#i like that Byleth just kinda stares at him and he realizes WHAT HE SAID and the implications and is like

[moeblob]

Sorry I forgot Hanneman suggested Byleth undress after they show up with a different hair color. And I miss Hanneman. And also while swapping between Houses and Hopes and seeing Hanneman pop up to help in a Hopes paralogue is just devastating since he doesn't ever actually join you at all and I am denied my old man rights.

So I had to draw this. Thank you for understanding.

[glowingbadger]

As you’re accepting modern-day HCs….I kinda need some for the BL with a s/o who isn’t Byleth. Anything goes, authors choice. I need to go recover from all those Poly HCs. They were glorious.

Goodness, that's a lot of beautiful boys and a lot of freedom lol let's go down the line and I'll give my general thoughts for all of our precious lions :) I guess if we're talking post-timeskip (which I personally always am lol), they're gonna be like... either in the last two years of college, or right out of college? Fuck it, college AU. ((I started with just the dudes cause that's what most of my writing is tbh but folks can definitely ask me about the ladies as well!))

Blue Lions Modern/College AU Headcanons (x GN Reader) - SFW

Dimitri: A political science major you had a group project with once and then a month later he finally had the guts to ask you out. He generally looks pretty clean and put together, but he wears an eyepatch, and rumors that he's secretly a hitman or in a gang fly around campus. Your friends are all terrified of him when you first start dating, but he wins them over once they've talked to him even once. After that, it only takes about two weeks for them to start referring to him as your wife.

Dedue: Definitely studying botany or horticulture or some such. You sit next to him in one of your lectures for a full semester before managing to ask him out. You expect a polite rejection, so you're surprised when he immediately says yes without even a moment to think. Studying with him is the best- he'll sit with you resting between his legs with your head on his chest and quiz you on what you need to know, placing a sweet kiss on your cheek or neck when you answer correctly. Your friends are definitely jealous- he's handsome, athletic, smart, kind, and he can cook.

Sylvain: Total marketing major vibes. He's one of those awful, awful people who never studies and spends his whole weekend at house parties and gets good grades anyway. A friend of yours hooked up with him once and said the D was phenomenal, but he's totally emotionally unavailable. He flirts with you for weeks before you're helping him back to his dorm one night after way too much drinking and he mumbles how "someone like you... c'do so much better th'n a guy like me..." You bring him coffee and aspirin the next morning and offer to go on a brunch date once he's sure he won't puke.

Felix: He's a business major, but his heart clearly isn't in it- he's only doing it because he's expected to run his father's company some day. He's at the gym every time you go (presumably plenty of times when you're not there too), before you realize it, you start looking for him there. You tell yourself it's just because you admire his motivation. He catches you staring though one day, and calls you out. Somehow, you stumble your way through introductions, but before long he's telling you how you're not stretching properly at all, how your jogging pace is inefficient, and just like that, you've got a gym partner who eventually becomes the most secretly-sweet boyfriend.

Ashe: Literary Classics major, and very well liked. No one's ever seen him at a house party, but he has plenty of friends, and is involved in a ton of clubs and extra-curriculars on campus. Eventually, he bumps into you at the library. Like, literally bumps into you rounding the shelves. His eye catches one of the books in your arms and his face positively lights up- he's been meaning to read that one for ages! How did you like it? Is the ending as surprising as everyone says? You end up finding a secluded nook to sit and chat for hours, until it's nearly dark. Then, he shyly offers to treat you to dinner as thanks for your book recommendations.

[fe3h-incorrectquotes]

.... Sincerely pls. Ashe/Hubert headcannons maybe? 🥺 HUBERT literally has no supports with anyone outside his house like he doesn't even awknowlage them being there but.... I really .... I crave him maybe being fierce to him at first and then softening as he realizes Ashe's loyalty is very real. Maybe even talking about them defending each other in battle?? Can u tell I have ideas but no direction- 💙💙💙

OKAY I FINALLY DID IT, I FINISHED THIS, SOMEONE BE PROUD OF ME

ALSO BE PROUD OF THE TWO ANONS AND @shortbread-otaku​ WHO HELPED ME OUT

First off, the headcanons that weren’t mine:

Hubert reads tales to Ashe, and they're both in a warm blanket and are cuddled up together. Ashe often falls asleep on Hubert, but Hubert doesn't mind. In the morning, Ashe makes Hubert's favorite breakfast and coffee, every single morning. And before Hubert leaves to do work, Ashe always wishes him a nice day with a smooch on the cheek. (Anon 1)

I think Ashe stands out as one of those ambitious characters who try their best to improve, in just about every aspect of life. Seeing as Hubert is constantly monitoring everyone else, Ashe could easily be on his radar. (Anon 2)

And I know that it is definitely a point of debate how much people like Edelgard and Hubert had to do with Lonato's rebellion against the church, it is also a point of connection between the two characters. (Anon 2)

When Ashe is sad Hubert will use warp magic to surround Ashe with cats and other cuddly things. (@shortbread-otaku)

They'd be kinda like Robin Hood? As Ashe has the lock pick skill and Hubert definitely knows how to break into things, They'd steal from the rich and give to the poor. Ashe despises stealing, so Hubert always gives him a file of information he gathered to assure him the person they're robbing is evil. (@shortbread-otaku​)

Hubert read old tales of Knights because Ashe would also ramble on about them and get embarrassed when Hubert stared at him blankly. (@shortbread-otaku​)

And now for my own, which became very ramble-y but honestly I’m kind of proud of how they turned out:

Going off of the point of Hubert being connected in a way to Ashe through Lonato's rebellion, Hubert would probably want to check up on Ashe after, but very subtly. He's not like Byleth who openly comforts him or Catherine who encourages him to find answers, but he keeps an eye on him. Of course, this has benefits to him, too - if Ashe openly shows disdain toward the church after that point, he could be of use in Edelgard's plans, something Hubert would be very aware of.

Though eventually Ashe would notice Hubert - he slips up and doesn't hide as well as usual, and Ashe approaches him. Hubert, being the introverted goth he is, would try to flee as casually as possible. Ashe isn't super confrontational, so he'd let it go until Hubert slips up again. And that's when a conversation actually happens, likely in the greenhouse. Hubert isn't super interested in plants, but he knows something about which ones are poisonous. It isn't Ashe's favourite conversation topic, but he knows something of poisonous plants as well, thanks to Lonato.

Hubert waits for Ashe to mention Lonato - and doesn't have to wait long, Ashe brings up his adoptive father fairly often, even just quickly mentioning him when Hubert asks who taught him what he knows of botany. Hubert offers his condolences (which sounds something along the lines of what he said to Byleth, though a little softer because Ashe is not their emotionless teacher) and asks him what he knew of Lonato. Ashe recounts some personal stories, to which Hubert asks him what he really knew. His goals, his plans, his hopes and dreams. Who was Lonato as a person, and what was he aiming to gain from his rebellion? And Ashe realizes that he learned the most of his adoptive father in his dying moments - the moments where he fought against him and saw him die, but for what? For his son? To make a statement?

Needless to say, his first actual conversation with the Black Eagles' resident vampire leaves him with more questions than before. Questions that eventually lead him to seek out Hubert, realizing that Hubert seemed to know more than he was letting on (it seems that way because he absolutely does). I'd like to think that his search for answers is what eventually drives him to join the Black Eagles, realizing that Edelgard's ambitions, once revealed, seem to align with Lonato's. And maaaaybe because he's come to enjoy Hubert's presence, despite him acting like a cryptid half the time.

Ashe's ambition, as one of the anons said, is something that Hubert would definitely pick up on. Something that he admires, maybe, or comes to find comforting. A steady constant within the change that war brings. So even if it means reading through half-true books of the knights of old approved by the church, because that's all that can be found in the monastery's library, he'll help Ashe to grow as a person and a fighter. And maybe point out where the books fabricate a thing or two. But maybe not, if it means Ashe looks at him like a hurt puppy, realizing that what he's aiming to be is a distant fantasy.

But... maybe Hubert doesn't have to crush his dreams of being a knight like the ones in his stories. Obviously because more knights would benefit Edelgard, from a purely logical standpoint, because he does not feel anything personal toward Ashe. He is grateful for his service to Lady Edelgard, and glad that he joined the Eagles, but nothing more. And he only smiles when given some of the food Ashe has cooked to be polite. And only checks up on him in the training grounds because Ashe is so nice, he'd accept gifts without a second thought, and they could easily be poisoned. And it wouldn't be of any personal concern to him if Ashe were in the infirmary, but losing a knight (especially one as dedicated as Ashe) even for just a couple weeks would be awful, so he keeps an eye out. For logical reasons.

Goddamnit, Hubert, your reasons aren't logical anymore, they're personal.

Ashe is, putting it bluntly, a little oblivious. Sure, he notices Hubert hanging around him more, but it must be because he wants to see his growth as a knight and make sure he's training often enough and such. And Hubert just appreciates the time and effort he puts into cooking (and that it's not Dorothea who cooked it), that's why he smiles. But he doesn't do that for anyone else ever... so Ashe must be overthinking things. Right?

Not right, Ashe, he likes you.

So, with Ashe being oblivious and Hubert ignoring his feelings, they'd need some sort of push. Something like, say, getting stuck cooking together, thanks to Dorothea suggesting it to Byleth. And as Ashe makes little suggestions on where Hubert can improve and tells stories of cooking with his family, Hubert just ends up blurting it out. Not intentionally, of course - he'd planned to either wait until the war's end or until discussing it with Edelgard, but some instinct takes over, and instead of waiting and thinking it over and rehearsing some big speech, he just comes out and says how he feels for Ashe.

Of course, Ashe reciprocates - and has a much easier time saying so. No overthinking his affections, no discussion with anyone else. Ashe is honest and to the point, both things Hubert likes about him,  but he's also incredibly genuine. His affection for people, whether platonic, romantic, familial, or otherwise, shines through in everything he says and does, especially his confession.

Anyway yeah I got off track at some point but I really like this ship now and am considering writing supports for them so uh yeah :)

(Also I’d usually run this through Grammarly first but I don’t feel like fighting with a computer right now so I apologize for any mistakes but hope you liked the headcanons!)

[flamingo-writes]

Don’t Tell Dimitri — Claude x Reader

Summary: It was after one of the monthly missions that Byleth had asked you to assist with the Golden Deer. Your lance skills were remarkable enough to have Claude manipulating Byleth into asking for your help. However, Claude’s reasons to do so were others rather than just your strength and skill.    

A/N: I went for F!Byleth instead of Gender Neutral Byleth, as I originally intended. I’ve been playing far too long with F!Byleth, I sometimes forgt M!Byleth is a thing too XD forgive me. Also, I’ve been loving the Golden Deer route, although I’ve got to admit, I miss my Blue Lions :c Anyways, I hope you enjoy this. 

Also! I headcannon Byleth to be a cheeky little shit. Everytime I have the opportunity to answer with any sarcastic/smartass answer, I go for that one. So, my perception of Byleth is heavily influenced by it. I apologize if you eadcanon Byleth to be more of a composed/serious character.  

Posted: 04.21.2020

Word Count: 1.7K

Warnings: curse words. 

How bad things would go if someone ever found out Claude's teeny tiny crush on Dimitri's younger sister? The princess of Faerghus. Being roughly a year younger than both Claude and Dimitri, skill wise, you weren't in any way behind them.

In fact, from a young age, you showed great skill with a lance, despite your lack of Crest. You waved your lance with such precision as if it were both a third arm and your dominant hand. With such grace and skill you waved any lance, making it hard to believe you lacked a Crest. 

That skill was what first caught Claude's attention. However, your laid back personality and sharp tongue amused him like very few things in life did. However, he could see through the cheerful mask you wore to cope with the horrible past you and Dimitri had been through. 

"Say, Teach" Claude said walking up to Byleth who was attentively watching you train with Felix. "Don't you think we'll need a little help for our mission at the end of the month?" 

"I can't believe you are admitting our lack of skill, Claude. It pains me, really" Byleth snapped sarcastically at once "I'm sorry I can't be the Professor you deserve" She continued, knowing it would either annoy Claude or amuse him. 

"Oi, no one said anything about you as a professor" Claude chuckled corresponding to Byleth's sarcasm "I was just merely stating a possibility…" 

"Why are you here, Claude? I know its not because you want to train. I rarely see you doing anything productive at all on a Sunday" The professor remarked as Claude laughed softly.

"Alright, you got me, I'll cut the bullshit" 

"Language, kid" Byleth chuckled rather amused by hearing kids use curse words. 

"Those two are very tough on the battlefield. That first mock battle we had, I swear to the goddess, for a second I thought we were done for when I fought against her…" Claude recalled as Byleth nodded, remembering how Claude barely could dodge your fierce moves.

"You're suggesting that I should ask for their help for our next mission, is that right?" 

"To be honest, Felix kinda scares me a bit" Claude admitted "He's so short fused, I'm afraid he ends up stabbing me instead if I do something to upset him. [Name] however...she's cool, funny, she laughs at my jokes. She's much more laid back than her brother. And at the same time, she's a killing machine with a lance" 

"Is it just me or do I smell your hormones all over me?" Byleth chuckled, looking at Claude, trying to see his reaction, however, the young man simply shrugged. “You could either genuinly care for this girl, or you just want to get on Dimitri’s nerve, which one is it? Or is it both?” Byleth teased. 

"Say what you want, Teach. Tease me to your heart's contempt. But rest assure, you'll remain my favorite lady in this monastery…" 

"Good, I was worried that you might replace me for her" Byleth replied sarcastically. 

"Me? Never! Who do you think I am?" Claude giggled mischievously.

"The Claudster" Byleth smiled back at her student before looking back at Felix swinging his sword swiftly as you effortlessly stopped each and every one of his attacks "Alright, I'll ask for her help after she's done training" 

♤ 

By the end of the month, on your way to the battlefield, Claude and you didn't stop giggling and whispering things to one another. The two of you looked like elementary kids plotting something. But that same behavior helped camouflage Claude's feelings for you, as people thought you two were just friends. Some believed you were close to you just to piss Dimitri off. Either way worked to mask the secret Claude so desperately wanted to hide.

The mission wasn't particularly hard. But maybe it was because you were there giving a helping hand. A very helpful one. However, things of course wouldn't be as good after the Golden Deer had won the war. 

While saving Claude's back while he was busy shooting an arrow, you'd twisted your ankle throwing your lance at a thief running towards Claude, ready to slash his back with a sword. 

Claude helped you walk, holding one of your arms around his shoulders and one of his arms around your waist.

"I definitely owe you big time" Claude said, grateful that you'd saved his life.

"Oh, normally I wouldn't ask you to return favours, but I will ask for this one back" you joked, laughing, trying to mask the unbearable pain on your ankle.

"You better don't tell Dimitri about this" Claude laughed, knowing your brother would be particularly amused with Claude getting his sister injured.

"I don't know, it'd be a good way to blackmail you" You joked.

Once back at the camp, Marianne took a look at your ankle. Working a little bit of magic, it soon stopped aching and it no longer was swollen. 

"I-I'm so sorry, [Name]. I can't completely cure you ankle. It'll no longer hurt, but you'll still need to rest" The shy girl mumbled too fast and too low, it was hard for you to properly listen to her. 

"It's cool. You already did a lot" You tried reassuring her "The pain was the worst part. Thank you Marianne" You smiled.

