#yes i know having byleth with him changes his perspective

[voxmilia]

Claude: in truth I was hoping to become a supreme ruler and lead Fodlan to peace myself

VW Byleth: 😒😒😒😒

[raxistaicho]

It really bothers me when people claim Edelgard was taking advantage of Dimitri at the end of Azure Moon and used his attempt to reach out to her as a chance to try and kill him. And it makes me realize most people don't keep their minds open to other perspectives past their favorite house.

First, did anyone else notice WHERE Edelgard chose to throw that dagger? She chose his left shoulder. In a spot where the armor is thinner/weaker but not deadly. If she really wanted to kill him, she could have thrown it at his head which is completely exposed. Or, better yet, accept his hand and then stab him in the heart, neck, or stomach several times. Edelgard isn't an idiot. She would know where the killing blows would need to land.

Second, in Silver Snow and Verdant Wind, Edelgard makes it VERY clear that, once she loses, there is no way this war ends unless she dies.

This is literally what she says to Byleth when about to die.

Edelgard: It looks as though… my path… will end here. My teacher… claim your victory. Strike me down. You must! Even now… across this land, people are killing each other. If you do not act now, this conflict…will go on forever. Your path… lies across my grave. It is time for you to find the courage to walk it. If I must fall… let it be by your hand.

If she stays alive, those loyal to her will continue to fight. Those opposed to her would rise up against any leader that offers her clemency. The people of Faerghus are very set in their ways (even if Dimitri is more open to change than the rest of the Kingdom). If he let Edelgard live, it would have sparked another civil war within the Kingdom, while encouraging those who believed in Edelgard's cause to keep fighting. The war would never end.

On top of that, Edelgard already spent so much time locked up in dungeons and being treated as a prisoner when she was a child. If she accepted Dimitri's offer of peace, her future would see her locked up in cold, dark dungeons with the rats, potentially facing torture for the rest of her shortened life. Even if Dimitri doesn't want that, the people will demand it of him. The CHURCH would demand it of him. And he's made it very clear in other routes and supports that the Kingdom opposing the Church is bad for him and the people of Faerghus because of how entwined the Church's influence is in the kingdom.

Edelgard went into this war knowing exactly what was at stake and what her fates would be regardless of outcome. She knew what accepting Dimitri's hand would mean. So she chose to make the hard choice that he refuses to make; she ends the war she started by forcing him to kill her.

I love Dimitri, but I have to say it. He's probably the most coddled of the three lords. Yes, he's been through a lot and struggles with his mental health, but when it comes to making the hard choices as a ruler, he sucks at it. And Edelgard, and to a major extent Felix, are the only ones willing to call him out on it. Everyone else just stands by as he makes decisions that are, frankly, completely irresponsible of a man who has an entire nation he's supposed to govern and protect.

Yeah, people saying Edelgard was trying to kill him are a special kind of desperate. You had it perfectly: she was trying to convey to him that it had to end that way.

[dpsisquared]

(About the soulmate au)

...More than Sothis contacting Dimitri directly in his mind i thought more of sothis wacking the divine pulse like a faulty tv remote until something clicked and somehow he started remembering the time loops... he somehow keep doing things differently each time w different results (executing Miklan, forgiving Miklan, fixing his relationship w Felix, getting into a bigger fight w Felix, forgiving the western lords, having Silvain and Ingrid killed, saving Silvain and Ingrid, finding out even more about Anselma, etc.) until he thought he was actually going crazy and broke down to Rodrigue and Rod told him about the old legend of loog and the maiden of the wind bc he realizes Byleth's death is the common denominator... aka Dimitri's time itself is locked into her existance... and he starts to find more abour her and becomes intrigued w her... 😃

The sothis dragging him by his ugly hair was more like, Sothis fucked up and he accidentally got dragged in the time loop, whoops... SO technically not a soulmate au but they all think it is because of the legend.

So since the legend says the only way time advanced for Loog again was to receive the love of his maiden I guess Dimitri will have to put all of his efforts into seducing the beautiful fish eyed mercenary... for ⋆🌟✪✨ Faerghus ⋆🌟✪✨...

I haven't abandoned you, nonny. The problem with actually writing this is that it would necessarily include a lot of fighting lol. But I do love the idea of him figuring it out. I changed it up a bit but I hope you like this silly little snippet I wrote 😊

Dimitri could take this torture no longer. He hurried into Rodrigue's tent, drawing the flap closed tightly.

The former Duke read his mood without a word. "What's troubling you, Your Majesty?"

"Rodrigue, this may sound mad, but I am reliving the same day over and over again."

The older man's face paled, and he put aside the documents he was studying. "Reliving what day, exactly?"

"This one. We go to battle and encounter Jeralt's Mercenaries before reaching the main imperial force. But we never get past that part. After the Ashen Demon dies, or if I die, I wake up to the same day. I've lost count of how many times it's been so far."

Rodrigue was silent for several minutes, probably considering how to keep the Kingdom afloat with a delusional king.

"You're absolutely sure it's the Ashen Demon's death that causes the events to repeat?"

"Yes. The last time, I faced her myself and felt time pulling me backward as soon as the light died from her eyes. It's hazy, but I know at other times, she has killed me. But death never comes. I simply wake up to do it all again."

"Your Majesty... Dimitri," he said with a sigh. His old friend looked like he had aged a decade in the last few minutes. "There's something your father didn't get a chance to tell you. A special circumstance of your Blaiddyd blood."

"Is it madness? Hallucinations?"

Finally, Rodrigue's pained expression softened, and he gave the king a reassuring smile.

"No, my dear boy, nothing like that. It concerns your soulmate."

He scoffed. "This is no time to think of romance!" The royal advisors would disagree, of course. They hounded him about his lack of heirs daily, and he was sick of it.

But Rodrigue held up a hand to silence his protest. "Hear me out. There is a legend about the soulmates of Faerghan kings, going all the way back to Loog and the Maiden of the Wind."

"Spit it out, man, please!" Dimitri begged. Legends and soulmates? What importance could those trivial things have at a time like this?

"The Ashen Demon is your soulmate, Your Majesty."

Dimitri gave him a flat stare, waiting for clarification. But the other man was silent. "Is that some kind of twisted joke? You think I could love a monster like that?"

In some of the timelines, he'd seen her cut down Rodrigue himself with no remorse! Though, now that he'd lived the day from several perspectives, she only did that after Shez killed Jeralt right in front of her. Not that the circumstances justified the murder, but how could he condemn her when he held the same hatred in his heart?

Which is why this soulmate talk was truly unbelievable. It was just as unlikely that anyone could love a monster like him.

He looked back to Rodrigue, who seemed to be waiting for the shock to subside before continuing.

"You're aware that Loog and his wife first met on opposite sides of the battlefield."

"Yes, of course. Everyone knows that story. When Loog saw Deichtine, he dropped Areadbhar and beseeched her to join his side, for he would rather die than harm such a beautiful and talented warrior. When she lowered her sword and took his hand, the soul bond manifested."

Ashe and Ingrid loved the story, but it had always struck Dimitri as unrealistic and unnecessarily dramatic. More likely, both sides had suffered major losses, so the two commanders arranged a political marriage to avoid further bloodshed. Count Rowe had not-so-subtly suggested the same strategy to soothe relations in the West.

"Yes," Rodrigue confirmed. "That is the version in the storybooks. But the secret legend handed down the line of Blaiddyd is that Loog killed Diechtine when they met on the battlefield. The king stooped to take her head just before she took her last breath, and the soul bond formed. He cried out to the goddess to save her, to take his own life if needed."

Dimitri had leaned in, drawn to this version of the story much more than the original.

"The goddess took pity on the soulmates, unfortunate enough to be born in a time of war. She decreed that she would save Diechtine, but the descendant of Blaiddyd must win the heart of his maiden fairly, without revealing their bond. And by doing so, end the war which caused suffering for the Goddess' beloved people. The day would repeat endlessly until he was able to accomplish the feat."

"I understand, but what does that have to do with me?"

"The problem is, the goddess wasn't exactly specific on which Blaiddyd descendant, which maiden, or which war. Situations with the same broad characteristics have presented themselves more than once throughout history."

Dimitri had always thought the goddess aloof, but this information put her in a new light. Maybe she was simply incompetent.

"So this curse has been passed down to me."

Rodrigue raised an eyebrow at him. "Most people would consider a guaranteed soulmate a blessing, Your Majesty."

"What a burden," the king replied. "It's hard to believe that more than one of my forbears have met their soulmates this way."

Rodrigue failed to completely suppress a smirk. "Ah. Well, your line appears to prefer its lovers... feisty."

"Rodrigue!" Dimitri cried, blushing furiously. "To say such a thing at a time like this!"

He'd never thought of such things, not when there was a kingdom to run and thousands of people whose lives depended on him! And he had certainly never considered his... preferences.

Although, thinking about it outside of the heat of battle, the Ashen Demon was quite lovely. And her skill was beyond compare... Gods, he sounded like Sylvain.

"My apologies, Your Majesty," Rodrigue said with a chuckle. He didn't seem terribly repentant. "Circumstances aside, I for one am happy to know you have a soulmate. All of us have tried to get you to take better care of yourself. Perhaps she will be the one you finally listen to."

The man across from Dimitri may have been like a second father, but this was no time for levity! Wasn't his misery obvious?

"There's one thing I don't understand. How did Loog convince Diechtine of their love in mere moments upon the battlefield?"

"That's the other secret. The king actually snuck into her tent before dawn broke, so he had several hours to woo her. This was after many attempts, of course, each one teaching him something new about the maiden. The conversation on the battlefield was merely a performance for their troops to see."

"He... wooed her," repeated Dimitri in disbelief. "I have to... woo the Ashen Demon? In less than a day?"

"Cheer up, Your Majesty!" said Rodrigue with a good-natured pat on the back. "We already know there's something she'll love about you. We just have to figure out what it is!"

Dimitri left the tent with a tempest swirling in his mind. He knew what he had to do. It would be difficult, painful even, but this wasn't just for him. It was for all of Faerghus-- no, all of Fodlan-- so he would do whatever it took, no matter how humiliating.

He walked into the mess hall like a man condemned and mindlessly piled something onto a plate. Bernadetta would probably be horrified by his meal, but there was no time to consider something as inconsequential as food. Scanning the dining room, he spotted his target and sat down.

"Hey, Your Majesty! Look at you, eating while the sun is up!"

He rolled his eyes. There was no point delaying the inevitable. "Sylvain, I need your help... with a girl."

(Diechtine (DECH-tin-uh with the ch like in the Scottish loch) is a mortal woman that the god Lugh had a baby with. That was the mega hero Cúchullain, who interestingly is described as going into a "blood rage" during battle. Fergus (Faerghus), Ferdia (Fhirdiad), and Derdriu are also associated with this crew!)

[dmclemblems]

i think one simple thing that people who insist Hopes!Claude is in character like to ignore is that in the 3H Dream interview, with the original head director Kusakihara, it's said that Claude came out to being a "pure good guy" at the end of his writing and Edel/gard is the villain.

Claude cannot simultaneously have been written as a "pure good guy" while also being willing to let innocent people die for no reason and actively helping the villain get what she wants lmao. i'm sorry that the fanon Claude that is willing to let people die for his own gains is what these people want so badly, but he never existed. "you just want Claude to be a goody two shoes" well yes because that's basically how his OG writers literally described him as being lmao

Yeah, his writing is just really not the same. People can chalk it up to the year at GM all they want and him killing Shahid, but those two aspects wouldn't change his core personality. I agree fully that GM helped him grow and changed his perspective on things, but the core of his character shouldn't change because of it. That being, he wouldn't have a totally wildly different means of doing things just because of it.

As for Shahid, killing his brother, who hated him and wanted him dead on top of calling him horrific things, should not have changed his personality either. He can be sad about it, sure, but evidently it affected him so much that it enabled him to let hundreds if not thousands of others die, and for what? His spiteful, hateful brother who wished nothing but death on him?

I would agree that Claude would prefer to resolve things with Shahid peacefully, but if he was so intent on getting out of that battle alive with Shahid also alive, it's wild to me how he wants peace with a man who wants him very very dead, but he wants to kill Rhea because "nothing personal", he just needs her gone, and this woman has never done a damn thing to him.

Ultimately I'd agree that Claude is a pure, good guy, and that makes sense considering how he grew up. It's not uncommon for people who are hurt growing up to want to be good to people. When you're that hurt, you don't want to inflict that pain or suffering on others because you know what it's like. Claude is a very humane person even if he has trouble expressing those aspects of himself. That's why he's able to pull back when he realizes he's going too far with trying to learn things. That's why if you, as Byleth, try to get him to press Flayn for details and act heartless about it, he's actually kind of shocked and doesn't like it.

Tbh I don't really understand why people want "ebul Claude" so badly. Why is it so bad for him to be a good person? As a fan of AM and Dimitri it's crazy to me because Dimitri fans were very sad when Dimitri was unstable and wanted him to get better. Fans of the route and the character were very much not rooting for him to continue acting like that. One of the reasons I really took to Rodrigue in my first experience with AM is because he was the goddamn only person to scold Dimitri and basically tell him to shut the fuck up and listen (which is ironic because Rodrigue later says he's doesn't have it in him to scold Dimitri, but he just didn't do it in a standard way. He's relatively polite about it, but he still shuts Dimitri up at Ailell, and fast. That's also his first time meeting Dimitri again in literal years, so that says a lot that he was willing to immediately scold him for his behavior).

That said, another thing I hate is how the people around Dimitri don't approve of what he does/says, but with Claude they all just kinda... go with it except Lorenz. People argue with Dimitri and contest his actions/behavior. They argue with him on moral grounds. With Claude there's only one person, again, Lorenz, who continually questions Claude's behavior and doesn't agree with how he's handling things. In AM, it's a lot of people even if they don't tell it to Dimitri's face.

So really, I don't know why people prefer Claude killing people and just going deeper and deeper into that hole. At first he says his hands will never be clean again, but that doesn't mean... make the situation even worse? Generally speaking I don't disagree with what he did in his own Ailell chapter. He didn't personally get too involved in the killing, and his main focus on was on his own people. Firstly, the Empire had been an enemy for a long time and he expected them to be at war again in the not too distant future. Secondly, he wasn't allied with and thus had no obligated to help the Church's people, and those two factions were warring with each other. Letting them fight each other and be decimated... really wasn't his fault, and yet people got on his absolute ass for not uwu helping the Empire who just murdered tons of his people in a war not even that long ago.

Invading the Kingdom is where I'm like... what even is this. If he made a pact with Edelgard to stop his own people from dying, fine, whatever, but he should've told her listen, I'll engage in this pact but I won't help you in your war. You don't attack us, we don't attack you. First he starts killing Kingdom soldiers and then he goes to kill Rhea who... hasn't done anything to him, and he knows and admits that. He just has to kill her simply because people look up to her and follow her. No amount of GM or having to kill Shahid would've changed his whole personality and ideology to such extremes.

Again, I don't really see the appeal in that. I'd rather see him make mistakes and realize how bad they were and turn himself around. I'd rather him come back from starting to be like that. If Claude was like that in Houses I would want the same thing for him, just like everyone wanted for Dimitri.

If people don't like Claude for being a goody two shoes who doesn't wanna kill people, well that's worrying. Why would you want your favorite character to kill a ton of people? Yiker wikers.

