Your headcanons for anything FE-related!

[Mylady]

On 6/8/2021 at 10:29 PM, Use the Falchion said:

 

 

 

My Eirika/Saleh, Claude/Petra (and sometimes Claude/Edelgard), and Caspar/Hilda shipping heart hurts a little today lol! (But my Eirika/Seth heart rejoices.)

Niiice. Eirika x Saleh shipper here, I find them adorable and really unique, so I'm another to join the team.  I also like Claude x Petra even though I ship the 3h characters with a lot of people since they have a lot of interesting dynamics. Also I like:

Ephraim x L'arachel, Tana x Cormag

 Roy x Sue,

Eliwood x Fiora, Hector x Farina 

Chrom x Olivia, Ike x Soren

Etc ..

I think there's place for every taste in the fandom 😅😅

 

On 3/8/2021 at 9:07 PM, Cosmic_Dragon said:

The journal that we can use to level up Byleth's stats is actually a sort of log that Byleth carries with him wherever he goes cause it's where he records the things he's seen on his travels as well as having notes on things he learned about handling the different types of weapons (that's why he can use it to level up stats)

It remembers  me the Butterfly Effect movie, that one with Ashton Kutcher, it's really interesting and makes a lot of sense. 

Edited July 3, 2021 by Mylady

[Cosmic_Dragon]

On 7/3/2021 at 1:37 PM, Mylady said:

Chrom x Olivia

I think there's place for every taste in the fandom 😅😅

 

It remembers  me the Butterfly Effect movie, that one with Ashton Kutcher, it's really interesting and makes a lot of sense. 

It's always nice to see a fellow Chrom/Olivia supporter tbh. And you're right, everyone's got their own tastes and preferences, nothing wrong with that, every outcome can be a valid one (the game does allow it for a reason). I mean, I've got my own pairings that are not exactly popular or well-regarded, but I like them nonetheless and think they're as valid as any other. 

Now that you mention, the concept does bear some resemblance doesn't it? Can't believe I never noticed, thanks for pointing out! Tbh though, I really just have this penchant for always tying game mechanics into avatars' personalities, I guess as a means of giving them a bit more casual character; It's something I've been doing since my first Zelda game tbh xD. I mean, there's got to be a reason why they're allowed to do those specific activities they can do in their games after all.

Like for example, another headcanon I have about Byleth is that the reason he attends Choir Practice is cause one of his personal likes is music, and it's related to his own artistic hobby; ya know, like how Bernadetta and Ignatz can paint, Seteth writes children's fables or Gilbert likes woodcarving? Well, Byleth's own artistic talent is that he actually writes songs, it's what he does in the rare occasion he gets some time to himself. The thing is though, he actually can't sing very well (he isn't really bad mind you, just pretty average) since he didn't really have time to practice before when he was a mercenary (and whenever he did get time, he ended up practicing more with the Lute instead, which in turn is an instrument he is really good with), and less so now that he's a teacher, so that's why he attends Choir Practice at times, to refine his musical cords.

Edited July 7, 2021 by Cosmic_Dragon

[Use the Falchion]

On 7/7/2021 at 2:39 AM, Cosmic_Dragon said:

Like for example, another headcanon I have about Byleth is that the reason he attends Choir Practice is cause one of his personal likes is music, and it's related to his own artistic hobby; ya know, like how Bernadetta and Ignatz can paint, Seteth writes children's fables or Gilbert likes woodcarving? Well, Byleth's own artistic talent is that he actually writes songs, it's what he does in the rare occasion he gets some time to himself. The thing is though, he actually can't sing very well (he isn't really bad mind you, just pretty average) since he didn't really have time to practice before when he was a mercenary (and whenever he did get time, he ended up practicing more with the Lute instead, which in turn is an instrument he is really good with), and less so now that he's a teacher, so that's why he attends Choir Practice at times, to refine his musical cords.

This is definitely an awesome headcanon! ...I may or may not accept it in my own headcanon now...

[Cosmic_Dragon]

On 7/8/2021 at 4:56 PM, Use the Falchion said:

This is definitely an awesome headcanon! ...I may or may not accept it in my own headcanon now...

Thanks! Got a few others, some more wacky than others tbh, but it's fun thinking about them. And whether you accept or not into your own headcanon, it's cool, I'm glad you liked it.

EDIT: Also, just one I really wanted to add, and it may or may not be fully headcanon, but Byleth isn't actually emotionless. They're less emotional than most people, and they have trouble emoting much as a result (like female Byleth says during her Forging Bonds conversation in Heroes), but it's not like they have no feelings at all or don't have any personality/conscience of their own or any understanding of emotions whatsoever. Basically, they're a person who's just less emotional than normal, they're not this literal golem with no emotional capacity whatsoever (because if they were, I honestly don't think they'd make any sense in the context of their role in the story).

