#bearrants

oh my godd thank you for agreeing i thought i was just being sensitive fjsdkfs. but i agree completely 100% like. ok. fe fans ask for a strong female character. we got it. asked for a female character who has complex morals/struggles. we got it. and what do yall do? call her racist and say she hates the poor. some people r so fucking rude i stg. (some more ranting under the cut. spoilers for black eagles empire route)

i luckily havent seen anyone call edeleth problematic from my experiences but even without all the Angst/Drama, just the fact that byleth is the one who changes edelgard the Most is what gets to me

correct me if im wrong because of course i havent played the other routes, but from what ive seen/heard, regardless of which house you pick, dimitri is still a bit Off The Chain and Hurting and Claude is still the Chill Guy

I agree so much! Im glad you used the words protagonist and antagonist bc I'm so tired of people saying she's a "villain" like. Just because she's the opposing force in their house.

But villains are usually more malicious characters, and just reading Any dialogue with edelgard or listening to anything she has to say about the crests and their relation to her really clears that her intent is anything but malicious.

It's more her methods that can be seen as extreme but even then, looking at the big picture of her situation again, theres arguably not much else she could've done to reach her goal. which contributes to how immersive this game and her character are because I'm not bashing my head over the table over the same old "I want power because power good" rhetoric.

Also, considering all her experiences, I think her drive and refusal to crumble beneath the pressure of her trauma with crests and the empire, and instead focusing on wanting to make a world where no one ever has to hurt like her again is nothing short of admirable. She could've wallowed, sworn for revenge against any and all those who wronged her, or live the rest of her life in a world that she can only dig her heels in the dirt and endure, never doing anything about the torture she knows will continue. But she doesn't. She starts a rebellion against the manipulating power of the church, and even then, will not allow for meaningless sacrifice. She gives people a chance to surrender, and yet is determined to fight with her heart and only remove those absolutely necessary to completing her goal.