a 2022 doodle that i tried to turn into a painting for mercedes birthday, couldn't make it, so i finished it for dedue's birthday! their 3 hopes support was very cute (the original support was lovely too).
My Analysis of the Best Paired Endings in 3H (Part 16: Mercedes/Dedue)
Mercedes: If I were someone else, perhaps a commoner without a Crest or stature, maybe things would be different. It's a bit sad, but…this is the way things have to be. After all, only the goddess can decide our fates.
Each character in the Blue Lions was a victim of Faerghus's patriarchal culture. Mercedes was adopted for the purpose of being married off for her Crest. The Crest of Lamine is associated with the arcana of Judgement. It represents an important decision that needs to be made regarding love and romance. It also symbolizes a solution to a protracted problem, and a feeling of freedom.
Mercedes was separated from her brother at a young age and had to make a new life for herself in the Kingdom. What got her through those hard times was the support of the church. That's why her dream was to work there to help people, just as they did for her. But doing so would be difficult if she married a nobleman.
Mercedes: Though, just because two people share a promise, that doesn't guarantee they'll be together forever. You've noticed many nobles at the academy, right? They very rarely have the freedom to choose their own partners.
Mercedes had a lot in common with Ingrid. She did not want to give up on her dream to be used as a broodmare for her Crest, like her mother was. However, she felt like she had no choice.
Byleth: You can't just give up on your dreams.
Mercedes: That's a very good point! We're only given one life, so we must do all we can to pursue our happiness! OK! I think that may have been just the push I was looking for! I'll tell him the truth. That I've found a life worth pursuing and I must decline the proposal! Maybe I should tell him I've fallen for someone else?
Mercedes had difficulty standing up to her adoptive father. She was willing to lie to him by telling him that she had fallen for someone else. That might explain many of her pairing options.
Ferdinand: You baffle me. Do you not wish to be free?
Mercedes: Of course I do. Let me try that again in a way you might understand. Ahem. A true noble cuts their own path, seizing freedom from the clutches of tyranny!
I suspect that the reason she rejected Ferdinand's help to sever ties with her adoptive father was because she wasn't sure if his gesture was an attempt to woo her. She wasn't sure if she would have the will to decline if he proposed. In their paired ending, she severs ties with her adoptive father and marries him immediately after the war. She lives the traditional life of a noble wife while her husband is recognized for his achievements.
Mercedes: I don't care to flaunt my noble past or my Crest. I have no desire to return to that status.
Lorenz: Then, if I may speak hypothetically a moment… Does that mean that if a nobleman were to offer you his hand in marriage, you would decline?
Mercedes: Not at all. That's a separate matter entirely. Even if I were to fall in love, regardless of their social status… I'm not looking to marry right now.
Even by the end of their A-Support, she still didn't seem to like Lorenz very much. She was unusually sarcastic with him. And she specifically said she wasn't ready to marry even if she was in love. But it is still possible that she will marry Lorenz immediately after the war. It shows how difficult it was for her to deviate from her path.
Mercedes: …No, I'm glad. I feel like I saw your true face for the first time. …Hey, Sylvain. Would you be able to save me from the curse of my Crest?
Sylvain: I…I'll save you! With my heart and soul! I love you! Great! Let's get married!
Mercedes also had a lot in common with Sylvain, and the two actually became close friends. They are both Gemini, the zodiac sign which is thought to be two-faced because of their natural duality.
Mercedes: Don't be ashamed of crying. I'm here to protect you. Will you protect me in return?
Sylvain: I will. I promise. You know, Mercedes, you really are a special lady.
Because Mercedes was able to empathize with his pain, he let the mask slip with her, and she saw his other face. Because of that, she was also the only character to see him cry. She wanted him to save her from her arranged marriage, and she had a genuine desire to save him from that fate, too. So, she is one of the very few women Sylvain is able to marry and have a paired ending with.
Mercedes: You're much the same, yes? People like us have to try to bloom as best we can.
Sylvain: Never really thought of myself as a flower, but I get what you're saying. Flowers are stuck in the same spot for life, whether they like it or not. And if they happen to sprout in a bad area, they're out of luck. But we have legs, not roots. We can go wherever we want.
But Hopes does a good job of showing why that's not the ideal solution to their problems. Even if she did marry him, she would prefer to be doing charity work rather than living the life of a nobleman's wife. Sylvain was fine with that, but Mercedes did not want to stand in the way of him marrying the person he truly loved.
