#would jeralt feel more and more alienated?

[onedivinemisfit]

If she was raised in the church. I keep thinking about that. How different would that have gone down, would sothis have awakened earlier? Would rhea have brainwashed her? Would jeralt still be a part of her life?

FE3H (c) Nintendo

Art: Me

[fayesdiary]

reverse unpopular opinion for....aw heck, go ahead with Rhea for this one as well

This might as well be a part 2 to the previous Rhea ask so :D

I find Rhea to be so compelling for several reasons, one of the biggest being the inherent contradiction that she is very much capable of caring, loving and trusting others, sometimes with some insane gestures when you realize their meaning behind them (ie. Saving Jeralt's life by giving him her blood thus risking outing herself because of it, letting Catherine keep Thunderbrand despite the fact it's the one Relic she could safely recover- implicitly trusting her with one of her family's remains without any obligation to do so, risk angering a noble house to give Cyril a better life and treating him like her son in all but name)... And yet she cannot, for the life of her, bring herself to be honest with them.

Something fascinating I noticed about Rhea is that she ironically seems to prefer people who are blunt with her, because look at the people she's closest to - Seteth spends all of Part 1 openly questioning her, Flayn is constantly on the verge of accidentally outing herself, Cyril is so direct and honest he sometimes accidentally comes off as rude (Shamir too even if she's not as close to Rhea) and Catherine wears her heart on her sleeve.

Heck, all of them are either not that religious or outright non-believers, which ironically I believe helps reassure Rhea they love her because of who she is as a person and not because she's the archbishop, especially given how much she implies to find the position incredibly alienating.

And isn't that just so fascinating? That she is more than capable than loving others and caring for them risking her own personal safety, she appreciates people being honest with her.... But cannot, will not be entirely honest with them in turn.

Because make no mistake, that right there is Rhea's true fatal flaw: her compulsive need to keep everything a secret.

From the big but understandable stuff that would get her and her family scrapped for parts if it became public to downright pointless shit to hide like not liking hot drinks, and it's the one trait that screws her over the most, between being the reason Jeralt left (since she didn't tell him ANYTHING about what happened with Byleth so he assumed the worst and fled) and the thing preventing her from making connections as deep as she actually wants (like even just telling her loved ones how much they mean to her), as well as getting the support she actually needs. And because she feels she has to bear everything on her shoulders, she crumbles under the weight because no matter how hard she tries, she will never be good enough.

In that sense the role of archbishop is a sort of mask to her. It's definitely a part of her, but also something she has sort of burrowed into like a safety net preventing her from being true to herself. Because that'd mean making herself vulnerable, in more ways than one. To say nothing about putting her surviving family and remnants of her dead kin to jeopardy.

If she were to open up she'd be... More lively, I think. Definitely sillier if Heroes is any indication, and arguably more willing to take a direct approach in helping people. And definitely more loved and happier.

And perhaps, one day she'd realize she doesn't need to bring her mom back to fix Fódlan. She's not doing it alone anymore, after all.

[fromathelastoveritaserum]

PK_Chu’s Fanfiction Masterlist

✨ A quick list of my current fanfictions ✨ ٩(⁎❛ヮ❛⁎)۶ 

[WHEN JOY RETURNED]  AO3 (HERE) Far Cry 5 story involving original Deputy and the Seeds with a childhood twist ~ Story Summary: Born and raised in Hope County, Joy Owens never thought she would return. When she was young, her family moved to the big city, cutting off all ties, and never looking back. ‘It was because of that Seed family,’ the rumor mill whispered. But, that was a long time ago…a time Joy has trouble recalling and has simply let be. Now, she has finally achieved the role of Junior Deputy in the city where the large white signs on the hills spell out ‘Hollywood.’ But, when a U.S. Marshal suddenly arrives at the station to drag her back to Hope County, Joy has no choice but to confront the past. Back to the wilds of Montana, where old wounds had been left to fester, heartache had never healed, and memories once cherished lay forgotten. Joy will soon remember the Seed family; and as she does something reawakens deep within her, a darkness, the reason she had to leave. Can the secrets that lay hidden in her memories save the Seed Family from themselves or will it tear Joy apart, bringing the Resistance crashing down with her? 

[MY BELOVED PROFESSOR]  AO3 (HERE) or Fanfiction.net (HERE) Fire Emblem Three Houses fanfic involving Dimitri x Byleth  ~ Story Summary:  Byleth was never one for emotions; even in the heat of battle her heart is still and her face is stoic like a mask. So, no one could fault Dimitri for his uncertainty when Byleth is offered a position as a professor. But, once he sees her smile, Dimitri's fate is sealed. Fate that would lead him to one day call the Ashen Demon, his beloved. (Spoilers! Currently on Ashen Wolves DLC - More Papa Jeralt and Sassy Sothis too!)

[IN SICKNESS & IN HEALTH]  AO3 (HERE) or Fanfiction.net (HERE) Mass Effect Andromeda fancifc involving Sara Ryder and Evfra de Tershaav. ~ Story Summary: Evfra de Tershaav, the venerate Resistance leader, is stricken with the Angaran flu. Forced to stay at home under quarantine, Evfra would have been taken care of by family and close friends. Without either, he suffers alone, until Sara Ryder, Pathfinder extraordinaire, shows up at his doorstep as his self proclaimed caretaker. Soon long forgotten feelings begin to stir awake for this free spirited little human. // Evfra has accepted the fact that he is smitten for an alien, and not just any alien, but Sara Ryder the Human Pathfinder and leader of her people. However, having been so long out of the dating scene his wooing skills are practically non-existent, and what is worse, he isn’t the only angaran who has set sights on Ryder. Meanwhile, Sara is completely oblivious as to what certain angarans are vying for. The Pathfinder finds herself stumbling through the intricate art of angaran courtship, realizing that only one ever grouchy angaran had her heart all along.

[FALLING FOR YOU]  AO3 (HERE) Mass Effect Andromeda fanfic involving Tiran Kandros and Sara Ryder ~ Story Summary:  A collection of drabbles celebrating the developing relationship between Kandros and Ryder, for which we were bereft of in the game. Adding my own twist and fun side plots. Slightly loose in the timeline sequence in the game 

[OF TACTICS AND KNIGHTHOOD]  AO3 (HERE) or Fanfiction.net (HERE) Fire Emblem Awakening fanfic involving Frederick and Robin with a Pride and Prejudice twist ~ Story Summary: Frederick had no idea he would later be eating his own words and chasing the heart of the very tactician whom he had been ever wary of. Yet Robin, overhearing the slight from Frederick at the Ylisse Harvest Ball, will not be won over so easily. It doesn’t help that the two so easily rile the other up.A Fire Emblem Awakening slight AU with a strong hint of Pride and Prejudice. For if you squint your eyes and tilt your head, one might get away with Fredrick as Mr. Darcy, Chrom as Mr. Bingly, and Robin as Miss Elizabeth Bennett. This idea struck me and Naga help me, I’m running with it!