"Teach, what now?" Claude asked Byleth as she sat next to you, looking at your ankle "It's almost sunset. We won't be able to be back at the monastery before nightfall" 

"We leave tomorrow morning. It is dangerous to wander at night" Byleth answered standing up and walking to her tent. "Especially considering one of us isn't in the best condition to fight if we run into something"

♤

The moon was almost at its highest point in the night sky. The campsite, dark and silent, as only the echoes of Raphael's loud snoring. And Claude was unable to fall asleep. Not because of Raphael, it wasn't the first time they camped, the snoring had never been a problem. 

His mind was restless with the thought of you being asleep a couple of tents away from his. In an in impulsive thought he could not ignore, he left his tent and walked across the camp stealthily until he reached your tent.

"[Name]" He whispered. She's asleep, you jerk...He told himself after whispering your name a second time. "[Name]" 

The fabric shook gently as you popped your head out of the tent. 

"Why the hell are you still up?" You whispered a scream.

"I'm sorry, did I wake you?" The boy asked.

"Not at all" 

"What?" Claude raised an eyebrow as a smirk spread through his face "Why the hell are you still up?"

"Don't use my lines against me, smartass" You giggled "Wanna come in?" 

Claude tried not to answer right away and instead waited a couple of seconds as if he was considering it.

"Sure" he shrugged.

You sat on your sleeping bag as Claude kneeled inside your tent and sat next to you.

"So? What brings you here?" You said leaning back, resting your weight on one of your arms.

"Couldn't sleep. And I heard noises coming from your tent" he lied, since you hadn't been making any noise whatsoever, but didn't question his words. "Wanna hang out while either of us gets sleepy?" 

"Sounds good to me" You shrugged.

"Thank you for saving me today. Or...yesterday. whatever" He said frowning softly. "Thank you" 

"Don't thank me Claude. I was merely doing my part, thats it" you said as your fingers reached his earring. "I like it, it suits you" 

"Thank you, darling" he smirked leaning into your touch and shrugging softly "You're tickling me" 

"I didn't know you were ticklish" You giggled, smiling mischievously. 

"[Name], no!" Claude chuckled holding your wrist tightly as you tried to sneak it to his neck. "If we wake anyone up we'll be in trouble"

"Since when do you care about getting in trouble?" You snapped as Claude looked at you with a stare you knew it only meant trouble.

"True" He hissed as he moved closer to you.

"No" You said once you noticed his menacingly stare as his hands quickly found their way to your neck and sides "Stop! Claude!" you tried to keep your giggles under control as Claude was the one tickling you now. "We'll get in trouble" You whispered a scream.

"Sorry, don't care" He whispered back at you as his fingers kept roaming, tickling you, trapping you in a torturous laugh.

"Claude!" You cried.

"Alright, fine" He was giggling as he stopped "Whatever Her Highness commands" He chuckled as you caught your breath. 

"Claude?" You whispered, still panting softly. 

"Yes, [Name]?" With a pleased cheeky smirk, he looked at you, his gorgeous green eyes meeting yours.

His heart stopped for a second once he realized what kind of look you were giving him. Your eyes were beginning to look sleepy, and yet, they scanned his face slowly. He noticed the particular way your stare would stop on his eyes and his lips.

Taking the hint, he leaned closer, slowly, giving you time to decide what happened next. At first, you didn't move, and the tip.of your.noses brushed softly, as he kept looking at you. 

In a barely audible  voice, you whispered his voice before closing your eyes. Once Claude saw his cue, he leaned in, closing in the space between the both of you. His lips met yours. 

It started as a shy simple kiss that quickly heated up after you locked your lips with him. At first, the both of you awkwardly trying to adjust to each other's rhythm. But once you managed, the both of you lost yourselves in it. 

With your heart on your throat, you clung to Claude, wrapping your arms around his neck and gripping his hair. At the same time, Claude wrapped one of his arms around your back and squeezed you against his, while he rested his weight on his free hand. 

Finally, you broke the kiss, the both of you breathless, panting lowly. Claude bumped his forehead against yours as the both of you remained motionless. 

"Let's not tell Dimitri about this" You panted as Claude nodded. 

"Agreed" He whispered, looking into your eyes for a brief second before leaning closer to steal another kiss from you.

[incorrectsmashbrosquotes]

In the event that Porky was considered Smash

Lucas was sitting at the table with his arms crossed, wearing an angry glare on his face. Across from the table was Porky, who was slightly sweating. The Smashers were standing behind Lucas with worried expressions.

Lucas, glaring: ….

Porky, nervous: …..

Luigi: C'mon, Lucas. We finally figured out how to get him out of the All-Safe Capsule, which as you know isn’t easy to pull off. It wasn’t exactly easy. Can’t you just give him an honest chance?

Lucas: No.

Captain Falcon: Look, we know this is….SUPER weird for you. But, look at DK and King K. Rool! They’re enemies and they’re getting along.

DK: Says who?

King K. Rool: I actively try to kill that banana loving ape everyday. You just don’t pay attention.

Captain Falcon: Oh. Well, Pit and Dark Pit-

Dark Pit: For the last time, I’m not a villain!

Pit: Yeah, Pittoo kinda carves his own morality chart. He’s like, hates the protagonist, but somewhat cares in his own way.

Captain Falcon: W-Well, the point I’m trying to make is that everyone here has at least one person that they usually hate, but they manage to put that aside and get along. At the end of the day, their just a misunderstood friend.

Lucas: King Dedede is a misunderstood friend. Porky isn’t even remotely human.

Little Mac: Don’t you think you’re overreacting, Lucas? I mean, he couldn’t have done something that bad.

Suddenly, everyone in the room froze. They all looked at Mac with frightened stares. Little Mac was confused as he wasn’t sure if he had said something odd. Porky was a kid, right? Then he looked at Lucas….

Lucas’ face was that of someone who was about ten seconds away from snapping. If his expression was a weapon, simply put, it would be a fairly terrifying weapon. Little Mac broke out into a cold sweat as he felt a chill crawl up his spine…

Terry, barging in: Hey, hey! Everyone okay?

Everyone looks at Terry. Terry can feel the awkward atmosphere.

Terry: So…is that a no?

Lucas, calming down: Alright. You want to know why exactly I hate Porky? Let’s start from the beginning and put you in my shoes. Say you had a happy childhood for the most part. Two parents, a dog, and a brother who said you two would have each other’s back’s forever despite the fact you were a bit emotional. Then, flash forward a bit, and whoop-dee-doo, your mom got killed by a monster. Your dad flips out right in front of you. Your brother, wanting revenge, says he’s gonna go kill it and runs off. You aren’t sure what to do, but a few hours later, you get a surprise! Is it a happy one? It’s about something bad that happened to your brother, so that’s a no!

(An hour of emotional spoilers for Mother 3 later….)

Lucas, still on his rant: You arrive on Tanetane Island! Hooray! If any of you had played Mother 3, you know this is where things get interesting! Now, you, Kumatora, Duster, and Boney are all hungry. I can’t get into details, but you start hallucinating. You start to see your father, people from your hometown, even your dead brother saying mean things with twisted smiles. “Everyone hates you. Everyone wants to spit on you and throw rocks at you. Make your life hell. Who’s everyone? Everyone you love!” And that’s just the small stuff! Not to mention I have recurring dreams of these events! 

(A few more hours of emotional Mother 3 spoilers)

Lucas: It turns out that all along, your brother was in fact the cyborg! And as he lies in you arms, he takes his final breath…and the emotions you had forced yourself to bottle up all come crashing out. The one person who you wanted to find for so long is finally with you, but is gone the next second. And all because of THAT BASTARD systematically ruining every part of your life!

Lucas points at Porky.

Lucas: So, enlighten me. Why should I be even tolerate that thing being in a quarter mile radius of me, when for all we know, he could do the same thing again?!

Silence. Everyone was silent….

Cloud: Lucas…what the hell? That actually happened to you?

Byleth: (At a loss for words)

Bowser: (A sobbing, emotional mess)

Little Mac: (traumatized)

Porky: …To be fair, I only did it one time.

Ridley, crying: You fiend! You can only do it one time! How could you ruin such a wholesome family?! (sobs)

Samus: (Was about about to say something, but realized Ridley is experiencing empathy for the first time and shuts up)

Porky: I know I’ve done some bad things, but is this really the place to judge? And you guys haven’t even seen my Final Smash yet! I know Ness wants to see it!

Ness: I really don’t.

Porky: But it’s cool! So, Masked Man-

Lucas: Masked….Man…?

Porky: Yeah. My cyborg assistant.

Lucas: …..

Mario: Lucas……….Lucas, put down that Death Scythe! Lucas, no!!

[frozenartscapes]

Monsters Don’t Save People - Part 2

I was inspired to do a follow up to the first part, found here. I might have kinda combined it with what happens in Shambala but with someone else we know who can turn into a giant, magical monster.

---

“What do you mean you lost them?!”

Her scout captain took a step back in alarm, not used to hearing such an outburst from the Emperor. “I...I apologize, your Majesty,” he stammered, “But after that attack in the village the other day... In the chaos, we lost the trail. I’m afraid we have...erm, nothing.”

Edelgard grimaced, her teeth gritting so tight they were beginning to hurt. “There are no signs anywhere of where they might have escaped to? No magic signatures? Discarded weapons? Footprints?”

He shook his head in dismay. “We will keep looking, your Majesty,” he vowed, “And your spymaster is conducting interrogations of the surviving villagers as we speak. But...it’s not looking hopeful.”

A spike of frustration and anger shot through her heart. She clenched her fist to the point her gauntlet strained under the pressure. “Then keep looking. You may go,” she commanded.

The scout captain nodded, failing to hide his relief, and scampered out of her tent to the relative safety of their base camp.

Once alone, Edelgard returned to her desk with a map of Fodlan spread out across it. Little flags and markers traced the path they had taken so far, all on the hunt for Those Who Slither and their hideout. They had been following a decent lead, until their foe took drastic action, flooding a village along their route with mutated monsters in an attempt to distract them.

Apparently, it had worked.

Edelgard let out a low growl in frustration, scouring her map and attempting to figure out where they might have run to. Every possibility didn’t seem likely. Her enemy this time around wasn’t as predictable as a foreign power. They were elusive, sneaky, and desperate. They could have led them on a wild goose chase before warping across Fodlan, for all she knew.

Anger surged again. Foolish. She was foolish for thinking this would be easy. She should have kept following at a distance. Assembling her Strike Team and attacking Those Who Slither alerted them to her plan. And now they were back to square one because she couldn’t be patient.

She had spent too long being patient. She didn’t have much time left, she couldn’t afford to be-

CRACK!

In her rage, she had slammed her fist down on her desk. But rather than stopping when it met the wood, she had struck with such a force that it went right through, splitting the solid wood desk messily in two.

Not expecting the table to give, her momentum sent her stumbling forward, into the wooden debris. She caught herself before she was flat on her face, but still had to take a moment to recover from the shock.

She let out a long, shaky breath. Calm. She had to keep calm.

She pulled her hand out of the wreckage of her desk and was anything but calm.

Black, charred skin. Long, razor-sharp claws. They had ripped clean through her metal gauntlet, leaving the shreds dangling from her hand.

With a startled gasp, she staggered backward until she collided with the edge of her bed. She shakily sunk down, eyes never leaving the monstrous appendage.

‘Breathe,’ a voice in her head instructed her, ‘Breathe. Calm down. Or else it will get worse.’

She struggled to take in a few weak breaths, but panic was quickly taking over. Her wicked hand clenched into a fist under her will, confirming that this was, in fact, real and a part of her.

Tears pricked in her eyes. ‘So it does come easier, now...’

“Edelgard?”

Her head shot up toward the entrance to her tent. Another attempt at a deep breath, and: “Yes?” Her voice only sounded slightly strangled, so she took it as a victory.

“Is everything all right? I heard a crash... May I come in?”

It was Marianne, and while she would rather not have anyone see her like this, of all the people who could have come to her tent she was probably the best. Edelgard gulped, and hid her mutated hand behind her back.

“Everything is...fine. Yes. You may enter.”

Marianne entered the tent with a look of concern on her face. Her eyes first landed on the destroyed desk, and a gasp escaped her lips as a hand shot up to cover her mouth. “Oh dear!” she cried, “What happened?”

‘Shit,’ Edelgard thought to herself. She had forgotten that she’d have to explain the desk. Her monstrous hand twitched behind her back.

Marianne turned toward Edelgard and her worry shifted in an instant. The Emperor’s face was deathly pale, her eyes wide and brimming with unshed tears, and body trembling like a leaf. It was such an odd sight to see of the woman normally so unflinching.

“Edelgard?” Marianne asked softly, “Are you ok?”

“I...” She thought about lying. But her confident “yes” had been caught in her throat. She might have been able to sound convincing but she knew she didn’t look it.

Marianne noticed how the Emperor held one hand tightly behind her back, and her frown deepened. “Are you hurt? I can take a look at it if you want, or I can go and get the Professor-”

“No!” That word fell out of her mouth before she could stop it, and it came tumbling out as if she fumbled something easily breakable. When she met Marianne’s confused and startled gaze, she sighed, “No. D...don’t get Byleth. Not...not yet.”

Marianne tilted her head in response. “But...” she began slowly. Something was wrong. Edelgard shared everything with her fiancée. Even Marianne knew that.

Edelgard swallowed hard and squeezed her eyes shut for a moment, resulting in a few wayward tears falling down her cheeks. “Promise me you won’t tell a soul about this,” she choked out, attempting to maintain authority despite feeling more and more like a helpless child chained up in a cell.

“I promise,” Marianne breathed. Concern filled her voice, but there was a gentle earnestness to her that gave Edelgard the confidence to reveal what was hidden behind her back.

Marianne gasped when she saw the monstrous appendage, her hands flying up to cover her mouth in shock. Though her eyes, wide with horror, showed a slightly different emotion.

Edelgard looked away from her, glancing back down to inspect her hand with morbid curiosity. “I...don’t know what happened,” she explained, trying desperately to hide the tremble in her voice, “I...was angry. Frustrated. And when I went to slam my hand on the table it just...”

She sighed heavily, clenching the hand of the Hegemon into a tight fist. “I suppose I will have to be more careful, now. Ever since becoming the...that thing...to win the battle a few weeks ago, my emotions have been...strange. More potent, and more volatile. This is proof, now, that it’s...dangerous...”

Marianne still gazed upon her with those big, brown eyes. Yet despite the lingering shock on her face, she took a step forward. Then another. Slowly, she approached until she stood right in front of the Emperor.

Then, without a moment’s hesitation, took that horrid hand in hers.

Edelgard couldn’t hide the terror on her face. She wanted to rip her hand away, but restrained herself only because she feared what those claws might do to Marianne’s delicate skin. As she floundered, struggling to find words that would gently tell this sensitive woman to get away from her for her own safety, Marianne did something she rarely ever did to anyone.

She smiled at her. Reassuringly.

“You are not dangerous, Edelgard,” she said softly, carefully running her thumb over the rough, charred skin.

“Yes I am,” Edelgard breathed, unable to tear her eyes away from her hand.

“Tell me, Edelgard: Am I dangerous?”

It was with those words that the Emperor found the strength to beat her fear. “Of course not,” she answered, confident, as she met those warm brown eyes.

“Then you are not, either,” Marianne told her simply.

Edelgard’s eyes widened. Of course: her Crest...Maurice...

“But you never... I have...”

“Perhaps I haven’t,” Marianne said with a small sigh, “But as long as the Crest of the Beast dwells in my blood, there is a chance. Do you still think me safe to be around?”

Edelgard nodded, perhaps a little too eagerly. “I would never consider you dangerous, Marianne. You’ve proven yourself to me countless times over.”