Sylvain: To be perfectly clear, I'm not making advances on your or anything. But I'm the heir of House Gautier. If I ask you, this other guy will have no choice but to bow out. Though I doubt he'd be happy about it. After that, you can do whatever you want. Go work at a church or ladle out soup or whatever makes you happy. I won't stop you.
Mercedes: But that would prevent you from marrying the person you love.
She didn't realize that Sylvain didn't want to get married in the first place. He would be marrying her because she offered him a loophole to his own predicament. With her as his wife, he could fulfill his noble obligation, but still be able to live freely. They cared for each other and shared mutual respect, but neither of them seemed like they would have considered marrying the other without their fathers pushing them into an arranged marriage.
Mercedes: And before that, when I lived with my mother and my little brother. It also reminds me of the time I spent studying with friends at the school of sorcery in the capital. Things may not have been easy then, but I would give anything to return to those days.
The tagline for the game was, "Sweet memories twisted by time's cruel hand". The best option for Mercedes might seem like recruiting her into Crimson Flower and reuniting her with her brother.
Mercedes & Jeritza
Once those who slither in the dark were finally defeated, Mercedes left home and opened a small orphanage in the Faerghus region with her mother. After many years of kind service raising children who had lost their families, she received a letter bearing familiar handwriting. Its author, a prisoner in Enbarr, expressed his sincerest well-wishes to Mercedes and her family. Still more time passed until, one day, the man who wrote the letter paid her a visit. With joyful tears in her eyes, Mercedes smiled, took Emile by the hand, and at last welcomed him home.
And their ending is certainly touching. I was never really a big fan of it, though, because Jeritza's condition is resolved without any explanation. In Mercedes' paralogue, the Death Knight said his soul had long departed. He was not fully in control of himself, which is why he continued to fight on the opposite side from his sister. Before this DLC update, it had been implied that Emile had probably been experimented on like the Remire villagers. He was barely human anymore and it was impossible for him to return to normal.
Mercedes: It's sad, but the truth is that people forget. You may be afraid to forget your past, but you'll never be able to revisit it. Living in the present is the best we can do. We owe it to those who can't come back.
Dimitri: If someone had said those words to me five years ago, I would be a different man today.
As sad as it is, Mercedes had a stronger character arc in AM where she had to accept that she's unable to return to the past.
Annette: You know, I've always loved you more than anything in the world!
Mercedes: My, is that…a confession of love? Hehe, I'm so happy~.
Annette: Uh, um, I wanted to say I love the sweets you bake more than anything in the world!
Mercedes: Oh, is that so... Well, I love you, Annie.
Other than Emile, Annette was the most important person to Mercedes. In their A-Support they both confessed their love for each other. While it did seem like the bisexual Mercedes may have loved her beyond friendship (particularly in the Japanese), Annette seemed insistent on emphasizing her platonic love.
Annette & Mercedes
After the war, Annette and Mercedes lived separate lives: the former as a teacher at the school of sorcery in Fhirdiad, the latter as a cleric at Garreg Mach. Though they lived apart, they exchanged letters so frequently and shared their lives with one another in such detail that it was as though they were side by side. After many decades, they resigned their respective positions and reunited at Garreg Mach. In their final years, they relocated to a modest house in the Fortress City. It is said that they were happy together to the very end.
They will not be life partners even if you go for their paired ending. While they do keep in touch, they'll live completely separate lives until retirement age. It's a slightly bittersweet ending, showing how, as we get older and pursue different life paths, things don't always stay the same. I don't consider it to be the most satisfying ending for either of them. Still, the fact that Mercedes will move away from her best friend shows how important it was to her to pursue her dream.
Mercedes: I just don't want to let go of the life that I've made for myself. I know it's not what my heart wants, but I don't have the strength to say no.
After Garreg Mach fell, Mercedes returned home to the Kingdom capital and joined the merchant business. She told Byleth that she didn't want to give up the life she made for herself in Fhirdiad.
Annette: Since our time in the capital, so much has happened. We've had to make new lives for ourselves, and we've seen at least as many hard times as good. If things keep changing like this, I wonder if we'll be able to stay the same people we are now…
And Annette also didn't want things between them to change by starting completely new lives again, which is what happens in their paired ending.
Dimitri: My own dreams… I have never given it any thought. What about you? What do you want, Mercedes?
Mercedes: I want to keep sewing and training with you, even after you've become king. I want to be your friend.
Mercedes even wanted to stay friends with Dimitri after the war, which would only be possible if she kept her old life in the capital.
