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reunionatdawn · 3 months

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My Analysis of the Best Paired Endings in 3H (Part 6: Ferdinand/Dorothea)

(Normal): Thanks but no thanks, Mr. Noble. I already have my heart set on someone else. (Ferdinand & Dorothea support level B reached): I suppose I can settle for you just this once, Ferdie.

The writers obviously put a lot of love into this ship, as it's one of the rare times that the main story dialogue changes depending on Support level between two characters. Plus, since he asks her out on a date outside of their Support chain, it shows that Ferdinand is canonically interested in Dorothea. And this is true in Hopes as well. He fears his mind will "wander to other things" while training with her.

Dorothea: Song and dance live on in our memories, but there's no real record of them. Even memories fade over time. Will anyone remember me when I'm gone?

Dorothea is a Libra, an air sign. Air signs are masculine, but not as much as the fire signs. Libras are extroverted, cozy, and friendly people. Libras, like the Scales that symbolize the sign, are often concerned with attaining balance, harmony, peace, and justice in the world. Dorothea had the motivation to join Edelgard's cause to dismantle the corrupt nobility. But she was also compassionate and hated the idea of fighting people she knew.

Ferdinand: I will do what I'm called to do, even if no mark of me remains in the history books.

Ferdinand bears the Crest of Cichol, which is associated with the Justice Arcana. Justice is a signifier of legal matters being resolved in a fair and balanced manner. It represents the power to distinguish between what is fair and what is unfair, in an impartial way. Ferdinand's dream was to lead the Empire to an age of enlightenment and hold his father accountable for his crimes. The downside to his ambitions was that his life revolved around being recognized for his achievements.

Ferdinand: That is true nobility! Acting in accordance with the people's needs and wishes. As war drags on, those living near the front lines inevitably get the worst of it. Still…Edelgard will not give in. She will push to complete her mission, no matter how many people die. Not everyone with noble blood has noble ideals.

His character arc was about exemplifying true nobility, defined as, "having or showing fine personal qualities or high moral principles and ideals." Not just being noble, defined as, "belonging to a hereditary class with high social or political status." And I would argue that opposing Edelgard was vital to his character arc.

Dorothea: Oh, Ferdie. You opposed Edie for so long… I had real hopes for you, you know? Now you're following her. Is that your duty as a noble? Follow your master when they say to heel? Ferdinand: I will not try to explain my duty or hers. You would not understand. I wish you could.

Dorothea is one of the few non-lord characters that will actually react to another non-lord character's death. If you don't recruit Ferdinand, he will die at the Great Bridge of Myrddin so that his name goes down in history as "the legendary Ferdinand of Adrestia".

If Ferdinand does not complete his arc, Dorothea will be the one who is most disappointed. She will say she had high hopes for him, a reference to their B-Support where he made her treats, and she reconsidered him as husband material. His memory will not live on in the history books, but it does live on in her heart. It was hard not to think of this pairing as "canon" after I saw this dialogue.

Dorothea: Though we only knew each other briefly back at the academy, you were still my friend—but now our paths have diverged forever.

There's even a Hopes version of this dialogue available in Record Keeper. Similar to Edelgard and Byleth in Silver Snow, if Ferdinand and Dorothea's paths diverge, it is treated as a great tragedy of fate. It shows how much the writers favored this particular ship.

(Normal): Yes… I have met someone quite charming recently. I'm hoping we can spend more time together soon. (Dorothea has reached Support Rank A with a male): I am. There is someone whose company I have come to enjoy.

While Dorothea is bisexual, she did seem to have a preference for men. The dialogue in her B-Support with Edelgard only changes if Dorothea has attained A-Support with a male character.

Linhardt: You've probably overcome a lot of tough times, haven't you? I think that's incredible, really, but why not just let go of the suffering and run away from the memories that cause you pain? I suspect you'll find it a better way of living. I know I do. Dorothea: That's not living, Lin. It's running away. If I leave my hardships behind, then all of that means nothing.

She only got into the academy by buttering up some noble, which suggests that she may have had to perform sexual favors. She had a poor self-image, despite her physical beauty. And that is why I think she pursued men so adamantly, even when she was not truly attracted to them. She was running away from her past.

Dorothea: What's important isn't how someone looks, it's their true nature. I don't pretend to know your true nature. I don't even have a very good understanding of my own. But I suppose you see mine just fine, don't you? Just a silly girl with no thoughts in her head except for marrying a noble, yes? Good-bye, Felix.

Dorothea had to hone her masculine energy while living on the streets and performing in the opera. She despised the goddess (although she has a hidden talent for faith). Her paralogue with Ingrid showed how the two had contrasting views on marriage. Dorothea wanted to play the traditionally feminine role of housewife, with a noble husband fulfilling the traditional masculine role of provider and protector.

Dorothea: But if you and I were devoted to one another… maybe we could strive for the future you believe in. Maybe I'd finally understand your path and be able to think about more than just myself. Hubert: Seems it's my turn to not understand. Did you just propose marriage as a way to get to know me?

She was always looking for a wealthy husband to take care of her into her old age, and often came across as nothing but a shallow gold-digger. Because she was afraid of living in poverty, she would settle for a nobleman regardless of whether or not she knew him very well or was actually in love with him.

Sylvain: You know, even when I was a kid, I never had trouble with girls. …But thinking about it now, I wonder what they liked about me back then. They didn't know everything about me… It's just confusing. Dorothea: Oh, where did that come from? No one can know everything about you.

She was at first dismissive of the idea that people need to know each other fully to get married. But she did commiserate with Sylvain about how people wanted to marry her without even knowing anything about her. However, she flirtatiously makes plans to grow old with him immediately afterwards. Even though they still barely knew each other.

Dorothea: I never had much to begin with in life, and I worry that one day, I'll be that way again… That's why I keep searching for someone who will love me. Someone unaware of the songstress, who can love a girl that used to be scared and alone on the streets of the capital… I wonder if such a strange person can even exist.

But what she really wanted was to spend her life with someone who did know her true self. Several of her endings depict her giving up on her goal of finding a rich husband. She is able to find love with Petra and Manuela and those are happy endings for her. But I still think the happiest ending for her is to find her dream man. A rich provider and protector who would know and love her as the scared orphan girl.

Dorothea: Oh, really? You're something different? That's not how I remember things… It was the very day that I was discovered…

I think Ferdinand offered the best closure to her character arc. There was a palpable sexual tension between them in both games, with Dorothea pushing him away yet secretly desiring to be closer. I'd argue she has more far chemistry with him than any of her other potential partners. At the academy, Dorothea did not flirt or make advances on Ferdie, despite him being the exact type of wealthy noble she was after. But in the end, she was more open, honest, and emotionally vulnerable with him than she was with anyone else.

Dorothea: Maybe I can believe you. I've wanted to ever since the day you made me those treats… I thought then that maybe you weren't like the others, but… There's a lot I have to let go of, Ferdie.

The tagline for the game was, "Sweet memories twisted by time's cruel hand". By getting closure with Ferdinand, Dorothea could reclaim a sweet memory and let go of some pain from her past. Ferdie considered Edelgard his rival and prided himself on being better than her. But with Dorothea, he said he wouldn't mind a life of being a simple drone, circling a queen. So, they both find a new way to live with each other. This pairing is a more wholesome alternative for Ferdie than Ferdibert. But Ferdie still is kind of a sub.

Ferdinand & Dorothea Ferdinand reclaimed the position of Duke Aegir and initiated reforms within his domain. Through his political methods, which closely aligned with the needs of the common people, the Aegir Duchy swiftly underwent reconstruction. Behind this success story was the significant contribution of Dorothea, the former songstress who became the Duchess, who dedicated herself to serving the commoners. Ferdinand, recognized for his achievements, was entrusted with governance across all of Fódlan. Despite being busy with his duties, he prioritized spending time with his family. He and Dorothea raised their children together, and their home was always filled with the sound of cheerful singing.

This feels like the picture-perfect ending for both of them. Dorothea achieves her life plan of marrying a rich provider and protector, overcoming her prejudice towards nobles. Her children carry on her legacy, and her memory will live on in their hearts.

And thanks to her experiences as an orphan, Ferdinand's policies benefit the commonfolk. He actually renounced his nobility and lived as a wanderer for five years because he did not believe in Edelgard's ideals, and he wanted to make up for his father's wrongdoings in his own way. He was prepared to leave no mark on history, but he is recognized for his achievements in the end.

#fe3h #fe3h meta #ferdithea #ferdinand von aegir #dorothea arnault

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raxistaicho · 9 months

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Why do you think so many people consider Crimson Flower to be poorly written?

The vast majority of them that I've seen just don't like the route because they disagree with Edelgard, or they confuse a route being shorter than the rest with it being unfinished or poorly-written.

For my own part, I think the pacing of the other routes sucks and a lot of chapters are just about approaching the Empire and have nothing to do with advancing the plot. The Great Bridge, Garreg Mach Defense, and Aillel are good examples of this.

Hunting by Daybreak is really nice from a thematic standpoint, but from a gameplay standpoint it's fucking awful. Then you have Gronder II, which was created purely for trailer bait because it's totally missing from half the routes and the actual battle itself doesn't matter. No, not even in Azure Moon, honestly, because they could have had Rodrigue get shanked in just about any map and it's all the same in the end.

Like seriously, would Crimson Flower be any better if it had a Hunting By Daybreak, Gronder II, or Aillel analogue, which would equalize its chapter total with Silver Snow? Fuck no, lol.

And of course, to refute the "unfinished" argument, Crimson Flower has the most unique set of maps after chapter 11, and it's very clear the developers put a lot of work into rebalancing the campaign around its shorter length (there's a pretty well-done Reddit post that goes into this in more detail). Contrast that against Silver Snow where they did baffling shit like have Edelgard take her deployment slot with her when she left and put Miracle on about half the units in the endgame.

People complain about the lack of fighting the Agarthans, but they forget the Agarthans in and of themselves are always only fought and dispatched in a single chapter after the time skip (CF 16, AM 19, SS 20, and VW 21) and the actual fight with them is always a narrative afterthought (Dimitri doesn't even realize he fought them, in VW they're fought to justify Nemesis's return and in SS they're fought to put Rhea at near-death so Byleth can take over), so it's clear the writers considered them a distant second to the conflict of ideals between Edelgard and her adversaries.

The Agarthans are there to escalate the conflict and serve as a red herring that Three Houses is going to be an FE7-esque story where the conflict is a low-key one against an evil cult before chapter 11 changes everything, not to be the true villains of the story.

Just about the only problem I think is cogent is the lack of high quality cutscenes in Crimson Flower. It could really have stood to have one more (either Rhea striking down Byleth or Byleth reuniting with Edelgard) cutscene to equalize it with the number of unique ones in AM (Dimitri's freakout and Byleth's reunion) and VW (Byleth's reunion and Claude and Nader... shooting at each other.), but much of the problem is it can't reuse the shared cutscenes the other routes have for obvious reasons.

Then there's the nonsense, "Edelgard has no character development in Crimson Flower!" argument which just confuses character development they didn't like for not having character development at all.

Good question, thanks for dropping it!

#fire emblem three houses #edelgard discourse #edelgard von hresvelg #edelgard positive #crimson flower

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kitkatopinions · 3 months

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Regarding the nitpick about the lack of religion in RWBY. We know the worldbuilding leaves much to be desired. So I'm betting religion isn't present simply because the writers themselves are non religious and never bothered to address the subject. Which is stupid because George RR Martin created several religions to flesh out the world in Game of Thrones and he's a lapsed Catholic. Just goes to show how little the writers care about worldbuilding. The existence of the Brother Gods and the Great Tree invalidate pretty much all the faiths in Remnant yet nobody seems to care. That would be like IRL we find indisputable proof that one religion on Earth is the undeniable truth but everyone continues their lives exactly the same as if this mind blowing revelation doesn't affect them.

