#text: fodlan

[professor-tammi]

a post containing all the Dimilix-related dialogue in Three Hopes.

I don’t think anybody expected Hopes to have as much dmlx content as it ended up having but boy it sure does have content, so, enjoy! Use it for fic referencing or converting people whatever you like :D

(If I’ve missed anything or if you notice any mistakes, please send me an ask / DM / etc and I’ll look into it!)

Prologue: A Chance Encounter

Dimitri camp dialogue, introducing Felix (if asked to by Shez):

Dimitri: Felix is the son of Duke Fraldarius. He has a sharp wit and an even sharper tongue, but he’s a good person at his core. I can attest to that. He has always admired strength above all else in a fighter. I imagine the two of you will make fast friends.

Felix camp dialogue:

Felix: You’re that new merc, right? Shez? The boar says you had some skill—you’ll have to give me a demonstration before we head out.

Dialogue options:

1. Agree enthusiastically. [Felix support raised]

Shez: Deal. I can clear some time before sunrise.

Felix: Looking forward to it.

2. Refuse his offer.

[...]

3. Ask who “the boar” is.

Shez: Sorry, “the boar”?

Felix: Don’t worry about it. He’s not your problem.

Chapter 2: Three Houses

Story scene: A Class of Blue Lions:

Felix: Enough chatter. You’re a mercenary, right? How’s your swordsmanship? You must have some skill if the boar here gave you passing marks.

Chapter 3: Crisis in Fhirdiad

Story scene: Apprehensions of Unrest:

Felix: Hold on. What did you say?

Dimitri: I’ve only just heard the news, so I’m a bit hazy on the finer points... But it seems my uncle has seized control of the capital and declared war on House Fraldarius. All signs point to him wanting to stamp the line out entirely.

Shez: That’s Felix’s family, right? They’re one of the Kingdom’s leading houses. What does the royal family gain from eliminating them?

Dimitri: I’d wager it has to do with House Fraldarius supporting my claim to the throne. [...] My uncle claims House Fraldarius is attempting to install me as their puppet. As such, he issued a written appeal to the western lords to help him “rescue me from the duke’s foul clutches,” as he puts it.

Felix: In what cruel world would our noble house take the reins of a boar like you?

Dimitri: Don’t ask me— it’s his pretext.

Felix + Sylvain camp dialogue:

Sylvain: Hey, cheer up, Felix. Your dad’s getting worried. I know how unpleasant it feels to have people make weird claims about your family.

Felix: Don’t act as if you have it all figured out. That sort of thing would never bother me.

Dialogue options:

1. Ask why he’s upset.

Shez: So if that’s not what’s bothering you, why do you look like you just got punched in the gut?

Felix: Because a certain someone’s indecision is making me sick to my stomach.

2. Doubt his denial.

Shez: Really? ‘Cause I think most people would take issue with their family getting pinned with a crime they hadn’t actually committed.

Felix: Ridiculous as it might sound, that’s what politics is all about these days. There’d be no end to the anger if you got frustrated at every slight to your family name. Still, you can hardly blame me if a certain someone’s indecision is getting on my nerves.

[Converge]

Sylvain: Look, if you’re that concerned about His Highness, you should just say something to him.

Felix: Hmph. Why should the job of cheering him up fall to me?

Story scene: Unrest in Fhirdiad:

Felix: You’re our commander, but you look like you’re heading for a funeral. Could you maybe try not being so insufferable?

Dimitri: Apologies for my demeanor. I’ve more than a few things on my mind.

CG Cutscene: Final Goodbye:

Felix: Something you feel like saying?

Shez: No...

Felix: All traitors get put to the sword. It’s his duty, as king.

Story scene: Determination:

Dimitri: Rodrigue will abandon his title and work with Dedue to restore harmony between our people. I’m not asking him for his life. Rather, he offered to spend it to set things to rights. [...] My time at the Officers Academy was a valuable experience, but I belong here now. Obviously Felix won’t be able to return either. Have him come to me later so I can deliver the news and an apology.

Rodrigue: I’ve already had a word and told him what must be done. You’ve no need to apologize.

Dimitri: Yes, I have. [...]

Chapter 4: To War!

Story scene: Deliberate and Decisive:

Felix: Pardon my lateness, Your Majesty.

Dimitri: You needn’t worry, Felix. I know your duties are many. Though I’m afraid we could not wait for you to begin the discussion.

Felix: This is about the Empire’s declaration of war against the Central Church, yes?

[...]

Margrave Gautier: War will always come at one point or another, and some degree of suffering is purely inevitable. You know this as well as I, Viscount.

Viscount Elidure: You dare speak of suffering, do you? When the blaze of war will not scorch your lands in the north as it does ours?

Felix: I would normally agree that those of us from the northern territories should hold less sway in this discussion. But if Garreg Mach were to fall, the warfront would not halt in the west. Your Majesty, what of House Rowe, or Galatea? Or the others in the south?

Dimitri: Not a word from Count Rowe as it stands, but I did receive a missive from Count Galatea. It read, “My people are not fools enough to rejoice in the surrender of their territories to invaders.” “There is no morality in turning our backs on the institution at the very foundation of our lives. We must support the church as they have supported us.”

Gustave: Your Majesty, we owe a great debt to the Central Church for their role in quelling the uprising two years ago. To not repay such generosity in kind would risk weakening the trust of your vassals.

Felix: And if that happens, we might find ourselves right back in the same mess as before. They lack the Crest of Blaiddyd, but there’s no small number of nobles who might crawl out of the woodwork claiming royal blood. The Kingdom’s already seen the turmoil and division such claimants can bring after the death of King Klaus.

Viscount Elidure: But Duke Fraldarius! Surely we are better served attempting to head off the very real and imminent war at hand instead of debating hypothetical unrest?

Dimitri: I don’t want my people to suffer the pain of conflict. But does anyone here really think the Empire will simply stop if we appease their every demand?

[...]

Felix: Ngh.

Dimitri: Do you have something to add, Duke Fraldarius?

Felix: Not really, no. I was just wondering how long we were planning to continue this tedious charade. The question’s simple: do we hand over our kingdom and subject ourselves to Imperial rule, or not?

Dimitri: I believe the Margrave has been quite clear as to what will happen if we give in to the Empire’s demands. We’ve all been informed of the rapid reformation their region has undergone. Many aspects of which I admire, I’m not ashamed to say. But an old, stubborn land like ours isn’t suited for such tempestuous change. Radical new freedoms are not what the people of Faerghus need right now. They need stability. Steady improvement in their daily lives. And real, lasting change can only come from a solid foundation.

Felix: Sounds like Your Majesty has made up his mind, then. Just say the word and we’ll leap into action.

Dimitri: Ahem. The Holy Kingdom of Faerghus will hereby offer asylum to the Curch of Seiros. Everyone, sharpen your blades and prepare for the battles ahead.

Story scene: Conspiracy and Redemption:

Dimitri: I will bear the weight of the Kingdom’s sins. If slaughtering a hundred foes means bringing salvation to a thousand of our own, I will do it.

Rodrigue: As you wish, Your Majesty. And if I may... try not to torment yourself so much.

[Rodrigue, Dedue, and Gustave leave; Felix enters]

Felix: Ah, how far our proud king has fallen. You sounded utterly vicious just now.

Dimitri: What do you want, Felix?

Felix: Oh, not much. I just thought catching a glimpse of your haggard face might put a smile on mine. I knew that playing the part of a cool-headed leader would be too much for you. But all this scheming, this calculation. It doesn’t suit you. Why don’t you just give it a rest already?

Dimitri: You think too highly of me. This is who I am, Felix. I’ve never been anything more than a bloody demon on the path of revenge.

Felix: ...

Dimitri: I stand here today to lift the burdens of all who perished before me. To see that those who bear guilt for their deaths are held accountable. I will expose whoever I must, slay whoever I must to see my task through to the end. There is no place for mercy within these walls. And if it affects the safety of my people, then that’s all the more reason to strike now.

Felix: And here I thought you were finally starting to pull yourself together.

Dimitri: I snuffed out my uncle’s life with my own two hands. As king and as general, I’ve killed countless more. I looked on as nearly everyone I held dear perished. I am the one who must take responsibility for their deaths. So rest easy, Felix. The weight of my atonement will not fall on your shoulders.

Felix: Hmph. No point in trying to reason with a boar. Enough of that, though. The city seems especially spirited today. Is something going on?

Dimitri: Ah, yes. Lady Rhea and the others from the church are making an excursion to the capital. I suggest you join in on the festivities before you go. It does the heart good to see our people smile.

Chapter 5: Skirmish in the Fog

Felix base camp dialogue:

Felix: Back when I was 14 or 15, the boar and I went out west to help quell the rebellion. That’s when I witnessed the beast inside him. I know exactly what I saw. Tell me, do you think you can imagine the look on his face when he slew the enemy commander?

Dialogue options:

1. Say that you can.

Shez: Yeah, I think so. Given how you’re talking about it, I’m guessing he smiled or something?

Felix: That’s right. I’ve known him a long time, but I had no idea he was capable of that.

2. Say that you can’t.

Shez: We’re talking about Dimitri, right? I have no idea. He’s so detached when he strikes down enemies now.

Felix: Then I’ll tell you. He smiled. He stood over the enemy commander’s corpse and smiled, drunk on his own bloodlust.

[Converge]

Felix: I know now that the commander was deeply involved in the Duscur incident. It’s not wrong to want revenge. But when I look at him now... It makes my stomach turn.

Story scene: The Bandit:

Dimitri: You did well, Miklan. I will remember the deeds you’ve performed here today.

Miklan: Pah. You know as well as I that  I only did it for the money. Your money.

Felix: What are you playing at, boar? This washed up bandit doesn’t deserve to look at our army, let alone be a commander in it.

Dimitri: It’s a decision I made in collaboration with the margrave. Two years ago, after I ascended the throne. I ordered Gustave to capture him, made him swear his allegiance to the royal family, and gave him a unit of soldiers to command.

Felix: Spare me the details of how you did it. What I want to know is why.

Dimitri: My army was lacking leaders. We needed capable fighters to fill in the gaps. As for Miklan here, the margrave himself has instructed him in all manner of military tactics. I’ve seen his prowess with my own two eyes.

Felix: ...

Dimitri: In the centuries since the time of King Loog, Crests and Relics have kept Faerghus safe. We’ve come to depend on that power to protect us from outside attacks—and grown all too complacent in its wake. Naturally, we will take full advantage of our Heroes’ Relics in the battles ahead with Adrestia. But we cannot protect our home with Relics alone. If all who could wield them fell, so too would we. The blood of the Heroes is thinner now than ever before. We need men like him among our ranks.

Felix: I don’t doubt the truth of your words. But that’s not the issue here! Do you really think it appropriate to trust a man barely removed from his life as a brigand with the responsibility of command?

[...]

Felix: Let me guess, any means necessary?

Dimitri: I won’t defend it. Though I do see use in such a man. What he did in his time as a bandit was monstrous, I admit that. And I deserve no small amount of judgment for hiving him command in spite of it. But I can’t help but wonder. Perhaps his life could’ve been dramatically different had he only possessed a Crest. Same as the uncle I murdered.

[...]

Felix: I get what you’re trying to do, but you still should’ve talked to us first. This isn’t about who shoulders what blame. It’s a matter of letting us know what you’re thinking.

Dimitri: You’re right, Felix. My apologies.

Chapter 6: Conspiracy in the Air

Felix base camp dialogue:

Felix: Tch. There’s so much that fool neglected to tell us. It really pisses me off. Per usual, I have absolutely no idea what’s rattling around inside his skull. If he thinks he’s the only one who will lose face over this, he’s a greater fool than I gave him credit for. Who knew royalty could be so annoying.

Story scene: A Suspected Invasion:

Shez: You’re really going back to Fhirdiad? After all it took to get us to this point?

Dimitri: I will only be gone for a short while. A month at most, perhaps.

[...]

Felix: Explain to them, boar. This is a threat only us northerners understand.

Dimitri: Very well. A group of soldiers from the Sreng Region has broken through the defenses in Gautier territory and makes for the capital.

[...]

Dimitri: As for you, Duke Fraldarius, I leave command of the army to you in my stead. If the envoy does arrive... Well, the appropriate course of action will be in your hands. Just remember, the soldiers stationed here are not mere soldiers—they’re Kingdom citizens. And as such we have a duty to protect every last one of them. If they’re lost, I will have nothing left... save hollow prayers for the dead.

Felix: Hmph. Fine then.

Dimitri: Please, don’t look at me like that. I know this burden is a heavy one, but I suspect you will lead them better than I.

Chapter 7: The King Awakens

Story scene: The People of the North:

[...]

Felix: Have you any news from the north? What of the capital? And the king?

Kingdom Soldier: Nothing at the time of my departure, I’m sorry to report.

Shez: Guess there’s only one way to find out, then. We should head up there ourselves, Felix.

Kingdom Soldier: The margrave would surely send word if something were to happen at the capital. I imagine we’ll have more clarity on the situation in a few days’ time.

Sylvain: We don’t have a few days. You need to act, Felix, and you need to do it now.

Felix: Ngh... But if we move too rashly, the Imperial forces near the fortress will grow wise to our maneuvers.

Sylvain: As though any of that’ll matter if the king winds up dead. Losing Arianrhod would be the least of our worries then. We’d be trapped in a massive war of succession, and easy pickings for the Empire.

Felix: Even at a distance, that man has an uncanny talent for giving me headaches. Very well. Notify all troops stationed at the fortress, and round up a team of our most elite soldiers. We’re heading north.

Felix base camp dialogue:

Felix: Nothing left save hollow prayers for the dead, huh? Hmph. Whatever. Right now we have to prepare so the enemy doesn’t catch onto what we’re doing. If you spot anyone suspicious, apprehend them immediately. I’ll be keeping an eye out as well. Though I have to say, being a commanding officer is a ton of work. Guess I’m learning the hard way what he has to deal with.

Story scene: A Kingdom Without a King:

Felix: We’ve received a message from Margrave Gautier. It seems there’s an emergency at the capital.

Ingrid: No... I hope His Majesty is safe.

Felix: Cornelia has arrived at the gates of Fhirdiad, leading the combined forces of the western lords. [...] Sounds like they’re outfitted with strange new weapons as well, which they used to threaten the citizens of the capital. And so, our fearless leader surrendered to the enemy to protect the people of Fhirdiad from harm. I’m not sure what’s become of Dedue or my father.

[...]

Dialogue options:

1. Fear for your friends.

[...]

2. Fear for the people of Fhirdiad.

Shez: Strange new weapons? Are the citizens safe?

Felix: I believe so, for the time being. Though that’s mere speculation, or maybe just a feeling. In any case, if these lowlifes so much as thought about harming our people, the boar would break loose and make them pay.

[Converge]

Shez: We head north, Felix. There’s no time to lose.

Felix: Right you are. We make for the capital!