Marianne gave her hand a small squeeze. “And I watched a great, magnificent creature place herself between myself and a monster, all to protect me and my companions,” she said softly, “You could turn into the Hegemon right now and I wouldn’t be afraid. No one would.”

Edelgard stared into that gentle gaze, focusing only on the comforting touch of a fragile hand against her demonic one.

She had been so caught up in her emotions she didn’t even feel her hand change back.

“There, see?” Marianne said with a delicate laugh, “All that worry for nothing!”

Edelgard regarded her bare hand in total shock. Never had she been happier to see her scarred skin - at least it wasn’t that sinuous hide anymore. She looked back to her companion and offered a grateful smile. “I really must thank you, Marianne,” she said earnestly.

“No need to thank me,” Marianne replied, “I would not be here if you hadn’t helped me overcome my own fears. I simply returned the favour.”

———

Finding Shambala turned out to be the easy part, much to everyone’s dismay. Edelgard had been forced to dial it back, but her initial attack had scared Thales enough for him to fire a second warning shot, much like Arianrhod. Though that still meant undue soldier and civilian casualties, Those Who Slither had chosen to obliterate a small fort town rather than target anything big.

The mistake they made in doing so, however, was that it allowed Hubert and Linhardt to track the magic signature, something they had been working on since Arianrhod had been destroyed by a Javelin of Light.

Now they knew where Shambala was, and it was time to raze the snake nest.

It turned out the technology of Those Who Slither in the Dark - or the Agarthans, as they had learned - was far more superior than any of them realized. Edelgard even found herself cursing Thales and his ilk for utilizing such medieval and antiquated procedures on her and her siblings when it was obvious the Agarthans were well beyond that.

Still, she had to put it all behind her for the moment. The Agarthans had learned of the army sent to destroy them, and like fire ants out to defend their hill, were swarming them with wave upon wave of mages, monsters, and golems.

She and Byleth worked to keep the Eagles together, moving as one powerful unit rather than splitting up. But that eventually proved to be impossible in the onslaught of chaos, and eventually, Edelgard found herself alone.

She took down another mage with a Crest-enhanced swing of her sword, breathing heavy and sweat dripping on her brow. The brief lull between enemies allowed her to survey the battle taking part around her, and a fear she was becoming too familiar with struck her heart once again.

“Truly a shame, isn’t it? To lose so much…potential.”

Her blood went cold. Her grip tightened around Aymr’s handle. She spun around, rage boiling in her soul. “You,” she spat.

Thales seemed bored at best by her fury. “You once told me that your little human friends were strong, capable warriors,” he drawled, “Seeing them here now, I’m almost inclined to believe you. We could have made them better of course…” He paused when someone - Annette, it sounded like - screamed in fear and pain. A wicked smirk stretched across his face. “But alas… Nothing will remain after today.”

“You’re right about one thing,” Edelgard growled, readying her axe, “Nothing will be left, but of this wicked place! Of you and your miserable people!”

“Put that thing down, girl,” Thales warned, “Don’t forget who made it for you.”

“And now I’m going to prove how great a mistake that was!” She surged forward, letting out a fierce war cry as she swung Aymr back.

Thales merely raised one hand, and she collided with a solid forcefield of energy before she could so much as touch him. The resulting blast sent her flying, Aymr landing further away with a clatter.

“Do you realize what you could have been had you stayed with us?” Thales demanded as he stalked toward her. Before she could pick herself up, he struck her with another shockwave, sending her careening away.

“You could have been the greatest Emperor Fodlan has ever seen!” Thales declared. Another wave of his hand, and she felt some unseen energy pluck her up into the air, only to hurl her into a nearby pillar.

“You could have been a legend!” Another wave, and this time she was thrown into the far wall with a sickening crunch.  

“You could have been a god!” He pitched her high this time, slamming her up onto a platform elevated above most of the fight. Her body crumpled to the floor of the platform. She struggled to get her breath back, struggled to shake the spots from her eyes.

Thales appeared beside her out of thin air, and grabbed her by the throat. He hoisted her up so she could see below them, at all of her forces currently being just as trounced as herself. “But you can still be something,” he hissed into her ear, his slimy voice sending shivers down her spine, “Once this is all over, we’ll rebuild you. Fix the flaws we missed the first time. Yes… Perhaps grant you a third Crest… Mend that meddlesome mind of yours so that you’ll obey… You might have to be replaced, of course, but your contributions to the Empire will still be highly valued.”

Edelgard struggled against his hold, but no matter how hard she kicked and thrashed she couldn’t escape. Memories began to flood her mind, and suddenly she was twelve again, fighting against this same hold to no avail while her family died around her.

But then Thales let out a pained shout, and released his hold on her as if he had just been burned. Or shot.

“Y…you leave her alone!”

She looked up from where she was on the floor, only for her heart to seize in panic. Bernadetta, bless her, was standing a few feet away, aiming a nocked arrow at the Agarthan’s head. She was trembling from head to toe and was pale as a ghost but she still stood, staring down the most dangerous man on the continent.

Thales reached behind his back and tugged the arrow from his shoulder blade with only a small wince. “And what are you going to do?” he sneered as he stalked toward the terrified archer.

“What are you going to do?” Uncle Volkhard - no, he wasn’t her uncle anymore - let go of her neck and allowed her to fall to the floor, his attention now turned entirely to one of her older sisters.

Before her sister could respond, he struck her, hard, with such a force it knocked her to the ground, her bold, defensive stance rendered utterly useless.

“Take that one next,” her not-Uncle growled at one of the mages, and they hauled her beloved sister away before she could do or say anything about it.

They threw the corpse back into the cell a few hours later.

“No…” she breathed. She pushed herself up as far as she could, only sitting, really. A violent cough sputtered up from her lungs, bring a good portion of blood with it. And the pain that shot through her side told her she likely had a couple broken ribs. And even if she could stand, Aymr was down on the lower level and all she had left on her was a dagger.

She was once more that helpless little girl in a dungeon, unable to so much as protect her siblings the way they tried to protect her. Thales was going to kill Bernadetta, and all she could do was watch.

But then a low growl escaped her throat. One that wasn’t human.

Amidst the panic seizing her heart, she felt a fire growing. One that quickly became a raging inferno, boiling her blood and searing her skin from the inside out. This time she didn’t fight it, didn’t try to stop it, and it came naturally. Her bones split and stretched into something that almost felt normal, her skin ripped apart and hardened into charred leather and scales and for the first time since they got to Shambala she felt safe. She flexed wings she didn’t have seconds ago, swished a tail that hadn’t existed.

She was nothing but claws and fangs and dark magic and righteous, protective fury.

Thales prepared to crush this trembling little human like the bug she was, but suddenly a massive hand grabbed him, claws narrowly missing anything important.

Bernadetta watched as the Hegemon yanked Thales away from her, and her paralyzed eyes met those sinister red ones of the monster before her. The creature offered only one word, one that would ensure the archer’s survival: “Run.”

And so Bernie did.

Thales chuckled from her hand. “So the rumours were true,” he laughed, “You did produce the anomaly. Oh…my wondrous weapon!”

Edelgard slammed him against the wall, squeezing until she could hear his bones breaking. “I’m going to enjoy this.” Her voice came out rumbling, distorted, every bit as menacing as she felt. But he was squirming, and for once she did not care how much blood she was about to have on her hands.

“Yes…yes…” Thales gasped, “Such power… Never…never forget…who gave it to you!”

Something inside her stirred. Her head swam in emotion, all her tightly bottled anger and resentment being released and feeding her actions. She couldn’t contain the twisted grin that spread across her face. Finally. Finally. She’ll have her revenge for what he did to her. For what he did to her family. And what better irony - to be killed by the very monster he helped design?

But then another scream pierced through the vindictive clouds in her head. Suddenly the roaring thoughts of crushing Thales, of tearing him apart and bathing in his blood, were overcome by the sounds of the battle around them. Shaken by the shift in her mind, she dropped Thales, turning to observe below them.

The Eagles - her friends - were losing. Mercedes was administering a healing spell to Annette as Ingrid and Marianne fought off a monster trying to reach them. Hubert and Dorothea were doing what they could against the mages, but were clearly outmatched. Ferdinand, Petra, and Caspar had been pinned between two massive Titanus. Lysithea and Linhardt were both taking cover, trying desperately to heal each other. Ashe had found Bernadetta and the pair were attempting to provide cover but there were too many enemies. And Byleth…

She watched as Byleth charged at a particularly large Beast, managing to sink her sword deep into its throat only to have the blade be stuck there. The Beast went unfazed by the weapon and batted her away. It then ran at her, teeth bared and waiting for blood.

“You’re still…going to lose,” Thales taunted as he struggled to his feet, “Kill me now, girl, and you’ll still lose.”

Her jaw set, her mind made up. With a swish of her tail, she swatted Thales away like the insect that he was. She then leapt over the ledge and entered the fray.

Byleth braced herself for the Beast to bear down on her, waiting for its teeth to pierce her armour. But then there was a loud crash, the ground shook underneath her, and the Beast charging her was slammed away by another, more familiar Beast.

“El!” Byleth shouted in alarm, suddenly more worried about how and why Edelgard had once again transformed into the Hegemon Husk.  

Edelgard killed the enemy Beast with one swing of her claws. “It’s alright, my Teacher,” she said in a voice that did little to comfort Byleth at that moment, “I am in control this time.”  

Her red eyes then locked onto the golem about to crush Caspar under its foot. “Call the others back into one group. We must take our enemies as a unit.” She then surged forward, throwing the golem away as if it were a mere toy.

Byleth shook her head, snapping out of her stupor, and raised her sword to rally allies near her together.

Ashe and Bernadetta ran up to meet her, both helping Lysithea and Linhardt limp forward. “Is that…Edelgard?” Ashe asked, his face pale as he watched the mutated Emperor fight against the golem.

“She did it again?” Lysithea demanded, “Is she crazy?”

“She…she did it to save me,” Bernie stammered, shrinking in on herself as she spoke, “Oh gosh… I…I hope she doesn’t get stuck like that b…because of me.”

“It’s ok,” Byleth assured them, “I think El’s got this under control.” There was a loud bang and a flash of blue-green light as the Titanus exploded under Edelgard’s dark magic.  

“I certainly like our odds,” Ferdinand said as he and the others joined them.

“I’ll say! Did you see how she just smacked that thing away!” Caspar exclaimed, “Saved my ass for sure! I owe her one!"

“What’s the plan now?” Dorothea asked as mages and soldiers began to flank them.

“We fight, and win,” Hubert declared, reading magic in his palms, “For her Majesty!”

There was a low rumble, and cracks of dark magic surged through the ground under the enemy’s feet. Spikes erupted from the openings, decimating the group. “I appreciate the sentiment, Hubert,” a demonic voice said behind them, though the smirk was unmistakable even with the distortion.

As the Eagles regrouped, so did the Agarthans, surrounding them with groups of soldiers and mages. More Demonic Beasts burst from the shadows and charged. Archers lined up from the ramparts high above. A final Titanus exploded through the wall behind Thales’ throne, sword glowing and ready for blood.

“Ashe, Bernadetta: take the archers!” Byleth commanded, “Ingrid, cover Ferdinand, Petra, and Caspar as they take the soldiers. Mercedes, stay with them in case they’ll need healing.”

“Hubert, Dorothea, and Lysithea: mages. Marianne, you, Byleth, and Annette take on the Beasts. Linhardt, stay with them.” The Titanus slammed its sword into the ground, resulting in a wave of molten rock and fire to surge out toward them. Edelgard held out one hand, and a shield of purple energy stopped the wave before it could reach them. “The big one is mine.”

With everyone good with their tasks, the Black Eagle Strike Force moved out in one formidable unit. When one hit, another was there to hit again. If someone had their back turned, someone else was there with a shield. Magic and arrows flew true and swords and axes hit with strength and accuracy. United, they were unstoppable.

The Titanus fell to Edelgard’s claws and she turned to find the battle over. Those Agarthans left alive were fleeing, and all the major threats were dead. She couldn’t stop the small smile that broke through the scales on her face.

As the Black Eagles gathered together to celebrate, wicked laughter echoed through the city remains. Edelgard whipped around and let out an involuntary snarl when she spotted Thales, clearly too injured to fight, kneeling on what was left of the dais.

“You…will never enjoy your victory,” he declared through heavy breaths. His cold eyes met Edelgard’s one final time as the floor underneath him lit up in archaic runes. “For all Agarthans.”

The entire city began to vibrate. Dust and rocks were shaken loose from the ceiling. Linhardt, who recognized the runes, gasped in alarm. “No, it can’t be!”

Suddenly the entire ceiling was ripped open with a massive bang, rocks and debris raining down around them. Now that they could see the darkening sky, it became clear what Thales had done. A bright light appeared in the sky, almost like a star. But then it grew brighter, and brighter. Purple circles appeared as a giant column leading the light down to the ground. More lights appeared in the sky.

“That idiot isn’t that crazy, right?” Lysithea demanded in a panic.

“Head for the exit!” Byleth shouted, “Now!” She turned to El, who was still staring at the sky. She didn’t like how the Hegemon’s wings twitched in anticipation. “El, let’s go!”

Edelgard turned, just a little, so she could see Byleth. Magic began to form around the skeletal wings on her back, filling them in to resemble something more like an eagle’s. Something that could actually fly. “I’m sorry, Byleth,” she said softly, nodding to her family, “I won’t let him do it again.”

And with that, and a mighty flap of her wings, she was off and into the sky.

“No! El!” Byleth screamed as she watched her love go. She wasn’t the only one, as the others from the team all had similar sentiments.

Edelgard stared down the first Javelin, magic and fire dancing down her long arms and collecting in her hands. Once enough energy had charged, she released the powerful blast. The moment it connected with the tip of the Javelin, the entire thing exploded in a massive, brilliant fireball.

Another column of circles formed nearby, and she quickly swooped into that path to take out the next one.

And the next.

Her position was too awkward to catch the one after, and she was forced to watch it strike the opening of Shambala and hope she had bought everyone some time to escape. Another column formed, and she snapped out of her worry and intercepted that Javelin.

Byleth could only watch in horror. Edelgard seemed to be doing fine, but the few Javelins that slipped past her were really starting to bring the city down. Thales had been lost in the chaos, laughing like a maniac as the boulders from the ceiling caved in around him. It had been made abundantly clear just how destructive one Javelin was, and El was up there swooping directly into their paths to take them out, narrowly avoiding the infernos.

El managed to destroy one more Javelin, and what seemed like the last one. And for a brief second, there was a moment of respite where it felt like she could breathe. Like Byleth could breath. Edelgard spotted her down below in the rubble, and the universe stopped. Just for them. It was over, they both survived. Things could finally…

Byleth saw it first. That flash of light, the circles… She shouted for El, hoping she’d see it in time. Edelgard whipped around, only having enough time to see the gold tip of the Javelin before it struck her directly.

The explosion rocked the city now exposed to the elements. A chorus of screams and gasps was overpowered by the loud boom. Rocks and dust blocked out the sky, fire rained down upon them, forcing them to take cover.

As the dust settled, Byleth shot to her feet, shoving aside rocks and debris as she began a frantic search. “El!” she called out, hoping - praying. Yes, she just watched the woman she loved more than anything take a direct hit from a Javelin of Light but the Hegemon was virtually indestructible and Edelgard was even stronger than that. She had to have survived. She just…she had to.