Yep!

it's easy enough to say "oh well religion does exist it's just that none of the mains follow a religion so it doesn't matter" but it is so bland and flat and disappointing! Like I'm not gonna pretend that I would find building multiple religions to be a particularly easy thing to do and I especially would find it hard to write characters undergoing a crisis of faith when they discover what's real... But world building is also just so much fun and it's so interesting so like? Why just hand wave it away?

There would be Salem worshippers and Salem would love that and use it and probably enforce worship among her followers. And there would be people who worshipped a vaguely Oz-ish figure and Oz would hate that. People would worship Oz and Salem together not knowing of their history (and again wouldn't have to call them by their real names or have a real understanding of them to do it.) People would have religions that sprung up on their own centered around the Grimm, people would have religions about how the world ended and when it might end again, some people Oz had trusted and told the whole truth to thousands of years ago could've prompted more worship of the brother gods, people would have religions that include the formation of the world as they know it - heck, the world of RWBY the very planet they're on is called REMNANT and there isn't some common religion about what it's a remnant of? The moon is busted up, people are always gonna be people, you think there wouldn't be some religious explanation people had for that? People have in the past just fucking gone to a completely different dimension where everything is nonsense and sentient teapots and great trees and getting transported to bridges that force you to come out of the closet - there's no way I'm believing that in thousands of years the only people it's ever happened to are Team RWBY+J and Neo through a set of very specific circumstances we know and also randomly two kids through Narnia means presumably because we don't get any other explanation - and the only thing that's ever come from that is a children's book. Kings existed, the main world powers are still called 'kingdoms' and I'm meant to believe that a 'divine right to rule' wasn't a part of that? Or more like it doesn't matter what I believe was and wasn't a part of royalty because none of it impacts or affects our main characters AT ALL.

It's just so mind boggling to me that this would be the case. It'd be like if Fire Emblem Three Houses actually had zero religious aspects, that's what it feels like. If it was just a game where people went to a combat school led by a thousands of years old person in a secret war with Those Who Slither In The Dark and people had Crests and Sothis was in Byleth's head talking to them and Arval was in Shez's head talking to them and they had the heroes relics weapons and the Holy Kingdom of Faerghus and there were castles and churches and there were what looked like ruins of ancient castles or temples just like lying out in the woods, but like no single character that exists is even sort of religious and how different things might be connected to religions is never brought up and the characters never talked about any religion even existing past acknowleding that not a lot of people believed in any religion anymore. That's how weird it feels with RWBY. Like, the elements of 'this world definitely has religions and beliefs' are all freaking present in RWBY, there's no way to logically believe that religions just aren't present and have no effect on anything or any character, but then there's nothing there. It's so weird and I just do not understand how the RWBY writers could engage so little with the world and the story they made that such a crucial element of world building especially for the story they wanted to tell could just get so wholly passed over.

#rwde

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dpsisquared · 8 months

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wipwed idk if I'll finish this but a lot of people asked what happened after my fic where Hopesmitri dreams of his AM life, so here is a snippet of their meeting

Jeralt Eisner, the once-famous Blade Breaker nodded his head. "Your Majesty. You requested a meeting?" "Yes, thank you so much for coming." Rodrigue said on behalf of the king. "This is my second in command--" "Byleth?" Dimitri finished for him, and then cursed himself for a fool. "Yes, Byleth Eisner." The Blade Breaker eyed him suspiciously. And well he should, since apparently Dimitri had been fantasizing about the man's daughter. "I didn't know you two were acquainted." "We aren't, of course," Dimitri said quickly. "My captain, Shez, told me her name." He gestured at his friend, desperately hoping to deflect Jeralt's critical stare. "I didn't--" Shez started. Dimitri liked to foster a feeling of equality among his friends. His dearest wish was to be simply one of the group, without titles or extra formalities. Thus, it wasn't often that he pulled out his Kingly I-can-execute-you-with-one-word glare, but Shez was getting it now. "-- realize you had such a great memory, Your Majesty!" the former mercenary finished, narrowly saving himself from the brig. "Do I know you, kid?" Jeralt asked the purple-haired man. Shez shifted his weight from one foot to the other. "We skirmished when I was a part of Berling's Mercenaries." "Ah, I'm sorry to hear that. That was a damn shame." Byleth's face didn't change, but she put her hands together and bowed her head slightly, a gesture of apology. "I'm sorry. I couldn't persuade them to retreat. Despite my reputation, I will only fight when necessary to survive." Beautiful, kind, practical, compassionate... the list of her admirable qualities just kept growing. "Heh. You and I are cut from the same cloth," Felix said, to Dimitri's astonishment. He rarely spoke up during meetings like this. "Come to the training grounds sometime. I'm eager to test my strength against your steel." To the Duke's annoyance, he was now on the receiving end of the King's never before seen I-can-break-Shields-just-as-easily-as-swords glare. "Tch. Settle down, boar," he said, but he took a step back and remained silent the rest of the conversation. "My sword is silver, not steel," Byleth said. Like an innocent angel, she floated above their petty disputes.

#wip wednesday #dimileth #fire emblem #fire emblem three houses #fe3h #dimitri alexandre blaidydd #blue lions #byleth eisner #few3h

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sheikahwarriork · 6 months

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Post war unplanned pregnancy dimileth in which Byleth had to leave because Dimitri lowkey ghosted her after a one night stand because he felt unworthy of her love.

But she came back per Gustave's request because of a new kingdom crisis. When Dimitri met her again he fell all over again but he is heartbroken because he thinks she already got to do her life since she is now is a mother of three and his very slim chance is gone.

Reader, all the kids are his. They were triplets. That Blaiddyd (TM) genes were at it again.

Gustave: *requesting Byleth to help Dimitri once again to stabilize the kingdom while lamenting the king is still unmarried and the Blaiddyd line is done for*

Byleth, who has been raising by herself three small blonde menaces with major crests of blaiddyd:

Background: One of her 3 year olds plucking a wholeass tree with their crest, 10 times their size, because his momma loves flowers and the tree had a lot of flowers while Gustave speaks. And the others kids running to search bigger flower trees for her.

Dimitri found out they were his when one of them mistook Areadbhar for an ugly stick and tried to use it to search for earthworms for their mom's fishing and accidentally activated atrocity.

YAAAAAS i love dimi being a dumbass clueless of byleth's feelings

id like to think of this headcanon as post three hopes: byleth got recruited into the kingdom army, she and dimitri [REDACTED] and then she left while being pregnant after the war ended. both of them have feelings for each other but are unaware of the others'

gustave calls her back after a few years and dimitri is all sad and grumpy seeing his beloved the ashen demon got over their little one-night adventure (unlike him) so that she has a family of her own (even tho... wheres the father?? what kind of man could have left this beautiful woman all alone with three children????? children that are particulary cute..... with their blonde hair and green eyes........ dimitri cant stop thinking about his old fantasy of having a family with her and how much they look like his dreamed-children...... well what a funny coincidence!)

since its hopes, jeralt is still around but he doesnt know who the real father is. when he sees the king playing around with his grandchildren he goes <.< but says nothing. too much to deal with

one day, dimitri talks to byleth about his worries of not having a wife yet bc blayddid bloodline blabla...... byleth is like 👁_👁 while thinking about how well dimitri f*cked her all those years ago and his desk looks great for getting pregnant again...........

the little three menaces children go around the castle causing troubles but everybody already loves them. one day dedue tries to teach them to cook and when he saw one of the children eating leaf-spices [how are they called those like laurel?? lol] thinks "hm. already saw that but cant recall when or where"

and then your last scene dear anon. dimitri looks at that child with disbelief... ofc his first thought is "did the ashen demon meet someone else with the crest of blayddid?? who are they??? could it be...... RUFUS?!?!?!??!?!" bc hes dumb as fuck. dimitri is still looking at his child when byleth arrives and grabs the baby, lecturing them about taking someone else's things without permission, but smiles fondly when the child hands her the worms they found. dimitri is MESMERIZED by her smile and loses his composture. he drops by his knee and says, "miss eisner... i am aware you already have another significant other in your life since you two have children, but... i cannot bear the sight of you raising them alone. please let me take care of them, of you... please let me be their father and your husband"

byleth: 👁_👁 "you DUMBASS they are already YOURS. always have been"

dimitri: *brain stopped working* "oh! i... see..."

byleth: "the marriage thing can still be arranged. yk. since we're not married."

dimitri: *hes in paradise or what??* "you... youd like to marry me????"

byleth: *oh my sothis help me* *kisses dimitri* "pretty much so." and smiles again

they get married the next day and one month later byleth is pregnant again eheh. the blayddid bloodline requires a lot of heirs and they are both happy to indulge in it

#YOOOOO I HAD SO MUCH FUN THANK YOU ANON THANK YOUUUUU #dimileth #byleth eisner #dimitri alexandre blaiddyd #fe3h #anon ask #few3h #sothis ships dimileth

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velkynkarma · 7 months

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Summary:

Byleth cares about all of his students. He will do anything to protect them. Even if it means reliving a hundred lives. Even if it means protecting them from themselves. Even if it means protecting them from him.

Warnings: Injury, vomiting, hurt/comfort, spoilers for all FE3H routes

Excerpt:

A fate is a fate, Sothis would admonish him often. It took Byleth over one hundred lifetimes to take her lesson to heart, before he became an Emblem. Because war always, inevitably, came to Garreg Mach. And every time, Byleth made decisions—supported one of his students over the others, trained and taught and protected. And he kept them safe. But it came at the cost of the others. And always, always, by the end of his chosen lifetime, his sword wept with the blood of his beloved students, and his father was murdered before his eyes, and he can never, ever make the world perfect. Always, always, the people he cared for and taught became enemies, and they killed each other, and there was never a way to stop it. Never. But every time, he would still try. Every time, on his deathbed or as he lay dying on the battlefield, Sothis would come to him. She would stir in his heart one last time, and visit his soul in his last moments. And every time, she would always ask him the same thing. “Well? Is this enough? Are you satisfied?” And every time, he would answer, no. “If I had just done this differently—if I had reached out at this moment—if I had just seen this sign in time—I could have changed everything.” And Sothis would tell him with her exasperated sigh, “A fate is a fate! It cannot be changed in such a way.” And he would say, “No. I have already changed so many fates. I can change one more.” And so she would say, “Then you must return, once more, to The Beginning.” And he would. He would close his eyes. He would dream of a great battle a thousand years prior. And he would wake once more in Remire Village, for a fateful meeting with three nobles fleeing from bandits and pleading for aid.

Read the rest on AO3!

#Velkynkarma writes #fire emblem 3 houses #fire emblem engage #byleth #male byleth #edelgard von hresvelg #claude von riegan #dimitri alexandre blaiddyd

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linilou-von-hevring · 5 months

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Flayn's Instruction

Read it here on ao3!

A grin spreads across Flayn’s lips as she watches the students file in. They seem tired; midterm season was particularly gruesome this year, leaving even Flayn exhausted to her core. But it’s a new day, and with a new day, it means she can share more stories with the teenagers that take their places, their tired eyes glancing between their professor sitting on her desk and their study material. She watches as the last of them file in, the bell ringing as the doors of other classrooms shut. It’s going to be an interesting period.

Flayn hops down from her desk, bringing her hands together and redirecting the attention on her. Phones are dropped to the bottom of bags and pencil cases; all eyes are on her. She’s ready to put on a show, a fun class that might cheer up the sleepy eyes before her.

“So today we’re going to be talking more about the Great Fódlan War! Who can tell me what it’s about, in broad terms?”

Glances are exchanged amongst the students before a few shy hands come up. Flayn is happy to call upon her students, encouraging them as they give her bits of the right answer.

“Correct! It’s when the Empire lead a rebellion against the Church of Seiros! Anything else?”

A few more bits of information are handed to her: Edelgard von Hresvelg was the leader of the Empire rebellion, the victors were the army lead by Claude von Riegan, the first ruler of Fódlan was Byleth Eisner. The answers come more confidently as Flayn shows her excitement for every raised hand; it’s how she likes to teach, reinforcing her students’ participation. And knowing that they show even the slightest of interest in her class, well, what more could she ask for?

