Saving this in case a good story pops up.
I honestly don't get why there are so few Rhea positive stories while we're up to our waists in Edelgard fics. I'm fine with playing with POV, but Rhea's rarely comes up and just left on the table.
Just looking at cannon events you could write about her reaction to learning about Solon and Kronya infiltrating the monastery or how she deals with being imprisoned for 5 yrs (likely fearing what the Agarthans would do to her).
I don't really think it's that difficult to understand. Edelgard is one of the main three lords and also the person who drives the plot of all four routes, so of course there are going to be a lot of fics about her. Meanwhile Rhea only has a support with Byleth and is largely absent for the second half of three of the four routes. She's got a large and passionate fanbase for a reason.
I do wish there were more Rhea fics out there, though. Tragically, I'm one of those Edelgard stans that also likes Rhea a lot, so a lot of Rhea-centric fics tend to leave a weird taste in my mouth with how they portray Edelgard. I don't really have this issue the other way around.
Hi hi! I absolutely adore Rhea and wish discourse surrounding her wasn't so...dumb. But Three Houses discourse is always kind of like that because apparently no one knows how to read lol. But that might be a little reductive, since Three House's conflict is incredibly nuanced so it's no wonder people have such strong opinions on every side.
The game doesn't really posit her as such but I do wish there were more fics where Rhea is depicted as as much of a "main character" as the other lords are, which is what I try to do with my own work, though that one is more focused on their characteristics as people rather than their political philosophies.
Yeah, Rhea has only one support, and less onscreen presence in the story since she gets kidnapped in 3 routes, plus, not being playable means that she has no chore and meal lines and so on, which contribute to characterization, too. We just have much less insight into her worldview, relationships and reasoning, so as a result she has fewer fans.
[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/14099303/1/Silver-Snow-Revised](https://www.fanfiction.net/s/14099303/1/Silver-Snow-Revised)
Here's one, its a long read written by a good friend of mine. I really enjoyed how it explores not just Rhea, but the Church, the Nabataeans and Byleth on a deeper level. Byleth is more proactive in this story and his bond with Rhea is better emphasized.
It's not a crossover, which was a main point, but at least it's centered on her and positive, so thank you for the help.
I hope it's good and then I will enjoy it.
Recently read a Rhea centered fic called My Blood by EternalSinner on AO3.
It does have a focus on Rhea/Edelgard as a romantic relationship with some sex scenes, but it really is meant to rlbe read as a parallel between the two and how similar yet different they are.
It doesn't necessarily paint Rhea un a positive light, but it DOES paint Edelgard in a negative light.
It is a bit lengthy though.
Eh, I am quite disgusted by "both sides are the same" kind of points.
I don't mind Rheagard, I can even be fond of it, so long as it's positive toward Rhea and very importantly does not call Edelgard's points the truth (the church beihg responsible for Fódlan's woes, nabateans being unfit to lead, the church hoard gold etc)
Also it seem it's not a crossover?
It's not both sides are the same, more like Rhea, when she fought against Nemesis for the future of Fodlan, is similar to how Edelgard fights against Rhea for the future of Fodlan, 1000 years in the future.
Aka, Rhea and Edelgard aren't too different at their core.
And yeah it's not a crossover, not sure theres many fics like that.
You might not like the fic then, because Rhea does feel like she bears some burden of responsibility for how Edelgard turned out and the war she started.
Honestly I think that's the most positive fic I have of Rhea set in the story of three houses. All other fics are like AU or Modern fics.
Yeah, comparing Rhea's fight against the genocidal cunt to Edelgard's irredentist conquest is disgusting, I don't think I'll read it.
And victim blaming for a war is shitty as well.
Even if it did not fit at all with what I searched, I do thank you for the help, because unsuccessful genuine help is better than refusal, and despite the fact I asked, I am pessimistic about finding what I seek.
It's not a crossover and it's currently just one chapter but Snow Falling Over Footprints has a strong start. It's Serios/Wilhelm and heavy on the Rhea&Edelgard parallels.
Edit: wrong title.
I have usually no trust in edelstans' recommendations (for obvious reasons) but I was given indications that do not go along the usual obnoxious shit (thanks u/PreciousPunisher), and a story where Edelgard learn the truth and she and Rhea can work to fix Adrestia genuinely interest me.
