivers as the warm fabric wraps around her, chasing away the lingering chills of her body. Dimitri sits on the edge of the bed and runs his hands over his cloak over her shoulders. He stares into her face, still looking frustratingly worried.

Byleth reaches up and gently touches his hands where they lie on her shoulder. "Thank you, Dimitri," she says quietly.

His gaze softens. "Of course, Professor," he replies.

He leans away after a moment, his ears pink, and drops his gaze down to her lap. Byleth drops her hands to his and grips them, relishing in their warmth.

"If the cold had truly been bothering you, you could have returned to Garreg Mach," he says after a moment of silence.

Byleth laughs. "And leave you here alone? That sounds like a recipe for disaster."

"Mercedes mentioned she noticed it had been affecting you," Dimitri points out.

Byleth shrugs. "I guess we never spent much of the winter in the Kingdom when I was growing up. My father never liked the cold either."

Dimitri shakes his head. "I suppose I missed the signs even when they were right there. The cold reminds me of home," he admits. He glances toward the window where the curtains are drawn tightly shut to keep the chill out. "My father used to play in the snow with me." He closes his eyes as he reminisces. "It was the most relaxed I ever saw him when we were out there. My mother thought we were ridiculous, but I loved it."

Byleth smiles and squeezes his hands. "You've been happy here and I'm glad to see it. I'll go back to the monastery with everyone else after the storm," she says firmly.

Dimitri sighs. "I suppose that makes the most sense now, but please, Professor, don't go standing on anymore frozen lakes."

Byleth huffs a breath. "If I had known it was there, I wouldn't have done it."

Dimitri laughs lightly and Byleth's chest tightens at the sound. "Even so, you had us all very worried." His smile drops as he remembers. "Professor, do you know that you don't have a heartbeat? You have a pulse but there's no heartbeat. When Mercedes couldn't find your heartbeat we were all so worried until she found a pulse." Dimitri shakes his head again. "How is this even possible?"

Byleth bites her lower lip. She wishes she could answer him and take away the worry that is still wreathed around him. "I don't know," she admits. "But, I've always been like this. Maybe it's the reason the cold affected me so quickly with the water."

Dimitri ponders that. "I suppose. Mercedes was saying that hypothermia can be worsened by poor blood flow and if your lack of heartbeat limits that, it would make sense."

The clock above the mantle chimes and they both look toward it, startled. Dimitri tenses as he notices the time and he sighs deeply.

"You have work to continue," Byleth guesses. By the rueful glance he gives her, she knows she's right. She squeezes his hands again before reaching to remove his cloak.

Dimitri catches her hands before she can remove it. "Keep it, please. I'll feel less worried about the cold affecting you if you have it."

Byleth smiles. "Alright," she agrees. "You should go."

Dimitri shifts his weight off the bed, standing, and glances at the clock once more. "Please take care, Professor. I can come back later tonight, if you would like some company."

Byleth reaches up, pulling herself further out of her blanket cocoon, and grabs Dimitri's arm. She pulls him down far enough so that she can gently press a kiss to his cheek. His face flushes almost immediately, but he doesn't immediately spring away from her. Instead, his gaze turns impossibly gentle and he leans forward to press his lips to the top of her forehead. He pulls back after that and Byleth notes the subtle flush to his cheeks.

She hides a small smile. "Don't work too hard, Dimitri, there's plenty of things we have left to accomplish."

He is partway to the door when he hears her and he pauses, looking back over his shoulder at her bundled in blankets and his cloak. "I'll have to look into cold-proofing the castle more so that we can come back here because, as you said, we have a whole future ahead of us."

The words are more optimistic than anything that Dimitri has said for months and they warm Byleth much more effectively than any blanket could. The gentle affection in his eyes and the scent of him that clings to his cloak cause her own cheeks to warm as the words die on her lips and Dimitri slips out of the room, leaving her alone with the crackling fire.

"I wonder what future you see for us," Byleth whispers to the quiet room, pulling Dimitri's cloak tight around her shoulders. It is still warm and for the first time since arriving in Fhirdiad, Byleth doesn't feel cold.

[semi-imaginary-place]

three houses blogging 7

So I’m playing maddening again and I forgot to grab the knowledge gem in the sothis paralogue. rip

Remember when i made claude a brawler? Well now im paying for it in hunting by daybreak where he cant use fists on a wyvrn.  Problem was i didnt have any bow abilites so his avo dropped like 30 points.

