#|meta

[damegalantea]

Ingrid on marriage, romance, and self-worth

ooc; this is the meta ive been meaning to write re: ingrid and her thoughts on marriage as a crest bearing heir / how it affects her romantic inclinations and other relationships. it's a bit long but will tie into some of the hc asks! c: thanks for reading~

The first section of Ingrid's profile in Three Houses has the date 1162, marking two things: the day she was born (1 / 4) and her betrothal to Glenn Fraldarius. As we will go over later Glenn is most likely around five years older than Ingrid so while the specifics of this agreement are never mentioned it seems clear to be a gesture of good will from House Fraldarius to House Galatea.

(There was no way to know Ingrid would bear a crest, and we can assume Glenn, based on Felix, did not bear his family's crest so most likely it was along the lines of "my first born male heir will marry your first born female heir", something the poorer Galatea dukedom could sorely have used).

Whenever Ingrid speaks of Glenn there is admiration there but also a certain nostalgia. I am certain that since her birth he was always a central figure in Ingrid's life, and equally certain that presence was a comfort rather than a burden; while the way she talks about Glenn is indeed tinged with grief they obviously had a good back-and-forth, and often (understandably Considering how young they both were) Ingrid's mourning comes off not as one mourning a lover but a dear friend.

This is important because unlike many other women of noble houses Ingrid knew who her husband would be since she was a child, and she welcomed it.

I think it's also important to note both Glenn and Ingrid seem to have wanted to become knights of their own volition! Ingrid's admiration for the duty seems to stem from the chivalric tales of old Faerghus she would read as a child, at least according to her Ashe support. Every other time she's asked she simply says it was an early dream of hers. I think this was probably something she and Glenn talked of an encouraged each other about – the type of children idealistic enough to envision themselves married and fighting for their kingdom side by side.

We know from Rodrigue Glenn was knighted (presumably made a squire ala Felix during the Western rebellion) at 15, and doing some quick math leads us to the revelation that Ingrid had just turned fourteen the year the Tragedy took place and both Glenn and the king died. I am going to extrapolate then that Glenn was most likely in his early twenties, perhaps finally ending his time as a squire, when he was sent to Duscur.

Ingrid lost her fiance as a fourteen year old girl, and while I don't doubt she was given some time to grieve it seems her father went right about trying to find someone else to marry his crested daughter.

It isn't really a matter of if we can fault him for it, Ingrid herself hates the idea but understands. Three Hopes confirms that Ingrid has elder and younger brothers who could easily take over Galatea territory if she were to be shipped off somewhere. Of course, Ingrid's father does not seem to be a bad man but he is a desperate and a poor one (poorer now than at the start of the war) and Faarghus is a crest based society.

Ingrid B support:

She clearly understands where her father is coming from, but hates being treated as collateral. As an object. I think it should also be noted it isn't some all abiding love for Glenn that makes her unwilling to marry - she loved him, certainly - but it is her freedom and her future as a knight that Ingrid fears losing not some maidenly honor (laughs).

My noble family—House Galatea—branched off from House Daphnel in the Alliance.

Shortly after, we were lucky enough to receive the support of the royal family, allowing us to attain nobility...to some extent.

But the territory we watch over is poor, its harvests meager. And our noble blood, too, has grown thin. Neither my father nor my brothers bear a Crest.[...]

A Crest is highly prized among nobles. Were I to marry into a greater noble family, that financial support could soothe our woes...

Glenn was the ideal as her husband not just because she grew up and felt comfortable with him but because, as far as we know, he respected her wishes to become a knight and respected Ingrid as a person. Ingrid admits that unlike other noble girls who would dress up for potential spouses she never needed to go the trouble:

I haven't the time to bother with such frivolities. As long as basic hygiene is being met, then I'm happy. But my time is precious to me, and my focus is on knighthood. Taking time to paint my face simply isn't a top priority.

Ingrid and Annette support:

(on makeup)

Furthermore, in her support with Dorothea, she says with some judgment  "gussying myself up to attract someone has never played an important part in my pursuits as a knight" and acts indignant when Dorothea shrugs off the idea of dressing for herself and continues to flirt with her.

Ingrid does not want to be seen as an object. She has been sheltered, so to speak, from that aspect of misogynist noble society and you can bet that she will fight it tooth and claw even as she feels conflicted due to her lack of filial piety.

This is important in any marriage related political situation or romance in general for Ingrid, as if she feels she is being objectified she will back out. It is a great fear of hers, and furthermore in her eyes as moral, upright person a great injustice.

(This is why she does not take to flirting well, and probably never will. If Ingrid were to grow to love someone romantically it would have to stem from a profound friendship first.)

(Also I do headcanon her as bisexual but that's neither here nor there).

A theme across Ingrid's character arc is that she is still learning: still learning Duscur was not to blame for the Tragedy and its people deserve respect, still learning what it means to be a knight, and learning (but not necessarily accepting) what it means to be an unwed woman in Fodlan's Faerghan society.