[THE HERALD’S COMMANDER]  AO3 (HERE) or Fanfiction.net (HERE) Dragon Age Inquisition fanfic involving Cullen and Inquisitor Trevelyan with a twist ~Story Summary: Go to the Chantry conclave they said, it will be fun they said. Oh, how wrong they were! Now, Evelyn Trevelyan finds herself in the thick of the Inquisition with a bizarre glowing mark upon her hand, and hailed as the Herald of Andraste. Follow along as the novice fighter, and ‘menace on two legs’ as Cassandra calls her, tries to patch back up the hole in the sky along with the oddest rag-tag group of companions in all of Thedas. And to make matters more interesting, Evelyn is dealing with conflicting emotions and awkward encounters with Cullen; for his first love, the mage, was Evelyn’s sister…

[THE DRUNKEN TEXT] AO3 (HERE) or Fanfiction.net (HERE) ~ Story Summary: On a drunken dare prompted by a hiccuping Sylvain, a rosy cheeked Dimitri texts his old college professor, asking her out for a cup of coffee. Before he returns to his senses, and recovers from his hangover, the young man is plunged into a series of events as he reconnects with Professor Byleth Eisner.

Dimitri realizes he never stopped loving her...Byleth finally learns how to express her love to him.

...will Sylvain get any credit in the end?? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[patricia-von-arundel]

Rêverie

I can finally share my piece that appears in Sunrise With You, the Edeleth wedding zine! You can still purchase a digital copy (PDF) right here. All the stories and art in it are absolutely amazing. 

Rating: G 

Dedicated, as always, to @lysissisyl, who knows what it all means. 

“She asked me to marry her,” Edelgard said.  Softly--if it was possible for them to hear her at all, the volume of the words seemed likely incidental.  “Byleth, I mean.  She was… very emotional.  I hope you can imagine that!” Edelgard shook her head, smiling again, remembering it.  She herself had probably looked like a gasping fish.  “She has truly changed so much, since…  Well.  Let us not dwell on that.  I just… wished you to know.  She smiles often, now. And laughs, as well!  She has a wonderful, carefree laugh…” Edelgard folded her hands before her, solemn once more.  “I want to offer my promise, today, to strive always to make her smile.  I said yes, of course.  We’re to be married as soon as this mess of a war has been cleaned up and finally discarded.  I…”  She looked down, to the lush grass at her feet, rather overgrown these days.  “I hope you would approve of her choice.”

Silent as the grave--there was a reason, of course, for such an expression.  And no response, now, to her words.  She would not allow herself the presumption of knowing what their answer might be. She had known Captain Jeralt only briefly, and Byleth’s mother, of course, she had not known at all.  She could not be certain of approval from either of them, only hope that it might have been offered.

She had read Jeralt’s diary entries--with Byleth’s permission, of course--and knew of the love and sorrow that radiated from his words. To have found someone, and to lose her so soon after…

 “It’s a pain I have shared,” Edelgard said, speaking once more to the still, silent stone.But for her, such pain had been eased--all but erased. Wisps of it remained, swirling up at times unexpectedly, but there was almost a sweetness to them.  She felt similar pain, at times, thinking of her own parents--of their love for one another.

She had not understood--not truly--what that love might have been like, when she first told Byleth of them. As a child, and even more so as a teenager, she had clung to such a tale, romanticized it, to feel a brief, warm happiness: a hope that such love could exist. Even with her father still a part of her life (albeit an often ephemeral one), she had felt… disconnected from being a child of anyone. Such feelings had only been exacerbated by the loss of her siblings--and by what she had become: no longer a child at all.  A living weapon… and sometimes, perhaps often, feeling the living part hardly at all. 

Contradictory, almost: even as she had longed to believe the stories to be true, she had doubted the very existence of such love except in those stories.  Perhaps an element of that had been protective: could one mourn the loss of something that had never existed?

Until Byleth.

Until she could no longer deny the truth of her feelings. 

All those clumsy attempts to learn if such feelings might be reciprocated…!

She could look back on them with a slightly embarrassed fondness now--and look, as well, at the ring upon her finger.  Proof that there was love in the world.  Good love.  Romantic love.  It fit well, the ring. And it left her a connection, truly, not only to Byleth, but also to the people whose graves she now stood before. 

“Would it be presumptuous of me to think of myself as… part of your family?”  She felt ridiculous even saying it, but it needed to be said, in some curious way.  And it wasn’t as if she needed to worry what the response might be.  And yet, worry she did--which made her feel more ridiculous still. But despite the flushed complexion of her cheeks, she pressed on: “I fear I… once believed I no longer had any desire to have a family.  I… I lost my own… a very long time ago.  And…”  She paused.  Shook her head.  “No.  I must speak truthfully--something I am unfortunately rather rusty at doing.  But who deserves the truth more than those no longer able to question it?

“It was… not that I believed I no longer desired a family, after losing my own.  It was that…. I no longer felt that I deserved one.  My own family--most of it was sacrificed, that I could become what I was.  What I still am, at least for the moment.  And at times, I do still struggle to feel worthy of it.  A family, I mean.  Strange to say, I’m sure--I never doubted my abilities on the battlefield or on a throne, but I doubt my worthiness to be loved in that manner--perhaps because it feels almost a weakness. I dislike showing such vulnerability, and yet…”

She looked up, then, and out over the wild land that stretched what seemed forever, below the towering monastery.  It bore none of the scars of war.  It was untamed--free.  As she might one day be?  She had felt something akin to freedom, the first time she had walked through those woods.  The day she met the woman she now intended to marry...

Would it feel freeing, to be someone’s wife?  To have a promise of forever, and no doubts at all that she would have it?  What would it feel like, she wondered, on the day that they were wed?  And on every day after?  Promises kept: most of those offered to her had been dark ones.  Dark, and frightening, and sometimes still visiting her nightmares.  This was… this was so beautifully the opposite of such things.  Memories of the wedding day seemed likely to be the sweetest she might ever have, the dreams ones she would cling to in the darkness--just as she could now cling to Byleth.

She would never know, now, what the wedding of Jeralt and his wife had been like. There was little in the diary about it. He had likely had other things on his mind, and quite understandably so!  Her own parents had had no wedding at all--not to one another, anyway.  In both cases, flames of passion had so quickly been snuffed, leaving only cold ash remaining.

Love--family--had seemed always such a risk, just one more danger in such a dangerous world.  A cruel world.  And yet… people had still loved.  People had still made families.

She could not rid the world of all dangers--she was not naive enough to believe she might even attempt something as preposterous as that.  But she could allow herself--perhaps--to do as others did, for a change…?

A strange feeling.  Alien.  It had not always been so.  She would attempt, though, to welcome it back.

As a child, she had always been aware, though she had no memory of who had told her, that she would be married off to a person of her father’s choosing.  Politically valuable solely by accident of birth and blood.  She had thought about it, late in the night when sleep proved elusive: unbidden thought, and difficult to purge.  The idea of it angered her--but it also, in no small part, frightened her.  The idea of being sent away from home, possibly even to another land entirely, sent away from her brothers and sisters to live with a stranger: it was horrific. 

