#mostly Rhea & Flayn
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Summary:
After her rescue from Enbarr by Dimitri, Rhea has withdrawn to the Red Canyon to live a life of peace and seclusion, interrupted by a monthly visit from Flayn to deliver some books, and have tea and a chat. However, as Catherine's feelings for her and Flayn's frustrations with Seteth's prudish behavior become more obvious, Rhea devices a plan...
Notes:
To celebrate Rhea's birthday, here's a cute little first chapter to a fic that I had been meaning to write for a while. This story will be almost exclusively Rhea & Flayn as well as Rhea/Catherine. And before anyone asks: I DO actually like Seteth, in part because he is flawed (the flaw in this case being an overbearing father).
The song Rhea sings is a translation of part if "Mein Anblick", by German medieval folk rock band Schandmaul.
Disclaimer: This work was written for publication on Archive of Our Own and my personal Tumblr and is not for profit. Any re-publication on for-profit/monetized sites/apps is not authorized or supported by me. If you come across such a re-publication, please leave a comment here or in my tumblr ask box. Podfics and translations may be authorized upon request.
Full text below the cut for those who prefer to read on tumblr
It began, as so many things did, with a careless, casual remark, flung out into the open to be forgotten within seconds.
"Dimitri has invited me to visit him and Dedue in the capital and I am sorely tempted to accept," Flayn had said as she had put the finishing touches on the white flower pattern she had been stitching onto her new skirt, "but father has been terribly busy for the last two months and likely will be for several more. I believe pigs will start ascending to the sky before he lets me make such a journey all on my own."
"I see..."
Rhea sipped from the Crescent Moon Tea that Flayn had prepared for the two of them. Or... well... technically, the three of them, but Catherine had refused to partake, as she had had for the last ten moons, no matter how often Flayn had reassured her that her presence was not disturbing their conversations at all. Instead, she was patrolling the ruins again, the low, vibrating sound of her distant off-key humming similar to the rustling of leaves in a forest.
"I understand his desire to be cautious in these times," Rhea finally conceded as she put her cup down once more. Why did tea have to be hot? "The war may be over, but I hear some of the dark mages Edelgard employed are still in hiding." Her hands clung closer to the cup, the chill from the dungeons of Enbarr creeping back into her bones even now, almost a year after her rescue. "It would be dangerous for... one of us... of all people, to travel Fodlan alone, but surely he could spare a knight or two to accompany you? And once you are in Fhirdiad, surely His Majesty would ensure your safety?"
Flayn sighed. "I don't think it is ambushes from dark mages that father is concerned about." She finished another two stitches, then paused in the middle of the third. "Unless every man in Fhirdiad leaves the city while I am visiting, I doubt father's fears could be allayed."
"I see."
Rhea wanted to sigh. She could probably get away with it too, now that she was no longer the archbishop, forced to perform serenity, wisdom and grace, even when she was truly upset, lost and raw with grief on the inside. Still, this was Flayn. Her niece. One of the last five Nabateans in existence, or possibly six if one counted the new archbishop. For her sake, she could endure that torture again for a few hours each month.
"I assume you have talked to Seteth about this?"
"More times than I wish to count." Flayn rolled her eyes and took a petulant stab at her skirt. "He insists that I know far too little about the dangers inherent in such attachments and that we shall 'discuss it another time'."
Finally, frustration won out. Rhea watched silently as Flayn secured the needle close to where she had finished stitching and threw the whole garment onto the pile of books she was going to take back to the monastery with her. A History of Brigid and Dagda. The Tales of Kyphon. Songs of the North.
Songs of the North...
Rhea's lips curved into the slightest smile. She had an ide—
"What do you think he means by that, Rhea? Considering how long we..." Flayn took up her cup and downed it whole, without the slightest pause. If her throat glowed as hot as her cheeks, she was bravely ignoring it. Or perhaps, even using the fire as fuel for her frustrated words. "What is 'another time' for him? In a hundred years? A thousand? They will all be dead by then, Rhea!"
"Who will be dead?"
True to her name, Catherine burst into the room at the speed of lightning, sword drawn, body poised for battle. Flayn's cup tumbled out of her hands and shattered on the marble table just as her startled yelp came to a close.
"Just point me at them! I will cut them down to size!"
"There's no-one to cut, Catherine." To Rhea's surprise, the sound that came out of her own throat was a surprised giggle.
A giggle.
When was the last time she had been carefree enough to giggle?
"I... um... I was speaking of... um..." Flayn's hands reached for the shards almost too quickly. Rhea could already foresee her injuring her fingers. "...the fish! Ow!" She pulled her hands back from the mess on the table and pouted at the cut in childlike indignation for just a moment, before turning to Catherine with a sheepish smile. "His majesty invited me to visit the capital, but I am just so worried the fish in the pond will all be dead if I'm gone for so many weeks."
Catherine raised an eyebrow, then put away her sword. She looked almost disappointed. And positively bored.
"Why would you worry about the fish? Last I checked, Garreg Mach has an actual Fishkeeper whose entire job it is to ensure the fish are well." Catherine shrugged. "Well, until they are caught and taken to the kitchens anyway."
"Oh, of course." Rhea smiled, took off one of her gloves, and wrapped it around Flayn's injured finger, pressing gently. "How easily one forgets the simplest of facts, when worried about something one holds dear."
"Now that," Catherine sighed, "that feeling I know all too well. I shall take my leave then. My apologies for interrupting."
"It is quite alright." Rhea shook her head. Her gaze wondered once more to the books. To the Songs of the North.
Perhaps Catherine's interruption had been more than alright.
Perhaps it was time to beat Seteth at his own game.
"Wait, Catherine!"
"Yes, Lady Rhea?" She had been almost out of the room already, yet Catherine froze and turned around in an instant.
"I have a question before you go. That melody you were humming before... it sounds distantly familiar, but I cannot recall its title, no matter how hard I try."
The blush that rose to Catherine's cheeks almost instantly confirmed what she had already guessed. It had truly only been half a lie. She had not been certain about the title, but she had had her suspicions. And if her suspicions were correct...
"I believe it's called 'Your Sight', Lady Rhea." Catherine's voice could not have sounded more nervous if she had been on her knees, wielding a ring instead of a sword. "But I honestly don't remember the words. Just the melody."
Now that was a lie, but one Rhea was happy to overlook. She granted Catherine leave once more, then finally withdrew her glove to look at Flayn's finger.
The bleeding had stopped. The subtle glazing over of her eyes as bitter tears made their way to the surface had not.
"Please accept my apologies, Rhea. It's just..." Flayn wiped her eyes with her sleeve and sat up as straight and unbending as she could. "It's just not fair. How am I supposed to learn, if he won't let me within ten feet of a man without supervision?"
"Well," Rhea smiled and wrangled the copy of Songs of the North out of the pile as gently as she could. "We could start here."
"The books from the library?" Flayn raised an eyebrow and continued her work of gathering the shards of her poor cup, this time with more care. "I already asked the librarians, the monks and even some of the students for recommendations, but whatever novels of romance the library may have, they are not accessible to me. And if I were to buy one at the market, surely father would find out."
"That is why you look for the romance in books that are not about romance." Rhea's smile turned positively sly. "You just have to know where to look."
The cover was heavy and worn, but inside the pages looked almost untouched by the sands of time. Little wonder, Rhea thought to herself, as she let her finger run down the index, when there is nothing in this book that would be relevant to any study of battle.
But love... oh yes. There were things in here that were relevant to the study of love.
"Ah!" Her heart made a little jump when she finally found it. Is this how students felt when they bent the rules instead of breaking them? It had been too long since she had felt this... juvenile and mischievous. "There it is."
The page was one-hundred and sixty-five. Though some of the words were partially blotted out by prints of a paw here or an unfortunate drop of wax there, the song was legible enough. Rhea cleared her throat and straightened her back.
"If I had a brush for painting your visage,
the gleam of your fair eyes, your full rosy lip,
I'd paint your fine brow, your sweet smile and faint freckles
as they caught me in their most enchanting grip."
The distant humming stopped almost exactly at the same time as Flayn's shocked gasp. Had it been unkind of her to Catherine, to sing so loudly a song of such obvious intent? Perhaps, but the damage was done. Rhea cleared her throat once more and continued.
"If I had a flute for playing the sweet notes
that tell of your limitless beauty and grace,
I'd play the full roundel of heavenly dances
as they haunt my thoughts since those most fateful days.
But neither pictures, nor sweet notes nor kind words,
could ever describe what occurred in that place.
When I saw you there, how it shook all my soul...
Yes, upon that night, you kindled my flame.
The sun and the stars, they tell stories of you,
every gust speaks of you, through and through,
every single breath, every stride,
carries your name with it, so far and wide."
She closed the book softly, careful not to disturb the faint echo of her voice that travelled across the ruins of Zanado. She could all but see it reverberate in Flayn's body. It was rare to see both a smile and tears on her niece's face, yet here they were.
Rhea shook her head and laughed softly. "I apologize if my rendition of it did not do it justice."
