#Support: Miklan

[lordgaspard]

[ GARDEN ] + [ TEA ]

For once, it wasn't impossible to find the nobleman. When he asked, ball-goers and house staff alike pointed to Lonato's whereabouts. Approaching Lonato with tea in hand, Miklan spoke. "Hey. Find anyone yet?"

“Several students, but they’re of minor houses, and I doubt they would really commit. Of value, there’s… one, really. And that’s only a partial concern, sadly. But I believe I have obtained a mole in the staff of the church itself. She’s lived in the monastery most all of her life, so people likely trust her. And she reminds me of Rhea. Maybe a bastard daughter I can turn against her?”

Lonato sits down at one of the tables, sipping from his tea.

“Unfortunately, time has gone by too fast tonight for me to count on making any more. However, one is more than I was expecting tonight, especially of such value. So regardless, it was worthwhile. And even then, we have proof that I can pull a stunt like this under the church’s nose with little concern from them. More proof of ineptitude. I can likely ramp up my efforts in my classes.”

And there, he was the one in charge. He had control of information there. He could see the value.

[sublimeflowoftime]

It would not be hyperbole to say Sothis does not care if or if not she has a ‘soulmate’. She knows she does, technically, her soul has been bound to another’s for the entirety of both of their existences. Literally. As far as she understands it, it doesn’t get more ‘soulmate’ than that. She doesn’t need some random body of water to tell her as such.

Still, the promise of an unknown magic is interesting enough — what harm could there be in checking it out? For science, of course.

EMOTIONAL HARM. THERE COULD BE EMOTIONAL HARM, APPARENTLY.

Not a single reflection. Not one of another’s — not even her own! And she knows it’s not a fault of her form, she checked that almost immediately. Is this water insulting her? Is it calling her soulless? Predicting she’ll end up alone, as if that’s something she cares about? She doesn’t! She couldn’t care less! She cares so little she’s offended it thinks she does! Who does this lake think it is?!

Sothis winds up a leg, fully intending to strike this stupid lake with every bit of her might as punishment for what it has done — when a large splash behind stops her with a jump.

…Huh. Someone has done the attacking for her. 

Green hair falls over to one side as the girl tilts her head, watching in a curious silence as the stranger hides his face. But why? It’s not as though she knows him. Embarrassment?

“….If you’re trying to skip stones, perhaps you should keep the helmet off. Judging by that little show, I doubt that piece of metal impairing your vision is of any help.” Floating closer, her gaze flicks down to the ever-fading ripples on the water’s surface; the only proof of the attack she heard. Not even a fourth of the way near the half. Perhaps that’s why he’s embarrassed.

“You’re really bad at this.”

who tf invited god herself to the ball

toa etheral ball 2025 ◈ alt. entertainment - destiny grotto | sublimeflowoftime (mini)

[tygertyger413]

The Parallels Between Holst Goneril and Miklan Gautier

Holst and Miklan have a surprising amount of things in common: they're both from noble families that have traditionally protected Fodlan's borders from foreign invaders (House Goneril with Almyra and House Gautier with Sreng), they're both crestless (meaning they are unable to use their families' relics in defense of said borders), they both prove to be capable fighters and leaders despite lacking a Crest (Holst at Fodlan's Throat, Miklan with his bandit group in Houses/being given a generalship in Hopes), and they both have younger siblings who do have Crests (Hilda and Sylvain).

And yet their paths in life and attitudes towards their siblings couldn't be more different. Holst is the Hero of Leicester, the greatest general the Alliance has ever had, a man respected and beloved by just about everyone, and later becomes Duke Goneril after inheriting the title from his father. He also is a doting big brother to Hilda who adores her and is overprotective of her to an almost unsettling degree. Meanwhile Miklan canonically abused and tried to kill Sylvain multiple times before being disowned, and went on to become a leader of a group of bandits that terrorized Gautier, with his final fate either being transformed into a Demonic Beast after using the Lance of Ruin in Conand Tower and killed (Houses) or being conscripted into the Kingdom army and dying in defense of Arianrhod (Hopes).

Why?

If their beginning circumstances were so similar, then why did Holst's and Miklan's lives turn out so differently? Is the difference something inherent to their characters? Or is it something else?

Could the difference be in their family situations? We know from Hilda's supports with Byleth in Houses that their parents placed a lot of pressure on Holst to meet their high expectations, that it was stressful for him to live up to those expectations even though he could most of the time, and that on the rare instances he failed, he was devastated by people's disappointment. As for Miklan, we know that his birth mom died in a Sreng attack when he was young and his father became distant and emotionally closed-off following her death. Margrave Gautier later remarried (most likely out of the pressure/desire to have a Crested heir who could wield the Lance of Ruin), but Matthias's second wife did care about Miklan despite him not being her biological son, to the point of being hit hard by his death in Azure Gleam. It's never mentioned how Miklan felt towards his stepmother, though. Still, between the Gonerils' pressure and Matthias's "Wall of Ice" personality, it doesn't seem like either Holst or Miklan would be inclined to see their parents as a source of support.

Could the difference be in their societies? Compared to Fargheus, which puts more emphasis on martial prowess and duty (and thus values Heroes' Relics and consequently Crests for the ability to more effectively fight and defend one's people), Leicester is known for its merchants and its Roundtable politics, so Holst would've been able to leverage his family's money and connections (as well as his own charming personality) to convince people to give him a chance despite his lack of a Crest more effectively than Miklan could've in Fargheus. Additionally, Crests are not only valued for granting the ability to use a Hero's Relic, they are also seen as blessings from the Goddess, so the Holy Kingdom of Fargheus would see Crests as even more special for that reason, while the less devout Alliance wouldn't care as much about the religious significance of Crests.

