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[ezralahm]

I hope that cover art means we'll get a full version of Song of the Nabeteans! It's still my personal opinion that like Galdr in POR and Lost in Thoughts All Alone in Fates that should have been the theme instead of Edge of Dawn since it actually ties to the story unlike EOD and like the other two. But gotta sell Edelgard am I right?

Man the Nabateans need al the good stuff they can get.  It burns me like a toaster oven that the genocide and “well they’re weapons now lol” was treated as an infodump and a “mystery” and the overall horror of “Hey, your entire way of life is built on the corpses of my brethren” never really feels... horrifying.

It’s yet another reason why “Crests R Sooo Bad And Oppressive” just makes me roll my eyes.  Crests R Sooo Bad because they’re made from murdered individuals and yet that’s... never really a focal point for the characters who have Crests.  There’s never really any reconciliation between the remaining Nabateans and Fodlan at large - Seteth, Flayn, and Rhea still have to “disguise” themselves and pretend.  There’s never anything.

And we won’t even touch a wee little part of fandom that frame it as “Humanity rising up” and That’s a Good Thing.

[ezralahm]

Funeral of Flowers really should have been the main theme. I love it, it gives me major OG Nier vibes (also the fact that the "antagonist" of the story really just wanted their family back as well)

On a meta level I get it - “cutesey pop song sung by a female” seems to be the standard for JRPGs now and Fire Emblem’s fully embraced that “modern” design aesthetic

But like a lot of things in the game it gets... wonky.  The entire story of the Nabateans is screwed by the academy phase and the ”mysteries” of Garreg Mach and Funeral of Flowers would give that away but well, it should be an important, integral part of the story.  But... it is not.

[clauderiegan]

New art for the Three Houses Official Soundtrack releasing in 2021

[ezralahm]

Here it is

[emblemxeno]

Its why this anon thinks Edelgards racism is never brought up or acknowledged by her fans at all because all the Nabateans we see are light skinned. As if her "sparing" Seteth and Flayn is her forcing them out of society because they are "inhuman" isn't blatant enough.

True. For all we know, there could have been darker skinned Nabateans, but no one really considers it.

Compound that with the fact that people see Rhea, and hear everything the game tries to give you to make you suspicious of her, and they take that and run with it.

It’s why it’s hard to believe that people who don’t think she’s racist against the nabateans have actually played/invested themselves as much in the other routes compared to Crimson Flower. 

If you did, you would know that they were literally slaughtered, there’s literally only 5 of them left, the fact that Edelgard and Hubert aren’t allowed to go into Linhardt’s paralogue because he doesn’t want them to actually kill Indech, the fact that it can’t be Edelgard who takes out Flayn or Seteth or they will actually die, etc.

Like, it should clue you in when Edel says that the Nabateans are incapable of humanity, that there’s probably some underhanded feelings of resentment. But I guess it wasn’t clear enough.

[emblemxeno]

For me, Miklan was not really a good person. I mean yeah he was crestless and was bitter to see his little brother stealing everything from him but he has tried to kill him, apparently few times, and at this point we can't just say "poor Miklan''. If he's jealousy pushed him to try to commit fratricide then he was not a nice guy. Being crestless doesn't make people incompetant or stupid after all. He could have tried, but he made his choice when he targered his hate on little Sylvain.

The game wants you to feel bad for him (especially on Black Eagles) because he had such a hard life and was tossed aside. 

But as you said, he did so many horrible things that I hardly feel any sympathy at all. The Abyss dlc only solidified it, as Yuri says that Miklan kidnaps random women too.

[ezralahm]

I can't believe that some people really think that the story about Sitri asking Rhea to save Byleth is a lie said by Rhea for looking less bad, and that she had always planned to put Sothis heart in the baby -_- I wonder if those people have played Silver Snow and Verdant Wind.

This is the problem with Telling, Not Showing, especially with a cast of unreliable narrators.

Rhea has been built up as shady with other characters telling you she’s shady  == Rhea revealing Da Truth is clearly not Da Truth. because the game has told you she’s shady already

Game Showing You Edelgard Telling Everyone Rhea Lies == Rhea Obviously Lies About Everything.

If, however, the team had thought to actually Show a cutscene between Sitri (who didn’t even get a name until the DLC) and Rhea as Sitri was dying... that might not be in such contention.

Well, it probably would.  But at least it wouldn’t be a case of Edelgard Said / Rhea Said.

[ezralahm]

As the player, we have the real version of the fight Serios vs Nemesis since it's the opening cutscene where Rhea says clearly to Nemesis "you took everything from me". And since he has the creator sword, it's certainly him who has killed Sothis and almost all her children. I wonder how Edelgard ended with a version where Nemesis did nothing wrong. But this story seems lost in history since Dimitri doesn't talk about it (his class speaks more about Loog) and Claude just a little at a point.

