Ok, I'll bite: Hilda/Claude/Lorenz, what's their deal? (I enjoyed FE3H a lot! Played all the routes, though it's been a while, and the only pairings I still have any attachment to are Felix/Annette and Annette/Mercedes...)
Thank you so much for asking, I’m sorry for the wait. My first two attempt at this ended up being five/six page essays. I have been. Trying to whittle it down.
The core fundamental is that I genuinely believe the three of them bring out the best in each other, are capable of challenging each other in ways that are necessary, and ultimately balance each other out. Explanation under the cut.
Politics is incredibly important to both Claude and Lorenz, and the three of them are good for each other politically. And not just because of crests or titles.
Lorenz and Claude challenge each other politically in necessary ways for their own growth and success.
Lorenz holds Claude accountable for the decisions he tries to make behind closed doors.
Claude shows Lorenz that the belief system he’s been raised in is fundamentally flawed and broke.
Hilda’s interpersonal skills make her a good diplomat to balance the boys out.
She shares Claude’s ability to manipulate others through charisma but is less willing to go to nefarious places with it. When Claude gets lost in the gambit she can reel him back in.
She’s genuinely liked and trusted by her peers in all the areas that Lorenz fails struggles with.
They’re basically fluent in different languages. Claude can talk strategy, Lorenz can talk nobility, Hilda can talk people.
Interpersonally, they understand and benefit one another.
Claude hides behind a mask of charisma to feign the illusion of openness yet despite his best attempts Hilda and Lorenz see him holistically.
Hilda/Claude A support - Hilda: “If you understand me so well, maybe it's because you're no different. When you smile or laugh, it's not sincere. I can tell. I've only seen you genuinely smile a handful of times.”
Lorenz sees him for all his worst qualities first (lying, scheming, deceitful) and yet still ultimately concludes that he’s a good and moral man worthy of his position.
Claude doesn’t want anyone to see behind the mask because the mask is an armour protecting him from a world that wants him dead. But both of them look him directly in the eyes and tell him I see you, I see all of you, even the things that you don’t want seen, and I’m standing by your side anyway.
And again, they keep him grounded.
Hilda hides behind her charisma and lazy persona to keep other peoples expectations of her at bay. Claude and Lorenz both help her thrive past her fear of disappointment.
Claude sees right through her act (see A support)
She’s his second in command. If she dies he says every strategy he had was planned around her survival. He understands where her strengths and interests intersect and utilizes them. And she seems to take genuine pride in that work.
Lorenz doesn’t see through her but he values her and encourages her anyway. She’s literally playing him but his response is just so genuine she starts matching his effort anyway without even intending to. She is used to being treated like a liability, but he never treats her that way.
Left to their own devices the boys will work themselves to an early grave and forget to have a life without politics. Hilda will not let that happen.
Lorenz was raised to be a nationalist and taught to believe that he alone had the skills to, basically, make the Alliance great again. Literally, his father had the only known heir murdered to help him advance to the Dukedom. He has some shit to unlearn and they were here to help him unlearn it.
Canonically, Claude’s mere existence and proximity to him helps Lorenz unlearn and re-evaluate his fathers teachings. And while its not his responsibility to educate there’s no way Mr. I-Want-To-Tear-Down-The-Walls-That-Divide-Us isn’t readily doing so on purpose.
Hilda, on paper, should not make a good noble and yet everyone loves her and hates him. He will question why, and he will realize that his restrictive worldview caused him to miss both of their best qualities.
Seeing them succeed interpersonally will show him he’s been wrong and encourage him to grow and change. And when he does, they will be there to celebrate him.
That pathway accomplishes all the things I’ve already spoken about - Lorenz realizes his belief system is flawed, and Claude and Hilda have love and support offered to them through the parts of them they see as most unlovable.
He is the only member of this trio that is actually being open and honest with others. He might be lying to himself but he will tell you exactly what he’s thinking. And he’s going to hold the others to his standards of honesty too.
I genuinely believe they’d all be best friends.
It’s honestly harder to argue that Claude and Hilda aren’t canonically really good friends. Do I even need to defend their friendship.
Claude and Lorenz love a good debate/game of strategy. They might drive each other insane while at the academy but they’re intentionally meeting up for chess weekly minimum.
Hilda and Lorenz absolutely do tea dates and gossip. She’d find him so funny, and he wouldn’t know what to make of her but she’s fucking Hilda Valentine Goneril.
❤️💛💜 BONUS! ❤️💛💜
There’s also just so much humor and fun to be found with this dynamic. To display this, my peak academy dynamic for them is as follows:
Lorenz is convinced he’s living in a spy thriller. Claude is an Almyran spy and he is going to prove it.
Claude is a little intimidated by how close to the truth he is but Lorenz is just so pathetic he basically discredits himself. He’s Threat Lite. He needs to be watched but is mostly just a funny little guy to him. It’s a spy thriller to Lorenz but Loony Toons for Claude.
Claude and Hilda are just besties who are casually sleeping together. They gossip. It’s fun.
She’s also besties with Lorenz. They have tea and gossip and she thinks that whatever is wrong with him is so so fun.
I can not stress enough that this is just high school for her.
Lorenz however is ALSO living in an Austenian drama. He believes Claude and Hilda to be courting, a heart breaking reality as he has found himself falling for Hilda.
Hilda watches the boys play weirdly homoerotically charged games of chess like “omg you want to fuck each other so bad it makes you both look pathetic”
She WILL say as much to both of them who are equally horrified by the accusation. “I think if you fucked you’d fix each other actually.” They staunchly disagree.
They are 100% blaming those embarrassing dreams they keep having on her and absolutely nothing else.
Anyway, I could literally continue talking forever. Their ship song is In the Middle by Dodie. hilclaurenz is everything to me. Thank you for listening ❤️💛💜