Edited July 13, 2021 by Cosmic_Dragon

[Cosmic_Dragon]

The edit on the last entry also kinda ties into another headcanon I have about them explaining why they're able to play this sorta pseudo-therapist to their students and why people go to them for advice (didn't put this there cause that would've made the post way longer than it needed to be; heck, this one is already longer than I wanted it to be), I apologize in advance if it seems outlandish. Due to feeling emotions less than normal, but feeling them nonetheless, it in turn caused Byleth to gain a bigger interest than usual in understanding feelings and emotions, which is what they set out to do by studying the behaviors and conducts of the people/mercenaries around them throughout their tenure as a mercenary, as well as asking them (the people; their fellow mercenaries mostly) to tell them (Byleth) about their troubles/experiences as a means of better understanding their own emotions, which is how they learned to be so observant (as the game sometimes points out they are).

And as Byleth gained a better understanding of feelings (and life) in general (of those around them as well as their own) they started trying to offer advice due to their surprisingly empathetic nature (something I imagine they get from their parents), even if some of the advice wasn't always sound (which is why they normally get three options that can range from good to bad when someone asks them something in the game), and eventually it inadvertedly became like second nature to them to lend a listening ear and a piece of advice if someone came up to them with a personal issue, which is why they answer questions in the confessionary or the issues their students sometimes come up to them with (and why they're apparently good enough at social interaction to invite people to eat or have tea parties with them).

Edited July 13, 2021 by Cosmic_Dragon

[Use the Falchion]

On 7/8/2021 at 9:37 PM, Cosmic_Dragon said:

EDIT: Also, just one I really wanted to add, and it may or may not be fully headcanon, but Byleth isn't actually emotionless. They're less emotional than most people, and they have trouble emoting much as a result (like female Byleth says during her Forging Bonds conversation in Heroes), but it's not like they have no feelings at all or don't have any personality/conscience of their own or any understanding of emotions whatsoever. Basically, they're a person who's just less emotional than normal, they're not this literal golem with no emotional capacity whatsoever (because if they were, I honestly don't think they'd make any sense in the context of their role in the story).

 

3 hours ago, Cosmic_Dragon said:

The edit on the last entry also kinda ties into another headcanon I have about them explaining why they're able to play this sorta pseudo-therapist to their students and why people go to them for advice (didn't put this there cause that would've made the post way longer than it needed to be; heck, this one is already longer than I wanted it to be), I apologize in advance if it seems outlandish. Due to feeling emotions less than normal, but feeling them nonetheless, it in turn caused Byleth to gain a bigger interest than usual in understanding feelings and emotions, which is what they set out to do by studying the behaviors and conducts of the people/mercenaries around them throughout their tenure as a mercenary, as well as asking them (the people; their fellow mercenaries mostly) to tell them (Byleth) about their troubles/experiences as a means of better understanding their own emotions, which is how they learned to be so observant (as the game sometimes points out they are).

And as Byleth gained a better understanding of feelings (and life) in general (of those around them as well as their own) they started trying to offer advice due to their surprisingly empathetic nature (something I imagine they get from their parents), even if some of the advice wasn't always sound (which is why they normally get three options that can range from good to bad when someone asks them something in the game), and eventually it inadvertedly became like second nature to them to lend a listening ear and a piece of advice if someone came up to them with a personal issue, which is why they answer questions in the confessionary or the issues their students sometimes come up to them with (and why they're apparently good enough at social interaction to invite people to eat or have tea parties with them).

Once again, I am asking for permission to also accept your headcanon! Love it. 

[Cosmic_Dragon]

1 hour ago, Use the Falchion said:

 

Once again, I am asking for permission to also accept your headcanon! Love it. 

Sure, if you want. Glad you like it!

[henrymidfields]

A couple of partial headcanons mixing with actual canon for my current playthrough of Crimson Flower:

