#to the people he is their hero like Loog for Faerghus

[randomnameless]

Do you think that Adrestians started thinking poorly of Wilhelm due to perceiving him as a weak-willed man who gave control of his kingdom to Rhea, especially after whatever happened that caused the Empire to have a falling out with the Church?

Hm...

While we don't see what people in modern day Fodlan think of Emperor Willy (bar Rhea of course), his statue is still around in Adrestia, especially in Enbarr's palace.

Imo, this means the beef Adrestians have with Emperor Wilhelm is only something Adrestian Emperors (and their Vestras?) have - if the Aegir are any indication (Ferdie mentions people are nostalgic of an era when Adrestia ruled over the world, and apparently, that's what Nopes!Ludwig wants to do?), I'd Adrestians think quite high of him, being the Emperor who uwunified Fodlan and Made Adrestia Great.

So to the other, random Adrestians, since they used to be on top - they wouldn't think the Church "stole" power from them, or Willy gave control of his Empire to the Church (given how, again, Wilhelm's successor was Lycaon I, and Lycaon I's successor was Empress Hildegarde (this is a fanmade name bcs I'm lazy and don't want to type "Lycaon's successor was the Empress who ditched Ferdie's ancestor!) who refused to marry an Aegir) because the main power of Fodlan, and it hadn't changed from Wilhelm's era, was them, Adrestia and the Hresvelg Imperial line.

Now, they could resent the Church for, way later, acknowledging the Kingdom's existence after their Emperor lost in battle against those barbarians, meaning Fodlan was now shared by two entities/nations/states ; but that happens way after Willy!

Ultimately, I suppose Adrestians think of Willy as their legendary Emperor and Founder of Adrestia, a beloved and respected figure who led Adrestia to the top of the world (seiros who?) and maybe it'd be the inverse, they would compare their current Emperors (Ionius 1 to 9) to him, saying they don't hold a candle to "Great" Emperor Willy because when Willy was here, Adrestia ruled over Fodlan.

To the Adrestian Emperors and their Vestras though...

If Supreme Leader is any indication, she says he was manipulated by Seiros (tfw he thought with his dick) but might ultimately have had a change of heart by leaving the sekrit history?

Imo it reads as if she's ashamed of Wilhelm, as always blaming Rhea for everything wrong in the world, and doesn't even react to the obvious and clear clues that manipulated or not, Rhea still cares a great deal about him!

I know the most likely answer in the 10k years of lore is the sekrit history was modified by Agarthans, but I'd prefer if it was something Emperors modified themselves, after the Faerghus debacle, ultimately blaming the Church for having let them down, and never considering even once that maybe Faerghans were right to get their independance, or if the Emperor of that time didn't lose against Loog, they would still have an unified Adrestia.

So their hatred for Faerghus also morphs in a hatred of the CoS because they should protect Adrestia or some nonsense (remember Susan the Imperial NPC?), racism and xenophobia are always good motivators to justify why you hate someone, it morphes in an Imperial "Lizard Illuminati" conspiracy and when Thales returns to Adrestia, he is impressed because those humans hate Nabaeans without him having anything to do to trigger those feelings!

Tl;Dr : Adrestian randoms love their Great Emperor Wilhelm, Adrestian Emperors and their Vestra mock and deride "Poor Dumb Willy".

[tinnictheguardian]

Mechs & Fodlan

So I have been thinking about the development of Fodlan after Fire Emblem. Specifically in Azure Moon. I have three head canons and that form the background of a story I have been thinking about how Fodlan becomes friends with Almyra.

Headcanons

1. Garreg Mach Monastery probably has a cache of knowledge that can kick of the Fodlan version of the renaissance. I mean, we already know that Rhea was suppressing technological advancements but I don’t just mean that. I am pretty sure that there is some old, old, like from the time of Sothis herself knowledge in Garreg Mach and Rhea wasn’t sharing because she was affaid of humanity reaching another Great Filter event and this time, without Sothis to restore Fodlan.

2. So the Agathean that helped Loog and Kyphon rebel against the Empire was Pan. We don’t know what happened to Pan or if Pan was just an alias for the Agatheans we do see, since the Agatheans seem to have some form of immortality since Thales is supposed to be at least a 1000 years old.

My headcanon is that Pan is still alive somewhere in the depths of Shambala and was a prisoner because Pan genuinely began to care about Loog and Kyphon. I mean, we can guess that the creation of the Kingdom probably didn’t go according to Agathean plans given the Kingdom becomes the HOLY Kingdom fo Faerghus and becomes even more closely associated with the church.

Anyway, I think Fodlan can get a second cache of knowledge from Shambala in Azure Moon, where Shambala is NOT destroyed, and with Pan’s help, it could further accelerate Fodlan’s development.

3. The last of my headcanons is that Fodlan is likely to get Mechs from the Royal School of Sorcery in Fhirdiad sooner rather than later. I mean, already in Three Hopes we see Sylvain trying to invent a personal fire orb with the help of the  Royal School of Sorcery in Fhirdiad. Also, we known that Hanneman invents magicals tools that could be used even without the aid of crests.

Because of the emphasis the games put on Fodlan wanting to move toward tools that need training instead of a particular genetic make-up and because we know that Fodlan was in the past more technologically advanced, I think Fodlan is the closest of all the mainline Fire Emblem continents to Fire Emblem Heroes  Niðavellir style mechs!

The Story of Almyra

So this brings me to Almyra. I assume that Claude/Khalid becomes King of Almyra in Azure Moon but it’s unlikely to be a walk in the park. I can see his siblings opposing him. But maybe Azure Moon Claude didn’t return to Almyra and make a powerplay.

Maybe he went travelling instead, after having to suffer through five years of war and struggling to keep the Alliance neutral and intact!

So the story I thought of is that while Claude is galivanting about, he gets word that Almyra suffered a devastating natural disaster that was bad enough that led to prolonged chaos that weakened his father’s position. This in-turn led to some of his siblings and relatives to via for power not just through court intrigue but it all spilt over to a civil war.

So he returns, tries to support his father but Almyra can’t catch a break and more natural disasters follow. The Almyran state is overwhelmed, some provinces are completely uninhabitable and others are being overwhelmed by refugees. So as much as Claude hates owing people, he makes the decision to put aside his ego and once again reach out to Byleth and Dimitri.

Fodlan wasn’t totally oblivious to what was happening since trade routes were disrupted and even though the bulk of the disaster and war happened in Easter and Central Almyra, Western Almyra suffered enough that some refugees were showing up at the Fodlan’s Throat for there to be a mini humanitarian disaster!

So when Dimitri and Byleth gets a request for aid, they mobilise their fancy new mechs which are excellent heavy equipment not just for war but for peace time activities as well!

The mechs are so successful that following the period of emergency, Almyra enters into a trade agreement with Fodlan so they can build mechs or at least manufacture components so that between the two nations, they have an efficient supply chain that leads both nations progressing greatly!

[fayesdiary]

Well, the people have spoken

@felikatze @loregoddess

If I have to sum up this AU in a single phrase it would be "Claude and the gang forces all of Fòdlan to go through character development".

In typical Persona 5 fashion you'd steal the distorted desires of various antagonists and characters to change their heart, which let's be honest, in this case it'd mainly be used as the kickstarter for therapy. So ironically it'd be preventing several chapters in the original 3H from occurring, like for example stealing Lonato's heart before he sends several civilians to their doom.

And given I'm having Ashe be one if not the first to join the Phantom Thieves, while he doesn't have to watch his adoptive father die he has to hear from the man's Shadow he never truly loved he or his siblings and only adopted them to fill the void left behind by his "true" son. You know, because the poor boy always has to go through it.

Basically, it's Claude against the world, fighting the other house leaders, the Church (goddess don't even get me started on Rhea's Palace it's driving me crazy with ideas), the Agarthans, even the greed itself that caused most of the tragedies in Fòdlan while we're at it. Could even throw in Byleth as a bonus. All of this with zero killing involved but slightly questionable, which is exactly Claude's thing.

Anyway, here's my idea on who would be part of the Phantom Thieves of Fòdlan:

Claude - I mean, he fits too well as the leader. He's well-meaning, a pacifist but absolutely willing to use unconventional methods to get his way (the non-lethal poisons) and also the strategist and kind of a little shit (affectionate). Hell I think one of his Heroes versions is even referred as The Trickster!

(starting affinity: Wind)

Ashe - As I said before, he'd join during Lonato's arc. He had a past in thievery so he could be the one to craft the infiltration tools, he'd definitely be into it, and also he probably gets shit in-universe for being the adoptive son of a noble. Also his Persona would be Loog, no question.

(Affinity: Ice)

Felix - Joins during Dimitri's Palace to change his heart, of course. Given his apparent skill at tactics and absolute disdain for Faerghus society he'd be a great analyst. Who knows when he is with like-minded people he might even stop being an entire cactus in the ass

(Affinity: Thunder)

Marianne - ok I'll admit, it's mainly because of several people including herself viewing her as cursed. And if everyone's going to treat her like a beast, well... You might as well go a little wild.

(Affinity: Curse)

Dorothea - Mainly here because of the great interactions she could provide in Rhea and Edelgard's Palaces, but also with the whole thing about beauty standards and classism.

(Affinity: Fire)

Petra - Again, mainly due to her unenviable political position. Also I feel she'd be a great navigator for some reason.

I don't know who the second Golden Deer member could be, my ideas where Raphael (funny because he'd suck at stealth), Ignatz (Yusuke stand-in) of Lorenz (funny because he's Lorenz). Any case, the affinity would be Psy.

Flayn- The one Nabatean who barely hides herself, a pacifist through and through and a goldmine of great and funny interactions, especially at Rhea's Palace!

Also her Persona HAS to be Cethleann.

(Affinity: Bless)

Cyril- I'll be honest, he's mainly here so he can be in Rhea's Palace. But also given the constant racism he faces for being black Almyran, he'd definitely have a place to fit in the PTs.

(Affinity: Wind)

Kronya - ok ok, hear me out. If we do want to include a traitor even in this version of the Phantom Thieves, she's the one who has to join, mainly for the Agarthan rep. Maybe she'd forcefully join them as Monica only to then go and kill Jeralt, and then joining for real during Thales' Palace having reconsidered a few things after getting almost murdered and sacrificed for a dark ritual by her colleagues. She's pretty much a blank slate in terms of characterization, so...

