Reposting my art of this series because there's a lot of gays here, happy pride 😌🌈
FE3H is the only game where I can like so many pairs and multiship like crazy LOL. This is a long post, so feel free to tap to view all the artwork! There's 24 ships 💖
As an ace person who loves supporting any queer relationship, you're safe ✨️
I was inspired by my Dorogrid post to start a little series analyzing different characters and who they show romantic attraction towards in order to figure out the traits (physical and personality) that they value in a partner, and I decided to start with one of my favorites. For this series, I will not be analyzing every character they have a romantic end card with because three houses has a habit of pairing up random male and female characters. So for Dorothea, here are the characters I’ll be including in my analysis:
Petra, Edelgard, Ingrid, Ferdie, Sylvain, and Hubert
Physical Appearance
If you asked Dorothea her type she’s say she thinks all women are beautiful and all men are hideous. Which is… kinda true. In all seriousness, we’ll need to talk about men and women separately for this.
So does Dorothea think all women are beautiful? I mean honestly kinda yes, but that doesn’t mean she finds them all attractive. For the women she’s attracted to, she tends to prefer more toned/muscular women. I know all the three houses women have very similar body types, but let’s use our imagination for little bit. Edelgard, Petra, and Ingrid are all women who use actual weapons for physical combat so they’d all be more muscular than Dorothea and she’d love that. She also loves seeing them freshly after their work outs and being all, "oh dear you look tired, could I get you some water?" She likes longer hair too, it’s not a deal breaker by any means, she still thinks post time skip Ingrid is beautiful, but she likes being able to play with her girlfriend's hair and help her style it.
For men I imagine she’s very picky. Like in general you have to be the top 1% of men for her to consider you attractive. I think she tends to like a Prince Charming kind of aesthetic in her men, which fits Ferdinand and Sylvain very well. Obviously Hubert sticks out here, but I don't think any feelings she has towards him would be based on physical attraction which I will expand on later.
Personality
Okay let's get the obvious out of the way. Dorothea wants a partner with money, we all know this, it's essential to her character struggle. But it's also been talked about to death so I won't dwell on it too long since I don't have anything unique to add.
A big trait Dorothea values in a partner is loyalty. Growing up, her only family member was her mom, who died when she was young and her father had no issue casting aside his own family. The first 'relationships' she ever had experience with were with the noble men who pursued her when she was in the opera, and the word relationship is used lightly here. They would use her then move on. When she was young, she was naive enough to think that maybe she actually meant something to one of these men, but as she's gotten older she's realized this is a common occurrence, that noble men use and discard young women, and this is one of the core tenants of her insecurities. She wants a relationship she can feel secure in, so when she sees signs that someone is loyal, it piques her interest. It makes her think well maybe they could be a good partner. And in a way, all the characters she ends up with show great loyalty to something. Edelgard and Ingrid are loyal to their ideals, Petra is loyal to her country, Ferdinand is loyal to his position/duty, Hubert is loyal to Edelgard, and Sylvain...Well he's an outlier I'll talk about later but despite being generally disloyal he does at least display a great deal of loyalty to Felix so obviously it's something he's capable of.
Dorothea also like people who are stronger than her and people who command authority. Again, she's seeking security in her relationship. There is so much uncertain about the world so having a partner that can make her feel safe and protected is so important to her. In the chapter 12 explore dialogue, she gains support points with Byleth when she asserts that you guys will not lose the war, not when you share in her worries and same with the chapter 16 explore. She already knows about the things that can go wrong, she wants a partner who will take control of the situation and make her feel safe.
As for her role in a relationship, Dorothea loves to spoil her partner. Many of her supports revolve around her trying to spoil her partner. She wants to write Edelgard an opera, she wants to help style Ingrid, she wants to help Petra stay connected to her culture. To be honest, she doesn't spoil her male support partners as much. I think this is because she's been so burned by male nobles, she by default doesn't really view them as worthy of her attention/energy. However, if a noble man does manage to capture her attention and earn her love, she will start to spoil him.
Relationships
In this section I will focus on exploring her potential pairings and how I see their relationships evolving. Some ships get less detailed write ups so I apologize in advance if you like these ships, but there are some whose dynamics I don't care for as much so I have less thoughts on.
