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quintessentialgaymutant · 3 months

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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.

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