Musings, Headcanons, and Interpretations Masterpost
This post will be updated periodically with my thoughts about a wide variety of subjects regarding Ivy and Elusia. For headcanons or interpretations regarding Elusia or Elyos, I neither require nor expect fellow muns to adopt them. I simply want to share my interpretations and how I came to them.
Most of this won't be as worded as eloquently as this introduction. And I expect to go off topic sometimes. If subjects are not alphabetized now, expect them to be alphabetized later. If they never are, it's probably kept as linear as possible.
Updated August 10
Added: Nobility in Elusia
This post contains mentions of eugenics and non-explicit views on sex.
Let's jump into it—
Elusia's Royal Court
Quick thing, I've taken to calling Ivy's mother Primrose, because typing "Ivy's mother" every five seconds hurts my fingers and eyes.
We don't hear much about the court in the game. Ivy and Hortensia are the only ones who talk about it, and when they do, they're vague. Ivy reveals the most information. We know (a) her mother was the one behind most if not all the schemes/plots, (b) Ivy was part of it, (c) Hortensia's mother managed to work her way into Primrose's good graces with her charisma.
HOWEVER!! What we also know is that no other country had this happen — no other royal brings up any kind of political intrigue that is similar to Ivy and Hortensia's experience in Elusia's court. All the other monarchs are monogamous; or if they do have consorts/concubines, there is no political discourse over who is the rightful heir to the throne.
And... that is why I believe that Hyacinth and past Elusian royals practiced (watered down) eugenics. (And no, this is not saying that it's okay they did, lol) I know that's a jump, but I didn't arrive at it halfheartedly or joyously.
First question one must ask: why did only Elusia only have this kind of turmoil? The kingdom of Nohr from Fates provides a clear example of the answer. Much like Elusia, the Nohrian kingdom had the concubine wars. In Nohr and in Elusia, there is a struggle for power for the wives/concubines/consorts of the king.
Xander is the eldest of the Nohrian siblings, the crown prince, and the son of Queen Katerina, Garon's first late wife. Azura states in her supports that she was treated terribly in Nohr because many Nohrians hated Queen Arete's milkshake (singing) for bringing King Garon to the yard. Queen Katerina was loved, but Queen Arete was not. And it shows, because Xander does not state anywhere in his supports that he is affected by the concubine wars. At least, not the to the effect as Leo, Azura, and Camilla. Xander, the eldest, did not have to struggle for power.
Comparatively, Ivy is affected by the power struggle in the Elusian court. Her mother Primrose the QUEEN OF ELUSIA, HYACINTH'S OWN WIFE, IS IN THE MIDDLE OF IT.
WHY! WHY!? I'LL TELL YOU WHY! Because neither Primrose nor Ivy's positions were guaranteed.
Why would that be? One might simply chalk it up to Hyacinth being some dirtbag who likes to see people fight for power, but I don't see much evidence supporting that. What I do see, however, is a warmongering nation snapping at their heels and pushing them to the point they'd worship a fell dragon (more on this later) and then revive him. And even before they decide to revive Sombrom, Lumera won't help, Firene won't help, Solm won't help. They are alone. They are isolated. For them, it is survive or die at the hands of barbarians.
My theory then is that, perhaps, in an attempt to provide an equivalent Brodia's raw (physical) strength, a previous monarch started to take on several partners to have children with. Whomever was the strongest would be the heir to the throne, and whomever proved their worth survived.
If Ivy died or was stripped of her title, while it might bring shame to the queen, it shouldn't affect her much. The only answer to why Primrose would make Ivy participate in all of these schemes is because Primrose's status would be affected greatly. If Ivy, the queen's own daughter, showed weakness or failed, she would either die or be overpowered by another. And that would reflect badly on the queen.