[iturbide]

Will admit my dislike towards Shez is mostly based on how everyone seems to now be bashing Byleth for it, because "Oooo it was SO easy to make a protag with personality" or "Ooo Shez is doing the bare minimum and is still better" like?? You don't HAVE to put a character down when you say you like a character? And Byleth did have personality i thought - they're even shown to have a little in the brief glimpse you get before they get snapped out of the demo in my opinion. Or maybe I'm just being too sensitive :P

-- wait people are bashing Byleth because Shez exists?? What's even the point of doing that??? They're two different characters with two different personalities and please excuse me I'm about to devolve into an AC3 rant.

Okay so I have been an Assassin's Creed fan for a long time. I played the first game when it was newly out. That's how I got into the series. I have kept up with it...well enough? I played the first "three" (yes I'm counting the Ezio trilogy as a single unit, and I have played all of them), I eventually managed to get through the next trilogy of Black Flag, Unity which I loathed we do not speak of it, and Syndicate, and I keep trying to play Origins/Odyssey/Valhalla but the major changes to the control scheme have made them impossible for me to succeed at so at some point I need to go in and overhaul the controls so I can actually progress out of what amounts to tutorial land. This isn't about the later games, though: this is about that original trilogy, and you will understand why shortly.

So you might have noticed that the first "three" bit is a bit odd. See, the first game took place during the Third Crusade (1191), focusing primarily on the cities of Acre, Damascus, and Jerusalem and followed master assassin Altair as he royally fucked up, got demoted, and then worked his way back up through the ranks and learned some humility (among other things). He was kind of full of himself at first, but while he was an interesting enough guy overall, it was really the wider story and open world game mechanics that proved to be the major draw of the game and got it greenlit for another.

The second game took place during the Italian Renaissance, and followed a young Florentine nobleman Ezio through his teenage years and the trauma of losing his family to a conspiracy, becoming an assassin under the tutelage of his uncle, and hunting down the men responsible for having his family killed. Ezio was...well, very Italian: very expressive, very emotive, very suave, very charming, lots of gestures when he talks, very open and expressive and emotive. And he was popular -- so much so that, rather than going to Assassin's Creed 3, they instead did two spin-offs that continued to follow Ezio through his life: one covering the Borgia papacy and set mostly in and around Rome, and a second covering the rise of the Ottomon Empire in and around Constantinople.

Revelations brought Ezio's story to a close, at which point the series finally moved onto the "third" game, set during the American Revolution. And this was where they did something that to this day I find incredibly clever: they start the game having you play as Haytham Kenway, a British man working to establish an operative network in the colonies and find the use for a key he stole back in England. You spend roughly five hours with him, going through all the usual motions of an Assassin's Creed game, and while he's rather more brutal than Ezio was he still acts and talks just like the assassins we've come to know over the years...

...and then at the end of those five hours he gets together with his operatives and speaks the Templar phrase and pulls the fucking rug out from under you

Look to this day I think fondly of that reveal, that for all their enmity and their millennia of war the Assassins and Templars basically operate the same way such that there's very little to distinguish one from the other when approached from an outside perspective, it's brilliant and it plays so beautifully into the game's overarching themes

So after that, the main game opens up and we start following Ratonhnhaké:ton (who goes by Connor, in interactions with people outside his tribe), the son of Haytham Kenway who was raised by his Kanienʼkehá꞉ka mother among her people, as he sets out to join the Assassins for the sole purpose of stopping the Templars who threaten his people and their way of life. The whole game with him is probably my favorite narratively, and Connor is my favorite assassin to this day.

Fandom hates him.

Or at least it did when I was playing. For all I know opinions have changed. But there were lots and lots and lots of criticisms about Connor being emotionless, uninteresting, etc. despite the fact that he...really wasn't? He had a quieter emotional affect: he was generally more measured, more tempered, but that meant that when he raised his voice you knew he meant business. I loved his generally more stoic handling and how powerful that made his more emotive moments, but the fandom just looked at him and said that he had the emotionality of a brick wall and generally dismissed or derided him...in favor of his dad. Who was an upper class British man, cultured, polished, and emotive in familiar ways.

A lot more similar to Ezio, basically.

They latched onto the character that was more similar to the one they'd just spent three whole games with, and that sent the message to Ubisoft that that's what people wanted -- which is why the next three games featured Ezio clones as their protagonists: Edward Kenway, Arno Dorian, and Jacob Frye are all very Ezio-adjacent, though some more successfully pull it off than others. Connor became a failed experiment because people didn't want to bother learning how to read a new character: they just wanted more Ezio.

And that's what immediately comes to mind with Shez bringing on Byleth bashing. People want an emotive avatar for their Fire Emblem game: they don't want someone with a more nuanced emotional affect, they want Brash Shounen Protag, and when one appears they will bash the more nuanced character for being "emotionless" or "not having a personality" (which, for the record, I do think Byleth does have -- seeing how they become more emotive through their Supports in 3H is great, the way they become more expressive in B and A conversation, says a lot to me about how they're willingly adapting to the norms of people around them in order to better interact) when they're just not seeing what they want to see and therefore not paying attention.

Anyway, Shez is fine enough but I still prefer Byleth from all I've seen so far (though I do love Arval being a sassy little shit).

[butwhatifidothis]

For a change of pace I’m going to actually say something nice about a character, and that’s Claude (under the cut cuz it got a bit long and I remember!! that’s a fucking thing you can do lmaooo).

Like, there’s honestly a lot to this character that I find very striking and sadly gets overlooked in favor of either making him a complete joke or a complete/near complete sociopath. I like that Claude initially believes himself to be this beacon of hope to this silly land of Fodlan because of his view as an outsider... and then realizing and acknowledging he’s not, that while an outsider’s perspective takes away the bias of growing up steeped in certain ways it also leaves holes that he just can’t catch without someone showing him due to his ignorance of said culture. He thinks he has Cyril and Rhea pinned down to rights because of course he would, why wouldn’t he... and then he actually talks to them and is shown wrong, and he listens! With Cyril he likes being shown the truth even if it means it puts him and his previous beliefs in a nonperfect light! With Rhea he doesn’t just reject her words even though they blow a giant hole in what he thought of her for the vast majority of the game!

And the way his trust issues are handled, while I do think could have been dealt with better had the route focused on his character more, I still absolutely love it. It’s so subtle but consistent throughout pre ts/post ts VW, how often he “makes sure” the Golden Deer are by his side, how he always has to find the “right time” to reveal his plans to them because he genuinely thinks they won’t trust or believe in him, how he genuinely thought that Hilda and Judith would abandon him if things got too dangerous for them personally (in AM for Judith, Hilda for both CF and AM), how you never really get Claude’s full story anywhere even in the end or the S support (almost like that’s a big source of trauma for him and he’s a secretive guy because of that trauma that doesn’t magically stop being a thing because you wanna kiss him! Congrats IntSys for once you managed to get something kinda right!), how even something like you calling him a stalwart ally is responded with a wink and a deflection saying that you’re just flattering him (because you can’t actually believe he’s a good ally too, right?), but then you see him actually trust someone and oh. Oh man. The difference is night and day. How he pleads with Dimitri to stop fighting and join forces in both AM and VW despite Dimitri being off the fucking walls at the time, how he honestly believed that Dimitri would not only recover from his madness but still come to his aid in AM, hell even in CF he honestly believes that there’s no way Byleth would kill him despite them deliberately forcing the Alliance into the war by invading them, shown by his shock and hurt if you actually do - Claude puts his trust in few people but when he does he does and that’s honestly so indicative of how drastic his trust issues affect him.

You see that growth more blatantly in his supports as well - compare how worriedly Claude deflects Hilda’s observation about his knowledge of how Almyrans see the Gonerils pre ts to him inviting her to meet his parents post ts. Similar with Leonie, how he offers to take her to his homeland, something pre ts Claude would never dream of. 

And then there’s his empathy and compassion! Like often he’s very careless when it comes to trying to discover the truth yes, but when he sees there’s a line he’s going to cross if he does? He steps back, always. His supports with Marianne show this amazingly, with him thoughtlessly stepping on her insecurities, trying to apologize and make her feel better but failing, and then ending with him opening up to her about his own life - something he very, very rarely does - to make her feel less alone with her struggles. His ones with Flayn even say straight up that he dislike forcing secrets out of people, and when he says he’ll give up trying to get Flayn to talk herself... he does. Legitimately. Afterwards he just spitballs theories to her. Even when he sees he’s hitting close to home when he correctly guesses Flayn and Seteth’s relationship he doesn’t push farther than that despite the huge implications of what that means. And this “I don’t like to force secrets out of people” line is backed up by you losing support points with him if you try to dig at Flayn after Remire.

And we know that Claude doesn’t immediately think of the commonfolk in his dream via his supports with Cyril, but damn, when they’re in front of him, when they’re directly in his care? Claude arguably goes the farthest of the three lords to portect them. Mr. “Tactical Retreat” suddenly puts himself in direct danger by painting himself as a prime target for the Empire to attack in AM and CF. He involves none of the other houses and tell his men to retreat should things get dangerous for them (as shown in explore dialogue with CF!Lysithea and what he says if Judith and Hilda die in AM/CF in their respective maps). He calls in the Almyran army in CF and on the Kingdom army in AM - forces with trained soldiers ready to fight, not civilians desperate to live. And speaking of civilians, he evacuates all of Derdriu’s civilians and closes down entry into Derdriu. Even with him planning on retreating himself should things go badly that takes some nards to go through with given how easily things can go badly for him should just about anything go awry; he goes the distance for those under his care.

And also how readily he offers his support and understanding to the more emotionally abused characters. Look at his talk with Dimitri during Golden Deer’s Plea, back at his supports with Marianne, how he sympathizes with Rhea - someone he actively disliked/distrusted for most of the game - once he hears her story.

And yo, man, his backstory? Imma be real, very rarely do I get invested in “racism bad” storylines because so often they fall into “white man bad POC good” black-and-white (lol) mentality, but this? I actually felt this. So rarely is a mixed race person’s perspective shown in regards to racism since it’s more complicated than “whitey bad POC good”. No, both have people in them that are raised with beliefs that breed racism. They’re not evil people, they’re a result of the culture that raised them, and that raised those that raised them, and so on and so forth. He gets that his dream is unrealistic and that it’d take a very, very long time to implement even if it did happen and even then would face extreme backlash from people from both sides, but he believes in this dream. It’s what lets him face on Edelgard in CF despite the insignificant chance he has of winning if he does so, what pushed him to go beyond his familiar home of Almyra into the completely unknown Fodlan, what drives him to aim for Almyra’s throne despite his position as the youngest prince (aka his weak connection compared to his half-brothers).

And like, Claude shares with Rhea in that IntSys dropped the ball on their characters anyway, despite how much thought was put into them. Rhea is stripped of damn near any agency in post ts, non-CF routes and Claude has noticeably less direct attention given to his upbringing compared to Edelgard and Dimitri (and small things like no appearance from either of his parents’, no child portrait, stuff like that). This is most likely due to their routes basically being copy-pastes of each other so it had to be compatible with both characters so both characters had to suffer for it. But like, for what we got? I still love it.

[somepinkthing]

I know dimitri went through the most drastic change during the timeskip, but I feel like claude went through a pretty significant one too. I’m told the japanese voice acting makes it more stark and I agree, but also just in general. And I think, in part, that’s got a lot to do with the alliance and how leading it has affected him

Claude pre-timeskip has a lot of the same ideas he’ll have five years later, but absolutely no plan to make them happen. He knows he wants open borders, an end to xenophobia, to tackle ignorance with facts, and to allow people everywhere more social freedoms. He's enamored with the idea of choice, with the vision of people living together as a community without worrying about their birth status, with busting open fodlan's insular bubble and giving people options in life.... but he’s not lying to you when he says he doesn't really know where to begin. His initial plan was to find the magic goddess sword in the hopes that it’d uh??? Teenage claude is a mass of ideals with no solid plan to get what he wants. He sees what’s wrong with the current system and arguably considers the most perspectives, but unlike his peers he has no idea what he should do about it. Mostly, he spends the school year rummaging for information and asking a million questions

The claude we meet five years later? He’s much more confident in his goals and considerate of the logistics of achieving them. Claude’s still focused on challenging social norms and still determined to tackle the ignorance that's preventing that change. By in large, he even managed to stay that same idealist who believed people just need to be provided a chance. However, he also now understands the importance of tempering his idealism so that freedom doesn’t become a free-for-all. Pre-timeskip claude talked about what he wanted to see change in fodlan, but not really what would be taking its place. Five years of leading the alliance has taught him that just getting rid of what’s wrong isn’t gonna cut it.

Because honestly? What is the leicester alliance if not a melting pot of good ideas and meh execution? Freedom from oppressive autocracy, voting on decisions, a community of different territories coming together and supporting one another — that's what the alliance wanted to be when it broke away from faerghus. The result? A bunch of nobles watching out for themselves and endlessly squabbling without a shared goal in sight. Yes, the strict social class systems we see in the kingdom and the empire seem much more lax in the alliance. Yes, opportunities are a bit more abundant. Yes, the church has very little political sway in the alliance. So there are things they got right. But greed mixed with the toxic remains of traditionalism that weren't properly chased out plagues the alliance and the benefits of breaking out are probably not felt by all equally. The extra freedom afforded to the alliance nobles only made this issue worse. After five years of barely keeping the alliance territories from descending into all out war over something as stupid as greed, claude now understands this. It's why he needs byleth and lorenz. He admired them before but now he needs them.

TL;DR claude spent five years wrestling civil war away from the hands of various greedy, rich nobles and came out the other side knowing that these assholes were gonna need some ground rules and a keeper if he didn't want to risk his ideals turning this country into a buffet for the rich and powerful. Promoting social freedoms and ending isolationism are very big and very good ideas... if they are throughly executed

[mittelfrank-divas]

Favourite to least favourite Edelgard supports?

HOW DARE YOU force me to rank them in this way! Knowing I must choose a worst support with Edelgard, when all of them involve Edelgard and are, therefore, inherently good? I can’t even discard the non-Black Eagle supports in this case because the professor supports are legit wonderful.

1. Hubert - Bros4Lyfe <3 I love how they skip past niceties, how there’s so much history in their interactions, how they even argue like old friends, how Edelgard expresses doubts and insecurities with Hubert that nobody else hears, how they share such a weird, dark sense of humor (”I could have you executed, you know” “I’ll gladly offer myself up”). And also how firmly they establish that their relationship has nothing to do with status, that they care about each other well beyond the roles they play.

2. Lysithea - I love how their supports drive home not only how much they’ve both been through, but how similar they both are as characters. Both Edelgard and Lysithea are the kinds of people who force themselves to keep going no matter what they’ve experienced or how much pain it causes them. I also love how immediately protective Edelgard is with Lysithea, and how ultimately Lysithea figures out for herself what they have in common.

3. Bernadetta - I’ve talked before about what I love about this support chain. I just love how they move from seeming like complete opposites to opening up to each other about their trauma. I love how soft and careful Edelgard becomes with Bernadetta and how they garden together. 

4. Dorothea - HAIL MIGHTY EDELGARD THOUGH RED BLOOD STAINS HER STORY. I just love how explicitly flirtatious and romantic their supports are from beginning to end. There’s no subtle winking or narratively-forced friend zoning. Dorothea is clearly smitten with Edelgard. 