(Affinity: Nuke)

Please send me more asks about this! I I really want to talk about the Palaces and their rulers 👀

Been chatting with a couple of friends and came up with the idea of a Persona 5 AU for Three Houses where Claude is the founder and leader of the Phantom Thieves, would you be interested in hearing more?

(To be clear the setting and characters would be exclusively from 3H, although it would include the Metaverse, Palaces and Persona like in P5)

[themoomoorn]

The sun should never have set on Adrestia, according to them

At Edelgard’s core, her wanting to upend the church is out of a desire to upheave the current social order...but it’s for the sake of her empire, not out of some genuine desire to better the common man.  Sure, she will better the lives of the common man...if they’re loyal to her, or show the kind of merit she thinks warrants her attention.  The Empire found the church a nuisance, because their presence holds back their power...as in, the power they once had as the sole rulers of the continent.  On Crimson Flower, what you succeed in doing for Edelgard is the thing that her father, Ionius, failed to do fifteen years prior to Part II of the game: Centralize all power on himself, ridding himself of the balance that the other nobles have in terms of power.  Edelgard can take it a step further by not only handpicking nobles and government officials that only she finds worthy, but also destroys a religious institution that she and her Empire find to be major hinderances to their power.  Some endings, like Manuela and Hanneman’s, take that a step further and have a new church that’s Empire-approved be created after the fact.

The Central Church assisted in the Kingdom’s birth by soothing over negotiations during the split; This fact is looked upon with disdain by an Empire scholar in Crimson Flower 15, condemning Loog for daring to split away from the Empire to begin with.  The church was nowhere in sight when the Alliance was born, and if Abyss library accounts are anything to go by, the Agarthans may have dipped their hands in the creation of both countries - Pan, Loog’s tactician, is implied to be an Agarthan plant, and a journal set during the time of the Alliance’s birth denotes that one of the Archdukes who helped create it had a sudden behavioral change - something that is witnessed during the game regarding Monica’s unusually peppy behavior on all routes, as well as Dimitri noting Arundel’s abrupt halt in church donations around the time he exiled himself to Faerghus with Edelgard on the Blue Lions/Azure Moon route.  There’s even little details where you see some Emprie citizens, like Ferdinand, lamenting the Empire’s loss of its glory days, or Manuela’s odd fondness of conspiracy theories, such as finding the Central Church’s location to be both unchanging as well as convenient when the other two countries came to be.  

And Edelgard herself?  If Byleth shows interest in her right after the Prologue battle, she’ll call the Kingdom and Alliance inferior offshoots that pale compared to her Empire.  Putting the Lords in a room to “have a friendly chat,” as so many people wish for, is useless - she made up her mind to conquer the continent long ago, and her Brave variant in Heroes makes that abundantly clear.  The game makes no bones about how she wants to make Fodlan a singular entity under her.  If Byleth chooses to fight for her, then her first reaction is to immediately conquer the neutral Leicester Alliance - and all of the routes already have the western half of Faerghus absorbed into the Empire anyway.  Negotiations were never on the table at any point.  It was never just about upending the church - it was about making the Empire the continental power it once was, now with even fewer influences checking it.  

Oh, and killing the remaining Nabateans while we’re at it, because they’re long-lived, inhuman creatures that apparently don’t deserve to live.  Emperor Wilheim was apparently a sap because he was close to the long-lived, clearly not-human Seiros, and the Empire hated that to the point that they spun an alternative tale on the War of Heroes. 

And despite all of the metatextual details like the Hegemon Husk, or Byleth’s “Wings of Hegemon” title at CF’s end, or the use of light in cutscenes on other routes, or the black borders on the CF ending lithograph, or the devs flat-out comparing Edelgard’s path to the Mandate of Heaven gone wrong, or the world’s lore favoring Silver Snow, or how you can lose Edelgard’s favor multiple times if you dare to condemn the Flame Emperor’s actions in Part I or disagree with her over almost any little thing in Part II, or just how utterly bizarre and creepy Edelgard’s fixation on Byleth is - It’s all fine, it seems, because Edelgard is a cute, modest short kween, Byleth is an avatar on steroids who is absolutely brainless even by their standards on Crimson Flower, and you get to stick it to the church, I guess.

Also, that whole “Blooth regained her humanity!111!”...Byleth isn’t really all that human to begin with?  And that’s implying that they had no worth during their stint as a pseudo-Nabatean Enlightened One, I suppose!  Doesn’t speak very highly of the likes of Seteth or Flayn either.

[frozenartscapes]

Reach for my Hand - FE3H Fic

Marianne and Edelgard deserve supports.

---

After the night proved itself to be no different from the others, Edelgard found herself wandering along the walls of the outer courtyard. Aside from the odd patrolling guard, it was relatively secluded. The walls in that part of the monastery towered over a hundred feet above the steep, rocky cliffs below. Save for perhaps a wyvern or pegasus invasion, that part of the monastery had nothing to worry about, which meant she could walk in peace without having to be reminded about curfew.

The air had a chill to it, and Edelgard pulled her jacket collar a little tighter to keep out the wind. She should head inside, but she was still shaken by her lastest nightmare and she couldn’t quite convince herself to return to her dark, confining dorm room just yet.

As she reached the furthest portion of ramparts - the place where the walls were at their tallest and most formidable and where torches were scarce - she spotted something...peculiar.

Someone was...sitting...on the wall. Legs hanging precariously over the edge to a dark demise.

Edelgard frowned. Such a sight would normally simply be confusing, but as she recognized the head of light blue hair, a worrying thought bubbled up and refused to go back down. So she carefully headed over.

“Marianne?” she asked when she was close enough, taking extra care to be as soft and non-threatening as possible so as not to startle the Golden Deer student.

Marianne still jumped, though thankfully just a flinch and nothing more. “Oh! Edelgard?” she asked in surprise, turning to the Black Eagles leader with widened eyes, “I didn’t expect to see anyone out here! ...Wait, what are you doing out here?”

“I couldn’t sleep,” Edelgard admitted, closing the distance between them and leaning against the parapet, “Going for a walk tends to help.”

“Why did you come all the way out here?” There was something in Marianne’s voice that Edelgard couldn’t quite place: accusation, perhaps? Maybe suspicion?

“I haven’t explored this part of the monastery yet,” Edelgard replied with a shrug, “Besides, the lack of guards means I don’t have to explain myself if I get caught out of bed.”

“Oh... Yes, I suppose that is another good thing about this location,” Marianne said quietly.

“What else is good about it?”

“Hmm?”

“You said ‘another’. Is there something else about this place?”

Marianne quickly looked away, looking down at the ground far below. “Oh... Um, the view is nice up here, I suppose,” she said quickly.

Edelgard frowned again. Marianne had a white-knuckle grip on the edge of the stone wall, and she had inched herself forward - just enough to be concerningly close to the edge. A moment of silence passed between them. The wind blew softly through the valley below, causing silver locks and blue curls to dance in the breeze.

Marianne continued to look down, her jaw set in determination. Edelgard knew she couldn’t leave. Not yet.

The Princess looked out at the view Marianne spoke of. It was largely darkness on this moonless night, but the faint outline of distant mountains and forests and rivers could be seen if one looked hard enough. Small clusters of lights speckled the landscape, little towns surrounding the monastery separated from each other by farms and wilderness. It was quiet, and quaint. Certainly a far cry from the view she had back in Enbarr. But one thing stood out more than anything else.

“You can see so many stars tonight,” she said softly, looking up at the night sky and the brilliant array of galaxies and cosmic entities. She was used to seeing only a few stars, just the major constellations and brightest stars that could fight through the aura of light surrounding the Imperial Capital. But now the sheer vastness of the universe made itself clear as crystal with the millions of twinkling lights high above.

Marianne made a non-committal noise. “Oh, um... I suppose you can,” she sighed.

“My older brother used to tell me stories about the constellations,” Edelgard continued, “It was so long ago I’m afraid I don’t remember them well, but I do remember where they are in the sky.” She paused, and then pointed out to a group of stars. “That one there is Vespira, the Great Warrior. And that one was made for Loog, of Faerghus. And over there is the Golden Eagle.”

She smiled a little when she noticed Marianne following her finger and no longer looking at the ground. “I think that one’s the Jade Tiger,” she said meekly, hesitantly extending a hand out to point out another constellation.

“You’re right,” Edelgard praised, “I remember a bit of that story. It was about a tiger who stole a piece of jade from the Emperor in an attempt to gain good luck and fortune. The Emperor was so enraged that he had the tiger flung into the sky as punishment for stealing.” She chuckled softly. “All of those stories are so wildly farfetched, don’t you think?”

Marianne nodded. “So many involve being thrown into the sky,” she muttered, “I wonder what such a fate would feel like?”

“It likely wouldn’t be very nice if one was afraid of heights,” Edelgard said, amused by her own comment. Her mirth faded when she saw Marianne once again staring at the ground far below. A gust of wind blew past, and she shivered from the cold. “Well, I suppose I should return to the dorms. Would you like to join me? I would be happy to quickly brew some tea to warm us up before going back to bed.”

Marianne didn’t look up. “No, um, that’s ok. I appreciate it, but...”

Edelgard didn’t budge. She tugged her jacket a little closer to herself, but otherwise remained where she was. After a long pause, she finally cut to the chase: “Is everything alright, Marianne?”

Marianne said nothing, instead acting like she hadn’t heard the princess.

“I just... I don’t want to leave you alone right now,” Edelgard admitted softly, “I’m worried about you.”

“There’s nothing to worry about,” Marianne sighed, “I...I’m fine. I...”

“I don’t like rushing to conclusions, but...”

“I said I’m fine. You should go back to your room, Edelgard.”

Edelgard bit her lip. She wasn’t good at this sort of thing. She was perhaps a little more socially adept than Marianne, but not by much and certainly not about heavy topics like this. Still, she refused to back down. “Do you wish to talk about it? Perhaps just release a little?”

Marianne closed her eyes tight, sniffling a little before speaking: “There’s nothing to talk about. I...I’ve made my decision.”

Edelgard’s next words were soft, quiet, unusual from the normally stoic and powerful princess: “Then why haven’t you done it, yet?”

Marianne released her iron grip on the wall and wrapped her arms around herself, an action that forced Edelgard to take a reactive step forward. “I’m...waiting,” Marianne whispered, “For the goddess to...give me a sign.”