Could the difference be in their education? We know Holst canonically attended the Officer's Academy, but we don't know if Miklan ever did; nothing says he didn't but Rodrigue probably would've at least mentioned it offhand if he did, given how much Rodrigue loves to bring up his old school days with Lambert. Of course, even if Miklan didn't attend Garreg Mach, it's not clear if it was due to a lack of interest on his part or his parents deciding it wasn't worth it for him. We do know that he still received an excellent education from his dad despite lacking a Crest, and he taught him everything he knows. Still, Holst attending the Officer's Academy while Miklan was homeschooled could've affected them in other ways, as Holst would have had the opportunity to form positive relationships with more people and expand his worldview, including the idea that Crests (or his lack thereof) didn't have to define him nor his ability to be successful.

Which leads into my next question: could the difference be Holst's friendship with Balthus? Seeing how much grief his best friend suffered from his stepmother due to having a rare Crest while her son didn't might've convinced Holst that having a Crest didn't make someone inherently better or luckier. Also, having someone who valued Holst as a person instead of for his Crest/crestless nature from a young age (Holst and Balthus have been friends since they were teens, if not earlier) would've helped Holst's self-worth. Meanwhile it's unclear if Miklan ever had any friends: Sylvain's friends all hate Miklan for obvious reasons, and Glenn (the only other person we know of who would've been close enough in age and location to possibly be friends with him) is just a huge unknown in general - though if Glenn was half the honorable knight he is described as by others, he would've hated Miklan too if he knew about Miklan's abuse of Sylvain. The closest thing Miklan would've had to friends at the time of Houses/Hopes is the group of bandits that he led, and even that was more likely a leader/subordinate relationship rather than true friendship.

Another thing to note: Holst's and Miklan's attitude towards Crests. Miklan hates the Crest system because it was the reason Sylvain was chosen as heir to House Gautier over him, and hates and abuses Sylvain for "taking what should've been his", telling Sylvain he "should've paid for that Crest," and ultimately stealing the Lance of Ruin in Houses (which could be interpreted as Miklan taking what he considers to be "his" inheritance, given that the name of the chapter where you fight him is called "The Gautier Inheritance"). Notably Miklan seems more mellow in Azure Gleam, where he's able to earn respect as a general despite his status as a disowned crestless noble and former criminal - which strongly suggests that most of his anger/hatred comes from envy for the power and prestige associated with having a Crest. Holst's feelings regarding the Crest system are never explicitly stated, but it is telling that the Book of Crestology is one of Holst's disliked gifts in Hopes. In Golden Wildfire, while Holst doesn't oppose the Church of Seiros as a whole, he also says "to accept the teachings of Seiros unquestioningly is to abandon reason itself", suggesting that Holst disagrees with the Church on at least some issues - as such, say, the importance of Crests. Yet unlike Miklan, Holst holds no resentment towards Hilda for being born with a Crest when he wasn't - if he does, he hides it very, very well. Which poses an interesting possibility: could Holst's protectiveness and excessive declarations of affection towards Hilda be compensation for any ill will he may have felt towards her in the past, even if he never acted on it? Or a reactionary psychological response to whenever he does feel resentful towards her? (I.E. countering any impulse to hate/hurt Hilda with the reminder that he DOES love his sister and wants to keep her safe.) Another possibility is that seeing Balthus getting along well with his crestless half-brother is what convinced Holst that Crests don't have to get in the way of him having a good relationship with Hilda.

I've written a lot on this topic already, but I just want to share some final thoughts: Azure Gleam shows that Miklan could have easily become a renowned general like Holst if given the investment and opportunity, especially the Reunion at the Fortress City chapter (where Gwendal calls him "Sir Miklan" after Miklan dies out of respect for Miklan's skilled defense of Arianrhod while it was under siege by the Empire). And if Miklan could've turned out like Holst, then Holst could've turned out like Miklan. And yet Holst was able to rise above his family's and society's expectations to become a great general, while Miklan was unable to move past his resentment and blamed others for circumstances of birth beyond anyone's control. What made the difference? We may never know for sure. Perhaps it was something inherent to who they are as people; perhaps it was one of the reasons listed above; perhaps it was multiple reasons or something else entirely. Comparing what little we know about these two still provides us with a fascinating character study, and I wish we knew more about them, their families, and their early years so that we could dive even deeper.

[slanky-here]

Been playing through 3Hopes atm… Finished rawdogging Chp5 Green Ally dialogue for Rancid Gautier Man and am on Chp7 of Azure Gleam

Ngl I really love how Hopes has way more Fodlani NPCs who are just guys in your army and you can hear their opinions about the current events of the game…

Recent example are two camp NPCs in Chp7; one NPC calls Dimitri stupid for returning to Fhirdiad while a priestess NPC worries about Rhea’s wellbeing in Camulus

I also love that in battle, when you defeat enemy forces - they have defeat dialogue ranging from ‘aw fuck I lost this sucks :(‘, ‘oh god I can never show my face to my comrades’ or ‘you’ll pay for this!! but also I don’t wanna die so I’ll run like a little bitch’

The world feels so much more alive and that it exists beyond just the named characters

[sereneslearne]

📜 + [ dead weight ]

Tipping the mug to his lips, Miklan breathed out a sigh. “That’s what you say to someone who needs to work harder.”