5. Manuela - I love that Edelgard seeks out Manuela’s perspective because... Manuela’s a mess, we all know she’s a mess. She’s a running gag, a drunken spinster, an ongoing disaster who doesn’t know she’s past her prime. Most of Manuela’s supports play up the comedy of her role. But Edelgard approaches her seriously, right from the start. Manuela, a commoner and someone who strongly believes in the goddess. Edelgard never looks down on her, even while helping her clean up her room. She actively seeks Manuela’s perspective, checks in on her when she’s down, and learns from her. 

6. Hanneman - I never cared much for Hanneman, and I regret that means I never recruited him in my first CF run. This support singlehandedly changed my entire view of him. The story about his sister completely wrecked me. And I love that Edelgard’s suspicion of him matched my own, until that moment she learned the truth. No wonder he supports her. His story is so important and it means a lot that Edelgard is (as far as I know) the only one he confides to about it.

7. Linahrdt - I love how they start so adversarial but come to understand each other so well. This support chain makes me laugh because Edelgard spends five years crafting the perfect role for Linhardt despite his constant insistence that he doesn’t want to do anything ever. But she’s so determined! And that’s what I love about her. She tries so hard to guarantee a good place for everyone she loves even if they’re not grateful for it and you know she lost sleep over this. But in the end she had to learn to understand Linhardt’s particular brand of laziness, his desire for novel research without strings attached. 

8. Petra - I love the political weight behind their supports. Two future leaders of their respective countries feeling one another out, staying friendly but testing their bonds a bit to see where they’ll both fall in the future. I love that they both urge each other to follow their own ambition and that Petra’s way of telling Edelgard that she’s thought of what she said is by pulling a prank on her. My only objection is that they stop at B rank. Yes, of course it would be unfeasible for them to get together romantically, as leaders of their own nations, but how about a platonic ending about them working together to improve relations?

9. Byleth - Byleth supports are usually kind of meh because Byleth is just there to be talked at. The main reason they’re not at the bottom of the list is because it’s literally one of the only places in the game where you get to hear about Edelgard’s past, making it essential. 

10. Ferdinand - The whole rivalry thing really went on one support too long. I really wish there had been more substance to Ferdinand’s friction with Edelgard than his ego. I love their A support though, so that bumps it up the list. I love that he challenges the flaws of meritocracy and proposes universal education and Edelgard agrees! I love that she calls him her friend and tells him their friendship has nothing to do with his status. The only blight on the A support is that he proposes marriage out of nowhere. 

11. Constance - I do like the dilemma that Constance poses for Edelgard, with her desire to restore her noble house. I also like that it’s focused on Constance’s goals rather than using her to flesh out the route the way that Hapi got used in her Dimitri supports. But I wanted more depth explored for both of them so it’s kind of meh for me.

12. Caspar - It’s like. It’s fine. I like how it winds up. I like how Edelgard admits she changed her mind about Caspar and learned that not everyone resents their lot in life. But they spend a lot of time just Not Getting Each Other and it’s a slog. 

[lysissisyl]

Written for you...💜 @patricia-von-arundel

•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•

The person I’m supposed to be

The night was cold and the wind blew strong on the balcony. Edelgard considered wrapping her cape around herself, but she decided not to. It was nothing she couldn’t handle, and it kept her grounded, it helped her think more clearly. The war was almost over, and she could understand Dimitri better now. She had found her own personal ghosts after all.

She thought about the small town they had gotten across in the morning. It was so silent... Everyone had stopped and she had thought it was a sign of respect for their Emperor. She had spent a few minutes wondering if she was supposed to say something; thank them for their support, encourage them to walk towards brighter days together, even just tell them that they could get back to work if they were busy, that such reverence wasn’t needed. Then, she had seen them. A mother and her children. The woman had averted her gaze, like the others, but the kids were staring at her, eyes widened in fear, the exact same look her younger siblings had when they heard the gate to the dungeons opening, and they knew one of them was going to be taken. Terror.

She had almost stopped to tell them they were safe, that she meant no harm to the innocents, that she was fighting for their future. But...was she? Will those kids survive the war? They looked hungry and weak. She knew both. Could she win fast enough for them not to starve? How many did already? Edelgard thought about Dorothea, about how she had been taking care of all those children in the past five years. What would she think of her? She was so aware it was impossible to bring a change without deaths and pain, that she had almost forgotten how helpless it felt. No, she wasn’t helpless anymore...

“El?”

Byleth had come in again without asking. How long had she been there? She took a breath in, to regain control. “Is something the matter?”

She already knew the answer from her voice, the way she called her. Not the tone a mercenary would use to get someone’s attention to discuss a plan or the one her teacher would have used to inform her of a threat. Personal, kind, and...cautious. Did she look weak?

“I should be asking that.”

“Why? Do I look upset? I was lost in my thoughts, but I’m available if you have something to discuss.”

Byleth stared at her for a few seconds too long, so she turned her back to her again, before her mask could crack.

“Something is bothering you.”

A statement, not a question, therefore no answer was needed. Edelgard kept looking out the window, and Byleth leant on the railing on her left.

She couldn’t keep it in. “How do you know you’re a good person?”

“A good person?”

“Everyone seems to know. To Petra it’s fighting for her people, for both peace and respect, improving herself to be a better leader. To Dorothea it’s taking care of others and giving them what she couldn’t have and no one should miss.

To Ferdinand it’s being a true noble, someone who will defend his and his comrades’ honor, being an example for the people around him, making sure that his existence and his actions make the world around him shine.

To Hubert, it means serving me well, protecting me, sticking to his duty, doing what has to be done for my plans to succeed, no matter what it is. But I’m the one making those plans. So the question stays.

Everyone is following me, walking the path I carved for myself. I know I’m doing what has to be done. I have no doubts about my fight, but...am I a good person, my teacher?”

“What is a good person to Edelgard?”

Edelgard remained silent for a few moments. When she spoke again her voice was softer than before. “Someone who does what is right. Someone who won’t let people suffer and look away. Someone who won’t choose the easy road not to make they’re hands dirty. Someone who won’t be so self indulgent to believe that not making it worse will be enough. Someone who will fight to fix injustices. Someone who is feared by the abusers, by those who have been corrupted by their own power, and will use theirs to protect those who can’t fight for themselves. Someone I should be. And I struggle to be. Because...there are things I...want.”

Her eyes were staring at Byleth’s now, with a look far different from anything she had ever seen on her face.

For the first time, silence wasn’t a choice. She just didn’t know words to answer that look.

Then Edelgard’s gaze shifted to the gardens below again. “I knew my path wasn’t going to be an easy one. I thought I would have walked it alone and I knew from the start it could cost me everything. I thought I was prepared. For all the sacrifices...”

“You were prepared as long as the sacrifices were yours.”

“I knew people would have died, enemies, allies and innocents alike. I knew many would have called me a monster. I was ready to become one.

...

Did I?”

“You know monsters, El... They aren’t afraid of themselves.”

“I’m not afraid. But I made the wrong people afraid.”

“They don’t know you.”

“Do you?”

“I know you like sweets, and the feeling of the wind on your skin. I know you always watch your friends’ backs in a fight, and then pretend you didn’t notice the soldiers charging at them. I know you go pet the horses and wyverns after the hardest battles, like you used to pet the cats at the monastery. You gave them fish too, didn’t you? That’s why I could always spot one outside your room.”

“It would have been a shame to waste it when I wasn’t hungry.”

Byleth showed her one of those faint smiles of her. “It sure would have.”

“In the past I told you that, if I were alone, I might have lost perspective and become a harsh ruler, with a heart of ice. There is more to it now. As long as you’ll stay by my side...I’ll know I’m still acting like the leader I’m supposed to be. I may not know the answer for myself, but I know who you are.”

“I don’t know if I’m a good person. I’m protective of my friends and I try to be kind to people in general. I wouldn’t hurt anyone without a reason, but beware if you give me one. I probably have more blood on my hands than you have on yours.“

“This isn’t what I meant to say. My apologies for troubling you.”

“You didn’t. I don’t know, but it doesn’t make a difference to me. If I’ll be alive, if the people I love will be alive and we can smile together, I will know I made it right.”

Edelgard attempted a smile. “Maybe a part of me wants the same, but this is not the time for me to indulge in such thoughts. There is no answer to my question after all, is there?”

“Yes”

“What?”

“You are a good person, Edelgard. To me. To all those who know you and chose to follow you. But “good” is just a word and not something to bleed for. You said it twice, but there is nothing you are supposed to be.” She pulled back and offered her hand, inviting her to head back inside together. “It’s a cold night and we have plans to make. Let’s end this war, shall we? So that “happy” will be all you need to be.”

[gascon-en-exil]

Three Houses 100% Completion: Refining Those Spreadsheets

To my utter surprise, @symsykins has expressed interest in trying out my long and convoluted idea for a 100% NG+ run of FE16. Far be it from me to stifle the ambitions of a fellow completionist, but as I've made a fair number of updates to the methodology of that post in the months since I wrote it I would be remiss if I didn't publish those changes for the benefit of him or anyone else who wants to try their hand at this absurdity. Sometimes playtesting this stuff can be more entertaining than actually carrying it out....

Additional Parameters

It occurred to me that for "true" 100% completion you also need to complete those things tied to your Switch account rather than individual files. This means filling out the support log, event gallery (Goddess Tower events), and music library. Fun fact: there are exactly 29 Goddess Tower events if the same-sex ones are counted twice as the game does, so provided you plan them out ahead of time you shouldn't have to save scum to get them all.

As mentioned in the earlier post most of this is trivial to complete. The easiest way to raise support points between an active unit and a classroom unit is to have the latter serve as an adjunct during battle. They don't need to have an equipped weapon or be in a class other than noble/commoner, but just having them there will rapidly build supports. Still, it's best to plan out and stagger the number of supports your units take on each run so they're not overloaded. Cross-house supports are one of only two reasons to ever do cross-house recruiting, and they should also be staggered accordingly.

There's also the matter of building up your battalion guild. There are 127 unique battalions to obtain, discounting the Essar Research Group which requires the game's online features and a Switch Online subscription to access. Your guild can fit 200 total battalions in it, so there's ample room to acquire and max out one of each battalion as well as duplicates for the better ones. This is also the only other reason to recruit across houses: to get the three Part 2 paralogues that require it (Ferdinand/Lysithea, Linhardt/Leonie, and Caspar/Mercedes) and so unlock their associated battalions. As with recruiting for cross-house supports, you should only bother doing these once.

One-Time Renown Purchases

You can and should buy all the Renown purchases in Abyss and most of the saint statue bonuses during your first run, using the 10000 Renown bonus from CS and all incidental Renown gained during the run to do so as you can't spend it on anything else. Note that the last bonus for each statue, a boost to units' max stats, is functionally useless for the purposes of this project and so can be left for the second run - a full 10000 Renown you won't have to worry about spending right away. At any rate, however, you'll have amassed enough Renown to complete the saint statues during your second run.

On Monastery Activities

Previously I'd discounted the greenhouse as an unnecessary time sink like fishing and tea time, only to be completed when a quest is involved. However, I find that in non-CF runs you'll quickly start running out of dining hall resources in Part 2 without planting crops, which forces you into the less efficient alternative of running around and throwing gifts at your active units to max out their motivation each week. Therefore I recommend planting vegetables and fruit in the greenhouse throughout Part 1, at which point you can stop because by then you should have accumulated enough resources to cover the rest of the game. Additionally, there are certain glowing blue spots along a typical exploration run route that are guaranteed to drop fish or edible crops - at the stall in front of the fishing pond and on the stalls in the corner of the marketplace where the special merchants gather, namely - which you should check out each month.

Byleth's Level

When Byleth is not an active unit don't bother raising their level higher than 15. This is good enough to recruit all the level-dependent characters (most of the church units), and the only meaningful benefit to going up to 20 is to attempt the proper conduct tournament. However, early on Byleth is unlikely to be able to win the tournament even at 20 without an appropriate class or abilities, and the Renown and brave weapon frankly are not worth the waste of time and space in having them be an adjunct for those five extra levels. Save the tournament for runs where you're actually using Byleth.

Classroom Unit Ranks

A quick correction here. I previously said that Authority should be every character's first priority as a classroom unit, but I no longer believe this is true. With standardized class sets (see further down) it's more important that characters look ahead to the runs they'll be doing in the near future and work on skills relevant to those runs. This especially holds true for banes; a classroom unit can easily take a bane skill as high as B or even A from base over the course of a run, which will help significantly with future certification requirements. Classroom units can work on Authority, but I'd save that for those that have free availability in most or all runs like Anna and the Wolves. The regular students and to a lesser extent non-student characters that join late will want to prioritize their problem skills and build Authority mostly during combat in their active runs.

Route Distribution

I had previously suggested that CF should have the most runs to compensate for Jeritza being awful...but screw that. My current 29 run setup:

6 runs of SS

10 runs of AM

9 runs of VW

4 runs of CF

Notably, this works out to 9 or 10 runs per house which is overall more significant given the advantages in-house units enjoy. The choice to give AM an extra run over VW came down to AM having more exclusive units; VW's one extra week isn't that much of an advantage, not when the Deer lack a Part 2 exclusive and also include Lysithea. But, you ask, can you get away with running CF that little?

Playtesting suggests yes, provided those runs follow some strict parameters: five units only, with three of them being the CF exclusives and the remaining two slots covered by a rotation of the other Eagles. SS runs should precede CF runs whenever possible, to give Edelgard, Hubert, and the rest of their house more classroom time to make up for having to share runs of the shortest route in the game with Jeritza. Jeritza should always hold one of the Knowledge Gems during Part 2, with Edelgard and Hubert sharing the other. The other Eagles can lean on their active use in SS runs to make up for the deficit, and even Edelgard and Hubert can prep for their active runs or finish up skill ranks in SS. Jeritza though....

Number-Crunching Jeritza

To illustrate why I complain about Jeritza as much as I do (from a unit perspective, that is - it's been well-established why I hate him as a character), let's take a particular trouble spot of his as an example. Jeritza has an Authority bane, which means that even with Mastermind and a Knowledge Gem equipped he'll gain no more than 3 points of it during each combat encounter, or 6 if he uses a gambit (not to be relied on given how limited in use per map gambits are). He doesn't have access to any classes that boost Authority, so this is the best it gets. Starting at B Authority means it'll take him 2920 total points to reach S+. Assuming no classroom instruction (because he's got ten other skills to work on, you know) and no gambit use, that works out to him needing about 974 total combat encounters or an average of 244 encounters in each of his four runs.

Is that feasible? If you follow my method of exploring on weekends before instruction weeks and battling on other weekends (and assuming your first run is not CF which...no) there are (3 battles per weekend x 5 calendar months) + 6 chapter maps = 21 battles that Jeritza will fight. Obviously those battles vary in length, but that comes to an average of 12 combat encounters per battle. That's admittedly a bit steep, especially earlier on when few of your other units will have maxed Authority and can be used as adjuncts, but remember that gambits count as two combat encounters and that, more significantly, the other units will eventually max out Authority and allow you to field only three frontline units at a time. It does help that both Edelgard and Hubert have Authority boons, so they should be backline-ready no later than their second active run.

Unfortunately there is one little hiccup to this. CF's first calendar month consists of just one free weekend and the chapter map. As annoying as it is the journal can only be accessed while exploring, which means that on each CF run after the first you'll have to choose between skipping three battles that month or updating Jeritza's skill ranks. You should always choose to battle, because it will help out your other units (who already end up screwed out of a few battles thanks to what choosing CF does to the end of Part 1) and also allow Jeritza to start working on ranks he hadn't touched in earlier runs. The wasted Authority growth is a shame, but at least Jeritza has the base ranks to certify for any beginner class right out the gate so he can pick up a sword/lance/axe/gauntlet/Thunder and still make use of the training time. CF Chapter 13 is also unusually short and will be finished in only a few turns, so it's not a great loss either.