She pushed a large boulder out of the way, revealing what was left of Thales’ corpse, half-buried under the rubble of the civilization he was once so proud of. A maniacal grin still smeared across his face. Byleth clenched her fists tight, so tight her fingernails dug into her palms. After all that, after every life he destroyed, he goes out like that? Crushed by some rocks moved by his own hand?

She spun away, feeling her anger beginning to reach a boiling point, and that’s when she spotted her. That red cape, so easily seen through the dust.

Byleth raced to her side, falling to her knees and carefully scooping the Emperor up into her arms. She felt so…fragile, now. And cold, despite the burns on her body. But, despite her injuries, her chest still rose and fell.

“El…” Byleth uttered, resting her forehead against her beloved. “It’s over.”

Slowly, lilac eyes fluttered open. A faint smile danced across Edelgard’s lips. “My Love,” she whispered, “We won.”

“We did, El,” Byleth replied, feeling tears on her cheek and not caring in the slightest. She heard the other Eagles shouting. She spotted Dorothea all but dragging Linhardt toward them. “Just hang on, a little longer. And I swear to you will have that day where we do nothing at all - just lounging around and eating as many sweets as we can.”

A breathy chuckle escaped Edelgard’s chest, a violent cough following not long after. “I’ll…hold you to that…” she said weakly. Her eyes began to droop shut.

“Just hang on, El. Hang on…”

…

“The path we walk isn’t at its end yet.”

———

Enbarr in was at its best in the Garland Moon. It was warm, but it wasn’t yet so unbearably hot it almost made one wish for a Faerghus winter. All the trees had fully grown all their leaves, the first of the summer blooms were in full swing, and birds sang without a care in the world as they flew about the gardens. The sun sparkled off the water in the Palace fountains, warming the stone balconies and filling the rooms with soft yellow light. The air was fresh, with a touch of salt from the nearby sea.

Edelgard drew a deep breath in from where she stood on her balcony, wincing only slightly. Her ribcage was still fairly sore, but the fresh air was more than worth it after spending so much time trapped in her bed.

“El?” Byleth’s concerned tone came from inside, causing her to sigh lovingly at her wonderful fiancée.

“I’m out here!” she called, and Byleth was there in moments, not trying to hide her relief.

“You shouldn’t be out of bed yet,” Byleth scolded, though her playful smirk and tone gave her away.

Edelgard pouted, just a little. “I’d argue that the healing benefits of a pleasant, summer day were too good to pass up,” she countered, “Besides. I made it out here on my own, didn’t I? That should mean something.”

Byleth frowned a little, looking around the balcony for something. “That’s…right,” she said slowly, “How? You can’t really walk yet and we had to steal you cane after you kept sneaking down into the…” That’s when her eyes landed on the small hand axe El kept near the bed should an assassin ever try anything. The handle on it was just long enough. “…study.” She levelled the woman she loved a tired glance. “An axe, El?”

“I am nothing if not resourceful,” Edelgard stated in defence.

“Well, you won’t need it for this,” Byleth said as she pulled out on of the chairs at the little table on the balcony, holding a hand out to assist El over to it. Once she was seated, Byleth  returned to the room for a moment, and Edelgard could hear the sounds of tea being prepared. Sure enough, Byleth came back with a tray of tea and an assortment of various pastries and cakes.

“It’s not a mountain of sweets, not yet. Manuela says you still have to watch what you eat until your injuries are fully healed,” Byleth said, “But I just thought that… Well, this could be the first of many leisure days to come.”

“The first, huh?” Edelgard said with a small laugh, “Funny. I feel as though I’ve had nothing but leisure days since our return from Shambala.”

Byleth smiled as she poured their tea. “I’d like to point out that a coma isn’t exactly relaxing,” she teased, “Nor is lying in bed worrying about your Empire.”

“I wasn’t…always worrying…”

“I walked in on you at one point trying to will yourself into good health, El. You never stopped worrying.” She chuckled slightly at the thought. “But today felt like a good one for taking a break.”

Edelgard took a sip from her cup, breathing in the warm scent of bergamot and feeling it sooth the lingering rawness of her throat. “I suppose it is,” she said softly. She gently reached out and took Byleth’s hand in hers, brushing one finger over the gold and ruby ring she had given her beloved. Byleth did the same, admiring how her father’s ring looked on Edelgard’s slender hand.

“I really must thank you,” Edelgard said after a pause, eyes never leaving their intertwined hands, “I…don’t think I would be where I am now were it not for you.”

“El, I…”

“I’m not even talking about the war,” Edelgard admitted, “I… There was an incident, not long after the village where I became the Hegemon. In a moment of anger and frustration, I began to turn into it again. And I was so afraid to tell you because…” She drew a deep, long breath, clenching her free fist. “I’ve known I was a monster for a long time. I might not look it. Or sound like it. But what they did to me… It changed so many things. I couldn’t…I couldn’t let you see just how truly lost I was.

“But then in Shambala, when we fought together when I was… It felt just as natural as ever. Like I hadn’t changed who I was at all, despite being a giant, hideous creature.”

“The Hegemon isn’t hideous,” Byleth said quickly.

Edelgard laughed. “It’s alright, Byleth. I know what I looked like.” She frowned a little then, almost mournfully. “It’s still…disconcerting that such a creature dwells under my skin. But that was the second time it fully came out and all I wanted to do was keep you all safe… I don’t know if such a thing would have happened had it not been for you.”

Byleth offered her a comforting smile, squeezing her hand a little for added emphasis. “I’m always going to be here for you, El. We all will be,” she said, “And I wouldn’t be here without you, either.”

Edelgard returned the smile with a warm grin of her own. Her heart fluttered in her chest, overflowing with emotions she hadn’t felt in what felt like an eternity. Watching Byleth now before her, trying and failing to daintily eat a pastry, only renewed the fire in her heart. Her friends were all safe. Her Empire and all of Fodlan was safe. Her family was safe.

And she knew what it truly meant to love again.

“Thank you again for this, Byleth.”

“You deserved something special. Happy Birthday, El.”

[firemblem-fics]

Felix x Blythe where he walks in on the girls arguing who is the most handsome man in the army. Blythe is gunning for felix

this is so cute and i 100% relate to byleth. i don’t know if i said this earlier, but i only do x readers, so if the request says byleth then i will make the reader the professor. if it doesn’t, then the reader is a student.

thanks for the request! the reader is kinda more shy than normal in this oop

top ten. | felix x reader

warnings: cursing

felix was always a lone wolf. he spent his time training alone, eating dinner alone, and everything else. it’s not as if he didn’t have any friends. no, felix had many friends. he just preferred to be alone.

after a slightly lonely training session, felix checked his pocket watch. his eyes widened as he realized he was late for dinner. he walked into the dining hall to see everyone seated and chattering away while eating. he grabbed his dinner and headed towards a table alone, but loud laughter caught his attention.

you were sitting with the students instead of with the other professors and it seemed as if you and nearly all of the girls at garreg mach were engaged in a heated conversation. as he walked by, he couldn’t help but eavesdrop.

“you really think he’s number one?” hilda questioned, “like, that means he beats out dimitri or even ferdinand!”

“of course!” you said back, “ferdinand is three, dimitri is two, and felix is definitely number one.”

suddenly, felix was intrigued. he turned in his heel and set his plate down next to yours. everyone at the table turned their heads towards him and your cheeks flushed.

“what am i number one about?” he asked.

“uh- nothing!” you squeaked out, “we were just joking around-“

“y/n thinks you’re the most handsome man at the school!” lysithea interrupted.

felix raised his eyebrow and looked over at you. “is that so?”

you looked at him, still flushed. he couldn’t help but slightly admire you as you stumbled for words. your hair, your eyes, your lips. you must’ve caught onto his staring because suddenly you stood up and excused yourself from the table.

felix sighed and continued to eat dinner. he wasn’t alone, but now that you had left he felt lonely.

after dinner, he decided to go to the blue lions classroom to catch up on some studying. as he opened the door and walked in, but you sitting at your desk caught his attention. you hadn’t noticed him yet, so he walked up to you and gently took your book out of your hands.

you looked up. “oh, felix. listen, i’m sorry about dinner, we were just talking and it all came up and-“

you were stopped by lips pressing against your cheek. felix pulled away and gently traced your jawline and cheekbone before standing up completely.

“just so you know,” he smiled, “in my top ten, you’re number one as well.”

[fethreehouses-imagines]

Any headcannons about Jeralt substituting for Byleth on a sick day for each house? Would the students try to attempt to ask questions about Byleth's origin? Also, how would Jeralt react realizing f!Byleth holds romantic feelings towards Claude and vice versa? (You don't have to answer that last one if I'm being too greedy)

omg okay yes. It’s under the cut cause it got a little long with all the houses:) ~mod claude

Black Eagles

With how much Edelgard respects and likes the professor, she was a bit upset to see Jeralt walk in

She kinda hoped Byleth would walk in right after but alas, they did not.

Hubert was, well, thankful. He didn’t like how close Edelgard and Byleth were so them being apart was... good.

Lindhart was asleep. Except had a horrible wake up call with a book being slammed next to his head by the blade breaker himself

Caspar just wanted to test his strength against Jeralt. Sure he missed the professor but uh this was the legendary Jeralt.

Dorothea wanted to bring the professor some tea after class. After all they had done so much for the Black Eagles it was only fair that she would return the favor

Ferdinand von Aegir said to Jeralt, “I am Ferdinand von Aegir”

Ferdinand was excited to see who Jeralt thought was better. Him or Edelgard. He’s also make a mental note to bring the professor tea later.

Bernadetta, more than ever, wished she could run back to her room. Sure she liked the professor and was concerned for them, but Jeralt was scary!

Petra wished so dearly Brigid ingredients were easily accessible in Foldan. She knew a really good recipe for knocking the sickness right out of someone. But, she also couldn’t deny that these teachings from Jeralt would be a valuable experience.

Blue Lions

Dimitri would be WORRIED SICK at first. After all his Professor was so ill that they couldn’t even come to class.

He’d pester Jeralt on their condition but Jeralt would just tell him to sit down and not worry about Byleth. They’d get better.

Mercedes was also questioning Jeralt about Byleth’s condition. Explaining that she could easily help them recover.

Jeralt heaved out a sigh, letting her know other healers were already doing that... Healers who weren’t students. 

Dedue was more concerned about Dimitri. Though he did hope their professor would recover soon. He liked their teachings.

Sylvain... he would be upset considering their professor was so nice to look at but Jeralt... well, sure he was someone’s type but just not Sylvain’s.

Ingrid was excited to learn from him. Maybe even learn about some of Jeralt and Byleth’s days as mercenaries from the legendary Blade Breaker himself. 

Felix was excited to test his blade against Jeralt. That’s really all he cared about.

Annette was curious to dive deeper into the past life of Byleth. They were so quiet about their personal life but maybe just maybe she could squeeze something out of Jeralt.

Ashe... Oh when he heard that the professor was sick? He had tentatively raised his hand to ask if they were okay. Ashe knew what it was like to be very sick or around someone who was very sick. After all, he never really had the money to cure those illnesses quickly.

Golden Deer

Leonie would immediately punch who was ever next to her when Jeralt walked through the room. 

She was just really excited

Ignatz was a little afraid of Jeralt considering how strong he was supposed to be...

Marianne didn’t seem to have a preference either way, her head stayed down as per usual.

Hilda seemed a little upset. Byleth usually didn’t care if she slacked off so long as she got her work done and she wasn’t sure if Jeralt would be the same

Raphael was the one Leonie punched. He was too busy rubbing his arm at the pain that she managed to inflict on him to really care about Jeralt

Lysithea was also fairly excited... Partially cause she was quite curious about their mysterious professor. They were so young yet everyone treated them as though they were Jeralt’s age. She wanted to know their secret. 

Lorenz... well.. so long as what Jeralt taught them was noble he didn’t mind... But considering how their teacher fought he didn’t have high hopes.

Lastly, Claude. Oh Claude was a little upset. After all he wanted to see Byleth that day. He had a gift to give them. 

But no matter... He could also pester Jeralt about where Byleth came from and what’s their whole story... After all they barely seemed to know what their origin was either

After class, Claude had walked up to Jeralt, wanting to know how sick they were.

“They’re pretty bad. I’m checking in on them but you shouldn’t unless you want to get sick.”

Claude huffed, extending out his hand to hand Jeralt the gift and a letter (that he wrote in class), “Could you give this to them? Just let them know it’s from me.”

Claude then walked away leaving Jeralt dumbfounded as he stared at what looked to be a promise ring in the palm of his hand.

[theangelofvengeance]

A Wish Among The Stars

Midnight had officially been broken around what seemed to be the remains of Garreg Mach Monastery. This great big building which had been home to Fodlan's archbishop, Lady Rhea, was nothing more than reduced to ruins, all thanks to a sneak attack that had been planned by former student and the current emperor of the Adrestian Empire, Edelgard Von Hresvelg. It had finally been five years ago ever since that incident occurred, and safe to say, a lot of the students, teachers and everyone who have worked closely with Lady Rhea, had never forgotten that fateful day.

No doubt Ashe Ubert was one of those students who experienced that unforgettable sneak attack just five years ago. It was also five years ago that his dear professor, Byleth, had been presumed missing. Yes, he had been found ever since, and he had been working all day night with the rest of the Blue Lions to get even against Edelgard herself. And tomorrow was gonna be the day that their professor would take the class he lead in his life over to the Adrestian capital of Enbarr, where they can finally overthrow Edelgard's bloodthirsty regime once and for all.

And it was gonna be the final battle too. That was the one thing Ashe didn't expect, but was expected anyway since the archer himself didn't know how long he wanted to keep fighting this way. Right now, he just wanted to keep both Fodlan and Faerghus, the towns that he resided in in a state of peace. At least on this night Ashe was having all to himself, he only managed to get a brief taste of that peace as he found himself all alone in the middle of the night, stargazing down from the greenhouse he was slumbered inside in. It was mostly Ashe's thing whenever he found himself bored or just wanted to get away from the madness outside the monastery. There was something about being roomed inside a greenhouse while looking at the stars through one of the windows that made it sound so hauntingly beautiful. That and mixed with the sweet aroma of flowers around him made for a perfect nighttime setting.

Of course, he also couldn't forget the warm aroma of chocolate chip cookies that was cooling off in the box that was sitting next to him. This definitely sounded like a peaceful moment to him indeed, especially when he let his thoughts out all to himself.

"I can't wait for this entire war to be over and done with. It almost feels like a long time too..."

A calm sigh broke from Ashe's lips, one that spoke out of pure peace and yet out of uncertainly. He couldn't quite help but think that this upcoming battle with Edelgard could possibly be his last, should he have to die in that final war. He also couldn't help but think if this war would be the final time he would ever see his friends again if they were to fall in battle. Throughout the years in the monastery, he had made friends with his fellow Blue Lions like Felix, Ashe, Ingrid, Mercedes, Sylvain, Annette and their trustful King of Faerghus, Dimitri. Not to mention the students his dear professor recruited into the group like Dorothea, Ferdinand, Leonie, Lysithea, Hilda, Marianne, Balthus and Constance. Ashe had treated everyone of them more than friends.

They were his family. The kind of family that Ashe never got the chance to have even though he was adopted. The kind of family that even though they weren't related, they were bonded by blood and blood alone. What he wouldn't do for any of them that's already been said enough. He continued to reminisce for a little while until he felt the inside of his stomach rumble out of hunger.

"Okay, I hope those cookies are cold enough for me to eat now..." Ashe said to himself before putting his hand inside the box of cookies.

But as he did though, he somehow touched what seemed to be a silk-like glove instead of a baked cookie biscuit. This feeling gave Ashe a grim gulp around his throat as he quickly turned his head to see who he was touching.