Even distorted through the glass, round green eyes peered at him.

A faint tug of a smirk pulled at his lips. The moment he called any of his men that word—they’d break their backs trying to prove otherwise. They both knew that Miklan would toss them back to the gutters.

“It’s to,” Right. She didn’t speak Fódlan’s tongue. Encourage would fly over her head. “make them want to work more.”

The room did not have to be sparse for him to stand out. She did not have to be seated next to him, wings tucked as close as possible to her body, for her to understand that this man was...troubled.

"Dead... weight?" She doesn't like those words. She doesn't think he does either.

"To work harder," she repeats first. "Want to work more," she trails off.

The heron's chest is tight as feather light touch rests upon his shoulder.

"You... work hard," Leanne says still sounding everything out. "Not dead weight!"

Her hand retreats and she tries for a smile. He doesn't seem to like pity, she doesn't either. "You... good!" She praises as if second nature. He struggled, but for her sake now, he was trying. He wasn't bad... she wanted to believe the good in him could be pulled past all the murk that buried it.

[crevassier]

Playing the victim again.

It always goes back to that same argument, doesn’t it? That he’s always playing the victim, displaying his misery to the world and trying to fish for brownie points as if it would win him anything other than rolled eyes and disgusted stares. “Oh, I’m the victim? But when you harp on and on about how mean men and nobles are to you to justify yourself it’s completely fine? I see how it is, Dorothea. It’s okay to play the victim when it’s convenient for you, but when it’s not you call others out for it. Try to be more subtle about it next time if you’re going to be this two-faced.” It was awful, the ugliest feeling possible boiling in his chest each time someone decided to use that same wording on him.

You’re just trying to play the victim. You want others to feel bad for you. You keep talking about your own misery.

I don’t want it. I don’t want any of it. I don’t enjoy my suffering. I don’t win anything from it.

Stop making it seem like I do this because I want to.

Sylvain hated the fact Dorothea was able to get that out of him- that scalding ire that almost made his fists tremble his chest feel cold as an uncomfortable pressure settled at the back of his neck. For her to get that reaction out of him felt insulting, almost humiliating, that his mind decided it was even worth getting this worked up over. “Wanna know why? Because I was trying to do better. Why did you think I came to you of all people to acknowledge the fact you were okay after the war? Or the fact that I just wasted my fucking time trying to get you away from a guy I know is a dangerous criminal? Do you think I did that for your approval, Dorothea? For ‘good boy points’? To get on your good side?”

No. In fact, he knew she didn’t want him around. But he still tried because a part of him- one trying to be reasonable amidst melting chaos, wanted to at least try to do a little better. Even if just a little. “I did it for my prince, because I know he cares about you in one way or another, so I was fucking trying! But hey, it doesn’t matter. In fact, not even worth it.” Why put himself in the line of fire again if it would never work? So many tell him to do better this, do better that, be a better person. But the one time he tries to do something, it gets twisted and burnt to a crisp. Trying had never seemed more worthless.

You and your brother are one and the same.

Some types of anguish didn’t come in a burst of fire and sparks. Devoid of vicious light and melting iron, of the smell of ash and kerosene. Where some seared skin and muscle, settling the body down a pool of acid hatred and blinding one’s eyes with white hot flame, others were silent in nature. The violent slow ripping of a tree’s bark where snapped wooden barbs flew and the shrill creaking of wood filled the silence. A result filled with jagged edges and torn wounds that couldn’t be mended or sanded, only truly cut off or left to dry and scar.

You and Miklan are the same.

“You don’t get to fucking say that.”

For a solid minute, Sylvain had to physically restrain himself from punching her square on the nose, fighting against every single fiber of his body to stay put. Nails dug into his palms as he clenched his fists in an attempt to relieve the overwhelming outrage, but it was as effective as one weeping down a burning house. “You can say I’m some vile good for nothing, a liar, a pathetic bigoted pile of steaming garbage, but you don’t get to compare me to Miklan. You don’t get to compare me to a guy who used to traffic girls just like you for gold. You don’t get to compare me to the guy that beat the shit out of me when I was 8 for fun.” Against his better judgement, Sylvain took one step towards her, index finger pointed at her direction and tone dragging a low flame. 

“If we’re gonna do this- fine.” A sound between a scoff and an exasperated chuckle, unhinged and thick with anger even he thought to be irrational- but that was too voerwhelming to hold back. “I hate you. I hate you and I hate women like you, snakes that complain a bunch about nobility and money but then spread their legs to whatever stupid rich guy that happens to bite the bait. You moan about how hard and mean the world is to you, how evil all these nasty men are and you’re an angel who does no wrong ever, only because you know others will eat it all up.”

Through gritted teeth, his stare shifted into a full glare. “You’re the very type of woman who adds nothing to society- because I bet both my arms you want to become the very type of person you claim to hate. A noblewoman living in pure luxury by exploiting others because getting there on your own merit is too difficult for you to bother.”

“You’re disgusting.”

@encantresse

[ ♫ ]  ─  * (𝐜𝐨𝐜𝐤𝐬 𝐠𝐮𝐧) 𝐲𝐨𝐮'𝐯𝐞 𝐰𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐝 𝐦𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞

toaball2025 mini | continued from x:

[boomgun]

Facades

Gonna cut to the chase here (this is brought to you by sleep deprivation).