• Edelgard being ultimately more successful here than in other routes is more due to her regaining trust with other people, being more strategic with her ruthless behaviour, and having a better shot at distancing away from TWISTD. While she made better progress at the start of other routes, she ended up losing support due to her cold-heartedness overriding  long-term political wisdom. Here, however, Edelgard was more cautious, and while she saw less progress in annexation at the start, the few places she managed to annex provided their full support, and other areas also became enamoured with the more favorable conditions in the Empire.
  • Edelgard losing some of her cold-heartedness when Byleth teams up with her is pretty much canon. In more detail, after Byleth took over the Black Eagles class, Byleth encouraged Edelgard and others to reach out to each other (hence Byleth's teacher log including notes of relationships between others - which in the games manifests as the Support level progress page).
  • This could have been easily reversed, however at the end of Chapter 11, if Byleth sides with the church. Which is implied canon, I think. But even if Byleth sides with Edelgard, stating that Byleth would have some stern words for her head student would be an understatement. This was one case where Edelgard and Byleth's friendship could have gone all wrong, but Byleth, being unnerved by Rhea's behaviour prior, and reading Daddy Jeralt's diary which describes implications of Rhea's underhandedness (and the coverup of the Gautier incident) decides that at least Edelgard isn't as creepy.
  • While some of their classmates were initially hesitant about joining the invasion during March 1181 (the weeks leading up to Chapter 12) and sometimes even a few years after that, they ended up being swayed, both by Edelgard's propaganda, her more sensitive and in-touch attitude towards commoners, and by other classmates who knew her better.
    • Lysithea was already disaffected by the church due to her trauma from crests being unaddressed.
    • Sylvain also had hardships from his crests thanks to the people around him, and especially Miklain, and he was generally disaffected by the political instability in Faerghus. His family disowned Sylvain after his defection, however.
    • Annette was swayed by her uncle to continue supporting Edelgard, as he himself decided to do so after being fed up with the political instability with Faerghus.
    • After Annette's return to Dominic Province, she pleaded to her uncle to take Mercedes in for a while. Baron Dominic appointed Mercedes as one of the surgeons for his troops. In 1185, Mercedes was headhunted by Edelgard to rejoin the Black Eagles as Manuela's assistant. While Mercedes still believed in the Goddess, she was also disaffected by the church's complicity with crests when it brought her nothing but hardship. Her and Manuela's disaffection became part of what was to become the Protestant movement in Fodlan in the years after the Great War of 1185.
    • Manuela always had a soft spot for the Embarr as it was somewhat less stratified than other places in Fodlan. It also helped that she was appointed as the general surgeon for the Black Eagles right after Chapter 11, and eventually for the whole army by 1185, one of the first commoners to be appointed to the position in generations. This also served to be the benchmark of how to introduce commoners to high government positions: starting small, and working the way up.
    • While Hanneman was more hesitant in supporting the Empire, he couldn't really cut ties with the place and family he grew up with. It also helped that he started to see the negative effects of Crests on people and is now researching Crests more for the effects on people and society, and started to agree more with Edelgard's anti-Crest stance.
    • While Ignaz was not too enthusiastic about supporting the Empire initially, he kept in touch with other units he had a support conversation with, such as Petra, Shamir, Lysithea, or Mercedes. Seeing that they are doing well under their new master made him decide that working for the Empire might be better than with the Alliance in disarray.
    • Leonie initially stayed with the Black Eagles for Chapter 12, but after Byleth became MIA, Leonie left for a while. She undergoes similar revelations as Ignaz when she corresponds with Bernadetta and Alois.

 

• As for why she doesn't seem to make apparent progress during the five year timeskip, this was due to a combination of factors: 
  • Edelgard's insisted in stabilising the domestic situation, and the territories on former Western Faerghus. This meant:
    • stimulating the economy on both so that she could indirectly raise more revenue.
    • cleaning up the other nobles - both through Edelgard siding with the commoners, and pitting Edelgard's political enemies against TWISTD - to remove political corruption and recover more of the appropriated taxes
  • She also decided that she needed to cultivate relationships beyond the other high-rank nobles within her government and with TWISTD and consolidate her authority.
    • Through the empowered commoners, Edelgard's friends made at school (possibly canon), and her indirect friends through Byleth and others (optionally canon), she managed to keep TWISTD at bay - they had to compete with a lot more factions for support, and they been losing political sway ever since. Edie also persuaded her ministers (particularly the entire Bergliez family, and Count Hevring) to gradually disengage with TWISTD, only engaging with them as a last option.
    • As they had no idea about the Empire's financial situation, they didn't realise that they've been gradually outfunded by other factions. Lord Arundel caught wind of it sometime between Chapter 15 and 16, but by that time, it was too late. As Edelgard's cause gained popularity and as she also granted amnesty for defecting, TWISTD even lost some of their rank-and-file members. The Arianrhod Incident immediately after Chapter 16 turned out to be their last desperation attempt in intimidating Edelgard. In the short-term, they managed to put a dent into Edelgard's war effort. They were doomed in the long-term, however, as the launching of the Javelin gave away their location, allowing Edelgard and her  force to reform their Strike Force to incorporate previously unrecruited survivors from the other Houses, and to clean the proverbial house several months after CF's ending.
  • While she managed to win Garreg Mach during Chapter 12, the loss was high enough to dissuade her to fund further campaigns in the immediate future. Furthermore, Rhea decided to bail out, seeing her own base hopelessly overrun.
    • This turned out to be the right choice for Rhea in the short term, because she snuck out before Imperial Troops started occupying the Monastery proper. As for the troops themselves, they either couldn't capture her as she had already evacuated, and/or didn't bother doing so as this wasn't their primary objective...yet. And the presence of Rhea in CF boosted morale in the Kingdom and the populace and the territories were either happy to make her de facto leader, or were too intimidated to oppose her - maybe with the exception of the western territories.
    • In the short-term, this was a setback for the Empire, and they became more cautious about engaging with the Kingdom in a fight. Instead Edelgard and Ferdinand started proxy wars and orchestrated rebellions across Western Faerghus and part of Leicester through possible recruits such as Baron Dominic and Annette for the former and Count Gloucester and Lorenz for the latter. The former was quite successful (if you recruited Annette - as I have done), the latter less so. It was enough to distract both Faerghus and Leicester for a while, however.