IIRC, part of the cessation of the war was telling Nemesis’s surviving followers that they’d get to be heroes in their own story and that went along with “Well Nemesis was a good guy trufax” which is why you end up with the dissonance of Nemesis the Hero... named Nemesis.

I would have liked more distinction about why Edelgard believes the way she believes though.  We’re just told she heard “the truth” from her father but not what that particular truth is.  I kinda expect she just absorbed a lot of Slither propaganda and Ionius was not the sweet old man he pretended to be but the game DGAF since Crimson Flower is focused instead on Edeleth and crushing your enemies beneath your heels.  Thus - Edelgard’s “truths” don’t matter, only that you chose her and are by extension permanently stuck in ignorance never to reach Enlightenment.

[emblemxeno]

Something that I noticed a few weeks back is that students who are heirs or nobles (minus Yuri), when the join the Imperial Army they do so at the rank of general. Dorothea doesn't get this according to her CF timeline, and while Manuela does Manuela is the only one who isn't made a noble following the war.

Not only Dorothea, but Alois, Shamir, Mercedes, Raphael, Ignatz, and Leonie don’t get the rank of general either.

They all have different explanations (Alois is searching for Byleth, Shamir and Leonie are mercenaries, Mercie is working as a merchant, and Ignatz and Raph are helping their families) but the fact that they are the only ones like this and that they are commoners just makes things a little suspect.

[teaveetamer]

Early on part of me thought the flame emperor in the prologue wasn’t Edelgard because it makes no sense why she hire someone to kill her self. But as it turns out she thought Kostas was could kill Dimitri but not her. I guess or she’s so dumb she didn’t realize she die of assassinated.

Ooooh I’ve been wanting to talk about this since that four route blind playthrough person is slowly coming to the realization that the FE is Edelgard, but hasn’t reached that part yet (I don’t want to spoil anything).

I genuinely think that Edelgard is cocky enough she assumed she could handle the bandits if they attacked her.

We also have to remember that we don’t see anything that happened prior to Byleth showing up. For all we know, she could have planned to duck and abandon Dimitri and Claude fighting (foiled when Claude ran, which means if two of them were running Dimitri probably realized he should hightail it too instead of trying to fend them off alone), or something of that nature.

I mean honestly the game leaves so much random detail out it could go any way, so I really don’t think “Edelgard wouldn’t be stupid enough to plan this” or “Edelgard was too stupid to realize this would go south” is a good base to build arguments on. It’s not like she ever spells out what the plan was supposed to be or how exactly it went wrong. Point is she did plan it.

[teaveetamer]

If Rhea should ask Byleth for consent than Edelgard and her allies should also ask consent to their test subjects, which no they didn't. This shows that their problem really isn't morality, so they should stop trying to make liking Edelgard a moral issue when it's not.

If Rhea has to ask for consent from her execution victims Edelgard has to ask for consent to invade.

Just because a country agreed to be part of your empire in the past does not mean they will always agree to be part of your empire, and you can just conquer them without asking! Just because Faerghus agreed to be ruled by you 500 years ago does not mean you can just assume Faerghus will still want to be ruled by you later. Especially if Faerghus is saying no!

Actually now that I think about it that tea metaphor for consent works too well for this joke.

[teaveetamer]

Why do people think Edelgard is blameless for the actions of TWSITD? She keeps working with them and makes use of them after she knows they are responsible for a massacre (which directly caused a genocide), human experimentation (including on herself), murder (and replacing the people they murdered), kidnapping, a coup and maybe more. If you keep enabling a group like this you absolutely can't claim innocence.

Because people have it in their heads that to like Edelgard they have to think she’s perfectly innocent in everything.

[teaveetamer]

I like to believe that the "vessels" all shared a soul with Sothis, but without memories of their past lives. (Feels alert!) Rhea never realized that her mom was with her all along. Also imagine in her dying moments, Sitri "remembering" Rhea and everything else. Then she passed away smiling. Byleth's case is a bit different, since they're not technically a vessel. Sothis co-exist along side them. And I think that eventually allowed her to remember who she was 12 lifetimes ago.

Huh. Yeah alright I like that, I’m here for that.

Especially Rhea’s mom being with her all along  😭

[teaveetamer]

I think it’s fair to get annoyed if someone says that you only like a character ‘cause you’re horny for them. Same way it’s fair to get annoyed if someone says you dislike a character ‘cause they’re a girl. Kind of reduces you to a dipshit incapable of thinking with anything above the belt. Not saying being horny for a character is bad, but people like characters for a lot of reasons, and “You’re just horny for them” is pretty dismissive and feels in bad faith. And I want Rhea to bench press me.

