Favorite route narratively?

[Dark Holy Elf]

2 hours ago, Crysta said:

But AM doesn't differ much map-wise, either, and SS has a lot more wrong with it than the ending. Byleth is a husk, has Seteth as a foil, and the BEs are kind of an afterthought. You don't really get any in-depth knowledge of the Nabateans, and it would be an easy way to differentiate it from the other routes since Seteth and Flayn are the ones guiding you and this is where you get the Rhea S support, but naaaah. The two other lords don't really show up (Ghost Dimitri feels like an ad to encourage you to play AM/another route lmao) -- which I wouldn't really care about if emphasis was given to Edelgard instead due to her connection with Byleth... but, again, has about as much relevance as the route where you aren't her teacher. You can't even look forward to that angst.

I basically agree with everything you've said, but this especially. It's quite ridiculous that in the route where Edelgard is Byleth's former student, that she still gets no more screentime than in VW (SS has the post-TS scene, but VW has Gronder). The game also does nothing with the fact that Hubert is Byleth's former student as well.. even Claude comments on Hubert's character after receiving his letter, but neither Byleth (his former teacher) nor the remaining Eagles (his former classmates) have anything to say about it. Things like this make it feel like a shell of a route.

[Muesli]

Sing us a song you're the piano man

[EmaColito]

I haven't completed the game 100% yet, but I managed to complete 2 out of 3 stories.

The story of the Golden Deer is a bit strange because you feel a little distant from the events that are happening in the Fodlan, with Claude wanting to create a united continent without more cliches and fears. At the last you face Nemesis, and then that's it. The saddest part is that by choosing this path Dimitri and Edelgard have a bad end.

The story of the Blue Lions is perhaps the story that comes closest to the protagonist, Dimitri is very similar to Byleth in terms of character and both have lost loved ones. You also see a protagonist growth from a vengeful madman to a respectable leader with his people at heart.

The story of the Black Eagle, I'm still in the first part so I won't say anything, but from what little I've seen and having completed the first two stories, it will be a sad route, I always seen Edelgard as an enemy to be defeated, and now that she is my ally, I begin to take a liking to her, in the end she seems to have the behavior of a normal girl.

For the Ashen Wolves story, from what little I've seen it seems to fall short of the game's 3 main stories, so I don't think I'll buy the DLC.

[Jotari]

3 minutes ago, EmaColito said:

For the Ashen Wolves story, from what little I've seen it seems to fall short of the game's 3 main stories, so I don't think I'll buy the DLC.

You know if Ashen Wolves is an option I think I'd actually vote that. It's smaller in scope (and it's weird as hell that Jearlt isn't around when it's basically about him) and a bit predictable, but it does work better as a complete story.

[Muesli]

2 minutes ago, EmaColito said:

I haven't completed the game 100% yet, but I managed to complete 2 out of 3 stories.

The story of the Golden Deer is a bit strange because you feel a little distant from the events that are happening in the Fodlan, with Claude wanting to create a united continent without more cliches and fears. At the last you face Nemesis, and then that's it. The saddest part is that by choosing this path Dimitri and Edelgard have a bad end.

The story of the Blue Lions is perhaps the story that comes closest to the protagonist, Dimitri is very similar to Byleth in terms of character and both have lost loved ones. You also see a protagonist growth from a vengeful madman to a respectable leader with his people at heart.

The story of the Black Eagle, I'm still in the first part so I won't say anything, but from what little I've seen and having completed the first two stories, it will be a sad route, I always seen Edelgard as an enemy to be defeated, and now that she is my ally, I begin to take a liking to her, in the end she seems to have the behavior of a normal girl.

For the Ashen Wolves story, from what little I've seen it seems to fall short of the game's 3 main stories, so I don't think I'll buy the DLC.

