#would it have been better if Shez and Epi were the actual antagonist in Houses

[yanderefairyangel]

Shez is another cans of worm.

Shez is supposed to be Byleth rival in absolutely every way.

Byleth is cold, Shez is hard boiled. Byleth is introverted and has problem with communication, Shez is extraverted and brash. Byleth is quiet, Shez is loud. Byleth is clever, Shez is.... well, an idiot. However they have common points in how they are still pretty idealistic despite their conditions as a merc and all that. Byleth is the "champion of the Nabateans" while Shez is that of the Agarthans... and apparently on accident since : 1) Arval just decided to awake in that timeline and we are never explained why 2)Somehow Thales and co decided to take advantage of their link with the Adestrian empire to make Eddie their "ultimate weapon" 3) Been a long time but from what I recall Thales and co have a beef with Epipi and thus Arvie.

Now the whole problem with Shez is that their motivation makes 0 sense. Like none. In reality they don't seek to avenge their dead coworkers since they themselves admit to be one heck of a pragmatic person, they just wanna revenge because they got beaten the heck out of by Byleth which resulted in their death in the Houses timeline. They are supposed to be seeking revenge for their captain and all that but all of this fall flat down because of how they slopply introduced the possiblity to recruit Byleth... like... couldn't you do that but better because what the heck was even that ? This makes even less sense because Shez state at least once or twice that they might love money but they never accept one job before they honnored their current contract which is supposed to show their loyalty... supposed because they gave up their revenge in the laziest way possible

Basically is Shez evil ? I don't think so. Sure, in GW it's because they open their big mouth that Claude decided to become king however : 1) Shez had no idea that's how Claude would do any of the thing he did 2) Shez, when seeing Claude do his thing, doesn't react well to it at all, they are even the one calling him out (and also calling Leonie out on her ****sheet, thank you SHEZ!) 3) Claude would have done what he did with or without Shez. Look at SF. You join Eddie, yet Claude still does his thing. That's because the impostor that is Khalid von Riegan is basically Claude without guidance. Not without the proper guidance, but without guidance period. Byleth and Shez have a different realtionship with the Lords. Byleth is more of an advisor and guide as a teacher. Shez, their classmate, just help them throught their path without taking on the role of an advisor. Again, they are a merc and their classmate. So if anything Shez can come across as amoral but even then they clearly are supposed to have a moral highground. They are a merc so they just follow orders.

Would Shez recruit Byleth, they would bond with them and when Epi does his thing, Shez tries everything they can to not kill Byleth. Does Shez keep their power ? Yes... because why would they lose them ? Byleth lost them because defeating Rhea and Setheth and Flayn resulted in the destruction of the Nabateans race (since Macuil and Indech doesn't exist in that route). The source of Shez power doesn't come from the Agarthans but Arval/Epimenides. While for Byleth it's Sothis, Rhea's mom. Her crest stone breaks because you broke her heart by killing her children when you were the closest friend she had. The only way for Shez to "betray" Arval is through the secret ending. So when they recruit Byleth.

What is said about Eddie can apply to all three Lords, they are all at their worst. Shez isn't their guide unlike Byleth, their role is drastically different and that's something that's striking in how Shez, who is hardly younger then Byleth, is placed as a classmate rather then a teacher when Byleth themselves could have been a student as well. They are just following the flow of what the lords wants. Does this means they'll accept whatever happens ? No.

Look at how they react at Claude's route after Randolph is being sacrificed. Shez have their own limits as well, they clearly won't sit well with serving someone they know is evil, and this is pretty obvious to how worried they are that Arval was Epiminedes all along and that might be a demon and also that Arval was using them all along. That which ... Byleth apparently inspired by Sothis herself end up reassuring them on that matter.