"Oh, that," Flayn blinked furiously, as if awakening from a dream, "that's not the case at all! It is truly a beautiful song! And you performed it very well! I just..." The shards were neatly arranged now. Flayn looked almost disappointed at them for no longer providing a welcome distraction and retrieved her stitching project instead. Still, the needle remained idle between her fingers. "I just..."
"You did not expect to find an ode of love in the middle of a book about chivalry and the harsh wilderness of Faerghus in winter, did you?"
"No." At last, Flayn resumed her stitches, but even so her attention was only half there. "No, I did not."
"And neither would Seteth."
Rhea returned the book to the pile and got up to search for the list of next month's haul that she had prepared the day before. Granted, she had not expected to help her niece fill an educational gap that was becoming increasingly important to remedy, but then again, it was hardly too late to add one more book to the list.
By the time she came back, Flayn had abandoned the floral patterns of her skirt once more. Her gaze was fixated on the books, yet it seemed a million miles away. There was curiosity there, and longing, and hope, yes... but also trepidation, brushed with a hint of guilt.
Yes, Rhea had been alive long enough to be able to read Flayn's face easily enough, but sometimes the quiet parts had to be said out loud.
"What troubles you, Flayn? Please, speak honestly."
"I'm worried." It wasn't what Rhea had expected her to start with, but as she sat down again, the slight shaking of Flayn's hands confirmed that she was not exaggerating. "I hate having to go behind father's back about such things. I know he will be furious if he finds out... and disappointed. Disappointed and hurt that I chose to shut him out."
"But was it really you who did the choosing?" She kept her voice as soft and gentle as she could. Going by the confused look on Flayn's face, perhaps even too gentle.
"I'm afraid I do not follow..."
"You tried to learn naturally, by interacting with the students. Seteth refused to let you." Rhea picked up the owl feather she kept near the books and dipped it in thick, black ink. "You tried to learn from the books at Garreg Mach. Seteth refused to let you." Oh but where to start... There were so many things that would need explaining, so many opportunities... "You talked to Seteth himself about this issue... and he refused to help."
"You mean he left me no choice."
"Precisely."
Although to be perfectly fair to Seteth, it was not just his own behavior that complicated things. Rhea forced her face into the display of graceful serenity she had been so happy to give up upon her retirement to Zanado. Long-lived as their kind may be, even Nabateans went through an age of natural curiosity and yearning and Flayn... well, Flayn was exactly at that point.
And perhaps that was the best point to start. She jotted the name of the book down quickly, before returning quill and ink where they belonged. When she turned back around, the paper was already in Flayn's hand.
A very confused Flayn's hands.
"Best Practices for Codes of Conduct in Training Facilities throughout Fodlan." Flayn's eyebrows knitted into a heavy frown. "I fail to see how that would contain any... relevant information."
"And so will Seteth," Rhea shrugged. "To him, it will just be another book on my monthly reading list. Have the librarians give them to you early, and when your brother asks why, say you wish to broaden your horizons and be able to talk about my reading choices with me."
Flayn looked at her in mild concern, then at the list, then back at Rhea. "You want me to lie to my own father?"
"Of course not. But how is any of what I just said a lie? You will broaden your horizons. And we will discuss what you read. We are merely emitting to mention which part of it."
She wasn't fully convinced, Rhea could see that much. Still, Flayn folded the note carefully and tucked it into the book at the top of the stack, before returning to her sewing.
"Thank you, Rhea. Although I suppose it will still be a long time before I get to undertake that visit to the capital."
"Unfortunately, yes." Rhea picked up her cup of tea once more and couldn't help but smile. It was finally a drinkable temperature. "But as the Fifth Book of Seiros says, the Goddess will never deny the splendors of patience."
#my fic#Saint Cethleann's Garland#Rhea#Rhea FE#Rhea (Fire Emblem)#FE Rhea#Flayn#Catherine FE#Catherine (Fire Emblem)#FE Catherine#mostly Rhea & Flayn#a bit of Rhea/Catherine#TLDR: Rhea opens a thirsty book club in Zanado to educate her niece#and get Catherine to finally say the quiet part out loud
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Fantasy Invader: Master of all five elements!
Wake up losers, Fantasy Invader is analyzing symbolism again!
So to give a bit of backstory, this all began with Ezralahm making a joking post comparing the four saints to the Four Holy Beasts.
I wouldn't at all be surprised if IS drew from them for Macuil and Indech - Eastern media LOVES using the four beats for symbolism - but it just kinda crumbles to pieces with anything more than a basic examination.
For instance, the Black Tortoise is associated with the cardinal direction of north, but Indech is to the west, and the Vermillion Bird is associated with the south but Macuil is to the north. All the Nabateans are dragons so they're all kinda the Azure Dragon, and none of them have tiger-like traits so who is the White Tiger? But she was mostly just joking around with how Flayn's latest Heroes skin (at least at the time) had her dressing as a cat, so I'm not gonna fuss.
But then Fantasy Invader took a crack at analyzing it more seriously. And I can't pass up the opportunity to demonstrate why his analytical ability is both underdeveloped and extremely motivated.
Another thing is the Yellow Dragon connects to the story of the Yellow Emperor as when he died, the Yellow Emperor is said to have transformed into the yellow dragon and ascended to the heavens (which, in turn, is why dragons are a symbol of enlightenment). Now, why is this important? Because the Yellow Emperor was the one who defeated the FLAME EMPEROR.
The problem, because of course there is one, is that the Yellow Emperor was associated with water, in contrast to the Yan Emperor being associated with fire. Byleth is associated with fire, not water.
Byleth doesn't have any water imagery associated with them at all.
Also, as Ezralahm pointed out, the Yellow Dragon would be Rhea, not Byleth, but the issue there is that the Yellow Dragon is associated with earth, and... well.
The Nabatean Earth Dragon is not Rhea, but Seteth. Rhea was a Sky Dragon.
Also, bringing in further issues, the Vermillion Bird is associated with Fire, but Macuil was a Wind Dragon, and the White Tiger and the Azure Dragon were Metal and Wood, respectively, but Seteth and Flayn are Earth and Light, respectively.
Like I said, there are relations to the four beasts, but they're very very surface-level.
Anyways, moving on,
Not only that, but the Yellow Dragon is tied to the element of earth as well as the Chinese version of quintessence (ergo, heaven and Earth), and changing of the seasons (as well as late summer). Changing of the seasons, in a game with each route tied on one season.
Okay, but the problem is Byleth and Sothis are associated with fire and the stars, not earth. And Byleth's route, Silver Snow, is associated with winter, not all four seasons.
The Chinese element of fire begets the earth Element, as fire reduces everything to ashes where they become part of the earth again. While fire can be positive, in excess it is said to represent hatred, impatience and impulsive behavior.
Or, in other words, this can also be tied to how Edelgard brings about Byleth being the leader of Fodlan as Byleth succeeds Rhea as the leader of the Church in the center of Fodlan.
Then who's the wood person that got Edelgard to where she was? Wood begets Fire, as Fire begets Earth. You can't just stop partway with your symbolism, FI.
Hmm, the Eastern Church is in the Alliance. The direction of East is represented by the Azure Dragon, which would make it appear as though it's blue. But the ancient Chinese treated blue and green as simply different shades of the same color, much like how pink used to be just a very light red. Green is also used in relation to Almrya and Claude's route is Verdant (read Green) Wind.
And the Azure Dragon is associated with wood. Okay, so Claude got Edelgard to where she is? Well, no. In Verdant Wind, Claude doesn't create but defeats Edelgard, which reverses the wheel.
And, obviously, Claude is not ever associated with wood. He's associated with the wind, which doesn't fit any of the five elements.
Oh, and also, while he was right that blue and green are kinda confusingly synonymous in eastern cultures, Claude is associated with yellow. Not green.
Does this mean Ignatz is the true Azure Dragon!?
Considering it uses the banner of victory symbolism as Silver Snow does
The banner which looks nothing like the Buddhist banner of victory, mind you. And it uses that scene because VW is SS with Claude clumsily inserted.
the route is not just Byleth having obtained Enlightenment but Claude obtaining it as well. Claude doesn't give into his poison and remain a snake, he gets on the same level as a motherfucking dragon.
Which is changing the story as he so often says you do when you play CF over SS. In the "normal" story, SS, Claude does not join with the church and tries to go his own way.
So really, Golden Wildfire Claude really is more in line with his "canon" 3H self. At least, if you follow FI's logic and be consistent with it, which he never ever is.
And yes, he does call SS the "canon" route in this very post.
It would also put his route as the true Spring route, as that's what the Azure Dragon is tied to, tying in to how he accomplishes what Edelgard said she would except through proper means.
What blooms in spring, FI?
The fact the azure Dragon is tied to the Element of wood ties into how Byleth is supposed to be “a great tree that kindly embraces (the Golden Deer) and watches over (them) as (they) perch on its branches.”
But that's Byleth being the tree, not Claude. I thought Byleth was supposed to be earth, not wood? In that very quote FI grabbed, Marianne compares Claude to the wind, not the tree.
