#hubert. is. her. best. friend. SHE LOVES HIM AND WANTS TO BE A PART OF HIS LIFE 😭

[fieldsofvarley]

the recurring sucker punch of hubert ‘i am her majesty’s servant, nothing more’ vs edelgard ‘you’re my best friend and i wish you let me in’ supports

[these-detestable-hands]

FE THREE HOUSES FIRST IMPRESSION ESSAYS

GOLDEN DEER

claude: if I didn’t like edelgard as much as I do and he wasn’t wearing yellow he would absolutely be my first choice I love this guy. he’s silly!!!

lorenz: good HEAVENS what is that haircut. also your middle name is ‘Hellman’ which is concerning.

a ‘ladies man’ according to Claude. hm

raphael: big guy!!! he looks cool :]

ah jeez his parents are dead… poor guy I wanna give him a hug

leonie: I like her design!! and she’s jeralt’s apprentice, ooo….

interesting ability, too! she does more damage if a male unit is next to her. neat!

hilda: she looks cool! not sure if I’ll add her tho since I’ve already got edelgard as an axe unit

lazy, apparently. the part with Claude sharing how her picture wouldn’t be next to the word ‘lazy’ in the dictionary because she wouldn’t get around to submitting it was funny

marianne: someone please get this girl a towel she looks like a sad wet cat

might try to add her to my house for the sole reason because I really want to be her friend so that haunted look in her eyes will go away. bestie are you ok

lysethia: ooo I really like how she looks… might try to get her to join my house

she has double skill experience too!!!!!! I like her a lot besties get outta that house!!!!!!! can I trade caspar for her

ignatz: lil guy…. just a lil fella…

BLACK EAGLES

edelgard: ELDY MY BEST FRIEND EDELGARD I LIKE HER A LOT she’s pretty she wears red she has an axe her house is the black eagles what’s not to love.

bernadetta: I’ve known this girl for five seconds and I will kill anyone who tries to hurt her

I NEED TO BE THIS GIRL’S FRIEND IMMEDIATELY SHE IS SOSO TINY AND NEEDS A HUG

ferdinand: ‘legitimate’ son? I know that probably has some kind of medieval meaning but it’s funny to think the first thing he says is ‘I’m the REAL son of the Aegir family I SWEAR you HAVE TO BELIEVE ME’

not even Edelgard likes him. I’m iffy on this guy

hubert: oh that’s a malicious guy. I like him already what kind of shenanigans does he get up to

perta: AAAAAA SHE LOOKS REALLY COOL I LOVE HER ALREADY

her hair is very cool and she can use axes???????? I already adore her

caspar: he is. there.

no outstanding opinions. he’s just a dude

linhardt: his first line of dialouge is ‘Linhardt. Good-bye.’ so he’s already piqued my interest. what’s this guy’s deal

he only wants to do tasks that interest him and take naps, according to edelgard. a man after my own heart

dorothea: I like her design! she’s pretty :3

she can heal adjacent allies too, apparently! she’s gonna be a mainstay I can already tell

BLUE LIONS

dmitri: least favorite house leader. idk I just. dont like him. he looks annoying.

sylvain: cool hair but he immediatly started hitting on me as soon as I started talking to him so he’s already losing points

a ‘skirt chaser’ according to dmitri so. yeah least favorite student here so far

mercedes: mercie bestie join the black eagles these blue lion shmucks don’t deserve you

she looks SO nice I need to hug her this instant. holding her gently

annnette: she has cool hair! I like the lil rings

she also apparently caused a kitchen explosion so I like her already

ingrid: ingrid!!!! she looks nice!!

no weaknesses according to her info screen! that’s correct for she is perfect

felix: ok i need to beat this guy up IMMEDIATELY he challenged me and I can’t take that lying down. draw your sword pretty boy

I would absolutely enjoy a friendly competition with him so I can wipe that smug gosh darn grin off his face. I like him!

ashe: yet another little guy to the pile! he has silver hair so I’m already a little interested

OOO HE HAS LOCKPICK ok he might be good after all

dedue: HE LOOS SO COOL WHOAAAAA I NEED YOU AND MERCEDES TO LEAVE THIS HOUSE IMMEDIATLY YOU’RE BOTH TOO AMAZING TO BE IN DMITRI’S HOUSE

CHURCH ROOM FELLAS/MISCELLANEOUS

alois: I know I ragged on him for his shoulder spike but I like him! I like his voice and he just seems nice :]

seteth: he certainly is A Guy. no outstanding opinions on him. mildly suspicious of him due to the sheer fact that he works with rhea. speaking of-

rhea: I do NOT trust her. jeralt literally told me to keep my guard up around her so I’m not trusting her for a second.

gatekeeper: he does a very good job of watching the entrance. keep it up pal I’m rooting for you

jeralt: sword dad!!!! he’s soso cool

hanneman: the scholar! not sure what else to say about him except he’s cool

manuela: not really sure what to put for here and hanneman since you already got my first impressions of them. she is certainly there.

jeritza: ooo mask guy…. whats his story…

ALSO THERE ARE JUST. KITTIES ON CAMPUS????? THEY’RE JUST IN THE FIELDS AND HALLWAYS AAAAAAA

If you keep up this Lorenz, Ferdinand and Seteth slander then I will block you /j

[return-of-a-space-cowboy]

Had a weird dream and need to tell the world now.

Fire emblem three houses but Sci fi battleships au

All the houses are crews to battleships of each of the leaders.

Please send me any asking if your interested in learning more or want to add something.

Black eagle's

Edelgards goal is to expand her control outside the current solar system in her reign so that she can fight the agarthians and the nabateans.

Hubert is the ships navigator and strategist, commonly buts heads with Ferdinand trying to be the right hand men.

Ferdinand is tasked with communications, he's the one to negotiate anything. Ship enthusiasts always loves piloting the smaller ships onboard.

Bernadetta is in charge of the more domestic duties. Cooking, cleaning mending. Also care for the plants in the oxygen supply room.

Linhardt is of course the medic but is also surprisingly the IT. Learnt the tech skills from helping Caspar with his racing jets when they were younger.

Casper is the mechanic anything physically wrong with the ship he can fix. Pretty much grew up doing what he does now. Always willing to dogfight.

Dorathea though unassuming is quite knowledgeable on the galaxy. Constantly giving her input on Hubert and Ferdinand's plans. Otherwise She's helping Bernie or Linhardt. Has many stories to tell about her days in the intergalactic opera.

Petra like in the base game is a political prisoner to stop her planet from rioting against the empire but grows closer to the crew eventually becoming one of them. An expert at close combat willing to share her knowledge with everyone and learn from them too.

Blue lions

Dimitri was in line to take the throne before becoming bezerk for unknown reasons on the night before his coronation. Luckily he was subdued and is now in forced comatose on the ship as his close friends try to find a way to get him back to his former self. All while the kingdom has to cover it up. Does occasionally wake up in a frenzy but is quick to be subdued again.

Dedue is left as the man in charge, he admits it isn't the best job for him but he must for Dimitri. Is mainly the navigator. Occasionally does domestic tasks when he has the time to.

Felix is the only one with combat experience in the crew so he teaches the others. Knew something was up with Dimitri, he's seen the same crazed look in his eyes before during a battle they were both involved in. Is very conflicted, not knowing whether or not this bezerk rage was just a part of him or something else.

Ashe is in charge of domestics. Is always happy to see Dedue join him, he always learns something new from him.

Mercedes is the medic. She's also the one in charge of caring for Dimitri with the help of Annette.

Ingrid is the mechanic and It expert. She keep the ship functional with some help from Sylvain and Felix when she doesn't have enough arms for the job.

Annette is an allrounder still trying to find her place on the ship. Always asking others if they need help.

Sylvain is similar to Annette, he hasn't quite figured out his role in the ship, he's there to help his friends especially Dimitri. Is good at identifying different ships. Can tell the difference between even the tiniest revisions of ships. Very helpful for avoiding unwanted conflicts.

Golden deer

Claude was a former space pirate before getting plucked out by his grandfather and put into a peace keeper position himself. Being a former pirate gives him some good insight. Is at constant odds with the former leader Lorenz. (Kinda see him like Anikin, doing his own thing rather then following Lorenz plans)

Lorenz was the former leader of the peace keeper fleet now demoted he still tries to be the strategist but Claude sways the crew easily. Does navigation occasionally but doesn't get along well with Leonie.

Leonie is in charge of navigation. Was previously trained by the bounty hunter Jerlt so she knows her way around ships and battle. Also does mechanics with Raphael.

Raphael and Ignatz both work together on domestic duties. Raphael also helps out mechanics and Ignatz does book keeping.

Hilda is in charge of communications. Constantly gets compared to her older brother who's know for his dogfighting skills. Claude puts her out to fight when he finds out and she pretty much demolished the enemy.

Lysithea is on-board researcher. Helps Marianne with medic duties but is first and foremost a researcher.

[ramyeonguksu]

More Hullevi! So for them I got 3, 12, 15, 19?

3: What about public displays of affection? Are they open about their relationship or do they prefer not to be? How many people know about it?

For the early parts of their relationship, Hubert and Hillevi are very secretive about their relationship. They do it mostly out of safety reasons because TWSITD has a horrible habit of bodysnatching and even if they're gone there's a chance that whoever really hates Edelgard and Hubert would do SOMETHING to the people they care about (something something hostage situations). Long answer short there's no PDA but Dorothea knows because She Can Tell, Edelgard knows only because she either forced Hubert to tell her or Dorothea gossiped to her, and Ferdinand knows only because Dorothea gossiped to him LMAO

I have a personal headcanon about Lysithea being grumpy about their relationship based on an RP I've had with a friend lmao (she thinks Hillevi deserves better than Hubert and feels like her being in a relationship would take her attention away from her (I headcanon Lysithea and Hillevi having a sisterly dynamic but it's based on RPs I've had))

Maybe down the years when Hubert and Hillevi settled down in a cottage in the countryside and people visit they'd be more open about their relationship but still PDA really isn't their thing in general

12: Do they ever want to have children, or do they prefer not to?

Hillevi is DEFINITELY frightened about having children mostly because she's worried she'll project how she was raised by her father onto her child, and Hubert would definitely worry about whether he'd be a good father or not (the man literally doubts that he would even be a good husband in his S Support with Byleth). I think if Hubert does have a child however he would at least not really force the Vestra lifestyle onto him and he would leave it to his child to decide whether they want to or not

BUT THEY STILL HAVE A KID ANYWAY BECAUSE I WANTED TO DESIGN ONE LMAO (Old drawings from years ago). His name is Raymond (Ray for short) and he is A Little Shit!

15: What kinds of holidays do they like to celebrate together?

Hubert pretends not to care about holidays but he would definitely plan something to make Hillevi happy because SHE FUCKING LOVE FESTIVALS BECAUSE FOOD!!! But they definitely wouldn't go out in the open and dance often if that makes sense (like I said above they're pretty reserved about their relationship)

On the holidays that involve gift-giving though you can bet they're at least giving each other something.

Both of them honestly give no shits about the Saints' birthdays though shdjkf

19: What kinds of quirks do they have that their partner likes?

I think Hubert would see a bit of Edelgard in Hillevi because of her stubbornness and would definitely appreciate that despite everything she's gone through Hillevi still insists on being her genuine self no matter how difficult it may be for her. In his eyes she's also annoyingly endearing lmao

Hillevi loves being able to banter with someone and Hubert is one of the best people for that. Even if she is the butt of his snide comments sometimes she really appreciates that she could have that kind of dialogue with him anyway. Keeps her mind and cynicism in check.

[jackienautism]

fire emblem update part three!! i played a BUNCH yesterday and am probably going to finish my first playthrough tonight!! update on character opinions - while my overall ranking of the eagles hasn't changed, i will say that both linhardt and ferdinand have gotten sooo much more special to me post timeskip. similar thing happened with hubert actually, where i like him even more but he's staying in the same spot on my rankings.

DOROTHEA IS MAKING ME SO EMOTIONAL POSTSKIP like. ending the war For Her <333 she and bernie and caspar are still my besties in the whole world. this getting redundant but. i am LOVING bernie postskip. caspar too! i got all of his supports with petra since my last ask and im rotating them in my head they are so interesting to me. actually i had really not gotten too many supports between characters by my last ask and i've been trying to get the ones im most interested in currently and like. i am rotating these guys and their dynamics in my head they are sooo interesting to me. sooo mad bernie and petra don't have an a support </3 i want more of them.

im trying my best to avoid killing any of the former allies. so far i've avoided killing ignatz, let seteth and flayn run away, recruited lysithea, avoided killing hilda, and spared claude. had to kill leonie bc she would not stop killing caspar and bernie no matter what i did. and i killed alois.

little bit sad that i'm missing out on the potential angst this playthrough of having like... only one blue lion kill the rest but. there's always another playthrough! i'm def gonna play all the routes (although honestly i'm gonna have a tough time on the church path.... idk it's one thing to fight edie without being closer to her but it's gonna feel sooo bad to like. directly betray her) but i'm probably gonna replay CF being a little more careful with who i recruit from a story standpoint.

semi related but MAN im LOVING the edelgrid posting im thinking about them soooo hard rn. anyway. on to finish the playthrough! already plotting my next playthrough which is gonna be VW. sort of considering who i want to recruit for that one bc so many of my favorites are in the black eagles so for maximum angst potential i should recruit one or maybe two. but who to pick.... or maybe im lying bc maximum angst would just be killing them all. and then at the same time. what if i just decided to save as many people as possible. what then. minimum angst.

anyway! im going to be thinking about these characters forever now. this game is basically the perfect storm in terms of media that's gonna have me thinking about it for a while (big cast with interesting concepts that could definitely be dug into way deeper, and tons of possible dynamics to think about) so. thank you for your posting about it because i found myself suddenly with an abundance of unscheduled free time and i am. definitely enjoying it now! also side note but i lovee how so many of these characters come with adorable nicknames. i love calling them like. bernie and hubie and edie like yessss those are my besties <333333

YIOPPEEEEE OHHH GOOD FOR YOU GOOD FOR YOU... IM SO HAPPY TO HEAR THAT YOURE CLOSE TO FINISHING YOUR FIRST FIRE EMBLEM PLAYTHROUGH EVER HEHE and maybe even by now you may have finished it? but regardless, super happy for you my friend<3 AND RIIIGHT,.. THEY JUST GROW ON YOU POST TIMESKIP... sooo glad the same happened w/ ferdie and hubie for you! next time you check in you def have to submit or create your Official black eagles ranking! id love to see!!!

