#edelgard will just have to wait

[krazieka2]

Here's a big old Fire Emblem Search & Find I did for the FE3H Masquerade Zine! Find the Golden Deer, but see if you can't find the rest of the students as well! For the ultimate challenge, see if you can't name every character! (Disclaimer two characters are NPCs with no names)

[dimiclaudeblaigan]

nah but like

they're "seiros lapdogs" because they're fighting back against the people who attacked them completely unprovoked??? also because it so happens that thales is at garreg mach so they have to go there to reclaim the area to defeat him???

i just hate this because it's just perpetuating things about faerghus and its people that just aren't true. it frames it like they jumped into the war willingly for the church and that they're only here for the church. like nah buddy, it's not faerghus' fault you're out here fighting to protect thales and ludwig.

it also is batshit to me how he and leopold are fighting to stop faerghus from advancing but like... they know what's happening to the empire and that edelgard isn't even calling the shots anymore, yet they still stupidly fight for the very person who is literally razing their country and burning their villages. they know the empire is in shambles and that the kingdom isn't targeting them and is specifically aiming for gm to get it back from who? thales; who, mind, at this point is in his real form and not posing as arundel anymore. everything is laid out plainly, but they still act like faerghus is the bad guy.

but yeah, okay. faerghus BaD for defending themselves, fighting back, finding out who is behind all the puppeteering and heading to take him out. sure, that makes them seiros lapdogs. like what are you, an agarthan mouthpiece??? may as well be like yeah you go retreat and leave you agarthan lapdog. if they don't realize it's Someone Else in charge of course, then ludwig lapdog works fine too.

and it sucks because other than this shit, i like waldemar just fine as a character. it's just like, it feels like they forced someone to have to stick in that final faerghus BaD insult before the grand finale so they just randomly picked someone to remind us that faerghus is Always Wrong as long as they continue to fight back and prevent being attacked in the future.

waldemar here is just basically ag caspar. fighting and risking his life for thales, who is destroying the empire and basically holding the emperor hostage. if the writing here had any decent plot points, they would've all stopped and have been like hey wait, shouldn't we be fighting to get our emperor back? why are we stopping these guys from killing the people who are destroying this country?

and like, they literally went from siding with ludwig during the insurrection to siding with edelgard in this timeline to... jumping immediately back to ludwig as soon as he was at the top of the food chain (thales notwithstanding). as soon as the person in charge changes, they jump ship immediately; then of course get mad that the people they attacked are coming after them... and fighting them as they defend the very people who are letting adrestia become a literal, physical ruin.

it really just tells me that these people don't care about adrestia itself, but status, power and wealth. they don't care about the country itself as long as they're doing well. that's like, the only thing i can get from still fighting with/for ludwig/thales. the fact that they just fight for ludwig again as soon as edelgard is out of commission is also pretty gross to me. they have no loyalty at all.

and it's like, i want to like waldermar and leopold, but they come across as just selfish, entitled and only there for their own asses to be covered. and i get that - that is a realistic take on politicians, but the fact that the game regularly loops back around to faerghus BaD despite that and despite portraying these people as opportunistically selfish is like... what are they even trying to write??

[clonewarsahsoka]

OH YEAH HERES THE STUFF I GOT ON THE WEEKEND (plus a closer pic to try and deal with the glare)

[elegyofthemoon]

7, 22, 38

OOO thanks so much anon !!

fe3h asks

7. Favourite Blue Lions character?

NOOOOOOOOOOOO--

...Okay so because I was like ohhh nooo I don't know how to decide ahhhhhhh how do i piiiick I let the sorter do it AND SOMEHOW ???? FELIX WAS THE TOP BLUE LION FOR ME LMAO

I mean that's also fair: I think I was saying I gravitate the most towards swordsman characters (sword!!!! cool!!!!!) but I do remember how much I liked the different characterizations/exploration of his character depending which route ur on -- at least between Blue Lions Felix vs Crimson Flower Felix. I still think a lot about his reflection on when Dimitri dies in Crimson Flower and it makes me :((((

ALSO also his supports were good. I still laugh a lot about his one with Annette and Lysithea for example. Or the one with Bernadetta lolol But the serious ones hoo they hit

22. Favourite scene?

One of my fave scenes was the reunion scene with Dimitri actually asdlkfjh I remember running into a post that was talking about the placement of the lords in light and I was breaking apart about Dimitri being in the shadows and rejecting Byleth's hand. I think a lot about that scene and it kinda warms my heart everytime I see art referencing that scene ;; 0 ;;

38. Most heartbreaking death?

No one asked but there's a reason why I hate doing Crimson Flower and never want to do it again because I DON'T WANT TO GO AGAINST DIMITRI :(((((((( I DON'T LIKE HURTING HIM AND I HATE SEEING THE WAY HE GOES OUT

Dedue in that route ALSO gets a shoutout because when he becomes those crest monster things (forgot what they're called) I GOT SO DEVASTATED THAT I HAD TO COMPLETELY STOP AND THEN CALLED MY BEST FRIEND ABOUT IT TO COOL OFF LMAO

[genshingorlsrevengeance]

Hey, a while back you did a bunch of Genshingirls walking in on their S/O with a body pillow of them. Why don’t we flip the script this time? S/O walks in to see the girls (or guys!) with a body pillow of *them*!

One character I do ask for is Bernadetta.

(Genshin Impact/FE3H) Furina, Ayaka, Yae, Shenhe, Kokomi, Bernadetta, Edelgard, and Marianne with a body pillow of their S/O

The implications of someone making a body pillow of yourself is both hilarious and terrifying.

Furina's eyes go wide once the door opens, leading her to rush something underneath the blanket seeing her S/O.

(S/O) "Hey, I'm ba-...Furina?"

She has her usual smug expression as she dramatically blew a kiss to them.

(Furina) "Ah, welcome back dear! I must say you are home far earlier than I expected!"

(S/O) "Is everything alright? You're sweating a lot."

(Furina) "Ah? This? I just summoned one of my little friends to cool me off is all!"

(S/O) "On our bed?"

...

S/O walked over to them and immediately put their hand on her forehead, stunning her for a moment.

(S/O) "Your face is burning hot! Jeez, no wonder you needed them. Let's get you a change of clothes-"

(Furina) "W-WAIT!"

S/O ripped off the blanket and saw themselves on a pillow, forcing them to make sure they weren't going insane.

Furina for her part was doing her best impression of a tomato, with her two fingers awkwardly tapping the blanket and doing everything in her power to not look them in the eyes.

(S/O) "Why do you...H-How...?!"

(Furina) "L-LISTEN! YOU WEREN'T HOME AND..."

Furina began pouting as she put the blanket up to her face, probably about to explode from embarassment.

S/O was flattered at least, but...who even gave this to her?

(S/O) "Where have you been hiding this whenever I have been home?"

(Furina) "...Closet."

Her muffled voice responded.

Ayaka felt that having a body pillow of her S/O felt so...strange.

It was so weird, who even has this kind of thing of their significant other?!

But...it was not too dissimilar from keeping a picture of them, so maybe....?

Ayaka hides the pillow from everyone, and not a single soul besides her knows about it.

Whenever she was missing them, Ayaka would hold onto the pillow, counting the days until S/O could return.

...Until her door slid open.

(S/O) "Surprise! I'm here early-"

Ayaka's absolutely mortified expression speaks for itself as its inches away from a picture of S/O, pasted onto the pillow.

The two said nothing as they kept unblinking eye contact.

(Ayaka) "...Please don't tell anyone about this."

Yae commissioned an artist that she knows to put S/O onto a pillow.

There was something similar going on with Ei, which gave her this idea to begin with.