“Alright, so now that we refreshed ourselves on the basic of this war, we’re going to talk a bit more about the victors of the war: King Claude and Quen Byleth. And while I could go on and on about how they gained the high grounds against Empress Edelgard and King Dimitri, I think you’re all a little too tired for that this morning.” A smile pulls at the corners of Flayn’s mouth as she pushes herself back up onto her desk. “Who wants to hear about the relationship that united Claude and Byleth instead? It won’t be on your exam, but it’s a great fun fact if ever you want to tell someone a nice little anecdote from the past.”

There’s little that brings Flayn as much joy as watching the eyes of her students turn to sparkles. She loves watching the heads go up before being put back down on the desks, attentive ears turned to her. What more can a professor ask for?

“In that case, how about I start with the betrothal?” Grins appear like the first spring daisies. “In that case, we go back a thousand years, back to 1187, a few months after the war has ended…”

---

Byleth’s chest heaves as she watches the last of the enemies fall. It’s over. It’s finally over. Or at least, it’s over for now. For now, there will be a semblance of peace. For now, there is no one else that opposes Byleth’s reign. Which means…

Her smile grows as she watches the horizon. He’s right there. He’s so close. Byleth can almost feel him, his touch, his loving embrace. He’s right there, his wyvern flipping in the sky against the pinks and the purples and the oranges of the setting sun. He’s right there, so beautiful. He’s right there, finally back, just as he had promised.

Relief washes over Byleth as the shadow grows larger, the white wyvern making its way straight to her. She never thought she’d be this happy to see the giant beast, though saying her excitement was for it alone would be a lie. What truly has Byleth’s head reeling is the prospect of finally seeing him, the one who had promised to be back all those months ago. Claude, he’s finally back.

He’s gorgeous as he stumbles off of his mount. His smile, it reaches his eyes, something it didn’t use to do. And his eyes, so green, so beautiful, they crease at the corner from the happiness. And his lips, well… They find their way home in a kiss that Byleth is more than happy to return.

She never had envisioned their reunion to go like this. She had always thought he would walk back into the monastery one day, happy to announce that his work was done. It had always been a peaceful reunion in Byleth’s mind; it had never crossed her mind that it would come with more bloodshed. And yet, this feels perfect for them. The cuts and scrapes against her body still ache, and the blood that stains her skin feels crusty, but it doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter because Claude is back. It doesn’t matter because Claude is here, kissing her under the sunset. Nothing matters; only Claude matters.

“Took you long enough.”

He smiles into yet another kiss, this one slower and more careful than the last three. This one, it tastes like love and victory. This one, it tastes exactly the way Byleth remembers their kisses to be. This one, it tastes the way every kiss from Claude should; it tastes like forever.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t become the king of Almyra any sooner. I’ll be faster next time it happens.”

A hand flies up to cover the snort that escapes Byleth. Her face falls against Claude’s chest as she openly laughs, something that has never happened before. And as Claude’s arms wrap around her, she feels safer than she ever has. Claude, how she missed his presence.

“Teach?”

Byleth hums, not bothering to lift her head away from Claude. She’s too comfortable there. He’s warm and safe; he’s finally home. And as his fingers cup her cheek, Byleth can’t help lean her weight into him. How is she supposed to leave the here and now? How is she supposed to risk losing him all over again? Though she knows this isn’t a dream, she can’t risk it. She can’t risk opening her eyes and watching him leave once more.

The kiss to her cheek is what it takes for Byleth’s eyes to flutter open. And they open to green; Claude isn’t gone, disappearing with the setting sun. He’s there, for real. He’s there, for her. He’s there, and by the sounds of it, all their friends are there too.

A content smile pulls at the corners of Byleth’s lips as she turns to the crowd that has started to form. First, it’s Hilda and her cheers. She screams louder than Byleth’s ever heard her scream as she jumps up and down. Then there’s Lorenz and his gasps. He seems surprised, but he soon eases himself into a content smile and a congratulatory nod. And then there’s Raphael and Leonie, both cheering, one shouting congratulations, the other screaming near obscenities. Not far off, there’s Lysithea, her mouth agape. She’s pointing at both Claude and Byleth, yet no words manage to leave her lips. And finally, there’s Marianne and Ignatz, both silently smiling at the pair. Everyone is there; the Golden Deer are finally back together.

“Claude! Why didn’t you tell me you and the professor were an item? I thought we were closer than that!”

Hilda grins as she dramatically leans against Lorenz, looking ready to faint. Of course, he catches her, though not without a bit of reticence. Lorenz, he’s never been good with Hilda’s antics. He’s always been too polite to play along with her. And yet, as the years go on, he seems to be more exasperated than uncomfortable with the girl. Perhaps that’s what happens when a group of people spend so much time with one another.

Claude grins at the rest of the group, but not without pressing another kiss to Byleth’s cheek. He wants to drive home that she’s his and that nothing can keep him away from her any longer. Or maybe he likes the attention, from Hilda’s squeals to Lysithea’s gags to Lorenz’s groans. Maybe he likes that everyone is back together, though this time in far less threatening circumstances.

“You’re so gross, Claude! Literally no one wants to see you doing,” Lysithea gestures in his and Byleth’s direction, “that. Like get a room or whatever.”

“I mean if—”

Byleth couldn’t help the smile that grows at the corners of her mouth as she smooths out her coat sleeve, which seemed to have magically smacked Claude in the face. And he laughs along; he always laughs along, but this time, his laughter is genuine. This time, Byleth knows he’s happy.

“Okay, okay, I guess I should make this official in front of everyone.”

Byleth’s head turns as Claude takes her hand in his. His smile, it’s soft, and it’s gentle. His eyes, they sparkle just as they did all those months ago, though this time, tears don’t well up at the corners of either of their eyes. This time, they’re not placed in a dire situation, one where even the happiest of outcomes left them in tears. This time, it’s real happiness.

She doesn’t resist as Claude turns her towards him. Byleth lets him take the lead on this; she needs a break from being the leader. And by the way he’s looking at her, she knows what comes next.

“Byleth Eisner, my Love who has already said yes to me all those months ago, my Love who has provided us with a new peaceful, happy world, will you do me the honor of being my queen and marrying me?”

Clapping and cheering echoes in Byleth’s ears as she pulls Claude in for a kiss. Of course she accepts; she’s already waited too long for his return. And as Claude lifts her from the ground, she can’t help but grin into the kiss. This, this is what true happiness feels like. It’s being surrounded by friends. It’s getting to live in a peaceful world. It’s being in the arms of the man she loves more than anyone else. This is happiness; Byleth is sure of it.

---

Small smiles pull at the corners of Flayn’s students as she wraps up her story. It did them some good to have spent a class not taking notes, but just listening to a story of Flayn’s choosing. She knows better than to make every class a potential exam question, facts memorized and regurgitated. Sometimes, kids just need a moment to learn without the expectation of repeating the facts exactly as they have been told.

She watches as her students get up from their chairs, stretching a little before filing out of her classroom. And Flayn grins as a few students come to her, prodding her for more details. She happily fills them in, though not without keeping a few of the information to herself.

Where did she get that story? Where can they read it for themselves? Well, Flayn tells them she had come across it during her university days, back when she was a student who had travelled to the ancient capital of Derdriu. The exact source, she can’t recall, but she’ll be sure to tell them if she finds it somewhere.

Why was it she seemed so familiar with people who had lived a thousand years ago? Well, that’s simple. She’s spent so much time on the subject, they almost seem like friends to her. She’s read so much about them, seen so much art about the victors of the Great Fódlan War; she can’t help but talk about them as if she were acquainted with them.

Did Claude and Byleth have children? Did they get to live happily ever after? That, Flayn has no troubling answering. She has no problem smiling as she nods: they did have children of their own, and they did get to live a happy life together, though not without their disagreements. Claude and Byleth, they were both headstrong, though it is said that the King more often than not conceded to his wife out of pure love and devotion. The only thing she could never win against him was the way wyverns were trained, not that she had any intention of correcting him on his way of treating the beasts.

But for more stories about the King of Almyra and the Queen of Fódlan, they would have to wait for another class with Flayn. Until then, she ushered them to their next class, reminding them of their upcoming reading assignment. Until the next time Flayn could tell them stories about Claude and Byleth, or perhaps of their friends, her students would have to get through their other classes.

It wouldn’t be long before Flayn would tell another story of her friends, not that anyone had to know that she had been there, standing behind everyone as horror and beauty filled Fódlan, during its destruction and its rebirth.

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royalrambler · 6 months

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Writing Commissions!! Now Open!!

hihello royal here !!! uhm life happens tbh and i just lost my current source of income, sooo

i’m opening writing commissions !! just dm me here or on discord (moriensstellarum) to start !!

my rates: (cashapp only)

semi cheap since i really do need commissions right now! my cashapp info will be given once the planning process is over!!

$5 usd: every 1k words

+$5 usd: fandoms i am not in or completely original

+$2 usd: for oc, self insert, or x reader works (mc from twisted wonderland doesn’t count!!)

current fandoms:

fire emblem three houses

genshin impact

my hero academia

identity v

bungo stray dogs

haikyuu

demon slayer

good omens

star wars (all movies and shows)

legend of zelda (breath of the wild and tears of the kingdom)

twisted wonderland

project sekai

voltron: legendary defender

pokèmon

danganronpa (in progress)

jujutsu kaisen (in progress)

kingdom hearts (in progress it’s a lot of games)

Persona 5

please be through in explaining what you’d like (i.e. pairings, au if any kind, plot, etc) and allow for 5-8 days from the end of planning for writing to be completed

will do:

fluff

angst

action/violence(to a point)

mild gore or body horror

legal non toxic pairings of any kind(including poly)

if it’s not listed i probably won’t write it. you can still ask since i think i missed a couple of things, but this is your warning you might get denied. i also only write ragbro’s as platonic/familial.

writing sample:

this piece is reposted from my flufftober writing !!

This was a scene that Byleth could go on without repeating over and over again, but alas, the flow of time is a fickle thing, and the loss is necessary. Countless times, they had tried other ways to snap Dimitri back into reality, only to fail in the end. This was the only way to succeed.

The rain was warm, unusual for this area, but it made it seem like the heavens were weeping for the loss of such a great man and knight. Perhaps they were. Byleth certainly had the first few times they lived through it. But now their grief has been replaced by a determination to end this cycle. To have this be the last time they watch as Rodrigue sacrifices himself in order to save Dimitri. Let this be the final version of this particular encounter.

The sky grew darker as Byleth waited, the rain soaking them to the bone. They would continue to wait as long as needed… He would come. And soon, just as many times before, the soon-to-be king rounded the corner, and they stepped out of the shadows into his path.

“What do you want?”

His voice was harsh, almost intentionally so, as if Byleth’s mere presence was an annoyance. The first times they heard it, they flinched and held their tongue to placate the prince. The times after they had responded with anger or indifference. They all worked out in the end, but none were right. But now…

“I know where you’re going. You don't have to do this, Dimitri.” Their voice remained calm, even as anger flashed across his face.

“This isn’t your concern!” Dimitri spat out. “Get out of my way. Now.”

Byleth simply glared as he menacingly stepped closer. If one thing remained true, it was that Dimitri would never harm them. He could act like it was all he wanted, but they knew the truth.

“Going to Enbarr will not fix anything! Do you really think it will appease the dead? Or will it simply add Edelgard’s corpse to those that haunt you?"

“Do not speak of that vile woman as if she is a friend! It is their voices that demand her head! Only then will they finally get to rest peacefully. Don’t speak of matters you could never understand."

Dimitri took a moment, seemingly to compose himself. His anger had faded slightly, making way for something else. Something different. Grief? Was he perhaps finally letting himself grieve for his losses after all these years? Or was it simply resignation?

“Death…” He continued, his voice becoming thick with emotion. “Death is the end. No matter how much lingering regret a person has, after death, they are powerless. They cannot even wish for revenge, much less seek it out. Hatred. Regret. Those burdens fall on the shoulders of those who are left behind. They fall to me. I must continue down this path! And it is far too late to stop... You know this much already."