DOROTHEA IS SOOOOOO GOOD AND FULLL OF ANGST POST TIMESKIP AAAGH YEAH. THATS WHY SHES SO SPECIAL 2 ME.... THE ARC W/ HER DEPRESSION IS JUST.... GOSH. so gladyou're ending the war for her aand only her<333 i support that sentiment 10000% i still have to go through the black eagles supports w/ each other (i enjoy getting them myself... hence why i dont just watch them on youtube or smth. plus i havent played through crimson flower in a looong while) but im SOOO happy youve been enjoying tjhe characters and the dynamics between each of them! fire emblem is especiallly good w/ writing stuff like that. and they def did not fall short in this ggame! so i unfortunately cant comment too much on individual stuff but im glad you like the supports<3 ALL OFD THE CHARACTERS DESERVE A SUPPORTS TBH!!!!!! luckily im pretty sure there are more supports in three hopes so if youre interested for more content you can always loook them up on youtube :o

understand why youd try your best to avoid killing former classmates,def makes it a bit more difficult but ): it's super fucked up, especially in the perspective of the characters. the angst potential is sooo good but sometimes i am Weak of Heart. so im glad to hear that you were able to spare / recruit most of them! rip to leonie and alois though. i defunderstand alois bc wasnt he abt to do some shit during the battle for the monastery? makes sense why youd need / want to get rid of him asap

FDJGDFBG GLAD THAT YOURE LOOKING FORWARD TO THE POTENTIAL ANGST????? did you only recruit sylvain and ingrid this route? or were you able to recruit felix as well? sorry i remember you saying you liked felix but i cant remember if you recruited him or not! but yeah im sure the crimson flower!blue lions is esp....... hard for them. considering that 3 of them were close friends w/ dimitri as children. but thats whats so GOOD about it..... there's so much angst in that alone. ouugh what are your plans for a future crimson flower route regarding the blue lions :o? BUT YEAH. SILVER SNOW (THE CHURCH ROUTE) IS GONNA BE ROUGH LMAO I DONT WANNA GO AGAINST / BETRAY EDIE LET ALONE THE REST OF THE BLACK EAGLES.... its gonna be tough but we'll make it through </3 that is why i am putting it off for as longas possible👍

HEHEH SO GLAD YOUVE ENJOYED ME GOING BATSHIT OVER EDELGARD / INGRID. SOMETHING SPOKE TO ME AND THEY JSUT..... GOD. YEAH. HAPPY YOU UNDERSTAND. fdjndfg i totally understand that want to like. get as painful as possible but for me personally. whille i HATE separating the black eagles from edie. i just cant be without them and kill them in battle i jusr CANT .... so props to you for wanting to do that! i will sauy though theres alreyad enough angst surrounding edie and hubie if you choose to save everyone else in the BE.... it just. it fucked me up, so have fun in VW<3 good luck w./ the rest of crimson flower if you stilll havent finished and verdant wind when you get to it :D!!!!

<3333 SO HAPPY TO HEAR THAT MY SILLY POSTING AND MUSINGS GOT YOU TO PLAY AND THEREFORE ENJOY THE GAME!!!!!! MY WORK HERE IS CERTAINLY DONE... also happy that this new piece of media gave you more shit to think about<3 theres def a bunch to think about in terms of three houses man...... AND RIIIGHT THE NICKNAMES ARS SOC UTE..... ADN THEF ACT MOST OF THEM CAME FROM DOROTHEA ALONE MAKES ME SO ........ GOD . GIOD.

[carelesswispe]

heya! can I request how Dimitri, Edelgard, Claude, and Yuri would court their crush? headcannons and fluff please :") also if there a character limit? (if you can't do Yuri, please replace him with Ashe) ty in advance </3

- 🍙

thank you for requesting! i had a lot of fun writing this ask and sorry if this took a little longer than expected ;; nevertheless, i hope you enjoyed this, jelly filled donut anon!

>genre: fluff with some angst if you squint (mostly for dimitri and edelgard's part)

>warnings: slight mentions of fighting, slight spoilers for the events of fire emblem three houses, some angst

>pairings: dimitri x reader (gn), edelgard x reader (gn), claude x reader (gn), yuri x reader (gn)

Dimitri

Hh he's the loml

I feel like he would only start to court anyone after the five-year timeskip due to the guilt of the tragedy Duscur and the pent up emotions he’s kept bottled up. The fact that he hasn’t overcome his trauma would probably give him the need to distance himself from the one he has feelings with <\\3

Of course, no one’s able to resist the pull of love and despite his irrational thoughts that tell him to distance himself from you, the thoughts that tell him to stay with you were stronger, the feeling that you give him was like a breath of fresh air in the suffocating miasma of his guilt and trauma which gave him the strength to carry on.

But once the war is finally over and he’s sorted out his feelings for you, the first thing he would do is to see you; to finally let you know how he feels...and maybe even propose you to stay by his side forever--

As for courting you, after so many years of killing and brutal murder, I think that Dimitri would be quite awkward in expressing his feelings for you, after having bottled them up for so long.

He would get flustered easily from the little things you do or say to him but still deliver the smoothest compliments as if it was second nature. Just like he always has in the academy, if not, smoother.

If you were to bring this up to him, he would try to deny it with a flushed face, causing him to be hyper-aware of the little things that he used to say with a nonchalant attitude from then on...how adorable

Dimitri is probably not the most romantic man with having basically no experience with relationships and all and would resort to consulting, albeit after much pestering, Sylvain for relationship advice.

It was quite cute though, seeing this grown man trying to be romantic but failing, looking like a teen with his first crush. Although, that may not be far from the truth.

Of course, after failing to pull off any of the ridiculous date ideas Sylvain proposed to him for the umpteenth time, Dimitri decided to do things his own way, even if it meant stumbling around like a newborn deer.

Dimitri’s idea of a romantic date is probably a bit odd...after all, this is coming from the same man who thought that a dagger is a great parting gift. He would take you to shop around for things you might like, wanting to show you that he would grant you anything you desired. And...while he’s at it, he might buy you a weapon of your liking--

After shopping, he’d treat you to a meal while you’re at it. Although he may not care for the flavours of food, seeing you eat your favorite foods with a delighted expression is enough to make the food that much more appetizing.

Being a king, Dimitri would most likely be very busy, filling up paperwork and all and so going out often isn’t something he could afford to do. In order to make up for that, the free time that he does get is all spent with you. Even for a little while, being with you does take away some of the stress that comes with the amount of responsibility on his shoulders.

Whether it be sharing a cup of tea or simply enjoying yourselves in each other’s company, Dimitri is satisfied to spend any time with you

Edelgard

Similar to Dimitri, I feel like Edelgard wouldn’t want to think about feelings of love so soon as long as she hasn’t fulfilled her mission since she wouldn’t want to let her emotions to obstruct her conquest at all, as baseless as those worries might be

However, this doesn’t mean that she would be able to control these feelings of hers with perfect success. After all, try as she might, she’s still a human

Even though she can deny her feelings for you, she can’t deny the comfort your company gives her

Having tea together or even just spending any amount of time with you gives her the break she needs from her burdens she’s imposed upon herself and in times like these, it reminds her of the people she wants to be stronger to protect

Conversations with her mostly consist of her plans and motivations for her cause but outside of that, she also enjoys being able to indulge herself in some much needed rest and she feels like she could share anything with you.

Well, perhaps not her family history but she finds herself revealing the sides that she hid from the public.

Occasionally, she would vent out her feelings of frustration to you, perhaps impersonating and imitating the words of the person who had irritated her

Even if it’s for a little while, she finds herself being able to act like a child or to let loose without fear of being judged around you and it reminds her that she’s not alone in this conquest of hers. And that fact alone comforts her. If you’re by her side, even the rockiest of roads seem like a cake walk as long as you’re here for her.

After the war, she would subtly propose a future with the two of you where you and her could pave the way for the new future of the empire. And when you don’t get what she’s hinting at, she would just throw whatever inhibitions she had out of the window and just tell you in a more direct fashion

Although she fears rejection, she’d rather say out her feelings than to keep it trapped for any longer.

As the emperor, Edelgard is very busy. Despite this, for some reason, she finds herself sneaking away from Hubert’s unrelenting supervision from time to time just to spend time with you.

She finds herself giving the pettiest excuses to go on a date with you whenever her tight schedule has even the tiniest opening.

To her, spending time with you reminds her that she is not only Edelgard Von Hresvelg, the Emperor but El.

However, on occasions where she is unable to slip away from her aide’s watchful eye or whenever she has to go on a trip where she will be away from you for long periods of time, as soon as she is freed from her duties, she will immediately come see you, hopefully plan a vacation together away from all her responsibilities, even for a little while.

Speaking of vacations, this will be a regular occurrence between the two of you. Such vacations range from going out of the empire for some sightseeing to a simple staycation, relishing in each other’s company.

Claude

Unlike the previous two, I feel like Claude, although not necessarily looking for a relationship before the timeskip, he wouldn’t be too opposed to the idea if he falls in love.

But maybe if it's before the timeskip, the relationship between the two of you would be more casual than anything, just enjoying the moment rather than looking into the future. Of course, he would like to spend the rest of his days with you but it's more of a matter of whether that could be possible or not due to the uncertainty of the future.

Dates before the timeskip would consist of fun little lunch dates in the cafeteria, hanging out to the library afterwards.

Most of your dates together were spontaneous, Claude being the one to initiate it first.

Like you two could be chilling, minding your own business, being content in each others’ presence one minute and pranking the entirety of the monastery in another.

Every time the two of you got together, everyone started to go on full alert mode, fully expecting an explosion somewhere or something along the lines of that. After all, it wouldn’t be the first time…

After the timeskip, dates with him don’t really change much...on the surface. In reality, Claude puts more effort into each date, not that he hadn’t before.

It’s just that now, the more time he spends with you, the more certain he is that he wants you to stay by his side, forever.

These dates were comparatively tame as compared to before the timeskip, with him being more mature and responsible now, not wanting to take unnecessary risks now that he’s seen many of his followers come and go, he wouldn’t want you to be like them.

Expect calm candlelit dinners for most of the dates since he tries to reserve the evening for you, maybe going on a stroll around the kingdom, checking up on the state of his citizens with you.

Right, speaking of dinners, during dinner, he would tell the most interesting stories of times when he left the kingdom for important matters and you weren’t able to come along, often bringing home a trinket of sorts which reminded him of you.

I feel like on these trips, he would just pick up random stuff that caught his eye and thought you’d might like, looking forward to seeing your expression upon receiving his gift to you. He gets a little too excited sometimes and goes...overboard, buying WAY too much. On the bright side, now that you got him all fired up, he’ll do his best to rush home to you.

As much as possible, he invites you to go with him to the many many festivals in the kingdom just so that you wouldn’t get bored with just eating out with him. (not that you ever would) and plus, he enjoys seeing the different stalls and booths set up with you.

Yuri

Yuri is quite hard to get close to since he’s the leader of the underworld and all. And even if you do, he puts up a ridiculously high wall when he feels as if you take an interest in him in something other than a friend.

All these years of distrust had given him no choice but to surround himself with various walls. And should you try to break down these walls, he would panic and distance himself from you, anything to make you realise that he shouldn’t be the one to receive your affection. Classic romance novel moment

Of course, you persist and stay there for him anyway, maybe only just pushing it but not to the point where it gets uncomfortable for him. After the years, going through tough situations with you by his side especially when he needed it the most, without realising it, he had a spot for you on his previously cold heart. Maybe it had always been there, maybe not, he didn’t really know anymore.

When you two finally go out together, it comes out as something that was going to happen anyway to the other members of the Ashen Rats Wolves who, don’t even bother to act surprised, come on, even Constance saw it coming, Yuri, you didn’t fool anybody.

Dates with Yuri are always new and exciting, going out on undercover missions together, travelling across Fódlan. Yuri tries to discourage you from coming along because of the danger of each one of his missions but the more he refuses, the more you insist so after a while, he gets the hint that he won’t be able to stop you and eventually just invites you whenever he has to go on long missions without having you finding out about it on your own.

As much as he cares about each and every single one of his subjects in the underworld, being the lord of the underground isn’t exactly the most relaxing or safest job out there and sometimes he just needs a break from all that. Luckily, you’re there to give him some peace of mind. Just by having you by his side, he feels as if he’s transported into another world, a reverie away from all the dangers of his job. Even a protector needs someone to protect him, you know? And he trusts you. He trusts that you would always be there to protect him. Since you were there for him through thick and thin all this time.

You both got each other’s backs

(i wrote WAY too much for Yuri since man i had a wild Yuri phase and i still do and i am just RELIVING IT as i write this)

[faroreswinds]

Azure Moon - Chapter 10

We are now in part 2 of Azure Moon

Story

Ashe is worried about what will happen between the Kingdom and the Alliance after the war a bit but... why? Listen, we know Claude is a snake but we don’t really have a reason to be suspicious of the Alliance this time around. 

An NPC talks about all the commoners who have been promoted to high positions in the Kingdom. Wow, it’s like all the lords wanted to make these changes to their lands or something...

Gilbert was sent to the Alliance? No, give him back. I don’t share my dilf harems.

The Central Church is helping refugees from the Empire, the very people who once attacked them. Jesus, this game has two routes where the Church is “evil” and yet this route is just tearing all that down. 

Whoa, the main theme of Houses (and Foldan) is a motif in the background for the camp music. Did they do that too for the other routes and I just wasn’t paying attention? Totally possible. 

There is an NPC who was helped by Dimitri. He lifted a wagon out of the mud for her, and she didn’t find out till later that it was the king. Cute. 

Yuri says being hired was a formality- he has friends and family in the Kingdom so he’s happy to be back. 

There is an Imperial General in the camp that joined the Kingdom. Says Ferdinand and Hubert are missing. They are 100% dead, I tell you. Lame....

Uhh.... What do you mean, Felix, that you thought the emperor’s actions were rash but not totally unreasonable? Do you mean the war? Uhhh, no one was liking it six months ago. Unless you mean the reforms? I have no FUCKING clue but you better not mean the war was not unreasonable.

Some NPC is talking smack about Kingdom food. But dude, we ARE in a war. Grub is war food, deal. 

I’m disappointed we didn’t get... more out of Miklan’s death. Sylvain does mention his mom is taking is hard since she loved him as if he was his own son, but I feel like... there should have been more? Disappointing. 