[aurheatum]

on sitri

Working on headcanons page and Sitri started to take over so she gets her own post! In a different format too so I can address the many thoughts I have *laughs*

 So canon does not give us much information about Sitri besides her being Byleth’s mother but what we know is:

She was the twelfth creation of Rhea’s in one of many attempts to bring Sothis’ soul back into a material form using the Crest of Flames crest stone.

She was born frail but with a soul of her own and lived for twenty or so years as a nun at Garreg Mach (she was born in 1139 according to her gravestone).

She fell in love with Jeralt during his time in the Knights of Seiros and twenty one years before the games events gave birth to Byleth and died during the process

I think a few things are important here. Firstly, that Rhea lies in the game. She lies a lot. But her lies are usually well scripted in the fashion of the Seiros scriptures. When it comes to emotional topics like her mother/the goddess and Byleth’s eventual awakening she actually lets slip an excessive amount.

“Just as the goddess blessed you with her own power... I, too, received her divine protection. Long, long ago. Though different, our fates are entwined.”

- A support dialogue (seiros who)

So when she says this to Aelfric when she asks him to stop in his attempt to bring Sitri back to life yeah she is probably just saying stuff as his immediate rebuttal implies.

But I find it harder to believe she pulled all of this out of nowhere as neither in the Japanese or English does it sound rehearsed (and honestly she probably wasnt going to tell the player at all but u know kinda had to in order to own up to stuff #smh)

“Sitri looked upon me as though I was her mother, and I wished for her to have a bright future... I would not have her buried in the cold, dark soil. Prior to her funeral, I arranged for a fake burial. Afterward, I brought her body to Abyss, where I would sometimes visit her.”

In fact, Rhea caring for Sitri as a daughter seems congruent across both the DLC and Silver Snow. Aelfric says that Sitri’s body was deep in the caverns of Abyss and that it was kept alone. If putting bodies in dragon cryogenesis was a thing Rhea did for all of her past vessels I don’t see why all twelve of them wouldn’t have been there.

Rhea speaking to Byleth in SS calls the vessels that came before them “failures”, a word that carries a lot of weight if you’ve played CF and I think that’s probably true so far as her other attempts go. She considered her other creations as failures when they were unable to revive the goddess’s soul and so got rid of them but Sitri was different, special to the point Rhea still wanted to see her even after her death.

We know from the Crimson Flower route that the one thing to make Rhea emotional and completely lose her head is the loss of her loved ones whether from more permanent causes or simply what she sees as abandonment. Her only true family left are Seteth and Flayn and it is only when they leave her that we get to see how much that means. She’s held herself above them all this time, so the fact Rhea admits that Sitri is a vulnerability of hers makes me think it is the truth.

Another hint as to Rhea considering Sitri special is this: while she may not have ever left the monastery Sitri was still walking around with the Crest of Flames in her fragile body for a decade. That certainly isn’t a very long time in Rhea’s perspective but based on how fiercely protective she is of her mother and her sheer desperation for Sothis to return there really isn’t a good reason for Rhea to have let Sitri live if she hadn’t become so attached.

She could have been working hard on the thirteenth vessel or trying something else with the Crest! But she didn’t because she knew that would mean losing Sitri which brings me to my final (and honestly most interesting re: viewing the game) point:

Byleth was the result of Sitri and Jeralt’s choices and had nothing to do with Rhea until Sitri asked her to help revive the baby. In fact, it isn’t hard to read between the lines and see Rhea really did not want to take the crest out of Sitri but did so under emotional duress.

There is a lot that can be said about how Rhea treats Byleth as an object, but learning that she really never wanted Byleth to live or even exist at all really puts it into perspective. Rhea says that Sitri “loved like a person” and in the Japanese implies that she, Rhea, learned to love her in the same way. Sitri though born as an empty shell became a fully formed individual and despite her intentions Rhea learned to love her for it.

And then she insisted on having Byleth who was just another empty shell, but this time an empty shell who took Sitri from her.

Rhea knows mcuh of design but she is never logical about herself and her own emotions. It’s one of the reasons I find her so interesting, because she wishes for control so fervently but cannot even keep herself in check. The cycle of trying to bring her mother back and finding only despair was halted when Sitri came into the world and brought joy instead. And then Byleth happened and they took Sitri away from her and then of course Jeralt ran off with Byleth and the only thing left that really mattered to Rhea: the Crest of Flames.

So yeah. As illogical as it may be I do think Rhea resents Byleth for their mother’s death and that she distanced herself from the child, well, at least until the Crest of Flames awakened within them.

I don’t plan on rping this without permission from any Byleth I interact with, of course, but I wanted to express that if Sitri comes up in any of Rhea’s posts she is looking at her as a mother who lost a daughter. I really like this for her, because it does not excuse Rhea’s previous experimentations and creating of life in eleven other literal people just to snuff it out but instead makes it even more horrifying in a way. Sitri is the only one of those Rhea considered her true child, after all.

(Rhea’s thoughts on motherhood would take another post entirely...)