Edelgard fought the urge to roll her eyes. She bit her tongue, mentally chastising herself for making snarky comments about people’s faiths in delicate situations. She chose her next words carefully, and said gently, “Well, what are the chances I’d run into you out here? Perhaps this is a sign. Come back to the dorms with me, Marianne.”

Marianne turned to look at her. Edelgard noticed the timid girl giving her the once-over, trying to discern where her motivations lay. “Why do you... You’re not from my House. We barely even know each other,” she breathed, shaking her head a little in disbelief.

Edelgard sighed and moved to stand beside her again, once more taking up her position leaning against the rampart. “I don’t like seeing people give up,” she said simply, “I believe there’s still fight in you.”

“It doesn’t matter if I still have fight. I’m not worth anything,” Marianne insisted, “Perhaps everyone would be better off if-”

“That’s bullshit. Complete and utter bullshit.” Edelgard met Marianne’s meek gaze with an intimidating stare of her own. The fire in her lilac eyes was similar to what came out on the battlefield, but this time, Marianne strangely felt no fear looking into them. “No one is worthless,” Edelgard told her, her voice strong and surer than anything she’s ever been sure of.

“You don’t know me,” Marianne replied, looking away in shame, “If you did, you’d know that I am. It’d be better this way.”

Ah. So that was it. Secrets, mysterious pasts, burdens no one else could know about. Edelgard was more than aware of how such things could take their toll. She also knew how stressful it could be if a total stranger demanded an explanation in a time of emotional distress.

She drew a deep breath, and looked up at the stars once again. Her brother had told her once that heroes were placed in the stars if they did something truly worthy of the honour. She smiled bitterly. Heroes and villains were both awarded the same fate, in both fable and reality.

She wondered where he might have ended up, just a child taken from the world far too soon.

“At the Imperial Palace in Enbarr, out in the gardens, there’s a lake,” she began, her voice quiet, a slight tremble marring it, “It’s mostly just a large pond, but it’s wide, and deep. It falls off to darkness rather close to the shore. My brothers used to say that a monstrous fish lives in the very bottom of it, and they used to threaten to feed me to it if I bothered them too much.”

“That...sounds horrible.”

Edelgard shrugged. “They were only teasing. Sometimes Ludwig would hoist me up high into the air and pretend he was about to throw me in, but Frederick would come to my ‘rescue’. We’d always end up rolling around in the grass on the water’s edge, laughing and ‘battling’ each other.” She chuckled to herself at the memory. “We’d always return to the palace covered in mud and grass stains and it drove our retainers crazy.”

Marianne said nothing more, instead watching the princess with curiosity. Her heart sank when Edelgard’s pleasant smile faded away.

“I...I lost my siblings to a horrible fate,” Edelgard admitted, “They were...taken from me by disease and madness. A horrible plague swept through the palace, snatching us all up and devouring our lives. Slowly, methodically. It was...like torture. To this day no one knows what kind of plague would do such a thing.”

Another deep breath.

“I survived. I was the only one, and I bear the scars and burdens from being the one the plague chose to spare.” She closed her eyes, and her mind brought her back to those horrific memories. “After it was over, and things returned to the closest they could have been to normalcy, I...I would find myself on the shore of that lake. Sometimes during the day, sometimes in the dead of night. Rain, snow, sunshine - didn’t matter the weather. I never thought about it, never realized I was even walking to it, until the water met my feet.”

She clenched her fists, nails biting into her palms through her gloves. She opened her eyes and shook her head, trying to force those wretched memories from her head. “I can’t swim,” she uttered, “I never learned how. And sometimes I would stare at that lake and think how easy it would be for me to just...disappear. Into the depths.”

Marianne turned toward her, subconsciously moving away from the edge of the wall. “You... What?” she whispered.

Edelgard met her surprised gaze with a small smile. “It was almost...instinctual,” she said, “Any time I started to miss them, or felt guilty about being the one who lived... I’d find myself out there.”

“What...” Marianne swallowed hard, then turned to glance down to the rocky ground below - for the first time seeming fearful of the drop. “What made you...not...”

Edelgard shrugged. “I found something to drive me, to give me something in the future to push toward,” she explained, “It still hurts to think about them. Even now, I’ll sometimes get a wave of guilt. I’ll think about how my brothers were better fighters than me, or stronger leaders. Or how my sisters were kinder, or more social. Sometimes I just wonder how things would have been different had it not been me...” She clenched her fist tight, and continued with resolve, “But I know now that it doesn’t matter. It was me, whether I want it or not. And I can either wallow in my grief, or try to make my life worth something. For them.”

Marianne frowned, and let out a sad sigh. “I have no such reason,” she admitted quietly, “Everyone would be better off without me, and I have nothing to strive toward.”

“Everyone has a reason to keep fighting,” Edelgard told her, her voice surprisingly soft, “It doesn’t have to be some grand, world-changing goal. It can be as simple as wishing to be around to tend to a beloved pet, or wanting to see a certain flower bloom.”

Marianne pondered those words for a moment. She hadn’t really considered it before, but she realized Dorte would miss her visits. Many of the monastery animals likely would. And she would miss them, if she wound up in a place where she’d feel such emotion.

“I...I don’t know, Edelgard,” she stammered, wringing her hands together nervously, “You see... My problem stems from my...my Crest. It’s not something I can easily look past, or change.”

Edelgard seemed to perk up at that. “I see,” she said, mysteriously looking away as if deep in thought.

“My Crest is dangerous,” Marianne explained, “Dangerous to others. I’m so tired, Edelgard... I’ve been trying to contain it, to control it, but...”

Edelgard looked at her again, and Marianne found herself trapped in those bold, violet eyes. “Believe me: I know Crests are far more trouble than they’re worth,” she said in a low voice.

The Princess looked away, and everything about her seemed to lighten. She then continued, “I promise you things will get better, Marianne.”

“You’re not the first person who’s told me that...” Marianne sighed.

“No.” There was so much determination in Edelgard’s voice that even one as timid and meek as Marianne felt a boost in confidence from it. “I promise you,” Edelgard told her, “I will ensure, myself, that things get better.”

Marianne stared at her, jaw hanging open slightly in shock. “But... How can you do such a thing?”

“That, I am afraid, must remain secret for the time being,” Edelgard replied, “However I will say this: far too many people have suffered because of Crests. You and I are merely two of thousands. But I am going to make sure that we are some of the last to suffer.”

Slowly, she reached out a gloved hand to Marianne, who eyed it curiously. “I promise I’ll do everything in my power to make things better, Marianne,” she said, her voice soft once again, “And it might be selfish of me to admit, but I want you there to see it for yourself.”

Marianne’s eyes widened. She stared at that outstretched hand that was as strong and unwavering as Edelgard’s words. She glanced down to the rocky ground below, which was cold and unforgiving. Up again, and she met lilac eyes that were anything but.

Carefully, she accepted that gloved hand.

Edelgard helped her down from the wall, and the pair made their way back to the dorms together. They walked in relative silence, but they remained physically close. Not touching - but enough to feel each other’s warmth.

“Um...”

“Hmm?” Edelgard cocked her head as she watched Marianne struggling to form words.

“You, um... You said ‘you and I’...” Marianne stammered, not daring to look at the Princess in fear, “Y...your Crest causes you problems, too?”

Edelgard’s eyes widened ever so slightly as she felt her heart skip a beat. Damn, how had she not caught that little slip-up?

“I wasn’t aware that a holy Crest like the Crest of Seiros could be negative,” Marianne continued, oblivious to Edelgard’s inner panic.

“It...it is easy enough to control,” Edelgard replied quickly, “It was more what it did to my family: I had ten siblings, and out of them, I was the only one with the Crest. There were signs that perhaps it might manifest to some of the others, but it never did. And it...made things difficult when it came to the line of succession.”

‘It also wasn’t enough.’

“Oh, I see... I truly am sorry, Edelgard.”

“I... Thank you, Marianne.”

They arrived back to the dorms. With a final nod in parting, they went their separate ways. Though neither ended up getting much sleep - there was far too much to think about that night.

---

The following day, Byleth responded to a knock on her classroom door. Odd: class wasn’t due to start for another half hour. When she opened the door, she was met by timid brown eyes and a head of light blue hair.

Marianne stood trembling in her doorway, tightly grasping a sheet of paper.

“P...Professor! I, um, I was wondering...” Unable to finish, she forcefully held out the sheet.

Byleth accepted it and skimmed the contents. She then looked up and met those terrified eyes with a warm smile.

“I would be more than happy to accept your transfer, Marianne. Welcome to the Black Eagles.”

---

AN: One of the saddest little details in this game is the fact that if Marianne isn’t in your House before the time skip, she just...disappears from the game, implying that all that suicidal ideation she had ended up becoming reality.

Another is that everyone chooses to stay in Crimson Flower because Byleth chose that path - very few admit to being there because of Edelgard. And in Silver Snow, we see just how true that is when she’s abandoned by nearly everyone.

I kinda wanted to fix those, just a little. Much to El’s annoyance, Marianne insists their meeting on the wall was an act of Fate caused by the goddess. El insists it was just a coincidence. Both agree that, whatever the reason, they are extremely thankful for it.

[hometownrockstar]

here they are, my fe3h oc... i might draw their timeskip design with and without armor bc theres more details not visible at that angle. ok anyways how do i explain them? so they arent rude or anything like their face suggests, theyre just very antisocial and shy because of how awkward they are around others, they often unintentionally weird people out because of their weird passions and the way they talk about them. but if theyre talking to someone theyre more comfortable with, they’ll get really animated and talk in flowery poetry talk and giggle when they laugh and say things like “oh my stars!” :) 

their interests include stuff like bug catching, singing and writing (though theyre not the best at either), and they love old knight stories! but they only like the really weird and obscure kind, they dont very much care for mainstream shining knight stuff. its why theyre a griffon rider, they idolize the really REALLY old days when people rode them in battle. they want nothing more to become a hero like the ones they admire, even if they shy away from attention. they love unconventional ways of battle because they think since theyre not as common anymore it gives them an upper hand. oh also theyre from faerghus bc it has a griffon on the banner lol. i’ll put my thoughts on their supports under a cut so this isnt too long.

i made a chart instead of writing it out bc i hate writing in sai lol anyways the supports are tentative for now bc they’ve got a lil too many, but theyre the ones i had ideas for support convos for!

so them and didi would basically be them heavily idolizing didi (and him feeling a lil awkward abt it) because of how similar he is to his ancestor loog, and basically they want to be the “kyphon to his loog” because of their hero fantasy and also cause kyphon was a griffon rider (not canon but im making it up now). i think it would end with didi slightly convincing them to rethink how they idolize their old tales and their aspirations.

them with ashe and felix would probably be those 2 confused at their ideas of knight stuff, with ashe being more abt stories and for felix, knightly conduct.

for ferdie, l*renz and dorothea it would be abt their interests in singing and poetry but the morbid way they go about them weirding out those 3 at first, until they learn to appreciate different ways of artistic expression. theyre pretty similar i know but i included ferdie and l*renz only cause their reactions would be funny

those r really the only ideas i had so far, the rest is just me thinking their interactions would be fun!

