#fireemblems24

[theeeveetamer]

For the FE3H game, I want to know 15 so I can read it once I'm done!

15) If you are an artist or writer, are you currently working on any new FE3H content (art or fanfic)?  If so, will you share a sneak preview?

Oh my gosh tons of stuff actually. I’m not gonna post any snippets because I’m typing this on the wrong device for that but I’ll give a break down of some of the fics I’ve got brewing!

So just in terms of currently published WIPs I’m close to publishing the next chapter of Unwanted (my Sylvix omegaverse pregnancy drama) and my Dimidue Big Bang fic. I won’t post previews of those cuz they’re close to being done and posted 👀

In terms of long term multi-chaptered works I’m currently in the process of editing some hardcore Modern AU Dimitri whump and Dimidue slow burn. It is not for the faint of heart. I also have a Sylvix canon universe fic in which Dimitri and Felix spend the time skip as prisoners of war. Also not for the faint of heart.

For oneshots I don’t have anything I’ve got to the point where I could publish a WIP snippet, but I’d like to get something sexy done. Maybe with werewolf Dedue and lil blue riding hood Dimitri 👀 It’s gonna be for Halloween, I’m planning something for around that time.

[archer3-13]

#FodlanAppreciationHour - Teh Music

In the interest of @fireemblems24 idea, i figure id jump in with what i find most appreciable about the fodlan series: it has some really nice orchestration for its smaller themes. the little event themes that tend to get glossed over in any game essentially, which are well composed and generally fit the mood of the moment the games want you to feel in those moments.

Personally i especially like the nabateans and agarthans motifs which clash nicely giving each distinctively different edges that highlight aspects of their factions [nabatean motifs are calming, soothing, mystical, choiric and natural. agarthan motifs are cold, sinister, looming, technological]

another common motif is the utilization of the edge of dawn/lady of hvreslig theme which tend to have a chorus or so in a lot of the games event songs.

[lananiscorner]

Shoutout to @fireemblems24 and her "all 4 routes simultaneously" blind first playthrough of Fire Emblem: Three Houses, wherein she first described Dimitri as a kind of bland, sad white boy and then proceeded to lose her mind over him for the rest of her playthrough coverage. XDDDD

truly nothing funnier than having an archive of when you first started getting into a media that has since consumed your entire life

[teaveetamer]

Ok I said like two weeks ago that I was gonna put together a spoiler tagged doc relating to this post

Then I finished it all in one night because it really didn’t take that long, set it aside for further proof reading, and completely forgot about it lmao.

So here it is

@fireemblems24

[fireemblems24]

Hi I have been really enjoying your playthrough of 3 hopes and reading the chapters but u have been having a bit of trouble finding the earlier ones and I was wondering if you had a list or any tips on finding them more easier.

I am sorry about being a pain

You're not being a pain! It makes me happy to know people are actually reading this stuff.

Unlike with Houses, I started with better tagging from the start this time. You'll have to work backwards, but these tags/links should work.

So, I tried to post links and it just went to the blog.

Editing this URL should work (just take out the spaces)

fireemblems24.tumblr.com / tagged / azure %20 gleam

fireemblems24.tumblr.com / tagged / scarlet %20 blaze

fireemblems24.tumblr.com / tagged / golden %20 wildfire

[travelling-on-the-octopath]

Thank you user fireemblems24 for reminding me of this brain child. I haven't written a complete piece in /so/ fucking long, so I may just write a silly one shot inspired by a scene in Anastasia to flex my writing fingers.

Dimiclaude Anastasia AU. Claude trying to milk the royal family for money by handing them the pretty blonde man but, uh oh! He's found the lost prince of Faerghus

[fireemblems24]

Hello! I read your analysis from your 3H 4 route simultaneous playthrough. There are a couple scenes that I wish I'd read your reaction to (like Dedue returning in chapter 16 of AM), but I'm guessing you didn't do a full review of every chapter? Sometimes it's hard to find your tags for those playthrough. Anyway, I loved reading your thoughts on every route and respect you a lot for trying to play the game that way. Without NG+, playing 4 new routes simultaneously sounds painful at times.

I didn't, sorry. I only started that later on. Sorry about the tags too. I was really unorganized when I started this.

I found my Ch 16 reactions though. It's a lot of crying emoji lamo. AM is at the end. https://fireemblems24.tumblr.com/post/647760424036712448/chapter-16-battle-post-battle

And here's a link to an archive if you're very bored. https://fireemblems24.tumblr.com/archive

[werewen]

@fireemblems24

FE3H War Crimes :) (including crimes against peace and crimes against humanity)

Notes:

1. As child soldiers and wilful killing are a staple of the franchise I will not hold that against any of them

2. The using of the fire trap at Garreg Mach by Claude, Seteth, and Gustav does not count as a war crime as the area where it is used has been uninhabited by civilians for five years

3. As Dimitri never learns the truth about the Heroes Relics in game, he will not be tried with Abuse of Corpse

4. Dimitri is also acquitted of using crest beasts as this was done without his knowledge or consent

5. Dimitri almost commits the war crime of “torture of POW” but is stopped before doing so, but he was willing so that’s 1/2

6. Dimitri may have also killed civilians as he stated that he killed “government officials”, but it is unclear whether or not they also had combat training and the situation it had happened (if it was during his escape of execution then it can be considered self defense)

Edelgard

1. Starting the war (planning, preparation, or waging a war of aggression)

2. Invading the Alliance (the deliberate attacks on property of neutral states)

3. Using Aymr despite saying she knows where it comes from (abuse of corpse)

4. The imprisonment of Rhea (the mistreatment of prisoners of war)

5. The imprisonment of Rhea (the taking of hostages)

6. Forced conscription or death (the mistreatment of civilians, civilian labourers forced to support war effort/slave labor)

7. Turning people into crest beasts (biological warfare experiments on humans)

8. Using crest beasts (the use of chemical and biological weapons in warfare)

9. Wanting the Nabateans dead (genocide)

10. Keeping the citizens in Enbarr during a battle (the use of human shields)

11. Petra is a political hostage and possible enemy (Compelling a prisoner of war or other protected person to serve in the forces of a hostile Power)

12. Attacking the monastery (intentionally launching an attack in the knowledge that such attack will cause incidental loss of life or injury to civilians or damage to civilian objects)

13. Attacking the monastery (intentionally directing attacks against buildings dedicated to religion, education, art, science, for charitable purposes, historic monuments, or hospitals)

14. Gathering soldiers disguised as merchants and pilgrims at the monastery for infiltration (the feigning, before an attack, of non-combatant status)

Claude

1. Using Failnaught despite knowing where it comes from (abuse of corpse)

2. Dressing up as Imperial soldiers (making improper use of the military insignia and military uniform of the enemy)

Rhea

1. Setting Fhirdiad on fire (extensive destruction and appropriation of property, not justified by military necessity and carried out unlawfully and wantonly)

Dimitri

1. Almost torturing Randolph (torture of a prisoner of war)

2. May have killed civilians referred to as “government officials”, but it is unclear whether or not they also had combat training and the situation it had happened (if it was during his escape of execution then it can be considered self defense)

War Crime Total

Edelgard: 14

Claude: 2

Rhea: 1

Dimitri: 1 (1/2 for a maybe war crime, 1/2 for an almost war crime)

If you think I missed any or would like evidence to support any of the claims feel free to message me about it :).

[fantasyinvader]

@fireemblems24

Since @teaveetamer already posted their document on the game, I figured I’m going to go ahead as well since I promised you I’d do this. Part of it is me being impatient and just want to get writing this over with, I’ll admit, but it’s better than something I scribble at the last minute.

Okay, let’s start off with something simple. The route split. There is a meaning behind this you might not be aware of. See, Byleth’s personal class isn’t the Enlightened One in the original text. It’s Nirvana.  While it does take some cues from Hindu tradition, namely fusing with the Creator God...dess, in Three Houses it’s tied to a more Buddhist outlook. Namely, the duality between enlightenment and ignorance.

Let me explain. In Buddhist tradition, when he was attempting to reach Nirvana, a being called Mara tried to tempt Buddha away from that using his daughters. In their mythology, Mara represents spiritual death and among other things making bad things look good. However, the story goes that Buddha did not fall for the trap and in order to celebrate this a flag is used as the symbol. This is known as the Banner of Victory.

In Silver Snow, Byleth is presented with a flag. Not only does this flag appear as the route’s save icon, it’s also confirmed to be the game’s Fire Emblem. In addition, the developers have also said that the worldbuilding of Three Houses was done to support Silver Snow. Silver Snow is supposed to represent truth.

But what does that mean for Crimson Flower? It’s meant to be this path of temptation. Even the Japanese name for the route reflects this, as Safflowers don’t represent love like the red rose mentioned in the opening theme but rather attraction. Attraction and used in bouquets to say “I’m trying to attract you.” Even in the game itself, the choices that unlock CF are presented as changing the story.