Story scene: The Mission (Azure Gleam):

Kingdom Soldier: I’m pleased to say Lord Rodrigue and Sir Gustave have been confirmed safe as well. [...] I should add, the western lords’ armies aren’t the only forces occupying the capital. There is another, one we can’t identify at present. I doubt even the great Lord Rodrigue and Sir Gustve will be able to hold out much longer.

Shez: Sounds like they’re in a bad spot. We should focus on keeping them safe, right?

Felix: Don’t be too hasty. Why do you think the two of them are causing this uproar in the first place?

Shez: To create a diversion, I know. But I don’t think that means we should just abandon them, either.

Annette: I agree, Felix. I won’t leave my father to die. Besides, I don’t think His Majesty would want us saving him if it meant sacrificing two of his most loyal retainers.

Felix: Fine, we’ll help them if we can. That better?

In-battle dialogue:

Felix: Come on. It’s time to rescue our fool king, and whoever else we find along the way.

[...]

Dedue: Areadbhar belongs in His Majesty’s hands. We must reclaim it.

Kingdom General: Guard that lance with your lives! Don’t let them have it!

[Mission: Defeat the Armored Knights and recover Areadbhar!]

Felix: Makes me sick seeing that thing with the enemy. We’ll wrest it out of their cold, lifeless fingers.

[Upon recovering Areadbhar]

Felix: This lance is a symbol of the Kingdom... and it’s all the boar has left of his father. Let’s bring it back where it belongs.

Dedue: Indeed. To His Majesty.

CG Cutscene: The King’s Fight:

Shez: Dimitri. You OK?

Dimitri: My friends... Why have you come?

Felix: As if we would just leave you here to die.

[Felix offers Dimitri his hand]

Felix: Time to get you out.

Dimitri: I’m afraid that I must stay. You saw what’s happening out there. Should I try to leave, my people’s lives are forfeit.

Felix: So they bind the boar not with chains, but with his utterly unreasonable sense of duty.

Shez: They’re gonna kill you in here, Dimitri!

Dimitri: So be it, then. If my death will keep my people safe—

Dedue: I won’t allow it.

[Dedue arrives with Areadbhar]

Dimitri: Dedue...

[Felix moves aside; Dedue offers Areadbhar to Dimitri]

Dedue: Take it, Your Majesty.

[Dimitri hesitates; Dedue takes Dimitri’s hand in his own and places it on the weapon]

Dedue: Whether it’s duty toward the living or the guilt for all those we have lost... Such burdens are not yours to bear by yourself. We are here to fight by your side, Your Majesty. And so we shall, now and always.

[Dimitri breaks out of the prison, throwing Areadbhar at a group of soldiers]

Felix: Typical boar. Can’t help himself. [To Shez] Hmph. Do try to keep up.

Shez: Back at ya!

Story scene: Burden to Bear:

Dimitri: My apologies. Cornelia would not have escaped were it not for my carelessness. She’s likely fled west i search of refuge with Viscount Mateus. As such, I will march west at once. I will not allow the western territories to go unpunished for this.

Felix: Stop. Just... stop.

Dimitri: Felix?

Felix: I’ve got something to say, boar. And this time, you’re going to listen. Time and time again we’ve tried to get it through your thick skull. We might be your subjects, but we’re your allies first. Yet you still insist on doing every little thing all by yourself. So what is it? Do you lack the ears to hear with? Or do you hear our words and just choose to ignore them?

Ingrid: Felix, that’s enough! I know how you feel, but you need to contain yourself.

Felix: I can’t. Two whole years I’ve bitten my tongue. The fool needs to hear this in the plainest terms possible.

Dimitri: It was I who chose war with the Empire. I who murdered my uncle in cold blood. I who oppressed the western lords. I failed to save the people of Duscur. Failed to save Glenn, and my father. The lives my actions stole from them are mine to atone for. Which I will do by exacting revenge on all who were involved. And by seeing my people safe.

Felix: Hmph.

Dimitri: As for that burden, yes. I believe it is mine to bear alone.

Felix: You truly are a solid-gold fool. One could search the Kingdom high and low and not find another as utterly asinine as you. And the rest of you, don’t just stand there. Speak up.

Mercedes: Well, I know Felix has a strange way of showing it at times... But this is all because he worries about you, Dimitri.

[Felix looks away]

Annette: And it’s not just him, either. We all do!

Dedue: Your Majesty. You know my feelings on this matter. Six years ago, I too watched as nearly everything  I cared about was taken from me. And Felix is no different. He lost his brother that day. This  pain is not yours to shoulder alone.

Ingrid: He’s right, Your Majesty. That is why it is so frustrating to see you act like this.

Sylvain: I can’t say it’s too surprising, though. You’ve always kept everything to yourself, even when you were a little kid. But what you’re going through now... It’s more than one person could possibly manage on their own.

Ashe: Please, Your Majesty. We just want to help. You can trust us.

Shez: Like I said before, all you need to do is ask and I’ll be at the ready. Besides, we’ll all be outta work if you go this alone.

Dedue: We will assist you in whatever we must. Even vengeance.

Dimitri: Thank you. All of you.

Chapter 8: The Blood-Stained Lance

Dimitri camp dialogue:

Shez: … What is it, Dimitri?

Dimitri: Ah… Well, in truth, I spent much of last night getting firmly scolded by Felix. Once he got started, he would not stop… We ended up talking through the night. Much like the old days. In the end, Dedue came into the tent and began arguing with Felix.

Dialogue options:

1. Rejoice in their reconciliation.

Shez: I know things’ve been awkward between you two for a while. I’m glad you were able to reconcile.

Dimitri: Thank you. I am as well.

2. Crack a joke. [Dimitri support raised]

Shez: He gave you a dressing-down, eh? Well you better leave tonight wide-open, because I’ve got a list of complaints myself.

Dimitri: Pardon? Oh, er, yes. I understand. I’d best finish my work while the sun is still high in that case.

Shez: Hah, I’m just pulling your leg. But I guess you’d be the type to take it seriously.

[Converge]

Dimitri: In any case, I am truly sorry to have worried you. What a feckless man I am, ever toiling to no avail. I promise, I will walk alongside everyone else moving forward.

Felix + Dedue camp dialogue:

Dedue: Felix, I wish to speak to you about the part of the Duscur vanguard that’s being sent to House Fraldarius. Do your soldiers have any complaints? I imagine you have thoughts as well.

Felix: Some might be dissatisfied. But I don’t care if they are. I value a warrior’s ability to fight. Things like where they’re from don’t matter to me. And to that end, there are many competent fighters among the Duscur soldiers and they all have high morale. They make for good training partners, and we can all learn a great deal from their techniques, and... What? You got a problem? Speak up.

Dedue: Not at all. I was just thinking that His Majesty must find it reassuring to have a confidant like you.

Felix: Huh? Well, I didn’t expect to hear that... Whatever. You’re free to say what you want.

Paralogue (Dedue, Felix, Ingrid)—Story scene: Wildflowers for the Future: Part 2:

Shez: Might be good to…you know. Take in the scenery. Maybe think about your brother.

Felix: No thanks. Remembering the past is important, but the present gives me all the direction I need. Namely, the duty to protect the same things Glenn did before me.

Dialogue options:

1. Ask if he’s referring to his lands.

Shez: You mean Fraldarius territory itself?

Felix: No. Well, yes. Obviously I have a duty to protect my home, but my brother didn’t really do that. I mean the future of the Kingdom itself.

2. Ask if he’s referring to Dimitri.

Shez: You mean Dimitri?

Felix: More or less. My brother gave everything to protect him, but only because he was protecting the future of Faerghus itself.

[Converge]

Felix: Which that fool will probably try to shoulder all on his own, so I guess they’re pretty much the same thing at this point. Anyway, keep that to yourself—and don’t you dare tell the boar.

Dialogue options:

1. Promise to hold his secret.

Shez: Sure thing.

Felix: Hmph. Good.

2. Shout it out to the world.

Shez: C'mon, why’d you have to say that? Now all I wanna do is run around telling everyone!

Felix: I’d prefer if you didn’t mock me.

[Converge]

Felix: ... You know, I don’t really care much for flowers, but this? This isn’t so bad.

Chapter 9: Reunion at the Fortress City

Story scene: Temporary Retreat:

Dedue: We must treat your wounds, Your Majesty. They will only worsen without proper rest.

Dimitri: Don’t worry about me.

[...]

Dimitri: And if we suppose Cornelia was party to Thales and his dark schemes, her actions become all the more explicable. I alone must bring light to this darkness.

Felix: You’re doing it again. You don’t hold a monopoly on revenge, you know. Or on truth-seeking, for that matter.

Ingrid: I need to know what happened, too. I need to face the reality of my past.

Annette: I’m in, too. I want my father to finally have closure.

Shez: I know I don’t have the same kinda shared history all of you do... But I do share your desire to know the truth. Both about myself, and everything else.

Dimitri: Yes. Yes, you’re right. Forgive me. For the time being... Ngh.

Felix: Dimitri.

Chapter 11: Reprisal

Story scene: A Just Cause:

[...]

Felix: It doesn’t matter what any of us say, boar. You know what needs to be done. We’ll have plenty of time to grieve once this is all over. So stick to the plan and don’t look back.

Dedue: We stand here because we believe in you, Your Majesty.

Dimitri: I see. I’m heartened to know I have your trust.

Story scene: Kill or Be Killed:

[...]

Rodrigue: When the sun sets on this war, only our king will be fettered by the vile moniker of invader.

Felix: Don’t put this all on him.

Rodrigue: And it will fall on you to support him through it, Felix. You understand, yes? That is your duty as the Shield of Faerghus, and descendant of the hero Fraldarius.

Felix: Hmph. Obviously.

Story scene: Entrusting the Future:

Shez: I’ve gotta ask—is Dimitri really that much like his dad?

Rodrigue: You would hardly be able to tell them apart were they in the same room now. Though Lambert did have a somewhat shorter temper. Still, they’re birds of a feather compared to my son and I. The two of us are as different as the blackest night and the brightest day.

Dialogue options:

1. Disagree with him.

Shez: I dunno, I think you’re pretty similar. Like, you’re both the first to take the initiative when something important needs doing.

Rodrigue: That’s enough to make this old man’s cheeks burn. Make sure you share that opinion with Felix as well.

Rodrigue: I suppose he is quite like me, though mostly in ways I had hoped to avoid.

2. Agree with him.

Shez: Yeah, you’re really not very similar at all. Your looks aside, of course.

Rodrigue: If you’re wondering where his stubbornness came from, that was entirely his mother.

Rodrigue: That said, he has come to resemble me over the years, though mostly in ways I had hoped to avoid.

[Converge]

Shez: Meaning what?

Rodrigue: He can’t live without some great purpose in life urging him forward. There is no peace in such an existence—I know because I’m the same way. As Lambert’s right hand, I devoted every waking moment to serving him. Supporting him. And when he was lost, so too was my reason for being. I had no choice but to search for something else to propel me forth. In the end—and after much consideration—I chose to devote myself anew to Lambert. To seeing through the promise I had made him.

Chapter 12: A Trick of the Goddess

Felix + Rodrigue base camp conversation:

Rodrigue: I will be overseeing our main base’s defense, per our discussion with His Majesty. Which means I won’t be able to accompany all of you. Do try to not slow His Majesty down, Felix.

Felix: Please. Me, slow him down? I’ll be the one dragging him to the enemy’s door.

Rodrigue: Haha! I’m certain His Majesty would find that most reassuring. I look forward to seeing what you will accomplish, Felix.

Felix: Hmph. You’re the one who needs to keep his ego in check. Try not to embarrass yourself, old man.

In-battle dialogue: [Only if Shez pursued Byleth]

Dimitri: The Ashen Demon has fled! Should we not give chase?

Kingdom General: I bear a report from Lord Rodrigue, Your Majesty! Enemy reinforcements are approaching our base!

Felix: That’s not good. But we can’t afford to let up now.

Dimitri: Indeed... Felix and I will go. That will be more efficient than dividing up our entire army.

CG Cutscene: Sacrifice: [Only if Jeralt was killed]

Dimitri: You should be more careful, Felix.

[Dimitri offers Felix his hand; Felix takes it. Dimitri pulls Felix up.]

Felix: Hmph. What do you know of caution? I guess this is it, then.

Dimitri: So it would seem.

Rodrigue: Your Majesty! It’s good to see you safe.

Dimitri: Ah! And you, Rodrigue.

Rodrigue: Well, Felix? I trust you’ve been keeping a watchful eye on him?

Dimitri: I’m afraid there’s no watching out for my recklessness.

Felix: Now you admit it.

[Not subtitled:] (Felix: We need you in one piece. [Not audible]—the enemy lines all by yourself—

Dimitri: By myself? You were there every step of the way!)

Rodrigue: See, Lambert? Just like when we were their age. All right. The others are waiting. We wouldn’t want them to worry about...

[Sothis-possessed Byleth stabs Rodrigue in the back; Felix charges at them]

Dimitri: You’ll pay for this!

[Camera pans to the Aegis Shield, then Areadbhar]

Byleth: The Steadfast... and the Vigorous... You would offer them as tribute?

[Byleth resists Sothis’ influence]

Byleth: Again... you resist me?

[Byleth breaks free and runs off; Felix looks back at Rodrigue]

Felix: No!

Rodrigue: Not exactly the way I thought I’d meet my end, but... I can only hope that... I served you well.

Dimitri: Don’t say that! We’ll get you help.

Rodrigue: Protect them, Felix... His Majesty... and the Kingdom...

Felix: I swear that I will.

Rodrigue: Lambert... Glenn... Forgive me...

Story scene: The Vow: [Only if Jeralt was killed]

Shez: ...

Dimitri: What are you doing up at this hour? You should head back to your tent—we have an early start tomorrow.

Shez: I could say the same to you. I know you’re busy and all, but you need rest.

Dimitri: As pitiful as it may sound, burying myself in work is the only way I can find peace in times such as these. The moment I close my eyes, I’m greeted by nothing but thoughts of Rodrigue.

Shez: Dimitri... I’m sorry. It was all my fault.

Dimitri: You needn’t blame yourself. Felix and I were right there. We could do little more than watch while his life was taken from him. And of course, we never would have found ourselves in such a position had my judgment been better.

Shez: Still, defeating the Ashen Demon has always been my responsibility. I was a fool to think we could settle things without fighting them, and Rodrigue lost his life to that foolishness. But I won’t make the same mistake again. I will defeat the Ashen Demon, mark my words.

Dimitri: That fiend is my enemy, too. And everyone else feels the same. Wasn’t it you who taught me not to bear all my burdens alone? Now go get some sleep. I’m sure you’re tired.

Shez: Right. Thanks, Dimitri.

[Shez leaves]

Dimitri: You should know I don’t take kindly to eavesdropping, Felix.

Felix: I should’ve kept quiet. You know, such talk would kill our morale if our soldiers caught wind of it.

Dimitri: Thankfully, it is a secret to all... save prowlers like you.

Felix: Hmph. I’m just here to check you’re not making things worse.

Dimitri: How much worse could it get? My poor leadership sent Rodrigue to his death. He never intended to sacrifice his life like that.

Felix: You’re as thick as ever. Yes, I’m sure my father regretted dying in such a way.