[semi-imaginary-place]

fe3h blogging 1

spoilers

Sorry blue lions. It was between eagles and deer for me. 

ch3: Well OK. The church is now using me as their personal political assassin are they?  

Fe3h fav characters so far: Tomas: knowledge grandpa! And one of the few I trust  Gatekeeper: my pure boy. On the topic of trust. You know who I don't trust? Claude. He always angling for something. Always digging for secrets never revealing his own

I didn't think I'd like Raphael so much but I do. He's so good natured. He always wants to help and even when the other kids are mean to him. His only response is more kindness. Like oh youre kinda grumpy right now how about a snack. Like a human shaped golden retriever. Full of love and very food motivated. As much as he's a complete musclehead, his emotional/social intelligence is pretty high. He just wants to make friends. Let Raphhael have friends!  

Guess who chose golden deerI was considering black eagle. But everyone did black eagle. I can go on youtube later. I haven't gotten it but on youtube is lorenz and sylvain's c and b supports and they are hilarious

I found japanese audio of fe3h and it just really hit me that Sylvain belongs in an otome game. I mean his character design (hair color, hair style etc.) and the way he acts is already... eh. But then his japanese voice actor... and its giving me this mental dissonance. Especially aince I've seen the character artist doing utapri, samflam, and other stuff.

weeho spoiled myself on supports: Everyday I grow less and less convinced of Sylvain's heterosexuality. Does he even like women?? He's just emotionally manipulating them as a self destructive coping mechanism because he has self worth issues.  So he presents himself as the superficial stuff like social status and then gets insecure and accuses them of only dating him for status. He's setting himself up for failure. And each tine reinforces his belief that he is nothing but his crest and family. Look at this disaster boy 

knowledge grandpa no! I trusted you and I trust so few people. I wonder if it was real Tomas who first joined but an impostor who rejoined a year ago

List of potential immortals: Jeralt, Rhea, Flayn. There are multiple mentions of Jeralt not seeming to age, he looked the same over 30 years ago. Rhea looks suspiciously like Saint Seiros and was archbishop 20 years ago. Flayn act both young and old and won’t give me her age. That said now that its revealed in the paraloge that Seteth is her dad, maybe not secretly an immortal so much as magical bloodline. Also Seiros, Rhea, Sothis, and Flayn are all related somehow. The green hair doesn’t help. And Byleth is somehow involved. I thought byleth might be part of the immortal gang but mom’s grave stone said she died at age 20 so byleth was born at the church like 20-21 years ago

support thoughts: Are all of huberts c supports just him insulting people?? each and every day I fall more in love with Dorothea. her support with Ferdinand where she straight up says she hates him, the voice acting on that! Lorenz and Ferdinand was hilarious. This is why you get bullied. Lorenz and Sylvain was also funny. Not a big fan of Bernadetta. 

Ok so update on the green haired tinfoil hatting: Flayn related to the saint cetholynn????? somehow and definitely real old.

end of part 1

Thinking back the crests and church(seiros/saints) are what turn people into demonic beasts. there are beasts with crest stones in their heads, in Remire villiage they tried to turn people using Flayn’s blood, and later succeeded. Flame emperor is using the church’s abilities against it. Also Rhea’s been seeking to replicate... something Seiros maybe?? (or more someone.. someone who was precious to her) by ripping the hearts out of babies and putting in a special one??? Rhea seem desperate, but I’m not sure what (or whom) she is desperate for. turning Byleth into Seiros??? There is a ... tension is her, like she is on the edge of snapping. And what was she trying to achieve there in the tomb before she was interrupted. For being “holy” relics, they sure are ominous looking. and they turn people into monsters. The whole church is sketch honestly. The propaganda and censorship campaigns. The crushing of any that are a threat under the language of sin and justice.

So Edelgard went full supervillian. Wow. And Rhea was the immaculate one huh (still don’t know what that means), here I was theory crafting that she was a reincarnated Seiros or something. Edelgard is like a worse Alm, she wants to rid humanity of dragons ruling over them and install a meritocracy. Her methods though are !!!!! yikes. I mean any reign that starts with “kill all that resist” can’t lead to anything good. Also out of 10 siblings only 1 didn’t die of illness or go mad. hmmmn where have I heard that before.

That said I do agree with her goal. I love it when I can take down a religious institution in a videogame.

At Garreg Mach her whole plan in to brute force it. Like if we just keep throwing enough lives at it we are bound to win. Admittedly I know nothing of military strategy, but that doesn’t sound like the best plan.

Interesting the differences between routes. In Edelgard’s church allied with feargus, while in Claude’s the Church lost significant power and Edelgard successfully incited a coup, but why did the Empire give up Garreg Mach as a strategic position? 

My baby deer are all grown up. And yup another mark in the Flayn is some immortal being, her sprite didn’t change at all. Totally in favor of stealing everyone from the other houses.

Who wore it better Part 1 or 2

Edelgard: 2. I mean p1 Edelgard was already best dressed but p2 takes it to a new level

Dimitri: 2. I mean p1′s hair is so goofy looking I just have to choose the edgelord

Claude: both. Claude looks fine so matter the time

Hubert: 2. He really did grow into the goth look

Petra: 1. Both are good but I love the huge braid

Lindhart: 1. p2 isn’t bad but I like the two layers look

Dorothea: 2. but both are good

Caspar: 2. Something about p1 always bothered me

Ferdinand: 2. His character model looks better than his sprite, and his hair is so luscious and flowing!

Bernadetta: 2. its just a mess is p1, v cute in p2

Dudue: 2. what is even going on in p1. where as p2 is like... elegant

Sylvain: 1. as much as I teased about him belonging in an otome game, his p2 haircut is just ugly

Ingrid: 1. mmmm its fluffy?

Felix: 1. What is his p2 hair even doing??? it makes me confused

Mercedes: 1. Fluffy.

Annette: 2. never was a fan of the hair loopies

Ashe: both. p1 is cute but p2 is beautiful. both are sooo good

Hilda: 2. p1 pigtails kinda boring

Raphael: 1. though p2 its a shaggy dog

Leonie: 1. another fluffy head, p2′s low pony tail does not give a flattering shape

Ignatz: 2. a bowl cut is an improvment from whatever p1 is

Lysithea: 2. not sue about the veil but it is more intersting than p1

Marianne: 1. I always did prefer thick bangs

Lorenz: 2. its definitely p2. in p1 he looks like such a clown

Cyril: 2. Honestly he kept the baby face so there’s not much difference.

Claude sees that under Rhea the church enforced a doctrine that locked in the status quo of nobles and crests and he wants to chage the church’s influence to promote tolerance, diversity, and open mindedness. but, hey. Hey. What if we got rid of the church all together.

Why can’t I recruit the old general... hey. Hey!

Aww Claude introduced me to his second mom and dad

So the more people you can recruit the less painful things are. I’m a little disappointed I didn’t get to kill Dimitri.

In terms of characters, Ferdinand has surprisingly grown on me. As for Caspar I shocks me occasionally how uncaring he is about killing people. He reminds me of a smt chaos hero with the whole might equals right thing. As long as he decides they are evil its ok to kill them. Now all he needs to do is get possessed by a demon. Eating away at him from the inside out. Ashe as always continues to be an absolute angel. I need somewhere to gush about how cool Claude looks in him final class promotion. So I rather like the group of childhood friends dimitri, felix, sylvain, ingrid. And it always trips me uo to remember that sylvain is like 2 years older than the rest because he really doesn't act like it. I'm getting that they are all traumatized from the death of felix's brother. A lot of the characters have had pretty bad childhoods.I was surprised to find out that Lysithea was tortured as a child like ok wow. I need to spend more time with you. Does Dimitri have PTSD? Golden Deer has had quite a few goofy hijinks. Marianne's character growth really has been a a thing of beauty, I’m so proud of her. But I love my oddball bunch of misfits. How did Dedue not get found out??? He’s very noticeable. and Claude, you’re starting to sound like Edelgard. I love Edelgard’s final promotion. Looks so cool. Like a mix or her Lord and Flame Emperor clothes. I wince every time some mentions the free market or the joys of capitalism. I guess adrestia is imperialism, faergus is religion, and leister is capitalism. I didn’t care about Dimriti’s death, but Edelgard’s got me.

damn ok so dubstep cyberpunk dungeon and Rhea took like 15 missile strikes. wow this really is very smt. maybe persona 2. And fighting zombie Nemesis and the 10 was excellent (Nemesis is still a stupid name). I love it when we fight literal embodiments of the past

its hilarious that in Shamir and Claude's paired ending,  he ends up ditching 3 whole times. He turns the opportunity to lead the unified fodland down, then he ditches house reigen, and then he abdicated the throne! I love it! That's so him. And they both wanted to travel the world.  Technically Claude is also a descendant of Loog so he also gave up claim to the Faerghus throne too. I swear. This dude. This dude...  Next its going to be revealed that secretly Claudr is Edelgard's cousin. Or one of her "dead" sibling. Lysithea tell us that blood experiment to force crests leads to physical and mental damage. Does this have anything to do with what happened to Edelgard’s siblings? As far as I can tell every ending has Fodland under a single party state. Crimson flower, azure moon, and verdant wind all end in monarchies, and silver snow a theocracy.

Hold up. Flayn said that Cethaleann never had any children as rational as to why she's not a descendant. But how did Lindhart get the crest then?? And I might be mixing up the 10 and the saints, but then I thought  the crests were designed as tools of war by those who slither in the dark. Thats how the 10 got them, to use as weapons against Sothis. But that then brings the question of why Rhea edited history in favor of them.  This is why the holy relics looked so ominous and creepy. The animations are eeeeeeeeuuuuuugggh. My initial though was that the church is secretly evil and this is foreshadowing. I mean rhea's kinda... viscous? Ruthless? Filled with barely contained hatred? I was thinking maybe she's secretly the evil dragon of the game the way Mila kinda was. 