We all know about the Claude Acting Silly conversation. Sometimes fandom flanderizes Claude's propensity for pranks, but other parts of the fandom think it is all a machiavellian ruse to make people underestimate him. However, we literally have a line from Claude elaborating that he acts the way he does because it helps calm people down. That line, "grin and bear it," haunts me. That Claude has to bury the panic because it keeps other people from panicking. In other words, Claude is not an inherently silly person, Claude is not putting on an elaborate act; Claude cracks jokes and plays pranks because he believes it is his civic fucking duty as the Duke of Leicester to insert some levity into the lives of his followers.

And yes, Claude is not the only one like this.

Dimitri is an angry person, deep down. Dimitri came to Garreg Mach for revenge, Dimitri went to a battlefield at age 14 for revenge, Dimitri is likely delaying his own coronation because I do not think Dimitri planned to ever take the crown; Dimitri wanted to violently murder whoever killed his family and friends in Garreg Mach and then just go to jail. Dimitri was close, he was right on Thales's ass with the donation records! The kindness and gentleness is Dimitri trying to suppress the voices. But, it's not just that is it? Dimitri says that he wants to be like Rodrigue, the kind of man who can "save a soul" by offering his hand. Dimitri's kindness is the one thing tethering him to his role as King and his obligation to his people. Dimitri does not think he is worthy to be King because of his acts of cruelty, kindness is such a high value to him that he believes a lack of it delegitimizes him! Dimitri is kind because of the obligations put upon him as King, but it is an obligation he fully believes in!

Edelgard, you know she was going to come up. Edelgard is associated with fire, the colour red, and love; Edelgard is probably the most emotional of the three lords in the core of her being. Paradoxically, Edelgard frames arguments on the grounds of logic and practicality. Edelgard often cites the practical weakness of the Crest system (consider her Devil's Advocate of Miklan, or appeals to the strength of people to rise above their stations), instead of the suffering it causes (only recognizing these things when other characters bring up their own pains to her, such as Lysithea or Bernadetta). Yet, Edelgard is not motivated by the weakness of the system, but by the emotional scar of the cruelty it can inflict. Edelgard is emotional, her core drive is an emotional response to the point that she is the most unyielding and stubborn of the bunch (you ALWAYS have to kill her in every route). When Edelgard speaks of her coldness, she speaks of it as a mantle she must take up as leader, Edelgard believes that leaders should be cold and detached despite how much she feels, feels, and feels again. However! Again, it is a principle Edelgard sees as one worth striving. I feel like a lot of people do not dig into that line in her B support (or was it A support) with Byleth; that Hubert spurs Edelgard to work harder and "worst of all, he's always right so I cannot disagree." Consider how Sylvain and Ferdinand (initially) do not put a lot of stock into Hubert's wisdom. Edelgard, on the other hand, does. Edelgard literally says that she often finds Hubert to be correct. Why? Edelgard likely values Hubert's ability to be fully and completely detached and logical. The amount of faith and autonomy Edelgard grants Hubert (an aspect of their relationship also worth thinking about, Hubert goes behind Edelgard because he has implicit permission to do so, they trust each other a lot) is evidence as to how much she genuinely values and strives to be the hard-nosed and clear-headed observer of events. Edelgard is most certainly not an inherent voice of reason, but she most certainly dedicates her full being to it because that is what an Emperor is supposed to be and she must be the best she can be to validate the lives of her lost family.

Also, yes, the other two retainers are relevant to this as well!

We already covered Hubert, how Edelgard's regard for him betrays how she does think being Logical And Detached is important, so we can skip him.

It is no coincidence that Claude, who thinks a leader has to project an image of being relaxed and upbeat, thinks the perfect lieutenant is someone who is genuinely lazy and wishes she was somewhere else. Hilda does not pretend, she genuinely is nonchalant and silly, she wishes she was at the club right now but oh well she can spare an hour or two of her day to crack skulls before going back to the day spa. Hilda is a hilariously Not Deep character here, she's the ";p" emoji made into a pink anime girl. So it is really easy to see how Hilda fits into Claude's ideal as a leader who is nonchalant. Claude grins and bears it, Hilda genuinely grins because she would hate to bear anything.

Dedue is the truest knight here. End of discussion. Strong, kind, always offering a hand. Dimitri says that the two of them saved each other, which rings similar to how Dimitri describes his ideal in Rodrigue as someone who can save another. The last thing I could call Dedue is cruel, despite his own capacity for violence (which comes with the territory, this is a Fire Emblem game, no one here really resolves a conflict without smashing a few faces in). Dimitri struggles to bury his traumatic anger with kindness, while Dedue simply does it better (I like to think there is a similar anger in Dedue, it's how he understands Dimitri so well).

The retainers are really straightforward characters in a lot of ways, uncomplicated but at the same time deeply fascinating with how they show what each lord values in a lieutenant and thus what they value in leadership and their identities as leaders.

What I am trying to say is that all three of them are putting on facades, are committing to a bit, but the line is blurry. Each genuinely thinks the facade they uphold is something important and forms a core of who they are as characters.

This could be why people call 3 Houses "Persona Emblem" because- yeah- a game called Persona has a lot to say about what people project as themselves and who they are really deep down. Claude, Dimitri and Edelgard would fit in too well.