[frauleindermorgen]

for the meme! from RD Chapter 3-13, there was too much to copy/paste, but i'm sure you know the moment...

Micaiah: “All right… I’ll do it… I’ll do it for you, and for Daein.” Pelleas: “Thank you, Micaiah.” (Pelleas hands Micaiah a dagger)

wow radiant dawn spoilers!!!!!

rune & co click away now : )

SOME PEOPLE LIKE TO THINK ABOUT CH 13 AND SUFFER. Luckily for yall I am some people. In order to talk about this line and Micaiah's response I think we need to look at Pelleas' reasoning

13-2 pre battle dialogue

"Individual lives taken before your eyes weigh more heavily than the many lives taken during the chaos of war. If that life is someone dear, the burden is even worse. It's only human. Isn't that true? Micaiah. It’s your caring soul I admire. That's why I want it to be you. I want you to kill me.”

Of note, in the Japanese version, Pelleas specifically says human nature is at its core self-serving, that care for another’s life is based on one’s ego/connections. He continues:

[ペレアス] ミカヤ…… 僕は、そんな君が好きだよ。 だから…君に頼みたい。▼ Rough translation: Micaiah…. That’s the part of you that I love. That is why I want it to be you I ask this of.

(the scene continues on as it does in the localized version)

To put this in further context prior to chapter 12 and the revelation of the blood pact (i.e. Micaiah finding out that no matter what Micaiah does the Senate’s control of the King and his Kingdom means loss of all life in Daein) Micaiah had been pushing herself both mentally and physically to be a general who minimized death and unneeded damage.

Sothe: Micaiah, it's over. The front line is broken. The apostle's army is crossing the bridge. Micaiah: All right, then... Order a retreat. Inspector npc: Wh-what?! No! Are you a simpleton? Just destroy the bridge! [...] Micaiah: Inspector. While I respect your opinion... The final decision is up to me, as commander in chief of this army. Sothe, order the retreat. Get those men out of there before they're routed. -Ch 11, post battle dialogue

Then, in chapter 12 she discovers no matter what she does if she and Pelleas do not follow the Senate’s orders precisely, their entire nation, Micaiah’s reason for fighting all this time, will perish. Micaiah is nothing if not determined.

The apostle’s army, previously, toward whom she showed mercy she now prepares a rockslide/rain of fire death trap for:

Micaiah: All forces, get in position! Our target is the apostle. We will attack her while General Ike is distracted. If we let her through, her army will cross into Begnion. That will surely anger the senate, and the senate will move to destroy Daein. We must fight with everything we have so that Daein may live on! Sothe: But, Micaiah... Is this really necessary? Can't we avoid all of this fighting and somehow pretend to obey the senate? Taouroneo: Micaiah, it was you more than anyone else who used to hate plans like this... Micaiah: The apostle's army has incredible numbers. We wouldn't stand a chance taking them head-on.

The only thing that stops Micaiah from killing Sanaki and her Holy Guard outright is Tibarn taking Sothe hostage and Micaiah freezing up at the prospect of losing the person she cares for most in the world, despite it meaning her entire army would be routed.

Sanaki pleads on Sothe's behalf and Tibarn/Ike's army leaves but Micaiah is shaken. And then when back in the castle Pelleas immedaitely calls for her, asks her to kill him, and upon her refusing citing her recent revelation re: Sothe and Tibarn has the gall to say:

"Even if it hadn't been Sothe in front of you, you would have reacted the same way. That's the kind of person you are."

I think she's fucking PISSED!!!

There's much to be said about Micaiah and her lack of agency in the narrative throughout both part three and four but Pelleas is saying this to her, right before his own request can be nothing but maddening.

From the start, Micaiah has felt kinship with Pelleas and believed in his kindness. In their private moments together Micaiah drops the 王 and refers to Pelleas with just -sama, he may not be part of the Dawn Brigade but he is firmly someone she thinks of as a comrade and perhaps more.

And he's now using that gentle/kind nature that she once so admired to shove Micaiah into a corner. To kill him with her own hands. GRANTED, the game does give you a chance on playthrough one for Micaiah to refuse and Pelleas accept that. BUT STILL!!

Of note, too, Micaiah is tearing up and stammering throughout this exchange in Japanese. I think Micaiah is used to handling grief, I do not think she is used to handling this kind of anger. This is further supported by the fact IF Micaiah accepts Pelleas' request every single line of hers in Japanese is "...". She refuses any further conversation with him, even when he directly asks her to pass on a piece of jewelry to Almedha.

Her last words to him are: わかり…ました…… あなたの……ために…… ………わたしが………▼ "I... understand. If it's for you.... I... I will...."

(there's no mention of Daein here which, while I think is in the back of her mind. does indeed make the scene all the more charged and intimate)

N has thankfully (?) asked me for the rest of the (optional and ng+_ dialogue here so ending for now. But yeah, I think rather than saddened (which she is. The scene in fist playthrough ends with Micaiah breaking her silence to sob openly ala localized) Micaiah is also quite furious in this scene. And it's something I have a lot of fun thinking about. :upside down: