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The Adrestian Empire and Linhardt

Linhardt wrote:
Hah yeah sorry, I got distracted. I think that that's an issue with many of the Black Eagles. They all pledge their allegiance to the professor or even Edelgard, but rarely what they're actually fighting for. I personally was a supporter of the Empire in the war due to Edelgard's dedication to end the system of entrenched nobility in Fódlan, but many of them don't seem to be as interested in that. Linhardt, however, has a contempt for nobles and people who value pride and nobility. Linhardt has a contempt for politics as well, but I always felt like that was largely because of how it was dominated by boring nobles and bureaucracy.

In fact I think that people like Ferdinand, Bernie, and Dorothea have less convincing motivations than Linhardt. Ferdinand has some interesting elements in his wrestling with the fact that Edelgard imprisoned his father, but that is not explored very much. Likewise, he claims that he wants to convince Edelgard not to abolish the nobility but that conflict of interest is hardly tackled. Why would he fight so loyally for someone who wants to destroy what he loves? He cares about politics but his beliefs are in conflict with the Black Eagle Strike Force. Bernie is definitely better in part II than in part I (as are all the characters) but she doesn't really show much motivation to fight through her fear of people to fight for this. She clearly has reasons to hate Fódlan's traditions and religious values and I would have loved to see her decide to put aside her fears to fight against the Church. She kind of does that but not in a convincing manner. Dorothea, much like Linhardt, detests the horrors that the war brings. Instead of coming to terms with the necessity of Edelgard's actions she seems like she hates being a member of the Strike Force. In fact I think that's the main issue here- there are a decent sum of characters that seem as if they actively dislike being on the Strike Force which makes me just ask why they even bother fighting. They say it's because they trust the professor, but having a teacher you really like as your commander isn't really enough of a reason to be the leading battalion in a massive civil war.

Caspar, Petra, Hubert, Edelgard, and Linhardt, in my opinion, have convincing enough motivations to fight for the Empire. Linhardt detests entitled nobles and highly values freedom, and even though he detests blood and killing, his role is a healer, effectively meaning that his goal is to prevent that from happening to his friends. Edelgard for obvious reasons. Hubert is obsessed with Edelgard (which I think is annoying) but it's very clear that he wouldn't side with anyone else in this war. Petra knows that Edelgard would allow Brigid to remain free and her dedication as a soldier is clear. Caspar doesn't have strong beliefs beyond "being mean = bad" but you can tell he has a love for his comrades in the Black Eagles. Even further, he was screwed over by the feudal system and under Edelgard's meritocratic society, he becomes the war minister (except in his ending with Linhardt, which is adorable as hell).

In short, I think Linhardt has convincing political motivations to fight for the Empire. He dislikes war (as I hope most of us do) but he knows that it's necessary. He wants his friends to stay alive and safe and he wants the war to be over but he also believes in the world that Edelgard is fighting for. If he was an offensive character and actively killing people on the battlefield despite his distaste for killing, then I would have a bigger problem. I think the writers did a poor job of highlighting why he fights. When you ask him why he sided for the Empire, he says "because it would be pointless to fight against Edelgard." I find it hard to believe he would make such an important decision based on that. His beliefs are in line with Edelgard's, why would they not put an emphasis on that?

Yeah, he frequently talks about how when he finds something engaging he loses sleep over it. I don't necessarily think he would have needed to grow out of it, rather that the issue lies in how they present it as him just liking sleep rather than a sort of behavior where he stays up late hyperfocused on something only to sleep in late and be tired all day. I like how he does what he wants even if that makes others feel like he doesn't care, because he cares when he's passionate.

Edit: Grammar

This is true, although I believe that Ferdinand and Dorothea both have very strong motivations to support Edelgard, The Noble State of Aegir put it well in his previous post. perhaps stronger than someone such as Petra or Caspar who are not necessarily as personally invested to the Empire's success.

Linhardt

The Noble State of Aegir wrote:I'm frankly quite shocked you question Dorothea's commitment to Edelgard and her cause.

I should have clarified that I wasn't talking about her commitment to the world that Edelgard is creating, rather her hatred for fighting. She seems constantly depressed by it, which isn't necessarily a problem. It's not really that big of a problem.