Edited July 18, 2021 by henrymidfields

[Shanty Pete's 1st Mate]

6 hours ago, henrymidfields said:

Edelgard being more successful here than in other routes is more due to her regaining trust with other people, being more strategic with her ruthless behaviour, and having a better shot at distancing away from TWISTD.

I would counter that Edelgard isn't more successful on Crimson Flower - at least, not at the start. She has a major geopolitical rival in the Holy Kingdom of Faerghus (under Dimitri), in league with the Central Church (under Rhea). Compare to non-CF routes, where the Church and Kingdom have effectively been decapitated, and half of the latter is under the effective control of an ally (Cornelia), rendering the Empire uncontested as the continent's biggest power. Even the Alliance, which exists regardless, is more capable and united under Claude on CF (note Acheron fighting for the Alliance, rather than the Empire). Edelgard finds success, of course, but only after starting from a worse-off position.

[Jotari]

Edelgard would have been wiped off the map easily on Crimson Flower had Claude wanted her to be. He kept the Alliance out of the war entirely which was greatly to Edelgard's benefit. And then she responded by invading them.

Edited July 17, 2021 by Jotari

[henrymidfields]

5 hours ago, Jotari said:

Edelgard would have been wiped off the map easily on Crimson Flower had Claude wanted her to be. He kept the Alliance out of the war entirely which was greatly to Edelgard's benefit. And then she responded by invading them.

I thought Claude couldn't wipe Edie off because of the disarray with the Alliance teamwork, unless if there's something I've yet to see in further chapters or other routes that supports your claim. It implies so in some of the conversations in December 28 right before Chapter 13 where some if the Lords turned pro-Empire, and them only prevented in joining due to Claude making the Lords turn on each other to feign neutrality. I mean, if your claim is true, then the war/game would have been long over by the time Byleth woke up.

Edited July 17, 2021 by henrymidfields

[Jotari]

48 minutes ago, henrymidfields said:

I thought Claude couldn't wipe Edie off because of the disarray with the Alliance teamwork, unless if there's something I've yet to see in further chapters or other routes that supports your claim. It implies so in some of the conversations in December 28 right before Chapter 13 where some if the Lords turned pro-Empire, and them only prevented in joining due to Claude making the Lords turn on each other to feign neutrality. I mean, if your claim is true, then the war/game would have been long over by the time Byleth woke up.

Well as was pointed out, in the other routes the alliances is more fractured and is outright warring against itself, but in Crimson Flower its united. Half of the lords want to join the war on Edelgard's side while the other half wants to join it on Dimitri's side. Claude has the deciding vote and rather than tipping the balance one way or the other, he continues to abstain from voting to keep the alliance neutral. I suppose one could argue if he had voted to go to war with Edelgard the leaders who wanted to join her would have broken away and immediately started warring with him, but I think if they were that gung ho about joining Edelgard they would have gotten sick of his abstaining at some point of the five year period and would have joined Edelgard anyway like in the other routes. Yet they continue to adhere to the alliance and his authority throughout. The reason being likely because the Kingdom is also more powerful in this route making joining Edelgard less of a winning play.

Edited July 17, 2021 by Jotari

[Etrurian emperor]

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

I would counter that Edelgard isn't more successful on Crimson Flower - at least, not at the start. She has a major geopolitical rival in the Holy Kingdom of Faerghus (under Dimitri), in league with the Central Church (under Rhea). Compare to non-CF routes, where the Church and Kingdom have effectively been decapitated, and half of the latter is under the effective control of an ally (Cornelia), rendering the Empire uncontested as the continent's biggest power. Even the Alliance, which exists regardless, is more capable and united under Claude on CF (note Acheron fighting for the Alliance, rather than the Empire). Edelgard finds success, of course, but only after starting from a worse-off position.

Indeed. I think that its a bit of an inditement against Byleth that without their help Edelgard vanquishes the Kingdom and the church, and leaves the Alliance impotent while having to suffer a five year long stalemate if Byleth does side with her. 