And Claude is like the wind, pushing us forward as we soar across the open sky…
Claude is associated with the wind, FI. Both games are very consistent about this.
While there is no Northern Church yet, the North is linked to the Black Tortoise (sometimes called the Black Warrior) intertwined with a snake (TWSITD and the damage they've done to his life and his country). It represents Winter. It wouldn't be hard to think of this as Dimitri in his black armor.
And winter, as I mentioned earlier, is Byleth's route. Snow. Autumn is Dimitri's.
But the Kingdom does have the Western Church,
The Western Church are Dimitri's enemies. Consistently.
linking it to the White Tiger. Dimitri ditches his black outfit for a white one as he becomes the good king, leader of the Blue Lions.
Heheh, NOPE. Dimitri unlocks the Great Lord class at the start of chapter 16, a full two chapters before he snaps out of Boar Mode.
So while Dimitri starts in Winter, he ends up in Autumn which corresponds to the Moon part of the game's Japanese title. This could also mean that Dimitri represents both the elements of water (which is tied to the moon, hence Azure Moon) and metal.
Except that Dimitri's not really associated with any element. Three Hopes made him associated with lightning, but eh, typical Fire Emblem trio with Edelgard and Claude had no remaining things to use but lightning. In any case, he's definitely not associated with water.
Metal can be beaten by flame (Edelgard) but water can beat fire, hinting at how the battle between the two can go either way. Earth though gives rise to metal (hence Byleth helping Dimitri succeed) while Metal beats wood (Claude, who hands over the Alliance)
So the good Dimitri will lose to Edelgard while Boar Dimitri won't? But that's not how it goes. Also, Water begets Wood and Wood begets Fire. So Dimitri created Claude created Edelgard created Byleth created Dimitri?
(Chinese, how does Metal beget Water? That doesn't make any sense!)
Also, how does metal beat wood? Metal's not adjacent to it, and your previous line of reasoning was that the earlier element in the wheel begets the next one. If metal coming before wood "beats" it, then wouldn't Edelgard beat Byleth? And also also, Dimitri doesn't kick Claude's ass and take his lands, Edelgard almost does!
If you're getting confused trying to follow along, I am too lol. This whole Pokemon-esque type advantage symbolism is a gigantic mess.
South is the Vermilion Bird, linking it to Edelgard (who wears red), her many bird-themed elements and her Southern Church. It's also linked to fire, indicating she's the Flame Emperor, as well as the season of summer.
Except Crimson Flower and Scarlet Blaze are the seasons of spring, not summer. Flowers bloom in spring.
Fire is also very, very destructive. Fire can melt metal or be defeated by water (again, how Dimitri can either defeat her or lose to her),
Except, again, he's got which Dimitri beats her reversed. By his own logic, Boar Dimitri is water, while Savior King Dimitri is metal, but SK Dimitri is the only time he can win against her.
it uses wood as a fuel (her invading the Alliance to fix her totalling the Empire's economy with the war)
FI just pulled that one completely out of his ass.
but creates earth in turn (Byleth ending up as Fodlan's ruler after defeating her in VW/SS).
But I thought Byleth was the tree!?
That's the end of that post (more or less, he rambles a bit but it's nothing important), and while I'd like to just stop here because following along with FI's train of thought is giving me a headache, but he had another post! Luckily this'll be a lot shorter.
Houses tries to link Claude to wind, but wind isn't one of the Chinese elements. Those are fire, water, earth, metal and wood unlike the western elements of earth, wind, fire, and water (no heart though). Ergo, Claude being wind makes him an outsider to this.
Well shoot, it seems like you analysis doesn't really work, does it?
Again with the blue-green stuff, this would also make Byleth a blue-haired lord/player character (the only real outliers in this regard are Corrin. Eliwood, Leif and Roy) But this would also denote that Rhea, Seteth and Flayn are trustworthy by hinting at the connection. Meanwhile, Edelgard's associated with red and black, villainous colors.
Red sure is an evil color in this series!
Edelgard's not associated with black herself. The Empire uses black for its armor, but the Black Eagles, aside from Hubert, are not associated with black. Edelgard herself wears mostly red, white, and gold in her Armored Lord and Emperor clothes.
And meanwhile,
If anyone's associated with black, it's Dimitri.
(Also fuck you for forgetting Celica and Micaiah, sexist asshole)
When you think about the game's usage of flowers, Edelgard's intendedred flower being the safflower would indicate it's a route of attraction (only revealed post-timeskip and altered to a rose in the English text),
Safflowers symbolize good luck and attracting love and marriage.
whereas the white lily Rhea wears would symbolize purity.
Very pure. Bountifully, bouncily pure.
Also wait, does this mean Rhea is a lesbian?
Whatever you have with Edelgard is meant to be superficial,
Love and marriage are superficial? Man, and I thought I was jaded.
whereas Byleth's real connection is meant to be with Rhea. That's the pure relationship.
You sound like a damn conservative, lol. Yeah, nothing purer than dating the woman who delivered you, tried to indoctrinate you, tried to eliminate your personality to get her mom back, and then called you by her mother's name during a tender moment.
Well,that's enough for now. There's only so much Fantasy Invader a man can stand. So, as usual, his symbolic analysis isn't consistent or well-researched, and it crumbles like a shitty jenga tower under the slightest scrutiny.
#fire emblem three houses#edelgard discourse#edelgard von hresvelg#edelgard positive#rhea#symbolism gone wild#fantasy invader
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It just dawned on me...I didn't realize it before probably cause I'm atheist but dont people tend to seek comfort in higherpowers/gods when they experience desperation and suffering?
So wouldn't edelgards war , which causes mass unrest, death, suffering, famine, etc. Actually cause more people to wish for salvation/intervention from a the Goddess?
No doubt about it, which is a huge part of what makes her zeal to destroy it so horrible. And what makes the CF endings where it does stay but only when directly under her supervision so insidious. She takes away the means in which people find comfort, only to "remake" it so that she has say in how the belief is practiced.
The Church was always its own entity, mostly leaving the surrounding countries alone - it'll intervene when asked to or when attacked, but otherwise they tend to stay out of everyone's business. When Byleth takes over, they either do so alongside the ruler of Fodlan (AM) or they are the only available person left to rule (SS/VW) since they are the one the people want to lead them. There's either a distinct separation between the Church and the ruling party, or there's no other choice but to have the two parties merge. Plus, Seteth and Flayn are there to help Byleth lead the Church in all cases of them leading it (with SS even allowing for the chance for Rhea herself to help).
That's, um, not quite the case with Edelgard. She actively kills/disposes of every other possible ruler with the explicit purpose of ruling over their lands and for Adrestia to be the only one there to control Fodlan. So her killing Rhea, Seteth, and Flayn (or forcing Seteth and Flayn to leave Fodlan) before going on to take control of the religion that was about their mother, well, could only ever really be for one reason; further control.
She already spies on the populace, as seen from Hubert's ending with Dorothea. She enforces a secret police as seen with Hubert's ending with Shamir. She indulges in censorship in her ending with Dorothea. And, again, she's purposefully killed off anyone that could stop her or challenge her control. Not exactly the longest stretch in the world that she also does what she does with the Church to get more control, considering everything else she does. Now the people who were so devastated about losing their religion totally no longer have to worry - now that it's been fixed and is being led by a good human, they are allowed to practice it with no fear of consequences! ...yeah that's gonna get a yikes from me lol.
And the thing is, even if I'm way off base and that's not meant to be taken like that... what you said is still very much true lol. Like, I'm far from religious, but somethin' tells me that for many religious folks extreme hardships would, like... just make them more ardent believers? And/Or that it would, uh, not exactly soothe them to see their religion mercilessly attacked and destroyed, only to be taken over by its destroyer? There'll be some who drink the Kool-Aid like Manuela, but I don't think the majority of believers would exactly be happy with Edelgard once her war is finished
#ask#anon#anti edelgard#anti-edelgard#edelgard critical#edelgard discourse#just to be safe#shit like this makes me wish 3H was just a LITTLE more blatant about what's going on wrt Edelgard#because this is SUCH a devilishly nice evil... that you have to piece together with multiple endings that you can't get on one playthrough#like you can't simultaneously get Dorothea's ending with Hubert AND Edelgard for example but both are needed to see this trend#and you have have to use fairly unviable units like Manuela and Hanneman AND get their paired ending as well#and on top of that the general state of affair for the average believer isn't shown off very well on at least CF#which mind could be intentional - the whole ''ignorance'' thing - but still
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Congrats on somehow surviving GW with your sanity mostly intact! As a fellow survivor, I will say that the only part of GW Part 2 that I actually enjoyed was the endgame interactions between the Church faction. Seeing Rhea tell Seteth to flee & protect Flayn, Cyril dying to protect Rhea, Rhea accepting that she will likely die on the battlefield but deciding to "fight for humanity" regardless... if I just completely ignore Clod's... everything, I can enjoy GW as a hard-hitting tragedy :')
Why thank you, anon! It was quite the ride, let me tell you. It started off really good and went into the Twilight Zone instantly.
