#and while i might not really like edelgard for what she does

[genshingorlsrevengeance]

Edelgard, Dimitri, and Mercedes with a s/o who is always tried thought the day, either half asleep or taking a nap somewhere.

Doesn't help that when it's 3am s/o is doing literally anything but sleeping.

(FE3H) Edelgard, Dimitri, and Mercedes with a perpetually tired S/O

just like me fr

Oh lovely, now there was another person who is eternally sleepy in the Black Eagles.

But, at least this time they weren't skipping out on lectures.

Edelgard at first tries not to be overbearing and just gently nudge them in the right direction of trying to get more sleep in the night.

Of course, that does not last very long.

(Edelgard) "I somehow knew you would be in the library, S/O."

(S/O) yawn "Edelgard? Oh, hey. Has the lecture already started?"

Edelgard sighs as her expression softens a little, gently putting a hand on their shoulder.

(Edelgard) "It's nearly time for bed. If you are going to rest, you can at the very least do so in your own room."

She doesn't want to sound like a nag, but she can't help but fret over S/O, at least in private.

Sometimes, she knocks on their door when she suspects they're still not asleep on the nights she can't either.

Those sleepless nights usually result in the two having a heart to heart, and being extremely tired come morning.

But Edelgard would not trade those moments with them for anything in the world.

Dimitri can't help but chuckle at seeing S/O yawn in the morning. The sight was honestly quite cute to him.

If not a little worrying. This was the fourth day in a row they looked ready to drop dead.

(Dimitri) "If I didn't know better, I'd think you were a ghost with how ghastly you look."

(S/O) "Ugh, I feel like one..."

(Dimitri) "Then perhaps you'd like something to wake you up? I could ask Mercedes to bake you something, or have Sylvain annoy you to awakening."

(S/O) "Goddess, please don't. It is way too early to be dealing with him...I might take you up on asking Mercedes, though."

He usually brings coffee or some kind of tea to help keep S/O up, or something to let them sleep late at night.

Dimitri trusts them enough to be responsible enough to know when it was time to sleep or not, but he has on occasion found them still awake at midnight.

(Dimitri) "S/O? What is that racket!?"

(S/O) "I needed to clean my room up, it's a little too messy in here."

(Dimitri) "In the dead of night?"

(S/O) "...It's not that late is it?"

(Dimitri) "Late enough that someone else other than me might come and make a noise complaint..."

(S/O) "Well, while you're here, can you lift my bed real quick? I need to grab something, and then I promise to sleep."

S/O was still full of energy, that was either a lie, or they'd sleep during lecture after trying and failing.

(Dimitri) sigh "Alright, please move aside."

Mercedes is probably the best solution for S/O's sleepy tendencies.

That, or she might accidentally make it worse.

Due to her usually calming demanour, S/O feels ten times as sleepy whenever they're together.

Mercedes doesn't particularly mind, since Annette feels the same way too.

In the morning, Mercedes has some sweets that she baked for them to help wake them up.

And if they needed to sleep? She'd happily let them rest their head on her lap.

(Mercedes) "Oh, I know! What if I tell you some of the ghost stories I know to keep you up?"

(S/O) "I-I think I'll pass on that one. The last story you told me, I couldn't keep my eyes closed for hours..."

(Mercedes) "Hm...Well, I'm glad I do such a good job of telling them at least! But I wish that didn't come at a cost of your sleep schedule."

(S/O) "I mean, it wasn't exactly great to begin with."

(Mercedes) "And it's too late to bake any sweets...Oh, I could make you something spicy!"

(S/O) "...Y-You mean you're going to cook?"

(Mercedes) "I'm still trying to learn from Ashe, but I think I could make something great for the both of us!"

Suddenly, S/O became far more alert.

(S/O) "I-I think I'm full for right now, Mercedes! And I'm feeling really awake talking to you too!"

Mercedes looked slightly disappointed before S/O sighed internally.

(S/O) The things I do for love... "...But I wouldn't mind trying at least little!"

Her expression brightened at their response.

(Mercedes) "Really? Okay, let's head to the mess hall!"

(S/O) Goddess be with me...

[reunionatdawn]

My Analysis of the Best Paired Endings in 3H (Part 5: Hubert/Ferdinand)

Hubert: I've already dedicated my life to Lady Edelgard. To throw my lot in with you is inconceivable. But if I had two lives to give… I might devote one of them to you. Not as master and servant, but as equal partners.

Hubert's earliest memory was being told that he was a servant and he must guard his "master" with his life. As a member of House Vestra, he was also responsible for carrying out House Hresvelg's dirty work from the shadows. He left his carefree innocent childhood days behind long before coming to the monastery.

Hubert said he killed his father for his disloyalty to the emperor, but I suspect his resentment ran much deeper than that. Deep down, he truly did desire to devote his life to someone as an equal, not as a servant. Even if he wasn't consciously aware of it, I think he despised his father for robbing him of that dream.

Dorothea: Oh, Hubie, I finally get you. You're just another servant suffering from unrequited love for their mistress. Hubert: You completely misunderstand. Unrequited love? Do I really look like the kind of drooling simpleton to have that kind of motivation?

The fact that Hubert was so obsequious to his master was not natural for him. He is an Aries, which is a very masculine fire sign. They actually have a naturally powerful and dominant personality, and they are also known for not being very emotional.

Edelgard is the "obvious" person Hubert would be in love with. Dorothea assumes this as well as Ferdinand in Hopes. But he denied that he was motivated by unrequited love. And you know what? I actually believed him. The way he described Edelgard was idolization, not love. Hubert wanted to crush the nobility he hated, and he admired Edelgard for sharing that goal. He was definitely bonded to her since she was the only person he could trust. But there was a distinct lack of emotional intimacy between the two.

Edelgard: Well, that's utter nonsense! You can't possibly keep something so fascinating from me! Who is it? Hubert: It is you, Lady Edelgard. Did you ever really doubt?

In their A-Support, Hubert was reluctant to open up and share his feelings with Edelgard, much to her frustration. She even tried to use her power as emperor to get him to confess his secrets, but he wouldn't budge. The dialogue actually changes slightly depending on whether he has already reached A-Support with another girl.

But curiously, even if he has, he will still say that the person he loves is Edelgard. You could always take his declaration at face value. However, I believe that it should not be. The implication was that crafty unreadable servant didn't think the details of his love life were any of her business. He knew she didn't want to drop the subject, so he just lied. He'd rather deal with the awkwardness of her believing that he is a simp than letting her know who he is dating.

Ferdinand: Please do not compliment me again though. I find it quite unsettling. It is like hearing a snake sing an aria. At least put it in a letter next time. Hubert: In the very unlikely event that there is a next time, I promise to put it in writing.

Even if Hubert doesn't have A-Support with another girl, I still think he was lying to Edelgard in his A-Support. I got the sense that Ferdinand was the one Hubert "canonically" had secret romantic feelings for, regardless of their Support level. The way he describes Ferdinand is so similar to how he described Edelgard in his B-Support with Dorothea. While Hubert hated the nobility, he genuinely admired true nobility and all of the qualities associated with it.

Hubert: Is it a gift? Perhaps for someone you fancy? Ferdinand: A gift, yes. For you. Hubert: Hm. Who is the unlucky— Did you say for me?! This coffee is a gift for me? Have I heard you correctly?

In Hubert's other A-Supports, the woman is always the one to come onto him, which he does admittedly enjoy. But Hubert actually took the initiative with Ferdinand. If Byleth marries him, he won't even have a ring because he's "never done well with gifts or flattery." But he will compliment Ferdinand and buy him expensive tea?

If this A+ Support is unlocked first, Ferdinand will be drinking Hubert's coffee in his A-Support with Edelgard. It implies that his relationship with Hubert helped him reconcile with his subordinate position to Edelgard.

I loved how the unapologetically evil Hubert developed a crush on the compassionate and conventionally attractive Ferdinand. And I loved how some genuine flattery from Edelgard's #1 fan fed into the flamboyant Ferdie's ego and turned him into a blushing schoolgirl. Hubert is a man who is described as ghoulish inside and out, yet I daresay, there was mutual attraction.

Hubert: I have an entire laundry list of loathing, but if I had to pick one, it would be reminiscing.

The tagline for FE3H was, "Sweet memories twisted by time's cruel hand". Hubert did not have any particular emotional response to fighting any of his former Black Eagle classmates, with one exception. He became nostalgic when Ferdinand confronted him in Enbarr.

While I think he will settle for an attractive woman who makes the first move, Ferdinand was the one he always fancied. This definitely feels like the "canon" ship for Hubert. Of course, no pairings are truly canon, because of player input. By "canon" I mean the writers favored this pairing the most, similar to Eliwood/Ninian in Blazing Sword.

Ferdinand: I cannot afford to die now, or my page in the history books will end in a most horrid fashion. "Plagued by the guilt of striking down his father, Ferdinand welcomed the cold embrace of death on the battlefield." Or some such hogwash. Yes, I killed my father-and I would be a liar if I said it did not wound me nearly beyond reckoning. But I will not hate myself for it. It was the correct choice. I did the right thing.

