#poor byleth

[deathbirby]

I wonder what this could mean...

[thatonesherlocknerd]

Jeralt's death hurt just as bad as the first time

[koroart]

No church in the wild ahh doodles 🚶🏻‍♀️

[yeyayeya]

HE’S REAL

[flamebloom]

pov: you're divulging you're deepest darkest secrets to your professor

[butwhatifidothis]

It's funny how people once pointed out how Edelgard would say to Byleth that she didn't think that they belonged on the path that put them on her side - that Byleth wasn't meant to be here - to show off why CF was like. Not good. Because even the lord of the route is trying to tell the player that uhhh Byleth doesn't belong here, they're supposed to be on the other routes. Which checks with how the devs said that SS is the route the world-building is based on, and how within the game itself CF directly goes against SS' world-building.

It's like. It's like a pretty clear wink wink nudge nudge that the player Dun Goofed and was on the Bad Route with the Red Emperor who mows down any in her way. And which is further backed up by all the the bad implications in CF endings... and its mural... and throughout the story... and the explore dialogues... and Byleth's (and other characters') visible character regression...

But Edelstans have looked at that clear-as-day red flag through some damn fine rose-tinted glasses, and have completely turned that intent around. Nooo, we've got it all wrong, that wasn't any sort of nudge to the player that they're on the wrong path - that's Byleth defying their fate! That's them challenging what was meant for them to go down, and them forging their own path forward through the choices they made!

...Ignore how, if CF is an available route to go down, that would intrinsically make SS a choice as well. Because it is no longer the default in that scenario; one has to make the active choice to still side with the Church over Edelgard. Meaning, like. There is no fate to defy here.

...And ignore how this makes it sound as though this is the only choice Byleth makes about something in the game at that point. There's, well, AM and VW to consider, but even being a saint and ignoring the biggest flaw in this argument, there's still like. The Sealed Forest. You know, that moment when Byleth, not the player, chose to do something, of their own volition, and even against the wants of Rhea (the stand-in for fate, according to Edelstans)? Real funny how that never seems to ever be a factor in Edelstans' arguments about why Byleth needs Edelgard to learn how to make choices - they can do it just fine.

Just like they, Byleth, and not the player, chooses to side with Rhea and not Edelgard as the "default."

Like they NEVER seem to see that as a possibility! That Byleth CHOSE to side with Rhea! They say that's Byleth *~submitting to the whims of fate~* instead of giving Byleth any agency, because that would mean that Byleth would by default choose to defy Edelgard.

But you know what character does attribute Byleth's choosing Rhea as a result of their willful choices and agency?

I refer to an old screenshot:

The game is the one that is saying that Byleth actively and deliberately chose to go onto SS. Not only does nothing in the game support the idea that choosing Rhea/SS is something outside of Byleth's control/a result of strictly fate and nothing else, it literally says the complete opposite. But Edelstans are so hard-set on believing that Byleth can't be anything without Edelgard that they, ironically enough, force them to be by her side and deny any agency Byleth may have that takes them away from her. It's just... a sight to behold really lmao

[tngmpersonal]

And the follow up question is who would win in a war between the Death Eaters and Those Who Slither in the Dark.

[starblizzard247]

My reaction to FEH 2023 Winter Banner:

The Fe3h/few3h fan in me: OMG THEY LOOK AMAZING!!! MY KIDDOS ARE HAPPY!!! IS THAT CHINATSU DOING CLAUDE’S ART?? THE PLUSHIES AAAAAA-

The Feh skeptic in me: Ooh, yikes. They were really playing it safe with this banner.

The Feh player in me: *sobs in powercreep*

[fe-fictions]

Any Claude angst.

(Claude getting kidnapped and rescued by his wife??? Speaking of reverse kidnaps... ;0 )

There’s always a bigger fish.

You and Claude lived by those words, without any question. However, when things were finally calming down and peace rose in the nations, you started to think that maybe, just this once...you hadn’t any danger to worry over.

Then you woke one morning to blurred vision, hot wetness dripping down the side of your face, and your limbs bound while submerged voices panicked around you.

You had been in a fight the night before, trying to protect your husband, before you were incapacitated and left to die. Hilda discovered you when the two of you didn’t show for morning training. The Queen of Almyra was assaulted; the King was taken.

It would be a painful few days before you could strategize without getting a headache. But it was imperative that the Golden Deer reassemble and hunt down your husband’s captors. 