I guess it could be interpreted as Ivy's mother drunk on power and wanting to just have her daughter get the throne, but.... idk that doesn't feel like that's what happened to me. Hyacinth being desperate bc of Brodia's strength that he'd procreate with as many consorts as he can to create as many princes/princesses as he can that may be able to rival the Brodian armies and royals makes waaaaaay more sense to me.
And no, of course, Ivy will not continue that tradition. There's no need to! Yay peace! This leads into my next point though.
Beauty & Reputation
Elusia seems to value beauty and knowledge, but they specialize in healing magic. When you max out your rank with Elusia, they give you a healing staff. My headcanon is that the capitol of Elusia is the healing capitol of Elyos.
For the beauty portion, this is evident in the way the castle is structured. It's gothic style; you could slap this castle in any horror fantasy evil land and everyone would be like yeah Dracula fucking lives there. Some of the characters (I forgot exactly who, I think some Brodians?) comment on the castle's map that it's beautiful but not strong. The windows are tall and beautiful; light reflects off snow, so I can see Elusians originally putting in stainglass because of how beautiful the light would hit it and because it adds some color.
In a description about one of the Elusian outfits, it's said they enchant their dyes. Firene also has unique dying techniques, but they don't enchant. This speaks to Elusia's reputation as a kingdom of knowledge and beauty. It is so extra to enchant the dyes...
On top of that, my belief is that they enchant their dyes because of the lack of resources. They can't use intense dying techniques like Firene, so they use magic to improve how much they can get out of the dye.
The value of aesthetics and beauty is also seen plainly in the way Hortensia and Ivy address others, each other, and how they dress. Goldmary and Rosado clearly value beauty, but it seems Zelkov and Kagetsu don't put the same effort of their attire/appearance like Hortensia, Ivy, Goldmary, and Rosado. This is just from my observation, not a headcanon.
The first time meeting Hortensia, she comments on Alear's beauty. The same happens in the first meeting with Ivy: she comments on Alear's beauty. That's their first impression of a person: their appearance.
I feel Hortensia holds similar values to Ivy in terms of appearance, but she's not my muse, so it's all on you, Nel 🫡
Ivy's value for her appearance is apparent in the way she dresses, as simple as that. (And, in the Japanese text, her fun fact in the game is that she has the smoothest skin. Girl, no one gets that kind of recognition for their skin without some kind of work LMAO).
The (in)famous cutscene where Ivy enters the Brodian castle, swaying her hips and giving the sexiest and cunning smile like... she knew exactly what she was doing.
There's a popular fandom interpretation of Ivy being a failgirl or failwife and being smitten with Alear (more on this later), and yeah, no. No. Not her.
For example, the cutscene. Yes, she practiced it. Yes, she perfected how she presented herself. But it wasn't because she was scared or nervous that she would embarrass herself. Ivy dresses and acts the way she does to present a particular image that she wants others to see. She acted and moved that way in the cutscene to intimidate. She presents herself as sexy, confident, cold and heartless, and powerful. She's a deadly rose; come close, she dares you.
Who the fuck dresses like that when you're from the coldest fucking kingdom? A bad bitch that's who. Well, we know who, but why.
Why, indeed. It's simple: the court influenced her that much. Rather, it was probably her mother and the court.
My opinion is that Primrose forced Ivy to dress and act beautiful. No weakness, no wrinkles, no blemishes. Her actions are perfect. Her words are chosen carefully. She hides her emotions so well, it's noted in her bio in the game itself. She's so desperate to hide her fear of ghosts (more later) too; she can't let anyone know something can rattle her so much and so easily.
Additionally, her outfit forces a viewer's attention away from her face. Her fascinator covers her face, and her promoted class covers it even more with the roses. It's only when she's crowned queen does she allow herself to be seen. Though, she's still on her guard, what with those thorns on her hands.
On top of that, her outfit shows a lot of skin. Yeah, okay, whatever, fanservice, but I genuinely think it's because she would not be respected in the court if she wasn't attractive or beautiful. I don't have much to support this, but I believe Elusian women were/are not... treated well if they aren't beautiful. This could just be something that only occurs in the royal court. And honestly, I think that's the case.