And all that was just for one rank! Hopefully that proves my point about Jeritza sucking, even if mercifully his class masteries and other skill ranks are less of a pain. Even faith can be worked around with bishop and holy knight offering 6 points per combat encounter, although he'll probably want to save his monk run until he can be an adjunct so he's less hobbled by his tiny spell lists.

Standardized Class Sets

Probably the part of this update I'm most proud of, as I put a lot of thought into simplifying one of the more needlessly complex elements of my original setup. Crafting individualized class sets for each character may sound fun on paper, but it's a hassle to keep track of when actually playing the game and doesn't have any substantial benefit. Characters can patch up their banes through classroom training, and furthermore class certification requires nothing higher than A which is a major reason that mastering classes is more of a rote structural element of individual runs than something that requires intricate plotting.

As such, have some standardized sets. These come in male and female versions to account for genderlock and similar considerations, and they apply to all characters except Byleth and the house leaders who have to be handled a bit differently. Noble and commoner are not listed as they're trivial to master; just make sure that non-student characters go back and do so at some point, like when they're being used as adjuncts for supports.

Below each set is a list of the skills needed to guarantee certification in all of the set's classes. This was a useful metric for determining which classes went best where.

Myrmidon

Male

Mercenary

Thief

Dancer (if available)

Hero

Swordmaster

Assassin

Trickster

Death Knight (Jeritza only)

Mortal Savant

A Swords C Axes C Bows B+ Reason B Faith

Female

Mercenary

Thief

Dancer (if available)

Swordmaster

Trickster

War Cleric

Mortal Savant

Gremory

A Swords B+ Brawling A Reason A Faith

There are a lot of sword-based classes, more so than any other weapon or magic type, and that combined with the rarity of sword banes - only Bernadetta and Mercedes - means that often even characters neutral in the skill will max out swords during the course of their myrmidon run.

This run has the distinction of being the only one to not require any of the movement type ranks, which is one reason why gremory is here. The other is that female characters have eight regular master classes as opposed to males' seven, so while when divided across four runs males get a free space here (which Jeritza takes advantage of), females do not. Unfortunately mortal savant is the only master class that proceeds naturally from all the earlier sword classes, but if you'll notice from the male set's requirements there are fairly high reason and faith requirements here even without gremory.

The other oddity is war cleric, which takes the place of assassin (see below) but stands awkwardly as female characters' only serious brawling class. The secondary faith requirement slots easily into a run that also includes trickster, but as I explained in the first post brawling is going to be a problem skill for female characters no matter what you do.

One more note: it's important to consider certain things when deciding which active units will go in which run. Myrmidon runs require the most scrutiny as this is where characters will be dancers, and of course you can only have one of those per run. These runs also require the limited availability Abyssian Exam Passes, one for males and two for females, so keep that in mind as well.

Soldier

Male

Armored Knight

Cavalier

Archer

Fortress Knight

Paladin

Sniper

Great Knight

Bow Knight

A Lances B+ Axes A Bows A Heavy Armor A Riding

Female

Cavalier

Archer

Pegasus Knight

Assassin

Paladin

Sniper

Falcon Knight

Bow Knight

B Swords A Lances A Bows A Riding B+ Flying

Here we see the major influence of genderlocked classes. Female characters have more obvious lance options thanks to the pegasus classes, whereas males have to take the heavy armor classes instead. This balances out in the fighter runs, but for now it's worth pointing out that characters will only be using lances and bows in these runs. Swords (females) or axes (males) will be trained entirely in the classroom, with females running assassin as a bow class and males running the heavy armor classes with lances. Hey, great knight does have Lancefaire, and more importantly all the classes mentioned also boost those weapon types.

Fighter

Male

Brigand

Brawler

Wyvern Rider

Warrior

Grappler

War Monk

Wyvern Lord

War Master

C Lances A Axes A Brawling C+ Faith A Flying

Female

Armored Knight

Brigand

Fortress Knight

Wyvern Rider

Warrior

Wyvern Lord

Great Knight

C Lances A Axes A Heavy Armor B+ Riding A Flying

This is the inverse of soldier, with male characters taking a quartet of brawling classes while females go mono-axes with the heavy armor classes and others. The female set also has one fewer class than all the others here, a consequence of there being one fewer female-exclusive class than male. As with the master class free space in male myrmidon, keep that in mind for later. The singular axe focus and smaller number of classes compensate for female fighters needing to train all three movement types here, which is annoying but necessary. I tried numerous combinations of classes in the soldier and fighter runs, but incredibly this is the one that's least demanding on overall ranks. What can you do?

Male fighters require an Abyssian Exam Pass - just pointing that out.

Monk

Male

Mage

Dark Mage

Priest

Warlock

Dark Bishop

Bishop

Dark Knight

Holy Knight

C Lances A Reason A Faith A Riding

Female

Mage

Priest

Warlock

Bishop

Dark Flier

Valkyrie

Dark Knight

Holy Knight

C Lances A Reason A Faith A Riding C Flying

With the understanding that gremory is covered in the myrmidon run, there's little to mention here. Rank requirements are almost identical with females only needing to work on flying a bit. These runs are the most demanding on limited seals though, with males needing two Dark Seals and females two Abyssian Exam Passes. Make sure you plan accordingly.

Also, these runs make it clear that if you're going to equip these characters with a weapon for when they run out of spells (as might well happen during earlygame), make it a lance.

Edelgard

From the standard sets:

Add lord to myrmidon

Add armored lord and emperor to fighter

Because female fighters are already one class short Edelgard can add two classes there and still come out as even as possible. She's the only character other than Byleth with more than eight master classes, meaning she'll have to do three of them in one run, but with her it's no trouble aside from emperor having the worst availability of any class in the game that is. Her unique classes slot well into fighter as it is.

Dimitri and Claude

From the standard sets:

Add lord to soldier

Move hero from myrmidon to fighter

Add high lord and great lord/wyvern master and barbarossa to myrmidon

The guys, meanwhile, don't fare as well. They take advantage of the same free space for a master class that Jeritza does, but to make the rest of this happen things have to get a bit messy. They'll have to have a certain sword rank for their soldier and fighter runs now, but as they both have sword boons that's not too tall of an order. They can also run hero as an axe class and lord as a lance class to match those runs' themes, which also helps each of them a bit in a different way - Dimitri with his axe bane, Claude with his lance bane. Dimitri's unique classes fit well with myrmidon as they also boost swords, but the best you could say about Claude's unique classes in myrmidon is that he won't have to train up bows for assassin when he can just switch to using them in wyvern master.

Byleth

The Avatar’s special gender-variable self needs class sets built from the ground up to accommodate their ability to access all of the genderlocked classes. As follows:

Myrmidon (male)

Mercenary

Thief

Dark Mage

Hero

Swordmaster

Assassin

Dark Bishop

Trickster

Enlightened One

Mortal Savant

Soldier (female)

Cavalier

Archer

Pegasus Knight

Paladin

Wyvern Rider

Sniper

Falcon Knight

Wyvern Lord

Bow Knight

Fighter (male)

Armored Knight

Brigand

Brawler

Fortress Knight

Warrior

Grappler

War Monk

Great Knight

War Master

Monk (female)

Mage

Priest

Warlock

Bishop

Dark Flier

Valkyrie

Dark Knight

Holy Knight

Gremory

Apart from the two female runs having three master classes apiece - unfortunate but necessary, as with Edelgard - the biggest surprise here should be dark mage/bishop in myrmidon. They need to be in a male run though, and there are more magical female-exclusive classes so that's not going to be monk. Alongside the standard mortal savant it's not much of a stretch in terms of skills (something Byleth never struggles with anyway because faculty training is a thing), but the required two Dark Seals should be considered.

Conclusion

I think that's just about everything for now? I could be really over the top and map out exact routes for exploration, efficient paralogue choices, and more nitpicky stuff, but even I've got my limit. Part of the fun of 100% is being able to adapt your strategies anyway, so I'm not sure that being that precise would be the best way to approach hypothetically helping someone else do something like this.

[nanigma]

Blue Lions Translation Chapter 3

Okay, these things take a long time for me to put out, because I mostly get my translation vibe on in the evening. And I work most evenings these days.

If you really enjoy my work and can afford to throw some spare change my way, here is a link to my ko-fi account.

My comments in italics

Starting out with the Exploration Dialogue, cause the mission briefing scene is the exact same for all houses.

Exploration

Dimitri

Dimitri: Even when there's no chance to win, there are situations where you simply have to draw your sword and fight.

Dimitri: However, this case seems far too excessive... Lord Lonato is not that much of a fool.

Dimitri: … If he had enough allies to make his rebellion a decisive one, it would be a different matter of course.

[Choose: Allies?] and [Choose: What do you mean?]

Dimitri: … Ah, no.... it was an idle thought. It's just, there's definitely something suspicious about this.

Dimitri: Even if we are only dealing with the aftermath, something unexpected can always happen. Please make sure to be thorough in your preparations, Professor.

English has Dimitri refer to some vague preparations already being in place in his first sentence, whereas the Japanese more clearly refers to them only being supposed to be there for the aftermath. 

Dedue

Dedue: His Highness is strong. However, no matter how skilled, if he takes to the front lines, anything may happen to him.

Dedue: … He is a great man that Faerghus absolutely cannot afford to lose.

Dedue: I wonder if the church understands this.

Two things to point out here about how Dedue refers to Dimitri here. First he uses��あの方 (ano kata) for him, which is very polite and respectful way to talk about someone in the third person. 方 (person, in this case) is the more polite form of  人 (hito), which can also mean person, but usually in a more human/man/woman kind of way.  Now Dedue uses  方 twice in this sentence and that is to refer to Dimitri also as an お方 (okata), which again is a highly respectful term. Suggested translations are often gentlemen/lady, though the connotations obviously don’t fit in this case. Too bad the English translation didn’t incorporate this moment of fanboyism. :(

Felix

Felix: … Catherine, huh? Her excellent technique, the sword she wields....

Felix: Hm... Apparently, she hides her past so thoroughly, it seems not even fragments of it are known.

Felix: I suggest you also make her your sparring partner. She is strong... likely stronger than even you.

Ashe

Ashe: …...

Ashe: Professor, there has to be some mistake. The thought that Lord Lonato would be raising an army is simply...

Ashe: … He didn’t say anything even to me.

Sylvain

Sylvain: Professor, did you see Felix around? He's always had a habit of vanishing the second I take my eyes off him.

[Choose: I saw him at the training grounds] +Support with Sylvain

Sylvain: Well, just as I thought. Sorry, Professor. Thanks for helping me out!

[Choose: I saw him at the dining hall]

Sylvain: Oh, is that so? Sorry, Professor. … At any rate, he must be eating there by himself, I am sure.

English is simple (which just has him go “Right, it’s meal time”), but I feel the Japanese line implies that he was planning on inviting Felix to eat with him and is disappointed to be told he already went ahead.

Mercedes

Mercedes: I heard rumours regarding Lord Lonato. They say he is a very kind and gentle lord.

Mercedes: I really wonder why such a kind man would suddenly raise an army...?

Mercedes: Ah, by the way, Professor. Didn't you work late again yesterday? Pushing yourself isn't good for you.

Mercedes: People who stay up late will have a ghost rise up from the bottom of their well and... Just kidding.

I am sure everyone is familiar with Japanese ghosts and their association with wells. Most famous of the older stories is probably Okiku.

Annette

Annette: This time we have to help out the knights, correct? Could that mean...

Annette: … Ah, no, I am sorry! It's just, someone I am looking for might be among the knights.

[Choose: Is he a knight?]

Annette: Yes. If he is here, most likely... it's just a possibility, he might also be among the monks.

Now I am imagining Gilbert with a tonsure.

[Choose: It would be nice if you could meet him] +Support with Annette

Annette: Thank you so much, Professor! I'll definitely catch him someday...!

Ingrid

Ingrid: I simply cannot understand why His Highness would allow someone from Duscur at his side.

Ingrid: 4 years ago, they committed treason by killing the king and slaughtered all of the innocent soldiers and knights accompanying him.    

Ingrid: Even if His Highness forgives them, I cannot do so... ever.

Ingrid interestingly uses the term 弑逆し (shiigyakushi) here, which refers to killing your own lord or father. This would imply Duscur was already some kind of vassal state to Faerghus, but from what we know Duscur was independant before the Tragedy. (I checked the books in the library on this in Japanese) Feels like a weird inconsistency.

Scene: Into the Fog

Dimitri: Being able to accompany “Thunder Catherine”, famed for her bravery... haha, it is quite an honour.

[Choose: Thunder?] and [Choose: Thunderbird?]

Okay, this is a bit of a word joke that the English decided to skip out on entirely rather than come up with an alternative. So Catherine's relic is simply named “Thunder” (雷霆 raitei) in Japanese, netting her the nickname “Thunder Catherine”. The first response would simply be Byleth wanting to clarify this. The second response implies they also didn't even listen too closely to Dimitri and heard something different: Thunderbird ( 雷鳥  raichou)... or better known to us as the real life bird species “ptarmigan”, whose Japanese name uses the kanji for thunder and bird. Sadly, this slip up doesn't change any dialogue and the localization didn’t have a joke here..

Catherine: Hm, you don't know? This is “Thunder”... It is one of the Heroes' Relics.

Catherine: A very long time ago, the goddess granted her power to ten heroes... It took the form of these Relics that were passed down to their descendants.

Catherine: Although tempting, there won't be a chance to swing Thunder this time. After all, our duty is to deal with the aftermath.

Sidenote, but Catherine uses the pronoun “atashi” for herself, which is typically considered extremely girly or even childish. It is also written in katakana, which makes it stand out more and implies a “rougher” pronounciation.

[If Ashe is alive]

Ashe: … Why would Lord Lonato start such a reckless uprising?

Catherine: Shouldn't you be the one with more details on this, Ashe?

Ashe: I don't understand. He didn't tell me anything about this...

Dimitri: … I am sure Lord Lonato didn't want you to get involved in his revenge.

[Choose: How are Ashe and Lord Lonato related?]

Ashe: Lord Lonato adopted me and raised me like he would a true son.

Another interesting side note: Japan didn't do what we consider adoption for a big part of it's history. Rather, it was mostly common to do for those without a male heir. One way had them finding a suitable husband for their daughter (usually one without an inheritance of his own), then adopted their new son-in-law into the family, so their name could be passed on. The other way involved adopting a distant relative.

What this means is that Japanese media often handles adoption plots a bit weird from what we know. So Ashe is super formal when talking about and to his ostensible father figure, as well as his role as a commoner being far more emphasized than his adoption by nobility. Japan really isn't as gung ho about “Blood doesn't matter” when it comes to family as the western world is. The relationship between adoptive kids and parents often feels more like a benefactor with his beneficiary.

Ashe: He was also a kind, great man. And yet still... This must have something do with my adoptive brother...

In relation to the above, the term Ashe uses to refer to Christophe here is more commonly seen when adressing one's brother-in-law.

[Choose: Revenge?] or [Continuing]

Catherine: Hey, Byleth. Do you know about the Tragedy of Duscur?

[Choose: I've heard about it] and [Choose: I have no idea]

Catherine: Well, it's the name of an incident from 4 years ago, where the King of the Holy Kingdom of Faerghus was killed by the people of Duscur, but...