Who would have it out for him, besides the obvious? After all, countless threats had been extinguished following the end of the five year war.

At this point, you weren’t worried so much about “who” as you were “where”. If your husband was in danger and you couldn’t find him...that needed to change as soon as possible. 

Hilda searched like a madman; she knew how frightened you were, and it made perfect sense given that she was also best friends with the man. She knew how it felt to have a part of you ripped away all of a sudden. 

She was with Raphael and Ignatz, who put their tracking skills to use as best they could. You remained on the ground, where Marianne was basically by your side constantly. Seteth and Flayn had traveled from the monastery all the way to Almyra, where they needed to make sure you were safe and recovering.

Seteth’s concern wasn’t that troublesome man, he snapped at you, applying the herbal salve to the deep gash on your head, it was your health.

But he would be lying if he didn’t understand your fear. Claude wasn’t his favorite individual, but he knew how deeply you cared for the man- he would do whatever he could to help you bring him home.

Flayn made sure to keep your health on the road to recovery with Marianne walking in lockstep beside her.

You didn’t enjoy all the extra attention; it was too much trouble. You weren’t the one who needed help- Khalid did.

Sleep was rare on the days where no information was found. There were minimal clues, little to nothing for you to go by, and as far as you were aware...he was just gone.

You didn’t know what to do, and you could only think about what was happening to him. Or rather, what you thought was happening. Hilda told you not to think on such things; otherwise you’d look like Marianne when she was still a student.

You wanted to at least humor her advice, but how could you? Where were you supposed to find any semblance of mirth when Claude wasn’t safe in your arms?

Your fists would clench at every meeting where the same thing was repeated b y the reconnaissance team.

Nothing was found, nothing to report.

For two weeks straight, that was the answer you always received.

You weren’t sure you could handle a third. 

It was midnight on the turn of the week that saw Hilda bursting into the bedroom with that fanatical sparkle in her eyes.

They had a hint. A solid, confirmable lead.

They had found Claude’s signet ring.

Fallen from a great height, likely being carried on the back of a wyvern. It was Khalid’s beast that had found it in the first place, several hundred miles from the castle and hidden by forest brush. But it was something.

Seteth took you into the air, following Hilda’s directions to regroup with the Deer that had found the ring.

You recognized the bright white beast from quite a distance, spotting him charging along the ground, following a faint trail that he wouldn’t be able to follow from the air.

It was like watching a giant, scaly bear trample an entire forest. It was difficult for the people on the ground to follow, Seteth’s dragon only barely keeping up. The poor thing was just as frantic as you were on the inside.

You rushed after him and refused to stop for miles. The sky would jut begin breaking into sunrise when the wyvern suddenly stopped, growling and whining and chuffing at a very specific point in the ground.

The ground.

“They’re keeping him somewhere below. There’s a hideout, here. We need to find the entrance.” You realized, and found your army quickly spreading out to find the secret door.

“Not to worry, Professor; It can’t be far from here; any Almyran hideaways like this are always quite small. Whoever’s using it is either a bandit or someone who wasn't planning on keeping him here for long. We’re very close to the border of the neighboring country...and they weren’t thrilled with Claude becoming king.”

How many prayers were whispered night after night, begging for begging that Khalid be brought back safe and unharmed/ And now your wishes were becoming reality.

All you had to do was find a way in.

It was Lorenz who spotted the entrance, ushering everyone over to try and formulate some sort of strategy. You didn’t want to just charge in and give Claude more cuts and bruises than he already had.

Unfortunately, your desires were overrun by a very angry wyvern crashing through the door and spitting hellfire through every corridor that it would reach.

Panicked screams filled the air and you launched into action. There would be little time to strategize, after all.

“Marianne! Take Seteth and head down the far east corridor- I want Hilda and Lorenz to the west, and Raphael, you’re with me and Flayn!! Everyone else, take the final hall to the south and do not come back unless you have taken every enemy down or found Claude!!”

And so the investigation began. You were sprinting, refusing to slow down for half a second. If you did, Khalid could be dead.

Raphael muscled his way through the doors, cutting through the wooden old things like it was paper.

You would have been proud of him had you not been so full of worry.

“Pleas, let him be here.” You mumbled to yourself, swerving around the corner and sending Raphael through the door. There was another door smashed, then another, and another. Then, suddenly, you reached the fifth entrance.

There was a shift inside, and then a heavy, wet cough muffled by the door. Raphael wasted no time bringing it down, and thank the Goddess for it.