My “canon” recruits

VW: Shamir, Cyril, Felix, Sylvain, Linhardt, Dorothea, Petra, Hanneman, Flayn, Setheth

CF: Manuela, Hanneman, Sylvain, Felix, Mercedes, Marianne, Lysithea

AM: Ferdinand, Caspar, Bernadetta, Catherine, Gilbert, Lorenz

SS: idk all of them?

A quick comparison of the cavalier units Ferdinand, Sylvain, and Lorenz. All three are from some of the most powerful families in their countries if not the continent. They’re all kinda entitled bastards and they all start off still stuck in the mindset of nobility. You can really see this in part 1 Lorenz and Ferdinand where they’re obnoxious about their “noble obligations”. 

With Sylvain its more that he resents the crest-nobility systems but has resigned himself to suffer under it, he doesn’t think he can escape and thus takes out his frustration on women and himself. With the women he pursues, Sylvain sets himself up for failure. First is that he sets up for himself a reputation of unreliability partly as a rebellion against the expectations his family has set for him. His family expects him to be the perfect noble and thus Sylvain downplays his competency whether that be his intelligence or martial prowess. He pretends to be the vapid noble with nothing in his head. Next, Sylvain advertises himself first with his family name and crest and second with his body, thus attracting people who want him for these superficial characteristics. He then can accuse them of only wanting him for these things, shutting down any possibility of there being anything more and driving people away. The cheating also acts as a means to drive people away. He then can take that as evidence that people only want him for his family, crest, etc. Its a self fulfilling prophecy of self destruction and emotional self harm. Sylvain has essentially shut down his ability to form new relationships. (i need to write that sylvain essay)

By comparison Lorenz also disrespects women (by refusing to take a “no”) but why he does so is vastly different. Lorenz never fully questions and turns away from the nobility system the way Ferdinand and Sylvain can. His rebellion is against the selfishness of his father because Lorenz under all the noble bullshit is actually a decent guy. Count Gloucester cares only about House Gloucester, its reputation and prosperity. To the ends of House Gloucester he is willing to assassinate rivals and kill any merchant that brings that rival prosperity, and take any side such as the Empire’s to ensure Gloucester’s survival. Lorenz disagrees thinks those in power must consider everyone, not just their own benefit. Lorenz is the game’s strongest supporter of the Alliance as a governing system. He genuinely values a non-monarchy. Lorenz puts what he believes are his noble duties above his own preferences. For example praying because that its what a noble should do instead of because he’s religious or actually believes in the Goddess. This extends to his attempts at dating. At the start of the game, Lorenz’s perspective is that it is his duty to ensure the prosperity of his house and this include a strong crest bloodline and someone in the role of “wife” that will benefit House Gloucester. Stuck in this mindset he totally disregards the women he’s pursuing. He grows out of this with help from his supports.

Ferdiand has one of the stronger character arcs in the game (but nothing will top Marianne) where he starts off incredibly naive and ignorant about anything outside the life of a Fodlan noble, hits existential crisis will Edelgard’s war, and rebuilds himself from there. Throughout the entirety of the game he actively tries to broaden his horizons and improve himself. Ferdinand’s relentless optimism really is admirable. As in Petra’s support shows, he starts off assuming Fodlan weapons and armor are the best (its Fodlan exceptionalism) because the books he read only talked about Fodland weaponry and spoke from a Fodlan perspective. Ferdinand believes in destiny, in purpose as shown in his Marianne supports. He’s written this narrative for himself as the esteemed scion on Aegir destined for greatness, where he will surpass Edelgard as her rival, and reform Adrestia and the nobility. But discrepancies keep cropping up, he can’t beat Edelgard in combat, Edelgard start a revolution while at the Academy and ascends as emperor, his noble title and assets are taken and his family disgraced. Ferdinand turns his frustration and loss inwards and uses it as fuel to shape a new path for himself.

the chad ignatz vs. the virgin lorenz

A supports that shouldn’t exist:

Claude and Ingrid. this feels like a B support that just keeps dragging on

Linhardt and Annette. a lot of linhardt’s supports take a sudden romantic turn in the A support. am i the only one that finds it weird?

They should have another support:

Hilda and Annette ! support. They are SO cute together. imagine them doing each other’s makeup!