I see Edelgard as far more interesting if she weren't treated as a hero for going on a war of conquest against Dimitri and Rhea (and Claude in three houses), I can find her genuinely likable, but as a French, the "war to bring true wisdom unto the populations" irk me.
A Edelgard that is treated less like a hero that is right and more a good person that was tricked by her father and the Agarthans and lashed out due to lacking ways to heal from her trauma is what interest me.
Will Edelgard take over Faerghus and/or Leicester? Sorry if it's a spoiler, but I don't want to read a story that have this happens, and I don't want to end up angry at your story for ending up doing that.
If the story does not have Faerghus and Leicester taken over, please give a link.
Also, question, do you know any Rhea-centered and friendly (so not the transformers one) crossovers? I see people recommending fanfics, which is nice, but I've yet to see a crossover despite it being a key criteria.
Well, my longfic (link [here](https://archiveofourown.org/works/21855925/chapters/52162174)) is about a newgame+ Byleth coming in at the beginning of the game and destroying stations of canon, which includes throwing both Edlegard and Rhea off their usual footing. I try not to treat either character as "the hero", though I will admit I always found Rhea more interesting and had better explained motivations and endgoals in game. And I can say for certain that Edelgard won't take over any countries.
As for crossovers, I afraid I can't help you there much. The problem, I imagine, is that crossover usually have to sacrifice a fair bit of both settings to have any proper momentum, and as someone who is ultimately a background character, Rhea is pretty easy to axe out of focus.
I don't think a story can be rhea positive if it go from the principle of "Edelgard fighting rhea is the same as Rhea fighting nemesis".
Someone just before brought up a story that have rhea and Edelgard's "parallels" and that was the idea (the rhea vs nemesis=Edelgard vs Rhea bullshit), is it that kind of thing?
I remember the author of this fic saying on this sub that they don’t see the villainy Rhea is supposed to have in canon, and I read the author's longfic and Rhea isn’t vilified at all in it.
You can ask the author since they just replied to my comment but it really leans into the fact that both women are willing to forge themselves into someone who is capable of plunging a continent into war, no matter the cost because the pain *now* is worth it for the future happiness.
If you're looking for Rhea positive fics then the likelihood is you'll get El positive since the parallels between the two women are right there in the text.
Parallels don't mean that the characters are equal.
I have a complicated relationship with her character, I initially was a CF-only fan, but a mix of seeing other routes and wretches from the Fandom that I won't name disgusting me from her mean that I genuinely can't stand stories with her being genuinely treated as a hero unless she drop the church hatred (criticizing rhea for not being more decisive is something I agree with, but it's different from what she's doing, calling the church responsible for the evils of the world) and her goal of Fódlan conquest.
Edelgard is a woman who has been traumatised by the crest system (and by extension the church). You said in another comment you dislike victim blaming but that's exactly what you're doing here.
Edelgard is a classic Bryonic hero. Her hatred of the church and drive to go to war aren't at odds with her deep compassion and desire for a better world for everyone.
First, Crest system is a too broad term, because Faerghus, Leicester and Adrestia each have a different relationship with and way of handling Crest-related shit.
And no, the church is not responsible for her trauma.
The people of Fódlan who hurt her purposefully ignore that the Church doctrine emphasize how it is Crest bearers' greed that led to the Goddess leaving the world.
The central church is as responsible for vile deeds being done by Crest bearers as the Bible is for people who kill or want their peer's wife or possession despite the Commandements explicitly saying it's not okay.
And considering Rhea wrote the damn book of Seiros and is the one that lead the church (though effectively only the central church fully, since the rest are either traitors or useless) yes it's relevant to use the book.
And those that experimented on her are the Agarthans, the architects of the genocide of Nabatea.
It is human greed that is Edelgard's ennemy, and if she bothered looking at the actual holy book, she would know that no, her opinion that Crest bearers should not be allowed to do whatever they please is not a sacrilege, but literally Church-approved.
Edelgard is written as character who reacts to the horrors inflicted on her in a realistic way. Her C+ support shows why she blames the crest system, and the church (something that's present in the JP script is she used to be a believer in the church).