23 minutes ago, Jotari said:

Well as was pointed out, in the other routes the alliances is more fractured and is outright warring against itself

So far it seems more that the Alliance bickers themselves into neutrality rather than completely fracturing. The pro and anti imperial factions don't seem to outright fight each other but instead keep each other in check. I don't think there's any indication that Lorenz and Lysithea have been fighting Claude for instance. The worst Gloucester does to the Alliance is let Edelgard pass through its domain rather than contribute militarily, to Claude's fall and it seems the pro imperial faction is more cowed into submission rather than being toadies like in the Kingdom.

I think its worth noting that in the divided Alliance even the worst of the worst(Gloucester) has some loyalty to the Alliance while in the ''united'' Kingdom one half of the noble houses either reluctantly or gladly betray the Kingdom. Compared to Kleiman, Rowe or Dominic  the pro Imperial houses in the Alliance look like zealous patriots. 

Edited July 17, 2021 by Etrurian emperor

[Shanty Pete's 1st Mate]

2 hours ago, Etrurian emperor said:

Indeed. I think that its a bit of an inditement against Byleth that without their help Edelgard vanquishes the Kingdom and the church, and leaves the Alliance impotent while having to suffer a five year long stalemate if Byleth does side with her. 

The thing is, the "splitting point" comes very shortly after Teach disappears. The fact that Rhea managed to escape to the Kingdom, immediately following the Battle of Garreg Mach, appears to be what changed things. It's not entirely clear why this happens on CF, but no other routes. Since we never actually see Rhea get captured by the Empire.

2 hours ago, Etrurian emperor said:

I think its worth noting that in the divided Alliance even the worst of the worst(Gloucester) has some loyalty to the Alliance while in the ''united'' Kingdom one half of the noble houses either reluctantly or gladly betray the Kingdom. Compared to Kleiman, Rowe or Dominic  the pro Imperial houses in the Alliance look like zealous patriots. 

It's a little trickier than that. Cornelia commits a coup, but since she was an influential figure in the Kingdom (and the royal family is all dead or disgraced), the "Faerghus Dukedom" can attempt to call itself the legitimate successor to the Kingdom. Hence the civil war, as Houses Gautier and Fraldarius recognize Cornelia's claim that Dimitri killed Rufus (upon which her legitimacy hinges) as a lie.

8 hours ago, Jotari said:

Edelgard would have been wiped off the map easily on Crimson Flower had Claude wanted her to be. He kept the Alliance out of the war entirely which was greatly to Edelgard's benefit. And then she responded by invading them.

Not necessarily. The Alliance is still a far weaker military force than the Empire, and it's not entirely unified (owing to its confederate nature). Suppose Claude pushed for war, which starts out great, until they meet a rousing defeat at Fort Merceus. Then, Count Gloucester could assert that the invasion was foolhardy, and that Claude's leadership is not what the Alliance needs. All he needs is a similar "vote of no confidence" from two other represented houses (say, Edmund and Goneril) in order to take effective control of the Alliance.

That said, a coordinated effort between the Alliance and the Kingdom-plus-Church could probably have defeated the Empire. But it's not clear that the other noble houses would have preferred that to a continuing neutrality.

Agreed, though, that invading the Alliance was... morally gray, let's say. And it's a minor miracle that devoting the resources necessary to successfully invade didn't cause their front with the Kingdom-plus-Church (previously a stalemate) to collapse.

[henrymidfields]

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

Not necessarily. The Alliance is still a far weaker military force than the Empire, and it's not entirely unified (owing to its confederate nature). Suppose Claude pushed for war, which starts out great, until they meet a rousing defeat at Fort Merceus. Then, Count Gloucester could assert that the invasion was foolhardy, and that Claude's leadership is not what the Alliance needs. All he needs is a similar "vote of no confidence" from two other represented houses (say, Edmund and Goneril) in order to take effective control of the Alliance.

I was actually drafting out a possible fanfic story for Crimson Flower with elements of Verdant Wind added once I experience all four routes. The above comment gives me an idea on how I might write a less bloody invasion into the Alliance, leading into Claude or Lorenz joining forces with Edelgard...

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

The thing is, the "splitting point" comes very shortly after Teach disappears. The fact that Rhea managed to escape to the Kingdom, immediately following the Battle of Garreg Mach, appears to be what changed things. It's not entirely clear why this happens on CF, but no other routes. Since we never actually see Rhea get captured by the Empire.