The mysterious figure Ashe was touching smiled right to him, "Hi, Ashe."

'GAAAAH!" shrieked Ashe as he nearly fell out of the ledge he was sitting on.

The archer managed to keep his balance long enough to refocus on the person that was sitting next to him, which just happened to be one of his Blue Lions teammates, Annette.

"Don't do that, Annette! You really scared the heck out of me!" Ashe said with his heart palpitating.

"I'm sorry to scare you like that, Ashe." The cheerful girl replied back to him, "I kinda smelled chocolate chip cookies and I was wondering where that smell was coming from in the first place."

"Oh, that..." Ashe chuckled with a blush on his face. He then looked down at the box and said, "Yeah, it was coming from this box. Mercedes kinda made me a batch full of cookies, and I'm trying to cool them off."

"Well, they definitely look scrumptious." Annette nodded before asking, "You don't mind, do you?"

The silver-haired archer then nodded back, "Oh, go ahead."

"Thanks," She smiled sweetly, taking a freshly-baked cookie out from the box. Munching on the cookie itself, Annette then asked the archer, "By the way, I didn't know you hung out here at nights."

Ashe fought out a nervous chuckle as he said with a cookie in hand, "Yeah, sometimes I need to find a good place to get some space and clear my thoughts. What with this being a crazy world due to all of the battles we've fought in so far."

"No kidding," Annette nodded with her mouth full, "Hard to believe we've been through so much, it's no wonder we're still alive in one piece."

"Indeed," Ashe nodded back, "The hardest part of every battle is realizing the fact that in every fight, we have to lose every one of our friends. The ones we grew up with in this very monastery. The fact that they're not with us anymore still hurts."

Annette felt that very same thing Ashe was feeling: Hurt. And no doubt that taking their friends lives in the middle of this tragic war hurt so much like a bloody dagger straight to the heart. It jams in there back and forth before it sinks right into the womb, leading to the brink of nowhere when it comes to life. Sometimes, it even led both Ashe and Annette to wonder themselves if this was hardly worth fighting for. The cold hard truth was that it wasn't worth it, but at the end of the day, it was the way this war had to be.

Minutes of silence passed between both Ashe and Annette for a good while, only for the auburn-haired songbird to break the tension by staring right up to the skies and said, "You know Ashe, maybe they're not really gone at all."

"Huh? What do you mean?" Ashe raised his eyebrow, looking at Annette with such curiosity.

"Maybe they're up there in the skies," Annette said as she pointed up the starry sky, "From the way I see it, I like to envision the friends we lost in those battles as stars. Maybe the goddess reincarnated them as such. Sure they may not be with us on this Earth, but up there, they're watching above us in this starry night." She then pointed to the exact moon itself and said, "And see that moon upthere, Ashe?"

"Yeah, I see it." Ashe nodded.

"That moon, in my mind, represents the goddess itself." Annette pointed out once more, "And those stars in the sky are joined with her in perfect harmony. Because like us, those friends fought and gave their lives for a higher purpose. We honor her and them with our hearts, because we all know they never went away no matter what their fate on Earth lies."

Ashe let out a brief, yet relieved smile as he nodded. "Huh, you're right. I really never thought about it that way."

Peaceful solitude began to break out between the two young Blue Lions themselves. Neither Ashe and Annette knew how peaceful their time looking at the stars was. Oh, if only it could be like this between the two friends themselves without any kind of war breaking out, then they never get tired of each other's company. Ever.

That solitude would only last for a bit while before Annette was surprised by the image of a shooting star falling from orbit. This excited the cheerful overachiever so much that she tugged Ashe right by the shoulder to get his attention.

"Hey Ashe, look up there!" She said as Annette pointed up to the right.

Ashe immediately followed suit as he looked up once more, only to see that shooting star shine right between his pale green eyes. It looked quite beautiful from afar, even going so far to shine even more brightly than a pearly white smile.

"I can't believe it's a shooting star," The archer chuckled out, "I hardly ever get any of those at night."

Annette chuckled once again as she said, "I guess we're lucky then, now we get to make a wish."

"Yeah," Ashe smiled back with a nervous blush growing between his cheeks. Soon as his blush faded away, the archer then asked Annette, "What did you wish for, anyway?"

The auburn-haired cutie shrugged before saying, "I don't know, nothing special. My only wish is that I just want this war to be over and make it in one piece with everyone on our side."

"That's a really good wish you thought of." Ashe nodded reassuringly.

"I did, didn't I?" Annette said, blushing a bit herself before asking him, "You make a wish yourself, Ashe?"

The archer, truth be told, possibly didn't know how to respond to that one simple question, leading him to shrug back at her in response.

"I wouldn't know to be honest," He finally replied, "I mean, there are so many things I'm looking forward to in the future that I couldn't possibly think of what to wish for and all. I thought so many like leaving Fodlan to mark a path of my very own, maybe become a knight that I've always dreamed of being for in a famous House, or maybe retire and spend all my days shooting apples with my arrows and whatnot."

Annette broke out in a giggle saying, "You thinking of being some sort of mountain man? I can't imagine what you'd look like with a beard."

"I probably wouldn't say I'd go that far." Ashe chuckled back, sharing a laugh with the girl sitting right close to him.

All that laughing and stargazing ended up making Ashe even more hungry then usual. He decided to pick up yet another chocolate chip cookie when all of a sudden, he felt Annette's hand touch his yet again, resulting in both Ashe and Annette exchanging a blush between each other.

"Oh, I'm sorry." He said, apologizing to her.

"Oh, don't apologize, that one's on me." Annette said, pardoning the archer.

But as soon as they touched hands, something weird started to happen with the two of them together. Well, Annette most of all though as she felt a warm resonance coming from Ashe's own hand. It looked quite soft yet so warm for someone whose hands felt a little dirty after a day of training or perhaps a day of battle. Ashe felt the same way about Annette's hands too. They were smooth, creamy and inviting like feeling a cloth of silk for the first time or perhaps a cloud that Ashe could feel himself touch from where he was sitting at. The feeling felt amazing for the two of them, so much so that they never escaped each other's gaze at all.

Annette quickly wiped her blush away before replying to Ashe, "I really like spending time with you, Ashe."

"Same here," Ashe nodded with a whisper escaping his lips. He composed himself with a deep breath before he said to Annette, "You know, seeing that shooting star up in the sky, I realize I did make a wish after all."

"Really? What's that?" Annette asked curiously.

She didn't wait too long to get an answer from him.

In fact, Annette got his answer in the form of his lips meeting hers in an unexpected kiss. The auburn-haired overachiever felt her eyes bloat up out of shock and surprise. The shock of course came from the fact that she never expected Ashe to pull a gesture off like that, and the surprise was from the fact that the kiss he gave her felt so calm and sweet to her. It was clear that the time inside her mind clearly stopped the longer the kiss was going on. And deep down, Annette found herself enjoying it to the very last.

Although not for long as Ashe quickly broke away from her just to whisper to Annette, "My wish was to spend this moment with you."

She felt her heart completely melt from his words, leaving Annette to blush in response and lose a bit of feeling in her legs, realizing that the boy she had been friends with for such a long time had romantic feelings for her with just one single wish. It was all in perfect timing, knowing if this moment between the two was gonna be the final time should either Ashe, Annette or the rest of the Blue Lions not escape this final war with Edelgard unscathed.

Annette, who was still speechless from that kiss, continued to relish in this sweet moment by returning Ashe's gesture with a kiss of her own. Unlike Ashe though, her kiss felt much more passionate, yet much more deeper than his by a step forward. His insides immediately melted in response to her warm sweet lips intoxicating him per second. That proved to be more than enough for Ashe to wrap his arms around Annette and cock his head to the side, taking in more of her kiss with his in return. The two of them knew that if they were to die tomorrow by the hands of Edelgard and her tyrannical Adrestian Empire, at least they would be together as boyfriend and girlfriend no matter what fate would take them next.

Right now, relishing in this sweet moment was all that mattered to both Ashe and Annette, knowing that it was a wish worth making to them among the stars.

[fandom-meanderer]

Okay, so I absolutely love your writing! I was wondering if you'd be willing to do a FE3H request? It can be any route, but probably alluding to post time skip. The reader is interested in Sylvain, but she catches him being blushy and stumbling over himself when he's talking to Ingrid/another female student. Felix, who likes(loves) reader, as she can actually hold her own in training, wonders why she likes him anyway, low-key jealous. How it's ended is up to you. Keep up the fantastic work! 💝ty

Oooh.

Oooh boy.

This. This is good.

Let’s get cracking.

~

The clash of metal filled the air, blades crossing at every possible second. You knew you had to focus, you’re in war for pete’s sake, but your mind just kept drifting for fractions of a second and you would create an opening that Felix worked himself into. Finally, Felix deals the final blow and knocks your sword out of your hand.

“You’re distracted,” he grunts.

“Am I?” You smirk, you immediately roundhouse him. “If this was an actual battle, you’d be out of commission, Felix,” you tease. Felix clicks his tongue and pushes himself off of the floor.

“You’ve got a point, I can’t be careless,” he says. You glance outside of the door and Felix follows your gaze. “Thinking about that idiot again?”

“No!” You shout. “Yes…” you mumble.

“I honestly don’t know what you see in him,” Felix grumbles. “We’re in war. You should be focusing on your training.”

“What do you mean? I just bested you, did I not?”

“That’s hardly relevant!”

“Yeah, yeah,” you roll your eyes. “I think I’m going to tell him tomorrow.”

“Nothing good will come out of that, I promise you.”

“Like you’d know,” you shoot him a disapproving glare.

To say you’ve fallen head over heels for Sylvain is a bit of an understatement. I mean, who wouldn’t fall for his charming good looks? Especially after these five years, you could tell that he has matured since his school days. It doesn’t help that you two have grown quite close as well, what with Professor Byleth always insisting that the two of you work together on the battlefield. You’ve come to love his charming personality. And some will deep down inside is telling you he felt the same.

“I’m gonna call it a night. I take it that you’ll stay here for another hour or so?”

“Yes. Unlike you, I care about surviving.”

“Of course,” you sigh. Felix picks up his sword again and begins to practice his combat arts, signaling an end to the conversation. Taking another huff, you walk out into the crisp night air. 

“Sylvain this, Sylvain that,” Felix buries his sword into the training dummy. “Gods above. Why must you be so dense?!” He completely decapitates the dummy and throws his sword to the ground.

Now, on Felix’s end, he found himself to be completely smitten by you. Who knew he was into women who could totally beat his ass if they wanted to? Imagine the rage that boiled in him when you first mentioned his childhood friend. And after what you said to him just a few moments ago? He’s about to lose you forever, and he never even had the chance.

“Why do I even feel this way?” He scolded himself. Still, his eyes lingered on the door for another moment longer.

Right as you are about to make your way into the dormitories, you notice the candle light coming from your old classroom. Your first thought was of Professor Byleth, he had been working late nights for a while now, it wouldn’t hurt to check on him, right? As you neared the classroom, thats when you heard familiar voices.

“Hey, Ingrid. How are you- I mean, what are you- Are you… you know… off to train again?” Sylvain stumbles over his words. You stop yourself right as you’re about to reach the door, standing behind the wall. You felt yourself about to have a slight breakdown, what a silly thought.

“No, not right now, I was on my way to the dorms,” Ingrid says. “You’re being weird. Have you always been this weird, and I have never noticed?” Ingrid asks with a light tone.

‘Of course it would be Ingrid,’ races through your mind.

“No. I’m pretty sure. I don’t think so. By the by, have you, ya know, fallen for anybody recently?”

‘Oh gods, here is comes.’

“Don’t be ridiculous. What are you even bumbling on about?”

“Well, everyone’s talking about how you got really, uh, pretty. Just, you know, all of a sudden.”

Yup, there it was. Heart, are you okay in there?

You couldn’t even listen to their conversation anymore. You held onto your heart and ran off, careful to not be heard in the night. You found yourself in the training grounds again, this time empty. Felix must have left.

Good for him. He won’t see you having your mental breakdown.

You pick up your sword and dash at the training dummy, delivering blow upon blow.

“Stupid Sylvain! You and your dirty tricks! Making me fall for you! And then tossing me away! Why did I allow myself to be led on by you, you idiot!” You shout. Finally your sword slices one of the dummy’s arms off, and you feel your arms fall.

“So, you finally agree with me,” Felix says behind you. You freeze. Without moving, you speak up.

“How long have you been here?”

“Since I saw you walk in, I figured you left something so I came to see what it was.”

“Gods above…” you curse. You pick up your sword and walk towards the exit, keeping your gaze on the floor because Goddess be damned if you let Felix see you cry. He’d never let you live it down, and for some reason, that coming from him just hit differently. Just as you were about to cross him, he holds his arm out, stopping you in your tracks. “What, Felix? Going to tell me ‘I told you so’?”

“Not exactly,” he spins you around and pushes you against the pillar, one arm keeping you from the exit. His eyes stared into yours. 

“What?” You look to the ground, making another feeble attempt to hide your red eyes. He cups your cheek and pushes you to look at him.

“I guess that idiot was good for one thing,” he musters out. He leans in and you know exactly what’s coming next.

“Which is?”

“Ugh, you’re too dense.” He stops just inches away from your face and lifts his arm, making a move to leave, but you grab his shirt and stop him.

“Wait just a second,” you growl. You stand on the tips of his toes and press a quick kiss. You pull back and quickly walk around him. It was like an instant connection was formed and, something that had to be held back in your subconscious had surfaced itself. Just as you were just a foot away from the door, Felix steps in front of you.

“If you’re going to start something, own up to it and finish it,” he says before capturing your lips once more, but with a different feel than when you were testing the waters. This time, it felt right.

So this is what the first kiss alluded to, it was never Sylvain, it had to have been him.

~

After a not so short session, you were one hundred percent shocked when you and Felix walked out of the training grounds and you saw the damned sun in the sky. The two of you ran into Sylvain on your way to the dorms.

“Wow! You two looked tired,” Sylvain points out. “Were you training all night?”

“Something like that,” Felix glances to the side and scoffs.

“You two are absolute monsters,” Sylvain grimaces. “I’ll catch up with you guys later,” he says, walking off toward the other direction. Felix looks at you, a bit of small anxiety welling up in him.

“Fuck Sylvain.”

“That’s right,” Felix gives you a wild smirk as the two of you share a quick fist bump. “Wait. No.”

“Shit, you’re right,” realization quickly dawned on your face, but you replaced it with your iconic confidence and corrected yourself, “fuck you.”

“That’s better.”

—

Kinda wanna write an alternative version to this with Felix’s POV, should I?

Edit (9/13/2019) Felix’s POV is up! [Read it Here]!

[crackimagines]

I love professors daily life series, terrifying cryptid byleth is best byleth. How do you imagine Seteth reacts to the new professor and his strange powers?

Part 1 here!

Hooo boy, the man has a lot on his plate as it is, to deal with an SCP version of Byleth would stop his poor heart.

Welp, let’s get his suffering on with.

Thanks for the ask anon, I hope you enjoy!

-------

A Professor’s Intervention (FE: Three Houses Short Fic)

Seteth gets some disturbing reports on the professor from his students. He decides to investigate personally.

“And you’re a 100% sure about what you saw?” Seteth asked, growing more concerned by the second.

“A-Absolutely! We all were there to see it!” Dimitri replied, the rest of the Blue Lions nodding their heads in agreement.

“We will look into the matter, please try to rest easy.” Seteth said.