Dimitri: ...

Felix: But not because he wasn’t ready to go. If anything, he was already looking for a fitting place to die. His one regret would be never getting to see the new Faerghus his beloved king created.

Dimitri: I...

Felix: Which is why I’ll be taking his place by your side. You need to win this war—not just for today’s Kingdom, but for tomorrow’s. Only then will his dream finally come true.

Dimitri: Felix...

Felix: It’s funny. The two of us staring at the stars on a cold night like tonight brings back memories.

Dimitri: You mean when we got snowed in on the mountains. I remember it well. I thought that evening would be our last. Until Rodrigue and Glenn found us huddled together amidst the frost, that is.

Felix: Worst scolding I ever got.

Dimitri: ...

Felix: Well, I doubt they’d begrudge us a few tears tonight, at least.

Dimitri: No, I imagine not.

Chapter 13: Clash of Torment

Sylvain base camp conversation:

Sylvain: His Majesty and Felix have really risen to the occasion. 10 years ago they were squabbling over who broke whose sword. Now look at them. One’s a king and the other’s a duke. They’re fighting at each other’s side, issuing orders to other lords. I won’t lie, it’s still hard to believe. Maybe it’s time I get my act together soon.

Felix + Dimitri base camp conversation: [Only if Jeralt was killed] 

Dimitri: Let us move on, Shez. The course of the war will be determined by whether or not we can retake Garreg Mach. The time has come to put an end to this painfully long conflict, as well as avenge those who have fallen.

Felix: ...

Dimitri: I will do my best to cut a path forward for all. I am sure we will accomplish great things. Is something the matter, Felix? You are more reticent than usual.

Felix: Hmph. I just thought you might’ve fallen back into your old bad habits after coming here.

Chapter 14: The Absent Emperor

Felix + Dedue base camp conversation:

Dedue: It appears Count Bergliez is now in charge of the Imperial army.

Felix: So I’ve heard. He put up one tough fight in Ailell. Getting past him won’t be easy. He still wishes to be the emperor’s shield, even though he knows that’s going on in the Empire. His sense of duty is admirable.

Dialogue options:

1. He sounds a lot like Dedue. [Dedue support raised]

Shez: A guy who protects his leader no matter what? Reminds me of you, Dedue.

Dedue: You may be right. I would do the same if His Majesty were in a similar situation.

Felix: Hah, I doubt you’d betray him even if he became a ruthless tyrant.

2. He sounds a lot like Felix. [Felix support raised]

Shez: A guy who protects his leader no matter what? Reminds me of you, Felix.

Felix: Hmph. Don’t lump me in with someone like that. I would’ve washed my hands of them and fled a long time ago.

Dedue: I don’t think you’re the kind to make such a decision lightly.

Story scene: Pursuit (Azure Gleam):

Shez: We’ll push our way through— strike everywhere all at once. Whatever traps Duke Aegir’s got for us, we’ll blow straight through ‘em. This isn’t a thinking person’s fight, not now. We’ve got the stronger army, so let’s start acting like it.

Felix: I didn’t realize we had two boars on our side. Though I can’t say I disagree.

Chapter 16 (Bonus): Into the Chasm

In-battle dialogue: 

[Epimenides summons phantoms of the lord’s retainers; for Dimitri, this is either Dedue or Felix]

Edelgard: Hubert!? No. It must be a double.

Dimitri: If so, it’s completely indistinguishable from the real thing. This is vile sorcery indeed.

Phantom!Felix: You swore we would avenge our allies, yet now fraternize openly with their killer!?

Dimitri: You can’t fool me. If it were really you, you would understand.

Chapter 17 (Finale): The End of Tragedy

Story scene: The Final Charge:

Felix: It’s almost time. That’s your cue, Dimitri.

Shez: Yeah, we could all use one of your inspiring speeches to really set the mood.

Dimitri: Right then. [...]

In-battle dialogue:

Felix: No matter what comes at us, I’ll be the one at the boar’s back!

Supports

Dimitri / Felix B:

Dimitri: ...

Felix: How long are you going to keep staring blankly like an idiot? You should eat.

Dimitri: You’re right. My apologies.

Felix: Let me guess, you’re in a tizzy about how best to make use of the church’s forces—or maybe you’re just worried about how our forces will survive the winter. Well, knock it off. A good leader knows when to let their vassals do the worrying for them.

Dimitri: Is that why you left your uncle in charge of House Fraldarius?

Felix: Yes—though I’ve been returning to the territory the moment any issues arise with his governance.

Dimitri: And your mother? Is she in good health? I imagine it’s difficult to manage all the family squabbles on her own.

Felix: Oh, she’s fine—she’s good at that sort of thing. I actually think she likes it.

[If Byleth was not recruited] Dimitri: I would suppose, for now, that she probably feels better when she’s able to keep busy. You could stand to show her a touch more concern, though.

Felix: I suggest you focus on your own issues for once instead of worrying about everyone else.

Dimitri: I’m not sure that’s possible. Oh, but that does remind me, I hear the knights wanted to hold a joint training session.

Felix: Ugh. Forget it. You’ll never change. I’d tell you to stop brooding so much, but I’d be wasting my breath.

Dimitri: I cannot afford to lose this war, Felix. I must protect the Kingdom. I must avenge the fallen. Each day, we draw ever closer to those who pulled the actual strings. I’ve already punished any who knew of the plan and did nothing, as well as a number of middle-rank conspirators… But it isn’t enough. There are still those who must answer for this crime with their lives.

Felix: You are a book with one chapter and no ending. What will you do when you actually have this revenge of yours?

Dimitri: I don’t know. But if I can quell their grief—and their hate—it will be enough.

Felix: Ugh.

Dimitri: Do you hate me, Felix? After all, I saw Glenn die. I watched it and could do…nothing. His end lies on my shoulders. [If Byleth was not recruited] And Rodrigue as well. If I had only put an end to the Ashen Demon, he might still be with us.

Felix: That’s enough. I don’t hate you, OK? You weren’t responsible for any of that. They didn’t die for your sake. They made their own choices of their own free will. Don’t be so conceited.

Dimitri: But surely they didn’t want to die. Yet they did so to protect me. Me. I am undeserving of such sacrifice.

Felix: I told you to quit brooding and eat. Your food’s going to rot if you wait any longer.

Dimitri: Yes, of course…

Dimitri / Felix A:

Dimitri: I’m sorry. I’m so sorry, but I swear I will avenge you. Please just wait a little longer. I will uncover who drove you to your deaths, no matter the cost.

Felix: Dimitri.

Dimitri: Gle— Oh, Felix. It’s you. I’m sorry you had to see that.

Felix: After 20 years, I’ve seen all of you there is to see. Everyone else is asleep—you know that, right? So why are you locked up here in the chapel? Also, what’s with the mumbling?

Dimitri: I suppose there’s little sense in hiding it from you… I suffer from a kind of…waking dream. I see them. I see the people who died on that day, at all hours light and dark. “If the Empire was involved in that incident… If the emperor stood by and gave tacit consent…” “Then give to them the same end. Gouge out their hearts and cleave their heads from their shoulders.” Those are the words the dead scream at me.

Felix: When did this start?

Dimitri: It’s been six years. But I began hearing their voices four years ago, during my first battle. I recognized the enemy general as a man I had seen in Duscur. When I removed his head, the voices…cheered. They laughed. It was as if a terrible pain had finally been lifted from them.

Felix: I think I get what’s happening here. Look, do you really think your father and Glenn and everyone else would be torturing you like that? You’re the one who’s doing this, Dimitri. Not them. You.

Dimitri: Even if that were true, I can never forgive myself.

Felix: Believe me, I know. But it’s your job to lead. If you lose your path, you’ll take everyone else down with you. So try to keep that whole “removing their heads” thing in check, yeah? We can just call it our little secret.

Dimitri: Well then, are you offering to let me unburden my heart to you when the time calls for it?

Felix: Ugh.

Dimitri: You’re the only reason I haven’t descended into utter savagery, you know. So just as Loog had Kyphon and my father had Rodrigue… I would ask that you continue to be my right-hand man.

Felix: Right-hand man, huh? I like the sound of that.

Dimitri: What are you doing?!

Felix: As your new right-hand man, my first act is to haul my restless king back to bed where he belongs.

Dimitri: This is absurd! My feet are dragging on the floor!

Felix: It’s your own fault for being so tall, you sack of muscle.

Dimitri: Heh. Say, do you remember how I once carried you in this way when you twisted your ankle?

Felix: Yeah, turns out lugging folks around is good training—so just cram it and let me finish my workout already.

Dimitri: Yes, of course. Please, carry on.    

Shez / Dimitri B:

Dimitri: Ngh...

Shez: Oh, you’re awake. Don’t worry, it’s only been a few hours.

Dimitri: What... happened? The last I remember, I was training some of our new recruits...

Shez: You got hit by some stray magic. Pretty hard, too.

Dimitri: Yes, that’s right. How could I have let my guard fall so carelessly?

Shez: Probably the exhaustion. You usually sidestep stuff like that no problem. Everybody was really worried about you, though. Dedue and Felix in particular didn’t know what to do with themselves.

Shez / Felix C:

Shez: OK, it’s just... even though you never show it, I can tell you really care about Dimitri and the others.

Felix: Urk!

Shez: You all right there, Felix? There’s no reason to get all choked up over it.

Felix: It’s your fault for saying something so ridiculous.

Shez: Hey, you’re the one who asked. But it’s true, isn’t it? I know I’m right.

Felix: And what proof do you have?

Shez: Well for one, you move way better when you’re fighting alongside them.

Felix: Hmph. That’s only because I’ve known them so long now I can predict their every move. The boar always charges straight into enemy lines, so I have to be ready to cover him. Of course, few can survive one of his mad dashes. But I can’t just leave him alone. The man doesn’t give his own safety a second thought. We don’t coordinate, though. I just stick around to make sure the coast is clear for him to run wild.

Shez / Felix A:

Shez: It’s like you decide on a role for yourself, then do whatever you can to see it through. Of course, the role changes depending on the situation, and who’s fighting beside you. Sometimes you attack, sometimes you defend. It’s incredible just how versatile you are.

Felix: No need for compliments. That’s simply how I was taught to be.

Shez: Really? By who?

Felix: My father. He may prefer a spear or magic, but he’s more than capable with a sword in his hands, too.

Shez: Right. Makes sense it’d be Rodrigue. His weapon of choice might be different, but he adapts himself to the flow of battle just as well as you do. Probably better, actually.

Felix: The style didn’t start with him, though. It’s something the leaders of our house have passed down throughout the ages. House Fraldarius has been the king’s lance and shield for generations. Ever since the time of Kyphon, sworn friend of the great King Loog. At times we’ve been sent to defeat the crown’s enemies. At others, we’ve held back to defend the throne. I admit the style has its uses, idiotic history of blind faith aside.

Shez: Huh. So that’s why you fight the way you do. You’re indispensable, Felix. Not just to Dimitri, but to everyone else, too.

Dedue / Felix B:

Dimitri: Now then, I’d like to hear opinions on the proposed tactics. Personally, I believe it best to gather our forces and attack the stronghold directly, but—

Felix: Ha! Of course the boar wants to rush in headlong. Using a small force to take out the enemy’s base of operations is a far better idea.

Dedue: …

Felix: Do you have something to say, or are you just going to stand there glaring at me?

Dedue: I have nothing to add, no.

Felix: So you’re saying you have no thoughts on it whatsoever? You don’t even agree or disagree — just purely, blissfully neutral.

Dimitri: Enough, Felix. Leave Dedue be and tell me more about this idea of yours.

Felix: We don’t need to kick down the front door here. Sneaking in with a small force and burning their food stores will be more than enough.

Dimitri: Interesting. We’d miss a chance to loot their supplies, but it would free up our main force for other matters. Still, it won’t be easy to slip past their patrols. I’d best take my personal troops and—

Felix: Allow me to take on the role. I trust that’ll be satisfactory.

Dedue: Heh.

Dimitri: Right then. Now that we’ve solidified our strategy, let’s break for a bit.

[Dimitri leaves]

Felix: OK, what is your problem? You’ve been giving me that look ever since we came in here. You clearly have something on your mind, so spit it out.

Dedue: It’s good to have you with us.

Felix: Huh?

Dedue: Few can debate His Majesty without hesitation or ill intent. Our war council proceeded smoothly as a result.

Felix: You make me sound like some kind of troublemaker. I don’t disagree just for the thrill of it, you know.

Dedue: You don’t say.

Felix: Dimitri’s always had a reckless streak. Who knows what kind of mess he’d drag us into if someone wasn’t around to stop him. The guy would gladly throw his life away for someone else given half the chance.

Dedue: You have a point.

Felix: His death would mean the destruction of both Faerghus and the church. So when I try to protect him, what I’m really doing is protecting the Kingdom.

Dedue: Spoken like the Shield of Faerghus.

Felix: What’s with the smile? I told you, if you’ve got something to say, just say it!

Dedue: I know you spoke up for my sake as well. I’m grateful for it.

Felix: Yeah, well, just doing what’s expected. I mean, we’re…you know. Brothers in arms and all that.

[Dimitri returns]

Dimitri: Apologies for the wait. I trust we’re ready to reconvene? You two seemed to be having a lively discussion. May I ask what it was about?

Dedue: Of course, Your Majesty. Felix was just saying—

Felix: I was saying how much of a fool you are. Now come, we have more important things to discuss.    

Ashe / Felix B:

Ashe: Felix? What are you doing here?

Felix: I had business in the capital. Speaking of, I hear you’re that boar’s knight now.

Ashe: Boar... Oh, you mean His Majesty?

Felix: Yeah. Him. You must have it rough with a tiresome man like that leading you.

Ashe: I think you’re exaggerating, Felix. I wouldn’t call him that at all. In fact, he even does our jobs for us sometimes! Although he has been trying to rely on us a little more lately.

Felix: See, that’s exactly why he’s such a problem. You should steal your job back from him once in a while. Use force if you have to.

[...]

Ashe: But whenever I’m in real trouble, His Majesty and Dedue always come to my aid, so that’s good!

Felix: Dedue as well, huh?

Ashe: Yep. Even the knights accept him as one of us now. No one’s a better cook or more skilled with their hands. And he’s a proper demon on the battlefield, to boot! I hope to be more like him someday.

Felix: Please, no. One of him is more than enough. Especially that blind loyalty. Imitate that and you’ll only end up throwing away your life on the battlefield.

Ashe: Aw, are you worried about us? That’s sweet, Felix. I always had the impression you cared for your friends, and now I know I’m right!

Felix: Excuse me?

Ashe: I mean, sure, the things you say are pretty harsh, but you can’t bring yourself to actually abandon someone. You always show so much concern for me, and for Dedue, and even for His Majesty!

Felix: Yeah, well, it’d be more work for me if anything happened to you. That’s all.

Felix / Sylvain C:

Sylvain: Who knows what would happen to Faerghus if we lost you.

Felix: I won’t say you’d be fine without me, but you do know I could fall in battle any day now, right?