Ferdinand and Hubert had a prominent relationship in Hopes as well. More prominent than any of Hubert's relationships with his potential wives. I can't exactly say Hubert is a good influence on Ferdinand's (or anyone's) morality. With Hubert goading him, Ferdinand beheads his father, while in his paralogue "Retribution" he tried to save him. And an Empire-aligned Ferdie never does let go of his obsession with his historical legacy.

But Ferdinand had a positive impact on Hubert's character development across both games. He criticized Hubert for not thinking for himself and never expressing an opinion of his own. Hubert is the one who wrote the letter to Claude/Seteth to carry on their goal to defeat those who slither in the dark. We can probably assume he did this on his own. In Hopes, Hubert also used his own money to hire Jeralt's Mercenaries to save Ferdinand's life, without consulting Edelgard.

Hubert & Ferdinand Hubert and Ferdinand became the left and right hands of Emperor Edelgard, competing constantly with each other to see who could be the more helpful. They were opposites—the Minister of the Imperial Household, melancholy and merciless, and the prime minister, bright and compassionate. Still, they brought out the best in each other. As the Empire became orderly and prosperous, the two came to be known as the nation's "Two Jewels," and were remembered fondly for generations to come. Some say their fame made even Emperor Edelgard jealous.

According to Teaspoon Translations, the Japanese ending for Hubert/Edelgard states that, "Even in their retirement, spent just by themselves, there were likely no romantic exchanges until the end." For Hubert/Ferdinand, it states: "Stories say that even the Emperor was envious of their inseparable relationship [lit: relationship in which they are truly open with one another], but the truth remains unclear."

Hubert's intimate relationship with his partner was apparently meant to directly contrast his emotionally closed-off relationship with his master. And Hubert probably displays the most positive development in his ending with Ferdinand. Instead of being feared for his unsavory reputation, he is actually remembered fondly by the public. I suspect all that kinky sex they were having behind Edelgard's back made all the difference.

[boomgun]

Okay, I think the fandom is chilled out enough at this point to discuss in good faith and maturity how Edelgard has a tendency to rationalize working with people she hates while making enemies with people she likes/loves. I think this is a bad habit, but certainly one developed as a survival mechanism.

Just, imagine being Claude von Reigan staring at the Spare Or Kill bar over your head thinking "Duke Aegir gets house arrest and I get exile or execution??? Life is not fair." Or Dimitri thinking about how exile is not even an option for him, but Thales is still breathing. It is hilarious, in a tragic way.

Welcome to the Expanded Universe of Insane Edelgard Analysis where all of you who read my little analysis on Edelgard and Faith are going to get a completely inversed statement on Edelgard! So, to disclaimer, Edelgard is certainly more idealistic than cynical, although she would likely argue she is a realist (LOL), but she certainly has tendencies to dip into fatalism and such as. Edelgard thinks violence is inveitable, she sees a continent that Seiros reforged with violence, that was broken earlier by Nemesis's violence, and has been subverted by the violence of TWSITD and the nobility. Edelgard is willing to take up the tools of her enemies because she thinks this is the only way to play the game (how metatextual of her). She is driven by her ideals to win this game and make something better of it at the end, but it is still a grim reality to just accept as inevitable.

I think it boils down to Edelgard's dislike of losing control over things. Edelgard is working with people she hates, but they are people she has known for over half her life. She knows how they think, what makes them tick, what they want, all of that jazz. At this point, their naked self interest and penchant for atrocity do not surprise her (often, at least). Claude and Dimitri might seem like good people, Edelgard might be able to work with them, but in her mind her course was set years ago and she cannot go jeopardizing or even altering her plans on unknown variables. Edelgard does not know how they think, she often assumes the worst of them when they offer her any kind of laurel because assuming the worst has worked for her so far. This is not to say what she did was right, by the by, just to understand what she was thinking. Because "I will court the favour of Adrestia's nobility (who I hate) and secretly cooperate with TWSITD (who I hate even more), but I will not work with Claude or Dimitri (who annoy me sometimes, but are clearly not evil)" is a chain of thought that requires a complex answer and an interesting one at that. I think it is reasonable to say that not making an alliance with Claude or Dimitri (we are operating strictly with Three Houses, I adore Three Hopes, but what is going on there would make this all the more complicated) was a miscalculation, at least. A miscalculation that led to a continental war, but hey this is what they mean by the games of mice and men.

It is just so tragic, I think, that Edelgard was prepared for a world choked with evil, expected corruption and cruelty wherever she looked, and there was so much of it, but what she was unprepared for was a few sparks of good outside her own. If the odds were more against her, if Claude and Dimitri were not there, if there really was no one else willing to change Fódlan besides Edelgard, I think she might have had a better chance of victory than in the canon sequence of events. Edelgard really did not account for being in a Fire Emblem game where the power of friendship is real and it can kill your enemies (or you, if you make enemies of your friends). It is really funny, in a really heartbreaking way.

[teaveetamer]

The Edelgard discourse really is a never ending nightmare, that's incredible how someone can fight over how" you misunderstood a character" because they like her so "she has to be clean", in a game designed for 12 year old little boys. Man, it's like the MHA fandom fighting to death over ships in a manga designed for teenagers

I think the thing that baffles me—the thing that has always baffled me—about this discussion is just how much of a no-win situation it is to try and discuss any interpretation of Edelgard besides the one they obviously want you to have.

It's always like:

Them: Guys Edelgard is such an amazing, complex, morally grey character! Me: Yeah, but I really didn't like how she sided with the Agarthans and continued working with them even after she found out about the fact that they were doing human experimentations. I don't think that was worth the cost. Them: Wait no you're wrong she never did that and even if she did she totally had to because they were forcing her. If she had it her way she would never do anything bad ever we swear.

Like? That doesn't make her a morally complex character? In either scenario? If she would never do anything bad ever then she's not morally complex she's literally an angel. If she only did bad things because she was forced to, not of her own volition, then that strips her of the agency that would be required to make her morally complex.

And the absolute irony of parading out "she's morally grey" as a conversation ender or to get you to stop talking about the bad things she's done. "Morally grey" should not be the end of the conversation. It's the start. Things that are "morally grey" are inherently things that can be argued about, because the entire point is that it is not clear-cut as to what is the correct decision.

Look at the classic Trolly Problem. For the five people in the audience who are unfamiliar:

If you do nothing, five people will die. If you divert the train then one person will die. How you answer will depend on your own morals and values, and there's not really a right answer. Someone is going to die no matter what you do, and that's horrible.

You could argue that diverting the train is the correct thing to do, because you would have overall less loss of life (one death vs. five).

You could also argue that not diverting the train is the correct thing to do, because flipping the switch is an action on your part. You, specifically you, killed the one person because you are the one who made the decision to flip the switch.

When it's laid out like this, many people choose to flip the switch. However, there are variations on the Trolly Problem. If, for example, the choice was between doing nothing and physically shoving one person onto the tracks to stop the train, the number of people who are willing to sacrifice one person for the sake of five drops pretty significantly. Being closer to the consequences of their actions (it's much easier to justify choosing to kill someone when it's just flipping a switch vs. physically shoving them onto the track) weighs on their conscience more heavily.

But if you were the person being shoved? There's nothing morally complex about your role in things. You didn't decide to stop the train yourself.

That's how conversation around the moral complexity of Edelgard feels. Her stans want to insist that she's simultaneously morally complex while also not believing that it's possible to hold an honest, good faith opinion that she's anything other than completely, 100% correct to do what she does. She's supposed to be complex while also being the body being shoved onto the tracks by powers greater than she. They treat every conversation like it's a foregone conclusion that Edelgard is the body, so they can't comprehend why you might want to talk about complexity.

And just as a side note because I know someone is going to send this post around or screencap it or something and say "look at Vee, she's such a fucking idiot for not getting that Edelgard is pulling the switch in her metaphor! Fodlan was going to be ruined without her!"

I would actually argue that Edelgard's action might have done more harm than her inaction would have. Dimitri and Claude were already reform-minded people who had plans to institute changes in their countries as soon as they were old enough to succeed their positions. Dimitri openly defines his positions on crests (they are powerful and useful tools, but ultimately he believes people without them have their own unique abilities that should be elevated as well) and states his intent to exonerate the people of Duscur and provide reparations to them for what Faerghus did. Claude talks numerous times about his desire to tear down the barriers between Fodlan and Almyra and foster understanding and mutual trust between them. Rhea had always intended to step away from the Church of Serios once she'd revived Sothis, and she wanted to pass that responsibility to Byleth when the war began. Crests were already dying out anyway, and Hanneman was already working on tools that would narrow the gap between crested and non-crested people. If she had done absolutely nothing it is incredibly likely that Fodlan would have taken the course of reform anyway, just without one country being in charge of the entire continent. Nothing about the war actually changed either Dimitri or Claude's perspectives on anything, and in fact at the end of AM and VW they go on to do... basically exactly what they said they were going to do from chapter 5.