Everyone nodded and left the room.

“I knew bringing him here would cause some concern but...these reports seem outlandish!”

He put his hands to his face as Flayn chimed in.

“Is it really that concerning? I thought that was normal.”

“...Wait, you knew, Flayn?!”

“Y-Yes...I thought it wasn’t really that scary, so I-”

“FLAYN...! Ugh, we shall talk about this another time. The Professor is coming in now.”

Byleth walked in with his blank stare not saying a word until Seteth cleared his throat.

“Do you know why you’re here today, professor?”

“Um...not really, no.”

“We’ve received reports from your students of some strange incidents that you partake in. Teleportation being among them.”

“That? You mean the fast travel, right?”

Seteth had no idea what he meant by that.

“So, you don’t deny it?”

“It helps me get around the school faster. Students don’t really seem to mind, nor did the knights.”

Now that he thought about it, it was only NOW that this topic was being brought up, despite the Professor had been teaching for several months now. Byleth continued.

“I couldn’t really get anywhere until I walked to all parts of the Monastery, which I assumed is why you had me explore the entire place.”

“What...?! What kind of reasoning is that, do you really think the church has the ability to hand out those kinds of powers willy nilly?”

“Well brother, he DOES have the sword of the creator-”

“Quiet Flayn! Besides, I don’t recall the original wielder being able to teleport with it! Er, nevermind. Can you demonstrate it real quick?”

“...Okay.”

Fast Travel to this location?     [YES]     NO

And right before his eyes, Byleth disappeared.

“MY GOODNESS!”

A few seconds later, Byleth reappeared right outside the door to the room they were in, and casually walked back.

“I-I see. Those kids weren’t lying then! What about your ability to teleport people to the dining hall?”

Byleth nodded and turned to Flayn.

“Hey Flayn, would you like to eat some of the fish we caught from the competition with-”

“D-DON’T TEST IT ON FLAYN YOU BUFFOON!”

“I thought you wanted to see-”

“SILENCE!”

Flayn sadly looked down. “Aw...I kinda wanted some though-”

“FLAYN, YOU’RE NOT HELPING! Now, where did you acquire these abilities, and how do they-”

As Seteth shot question after question, Byleth heard Sothis in his head.

“What in the world is he going on about? Is this not normal for other humans?”

I guess not? Byleth said in his head. 

I thought it was normal myself.

“Whatever the case is, he is quite furious about it. Do they not realize that we cannot do this outside of this location?”

Yeah, if I had the ability to teleport I’d just be able to kill the enemy commanders instantly every battle. It would’ve made mercenary life a lot easier too. On that note, weren’t you the one to give me this ability?

“All I gave you was the Divine Pulse. I suppose this just resides within you? By the way, I think he asked you a question.”

“...W-What?” Byleth said while blinking rapidly, his attention finally back on Seteth.

“I said, do you have any defense for these unholy abilities?!”

“...N-Not really, no.”

“Unbelievable! How did you even become a professor?” 

“Lady Rhea-”

“THAT WAS RHETORICAL! You are suspended until further notice! Your abilities are far too dangerous to permit being used!”

“...So are we not going to talk about my lost and found then?”

“...Your wha-”

Byleth pulled out a bag that looked it had a body in it, spilling out treats, weapons, paintings, an odd amount of feathers, flowers and other objects.

“Where on earth did you even acquire these?!”

“The Academy. Students keep dropping them and I have ask each student if any of the items are theirs.”

“Should I even ask about what else you can do?!”

“Do you really want the answer?”

“J-Just what is that supposed to mean?!”

Byleth thought about his supersight that came on whenever he had a pleasant conversation during teatime.

...He decided against it.

[letters-from-the-three-houses]

Hi! Loving ur headcanons for FE:3 houses! Can u write Felix/Annette (first time I saw them, they looked so cute!) and if possible, Sylvain/Ingrid and Ashe/Bernadetta headcanons? Thanks a bunch!!

relevant post:

no shade! i think it’s cute. imagine felix trying to get angry with ann—i bet he can’t lol

(with this, only 18 more felix/student pairs left to go. which one will be next?! ingrid to round off the blue lion girls?! claude for that sweet, sweet crack?! place your bets, people!)

and no problemo about the other two! i’m fond of them myself, so i already had some headcanons for them lying around (calling @that one claude/hilda anon that asked for a student/student pairing that i liked; this is it, friendo!). these are more pre-relationship, but feel free to request relationship hcs for these if you’d like!

enjoy~

felix/annette:

when they first met, it was chaos

felix the prickly loner who didn’t want to talk to anyone and annette the sweet child who greeted everyone she saw?

disaster

“hi! my name’s annette! i’m glad to meet you! all of the blue lions i’ve met so far are nice people so you must be nice as well and—”

he left before she could finish talking

she pouted about it all day long

it didn’t stop her from trying to make friends with him though

every morning at the mess hall: “good morning, felix! i hope you slept well”

at sword practice: “oh, you’re really good at this. maybe you can teach me sometime!”

in class: “wait, what did professor say? i didn’t catch that—did you?”

eventually, felix stops running away and just grumbles or lets out a sound to show her he hears her

but while he never continues any of the conversations, he also never tells her to go away (he just up and goes when he gets tired of it)

so annette babbles to him about random stuff

to onlookers, it doesn’t seem like he’s listening to her

but when he brings up a factoid she mentioned off-handedly the other day, she perks up and her heart turns warm

it gets to the point where every word that felix says to her gets stuck in her head

and she replays it whenever she thinks about him, smiling at the thought of his voice

on the other hand, felix’s frown starts disappearing whenever annette stops by to talk to him

sometimes, he’ll respond back

and he lets her tug on his sleeve

or he’ll pat her head when she does a good job

the other lions go ‘is that what i think it is??’ and get excited whenever they see them together

they don’t push it or anything—no matchmaking or the like

they just like seeing them together bc they think it’s adorable and it makes them soft

whenever annette feels sad because she messed up at something

felix will flick her forehead and call her an idiot, scolding her because “you’re going to get hurt” or “you’ve done it before. do it properly next time”

and when he gets too focused on his training, forgetting to take care of himself, annette drags him back to reality by calling out, “feliiiiiix! let’s go eat together!”

as they head over to the dining hall, she’ll sometimes cling on his arm

he doesn’t like it, but he can make an exception for her

ashe/bernadetta:

they first met while bernadetta was people watching

she was scribbling notes into her book: ‘lysithea - genius prodigy; tragic backstory because her superior intellect caused her to be ostracized by her peers?’

when ashe popped up behind her and asked, “hi there! whatcha doing?”

she shrieked, and in her panic, punched him in the face before escaping

when she was back in her room, she was utterly devastated and muttered, “what did i do? what did i do?” all over and over again

she tried avoiding him from that day on

but he always seemed to find her

in the corner of the library

the hidden alcove near one of the unused classrooms

ashe’s thief skills made it easy for him to sneak up on her unannounced and give her constant heart attacks

it turned her into a constant ball of anxiety that one day, she yelled, “stop doing that!” in the middle of the hallway

ashe blinked, shocked

and bernadetta, mortified as realization sank in, ran away and locked herself up in her room

she buried herself underneath the blankets and went on a self-loathing streak

“everyone’s going to look at me weirdly… i didn’t mean to… why am i like this…?”

it took the combined efforts of byleth and edelgard for her to come out again

when she did, she was afraid ashe would come out of nowhere and there’d be a repeat of the other day

but he didn’t

in fact, she couldn’t see him anywhere

she felt relieved but kinda bad because she couldn’t apologize for punching and shouting at him

still, it wasn’t her business anymore

(lies; she looked out for him everywhere she went)

when she caught him at the training grounds one day, practicing archery with some of his friends, she watched him for a while before scribbling notes about him

‘ashe - talks a lot. he’s either smiling or looking serious—there’s no in between. he’s likeable though… i guess’

eventually, he noticed her staring at him

and she flinched

but he didn’t come closer, just waved with a cheery look on his face before going back to practice

it was like a huge burden lifted from her shoulders ('oh, he doesn’t hate me’) and she left feeling better than before

ashe never walked over to her after that, but he always waved at her when they locked eyes—at a nice distance that kept bernadetta comfortable

each interaction they had, she grew braver bit by bit

and she tried going up to him so they could talk

the first twenty times were failures, but she inched closer and closer each time

ashe noticed them all but never called her out for it

in fact, he was tempted to just go up and talk to her again, but he knew she’d run away

so instead, he helped her out by hanging around corners and doorways, places where she could have a place to hide so they wouldn’t look at each other face-to-face

when bernadetta finally got close to a pillar he was resting on and called out an “um, excuse me?”, he peeked over to look at her, proud that she finally did it

but she shuffled over so they would be on opposite sides

so he stopped and said instead, “yeah? what’s up?”

she fidgeted with her sleeves. “i-i-i’m sorry for the other day. when i yelled at you. and when i hit your face…”

“hm? oh, that! i don’t mind. it was my fault for scaring you. i hope i didn’t make you feel bad. it was kinda hard, but i tried to keep away after that”

“…really? why?”

“you told me to stop sneaking up on you, right? so i did”

realization clicked. she flushed. “oh, thank you”

“no worries! i’m happy you came to me; i’m glad i can talk to you again”

she was thankful he couldn’t see her face. “wh-what? all i did was run away”

“yeah, but that’s because i kept surprising you. i think you’re nice”

“i’m not. not really”

“no, you are! a not-nice person wouldn’t say sorry for something they did before. but you just did.” he laughed. “it’s also kinda nice being together like this, don’t you think?”

she could feel her skin turn hotter. “n-n-nice? y-you—i—” as the feeling grew too much to handle, she stood up, embarrassed, and said, “i’m leaving! bye!” before bolting to the eagles’ dorm

within the comfort of her covers, she looked at the notes she had on ashe, hesitating, before she wrote down: 'he has a pretty laugh’

then she scratched it out and overheated under her blankets

meanwhile ashe, bright and cheery, whistled to himself as he wondered when he’d talk to her again

sylvain/ingrid:

sylvain flirts with her daily

“ingrid! you look as beautiful as you always do”

and she’ll thank him, deadpanned, before turning away and going back to whatever she was doing

sometimes, when she’s feeling particularly lousy, she’ll say, “i heard you the first time” or “stop”

it doesn’t discourage him and he just sprinkles her with more compliments because he thinks it’ll make her feel better

(it doesn’t)

ingrid always sighs over his antics but she doesn’t really care about them

she just thinks it’s empty flattery and ignores it

as long as sylvain does his own share of work, she’ll put up with it (and he does, so it’s her price to pay)

when sylvain gets serious, they make a good team

sometimes, she wishes he’d act like that all the time instead of being so…sylvain

but alas

he can wax poetry about her all day long

“your hair, sun-kissed, and eyes, beacons, draw me in like a wildfire i can’t look away from”

it’s really embarrassing, but he’s not that bad of a poet so she can’t help but be a bit impressed

she gets irritated that he spouts out this and that like it’s nobody’s business though, believing he should say it to someone when he truly means it

one day, she told him as much. “save it for someone special to you”

he just turned solemn—like he always did when he was in battle—and said, “but you are”

it left her feeling flustered; she didn’t show it though

(but from then on, she’ll catch herself staring at him as he concentrates, brows pinched together as a frown settles on his face, before she shakes her head and snaps out of it)

when he smiles at her, she’ll start to give him a small smile back

and when he takes her hand to kiss it, she lets him

she wonders what would happen if he offered to marry her

but she pushes the thought away and calls herself delusional

there are better prospects out there; she would never be a priority to the house of gautier

it doesn’t stop her from thinking about it whenever sylvain comes to talk to her though

maybe it’s just a dream

but it’s a nice dream nonetheless

[asks are open!]

[frozenartscapes]

Wilhelm + Rhea - I’m pregnant.

Something was wrong, Seiros was sure of it. She staggered back to her cot after running a cool, damp cloth over her face, and flopped down with little grace. She groaned as she clutched her abdomen, praying to the Goddess that the world would stop spinning so much.

Someone must have poisoned her. Or rather, is poisoning her because this is the fifth day in a row she’s woken up like this.

“Seiros!” A singsong voice floated through the opening of her tent, all bright and chipper.

“Come in,” Seiros managed to call out, gulping as she felt her stomach heave again.

It was Rowena, which was probably good considering her current situation. How Cichol had ever managed to find, woo, marry, and have a child with such a woman so…different from himself had always been a mystery. But it was times like these that Seiros was thankful she was around.

Rowena frowned when she spotted her companion curled up on her cot. “Another rough morning?” she asked, producing some herbs from her bag and setting them down on the desk. She pushed aside some of the war maps and got to work making a nausea remedy.

“We really must…find whoever’s...responsible for this,” Seiros grumbled.

Rowena brought over the concoction and wordlessly handed it over. As Seiros brought it to her mouth, she caught her friend’s knowing, and worryingly smug grin. She gulped anxiously and asked, “What?”

“I think I know who’s responsible,” Rowena teased, “You might want to have a word with Wilhelm.”

“Why would he be poisoning me?”

“Poisoning?” Rowena’s gleeful laugh filled the tent, though Seiros was still at a loss as to why, “Oh my dear, please tell me all this war planning and scheming hasn’t clouded your head that much!”

“I…I don’t understand…”

Rowena reached out and took Seiros’ hands in hers, and gently pulled her up into a sitting position. “Seiros, my dear,” she said softly, breathlessly happy for her friend, “You’re pregnant.”

“…I’m…what?”

Rowena chuckled. “Don’t worry. That news always takes a moment to sink in.”

“I’m what?”

“Expecting, Sweetie.”

“But… I…I can’t be pregnant!” Seiros cried, “We’re fighting a war! I’m leading the war! A…and Wilhelm and I… I mean… We did, but he’s human and I’m…not…” She gasped, clamping a hand over her mouth as it finally, finally hit. “Oh Goddess I’m pregnant.”

“I don’t think you have much to worry about,” Rowena assured her, “It isn’t unheard of for our kind to have children with humans. And it’s not like you’ll be in this alone. I’ll be here, and so will the others. And of course there’s Wilhelm.”

“Oh Goddess…Wilhelm!” Seiros exclaimed, “I…I have to tell him!”

“Knowing Wilhelm I imagine he’ll be rather excited, too,” Rowena added.

“But what about the others?” Seiros demanded, “Cichol and Indech I’m not too worried about, but Macuil will be furious, I know it.”

“Oh don’t you worry about that old windbag,” Rowena sighed, “If he gives you any problems, send him to me.” She suddenly clapped her hands together, bouncing a little in excitement. “Oh little Ceth will finally have someone she can play with!”

“I’m pregnant,” Seiros murmured, suddenly feeling nauseous for a different reason. This was something completely out of her wheelhouse. She could lead an army. She could wield a sword. She could kick anyone’s ass with just her fists if she had to.

She could not picture herself as a mother.

She sighed heavily and buried her face in her hands, trying not to think too deeply about how this was going to affect her war against Nemesis.

“Oh Wilhelm! What perfect timing!” Rowena greeted cheerfully.

“Very funny, Wena,” Seiros groaned.

“Oh! I’m…sorry… Is this a bad time?”

Her head snapped up in an instant. “Wilhelm! No, it’s… Actually Rowena’s right: it’s perfect timing,” she said quickly.

“I’ll…give you two some privacy,” Rowena said, making her way to the door of the tent. She slipped out quickly, but Seiros could tell by the shadow cast against the canvas walls that Rowena’s definition of “privacy” was a tad skewed.