Sylvain: Bite your tongue, Felix. Just think for two seconds. What would happen to Faerghus, and His Majesty, if you died? He’s got too much on his plate already, yet he insists on doing everything himself. War with the Empire, battles outside Fodlan, governing the Kingdom, reforming the entire social structure of pretty much everything... If he didn’t have you at his side, he’d fall flat on his face.

Shez / Rodrigue C:

Rodrigue: No matter how much snow blankets the ground, our pegasi quite literally rise to the occasion. When my son and His Majesty were still just boys, they followed one off into the frigid mountains of all places. By the time I found them, they were but two shivering masses on the ground. For a moment I thought my heart would never beat again.

Shez: So Felix has been getting into trouble ever since he was a kid, huh?

Rodrigue: His penchant for danger is unchanged, yes. Though I fear his disposition has grown far sharper.

Dimitri / Rodrigue A:

Dimitri: I sounded like my father?

Rodrigue: Indeed you did. Remember the story of the sword, about how I got stuck behind enemy lines like a fool? Well, the first thing Lambert said after he broke through their forces was, “Don’t throw your life away like that.” Not that it was too convincing coming from a guy covered in cuts and scrapes.

Dimitri: I can’t imagine. It sounds as though you two were very close. I envy him for having such strong bonds with his friends.

Rodrigue: Don’t let my son catch you saying that. Pretty sure he’d take offense.

Felix / Rodrigue A:

Rodrigue: Would you have abandoned His Majesty to save yourself? Or would you have chosen to fight until death claimed you? I myself would’ve safeguarded His Majesty at all costs. I know that it wasn’t in Glenn’s nature to flee either.

Felix: It’s always about courage or cowardice with you. I wouldn’t have chosen anything. When your life’s on the line, you don’t have time to think about that stuff—only act. I would have fought with my own will, in whatever way I thought best—and I would’ve made sure we both survived.

Rodrigue: You always want to have it both ways. Still, I take pride in that determination of yours. Had I been there, I doubt I could’ve summoned the resolve to strive for such a victory. More likely, I would’ve been satisfied merely to die in the defense of my liege.

Felix: I can understand that way of thinking. In fact, I always have.

Felix / Raphael A:

Felix: House Blaiddyd and House Fraldarius used to go on hunting trips together. On one trip, a certain prince bagged so many animals it proved impossible to fit them all on the sled. Meanwhile, I went off hunting on my own, encountered the boar, and barely escaped with my life.

Raphael: Wait, why would Dimitri wanna kill you? Or do you mean, like... an actual boar?

Felix: While this may not be the same boar, I will get no small amount of satisfaction if we manage to bring it down.

Raphael: Hold on, who are we talking about here? Eh, whatever. Let’s do this thing!

Felix: I’ll share the spoils with you, but the kill is mine. Now stand back.

Chores Dialogue

Low Support:

Felix: Stuck with you again? Fine, let’s get this over with.

Dimitri: Indeed, we should finish this quickly for both of our sakes.

High (A) support:

Dimitri: Let’s be quick, shall we? I know you don’t care much for working with me.

Felix: Hmph, I never said that. Don’t put words in my mouth.

Great or Perfect result:

Felix: What do you expect? That was child’s play.

Dimitri: And yet... No, we can leave it at that. I appreciate the help today, Felix.

Dining Dialogue

Low Support:

Felix: What’s with that look, boar? You could at least pretend to enjoy the food.

Dimitri: Oh, I do. I was merely focused on a stray dab of sauce on your cheek. Shall I wipe it off for you?

High (A) Support:

Dimitri: I’ve always enjoyed watching you eat, Felix. There’s something almost heroic about it. Hm? Is something the matter?

Felix: If you keep talking, all I’m going to be able to taste is hot air. Now let me enjoy my food in peace.

Training Dialogue

Dimitri: You’ll be my partner today, Felix? No need to hold back, then.

Felix: Right. Just don’t go so hard you wreck the training grounds. Other people use this place, you know.

Expeditions Dialogue

Dimitri:

Select: [Ask a question -> Ask about their worries.]

Dimitri: Do be kind to Felix. His new duties seem to be taking more out of him than I think he realizes.

Correct answer: [Nod emphatically.]

Felix:

Select: [Talk.]

Felix: Houses Blaiddyd and Fraldarius have been practically inseparable ever since Faerghus was founded. 

Correct answer: [Ask for more details.]

Select: [Talk.] 

Felix: The boar's more relaxed and genuine than he used to be. Only a little, though. 

Correct answer: [Say that you're relieved too.]

Select: [Ask a question -> Ask about memories of the past.]

Felix: Hmph. If you want tales of the past, go ask the boar. I'm sure he'd be glad to regale you. 

Correct answer: [Acquiesce.]

Select: [Ask a question -> Ask what they think of you.]

Felix: Working for the boar isn't easy. Trust me, I know. But don't go slacking off. 

Correct answer: [Act dependable.]

In-Battle Voice Lines

Dual Warrior Special Lines (Musou):

[Activated by Dimitri]

Felix: Give me a hand, boar!

Dimitri: I think you mean a tusk!

[Activated by Felix, Low Support]

Dimitri: Are you ready, Felix?

Felix: Ngh... like I have a choice!

[Activated by Felix, High (A) Support]

Dimitri: Protect me, my shield!

Felix: Of course, Your Majesty!

Facing each other (Record Keeper Mode):

Dimitri: It is too late for words, Felix. Our blades will say all that needs to be said. [Engaging Felix in Record Keeper Mode]

Felix: I’m winning this one, boar. But don’t you dare hold back. [Engaging Dimitri in Record Keeper Mode]

Dimitri: I’ve won this time. I look forward to our next bout, whenever that may be. [Defeating Felix in Record Keeper Mode?]

Felix: I know you held back. Do that again and I’ll make you regret it. [Defeating Dimitri in Record Keeper Mode?]

Adjutant Lines:

[Felix assigned as Dimitri’s adjutant]

Dimitri: To me, Felix!

Felix: Already here.

[Dimitri assigned as Felix’s adjutant]

Felix: I’ll carve a path!

Dimitri: The moment is yours.

[Adjutant Guard; yes, this line is one-way only]

Felix: What are you doing!?

Praise Lines:

(Note: While the 1k lines are listed that way in the Voiced Lines section of the Extras, they seem to actually have a chance to trigger every 200 KOs.)

Dimitri: I can always trust you to have my back. [Praising Felix, Low Support?]

Dimitri: Excellent, Felix. I’ve always known you were capable of this. [Praising Felix, High (A) Support]

Dimitri: With you by my side, we will carve a path toward a new future for Faerghus. [Praising Felix, 1000 Enemies Defeated, Any Support Rank]

Felix: Don’t tire yourself out, boar. [Praising Dimitri, Low Support]

Felix: You’re the beating heart of our army, both in title and in action. [Praising Dimitri, High (A) Support]

Felix: Sigh... Maybe there’s a method to your madness after all. [Praising Dimitri, 1000 Enemies Defeated, Any Support Rank]

#dimilix #felix hugo fraldarius #dimitri alexandre blaiddyd #three hopes #text post #text: fe #text: fodlan #ship: don't you dare look back #if there is one thing I can contribute to fandom. it is dialogue compilations. #(this is almost 10k words...)

[yusuke-of-valla]

“If you need tactical assistance, we’ll be happy to oblige.”

Woaaaaaugggh u guyssss, can’t believe they leaked the next wave of Tactica DLC,,,,, it’s totally legit my Auntie Atlus told me,,,,

#I’m very simple I see an art style I go ‘that’s cute’ and then I attempt to consume it #art tag #id in alt text #still getting the vibes down for it but look! them! #thieves in Fodlan #though once again this is lords in Tokyo #fe16 #p5t

[oraclebell17]

you guys mind if i rant about whatever the heck's up with Arval's.. characterization(?) in feh? like. i just think some of their quotes are rather interesting..

let's start with their summoned quote, right off the bat:

"My name is… No, actually, forget it. Regardless, I am a being who exists on the edge of dreams and reality. You may call me Arval."

already noticable is that they trail off at "My name is...", implying that they already know their true name (Epimenides)- yet they still go on to "You may call me Arval" after telling the summoner to forget it

in terms of Three Hopes' story? this is already odd, since it's far into the plot where they learn of Epimenides' name

and to suggest more that Arval knows of their true past, we have these home screen quotes:

"Once upon a time, I wished to save the world. I never aspired to anything as grand as being a "Hero," though..." "I've had friends and compatriots who fought alongside me, but...none of them ever truly understood me. In that sense, I suppose I've always been alone."

this essentially confirms that they really know they're Epimenides and has his knowledge and memories

that second quote even feels like a reference to their last words in the Zahras chapter of Three Hopes which really gutpunches me......

also this skill activation quote:

"Reclaim what is ours!"

definitely feels more like Epimenides talking than Arval tbh

finally, we have this part of their level 40 quote:

"I have already perished twice. I am outside the cycle. To put it simply, I'm something like a remnant."

it could be that Arval in feh is post-Zahras..

in Three Hopes, we already know Arval died once as Epimenides, but Zahras is the only second time Arval would have to "perish"......

sorry for ranting and not going anywhere crazy with it i just had the thought stuck in my head and had to get it out there

#now here's where i tell you that arval with a physical form in fodlan is possible- #fire emblem #fire emblem three hopes #few3h #feh #arval #fe arval #arvalposting #text

[strawberry-crocodile]

i feel like 3h would be so different as to be nearly unrecognizable without the lifesim aspects; they’re part of what makes it unique. it can’t tell such a relatively complicated and nuanced story with so many characters in just cutscenes

honestly the lifesim aspects of it are what helped it keep my attention when (much) older FE games couldn’t

YEAH HONESTLY "i couldnt get into the lifesim so I didnt get much out of Three Houses" is fine but hooooly shit dont fuckin declare it an objective flaw

#also dear god the immersion of the dialogue and text #you really see Fodlan as a political entity and not a stage on which you fight Bad Guys #blogodile

[bigtittygothboyfriend]

I'm only a few hours into Engage and my favorite part so far is Sommie.

#who my wife immediately forced me to name 'Mochi' #because it 'looks like a Mochi' #anyway we've been having a good time not taking it very seriously #the hub world is also very pretty #the fodlan games are the only ones we have played and were our intro to the series #so i didn't know what to expect #as of right now my opinion is it's a resounding OK #fe engage #sommie #text post #chatter #anyway i'm playing it at night when we are both at home and that has been a fun activity together #anyway if you'd rather not see anything but 3h i will tag anything i post for engage but i don't think i will be posting much if anything #it does not Compel Me like babygirl lol

[typhchosen]

[text] Okay, I’m bringing coffee. /robin to byleth~

Texts For You Bitches //

[Text: Robin]  Coffee isn’t necessary. I’m wide awake.

So she said, but she’d definitely been up too long, reading through documents and documents of Student Papers and tactical plans. Was Claude even trying with this recent paper? She had a feeling he was messing around, somehow, but hadn’t quite pinpointed the exact spot where he wasn’t taking his work seriously. Maybe she really did need sleep. Or help or-

Her stomach grumbled and she frowned, ignoring the badgering voice inside her head, urging her to take a break.

[text: Robin] could you bring cookies too?

If he was going to keep her company and assist in the grading, then may as well make the most of it.

#;answers #blaschoice #blaschoice/robin #;fireemblem #ic: byleth #is this modern teacher shenanigans? #or did they somehow procure texting technology in ancient fodlan? #the world may never know #Awakened in Garreg Mach // Fire Emblem Verse 2 #;queue

[umbralstars]

Kemetic Influences on Fire Emblem Three Houses (Part 1)

I know I have made a more unstructured post regarding this before; however, I am certain in my assessments that the influence of Ancient Egyptian mythology had on 3H is vast and more varied then I, personally, have seen people discuss. Yes, we know of the etymology behind Sothis and Seiros' names, but I believe these connections go much deeper than the surface level. This will be structured with me discussing what I am most sure in to what is more interpolation on my part. This part about Sothis is so long that it needs to be it's own post entirely. Sothis is based on Hellenistic/Roman period worship of Lady Isis

As we know, Sothis' name can be traced to one of the names of Sirius, specifically the Hellenized name of Sopdet the goddess of said star. However, this is surface level. Sopdet was often syncretized with Isis during the Hellenistic period and in Lady Isis, I believe, there are more clear allusions to Sothis and how she acts as a deity within 3H's world. Lady Isis is an Egyptian deity who was worshiped across the Mediterranean during the Hellenistic and Roman period. Sothis in her mythology, actions, and how she is depicted in-game shares remarkable similarities to Isis. The images and sources I will be using as a reference come from Dr. Andrew M. Henry's (ReligionForBreakfast) video on the topic and FEDatamine for everything regarding 3H.

Sothis and Isis are both "great mother" deities who act as supreme goddesses to their followers.

Even before coming to supreme status in the Mediterranean, Isis was an incredibly important goddess within Egypt. She was the bringer of magic, a guardian of women, a compassionate goddess who wished to relieve all human suffering, and much much more. All of these traits are extremely close if not direct parallels to Sothis. We know that magic within Fodlan is directly connected to Sothis through the visual of all the magic circles (save for Agarthan dark magic) and it can be postulated that, like Isis, Sothis magic was beyond the capabilities of other humans or other deities. Faith magic in particular is directly correlated with the ability to heal and protect, which is one of the main domains of Lady Isis in antiquity and modern day. She was the healer of the sick and injured, so much so that she often traveled in human form so that she could aid those who called out to her. I don't believe it is a coincidence that healing magic was reskinned as faith in this game given that context. And the connections continue beyond that. Consider this text from a temple to Isis in Cyrene:

During the Hellenistic period, Isis' power and prominence grew to wear she became a supreme goddess within these polytheistic societies. She was believed to be the ruler of time and fate itself, and, as stated here, one of the creators of the cosmos who first set time to course. She was often depicted holding a steering rudder or with the planet beneath her very feet as the goddess through which all fate flows.

Next, take this quote from Lucius Apuleius: The Golden Ass a text from a satirist, but nonetheless believed to hold elements of truth to Isis' worship during the Roman period.

Once again, we see the language that would describe a supreme, cosmic deity. Compare to similar wording in The Book of Seiros Part 1: "The goddess is all things. She is heaven above and the land below. She is eternity incarnate. She is the present, the past, and the future. Her eyes see all. Her ears hear all. Her hands receive all."

Due to this language, it is believed by some religious scholars, and presented within the video, that within the mysteries of Isis there was an element of henotheism at play. A philosophy within religious practices where one god is worshiped a supreme deity whilst not denying the existence of other gods, and such a system of worship is what I believe to be happening within Fodlan's religious context. Other gods are known to exist, they are spoken of in the Book of Seiros; however, Sothis is supreme goddess of Fodlan.

Now, I ask, what is Sothis' primary characteristics within the Church of Seiros and as depicted in game? She is the supreme Goddess of Fodlan, who's depicted with having control over time and fate itself (literally divine pulse), spoken of as a savior not only in the past but also through the actions of her vessel Byleth, who created all life (or at least the Nabateans) as "The Beginning", and the arbiter of souls as an explicitly afterlife related deity.

All of these traits are direct parallels to Lady Isis, and I am not even finished listing all the similarities. First take this quote from The Book of Seiros Part 2: "In the beginning, amid the great cloudless ocean, Fódlan came to be. At the end of a long journey, the goddess glimpsed that land and there alighted. Upon that sacred ground, she breathed life into the world and created all of the creatures upon it.

By the goddess's hand, plants took root, birds took to the sky, and animals roamed the land. Last of all, she created humanity." Within multiple Egyptian creation myths one of the prevalent and constant features is the primordial ocean of Nun. It was place of nothingness and chaos all at once, a "cloudless ocean" if you will. And from that ocean came the first land, the benben, and from there any number of gods created all life. This includes Isis, who within the inscriptions at Philae, is described to have created all life and the cosmos itself (Žabkar 1988, pp. 134.): "Indeed, she is the Lady of Heaven, Earth, and the Nether World, having brought them into existence through what her heart conceived and her hands created..." Both of them are related to the afterlife and are explicitly called out as deities of fate. Once again from the story of Apuleius:

Lady Isis' connection to the afterlife as she who guides the soul to it's fate goes back even further in Egyptian texts and she has been a funerary deity all the way back in Old Kingdom Pyramid Texts. Take that in context with Rhea's line of Sothis being the "arbiter of souls" and much of her cosmology in-universe revolving around the afterlife you have another link between them. Isis was said to be able to prolong a person's life if they were to follow her mysteries as she knew the lifespan of all people and could manipulate it with her magics. She also typically interacted with her followers via dreams. This is something Sothis is shown to do constantly with her appearing in Byleth's near death moments, within their dreams (at the beginning of the game and later during her speech regarding Fodlan's plight. And can I say, Sothis being aware of the blood being split and awakening Byleth to explicitly put it to an end is a very much like a savior goddess). Then, in Rhea's backstory, she said that she heard Sothis' voice within the Holy Tomb (or within Enbarr) and that is what lead her to take up the name of Seiros and begin to fight against Nemesis. Sothis inspiring the creation of the Adrestian Empire through Seiros, and Byleth's place to chose the fate of Fodlan, directly correlates to Lady Isis' role as a goddess of kingship. Her protection was explicitly called upon both during the defense of Egypt and during campaigns of military conquest, and that she alone was comparable of armies of soldiers. Isis and Sothis both are also transparently related to nature. They are callers of the rains (cited in the Philae Hymns for elsewhere and in-game for Sothis) and related to bounties of the harvest. In this way, Sothis may also cross into the sphere of Osiris who was more explicitly a fertility god and the ruler of the dead/judge of souls. An interesting similarity can be called to the myth of Osiris' death and dismemberment at the betrayal of his brother Set, Isis' incomplete resurrection of her husband, and Horus' becoming king of Egypt after contending with his uncle where he avenged his father; with how Sothis herself was killed and dismembered for her power, then Seiros' creation of Adrestia (where he also chose the first king) to avenge her mother, and her inability to resurrect her due to Sothis' body being scattered and incomplete (at least, until her ib/Creststone was placed within the intact khet of Byleth). But that is an aside for now. I want to finish this off with a look of the physical similarities between depictions of Isis and Sothis. Once again from Apuleius:

"Firstly her long thick hair in tapering ringlets was loosely spread over her divine neck and shoulders, and her head was crowned with a complex garland of interwoven flowers of every kind. At the centre, over her brow, a flat disc like a mirror or rather a moon-symbol shone with brilliant light. Coiled vipers reared from the right and left of her coronet which was bristling with erect ears of corn. Her multi-coloured robe was of finest linen, gleaming here pure white, here a saffron yellow, there flaming rose-red, with a woven border flowing with flowers and fruit, and what dazzled me most of all was her jet-black cloak with its full sheen, wrapped gleaming about her, slung from the left shoulder, knotted at the breast, and sweeping over her right hip. It hung in sweetly undulating complex folds down to a tasselled fringe, and along its borders and over its surface fell a scatter of glittering stars, round a full moon at the centre breathing fiery rays. And she bore a host of emblems." To me, there are some similarities between this and the depiction of Sothis plus how Rhea dressed and Byleth's Immaculate One outfit. The floral motifs of lotus flowers, the crisp white of Sothis' mural appearance and those of Rhea and Byleth, the crowns of flowers and star motfis, the way Isis bears many emblems around her, much of it bears some similarities to Sothis. But this is not the only depiction of Isis, let me show you some visual representations. Let us compare this mural of Sothis to some depictions of Isis:

Here are two of Isis from Pompeii with one being a mural and another a famous reconstruction of a statue:

Again, while not 1:1 there are some visual similarities in design. The white linen of her dress and the cut of it are fair similar, as are the wings that are associated with nearly every depiction of Isis. To show and example from Egypt:

The fact that Sothis is shown with feathered wings in particular feels important given her other similarities with Lady Isis. Plus the throne hieroglyph that represents Isis and often often seen above her head looks exactly like the throne of Sothis as seen in the Holy Tomb. Lady Isis is also known as the "Lady of the Throne" just like how Sothis is called the "Girl on the Throne." The amount of connections between them does not feel like coincidence to me. If you want to take the Romance into account as well, both Sothis and Isis are associated with floods in that case, especially with floods that are said to be caused by their sorrow. Sothis is a savoir deity who protected and saved from Fodlan from the destruction of the Agarthans; she is said to have caused a flood in the one, possible, Agarthan account we have. Her name is Sothis, transcribed from Sopdet, lady of the blue star, who was syncretized with Isis who also became manifest within Sirius. I think I will make one more note: the Rite of the Goddess' Rebirth is transparently related to Wep Ronpet, the cosmological new year in Kemetic religious practice. Both take palace in late July (or into early August for some dates of Wep Ronpet), both are related to the rising of a particular star (the Blue Sea Star is based on Sirius, this fact), both are related to the rebirth of the world and the gods, and both are a day of celebration with family and friends. As one final aside: in Kemetic practice, worship of the gods has always been an intimate and close affair, both in antiquity and in modern practice. Gods are active and immediate presences within the world, and they are presently felt within physical parts of the world. Ra, Aten, and other solar deities are all the sun, Nut the sky, Shu the air and wind. Various "truths" about natural phenomenon could all be true at once and created a multi-facted view of existence. So Sothis having the Blue Sea Star as her "home" are acting as her spiritual double entirely makes sense within this framework. Sothis' laws are also fairly similar to the Laws and philosophical underpinnings of Ma'at; however, delving into that is outside the scope of this post. So I will need to leave things off here.

#fe3h #fire emblem three houses #fire emblem #sothis fire emblem #fe3h meta #stars rambles #i'm sorry if this feel unorganized i've been trying to synthesize my thoughts for days #sothis having all these allusions to lady isis has been very obvious to me for years #so i'm happy to have post laying it all out #and obviously this isn't the only influence #but one that i feel doesn't get talked about enough #and it's important to me #so with that #dua lady isis

[fantasyinvader]

With the last few points in mind, we can see how SS, AM and VW are may be somewhat radical from a Japanese POV.

In SS, Byleth's leadership goes against a very common mentality in Japan where it's viewed as wrong to give people money they did not earn, even when that person is in dire straights. In fact, begging for money is actually illegal over there. So with that in mind, Byleth focusing on reconstruction of Fodlan in addition to the Japanese text saying he supported “every soul” in a motherly-fashion, it does point to Byleth's rule being one that looked out for the people.

It also has elements associated with oudou, considering the Sword of the Creator's Japanese name the Sword of the Emperor of Heaven. Emperor of Heaven is term for the Jade Emperor, the deity that oversees Heaven's mandate (Mazu, the Emperess of Heaven, is commonly depicted in red robes... but she's associated with water as a sea goddess, not fire. She's also said to be an incarnation of the Jade Woman of Marvelous Deeds, and associated with a star in the big dipper, who is said to oversee all aspects of life and death and help those who call upon her. So, Edelgard's color scheme itself might be a red herring, as Sothis is the one associated with water). Byleth judged Edelgard as unworthy of following, rejecting her and in turn leading the Black Eagles to do the same. They no longer bend the knee to their emperor simply because she is their emperor, they take a stand against her actions and work to remove her from power. And this is consistent for them regardless of whether Byleth taught their House or recruited them to another House, not joining Edelgard is tied to their character development (see Ferdinand and Caspar's paralogues not being available in Flower).

Dimitri takes Byleth's supporting the poor a few steps further, believing change has to come from the people and giving them a voice in politics while at the same time supporting them. He empowers the masses, and on top of that even has focus on improving relations with foreign nations (whereas the Japanese text indicates Edelgard begins invading other countries). Dimitri is also meant to represent oudou himself, a benevolent ruler justly governing the people.

Claude also identifies Edelgard's rule as oudou, stops her, but then puts Byleth and his version of oudou in charge of Fodlan. I think the best way to put how Claude is radical is, to put it bluntly, fuck the past and fuck the traditions associated with it.

Claude's goal in coming to Fodlan was to learn from it in order to change Almyra, and he got that in Verdant Wind. He begins transforming his homeland into a trading powerhouse, works with the Church in order to bridge the two nations, and can even introduce magic to his country in one ending. On top of that, people have noted that he embodied a very negative stereotype of his people in Hopes, so his character growth proved beneficial. He's no longer the type who will flee to save his own life rather than protecting his people, he stops trying to manipulate everyone and instead work with them as well.

When applied to Fodlan, it's not saying that the Church is bad. It still continues to exist, but now the false history of Fodlan has been corrected. People now know what the past really was, not some glamorized image of it from the Agarthans nor the story told as part of a peace treaty. The Church is still going to be there, helping to rebuild Fodlan after the slate was wiped clean, free to spread it's messages without having to also recite falsehoods that can give people mixed messages. And on top of that, there's also support for other faiths and customs to be brought in, accepted and learned from. The game really drives home it's the dawn of a new era for a reason.

So, we have that. Meanwhile Edelgard trying to set the clock back on Fodlan, spouting ideals informed by Agarthan manipulations, and trying to conquer the world... this is all supposed to be tyranny according to the devs. SS, AM and VW all support some form of progress whereas Flower, once you see through the cracks and get to know Edelgard, is supposed to be regression. To return to old ways, old traditions, that the Church put a stop to for good reason.

[deathbirby]

Is there any reason the fe3h wikis are saying that the 10 elite didn't know about the origin of their powers and weapons? The only reference used is an abyss text from an elite's journal saying they didn't understand why Serios hated them so much, but none of them even knew Serios was Nabatean because she was hiding her ears and using blonde hairdye.

Is there another source that says otherwise or am I not connecting the dots here?

That statement always confused me tbh. Everything points more to the Ten Elites knowing exactly what happened and that they were complicit in it. According to the devs, humans wanted power so they killed a dragon and looted their corpse to kill the next strongest dragon. That was what gave rise to Fodlan's Ten Elites and Nemesis (who got his technology from the Agarthans).

I believe the jp version is more of a "What did Nemesis do to Seiros?" Seiros was a complete stranger to them. Nobody knew she was a Nabatean. They're like "why the fuck is she so pressed like the fuck did he even do to her?"

#grey borb #its pretty annoying to see it too because #ive seen this used to defend the elites as good people?? #it's like #“oh the ten elites were actually being misled” #no they were not #they were very much aware #and very much involved #theyre not sad people who dont know the truth of their actions

[professor-tammi]

which fe3h characters are gay anyway: A Serious Analysis

The discussion I’ve seen on this topic lately made me want to make this entirely pointless post where I go through every 3H character and argue for whether they are textually gay/bi/straight, subtextually gay/bi/straight, or, in like one case, ace, because there’s nothing FE fans do better than babble about fictional character’s sexualities and what am I if not a truly hopeless FE fan

For clarification:

Textual: this implies clear-cut romance, as in endings where a happy marriage is mentioned, or a character proclaiming to love another.

Subtextual: the writers implying romantic attraction without stating it outright. If I argue for a character being subtextually bi, I mean it in the sense that it is the reading I believe the writers intended, rather than merely a possible reading of the text; however, I’ll also try to mention alternative readings when applicable.

When analyzing subtext, I look at primary the following:

Endings: endings are a classic marker of romance in FE games, and so two characters having an ending lends credence to a romantic reading of their relationship (though, naturally, the contents of the ending matter). Similarly, a lack of an ending can be seen as the opposite.

Markers of importance: when I mention these, I’m talking about things like unique dialogue during dining / chores (and, for Hopes, various unique in-battle dialogue). Koei traditionally use such dialogue to highlight key character relationships; so if two characters have unique dialogue together, then it means the writers have specifically marked the two characters as being, in one way or another, important to each other.

Actual interactions: as self-explanatory as it gets. Is their dialogue romantic? Do they flirt? Is there blushing? Is the relationship likened to a textually romantic relationship? And so on.

Black Eagles

Edelgard: textually bi. She can marry either Byleth, and while her supports with Dorothea have her mention a lack of time for thinking of romance, she nevertheless shows some interest at the thought of ending up with a woman (and also blushes at Dorothea in their A support):

Dorothea: Something could even spark between the two of us!

Edelgard: You and I? Now that is an entertaining thought. If such an exciting future is in store, I look forward to it!

Fan headcanons of Edelgard as a lesbian aren’t rare; personally, if we take Byleth out of the equation, I can absolutely see where this is coming from, as her supports with women are some of the few to breach the topic of romantic attraction at all (with Dorothea, where she is interested, and with Monica, where she’s... embarrassed, yet still willing to humor her). Conversely, her supports with men tend to veer platonic (with her Hubert support being perhaps the one exception -- while she blushes at his confession, it’s unclear if she reciprocates), despite the endings being romantic.

Hubert: subtextually bi... but his subtext with Ferdinand is very heavy, to the point that I think there’s zero doubt it’s intended to be read as romantic. It might as well be text. Their A+ support is them gifting each other their favorite drink as they both blush about it (and this is after commenting that the gifts must be for a “special someone”), and their ending mentions Edelgard being jealous of their closeness, making it quite clear they’re more than friends. In Hopes, Ferdinand also shows a curious interest in whether or not Hubert is in love with Edelgard... now why would he be so interested? (Jealousy? Or, perhaps, just trying to see if he has a chance.)

Ferdinand: subtextually, practically textually, bi. See Hubert.

Linhardt: textually bi. He can marry either Byleth. If we remove Byleth from the equation, Linhardt’s closest pre-established relationship is with Caspar, which have another odd case of rather platonic supports with a romantic-sounding ending (which rather mirrors the RD Ike/Soren ending, be it intentional or not); it’s, oddly, his only other ending with a male non-Byleth character.

Caspar: presumably straight, ish? He admits in his support with Dorothea that hes “not the romance type”, and this is quite accurate with his other supports (with the Hilda one infamously having Caspar somehow miss that she’s suggesting they be more than friends). His endings give me the impression that he only starts to show an interest in romantic relationships after the events of the game. These are largely straight, but there’s room to interpret his Linhardt ending as romantic.

Bernadetta: presumably straight. Her only ending with another woman is with Edelgard, and the ending text is decidedly platonic. It can be argued that their A rank has slight hints of romance toward the end, between Bernadetta blushing and Edelgard expressing a desire to keep spending time with her, but I don’t believe this is the intended interpretation.

Dorothea: textually bi -- with or without Byleth! See Edelgard. Her supports with Petra are also very romantic in tone (particularly with Dorothea noting Petra makes her forget about marrying for status), as is the ending (”It is said that she became the person whom Petra loved the most”); her ending with Manuela is similarly romantic (”the pair once again retreated from the stage, this time retiring to a private life together. It is said that their relationship was full of light and love”). She shows a very blatant attraction to Ingrid, though it’s not reciprocated (see Ingrid). Finally, in Hopes, she has an expedition line expressing an interest in both men and women.

As with Edelgard, some interpret Dorothea as lesbian, with the argument here being that she marries men only for the money and status, whereas her interest in women tends to be purely romantic in nature. I think the strongest counter-argument here is actually her pre-established relationship with Ferdinand, which is repeatedly marked as an important relationship to her through extra dialogue; in their supports, Ferdinand shows an interest in Dorothea first and she initially resists instead of jumping at the chance to get close to a rich man. From this, I certainly get the impression her (eventual) marriage to Ferdinand is motivated by more than money.

Petra: I would argue for near-textually bi; see Dorothea. Petra says Dorothea “fills her heart full” as early as their C Support!

Jeritza: textually bi. Has a romantic S rank scene with Byleth of either gender. Given he’s a DLC character with very limited supports (indeed, M!Byleth is his only possible support with a man), there’s not much point in discussing whether or not this would look any different without Byleth.

Blue Lions

Dimitri: subtextually, and frankly kind of complicatedly, bi. By far the most baffling example of “why can’t he marry same-gender Byleth?”, as Dimitri still gets the quasi-romantic holding-hands-in-the-rain scene with male Byleth.

Byleth aside, Dimitri has a very close relationship with Dedue. Their A support has him call Dedue “irreplaceable” and “cherished”, with Dedue blushing later on in the support. Their paired ending notes they were buried next to each other and that they behaved “like family” in private. Dimitri’s descent into despair during the time skip is to some degree caused by Dedue’s death, and upon his return, we see Dimitri’s angry facade fade for a moment (a reaction not even triggered by Byleth’s return). In Hopes, it’s Dedue -- and not Felix or Shez -- who convinces Dimitri to leave his self-imposed prison (in a CG cutscene which features Dedue gently placing Dimitri’s hand on his lance relic, no less). Looking at their markers-of-importance (ie unique dialogues), Dimitri has the most of these for Dedue, rather clearly marking them as the other’s most important person.

Dimitri’s other subtextually romantic relationship is with Felix. While I could not in good conscience argue that any of Dimitri’s dialogue toward Felix in Houses is unquestionably romantic, I would happily instead do so about his dining conversations with Felix in Hopes, which feature him offering to dab sauce off of Felix’s cheek at a low support rank and... babbling about how fascinating it is to watch Felix eat at high support rank. I find the latter particularly noteworthy, because the other instances of a character talking about how much they love watching someone eat are Sylvain and Yuri with Ingrid, and in these cases, it’s called out as flirtatious.

Also notably, Dimitri tells Felix he is the reason he hasn’t succumbed to “utter savagery” in their Hopes A Support, suggesting both Dedue and Felix play an important role in keeping his mental health issues in check. Between his relationships with Dedue and Felix, I think there’s a very strong argument to be made for the reading of Dimitri as bi as something the writers intended.

Dedue: subtextually bi. See Dimitri. From Dedue’s side, it’s particularly worth noting the extreme lengths he goes to to attempt to keep Dimitri alive in CF by turning himself and his soldiers into demonic beasts. Dedue is a mirror of Hubert -- the one-track mind, excessively loyal retainer -- and Hubert’s attraction to Edelgard is made explicitly romantic in their A support. Hopes further compares Dedue to Catherine, whose devotion to Rhea is likely intended to read as romantic (see Catherine), and also draws comparisons between him and Felix (see... well, below). I would also mention that Dedue’s use of the blushing portrait for Dimitri in their A support is much more notable than it would be with any other character, given his taciturn nature.

Felix: subtextually, but also rather complicatedly, bi. See Dimitri. The two have various importance markers for each other. From Felix’s side, I can’t not bring up the fact that his endings on non-CF routes all change as a result of Dimitri being dead; without Dimitri, Felix turns into nothing more than a (as his ending title puts it) “Meandering Sword”. He brings up Dimitri frequently in other routes and wonders if he couldn’t have saved him. In his ending with Dimitri, he is said to have grieved more than the (unnamed) queen. Some will point to this as proof their relationship is platonic after all, but while IntSys don’t venture into polyamory often, Koei, who actually wrote the games, tend to be more open about it, so make of that what you will. The Dimitri / Felix A Support in Hopes has an rather amusing ending where Felix carries Dimitri to bed as they reminisce about their childhood. Ultimately, Felix is written entirely around Dimitri.

It would be remiss of me to not mention Felix’s relationship with Sylvain here; their A supports in both Houses and Hopes feature Felix blushing in embarrassment at Sylvain. Further, in their childhood, they promised to die together, a fact their endings reference (”It is said that, in their later years, they became so close that they passed away on the same day, as if conceding that one could not live without the other”). On the other hand, Felix and Sylvain lack importance markers for each other, and Sylvain compares Felix to a little brother in both games. ... and on the other other hand, there are also instances of heterosexual pairings with unambiguously romantic endings comparing each other to brothers or sisters, so this may not be as damning as I’d previously assumed. So, in short: I think Felix is supposed to be read as bi.

Ashe: unclear. There’s plenty of room for a bi reading given his close relationships with Dedue, Yuri, and even Caspar, and there’s little reason to assume Ashe would not be into men as the subject simply doesn’t come up in his supports.

Sylvain: textually bi. Unlike many of the other Lion boys, Sylvain is relatively clear-cut, despite his philanderer nature! In his supports with Flayn, she comments that “men and women alike have been seduced by [his] nefarious ways”; in Japanese, she says “men and women of all ages”, and Sylvain complains not by shooting down the “men” part, but by going “that doesn’t include old grandpas, does it?”

In his Japanese supports with Ingrid, rather than a scarecrow, she mentions that he made a genuine attempt to seduce a man dressed as a woman when he was just 10, with a random passerby-NPC going “so Sylvain even makes advances on men...” While Sylvain protests that this was just a misunderstanding, Hopes yet again pushes forth bi!Sylvain. In his supports with Yuri, Yuri asks him on a date rather point-blank, and Sylvain comments that he’s “into it”. On top of all this, there are also his Felix endings. He’s bi.

Mercedes: textually bi. A romance option for either Byleth. Byleth aside, Mercedes also has a very close relationship with Annette, which is marked as her most important relationship. While the English translation makes their A support decidedly more platonic-sounding, in the Japanese version, Annette says she loves Mercedes and Mercedes teases her about having just confessed her love, which prompts an embarrassed Annette to claim to have meant that she loves her sweets. When Mercedes says she loves her too, though, Annette says she loves her back. Their ending says they lived apart, exchanging frequent letters until their final years, which they spent together.

I think it’s highly likely the translators changed this support because they chose to read it as a Class S relationship rather than an actual romantic relationship. Nevertheless, this is up to interpretation, and with Mercedes being canonically bi either way, there’s a strong argument to be made for Annette / Mercie being intended as romantic. See also Constance.

Annette: subtextually, arguably quite close to textually, bi. See Mercedes.

Ingrid: textually straight. There have been many memes made about Ingrid being “the straightest woman in Fodlan”, and frankly, this is not without reason. She has zero endings with women, and in no uncertain terms rebukes Dorothea’s advances:

Dorothea: Someone looking at you could be forgiven for... wanting to pounce. [...] That's why, just before I lunge, I'm gonna ask permission.

Ingrid: Permission is not granted—ever! Just back off.

Golden Deer

Claude: presumably straight. Yes, yes, bi!Claude is a longstanding meme, but there’s little to no evidence for this in the actual game. He has just two endings with men: one with Lorenz, which is wholly political in nature, and one with Balthus, which similarly shows no hints of romance between the two. Looking into their actual supports, his banter with Lorenz could be interpreted as more-than-friends, should one like, though I don’t believe it to be the intent; his supports with Balthus just feature Balthus repeatedly bringing up his crush on Claude’s mother, much to Claude’s chagrin.

Claude’s other interactions are not merely straight, but paint him as distinctly heteronormative. He’s quick to tease Dimitri about his interest in Edelgard (”You've got a thing for Edelgard, right?”), and he hits Ingrid with a classic “girls should smile” line (”Guys don't like gals who are always griping at them. Try a smile every now and then”). Proponents of bi!Claude like to point to the fact that he dances with Byleth at the ball regardless of gender; this is true, but I think it’s more likely to be a budget-saving decision, as making two wholly different CG cutscenes just to have Claude appear more straight would obviously be... more than excessive.

Hilda: subtextually bi; quite unquestionably the least straight deer. Hilda’s relationship with Marianne is the standout here: Hilda is full of praise for Marianne that’s easy to interpret as romantic, and their support includes lines like “Aw! Marianne, laughing at me! So rude, and yet, so adorable.” and “But how can I get mad when she looks so dang cute?” While their ending doesn’t hint at romance, Hilda has several importance markers for Marianne, with their group task dialogue most notably having Hilda say that something about Marianne makes her want to put in an effort. This subtext continues in Hopes, with Hilda saying Marianne’s smile “makes me all warm inside”.

Hopes has some more hints at bi Hilda in her Leonie support, where she makes a fragrant oil for Leonie. Leonie tries it and decides it’s not for her, and then,

Hilda: I just wanted to put my heart into making something specifically for you. I think you’re really special, so I wanted you to have something special, um...

Leonie: Uh...

Hilda: Haha! Oh my gosh, it sounds like I’m proposing to you or something. Anyway, you get the idea, right?

Hilda later suggests they wear different scents so they can mix, and Leonie and Hilda both get blushy about their scents “intermingling”. Leonie finds it weird, but Hilda is still quite into the idea.

Lorenz: presumably straight. Lorenz’s most important relationship is with Claude, and it’s his only ending with a male character, but it’s difficult to argue that they’re intended to be read as romantic (see Claude). This is not even getting into his (also quite heteronormative) desperate search for a wife.

Raphael: presumably straight. His most important relationship is undoubtedly with Ignatz, and while they’re close, it’s as platonic as it gets. This is made all the more clear by the fact that his one ending with a male character is with Ignatz... and Ignatz marries his sister in it. This is exactly that close yet wholly platonic male friendship some claim is rare in media.

Ignatz: presumably straight. See Raphael.

Lysithea: unclear. Her only paired ending with a woman is with Edelgard, but their relationship is distinctly sibling-like. More likely than not, she’s straight, given she does express interest in men, but there’s nothing saying she’s not interested in women, per se.

Marianne: subtextually bi. See Hilda. I’ll note that Hilda’s affections do seem to be reciprocated; notably, in Hopes, Marianne has a rather sweet base camp dialogue in AG about how happy she is to reconnect with Hilda, and this is not even getting into their various unique dialogues.

Leonie: most likely straight, but could also be ace (if you interpret her marriage endings as non-sexual, given none mention children). Her one paired ending with a woman is with Shamir, and it’s clearly platonic. Leonie having platonic endings even with men, such as Felix, lends some credence to the ace reading. Hopes is, perhaps, particularly telling about her not being interested in women, between her awkwardness at Hilda’s vague flirtations and her immediate assumption that the female noble trying to get Shamir back in her employ must simply “really want her fighting for her”. (This is followed by Shez implying that Leonie is too young to understand same-sex attraction, which, uh. Huh.)

Ashen Wolves

Yuri: textually bi. A mercifully clear-cut case, given his endings with Byleth of either gender. His ending and support with Balthus is rather ambiguous, and while I very much think you’re intended to read it as platonic, there is room for a bi reading, especially with Balthus of all people saying he prefers having a “bash bro” to women. Hopes has a much more clear instance of Yuri expressing an interest in men, as it gives us Yuri asking Sylvain out on a date. His relationship with Ashe can also be read either way.

Finally, I can’t help but to bring up Yuri’s relationship with Count Rowe -- there is an NPC in Hopes who suggests Rowe was utterly enamored with Yuri, and while Yuri clearly detests the man, he nevertheless tells Gwendal that Rowe told him the big secret of Arianrhod’s hidden passages... and slyly adds that he won’t say under which circumstances Rowe disclosed this information. This very much reads to me like the game is going for a sex work angle with Yuri.

Balthus: given one of his key character traits is his love of women, he’s likely straight, though with at least the possibility of a bi reading with Yuri. His Hopes support with Shamir carries the amusing implication that, like Leonie, he doesn’t even consider same-sex attraction as a possibility, which certainly strengthens the straight reading.

Constance: seems to be straight, but there’s room for a bi reading of her with Hapi, whom she’s particularly close with -- however, their supports and ending both strike me as more platonic than not, as do their unique dialogues. Her close relationship with Mercedes can also be read as romantic; while they repeatedly call each other sisters, their A support has a quasi-romantic theme of acceptance, with Mercedes telling Constance “You're my sweet Constance, and I like you just as you are.”

Hapi: likely straight, but see Constance.

Church of Seiros

Rhea: textually bi. She can marry both male and female Byleth. Given Rhea isn’t playable and lacks proper supports (and, therefore, romantic interactions) with other characters, there’s not much more to be said here.

Seteth: textually straight. He only has endings with women, and none of his supports with male characters are remotely romantic.

Flayn: textually straight. She only has endings with men. The only woman she supports is Manuela, and their support is decidedly platonic.

Hanneman: textually straight, in a way that’s often rather... off-putting, given he has several endings where he marries his former students. Unsurprisingly, all his endings are with women.

Manuela: subtextually bi. See Dorothea. I would argue that a romantic reading of her support with Edelgard isn’t completely out of the question, especially given Hanneman’s endings, but her ending with Dorothea is the one I’d argue is clearly intended to be romantic.

Gilbert: as far as we know, textually straight. While he does have an S rank support with Male Byleth, it’s platonic.

Alois: much like Gilbert, a married man and, as far as we know, straight. The S rank support is platonic.

Catherine: subtextually, practically textually, bi. Her devotion to Rhea comes across as romantic in nature, and her A support with Byleth makes this clear: “I will always serve her, protect her... Love her.” ... in English, that is. In Japanese, she instead says she thinks of Rhea as the goddess herself, which is less clear-cut. (Very rare case of the English version being more gay!)

We also, of course, have her relationship with Shamir, with their A+ support ending on this note:

Shamir: We can wed if you're that worried about losing me. Though, I may tire of your company. You look a bit red. What's the matter, partner?

Catherine: That was just...unexpected! If you'll excuse me, I need some fresh air...

Between their supports in both Houses and Hopes and their various other interactions, there’s, frankly, very little question that we’re intended to read their relationship as romantic. Their importance markers also make it clear they’re the other’s most important person... though I suppose this is to some degree due to Rhea not having unique dialogue for Catherine since she’s not playable. Regardless, I’d put them on a Ferdinand / Hubert level of “practically text”.

Shamir: textually bi. See Catherine. As mentioned in Leonie’s section, Shamir has a paralogue with her where you’re effectively helping her escape the clutches of an overzealous implied ex-lover... who is also a woman. Hopes triples down on Shamir’s attraction to women in her supports with Balthus, where she quips that he should’ve asked her about her preferences in women if he’s going to bring up gambling to before adding that she doubts their tastes are similar, exiting the conversation and leaving a very confused Balthus. Finally, there’s something to be said for the fact that the way you recruit Shamir to Scarlet Blaze is... by promising her you won’t harm Catherine.

As with Edelgard, there’s an argument to be made for Shamir being a straight-up lesbian rather than bi; yet her endings with Hubert and Dedue mention marriage. While her Dedue supports strike me as strictly non-romantic, she expresses some fondness for Hubert in their A Support. Outside of these two, Shamir has the greatest amount of non-marriage endings with male characters: her endings with Claude, Caspar, Raphael, Ignatz, and Cyril make no explicit mention of romance, which is quite unusual for M/F paired endings.

Cyril: textually straight. His only ending with another male character is with Ashe, and both their ending and support makes it clear they’re friends -- there’s no hints of romance here.

Hopes-exclusives

Monica: textually gay, arguably Edelsexual. Since she’s not in Houses, she’s not forced to be able to marry male Byleth! Her character revolves largely around her love for Edelgard, and she’s as unsubtle as it gets about it, calling Edelgard “the one for me” as early as their B Support and constantly professing her love to Edelgard in random battle quotes and even in her level up dialogues. The English version of their A support has Monica ask Edelgard for a hug, but the Japanese version instead has her ask to lie in Edelgard’s lap, which is even more overtly romantic (and, while she seems a bit embarrassed, Edelgard does accept).

While she’s clearly written around Edelgard, Monica’s supports with Dorothea can also be read as romantic on Monica’s end, which is how she may not be wholly Edelsexual.

Rodrigue: unclear (though presumably at least into women given he has a wife), but you can make an easy argument for a subtextually bi reading of Rodrigue; much as Felix is obsessed with Dimitri, so too Rodrigue was clearly quite obsessed with Lambert. In Hopes, Rodrigue brings up Lambert in many of his supports, and it’s clear they were close -- to the point where Dimitri says he’s envious of their closeness. Given both men eventually married a woman, perhaps it could be thought of as an unrequited thing.

Holst: unclear, as his supports make no mention of romance on his end. His Claude supports are sooner about Holst giving Claude and Hilda his blessing, and also talking politics; there’s no room for a romantic interpretation of them there. His supports with Balthus are, similarly... mostly about Hilda.

#fire emblem #text post #text: fe #text: fodlan #i spent all day writing this. I was bored. :) #(im putting it in the main tag because I have no fear!!)

[butwhatifidothis]

It's so baffling that Edelgard - or more, her stans - try to say that Faerghus separating from Adrestia was a plot from Rhea to gain control of Fodlan, when, like... the people of the north were literally being fed to wild beasts for Adrestian nobles' entertainment. And this had been going on since at least the fourth Emperor's time.

Like they were literally poppin' bubblies to the horrified and desperate screams of northerners as they were torn apart by animals. Like uh yeah maybe the people of the north, like. Didn't appreciate that bit of history (if it'd even stopped by Loog's time). And so wanted to bounce. Like I'm just sayin' it's not an impossibility that that was at least part of the reason Loog wanted independence.

Makes sense why Edelgard never brings it up seeing how it'd kinda ruin her speech about Church Bad if she included this detail in it. But edelstans doing it too is double hilarious because they point to the Church disallowing certain texts within the library as proof of the Church's evil, but guess which is one of two known texts in the game that has Seteth's signature on it showing that?

One of the pieces of evidence for peeps saying that the Church is bad also shows that Adrestia used to partake in the noble enjoyment of the violent maiming of northerners. Never seem to mention THAT part of the deal lmao

#anti edelgard #anti-edelgard #edeigard critical #edeigard discourse #just to be safe #and this having SETETH'S signature on it means it was only removed around 20 years ago anyway #since Seteth only joined Garreg Mach in 1162 #meaning RHEA had this in the Church for all that time. hell funnily enough there's a nonzero percent chance Jeralt could have read this LMA #but yeah like. maybe there was a reason Loog wanted independence maybe #and maybe maybe that reason wasn't Rhea Bad maybe pray chance perhaps

[randomnameless]

The idea that SS says the Church needs to be rehabilitated in Rhea's ending is entirely on the translation. The Japanese text says that "Meanwhile, Rhea, who survived, returned to her duties as archbishop after she recovered her strength, and she aligned herself with the unified kingdom, working to rebuild the church and help people suffering from war damage." And while I've mentioned Claude's endings with Flayn before regarding Wind, the endings mention that the new order/society of Fodlan is built by the heroes who saved Fodlan which would include the CoS.

Pat really hated Rhea it seems if he does that to her ending. Her rebuilding the CoS? That's not good, she needs to make them atone. But then again, he also tried to make it so that Edelgard had similar ideals to Claude when the game ultimately says otherwise.

Oh I know, I've read your posts about this lol

TBH, while Pat is to blame for the Pat'd script, the Church, as in Rhea's church, is always depicted as needing/being reformed : it wasn't in SS's ending proper, but in Rhea's own S Support where she blames herself for, well, everything that happened but also confesses she used her position as the Archbishop for her personal plan to see her mother again...

And yet, if we look at her actions - and the ones that can be tied to her "rez Sothis plan", bar maybe making Sitri a priest/nun, what did she meant by the "took advantage of my position of the Archbishop"/"used my position as the Archbishop" to see her mother again?

In this S-support, Rhea herself considers her CoS/her lead of the CoS might be to blame for Supreme Leader's war and gives "empty" criticisms to her actions : emtpy as in, well, the game doesn't bother telling/showing what were those "occasions" where Rhea explicitely used her position as the Archbishop to make her wish come true.

Maybe if we pull our hair a bit, we can say the "Billy sitting on the chair" ceremony? That was made to "bring back" Sothis and she asked Billy to do that as their boss and the Archbishop of the CoS?

In a nutshell, it's less "the church needs to be reformed" in SS, but more "Rhea acknowledges she did BaD things (which are?) and used the CoS through her position as the Archbishop to do so (receipt not found?)" so with Billy and in the epilogue, obviously she doesn't do those "BaD" things anymore and their work is miraculous.

As for Claude, while he does "fall in love" with Flayn who is working in the Church with her Father - and this ending obviously cannot be triggered if Claude ends with Billy - Claude's very own words in his Billy S-support, imo, cannot be ignored, while Billy will take Rhea's role as the one people will rely on, he wants Billy to create a Fodlan with "new values" that won't exclude people for being different... implying Fodlan had such values before the War, CoS included - when we know, even in FE16, that this is bullshit!

So while Claude can end up with Flayn despite her being a member of the Church, she's a member of the post-VW Church that is "reformed/different" from the old church, because in VW, the Church has "new values that don't exclude people for being different".

So back to the original post

Compare with Houses, who always removes Nabateans/Rhea of the picture (except in SS’s S support) and brings “reforms” to the CoS - because it needed some, even if we will never know what they are or why those reforms were needed.

SS's reforms are less "reforms" and more "Rhea reckons she did BaD things so will stop doing them now".

The icing on the cake takes the form of Seteth'n'Flayn's paired ending, let it be in the lolcalised or even in the OG (Googled though!) script :

While Flayn disappeared soon after the war, Seteth stayed at the monastery and worked to restore the authority of the Church of Seiros. Doing away with his old strictness, he adopted a tolerant stance toward all, and encouraged his followers to do the same. When he was satisfied that the message was received, he vanished from the monastery.

In the lolcalised version, Seteth adopts a tolerant stance toward all (which he didn't have before?? Source?) and asked his followers to do the same (which he never did before either???) and apparently, when he was satisfied because his message not to be, uh, asshats was received, he finally left the monastery.

Because obviously, under the old CoS, when he was leading investigations against the Western Church and called names by those same people because his creed and followers are "too tolerant", he, uh, wasn't "adopting a tolerant stance toward all and encouraging his followers to do the same".

In the JP version :

フレンは戦後まもなく姿を消したが、セテス はその後も大司教補佐として大修道院に留ま り、教団の権威回復に努めた。かつての厳格 さは鳴りを潜め、何事においても寛大な措置 を取るよう運営方針を転換。時代に即した教 義の改革を妥協なく推し進め、信徒に混乱の ないことを見届けてから大修道院を去った

Google'd it gives some :

Flayn disappeared shortly after the war, but Seteth remained at the abbey as an assistant archbishop and worked to restore the authority of the order. His former strictness has subsided, and he has changed his management policy to take more lenient measures in all matters. He uncompromisingly promoted doctrinal reform in line with the times, and after seeing that there was no confusion among the faithful, he left the abbey.

So, sure, there's no fuckery about "a tolerant stance" because the JP script is more coherent with, well, the general script, it's more like Seteth finally stopped being so strict and became a tidbit more lenient.

And yet...

What are those "doctrinal reforms in line with the times"???

How did he change the CoS' doctrine, sure, it was to be "in line with the times", but what was changed?

This ending basically tells us - something Seteth also says in Nopes' expedition lines or in his Tea time lines? - that he doesn't agree with the doctrine (whatever it is he doesn't agree with) and since Seteth is a playable character who can be supported, his PoV is obviously biased as in, for the player, Seteth is the kind guy so if he says the CoS' doctrine needs reformation, he won't reform it to put some "might makes right" rule, but obviously reform it for the better.

What is that "better doctrine"?

This ending can be obtained in all routes where Nabateans aren't hunted to make a world "for humanity", even in SS where Rhea'n'Billy work together to make Fodlan prosperous and miraculous so... in all routes, the Church is reformed.

Houses wise : the Church is always reformed/needs reformation/did BaD things we never saw -> which serves to make it more "shady" and pretend to have "earl grey", because if the Church always needs reformation, then Supreme Leader targeting it isn't completely unjustified and nonsensical, right?

But when Nopes drops FE16's framing a little bit and we see, maybe for 15 seconds, the CoS do stuff... well, even if Seteth mentions "not agreeing with all tenets", from what we see and hear about the CoS, his doubts don't have the same weight since, hey, we witness the "help other if they need it" tenets, "don't impose the CoS' values on people who aren't from Fodlan" tenet, "we will repay our debts" tenet, etc etc.

Is this the part of the doctrine Seteth disagrees with? This doctrine needs reformation?

Tl;Dr : Church BaD which is why Supreme Leader's war isn't completely nonsensical and why the self insert of this opus can rightfully become God and run the show better than anyone who was there before, but we will never show us what this "BaD" entail, we just are told about it.

In turn, this creates Earl Grey and the "morally grey masterpiece uwu" reputation this game has - Agarthans have no place in this Earl Grey masterpiece, that's why some people try to come up with reasons or justifications to explain why they aren't that worse than the faction the game uses a piñata despite showing us all the "not BaD" things they do.

#fantasyinvader #imo it's less than the CoS is destroyed or ignored in the non tru piss ending #but it's always reformed/modified #because the original one under Rhea's leadership needed 'reformation' #whatever this entails #Seteth'n'Flayn's ending in both versions really sucks #that's why I can't take the Fodlan game's plot seriously #i guess we disagree on Claude lol #but back to your original post #Agarthans must be earl greyed because their victims are always depicted as very BaD #let it be by Supreme Leader but even in the rest of the games #so if the fake morally grey comes from the game telling us the sky is red when we see it's always blue #Agarthans musn't be evil and one note like they are in canon #they must somehow have redeeming qualities else it's another strike against #what the game is telling us about the Church being very very BaD and not #just an organisation that basically runs a giant charity #FE16 #3 nopes #i reblogged that post about puritanism #maybe it can also partly explain Pat's hateboner against the CoS? #idk

[cherrypikkins]

What the heck is a Noa Fruit anyway?

The flavour text is as follows: ‘A fruit named after Saint Noa. It takes a skilled hand to extract the pulp.’

Saint Noa took exile by travelling through Fodlan’s Fangs, a mountain range on the southern coast of Adrestia close to Brigid. My guess is that a fruit named after Noa would be tropical, given the warm climate of Brigid and the Empire.

Notably there is a real life ‘Noa’ Mango. But as far as fruits come to mind that require skill to cut, here’s a funnier guess - what if the Noa fruit is a pineapple?

… essentially I posit this: Gautier Cheese Gratin is just a hawaiian pizza casserole

#fe3h #fire emblem three houses #fodlan #faerghus cuisine #’has a unique flavour’ #food

[quintessentialgaymutant]

A Queer Reading/Analysis on Claude in Fire Emblem Three Hopes

A long analysis I wrote about Claude’s writing in 3 Hopes, specifically in comparisons to 3 Houses regarding queerness. This is my interpretation of the text, and is not meant to be absolute for everyone but I felt it was worth sharing! It’s a long one and begins under the cut:

Claude was a character many queer men wanted before release, and right before the game released; there was a scene featuring a ball in the opening movie where Claude pulls in Male!Byleth’s hand in for a dance; leading many to speculate that he could be a queer option.

Once the actual gay options for men were revealed, there was massive disappointment. Many campaigned for Claude in particular, and even his VA commented on his unfortunate S support situation.

Claude differs quite drastically between Houses and Hopes. In Houses, he is an S support option for female Byleth only and has some of the most romantic endings with women, with many, if not all of his A supports implying romance before the ending.

Hilda, Petra, Ingrid, Annette, Hapi, Marianne, Lysithea, are all women he can support. In comparison, his male supports only include Lorenz, Raphael, Ignatz and Balthus. The opposite sex to same sex ratio of his supports may be amongst the highest, compared to the rest of the cast.

His support with Ignatz is also quite heteronormative with the two of them talking about female Byleth’s beauty, nothing similar is mentioned if you play as the male version.

3 houses does have some subtextual same sex supports and endings between many characters. Dimitri/Dedue, Sylvain/Felix, Caspar/Linhardt, Dorothea/Petra are some that come to mind; Claude has one such pairing that has subtextual potential; Lorenz.

However, even that specific pairing isn’t as blatant as many of the other subtextual ones.

3 years after the release of Houses, 3 Hopes was announced. It was revealed to be a brand new alternate universe story based in Fodlan, with a whole new protagonist to boot!

Fans speculated if romances would return and many queer men silently hoped for the possibility of better characters than what Houses offered. Claude was also back with a gorgeous new design and a more focused story.

Fast forward to now, and It’s been over a year since Hopes has been released and its stark change in perspective and queerness was something that still grabs me, and Claude sits neatly in the center of all of that.

It should be noted that 3 Hopes does not have S supports in the traditional sense; but I would argue that it still has romantic aspects, albeit more subdued but still effective.