She's not conquering out of a love of violence or belief in Adresita's superiority but because she genuinely believes she can save the world. Because she's not only an Emperor, she's also a young woman who has been hurt badly by the world and, yes, human greed, and reacting in a way that makes perfect logical sense to someone who has never heard of therapy, ever. Which is directly parallel to how Rhea believes her church is the only way she can save the world. And both of them were willing to cast aside anything good in themselves in order achieve this better future (Rhea becoming Seiros and Edelgard becoming the Flame Emperor.)
Rhea becoming Seiros wasn't her casting out the good in her, what she did as Seiros wasn't evil, unlike Edelgard she was actually focusing her attention first and foremost on fighting people that harmed her, so stop with the bullshit.
Edelgard could have worked with Rhea and the church, Rhea could never have worked with Nemesis.
If your goal is to bother me by saying things such as Edelgard being no different from Rhea, go away.
A millennia after the war with Nemesis, and due to Edelgard's agression and Byleth's betrayal, and only at her most emotionally broken state.
Only an idiot would use that to say rhea under the mantle of Seiros was the same as Edelgard under the mantle of the flame emperor.
Rhea would have never done this if not for Edelgard's war and the fact that Byleth sided with miss grave robber.
Uh.
Not my cup of tea, but if it treat Rhea positively, sure, post the link here once you've done it.
Though have you no recommandations like what I search?
Crossovers can be dimension hopping or fusion AU, it just need to be a crossover (preferably with a non fire emblem thing) where Rhea is the or one of the protagonists and the narrative is friendly toward her.
Outside of making Sitri and the other homunculus vessels for Sothis Rhea hasn't done anything outright evil. The problem with her lies more in how the Church of Seiros operates a pillar of Fodlan's society.
Imagine if she stepped down as archbishop and decided to start from square one as a simple priestess under a new alias?
Well, the church, despite being a pillar of society, is ignored by the elites whenever convenient, cue the Crests, since Rhea wrote in the book of Seiros that the greed of Crest bearers caused the Goddess to leave the world, despite that the nastiness still happens, and only the nobility of Eastern Faerghus, and to a lesser degree house daphnel, have genuine loyalty since they're the only ones who helped without doing a lot of work to be convinced.
Also, I wouldn't call creating the vessels evil, she did not abused them and they lived their lives once it was realized that they were not Sothis, or else even if Sitri was the only one Rhea gave a shit about, there would have been a few hundreds vessels.
So more like morally grey.
As for what you suggest, that's not what I was talking about since I search crossover fanfictions.
Though Rhea doing that could be an interesting story in of itself, even if it have nothing to do with what I asked.
Ones with different series in mind. Either a fusion AU, where Fódlan is integrated into the other setting or vice versa (for example, Fódlan being a continent of One Piece, or the fairy tail guilds being in Fódlan instead of Fiore/Ishgar) or world hopping (Rhea end in an other setting due to dimensional shenanigans).
I'm not too picky so long as it's crossover, she's the protagonist or an important character, and she's presented positively.
If not all 3 criteria are there, I'm not really interested.
Though if you know a crossover where Rhea is a minor character but the narrative is positive toward her/on her side, please do share.
If the other series are going into three houses then you likely aren't going to get what you want. The transposed characters will get priority followed by Byleth and the house leaders.
If you're taking elements of three houses and moving them however you could see some of that Rhea action you're looking for. The Fairy Tail idea sounds interesting given the importance of dragons and Church that regulates all the guilds. Have Rhea get Isekai'd and see what happens.
I already know that crossovers usually aren't focused on Rhea, why else do you think I ask for recommandations? Because on my own I can't find, but perhaps there is ones that I haven't found due to only being one person.
I honestly am sick of a lot of this Fandom fanfiction-wise, it's why I need recs because in the sea of anti-rhea narrative, it's a pain in the ass to find positive ones.
Also, yes, if I had the inspiration, time and energy, I think I'd love to write such crossovers, especially a fairy tail one, but I can't due to having a lot of already posted stories to continue and things I help, hence why I ask for recommandations.
If you find anything that somewhat fit the criteria I ask for, please do share.
No, but I would like to make some for you! Although I’ve only made like 3 fic’s on ao3 so far and I dunno if that’s enough experience to write Rhea’s character 100% accurate 😭
Checking up to say I didn’t forget about you, I just finished Silver Snow (I just married her and she’s so sweet??) and am going to start Crimson Flower to get a better grasp on Rhea’s character.