Her war actually delayed major reforms in Faerghus and Leicester, because Dimitri and Claude had to put all of their energy toward fighting the war (and in Dimitri's case, surviving on the streets) instead of focusing on reforms.

[emblemxeno]

Man I hate the fire emblem fanbase so much it is hurting my enjoyment of the games. They can nitpick every little thing about Engage's and Fate's story, but watch out if you point out that Edelgard blaming the church for her experimentstion and not, y'know, her uncle who she KNOWS is an Arganthan, or how it doesn't make sense that the disappearance of 9 royals was swept snugly under the rug in the empire, or how Jeralt was suspsicious of Rheas doing to Byleth what she did to HIM, and suddenly you're a "hater" and "you have bad taste" and " lack media literacy".

3houses has the same storytelling issues Fates and Engage have, but bc the game has big tiddy lesbians and "I can fix them" traumatized characters = best JRPG since FF7. Fuck right off bruh. I'm so tired.

It does lend a lot of chances to be hypocritical in the fandom yes.

For as much as people can hate about Engage's time travel and magic stuff, or anything regarding Valla in Fates, at least those are purely fantastical. Does it erase the problems? No. But "magic world has magic things that don't need to always be explained in great detail" is-or at least should be-a sufficient explanation.

3H's issues, meanwhile, are almost always logical, informative, and communicative. Edelgard's war is predicated on logic jumps built upon exaggerated issues, an inflated ego, a savior complex, and half truths, and she herself is a canonical liar and manipulator. 3H's worldbuilding is based upon taking NPCs, books, and character biases as fact, despite there being known cover ups in Fodlan's history; to the point where it's not even fully known whether the other Hresvelg siblings actually exist. Jeralt is supposed to be 100% trustworthy as your dad, but being vigilant means you'll probably realize he's kind of shit and did a poor job properly teaching Byleth growing up.

Fates might have the Valla curse and a magic truth throne, but those things have a simple A -> B explanation and impact on that game's plot. It's easy to criticize because it's easy to understand.

3H on the other hand, you have to constantly twist yourself into a pretzel in order justify every angle and every motivation for every character in the game, mostly in service of not overly shitting on Edelgard's character, which usually results in kowtowing to her fans by shitting on Rhea, Dimitri, the church and Faerghus or, in my eyes, giving up and claiming "no one's completely in the right and that's why the story's good in the first place!"

From my perspective, if this happens, where someone can't form a rock solid opinion on even just how they personally feel/think about the writing, then either they need more time to themselves instead of online discourse or (where I lean) the writing they're discussing simply isn't that good enough to warrant engaging with its bad faith fans.

Side tangent that doesn't really fit but I wanted to say it anyway: Other FE games' moral dilemmas worked as well as they did because they were ornamental; a spice to the main emotional and thematic thrust of what their stories were trying to convey. Even the more complex examples like the Tellius and Jugdral games, weren't trying to sell their stories based on "look how complex and morally gray everything is", they were natural elements of war stories that supplemented the more major storytelling beats (Tellius' discrimination aesop, religious and political dogma, class warfare, and Jugdral's geopolitical inheritance feuds and territorial disputes, blood quantums, and passing the torch to the next generation).

3H's main drive... is the moral grayness. War horrors, comparisons between peace time and conflict, and constant conversation over "what the other side's justification is" while trying to "fix Fodlan." And the sloppy, fractured, and overly bleak attempts at nuance exemplified in the story is precisely why moral grayness shouldn't be the main factor. But people ate it up because... well, the prose wasn't too shabby I guess.

[randomnameless]

To continue the woobified view of the Elites and my comparison of them to the Black Eagles :

Same for me regarding the BE, especially because they also literally fought Edelgard's troops in WC when you choose their house, and even if you don't, they definitely still would know that Edelgard dus nasty shits in WC.

The idea that media literacy is dead is quite fitting, because the idea that even rotten persons have loved ones/that having loved ones doesn't mean you're not rotten is a known thing, yet the Eagles and elites get a pass solely because "they genuinely believe in the cause" and "they love and care for each other"

Probably Fraldarius was as devoted to Nemesis as Ingrid to Dimitri, Lamine very well may have been as sassy as Dorothea, perhaps Goneril was as brave and endearing as Caspar, or Maurice was as loyal to his clan's interests as Petra to Brigid's happiness (through a strong bond to the Empire) but like the BE, they are butchers, who relished in the destruction of everything those against them hold dear, lap dogs and rabid curs of someone they definitely know have crushed innocents and scorn the very idea of peace except under their domination.

The only meaningful difference between Edelgard-following BE and the elites is that we can know more about the BE and we are forced to dislike cutting them down even as they refuse to let northern Fódlan alone.

Honestly I need a fanfiction where the BE are called out for that bullshit.

Yep!

That's the tone deaf feeling I got from Nopes, the Deers are hunting someone bcs their leader wants her dead for no reason, but Raph only comments on how hungry he is.

Uh, sure Raph, you're not the most thoughtful character in there, but come on? Some commentary or exposition on what you're doing? Hello KT? Can we have characters be challenged or even react to the events of screen instead of wondering what's for dinner/teatime?

No??

I wouldn't say it's an issue of media litteracy being dead, but more something in the lines of people being more and more "all or nothing" nowadays, without any nuance and conflating liking a character with the idea/image that might project on you : if I like ASOIAF's Cersei, I don't think everything she does is "justified", but modern fandom, I feel like some people would categorize you as a "good" or "bad" person based on the characters you like, and it's just... not what fandom is or was supposed to be imo, I'm here to nerd and gush about favourite characters, not write litteral essays about the Geneva Convention.

Corollary is what, imo, made the Fodlan fandom hell : some people really take "criticism" against a character personally - sure the way FE16 was written invites projection, but at the end of the day, making a Berning Fire Joke is, just, making a joke about a bunch of pixels, nothing more.

Back to the BEs, they can have a sense of camaraderie and genuinely support each other... as they tear apart "people because Supreme Leader told me to" and fight side by side with Bob the Carpented who was turned into Waldi the demonic beast.

Ferdie can skewer Flayn on her father's lance because she is "a creature that has plagued humanity for ages" even if they reached a C support before shit hit the fan - and still protect Mercedes and Bernie from their abusing Fathers. Does that make him a great guy? A nuanced guy?

I think the trope is called "even evil people have loved ones" or something like that?

I don't think so, but he is no random one note villain sycophant either - now, what is the more annoying with the Fodlan games is how this dichotomy is never called upon : everything is just a giant blob or Hresvelg Grey ("morally grey" but only applied to Supreme Leader) where no one really is angry at her, and all the "sacrifices" she's making are off-screen while the characters on-screen always moan about her "ReFoRmS" and "IdEaLs" without talking about the cost bar some milquetoast "but war bad". And no one, in the game, will ever throw this hypocrisy to their face - Gallant Ferdinand will dream about the Opera as he wipes off the blood of a young woman who just wanted to return to the only home she had.

Yay.

FWIW, some mutuals and I have nothing but pure lols about Doro's line in the non-CF routes being "we killed Ferdie professor :'(" because, hey, why should I care more about Ferdie than about random loldier 55 ? Rhea? Felix? Claude? Ignatz?

Maybe the Elites were really friends and became """"nice""" persons with time, to their families and loved ones ?

Does this magically erase what they did before? Will that "good" they did erase all the "wrongs" they have previously done? Will theyr forever escape the consequences of their actions?

In a game that depicts Flamey as a terrorist for 11 chapters only to drop that plot point by the window to moan, again, about her "IdEaLs", "consequences" are maybe something you can eat as a snack, or throw in a trashcan.

So following the rules of this verse, given how Supreme Leader never receives flak for her Flamey stunts, why should the Elites receive any for what they did? Look, Maurice calls Daphnel his friend, surely he is not that bad of a man? Well yeah, he might have seduced women and planted a lot of wild oats here'n'there, but he cares about his friends!

Jeritza likes ice creams and cats! Surely it's more important to paint him as a cat lover than to deal with all the consequences of his stunt as the Death Knight, kidnapping and implied rekting young woman while he was in GM, under Flamey's orders, right?

Calling it now, after eviscerating Seteth's older brother, Goneril might have melted in front of one of Rhea's kittens, and adopted the cat asap. Surely that makes Goneril a "good" character right? And forget the entire "genocided a bunch of hippies living isolated in their village" stuff?

I don't have fanfics recs where the BEs are called hypocrites, but I confess I don't read a lot of fanfics in the FE16 fandom because of all of the aforementioned issues.

[dimiclaudeblaigan]

I find the whole premise of the war in Houses very sad.

Rhea is being targeted because "everything is the fault of Crests" according to Edelgard. Rhea has no power over Crests themselves, and the blood that enables Crest bearers to use Relics is dragon blood. The Relics are the bones of her brethren.