Sylvain and Dimtiri A support

Sylvain and Ignatz B support. i just want more Sylvain ok

Byleth and Jeralt. no dad support? heresy

Balthus and Manuela. they can be disasters together

Balthus and Holst. I just want  holst

Raphael and all the blue lions (Felix, Sylvain, Dedue, Ashe, Merdeces, Annette)

all the church people will all the other church people

So a lot of people see AM as Dimitri’s journey on recovering from trauma and while that’s not a terrible interpretation-- I think a narrative about living through trauma and the slow decades long healing would be excellent --azure moon botches the execution and I'd argue that's not the authorial intent here. (a rare case where I like fandom interpretation better than what is canon). but hold on i need to back up.  So Japan's had these cycles of xenophobia and... fanaticism??? with foreign culture and at several points absorbed a lot of chinese culture. One greatly influential work was the Romance of the Three Kingdoms which cemented in the japanese consciousness the narrative that... hmmm how to say it.... unification is how things should be... that unification is what makes a good ending. Some people pointed out parallels beforehand, but the an interview with the developers confirmed that 3H was heavily inspired by Legend of the Galactic Heroes. I don't exactly expect a nuanced and sensitive discussion of mental health from any jrpg i play (or any game really) and that mostly applies to 3H as well, sylvain's self destructive tendencies are glorified as loyalty in his byleth s support. Bernadetta's trauma is used to up her moe factor (to great success given how high up she is on the popularity polls), i tallied the number of abusive families each of the students some time ago and the sheer number of female students with tragic or abusive backgrounds makes me suspect it was done for drama.  Azure moon was never quite meant to be a story about the the real life effects of actual trauma, which is why its so wonderful that so many people could create their own interpretations of azure moon that reflected their experiences. What it was meant to be was a story of the rightful king reclaiming his throne to the backdrop of how the past can weigh you down and affect the present. Its related to the concept of mandate of heaven in that when the rightful ruler is absent (no dimitri), the country is in shambles, people are starving, war rages, everyone suffers, etc. but with the ascension of the rightful king everything flourishes, the people are happy, faerghus has a bright future etc. If you look at it rationally a lot of what the blue lions suffered under is systematic. Faerghus is basically a death cult glorifying dying in battle and sacrifice such that children are trained to fight as soon as they can walk (ingrid and felix byleth supports), children are used as soldiers (dimitri and felix), martial training rules their lives above all else (dimitri-annette supports), religious fervor fueling all this etc. But in Azure Moon, non of theses systems (nobility, crest, chivalry, church, etc.) are critiqued or dismantled and it leaves the cast of the blue lions hanging. If anything, under a new charismatic archbishop (byleth) some of them might strengthen, and the only empowerment of the people comes from the top down (dimitri allowing greater participation in government) rather than the people raising themselves up. On another note, despite many cutscenes in part one about dimitri finding out how sketchy Arundel and and Patricia are, nothing is done with that in part 2 and there is no resolution to the Agarthan problem. But back to what I was saying Dimtiri’s life is controlled by the death’s of his family and Glen, Felix puts it best in that Dimtiri strings tombstones around his neck. So the aftermath of Rodrigue’s death and Byleth’s pep talk act as the turning point for AM. Dimtiri stops rejecting the throne and is welcomed as king to a joyful crowd, he is instantly forgiven by everyone (despite wandering around as a murdering beast for the last 5 years, not doing anything to help faerhgus, and torturing people), because of course he is, via the mandate of heaven now the the proper king is on the throne everything goes right. And I hate that narrative. The game frames dimitri accepting his role as king as incredibly positive from the cheering crowd to the support of all the other characters. AM tries to tie a political position to an emotional narrative and i don’t like it. (I also just don’t like dimitri on a personal level, he’s meh, and combined with this is why AM is my least favorite route).

My favorite supports: Claude+Shamir B, Linhard+Lysithea A, Sylvain+Felix A+, Hubert+Hanneman B, all of Petra+Claude.

