at some point i will figure out how to write the post-canon, post-empire edelgard autonomy fic of my dreams. it just feels like a very big task and maybe like with playing the dane, i’m simply not old and traumatized enough to manage it yet.
but my vision is thus: it’s set years (realistically, decades) after the end of crimson flower, when everything has gone as right as it can possibly go. fódlan is thriving. the social reforms have taken effect. the nobility system is nearly eliminated, if not entirely so, with titles made merely symbolic. social mobility, welfare, and prosperity are high. there’s an explosion in arts and culture and technology. brigid and duscur have gained independence; relations with sreng and almyra are much improved; heck, maybe they've even figured it out with dagda. in my most idealistic version, leicester and faerghus would eventually be ceded back to become autonomous regions, essentially disbanding the adrestian empire. rule is no longer hereditary, but merit-based. there's a roadmap for the future, and everything is on track—and more than that, people at all points on the power spectrum have already seen it bear fruit. with or without edelgard, it will be pursued. there's buy-in. they believe.
of course, it's not perfect—nothing can be—but edelgard's vision has been fulfilled. the people are empowered. humanity is free. fódlan has healed.
and somehow, she's had enough time to resolve her goals outside of politics, too. those who slither in the dark have been eradicated. edelgard and lysithea's second crests have been successfully removed, allowing them to live if not full lives, then substantially longer ones than they would have with their twin crests intact. who knows—maybe she finally gets around to having that wedding.
point for point, every item listed in edelgard's manifesto has been checked off. the ghosts of her past have been laid to rest. she can finally take off her crown. she can finally pursue the quiet, humble life she's wanted for so long. she can finally breathe.
... but can she?
edelgard is nothing if not driven. her intelligence, vision, and sheer willpower allowed her to plan and execute a revolution against two countries and the most powerful institution on the continent, all while she was still a teenager. as royalty, her life was never truly hers even before she became heir to the adrestian throne, with all the additional baggage of survivor's guilt and the desire for vengeance and her need to ensure nothing that happened to her can ever happen to anyone else, ever again.
so what happens when that drive has no outlet? what happens when someone who has been constantly in motion, constantly working and planning and preparing every spare second of every day since she was fourteen years old, suddenly has to stand still? what happens when someone whose hands have been bound for so long—first literally in the dungeons of enbarr, then by the weight and responsibilities of her crown—is set free?
being edelgard, she would step away from the throne, no matter how hard it was for her to give up control. she's always been focused on the endgame, and she knows that if she doesn't let go, she'll be setting the wrong tone for fódlan's future. she's too devoted to that endgame to cling to power much longer than she needs to, though i could see her making some excuses and trying to iron out just a few more things to buy herself some more time to mentally prepare before she's done for good.
but who would she be then? who is the woman without the crown? what becomes of a machine once it is no longer needed, when it has made itself obsolete? what about when that machine is a person with legs and arms and an innate unwillingness to gather dust on a shelf?
what happens when you get everything you want? what happens when all your wanting has been for others to thrive, and now you have to want only for yourself? how do you discover who you are when you've spent decades being everything for everyone else? how do you find meaning again? how do you find purpose?
after a lifetime of devotion and passion and movement, how do you learn to sit with yourself, and be quiet, and be still?
gosh, i would love to meet her. i would love to pick her brain. but boy, i do not envy the work that girl has to do.
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i’m glad i’m not the only one worried here. great for the team and all, but this feels like chaos waiting to happen. i thought we finally had it. even if we didn’t get a wdc, they couldn’t even bother to try and prioritize charles for once.
You're not alone in feeling like this! Being worried and not immediately jumping for joy and accepting every decision the team makes isn't any less valid. Because this is weird, this is unusual, this is something I never thought would happen. It's a lot to process. I've cycled through all five stages of grief today, from "oh lol funny memes" to "alright what the fuck does this mean for Charles?"
I get that a lot of people are super hyped about this, especially if you've always supported both drivers, I get that it must feel like a dream come true.