Dimitri: ...I do not mind. Catherine, please continue.

Catherine: Lord Lonato's son, Christoph, was executed by the church on charges of being involved in the incident.

[Choose: The church executes criminals..?]  

Catherine: From the church's perspective,  in place of the still chaotic kingdom, we passed judgement that did not exceed the doctrine.

[Choose: Why was the king targeted?]

Dimitri: …......

Catherine: It was known that King Lambert planned to implement large scale reforms and he had a lot of political enemies.

[Continuing]

Catherine: … Whatever the truth, since then, Lord Lonato has held a grudge against the church.

Catherine: No... it would be more accurate to say that he has a grudge against the church and the one who handed him over to the church...

Church Soldier: Report! The enemy is drawing closer! There is no way to avoid them!

Church Soldier: The enemy forces were much greater than expected and because of the mist, they managed to slip through the knights' siege on them!

Catherine: Oh... Byleth, our mission has changed. Everyone, prepare for battle!

During Battle

Skipping most of Catherine's dialogue

Dimitri: There's shouting coming from within the fog... it appears the knights have already started the battle.

[Reacting to killing militia]

Ashe: Even the townspeople were sent to battle...!? Lord Lonato... why would you...!

Dimitri: Ugh... I am sorry... This is not something that can be forgiven... !

In English Dimitri seems to target this last bit at the civilians, but to me this here sounds more like he is directing it at Lonato for sending them into battle.

Ashe vs. Lonato

Lonato: Ashe... stand aside. I have to defeat the wicked ones! Without fail!  

Ashe: Lord Lonato... please stop this now! Why would you do something so reckless?

Lonato: Rhea is an infidel that deceives the people and blasphemes against the goddess. With a cause this great, we surely possess the divine protection of the goddess.

Ashe: Even if you say that, all of this is wrong. How could you mobilize even the townsfolk!

Lonato: … In that case, turn your blade against me without hesitation! I cannot turn back at this point!

Dimitri vs. Lonato

Lonato: I deeply apologize, Your Highness... To think I would come to cross swords with you...

Dimitri: … Lord Lonato. I sympathize with your resentment to an extent.

Dimitri is being extremely formal here, using the pronoun “貴公" (kikou) to address Lonato. It's a very archaic term (aka. Samurai old), normally used by men to refer to other men that are equal or below them in rank. He is already pretty formal usually, but this shows he turns it up a notch when dealing with kingdom affairs.

Dimitri: I have no wish to take you down, but... I apologize.

Lonato: Your Highness... For my son, for the sake of the people, I simply cannot stop here.

Lonato: If it is your wish to stand in my way, then I can only force you aside...

Scene: A Harsh Reality 

[If Ashe is alive]

Ashe: ... Why did something like this happen. Even though Lord Lonato used to be such a kind man.

Ashe: The townsfolk were all such good people too... And yet, these people... I killed them.

Ashe: There was nothing... There was nothing else we could do. I know that, but I... !

Dimitri: ... Please, don't push yourself, Ashe.

Ashe: ... I apologize for making you worry.

Ashe: ... I will take a moment to assess the situation in town. I just hope my younger siblings are okay...

[He leaves]

Dimitri: … For me this was also the first time I fought against citizens. I did it, even though protecting them is my duty.

[If Ashe is dead]

Dimitri: There were militiamen among the enemies. … For me this was the first time I fought against citizens.

[Continuing]

[Choose: It was an unavoidable sacrifice] and [Choose: That's just reality]

Dimitri: … These people were neither knights nor soldiers! They were not just people to be... killed.

Dimitri: No... I am sorry. It is not right to blame you.

Dimitri: Indeed, if we had not killed them, many more citizens may have lost their lives in the future.

Dimitri: I can understand this logically. But still... Hey, Professor.

Dimitri: In any era, the people in power always fight and howl at each other for the sake of some greater cause or to avenge the lives that were trampled upon.

Dimitri: Still... can any loss of life be forgiven, so long as you hold up the two words saying “Greater Cause”?

In Japanese, it's 'the two characters' that make up the word 'taigi' (greater cause).

Dimitri: Lord Lonato did not raise his blade out of self-interest, but for the sake of the justice he dedicated himself to.

Dimitri: Maybe if we didn't cut them down like that, we might have found some other way together...

Dimitri: I ... have to think that. Though maybe you’ll just tell me I am downplaying it and laugh at me.

[Switch back to Catherine with some dialogue common to all routes]

[crystalelemental]

heavenlyfury replied to your post “Another merge project complete, and this time, we have the illustrious...”

An impressive unit, and what a character! My issue with Edelgard is, as much as her goals are noble and understable, her actions are just... Very unreasonable? Like she could have done things very differently in order to get what she wanted, and I simply cannot fathom why she thought Those who slithered in the dark were better allies than the church. Like, you don't trust Rhea, I get it.

But did she expect to wage war on the entire continent, basically alone (without diplomatically support), before taking on an enemy that has NUKES? Like those priorities are all kinds of wrong! But I still kinda love her intensity and the ambition, the idea of making her a different kind of protagonist. Anyways, congrats again!

Thank you.  Edelgard is indeed pretty huge as a unit.  Anyway, the short version of this is “no one’s wrong for having issues with Edelgard and her approach,” but I do have a lot to add in here.

I’m going to try going through this in order, but I’m building this as I go so bear with me.

What was her alternative?  On the one hand, we know from experience that Rhea doesn’t want to lead, and passes the torch off to Byleth immediately.  That could’ve happened in the near future for the CF route as well, even without Edelgard instigating war.  But how would she know that?  Edelgard has no way of knowing, or believing, that Rhea would cede power.  She’s also got her own experience seeing her family’s power usurped by the nobility, who then immediately abused that power, and resulted in her and countless others being tortured for crest research.  From her own experiences, it makes sense that she’s not willing to wait, and believes no one would accept her proposal if she were peaceful.  And in that last part, she’s...kinda right.  Rhea would cede her power to Byleth, sure, but she wouldn’t be willing to undermine the system she established to maintain peace and safety for herself.

Diplomacy sounds good, and is always the preference, but from Edelgard’s experience and point of view, she’s seen how awful the nobility is, how awful the system Rhea created is, and has seen how hard she cracks down on anyone who goes against that.  Lonato’s little rebellion is immediately and violently suppressed, getting the innocents under him caught up in it as well.  Hell, his son.  Allegedly, he was executed for participating in a conspiracy to assassinate Rhea.  Which directly mirrors something that happens after we beat Lonato: we find that document about a plan to assassinate her.  But that turned out to be nothing, everyone saw right through it and identified that there was an alternate goal.  Everyone...except Rhea and those working in the church.  So how likely was it that Lonato’s son was actually going to do anything of the sort?  Was his execution just?  Was the execution of those in the Western Church just, considering they didn’t do anything particularly violent, they just used an opportunity to break into the vault and attempt stealing a hidden relic.  Rhea may not be directly violent and out burning villages and slaughtering innocents for funsies.  But she’s not exactly merciful, and will go hard against anyone who opposes what she upholds as necessity.  Why would Edelgard assume diplomacy would work?  Wouldn’t trying to be diplomatic by undermining the teachings of Seiros to suggest an alternative get her branded a heretic, and have the entire might of the church against her?  At best, she’d lose her chance at returning power to the throne, and the corrupt nobles who allowed her family to be tortured and decimated maintain their status.  At worst, she could be executed for the crime of going against the church on top of that.  We don’t know for sure, we don’t see any of that play out, but from Edelgard’s perspective, they’re not likely to respond, and giving them that advance warning lets them prepare, and the Church is still the seat of power in Fodlan.

Which brings us to the Agarthans.  Yes, Edelgard siding with them seems incredibly stupid.  And it is infuriating, knowing that what happened to her was directly their fault.  Which is something she’s aware of, mind.  The Crimson Flower route makes clear that they don’t trust the Agarthans at all, it’s a temporary alliance to face off against a more threatening foe.  Which...honestly, is fair.  Aside from the fact that the Church has the strongest standing army, there’s Rhea to deal with.  In Verdant Wind and Silver Snow, we see Rhea, in dragon form, caught in the blast range of TWO of those nukes, and she doesn’t die.  That should express the level of discrepancy between the power of a dragon, and the power the Agarthans have.  It took two nukes to injure her.  What are general human tactics supposed to do against that?  Against not just the human forces among her ranks, but also the golems she has under her command?  Their power is, in fact, a necessity to face off against this combined power.  Though I will fully admit that they could’ve done a better job of having the Agarthans directly involved in the fights.

As for why is she still willing to accept that help, despite them being the most directly responsible...ultimately it comes down to seeing beyond herself.  Yes, the Agarthans are a problem.  They are the most directly responsible for her suffering, Lysithea’s suffering, and are the most direct cause of bloodshed in the narrative.  But consider.  The Agarthans’ crest research is something that’s accepted by the nobles in the empire.  It’s not like they didn’t know what was up.  And society at large values crests so significantly, that the idea of being able to imbue others with that power, and creating people with two crests as weapons, is enticing.  The Agarthans are directly responsible, but the nobility is indirectly complicit in atrocities for their own gain, while the church created the system that places value on the kind of work and ambitions they have.  Crests are important, controlling crests and their power is the basis of society.  You have to beat that system, which Rhea is the head of.  And consider that when Arianrhod was nuked in CF, Edelgard is legitimately surprised.  She likely didn’t know the Agarthans had that kind of firepower, which contextualizes a lot.  Rhea’s a huge dragon, who even the Agarthans are scared of despite their advanced technology.  But their advanced technology is mostly duplications of the divine weapons, which means their power is roughly equivalent to yours.  One is a massive threat well above your level of power, and the other is roughly equivalent.  You want both dead, but the equivalent foe is willing to back you to take on the much stronger one.  You gonna say no?

Anyway, let’s say Edelgard did address the Agarthans first.  Just broke in and cracked Thales’ skull open with Aymr and took a shit right on his floor.  What then?  You took out those responsible for the direct application of atrocities, but the system that permitted it is still in play, run by a super powerful being you can’t defeat.  Consider what happened with Miklan; effectively disowned solely for not having a crest, and driven to what he wound up doing.  He was a bastard because of the environment he grew up in.  The system as a whole breeds the kind of resentment and power-seeking ambition that Miklan displays.  So if she does kill off the Agarthans right away, but then can’t take out Rhea...what did that accomplish?  Temporary reprieve?  Because the system still permits for people to perform blood treatments, and implants the desire to do so, because it values crests and their power above human life.  You’re not getting to the source of the issue any other way.

Not to get too political on main, but it’s kinda like what we’ve got going on in the US right now.  People are recognizing that it’s the entire system that’s the problem.   The system is corrupt to the point it produces these problems by design.  Simply firing a few officers won’t fix police brutality, racial sensitivity trainings won’t fix inherent discrimination in the system, etc.  The system has to go.  And trying to address it around the direct issue with these calls of “just go out and vote in people who will fix it!” isn’t sufficient.  A changing of the guard in the same system will yield the same results.  The system of nobility and how it’s determined is the problem in this scenario.  Changing out who the nobles are isn’t going to fix it, you have to dismantle the concept of nobility and create a new system in its place to avoid this just happening again.  That’s the crux of Edelgard’s motivation.

I think people get annoyed with the Agarthans because they consider her motivation a personal one.  And to a degree, it is.  She was directly harmed by their actions, and by the system that permitted their actions, and of course must have personal feelings regarding that matter.  But Edelgard is someone who looks beyond herself and her immediate pain to look at what is necessary to accomplish a broader goal.  It goes so far that she’s willing to work with the people who caused her harm, if it means preventing harm to others by dismantling the system.

The real question is whether the outcome she hopes for is realistic.  She’s essentially creating a single locus of power, just like Rhea did, and hinging all of the future on that locus of power doing the right thing and continuing her work.  Because she doesn’t stay in power either, she steps down.  All it would take is one person gaining that same level of power, but having completely different views, to undermine everything she’s done.  Not to mention her goal seems to be creation of a meritocracy, which sounds great, but plenty of places in the world right now say they have that and how well is that going?  Merit is often determined by experiences, which in turn is directly influenced by wealth.  While the concept of “nobility” may be erased, unless that includes redistribution of wealth and resources for the common good, people who were once nobility still have an advantage and will remain on top.  I mean, god, look at Ferdinand’s suggestion of free public schooling as a means of determining merit for those who should lead society in political life.  How’s that working out now?  The US education system’s sure doing great with making sure things are equitable because it’s free.  There are a lot of factors to consider, and Edelgard’s current assessment of where to go once she wins isn’t fully formed, which means whatever system she creates is likely to be imperfect as well.  Not to mention a system built on a mountain of corpses might have some moral quandaries to wrestle with.  But if the alternative is keeping the current system because “She doesn’t have a better idea,” then I’d say she was right to act.  You can’t let something awful continue just because you can’t fix every problem at once.  Something needed to be done, and someone needed to take that first step toward true change.  Edelgard was willing to be the one to take that step.  So while there may be problems to her approach, problems which she openly acknowledges and identifies, I think it’s better that she’s willing to go forward with a plan to enact change and try something, instead of just sitting still, letting things continue, and doing nothing but “sending thoughts and prayers.”  Sometimes there is no good solution, and you can’t just sit around theory crafting until you’re certain it’s going to work.  Sometimes you just have to act and do your best to get the best outcome.  And that’s what Edelgard does.  And I love it.

[msbluebell]

Me and my brother were talking about what-ifs in the story and he brought up how it's a given that Dimitri would've likely continued down that dark path beyond the Gronder Field battle if not for Rodrigue's sacrifice. We know Byleth knows that Dimitri considers him a second father, so suppose she did react in time during the post-Gronder fight, how would things pan out if she took that blow instead to spare Dimitri further sorrow? I can only imagine the Dimileth angst coming from that

The thing we need to think about when diving into the topic of Dimitri’s redemption and how Rodrigue’s sacrifice set it off is the psychology behind it. 

Keep in mind that this is all my personal interpretation of the game’s events and what would happen with these changes, so if you disagree with me that’s 100% valid.

Now, Dimitri is broken. I know, shocking, but I really mean this. Dimitri is one of the most broken characters I’ve seen in a long time and I completely understand how and why he got there. Dimitri is a mentally ill man that went through a series of very traumatic events, never got the help he needed, kept the trauma bottled up until it nearly broke him, and then went through ANOTHER series of very traumatic events all while suffering a mental breakdown, and then was subsequently isolated in the woods with nothing but hallucinations that constantly reinforced toxic ideas in his head until they were all he believed.

He is a broken, confused, psychological MESS of a human being. He has had the same self-hate and guilt whirling around in his soul for five straight years now. He’s constantly had the fact that he is unworthy of life, that he needs to avenge the dead, and that he is only allowed to live so that he can make sure the dead find rest reinforced to the point where nothing else seems to even matter to him.

As far as he’s concerned the only two fates he’s worthy of are death and vengeance. If he attains either than he’ll have attained his purpose. Anything else, love, friendship, comfort, warmth, the little things that make us alive? He is utterly unworthy of those things as far as he’s concerned. He can’t even begin to conceive that people still care about him he’s brainwashed himself with this idea so much. And, also, I think he may also deeply resent everyone around him for 1) trying to take care of himself 2) not being there when he needed them when he was in the woods being hunted for five years. Heck, the one person he seemed most like his old self with before his atonement was Dedue, who went out of his way to save Dimitri and was ONLY not with him the last five years because he was just that gravely injured and literally unable to be by his side. I don’t know what everyone else was doing for those five years (other than looking for Dimitri, which he can’t reasonably assume, and doing what they can to aid people during the war), but Byleth’s reason for why they weren’t there DOES seem a little iffy and weird, so I don’t even blame him for being prissy, especially if he at all mourned them, which he clearly did.