[faerghusfucker]

my evolution as a fe3h fan is rlly funny to me lol. i played the game for the first time when i was 15 and now at 19 im playing through three hopes (yes im super late dont ask) and the fact that there have been times where ive been obsessed with EVERY HOUSE is rlly funny to me

at the start i was a claude and golden deer stan through and through bc funny meme house and also the nemesis fight

then when i was starting to get a little more politically minded i fell into the “edelgard did nothing wrong” camp because. yeah!!!! meritocracy!!!! united!!!! fuck religion!!!

and now as an adult with a lot more awareness and a lot less edgy atheism i came to the conclusion that not only is imperialism and destroying people’s lives for an ideal you have no concrete way of upholding bad, but the entire “let’s get rid of crests” argument is not even a solid one because it centers adrestia and doesn’t take into account the other two regions’ need for heroes relics.

correct me if i’m missing something or if i’m wrong, but no one in adrestia’s nobility actually has a hero’s crest. if they have crests, they’re saint crests, and saint crests have compatibility with sacred weapons, which are different to heroes relics because anyone can use them without turning into a beast.

additionally, adrestia doesn’t have any immediate neighbors that could cause them trouble. it doesn’t directly border a non-fodlan country, and they seem to have taken care of their brigid situation by kidnapping petra. the empire has no immediate threats.

the kingdom and alliance tho????? they border sreng and almyra respectively, which seem to invade at the drop of a hat and force houses gautier and goneril respectively to be in constant combat. those two houses literally DEPEND ON THEIR RELICS FOR SURVIVAL. until someone figures out a better way for them to defend their lands, they NEED crests!!!

obviously this isn’t necessarily a good thing, since we see the path that miklan and rufus as crestless older sons go down, but it’s not like the kingdom is exactly keen on keeping this in place either. in three hopes they talk a ton abt how crest bloodlines are dying out and how something needs to change. hell, sylvain is someone who directly benefits from faerghus’ crest dependency and yet in his supports with shez, he’s going and devising powerful weapons that people without crests can use!!! we see time and time again that the young nobles of faerghus are interested in the same things edelgard is: establishing a more equal society, and decreasing the need for crests. but why doesn’t she just collaborate with them to that end???? why doesn’t she hear dimitri out when he tries to talk her out of continuing on this path????

oh yeah. the church.

i’m probably gonna yap abt the church later lol i’m running out of steam on this ramble. tiktok is banned and so this is what i’ve resolved to do while i sip my morning coffee lol bear with me

[curse-d-owl]

I love how Edelgard fans are coping about the fact that Sylvain proved that reforming Fodlan and righting it's wrongs didn't require a senseless war but diplomacy.

His ending alone should debunk it but as expected from this insufferable fanbase they have to resort to mental gymnastics in order to argue that 2+2 isn't 4.

Their main argument is that the changes only happened after Edelgard's war and cause of it the credit belongs to Edelgard regardless of the fact she fails miserably or unfortunately wins.

First of all correlation isn't always causation.

Second of all her war isn't just killing Rhea and dismantling the central church, it's also about conquering Leicester and Faerghus on the false claim that it originally belong to the empire and cause she's under the delusion that all of its leaders are for the crests system and aristocracy.

Focussing on the second part she never voiced her grievances regarding the crests system to anyone and she never outright heard that Claude and Dimitri support it. Not in white clouds and not in her manifesto cause nobody outside of her closest allies knows what her damage is. The one golden opportunity to explain to Dimitri that she wants to be rid of the crests system and nepotism and instead she goes on a vague tirade how she actually ends the cycle of the string conquering the weak without actually explaining how she goes on about it.

And this has to be said for the billionth time but no one gets killed for questioning the Seiros faith. Edelgard condemned the goddess for Miklan's fate and Infront of Gilbert, a high ranking commander and a pious follower of the faith, Claude gave Seteth a disrespectful jab by calling out how the church hides it's dirty truths right after Seth confiscated a book revealing Rhea's draconic form and Hanneman can pester Seteth about his true lineage without any threat of consquences.

So with all of these facts Fodlan changed not thanks to Edelgard and her repulsive war but despite it. The victors implemented these changes of their own accord, not because Edelgard allegedly told them how Fodlan needs to he reformed cause she did not.

And again if her enemies were the crest loving villains she accuses them of being then they would've remained in fodlan, not be removed.

Now with that nonsense out of the way let's focus on how much of an accomplishment it is for Sylvain to rid Fodlan of the crest system with oration alone.

And we start all the way in the past beginning with House Gautier defending Faerghus and Fodlan from Sreng's invasion. Not only has the descendant of the first Gautier received the heroes relics from the church to defend Faerghus and Fodlan but this house has successfully fended of their invasions of over 200 years

Moving onto Almyra's invasion the attack was so brutal that Adrestia aided Leicester in repelling the Almyran invasion and all 3 nations joined time, effort and resources to construct Fodlan's locket.

In addition Rhea created the officers academy in order to create a strong generation of leaders capable of protecting Fodlan in response to Almyra's brutal invasion.

Moving onto the war phase whether you like it or not crests were the deciding factors of the war.

Byleth is the vessel of Sothis with the crest of flames, the sword of tue creator, the ability to manipulate time and cut through powerful dark magic.

Edelgard is a twin crested emperor that is backed up by the Agarthans, the unique heroes relic she received from them and demonic beasts.

And both Leicester and Faerghus possess crests and heroes relics to counter Adrestia's strength in numbers.

Every final boss in Houses has been defeated with the might of a heroes relics.

Edelgard's defeat in 3 out of 4 routes elevated crests, heroes relics and by proxy the church of seiros cause it proved Rhea right as to why these things are important.

History repeated itself in the worst way possible.