I'm so conflicted because on one hand, okay, maybe our concerns are unwarranted, maybe this will be the best thing ever, just what the team/Charles needs, massive success all around. But unfortunately I'm a chronic overthinker with pessimistic tendencies so of course I worry 🧍🏻♀️
But also, like you said, I thought Ferrari were done with bringing in world champions in favour of making world champions, you know? This just feels like it's going to complicate something that's already very volatile and complicated all on its own (see: plethora of issues that usually held Charles back, whether it be mismanagement or poor strategy, etc.) It already felt like everything needed to come together perfectly for him to maximise his chance of winning and now they throw this massive curveball and I really don't know what to think. Especially given the "multi year" deal (2+1 is I think the version journalists have settled on.)
It kind of just feels like the issues that already existed with Sainz will be magnified, you know? The media machine around Lewis is huge, so that's going to be ten times as intense (Sky is already putting down Charles and it's just going to get so much worse), the fan wars ten times as intense... It just feels like he can't win in any scenario, like all the work he's put in so far to get Ferrari back to their winning ways will be overshadowed by the new big star signing. If they create a competitive package and start winning when Lewis enters the team (even if Charles did the heavy lifting in terms of feedback and development) he will be credited for the team's success. I mean, just look at the way this misleading narrative of Carlos "single-handedly saving the strategy" stuck. Oftentimes people don't care about the facts, if a narrative appeals to them they will perpetuate it.
Plus, there will be so much pressure on Ferrari to "get Lewis that 8th title!!!" Mercedes's inability to do so soured a lot of fans' relationship with the team. If Ferrari really puts team interests above driver interests, then I'm sure they'd see the value in being the team that makes that happen. History book worthy stuff. Kind of concerned that in the midst of that Charles and his ambitions and goals might fall by the wayside. And he's got way more to lose in this situation—no matter how Lewis's time at Ferrari goes, he's a multiple WDC, no one's ever going to take that away from him. Same with Fernando, same with Seb. Charles has never even had a proper chance to go for one title with the team yet.
Like, if you think about it, you have clear "eras", right? Someone says Red Bull, you immediately associate them with Max and/or Seb. Lewis will, I think understandably, be associated with Mercedes due to his long stint and all the success he's enjoyed at the team. I guess I imagined that Ferrari was finally gearing up to be that with Charles going forward. But this shakes things up massively and while winning a championship with Ferrari was already a tall order, now it's, like, full on a herculean task.
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remembering that time i forgot i left oil in a pan on a lit stove while cutting peppers for an omelet a few months ago.
me: 'oh, what's that sound? it sounds like my alarm clock.'
*two seconds later*
me: 'I didn't leave my alarm clock on this morning...'
*looks over and realizes wtf is happening*
anyway, i then proceeded to speculate w my friend on whether or not a firefighter au could work because im just that unhinged. JUST THAT UNHINGED. (ofc like after the smoke cleared out and everything WAS FINE. rip that pan though dude).
"AND ITD BE CALLED 'SHE SET THE ROOM A-BLIGHT'"
"no it should be 'She set the room a-luz""
"wait no ur so right."
that idea lives in my head rent FREE. RENT FREE. both of those puns,
"PLEASE TELL ME THE FIRST RESPONSE YOU HAD FROM ALMOST BURNING DOWN UR APARTMENT WAS NOT FANFICTION, BILLY"
"..."
"BILLY!!!"
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"Arya wouldn't have been able to survive in KL" is really one of the dumbest fanon takes where you can tell someone only believes it because they like the idea of Arya and Sansa being "exact opposites and perfect complements" (even though it goes against the books). Actual evidence from the books to back it up? Never anywhere to be found despite how confidently people make this claim.
And not only does it severely mischaracterize Arya and ignore what she's been through, it also ignores her importance as a political hostage. The Lannisters weren't searching for her, and lying about having her, for no reason. They needed her because having only one Stark after executing Ned put them in a poor position to negotiate. So Arya would have been more than capable of handling herself (thoroughly shown in her Harrenhal chapters) and the Lannisters would've done everything in their power to keep her alive but, somehow, she wouldn't have been able to survive? It's truly one of those takes that falls apart if you think about it for more than two seconds but apparently, that's too much effort for some people.
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