Point is, he’s a hot mess of such bad mental health issues that you could honestly write a whole psychology paper on it and turn it in for a grade.

Now, onto why this is important to consider for that whole scene.

The attempted assassination is important for two very different reasons that both are very important to why Dimitri is tries to leave to do a suicide run against Enbarr and ultimately meets Byleth for his redemption. One is obviously Rodrigue, but there’s another that people often overlook.

Fleche.

Fleche is very important to the ‘why’ in Dimitri’s redemption.

Fleche is a sad look at who Dimitri is and how he could have ended up. Fleche is someone who lost her brother, the person she loved most, misidentified his killer (Byleth, although that was the best case for him at the time honestly and Dimitri is the main cause for his death) though said misidentified person was a huge factor in the death, and set out for revenge. Revenge was her driving goal from, to the point of insanity, and whether she realized it or not she became just like Dimitri in her goal.

She may not realize this, but Dimitri actually heavily empathized with her goal. He willingly let her into the army when he heard that she wanted to avenge her brother, and didn’t even sound AS dismissive about it as he could’ve. He got it, and he was willing to let her ride along his army for revenge.

He’s not even mad at her for stabbing him.

See that look on his face? That’s not the look of someone who is angry. He gets it. He gets why she’s doing this. He doesn’t even really blame her. He knows this is what she needs to do, and he knows he deserves it. As for as he’s concerned, he’s deserved to die for a long time, and he’s just going to die for someone else’s revenge rather than his own.

Through Fleche Dimitri sees a reflection of his own madness. He see’s what he is, and he sees what he’s caused. This is the face of his worth. Fleche is a living personification of everything he’s done wrong and everything he’s failed at. He caused her to become this, and he’s going to die to help her fulfill her purpose. This was what HE was meant for. To die for the sake of vengeance.

Then Rodrigue cuts in and basically says, “Ah, no, actually. Because I’m not going to let that happen.”

Rodrigue’s sacrifice served to show Dimitri that, yes, your life is WORTH something to other people, and that you aren’t meant to die for anyone’s revenge. Rodrigue willingly choosing to save Dimitri’s life is a direct contrast to the ideals that Dimitri has brainwashed himself with: that he’s deserves to die.

Rodrigue no-sells the revenge death and shows Dimitri that not only are there people who WANT him to live, so much that they’re willing to stake their own life on it selflessly, but that they want him to live for something OTHER than the revenge he’s been seeking. They’re not trying to hinder him for their own goals, they’re trying to take care of him for HIS sake.

Rodrigue’s act is one of pure, selfless, fatherly love. It’s a love that Dimitri has denied himself for five years, and didn’t realize was being directed his way before now. It’s a drastic show of affection that cuts through years of brainwashing. In theory, the same result could have been achieved if Rodrigue was injured in the process, or even not at all as long as he simply stood in the way of the death and Dimitri, but…well…him dying for the cause is more emotionally impacting from a story telling perspective.

I also love the symbolism of Byleth being the one to cut Fleche down for good because they’re the one that finally fully turns Dimitri towards redemption and instill the idea that he deserves to live for himself, thus “killing” the idea he needs to die for vengeance. 

So, would the results change at all if Byleth were the one that stepped in the way of Fleche’s revenge? 

No, I personally don’t think so.

Dimitri is in love with both Byleth and Rodrigue. It’s just two different kids of love. He very openly admitted to loving Rodrigue like a second father pre-timeskip (Dimitri has a few dads, doesn’t he?). Byelth can either be romantic (which I interpret as canon based on his interactions with them in cut-scenes) or platonic love of a close friend. He simply denied himself those affections during his time as Feral!Dimitri (Actually, the more I talk about it, the more Punished!Dimitri sounds more accurate, because he’s really just punishing himself).

So, events would play out the same with a wounded Byleth, only this time he would maybe have his classmates be slower to forgive him based on how much one can interpret them loving Byleth over Rodrigue. Which, let’s be honest, most of them know Byleth better, so it will probably take them a little longer.

Still, Byleth made a sacrifice for him, and believed in him, so they would forgive him eventually.

Dimitri forgiving himself is another story. He never DOES forgive himself for Rodrigue’s sacrifice, and he won’t forgive himself for Byleth’s sacrifice.

On the other hand, we can also speculate that without Byleth there to stop Dimitri’s suicide run to Enbarr and act as the light that pulls him out of the darkness, he DOES end up going through with the plan and joins her in death in his fit of grief fueled madness.

[kendrixtermina]

Compare and Contrast: The ‘Rival’ Characters

In each house there’s like this one guy who doesn’t really get along with the House Leader

I swear this is the last rambly essay. Or... second to last. 

Felix

Perhaps the most “typical” rival - The Blue Lions in general are designed around basic fantasy or anime archetypes with a twist here and there so its not too suprising that Felix starts off like a less chliched/ more reasonable variant of your basic anime rival. 

He’s your basic ‘Arrogant Kung Fu Guy’, a loner,  not very friendly, focussed on gaining strenght, used to be friends with the MC once, not a fan of “the power of friendship” but not immune to it either... though unlike most examples he’s not envious or obsessed with beating Dimitri nor actually particularly arrogant. When Leonie beats him with a trap in their support he’s like “Wow thanks, you made me aware of a potential weakness” 

Like your classic anime rival he is the strongest of the Lions apart from Dimitri himself, but has a contrasting fighting style - Dimitri is big, tanky and has immense brute strenght, but is clumsy; Felix is lithe, agile and has a very skill-based fighting style. The second strongest deer or eagle would not be Lorenz and Ferdinand.  It’s definitely Lysithea for the deer, and probably either Hubert or Petra for the eagles.   

Also like your classic anime rival, he’s got a backstory that parallels the hero’s. He also lost a beloved relative in the tragedy of Duscur and also still feels a lot of attachment to people who are gone, but he deals with it very differently than Dimitri. Unlike most cases you can’t really say that one of them did ir ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ both have their dysfunctionalities resulting from the loss if anything Felix is more level-headed though his rejection of all attachment isn’t grounded in maturity either. 

They managed to have the classic “ideals are BS, only strenght matters” line actually make sense in a non-voldemordy way for once if you consider the context where he grew up, he definitely has a point. Though he would protest the notion he actually has a moral code of his own (Dimitri clearly offends it - though mostly he’s really thrown of by/ doesn’t know what to make of the Dr. jekyll and Mr. hyde situation) he just wasn’t ever told that it “counts” as it’s not what passes for morals in Faerghus. He’s present and results oriented, rather than guiding principles or rules of thumb he likes to focus on wether it actually saves lifes. (”We’re protecting your subjects not your ego”)

Likewise it makes more sense for him to be the team contrarian when Dimitri actually does have no plan or regard for safety while he’s in Avenger Mode, but ultimately he very much wants Dimitri to succeed. 

Another thing of note is that since Claude and Edelgard are revolutionaries, their rivals are the token traditionalists of their respective teams, whereas Dimitri is someone who wants to reinstate the order - He doesn’t like oppression any more than the others but he thinks the existing social institutions have their merit; As he sees it they’d work just fine if they were just carried out virtuously and as a service to the people, not selfishly abused. Hence his rival is one of the two more independent-minded Lions. 

Lorenz

Of the three he’s probably the one who most dislikes their leader and who is most genuinely flawed at the start of the game. 

With Ferdinand it’s not more than a passing first impression you quickly notice that while he may be naive about how he comes across he isn’t actually arrogant nor does he hate or have seditious intentions toward Edelgard, he’s actually a deeply good guy, a straightforward hero to contrast Edelgard as an anti-hero. He lived an easy live in a good environment which allowed him to develop his potential to the fullest whereas Edelgard was forced to resort to things she doesn’t like because of her harsh life and precarious situation. She just wants to live quietly in peace but had to to grand impactful actions because someone needs to fix the broken system and she happened to have power she never asked for, meanwhile Ferdinand really wants to be a politician and go down in history but is afraid that he’s not making enough of an impact.  Felix is more complex, he truly IS mean and spiteful as a real character flaw (with Dedue and Dimitri he has arguably valid principle-based reason to dislike them; But with Sylvain and Ingrid he’s just being mean for meanness’ sake due to his own issues with attachment and says some genuinely awful things to them) but its the one sharp edge on an overall principled dude who actually does care for his comrades, Dimitri included, and he is not a bad person. 

Lorenz meanwhile is certainly not what he seems either, he’s not just a superior twat and actually very dutiful, believes that the nobility should actually live up to their obligations and is sort of a cautious shrewd political mind, surely not half as naive as Ferdinand. At the same time he has real shortcomings, at the start of the game he’s somewhat immature and frivolous (very apparent in his pre-timeskip supports with Sylvain and Byleth), though his intentions are not per se impure (he really wants to marry and is actually picky and romantic),  he just doesn’t get it in his head that those girls he’s hitting on find him annoying.

But eh, he was like 18 at the time. More damning is his callousness and lack of perspective. He doesn’t really look past his immediate surroundings and the self-interest of himself and his own, and at several times alledges that he wouldn’t have particularly minded if Claude wound up dead in a ditch. He doesn’t know him and genuinely doesn’t care about him, making cold, dissing comments all the time in early part 1.

Of course when you get more context and get further in both their support chain and the plotyou find that he actually has good reasons to distrust Claude, it’s not just snobbishness and prejudice he just really cares about the Alliance and doesn’t trust it to someone who just showed up out of nowhere under suspicious circumstances after the previous Duke had an ‘accident’ (which, ironically, was the work of Lorenz’ own father) - but that doesn’t change that he’s genuinely a little callous. 

If you don’t spare Claude on the empire route Lorenz stands out as the only person who will diss him - everyone else, imperial leadership included, is either sad or gives him the worthy opponent treatment, even Hubert who’s not usually the sort to point out his enemies’ redeeming features. He will also diss him in the Kingdom route and express spite that he didn’t get to be Alliance leader. 

Indeed while Ferdinand and Felix will wind up supporting Edelgard/ Dimitri if they’re not recruited, Lorenz always opposes Claude unless you’re on the GD route. Even some of the arrogance is real, see his A support with Byleth, he really thought that commoners were ultimately less consequential/influential even though, as he later admits, Byleth was right in front of him the whole time. 

To some extent this might be due to his upbringing his father was very much a “Look out for Number one” sorta person who cares only for the wealth of his own territory the rest of the Alliance be damned. Compared to that starting point Lorenz is already a whole lot more considerate as he thinks that his father at least ought to consider the rest of the Alliance, and would certainly NOT stab a rival in the back or callously kill commoners as collateral damage, even at the start of the game. 

I don’t wanna get too down on Lorenz tho, once you get to know him he’s adorable and sensitive (his caution comes from actually being somewhat afraid/anxious underneath) and as a friend he is very helpful generous and considerate. I love that support where he keeps offering Ignatz jobs, it’s probably his best moment. He got layers and ultimately ends up having a positive political legacy.  And if you’re playing GD or CF he even gets more open-minded by the end.  

He also makes for an excellent contrast to Claude - both are somewhat self-interested, opportunistic and distrustful, but Lorenz is cautious and conventional, whereas Claude is unconventional and a risk-taker. Ultimately what brings them together is appreciation for the other’s shrewdness and good intentions, they’re both natural politicians. They also both love poetry. 

And Claude’s storyline is one of bringing different people together and convincing them to come to his side/ have them come around. He uses deception to accomplish it, yes, but ultimately he wants people to see his point - Even someone who is as different from him as Lorenz is. After all he wants to build a world where there’s a place for everyone. So when he finally wins over Lorenz halfway through part 2 it means a lot to him. Claude probably half doubts that it’s possible but he wants everyone to truly come around. 

Whereas Edelgard would surely prefer convincing as well, but failing that she’d strongarm or eliminate someone like that. (Though it has to be said that she would do so because she cares deeply about the net result and one priviliged twat’s feelings, or even her own,  are not more important that ending oppression asap IMHO Both have a point and both have their shortcomings.) 

Another Detail is that while Ferdinand and Felix are each from the Second most Powerful house in their respective countries, the number two spot in the Alliance is probably held by the Gonerils; But the Alliance by nature is more flexible and there is more rising and falling in influence based on wealth merit and your ability to convince and rally the other nobles. Lorenz actually could take Claude’s job, and early on, actually wanted to, so he’s the closest to a real political rival - and Claude’s strenght is more in politics and planning than it is in punching so this is fitting. 

The other two are more one-sided, as Dimitri flat out ignores any hostility coming from Felix and would really like to be friends again (also Felix wants Dimitri on the throne ‘cause he’s still vastly better than Chaos or Cornelia, he’d just like him to act reasonable and get his act together, and is ready to support him once he does) and Ferdinand, try as he might, is simply no match for Edelgard in any way as she is the single strongest individual among the younger characters, she’s evenly matched with Byleth in the Church Route reunion scene and ends up with the highest total stats out of all the playable characters. 

Ferdinand

Though he’s introduced as always trying to one-up her, makes sure to tell you that he’s the one in charge when you first walk in (no doubt naively repeating something his father said), can end up being full-blown enemies with her in 3 out of 4 routes including the Church route, he doesn’t actually have any sort of personal beef with Edelgard and out of the three ‘rivals’ he probably has the least actual issues with/ dislike toward his respective house leader. 

Even when they wind up as enemies he’s actually one of the characters who speaks of Edelgard in a respectful fashion after her death (in GD he mentions how she wanted the next ruler to be chosen based on merit and how she really believed it), and at one point offers Hubert to let the two of them flee right under the Church’s nose if you have them fight. (Especially notable since the Church route is probably the least sympathetic toward Edelgard)

He IS the one who gets the classic rival trait of being competitive, jealous and attention-seeking - I tend to hate these sorts of characters but that’s usually because they are petty, spiteful people who begrudge other’s happiness and are always putting others down so I expected to hate him but actually ended up loving him to no end because he isn’t like that at all. He’s deeply good and has a heart of pure gold. He never lashes out. If someone dislikes him, his reaction is usually to come up some grandiose elaborate gesture to prove his worth and make them like him (Mercedes, Bernie, Dorothea etc.) 

Ferdinand was raised by an actual supervillain who clearly wanted to bring him up with an ellbow mentality but that clearly bounced off his inherent goodness like teflon. His sheltered luxurious upbringing might’ve left him a bit naive pre-timeskip in ways that make him come off a tad arrogant or annoying, but he doesn’t think he’s superior to anyone - indeed he works hard to be worthy of his inheritance and justify being in the position that he’s in. He’s somewhat aware that his father’s a crook but his response to that disillusionment is to become the real thing himself. He wants to actually be exceptional and live up to the hype.  The old man surely told him that he’s got to make the princess his bitch with some thinly veiled euphemisms but he kinda didn’t catch the seditious treasonous parts of it. 

He doesn’t hate Edelgard nor does he wanna doublecross her or put her down, rather, he figures that he’ll be a pretty poor Minister if he can’t hold his own against her he must have something of his own to offer and just generally strives to constantly improve himself. He also strongly believes in thinking for oneself (in that sense he’s kinda like Felix but its a more intellectual thing for him) - In the Church route that’s why he views it as his duty to oppose Edelgard even if it costs him alot. If he sticks with them instead, he eventually realizes that she and Hubert are actually all for independent thought and actually pretty open to his input once they come to trust him (which doesn’t really happen on the other routes). If recruited to the Kindom he’ll also not be afraid to criticise Dimitri. Can’t recall any scene where he criticises or defies Claude right of the bat but then again Claude doesn’t exactly go around saying what his objectives are.