There, crumpled and pathetically propped up against the wall, was your husband.

“Kh- Claude!!” You nearly forgot yourself as you rushed to him. The chains rattled as he drew further into himself. He was trying to protect himself.

“Oh Sothis- what happened to him?” Marianne gasped, stumbling over herself when she came into the room. The sight of him made the Deer recoil in shock.

Was this truly their fearless leader?

You were far more concerned with getting his eyes open. Your fingers closed, shaking, around those nasty chains. They were broken away from his limbs, at the very least freeing his movement. Then you touched his face, trying to draw his eyes back to you.

“Claude, it’s me. It’s Byleth.” He seemed to shift some at your voice, but you weren’t convinced he could hear you. 

Dried blood was caked on his skin, little remaining of his clothing that wasn’t ripped or torn. There were so many injuries, so much that had been beaten out of him.

“Claude...Claude.” You echoed his name over and over, holding his face in your hands. His eyes were foggy, darkness looming and consciousness fading. Had you been too late?

You bit your lip, fighting back the sob welling in your chest. You pressed closer to him, ignorant of the Deer that were quickly filling the nightmarish space.

It was just the two of you.

“Khalid.” 

Claude’s eyes flickered, if only for a moment. You inched closer and searched for the recognition in his expression. His brow tensed, as though trying desperately to focus on what was in front of him. To figure out if this was real or not.

If he really heard his wife calling his name.

“...By…”

You all but broke down sobbing, right there.

“It’s me. I’m here.” You whispered, “We found you.”

His smile was small and weak, but it was very much so there. You were sure he was laughing, had it not been overwhelmed by a wet cough.

“Oh, baby.” You whispered, “Let’s get you home.”

You held him to your chest as the healers worked their literal magic. He was slumped against you, his back to you while they worked on the most egregious wounds.

The suspicions of terrorism had been correct; countrymen that shared a border with Almyra wanted Claude gone. But not before they got some valuable information from him.

It made your nerves crawl and your arms tighten around him.

Claude was supposed to die.

He was limp against you while they worked, but he was breathing; you wondered if it was because he was too weak to properly move, or because he was truly relieved that he was in your hands, rather than those of a very violent enemy.

A few hours passed before Claude was cleared for movement outside of the room. You helped carry him from the room, Raphael and Seteth by your side and getting him to the caravan that had only just arrived.

It would be a longer journey home, but what mattered was you were bringing a living Claude with you; not a lifeless body.

He didn’t speak after being taken from the hideout, having fallen asleep in your arms. When he woke, though, he was safe and warm, lying in his bed back at home.

Like everything he had suffered through was only a dream.

But when you saw him wake, and he felt you crying silently against him, he knew it was real. Horribly, terribly real.

“S’okay, dearheart.” He rasped to you, his voice hoarse and devoid of any real tonality. He was definitely not back to 100%, but at the very least, he was no longer on the verge of death.

“Khalid...you almost...I-I...nobody knew if you were going to wake back up.” You whispered shakily, squeezing his hand and holding it to your chest. “I thought we were too late.”

“Looks like you got to me just in time.” He replied with a patient smile, though opted not to move his head or body more than he had to. That pain wasn’t going to fade for a long while. “Y-you really...saved me.”

“You stayed with me long enough to get to you.” You stroked his hair tenderly, “I’m just glad that you’re home.”

“Me, too.” There was something akin to a laugh that escaped him, especially when your lips touched his forehead. “Hey, now...y-you missed.”

“Khalid, you’re still weak.”

“You think a kiss is gonna kill me?”

“I’m trying to be gentle with you, you old goat.” You chided him without a lick of anger in your tone. He rolled his eyes and tilted his chin up, prompting a proper kiss.

“Come on. I’m suffering; a-aren’t you gonna ease the pain a little bit?”

“I’ve half a mind to make it worse.” You muttered, but you complied all the same. Your hands rested against his chest with a very gentle touch,

Rather than smacking him upside the head as you were tempted to...you kissed him. It was gentle, and slow, and filled you with warmth you had longed for. Claude tilted his head, turning to deepen the kiss almost enough to get himself into trouble.

You held him to you for as long as possible, breaking away with a soft pop that made Claude blush beneath all those cuts and bruises.

“There’s my girl.” 

“You need to rest.” You whispered, playing with his hair and relishing that dreamy expression on his face. “The sooner you’re back on your feet, the better.”