I'm not gonna respond to the rest of your points in the interest of not having a dozens-long message chain on this specific topic, and in general almost all of our disagreements on this subject come from differing personal interest in specific characters and principles. Still, thanks for discussing it with me! :)

Linhardt wrote:
I should have clarified that I wasn't talking about her commitment to the world that Edelgard is creating, rather her hatred for fighting. She seems constantly depressed by it, which isn't necessarily a problem. It's not really that big of a problem.

I'm not gonna respond to the rest of your points in the interest of not having a dozens-long message chain on this specific topic, and in general almost all of our disagreements on this subject come from differing personal interest in specific characters and principles. Still, thanks for discussing it with me! :)

I don't really understand how the disagreement can boil down to different personal interests in specific characters. Whether Ferdinand or Dorothea are necessarily in the right or my personal opinion on their ideas isn't relevant, only that their motivations to stick with Edelgard are sound, logical, and substantiated in-game, which I'm confident that I've established pretty well. If you have any reasons to believe otherwise or see my assertions as inadequate in some way, I would love to hear your ideas.

Linhardt

The Noble State of Aegir wrote:their motivations to stick with Edelgard are sound, logical, and substantiated in-game, which I'm confident that I've established pretty well. If you have any reasons to believe otherwise or see my assertions as inadequate in some way, I would love to hear your ideas.

...which is your opinion. Whether something is well-substantiated is a wholly subjective question. I'd also like to add that I'm still playing the other routes of the game and fully understanding Fódlan and its characters. Further:

I don't think that Dorothea doesn't have good reasons to be on the Empire's side, I was more talking about her aversion to war despite being on the battalion that is supposedly the leading force for the Empire. The same is true of Linhardt, although to a lesser degree because he is a healer. My point was more that I think they should have explored further her coming to terms with being on the Force and the horrors of war. For the most part, she just is constantly depressed, which isn't an issue of itself and in fact is a completely normal reaction to war. In fact I agreed with almost everything you said in your last post about her, and quite like her, so I apologize if my posts made it sound like I disliked her. I just think she could have been explored even more in supports and such.

As for what you had to say on Ferdinand: maybe I missed it, but it definitely didn't seem like Edelgard was in favor of retaining the nobility at all. After the war she allows, say, Caspar to be the new war minister despite his lack of inheritance to that position. Perhaps the game is just vague enough that either result could be interpreted from it. She certainly doesn't turn Adrestia into a democracy, seeing as democracy isn't really something that is thought of in that time era of Fódlan, but I don't understand how she could lead a meritocratic, egalitarian Empire if she did not abolish the system of nobility. I'll pay more attention to stuff like this during my new game plus CF playthrough.

Finally I want to say that I wholly agree that there are practically no bad characters. I may be criticizing all of them, but I even warmed up to Ferdinand and Hubert, which were my least favorite Black Eagles, because they all have convincing motivations to believe what they believe. My only issue with all of them is their tendency to fall into tropes, which is especially present in the Black Eagles.

Linhardt wrote:...which is your opinion. Whether something is well-substantiated is a wholly subjective question. I'd also like to add that I'm still playing the other routes of the game and fully understanding Fódlan and its characters. Further:
I don't think that Dorothea doesn't have good reasons to be on the Empire's side, I was more talking about her aversion to war despite being on the battalion that is supposedly the leading force for the Empire. The same is true of Linhardt, although to a lesser degree because he is a healer. My point was more that I think they should have explored further her coming to terms with being on the Force and the horrors of war. For the most part, she just is constantly depressed, which isn't an issue of itself and in fact is a completely normal reaction to war. In fact I agreed with almost everything you said in your last post about her, and quite like her, so I apologize if my posts made it sound like I disliked her. I just think she could have been explored even more in supports and such.

As for what you had to say on Ferdinand: maybe I missed it, but it definitely didn't seem like Edelgard was in favor of retaining the nobility at all. After the war she allows, say, Caspar to be the new war minister despite his lack of inheritance to that position. Perhaps the game is just vague enough that either result could be interpreted from it. She certainly doesn't turn Adrestia into a democracy, seeing as democracy isn't really something that is thought of in that time era of Fódlan, but I don't understand how she could lead a meritocratic, egalitarian Empire if she did not abolish the system of nobility. I'll pay more attention to stuff like this during my new game plus CF playthrough.