What’s more, there’s implications.After joining Edelgard’s army, a NPC will talk about how he doesn’t think he should believe everything she says. This is way after Kostas dying, saying he should never have listened to her. There’s another NPC who, in the Japanese, heavily implies Edelgard is using propaganda to try and sway the unsupportive public to her side. We have the aftermath of Arianrhod, with her lying to the Black Eagles. Hell, the full version of the game’s theme song reveals she lied to Byleth during the events of White Clouds. Likewise, there’s a lot of little tidbits hidden in the route that imply it is far less heroic than it initially appears. Stuff like how Edelgard is starving her people to wage this war, how she abandoned the war she started for five years to search for Byleth, how she’s still using Crest Beasts, the fact the troops you liberated at Brigid were Imperial troops rather than Brigid militia like in the other routes (and notice how Catherine says “we just asked Brigid to not support the Empire” in contrast to Petra saying they’re forcing Brigid to join them? Other routes reveal that Brigid would join Rhea in a heartbeat if Petra wasn’t under Edelgard’s control), all optional but they’re there. Just like how her route has endings that contradict each other all over the place, talking about giving the people liberty while Hubert’s imply it’s a police state killing those who don’t accept their new overlord. Or how the Church is still around post-war, just under Edelgard’s control. Or how Byleth’s solo ending makes it still sound like they can use the Sword of the Creator, while the Jeritza ending shows them using the Sword of Seiros. Various bits of information floating around the game also debunk her narrative, if you know where to look. Crests and the Church don’t have as much power as she makes them out to, the Empire was founded on meritocracy but those in charge used their power to oppress the masses, and the Empire’s split with the Church happened because the Southern Church rebelled against their leadership and was crushed by the emperor at the time.

There’s so much evidence that things are changing in Fodlan, with new power structures and attempted reforms, while the Japanese text makes it clear Edelgard wants to put things back to how they used to be. She’s not a reformer, she seeking restoration of the Empire.

Even Byleth’s romance with Edelgard is suspect in the Japanese text. Ferdinand and Hubert’s paired ending makes it clear that Edelgard is jealous of how close they are, while her supports with Byleth flat out say Byleth has become more distant (and likely undoing their development during White Clouds). In addition, Japanese Hubert and Byleth’s support ends with Hubert saying they can be two particular birds flying alongside the eagle that is Edelgard. This bird is from Chinese mythology, representing eternal love...and bringing death, destruction and misery. It has very negative implications, hence why using the mandarin duck is seen as more appropriate since it also means love without any of the other stuff.

CF is the path of ignorance. Hell, the Japanese script says as much when Dimitri calls you out on walking the path of the beast. Nirvana is meant to be extinguishing the flames of hatred, greed and ignorance within yourself, while the path of the beast is one of hatred, greed and ignorance. CF is the antithesis of what Byleth’s story is supposed to be, hence why they lose their powers in it’s ending and aren’t a leader in Fodlan despite having proven themselves capable of the task. Instead, various endings show Edelgard restoring the nobility, albeit with far more control over them. Hell, the Japanese script uses the words conquest a lot more than the English one, the devs even referring to it as such while Silver Snow is the Empire Route and that part of the meaning behind CF is simply getting rid of those who stand in your way. Nothing about liberty or humanity, just Edelgard taking all power for herself.

Or in other words, she’s the hegemon that’s referred to in Byleth’s CF title. This was actually confirmed to be a reference to China’s Mandate of Heaven, and is meant to stand in contrast to Azure Moon. The gist is that unlike the Divine Right of Kings, where a leader has a right to rule given to them by God and everyone else can just suck it up, the Mandate treats their rule as a privilege. If you’re a cruel leader, corrupt,you put yourself ahead of your subjects, or just simply an oppressive tyrant, then you’re walking the path of the Hegemon. The Heavens will then give signs to the people, telling them they need to overthrow you and install a new leader. That’s what Edelgard is supposed to represent, and her route has confirmed rebellions against her. Ironically, her portrait at the end of CF is based off of Napoleon’s coronation portrait, which was meant to emphasize his own divine right to rule. That hand staff is supposed to represent being given God’s approval to rule, it’s call the Staff of Justice...except what we see in the game is inverted from the real thing.

Meanwhile, Dimitri’s path is that of the Righteous Kings. He’s a benevolent leader, one who puts the people first, giving them power and by overthrowing Edelgard he enacted justice. Dimitri at the end of AM and during CF is meant to be the good king, while Edelgard is always the tyrant. Hell, the terms for these in Japanese are used as expressions. Hegemon has very negative implications, like a power-tripping middle manager, while Righteous King has positive ones and can even be used to say a particular way of doing things is the proper way to do things.

Also worth noting that Azure Moon is the only route where you can pretty much save everyone sans Edelgard, Hubert and Jeritza. It seems to be the route that most emphasizes compassion over learning the full truth (hence, it doesn’t feature the flag like SS/VW).

Hell, the same final boss theme plays at the end of CF and AM. It’s Edelgard’s theme, using her own musical cues and stuff. Rhea might be the final boss of CF, but the music makes Edelgard the bad guy. Likewise, there’s many cues in the game linking Rhea with light/dawn and Edelgard with shadows/darkness, even Rhea’s lilies represent purity compared to Edelgard’s safflower.

Claude also has light based symbolism, and the devs confirmed he’s a good guy. He’s supposed to be Fodlan’s new guiding light after Rhea dies and the collapse of Fodlan’s institutions. In essence, he’s a direct contrast to Edelgard. While Edelgard thinks she knows everything and won’t change her mind, Claude learns the real truth and his views change with the route (mostly implied due to his supports). Claude reveals said truth, while Edelgard will keep pushing lies that suit her. The endings were Edelgard loyalists and TWSITD rise up to try and retake Fodlan are less hidden than the rebellions against Edelgard. Claude treats Byleth as an equal, whereas Edelgard pulls rank and says she can only see them as an equal when they propose. Claude doesn’t fall for attempts by TWSITD to turn him against the Church in VW, which creates the impression that they were the ones responsible for turning Edelgard against Rhea for simply being not human.

Claude is legit, especially considering the fraud that is Edelgard. You can’t save everyone as Claude, since the story prioritizes the truth (with SS being in the middle) but there’s a case to be made that it’s meant to be Claude’s path to his own form of enlightenment so he can be your true equal and partner.

So, that’s kinda it. Each of the three main routes are meant to contrast CF in some way. AM is more focused on compassion and saving Dimitri from himself, at the cost of learning the full truth. VW pushes the truth more, but you’re not able to save those you could in other routes. SS is somewhere in the middle, where you can save everyone you take into your class, Rhea if you have supports with her, and Dedue if you can keep him alive. The language the devs used makes them all out to be hero routes, whereas CF is the villain route once you dig under the surface. It’s the route of lies, it leads to tyranny, it lacks sincere compassion, but it doesn’t tell you that because you’re meant to be ignorant because you decided to join her. You put Edelgard ahead of the good of Fodlan, leaving it in darkness while she talks about being it’s light.

The main thrust of the game is SS vs. CF, but VW and AM serve to further illustrate why CF is the wrong way of doing things.

The devs took it a step further in the Nintendo Dream interview. Take all of what I just said, and consider the fact they wanted the players to immerse themselves in Fodlan. They want people to see all the evidence against Edelgard, hence why fighting her = Enlightenment. BUT they also talked about wanting to play a trick on players, and when people complained about how hard it was to “walk with Edelgard” during testing they made it easier to access CF. CF is the trick my friend, it’s the player thinking they’re the good guy when in reality they’re playing the game’s villain route.

[teaveetamer]

I can already taste the salt that the Flame Emperor reveal post by fireemblems24 will cause.

Can’t wait to see the extent of it in a few hours. Oh my god though they’re only on Chapter 12 right? We have ten more chapters worth of this to sit through?

[agoddamn]

@fireemblems24 just so you know, the Japanese fandom also has nicknames for the Bernie BBQ.

In no particular order, my slang favorites:

ベルファイア/ベル焼き

とある戦場におけるイベントやギミック、またはそれに関連するベルナデッタの扱いのこと。 全くの余談だが、ベルナデッタは肉を焼いた料理は苦手である。

“Belfire”/”Bernfire”/Bernieyaki: the Bernadetta BBQ

介護

本編や外伝の戦闘に登場するNPCが死なないよう（あるいは下手に動いて戦況を不利にしないよう）、プレイヤー側が工夫を凝らすこと。ルナティックで倒れやすくなったギルベルトや、結局殺されるのにソロンや魔獣相手に突撃を仕掛けるジェラルト、ノーマルでも物理防御が高くなく「オーラ」装備で攻速が大幅に下がるロドリグなど中高年に対して用いられることが多い。 他にもゲルズ公やジュディットといった、守らないと敗北する友軍ユニットは何人かいるが、その2名に関してはかなり持ち堪えてくれるのであまり介護とは呼ばれない。

“Long-term care”, or “care for the elderly”, or “nursing home routine”: the practice of keeping NPCs that suck alive. Gilbert, Jeralt, and Rodrigue are the biggest pains in the ass to keep alive, thus the name.