Mercedes: I'm going to Fhirdiad to meet with my adoptive father, and I'd like you to accompany me.
Byleth: What for?
Mercedes: I feel the need to set things straight with him in my own way. I've already decided exactly what I'm going to say. I'm choosing to live my life how I want, in pursuit of my own happiness. I need you to accept that. I'm in charge of my own destiny. Not you, not anyone else. Just me. Ah… I've waited so long to say all that.
The best thing for her would be to sever ties with her adoptive father, without the excuse of already having a fiancé. She always left her fate in the hands of the goddess or people above her. But her character arc was about acting of her own free will.
Dimitri: Do you remember the child who cursed me after my father's funeral?
Dedue: Ah, yes. I believe he was the son of a knight who fell in Duscur.
Dimitri: He was furious that I would not take revenge on your people, and even more enraged to see you serving as my vassal. He berated me without mercy, demanding I kill you then and there. All I could do was walk away. Everyone desires revenge for that day. Survivors and the dead alike cry out for retribution.
Dimitri was also a victim of Faerghus's violent patriarchal culture. He was expected to carry out vengeance for the Tragedy of Duscur. His violent urges were encouraged and rewarded by the society he grew up in. At times, he was chilled to the bone by the depravity of his own actions, such as suppressing a rebellion.
Dedue: When I stood before those soldiers and their swords that day, I was prepared to die. But then you suddenly appeared, and you shielded me. I knew then that a savior's hand could reach into even the deepest darkness.
Dedue was the biggest victim of Farghus's retaliatory violence. His moniker is "Taciturn Devotee". A devotee is a person who strongly admires a particular person. But it can also mean a strong believer in a particular religion or god. It probably would not be an exaggeration to state that Dedue saw Dimitri as the Fódlan goddess.
Dedue: And I would cast it aside in an instant if my death were to your benefit. For that reason, I cannot consider myself your friend. There are still many in the Kingdom who despise the people of Duscur. It would be selfish of me to stand by your side as an equal.
Many people interpreted his feelings for Dimitri as having a romantic aspect to them. I certainly wouldn't reject that interpretation. After all, by reaching out his hand, Dimitri served the same role that Byleth did for him.
Dedue: You promised me you would build a Kingdom that is proud to boast of Duscur blood. In this Kingdom, where there is no distinction between the people of Duscur and the people of Fódlan… Will I finally, without reservation, be able to call you my friend? Will I…Dimitri?
Dimitri: Dedue… Yes, you will call me your friend, again and again. No matter how many hardships I must endure…
Dedue: I will do all I can to bring about that world as well. To be your friend…is what I have always wanted.
During their A-Support, we learned that Dimitri made a promise to Dedue before they attended the Officer's Academy.
Dimitri & Dedue
After his coronation, Dimitri assumed the throne of the Holy Kingdom of Faerghus, and his loyal vassal, Dedue, remained ever at his side. Among Dimitri's achievements was the reconciliation with Duscur: an extraordinary effort that required extensive negotiations to get past a history of betrayal and oppression. It was a trying task, but Dimitri never once considered giving up. While they behaved as lord and vassal in public, it is said that Dimitri and Dedue were more like family in private. When Dimitri finally fell to illness, Dedue tended to his liege's deathbed, and then took up a post at his grave for the rest of his days. When the time came, they were buried beside each other.
Their paired ending emphasizes Dimitri's efforts reconciling with Duscur and how he never gave up. But it does not specify whether the Duscur people were able to proudly live alongside people from Fódlan without distinction. In fact, because Dedue had to behave as a vassal in public, it implies that there was still hostility between Duscur and the Kingdom for the majority of Dimitri's reign. Dedue only gets to stand by Dimitri's side as an equal in death.
Also, there was no mention of Dedue's efforts bringing about the world he wanted to see. It only mentions him serving Dimitri for his entire life as a subordinate, then guarding his grave for the rest of his days. It is not that different from his solo ending, and I don't think it's a particularly satisfying ending for Dedue.
Dedue: I would regretfully decline. I cannot know happiness without you by my side. I would still seek vengeance. Just… for my own sake, not yours.
Dimitri: Interesting. And nothing I say to the contrary will change your mind?
Dedue: Your Majesty, can you not live for your own sake?
Dimitri: My life is not my own. It belongs to my kingdom, my people, and the dead.
Neither Dimitri or Dedue knew how to live for themselves, and neither could live without the other.
Dedue: I…can still fight, Your Highness.