She knew later those fears had not been unfounded, though the circumstances of that realization had not, in the end, been related to a marriage of her own. 

She had not even thought of marrying anyone, truly, after that. When had there been opportunity?

And certainly, she had not imagined she might one day be daydreaming of what it might be like if their families were there.  All of them: their parents, all her siblings, her uncle as the kind, pious man he had truly been…  They were all but strangers to her, or would be, yet still, she wondered about it.  She thought of her sisters helping her to do her hair, as they had done when they were all children.  Of the mother she had lost so early, whose face and voice and mannerisms were completely lost to her, smiling and adjusting the veil over her face.  Would there be tears?  Laughter?  Both?  The thought of gruff, stoic Jeralt Eisner laughing through his tears was an amusing one, certainly.  Though Edelgard suspected many would find her much the same, when the day finally came… 

She did, though, wish desperately all of them could be there. 

“Perhaps you will be there in spirit,” she said.

“Be where?”

She jumped and spun--and found Byleth standing quite close, and looking quite smug.  “Don’t startle me like that!”

“You should pay more attention, El.  I wasn’t being quiet.  Not at first, anyway.”

“Regardless.  Though I suppose I was rather lost in my own head…”

“Thinking about what?”  Byleth’s hand slipped casually around her own. 

Casual intimacy--that, too, was a very alien feeling, and Edelgard could not help looking down at it, as if she needed to confirm for herself that their hands were entwined.  “Family,” she said.  “I was thinking about… family.”

The hand around hers squeezed--and when she looked up, Byleth was smiling that familiar Byleth-smile.  “Do you want to think about family with me?”

With you…  Edelgard allowed herself a smile in return.  “Yes, my love.  Yes.  Let us think about family… together.”

[houseisekai]

House Isekai: Shadowbringers Act 2, Part 1 - Withering Flower

House Isekai Shadowbringers AU Masterlist Here

—

“I don’t know if anyone will be seeing this message, whether that be myself or anyone else who comes into this godforsaken tower but...My name is Byleth Eisner. Son of Jeralt Eisner.”

“And my name is Sothis. Goddess of Fodlan...evidently.”

“We’re leaving this here in some hopes that this cycle can be broken, and to fix this mistake before it could ever happen...Our memories will be wiped after this, so we want to say everything we can before...before we forget.”

“And if anyone else besides our future selves sees this message, please give them to Byleth at Garreg Mach Monastery.”

“Now that the pleasantries are out of the way...We need to start at the beginning.”

----

[’Neath Dark Waters - Final Fantasy XIV: Shadowbringers OST]

Byleth looked at the reflection of himself in the tower. It was a floating crystal and after taking a deep breath, began speaking into it.

======

“Our journey-

No. 

Your journey. 

It is your journey that we are banking our hopes in.

It is your journey that will give you a different experience, and prevent you from committing the worst atrocity this world has ever seen.

And so, it falls to me to tell you how you got here...

Your journey began when you and Sothis woke up from a dream that had been reoccurring. A dream of a battle at Zanado.

You two did not have any memory of partaking in the fight, yet it was clear as day, despite the fact it had happened centuries ago.

Right as Jeralt was ordering you and the other mercs to prepare for another grueling march, is when your fate would change forever.

You, Sothis, and Jeralt saved three students named Edelgard, Claude, and Dimitri. 

They were part of Garreg Mach Monastery, and when the Knights of said monastery came to retrieve them, they convinced Jeralt to take up his former role of Captain.

Something he had never told you until then.

On the way, you exchanged some colorful conversations with them and tried to convince you to join their side.

All of them were next in line to their respective lands, the Adrestian Empire, Leicester Alliance, and Kingdom of Faerghus.

After being informed that you would become a professor, you were to choose your class to teach for that year.

Either out of instinct, or a wild guess, you went with the Blue Lions, led by Dimitri.

Throughout the course of the year, you fought and bled with your students as you accompanied them to various locations across Fodlan, doing the tasks of the Church. 

According to Sothis and many others, you did not display any emotions whatsoever. Yet, as the year went on, your wall broke little by little.

And by the end of the year with them, your bond with your students was unbreakable.

...But tragedy would soon strike.

No matter how much time has passed, it is a memory that will never leave you. Everything else will be a blur, but this?

It will be the catalyst to your journey.

Your father was killed saving the students from a Demonic Beast attack in Garreg Mach.

Killed by an Agarthan named Kronya.

In the following month, you march for their known location, eager for revenge. With your class right behind you, refusing to let you fight this alone.

Getting caught in a trap set by Solon, you and Sothis had no choice but to fuse together in order to escape.

Although you would not hear her for a very long time, she would never leave your side.

After successfully getting revenge and fusing with your friend, it is then everyone begins to show their true colors.

You journey to the Tomb of the Goddess and sit upon the very throne Sothis once did by orders of Rhea.

When you sat down, nothing happened, confusing everyone in the room.

But it is here when the Flame Emperor ambushes you and your class, and begin to fight Imperial forces.

And it is here where the Flame Emperor’s identity is revealed, alongside Dimitri’s true self.

Upon seeing that Edelgard was the Flame Emperor, he snapped and became unhinged.

Something that was consistent as the month passed on to your next confrontation, when the Adrestian Empire invaded and the battle’s outcome was a stalemate, both sides losing far too many men to occupy the Monastery.

However, during that battle, you fell into the canyon, where you went missing for five years.

It was only thanks to the intervention of Sothis that you were alive when you awoke, though she sent you five years into the future.

And with another year, you singlehandedly turned the war around against the Empire.

And became the saving grace to Dimitri’s grief-fueled madness.

After months of slowly pushing back the relentless tide of Imperial forces, you brought the war to a final showdown at Enbarr.

And it was then that Edelgard had finally met her match, and was killed by Dimitri.

A few days later, you and Dimitri swore to help repair Fodlan and its wartorn lands together.

Although, there was some part of you that wished to fix this outcome. To see if you could do anything different in order to prevent the war from happening.

Sothis had granted you a power known as Divine Pulse, which allowed you to turn back time.

Although it could only be used as a way to restart at most a day back, you called upon her power, and sent yourself back to where it all began.

The day you met Edelgard, Dimitri, and Claude.

Instead of choosing the Blue Lions, you taught the Black Eagles.

Although you had knowledge of prior events, such as Jeralt’s death, nothing you said could stop it from happening.

When the fated day arrived at the Tomb, you sided with Edelgard. 

To find out why she did what she did in the previous timeline.

To your surprise, you found a much softer side to the brutal dictator. 

She held compassion and love for her fellow man.

And unending loyalty to you.

The same could not be said for Rhea, who had shown her colors as a ruthless and hellbent on getting her lost mother back, Sothis.

After defeating Claude and Dimitri, you and Edelgard killed Rhea in a burning city.

When that battle was over, you began to question who was right or wrong.

Who held the moral high ground in this conflict?

