#cleobulus

A Fire Emblem Three Hopes commission I made for @azelfandquilava, featuring Hapi, Cleobulus, Edelgard and Shez.

Clinging to the idea of Byleth x Cleobulus like a rabid dog.

I‘ll take good care of you.

Headcanons for 👾Those Who Dubstep Deep Below👾? Certainly. This'll be a long one.

(Reminder that these are all headcanons and not intended to be fact.)

Agarthans

My personal theory is that their numbers dwindled so much that they simply decided to stop having children altogether, instead focusing their energy on science and prolonging their lives to the same lengths as Nabateans using what they learn from their corpses.

The result of their research took the form of vessels that could be made and remade over and over again to implant themselves into - the exact same thing Rhea was doing to bring back Sothis, only much more successful. It is why, despite apparently being the original humans, you have Agarthans that have existed since the fall of Nemesis when they shouldn't be able to live this long.*

*Side note: If you want to think of it in an Adam and Eve situation, the Agarthans could already have immensely long life spans as the first humans, meaning the humans of Fodlan created by Sothis have much shorter lifespans as a result. (Though this could easily be debunked by looking at characters from other countries.)

Though, I would say there are outliers like Kronya, who is very obviously younger than the rest of them. She likely was one of the few new Agarthans, likely born within 100 years or less of the current timeline. So, maybe they can have children and occasionally do, but in a Frieren elves situation, they have no desire to.

Solon 🧠

He is the best at what he does, but not because he's been doing it the longest. Solon is simply the most proficient at it. Solon probably took to body snatching and the research required to make proper hosts much faster than the rest, clearly showing a much higher capacity for deception and cunning than the others by moving about undetected throughout the entirety of his time as Tomas.

And I believe it is because he worked with Epimenedes directly, but was swayed by Thales to betray him.

Misc.

Experiments on himself using magic/tech he's already tested on other disposable subjects. (Probably why he appears more monstrous than the others.)

Had a hand in the construction of magic cores and direct access to Nabatean corpses.

Probably part of the group that experimented on Lysithea (would explain how he learned about Tomas, who came from Ordelia)

Kronya 🔪

Very obviously young by Agarthan standards. She hadn't had enough time to learn the long-con, so people were immediately suspicious of her. In addition, her begging Byleth to save her life in 3Houses when Solon used her as a sacrifice also speaks to her age. Were she older, she never would have considered entreating a "lowly beast" to help her, even if she was dying a slow and agonizing death for the sake of her people's future.

If I recall correctly, none of the other Agarthans in 3Houses/3Hopes ever did that. Not even once.

Misc.

Nepo-baby. Only working in the open because she'd otherwise be in the way in Shambala.

Collects trophies from missions.

A fantastic fight, but "she jinxes every job."

Keeps getting herself into life-threatening trouble that results in her body needing to be replaced too often.

Young enough to not know who Epimenedes is.

Could potentially have been successfully rehabilitated.

Cleobulus 💋

(I have quite a bit about this guy, actually)

Second only to Solon in terms of intellect, leaning more towards constructs than organic experiments, but 10x as cunning. His charisma is like that of a devil striking a deal, bringing out the worst in you and waiting until you've sunk so incredibly low that your only way out is taking his hand, essentially feeding off your pain and misery without you even noticing.

It's probably why he took to wearing the body of a woman so easily. I think Cornelia herself didn't dress as extravagantly as Cleobulus did while using her body. If I had to guess why, it was strictly because he wanted to appeal to as large an number of people as possible using the *ahem* "tools" he had available.

He was masquerading as a bombshell of a woman in one of the coldest places in Fodlan, all while wearing a high slit dress and bare shoulders, putting aaaaall the "merchandise" on display for the world to see. There was... no support in the bodice of that dress, and it was absolutely on purpose. Considering how the other women of Faerghus dress with a fair amount of modesty and practicality in mind, this was probably incredibly out of the ordinary and very enticing. Honeyed words to mask the sting and the body of a supermodel. He had the method down to a science. Unfortunately for him, a few people close to the throne were immune to his wiles and questioned him a lot.

Misc.

Impeccable fashion sense and hygiene routine, even in his original body. Made the upkeep on Cornelia's body that much easier.

Much younger than Thales, much older than Kronya.

Probably had suitors as I Can't Believe It's Not Cornelia™️, and all of them "mysteriously" went missing.

Absolutely wears the "recently widowed" silk sleep set around the house, imported from Enbarr. You know the one.

"I have a heart. A few, in fact. They're in a jar up on my bookshelf."

Myson 🎓

Myson probably worked alongside Solon a lot, likely putting him in the direct line of contact with Epimenedes in the process. Judging by his reaction to seeing Shez using that power, he probably never expected the guy to come back, let alone have a new body to use. Yet another rat, even if he did have roughly the same ideals as Epimenedes.

Misc.