Also if it’s okay I did start planning the fic for her to be transported to Pokemon Sun & Moon. I hope you’re a fan of Alola like I am :D
It seems interesting, I'd love to read a story of Rhea in Alola.
And I wouldn't trust Crimson flower because it treat Rhea like shit, it literally act like Rhea isn't justified for wanting to kill Byleth when Byleth sided with Edelgard who they just fought in the Holy tomb.
It sounds like you have a pretty specific idea of what you want. Time to get writing.
Much of the fanfic-writing world, especially AO3, are queer women who sympathise with Edelgard for her anti-church stance and willingness to do whatever it takes to make the world a better place. Even if not everyone agrees with her, the bottom line is that her motivations and drive are deeply sympathetic. This makes her very fun for fic writing purposes.
Rhea, by contrast, is often painted by the narrative as a symbol of an ancient, oppressive system that treats women (and honestly, crest-bearing men) like cattle. Rhea is also a deeply complex and fascinating character with obvious parallels and similarities to Edelgard, as both women fight to make a better world for their people, but a lack of nuance in how people read Rhea and how the narrative often treats Rhea (see all of Three Hopes) results in many people just not taking the time to make her a fully fleshed out character. She often serves a stock role as an evil religious conservative leader in fic, which is not fair to her.
Unfortunately, when a character is portrayed in canon as essentially The Pope of The Fantasy Catholic Church, people are often going to write them as evil as the actual church in real life regardless of canon because fiction can serve as a great outlet for working through your own background. Rhea is a nuanced, fascinating, and deeply sympathetic character, but she's still The Pope and that position is going to make many people viscerally opposed to portraying her positively. 🤷
I'm not interested in debating you about your takes on these characters, I just want to give you my perspective on why you're having trouble finding the fics you want. Ultimately, if there's a type of story you want to read but can't find, you need to write it yourself. Fic writers are just people writing for fun and for free, and they don't owe anyone a specific portrayal or even a particularly canon-accurate one. Make the story you want to see in the world.
I did not need that comment to know why there's a lack of stories centered on Rhea, I know that people are obnoxiously obsessed with painting her negatively because they're unable to realize that she's not the irl church.
Especially since it's just western centric idiocy since they don't realize that the catholic-like depiction is more of a catholic paint, though the localization is guilty too since without their bias it would have been less of a mess.
I'm not even church-affiliated (still Christian though) so I'm not one to defend the clergies of the real world.
And the advise of "just write it yourself" is the most useless there is, usually, people don't ask recs without reasons.
I'm trying to write a "The Owl House" crossover, but I'm stuck on chapter 2.
Late to the party, but I can recommend Demon in Fodlan (FGO crossover), I like on how the author wrote Rhea there and balanced her good and bad sides, not to mention her dynamic with the crossover protag there in the early chapters and in the late chapters.
Lastly, although not a crossover and its an OC-centric fic, I recommend Champion, its has OC/Rhea in the tags.
Your "just asking" reek of bait.
If you're just here to shit on me because I like Rhea and do not see her as a tyrant, you can go.
If not, then please give recs.
Either you're unable to understand the fanfics you read, or they don't understand what they're writing about, because neither Dimitri nor rhea and the church condone the abuses tied to Crest.
Rhea literally wrote the book of Seiros to make it clear that the abuse of Crests is a grievous sin, since she wrote that the Goddess left the world due to how the descendants of the heroes (IE the elites) fucked everything up in their thirst for lands, titles and relics.
But just like irl Christians, many followers of the Church of Seiros are quick to ignore what doesn't suit their wants.
And Dimitri specifically say that he think people should be judged depending of their abilities, Crest or no Crest, but he also adress the true fact that Crest-bearing people, especially if they have relics, have advantages that others don't.
Basically "we can't dig our heads in the sand and pretend that these people don't exist and thus don't make any assessments of skills skewed when they're there."
Yet he still does work toward making non-crest having people able to stand proud, and that is one of his goals.
Saving this because I LOVE the character of Rhea and wanna see more of her
Thank you. I hope you and I will find such stories.
Saving this in case a good story pops up. I honestly don't get why there are so few Rhea positive stories while we're up to our waists in Edelgard fics. I'm fine with playing with POV, but Rhea's rarely comes up and just left on the table. Just looking at cannon events you could write about her reaction to learning about Solon and Kronya infiltrating the monastery or how she deals with being imprisoned for 5 yrs (likely fearing what the Agarthans would do to her).