But then you dont need consent to make a crest. Only blood. Blood could have been stolen from cihol and cethaleann to make their crests. Alternately they could have chosen to give crests to specific people.  The 2 sources of crests is also why there’s multiple weapons for some crests. The crest weapons made by the agartans all have a similar aesthetic, but not all the crest weapons have that aesthetic some look different and probably weren’t made by them. As for why Rhea rewrote the 10 into heroes. It might have been to stop people from questioning the crests and relics and seeking to replicate them. By framing it as sothis's doing, with the power of the church she can control crests, how people view them, and keep a closer eye on the descendants. Its its a gift by the goddess, of course we cant try to replicate them.

Let’s see what Claude achieved before he dipped. anti-discrimination laws (race, religion), and increased foreign relations. Potentially equal treatment under the law.

Edelgard really likes brute forcing solutions

The whole opera thing with Dorothea and Manuela stinks of the idol industry where an idol peaks at like 18. Real opera singers have much longer careers.

Golden Deer is so JRPG in the best way. There’s an evil cult of technologically advanced subterranean people, a zombie army, the power of friendship.

It already caught my attention when  missiles appeared and the evil cult's dungeon belonged is a scifi movie like ghost in the shell and I was thinking to myself "hmmm... this all sounds very smt of you" or maybe Persona 2. I mean with names like Shambala and the whole general aesthetic of that dungeon ... yeah. But then someone points out the UN’s symbol is all over the Agarthan stuff. And wow we really are in an smt timeline aren't we. and I remember seeing the missiles thinking hmmm that looks vaguely familiar. Its the UN symbol. Which means in alternate future Earth Sothis comes, we wage a war against the gods and and then Rhea destroys modern civilization along with the planet. that really does sound like the plot of an SMT game. I did wonder at the inclusion of electronica and dubstep into the soundtrack.

THC (Thinking Hard about Claude). Claude let's everyone know he's up to something, and his self portrayal as a schemer is both deliberate and truthful. He's using it part as social armor and part as an excuse to probe. Claude holds genuine cuiosity, wonder, and passion for the world. He is not always scheming so much as he is one of those people who's brain never turn off. He just wants to explore the world, meet different cultures, and discover all the secrets. Given the environment he grew up in, his natural inclinations angled him to thinking in terms of how to best leverage someone or how to sneak around.

Alright so here’s the lore as I know it. Sothis=Goddess came from another world to Fodlan. Through her blood made the goddess’ children (Nabateans) who are the original magical beasts and can talk, and they resided at Zanado. Rhea=Seiros=The Immaculate One, and the 4 Saints (Cihol=Seteth, Cethaleann=Flayn, Indech=The Indomitable, Macuil=The Wind Caller) are Nabateans. Sothis gave knowledge/interacted with the native humans of Fodlan (Agarthans). Eventually the Agarthans waged war against Sothis killing her and many Nabateans. The Agarthans used their bones to make weapons, their hearts to make crest stones, and their blood to make crests. The above is why magical beasts and demonic beasts are connected to crest stones. The crest stones as the hearts of Nabateans transform humans into a distorted version of their magical beast forms. The Sword of the Creator was made from materials taken from Sothis’ body. Using these weapons the humans attacked Zanado killing everyone except Seiros and the 4 Saints. The 10 Heroes Relics were similarly made from Nabatean bodies. Seiros, already obsessed with Sothis thought only of vengeance and bringing back Sothis. She raised an army, killed Nemesis, and drove the Agarthans underground to become Those who Slither in the Dark. Seiros then took control of the continent under the guise of The Church of Seiros. Seiros and the 4 Saints gave their blood to favored individuals granting them the power of their personal crest as well as potentially extending their lifespan/granting extended youth. This is why the 10 Heroes Relics have a visual aesthetic distinct from that of the weapons of the 4 Saints. The 10 Heroes Relics were made by the Agarthans but the other crest weapons like the other Gloucester crest weapon the Axe of Ukonvasara and the Saint’s weapons were not mad by them. The Church the acted as a tool for Seiros/Rhea to control the continent and its course. She then rewrote that part of history. The goddess was just sleeping, crests were a blessings of the goddess, etc. 

I am unsure as to why she did so, but I believe it served the 2 purposes. First it allowed Rhea to control the narrative and how people thought about the matter. Second it erases the existence of a rebellion against the Goddess. From the Church, Rhea could control the flow of information, censoring anything that threatened her power. Using the language of religion she could also justify using military force to eliminate her political opponents. 

[randomnameless]

Well, looks like even a broken clock's right at least twice a day; an edelstan on twitter was pissed a few days ago when they saw that Cyril's Meet the Heroes description described his time “working” for House Goneril as “some odd twists and turns”, pointing out that such vague wording was most likely used due to a combination of 3H not caring about Cyril's backstory and IS needing to sanitize Hilda's image so she can sell better in Heroes.

Hahaha,

It's funny because on SPE some people made memes, and you have angry people in the comments, being angry and basically lying or making up facts to either diminish Cyril's uh, "working conditions" in House Goneril, or try to sweep it under the rug to give some "Rhea BaD" takes again

Like :

(meme where Claude doesn't criticise his allies for keeping slaves, but blame racism on the lady who saved the child slave)

"Faerghus is the most violent country because they killed the emperor and enacted a coup while being backed up by mole people" to talk about that time when Loog got his independance

"Rhea BaD bcs Cyril can't learn how to read if you don't support him with Lysithea" even if he writes in the Post TS regardless of recruiting Lysithea or not

"Claude tries to talk to Cyril out of fighting but Cyril drives to a suicide charge with Rhea's blessing so Rhea BaD" in GW, with the source being, idk, since the person who came with that take never sourced it

"Rhea BaD she used the regicide in Faerghus to get rid of her political enemies" you mean the dude who tried to kill her?

"Supreme Leader wouldn't be able to continue warring if Rhea DeD bcs else she would be invading people and would lose public support" like the Supreme Leader? From the land of MAGA? Lose public support?? If she invades nations to restore Adrestia to its glorious past???

"Cyril never said he wasn't eating well in house Goneril" but the JP line says he was always hungry in PAlmyra and Fodlan before coming to the Monastery...

Anyways, as expected, even if FEH tries to sanitise some of Fe Fodlan's most, uh, contentious points, we will always have discourse because some people just prefer their fanon to canon, and while I can understand them to a degree (look Willy is basically fanon at this point) it's always hilarious to see people refuse to engage or even consider that the game they "love" says X when they prefer Y.

When it comes to, in general, Church related characters or Kingdom related characters, we see a lot of discourse like this popping up because while FE Fodlan shat on them (to an extent, for the Church related characters) FEH has to give them the minimum spotlight they give to other characters of the franchise, so yes, Hilda's popularity most likely is the reason why Cyril in MYH just had some "odd twists and turns" (tfw Begnion Senators aren't as popular :( so Muarim was mentionned to have been a slave) but his voiced lines has him mention he was captured as a "war prisoner"...

Putting everything it adds up and we have : Cyril was captured as a war prisoner when he was 11-12 by the Gonerils, was hungry there, complained about "work being hard" there (when Cyril doesn't complain at all in GM despite the huge workload he has!), and implies to Mercedes to have been mistreated in House Goneril because he was Almyran (which matches Hilda's prejudices in her C support about Almyrans).

Why is Cyril's backstory so "discourse rising" then?

Is it because Rhea BaD cannot rescue a child from slavery from a popular character's family/household? Or because Hilda's laziness and preference to let other people do her chores looks especially wrong if we take into consideration that those "other people doing her chores" at home might be children "kept as prisoner of wars and fed twice per week"? Or because it reflects badly on Claude (in both games) who wants to end discriminations and prejudices by getting rid of the institution that rescued an abused child, while working hand in hand with the family that abused said child based on his origins?

(lol@the "but Faerghus BaD" bonus point in the earlier SPE thread I mention, I don't even understand why it was brought up lol)

Back to your post, it's hilarious how this edelstand was pissed becayse FEH whitewashed Cyril's backstory to maybe sell more Hilda alts, when Pat'n'pals try their hardest (in FE16, Nopes and even FEH!) to "alter the script" to shit on Rhea, Dimitri to make Supreme Leader alt'able.

Maybe there's hope for this twitter/X stan?

[randomnameless]

About the Lizard!Pan hc. I haven't decided on any names yet so he'll just be Pan for now.

To start off, he was at Zanado when Nemesis came around. He somehow survived but his crest stone got damaged, but not enough to turn him into a black beast. No one knew how this would effect him until his first battle in the War of Heroes. He faces one of the Elites, they injured him and he immediately transforms. Thankfully he only attacks the opponents, flails around a bit and collapses. Seiros has to come up with scriptures to cover That up. Pan is benched for the rest of the war and is more paranoid and depressed than ever.

After the war, all the other saints go off on their own, Seiros is building a Monastery and Pan does not trust himself to be around so many humans so he bids her farewell and goes off to roam the land and investigate how the whole relic thing happened. At first he finds nothing, but slowly he starts noticing some clowns trying to start conflicts.

Fast forward to the Faerghus rebellion, he knows the clowns will try to influence these people so he sneakily follows them around. Lo and behold, the slitherers try to interfere and he disposes of them. After following the rebels for so long, he grows sympathetic to their cause. Surely he can help them out a bit, right? So he joins Loog's Squad and becomes a strategist. Since we don't know a thing about the war of eagle and lion idk how to proceed, I just come up with random moments.

This is just the tip of the iceberg, if there's anything specific you want to hear let me know! I have so many hcs about pre-zanado life and relationship with other nabateans!

- Lizard Pan anon

oooh

I always wondered about the Bobs (the blue "natural" demonic beasts we meet, like on Sothis's paralogue, apparently their crest stone is damaged?) but it'd be too sad for a Nabatean like Pan to be afraid of going berserk :(

I wonder how he'd deal with the War of the Eagle and the Lion, Adrestia was their ally, but he grew fond of the Faerghus bunch! Did he try to talk some sense in the "emperor of that time" or asked Rhea to "do something" with the current Hresvelg Emperor?

Was Pan one of Sothis's direct kid, or a second/third gen Nabatean? Is he older than Rhea? Seteth? Did he dote on Cethleann like Macuil and Indech? Did he get along with Cichol, Indech, Macuil and Rhea before the WoH? What was his reaction to Rhea's transformation from "look Mother I made a :) doll!" to "Seiros the Warrior"?