Seteth doesn’t really have issues about people not being religious but he would like to see the faith spread. He has issues with the Western and Eastern Churches in their own ways

Damn, Dimitri passed out for three days after the last big battle? Poor Dedue, must have worried him sick

Randolph appears in a side map. This boy will die soon, I know it, lol

So the Empire is now just destroying fucking everything. And they suspect the emperor is a mere puppet. 

And now the Western Church is attacking? Oh, whoa, now the main map has changed. I’m trying to remember if GW did something similar. I don’t recall, honestly. I’ll have to check back on my recordings, but I don’t think so. 

A little annoyed that they are doing the ol’ switcharoo, a surprise attack and changing targets. Not as bad as GW did but still, annoying.

Ah, the Slithers are involved. Cornelia’s people rearing their ugly heads. 

Shez is really wondering how he is related to Thales, Tomas, and Cornelia. 

Ah, we recruit Balthus this time. Interesting. 

Metodey is on this map! My evil son! And he’s an Imperial General and not just a bandit this time.

Oh wait, Balthus is an ally, not an enemy? Very interesting indeed. I think that makes more allies you can recruit than the other two routes but I’m not sure. Technically he did join the other side but he’s decided to not help them since they are killing innocents. 

We aren’t even in Kingdom territory, they are just killing anyone really.

Myson! 

Metodey is dead. Myson says that we are only descendants of inconsequential beasts. 

Even the Western Church is like “nah man, I’m out of here, this slaughter sucks”. But we took them out for being assholes anyways. 

Whoa, Myson actually approaches Shez, asking how he got the power of Epimenides. Hmmm... his core? I guess that’s what is implanted into Shez. Then the asshole fled. 

Shez is starting to fear his power. He’s is sure he is connected to the Slithers now. 

Man, this route is doing a better job with the Slithers and Shez tbh. 

But I think SB still does the best with the Byleth/Shez dynamic, alas. 

Claude. Hi there. 

He’s trying to make it look like they are attacking the Empire to keep them distracted as we try to take back the monastery. I... kinda forgot that’s what we were doing, lol. 

Ah, those traitorous houses are keeping their lands for now, but have new people in place to keep them from being assholes again. 

No one really trusts Claude though. Which is a bit odd, since they really haven’t done anything to warrant this distrust in this route. 

Rodrigue is asking if Dimitri can strike down his stepsister.

“In a way, she and I are no different. Starting wars of our own volition”. UH, NO. HOLY FUCK, I AM SO TIRED OF THIS ROUTE INSISTING THEY STARTED A FUCKING WAR. 

FUCK YOU.

Whoa, Patricia left a note behind. 

It was a request from her to another traitorous house to help her kill her husband, and as well as express sympathies to the changes Lambert was bringing that the house was going so suffer through.

Dimitri says Patricia always looked past him, as if she was looking for something else entirely. 

“There is no guarantee that a parent will love their child” True, but cold as fuck. Did Patricia every truly love Dimitri? 

Shez would rather die than kill Dimitri (much to Arval’s horror)

Paralogues

Catherine, Ashe, and Yuri....

Catherine and Ashe talk about what happened in the past (but we don’t get to see it. Well, we learn about it in Houses anyways). 

Then Ashe went off. Now he’s in trouble, Ashe is surrounded. Catherine and Yuri are worried about him. 

The enemies are after Ashe. House Gaspard in particular. They probably think of him as a traitor. 

Yuri has a lot of confidence in him. He roots for him because they both came from nothing. 

Ashe starts to doubt himself and his chosen path. Thankfully, Yuri is very supportive and snaps him out of it and encourages him. 

Pallardo? Wtf, why is he here as the commander? 

Did we kill him? Will he not play a role in the main story like the other two routes? 

Well, it’s weird that Pallardo is the one who started the attack... like, why? Weird. A little forced, but I like the idea behind the paralogue overall. Just wish it wasn’t fucking Pallardo. 

Ok Yuri and Ashe.... now kiss. 

Jk.

Or am I?

The other paralogue available is Lorenz, Raphael, and Ignatz. We have already done that one, so I won’t comment on it here. 

Supports

Lots of Supports Opened up after the time skip!

Dimitri and Felix A - The only thing I find disappointing is I wish we got a bit more main story build up to this one But beyond that.....

FINALLY, FELIX KNOWS ABOUT DIMITRI’S DEMONS

And more of what he suffers!

Dimitri’s “enjoyment” that Felix saw all those years ago was Dimitri smiling at the voices cheering, not his own glee to be killing. 

Felix is actually being fucking nice for once. 

And Felix likes being Dimitri’s right-hand man!

Ok, this wasn’t feeling too shippy until..... Felix literally carrying Dimitri to bed.

IT’S SO GOOD.

Dimitri and Dedue A - “Dedue, would you avenge me if I asked?”

“Yes, I would”

“If I told you to forget me and live in happiness, would you?”

“No, I could not know happiness without you by my side” 

“Perhaps if I had been born to a different fate, I could have traveled with you as a mercenary. Or be a farmer” 

“Every time I see you slumped over your desk, I fear death as taken you”

WHO ENTERED MY DREAMS AND WROTE IT INTO THE GAME?!

T-they were written to be a couple right.... RIGHT?!

Sylvain and Ashe A - Sylvain wants to steal Ashe for his territory (but Ashe only serves Dimitri). Dimitri, however, has asked Ashe to consider taking over Lonato’s territory instead of being a knight forever. Looks like Ashe is seriously considering it, especially for Lonato’s legacy. I like this support, seeing them being friends and stuff. Ashe is right, though, Sylvain has always been a serious man deep down. 

Dedue and Annette A - Dedue is stressing over the fact that the gap between him and Relic users is so big. He’s opening up. He’s jealous. But Annette says he is awesome (and he is!) because he can really just do about anything- sew, cook, garden, swing a big axe, woo Dimitri....

Mercedes and Ingrid A - Cute support. Not much to say, really. Just nice. Ingrid is looking out for her squires by being strict. Mercedes brings sweets. Mercedes just being a big sister, really. 

Mercedes and Annette A - A much better support chain than from Houses. Friends forever <3. Travel together, grow old together, and many more things. 

Annette and Shez A - Shez hasn’t seen sheet music before. Oh, and a mercenaries dying was singing Annette’s song till his last breath, smiling. That is fucking depressing as shit. 

Shez and Seteth A - With many saints resting at the monastery, it must be really hard to know that Seteth can’t go back to his home. To him, it was a safe haven at last, only to be taken away. Seteth at least is trusting Shez now. 

Shez and Flayn A - Flayn and Seteth were alone, only each other, for a very long time. Poor Flayn, she just wants a normal life, but being a dragon basically means she won’t be able to, huh?

Shez and Sylvain A - “I feel bad we roped you into this war” Uhh... Sylvain? Shez is from Foldan. The war is literally ALL over. He was roped into it by literally existing there. But you mean the battle on the kingdom side, fine, just bad wording. But Sylvain says they are fighting for their homes. The Kingdom is a rough place, but it’s theirs. Oh, and he’s still working on that gun. 

Shez and Felix B - Shez has a hard-to-read fighting style because he developed it himself. That’s... that’s it, really. Felix’s style is.... apparently “reacting to how things play out” which is how... fighting works, Shez.

Ingrid and Shez A - There has been some prosperity in the Kingdom despite the war. And Ingrid is thinking about how she can better help Dimitri in the future, like teaching farming, even if she couldn’t be a knight. Shez is going to have a hard time being everyone’s personal merc (he throws his offer to quite a few people in their A support). 

Shez and Felix A - Rodrigue taught Felix the fighting stuff. But it’s their family style of fighting for generations. But Felix is too keen, he feels like Shez talks to someone in his head in battle (and he is, lol). 

Felix and Ingrid A - Aw, Felix was worried that Ingrid may have gotten injured and came to check. And it’s nice to see Felix might be fucking learning a lesson, about “sentimentality” and maybe the dead helping the living. Then Felix suggests she go put flowers on Glenn’s grave. I liked this one. 

Felix and Sylvain A - Felix defended Sylvain when someone soldiers were talking smack about him. Felix, you tsundere. But uh, Sylvain, why did you have to play that role? You really honestly didn’t have to. That’s just bullshit. Holy fuck, Felix is blushing now, saying how Sylvain helps Dimitri and himself. 

Annette and Ashe A - Annette really wants to be a teacher. That’s it, really. (Maybe an implication there are more schools? Idk).

Ingrid and Sylvain A - Sylvain is such a big brother, lol. He is happy to see Ingrid eat a good meal. I mean, I know they can become a romantic couple, but eh. The four of the childhood friends are family. (Makes her death in SB hit even harder). 

Dimitri and Bernie A - What a waste. 

Literally, it’s just Flayn’s support about Dimitri eating food that tastes bad because he literally can’t taste. 

Except annoying as fuck. 

Shez and Dimitri A - Hm. Well, Hopes really want to push this idea that people don’t have a choice in life due to the way things are. Like... being a prince. Which is what Edelgard wants to end. So does Claude, technically. But... Dimitri’s choice in Houses when he decides to live for himself is to quite literally... to make his people life a happy and peacefully life. It’s really no different than what Hopes Dimitri wishes to do, honestly, just that he’s viewing it a bit differently. 

Plus, the truth is is that people sometimes don’t have a choice. That’s just life. I don’t have a choice to work. I have to work, I have to make money. Some people are rich enough to have that choice.

What about someone who has to care for another person? They didn’t get a choice either, unless they decide to abandon that person. 

The reality is is that life is not fair. And we must choose to live life we can with what was given to us. 

And technically speaking, Dimitri CAN abandon the throne if he really wants to. He just has too much of a strong sense of duty to even do that. 

I also think people are putting his “Upon my death” thing a little wrongly. Yes, he would be “happy to die”, but he also says he would be happy knowing that he created a world of peace for his people. Sure, it comes with his death, but it’s the idea that he could look back and see that he was able to make a difference throughout his entire life. 

It’s is a bit dismal since he can’t think of anything else, but I think most of the discourse around this particular line is just focusing on the wrong aspects of it. The real issue should be not the death part, but that it’s all he could think of. That he can’t focus on the more simple pleasures, the things like feasting with friends or watching a sunset. That’s the bigger issue. 

Dedue and Ingrid A - Dedue is a fucking giant, lol. But my man is a fountain of wisdom. “It’s human nature to generalize” Yup. This is a great support. Also, nice to see Ingrid’s love of food playing a bigger role in these supports. Oh...  oh no, Dedue is going to scold Dimitri for just walking around and going to places like a random inn, even if it’s run by a Duscur person and even if Ingrid is by his side, lol. Poor Dimitri. Poor Dedue.

Marianne and Ingrid C - Why wouldn’t Ingrid know that a horse would need more hay than oats? She’s... grown up around pegasi and shit.... :/ Also, I haven’t talked about this much, but Marianne basically being able to understand animals in such fine detail is basically a superpower. Is it a Crest thing? They never attribute it to Crests but surely it’s basically a crest thing. 

Dimitri and Mercedes A - Mercedes shows Dimitri the town she took shelter in. Dimitri hides the fact he is king, as he usually does. Basically, she is showing him what he is protecting. Places like this village, a nice little place where everyone is accepted. Then Mercedes teases Dimitri that she will just introduce him as someone very important (making him flustered, since it implies they are together). Of course, she was just teasing. Not really a ship I care about but it’s sweet. 

Shez and Dedue A - Very cute, just Dedue earning the trust of fellow Kingdom Knights, and that Dedue trusts Shez despite his powers. (Followed by if he did betray him or Dimitri he would cut him down in an instant, lol)

Shez and Catherine C - Man, I wish we could actually meet Count Charon. Catherine is basically just super loyal to Rhea, and for Shez to challenge himself and make his past self proud. 

Felix and Raphael C - Felix is being weirdly nice and sharing his food with the hungry guy. “Meat buddy” kek. And Petra is mentioned. Can you not get this support if you don’t recruit Petra, or does the line change? 

Catherine and Dedue C - Dedue is a little suspicious at first cause Catherine showed up out of nowhere. It’s a town of Duscur people and they don’t follow the teachings of Seiros. But Rhea decided to help the town out of the goodness of her heart, nothing more. (The town suffered a major fire). 

Damn, more “starting a war in the process for us” why tf does everyone keep forgetting the Empire started the war? 

Seteth and Yuri C - Yuri is investigating the Ten Elites because he doesn’t know where his Crest has come from. He had heard the Ten Elites did not get their Crests at birth so he wanted to start there. Seteth encourages him and says that not to hate the power but to cherish it. But Seteth clearly knows something more. 

Yuri and Dimitri C - “A funny knight” lol, cute way to describe Dimitri. (But what kid says “obtuse”, damn educated commoner kids, lol). (Also, Dimitri completely unfazed by being called “idiot”). Yuri is pissed that Dimitri is waltzing around unprotected and unguarded in unsafe streets, since if he dies a huge war of succession will break out. But Dimitri wants to learn about the commoners as much as possible, to see how they live and to understand them better. Then, Dimitri asks Yuri to protect him then, which Yuri finds amusing and agrees. 

What I find particularly ironic about this support is that Yuri says the area isn’t a outright slum but still dangerous to the king. However, in Houses, Dimitri quite literally lives in slums for 5 years. Dimitri in Houses def understand the common folk better than probably any nobles, and maybe even some commoners. 

Catherine and Dedue B - Catherine is impressed that trust between Duscur and the kingdom is there. Then they compare Rhea and Dimitri to each other, that they can’t abandon people in need. (Also, Catherine says that she not religious at all). And apparently Rhea and Dimitri are often seen with children. (Which is funny, because Dimitri worries about being with children since he doesn’t know how to act with them, yet he enjoys being with them). Damn, this entire support really tears down the “RHEA IS EVIL” nonsense, truly. 

Damn, but what a way to end that support “But if they cross swords, we would kill each other without hesitation.” Damn girl calm down.

Sylvain and Ignatz C - Some culture lore, there are different painting styles across the nations. Apparently the lady in the painting (an Imperal painting apparently) looks kind, like Lady Rhea per Ignatz’s words. Sylvain thinks the lady might be Miklan’s mother since she is from the Empire. 

Also, Sylvain is interested in fucking everything, kek. Saint Macuil is apparently associated with birds (lol, makes sense). Kingdom is also not super good with art, not in their general interests. But Sylvain is (despite it originally being because he wanted to impress the ladies).