long long ago .  humanity was ruled over by god kings, the nabateas/children of the goddess/dragons who saw it as their divine right and duty to rule, protect, and watch over humanity. But some of the humans wanted self rule, they saw the nabateans as tyrants imposing their will over another species, and they wanted freedom. "Humans should be able to decide their own path" they cried. The progenitor goddess Sothis had fallen into a long slumber after her efforts and her children ruled in the belief that she would one day return to rule them and they they were simply holding the spot for her. It is unknown if sothis was actually dead at this point or in a regenerative coma. Nemesis was either hired as a mercenary/thief to steal Sothis's remains, or the location was purposefully leaked to him. After stealing the Goddesses' body, the humans crafted her body into the sword of the creator and her heart became its crest stone.  Nemesis then led the invasion of Nabatea and killed the nabateans using a weapon made of their goddess and progenitor's body. The bodies of the nabateans were made into more weapons and given to the 10 elites as weapons in the war against the remaining nabateans and their human allies. Nemesis was then raised as a figurehead of the war, a symbol of the Liberation of humanity from grasp of the dragons. Humanity saw him as their savior king and the 10 elites as heroes liberating them from the dragons. Seiros founded the Church, raised an opposing army and the War of Heroes begins. Seiros eventually defeated the human resistance army and its remnants fled underground becoming the Agarthans. Church became a governing body in Fodlan as the remaining Nabateans again awaited the day Sothis would return to rule them (and one failed attempt at resurrecting her). The Agarthans attempted to preserve what technology they had left and continued to develop Heroes Relic technology eventually creating artificial heroes relics such as Aymr.  It is unlikely that Nemesis was ever the brains behind the operation, just another cog in the machine. The Nemesis you fight in game is either a zombie preserved in a cryostasis pod for millennia or a clone. it is unclear.  The nabateans had seen themselves as as benevolent rulers, like parents fostering children. (you can see where this gets patronizing). So some of them like rhea saw humanity's rebellion as a betrayal

Edelgard is probably the best character in the game even if on a personal level, I don't like her too much. By which i mean she's the character that adds the most to the game from her character writing to her role in the story.  Edelgard is straightforward and stubborn. She has her opinion and not only will she not change it, she'll dig her heels in and double down on it.  She's committed... but that bites both ways. Allowing her to accomplish much, but keeping her from changing her course in the face of new information and circumstances. Inflexible.  yeah edelgard likes to be in control. its the if you want something done right you've got to do it yourself mentality. She believes herself to be the right person for the job and because of the stubbornness i mentioned earlier will not back down no matter what even if that means massive loses and her death. on non CF routes Edelgard provides an excellent counterpoint to byleth and the church, its really well done

both caspar and ferdinand would get into a bar fight. nnnnnn ferdinand tries to be a prim proper noble but he's a hotblooded shounen hero at heart. like how he chase linhardt all around the campus. i don't think ferdinand could see a fight and not think hey i should stop this and end up getting involved. like caspar he's got a strong sense of what's "right" or "what should be done" which is why he hits existential crisis in the war. Ferdinand (kinda like edelgard really) had written himself this narrative of his life, that he was edelgard's rival, that he would ascend to Prime minister and do it better than anyone before him, that he would correct the misdeeds of his father and bring glory to the aegir name, that HE not edelgard would be the one who brought Adrestia into a shinning new future. And edelgard (not out of spite or anything, it was nothing personal) brought that ll crashing down. And ferdinand doesn't know what to do with himself, what is up and what is down, what it just and right and what isn't.

i like how each route does its own thing. GD/VW is a mystery about what is really happening. BE/CF is a political thriller and has a kinda sinister tone. BL/AM is more character driven about the personal costs. a good example of this is the mutiny in the mists chapter. for gd, it introduces the mystery of heroes relics, in be it introduces the injustice of the church, bl: it sucks to be ashe. Silver Snow gives us Byleth's seach for identity set to the backdrop of the morality of the church. this is one thing i don't like about blue lions. white clouds sets up how arundel is very sketchy and the flame emperor is working with an evil third party, but then azure moon completely drops that. Compare this to golden deer part one introducing the mysteries of the relic weapons, the connections between relics, demonic beasts, crests, the children of the goddess, and church and in verdant wind that pays off as you go into depth about those things. meet up to 5 children of the goddess and the creators of the relic weapons. CF also continues what it started in white clouds by killing the head of the church. cf and ss are mirrors of each other so you need both to understand rhea and edelgard.

also interesting note remember how after jeralt dies each lord has a couple unique scenes? the advice each of them gives you is the same thing they repeated to themself to get through their trauma. Claude dealt with trauma by never letting his enemies know they had hurt them, don't give them that power over you mentality. Put on a smile and face the day, you must. Edelgard dealt with trauma by hardening herself and focusing all her energy into a goal, pick yourself up and be productive, moping around does nothing and helps no one, do something about it. Dimitri I remember the least well, one half of it was a just point me in the direction of your enemies and i will help you rip them to shreds, and i don't remember the other half. I do remember he tries to goad byleth into taking vengeance, which made me very uncomfortable the other thing i remember is that they all kinda had a point, but none of it might have been what byleth needed to hear. How they react to Jeralt’s death is another point of foiling for Claude and Edelgard, both try to do something productive, while Dimitri commiserates and grieves with you.

