#In the felix and mercedes one she would never actually say that but it's hilarious to imagine

[inferno-mp3]

[teaveetamer]

Okay this is a weird criticism and keep in mind that I still like this route and it's my favorite but during my current replay of AM, I notice an issue that's been kinda bothering me wrt the gameplay-story integration. See, we're told that the Empire is this powerful malicious army and that since there aren't that many resources and soldiers/reinforcements, the Kingdom army might not stand a chance, but it's kinda hard to take that seriously when thanks to grinding, you can one shot soldiers rather easily. Not to mention, being able to cultivate more resources thanks to ng+ and the planting system. It's kinda similar to how it's rather difficult to take the whole "we're fighting our former friends" dilemma seriously when a) there aren't that many interhouse supports or scenes where the houses students interacted with each other and b) you can recruit almost all of them. Granted, it's probably my own fault for grinding and playing it on NG+ but still.

I think that's less of a gameplay-story integration problem and more of a suspension of disbelief problem, I think. All games are going to need a certain degree of leeway to make sense, because it wouldn't be very fun if you just straight up couldn't play it.

That's why CF needs to completely rearrange its timeskip circumstance. It wouldn't be a very fun game to play if CF started where AM/SS/VW started, since you'd just be steam rolling everything. Even though things being hugely different doesn't make a ton of sense. Same deal with why grinding needs to be available, because locking players out of progression just because it technically makes more sense for the plot wouldn't be very engaging (heh).

I think your best play would be to impose some restrictions on yourself (e.g. no grinding or greenhouse) if you want it to be closer to what you were thinking. Or just tell yourself that Dimitri is a one man army so it makes sense that he could slaughter everything easily when it's right in front of him, lol. I mean he was doing it during the timeskip without us.

Can't help you on the story stuff though, that's just straight up a writing problem. But I will say this: I wish they'd actually let us SEE the stupid party from the end of the Battle of Eagle and Lion??? We're just constantly told that there was this great party and everyone had a good time and got along and they all reference it fondly whenever a fight with former classmates comes up. But we never actually get to see it! They don't even describe it, we're just told it happened!

Especially irksome since Claude somewhat describes it in his introduction in Engage, and it sounds fucking hilarious????? And validates my headcanon that the Lions party so hard they probably get right up to the edge of expulsion whenever they let loose????????? Give me that I want more of that damn it! Give me Sylvain hanging from the chandeliers and Felix drunkenly trying to challenge a structural column to a duel and Ingrid stuffing her face while crying about how much she loves horses and Dimitri saying "fuck" once and giggling like a naughty schoolchild and Annette and Mercedes burning down the kitchen trying to make more snacks and designated driver Dedue trying to wrangle everyone back to their dorm rooms and put them to bed before 4 am (and failing because Sylvain thought it would be hilarious to try and take his pants off and run across the monastery grounds naked)

[faroreswinds]

Azure Gleam - Chapter 6

More notes

I apparently did not remember to write down what Mercedes had said last chapter so the point was written incompletely. She had pointed out that the  Southern Church likely had a different doctrine than the old one, and that they had a doctrine dispute long ago with the Central one. You can ask “but aren’t they under the same doctrine”  and Mercedes says that the new Southern Church is under the command of the emperor, so... likely no. She worried about the people being confused since something they took for granted was suddenly take away from them. 

Story

Duke Ifan sounds awesome, she even taught Gustave tactics. Wish we could meet her. 

Seteth literally knows who Jeralt is. There is no way Rhea doesn’t. So, I guess Rhea is ok with him running around and never went after him. 

Man, Miklan used to beat Sylvain....  Well, we knew this but still. He would come around with bruises and shit. 

Mercedes feel bad about those we recruiting and making them bend to our will. Finally, someone who actually points this out. 

Dorothea didn’t even want to fight, but she did it for Edelgard. :/

Apparently those who inherit Crests are known to live long lives, which isn’t a big shock. I wonder if Felix outlives most of his friends due to have a major crest. (Dimitri is apparently not so lucky)

Felix is not happy that Dimitri didn’t tell him everything. Don’t blame him, really. 

Petra has no issues with fighting the Empire, just was worried about fighting old friends. 

An NPC is angry that Miklan is here (he killed her mother when he was a bandit). 

There is actually a unit on stand-by, though, people with Crests among their ranks, ready to kill him if he does anything bad. 

HMMMMMMM STRANGE, CURIOUS EVEN

Lol, Count Varley is an enemy in a side map. Hilarious. 

Shez and Dimitri talk about revenge. That Shez can’t go around seeking vengeance for every person who died. Ties into how Dimitri seeks vengeance. 

Whoa, Dimitri suggests that maybe they should hire Jeralt’s mercs. Did Edelgard or Claude suggest this too? I literally can’t remember, someone remind me.

Ok, we get Bernie this chapter. Also, will be fighting the Death Knight and Byleth.

Aw, Felix tells Dimitri to not tire himself out (he says it harshly but we know he’s worried)

Man, why is Bernie fucking HERE? She is a terrible commander. She just cries and cowers the whole time. 

Interestingly, a lot of comments are made in battle about how awful they feel about attacking Bernie (unlike the other routes where they are more a-ok with it). 

Lol, Felix feels the Death Knight is familiar by swordplay alone. 

Ah, Sothis awakens. Same scene I’ve seen three times now. 

Instead of Shez thinking they should be friends with the Ashen Demon, it’s Dimitri words who makes him consider it, I believe. 

Sreng is attacking, so Dimitri is going back. 

NO, DUKE IFAN GOT CAPTURED!! 

It’s interesting that Dimitri is going alone (well, not with the full crew, Rodrigue and Dedue are joining him), unlike the random retreat of EVERYONE for GW. 

Felix is in charge of the army now. :3

Aha, it was a trap. Cornelia, I presume. 

Whelp, time to go save Dimitri. 

Supports

Ashe and Dedue C support opens up in this chapter - Two men bond over gardening and plants. <3 (Kinda weird this support opened up right after Lonato died, so it feels like the tone might be a little off). 

Flayn and Seteth B - Flayn went into a slumber because she overworked her powers all those years ago. Flayn’s body is forever weakened as a result, she could go into a slumber that she will never awaken from again.

Sylvain and Annette B support  - Finally, someone who thinks Annette’s songs aren’t some great masterpiece. I like Annette and her songs are... cute, but I never found how everyone clambered over her songs.... believable?  

Annette and Felix B support - This support cannot be unlocked without doing Annette’s support with Sylvain. Of course, Felix is just enamored.... Cute support though. Wonder if support changes if Dorothea dies (she’s mentioned). 

Sylvain and Shez B support - Sylvain starts inventing a gun. Basically. G-good job, Shez (Can you imagine, though, a place that is meant to be full of knights in shining armor going pew-pew). Poor Miklan’s mother, dying to a Sreng raid. Also, Dimitri isn’t all powerful, so he can’t just send in his own troops to help Sylvain without backlash from other lords. And even though the land is frozen, it’s still his home and Sylvain wants to protect it.

Shez and Annette B support - I. am. so. tired. of. these. dumb. ass. songs. 

Oh, but some Duscur mythology? Now that’s interesting. Annette, please... what is this mythological warrior horse with a human face? 

They are just going to say that and NOT elaborate?! 

Shez and Dedue B - People are big angy that a Duscur man serves as a royal guard, instead of a child of a noble. At lease this support recognizes that there is a lot of luck involved, and why it might piss people off. 

Sylvain and Felix B - Sylvain is a smart boy, Ashe is a precious boy. That is all.

Sylvain and Dedue B - Sylvain is no longer a big womanizer. And he sees Felix and Dimitri are like brothers to him (but er... what about Ingrid?). And sad about Dedue’s sister. What a sweet, but sad, support. 

Flayn and Dorothea C - Cute support, about singing. That’s it. Well, and some mysterious story that we will likely learn about in the next support. 

Flayn and Shez B - Flayn calls Shez dirty. More talk about perfumes and stuff I’ve seen in other supports. 

Felix and Ashe B - Felix being cranky about Dimitri working too hard in his tsundere way. Also more knights among the castle who are commoners. It’s also cool that the support recognizes that Ashe is kinda in a weird spot between commoner and noble. Ashe getting Felix a bit tongue-tied too, kek. 

Seteth and Shez C - Seteth seems to be this route’s Hubert. He’s suspicious of Shez. He says Rhea is a spiritual guide and has gone to great lengths to maintain peace. 

Mercedes and Dedue B - Children are scared of Dedue, Mecedes brags about the flower crown Dedue had made to the children, so they flock to him.  

I’m not crying, YOUR crying!

Mercedes and Sylvain B - Mercedes is getting engaged? Bleh, that horrid adoptive father. Sylvain proposes he marries her instead so she doesn’t have to marry the other guy. Obviously, I doubt they do, but the idea is to come up with solutions so Mercedes can get out of the arrangement. 

Mercedes and Ingrid B - Ingrid’s older brothers are much older. The eldest works as his father’s advisor. The other one is a knight for another family. Ingrid thinks her brothers might be overprotective because she has a crest, but Mercedes says it’s because they love her. 

Annette and Ashe B - Teaching common folk, very cute and good. I agree that knowledge and education. But sticking to a single morality? You should always be open to change. Don’t adhere to one way, or you will never grow. 

Annette and Dimitri B - Dimitri is bad at magic. But he wanted to become a mage (I guess that old friend who showed him magic was Edelgard). Dimitri causes another explosion, he’s so bad at it, lol.

Annette and Ingrid B - Annette is afraid of the dark. That’s it. 

Dedue and Petra B - Petra is learning so she can be understood properly for diplomacy for her country. 

I’m a little annoyed that everyone talks about Foldan as if it’s one entity, instead of three. 

Dedue and Ashe B - Stuff about tea, some history about Ashe and Lonato, how Lonato made tea for the Grand Duke before they had a falling out. 

Dimitri and Ashe B - Dimitri tells Ashe to not throw his life away, and to live, even if that means they have to cross blades. Loyalty is to control the knights (I don’t personally believe that fully, but I get the point). Ashe points out that Glenn probably died not out of loyalty, but instead died because he wanted to protect his best friend (like the Margave in GW!). Dimitri says he will work hard to be the leader who deserves such loyatly, and Ashe whispers to himself that Dimitri already is one. 

Dimitri and Rodrigue B - Sylvain’s father borrowed a sword from Lambert for thirty years (hysterical). Lambert and the Margrave got into a fist fight over how they were going to rescue Rodrigue. The Margrave probably kept the sword on purpose- and apparently had a hard accepting Lambert’s death until Dimitri ascended the throne.

DIMITRI, YOU DIDN’T START A WAR, WTF?! I CAN’T BELIEVE THE WRITERS EVEN MADE HIM THINK THAT. 

Rodrigue and Ingrid B - Kinda a sad one, Ingrid promises to visit their land again after the war. Stuff about Glenn a bit.

Ingrid and Ashe B - Nice support, Ingrid talks about how their land is barren, and that they are trying to get the soil to grow things so their descendants can benefit. And so they try to look into a mysterious Dagda plant that can grow even in bad soil. 

Ashe and Flayn B - They go fishing. The end. 

Ingrid and Shez B - Whoa, some lore about Shez’s old merc group’s captain. She was part of a group that was so loyal to the local lords that they became merchants and farmers to help the local lands. It turns out, it was likely her grandmother who was the local lord, and Ingrid once knew this merc personally (Tobias). The point of the story is that people can choose what they want to do, no matter what they were born into, tying back to how Ingrid feels she has no choice to become head of her house.

Ingrid and Sylvain B - Ingrid is impressed Sylvain turned over a new leaf. Cute support. Oh, and it was Sylvain who coaxed Ingrid out of her room after Glenn’s death. 

Books

Report on Abyss (From SB)

...some kind of passage, requires further investigation. There is a house down there that has taken in some students who couldn’t remain in the academy. 

House is known as Ashen Wolves.

Consists of Yuri, Constance, Hapi, and Balthus. The church....

(An old report of some kind. Hardly any of it is legible.)

Letter from an Abyss Resident (from AG)

...Moved to Burrow Street recently. Got to know the Ashen Wolves class. 

Strange bnuch, but seem all right. Especially Balthus’s money...

(A letter written with messy handwriting on stained paper).

Letter from the Abysskeeper (From GW)

It’s been a while. I have something to report. 

The Ashen Wolves keep me on my toes. A new person has joined to make it four, Balthus. 

Just the other day, we found a huge hole leading up to the monastery. We had to hurry and push a boulder in front of it...

