#edeldetta

I wrote five fics for the FE3H Femslash Exchange, all with different ships!

My first fic was for @cynical-gamer-media, a story about Shez's disappointment that Edelgard doesn't trust her after Chapter 9 of Three Hopes. I was honored to write for one of my long time friends!

The second one was a treat for chorbits on AO3, a fluffy Edelgard x Bernadetta fic about them living their lives out post-game! It got me thinking pretty hard about mechanic/househusband Edelgard.

The third was a treat for spacelizbian on AO3, set many years after the game's end, which features all the Black Eagles. Also, everyone's trans.

To continue the Edelgard sauce, I wrote Edelgard x Hapi x Lysithea for @darkholyelf (although I admit I was also inspired by @cynical-gamer-media saying she was really interested in the ship). First time writing Hapi POV was super fun!

Lastly, I wrote some ultra-rarepair Monica x Bernadetta as a little treat for CmdrKing on AO3 featuring Monica and Bernadetta figuring out that they are gay for each other. And Monica pulls out the gayest pickup line ever.

Bernadetta sees in Edelgard the strength and courage she wishes she could have, and learning how to interact with Bernie helps Edelgard find the peace of mind she so badly needs - the few supports they do have admit as much. They both draw on each other in order to overcome their own weaknesses, and somehow, in spite of their respective mountains of baggage, in spite of everything, it's working.

It's not "I can fix her," it's "She can fix me."

And that's not even getting into Three Hopes, where it's implied that Edelgard knows how horrible Bernie's dad is, and she ultimately arranges for him to get a heaping helping of his own medicine - perhaps even killed. With that in mind, I feel like if Bernadetta were to learn about Edelgard's backstory, it'd bring them closer together if anything.

Best part is, if Bernadetta and Edelgard could S-Support, it'd be the ultimate "be careful what you wish for" for Count Varley. Bernadetta did marry a noble - the biggest noble of all! - and she's the noble whom the Count most hates, and who hates him right back, so he'll never see a cent of it.

Two lonely people finding out they're not so different and managing to help each other help themselves in spite of everything, with a side of poetic justice by proxy. What's not to like?

bernadetta x edelgard has a really interesting dynamic that i wish was fully explored

bernie wants to be a stronger, braver person, and she sees that strength in edelgard, so she actively seeks to understand how edelgard does it

and then el, in the course of learning how to help and interact with bernie, finds that doing so and being with her helps her control her anger

they both draw on the other in order to overcome their own weaknesses, and they both feel better about themselves as a result of that

it's not "i can fix her," it's "she can fix me"

and somehow, in spite of everything, in spite of their respective mountains of baggage (that neither knows the other has), in spite of how just plain unlikely a pairing these two are

it's working

bernie really does start finding that confidence in herself that she saw in el, and it shows. edelgard genuinely does get some direly needed peace thanks to bernie, and admits as much.

and then of course there's the matter of bernie being able to break free from her dad's abuse with said confidence, helped in 3hopes by el arranging for count varley to be put through a taste of his own medicine and/or killed