Point is Sylvain had a lot of hurdles standing against his reforms yet despite the setbacks he still helped reform Fodlan to do away with the crest system and choose to make amends with foreign nations which in turn helped end their long lasting conflict instead of continuing it.

[bladebrecher]

He doesn’t regard himself as a good dancer at all. The type of dancing he’s thinking of when he believes that is the graceful moves, ones that remind him of those ballet performances he might have seen once or twice. Observing the floor results in him wanting to try out this dance from Nohr, which he’s seen doesn’t fit into those stereotypes in his head.

Jeralt notices a man in armor–which he recognizes as of Faerghan make–standing off to the side as if he’s got nothing better to do. The knightly appearance contrasts quite a bit against all the other ball-goers, and he’d probably think that the redhead isn’t one at all if it isn’t for the pearl charm on his bracelet.

So, he decides on a whim to approach the man. Be direct. “Care for a dance? If we can keep up with each other, I’ll trade you one of my starfish charms for your pearl one. How’s that sound?”

Who knows, maybe dancing with a guy donned in metal might help improve his skills.

[ @duchaisruin ]

stamp on the ground

TOABALL2025 MINI ⟋ jeralt + miklan.

[ NOHR ] - A quick-paced dance that focuses heavily on precise footwork and bold movements, evoking the image of two soldiers in battle.

[real-fire-emblem-takes]

sylvain/hilda has so much potential to me, platonically or romantically. their support chain is interesting in that they both call each other out on being fake, but i feel like there’s a lot more they could have done with it. their families are very similar (older brother with no crest, younger sibling with crest) but their parents handled it completely differently. they also have similar problems with defending their borders, so it’s really interesting to me that house goneril is like yeah no holst is great and he doesn’t have any problems keeping us safe, who cares if he has a crest. meanwhile miklan is deemed useless because he can’t wield the lance of ruin.

it’s really sad to me since if faerghus didn’t have such strong beliefs about crested superiority, miklan and sylvain could have had a relationship similar to hilda and holst. and i think sylvain would see that lost potential and hate her for it at first. she has a doting brother (and complains about it!!) whereas his brother wanted him dead from the moment they knew he had a crest. by the end of their support chain sylvain would have his own doting big brother, assuming holst hasn’t just decided to kill him. if it’s romantic, he gets a strong warning to never step out on hilda. holst is smiling as he says it but balthus is definitely behind him cracking his knuckles and staring daggers

.

[emblemxeno]

Meetcha half way: Miklan and Xander are both awful, terrible people.

You're allowed to think that way, I genuinely think whatever floats your boat is good, anon.

I don't share that opinion. Forgive me for the rant ahead.

Fates, IMO, made it clear what nuance it was going for. Aside from the little sisters and non-story important characters, there weren't purely good people. However, there were always clear hate sinks that the player was meant to despise.

War makes good people do bad things; evil people start or take advantage of war to benefit themselves; good people are taken out of the equation early on or don't get involved as often. Bam, that's it.

3H on the other hand, tries to justify every fucking action an antagonist takes. It tries to make everything an "I can see where you're coming from" situation, even when it falls on its face. For example, Lonato. No, actually, I don't feel bad for the guy trying to assassinate the archbishop in a plot of revenge for the execution of his son who was caught trying to assassinate that person already, especially when he's mowing town resistance in the process while knowing he could potentially harm or kill his other son in the process.

For fairness, Xander also does bad things and has no qualms harming a former sibling. But that was a fact established as soon as chapter 2, early in the story to intentionally give the audience a lasting impression. Yes he cares for his family, but his fear of his father outweighs that. The next logical step in analysis would be to discover why.

Lonato doesn't get that. He gets praised, shows that he's actually a douche, yet gets off the hook in various directions, excused by the Western Church (undeniably horrible group, but he himself shouldn't be exempt), the Central Church (should Ashe be on Crimson Flower because most of the cast isn't allowed to have a rigid backbone since they must be allowed to steamroll their own homes on Byleth's word), and even in Ashe's support with Catherine.

Miklan is no different, where they shift blame from the individual's actions to being about Crests, something that's contradictory to ingame information. He was disinherited well fucking after Sylvain was born, so it stands to reason that it's because he was an irresponsible, jealous, violent creep, and not because of Crests. But the game wants us to feel bad! He doesn't get a nuanced death because whining about Crests takes priority in the game's writing. Three Hopes cemented this by making him a fucking ally, highlighting that "oh he's actually a good leader even without a Crest!!1!" Yeah, I'm sure all the women he kidnapped, villagers he robbed, and families he tore apart will just be hunky dory with knowing that.

Xander meanwhile dies like a little bitch, taking himself out by letting Corrin stick a sword through him. That's thematically poignant, because he was the most common antagonist and a plot consistent hurdle that Corrin had been preparing to face ever since he made the choice to side with Hoshido. It's supposed to hit that it was really fucking easy, that Xander wasn't taken out through raw strength, but the weight of his own actions. That's exponentially more ingame acknowledgement of the wrong that Xander did, than any one character in 3H can manage to say about anyone they're fighting against besides maybe the Slithers.

[koroart]

On the topic of Lambert and Matthias' relationship, do you think it ever deteriorated even slightly due to Miklan and Slyvian? Well, Matthias' attitude towards the 2. Cause it is a bit of a repeat of Rufus and Lambert himself. If a few caveats, of course. Rufus was never disowned, but still, like Miklan was passed over for the younger crest bearing sibling. Probably why Dimitri was an only child

Oh aaaaaaabsolutely!