(A densely written letter in distinctly spiky handwriting)

[anthonysstupiddailyblog]

Anthony's Stupid Daily Blog (677): Tue 23rd Jan 2024

Tuned into tonight's Hollyoaks and I think I've finally figured out why I've never found the "tough guys" in #Hollyoaks (Warren, Brendan, Felix etc) that intimidating. It's because being tough in this show isn't that impressive when characters can be knocked out just by lightly pushing them away like Carter did to Hannah at the end of tonight's episode. It turns out I was wrong when I predicted that Hannah would come back and try to convince Carter to embrace his homosexuality like John Paul did, it seems as though she's found out about his secret gay convertion therapy sessions and is giving him both barrells for it. During this episode I remembered that there is actually a gay bar in Sunderland called "The Closet" (which is a fucking strange name to give a bar where people are supposed to go to celebrate their sexuality but I digress) and I thought it would be hilarious if somebody wanted to set up a secret gay conversion group but the only building available was The Closet. Incidentally if these "therapists" are able to "cure" homosexuals of their "illness" then surely it must be possible to make them even more gay. Say an out, proud gay guy feels as though he's not doing justice to himself or fulfilling his potential then it must be possible for these therapists to use their techniques to help them take their gayness to the next level. Later on in the episode Darren tried to find some common ground between his two estranged children JJ and the other one whose name I've forgotten and can't be bothered to Google but they just weren't having it. I put the following hypothetical exchange on Twitter:

JJ: Darren. It's pointless trying to bond with us. We clearly have nothing in common with you Darren: That's not true. We have got one thing in common JJ: What? Darren: Your Mum has probably given us both a good spanking

Finally the McQueen family decided to throw a big welcome home bash for Prince which ended up looking like the the lamest party I have ever seen. The put up the minimal amount of decorations and not even everyone in the family who could have turned up did turn up. I mean if your family members don't put in an appearance at a get together to celebrate a relative being found not guilty of murder then are they worth having as family members. I know I shouldn't be so disappointed at a party being thrown for a fictional character being so desperately underwhelming but I swear they've thrown bigger "Congratulations on not being pregnant" parties for Mercedes.

[achorusofcleris]

How about Bernadetta, Felix, and/or Hilda? A good kid from each house 😁 (And Constance if you wanna add the ashen wolves too!)

They’re all good kids, and I would be happy to talk about all of them under this “read more.”

Bernie

favorite thing about them: While it could have been executed better, I appreciate that we were given a reason why she is so reclusive. Also she’s a crit machine.

least favorite thing about them: Her supports can be a bit repetitive and her issues could have been handled better.

favorite line: This one about carnivorous plants: “They just sit there, nice and still, and wait for their dinner to come to them! How great is that? And they all look so unique too!” What a mood.

brOTP: Dorothea or Alois. I also like her friendships with Seteth, Petra, and Leonie.

OTP: Probably either Ferdie or Yuri, though she has quite a few good ships.

nOTP: Ingrid? I guess? Idk, I just feel sort of uncomfy when reading their supports, though nowhere near to the degree of certain others that aren’t relevant here.

random headcanon: She writes dirty fanfics in her spare time.

unpopular opinion: I’m kind of okay with her Sylvain support ending at B level since you could argue that Sylvain genuinely appreciates her as a person and doesn’t want to hurt her.

song i associate with them: “Time to Seize the Day” from Crazy Ex-Girlfriend is pretty much the Bernie anthem imo.

favorite picture of them:

This picture from her Hubert support chain always cracks me up.

Felix

favorite thing about them: His character development in each route is really well done.

least favorite thing about them: He can be a dick sometimes

favorite line: “Fine. I'll help you...in my father's stead. But in return, you must win. You know that, don't you...Dimitri?”

brOTP: Ashe, Mercedes, and Seteth.

OTP: Either Annette or Dimitri. His support with Annette is really cute as it brings out the “dere” side of him that you don’t see often. As for Dimitri, he obviously cares about him more than he would like to admit.

nOTP: Dedue probably. I haven’t seen their entire support chain in a long time, but that c-support is just really uncomfortable.

random headcanon: He often attends choir practice. Not to participate, he just likes the music.

unpopular opinion: This is probably a more recent one, but I don’t think the “go find a husband” line in his Ingrid support was meant to be sexist, though I will admit it definitely comes across that way in execution. Felix’s older brother died fighting for Faerghus, a country that is chivalrous to a fault, and he’s witnessing Ingrid following in Glenn’s footsteps during their B-support when she goes over battle tactics. Felix is a character who sucks at expressing his feelings, and I mean really sucks at it, so rather than telling Ingrid that he doesn’t want her to end up like Glenn, he puts his foot in his mouth and says something he shouldn’t. I’m not going to fault anyone for hating their b-support due to this moment alone, because yeah, it’s definitely uncomfy, but it makes sense given what we know about Felix as a character.

song i associate with them: Any of Annette’s songs.

favorite picture of them:

It’s hard to find cutscene pictures of the expendable units, so here’s a tsundere Santa.

Hilda

favorite thing about them: Her battle quotes are hilarious. Also her friendship with Claude is fantastic.

least favorite thing about them: Her views on Almyrans are uncomfy.

favorite line: “I'm not going to hold back. I can't let down my dear old Claude.”

brOTP: Lysithea, Annette, and Seteth

OTP: Either Claude or Caspar.

nOTP: Cyril, though it’s definitely more in the “disappointment” category than the “dislike” one. Unlike say, Dedue/Ingrid, these two actually had a history together which created a lot of baggage, and the fact that it was never touched upon in their supports is a huge missed opportunity.

random headcanon: The reason she and Caspar had many children in their paired ending is partly that Hilda knew that pregnancy could get her out of work.

unpopular opinion: Despite my least favorite thing about her being her views on Almyrans, I will concede that they don’t bother me as much as they could have due to Hilda being framed as ignorant (she’s friends with Claude, who is half-Almryan, and he’s nothing like the stories she’s heard). Are those views uncomfortable? You bet, but they’re supposed to be. Could they have been handled better? Also yes, but Hilda’s problematic views on Almyrans are nowhere near as bad as some of the other takes I’ve seen in the game.

song i associate with them: I honestly can’t think of anything rn.

favorite picture of them:

Constance

favorite thing about them: Her situation is definitely unique when compared to similar FE characters (like Clair or Maribelle) in that she was born into a noble house, but now she’s trying to restore it. Also, she’s hilarious with her magical inventions and occasional literal-mindedness, but also brilliant in terms of her ability to read people.

least favorite thing about them: Her dual personalities could have been handled better.

favorite line: "Hapi is a dear friend. I won't permit you to call her a ‘stray cat’ or anything so insulting. We shall continue to remain steadfast friends, even after my title is restored!”

brOTP: The rest of the Ashen Wolves (though Hapi is more borderline than the other two in terms of shipping them romantically or platonically). Also Mercedes, I love their sisterly bond.

OTP: Jeritza

nOTP: Aelfric, I guess?

random headcanon: After making the licorice boots, she experimented with making boots out of other food items.

unpopular opinion: I’m not sure if I have one since I don’t really see many takes about her character. Maybe what I have under my “least favorite” thing, but idk.

song i associate with them: “The Shackled Wolves,” though “Funny Footsteps” is another one that makes me think of her.

favorite picture of them:

[mobagehelllocal]

OK IM COMING OFF ANON BC IM LIKE 👀👀 FIRE EMBLEM BUT OK.... bc my brain is circulating around fe and twst, what dorms do you think the three houses cast would be in? (and the girls can go into the girl school you created :))

A/N: *PTERODACTYL SCREECHES* 

Now! I normally don’t do headcanons, but honestly this is the type of headcanon fun that I’ll do so I’ll... probably edit my rules so I can do more stuff like this since it’s fun! I’ll do you one better and do the girls twice! I went really ham. 

--

For Night Raven College:

Heartslabyul

Edelgard von Hresvelg - Edelgard is in Heartslabyul because her response to being pissed off is a lot like the Queen of Hearts--she decides to topple the monarchy and recreate Fodlan. On that note, I can see her fitting Scarabia too, but closer to Heartslabyul. She’s probably Riddle’s favourite junior. Trey likes her, Cater has tried to flirt with her (Cater: “never again”). Ace and Deuce are probably intimidated by her, and she doesn’t try to get along with them.  

Hubert von Vestra - I was pretty close to putting Hubert in Diasomnia, but he’s a pretty stubborn guy and will push himself into Heartslabyul. Plus, he’s a pretty strict guy so Heartslabyul isn’t so bad for him... What’s that? You want to know who Hubert gets along with? *chuckles* oh how naive, he only sees Edelgard. I can see him getting along with Riddle and Trey. Trey more than Riddle because Trey makes great coffee. He thinks Cater, Ace and Deuce are frivolous and a waste of time lmao. 

Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd - Dimitri is in Heartslabyul because his response (”KILL EVERY LAST ONE OF THEM”) to getting completely pissed off mirrors the Queen (“OFF WITH YOUR HEAD”). IRONICALLY, he and Edelgard are very alike in that aspect--but while Dimitri is hot anger--Edelgard is cold anger. They both have pretty terrifying rage. Pre-war, the two really did get along so hence I don’t think Heartslabyul will implode. Other than that, he’s actually a pretty peaceful guy unless completely set off. He’d be respectful of his seniors (especially Riddle and Trey), a little miffed at Cater because he’s like Sylvain. He’s okay with Ace and Deuce, but likely gets along better with Deuce. They vibe pretty well. 

Dedue Molinaro - Honestly, I could see Dedue in Scarabia too, but I figured he’d find some way to make sure he was with Dimitri. He gets along well with everyone, with their only note that he’s a pretty silent, careful guy. He gets along best with Trey because they like to exchange recipes, and Cater appreciates how Dedue is always willing to help out with the gardens. 

Ingrid Brandl Galatea - Actually might compete with Edelgard as Riddle’s favourite junior. Riddle probably likes that Ingrid is strict on herself. She is, however, definitely Trey’s favourite junior because of how enthusiastic she is with his cooking. He think that’s adorable. Cater is scared of her because she treats him like Sylvain LMAO. Ingrid probably also sees Ace in the same way. I think she actually likes Deuce and would help him where she could. 

Savannaclaw

Caspar von Bergliez - Savannaclaw has the most because I put the “punch first, ask later” characters into this lmao. Caspar being the most telling. Ironically, the Savannaclaw characters who are named are anything but that lmao. Leona is either dismissive or annoyed by Caspar’s energy. Ruggie thinks Caspar is hilarious. Jack and Caspar would probably get along really well, with Jack probably becoming more noisy/enthusiastic with a friend like Caspar. 

Felix Hugo Fraldarius - Leona and Felix might get along well, especially with how Felix dislikes chivalry. Leona, however, will be irritated if Felix kept trying to fight him--as Felix does. Felix probably doesn’t think much of Ruggie, and probably likes Jack a lot because of his strength. Jack and Felix will likely agree to disagree on underhanded techniques. Though I think Felix thinks it’s situational. Underhanded techniques in matches are a no-go, but underhanded techniques in a life-or-death sort of thing is a yay. 

Raphael Kirsten - Again, “punch first, ask later” character. He also has that hardworking trait, because he wants to help his family. Probably gets along well with Jack the most tbh. Ruggie probably doesn’t care much about Raphael, until Raphael comes up to him asking for saving tips and stuff. Then Ruggie would see him in a different light. Leona just thinks “great another one.”

Leonie Pinelli - Leonie is primarily here because of her tenacity. She definitely gets along well with Ruggie, and they share tips on how to save money/reuse items. Leonie’s likely to hang out with Ruggie the most, when he’s not with Leona. I think Leonie is pretty 50/50 with him. Like she can respect him, but she might not agree with everything he thinks. Definitely gets along pretty well with Jack though. 

Balthus von Albrecht - Leona probably thinks “why did I get a third one?” He probably doesn’t do to well with Leona because Balthus is a very loud guy. Ruggie definitely thinks he’s amusing, and is shook when Balthus admits about his debts and his need to pay back. Another one for the “Ruggie-senpai how do you save money” (I’m also a part of this club). Also gets along well with Jack. (Jack can try to deny it but he’s actually a person who is easy to get along with.)

Octavinelle

Mercedes von Martritz - The most terrifying Octavinelle member. The Donna of Octavinelle. Look, Lorenz is terrified of her. She can still see the Death Knight as Emile, her little brother. She mothers the whole of Octavinelle, and Azul probably pretends he doesn’t like it but actually enjoys it. She can out squeeze Floyd, and now Floyd is probably also a little terrified of her. Jade finds it all funny. 

Ashe Ubert - Honestly considered Ignihyde and Diasomnia from this boy before I ultimately chose Octavinelle. He fits in with the Octavinelle trio with his skill sets, but unlike them--Ashe is only mean to the people who he thinks are deserving of it. He uses his skills for good, and he’s a very Robin Hood character if you think about it. Also Ashe in a tux is sending me, help. Floyd probably enjoys threatening him with squeezes. Azul and Jade appreciate Ashe’s honest hard work, and probably enjoy it even more when he’s willing to use his skills to get back at others. He’s definitely one of the lead workers at Mostro Lounge--when people know he’s on schedule to cook, Mostro Lounge is flooded and Azul is happy. 

Yuri Leclerc - Yuri, Azul and Jade on the same side is terrifying. Like can you imagine the amount of double crossing they’d do? But here’s the thing, Yuri is also incredibly generous to those he thinks are deserving--which I think is what makes him suit Octavinelle. Yuri especially gets along well with Jade. He probably flirts with the Octavinelle trio. Azul and Jade would probably be impressed because I imagine Yuri can say what Floyd wants to hear so that Floyd would listen to him. 