According to Edelgard, whose every ounce of information is fed to her by the Agarthans (why does she even believe anything her captors say again?), Rhea is an enemy... but why would Rhea condone anything related to Crests and Relics? Also, Edelgard didn't stop the Agarthans from kidnapping Flayn for her blood, allowing them to create demonic beasts. On top of that, she later uses demonic beasts for her war, so she uses Agarthan technology, etc, to turn regular humans into demonic beasts while saying that Rhea is the one at fault.

Rhea, who actively tries to stop Relics from falling into the hands of people who will turn into a demonic beast if they use them. She gets mad if Byleth says they won't turn over the Lance of Ruin to her, and it's one of the few times she openly gets mad at Byleth - because she knows the dangers of it falling into the wrong hands. Her only relief came from Sylvain - not Byleth - who said he would take the Lance of Ruin and assured her he wouldn't let it fall into anyone else's hands. He was also pretty convincingly honest about it, because she wanted him to remember the dangers of it and he says he "won't soon forget". Coming from him it was likely the most honest response she could've gotten out of anyone else in the monastery, so she let it go.

And also, here we are, with Rhea, one of the very last of her kind, being told she can't exist because she's not human, thus proving all her fears and worries about her identity correct. In CF, the last straw for her was that same person "taking" Byleth, Sitri's child, from her (i.e. even if Byleth "chose" that path, there was someone that was the cause of that decision. Without the war starting, Byleth wouldn't have decided that, so in Rhea's eyes it's Edelgard's fault, but she also isn't letting Byleth get away with it either).

It's also sad that Rhea's only chance to tell the truth (i.e. to Claude) was when she was already dying. There was no chance for her to tell the truth, be free of it and still feel safe. In this case she also wouldn't have died if the war had never started, because her five years of captivity by Edelgard left her weak and it kept her from being at her full strength when it came time to fight the Agarthans.

It's very frustrating for me too that we have Claude who does what he can to find out the truth, but Edelgard never does any such thing and just immediately believes what the Agarthans believe. Instead of her thinking her captors might be lying, she allies with them to kill Nabateans, which is exactly what they want. Why not try to find out the truth, or talk to Rhea to figure out what her side of the story is? Why just take the side of your tormentors both by information and in a war of your creation? Edelgard was a puppet on Thales' strings and willingly went along with it for years.

But somehow everything ever is Rhea's fault. See, even if Sothis was uwu BaD and stuff, I'm still not sure how any of that lands on Rhea, besides for her being Sothis' child and thus the children of the parent must die simply for who their parent is. Either way, it comes down to Rhea not being human, and thus Edelgard blaming her for every problem in Fodlan ever. It's sad to me because it really is that simple in terms of Rhea getting blamed for everything.

Rhea lied about the Crests and Relics, calling the people she hated heroes (something Edelgard could never do about the people she hated) to avoid more tragedy. It's almost like her lying for the benefit of humanity worked against her, which in an ironic way is like saying the humans were the enemies all along. She does good things for them and they just turn on her. It's kind of like, maybe she should've seen them as enemies all along, but she didn't. She accepted the ones who didn't hurt her or her kin. She accepted the people who had nothing to do with any of that.

Idk I just wanted to mention Rhea's place in the war because I've never really brought it up. It's just sad to me that she did everything she could to stay safe while not viewing humans as an enemy, but her kindness was part of her downfall. It makes me wonder if she'd told the truth eventually that people would've understood better. When she tells Claude, he realizes all the lies Rhea's been telling weren't hurting anyone, but instead allowing the power of the dragons to continue to exist in humans. If it had been her decision, she never would've allowed that because it was her family that was killed for that.

But like... apparently it's all her fault. Apparently everything is all her fault.

I know the Fodlan games have a huge glaring issue with victim blaming, but it's very sad to see that the victims are at fault right until their death (mainly on CF, but if you factor in Hopes, SB and GW too). They're blamed for their coping for how they suffered, and they're blamed for every little thing they do or don't do from then on. There's no winning. If you're a victim, you're a villain. Edelgard used to be a victim, but she stopped being a victim when she started making victims and siding with the people who tormented her in the first place.

Imo the story should've had Edelgard side with Rhea against the Agarthans and still have done four routes. Like... sometimes I think of what Edelgard could've been, how she could've turned on the Agarthans after pretending to work with them, and end up telling Rhea everything. She could've been a kinder person who had the same "ideals" (quotations because they're empty promises in canon) and could've been equally as resolute and strong.

She could've told Dimitri the truth that she hid from him despite having an entire year to tell him. She could've told Claude what she knew about Rhea after talking to Rhea, since he was looking for answers. She could've been a really awesome lead where CF/SS were similar routes with different perspectives (not necessarily identical), but those routes were her and Rhea working together. At the end, she could've taken responsibility for any time she worked with the Agarthans and moved on.

It's also sad how the fandom does the exact same thing to Rhea. She does something, she's bad. She doesn't do something, she's still bad. All she has to do is exist and she's still bad. If she reacts in any way because of her trauma, she's bad.

The fandom's views on trauma are pretty disgusting though tbh, because the general vibe is that if you have trauma you can only uwu about it. If you have any other reactions, including violent ones, you're horrible and need to be "put down" because you didn't have a "proper, correct" reaction to your trauma. If you don't shut up and deal with it, you're a bad person.

I feel like CF was a mistake with its writing and justifying the actions of ableism and imperialism both in one route. A mistake as in, now people actually believe that stuff is all well an good (despite the other routes saying otherwise).

Anyway that's it for this. I'm sure someone out there will call me a Rhea apologist now even though I'm not and even though she's not even remotely my favorite character lol.

[fantasyinvader]

I've been thinking about Edelgard's vulnerability is depicted.

The game initially depicts her as a cute girl who reveals vulnerabilities to the player. However, she is also a manipulative character and those vulnerabilities are supposed to make her moe. It's supposed to make the player want to protect her when she's revealed to be the villain, and if the player does so they end up leading Fodlan to tyranny while the ensuing route spells out how she's playing everyone. And, on top of that, the more players get to know her the more they see this hidden nature to her.

But by the same token, when the game wants the player to sympathize with her it makes her vulnerable. Said vulnerability is also, in part, because Rhea has been treated badly for the last five years due to protecting Byleth. At the same time, when she opens up while vulnerable what she reveals is supposed to be the truth according to the devs. Meanwhile, there's a lot of scenes that poke holes in the narrative gives: she knows it's the Agarthans who killed her siblings with Thales himself telling her what their goal was, she also supposedly knows her father was their puppet but will continue to spread the version of history he gave her even after the game revealed that fact, we also have Aegir being a scapegoat for Thales with there being no evidence he was involved with the experiments, she's ignoring how much influence the Agarthans had on the Imperial nobility while at the same time also ignoring how little the Church had.

There seems to be a difference here. That when Rhea opens up to Byleth, she's being truthful whereas when Edelgard does it, she's doing it with the ulterior motive of swaying Byleth to her side. It's that difference that makes what Edelgard does different from the rest of the cast, what makes it unacceptable.

And this makes my mind go to the idol industry, and how they sell people on the illusion of the girls. Japanese idols aren't at the same level of performance as Korean idols, and they use that unrefined image as part of the appeal. That they are just like your typical, normal girl and sell people on the dream of interacting with them through stuff like hand-holding events. But it's not a real relationship, as the girls are adopting a more cutesy persona and at the end of the day it's all about making money off their fans. And this is just an accepted part of living in Japan.

It feels like there's something there to me. That this game tells us in VW to get to know others by spending time with them (and clearing up misconceptions and assumptions by doing so), to form relationships in this manner. But at the same time, it also wants us to see people for who they really are and, owing to the Buddhist symbolism, not letting our attachment to them cloud our judgement when they do bad things. And at the same time, the game is also saying that this trust you put into other people can be abused and exploited by them for their own gain. And Houses is full of parasocial relationships for the player to form, but at times we need to know that sometimes, no matter how painful it may be, we need to put aside relationships in order to do the right thing otherwise you end up promoting a moral that negatively impacts society.

I guess you can say the ultimate moral with Edelgard is that you shouldn't take people solely at face value because the image they put out might not match who they really are inside. It's just the persona they project to the world, but by getting to know people you make them open up. They reveal their vulnerabilities, and at the same time it's good to help people with their problems. We all have to support each other. But at the same time, people may reveal themselves to be toxic individuals who use their personas to assert dominance over others and when that happens it's better to distance yourself from them. Not hate them, but to just take a step back and see them for who they really are.

Treat people like people, not cardboard cut-outs. Sometimes they need your support, other times they need a hard lesson and for you to call them out on their bullshit.

But this kinda message is always going to be undermined by the dating sim aspects of Houses, as well as IS milking the parasocial relationships people form with characters in this franchise. And these characters, themselves, aren't real people. They can only show us what the staff decides to show us.