He certainly sticks out among the eagles the way Felix does among the lions - not quite to the same extent cause he’s not that polished and inadvertedly annoys people a lot early on, but they’re all pragmatic, antisocial or both and also largely unconventional and quirky, whereas Ferdinand is very sociable, optimistic, has high ideals and  traditional. He’s the one among the nobles who actually wants his father’s job, he’s also the one believer among the largely secular Adrestians, though he’s not exceptionally devout. Though he values collectedness, he’s an expressive romantic sop and very genuine in contrast to the more stoic and unsentimental Edelgard and Hubert (as well as Byleth if they’re on the team), i mean Dorothea’s also extroverted and friendly but she’s often wearing a mask and kinda jaded too. Caspar’s nice and honest but he basically lives to fight.  Basically if the Crimson Flower cast were Section Nine, Ferdinand would be Togusa - and like the Major, Hubert and Edelgard actually appreciate him for that though this is not immediately obvious to him. 

Ferdinand obviously matures some as the storyline continues but - consider that Lorenz basically gets schooled and Claude is 100% right, and Felix gets to get over himself and stop being so tsundere, he’s not all wrong but he’s not right either and in his Kingdom route endings usually winds up continuing his dad’s legacy after all, even winding up in one of those chivalric tales he used t hate in his paired endings with Dimitri. Lorenz’ position is understandable, Felix has a valid point and comes from a good place, but largely, they are wrong. Ferdinand does somewhat change what he thinks but it’s more of a hegelian synthesis. He’s a helpful ally who contributes a lot and Edelgard and Hubert kinda know this before he does because he was busy comparing himself to her. He’s not gonna beat Edelgard at Edelgard stuff but he has a lot to offer precisely because he’s Ferdinand, and because he’s different from them and actually helps them improve and refine their plans. 

After all if you want to replace a flawed system you’ve got to understand why it persisted and your new system has to solve all the problems the old one solves and then some, if it is to last. 

Unlike Felix Ferdinand’s very proud of his country, but this is in the context of the Eagles’ main storyline being to put right what their parents done fucked up (or, in the case of Dorothea and Petra, what created the sucky circumstances they lived in) whether they do it with Edelgards revolution or through reconciling their homeland with the church. 

Of course Ferdinand isn’t blind to his homeland’s flaws and wants to fix it because he cares about it. 

Leonie

Now onto the MC’s own designated rival. 

She probably can be said to be have a shade of petty jealousy but since it’s centered around a shared mentor figure and largely harmless it comes off with a distinct annoying-younger-sister vibe more than a more serious rivalry. She never really gets overly upset that she can’t beat Byleth; She just kinda keeps trying undeterred; Might as well shoot for a high target. 

Notably she is actually a remarkably chill person in her other supports and has a lot more characterization than just the jeralt thing, with her poor village background and frugal, pragmatic outlook being pretty interesting, she just doesn’t get along with Byleth, but since they’re the POV character and Leonie is kinda constantly aggro at them that works in her detriment. For all that I’m frequently praising how even the more gimmicky characters are seldom one-note I still think they could’ve eased up on the gimmicks now and again. 

On the other hand, it shouldn’t be so strange that even Byleth can’t immediately get along with everyone xD

Much like most of Bernadetta’s supports start with her freaking out and running away, Byleth’s usually go like this: At C the various characters act largely how they act toward everyone else (the nice characters are nice, the blunt ones are blunt etc.), then at B they spill their life story and worries and Byleth is like “pat pat”, by the second half of part II the monastery dialogues also evidence some level of fondness and familiarity even with the students that aren’t in your house  (which is important cause most of them are pretty sad and apologetic about having to fight Byleth later on)

But of course there’s exceptions here, you have cases like Felix and Edelgard who instantly like them because of obvious similarities, people who take distinctly longer to be won over such as Hubert and Dimitri but ultimately do click with them after a certain point, and then there’s cases like Claude and Dorothea who DO like Byleth but are still somewhat stumped by their somewhat unreadable demeanor, they’re used to dazzling ppl with their charm, not getting the expected reaction and hence their defense mechanisms are lowkey active, indignation for Dorothea and suspicion for Claude. 

Leonie doesn’t fit either category she sorta tries to apologize for her latest outburst each time but then ends up going off again. 

On the one hand the fact that she isn’t overawed isn’t always a negative thing, it’s like she’s part of the family, and particularly the human side of it. 

After they merge with Sothis most the students are awed and excited about their new power/looks and comming divine revelation - some of the eagles are notably cooler on this as they’re not as religious, Bernie’s lowkey scared, Dorothea seems kinda worried about them/ that this will distance them from normal people, Edelgard is secretly heartbroken cause she takes it to mean that they’re destined to be enemies - they’re not the only ones tho Lysithea notably worries about side effects (she would), but then there’s Leonie who’s like “But it’s still you inside there, right? That’s what important.” Like... I think Byleth really needed to hear that. 

Instead of “wow everyone mysteriously likes you, you must truly be blessed” she’s like “you accept ppl as they are just like your dad no wonder people like you. ”, she just looks at them with a different perspective. 

I mean Cyril and Catherine get a bit jelly that they get so much of Rhea’s attention but then that’s tied up in their own adulation of Rhea and so ultimately the magical destiny thing. 

Even the infamous B support evidences a somewhat different, less distanced dynamic - Anger is a natural stage of grief but she’s going off in Byleth’s face when they’re still half in schock, which is a not so great situation but also different from the usual dynamic where Byleth is the calm in-control leader person while their conversation partner spills their soul - they can’t be, because they’re involved. Jeralt’s death affects them both in different ways and that leads to a rather painful clash. 

Contrast wise Leonie is maybe what Byleth might’ve been like if they had been born normally. She’s also kinda sassy has a pragmatic fighting style and comes from a common, nonfancy background where she had to work on her own survival by catching her own food. But she doesn’t have the magical destiny/ random religion ready to throw itself at her feet, as she often points out she doesn’t have a crest or money so she has to be shrewd to even get her hands on good equipment instead of having a mystical legendary artifact just falling into her lap. 

One wonders if Byleth and Edelgard ever ended up hiding out in some odd place in order to escape from two lance wielding redheards looking to duel them XD

Outcomes

Though Ferdinand gets this dialogue where he wonders about what might’ve been and laments the “Adrestia-shaped hole in his heart” his endings are actually pretty similar regardless of what faction he ends up with. He almost always becomes a statesman or politician of some sort.

He didn’t rely on things just falling into his lap so when they stop doing that he still succeeds, besides with his optimistic go-getter attitude and determination, it’s not a surprise that he’d be fine no matter what happens. It’s a big shock to him when his land gets confiscated on non-empire routes but he always deals somehow and comes out on top through the trials and tribulations.

By contrast Felix gets tons of unique dialogue for each route (with the most, but not complete overlap between VW and SS) and his endings are vastly different depending on wether he sticks with Dimitri or not to the point that even paired endings with the same characters can be vastly different. Generally speaking if he sticks with Dimitri he suceeds his dad and becomes Dimitri’s Right Hand Man (or Left Hand Man depending on where Gilbert and Dedue end up) whereas on the other routes he becomes a wandering mercenary and kinda doesn’t seem as satisfied with the independence and strenght that he used to want so badly.    

Only Bernie and Alois come significantly close to having such hugely divergent endings based on route (He becomes the leader of the Knights of Seiros - unless he turns against them then he just chills with his family. Bernie gets a lot more “confident” endings in CF, the one with Byleth is a 180 and the Hubert one is similar, also she’s out of her room a lot more and talks about traveling etc. and even there it’s not ALL endings nor quite as pervasive. )

As for Lorenz there’s three ways it can go. If not recruited he plays ball with the empire out of self-preservation and, its implied, to save his father who’s not worth half of him, and gets killed in the process should the empire lose.

If he’s on your team there’s 2 basic paths depending on whether you’re on one of the ‘revolutionary’ routes (VW and CF) or the ‘restore order’ ones (SS and AM) Either he initially follows to pursue his own interests but eventually comes around to Claude’s and/or Edelgard’s ways of thinking, or, you spare him, since he joined the empire ‘cause they looked to be winning he’ll have no qualms jning you when you appear to win, esp once you nap that pesky bridge through which the Imperial troops would’ve marched in, so he has more leeway to do what he actually wants to do, ie oppose the empire and go down in history like he always wanted. He doesn’t change as much but gets plenty of opportunity to show off his more gallant side and redeem himself for the initial turncoatery.

As far as Leonie’s endings go, it’s nice to know that there was someone to take over Jeralt’s mercenary troupe - Byleth probably always thought they would do it but now they’re off being King/Queen/Archbishop/ eating cake with Edelgard 

So she needn’t have worried/ eventually was able to take on Jeralt’s legacy like she wanted precisely because she isn’t magic

Of course there’s also the outcome where she dies somewhat ironically  either at Gronder (”Can’t back down because I know you I’m a proper mercenary”) or Myrrdin (particularly ironic since Jeralt didn’t trust Rhea one bit and Solon and Kronya did, not, in fact, report to Edelgard. She was ostensibly trying to get Jeralt on her side post Remire.), in either case to fulfill her dream and become like her mentor she’s pitted against that mentor’s own kid, no option where she can be truly true to her allegiance.... slightly less so in the empire route since she believes she has good cause for revenge here, und understandably so. Edelgard can’t exactly go around yelling “I mean to DOUBLECROSS you!” where the slitherers can hear so she did look guilty. 

It is supposed that she died offscreen at Gronder in the church route. :( Better recruit her. And Alois, if you’re doing CF, so poor Byleth doesn’t have to hack through all their remaining quasi-relatives. 

[derireo]

claude - tea sipping and plastic bags

Claude has been visiting Byleth non-stop for the past few weeks.

When he walks in from the rain with plastic bags around his ankles, Byleth tells him to leave.

It's the fourth time this week, Byleth thought to herself as she watched Claude walk into the cafe with a proud smile on his face, umbrella tucked into the crook of his elbow as his plaid longcoat dripped rainwater onto the floor. His hair was wet and slicked back, despite the short strands that still fell in front of his face, and he casually walked towards the counter while shooting finger guns at Byleth.

"You know," Byleth said as Claude took a seat on the high stool beside the counter, "I'm starting to get tired of having to see your face everyday."

Claude scoffed at this as he hooked his umbrella on one of the rungs on his stool and crossed his leg over the other, his choice of footwear catching the attention of Byleth who was twirling a pen around her fingers. The barista scoffed right back at him, her expression morphing into one of disgust as she stared at the slides on his feet that were covered with clear plastic bags tied around his ankles.

"Get out." She choked behind a laugh and turned her head to the side to make sure Claude didn't see her trying to hide her smile.

The young man smiled at the way Byleth avoided looking at him after she saw what he was wearing on his feet and leaned forward in his seat to try and see the new expression she was making, his eyes full of adoration and warmth from the perspective of Ferdinand and Lysithea who were watching from the kitchen doorway.

"You can't say that to me, a loyal customer, Byleth." Claude sighed dramatically and leaned forward, resting his chin in the palm of his hand as he propped his elbow on the tall counter that sat beside the cash register, fingers happily tapping at his jaw as the barista rolled her eyes at him and held her hand out.

Immediately, Claude took out a bill from his pocket and placed it in her palm, sending her a wink in the process. "Change is my tip, sweetheart."

Byleth responded in kind by staring up at the ceiling as her fingers danced along the screen in front of her to put his regular order in, fishing out his change from the register once it opened to put it inside of the tip jar that sat in front of the monitor, her smile sickeningly sweet when she turned back to Claude, Ferdinand lazily pushing himself off the doorway to start making Claude's drink.

"You've really got to stop flirting with me while I'm working, Claude."

"Well, you don't have to see my face everyday." He pointed an accusing finger, "I know you're too attracted to me to let even one second pass before you call me up on the phone."

There was silence. Byleth stared up at the ceiling and sent a short prayer, a hand pressed to her heart.

"You are the one who keeps visiting me at work." She hung her head for a brief second, bracing herself on the counter with her palms pressed against cold marble. Ferdinand could only shake his head in amusement at the two and slid Claude's mug of Chamomile towards him with a customer friendly smile before rejoining Lysithea at the doorway, who was treating herself to a grilled cheese.

Claude crinkled his nose up as he wrapped his long, calloused fingers around his mug, the rings he adorned clinking against the white porcelain that warmed his rain-soaked body.

"I'm just trying to gather up the courage to finally ask you out." He murmured casually, anticipating the reaction he was going to receive from the girl in front of him as he playfully batted his eyelashes at her, mouth already breaking out into a grin before she could react with something snarky and mean. Byleth squinted her eyes at Claude pensively, lips pursed as Ferdinand and Lysithea giggled behind her.

"I don't know if you know this, but I'm in a relationship." She scoffed, the corner of her mouth twitching as she watched Claude blink in mock surprise, his thumbs coming up to brush along the rim of his mug as he played off the brief sputtering that escaped his mouth with a clearing of his throat, smile lazy as he rest his cheek in his palm once more.

Quietly, Ferdinand and Lysithea went back to doing what they were working on earlier as the back door swung open, and heavy footsteps resounded throughout the empty cafe.

"What's goin' on here?" A deep voice rumbled from behind Lysithea, causing the small woman to jump in surprise and nearly drop the cup that she was cleaning while Ferdinand ducked his head as he scrubbed even harder at the display case he was polishing up.

Claude, unfamiliar with this voice, perked up in curiosity as Byleth lazily turned her head to greet her manager, Balthus, who walked in, just as rain-soaked as Claude was when he walked inside earlier.

"Yo." She sent him a half-assed salute before turning back around to face Claude who was making an impressed face, his eyes obviously trailing over the buff physique of the man to assess him, making another expression to let Byleth know that he was definitely liking what he saw. The barista rolled her eyes with a smile and threw a honey pack at the young man's chest, giggling when he leaned forward to whisper a playful threat to her.

"This brat botherin' you?" Balthus rumbled quietly as he sidled up Byleth's side, his arm coming around to wrap around her shoulders in a protective manner, cold fingers leaning up to squish at her puffy cheek. Claude raised his eyebrows towards Byleth who poked her tongue out at him, and lifted his mug of tea to his lips to take a sip, the smile in his eyes mischievous as he stared up at the hulking man in front of him.

Byleth stared helplessly at Claude as her cheek continued to be pinched at and tipped her head back to look at Balthus who was looking back down at her, expression expectant as he continued to poke at her face.

She sighed, pinching at Balthus' arm to get him to stop touching her cheek. "Yes, actually."

Balthus' mouth curled into a lazy snarl, but before he could do anything to make Claude leave, Byleth pushed the large man away from her with a loud sigh, causing the plastic bag clad boy to hide a smile behind his hand.

"My boyfriend should be at home studying." she raised her eyebrows at Claude who took a sip of his tea and scoffed, reaching out her hands in front of her to crack her knuckles.

"But he decided to come in with that abomination," she pointed at the slides and plastic bag combination, "And disturb me at work."

Once her manager processed the word boyfriend he perked up almost immediately and wagged a finger at Claude, much to his confusion. There was a smile on his face that also confused Ferdinand and Lysithea, but they decided not to comment on it.