Lambert would definitely have confronted Matthias about his treatment of his sons -- because while yes, he does understand Matthias' grief of his first wife and unborn child dying ( seeing how Lambert would lose his first wife too eventually), what Lambert couldn't understand was why Matthias retreated so far into himself?

His children need him! And Sylvain wasn't even around when it had occurred! Why does he have to suffer such neglect? Why? Especially when he needs his father there to support him! To protect him! The argument that ends up happening definitely was a game changer in their relationship ( someone probably got punched in the face, hint: It wasn't Lambert ). They aren't as close anymore but that doesn't mean they can't be civil with one another. after all, Lambert is still Matthias' king and Matthias isn't that petty to disregard his king and their roles in each other's lives, he can keep things professional. The civility of course, is mostly for Rodrigue's sake, he was the one who probably broke up their argument, pleading for both of them to stop and talk things out. That probably hasn't happened yet though, much to Rodrigue's disappointment. His friends are stubborn fools.

Despite the rift between them, they don't let it get in the way of their children becoming friends -- after all, their feud is not their burden. Though Dimitri and Sylvain hope that eventually, their fathers could be friends again.

I definitely feel Lambert would have a soft spot for Sylvain because, in many ways, he sees himself in him. A younger brother, born with a crest they never asked for, expected to carry on the family legacies and shoulder great responsibility, growing up with distant and cold fathers and have older brothers who resent them just for being born. Acting out in school, whether it was for attention or deep personal reasons. But Lambert treats Sylvain with kindness and warmth, like he would his own child and looks out for him! I'm sure Sylvain would feel a sort of kindred spirit in Lambert too -- and I think a very small part of him is a little jealous that Dimitri gets to grow up with a father like Lambert...Just a little.

And speaking of Dimitri growing up an only child -- that's definitely another reason why Lambert wound up not having more children. Despite it being expected of the royal family to have more than one, in a historical context anyways. He wouldn't want any relationship Dimitri would have with any sibling to be strained and end up like him and Rufus, or like Miklan and Sylvain. So in a way, it was a stroke of luck that Dimitri was born crested and even then, his first wife ended up passing not even two years after and with Patricia/Anselma; I feel Lambert just couldn't find it in him in wanting to have a family with her and even if he did, Cornelia put a stop to any of that.

Though deep down, Lambert probably would have wanted more children, were it not for this accursed system they had in place.

[gengor]

Sylvain’s relationship to the nobility and class system

This is part of a group of posts I plan to do talking about all the Blue lion’s relationships to the monarchy and why all these characters thematically match the existing house they are in. 

Previously I talked about Ingrid Here

Part 1: Miklan 

So I wanna start off by acknowledging why each of these characters has some baggage surrounding crests and the class system. For Ingrid, her suffering at the hands of the crest system was primarily rooted in gender discrimination -- being essentially bought and sold for her ability to give birth to a crest-bearing child. 

For Sylvain, I do want to start out by saying his family relationships were genuinely hurt by the crest system. Being pitted against his brother for an inheritance that resulted in a hateful, abusive relationship was a horrible thing to endure. 

Miklan was frustrated and jealous at Sylvain because Sylvain materially benefits from the crest system, while Miklan does not. Sylvain received the seal of approval from Matthias that Miklan never could, and instead of directing that rage at Matthias -- the man more responsible -- he directs it at a child, someone he can actually physically abuse. 

I point this all out, not just to say that Miklan was unjustly horrible, but also to say that once Sylvain grew up -- he became his brother. 

Part 2. Sylvain and Women

So yes, Sylvain can acknowledge that Miklan was lashing out at him because his brother was facing discrimination, but at the same time Sylvain uses this as a segway to argue that Women are the real people to blame here -- not the man who abused him, or the church which created this crest system -- but women. 

I think Sylvain, similarly to Miklan, is funneling his pent-up anger at his family and funneling it out against women -- a marginalized group he can more easily lash out against. 

And he relies upon the crest system to affirm misogynist ideas back to himself. 

This behavior isn’t challenging the crest system; it's just funneling his pent-up frustrations about it onto women. 

And I think this kind of character is SO much more compelling than the fandom version of him that exists in some kind of alternate universe where he is an otherwise progressive man who just has a sidelined issue of misogyny. Sylvain as a character premise largely seems to be About how some people will acknowledge system issues around them, but then fuel all that frustration out toward a marginalized group that is not actually the source of their suffering.

Sylvain can rightfully be called a victim of his brother and father; his father does genuinely seem to only care about having a crest-bearing heir, while his brother abused him. But Sylvain himself is much more interested in framing himself as a victim of women. 

Part 3. Power

So I feel it would be remiss to point out that, for as well as Sylvain’s writing is, I do think he suffers a little bit from inconsistent characterization. Three hopes (and some houses epilogues) seemed to play this back and forth game with him, and I have to admit I missed the more blatant-scumb bag approach to his writing. But there are a few supports from Hopes I think are worth highlighting, in particular his Dimitri support. 

So, when asked about crests by the man most able to materially change the circumstances, Sylvain will directly make a case for keeping the system of nobility and crests -- which I think is completely aligned with his existing character. He doesn't want the crest system to end, he just wants to use its existence to be bitter and frame himself as somehow uniquely persecuted under it. (at the hands of women)

Sylvain is not discriminated against any more than the average crest-bearing nobleman, which is to say, he’s more of a direct benefactor. While there is a sympathetic angle to some other crest-bearing nobles who express that their inheritance is something they do not want and feel actively burdened by, Sylvain is not one of those people. Sylvain wants the status that his crest grants him; he takes up being the head of house Gautier in every ending, including CF. 

