#eshmel

[baoxie]

some ladies from the trailer!!!

[tahobitz]

[sakitenyoyo]

new male avatar should also have exposed thighs im just saying

[fan-girls-r-us]

This fanfic shit is easy 😂

[crapmagak]

Fortune's Weave Theory Crafting: Eshmel

So… Eshmel… What the fuck is their deal. They’re clearly an avatar character, and yet they aren’t who the player plays and controls in the gameplay footage we’ve seen. In fact, they aren’t anywhere to be seen whenever the main lords are on screen. So naturally the question is, how does the avatar character work in Fortune’s Weave?

Well, to start, here’s how Sothis describes Eshmel in the trailer, “Look upon the promised one, for they’ll route you here, and guide the living to salvation.”

So at first glance, Eshmel is a chosen one figure whose destiny is to rule and guide the people. I’d cringe, but there’s one little thing I find hope in. These are Sothis’s words specifically. And we know that while Sothis is A goddess, she’s not THE goddess of the Fodlan universe. She’s not even from the planet the Fodlanverse takes place on. So this idea that Eshmel is some kind of chosen one isn’t fate, it’s Sothis’s opinion, and her intention.

The first thing that pops out about Eshmel is how overtly angel coded they are. In stark contrast, Byleth is demon coded; dressed in black, named after Beleth, and their in-universe epithet is “The Ashen Demon”. They are a defective homunculus who was supposed to be an empty shell to house Sothis’s consciousness. But instead, at some point as a baby, they developed their own consciousness and as they grew up, their own personality and identity. A fallen angel. Even in the routes where Byleth defends the church and embraces their divinity, they do so of their own free will, and on their own terms without Rhea’s orders. 

We know nothing about Eshmel except their appearances, and their names. A major feature of their design is a hood that obscures their face in shadow. Faces are one of the most common symbols for identity and individuality. Their primary color scheme is overwhelmingly white, a blank slate. And in some interpretations of christianity, angels are beings created by God without free will of their own.

My theory is that Eshmel is a perfect homunculus. But unlike Byleth, Eshmel wasn’t created to house Sothis, they were created by her to be an agent of her will. Sothis has some kind of goal and intention for Dagda, and Eshmel is their powerful, obedient fighting agent to meet it out.

For the next part of my theory, I’m gonna briefly oversimplify some Fate lore. In the type-moon universe, there are these guys called Counter Guardians. They basically zip around time, assassinating anyone who might cause the destruction of humanity. Now in the description for the Dagdan Collection, we get a very interesting description for this game. “The Stories of Four Heroes are key to this time-traveling saga of strength and steel”. 

My current theory is that Eshmel is a kind of Counter Guardian created by Sothis, steering fate along her intended path. They may in fact guide not from a throne, but from the shadows. And in the second trailer, the narrator says “Guide whichever character you choose to victory”.

For the first half or so of the game, you control one of the four main lords. At various points in the game, they’ll meet and interact with Eshmel, befriending them. Interacting with Eshmel in ways unaccounted for by their parameters, forcing them to improvise and make their own choices. Eshmel themselves will be working in the background and sometimes up front to make sure the lords keep moving forward in the games. Sliding tips their way, taking out villains in the background, and maybe arriving in maps as a green unit to help them out of jams. It’ll even be heavily implied the turn to turn actions that units in maps, and the turn wheel will be Eshmels doing.

Eventually, however, some major plot event will happen that’ll kick the story into its second phase. Just how Three Houses has a school phase and war phase. And I think it’ll only be unlockable once you’ve completed each lord's first phase. Having bonded with all four lords thanks to time travel shenanigans, Eshmel fully develops their own beliefs and identity. I think the catalyst will be the revelation that part of Sothis’s grand plan involves the four lords either dying or being doomed to never get their wish fulfilled. So Eshmel rebels, and having finally gained their sense of self, you may finally play as (and potential name) Eshmel.

That’s my best guess, at least. As for what the second phase entails, be it multiple endings or a golden ending, I can’t say yet. But you’ll no doubt get to do all the avatary goodness of romancing your favorite waifus and husbandos. Hopefully there’ll be a decent selection of same sex romances this time around, assuming they aren’t all bi. And who knows, maybe they’ll finally add poly options on some level.