パルミラブートキャンプ

兵種をドラゴンナイトやドラゴンマスターにする育成方針のことを指す。おそらく、パルミラが竜騎士の国であり、本編で登場するパルミラ出身のキャラクター達が揃ってドラゴンに乗ることからの呼称。 今作において飛行兵は成長面や能力面で優遇されているほか、ドラゴンナイトを経由する過程で転職する斧兵種の戦士やブリガンドで力+2や鬼神の一撃などの火力強化スキルを習得できるので力不足になりにくい、 DナイトやDマスターは（技能さえ鍛えられるのであれば）男女問わず誰でもなれるといった様々な利点があり、今作で育成方針に困ったらドラゴンに乗せればOKといっても過言ではない。 ただし、飛行ユニットであるがゆえに、特に1周目では騎士団の取り合いになるのは避けられない。ドラゴンに限った話ではないが、ご利用は計画的に。

Almyra Boot Camp: making everyone a Wyvern Lord because it’s the best class.   

[bloomandcoffee]

@fireemblems24 this image IS a bit spoilery, but:

I just saw that reply, and here I bring up the thesis about Dimitri being a CLAMP character.

so two blond haired blue eyed princes with a black, white and blue color scheme, a magic stick, an eye patch, and a metric ton of trauma hidden behind a carefully crafted facade who were betrayed by their family and forced to flee their snow-themed kingdom walk into a bar…

[randomnameless]

I swear this chapter alone made me reconsider Supreme Bullshit, especially that ending !

Sadly we will never know what Varley was preaching that made Rhea so upset that she sent assassins to rekt him.

To Agarthans, basically, everyone who isn't them is a "beast".

Yep, Supreme Leader already tried to team up with the evil lizard illuminati to rekt them, but she stabbed them in the back before making sure the Agarthans were defeated. Now she thinks both are blights on this world and puts them on the same priority level, when Rhea knows who's the biggest threat to the world.

In a way, the Deers not giving fucks about Claude is oddly satisfying, given how he had his them ally with the Empire only to attack then all afterwards. Forget Acheron, Nopes Claude is the biggest weatherwane of Fodlan lol

Ah, the Bergliez paralogue.

Note how Leopold (Bergliez Sr) gifts those gauntlets to Caspar because of his achievements and as a reward, so fitting with Supreme Leader's meritocraty, Caspar got them bcs he is the best at fighting...

But then Leopold says those gauntlets were in his family for generations... And they go to one of his sons lol. It feels like a heirloom being passed down to a heir, and funny how Barney can be jealous because, hey, they're most likely the reason why the war goes so well, but since they're not from Bergliez's brood, they won't get anything :)

Hereditary Meritocracy for everyone !

Did you knew you can use Shamir to kill Cyril and Catherine ?

She seems to scold Cyril for fighting while wounded (but she won't pull a Jeritza, of course !) and given her recruitment, she has nothing meanigful to say to Catherine...

As for Rhea...

SHE FUCKING DIES IN AN EXPLOSION TO TAKE DOWN THALES HOW BADASS IS THAT

ahem

This scene is basically perfect, bcs it ended years of discourse as in Rhea knows Thales'n'co are the biggest threat to Fodlan and she has her priorities straight, unlike a certain someone, even if it means death, Rhea will take them down, which made Supreme Leader's betrayal earlier on this route completely nonsensical, if her goal was really to get rid of the Agarthans, the Church would have helped her all the way-but she had to MAGA and turn against the evil lizard illuminati.

Also, I really liked how Barney, in that moment, tried to help Rhea and turned against Thales- maybe because even they, as a random soldier treated as they are in SB - realised who was the biggest threat ? In a nutshell, this route completely shits on Fe16's Supreme Leader as everyone realises Agarthans shouldn't be allied with, worse, should be rektd first.

I'm pretty sure Claude died when he turned against you another reason why this route is the second best lol and yep, the writing ends here to have a smokescreen of an ending where no one dies (If you recruited Billy) and it's kept unconclusive to make sure the players won't feel bad for achieving an ending without Billy.

It's stupid reasoning, but then, this game has strange writing.

And yet this one of the best endings for Rhea, unironically, because even if she dies, she steals the show by taking Thales out IN AN EXPLOSION AS THEY BOTH FADE AWAY IN BLINDING LIGHT

It's so Shonen from the 90s how can you not like it ???

Yes, humanity is fucked but lbr, much like Jugdral, Fodlan's humans are hopeless

Bar some barbarians in the North ?

Scarlet Blaze Ch 15 (Final)

Last one, everyone! After this, I finally get to play Spiritfarer which I got on . . . Christmas 2022.

NARRATION

Last chapter. Finally. Killing so many people in this route is really awful. Especially since you just . . . don't in the other two.

I think the last chapter will take place at the monastery.

Oh, great, does this mean I have to protect Bernie's dad in this route? I hope Rhea kills him, like gets this badass cut scene where she cuts him down for perverting her faith by using it as a propaganda tool.

So TWSITD showed up and is attacking Rhea and the Empire.

They're mostly after the "beasts" (aka Nabateans? Or humans?)

I wish this meant that we teamed up with Rhea, but we know Edelgard would team up with TWSITD first.

Catherine and Rhea got a cool moment together though.

Yep, we have to protect Count Varley, gross.

MAP

No side battles! This final chapter will be super quick, which is nice.

I'm VERY curious what the Golden Deer students say after Claude's moment last chapter lamo.

And if any Lions mention Sylvain :((((

OMG, Ignatz is savage. He only cares about painting the battle. No mention of Claude.

Yuri wishes he could kill Varley instead of save him. Good for him. He really feels more suited for AG/AM/SS/VW than SB/CF/GW.

Well, at least Mercedes mentioned Sylvain. And Ingrid and Annette. Saying they died for what they believed in and admires them for it, since she could never.

Poor Ashe is having a crisis. Still had no idea wtf he's doing in the Empire's war camp. Honestly, this game made him so much more interesting.

Linhardt also has no fucking clue why he's here. I swear he does nothing but complain every map (in a funny way) and wish he was doing literally anything else.

Lorenz is more concerned about his future bc of Claude than worried about him. Man, guy really has no one loyal to him lol.

DOROTHEA & CASPAR C

I swear I did a much better job getting supports in GW and AG.

Caspar has a bunch of books, and Dorothea's horrified by the idea that he'll use them in training.

Caspar plans to read them. Dorothea teases him. Apparently Lin made similar comments.

Dorothea makes him promise not to hurt the books. A woman after my own heart.

Caspar's like, did you know my dad reads! Dorothea's like, yeah . . . how do you think he got his role if he didn't.

Dorothea tells a story about an unlearned commander who studied strategy in books and improved to become legendary.

The only stupid part of this is thinking you can read and understand complicated books in 5 days and become an expect in 5 days. For once, Caspar was the smart one being like, uh, I need more time.

MERCEDES & LYSITHEA B

This support is SB locked, but neither characters are Eagles. It may be the only support like that in the game. But, hey, new Mercie content, I'll take it!

Mercedes comes across Lysithea in the kitchen, trying and failing to cook.

The fruits she wanted to use are moldy though. Lysithea has an idea to use something else for the fruit - a sugar syrup.

Lysithea has dedicated her time to learning how to cook because of how good Mercedes' cooking was, so she credits Mercie for the sugar syrup, which she learned because of that.

Baking also helped Lysithea learn the importance of taking breaks.

Mercie calls her a wizened old grandma, lol.

They arrange a tea party.

SHEZ & LINHARDT A

It starts with Linhardt saying they haven't learned anything about Shez's powers. I wonder how funny this sounds if you get it after the special chapters.

Linhardt says it's find because the war is almost over, so there's less need and chance for the powers to go out of control.

Shez pretty consistently wants to continue working as a mercenary after the battle.

He also seems to have no desire to stay in Enbarr lol.

Linhardt wants Shez as a personal bodyguard. Honestly, not a bad choice.

Then Linhardt says something like "spending the rest of my life with some random bodyguard" and then makes an excuse to leave. so he wants to stick with Shez for life. It's kind of sweet.

EDELGARD & PETRA A

Their only support

Edelgard comes across Petra praying to Bigid gods. In Brigid they pray in nature rather than in churches in Fodlan.

Edelgard asks Petra why she's risking her life in the war because it's bad for Brigid.

So Brigid will only be freed if Petra remains alive.

To be fair, it's because she doesn't know the new leader. Still feels a bit icky for Petra.

Edelgard warns about "tricks" the enemy will use. She really has a beef with anyone using tactics.

Petra just says she's happy to fight and can't run while everyone else remains and fights.

Edelgard says she can't back out, which true, but she could've just not started one. But that's in the past I guess.

