Does anyone remember when I would draw Glenn being a lil shit to his dad? Anyone?

how do you think dimitri responds to the fraldarius family taking on the mantle of shield?

Honestly I think that as a child he would have been extremely enamored by the idea, especially with how close he is to Felix and Glenn. But because of the Tragedy affecting his perspective on what it means to be a shield with how Glenn basically became a meat shield despite joking about it, he actually grows the resent the concept that it's something that can be viewed so lightly.

Consider that he does view Rodrigue as a father figure, but that while Rodrigue does care for him like a son, Rodrigue still has it somewhere in him that is ready to act as the shield to a liege rather than a father to a son. The fact that this comes to fruition with Rodrigue fatally throwing himself between Fleche's blade and Dimitri's back - literally meat shielding, actually makes Dimitri realize in its aftermath that his perspective is also a little bit selfish. Rodrigue did it because it was more than duty or his promise to Lambert. To safeguard Dimitri, to be a shield for the future of their homeland was as big a part of his self-identity as a Fraldarius as being a fatherly figure, and were Dimitri to resent that, it would be like mocking their fundamental generational identity. Glenn died because he cared, and not just out of duty. No sane man would willingly walk into death without their self-preservation kicking in, especially not out of nothing but duty.

As a result, I feel like Dimitri does subsequently reconcile that such a position is something of a hard truth. It remained a generational identity for all of some 400 years for a reason, instead of becoming obsolete, but that the tradition need not necessarily be to such extremes in every case. Where he can, he begins to emphasize that a shield's duty is to protect, not to break and shatter in the name of protection. To prioritize one's life over throwing it away without a second thought to protect him. Doubly so when you consider that Felix himself shares a similar sentiment about not throwing a life away just to be a shield out of duty, especially after his father and brother died taking it to a logical, yet painful extreme. I would think that this would be a strong basis for how Felix and Dimitri's bond is rekindled following the end of the war, and it actually makes for a far more stable and strong foundation in the new age of peacekeeping.

⚔️𝕯𝖊𝖘𝖕𝖊𝖗𝖙𝖆 𝖋𝖊𝖗𝖗𝖔⚔️

I'm honored that I'd participate in @fraldariuszine as creator of TTRPG cards. I hope you could find it so catching and fantastic as the rest of the amazing art in this zine.

I hope you can get it as well my 🌹botanic🌹spotlights inside.

thinking about Faerghus's first and last lines of defense

Thinking about these two fathers who call out for their king as they die, and their children who swear they will somehow achieve what their fathers could not

thinking about these two who were failed by their fathers in the face of great tragedy, returning to fight by their sides to the very end, calling out in helplessness as they fall, and their fathers having only vengeance to offer in return

thinking about these two who have been failed by their fathers in the face of great tragedy, seeing another tragedy and choosing to turn against their fathers as if that can somehow correct the past - only to cry out to their fathers in the end

I'm soooooooo normal about them

These two are next to each other on my figure shelf. I like to think they’re friends. :)

The lone swordsman of Fraldarius

Talking through the question of "did Glenn have a crest" with @organizationhimself and you know what... He couldn't possibly have had a crest.

- Ingrid is being married off specifically because she has a crest that can be passed down. Why would she be engaged to Glenn if he already had the Crest of Fraldarius? Why would he need the shot for his kids at the Crest of Daphnel if he already had his family's crest?

- Ingrid also isn't allowed to follow her dream of becoming a knight like Glenn because her crest makes her the heir. Her family needs her to stay the head of House Galatea. She can't be marrying the heir to a more prominent house than hers.

- Which then follows that if Glenn had had a crest... He would never have been allowed to become a knight, forget a bodyguard. He would have been the heir and not expendable to the crown that way - not to mention not a good marriage prospect for Ingrid.

- Which then... If he had had a crest... Would he have survived Duscur? He would have just been a regular guy standing in between Dimitri and death (and oh hey... Doesn't that describe Dedue also...)

- RIP to Glenn, regular guy.

Something that SEEERIOUSLY isn’t talked about enough among Rodrigue fans is how Rodrigue (almost? or generally) always refers to Dimitri as “Your/His Highness” except in the moment that Dimitri’s life was at risk right in front of Rodrigue and Rodrigue shielded him with his own body.

Rodrigue is always respectful and aware of their stations, but none of that matters when Dimitri is almost killed. Rodrigue reacts emotionally without station in mind, forgetting to refer to him in an “appropriate” manner and reacting instead in a more intimate manner (i.e. using a person’s name instead of their title).

Most people wouldn’t dare to refer to their prince by their first name, but Rodrigue forgets all that the moment Dimtiri is in danger. He follows up that familial intimacy by calling Dimitri “my boy”. In a way it’s like Rodrigue's formalities are just forced expectations that are ingrained into him, because his actual instinct is to refer to Dimitri in a familial way. If he doesn’t have time to think about what he’s saying, it will be Dimitri’s name that he uses because that’s how he truly thinks of Dimitri.

He doesn’t solely view Dimitri as his prince. He views Dimitri as family, and in a setting where royalty exists, it’s so important to the relationship in question when that societal expectation is broken, simply because it tells you exactly what that character thinks of their royalty.

When royalty’s life is in danger, it would even make sense for people to hesitate because if they do anything, they might also be in danger and generally humans instinctually prioritize their own life (even if they do really want to step in to help). That typically is not the case with humans regarding loved ones, where that instinct instead changes to an instinct where they automatically step in to protect people dear to them - especially parents to their children. Parents - not just in humans but in most forms of life (cats, dogs, etc) - are extremely protective of their children and react without a second - even a first - thought, because it’s not a thought at all when they see their children in danger. It’s a base reaction.