If he was benched during the War of Heroes, did he try to cheer Cichol up after Cethleann went to sleep? Was on Rhea or Macuil's side when it came to "dealing with the descendants of the Elites" before joining them in Faerghus?

Was he some sort of scholar in Zanado? What was his pov about humans before Nemesis's party? Is he still around in the current Fodlan? Did he become a dad to any half-lizards?

and most important question of them all : did he dye his hair

[randomnameless]

Late but I’m here!

The only issue I have with this, as in “Rhea should have guided humans” is how this plays in the Fodlan greater issue of wanting to have 1 Leader of the World (that would of course stay unified) and in the process, it removes agency from the rest of said World that is being ruled over.

In a nutshell, SS wants us to believe Rhea should have been the Leader of the World like so many edelstans accuse her to be, but if she did, then what would the humans have done? It’s as if SS is telling her Rhea apologises because she let humans deal with their own affairs and issues which is... understandable, in a game about guidance - where the player is God Reborn - but not so much in a franchise known for its characters and at least varied world buildings, with different nations existing here and there.

Also I disagree about the War of Heroes, it ends in 98 - by then Rhea already recovered Sothis in 91 and everyone save for whoever is implanted in Maurice’s forehead - per Nopes, Lycaon was made Emperor in 91 (Willy ceded his throne when Nemesis died) but Wilhelm was still around to help him out - they bail out in 98, ergo, 7 years after the each got what they wanted from the WoH - Sothis and peace in Fodlan.

Imo, regardless of him being her kid of not, Lycaon was the “heir” Wilhelm was preparing and counted on, he was the person who could be put in charge after the War, but Wilhelm would continue supporting him. Rhea was still fighting out there to recover the remains of her family, but she was still around and still had faith in the future, humanity or whatever because resurrecting Sothis wasn’t in her plans as of yet.

But then, Lycaon dies, Rhea stops chasing the Elites (Maurice is still around, and given how Nopes added a part where Maurice killed a “Saint” I’m pretty sure Rhea wanted to slaughter him as much as the others) and builds Garreg Mach, preparing Sothis’s return - from that point, whatever hopes Rhea had, died and only Sothis can guide the world. 

Not her, not Wilhelm, not Lycaon, only Sothis.

And yet, even if Rhea bailed out of Adrestia, her Church still existed, and was seen as a reliable authority and/or power to appeal to in case Adrestia went wrong, as Loog demonstrated!

Maybe the S support and Rhea’s fault is this : she should have trusted humanity (and herself!) more, instead of defaulting to Sothis when Adrestia went bonkers, but by closing her eyes to the present Fodlan (and even this is relative, as we see through the game!) she allowed the continent to be guided by the now fallen!Adrestia, which in turn led to more divisions (birth of Faerghus) and strife... and we’re supposed to see this as a bad thing?

As we see it through the game, lolcalisation be damned, the Church of Seiros used to have influence and soft power in Fodlan, Rhea tried to guide, albeit not directly by ruling, humans, who in turn, used her teachings as toilet paper. 

But Fodlan was guided by at least 4 entities, Rhea, the Empire, the Kingdom and whatever happens in the Alliance. For better or worse, humans shared that “guiding duty” Rhea had, and SS’s finale (and her S Support) suggests it wasn’t supposed to be, Rhea alone was supposed to guide Fodlan?

Like you say, when people work together, they don’t need gods, let them be Supreme Leader or Sothis, but for Rhea, it’s only when she works with a specific someone, like Archbishop Rhea and God King/Queen Reborn Byleth will bring miracles, but, Archbishop Rhea, King Lambert, Emperor Ionius and Count Gloucester don’t work, just like Archbishop Rhea, Emperor Otto 3 and King Loog, or not Archbishop Rhea and Emperor Wilhelm, etc etc...

So when Rhea laments that she should have done more to guide Fodlan, are we supposed to think she should have been the only entity in Fodlan, slapped Ionius or even Helga 1 who succeded Lycaon, and ruled more “directly”, or are we supposed to believe she should have worked more with the humans of Fodlan - something she does in-lore and in-game - ?

Unlike Supreme Leader’s Supreme ending with Billy where she bails out the second her successor is appointed, Rhea bails out when her (or at least Wilhelm’s) successor is killed - and yet she still offers a presence to the people of Fodlan through her Church. Trying to fix things with the limited scope she has, without straight out knocking sense in people with her fists.

Should she have done more? Maybe...? Could she have done more? Without basically becoming the only Leader of the World and enforcing her decrees with swords in the heads of Adrestians, and later, Fodlan people, who just don’t care about her anymore? Uh... no.

And it’s, again, telling how in the end of SS - when Billy supports her - Rhea remains the Archbishop, she doesn’t “directly” rule over Fodlan, that’s Billy’s thing! Rhea remains the Archbishop with her Church and soft power...

Basically what she has been doing since the end of the WoH, and this time, it works for Fodlan because Billy is here. And conveniently, the 3 other lords/nations disappeared, so it’s kumbaya time and no one will challenge Billy’s rulership.

I know you mentionned in earlier posts about the game not being that complicated, but all the issues raised in the game - in the other routes - that limited Rhea’s scope of action “can you force people to accept something that is different”, “how to end discriminations” “my way or your head” ultimately end up with a “and they lived happily ever after because Billy is Sothis reborn/awesome/the character supposed to be the player’s self-insert so of course they manage to change everything for the better”.

Tl;Dr : this support and this ending isn’t about Rhea, the only reason why their joint guidance/rule is called “miraculous” is because Billy is here, instead of all the precedent losers who preceded them. Rhea’s sin is that she didn’t work with Billy since the beginning - which is completely bonkers, but this is what this support and this ending lead to.

@randomnameless

I think that while Rhea does blame herself in the S support, she never specifies what she did wrong. But when you consider her arc, how she needed to let go of her mother rather than wanting her to come back and make everything better again, I think there's a good case to be made that it's not any supposed Crest system or false history that she's saying was wrong. Rather she's saying she was wrong by not directly guiding the people.

Think of it like this, both her and Wilhelm got what they wanted out of the War of Heroes. Rhea avenged her people and recovered their remains, including her mother's, while Wilhelm united the continent and ended the era of bloodshed Nemesis brought about. But then after the war, they just left. They left, and the Empire they created went into moral decline almost instantly. They got what they wanted, but didn't stay to continue guiding the people. That is what Rhea's fault is, regardless if Lyacoan was her kid or not. They should have stayed, performed her duties to the people they're now responsible for, rather than peacing out with the hope that the changes they've brought about would stick.

(you know, kinda like how Edelgard's plan to reform the empire then retire will likely crash and burn considering the Empire was founded on meritocracy).

That is Rhea's sin. She came back, saw things had gone to shit and her attempt to fix it was to bring her mother back to life so she can fix it. That she can make things go back to the way they once were, similar to how Edelgard's plan is to restore power to the Emperor and reunite Fodlan setting the world back to what it once was. But in a way, it's also similar to what Byleth ultimately does in Flower. They deny taking leadership, instead putting their faith in Edelgard to fix Fodlan and even call her a title referring to a god if they S support her (though, El is also the name of the supreme deity of the ancient Canaanites and in Eastern Sumetic languages. Supreme deity for supreme leader, fitting) thus undermining (alongside the society Edelgard is said to strive for in the Japanese text) any idea that the world made by Flower is one without gods. Edelgard wants people to be self-reliant, ultimately controlling the religion of the continent to pass her own beliefs off as those of the Goddess. Game even calls her out in a few routes of wanting to replace the Goddess with herself (Mila did too in FEH), just like how the "good" route for Scarlet Blaze reveals that Edelgard…secretly still doesn't trust people.

The game does believe in the message Edelgard speaks of, don't get me wrong, but it's in Silver Snow that message isn't undermined. With Byleth's support, Rhea can be saved and learn to move on. Their combined efforts sees miraculous reforms according to the text, rather than them instead expecting Edelgard or Sothis to fix everything for them. When people work together they don't need gods, or in Ed's case a dictator with a god-complex, indeed!

[randomnameless]

How does that person miss the fact that the heroes relics would already be made at that point and, as evident from current Faerghus, the people with them sided with Loog? Pan being an Agarthan helped Loog obtain more forces than anyone thought he could and they helped him at the strategy table.

To be fair,

The game mentions several times weapons that look like Hero Relics, meaning that more nabateans were turned into forks, and not the 12 ones who were used by the Dudes.

Iirc Big B calls the Vajra Mushti a weapon "akin" to a hero relic, but since it's not tied to a Dude nor wasn't used during the WoH, it's not, "technically" a Hero Relic (even if I'm sure it was built using the same process).

Maybe Pan gave Loog and co a new shiny club made from another Grim Dragon and instead of calling it Areadbhar he called it "goldy lance" - thus the new "goldy lance" isn't the Hero Relic used by Blaiddyd, but it could have been crafted from another dragon and given this dragon's crest to function just like Blaiddyd's weapon.

But we won't know, and this is why I have hate-love-loathe relationship with this game.

Can you imagine the flavour text and background wars are more interesting than the main events??

[randomnameless]

Dedue for the meme? Also he qualify for a sad armor?

Dedue is a sad armour only if he survives and Dimitri doesn’t. Gilbert is the sad armour of the game.

First impression : he looks tall and always follows Dimitri, is he like his bodyguard or something?

Impression now : he is totally Dimitri’s bodyguard and love interest even if Billy had to be there, for some reason.

Favorite moment : cheesy as fuck, but when he returns in AM? I hated how he had to be fridged, really, but as soon as Dedue’s back Dimitri starts to snap out of his boar!mode so they’re totally pals. Totally. Or Dedue being his sneaky awesome!self, popping up in VW/SS to take Edel’s head for Dimitri’s sake, like this guy was rumoured to have died but gets out of his pseudo-grave to avenge his lover best pal like if this isn’t some serious Finn “I’m going to kill Travant for Quan’s sake” stuff idk what it is. Oh, and also, i think in his Ingrid support : Dedue debunks the “they’re all bad” POV, there are good duscurians and bad duscurians, even he thinks maybe a duscurian had been part of the regicide plot, but it doesn’t mean every duscurian had to die, or that they were all angels, nope.

Idea for a story : post AM, Dedue’s still Dimitri’s best pal but he managed to open a small Duscurian restaurant in the capital ; through his cuisine, Duscur suddenly becomes something else than “those guys we accidently killed” and within two decades they got rid of racism because duscurian dishes are just that awesome.