Overall, came across better than the Houses one where Petra didn't seem like an equal.

EDELGARD/LYSITHEA/HAPI PARALOGUE

My plan is to have Edelgard and Shez make the other two adjuncts and see if I can't beat the paralogue that way.

It's about TWSITD, which isn't surprising given that character list.

God, I've made SB Shez so fucking stupid. Never understanding anything. It's so funny.

So is this about Cornelia? They found one of her old hideouts.

I had Shez shrug about joining. Hapi got offended.

They're talking about Hubert. I wish he was here. He's my best unit.

I wish Cornelia showed up. She's so fun, but sadly she did not.

They didn't find anything. Hapi was mostly chill about it. Edelgard and Lysithea were more bothered.

Shez could show concern or change the subject. Obviously I made him change the subject since SB!Shez is not intelligent.

CASPAR/LINHARDT PARALOGUE

Like the last time, I just plan to adjunct Caspar and let Shez and Linhardt do all the work.

They're arguing if Caspar saw a ghost or not. Linhardt remains unconvinced.

Lamo, their dads showed up and Linhardt's dad called him a "fountain of positivity" when he brought up their could die any day.

Linhardt is also upset that he has to help.

We're hunting down Empire people who've turned against Edelgard.

I had Shez not want to go lol.

The main battle changed to defeating their dads. I don't think I'm supposed to take this paralogue seriously.

Linhardt had no fun.

Bergliez gave Caspar some gaunlets, and I could either be happy for him or jealous. I obviously picked jealous since it's fun to pick the dick answer lol.

FINAL BATTLE

Why is the S rank reward Edelgard's axe? This is the last battle, right? Is there some post game stuff? Because I'm so ready for this to be done (I don't think I'll do it).

Funny, Edelgard is the one defending the monastery this time, and Varley. Imagine your final battle being about protecting Varley. Ugh.

Only 40 points for the final battle?

Just killed Catherine :(

Cyril just showed up. Rhea's so concerned. Not looking forward to killing a child :((( He died too. This is by far the bloodiest route. I swear no one even dies in AG, and in GW it's only Sylvain's dad.

This can't be it, right? That was too easy. And Cyril as the final boss makes no sense. I'm betting it's a Thales and Rhea fight.

Rhea turned into a dragon. Badass. Glad she was the final boss poper and not Thales.

Spoke too soon. I think they're both here now.

Think I beat it. We're at a cut scene now. Thales is doing magic shit. Rhea attacked him and just ignored Edelgard and Shez like they weren't worth her notice lol.

Wait, that's it?

Rhea pushes Thales off a cliff? So RHEA's the hero??

There's no way they could've survived that - Edelgard. My girl, Rhea is a fucking dragon and Thales can warp. I have bad news from you. Also, Byleth survived a fall too so . . .

What happened to Dimitri? I don't think I killed Claude either?

Is that really it? The war just keeps going. The war just keeps on with no end in sight. Hahahaha. You mean I played how many hours for THAT? I'm going to laugh my ass off if all 3 routes end like this. What a cheap way to avoid killing any of the lords.

OMG. What a stupid ending.

Except for Rhea. She got the big hero moment lol.

I kept waiting for another battle. Esp since there's an S rank reward that's Edelgard's axe, so Idk what's going on.

OMG, this is going to take FOREVER. They're showing the MVP of every single side battle and not just the main ones. I'm only at ch 6.

There was a lot more variety in MVP than I thought. I thought it would be the Hubert show, but it's pretty varied.

Ok, so around ch 10 turns into the Hubert show. I like seeing battle data though, so I sat through it.

Ok, so you get a letter from the person you get a whistle from. Aww, I eventually won Hubert's trust, and he admits he and the army needs us. Glad I picked him.

Wait, no paired endings? That blows. I hope this isn't a new trend since Engage didn't do that either (I love paired endings)

Ok, so it looks like some stuff would carry over to another playthrough on this file. So, in the future, I'd replay AG over my GW or SB playthrough to at least get 2 on the same one. I can't see myself replaying SB or GW. It's not like the story would matter since I could just skip it, but the gameplay is pretty much the same, so why not play the route with my favorites and the most unit choices on top of that?

So you can carry over supports and even unit level. So I could play Dimitri as the absurd level he's at in level one if I saved over my AG file? Because that would be funny. Probably boring. But funny.

Still feels good. One down. Two to go.

xxxx

[randomnameless]

what is even chapter order lol

If Rhea had more spotlight, I'm afraid to say she would steal the entire show.

I mean, idk if you've already finished SB, but she's memorable there, so give her more spotlight in AG? Apologies to Dimitri and the BL peeps, but I'd prefer to follow her 10 times over following the Lions.

Lol@Rhea being in the camp just after Dimitri recruited Jerry, promising him to make sure they wouldn't meet her lol.

But just like the greater Nabatean plot, nothing ever comes out of this potential goof - even if Sothis who apparently has her memories here should do something when she meets her living children, but well...

I think you get the most out of recruiting Jerry'n'Billy in SB or GW, because Jeralt has supports with SB exclusive characters (and devs bias I guess) where you learn that, uh, well, he's no dad of the year material, even if Billy is also part of that support!

I really like how Yuri and Dimitri support start dangerously close to "but maybe Supreme Leader is right and the people should decide for themselves", until Yuri reminds him that, no, to first decide people need to be fed, in relative good health and have a home, only then, if those conditions are met, they will be able to decide what they want to do.

Also Dedue and Annette support is one of the few instances (iirc Leonie had one with Catherine) where we see people being envious of crests and relics, not because of the status they can bring, but because of the power they give to their wielders.

Annette being Annette gives the good answer, everyone can help in different ways!

She never laughed or cried either, like Byleth, not at first at least.

THIS

Jeralt's reason for running away bcs Rhea BaD is bcs she did something to his baby and baby doesn't cry or laugh - but that's the exact same condition Sitri apparently had!

Hopefully the support doesn't tell us anything about Sitri's heartbeat, because if she too, didn't have any that would make Jeralt's escape even more stupid in hindsight, like "oh noes, my kid has the same condition as their mother, it must be the midwife's fault, she's BaD".

At least Jerry seems to regret, after 21 years, the lifestyle he picked for Billy - not that this will lead to anything, since you can recruit them in SB/GW. Byleth is happy to have Jeralt, at least, so everything's well that ends well, right?

Jeralt's paralogue and support with a SB character throw a wench in this picture lol

Haha, I laughed when I read your impressions seeing Claude now! Given what happens in the next couple of chapters though...

IDK if you got Catherine and Emile's support, but it's defnitely worth a read!

Azure Gleam Ch 13

Alright guys, we're getting close to finishing this thing - like 10 years later, but still here.

MAIN STORY

Ok, guys, the hard battle is over. Dimitri stomping everything is all I have left to do, I hope.

I wonder if I dislike Claude now. He's here and on our side, but I think "ew" and "ugh" when I see him now.

Claude suspects stuff.

Seteth is lecturing Hilda for whining lamo.

Seeing Claude, Rhea, and Dimitri all fight on the same side is cool, even if I find Claude annoying as fuck right now.

I wish Rhea would lead the knights herself, but instead she just gets sidelines so hard in AG. Hopes as a whole tgh.

Oh! No side battles! Not all that mad. Bc that means this'll speed things up a bit lol.

MAP/SIDE BATTLE

Sylvain is admiring Dimitri and Felix and how good of leaders they are. He's hoping he gets his act together soon too lol.

It's cool seeing Byleth and Jeralt around. Rhea's here too. The camp is packed with little blue and yellow dots.

There's a letter from Glenn on the table :(

Seems a bit cheap that Byleth only supports Jeralt and Shez, but can reach A with everyone. Like a cop out.

Honestly, neither of them have a ton of supports (Jeralt or Byleth). A bit bummed, but I guess you get them kind of late. Too bad this game never got a DLC. Byleth/lord supports would've sold that.

ANNETTE & DEDUE B

Annette needs help using Crusher. It's too heavy for her.

Annette thinks she needs to gain weight, but Dedue says that's not everything and is willing to help her out.

He helps her train with a bag of rocks and credits him with the motivation to try.

Dedue hesitates a bit when replying to her though, making Annette curious.

Pretty much a set up for part 2.

ANNETTE & DIMITRI B

Their only support this game.

Annette creates a disaster in the kitchen (or training grounds, unclear). With Dimitri's help. So . . . they tried cooking together? Yeah. That was never going to end well.

Dimitri and Annette both blame themselves. Dimitri "wins" though.

Dimitri wishes he were better with magic, but it runs in the family. He wanted to be a mage when he was younger.

"An old friend of mine would give magic demonstrations." - probably Edelgard?

Annette is willing to help Dimitri learn magic. She wants to get better at teaching. Dimitri really wishes he could learn magic.

Annette really wants to be a teacher.

She encourages him not to hold back. I think he made another explosion. Poor Annette has her work cut out for her lol.

INGRID & MARIANNE B

Horse girls final support.