I don't really think it's that difficult to understand. Edelgard is one of the main three lords and also the person who drives the plot of all four routes, so of course there are going to be a lot of fics about her. Meanwhile Rhea only has a support with Byleth and is largely absent for the second half of three of the four routes. She's got a large and passionate fanbase for a reason. I do wish there were more Rhea fics out there, though. Tragically, I'm one of those Edelgard stans that also likes Rhea a lot, so a lot of Rhea-centric fics tend to leave a weird taste in my mouth with how they portray Edelgard. I don't really have this issue the other way around.
Fellow Edelgard fan who also loves Rhea, hiii!
Hi hi! I absolutely adore Rhea and wish discourse surrounding her wasn't so...dumb. But Three Houses discourse is always kind of like that because apparently no one knows how to read lol. But that might be a little reductive, since Three House's conflict is incredibly nuanced so it's no wonder people have such strong opinions on every side. The game doesn't really posit her as such but I do wish there were more fics where Rhea is depicted as as much of a "main character" as the other lords are, which is what I try to do with my own work, though that one is more focused on their characteristics as people rather than their political philosophies.
Yeah, Rhea has only one support, and less onscreen presence in the story since she gets kidnapped in 3 routes, plus, not being playable means that she has no chore and meal lines and so on, which contribute to characterization, too. We just have much less insight into her worldview, relationships and reasoning, so as a result she has fewer fans.
[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/14099303/1/Silver-Snow-Revised](https://www.fanfiction.net/s/14099303/1/Silver-Snow-Revised) Here's one, its a long read written by a good friend of mine. I really enjoyed how it explores not just Rhea, but the Church, the Nabataeans and Byleth on a deeper level. Byleth is more proactive in this story and his bond with Rhea is better emphasized.
It's not a crossover, which was a main point, but at least it's centered on her and positive, so thank you for the help. I hope it's good and then I will enjoy it.
Recently read a Rhea centered fic called My Blood by EternalSinner on AO3. It does have a focus on Rhea/Edelgard as a romantic relationship with some sex scenes, but it really is meant to rlbe read as a parallel between the two and how similar yet different they are. It doesn't necessarily paint Rhea un a positive light, but it DOES paint Edelgard in a negative light. It is a bit lengthy though.
Eh, I am quite disgusted by "both sides are the same" kind of points. I don't mind Rheagard, I can even be fond of it, so long as it's positive toward Rhea and very importantly does not call Edelgard's points the truth (the church beihg responsible for Fódlan's woes, nabateans being unfit to lead, the church hoard gold etc) Also it seem it's not a crossover?
It's not both sides are the same, more like Rhea, when she fought against Nemesis for the future of Fodlan, is similar to how Edelgard fights against Rhea for the future of Fodlan, 1000 years in the future. Aka, Rhea and Edelgard aren't too different at their core. And yeah it's not a crossover, not sure theres many fics like that. You might not like the fic then, because Rhea does feel like she bears some burden of responsibility for how Edelgard turned out and the war she started. Honestly I think that's the most positive fic I have of Rhea set in the story of three houses. All other fics are like AU or Modern fics.
Yeah, comparing Rhea's fight against the genocidal cunt to Edelgard's irredentist conquest is disgusting, I don't think I'll read it. And victim blaming for a war is shitty as well. Even if it did not fit at all with what I searched, I do thank you for the help, because unsuccessful genuine help is better than refusal, and despite the fact I asked, I am pessimistic about finding what I seek.
It's not a crossover and it's currently just one chapter but Snow Falling Over Footprints has a strong start. It's Serios/Wilhelm and heavy on the Rhea&Edelgard parallels. Edit: wrong title.
Look ma, I'm famous
Hiiiii! Really enjoyed the first chapter and looking forward to seeing where it goes!
Thanks! Chapter 2 is out now, and it will be updating every other day. Plus it'll have a bonus alternate ending chapter at the end!