Conclusion

I don’t really have textual evidence to support this interpretation, but I could honestly see Sylvain defecting if the going got tough over in the kingdom. He seems to care significantly less about chivalric codes of honor when compared to people like Ingrid or Ashe, and when compared with Felix, I think he cares about Dimitri quite a bit less. (which in my opinion is fine of him to do lol)

He doesn’t ever have an A support with him in either game and the lack of grief displayed when Dimitri dies in VW when compared to the rest of the blue lions, always stuck out to me. It's honestly comedic to me that these two are standing right next to each other with contrasting dialogue like this. 

There's also the fact that he will only ever tell Byleth that he is scared of Dimitri in his CF recruit quote.

So while I could very easily see him turning his back on the royal family if he felt it was the best option for him, I do not think he would truly ever break free of his politcs

[fantasyinvader]

If you look at what happened at Duscur, like really look at it, the whole thing really undercuts Edelgard's narrative.

"But Edelgard says Duscur had nothing to do with her."

This is what she says in the Japanese.

"What's the use of repeating the same words over and over again? Shut up and fight, you petulant little buggers."

She's basically telling Dimitri to stop bringing it up all the time. And the whole scene in Azure Moon isn't that Edelgard didn't cause it, but rather there may have been a mastermind connected to the Empire and the likes of Kronya and Solon. The game is implying that Edelgard was manipulated, but at the same time she's turned a blind eye to those she's trampled in pursuit of her goals while the prisoner is about how people can commit atrocitious acts and STILL believe they are in the right.

Hell, the reason why the Western Kingdom nobles assassinated Lambert undermines Edelgard's claims that if she didn't act the world would claim more victims as it wouldn't change. Here we have attempts at reform snuffed out not by the Church but by the nobility. Nobility that then turn around and side with Edelgard during the war with Hopes explaining that Edelgard will protect their positions by them doing so rather that pushing through reforms that elevate the commoners.

But then again, Edelgard's reforms are about her using her power to force her beliefs on others.

But then you look at those Western lords. Kleiman was made a viscount for the subjugation of Duscur, given the former nation as his personal territory by Rufus. Hard not to compare this to Edelgard promising Caspapa control of the former Alliance territory in exchange for his support during the war, no? But Kleiman was in on the conspiracy to kill Lambert, he knew the truth, but instead massacred innocent people for his own benefit and was given a title for it. Lonato was given a title by Rufus in exchange for his service, and the game makes it clear that him taking his people to attack Rhea while attacking villages along the way is a sign he wasn't fit for the role. Even Rufus, who had a title despite not having a Crest, simply wanted more power when he had his brother killed.

They did horrible things, causing innocents to suffer, just for power.

"But Lambert was made a king because of magical dragon blood when Rufus was the oldest son, he should have been king if it wasn't for Crests."

Rufus was still a duke, had his own territory, and simply wanted more power. When he got that power, he ran the kingdom into the ground and tried to have his nephew assassinated multiple times. Same thing with Miklan, who only got kicked out of his family over multiple attempts to kill Sylvain, not because he didn't have a Crest. And if anything, Rufus shows how dangerous a meritocracy can be because it all depends on who is giving out lands and titles. A shit leader appoints shitty officials. Hell, in Romance of the Three Kingdoms Cao Cao hands out titles and stuff all the time when people please him (and when they piss him off, he has to be convinced not to have them killed), and all he did was create a system where ambitious people backstabbed each other for power. Just like what we see with the Western nobles.

Meanwhile, the people of Duscur were falsely acccused, slaughtered like animals, the survivors oppressed and made out to be the real villains by those who actually were responsible for the chaos that ensued and profitted off of it by putting themselves in charge. Really hard not to see Rhea and Dedue bonding after the war over experiencing the same bullshit.

But people try to make it sound like the Nabatean genocide was okay, and that Dimitri is the real racist despite trying to get justice for Duscur and that Dedue should totally join the person who knows the truth about the Tragedy but keeps her mouth shut in order to further her own goals. Seriously, what the fuck is wrong with this fandom?

[lordgaspard]

"..."

Miklan begins to guzzle the drink, and Lonato can only shake his head, gruffly chuckling under his breath.

"Slow your drinking. Loose lips will only end up sinking our collective ship."

He takes a small sip of his own, the bubbling sensation a pleasant surprise on his tongue - far different from his usual teas, but, so was this event so different from his normal.

Including who he attended with.

"You know, if the steps I have planned come to be, eventually House Gautier would rise against it, likely. Though that plan has fallen behind for more... methodical approaches, I still hold much of Gaspard territory ready, if need be."

Lonato sighs, drawing his hand over his eyebrows.

"It goes without saying, however, that even separated from the combat that could be, or couldn't be, we are in this for the long haul now."

If Miklan turned tail, or, more likely, turned coat, then, well... Lonato had evidence he could turn into the church for seditious attempts.

He could share Christophe's fate.

And while that would be hypocritical... Lonato didn't feel as bad as he likely should.

No one would be emotionally shattered if Miklan was lost. Not like how he was with Christophe.

But that is a hypothetical Lonato will ensure need not come to be. He is still a knight of honor, after all.

"Though, be careful with those drinks. My drivers are paid well, but they still deserve a better fate than cleaning spilt drinks. Make sure they are properly stopped for when we depart, anyhow."

@duchaisruin

Just a Man

(contd from here)