If you want to avoid spoilers don't open but here's some advice (it's nothing major)

Spoiler

Black Eagles splits into two routes so by chapter 11 you want to probably split your save file and talk to Edelgard whenever possible, that's all

But yeah there is no "good ending",

Spoiler

Dimitri and Edelgard die in each route outside of their own and Claude abandons Fodlan in all but Verdant Wind

Also, if you need to save your money, the dlc isn't that worth it, however if you do have money to spare, I'd recommend getting it because the Ashen Wolves are all great characters and add a lot in their supports

[EmaColito]

Yes I know, that Dimitri and Edelgard die in every path except theirs, but if you choose Dimitri's path only Edelgard dies and etc..., what I meant is that by choosing Claude's story, they both die.
For the DLC, I don't know, I'll think about it after completing the story of the Black Eagles.
The thing I like most about the game is that it can be completed several times, and by removing the initial part (which is the same, only the dialogues change), the story changes. This is thanks to the protagonist of that story who, through his own character, manages to give a completely different version of the story.

Edited September 21, 2020 by EmaColito

[Muesli]

I do agree, however I wish Part 1 would change depending on the route

 

White Clouds seems very geared towards Blue Lions for the most part, most of the early game missions are in the kingdom, Catherine and Gilbert help you out, and the lategame really focuses more on Dimitri's perspective of the Flame Emperor and his own sanity, so I really wish Black Eagles and Golden Deer had their own Part 1 with their own missions, but alas

 

This just makes White Clouds very tiring on the 4th playthrough

[DriftingWaterBottle]

7 minutes ago, Muesli said:

I do agree, however I wish Part 1 would change depending on the route

 

White Clouds seems very geared towards Blue Lions for the most part, most of the early game missions are in the kingdom, Catherine and Gilbert help you out, and the lategame really focuses more on Dimitri's perspective of the Flame Emperor and his own sanity, so I really wish Black Eagles and Golden Deer had their own Part 1 with their own missions, but alas

 

This just makes White Clouds very tiring on the 4th playthrough

I agree that White Clouds can be tiring when replaying, and that BL seems very involved in the plot because of the early missions. Maybe some tweaks in map objectives could've been interesting to spice things up?

Story wise, I think GD does suffer a little when replaying WC. GD asks many questions about lore and Claude gradually undergoes some development in WC, but the answers and pay-off are mostly in part 2. Since Claude is a new comer and most GD students don't have strong ties with main players of the core struggle, they can't provide much meaningful information or insight, either. 

For BE, I'd say replaying WC has the potential to re-enhance the experience, as the power struggle between Edelgard and TWISTD behind the scene throughout the year becomes more apparent with hindsight from previous play through, and there is an immediate pay-off for players to choose their stance before the end of part 1. However, this does cause the side effect of narrowing the focus on Edelgard and by extension Hubert, as all the other BE students are in the dark like Byleth, even though they can provide certain relevant background information. 

[Jotari]

4 hours ago, Muesli said:

I do agree, however I wish Part 1 would change depending on the route

 

White Clouds seems very geared towards Blue Lions for the most part, most of the early game missions are in the kingdom, Catherine and Gilbert help you out, and the lategame really focuses more on Dimitri's perspective of the Flame Emperor and his own sanity, so I really wish Black Eagles and Golden Deer had their own Part 1 with their own missions, but alas

 

This just makes White Clouds very tiring on the 4th playthrough

The best suggestion I heard was that for the early game missions you use a different house for different chapters. So the Lonato and Tower chapters would be blue lions for example while the eastern church stuff would be Black Eagles. Then around when Flayn get's kidnapped and Jeritza flees you get to choose which house to be associated with (because there's an opening for house leader). This would have been far better for White Clouds as it would have allowed a Fates esque prologue skip to get through it quicker on later playthroughs, and it would have been far better for letting you get to know the characters who basically stop existing when you choose a house. Three Houses is meant to be a tragedy where your forced to fight against people who are good on the inside but following a different path to you, but unless a first time player incessantly talks to people in the Monastery, you're likely to have no clue as to who these people are. It really fails to involve the other lords or classmates in White Clouds in such a way that makes their later deaths (or other fates) matter. It's basically just depending on you playing the game from each side to care, which unfortunately also involves playing White Clouds four times -_-

Managing three separate armies and then choosing which one to follow would also be a pretty novel thing for Fire Emblem. It'd make the early game really interesting as you'd be making decisions based on how much you like units for their gameplay and stuff as well, rather than the completely meaningless choice now which is...basically who's character are you like the best.

Edited September 21, 2020 by Jotari

[SRPG Tryhard]

 

10 hours ago, Muesli said:

White Clouds seems very geared towards Blue Lions for the most part, most of the early game missions are in the kingdom, Catherine and Gilbert help you out, and the lategame really focuses more on Dimitri's perspective of the Flame Emperor and his own sanity, so I really wish Black Eagles and Golden Deer had their own Part 1 with their own missions, but alas

Two missions featuring a relative of the BLs doesn't make it "BL focused" especially when those chapters are actually about a rebellion against Rhea's dogmatic lies and partly instigated by TWISTD and a noble family drama caused by crest inheritance, neither of which three are themes that AM follows up on. Rhea is non-existent in AM and TWISTD are irrelevant and relegated to a "we accidentally Thales" joke with Dimitri still having no idea who "those dark mages that just packed up and left" in the final chapter are. 

In fact, AM hardly actually deals with even Faerghus's problems set up during the academy phase, such as the Duscur genocide and their zealous chivalry. For example, Ashe and Dedue fixing racism by opening a restaurant in their ending is not very convincing when Duscur gets so little attention in that route before the endings fix everything. Meanwhile their concept of chivalry is completely dropped as a plot point.

Saying WC is focused on the kingdom because two chapters happen to take place there because the country is in chaos, is looking at things way too superficially. I like BE the most and I think WC is pretty fine with showing everything that could lead the player to pick either of the two routes that branch from that house, so I think WC is BE focused actually.

Edited September 21, 2020 by SRPG Tryhard

[Shanty Pete's 1st Mate]

I said CF, because I like how different it is, and how it really gets across "this is what you have to go through to change the world". Every map sees you fight old faces, and every battle has weight on the tide of war. What's more, you have to get behind some morally gray maneuvers, like assaulting Garreg Mach and invading the Alliance. And people's reasons for joining are manifold - whether being inspired by Edelgard, opposing the Crest system, or simply trusting the Professor. Ultimately, even if I'm not in love with Edelgard as a character, her mission comes through clearly, and her victory and rulership is very much earned.

[Jotari]

7 hours ago, SRPG Tryhard said:

 

Two missions featuring a relative of the BLs doesn't make it "BL focused" especially when those chapters are actually about a rebellion against Rhea's dogmatic lies and partly instigated by TWISTD and a noble family drama caused by crest inheritance, neither of which three are themes that AM follows up on. Rhea is non-existent in AM and TWISTD are irrelevant and relegated to a "we accidentally Thales" joke with Dimitri still having no idea who "those dark mages that just packed up and left" in the final chapter are. 

In fact, AM hardly actually deals with even Faerghus's problems set up during the academy phase, such as the Duscur genocide and their zealous chivalry. For example, Ashe and Dedue fixing racism by opening a restaurant in their ending is not very convincing when Duscur gets so little attention in that route before the endings fix everything. Meanwhile their concept of chivalry is completely dropped as a plot point.

Saying WC is focused on the kingdom because two chapters happen to take place there because the country is in chaos, is looking at things way too superficially. I like BE the most and I think WC is pretty fine with showing everything that could lead the player to pick either of the two routes that branch from that house, so I think WC is BE focused actually.

I played Verdant Wind before Azure Moon which shows Dimitri at his most insane, but what even more interesting is that his allies are also fighting absolutely anyone who gets in there way. So naturally I thought Azure Moon was going to be a heavy condemnation of monarchy where for half the route you have the characters forced to do immoral things just because their king ordered it. But instead in Azure Moon they basically just...ignore Dimitri. He's consistently saying "Storm the capital! Kill Edelgard!" while Gilbert and Rodrigue just don't and order everyone to do what you do anyway in Verdant Wind and Silver Snow. Until Dimitri gets better. So instead of critiquing hereditary monarchy it instead gives it the bizarre support of "It's the best system to have, because if we have a good king everything's great and if we have a bad king we can just let him rave to himself in the corner to no consequence."

[Icelerate]

CF is my favourite. One major reason is that the military campaign on this route is the most believable. 

[NaotoUzumaki]

CF is my favourite it gives Byleth personality and they need more since they are a silent protagonist.Also work since Byleth is hired by the church to teach.as doubt throughout the part 1 and the narrative give clues: 1 : Prologue: Jeralt literary goes “Why him” on Alois not cause he a bad person but because the church found him about and his child. 2: out of 10 missions up to chapter 10 in white clouds Jeralt is only helping in Remire Village and the Abandoned Chapel. It gives you the impression that Rhea/Seiros doesn’t want him to tell you about the Crest stone in your heart since he fled with ya 20 years ago. 3: Lonato’s don Christophe was executed by Catherine while Innocent and those who slither in the dark told Lonato and western church about The Church of Seiros true motive. One of them even goes “ this isn’t what we were told would happen “ 4: Miklan Sylvain brother was disowned cause he lacked a crest. The Crest stone of the lance turns him into a beast. This tells you that the hero relic were alive and that the crestone check if your compatible or turns you into one. The SotC is missing his crestone and at the time you only know it’s impossible to use it without it via Arundel/Thales “ impossible using a relic is impossible. The king of Liberation(Nemesis) bloodline shouldn’t have” even Rhea/Seiros confirms this by saying “ of course that why we rushed to recover it” meaning the beast transformation should have happened to Byleth. 5: Rhea/ Seiros tries to deny Byleth vendetta against Chronya not out worries for her staffs but because if Byleth gets stabbed in the Heart. Her mom Sothis dies and Fódlan history that she wrote with lies to recreate her meaning mass riot demanding answers from Faerghus/Adrestian/Leicester and they are in the middle of fodlan not a good position to be Flanked on all sides of Garreg Mach. 6: If you side with Edelgard she goes Insane and calls you “ Another Failure” so yeah CF epilogue with TWSID is horrible but as Lysithea said in CF : it’s the shortest path to fixing this problem if crest and everything

[Shanty Pete's 1st Mate]

23 hours ago, Jotari said:

I played Verdant Wind before Azure Moon which shows Dimitri at his most insane, but what even more interesting is that his allies are also fighting absolutely anyone who gets in there way. So naturally I thought Azure Moon was going to be a heavy condemnation of monarchy where for half the route you have the characters forced to do immoral things just because their king ordered it. But instead in Azure Moon they basically just...ignore Dimitri. He's consistently saying "Storm the capital! Kill Edelgard!" while Gilbert and Rodrigue just don't and order everyone to do what you do anyway in Verdant Wind and Silver Snow. Until Dimitri gets better. So instead of critiquing hereditary monarchy it instead gives it the bizarre support of "It's the best system to have, because if we have a good king everything's great and if we have a bad king we can just let him rave to himself in the corner to no consequence."

Dimitri: "If anyone needs me, I'll be in my angry dome!"

And for my part, I'd love to see a country that includes a republican, or at least parliamentary, system. Sacred Stones had Carcino, but Eirika spent like three minutes there. Get some real debate over power coming from blood inheritance, versus democratic election.

[NaotoUzumaki]

True the it my inheritance cliche for power has been done to death. Seriously Carcino was like a good start for a moral grey leadership set in a different way since it’s settled by debate. I wouldn’t mind the God/Green/Nabathean  Byleth if he actually earned it rather than Sothis guiding him. If you wanna make a chosen godly protagonist for a route he HAS TO EARN IT. SS is worse after the AW route since in 3 route Rhea/Seiros lies about Byleth and I’ve found a nun in abyss after re completing CF route that says This : “Byleth you’ve grown since but I suppose it’s expected of a healthy baby” I’m sorry but right now SS lost big points since it turns Rhea/Seiros fulfilling Sitri’s last wishes and by proxy make a Sothis Vessal into Killing it’s weak outdated vessel for a newborn who can’t be feels emotion after this.  Even Seteth/Cihol says: I’ve found the answers in Jeralt’s Diary about his departure. The baby that died in fire has returned to us.Rhea ... what did you do to that child nothing questionable I hope.” And she shuts him up saying.” Quit they will be here soon” again she set Fhiriad on fire” She isn’t a moral compass to begin with.