Dimitri: Shut up and retreat. You must live, Dedue.
During his boar phase, Dimitri was willing to mow down any of his old classmates, even if they were not his enemies. And he was willing to send all of his friends and allies to their deaths, too. The single exception was Dedue. He is the only person Dimitri tells to retreat at Gronder Field. And Dedue will live only to seek vengeance.
Dedue: Ngh… I'm not finished yet!
Dimitri: Fall back, Dedue! Please! I cannot afford to lose you!
In Scarlet Blaze, Dimitri also begs him to retreat in the Valley of Torment. Dedue would have gladly fought to the death, but Dimitri personally made sure he didn't. It was because he cherished Dedue so much that he wanted him to live for his own happiness.
Dedue: Someday, I hope to show you a whole landscape of these flowers in full bloom.
Byleth: You mean Duscur?
Dedue: Yes. Once this conflict is over, and His Highness ascends the throne, I believe it can be done. You must live at least until then. Understood?
Byleth: Same to you.
Dedue: That's true enough. I had not thought much of my own life, until now. Except that I would gladly cast it aside for His Highness. That is still true, but now I desire to see the end of this war. Until I can show you the fields of Duscur in bloom… I will go on living.
Other than Dimitri, the only other thing that gave Dedue a reason to live was showing Byleth the flowers of Duscur in bloom.
Dedue: When I left the capital, I told His Majesty that I would be leaving his service.
Byleth: What?!
Dedue: He accepted my decision with a smile.
If you go for Dedue's paired ending with Byleth, you learn that if Dedue were to leave Dimitri's service, he would accept with a smile. And I think Dedue has a better character arc if he is able to grow past his codependence on Dimitri and find his own reason to live.
Dedue: To Duscur? There is nothing of interest left there.
Mercedes: Isn't it where you were born? And isn't it where your wonderful food and stories come from? I think those are reason enough to visit at least once!
Dedue: Mercedes… If you will allow it, I would like to accompany you. His Highness would surely grant me leave to go.
When Mercedes asked Dedue what his plans were after the war, he said it was to serve Dimitri for the rest of his days. And in most of his endings, that's exactly what he does, even if he's married. Going with her to Duscur and praying to the gods (and goddesses) of his own culture changed his entire fate. That's probably why his ending with Mercedes is so different compared to all of his others.
Mercedes: I think a place is only truly destroyed when there's no one left to remember it. You should tell more people about Duscur to keep it alive.
The whole relationship between Mercedes and Dedue revolved around the idea that they could keep their loved ones alive through their memories. He taught her many things about his culture, and she taught him a family recipe that would have otherwise been forgotten.
Dedue: I understand how you feel. I had a younger sister.
Sylvain: Had? Oh. Tell me about her. What was she like?
Dedue: Hm. She loved flowers, and often made crowns out of them. And once she set her mind to something, nothing in the world could change it.
I really loved their Support in Hopes. It felt exactly like a post-Houses version of their relationship after they had travelled to Duscur and fallen in love. There are rarely any times where Dedue seems happier than when teaching her and the kids to make flower crowns, in memory of his sister. They seem like a married teacher couple, too.
Dedue & Mercedes
Two years after the war, Dedue and his wife, Mercedes, opened a school in the Duscur residential district in Fhirdiad. The school educated Duscur children, who had never been given structured learning before, in reading, writing, arithmetic, and even Duscur history. Many years later, when the Duscur people reclaimed their homeland, the people who attended this school were able to resettle there and revive their old culture. Because of this, Dedue and Mercedes were forever renowned by the Duscur.
This is the only ending where Dimitri's promise to Dedue is actually fulfilled, as it mentions the Duscur people having their own district in Fhirdiad. And it just so happens that this is the only paired ending (besides the one with Byleth) where Dedue isn't described as a vassal. He is still living in the capital, so we can assume that he and Dimitri are close friends. But they live as equals. Dedue has his own life now and his own achievements are renowned.
In Hopes, Mercedes said she wanted to go back to Fhirdiad, but not live with her adoptive father. This is the only ending (other than with Dimitri) where she can live her dream, help those in need, and stay in Fhirdiad with her other friends. With Dedue, they get married two years after the war. So, she clearly didn't marry him just to escape her arranged marriage. Dedue and Mercedes bonded over their sense of loss, but they used that pain to keep Duscur alive, so I think it's the absolute best conclusion to their character arcs.
if no one else has said it yet, how about mercedue for the ship meme please?
I ship it!