Calling upon Sothis again, you went back in time once more and sided with the Church to defeat Edelgard.

What had driven Rhea to similar madness like Dimitri?

You were confident about the answer until you finally found the real side to Rhea. A side she dared not show anyone but family.

Rhea harbored similar feelings, though it came after a near fatal conflict between you and Church forces.

She was nothing more than a daughter wishing to see her mother again.

Feelings you could sympathize with.

Rhea was alive but broken, Dimitri and Edelgard were dead, and Claude was missing.

This was not the ideal outcome you had wished for either.

That meant going back to the beginning.

Although this next attempt would only be your fourth time going back, you and Sothis had lost track of how many years had come and gone since you first met the students.

Going back this time and choosing the Golden Deer class, something new happened.

You met the Ashen Wolves, the secret Fourth House of Garreg Mach.

You discovered what happened to your mother, Sitri, and what Rhea was doing to get her mother back at any cost.

After saving the class, they went their separate ways and the year went on as normal, powerless to stop the events that had already been set in motion.

The journey with Claude did not have the outcome you desired either, although at the very least you now knew what he was doing the entire time in all the previous timelines.

You had put an end to the Agarthan agenda together and worked together to unite Fodlan under the banner of the Leicester Alliance, with Edelgard and Dimitri dead, with Rhea broken.

This had happened again.

And again.

And again.

Nothing you were doing could stop their deaths.

It was beginning to drive you mad.

So mad, you went back one final time.

[The Decision - Xenoblade Chronicles 2 OST]

Choosing the Black Eagles once more, you did everything you could to change anything. Even the smallest thing.

But by the time Jeralt’s death had occurred for the fifth time, you had chosen the final option.

You would unite all four against you, by becoming something far worse than the Empire and Church.

You would destroy this cruel world by forming the Knights of Nemesis.

Recruiting the help of Alois, Leonie, and Shamir, and your original mercenary group, you escaped the Battle of Garreg Mach Monastery and pursued your own agenda.

Little by little, you destroyed the bases of Those Who Slither and stole their technology.

Finally avenging Jeralt by killing Thales, you had become the most dangerous group in Fodlan.

And it was there, where you made your biggest mistake.

Creating the Javelin of Liberation. 

Many years would pass in your war against Edelgard and Rhea as your Knights built the Javelin, and you had forced the entire war to a standstill.

But due to your brutal tactics and unforgiving nature, forged by four timelines worth of loss and death, you would alienate your very own allies.

Leonie was the first one to act by revealing your plans to the Leicester Alliance, calling a summit to Derdriu.

And when you and your escort reached Gronder Field on the way to the Monastery...

---

(Edelgard) “Years ago we fought here as classmates…”

(Dimitri) “And now, we stand together against someone who was once a friend.”

(Claude) “As far as big class reunions go, this one’s got to be the worst one in history…”

(Rhea) “There is to be no mercy for these heretics. Do I make myself clear?”

(Catherine) “Crystal.”

(Seteth) “Loud and clear.”

---

After a bloody battle with heavy casualties on both sides, you retreated back to the Monastery, with all three nations hot on your heels.

Rhea was killed by having the Javelin fired prematurely, and as a result, you had lost your connection to Sothis...For a time.

The final battle approached and you stood near the top, awaiting your fate.

If you won, then everything would be blasted into oblivion. Your struggle would finally end.

And if you didn’t, well then your goal was mostly accomplished. To have everyone alive and united.

But things didn’t go as planned either way...

---

(Claude) “Think about this! Do you think blowing us all to hell is going to solve every problem that we have?!”

(Byleth) “Do you not think I haven’t thought of this? I don’t know the answer, nor will I ever. But, we’ll just have to have faith in the next generation once it fires.”

(Dimitri) “Are you hearing yourself right now?! What about the hundreds of innocents you’ve put down to get here?! And the millions you’re about to kill today!”

(Byleth) “It’s for the greater good.”

(Claude) “The greater good?! What do you think Jeralt would have to say about this greater good?! The people and students you swore to protect?!”

(Byleth) “You will not lecture to me of what he would have wanted! Us as a species are a blight! We will never have the will to move forward and change things for the better!-”

(Edelgard) “PROFESSOR!”

Everyone turned to Edelgard, who was stepping closer to Byleth.

(Edelgard) “Professor I’m…I’m so sorry for what I have done.”

(Byleth) “…!”

(Edelgard) “I…I understand where you’re coming from. I do. All my family is dead, and I wanted to destroy everything the Church stood for because of the crests, Rhea, everything…But…

I never wanted this war to happen. I never wanted any of us to fight each other! I never wanted to fight you, my dear professor! 5 years ago, you showed me just how beautiful and how tragic this world is! 

I’m sorry for all the pain I must have caused you back then. Please, stop this madness and…and we can find a way together to make the world a better place!”

(Byleth) “Edelgard…”

(Edelgard) “Yes?”

(Byleth) “…Nothing would make me happier than to accept your hand, and leave this all behind but…I can never be forgiven for what I’ve done to everyone…To you.”

(Edelgard) “…I understand.”

She unsheathed her axe, Dimitri and Claude moving to her side.

The battle was one sided since you no longer could properly wield the Sword of the Creator.

However, you did not care.

The battle was decided when the Javelin of Liberation finally deployed.

(Edelgard) “Professor…It’s over.”

Byleth looked up to the spell that was displaying the status of the Javelin of Liberation, and smiled.

(Byleth) “You’re right…it is.”

The three looked up to the spell, and saw the meter was full.

(Dimitri) “SHIT!-”

...

(Leonie) “D-Don’t worry about us, the core…!”

They all looked to the core which was pulsating faster and faster.

(Shamir) “Shit, it’s about to activate!”

(Alois) “Y-you-agh! N-Need to overload it with magic! HURRY!”

Dorothea, Linhardt, Lysithea, and Annette all started to cast their strongest spells and aimed it at the core.

(Shamir) “NOW!”

Right as they aimed their hands at the core, it was too late. It was flashing a bright white that enveloped the entire room.

And in the distance, the Javelin fired into the air, and made contact with the ground.

Dimitri, Edelgard, Claude, and you were sent flying backwards.

You had expected nothing would be alive after that hit, but you were wrong.

You looked back to the world, and it was still very much alive.

Although, the skies had darkened to a sickening white and grey hue, the temperature dropping fast.

It would not be long before the world turned into a frozen hellscape.

And much to your horror, the Javelin had not killed everyone in one fell swoop.

You just ensured everyone would die a slow and painful death.

You had overestimated what the technology of the Agarthans were capable of. Not even they could create a world ending device, and your carelessness and overconfidence costed you the world, and those you called friends...

When you turned around, Edelgard, Dimitri, and Claude were killed from the fall, while the forces under your command were engaged in a civil war.

Several hours later, you did not see any of your former students or faculty member which meant one thing: they were killed too.

It was just you and the men under your command.

Not having the option to turn back time, you and the Knights of Nemesis did everything they could to find any device to turn back time with the technology you had.