Good question. It could paradoxically be due to Rhea's actions taken immediately after Chapter 12. Here's a possible scenario:

In CF, Rhea decided to bail out, seeing her own base hopelessly overrun. This turned out to be the right choice for her, because she snuck out before Imperial Troops started occupying the Monastery proper. As for the troops themselves, they either couldn't capture her as she had already evacuated, and/or didn't bother doing so as this wasn't their primary objective...yet. And the presence of Rhea in CF boosted morale in the Kingdom and the populace and the territories were either happy to make her de facto leader, or were too intimidated to oppose her - maybe with the exception of the western territories. The Imperial Army, on the other hand became more cautious about engaging with the Kingdom in a fight.

As for the other routes, she probably decided to stay put at Garreg Mach as she felt she had no reason to flee, seeing that Byleth's group successfully repelled the Imperial invasion. Except she was wrong there, as she was somehow captured - maybe Imperial Troops snucked into the Monastery grounds and ambushed her as their last desperation attempt? (Which may also mean that as they failed to take over Garreg Mach, they decided to settle with capturing Rhea.)  Her absence ruined what little morale or faith people had left in their society and led to the Kingdom into further disarray, and this must have emboldened the Empire to do their early incursions. 

Edited July 18, 2021 by henrymidfields

[Etrurian emperor]

8 hours ago, henrymidfields said:

I was actually drafting out a possible fanfic story for Crimson Flower with elements of Verdant Wind added once I experience all four routes. The above comment gives me an idea on how I might write a less bloody invasion into the Alliance, leading into Claude or Lorenz joining forces with Edelgard...

Good question. It could paradoxically be due to Rhea's actions taken immediately after Chapter 12. Here's a possible scenario:

In CF, Rhea decided to bail out, seeing her own base hopelessly overrun. This turned out to be the right choice for her, because she snuck out before Imperial Troops started occupying the Monastery proper. As for the troops themselves, they either couldn't capture her as she had already evacuated, and/or didn't bother doing so as this wasn't their primary objective...yet. And the presence of Rhea in CF boosted morale in the Kingdom and the populace and the territories were either happy to make her de facto leader, or were too intimidated to oppose her - maybe with the exception of the western territories. The Imperial Army, on the other hand became more cautious about engaging with the Kingdom in a fight.

As for the other routes, she probably decided to stay put at Garreg Mach as she felt she had no reason to flee, seeing that Byleth's group successfully repelled the Imperial invasion. Except she was wrong there, as she was somehow captured - maybe Imperial Troops snucked into the Monastery grounds and ambushed her as their last desperation attempt? (Which may also mean that as they failed to take over Garreg Mach, they decided to settle with capturing Rhea.)  Her absence ruined what little morale or faith people had left in their society and led to the Kingdom into further disarray, and this must have emboldened the Empire to do their early incursions. 

I think its mostly Byleth who's the difference here. In the other route she seems to engage the Imperial army to try and protect them. In Crimson Flower Rhea goes crazy and wants to rip Byleth's heart out so she's got no reason to risk capture by remaining on the battlefield. 

[Jotari]

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

The thing is, the "splitting point" comes very shortly after Teach disappears. The fact that Rhea managed to escape to the Kingdom, immediately following the Battle of Garreg Mach, appears to be what changed things. It's not entirely clear why this happens on CF, but no other routes. Since we never actually see Rhea get captured by the Empire.

We see her get dog piled by a bunch of demonic beasts, which seems to be a good an indication as any that you'll find for her moment of capture. Edelgard not having Demonic Beasts in Crimson Flower (which I wish was an actual stressed plot point) is also a decent enough explanation as to why she doesn't end up getting captured despite Edelgard having the extra muscle with Byleth on her side.

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

Agreed, though, that invading the Alliance was... morally gray, let's say. And it's a minor miracle that devoting the resources necessary to successfully invade didn't cause their front with the Kingdom-plus-Church (previously a stalemate) to collapse.

I can't remember what they say in the narration, but the fact that the whole defense of Garrek Mach happens directly after defeating Claude, and not at the start of Part 2 like in the other routes suggests to me that attacking Claude gave Dimitri and Rhea the opportunity to push forward and make that battle happen when they couldn't before. It's a shame they didn't have Dimitri and Rhea be the victors and force Edelgard back further into the Empire so we could have had a Crimson Flower Grondor Field battle (just make Claude survive by fleeing to Almyra and then returning with Nader, rather than having Claude have a whole back up army that didn't help him at all). It might just be because of the low number of chapters, but as a narrative Crimson Flower feels like it's altogether too easy for Edelgard. She doesn't really struggle much. It's mostly a matter of deciding to attack a place, doing so and winning. I guess this can be said about most Fire Emblem plots, but it seem to stick out significantly more for me in this one.