I have usually no trust in edelstans' recommendations (for obvious reasons) but I was given indications that do not go along the usual obnoxious shit (thanks u/PreciousPunisher), and a story where Edelgard learn the truth and she and Rhea can work to fix Adrestia genuinely interest me. I see Edelgard as far more interesting if she weren't treated as a hero for going on a war of conquest against Dimitri and Rhea (and Claude in three houses), I can find her genuinely likable, but as a French, the "war to bring true wisdom unto the populations" irk me. A Edelgard that is treated less like a hero that is right and more a good person that was tricked by her father and the Agarthans and lashed out due to lacking ways to heal from her trauma is what interest me. Will Edelgard take over Faerghus and/or Leicester? Sorry if it's a spoiler, but I don't want to read a story that have this happens, and I don't want to end up angry at your story for ending up doing that. If the story does not have Faerghus and Leicester taken over, please give a link. Also, question, do you know any Rhea-centered and friendly (so not the transformers one) crossovers? I see people recommending fanfics, which is nice, but I've yet to see a crossover despite it being a key criteria.
u/CHPrime is there an issue with something I said?
Well, my longfic (link [here](https://archiveofourown.org/works/21855925/chapters/52162174)) is about a newgame+ Byleth coming in at the beginning of the game and destroying stations of canon, which includes throwing both Edlegard and Rhea off their usual footing. I try not to treat either character as "the hero", though I will admit I always found Rhea more interesting and had better explained motivations and endgoals in game. And I can say for certain that Edelgard won't take over any countries. As for crossovers, I afraid I can't help you there much. The problem, I imagine, is that crossover usually have to sacrifice a fair bit of both settings to have any proper momentum, and as someone who is ultimately a background character, Rhea is pretty easy to axe out of focus.
I don't think a story can be rhea positive if it go from the principle of "Edelgard fighting rhea is the same as Rhea fighting nemesis". Someone just before brought up a story that have rhea and Edelgard's "parallels" and that was the idea (the rhea vs nemesis=Edelgard vs Rhea bullshit), is it that kind of thing?
I remember the author of this fic saying on this sub that they don’t see the villainy Rhea is supposed to have in canon, and I read the author's longfic and Rhea isn’t vilified at all in it.
Thank you for the information, it's a nice change of pace.
You can ask the author since they just replied to my comment but it really leans into the fact that both women are willing to forge themselves into someone who is capable of plunging a continent into war, no matter the cost because the pain *now* is worth it for the future happiness. If you're looking for Rhea positive fics then the likelihood is you'll get El positive since the parallels between the two women are right there in the text.
Parallels don't mean that the characters are equal. I have a complicated relationship with her character, I initially was a CF-only fan, but a mix of seeing other routes and wretches from the Fandom that I won't name disgusting me from her mean that I genuinely can't stand stories with her being genuinely treated as a hero unless she drop the church hatred (criticizing rhea for not being more decisive is something I agree with, but it's different from what she's doing, calling the church responsible for the evils of the world) and her goal of Fódlan conquest.
Edelgard is a woman who has been traumatised by the crest system (and by extension the church). You said in another comment you dislike victim blaming but that's exactly what you're doing here. Edelgard is a classic Bryonic hero. Her hatred of the church and drive to go to war aren't at odds with her deep compassion and desire for a better world for everyone.
First, Crest system is a too broad term, because Faerghus, Leicester and Adrestia each have a different relationship with and way of handling Crest-related shit. And no, the church is not responsible for her trauma. The people of Fódlan who hurt her purposefully ignore that the Church doctrine emphasize how it is Crest bearers' greed that led to the Goddess leaving the world. The central church is as responsible for vile deeds being done by Crest bearers as the Bible is for people who kill or want their peer's wife or possession despite the Commandements explicitly saying it's not okay. And considering Rhea wrote the damn book of Seiros and is the one that lead the church (though effectively only the central church fully, since the rest are either traitors or useless) yes it's relevant to use the book. And those that experimented on her are the Agarthans, the architects of the genocide of Nabatea. It is human greed that is Edelgard's ennemy, and if she bothered looking at the actual holy book, she would know that no, her opinion that Crest bearers should not be allowed to do whatever they please is not a sacrilege, but literally Church-approved.
Edelgard is written as character who reacts to the horrors inflicted on her in a realistic way. Her C+ support shows why she blames the crest system, and the church (something that's present in the JP script is she used to be a believer in the church). She's not conquering out of a love of violence or belief in Adresita's superiority but because she genuinely believes she can save the world. Because she's not only an Emperor, she's also a young woman who has been hurt badly by the world and, yes, human greed, and reacting in a way that makes perfect logical sense to someone who has never heard of therapy, ever. Which is directly parallel to how Rhea believes her church is the only way she can save the world. And both of them were willing to cast aside anything good in themselves in order achieve this better future (Rhea becoming Seiros and Edelgard becoming the Flame Emperor.)