Scarabia

Petra Macneary - I wasn’t too sure where to put Petra. I almost put her in Heartslabyul because she’s pretty strict onto herself, and I almost also put her in Pomefiore because she’s a huntress... but it’s essentially because she’s a huntress that I decided to put her in Scarabia. I figured as a huntress, she probably has that ‘deliberation’ aspect of Scarabia. Jamil respects Petra a lot for her craft, Kalim thinks she’s slightly scary but pretty okay all around. 

Annette Fantine Dominic - Annette probably wanted to be in Diasomnia, but she won’t complain and will instead work really hard in Scarabia. She’s probably Jamil’s favourite junior because he can relate to her strive to work hard and prove herself. In turn, she admires Jamil the most from the way he handles himself and Kalim. Annette enjoys her time with Kalim though, they often have small food appreciation sessions though. She also tries to help tutor Kalim, but Kalim is one tough nut to crack. 

Claude von Riegen - Jamil hates Claude HAHAHA. Primarily because Claude figured out that Jamil is definitely hiding something, and he’ll spend the rest of his high school(?) life figuring it out--much to Jamil’s despair. Jamil can at least appreciate that Claude helps bring up Scarabia’s average (with Annette). Claude and Kalim definitely get along well because they probably both enjoy parties. 

Pomefiore

Dorothea Arnault - Um hell yeah! She’s probably a popular MagiCam cover artist, with a couple of her own original songs. She’s pretty and classy. She and Vil would definitely also get along--they’d probably exchange beauty tips and stuff. She probably would have a soft spot for Epel, because they have similar roots, but she’d probably take him aside to tell him he should take advantage of his looks to win. She probably thinks Rook is weird. 

Ferdinand von Aegir - His appreciation for beauty is Ferdi’s primary reason for being in Pomefiore. Vil probably appreciates Ferdinand a lot more than what anyone thinks because he has a fresh and sweet admiration for beauty. Ferdi and Rook are pretty okay because Ferdi would probably not? call him out. Ferdi and Epel is a bit of a 50/50, wherein Ferdi probably unknowingly insults Epel, Epel fights back, and now they get along. 

Lorenz Hellman Gloucester - Lorenz and Rook probably get along well because they both have a similar appreciation for beauty. Lorenz will be a bit confused as to why Rook likes to stalk people? But other than that, Lorenz’s position in Pomefiore is because he appreciates beauty and considers himself beautiful. Vil probably thinks Lorenz could stand to try harder at it, but as long as Lorenz is trying then Vil has no issue with him. Epel doesn’t like him, “grrr eat the nobility” (Doro is proud of her son).

Hilda Valentine Goneril - I’m going at this because Hilda is really talented in the arts. ALSO CAN YOU IMAGINE THE POWER OF VIL SCHOENHEIT AND HILDA GONERIL? TOGETHER? Oh my god, Hilda’s my favourite FE3H girl, and seeing her side by side with Vil is sending me! They’ll be so popular, like can you imagine Hilda making Vil’s accessories? Them, featuring on each other’s accounts? Match made in beauty influencer heaven. Epel would start out disliking her, but then when he sees how strong Hilda is, he’d start to like her more. Hilda just think he’s cute. She also finds Rook strange. 

Ignatz Victor - His position in Pomefiore is also primarily because of his artistic sensibilities. He’s probably flirted with most of Pomefiore just because he keeps bringing up how beautiful they are. Vil probably commissioned him once to do a painting, and Ignatz became an overnight celebrity on MagiCam. He can get along with Rook, and a little with Epel. 

Ignihyde

Bernadetta von Varley - I MEAN. Where else would I put Bernie? She probably is shut off in Ignihyde, and is terrified of Idia because she think he’s out to get her--because whenever she leaves her room he’s also there. (In Idia’s defense, he think SHE’S out to get him because she’s always there when he leaves his room... it’s a never ending cycle with these two).

Linhardt von Hevring - I almost put him in Diasomnia, and honestly I could still put him there... but the reason I chose Ignihyde, is because I think his love for research outweighs his interest in the actual magical feats of Diasomnia. Also, if I remember from... Chapter 1? We didn’t see any Ignihyde students in the cafeteria, so I’ll believe that they all prefer to just stay in unless it’s an important event (which suits Lin very well). I can definitely see Linhardt being interested in Diasomnia though. He’s probably sleeping buddies with Silver. 

Constance von Nuvelle - I almost put her in Heartslabyul BUT THEN I REALIZED! Constance is basically Ignihyde personified. She’s more Ignihyde than Idia himself LMAO. Like she’s all quiet, and shy during class, but when she retreats to Ignihyde’s dark dorms--she’s loud, bossy and generally unlike them all. Idia gets a whiplash whenever he sees the 180. Ortho thinks she’s fun. 

Diasomnia

Sylvain Jose Gautier - Okay honestly, I almost put him in Pomefiore, but then I realized how much Diasomnia suited him more. LISTEN, everyone would be convinced that Sylvain is definitely Pomefiore material, only for everyone to be surprised when he’s put in Diasomnia because of how smart he actually is. Though he acts a little bit like the black sheep of Diasomnia because of how unlike them he is--he’s definitely going to stun a lot when he comes out with really high grades. Malleus would be impressed. Lilia would just know. Silver is asleep. Sylvain and Sebek... I can see Sylvain having no issue with him but not the other way around.

Lysithea von Ordelia - OF COURSE I’m going to put Lysithea in this house. She’s the little spitfire and darling of Diasomnia. I can see Malleus being really fond of her. In Lysithea’s pursuit of knowledge, I can imagine Lysithea would bug Malleus a lot for help--and Malleus would genuinely be pleased that this tiny little human bothers him so much. He’d love to teach her. Lilia would probably tease Lys often, but would always help her when she needs it. Lys would fight Sebek, and is pretty neutral to Silver.

Marianne von Edmund - Marianne thinks she deserves to be in this house because of her bloodline, and it probably makes her very sad. Lilia probably realizes what she feels and does go out of his way to cheer her up. Lilia probably pushes her towards Silver a lot though, because Silver is a pretty low maintenance friend. Marianne and Silver would also get along really well because they both get along well with animals, and spend a lot of time just sitting in the middle of a forest somewhere--just doing that. Marianne is probably scared of Malleus (and knowing her situation, Mal probably won’t push). On the other hand, Marianne is the one person Sebek can’t fight.  

Hapi - If she can summon magical beings with her sighs, then I can see her in Diasomnia just so that Malleus and Lilia could watch out for her. I can definitely see her bantering with Lilia, and just chilling with Silver. She probably... gets irritated with Sebek actually. They fight each other a lot with the use of petty insults lmao. Sebek does not appreciate it, but Lilia finds it funny so he sometimes eggs on their fights haha. 

Special Thought: Byleth/s are probably Diasomnia graduates. 

--

For The Garden Academy:

House Cosmos

Mercedes von Martritz - Mercie’s ability to remain positive in the face of all the things she was faced with is the primary reason I chose this house~

House Zinnia

Dorothea Arnault - Because Dorothea is kind to those she knows deserves it. I think I see her very similar to Cinderella, except a tad bit more jaded. 

House Eglantine

Constance von Nuvelle - it’s the House of Sophistication! Need I say more? I do believe that Eglantine suits Constance the most, especially for the sake of her noble house. 

House Anemone

Petra Macneary - Her interest, and general curiosity--plus willingness to learn more about the world is why I thought she suited Anemone the most. 

House Rose

Bernadetta von Varley - I chose this because she shares a love for books with Belle. I think, like Belle, she uses books as a form of escapism. 

House Jasmine

Lysithea von Ordelia - her desire to be independent and seen as an adult capable of making her own choices was the primary motivation for this placing!

House Sage

Marianne von Edmund - Marianne’s preference of interacting with animals, and her love for religion is the primary reason why I chose House Sage~! 

House Peach Blossom

Ingrid Brandl Galatea - because she understands the importance and weight of honor. And also because I think in Peach Blossom, she could learn that she could gain honor by remaining as she is. 

House Water Lily

Annette Fantine Dominic - Annette is honestly a lot like Tiana--determined to prove herself through honest hard work! 

House Chrysanthemum

Hilda Valentine Goneril - As the House of Artistry, I think Hilda would love it here because she’ll be allowed to pursue the one thing she enjoys--creating accessories~! 

House Thistle

Edelgard von Hresvelg - placed her here because she’s a lot like Merida, wherein she wants to choose and create her own path. 

Hapi - Honestly, I put her here because of her distaste for authority. She’s very, openly critical about what she thinks is wrong. 

House Hibiscus 

Leonie Pinelli - Ironically, House Hisbiscus shares the same belief as Savannaclaw which is tenacity. Since I chose that house based on Leonie’s tenacity, I decided to keep with it. 

[cursedfodlantexts]

I think culturally the Kingdom is homophobic even outside of Ingrid being well Ingrid if you look at all the queer characters from the kingdom either explicit or implied all of them are referred to as not fitting into the society, on the explicit side you have Mercedes who was born in the empire and only adopted by a kingdom merchant when she was older, and you have Yuri who turns his back on the kingdom to live underground on the implicit side you have Catherine who says she no longer fits (1)

this really isnt a conversation meant for the inbox, but okay anon, I’ll bite. dont know what inspired you to send this to me (at least, right now and not like. when i talked about homophobic ingrid way back when) but I’ll bite. 

Hope ya like reading! :)

the FIRST thing i want to tackle before i respond to this as a whole:

“ingrid says he caused a scandal at ten by hitting on a man.” 

this.. caught me by surprise. why hadn’t i heard about this before? like i heard about dorothea and edelgard’s romantic undertones in the japanese version, i heard about ferdinand and hubert’s ending being romantic in the japanese version, but i didnt hear about canonical bi sylvain? so i asked some friends for the source and maybe you should do a little research on things yourself before you trust second hand information like this, especially if its coming from Ingrid of all characters. 

In the english version, she says he hit on a scarecrow. the direct translation she says he hit on a man in a dress. now let’s take a second here to discuss how this does not make sylvain “q*eer”... 

going off how common this trope is (at least in western media), when a guy is caught hitting on a “cross dresser” its because he only saw them from behind. no “feminine” features to be seen other than a dress and long hair. this is not a man hitting on another man, this is a man hitting on someone he mistook as a woman. and, for all we know, the “man” ingrid mentions wasn’t a cross dresser but actually a trans woman. this entire thing is one giant transphobic joke! transphobic ingrid for the win!!!!

SOURCE 

and now onto how i feel about the other lions being “implied” gay or bi or trans. 

disclaimer: everyones allowed their headcanons, but going so far as to say intelligent systems intentionally put the implication in is a big stretch and thats what im talking about specifically when i discuss them being “explicitly or implied” lgbt 

look at all the q*eer characters from the kingdom either explicit or implied

well first you didnt mention annette or ashe 🤔 they dont fit in as much as the others do but okay. hapi is from faerghus too but we’re not gonna discuss what happened to her either? and im not even gonna say a WORD about the “explicitly q*eer” part because i dont count mercedes being a bi option as an explicit bisexual character to begin with. I’ll talk more about her in a minute. 

ive talked about ingrid being canonically homophobic before. I’ll link that here so i can make this post slightly shorter. 

Felix being out of place, in general, is derived from Glenn’s death. He, understandably, despises his father for how he treated the death of a beloved son and brother. He despises that Glenn’s death forced him into a role he did not want. He doesn’t want to be like Glenn, so he does things his own way, and his way is being incredibly blunt with people and being a rude little bitch just in general. as for his behavior around sylvain, he just hates how noisy and nosy he is and that he doesnt work as diligently as himself. thats not because sylvain is bi.

Dimitri and Dedue.. where do i even begin with your supposed gay implications? You’re right, it has a lot to do with xenophobia and racism. in fact, thats literally all it is! the people of Faerghus talk shit about Dimitri because he thinks the people of Duscur were innocent, because he doesn’t resent them for the death of the king and his father. the people of Faerghus hate that a Duscurian is within 5 feet of their crown prince at all times. because what if hes secretly evil? what if he kills our prince when we’re not looking? is our prince crazy for letting his father’s murderer so close to him? as for Dimitri’s behavior around sylvain, he has concerns that his playboy lifestyle will cause issues for the Gautier name. literally what else would happen when your a noble openly playing with half the hearts of an entire nation. 

also.. dimitri/dedue? really? their relationship is solely one large White Savior Trope. that shit ain’t healthy. Dedue feels obliged to serve Dimitri because he’s kept him safe from the kingdom’s hateful gaze. Dimitri may want Dedue to stop being so formal, but Dedue is fucking afraid to do anything else because if he acts too out of line with the crown prince, the people of Faerghus will call for his head (even more). 

Mercedes has a lot going on that makes her out of place. firstly, she was born in adrestia. When her father died, her mother remarried to Barron Bartels and had Emil, which was now bad news for the two because Bartels wanted a child with a crest. so now with Emil in the picture, these two were expendable. it can be assumed their life was a living hell because what else would it be for women in medieval times. after she and her mother left Bartels behind, presumably to hide from him, she was a noble raised as a commoner in Faerghus. her adoptive father wanted nothing but the best for her, so she enrolled in teh magic academy and then garreg mach. With the free DLC that adds Jeritza, we learn that Bartels wanted another child with a crest and decided that Mercedes would be the mother. he had deliberately sought her out and found the church she was hiding at (though, jeritza does kill him before he can even reach her). 

as for Yuri, i don’t know enough about the Ashen Wolves to go into detail about this but im pretty sure his being out of place comes from the fact hes a criminal? also isn’t his mother listed a prostitute in the game? i’m pretty sure thats what makes him out of place, just sayin’.  

