Today I want to talk about consoling/criticising during Instruct.
Because I think it's VERY INTERESTING
Edelgard prefers to be consoled which is so interesting but also I think it says a lot about her character. She cannot handle criticism and has fully built up this belief that she is completely in the right, no matter what she does. She cannot be told that she's wrong without getting angry and defensive.
Her Criticise line is "A bit harsh, don't you think?". She takes any criticism so personally and as an attack on her. I also think that since she was young, people have been quite soft on her, especially Hubert. Hubert would never dare criticise Edelgard for anything he disagrees with and all he wants is to protect. She's been taken care of by him for the majority of her life. Her father also appears to be very gentle and forgiving with her. Edelgard as never learned how to cope with being criticised and therefore, doesn't know how to take the uncomfortable feeling and transform it into something useful for herself.
Her Console line is "Thank you. It won't happen again." She needs to be treated gently for anything to go through and for her to not take it deeply personally. Only then can she think over it and grow and change. Unfortunately for her, she is not surrounded by very many people who are capable of consoling her and therefore, very rarely does she get a chance to change. Hubert and Ferdinand are not particularly comforting people when the need to criticise someone comes up. Hubert gently nudges her in the direction he thinks is best and then goes behind her back and Ferdinand argues with her until either he feels as though he's been proven wrong, or someone else shuts down the argument.
Hubert prefers to be criticised. On the complete opposite note to Edelgard, Hubert cannot handle being consoled.
His Console line is "Your concern is unnecessary." He doesn't know what to do with it. It leaves him feeling off-balance and exposed. He has only ever been criticised into changing and adapting by both his father, by Edelgard and by Ferdinand. (And then as he gets older, also by the rest of the Black Eagles). Being consoled also doesn't help him protect those that he cares about, it just leaves him with this new weakness that he doesn't know how to fix.
His Criticise line is "I will humbly reflect on this." I think the language choice is odd but aside from that, Hubert ALSO heavily internalises criticism but does change from it. He sees it as a failure on his behalf and then does everything he can to get rid of this new-found weakness. He cannot have any weaknesses when he's preparing/fighting in a war for Edelgard who he so desperately wants to protect and keep safe.
Ferdinand prefers to be criticised. I have many personal opinions on how I thought and would have loved if he preferred to be consoled pre-ts and then preferred to he criticised post-ts but that is not a conversation for today.
Ferdinand from the very start wants to become both a better fighter and a better person. His Criticise line is "Just watch. It will not happen again." He heavily internalises every piece of criticism he gets, but he's good at taking his time to pick those feelings apart and trying to change for the better. Ferdinand is simultaneously very self-assured and also constantly being reminded that he's not as perfect as he was raised to believe.
His Console line is "What a thing to say. Do I look that pitiful?". Ferdinand is very used to being underestimated by his peers (particularly Dorothea, Hubert and Edelgard). He wants to be better but deep down knows he's seen as weak, soft and expected to turn out just like his father and he desperately wants to be seen as more than that, especially considering he knows that his father has stolen from citizens. It's frustrating for him to constantly be compared to the worst parts of his father when he spends almost his entire life trying to prove that he's better than that.
Linhardt prefers to be consoled.
His Console line is "I suppose I must try harder next time." His father is very critical of him so I expect he just doesn't want to feel like he's disappointing more people. A classic case of simultaneously not caring about what people think of him whilst actually caring more than he realises. But on another point, Linhardt IS very self-assured.
His Criticise line is "Failure. Hmm... I'm not used to that." Like Hubert, it is a new-found weakness but Linhardt feels much more inconvenienced by it than he does internalise it. He now has to spend all this time doing something he doesn't particularly want to do and he's very upset about it.
Caspar prefers to be criticised.
His Criticise line is "Whoa! I'll try harder next time!" Like the majority of the Black Eagle nobles, his father is very critical of him. But unlike the others, he gains confidence from it. He wants to be a better fighter and he knows that being corrected when he messes up is the only way he can become a better fighter and he will do whatever it takes to get where he needs to be.
His Console line is "It's all right... I know I messed up." Being consoled makes Caspar feel like a failure. It makes him feel like the other person thinks he's incapable of getting better and improving. It also doesn't give him anything that he can use to improve so it utterly drains him and makes him feel even worse.
Bernadetta prefers to be criticised. This is utterly fascinating to me and I genuinely love it for her. Like Ferdinand, Bernadetta desperately wants to grow as a person despite her trauma and utter terror of everyone around her.
Her Criticise line is "I'll try harder next time!". Bernadetta is so unused to criticism being a good thing. Her main experience with it is her father belittling her and calling her useless so when Byleth is gentle and just correcting her on what to do, she is reminded that criticism can be kind and she can do better and that she does want to try and improve as a person and a fighter.
Her Console line is "That's... really kind...". I don't think she dislikes being consoled but I think after she's calmed down from her failure, she regrets having not gained anything from it and having just been comforted because she panicked and thought she would be punished/belittled.
Dorothea prefers to be consoled. She's such a fascinating character with her flirting and her intense self-hatred. Either way, she heavily internalises her failure and allows it to intensify her intense dislike of herself.
Her Console line is "Oh, Professor. You're too kind.". Her flirting with the professor is so fascinating. She puts up such an intense front of being careless and holding herself above everyone else whilst she desperately craves to be loved and comforted and saved from her own intense self-hatred. She's desperate for any sort of confirmation but refuses to beg for it or let it appear like she's desperate for it and so she teases and flirts, in the hope that she'll recieve more love.
Her Criticise line is "Aw, I knew that answer." She's so disappointed with herself and internalises it so heavily. She knows she can do better and is frustrated that she failed on what she considered to be something so minor. There is also a factor of trying to make herself look better. She may not have actually known the answer but she is the only commoner within the Black Eagles and she can't let herself be seen as lesser than the rest of them so she makes herself seem all knowing despite not being at all.
Petra prefers to be criticised. Both of her lines are her asking how she can become better.
Her Console line is "I would like to be having more guidance, please." and her Criticism line is "I did not have success. Please, be guiding me." They're practically the same line. She has absolutely no interest in being comforted. All she wants is to become better. She is self-assured and knows she's good at what she does. She wants to become a better fighter so she can reclaim Brigid from The Empire and lead her country as their Queen. Being consoled is a waste of her time when she could be learning and growing from her mistakes.
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