Yae put the pillow right smack in the middle of the bedroom and waited for S/O's arrival that night.

She could already imagine their reaction, but why imagine it when you can just see it?

Finally, Yae could hear the door creak open, and her smirk increased tenfold.

(S/O) "Yae, I'm home. Hm, what's that on-"

Yae bursts out laughing when S/O pauses and their face scrunches up upon seeing themselves.

Wiping away a tear from her eye, she greets S/O.

(Yae) "Is something the matter, I thought you'd appreciate me always thinking of you."

(S/O) "Why is it so well drawn?"

(Yae) "I paid someone a substantial amount of Mora to get your likeliness down well, little one.~"

She starts laughing again seeing their exasperated sighing.

Shenhe was gifted a body pillow of S/O, strangely enough by Cloud Retainer.

(Cloud Retainer) "One believes that you would appreciate a reminder of your loved one in physical form. At least, that is what the Traveler has spoken."

And Shenhe not really knowing how ANY human interaction works, took it at face value as well.

After all, Shenhe does feel that strange longing in her heart for S/O, there was at least this nice picture of them to keep her satisfied until now.

S/O eventually comes home to find Shenhe hugging the pillow of themselves in the living room, making them do a double take.

(S/O) "...Shenhe?"

(Shenhe) "S/O. It's good to see you again."

Her eyes slightly narrow.

(Shenhe) "Is something wrong? Your expression is changed."

(S/O) "Is...that a pillow of myself?"

(Shenhe) "Yes. It was a gift from master."

S/O noticed how tightly Shenhe was holding onto the pillow, before they came in, and she proceeded to hug them just as tight.

(Shenhe) "It brings...some comfort when you are not here."

S/O sighed, but gave her a smile.

(S/O) "That's touching...in a weird way."

(Shenhe) "How is a pillow of you weird?"

(S/O) "Hoo boy..."

Kokomi's body pillow of S/O: +1000 Energy

It embarrasses her to no end that the pillow actually boosts her energy.

But if she couldn't cuddle with her S/O, then there was the next best thing!

At least, that was the plan until the real one walked into her hideaway.

(S/O) "Kokomi, I brought some sna-"

She was so tired that she didn't even notice them.

Kokomi has a soft smile, hugging the pillow of them tightly as her shoulders relaxed.

S/O walked up to Kokomi, unsure to call her name again or tap her in the shoulder.

Both would equally startle her, considering.

They would have to do neither, as Kokomi opened her eyes and saw them standing in front of her.

(Kokomi) "AAAGH?! S-S/O?!"

She quickly tried to hide the body pillow behind her before giving up and sighing.

(Kokomi) "I'm...s-sorry."

S/O gave her a smile before hugging her, letting her relax into their embrace.

All the while, respectfully not looking at themselves.

(S/O) "...How long have you had that pillow, Kokomi?"

(Kokomi) "Please don't tease me about that, dear."

Okay, even Bernadetta could admit that having a pillow of her boyfriend/girlfriend was weird.

But...it brought her comfort, and no one really entered her room anyway, so who cares?

It's not like anyone was gonna see it.

She holds onto the pillow like a lifeline, sighing in content.

(Bernadetta) "Oh, Pillow S/O, thank you for bringing me comfort in my times of need..."

(S/O) "...I don't do that?"

(Bernadetta) "Of course you do! Like nothing el-"

She realized that it spoke up, and slowly turned behind her.

(S/O) "...H-Hi."

Bernadetta was completely frozen in place, eyes widened in absolute terror.

(S/O) "Please tell me you didn't get Ignatz to draw that for you-"

(Bernadetta) "I-IT WAS A GIFT, I SWEAR!"

(S/O) "I'm...not sure that's any better, sweetie..."

It was absolutely disgraceful to Edelgard to have a pillow of her S/O!

The Emperor of Adrestia needs to have more tact than...whatever the hell this was.

But at the same time...she didn't have the heart to throw it away.

She instead keeps it, but WELL out of sight of anyone that could find it.

Honestly, Edelgard would rather a thief find her gold than this pillow.

Unfortunately for her, someone worse found it.

(S/O) "Edelgard, is my clothes in the closet? I can't seem to find my jacket."

(Edelgard) "Hm? Oh yes, it should be-"

Her eyes shoot wide open as she quickly spins around, and rushes to the closet door.

She slammed it shut, giving S/O a panicked look.

(S/O) "WOAH! W-What's gotten int-"

(Edelgard) "B-BY THE EMPEROR'S DECREE, I FORBID YOU FROM OPENING THAT DOOR!"

As if on cue, the door instead fell over to the side from Edelgard's strength, and out flopped the body pillow of S/O onto the ground.

(S/O) "..."

(Edelgard) "..."

Marianne truthfully didn't even want this body pillow.

It was gifted to her by Raphael, and she couldn't say no.

The picture portraying S/O was tasteful and quite well drawn, but who keeps a picture of someone they love on a pillow?

It just felt extremely awkward, and Marianne did not want to deal with it.

She was in her room with Hilda, not sure what to do.

(Hilda) "Wow, okay that's kinda creepy. But sweet too, in a weird way!"

(Marianne) "I suppose, but it seems rude to throw it away if it's so well crafted."

(Hilda) "Iunno. Maybe hang it on a wall? It is a picture after all!"

The door to her bedroom opened, and both of them saw S/O enter.

(S/O) "Hey Mari-...Oh, Hilda! What are you doing in here?"

(Hilda) "Heya. Just trying to figure out what to do with this gift."

(S/O) "What gi-....Oh."

All three of them stared at the picture, unsure what to do.

(S/O) "Um...did you?-"

(Marianne) "I did not make this..."

(S/O) "O-Okay good..."

(Hilda) "Well whatever you guys decide to do, just don't let Claude se it!"

Marianne and S/O gave each other an awkward glance, putting it gently into their closet and deciding it'd be best to figure that out later.

They forgot about it, and Marianne gets jumpscared by the pillow of S/O sometimes.

A/N: OH MY GOOOOD IT'S SO NOSTALGIC WRITING FOR 3H AGAIN

[crows-of-buckets]

This is all I've got... Me trying to redraw that first piece over and over again bc I hate it. I need to fix this NOW

I think it's absolutely a crime of some kind that I don't have more finished edeleth pieces. A crime. I need to amend this immediately <- guy who already has three wips they're working on right now

[real-fire-emblem-takes]

thinking about the fe games w/ routes (fates and three houses specifically but probably others idfk)

i think there needs to be more tragedy there. or opportunities for it i guess? or that fire emblem has to make unique death quotes for characters in general man

death in fire emblem feels so blah for me. more of an inconvenience than in other media. like when im playing DnD and an npc i love dies it isnt "man that sucks. anyway" but even w characters i love in fire emblem its just "man do i wanna reset the chapter for this that was so lame"

make death and especially betrayal related deaths Hurt More.

lets say youre byleth. youre teaching the black eagles, yay! but you have a b support with claude. you and claude are good buddies, maybe you just like claude as a character or its accidental because of x y z does Not matter. either way you are one of claudes closest friends. then the war starts, and you choose to side with a woman claude sees as a future tyrant (or at the very least a driven warmonger who might crush the alliance underneath her boot). imagine the hurt. the absolute fucking agony for claude.

and for byleth! byleth wakes up and their friend is gone. on another side, unreachable, 5 years of emotional distance *yawning* in front of them.

and then they reunite in the midst of battle, weapons drawn. theyve both come so far and have goals they *have* to achieve.

"I don't want this."

too bad. if you roll over, you get a game over because you fuckin failed the route. or you have to make someone else kill claude because sumn sumn mechanically you have a 0% hit rate bc of that b support. you cant do it.

too bad. claude cant run away, hes the last line of defense for a place hes responsible for. if he leaves what is he? a coward? a turncoat? would he have to believe in edelgard's future? would he have to slay his own allies, friends, the people who relied on him?

he cant. you cant.

he begs you to reconsider. you cant.

as he falls he reaches out a hand. you kneel beside him as he says a few things. calls this whole battle a clever gambit, praises your cunning in using effective weaponry, etc etc. but his voice is weaker. theres no option to spare him, you couldnt spare any *other* unit, could you? couldn't spare hilda. cant spare claude.

he mentions sometimes dreaming of the monastery. the food was good, right? hope the foods good in the future you build with edelgard. hope you name a town after him, thatd be fun. dont get stupid, teach, dont join him too soon. maybe he'll even wait for ya. keep a seat warm.

(fire emblem unit death sound)

then also: units in your own army.

lets say youre playing black eagles. its nearish endgame but not too close so i dont say any spoilers, but regardless bernadetta and yuri have an A support. they might get hitched postgame man, you havent done the A support of anyone else w those two. its a rough battle, your healer is severely low on psychic uses, you sold all your fucking vulneraries because you thought dorothea was more of a beast than she is. its dire.

unexpected sniper crit. yuri is on 0 hp.

bernadetta is within 5 tiles and instead of yuri's canned death quote, bernie interjects with one of the most well voiced anguished screams youve ever fucking heard. on the next turn, bernie gets +50 hit *and* crit on that enemy, and if she kills it the rest of the scene plays.

bernie is holding yuri, one of her few friends in her hellish fucking life. hes not gonna make it, she knows that, but shes still gonna try. shes wailing and begging him to stay like she wished she had all those fucking years ago, shes babbling about all the things he'll miss if he goes, all the things shes planned for them to do now that shes brave enough to leave her bedroom. he cuts her off to laugh. now is when she gets brave and honest with her feelings? when hes dying? oh bernie come on. he wraps an arm around her shoulders and pulls her in for a hug, kissing her temple like an old boyfriend and not a quiet yearning crush. he murmurs that hes glad she left her bedroom. that hes glad she can see the world beyond what abuse happened to her behind closed doors. that she'll find some other person to hold in his stead, one who wont so rudely get his blood on her battle leathers. one who wont leave her time and time again like he has. she wails into his shoulder as she drops the scraps of cloth she had been trying to use to stop his bleeding and just holds her dying friend.

(fire emblem unit death sound)

if death felt like An Event and not An Inconvenience i'd play with permadeath more man. make me sad fire emblem youre so shit at it

.

[butwhatifidothis]

Talking from a fe3h discourse perspective I get hating Rhea, as a Rhea lover. To a lesser extent I GUESS I get Seteth. But Flayn??????? She's just vibing and eating fish??? She has NOTHING to do with Rhea's decisions? Like at that point you're (not you op, general you) just looking for issues. To be clear if you hate her because of her personality or whatever sure, to each their own. But hating her because "church bad" feels really stupid to me. That's like a rhea/church fan hating the black eagles on principal because they're part of edelgard's house or because they don't hate edelgard.

When you realize they ascribe to this kind of mentality

it starts to make a lot more sense. Yeah, if two members of a race being bad if enough for you to ascribe malice and evil to every single member of said race, it's pretty easy to also say that the very blood of that race is evil and having it course through your veins makes you evil.

Which they've been saying for a while now!

Yes, you are in fact seeing a ~year-and-a-half old screenshot of them saying the exact same racist garbage they're saying now.

Also, just. This fucker keeps repeating this stupid fucking point about Nemesis and frankly it pisses me off.

Two years. From as early as two days ago (as of July 11th 2024) to as far back as two fucking years, they've been repeating "Nemesis couldn't have been THAT BAD you guys, because the people he's been tyrannically ruling over for over a century and who didn't know the full extent of his actions which include the genocide he committed believed in the lie about him being a liberator! A supposed liberator of a group of people these oppressed ignorant civilians would have had literally no contact with whatsoever given Nemesis has been ruling for over a century! Meaning any human alive during the actual reign of the Nabateans would have been fucking dead by the time Nemesis was killed, meaning any alive during Nemesis' reign had no way of knowing how that rule actually was! This lie was so imprinted into the people's conscious that Rhea couldn't erase it, so it has to be true and not a lie anymore!"

Literally saying that Nemesis was right to do what he did because he said he was and the people who had no choice but to believe him believed he was. Like I said, they are so fucking desperate to defend this genocider and to degrade the Nabateans as an entire race to be biologically inclined towards evil, and have been desperate to do this for years.

Here are a couple more choice words Shandale has said!

"He didn't genocide them because he WANTED to, he did it because he HAD to! If he didn't, anyone he brought with him to genocide the Nabateans would have been killed!"

Oh, but silly me! What I am talking about?

It wasn't a genocide! It was getting rid of oppressor and conquerors! Those oppressors and conquerors, you know, just so happening to be the entirety of the Nabatean race.

Which, hm! Guess what nonnie!

Explicitly includes Flayn! Someone who literally never did anything to anyone! Oh, except be willing to kill followers... who are a direct threat to others and are desecrating her mother's grave. Oh, but who cares about silly little nitpicks like that, she's willing to kill her followers!! ...Oh wait, there's only reference to Cichol in that paralogue? Cethleann isn't even mentioned once anywhere in the paralogue? Like literally anywhere? Bah! Who cares! Flayn is evil, just like all the other Nabateans! Let's """"""""joke"""""""" about killing her over and over and over and over and over again!

Teehee isn't it so funny guys! They're killing Flayn, haha, soooo funny! Ignore how they think Flayn's race in its entirety needs to be killed and how they lie about what Flayn's done to paint her as evil, they're just jokingly killing Flayn and joking about how fun they find the idea of killing this member of a race they clearly hate over and over keekeekee!!! This race isn't real guys you're not allowed to find this disturbing plus they're just joking anyway hahahahahahahahahahaha!!!!!

(there's actually more of these "jokes". Like way more of them. Just, lettin' everybody know)

And, oh, wow!

This includes Indech and Macuil! Nabateans who cut off all contact with humanity after they had helped kill the genocider of their race. Macuil isn't even in Fodlan anymore, he's in the middle of a Sreng desert, but, nope! They helped kill Nemesis, meaning they are also completely evil :)

Funny how every single Nabatean who stood up against the human who killed them all is deemed irrevocably evil no matter what, but the human Agarthans are just poor little victims who deserved more nuance and sympathy even after they literally murder children. But we're the mean ones for pointing all of this out as bad tho

[deathbirby]

"#if they want [Hopes] to be canon [...]" To knock over the Agarthans‚ Hopes makes them even dumber. If they can mind control Edel‚ why don't they just do that after CF ends? Like I get underestimating someone you consider your weapon but for a shadowy group that does unethical things‚ there's no "get rid of them" plan? Like the Hegemon pokeball is a surprise weapon that can devastate people around her (i.e. that AG cutscene). Or why not just isolate and bodysnatch them since Shez isn't around to play metal detector.

No idea how to close this anon ask‚ so I'll just end this by saying Agarthans are item hoarders waiting to use them all on the final boss (they think it's Sothis‚ disregarding that Byleth is depowered). "Hey‚ should we awaken Nemesis?" "No‚ we can take them." "They're in the room with us..." "Disable the nukes! I can take them!"

I mean the Agarthans are like.. massive fucking idiot. They're one walking plot hole.

They have nukes? Why not use them at the end of CF? Everyone is gathered together and Rhea couldn't defend them because she's focking ded.

Magic brainwash crest? Why not use it.. ANY ANY POINT IN THE ORIGINAL GAME? It's so easy to just a "bam CREST MAGIC" and Edelgard eats shit. You can't even say that she was weakened by Dimitri because.. she is weakened in other routes during certain moments too!

They can kidnap people and take their disguise? Literally do that with more important figures in Garreg Mach than the fucking librarian what are you DOING. They got away with doing it to Cornelia of all people!

Lmao them just being item hoarders is very relatable. "NO WAIT WHAT IF WE NEED THESE WHEN THE FELL STAR SHOWS UP?" "SIR THE FELL STAR JUST CUT A HOLE THROUGH THE SKY AND KILLED SOLON" "BUT THAT'S NOT THE SAME FELL STAR IT COULD BE WORSE!!!"

[shroomthedecayedfox]

Last time I went crazy over Byleth's heartbeat, it's Edelgard's turn now. 

In my last ramble I briefly mentioned the presence of Edelgard's leitmotif, but I didn't really get into a whole lot about how that one works in particular. Because it's both really strange and pretty cool. 

So part of how leitmotifs work is that the audience or viewer doesn't necessarily need to understand the intricacies of its mechanics. The audience just needs to hold onto the auditory cues being presented to them. Whenever that character or symbol is on stage (or for our purposes, on screen) you as the audience are being given a musical cue for them. This visual (the character) goes hand in hand with this music (the leitmotif). Through repetition, the audience makes the mental connection even if they don't quite understand how that connection was set up in the first place. 

This is why Rhea straight up sings her leitmotif to you. That moment in the entrance hall is the game’s way of making you pay attention to that music in isolation from the soundtrack. Which is why it suddenly comes back in “Funeral of Flowers” at the end of Silver Snow. You’ve heard this song before, you’re reminded of Rhea, and hey, that’s the important figurehead in this fight.

"Funeral of Flowers":

“Song of the Nabateans”:

Edelgard's leitmotif doesn't operate under this principle. It's busy doing its own thing: very fitting considering the character it's linked to. But, that's mainly because it reverses the process of a leitmotif. "Edge of Dawn" doesn't play over the course of any of the routes, it only intentionally appears in the end credits. 

And I say "intentionally", because if you stall out on the main menu the game starts to play its equivalent to an anime opening. With "Edge of Dawn" acting as the music between the shots. However, even here it's still reversing the leitmotif setup. A new player wouldn't have the context to understand the layers of the song they're listening to. They wouldn't understand that the singer is representative of Edelgard and her perspective across White Clouds, nor that this particular piece of music is going to be linked to that character in particular. 

Because you haven't met her yet, you need to wait a couple minutes. 

For me, I never encountered "Edge of Dawn" in the main menu because I was too busy loading my save file and starting the next chapter of the game. (The same thing occurred for my sister, neither of us realized that the song played this early.) 

So, there's a good chance that an average player won't encounter the song in the main menu, but even if they do they won't properly understand what's happening with the leitmotif. They may simply misinterpret it as just the musical theme for the game itself. 

Because then there's the other aspect of the leitmotif's setup: the sheer amount of times it shows up in the soundtrack. It's EVERYWHERE. I'm just gonna give you guys a brief list, but seriously. Pull up the soundtrack and start shuffling through the songs: 9 times out of 10, whatever one shows up probably has it in there somewhere. 

But for the sake of convenience, these are just the ones I noticed:

Fodlan Winds: at around 17 secs the leitmotif can be heard as a piano piece in the background of the composition.

Between Heaven and Earth: at around 28 secs the leitmotif shows us in the horned instruments.

Apex of the World: opens with the leitmotif.

Respite and Sunlight: appears and blends into the composition at around 18 secs.

A Promise: It’s literally just the leitmotif, but upbeat.

Unfulfilled: leitmotif encompasses the piano/horned instrument sections.

Learning Lessons: Shows up as the plucking of string instruments.

Words to Believe In: Shows up about a minute and 10 secs in.

Hope as a Melody: Leitmotif but with choir.

A Guide for the Future: Forms over the course of the song.

Life at Garreg Mach Monastery: Very beginning, can’t miss it.

Broken Routine: shows up in the beginning.

Scales of the Goddess: background composition.

The Colors of Sunrise: piano.

The Archbishop: choir singer.

The Officer’s Academy: background composition.

A World for Humanity: bulk of music.

A New Dawn: bulk of music comp.

Three Houses Main Theme: 45 secs in and the Edge of Dawn section.

Edge of Dawn/Lady of Hresvelg: It’s literally just the leitmotif.

And this is why "Edge of Dawn" is so weird. Because, in context, you as the player know this is SOMETHING. What that something is and who it's alluding to, however, is not an objective the game has any interest in telling you about yet. You are left to understand that this musical cue is important, but you aren't told why it's important. That is until the very end of the game. 

The end credits.

When the game comes to a close, you are finally hit with “Edge of Dawn” in a manner you can’t happenstance into. And it’s here where you’re suddenly confronted with the WHY of why this musical cue is so important: it’s for Edelgard. Because as you listen, you recall all the times that leitmotif has played. You’ve heard this song before, but not in this manner. From the 25 or so hours you played White Clouds, to the next 25 or so hours you played in the Post-Timeskip section. The point of the leitmotif’s presence in just about everything is to prime the player to suddenly lock in and figure out what the hell was the reason that made this cue so important. 

And what you’re told musically is that it’s Edelgard. Edelgard is important. From the singer to the lyrics to the music; the song is about Edelgard’s perspective. The game, in this moment, is musically inviting you to play again asking you to go back and understand Edelgard. Whether or not that invitation is effective is left up to the player, but it doesn’t remove the fact that the game is making that invitation in the first place. But wait, this isn’t the entire truth. Crimson Flower doesn’t play “Edge of Dawn” at the end credits. When Crimson Flower ends, it starts playing “The Color of Sunrise”. Why? A player who went through Crimson Flower wouldn’t need the invitation. They know and already understand Edelgard’s perspective. They picked her after all. (The process of making this choice will be the subject of another ramble, I promise).

“The Color of Sunrise” is also entirely orchestral. There are no lyrics to interpret. You hear the leitmotif again and you are reminded of the journey you took to get to this point. You are reminded of the path you walked with Edelgard.

This is why I find Edelgard’s leitmotif so fascinating. It inverts the process of its explanation and only offers said explanation to a player most in need of it. 

And that’s just so cool to me. :)

[fireemblems24]

Golden Wildfire Ch 11

On we go to ch 11. Things are . . . uh . . . interesting.

MAIN STORY

So if you didn't see ch 10, I failed to recruit Byleth. I retried the level a few time, but honestly I just want to finish this game so I didn't bother.

Plus, the reason I failed was that Claude just sat there instead of moving forward on the escort mission, which got really frustrating, and honestly I didn't want to bother.

Ugh, I don't want to fight the Kingdom.

So those Houses that wanted to defect to the Kingdom didn't because Claude's battle was that bloody in that fire map.

Poor Dimitri and co seems like he's just betting bullied for no real reason by two imperialistic maniacs.

I love how Arval is getting snooty over Shez getting credit for their tactics lamo.

Man, this dialogue is dragging.

So Nadar is going to cause diplomatic chaos by utilizing the Almyran army without getting real permission.

Wait, Claude riled up Sreng? So much for "ending racism" lamo. Wasn't having two cultures not be prejudice against each other like his MO? The writers really just threw him in the trash, hunh.

I feel so bad for Claude fans. He's really a piece of work in this.

MAP/SIDE STUFF

Everyone missing Judith has a lot more punch than Randolph. Even Monica was like "get over it" to Fleche (but nicely).

So, let me make sure I have this right. Mr. I Want to End Prejudice Between Cultures just provoked Sreng into attacking the Kingdom so Edelgard can take it over because Rhea is the reason for everything bad. Did I get that right?

Unlike SB, GW is entertaining as hell, but man is the logic here is just non-existant. And poor Claude RIP.

Like, I know I'm biased and all, but I don't see how you're supposed to be the heroes and not Dimitri here. The people just defending themselves are getting attacked on all 3 fronts for the crime of *existing.*

Not going to lie. I kinda wish Claude didn't side with you in AG either. It would've been hype to kick everyone's ass as Dimitri after getting cornered by all these land-grabbers.

GW!Claude is really just the mean girl's sidekick. 😂

If Felix and Rodrigue die in this chapter I swear to God . . . (I just remembered Rodrigue is dead in SB now 😭 - LET THIS MAN SURVIVE).

I had to fight Felix in a side mission. Lysithea said they had to "defend this place" - like, girl, you are invading.

When the challenge is "you can't dodge" but you're using Lorenz 😌👌 (FYI, he just does not take damage in this game)

SHEZ & HILDA A SUPPORT

They're talking about how Hilda exerted energy in a battle because she worried about Shez.

Hilda claims it's just self-defense bc she was cheering for Shez on the front lines and enemies were there (honestly, this is pretty boring so far)

It's the same-old Hilda claiming she's weak but that not being true.

SHEZ & CONSTANCE C SUPPORT

I know she's an Empire character, but whatever.

She wants to create new magics to restore her noble house and wants to research Shez bc of their weird magic

Lamo, Constance low-key called us dumb

Shez suggests she get her house back through military accomplishments.

Constance refuses to train right now, she wants to at night (it's her dual personality thing, right?)

CLAUDE & LYSITHEA B SUPPORT

Their first one. Claude's unhappy Lysithea charged in the last battle. But Lysithea kicked ass, so she's upset with Claude.

Claude calls her plan dumb and that he thought Lysithea was smarter than that. Lysithea still argues it ended earlier bc of her.

Lysithea doesn't back down.

Honestly, I side with her here. Claude's being patronizing. And it's rich of him not to care about all the other deaths dragging out the battle would cause and only Lysithea dying because she's *important*

CLAUDE & HOLST A SUPPORT

Oof, this one hurts. Claude accuses the church of creating all the systems to serve their own interests, because he doesn't know the truth here. That the Empire actually created most of it, and that all the church ever did was protect a genocided race from being murdered by more power-hungry humans.

It's also hysterical to hear Claude talk about wanting to improve foreign relations while instigating a war between two cultures.

Oof, Holst doesn't care about any of this. He's only worried Claude's going to send Hilda to marry a big, brown, scary foreigner. NOT a good look.

Holst says he cares more about Hilda's future than the whole Alliance. Yikes.

HILDA & HOLST A SUPPORT

They're preparing a feast.

Oh, it's nice to see Hilda's insecurities about Holst's "perfection" come up in this, bc so far she hadn't said much.

After that last support though, Holst is actually a pretty shitty leader.

Holst wants to make the feast all about Hilda instead of himself though. Hilda likes the attention.

Hilda basically had to set up her own feast lol.

HILDA & LINHARDT A SUPPORT

Hilda's cleaning, and Linhardt's honestly upset that he's lost a fellow lazy person.

Hilda claims she never pushes work on people. That, is a lie.

Linhardt is mostly worried how bad it'll look if he's the only one not working instead one of two.

All this support confirms that Linhardt is by far the superior lazy.

LORENZ & LYSITHEA A SUPPORT

Their only support.

So, not related to their support (and watch it counter it), but I find it pretty amusing how getting a leadership position faster matured Felix and Sylvain, but Lorenz is still a bit of a joke and the butt-end of every support he's in.

He's just bragging about how awesome his position and power is.

Lysithea says she's not inheriting her house. She claims it's because she doesn't like what comes with nobility, but we all know why.

She worried that the land will go to chaos without it's leaders though. Lorenz offers help (which, imo, he's actually mature here!)

Lorenz suspects she's turning it down for another reason and encourages her to rely on others to help.

RAPHAEL & LEONIE B SUPPORT

Raphael keeps snapping bows in half when he uses them. Leonie's shocked.

Leonie seems to actually make one and invites Raphael to test it while on guard duty with her.

IGNATZ & MARIANNE B SUPPORT

Marianne found his picture. He puts it down, but she likes it (it's a horse, well a pegasus, but of course)

Ignatz gets carried away talking about it, but Marianne finds it cute.

Ignatz finds Marianne loving pegasus cute. She blushes.

He wants Marianne's help, helping him paint a pegasus bc they don't like men, but if Marianne is around he can get closer and get a better painting. She's happy to help.

Honestly, this whole support is really cute.

MAIN BATTLE/STORY

It sucks having to attack the Kingdom over and over again when all they want to do is exist in peace.

Oh, joy, Nadar wants to plunder Faerghus. I can see why Fodlan is so evil for not wanting to let them do what they will.

GW really had a chance here to finally do something interesting with Almyra. It even marketed itself as a route that WOULD. But instead it's just doubled-down on Almyra being a one-note lawless place full of barbarians. At least we have Brigid and Duscur so the only brown country isn't some racist stereotype. Since it's only 1 of 3, it's not AS bad of a look.

Fuck. I don't want to kill Felix and Rodrigue. It would be one thing if the Kingdom actually provoked this, but Felix and Rodrigue haven't done anything to deserve this.

I get to recruit Ashe again. Is he miserable here too?

Ugh, I was hoping Felix and Rodrigue weren't here. It seems vastly unfair that it's only Kingdom characters who die for reel in this.

Wow. Claude's really an A-class asshole. He told Ashe to surrender because Dimitri wouldn't want him to die. Maybe don't invade for no reason then?

Is Claude also going to single Felix out as a citizen of Faerghus who deserves to live? Or does only Ashe count and not the nobles and unnamed grunts he's slaughtering because he decided to team up with the person who plans on taking over his rule? (not hate to Ashe at all, I honestly feel awful for him in this game)

Ok, so fighting Felix is just a side quest. I'd rather fail a side quest than fight Felix so, going to try to avoid having to kill him. Ugh, he's attacking the engineers. And he's damn right saying he has every right to kill the people who are invading his home.

Thank God, he just retreated.

I still love how Claude got bent out of shape over Ashe, but Lorenz alone has killed 500 citizens of Faerghus this chapter so . . .

Felix is so worried about Rodrigue. I swear the writers wanted you to feel like shit playing this route.

Oh, fuck. Just when I thought I was finished killing people for defending themselves, Daddy Gautier shows up :( He's sacrificing himself to safe Felix and Rodrigue, isn't he?

Oh, fuck. He died for real 😭

It's really hard to like these characters, making mindless chit-chat after killing Sylvain's daddy. I hope Sylvain fucks them up a new one.

I've never wanted to slap a character more than I'd love to slap Claude right now. The moron has the audacity to be surprised people are going to die while he's invading a foreign country. What a fucking stupid moron.

He's also blaming - get this right - chivalry.

I'm like. I'm speechless right now.

That's right guys. Margrave Gautier died defending his king, his country, his home, and most importantly one of his fucking best friends from an asshole invader. But it's CULTURE'S fault he died.

I'm really confused what the hell Claude thinks he's doing. Does he REALLY think killing Rhea will magically allow people to live as they please? Didn't he grow up in another country where they had princes and shit and NO Rhea?? All he's doing is making Edelgard's take over easier.

This is starting to feel like a borderline spoof. Look at us end the war by invading another nation!!! I mean???

What's his plan? Kill everyone in Faerghus - profit - "freedom" from Rhea - Edelgard takes over - no profit???

The writing in this route has gotten really fucking stupid. Like, I LIKE the idea of evil!Claude. Either a Claude who wants to take over all of Fodlan or one who's ruthless and will do anything to preserve Leicester.

But what I don't like is really fucking dumb Claude, which is what GW's devolved into.

Oh, God, now we get a flashback between father and son. Sylvain and Gautier :(

Sylvain better not be fucking recruitable in this route.

Now Sylvain's in charge 😭😭😭😭

I'm convinced someone who's a major Edelgard stan wrote the larger plot of this, but then a Dimitri stan wrote the actual dialogue 😅

We really go from one moment Claude being like - it's Rhea's fault Gautier died bc Kingdom culture bad because church bad to Sylvain being like, naw, he died defending his friends.

At the very least, I'll give Hopes credit here. At least they didn't write anyone opposing Edelgard as either evil or like they're idiots for resisting invasion, but I almost feel like they made the Kingdom especially too sympathetic which makes Edelgard look more interesting (since SB is more honest than CF) and Claude just look like a bozo. Rhea just doesn't look like anything since she's not even here.

Though, I REALLY wish Claude didn't side with us in AG. I really wish we got to see Faerghus backed into a corner and kick everyone's asses. They've very much the underdog and watching them do that would've been awesome.

Felix and Rodrigue are beating themselves up over this.

See, this is what I mean - Sylvain just said he's reserving all his hatred for the foreign invaders who take everything for no reason - I really feel like a Dimitri fan saw how everyone collectively decided to take a dump on the Kingdom in the big plot and got revenge by making everyone look like villains (or morons in Claude's case) for doing so in the writing.

xxx

[dimiclaudeblaigan]

okay so like two things about this particular line.

one: i like the irony in claude telling someone to trust more.

two: HOWEVER, dimitri has literally absolutely no reason whatsoever in the name of yeehaw fuckity to not trust claude. i hate the way the game tries to absolutely force the things gw/sb claude does into ag when it doesn't even exist at all in ag. he never made a single hint of planning to just betray/harm the kingdom and this is literally at their first war meeting. not just that, but claude chose to go to faerghus himself and didn't ask them to go to leicester (which he specifically states being the one to choose to go to faerghus), so there wasn't anything indicating he might be up to something at all.

then we've got this stupid nugget:

each side lacks trust and is expecting foul play? the church expects foul play from the kingdom? from the alliance which has done nothing to them in this route, and that's bad enough... but the fucking kingdom too?

the kingdom and alliance watching for foul play even though they're allies and never had a history of being aggressive toward each other?

i know i've talked about it before but... i just hate how they tried to force this "claude is always scheming something terrible" plotline, even where it doesn't belong. then they also added in the dumb bit here about even the church not trusting the other armies, even though they've... literally been helping them, gratefully, this whole war. they also didn't have to fight but chose to out of gratitude for being sheltered.

suddenly after the timeskip they just... don't trust each other?

like i totally get just being in it to reclaim gm and go home and not really in it for someone else or anyone else, but the distrust is just an asspull to make the church seem BaD as usual.

claude just walked in and wasn't trusted. they also keep hammering it in right through the whole second half of the route with lots of kingdom allies (including playable ones) not trusting him. even if they relatively trust the alliance and the soldiers helping them that were integrated into their army, they specifically do not trust claude at all and are apprehensive about him.

dimitri agrees here if they can't be trusted, but he doesn't mention just personally distrusting them a whole lot. he agrees that they should be cautious if what the others say is true, but he also just shrugs it off as "they'll be enough to deal with the alliance if so". he seems unsure at first and kinda goes back and forth, but by the end he's the only character who faithfully believes that claude isn't just fucking around and leading them on (which literally, right to the very very very end, every single character except him is still very vocally doubting claude).

but like... why? there's... just... nothing to distrust him because of in this route. man literally exists and the game wants us to believe he's untrustworthy.

yeehaw wtf??? why would anything happen between the kingdom and alliance after the war? why would anything need to happen? even if you try to argue that claude is gonna try to uwu depose of the top church officials, if the church is watching the kingdom like hawks like dimitri is apparently aware of, why would the kingdom get involved? why would they care? clearly the church doesn't trust them all that much after all, or at least anymore since the timeskip for some unknown reason, and the kingdom has now, after this war, paid back any debt it owed the church.

so like, why would they suddenly rush to the church's aid and help them if the church doesn't trust them? if they were friendly/allied it would make sense if they still wanted to help, but if the church is expecting foul play from the kingdom, why would the kingdom even care what happens to the church? they could turn a blind eye and pretend they don't have the resources to aid them anymore and that their own territory is still busy recovering.

even if you argue what they discussed at the very beginning of the war, the church either A: didn't ask for aid in this second conflict, or B: even if they did, the above stands. i don't think there would be any riots or anything like that in those cases if the kingdom didn't help the church. it's one thing to help, but it's another to just fight at the back and call of another territory, which dimitri clearly expresses he won't do in gw because he puts the safety of his people first. no matter what his feelings are on the matter, he knows he's a king and that he has a responsibility to his people first and foremost, as would be expected of a king (to protect his own people first and foremost).

while i could see claude wanting to talk after the war and get things straight, and while i could see dimitri there as a mediator, there's just... literally no reason for bad blood after all this. even if they don't trust each other, there's just no reason - and that's aside from the fact that it's total bs that they all just don't trust each other.

lorenz just asks if shez has confidence in them. doesn't mention claude. shez though just... randomly is like oh yeah btw just not claude. totally unprompted.

lorenz distrusting claude has been part of his character since houses so his part of it is reasonable. normally i'd say it's really pushing things with claude not being trustworthy for someone to say they feel bad for shez/the kingdom army for the implication of having to deal with claude even as an ally, but the only reason i give this a pass is because it's an understandable and reasonable character who says it.

still though, it's like the game throws it in at every single possible opportunity for no reason at all. they don't give us any indication that claude is this big bad evil guy. he doesn't trust the church. like... that's it. he made that clear even in ag (even without the zaharas chapter), and that's just... it. the rest of this makes it seem like claude is going to just up and invade the kingdom after this war and try to unify fodlan (i.e. just go what edelgard's been doing this whole time).

it's just like... here, nobody trusts claude at all in this game just for simply existing. you don't even have to bring him up, because someone else will do it for you and shit talk him to remind you he's the biggest piece of shit the game can offer! meanwhile, we've got marianne who is concerned about edelgard (implication is her well being no less!) because the empire's army ain't doing so hot. poor indading aggressor! sure hope she's doing okay! fuck our leader though, he's the biggest steaming pile of bullshit garbage to ever exist (marianne didn't say that, but that's what the narrative is going for: poor edelgard, it's so sad that the invader is having it rough right now. anyway fuck claude he's literally as evil as tws).

i love ag but i'd say this is one of if not the worst hiccup in the writing. when it comes to faerghus itself and its characters, it's mostly fine and even great, but when it starts going into other territories/characters it ends up taking a nosedive in quality.

siiigh

[raxistaicho]

Analyzing Hubert and Byleth's A support

Hey all, been a while since I had the idea to do an analysis post, but I finally had a good idea!

So everyone's familiar with Byleth and Hubert's A support, right? That's the one where Byleth is just minding their own business when Hubert suddenly bursts onto the scene and tells them he'll kill them for being a Nabatean.