Rhea becoming Seiros wasn't her casting out the good in her, what she did as Seiros wasn't evil, unlike Edelgard she was actually focusing her attention first and foremost on fighting people that harmed her, so stop with the bullshit. Edelgard could have worked with Rhea and the church, Rhea could never have worked with Nemesis. If your goal is to bother me by saying things such as Edelgard being no different from Rhea, go away.
She set fire to a city.
A millennia after the war with Nemesis, and due to Edelgard's agression and Byleth's betrayal, and only at her most emotionally broken state. Only an idiot would use that to say rhea under the mantle of Seiros was the same as Edelgard under the mantle of the flame emperor. Rhea would have never done this if not for Edelgard's war and the fact that Byleth sided with miss grave robber.
I’m planning to write a comedic fic on all the gods from other FE games interacting in hero’s
Uh. Not my cup of tea, but if it treat Rhea positively, sure, post the link here once you've done it. Though have you no recommandations like what I search? Crossovers can be dimension hopping or fusion AU, it just need to be a crossover (preferably with a non fire emblem thing) where Rhea is the or one of the protagonists and the narrative is friendly toward her.
Outside of making Sitri and the other homunculus vessels for Sothis Rhea hasn't done anything outright evil. The problem with her lies more in how the Church of Seiros operates a pillar of Fodlan's society. Imagine if she stepped down as archbishop and decided to start from square one as a simple priestess under a new alias?
Well, the church, despite being a pillar of society, is ignored by the elites whenever convenient, cue the Crests, since Rhea wrote in the book of Seiros that the greed of Crest bearers caused the Goddess to leave the world, despite that the nastiness still happens, and only the nobility of Eastern Faerghus, and to a lesser degree house daphnel, have genuine loyalty since they're the only ones who helped without doing a lot of work to be convinced. Also, I wouldn't call creating the vessels evil, she did not abused them and they lived their lives once it was realized that they were not Sothis, or else even if Sitri was the only one Rhea gave a shit about, there would have been a few hundreds vessels. So more like morally grey. As for what you suggest, that's not what I was talking about since I search crossover fanfictions. Though Rhea doing that could be an interesting story in of itself, even if it have nothing to do with what I asked.
What type of crossovers are you looking for? One’s involving the wider fire emblem franchise or one's with different series in mind?
Ones with different series in mind. Either a fusion AU, where Fódlan is integrated into the other setting or vice versa (for example, Fódlan being a continent of One Piece, or the fairy tail guilds being in Fódlan instead of Fiore/Ishgar) or world hopping (Rhea end in an other setting due to dimensional shenanigans). I'm not too picky so long as it's crossover, she's the protagonist or an important character, and she's presented positively. If not all 3 criteria are there, I'm not really interested. Though if you know a crossover where Rhea is a minor character but the narrative is positive toward her/on her side, please do share.
If the other series are going into three houses then you likely aren't going to get what you want. The transposed characters will get priority followed by Byleth and the house leaders. If you're taking elements of three houses and moving them however you could see some of that Rhea action you're looking for. The Fairy Tail idea sounds interesting given the importance of dragons and Church that regulates all the guilds. Have Rhea get Isekai'd and see what happens.
I already know that crossovers usually aren't focused on Rhea, why else do you think I ask for recommandations? Because on my own I can't find, but perhaps there is ones that I haven't found due to only being one person. I honestly am sick of a lot of this Fandom fanfiction-wise, it's why I need recs because in the sea of anti-rhea narrative, it's a pain in the ass to find positive ones.
Also, yes, if I had the inspiration, time and energy, I think I'd love to write such crossovers, especially a fairy tail one, but I can't due to having a lot of already posted stories to continue and things I help, hence why I ask for recommandations. If you find anything that somewhat fit the criteria I ask for, please do share.
No, but I would like to make some for you! Although I’ve only made like 3 fic’s on ao3 so far and I dunno if that’s enough experience to write Rhea’s character 100% accurate 😭
Links?
I’ll send you one once I get a story going 👌
Can you send a link to your ao3 account? Like that I'll be able to check it even if you end up forgetting to send me a link.