Primrose's beauty and wit is probably what made her queen in the first place. And to keep that... her daughter had to be the same, if not better. More beautiful, more perfect, and smarter than anyone.
This ties into my headcanon that Ivy values her reputation and how others see her. Old habits die hard, but also her appearance is one reason why she managed to survive the court intrigue. She keeps it up, because she cannot afford to lose that respect. If Elusians judge others by appearance first, then she needs to go above and beyond their standards.
Ivy's TOA Outfit
Here!
The importance of her appearance is why I commissioned Aster to draw Ivy's TOA outfit. There's no thorns; she's outwardly putting down indicators that say she doesn't want people to get close, because she's an instructor. She can't just tell her students to fuck off! She has more class than that!
But she still shows how beautiful she is.
Religion (Elusia)
My headcanon is that Elusia used to worship the divine dragon, but stopped because Lumera didn't do jack shit to stop Brodia from trying to invade them. So, they turn to someone who would or at the very least would give them the power to stop Brodia. It's probably been like that for like... a hundred or so years, from the way others talk about Elusia in the game.
That said, Ivy's view on religion differs because she didn't want power; she didn't like the fell dragon religion and their beliefs. The divine gives her hope that everything will be okay; that she'll be safe, that Elusia will be safe from Brodia.
Religion (Ivy), Familial/Platonic Love
Ivy's view of Alear goes beyond a worshipper. It's infatuation. It's obsession. She is unable to tell the difference between the nuances of the different forms of love. At first, upon seeing Alear's beauty, kindness, benevolence, and power, she knows, without a doubt, that she loves Alear. She says that in their B support; states it clearly that she knows it is not romantic, but she knows she loves them.
In her A support with Alear, she's calmed down, able to sort out her feelings of infatuation for Alear, but it's still a lot. It's why she asks Alear to be more formal; don't be so kind (and familiar) with her. Her feelings are still present, they are still intense, it is still obsession, but the war and Alear's status as a deity helps keep those in check. It takes all her willpower not to fangirl around Alear in the beginning.
Now, at TOA, Ivy has calmed down, but her feelings of infatuation are still intense, just given an outlet in different forms, like praying and reminding herself that Alear is an individual and her friend.
Ivy's familial/platonic love is straightforward. She dotes. She gives thoughtful gifts. But any gift for anyone would be thoughtful from her. Nothing she does is without reason.
Romantic/Sexual Love, Ships, & Alt!Ivy
Romantically and sexually... Ivy is lovestarved. Because of this, her (romantic and sexual) love is obsessive, overwhelming, and intense. She loves hard. She loves passionately.
Alt!Ivy sought out love through empty flattery and sexual relations with everyone and anyone. Though the English translation of the conversation between Zelkov and Kagetsu imply this kind of relation or desire, the Japanese text is more explicit: Zelkov was one of her partners and Kagetsu rejected her sexual advances.
For alt!Ivy, romantic and sexual love are the exact same thing. She probably has more partners.
I will have to explore what might have led to this later for alt!Ivy... but for now, that's all I got.
With canon Ivy... it's... complex. There isn't much difference between romance and sex for her. Like alt!Ivy, she still sees sex as an expression of love. Actions speak loudly; sex is a way for her to loudly say she loves someone romantically.
This is where it comes to ships. Just a reminder these are my thoughts and interpretations.
I don't think Ivy can be easily shipped with many. (In verses that stray from the setting, like modern, this is different, I feel). I realized this when thinking of a possible scenario to write in a kiss to Pandreo (Lilly). I thought of an au, where she loved Pandreo, could be a reasonable thing to send, but as I continued to discuss it with Lilly, I realized she would be kind of... intense.