honestly i think raphael had some of the best advice for grief. i mean... if all you can bring yourself to do is the small stuff then take things one step at a time, take care of your body. exercise really does help your mental health. its like i keep yelling at people, raphael is probably the most emotionally mature of the students, he's grounded. If i had to choose someone to mentor dimitri, I'd choose raphael. which is why I am so disappointed in their support. Raphael is such a good boy, endlessly compassionate and wanting the best for everyone, the heart of a golden retriever.  and the devs are a bunch of cowards who won't let me s support him with male byleth. like so many characters are pretty means to him at various points and he doesn't take it personally, just takes it and tries to help them through whatever they're going through. a good boy

on a side note intsys disproportionately gives shitty tragic backstories to their female characters and it feels icky. i went and counted the number of terrible things female characters have been through compared to the male cast (i have that list... somewhere...)... and a way higher percent of female characters were tortured/kidnapped/forced into marriages/abused/etc. compared to the percent of male character with tragic backstories

jeritza ... .... certainly is a character. a shame that i like his character design but that I don't like him. he and hubert are in a single elimination tournament to determine who gets to walk away with the title of Edgiest FE3H Character. "death knight" or shinigami kishi   and wears black spikey armor and says shit like "this dance of damnation!". he's a decent unit, but a bit underwhelming compared to when he's an enemy. i suppose it would be game breaking if he had that dodge and crit as a player unit... and he's a not a bad unit... i found him to be quite good really... but it just cna't compare

an excellent character. One of the things I like about her as a character is that her character archetype is quite rare and its refreshing to see it done well. Right? so in jrpgs over the years a lot of tropes and archetypes have accumulated. And Edelgard adds so much to the story as the main antagonist for most routes, as a foil to byleth and rhea. a counterpoint to the church. Its real good. and then you get to join her for one route??? Love it. As a person, i can appreciate how raw she is as a person. As with all the lords her character development is excellent. When you meet her at the beginning its all serious business all the time. She takes everything seriously and she's trying very hard to be taken seriously. No chill what so ever in part 1. But by part 2 she's just tired. edelgard is very human. flawed. and whether her actions were "right" is up to a lot of debate, but she cares a lot (i personally think its was wrong to start a continent wide war). i think a lot of people in the West have forgotten how utterly horrific wars are. and yes she's pig headedly stubborn. the break not bend type

I really like bernadetta and caspars supports. Dorothea aggressively trying to befriend petra is great. and I did not expect ferdinand and hubert's supports to go like that but they're also really good. I think the ferdinand/hubert supports are another one that has multiple versions (b? a?) depending on when you get it in the game

I'm one of the few who likes the split route structure haha. it has its drawbacks yeah like how splitting up content means a good chunk of people will only play one route and judge the whole game based on that one route (and get angry on the internet about it  ). But i really liked being able to follow the different factions around (fe3h still need a rewrite, but i love the concept). the complex multifaceted ways the same event can affect different people. You need to play cf and one other route at least to get a basic understanding of whats going on in three houese

interesting thing is that the battle dialogue is also route locked. Like I went dialogue hunting last route in vw and got nothing. attacked dimtiri and sylvain with felix and ingrid and got nothing. Attacked edelgard with petra and ferdinand and got nothing on both maps annette and mercedes also got nothing. while i know in other routes all of them do get dialogue

What you get out of rhea in the last chapter of vw is likely accurate to the best of rhea's knowledge. Rhea knows she's dying here and likely dies soon after the game ends and nemesis is coming so she has little reason to lie. that doesn't mean what she says is true just that she has little reason to lie The church acts to maintain power and influence and shelter the nabateans who head the church by obscuring information on them. Contrast this with edelgard who got the truth of the church from her father but viewed it using the lens of the agarthans. The agarthans saw rhea and the nabateans as tyrants oppressing humanity and their views influenced edelgard. They aren’t wrong…. But there’s more to it than that (seteth’s supports)

so for some of the npcs, the ages from the datamine are more age of appearance or what age a stranger would think they'd be at first glance.this is why Sothis is listed as 9, jeralt as 45, seteth as 26, rhea as 28, and cornelia as 30 eventhough all these characters are older than that

Why Dont Ashe And Yuri Have A Support Chain. They Even Both Love Cooking And Set Up Inns In Some Of Their Endings!!!! AND LET HAPI AND CLAUDE GO STARGAZING TOGETHER