Ingrid's been trying to figure out what her horse is thinking/wants based on behavior but is struggling.

Unlike Marianne, but, you know, she has help lol.

Ingrid's horse doesn't want to move again, so Marianne comes to help.

The horse/pegasus doesn't want to go to the battlefield because she's worried about Ingrid (and remembering Scarlet Blaze, that sucks, Fuck SB for killing Ingrid)

Ingrid is getting better connecting with her horse, and now will go get to save her friend.

When Ingrid's leaving, Marianne starts wishing for something but doesn't say what, Ingrid guesses horseback riding together and guesses right.

Ingrid credits to spending time with Marianne and getting to know her.

So Ingrid and Marianne are friends now. Good for both of them.

SHEZ & RODRIGUE A

Rodrigue is looking for a book on mercenaries.

When Shez asks why, Rodrigue skirts around it and Shez calls him out.

After a tough battle with Jeralt and co, Rodrigue wants to read up on mercenaries to make sure he understands their tactics better and avoid potential disaster.

Shez is impressed with Rodrigue for still studying after so long.

Rodrigue says he's not as smart as Gautier or courageous as Lambert, so he has too.

Shez says Rodrigue and Felix are close alike than either would admit - they both always want to improve themselves.

(and that Dimitri and Sylvain are like their dad's too)

Rodrigue still feels he doesn't measure up to the other two though :( But I'm happy Shez had such nice things to say about Rodrigue.

MERCEDES & ASHE B

Ashe turned pale while training. He plays it off as nothing, but Mercedes calls him out.

He got a minor injury, which reminded him of seeing a ghost.

Oh, poor Ashe, Mercedes starts playing 100 questions with him - wanting to know what it was wearing lol.

Ashe tells the story - he went looking for herbs to help his sick brother and saw a ghost in the fog. While running away, he got a similar injury.

Mercedes isn't scared of his tale. She's heard it before. In her tale, it wasn't a ghost though, but a shadow. Making Ashe think he saw his own shadow too.

Now Ashe thinks he lived in fear of his own shadow, lamo.

Ashe is like, you should hear this guy's story, and there's no one there.

But this isn't Ashe pulling on Mercedes, but him thinking he found another ghost because there was never anyone else around, lol.

FELIX & RAPHAEL A

Raphael wants to work out. Felix yells at him for being loud and giving him away.

Felix is boar hunting lamo.

Raphael talks about how Petra taught him a special technique. So now we have a Deer and Lion training, talking about an Eagle.

The boar they're hunting is wounded, but Felix is still weary of it.

Felix failed to hunt a boar before.

Dimitri once hunted so many animals that they couldn't fit them all on the sled lol. Felix struggled to get one.

Raphael gets confused when Felix is talking about boar, if he means a real boar or Dimitri lol.

Raphael wants to help Felix get revenge for the boar that got away.

And he attacks head-on, much to Felix's dismay, but he got it. Felix is a bit stunned it went down so quickly.

Felix admits that maybe working with friends helps sometimes. And Raphael is happy Felix called him friend.

This was actually way more entertaining than I thought it would be (Raphael supports can be . . . you know . . . dull or amusing, this one was amusing)

Plus I love hearing the story of Dimitri being an apex hunter as a child and Felix grumbling off trying to bag his own boar and failing lamo.

RODRIGUE & FELIX A

Rodrigue wants to talk. Felix tried to brush him off. And Rodrigue's like shut up and sit down, boy. But nicely.

He wants to talk because neither know when they'll die and don't want lingering regrets. Which, knowing what happens in Azure Moon . . . :(

Rodrigue apologizes for what he said about Glenn. Which I find a bit stupid because he was a grieving father so . . .

Thankfully, Rodrigue gets to explain his thoughts behind it. Acknowledging Glenn's agency in his decisions too.

Felix denies Glenn's agency and can only get Dimitri to say he caused Glenn to die :(

Rodrigue acknowledges that, but asks Felix what he would've done. Let Dimitri die and run away to save himself or do what Glenn did.

Felix gets angry at the idea that saving your own life is cowardice and that, when the time actually comes with something like that, you don't think - only act. So . . . he walked into Rodrigue's trap lol, who'll say then Glenn acted and choose to act that way.

Felix is such a dunce, saying "we'd both survive." Rodrigue rightly accuses him of wanting it both ways lol.

Felix says he understands Rodrigue's way of thinking, but dislikes Glenn's death being glorified.

Felix apologizes too, for his own bad behavior. For hitting Rodrigue.

Felix can't stand dealing with feelings anymore and leaves lol.

I'm sooooo glad this game let Rodrigue have a voice. It was always obvious to anyone with a shred of media literacy what Rodrigue meant, but Hopes let him spell it out.

DIMITRI & YURI B

Yuri's staring at Dimitri. Same. Same.

Yuri's impressed/confused at how quickly Dimitri blended in.

Dimitri's now thinking about the best way to help the poorest (we stan a good king, guys). It's something he's thought a lot about.

He thought medical facilities or investing more in the church (who do more to help the poor than anyone else in this game) would be best, but being around them made him realize that they should get the chance to take charge of their own "destiny."

He wants rulers to actually listen to what the people need best and actually do it rather than what's best for himself.

Yuri says education for everyone is necessary. Dimitri agrees.

But then Yuri makes the point that people won't care about education if they're starving or homeless. (so really, his earlier goals of building medical facilities where people get free/cheap healthcare isn't too far off).

So Dimitri wants to improve quality of life, then build educational reform on top of that.

But of course Edelgard's warmongering is draining money, so Dimitri can't make lives for the common folk better and needs to end the war fast so he can focus on helping people and not keeping little miss imperialist away.

Yuri says if money's the problem, he can use Yuri who can connect Dimitri to merchants and hitman lol. Dimitri's like "no working evil in my name!" He's also cautious about working with Yuri because he's backstabbed people in the past.

Yuri says he promises to honestly work with Dimitri, even protect him, because working with Dimitri will help his dream come true too. So he believes in Dimitri's leadership and vision.

Dimitri says he's grown to trust Yuri too.

Man, I need a sequel game where Yuri and Dimitri work on improving Faerghus together.

SHEZ & FELIX B

So . . . I had no idea I hadn't seen this support yet. I have their A unlocked for a while now too, though, I'll wait to see it since I'm getting support fatigue at the moment.

They're training. Felix insults Shez's footwork. What a typical Felix support lol.

Shez says she has a lot on her mind. Felix calls her a worthless partner if she's training distracted.

And then explains how Shez can't afford to do that on the battlefield (like a mercenary needs telling that lol).

Shez is surprised how much Felix has a read on her.

Felix wants to know where Shez learned how to fight because it's not like a knife or a mercenary.

Shez had a lot of teachers and just picked up stuff here and there. She doesn't use the playbook that knights or mercs usually use.

Shez says she has her unique style which is to her benefit. Felix wants her to teach him. But Shez thinks it's too reliant on the sword Felix can't use. Felix is like try me.

I can agree or refuse to teach him. Obviously I'm agreeing. (I would totally be an ass if it was character I didn't like lol).

Shez comments on Felix's style too - reacting to the say things are playing out.

Shez thinks she'll get stronger too.

I seriously can't believe I let these two sit at B for so long.

ANNETTE & DEDUE A

Annette comes across Dedue training. She insists he takes a break, but he insists on training still because he's not strong enough.

He feels inadequate because he can't use a hero's relic.

He admits he's jealous that others can use such powerful weapons.

Annette's surprised that he opened up, and appreciates that he opened up around her after he tried to dial back and apologize.

Annette talks about how impressed she is with him - his ability to cook and sow where she can't, and his sheer strength despite not using a relic. She thinks he'd be too good if he could use one lol.

Dedue talks about her strengths too - her optimism and how that lifts everyone up around her. Annette is happy if she can help anyone even a little.

Annette made dinner. The bottom of the pot fell out, but she insists that dinner still tastes great.

Someone tell Annette she's not destined to work in marketing lol.

Dedue still goes to eat dinner after hearing that. Brave man.

BYLETH & JERALT B

Definitely one of the supports I was looking forward too.

Byleth has a lot of blood on his clothing and is trying to wash it out and is failing.

Jeralt says washing blood out is more work than it's worth. Proof that man's never had a period.

Jeralt says Byleth reminds him of Sitri when they first meant. She had the same quiet composure and would rather clean a handkerchief she was cleaning than throw it away.

She never laughed or cried either, like Byleth, not at first at least.

Byleth asks why Jeralt is talking about all this now. Jeralt says he's feeling guilty of the lifestyle he's given Byleth - no home, no friends, always battles.

He says life would be different if Sitri was still alive.

Byleth doesn't regret his life and likes having Jeralt around.

It's nice to learn more about Sitri.

JERALT & SHEZ C

Jeralt comes across Shez fishing. Shez is weary. Jeralt tells Shez to relax, but Shez isn't used to it.