First off is the merc whistle; an item you give to any character in the game, regardless of gender, when you receive an A support.

A support is poignant, not only because it’s the highest level but because even in Houses, many A supports were very flirty and/or romantic and that ranking was required in order for Byleth to give them a ring. Thus, this mechanic clearly draws from whatever the equivalent of an S support is in FE games that have it.

Once the whistle is given, the charcaters in question will have some special dialogue, give you a memento in return and then will write you a personal letter once you finish the game.

Many of these letters are very overtly romantic. With characters saying they want to spend the rest of their lives near you or that you’re special to them.

This is not unlike paired endings of past games and is an actual, direct precursor to the Pact Ring in Engage, the newest game in the series as of writing. It’s important to note that the Pact Ring in Engage can also be given to any character regardless of gender.

Beyond that element; the game also has the most intimate simulation setting; expeditions. These are essentially dates you can take any character on, and their dialogue will change depending on support level.

Once again, A support ranking comes with some overtly flirty and romantic dialogue, with blushing and all, and none of this is restricted by gender.

All in all, though the S support system doesn’t exist in Hopes, these alternatives clearly exist for the purpose of romance/shipping and have dialogue that in some cases, is more flirty and intimate than what we even got in Houses, barring direct confessions.

Claude has many unique qualities within this framework, specifically with Shez, none of which is restricted by gender, unlike his Houses incarnation, which was deeply heteronormative.

For starters, his A support expedition dialogue is some of the most overtly flirty and sexual amongst the cast.

If you look at his face, he boasts about how you’re into his face and that you can gaze at it as long as you like. If you look at his hair, he teasingly states that you’re also really into it and that it’s not going anywhere, luckily for us. And finally, if you look at his body, he teases us by saying that he might look scrawny but is actually quite fit.

This last line has a bit of a sexual edge to it in the Japanese version, in which he teases that if he takes off his clothes you could see that he’s not actually that scrawny and is decently built!

These lines imply physical interest and a desire to be gazed at in a more than platonic sense. He doesn’t just like that you think he’s cute; he *wants* you to stare at him and is inviting you in, in some cases, quite proudly and eagerly.

Once you leave the expedition; he says that he’ll be counting the minutes until he can do this again with you.

This level of flirtation and physical intrigue is quite relevant because it’s Claude. Even in Houses, he keeps Byleth at arm’s length in their S support; but in Hopes, a huge part of his story and development revolves around his inability to lean on and trust his friends. The fact that he’s this intimate and vulnerable around Shez after all they’ve been through is quite significant.

Beyond these blatant forms of flirtation, Claude in particular is the most influenced by Shez in Hopes. He arguably gets the treatment Edelgard got in Houses, in which she was clearly written as being romantically interested in Byleth, and is the most influenced by whether or not the player chooses her, regardless of gender.

To demonstrate this, we’ll have to look at Claude’s narrative and Shez’s role in it.

It starts early on, Claude takes an interest in Shez, similarly to how he does with Byleth in 3 Houses.

He views Shez as an “outsider”, like himself, which is the foundational point of their bond. This is brought up multiple times in their interactions, for example, when Shez asks why Claude wants him around, and in their B support when Shez opens up to him about his past and being disowned by his village - he sees a kindred spirit in Shez and actually organically wants to open up to him.

The inability to open up to others represents a large part of Claude’s inner conflict and the fact that it’s Shez who plays a direct role in mitigating that showcases how necessary their relationship is to each other.

He also is constantly lowkey flirty with Shez, beyond the very overtly sexually implied Expedition lines; he calls him “his favourite mercenary” (which he says even after meeting Byleth) and says “I knew we had a thing!” When you decide to join his house.

He also claims that he “wants you�� when Shez wonders why Claude wants him to go to Leicster with him after the Monastery closes. He says this again during his paralogue with Judith and Nader, and says he was “laying it on pretty thick” if you don’t get the hint.

He notably doesn’t display this carefree, playful, teasing banter with many other characters, he will maybe jest at them but not be this affectionate and interested.

Things get tense when the Almyran army tries to invade Fodlan’s Throat a second time, now years after the first attempt. It’s an even larger army this time, and it happens as soon as Claude and his army are about to seize Gronder Field from Count Bergliz.

Claude recounts how this must be his brother Shahid. He is hiding the fact that he is Almyra’s Prince at this point and doesn’t tell Shez how he really feels despite Shez catching on that he’s upset.

After Shahid’s death and learning Claude was his brother, Shez feels a wall between himself and Claude; that he’s not being completely open and honest about his feelings. Arval implies that he is still “scheming” and that he’s an ambitious man who keeps to himself, but Shez will be important to him and he’ll open up eventually.

4 moons later, Claude creates the Leicster Federation, not telling anyone about this idea, including Shez.

It’s important to note that without Shez, he never gains the determination to create the Leicster Federation in the first place and it never forms if Shez sides with another house; once again, showcasing how important their bond is to his own story. He says that he apologizes for never telling him about it but asks Shez to promise to stay by his side.

Claude’s inability to confide in his friends comes to a head in his first mission as the federation king. He agreed to a contract with Edelgard; in which he aids her in her conquest against the Central Church of Seiros. The Federation’s first mission is to send troops to Aillel, the Valley of Torment, in order to help general Randolph defeat the knights of Seiros, lead by Thunder Catherine.

Instead of aiding Randolph when he needs it, he commands his troops to secure all of the strongholds in order to trap the Knights of Seiros, blocking their escape, while they focus their efforts on Randolph and his imperial troops. This is seen as a self serving strategy which treats the empire’s troops, whom Claude agreed to protect, as expendable, whilst the Federation’s army remains unscathed.

Claude did not trust in his own army’s (his friends, mind you) ability to both protect the imperial troops and defeat the Knights of Seiros. Claude’s own ambitions require him to think of the bigger picture; however his conscious is at odds with his techniques as he feels guilty after the fight, saying the decision left a bad taste in his mouth.

He says his own hands will never be clean after this and there’s no going back now. He views this as the only way forward, despite it feeling wrong. He is dealing with this inner conflict alone.

This whole time, Shez has felt Claude has been too guarded and unpredictable with his priorities. He cares for Claude but there’s always been something in between them. That tension culminates here; with Shez proclaiming that after this, he feels expendable to Claude and that he is no different from any other noble who views mercenaries as nothing but a means to an end.

Claude does care. He says in an incredibly sullen tone: “I could never do that to you.” His inner conflict is in full display here; he is attempting to balance the duties of an ambitious king but isn’t able to reach his loved ones. Then, Judith comes in, agreeing with Shez.

Judith is almost like a mother figure to Claude and it takes her and Shez to get Claude to see that he needs to not take the burden of leadership solely on himself and that he needs to trust his friends.

They effectively stop him from becoming a shrewd, detached strategist, something he can indeed become in other routes (Scarlet Blaze’s bad ending).

The interaction between Claude and Shez here is full of tension and has a lot to do with how they see each other. Shez wants to be close to Claude but at this point; doesn’t see him as someone who is trustworthy. Claude has always cared for Shez, and has viewed him as irreplaceable but wasn’t able to let him truly in, he never learned how to share his woes (not surprising considering his childhood).

Expressing certain intimate emotions seems difficult for Claude in general. He’s always having to lean on himself to get the job done. Even when killing Shahid, he didn’t expect himself to struggle with it. When he saw himself struggling, he was surprised and thought himself impervious to such emotions; despite it being his brother. Once again, it was Shez who helped him find his resolve and do the deed.

Before leaving for Garreg Mach to fight The Church, Claude thanks Shez for aiding him and asks if he’ll continuing supporting him even after all of this. Shez teases him saying only during the war, but Claude was unwilling to accept that. He wants Shez near him even after it; to share in the cultivation of his dream for Fodlan.

Overall, this is the most direct and personal impact Shez has on any character in the game.

Claude has said many times throughout the game that he yearns to open up to Shez, and that there is a natural chemistry there; the progression of the plot has this trust be at the crux of Claude’s personal development. It’s his trust and vulnerability around Shez that inspires Claude to create the Federation.

The fact that Claude has all of this and was the most vocally desired character by upset queer male fans may not be a coincidence.

Lastly, unlike Houses, Claude’s A supports with all the women he can support with have no flirty or romantically coded lines, most of them speak of Leicster and their roles within it going forward. He doesn’t really open up to any of them, he offers to support them and vice versa but the interactions feel more role centric than personal.

Meanwhile, not only does his A support with Lorenz retain some subtext, it adds even more; with the two of them opening up to each other, looking out for each other, with Claude feeling at ease with Lorenz on his side. They get a special CG, the only A support in the game to do so!

All of this showcases Claude’s unique differences regarding queerness compared to Houses. He is allowed to show the same depth of desire for the male player as the female player, which is relevant in this game as that relationship is at the crux of both the development of his ambitions but also his inner conflicts.

Unlike Houses, the endpoint of the relationship is open to both genders instead of just the female one. This openness to both genders regarding character endings, flirty dialogue, and gifting a special, exclusive item is relevant because it’s the same approach the series embraced in its next entry, showcasing a schema shift from Houses regarding queer readings in the series.

His romantic interest in women is much more obsolete in Hopes, while it is at the forefront in his dynamics with them in Houses. Meanwhile, Lorenz is the one character to retain the possible romantic reading, even surpassing Houses by giving the two of them a CG.

All in all, the schema shift between games not only did better by queer male fans, but also let Claude be more subversive regarding his character interactions and desires than what Houses provided. The series can and still should do better with more overt representation and diversity of queerness but this still meant a lot to me, personally.

#Claude #Claude Von Riegan #Shez #shezclaude #claudeshez #Lorenz #clorenz #fire emblem #three hopes #gay reading #queer analysis

[teaveetamer]

Edelstans really lack self awareness huh? "We never said she had no agency, that's why we stalk and harass these haters/gross fujos cause how dare they say she did those bad things, she was forced to do so and it wasn't too bad, and it's the victim's fault for existing, and Dimitri's just as bad, etc etc uwu" And I especially like how you noted that they were going to look at your blog and throw a fit only to do exactly what you said. Very charming on their end.

Of course they did exactly what I said they would. They're in too deep to stop now. They need to keep justifying to themselves why it's "okay" for them to attack us, otherwise people there might start catching on to the fact that what they've been doing is abhorrent.

Anyway, a bit anecdotal but it's definitely not just "one or two" people doing this to Edelgard either. Let's just set aside for the moment the "better than canon" fanfic they always rec which spends the bulk of it's text treating Edelgard like a sad little girl with no agency. Let's talk about the most ridiculous example I've encountered of Edelgard stans completely refusing to acknowledge her agency.

I have had some really intense arguments with Edelgard stans insisting that she never set Bernadetta on fire. When I could prove with actual, literal, video evidence that she does set Bernie on fire, I was told that it was a programming mistake/glitch/bug because Edelgard would never.

Like holy shit. When you're to the point of accusing the programmers of making a mistake because you, the end consumer who did not work on this game in any capacity, can't reconcile your reading of the character with things that canonically happened... I don't know what you want me to say.

I also didn't include this screenshot because it wasn't really relevant to the point I was trying to make, but a few replies down turns into a full blown r/SelfAwareWolves moment. Someone (paraphrased) says "people only want us to acknowledge her agency because they want us to think she's a villain"

You're so close. The reason why so many of us don't like Edelgard has nothing to do with misogyny or queerphobia or whatever. It's because we looked at the decisions she made, acknowledged that she made those decisions with full agency, and we think those decsions were wrong. I think starting a war of conquest is wrong. I think trampling the sovereignty of two independent states is wrong. I think continuing to work with people who perform human experimentation is wrong. I think benefitting from the genocide of a race is wrong. I have seen no convincing argument from your side on why I should change my mind.

Fuck me man, all three of those arguments have their own agency stripping counterarguments that I've been hearing since 2019. Literally everything from "defensive invasion, she knew Claude and Dimitri were going to invade her so she had to attack them first!" to "Fodlan was never REALLY three independent countries so she didn't REALLY decide to trample on their sovereignty!" to "she had to because she had a gun held to her head and the Agarthans forced her!!!" to the classic "um, she was like 9 when that happened" (She was not 9).

Do y'all not see how ALL of that completely strips her of the agency you keep insisting she's so feminist for exhibiting, and why some of us might think that's super lame?

[bubtans]

tee hee hello hi i edited some paired ending cards for the house leaders because they are an inseparable set of boom booms and are strongest together and must not be separated!!! the text for each card is below the cut for anyone who uses a screen reader :)

Dimitri (Lion of Legend) & Edelgard (Eagle of Flames)

After the war’s peaceful end, Dimitri formally ascended the throne as the first king of a secular Faerghus and worked tirelessly to build a nation free of intolerance and persecution. Alongside his sister, the ruler of Adrestia, he invested wealth and resources into the regions of Fódlan most damaged by the war. Their reign marked the rebirth of Duscur as a free, sovereign state, as well as a reformed education system that resulted in widespread knowledge of many cultures and faiths. The two were known for their heated quarrels and banter, but the balance of Dimitri’s kindness and Edelgard’s passion led Fódlan to a new era of fairness and prosperity. It is said that when Dimitri’s daughter came of age, the princess received a gift from her aunt: a dagger, which had been given to her by her most treasured friend.

Claude (King of Unification) & Dimitri (Lion of Legend)

Following the destruction of Shambhala, Claude was formally chosen by his peers and his citizens to rule the first democratic Kingdom of Leicester. His reign inspired the dissolution of the Church of Seiros as Fodlan’s ruling force and allowed its followers to practice alongside believers of many different faiths. This feat was only possible with the support of Dimitri, who sought to bring knowledge and love for all cultures and beliefs into his own kingdom. Together, they succeeded in returning coastal lands along Faerghus’s border to the people of Sreng, whom they helped establish the most successful port for fishing in both countries’ histories. Dimitri would cite his dearest friend as the reason why Fódlan’s people never went hungry, and the grand feasts that he hosted whenever they met were his way of thanking him.

Claude (King of Unification) & Edelgard (Eagle of Flames)

Following the defeat of those who slither in the dark at the hands of Fódlan’s unified army, the new Adrestian Empire flourished under Edelgard’s rule as a prosperous state built on the principles of freedom and equality. She credited many of her highly effective foreign policy reforms to Claude, whose friendship and guidance helped her achieve the goal of seeing Fódlan as a beacon of acceptance and love for all cultures and backgrounds. When Claude took his place as the King of Almyra, their combined leadership helped countless civilizations thrive and support each other in times of need. The two eventualy retired together to spend their days traveling the world, and Edelgard’s dream of experiencing the sun’s warmth to her heart’s content, and leading an ordinary life with the one she cherished most, finally came true.

#fe3h #fire emblem three houses #dimitri alexandre blaiddyd #claude von riegan #edelgard von hresvelg #platinum trio #mine: edits #mine: fe3h #editing them was pretty simple but writing them was a labor of love and i worked rly hard to do as much justice to them as i could!! #and i'm pretty proud of them ngl i wanna make some more and maybe fix some of the existing endings that i didn't like #but that's for another day hehe