The interacts of the Church cast were pretty good at the end there. Shout out to Seteth's VA so sounding like a horrified father watching his daughter getting hurt. He's always good but he still delivers here.
I hope the devs know they wrote a tragedy and a bad end route, at least. I think there might be another interview to be published next month?
Don't quote me on that tho
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( reposting this here bc the old blog is getting gutted but this is important info for here too ! )
OH RIGHT, LORE POST— i’m just gonna give a quick summary instead, since i don’t have the energy for a long winded thing. to preface, this wasn’t my own idea- it belongs to a friend who’s off-tumblr now!
i used to have it it’s own separate thing but i feel like it’ll be easier for me and anyone i write with. BUT ANYWAYS- basics of it is: byleth found sothis as a child in a deep sleep, but when they approached her, she suddenly woke up. byleth took her back to jeralt, but they couldn’t get anything out of her since she had pretty much NO memory aside from her name alone. so the two end up keeping her around as a second sibling, mostly because it was discovered that they couldn’t be separated. if either sothis or byleth walk far enough away, sothis would just fall right back into a coma.
so when we reach the events of the game, sothis still doesn’t have any recollection of who or what she is. but when they get to garreg mach she ends up becoming a student when byleth becomes a professor. sothis starts remembering a bit more, in bits and pieces, but she doesn’t rlly remember rhea or flayn or seteth at all still ...
and that’s pretty much it !! everyone is able to interact with sothis a bit easier this way, since she’s no longer just stuck to byleths brain LMAO
#` ooc || move bitch im 𝙂𝘼𝙔 `#` 🔥 progenitor god || sothis. `#` 🔥 the crest of flames || byleth. `#( i mightve posted this before but just in case !!!!!! )#( this is pretty much main verse now for me tbh )
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FEA character mini-analyses: the house lords, rhea, and byleth
Here is part 3 of explaining why I cast characters the way I did in FEA (my ongoing 3H/EAH crossover fic)! Part 1, about the Black Eagles, is linked here, Part 2 on the Blue Lions is here, and Part 3 on the Golden Deer is here.
Now without further ado... let us begin!
Edelgard as Raven Queen: the biggest hurdle for writing El as Raven was--and honestly still is--the huge personality difference. While El is kind, she's not exactly... as nice? I also imagine her inner monologue to be a lot less insecure than Raven's, so I had to take some liberties on that front. Other than that, though, I can't think of any reason why Edelgard wouldn't be the leader of the Rebels--she's here to contest the system and make a real change. To echo her twin Crests, I tweaked Raven's destiny-bound magic so that El just has weaker magic than she should, and thus relies on spellcraft.
Dimitri as Apple White: I don't think Dimitri would actually be as in love with his story as Apple apparently is, but they share their obsession with duty and what I would call an intense fear of the unknown. Dimitri disagrees with El for exactly the same reasons as Apple disagrees with Raven--because of the disastrous consequences of division and unrest. Apple isn't hiding any demons in her head, though, so again we have some liberties at play. I thought having super-strength (echoing the Blaiddyd Crest) would be an interesting secret for Dimi to keep.
Claude as Madeline Hatter: Claude is the son of Alice here, but Alistair from the original show never did anything interesting and no one else deserves Maddie's iconic role. I couldn't make the Wonderland situation perfectly parallel to Almyrah, but I do want a spotlight on Claude's identity being split between Fódlan and Wonderland. Even though there are other Wonderlandians, he's the only one who is from both worlds--who has to be both logical and mad, but is never quite enough of each. Just, you know, the typical TCK experience. Oh, and talking to the Narrators is of huge importance too!
Yuri as Ramona Badwolf: I took some biiig liberties with this one. Yuri is not related to Bernadetta, but he has the Badwolf name because Mr. Badwolf needed to hide his marriage to Red while still preserving the story's future somehow. I never liked the idea of him having another child, so I thought it'd be cool to mess up some succession laws and have Yuri--the only house lord in the game who didn't come from a wealthy background--"fight" for his destiny by beating all the other Wolfs to it.
Rhea as Milton Grimm: well this is a no-brainer! I'm still smoothing out the wrinkles in how her backstory has to do with Sothis, but just like Milton, Rhea's fear of losing control causes her to rewrite history to fit her narrative. This is gonna be key in FEA.
Byleth as... like... Just Byleth: so... yeah, Byleth doesn't get an important role in this AU, mostly because I couldn't think of a good reason they'd be involved. Honestly it would be hard for me to write them in an interesting way so I'm fine with that.
other characters: Seteth mostly suffers at the hands of chaos and Flayn enjoys it. Jeralt is mentioned exclusively by Leonie. Sothis does not appear as a living character but uh... let's not spoil that. Rodrigue appears as often as I can allow because he's King Charming (!!), who teaches a class at EAH. For the most part, I don't include the 3H students' original parents. Dimitri's father is still named Lambert but his mother is the EAH version of Snow White; likewise for Edelgard. As for the Ashen Wolves--Constance is the daughter of the Marsh King (look it up; I think you'll agree with me!), I made Hapi the daughter of the Sea Witch just because, and Balthus... there's no good reason for him to be around, I'm afraid :(
And that, my folksies, is that!
#fire emblem three houses#ever after high#fe3h house lords#fe3h au#edelgard von hresvelg#dimitri alexandre blaiddyd#claude von riegan#yuri leclerc#archbishop rhea#byleth eisner#rodrigue achille fraldarius#ashen wolves#snow white#evil queen#headmaster grimm
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✨Request Rules!✨
☑️Open☑️
Fandoms: Fire Emblem Awakening/3 Houses/Engage, Bungou Stray Dogs, Honkai Star Rail, Genshin Impact
These apply to headcanons and drabbles
Twisted Wonderland is only available as a commission except for Blog Events. THIS DOES NOT INCLUDE QUESTIONS OR INTERACTIONS WITH AU COUNTERPARTS (ie. centaur au) OR OC’S. You are free to ask anything and chat about them! In fact we encourage you to share your own headcanons with us, it’s delightful!
Masterlists are below cut too! but it’s currently a work in progress so y’all gonna have to wait a bit for ‘em-
DISCLAIMER: THERE’S A VERY BIG CHANCE FOR REQUESTS OF A CERTAIN NATURE TO BE EXTREMELY OUT OF CHARACTER. THIS MOSTLY APPLIES TO TOPICS OF HURT/COMFORT. WE WANT YOU TO FEEL COMFORTED BY YOUR FAVORITES EVEN IF IT’S NOT SOMETHING THEY WOULD DO IN CANON.
Writing Preference
As there are two people on this blog you can ask for a specific one to write your request. We have different writing styles so don’t be shy to ask for one or the other to fulfill your request!
Nya: I’m best at writing that’s are silly, short and sweet, &/or very specific headcanons (ex: twst s/o that’s like rika, drake period teeth). That includes anything that’s more on the suggestive side~ ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) If it’s something focused on comedy or the requested characters doing something very specific I’m the one to go to!
Wild: I’m better at drabbles and headcanons that are more in depth and not just 1 sentence. I’m better at angsty and serious/dark topics compared to Nya since I’m more comfortable doing them.
We’re both great at fluff, just decide what length you want your request to be.
The yes yes’s
Fluff (resident fluff master here these are done the quickest)
Crack (don’t be shy go insane)
Angst (check the no no’s before sending)
Hurt/Comfort (remember to check the no no’s like the above!)
Romantic/Platonic
Yandere (another one where u better check the no no’s!)
Gore (varying degrees)
Miscarriages (this is an iffy)
Unrequited love (oof)
Oviposition (but not in a sexual way)
Suggestive content ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
M!Preg (don’t judge me)
Pregnancy (if you want you can do an uno reverse and switch up the genders!)
Readers having a disability or mental health disorders (this only applies to autism, ahdh, eating disorders, blind, mute, social anxiety, deaf, wheelchair, if there are any not mentioned here or in the no no section please ask before sending!)
note: anyone 15 and under is automatically platonic. the 3 exceptions are Kenji, Kyouka, and Yanqing. They will be aged up to 16 if you’re request is romantic. However I will only write wholesome romantic, nothing nsfw or suggestive for them.