All in all it just suggests that the Kingdom is not down with the lgbt

first, thanks for the extremely hilarious round about way of saying homophobic lmao

second, I just spent like an hour debunking that blue lions is implied as q*eer, but with how racist and xenophobic Faerghus is, I would not be surprised if they were homophobic too! but I guess we’ll never know because we have no explicitly gay characters in Three Houses. None of the characters talk about how they feel disconnected from family or society because of sexuality, only because of the statuses they were born with. a bi option means shit in the face of representation when none of them talk about being bisexual.

[sabineelectricheart]

Past Premises

Summary: Sylvain has a strict view of the world. His professor challenges it.

Rating: T - Suitable for teens, 13 years and older, with some violence, minor coarse language, and minor suggestive adult themes.

Words: 4600

Notes: It turned out to be quite long, but I find I like it. I hope you do, too.

Sylvain Gautier said he would never trust anyone because humans were self-serving and fundamentally flawed in all capacities.

That changed with Byleth Eisner.

Truth be told, the nobleman did not really believe in the inherent goodness in his fellow human. He is not blind, as a general rule, people just sucked. They were useless unless you could use them for something, and so it was better to find a way to exploit their weaknesses and harness their strengths, kicking them to the curb before you were kicked yourself.

Of course, he has been friends with Felix for so long, he cannot help but exclude his single-minded partner-in-arms from this narrative. He supposes he also feels a dutiful fondness for Dimitri, and he would feel rather irritated if someone took advantage of the naiveté of Mercedes or Ashe or even Annette and Ingrid, but still. Exploit for not being exploited.

However, despite not feeling any particular allegiance or shared history, he came to found out that Byleth was different. She changed his outlook in life.

Sylvain treated her very differently, and not different in the same deferent but contemptuous manner he treated Manuela and Hanneman. He genuinely respected and cherished his professor; in a way he cannot remember ever doing with absolutely anyone.

He wonders why. Maybe it was because of how she treated their class. She was patient and accommodating of all their idiosyncrasies, but knew exactly when and where to press them to be better. She was a stabilizing presence for Dimitri, she helped Mercedes harden and Felix soften, she encouraged Dedue to face his trauma, encouraged Annette to mend fences with her estranged father and Ashe to face the realities about his patron.

The professor even managed to make Sylvain himself make peace with what happened to Miklan, a feat so great they should commemorate her a statue in Fhirdiad.

It was hard to find much fault with Byleth Eisner, and the nobleman found himself increasingly unwilling to try.

*_*_*_*_*

Sylvain Gautier said he would never care about what anyone thought of him, because fuck them, thank you very much.

That changed with Byleth Eisner.

When she had shown up with absolutely no warning, she turned everything on its head, which was quite rude, in his opinion. He was very used to being fawned over by girls, but she revealed quickly that she was cut from a very different cloth.

What she found interesting was not what most girls found interesting, probably forged on a life of violence and want and whatever happens when you are raised on a mercenary band, and that immunity to the generally feminine proclivities included Sylavin himself.

He never had to try before to make anyone like him, it just seemed to come with the territory. His Crest did the heavy-lifting for him, and the Gautier charm and beauty closed the deal. The few people who did not like him, drops in the ocean that they were, were not worth his time.

Byleth was different for some reason, though. There was something about her that made him self-conscious and awkwardly aware of things he said or did that she might frown upon.

Goddess, frown, she did. She found him to be exceedingly arrogant, sexist, and in possession of an exceptionally large ego. She was thoroughly unimpressed by the way he used his status as a crest-having nobleman to manipulate people, especially women, into doing things for him.

They were little things, mind you, like getting a snack from the kitchens or covering for him during a detention, he was not so uncouth into manipulating naïve girls into his bed, but it made no difference to her. She thought it was particularly deplorable the way he approached his interactions with girls.

“You present as if you feel like they owe you a date just because you lowered yourself to look at them.” She had said with cold judgement one evening. “It is frankly disgusting.”

He felt downright chastised, and, much to his shock, he felt extremely guilty and embarrassed that he did anything to appear like a filthy philanderer to her.

It was then he realized he cared about what Byleth Eisner thought of him. He cared a lot.

*_*_*_*_*

Sylvain Gautier never believed that he was manipulative.

That changed with Byleth Eisner.

Sylvain tended to believe he was better than everyone else. That made it pretty effortless to hone in on easy targets for particularly exploitative manipulations, because he would feel little guilt. Some of these services were mostly benign and turned out fine in the end, with only mild humiliation or a few hours of work lost on the part of the victim.

However, sometimes, he disregarded every conceivable limit.

There is no way for a man to know when was the last time the woman has bled, and so Sylvain usually trusted whatever his bedfellow would tell him. He tried to take his own precautions, pulling out and finishing on his hand, but there were times that he loses himself in the act.

One such instances, with a particularly cunning kitchen maid, had her saying she was pregnant with his child. So, he took the easy way out and tried to vanish from her reach. To that end, he manipulated Ashe to ceding his bedroom. It was fine, the archer was more than glad for helping his classmate, even if it meant having to sleep on the entrance hall and dressing at the sauna changing room. It was all very benign.

Byleth, however, did not think it was benign at all. In fact, she made it a point to single him out in the dormitories when it was the most occupied in order to humiliate him as an almost-punishment.

“Serves you right!” She had said scathingly, while throwing him out of the bedroom by the ears and throwing his clothes out the door, the entire academy coming around to see. “You do not think of anyone but yourself. You do not care who you hurt as long as you get your piece of the pie out of it. You're lonely on the inside, and some day, you will end up actually being alone. Who would want to be friends with someone they can never be sure is trustworthy? Pathetic!”

Sylvain was humiliated, and at first, he was infuriated. She had no clue what he was like and who he was, so her accusations and presumptions were baseless. With time, though, he slowly began to admit she may have been right. Ashe really should not have let him take over his room, and regardless of any moral failings of the kitchen maid, what they did took them both, and he had a responsibility to foot.

Finally, Sylvain started to feel guilty. He compensated his classmate with a new, illuminated copy of Loog and the Maiden of Wind, and tried to assume paternity of the kitchen maid’s unborn child, at least for the time being, but his professor had the forethought of taking her to an exam and Manuela concluded she was not pregnant at all.

He realized Byleth was the first girl to ever stand up to him, not counting his own horrible mother. No one ever dared talk to the heir of Margraviate Gautier the way Byleth had spoken to him that night, and he had to admit he thought that that was pretty admirable. While he did not necessarily enjoy being humiliated in front of the entire high society in Fódlan and surroundings, it did make an impact.

Not long after, he began to notice the way the light would catch her eyes during dusk, turning them from sea blue to almost green. He noticed that, in the morning, she put a thin layer of butter on her toast followed by an equally thin layer of jam, which she would eat while reading the Acta Archiepiscopae, the daily publication of the acts and orders of the Church of Seiros. He noticed that before morning classes she would put two pins in her unruly hair to keep them away from her face, and by lunch, they would have already broken free without her notice. She always noticed after lunch, though, and instead she would put her hair in a bun on top of her head. He noticed that her hands were prone to chap in the cold, and that the balm she used smelt like peppermint.

Most of all, he noticed that, now, when she looked at him, he felt nervous and his heart would speed up. Most peculiar.

With a snicker, Ingrid told him that what he had were feelings for Byleth Eisner. Blinking owlishly, Sylvain realized she might be right.

*_*_*_*_*

Sylvain Gautier had never once been turned down by a girl he had asked out, not when they were fresh conquests and not him revisiting those girls particularly talented in bed. Not once.

That changed with Byleth Eisner.

The first time Sylvain asked Byleth out, she thought it was a joke, and he could not believe it. Any other girl would have swooned just because he was talking to her, but not Byleth.

She thought the whole idea was hilarious, preposterous really. Her outrageous response? A flat no! She turned him down flat and Sylvain was not prepared to approach a situation like that, because it simply was not done.

The second time Sylvain asked Byleth out, she had the audacity to get irritated with him. Irritated! The nerve! She acted as though he were a gnat that kept flying around in her face and one that always came back, no matter how hard she tried to shoo it away.

The third time Sylvain asked Byleth out, she was well tired of his persistence and yelled at him to leave her be.

“This is highly inappropriate, and even if it were not, I have no interest or intention of ever going out with the likes of you.” She had raved with a look of utter contempt on her face. “You are not to be trusted, Sylvain Gautier, and I am not a fool.”

Needless to say, he was speechless. He began to realize that he was turning into a stupid character from a stupid novel like Loog and the Maiden of Wind, and then became depressed because his only options at that moment were to either become a brood like Dimitri or an ingénue like Ashe, and neither seemed particularly enticing.

He also realized he would do just about anything, within reason, to make Byleth Eisner like him and, hopefully, date him.

*_*_*_*_*

Sylvain Gautier said he never gossiped, and that gossip was "women's talk".

That changed with Byleth Eisner.

Sylvain never really cared for propriety, but if there was something that he begrudgingly respected was privacy and self-determination. Gossip was just uncouth. However, he was determined to find out what made Byleth tick, but he would never figure it out by talking to her, and so some recognition could not be beneath him.

It was not that he did not want to talk to her, but she was so disturbingly stoic and cagey about her own life, it made him shudder with unease. The only moments she showed genuine emotion was when her students needed support, and in his case, this usually translated to exasperation and tough love. When he really thought about it, he was not sure why he actually liked her when he knew next to nothing about her, but the heart wants what the heart wants, he had mused with an internal dramatic sigh.

Sylvain decided that in order to discover what made Byleth Eisner, Byleth Eisner, he would have to, ugh, gossip. It pained him to have to stoop to gossiping and eavesdropping. He dearly hopes he is not found out, if not for his pride, for the absolute ass-kicking he would receive from his professor dearest.

He targeted the girls of his class, specifically Mercedes, Annette and Ingrid, approaching them one day to ask them about her. He realized right away that that was a big mistake. Not only were they unwilling to talk about Byleth, they took advantage of the opportunity of actually speaking to Sylvain face-to-face by descending upon him like wrathful harpies to berate him for consistently badgering her. Needless to say, he never tried that one again.

After a very regretful drunken tryst with Manuela trying to extract information, Sylvain decided his best course of action was to use magic and his sneaking abilities to listen in on his professor’s conversations. He did not really want to do it because he felt like it just proved Byleth's point, but he was desperate at that point and was almost begging on his knees to Jeralt for if only a kernel of information.

During one particular instance, he hit a jackpot. Dorothea and Byleth were talking about nobles, Sylvain in more specific terms, in what was clearly meant to be a private conversation.

“I might be more inclined to give Sylvain a chance if he was not that much of an entitled bastard.” Byleth had said. “I wonder if this is consequence of his Crest.”

Sylvain would not deny that he was hurt by that. He wanted Byleth to like him, and wanted her to see someone good and noble and loyal.

It was then and there that Sylvain Gautier swore he would change Byleth Eisner's mind, and to prove he meant it, he vowed it on the Goddess Tower on the monastery’s anniversary a few Moons later.

*_*_*_*_*

Sylvain Gautier said he would never change for anyone or anything.

That changed with Byleth Eisner.

After witnessing that conversation between Dorothea and Byleth, Sylvain worked incredibly hard to be a person his professor would be proud to know. He became responsible and tried to carry his own weight around the monastery. He became more respectful of the girls who approached him, and he never approached any on his own. He also really tried to deflate his huge head and treat people like they were his equals.

The first time he saw Byleth's shocked reaction to the new him, he did a jig inside his head because he knew his personality shift was something that she never thought he was capable of.

The longer he spent working towards change, the more impressed she became, though she would not care to admit it.

Sylvain had to confess that, at first, he only tried to change so that Byleth's opinion of him would improve. However, he found that as time went on, it became easier and more rewarding to help others and treat them with respect. He realized that, before, people told him what he wanted to hear so that he would like them. Becoming more approachable made it easier to foster real friendships instead of fake ones, which he, begrudgingly, admitted was better than being worshipped.

Still, it did funny things to Sylvain's heart to see Byleth begin to smile at him instead of sigh disapprovingly.

The nobleman vowed that he would keep trying to prove himself to Professor Eisner, so he never had to be without her smile again.

*_*_*_*_*

Sylvain Gautier, deep down, never believed he needed anyone.

That changed with Byleth Eisner.

At the ripe old age of twenty, Sylvain started getting restless. With the growing discord that was blooming from the approaching war, he began to feel useless and like he wanted to get in on the action.

It could have been that the opposing side mostly consisted of those he had broken bread for years at the monastery, or that Dimitri’s leadership was questionable at best and disastrous at worse, or that he could sense impending danger like electricity across his skin. It could have been a combination of the it all.

Either way, his mood was generally poor and Byleth found herself to be taking the brunt of his temper more often than not. After a while, she could not bear to continue shouldering his anger as if she were the cause of it and, as a result, she left him. With reason, as he could not find fault in leaving someone who has, repeatedly, threatened to kill and/or force upon marriage to her for her Crest.