Wait, wait, that doesn't sound right, I think we should start over from the beginning.

Now, the way it actually begins is with Byleth standing in the ruined cathedral at Garreg Mach, when Hubert emerges and begins monologueing, as only he can.

Nice place, isn't it, Professor? Standing here, you can almost feel the goddess's absence. Discounting what dwells within you, of course.

I do want to draw attention to something here. The last line there calls back to a line from their B support:

I see something of Lord Arundel in you… When I look at you, I feel I can almost see a second self lurking beneath the surface. It is as if you are in constant dialogue with something inside your heart—something with desires very different from your own. Does that description feel familiar to you at all?

After everything that's happened to Byleth and all their choices, Hubert's made peace with the fact that Byleth is different in a way he can't fully understand, and in a manner that reminds him of the goddess. It's also an acknowledgement that Byleth is both similar and yet different to the children of the goddess and the deity they've foisted upon the people of Fodlan. Because, let's not forget, the goddess Sothis is quite different from Byleth's beloved head gremlin.

But I digress,

Do you think some punishment would rain down from the sky if this monastery were to be destroyed? Of course not. Even if the so-called Immaculate One came back here for revenge… That would only be a result of this war, not the work of a deity.

This is more of the same; the goddess has no agency. Any act, however apparently divine, is simply the actions of Rhea and her kin attempting to appear godly. Because that really is the true nature of the Church of Seiros: very powerful otherworldly beings using their innate gifts to mislead the people of Fodlan into believing an all-powerful goddess is watching over them.

Again, Sothis, the primordial god, is dead, and by now she's forfeited any chance to return to the land of the living. The goddess truly no longer exists in any way that matters.

Byleth then asks whether Hubert hates the goddess, to which he replies,

If it is between love and hate, then I would choose the latter. The goddess failed to properly govern this world. That is why it is necessary for Lady Edelgard to become the supreme leader of Fódlan.

Basically, he's saying that the gods have failed so spectacularly that the only way to fix Fodlan now is through an act of continental war. And really... Rhea has failed. Fodlan was so thoroughly broken that the events leading up to 1180 is a string of calamities even before you get to the Agarthans' direct conduct. Even her own church is falling apart at the seams, with the southern branch extinct after trying to influence Imperial politics, the central and western branches openly in conflict, and the central branch privately scorns the eastern branch for being too even-handed.

Hubert closes this thought with,

Those with power must use it wisely. Is that not a teaching of the Church of Seiros? It's absurd to preach to others what you cannot practice yourself.

This is why I get frustrated seeing people just cutting everything up until this point and focusing only on the soundbit parts of the supports; they're excising the crucial context, that Hubert despises the Fodlan divinity because it arrogantly claims and authority its proven itself unworthy of.

Anyways, Byleth then has two choices as to how to reply, with both reaching the same conclusion,

Hubert then goes on to say,

That is not the case for inhuman creatures with lifespans well beyond our own. We must fight to preserve what makes us human.

This is what lies at the heart of his disdain for the Church of Seiros, and the whole reason he and Edelgard are doing what they have to do: the gods have failed to be godly, so humanity has to rise and govern themselves instead.

Gods are supposed to be wise, perfect, and eternal, and yet Rhea and the Church of Seiros, the true avatars of the supposed goddess, are not; they must make the same flawed hypocrisies as the humans beneath them do, so what right have they to presume they know which path humanity should take?

Anyways, continuing on,

You are the one closest to the enemy. I wonder if you will be able to maintain your humanity to the end.

Now, to understand what he really means by "human", it needs to be contrasted against what he's previously been discussing: the failures of the gods. "Humanity" in most instances it's mentioned by Edelgard and Hubert is in contrast to Rhea and her kin as gods, not as a species.

Edelgard's conflict with the godess of Fodlan and her church is in the way she and they have failed to govern Fodlan, not her distaste for their green hair and pointy ears. She's always clear where she takes issue; their belief that they know what's best for mortals despite being no better than them.

And make no mistake, Rhea does think she knows what's best for Fodlan in Sothis's absence, despite all evidence showing she doesn't,

For another example of Fire Emblem using "human" in a way other than to speak of them as a race, look to Engage,

Celine obviously wouldn't saying that dragons are inhuman, unfriendly monsters. Describing Alear as "human" is a way of expressing that they're humble and personable, which Alear absolutely is, if nothing else.

"Human", in this instance, just as in 3H, is contrasted against the idea of gods as otherworldly, unknowable, and aloof. Naga would be a great example of the latter, while still being a fundamentally benevolent character.

When Hubert speaks of Byleth "losing their humanity", he means losing their connection to other people and becoming distant, the way Rhea did. Dorothea expresses similar fears in chapter 11,

This is directly after Byleth fused with Sothis.

Dorothea worrying now implies that Byleth's unusual behavior is different from their ordinary stoicism.

Edelgard also brings up something similar in her own A support with Byleth, expressing concern that she's grown detached from ordinary people, and while she thought of Byleth as a kindred spirit in that regard, she's also relieved that they can express feelings like jealousy.

Of course, most of the Nabateans aren't quite as detached as Hubert and Edelgard seem to expect; Flayn and Seteth certainly aren't, but their focus is almost exclusively upon Rhea, who certainly is rather detached from ordinary people. That said, we can't fault characters for not having access to every scrap of information that the reader is privileged to have.

Anyways, in response to Hubert's fear, Byleth can implicitly give him permission to kill them;

I wonder if you will be able to maintain your humanity to the end.

If I'm unable to…

Does that mean you know I will do what must be done? You must trust me a great deal.

While this might seem like an "that escalated real fast!" moment, it's in truth an evolution of their C support, in which Hubert threatens to kill Byleth if they appear to present a threat to Edelgard, and their B support, in which Hubert grows more certain Byleth will be a threat to her.

My family, House Vestra, has been sworn to House Hresvelg for generations. Since the dawn of the Empire, we have worked to protect the emperor by any means necessary— both in the open and in the shadows. If you incur our wrath, you will see just what I mean.

With this groundwork in mind, we're meant to read Byleth's vague line as giving Hubert permission to kill them. The game's backstory is steeped in examples of characters gaining and abusing their power, for intentions both good and bad, Nemesis, Rhea, the Fodlan nobility, and Byleth by now would be keenly aware of the corruptive influence power represents, and Byleth at this point is already one of the most powerful individuals in Fodlan.

In contrast, should Byleth express confidence that they won't fail the way Rhea did, he'll accept it almost in stride, a response unthinkable for the man he used to be,

I wonder if you will be able to maintain your humanity to the end.

Of course I will.

You make it sound easy. I find myself trusting you. Even with my life.

I've seen people analyze this support as a sign that Hubert still doesn't trust Byleth, but if anything it's the opposite: after the decisions Byleth has made, and after the way he's opened up more to them, Byleth and Hubert have come to trust each other a great deal. Byleth entrusts Hubert with their life, while Hubert entrusts Byleth with his secret plans for the future.

They've become conspirators in ensuring the success of Edelgard's plans, and it's why they their relationship is one of my favorites in all of Three Houses, if not Fire Emblem as a series.

It's incredible seeing where they begin and where they end. So yeah, I hope anyone who's made it this far found that to be an interesting read of an oft-misunderstood support :)

[emblemxeno]

Fire Emblem Heroes-CYL Bonus Quotes + My Ideas for the Ones Who Don't Have Them

Choose Your Legends Winners have bonus quotes when they are on a team you enter a map with and playing with English voices (only the English voices have these quotes actually)! These are popular or funny quotes from their home games or other appearances, like Smash Bros.

CYL1

"The future is *not* written."-Lucina's victory quote in Smash Bros.