“Couldn’t agree more.” He murmured, leaning into your touch. “I owe you big time, dearheart.”

“Please. Having you home is more than enough.”

Claude would dismiss your insistence that he needn’t repay you, but the love he felt for you could very rarely be contained. After all, you meant the world to him, and he wasn’t going to stand by and let you give him one nice kiss and then let things go back to normal.

No, the second he could shower you in every gift and form of affection as physically possible, he absolutely would.

You saved his life. 

Just when he thought he couldn’t love you anymore than he already did...you proved that there was so much more inside him, a thousand fold.

He would spend every second of the rest of his life showing you just how much you meant to him.

[huldrabitch]

Forgot Hanneman goes AGE IS JUST A NUMBER😜 when you level him up😭😭

[proudfreakmetarusonikku]

I love how many fire emblem characters are just autistic like I’m convinced there’s gotta be a fair few neurodivergent people working on those games bc like Genuinely the only reason some of these characters don’t have autism diagnoses is bc they’re in fantasy medieval times

[sailforvalinor]

Dimitri Blaiddyd for the song game?

OOOOHHH good one. I can think of a few—“The War” by SYML, “This Close” by Flyleaf, and “Hello My Old Heart” by the Oh Hellos immediately come to mind (nope I can’t just pick one lol)

[childofaura]

As much as I don’t care about Byleth, I will say that Hidari’s art of her slaps and it’s also crazy that’s it’s been 4 years since Hidari did anything for FEH.

Also while I’m not familiar with FE7, you’re right on Linus gaining another alt since it’s been already 5-6 years since he’s released and while it sucked that he is a Grail unit, at least Joe Brogie is given more work to improve on Linus so no hard feelings.

Fallen Chrom is kind of the same as Fallen Ike and I’m liking it because of how amazing those concepts are and the fact that Fujisaki Kimihiko drew them is also a plus. (Also it seems like they’re going back to their old art style after their last one at Brave F!Byleth)

Yeah, I'm not really a Byleth fan either. And with F!Byleth, it's pretty clear that it's not her personality that makes her popular, more like two really big reasons for that.

But yeah, I was SHOCKED to see Hidari getting to do more art. They should get some more FEH art more often! I adored their style in Echoes, it was very... I'm gonna say quaint, in a positive way. Something about the style really invoked the medieval aspect of FEH that most of the more recent games haven't been able to really do.

Linus absolutely deserves that alt, and honestly that "Not like this!" is more of a teasing than anything. I just wonder what his art is gonna look like, because Morphs have dark hair and yellow eyes. So are they gonna go the Morph route (that the games never actually got to do probably due to time/graphical restraints) or just give him an aura? I'm curious to see how it'll look. And I think it's funny we were just talking about Linus with Joe Brogie, I'm psyched to hear his performance for FALLEN Linus. And no worries, I'm not familiar with FE7 either, sadly.

I remember hearing people begging for Fell King Chrom and thinking it probably wouldn't come to fruition, but I'm honestly glad it did. It gives us more opportunities for FEH content. And honestly Chrom looks AMAZING! I like to think that Fujisaki Kimihiko doesn't like F!Byleth that much either, lmao. Maybe that's why their art looks so awesome again.

[pitty-aegis-parlor]

Oh, greetings Mercedes, you doing well?

Oh of course dear, I am just taking care of Pit’s parlor in his stead. Peach was here for most of the day but she went back home to help Bowser with his kids.

*Mercedes offers Byleth a hot chocolate.*

Would you like one Byleth?

Heh, of course I would lov-

WAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!! A GHOST IS-A HERE!!

*Pulls out the sword of the creator* Where is that spectral filth!

Poooooyoooooooooo…

Wait, that’s Kirby!

*Kirby takes off the sheet, and proceeds to wave happily at Byleth, Mercedes and a still terrified Luigi*

Oh hey you three. What’re you doin?

Well I thought there was a dangerous ghost but it’s just you Kirby, so I guess everything’s fine. (Outside of my spilled hot chocolate…)

Mama Mia, please-a don’t scare me like that again Kirby.

I’ll go brew hot chocolate for you two! (And the ones I spilled in shock for myself and Byleth)

[unxpctedlygreat]

ever think about how in hopes we can literally kill byleth and sothis and it impacts the story in absolutely zero way

[lovemeonlytilthespring]

Yeesh. That is SUPER messed up.

(Original upload date: October 20, 2022)