Not fifteen days later, the Archbishop turned into a dragon and ate her whole, presumably killing her.

Fuck.

Sylvain' world tilted on its axis and it felt like he was dying. For months, Byleth had been the anchor he had tethered himself to, and she had kept him afloat when he felt like he was going to drown.

His professor had been the reason he became the man that he was, so who was he without her? When they were together, in the deceivingly idyll of school, he had taken for granted her unwavering presence in his life and with her gone, he realized how much he truly needed her, how much he had always needed her.

After the war began, Sylvain assumed the traditional duties of Margrave Gautier and patrolled the border with Sreng, making it clear to those filthy barbarians that they would not be able to catch the kingdom unprotected.

He cried himself to sleep for a week straight when he came home on leave one day to a regretful Alois, who carried with him the Lance of Ruin, found amongst the wreckage of the monastery. It had been so surreal until that point, but holding the weapon he had entrusted to her care in his hand was a physical reminder that she was really gone.

It took a literal slap in the face from Ingrid to wake him up out of his funk. She took no mercy on him, and pointed out how pathetic he had become in Byleth's absence.

“She died defending us, protecting us, you useless waste of space!” The blonde knight barked at her former classmate. “She died so that megalomaniac dictator with horns would not kill us all! The least you can do is get off your fat, smelly arse and do something about it!”

Even though he took no pleasure in hearing that his beloved died so he could live, Ingrid’s speech reminded him that, while the professor would not be coming back, he had to act as if she were. To birth upon a world where she would be glad to live in.

So he did, for four long years, until the day Dimitri had made them promise to return to the monastery. For a blessing of the Goddess, Byleth never came back on a promise and miraculously attended their reunion, too, coming back into the Blue Lions’ fold, from where she should have never left.

After looking at each one of them in awestruck appraisal, she hugged Sylvain tightly. He was not sure who cried harder then.

He would never take Byleth Eisner for granted ever again.

*_*_*_*_*

Sylvain Gautier never really cared for romance.

That changed with Byleth Eisner.

On the day that Byleth finally agreed to go out with him, in the middle of a terrible, terrible war, Sylvain immediately grabbed his horse and did a parade around the monastery and the village below to share on his happiness, all while whooping and cheering.

It was not until he returned to the stables and placed his horse on a pen for the page to feed it that he realized he had absolutely no idea about what to do in a relationship.

Sylvain never had a girlfriend before. He had plenty of casual flings, but he never made an effort to stick with one girl because, frankly, he just did not care for the idea. However, with Byleth, the things he felt for her ran far deeper than anything he had ever experienced before, so deep that he entered entirely unexplored territory.

He was terrified. He is a good-for-nothing, after all, he had no business with love.

To be perfectly honest, he got such a case of cold feet that he very nearly broke things off with Byleth before they had even begun, but, with a firm word from Ingrid, some eye rolls from Felix, and several incredulous squeaks from Mercedes, Sylvain finally calmed down and came to his senses. He realized he had something special with his former professor, and while it was scary, it was also exhilarating and exciting.

Regardless, Sylvain did not know how to do the whole romance thing. Do girls even actually like flowers and candy, he had wondered. He came to the conclusion that he had no choice but to ask Dorothea, despite being quite frightened by the prospect of being chased around by an angry swordwoman or worse, laughed off the monastery.

In the end, he was extremely grateful that he did, because he was completely off base. He figured he should have known better, since Byleth had been defying expectations ever since he met her. After taking her to a horseback stroll through the woods around the monastery, they had a nice picnic by a pond, followed by a few matches of checkers.

He knew he did the right thing when, upon returning to the dormitories, Byleth turned and beamed at him.

She could weaponize that smile, he had thought as his heart arrested in his chest and his palms started sweating. She's going to kill me some day.

One night, a year into their relationship, as he stared at her while she was sleeping on his chest, he knew with certainty that Byleth Eisner was one of the best things that had ever happened to him.

*_*_*_*_*

Sylvain Gautier would never admit to being scared, ever.

That changed with Byleth Eisner.

As the war continued to strengthen around them, Byleth and Dimitri were repetitively called away for missions due to their unique skill sets, and Sylvain was sick with worry for his girlfriend and crazed monarch. It was a constant source of stress, and at times, he could not even stomach eating.

While the attack on Enbarr advanced to a glorious closing act, Dimitri returned from his latest mission to the Imperial Palace with Edelgard’s head on his left hand and a maniacal laugh on his lips. Byleth did not return at all.

When Sylvain heard the news, he had thrown up because he knew the outcome could not possibly be good.

The Blue Lions became increasingly more agitated the longer Byleth was gone, and after a month and a half missing, the Church gravely made the decision to pronounce her missing, presumed dead once more.

The news devastated her former students, but none other more than Sylvain, who reverted into a shell of a man once again. He never imagined he could feel devastation beyond what he had felt when the green-haired woman disappeared for the first time, but this certainly trumped that feeling a hundred times over.

Sylvain could not help but to think that the more you have, the more painful it is to lose. Six years ago, he lost a professor, now, he lost the love of his life. He could not stop picturing the little girl with green spike hair like hers and amber eyes like his. He had the image of a tranquil life up north, of days of horse-riding and peacekeeping and nights of devoted love underneath thick furs burned into the back of his eyelids.

Most of all, as he fingered the plain Gautier box holding a simple band with a simple stone. He could not stop imagining what it would have been like being able to say I love you, Lady Gautier before they went to sleep every night and as he woke up next to her every morning.

It was a stormy night when a dark figure entered the Royal Palace of Fhirdiad. The Blue Lions were gathered in preparation for the peace talks that would begin to be held amongst the Kingdom and the former Alliance and Imperial noble houses. It was concerning, as every guest was accounted for, and no one was supposed to waltz into the King’s residence so inconspicuously.

However, when Byleth limped through the banquet hall door and slumped against the door frame, thoroughly ragged and covered in scratches, bruises, and blood, it turned into pandemonium. Sylvain felt like the air had been sucked from his lungs as his legs gave way beneath him, and he no longer felt like he was inside his own body.

For the first time since she went missing, the newly-anointed margrave sobbed until he was physically unable to cry anymore.

It took several weeks for Byleth to fully recover, and almost an entire year for Sylvain to let her out of his sight. While it left her thoroughly rankled, after a while she understood that he was just scared and let the issue lie.

The experience was something he never wanted to relive for a third time, and it taught him a valuable lesson. Life is short.

Even though they had not talked much about the future and she was completely blindsided, Byleth Eisner said yes when Sylvain proposed.

*_*_*_*_*

For his entire life, Sylvain Gautier never believed he would have true purpose or meaning in his empty life.

That changed with Lady Byleth Gautier… and Cordelia Gautier, his two girls and the absolute centre of his entire universe.

Following the war and Edelgard’s defeat, Sylvain married Byleth in a small ceremony surrounded by only close friends in their new territory. Alois was entrusted with giving away the bride, which he did while crying obnoxiously, and Dimitri was to officiate.

A little over a year later, Byleth bounced her own daughter around their large, northern manor, covered in furs and shivering with the winter cold, but always so very happy to be there.

She did not notice and would not know for several years, but Sylvain filled up at least an entire sketchbook of renditions of just her and Cordelia. Every so often, he would secretively look at the pictures and smile to himself, letting the warm feeling in his chest fill his entire body.

Years later, Sylvain would look back on his life with his wife and feel content. His daughter would be worried about leaving so far south to Garreg Mach for school, after her magic aptitudes did not warrant an acceptance to the academy in Fhirdiad. Her mother would assure her it did not matter where she would go, they would be always with her, and she would glare at Sylvain when he would jokingly whisper behind his hand, “As long as it isn’t Enbarr”.

Cordelia would end up being as intelligent as her mother and a bit of a heartbreaker like her father, much to Sylvain' displeasure. Where's my lance when I need it?, He would think with a glower. In the end, she would settle, shockingly, on Lady Varley’s son and moved permanently into Imperial territory, which pained her father so, but he was happy if she was happy.

As the years passed them by, they brought children, grandchildren, godchildren, fortune and happiness beyond belief. For their entire lives, every so often with adoration in her still-green eyes, Byleth would murmur to him, “I love you. Thank you for the opportunity to live out this wonderful life.”

Sylvain Gautier had had a lot of never’s in his life, of denials and ordeals. It took Byleth Gautier (née Eisner) to change everything for the better. After so many years chasing the next high, he was pleased in his staunch belief that there was not a single experience he wishes he had had, and that is the most important thing for him.

*_*_*_*_*

Fire Emblem Masterlist

Three Houses Masterlist

[fandom-meanderer]

hi! i’ve been reading your work aND I LOVE ALL OF THEM idk if you’re willing to write another one with felix but can you please??? i just can’t stop thinking about fluff involving him with the reader djdksksks thank you!

I’ll do as many Felix asks as you ask me to and more, dear!

~

Felix groaned as you ran into yet another store.

Why was he here? How did you get him to come with you again? Oh, that’s right.

~

“Felix! Please come shopping with me! I’m afraid to go on my own,” you whine. Felix rolls his eyes and continues to hack at the dummy with his sword.

“Then get Sylvain to go with you.”

“He went with me last time then he ditched me for a girl!”

“Take the boar.”

“He’s busy training with the Professor!”

“Ashe.”

“He and Ingrid are on stable duty!”

“Dedue.”

“He never leaves Dimitri’s side!”

“Mercedes.”

“She and Annette are cleaning the library today!”

Felix pondered for a moment, before finally turning to you.

“Alright, I’ll go if you can beat me in a sword fight.”

~

Needless to say, you completely demolished his stubborn ass.

Now he’s here with you, one arm lined with various shopping bags, the other resting on his hip, and you just continued to buy more and more. You walk up to him in a completely ridiculous hat.

“What do you think about this, Felix? Isn’t it cute?”

“You look like you’re wearing a flower pot.”

“I know, right?!”

“Goddess above...” he curses. You run up to the register and pull out your coin purse. The old lady smiles.

“You and your boyfriend are so cute,” she gushes. Your mouth opens slightly and you quickly look at Felix, luckily it looks like he didn’t even notice, before looking at the owner.

Oh, but he did notice. And if it weren’t for the twenty bags in his arms he’d be a complete mess right now. Then he noticed a sign on the door.

“Oh, um, actually-” you start to correct her.

“We are, aren’t we?” Felix musters out through a forced smile. He nudges his head towards the door and you understand.

“Mmhmm,” you nod with a wide smile.

“That’s 50% off your purchase then! Have a wonderful date you two,” she smiles. You wave behind her.

“Will do!” Felix closes the door with his foot and the two of you walk back into the market place. “Good thinking, Felix!”

“Don’t mentioned it. I figured you have to be almost out of cash with all this crap you’ve bought.”

“They’re not crap, they’re things that make me happy!”

“Yeah, yeah, same thing,” Felix groans. You stop in front of a store and he couldn’t help but notice your eyes sparkle at the small glass figurines.

“Oh, look, Felix! Isn’t that pegasus just adorable?” You gush. “Oh, I just know Ingrid would love it. Wait here, I’ll be back!” You say. You run into the shop and Felix leans against the wall.

He watched people move in and out of the other stores, he almost laughed, he’s been doing that all day. He watched couples walk hand in hand down the busy streets and scoffed. Couples? Who would waste their time with such trivial matters? Not him, that’s certain.

Soon, he noticed the sun start to set.

How long have you been in there?

He walks in to the shop and notices the pegasus figurines in the front, pristine and untouched, then he spots the owner.

“Excuse me, sir, have you seen an annoying girl?”

“What?” Felix sighs.

“She’s probably as tall as up to my shoulder, she has (Hair Color) hair, and (Eye Color) eyes, ring any bells?”

“Oh, yeah, she wandered to the back to look for a figurine.”

“Right, mind if I leave these bags here for a second?”

“Not at all, good luck,” the owner took the bags and Felix walked off to the back. Felix moved slowly, listening for you, and after wandering down a few aisles, he finally caught wind of your voice, albeit only a few broken words.

“... I... no... I don’t...”

‘You don’t? Don’t what?’ Felix moved closer.

“Oh, come on, it’ll be fun,” an unfamiliar voice spoke up. “We’ll take real good care of you, darling.”

“No, no thank you,” your voice wavered.

“Ugh, just grab that bitch already,” another voice whined.

“Oi, fuck off,” Felix stepped out from his spot. He made eye contact with you and nodded slightly.

“Mind your own damn business,” one of the ruffians spat out. “Who the hell are you anyways?”

“Her boyfriend.”

 It’s a good thing he always brings a sword with him.

“Okay! Okay, we’ll back off!” The other one said. Felix continued to press the cold steel to one of their necks, his hand gripping the other one’s shirt. Felix sighs and releases both of them, watching them scramble out of the store. Finally, he turns to you. He takes a step closer and you squeeze your eyes shut, moving your head down. Felix clicks his tongue and flicks your forehead.

“Ow!”

“Next time, just call for me and I’ll come running.”

“Okay...” You nod your head. He reaches above you and pulls down the small box. He easily pieced the scenario together. Since you’re hilariously short, you probably asked one of those men to get it down, then they both ganged up on you.