1. What made me ship them? "Duscur may be gone, but you're still here" 😭😭😭 Poor Dedue really deserves more love in his supports, and it's nice that this one gives us some actual information about Duscur.
2. Favorite things? I like that they are two people that are usually focused on supporting others, so they both will have someone that supports THEM. Off the top of my head, I can't think of any other support (besides Byleth) where Dedue actually states something HE wants, that has nothing to do with Dimitri. But he feels safe enough with Mercedes to tell her. They are both so gentle and calm-- the shy/flirt dynamic is cute, but it can be exhausting to be the quiet one and have to rise up to meet someone's energy. These two would be happy staying in on a snowy day with tea and baking and needlecraft.
3. Unpopular opinion? This question has been vexing me on every ship lol. I think the whole "unpopular opinion" comes from a place of assuming there is some Immutable Truth about something that other people don't get? And I don't really care what people want to think about their ships as long as they're not being mean about it 😅 We're all just squishing our dolls together
How about Lorenz/Leonie, Byleth (either)/Leonie, Ferdinand/Dorothea, Mercedes/Dedue, Marianne/Lorenz?
Lorenz/Leonie: It's an alright ship. I wouldn't mind reading it. I think it's just one of those supports that needed another round at the drawing board, since it leans so heavily on Lorenz's over the top sense of duty and separation due to the system of Fodlan. But I do like that he brings out some of the best of Leonie, as we see her more goal oriented side here. And Hopes did a lot for that dynamic.
Byleonie: I see it more as a sibling/one sided rivalry type ship. I understand Jeralt is important to both of them, but sometimes Leonie's admiration bordered a little too strong for my liking. I think these two can make a great team though. Still mad F!Byleth couldn't S-Rank her.
Ferdiethea: I need to write more for them in general. The growth they go through together, the shared history, the adorable flirting near the end in their supports. Hell, in Hopes, even the army ships them during their support conversation. It's just an absolutely solid ship all around. Also, the art by @floofnwool makes me swoon over this pairing all the time.
Though I also like the potential of sibling dynamics with them too. @thedarkivistwrites has a fantastic fic called "Someone Else's Story" that explores that headcanon quite well and made me fall in love with the idea of them having a sibling bond in some AUs.
Platonic or Romantic, their relationship is one perfect for an opera.
Mercedue: MY #1 DEDUE SHIP EVERYONE!!!!! I love the worldbuilding we get for Duscur here, and not only that, but seeing the two bonding over their different religions and their hopes for the future and memories of the past and how as long as you remember your loved ones they'll never truly be forgotten and his almost confession that came as they're discussing about a certain god to pray to? Honestly, Dedue is who I try to pair Mercedes with the most outside of Ashe and Dimitri. They're just....so good together. 😭
Marianne/Lorenz: I think this is my......third favorite Marianne ship? Yeah, definitely third. They're just absolutely sweet together, and I like how Lorenz isn't so forceful with Marianne in comparison to some of her other supports. And eventually, Marianne just naturally warms up to him, and I like that she eventually seeks him out for tea. They're so sweet.
My sister actually made a joke that Marianne's supports tend to follow the path of "Hey, you seem depressed. You should stop that! Here's what to do instead!" And while this is kind of how their Houses supports start, I love that it doesn't end that way, and he lets her move at her own pace. And in Hopes, I adore that it gets twisted around and goes "You seem depressed. That's bad. Especially on the battlefield. Do you want me to help you get home?" and eventually ends with "we shall both survive this war. Together."
Also, Lorenz being absolutely perplexed at their shared title of being basically the King and Queen of Ranch Animals? Top tier.
(So, I had this almost fully answered yesterday, but my draft didn’t save.)
Mercedue, my loves!
I started shipping them due to their support chain. Seeing religious Mercedes learn that a friend had a different belief system and decided the obvious response to that was “please, tell me more!” was really beautiful!
They’re Team Mom and Team Dad for the Blue Lions, but they still have their own things they’re working through. I like to think of them as each other’s support team. Mercedes is here encouraging Dedue to stay connected with his heritage, which I’m sure Dimitri is also doing but it’s different™️ because Mercedes is separated from it in a way Dimitri isn’t. And my headcanon is Dedue, who is a minder, is there to watch over Mercedes and make sure she’s not busying herself over other’s problems to avoid her own.
Do I have an unpopular opinion? I have no idea. Is including Ashe in their mix an unpopular opinion? I don’t always, but sometimes I see it and think “Huh, it works.” And then sometimes I don’t. shrug