Edited September 23, 2020 by NaotoUzumaki
Mistakes

[Slyfox]

1 hour ago, NaotoUzumaki said:

SS is worse after the AW route since in 3 route Rhea/Seiros lies about Byleth and I’ve found a nun in abyss after re completing CF route that says This : “Byleth you’ve grown since but I suppose it’s expected of a healthy baby” I’m sorry but right now SS lost big points since it turns Rhea/Seiros fulfilling Sitri’s last wishes and by proxy make a Sothis Vessal into Killing it’s weak outdated vessel for a newborn who can’t be feels emotion after this.  Even Seteth/Cihol says: I’ve found the answers in Jeralt’s Diary about his departure. The baby that died in fire has returned to us.Rhea ... what did you do to that child nothing questionable I hope.” And she shuts him up saying.” Quit they will be here soon” again she set Fhiriad on fire” She isn’t a moral compass to begin with.

Perhaps the nun was from Abyss and helped them escape the first time? Perhaps she met them outside, some time after the fire? Many people would have had to have seen Byleth at various stages of growing up, including as a baby. Jeralt does not have the convenience of a babyrealm from Fire Emblem Fates.

There are simply too many unknowns to draw conclusive evidence that Rhea killed Sitri on purpose.

[Jotari]

2 hours ago, Shanty Pete's 1st Mate said:

Dimitri: "If anyone needs me, I'll be in my angry dome!"

And for my part, I'd love to see a country that includes a republican, or at least parliamentary, system. Sacred Stones had Carcino, but Eirika spent like three minutes there. Get some real debate over power coming from blood inheritance, versus democratic election.

Hey man it doesn't even need to be democratic. Roman republic exited for ages without even a pretense of democracy.

[NaotoUzumaki]

That’s what I thought in my CF run but she says Byleth was Healthy.Need I Remind you Jeralt caused the fire and ran cause Byleth wasn’t Healthy since they never cried or had a Heartbeat. The fact the she says Byleth WAS Healthy suggest that Byleth WASN’T A STILLBORN. Meaning she helped with Sitri Delivering Byleth into the world.

[whase]

While I would agree AM is narratively the best story, my favorite would have to be VW.

I'm not completely sure why, it just resonates more with me. I get really annoyed by Dimitri's emo days and I just can't agree with any of Edelgard's actions. SS doesn't annoy me as much, but it just misses the VW charm.

I do love the narrative told through the BL supports though, and the ending of AM is truly beautiful. And while VW does feel random at times, it simply doesn't bother me as much.

[Interdimensional Observer]

10 hours ago, Jotari said:

Hey man it doesn't even need to be democratic. Roman republic exited for ages without even a pretense of democracy.

Yeah, democracy (Classical Athens) and republicanism (classical Rome) aren't the same thing. And then we've got Medieval merchant republics, namely Venice but other instances such some of the Free and Imperial Cities of the HRE and Novgorod in pre-Moscovy Russia (or Rus, depending on when you want to define Run as ending and Russia as beginning).

Not to mention none of these are the same as modern democratic republics. The voting population in Athens, factoring out children, women, slaves, and others, was about 10-20% of the total population. And for Rome, I can't find a percentage of the population that could vote, but voter turnout was far below what the ideals of the Republic would lead you to think not unlike modern countries. And citizens (burghers) in the Free and Imperial Cities did not exceed more than maybe half the population. And we should not forget about oligarchy, what republic worth a gulden wasn't at least in-part dominated by a rather-but-not-entirely hereditary group of wealthy elites? 

I wouldn't expect IS to do any research and get any of this right. But I have learned a little of Venetian history lately, and would like to see IS make a country based off the Most Serene Republic in FE. They had their Medieval golden age wherein they dominated trade in the Mediterranean Sea, helped on a few Crusades, and then traded with those Muslim infidels anyway because spices and silks from the Orient sell for enough in Europe to purchase some indulgences to cover the accrued sins and lavishly renovate the family cathedral. And don't diss merchant republics as toothless dweebs, Venice, with a little help from some Franks, had no problems besieging the Catholic city of Zara and then pillaging, raping, and murdering Orthodox Constantinople, adding insult to purest devastation by burying the deceased Venetian doge in the Hagia Sophia.