I think that’s fair, if that were what anyone was actually doing.

Edelstans seem to take exception not just to the “you’re just horny for her” thing, but also the implication that Edelgard could at all be popular due to sex appeal.

This came up recently with CYL4 votes. Edelstans started wanking about how Edelgard got more votes than Dimitri, people rightly pointed out that we’re all playing a waifu game that explicitly panders to horny dudes so of course Edelgard would be really popular in that poll, stans get really mad people implied that the horny would be part of Edelgard’s appeal and circlejerk about how they do not have any impure thoughts and just like her for her character.

Which... uh... hate to break it to you guys, but you’re playing a waifu game. That panders to lonely horny Japanese dudes. There’s a reason why Edelgard is more popular in shit like CYL (though I maintain that those results are tainted because of the crazy botting), and Dimitri is more popular in shit like a magazine aimed primarily at women. Just comes with the territory.

[teaveetamer]

Oh, addendum: this anon has said that fandoms (and as you replied, real people too) change the rules of right and wrong to "accommodate those they admire". I should add, people also do the opposite: they also change the rules of right and wrong to "turn those they dislike into punching bags", even if those they hate are (mostly) good people. For example, fans don't like Mal the protagonist of Descendants, so they vilify her for every single mistake, while excusing Audrey's even worse behavior.

Yeah doesn’t surprise me either. I mean you’ve seen the way a lot of Edelstans desperately try to demonize Dimitri and Rhea.

Though lmao this also reminds me, someone sent me the most batshit set of anti flowcharts last night and they’re the most absolutely hilarious example of people warping the rules of morality to suit their weird agenda I’ve seen.

Really I’m just using this ask as an excuse to laugh at how ridiculous this was because ho boy it was a trip.

Apparently we’re not allowed to ship Dimidue because:

Dimitri was 17 at the start of the game and Dedue was 18 which means it’s pedophilia

Dedue is more than three inches taller than Dimitri, which means Dimitri is “minor coded” and therefore the ship is pedophilia (which. Lmao. the 6′2″ twunk is minor coded because his partner is 6′8″ but also if you shipped Dimitri with, say, Felix then Felix is minor coded and Dimitri is the pedophile because he’s 6′2″ and Felix is 5′8″. And if you ship Felix and Annette then Annette is minor coded and Felix is a pedophile because Felix is 5′8″ and Annette 5′0″)

Dimitri can’t consent to a relationship because he has mental health issues, so the ship is “ableist”

I wouldn’t be allowed to ship them because I’m not a bi/gay man and that’s fetishizing (and you’re not allowed to ship f/f unless you’re bi/lesbian because that’s fetishizing, but also you’re not allowed to ship straight stuff because that’s homophobic. So I guess straight and probably aro/ace people, wouldn’t put it past this chart to have not even considered aro/ace people, just aren’t allowed to fandom. Only genfic for you nasty straights, I guess.)

Dimitri and Dedue had a deep friendship as children which means they’re incestual. And even if they weren’t Dimitri said Dedue was “like family to him” once which means they’re still incest.

[teaveetamer]

Wait, how is Eelgard killing Dimitri the fault of TWSITD? She may blame it Thales, but that doesn't make it true. She would invade his country and would have to kill him regardless of TWSITD.

Long story short: it’s not.

I’m not sure how exactly it would have been Thales’s fault, since he and Dimitri literally never interact in Crimson Flower.

[emblemxeno]

my favorite route is VW and i'm now playing through CF, and honestly, every single critique of edelgard i've found on this blog is spot on. i'm sick of how much this route wants me to pity edelgard and excuse her blatant imperialism and prejudice (and it sort of tries to on VW, but to a more ignorable extent). an arrogant narcissist who projects her trauma onto an entire continent is only an interesting antagonist if she's actually ALLOWED to be an antagonist.

Basically yeah. 

Some people often say “Stop obsessing over Edelgard! She does bad things but everyone in this game does!” but that’s really not the point. It’s the fact that she’s defended or excused for the things she does more than any other character in the game itself.

I don’t recall any character-be it hero or villain-in this series getting this many sympathy points in the story before Edelgard. It’s wild.

[emblemxeno]

One song i think is underrated is a funeral of flowers’ battle variation, it’s a piano song, and as a classical music nerd it feels on par with something like beethoven’s moonlight sonata

That track is beautiful. I love how the map theme is the intense one, but transitions into a calm piece in battle, kind of represents the desperation/sadness the characters might feel having to defeat Rhea.