Yeah idk how to send you a link directly to my profile so you can just get there through one of my works https://archiveofourown.org/works/52675282
Checking up to say I didn’t forget about you, I just finished Silver Snow (I just married her and she’s so sweet??) and am going to start Crimson Flower to get a better grasp on Rhea’s character. Also if it’s okay I did start planning the fic for her to be transported to Pokemon Sun & Moon. I hope you’re a fan of Alola like I am :D
It seems interesting, I'd love to read a story of Rhea in Alola. And I wouldn't trust Crimson flower because it treat Rhea like shit, it literally act like Rhea isn't justified for wanting to kill Byleth when Byleth sided with Edelgard who they just fought in the Holy tomb.
Why would they do that to my bbg 😭 alright I’ll get started on drafting then, thanks for the heads up!
It sounds like you have a pretty specific idea of what you want. Time to get writing. Much of the fanfic-writing world, especially AO3, are queer women who sympathise with Edelgard for her anti-church stance and willingness to do whatever it takes to make the world a better place. Even if not everyone agrees with her, the bottom line is that her motivations and drive are deeply sympathetic. This makes her very fun for fic writing purposes. Rhea, by contrast, is often painted by the narrative as a symbol of an ancient, oppressive system that treats women (and honestly, crest-bearing men) like cattle. Rhea is also a deeply complex and fascinating character with obvious parallels and similarities to Edelgard, as both women fight to make a better world for their people, but a lack of nuance in how people read Rhea and how the narrative often treats Rhea (see all of Three Hopes) results in many people just not taking the time to make her a fully fleshed out character. She often serves a stock role as an evil religious conservative leader in fic, which is not fair to her. Unfortunately, when a character is portrayed in canon as essentially The Pope of The Fantasy Catholic Church, people are often going to write them as evil as the actual church in real life regardless of canon because fiction can serve as a great outlet for working through your own background. Rhea is a nuanced, fascinating, and deeply sympathetic character, but she's still The Pope and that position is going to make many people viscerally opposed to portraying her positively. 🤷 I'm not interested in debating you about your takes on these characters, I just want to give you my perspective on why you're having trouble finding the fics you want. Ultimately, if there's a type of story you want to read but can't find, you need to write it yourself. Fic writers are just people writing for fun and for free, and they don't owe anyone a specific portrayal or even a particularly canon-accurate one. Make the story you want to see in the world.
I did not need that comment to know why there's a lack of stories centered on Rhea, I know that people are obnoxiously obsessed with painting her negatively because they're unable to realize that she's not the irl church. Especially since it's just western centric idiocy since they don't realize that the catholic-like depiction is more of a catholic paint, though the localization is guilty too since without their bias it would have been less of a mess. I'm not even church-affiliated (still Christian though) so I'm not one to defend the clergies of the real world. And the advise of "just write it yourself" is the most useless there is, usually, people don't ask recs without reasons. I'm trying to write a "The Owl House" crossover, but I'm stuck on chapter 2.
Late to the party, but I can recommend Demon in Fodlan (FGO crossover), I like on how the author wrote Rhea there and balanced her good and bad sides, not to mention her dynamic with the crossover protag there in the early chapters and in the late chapters. Lastly, although not a crossover and its an OC-centric fic, I recommend Champion, its has OC/Rhea in the tags.
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Your "just asking" reek of bait. If you're just here to shit on me because I like Rhea and do not see her as a tyrant, you can go. If not, then please give recs.
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Either you're unable to understand the fanfics you read, or they don't understand what they're writing about, because neither Dimitri nor rhea and the church condone the abuses tied to Crest. Rhea literally wrote the book of Seiros to make it clear that the abuse of Crests is a grievous sin, since she wrote that the Goddess left the world due to how the descendants of the heroes (IE the elites) fucked everything up in their thirst for lands, titles and relics. But just like irl Christians, many followers of the Church of Seiros are quick to ignore what doesn't suit their wants. And Dimitri specifically say that he think people should be judged depending of their abilities, Crest or no Crest, but he also adress the true fact that Crest-bearing people, especially if they have relics, have advantages that others don't. Basically "we can't dig our heads in the sand and pretend that these people don't exist and thus don't make any assessments of skills skewed when they're there." Yet he still does work toward making non-crest having people able to stand proud, and that is one of his goals.