Byleth’s gaze softened as they watched his anger bleed into resignation and acceptance of his self-imposed fate.

“But you don’t have to do it alone. You’ve got me and so many others! You don’t have to throw your life away in the pursuit of revenge! Surely there is-“

“There is no other way! That is merely the logic of the living. It's meaningless. Those who died with lingering regret... They will not loose their hold on me so easily.

“But you seem to have all the answers... So tell me, professor. Please, tell me... How do I silence their desperate pleas? How do I... How do I save them? Ever since that day nine years ago... I have lived only to avenge the fallen. It is the only thing that keeps me alive... My only reason to keep moving forward...”

Byleth let out a soft huff of laughter, mainly out of nervousness. “I haven’t been your professor in a long time, Mitya... I was hardly qualified to be that in the first place, but even I know to not deny the Archbishop. But you’ve suffered enough. You must forgive yourself; move towards accepting the past and embracing the future.”

“But then who…or what…should should I live for?”

“Live for what you believe in. Live for yourself, and if you can’t do that, then make me the reason to keep on living.”

“What I believe in..." Dimitri shook his head slightly and turned his face up towards the sky. “Rodrigue said the same thing. But is it possible? I am a murderous monster. My hands are stained red. Could one such as I truly hope for such a life? As the sole survivor of that day, do I... Do I have the right to live for myself?”

Byleth placed a gentle hand on Dimitri’s cheek and turned his face back towards them. “No one’s hands are ever truly clean in this world. Asking that would be the same as asking me if I deserved the life I live. Each day you continue to live serves as proof that you deserve to live and live for yourself. And if you ever forget that, you will always have me to remind you.”

“I’ve got you…” Dimitri whispered as the professor pulled him into a gentle embrace. As he returned it, Byleth began to softly hum an ancient and gentle song. “You’re… You’re so warm… Have you always been?”

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egittae · 17 hours

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The definition of rose tinted glasses

[ what do you mean I wrote a 9 page long character analysis on a dude who appears twice in one game haha. This is my insane view on this dude

anyway, spoilers for 3H/3Hopes Azure Moon and Azure Gleam below ]

---

Lambert is one of the key narrative ghosts in Fódlan’s modern history, particularly regarding the Kingdom of Faerghus. His death was said to have destabilized the Kingdom severely, and the matter of his assassination was used by kingdom nobles as an excuse to enact a massacre against Duscur.

Time and time again we hear statements about his reign and praising him as a ruler, about how he was essentially the perfect king that Faerghus needed. Kind, charismatic, caring towards the common man, a powerful warrior, a great father- and so on. Considering how we only see and hear Lambert talking as himself literally twice in the entire Azure Moon route, nearly all information we are presented about him comes from the mouths of other characters and then from a handful of optional bits of lore in the many books and records you can read in the game if you feel like it.

Meaning, we don’t actually know what Lambert was truly like- we only know what others wanted to tell us about him. And those who told us about him were all either his family, his closest friends or people who have pledged loyalty to him at some point. The portrait we have of Lambert in both 3Houses and 3Hopes is extremely biased and filtered through the thickest pair of rose tinted glasses they could get their hands on. I myself never really cared about it until I chose to muse him, which was when I stopped and thought, “wait, what am I even dealing with anyway?”.

And boy oh boy.

First, let’s take a look at what we get in the games regarding Lambert. I’ll be splitting this section into 3Houses and 3Hopes, since we get information on both games.

Three Houses

In 3Houses the first actual solid instance we get of Lambert is through a flashback in White Clouds, when Dimitri is telling Byleth about his past and the Tragedy of Duscur. It’s during that flashback that we get to see and hear Lambert for the first time, though he’s saying his last words* which are…well, interesting. He’s not exactly telling his son a tearful goodbye or anything, but rather giving him an order- to kill whoever planned the attack. To destroy them all and avenge those who died in Duscur, which sticks to Dimitri’s head stronger than gorilla glue.

*: Some people theorize that Lambert didn’t actually say those things and that Dimitri was hallucinating it instead, but I personally do believe Lambert said it before he was decapitated. It’ll make more sense later.

But Dimitri talks about his father in such a fond way, with so much admiration, that despite those off last words we are given the impression that Lambert must have been a good father and a good man, otherwise his death wouldn’t have had such a powerful effect on Dimitri’s psyche, right? He’s one of the people Dimitri mentions the most regarding the ghosts that disturb him alongside Glenn.

Then throughout the game, we get some extra crumbs. We are told that the western nobles saw Lambert as a “tyrannical” and radical king who was making unpopular decisions while caring little for others’ opinions, and that while he was beloved by the general public many nobles were starting to harbor bitterness towards him. We are also told that he indeed was trying to create a bridge with Duscur to establish good relations and a stable merchant route between the two nations, since Duscur was stated to have particularly good soil that Faerghus was very much interested in.

The last instance we get of Lambert is around the mid-end of Azure Moon, when Rodrigue is dying in Dimitri’s arms. We get an actual cutscene, models and all, of Lambert and Rodrigue’s final exchange before leaving for Duscur. In it one thing is clear- Rodrigue doesn’t trust the plan and is very much worried about what could happen, being particularly against the idea of Dimitri going since he was still young.

Shortening things a little, the House of Fraldarius has had linked arms with House Blaiddyd ever since Loog fought for Faerghus’ independence. Kyphon, the head of Fraldarius at the time, was hailed as the King’s shield- and so it stands. During the campaign between Faerghus and Sreng, Rodrigue himself was given the title of "Te Shield of Faerghus", and as a result House Fraldarius essentially plays a role with the royal family’s defenses, almost like a Ministry of Defense of sorts. Rodrigue therefore knows what he’s saying, and his words should be trusted, correct?

No! Lambert isn’t having it. If anything Lambert stomps like a stubborn mule and tells Rodrigue he’s not budging, that he will go to Duscur no matter what and he will take Dimitri with him and no one can stop him. And then he says these pearls:

“He’s [Dimitri] a smart boy, Rodrigue. Even if he should lose his father, I have no doubt he will grow to be a good and respectable man.” “[...] If he [Dimitri] ever starts down the wrong path and I am not here to set him straight, I am trusting you to do so in my stead. Promise me…”

‘Yo. If I die you raise my son for me ok? I bet he won’t mind”

Perhaps Lambert didn’t account for the fact that Dimitri was 13 years old and that if he were to lose his father during the trip, he’d literally witness it firsthand. That’ll never bother him, right? Rodrigue will fix it. Guess what happened!

But even then, Rodrigue speaks of him in a very positive light, and that doesn’t seem to have caused any cracks to form on the image Dimitri has of his father either. This is something that happens time and time again in both games, whenever we hear Rodrigue, Matthias or Dimitri talking about Lambert- they’ll comment things that are…odd behaviors to say the least, but their tones are so fond and nostalgic and warm that you end up disregarding what was actually said.

Because those characters too, have a skewed image of Lambert. Actually the only character I believe doesn’t have a twisted or extremely romanticized view of Lambert is probably Gustave.

Gustave enters the picture around White Clouds, and that’s when he starts to say some things that made me start to question the image of Lambert the game has been trying to present. In one moment, Gustave is scolding Dimitri for being careless with his own safety and charging in with apparently no value in his own life. This exchange then takes place:

Here’s the thing. Dimitri is a teenager, forced to grow far too quickly and made to fit into a role that, in his and the general public’s eyes, is bigger than the world- he needs to step into Lambert’s shoes and do good.

But then Gustave mentions that Lambert would say the very same thing, years before. By that time he was already king and already an adult. On top of it all he’s Lambert, who had a Crest of Blaiddyd which grants ridiculous levels of strength to its user on top of being born naturally with superhuman strength. Lambert was a bulldozer in the shape of a man, a king and a supposedly well resolved adult.

So why would he display such careless, insecure behavior to the point that Gustave, who definitely knew what Lambert could do, would worry that much for his safety?

And then the other fact: if Lambert spoke those exact words all those years ago, then it meant he saw himself as a weapon. Why would he have such a dehumanizing view of himself like that? Sure, Faerghus is a nation that values chivalry and the honor of dying in battle with many characters seeing themselves as weapons first and foremost, but apparently the way he went about it was so extreme that Gustave of all people worried for his condition.

I’ll also briefly mention here one thing that I’ve touched on before, which is Lambert’s savior complex. About how when he met Patricia it seemed to be love at first glance…when in reality it was the fact that Lambert perceived her as helpless and lost, and felt so weirdly enamored by it with the want to help and save her that he “fell in love”. Their marriage, which was already a secret and not known by the public, was pretty much in shambles from day 1 as they didn’t even sleep in the same room within the palace. If anything it felt more as if Lambert saw her as a little creature he needed to save and protect and now that he has her under his roof all’s good. I’ll expand on this complex later.

Let’s continue with the information we have.

Three Hopes

3Hopes possesses surprisingly more details on Lambert as a person thanks to Rodrigue being a playable unit with supports, and also because Matthias is there as well. There are also more books on Faerghus’ history, many of which do comment on some of Lambert’s actions such as his lead in the battle against Sreng. And of course, we do get a lot of information through Azure Gleam’s third chapter, “Crisis in Fhirdiad”.

Enter the professional wet cat man, Rufus.

Rufus was the older brother of Lambert, born without a crest and therefore pushed to the side regarding the throne’s succession, which left him feeling a level of bitterness towards his brother. On paper, very similar to what went down between Miklan and Sylvain.

Except…Rufus actually got a lot, despite not being set as the crown prince. Rufus is the Grand Duke of Itha, a territory close to Blaiddyd that’s a popular hunting ground as it possesses a number of rare monsters and animals. Hunting and mercenary work are the pillars of its economy and it does quite well. The Grand Duke title is also one of the highest titles one can get behind King/Queen and Prince/Princess, which means while Rufus wasn’t king, he was still a very important individual in Faerghus on a status level. And finally, in the camp, one NPC mentions how Rufus was naturally gifted with political sharpness and that those skills of his were greatly valued and acknowledged by the Kingdom as a whole.

Rufus wasn't a man abandoned on the streets left with crumbs and rags while his brother rose to a pedestal of luxury. Rufus was pretty damn well off himself, with the highest noble rank he could ask for considering his condition, his own territory that has a rather stable economy, and his skills were appreciated and valued on a national scale. And yet, he was still bitter about Lambert.

Another NPC also mentions how there were rumors of “discord” between the two brothers, meaning that their strained relationship was very neutral at best and publicly rocky at worst. The very fact that Houses Fraldarius, Gautier and Galatea- the three main noble houses that back up the royal family, didn’t want to even associate with Rufus was also very telling of what his behavior towards Lambert, and by extension Dimitri, most likely was even before the Tragedy of Duscur.

But right before the mission in Fhirdiad, there’s a cutscene between Rufus and Cornelia. Rufus basically gives a more explicit view on how he sees Dimitri, as well as his apprehension towards the prince. He talks about how Dimitri’s eyes are monstrous, that he’s a vile and deceptive creature- and that he’s the lion’s cub. A lion nonetheless, but a cub.

Then he mentions how ever since the assassination took place, Rufus has had constant nightmares of a lion ripping his throat out.

The entire dialogue makes it seem Rufus was more afraid of Dimitri than anything, but in my eyes? Rufus was afraid of Lambert. Lambert was the one he viewed as a lion, and when Rufus began having nightmares Dimitri was far too young and also too injured to even pose as a threat, but Rufus has lived with Lambert for decades. He definitely knows what Lambert can do, and most likely how Lambert behaves when he’s angry.

And he says it, how he has nightmares about a lion brutally murdering him in his sleep as an act of revenge. And considering how many characters acknowledge that Dimitri and Lambert have the same eyes- the same look, it’s not too far fetched to point out that Rufus is afraid of Dimitri because the prince has the same “monstrous” and “vile” eyes of his late father.