“Is everything alright my Love?” Wilhelm asked, a look of concern marring his gentle face, “Have you been sick again?”

Seiros was momentarily lost in his warm hazel eyes, but she shook her head briskly to bring herself back. “I…yes, I have,” she admitted, “And Rowena believes she’s found out the reason why.”

“It’s not poison, is it? I swear on my life I’ll find the bastard that’s been doing this to you and—“

“It’s not…poison, Wilhelm,” Seiros cut in with a wince. She patted the space on the cot next to her, and Wilhelm readily sat down beside her. She worked her hands into his, and gave a small squeeze. “My Light,” she breathed, “I’m pregnant.”

There was a pause, as the information sunk in. Then a brilliant smile - as bright as the sun itself - worked its way onto Wilhelm’s face. “You are?” he gasped, laughing with joy. He leapt up from his seat, dragging her along with him. He twirled around the tent with her in his arms, before slowing to pull her into a tight hug. “That’s wonderful, my Love!” he sighed.

Then he stopped, pulling away while still holding tight to her arms. “That…is wonderful, right? I… If you’re not… What I mean is, I know you’ve got your own—"

She put a finger on his lips, a common action of hers whenever the excitable man began to ramble. “It…it is wonderful,” she assured him, “I just…never thought it would happen to me.”

He chuckled. “I have to admit, knowing you can I believe that,” he said, tucking a lock of her emerald hair behind a pointed ear. She cast him a playful glare and he smiled innocently in response. “But…” he continued, “Wouldn’t this mean that… Well, we’ll be a family. You, me, and the little brawler waiting to come out.”

She snorted at the thought. “I should hope the child decides to become a brawler after they are born, my Light,” she stated. But then her mood sobered, as the rest of his statement was realized. “A…family…”

He frowned when he saw her eyes beginning to glaze over. “If it’s too soon, my Love, I…”

“No. No, it’s…” Tears began to form in her eyes, and slowly a large smile spread across her face. She could barely contain her joy as she uttered, “I’ll have a family again.”

— — —  

She held the bundle close to her chest, still exhausted and sore. But a tiny hand had a tight hold of her finger, and wide, green eyes stared up at her. The child in her arms giggled, then, and tightened his grip.

“He’s incredible,” Wilhelm breathed as he watched over her shoulder, “So…small. But incredible.”

“He’ll grow to be a great Emperor someday,” Seiros sighed, looking up to meet the gaze of the newly-crowned Emperor of Adrestia.

“Hopefully he’ll know more of what he’s doing,” Wilhelm stated anxiously.

Seiros reached for her Light’s hand. “He’ll have an excellent role model,” she assured him gently.

In her arms, little Lycaon reached for his Papa and smiled.

— — —  

AN: Ok, hear me out... This is my take on Rhea and Wilhelm. We don’t really know a whole lot and the stuff we do know comes from fairly shaky sources. We know Rhea - then Seiros - had some kind of relationship with Wilhelm but we don’t know the extent. We also know Wilhelm had a son, but we don’t know with who.

So what if Rhea is the matriarch of the Hresvelg legacy?

I’m going to expand on this more later, but for now I wanted to first, answer this prompt, and second, cover something I probably wasn’t going to cover in my longer fic.

So here are my headcanons that appear here and will likely pop up later:

Rhea and Wilhelm genuinely loved each other. They met when Rhea was in a dark place, having lost her family and unsure of where to turn next. Wilhelm was a kindhearted farmer who wanted to help her out, saved her life from some of Nemesis’ men by sacrificing himself, and was then saved by her in turn when she gave him her Crest in the healing process. From there, their relationship blossomed. Rhea calls him her “Light” because he brought light and warmth back into her life when she thought it was all gone (much like how El views Byleth...hmm, symbolism...)

Rhea tells Wilhelm that Nemesis destroyed her family, but doesn’t go into details. He respects her enough to not push for more answers, though he is curious. He always hopes that one day she’ll trust him enough to open up.

The other Saints join the fight against Nemesis at Rhea’s insistence, but they stay for Wilhelm. He’s a charismatic guy, a hell of a warrior, and a kindhearted man, and he wins over Cichol and Indech with little effort. Macuil, however, never trusts him and acts like the scary big brother protecting his little sister (Seiros).

Rowena is my take on Seteth’s wife/Flayn’s mother. I picture her as a Nabatean, just not one of the powerful saints. (I always kinda pictured it like a hierarchy of Sothis first, then the Children of the Goddess/Saints, then lesser Nabateans forming the bulk of the community.) Like Flayn, she’s mostly a healer and has a bubbly personality. She brings out the fun and happiness in Seteth, and after her death he struggles to feel such things again. Her loss was heavily felt by all, due to how friendly she was with everyone.

The reason Edelgard doesn’t look more like Rhea/only has a minor Crest of Seiros, etc. is due to the fact that it’s been centuries since Rhea gave birth to Lycaon. The Nabatean traits eventually fade, as Rhea is the only Nabatean to ever continue the line in the Hresvelg family. Crest-strength and other traits shared by Nabateans eventually faded as more human genetics were added in. (This is also why I HC Flayn as having two Nabatean parents rather than just one.)

Rhea, having lost Wilhelm in the war and then watching her son grow old while she stayed young, disconnects from those types of relationships once the heartbreak becomes too much. In her altered history, she makes sure Lycaon’s mother is listed as unknown, and eventually the number of people who did know becomes only her close, remaining family. And she swears them to secrecy. Eventually, the connection she and the Church have with the Hresvelg family shifts and breaks, and it eventually becomes unimportant that the Imperial family literally wouldn’t have existed without her.

Perhaps that was a dumb decision, along with some of the other dumb decisions she made back then, but I also headcanon that Nabateans age very slowly. So while she was probably around 100+ years old by then, for a seemingly immortal being who appears to be in her 30s? 40s? nearly 1100 years later, her emotional age by that point would have been maybe late teenager? Early twenties? Around the same emotional age that Edelgard was when she decided that there would be no potential flaws in her Flame Emperor stunt. That’s not to diss either of them - it’s just that they were young, and dealing with emotional shit far too heavy for any one person to deal with. So Rhea’s choices back around year 90 through to year 100 should probably be taken with a grain of salt.

All those centuries don’t make it any easier, though, when Edelgard declares war on her ancestor unknowingly, and through all the anger and betrayal Rhea feels she can see the same passion and fire in the girl that Wilhelm once had.

[crackimagines]

Bernadetta has a crush (FE:Three Houses Short Fic)

Person in question is just an unnamed student, because that’s not what we’re focusing on.

What we’re focusing is how poor Bernie handles this situation.

WITH LOTS OF SCREAMING

---

Once the lecture was done, everyone began heading out of class and went their separate ways. Bernadetta sighed deeply and gathered her belongings. With what seemed like inhuman speed, she quickly ran out of class and immediately bolted towards her dorm room.

As she was bolting out of the Black Eagles’ classroom, all she could think about was taking a nice long break from everyone, and her thoughts were put to a halt as she ran into something.

No, someone.

“W-Woah!”

“EEEK!”

She looked up and saw a student on the ground, rubbing his head before meeting her eyes.

“Oh, I’m so sorry about that! Here, let me help you!”

He began picking up the papers while Bernadetta stared at him, eyes wide.

“Let’s see is there anything else...Ah, there it is!” After picking up the last piece of paper, he turned back with a smile on his face.

“Here you are, again sorry about-...”

Not even moving an inch, she continued to stare at him, as an awkward silence filled the air and several students began staring at them.

The student put down her books and cleared his throat.

“...H-Hello?”

“...Ah...”

“Excuse me, are you okay-”

“AAAAAAAAHHHHH! IM SORRY, IM SORRY! STUPID BERNIE, YOU NEED TO WATCH WHERE YOU’RE GOING! PLEASE DON’T HATE ME!”

Before anyone could have time to react, she bolted away towards the dorms, leaving everyone speechless. Moments later, a stern-faced man with blue hair rushed out, looking at the students.

“P-Professor Byleth!”

“What’s going on out here, who just screamed?”

“Um, it was a purple haired student from the Black Eagles, sir!”

“...Was she short, and looked anxious?”

“Yes sir, she-”

He relaxed and put his hands to head.

“Ah, nevermind then. Nothing to worry about too much. Sorry to scare you like that. Can you give that girl her books? She’s on the first floor of the dorms near the greenhouse. Her name is Bernadetta”

“Y-Yes sir!”

Byleth nodded and went back to the classroom as the student grabbed Bernadetta’s belongings, and went to her room. As he was drawing near, he could hear her voice through the door, berating herself for causing such a mess.

“Um, excuse me? Bernadetta is it?”

“EEEK! I’M SORRY, I DIDN’T MEAN TO-”

And just like that, she shouted apologies with every breath she took, bewildering the student leading him to loudly clearly his throat.

“I-It’s no problem at all, Bernadetta! I’ll just leave your things by the door, okay?”

He bowed, despite knowing that she couldn’t see it but hoping it would put her at ease, and went back towards the classes.

Bernadetta was silent, slowly opening the door, checking for the student and then she quickly grabbed her books and slammed the door.

“He...was really nice to me. I-I need to go apologize to him!”

When she thought about how she would do it, it was then she realized something vital.

“I...I never got his name!”

She tried to remember his key features that would help identify him and...the more she thought about it, she started to think how nice the student was. More importantly he...looked kinda cute.

“Maybe...I can talk with him after I apologize? But why would someone just accept a proposal to hang out with a girl like me...”

An idea.

“I know! I can ask my classmates how to help with this!...Er, once I leave the room anyway.” She thought to herself. Eh, she can get out tomorrow.

------

Professor Byleth’s Advice

The Professor was a very kind and patient man, at least to Bernadetta. He never thought of her as a nuisance, and so who better to ask than a man like that? More importantly he was her elder (probably?), so he must have some field of expertise on this topic.

Once the lecture ended, Byleth began clearing off the chalkboard as the students left. Bernadetta went up to his desk and remained silent for a few moments before he turned around. Once he saw her, he smiled and nodded.

“Bernadetta, what can I help you with?”

“H-Hi, professor. Did you tell that boy to come to my room yesterday?”

“I did. Don’t want you to show up tomorrow forgetting everything after all. I hope I didn’t scare you.”

“W-Well it kinda did but...first of all thank you, and second of all do you know his name? I uh...want to apologize to him and um...”

“Ah, unfortunately I didn’t catch his name. I’m not sure if anyone in the class was around when that incident happened. I’m sure he’ll pop in sooner or later. If he does show up, I’ll let you know.”

“T-Thanks professor...”

“Is something wrong? Did he say something to you-”

“No no no! Nothing like that it’s just...I...I also want to get to know him better.”

“...I’m afraid I didn’t hear that correctly. You want to get to know him?”

“Yes! Is there something wrong with that thought, professor?”

“None at all! I..just didn’t think you’d do that. At all, as a matter of fact- AHEM! Anyways!”

He took a seat at his desk and awkwardly cleared his throat.

“I’m afraid I don’t know how to exactly help you, but I’m very positive your classmates can help you out! Why not ask Dorothea?”

‘Dorothea...that’s right! She knows all about how to get cute guys to talk, that’s genius professor!’ She thought to herself.

“Thank you very much, professor! I’ll be going now!”

Byleth smiled, waving her off as she left.

“Happy to help!” Once she was out of earshot, his smile quickly went away and was replaced with worry.

“Oh goddess...What is she doing?”

“Shouldn’t you be following her? In your words, she can be quite the wreck!”

“Quiet, Sothis! I...didn’t mean it like that!”

Dorothea’s Advice

When Bernadetta got to Dorothea, she almost squealed out of joy learning her little Bern has a crush on, what is apparently a cute guy, and coming to her for advice. Not losing any time, she sat her down and grabbed some tea, explaining in detail of how to get a guy to fall for her.

Very. Uncomfortable. Detail.

“...And that’s how to get a cute guy to fall heads over heels for you, Bern!”

She put down her teacup and winked at her.

“No guy in his right mind can refuse a cutie such as yourself!”

“...Um, I just wanted to talk with him for a little bit, Dorothea. I can’t wink seductively, much less do anything you just said!”

“Huh? I thought you found the guy cute and wanted to take him for dinner?”

“N-NO!...Well I mean, I can’t say it doesn’t sound nice but-...”

“Then go all out! If you strike a pose then-”

“D-Dorothea, can we just start with baby steps?! My heart would explode if I tried that!”

“Those ARE baby steps, well for me anyway. I suppose you can begin with apologizing, then asking if he has any freetime? If you aren’t quite ready for dinner, then how about a walk around town?...Oh right, you don’t like leaving your room for long periods of time...Then...?”

She furrowed her brow, thinking intensely on what to do.

“Listen Bern, I think my tactics might be a bit too forward for what’s in your comfort zone, but I think I know someone who can help!”

Edelgard’s Advice

“And that’s the situation Edie. You’ve had to master the art of small talk as a noble, so maybe you can spread some of that knowledge to Bern here?”

Edelgard looked at Dorothea with the most puzzled face that she and Bernadetta had ever seen.

“Um, with all due respect Dorothea, I figured that YOU were the expert on that topic, considering you like to go out. I have nothing resembling romance in my life right now. I don’t know why you thought it was a good idea to talk to me about this.”

Bernadetta looked down in disappointment.

“I see...”

“Oh, Bernadetta! It’s not that I don’t want to help you I..”

Edelgard’s head turned, trying to avoid eye contact while her cheeks were turning slightly red.

“...don’t exactly know how to talk to boys that way either...”

Dorothea adjusted her hat, closing her eyes and shaking her head.

“Good grief...Alright once I’m done helping Bern out, I’m helping YOU out, Edie. Anyways, don’t you have even a little bit of advice?”

“Well...I suppose the polite thing to do is keep eye contact and make sure you listen to all he has to say. And make sure you don’t jump to conclusions, Bernadetta!”

“Y-Yes ma’am. I think I have enough information now, thank you so much you two!”

“Of course, Bern. Now have fun with him, and be confident!”

“Be confident, right! Okay, goodbye!”

Both of them waved goodbye as she left the library. 

“...We probably shouldn’t leave her alone, huh Edie?”

“Absolutely not.”

As she looked for him, Bernadetta couldn’t shake off the feeling she was being watched.

BONUS: Other Classmate Advice

Caspar - “I say challenge him to a duel with good ol fisticuffs-...Oh that’s not what you meant? I still think that’s the case, no man worth his salt could refuse such a high stakes duel!”

Linhardt - Bold of you to assume he’d even be awake.

Hubert - “...Things must be truly desperate if you’ve come to me of all people...”

Petra - “Ah, I believe this is what you call a ‘Date’! Perhaps you can gain love by offering gift? What gift you may ask? Back home, we offered horse heads as gifts, so perhaps it the same!”

Ferdinand - “Simple, Bernadetta! Simply state that you are a noble, and things will follow from there! You must make sure to keep your status up by being professional at all times!...You’re just talking with him? Then it’s very important to do that very thing! Nothing makes a better conversation starter than your status!”

[crackimagines]

Marianne and Ashe heart to heart (FE: Three Houses Short Fic)

Marianne reflects on something Ashe said that has stuck to her mind for quite some time.

That girl seriously needs a hug

also no im not salty that their A support happened post time skip instead of during the academy, nope definitely not, SHUT UP

Inside the Cathedral, it was midnight and dead siilent. No one was present except a blue haired girl, praying in front of the statue.

Once Marianne was done praying she looked behind her, expecting someone to be there. 

Unsurprisingly, there wasn’t anyone. It was very late at night, who’d even be here besides her?