The big no no’s
Racism (it’s not cash money)
Mental health hate (respectfully, fuck you if you try this)
Huge age gap for romantic (it makes us uncomfy, this does not include a teenager making out with a billion year old monster, fae, cursed human, u get the picture)
Green light Characters (*ﾟ▽ﾟ*)
confident in writing for these guys!
all FE Awakening and Engage characters that don’t appear under red/yellow list
Armed Detective Agency
Port Mafia
Decay of Angels (check red light squad)
The Guild (check red light squad)
All Blue Lions
All Golden Deer
All Black Eagles
All Ashen Wolves
Seteth, Flayn, Byleth, Rhea, Catherine
Red Light Characters ಠ_ಠ
nope not gonna even attempt
fukuchi or however you spell his name i don’t care bleh
all hunting dogs (don’t have a grasp on ’em yet oof)
Hermann whatshisface
fe villains
all BSD characters in novels and stuff
alois (annoying)
Gregor, Tharja, Say’ri, Basilio, Flavia, Anna, Cordelia, Sumia, Cherche
time skip kids: Brady, Kjelle, Cynthia, Noire, Severa, Laurent
all side quest wait didn’t you die peeps
all the emblems and primary antagonists (check yellow light for info on Griss)
Yellow Light Characters (￣◇￣;)
there is an attempt pls don’t sue me-
Shimr, Gilbert, Jeralt
That one dude from Dead Apple i’m too lazy to look up his name
Nah, batman Gerome
Vander, Etie, Boucheron, Jade, Lapis, Citrinne, Goldmary, Panette, Mauvier
i am only willing to write hardcore bdsm smut for Griss so if you want something for him skedaddle over to my nsfw blog
Character Limit
Here’s system for character limit. If you’re having a hard time understanding don’t worry just send an ask or pop into our dms~
You can only mix Honkai Star Rail and Genshin Impact characters.
✨Super Duper Group Request Specials✨
Here are some groups consisting of multiple characters from all fandoms with a specific theme! Keep in mind your request will most likely be broken up into multiple parts. Make your request off anon to have a better chance of seeing when a part has been posted! (These are not available for requesting Nya or Wild specifically to answer.)
Dragon Hoard Poly: a harem featuring Malleus Draconia, Neuvillette, Zhongli, Dan Feng, Dan Heng! (DISCLAIMER: This is an all in one you get them all or none.)
Kiddo Special, smol edition: have some fun playing with munchkins of the groups! Q, Klee, Diona, Qiqi, Hook, Bailu, Jean(fe engage) are ready for fun! (DISCLAIMER: This is only for fluff platonic love there will be no child touching in our goddamn lobby. You can ask to have kids from fandoms you aren’t in/ you don’t know removed.)
Kiddo Special, double digits edition: have a good time hanging out with the older kids of the groups! Kyouka, Kenji, Collie, Clara, Yangqing, Misha, Lynx, Pela, Ortho, Morgan (fe awakening), and all pre time skip underage kids from FE 3 Houses are looking forward to hanging out with ya! Here’s your options (DISCLAIMER: All of them are available for aging up to be available for romantic requests (excluding Ortho). This does NOT include anything suggestive.)
Mihoyo yo yo! Genshin and HSR
what is a Fire Emblem!? Morgan + FE students
Genshin is on Fire! FE + Genshin
Honkai is Fire! FE + HSR
The Dogs are on Fire! FE + BSD
Let us pet the Dogs Genshin! FE + Genshin
Peppy is the cutest a Dog! BSD + HSR
Forgive me Daddy I’ve been naughty: for certified dlifs, adoptive dads, and daddy vibes lovers~ Fukuzawa, Fitzgerald, Kunikida, Fredrick, Zhongli, Baizhu, Alhaitham, Wriothesley, Arlecchino, Jingyuan, Dr. Ratio, Welt
Mommy, sorry, mommy, sorry, mommy, sorry: for the ones who lacked a mother figure growing up. Kouyou, Yosano, Lisa, Yelan, Shenhe, Beido, Ningguang, Arlecchino, Clorinde, Kafka, Yukong, Black Swan
FE Three Houses
you can request either all girls or all boys from 1 house, this does not include Ashen Wolves
You can request all the staff at once, this will include Byleth
if you request the Ashen Wolves you may add 1 more character to be included
Flayn is not included in the all girls house option, she goes with the staff
specify which gender you want for any characters that come in multiple sex options (ie. Byleth or Honkai mc’s) otherwise we will choose for you
FE Awakening
meh 5 character limit just specify which gender you want Robin/Morgan to be. if you want you can group all the non humans together (Tiki, Nowi, Panne, Yarne, Nah) since there’s just 5
FE Engage
honestly just tell me ones you want 5 limit still applies and specify Alear gender
Bungou Stray Dogs
same as above lol
Honkai Star Rail
As the game just came out we might not have the best idea of their personalities and might say something that will be totally out of character as the story progresses. If you do see this please pop in the comments or ask box to let us know!
Here are the characters we’re comfortable with:
Astral Express: everyone (including Pom Pom)
Stelleron Hunters: mommy Kafka, Blade, Silver Wolf
Herta Space Station: everyone (including Peppy)
Jarilo VI: Gepard, Serval, Lynx, Pela, Clara, Sampo, Hook, Natasha, Luka
Xianzhou Luofu: Jing Yuan, Yanqing, Bailu, Tingyun, Jinglu, Sashang, Luocha
Penacony: Sunday, Robin, Misha
IPC: Topaz, Adventurine
That’s all!
Wanna get something done for Twisted Wonderland? You gotta give us sweet succulent moneys!
Masterlists
Twisted Wonderland
Centaur AU
Bungou Stray Dogs
Honkai Star Rail
Fire Emblem
Genshin Impact
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Thoughts on Emblem Paralogues #1
Doing this again with the base game paralogues cuz as a longtime FE fan it’s cool to see how a celebration game shows its love. I’m not really doing them in the order they unlocked, so this is mostly a random assortment.
For starters I like how for the most part, the throwback maps have pretty much the exact same enemy composition. Very wonderful and nostalgic.
Lucina, The Exalt: This one’s good. It makes for a good start to the overall reference paralogues, cuz of it’s simplicity. Wish I had more to say, but it really is that cut and dry lol. I guess I wish there was more reference to the fact that Lucina traveled back in time to prevent the bad future, but I guess that’s what bond conversations are for.
Lyn, The Lady of the Plains: I had lots of fun with this one haha, though I guess it’s cuz I was a tad overleveled when I did it. I heard the OG map in FE6 was very hated, or at least the Sacae route was disliked a lot in comparison to the Ilia one. I read that the original version had fake-out thrones that spawned reinforcements, so I would think that’d piss first time players off. The one thing that I’m kind of iffy on though is just the decision of using this map for Lyn. I know FE7 doesn’t have notable Sacae maps to choose from (I think the first 3 chapters of Lyn’s mode are the only ones, which would suck as throwbacks lol), and that her association with Mulagir thanks to FEH means it’s appropriate to choose this map in particular, but I think chapter 10 or 15 from FE7 could’ve served as good rep maps for her. It’d let her discuss her mixed heritage and connection to Eliwood and Hector, I feel. Oh well, not too fussed about it, since I do love when Lyn talks about Sacae.
Ike, The Radiant Hero: This one’s great. Ike destroying the entire castle was fucking hilarious, and I think it’s a perfect choice for his paralogue given it’s when he first took leadership of the Greil Mercs and had to establish himself as a fighter and protector who can hold out against terrible odds. Though a complaint on that front is that I wish there was some kind of defense-like objective, even though like I said, Ike one shotting a whole castle is funny. Shout-out to the mage in the same place as Ilyana and drops Elthunder, neat reference.
Byleth, The Instructor: Very much liked this one, aside from one aspect: healers with warp aspects (lol plot teleporting in 3H). Byleth’s dancing I can handle, but damn my OCD ridden brain hated beating the map without protecting all the crystals. Though I think I got the best reward anyway, it’s very lenient. Liked the House Leader stand-ins, but surprise surprise, there’s nobody representing Rhea, Seteth, or Flayn despite this being the tomb of their brethren :/ It’s also again indicative of how averse the devs are of associating Byleth with anything beyond being a teacher, cuz one could argue that chapter 10 could’ve been a better choice and still had the “power depends on the heart of its wielder” aesop cuz it dealt with Jeralt’s death and Byleth being granted Sothis’ power in the first place. But whatever, details, details.
Sigurd, The Holy Knight: My favorite of the ones I’ve done so far. I think it’s a great way to represent Sigurd through a Gen 2 map and it gave a fair challenge. The Arvis stand-in with Meteor is hilarious. I really, really regret not getting the goddess icon from the tile that references Seliph’s talk with ghost Sigurd and Deirdre, that little easter egg is so fucking cute 😭 Sigurd’s talk about revenge and there being more than one truth shows just how great of a character he is (and his significance in Engage kind of points to more evidence that FE4 is probs getting remade soon). But the coolest part of the map are the Julius and Ishtar stand-ins. It took all of my brain power to take them out without anyone dying, but I did it! Using the Tiki bracelet came in clutch, cuz even if an attack like Ice Breath misses, it still damages adjacent enemies for the calculated damage. Widdling away at Julius was very satisfying.
I’ll do the rest of the paralogues some time, trust lol.
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I have no actual plot ideas for you, but I would love to see a childhood friends type AU for Dimileth!
Thanks for the ask! I didn't think I had any plot ideas for this either, but then something went off in my brain and this got a bit long, so...under the cut it goes!
(Brevity is definitely not my strong point.)
I've seen this done in one of two flavors: Byleth being raised in the Kingdom for some reason, or the two of them meeting once as children and then recognizing each other during their first in-game meeting.