Freakin nerd.

Old and tired, but too busy to die.

Charisma stat in the negatives and still rolls a Nat20 when it counts. "Well, that was easy."

Probably involved in the experiments on Lysithea.

•───────•°•❄•°•───────•

I participated in a video game crossover collab for FE Artscuffle and decided to draw Cleobulus with a malamar. Because of Cleobulus' manipulative personality as well as malamar's pokédex entires like these:

"It’s said that Malamar’s hypnotic powers played a role in certain history-changing events." - "Pokémon- Shield"

"When it comes to strong hypnosis, there’s an endless number of people who utilize Malamar for their nefarious deeds." - "Pokémon- Ultra Sun"

I thought that they would make the perfect duo. :D

[Send me a potential AU and I'll answer with five things from that story!] OH BOY. OKAY. OH BOY. I could do either of these, but arranged marriage aus are my bread and butter so-

In this AU Christophe Gaspard was actually at the Tragedy of Duscar and was a survivor- being one of the knights who helped save Dimtri's life from the attackers. In the aftermath when the purge of Duscar in retaliation was just starting, Cristophe decides to take Dimitri and Dedue back to Castle Gaspard, rather then stay and be complicit. Once there Dimitri reveals to Lord Lonato that it wasn't the Duscari that killed his parents and the court and they need to stop the purge. But while House Duran is old and Lonato is well loved and respect in the Kingdom, he doesn't have the power to oppose Corenlia and Rufus. Christophe also says they shouldn't trust the Archbishop, as he's uncovered suspicions things about her in his time at the Academy.

The answer? Dimitri will declare Lonato his regent in the Kingdom, and to shore up Lonato's legitimacy, Dimitri will be betrothed to one of Lonato's children. Ashe being the closest to him in age and also his friend seems the obvious choice- and Ashe is of course 100% willing to do his duty by his Prince and Lord Father. The declarations are sent out, and the group heads for Fhirdiad, while making sure to stop at every castle, town, and crossroads between Castle Gaspard and the capital, sweeping up nobles and a following of commoner 'pilgrims' who want to do homage to their new King in waiting, and his new Lord Regent. The end result is that Cornelia and Rufus have no choice but yield the palace and accept Lonato as Lord Regent- or else risk setting off riots in the young Prince's name that will pull them down anyways. The purges of Duscur are halted, Rufus is strongly 'encouraged' to marry a rich merchant in that far eastern Alliance and go into comfortable exile on her country estates, and Cornelia quietly relocates to Airanrhod to plot her next move. (Rowe for his part has to pry his jaws open in order to swear the oaths of obeisance to his former bannerman- but he does it with some encouragement from Yuri. Meanwhile Rhea has no choice but to give up on her plans to have Christophe killed using the the Tragedy as cover. It's one thing to make an enemy of a minor Kingdom noble. It's quite another to kill the brother in law of a king, and son of a Lord Regent).

Dimitri and Ashe's relationship is....complicated. Ashe has always dreamed of being a Knight, of honoring his the House that took him and living up to the legends of the old romances that inspired him to give up his life of crime. Ashe would adore being Dimitri's consort as well as his knight, liege man of life and limb- but he can't help but feel he's been forced onto Dimitri as a fiance. Like he is another choice, another duty, Dimitri's station has foisted onto him. Especially given that Ashe is deeply insecure about his place in the peerage anyways- he's a barely literate former street thief adopted out of pity. He has no Crest in his blood, no great deeds or lineage to boast of. Even his adopted House for all it is as old as the Kingdom, has never been powerful. For a thousand years the House of Duran has ridden to war when the Kings of Faerghus called, true, but they have had no great heroes or legends in that time. Part of Ashe almost hopes that when Dimitri comes of age, he will dissolve the engagement- find someone more worthy, more proper, to be his consort.

On Dimitri's side of things, he of course feels like he's the one whose cost Ashe everything- bridling him to a life he couldn't possibly want, to all the dangerous viperish politics of court, to a role that will require him to give up freedom and his choices, and to a heartbroken soulsick man who is everyday wrestling with a darkness, an anger, a violence inside of him. Dimitri wants Ashe to be free- most especially he wants Ashe to be free of him, and yet there is a part of Dimitri that wants to cling to him too, a little possessive, a little selfish. That wants to shield this remaining bright innocent life, and crush the skulls of anyone would lay their fingers on it. The thought that Dimtri could have a more politically advantageous match never even occurs to Dimitri really- in his mind Ashe is perfect for the job of Prince Consort. It's just that he deserves a better king to sit beside him them Dimitri. (The irony that their both wrong about themselves and right about the other is of course lost on them- but not on the rest of the Blue Lions who don't really see a problem with any of this, and treat their joint ascension to the throne as a forgone conclusion for the better of the realm, at least, until war breaks out)

Remember I don't want the one you like the most. I want the one you'd fuck