Jeralt is like, we're mercs, life happens, it's not personal.

Shez brings up the beginning where Jeralt's Mercenaries wiped out Shez's old company. Glad they're addressing this.

Shez is still upset about it. Jeralt understands now.

He asks if Shez has a grudge. I can choose yes or no. I'm gonna choose yes. I think this Shez would admit to attachments to other people, plus the conflict is more interesting, I think.

Shez talks about how much she liked that group and shares her goals of defeating the Ashen Demon.

Jeralt's like, you just have to let that go now.

Shez admits she's partly relieved because she couldn't defeat Byleth. Jeralt is like, that means you think you could beat me? Shez is like, well, I'd have to try first.

Then Shez helps Jeralt untangle his fishing string and comments on his lack of dexterity.

Jeralt then apologizes about what happened to Shez's mercenary company, especially since it was just too minor lords spewing.

He says he didn't originally plan on killing them, but she (the old captain) came charging in trying to use Jeralt to make a name for herself.

Shez understands, but still seems regretful.

Def hope I can unlock their A in time to see how this resolved (they don't have a B support).

MAIN BATTLE

No side battles this chapter. Onto the showdown at Ailell. Which means fire ground. Ugh. Gonna make everyone a flier that it makes sense for.

They're run into the Black Eagles. The Emperor's personal force.

Claude is there. Man, I gotta play Three Houses again. Every time I see him I'm like "ugh." I did NOT used to think that way.

Wait, is Edelgard actually here? I thought she was some kind of zombie whatever.

TWSITD is there (or mysterious dark mages). Claude is like "you know these people?"

Man, why is Dimitri trusting Claude. Telling him "don't let your guard down." Dimitri wants Claude about the mages. I wouldn't count on Claude's support if he was the only person left.

Even though this IS the only route where Claude's actions make any sense lol. It's definitely in his best interest to put a stop to the Empire's warmongering.

Arval's like, maybe we can learn something this time!

Arval's not upset if they never learn the truth and promises to be with Shez always regardless.

I gotta defeat Duke Aegir and Edelgard. Interesting that she's actually there.

Ohh, persuade Death Knight. They were setting him up to be here, but I didn't know I could recruit him. Makes way more sense than in Houses where you can't. Not surprised you need Mercedes to do it. I always bring her anyways.

Dimitri took out Ladislava right away lol.

Death Knight showed up. I'm beyond seeing him as a scary opponent though lol.

Mercedes defeated the Death Knight as an NPC. Is that automatic or just funny coincidence?

Aegir and Edelgard ran away. Really wish I could've killed Aegir. Killing Edelgard would stop the war too.

I killed Caspar and Bergliez so fast the dialogue didn't even finish lol. Dimitri too strong. They both ran away. Honestly, couldn't care less about killing this version of Caspar.

Oh, cool cut scene. And, ok, it's cool to see Claude and Dimitri fighting back-to-back.

Claude tells Dimitri to run after Edelgard while he holds off the Empire here. Not sure I trust him at all, but like I said, this is the only route where his choices make any sense.

Dimitri has 74 strength lol. No wonder he kills everything so fast.

Cool to get Jeritza though.

xxx

[randomnameless]

One post per day I'm not going to be able to keep up lol

Also don’t get why TWSITD wouldn’t want Edelgard do take over. Isn’t that like their plan? She does all the hard work then they kill her? Isn’t Rhea’s death #1 on TWSITD’s Christmas list??

Like Ezra said, the Agarthan's main goal is to wipe Fodlan out of all of its inhabitants - "humans" too because they don't see Raphael'n'pals as humans, but as "beasts". Agarthans refer to themselves as the "real humans", and they hate the "beasts" and the Nabateans.

Supreme Leader is a moron who helps them get rid of the Nabateans and a good chunk of "beasts" in Fodlan, but yep, if they didn't eat Manfroy's idiot plot ball, they would have nuked her the second she killed Rhea in Firdhiad.

But CF is your power fantasy so... I guess they were just playing dice, or having a drink to celebrate?

Lamo, Linhardt doesn’t give two shits about Edelgard’s war, he just wants to go back to Enbarr and take a nap

I know the BESF is all about tonal dissonance, but after seeing Ashe and realising what the eff your gang is doing, Linhardt becomes even, imo, more unlikable.

"let's roll over those people, kill them and rob the survivors of their lands, friends and families fast, i wanna go home to take a nap".

:/

Mercedes wants to be left alone and pray for Annette. She should’ve known though that the Empire’s actions are sentencing a sizable portion of Faerghus to death, right? I have less sympathy for her than Ashe, who was just following Dimitri’s direct orders

There's this entire thing with Jeritza and her guilt - thinking she's the one who kickstarted the entire "death knight" thing, but yeah, she ultimately picked her brother over Faerghus.

So there’s another cut scene where they say TWSITD doesn’t want Fodlan unified, but don’t they in 3 Houses? Isn’t the whole point of the experiments on Edelgard so she’s strong enough to kill Rhea and take over Fodlan? Like, I get why they’d be mad that Edelgard kicked them out, but if they were smart they’d let her do all the dirty work and then just take her out and then profit without losing anyone. This whole, “TWSITD doesn’t want us to unify!” really smells like bullshit bc of the backlash Edelgard got for siding with them in Houses. Now they’re retconning it into “oh, no no, they don’t want her to succeed!” Uh, yes, they do, that’s what they spent years planning on. Makes no sense

I was rewatching LotR recently, so I have a tinfoil hat theory : maybe TWISTD doesn't want to see Fodlan unified, because Seiros'n'Willy thwarted their plans "back then" when they had enough "allies" ?

But it falls apart, because "back then", Seiros'n'Willy targeted Nemesis, not the Agarthans themselves, sure, they had to hide, but they were still around!

Also the Agarthans' top enemy have always been Sothis and the Nabateans - it's only after their biggest enemies are out that they can get rid of humans "beasts" so, yep, as you said, it feels like a retcon for FE16 where Supreme Leader shares their goal, getting rid of those icky pointy eared "creatures masquerading as humans".

Everything for the BAE, I guess.

Linhardt is stone cold. After realizing he may not be able to study Shez’s power he says he’ll need to revaluate the value of their relationship

See above, I never warmed up to Linhardt in FE16, and SB hasn't done a thing to help me see him in a better light.

It’s pretty fucked up that Petra thinks the best way for Brigid to stand out is to comply with their oppressors until they “earn” their power or whatever. 

Have you seen her supports with Supreme Leader?

Shez tells Petra she’s “every bit the leader the Fodlan ones are” like fuck off, we know that. Petra just owns it though. She’s like, “no, I’m Brigid’s queen.” We love that for her

IMO it feels more like pointless pride, of throwing it and showing her determination and authority at Shez, who's basically a nobody. But if she's Brigid's queen, why must she "earn" power or the right to stand out/apart/gain her independance from Adrestia?

Her support with Supreme Leader is more obvious in japanese, sure, the words thrown here and there are more or less "we are equals and I wish to talk to you like an equal" etc etc... but Petra always uses the "-sama" suffix when she talks to her, when Supreme Leader doesn't use any.

It's a far cry from Dimidue calling each other by their first names and dropping suffixes!

HUBERT & MONICA A SUPPORT

I know this support is, well, a Monica support but its one of my favourites because for some stupid and foolish reason, Monica thinks her duty is to her people of Ochs so she can't simp after Supreme Leader in Enbarr :'( :'( :'(

Poor girl was raised in Faerghian values, or what?

Hopefully, Hubert saves her, in Supreme Leader's new world, other people will take care of her randoms, so she'll be free to simp in Enbarr.

So, Monica is a fan of Dorothea too

Yep, and what I find funny in this support is how much Monica adores and seems to revere Dorothea, despite Dorothea being a commoner, and Monica being a noble (with a crest of a saint!).

House Ochs is like, a very minor Noble House - who doesn't piss on commoners like we're told all Nobles do - why, it's almost as if Nobility in Adrestia isn't the one-note mass of evil people that must be deposed Doro and Supreme Leader say, or depicted in the ways they are in Ferdie's supports (all nobles are BaD, only he strives to be a good one).

Of course, thise nuance is treated with the attention it deserves.

Linhardt calls her for siding with the church over the Empire for a bit

Linhardt being an asshole : part #44562

Remember who reduced Constance's House to nothing to the point she had to take refuge in the Abyss? And he expects her to side with the Empire ??? Even after it got rid of her status for the, uh, very grave sin of not defending adequatly itself against an invasion made by two foreign states - but the minister of War Bergliez who might have been in charge of the Army, didn't receive anything similar as a punishment?

In a way, it's very Adrestian though, blame the victim for what they've suffered.

Also, holy shit, dude acts like it’s just inevitable that he murders At least he wants to get arrested. Edelgard doesn’t want him to get arrested

Emile : I'm going to kill people and I apparently can't help myself, please stop me

Supreme Leader : no, I need you to kill the people I told you to kill for my war. Afterwards though, when you won't be of any use, you can go to jail.