Annette and Lorenz C - Lorenz mistook Annette for a maid years ago when they were back at the school of sorcery. And was an ass about it years ago. I still like Lorenz but yeah, he’s sometimes an ass to commoners. Lorenz left the school not long after that because of the Tragedy. 

Sylvain and Yuri C - Apparently, the two of them have been keeping an eye on each other. Sylvain has been waiting for Yuri to make a wrong move. But Yuri respects Sylvain, despite calling him cunning and very dangerous. But he’s right, Sylvain is dangerous, despite all the smiles and playing a fool often. I would even argue Sylvain is more dangerous than Felix or Dimitri. Those idiots wear their hearts on their sleeves. Sylvain is sneakier. In a way, Sylvain is kinda the Hubert to Dimitri, the clever one who keeps their ear to the ground and swords pointed to the backs of those they don’t trust. Except, Sylvain isn’t as evil or doesn’t stoop nearly as low. 

Whoever wrote Sylvain for Hopes really knew the character. I’m impressed. 

Annette and Ignatz C - Annette’s model literally just materialized, lol. Anyway, Ignatz is worried if he’s a good knight or not. So asks about Gustave, who is legendary. Apparently, he was just a soldier over 40 years ago at the royal castle. Lambert, who was still just a kid, was fucking around and fell off a ledge. Gustave saved his life by fucking throwing his spear and pinning the young prince’s clothes to a wall, saving his life. That got him promoted to being a knight. Then he changed his training to throwing a spear at leaves to a tree trunk. This motherfucker never missed a day of training (and it’s no wonder his training regiment with Dimitri was so... intense.). Ignatz becomes... disheartened. Who can blame him? Gustave doesn’t have a Crest but the dude is a legend. Why isn’t he as legendary as Holst?!

That’s my DILF, he belongs in my harem.

Books

Royal Territories of Faerghus: Book Two (1180 Edition)

Gautier

A margraviate situated at the northernmost point of Foldan. 

The Ruska Mountains on its foreign border guard against invasion from Sreng. Most of its territory is covered in conifer woodlands and the climate remains cold year-round. 

Chief products are fish and lumber, but the vast plains around the capital also allow for raising of cattle. 

Galatea

A desolate county of rugged rocky mountains and barren plains. 

Ill-suited for farming, has very few large-scale settlements,

Does boast the exact type of pasture favored by pegasi near its Fraldarius border. Has become well known for its pegasi stock. 

Dominic

A small but beautiful barony. Coastal cities have become a hub of commerce through trade with Albinea. 

Gideon

A viscounty with northern mountains that produce gold, albeit in modest amounts. 

Rowe

A county. Features robust ironworks and smithing centered around Arianrhod. East is known for its Bacchus production. 

Elidure

A viscounty that boasts unique culture due to influence of the Western Church.

Itha

A grand duchy. Mercenary dispatch and the small-scale hunts that take place in the Itha Plains, which cover the majority of the region, form the main pillars of the economy. 

Mateus

A viscounty. Fishing and boat construction have long been its chief industries. 

Geraint

A county boasting pastoral countryside throughout. The basin of the Taranus River that runs through the south provides fertile plains. 

Enid

A viscounty famous for its high-quality wool. 

[edelegs]

so I have a very specific interpretation of the Edelgard/Hubert dynamic that I don’t think is particularly common, but I feel is worth sharing. This is largely because some people end up diminishing the importance of this relationship when pairing each of them with other people. It’s disappointing because I personally prefer these external ships (namely Edeleth and Ferdibert, for reasons I will make clear) but often see either Edelgard or Hubert reduced to some jealous, cuckoled cockblock in them. Honestly, that’s just . . . boring. 

(Long post under the cut)

TLDR: Edelbert is fascinating because it can be argued that Hubert’s feelings are born from guilt and shame rather than romantic love. This dynamic is unhealthy but deeply interesting, and it deserves to not be diminished in fan interpretations of these characters. 

Something that makes Edelgard so compelling is the fact that she’s full of contradictions. She can’t stand people/creatures with more power than humanly possible, yet she must use her own superhuman power and cooperate with what she despises to achieve her end goal. More specific to Edelbert, this end goal is equality, yet Edelgard is not allowed to be equal to anyone. She is a detached, untouchable princess who needs to learn how to meet her friends where they stand. It is through her connection to Byleth and to the other Black Eagles where she learns how to adapt her ideals to work in reality - and to be human. 

Unintentionally, Hubert does the opposite of this. His devotion to Edelgard began as an inherited role and evolved into something he does out of personal conviction. Either way, he is putting her on a pedestal and addressing her as a vassal rather than as a friend. Many of his supports with others involve him comparing them to Edelgard and telling them they’ll never reach her level. He takes it as his personal mission to protect her from those “unworthy” of talking to her. I don’t think this is intended to be selfish or malicious. I think that because of his role as her vassal and his failure to protect her from the Hresvelg experiments, he takes on this absolute devotion and prescribes it upon everyone else. 

Their relationship is unbalanced as a result. Edelgard makes constant reference to “fighting alone” and being prepared to end up isolated and maligned. The line “the solitary reign of Edelgard has come to an end” in her S-support is particularly telling. While she clearly views Hubert as someone important to her, she does not seem to view him as someone she can be fully open with. Hubert’s constant addressing of her as “Lady Edelgard” implies that he would not take the opportunity to call her “El” if it was presented to him. Edelgard and Hubert are both so caught up in the weight and scope of their revolution that they begin to enable each other’s bad tendencies. Hubert doesn’t dare challenge her, because he thinks of her as untouchable, and this devotion allows Edelgard to take him for granted. It is not a healthy relationship. I don’t think this is a particularly hot take. Their external supports are crucial for shifting these patterns of thought and allowing these characters to grow. 

What I think may be unpopular is this: I don’t think Hubert’s feelings for Edelgard are actually romantic. 

(For context, I am aro and just really hate m/f friends getting shoved together romantically. It may be easy to dismiss my thoughts as just me being bitter that we can’t have a m/f friend pair without one of them catching feelings but allow me to argue my point.) 

Hubert was assigned to Edelgard at a young age and told it was his house’s sacred duty to serve the Hresvelg family. He loathes his father for his involvement in the Insurrection of the Seven, which happened when he was ten. It goes without saying that this largely shapes his devotion to Edelgard. I would even say these events traumatized him to some degree. He mentions this in their A support, where he declares that his loyalty has been to her alone since she returned from the Kingdom. The path that these two share is informed and shaped by trauma - what Edelgard went through and Hubert’s powerlessness to stop it. More critically, these events radicalized them both and created the “shared vision” mentioned in his B support with Dorothea. 

That particular support jumps out to me. When I first played the game, I felt unbelievably validated by it. Hubert denies accusations of unrequited love in an edgily self-aware way (the line ”do I really look like the kind of drooling simpleton to have that kind of motivation?” made me literally cheer) and goes on to describe their relationship as walking the same path. He then highlights the qualities he feels towards Edelgard (gratitude, respect, awe, empathy, trust, and hope). None of these require romantic attraction. Dorothea then goes on to say that “loving another is really about wanting to be loved . . . I’m pretty sure that’s different from how things are with you and Edie”. This scene spoke a lot to my own experiences - my feelings for my best friend largely echo Hubert’s (though way less dramatic, of course) and I found the form of deep platonic love I feel for her reflected in that conversation. The acknowledgement on Dorothea’s part that it was different from romantic love (whether or not she truly believes it) is what blew me away. This is honestly one of the few times where a piece of media made me feel seen which makes me forever mad about the Edelbert A support.Though it could be argued that he’s just closed-off and could easily pull off lying about it, I know those feelings well. Others might see this as definitive proof of Hubert’s unrequited love for Edelgard, but I just can’t and I wanted to articulate this perspective because it means so much to me. Close, all-consuming, and important relationships can be platonic. 

I know better than to claim that the confession scene never happened. It is interesting to evaluate because it shows Edelgard finally calling attention to Hubert’s unknowing perpetuation of the gap between them. When Hubert states his feelings plainly, he is as composed as ever. Edelgard blushes and states that “you never cease to surprise me”. Hubert laughs this off, and that’s the end of that. It clearly is supposed to be a genuine love confession, but I think it’s more interesting to consider a man with only one real close friend misinterpreting his blind devotion towards her as love because he doesn’t really know what it is. I think it adds to the kind of fucked-up nature of their relationship (is it love or obsession? How is he supposed to know if a connection borne from trauma stems from love or guilt?). It also speaks to how difficult it is to identify romantic feelings when you’ve never truly felt them. 

That being said, I actually do ship Hubert with other people. I love Ferdibert because their personality clashes create a sense of mutual growth that helps Hubert learn to openly challenge Edelgard rather than subvert orders he disagrees with and it’s honestly just really funny. I also love Hubernie because the idea of a terrifying man and a girl who’s scared of everything learning to meet each other halfway shows similar character growth. I just think that for many years, Hubert’s devotion to Edelgard gave him a really fucked up understanding of human relationships, both romantic and platonic. There’s a tendency to erase the weight and importance of the Edelbert dynamic when both are shipped with other people as well as a great opportunity to show that strong platonic relationships can and should be perceived as equal to romantic ones. I have read so many Ferdibert things that suggest that their love is all-encompassing and Makes Them Whole. Wouldn’t it be more in-character to explore how they navigate the web of relationships in their lives? I love the Black Eagles’ interpersonal relationships so much and each one shapes the characters more and more. I’d love to see that reflected in ways that center platonic relationships! 

[fireemblems24]

Azure Moon: Chapter 17

I'm an emotional wreck right now.

If you're looking for a coherent review of events - this isn't it. I'm going to need to cry in a corner for a bit first.

Pre Battle:

Oh, right. Now Gilbert and Rodrigue are talking about fog. Did they just forget to make this Fog or War or something? Not that I'm complaining.

Oh, boy, Duscur talk. Poor Rodrigue. He lost a best friend and two sons that day 😭I still hope Felix forgives him. I really don't think Rodrigue did anything wrong.

So I had to look up who Lady Patricia was again, and please, dear God, no. Please tell me Dimitri's step-mother didn't arrange that.

The writers are like - how much trauma can we shove into one character: all of it. Oh, wait, oh wait, let's have his step-mother arrange his brutal death too! Oh, great idea. 😑

HOLY SHIT - DIMITRI ALMOST DIED AT DUSCUR. HE DIDN'T TELL ME THAT. OMG. All this time.

So he spent the whole time talking about how everyone else got hurt and didn't even mention he ALMOST DIED 😭😭😭😭. This character makes my heart hurt.

So are we gonna see Patricia again? Is she part of that evil mage group?? God I hope not.

Oh, no, the messenger to the Alliance got killed. That explains how the game is going to be like - no two lords for you! - even when it makes more sense to team up in AM. Did this happen in VW too? That would explain why Dimitri didn't want to join Claude tbh.

Sounds like a pretty brutal death too. 100% picked it was the Empire. Dimitri's all about it lol.

Oh, "Maiden" Fleche is back.

Good God this feels 100x more epic on AM than VW. I'm honestly starting to feel sorry for Claude. He got done dirty compared to the other two.

And now it's Ferdinand's birthday. Now is not the time, bro.

I'm betting it's the same cut scene? I get to see Dimitri say "Kill every last one of them again" lol.

Edelgard be like - last time we were classmates fighting, this time I'm here to kill all of you and take over your lands.

Battle:

Alright - the battle. Thankfully I have Bernie recruited so no more fires for her, poor thing.

Lysithea and Ignatz are on here though. I'm assuming Claude retreats? Probably not the other two. But I'm trying to stick to the "kill everyone" (or I guess I should say "Kill every last one of them!" lol).

Gotta have Dimitri fight Claude and Edelgard to get that sweet-sweet dialogue.

Dimitri's just going to solo the alliance troops. Batallion Wrath/Vantage/Retribution is one hell of a drug. Just gotta watch out for gambits, but only really worried about Claude tbh.

Claude's range is too big, which is why Dimitri's taking that route. Thematically I'd love to watch him just solo all the Empire troops, but I can't risk Claude flying around if I want that unique battle dialogue.

LAMO - Byleth crit Hubert. Though, interesting note. In VW, Dedue insists he can still fight when he's defeated, and Dimitri tells him to get off the battlefield and live (rudely). Hubert says he needs to retreat, and Edelgard says nothing about his injuries.

Oh, shit, Petra too. Didn't see her there.

And now Leonie and Hilda too. Does Hilda retreat like Hubert and Dedue?

So Leonie, Lysithea, and Ignatz are dead. Hilda, Petra, and Hubert retreated. Hubert really likes to show up, get his ass handed to him, and then retreat. Who do you end up doing this to more, Hubert or the Death Knight?

Guys, I think Dimitri might have an issue with Edelgard. If you let them fight each other in VW, does he say the same thing?

OMG Edelgard philosophizing about death after Dimitri's like - pick a way to die. For some reason this is amusing.

And then he crits. Dimitri likes doing that.

Oh, shocking, she retreats too.

OMG Dimitri was MVP (shocking, I know), but it's so amusing to see "Dimitri's motivation is maxed out" right after criting Edelgard.

Post Battle:

So Dimitri goes to chase after Edelgard, which kills him in VW.

Man he sounds so enraged - like a setback after the progress. And yelling at Rodrigue 😭

Oh, shit, what is Fleche doing here.

Man, this is so much more intense than VW.

Oh shit - Fleche stabbed Dimitri. OMG. Saw that coming. Rodrgue's so worried.

Oh shit. Oh God. Rodrigue just died saving Dimitri, didn't he? Dimitri wasn't even going to fight back, was he?

OMG 😭😭😭😭😭😭

He's really dying guys. Why.

😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

WHY DID HE DIE THOUGH?

"Live for what you believe in. Your life is your own."

If I ever hear anyone shit-talk Rodrigue, I'm going to have words.

Oh, shit Felix. Felix never made up with his father.

Nevermind, I want VW back. 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

(Oh, wait, nevermind, Dimitri just died in VW. I take that back)

Chris Hackey though. (I get the feeling he really liked Dimitri. How could you not, though?)

Oh shit guys, I'm getting watery-eyed.

Rodrigue just fucking died saving Dimitri.

Yo - Lambert is hot though. WHY DO ALL THAT HOT OLDER GUYS DIE? Please someone look out for Seteth.