“Here.”

“Oh, thank you,” you take the figure and the two of you walk to the front. Before you could pull out any form of cash the owner speaks up.

“No need, it’s on the house,” he smiles.

“Oh, I couldn’t possibly-” The shop owner winked at you and you understood.

“I’m just glad you got rid of those thugs who loitered in my shop. I’m much too old to get rid of them myself, take that as your pay,” he insists. You smile.

“Thank you so much!” You see Felix half out of the door. “I’ll come back again soon!”

“Goodbye,” the shopkeeper waves as you follow Felix out. The moon was high in the sky now, some shops were closed, others were lit up in a way that made the now sparsely populated street charming. Felix looped his arm with yours.

“Huh?”

“Those men might still be around.”

“Oh, right.” You and Felix continued to walk in silence. Despite how awkward you expected it to be, it was actually rather comforting. It was a serene, welcome silence. Like an unspoken conversation. Finally, you found yourselves in front of your dorm.

“Well?”

“What?” Felix eyes the door. “Oh, yeah...” you rest your hand on the handle. You shake your head and turn to him, pulling out the box from the shop.

“This is for you!” You thrust the box into his hands and open the door. “Goodnight, Felix!” You shut the door. Felix blinks for a few seconds then looks down at his hands.

It wasn’t until he was sitting on his bed when he decided to finally open it.

“Why would I want a pegasus figurine?” He scoffs. He opens the box and immediately blushes. He opened one eye and glanced down at it. “Maybe being a couple isn’t so bad an idea...” he smiles warmly. He places the box down and goes to bed, an unexplainable warm feeling settling in his chest.

~

Sylvain threw himself on the chair in his best friend’s room.

“Of course we have to fight bandits again! One day, just one day! That’s all I ask for,” he cries. Felix rolls his eyes.

“Quit whining.”

“I’ll quit whining once I have a woman to love and cherish me for me.”

“You’re being too dramatic.”

“You just don’t get it, Felix,” Sylvain sighs and looks to the side, then, he notices it. A glass heart on the window sill. He immediately pushes himself off the chair and grabs it. “WHAT IS THIS, FELIX?!”

“Let’s just say I do get what you mean.”

“Felix! Now you have to tell me!”

“Nah.”

“Felix!”

“Bye, Sylvain.”

“Wait!”

[nicolewrites]

i don’t have enough money for chicken nuggets

for emi, who told me this vine had big Ingrid energy and because I needed a break from writing space fic~

Rating: G+ Genre: Friendship Characters: Sylvain Jose Gautier & Ingrid Brandl Galatea  Words: 2,089

They’ve both had not-so-amazing days so Sylvain makes a better than excellent suggestion. / roommates au

AO3

Ingrid is lying on the floor of the apartment when Sylvain gets home. He’s absolutely exhausted and he’s pretty sure he’s got a crick in his neck that will literally never go away thanks to being hunched over a desk in the library for almost eight hours. He almost doesn’t see Ingrid on the ground until he sees Mercedes sitting on the couch, flipping through one of Ingrid’s veterinary science books. 

Sylvain pauses and stares at Mercedes and then he catches sight of the sushi socks that are peeking around the side of the couch. He knows those socks because he bought those socks for Ingrid for her birthday last year. Sylvain waves to Mercedes and she smiles at him brightly in return. He walks up and leans over the couch, taking in the sight of his roommate lying face down on their floor. 

“Everything okay?” he asks. The question is open and directed to either Mercedes or Ingrid, whoever feels more up to answering it. 

“Ingrid has had a rough day,” Mercedes supplies helpfully. 

Sylvain raises an eyebrow. “Oh? What kind of bad day?”

“My supervisor rejected my most recent project plan,” Ingrid grumbles, not even lifting her head up. “I stayed up literally all night finishing it and the only thing he said to me was that the conclusion needed work before he could approve it and that he wanted a new draft by Thursday.”

Mercedes smiles sympathetically. “I ran into Ingrid on campus after I dropped Annie off and gave her a ride back here.” She checks her watch. “I do need to run to the hospital to drop off something before tomorrow.”

Mercedes stands up and walks over to him, patting his arm. Sylvain smiles at her, looking between his miserable, blob-shaped roommate and their mutual friend. 

“Thanks for staying, Mercie,” he says quietly.

“My pleasure,” she replies. 

Mercedes drifts past him and head for the door of their apartment and then Sylvain is left staring down at his grumpy roommate who is still lying face-down on the rug. 

“Ingrid,” he says, “surely there are more comfortable places to mope?”

“Too far away,” she grumbles. 

He rolls his eyes and finally walks around the couch. He bends down and grabs her under the arms and literally hauls her up. Ingrid shrieks and immediately flails in his grip. Her leg swings out, kicking at his shin and Sylvain grunts. Unfortunately, due to his own tiredness, he isn’t quite ready for a flailing Ingrid and she manages to take them both out, sending them crashing to the couch. 

Sylvain twists so he doesn’t land on top of Ingrid and they land side by side on the couch. Also unfortunately, the couch is not built for two people and since Sylvain lands closer to the edge, he immediately rolls off of it, landing straight on his ass. Ingrid sits up on the couch, blinking her wide green eyes at him. 

Sylvain’s tailbone hurts from the sudden impact, but he bursts out laughing. Ingrid laughs too, swinging her legs down so she’s sitting properly on the couch. She leans forward, her lips curling into a half-smirk. 

“Nicely done,” she teases. 

He rolls his eyes at her and pushes himself to his feet using the edge of the couch and the coffee table. “Hey, I was just trying to help you. You’re the one who flipped out.”

Ingrid shoves him as he sits on the couch next to her. “Whatever. I was comfortable.”

“No, you weren’t,” he counters. “The floor is wood. The rug is thin. There is no way that was comfortable.

Ingrid huffs and tugs on the sleeves of the hoodie she’s wearing, pulling them down over her hands. “I was lazy, then,” she corrects herself. 

She twists, reclining on the couch and throwing her feet up across his lap. Sylvain gets a good look at the hoodie she’s wearing and he blinks in surprise as he recognizes it. It’s an old dark teal hoodie with their high school crest in white. There’s a black ink stain on the right sleeve from where Felix broke a pen when Sylvain had been in his senior year. 

“That’s my hoodie,” he says dumbly, still staring at it. 

Ingrid blinks and looks at the sweater. She seems just as surprised as he is to see that it is. “Oh, it is, isn’t it.”

Sylvain stares. “It’s been missing since I was in my freshman year of undergrad! How do you have it?”

Ingrid taps her chin as she thinks about it. “You know, I think you left it at my house when you went off to university and I meant to give it back, but I just forgot to.”

Sylvain rubs his forehead. “Wait so we’ve been living together for four years and I haven’t seen you wear it?”

She looks down, her ears turning pink. “I, uh, normally sleep in it, not wear it out and around.”

Sylvain feels his own neck get hot and he clears his throat. “Yeah, uh, right.”

He drops his gaze down to his lap where Ingrid’s sock-clad feet are resting. The socks are navy blue and covered in cartoon pieces of sushi. He had thought they were hilarious when he saw them in December so he had bought them and sat on them for a month until her birthday. Ingrid had cracked up as soon as she had opened the present because they were socks, but she wore them fairly often. 

“I like your socks,” he says dumbly. 

She just laughs. “They’re comfortable. I’m still sad you didn’t buy those matching hot dog ones the other day.”

Sylvain practically snorts a laugh. “God, but those were ugly. There’s a difference between cute graphic socks and bright yellow graphic socks with wieners on them.”

She wrinkles her nose. “How do you make that sound dirty?”

Sylvain blinks and lifts his hand from where it had rested on her ankle without thinking. “I guess it kind of did, didn’t it.”

Ingrid rolls her eyes and swings her feet off his lap, standing up. She walks back around the couch into the kitchen and opens the fridge. Sylvain turns, throwing an arm over the back of the couch to watch her as she rifles around in the fridge. After a second, she shuts the fridge and twists her face into what Sylvain can only call a pout. 

“Fuck,” she grumbles. 

Sylvain chuckles. “You all out?”

Ingrid brushes some of her short hair behind her ear. “I definitely told Felix yesterday that I would make dinner tonight since he has fencing, but I also definitely forgot to buy anything that’s actually worth eating for dinner tonight.”

Sylvain stood up, stretching his arms above his head. His shoulders popped satisfyingly and he strode into the kitchen. He stepped around his roommate to the fridge and opened it, scanning his own side of the fridge. 

Similar to Ingrid, he also seemed to be lacking in actual edible food. There was some milk and a tub of yogurt as well as a couple of bell peppers, but no protein and nothing that he actually wanted to eat after having spent a full day in the library studying corporate law. And since it seemed Ingrid had had just as poor a day as he had, he knew there was something they could do that would cheer both of them up. 

“Text Felix and ask what he wants from McDonald’s,” Sylvain suggests to Ingrid, closing the fridge. 

He leaves the kitchen and heads down the hallway towards his room. Ingrid stares at him for a moment before she chases him, following him all the way to the door of his room. She stops in the doorway and stares at him as he strips off his shirt, pulling on a dark grey long-sleeved t-shirt. He turns around and sees Ingrid is still staring at him. 

“McDonald’s?” she repeats, sounding confused. 

Sylvain tugs his shirt down to straighten it and grins. “Sure! You’re telling me you don’t want to relieve the stupidest things we did in high school tonight?”

Ingrid’s mouth opens and closes and then she frowns. “I didn’t budget this in this week.”

Sylvain rolls his eyes and walks over to her, throwing an arm around her shoulder and spinning her around, guiding her back down the hall towards the front door of the apartment. “Don’t worry about it. It’s literally just fast food. I can cover you.”

Ingrid sighs, but her interest in getting cheap fast food is apparently stronger than her dislike of Sylvain paying for things since she doesn’t resist as he leads them to the front of their apartment. He grabs his keys and wallet from his bag at the door and pulls on his shoes. Ingrid slows down as she walks to the door, typing a message out on her phone to Felix. 

Sylvain straightens up and waits for her by the door, spinning his keys on his lanyard idly. Ingrid slides her sock-clad feet into athletics scuffs and shoves her hands into the pockets of her poached sweater. Sylvain grins and opens the door, leading the way out of the apartment. Ingrid pauses as they leave to lock the door but then she follows him to the elevator. 

Sylvain unlocks his car and slides into the driver’s side. Ingrid gets into the passenger side and he starts the engine. His car’s Bluetooth beeps, confirming its connection to his phone and he steals a glance at Ingrid, smirking. Immediately, her brow knits in suspicion. 

“Play the High School Musical soundtrack,” Sylvain says gleefully. 

Ingrid groans and drops her arms and head forward onto the dashboard. “Oh my god, Sylvain.”

“Hey, we’re emulating being stupid high school days, aren’t we?”

The music from the first song in the movie starts playing over his car’s speakers as he pulls out of the parking lot. Ingrid leans back from the dashboard and glares at the speaker. Sylvain just smiles to himself and turns the volume up louder. 

“You’re ridiculous,” Ingrid grumbles. “A twenty-five-year-old man and you put on High School Musical in your car.”

“Only with you,” he teases back. “Besides, it’s not like we all didn’t absolutely love this movie when we were younger.”

Ingrid huffs. “When I was eleven, maybe.”

Sylvain laughs. “Aw, come on, I was just trying to distract you. Get your mind of everything.”

He steals a glance from her as he stops at a red light. She looks less annoyed when he says that, her green eyes softening. 

“Yeah, I know,” she mumbles. “I appreciate it.”

He takes one hand off the wheel and pats her shoulder. “You’ll knock him dead next time, Ingrid,” he assures. “If I can get my studiously lazy ass into Law School, you can knock your supervisor dead with this project plan. Besides, even if it takes a few more days, it’s not going to derail your entire Masters.”

She huffs out a breath. “I know, it’s just frustrating.” She turns towards him and it takes every ounce of driving knowledge he has to keep his eyes on the road and not to meet her gaze. “Weren’t you supposed to be busy tonight?”

“Nah,” he says. “I was going to go on a date, but I called it off earlier when I was three hours deep in corporate law with no end in sight.”

Ingrid shudders. “Oh god. How long were you even at the library today?”

He shrugs and turns on his turn signal to turn right into the McDonald’s parking lot. “Too long,” he grumbles.

Ingrid laughs at him. “Yeah, I don’t think I’m the only one who needed this break.”

Sylvain shrugs. “Hey, I’m just hungry.”

She fiddles with the sleeve of the hoodie as he parks and he turns towards her, grinning. 

“If I buy you a 50-pack of nuggets can I have my hoodie back?”

She scoffs. “No way. This is mine now.”

He snaps his fingers, but he can’t disguise the amused look on his face. “Darn,” he drawls sarcastically, killing the engine. “Guess I’ll just have to play the High School Musical 2 soundtrack on the way back to the apartment.”

He yanks his keys free and jumps out of the car before Ingrid can lash out and whack him. He jogs away from the car towards the McDonald’s laughing. She staggers out of his car, scowling. 

“Sylvain!”

He picks up the pace, letting his laugh carry back to her. It feels good. 