...

I love how we only see mothers crying over their dead kids when it’s TWSITD’s attack that does it and not Edelgard's

Their mothers are turned in demonic beasts - wait, wrong game.

Well, the BESF never does anything wrong, and anyways, who cares about Faerghan people dying? Right? If they didn't want to die, they just didn't have to fight! Adrestian logic to its finest!

Hubert, who was a dark knight the whole battle, claims he doesn’t know the magic TWSITD uses

I love him. But who is he lying to here, Shez? Because both he and Supreme Leader know better, but apparently, it's still very important to claim they never knew those people, who are very very very BaD, so we can put under the rug their previous affiliation and return to chapter 3, aka when terminating them was the most important thing to the BE team - even if later Supreme Leader remembered MAGA and how BaD Rhea was.

Duke Aegir and co seized a fortress. Time for Ferdinand to do something cool?

I swear this game really dropped the ball with that plot point. But oh well, I'll wait for your reaction. I still think we have a retcon here, but...

Scarlet Blaze Ch 12

Spoilers below for all Hopes routes up to Ch 12.

MAIN STORY

More backtracking.

I had Shez say we shouldn't return because I'm sick of backtracking. Hubert got mad at me. Ugh.

I also don't get why TWSITD wouldn't want Edelgard do take over. Isn't that like their plan? She does all the hard work then they kill her? Isn't Rhea's death #1 on TWSITD's Christmas list??

SIDE MAPS/CAMP

Ashe is still miserable, but no special words for Annette. I hope Mercedes does.

Marianne is actually motivated to fight this time. She actively dislikes fighting the Kingdom though. (Dimimari still alive)

Lamo, Linhardt doesn't give two shits about Edelgard's war, he just wants to go back to Enbarr and take a nap.

Petra also seems relieved she's fighting rioters and not Kingdom soldiers.

Everyone else - there riots, hung. This one random dude - so there's this dance competition

Mercedes wants to be left alone and pray for Annette. She should've known though that the Empire's actions are sentencing a sizable portion of Faerghus to death, right? I have less sympathy for her than Ashe, who was just following Dimitri's direct orders.

Hubert looks like such a try-hard with this new design. Sometimes I forget.

Hubert doesn't trust Shez. This is such a stark contract to AG, because Hubert thinks Shez will lose control and kill Edelgard and is threatening to kill Shez.

So there's another cut scene where they say TWSITD doesn't want Fodlan unified, but don't they in 3 Houses? Isn't the whole point of the experiments on Edelgard so she's strong enough to kill Rhea and take over Fodlan? Like, I get why they'd be mad that Edelgard kicked them out, but if they were smart they'd let her do all the dirty work and then just take her out and then profit without losing anyone. This whole, "TWSITD doesn't want us to unify!" really smells like bullshit bc of the backlash Edelgard got for siding with them in Houses. Now they're retconning it into "oh, no no, they don't want her to succeed!" Uh, yes, they do, that's what they spent years planning on. Makes no sense.

SHEZ & CASPAR B SUPPORT

They talk about training and how Caspar wants to surpass Shez in fighting ability.

Really the only thing of note is Caspar's persistence.

SHEZ & LINHARDT B SUPPORT

Linhardt is still investigating Shez's power, who has mixed feelings about it.

The problem is the power woke up when Shez was facing death, making it hard to recreate. So Linhardt just commits to studying Shez on the battlefield.

Linhardt is stone cold. After realizing he may not be able to study Shez's power he says he'll need to revaluate the value of their relationship.

SHEZ & BERNADETTA A SUPPORT

Their plans to help Bernadetta is not going well. Everything ends in chaos.

There's moments Bernie's anxiety is treated seriously in this support at the very least.

It ends with Bernie realizing Shez doesn't scare her anymore and that the way not to be nervous around people is spending time with them.

SHEZ & PETRA A SUPPORT

Petra tells Shez he can come to Brigid once it's over.

She hopes to increase trade once the war is over and thinks having Shez around will help.

It's pretty fucked up that Petra thinks the best way for Brigid to stand out is to comply with their oppressors until they "earn" their power or whatever. Recruited Petra is always better.

Shez tells Petra she's "every bit the leader the Fodlan ones are" like fuck off, we know that. Petra just owns it though. She's like, "no, I'm Brigid's queen." We love that for her.

I'm having Shez be as much of a dick as I can though right now (fuck this route for making me kill Annette, Gustave, Rodrigue, and Ingrid - the Black Eagles deserve worse), and this was the first time I felt bad.

HUBERT & MONICA A SUPPORT

The battle of the simps.

I really wonder what the writers were thinking. Oh, I know what the Black Eagles needs, another mage and another character who wants to suck Edelgard's toes! We don't have enough of either yet.

Monica insulted Edelgard's painting without knowing it was Edelgard's. This is probably the hardest trial she's ever faced (yes, it's probably worse than kidnapping and imprisonment for her)

Edelgard got offended. That girl can't take any criticism.

Monica aspires to be Edelgard's servant and is happy that the war she's causing may make that possible. Question is, does Edelgard want to put up with a stalker?

FERDINAND & DOROTHEA A SUPPORT

Dorothea has realized that she owes Ferdinand an apology. Finally.

Ferdinand really rides that line between cringe and endearing and right now I don't know what side of the fence he's on right now. He's shouting at Dorothea so he can keep a distance and giving her the chance to laugh at him if she wants.

Dorothea's embarrassed because everyone is overhearing this lamo. And people are assuming they're dating.

Poor Ferdinand is like Dorothea's still annoyed with me. Then Dorothea tells him he doesn't need to apologize, which makes him think she'll never forgive him, but it's actually because she has too.

They both get embarrassed when she tells him what's going on.

Honestly this is a WAY cuter version of the same story and a lesson in how much execution matters. I was all team Petra/Dorothea (and Ferdinand I didn't really ship with anyone), but now I like Ferdie/Doro too.

While I'm kind of bummed we basically got the same conversation, a rewrite really helped in this case so I get why they went that route.

MONICA & DOROTHEA C SUPPORT

Why did they have to do my girl Dorothea like this? Wasting one of her supports on Monica.

Monica is upset she didn't realize Dorothea was the songstress sooner.

So, Monica is a fan of Dorothea too.

Also Dorothea finds Monica unsettling. Same.

But hey at least Monica got through a conversation without saying Edelgard.

LINHARDT & CONSTANCE C

So is this about Constance being mad that Linhardt doesn't care about his noble status or about him investigating her condition?

Linhardt calls her for siding with the church over the Empire for a bit, but it was only for survival.

Man, Constance just makes no sense fighting for Edelgard. She wants to glory of nobility so awkward.

These two aren't having the same conversation. Linhardt is curious about her crest situation and Constance is going off about wanting to revive her house.

He just walks off after getting annoyed by her lol.

JERITZA & EDELGARD A SUPPORT

Jetiza likes the war because without it he'd be killing someone "less deserving" because Fuck You random Faerghus citizen. I guess they "deserve it"

Also, holy shit, dude acts like it's just inevitable that he murders

At least he wants to get arrested. Edelgard doesn't want him to get arrested.

My question is, did Jeritza go around killing willy nilly or just House Bartels? Because he makes it sound like he can't resist killing and just went and ganked whoever was unlucky.

Or was it that Edelgard recruited him right away and made him her personal guard dog?

MAIN BATTLE

Hanneman and Leonie, not who I expected.

I love how we only see mothers crying over their dead kids when it's TWSITD's attack that does it and not Edelgard's.

Edelgard says no more innocent lives lost today, which may actually be true since we're attacking TWSITD and not commoners from Faerghus.

Is there anything you can do about Leonie? She died of poison, but since it's related to Jeralt stuff, I'm guessing it's because I didn't recruit him? If I did, would she have gotten recruited?

Solon retreated. Annoying.

Hubert, who was a dark knight the whole battle, claims he doesn't know the magic TWSITD uses.

I forget how anime magic girl Edelgard's design is in this game. It's kind of weird.

I keep earning reknown, but I don't know what it does.

Duke Aegir and co seized a fortress. Time for Ferdinand to do something cool?

Caspar's brother is a prisoner.

Does this mean I get to put off fighting innocent citizens of Faerghus for another level? Because I prefer SB bored out of my mind than upset that I had to kill Ingrid, Rodrigue, Gustave, and Annette.

Leonie's dead too now. Geeze, SB is a bloodbath.

xxx

[randomnameless]

Puh-lease,

We all know if Rhea accepted to uwu surrender in the final map of CF, she would be able to be escorted out of the continent!

Just as long as she takes her tacky pointy ears and icky lizard blood out of Fodlan.

(then maybe Uncle would ask her to kindly offer her crest stone, 5 liters of blood and maybe both arms as a proof of her good-will).

Everyone who played SB says it's a snoozefest lol. I'm just saying, wait until the final cutscene/cinematic, it's 100% pure shonen nonsense, but in a good way!