Edelgard: I mean, talk about stability, right? At least from the eyes of a pre time skip commoner. Edelgard is literally set to hold the most important position in the entire empire. Something about Edelgard is able to quickly draw Dorothea in during the academy phase. She isn't sure exactly what it is, maybe it's Edelgard's strong conviction or the air of confidence, or maybe the fact that she has such an ethereal beauty. Either way, Dorothea does allow herself to get wrapped up in the fantasy of being married to the emperor for just one day, before deciding to be more realistic. As she gets to know Edelgard better though, it's harder to fight the feelings. Who would've thought Dorothea could meet a noble so invested in the plight of the commoners that she was willing to throw her life away for it? Not to mention, Edelgard's good at helping Dorothea feel safe despite the danger she knows they're in. And she loves flustering Edelgard, she thinks it's adorable to see Edelgard get bright red.
Petra: Dorothea's initially drawn to Petra because they're both outsiders in a way to the Black Eagle class. Sure, Petra may be a princess, but she isn't treated as one. So they become quick friends, as they both feel that they can just be themselves around each other. They don't need to stress about other's judging them, and this is one of the few times they can be open about their issues with Adrestia's politics. When Byleth decides to have the two of them participate in the mock battle together in the first month, Petra is the one who promises to protect Dorothea. In fact, she even offers to teach Dorothea how to sneak around like a proper warrior. And these lessons are what allows Dorothea to hide out after a particularly intense encounter before rejoining the battle, and she thanks Petra as being the only reason she made it to the end. They continue their platonic relationship, until one day Petra saves Dorothea mid battle. And Dorothea isn't going to have any crazy fantasies about this, but were Petra's arms always that toned? And how is her hair always perfectly braided? This really is something out of a fairy tale. Dorothea sometimes subtly floats the idea out in front of Petra, trying to gauge if Petra even would date a woman, but either Petra isn't able to pick up what Dorothea's laying down, or she just doesn't feel the same. Either way, Dorothea doesn't want to ruin the friendship so she just lets her feelings sit, swearing not to act on them. That is, until the war starts. Dorothea doesn't know if she'll ever see Petra again, after all Dorothea wouldn't blame her for going back to Brigid. So before storming/defending Garreg Mach (depending on the route), Dorothea confesses her feelings. And Petra feels the same. They share the most magical kiss Dorothea's ever had, but are rushed off into battle too quickly. They then go five years without seeing each other, but when they reunite it's like no time has passed at all. They fill each other in on all the happenings and, huh, Petra hasn't mentioned any romance in past five years... And while Dorothea's pondering what this means, Petra flat out says that she wants to continue things with Dorothea. And while it's difficult to give their relationship the time it deserves during the war, they make time for each other. And one day, as the end of the war is nearing, Petra wonders if maybe Dorothea would perhaps be interested in living in Brigid? And of course Dorothea says yes. She has no love for Fodlan, so being whisked off to a foreign land by a beautiful princess is a dream come true for her!
Ingrid: I think Dorothea falls for Ingrid quicker than the other ladies, I mean Dorothea's physical attraction does play a role in their whole support chain. When Dorothea sees Ingrid for the first time, it stops her in her tracks. Ingrid is such a natural beauty, even without spending all this time on makeup and hair like Dorothea does. And to Dorothea, this seems like a sign that Ingrid is confident and comfortable in her skin. As far as nobles go, Ingrid is one that's easier to talk to. Despite her status, Ingrid's family is also poor. Ingrid can understand a lot of the struggles Dorothea has, she's gone to bed hungry and dealt with less than kind noble men for the sake of her future. So there's a sense of understanding between them. But Dorothea also feels a sense of sadness. They both need to marry for money, how could a relationship ever work between them? If they choose different sides during the war, romance never ends up blossoming between them. But in a CF time line, they begin to find even more comfort in each other. They make fun of the nobles complaining about the war rations, after all this is still more food than they were used to eating on a good day. And Ingrid is able to confide in Dorothea about her fears in fighting her family and her homeland. Eventually, these women just can't deny their attraction anymore and anyways, they don't know if they're going to live another day so worrying about financial security can wait until after the war, right? But of course, their relationship persists after the war. They've both achieved higher positions afterwards giving them more individual security and after their shared experiences, they decide that living a less lavish lifestyle is worth it to be together.
