Which of the kiddo/parent duos do you think have the best (and worst) relationships?
Excellent question. Here's the current family ranking for the kids I have already made so far. Mind you, this is subjective. Take all of this with a hefty grain of salt or two.
❤️Ranking Family Dynamic from Best to Worst 💔
No notes. A realistic look at a healthy relationship between father and daughter built on respect and a desire to understand one another on a personal level. There is the occasional need for discipline which leads to headaches, as there often is between father and daughter. But they allow time to cool their moods before addressing an issue further. Volume rarely raises above inside voices in their household. He teaches her to be strong and gentle, and she in turn teaches him to speak up more often.
#2. Mercedes + Jean-Baptiste
Probably the most tooth-rottingly sweet relationship of them all. The only reason they aren't #1 is partly due to Jean's talent for asserting dominance on those who use their free will to do stupid things by violent means, which makes Mercie sad at times. In many ways, Jean reminds Mercie of her brother, which at times causes her to coddle and protect him from things. But Jean's maturity and willingness to learn from mistakes makes him a wonderful son. A church boy who goes to church with his church mama lol
The way Dorothea raised Philippe taught him the importance of paying attention to the needs and dislikes of the women in his life without feeling less than a man for it. However, their familial relationship is more... relaxed than most families. They gossip like old hens one minute, and have a respectful mother/son dynamic in the next. Philippe has often been mistaken for her brother with the way they interact in public. But there is a fine line between friends and family, and Dorothea makes sure to enforce that line whenever needed.
Their dynamic is fascinating. "Dear Theodosia" comes to mind. But while Hubert works himself to exhaustion to create a new world that Branwen can flourish in, Branwen in turn uses the magic and mechanisms of the old world, going through great pains to create spells and tools he can use to make his job that much easier. Their love for each other is quiet, a challenging intensity like an eternal game of chess - and he could not be more proud of her. They really need a nap from time to time, though.
We love a dad that supports his baby girl's passions, even if those passions include but are not limited to: launching herself off of high places in an attempt to fly, bringing spiders and frogs into the house ("I found a new friend!"), or pickpocketing strangers because some homeless beggar needed bread money. Darling is a hyperactive little girl with big dreams of being a folk hero, and while Ashe himself had dreams like that, he tries his best to temper hers with his experience. It doesn't always work - someone help this man- but when it does, they both learn that there is joy in both spontaneity and maturity.
Honestly, this ranking surprised me the most. Their relationship dynamic is so relaxed, it's like watching pandas in an enclosure. But Linhardt learned the power of fatherly adrenaline fairly early on in her life, which shifted his usual nonchalance into passive perception. As a result, Linhardt is almost superhumanly aware of Phoebe's status at all times. She goes missing for a while? She's just napping nearby, she's fine. She's got a tummy ache? Got into the sweets again. Because of this, the opposite is also true. Phoebe learned how to almost always know what her papa needs, even if he just sighs or yawns, and soon learned how to do that for everyone as well. Baby bird learning by example.
Felix is "strict." He holds both himself and his daughter to a high standard, even if her path should diverge from that of the typical Fraldarius heir one day. He never wants her to regret the choices she makes, so he wants her to be prepared for them; lectures are common. That being said... he is also a punk and throws said standard out the window when his baby girl flashes those big brown eyes at him and asks him for something. While Oriana doesn't ask for things often, what she does ask for is always big. Joining him on a dangerous mission, getting a fancy new weapon from Sreng, or, most famously, a younger sibling. He'll try to be firm and say no, but he never truly means it and tries making his follow-through look like a coincidence.
They are not particularly vocal with each other. Conversations are short but convey many, many thoughts and feelings all at once. Cillian highly respects his mother and queen, but also disagrees with her on many things. While she values his input, she sometimes - unintentionally, I might add - disregards his words in favour of her own wisdom. While that does frustrate him from time to time, he obediently accepts her judgement and the benefits or consequences thereof. Crown prince or not, you watch your tone with the matriarch when she's given the last word.