The Knights carried the technology back to the area with the most magical readings: Zanado.

And there, you all had created the tower, half out of the materials you had brought, and the materials there. It was crude, but it would get the job done.

And...It was here you could finally reunite with an old friend. And gave a final message to yourself.

I don’t know when or how you’ll see this message but...Find us. Before it’s too late. Don’t do what I did. And forge yourself a path that can save everyone, truly.”

======

[’Neath Dark Waters - Final Fantasy XIV: Shadowbringers OST]

Byleth put the crystal down and took a deep breath.

This would be the last thing he would record before the timeline was reset yet again.

But this time, he had no idea what was going to happen. Sothis was here, yes, but her power had greatly diminished by now.

She was only visible thanks to the Zanado Tower.

He looked outside an opening out the tower, and stared at the graves he had made for the Knights of Nemesis. 

They stayed with him until the end, whether out of pure loyalty, or wanting to reset what they had done.

Byleth would never know the answer.

(Byleth) “...WIth the tower restoring your power, you should be able to reset time once more with your Divine Pulse.”

(Sothis) “Hm...”

Sothis raised her hand and began drawing energy as Byleth sat down.

(Byleth) “...Thank you. I don’t expect forgiveness for my actions-”

(Sothis) “Don’t apologize to me. I said I’d be with you no matter what. And this is no exception. Apologize to those we have lost.”

(Byleth) “...”

(Sothis) “Do you think it was a good idea leaving that message? Perhaps this is something your...next self needs to know.”

(Byleth) “It isn’t but he will have to. Otherwise we’re doomed to repeat these exact mistakes. And maybe they won’t be so lucky to get the technology we have right now.”

(Sothis) “I suppose that’s true.”

They both remained in silence before Sothis finally lowered her hand and turned to Byleth.

(Sothis) “Child. My powers in combination with Agarthan, Goddess, and manmade magic...This could be a catastrophic reset.”

(Byleth) “I know-”

(Sothis) “There is no telling the amount of damage we can cause.”

(Byleth) “I know!”-

(Sothis) “And we could possibly tear apart reality itsel-”

(Byleth) “I KNOW!...I know, Sothis...”

Byleth’s back slid down the wall and his head looked up at the ceiling.

(Byleth) “I know. But I have to try something...Hah, even though I had the hindsight of how Dimitri and Rhea acted, I ended up becoming exactly like them...”

Sothis floated over to Byleth and attempted to hold his hand.

To both of their surprise, they actually managed to feel something, and it was then Sothis held his hand tightly and took a deep breath.

(Sothis) “...Goodbye, Byleth. And thank you, for everything.”

(Byleth) “...See you around, Sothis.”

Byleth closed his eyes as Sothis invoked the Zanado Tower.

...

...

...

...

Byleth slowly opened his eyes and saw Jeralt standing over him.

Sothis yawned obnoxiously, and Byleth tried to do his best to ignore her and not weird his father out.

(Jeralt) “Were you having that dream again?”

(Byleth) “Yeah...something about a war.”

(Jeralt) “Massive armies clashing on a vast field, right? There hasn’t been a battle like that in over three centuries. In any case, just put that out of your mind for right now-”

As Jeralt began to explain how dangerous it was to let your mind wander, Sothis as if on cue yawned even louder as she floated over to Byleth.

(Sothis) “Ugh, we’re up already?”

(Byleth) Not now, Sothis.

(Sothis) “Why? What’s he explaining to you that you don’t already know?”

Even though Byleth couldn’t express much, he was certainly feeling annoyed.

SLAM!

(Mercenary) “Jeralt! Sir! Sorry to barge in but your presence is needed!”

(Jeralt) “What’s happened?”

Outside...

(Dimitri) “Please, forgive our intrusion! We would not bother you were our situation not dire!”

(Jeralt) “What do a bunch of kids like you want at this hour?-”

FWOOM!

A black and purple portal appeared behind them, spitting out four screaming people as they landed with a violent thud.

(Sothis) “Woah.”

(Jeralt) “Oh, what now?!”

(Byleth) “Hm?”

(Boy in green cloak) “Ack, get the hell off me!”

(Girl with blue hair) “S-SHUT UP! YOU LANDED ON ME!”

(Girl in red) “I...hurk! Might be sick from that!”

(Girl in yellow) “P-People!”

(Edelgard) “What in the?”

(Claude) “Today just keeps getting interesting, doesn’t it?”

The four of them quickly got up in a panicked manner.

(Boy in green) “WHO THE HELL ARE YOU GUYS?!”

(Girl with blue hair) “Hey, don’t piss them off, you idiot!”

(Girl in yellow) “H-Hello there! We are adventurers and...We appear to be lost!”

(Jeralt) “Clearly.”

(Byleth) “Who are you?”

(Boy in green) “...Well uh...That’s Aqua, Megumin, and Darkness. And I’m Kazuma, I guess.”

...

[More than Truth - Final Fantasy XIV: Shadowbringers OST]

(Byleth) “And that was our first contact with someone from another universe...”

Sothis nodded.

(Sothis) “So then...Six years later, they help us end the war in Fodlan, then we send the four of them home.”

Byleth looked at the nearby crystal walls.

They were replaying memories when Kazuma and his group first arrived in Fodlan.

Kazuma and Darkness went with the Blue Lions, while Megumin and Aqua had gone to the Black Eagles and Golden Deer respectively.

They caused some chaos in Fodlan with their stupidity, but they saved lives. And when they finally went home, Byleth went to sleep that night, and when he woke up...

...

(Byleth) “D-Dad...?”

When Byleth turned to his left, his eyes became wider.

(Sothis) “...W-wha...?!”

(Jeralt) “Where’d that come from, kid?”

(Byleth) “You’re both alive?!”

Jeralt was taken aback by how suddenly expressive his son was.

(Jeralt) “Clearly you’re still out of it. Come on, get up.”

(Sothis) “B-But we’re fused together aren’t we? How am I-”

SLAM!

(Mercenary) “Jeralt! Sir! Sorry to barge in but your presence is needed!”

(Jeralt) “What’s happened?”

Outside...

(Dimitri) “Please, forgive our intrusion! We would not bother you were our situation not dire!”

(Jeralt) “What do a bunch of kids like you want at this hour?-”

FWOOM!

A black and purple portal appeared behind them, spitting out at least a dozen people with a violent thud.

As it finished, a massive iron golem was teleported behind them.

(Boy in red) “What in the world...?!”

(Woman in yellow and blue) “Crap, is everyone okay?!”

(Small girl in green) “Y-Yes, Instructor Sara!”

Byleth and Sothis looked at each other.

(Byleth) “Doesn’t this seem like-”

(Sothis) “Kazuma and his group!”

After a wave of confusion among the group, they got around to introducing themselves.

(Boy in red) “My name is Rean Schwarzer of Class VII.”

...

(Sothis) “Then came Class VII.”

Byleth nodded as their memories were displayed on the crystal wall.

They could both hear their words almost clear as day as they walked down the hallway, but did their best to ignore it.