Oh, shit Lambert should've listened to Rodrigue.

Rodrigue is so loyal and good. Fuck any haters.

On a side note - Byleth pretty badass taking Fleche out.

Ok - here comes the Byleth part.

Dimitri's "I haven't slept in a week" look is gone.

Oh, shit, where is he going? He's going to leave, isn't he?

C'mon, Byleth, don't let him leave. 😭😭😭

Dimitri thinks he'd just too far gone 😭😭😭😭😭😭

There's Survivor's Guilt, and then there's Dimitri, holy shit.

OMG his little voice wavers asking the professor for answers. Dimitri's going to be the end of me.

Also - Chris Hackney is a gem. Like, all the VAs are pretty good with a few exceptions, but Dimitri demands more range than most of them, and he sells all of it. It's what Dimitri deserves though.

I picked "You must forgive yourself," because holy hell 😭😭😭

He really just thinks he has no value, doesn't he. 😭😭😭

"As the sole survivor of that day, do I . . . Do I have the right to live for myself?" 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

And Byleth just reaches out her hand again 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

"Your hands are so warm . . . have they always ben" 😭😭😭

Shit, man, I don't like Byleth much, but this is good shit. Maybe I like Byleth a little.

Next Chapter title is "The King's Triumphant Return" 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

Hell yeah, we're going to free the Kingdom!

Does this mean I get Dimitri's supports now?

Oh, boy, Dimitri's here. And Dedue's worried about his wounds. OFC he is.

He sounds so normal now.

Dimitri's apologizing. Is it weird to feel proud of a character? Because I feel proud of a character.

"I wish to do the right thing from now on." 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

OMG, Dimitri, this route is an emotional ride.

Hell yeah, let's go kick the Empire out of the Kingdom!

😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

He's finally going to start living for himself, I'm just feel like a proud mom.

OMG FELIX CALLED HIM DIMITRI. WHY IS THIS ROUTE LIKE THIS?😭😭😭

I love all the Blue Lions so much. They're all precious.

[dreamsmp-au-ideas]

Detective au time except now I’m focusing on the Eggpire and things relating to it

-Bad has really been in the Eggpire for a while and thus, he has been blackmailed and threatened for a long time

-The Eggpire has ways of recruiting a lot of members quickly. The first is the high pay they give them (A majority of the Eggpire got into it because of that) The second is promise of safety (Bad and formerly Puffy got into it because of that).  The third is usually blackmail but that’s only on people who have powerful roles in government or other departments.

-Hannah is someone who managed to slip away from the Eggpire and still manage to live. Puffy and Jack go to her for more info about it at one point. She’s also a mercenary and more than once she worked together with Punz

-Puffy is also someone who got out thanks to Sam. She’s eternally grateful for that

-Ponk, Bad, and Ant all acted like a found family even before Punz

-Eggpire has been going on for a long time and honestly the whole city’s department has been trying to take it down for years

-Sam does not like the Eggpire due to how it pretty much twisted his former friends into this. Now Bad is the leader and Ant is his right-hand man! Well at least they are on the surface

-City is called Snowchester because I am very bad at names and L’Manberg is already a country so yea

-Skeppy thought that Bad got himself out of the Eggpire after about 2 years of being there. He only found out about the real extent about it a few years after they took Sapnap in

-Billiam is rich and he’s corrupt and he’s working with the Eggpire. Mainly on the job of funding it. He’s also in the inner circle

-Bad, Ant, Ponk, and Punz would honestly love to punch Billiam in the face. Rich bastard pisses them off and their patience is running thin with him

-Butler (AKA Moon) is unfortunately someone who got into Billiam’s services due to the promise of a roof over their head. Course that happened and now he’s just the Butler for Billiam

-The Inbetween is just a code name. No one knows the Inbetween’s true name but they work closely with the Crimson and often passes info they obtain by Karl

-Info on the Eggpire is almost impossible to get. Dream and XD managed to get like about a page of information and that’s it. You got to be very deep into the Eggpire in order to go and get more. And considering that’s usually the part where people start sabotaging each other to get a higher rank

-Punz is good at what he does and actually that’s what got the Crimson’s attention. One-off jobs are completed fast and effectively whenever Punz has them and jobs that are for an extended period of time are done well. Reel him in with high money pay and then slowly get him deeper into it and now he permanently has to work for the Eggpire

-The Masquerade is not the first time Jack and Puffy met Billiam. It was just the first time they were actually treated with a semblance of respect from him

-Jack met him due to him negotiating with his landlord and then Billiam comes in all rich and posh and shit and immediately goes and insults Jack. Never before has he felt rage like that

-Puffy met him after there was an unfortunate… “accident” with Hubert, one of his former butlers. She had to keep telling herself that she can not punch a witness every time she talked to him

-On bright side, the Masquerade outfits are made by Tommy and Eret and they look fabulous

-The murders kind of dampened the mood but at least while solving crime, they looked fabulous when doing it

-The Masquerade honestly is just Jack, Dream, Karl, and Puffy just trying to restrain themselves from punching Billiam throughout the whole murder mystery. Eventually James punches him so that’s great

-First Version of the Potion was developed around the time Purpled was working for the Eggpire temporarily and was “officially” tested by the time Punz got Purpled to ditch

-So yeah, Bad, Ant, and Ponk had to watch the effects happen to Punz for a while before they were pretty much subjected to the final version

-Honestly when I think about the Crimson all I can think about is a red trench coat the size of his body that like covers almost everything and a weird ass fedora hat that just conceals the eyes. I don’t know why. I just thought of that.

-The Crimson was not expecting Jack Manifold to actually get close to the things their planning. At best they thought that he’s a guy who is smart but probably won’t get anywhere. Sure he went and got a big source for them arrested but that’s probably just a lucky shot, right?

-It kept happening and now Jack is actually getting close to things the Crimson doesn’t want him to do that so he went and sent some people to go and scare him a bit. It does not stop him. You can not stop him, he’s using the power of spite, anger, and the fact that it’s pretty much the longest running and best paying job he had. Even though it’s not exactly obtained through honesty

-Pretty soon he also noticed that oh, Puffy is also in on this and is determined. You can not stop her need to protect people and her need to make sure that Jack is not going to get injured

[mittelfrank-divas]

See that’s the thing that gets me about Edelgard: she didn’t come to Garreg Mach to make friends. 

Well yeah, you might be saying. She was planning to start a war. 

But no. No! We’re not talking about the other houses. Yes, of course Edelgard had no intention of making friends with the people she would soon make enemies of. That part is obvious. 

But Edelgard didn’t come to Garreg Mach to make friends with her own house. 

Dimitri, he’s surrounded by kids he grew up with, people he’s known all his life. The Blue Lions all have a long history with each other and with their prince. Even the ones outside of his immediate circle have connections to him, and all of them have at least some understanding of his history.

But Edelgard? Edelgard never knew any of the Black Eagles other than Hubert. 

Edelgard came to Garreg Mach not just to declare war on the church, but to dissolve the noble class. And these kids, her own house, were mostly the sons and daughters of the very people she planned to strip power from. Hevring and Bergliez were convinced to side with her, but Aegir and Varley? Ferdinand and Bernadetta could have posed as much of a threat to her plans as any enemy. 

For that matter, being “allies” hardly would have made Caspar and Lindhardt trustworthy either, given both that their own houses were happy to participate in the Insurrection of the Seven and they wouldn’t be the only allies Edelgard has who she doesn’t remotely trust. 

For all she knew, the other Black Eagles were all spies or enemies or at the very least, privileged noble kids who would never agree to her plan to dissolve the system that they benefitted from. For that matter, any one of them could have been like Monica, just a Slither in disguise. It’s ironic that Petra, a foreign hostage, was likely the only person that Edelgard could accept at face value.

And none of them knew her. None of them knew of her history, or her plans, or her second crest. 

But here’s the thing. They accepted her. They had fun with her. They studied together, they planned competitions together, they danced together, they slept down the hall from one another. For the first time in her memory, Edelgard got to be among her peers. She got to have friends. And not like Hubert was her friend -- he served her and he conspired with her and he loved her as only a best friend can, but for years their friendship had revolved around a dark purpose. These were friends without pretence, without goals, who treated her as an equal without politics or backstabbing. 

For the first time ever, Edelgard got to be a teenager. 

It’s no wonder she treats her house like a precious thing. Why, after they agreed to side with her despite all her efforts to push them away and give them a choice, she stayed up all night to come up with the name Black Eagles Strike Force. Because she never planned, never dreamed, of being part of something so good, and she never wants to let it go.

[sickly-sweet-imagines]

You should You should do hubert x reader ;);)););)

I should and I will! Hope you enjoy it~!

– – – – –

“Every day you make my job of protecting Lady Edelgard harder.” You were beyond certain that Hubert hated you. The other day, you had been chatting with Edelgard about nothing in particular, enjoying each other’s company. It had been going well, you made her laugh, she made you laugh, you were friends interacting like friends do. Apparently, though, Hubert took issue with this. “Hubert, you do know you may just approach me, you know.” From the way Edelgard said it you could tell Hubert had been hiding in the shadows for much longer than you were aware of his being there. You can hear his groaning as he steps out of the shadows. “Lady Edelgard, there is news regarding... Empire politics. Do check the letters in your dormitory when you can.” His voice didn’t have the same consistency to it, it almost felt... Strained? Hesitant? You couldn’t pinpoint the emotion but it was clearly not normal. “Thank you, Hubert. Would you like to stay for a moment? I’m sure (Y/n) would have no qualms about you joining us.” You could still remember how teasing her tone was when she said it. It was like she wanted you to blush in front of him. “Ahh, thank you, but no, I cannot accept your offer.” Once again, it didn’t feel right when he said that. Well, the refusal of the offer wasn’t surprising, but his manner of refusing just felt... Off. This was part of why you were so certain he hated you. He took his leave after saying that, though he seemingly didn’t wander far- as soon as you walked out you heard his voice. “(Y/n).” It was the same darkness he used speaking to the new professor. “May I have a word?” Part of you thought this was absolutely when he was going to kill you, but that pesky crush you had made it impossible to refuse. “I would appreciate it if you would refrain from further interaction with Lady Edelgard.” “Huh-?” His finger shot up to silence you. “You have been a persistent nuisance in my duties. Therefore, it would be appropriate of you to stop engaging with her, lest more extreme measures become necessary.” Obviously, you tried to pipe up again to ask about what it was you were doing that made his life so hard, but he simply shushed you again before saying the words that have been floating through your mind all week. “Every day you make my job of protecting Lady Edelgard harder. Cease your commune with her. Immediately.” He left after saying that, leaving you no other thoughts besides ‘Hubert hates me’ as you made your way back to your room. Apparently, these thoughts have begun impacting your training. “What is keeping you so distracted, (Y/n)? You’ve never been this careless!” You weren’t supposed to be socializing with her... But this was training, talking to Edelgard with a sword in your hand was totally different. “Hubert talked to me after that day in the greenhouse.” Her eyes encourage you to continue. “He told me that I’ve been... Making his job harder, making interacting with you harder, I don’t know, you know how hard it is to understand what he actually means when he says things, but I think- I think he just... Doesn’t like having me around, I think he wants me as far as possible... Do you know what he meant?” Amusement briefly flickers in Edelgard’s eyes. “I’ll talk to him. I’m sure it’s all a misunderstanding, he’s not the best at expressing himself, as I’m sure you know.” She chuckles softly. “Go wait in your quarters, I’ll send him to clear things up.”

You’ve been sitting in your quarters for twenty minutes now, and there’s still been no sign of Hubert. Did Edelgard forget? No, that can’t be it... Did Hubert not listen to her? That almost feels more unrealistic... Just as your mind starts exploring the worst case scenario, you hear a knock on your door. Upon opening it, you see the most bizarre expression on Hubert’s face. “(Y/n). Lady Edelgard has informed me that I have been... Misunderstood. Allow me to correct this mistake.” His expression doesn’t get any more normal when he starts to speak, not to mention his voice once again sounds strained and uncertain like it did the other day. You step aside to let him into your room, getting a better look at his face as he steps in. Was he... Red? Is this what he looks like when he’s embarrassed? Can Hubert even feel embarrassment? A harsh snap brings your attention back to reality. “My phrasing did not convey my meaning entirely. I did not mean you were a threat when I informed you that you make everything in my life harder.” Well, even if that isn’t what he meant, the phrase has certainly intensified since last time. A silence, just short of uncomfortable, follows his first phrase as he tries to think of how to follow it. “The problem is... Much the opposite, in fact. You are... The opposite... Of a threat to me, or to Lady Edelgard.” The confusion on your face does not seem to encourage him, as the redness on his face reddens and he sighs. “You have... Enraptured me. I find myself unable to properly report information in your presence, as I find my legs will stop moving ten feet away and my throat tightens when I attempt to speak. You have become something akin to a disease on my body.” . . . Is this a love confession? Is this why Edelgard laughed when you lamented your concerns? “Hubert, do you mean that-” “Please, don’t say it.” “I-” You pause, your mind freezing up despite the endless spinning it’s started to perform. “I feel the same way... Would you-” He holds up his finger (though it seems less harsh than before). “Consider my previous threats... Diminished. Disregarded, if you will... I’ll see you in class.” And he’s gone, shutting the door behind him. You wait until you hear his footsteps fade before expressing your delight. Unbeknownst to you, he waits the same amount of time to do the same.

[huberts-private-counsel-archive]

Hiii~ could you please dedicate this one to @stag-of-adrestia? Let's have Value Me with darkshout, just for old times sake ;)

Well, you heard the anon! To @stag-of-adrestia this drabble goes!

.....you can. carbon date how old this is by the url im so sorry about this im so very sorry

Leave a “Value Me” in my ask, and I’ll write a drabble about one character telling another how they feel about them.

Caspar didn’t know a lot. BUT. He DID know one thing.

He’d had ENOUGH!

It was pretty much everywhere he went! No matter what! Over and over, he’d her people talking shit about Hubert, writing him off as “just the Emperor’s lapdog”, as if that was an okay thing to do!

It didn’t matter that Hubert said that he didn’t mind and that they were speaking the truth (which they WEREN’T, and Hubert shouldn’t have to pretend like they were!), Caspar was still not gonna stand for this! He was going to show those jerks that they were wrong!

And he had an absolutely, one hundred percent foolproof plan to do so! Linhardt helped him come up with it!

