#others prefer storylines where the past forged the characters' persona and views

[laulink]

I think it's pretty well established now that Edelgard and Dimitri are foils to each other in that one looks to the future and the other to the past and that's a huge part of why their outlook on the war and what they went through is so different, but I haven't seen it pointed out and discussed yet that a good chunk of their classmates follow that theme as well.

(I haven't seen all the Blue Lions' supports so this is in general, from the Academy phase's supports I've seen, which means I may lack a specific example one way or the other, but is still globally accurate, at least for their Academy phase)

In the Blue Lions House, based on the students' supports with each other, the most obvious are Ingrid, still mourning and resenting the loss of her fiancé, Felix, still mourning the loss of his brother and focused on that one day he saw Dimitri rampage and those two things being basically the only things that inform his decisions, and Dedue, who literally tries to push EVERYONE away because of how still hung up on the Tragedy of Duscur the Kingdom is and how anyone who spends time with him would be shunned for it (though he does look forward to Dimitri's reign because he believes Dimitri will change things in Faerghus, but most of his supports are still based on the Tragedy of Duscur still impacting his life to this day). Sylvain also fits because bad past examples and relationships have taught him that women are only interested in his blood line ; he doesn't ever talk about finding someone who would think differently, for example, he stays hung up on the past and doesn't even consider the future, at least not as something that could bring a change. Mercedes is less hung up on her past, though still quite focused on what happened to her mother, her brother and herself and wanting to find her brother so they can be happy again, like when they were children. Annette and Ashe, from what I've seen, don't fit the theme.

In the Black Eagles House, the most obviously focused on the future are Dorothea, who talks about her past but only to explain why she's so focused on securing a good future for herself, Ferdinand, who can't SHUT UP about becoming Edelgard's Prime Minister and guiding her in her reign, Petra, who holds a grudge against Caspar's father for killing her own, but whose supports pretty much all mention her desire to make Brigid an equal to Adrestia and ensure a bright future for her people, and Caspar, who is focused only on getting stronger to carve his own path in life. Hubert, of course, being aware of Edelgard's plans, is also solely focused on the future, though always only related to Edelgard and her goals, never his own person outside of his work ; Linhardt is neutral, as he focuses only on Crests ; Bernadetta has been traumatised by her past, but she's not hung up about it, she's only focusing on how afraid she is in the present, so I'd say she's neutral as well.

It always struck me as odd that no one, among the Black Eagles, ever said a word about the Insurrection of the Seven, Edelgard's time in the Kingdom when she sought asylum there, or Edelgard's siblings when, in comparison, the Blue Lions wouldn't SHUT UP about the Tragedy of Duscur and the Faerghus Four's childhood friendship. Even Edelgard and Hubert barely ever mention that they knew each other as children (Edelgard only tells you once, in Hubert's introduction I believe, that he has served her since she was a child) and the others never mention any time spent with Edelgard as children (the only ones who admit they saw each other often as kids are Caspar and Linhardt, but it doesn't even really come up in their supports, when the Faerghus Four's supports with each other are FULL of reminders of their shared past). Now I think it's to further emphasise the themes of their houses : the Black Eagles represent rebellion and the desire to shape their futures the way they see fit while the Blue Lions represent order, discipline and the shackles of the past.

It's really super interesting on a meta level. I haven't played VW yet but I'm curious to see if a similar theme is shared through the House, or if it's a patchwork of different goals and focuses, to represent how disparate the Alliance is and how they can never make a unanimous choice.