Gremlins, the both of them. Thing 1 and Thing 2 over here are partners in crime, and while Caspar tires out a little sooner than Hedy does these days, they are raucous and wild from sunrise to sunset in varying degrees. It took forever to explain to him that roughhousing with his daughter the way he would with a son wasn't appropriate, and even still, he will never miss an opportunity to suplex his mini-me into a couch cushion or throw her into the deep end of a pool as a show of affection. But Hedy loves every minute of it. "Again!" is probably the first word she ever spoke. Caspar is the fun dad... which is why Pop-pop Leopold has to step in every now and again and give tough love.
Treating your child like they'll shatter at the slightest touch doesn't really help their development much. It tends to make them more afraid of things than maybe they should be. To combat this, Freya has started doing things on her own without telling her father, going behind his back for training or wandering around on her lonesome to get some semblance of real-world experience. Aside from that issue, Freya has no complaints about her beloved papa. Dimitri is a great father and cares for Freya with a fierce protectiveness and a gentle touch. His own fears tend to permeate their interactions, though, and Freya has developed a skill for catching it when it happens so he can get some help from someone who can actually do something about it.
For as much as I love the Maes Hughes "my daughter is perfect" mentality for the laughs it brings, Ferdinand von Aegir's relationship with his daughter is unknowingly strained by it. Roxanne does enjoy the compliments from time to time, taking it in stride, but also feels a constant eye on herself and her achievements as a result. Don't get me wrong, they love each other dearly. But he is unintentionally raising the bar higher and higher for her each time he treats her like an angel who can do no wrong. What happens when she messes up the way imperfect people do? It's why "unrealistic expectations" is on her list of dislikes.
Karma came to bite poor Sylvain in the ass and he hasn't recovered yet. Being his only daughter, he is kinda hands off with what Ines does in her free time, trying not to be that overbearing father that has his nose in everything she does. At the same time, Ines is a menace and Sylvain is not much of the disciplinarian he should be. Simply put, his is unknowingly permissive. He supports her as best he can, never forcing her to be anything she doesn't want to be just because society as a whole insists she be that way. But he hadn't accounted for what she would do with that free will of hers. Spying on the knights in his employ and writing raunchy fanfiction about them wasn't on his list of "what-ifs."
#13. Bernadetta + Artemas and Apollo
Mom is always exempt from prank wars. She can always tell them apart anyway, so they can't get one over on her regardless; that fine eye for detail comes in handy. But she struggles to be firm with her boys, not because they don't respect her, but because her communication style doesn't work for them. Bernadetta doesn't treat them like they're flawless, but like Sylvain, she's afraid of being overbearing so keeps quiet about a lot of things. Near all of their discipline comes from the father in their lives. Still, seeing their mother upset over their foolishness does get them to stop being menaces for a little while, particularly if some other adult starts insulting her for her parenting style (They're next on the prank list just for that. Leave our mother out of this).
#14. Edelgard + Seigfried
Some of ya'll probably expected this if you've seen how he answered some of the OC asks I did a little while ago. Comparatively speaking, Edelgard and Seigfried don't have the most healthy relationship. The best way to describe it is distant and a little frigid but not necessarily beyond fixing, most of the trouble coming from Seig's end. He is resentful for being brought into the world "malformed," in his words. Having a weak constitution and falling seriously ill every few days or so only to heal just enough through the power of his crest feels like some divine retribution that he doesn't deserve from a goddess he's never known. Or maybe it's the goddess keeping him alive. Perhaps he'd know that if the church was important to anyone anymore and someone wasn't afraid to explain it to the Crown Prince.
When it's all said and done, he hates himself. He hates himself but feels like an ungrateful brat for having those thoughts. His mother suffered through unimaginable horrors, worked hard, waged a war, made the world... "safer," and fought to give birth to her son through blood, sweat, and tears - only for him to wish she'd never tried in the first place. Seigfried doesn't hate Edelgard, nor does she hate him. They love one another, and Edelgard wants to properly connect with her boy. But there's a massive rift between them that grows wider and wider by the day that she doesn't know how to fix. It's up for debate whether Seig even wants her to try.