Unpopular opinion : oh god. Do you expect me to debunk a redshit “bad take”? Dedue’s most important person in the world is Dimitri, but Dimitri’s most important person in the world is Dedue, so even if there’s the usual power inbalance between a lord and his retainer, Dimitri manages to erase that barrier in their A support. They’re dependant on each other but for once that codependency isn’t painted in a bad light. Quite the contrary, actually.

Favorite relationship : Uh I feel like i kept on talking about a certain relationship so it’s my favourite, of course. But also, I like Dedue’s supports with his house members, Mercedes, Ashe, but also for lol points Flayn. Dedue’s got teaching skills but also knows how to support people he’d totally be a containder for best mom in fodlan in another verse

Favorite headcanon : Ashe introduced Dedue to his siblings as a true, loyal knight everyone should look up to, and soon enough he became a new important character in Faerghus’ mythic heroes, Loog, Kyphon and Dedue.

[randomnameless]

On the topic of “revised history”, I remembered I heard during some class at uni something about origo gentis being used as a corner stone to create a national identity, and of couse thought about some bullshit regarding FE16 :

Warning : serious nonsensical bullshit under the cut

basically, origo gentis are epic chronicles that are actually a load of historical bullcrap but they paint “your ancestors” in a superb good light with dubious genealogy stuff to make sure that you will be proud to be a part of your gent because your gent is so awesome and descends from enlightned people who aren’t alive anymore :’( or to legitimize a conquest (Wilhelm the Conqueror wasn’t some douchebag from Normandy wanting to be famous, he was actually mandated by an old celtic/britton (?) king to help him defend against those barbarian saxons! So of course he’s totally legitimate!)

And that is how, in the 8th century some guys, using a fanfiction written in the 6th by Gregory of Tours, came to the conclusion that Franks were actually the descendants of Trojan refugees who founded Sicambria in Hungary and Franks weren’t germanic barbarians, nope m8, they (we) totally were descendants from the advanced and refined greek civilisation.

So of course one would be proud to be Frank, leading one of the basis of some sort of Frank identity while also reclaiming some greek/roman heritage because everyone had a hard-on for ancient Rome back in the days.

With that being said,

Fodlan AU : Liber Historiae Faergusum (apologies for pig latin i didn’t play a lot of Square Enix games when i was younger)

thank @ultrakatua​ for launching me on the general vagueness in the game about Seiros’ descendants

After Loog got rid random Adrestian Emperor and managed to get his independance, the Faergusians thought they needed something else than Archbishop Rheond (rhea with a blond wig)’s approval, especially to create a true Faergusian culture and not just be known around as “those barbarians in the north”.

Pan said to slender Adrestia saying it was ruled by shapeshifting beasts hiding in the light, but Kyphon got rid of Pan.

Still, they had to find a reason to explain why they removed themselves from Saint Seiros’ Empire, given how Seiros is the mythical hero of the era and Blaiddyd was just one of her randoms, a mere Elite, of course everyone would prefer to be a part of the Empire blessed by Seiros, more advanced, than part of the Kingdom, now blessed by the Church, but hey, Archbishop Rheond’s blessing isn’t on par with Seiros’. Also, the Emperors descend from Seiros herself, a Saint. Loog is only one of Blaiddyd’s descendants, it isn’t as prestigious.

One of Dominic’s descendants then thought about writing an origo gentis for Faergus. He founded a special order composed of theologists and philosophers which came to be later reknown around the continent for its intellectual tradition (it became an obligation for every member of House Dominic to attend the Magical Academy because Dominic = savants in Faergus). The members of the Western Church were also involved in the Dominician Order - Central Church told them not to interfere with political matters but the members of the Western Church retorked that Seiros herself participated to the creation of the Empire, so they’re doing the same thing here.

Rhea raided a secret cache of chamomile after receiving that answer

What they came with was : 

Just before marching to his last battle, Emperor Wilhelm and Saint Seiros had another son - Lycaon’s brother. Since that new son was second, he was not in line for the throne.

The war ended, but Lycaon was assassinated. Lycaon had no surviving male heir, so the throne should have passed to his younger brother

the male heir picked by the Empire wasn’t actually Lycaon’s child, but a bastard fathered by a member of the senate, the Emperor always had doubts about his son’s parentage but no one found his will, only his “treacherous” wife assisted to his death

The Senate tried to use this position to get rid of Great Emperor’s Wilhelm’s line and seize control of Adrestia ; Second son was sent to the northern limes to protect the empire from the barbarians of Sreng and also maintain peace

Meanwhile, in Adrestia, Lycaon’s not child had a son with one of his Lycaon’s I daughter, eww incest, so the Adrestian line is completely rotten but they managed to keep a Crest of Seiros

technically it would not be incest if Lycaon’s son wasn’t really his, but the Western Church then theologised something about milk-siblings being like full-blooded siblings if they shared the same wet-nurse and of course they did

plus if you acknowledge that Lycaon had no son his daughter couldn’t produce and Emperor or a new Imperial line because she was a woman and male primogeniture was trendy/and useful here so it became part of the Western Church’s dogma of that time.

Second son was doing such a splendid job that everyone rallied behind him as the true Emperor of Adrestia, but he did not want to start a new war in the already recovering Fodlan, so he remained in the North (of course, the actual Faergus).

He founded Firdiad and married Blaiddyd’s last daughter

Blaiddyd’s line is actually the one who should rule over Adrestia

which made Pan return a few decades later saying they should totally war against the Empire to recover their birthright and slaughter the Archbishop for some reason

Kyphon’s great grandson kicked Pan away again

But Adrestia became decadent and rotten to the core, only seeking their own enrichment and their own pleasure instead of “defending the people” like Seiros herself would have done had she not died in mysterious circumstances

Loog had actually all authority, lineage and spiritual, to have founded the Holy Kingdom of Faerghus and Adrestia sucks - we Faergusians are the real descendants of the heroes who won against Nemesis, not those decadent people of Adrestia!

This bullshit was believed for around 200 years (to Rhea’s chagrin, she nearly emptied her secret marijuana stash but young!Jeralt made her reconsider the idea of being stoned for the next 300 years) until Margrave Gautier of this era said fuck, why should we hail the fact that we come from the Empire, we won our independance with weapons, strength and bravery from Loog, it is him who should be hailed as a hero, not the fact that he descends from Great Emperor Wilhelm.

Everyone was okay with dropping the origo gentis, save for the Western Church who came to believe it, because hey, they supported the real Seiros line, unlike those losers from the Central church who were supporting the Empire - they should be the ones calling the shots!

(but no one cared about them, save for Pan who mysteriously returned and began slithering around “yes the central church sucks, you should kill the Archbishop”)

Sadly, the fact that they dropped the Adrestian narrative had been a stone in the creation of the Leicester Alliance - who pretty much adored and loved the glorious history of Adrestia and tried to replicate it, instead of embracing the Kinngdom’s more martial values.

Rhea was overjoyed when the mention of her supposed child disappeared from history, only to be revived by Seteth when he returned 20 years before the beginning of the game, politely asking her what the fuck

they both had chamomile

[randomnameless]

Actually the game is vague about what is the “secret” history passed down by Emperors.

Edel goes : Relics were created by humans. Seiros collected them after killing the 10 elites. Seiros manipulated people of the world to defeat the all-powerful King Nemesis. Nemesis vs Seiros was “little more than a simple dispute”. Should the people be led by a "someone with humanity” or a creature that can masquerade as a human? In the end Seiros won and the IO and her family took control of Fodlan. I know this because that knowledge is passed from emperor to emperor. And that is because the first emperor is the human who cooperated with Seiros, allowing humanity to be controlled in secret.

If we it down, there are several clues leading us to believe that this knowledge isn’t actually something straight out of Wilhelm but more like a game of telephone.

Relics were created by humans : Maybe Wilhelm knew this one.

Seiros collected them after killing the 10 Elites : Daphnel died after Nemesis per the DLC’s book (Maurice’s journal?). At this point, it’s often speculated Wilhelm already died, Lycaon I was his successor and died in 98 and Rhea herself states Wilhelm gave everything to the cause of defeating Nemesis. Wilhelm might have died before Nemesis, so he wouldn’t know what Rhea did afterwards. First poke.

Seiros manipulated humans to defeat the all powerful King Nemesis : Wilhelm, who willingly (?) allied with her would later say he was manipulated? He was manipulated in... becoming the Emperor of the continent?

“Little dispute” : Nothing special here, maybe on his deathbed he was like “i gave everything to kill King Nemesis because of a little dispute? shit” ? I doubt it.

“Should humans lead the people or lizards?” : Wilhelm was crowned Emperor of Adrestia and sought to “unify the world”. Unless we don’t know about some sort of hidden threads or leverage Rhea and her brothers had over him, Wilhelm, Emperor of Adrestia who started his war in 32 to unify the continent was the one leading his people, and he wasn’t a lizard. Another poke.

“In the end Seiros won and her family took control of Fodlan” : Wilhelm definitely died before the end of the war of heroes, given how the death of his successor, Lycaon I heralded its end. Anyways, Cethleann died during the war of heroes, Macuil either died or fucked away east and Indech and Cichol most likely disappeared - on top of not having been able to be passed down by the first emperor, this part is nonsensical. Final poke.

Edel going “he was the human that allowed humanity to be controlled in secret” sounds like she’s repeating something a later emperor added to the previous telephone - maybe it’s HC, but I heavily doubt Wilhelm, Emperor of Adrestia who raised his army in 32 to unify the continent, thought he was being “controlled” by Seiros or sold “humanity” to 4 dragons and half.

That’s why I think this “secret imperial knowledge” is some sort of telephone, Wilhelm went “Seiros’s a dragon and relics were made by humans!”, his granddaughter, recording the events added “she recovered the relics from the Elites after they died”.

The Nero equivalent, after losing Faerghus bcs Loog did his thing “she manipulated us to defeat Nemesis damn that lizard lady! We should never have sided with her look she backstabs us!”

Maybe an Agarthan insinuated the “little dispute” thing and had the ear of Lycaon III, the one who apparently liked to see northeners torn to shreds for his wedding “yes humans should rule each other and not those creatures pretending to be like us”

Caligula, after banishing the southern church “Seiros and her bunch of lizards took control of Fodlan, but look, I fired them! They’re not manipulating Adrestia anymore!”

