#serios

A sneaky preview for my piece for @fe3hmagicalgirlzine !

Pride Month Challenge 2022 + 🤍 (white heart)

"proof Rhea is a monster", thats a holy being whose appearance alone proves the Seiros faith isn't just made up nonsense. If I was one of the Adrestian soldiers Edelgard dragged along for the Holy Tomb invasion I'd convert to the Seiros faith on the spot if I saw that lmao. (2/2)

Completely agree here and don't have much to add. I'm assuming you meant "would accept Edelgard if they saw Rhea burn Fhirdiad."

Number 1. Edelgard Von Hresvelg - I would repeat several points about why her fans like her, and also explain just how in the wrong she is, but there’s a simpler way to explain why I love Edelgard. She’s the best take on the Rudolf Archetype in the entire series. She’s calculated, arrogant, and self-righteous, yet she’s also very charming, likable, and had a good end goal that can resonate with some people, despite the way she intended to go about it. Her character basically mixes the best aspects of the Rudolf Archetype, and places them into a single character, without making her seem unoriginal. Overall, Edelgard is the most well done villain the series has ever had. Long live the Flame Emperor!

Number 2. Ashnard - King Ashnard of Daein was truly a Mad King. Throughout Path of Radiance, he’s mostly in his hideout, but he’s authorized so many warcrimes, the carnage he causes is told to Ike and the mercenaries, his soldiers both fear and respect him, every time we DID see him talking with his men it became clearer how deranged he is, and overall he was a well built up final boss with a GIGANTIC BLOODLUST. However the best thing about him is that while he’s this hammy psycho on the surface, underneath that expressive exterior is a clever asshole of a man with a darwinist ideology. Ashnard believes that only the strong can thrive in life, and hates the caste systems in other countries because it grants positions of power to people he deems as “unworthy.” In his eyes, if you want to increase your status, you need to fight tooth to nail and prove that you’re strong. Hell, he wasn’t even upset at the notion of dying because in his eyes, if he dies it means that he was overpowered or that he slipped up. HELL WHEN HE DOES DIE HE IS JUST LAUGHING, BEGGING THE PARTY TO CONTINUE THE FIGHT, AND SPEWING SOME BULLSHIT ABOUT AN ASCENSION! So yeah, this guy is not called the Mad King for nothing.

Number 3. Arvis - The best way to describe Arvis is a “Male Prototype Edelgard”, however the difference between them is clear. Despite also being a morally ambiguous figure dubbed “The Flame Emperor,” Arvis was the BASTARD that got what he wanted, until karma hit him like a truck when he got backstabbed by the Gharnef of his game, and his own son a few years later. I could go into more detail about this guy, like how he killed the first protagonist of the game and married his girlfriend not long after, but Geneology of The Holy War is a long ass game, and there is a LOT to say about this guy. Also he’s the first Rudolf that relies on magic rather than swords, axes, spears, and armor. So yeah, Arvis is dope.

Number 4. Lyon - To think that a member of the Gharneff Archetype is the most tragic villain in the series. The man tried to bring back his dad with dark magic, and immediately got taken over by the demon king, Fomortiis. This alone doesn’t just make him good, because Lyon isn’t just possessed, every single one of his traits ended up becoming twisted, and hidden feelings were put on full display in the WORST ways possible, and at the end of the game, he becomes nothing but a souless puppet for Fomortis to use. The way he’s written is similar to how Sephiroth was written in Crisis Core, except more pittiful, which helps hammer in exactly what kind of man and villain Lyon is. Overall Lyon is a walking mess of a human being that ended up becoming a hollow shell of a man controlled by the Demon King.

Number 5. Berkut - Edelgard would HATE this guy. Berkut was the embodiment of pride, entitlement, and insecurity. He was Emperor Rudolf’s nephew, one of the most skilled combatants in Rigel at such a young age, and had a very cool and nice fiancé named Rinea. So what happened? He got his ass beat by a farmboy named Alm, who also happened to be Rudolf’s son, and after that an entire domino effect happened, which resulted in Berkut falling into despair. Then in his moment of despair, the God of Strength and Father of Rigel, Duma, whispered into his ear, and Rinea began trying to cheer up Berkut at the EXACT moment that he was going nuts, which resulted in the bastard sacrificing his fiancé for the sake of power. And after all of that he is finally killed by Alm. Well, at least he’s Dancing In Purgatory now. As much as I love how Rudolf was done in Shadows of Valentia, Berkut was its breakout character for a reason. His slow degradation from this arrogant prick with big shoes to fill and some semblance of a heart, to a deranged madman that only lusts for power was done pretty well.

Number 6. The Black Knight, Zelgius - The Black Knight, Zelgius, is just great and is truly deserving of his own archetype. Between his design, his warrior mentality, his boss music, his dynamic with Ike, his simple and effective backstory, his connection to both of main villains of the Tellius Games, and overall just the sheer amount of menace and the FEAR factor he brings to the table everytime he’s on the map. However I do like his characterization in Path of Radiance characterization more than his Radiant Dawn characterization, mostly because I REALLY like how Path of Radiance introduces him as both an near-invincible threat and a very personal villain for Ike to face. The Black Knight may be a simple villain clad in black armor, but he’s still one of the best villains this series has produced.

Number 7. Camus/Zeke - The Camus Archetype is a character archetype in Fire Emblem reserved for knights who are loyal to their country and master, despite being admirable men and cool guys. A bad member of this archetype would ignore all reason and remain loyal to their country and master, despite being aware their a piece of shit, but the best members actually do realize the situation they’re in and do whatever they can to stop their former master. However no matter how many members of this archetype come into existence, there is only one General Camus of Grust. Or Zeke, if you’ve played Shadows of Valentia.

Number 8. Rhea/Serios - She is a genocide survivor, she’s got PTSD, she has mommy issues, she’s the most characterized “evil dragon person,” and so on. Overall what Rhea is to the Medeus Archetype is what Edelgard is to the Rudolf Archetype.

Number 9. Nergal - This guy is the only member of the Gharnef archetype I respect, that isn’t Lyon. On the surface Nergal looks like this generic madman who feeds off of life energy and wants to release dragons, but when you replay the game on Hector’s route, you soon see that his madness was the byproduct of being corrupted by dark magic, which he was researching in an attempt to find a way to get free half-dragon kids, Ninian and Nils. Still, when he did get corrupted, he became one of the series’s biggest bastards of all time. Overall, Nergal is genuinely underrated as a villain and character.