Rufus most likely saw what Lambert turned into when taken by anger and revenge, and now that he was involved with his death, Rufus sees the ghost of that wrathful Lambert on Dimitri’s face. The fact that he most likely also got to see how Dimitri behaves under the same circumstances most likely only made it harder for him to separate them in his view.

One might think that Rufus was perhaps exaggerating his view of Lambert, that it’s just his fear and bitterness talking and making him use adjectives such as “monstrous” to refer to his brother. And while it is partly true, honestly there’s proof in the game that Rufus has full right to be horrified. Because in 3Hopes, in one of the many books that you can find at the base, you find reports on Faerghus’ continued war against Sreng- the book is called “Military History of Partholon”. Most of it talks about the old past of the conflict and about the Gautier warrior Laetitia, but in its last entry there’s information on the campaign Lambert conducted against the srengi leader Oleg.

“Horsebow Moon, Year 1169 The Kingdom Army is progressing northwest through the peninsula, but while engaging the Sreng chief Oleg and his forces, a gigantic beast suddenly enters the fray. It lays waste to both sides. Lambert sustains grave injuries, and Oleg disappears into a ravine.”

Their battle was cut short by the appearance of a “gigantic beast” that shows up and crushes both sides. Lambert is gravely injured but survives without being too scarred or debilitated in any way. Now, Sreng is known for having some crazy monsters roaming around- it’s one of the reasons why it is so dangerous, and in 3Houses you do fight against Giant Crawlers. But there’s also the fact that Mr. Macuil is an inhabitant of Sreng, who’s stupidly strong as he is one of Sothis’ original children, and he holds a particularly bitter grudge against humans.

For one single creature to promptly crush both armies by itself, it makes me believe Macuil must have had a hand in it. Regardless, Lambert managed to survive an attack either by a Giant Crawler or Macuil himself, without losing any limbs or being debilitated or visibly scarred. Rodrigue and Matthias, while they were there fighting alongside Lambert, weren’t reported as injured or even affected, which means Lambert most likely stepped in and faced the creature either on his own or mostly by himself.

And that? Is scary as hell. If that guy can face a srengi creature/Macuil and not only survive but manage to get away badly injured but whole then Rufus has full right to be afraid of him.

After the Fhirdiad chapter, the other information we get comes primarily from Rodrigue, his support with Dimitri, and his dialogue with Matthias during the Sreng mission- and they all focus primarily on their past, when all three were in their academy days.

In the Sreng chapter, right around the end, Matthias and Rodrigue reminisce about the time they were at the Academy’s Ethereal Ball with Lambert, and how after they grew bored of partying all three left for the training grounds at night. There, Rodrigue mentions how it had been the first and last time they actually talked about their dreams and views for the future with each other, and how Lambert expressed a deep wish to establish good relations with Sreng and Duscur- which Matthias called him naive for.

Then, on the support chain between Rodrigue and Dimitri, he talks a little more about their time as students. Of how in one mission Rodrigue made a mistake which resulted in his unit falling behind and getting in a very delicate and vulnerable position and that they required immediate aid. Lambert and Matthias however, started to argue with one another about which plan was better for rescuing Rodrigue…and ended up getting into a fistfight just because. Granted in the end they managed to somehow work together, but Rodrigue implies that at some point Lambert just booked it carelessly in front of Matthias, got himself all sorts of injured and screwed up, all so he could reach Rodrigue faster.

And then comes the sad detail that Dimitri seems to realize that he didn’t actually know his father at all. He expresses shock at hearing how Lambert was a feisty and violent man in his youth, and then essentially admits to Rodrigue that he doesn’t actually know Lambert that well. Dimitri was most likely raised seeing a mask of his father, not his father.

In the camp, Rodrigue at some point also casually mentions how in the academy, Lambert didn’t actually enjoy following rules and skipped classes every now and then to just hang out. He was rebellious and feisty, loved to get into physical fights with Matthias only for either Rodrigue or Gunther (Ingrid’s father) to try to separate them, and was quite the party guy- but who quickly grew bored of festivities and ran straight back to training.

And this, around six or seven pages of content, completes the amount of actual information we get on Lambert’s character throughout both games. What about it?

Well, time to grab all this stuff, twist and squeeze it, until we get a glimpse of who Lambert actually was.

Lambert was born as the younger crested sibling of the royal Blaiddyd family, and most definitely he was only conceived because his parents needed a crested heir. While Rufus was still given many boons despite being passed over regarding the throne, I don’t doubt that Lambert received preferential treatment. He was, after all, the crested baby prince they all needed. His relationship with his brother is, as a result, strained. All because of something he had no control over- his own blood.

Faerghus didn't have basic sanitary systems at the time, and Fhirdiad in particular was said to be a true pigsty- riddled with disease. As a result, it wouldn't be too extreme to say that Lambert was most likely raised in a very sheltered environment, trapped within the palace's walls in an attempt to avoid him getting a disease and dying from it- he was the only crested heir, far too valuable. Not that the palace was the perfect hygienic haven, but it definitely seemed to fare better than the city itself. And yet, Lambert still showed curiosity for the lives of the common man and wished to aid them.

His rebellious behavior in the academy feels like a cry for help on his part- that he most likely lived a very strict life in Fhirdiad and had to keep up appearances, unable to do what he wanted to do and make the choices he wanted to make. Lambert was molded into a king as soon as he was born and they needed him to stay within that mold. The moment he managed to get some freedom for himself, he rebelled because he most likely knew that would be his last chance at being able to live freely. And then as soon as he graduated, he went back to his mold. His chance was over.

He was feisty, prone to violent outbursts, at times ungovernable and aloof. Full of pent up energy, liking parties but getting bored once they don’t reach the level of excitement he wanted out of them. Curious about the common man and wanting to hang out around them rather than attending class. Apparently horrifyingly scary when angered or when powered by vengeance, to the point his own brother saw him as a monstrous beast- and then echoed that into Dimitri.

He had a savior complex that was most definitely enabled by everyone around him, as it fit well into the image of a king that cares for and aids his people. Growing up with the idea that he needs to protect the weak and that everyone is weaker than him resulted in him equating a complex to love, with no one around him to confront him about it.

Lambert truly did model himself into the ideal king, and the positive points of his personality amplified it. Kind, charismatic, understanding, strong. He ruled for his country and for its people, and so the people loved him for it.

But he seemed to have been raised and forced into an image he didn’t feel confident in assuming. He was king, he was an adult, but he was insecure of himself and his own capabilities- and yet, he knew he didn’t have an option on the matter. Insecure or not he had to make it work, so he felt the need to bruteforce things when they didn’t go his way immediately.

He was genuinely careless with his own life, impulsively throwing himself at situations that could get him injured and running to the frontlines without thinking. While often it was made as a valiant effort to protect those he loved, even when they weren’t around he still went and did it. All to the point Gustave began to worry about his own condition.

Lambert viewed himself as a weapon, a war machine. Born with ridiculous strength and a crest, in a nation such as Faerghus that puts so much value on strength, knighthood and he status of a warrior, I have no doubts that he was most likely raised with the idea of being a weapon of Faerghus, its king- and its blade, and to disregard completely how dehumanizing that must have felt for him.

All to the point he flat out ignored Rodrigue, “The Shield of Faerghus”, and continued with his plans for Duscur.

Stubborn and almost irresponsible, to his own detriment as well as others’. Extremely prone to giving himself tunnel vision, and that the moment he decides he'll do something- he does it, regardless if others like it or not, bringing a reason as to why so many nobles saw him as tyrannical and radical. Lambert had already decided what he wanted to do, and he didn’t want their input. He’d simply do it.

World’s Most Alright Father. I have no doubts that Lambert loved Dimitri, after all he raised the boy as a solo parent for a while until Patricia entered the picture. Lambert has also already showcased how he’s willing to do whatever it takes to protect his friends and family and he’d definitely extend that to his only child, but his parenting has many odd quirks. He allowed Gustave to subject Dimitri to excruciating training sessions that would’ve surely killed a normal human- even more a child, without stepping in or showing any form of protest. Most likely because Lambert was raised the same way, so in his eyes it seemed “normal”.

Him suddenly showing a level of disregard to the possibility of Dimitri losing his father and thinking he’ll “be fine” because he’s a “strong and smart boy” and that Rodrigue will take care of it, also makes me wonder if he was raised to think that way as well. That even as a child, he was made to believe he was strong and independent and should be able to fare on his own without his parents as a child- only to echo that on Dimitri later.

But I do think he meant well as a father. Because in the end, Dimitri didn’t quite grow into the same person Lambert was. Dimitri, while uptight, formal and very much nursing the image of a good prince, didn’t seem to have gone through excessively strict parenting. I feel like that was one of Lambert’s own ways of showing how much he loved his son- as well as how conscious he was of his own upbringing. His parenting was far from perfect, but in the end he tried to raise Dimitri to not end up like him. To not go through what he did.

And for his final words? Honestly, I think he was just desperate. Having lived his entire life being acknowledged as this strong, nearly ideal ruler, getting through countless battles while impulsively pushing through frontlines, only to be proved that his plan that he stubbornly believed in was extremely wrong and be defeated and crushed as a result. Lambert probably saw everything that he was falling apart on that one moment, and so when he spoke to Dimitri he was just reduced to the bare minimum. Enraged and vengeful for having been brought down like that, but without the strength to even protect himself let alone his child. All he had left was his own voice, so he chose to just express to Dimitri what he felt. A decision that ended up causing more pain than good, but in the end one that came from the mouth of a defeated man minutes before he was decapitated.

I think he was really trying to make things work. To make Faerghus a good place, to be a good father, to be a good king. But he could only do it behind layers of varnish, relying on the absurdly perfect image his own people and friends created for himself because the actual Lambert was insecure, most likely unhappy with his condition, prone to seeing himself in dehumanizing ways and throwing himself into dangerous situations because he doesn’t value his life personally. The Lambert that lived and died and was remembered isn’t Lambert, it’s the King of Faerghus.

Lambert, the man born in House Blaiddyd as its youngest son at the time, just died and vanished. The mask however stayed since it had never been organic to begin with. It can’t rot and disappear like the person behind it.

#[ooc]#[ for the glory of faerghus. ] (meta content)#[ crumbles into dust ]#[ god ]#[ how did this happen. im sorry this is probably so incoherent i beta read this only once ]

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itsmoonpeaches · 7 months

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Title: The Silent Prince

Chapter 1 of 2: Breath

A late entry for Dimileth Goggles on Twitter.

Rating: T

Word count: 4,507

Summary: Dimitri is the Crown Prince of Hyrule, set to inherit his mother's sealing power. Except, he has nothing to show for it. Byleth is the daughter of Jeralt Eisner, a military captain. Except, swordsmanship is not her fate.

Faerghus Castle was said to have been named after the distant land the ancient Hylians had come from before settling onto the continent that made the Kingdom of Hyrule. They said that this fabled continent was across the sea, so far that the land that came before them had weathered into legend. Folktales and myths reiterated a story of a region full of dragons, warring factions, and magic interfering with the course of life. Yet, other stories claimed they came from the sky, perhaps related to the great peoples from above, the Zonai, as they united with the Hylians to create their kingdom.

With the age of their land came other legends still, ones of the Hero, the Goddess Reborn, and Nemesis the Calamity. With every age each spoke in the trio’s wheel would come upon the world, a never-ending cycle started in a time long past.

The last time the cycle had continued was ten thousand years previously when the Hero and the Goddess Reborn worked together to seal away the Calamity in a battle that would redefine the history of Hyrule. The Shiekah people, protectors of the Royal Family and therefore the Blaiddyd line, created great Divine Beasts and mechanical soldiers called Guardians that protected the Hero and the Goddess Reborn as they fought to make their way to the source of the Calamity, a vicious demonic beast whose viscous energy sought to destroy the kingdom.

Continue reading on ao3.