...Honestly, Lin had only agreed to help him because he said that, “just yelling in Hubert’s face about your love for him won’t go well.”

To be fair, it wasn’t like Hubert knew Caspar loved him, so Lin was probably right about that...

Bah, whatever! That wasn’t the point here!

Caspar shook off the lingering doubts - he had an important job to do! He couldn’t get hung up on dumb stuff he could take care of later! Maybe! Probably never! Whatever!

He knocked on the door to Hubert’s office, waiting a few seconds to see if Hubert would answer. As Lin had predicted, he very much did not. So Caspar did what he did best.

“HEYA HUBERT! IT’S CASPAR! I GOT SOMETHING TO TALK TO YA ABOUT!!” Caspar exclaimed as he slammed the office door open. 

He could see Hubert actually jump at his desk - which shocked him for a moment, until he realized something. Hubert only ever jumped when something startled him because he was completely off guard. The only time Hubert was ever completely off guard was when he was asleep. Hubert had...actually been asleep at his desk.  And Caspar just woke him up very loudly.

Oops.

Caspar didn’t hide the wince as Hubert turned to look at him, eyes narrowed in clear anger for a few seconds before he just sighed.

“What is it, Caspar?” Hubert asked, pinching the bridge of his nose. He did that a lot when Caspar was around.

He sounded pretty annoyed, definitely because Caspar woke him up like that; but he didn’t sound as annoyed as he could’ve been. Don’t ask how Caspar knew that, it’s a long story that he’d like to not relive, thank you.

Anyway!

“I was coming to drag ya out of your office! You’ve been in there all day! Some fresh air could do you some real good!”

Yep! This was Caspar’s completely foolproof plan! Just take Hubert out on the town to have some fun! (He REFUSED to say date, because it wasn’t a date! Nope! Just two friends hanging out!)

“I’ve been inside all day because there’s a lot of work that I still need to do-” Hubert was already saying, which was Caspar’s cue to cut in. He knew if he let Hubert keep talking, he’d end up just going back inside his office. So!

“Nope! None of that!” Caspar interrupted, grinning triumphantly. “I already asked Edelgard about it, and she said it was fine!”

Actually, she didn’t, but that wasn’t the point.

Hubert stared at him for a few moments, as if trying to decide if Caspar was telling to truth. Actually, that’s probably exactly what he was doing. Caspar tried not to fidget. Eventually, Hubert must’ve decided he was telling the truth (phew), because he let out another sigh - one that Caspar knew meant he was relenting.

“If Lady Edelgard approved it, then I suppose I’ve no choice but to play along.”

Caspar smiled. And that smile only as the day progressed. His plan really was going perfectly! They were both having a good time going out on the town, and Caspar even saw Hubert trying not to smile! It was amazing! All in all, everything was going according to plan!

“Ugh, watch out - the Emperor’s dog is coming...”

...Well, it was, until some ASSHOLE decided to speak up.

Caspar felt his hands curl into fists as he heard the words, whirling around to stare down the person who said it. The only reason they weren’t suffering from a serious case of what he’d like to call “Caspar’s Fist Directly Through Their Face” disease was because of Hubert’s hand resting on his shoulder.

“Don’t bother, Caspar. They’re simply stating facts.” Hubert’s voice sounded resigned, his expression carefully blank - which Caspar knew meant that Hubert was actually really bothered by what they were saying.

“But they’re not! Because you’re way more than what that bastard says!!” Caspar shouted, feeling the anger creeping into his voice.

He knew that they were drawing a crowd, but he didn’t care about that. What he cared about was getting Hubert to not listen to that jackass!

“Really, Caspar, you’re causing a scene...” And there it was, Hubert trying to change the subject because he didn’t want to talk about this. Well Caspar wasn’t gonna let him!

“That doesn’t matter! They should be here to hear about how amazing you are! You’re a super talented mage, maybe even rivaling Lin in how smart you are! And you always use that to help everyone, no matter what you say! You’re way more nice than people give ya credit for; and that’s not to mention how loyal you are! I know Edelgard knows she can always rely on you no matter what, just like everyone else in the Strike Force!”

Caspar could hear murmuring in the crowd, and see how Hubert’s face was slowly turning more red. He wasn’t used to all the compliments - which only drove Caspar to say even more compliments! Because Hubert deserved to hear everything good that people thought about it!

“And besides! You’re the guy I love! Of course you’re awesome!”

Hubert froze. “What.”

Caspar froze himself. Wait, actually, Hubert wasn’t supposed to hear that part, abort mission ABORT MISSION-

Hubert let out a sigh - but to Caspar’s surprise, it wasn’t like...an angry sigh, or a disappointed sigh, or a “I’m five seconds away from losing it” sigh (don’t ask why Caspar knew that one).

It was...a relieved sigh.

“Well...” Hubert looked away, the blush on his face deepening. “I suppose that makes things easier for me...considering I love you as well.”

Caspar felt his jaw drop. He was not expecting that.

But he couldn’t say that he was unhappy about that - not when he was letting out a shout of joy and pulling Hubert down for a kiss.

(”Hey Caspar!” Annette said one day, having been on a date with her partner Stag. “Now, who’s that next to you?”

The tone to her voice was obviously teasing, and Caspar grinned widely.

“That’s my husband!” He exclaimed happily. No matter how many times this happened, whether it be Annette or someone else from the Strike Force, Hubert couldn’t stop the blush from appearing on his cheeks.

Not that he was truly upset about it, though.)

[fe-semi-decent-scenarios]

Could I ask headcanons of Black Eagles flirting and crushing on Byleth (professor?)?

[Ask and you shall receive lol. Lately I’ve been busying myself with long reports, so I needed something cutsey to recharge.(Sorry if it’s complete rubbish lol) It’s not much but I hope you like it!]

Edelgard: 

Ehh. She won’t be a student much longer anyways. 

Byleth will always be her professor...but maybe another title can be ticked onto that list? She hopes so. 

However, she doesn’t go too overboard. Just a few teasing gestures and quips every once in a while to sedate the budding sentiment in her heart 

With more pressing issues over love, Edelgard can’t afford to play the role of lovesick schoolgirl 

She sets side her personal feelings for the professor when around others. Instead they are treated as a good friend and adored instructor. Alongside the present given on Byleth’s birthday are a few other trinkets Edelgard picked up herself, you know, because she’s extra 

When alone her thoughts often drift. There are many occasions where work ends up procrastinated 

She keeps everything bottled up inside and doesn’t even hint at the idea of a crush to anyone. To love is to be compromised, to be compromised is to be weak, and to be weak is to fail

This is something she firmly believes until the support of her peers and affection from her professor begin to challenge it 

Perhaps there is room for love in her future 

“My teacher, you are an important companion to everyone here and to myself. You must never forget that”  

Hubert: 

Oh he is smooooth. 

Yet subtle 

He knows that he shouldn’t become too attached considering what’s to come in the future. His mind and body are her highness’ to command

....well, all good things come in moderation anyways. What’s a little meaningless flirting?

His flirting methods follow the ‘attack of opportunity’ plan. Meaning that he tosses in his quips when the time seems fitting 

He knows what he is doing. Never assume otherwise 

Obviously such conduct towards a teacher is unrefined. Does he care? The guy couldn’t give less of a sh*t 

He has 100% commented on their dancing attire at least once

People should mind their own business lest they want to lose their tongue. Can’t gossip when you can’t speak, right?  

If the professor doesn’t seem to mind then why should he stop? If they recuperate then that’s even better

It’s no fun when prey doesn’t fight back once in a while. 

“Oh do go on. The droll behind your ever so taunting tone is intoxicating. It almost makes this insufferable lecture mildly entertaining” -shots fired. Professor or not, ‘love interest’ or enemy, Hubert does not tone down the sarcasm 

No one even suspects that he has an interest in Byleth. He downright makes it appear that they are his sworn enemy (whether this is intentional or not? You decide) 

Caspar:

‘Flirt’? ‘Caspar’? That’s funny

It’s not that he can’t do it. Caspar can be very charming when he wants to be, but why bother? 

They’re his professor. If he starts kissing up to them then the others might start to think he’s pegging for special treatment 

He also doesn’t want them to like a facade. He wants them to like him

Not that he would turn said special treatment down if offered. He d o e s want to get stronger, and the extra time with his “favorite”*wink* professor is a lucky bonus 

He tends to have a ‘lingering eye’ that’s easy to pick up on if you catch my drift

he is not pure hearted, just a dunce. There is a difference

The boy blushes at every little action without even noticing

He loves to watch them train, both to better his own moves and to admire them without it seeming weird 

Literally everyone knows that Caspar has a thing for Byleth before he knows it himself. He’s the kind that mistakes a crush for admiration 

He’s also a big baby when it comes to them giving other people attention. 

He justifies his interruptions as: “The professor doesn’t have time to do __ for __! They have enough to do as it is!” 

Now what does that translate to in Caspar language?: “The time the professor spends doing __ is time they could spend with our class me” 

Someone help him. He’s so thick headed it’s actually sad 

Petra: 

“My apologies. I will be returning after the clearing of my head” 

She’s unfamiliar with the courting methods in Fodlan. Are they the same as in Bridgid? 

Thoughts of the professor occasionally will interfere with her study time

Also her appetite. Normally she eats plenty at meals since she hates waste, but the professor makes her nervous about her etiquette 

let’s just ignore that Byleth eats like a ravenous boar

She wants to take them to see Bridgid. It’s only natural to want to share the things you love with those you care about 

She embraces the affection she feels. Byleth is a truly wonderful person and the royal family would gladly accept them if Petra expressed her feelings 

When she returns she wants to ask them to accompany her 

For now she will remain at their side both in battle, in leisure, and in spirit 

Petra also isn’t one to approach with caution. The way she flirts is through honesty 

If they do something she likes then she says so. If they look nice or are trying something new then she’ll comment on it. If she sees something in the shop that they might like, then she buys it 

Petra is simple. She does for Byleth what she thinks will make them happy and doesn’t overthink it in the slightest 

Dorothea: 

The newfound feelings aren’t discouraged nor appreciated. It is a battle between practicality and love for her 

Not because of them being a professor, but everything else 

Mercenary, teacher, reincarnate, solider, tactician, etc. 

Such a dangerous profession with so much blood on their hands. Are those the ones she wants to hold for the rest of their days? 

Will they even live long enough to grow old with her? 

She wants a reliable partner to take care of her and not give her a heart attack on a daily basis. So far only one box is checked 

She will not be a widow at such a young age. She refuses 

When these thoughts emerge Dorothea retracts from Byleth. There’s still the open friendliness that was there before, but now an extra barrier has been put up 

She won’t go out of her way to give Byleth special treatment. Her search for a partner other than them will continue on 

Maybe she’ll find someone else to smash these feelings so that there will be no need to confront them 

Only after they ‘die’ will she stop suppressing them. 

“To think that it took such a disaster for me to see the light. Why do people realize such things when it’s too late?” - she focuses on personal growth until the reunion. Relying on another person to prevent the past from reappearing is not what she wants. 

Ferdinand: 

The best way that Ferdinand can communicate his feelings is through words

He tries. He really tries to come across as a potential life partner for the professor. He can only be a student for so long, and they’re close in age. Logically there is nothing wrong with the possibility of a courtship 

but because speaking ‘frilly’ is a normality the effect is not like how he hoped 

When Ferdinand falls, he falls hard. Yes, he is a flirt. Yes, he stretches himself thin trying to please everyone. Yes, he has his quirks that make him extremely confrontational 

So when he finds someone with the ability to make him both strengthen his morals, question the bigger picture, and grow as an individual (after the whole ‘noble’ mine-bomb) it’s a big deal 

Therefore he will not relent in his pursuit of Byleth unless they explicitly tell him to stop. If words don’t work then he instantly pegs for quality time and acts of affirmation 

Greets them every morning, carries their supplies, invites them to tea, delivers lost items, etc. People really do peg him as a kiss ass. 

He doesn’t get the ‘heart flutters’ that people talk about. When he’s beside the professor he just feels energized. Like he could actually beat Edelgard ‘could’ is the key word in that scentence

“Good morning Professor! If your schedule allows it, would you care to join me for tea later this afternoon? Your company would make it the perfect level of sweetness” 

Linhardt: 

A firm believer of “age is but a number”

It’s more of his personal beliefs that tone down any pursuit of the professor. They are currently in a position of power over him that halts any relationship progression at a professional level. 

So as any healthy person does: he vents any growing affection into his studies

He h a t e s how they make him restless.He’ll be feeling drowsy one moment but then their face will pop into his mind 

He can’t even sleep through class. Not with them there 

Actually works in the class’ favor since he starts contributing to the lectures. If you can’t beat them then might as well join them 

This is how it is during pre-timeskip for the most part. Occasionally he will let his thoughts slip but never any action

He has crests to research and Byleth has students that seemingly want to die by the hour. There is literally no time to flirt 

Now AFTER the timeskip, things are different. Linhardt is a blunt person which sometimes works in his favor. Just so happens that flirting comes naturally to him  

most of the time it doesn’t though

“Could you refrain from doing that? It’s distracting”                                      “Linhardt, i’m stretching. How is that distracting?”                                         “You are an attractive individual. Need I say more?” 

Life is short. He has no filter 

Bernadetta: 

“HI PROFESSOR!”                                                                                       “Afternoon Bernadetta. I see you’re out of your room today”                       “W-what? OH! Yes. Y-y-yEs i aM IM SORRY I’LL GO BACK PLEASE DON’T PATRONIZE MEEEEE” 

She’s scared. What’s new? 

The girl never expected to have these feelings. One night she was painting when what was supposed to be a cloud began to resemble her professor 

It was downhill from there.

Her behavior is exactly the same as prior to her feelings. Being a naturally jittery person works to her advantage, no one suspects a thing! 

Compared to simply being friends it will take longer for her to be comfortable 

She will avoid Byleth at all times outside of lessons. It’s just too hard to communicate anymore 

Eventually her outer shell will crack. The once new feelings will begin to feel normal and the old bernie will be back. Jittery, hyperactive, kind, lovable bernie 

[legendsoffodlan]

Wild West AU (Yeehaw)

The town? Garreg Mach. A growing boomtown on the edge of the frontier. Life out here is tough, but the people are tougher. Between the sandstorms, the corrupt politicians and business moguls, and the weird magic shit going on behind the scenes, the people of Garreg Mach are gonna need all their wit and gumption to survive.