Ferdinand: Honestly, the only man I could see Dorothea actually living happily ever after with. Of course, their relationship pre time skip is very rocky. Dorothea starts feeling a little inkling of attraction towards Ferdinand at the White Heron ball. He just treats all the women he dances with with such respect, and he looks dazzling. And he has been working so hard to earn her respect... But no, she tells herself, he only respects these women because they're also nobles. And he only asked her to dance with him to try and win her over. I mean, why didn't he dance with Leonie? Oh sure, he'll say it's because he didn't know her then instantly run to dance with her, but that'll just be to save face. Dorothea knows his intentions. But then next month Petra told Dorothea about how Ferdinand was worried about her safety and encouraged her to go back to Brigid. Well that's thoughtful... No, no it isn't. He's just worried about a scandal if the princess of Brigid dies in the empire's care. And this kind of thought process goes on and on, until they all separate before the war. Then, after five years, everyone returns to the academy. And she sees someone with the most gorgeous hair and...no way, that's Ferdinand? And him and Dorothea get talking and Ferdinand is actually willing to get behind Edelgard's cause. And the way he wants to right his father's wrongs, well it's all very admirable. He is so dedicated to proving that he can still do good, despite his family's reputation. And he's advocating for the commoner's to receive a formal education? It still takes Dorothea a while after the war to admit her feelings, in fact the two get together relatively late in life by Fodlan standards. But once they do admit their feelings, they have such a whirlwind romance and it seems like you blink and now they're happily married with kids.
Hubert: Dorothea has absolutely no interest in Hubert pre-time skip. He's just...not her type. He's kind of weird looking and he's a little scary, but her and Edelgard are such good friends and Edelgard always insists on having Hubert around so Dorothea accepts his presence. As they spend some more time together, she actually starts to enjoy him company, but there's still no actual attraction pre time skip (not even thinly veiled attraction Dorothea's scared to admit, like he's just a bro). Post-time skip, Dorothea's lost so much, she's seen so many people die and Hubert's been a nice constant in her life. She starts thinking his sickly rat look is kind of cute, and oh my God this war is definitely making her go crazy. But Hubert cares for Edelgard so much, and she just wishes she could have someone care for her that way. When she floats around the idea of marriage in their A support, it is something she's genuinely interested in. As much as I do think Dorobert has some cute potential though, I don't think this would work out in the long run. I think after the war, when Dorothea gets more stability and forms relationships where the other isn't always dying, her feelings for Hubert will eventually fade away. He has so many commitments now anyways and they don't talk nearly as much, and there's just other people she's more drawn to. But I could see a scenario where they decide to get married soon after the war, Dorothea knowing Hubert will always keep her safe and Hubert knowing Dorothea is very dedicated to his cause. And I do think they can live a happy life this way, even if it isn't a fairy tale romance like Dorothea may have wanted at first.
Sylvain: Fair warning, I am a Dorovain hater so if you like Dorovain you probably won't like my write up of their relationship. But basically, you know those situations when you fall head over heels for a guy that just kinda sucks and all your friends tell you he sucks and you should move on but you just can't for some reason? That's how I view Dorovain. I know they have a sweet ending card but I just don't really see that actually happening because I don't think Sylvain has done the work to be that man. I think Dorothea is eventually drawn in by his good looks and his sweet talking, and Edelgard is telling her how stupid it is to get involved with this man, but she does it anyways. I'm sorry Dorovain shippers, I'm not going to be writing out a paragraph about how their romance evolves because in my eyes it really is as simple as that, but if you enjoy Dorovain to each their own!
It's fun that the promotional Three Houses group artwork places some characters so closely together that you can easily run with it and see it as some prime ship content. Back in the livejournal era this would have resulted in so many profile pics.
Everytime I post one of these someone mentions that X ship isn't a rarepair. Please take my categorization with a grain of salt. I usually don't know what I'm doing 😅
It should go without saying but please don’t be rude just because you don’t like a ship. If you want to debate or discuss a ship, do it in the tags/comments in a polite manner. This is supposed to be fun. Let’s all be mature adults!
If your favorite ship is not here, it’s probably featured in another poll. You can see all the polls by going to my blog and choosing the tag “valentines polls”. You can also just tell me in the tags or comments.