#dimileth goggles #dimileth #fe3h #loz #legend of zelda #itsmoonpeaches fanfic #fire emblem #fire emblem three houses #botw #breath of the wild #dimitri alexandre blaiddyd #byleth eisner

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reunionatdawn · 2 months

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My Analysis of the Best Paired Endings in 3H (Part 16: Mercedes/Dedue)

Mercedes: If I were someone else, perhaps a commoner without a Crest or stature, maybe things would be different. It's a bit sad, but…this is the way things have to be. After all, only the goddess can decide our fates.

Each character in the Blue Lions was a victim of Faerghus's patriarchal culture. Mercedes was adopted for the purpose of being married off for her Crest. The Crest of Lamine is associated with the arcana of Judgement. It represents an important decision that needs to be made regarding love and romance. It also symbolizes a solution to a protracted problem, and a feeling of freedom.

Mercedes was separated from her brother at a young age and had to make a new life for herself in the Kingdom. What got her through those hard times was the support of the church. That's why her dream was to work there to help people, just as they did for her. But doing so would be difficult if she married a nobleman.

Mercedes: Though, just because two people share a promise, that doesn't guarantee they'll be together forever. You've noticed many nobles at the academy, right? They very rarely have the freedom to choose their own partners.

Mercedes had a lot in common with Ingrid. She did not want to give up on her dream to be used as a broodmare for her Crest, like her mother was. However, she felt like she had no choice.

Byleth: You can't just give up on your dreams. Mercedes: That's a very good point! We're only given one life, so we must do all we can to pursue our happiness! OK! I think that may have been just the push I was looking for! I'll tell him the truth. That I've found a life worth pursuing and I must decline the proposal! Maybe I should tell him I've fallen for someone else?

Mercedes had difficulty standing up to her adoptive father. She was willing to lie to him by telling him that she had fallen for someone else. That might explain many of her pairing options.

Ferdinand: You baffle me. Do you not wish to be free? Mercedes: Of course I do. Let me try that again in a way you might understand. Ahem. A true noble cuts their own path, seizing freedom from the clutches of tyranny!

I suspect that the reason she rejected Ferdinand's help to sever ties with her adoptive father was because she wasn't sure if his gesture was an attempt to woo her. She wasn't sure if she would have the will to decline if he proposed. In their paired ending, she severs ties with her adoptive father and marries him immediately after the war. She lives the traditional life of a noble wife while her husband is recognized for his achievements.

Mercedes: I don't care to flaunt my noble past or my Crest. I have no desire to return to that status. Lorenz: Then, if I may speak hypothetically a moment… Does that mean that if a nobleman were to offer you his hand in marriage, you would decline? Mercedes: Not at all. That's a separate matter entirely. Even if I were to fall in love, regardless of their social status… I'm not looking to marry right now.

Even by the end of their A-Support, she still didn't seem to like Lorenz very much. She was unusually sarcastic with him. And she specifically said she wasn't ready to marry even if she was in love. But it is still possible that she will marry Lorenz immediately after the war. It shows how difficult it was for her to deviate from her path.

Mercedes: …No, I'm glad. I feel like I saw your true face for the first time. …Hey, Sylvain. Would you be able to save me from the curse of my Crest? Sylvain: I…I'll save you! With my heart and soul! I love you! Great! Let's get married!

Mercedes also had a lot in common with Sylvain, and the two actually became close friends. They are both Gemini, the zodiac sign which is thought to be two-faced because of their natural duality.

Mercedes: Don't be ashamed of crying. I'm here to protect you. Will you protect me in return? Sylvain: I will. I promise. You know, Mercedes, you really are a special lady.

Because Mercedes was able to empathize with his pain, he let the mask slip with her, and she saw his other face. Because of that, she was also the only character to see him cry. She wanted him to save her from her arranged marriage, and she had a genuine desire to save him from that fate, too. So, she is one of the very few women Sylvain is able to marry and have a paired ending with.

Mercedes: You're much the same, yes? People like us have to try to bloom as best we can. Sylvain: Never really thought of myself as a flower, but I get what you're saying. Flowers are stuck in the same spot for life, whether they like it or not. And if they happen to sprout in a bad area, they're out of luck. But we have legs, not roots. We can go wherever we want.

But Hopes does a good job of showing why that's not the ideal solution to their problems. Even if she did marry him, she would prefer to be doing charity work rather than living the life of a nobleman's wife. Sylvain was fine with that, but Mercedes did not want to stand in the way of him marrying the person he truly loved.

Sylvain: To be perfectly clear, I'm not making advances on your or anything. But I'm the heir of House Gautier. If I ask you, this other guy will have no choice but to bow out. Though I doubt he'd be happy about it. After that, you can do whatever you want. Go work at a church or ladle out soup or whatever makes you happy. I won't stop you. Mercedes: But that would prevent you from marrying the person you love.

She didn't realize that Sylvain didn't want to get married in the first place. He would be marrying her because she offered him a loophole to his own predicament. With her as his wife, he could fulfill his noble obligation, but still be able to live freely. They cared for each other and shared mutual respect, but neither of them seemed like they would have considered marrying the other without their fathers pushing them into an arranged marriage.

Mercedes: And before that, when I lived with my mother and my little brother. It also reminds me of the time I spent studying with friends at the school of sorcery in the capital. Things may not have been easy then, but I would give anything to return to those days.

The tagline for the game was, "Sweet memories twisted by time's cruel hand". The best option for Mercedes might seem like recruiting her into Crimson Flower and reuniting her with her brother.

Mercedes & Jeritza Once those who slither in the dark were finally defeated, Mercedes left home and opened a small orphanage in the Faerghus region with her mother. After many years of kind service raising children who had lost their families, she received a letter bearing familiar handwriting. Its author, a prisoner in Enbarr, expressed his sincerest well-wishes to Mercedes and her family. Still more time passed until, one day, the man who wrote the letter paid her a visit. With joyful tears in her eyes, Mercedes smiled, took Emile by the hand, and at last welcomed him home.

And their ending is certainly touching. I was never really a big fan of it, though, because Jeritza's condition is resolved without any explanation. In Mercedes' paralogue, the Death Knight said his soul had long departed. He was not fully in control of himself, which is why he continued to fight on the opposite side from his sister. Before this DLC update, it had been implied that Emile had probably been experimented on like the Remire villagers. He was barely human anymore and it was impossible for him to return to normal.

Mercedes: It's sad, but the truth is that people forget. You may be afraid to forget your past, but you'll never be able to revisit it. Living in the present is the best we can do. We owe it to those who can't come back. Dimitri: If someone had said those words to me five years ago, I would be a different man today.

As sad as it is, Mercedes had a stronger character arc in AM where she had to accept that she's unable to return to the past.

Annette: You know, I've always loved you more than anything in the world! Mercedes: My, is that…a confession of love? Hehe, I'm so happy~. Annette: Uh, um, I wanted to say I love the sweets you bake more than anything in the world! Mercedes: Oh, is that so... Well, I love you, Annie.

Other than Emile, Annette was the most important person to Mercedes. In their A-Support they both confessed their love for each other. While it did seem like the bisexual Mercedes may have loved her beyond friendship (particularly in the Japanese), Annette seemed insistent on emphasizing her platonic love.

Annette & Mercedes After the war, Annette and Mercedes lived separate lives: the former as a teacher at the school of sorcery in Fhirdiad, the latter as a cleric at Garreg Mach. Though they lived apart, they exchanged letters so frequently and shared their lives with one another in such detail that it was as though they were side by side. After many decades, they resigned their respective positions and reunited at Garreg Mach. In their final years, they relocated to a modest house in the Fortress City. It is said that they were happy together to the very end.

They will not be life partners even if you go for their paired ending. While they do keep in touch, they'll live completely separate lives until retirement age. It's a slightly bittersweet ending, showing how, as we get older and pursue different life paths, things don't always stay the same. I don't consider it to be the most satisfying ending for either of them. Still, the fact that Mercedes will move away from her best friend shows how important it was to her to pursue her dream.

Mercedes: I just don't want to let go of the life that I've made for myself. I know it's not what my heart wants, but I don't have the strength to say no.

After Garreg Mach fell, Mercedes returned home to the Kingdom capital and joined the merchant business. She told Byleth that she didn't want to give up the life she made for herself in Fhirdiad.

Annette: Since our time in the capital, so much has happened. We've had to make new lives for ourselves, and we've seen at least as many hard times as good. If things keep changing like this, I wonder if we'll be able to stay the same people we are now…

And Annette also didn't want things between them to change by starting completely new lives again, which is what happens in their paired ending.

Dimitri: My own dreams… I have never given it any thought. What about you? What do you want, Mercedes? Mercedes: I want to keep sewing and training with you, even after you've become king. I want to be your friend.

Mercedes even wanted to stay friends with Dimitri after the war, which would only be possible if she kept her old life in the capital.

Mercedes: I'm going to Fhirdiad to meet with my adoptive father, and I'd like you to accompany me. Byleth: What for? Mercedes: I feel the need to set things straight with him in my own way. I've already decided exactly what I'm going to say. I'm choosing to live my life how I want, in pursuit of my own happiness. I need you to accept that. I'm in charge of my own destiny. Not you, not anyone else. Just me. Ah… I've waited so long to say all that.

The best thing for her would be to sever ties with her adoptive father, without the excuse of already having a fiancé. She always left her fate in the hands of the goddess or people above her. But her character arc was about acting of her own free will.

Dimitri: Do you remember the child who cursed me after my father's funeral? Dedue: Ah, yes. I believe he was the son of a knight who fell in Duscur. Dimitri: He was furious that I would not take revenge on your people, and even more enraged to see you serving as my vassal. He berated me without mercy, demanding I kill you then and there. All I could do was walk away. Everyone desires revenge for that day. Survivors and the dead alike cry out for retribution.

Dimitri was also a victim of Faerghus's violent patriarchal culture. He was expected to carry out vengeance for the Tragedy of Duscur. His violent urges were encouraged and rewarded by the society he grew up in. At times, he was chilled to the bone by the depravity of his own actions, such as suppressing a rebellion.

Dedue: When I stood before those soldiers and their swords that day, I was prepared to die. But then you suddenly appeared, and you shielded me. I knew then that a savior's hand could reach into even the deepest darkness.

Dedue was the biggest victim of Farghus's retaliatory violence. His moniker is "Taciturn Devotee". A devotee is a person who strongly admires a particular person. But it can also mean a strong believer in a particular religion or god. It probably would not be an exaggeration to state that Dedue saw Dimitri as the Fódlan goddess.

Dedue: And I would cast it aside in an instant if my death were to your benefit. For that reason, I cannot consider myself your friend. There are still many in the Kingdom who despise the people of Duscur. It would be selfish of me to stand by your side as an equal.

Many people interpreted his feelings for Dimitri as having a romantic aspect to them. I certainly wouldn't reject that interpretation. After all, by reaching out his hand, Dimitri served the same role that Byleth did for him.

Dedue: You promised me you would build a Kingdom that is proud to boast of Duscur blood. In this Kingdom, where there is no distinction between the people of Duscur and the people of Fódlan… Will I finally, without reservation, be able to call you my friend? Will I…Dimitri? Dimitri: Dedue… Yes, you will call me your friend, again and again. No matter how many hardships I must endure… Dedue: I will do all I can to bring about that world as well. To be your friend…is what I have always wanted.

During their A-Support, we learned that Dimitri made a promise to Dedue before they attended the Officer's Academy.

Dimitri & Dedue After his coronation, Dimitri assumed the throne of the Holy Kingdom of Faerghus, and his loyal vassal, Dedue, remained ever at his side. Among Dimitri's achievements was the reconciliation with Duscur: an extraordinary effort that required extensive negotiations to get past a history of betrayal and oppression. It was a trying task, but Dimitri never once considered giving up. While they behaved as lord and vassal in public, it is said that Dimitri and Dedue were more like family in private. When Dimitri finally fell to illness, Dedue tended to his liege's deathbed, and then took up a post at his grave for the rest of his days. When the time came, they were buried beside each other.