[SRPG Tryhard]

On 9/22/2020 at 5:38 AM, Jotari said:

I played Verdant Wind before Azure Moon which shows Dimitri at his most insane, but what even more interesting is that his allies are also fighting absolutely anyone who gets in there way. So naturally I thought Azure Moon was going to be a heavy condemnation of monarchy where for half the route you have the characters forced to do immoral things just because their king ordered it. But instead in Azure Moon they basically just...ignore Dimitri. He's consistently saying "Storm the capital! Kill Edelgard!" while Gilbert and Rodrigue just don't and order everyone to do what you do anyway in Verdant Wind and Silver Snow. Until Dimitri gets better. So instead of critiquing hereditary monarchy it instead gives it the bizarre support of "It's the best system to have, because if we have a good king everything's great and if we have a bad king we can just let him rave to himself in the corner to no consequence."

This is particularly striking if you think about Felix's speech to Dimitri in AM, saying none of the BLs are following his leadership because of him but apparently they still follow and die for him in the Gronder Field battle of VW. https://fedatamine.com/en-us/scenarios/173

I would say this is an inconsistency similar to the plot hole of why Dimitri thinks Edelgard committed Duscur outside BL/AM.

BL version: https://fedatamine.com/en-us/scenarios/110

BE: https://fedatamine.com/en-us/scenarios/109

GD: https://fedatamine.com/en-us/scenarios/111

As far as we are shown the reason Dimitri becomes suspicious of her is when Thales told the Flame Emperor that he did Duscur for their benefit. Sure the FE denounced Thales for it, but Dimitri in his head thought this meant that FE = Duscur and completely forgot about Thales for the rest of the route altogether. Then she drops the dagger and later she is unmasked which is all he needed to see to believe it. The problem is that he is not there to witness that scene in the other routes. We can tell because the scene unravels differently when Dimitri is there and he tries to attack them from the shadows. So it makes one wonder why Dimitri connected the Flame Emperor and Edelgard to Duscur in them.

On 9/22/2020 at 7:16 AM, NaotoUzumaki said:

4: Miklan Sylvain brother was disowned cause he lacked a crest. The Crest stone of the lance turns him into a beast. This tells you that the hero relic were alive and that the crestone check if your compatible or turns you into one. The SotC is missing his crestone and at the time you only know it’s impossible to use it without it via Arundel/Thales “ impossible using a relic is impossible. The king of Liberation(Nemesis) bloodline shouldn’t have” even Rhea/Seiros confirms this by saying “ of course that why we rushed to recover it” meaning the beast transformation should have happened to Byleth.

5: Rhea/ Seiros tries to deny Byleth vendetta against Chronya not out worries for her staffs but because if Byleth gets stabbed in the Heart. Her mom Sothis dies and Fódlan history that she wrote with lies to recreate her meaning mass riot demanding answers from

Care to expand on these? I thought Rhea already recognized Byleth as that child that she implanted the creststone of flames, which is why she says "has the flow of time brought you back here" (or so) during the first animated cutscene when they arrive in Gareg Mach. So Rhea, to her knowledge, didn't actually put Byleth in danger of being turned to crest beast when they allowed them to wield the SOTC in chapter 4.

Your second point seems interesting. I was wondering why Rhea was so against Byleth chasing after Kronya. But she lets them go anyway after the lord of the route reassures her that it's better strategically. https://fedatamine.com/en-us/scenarios/114 

Edited September 23, 2020 by SRPG Tryhard

[NaotoUzumaki]

