I'm good with the mention, anon! 🙏🏿
Adding to this, a lot of it does feed into how much the fandom largely accepts specific mental health, one that can be salvageable, safe or "cute," etc. Comfortable mental illness.
There's a reason why Marianne is a fandom darling, her depression isn't as destructive or hostile, it's easy, stomachable self-deprecation that doesn't come at the expense of anyone or anything. She still acts competent despite her very low sense of self.
Jeritza also gets his flowers, mostly because his Crimson Flower supports play more into romanticising him. Even when they touch on his Death Knight being a risk, he doesn't do or say anything overtly harsh like Dimitri, or Rhea, even in the supports where Death Knight openly craves his usual shit with his Mercedes & Catherine supports. Hell, to add to the previous part, him chasing death with Byleth is highly romanticised in the fandom, especially in the Beagles fandom, even the S-Support where he pretty much wants Byleth and himself to kill each other.
I'll keep Edelgard's as minor as possible, she has the perfect idealised trauma response, being motivated and immovable despite her pain. Even when she does commit actions or loses herself like others, what's specifically unique to her alone is the narrative going out its way to soften her image, even in Azure Moon, where she's sunken as low as Rhea in Crimson Flower, yet only one is treated as sympathetic as possible. Don't need to explain who, of course.
Meanwhile, with Rhea & Dimitri, they get none of that craze. Not only are they harsh and aren't played as sympathetically once they're wildin', they're outright killed at their mentally worst, Rhea specifically having the most brutal death in both games and is played like a triumphant moment by both the route & the fandom. Additionally, Edelgard also goes out of their way to paint them in more unfavourable lights that her fanbase to take even further lights, "King of Delusion" becomes this misogynistic status quo lover who doesn't just want to murder Edelgard, but women in general. Rhea, who Edelgard basks about how she never cared about humanity, has been Edelstandom's pro-eugenics./ fuedalism (or whatever term they throw in there), god complex, short-fused oppressor who looks down on humanity and is violently resistant to change.
More specifically, their trauma responses being more wrathful and visually more uncomfortable and destructive makes it easier for not just Edelstans, but the general fandom to paint it as their default personalities (again, Rhea gets it even worse, even people who supposedly like think or claim she's "better" or "mask off" when her trauma overcomes her). Suddenly, characters like Felix, who dehumanises him as a "boar" as this "blunt, but correct atheist" who calls out Dimitri's "true nature," And Rhea is 'revealed' as this unstable beast who will kill anyone who questions her (I shit you not, there have been fics where Rhea turns against, attacks, threatens or kills Flayn or Seteth, or the latter two do the same)
A third time to mention Rhea, people generally link her trauma as a way to bring how she "couldn't let go" almost always downplaying or ignoring that she witnessed mass genocide and experienced her own kin being used as physical superpower fuel and weapons, SHE HAD TO FIGHT HER PEOPLE AS CONTORTED CORPSES. It becomes more insulting when they use that type of argument or 'analysis' to contrast her with characters who literally never had to go through that level of (again) GENOCIDAL horror.
Dare I say, that's a lot of people continue to wish or brush past with Rhea, she IS the one who has suffered the most. Again, again! Fighting her people's contorted corpses, Edelgard losing her siblings is nothing compared to that, sorry not sorry, for saying that. Its really clownish to compare the two or act like Edelgard is better with how she went through her trauma when she didn't go through the torror that young Seiros did. Then again, you can say that about every other character that's not Dedue, the second genocide survivor who is actively dehumanised for being Duscan.
I lowkey do think certain Dimitri fans and haters also share a own problem in judging him strictly by his mental illness, treating him during it as "hot" or once more, "evil." This is the standout thing that Dimitri has over Rhea, simply because I've seen it more, and partially because the former who romanticise it, are at times demonising Rhea as if she's somehow worse than him.
Like, the amount of times I've seen Dimileths or hardcore Dimistans bash Rhea (commonly in fics, ofc) for using Byleth and other characters / things, forgetting Dimitri ALSO does that in Azure Moon during his vengeful path until Fleche kills Rodrigue!
I could go further, but the message is crystal clear, this fandom operates on villainising 'ugly' mental illness, its why Rhea, despite her wrath specifically being influenced and linked to the genocide she suffered, is commonly treated as a short-temepred mad woman evil lizard who kills anyone for not being religious, and why Dimitri is reduced to a women hating sadist that will beat his own allies out of impulse or with intent, additionally the only character who's Byleth ship is described as "therapy" despite literally every Byleth support chain having them be everybody's fucking therapist.
TDLR; this fandom has been ridden with ableism, Rhea & Dimitri are proof of that.
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