[fareehaandspaniards]

My personal list of fictional girls

ALL OF A SUDDEN I decided to make a post about fictional girls I SIMP for. That's what long work shifts do with me and also Katy's post about mole on Gwynevere's chest beautiful details of Gwynevere's body

I mostly talk in my blog about men but actually there are some female characters I extremely love, simp, imagine and some even shipped with myself. They all, in general, attract me very much and deserve a lot of attention

Dagger and (!) general Beatrix from Final Fantasy 9

I'll put them together because I met both of them as a child. And if Beatrix is my unattainable ideal and favorite character, then Dagger is a character I associate myself with and my personal love that I'm ready to defend against all the haters and fools who call her a “standard female character”. She went through huge character changes, trauma, and all the stages of love in her youth. She truly was my role model when I was a child. Also, because of Dagger, I was jumping around the house with a cook pot impersonating her with a weapon XD

She was the reason I cut my hair with a knife when I was 6 years old XD My mom was horrified! I liked the new haircut but it looked awful xDDDDDDD

And I also inherited this... xDD

2. Lute from Fire Emblem Sacred Stones

Bold, smart, arrogant sometimes, a prodigy and in my personal opinion, autistic girl.

Despite the fact that she has very few lines and the plot in general, she won my young heart, and I dreamed of such a friend… As a teenager I remembered her, but in a more romantic way already…. xd Her demeanor and conversation has annoyed many players, but I find her attractive and unique - she's confident and knows she's good!

3. Jade Harley from Homestuck

My first REAL crush on a fictional character. I imagined her with me and even had a few erotic dreams with her…. It was very sad, because I literally suffered from the fact that she didn't exist, and I used up a lot of ink from my dad's printer to print a LOT of posters with her xdddd

I can't say Jade is controversial character? LOL I don't even remember Homestuck plot. But she is kind and funny character, optimistic and full of will to live. She is a witch of space after all xd She is JUST GOOD in my mind. To many years passed... xd

And while I'm no longer interested in Homestuck, Jade is still my favorite archetype.

4. Edelgard von Hresvelg from Fire Emblem Three Houses

When I saw the first preview of FE3H I knew she was going to be my favorite. Her looks, her ideology, her cold disposition, her tender heart, and her many traumas - she's beautiful. And despite the fact that Edelgard has a VERY large amount of haters, to me it just proves once again the great fandom hypocrisy! Everyone really wants a tough woman, independent, strong and making mistakes, cruel, implacable and willful, war criminal and all that stuff. But once they get strong woman, she becomes hated! After all, she's up against a muscular and very handsome young man with absolutely KIND and GOOD intentions, and all the bad things he does are for KIND purposes.

And Edelgard is very controversial. Even gray, I might say. My girl did the thing she finds right and chose the bloody path, but I'd go with her all the way to the end because she's my empress and that's it xd Love her

5. Rom from Bloodborne

I was a little mad at her at first…? When I first started playing Bloodborne. As is often the case with me, my first impression 90% of the time is later reversed. Many headcanoned her as Willem's helpless victim and a “background” for Micolash, and that headcanon spoiled the experience for me in many ways. But by creating my own vision of Rom, I fell in love! She can be crazy, proactive, determined, cunning, manipulative, comical, tragic…. Of course, it's all about interpretation and image. But I fell in love with Rom in all her forms.

6. Ruby from Disco Elysium

She only shows up for one scene, but…. SHE MADE ME BLUSH. LOOK AT HER.

I can hear the soundtracks from Hotline Miami and the police sirens... Her game portrait doesn't idealize her looks, no, you can see her age and wrinkles, and also…. her danger. It gives me goosebumps... I don't know why, but the portraits in Disco Elysium fascinate me. They manage to convey the character's personality and traits with color and strokes of paint behind their backs…

Actually this game created in my opinion the MOST perfect female characters I've seen. They are gorgeous in their own way, they look like REAL women.

I'm in love with Ruby. And even want to do a cosplay on her in the future….

7. Gwynevere from Dark souls!

Goddess of love, fertility, a gorgeous and big woman, with beautiful breasts, smiling, bright…. That's my kink. I have been fascinated with the history of ancient nations for a very long time. And the images of ancient goddesses have forever remained in my head something chthonically beautiful, a kind of female ideal. Gwynevere reminds me of them. I have an OC as well, personifying all the same things, only more cunning…. Beautiful lady…

8. Nyx from Hades!

Nyx is a very special goddess to me. It's very personal… I've studied her image a lot. And Hades definitely managed to convey her as she should be. A mother, a friend, a caregiver and her thin veil of darkness...

[moe-broey]

My "Not a full thought" post about Emblems now being able to exist in Askr and the potential of timeline fuckery is coming back to haunt me.

@iamdarkness BUT I really did wanna reply to this more in-depth esp to have context on the Engage side of things as well! And tbh it could be a really interesting thing to dig into, I just feel a bit out of my depth about it (the FEH autism does not extend far past Askr. If I'm entirely honest 🧍)

Hoping to clear the air on some things! Such as, Elyios (Engage) is separate from Askr/Zenith (FEH)! All the Emblems have their own "domains", in the form of a paralogue/map that's modeled after the respective Emblem's world. For story Emblems, you unlock these as you collect the rings, and for the DLC Emblems, that's how you recruit them. Unsure what this says about Elyios itself, if these maps are like. Pocket dimensions that are replicas of that Emblem's world or what. Given what I vaguely know about Emblem lore I'm gonna say replicas.

This is Askr's!

Which, is interesting that it Is Askr, because it's Emblem Veronica's domain.

But honestly I feel like I'm getting ahead of myself, because even before the DLC came out, I was under the impression that Engage took place after all FEs were said and done, timeline wise. Given the nature of the Emblems, and the set up of the story starting off "1000 years ago" (and that was just to set up the story of Engage! So it has been A While).

One thing (that feels very loose canon-wise) that made me feel Engage is after FEH is because, not only are there Bond Rings of the Askr trio, but their weapons are here too! This was a promotional thing, but. It's There

Something worth noting, is that Bond Rings are different than Emblems. They don't have a spirit in them, that's as animated as the Emblems anyway... they give small stat bonuses, and are of characters that are related to any given Emblem (so, Corrin has a collection of Fates characters for Bond Rings, ect). This Does have an interesting result where there's an overlap between some DLC Emblems and Bond Rings. Cases being, there's Emblem Camilla and a Camilla Bond Ring that's connected to Emblem Corrin -- and, this happened to Edelgard/Dimitri/Claude too! Each of them having Bond Rings connected to Byleth, and also becoming their own Emblems in the Get Along Bracelet LMFAO (all three of them are in there. It goes about as well as you'd expect.)

But I am. Getting a little distracted.

EMBLEM VERONICA

One line that stands out to me is Alear (named Milo here) saying he hasn't heard of Askr before. But like if I think about that too much my head might explode and also Alear was previously comatose for 1000 slutty slutty years. So. Take it or leave it, whatever this is implying

Also, interestingly, she takes the form of her post Book 6 look -- but there's some odd inconsistencies, like her personality being more young Veronica, and also, mentions of Bruno as if he was still missing in action and not. Well. You know. (I'd have to dig further into Bond convos for examples, which tbh may be a worthwhile endeavor! But for now Take My Word For It Please this is already so all over the place 🥲)

But the main reason I wanted to emphasize that dialogue (aside from it being interesting, to say the least), is how Alear doesn't know about Askr as a whole. And, in Alear/Alfonse Forging Bonds:

WHICH.... AGAIN.......... MADE ME FEEL LIKE. With everything going on in Engage, the Bond Rings of Alfonse/Sharena/Anna, their Respective Signature Weapons (feels particularly damning) and Emblem Veronica. It felt like, what happens in Elyios is something that has Yet to Happen. And that, Askr as we know it, has been long gone.

But then...... everything with the Katarina/Kris FBs............ how Kris was only able to be summonable because Katarina and Marth told their story............. and how it's just the Emblems that are specifically mentioned as Not Having Info on, not Alear herself or her friends. My head hurds so bad.

LIKE...... I GUESS???? My initial thoughts on "Oh yeah that makes sense the Emblems don't exist in Askr" was that they Didn't Exist Yet. Aughh but then ...... in-universe, wouldn't the same be true for. Anyone from "the future". Or does it just apply to ghostly jewelry apparitions. Because we KNOW that option isn't true, it's shown/stated that Kiran comes from a modern world like ours, and there's also the Tokyo Mirage Sessions idols. Maybe the Emblem thing WAS just a Kris case, but that feels SO ODD. Like the Emblems are intrinsic to Elyios it seems. Why wouldn't the Askr library, chock full of information about the various worlds and lives of Heroes, Not Have That Info??? Especially with royalty like Lumera (Alear's mom) having close ties with specific Emblems (Sigurd). And also off the top my head that's a REOCCURRING thing, that the royal families in Engage Are entrusted with specific Emblems that are passed down/protected across generations. Celica with Céline/Firene, Lyn with Alcryst/Brodia, to name a few. It just seems SO strange, because it Feels Like it would be basic information about the world of Elyios.

CONCLUSION?????