Finally I want to say that I wholly agree that there are practically no bad characters. I may be criticizing all of them, but I even warmed up to Ferdinand and Hubert, which were my least favorite Black Eagles, because they all have convincing motivations to believe what they believe. My only issue with all of them is their tendency to fall into tropes, which is especially present in the Black Eagles.

Of course.

Depressed? I suppose I never saw Dorothea as "depressed" when compared with some of the other characters. I essentially understand your desire to hear more about her conflicting opinions on the war, but I personally can't expect too much more than they provided, considering that aspect of her character only emerges after the war begins and most of her A supports should be focused on concluding the arcs of their respected support series. Many of her A supports touch upon this change in mentality and how it impacts her perspective on other characters and issues, which is great, but I'm not expecting an in-depth discussion of her mentality on that when there are so many other interesting dynamics to deal with. I think her post-timeskip monastery dialogue does a solid job of addressing this on its own, supplemented by the bits in-support.

The matter isn't that Edelgard doesn't want to abolish the nobility, but that taking and maintaining control of a feudal state like the Adrestian Empire naturally necessitates the loyalty of enough of the upper classes. She certainly doesn't execute as dramatic a "purge" as she might ideally like, but without the proven loyalty of the general population, many of which still associate with their lords as was customary in feudal society, how could she get anything done. It is a matter of political necessity that she retains Bergliez's and Hevring's loyalty, and if Ferdinand can successfully make personal inroads with her as a close and loyal advisor, perhaps he could ensure that the nobility retains some of its past honor, if only in a titular or vestigial form? Regardless if Edelgard intends to abolish the nobility in its entirety or not, the other reasons I mentioned still apply, let alone the fact that Ferdinand does not necessarily need a government sanction to continue to represent House Aegir, his ancestry and prestige alone can grant him and his descendants his noble pride.

Marriane best girl

I've played all 4 routes, and of the routes, Black Eagles is my least favorite. I'm not sure if that is because I did Black Eagles last, or if it is because it is my least played route. But I just enjoy the Golden Deer and Blue Lions better.

Marriane best girl wrote:I've played all 4 routes, and of the routes, Black Eagles is my least favorite. I'm not sure if that is because I did Black Eagles last, or if it is because it is my least played route. But I just enjoy the Golden Deer and Blue Lions better.

You mean CF I presume? Even though it was my first, I think SS is by far the worst

It's just an objectively inferior version of VW, CF may be short, but it's the most unique route and offers the opportunity to fight at Tailtean Arianhrhod and against different people from a different perspective. CF's short length does limit it though.

Post by Marriane best girl suppressed by The Noble State of Aegir.

Marriane best girl

Both CF and SS were done after I completed at least one run of VW and AM. It doesn't help that I ragequit on CF endgame because of all that damn fire chipping everyone to death. Just the idea of all the wasted potential for both SS and CF doesn't help any either.

Marriane best girl wrote:
Both CF and SS were done after I completed at least one run of VW and AM. It doesn't help that I ragequit on CF endgame because of all that damn fire chipping everyone to death. Just the idea of all the wasted potential for both SS and CF doesn't help any either.

Understandable.

I went SS->CF->AM->VW. AM was distinctly more polished and distinct than the other three, and had I not done SS first, I almost certainly would have found it very boring. Interesting to hear you had so much difficulty with CF's final map. I found it to be a decent challenge on Hard, although less so than AM with its massive swarms of gremories and mortal savants and SS, where I found the IO much harder to beat (on normal) What difficulty were you playing on?

Marriane best girl

I'm assuming you suppressed my comment to avoid possible spoilers for people who have yet to reach CF endgame?

Marriane best girl wrote:I'm assuming you suppressed my comment to avoid possible spoilers for people who have yet to reach CF endgame?

Yeah, as stipulated in the regional rules.