"So you're the boy who has been takin' care of my lovely Byleth for the past year. Ferdie and Lysithea have been whispering 'bout ya lately, but we never managed to cross paths."

Flattered by the great first impression, Claude took one last sip of his tea and held his hand out for Balthus to shake, his girlfriend watching on with mock disdain.

"Great to meet you, Mister.."

"Balthus." He shook his hand.

"Balthus!" Claude whistled at the strength (and pain) that was delivered to his hand and sent the manager a knowing look, turning his head to Byleth who was still watching, a new, dumbfounded expression on her face.

Claude sent her a wink and slid his mug towards Ferdinand who was at the other end of the counter and slid off his stool, bending down slightly to grab his umbrella from the rung he hung it from and jutted his thumb behind him.

"And as my lovely girlfriend, Byleth, said, I should be studying! So I've got to head out now." He held his arms out apologetically despite the lackadaisical shrug, and the rustle of the plastic on his feet made Byleth shake her head.

"It was a pleasure to meet ya, Balthus." He bowed.

Balthus clicked his tongue and waved the young man off.

"Likewise."

Claude turned his gaze to Byleth who was already walking him towards the door, the sound of wet plastic sticking to the floor and a delighted giggle the only noise in the almost empty cafe.

Balthus and the other duo watched on from behind the counter as Byleth walked Claude out of the cafe, the man immediately opening the umbrella so that she wouldn't get wet as she sent him off.

Her arms were crossed as it seemed she was lightly reprimanding him for his silly stunts today while her boyfriend pretended to listen, a lovesick smile on his face as he listened to her speak over the pouring rain.

Slightly exasperated due to Claude obviously not listening, she lifted her hand up to cup his bearded jaw to quietly send the signal for him to bend down.

Happily obliging, Claude dipped his head down, ready for a kiss, only to be met with a loving smack to the cheek.

Stunned, probably even dazed, Claude pouted before Byleth went up on her toes to give Claude a goodbye kiss, her hands quickly moving to push him away by the chest before he could curl his arm around her waist and pull her in.

Balthus made an impressed noise as Byleth's laugh was heard through the glass door and she waved at the young man who held his cheek in his hand with a bright grin.

She walked back in once she saw that Claude had crossed the street safely and was met with a whistling Balthus.

"I give my blessing."

Byleth made a sound of disgust.

"You're not my pa."

[three-houses-text-files]

byleth/edelgard

c-s support + paired ending + night of the ball

c (i)

Edelgard: Uhh… Agh... Fath... Save... E: … E: Who could that be? E: Is that...a ghost? E: A ghost, perhaps? No, that is surely not the case. >We are within a monastery! No ghost would dare set foot in here... >What is that look upon your face? I am no ghost, if that is what was on your mind! E: No… Agh... Huh?! Who's there?! E: Professor… What are you doing here? >I heard something.

E: Oh? Perhaps I was talking in my sleep.

>I was restless.

E: What could that possibly mean?

E: In any case, please don't scare me like that.

>Bad dreams?

E: Ah… So you heard me, then. E: Yes, it was a nightmare. I've had them since I was a child. E: Stupid, pointless dreams I can't control… It's terribly frustrating.

>What are they about?

E: Just...my childhood. A time before I had realized who I was destined to become.

>Anything I can help with?

E: No. They're just worthless dreams of the past. Talking about it won't change a thing.

>You can trust me with anything.

E: I had a feeling you'd say that. I suppose I could try...

>It's none of my business.

E: Perhaps not. Still, here you are. Maybe I can trust you with this... E: But only if you swear not to tell a soul. E: I appreciate it. E: I dream of...my older brother, paralyzed, helpless…my older sister crying for help that never came…the youngest babbling words beyond meaning. E: I see my family dying slowly, waiting in the darkest depths for a glimmer of light. E: I once had ten siblings, eight older and two younger. E: Such a large family, and yet I became the heir to the throne. Do you know why? E: Every last one of them was crippled by disease or lost their mind or died. E: I was the only one left who could inherit the throne.

>That's awful. >How could such a thing happen...

E: Things kept getting worse. The darkness kept getting darker. In the end, I was the only one who survived. E: The nightmares are a reminder...to never forget. To never allow such terrible things to happen again. E: Never again... E: Even now, I'm the only one who can carry the weight of the Adrestian Empire. E: The future of the Empire...of everything…depends on me. E: Hm... I shared more than I intended to. I suppose there's something in the air tonight. E: I've never told anyone about my past before. Please...forget I said anything. Sleep well, my teacher.

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c (ii)

E: Ah, it's you. Out late again, I see. What brings you here?

>I could ask you the same.

E: I just wanted some fresh air. There's a lovely breeze tonight.

E: I always wander outside when sleep evades me.

>Trouble sleeping?

E: Is it that obvious?

E: I despise being cooped up when sleep evades me. I just have to get some fresh air.

>I couldn't sleep either.

E: So I see. Still, it's ill-advised to stay up so late.

>I'm exhausted.

E: Heh, I see. Well, don't let me keep you. Hurry back to your room, my teacher.

E: I should get some sleep too, but... E: Have you ever felt a sort of longing for the outdoors? E: I have. There are times I long for the warmth of the sun, for a sweet breeze on my face... E: Do you remember what I told you the other night? About...my past? E: None of my siblings had a chance to lead the sort of life they deserved. An ordinary life.

>Should I say I forgot? You asked me to forget...

E: Hm. Well, perhaps if I tell you more, it will come back to you.

>I remember.

E: My siblings and I were... We were imprisoned underground, beneath the palace. E: The objective was to endow our bodies with the power of a Major Crest. E: I have always possessed the Crest of Seiros, inherited through the Hresvelg bloodline. E: But it was only a Minor Crest, and most of my siblings bore no Crest at all. E: In order to create a peerless emperor to rule Fódlan, they violated our bodies by cutting open our very flesh. E: Now here I stand, the fruit of that endeavor: Edelgard von Hresvelg! E: But that came at too high a price... The others were sacrificed. E: Ours weren't the only lives devastated by that terrible process. Innocents died as well, without even knowing what they were dying for. E: And there you have it, the truth of the Hresvelg's Empire.

>Who is to blame?

E: The prime minister and his gaggle of nobles. They had the Empire under their thumbs. My father, the emperor, tried to stop him, but...it was futile.

E: My father was nothing but a puppet on a string by then. He was powerless to save us.

E: I know how it all sounds. But when you see my true strength, you will know I speak the truth.

>It's unbelievable.

E: It is. But when you see my true strength, you will know that I speak the truth.

E: I have kept it hidden all this time, but...I will reveal to you the power of my second Crest. E: It is the same as yours...the Crest of Flames. When it manifested for me, I swore a silent oath. E: For the sake of my family and for all the poor souls whose lives were traded for my existence... E: For their sake, I will build a world where such meaningless sacrifice is never again sanctioned. As emperor, I will change the world. I swear it.

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b

E: Ugh… I'm so sick of it all. E: There is so much to be done, yet all I encounter are new problems and pitfalls. E: Ugh... Sometimes I wish I could spend just one day doing absolutely nothing and gorging myself on sweets!

>This isn't like you.

E: Even I have moments of self-indulgence, you know.

>Such are the burdens of an emperor.

E: You sound just like Hubert. Am I not allowed a fleeting moment of self-indulgence?

>Let's do just that.

E: Do you mean it? Just the thought makes me happy.

E: But...Hubert would never allow it.

>That's too bad.

E: Indeed. It may not be possible now, but one day we will know the joys of idling. Mark my words.

>...

E: Is that a smirk I spy? Is it so amusing to you, me daydreaming of free time?

>It's pretty funny.

E: I see. I'm finally getting an idea of what you think of me.

>You misunderstand me.

E: Huh! Your silly grin says otherwise.

E: But let's put all that aside for now. There is something I've been meaning to tell you. E: I'm afraid this might sound a bit...sentimental. However... E: I want to thank you. Because of you, I feel I can walk my fated path without losing myself. E: If I were alone, I might have lost perspective and become a harsh leader with a heart of ice. E: But I'm not alone. With you by my side, I'm somehow free to be not only a leader but...simply Edelgard. (pre-skip) E: But you came back to me. With you by my side, I'm somehow free to be not only a leader but...simply Edelgard. (post-skip)

>I'm glad.

>You have many allies.

E: True. I am fortunate to be surrounded by many wonderful companions.

E: Nevertheless, you are...different from the rest. E: Until now, no one has been able to surpass me—much less command me. E: I have always been seen as an untouchable princess or emperor. E: No one spoke to me as an equal or met my gaze without flinching. E: It was lonely. Terribly lonely. The only person I could rely on as I tried to claw my way out of the darkness was myself. E: But you...you have been a brilliant light. Somehow, you have chased the darkness away. And for that...I will always be grateful.

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a

E: Yes? Oh! It's you, Professor. I was certain it was Hubert coming to drag me back to my duties. E: "Your Majesty, you must know your supreme talents are needed at present. Why not gaze at these documents instead of the sky?"

>That sounds like Hubert.

E: Doesn't it? And the worst part is that he's always right, so I can't even argue with him.

>That didn't sound like Hubert at all.

E: No? Well then. And here I thought my Hubert impression was second to none.

E: But that's enough about Hubert for the moment. E: While I have your attention, I'd like to thank you for your help in that last battle. E: As you well know, I'm perfectly capable of commanding the army by myself. E: However, when you're around, it's somehow different. E: I'm not sure I can properly explain it. I suppose your perspective on the battlefield is simply sharper than mine. E: When you're devising tactics and tricks for us, it's almost as though you can read the enemy's mind. E: There's no getting around it. Your talent for strategy far exceeds my own. I'm quite jealous in all honesty.

>You have many talents that I lack.

E: Is that a fact? Well, if you insist.

>Sometimes, I'm jealous of you too.

E: I suppose a flower from another's field is always more beautiful.

E: I'll admit, I think of you as rather detached, so to hear that you have emotions such as jealousy is...something of a relief.

>I'm not detached.

E: Oh, but you are! Don't even try to argue.

E: But I suppose I'm much the same. I've also distanced myself from the ordinary world.

>I could say the same of you.

E: I can't deny it. Ever since I underwent those...procedures, I've certainly distanced myself from the ordinary world.

E: It seems we were fated to be friends. E: Friends... That word somehow doesn't seem adequate. E: Besides, we've been friends for a long time, you and I. By now, we're so much more than that, at least in my mind. E: You know...instead of Edelgard, you can call me just El. If you so please. E: That's what my parents and closest sisters used to call me when I was little. E: Now there's no one left who calls me El... E: But with you, well...I think I could allow it. In fact, it would mean a great deal to me.

>Why is that?

>Why? Hmm...

E: Well, you have stood beside me and shared my burdens. As I said, you are much more than a friend.

E: In truth, you are like family to me. I suppose that's why.

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s

E: The children of the goddess have been defeated at last. The shape of the world will be forever changed. E: Humanity is free now. The world is ours once again. E: Can you believe it?

>I'm not sure.

E: I see. Well, one thing is certain. The fate of this world depends on the choices we make.

E: It's possible that people would have been happier continuing to mindlessly obey the goddess.

E: Our work is far from over. And we can't ignore the possibility that our enemies will resurface one day.

>It isn't over yet.

E: True. There is still much to be done.

E: We can't ignore the possibility that our enemies will resurface one day. In the end, the fate of this world depends on the choices we make.

E: I don't know what the future holds, but...come what may, will you stay by my side? E: You chose to protect me at the Holy Tomb. Will you choose me again? E: What I'm trying to say is...I need you.

>El... Please accept this gift.

E: You called me El. That's... I... That means more than I can say. E: And this ring... It's lovely. Thank you, my dearest friend. I will happily accept it. E: I must admit, I feared my feelings would be unrequited. E: So long as I had you by my side, it never mattered how many enemies I amassed. You were all I needed. E: All this time, I longed to share my feelings with you, and it seems you wished for the same. E: Now, our wishes have come true. This feeling... it's overwhelming.

>I promise to always be there for you.

E: I promise the same. Together, we can achieve anything.

>Now, your burdens are mine to bear.

E: Absolutely not—I won't allow it! From now on, we face the world and carry our burdens together.

E: We will crush those who slither in the dark and restore peace and order to Fódlan. E: I will then find a suitable successor and hand over the reins of the Empire. E: When all that is done, it will be just the two of us. I look forward to starting our life together in the light of a glorious new dawn.

>That seems a lifetime away.

E: It will be a long and difficult path, I'm afraid, but we must remain focused on our goals.

>Let's make it happen.

E: Yes, that is all we can do for now. We must remain focused on our goals.

E: To think that I may truly call you my partner and equal now... E: The solitary reign of Edelgard has come to an end. From now on, we walk this path together. E: With time and care, the darkness shrouding this world will be lifted. E: You and I will become the light that shines over Fódlan...just as you have shined upon my life.

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paired ending

Byleth and Edelgard ended the tyranny of a godlike being. Byleth was wounded and lost a the power of the progenitor god, but it mattered not, as he/she and Edelgard had each other. To ensure lasting peace, the two fought against those who slither in the dark, and to ensure a society where people can rise and fall by their own merits, they spent their lives reforming the antiquated class system. They achieved much in their time together, and it is said that they were sometimes spotted leaving the palace to privately enjoy the world they had created. How they spent those precious moments, none but the two of them will ever know.

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night of the ball

E: Ah, here you are. Are you waiting for someone?

>I'm not waiting for anyone.

E: Good. I would not wish to interrupt anything.

>I was waiting for you.

E: For me? Well, you should have summoned me earlier. Regardless, here I am.

>Has something happened?

E: No, nothing in particular. In fact, that's why I came here. E: This place, the Goddess Tower... It was special to my parents. E: My father attended the Officers Academy himself. A few years after graduating, he was crowned emperor. E: One day, during a visit to the monastery, he snuck into the Goddess Tower on a nostalgic whim. E: And there she was, my mother. She had just enrolled in the academy that very year. E: They were instantly drawn to each other. Love at first sight, you could say. It was the first time either had truly been in love...or so the story goes.

>Their first love?

E: Yes. Of course, as emperor, my father had already married for political reasons.

E: As the Empire demands many heirs, he also had numerous other lovers. E: In the end, my mother settled for becoming one of his many consorts. E: But I choose to believe there was genuine love between them.

E: Heh, I suppose it's a silly story to cling to.

>It's a lovely story.

E: Isn't it? It's a shame that the lovely stories ended after I was born.

E: For as long as I can remember, my mother had already been exiled from the capital.

E: It's strange. Something about you makes me reveal all of the things I so carefully keep concealed.

E: Hmm. For some reason, I feel compelled to tell you all of these things I have kept hidden.

>Who was your first true love?

E: I can't say the name, but it was a noble who I met in the Kingdom, a lifetime ago.

E: Anyway... What about you? It's your turn to reveal some long-held secret! E: You can share a story about your past...or perhaps tell me about your first love.

>I have no such stories.

E: You're telling the truth. I can tell. Hm... I wasn't even able to make you blush.

>Please don't ask that of me.

E: You realize that just makes me more curious than ever!

>Sorry...

E: Heh... No, I'm the one who should apologize. It wasn't my intention to pry. E: I'm just intrigued by you and your mysterious past. E: You have supposedly always been a mercenary, but I believe there is more to your story than that... E: Let's leave it there for today and return to the ball. E: There must be plenty of students hoping to talk with you...and to dance with you. E: I would not wish to prevent you from mingling. I cannot keep you all to myself, after all.