My head hurds so bad. Net zero information. I'm so sorry. I hope this helped!!!!!!!!! 😇🫡

[stergeon]

Sorry if this seems sudden, but what are your thoughts on a Young Edelgard befriending a Young Byleth who canonically doesn't have friends due to how people are afraid and creeped out by her behavior?

Yea, the tragedy is how Byleth has nobody their age to connect with as well as most not getting them to the point of dehumanization until Garreg Mach, but it's neat to think of.

ohhhh tbh i love this… in my mind, young edelgard is very precocious, but also extremely coddled (comes with being royalty) and kind of oblivious/condescending without meaning to be. “aren’t all tutors dreadful? hm? you don’t have lessons? what do you do all day? what?? you work??? is that allowed????”

like, well-meaning with a strong sense of justice, and genuinely curious about other people’s lives, but without a frame of reference for anything yet.

and young byleth, as you say, would have been intimidating to be around lol. an eerie and serious kid who probably learned how to kill a man not long after she learned to walk. i see her as being affable in the sense that she just kind of goes along with whatever situation she’s in, without any investment in it one way or another beyond doing what she’s told, but she would definitely be confused by other kids and struggle hard with social cues, etc. until she gets sufficiently good at reading people as to passably mask. it’s a very lonely and difficult way to live.

i could absolutely see edelgard running into this weird little girl and adopting her on the spot. “why don’t people play with you. what do you mean, you don’t know how to play. we’re going to play a game right now; so there.” edelgard is nothing if not driven and dedicated to the causes she believes in (and her massive savior/martyr complex doesn’t help lol—she’s already adopted one local weirdo by becoming besties with hubert). so i think if she set her mind to being byleth’s friend, she would make it happen. this kid is now her personal project. they WILL be friends.

and i reckon that friendship would do wonders for byleth. she had so little interaction with anyone her age in her youth, and having one real friend might make all the difference for her. edelgard could help ground her, and help her better understand the world they live in, and keep her in touch with her humanity—or, really, help her discover it in the first place. meanwhile, edelgard could learn a LOT from byleth, who’s spent her life unhoused* and pretty much living paycheck-to-paycheck with jeralt’s band of violent (and likely alcoholic, per jeralt and alois) mercs. byleth could lend her some perspective and further shape edelgard’s love for the people of fódlan, as well as her understanding of what kinds of societal changes are needed to make things better for everyone.

who knows, that connection might even lead sothis to emerge earlier…

the concern, of course, is jeralt, who (for debatably valid reasons) never wants to stay anywhere for too long, and probably would get super freaked out by the idea of his kid hanging around one of the heirs of the adrestian empire. whether they’d actually have enough time to become friends… idk.

but kids are funny when they set their minds to something. i’d like to think edelgard would decide, day one, that they’re friends, and friends help each other, so that’s what she’s going to do. i’d like to think that when edelgard found out byleth’s group would be leaving again soon, she’d use that big brain of hers and coax her father into hiring the mercenaries on for a long-term mission or as a standing battalion. adrestia’s been on the outs with the church for a good while already, so jeralt might feel comfortable enough to consider putting down roots, even if just for a little longer than usual.

that could REALLY change both byleth and edelgard’s lives. in my little daydream, byleth starts training to be a knight and a personal guard for edelgard, and basically spends as much time around her as hubert does. and maybe, when the insurrection happens edelgard is taken to fhirdiad, hubert stands a better chance of finding her with someone by his side who has spent her entire young life in the woods and on the roads, tracking enemies and avoiding pursuers. maybe they find her. maybe they help prevent some truly terrible things from happening.

what happens from there, idk; so many of edelgard’s views are informed by her experiences and it gets too complicated for my tiny brain to realistically figure out what would occur and who she’d be if it went down like that instead.

but byleth would be changed just by knowing edelgard. having someone in her young life who is invested in her, who sees beyond the fog of the day-to-day, who’s interested in what she wants, who embraces and celebrates her quirks and doesn’t shun her for them, who grants her stability and some agency in her own life… someone who sees her as a person, not just as a sword or set of hands… how could anyone not be changed by something like that?

* with the exception of Whatever The Fuck she was doing while jeralt was parading around in leonie’s village for however long. this is my least favorite plot hole in the game, namely because leonie acknowledges it. “huh. i don’t remember you being there, and you don’t, either. maybe you were with a relative”??? what relative, IS?? how many living relatives does byleth have that aren’t trying to turn her into a mommy-god??? why fake your kid’s death and disappear “for her safety,” just to ditch said kid somewhere with someone for months?????

WHERE WAS YOUR CHILD, JERALT??????

ok i’m done yelling lol. thank you for this ask, this was really fun to think about <3

[lunawish]

Why paladin of vengeance? While it fit "the end justifies the means" mindset and how dedicated Edelgard is more than any class, she is not a vengeful person at all. One of the core tenet is "No Mercy for the Wicked" ( both in bg3 and in DnD ), but Edelgard particularly keep showing mercy. She doesn't want to kill Rhea, she keep letting enemy a chance to surrender before the fight, she let soldier and citizens flee, her route is the only one where you can spare or recruit multiple enemy, ... In DnD, you do have the tenet described as "Ordinary foes might win my mercy, but my sworn enemies do not." which make it more fitting even if it still doesn't work with Rhea. But in bg3, the mercy aspect was removed ( probably for making breaking your oath easier in term of gameplay ) and it is just "Chasten those who dole out their villainy by wiping their blight from the world forever."

I don't 100% follow all of bg3's mechanics. I'm a 5e player first and foremost and I always liked the flexibility of paladin oaths when I played paladins (which is why despite paladins being incredibly OP in bg3... I was not the happiest with how easy it was to break your oath)

you also don't need to serve a God in 5e for paladins too (its not explicitly phrased that way). Divinity can come from different shapes and I think what's really important is that edelgard does not support the central church (the church of seiros) vs wanting to actually slay God (sothis).

remember, minthara is canonically (at this point) an apostate paladin. and similar to minthara, edelgard has no issue with breaking her oath if it means achieving her goals. But yeah. The paladin class suited her the best imo (plus I'm sure there's some God in the faerun pantheon that'd look at her and go "I want that one" lol)

[raxistaicho]

Fantasy Invader gets a disciple!

Recently @diaphin93​ went into it with @xenofan19​ in this post. I had a few points to add, though I refrained from just reblogging it because the post is already hella long.

Lonato was a minior lord who had mabey a couple hundred people who he multiplied into getting killed for his “revange” hardly a popular uprising but yay lie if you want.

He still quite clearly had the ardent support of his people on his march. I believe “multiplied” is meant to be “manipulated”, but there’s no evidence of this in the game.

Further down, Xeno says:

We actually see that he used and his people in his goal and gained surport from the westen church whitch was working with the Agarthans and Edelgard. Hell its impilled that Edelgard set this whole thing up just to have a look at Serios tomb showing how little she values the lifes of the common people.

The Western Church were working with the Agarthans? Where’s the evidence of that?

And yes, Edelgard did all that to get into the tomb of Seiros - to prove it’s empty. Edelgard knows Seiros is actually alive because she’s Rhea (she says that Thales that the bones not being there are “news”, suggesting that she allowed him to believe the plan was just to grab more Nabatean bones). The Sword of the Creator being there was what surprised her.

That said, we don’t know whether involving Lonato specifically was Edelgard’s intent. The WC Bishop takes credit for involving him in Ashe and Catherine’s paralogue,

In any case, the last point has been addressed many many times; Edelgard is killing a few now to spare another millennia of suffering in the future. The bandage has to be ripped off.

Edelgard ending shows that Hubert hunts down and get rid of uprisings and rebellions showing off Edelgard oppressive nature.

Wow, Elincia’s a fuckin’ tyrant then, isn’t she? Part 2 of Radiant Dawn is all about her getting rid of an uprising and a rebellion that unfortunately had support from the common people.

But seriously, suppressing rebellions before they can start is tyrannical? C’mon, snap out of it. Also,

Damn boy, VW Byleth’s such an oppressor.

Now I’m sure the defense here is going to be that Edelgard was suppressing civilian revolts against her while Byleth is stopping uprisings from Imperial nobility or the remnants of the military, but there’s no evidence for either. The Hubert ending that Edelgard’s detractors like to get upset about states,

In reality, their nights were filled with fierce combat against rebels, assassins, and those who slither in the dark.

Which is pretty vague, and really just seems to be a catch-all for various people who would want to break the post-war peace.

One member of the church thinks Dedue might be responsible not because of his race but because he is from a nation that was believed to have killed King Lambert. This in no way shows the church is xenophobic, just that one guy doesn’t trust Dudue because of past events. 

It’s not just one guy, and it’s not even just Duscur.

From chapter 4:

Also from chapter 4:

From Chapter 6:

Claude makes claims about the church that are never actually proven in game and he even says in VW that the teachings of the church are not xenophobic. Claude and Dimitri surport in Hopes makes no sense and is even disproved by the games own lore as well 90% of Claude claims come out of nowhere and have zero evidence. 