But consider a third option! Jeralt's band accepts a job for King Lambert. It's deemed too dangerous for Byleth (say she's about ten, which would make Dimitri about seven), so she stays behind in Fhirdiad with the innkeeper's family. They find her unnerving and she gets bored, so she sneaks into the castle and that's how she and Dimitri meet. They become secret friends while Jeralt is away, and Byleth gets particularly attached because Dimitri is her first real friend.
Meanwhile, Rhea comes to Fhirdiad for some church-related reason, and she's at the castle when Jeralt (with Byleth, who insisted on coming along in hopes of seeing Dimitri again) returns to collect his payment. Rhea offers him his old job (just like at the beginning of the game) and he reluctantly accepts and he and Byleth return with her to Garreg Mach. Byleth grows close with Rhea, Seteth and Flayn (when she gets there) and she trains to be both a teacher and a part time knight of Seiros. Rhea expresses a wish for Byleth to be her eventual successor.
Dimitri and Byleth maintain a regular correspondence until the Tragedy of Duscur. She hears about what happens to his family and for awhile, can't even get confirmation that he's alive, and her letters go unanswered. Turns out Rufus (or one of his goons) has been intercepting all of Dimitri's outside communications. Byleth eventually insists on going to Fhirdiad with or without permission. When she's refused entry to the castle, she forces her way in. (Nothing's going to keep her from her friend!)
I imagine a scenario where, once Byleth realizes Dimitri's situation at the castle, she arranges with Rhea and Jeralt to stay so Dimitri has someone else looking out for him. She and Dedue work in tandem to protect him, and she joins Dimitri when he suppresses the western rebellion (getting to meet Felix & Rodrigue in the process). I imagine Cornelia would probably try to scheme of some way to dispose of Byleth, possibly even figuring out what she is, but Byleth also gathers intel about her and starts helping Dimitri put the whole Duscur conspiracy together.
By the time Dimitri is sent the Officer's Academy, he and Byleth are AN ITEM, with Dedue's full approval (and a begrudging approval from Felix, since he saw her skills during the rebellion as well as the stabilizing presence she has on 'the boar;' Rodrigue is fully supportive). She isn't allowed to teach the Blue Lions for this reason, though she holds seminars that they're allowed to join, so she gets to befriend them all. She and Dimitri at least try to be subtle about their romance, but everyone pretty much knows they'll be getting married after the school year. Jeralt's not terribly enthused about it. Rhea's mostly on board, though she still wants Byleth to be her successor.
Wait...wait...I got it! Byleth teaches the Black Eagles and Edelgard tries to convince her to join her side, and Byleth plays along with it so she can gather more intel about Duscur! She gets wise to Edelgard's plans and the war gets stopped before it even begins!
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Random Birthday headcanon: Rhea
Rhea likes to snack on fish-flavoured candies that Flayn tends to make mostly because half of it was done with Seteth’s guidance (making sure the fish candies doesn’t smell and taste weird) and the other half is because she loves anything Flayn makes.
#rubi’s post#fire emblem three houses#rhea#headcanons#random birthday headcanons#rhea is confirmed surrogate aunt to flayn 😊
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Pumpkin carving with the Church of Seiros
Last year, I posted some pumpkin carving with the Blue Lions head canons for Halloween, so let’s do the church characters this time. Note that I already included Gilbert with the Lions, so he’s not in this one.
Alois: Goes about this with great enthusiasm. His carvings are a bit crooked and not all that scary, but somehow still a hit with the kids.
Catherine: Knows of similar traditions from Charon territory and starts out very enthusiastic, but quickly grows agitated when it turns out using a knife for carving pumpkins requires more finesse than using one for fighting. On the bright side, lugging heavy gourds around was a good strength workout.
Cyril: Initially refuses to partake because he is too busy, until Rhea tells him to abandon his tasks for the rest of the day and just enjoy the carving. He is INSANELY good at it, having spent much of his time at House Goneril chopping and peeling vegetables. He makes a bunch of scary wyvern face pumpkins.
Flayn: Easily the most excited person in the room about this entire project, but can’t finish a single pumpkin without Seteth trying to “assist” and “prevent her from cutting herself”… which eventually leads to Flayn cutting herself. After that, she focuses on preparing other decorations and encouraging the rest of the group.
Hanneman: Absolutely not one for the carving, but has an opinion on everybody else’s work (and most of the time, he’s at least technically right). Wants to commission Shamir to put at least one crest symbol on a pumpkin, but by the time he decides which one he wants, all the pumpkins have been carved.
Manuela: Is also not one for the carving, until Catherine jokingly suggests she should just think of the gourd as a suitor that spurned her. The ensuing rage leads to some genuinely scary looking creations.
Seteth: Doesn’t want to carve one himself, but insists on mentoring Flayn until she ends up cutting herself. When she demands that he finish her pumpkin for her then, Seteth accepts and actually gets the task done somewhat competently. He is the one who insisted that the carving be done at the very last minute, so the next morning the pumpkins can still be turned into soup, rather than being thrown onto the compost pile.
Shamir: Efficiency made flesh. She carves more pumpkins than anybody else, mostly depicting spiders and their webs, and pulls off tricks with a knife that make Gilbert and Cyril look on in awe. She considers it good dexterity training.
Bonus: Rhea: Even though this event was her idea, it takes the combined encouragement of the Flayn, Manuela and Byleth to make her partake. She turns out to be quite good with a knife and somewhat unpredictable with her carvings—half of them err on the site of cuteness, the other half are downright terrifying. The kids love them all equally and that’s good enough for her. Though she won’t admit it to anyone but Byleth and Flayn, joining in on such a mundane, quaint little tradition was one of the most fun things she did all year.
#Fire Emblem: Three Houses#FE3H#Church of Seiros#Halloween#pumpkin carving#pumpkin carving with the church of Seiros#Alois Rangelt#Catherine FE#Cassandra Rubens Charon#Cyril#Flayn#Hanneman von Essar#Manuela Casagranda#Seteth#Shamir Nevrand#Rhea FE#Seiros FE#Archbishop Rhea#Rhea
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6,11,12,26 and 35? :D
6. Who's your favorite lord/protagonist?
Hnngh, technically Alear bc I think they were handled really well as a protagonist character and I adore their characterization and personality, and also as an "avatar-esque" character they fix a lot of issues I personally have with "avatar" and "avatar-esque" characters and also offer the solution to a very specific bone I have to pick w/ an entirely unrelated series that I won't get into bc it's not FE. But mostly I just, adore Alear, what a kind and sweet character, despite all the horrors.
Also I don't talk about it ever, but I really like Ike as a protagonist bc he's. Just some guy. Not royalty, not nobility, not secretly anyone special or of some sort of crazy bloodline (and we all know Tellius has some weird stuff going on with bloodlines), he's just a guy who gets caught up in things, and does his damned best to keep his friends alive through it all.
11. A character that deserved better?
Answered here!
But for some more characters, I've got so many thoughts about Subaki (there are a lot of interesting implications about his past, but lack of any proper characterization beyond his joke trait of being a snooty perfectionist means I am literally grasping at straws; fandom likewise ignores him which is wild bc he's our first canonical male pegasus knight, but I mean, large cast so I get it), and Izana having a paired ending with Corrin for Revelations (in both the Japanese and localized versions) despite dying will haunt me forever (also rip that localization, I swear my love for this character isn't as random as it seems, I just happened to follow all the Japanese-release stuff before the localization dropped a year later, and have a really confusing impression of all the Fates characters as a result).
For Echoes, despite my ignoring him every run bc Sonya pretty, I think Deen should have had more...just more everything, I guess. In the actual game, since all his backstory is hidden in the artbook/records book project. He's actually a really cool character overall, but Sonya feels like she has so much more narrative relevance bc of Jedah and Marla and Hestia.
For 3H bc I have a whole lot of thoughts about all sorts of characters, I actually really wanted Sothis to get more...I dunno, narrative relevance as well. I wanna know what her regained memories were, her thoughts about Fodlan as it is. About Rhea and Seteth and Flayn. Three Hopes doesn't count bc the writers kinda butchered Sothis's characterization to the point of hardly being recognizable, and she deserved better than that.
12. A game that deserved better?
Hmmmmmmmm, Engage and Fates for sure, at least as far as fan reception goes. Engage's was at least a bit better, but I still see people recycling the old arguments over Fates even all these years later and it's like, listen it was Fine, it was a good game, leave it be. (Also wildly unpopular opinion, but I think 3H--both Houses and Hopes--deserved better writing. What we got was okay, but it could have been so much better. For all the complaints it gets, at least Fates has consistent and completed worldbuilding with little to no questions about lore things at the end of all the routes and DLC. Like I love 3H, I really do, which is why I wish I got More and also Higher Quality writing and worldbuilding and lore and everything).
26. Come up with a pitch for a new FE title, no matter how silly it is!
Let's blend fantasy with horror bc it's spooky season. Two nations are fighting each other over [insert some stupid excuse for a war to get people to enlist, but it's actually a scheme to get the people in power more power], and each nation has access to various weapons and things that seem normal at first, but slowly become more sinister and horrific the more the protagonist learns about them (i.e. maybe one of the armies has access to seemingly humane homunculi soldiers as an alternate to sending citizens to war, but it's later revealed that they can only be manufactured with parts of the dead, and the nation using them harvested their own population to make the homunculi army).
I dunno who this protagonist is, but I want them to be just some random person who gets caught up in things bc I love random people who get caught up in things. Anyhow, eventually the protagonist and friends figure out that both nations are harvesting their "technologies" from some sort of eldritch horror buried deep beneath the earth (which is NOT an evil entity, I feel this is important to note, but like I think it should be how the nations are using the being that's malicious, and the being is just a thing that exists), and I dunno, instead of fighting god or the being (which can be a dragon of sorts for the purposes of this being FE, and also be we don't have enough weird dragons in fiction), the protagonist and friends have to find a way to root out the corruption in both nations' rulers or something, although how balancing taking out two different final bosses would work who are also very much trying to kill each other, without doing split routes (which I'd like to avoid if possible) would be a task. (Maybe have the protagonist start off as part of an uprising/rebellion in one nation and then after throwing out the corrupt rulers, have to turn around and somehow fend off invasion from the other nation? I dunno, I'd have to think on this plot point a bit).
Oh but, hm...I've written all this, and now I kinda like the idea. Might let it stew in the back of my head for an original project later on.........
35. What's something you wish IntSys would just stop doing?
I will sound like a broken record, but I think gender-locked classes are stupid, I want them vanished. Fates had it right (although I think I should have been allowed to stick men in maid dresses and women in butler suits. As a treat). If I can have nothing else, I want the gender-locked classes removed forever.
I'm also not a fan of split-routes (although again, Fates handled them better than 3H, in my opinion, but they're still a lot of work to get through). I was so relieved Engage was just one route. It's not like they're bad per se, it's just that FE has been kinda messy with the narrative trying to span that many routes. I'd rather have solid, consistent characterization and worldbuilding in a single route, than a flimsy attempt to explore various "what ifs".
EXCEPT for whatever the fresh hell FE Heroes is doing--the multiverse can continue to exist in that with all its weird "characters from this alternate universe you didn't even know existed now exist and can be summoned to fight alongside you in this incomprehensible Norse-themed story". Whatever FEH is doing is hilarious, I will never play it ever in my life, but I love seeing all the character art and pretty animated cutscenes. (And sometimes we get tidbits of interesting characterization for wildly underdeveloped characters. Sometimes).
#Alear is great and also hit me out of nowhere bc I was NOT expecting to love them as much as I do#like! they're just so nice! they're so traumatized but they're doing their best#Alear was such a good protagonist#but I also love Ike a lot despite literally never talking Tellius ever (partly bc it's been a hot minute since I visited the story)#one of these days I'm gonna rewatch PoR and actually finish RD and then I'll rue not having Tellius remakes to easily play#unsuspecting-person#ask game#I still don't have an ask tag
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Uh. I was looking at fe crossover drawings, and. Corrin's canon appearance has the white hair/red eyes combo in addition to pointed ears. I wonder what that would do to the thinkers in the school. Assuming, of course, that Corrin doesn't immediately get kicked out for head empty problems.
Lysithea is just squinting at Corrin's hair like "hmmm." Edelgard is torn between the way she interacts with Lysithea, where she's like "I want to take care of you and make sure you don't overexert yourself because I know what happened to you", and her gut impulse when she sees Corrin's ears to be like "what are you" in a way that is not exactly kind. Claude is taking notes. Linhardt is keeping observations in his head but it's a bit too much effort to actually write it down. Hanneman has her tested for a Crest but the machine just goes haywire.
Flayn and Seteth are desperately fishing for information from Corrin and also nudging her to cover her ears but she doesn't get the subtle hints and then when Seteth outright tells her that it could be dangerous for people to know her true nature, she's like "but all my classmates are so nice! They wouldn't hurt me!" while in the background, Edelgard and Hubert are wrestling Kronya-as-Monica away from blowing her cover by stabbing Corrin instantly.
Now there's possibilities for how Corrin gets here and they can all be incredibly funny:
Hoshido and Nohr exist on another continent in this world and Garon sends Corrin abroad to get more information about the next kingdoms he/Anankos intends to conquer.
Now, this would mean that Corrin is "infiltrating" Garreg Mach under the guise of an "ordinary student", and you'd be like "why would Garon send Corrin to do this when Corrin has rocks for brains" and you're right, but Garon is the undead puppet of a mad god, so this is just what Anankos does. Anyway, Seteth and Rhea are immediately tipped off that Corrin is Not From Around Here but also has rocks for brains so Rhea's not exactly worried about her causing any problems and just resolves to keep an eye on her and try to get a little more information about where she's actually from.
Anyway which house would be funniest for Corrin to end up in? I think she would fit best in the Blue Lions, since Faerghus as a cold, isolated land with people clinging desperately to chivalric ideals seems...a bit like Nohr! (I want to put non-Azure Moon Felix and Birthright Xander in the same room and see what happens.)
Corrin would get along great with Annette and Mercedes - they might remind her a bit of her sisters. And Felix reminds her of her little brother, but god forbid she say that. It goes as well as it initially goes when Mercedes mentions such.
But I did say which house would be funniest, not necessarily what fits best, so! Either of the others could be interesting too. But Blue Lions dynamics is just my first thought.
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2. Hoshido and Nohr are also kingdoms of Fodlan that are mostly busy going to war with each other while Adrestia, Leicester, and Faerghus ignore them, but people from those kingdoms are allowed to attend Garreg Mach anyway.
This obviously wildly messes with the political dynamics of Fodlan, but I am ignoring that for now to look at character dynamics:
I want to lock Takumi and Felix in a classroom and see what happens. They'll either kill each other or band together to kill someone else. Peri is following Jeritza around like a lost duckling. Sylvain flirts with Camilla once and she's like "If you persist in this, I will break your knees; now, were you also headed towards the dining hall? Shall we go together?"
Silas is in a corner with Ashe, Ingrid, and Raphael like "I'm just trying to be a good knight, what is happening in this place." Lilith is in the fish pond. Bernadetta thinks the monastery is haunted by the ghost of a woman who drowned and now walks the halls singing because whenever she sneaks out at night to get food she hears an ethereal, echoing voice and sees a lot of wet footprints. Azura is in the fish pond.
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An Idea for Flayn and Seteth, for recruitment or CF route. Mostly for Flayn tho lol.
I kinda hate that they really only gave time skip differences for the students and Rhea. This does pertain mostly to the staff at Garreg Mach, but I find this especially egregious for Flayn in particular. I absolutely love Flayn but why couldn't we get a time skip outfit for her too?! Hell, I absolutely love that Seteth is the one we have a technical Lord in Silver Snow, and I can forgive him not having a change as most of the other staff didn't and it still fits them. However with Flayn she should have a Time skip version of herself because she is in the same vain as Cyril. Heck she becomes a student after we rescue her so she should count in at least changing slightly. Like Lysethia and El she doesn't need to get taller she just kinda needs a different outfit and hair change.
What I mean, is that all it needs to do is show a passage of time. And it could have also worked with a story change too like Rhea's did. Like for CF, and can also go with maybe an option on if we recruit her or not. Like if we recruit her, it would be the standard time skip change, where Her and Seteth maybe change the colors they wear to show who you recruited them in. Kinda how like Seteth's own color pattern kinda hints it as he normally wears blue, gold and white. Where if we could recruit them in CF maybe they start wearing more red during the playthrough. This can also work for any story line they get recruited into.
But if we don't recruit them, instead we could have where if one of them dies they still appear in the time skip as a consequence, and have a more Dimitri esc. transformation. Like Seteth becoming Vengeful makes sense with Flayn's death. Or what we could have had was also maybe an option where Seteth dies and instead of Flayn lashing out in vengeance , she'd be forced to flee by Rhea as a way to protect the last of Seteth's family and also to protect one of the last of her own kind that is left. This could/would lead to a Flayn that after the 5 year time skip, to become more hardened and like El in a way as she would have a grudge against everyone for taking her father from her. We could even get where the transformation shows her in her more saintly or even religious like form. Along with her potential as a magic user, she could have been an amazing boss fight if used to her fullest potential. It could also hint at Rhea fulling her hatred against the Empire as a way to show how the church is corrupted as instead of helping Flayn move on from her father's death, she's made to fester her hated and become a bit more of a unhinged and less controlled Rhea. This could have also given us a dragon transformation as another boss fight which would have been great potential as well.
#fe3h flayn#flayn fire emblem#flayn#This got a little dark lol#angst#lost potential#she deserves better#she deserves everything#seteth#seteth fire emblem#seteth fe3h
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2022 Game of the Year Countdown
3. Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Intelligent Systems
Nintendo Switch, 2019
It seems fairly obvious to me that Three Houses took a lot of cues from Trails of Cold Steel, and it all came together fairly well. A historic military school filled with both nobles and commoners, the best and brightest of the continent’s youth all put together to build a better future. Exploring the monastery reminded me a lot of exploring Trista or Leeves, and checking up on the many students and faculty was fun. Garreg Mach reminded me a little bit of the university I attended in Spain, or at least the really old sections with old architecture.