[anitangel]

task001 / anita

MUSE NAME: Anita de Jesus (real name: Ana Mercedes Mendoza)

HOW DOES YOUR MUSE FEEL IN GENERAL ABOUT THE GOSSIP BLOG? WHAT IS THEIR OPINION OF IT? : she thinks it’s hilarious, she doesn’t take it seriously at all and thinks it’s all jokes. however, she does get mad when her name is brought is more than she would like it to be. all in all though, she thinks it’s harmless fun. she lives for the drama.

WHO DO THEY THINK KILLED DAHLIA?:  honestly, she’s not sure that anyone purposefully killed dahlia. the way things have been going on this campus– people getting into fights, drinking at all hours, getting into car crashes, taking every drug known to man– she’s pretty sure that dahlia simply fell victim to one of the above. she definitely think that if someone killed her, though, it was someone from calloway. 

WHAT IS YOUR MUSE’S BIGGEST SECRET (FROM THE APPLICATION)? PLEASE GIVE US AS MUCH DETAIL AS POSSIBLE:  her real name is ana mercedes and she’s not just a rich international student as many assume, she’s the heir to a pretty big colombian cartel/crime organization. her family controls elections in colombia, supplies about 80% of the cocaine used worldwide (yep.. that’s why she doesn’t touch any coke at yates), buys and sells weapons, and murders. murders a lot people. when she saw her older brother die due to cartel activities, she promised herself she would never get involved in that life. she moved to the US with her mom and younger siblings because her father wanted to protect them, and her mother ran cartel operations inside Miami. as soon as she turned 18 she left home and changed her name when applying to yates. her goal in life is to never have to be involved in her family’s organization, which is why unlike many yates kids, she actually tries very hard to get good grades. bitch is on the dean’s list and probably on track to be her class’s valedictorian. but yeah all of this is why she’s super private she doesn’t tell anyone about her life, barely anyone even knows her birthday.

THE GOSSIP BLOGGERS ARE SUSPECTED TO BE SKILLED HACKERS. IS THERE ANYTHING ON YOUR MUSE’S PHONE, COMPUTER OR SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNTS THAT WOULD REVEAL INFORMATION ABOUT THEIR SECRET? WHAT IS THE DIGITAL TRAIL? : definitely. calls from her family, text and DMs from old friends back in colombia. on her laptop, the legal documents from her name change. texts between her and flo where they talk about their childhood. etc. etc. 

DOES ANYONE ELSE KNOW THEIR SECRET? FAMILY MEMBERS, FRIENDS, ENEMIES?:  all of her family, obviously. though she only really speaks to her siblings and has made sure that none of them contact her besides a monthly call.  also florian knows, their families worked together and she has known him since she was 13. that’s it, though. no one else on campus knows a single thing about her life before yates.

WHAT WOULD YOUR MUSE DO IF THEIR SECRET WAS EXPOSED ON THE GOSSIP BLOG? WHAT WOULD THE CONSEQUENCES BE? : she would probably have a mental breakdown lol! and her getting exposed means florian would be exposed and that would hurt her double because… oof. she might considering dropping out of yates and moving abroad. or maybe something less dramatic but. let’s be real she would probably end up hospitalized.

ARE YOU OKAY WITH THEIR SECRET BEING EXPOSED ON THE BLOG? :  duh bring it on

WHAT ARE SOME OTHER SECRETS/REGRETS THAT THEY MIGHT HAVE? ANYTHING ELSE YOUR MUSE IS HIDING FROM OTHERS? : she’s secretly in love with florian but even she doesn’t know that LMAO. uhh also it’s a secret that she even knew florian before yates, and its a secret (i guess) that she also knows his secret. she’s the one who dared celest to date felix. she also got into a drunken car crash with darby and almost killed someone, they fled the scene. i don’t know if it’s a secret that she sucks romeo’s dick for adderall but there’s that. also lowkey addicted to adderall. and might be fake dating elias in the near future will update on that.

ANYTHING ELSE YOU THINK WE SHOULD KNOW ABOUT YOUR MUSE TO CREATE DRAMA AND CHAOS ON THE GOSSIP BLOG? : c’mon she’s anita. girl is at the center of basically all drama at yates. literally say anything about flo being with another person and she will make up an excuse to fight them. threaten darby or celest and she will fight them. omg maybe expose the darby/anita car crash? the fact anita has fucked basically every man on campus? idk there’s SOOO much she’s chaotic. 

[letters-from-the-three-houses]

I IMPLORE YOU FOR THAT CLAUDE/ANNETTE ESSAY! P-Please senpai~ uwu

*kicks down door* IS THAT SOMEONE ASKING FOR THE CLAUNETTE ESSAY I SEE??

WELL THEN, LET’S GET THIS SHOW ON THE ROAD

warning: this is long. this is really, really long. like 3.5k words long. i don’t have a proper tl;dr for it because there’s too much going on, so it’s fine if you don’t want to read it! it just talks about why i think claude and annette click super well together

edit: aaaand the read more doesn’t work again;; yikes i’m so sorry about all these long posts, everyone!

edit2: read more works again!! it’s now under the cut

first, we’ll take a look at their profiles as a refresher (many thanks to vincent and the serenes gang!)

annette’s japanese profile talks about how she’s chipper, diligent, and very smart. she seems sweet and friendly, thanking byleth for their advice and calling mercedes by a cute nickname. plus, she’s lively and energetic because she speaks with a lot of exclamation marks!

“she can often waste her energy and end up nowhere” comes from karamawari (空回り), which loosely translates to the idiom “spinning one’s wheels”. in other words, she’s a genius oddball. i don’t think it’s in the sense that she’s ditzy and all over the place so she makes mistakes all the time, but that she’s wickedly creative and her ideas fail because they’re so left-field. like she thinks so far out of the box that she ends up in a completely different neighbourhood

the uk one (here) says she has “a reputation for being a bit oblivious at times”. it’s…pretty vague bc we don’t know what exactly she’s oblivious to, but it implies that she either a) has a one-tracked mind, b) can’t read the room, c) is unaware of herself, d) comes up with weird conclusions, or e) all of the above

i also think she’s pretty transparent, if this exaggerated expression of hers is any indication that she wears her heart on her sleeve

now onto claude! he’s also nice!! fun, easygoing, and always equipped with a smile. but, as i always like to call him, he’s a smart cookie and is very cunning! it’s hard to say if “someone unable to trust” means he has a hard time trusting others or if others shouldn’t trust him, but either way, it seems apt to call him crafty, clever, and ingenious. his uk profile (here) also mentions that “he sometimes shows a side that you can’t let your guard down around”. a lot of his quotes thus far make him sound carefree and witty (“my family’s the head of the leicester alliance, but eh, no need to worry about that"—thanks for the translation, satsuma!—and the class reunion bit in the latest e3 trailer), which supports his personality quite nicely

at first glance, they have a lot of similarities. they’re both outgoing, peppy, and smart. so they’re not really an ‘opposites attract’ pair, but birds of a feather do flock together. their friendly personalities make it much more likely for them to interact despite being in different houses, and it would surely help them get along. i can imagine them greeting each other as they pass by the hallways it also means i don’t have to make up a contrived situation of how these two meet because as much as i’d love to come up with a case for bernadetta/dedue, they would probably never talk to each other unless they have to

so it looks like they can be friends! or at least, cordial acquaintances. their personalities don’t clash too violently that they would hate each other, which is the fundamental basis of every good relationship

but then why do i think they’d be good for each other?? why can’t i just say it’s a nice broship and call it a day?? why do i feel the need to make this my game otp (and it’s slowly inching there) despite the high chance that they won’t have supports together?????

to answer that question, we’ll have to delve into the few opposites that they do have:

annette’s oddball-ness + claude’s intuition

let’s be real here, claude could probably cold read you like a pro. one glance is all he needs to get a sense of who you are, what you’re thinking, and what you’re going to do. this would be especially obvious with consistent, rational people like edelgard or dimitri; he can predict their moves because they’re meticulous and routine-based folks

annette, on the other hand, is a curveball

now don’t get me wrong—her thoughts are easy. her emotions? child’s play. the real question is what she’s going to do

…because what is she doing?

he’d be able to get a sense of what she’s planning, sure, but annette is weird. and unexpected. and unconventional

her actions aren’t going to be surprising; after all, it’s clear to see what she’s thinking. for example, if she somehow broke ingrid’s favourite teacup, the guilt would be obvious to anyone around. the shifty eyes, the shuffling of her feet, the panic that sets in once she sees ingrid in the distance. what would she do about it? probably fix it. she’s a nice girl who doesn’t want her friends to be sad. reasonably, she might try to piece the broken bits together or buy something from town that looks similar

so when he catches her asking around if there’s anyone who could teach her the art of glassmaking, he almost bursts out laughing and gives away his hiding spot

he lets his presence be known anyway because this looks hilarious

when he walks into the room, annette—and byleth, who she’d been talking with—gives him a surprised look, but he holds his hands up in defense and says he’s here to help

byleth will try to get him to convince her not to make the teacup herself

annette will insist she has to do it in order to make up for her mistakes

and if claude asks why she believes she has to—to show her full sincerity? was the teacup that unique? does she want to learn because it seems fun?—she’ll tilt her head and say, “if i learn how to do it, then i won’t have to bother anyone if i break ingrid’s cups again”

that wasn’t the answer he was expecting, but that makes it all the more amusing bc he was wrong (plus, she fully expects herself to break the cups a second time instead of being more careful in the future?? annette why—)

and while her failed attempts in glassmaking are also pretty funny, watching her do her best despite the setbacks is a bit endearing

this goes on constantly—annette getting into trouble and claude being entertained by her antics. in other words, claude would think she’s fun to be around because he can never truly guess what’s going on in annette’s head (he’ll get better at it eventually, but she’ll still catch him off guard every so often and keep him on his toes), and annette faces a dilemma like every other day so there’s no shortage of good times when he’s with her

on the other hand, annette would appreciate having a translator. she already has one in mercie, but another one wouldn’t hurt! especially since mercedes is more of the encouraging type while claude just seems to know what she’s trying to say

she’ll flounder about, trying to explain whatever ‘thing’ she’s describing this time because her words run quicker than her thoughts

“magical overuse makes me keel over because it feels like i can’t breathe anymore and the pain just concentrates at your core and i don’t know the term but i know i know it because it’s on the tip of my tongue and—”

mercie will say, “take a deep breath, ann. parse it slowly”

and claude chips in to help: “it’s like a punch to the gut”

“yes!! that!!!”

so while mercie is patient with her weirdness, claude always seems to know the right thing to say and do, making conversations with him much more smoother than with most people

she makes a vague statement like “it was pretty good today. i kinda wonder how they did it”

and without missing a beat, he’ll reply, “you mean the meatloaf we had for dinner? yeah, i thought dorothea and professor did a great job. you should ask them for the recipe”

“i should! great idea”

he still gets it wrong a lot of the time though

“he’s really prickly,” annette will say. “i wonder if he hates me”

“felix?”

“oh! no, no, i was talking about the cat that hangs around near the gardens. but what you said is true too. do you think he does?”

“the cat—no, he’s like that to everyone. felix—maybe. the stableboy who ignored you just now as you tried to wave at him—he didn’t notice so don’t feel bad about it”

other people listening in will get lost about thirty seconds into the conversation because it feels all over the place and random, but mercie is delighted that there’s someone else that understands annette

so yay! now they seem like good friends instead of having a casual ‘hey, i know you. i see you around sometimes’ relationship, which we can only keep building up the more they get to know each other!

their levels of trust

okay, i know this sounds cheesy but hear me out

we’ve already established that annette looks like a bad liar. the type that’s diddly darn horrible at poker. when she’s happy, you can tell she’s happy. sad? sad. angry? well, she isn’t angry often but you get the idea

so if something is troubling her, it’ll show on her face

and claude, being the curious boy he is, will ask her what’s wrong

her eyes will widen and she’ll say, “was it that obvious??”, but she won’t actually need any prompting and tells him her problems right away bc a) “i can’t hide anything from you”, b) “you give great advice”, and c) “you really get me!”