Yeah but here’s the thing, in VW it’s Lorenz, who knows Fodlan and the church better than Claude, who says it. Now yes, Claude disagrees with him, but the circumstances in VW are night and day from GW. In VW, Claude is rather brazenly looking to use the church’s influence and the Knights of Seiros, through Byleth, for his benefit. It’s natural then that he would be interested in brushing aside the worst of the church’s excesses: not only does he want them on his side, he has the perfect person to take over and fix the church’s problems.

Dimitri and Claude surport is poorly written in a secret chapter that ignores the canon all of the routes so sorry if I don’t take it with any facts definitely when Claude says nonsense that he never mentions before or after the event. 

Honestly this just reads to me like you don’t like what Hopes had to say about the church so you’re refusing to listen to it...

Edelgard  is willing working with that force and has shown a clear preference for the nobility system you claim she is trying to take down so much that Hopes shows she gives them special treatment and works ageist the common people.

Oh christ, don’t listen to Fantasy Invader. I mean it. Other sources of anti-Edelgard takes will say correct things on occasion, but he specifically doesn’t ever seem to have a clue what he’s talking about.

I’ve gone over his source on the point you’re making, he completely misinterpreted the line and forgot which character even said the offending sentence in question.

More here.

Like Edelgard own ending shows that she doesn’t make the changes you speak off 

What?

As the new Adrestian emperor, Edelgard dedicated her life to reshaping the delicate political structure of Fódlan. With tireless work and great sacrifice, she reformed the class system to ensure a free and independent society for all. In her later years, she entrusted her life's work to a worthy successor before finally vanishing from the public eye. 

It’s rather broadly spoken, yes, but it says she did the reforms.

Duscur was a flause flags operation carried out by Edelgard own allies and only the westen lords with most of the Kingdom not being involved.

It doesn’t matter that only a few of the Kingdom Lords were involved; they still conspired in regicide. The important point here is that since they did with it Lambert, they’d do it again with Dimitri if necessary.

Edelgard also never tried to help the people of Duscur and has zero plans or goals to help them simple because they are not form Fodlan so don’t matter to her.

Like Edelgard comes off worse in that situation then either the Kingdom or Church as unlike them she never even tries to help the people of Duscur.

How would she help the people of Duscur? She’s an Adrestian princess/emperor. It was the Faerghans who committed a genocide. To help the people of Duscur she’d have to take over the country first. You know, that thing you get mad at her about.

Or what, do you think she’d have any success by going, “actually, I know the people of Duscur didn’t kill King Lambert, and I know this because the actual perpetrator told me! N-no, I can’t actually support this claim...”

People didn’t listen to Dimitri when he said the people of Duscur were innocent, and he was there at the time. Who on earth is going to listen to the princess of another country who was on the other side of the continent at the time?

Lastly, on the point about her having no plans to help them, just because nothing is said of the people of Duscur in CF or SB doesn’t mean Edelgard has no plans for them. They, too, are part of the oppressed peoples she hopes to uplift. Only AM and AG focus on Duscur, because it’s intrinsically tied to Dimitri’s character plot. Much like how the Faerghan and Leicesterian routes don’t really have much to say about Brigid.

And lastly, yes, the Tragedy of Duscur was the assassination attempt planned by the Agarthans and instigated with the support of the Western lords. But the tragedy of Duscur was when the people of Faerghus went full Faerghan Revenge mode and launched a genocide of the people of Duscur. The Agarthans didn’t mind-control the people of Faerghus to do that, they did it on their own.

And yet neither Dimitri’s fans nor AM or AG seem interested in addressing the point. Dimitri only ever seeks to punish the nobles who were behind the Tragedy, but there’s never any word of any actual repentance from the Faerghan troops who did the tragedy. It’s bizarre how it seems like the two events cannot be decoupled in the minds of the writers or Edelgard’s detractors, as though the Faerghans going full Revenge Brain Mode and genociding an entire people because they think they killed their king was just the inevitable outcome of Lambert being assassinated. It was like mud slides just naturally following a fierce rainstorm due to the physics involved, rather than the result of Faerghus’s culture of honoring and avenging the dead over the living.

But then again AM, AG, and most of all Edelgard’s detractors, are not interested in criticizing the flaws of Faerghus’s culture.

Lol you do know it could be argued that Edelgard starts a war of faith in Hopes as she wants her new state church to become the main one whitch would grant her more religious power in Fodlan whitch is actually brought up in AG. 

Oh yeah, you’re definitely listening too much to Fantasy Invader...

Hey, did you know Fantasy Invader thinks this banner:

Is symbolic for this banner:

Despite them clearly looking completely different?

Anyways, yeah, the only thing we hear about the Southern Church in AG is that Gilbert and Gautier just vaguely don’t like the sounds of what they’re preaching, and seriously fuck both those men. If they think it’s bad, it can only be good. Their stopped clock had its minute hand ripped off.

She is even more obsessed over Byleth then Rhea but never actually opens up to them and right up to the end of the game lies to control Byleth. You can try and lie and claim how Dimitri and Rhea would be worse but the game shows how Edelgard is far more toxic partner. 

Yeah, get back to me when Edelgard steals an unconscious Byleth away into her room for an indeterminate period of time to give them a lap pillow treatment and then comes just shy of sexually assaulting them...

Edelgard doesn’t tell Byleth what to think or what to believe. In fact she frequently just asks questions of Byleth throughout White Clouds to try to get them to consider the world and their place in it more clearly.

Dimitri spent 5 years defending his people from being slaughtered by Edelgard as she was wiping out entire villages simple because they refuse to bow to her 

Gonna need evidence of that, chief.

[dragongutsixofficial]

for oc ask game 3, 15 and 24?

Thanks for the ask, my friend !^^

3- Biggest self-insert OC ?

Oooh that is a tricky question. I have so many OCs from so many fandoms and even some who are not tied to any existing piece of media !^^

I have to say though, probably the ice mage I played (and still do sometimes !) with my sister after we got The Best Videogame Ever: Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies. She holds within her characterization a lot of who I was as a young kid- some of which I'd like to get back. I was so confident as a kid, it's pretty incredible !

I can also tell you about the biggest fail to make a self-insert OC: Siyn Eisner, my beloved Bylethsona. The idea behind her creation was simple: I wanted an avatar who would represent me as a player the same way people created their Linksonas. At first, she was just an idea in the back of my mind, and not very developed- and that's the way she stayed until I started a fe3h roleplay with my dear friend.

And Sothis be damned, Siyn went way out of my control. She became her own, beautiful character. Of course, there are always things that she gets from me: but no more or less than any other OC of mine. And she inspired me in turn !

In general though, every OC of mine has some elements of my personality woven into theirs, even if I don't do it consciously. For instance, with my new Seven of Hearts OCs (OCs I created for a future webcomic, hopefully):

Heilig (he/him) is sarcastic and drags his feet. He doesn't do well when he's taken out of his comfort zone and hates taking risks. He sticks by the rules and is a bit tunnel-visionned. That's how I can be sometimes: and while there's nothing wrong with it, it can quickly become unhealthy: his character arc will partially be around him learning how to take a chill pill.

Keuse (she/her), Heilig's little sister, has more of that rebellious streak: but most of all, she wants the best for her brother and he wants the best for her. She wants him to understand that although she might be younger, it's just as much her responsibility to protect him in her eyes. I'm a younger sibling who wants my sister to know I'll always be here to protect her, just as she does me.

Same goes for Camille (he/she), who has that very naive side to him, and who definitely has undiagnozed ADHD. And so it is for every one of my OCs !

14- How many projects do you have going on right now? Are there any that you doubt you’ll ever finish?

HahahahaHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAAAA-

When I received your ask I was like, "No prob, Imma make a google sheet and write everything down" and that's why I took some time to answer your ask. I have already given up on that. I don't even know where to start. I have so many WIPs. So many animatics living rent-free in my head. Some of which I am sure will never get done.

For instance, when the live-action version of The Little Mermaid came out, I was incredibly hyped by the new version of Part of your World and for weeks I was like, "I'M GONNA DRAW AN ANIMATIC OF A MERMAID TRANSMASC BYLETH WITH THIS SO BAD" and... yeah i'm still at the first frame.

I am pretty confident about finishing my first fic published on AO3 though, which I had given up on after one(1) chapter. But I got inspired by amazing writers @paracosmicat & @ninadove to pick it up again and I've entirely rewritten the first chapter + written two more chapters already (none of which are posted yet because I'd like to get ahead this time). I'm a lot happier with this version !^^ It's a fanfic delving into the dynamics of Edelgard/Zagreus (from Hades), which should eventually turn into a series exploring the Edelgard/Byleht/Zagreus/Thanatos polycule.

3- Do you have/want a career in your medium ? If not, what do you do/want to do instead ?

Drawing, as you will have noticed, is my passion and really the main way I get the wormbrains out. And if I don't draw for a while I will just want to bang my head against a wall repeatedly. So I definitely want a career in it. Being a video game designer would be a dream job.

