#im just kinda sick of seeing 'oh claude WRUNG BYLETH OUT but the other two wouldnt do that to me'

[somepinkthing]

You know, now that I'm over halfway through azure moon, I'm realizing that claude isn't the only lord who uses byleth in some way, he's just the only one willing to acknowledge it. Controversial statement but all the lords need byleth and all the lords "use" byleth's support to see themselves through the events of the game. There are differences in how, but that byleth is an integral piece to all of them is pretty universal

Now, this is not a critique of any of them. I like seeing how the different dynamics play out. Edelgard's regard for byleth reads like a high fantasy romance. To her, we serve as a symbol of the righteousness of her goal as well as a much needed human connection. For dimitri, we are the helping hand that reaches for him in his darkest moments and guides him when he's lost. We issue orders when he can't, we reign him in when he's gone too far. For both of them, byleth's presence and unilateral support is needed to keep them grounded. They "use" byleth to provide the unconditional care they lack in their lives. To claude however? We're a partner, someone who can take care of the parts he can't. Claude is a young lord barely holding a bunch of squabbling nobles back from all out war. What he needs is for people to listen.... or perhaps someone people will listen to. Like a tactician needs a commander, claude's willing to lay his abilities at our feet if we'll help him secure victory. The genuine affection we had with claude was something chosen—a contrast to the other paths where that emotional connection with byleth was central to what kind of person the main character becomes. And I love that. I love how byleth has such different relationships with each lord and I'm not saying it's wrong for them to need byleth in different ways. What I am saying is that the idea that claude and only claude uses byleth to accomplish his goals simply isn't true. We are so incredibly integral to edelgard and dimitri's paths that they literally die when we don't help them. What part of that implies that they don't lean heavily on byleth? Is serving as someone's sole emotional tether and support system unimportant? And as far as the endings go, byleth does become fodlan's leader in VW but they also end up the archbishop in AM and the emperor's right hand man in CF. There is no ending where we leave to freely frolick about and, if you s-support a lord, you're not characterized as someone willing to leave work half done like that anyways.

To add yet another layer of nuance to this, claude is the only one that doesn't assume byleth's support comes for free. He approaches you as a leader who is offering you an army in return for your help. You provide the morale, he'll provide the logistics. You help him and the alliance, he'll get you rhea and the answers you seek. In the other routes, your role is pretty much purely to support the lord you picked. However, in verdant wind, byleth is given a role and an objective that's aligned but seperate from claude's. Of course peace is a shared objective, but byleth expresses a desire to get answers for their own sake as well. They agree with claude's goals but it's not their sole focus. And, narratively, that makes a lot of sense. I mean, think about what the golden deer represent. Think of what claude wants to accomplish. The deer call themselves a gang of misfits with mismatched goals who all came together despite their differences—the person byleth becomes in VW is meant to fit that. And while there's definitely something to be said about claude's inability to trust any help he didn't pay for, this reciprocity is touching in its own way. Sometimes it's nice to have someone who reaches for you and expects you to reach back in equal measure. It implies a different kind of respect.