Very intense. Crazy intense. A lot of this would be due to Pandreo's disposition and position. There's a minor abuse of power, and I think, in the back of her mind, Ivy knows it, but she ignores it because it's love, right?
To clarify, she is not abusive or maliciously manipulative. If her partner wants out, they get out. That doesn't mean her obsession stops. She might fall out of love. Slowly but surely.
This is a long winded way of saying, while she could theoretically love/have a relationship with a good chunk of the cast, I don't think it'd work well or last long. It would get intense. It would get overwhelming. She'd get obsessive.
With Pandreo as an example, as Lilly put it:
Lilly: its ok if it gets obsessive he will tell her to go get help and then if she doesnt he will simply break up with her Lilly: PANDREO FIRE EMBLEM, A MAN OF BOUNDARIES Jae: Pandreo: go to therapy but not with me Lilly: pandreo vc: this is nawt a couples therapy thing kween this is all you ill see u after u get medicated 🫰
There is one popular ship for Ivy: Alear. While, I do think it is possible for Alear/Ivy to become a long term relationship, I don't think it would be possible without a lot, a lot, a lot of time for Ivy to work out her feelings for Alear, because as I said: it would get obsessive and intense very, very quickly.
Which leads me to Diamant and why I truly believe it to be a ship that works very well for Ivy. (Nat and I talk about this a lot oop).
The distance between them helps her cool off. Their responsibilities keep them busy. He's not her deity; he's not beneath her station. He's straightforward; the man had no ulterior motive outside of peace for their countries. He quickly and easily subverts her image of a Brodian. And he accepts that passionate love, because his love is also passionate.
While I don't intend nor will focus on her romantic feelings for her journey through TOA, a good portion of it will, because her love is obsessive, it consumes her to a degree.
No, she will not lose her personality or goals with it, but that love is a part of her, because for a very long time, she did not have the opportunity or freedom to feel comfortable enough to be.
Now, she is in a safe place to love and be loved.
Hobbies
Nice segway to this. She's got no hobbies in canon, didcha see? It hurts my heart... I believe it's because she wasn't allowed to have hobbies. "No fun allowed" kind of thing.
But, it's clear she still had some hobbies, even if she didn't intend for them to become hobbies. Reading, studying, crafts. She can make jewelry easily; and she's very good at it! She enjoys making something beautiful.
Other potential hobbies to discover, if she hasn't dabbled in it already, include art, sewing/embroidery, and (indoor) gardening.
Nobility in Elusia
*deep breath* okay. I said it before, I'll say it again. No, I am not demanding any other muns use my headcanons. Can you? Yes. But I'm not gonna demand you use them, okay. I am infected by brainworms.
You may be used to nobility in fantasy/Fire Emblem being structured similarly to the British nobility in regards to titles, status, and what both imply in regards to the world. For example, Barons are on the bottom rung of nobility, in many cases. You may see characters with this title or in these families trying to marry someone of a higher status (like a Count). Typically, the higher the status, the richer and more powerful they are. "Power" here referring to how they may contribute to their kingdom or empire, how much sway they have in the royal court/with the monarch, and how much influence they have with other foreign and domestic nobility.
How the nobility interacts with the royalty varies. Some nobility may have more money than the royal family, so it is imperative that the royals make sure the noble family stays loyal and satisfied. Or you can just blackmail them. Whatever works!
I discuss common portrayals of nobility, because, to me, nobility in Elusia works differently. The manga may do something different, because it is very common to go ^^^ the above route(s). If it does, I am sticking with my interpretation for reasons I'll discuss.
In Elusia, nobility do not have titles, at least, nothing like Count, Viscount, etc. They are called "Houses". One would refer to a House member as "Name of House Muscari" — Muscari, here, being used for this example — and shorthanded to "Name Muscari" like a surname.
Family members related to the family head can also take on the House name as their surname. With those who may not know the name of each family member in a House, or even servants, it is acceptable to refer to a family member as "Lady/Lord/Master/Patrician Muscari".