The BESF is always excited to kill people, or they have other preoccupations like marriage or what should they have for dinner - oh wait, my bad, that's Raphael.

everyone who gets killed in the war “is standing in our way.” Imagine comparing self-defense to “getting in our way.” Yikes for that

But you don't understand! Supreme Leader kindly asked them to get out of her way, so if they still are standing in her way, they're opposing her and she is free to terminate them all uwu

More seriously, the game tries pretty hard to have characters avoid saying "we're conquering the world yippie" but it falls flat when, as you say, you mow down people for the grave sin of not wanting to be invaded :(

Yep, Hubert is the only one who is fully buying the plot he's in (much like what he does in CF!) - Ferdie's dad should die because he is a symbol, just like Dimitri and obviously, Rhea herself. Rhea and Dimitri are loved by their allies, so no matter what happens, even if you get rid of them, you would have to face people wanting to get rid of you because they loved them.

For Claude it's a bit different, because the games give the impression that he isn't especially loved/important in the Alliance - his classmates sometimes like him, but they wouldn't, say, pull off a "Dedue in Enbarr" for him.

I really hate how Lysithea's supports completely elude the fact that she was Solon'd after the Empire sent its dark mages in Ordelia - instead we have "uwu veggies bad" and other nonsense. I never cared a lot about the Deers back when I was playing FE16, but with Nopes? I don't even want to read their supports anymore.

To think Monica got the crest of Macuil - the Nabatean who resents humans the most - but that thing never got anywhere, instead we have... well. What we ended up with :/

Petra and Constance's support sounds so tone-deaf in SB, when you're invading the Kingdom for shits'n'giggles ! What, Constance excpects Annette to chew her out after invading her home and killing her dad? Oh, wait, Annette can't hold any grudge against her, since she was killed!

Is it any surprise that the steadfast followers of "no u" lack self-awareness?

As you said, it's completely bonkers how Edel will try to shift the blame of everyone's deaths not on her war of conquest - as she wipes Annette's blood from her shiny axe - but on "dah system" that forced them to "fall on her shiny axe" because they had Elite blood :( :( :(

Crests BaD, Rhea BaD!

just said whoever wins gets to decide what’s right. I mean, victors do write the history but yikes at the implications

It's funny, because the devs specifically said that didn't work (in the 2020 interview), and this is the reason why Rhea had to pretend Nemesis and the Elites were Heroes - Saint Seiros, after winning the war, couldn't force people to stop seeing Nemesis and his brutes as heroes, that's why, even if she rewrote history, she still had to work around this fact.

And to be honest, even if I doubt Edel has the same boudaries Rhea has, I can't see a post SB/CF world where Adrestia will be able to write that those morons in the Kingdom only fought because they were morons or because "Crests Bad" by completely eluding the fact Adrestia broke an existing peace to conquer Faerghus - or if it works, I suspect it's because Hubert would "convince" people to buy this story, and silence anyone who doesn't.

Scarlet Blaze Ch 11

Sorry this is taking forever, but here's ch 11.

MAIN STORY

Oh, shit, do we have to fight Gilbert next? AND ANNETTE? This suuukkkkks. It especially sucks since you know they didn't have a choice but to risk their lives just defending themselves.

Annette is so precious. Fuck. I don't want to fight her.

Gilbert being a good daddy though 😭😭😭😭

At least CF was entertaining. SB is a giant snoozefest where I have to kill all my favorites.

Man, they all sound like psychopaths. They're all super excited to go kill people who are just defending themselves. Even Dorothea's only worried about marriage.

MAP/SIDE STUFF

Shez just said that everyone who gets killed in the war "is standing in our way." Imagine comparing self-defense to "getting in our way." Yikes for that characterization compared to how concerned GW!Shez is about Claude's aggressive decisions.

Lamo, Mercedes is like wtf am I doing here fighting the Kingdom and Annie? 

Aww, Marianne (and Dorothea) are like the only two who realize they're fighting other people and not just being all murder happy like the rest. 

Dimitri just got put on par with Holst and Caspars dad by Balthis, kind of, unofficially best Kingdom warrior? 

We're addressing the Ferdinand and Hubert subplot again. Which is good. It's by far the most interesting part of SB. Though, it's just a repeat of what we've seen from it before.

Ok, they're adding some different stuff which is interesting. Bringing up that even if Fredie's dad tried to retire and stay out of Edelgard's way, that he would still have to die because of what he symbolizes. Hubert and Ferdinand disagree on whether people like Mr. Aegir can get a second chance (as in, can you when you've become a symbol).

This is especially interesting to me in regards to what happens to Rhea, Dimitri, and Claude if they surrender to Edelgard and become her puppets. Basically, Hubert is saying that, no matter what, they'd have to die because anyone who would rebel would use (fill in here) as a symbol of their resistance. Claude may be the sole exception here because he can scoot off to Almyra, but it's very obvious that Rhea and Dimitri (and their staunch allies) are fighting for their lives, because even if we're generous and say Edelgard would spare them and give them life worth living (i.e. not locked up), Hubert would most certainly have them assassinated.

Which also brings up another point. People always talk about how it's wrong/bad for Dimitri to try and spare Edelgard at the end of AM because what kind of life would she live? But always praise Edelgard for trying to spare Rhea towards the end of CF but no one - not a single soul - asks what kind of life would Rhea live? I gotta make my own post about that.

SB is really gonna be - kill yo dad, the route. Ironic since I played this the day after Father's Day.

I have to fight Sylvain 😭

SHEZ & MANUELA A SUPPORT

Manuela is flirting with Shez lol. He said he liked her voice and she pushed him with like "is that all" until he talked about her looks lamo

Aww, Shez actually likes her hungover side. Saying he likes warrior her, singer her, healer her, and drunk her. That's kinda cute, actually

Shez said that he can't keep his eyes off her. Laying it on a bit thick. And said she's more attractive now than she was younger haha.

Yeah, Shez, I have no idea how she was supposed to see that in any other way lol.

HUBERT & LYSITHEA B SUPPORT

Hubert finds Lysithea studying at night and teases her about ghosts. She runs away.

The Imperial Army is a bunch of children who don't want to eat their veggies. This is 100% cannon. Hubert orders guards to sneak them into soups for the soldiers actually get their veggies. I cannot. (though, imagine the privilege, Faerghus could never)

Lysithea freaks out because she ate veggies.

Veggies are legitimately delicious though. I don't know what the Imperial Army's problem is.

EDELGARD & MONICA A SUPPORT

Guys, I'm so excited. A Monica support. I wonder what she'll talk about.

Monica counts how many times Edelgard worried about her and invited her to tea. I just . . . no.

This support was pure cringe.

I love how "Kingdom bad" because they're willing to die to defend their homes, family, friends, and everything and anything else they've loved from invaders, but Monica is to be admired because she's oh so loyal to Edelgard that even in when Edelgard leaves her for dead, it's a happy moment for Monica because it helps Edelgard's cause. Like . . . double standard much?

PETRA & CONSTANCE C SUPPORT

Constance is something else. She confronts Petra because Petra's dad invaded and it led to the demise of Constance's everything.

I enjoy supports that address conflict, but girl, that was not Petra's fault. Don't take it out on her.

Oh, good, she's not. She recognizes that Petra's people suffered, and that neither of them were involved, so there's no bad blood.

Then she hahahas and leaves. Lamo, this made me love Constance.

Petra doesn't get a chance to say she agrees and seeks out Constance, but finds her in the sunlight, and needlessly to say, is very confused.

MAIN BATTLE

Hubert and Edelgard just said submit or die.

Wow, Linhardt is like I wish the nobles would think about all the people who they're forcing to fight. The lack of self-awareness is astounding.

Ferdinand can join the "lack of self-awareness club" for acting like it's the Kingdom causing the violence.

Baron Dominic opened the gate, risking his defenses to rescue soldiers. Hubert judged him. But we're supposedly the good guys. I swear the writing goes out of it's way to make the Kingdom look good.

Fuck. I have to fight Gustave :( He dead :( Poor Annette.

FUCK. Now I have to fight Annette.

Fuck this route. Ingrid, Rodrigue, Gustave, and now Annette - all dead.

Even Baron Dominic's death is making me sad. None of the Empire generals get this kind of humanization when they die lol.

Edelgard and Hubert sound insane. Edelgard's acting like their deaths were inevitable because of their lineage (when they would've been just fine if not for her actions), and Hubert's like he's happy to die so it doesn't matter. What a bunch of looney tunes.

Edelgard just said whoever wins gets to decide what's right. I mean, victors do write the history but yikes at the implications.

So deep - "we're up against the world itself." Sounds like a teenage edge-lord wrote this lamo.

We got crusher. Joy. Did they pry it out of Annette's dead hands?

Oh, joy, more backtracking. Revolts in the Empire. I thought we were out of the backtracking era and into kill every Blue Lion era.

xxxx