I know she recognized Byleth. The conversation with Arundel/Thales with the Flame Emperor explains that it’s impossible to use a Relic without its Crest Stone and with Miklan cases almost confirms this. Meaning to use a Relic. You need to Relic itself with its Crest Stone and Having the Crest in you family’s blood. Thales is certain nemesis didn’t have offsprings. I trust Thales/Arundel explanation on this since the Agarthan created relic from the Bones of Nabataean and the Crest Stone From their Heart(Organ). This is the only explanation that Rhea/Serios agrees in VW. I mean she sent to prevent to black best transformation of Miklan. To prove even Further this hypothesis.Hanneman the “Father of Crestalogy” even says that “even with such a Mysterious Crest as the Crest of Flames all Hero Relic need their Crest Stone a a Compatible Crest Bearer” his Support with Byleth reflect on how much it’s hurdle Crestology and science backwards if that’s the case. Meaning The Church doesn’t want technology to happen less a second coming of Zanado 

[Jotari]

7 hours ago, SRPG Tryhard said:

This is particularly striking if you think about Felix's speech to Dimitri in AM, saying none of the BLs are following his leadership because of him but apparently they still follow and die for him in the Gronder Field battle of VW. https://fedatamine.com/en-us/scenarios/173

I would say this is an inconsistency similar to the plot hole of why Dimitri thinks Edelgard committed Duscur outside BL/AM.

BL version: https://fedatamine.com/en-us/scenarios/110

BE: https://fedatamine.com/en-us/scenarios/109

GD: https://fedatamine.com/en-us/scenarios/111

As far as we are shown the reason Dimitri becomes suspicious of her is when Thales told the Flame Emperor that he did Duscur for their benefit. Sure the FE denounced Thales for it, but Dimitri in his head thought this meant that FE = Duscur and completely forgot about Thales for the rest of the route altogether. Then she drops the dagger and later she is unmasked which is all he needed to see to believe it. The problem is that he is not there to witness that scene in the other routes. We can tell because the scene unravels differently when Dimitri is there and he tries to attack them from the shadows. So it makes one wonder why Dimitri connected the Flame Emperor and Edelgard to Duscur in them.

Care to expand on these? I thought Rhea already recognized Byleth as that child that she implanted the creststone of flames, which is why she says "has the flow of time brought you back here" (or so) during the first animated cutscene when they arrive in Gareg Mach. So Rhea, to her knowledge, didn't actually put Byleth in danger of being turned to crest beast when they allowed them to wield the SOTC in chapter 4.

Your second point seems interesting. I was wondering why Rhea was so against Byleth chasing after Kronya. But she lets them go anyway after the lord of the route reassures her that it's better strategically. https://fedatamine.com/en-us/scenarios/114 

I guess without Byleth or anyone else taking control the Azure Moon students were forced to follow Dimitri since no one else was willing to speak up and suggest alternate plans. It's still weird though. Much as people complain about Verdant Wind and Silver Snow being the same route, Azure Moon suffers greatly from this too up until Grondor.

[Slyfox]

19 hours ago, NaotoUzumaki said:

That’s what I thought in my CF run but she says Byleth was Healthy.Need I Remind you Jeralt caused the fire and ran cause Byleth wasn’t Healthy since they never cried or had a Heartbeat. The fact the she says Byleth WAS Healthy suggest that Byleth WASN’T A STILLBORN. Meaning she helped with Sitri Delivering Byleth into the world.

No one ever thinks Byleth is "unhealthy", besides Jeralt really (worried as a parent would be). Well, until Byleth randomly falls unconscious in White Clouds.

 

In Dorothea's B support, it's sort of implied that she felt Byleth's chest if Byleth chooses to say that their heart isn't beating.

Dorothea: "Ha, don't be so silly... Huh? It really isn't beating?! Is what I'd say if I was more gullible. You're just fooling around, Professor. I'm not sure how you did it, but that was a good one."

And then Dorothea goes on to treating Byleth as everyone else does, which is relatively normally.

 

Regardless, if Byleth was born normal and healthy, and then was no longer considered as such after the crest stone transplant, would the nun you mentioned not have noticed the difference when she met Byleth all these years later?

I think a more plausible theory is that the nun was the doctor that Jeralt had examine Byleth in secret. Besides the lack of heartbeat and lack of crying, Byleth did have a pulse (so blood was flowing) and there was no mention of Byleth being sickly. Physical signs pointed towards a healthy baby, if under an impossible, odd and unexplainable occurrence.