Rodrigue wasn’t witnessing his prince being attacked. He was witnessing his son being attacked, and he reacted as a father would - not as a knight, a vassal or anyone under Dimitri’s station and how they would be expected to react to protect him. Dimitri didn’t have to be his blood son for him to react the same way a blood parent would. Dimitri wasn’t born to him but he was Rodrigue’s son all the same and he couldn’t accept his boy being harmed.

I love that his reaction is exactly the same as what Lambert would have done. I love that in that one moment when he didn’t have time to think about his word choice, such important stations meant absolutely nothing to him. I love that what was important to him was Dimitri the person, and not Dimitri the prince. I love that at the very end, he died knowing his boy was safe and alive. I love that, when he starts reusing “Your Highness”, it’s only after the immediate danger has passed and he has time to actually process his word choice again, because it really drives home how quickly and thoughtlessly he reacted to seeing Dimitri in danger when he dropped formalities to use his first name.

He also didn’t tell him to live for the people or live because he was a prince. He wanted Dimitri to remember to live for himself and likely died with the hope that those being his last words would be taken much more heavily and sincerely, and give Dimitri a lot to think about in regard to caring for himself as a person and not just seeing himself as a prince/future king, because Rodrigue also saw him as a person.

Not only did Rodrigue protect his son (which mind you must have been extremely important to him after already losing a son. Can you imagine how devastated he would be to lose another child? This time he saved a son from death, which he was unable to do previously and he wasn’t present to be able to even try), but he gave Dimitri the thing Dimitri desired the most from those he loved: he treated Dimitri like a regular person who needed to live his own life for himself, and in the single most critical moment to Rodrigue, forgot to use titles and formalities and openly expressed his true feelings just by using Dimitri’s name alone.

Dimitri never liked all those stuffy behaviors and titles. He just wanted to be a person. Rodrigue, his family, gave him that at Rodrigue’s very end, explicitly informing Dimitri that was how this man always thought of him just from that one moment of Rodrigue’s feelings slipping through. He was always keeping up appearances, but Dimitri was always just Dimitri to him.

Also, Rodrigue says “please tell me it wasn’t in vain”. Remember, Rodrigue’s son died in vain. Glenn didn’t actually get to protect Dimitri. Earlier, Rodrigue stated that Dimitri’s injuries left him on the verge of death. Glenn didn’t die protecting him. Glenn died in a tragedy. Nothing Glenn did that day that led to his death actually helped Dimitri survive. Dimitri survived because Gilbert found him in time.

Rodrigue knows that and doesn’t want another person dear to Dimitri to die a death that didn’t need to happen. He also doesn’t want it to be in vain because if it was, he would have died being unable to protect his son. Rodrigue “died for what he believed in”, but he died because he thoughtlessly, without hesitation, died to save his son. He believed in Dimitri, but he also believed Dimitri to be his child as much as Glenn and Felix ever were.

Even though Glenn did die in vain, he attempted to die keeping his best friend alive. He believed in his best friend, just like Lambert believed in his son to be able to saved if he ever went astray.

Before Rodrigue dies, he last thoughts are of Lambert, but also his promise to Lambert, which was about Dimtiri.

Rodrigue was always thinking of his family throughout the whole game (literally, he brings up Felix to Byleth regularly and brings up Glenn throughout the story as well), and that extended to Lambert and Dimtiri. At the very last, he literally died like he lived, and that was for his family.

Lil' Bit of Left Boot for the current WiP

"Do you hate me, Felix?" 😭💔

Belated Father’s Day to Rodrigue (mug given by Sylvain, much to Felix’s frustration).

I love how I was talking to Indigo and we’re like “wow you really win ‘better dad’ by doing literally nothing aside from existing in your son’s life and being average”. I mean. Rodrigue? Compared to most? Better Dad. It’s such a tragedy you literally default to being better by being okay. (Jeralt is Best Dad.)

i do think the feeling of loss is and always was palpable in fraldarius

hi so i have a theory that all faith magic users draw their ability with faith from something to become more powerful (so like linhardt gets stronger the more he learns, mercedes the more she worships, flayn the more friends she has, etc.) what would rodrigue draw his power from in your opinion

I do like to think that it can be faith in Anything, so Rodrigue has this unwavering belief in Lambert and in Faerghus, and that just keeps growing. Belief in the Goddess. Belief in the future. Belief in Felix and Dimitri and that Glenn's death (and life) had meaning.

I think that he also has faith in himself, maybe not that he is the Most Confident person in the world, but he has faith that he will choose to do the right thing, and believes that he can make a difference for his home and all the people he cares about. He's adaptable and willing to approach things in different ways, and to act before the worry can set in, because he believes in just Doing the right thing.

And all that propels him forward, originating with Lambert (and Lambert's belief in him?)--and Rodrigue's unswerving loyalty to his home. Because Lambert is/was his home, the epitome of what Faerghus was becoming.

So in the context of your specific question, I think Rodrigue would draw power from the people he befriends and loves--the people he wants to shield. The more people he can and wants to protect, the stronger he can be.

Rodrigue at the final battle against Thales. 😭

lkjfsdlkjas i am a little sad i can’t apply as a mod for a zine. They originally were going to find someone to ship out the zines, but I looked at the info doc again like two weeks ago or so, and they no longer needed one. But in good news, it means I will have time for a different zine I really want to do instead.

Late bday gift for my lil bro the4thriver on instagram <3 --- Commissions are OPEN