"Roy's our boy!"-Roy's crowd chant in Smash Bros.

"I'll be your peerless warrior!"-Lyn's promising words to Mark at the end of FE7 prologue

"You... like Ike?"-Ike's crowd chant in Smash Bros.

CYL2

"Take me with you!"-Veronica... I think she says this once to Bruno, but I can't find where specificailly

"Together, we will always stay."-Ephraim's A Support with Eirika

"Nothing will ever come between us."-Celica to Alm as kids during Echoes' opening movie

"I just gotta be me, y'know?"-Hector's A Support with Lyn

CYL5

"Let's go rescue my brother!"-Eirika to her troops at the end of FE8 chapter 6

"Caeda, what's wrong!?"-Marth to Caeda in FE1 chapter 1

"Please forgive me, Goddess..."-A constant sentiment of Marianne's character, and said verbatim once she slays her first enemy in FE16 chapter 2

"There was something to report, wasn't there?"-A staple of Gatekeeper's dialogue, said verbatim in FE16 chapter 5

CYL6

"I am *no* chatterbox."-Reference to Hapi's nickname for Byleth

"There is more than one truth."-What Sigurd's ghost says to Seliph, after Seliph lands the finishing blow on Arvis and waits next to the beach in FE4 chapter 10

"My... autograph?"-Tiki's C Support with Anna

"You are yourself."-Chrom's consoling words to Robin in FE13 chapter 13

CYL8

"Now... what was so damned important?"-F!Robin's B Support with Chrom

"You must be joking."-Felix during his Goddess Tower event in FE16 chapter 9

"One day... I'll be left alone."-A reference to the correct response to one of her advice box questions during FE16's war phase (this one I'm not 100% on, if anyone has corrections let me know in the replies)

"I'm going to kill you, too."-Alfonse to Letizia during Book 6, Chapter 5, Part 5: I Killed Him

However, the winners of CYL3 (2019), CYL4 (2020), and CYL7 (2023) don't have these bonus quotes. The reasons, if the directors or higher ups of the localization team forgot or they weren't too high priority for the time, are unknown. So I thought I'd take a stab at what I think they'd be for those winners.

CYL3

"I'll have their heads on a platter!"-Camilla at the of FE14 chapter 3

"I'm proud I took your hand."-Eliwood's A support with Hector

"I have finally found my purpose."-Micaiah at the end of FE10 chapter 3-F

"This isn't where things end for us!"-Alm to Celica before returning to face Duma together in Echoes Act 5

CYL4

"You think I'm special?"-Lysithea's A support with Claude

"We'll scale the walls between us!"-Claude during Verdant Wind's final cutscene

"Take your first step!"-Edelgard to the Black Eagles after escaping the Holy Tomb

"I am finally home again..."-Dimitri at the end of Azure Moon chapter 18

CYL7

"Remember where you came from."-Mikoto to Corrin at the end of FE14 Revelation chapter 24

"My only wish was to see you again."-Soren to Ike in their base conversation in FE10 Endgame 5

"A gift of revelation..."-Seiðr to the Summoner, Book 7, Chapter 5, Part 1: Goddess's Descent

"Get eaten by a bear. I don't give a damn."-M!Robin's B support with Aversa

[juliakeyoto]

You ever think about how Edelgard is just objectively right.

Like, cut out all the war stuff, cut out all the war crime debates, let’s cut to the heart of it: nobility and the crest system. Units that are affected by their crest/being a noble/not being a noble/church stuff:

Ingrid (being passed around to get married due to her crest/her being a woman)

Sylvain (automatically assumes people will only love him for his crest, so he acts like a flirt and hates women)

Leonie (is unironically in debt so she could get a higher education)

Dorothea (I made a rant about this earlier, but she was kicked cast away by her noble dad, and had to do unsavory acts for a chance at her own future)

Felix (is an asshole cause his dad basically slapped him in the face when his brother died over his “knightly and noble” views of how Glenn died)

Bernadetta (is abused by her dad to “become the perfect wife)

Lysithia (is literally dying because of her second crest, which she has due to being used as a test dummy to see if it would even work, leading to all her sibling dying)

Edelgard ( same as above, but worse cause she’s being used as a weapon with barely any way out)

Ashe (his adopted older brother was scapegoated by the church, and when his adopted father looked for Justice he was killed)

Marianne (is literally SUICIDAL because her crest simply has rumors, is harassed by people when they find out)

Caspar (basically has nothing waiting for him at home unless he makes a name out for himself)

Mercedes (has to leave her house due to her dad wanting to make crest babies with her)

Jeritza (went insane or some form of insanity due to the above situation)

Yuri (was used by nobles due to his looks)

Constance (house fell apart since they supported House Hresvelg during the insurrection, so no help came during the Brigid offensive)

Hanneman (his sister was basically made into a baby machine for a cruel, uncaring noble, which lead Hanneman to leave his position)

Mikklan (was cast aside for no crest)

And these are just named characters. How many nameless faces met these same fates? How many died due to some noble scuffle? How many women were used and abused for children? How many died homeless while Nobles counted stacks of gold? When does it end?

And what does the church do? It makes a falling apart, underground “haven” called Abyss. I know any port in a storm, but if the church can afford 5000g a month for teachers that are doing well, they can cough up more money for Abyss. Or is that money better spent on Rhea’s private army, that can execute innocent people like Christophe? Is it better spent on the golden statues of the saints, in the already pristine church that is in the monastery? Is it better spent spreading Rhea’s lies about crests being given from the goddess, leading to people believing they need them to be successful in life? Rhea herself has twisted history and split nations, so she is obviously not corrupt at all. Regardless of her reasons why, her systems and regulations have caused thousands, if not millions to suffer.

So while you’re eating ice cream in Garreg Mach, the church preaches the goddess’s love, while thousands probably die daily due to the system the church supports.

[grinserabe]

(I'm gonna start doing this from now on uwu)

FE3H 5th Anniversary Countdown Questionnaire

In celebration of FE3H's 5th Anniversary being this month (July) on the 26th, here is a countdown questionnaire for each day until 26th!

When did you hear of FE3H?

When they announced it!

2. What got you interested in FE3H?

I have been a fan of FE for years, so I was already excited before I knew anything about it. When I saw the trailer I had mixed feelings about it, but I still wanted to play it

3. Which was your first House?

Golden Deer. Claude looked the most interesting to me, and he's still my fav of the lords (though not by much). He didn't seem like your typical FE lord, and I was right

4. What is your favourite House and why?

The Black Eagles, because it has Hubert, Edelgard, Linhardt, Petra and Dorothea. I also do like their aesthetic and dynamic. There's something New Wave-y about them

5. What is your favourite story and why?

Crimson Flower for sure, though I like Verdant Wind and Azure Moon too!

I just like how unique CF is. And despite its flaws, I think the ending is the most satisfying for me. Also, the more we see of Hubert, the better

6. Who is your favourite character and why?

Hubert. Because he has not one boring moment. Even when playing Verdant Wind (so my first route) I couldn't wait to look what he has to say during Explore. He just never misses

I love how he talks, his voice acting (both actors did a great job), his sense of humour, his design, and his sadistic streak. I like that it isn't always clear what he's actually thinking, I love what he has to say about nobility and knights, and I appreciate how strategic you have to be with him as a unit

7. Who is a character you think deserves more love and why?

Cyril. I get that he isn't the easiest character to love, but I like his wit, how direct he is, and I'm just a sucker for characters who seem loyal to an unhealthy degree (yes, I love Dedue as well)

Also, he's just a kid, and it's annoying that other characters are more easily forgiven for the same flaws