Claude...tries to stuff down the mix of feelings that comes with hearing that Lorenz had turned from the Empire at Byleth's offer. The same dull ache he'd felt when the last Byleth - and Lysithea - had told him that Lorenz had never left his side in a universe where Teach had chosen their house. That feeling that the one who really held sway over Lorenz and his willingness to openly defy his father isn't him and has never been him, but actually lies with Byleth. Even outsider to outsider, he still comes up lacking.
This Lorenz had been defying his father, in his own way - so even if this isn't the same Lorenz Claude knew in his world, that's probably true of both of them. And even Teach had needed to defeat Lorenz, had needed to narrow his choices to defection or death, before he'd turned; probably he'd have done the same for anyone in that position, especially if his loyalty had never really laid with the Empire. Maybe the only difference between their timelines was that a Golden Deer Teach had kept Lorenz from going home, maybe on a total whim. It doesn't have to mean anything, and probably shouldn't.
It aches all the same.]
Duke Aegir's position was pretty uncomfortable under Edelgard, wasn't it? I wonder if Ferdinand felt like he couldn't abandon his father, either...
As for politics being set aside here, why wouldn't it be that simple? We're not in Fodlan. We're not even in our own world anymore. None of those considerations have any meaning here. As for the politics of this world...honestly, they barely seem to exist. Don't ask me how, but this place doesn't seem to have much in the way of authority outside of presidents of companies, or mayors of each town. And this world is more peaceful than any I've ever dreamed of. Outside of gangs of criminals, who are relatively petty thieves in the grand scheme of things, there's hardly any conflict at all as we're used to. Not even poverty seems to be a concern in this place - some of the creatures they have here, pokémon, can functionally generate infinite money, and it doesn't seem to de-stabilize the economy at all when they do. I don't understand it, but at the same time...after what we've come from, I don't want to look a gift horse in the mouth too closely. Not that answers are particularly easy to find here no matter how hard you look. Some things in this world just don't make sense, and I've had to learn to live with that.
[Which has not been easy, for someone of Claude's endless curiosity.]
But yeah, the Kingdom came to help us right when we needed it. I lured the Imperial army into a mostly evacuated Derdriu, using myself as bait, and banked on Dimitri and Teach responding to my call for aid...and they swept in behind the Imperials to close the jaws of the trap. [He winks at Lorenz.] They were caught between our forces and the ocean on one side, and the Kingdom army on the other.
You didn't get to see it, but...Dimitri came back to his senses not long before the battle at Derdriu. The Dimitri that's here in this world was brought here from before regaining them, but...with plenty of support, he's recovered a lot in his own way.
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Claude...tries to stuff down the mix of feelings that comes with hearing that Lorenz had turned from the Empire at Byleth's offer. The same dull ache he'd felt when the last Byleth - and Lysithea - had told him that Lorenz had never left his side in a universe where Teach had chosen their house. That feeling that the one who really held sway over Lorenz and his willingness to openly defy his father isn't him and has never been him, but actually lies with Byleth. Even outsider to outsider, he still comes up lacking.
This Lorenz had been defying his father, in his own way - so even if this isn't the same Lorenz Claude knew in his world, that's probably true of both of them. And even Teach had needed to defeat Lorenz, had needed to narrow his choices to defection or death, before he'd turned; probably he'd have done the same for anyone in that position, especially if his loyalty had never really laid with the Empire. Maybe the only difference between their timelines was that a Golden Deer Teach had kept Lorenz from going home, maybe on a total whim. It doesn't have to mean anything, and probably shouldn't.
It aches all the same.]
Duke Aegir's position was pretty uncomfortable under Edelgard, wasn't it? I wonder if Ferdinand felt like he couldn't abandon his father, either...
As for politics being set aside here, why wouldn't it be that simple? We're not in Fodlan. We're not even in our own world anymore. None of those considerations have any meaning here. As for the politics of this world...honestly, they barely seem to exist. Don't ask me how, but this place doesn't seem to have much in the way of authority outside of presidents of companies, or mayors of each town. And this world is more peaceful than any I've ever dreamed of. Outside of gangs of criminals, who are relatively petty thieves in the grand scheme of things, there's hardly any conflict at all as we're used to. Not even poverty seems to be a concern in this place - some of the creatures they have here, pokémon, can functionally generate infinite money, and it doesn't seem to de-stabilize the economy at all when they do. I don't understand it, but at the same time...after what we've come from, I don't want to look a gift horse in the mouth too closely. Not that answers are particularly easy to find here no matter how hard you look. Some things in this world just don't make sense, and I've had to learn to live with that.
[Which has not been easy, for someone of Claude's endless curiosity.]
But yeah, the Kingdom came to help us right when we needed it. I lured the Imperial army into a mostly evacuated Derdriu, using myself as bait, and banked on Dimitri and Teach responding to my call for aid...and they swept in behind the Imperials to close the jaws of the trap. [He winks at Lorenz.] They were caught between our forces and the ocean on one side, and the Kingdom army on the other.
You didn't get to see it, but...Dimitri came back to his senses not long before the battle at Derdriu. The Dimitri that's here in this world was brought here from before regaining them, but...with plenty of support, he's recovered a lot in his own way.