Imperial telephone sucks they should have written their stuff somewhere

What is this secret ~ Wilhelm history ~ Edel brags about?

See this scene from CF.

To sum up, Wilhelm knew that the Relics (and presumably Crests) were not gifts from the goddess but were created by humans, and he passed this knowledge down to future emperors. Edelgard chooses to interpret this in the most unflattering way possible, and is either unaware of what the Relics are made of or (more likely, given her allies) knows exactly what they are and is deliberately omitting that part to sound less genocidal. 

[maelor321]

If i said "Faerghus reject women warriors" it wasn't the exact intent, more like : warrior women as less proeminent when away from Crested ones.

I straight up said Loog wasn't a foreigner, please don't change my intent.

I get your point in general, but the Elites' influence on Faerghus specifically is something I like as a plot point as it allow to develop the kingdom beyond their ties with the Church and "strong people for a harsh land" ideas.

While toxic Edelgard fans (not all or even most Edelgard fans are toxic, though the rotten ones really soured my opinion on Edie) like to use it as a way to dunk on Dimitri's critics of Edelgard's use of violence to get her ways (ignoring how the Blue Lions' whole point is ditching the toxic parts of their culture to be better), I like to view it as a fascinating way to look at how a realm's culture is shaped by contradictory things.

Nemesis and the elites' kingdom was one of violence and cruelty, while Wilhelm and Seiros' Adrestia pushed an idea of love, respect of kin and the other's properties, and scorn at the idea of killing as a whole.

Faerghus as the heir of both ideas, torn between the brotherhood supported by the church and the scorn and Wrath of Nemesis' kingdom, is a beautiful thing in its contradiction, even if also tragic.

The image of female knights praying that their shield can held as strong as the hero Fraldarius, of warriors to be blessed with the strength of Charon or nemesis, of mages to be graced with the wits and mastery of the arcane like Lamine, while at the same time trying to fit in the ideals of Mother Church is fascinating.

This influence of Nemesis' legacy can even be seen, in a sense, by the western Church's cruelty and chauvinism-fueled xenophobia.

Beside, having Faerghus be the heir of Nemesis' kingdom can allow other fun bits of lore to be written as inspired by the Elites, developing the elites to be, despite how wicked they were, not solely wicked persons.

For example, for a story of mine, House Fraldarius sometimes have a marital tradition of the Fraldarius giving to their spouse to-be during the ceremony the sword of moralta while they carry the Aegis shield, a tradition coming from how when she chose the father of her children, Fraldarius gave him the sword symbolically and swore that as long as he would be faithful, loving and honest with her, he would be her only man and she would be his shield over even Nemesis until he die.

TLDR, I love the idea of the Elites' influence on ancient aerghus both mixing well and clashing with the beliefs from the Church as way to expand on Faerghus beyond "harsh land of devout warriors with quite a few issues", especially since Dimitri is unfortunately the only one who don't really bring up Nemesis in his plotline.

I hope you like my posts and get my point.

Did Cap’n completely forget that noblewomen in Faerghus are expected to be competent warriors too and the whole paralogue where Ingrid’s dad gives her a legendary weapon so that she can be a better warrior????? Since when is Ingrid pressured into giving up horse-riding and sword fighting???

I haven't engaged much with the fic, but given how Ingrid's dilemna is simply resolved by her talking to her father...

Methinks Faerghus isn't that "toxic masculine chivalry" at all, if Dad Galatea accepts his daughter's wish to become a knight serving her King...

But this resolution happens in her support with Seteth and in AM, so that's two hurdles one might not have been willing to cross when reading or writing that fic.

Dirty lizards are evil, and cannot understand humanity, after all.

It seems men and women are both expected to be martially able in Faerghus - Gautier expects a crested child, not a crested son to protect the border.

If you want more gender discussions about being a knight, ASOIAF gives a good exemple through Brienne of Tarth : she cannot perform the roles given to women because of her appearance, and she wants to be a "true knight" something that is traditionnaly masculine. But Brienne never thinks "women" sucks or wishes she was a man, Brienne wants to be a "true knight", a "true knight" is a knight who fights and dies to protect the people, it doesn't matter if the knight is a man, or a woman.

In the same vein, you have GOT (the TV series) butchering Arya Stark's character in the early seasons, where she answers "girls sucks" when someone tells her women can't be king or something, whereas book!Arya cites a famous woman, who was also a warrior and a queen (iirc?).

ASOIAF plays with this notion, gender doesn't matter whether one wants to be a knight, a ruler or whatever else. Rather, it does matter, but it shouldn't.

So to see "The Aeneid" ascribe to the same convoluted notions, when the source material challenges said notion, is a bit infuriating. Canon!Ingrid might remind Cap!Ingrid that being a knight is not incompatible with being a woman, that women in Fodlan have long fought alongside men and weren't stuck to the kitchen, and how the evil lizard dictator she swore to kill is actually a woman who led a war and killed the Hero of Humanity on her own.

[maelor321]

The fact ingrid struggle due to the idea of being a knight, I think the "expectation of being beautiful and sweet" fit, especially with his knighthood is usually associated with the fair lady and the gallant knight protecting her.

So I think women in Faerghus' popular culture have a hybrid role, varying between the positions of the fair maid or wife and the mighty warrior, with the shift away from the warrior woman being noticeable the more away from Crested women (Catherine/Cassandra of House Charon, Margravine Letitia and ingrid), as without Crests, the women aren't these glorious force multipliers.

I never compared Faerghus' patriarchy to Adrestia, so please don't do that, I love both regions (I love all 4 lords actually, even if my favorite is Dimitri now) but Adrestia isn't the point.

As for OG Fraldarius, this post talk of how OG Fraldarius is tied to her family's role as shield of Faerghus https://www.tumblr.com/deafeningbarbarianbirdj/705277557586755584/okay-so-ten-elites-in-fire-emblem-they-have?source=share

Also, this one talk of Faerghus and nemesis https://houses.fedatamine.com/en-us/monastery/16#event-base-4-18

That+ when we compare clothing, we see how Dimitri and nemesis can give off similar vibe, and add onto it the culture of strength of Faerghus and the idea of vendetta they have.

Now, I don't view Faerghus as a "land of vengeance-worshipping psychos" as some would call them, especially since the school of magic, attended by people across Northern Fódlan+ a few Adrestians indicate a real scholarly culture, and the Faerghians need to be strong to survive, but still.

And king Arthur isn't a key part of England or Britain's national identity, even for the middle ages, rather it's the mythic figure that is very respected but who's line died, also, the super powerful sword and Pendragon (dragon head) fit.

Loog is, despite not being a foreigner to Faerghus, closer to William the conqueror, the bastard of Normandy, since the royal houses of England and after it the united kingdom descend from him like the Blaiddyds are the royal house of Faerghus only once Loog take the crown.

IMO, Fraldarius is key to the idea of warrior women because she was the warrior woman of the elites, though yes, Kyphon outshine her because he's closer in time and helped found the Holy Kingdom of Faerghus, while Nemesis was the king of Faerghus but the region would have only been the center of his domains.

How can a culture who's one of its Matriarchs is a mighty warrior reject the idea of warrior women? Basically that's how I see it.

It's especially important because the only other woman of the elites, Lamine, was a mage rather than a close range fighter, and beside, her line sticked with Adrestia, unlike that of Fraldarius.

Also, I would argue the lack of active mentions from her come from a lack of interest by the narrative to focus on such details as how the Elites influenced Faerghus, and the perception of warrior women as a whole instead of Ingrid's specific situation.

Just like how all of Fódlan is kinda underdeveloped on many points lore wise and narratively.

Also, considering the respect of strength in Faerghus, Seiros defeating Nemesis making her highly respected make sense, same for Wilhelm, as they were overall kinda underdogs, not too much, but still, they were not at an advantage number wise considering there were 5 Saints+Wilhelm vs 11 elites+ Nemesis, especially since nations can have contradicting national heroes, which is reinforced by adding religion into the mix, since the church of Seiros helped found the Holy Kingdom.

IMO, the elites aren't national heroes, they're legendary figures and low-key carry some worship-like following, especially since the Church of Seiros ended up making them out as once being the Goddess' chosen, but they're far away that they're not national heroes.

But their legendary status still have important effect, such as Fraldarius for warrior women, especially since while Fraldarius is the Matriarch of Felix's house, she's definitely Ingrid and Catherine's ancestor as well because intermarriage of Houses.

Edit : also, reddit page from where I got the information on Faerghus and nemesis

Did Cap’n completely forget that noblewomen in Faerghus are expected to be competent warriors too and the whole paralogue where Ingrid’s dad gives her a legendary weapon so that she can be a better warrior????? Since when is Ingrid pressured into giving up horse-riding and sword fighting???

I haven't engaged much with the fic, but given how Ingrid's dilemna is simply resolved by her talking to her father...

Methinks Faerghus isn't that "toxic masculine chivalry" at all, if Dad Galatea accepts his daughter's wish to become a knight serving her King...

But this resolution happens in her support with Seteth and in AM, so that's two hurdles one might not have been willing to cross when reading or writing that fic.

Dirty lizards are evil, and cannot understand humanity, after all.

It seems men and women are both expected to be martially able in Faerghus - Gautier expects a crested child, not a crested son to protect the border.

If you want more gender discussions about being a knight, ASOIAF gives a good exemple through Brienne of Tarth : she cannot perform the roles given to women because of her appearance, and she wants to be a "true knight" something that is traditionnaly masculine. But Brienne never thinks "women" sucks or wishes she was a man, Brienne wants to be a "true knight", a "true knight" is a knight who fights and dies to protect the people, it doesn't matter if the knight is a man, or a woman.

In the same vein, you have GOT (the TV series) butchering Arya Stark's character in the early seasons, where she answers "girls sucks" when someone tells her women can't be king or something, whereas book!Arya cites a famous woman, who was also a warrior and a queen (iirc?).

ASOIAF plays with this notion, gender doesn't matter whether one wants to be a knight, a ruler or whatever else. Rather, it does matter, but it shouldn't.

So to see "The Aeneid" ascribe to the same convoluted notions, when the source material challenges said notion, is a bit infuriating. Canon!Ingrid might remind Cap!Ingrid that being a knight is not incompatible with being a woman, that women in Fodlan have long fought alongside men and weren't stuck to the kitchen, and how the evil lizard dictator she swore to kill is actually a woman who led a war and killed the Hero of Humanity on her own.