Their paired ending emphasizes Dimitri's efforts reconciling with Duscur and how he never gave up. But it does not specify whether the Duscur people were able to proudly live alongside people from Fódlan without distinction. In fact, because Dedue had to behave as a vassal in public, it implies that there was still hostility between Duscur and the Kingdom for the majority of Dimitri's reign. Dedue only gets to stand by Dimitri's side as an equal in death.

Also, there was no mention of Dedue's efforts bringing about the world he wanted to see. It only mentions him serving Dimitri for his entire life as a subordinate, then guarding his grave for the rest of his days. It is not that different from his solo ending, and I don't think it's a particularly satisfying ending for Dedue.

Dedue: I would regretfully decline. I cannot know happiness without you by my side. I would still seek vengeance. Just… for my own sake, not yours. Dimitri: Interesting. And nothing I say to the contrary will change your mind? Dedue: Your Majesty, can you not live for your own sake? Dimitri: My life is not my own. It belongs to my kingdom, my people, and the dead.

Neither Dimitri or Dedue knew how to live for themselves, and neither could live without the other.

Dedue: I…can still fight, Your Highness. Dimitri: Shut up and retreat. You must live, Dedue.

During his boar phase, Dimitri was willing to mow down any of his old classmates, even if they were not his enemies. And he was willing to send all of his friends and allies to their deaths, too. The single exception was Dedue. He is the only person Dimitri tells to retreat at Gronder Field. And Dedue will live only to seek vengeance.

Dedue: Ngh… I'm not finished yet! Dimitri: Fall back, Dedue! Please! I cannot afford to lose you!

In Scarlet Blaze, Dimitri also begs him to retreat in the Valley of Torment. Dedue would have gladly fought to the death, but Dimitri personally made sure he didn't. It was because he cherished Dedue so much that he wanted him to live for his own happiness.

Dedue: Someday, I hope to show you a whole landscape of these flowers in full bloom. Byleth: You mean Duscur? Dedue: Yes. Once this conflict is over, and His Highness ascends the throne, I believe it can be done. You must live at least until then. Understood? Byleth: Same to you. Dedue: That's true enough. I had not thought much of my own life, until now. Except that I would gladly cast it aside for His Highness. That is still true, but now I desire to see the end of this war. Until I can show you the fields of Duscur in bloom… I will go on living.

Other than Dimitri, the only other thing that gave Dedue a reason to live was showing Byleth the flowers of Duscur in bloom.

Dedue: When I left the capital, I told His Majesty that I would be leaving his service. Byleth: What?! Dedue: He accepted my decision with a smile.

If you go for Dedue's paired ending with Byleth, you learn that if Dedue were to leave Dimitri's service, he would accept with a smile. And I think Dedue has a better character arc if he is able to grow past his codependence on Dimitri and find his own reason to live.

Dedue: To Duscur? There is nothing of interest left there. Mercedes: Isn't it where you were born? And isn't it where your wonderful food and stories come from? I think those are reason enough to visit at least once! Dedue: Mercedes… If you will allow it, I would like to accompany you. His Highness would surely grant me leave to go.

When Mercedes asked Dedue what his plans were after the war, he said it was to serve Dimitri for the rest of his days. And in most of his endings, that's exactly what he does, even if he's married. Going with her to Duscur and praying to the gods (and goddesses) of his own culture changed his entire fate. That's probably why his ending with Mercedes is so different compared to all of his others.

Mercedes: I think a place is only truly destroyed when there's no one left to remember it. You should tell more people about Duscur to keep it alive.

The whole relationship between Mercedes and Dedue revolved around the idea that they could keep their loved ones alive through their memories. He taught her many things about his culture, and she taught him a family recipe that would have otherwise been forgotten.

Dedue: I understand how you feel. I had a younger sister. Sylvain: Had? Oh. Tell me about her. What was she like? Dedue: Hm. She loved flowers, and often made crowns out of them. And once she set her mind to something, nothing in the world could change it.

I really loved their Support in Hopes. It felt exactly like a post-Houses version of their relationship after they had travelled to Duscur and fallen in love. There are rarely any times where Dedue seems happier than when teaching her and the kids to make flower crowns, in memory of his sister. They seem like a married teacher couple, too.

Dedue & Mercedes Two years after the war, Dedue and his wife, Mercedes, opened a school in the Duscur residential district in Fhirdiad. The school educated Duscur children, who had never been given structured learning before, in reading, writing, arithmetic, and even Duscur history. Many years later, when the Duscur people reclaimed their homeland, the people who attended this school were able to resettle there and revive their old culture. Because of this, Dedue and Mercedes were forever renowned by the Duscur.

This is the only ending where Dimitri's promise to Dedue is actually fulfilled, as it mentions the Duscur people having their own district in Fhirdiad. And it just so happens that this is the only paired ending (besides the one with Byleth) where Dedue isn't described as a vassal. He is still living in the capital, so we can assume that he and Dimitri are close friends. But they live as equals. Dedue has his own life now and his own achievements are renowned.

In Hopes, Mercedes said she wanted to go back to Fhirdiad, but not live with her adoptive father. This is the only ending (other than with Dimitri) where she can live her dream, help those in need, and stay in Fhirdiad with her other friends. With Dedue, they get married two years after the war. So, she clearly didn't marry him just to escape her arranged marriage. Dedue and Mercedes bonded over their sense of loss, but they used that pain to keep Duscur alive, so I think it's the absolute best conclusion to their character arcs.

#fe3h #fe3h meta #dedue molinaro #mercedes von martritz #mercedue

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raxistaicho · 3 months

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I love all the lords equally, but when it comes to their plans, I have to side with Edelgard no matter how much I love the others.

Dimitri's plans for reforms are slow, tedious, and to be quite honest, could never actually be completed in his, or even his great grandkid's lifetimes. They essentially boil down to lip service. The longer his reforms take, the more people suffer. His conversations with others don't really hint towards what his plans actually are to improve things until Three Hopes with his Yuri support. One support between two games.

Claude, while still better, is honestly really half-assed. I played Verdant Wind three times on repeat to get every nugget of information I could, and we never get a hint about what he planned to replace the actual system with. He just says his plan is to open communication between Fodlan and Almyra, remove Rhea from power, and unite people. But we never really see what he had planned or how got it to happen. Any time his plans are brought up, he just states his end goals on repeat. We get a better idea of how his plans managed to happen in Three Hopes, but it was still very bland and left me confused about his next steps. (And replacing one theocratic influenced system with a theocratic monarchy with Byleth in charge in VW really leaves a bad taste in my mouth).

With Edelgard, we actually get more conversation about the how as well as the what. Caspar and Lindhardt talk about how Edelgard managed to bring their fathers to her cause. We know Hubert is acting in the shadows. Manuela, Hanneman, Constance, Ferdinand, and others bring up how factors of the old system shaped their current goals and open up dialogue for how to improve things or replace something with something else that will level the playing field. She's always stated to have left a well chosen successor to take over once she chooses to retire. Again, actively CHOOSES to step down. The others are implied to rule until they either die or pass the mantle to their children, but Edelgard chooses who she feels is best for the job, and then steps away.

None of the lords are perfect, but in terms of how they want to improve things, Edelgard is the most thought out. It's not an ideal system (as meritocracies have a LOT of issues), but it's a better option than a slow paced "compromise" reform and a total rehaul to a theocratic monarchy.

When it comes to Claude, his issue is less about replacing any systems in Fodlan, and more about opening Fodlan to other cultures. Granted, that would necessarily bring about change in Fodlan, but that's more as a side-effect of everything else he was doing.

And for Dimitri, we get no details because his reforms aren't what AM is focused on. AM just cares about what kind of person Dimitri is, starting off as well-meaning but painfully naive, and then going through his rise and fall.

Anyways on the whole, I agree with pretty much everything you said!

#edelgard von hresvelg #dimitri alexandre blaiddyd #claude von reigen #fire emblem three houses

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yellowocaballero · 3 months

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Ohoho please tell us about “welp.”

Welp. is Catleth. Byleth turns into a cat. What else do you want from me? What else do you need? @usaigi said it would be funny if Dimitri turned into a cat and she made funny jokes so I wrote Catleth. A major gag is that nobody believes the schizophrenic man running around insisting that his wife's a cat. Where did I lose any of you.

There's funnier bits of Catleth but they probably reveal a little bit too much about the direction of Weekenders. This is a slice halfway into the story.

Catleth under the cut. This takes place about three years after the end of FE3H.

Felix easily kicked aside the guards outside of Sylvain’s office, shoving open the door and finding Sylvain in the exactly expected location (giant fancy desk) doing exactly the expected things (paperwork). Felix would have come earlier, but he had squeezed Sylvain’s schedule out of his assistant and timed his approach for the handful of hours that Sylvain did not have a meeting.

“You’re helping me out with the Catleth situation.”

Sylvain looked up, pained but not surprised. “With the cat or with Dimitri?”

“We’re finding the cat.”

“You don’t need me for that.” Felix opened his mouth. “If you make any pussy jokes I’m throwing you out of this castle.”

“You don’t have the authority to do that.” He did. With Dimitri indisposed, Sylvain had the administrative final word. Byleth had the Blue Lion final word, which was a subtle yet distinct difference. “If I’m going to spend my free hour hunting down a cat then I’m going to multitask while doing it. You’re coming with me.”

“How is that multitask -”

“It’s making you take a break. Up.”

Sylvain got up. They swapped abilities to bully each other about once every five years, and it was Felix’s turn.

The castle was sprawling and it was not short on cats. Cats were one of the few things that made Lady Byleth smile, so the groundskeepers were under orders to leave them running around so long as they didn’t disrupt anything. Sylvain immediately began plotting out a systematic search that began at the fringes of the castle and circled inwards - a move that was basically identical to their standard military tactics to eradicate the fleeing dregs of enemy forces. Felix blatantly ignored him and forced him in a straight line outwards.

“Are we just doing this to make Dimitri feel better?” Sylvain asked, successfully prying himself away from Felix’s iron grip. Damn lancers and their upper body strength. “If we are, then we should probably invite him to this very useful expedition that is a great use of our time.”

“Ingrid mobilized the guards to make him feel better. We are searching for the cat.” A passing page tried to get Felix’s attention. He blatantly ignored them. Dumbass Sylvain had to wave and grimace apologetically. Just get a reputation as an asshole. It was easy. “It’s a better use of our time than idiot forms and idiot idiots.”

“Shit, you’re being serious.” Sylvain stopped short, forcing Felix to stop with him. He looked sternly down at Felix, who forcibly reminded himself that it was his turn to bully Sylvain. “You said that Dimitri thought it might be magic. You’re the mage between us, Felix. Do you really think that Byleth could have magically turned into a cat?”

“Magic isn’t an x factor,” Felix said curtly. “It’s not limited by the beautiful reaches of our imagination. Reason magic is a mathematics and science that produces certain sensible results. Like lightning. There’s no Reason equation for turning a human into a cat.”

“What about Faith?”

“Oh, Faith’s bullshit.”

Sylvain crossed his arms. “Faith’s magic. Annette knows -”

“Annette’s shitty at Faith.”

“Annette thinks shittiness is a moral failing.” Stone faced, Felix pumped his fist in the air - their standard ‘Go Blue Lions!’ gesture. “She was like that before Lady Byleth got her hands on her and you know it.” Felix rolled his eyes. “She made all of us worse, your wife isn’t special.”

Felix pinched the bridge of his nose hard. “Look. Byleth forced all of us to have basic proficiency in all types of magic. I know enough theory behind Faith to understand that it bolsters the body to approach the ultimate ideal form of the goddess. The goddess’ body is immaculate, so it heals the body. The goddess’ body is powerful, so it provides buffs. The goddess is not a cat.”

“Wow,” Sylvain said, impressed. “That is bullshit.”

“Fucking hated learning that shit, but Byleth manipulated me into getting competitive with Annette and forced me to learn it.” The increasingly intense rivalry had turned their relationship from casual into something far more serious. It had taken years for them all to accept that Byleth had arranged all of their relationships, much like she had arranged their lives. “Here, quiet down.”