So basically is Shez evil ? No. Is Shez like any character in this forsaken game victim of Hopes terrible wonky writing ? OH YEAH. Because if we have to discuss Shez we will have to open the full can of worms of all the nonsensical change that occured in that timeline such as : Why did Arval saved Shez only in that timeline ? Did Shez actually managed to survive in Houses but then why do they never meet the Lords instead of Byleth ? Why does Thales and etc choose to create their own ultimate weapon instead of seeking for a way to manipulate Epipi's vessel ? Were there other "creations" like Shez for Epipi ? Why doesn't Eddie need the dubstep cult in that timeline ? If she doesn't need them anymore then why the heck does the Kostas plot point still exist ? Why is Eddie surprised to find Monica when we know through Houses she is at least aware of the kidnapping that the Agarthans are doing ? Why couldn't Eddie do half of the thing she did in Hopes in Houses since she openly faces the Agarthans ? Why does Byleth seems to know more about Fodlan in that game then in Houses ? Why does Sothis remember everything in that timeline ? Why can she awake and have Byleth have their mint hair without vanishing into oblivion for half of the plot except to wake Byleth and if you dediced that you like easter egg and marry her ? Why does Byleth get possesed by Sothis to save them in their fight with Shez and eventually if Jeralt dies but that never happens in Houses ?Why is the argument to recruit Byleth such a slop ? Why is there still no snow in Faerghus ?

Is Shez evil?

The thought occurred to me last night, but I think it's worth discussing. Do we play as an evil character in Hopes? Now, the Hopes!Devs did say that the war wasn't a matter of good vs evil and that it's all a matter of perspective. However, they also said that Hopes wasn't meant to replace Houses, and therefore we can apply the morality of Houses to it.

Shez is implied to be from Shambhala, making them an Agarthan. We all know that the Fodlan games use Buddhist symbolism, and Agartha is where the Asura's were banished by the Bodhisattva when they became drunk on their own power and from there they wage war against the Bodhisattva and the benevolent devas. Tellingly, Shez's unique final class is Asura, cementing this idea.

When I was looking up stuff concerning the Asuras and their world, I found this.

Nichiren defines the characteristic of (The world of the Asuras) as “perverse,” or more literally, “fawning and crooked.” Out of extreme pride or a sense of superiority, people in this condition tend to conceal their real motives and flatter others to win praise. While outwardly courteous, however, they inwardly look down on others. Such a person’s self-image is distorted and unbalanced, colored by extreme pride or a sense of superiority; the self is perceived as extremely large and important, and others as small and unimportant. Those who remain in this state ultimately do harm to themselves through their own conceit.

There was something about this that really hit with Shez. Shez's motivation is to get revenge on Byleth for wiping out their former mercenary unit. It seems like a normal motivation, but Shez also has quotes where they talk about how what happened to them is just the nature of the profession. These quotes make Shez come across as hypocritical. But the nature of the Asura realm would suggest that Shez is just putting on a metaphorical mask, saying things that sound nice while keeping their true motives hidden. It's still on Shez on whether or not they go after Byleth, and Arval not letting go of this motivation, attacking Byleth that leads to Arval's own downfall.

But at the same time, Shez doesn't lose their power like what happens to Byleth at the end of Flower. They don't stop being an Asura. They will still support Edelgard even though her path is supposed to be immoral according to Houses. Shez can confirm that Edelgard is oppressing the commoners under her rule, but unlike Byleth won't lead the BE in opposing her. Their influence on Claude ultimately leads to Claude going down a similar path, meaning it's because of Shez that Claude kills Rhea as he gives into his own hatred. Even with Dimitri, Shez had no problem when Dimitri and company's motives for the war changed to revenge, and Dimitri then continues the war after the defeat of Edelgard and Thales in order to punish the Empire. Then there's Shez's whole “I'm just a merc” gig, he's saying he's nothing more than someone paid to kill others regardless of morality.

With this in mind, we can make a judgement call. Shez, despite appearances, isn't a moral person. Shez might believe that this war is morally ambiguous, who is right or wrong a matter of perspective, but they're someone who kills for money as well as using the war for revenge which could put them into immoral territory, as they're willing to facilitate the suffering of others for their own goals, a big no-no in Buddhism. They don't care if they're the aggressor or playing defence. They're not amoral, ignorant of and not influenced by morality, like Byleth starts off as and from that they end up poisoning Fodlan. Because Shez shows up as the lords flee Kostas, they don't meet Byleth at Remire. They don't lead the lords to a better Fodlan, they just help them fight a war that's not even over at the end of the route.

Shez might appear to be nice, but we should have known better after Edelgard. As to whether they're evil, evil is defined as being “profoundly immoral.” Shez killing Byleth and by extension Sothis, living up to being an Asura, would push them into being evil, and their POV goes against the morality of Houses. That, and the Asura realm is called one of the four evil paths.