stop being wrong, dangit

[mikogalatea]

I've seen some posts on forums and Twitter and such to the effect of "now I see why Edelgard left Monica to die in the Houses timeline", or other things that suggest Edie did it out of any kind of dislike for the other girl, and I hate it.

This isn't even about these people's opinions of Monica as an individual character; this is about these people being grotesquely wrong about other characters to back up their dislike.

There is nothing to suggest that Edelgard hates or dislikes Monica in any way! Does she find her weird and think she can come on a bit too strong sometimes? Sure, but it's hardly the first or last time Edie's been annoyed by her friends; she has friends and allies she gets far more annoyed with than she ever gets with Monica, but they're still her friends and allies all the same.

Edie also vouches for Monica's perfect memory and other qualities, which she knows well because they're old friends. She wouldn't do that if she didn't like her at all.

While there is a good bit of unevenness in their affections for one another, just because Edie doesn't reciprocate Monica's intense crush on her now doesn't mean she could never do so further down the line, and it's not like Monica has no chance at all of having her feelings returned. (For a start, Edie is bi.) Let's put it this way: if Hopes had paired endings like Houses did, Edie and Monica would almost certainly have gotten one.

As for Edie's initial plan to leave Monica for dead, I'm sure those people making those posts about it weren't paying proper attention to their supports, be it out of bias against one or both characters or otherwise -- because if they did pay proper attention, they would've seen that Edie was clearly wracked with guilt over her initial plan! In fact, I'm pretty sure it was largely that guilt that motivated her to tell Monica about it in the first place!

Edie says it herself: she'd treated Monica's death as a given -- which could potentially mean she'd assumed Monica was already dead -- and was willing to make herself turn a blind eye to what Those Who Slither were doing because she felt she had no choice but to work with them in order to achieve her goals. As she also says, it's a miracle that she got the opportunity to save Monica at all, and it's very telling that when she did get the chance to save her in this version of events, she bloody well took it.

And if she did leave Monica for dead, as in Houses? It would not have been free of regret on her part in the slightest. If Edie seems colder in the academy phase of Houses than in Hopes, that could well be partly because she's feeling the weight of sacrificing her friend -- and that's long before we get to Kronya posing as Monica and going out of her way to hang out with Edie. I'm sure that was Kronya's way of tormenting Edie -- wearing the skin of the friend she allowed to die, playing an exaggerated imitation of her personality that isn't like who Monica really was, and generally constantly reminding her at every turn before Hubert steps in. That couldn't have done any favours for Edie's mental health at all... that part of the game is going to hit so differently when I next come back to it.

All that is the total opposite of "meh, Monica was an annoying bitch, who cares if I throw her under a cart" or whatever the haters believe!

Finally, let's not forget Edie/Monica's A-rank conversation, where Monica says she wouldn't have hated Edie even if she did sacrifice her, which was clearly her way of saying "nothing could ever make me hate you, so please don't hate yourself". As obsessive and over-the-top as her crush on Edie can be, Monica does genuinely care about her, and there's no way Edie doesn't recognise or appreciate that even a little, especially at this stage.

In conclusion, any insinuation that Edelgard hates or dislikes Monica is dumb.

Comments

[sarajayechan]

THANK YOU, GALA. Monica gets too much crap as it is, with people even going "if it were Hubert no one would put up with such appalling behavior" or "Hubert is better because he is subtle to the point of Edelgard being surprised that he loves her".

But they clearly slept through most of Edelgard and Monica's interactions AND the "Monica" arc of Three Houses if they can come away with THAT interpretation.

As she also says, it's a miracle that she got the opportunity to save Monica at all, and it's very telling that when she did get the chance to save her in this version of events, she bloody well took it.

Hubert tried to talk her out of it and she staunchly refused. Even if it's not the first time the two have disagreed it's a BIG one, she knew as well as he did that deviating from the plan could cause trouble, and it eventually did, but she still took the chance.

Edelgard cares for Monica, obsessive quirks and all, and people just can't handle that.

People have had the most annoying habit of misinterpreting characters to back up their hatred of others, be it on purpose or unknowing. People assuming Rukia and Ichigo would rather let Orihime die in Bleach, assuming Duo hates Relena in Gundam Wing when he's got nothing against her and even ships her and Heero, the Suzaku Seishi hating Miaka...

[mikogalatea]

I don't even think Monica is that bad as far as FE characters with obsessive crushes go! There's a difference between counting the exact number of times she has tea with Edie and, say, watching her sleep while counting the exact number of times she turns over. (That's not meant to be a potshot against Tharja, by the way; she's just the first example of another obsessive character that came to mind.) Plus, Monica's perfect memory means it makes sense that she's able to keep track of things.

People twisting characters into hating whoever they themselves hate feels like childish playground bullshit to me. "I don't like you, so I'll make my friends not like you either", or something like that. e.e

[sarajayechan]

(That's not meant to be a potshot against Tharja, by the way; she's just the first example of another obsessive character that came to mind.)

LOL, Tharja was the first comparison point I had, too, so its okay. Yeah, Monica remembering all the times she had tea with Edelgard is (imo) more in line with Eliwood remembering the number of wins, losses, and draws in his monthly spars with Hector. She's obsessive, but the things she obsessively remembers are innocuous.

People twisting characters into hating whoever they themselves hate feels like childish playground bullshit to me.

Childish playground bullshit AND typical teenage Mean Girl shit. Or petty office gossip between adults who really should know better.

[waltzoid]

You'd think that the very existence of an A-level Edelgard/Monica support chain in Three Hopes would disprove any of these claims, but what do I know? I just play the games.

While there is a good bit of unevenness in their affections for one another, just because Edie doesn't reciprocate Monica's intense crush on her now doesn't mean she could never do so further down the line, and it's not like Monica has no chance at all of having her feelings returned. (For a start, Edie is bi.)

It's also important to note that nobody gets paired ending cards in this game because it isn't a mainline Fire Emblem title. What happens after the ending beyond "everybody fought some more and the war eventually ended" is up to the individual's imagination.

if Hopes had paired endings like Houses did, Edie and Monica would almost certainly have gotten one.

As soon as I learned that Monica was in "capital L-O-V-E" LOVE with Edelgard, my brain immediately started concocting possible ending card scenarios for the two.

[mikogalatea]

I swear, even just playing the games and seeing what's actually there in canon seems to be beyond some of these people. (Or at least doing the research on wikis or YouTube or whatever, if they legitimately struggle to play the games even on the easiest difficulty levels.)

Yeah, Monica is in love with Edelgard, as in ai. No one can possibly no-homo that, and it's bloody brilliant.