[henrymidfields]

45 minutes ago, Jotari said:

I can't remember what they say in the narration, but the fact that the whole defense of Garrek Mach happens directly after defeating Claude, and not at the start of Part 2 like in the other routes suggests to me that attacking Claude gave Dimitri and Rhea the opportunity to push forward and make that battle happen when they couldn't before. It's a shame they didn't have Dimitri and Rhea be the victors and force Edelgard back further into the Empire so we could have had a Crimson Flower Grondor Field battle (just make Claude survive by fleeing to Almyra and then returning with Nader, rather than having Claude have a whole back up army that didn't help him at all). It might just be because of the low number of chapters, but as a narrative Crimson Flower feels like it's altogether too easy for Edelgard. She doesn't really struggle much. It's mostly a matter of deciding to attack a place, doing so and winning. I guess this can be said about most Fire Emblem plots, but it seem to stick out significantly more for me in this one.

Is there a difference between hard military numbers of the Kingdom vs Empire? While a Doylist ideal might call for more chapters and drama in between, I think the Watsonian argument was that for all intents and purposes, the numbers were there, the training of the troops were there etc. At least the fridge brilliance entry in TV tropes make that argument for the smaller number of chapters.

[Jotari]

6 minutes ago, henrymidfields said:

Is there a difference between hard military numbers of the Kingdom vs Empire? While a Doylist ideal might call for more chapters and drama in between, I think the Watsonian argument was that for all intents and purposes, the numbers were there, the training of the troops were there etc. At least the fridge brilliance entry in TV tropes make that argument for the smaller number of chapters.

The fact that the whole war was in a stalemate for five years definitely suggest things were pretty balanced between the two in terms of military might. Otherwise Edelgard wouldn't have needed Byleth to come back and would have been able to defeat them much sooner.

[henrymidfields]

8 hours ago, Jotari said:

We see her get dog piled by a bunch of demonic beasts, which seems to be a good an indication as any that you'll find for her moment of capture. Edelgard not having Demonic Beasts in Crimson Flower (which I wish was an actual stressed plot point) is also a decent enough explanation as to why she doesn't end up getting captured despite Edelgard having the extra muscle with Byleth on her side.

Referring to your other analysis: Well there we go. I've still yet to play the other alternate histories, so that'll be something new. I think I know the reason why she would use the Demonic Beasts. (Are those TWISTD's?) As for CF, would it be because that she's already have Byleth and felt that the Beasts could be deployed elsewhere amongst the Imperial Troops?

[Jotari]

6 hours ago, henrymidfields said:

Referring to your other analysis: Well there we go. I've still yet to play the other alternate histories, so that'll be something new. I think I know the reason why she would use the Demonic Beasts. (Are those TWISTD's?) As for CF, would it be because that she's already have Byleth and felt that the Beasts could be deployed elsewhere amongst the Imperial Troops?

Prevailing fan assesment is more that she stops using demonic beasts because of the moral implications in Crimson Flower as part of Byleth softening her, but I don't think that's actually supported anywhere in game, or at least if it is it isn't stressed as big a plot point as it should be. For all we know the lack of demonic beasts when playing the empire could be purely gameplay, though they are still lacking from the last scene in Crimson Flower.

[henrymidfields]

1 hour ago, Jotari said:

Prevailing fan assesment is more that she stops using demonic beasts because of the moral implications in Crimson Flower as part of Byleth softening her, but I don't think that's actually supported anywhere in game, or at least if it is it isn't stressed as big a plot point as it should be. For all we know the lack of demonic beasts when playing the empire could be purely gameplay, though they are still lacking from the last scene in Crimson Flower.

Thanks. I guess it is an open interpretation at this stage. My personal opinion would be a bit of moral implications, a bit of because Byleth would be enough, and also not wanting to rely on TWISTD as much. 

[Etrurian emperor]

I believe its only mentioned in his support of Edelgard but Caspar has an older brother who's description by Edelgard is anything but flattering. 

So I like to imagine Caspar's older brother as the resident joke villain ala Narcian. So somewhere in the war there's a blue haired imperial officer with a giant ego and very little talent. He probably either dies early on or gets fired by an annoyed Edelgard. 

Edited July 19, 2021 by Etrurian emperor

[Shanty Pete's 1st Mate]

21 hours ago, Jotari said:

The fact that the whole war was in a stalemate for five years definitely suggest things were pretty balanced between the two in terms of military might. Otherwise Edelgard wouldn't have needed Byleth to come back and would have been able to defeat them much sooner.

While I agree that the Empire and the Kingdom-Church Alliance were likely evenly matched, Edelgard may have had other reasons to hold the war at a standstill. Like, maybe she didn't have confidence in being able to defeat Twiztid without the Professor's help. In which case, she'd want to hold off on capturing/killing Rhea.

22 hours ago, Jotari said:

We see her get dog piled by a bunch of demonic beasts, which seems to be a good an indication as any that you'll find for her moment of capture. Edelgard not having Demonic Beasts in Crimson Flower (which I wish was an actual stressed plot point) is also a decent enough explanation as to why she doesn't end up getting captured despite Edelgard having the extra muscle with Byleth on her side.