For circumstances out of my control, I'm studying something else at the moment. On a good note, I just got out of two years of a formation which made me absolutely miserable and barely left me any time to draw !!! So there's that. But I do fully intend on finding a way to work in the art field someday ! >=D

[dragonsarecats]

What you say might be true for the Blue Lions but not for the Black Eagles? SS existence show how functionally the Black Eagles aren't loyal, they can all turn against her in a way that goes beyond not exactly following her like some Deers with Claude. But focusing on Edelgard point of view, she certainly doesn't take for granted loyalty, she think most people will go against her once the truth is out ( it's often brought up, be it in dialogue like Dorothea support or her behavior like the deep suprise when you support her in the Holy Tomb, hell there's even way she constantly ask if Byleth is they're sure they want to follow her consistently throughout the route ) and even with her ally she remain cautious ( the most obvious is her behavior towards Shez, but remaining in house you have the moment when she hide what happened in Arainrhod for example ): just like Claude learn to trust in VW, so does Edelgard in CF. "Having a group of people one can rely on" is also a fundamental theme of CF, that's Edelgard arc with the Black Eagles strike force and Byleth.

And it's normal: Claude has trauma around trust, and so does Edelgard. Claude was an outsider and a kid growing in a situation of deep rivalry, his situation was so dire he was under treat of assassination; and he end up in country which he still has a lot to learn about and where people hate his very origin ( very angry at how people dismiss how horrific Claude past is, and how much it affect him by the way ). Edelgard lived through political turmoil where her father was betrayed in a political coup, then she was herself directly betrayed by a person she trusted, her uncle, ending up in a situation no one should ever have to live through. Ever once she's out, she's under the abuse of a shadowy group that have manipulated major event in she shadow and who can litteraly take people face. All while learning the most influential institution of Fodlan is hiding the truth.

( And Ferdinand isn't loyal? On Edelgard point of view he's the son of the man who betrayed and used her father, and a man who deeply support the system. On Ferdinand point of view you have him constantly doubting Edelgard at the beginning of CF, one of his first line after the Flame Emperor reveal being "As the next Duke Aegir, should I follow Edelgard into battle?"... Felix is miserable when you recruit him elsewhere, but Ferdinand not so much? And it makes sense looking at Adrestrian politics and how he isn't Edelgard childhood friend unlike Felix with Dimitri )

Previous answer here

Okay, so once again, I need to reiterate that when I discuss themes and characters in fire emblem three houses, I am always doing so in relation to how the narrative and gameplay framework go together. I've said it as a joke, but Jeralt is a prime example of how this works and how narrative and gameplay roles really affect each character.

So to that end, I really don't think you can say Ferdinand isn't loyal. No one is loyal in this game save for Hubert and Dedue (as various church people are recruitable and thus by metrics we're using, not completely loyal, although Catherine has a similar situation to Hilda, I think). They can't be loyal because they have to be recruitable.

You also have to keep in mind that you recruit people pre-war. They literally just transfer into different homerooms. No one is recruited with the initial intention of not going back to their home territory after they graduate, lol. But the academy phase is all about developing bonds within the class and with the professor and when the war goes down--well, they all weight their bonds and their loyalties and chose the former, save for a few exceptions (Lorenz, Ashe, etc. Characters you recruit and have to "recruit" again after defeating them with Byleth post time-skip).

That is to say, again, Byleth is the fulcrum on which this universe spins, both narratively and in game. Three Hopes proves it.

Characters need to be recruitable, and so everyone's loyalty is suspect.

Which is why I don't think your Silver Snow argument holds much water? I don't mean that disrespectfully, just that I disagree with your interpretation of what this means. Edelgard and Claude are exceedingly similar in several ways, and are often directly compared in both their routes in their ideals and differing methods. They also have similar trust issues, but again, are vastly different.

Edelgard has always had someone her age she can rely on. She has always had the same person, in fact, in Hubert. Claude does not; he does not have an official retainer for a reason. Edelgard desperately wants to trust people--even in Verdant Wind, she's filled with longing towards Byleth when they've comparatively barely interacted. Claude and Edelgard deal with their trust issues in different ways; Edelgard longing quietly to have a hand reached out to her, and Claude longing to reach out a hand that won't be smacked away. It's why his speech when they defeat Nemesis is so important.

I don't think Edelgard takes loyalty for granted at all--sorry if that was unclear. I don't think Dimitri does either. I don't think they can considering their pasts. But they take for granted this respect that's naturally given to them as leaders, that Claude visibly has to fight tooth and nail for. There's a reason people are constantly hounding over Claude's secrets but not Edelgard's when in my mind she's far more suspicious in her respective route. However, I think on the surface, Claude thinks they take these things for granted. They have loyal, unswayable retainers, noble connections formed in childhood, rivals who they dispute with who don't literally seek to take their power, and just a general respectful air granted upon them that he doesn't.

When it comes to Silver Snow, again, I don't really think that can be compared to what happens with Claude. Without Byleth, Claude loses members of the Deer. This is entirely different to Edelgard losing the Eagles because they are loyal to Byleth. Byleth's charisma and ability to earn the trust of people despite her inherent oddness (even to distrusting people like Hubert and Claude, because again I don't think Edelgard is inherently untrusting) is a feature, not a bug. Edelgard feels so betrayed in Silver Snow not just because her house has left her and she trusted them but because her teacher has turned against her and taken the house with her, an echo of what happened to her father.

It's just. They have very different situations going on, lol? Silver Snow is less a commentary on how people leave Edelgard and more an expansion on the recruitment function--people will, when push comes to shove, chose the bond they've cultivated with Byleth over the bond with their Lord. Without this interference, Edelgard doesn't lose any of her people. They're loyal.

And yes, that includes Ferdinand, lmao.

Each house leader deals with dissent in a different way. Edelgard ignores it, Dimitri tries to placate it, and Claude engages with it. Edelgard and Ferdinand's arc is about him learning to stop comparing himself to her because she is his better; not in their current world, but the world she wants to create, a meritocracy. Her abilities surpass his and he grows to respect that. In Verdant Wind, when confronted on the bridge, he mentions how he feels like he's the only one who can properly advise Edelgard (likely in part to how he thinks Hubert isn't critical enough of her and does whatever serves her best).

He might disagree with her, but he believes it's his role to guide her, and frankly, it is, narratively. Edelgard doesn't show distrust of him because of what his father did, but rather, exasperation. She and Ferdinand may not be childhood friends, but they did grow up together, and she's been used to him doing this since they were children, as she mentions. Any doubt Ferdinand has about following Edelgard is less about his personal feelings for her, in my opinion, and more about what he's supposed to do as someone in his role. "Do I support her as the son of the prime minister?" Not Edelgard as Ferdinand, but an Emperor and her future advisor.

[kyogre-blue]

ac-liveblogs

Given the way information is delivered in CF, you start to see how people more inclined to trust Edelgard over Rhea believe CF is the route that reveals The Truth of the world, rather than Big Disinfo. The other routes not letting you argue the point really doesn't help that.

With context, the stuff Edie says is so obviously false that I'm sure the writers were aware of it.

But without context... it's presented without a hint of doubt or reason to second guess. Heroic, touching music, Edie giving her best show of vulnerability (that she didn't give in WC, though that's understandable from a character perspective), all the classmates being basically on board...

It's a heck of thing, rip to everyone who played CF first.

alternative27angel

Every time I have to look at CF route again, I’m reminded of how blindingly stupid you have to play as to commit to it, even without having the context of the other routes. I dunno about how much the Agarthans are behind the Adrestian/Church misinformation campaign, since it seems like “Arundel” actually does call Nemesis a thief and seems confused by Edelgard thinking of him as a great hero. But then again, it’s not like he’d be the only one working at the Adrestian royal family, so that might be something one of the other’s (I’d say Solon, but he’s more mad scientist than political saboteur) handiwork.

tbh I'm more with AC here. You CAN absolutely see that there are issues with what Edie is saying even from CF alone, but it requires reading into things with care and attention. Which tbh 3H does not feel like it warrants (especially when you're braindead from monastery sections). This was definitely not designed as a route where you are intended to question Edelgard.

In regard to Thales calling Nemesis a thief in front of the Flame Emperor, I do recall this scene. There's a few possible answers.

The Flame Emperor is very openly disgusted with the Agarthans and antagonistic toward them. They just don't care as long as she's still cooperating. So it's possible Thales expected her to be dismissive of Nemesis as well and not to buy into that whole angle.

The other thing about Edie is that she's not just drinking the Agarthan cool aid, but it seems she's being misled and shaped by her father as well (in some ways, with Hubert serving as an echo chamber?). Ionius says some pretty nonsense stuff in his like one scene with her, and it's fairly obvious he's been re-framing the entire situation favorably toward himself, which Edelgard has bought into.

Since Edie's view on Relics and such has been "passed down from emperor to emperor," it's likely that while the Nemesis propaganda did come from an Agarthan, it was not Thales himself or it was centuries back and he just hasn't kept track.

Not really a great look for Edie regardless.