Marriane best girl wrote:I'm assuming you suppressed my comment to avoid possible spoilers for people who have yet to reach CF endgame?

Yes, please use [ spoiler ] tags to conceal post-timeskip information on the Regional Message Boards. I am a bit disappointed you think CF is the worst,

as while it was short and a bit lacking in cutscenes, I thought the maps and gameplay it did have was generally better than much of the other routes

Lysithea-Chan wrote:Lindhart and Lysithea? I don’t think those two would get along well at all in a romantic relationship ngl, but if you can justify it, you can write it

I mean, I can see why you might say that...but I wanted both to star in my story, and well, I want to make it work.

I think justifying it is going to be less difficult than with Hubert and Petra, another pair I'm planning out... With Linhardt and Lysithea, they're sort of going to fall into it. I'm not quite sure how to go about it yet, so I'm delaying them getting together. Whatever I end up doing, they'll have to grow into it. I feel like you can justify almost any pairing in this game, because most of them are at least cordial, and decent people. Not to say people just have romantic feelings for any or all of their friends, but I mean, you could make someone look good in the right light.

I mean, okay, anyone pairing Edelgard with Rhea is just wrong. But other than that, or say, eh, Byleth with Kronya, I could see almost any relationship in this game, with enough time, happening. Not to say all of them are as obvious as others...but anything is possible with the right push towards it. Honestly, the only couple I ever shipped in the game while playing was Byleth with Edelgard. Maybe Caspar and Dorothea a little, but not much.

Maybe I just like to be niche with who I pair together.

The Adrestian Empire wrote:Yes, please use [ spoiler ] tags to conceal post-timeskip information on the Regional Message Boards. I am a bit disappointed you think CF is the worst,
as while it was short and a bit lacking in cutscenes, I thought the maps and gameplay it did have was generally better than much of the other routes

I can't speak for Marianne, but for myself, the length of Crimson Flower was a serious hinderance. I loved the route, but when I discovered how short it was, and then saw how it was much shorter than the others, including SS, I was bothered.

Look, the gameplay is great. Crimson Flower has awesome battles. I'd have to play all of the others first to decide if they're better, but they are great. However, I expect gameplay to be great. I'm not playing a game that is a bore.

What makes a route great, is how satisfying it is as a final piece. I've discussed this with Aegir before. I know some people first approached this game as a chance to get into the strategy. I like grand strategy games, and am a big fan of turn-based games like Fire Emblem. But I have never once played an RPG primarily for that. It's the story I care about.

We could talk about the lost opportunities for expansion on certain groups in Crimson Flower, perhaps something with Brigid.

But really, the more glaring issue is just the length itself. They should not have drawn it out, and take the same story already there, but take longer. That's pointless. But there was not enough. I'm not only not bored yet with the Black Eagles (As in, I still want to hang out with them more), I'm not satisified.

Games lead you through an emotional arc. You start off just curious, become emotionally invested, get led on a roller coaster, where they, the developers, want you to keep wanting more. They keep you hungry. Then, it's supposed to end in a climax, a grand finish. The dessert.

The dessert in Crimson Flower was sweet. But the main course wasn't filling.

What I mean is, besides all the unaddressed problems, I felt like I was dropped off a plot cliff.

They brought me on a high, to the point I was rooting for these folks, totally embracing the culture and sentiments of the Empire. I was a proud Adrestian citizen.

Then it just ends.

A post-time skip should not be shorter than the preparatory period.

That's the issue.

The post-time skip, crimson flower proper, was significantly shorter than the Monastery period.

The Monastery plotline was certainly interesting, but that phase in Fire Emblem games is what is suppose to lead up to, prepare you for the war phase.

In older games before this, in between time-skips, you got married and had kids.

I'm not against the fact they removed that aspect in this game, for several glaring reasons. (Such as Byleth's relationship with the characters...) and it gave more time for relationships to deepen. Byleth and Edelgard's would have been worse-off.

But the point is, the post-time skip should be the focus. It's where everything gets intense, people are forming strong alliances, even relationships.

I mean, what happened in the Monastery phase, I would not want them to get rid of. You could excuse it as they wanted to really tell that story. But then the post-time skip phase was just cleanup...

Except it totally wasn't, it was supposed to the climax of everything. Also, considering Crimson Flower was much shorter, then they obviously didn't see the others that way.

A reign period, after what did happen in Crimson Flower would make a ton of sense, considering Edelgard's other goals. Maybe it would focus on Enbarr.

I felt the game set-me up. I seriously felt like I was maybe, maybe halfway through the game by Derdriu.

The whole game

That's how I felt in terms of sentiment, my emotional state, and the pacing. The Monastery phase was loooong. I could not believe they'd cut this short.

It's like if a book has all of the set-up, gets you really attached to the characters...then...

They just win, and it's over.

10 chapters for Leicester, 10 for Faerghus, 9 for the Church...6 for Adrestia.

As a writer, I get that when a story is done, it's done. It's dumb to drag it out. Maybe I liked it so much partly because it wasn't dragged out. I don't see how it was complete at all.

I definitely loved it, and thought it was awesome. I was just disappointed that I didn't reach closure. I felt the final support scene was too short, and so was the whole route.

SS was not an advertised side. When I bought the game, I thought I was choosing Adrestia, Leicester, or Faerghus. It's great that it exists, I love that. But Edelgard is on the game's cover box. Her route should be as long as the others.

Forget the Slitherer's. There could have been something with the grumbling Lord's of the Empire, another insurrection situation. Internal conflict. There could have been something in Adrestia, following the family of say, Bernadetta, that ends up expanding on all of the characters.

Lord knows Hubert could use it. Some internal problem with Hevring that offers us something with Hubert, and again, expands on the others (Longer than a paralogue. A full main mission) would mean so much.

I mean, I'm sure you could argue this for any character, any route. There is always room for more. I just feel they left a lot of meat on the table for Adrestia.

We are told Arundel is terrible, the guy who hurt our poor El. Every other parent in Adrestia besides Ionius seems terrible. We're made to hate them as much as anyone else, maybe more, because it's personal...

Yet we don't get to confront them? I really have never bought into the idea that dev's should leave something like that up to the imagination.

Let me leave it up to the imagination who they all end up with, or if they remain friends.

There is literally no one who does not want to beat the heck out of that woman's Uncle or Bernadetta's Dad, and there is no one who would dislike learning more about these folk's trauma, past, or Adrestia's nobility El hates so much (It would be a way to show how right she is, or let you decide if she is. Maybe some of the Nobles don't seem so bad). I mean, maybe they were afraid to do that? I could see how they could screw it up with Edelgard, they don't want her to be just the official trauma girl of the game. Some of them dealt with legitimately abusive parents/relatives.

But I'd love to touch on that, and more importantly, I wanted them to delve deep. Considering Adrestia justify's its motives on the basis of justice, and all of the Adrestian players were somehow wronged by the nobility, crest system, or the Church, slamming home how they have hurt the country would mean a lot. Not just the characters, but Adrestia. Showing the country's disrepair, the suffering the people, specifically because of the deranged, totally pragmatic actions of the nobility and church without regard for the people. I mean, consider how easily they throw people away, without concern. How is that not incorporated into a dedicated mission? Really breaking through the decadence and greed of the establishment.

Really, considering how some parts of the community think Edelgard is the devil or something, offering a chance for her 1. To be sympathized with and 2. Justify herself more (As in, by I don't know, maybe the route has more exclusive intelligence about Rhea and the Church, something to really make you question their motives more.) would be good. Of course, the dev's want to balance the routes. So making Rhea be pure evil, would not be great. But I don't know, a negative painting of Rhea's handling of Sitri, and Byleth's birth would make sense. Maybe they dig up whats-it-hooser from the Abyss, and see some of his justification. I don't think he was just nuts, Jeralt literally burnt down a library for his kid. They can't end that with Rhea telling Byleth 'oh yes, she wanted you to live, I gave her your heart.'

Have them somehow dig into some less savory motives or past actions of the Church. Maybe the 'real scoop' on the western church. I don't man, all countries have propoganda. Show me it all.

The Noble State of Aegir It's 15 days in, but I'm finally working on maybe responding to that reddit post....maybe. I sort of thing making a new thread myself might be more productive, considering how old it is, and my major problem is not the post, it's the fan-boying in the Fire Emblem community.

Also...I'm playing the game again...for research purposes. I wanted to say:

I forgot how much I disliked Monica von Ochs immediately. I mean, she's set up pretty obviously as suspicious, but that is not what annoyed me about her.

No, the worst thing about her is that she keeps taking Edelgard's time up. I wanted to have tea time with my house leader, and I can't. Ugh. Is it weird to be jealous of a videogame character stealing time from your favorite?

Hubert even mentions how much she is focused on Edelgard. I felt myself getting protective.

Also...

She broke me with this line (Edelgard): "But maybe it's better to have someone to rely on... so that you can support and guide each other through the darkness." after the battle of eagle and lion.

This might be the fact I learned public speaking from MLK (As In I'm inspire by his speaking style) but I love how she talks in terms of light and darkness. I'm just screaming at the screen, saying: "Yes girl! Speak the truth! We need to stand together against the darkness."

'Darkness cannot banish darkness. Only the light can do that.' - MLK.

Edelgard speaks like a prophet, a preacher, or a civil rights icon. My type of leader.

Any good ideas for polls to get our fine region to some activity? (The Noble State of Aegir)

The Adrestian Empire wrote:Any good ideas for polls to get our fine region to some activity? (The Noble State of Aegir)

Okay. I've got one. Everybody vote!

The Noble State of Aegir wrote:Okay. I've got one. Everybody vote!

Thank you. And yes, please vote!

Figured I might as well move a puppet here. I wanted to vote in the poll. Y'all need a proper Adrestia in this place. I think the boy's poll will be a contentious one. Ferdinand and Caspar feel like obvious choices, but Linhardt could pull one. Maybe Hubert will shock us all.

Marriane best girl

Where exactly is this poll?

The Empire of Adrestia wrote:Figured I might as well move a puppet here. I wanted to vote in the poll. Y'all need a proper Adrestia in this place. I think the boy's poll will be a contentious one. Ferdinand and Caspar feel like obvious choices, but Linhardt could pull one. Maybe Hubert will shock us all.

Indeed. Welcome, Adrestian comrade, to our fine region.

Marriane best girl wrote:Where exactly is this poll?

I presume it is based on your personal opinion, not necessarily any specific attribute, such as combat effectiveness like our previous polls.

Edelgard would be bar none the best Black Eagle fighter...if only she moved more than five feet. She hits like a train, but the train is a steam train...off its rails...underwater...in the snow...on ice...while somehow tunnelling through solid rock. Petra wins for combat. Edelgard is the best in every other way though.

Marriane best girl wrote:Where exactly is this poll?

It's above RMB on the regions main page.

The Empire of Adrestia wrote:Figured I might as well move a puppet here. I wanted to vote in the poll. Y'all need a proper Adrestia in this place. I think the boy's poll will be a contentious one. Ferdinand and Caspar feel like obvious choices, but Linhardt could pull one. Maybe Hubert will shock us all.

Good question. I suspect Linhardt will perform well.

Also, apologies for forgetting to open the poll to non region members.

Poor Bernie... Somebody give some love to Bernie. It's a three-way tie to just embarrass Bernie.

This result so far really just screams Bernie. She'd have something to say about it.

The Empire of Adrestia wrote:Edelgard would be bar none the best Black Eagle fighter...if only she moved more than five feet. She hits like a train, but the train is a steam train...off its rails...underwater...in the snow...on ice...while somehow tunnelling through solid rock. Petra wins for combat. Edelgard is the best in every other way though. It's above RMB on the regions main page.

Indeed. House leaders develop easily and hit hard, and considering how Petra can have difficulty taking damage (especially if she is improperly trained, I would argue that Edelgard is the best unit of the Black Eagles, not to mention character.

No offense meant to Petra Macneary of course, you are still an excellent, albeit quite different unit with more versatility in weapons than our emperor. Looking at our poll, I'm wondering where all the Bernadetta fans are... I know the poll is closed to nations outside of the region and that she is a generally divisive character, but I would at least expect a bit of representation. Well, come on over and represent, Bernadetta fans.

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