The voice acting in Three Houses is one of the best pieces of work I’ve ever heard in gaming. All the actors do a great job across the board, from the dumb little support conversations about fashion or snacks, to the weighty and emotional ones. Rhea is downright scary at times. Edelgard can be vulnerable. Claude sounds like he’s saying every line with a smile. It’s really impressive and makes up for a lot of the other presentation issues.
As for those issues, almost the entire plot and story of the game is delivered in one of the most boring ways possible for a game released in 2019. Having simple character portraits with facial reactions would have been sufficient 20 years ago, and most of these scenes are saved by the phenomenal voice acting, but the game doesn’t really try to do more than just having characters standing around, doing the same four generic hand motions or poses, and talking to each other in front of a stretched PNG background.
I was shocked that this was the primary storytelling method for the vast majority of the game’s plot. The animated cutscenes are fantastic and full of energy, emotion, and detail. And while I understand those are expensive to produce, it was a bit disappointing when each short scene was over and switched back to simple “stand around and talk” parts. Like I said, though, the amazing voice acting saves these from being completely boring.
Additionally, Fire Emblem is one of Nintendo’s biggest franchises. They could definitely splurge for more animated scenes, imho. A few scenes are focused around a map as the various countries and coalitions are described or make their moves, and a few others include brilliantly styled paintings that look like Medieval artwork. Yet, while the Medieval style artwork was cool, it often felt overlooked. It’d be shown with a 10 second narration, and then never seen again. Sometimes, I struggled to even understand what the tie-in was from the image to the narration.
The branching and different storylines are really good, however. It’s cool to see what significant impact joining a different house can make to all the students, and Fodlan in general. Some of the routes can produce massively different resolutions to the story, and it’s interesting to think that they’re all canon since there isn’t one single “perfect” route. I was a bit dissatisfied with that, personally, because I definitely do like a “everyone is happy” ending, but I definitely appreciate the decision to go with very different endings.
I find the character design and variety to be pretty good in this game. We get standard hulking masses that are really gentle giants. We get tiny men with supreme strength. The reclusive hermit. The playboy. Nothing feels out of place or lacking in the characters, to be honest. I didn’t find myself disliking anyone overall, and although some I definitely disliked in specific routes, that feels purposeful in an antagonist sort of way. You’re supposed to dislike them because you’re waging war on them! Overall, my favorite character was probably Petra. I can identify as once being a foreign student, and I like her honesty, integrity, and drive. Plus, she’s a beast lol
Special shoutout to Flayn, as well. Green cinnamon roll. She has this amazing disapproving reaction image
The music in Three Houses is mostly great, but can also miss at times, if I’m honest. Most songs are absolutely great and I could listen to them for hours, but there were a few that I felt were forgettable. I also found the music earlier in the game to be a bit more enjoyable than some of the later tracks, which try to play up the heavier late-game plot a bit more with louder horns and such. It’s theatrical and effective for sure, but it just wasn’t always for me. Some endgame tracks, however, like Seasons of Warfare (or the more somber Edge of Dawn version) are really good and emotional. Winds of Fodlan is another favorite of mine and is one of those songs that can loop for a very long time without getting tired.
The fact that there are four routes to play in the game is a blessing, and you don’t need to buy separate games or DLCs to see them all! I love Fates, but needing to buy two games, plus a DLC third game felt like money farming by Nintendo. They listened to complaints, and put it all into one game. I love this sort of thing and I hope we get to see more of it in the future.
Combat is really fun, although I still miss being able to pair up two units on the same square. You can do a sort of pseudo-pair up in this game, but you’re limited in number and scope. I loved being able to toss a big, slow grunt onto the back of a pegasus and jet off to a far corner of the map to encircle the enemy, and I still find myself missing that option. That said, scaling back a bit on the weapons triangle was helpful to make things a bit more fluid. You have a little more freedom in how and who you battle, which is nice. I’m no expert or min-maxer, so I can’t really comment on harder difficulties, but I found the combat really satisfying.
One of the last things I’ll say is that the story does feel a bit disjointed as a result of the different routes. Lots of hugely important events happen off-screen, as well. I feel like the intent was to play multiple routes and then call upon events that did happen on-screen while playing other routes, but that hurts the first playthrough by keeping some stuff off-screen. Additionally, there are a few storylines that seem to just vanish or stop mattering, despite past importance being placed on them. It’s odd to see some plot lines come to nothing in some routes, while many still have the same seeds sown in the early parts of the game.
Finally, this game has done a lot for me when it comes to accepting tragic characters. It’s something I’ve really struggled to not hate in the past because it always felt so dissatisfying to me. But the various routes and just the sheer amount of time the game encourages you to put in let me see a lot of perspectives and really understand the motivations of some characters and embrace the idea of a tragic character. And this is something that will likely extend beyond Three Houses itself, which is really cool.
Despite some complaints, I love this game and it’s easily my favorite Fire Emblem game. I’ve basically played nothing else from late October until Christmas because I just enjoy trying different units and strategies. There’s a lot of game to be played here!
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Do you have female characters that you like or find good in FE.
For sure, I have females I like! They tend not to be my favorites in FE (or in a lot of media in general because females often don't get written with the same complexity as males not everything can be Talentless Nana), but I don't have an empty void where females in FE are concerned thankfully.
And since you asked for FE in general, I'm just gonna go for it and list who I like or find good (two different lists because they might be good characters but just not my personal preference of character).
disclaimer: most of the jugdral loc names are obnoxious so i willfully ignore them or they're just too obnoxious for me to actually remember what they are/how to spell them. i am also elderly, so i mainly use the names i am used to from a long time before jugdral loc was even remotely a thing. bear with me kiddos)
Like:
does kris count (FE12)
Ethlin/Ethlyn (FE4)
Fury/Erinys (FE4)
Mahnya (FE4)
Tiltyu/Tailtiu (FE4)
Nanna (FE4/FE5)
Leen/Lene (FE4)
Tinny (FE4)
Linda (Tinny's replacement) (FE4)
Rahna (FE4) (Levin's mom)
Ninian (FE7)
Eirika (FE8)
Tana (FE8)
Marcia (FE9/10)
does byleth technically count too doh
Annette
Dorothea (i know randomnameless is shaming me right now)
Rhea
Flayn
Hapi
Celine (when she's not talking abt fckn tea in almost all of her supports...)
Yunaka
Panette
Ivy
wait for it
wait
hold on
decision loading
fjorm from heroes is actually a nicely written female character
Good:
Sheeda/Caeda (FE1/3/11/12 lol)
Tiki (FE1/3/11/12/13 l e l)
Ayra (FE4)
Lachesis (mostly lol, like aside from ditching her family to find her son who was safe elsewhere with three, sometimes four (lol dragon dad is inconsistent) very capable people) (FE4)
Mana (Lana's replacement) (FE4)
Lakche/Larcei (FE4)
Patty (FE4)
Laylea (Leen's replacement, I'm just more bias toward Leen) (FE4)
Altenna (FE4)
Ishtar (FE4)
Hilda (in the sense of being a good actual villain who killing is very fun) (FE4)
Lilina (FE6)
Guinivere (FE6)
Lyn (FE7) (just... not to the extent intsys nuts over)
Tethys (FE8)
Ismaire (FE8) (Joshua's mom)
Mist (FE9/10)
Elincia (FE9/10)
Sanaki (FE9/10, but shows a lot more character growth in FE10)
Jill (FE9/10)
Nephenee (FE9/10, more so FE10 as a better character)
Sigrun (FE9/10)
Lissa (FE13)
Lucina (FE13) (same as Lyn lol)
Azura (FE14)
Soleil (FE14)
manuela had potential rip
Judith
Timerra
Veronica (Heroes) (just... not the older books' version)
Henriette (Heroes)
Eir (Heroes)
and after eir that was the end of even remotely decent heroes writing as i knew it
i hope heiðr turns out okay bc i kind of like her for now and she's not as bad as the rest of literally everything in that section of the story
If I didn't list someone here it doesn't mean they're a terrible character or that I despise them or anything (they're not even necessarily bad imo), but a lot of them are pretty shallow or used like a plot gimmick. ALSO, I might like them but that doesn't mean that they were written particularly well or felt standout or anything (like, I like Cordelia but I didn't list her because it's not a very strong attachment and it's a very mild like).
In some cases for "good" that aren't in like, it's more because they're not a favorite female (like Timerra, who I like enough but I had other females I enjoyed more).
edit: if you're wondering why i didn't list sov it's bc i haven't played it and gaiden's version of the characters is about as nonexistent as fe5, hence the lack of fe2 and fe5 (who weren't present in fe4 as well) characters
#DCB Ask#the FE4 bias is very very very apparent in this ask lmfao#but hey it's not my fault it wrote its females better than the other games lel
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