Territories and members of Houses are large. The family figurehead can further divide the territory up to their family, so it is easier to care for.
Nobility does not have power over the royal family in Elusia. Not in wealth and not in legislation and not in beauty. Referring back to my ^ first headcanon regarding the royal family, I don't think previous monarchs would have allowed nobility to have power over them, in every sense of the word.
...That doesn't mean people don't try. Even Ivy refers to other Elusians in the noble/royal court as devious and greedy and liars. If they can't get power through money or law, then murder and manipulation are the next best thing!
Below, you will find a map I made of the territories of Elusian nobility. Each House has a particular task or focus that they excel in or that they've been tasked with by the royal family. Figureheads of Houses attend meetings at Elusia Castle with the monarch and any other important figures (that I cannot think of at the moment). The army of Elusia is under the monarch's command. Houses can use soldiers that have been assigned to them, but to mobilize any more than that is considered treason.
One of the biggest and main reasons why I headcanon/interpret this for Elusia is because of the lack of mention of nobility with their titles and the implication from Hyacinth that nobody fought him when it came to reviving Sombron. Ivy also never mentions power struggles with nobility or being influenced by them. To compare, Diamant talks about Brodian nobles and how much influence they have in Brodia, even against the royal family. You know (gestures) against this brickhouse of a family.
My interpretation is that nobles have a lot of money in Brodia and use that as leverage. Since we do not see or hear of this happening in Elusia, my thought is... it's the opposite. Nobles do not have that kind of influence or sway in Elusia. (As I said before, murder and manipulation are the next best thing!)
I will be going over the territories from left to right, top to bottom.
Sylve
A family of leaders, warriors, and mages. They are tasked with border defense against the Brodians. House Sylve absorbed House Tamarindus after the family fell in a Brodian raid. House Sylve are the most outspoken against Brodia.
Wisteria
The largest territory with a close family. They focus on wyvern breeding and patrolling the skies in other territories. They also breed and care for the mounts of the royal family. They work closely with the royal family.
Silverbell
The smallest territory. They are tasked with maintaining Destinea Cathedral. They also work closely with the royal family. The head of the Elusia's clergy is a member of this House. They help plan and set up religious ceremonies ranging from royal weddings to funerals.
Juniperus
Tasked with overseeing Elusia's trade from its routes to imports and exports. The merchant's guild is located in this territory. It's a very small guild though. They help other territories and houses with transporting goods. Mache, kale, spinach, and carrots are commonly farmed here with the help of cold frames and polytunnels.
Muscari
House tasked with breeding and training pegasi. They also herd sheep and goats. Farms for cranberries, winter squash, hardy pears, and mustard greens can be found here.
Zenkeri
Family of warriors, similar to Sylve. They focus on providing protection to any travelers for the forest. They lead and organize hunts for bandits in the forest. Very controlling. Frequently meet with House Rhus, House Ilex, and House Astillbe. Blueberries are a very big export for this territory. Breeds horses.
Astillbe
House tasked with most of Elusia's farming. Lettuce, pac choi, scallions, crab apples, apricots, grapes, elder berries, and more. Genetically/magically altered the rye grain to withstand Elusia's temperature and rainfall. Most of Elusia's rye grows here.
Rhus
Territory with plenty of fishermen. One of the smaller territories and houses. House Rhus dislikes House Zenkeri and will oppose them in almost anything. While fishing is plentiful, it is nothing like Brodia's fishing industry. Downy cherries, blackberries, and tatsoi are farmed here.
Ilex
Territory that focuses on farming. Tasked with also protecting travelers in the forest and hunting bandits. Blackberries, downy cherries, blueberries, currants, kale, spinach, and arugula are farmed here.
Cranesbill
Tasked with manning the border between Solm and Elusia. They focus on fruits and vegetables that may not be able to grow in Elusia's other cold climates. Known for their excellent craftsmanship when it comes to ships.