The best fishing spot in the castle was the large pond in the center of the castle. It was rich with fish, had a peaceful ambiance, and even possessed a waterfall. Byleth’s favorite fishing spot was way out on the outskirts of the castle and bordered a cow pasture. Fishing was a meditative task, and for her it demanded maximum isolation. At Garreg Mach they could clearly see her fishing at the docks during most of her free periods, but nobody was stupid enough to bother her. She had a way of making the blankest stare feel hostile.

Cows lowed among them, peaceful and stinky. Felix and Sylvain pulled on their hard months of stealth training and snuck through the brittle and scraggly bush, ducking beneath overhanging branches and gently sidling out of the brush to the other side.

The sight was unimpressive: the pond was just as scabby and tattered as the bush, and the sagging tree branches spread over the pond creaked in the weak spring breeze. Despite the spring, the pond’s foliage was limp and cracked. The only redeeming feature was the solid selection of particularly stupid fish. Due to a confluence of all of these factors, it was Byleth’s favorite fishing spot.

Sylvain leaned close into Felix’s ear. “Didn’t Byleth’s handmaidens already search the fishing spots?”

“Not this one. It’s her secret spot. Nobody with half a brain would tramp through all of this cow shit.”

“Then why do you know about it?”

Special Tea Time. “Classified.”

“The fuck does that -”

Felix slapped a hand over Sylvain’s mouth. Silence and stealth was now of the utmost priority. He had found his quarry.

Of course, the quarry was the Debatably-Byleth Cat. It was sitting exactly at Byleth’s favorite place to sit on the bank, leaning over the pond as its tail lashed. Its eyes tracked the surface of the water, alert and ready as it waited over its prey. The cat’s fur had looked black last night, but in the color in the daylight was clearly dark blue.

“That’s supposed to be Byleth?” Sylvain hissed. “Felix, it’s obviously a -”

“Watch!”

Felix almost missed it. The cat had watched its quarry for over a minute, but in retrospect it had clearly just been waiting for the right opportunity. The cat lashed out a gleaming silver claw, spearing a fish and pulling it out of the water. The movement was smooth as silk and so quick that Felix barely caught it. The fish flopped pathetically onto the shores of the bank, and the cat wasted no time in almost swallowing the fish whole. It was probably the most impressive hunting Felix had ever seen.

The cat finished its meal and settled down happily onto the banks, flopping on its side to enjoy the gentle sun. Looking at its serene little squints, you could never tell that it had speared a fish and swallowed it whole in under three seconds. The bat of its paw was perfectly calculated to almost mathematic precision.

“Holy shit,” Sylvain said. “Byleth’s a cat.”

“I’m gonna have to apologize to Dimitri,” Felix said blankly. “Damn. I hate doing that.”

The cat re-embarked on its precise hunt, its bloodlust insatiable. Sylvain looked abjectly depressed. “He’s never going to forget this. This is going to validate him.”

Worst case scenario. “Maybe we don’t have to tell him?” Felix offered. Sylvain gave him a bizarre look. “What? What do you think’s going to upset him more, a missing wife or a cat wife?”

“Impossible to tell.” Sylvain faced down the cat grimly. It - she - casually speared another fish, shoving it down its gullet. Where was she putting it away? That fish was half as big as she was. “We gotta catch that cat.”

“I’m not getting into a fucking chase scene with our cat professor, Sylvain.”

Sylvain whistled, bright and sharp, and Felix immediately shoved him. The cat’s head rose, turning her head as her eyes locked straight onto Sylvain and Felix. They both fought instinctive quailing and the urge to apologize for disrupting the sacred fishing time.

Damn it. This was the point of stealth. She was going to freak out and run off, and Felix would actually be stuck in a horrible little chase scene with his academy professor -

The cat trotted over to them, tail swaying happily, and Felix and Sylvain froze as the cat stopped at their feet and blinked solemnly up at them. Those piercing mint green eyes made Felix understand how the fish felt. Sylvain, still traumatized from the academy, froze in horror and fear.

Felix bent down and scooped up the cat. He bounced her a little, holding her like a baby, and she meowed delightedly. Sylvain stared at the stone faced Felix and the happily purring cat, rapidly losing all will to live.

“She’s very friendly,” Felix said blandly.

Sylvain bent down a little, making eye contact with the pleased cat. Hesitantly, he said, “Professor? Is that you?”

The cat mrrp’d.

“Meow if you can understand me, Professor.”

The cat yawned.

“I think Byleth might be a regular cat,” Felix said, scratching her behind the ears. “So what do we do now, your lordship Grand Chamberlain?”

“I wish I was in a meeting,” Sylvain said, desolate.

“You don’t mean that.”

“I don’t.” Sylvain sighed, running his hand through his hair. “We can’t let anybody find out about this. The future queen of Faerghus is a cat…how did this even happen? Damn it, why does this only happen to us? What are we supposed to do with her?”

“I don’t know,” Felix said, “does your son want a pet?”

“He’s nine months old, he doesn’t want anything,” Sylvain snapped. “Gather everybody. I’m calling a house meeting. Including Dimitri and the cat.”

Felix raised Cat Byleth to eye level, bouncing her a little. “What do you think, my lady? Are you making a new rule of the Blue Lions? Is it ‘we only eat trout’? ‘If we can fit in it, we can sit in it’? ‘Our kittens are acquaintances’?”

“Let’s go, Felix! And don’t let go of that cat!”

Man, he was cranky lately.

#felix is unironically a fantastic POV narrator and he is a joy to write #funny insightful conflict inducing and confrontational #from a writing perspective he's chef's kiss #my writing #my asks #to like absolutely clarify we don't laugh at dimitri for this. he's right. the comedy is that nobody else wants to admit it

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fantasyinvader · 8 months

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I feel like Hopes really drives the final nail in the coffin when it comes to Edelgard, especially since the recent Death Battle had me watching a video about Griffith. That video, which I'll link below, talks about how Griffith was seemingly pushed towards becoming Femto all throughout his life. How powers greater than him conspired to turn him into the fifth member of the Godhand, both pushing him to great heights and great lows that he might not have achieved if left to his own devices. It's really Berserk showing the inspiration taken from The Elric Saga, and that's just not me being an Elric fanboy as Elric is a confirmed inspiration for the series. At the end of it all, however, it was ultimately Griffith's decision to sacrifice the Band of the Hawk in pursuit of his dreams.

Death Battle drew the parallels between Dimitri and Guts, but it's hard not to see parallels between Edelgard and Griffith. Especially when you put Femto next to her Hegemon Husk form. And like Griffith, there's the implications that Edelgard was manipulated into going down this path. She's told right to her face that she was experimented on in order to create a weapon against the Goddess by Thales, and Hubert has a line in Flower that implies Ionius, Edelgard's father and the source of her understanding of the world, was a puppet of Thales which Edelgard is aware of. Different routes make it out that Edelgard and Thales are using each other in pursuit of their individual goals. And when Edelgard no longer has any use for them, she'll have them taken out.

In Houses Edelgard is said to have worked with the Agarthans of her own free choice, albeit at Hubert's suggestion. She didn't know about the Javelins of Light and talks back to Thales during White Clouds, making it clear she intends for him to pay for his actions. Hopes implied that Thales could simply have taken control of Edelgard himself in Azure Gleam, even equipping her with Amyr which has since become seen as a symbol of their corruption of her. Yet despite the experiments, feeding her a very biased account of history, and the various heinous acts done for her benefit, Edelgard isn't under their direct control. Hopes makes it very clear, she could have ousted TWSITD and made her reforms to the Empire whenever she wanted.

But she didn't. And that's the point. Hopes showed she could have just walked away from TWSITD, but she choose to continue working with them because of how it benefitted her. She was going to start a war either way, but Houses see her resorting to such measures that Claude, someone who also is against the Church, refuses to work with her because of her methods and will only fight her when she attacks him first. Methods so horrific and with so little regard to their victims that Dimitri's trauma button is mashed so much he breaks because of it. And, of course, methods that turn Byleth against her unless they have a strong enough connection, and even then it's preseted as a non-enlightened path to join her both from it being referred to as the Animal Path in Japanese and Byleth losing their Enlightened One class at the end of the route.

Edelgard knew TWSITD were going to begin conducting experiments to turn people into monsters for her to use, Hopes implied she knew about it since the start of the school year. She helped them abduct Flayn for this, and will continue working with them after their research leads to Remire. She will lie to Byleth about knowing about it, and the only reason she initially opposed it was not because of morality but practicality. She's willing to sit back and watch as Crestless academy students are robbed of their humanity, turned into war assets for her army.

No amtter what excuse you try to come up with, Edelgard still hired bandits with the orders to kill her classmates, then left them to die then went looking for their replacements leading to Metodey.

Edelgard knew the original Monica, even seems to have known where she was held. But she let Monica die so Kronya could have a new body, then rather than letting anyone know about the Agarthan in their midst said nothing. Even after Kronya killed Jeralt, all Edelgard could do was tell Byleth to get their shit together for when she needed them.

Edelgard knows Thales killed King Lambert, the people of Duscur were blamed for it and persecuted. She will not reveal the truth about the Tragedy, which was done for her benefit, and will even repeat a narrative she knows is false. She will then turn around and work with the nobles who betrayed the king and persecuted the people of Duscur without issue. And that's not even going into how she was working with them when they killed Claude's uncle and Raph's parents.

When Lonato was manipulated by the Western Church, under the control of TWSITD, to make a suicide march against Rhea she did nothing. Lonato was sacrificed as a misdirection, taking attention away from TWSTID's true objective of stealing the Sword of the Creator. Edelgard willingly lends them the Death Knight for this purpose.

Whenever she's presented with information that goes against her views, or even the basic contradictions in her own narrative, she averts her eyes. Hopes even spelled this out, she chooses to see only what she wants to see. Hear only what she wants to hear.

Even when Edelgard decides not to join TWSITD and fight using her own strength, she's still the one who starts a war seeking to conquer Fodlan and eliminate anyone who doesn't bend the knee. She still creates her own Church to spread her ideals, oppresses the people, uses conscription, spreads lies, attacks the Alliance despite her claims she's after the Church and overall is just a shitty person. Even when she's at her best and Byleth is recruited, the player's reward is Amyr showing the influence TWSITD have had on her. She might have chosen not to work with them anymore, but she's still doing the thing they pushed her towards doing.

And that's really the big thing with them, they entice people to do what they want of forcing them. We're shown that yes, they could force people to do what they want but they don't. The final decision is always on their target. It was always Lonato's decision to march on Rhea, so many people try to steal Relics for them, or assassinate their lords. But those people could always have said no.

Let's go back to Berserk for a moment. In the Black Swordsman arc, our introduction before it flashes back to the Golden Age, the major villain is the Count. He already sacrificed his unfaithful wife to become a demon, but when he was close to death against Guts he was offered more power if he sacrificed his daughter. Despite how Berserk talks about causality and how it can be manipulated by these higher powers, this once-man refused to give up his daughter in a life-or-death situation and was dragged to hell because of it. It was a line he refused to cross, even in pursuit of greater power.

Edelgard does not have such a line.

Despite how untrustworthy Claude seems, people are willing to die protecting him and the Alliance in Houses. Dimitri may become a murder-hobo, savagely killing Imperial soldiers but the people, people who have been living under Cornelia's oppression that Edelgard allows, view him as a hero for it. Even Rhea at her darkest moment, setting Fhirdiad on fire, will still have Gilbert, Annette and Ashe fighting for the Kingdom alongside her in order to save it from Edelgard. Meanwhile, those who fight for Edelgard become worse versions of themselves.

The fact Edelgard will willingly become the Hegemon Husk in pursuit of her goals, sacrificing her own humanity, on top of all the people she's writes of as "necessary sacrifices" says a lot about her. Edelgard, no matter what she thinks, is the villain. Not an anti-hero or antagonist, villain. Her actions are wrong no matter how she tries to justify it, and she does them by her own choice. Therefore, it's hard not to see her as evil no matter how the game tries to spin her.

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#Youtube

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