-

Golden Deer

Claude: A popular young lawyer, half Irish Immigrant and half Cheyenne Native American. Claude is well known as a bit of a celebrity about town, frequently challenging the government and protecting the rights of Native Americans and their claims to land. A bit ruthless and a lot charming, Claude is a leader among the townsfolk, particularly the poorer folk.

Hilda: While the Civil War ruined most southern folk, Hilda’s family made it rich by siding with the Union and fighting the Confederacy. Hilda, a southern belle who also happens to be as strong as an ox, came to Garreg Mach to get away from her overbearing brother. A rich girl, she frequently funds Claude’s efforts to protect Native and African American rights.

Lorenz: Born to an old-money New England family, Lorenz talks and acts like British nobility. He’s come to Garreg Mach to expand his family business, but he aims to do it the proper way, avoiding his father’s unsavory tactics. He pays all his employees a living wage, and insists on paid vacation and maternity leave. A reluctant ally of Claude, Lorenz truly has a heart of gold under the snobbery.

Marianne: Marianne's family worked on the Underground Railroad, shepherding slaves to freedom. That got them killed. Alone now, Marianne has come out west to try and get away from her past as the town doctor. But he inborn compassion proves too powerful for her, and she frequently finds herself fighting alongside Claude in his legal suits. She’s smart and she’s ind, but blames herself for her parents deaths.

Ignatz: The son of a merchant who hit it big during the Gold Rush, selling to miners, Ignatz has been sent out to the frontier to both expand his family business and try to make it big selling his art. Ignatz loves to paint murals upon the various buildings of Garreg Mach, bringing some much needed color and beauty to the town.

Leonie: A spitfire girl who was born and raised to ride ‘em, rope ‘em, and brand ‘em, Leonie is a cowgirl through and through. She’s been making a name for herself as a bounty hunter, bringing outlaws and the like to justice. She hates big business and “civilized softies”, but she’s got a place in her heart for her more “upper class” friends. She thinks this whole “Manifest Destiny” thing is stupid and works with Claude against heedless expansion.

Raphael: The son of Scottish immigrants, Raphael’s a big guy with a big heart and an even bigger appetite. With a sick grandpa and a little sister to look after, Raphael makes his money working as the local blacksmith and occasional head-thumper at the bar when fellas get too fresh with the dancing girls. He does his best to keep the town honest and he’s more than willing to throw down against any corrupt old men looking to take over his home.

Lysithea: Smart as a whip and just as stinging, Lysithea is a genius chemist and scientist. Diagnosed with a nasty disease early on in her life, she’s determined to make the most of the time she’s got. She bought herself an old farm which she’s converted into a “science paradise”, Lysithea is determined to make as many breakthroughs as possible, making money to leave her parents comfortable. Much to her chagrin, she finds herself sucked into Claude’s legal fights

-

Blue Lions

Dimitri: Dimitri was a boy, son of wealthy Russian immigrants, when he enlisted in the Civil War. Now traumatized and trying to move, he’s come out West to find a better life. But his wish for a quiet existence seems to be for naught, as he finds himself made Sheriff of Garreg Mach and charged with fighting criminals and the corrupt. Hoping that protecting the living will silence the screams of the dead in his head, Dimitri is determined to protect his people, no matter what form the threat takes.

Dedue: The son of an escaped slave, he and Dimitri met during the Civil War. Hoping to liberate the rest of his family, Dedue found that the slaves of the plantation his mother had fled from had been butchered by their master, whom Dedue and Dimitri killed in revenge. Disillusioned, Dedue now leads many former slaves here in Garreg Mach, helping them find their footing as farmers and ranchers. A part-time deputy for Dimitri, Dedue will let nothing stand in his way of fighting for a better future for his people.

Ingrid: A girl who disguised herself as a man to fight in the war, Ingrid is firecly loyal to Dimitri as his full-time deputy. A powerful voice of compassion and justice, Ingrid is a devotedly “by the book” woman. She’s been softened to new ideas by many of the folk in Garreg Mach, but she remains decidedly stubborn towards change. Nonetheless, you’ll never find a more devoted and steadfast soldier than Ingrid.

Sylvain: The local lothario and heartbreaker, Sylvain is the self-proclaimed “good for nothing” son of a wealthy rancher. Despite this, his kind heart frequently triumphs over his self-loathing and he stands as a permanent friend of Dimitri and enemy of the forces seeking to ruin Garreg Mach. A surprisingly good quickdraw, Sylvain also fights alongside Dedue for the rights of the African Americans in Garreg Mach.

Mercedes: The daughter of slave-owners, Mercedes ran away from that life, unwillingly leaving her brother behind. Working first on the Underground Railroad, and then as a medic during the war, Mercedes has come to Garreg Mach to devote her life to the Goddess and the less fortunate. A permanent fixture of compassion and healing, Mercedes is beloved by the everyone for her willingness to heal and work with everyone no matter their race, religion, or nationality.

Felix: The son of New England wealth, Felix is the fastest gun in the west and one of the best bounty hunters to boot. Sickened by civilization by the horrors he experienced in the war, Felix is determined to make his own way in the world as a running gun and part-time vigilante. Despite his “lone wolf” status, Felix finds himself frequently coming back to Garreg Mach and the friends he’s made there, frequently ridding with Sheriff Dimitri, grumbling all the way.

Annette: The local schoolteacher and historian, Annette is a slightly flighty girl who loves her friends, her charges, and books. Always trying her hardest, Annette is behind several charities trying to take care of veterans and former slaves, working closely with Dimitri and Dedue towards that end. She’s also a part-time singer at the local saloon, much to the town’s scandal.

Ashe: A former thief, then the adopted son of a Southern Abolitionist, Ashe lost everything during the war. Gathering up the remains of his adopted and blood-related family, he now seeks to build a new life for them in Garreg Mach. Despite trying to stay out of trouble, his strong sense of fairness and compassion frequently suck him into problems that are not his own, fighting for the weak and downtrodden. He’s one of the few people who can sometimes outdraw Felix.

-

Black Eagles

Edelgard: The mayor of Garreg Mach, Edelgard was the daughter of a powerful plantation owner before she gunned her father down and rallied her friends to take up arms against the Confederacy. Now she fights for the rights of the poor and oppressed as Mayor with the same ferocity and single-mindedness that she fought in the war. She frequently butts heads with Claude and Dimitri over methods, but she is determined to create a better future, and damn anyone who gets in her way.

Hubert: Edelgard’s closest friend and bodyguard, Hubert is also a chemist and mathematician, using his deadly intellect to devastating results. While absolutely devoted to Edelgard, Hubert is also determined to make a better future through whatever means necessary, no matter how unsavory they might be. There are rumors about what happened to Hubert’s father during the war, but nothing that could be proven.

Petra: The daughter of a Lakota Native American Chief, Petra is determined to make a better future for her tribe and fights for their rights at every turn. As such she works frequently with Claude and Edelgard to secure the rights of the Lakota. As deadly as she is beautiful, Petra makes her money by keeping the frontier safe and taking out Edelgard’s political enemies to pave the way for her people’s future.

Ferdinand: While Lorenz only acts like British nobility, Ferdinand actually is British Nobility, come across the pond to secure his family’s interests. He ended up sucked into Edelgard’s crusade and provides support and money to her designs. Despite his loud demeanor and arrogant tendencies, Ferdinand is a kind creature at heart who will always put his neck out for the little guy, much to his family’s chagrin. He’s also the owner of the local saloon, and as such everyone want to be on his good side.

Dorothea: The star-singer of the town saloon, Dorothea is the face of Edelgard’s political machine, earning support and favor with her charm and her voice. She has a love-hate relationship with her boss, Ferdinand that veers between attempted murder and true love. She spends most of her money on the poor and badly-off as she knows what its like to go without. Despite her pretty face and gentle demeanor, she’s no less vicious in her pursuit of what’s right than Edelgard.

Caspar: The former son of a plantation owner, Caspar fought alongside Edelgard against the Confederacy and his own father. Tough, brave, and true-hearted, no one knows what Caspar’s job actually is. He just seems to do a little bit of everything from manual labor to bounty-hunting. A permanent shield for “the little guy”, Caspar will never give-up the good fight. Never.

Linhardt: As smart as he is, Linhardt could take over the world if he had a mind to. Fortunately, he doesn’t. A scientist and researcher who frequently works alongside Lysithea, Linhardt seems more interested in taking naps and reading his books than anything else. Despite this, he maintains polite friendships with many of the townsfolk, including his dearest friend Caspar whom he lives with and shares a bed with. But totally just good friends!

Bernadetta: The local shut-in, Bernadetta was the victim of an abusive father and neglectful mother, who jumped at the chance to run away when Edelgard presented it. Despite her shyness and her borderline agoraphobia, Bernadetta runs a large farm outside of town, frequently hosting political get-together which she barely shows up at. Hidden reserves of courage drive her to help Petra and her people frequently providing aid whenever she can. From insider her room, of course.

[gascon-en-exil]

Who Can Say if I've Been Changed For the Better?: Ferdibert Does Wicked

This concept has been a bit in building. It started from a much-loved cover by Hubert and Ferdinand’s VAs inspired by their support line and the broad observation that these two are a musicals couple who absolutely would sing their feelings in all manner of theatrical AUs. It continued through my later observation that there’s ample material to carry that idea even further, albeit with a shift outside of Crimson Flower for a better tonal match. Still, I’m not quite sure what to call this project; it’s not really a headcanon nor is it fanfic by any means. I’ve written a handful of longform character/narrative explorations before, although when it comes to FE I’ve previously been inspired to do so only for Jugdral characters. That setting is somehow both underdeveloped and deceptively dense - and I suppose in a way you could say the same of Three Houses as well, insofar as it’s been incredibly popular for fan content of all sorts.

Regardless of what this post is in terms of my fandom output, the following isn’t exactly a Wicked AU as such. Rather, it’s how I would envision a hypothetical blend of the non-CF routes of FE16 centering around the Eagles trio and set to the structure and songs of the musical as organically as possible. There are no 1:1 analogues with characters and plotlines from Wicked, because few if any would exist without a lot of tweaking; to use the VA cover example, Ferdinand might be a decent proxy for G(a)linda, but the mere presence of Edelgard substantially complicates Hubert’s claim to the Elphaba role. The similarities only unravel further from there, but I did my best.

Writing this out gave me the opportunity to play around with Edelgard’s character as a way of addressing what I and many others in my circle have long considered to be some of the major problems with her canon presentation. For Ferdibert meanwhile I got to make use of my headcanons for how their relationship would develop outside of their support line, in a way that mostly preserves Hubert’s delightful evil wickedness. Add some ruminations on how one would splice together the non-CF routes in a dramatically satisfying fashion, some snark directed at the non-character of Byleth, and a bit of background Dimidue/Lions OT5 for spice and that just about sums it up. Enjoy this…whatever this is.

Act I

“No One Mourns the Wicked”

The show opens on the citizens of Adrestia celebrating the death of their emperor and the end of her bloody war. Ferdinand rides in, resplendent on his steed, and is hailed as the new Duke Aegir as he relates to the crowd the news of Edelgard’s death at the hands of the combined army of liberators. The “Are people born wicked?” flashback sequence is replaced with a summary mostly in pantomime of Edelgard’s backstory: the Insurrection, her being taken to Faerghus and then returning, and then being experimented on by the Agarthans before agreeing to work with them. Notably Hubert is not named or referenced anywhere in this song, appearing only as a boy at Edelgard’s side at appropriate times during the flashback.

“Dear Old Shiz”

Someone in the crowd finally brings up Hubert, the emperor’s vile and murderous minister, and accuses Ferdinand of having been his friend. With Ferdinand even more flustered than Glinda since his “It depends on what you mean by friend” definitely carries sexual undertones, so begins the flashback to Part 1. There’s an equivalent intro of Garreg Mach, so one may feel free to insert any headcanons for school songs here. The following dialogue scene establishes the student body in general and the dynamic of the Eagles trio in particular: Ferdinand pompous and eager to one-up Edelgard at any opportunity, and Edelgard and Hubert cold and dismissive toward his antics and just about everyone else for that matter. Edelgard is instantly enamored of the quiet new professor, of course. Because the room assignment conflict doesn’t make a lot of sense with the monastery’s setup, instead Ferdinand is incensed that Edelgard is chosen as the Eagles’ house leader over him even though it’s been ages since a Hresvelg has attended. Neither Nessarose nor Morrible has an exact equivalent (although Seteth can act in Morrible’s role as the academy’s main authority figure), so the segue into the next song ends there.

“The Wizard and I”

Now alone together, Edelgard and Hubert have a brief dialogue outlining their villainous plans for the school year. This establishes Hubert’s hypercompetency but also how detached and professional Edelgard is around him. Then comes the song, now “My Lady and I,” which serves as Hubert’s character introduction. In tones more sinister than Elphaba ever reaches - you know he’d have fun with “When people see me they will scream” - he outlines his history with his lady, that he delights in serving her because she validates his work ethic and gives him an outlet for his ruthlessness and cruelty. Where Elphaba fantasizes about the Wizard removing her green skin, Hubert instead goes full Nice Guy, believing that once he’s given Edelgard her continental empire and crushed all her enemies she’ll be so grateful that of course she’ll put out for him.

“What Is This Feeling?”

You could rip the tone of this one directly from the Ferdibert C support and change nothing - homoerotic subtext included. I like the thought of Hubert replacing Elphaba’s deadpan one-word summation of Galinda with a mocking imitation of Ferdinand's most memetic line: "He is Ferdinand von Aegir!". The chorus can be made up of any number of other students excluding Edelgard, who’d happily agree that Hubert is ugly, creepy, and downright unpleasant.

“Something Bad”

The content of this song and surrounding scenes would have to be completely altered, but they work as a necessary reminder that the plot of Part 1 is still going on in the background of all the school drama. Seteth runs through the major events up to Chapter 9 of the game, including the bandit threat, Flayn’s kidnapping, and the experiments on the Remire villagers. The audience/accompaniment for this exposition dump ought to be Dimitri and Claude with Byleth as a silent observer (more on them later), with Edelgard brushing off the news and eventually being the one to shut down the song as Morrible does. There could be some small side character moments in here as well particularly involving the Lions and Deer since they get so little focus in this story.