Well...Ashe would’ve been.

Ever since their last conversation, she had been actively avoiding him since he kept trying to talk to her. She felt guilty, making him go through all of that trouble for someone as worthless as her.

He stopped showing up at the Cathedral about a week ago, at first it gave Marianne some peace of mind that he wouldn’t have any more trouble, but after the deafening silence she went through each time, she could only think about Ashe.

Not necessarily what he said about using her crest for good, she didn’t believe a single word of that, honestly.

What she was thinking was more on the lines of ‘How bad is he feeling, thinking he upset me?”

She took a deep breath and looked behind her again, some small shred of hope that he’d be coming through the door.

Five minutes passed, and nothing happened.

What a shock.

She considered going to bed, but she wasn’t tired physically as much as she was mentally. This had been plaguing her mind for a while, so if she were to lay on her bed, she’d be tormenting herself the entire time. She might as well do it where there was a good breeze.

She walked out towards the right wing of the Cathedral, and sat down at the bench, looking over the monastery.

The only thing Marianne could think of was how guilty Ashe must’ve been feeling. This is why she was a curse, she’d cause nothing but grief for others trying to help her. She was better off alone no matter what anyone said.

“...You shouldn’t have come to me, Ashe...”

“AGH! Y-You knew I was here?!”

...Why was there a response?

She quickly turned her head near the stairs, and to her surprise, Ashe was standing right there.

“A-Ashe?!”

“S-Sorry I didn’t meant to startle-...Wait a second...If you weren’t expecting me then...”

Marianne realized that she spoke aloud, and that made her flustered.

“N-No, I didn’t mean it like that! I’m sorry, if you’ll-” 

“Hold on a second!”

Marianne was about to get up, but she stopped herself when Ashe came to the bench with her. It was then she noticed he had a blanket on him.

“Um, why do you have that?”

“Well uh...It’s for you.”

He gestured it towards her, using one hand to awkwardly rub the back of his neck.

“It’s pretty chilly tonight and I figured you’d be out here so...I don’t want you to catch a cold or anything.”

Marianne was shocked that he did this for her despite the fact she had been treating him like a stranger everytime they talked. She mustered out a quiet ‘Thank you,’ and wrapped herself around in it.

They both remained quiet, not saying a word to each other. The silence wasn’t tense, awkward or anything really. They both just stared out, letting the wind be the only noise around them.

It stayed that way for about three to four minutes until Marianne broke the silence.

“I’m sorry, Ashe.”

“Huh?”

“I’m sorry I’ve been avoiding you. You were just trying to encourage me and I...I made you think that you were to blame for my actions.”

“No, it’s alright. I should be apologizing. I’m the one who never really asked you why you felt the way you do, and butted into something I didn’t know. And what was that bit earlier about me coming to you?”

“...Everyone that I meet I end up driving off. You’re a very nice person, Ashe, but you’re better off not associating with someone like me.”

She looked downwards, her eyes somehow looking heavier than before.

“I’m not worth the trouble. Please forget we ever had this conversation.”

“You realize I’m not doing that, right?”

She looked back slowly to him, his face no longer filled with any anxiety, but now determination.

“Marianne, I don’t know why you say these terrible things about yourself! When has anyone in our class regretted meeting you ever since the Professor brought you in?!”

He was almost shouting, but he quickly lowered his voice, and she noticed it was starting to shake now.

“B-Besides...we’re all a little bit of trouble ourselves. Sylvain with his skirt chasing, Felix with...well being Felix, and the list goes on. Heh, and here’s me, pestering you about this...Marianne, you’re such a kind person. You take your time to check the wounded after our battles, you help people with their studying, you take care of the animals with such gentleness and...”

His eye began to water as he tried regaining his composure.

“...And I can’t stand to see someone I care for talk about themselves like that.”

Marianne’s mouth was slightly open in shock, no one had ever been this passionate talking about her before. Sure, they’d say the things Ashe were saying, but no one had been moved to tears and shouted it at her before.

That last sentence, she could truly see how much she meant to him.

Her eyes began to water up as well, and she began shaking in her blanket, her nose sniffling.

“M-Marianne...?”

She started crying, the tears falling from her face couldn’t be stopped anytime soon. Her chest was tight, and her heart was burning now, barely able to process everything he just said. 

Ashe didn’t know what to do, so on instinct, he hugged her, letting her head rest on his shoulders as she cried it out. The sob became louder once he did, and she started hyperventilating, which caused Ashe to hug her tighter, hoping the tighter he did, the calmer it would make her.

Slowly but surely, it worked. After a brief moment, she slowly stopped crying, and spoke up.

“...I’m sorry...T-Thank you, Ashe.”

“It’s okay...”

He gently patted her back, letting her slowly start breathing normally.

Saying nothing again, they both stared out towards the dorms, Marianne’s breathing slowly getting calmer and calmer.

“Are you okay now, Marianne?”

“...Yes.”

She looked up at him at the same time he looked down at her, their faces very close to one another.

The first thing that came to both their mind was ‘They smell nice.’ 

The second thought was ‘Wait, just how close are we?!’

They both bolted upwards, completely flustered and cheeks burning bright red.

“I-I’m sorry!”

“N-No it’s okay, I didn’t really think, I just-”

Before Marianne could respond, they heard a third voice bringing them back to reality.

“Hey, what are you kids doing down there?!”

They both turned around and saw a Monastery guard looking over the railing above them.

Another voice they couldn’t make out seemingly came from behind him, and the guard turned back to them.

“You two stay there! Greetings, Professor! There’s something to report, actually!”

Ashe widened his eyes upon hearing him.

“P-Professor Byleth?”

“...I see.” The Gatekeeper said. “I was making my patrol and then I heard...Oh, those are your students? What did they say? Well...Alright then.”

The gatekeeper looked over the railing and motioned his head while speaking.

“Your professor wants a word with you two, don’t worry you’re not in trouble. Sorry for the scare!”

As they both walked up, they saw Professor Byleth in a casual outfit instead of his uniform, and looked at the two. Ashe was the first one to speak up.

“I-I’m sorry sir, I didn’t mean to cause you trou-”

Byleth raised his hand up and gestured for Ashe to be quiet.

He looked at Marianne and noticed her eyes were red, and the blanket over her. He pretty much deciphered what was going on by that one glance.

“It’s no trouble. I know that guardsman so it’s fine. Next time you come, just be a little quieter and let me know beforehand so you don’t give a knight a heart attack, alright?”

They both nodded.

“Alright. And before you ask, Ashe, I’ve been following you ever since I noticed you were carrying that blanket and started walking quickly to the Cathedral when you thought no one was walking.”

“...I-I see.”

“I’ll walk you back to your rooms. Get some rest, I don’t want you falling asleep during the lecture after all.”

Byleth walked both of them back to their dorm rooms, and both drifted off to sleep. Ashe was happy to help Marianne, and Marianne held the blanket closely to her as she slept.

BONUS EPILOGUE -

Once lectures had ended for the week, everyone packed up their belongings and started making way.

Ashe organized his papers until he heard Byleth calling out to him.

“Ashe, come here for a moment, would you?”

He nervously gulped, and walked towards Byleth who was standing with his arms crossed and standing behind his desk.

“This...is about last night, right?”

Byleth nodded, and reached into his desk and pulled out a small pouch.

Ashe had no idea what it was, and when he looked back, Byleth was smiling.

“Gatekeeper told me what you two were talking about, cause apparently there was some shouting last night. So on that note, you plan to treat her to something nice tonight, right?”

Ashe’s brain cells collectively halted their thinking process upon hearing that last part.

“...Seriously? Tch, good thing I talked to Dorothea about this kinda thing...Anyways, treat her to something nice in town. Nice little joint called ‘The Shepherds’, ran by a girl named Anna. Tell her I sent you, she’ll treat you two nice.”

“...U-Um, thank you so much professor!”

Byleth smiled and before Ashe turned around, he said one more thing.

“They’re open late, and since tomorrow’s a free day, I’ll make sure not to schedule anything for that. Weather should be pretty, so ask her at the Cathedral tonight.”

Ashe nodded and excitedly ran back to his room.

Byleth shook his head still smiling as he heard a girl’s voice in his head.

“That was quite a bit of your personal funds. Was that really wise to do?”

“Meh, it’s pocket change really. Plus it’ll get them motivated for class, and thats the main reason.”

“You say that, but I can hear your thoughts, you know?”

Byleth said nothing as he continued to smile and began grading papers.

Later that night...

Ashe stood in front of the doors, his heart gently pounding like a drum, and opened the door to see Marianne.

“Hey, Marianne!”

“Oh, Ashe...!”

“Were you praying just now?”

“No I...was waiting on you, actually. I wanted to say thank you.”

His heart stopped when he saw Marianne smile with the moon shining on her face perfectly.

She looked heavenly, so much so he almost completely forgot what he was going to ask beforehand.

“Ashe? I-Is something wrong?”

“Huh?! N-N-No! Not at all it’s just...your smile was...really pretty.”

“O-Oh...”

They both looked down in embarrassment before Ashe cleared his throat and finally mustered up the words.

“Well if you were waiting for me...Would you like to have dinner with me?”

[letters-from-the-three-houses]

Oh man, your drabbles feed my thirst. May I ask for Dimitri/Edelgard where they kinda like each other/ flirt but know they shouldn't because of the political consequences.

our first non-byleth scenario! what would their ship name will be? dimedel? edimgard?

i think it’d be cool to mash their surnames together, like blaiddsvelg or hraeyd. bonus points because they mean ‘wolf eater’ and ‘corpse lord’! but it’d be awkward because ‘hresvelg’ and ‘blaiddyd’ encompass the entirety of their royal families

out of curiosity, does anyone else have any ships between the non-avatar characters? i like the idea of ashe/bernadetta, but that might be the crack shipper in me talking

i hope you like it!

edit: i’m more tired than i thought; fixed typos

He just kept thinking about her.

To his defense, he couldn’t help it; she was striking. Whenever she appeared, her presence commanded everyone’s attention. With her stance—strong and graceful. With her gaze—determined and imposing. With the way she looked and walked and bent to no one’s will. No matter where she went, eyes would follow. People would speak. Heads would turn. He wasn’t the only one that was drawn to her.

But he was pretty sure he wasn’t supposed to feel like this.

Expectant, if he had to name it, wondering when he’d see her next. Like if he stared at a space hard enough, she’d magically appear.

(And he knew it was stupid, but he’s caught himself looking out into space, just thinking about her, more often than not.)

It was troubling.

“Why am I acting like this?” he muttered. What once began as a solo study on blood magic had soon devolved into a daydream about Edelgard—and he was tempted to smack himself with his book the moment he realized. “What does this even mean?”

Oh, he had ideas. But he didn’t want to accept them.

He tried to refocus, but the image of her kept coming back. The way her hair swayed when she walked, how her eyes narrowed when she was in deep thought, how she—

He stood up, chair screeching back as he grabbed his things and left the library.

Gods, this needed to stop. Pacing down the hallways, he distracted himself with other thoughts. He thought about the essay the professor recently assigned. That was due soon, so he noted to start on it sometime this week. An upcoming test, on various leadership tactics that they had been practicing. The theory of reciprocity in blood magic…

Rounding the corner, he bumped into someone.

“Ah,” he said, “I’m sorry. I wasn’t paying attention. Are you al—”

His eyes widened.

Edelgard.

She noticed just as quickly as he did. “Dimitri,” she greeted, giving him a polite nod. His heart thumped. “What a surprise meeting you here of all places.”

“Huh?” He took in his surroundings, eyeing the corridors until he realized he was heading towards the Black Eagles dorm. “Oh, I didn’t notice. Apologies, I didn’t mean to come here.”

(And a teeny tiny part of his brain said liar, you were hoping you’d run into her.)

“I can see that.” She looked amused, then pointed to the way he came from. “The library is that way, in case you’ve forgotten.”

“The lib—” His eyes fell on his study materials. “Oh—yes. Right, the library. I was going to the library to do some revision.” What? No he wasn’t. He left because he couldn’t concentrate. “There’s a test next week that I need to study for.”

Yes, he drawled to himself. Because studying blood magic would help in a tactics exam.

How deep of a grave could a man dig for himself?

Edelgard, at least, didn’t seem to notice his internal suffering. “What a coincidence! My practical will be in a few days, so I was going there to study as well. Since we’re going the same direction, let’s walk together.”

“…Of course. It would be my pleasure.”

There was a fine line between self-hatred and torture, he thought. A line so small, each foot was on a different side.

“You have Professor Byleth, yes?” Edelgard continued talking as they made their way to the library. “I’ve heard the assignments are difficult. Very theory-heavy, so they say.”

“It’s not as bad as people think,” he said. “There are no trick questions; everything comes from the material. As long as you pay attention, you’ll do fine.”

“Even still, the class average remains woefully low.” She glanced at him. Thump. “Or perhaps not, if one was conscientious enough to pull the grades higher. Diligence is charming, don’t you think?”

He nodded, trying his best to keep his voice from cracking. “There’s always room for improvement. If you keep putting in effort, it won’t go to waste. The only surefire way to fail is to give up.”

“Reasonable point.” Thump, thump. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

The walk there was uncomfortable. Dimitri was hyperaware of everything that was happening: the sound of her shoes hitting the floor, the awkward hold he had on his books. What should he say? How should he say it? Were his feet working? Was he walking too close to her? If his housemates saw him right now, what would they think?

At that last thought, he winced, drawing back as he tried to put some distance between them. He had to pull himself together. Whatever…this was, it was inappropriate of someone his rank and status. It was unlike him.

(And yet, he didn’t seem to mind.)

When they reached the library, Edelgard found them a seat by one of the windows, hidden away from view behind a couple of bookshelves. They settled in, strewing their papers all across the table. Book in hand, Dimitri cracked it open, but his eyes wouldn’t keep to the text.

Instead, he studied her lashes—long and pretty—and her eyes—elegant and stunning—and her—beautiful—

She caught him staring. “Is something the matter?” she asked.

He cleared his throat and showed her a random paragraph. “Do you understand what this means? I can’t wrap my head around it.”

“'Blood magic’?” She looked confused. “That’s not part of the curriculum.”

“Yes, well, it’s interesting.”

She raised an eyebrow. But she smiled. And he wanted to say it was fond, like she found something endearing, but he pinched his leg to stop. “There are wise men and there are fools. Sometimes, they are one and the same.” She leaned over to take the book from him, hair draping around the pages. He held his breath. “You must be lucky, because I can’t tell which one you are.”

“…Is that supposed to be a compliment?”

“What else would it be?”

He frowned. “An insult, of course.”

She let out a giggle. Short, hidden behind the palm of her hand. What would it be like if she laughed out loud? “Then imagine it as you’d like. So, what was it that you didn’t understand?”

She knew a lot about the subject, explaining the theory behind how the magic was casted, the effects it had on the user, and how to minimize the drawbacks. At some point, he realized that it was a section that he had already read and understood. But still, he sat there, riveted, hearing the lull in her voice that he’d listen to for hours upon end.

And it made him feel.

He didn’t want to acknowledge it. He really didn’t. It would complicate things, make it harder for himself later down the line. There was too much at stake for him to take this seriously. He couldn’t compromise everything else for the sake of…of this.

But for now, sitting here, watching her face light up as she whispered—to him and him only, without the world as an audience—

Perhaps he could stay a little longer.

a/n: headcanon that dimitri gets flustered when he’s crushing real hard and fumbles around not knowing what to do. edelgard plays it cool and flirts sneakily

[asks are open!]