@megamog tagged: #this is the supposed to be the same Claude who uses poisons to temporarily incapacitate people but is suddenly like murder is okay
After the Lonato battle:
Note how he says, when Leonie and Ignatz walk up looking sad about the battle, that they should proud because they did what they had to do... but that's only when other people are watching. When he's only with their profressor, he admits the battle left a bad taste in his mouth. His "you should be proud" was more of a bravado for the others than how he actually felt, versus in Hopes where that attitude is just the norm when they go invade Faerghus. They "feel bad" for invading, but do it anyway. With Lonato in Houses, he was going to actually attack the monastery and cause any number of innocents to get hurt (as Claude also mentions), so Claude wasn't making the first move against someone but still felt bad for the battle. If they "feel bad" for inavding Faerghus in Hopes, well... they should.
Not only does Claude repeatedly mention in Houses that his poisons aren't harmful, but he's not okay with killing even in self defense. He'll do it if necessary - if absolutely necessary and there are no other options available to him - but he doesn't prefer killing. Also note how he mentions in his support with Byleth about how he grew up that he explains why he makes poisons. He got used to making them in self defense because of assassination attempts... and even despite assassination attempts, he created non-lethal poisons. He fended off his attackers as much as he could with non-lethal methods, even when people were going after him intending to kill him.
Yet in Hopes he's like... time to go invade the Kingdom that did nothing to us. Ever. Place has been fighting their own battles and defending against the Empire just like us, but they've been totally innocent this whole time. Let's go invade and make sure Sreng knows about it! But then, if someone suggests if we directly tell Sreng about Matthias, no no! Can't do that! More people will die! More, as in, more than the ones we just murdered in our invasion that we didn't have to do. Murder is bad! But only when it's not us who do it. :)
For real, Academy Claude in Houses would whack adult Claude in Hopes. Academy Claude always feels the need to defend himself verbally by reminding people, including his professor, that the poisons he makes are not lethal, because his reputation is in the mud with a lot of Alliance nobles (and it sounds like some students/people around him in general don't trust his motivations). He always has to make very certain that people understand he's not trying to actually hurt people.
Also, the people around him were skeptical of him, but he's also aware these are innocent people. He has other student around him and people who just live at the monastery. He doesn't use lethal poisons even on his attackers when he's growing up, so why would he use lethal poisons on people just living their day to day lives? He doesn't. He doesn't use anything that could actually kill someone against innocents; and as far as I'm concerned, Faerghus was innocent and Claude still went to attack them in Hopes.
He just... really doesn't like killing. If he has no other choice he will, but that's if he's literally pushed into a corner or attacked first (and even then will attempt to do things without killing first, before determining if there's no other methods he can use). He wouldn't kill innocent people (and he also would not condone the shit Nader says/does in Hopes. Houses Claude would never tolerate Hopes Nader's love of pillaging.