“Dancing Through Life”

Speaking of which, this was an awkward sequence to place. It matches up chronologically with the ball in Chapter 9 and the main part, Fiyero’s, is a dead ringer for Sylvain and his flirty, hedonistic nihilism (“Nothing matters / but knowing nothing matters!”), but it’s hard to tie into what’s going on with the Eagles trio particularly with the Ferdibert timeframe preserved, i.e. unlike Elphaba and Galinda they don’t become closer until after the timeskip.

As such I see this song as an opportunity for little vignettes with the other students: Dimitri angry over how Dedue’s talked about and hoping they can share a dance (fitting contrast with the coldness of Edelbert), Felix prickly between Dimitri’s recent outbursts and Sylvain’s showboating, Claude hinting toward the bigger picture with Hilda flitting between her excitement over the dance and knowing more than she's letting on, Dorothea casually taking note of Edelgard’s fascination with Byleth (see just below), Bernadetta as a wallflower who doesn’t want to be disturbed (a setup for Act II), etc. Thanks to one of the Forging Bonds events in Heroes I had the thought that the "You/we deserve each other" through line that later gets attached to Nessarose can become one for Dimitri's relationships, with Felix initially throwing it out at him and Dedue and the two of them then turning "We deserve each other" into a romantic line...and then an ironic one and finally a triumphant one come Act II, by that point with Felix et al included as well.

I’m not sure that the following scene of Galinda and Elphaba bonding on the dance floor really needs an equivalent, although it could be altered to something Edeleth-related. In any case Ferdinand ought to get a dance scene of some nature, so he can try to show up Edelgard as he brags about in canon.

“Popular”

It would be a travesty to have a musical starring FE16’s cast and not give Dorothea and/or Manuela a solo. This song works quite well for the former, and it doesn’t intrude on the Ferdibert development with the aforementioned timeframe and how the lightly sapphic vibe doesn’t translate well to two guys. Dorothea has taken note of her good friend Edie’s crush on their mysteriously wooden professor, and she senses the opportunity for a makeover. Not as exaggerated as Dorothea trying to make over Hubert, naturally, but I still think this works out well. Also, Galinda’s observation on leaders, “Did they have brains or knowledge? / Don’t make me laugh! They were popular!”, is darkly comedic when said to Edelgard.

“I’m Not That Girl”

This song comes with preceding dialogue scenes for setup, so those first. Edelgard emerges fresh from her makeover (given her general hot for teacher fixation, I’m thinking she’d lean pretty hard on the naughty schoolgirl look) to Byleth silently grieving Jeralt’s death - bad timing there. She’s as callous about it as she is in canon, only now with more clumsy flirting, and while it’s impossible as always to tell if Byleth notices or cares Hubert most certainly does. The scene segues into the Eagles trio together, with Edelgard alluding to the upcoming events in the Sealed Forest and indicating that Hubert should meet up with her later for some more villainous scheming after he’s ditched Ferdinand. Ferdinand, indignant about being left out of the loop as he is in canon, grumpily points out that he was a much more splendid dancer at the ball than Edelgard, makeover or not. To his utter surprise, Hubert acknowledges that this is true before leaving. This leads into the actual song, altered from homoerotic via triangulation of desire to an outright sexual awakening for Ferdinand. He realizes that part of his jealousy toward Edelgard is that he wishes Hubert were devoted to him instead, and tells himself not to get his hopes up because he’s, well, not that girl or even a girl. We shall of course leave aside how anyone could be attracted to someone as repulsive as Hubert; that’s part of the inherent comedy of this pairing.

“One Short Day”

This was the hardest song to place in this whole project. The touristy trip to the Emerald City just doesn’t have an analogue in the story of Three Houses, especially not late in Part 1 when tension is mounting toward the upcoming reveal and war. It took me a while to realize that it works wonderfully as an Edeleth piece: Edelgard invites Byleth to Enbarr for her coronation, but that scene is left offscreen in favor of a light romp through the city that further highlights Edelgard’s crush as well as her emotional immaturity in spite of everything she’s about to do. She just wants to have a fun day out and take in the sights and eat sweets with her beloved teacher, and it’s all very “Edge of Dawn”-esque where Edelgard knows she’s about to do terrible things that will change everything forever and hopes to prolong the time until she has to take that step. Adjustments to the lyrics could even work in reference to that song to make the similarities more apparent. An awkward/funny issue here is that I envision Byleth to be totally silent throughout this musical with no sung or spoken parts, which would naturally make them having a duet impossible and make Edelgard’s fascination with them even weirder. Even their gender should be left ambiguous throughout, somehow never confirmed if it’s m!Byleth or f!Byleth. It would take a lot of reworking, but I can see the value in it.

“A Sentimental Man”

The core of the Wizard’s character is not all that different from Rhea’s. Both were thrust unexpectedly into positions of authority that required them to enact a large-scale deception to maintain their power/safety, and both are driven somewhat by parental feelings. The tone of the Wizard’s songs doesn’t align well with Rhea, but once you cut out the vaudeville and do some rewording I could see this one working as Rhea addressing her child (among other things) Byleth at the Holy Tomb just before the Flame Emperor reveal. Of course the dramatic irony hits differently; Rhea knows who and what Byleth is whereas the Wizard doesn’t learn about Elphaba until the end of the show. Nonetheless this would still establish Rhea’s character and motivations as well as set the stage for the impending betrayal.

“Defying Gravity”

Said betrayal being Byleth’s, who decides to stand by Rhea and condemn Edelgard as the Flame Emperor when she arrives with her army. This is another song in parts that would need to be broken up. Edelgard gets the bulk of it, but the middle sections between Elphaba and Glinda could work as a kind of separated duet with Edelgard and Hubert attempting to convince Byleth and Ferdinand respectively to join them. Because of Byleth’s silence only Ferdinand can reply in song; only he and Edelgard add the “my friend” bit to the end of this segment, to illustrate the unevenness of Edeleth and Ferdibert at this point in the story. Then things turn to full bombast, albeit darker than in Wicked proper. Edelgard does the belting, Hubert’s sinister laughter reverberates below her (would it be too tasteless for him to be leering up her skirt the whole time?), Ferdinand has Glinda’s mournful “I hope you’re happy!” toward Hubert, and through this and the reprise of “No One Mourns the Wicked” the major events of the timeskip are enacted in pantomime or silhouette. Byleth tumbles off a cliff, Rhea is taken captive as is Dimitri but Dedue rushes after him, and Claude makes a tactical retreat. Side note: “And if I’m flying solo, / at least I’m flying free” is classic Edelgard fixating on Byleth and forgetting that Hubert exists.

Act II

“Thank Goodness”

A surprisingly tough one here. The core of the song, pivoting around the double meaning of “I couldn’t be happier,” suits early Part 2 Ferdinand perfectly, second-guessing his choice and, outside of CF, melancholy about fighting his homeland. In terms of plot it’s an easy translation too, with the crowd announcing the terrible things the Empire has been doing to win its war - persecuting believers, abducting civilians and turning them into Demonic beasts, consorting with inhuman shadowy figures who can disguise themselves as ordinary people - and the assembly working as a way to bring together the leads of the three routes: Byleth, Dimitri (who had Dedue always at his side and thus never had a full psychotic break), Claude, and Seteth, with Ferdinand representing the Adrestian resistance. It’s only the wedding announcement that’s hard to pin down, and I toyed with a number of ideas including Dimidue making yet another public declaration of devotion to one another or Ferdinand planning to follow through with his arranged marriage to Bernadetta they have in their supports (which makes more sense in light of the following sequence). In the end though I don’t think the marriage element is strictly necessary, leaving the song as a means of catching up with the cast five years later and seeing them united against Edelgard - with Ferdinand’s private regrets the only sour note.

“Wicked Witch of the East”

More a dialogue than a song, but still important. Bernadetta is arguably the Eagle other than Hubert most comfortable supporting Edelgard, because all Edelgard has to do is put Count Varley under house arrest for Bernadetta to sing the emperor’s praises. I can also see her as the same sort of self-centered, negligent ruler that Nessarose becomes in Wicked, not because of an unrequited attraction but because of her reclusive desire to be left alone. I see this scene playing out as Hubert surprising Bernadetta at her estate, angry about rumors that she may be helping the rebels and/or engaged to Ferdinand if going with that plot point after Edelgard has done her the favor of locking up her father. He’s fully prepared to, ahem, “persuade” Bernadetta, but before he can break out the torture implements Ferdinand arrives asking for her to support the rebels’ cause.

Farcical, sure, but it gets the two of them together again after five years and underscores how strong their UST has become in their time apart, with Hubert too flabbergasted to attack a known enemy and Ferdinand expressing how happy he is to see Hubert again despite everything. Each learns that the other isn’t as happy about his chosen path as he’d hoped, in Hubert’s case because his lady has grown ever more distant from him as the war has dragged on. Bernadetta cuts through the tension by bringing things back to the song (sort of) and blurting out that she knows both sides are marshalling their forces near Gronder Field. Ferdinand is too caught up in the fraught romance angle to do more than leave with this new information, but Hubert recovers enough to condemn Bernadetta for her flagrant misrule (venting by inference his frustrations toward Edelgard in the process) and resolve to set her on fire for her treachery.

“I’m Not That Girl (Reprise)”

The Gronder rematch happened offscreen - and Bernadetta was indeed set on fire - and on the Imperial side Edelgard is left increasingly frustrated over her losses and hurt that Byleth still refuses to listen to her and continues to fight her regime. You may notice that I’ve shuffled around the middle of Act II, necessary at this point in order to better line up with FE16’s story and Hubert and Edelgard’s separate narrative climaxes while also ensuring that those climaxes don’t overlap too much. This song is only a brief reprise, but it’s a significant one; Hubert finally realizes that Edelgard will never love him. It’s also kept gender-neutral, because Byleth.

“As Long as You’re Mine”

That segues naturally into this moment. Ferdinand sneaks into Enbarr using his unexpected stealth powers (I usually talk about Dedue having them, but Ferdinand shows he’s no slouch in his Mercedes supports) and encounters Hubert. Their UST boils over in a furor of awkward, impassioned sex and also this song. I like the idea of rewording some of Fiyero's lines to incorporate Hubert's acidic snark: “Maybe you’re brainless, / maybe you’re wise.” It’s all very desperate and sensual, ending with Ferdinand taking Elphaba’s line about feeling wicked for the first time - which will have a dark reverberation two songs from now.

“Wonderful”

Again, axe the vaudeville and it’s a solid Rhea song. There’s just the small problem of Rhea being captured at this point in the plot; I thought about moving this number toward the very end at first before reconsidering. While Hubert and Ferdinand are rolling in the sheets, a distraught Edelgard confronts Rhea in prison. Rhea responds to Edelgard’s frustrations with Byleth with her backstory in song, much more somber than the Wizard but, like him, still willing to rehabilitate her estranged listener. The bits of this song about the nature of history are especially relevant to what Edelgard falsely believes about the church and what she views as her own legacy, so I could see this as an interesting character study on what Edelgard actually wanted with her war apart from dragon genocide. There’s a lot that could be done here in the dialogue surrounding those revelations.

“No Good Deed”

However the interrogation of Rhea turns out, Edelgard takes a leaf out of SS Dimitri’s book and visits Byleth alone at the monastery, only to be as harshly rebuffed as is possible to be without the rebuffer speaking. Then comes this song, which was incidentally the one where I realized that Edelgard would need a major role in FE16-does-Wicked even with the Ferdibert focus. Hubert fully embraced his evil wickedness long ago and wouldn’t think twice about being wicked or being perceived as such, but Edelgard is a different matter. Here she breaks down, admitting that her good intentions were largely selfish and that she regrets that her war has cost her any relationship she could have had with Byleth (continuing the joke at his expense, Hubert goes unmentioned when Edelgard names the people she’s lost/failed). It ends with a foreshadowing of her Hegemon form, the sign that she’s abandoned all pretense of goodness and become truly wicked.

“March of the Witch Hunters”

Another ensemble/vignette piece, checking in with the various members of Byleth’s army as they prepare to storm Enbarr. Dimitri hopes for the chance to forgive his stepsister, Claude has big plans for the continent and wants to remove the threat Edelgard poses, Seteth is desperate to find Rhea, and Byleth…is there. As in many of the songs, the self-righteousness of the crowd here rings more sincere and less hypocritical than in Wicked given Three Houses has actual villains, but it still works.

“For Good”

The song that inspired this whole thing, now with many paragraphs of context to set it up instead of only some fluff based on the Ferdibert A+ support. Ferdinand sneaks into Enbarr (again) ahead of the battle, and their second love ballad is more somber as they resign themselves to their fates. As in the VA cover, Hubert refuses to ask forgiveness for anything and Ferdinand is fine with that.

“Finale”

Wicked reduces the final battle from The Wizard of Oz to silhouettes backed by sections of “No One Mourns the Wicked,” and that’s what comes here: Ferdinand and Hubert facing each other in battle, Edelgard becoming the Hegemon before being defeated and then dying as in AM’s final cutscene, and Dimitri taking the throne with Dedue at his side and proclaiming his intention to do all he can to restore both the Kingdom and Duscur - and that his first act as king is to announce that he and Dedue have decided to open their marriage up. This is met with much manly cheering and stripping and someone (Ashe?) saying incredulously that he didn’t even know they were married. End silhouettes.

The final scene with the Wizard and Morrible becomes Claude, Seteth, and Byleth rescuing Rhea. Rhea names Byleth her successor as leader of the church and says that she will go into quiet seclusion and do what she can to correct her mistakes. This all suits Claude just fine, who tells everyone that he’s off to take care of some other business and that Byleth will make a great archbishop - and also they can have the Alliance, no big deal. As with the King of Faerghus’s gay orgies, the King of Almyra’s grand ambitions are too large for this story to do more than allude to.

Next, Ferdibert does a version of the Elphaba/Fiyero scene, with Ferdinand revealing that he had Hubert spared on the condition that he help root out any remaining Agarthans and that he remain under house arrest at the Aegir estate. Ferdinand was also required to assume governance of the Empire, because Dimitri wasn’t getting that dumped on him as well. They can be together, but the general population can’t know that Hubert survived lest Ferdinand’s reputation and basic ethics be compromised…which in a darkly funny hypocritical twist then segues to Ferdinand pontificating before the crowd at the beginning of the show, reprising “For Good” with Hubert until they’re drowned out by “No One Mourns the Wicked.” Thus the story concludes on one of my favorite things about Ferdibert: perhaps even in this non-CF continuity Ferdinand wasn’t changed for the better by falling in love with the Most Wicked Man in Fódlan, but they’ve both been changed….