The "dog-piling" happens beforehand, and Teach shows up to help free the Immaculate One from them. Then, when Teach gets knocked into the crevasse, there appears to be one or two clinging to the Immaculate One. Which she probably could've knocked or shaken off.

That's said, let's suppose those beasts do succeed in holding her down. In that case, why would Rhea end up in Edelgard's captivity (without Twiztid's awareness)? Thales is right there - he literally just attacked the Professor. There's no way he would willingly abandon a chance to take Rhea for himself. As such, I doubt that her capture was immediately after the cutscene in question.

23 hours ago, Jotari said:

I can't remember what they say in the narration, but the fact that the whole defense of Garrek Mach happens directly after defeating Claude, and not at the start of Part 2 like in the other routes suggests to me that attacking Claude gave Dimitri and Rhea the opportunity to push forward and make that battle happen when they couldn't before. It's a shame they didn't have Dimitri and Rhea be the victors and force Edelgard back further into the Empire so we could have had a Crimson Flower Grondor Field battle (just make Claude survive by fleeing to Almyra and then returning with Nader, rather than having Claude have a whole back up army that didn't help him at all). It might just be because of the low number of chapters, but as a narrative Crimson Flower feels like it's altogether too easy for Edelgard. She doesn't really struggle much. It's mostly a matter of deciding to attack a place, doing so and winning. I guess this can be said about most Fire Emblem plots, but it seem to stick out significantly more for me in this one.

Gronder II feels forced every time. In this version, for instance, why would Claude attack Kingdom-Church forces? I know he doesn't care much for Rhea, but they nonetheless would hold a mutual foe in Edelgard.

That said, I really like CF's "Garreg Mach defense" map. On other routes, it feels like a rehash of Chapter 12. CF is helped by having a totally reversed chapter 12, and including some notable named enemies among the post-skip invaders. I'm not a fan of letting the player win in gameplay, then lose in the narrative.

Agreed, though, that CF could have been done better in at least two aspects - length, and personal growth for Edelgard.

[henrymidfields]

1 hour ago, Shanty Pete's 1st Mate said:

While I agree that the Empire and the Kingdom-Church Alliance were likely evenly matched, Edelgard may have had other reasons to hold the war at a standstill. Like, maybe she didn't have confidence in being able to defeat Twiztid without the Professor's help. In which case, she'd want to hold off on capturing/killing Rhea.

...

Gronder II feels forced every time. In this version, for instance, why would Claude attack Kingdom-Church forces? I know he doesn't care much for Rhea, but they nonetheless would hold a mutual foe in Edelgard.

That said, I really like CF's "Garreg Mach defense" map. On other routes, it feels like a rehash of Chapter 12. CF is helped by having a totally reversed chapter 12, and including some notable named enemies among the post-skip invaders. I'm not a fan of letting the player win in gameplay, then lose in the narrative.

Agreed, though, that CF could have been done better in at least two aspects - length, and personal growth for Edelgard.

I've always assumed that this was due to several factors - not all of them directly tied into the current war. It could partly be because she wanted to consolidate her power on her own terms and distance herself away from TWISTD so that they wouldn't cause havoc around her. In fact, I wish there was a flashback scene of her doing her admin during the five year interim, and maybe have at least one or two random supports run and fulfilled.

I don't know if I need any more personal growth for Edie during the war phase. If anything, I would have liked to see more of what she did during the five year interim. I'd liked to have thought that she and Hubert (and Alois if recruited) spent time searching for Byleth, while keeping the group together. In fact, maybe make this her moment to continue to reach out to others and fill in a couple of more side "supports" as part of her character growth. Maybe once she finds out what Ferdinand wants in a noble, say Edelgard reshuffles the nobility system so that it cannot be passed down to the next generation, similar to how British citizens can be knighted today. Maybe Edelgard makes her first attempts at her meritocracy thing, and appoints, say, Manuela as the Surgeon-General in the whole Adrestian Army. In all this, Edelgard learns how to let go, and trust and delegate onto others.

As for the length, chuck in a few extra chapters showing a timeskip and maybe the climatic battle against TWISTD and Nemesis at the end. So Shambala and the missile launcher has been sabotaged, but Thales fled to regroup - they already found out that Edelgard was gunning for them. Then a revived Nemesis and Thales do their last stand against Edelgard. I mean, we have this huge dramatic Chapter 22 in Binding Blade, and 3 more chapters finding the last boss there. If the narrative there works, the same structure 18: Rhea -> 19: Shambala entry -> 20: Shambala -> 21/Final: Nemesis should work as well.

Edited July 19, 2021 by henrymidfields