(Byleth) “After Class VII was sent home, we were reset back to the beginning yet again...”

(Sothis) “Then it was...The Phantom Thieves.”

(Byleth) “Right. Then, Megumi, S.E.E.S, the Investigation Team, Denizens of Nazarick, Slayer, and lastly the School-Living Club.”

They reached the end of the hallway.

Each time they had finished their journey with the newcomers, they were reset back when they first woken up by Jeralt, and the following group would take their place until last time.

Before the reset could happen, they chose to reset time themselves with Divine Pulse.

They had no idea if it would work, but they had to try something to break out of this loop. 

It resulted in the creation of House Isekai.

Instead of the groups appearing one at a time, they all showed up at once.

And it was now that they all went back to their respective homes together, but Sothis and Byleth could already feel the timeline about to reset once more.

And it was only now they discovered a tower had formed in Zanado.

They had no idea what was inside, but after walking through it, they were starting to get an idea.

Byleth saw at the end of the hallway, a small crystal laying on the ground.

(Byleth) “What is...?”

The crystal displayed a small window, showing the two the contents.

(Byleth) “Is...this a mirror or something?-”

(Crystal) “I don’t know if anyone will be seeing this message, whether that be myself or anyone else who comes into this godforsaken tower but...My name is Byleth Eisner. Son of Jeralt Eisner.”

Byleth and Sothis looked at the Crystal that was playing the recording, and let it play all the way.

Once it was done, they were speechless.

(Byleth) “I...I caused all this?”

Byleth was absolutely horrified by this revelation. He looked at the tower and the crystal mirrors around him, struggling to get his mind wrapped around it.

And it was then the crystal mirrors began to display the routes he had taken prior.

Before the memories of his past were wiped.

(Sothis) “So, this tower is why we keep getting sent back and brought the others in?”

(Byleth) “There’s...There’s no way I would do this! I wouldn’t do any of this!”

(Sothis) “I do not think we can deny what is in front of us. How do we prevent this? No, no. How do we prevent being sent back in time again?!”

(Byleth) “They reset time with Divine Pulse while also using the tower. Perhaps we could try-”

(Sothis) “What?! Child, you heard what that caused, it caused us to lose our memories and rip apart dimensions!”

(Byleth) “Well we have to try something! We did EVERYTHING we were given, fought and bled with our students! WE EVEN HAD OUR DAMN PERFECT ENDING! AND STILL! STILL WE’RE GOING TO LOSE EVERYTHING!”

The memories began to overwhelm the two, hearing echoes of their past finally catch up to them after so many years and timelines.

(Byleth) “...Sothis. We have to. We have to do things right and save everyone.”

(Sothis) “This is a terrible idea.”

Sothis sighed as she began to draw energy into herself from the tower.

(Sothis) “It could barely handle one time, I’m not sure if a second time will-”

KABOOOOOOM!

The entire tower shook violently, forcing Sothis to stop.

(Byleth) “What the hell?!”

The tower began emitting an almost ear piercing screech as everyone’s voices became too much to bear.

(Byleth) “SOTHIS, DO IT NOW!”

(Sothis) “R-RIGHT, HANG ON!”

Sothis raised her hand once more and everything began to turn back in time.

All they had done was reset once again.

Byleth opened his eyes and reached for his head, it pounding in pain.

(Byleth) “Ugh...”

When he looked around, he noticed that everything around them was still the same.

(Sothis) “Did...Did we do anything?”

(Byleth) “I’m not sure. We’re not back at Jeralt’s so maybe we need to-”

Before he could finish his sentence, they heard someone break into the tower.

The reflections in the crystal walls showed multiple men in black robes walking into the tower, seemingly examining it.

(Sothis) “Agarthans?”

(Byleth) “Wait a second isn’t that...?”

The Flame Emperor teleported in and looked around the area with the Agarthans.

(Byleth) “Edelgard?”

(Sothis) “She isn’t supposed to be here! We resolved everything with House Isekai so does that mean?-”

(Byleth) “We’re back in time again. But if we’re here then...who’s in our place?”

One of the Agarthans made their way up to the tower and was completely alone, getting closer to Byleth’s location.

Byleth and Sothis hid near the stairs as they heard the Agarthan walk up.

When the Agarthan made their way down the hall, Byleth stabbed him in the back with the Sword of the Creator and took his robes.

(Sothis) “What are you doing?”

(Byleth) “Improvising. We don’t know what’s going on, and I’ll be damned if I’m getting us caught.”

After Byleth finished getting dressed, he took the mask off the Agarthan and put it on himself.

(Byleth) “We’re gonna need a name as we figure this out.”

(Sothis) “Hm...I think I know one.”

...

Lahabrea made his way to Remire village and saw Dimitri, Edelgard, and Claude run to the entrance.

(Lahabrea) “So that seems to be correct, so all that’s left is-”

The gate opened, revealing Jeralt, Byleth, and Sothis.

(Lahabrea) “What in the hell...?”

And as if on cue, Kazuma and his group emerged from a portal behind the students.

(Sothis) “Why are there two of us?”

(Lahabrea) “We must have done something to the tower and we used it for the second time...”

Kazuma’s voice echoed through both of their heads, slowly joined in by the rest of his group.

(Lahabrea) “...We need to go back to the tower and figure out what’s going on.”

(Sothis) “Right.”

Sothis disappeared and before Lahabrea started moving, he took one last look at the Byleth in his place.

...

INTERMISSION

[macuilsung]

"I want the K!" for Dorothea c:

via Send me 'I want the K' and I'll generate a number (closed!):

Result: 7: Romantic kiss!

He couldn’t believe he went and finally said it. Despite the heart-to-heart with Byleth and the few rounds of liquid courage he indulged in before the professor cut him off, he still couldn’t believe he went and told them all the very next day. The Abyssian thought for certain that he would have chickened out of his decision come morning, but no, he followed through, much to his own surprise.

Whether it was the best call in the long run, he could not yet know, but after what happened with Monica and Jeralt? Blurring the lines between “Forwin Tyrell” and “Wyndell von Gerth” felt like the right thing to do in the present, and now there were no more secrets between himself and the others. For better or worse... now the Black Eagles and Ashen Wolves knew everything. His name, background, and Crest. Not one stone was left unturned where it could be helped.

With all of that madness out of the way, the bard simply opted to retire for today. Give his brain some much-needed rest after answering question after question. Ruminate on some of the reactions he received, bracing on how his relationships might change now that all the Eagles know he’s a fellow blue-blood. Nurse his sore cheek with some vulnerary after a robust slap from an upset Constance, which wasn’t unexpected, given their families’ shared history.

Have some needed peace and quiet to himself after sundown.

It was just him and his lute behind the greenhouse, the moon high above in a clear sky reflecting on the fishing pond, and the crickets singing their tune in the grass.

“...what the hell am I even doing?” Forwin groaned in self-admonishment, his hand stilling from strumming so that he may reach up and pinch the bridge of his nose hard. Did he only just wind up ruining everything for himself, and alienate everyone he’s befriended in Garreg Mach in the process? Much weighed on his mind yet.

For one... it concerned him that Dorothea didn’t say anything to him, standing there today in the classroom like a number of thoughts were crashing in on her all at once. No, that’s not quite it—it actually frightened him deep down, to the point he can’t commit to playing his instrument so that he can even relax at all. After all, she was many things to him now: his first real crush ever since he saw her perform onstage in Enbarr as the Mystical Songstress; a close friend among a house full of elites; someone with whom he could hold day-long conversations about their shared craft, let alone sing and play with; a woman he’s come to pine for all over again the closer they became with time.

Yet he kept mum while she tried to find a decent man to care for her in the future, as much as it pained him to see her continue her romantic pursuits. Besides, he knew it too well: what lifetime comforts can an Abyssian provide from an underground hovel for someone like her? Someone whom he felt is entitled to the world at her feet and the stars above, if he could will it?

No, it was far worse than that. He was an Abyssian whose real identity made for the very sort of person she despised most: a noble. Not that she begrudged her own housemates, save an unfortunate Ferdinand von Aegir, but she once confided in the bard some of her hatred towards the uppermost class and Forwin completely agreed with her at that, even validated it! Hell, who knows better the cruelties of nobility than a noble?

An honest one at least, but honest was the last thing he’s been with her all year round.

With enough regret to make his own chest feel heavier with sorrow than it healthily should, he set his lute aside so he could simply lean forward from his cobblestone seat, stare into the water, and be miserable. Hah, a miserable bard! Such a tale would be worth a good comedy production on its own.

“I’m... so sorry, Dorothea,” he murmured mournfully to none but his moonlit reflection in the pond, and hers. “There... There’s still so much I want to tell you I didn’t want to say in front of the others. Stories I want you to hear first, so you could understand why I’m...”

The pang in his chest only grew deeper, to the point he fell silent as he watched their images ripple in the water from the wind’s late night chill.

“...and not... just those. I also want you to know how painfully my heart burned for you all this time too, but... hey, not that I think I deserve your friendship at this point, anyway.” ‘It’s probably for the best.’ Those last words, he would keep to himself behind a sad smile and a long, tired sigh, as his eyes kept staring into those of her persisting like...ness... in... the water...?

...wait just a Sothis-damned second-

“DOROTHEA-?!”

With renewed vigour, the wide-eyed musician finally snapped to attention, scrambling up on his feet and turning to face the genuine article in question. Had he shouted any louder, he would’ve risked waking up the students in the dorms! What was with that look on the woman’s face right now? It’s almost like the one from this morning—wait, how long has she been there? She didn’t really hear all that just now, did she?!

...

...

...

OH GODDESS SHE HEARD IT ALL!!!

Mouth hung agape in belated realization, leaving an embarrassed Forwin to unravel at the seams! At this moment, there was nothing he wanted more than to be buried six feet under with growing panic. Tears weren’t welling up in his eyes now of all times, were they?! Saints above, this was mortifying-!!! How could this get any worse?!

“L...look, I, I know you have every possible reason to be upset with me, because I lied to you about everything, but please, j...just know that I-I never wanted to hurt y-”

“—MHFF?!”

So caught up he was in his own head that he failed to see her coming, as the former starlet practically threw herself onto the Ashen Wolf and pushed her lips against his own so that he may finally shut up. Suddenly, Forwin found himself acutely aware of sensations he never expected to have the privilege of feeling: the intoxicating beat of her breath against his skin with warmth; the full weight of her body onto his engraving itself into his mind; her fingers gripping tightly onto the aged white fabric of his facsimile Academy uniform...

All of it and more overwhelmed enough to melt into the kiss and almost forget the basic human instinct of breathing. Still, it took little time for him to gather his wits anew, and so did one arm wrap itself taut around Dorothea’s waistline while his other brought his cool palm up to her cheek.

Relief within him blossomed into sheer bliss and his worries waned as though they’ve already passed innumerable eons ago. Why, his heart felt so full to bursting that he could sing whole ballads of their first kiss alone, for never in his wildest dreams could he ever imagine she would...

[fromthedeskofelizabeththird]

thērepōdos

FE3H | Dimileth | Gen

Based on this one head canon I had about Byleth first feeling a heartbeat when pregnant. 

thērepōdos | “charming wild beasts” 

~~ Alexei Jeralt Lambert Blaiddyd.

Yesterday that name meant nothing to her.

Now it is her everything and fills every corner of her heart. Byleth can’t tear her eyes away from the cot, can’t focus on anything but the tiny body in her arms.

They told her this would happen but she had never believed them. A mother’s thoughts and feelings are alien to her-a foreign language she has often overheard though never understood. Her mistake, she supposes, was trying to apply strategy to this particular unknown.

She tried to think several steps ahead from the moment she found out. Ever the ashen demon, her response was to search for a calendar and reschedule her public appearances while Dimitri fell into silence, overwhelmed by the news.

They fought a lot during her pregnancy.

Byleth has never been delicate. Her hands are covered in calluses from hours of training and her body has been beaten countless shades of black and blue. She carries a sword and switchblade even after taking on the combined mantles of archbishop and Queen of Faerghus. She saw no reason for things to be different simply because she carried a child. Her body had survived far harsher conditions than pregnancy.

Dimitri, by comparison, will never forget the feeling of losing everything. He spent his youth chasing the same stolen legacy that he now swears to protect. Every scar on his body holds a memory and almost all of them are betrayal. He is no longer the raging beast that executed thieves but he and Byleth both know that it still dwells within him, caught in a restless sleep. 

One of their first arguments in those first few months fell on his insistence that she remain in Faerghus until the child was born, only to be met with a flat refusal. Byleth was the archbishop and her presence at Garreg Mach was important to say the least. 

They compromised, albeit reluctantly. Byleth returned to the monastery accompanied by Dudue, who was equally as-if not more so- protective of the unborn heir. In truth, Byleth did not know who coddled her more: Dudue, who spent night after night guarding her bedroom door; Seteth, who sternly rearranged her schedule despite her insistence that she wasn’t too tired nor too weak to attend everything on it; Alois, who rubbed her stomach like a magic lamp and bellowed at the other knights at even the slightest threat to the safety of Jeralt’s grandchild; her husband, who would appear at the monastery on a whim and spend the evenings draped across her as if to protect her from thin air. 

Dimitri’s final condition was that she spend her final months in Fhirdiad and she kept her word, returning to the capital during the first winter snow. By then the combination of discomfort and being mollycoddled had left her temper at boiling point. She just wanted it to be over; wanted to hold her child in her arms and get back to her duties.

Of course, that all fell apart during the Guardian Moon.

Labour was a battle unlike any she had fought before. For the first time in her life, she was truly afraid. Even she, the ashen demon, screamed eventually, a gesture so utterly out of character that it sent her husband sprinting into the room. 

As per tradition, he had originally not been permitted to be present, but tradition meant nothing to him as he sat by her head and gave her his hand, which she held onto for dear life, all arguments forgotten.

Their son is a day old now and Dimitri has yet to leave the room. He has taken his meals there and slept on the hard floor, moving at lightning speed any time that Alexei so much as sniffles. 

She sees the irony now, even if she won’t accept it.

Just as her son’s name meant nothing to her yesterday, she now understands the overprotectiveness of her husband and everyone around her. She is all too aware of the empty spaces her boy once occupied inside of her as if he is all of the precious parts of her body and soul. She keeps her husband’s dagger under her pillow, ready to cut apart anyone who so much as wishes him harm.

She will place as many guards outside of his door as it takes; keep a blade from his hands for as long as it takes. He is the future Dimitri fought for; the future she never believed would be hers. 

Her boy’s heartbeat is the only one she has ever had and for that she will fight to the death.

[asksythe]

Forge the new Sun Snippet 1

So I’ve been exercising my writing muscles again after 2 years of not writing anything for myself. This is the beginning of the first chapter of this FE Three Houses story I’m writing.  The Premise is: There is no petite goddess in Byleth’s head, only an endless fountain of ancient, forgotten knowledge and an unyielding urge to reforge this world.  ........................................................................................................................... It starts first with a shield, sun-worn and edged in leather, its sturdy silver body lined with cracks and dents more numerous than Byleth can count. It is well loved and well used, and quite possibly older than her. It has accompanied her father in and out of far more battles, skirmishes, and random bar brawls than she cares to remember. 

The old war horse of a tool. 

And then one day, it fails. 

She remembers that day vividly. She sits on the steps of a tiny chapel in a tiny village in the ass end of nowhere, so out of the way it doesn’t even have an attending priest, only a couple nuns to sweep its altar and care for the ever increasing orphans of war. 

She is five and a half, too young to follow him into battle, but occasionally into bars and places of less repute. So she sits and waits and receives now and again lessons from the nuns. 

He comes back, as he always does, his impossibly broad back haloed by a descending red sun. Lines of scarlet snake around his sword arm, and there in his side, a scarlet flower blooms brilliantly. 

She remembers startling at the sight, at his pronounced limp and the way he looks at her, relief and exhaustion warring on his face. The company men around him twitter like a flock of chickens at the slaughter before rushing him into the chapel proper as the nuns circle him.

Byleth is left to the side along with some of her father’s stuff, the shield included. It is cracked. There is a hole in the middle of it in the shape of a newborn star. Jagged, wicked edges that tell of its violent failing. She remembers fingering the edges and then unwittingly draws blood on one sharp spike as her unbeating heart seems to swell impossibly large for her yet tiny ribcage. 

She thinks, imagines in her little head, how the fight must have gone. Her valiant, larger than life father against some faceless foe in feverish battle. A lance rushes from the dark and meets the wall of the shield, punching through in one violent motion, and then that same sharp blade of the lance meeting the flesh and blood body of Jeralt Eisner. 

She thinks of that scarlet flower blooming greedily in her father’s side, growing larger and larger by the minute as he grows paler. She thinks of that shadow that threatens to engulf his face and that dazed look in his eyes. It is so close to his chest, she thinks. Another finger span and it might have something else.

She circles her arms around her knees, balling herself up as the cold comes in the wake of the last light of the sun, her hot breath drawing moist spots on her clenched fists. She has never cried in her life, never once throws a tantrum or other such expected activities from the regular toddler. It is an oddity that means father can never leave her alone with the many childcare houses in the villages they pass by. The children never take well to her, as if sensing she isn’t quite like any of them.  

But she feels that perhaps she may be on the verge of it now. 

Despite the fact that all the children in the world think their parents invincible, immortal gods. Byleth, even at only five and a half, has seen enough still bodies being carted away in the aftermath of her father’s jobs to know that even the legendary Blade Breaker would not rise from a lance to the heart.

She thinks then, of the void that will follow his death. 

Her unbeating heart feels like a hole now, dark and abyssal, as she brings one hand to trace the shield once more. She hates how small and helpless she feels in the face of it all. As her father battles for his life, she sits here on the curb and waits uselessly. 

“You fail,” she whispers in accusation. 

And then, as if in response to the dark despair of a young child, a star blooms in her mind, old and alien and bringing with it an answer to the helplessness that threatens to drown her. Ideas flood her head as she eyes the brittle silvers and torn up leathers. 

Here, says the star, a layer of Argathium, facing outward, to bleed the enemy of his strength. 

There, it points to the torn leather handle, laced with Mythril to imbue him with vitality.

And finally, it draws her gaze to the hole in the middle of the shield, bless him with your sigil of the flames, so all under heaven would cow before his might, and none but the most wicked of hearts would dare bare their fangs against him.  

Byleth’s tiny fingers shake as they touch the heart of the shield, her young mind shivering under the assault of a star. Ideas, alien and old and out of this world, a cascade of whispers susurussing in the back of her head. All of them promising her a way… no… ways… countless ways… to keep that void she imagined from ever happening, to make sure that father will always… always... come back to her. 

She closes her hand around the torn handle and says finally. 

“You will never fail again.”

[goldguile]

❛ all i’ve ever wanted to be was useful ❜ - pai

   you wonder what growing up as a mercenary is like as you sip your tea, considering paimonia’s words carefully. 

   you’ve grown up with the desire to be useful, too: to be everything your kingdom thought you could not because of the leicester blood running through your veins. to prove them wrong and yourself a capable prince. a capable king. to lead not only almyra but fodlan, but the entire world into a golden age… 

   you doubt paimonia’s desires were anything as lofty. they did not grow up in the luxury of a castle, surrounded by servants and never having to wonder when one would eat next, or whether they would have a roof over their heads on the coldest nights of the year. they grew up traveling from the empire to the kingdom to the alliance and back again, likely taking careful measures to leave no trail behind lest the knights of seiros pick up on it. 

   she would have watched mercenaries come and go, hired and dismissed should they be unable to pull their weight in jeralt’s company, and understood the necessity to work hard to support others… even if it felt alien to them. even if they felt nothing. a desire to be useful… to earn her keep. help jeralt pay the bills and the men by bringing in coin.

   perhaps you have it all wrong. your perspective is different, of course. all you can do is imagine and wait for paimonia to elaborate. 

   in the meantime, you can at least set your teacup down and place a gloved hand on hers, linking your fingers together and giving that dainty finger a gentle squeeze. 

“well, you’ve more than succeeded at that. so many people rely on and care for you… as more than just a soldier or someone who will help solve their problems: as a beloved and trusted friend. i know i certainly have. honestly, pai… i don’t know if i would have made it this far if you weren’t by my side. thank you for… well, for everything, really. if there was anything i could ever do to repay you for even an iota of all you have done… i would move mountains, i think. no, much more than that.” 

   you don’t know where the sudden bout of sentimentality came from, but you don’t really care. paimonia eisner is one of the few people you feel you can let down your guard and speak your mind around. right now, she deserves to know she is cared for. 

   … she is loved.

@valorwilled | prompt.