the last one’s important

you see, claude gets everyone. he doesn’t even have to ask what’s wrong—he probably already knows. but he asks anyway because you can’t have a conversation without two people talking (and maybe he could glean some more information about it that he isn’t aware of, who knows)

however, from the get go, sweet little annette was always truthful. was always sincere. she’s not the type who’ll say “i’m okay”, all the while plastering a fake smile on their face. annette is consistent. what she says she’s feeling is the same as what her expressions show

in other words, she doesn’t hide secrets. that’s what makes her special

claude is an expert in secrets. he snuffs them out in others so he can figure out their real intentions, and he hides some secrets himself. annette though? annette’s genuine. it’s straightforward with her

if it’s like this, it doesn’t even matter what the “someone unable to trust” in claude’s profile means. distrust doesn’t exist when he’s with annette. she’s unambiguous. she isn’t two-faced. there’s no need for him to figure out the underlying meaning in her words because there are none. and claude, for all intents and purposes, has the confidence that he can trust her even if he doesn’t

her guard when she’s around him is down

he doesn’t have to wonder if she’s trying to gain his favour or wants something in return. annette doesn’t want any of that. she just talks because claude asked her a question and she wants to answer it

she hangs out with him just because she likes to hang out with him

she’s his friend just because she wants to be

she has no ulterior motives

for claude, it’s a breath of fresh air

on annette’s side, it’s hard to pry about claude’s private life. whenever he asks, he gives her a vague answer and deflects it with a question. he never lies to her, but he never tells her the full truth

if she says she’s not curious about it, she’d be lying (and claude would know; he’d see it in her eyes). so whenever he avoids the question, she’ll be a bit dejected, but she won’t pry and move on to something else. they never linger on the subject too long

the curiosity is still there though. whenever he gives the slightest hint of any of his preferences (“i think the orange flowers suit your hair”), she perks up and smiles. she never asks him to divulge any more than he wants to because she’s not going to force him to overshare, so the little things that she does find out makes her happy enough. there’s no need to know his backstory—she trusts him now. as long as she does, whatever happened in his past or history won’t change who he is

after all, claude doesn’t lie to her. sure he’s not entirely honest, but she knows that whatever he says comes from the heart—even if it withholds quite a lot of information

here, at this point, annette is really good for claude. she makes him feel simple. like he doesn’t have to hide anything. it’s a rather nice feeling

but currently, the dynamics in their relationship are skewed, with annette giving more than she takes. claude doesn’t reciprocate the trust and continues to keep his cards close, while annette lays them all on the table. the only way their relationship can reach an equilibrium is if claude becomes honest with annette

i think in any claude relationship, that’s the end point: claude being honest. and not in the way that he already is—that is, his vague but truthful answers—but that he can say what he hasn’t

i remember there was one theory that claude’s character arc involves him learning to trust people. can annette get him to do this? i think so! she only wants what’s best for her friends so she wouldn’t force claude to tell her anything he doesn’t want to. she’ll still be there for him, talking and listening and having fun together until he’s ready. the question then becomes: would he ever be willing to tell her?

claude works hard but annette works harder

i do have a basis for why i think annette can somehow get over claude’s high trust hurdle, and that’s her perseverance

despite her constant mishaps and misfortunes, annette still passed the mage academy with excellent grades. why? because she never gave up. because despite the setbacks, she continued to try and try and try. and yay! her hard work paid off!

if we translate that to her relationships, it means she’d never give up on her friends. even if they try to push her away, try to make her hate them, try to stop being her friend—she won’t

so no matter what claude does, she’ll stick by his side. he’s not getting rid of her, that’s for sure. if he refuses to tell her everything—if he never tells her at all—annette will still be there, being annette, and being on his side even if he doesn’t trust her as much as she trusts him

i can see that faith of hers eventually wearing down his defenses. it’s just so freeing being with her; claude doesn’t have to pretend

and it becomes a nice conclusion to his character arc. he doesn’t bury the hatchet, doesn’t hide his skeletons in the closet. he gets catharsis and closure, and during all of his confessions, annette holds his hand and listens intently. she doesn’t run away afterwards. she doesn’t shy away from disgust

all she says is: “can i hug you?”

and when she does, it’s like all of his worries melt away

once this is all said and done, claude becomes much, much more open with her. he tells her everything and doesn’t have to fear being judged for it. like this, their relationship becomes balanced again

claude becomes good for her because he helps her improve herself. he doesn’t limit her weird thinking—in fact, he encourages it. by supporting her in all of her endeavours and being able to understand it, making sure her ideas run smoothly, he allows annette to discover even more ingenious solutions and lets her creativity have free rein. they’d be really good partners on a research team; annette comes up with the plans/a new scope to focus their field of study on as well as doing the literature search and reading up on a lot of journals in order to synthesize new ideas, claude irons them out and implements them all the while checking up on annette to make sure if she’s got any new input, rinse, repeat, they get an a+ on their graduate thesis

so here are my final remarks! this pairing doesn’t even have to be romantic to me (i just like romance because i’m a weakling). they just mesh together perfectly that i think they’re soul mates—if they have each other in their lives, they can develop themselves to new heights and eventually reach self-actualization. i don’t know?? i just think they cover each others strengths and weaknesses so well that they’ll be…happy with each other. and if they’re happy, i’m happy

to end off this post with a bang, here are some claunette au fic ideas i have for the soul:

'help i’m in love with my next door neighbour because whenever i take out the trash they’re there as well and they have the prettiest smile so i can’t help but swoon every time i see them but whenever i tell everyone that my favourite day is garbage day they look at me weirdly and they just don’t understand’ au

'you lost your dog and found him running around me in circles and apologized profusely but when you tried to get him to leave he whined and sat on my feet and i don’t know why but i think he likes me??’ au

'you left your usb plugged into one of the computers in the library and i was looking through some of the documents to find out your personal information and i realized that you took a class that i previously did and your ta is the same stupid one that marked mine way too low so when i came to give it back to you i offered to tutor you for free so i could be avenged’ au

'out of the one hundred and fifty students in this course you were the only one that bothered to answer my desperate plea of needing lecture notes on the classroom discussion board so thank you i owe you my life can i buy you a coffee?’ au

'you’re the barista of some cafe that i frequently go to and i have a crush on you because you’re super cute so my friends are embarrassing me by asking you all sorts of personal questions and i don’t know what to think about you flirting with me over the counter whenever i order cheesecake’ au

'i got lost from my tour group while sightseeing but you seem like a nice and friendly native so do you mind if i tag along with you to visit the nooks and crannies of the city while i wait for my friends to come get me?’ au

'i have to get off the bus because it’s my stop but you’re sleeping on my shoulder right now even though i don’t know who you are so i’m not sure if i should wake you up or just keep letting you sleep and—welp, there goes my house i guess i’ll just get off at the terminal station’ au

'i’m a human being hunted down by an elder vampire for who knows what and you just so happen to be a vampire hunter so please let me stay with you i don’t want to die’ au

'i’m a magician that has to fill their daily curse quota of the year and you just so happened to stumble into my line of sight in my time of need but i don’t want to curse you because you seem really nice but my job is on the line here so i’m sorry but i’ll find your true love so you can stop being a frog’ au

[namyks]

Alright, just beat Blue Lions, off to the Edelgard route.

Like last time character and story musings below the cut, so SPOILERS.

Anybody that says World Apex is better than God-Shattering Star is a fool, that I will fight.

Which is kinda how I feel about the BL route in general. Like, yeah Dimitri’s fall from grace and redemption are some of the best character arcs FE has ever had, but everything else felt a bit lacking I’m afraid. You don’t even know where it is that Claude fucked off too either. I’m also not a big fan of every Lion having a connection to an important character/event in Fodlan, but that’s a tiny nitpick more than anything else.

Back to Dimitri, as a unit he’s an absolute monster, just make sure he doesn’t get hit by a spell and he’ll be fine. As a character, as previously mentioned he has one of the best FE has had. I still prefer Claude, but that’s mostly because he hits all of my biases just right. Paired him with Marianne, and it was pretty nifty.

Dedue is an armor knight with a weakness in riding. Which means you have to work your ass off to get him more than 5 movement, and after the timeskip his usefulness really falls off unfortunately. As a character, he’s best BL boi, 10/10 would die for his smile, and blushing portrait.

Ingrid: For most of the game she was terrible, and it wasn’t until she got Falcon Knight that she actually started being useful for me, which says more about FK then it does her. Character-wise, she’s pretty meh and depends heavily on the other character in her supports to be interesting or fun.

Felix: MVP of my run, so many clutch dodges, and after a quick dip into Hero he could actually survive things hitting him so that’s cool. Also his shield is busted. If it weren’t for him being a shit in most of his C-supports, I think he’d actually be my favorite character in the game; the idea of an “only sane man” character in a world of anime, and fantasy tropes is both hilarious and oddly emotional at times.

Sylvain: He really sucked early game, and didn’t really ever catch up, if it weren’t for my own personal limitations I probably would have replaced him for Lysithia. I didn’t get the hype for his character going in, and I still don’t after beating the game. I will say his supports with Mercedes and Felix are cute as fuck tho

Mercedes: My wife this run, she’s a healer. She’s a real good healer whose personal is kinda pointless, cause if she gets hit she’s probably gonna die anyways. Her scene with the Death Knight felt kinda tacked on, but her support with Dedue is actually fantastic.

Annette: It sucks to be a mage in a game where Lysithia exists :/. Like, rally-bot and bolt axe are cool and all, but damn compared to Lys, she’s just not that great. Mine also got speed screwed, which is horrible for a mage. She’s best girl tho, her supports are all adorable, and VA did a great job with her.

Ashe: It sucks to be an archer in a game where Claude exists :/. This goes for all three of the archers, but that strength growth is atrocious. It really doesn’t help that he never really doubled anything outside of heavybois. He crit alot, but triple damage doesn’t help when he only does 10 base damage. He’s very cute and everyone needs to see his and Dedues support. 

[hope-faith-love-abide]

Random thoughts and impressions about Fire Emblem Three Houses by me, a person who’s never played an FE game before this one:

(there will be some spoilers below the cut)

First of all, the worldbuilding/lore/backstory? A++++++++ 

As someone who loves fantasy and wants to write fantasy stories but who also has a love/hate relationship with the actual worldbuilding part (the struggle is so real), I am looooving everything about this. This is such an interesting world they’ve created, and I’m only ~10 or so hours into the game. Can’t wait to see how the worldbuilding continues to unfold.

Plus the fact that the library has actual sections you can read about the history of their world? I haven’t actually read all of it yet but just the fact that it’s THERE and available is GREAT.

And the characters aaaaaaaahhhhhhhh

I picked the Blue Lion house so most of my focus is on them, but even what little I have seen from characters in the other two houses I already love them and can’t wait to try the game from their perspectives too at some point.

But for now my BLUE LIONS CHILDREN

Dimitri: Precious boy. Precious serious boy who is trying to be a good leader but also wants genuine friends and people he can trust and he feels so lonely and ;__; But also might be a little sketchy? Might’ve done some bad things a couple years ago? It remains to be seen but I love my complex lil baby house leader

Dedue: Also precious and so serious and MY CHILD. I want to protec him just as much as he wants to protec Dimitri and I want to fight every single person who looks down on him because he’s from Duscur and I also want to fight him whenever he’s like “You shouldn’t be around me, people will talk if you hang out with someone from Duscur” like boi LET ‘EM TALK I don’t care what they say I WILL FIGHT THEM. Also he loves gardening and cooking??? Absolutely adorable man

Felix: Broody boy who loves to fight and hates Dimitri but I still love him. Might’ve participated in the possible bad things Dimitri did two years ago??? V curious and interesting. Jury’s still out on how much I like him but I DO like him. Also he’s always kicking the enemy’s butts in every battle, what a strong boi

Ashe: ACTUAL cinnamon roll too good for this world. I love him so much. He’s so eager to do well and the Support scene between him and Dimitri where he’s helping Dimitri with something and Dimitri wants to thank him and give him a present in return, but Ashe gets so freaked out by the idea of the Prince getting something for him, it’s hilarious and relatable bc that’s how I would be too. Also we had to fight his adoptive father in a battle and I still feel so sad for him :( My poor bby

Mercedes: NOT pronounced like the car name but is ALSO a cinnamon roll. She’s so sweet and compassionate and I love her design tbh. Always looking out for everyone else and the very definition of the mom friend. Almost killed the Prince on accident when he was trying to help her with her sword fighting. Absolutely adorable and precious

Annette: Super cute and spunky and passionate and goofy. She kinda reminds me of Marinette from Miraculous tbh. Which isn’t a bad thing because I love Marinette and I love Annette.

Sylvain: Was a little worried about his character at first because he’s The Flirt but he’s actually pretty great. He’s got some hidden depth and nuance in him, which I particularly noticed in his Support scene with Dedue. He was so wonderful there in reassuring Dedue and also showing his support for Dedue’s homeland and that he believes there’s more to the story of the tragedy between Faerghus and Duscur than meets the eye. I also really like his character design.

Ingrid: Love her so much. She’s so fierce but also so kind but also won’t take anyone’s crap. I love how strongly she holds to her ideals and beliefs, even if I don’t currently agree with her view on Duscur though I understand why she thinks the way she does, and I’m SO HAPPY she wants to become a Pegasus Knight because I really wanted someone to be and I thought she might do well in that role and then she came up and actually said that was what she wanted to be and I was like YES. Her character design is also one of my favorites too.

And outside of the Blue Lions characters, a few more thoughts on others that stick out:

Rhea & Seteth: Super sketchy, not sure I trust either one of them tbh. Especially Rhea. I feel like she is up to something

Manuela: It’s absolutely hilarious to me that she looks like she puts so much effort into her appearance, but it turns out her room is apparently a mess lol. And Hanneman not understanding the “three second rule” lol

Edelgard: Also fantastic character design. She seems so interesting.

Claude: Also very interesting. He seems like such a joke-ster, or maybe a trickster? Both? Remains to be seen.

Jeritza: I want to be his friend.

Sothis: Very interested in seeing what’s up with her and her connection to our character.

Aaaand I think that’s all I’ve got for now? This was so messy and all over the place but I did say it was going to be just random thoughts and stuff. I just wanted to put my thoughts somewhere because I’m having so much fun with this game already lol. Plus I thought it might be fun if I get some initial thoughts down and see how my opinions change and develop as the story goes on.