#but imo the fodlan games were developed with the clear you can't make Supreme Leader BaD

[randomnameless]

Do you believe it would have been better for the state of the fandom if CF had ditched any attempts at subtlety and just made it clear and undeniable that it was a villain route?

I don't doubt there'd have been people trying to argue against it even then (Arvis was a hero who did nothing wrong interpretations of FE4's story come to mind), but it'd have significantly reduced how widespread the Edelgard wank would have been; the Fódlan stories themselves would also have been significantly improved if they didn't need to treat Edelgard with kids' gloves at every opportunity, so it'd even work as a 2-for-1 in making the Fódlan games better.

Hahaha,

Talking with a friend and musing about this verse - Fe Fodlan has always been about "uwu or not uwu" regarding the Red Emperor, and you can't sell Ashnard slapping his ass (I'd buy it) or Walmart in a nightgown (I wouldn't buy it) in heroes or in Cipher.

That's the, say, spinal cord of the Fodlan Verse, at least, how it was developed by the devs.

So to sell this merch, but also, with the usual brand of sexism and "women can't be BaD", we end up with... a route where you side with Supreme Leader that is extremely white-washed (no angry civilian/random asking for reparations! When Dimitri deals with Flèche!), Rhea roasts babies and they both lose because the plot commanded them to.

To be honest, after taking into account the rest of the game(s) I'm still surprised Tru Piss has so many red flags and clues and general enemy lines showcasing how this route is, well, the one that ends up with deadeyesfish!Billy.

Sure SS was supposed to be the Billy Route, but since Rhea BaD and Church BaD (as you are hammered every time!) it makes Supreme Leader not so BaD - and with Rhea (and the BL!) being a scapegoat to sell Supreme Leader as she was intended, I don't think any amount of subtletly would have saved, not Tru Piss, but the fandom who swallows everything Tru Piss says.

In a way, Tru Piss suffers from two opposites directions, make a villain route - as to not shoot the lore/worldbuilding (SS) - but also, remember to make Supreme Leader sellable. So it couldn't be a villain route, and they tried to fit every mention of it being a "shouldn't have picked that" route in the lore/background/other convos, so they got their cake and ate it.

But yep, Fodlan verse wouldn't be Fodlan verse if Supreme Leader was treated like Ashnard, because Supreme Leader and her "uwu betrayal" were at the core of the Fodlan verse.

Nopes dropped the "betrayal" aspect, but still, she's not supposed to be the clear cut villain - even if her actions, and the world building, and the genocidal death cult she works with say the contrary - so her enemies will be demonified (Dimitri kills people! omg so bad! - and Nopes ends with somehow everyone agreeing to kill Rhea on the Zahras chapters).

Many people already tried to explain why the fandom wank took as it did regarding Supreme Leader - but imo that's what the devs gunned for.

It's no wonder why in the next game, Sombron doesn't sing a jpop song and you can't side with him (willingly!), or why the people turned into zombies aren't sidelined and ignored like Baldo'n'Waldi - we returned to a tradition non wank state where selling alts, cards and tea bags isn't more important than telling a story, regardless of what you think of said story.

Of course we have funny people pushing a Lumera BaD narrative, but it's not to defend of absolve Sombron of any wrongdoing or to treat him with gloves, somehow, it's still used to defend Supreme Leader (that's why those people are funny!).